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Botanical  i^aboratarg 

OF 

HARVARD    COLLEGE, 

moM 

LIBRARY  OF  THE 

Chemical  Department. 


SCIENCE  CENTER  LIBRARY 

HARVARD  COLLEqj: 
LIBRARY 


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F 


I 


THE 


CHEMICAL    NEWS 


AND 


JOURNAL  OF  PHYSICAL  SCIENCE: 


(wxm  wnoH  n  hvcqbpobatbd  m  **  onsinoAL  flAmn.**) 


%  louriml  of  Iracfol  €|mistrj 


IK  ALL  ITS  APPLICATIOKB  TO 


PHARMACY,   ARTS,   AND   MANUFACTURES. 


SDITBD    BT 

WILUAM  CROOKES,  F.RS. 


MrSBOBCaSD  AKBBKUir  BEFBIHT,  TOLiniB  I—JULT,  1807,  TO  JAWABT,  UOB. 


NEW  YORK : 
W.  A.  TOWNSEND  &  ADAMS,  PUBLISHERS. 

VDCOCLXXa. 


-    Sol  {Z'io,  (00.5* 


IttirVKRD  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

TRANSFERRED  FROM 

BOTANICAL  MUSEUM  LIBRARY 

FEB.  26,  1934 


VOLUME  I.,    AMERICAN  REPRINT, 


BSmO   PARTS   OF 


VOLUMES  XV.,  ZVI.,  VIZ.  NUMBERS  837-412, 


OF   TBB   tlNOUBH  SDITZOH. 


XHB  KbW  YoitX  PKINTtKO-  Coil»Alty, 

ft,  83,  mmi  85  Crw/f*  ^'/rw^ 
yiw  YOKK« 


PREFACE. 


Thb  undersized  publishers  of  the  authorized  American  Reprint  of  the  London  CHEinoAL  News,  in  sub- 
mitting to  the  pubhc  their  first  semi-annual  Yolume,  desire  to  acknowledp^e  the  favor  with  which  their  under* 
taking  has  been  received,  and  to  call  renewed  attention  to  its  features  of  mterest  and  value. 

From  the  outset  tney  were  assured  that  by  its  republication,  the  cause  of  science  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  best  use  of  its  application  to  the  arts  and  manufactures  of  life,  together  with  Pharmacy  and  Medicine, 
were  tabe  largely  promoted.  The  welcome  which  pur  endeavor  to  extend  real  scientific  information  has  met 
with,  and  the  support  it  has  gained,  together  with  the  intrinsic  worth  and  wide  reach  of  the  matter  contained 
in  these  pages,  are  our  guarantee  for  that  result. 

The  Chemical  News  is  not  a  journal  of  recent  origin.  In  connection  with  its  predecessor,  The  Chemical 
Gazette,  it  has,  for  more  than  twenty-five  years,  fiiUy  and  faithfully  represented  the  progress  of  Chemistry  and 
cognate  sciences  in  England  and  throughout  the  world.  Its  present  position  has  been  attained  by  successive 
improvements,  until  it  now  numbers  among  its  contributors  nearly  every  chemist  of  note  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica^ In  its  columns  some  of  the  most  important  chemical  and  physical  discoveries  have  for  tbe  first  time  been 
made  known,  and  investigators  firequently  make  use  of  its  pages  to  secure  priority  of  a  discovery,  by  the  bare 
mention  of  facts  and  results,  before  publishing  their  full  papers.  The  good  influence  of  this  journal,  in  the  prog- 
ress of  pure  chemical  research  and  advancement,  has  been  felt  for  years.  It  is  now  everywhere  cited  as  the 
^reat  repository  of  chemical  knowledge,  discussion,  and  authority.  Its  editorial  staff  is  made  up  of  gentlemen 
in  the  first  rank  of  science.  Moreover,  as  the  Chemical  News  is  not  the  organ  of  any  institution,  cHque,  pro- 
fessional or  trading  firm,  its  conductors  are  under  no  liability  to  act  or  write,  at  any  time,  in  other  tnan  a  fearless 
and  independent  manner.  No  trade  puffs  are  ever  inserted  here — ^no  unworthy  books  or  patents  are  ever 
commended.  Its  character  in  these  and  kindred  respects  is  one  of  honest  pride  with  its  proprietor  and 
publishers. 

But  however  high  the  position  of  this  journal  as  a  treasury  of  all  that  is  fresh  and  valuable  in  chemistry, 
it  would  be  a  mistake  to  consider  the  Chemical  News  as  covering  that  department  of  science  alone.  It  is 
hardly  less  a  periodical  of  importance  to  the  medical  profession,  for  it  often  contains  papers  giving  the  methods 
and  results  of  the  thorou^  application  of  chemistry  to  medicine.  These  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  present  the 
finiits  of  studious  observation  and  thought  in  a  manner  elsewhere  unattained.  Several  papers  in  the  current 
volume  may  stand  in  support  of  1^,  as  also  to  show  the  attention  given  by  its  editors  to  public  sanitary 
questions. 

The  Chemical  News,  again,  is  a  rich  medium  of  information  to  every  theoretical  and  practical  pharma- 
ceutist^ druggist,  and  apothecary.  In  its  reports  of  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Society,  and  the  British  Phar- 
maceutical conference,  with  occasional  papers  upon  special  topics,  and  its  chemical  notices  fi'om  foreign  sources, 
it  constantly  supplies  matter  indispensable  to  every  well-trained  and  fiimished  member  of  this  respected  and  im- 
portant calling.  It  affords  much  gratification  to  ihe  American  publishers  to  be  the  means  of  advancing  the 
character  and  qualifications  of  so  numerous  and  wide-spread  a  class  in  the  community. 

Numbers  of  extensive  manufacturers  in  this  country,  of  many  sorts,  have  for  years  past  prized  the 
Chemical  News  as  a  valued  auxiliary  and  guide  in  the  various  processes  by  which  t^eir  goods  and  fabrics  have 
been  prepared  for  consumption  and  use,  and  the  number  of  such  persons  is  on  the  increase. 

Photography  and  the  finer  arts  are  the  objects  of  watchful  and  conscientious  notice  at  the  hands  of  those 
who  prepare  the  Chemical  News.  New  processes  and  profitable  suggestions  in  this  connection  are  not  seldom 
brought  out  for  the  first  time  in  its  pages. 

In  its  analyses  of  metals,  its  record  of  the  developments  in  mining  throughout  the  world,  its  attention  to 
mineralogy,  its  discussions  of  mechanics  and  electricity,  it  is  believed  to  be  without  a  competing  rival 

To  fill  so  wide  a  range  of  application  is  apparently  difficult  of  aocomplisbment.  That  it  is  done,  and  in 
the  most  thorough  way,  no  regular  reader  of  the  Chemical  News  need  be  informed. 

The  general  features  of  this  journal  may  be  thus  summed  up  in  detail: 

1.  lining  and  Editorial  articles  by  the  well-known  Editor,  Mr.  Willl^m  Crookbs,  F.R.S.,  on  all  topics 
within  the  proper  scope  of  the  journal.  Besides  these,  each  number  contains  leading  articles  of  tbe  same  nature, 
by  other  persons  eminent  in  the  walks  of  science.  In  the  space  devoted  weekly  to  "  Communications  Re- 
ceived,'* subscribers  will  recognize  the  shining  positiojis  held  by  its  corespondents.  When  an  article  appears 
without  a  fiill  signature,  it  is  by  no  means  to  be  supposed  tiiat  it  is  necessuily  the  production  of  the  responsible 
Editor:  anonymous  contributions  from  the  most  distinguished  chemists  of  the  day  often  grace  the  columns 
of  the  Chemical  New& 

2.  Qraphic  pictures  of  Foreign  Science  by  the  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Chemical  News,  one  of  the  first 
scientific  men  in  France,  and  an  expert  in  lucid  scientific  exposition,  the  Abb^  Moigpo.  The  interest  and  the 
availability  of  these  letters  cannot  well  be  overstated.  From  a  practical  point  of  view,  they  add  very  largely 
to  the  value  of  the  Magazine  for  a  wide  circle  of  students  and  readers. 

3.  Its  Reports  of  Societies  have  ever  been  a  marked  feature  of  the  Chemical  News.  From  the  first 
number,  its  readers  have  always  had  presented  to  them  a  complete  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Chemical, 


iv  Preface. 

Royal,  and  Pharmaceutical  Societies,  and  the  Royal  Institution.  These  matters  are  given  either  verbatim  or 
in  a  form  more  or  less  condensed,  according  to  the  importance  of  the  subject,  the  reports  being  in  many  cases 
prepared  by  the  speakers  themselves.  The  enterprise  of  this  journal  in  its  late  admirable  report  of  the 
Dundee  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  printed  in  this  volume,  is  but  a 
specimen  of  the  readiness  of  its  conductors  always  to  procure  the  best  accounts  of  the  best  gatherings.  The 
Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,  the  British  Medical  Association,  the  French  Academy  of 
Sciences,  the  Roya]  Dublin  Society  and  Quekett  Microscopical  Club,  are  among  those  whose  transactions  appear 
in  the  present  volume.  The  Abb€  Moigno  is  the  reporter  of  the  French  Academy,  and  each  weekly  impres- 
sion of  the  Chemical  News  usually  prt^sents  a  record  of  that  Society's  meetings  from  nis  masterly  hand. 

4.  Fresh,  prompt,  and  impartial  notices  of  scientific  books. 

5.  Columns  for  correspondence  which  are  freely  used,  and  possess  a  lasting  as  well  as  ephemeral  value. 
Here  each  new  theory,  and  every  great  step  in  the  chan^ng  phases  of  notation  or  nomenclature  which  have 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  chemical  world,  are,  during  their  tentative  state,  the  subjects  of  discussion. 
Practical  recipes  on  matters  of  general  and  particular  interest,  communications  oonoeming  traffic  in  scientific 
materials,  have  all  found,  and  wiU  hereafter  find,  in  this  department,  a  fitting  and  serviceable  receptacle. 

6.  Chemical  Notices  from  Forei^  Sources,  giving  a  condensed  account  of  every  important  chemical 
paper  in  the  world,  as  soon  as  it  is  pubhshed.  To  give  a  regular  and  detailed  account  of  such  papers  would  fill 
an  octavo  volume  weeklv.  In  this  department  considerable  judgment  is  required  to  decide  what  papers  to 
omit  altogether,  and  which  to  curtail,  so  as  to  allot  to  each  subject  its  due  prominence.  This  responsible  office 
of  selection  and  condensation  is  entrusted  to  a  chemist  thoroughly  competent  to  carry  out  this  desi^ 

7.  Miscellaneous  paragraphs  of  general  concern  to  those  interested  in  the  relations  of  science  to  all 
matters  affecting  individual  and  social  well-being  and  comfort 

8.  Contemporary  Scientific  Press.  This  is  a  new  feature,  recentiy  introduced,  at  the  suggestion  and 
request  of  many  leading  chemists.  It  purports  to  give,  as  soon  as  possible  after  publication,  the  tiUe  of  every 
chemical  paper  in  the  world :  to  compile  it,  every  accessible  scientific  periodical  is  ransacked. 

9.  Lists  of  English  Patents. 

10.  Notes  and  Queries — ^for  the  interchange  of  brief  question  and  reply  on  a  wide  range  of  chemical, 
scientific,  and  general  topics. 

11.  Brief  Answers  to  Correspondents,  Lists  of  Communications,  Books  Received,  etc,  etc 

Besides  the  features  thus  enumerated,  every  phase  of  affairs  in  the  scientific  world,  with  all  iinportant 
events,  receive  such  regard  and  place  in  the  pages  of  the  Chemical  News  as  they  merit.  For  illustration,  it  is 
proper  to  remark  upon  the  elaborate  obituary  notice  of  the  lamented  Faraday,  which  appears  upon  page  268 
of  this  volume,  as  also  upon  the  introductory  address  at  St  Bartholomew's  Hospital  Medical  School,  by  Dr. 
Odhng,  F.R.S.,  printed  on  pa^^e  306.  The  character  and  value  of  a  journal  that  furnishes  to  its  readers  such  a 
series  of  lectures  as  those  delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain,  by  Dr.  William  Allen  Miller, 
LL.D.,  on  '*  Spectrum  Analysis,  with  its  application  to  Astronomy,''  published  on  pp.  29,  67,  135,  186,  admit  of 
no  question. 

The  long  period  of  existence  of  the  Chemical  News,  and  the  high  position  which  it  has  always  taken, 
have  gradually  led  to  its  introduction  into  all  tiie  public  and  private  laboratories,  the  museums,  institutions,  and 
libraries  in  Endand,  on  the  Continent,  and  in  America.  Its  original  and  editorial  articles  are  constantiy  re- 
printed in  the  Old  and  New  World,  and  have  been  translated  into  German,  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  Russian, 
and  other  languages.  The  admission  of  an  original  paper,  tl^^refore,  into  its  pages,  secures  its  rapid  difiusion 
over  the  whole  world.  With  the  exception  of  the  PhiloiophiccU  Afetgcudne.  established  in  1798,  and  the  Pro^ 
ceedings  of  the  Learned  Sodeiiee,  no  other  English  scientific  journal  enjoys  this  universal  publicity. 

Stimulated  by  their  knowledge  of  all  that  has  been  said,  tiie  undersigned,  in  reprinting  the  Chemioal 
News  in  America,  with  the  authorizat  on  of  Mr.  Crookes,  its  distinguished  editor,  who  regularly  furnishes  them 
with  early  weekly  sheets  of  the  English  issue,  and  who  will,  after  January  1,  1868,  withdraw  the  circulation  of 
the  English  edition  in  the  United  States,  have  spared  no  pains  to  make  its  appearance  correspond  to  its  place 
and  character  in  the  world  of  science.  The  American  edition,  printed  in  monthly  instead  of  weekly  numbers, 
has  some  practical  advantages  for  its  subscribers  by  virtue  of  this  fact.  Arrangements  are  made  to  secure  and 
retain  the  best  and  most  careful  editorial  ability  to  provide  for  the  labor  which  such  a  change  necessitates,  and 
to  superintend  the  reissue  in  its  passage  through  the  American  press.  The  numbers  of  the  reprint  may  hence- 
forth be  expected  to  be  as  close  a  /ac-simile  of  the  English  edition  as  the  case  will  admit  ot  The  mechanical 
execution  of  the  American  edition  of  the  Chemioal  News  will  not,  we  are  confident^  su£fer  any  disparagement 
by  comparison  with  its  ori^naL 

In  consequence  of  the  increased  cost  of  manufacture  and  the  liberal  annuity  paid  to  the  English  Proprie- 
tor, the  undersigned  are  constrained  to  fix  the  subscription  price  of  the  Reprint  at  $3.00  per  annum,  in  advance, 
postage  free,  on  and  after  Januuj  1,  1868. 

With  this  introduction,  Volume  I.  of  the  American  Reprint  of  the  Chemioal  News  is  offered  to  the 

public  by  

THE  AMERICAN  PUBLISHERS. 

December^  18^^ 


INDEX. 


▲oAXtKifT  or  Scixiron,  88, 84,  86» 
7S,  84,  85, 144, 145,14<»  190, 181, 
840,  848,  814,  810. 

▲eetoDto  and   ozisobatTrio  acid, 

Adda  wlfh  water,  at  hlfh  temper- 
atarea,  behavlonr  ot,  108. 

Adulteration  of  white  precipitate, 
by  J.  B.  Bamea,  F.C.8.,  848. 

Air,  on  the  sappoaed  nature  ot 
prior  to  the  alsooTenr  of  oxy- 
gen, by  O.  F.  RodweU,  67, 120. 

Akaiga,  ordeal  of;  West  Africa, 
and  its  active  principle,  by 
Tho8.  S.  Fraser,  M.D.,  800. 

Aleohola,  synthesis  oi;  48. 

Alizarin,  98. 

"•AllEali  Act,  the,  ISSS,""  by  Dr. 
Angus  Smith,  F.R.S.,  Ac^ 
OoTcmment  Inspector,  147. 
mannflietore.  on  the  commercial 
analysis  of  some  of  the  pro- 
dnets  and  materials  of,  by  0. 
R.A.  Wright,  B.B«L,  F.G.8.,  226^ 
289,884. 
manu&otnre,  waste  of  materials 

In,  by  James  Hargreaves,  11. 
trade,  the,  878. 

Alum  aystanisatioina  over  fresh 
floweni,  46. 

Alumina,  sulphate  of,  870. 

Alomlnio  sulphate,  baslo,  403. 

American  view  of  English  patent 
law,  278. 

Ammoniacai  cobalt  baset,  modes 
of  formation  of,  189. 
platinum  compounds,  160. 

Ammonium,  preparation  of  pure 
chloride  o);  by  Prof.  J.  8.  dtas, 

diloride  of,  and  silver,  on  deter- 
mining the  proportional  rela- 
tion between,  9. 

Anderson,  Dr.  Thomas,  F.R.S.E., 
address  by.  at  opening  of  pro- 
ceedings of  section  B,  in  Brit- 
ish Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  201. 

Aassthetic  an  old,  revived,  107. 

Ansell,  G.  F.,  on  a  new  apparatus 
for  indicating  the  presence  and 
amount  of  lire  damp  in  mines, 
888. 

Answers  to  correspondents,  48, 
107, 180,  818.  880,  888. 

Anti-incrustation  mixture,  808. 

Antiseptic  properties  of  the  sul- 
phates, by  Dr.  Pom.  288. 

Argentic  hvdrates,  200. 
iodide,  iSOl 

Aromatic  aldehydes  under  the  in- 
fluence of  dehydrating  agente, 
160. 
hydrocarbons    converted    into 

phenols,  169. 
monamines  give  rise  to  adds 
richer  in  carbon,  40. 

Arsenic  and  tin,  separation  of;  68. 
determination  of,  in  sulphide  of 
arsenic,  100. 

Artificial  gold,  801 

Atmosphere  of  the  Metropolitan 
Bsllway,824. 

BAiLUiiB,  HiPPOLTva,  death  of, 

Baking  powders,  871. 

Barium,  on  flno-silioate  of,  by  M. 
Fr.  Stolba,  888. 
mes,  J.  B.,  F.C.Sn  on  the  adul- 
teration of  white  predpitote. 


Bell,  J.  Oarter,  F.O.8.,  on  the 
crystaUisation  and  snlubUity 
of  plumbic  chloride,  172. 

Bell,  JT  Lothian,  on  a  method  of 
recovering  sulphur  and  oxide 
of  manganese,  as  practised  at 
Dleuse,  near  Nancy,  In  France, 
288. 

BenziUc  bromide,  and  bromtoluol, 
164. 

Bensoln,  derivatives  of,  168. 

Benzol  and  phenol,  sulpho-deriva- 
tives  of,  101. 

Benzole  series,  remarks  on  some 
recent  contributions  to  the 
history  of,  by  A.  H.  Church, 

Benzolsulphurons  add,  99. 

Benzylamides,  818. 

Benzyllc  ether,  nitro-derivatives 
of;  817. 

Bidilorsulphobendde,  99. 

Bickerdlke,  W.  E.,  F.C.S.,  note  on 
the  preparation  of  crystelllzed 
phenic  add.  890. 

Biliary  concretion,  analysis  of  a^ 
and  on  a  new  method  of  pre- 
paring biliverdine,  by  Dr.  T. 
L.  Phipson,  184. 

Bismuth,  determination  of,  in  lead 
alloys,  167. 

Blackballing,  the  use  and  abuse  of; 

Blast  fhmace,  201. 

Blasting  with  sodium,  167. 

Bleaching  powder  manuflMture,  on 
the  practical  losses  in,  by  G. 
R.  A.  Wright,  B.8c,  F.O.fl., 
881. 

Blister  steel,  analysis  of;  by  David 
Forbes,  F.R.S.,  eto.,  218. 

Blowpipe,  apfthcation  of;  to  the 
quantitative  determination  or 
assay  of  certain  metals,  by 
David  Forbes,  F.E.S.,  64, 109, 
802. 

Boradc  add,  on  the  direct  estima- 
tion of;  9. 

Borates,  100. 

Borax  Company,  824. 

Boron  and  fluorine,  detection  of; 
in  minerals,  by  Professor  F. 
Wdhler,  118. 

BowdMeh,  Rev.  W.  R.,  M.A., 
F.C.8.,  analysis,  eto.,  of  coal 
gas,  86. 

Bribery,  prevention  of;  271. 

British  Assodation  for  the  Ad- 
vancem<Hit    of   Sdenoe,  849- 
267,820. 
Medical  Association,  189,  244. 
Fharmaeeutical  Conference,  247, 

810. 
Seaweed  Company,  196. 

Brodie,  Sir  Bei^amin  C^  on  the 
mode  of  representetlon  afford- 
ed by  the  chemical  calculus, 
as  contrasted  with  the  atomic 
theory,  72. 

Brooke  C,  M.A»  F.R.S.,  Pr.MJJ. 
eto.,  on  "The  Elemento  of 
Natural  Fhilonophy,  or  an  In- 
troduction of  the  Study  of  the 
Physical  Sdences,''  269. 

Bucdeuch,  Duke  of;  address  on 
taking  the 'chair  at  Dundee 
meeting  of  British  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of 
Bdenee.  248. 

Burgundy  Pitdi,  by  Danid  Hsa- 
bury,  F.R.8.,  810. 


CALCFLim  of  chemical  operations, 
note  on,  by  Prof.  WiUIanuon, 
F.R.8.,  111. 

"Calendar  of  the  Pharmaceutical 
Sodety,"  819. 

Cameron,  t>r.  C.  A.,  on  the  assimi- 
lation of  gelatine,  189. 

Campbell,  Dusald,  F.C.8..  note  on 
Messrs.  Wanklyn,  Chapman, 
A  Smithes  method  of  deter- 
mining nitrogenous  organic 
matters  in  water,  269. 

Cantharadin,  100. 

Caramel  colours,  42,  60. 

Carbohydrates,  action  of  water  on, 
at  an  devated  temperature, 
108, 

Carbon,  manipuhition  of  bisul- 
phide, 96,  98. 

Carbonate  of  silver,  the  action  of 
chlorine  on,  by  Prot  J.  8. 
Sta^  172. 

Carbonic  add,  absorption  oi;  by 
oxides,  160. 
disulphide,  hydrate  of;  274. 

Carmimc  add,  44. 

Cassola,  Professor  Carlo,  "Discor- 
so  di  Apertura  del  Secondo 
Anno  FsGolti  di  Chimica,''  86. 

Cast  iron,  analysis  of,  by  Edmund 
G.  Tosh,  Ph.D-  170,  286. 

Catastrophe  averted,  168. 

Cement  dstems  for  water,  40. 

CharooaL,  action  of,  in  removing 
oraanic  matter  flrom   water, 

on  the  absorption  of  gases  by, 
by  Dr.  K.  Angus  Smith, 
F.R.8.,  210. 

gas  fh>m,  190, 196. 
Chemical  calculus,  mode  of  repre- 
sentation afforded  by,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  atomic  the- 
ory, by  Sir  Be^}.  C.  Brodie, 
Bart^72. 

geology,  on  some  polnto  in.  by 
D.  Forbes,  F.R.S.,  eto.,  281. 

notes  for  the  lecture  room,  by 
Dr.  Wood,  86. 

notices  trom  foreign  sources,  48, 
98,162,199,817. 

operations,  notes  on  the  calculus 
ot  by  Prot  Williamson, 
F.R,S.,  111. 

patents,  821. 

phenomena,  philosophical  con- 
ceptions of;  217. 

prizes,  127. 

Bodety,  24,  26,  42,  78,  80,  184. 
dection  of  fdlows  at,  2. 

technology,  byThomas  Rlchard- 
son,_M.A.,  Fh.D^  F.R.S,  and 
H.  Watts,  B.A,,  r.B.S.,  87. 
Chemistry,  ideal,  by  W.  Crookes, 
F.R.8.,49. 

in  schools.  90. 

of  meteorites,  by  W.  Warington 
Smyth,  M.A.,F.R.S.,  220. 

of  the  future,  by  W.  Crookes, 
F.R.8.,  07. 

of  the    primeval  earth,  by  T. 

Sterry  Hunt,  M.A.,  Fikfik,  82. 

Chlorate  of  diver,  preparation  oC 

by  Prot  J.  8.  Stas,  172. 
Chloroenzol  sulphuric  add,  99. 
Chloric    acid,   determination  of 

104. 
Chloride  of  caldum,  on  some  use- 
fyil  applications,  by  J.   Har- 
greaves. 222. 

of  sulphur,  action  on  metols  ind 
solj^dos,  104. 


Chlorine  and  other  reputed  mon- 
ads, on  the  qnantivalence  ot 
by  J.  A.  R.  Newlands,  F.C.8., 

on  Ike  action  of,  on  carbonate  of 
silver.  Preparation  of  chlo- 
rate of  diver,  by  Pr<tf«ssor  J. 
8.  Stas,  178. 

Chloroform,  action  of  light  on, 
104. 

Church,  A.  H»,  M.A..  remarks  on 
some  recent  contributions  to 
the  history  of  the  benzole  se- 
ries, 02. 
revision  of  the  mineral  phos- 
phates. 820. 

Civil  List  pensions,  46. 

Clarifying  action  of  sulphate  of 
alumina  on  turbid  water, 
206. 

Coal  ash  or  dust,  fV^mi  the  flue  of 
a   Airnace,  microsoopicd  ex- 
amination of,  by  J.  B.  Dancer, 
F.R.A.S.,  06. 
gas,  analysis,  eto.,  of;  by  Rev. 
W.  R.  Bowditch,  M.A.,  F.C.S., 
86. 
utilisation  of    the    waste  pro- 
ducto  of;  by  Dr.  Letheby,  128» 
168,  214. 
tar,  colors  fVom,  98. 
tar,  synthetical   and  andytiod 
studies  on,  44. 

Cobalt  and  nickel,  atomic  wdghto 
of,  104. 
equivdents  of,  44. 
test  for,  98. 

Cobra-di-capella,  experimente  on 
the  poison  of,  108. 

ColchiciA,  14. 

ColumMte,  preMnce  of;  In  wol- 
tram,  by  T.  L.  Phipson,  Ph.D., 
F.C.8.,  282. 

Commeroid  analveea,  107. 
of  some  of  the  producto  and 
•  materids  of  thealkdl  mann- 
ture,  by  C.   R.^A.    Wright, 
B.8C.,  F.C.S.,  226.  289,  884. 

Condy,  Henry  BoUman,  "  Propri4- 
tes  Desinfectonto  des  Perman- 
ganates Alcdins,""  198. 

Conii  extractum,  104. 

Contempw-ary  scientific  press,  88, 
90, 109,  809,  277,  880. 

Co0perat1ve  Chemlcd  Chib,  188, 

Copper  smelting,  on  the  ecoaomi- 
zation  of  sulphurous  add  Id, 
by  Peter  Spence,  F.C.S.,  228. 

Cornea,  spoto  on.  on  the  employ- 
ment of  sulphate  of  sooa  In 
the' treatment  of;  78. 

Creosote,  104. 

Croft,  Prof.  Henry,  notes  on  some 
compounds  of  palladium,  161. 

Croft,  Spa,  guide  to,  87. 

Crompton,  Dr.,  on  the  portrdto  of 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  816. 

Crookes,  Wm.,   F.R.8.,  on  Ided 
chemistry,  48. 
the  chemistry  of  the  fnture,  01. 

Crookesite,  a  new  minerd  contdn- 
ing  thdlium,  by  M.  A.  E.  Nor- 
denskiold,  180. 

Crum.  Walter,  death  o^  46. 

Cfyptopia,  100. 

Crystallised  phenic  add,  note  on 
the  preparation  of;  by  W.  E. 
Bickc«d)ke,  F.C.S..  890. 

Crystelllne  chromic  oxide,  104. 

CrystaDisable  sugar  in  hdianthu* 
tuberosus,  168. 


VI 


GiyBtiilllzatioD  and  solubility  of 
plumbic  chloride,  by  J.  Ciurter 
Bell,  F.C.8.,  172. 

CryBtals  deposited  from  the  brain, 
notes  on,  bv  S.  W.  Moore,  228. 

Cnprlc  persalpnlde,  45. 

Cyanln,  99. 

Daxcbr,  J.  B.,  F.K.A.8.,  mlero- 

seopical  examination  of  coal 

ash,  or  dust,  from  the  fine  of  a 

frimaoe.  56. 
Daoomposition  of  eoroponnds,  in- 

flaence  of  a  current  of  gas  on, 

201. 
Density  of  the  earth,  19A. 
Department  of  Science  and  Art,  41. 
^*  Dictionary  of  Sdence,   Litera- 
ture, and  Art,"  edited  by  W.  T. 

Brande,  D.C.L.,  F.B.S.L.  and 

£.,  and   Bev.  Geo.  ^  Cox, 

U.A.,  68. 
**  lire's,  of  Arts,  Manuilsctnres, 

and    Mines,''    edited    by   B. 

Hnnt,  F.R.8.,  88. 
**  Disoorso  di  Apertnra  del  Seoon- 

do  Anno  della  FacolU  di  Chi- 

mica,''  by  IVofessor  Carlo  Cas- 

8ola,86. 
Dinitronaphthalene   and   potassic 

oyaniae,  48. 
Dissociation,  158. 
Distilled  water,  use  oC  148. 
Double  sesqutchloride  of  iron  and 

sodium,  207. 
DriUing  glass,  40. 
Dry  rot  in  houses,  care  for,  97. 
I^e  stuflTB,  on  the  present  use  of 

lichens  as,  by  Lauder  Lindsay, 

250. 
Pymond,  IL,  on  the  efferreadDg 

citrate  of  magnesia,  24a 
Dynamo-magnetic  machine,  on  a 

new  form  of,  by  W.  Ladd,  28a 

Babtbb,  edible,  98. 
Economisation  of  sulphurous  aold 

in  copper  smelting,  by  Peter 

Spence,  F.C.S.,  22a 
SffBrvesdng  citrate  of  magnesia, 

by  £.  Dymond,  248. 
Electric  Induction  of  Mr.  Hooper's 

insuhited  wires  compared  with 

rntta  percha  insulated  wires, 

for  telegraph   cables,  by  W. 

Hooper,  287. 
Eleotrioal  resistances  of  the  fixed 

and   volatile   oils,    by  T.  T. 

P.  Bruce  Warren,  280. 
ElectrolysiB  of  alkaUc  sulphides, 

100. 
Elements  and  compounds,  on   a 

S»ssible  cause  of  variation  in 
e  weights  of,  atomic  and 
otherwise,  by  J.  A.  B.  New- 
Iand^  F.C.S.,  115. 
forming  chemiosl  compounds,  on 
theinvariableness  between  the 
ratios  of  the,  55.       ^ 
**  of  Chemistry,"  Theoratieal  and 
Practical   by  William   Allen 
Miller,  lLD.,  198. 
English  discoverers  and   French 

AcademicianB,  1. 
Equivalence,    quantivalenoe,   and 
chemical  value  in  exchange, 
197. 
Ether  anemometer,  a  new,*  by  A. 

R  Fletcher,  261. 
Ethers,  contribution  to  the  history 
of;  272. 
of  the  acids  of  arsenic,  158. 
Ethyl  and  diethylbenzol,  products 
ofoxidationof,  100. 
pyrophosphorlc  add,  154. 
Etnylic    chloracetate,    action    of 
ammonio  earbonaie  on,  45. 
sulphate,  action  of  ethyllc  iodide 
and  zinc  on,  48. 
Exhibition,  the  Paris,  19,  60,  66, 

180, 178, 179,  ISO,  240. 
Exposition,  tJniversal,  the  earliest 
on  record,  206. 

Faxadat,  in  memorlam.  27a 

obituary  sketch  ot  268. 
Wpitr  adds,  on  soiiw  ww  dftiw^ 
UvfS  of,  U. 


Index. 


Faslbility  of  aluminates  containing 
a  large  amount  of  lime,  205. 

Ferric  chloride,  volatility  of,  155. 

Fire  damp  In  mines,  on  a  new  ap- 
paratus for  indicating  the  pre- 
sence and  amount  o^  by  G.  F. 


Fires,  extinction  of;  42, 148. 

Fletcher's,  A.  £.,  description  of  a 
new  ether  anemometer,  261. 

Fluorides  of  antimony  and  arsenic, 
152. 

Fluorine  and  boron,  detection  of, 
in  minerals,  by  Professor  F. 
Wbhler,  118. 

Fluo-silicate  of  barium,  M.  Fr. 
Stolba  on,  289. 

Forbes,  David,  F.R.S..  etc.,  analy- 
sis of  blister  steel,  218. 
application  of  the  blowpipe  to 
the  quantitative  determina- 
tion or  assay  of  certain  metals, 
54, 109,  802. 
on  some  points  in  chemical  geol- 
ogy, 281. 

Force,  patent  vital,  92. 

Foreign  Science,  by  Abb^  Moigno, 
15,  .16,  18,  64,  65,  66, 128,  129. 
180, 161, 182,  241,  242, 807,  808, 
809. 

Fraser,  T.  B.,  M.D.,  on  the  alcazga 
ordeal  of  West  Africa,  prelim- 
inary notice  of  it  ana  of  its 
active  principle,  800. 

Galuo   Acid,  bromo-derlvatives 
of;  200. 
pyrogallie       and       ozyphenic 
adds,   bromo-derivatlves    of; 
154. 

Gas  from  iron,  271. 
managers,    British    assodatlon 

of;  108.  loa 
"ManipulaUon,"    by    the    late 
Henry  Bannister,  enlsrged  by 
W.  T.  Sugg,  192. 

Gases,  absorption  of,  by  metalB, 
by  Dr.  Odling,  F.R.8.,  etc, 
142, 184. 

Gauther,  M.  A.,  on  the  action  of 
nitrogen  on  the  Biliddes  of 
magnesium  and  calcium,  and 
on  a  new  degree  of  oxidation 
ofBmdum,lia 

Gelatine,  on  the  assimilation  of;  by 
Dr.  C.  A.  Cameron,  189. 

Geology,  chemical,  on  some  points' 
In,  by  David  Forbes,  F.B.8., 
etc.,  281. 

**  Germinal  Matter  and  the  Con- 
tact Theory,"  by  James  Mor- 
ri^  M.D.,  194. 

Gladstone,  J.  H.,  F.B.S.,  on  the 
refraction  equivalents  of  salts 
in  solution,  225. 
on     '^Theol^     and    Natural 
Sdence,"  &i. 

Glass,  45, 100. 

Glass,  drilling,  40. 

Glyceleum,  a  proposed  basis  for 
ointments,  oy  T.  B.  Groves, 
F.C.8.,  24a 

Glycolic  hydrlodate  and  new  syn- 
thesis of  alcohol,  817. 

€k>ld  coins  of  Columbia.  New  Gre- 
nada, Chill,  and  Bolivia,  notes 
of  analyses  oi;  with  some 
account  of  the  operations  of 

Kid  mining  in  Nova  Scotia, 
iminion  of  Canada,  by  Geo. 

Lawson,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  265. 
Graham,  lliomas,  F.R.S.,  note  on 

the  oodusion  of  hydn^en  gas, 

by  meteoric  iron,  60. 
Granular  charcoal,  by  W.  Lascelles 

Scott,  F.C.8,  etc.,  818. 
Groves,  T.  B.,  F.C.8.,  glyceUeum,  a 

proposed  basis  for  ointments, 

Gun  cotton,  explosion  of,  206, 274. 
Gypsum  and  dolomite,  origin  o^ 
276. 

HJDf  Aim  isoiTB  of  West  Cum- 
berland,  on  tl^e  copatitatlon 

?Sftf?2s^r*  "^  *•  * 


Hanbury,  Daniel  F.B.S.,  Bur- 
gundy  pitch,  810. 

Hargreaves,  J.,  on   some   useAil 
applications     of   chloride    of 
cafdum,  222. 
on  the  waste  of  materials  In  the 
alkali  manufiftcture,  11. 

Hart,  Ernest,  on  the  minute  struc- 
ture of  the  iris  and  dllary 
muscle,  72. 

Heathfield,  W.  E.,  F.C.8.,  report 
on  the  advantages  or  disad- 
vantages of  the  employment 
in  pharmacy  of  nitric  add  of 
specific  gravity  1-5, 811. 
report  on  the  nitro-hydrochlorle 
add  of  the  British  Pharma- 
copceia,  and  the  chuiges  in  it 
on  keeping,  811. 

Herschel,  Prof.  Alex.,  on  meteors, 
285. 

Hippuric  acid,  synthesis  of;  8ia 

Hooper,  W.,  on  the  electric  induc- 
tion of  Mr.  Hooper's  insulated 
wires,  compared  with  gutta 
porcha  insulated  wires,  for 
telegraph  cables,  287. 

How,  Professor  D.  C.  L.,  on  notro- 
borocalcite  in  new  localities, 
and  on  other  borates,  In  Hants 
County,  Nova  Scotia,  290.  • 
**  Sketch  of  the  mineralogy  of 
Nova  Scotia  as  illustratea  by 
the  collection  of  minerals  sent 
to  Uie  Paris  ExhibiUon,  1867," 
14a 

Human  voice,  157. 

Hunt,  T.  Sterry,  made  officer  of  the 
Legion  of  Jlonor,  at  Paris  Ex- 
hibition, 157. 
on    the  chemistry  of  the  pri- 
meval earth,  82. 

Hydriodlc  add,  action  of  heat  on, 
158. 

Hydrocarbons,  solid,  from  coal 
Ur,  102. 

Hydrogen    apparatus,    improved 
BuIphnreCted.  41. 
gas,    m   the   occlusion   of,   by 
meteoric    iron,   by     Thomas 
Graham,  F.B.S.,  60. 

Hypogeic  acid,  818. 

Hydrophtalic  add,  202. 

Hydrostatic  paradox,  272. 

Hyposulphites,  on  a  new  test  fixr, 
by  M.  Carey  Lea,  dOa 

Ideal  chkmistxt,  by  W.  Crookes, 

F.B.8.,  49. 
Impermeable  oil  barrels,  825. 
Inactive  condition  of  solid  matter, 

162. 
"  Inactive"  condition  of  solids,  on 

the  so-called,  by  Charles  Tom- 

linson,  F.R.S.,  224. 
Indium,  extraction  o^  fhnn  the 

roasting  of  blende,  47. 
Induction  coil,  an  important  ad- 
junct to.  by  Henry  Morton, 

Ph.D.,  224. 
IntercolonUl    exhibition,   1866-7, 

208. 
Iodine,  determination  of;  by  means 

of  chloride  of  silver,  4i. 
Iodine  soluble  In  certain  organic 

compounds,  277. 
Iodine  starch,  155. 
Iris  and  dliary  musde,  on  the 

minute  structure  of,  72. 
Iron,  volatility  of  the  comxwund 

of;  with   sulphocyanogen,  by 

W.  Skey,  269. 
Isomer  of  ethylamyle,  and  obser- 
vations on  mixed  ether,  206. 

Jalap,  analysis  of  ordlnarv  eom- 
mordal  specimens,  by  A. 
Southall,  814. 

Joule,  Dr.  J.  P.,  F.R.8.,  alterations 
of  the  fk«ezlng  point  in  ther- 
mometers, 28.    . 

Labd,  W.,  on  a  new  form  of  dyna- 
mo-magnetic madtines,  2fo. 

Laadauer,  John,  on  the  use  of  pot- 
assic chlorate  in  qualitatilTe 
blowpipe  experinMnts,  2ia 


j      CnnncAL  Nbw& 
1   «Aay,*67toJa«.,H». 

Lawson,  Geo.,  Ph.D.,  LL.D., 
notes  of  analyses  of  gold  coin* 
of  Columbia,  New  Grenada, 
Chili,  and  Bolivia;  with  some 
account  of  the  operations  of 

Kid  mining  in  Nova  Scotia, 
>minion  of  Canada,  265. 

Lea,  M.  Carey,  on  a  new  test  for 
hyposulphites,  808. 

Lead  and  tin,  volumetric  estima- 
tion ot  105. 

Lead  chamber  process,  252. 

^*Le^ns  61ementalres  de  ehlmie 
modeme,"  by  M.  Ad.  Wnrtx, 
89. 

Lecture  experiment,  148,  97a 

Lecturing,  sdentiflc,  47. 

Legaliseojpoieonlng,  207. 

Letheby,  Dr.  H.,  dicmical  compo- 
sition of  mad  fix«n  the  street* 
of  London,  55. 
oompodtion  and  quality  of  the 
metropolitan     waters,     May 
1667, 104. 
same.  July  1667,  205. 
on  the  utilisation  of  the  waste 
products  of  coal  gas,  128, 168^ 
214. 

Lidiens,  on  the  present  use  of,  as 
dye-stnUis,  by  Lauder  Lindsay, 

Light  economy  oi;  in  dark  alleys, 
205. 

Lime,  behavior  o£  when  burned, 
111. 
bisulphite  of;  reuoarks  upon  the 
uses  of;  in  pharmacy,  by  W.  L. 
Scott,  F.C.8.,  etc.,  812. 

Lindsay,  Lauder,  on  the  present 
use  of  lichens  as  dye-atufEs, 
259. 

Liquid  carbonic  add,  277. 

Lucca,  D.  de,  on  the  employment  of 
sulphate  of  soda  in  tne  treat- 
ment of  spots  on  the  cornea,  72. 

Lunge,  Georre,  Ph.D.,  on  the  dis- 
covery of  strontium  in  Upper 
Silesia,  and  Ito  application  in 
agriculture,  10. 

Lynde,  J.  G.,  F.G.8.,  F.R.M.8.,  on 
some  fkirther  observations  on 
the  cause  of  rotation  in  tho 
Cells  of  YaUisneria,  244. 

MAomcanrif,  104. 
and  caldum,  on  the  action  of 
nitrogen  on  their  siliddes,  and 
on  a  new  degree  of  oxidation 
of  silidum,  by  M.  A.  Gauther, 
116. 
light  27a 
powder  Ismp,  Larkins,  105. 

Magnetic  dip.  method  of  measur- 
ing the,  28. 

Magnetism  and  gravitation,  148, 
194, 196, 198. 

Maisdi,  John  M.  on  eolchida,  14. 

Mandiester  literary  and  Philo- 
sophical Sodety,  28,  244,  8ia 

Manganese,  behavior  of,  with  chlo- 
rate of  potash,  befbre  the  blow- 
pipe, 150. 
determination  ofL  819. 

Matter  and  Force,  lecture  by  Prot 
Tyndall  before  three  thousand 
workingmen  of  Dundee,  at 
meeting  of  British  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of 
Science,  256. 

Maxwell,  J.  CUffk,  F.R.S.,  on  a 
real  image  stereoscope,  28a 

Mdlltic  add,  48. 

Mellor,  8.,  Esq.,  on  thallium  and 
magnesium  alloys,  18. 

Mercerising  cotton,  157. 

Mercuric  naphtide,  206. 
sulphocyanides,  278. 

Metauurgical  method,  general,  of 
Messrs.  Whelpley  and  Btorer, 

loa 

Metals,  red-hot,  tranaparen^  of; 

48,92,9a 
Meteoric  iron,  on  the  occh&slon  of 

hydrogen  gas  by,  by  Thomaa 

Graham,  f!b.8^  60. 
Meteorites,  chemistry  o^  Inr  W. 

Warington      Bmyth,     MJk., 

F.R.S.,  220. 


rOBMICAL  NlWt,         i 


Index. 


vu 


Meteon,  Fkt»t  Alex.  Henohel  on, 
286. 

M«t]iods  of  reduction,  new  appll- 
cationB  ot,  101. 

Hothoxybenzoic  add,  902. 

Methyl  componnde.  on  the  physio- 
logical action  oi  by  Dr.  B.  W. 
RichardBon,  F.R.8^  884. 

MethylatMl  splrita,  906. 

HethybaliqrUc  add,  formation  of^ 

Metric  system,  the.  Interpretation 

of  the  act  of  ISGi,  804. 
Metropolitan  Railway,  atmosphere 
o^8T5. 
waters,  composition  and 
of;  in  Beptember,  1667, 
Microscope,  notes  on  the  use  o^ 
and  its  cnrstallographle  appli- 
cation, by  W.W.Btoddart,  818. 
Mlcro-spectroeoope,  on  a  new,  and 
on  a  new  method  of  printing  a 
description  of  the  spectra  seen 
with    the    spectnim    mlcro- 
Boope,  18. 
Miner,  Wm.  Allen.  LL.I>.,  "Ele- 
ments of  Chemlstrr,  Theoreti- 
cal and  Practical,''  198. 
practical  hints  to  the  student, 

80i. 
on  spectmm  analysis,  with  Its 
applications  to  astronomy,  89, 
«7, 18^  186. 
•* Mineralogy,  Index  to"  by  T.  Al- 
lison Keadwln,  F.G.S.,  F.S.8., 
etc,  146. 
Mineral  phosphates,   revision  of 
thcL  by  Prof.  A.  H.  Ghnrch, 
M.A.,  895. 
Mnemonic  nomenolatore.  94. 
Molgno,  theAbbe,  Foreign  Sdence, 
IMd,  16.  64,  6fi,  M,  188, 189, 
180, 181, 188, 841,  842, 807, 808, 
809. 
Mond,  Ladwlg,  on  the  reeorery  of 
salphor  from  alkali  waste,  117. 
Monoduorphenyl.  108. 
Montpelier      saline      chalybeate 

spring  at  Harrogate,  6. 
Moore,  S.  W.,  Notes  on  crystals 
deposited  fh>m  the  brain,  288. 
Morris,  James,  M.D.,  ''Germinal 
Matter  and  the  Contact  The- 
ory," 194. 
Morton,  Henrr,  Ph.D.,  on  an  Im- 
portant aojnnct  to  the  induc- 
tion coll,  284. 
M.  P.  fbr  London  UnWersltr.  can- 
didature of  Bir  John  LuDDock, 
876.  "^ 

Mod  from  the  streets  of  London, 
chemical  composition  of;  by 
Dr.  Letheby,  56. 
Mud,  street,  chemical  compodtion 
of;  l^  0.  R.  O.  Tichbome, 
F.C.8.,  118. 
Mvspratt,  Dr.,  recent  analysis  of 
the  Montpelier  saline  chaly- 
beate (Kfssingen)  spring  at 
Harrogate,  8. 

MATBOBOBOCALom,  notico  oi;  in 
new  localities,  and  of  other 
borates  in  Hants  County,  Kora 
Scotia,  by  P^t  How,  Windsor, 

K.  8.  m 

•*Hatural  Philosophy,  Elements 
oi;  or  an  Introduction  to  the 
Btudy  of  the  Physical 
Sdenoes,"  by  C.  Brooke,  H.A., 
F.R.B..Pr.M.B.,ete.,  869. 

HeQrln,80i. 

Hewhmds,  J.  A.  R.,  F.C.8.,  on  a 
posdble  caase  of  rariation  in 
iho  weights,  atomies  and 
otherwise,  of  elements  and 
eompounda,  115. 
on  the  quantlTalence  of  dilorino 
and  other  reputed  monads,  187. 

Vmw  sdence  scholarship,  805. 

M«w  sarlea  of  sulpho-oompounds, 
906. 

Hewton-Fsaoal  forgeries,  888. 

VewtoD,  Sir  Isaac,  on  the  portraits 
oC  DT  Dr.  Cromptoo,  816. 

jnfdkal,  Dr.  August  Btromoyw  «n 
tta  maaufteturi  at,  Ul, 

StootlBak44. 


Niobium  and  tantalum,  chloro  and 
chloro-oxygen  compounds  of; 
100. 

Nitric  add  in  water.  818. 

Nitric  add  of  spedAc  grsTity  1*5, 
report  on  the  advantages  or 
disadyantages  of  its  employ- 
ment in  pharmacy,  by  W.  £. 
Heathfleld,  F.C.8.,  811. 

Nitric  add,  reagent  for,  156. 

Nitrites,  action  on  bromine  o^ 
156. 

Nitrogen,  on  the  action  of;  on  the 
slilddes  of  magnesium  and 
calcium,  and  on  a  new  degree 
of  oxidation  of  sllldnm,  by 
M.  A.  Gauther,  116. 

Nitrogenous  organic  matters  in 
water:  note  on  Messrs. 
Wanklyn,  Chapman,  and 
Smith's  method  of  determin- 
ing, by  Dngald  Campbell, 
F.C>B.,  8o9« 

Nitro-glyoerine,  806. 

Nitro-glycerine  In  bhMtlng,  806. 

Nltro-hTdrochlorie  add  of  the 
British  Pharmacopoeia,  and  the 
changes  in  It,  on  keeping,  re- 
port on,  by  W.  £.Heothfleld, 

Nltrotoiuol  102. 

Nordenskiold,  M.  A.  E.,on  erookes- 
Ite,  a  new  mineral  containing 
thallium.  18a 

Notes  and  Queries,  47,  107,  159, 
811,  879,  887. 

"  Nova  Scotia,  Sketch  of  the  Mln- 
eralogr  of;  as  Illustrated  by 
colleetlon  of  Minerals  sent  to 
tho  Paris  Exhibition,  1867," 
by  Professor  How,  146. 

OfiLiNO,  W.,  M.  B.,  F.R.8.,  absoiT)- 
tion  of  gases  by  metals,  1^, 
184. 
Introductory  address  delivered 
at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital 
Medical  School,  806. 
on  classification  of  native  dli- 
eates,6. 

<&ianthyledlno  and  eapryledlne, 
801. 

(Ml  of  bitter  almonds,  combina- 
tion with  acetic  anhydride, 
800. 

Oils,  fixed  and  volatile,  on  the 
elecMcal  resistances  of  the.  bv 
T.  T.  P.  Bruce  Warren,  880. 

Opit,  tinctura  and  liq.  opil  seda- 
tlvus.byA.Soutball,811. 

Opium,  alkaloids  of;  their  separa- 
tion, 100. 

Ordn,  methyl,  ethyl,  and  «myl, 
derivatives  ot,  817. 

Oiganio  adds,  a  new  series  of;  100. 
compounds,  new  method  of  an- 
alysis ot  156. 
matter  In  potable  water,  189. 

Oxalo-hydroxamio  add,  99. 

Oxidation  of  alcohol,  200. 

Oxide  of  manganese,  on  the  re- 
ffeneration  of,  In  chlorlno  stills, 

Oxyphenylendisulphonle  add,  878. 
Oxysulphobenzld,  878. 
Ofone,  195, 888. 

dendty  of,  155. 
OioBometry,  156^ 

p^LLADnm,  notes  on  some  com- 
pounds of;  by  Flrof.   Henry 

Paris  Exhibition,  19,  60,  66,  180, 
176, 179, 180,  940. 

Paris  Mint,  dli«etor  of;  874 

Partiite,  157. 

Pascal  and  Newton,  874. 

Patents.  89,  91, 9l0.  978, 826w 

Patent  for  seeing  ghosts,  8T4 

Peckham,  8.  F.,on  a  new  apparatus 
for  technical  analysis  of  pe- 
troleum and  kindred  sub- 
stanoes,a04. 

Psiouze,  death  of;  104. 

Periodic  add,  its  basldty,  44. 

Paridn,  W.  H.,  on  somo  new  da- 
riTatlvas  of  this  hydrida  of 
saUojI,8S. 


Petroleum  as  ftiel,  806,  807. 
on  a  new  apparatus  for  technical 
analysis  of;  and  kindred  sub- 
stances, by  B.   F.  Peckham, 
894, 
Pharmaceutical  Conference,  Brit- 
ish, 847. 
Sodety,  88. 814. 
con^araoMOfM  at,  46 
Pharmaceutists  and  the  Jury  ttsta, 

804. 
Phenlc  add,  crystallized,  note  on 
the  preparation  of;  by  W.  £. 
Blekerdlke,  F.CS.,  290. 
Phenol  group,  contributions  to  the 
history  oi  158. 
Bulpho-adds  of;  101. 
derivatives  of,  196 
Phenylene  brown,  154. 
Philosophi<»I  conceptions  of  diem- 

ical  phenomena,  217. 
Fhipson,  Dr.  T.  L,  analyds  of  a 
biliary  concretion,  and  on  a 
new  method  of  preparing  bil- 
iverdine,  184. 
Phosphoric  add,  105. 

ana  nascent  hydrogen,  818. 
Phosphorous  add,  45. 
action  of  bromine  and  iodine  on, 
201. 
Phosphorus,  combinations  ot  801. 

poisonous  action  of,  208. 
Photography  in  1787,  note   on, 
29. 
on  certain  new  processes  in,  by 
J.  SplUer,  F.CTS.,  266. 
Physiological  action  of  the  methyl 
compounds,    by   Dr.   B.   W. 
Richardson,  F.R.S.,  284. 
Platinlc  and  auric  chlorides,  com- 
binations of  168. 
Plumbic    chloride,  erystalllxatlon 
and  solubility  of;  by  J.  Garter 
Bell,  F.C.8.,  172. 
Poisoning  by  chlorine  vapor,  207. 

by  caustic  potash,  824. 
Poisons  of  the  spreading  diseases, 
by  B.  W.  Richardson,  MjL, 
M.D.,  F.R.fl.,  87. 
Polll,  Dr.,  on  antiseptic  properties 

ofthe  sulphites,  288. 
Popular  sdentlflc  Information,  207. 
scientiflc  infbrmation:  tin  assays, 
275. 
Potashes,  on  the  determination  of 

soda  in  the  assay  of;  4. 
Potasslo  chlorate,  on  the  use  ot  In 
qualitative   blowpipe  experi- 
ments, by  John  Lanoauer,  218. 
Practical  hints  to  the  student,  by 
W.   A.    Miller.  MJD.,  LLJ)., 
V.P.R.8.,  804. 
losses  of  sulphur  In  the  vitriol 
manufacture,   by  C.    R.    A. 
Wright,  B-Sc,  177. 
in  the  bleaching  powder  manu- 
ikcture,  by  C.  R.  A.  Wright, 
B.8c.,F.C.S..221. 
Preservation  of  food,  196L 
**of   meat,  fish,  poultry,   and 
other  varieties  of  animal  fbod, 
observations  on,"  192. 
of  stone,  824. 
**  Prindpes  de  Chlmie  fondle  sur 
les  Theories  Modemea,"  by  A. 
Naquet,  89. 
Prizes,  chemical,  127. 
**Propri«t^B    Dednfeetants    des 
Permanganates  Alcallns,"  by 
Henry  Sollman  Condy,  198. 
Pkt>pyle  benzol,  action  of  bromine 

on,  201. 
Pseudo-hexylurea,  155. 
Pyrrol,  prepsration  and  oxidation 

QiTAUTATXTn    analysis,    without 

using  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 

and  ammonic  sulphide,  Ido. 
blowpipe  experiments,  on  the 

use  of  potassic  chlorate  in,  l^ 

John  Umdauer,  218. 
Quanti  valence  of  chlorine  and  other 

reputed  monads,  by  J.  A.  R. 

Newlands,F.0.8.,m. 
Quakett  Mioroioopiosl  Ghtb,  88, 

791905,874. 
Qmsb^  English  at  Paris,  907. 


<^lnine,  47. 
fhmlne,  100. 
testing  ot  155. 

Rafto  reporting,  875. 

Reactions,  general  oonditlona  of, 

Readwin,  T.  Alllsoa,  F.O.8.,  F.8.S., 
etc„  "^An  Index  to  Mineral- 
ogy," 146. 

Real  Image  stereoscope,  by  J. 
ClarkMaxwell,  F.rS.,  m. 

Red  lead,  207. 

Refraction  equivalents  of  salts  in 
solution,  by  J.  H.  Gladstone, 
F.R.S.,  885. 

Resins  rendered  soluble,  45. 

Retene,  Its  constitution,  98. 

Revision  of  the  mineral  phos- 
phates, by  A.  H.  Church,  M.A., 

Reynolds,  Dr.  Emerson,  an  isomer 
of  Bulphocyanogen,  71. 

Richardson,  Dr.  B.  W.,  F.R.8.,  on 
the  physiological  action  of  the 
methyl  compounds.  284.^ 
**  On  the  Poisons  of  the  Spread- 
ing Diseases,"  87. 
Thomas,  M.A.,  Ph.D.,  F.RJ9., 
and  H.  Watts,  B.A.,  F.R.8., 
*' Chemical  Technology;  or, 
Chemistry  in  its  Application  t 
the  Arts  and  Manulkcturea,* 
87. 

.  Dr.  Thomas,  obituary  notice  ot 
156. 

Rodwell,  G.  F.,  F.C.S.,  on  the  sup- 
posed nature  of  air  prior  to 
the  discovery  of  oxygen,  57, 
120. 

Rohrig,  Dr.  Ernest,  on  ultra 
marine,  291. 

RosanlUne,  derivatives  ot  100. 

"*  Royal  Agricultural  CoUege,  Clr- 
cencester.  A  Guide  to  the 
Chemical  Department  of  the 
CoUcve  Museum.  Part  L, 
Tho  Mineral  Collection,"  146. 
Dublin  Sodety,  71. 
tnstltntton    of    Great   Britain, 

29,67,82,185,184. 
Polytechnic  Institution,  824. 
Sodety,  28. 

BufigaUlc  add,  a  derivative  ot  45. 

Salictl,  on  some  new  derivatives 

of  the  hydride  ot  85. 
Salt  cake  manufkcture,  on  the  loss 

of  sulphuric  add  in,  by  C.  R. 

A.  Wright,  B.8C.,  116. 
BarooUitic  add,  99. 
Schists,  bituminous   of   Tsgaas, 

(Ard^che),  by  M.  I^  Simooin, 

Science  and  art,  98. 

department.  41. 820. 
Sdentlflc  books,  forthoomlng,  828. 
Soott,   W.   Lascelles,   F.OS.,   on 

granular  diarooal,  818. 
on  the  nses  of  bisulphite  of  lime 

in  pharmacy,  812. 
SeaK^eed  char,  remarks  on  a  sped- 

men  ot  by  E.  C.  0.  Stsnibrd, 

F,C.8-248. 
Sheriock,  Thomas,  on  the  mann- 

fkcture  of  caramel  brown,  60. 
Silicates,  native,  on  the  dasdflca- 

tion  ot  by  William  Odttng, 

M.B.,  F.R.S.,  6. 
ofmethvL  206. 
Bilido  and  tunffstle  ftdds,  on  the 

property  ot  to  combine  with 

phosphoric  add,  and  the  prea- 

enee  of   this  add  In    opal, 

flint,  quartz,  etc.,  by  W.  Skey, 

289. 
BUIdum  mereaptan,  275. 
Silver,  estimation  ot  In  a  metallie 

state,  47. 
Slmonln,  M.  L.,  note  on  the  blt«- 

mlnons    schists    of   Ysgnaa, 

(Ardedie),  69. 
%ey,  Wn  on  the  production  of 

some  new  metaillle  sulpho^y- 

anidss,  and  the  separation  of 

esrtain  bases  fhMn  each  other, 

Ij  the  method  therein  ens- 

pwyed,  996b 


VUl 


Index. 


OnoriCAi.  Niwt, 
Jvly^  '«T  to  j€M^  'W. 


Pkej,  on  the  property  of  tanntle 

uid  silicic  adds  to   oomolDe 

with  phosphoric  sdd,  and  the 

presence  of  this  add  in  opal, 

flint,  qnartz,  etc.,  989. 
on  the   TolatlUty  of  the  oom- 

ponnd  of  iron  with  snlphoey- 

anoffen,  288. 
ftnlth,  Dr.  B.  Angus,  F.B.S.,  on 

the  absorption   of  gases  by 

charcoal,  216. 
report   on    '*The    Alkali   Act, 

1868,"  14T. 
Smith,  Dr.  Pratheroe,  on  the  mode 

of  detecting  impurities  in  the 

tetrachloride  of  carbon,  244. 
Bmyth,     "W.    Warington,    M.A-, 

F.K.8.,  on  the   chemistry  ot 

meteorites,  220. 
Soda,  on  the  determination  of^  in 

the  assay  of  potashes,  4. 
trade,  the,  819. 
Bodic  hydrate,  crystallized.  20a 
Sodium,   preparation  of  nydrate 

ot  tmm  sodium,  lOS. 
Solder  for  steel,  822. 
Solid  matter,  Inactiye  condition  ofL 

KB. 
Solids,  on  the  so-called  tnactlve 

condition  ot  by  Charles  Tom- 

llnson,  F.R.S.,  224. 
Solubility  of  anhydrous  alumina 

In  ammonia,  825. 
Southall,  A.,  on  aiAlysis  of  <ntU- 

nary  commerdal  spedmens  of 

Jalap,  814. 
notes  on  ttnctura  opll,  and  Hq. 

opii  sedatlTUB,  811. 
South  Kensington  Science,  98. 
Spedflc  gravity  problem,  198,  272. 
Specular  Iron.  201. 
^  Spectra  of  Metals,  Tables  of  the,"" 
.,    from  drawings  by  Klrchhoff 

and  Bnnsen,  270. 
Spectrum  analysis,  with  its  appli- 
cations to  astronomy,  by  Wil- 

Uam     Allen      Miller,    M.D., 

LL.D.,  29,  87, 185, 186. 
Spence,  Peter,  F.C.S^  on  the  eoo- 

nomisation  of  sulphurous  add 

in  copper  smelting,  228. 
Splller,  J.,  on  certain  new  processes 

in  photography,  266. 
on  decay  or  stone,  its  causes  and 

prevention.  268. 
Standard  pouna,  the,  207. 
Stanford,  E.  G.  C,  remarks  on  a 

spedmen    of  seaweed  char, 

Btas,  J.  8.,  Professor,  on  the  action 
of  chlorine  on  carbonate  of  sil- 
ver.    Preparation  of  carbonate 
•    of  diver,  172. 

on  determining  the  pronortlonal 
relation  between  silver  and 
chloride  of  ammonium,  9. 
en  the  Invariableness  between 
the  ratios  of  the  weights  of 
the  dements  ^forming  chemi- 
cal compounds,  05. 
on  the  preparation  of  pure  dilo- 

ride  of  ammonium,  4. 
purification  of  chloride  of  am- 
monium by  volatilising  it  In  a 
vacuum,  7. 
St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital  Medi- 
cal School,  Introductory  ad- 
dress, by  W.  Odling,  M.B. 
Lond.,  F.B.8.,  806.  ^ 

Stllbene,  on  the  direct  production 
'    ot  from  bitter-almond  oil,  by 
C.  QrevlUe  WilUams,  F.B.8., 
8. 
Btoddart,  W.  W.,  on  the  use  of 
the  microscope  and  Its  crys- 
tallographic  application,  812. 
Stoiha,  H.  Pr.,  on  fluo-sUieate  of 
barium,  289. 


Stone,  decay  ot  Its  cause  and  ^ce- 
vention,  by  J.  Spiller,  258. 

Stoneless  fruit,  how  to  produce, 
206. 

Storm    warnings,  suspendon  ot 

Street  mud.  chemical  composition 
ot  by  G.  B.  G.  Tlchbome, 
F.G.8.,  118. 

Stromeyer,  Dr.  August,  on  the 
manufkcture  of  nickel,  161. 

Strontium,  on  the  discovenr  of 
sulphate  ot  in  Upper  SiiMia, 
and  its  application  to  agricul- 
ture, 10. 

Student,  practical  hints  to,  by 
W.  A.  Miller,  MJ).,  LLJ)., 
V.P.B.8.,  804. 

Styrol,  Isomeric  states  ot  44. 

Sublimation  of  the  alkaloids,  lOS. 

Succinic  add,  constitution  ot  154. 
Dr.  Glaus  on,  820,  821. 

Sugg,  W.  T..  "•  Gas  ManlpnUtlon,'' 
by  the  late  Henry  Baxmister, 
enlarged  by,  192. 

Sulphates,  on  the  decomposing 
action  of  high  temperature  on 
some,  by  M.  Boussingftult, 
106. 

Sulphocyanides,  on  the  production 
of  some  new  metallic,  and  the 
separation  of  certain  bases 
from  each  other,  by  the  method 
therein  employed,  by  W. 
Skey,296. 

Sulphocvanogen,  an  isomer  ot  71. 

Snlphopnenvle,  818. 

Sulphur  and  oxide  of  manganese, 
on  a  method  of  recovering,  as 

Sractised    at     Dleuze,    near 
fancyln  Franoe,by  J.  Lothian 


on  the  practical  losses  ot  in  the 

vitriol  mannfketure,  by  G.  B. 

A.  Wright,  B.8C.,  177,  216. 
recovery  ot  from  alkali  wMte, 

117,  822. 
Sulphuric  acid,  manuflMsture  ot  94, 

97. 
on  the  loss  ot  in  salt  cake  manu- 

fecture,  by  G.  K.  A.  Wright, 

B.SC.,  116. 
Sulphurous  add  and  hydric  sul- 
phide, 267. 
on    the    eoonomisation    ot    in 

copper   smeltingSj   by   Peter 

Spence,  F.G.S.,  828. 
Sulphuretted   hydrogen  solution, 

preservation  ot  In  the  labora- 

Synthesis  of  methylallyle,  S78. 

Takkxo  aod,  164. 

Tantalum,    atomic    weight    and 

compounds  ot  200. 
Tea,  constituents  ot  160. 
Technical  education,  175, 208,  270, 

828. 
Tdc^graphic  thermometer,   on  a 

new,  by  Professor  Wheatstone, 

F.B.S^  229. 
Temperature  reouired  for  forming 

nisible  combinations,  and  for 

melting  the  same,  276. 
Tetrachloride  of  carbon,  mode  of 

detecting  impurities  In  the, 

by  Dr.  Protheroe  Smith,  244. 
ThaUfo  add,  202. 
Thallium,  201. 
amalgam,  201. 
and  magnedum  alloys,  18. 
in  crookeslte,  a  new  mineral, 

by  M.  A.  E.  Nordensklold,  120. 
lliames,  the  state  ot  205. 
"  Theology  and  Natural  Sdence,'' 

89. 
Thermo-chemical    oondltions    of 

pyrogenlc  reactions,  44. 


Thermometers,  alterations  of  the 
freezing  point  in,  28. 
on  a  new  tdegraphio,  by  Fro* 
feasor  Wheatstone,  FX.S^  229. 

Thiacetio  add  from  aoetlo  add 
phen<^  101. 

Thionessal,  208. 

Thomson.  Sir  William,  MJ^., 
D.G.L.,  F.B.8.,  etc.,  on  a  new 
form  ot  the  dynaaiic  method 
of  measuring  the  magnetic 
dip,  28. 

Tlchbome  G.  R.  G.,  F.G.8.,  on  the 
chemical  composition  of  street 
mud,  118. 
on  organic  matter  in  potable 
water,  189. 

Tin  and  arsenic,  on  the  separation 
ot68. 

Tinkaldte,  analysis  ot  detection 
of  b<MX)n  and  fluorine  in 
minerals,  by  PMfeaaor  F. 
Wohler,  118. 

Titanic  iodide,  154. 

Toluol    and    benzol    tulphurons 
add,  108. 
chloro-derivatlves  ot  200. 
sulphurous  acid,  200. 

Tomllnsun,  Gharles,  F.B.S.,  on  the 
so-called  inactive  condition 
of  solids,  924. 

Tosh,  Edmund  Gn  Ph.D.,  on  the 
analysis  of  cast  iron,  170,  286. 
on  the  constitution  and  proper- 
ties of  the  hematite  irons  of 
West  Gumberland,  297. 

"Traites  Elementdres  de  Ghimie 
Medicale,*"  by  Ad.  Wurtx,  89. 

Triamidophenol  and  amldodlimi- 
dophenol  101. 

Tricks  of  trade,  95,  98. 

Tryohlordiadllc  add,  202. 

Trychlorhydrin,  action  of  am- 
monia on,  156. 

Tiylylamine,  202. 

Tungsten,  properties  and  oom- 
pounds  ot  162. 

Tungstic  and  silidc  adds,  on  the 
property  ot  to  combine  with 
phosphorio  add,  and  the  pres- 
sence  of  this  acid  in  opal,  flint, 
ouartx,  Ac  W.  Skey,  289. 

T^dalL,  Firot,  lecture  on  matter 
and  force,  before  three  thou- 
sand worklncmen  of  Dundee 
at  meeting  ox  British  Associa- 
tion for  Advancement  ot 
Bdenoe,256. 

Tyrosin,  derivatives  ot  278. 

ULTBAXAKmi,  Dr.  Ernest  Bohrig 
on,  291. 

University  of  London,  the  repre- 
sentation of  the,  166. 
Sdenee   Examination:  resnlta, 
106. 

"  Uro's  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Manu- 
feeture^  and  Mines,**  edited 
by  Bobert  Hunt,  F.B.8.,  88. 

TALXBTLnni;  polymers  ot  99. 

Tallisneria,  some  ftirther  observa- 
tions on  the  cause  of  rotations 
in  the  cells  o£  by  J.  G.  Lrnde, 
F.G.B.,  FJEia.8.,  244. 

Yapor  density,  determination  ot 

of  water,  by  G.  B.  A.  Wright, 
B.Bc,  149. 

by  M.  Murphy,  149. 

by  W.  M.  Watta,  D.80.,  149. 

by  D.  H.,  149. 

hy  A.  D-149. 

by  F.  O.  Waid,  114. 100, 168. 
Variation  in  the  weights,  atomie 
and '  otherwise,  of  elements 
and  compounds,  on  a  possible 
cause  of,  by  J.  A.  B.  New- 
lands,  F.C.8.,  116. 


Yital  force,  patent,  92. 
YoUtility  of  sesqulchlorlde  of  iron, 
821. 
at  common  temperaturea,  801. 
of  the  compouiMl  of  iron  with 
sulphocyanogen,  by  W.  Skey, 
289. 
Yolumetric  detennination  of  iron, 
818. 

Waksltn,  Prof.  J.  An  'vrith 
Messrs.  £.  T.  Ghapman  and 
Miles  H.  Smith,  on  water  an- 
alysis: determination  of  the 
nitrogenous  nutter,  184. 

Ward,  Mr.  F.  O^  on  vapor  density 
of  water,  114,  160, 152. 

Warren,  T.  T.  P.  Bruce,  on  the 
electrical  resistance  of  the  fixed 
and  voUtile  oils,  280. 

Water  analysis,  determination  of 
the  nitrogenous  matter,  by 
Professor  J.  A.  Wanklyn,  and 
Messrs.  E.  T.  Chapman  and 
Miles  H.  Smitii,  184. 
cement  cisterns  for,  40. 
we  drink,  158. 

Watts,  H.,  B.An  F.KSn  sad  Tho- 
mas Bichardson,  M.A.,  Ph.D^ 
F.B.8n ''  Chemical  Technology 
or  Chemistry  in  Its  applica- 
tion to  the  Arts  and  Manufeo- 


tures,*'  87. 
»Idon,  Wal 


Wddon,  Walter,  on  the  regenera- 
tion of  oxide  of  manganese  in 
chlorine  stilla,  255. 

West  Cumberland,  on  the  hiMna- 
tite  irons  ot  by  £.  G.  Tosh, 
Ph.D.,  297. 

What  is  feme?  206. 

Wheatstone,  Professor,  F.B-S^  on 
a  new  tdegraphic  thermome- 
ter, 229. 

White  prodpltate,  adulteration  ot 
by  J.  B.  Barnes,  F.CS^  248. 

Williams,  G.  GreviUe,  F.B.Sn  oa 
the  direct  production  of  stil- 
bene  from  bitter-almond  oil,  8. 

Williamson,  Prof^  F.B.8..  note  on 
the  cak;ulus  of  chemical  ope- 
rations, 111. 

Wohler,  Professor  F^  analysis  of 
tinkaldte,  detection  of  boron 
and  fluoriiBe  in  minerals,  U8. 
on  the  direct  estimation  of  bor- 

scic  acid,  9. 
on  the  separation  of  tin  and 
arsenic,  !3. 

Wolfrvm,  presence  of  columbltein, 
by  T.  L.  Phipson,  Ph.D., 
F.C.8n  282. 

Wood,  Dr^  '*  Chemical  notes  for 
the  lecture  room/"  86w 

Wright,  G.  B.  A.,  BJBCn  on  the 
commercial  analysis  of  some 
of  the  products  and  mateiiala 
of  the  alkali  manufecture,  etCn 
226,289,284. 
on  the  loss  of  sulphuric  add  in 
the  manufecture  of  salt  cake, 
116. 
on  the  practical  losses  in  the 
bleaching    powder    mannfeo- 
ture,  221. 
on  the  practical  losses  of  sulphur 
in   tne   vitriol    manufectora, 
177,  216. 

Wurti,  M.  An  "Lemons  ilemen- 
talres  de  hi  Chlmie  modeme," 
89. 
"Traites  Elementalres  de  Chi- 
Die  Medlcala^''  88. 

Xtlol,  chloro-derivativea  ot  98. 

ZiHO,  manui^ure  ot  167. 


iltjtf^S 


IDHE    CHEMICAL 


Aim 


V     <- 


JOURNAL   OF   PHYSICAL   SCIENCE. 

Volume  t.     July,  1867. 


ENGLISH  DISCOVEKERS  AND  FRENCH 
ACADEMICDLNS. 
A  COMMUNICATION  on  the  estimation  of  copper,  from 
"hL  de  la  Folly  e,  was  recently  brought  before  the  French 
Academy  by  M.  Pelouze.  The  author  says  that,  in  at- 
tempting to  estimate  copper  by  Pelouze's  process  (pre- 
cipitation by  a  standard  solution  of  sulphide  of  sodium), 
he  met  with  certain  difficulties  which  led  him  to  try 
another  process,  and  he  ultimately  decided  upon  adding 
a  standard  solution  of  cyanide  of  potassium  to  an  am- 
moniacal  solution  of  the  copper  which  was  to  be  deter- 
mined. M.  de  la  Follye  calls  this  "  only  a  modification 
of  the  excellent  method  of  that  eminent  chemist,"  Pe- 
louze; and  as  that  eminent  chemist  himself  presented 
the  paper,  we  may  assume  that  he  admitted  the  sub- 
stantial accuracy  of  the  statement 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  see  English  discoveries  re- 
discovered by  French  chemists  and  brought  before  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  as  undoubted  novelties,  that  in 
general  we  refrain  from  drawing  attention  to  this  unfair- 
ness. It  appears  to  be  one  of  the  stages  through  which 
an  English  discovery  must  pass  before  it  obtains  Conti- 
nental recognition ;  but  for  several  reasons  we  cannot 
allow  this  instance  to  pass  over  without  animadversion. 
Every  chemist  will  at  onoe  perceive  that  the  new  pro- 
cess of  M.  de  la  Follye  is  absolutely  identical  with  that 
of  Henry  Parkes,  published  in  the  Mining  Journal  in 
1 85 1.  Owing  to  its  neatness,  convenience,  and  general 
accuracy,  it  has  become  almost  universally  employed  in 
the  commercial  analysis  of  copper  ores,  and  we  venture 
to  say  that  there  is  scarcely  a  laboratory  in  Europe  in 
which  Parkes's  process  has  not  been  more  or  less  used. 
In  all  standard  works  on  analysis,  English  and  German, 
Parkes's  process  stands  side  by  side  with  Pelouze*s  pro- 
cess; and  were  it  not  that  an  English  writer,  generally 
remarkable  for  his  literary  accuracy,  has  appeared  to 
acquiesce  in  M.  de  la  Follye's  pretensions,  we  should 
say  that  it  was  utterly  inconceivable  how  any  chemist 
could  venture  to  publish  so  old  and  well-known  a  pro- 
cess as  originaL 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  this  discreditable  attempt  at 
appropriating  Henry  Parkes's  well-earned  laurels  has 

Vol.  I.    No.  i.— july,  1867. 


met  with  an  indignant  protest  from  E.  F.  Durre,  of 
Beiiin,  in  the  Btrg,  tmd  Buiknmdnnische  Zeitung  for 
March  22.  He  says  that  there  is  "  nothing  rare  in  their 
Western  neighbours  ignoring  foreign  merit  altogether ; 
but  in  snoh  a  case  as  this,  when  a  well-known  process  is 
brought,  as  a  new  discovery,  before  an  important  learned 
Society,  by  a  man  of  wid»-epread  reputation  and  ac- 
knowledged ability,  it  beoomes  the  duty  of  every  one 
not  to  content  himself  with  the  mere  rectification  of 
the  error,  but  to  enter  a  loud  protest  against  such  a 
claim." 

After  pointing  out  the  utter  groundlessness  of  MM. 
de  la  Follye's  and  Pelouze's  pretensions,  Herr  Durre 
concludes  by  saying  that  it  is  necessary  that  this  cir- 
cumstance be  rightly  appreciated,  to  show  how  cautious 
one  moat  be  in  respect  to  a  French  communication, 
even  when  it  is  brought  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences 
by  one  of  its  members. 


THE  USB  AND  ABUSE  OF  BLACKBALLING. 
We  feel  constrained  again  to  draw  attention  to  certain 
unprecedented  proceedings  which  have  distinguished 
the  last  two  meetings  of  the  Chemical  Society.  For 
some  years  the  laxity  of  Fellows  in  exercising  their 
right  of  blackballing  candidates  for  Fellowship  whose 
claims  were  clearly  inadequate  to  entitle  them  to  that 
honour  has  been  a  subject  of  general  comment.  Owing 
to  the  exceptional  position  held  by  the  editor  of  this 
paper  as  journalist,  and  at  the  same  time  as  a  Fellow 
of  the  Chemical  and  other  learned  bodies,  a  friendly 
correspondence  with  many  chemists  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  has  been  carried  on  at  one  time  or  another  on 
matters  connected  with  their  Society.  We  are  thus 
necessarily  in  a  favourable  position  for  ascertaining  the 
existence  of  any  grievance  among  the  members. 

The  Council,  as  announced  by  the  President  at  the 
anniversary  meeting,  finding  that  a  wide-spread  feeling 
of  dissatisfaction  existed  at  the  undue  facility  with 
which  anybody  could  join  the  Society,  and  that  this 
privilege  had  been  on  more  than  one  occasion  seriously 
perverted  for  trade  purposes,  have  lately  had  under  dis- 
cussion the  best  method  of  diminishing  this  abuse,  and 


^ 


JElection  bf- Fellows  at  the  Cliemical  Society. 


\ 


CflBincAL  Nkws, 
•fWy,  1867. 


restoring  to  the  title  F.O.S.  its  former  honourable  dis- 
tinction. $ 

The  subject  of  raising  th^  qualification  or  restricting 
the  Admissions  is  bese^nrith  many  difficulties;  but 
those  of  our  reader^^ro  are  Fellows  of  the  Chemical 
Society  maT-vesf  &ssured  that  this  question  is  receiv- 
ing, and  will  continue  to  receive,  the  very  serious 
attention  of  the  Council  When  the  time  comes  for  a 
proposal  to  alter  the  by-laws  at  a  general  meeting,  we 
are  convinced  that  the  explanations  and  the  reasons 
for  such  alterations,  which  will  then  be  brought  for- 
ward, will  be  adopted  by  a  large  majority. 

The  fact,  then,  is,  that  candidates  have  been  admitted 
too  freely.  Country  members  complun  that  their  bro- 
ther members  in  London  never  exercise  the  right  to 
blackball  a  candidate.  It  seems  strange  that  attention 
should  now  have  to  be  called  to  the  fact  that  this  un- 
doubted righty  so  long  in  abeyance,  is  now  ^yparently 
abused  in  a  maimer  so  reckless  and  soicidal  as  to  seri- 
ously imperil  the  intereate  of  the  Society. 
*  A  few  weeks  ago  we  alluded  to  the  abortive  attempt 
on  the  part  of  a  few  junior  members  to  rearrange  the 
list  of  Council  and  officers.  Failing  signally  in  that  en- 
deavour, it  would  seem  as  if  they  were  now  attempt- 
ings,  by  ^  concerted  plan  of  action,  to  assume  the  gov- 
erning power  in  the  Sooiety  by  blackballing  candidates 
irrespective  of  scientific  position  or  attainmenta  Thus, 
party  interests  are  made  secondary  to  scientific  pro- 
gress, and  the  healthy  existence  of  the  Society  is  im- 
perilled for  the  gratification  of  private  pique. 

Of  the  five  hundred  Fellows  of  which  the  Society  con- 
sists, seldom  more  than  forty  regularly  attend  the  meet- 
ing, and  of  these  the  majority  have  hitherto  abstained 
from,  balloting.  According  to  the  by-laws,  ^^  when  less 
than  three-fourths  of  the  Fellows  who  vote  are  in  favour 
of  the  candidate,  he  shall  not  be  elected  a  Fellow  \ "  sup- 
posing then  that  forty-seven  voters  are  present,  it  will 
be  seen  that  a  dozen  disaffected  members  are  able  prac- 
tically to  control  the  ballot-box.  Fellows  should  re- 
member that  the  possession  of  a  legal  right  to  black- 
ball a  candidate,  does  not  imply  a  moral  right  to  abuse 
this  privilege.  They  hold  this  in  trust,  to  be  exercised 
honestly  for  the  good  of  the  Society.  In  the  '^  obliga- 
tion" which  each  Fellow  signs  on  his  admission,  he 
engages  to  "  promote  tibe  interests  and  welfare  of  the 
Chemical  Society,"  and  he  is  not  justified  in  recording 
an  adverse  vote  simply  to  gratify  the  pitiful  ambition 
of  a  small  party,  or  to  exercise  a  paltry  spite  against 
those  who  have  won  the  confidence  and  support  of  the 
majority  of  members. 

Between  those  elected  and  those  rejected  at  the  last 
meeting  we  wish  to  make  no  invidious  comparisons. 
Few  will  dispute  the  qualifications  of  the  fortunate 
candidates;  but  those  rejected,  fi-om  their  position  and 
scientific  acquirements,  may  be  fairly  said  to  possess  a 
very  good  claiitf  to  the  coveted  honour.  In  the  absence 


of  definite  acquaintance  with  the  qualifications  of  any 
candidate,  the  Fellows  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  morally 
obliged  to  vote  for  any  one  who  has  so  excellent  an 
array  of  recommenders  firom  personal  knowledge  as 
could  be  seeOpOn  the  certificates  of  the  gentlemen  who 
had  to  suffer,  for  no  fault  of  their  own,  the  indignity  of 
rejection. 

Before  it  is  too  late,  we  wish  to  appeal  to  the  good 
sense  of  those  who  think  themselves  aggrieved.  If  they 
conscientiously  object  to  a  candidate,  no  one  would  ask 
tliem  to  violate  their  convictions  by  voting  in  his  fa- 
vour; but  if  they  have  any  gprievance,  or  wish  to  pro- 
pose any  alteration  in  the  method  of  conducting  busi- 
ness, let  them  adopt  a  straightforward  course.  We  can 
promise  them  a  patient  and  attentive  consideration  of 
any  measure  they  may  wish  to  introduce;  but  it  is 
unbearable  that  ten  or  a  dozen  young  men  should,  by 
devious  strategy,  attempt  to  overrule  the  wishes  of  tihe 
Council  and  of  the  great  body  of  members. 

Apart  firom  the  bad  policy  of  making  themselves  per- 
sonally obnoxious  to  the  leading  men  of  their  science, 
the  malcontents  should  consider  that  they  are  power- 
less permanently  to  control  the  elections;  they  could 
but  snateh  a  momentary  triumph,  for  immediately  after 
the  necessary  alteration  of  the  by-laws  the  rejected 
candidates,  if  they  still  cared  for  the  honour,  would 
come  forward  with  a  fair  prospect  of  election.  A  slight 
modification  in  the  by-laws  for  the  election  of  Fellows, 
which  would  certainly  be  approved  at  a  general  meet- 
ing if  brought  forward  by  the  Council,  would  take  from 
any  clique  a  power  which  may  be  so  unwisely  wielded. 
The  problem  to  be  solved  is  how  to  guard  against  the 
admission  of  unfit  persons  into  the  Society,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  prevent  voting  by  ballot  becoming  an 
organ  for  the  gratification  of  private  pique.  In  several 
ways  the  necessary  alteration  could  be  made,  but  we 
hope  such  a  step  will  not  be  forced  upon  the  Council. 


ELECTION  OF  FELLOWS  AT  THE  CHEMICAL 

SOCIETY. 
It  was  suggested  last  week  that  it  would  probably  be 
necessary  to  alter  some  of  the  By-laws  regulating  the 
admission  of  Fellows  into  the  Chemical  Society,  and  we 
stated  that  the  problem  to  be  solved  was  how  to  guard 
against  the  admission  of  unfit  persons,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  prevent  the  ballot  becoming  an  organ  for  the 
gratification  of  personal  pique.  On  looking  more  care- 
fully into  the  Charter  and  By-laws  of  the  Chemical 
Society,  it  appears  that  there  is  to  be  found  a  very  simple 
solution  of  the  latter  part  of  tliis  problem.  Attention 
being  drawn  to  the  subject,  it  has  not  failed  to  strike 
most  persons  as  manifestly  unjust  that  the  decision  on 
an  important  question,  brought  before  a  meeting  of  the 
members,  should  be  determined  according  to  the  wishes 
of  the  minority ;  and  it  shows  how  harmoniously  the 


Ckkxioal  News,  ) 

July,  ise?.     f 


Election  of  FeUowa  at  the  CTiemical  Society. 


Society  and  its  officers  have  hiUierto  worked  together 
that  this  hardship  has  never  been  felt  before.  On  his 
admisfiioD,  each  Fellow  received  the  regulations  of  the 
Society,  together  with  sundry  other  formal  documents ; 
but  we  venture  to  say  that  not  many  looked  at  them  a 
second  time,  and  few  will  now  be  able  to  lay  hands  on  a 
copy  of  the  charter  and  by-laws,  to  which  we  now  pro- 
pose to  direct  attention.  When  everything  is  going  on 
smoothly,  Uie  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Society  are 
dormant. 

It  now  appears  that  for  many  years  the  Society  has 
been  acting  contrary  to  the  charter,  in  electing  Fellows, 
honorary  and  foreign  members,  and  assodates,  accord- 
ing to  the  existing  by-laws. 

By  the  third  paragraph  of  the  Charter  of  Incorpora- 
tion, granted  to  the  Society  in  1848,  it  is  declared — 

^*  That  at  all  General  Meetings  and  meetingiv  of  the  Council 
the  majority  present  and  having  a  right  to  vote  thereat 
respectively  shjaU  decide  upon  the  matters  propounded  at  such 
meetings." 
Again,  the  concluding  paragraph  of  the  Charter  declares^ 

"  That  no  resolution  or  by-law  shall,  on  any  account  or 
pretence  whatsoever,  be  made  by  the  said  body  politic  and 
corporate  in  opposition  to  the  general  scope,  true  intent  and 
meaning  of  this  our  charter;  and  that  if  any  such  rule  or 
by-law  shall  be  made,  the  same  shall  be  absolutely  null  and 
void  to  all  intents,  effects,  constructions,  and  purposes  what- 
soever." 

Now,  it  is  very  evident  that  the  by-law,  making  the 
electioQ  of  a  candidate  depend  upon  the  votes  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  Fellows  present,  is  in  direct  contraven- 
tion to  the  "  true  intent  and  meaning "  of  the  first- 
quoted  paragraph  of  the  charter;  and  therefore  such 
by-law  is,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  second  citation 
from  the  charter,  "  absolutely  null  and  void  to  aU  in- 
tents, effects,  constructions,  and  purposes  whatsoever." 

But  it  may  be  argued  that  the  third  paragraph  of  the 
charter  refers  only  to  anniversary  meetings  or  extraor- 
dinary meetings  of  the  Society.  An  attentive  exami- 
nation will,  however,  show  that  by  the  term  "  general " 
meeting  is  intended  that  which  is  now  commonly  called 
an  "ordinary"  meeting.  The  term  ^^-ordmary  meet>- 
ing"  strictly  means  regular  or  euaitomary  meeting;  a 
general  meeting  means  one  public  or  common  to  the 
whole  of  the  Fellows.  Custom  has  sanctioned  the 
omission  of  the  word ''  general "  as  qualiiying  the  ordi- 
nary meetings,  but  it  is  still  retained  in  by-law,  which 
i^aks  of  an  edcfro-ordinary  general  meeting,  which, 
logically  and  grammatically,  can  only  mean  a  geMrul 
meeting  held  exira^  or  in  addition,  to  the  ordinary  bi- 
monthly meetings. 

The  term  "  general  meeting  "  occurs  several  times  in 
the  charter,  but  nowhere  do  we  find  the  terms  *'  ordi- 
nary "  and  "  anniversary  "  meetinga  When,  however, 
we  refer  to  the  regula^one  of  other  learned  societies,  no 
longer  can  there  be  any  doubt  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
term  '^  general "  meeting.  In  the  Charter  of  the  Boyal 
Society  no  mention  is  made  of  meetings  of  the  mem- 


bers, ordinary,  extraordinary,  or  general  But  in  tho 
Charter  of  the  Zoological  Society  the  term  *'  general  " 
meeting  is  used  in  a  sense  applicable  only  to  ordinary 
meetings ;  and  in  the  by-laws  the  monthly  meetings 
of  the  Society  are  invariably  spoken  of  as  "  general 
meetings,*'  or  '' ordinary  general  meetings."  In  the 
charters  of  the  Linmean  and  Geological  Societies  like- 
wise the  term  "  general  meeting  "  is  used  to  express 
the  ordinary  meetings  of  the  members,  and  in  the  by- 
laws these  are  invariably  termed  "  general "  meetings ; 
the  9th  section  of  the  rules  of  the  latter  society,  in  fact, 
state  that  "the  general  meetings  to  be  held  by  the 
Society  shall  be  -of  three  kinds: — 1.  Annual;  2, 
Special;  3.  Ordinary,'^  It  cannot^  therefore,  be 
doubted  that  the  term  "  general "  meeting  in  the  third 
paragraph  of  the  Charter  of  the  Chemical  Society  means 
the  same  as  the  term  "  ordinary  "  meeting  does  in  the 
by-laws. 

No  one,  we  imagine,  will  dispute  that  the  election 
of  Fellows  is  a  "  matter  propounded  "  at  a  meeting  upon 
which  the  "  majority  present "  are  to  decide.  On*  the 
contrary,  the  question  as  to  whether  the  candidate  is 
to  be  admitted  to  the  Fellowship  of  the  Chemical 
Society  is  a  very  important  matter  propounded  to  ihose 
present  who  have  a  right  to  vote,  and  the  question, 
above  all  others,  which  should  be  carried  by  a  numer- 
ical majority. 

In  strict  logical  interpretation,  therefore,  those  can- 
didates who  were  blackballed  at  the  recent  meetings 
of  the  Society  were  excluded  from  the  Fellowship  in 
error.  A  numerical  majority  of  voters  were  in  favor 
of  their  admission,  and  at  the'  present  time  the  black- 
baUees  are  aa  strictly  entitled  to  the  letters  F.C.S.  as 
are  any  of  the  blackballers. 

We  confess  we  see  only  one  course  to  be  pursued  in 
respect  to  tlie  by-laws  which  remit  the  decision  on 
such  important  matters  as  the  election  or  removal  of 
Fellows  to  a  small  minority,  in  opposition  to  the  wishes 
of  the  great  bulk  of  those  present.  Strictly  speaking, 
these  restrictive  by-laws  never  had  any  legal  existence, 
and  they  should  at  once  be  replaced  by  others  in  con- 
formity with  the  charter. 

One-half  of  the  problem  now  under  discussion — that 
of  preventing  voting  by  ballot  becoming  an  organ  for 
the  gratification  of  personal  pique— has  solved  itself  in 
a  manner  which  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  The 
first  part  of  the  question — ^How  to  guard  against  the 
admission  of  unfit  persons  into  the  Society — ^is  one 
in  which  Council  and  Fellows  are  free  to  act^  for  the 
charter  specially  provides  that  they  "may  alter,  vary, 
or  revoke,  and  may  make  such  new  and  other  by-laws 
as  they  shall  think  most  useful  and  expedient  for  the 
said  body  politic  and  corporate,  so  that  the  same  bo 
not  repugnant  to  these  presents.*'  Thus  the  way  is 
clear  to  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  recent  unwar- 
rantable proceedings  and  the  permanent  prevention  of 


Oil  tlie  Preparation  of  Putb  Ohlojnde  of  Ammonium.     \  ^^"j^^^S^ 


their  recurrence,  and  to  the  establishment  of  safe- 
guards against  the  degradation  of  the  Fellowship  of 
the  Chemical  Society. 


SCIEirnPIC    AND   ANALYnCAL 
CHEMISTRY. 


On  the  Determination  of  Soda  in  the  Assay  of  Potashes, 
by  M.  Graegeb. 

Commercial  potashes  generally  contain  soda.  To  de- 
.  termine  the  proportion  by  volumetric  assay,  we  must 
know  the  quantity  of  pure  alkaline  carbonates  contain- 
ed in  the  substance  to  be  assayed.  For  this  object 
the  author  dissolves  6*91 1  grammes  of  the  potash  to  be 
assayed  in  100  cc.  of  water,  weighs  the  insoluble  por- 
tion, and  determines  in  one  part  of  the  solution  the 
quantity  of  chlorine_(chloride  of  potassium),  in  another 
the  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  (sulphate  of  potash),  de- 
terminations which  may  be  made  with  standard  solu- 
tions. The  estimation  of  the  alkalies  is  effected  on  10 
cc.  .of  the  solution  by  means  of  normal  nitric  acid ;  and 
from  the  quantity  of  acid  added  the  relation  of  soda  to 
potash  may  be  calculated,  as  the  total  quantity  of  alka- 
line carbonates  is  known  by  subtracting  from  the  total 
weight  of  substance  taken  the  weight  of  the  insoluble 
matter  of  the  chloride  and  sulphate  of  potash. 

To  assist  in  the  employment  of  this  method,  the  au- 
thor has  drawn  up  a  table  giving  the  amounts  of  car- 
bonate of  potash  and  carbonate  of  soda  corresponding 
to  the  quantity  ol  normal  nitric  acid  necessary  for  their 
saturation : — 

K0,00,. 


NaO,00,. 

NO,. 

Ormounet. 

aa 

+ 

coo   require 

14*47 

+ 

0-05        1 

14-69 

+ 

0*10           " 

1492 

+ 

o-is        " 

15-14 

+ 

0-20            " 

15-35 

+ 

0-25      ;; 

»5-57 

•f 

030 

1579 

+ 

0-35        " 

1601 

+ 

0-40        " 

16-23 

+ 

0-45        " 

16-45 

+ 

0-50 

16-67 

+ 

o-ss        " 

1689 

+ 

o-6o        " 

17-11 

+ 

0-65        " 

'7-33 

+ 

070        " 

»7*55 

+ 

075        " 

1776 

+ 

o-8o 

I7'97 

+ 

0-85        " 

18-19 

+ 

0'90        " 

18-40 

+ 

0.95        " 

18-62 

•f 

roc        « 

18-84 

I -co 

095 

0-90 

0-85 

o-8o 
075 
070 
0-65 
0*60 
0-55 
0-50 

0*45 
0*40 
0-35 
0-30 
0*25 

0-20 
0.15 

o-io 
0*05 

OXX) 

If,  for  example,  it  is  found  that  the  crude  potash  taken 
contained  5-1134  grammes  of  pure  idkaline  carbonate, 
and  it  required  79  cc.  of  normal  nitric  acid,  the  propor- 
tion 5*1 134  •  i-o :  :  79  cc :  x  will  give  the  quantity  of 
normal  acid  (x—  15*45  cc)  which  one  gramme  would 
have  required,  and  on  reference  to  the  above  table  it  is 
found  that  15*45  cc  of  normal  acid  correspond  to  0*22 
of  carbonate  of  soda  and  0*78  of  carbonate  of  potash,  or 
78  per  cent. — Journal  fur  prakUsehs  Chemie.  t  xcvii 
p.  496  (1866),  No.  8. 


On  the  PreparaHon  of  Pure  Chloride  ofAmmoniwn,  by 
J.  S.  Stab. 

!•  €blovl4e  of  Ammoniniii'flroiii  the  Ammonia 
exfrmetod  from  Sal  Ammoniac,  pnrlAed  hj  Aqua 
Wte§citL, — Ten  litres  of  a  boiling  saturated  solution  of  sal 
ammoniac  were  added  to  a  litre  of  nitric  acid  of  specific 
pavity  of  1-4.  The  liquid  was  kept  boiling  as  long  as 
it  gave  off  chlorine.  The  sal  ammoniac  which  separated 
from  the  liquid  on  cooling  was  dissolved  in  pure  boiling 
water,  and  the  solution  was  boiled  with  a  twentieth  of 
its  volume  of  nitric  acid  as  long  as  chlorine  was  pro- 
duced. The  liquid,  diluted  with  pure  water  until  it  no 
longer  dejposited  cnloride  on  coohng,  was  poured  upon 
hydrate  ot  calcium  contained  in  a  larse  retort  to  set  n-ee 
the  ammonia.  The  latter,  first  washed  in  water,  was 
then  placed  into  pure  water.  The  ammoniacal  solution 
produced  was  in  its  turn  nearly  saturated  by  a  current 
of  pure  hydrochloric  acid. 

The  chloride  of  ammonium^  which  was  deposited  by 
the  Uquid  after  its  concentration  and  cooling,  was  dried 
at  100''  by  passing  continuously  a  current  of  ammo- 
niacal gas  into  the  long-necked  globe  in  which  it  was 
being  (&ied.  This  being  done,  I  sublimed  the  sal  am- 
moniac with  the  least  possible  elevation  of  temperature, 
keeping  the  neck  of  the  g^obe  as  far  as  possible  ftiU  of 
dry  ammoniacal  gas.- 

The  chfbride  volatilised  without  leaving  the  least 
trace  of  carbon — ^a  proof  that  the  sal  ammoniac  con- 
tained no  compound  ammonia.  However,  it  was  easy 
to  perceive  that  the  bottom  of  the  globe,  whidi  was  of 
ordinary  glass,  was  very  sUghtly  attacked.  On  break- 
ing it  to  detach  the  sublimed  cnloride,  I  found,  in  fact, 
that  traces  of  chlorides  of  sodium  and  calcium  were 
formed  at  the  expense  of  the  substance  of  the  glass,  and 
that  some  silica  was  set  free.  By  means  of  spectrum 
analysis  I  found  that  the  sublimed  sal  ammoniac,  which 
was  quite  colourless,  and  remarkably  transparent,  con- 
tained traces  of  sodium,  but  it  was  absolutely  free 
from  calcium. 

In  order  to  eliminate  the  traces  of  sodic  chloride, 
which  were  carried  over  with  the  vapour  of  the  sal  am- 
moniac, I  sublimed  it  two  more  times  in  an  atmosphere 
of  ammonia,  at  the  lowest  possibly  temperature,  devot- 
ing to  this  operation  some  Mrd  glass  vessels  that  I  had 
hf^  made  expressly  for  the  transformation  of  the  alka- 
line chlorides  into  nitrates  of  these  metals.  At  the  tem- 
perature at  which  the  chloride  of  ammdhium  was  sub- 
limed these  vessels  resisted  its  vapour  perfectly.  In  the 
notice  "On  the  Transformatum  of  the  Chlorides  into 
NiirateSf^*  I  give  the  composition  of  the  glass  of  these 
vessels. 

The  chloride  of  ammonium,  before  being  employed  in 
this  determination,  was  heated  in  the  same  vessel  in 
which  it  was  weighed,  up  to  the  point  of  giving  off 
vapour,  so  as  to  drive  off  the  condensed  ammonia. 

II.  Clilorlde  of  Ammonium  prodncod  1^  means 
of  Ammonia  prepared  f^om  tne  Commercial  Snl- 
pKate* — ^To  prepare  chloride  of  ammonium  by  means 
of  ammonia,  from  commercial  sulphate,  I  fifst  treated 
the  latter  compound  as  follows : — Two  kilogrammes  of 
sulphate  were  heated  with  a  kilogramme  and  a  half  of 
concentrated  sulphuric  acid  up  U>  the  temperature  at 
which  the  sulphate  begins  to  decompose  wiUi  efferves- 
cence.^ I  then  introduced  nitric  acid  by  degrees  into 
the  mixture  until  the  liquid,  which  was  of  a  tolerably 
strong  blackish-brown  colour,  had  become  quite  colour- 
less. The  compound  ammonias  and  organic  matters 
contained  in  the  sulphate  are  thus  completely  destroyed, 
with  hberation  of  carbonic  anhydride. 


Cbsmical  News, ) 
July,  1807.      f 


On  the  Presentation  of  Sulphuretted  Hydrogen  Solution, 


The  acid  sulphate,  suitably  cooled,  was  poured  into 
about  ten  times  its  volume  of  cold  water,  and  the  ex- 
cess of  acid  nearly  saturated  by  lime  water.  When  ^e 
sulphate  of  calcium  was  deposited,  the  supernatant 
liquid  was  mixed  with  a  sufficient  excess  of  slaked  lime 
contained  in  a  very  large  globe,  and  was  heated  in  a 
bath  of  a  saturated  solution  of  conmion  salt,  so  as  to 
drive  off  the  ammonia  it  .contained.  The  latter,  after 
washing  in  water,  was  put  into  pure  water. 

The  ammonia^  when  dissolved,  was  saturated  by  a 
current  of  pure  nydrochloric  acid.  The  solution  of  sal 
ammoniac  produced  was  evaporated  to  dryness  in  a 
globe  oihard  gUus,  and  the  residue  was  subumed  in  an 
atmosphere  of  ammonia  obtained  from  part  of  the  same 
chloride. 

The  sal  ammoniac  volatiHsed  without  leaving  a  trace 
of  a  residue.  The  sublimed  product  was  absolutely 
colourless;  it  eave  off  an  ammoniacal  smell.  Before 
being  employed  it  was  heated  until  vapour  was  given 
off,  so  as  to  drive  off  the  condensed  ammonia. 

III.  Cliloride  of  Ammonlam  obtained  bjr  means 
of  tbe  Ammonia  produced  bjr  tbe  Redaction  of 
Nitrite  of  PotamlnjA* — To  procure  nitrite  of  potas- 
sium, I  had  recourse  to  Stromeyer's  process.  I  heated 
to  redness  one  kilogramme  of  nitre  with  four  kilo- 
grammes of  lead  in  a  small  cast-iron  crucible.  When 
the  vivid  incandescence  which  at  first  ensu^  was  over, 
and  the  mixture  sufficiently  cooled,  I  washed  it  in  boil- 
ing water.  I  then^  by  means  of  a  solution  of  hydro- 
sulphate  of  potassmm.  eliminated  the  lead  from  the 
solution  of  nitrate.  After  removing  the  sulphide  of  lead 
and  concentrating  the  remaining  solution,  I  added  fifteen 
litres  of  a  solution  of  caustic  potash  of  a  specific  gravity 
of  I '250.  This  mixture  was  poured  into  a  globe  of  a 
capacity  of  twenty-five  litres,  placed  in  a  sand-^atb, 
and  which  contained  a  mixture  of  three  kilogrammes 
and  a  half  of  granulated  zinc,  deprived  of  its  carbon  by 
fusion  with  a  mixture  of  carbonate  of  'soda  and  nitre* 
and  a  kilogramme  and  a  half  of  iron,  which,  after  hav- 
ing been  oxidised  by  calcination  in  contaet  with  air, 
had  been  reduced  by  hydrogen. 

The  globe  communicated  through  a  large  bent  tube, 
with  an  arrangement  for  washing  and  condensing  the 
ammonia  to  be  produced.  This  arrangement  consisted 
of— I  St,  a  large  tubulated  retort  placed  upon  a  furnace 
and  containing  a  certain  quantity  of  pure  water,  into 
which  the  tube  coming  from  the  globe  was  plunged ; 
2nd,  a  large  Woulff's  flask  with  three  tubes,  containing 
half  a  litre  of  pure  water ;  3rd,  a  Woulfi^s  flask  contain- 
ing water  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  for  the 
purpose  of  retaining  the  ammonia  carried  over  by  the 
current  of  hydrogen,  which  is  produced  very  freely 
when  the  reduction  of  the  nitrite  takes  place  and  the 
li^id  in  the  ^lobe  is  boiled. 

jBefore  distilling  the  liquid  in  the  globe,  I  allowed 
the  materials  to  react  during  seventy-two  hours,  -so  as 
to  reduce  as  completely  as  possible  the  nitrite  of  po- 
tassium into  ammonia  and  oxide  of  potassium  and  zmc. 
After  this  I  boiled  the  liquid  gently  for  two  hours,  keep- 
ing the  water  boiling  in  the  retort  and  cooling  that  con- 
tamed  in  the  large  Woulff  s  flask  intended  for  the  con- 
densation of  the  ammonia. 

It  is  indispensable  to  boil  the  liquid  contained  in  the 
globe  very  gently,  as  it  bubbles  up  violently  by  the  dis- 


*  Zbko  mmj  be  deprived  of  earbon  by  ftialon  with  5  per  cent  of  VtB 
welfbi  of  UtnargVL  The  all<^  of  dnc  and  lead  tbiu  prodaeed  la  as  ef- 
fectual fai  rednoing  nitrite  or  potasslam  In  iheprefence  of  Iron  as  pure 
sine  In  the  preeence  of  dilnte  sulphurle  and  hydrochloric  aeida,  itdl»- 
engagef  bydragen  vltb  great  Ihcllity. 


engagement  of  the  hydrogen  at  a  high  temperature.  I 
recommend  chemists  who  wish  to  procure  absolutely 
pure  ammonia  by  this  means  to  distil  the  liquid  decanted 
from  the  mixture  of  zinc  and  iron.  As  I  ascertained  in 
a  subsequent  trial,  after  the  reduction  of  the  nitrite 
into  ammonia  has  taken  place,  the  decanted  liquid  may 
be  distilled  without  the  least  difficulty. 

The  ammoniacal  solution  produced  smells  exactly  • 
similar  to  the  ammonia  extracted  from  chloride  of  am"- 
monium  treated  with  aqua  regia,  or  from  sulphate  of 
ammonium  treated  while  hot  with  a  mixture  of  sul- 
phuric and  nitric  acids. 

These  three  ammonias,  though  identical  with  each 
other,  differed  very  considerably  as  to  smell  from  the 
pure  ammonia  obtained  from  commercial  chloride  or 
sulphate  of  ammonium,  both  of  which  contain  com- 
pound ammonias,  that  give  it  a  disagreeable  smell, 
whilst  the  smell  of  pure  ammonia  is  simply  pungent. 
I  have  already  mentioned  these  facts  in  my  previous 
work  on  the  same  subject. 

To  transform  the  dissolved  ammonia  into  chloride,  I 
passed  through  the  solution  a  current  of  pure  hydro- 
chloric acid  until  the  liquid  was  nearly  saturated.  I 
then  evaporated  the  saline  liquid  on  a  w«iter-bath,  and 
finished  drying  it  on  a  stove.  This  chloride  of  ammo- 
nium was  of  a  dazzling  whiteness.  I  proceeded  to  svblime 
it  in  a  large  platinum  retort,  purified  at  a  red  heat  with 
chloride  of  ammonium.  To  exclude  the  air  from  the 
retort^  I  passed  through  it,  during  the  volatilisation,  a 
very  slight  current  of  dry  ammonia.  This  precaution 
is  absolutely  indispensable,  since,  in  the  presence  of  air 
and  of  heated  platinum,  the  vapour  of  sal  ammoniac 
will  readilv  produce  nitric  acid  and  afterwards  chlorine. 

The  volatiliBed  chloride  of  ammonium  covered  the 
upper  portion  of  the  head  of  the  retort,  in  the  form  of  a 
compact,  crystalline,  colourless,  transparent  ring  half  a 
centimetre  thick,  whilst  the  head  and  neck  were  filled 
with  chloride  of  ammonium,  as  a  fine  dust  of  a  dazzling 
whiteness.    Both  exhaled  a  strong  ammoniacal  smell. 

Before  being  used  to  determine  the  proportional 
ratios,  the  compact  and  .the  powdered  chloride  were 
heated  in  the  same  apparatus  in  which  they  were 
weighed,  until  they  gave  off  vapours  of  sal  ammoniac, 
so  as  to  eliminate  the  last  traces  of  condensed  ammonia. 


Preservation  of  Sulphuretted  Hydrogen  Solution  in  the 
Laboratory, 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society,  of 
Paris,  M.  Lepage,  of  Gisors,  brought  forward  a  process 
which  he  has  adopted  for  preserving  solutions  of  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen.  All  chemists  taiow  that  this  use- 
ful reagent  cannot  be  preserved  long  in  aqueous  solution. 
The  author  has  adopted  for  some  years  an  artifice  which 
enables  sulphuretted  hydrogen  solution  to  be  kept  for 
twelve  or  fifteen  months  with  scarcely,  any  loss  of 
strength.  Instead  of  using  water,  he  saturates  a  mix- 
ture of  equal  parts  of  pure  glycerin  and  water  with  » 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas,  and  uses  it  in  the  ordinary 
manner.  None  of  the  reactions  are  interfered  with  in 
the  least^  whilst  the  solution  possesses'almost  perfect 
stability.  The  dilute  glycerin  dissolves  less  gas  than 
distilled  water  will  j  representing  the  solubility  in  the 
latter  Uquid  by  100,  that  in  the  former  will  be  60. 

Glycerin  likewise  prevents  solution  of  sulphide  of 
ammonium  from  becoming  coloured,  and  M.  Lepage 
believes  that  it  has  a  similar  action  on  the  sulphides  of 
potassium  and  sodium. 


On  the  Clasaification  of  Native  Silicates. 


{CiuinoAL  Nbtts, 


Oft  the  ClassiflcaHon  of  Native  Silicates*  by  William 
Odlino,  M.B,y  F.R.S. 

Again,  the  function  of  aluminium  or  alumina,  in  some 
particular  silicate,  is  occasionally  open  to  considerable 
question.  Aluminium  salts,  it  is  well  known,  are  de- 
rivable from  acids,  either  by  the  substitution  of  an  atom 
of  aluminium,  Al'",  for  three  atoms  of  hydrogen,  as  in 
ordinary  alum  Al"'KSaO«.6Aq;  or  by  the  substitution 
of  an  atom  of  aluminyl  (AlO)'  for  one  atom  of  hydro- 
gen, as  in  ordinary  acetate  of  aluminium  (the  soluble 
diacetete  of  Crum)  C«(A10)'H,0,.2Aq,  or  Al'"  0  "(0 
Ht08)'.2Aq.  In  the  majority  of  aluminium-silicates, 
the  aluminium  would  seem  to  play  the  same  part  that 
it  does  in  ordinary  alum,  while  in  others  it  may  not 
improbably  ftmction  as  aluminyl.  Thus  by  viewing 
cyanite  and  topaz  as  aluminylic  silicates,  their  anoma- 
lous formula  AlaOa^SiOs,  would  become  reducible  to  the 
metasilicate  type,  and  appear  as 

(A10),O.SiO„  or  (A10),SiO, ; 
while  euclase  would  become  an  orthosilicate,  thus — 

(A10)aG,04.Sia04,  or  {A10)aHaGa04.Si,04. 

But  aluminium  is  not  only  capable  of  acting  in  two  dis- 
tinct fashions  as  a  base,  but  it  can  also  play  the  part  of 
an  anhydride  corresponding  to  silica.  Spinelle,  MgO 
AlgOa,  and  augite,  MgO.SiOt,  for  instance,  may  be  re- 
garded as  analogous,  though  heteromorphous  com- 
pounds ;  and  it  has  been  contended  by  Bonsdorflf  and 
others,  with  considerable  show  of  reason,  that  in  the 
aluminous  augites  and  hornblendes,  the  alumina  does 
not  act  as  a  base  to  the  siUca,  but  is  substituted  for  a 
variable  amount  of  the  silica  isomorphously.  Similar 
remarks  apply  to  boric  oxide,  BaOt,  which,  in  some 
silicates,  as  axinite,  appears  to  replace  a  variable  but 
small  proportion  of  basic  alumina  or  alminyl,  while  in 
otliers,  it  obviously  fulfils  the  functions  of  an  anhydride, 
as  in  datohte  and  botryoHte. 

«»"'«'{ I' 8:       ^"^^'&f* 

In  the  great  majority  of  well-defined  aluminous 
double  silicates,  the  ratio  of  monad  and  diad  to  triad 
or  pseudo-triad  metal  is  either  the  spinelle  ratio 

M"0  to  AlaO,. 
or  else  the  cryolite  ratio 

M"aO,  to  AlaOl, 

as  exemplified  below: — 

Spinelle  Silicates. 


Ortho. 

+ 

tJaAl304.Sia04 

CaAl5O4.SiaO4.2Aq 

OaAlaO4.SiaO4.4Aq 

Anorthite.    Wemerite. 

Thomsonite. 

Gismondine. 

Para, 
i 

0aAlaO4.SiaOa 

Na,Ala04.8iaOe.2Aq 
CaAl«04.Si,0«.3Aq 
GaAlaO4.SisOe.4Aq 

Labrador©. 
Mesotype. 

Scolesito.    MesoUte. 
Zeagonite. 

Meia, 

i 

KaAla04.Si40g 

Na2Ala04.si40e.2Aq 
0aA1204.si4op.3Aq 
0aAlao4.si4OB.4Aq 

NaaAl.04.si40s.5Aq 

CaAla04,Si40«.6Aq 

Leucite. 

Analdtne. 

Leonhardite. 

LaamoDite. 

PhiUtpsite. 

Chabasite. 

Sesqiu, 

KaAlaOj.SieOn 
NaaAla04.SieO|, 

Felspar.    Orthodase. 
Albite. 

OaAlaO4.SieO1s.3Aq 
CaAla04,SieOia.sAq 
CaAlaO4.SieO1a.6Aq 

Parastilbit©. 
Eptstabite.    Heula 
StUbite.    Desmine. 

CbTOLITE    S1UOATE8. 

Basic      CasAlaOe.Sia04 

}           Fe,AlaO..Sia04 

GsAlaOa-SiaO* 

Gehlenite. 

Aphrosiderite. 

Eadase. 

Orfho.      CasAlaOo-SiaOe 

\          Mg,AlaOe.Si.0e 

(Na0a).AlaOe.8i,O. 

(HCa),Al,Oe.Sl,Oe 

Garnet.    Idocrase. 
•    Allanite.    Orthite. 
Sarcolite. 
Prehnite. 

Para,     MgsAlaOe.Si40.  . 

lllca? 

Meta,        G,AlaOe.8ieOi, 

BoryL 

Other  ratios  are,  however,  oocasionally  met  with,  as 
in  the  following  examples,  and  particularly  the  mixed 
ratio  MO +MsOa  to  2AisOs,  and  the  double  ratio  aMsOs 
to  AlaO,  :— 


*  Dr.  OdUng  hat  kindly  given  ni  permiasioo  to  publish  ocmslonal 
ehftptera  from  the  forthcoming  seeond  part  of  his  *"  Blanaal  of  CSie- 
luistry.''— Bd.  C.  N. 


Potash-mica. 

Magaesia-micas. 

liSpidolite. 

Axinite. 

Humboldtite. 

Cimolite. 

Epidote. 

Spodumene  Triphane. 

Petalite. 


Para.        KsAleOio-Sie  On 

Mg4Al40io.8ie  Oia   ) 

"     KaMgaAUOio-SU  Oi,   f 

(LiKjaMg.AUOioSie  On 

"     Oa4(AlB)40io.Si«  O,, 

»*  0a.Ala0..6le  Oi, 

Mela.  Hi2AlaO(,.Si,  Oi, 
OrQio,  CaiAUOiB.Si»  O^ 
Meta.  liftAlbOie-SiieOao 
^nAy.(LiNa)BAl80i  ft.SisoO«o 

(5)  Among  so-called  hydrated  silicates,  the  determi- 
nation of  the  function  of  the  constituent  hydrogen  is 
often  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty.  It  is  clear 
that  .this  hydrogen  sometimes  exists  in  the  form  of 
wat«r  of  constitution  or  crystallisation  added  to  the 
proper  silicate  molecule,  whereas  in  others  it  exists  as 
basic  hydrogen,  forming  an  integral  part  of  the  silicate 
molecule ;  but  the  means  for  determining  the  particular 
cases  in  which  it  exists  in  the  one  state  or  the  other,  or 
in  both  states  simultaneously,  are  usually  very  imper- 
fect, and  sometimes  entirely  wanting.  DioptasCj  for 
example,  may  either  be  considered  as  an  orthosihcate 
of  hydrogen  and  copper,  HsOu"Si04,  or  else  as  a  hy- 
drated metasilicate  of  copper,  Gu"SiOs.Aq,  and  so  in 
many  other  instances. 

The  isomorphism  of  basic  hydrogen  with  certain  basic 
metals,  and  more  particularly  with  magnesium,  though 
scarcely  established  beyond  question,  is  warranted  by 
many  &cts  relating  to  hydrated  silicates.  Thus,  in 
several  definite  silicates,  while  the  proportion  of  con- 
stituent hydrogen  is  very  variable  in  different  speci- 
mens, yet,  reckoning  this  hydrogen  as  basic  water,  the 
ratio  of  the  oxygen  of  Uie  united  bases  to  the  oxygen 
of  the  siUca  is  almost  constant,  and  identical  with  the 
ratio  of  some  typical  oompouno.  A  variety  of  talc,  for 
instance,  is  sometimes  represented  by  the  anomalous 
formula--MgeOe.Si7OM.Aq;  but,  bearing  in  mind  the 
temperature  required  to  render  such  talc  anhydrous,  it 
can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  its  proper  formula  is  neaily 

H,Mg.0,.8i,0.4; 
or,  seeing  that  the  proportion  of  hydrogen  is  variable 
in  different  specimens,  (HMg)O.SiOa. 

Prehnite,  again,  is  usually  expressed  by  the  formula 
CaaAlaOft.8ieOn. Aq ;  but,  independently  of  the  excep- 
tional ratio  of  lime  to  alumina,  and  of  base  to  silica 
shown  by  this  formula,  in  reality  the  proportion  of  hy- 
drogen or  water  in  different  specimens  of  prehnite  varies 
very  considerably.  But  reckoning  the  hydrogen  or 
Water  as  basic,  the  oxygen  of  the  united  bases  is  to  the 


GnwcAL  News,  ) 

jio^,  1867.    ; 


On  the  PuHfication  of  Chl(yinde  of  Ammonium. 


oxygen  of  the  silica  exactly  in  the  ratio  ^,  and  the 
oxygen  of  the  triad  to  that  of  the  joint  diad  and  monad 
bases  approximately  in  the  ratio  \  also.  Similarly,  in 
the  diiferent  varieties  of  mesotype,  there  often  exists, 
in  addition  to  the  water  formulated  us  water  of  crystal- 
lisation, a  variable  small  excess  of  water  which  con  tri- 
butes to  fnrnish  the  full  complement  of  base  appertaining 
to  the  particular  silicate. 

(i)  It  is  well  known  that  the  production  of  crys- 
tals, either  by  way  of  fusion  or  solution,  is  much  af- 
fected by  the  presence  of  different  impurities  dissolved 
or  suspended  m  the  crystallising  liquids,  and  that,  as  a 
rule^  the  finest  crystals  are"  obtained  from  impure 
liquids,  and  carry  down  with  them  a  certain  proportion 
of  impurity.  Now,  native  silicates  have  all  tiie  charac- 
ter of  crystals  formed  from  impure  Uquids,  and  un- 
doubtedly do  contain,  in  many  instances,  a  greater  or 
less  amount  of  accidental  impurity.  Chabasite,  for 
example,  frequently  contains  an  excess  of  tmcombined 
silica^  with  which,  indeed,  it  is  isomorphous;  whUe 
some  crystals  of  augite  are  said  to  contain  a  small 
proportion  of  garnet;  and  similarly  in  several  other 
cases.  Moreover,  it  is  not  improbable  that  certain 
definite  silicates  may  contain  variable  proportions  of 
other  silicates — ^that  a  spinelle-silicate,  for  instance, 
may  contain  some  cryolite-silicate,  and  a  metasiUcate 
some  sesqui-silicate — in  a  state  of  perfect  ho^iogeneity, 
and  without  affecting  their  special  c];ystalline  forms ; 
just  as  the  heteromorphous  alloys,  SbsZua  and  SbaZn,, 
may  each  contain  a  not  inconsiderable  proportion  of  the 
other,  without  prejudice  to  the  distinctive  character  of 
their  respective  crystalline  forms.  Altogether,  while 
the  analysis  of  artificial  compounds  is  habitually  pre- 
ceded by  their  elaborate  purification,  that  of  native 
silicates  is  performed  at  once  upon  compounds  never 
free  from  more  or  less  accidental  impurity,  which,  oc- 
curring in  an  otherwise  definite  silicate,  may  interfere 
very  seriously  with  the  right  interpretation  of  the 
results  of  its  analysis. 

({)  Lastly,  considering  the  number  of  operations  to 
be  performed,  and  of  precautions  to  be  taken,  in  order 
to  obtain  an  accurate  estimation  of  some  one  constitu- 
ent only  of  an  ordinary  silicate— such  as  the  alumina, 
or  magnesia,  or  soda — ^it  is  evident  that  the  difficulty 
and  complexity  of  the  processes  employed  in  the  com- 
plete analysis  of  most  native  silicates  must  be  consid- 
ered as  detracting  somewhat  from  the  absolute  certainty 
of  even  the  percentage  results  arrived  at  To  this 
consideration  may  be  added  the  probability,  insisted 
upon  by  Laurent,  that  the  few  tenths  or  even  hun- 
dredths of  water  contained  in  many  silicates,  and  fre- 
quently disregarded  both  in  the  statement  of  results 
and  calculation  of  formula,  may  sometimes,  at  any  rate, 
fulfil  a  verv  important  function  in  the  constitution  of 
the  several  minerals,  and  permit  the  association  of  their 
respective  formulas  with  those  of  well-recognised  typi- 
cal compounds. 

Bearing  in  mind,  then,  the  many  circumstances  inter- 
fering with  the  accurate  determination  of  their  molecu- 
lar composition,  it  would  appear  that  the  actual  types 
of  native  silicates  are  much  fewer  and  simpler  than 
is  ^nerally  supposed ;  and,  that  in  the  great  majoritv 
of  instances,  where  the  chgmical  formula  of  a  mineral- 
ogically  well-defined  silicate  is  deduced  from  the  analy- 
ses of  a  considerable  number  of  different  specimens, 
the  ratio  of  the  oxygen  of  the  alumina  to  the  oxygen 
of  the  other  bases  will  prove  to  be  either  the  spinelle 
or  the  cryoMte-ratio,  or  occasionally  that  of  some  closely 
related  compound;  while  the  ratio  of  the  oxygen  of 


the  silica  to  the  oxygen  of  the  united  bases  will  prove 
to  be  that  of  an  ortno-,  para^,  meta-,  or  sesqui-silicate ; 
and  that  in  the  majority  of  instances,  where  these 
ratios  are  seemingly  departed  from  to  some  extent,  the 
dqjjarture  will  be  founa  really  due  to  a  partial  substi- 
tunon  of  alumina  for  some  stronger  base  on  the  one 
hand,  or  for  some  silica  on  the  other ;  or  to  a  non- 
recognition  of  some  constituent  water ;  or  the  presence 
of  some  accidental  impurity  or  intermixture.  Alto- 
gether it  is  evident  that  a  considerable  latitude  must . 
for  the  present  be  permitted  in  the  a^si^nment  of  for- 
mulas to  complex  natire  gflicates,  and  especially  to 
those  of  which  but  a  few  speofattens  have  been  submit- 
ted to  ear eibi  aaalysia 


On  the  Purification  of  Chloride  of  Ammonium  hy 
VolatiU»ing  it  in  a  Vacuum^  by  Prof,  J.  S.  Stas. 

Thb  following  is  the  method  employed  for  the  volatili- 
sation of  sal  ammoniac  in  a  vacuum : — 

Forty  grammes  of  chloride  of  ammonium  obtained 
by  the  direct  combination  of  hydrochloric  acid  with  the 
ammonia  produced  by  ihe  reduction  of  nitrite  of  potas- 
sium, were  introduced  into  a  glass  tube,  ninety-five 
centimetres  long  and  three  centimetres  in  diameter, 
closed  at  one  end  and  onen  at  tibe  other.  The  chloride, 
first  well  dried,  being  placed  at  the  closed  end,  I  placed 
the  tube  in  a  horizontal  position  on  the  metallic  support 
of  a  gas  jet;  I  put  the  open  end  against  another  open 
tube  of  the  same  diameter,  and  placed  over  the  junction 
a  fUaa  tube  of  ten  centimetres  diameter,  which  I  fixed 
with  a  cement  of  gum  lac.  letting  some  of  the  cement 
run  between  the  tube  and  the  two  juxtaposed  portions. 
To  the  second  tube  there  was  ioined  a  T-shaped  tube, 
whose  very  shorty  almost  capillary  branch  went  to  the 
branch  of  a  steel  tap  in  which  I  luted  it  hermetically 
with  a  resinous  cement.  The  vertical  branch  of 
the  T  tube  plunged  into  a  test-tube  containing  mer- 
cury. Into  the  other  branch  of  the  tap  I  cemented 
a  cM>illary  tube  in  communication  with  a  pneumatic 
machine  capable  of  making  a  vacuum  in  the  apparatus 
of  0*0005  ^'  ^o  prevent  ^^e  sal  ammoniac,  which,  in  a 
vacuum,  condenses  as  an  impalpable  powder,  from 
penetrating  into  the  almost  capillary  tube  and  blocking 
it  up,  I  filled  the  large  tube,  to  which  the  T  tube  was 
joined,  with  a  brush  of  fine  platinum  wires,  preceded 
by  a  large  quantity  of  calcined  and  still  warm  asbestos. 
Before  commencing  the  subli^iation  of  the  sal  ammo- 
niac, I  made  sure  uat  the  apparatus  kept  a  vacuum  for 
twenty-four  hours.  I  then  proceeded  to  the  .volatili- 
sation. For  this  purpose  I  heated  directly  in  a  gas 
flame  the  part  of  the  tube  containing  the  sal  ammoniac, 
taking  the  precaution  of  keeping  the  temperature  as  low 
cu  possible.  During  the  sublimation  the  mercury  con- 
tinually oscillated  in  the  vertical  branch  of  the  T  tube, 
and  the  chloride  condensed  partly  as  dust  and  partly 
as  a  thick  colourless  ring.  After  the  tube  was  cool 
enough  ibr  all  tension  to  be  removed  from  the  sal  am- 
moniac, the  mercurv  rose  in  the  tube  to  the  same  level 
as  before  the  operation — ^a  proof  that  no  gas  was  formed 
during  the  sublimation  but  what  was  condensed  after- 
wards. I  made  a  second  and  then  a  third  volatilisation 
of  the  same  sal  ammoniac.  During  the  two  latter  vol- 
atilisations I  took  care  to  keep  the  air-pump  contin- 
ually at  work,  so  as  to  carry  off  any  gas  that  might  be 
produced. 

After  the  tube  was  quite  cold,  the  sal  ammoniac, 
which  was  sublimed  in  a  compact  ring,  detached  itself ' 


8 


Remit  Analysis  of  ilie  MontpeUier  Saline  OhcAyheaie  J^y^ng.  j^^^S^^ST^ 


noisily  from  the  tube,  becoming  at  the  same  time  opaque 
instead  of  transparent  and  highly  refracting,  as  it  was 
whilst  hot. 

I  determined  separately,  and  as  ther  came  from  the 
tube,  the  proportional  ratio  of  the  sal  ammoniac  in  a 
compact  mass  and  in  impalpable  dust  Both  contained 
traces  of  sodium,  which^  however,  could  only  be  appre- 
ciated by  spectral  analysis;  they  probably  acquired  this 
metal  from  the  ordinary  white  glass  tube,  in  which  the 
triple  volatilisation  was  performed. 

On  the  Direct  Proditeiia»  <of   BiiSlk^M  finm  Bitter 
Almond  OH,  by  C.  Q-rsvills  WiujAicfl^  KJLS.* 

Sth^benb  was  obtained  by  Laurent  by  the  distillation 
of  hydridb  of  sulpho-benzoyle,  accorolng  to  the  equa- 
tion— 

80,H.S=8CS«  +  3H,S+ 20,4H,a +CmH,bS. 


Hydride 
of  sulpho- 
benzoyle. 


BtUbene.    Tbioncssel. ! 


The  simplicity  of  the  relation  between  hydride  of  ben- 
'  zoyl  and  stilbene  made  me  conceive  that  the  latter  might 
be  produced  directly  from  the  former ;  thus — 
20tH(iO + 4Na=0i4H„ + 2Na.O. 
Experience  has  completely  confirmed  this  supposi- 
tion. The  reaction,  however,  as  might  be  expected, 
does  not  take  place  without  the  formation  of  other  pro- 
ducts. In  fact,  the  amount  of  stilbene  prodnoed  is  so 
small,  and  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  separation 
of  the  substances  produced  are  so  considerable,  that  I 
should  have  delayed  publishing  my  results  in  their  pre- 
sent state  had  I  not  seen  that  Claust  is  working  in  a 
somewhat  similar  direction.  However,  as  he  employs 
sodium  amalgam  and  an  etherial  solution  of  hydride  of 
benzoyl,  instead  of  hydrocarbons,  he  obtains  bodies 
containing  oxygen.  One  of  the  substances  produced 
in  the  manner  indicated  is  the  salylic  acid,  GtHsO*,  of 
Kolbe  and  Lautemann,  and  the  other  appears  to  be 
identical  with  Church's  dicresol,  OtHtO.J 

To  obtain  stilbene  I  treated  the  bitter  almond  oil  of 
commerce  with  an  equivalent'quantity  of  sodium,  and 
distilled  the  mixture  at  a  temperature  sufficiently  high 
to  bring  over  everything  volatile.  The  distillate  was 
again  treated  with  sodium  and  fractionally  distilled. 
One  portion  came  over  below  200°,  and  contained 
volatile  liquid  hydrocarbons,  among  which  benzol  was 
observed.  The  fraction  distilling  between  200®  and 
244^  did  not  yield  any  crystals,  even  when  exposed  to 
a  freezing  mixture  of  ice  and  salt.  That  portion  of 
fluid  which  distilled  between  244^  and  265^  became 
nearly  solid  on  cooling.  Above  265^  the  distillate 
consisted  chiefly  of  crude  stilbene.  The  fluid  distilling 
between  200^  and  244^  contained  carbon  85*3,  hydro- 
gen 8*1,  oxygen  6-6.  It  was  apparently  a  mixture, 
and  probably  contained  a  small  quantity  of  stflbene  in 
solution. 

The  solid  substance  was  dissolved  in  hot  benzol,  and 
'On  cooling  gave  a  crop  of  beautiful  colourless  prismatic 
crystals,  which,  when  perfectly  freed  from  benzol  by 
exposure  for  some  time  to  a  temperature  of  100*^,  gave 
the  product  a.  The  mother  liquid,  on  standing,  gave 
a  second  crop  h,  which  was  freed  from  benzol  in  the 
.same  manner  as  the  first.    The  third  crop  c  was  only 

*  Oommunicated  by  the  anther. 

t  Ann.  d6r  (Mem.  und  Phttrm.  cxxrvflL  ga.    **  Ueber  die  Elnwfricnng 
-TOD  Natriiimamalgam  auf  BenzoylwaMentoff  In  athertocber  Loeong." 
$ /WAcxxviU.301., 


purified  by  pressure  between  folds  of  filtering  paper. 
The  residue,  evaporated  to  dryness  and  sublimed,  gave 
crop  d.    The  melting  points  were  as  follows: — 


78' 
100' 


The  second  crop  was  burned  with  oxide  of  copper 
and  oxygen  gas,  with  the  annexed  result : — 
0*2227  gramme  of  crop  b  gave 
07642        "        carbonic  wihydride,  and 
0*1374        **       water. 

Or,  per  cent. : — 

£xperimMit         GUcuLUion.  Stilbene. 


Carbon    . 
Hydrogen 


mi 


'mk 


168 
12 


ioo*o  180 

Agreeme,  therefore,  with  the  formula  CuHia,  which 
is  that  of  stilbene. 

The  melting  point  of  the  specimen  analysed  was  ri6^. 
Laurent  does  not  give  the  melting  point  of  stilbene, 
but  merely  states  toat  it  fuses  several  degrees  abover 
ioo*>. 

The  vapour  density  of  stilbene  as  given  by  Laurent 
is  8*4,  a  number  which  is  entirely  incompatible  with 
the  formula.  Therefore,  although  I  only  had  a  very 
minute  portion  (less  than  twa  decigrammes)  of  stil- 
bene left,  I  resolved  to  repeat  t^ie  vapour  density  deter- 
mination, feeling  sure  that  even  if  the  experimental  re- 
sult was  not  so  accurate  as  might  be  desired,  it  would 
stiU  be  a  sufficient  approximation  to  indicate  the  true 
formula  of  the  substance  analysed.  The  experiment 
was  made  in  an  atmosphere  of  mercury  vapour,  with 
the  annexed  result : — 

Excess  of  weight  of  balloon.. . .  .0*1371  gramme. 

Temperature  of  vapour. 350** 

Temperature  of  air..... 17** 

Pressure. 764  m-m. 

Capacity  of  balloon 95*5  aa 

Besidual  air. 12*5  cc 

Experiment.  Galcnlatlon. 

6*024  6*228 

The  large  amount  of  residual  air,  and  the  smallness 
of  the  scale  on  which  the  experiment  had  to  be  made, 
make  me  regard  this  experiment  as  one  requiring  to  be 
repeated.  It  is,  however,  quite  near  enough  to  the 
theoretical  value  to  show  tliat  the  number  obtained  by 
Laurent  was  due  to  some  error  of  experiment 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  the  specimen  of  stil- 
bene whidi  fused  at  116°  had  its  melting  point  raised 
to  120^  by  keeping  it  for  some  hours  at  a  temperature 
of  100^.  It  is  evident^  therefore,  that  the  fiising  point 
of  stilbene  is  not  lower  than  120^. 


Rteent  Analysis  of  fke  Afon^eUier  Saline  Chalybeate 
(Kiasingen)  Spring  at  Harrogate,  by  Dr.  Sheridan 
MusPRATT,  M.D.  (Hon.),  F.B.S.  Bd.,  M.RJ.A.,  <fcc.* 

As  there  have  been  so  many  strange  analyses,  some 
most  conflicting,  of  the  water  of  the  above  celebrated 
spring,  I  have  for  some  months  been  engaged  with  ex- 
periments and  researches  upon  it ;  and  feeling  that  the 
results  elicited  are  now  the  Ume  ones,  I  place  them  be- 
fore the  readers  of  your  ably  conducted  journal.*   In 


•Cooiiiranlcftted  by  the  aothor. 


ChnwoAL  News,  ) 
iAO^,  18C7.      f 


Hdation  between  Silver  and  Cfhhride  of  Ammonium. 


the  QtshiiOKL  News  for  Jane  29.  of  last  rear,  it  is  stat- 
ed that  this  Kissingen  spring  holds  the  following: — 

Carbonate  of  baryta 7*657 

Oarbonate  of  stiontia 2-815 

Neither  of  these  earthy  earhoruttee  is  contained,  as  such, 
in  the  water.  The  l)arium  exists  as  a  ehloride — ie., 
in  the  same  form  as  it  does  in  the  "  Dr.  Muspratt  chaly- 
beate, or  chloride  of  iron  spring."  Annexed  is  the 
new  analysis,  collaterally  with  that  of  my  friend  Dr. 
Hofmann : — 


Carbonate  of  iron. 

Carbonate  of  lime. 

Carbonate  of  magnesia..  • 
I  Carbonate  of  manganese.. 
Chloride  of  sodium.?. . . . 
Chloride  of  caldnm. .... 
Chloride  of  magnesium. . 
Chloride  of  potassium.*. 
Chloride  of  barium.  ...*.. 
Chloride  of  strontium.,. 

Chloride  of  lithium 

Silicic  add. 

Ammonia^  Ac 


QnioB  in  the  Imperial  galloK 

zSS^- 

1867. 

Dr.Dc^MUL 

Dr.Miupntk 

2790 

3719 

—— 

21011 

41796 

2-074 

trace 

trace 

656838 

700*500 

159-278 
35-635 
"•383 

6916 

6364 

.... 

traces 

— 

traces 

0-947 

0-438 

traces    . 

traces 

908-667  991*032 

'       Cubic  Inches  of  the  Gases  in  One  OaUon  of  the  Waier, 

Carbonic  add ! 24*17  21-33 

Carbide  of  hydrogen. ........       2*40  2-74 

g?yg«n -51  77 

xTitrogen 6*48  5*92 

33*56  30*76 

The  quantity  of  chlorine  in  the  gallon  was  estimated 
by  my  assistant,  my  brother  Edmund,  five  other  chem- 
istSy  and  myself,  and  the  mean  (by  weight  and  volu- 
metrically^  was  596-472  grains  per  gallon.  The  total 
amount  of  chlorine,  in  June,  1865,  was  510-17  grains 
per  gallon ;  in  Marcn.  of  this  year,  I  found  592*5  grains. 
From  the  recent  analysis,  the  water  is  much  stronger 
in  its  saline  ingpredients ;  besides,  it  has  acquired 
others  (chlorides  of  barium,  &c.}  that  did  not  exist  in 
it  previously.  When  the  late  Mr.  West,  of  Leeds,  ana- 
lysed the  water  from  this  spring  many  years  affo 
(1844?),  he  ^ave  20  grains  of  sulphate  of  soda  in  the 
gallon.  If  this  salt  was  present  then — ^it  could  not 
possibly  be  there  with  chloride  of  barium — it  is  not 
now  found  in  any  of  the  strongly  impregnated  waters 
of  Harrogate,  "  the  queen  of  northern  spas,"  as  justly 
styled  by  Dr.  Q^ranviile.  The  springs  to  which  Harro- 
gate owes  its  celebrity  exceed  m  number  those  of  any 
other  place  in  the  kingdom. 
College  of  Chemistxy,  LiTerpool,  May  i. 


On  the  Direct  Estimation  of  Borade  Add,  hy  Professor 

F.  WOHUBR. 

In  order  to  estimate  directly  the  boracic  acid  contained 
in  datohte,  3(CaO,BO.)+3CaO,3HO,4SiO.,  placi^  the 
mineral  in  a  small  tubulated  retort,  decompose  it  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  and  distU  the  mixture  to  dryness  ; 
pour  on  to  the  residue  the  distillate  (which  ooptains  bo- 
racic acid),  and  allow  it  to  disest  to  separate  the  silica. 
In  th^  liquid  precipitate  the  Ume  by  means  of  oxalate 
of  potash,  taking  care  not  to  add  it  in  too  great  excess. 
Then^  after  filtration  and  concentration,  precipitate  the 


boracic  acid  in  the  form  of  double  fluoride  of  boron  and 
potassium.  For  this  purpose,  add  a  little  potash  to  the 
material  in  a  platinum  capsule,  then  pour  over  the  mix- 
ture a  slight  excess  of  hypronuoric  add,  and  evaporate 
the  solution  to  dryness.  To  remove  the  other  salts  it 
suffices  to  treat  the  mass  with  a  moderately  concentrat- 
ed solution  of  acetate  of  potash ;  then  allow  it  to  digest 
and  throw  on  to  a  filter  the  double  fluoride  of  boron  and 
potassium,  and  wash  it  with  the  same  solution  of  acetate. 
Then  wasn  with  dilute  alcohol  to  remove  the  acetate  of 
potash ;  the  double  fluoride  is  then  dried  at  100?  0,  and 
weighed. 


On  Determining  the  Proportional  Relation  between 
Silver  and  Vhloride  of  Ammoniumf  hy  Professor 
J.  S.  Stas. 

The  method  of  determination  I  used  is  that  described  in 
my  former  article.  To  prevent  the  loss  of  hjrdrochlorio 
acid,  which  would  have  been  set  free  by  mtroducing 
chloride  of  ammonium  into  a  hot  acid  solution  of  nitrate 
of  silver,  I  neutralized  with  pure  ammonia  the  excess  of 
nitric  acid  used  for  dissolving  the  silver.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  manner  in  which  I  proceeded : — 

After  havii^  added  to  the  solution  of  silver  in  nitric 
acid  .100  cubic  cenHme^res  of  water  for  each  grain  of 
metal  dissolved,  I  poured  in,  drop  by  drop,  a  solution  of 
pure  ammonia.  When  the  liquid  was  tJxaline,  I  neu- 
tralised it  by  a  suitable  addition  of  pure  acetic  acid. 

In  order  that  the  double  decomposition  might  take 
place  under  absolutely  identical  concutions,  I  neutralised 
with  ammonia  both  tiie  silver  solution  to  be  precipitated 
while  cold,  and  that  at  looS.  In  order  that  the  solution 
should  be  about  looP  at  the  moment  of  the  double  de- 
composition, I  kept  the  flask  or  globe  in  which  the  assay 
was  made  in  boiluig  water  for  two  hours,  and  without 
removing  it  from  the  bath  I  introduced  the  chloride  of 
ammonium.  As  the  precipitation  took  plaoe  at  a  high 
temperature;  the  liquid  cleared  itself  the  moment  a  com- 
plete mixture  of  the  reagents  had  taken  place. 

I  weighed  in  air*  the  chloride  of  ammonium  and  the 
silver  employed,  assuming,  aooordine  to  Prout*s  hypo- 
thesis, the  weignt  of  the  molecule  of  chloride  of  ammo- 
nium to  be  53*50,  and  that  of  silver  108*00.  The  excess 
of  the  metid  remaining  ^  in  the  liquid  after  the  double 
decomposition  was  determined  without  removing  the 
flask  or  globe  from  the  bath.  For  this  purpose  I  di- 
rected a  pencil  of  yellow  light  to  the  surface  of  the 
liquid  in  which  I  wished  to  measure  the  ^ver.  The 
comparative  assay,  made  at  the  ordinary  temperature, 
was  performed  by  means  of  the  apparatus  for  titration, 
described  on  page  137. 

The  followmg  table  contains  the  results  of  these  three 
sets  of  experimenta  I  have  added  three  determinations 
taken  fi-om  my  former  work;  they  were  made  with 
chloride  of  ammonium  produced  at  the  ordinary  tem- 
perature by  combining  directly  solutions  of  ammonia 
and  hydrodiloric  add : — 


*  To  reduce  to  •  yacanm  tbe  chloride  of  ammoDinin  weighed  in  air, 
I  weighed  in  the  air  and  in  wteuo  a  portloii  of  the  sal  aimnon|ae  that 
I  intended  to  qba.  Theee  aaaajs  oonTineed  me  of  a  fiMt  that  had 
already  been  stated  by  M.  Marlgnao— Yiz.,  that  the  aogmentatioa  of 
weight  obtained  by  weighing  the  pulveralent  chloride  directly  <« 
9aeuo  wat  alwars  lew  tiiaa  woold  have  been  aaloalated  from  tiM 
denalty.  I  foond  that  loo^ooo  parta  of  pnlTemleBt  ohloride  weighed 
in  air  represented  from  100,077  to  100^084  parta  of  the  same  componnd 
weighed  ii»  «a«i«o.  11  Marlgnae  gives  tt>e  figare  100,080  as  the  meaa 
of  tbe  extremes.  These  wetehings  also  showed  me  that  the  density 
of  camnact  sal  ammonlae  differs  appreciably  aoording  as  it  la  tniiep»r- 
ent  and  ritreons,  or  opaque  and  amorphoas. 


lO 


Discovery  of  Svlphaie  of  Strontium  in  Upper  Stleeia. 


{  Obbmioal  Hkwb, 

\    juiy,  iser. 


PROPOBnOKAL  ESLATIOir  BlTWXXir  SlLYIB  AND 

Chloride  or  Akm oimni. 

Weight  of        Cb!orI4e  of 

Nnmb«r    Weight  of  the    Weight  of  the       theexceM        Mnraonimn 

of  the     Ml  ammoBiae  slWer  ofellTerailer        which  is 

expert-      redaoed  far     redooed  for  a      the  doable       eqalvalent  to 

meat        ayacuum.  yacQiuii.  deoompo-       xoo,ooo  parts 

of  sUyer. 


Firti  SwieB.— Chloride  produced  ai  ihe  Ordinary  Tern- 
pertUure  hy  eomhining  Bydrochilorie  Acid  with  Solu- 
tion of  Ammonia,  determined  at  the  Ordinary  Tempera- 
ture. 


IX.* 

X.* 

XL* 


gr. 

ii*oo88 

10*92896 

12-26038 


22*2236 

22*06734 
247499* 


p. 
0^0300 
0*0280 
0*0305 


49*600 
49*599 
49*598 


See(md  Series. — Chloride  svhUmed  at  the  Ordinary  Pres- 
Bure,  Determination  made  at  the  Ordinary  Tempered 
ture. 


I. 

m. 

V. 
VL 


11*79643 
11-80844 
6*25216 
10*71756 


23*^33 
23*8376 
12-621 16 
21-6355 


0*0290 
0*0290 
0-0140 
0-0262 


49*59B 
49-597 
49*593 
49*597 


Third  Series. — Chloride  suhlimed  ai  the  Ordinary  Pres- 
surCj  Determination  made  at  loo*"  CenUgrade. 


IT.  39-^130 

rV.  13-40631 

VII.  7*60107 


79.98313       0-0970         49*5974 
27-06320      0*0355         49*602 
15*3442        0-0187         49*597 


Iburth  Series, — Chloride  stibUmed  in  a  Vacuvm,  Deter- 
minatioii  made  at  the  Ordinary  Temperature, 


YliL      13*5129 
IX  6*2250 


27-2784 
12*5663 


0-0355 
0*0140 


49*598 
49*592 


The  resoltB  ^iven  in  the  preceding  table  prove  that^ 
within  the  Hmit  that  must  be  allowed  inPxnaking  the 
experiments,  temperature  exercises  no  influence  upon  the 
composition  of  chloride  of  ammonium  or  of  chloride  of 
eUver  ;  they  prove  furiketr  that  pressure  is  wUhotU  any 
influence  upon  the  composition  of  chloride  of  ammonium. 
In  &cty  whatever  may  be  the  mode  of  preparation  of 
the  componnd  of  ammomimi,  and  the  temperature  at 
which  the  double  decomposition  takes  place,  its  propor- 
tional relation  to  silver  is  constant 

If  the  admitted  constancy  of  the  stable  chemical 
combinatiops  required  to  be  demonstrated,  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  almost  absolute  identity  of  tke  results  of 
the  four  series  of  determinations  is  sufficient  to  prove  it. 
This  constancy  is  the  more  remarkable,  since  sal  am- 
moniac can,  as  I  have  observed,  condeneto  ammoniacal 
gas  or  hydrochloric  acid,  in  the  same  way  that  a  number 
of  hodiss  condense  gases  and  vapovrs  eompleteHy  foreign 
to  ikem  in  their  constituent  elements. 

Among  the  twelve  determinations  given  in  the  table 
there  is  one.  No.  n.,  which  was  made  upon  a  quantity 
of  material  such  as  was  never  before  employed  in  an 
experiment  of  this  kind.  I  had  a  double  object  in  using 
such  large  proportions.  I  wished  to  render  sensible  the 
influence  of  temperature  upon  the  composition  of 
chloride  of  silver,  if  there  were  any  such  influence;  and 
then,  as  I  was  working  with  omoride  of  anmionium 
that  had  been  sublimed  three  s^arate  times,  twice  in 
▼essels  of  hard  glass,  not  attacked  by  the  vapour  of  chlo- 

*  These  ezperiments  are  taken  trom  ny  fomer  worte ;  the  nnmben  of 
the  experiments  hare  been  retained  in  the  table. 


rine.  it  should  be  of  an  extraordinary  purity,*  and  I 
ought  to  be  able  to  deduce  an  important  consequence 
with  reference  to  the  hypothesis  of  Prout'  Now,  after 
the  double  decomposition  had  taken  place  upon  the 
weights  ^calculated  according  to  ProuVs  hypothesis, 
there  remained  dissolved  in  the  liquid  0*097  gr.  of  silver, 
beinff  a  quantity  one  hundred  Hmes  greater  than  that 
whidi  I  could  have  appreciated  in  the  mass  <^  liquid, 
and  certainly  fifty  times  greater  than  it  is  possible  to 
measure  by  twng  the  trouble. 

I  invite  those  who  think  they  can  attribute  "to  er- 
rors of  observation  *'  or  "  to  the  impurity  of  the  mate- 
rials"* the  differences  observed  between  tiie  experiment 
and  Prout's  hypothesis,  to  take  the  trouble  of  repeating, 
under  the  conditions  necessary  for  exactitude,  the  de- 
termination of  the  proportional  relation  between  chlo- 
ride of  ammonium  and  silver,  and  I  shall  wait  with 
entire  confidence  the  result  ofttheir  investigation. 

In  speaking  thus  I  do  not  pretend  that  the  figures  I 
have  given  are  absolutely  exact — that  is  to  say,  that 
they  may  not  be  affected  Jsy  a  constant  error.  I  am 
even  sure  of  the  contrary,^  and  in  the  conditions  in 
which  I  was  placed  the  cwistant  error  must  have  at- 
tained its  maximum.  In  fact,  the  operation  for  deduc- 
ing the  proportional  relation  between  the  chloride  and 
the  silver  involves  an  uncertainty  to  which  I  have  al- 
ready drawn  the  attention  of  chemists  in  my  ^^Becherches 
sur  les  Rapports  lUciproques  des  Poids  Atomiques." 
This  uncertainty  consists  in  the  fact  that  an  argentifer- 
ous liquid,  from  which  nearly  all  the  metal  has  been 
precipitated  by  a  solution  of  chloride  of  potassium, 
sodium,  or  ammonium,  but  which  still  contains  one  or 
two  miUigrammes  of  silver  per  litre,  precipitates  both 
on  the  addition  of  a  normal  solution  of  silver  and  of  al- 
kaline chloride.  I  find  this  phenomenon  is  the  more 
pronounced  tiie  less  acid  the  hquid  is,  and  the  more  al- 
Kaline  nitrate  it  contaiDS.  Now,  in  the  double  decom- 
positions between  nitrate  of  silver  and  chloride  of  am- 
monium, I  was  obliged,  for  the  reason  given  above,  to 
neutralise  the  excess  of  nitric  acid  by  ammonia,  and,  for 
the  same  reason,  I  oidy  added  a  alight  excess  of  acetic 
add.  The  conditions,  then,  which  are  the  primary  cause 
of  the  uncertainty,  are  bo&  present,  and  they  must,  as 
I  have  said  before,  bring  the  constant  error  to  a  max- 
imum. But  after  fulowing  very  largely  for  this  constant 
error,  there  remains  such  a  considerable  difference  be- 
tween the  calculated  and  observed  results,  that  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  attribute  it  to  any  other  cause  than 
to  the  inexactitude  of  ProuVs  hypothesis. 


technioaij  chemistry. 


On  the  Discovery  of  Sulphate  of  Strontium  in  Upper 
Silesia,  and  its  Application  in  Agricuiture,  by  Gbo. 
LUKGE,  Ph.  2>.t 
Thb  following  fact  may  not  be  quite  uninteresting  to 
such  of  the  readers  of  this  journal  as  work  in  agricul- 
tural chemistry.  In  a  locality  in  Upper  Silesia  there  is 
found  a  stratum  of  an  earthy  mass,  similar  in  colour  to 
chalk,  but  crystalline  under  the  microscope,  which  had 
been  tidcen  by  the  farmers  of  the  neighbourhood  for  a 
kina  of  marl  containing  gypsum.  Many  hundred  tons 
of  it  have  been  used  for  years  as  a  manure,  and  with 
the  best  success.  Quite  lately  Professor  Erocker,  of 
Proskan,  got  a  sam|de  of  this  mass,  and  found  it  to 
contain — 


•  Cbsfioe,  vol  zTit.  p.  653. 

t  Oommanlcated  by  the  author. 


^^SSSft'iST' }     On  the  Waste  of  Materiale  in  the  AlkaU  Manufactwre. . 


II 


Per  Mot 

Sulphuric  Anhydride • .  •  3600 

Strontia •  46*^7 

Lime i'8o 

Kagnesia •      1*60 

Potassa 0*50 

Chloride  of  sodium 0*25 

Oarbonic  anhydride 1*40 

Phosphorio  anhydride. o*  10 

SiUcic  anhydride 2'xo 

Alumina  and  ferrio  oxide. 3*60 

Clay,  Band 4*28 

Moisture  and  organic  substanoes.      x  80 


The  mineraUs,  then,  essentially  sulphate  of  strontia, 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  it  has  proved  of  some  value 
as  a  manure,  notwithstanding  the  very  slight  solu- 
bility of  that  body,  and  although  it  cannot  be  supposed 
that  strontium  can  absolutely  substitute  calcium  m  the 
plants. 


Om  ihe  Waste  of  MaUrials  in  the  Alhdi  Manufactwre^ 
by  James  Harobeavsb.* 

In  the  manufacture  of  carbonate  and  hydrate  of  soda 
from  its  sulphate  there  is  a  very  considerable  loss  of 
material,  which  renders  the  actual  produce  very  consid- 
erably less  than  is  indicated  by  theory.  This  loss  of 
ooorse  varies  in  different  manufactories,  according  as 
care  and  skill  are  exercised  to  reduce  ity  or  the  work  is 
carried  on  carelessly  and  at  haphazard.  The  reduction 
of  this  loss  is  not  only  of  individual,  but  of  national 
importance,  inasmuch  as  the  glass,  soap,  paper,  and 
other  manufactures  having  the  most  immediate  influ- 
ence on  civilization  and  comfort,  depend  for  their  ex- 
istence and  extension  on  a  large  and  cheap  supply  of 
this  alkali.  The  usual  method  of  estimating  the  alki^i 
produced  from  the  crude  sulphate  of  soda  or  ^^  salt 
cake  "  is  to  multiply  the  weight  of  soda  ash  produced 
from  every  100  tons  of  salt  cake  by  the  percentage  of 
alkali  contained  in  it,  and  divide  these  integers  bv 
some  standard  number — say,  48,  50,  or  52,  which 
give»  the  number  of  tons  of  ash  of  the  standard 
strength  from  each  100  tons  of  salt  sake  used.  The- 
oretically, 100  tons  of  salt  cake,  containing  96  per 
cent  of  sulphate  of  soda,  or  42  per  cent,  of  the  base, 
should  produce  84  tons  of  soda  ash  of  50  per  cent. 
The  following  list  of  practical  results  shows  now  dif- 
ferent manufacturers  fall  short  of  the  theoretical  yield : — 

Ash  from  100  parts  Of       Btaodard  per-  Equal  to  alkaH      Total  lo« 

•alt  cake..             oentage  ox  aah.  prodooed  percent,    percent 

'75                   50  37*5  10*72 

70                  52  36'4  1344 

i  70                50  35*0  i6'66 

1 66-66            52  34-67  17*46 

70                48  33*6  2o*oo 

{66-^            50  33-33  20-65 

ri    ^       a     i^7-5  fo  345  17-86 

Canstio  soda  -(55  60  33*0  21*20 

(50  ^  30*0  2857 

The  sources  of  this  loss  are  as  follows : — 

I.  B7  ao^a  wmltm  e«rrled  iiiecl&anle«ll|-  Into  tl&e 
!!««•  and  olftlinnejr, — ^I  am  not  aware  that  any  at- 
tempts have  ever  been  made  to  ascertain  the  quantity 
thus  carried  away,  but  it  must  be  very  considerable, 
more  than  is  generally  suspected.    Where  salting  pans 


Soda  ash 


•  Comnantoatod  by  the  anther. 


are  used,  and  the  hot  gases  from  the  black-ash  Aimace 
are  passed  over  the  orude  soda  solution  to  partially  car- 
bonate and  dry  it  to  "  salts^"  this  salt  and  the  *'  red 
liquor "  drawn  alone  with  it  generally  contain  from 
0*25  to  I  part  of  sulphate  of  soda  to  ever^  100  parts  of 
aviulabie  alkali,  more  than  is  contained  m  the  crude 
soda  liquor  when  run  into  the  pan;  the  proportion 
varying  with  the  elevation  of  the  fiimaoe  bed,  the  inten- 
sity of  the  drauffht,  and  the  mechanical  division  of  the 
sulphate.  But  ^is  does  not  represent  the  whole  of  the 
sulphate  thus  carried  away  unutilised,  the  finer  particles 
being  carried  bevond  the  pan  into  the  flues  and  chim- 
ney. In  the  "  finishing  turaace,"  where  the  "  black- 
ash  salt "  is  heated  to  duU  redness,  to  expel  water^  bum 
out  oarbonaoeous  matters,  and  oxidise  the  sulphide  of 
sodium  present,  converting  it  into  sulphate  of  soda; 
there  is  also  a  onall  quantity  carried  away  in  this  man- 
n^j  as  is  shown  hj  tiie  glaang  of  the  bricks  and  de- 
posit of  alkaline  dust  in  the  flues. 

2.  JBjr  TolmtlUaatlon  of  ■o#laiii  aalta. —  A  more 
considerable  loss  of  material  is  sustained  by  the  vola- 
tilisation of  sodium,  principally  as  sulphide  and  car- 
bonate. The  woricman  generaUy  prefers  to  work  with 
his  fiimace  very  hot,  so  as  to  g^t  out  his  complement 
of  "  balls  "  as  soon  and  vnth  as  little  labour  as  possible.  « 
The  temperature  of  the  ftimace  is  generally  below  the 
boiling  point  of  any  of  the  sodium  salts  present^  but 
when  a  rapid  current  of  hot  eas  is  passing  over  and 
given  off  from  the  materials,  uiese  salts  are  absorbed 
and  carried  off  as  vapour,  iM  action  of  the  hot  gas  in 
this  case  being  analogous  to  that  of  a  current  of  air  in 
drying  up  water  or  other  volatile  fluids  when  far  be- 
low their  boiling  points.  When  the  door  of  the  lower 
bed  of  the  furnace  is  opened  while  the  temperature  is 
high,  a  white  doud,  containing  sulphate  and  carbonate 
of  Boda  may  be  seen  rising  from  the  bed.  The  sulphate 
is  produced  by  the  oxidation  of  volatilised  sulphide,  in 
consequence  of  the  in-rush  of  cold  air  through  the 
door,  which  at  once  oxidises  the  sulphide  and  condenses 
tiie  alkaline  vapours  by  reduction  of  temperature.  The 
practical  difficulties  of  the  work  have  so  far  prevented 
the  estimation  of  this  and  the  former  sources  of  loss, 
but  comparison  of  the  materials  put  into  and  drawn 
from  the  frimace  leave  no  doubt  that  it  is  very  consid- 
erable, and  varying  with  the  temperature  at  which  the 
ftimace  is  worked.  There  is  no  advantage  except  that 
of  saving  labour  and  time  to  the  workman  in  having 
the  temperature  higher  than  is  necessary  to  reduce  the 
sulphate  of  soda,  and  cause  the  sulphide  of  sodium  and 
carbonate  of  lime  to  f  eact  on  each  other.  When  the 
temperature  is  maintained  too  high,  there  is  not  onl^  a 
great  loss  by  volatilisation,  but  the  increased  quantity 
of  ftiel  used  for  the  purpose  is  thrown  away,  &e  fur- 
nace is  prematurely  worn  out,  and  there  is  formed  at 
very  high  temperatures  an  aUotropic  sulphide  of  sodium, 
which  does  not  react  on  the  lime  present  in  the  charge. 

5.  Bjr  eomblnatton  eraodawUkllieittateriala  of 
tMe  ftirnftee. — This  is  another,  but  comparatively 
small,  source  of  loss.  The  bricks,  &o.,  taken  firom  the 
furnace  while  undergoing  repair  hold  in  combination  a 
considerable  amount  of  soda,  being  in  some  pieces 
6  per  cent,  and  upwards,  but  in  an  insoluble  condition, 
and  therefore  unavailable.  The  ftised  sodium  salts 
which  have  filtered  into  the  interstioes  of  the  furnace 
are  also  of  no  practical  utility. 

4.  Bj  tbe  tt^rmmUom  of  inaolnble  eompovnda  of 
■«Mla,  which,  bv  rendering  impossible  the  extraction  of 
the  alkali  by  lixiviation.  still  further  diminishes  the 
yield.  The  small  coal,  which  is  used  as  a  reducing  agent. 


12 


On  the  Waste  of  Materials  in  the  AlkaU  Manufacture.    {^'^^^ST^ 


invariably  contains  more  or  less  ash,  varying  from  i  *5  to 
8  per  cent.     Of  this  aah  siliea  and  alumina  form  aliu'ge 

Sroportion,  seldom  less  than  80  per  cent  of  the  whole, 
'he  salt  cake  contains  from  o'i2  to  0*5  per  cent,  of 
silica  and  alumina,  and  the  limestone  from  0*2  to  3  per 
cent.  These  f)9rm  with  soda  a  compound  silicate,  wmch 
is  sparingly  soluble  in  a  solution  of  caustic  soda  and 
sulphide  of  sodium.  When  the  crude  soda  solution  is 
oxidised,  and  the  sulphide  converted  into  hyposul- 
phite, sulphite,  or  sulphate  of  soda,  or  when  it  is  ex- 
posea  to  a  temperature  of  212^  F.,  the  alumino-silicate 
IS  precipitated.  In  the  oxidising  i^paratus  described 
in  the  Chbmioal  News,  No.  340,  the  precipitate  is  in 
the  form  of  a  white  powder ;  and  in  oxidising  towers, 
where  the  solution  is  oxidised  by  running  it  over  pieces 
of  coke,  to  expose  a  large  surface  of  the  fluid  to  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere,  the  alumino-silicate  is  de- 
posited on  the  coke,  fiUing  up  its  interstices,  and  if  not 
frequently  disturbed  by  taking  the  coke  out  at  the 
bottom  of  the  tower,  washing  and  returning  it  to  the 
top,  the  whole  is  in  time  converted  into  a  firm  cohesive 
mass.  Another  compound  silicate  of  soda  and  lime  is 
formed  when  the  silica  is  in  excess  of  what  is  required 
to  form  the  alumino-siUcate,  and  is  quite  insoluble. 
*  The  loss  from  this  cause  is  variable  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  alumina  and  silica  introduced  along  with 
the  materials  used  and  the  quantity  of  these  substances 
taken  from  the  bricks  of  the  fumaca 

5  .By  non-^Leeomposltton  or  Imperfoet  deeom- 
poaltlon  or  aulpkate  of  soda* — The  loss  from  this 
cause  varies  considerably  in  different  manufactories. 
In  some  the  average  quantity  .of  sulphate,  or  its  equi- 
valent in  sulphate  with  sulphide,  &c.,  is  as  5  of  sulphate 
to  every  100  parts  of  available  aJkali,  which  is  equal  to 
a  loss  of  2' 19  parts  for  every  100  parts  of  sulphate  made 
available.  In  others  (where  the  works  are  too  small  to 
afford,  or  the  managers  are  too  ^'  economical "  to  em- 
ploy, scientific  supervision)  the  loss  not  unfrequently 
averages  24  parts  of  sulphate  to  every  100  parts  of 
available  alkeJi.  by  which  9*22  parts  of  the  sulphate 
remain  unavailable  for  conversion  into  carbonate  for 
every  100  utilised.  The  loss  from  this  cause  generally 
varies  between  these  proportions,  more  frequently  ex- 
ceeding the  latter  than  going  below  the  former. 

The  sulphate  may  remain  unaltered  in  consequence 
of  deficiency  of  carbonaceous  matter,  too  low  temper- 
ature of  theiiimaoe,  or  insufficient  or  unskilful  work- 
ing; or  the  decomposition  may  have  only  proceeded  so 
far  as  to  produce  sulphide  of  sodium,  without  reacting 
on  the  carbonate  of  lime  used  ip  mixing  the  charge. 
This  is  the  result  of  either  a  deficient  quantity  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  or  bad  working  in  the  furnace. 

When  the  crude  soda  or  "Mack  ash"  is  exposed  to 
too  high  a  temperature,  an  aUotropic  modification  of 
sulphide  .of  sodium  is  formed.  This  modified  sulphide 
does  not  react  on  the  lime  present  in  the  charge,  but 
remains  unchanged,  and  the  olack  ash,  instead  of  a  grey, 
is  of  a  dull  brick-red  colour,  and  forms  a  blue  solution 
with  water.  When  chlorine  is  passed  through  a  solu- 
tion from  this  red  ash  to  convert  the  sulphide  into  sul- 
phate, there  is  only  a  small  portion  so  converted ;  the 
rest  of  the  sulphur  from  the  sulphide  is  precipitated — 
not  being  soluble  in  the  alkaline  solution — and  may  be 
separated  by  filtration.  By  this  it  is  obvious  that  there 
is  no  dependence  to  be  placed  on  the  use  of  chlorine 
to  convert  the  whole  of  the  sulphide  into  sulphate, 
when  the  black  ash  is  "  burnt,"  and  the  loss  shown  by 
analysis  is  less  than  the  real  loss. 

6.  By  oxtoatf  on  of  crude  aod^t — There  are  soma 


manufacturers  who  think  nothing  of  allowing  the  black 
ash  to  be  exposed  for  several  davs  to  the  weather  be- 
fore being  lixiviated.  When  the  weather  is  dry  no 
ha|p  is  done,  but  in  wet  weather  the  balls  are  moist- 
ened, and  the  sulphide  of  calcium  is  rapidly  converted 
into  sulphite,  hyposulphite,  and  sulphate  of  lime,  which, 
reacting  on  the  carbonate  of  .soda,  forms  the  corre- 
sponding soda  salts,  while  the  lime  is  converted  into 
carbonate.  To  avoid  this  the  black  ash  must  be  kept 
quite  dry,  and  not  kept  too  long  a  time,  but  it  should 
have  sufficient  time  to  become  quite  cold. 

This  action  is  also  frequently  continued  in  the  vats, 
which  being  filled  too  fuU  with  black  aah,  a  ^at  quan- 
tity is  exposed  to  the  air  in  a  wet  condition.  £)ach 
vat  should  not  be  filled  so  full  but  that  the  whole  of 
the  black  ash  can  be  covered  with  water  at  once,  and 
never  allowed  to  be  uncovered  until  the  vat  is  spent 
and  run  off.  The  vat  liquor  contains  more  sulphate  in 
proportion  to  the  available  alkali  than  is  contained  in 
the  black  ash  as  drawn  from  the  furnace,  in  conse- 
quence of  atiSA  oxidising  action  of  the  atmosphere. 
The  loss  of  alkali  from  this  cause  is  seldom  less  than 
0*2  per  cent,  of  the  whole ;  but  I  have  frequently  seen 
black  ash  in  which  the  parts  most  exposed  to  the 
weather  have  had  more  than  one-third  of  the  alkali 
reconverted  into  sulphate  of  soda. 

7.  By  Inveraioii  of  the  fiintace  reaction* — 
When  the  water  used  in  lixiviating  the  black  ash  is  too 
hot.  the  furnace  reaction  is  inverted,  the  sulphur  com- 
binmg  with  the  sodium,  and  the  oxygen  and  carbonic 
add  with  the  calcium — 

NaOCOa  +  CaS—NaS  +  CaOCO,. 
This  reaction  takes  place  more  rapidly  in  weak  than  in 
strong  solutions,  and  is  therefore  more  apt  to  occur 
where  the  water  is  run  on  the  weak  vat  warm,  than 
when  it  is  warmed  by  steam  in  each  vat  separately, 
raising  the  temperature  a  little  in  each  successive  vat 
till  it  reaches  the  strongest  one. 

If  the  vats  are  not  perfectly  cleaned  from  the  waste 
from  former  charges  ever)^  time  they  are  discharged 
and  filled,  the  waste  remaining,  and  which  has  been 
exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  becomes  partially  oxidised, 
reacts  on  the  soda  solution,  and  forms  soda  salts  of  the 
sulphur  acids,  and  the  whole  of  the  soda  thus  conibined 
is  for  all  practical  purposes  lost. 

8.  By  Imperfect  lIziTlatlon. —  If  an  insufficient 
quantity  of  water  is  run  through  the  vats,  or  the  water 
is  too  cold,  or  the  vats  are  worked  too  rapidly,  or  the 
black  ash  is  thrown  into  the  vats  in  too  large  lumps,  or 
is  deficient  in  porosity,  a  considerable  quantity  of  alkali 
is  left  in  the  waste,  and  thrown  away  with  it. 

This  loss  is  greatly  increased  by  having  too  small  a 
space  for  Uxiviating  the  black  ash,  which  allows  too 
short  a  time  for  extracting  its  soluble  constituents,  and 
necessitates  the  use  of  hot  water,  thereby  offering  the 
alternatives  of  sustaining  loss  by  decomposition  of  car- 
bonate of  soda,  or  by  leaving  soda  in  the  waste,  or 
needing  a  great  expense  to  concentrate  the  liquor ;  for 
]£  hot  water  is  not  used  a  much  larger  quantity  of  water 
is  required  to  extract  the  alkaU,  and  as  the  solution 
contains  a  smaller  proportion  of  alkali,  the  use  of  a 
larger  quantity  of  fuel  is  required  to  concentrate  it. 
These  evils  are  best  overcome  by  having  ample  vat  space. 

The  waste  should  not  contain  more  than  o*i  per  cent, 
of  alkali,  which  is  equal  to  about  0*45  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  alkali  originally  present  in  the  black  ash.  But  it 
not  unfy*equently  amounts  to  ten  or  even  fifteen  times 
this  amount  where  there  is  no  proper  supervision  of  the 
vats  and  analysis  of  the  waste. 


Ghbmical  Nkws,  ) 
July,  18«7.     f 


On  a  New  Micro-spectroscope^  <&c. 


13 


9.  Bjr  0ptlllii8:9  leakaffe,  4ce.,  in  moving  material 
from  place  to  place.  This  is  a  mechanicid  rawer  tlian  a 
chemical  question,  and  how  to  prevent  it  is  too  obvious 
to  require  comment. 

The  foregoing  shox^s  that^  without  any  alterations  in 
the  principle  of  Le  Blanc's  process,  there  is  still  a  large 
margin  for  improvement  in  the  details  of  the  soda  manu- 
facture. 
▲ppIeton-ln-WidDOt. 


Notes  on  ThaUium  and  MagneHum  AUoys,  by  S.  Mel- 
LOR,  Egq,^  Manager  of  the  Magnesium  Metal  Com- 
pany* 

It  having  been  suggested  that  if  an  alloy  of  thallium 
and  magnesium  could  be  easily  made  into  wire  it 
might  be  found  to  bum  readily  and  to  produce  an  in- 
tense bright  green  flame,  which,  from  its  portability, 
would  be  well  adapted  to  some  of  the  purposes  for 
which  a  green  flame  is  required,  some  experiments  have 
been  made  with  this  end  in  view. 

It  was  found  that  thallium  alloys  most  readily  with 
magnesium,  and  in  any  proportions.  The  alloys  are 
very  stable,  and  are  easily  worked  up  into  wire  and 
ribbon.  AJlovs  containing  5,  10,  15,  20,  25,  and  50 
per  cent,  of  thallium  were  prepared.  These  all  buwi 
brigbUy  and  steadily,  but  the  flame  is  smaller  and  the 
combustion  slower  than  that  of  pure  magnesium.  The 
flame  is  cold,  and  the  heat-conducting  property  of  the 
alloy,  compared  with  magnesium,  is  sensibly  diminish- 
ed, showing  the  change  in  the  molecular  construction 
of  the  met^  The  smoke  produced  in  the  combustion 
of  these  alloys  is  more  dense,  and  as  it  curls  gracefullv 
away  it  is  seen  to  be  fringed  with  a  rather  pretty  dark 
purple  tint ;  but  the  magnesium  light  is  so  very  intense 
that  it  almost  completely  masks  the  thallium  flame,  so 
that  it  is  not  observable  in  some  of  the  dloys — indeed, 
the  green  light  is  scarcely  recognisable  even  in  an  alloy 
containing  50  per  cent,  of  thallium. 

An  alloy  of  5  per  cent,  of  thallium  appears  to  render 
magnesium  less  brittle  and  more  ductile  than  pure 
magnesium  is  usually  produced j  but  the  higher  aUoys 
of  thallium,  say  those  containmg  25  and  50  per  cent 
of  thallium,  are  more  oxidisable  than  pure  magnesium. 

The  metals  were  put  together  cold  in  a  clewed  iron 
crucible;  only  a  slow  heat  was  required  to  melt  them. 


PHYSICAIi  SCIENCE. 


On  a  New  Mtcro-speeiroscope,  and  on  a  New  Method  of 
Printing  a  Description  of  the  Spectra  seen  with  the 
Spectrum  Microscope, 
In  the  Chemical  News  for  April  and  May,  1865,!  Mr. 
Sorby,  F.R.S.,  described  his  application  of  spectrum 
analysis  to  microscopical  investigationsy  and  especially 
to  the  detection  of  blood  stains.  For  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  intended,  this  arrangement  was  excellent, 
but  in  general  practice  it  was  in  some  respects  incon- 
venient Mr.  Browning  has  recently  made  for  Mr. 
Sorby  a  modification  of  the  spectroscope,  which  is  in- 
tended to  slip  into  the  eye  end  of  a  microscope  instead 
of  ih^  eyepiece.  The  instrument  is  shown  in  the  ac- 
companying figure.  It  contains  a  series  of  prisms 
arranged  for  viewing  the  spectrum  by   direct  vision. 


•  Gommanlested  by  the  author. 

t  CuxMiOAL  NKW8,  voL  xL  pp.  x86, 194, 33a,  and  356^ 


The  arrangement  at  the  upper  part  on  the  right  side  is 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  supplementary,  spectrum 
firom  any  object  whose  spectrum  it  is  desired  to  com- 


pare with  that  of  the  object  placed  on  the  sta^  of  the 
microscope.  This  object  may  be  either  a  solution  of 
permanganate  of  potash  in  a  small  sealed  tube,  a  cobidt 
blue  glass,  or  anything  else  which  will  fiimish  a  stand- 
ard spectrum  for  comparison.  There  are  milled  heads 
with  screw  motions  to  adjust  the  focus  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  spectrum,  and  to  open  and  shut  the  slit 
vertically  and  horizontally.  Powers  of  from  half  an 
inch  to  /bth  mav  be  employed,  and  by  using  a  binocu- 
lar microscope  the  object  may  be  brought  into  the  field, 
and  examined  in  the  ordinary  way  through  one  tube, 
whilst  its  spectrum  may  be  observed  and  compared 
with  that  of  a  standard  li^ht  by  means  of  liie  other 
tube.  The  object  mav  b6  illuminated  either  by  trans- 
mitted or  reflected  light,  and  any  of  the  ordinary  acces- 
sories may  be  used  for  mis  purpose,  such  as  a  chromatic 
condenser,  side  reflector,  Lieberkuhn,  &c. 

Mr.  Sorby  has  also  introduced  a  standard  ^)ectrum, 
which  he  proposes  should  be  used  as  a  scale  in  all  de- 
scriptions of  spectra,  as  seen  by  the  spectrum  micro- 
scope. Mr.  Sorby  has  been  goda  enough  to  communi- 
cate to  us  the  following  description  of  this  valuable 
method : — 

The  scale  adopted  is  an  interference  spectrum,  pro- 
duced by  a  plate  of  quartz  "043  inch  thick,  cut  parallel 
to  the  principal  axis  of  the  crvstal,  and  placed  between 
two  NicoFs  prisms.  In  this  the  whole  visible  space  is 
divided  by  dark  bauds  into  twelve  regular  divisions, 
having  in  aU  parts  the  same  relation  to  the  physical 
properties  of  tiie  light.  These  are  counted  from  the 
red  end  towards  the  blue^  their  centres  being  reckoned 
as  I,  2,  3,  &c.,  and  the  thickness  of  the  plate  is  so  ad- 
justed that  the  sodium  line  exactly  corresponds  to  3K 
The  intensity  of  the  absorption  is  expressed  by  the 
following  types :— 


H 


On  Chlchicia. 


j  Chextcai  Vww^ 
\      Jui^,  186T. 


Not  at  all  shaded 

Terr  slightly  shaded 

Decidedlj  shaded 

More  shaded 

Strongly  shaded,  hut  so  1 
that  a  trace  of  oolour  > 
is  still  seen  ) 

Still  darker 

Nearly  hlack 


Blank  space 
.  .  I>ot8  with  wide  spaoee 
. . .    Dots  doBcr  together 
^     Very  dose  dots 

—  Three  hyphens  dose 

—  Single  dash 
Double  dash 


Except  when  specially  requisite,  only  the  symbols 
...  —  — i  are  emoloyed  for  the  sake  of  simplicity, 
and  then  as  signs  of  Uie  relative  rather  than  of  the  ab- 
solute amount  of  absorption,  and  it  is  assumed  that 
there  is  a  gradual  shading  off  from  one  tint  to  the  oth- 
er, unless  the  contrary  is  expressed.  This  is  done  by 
means  of  a  smaQ  vertical  line  over  the  figure  (see  No.  1 1), 
which  shows  that  there  is  a  well-marked  division  be- 
tween them.  Definite  narrow  absorption  bands  are 
indicated  by  ♦  printed  over  their  centre.  This  will  be 
better  understood  by  a  description  of  the  spectrum  of 
deoxidised  h»matin. 


1 

€ 


r   I- 
I 


I 


J 

I 


m 

1^^ 


4i— 5 


5i*^ 


The  following  examples  will  show  how  simple  or 
more  complicated  spectra  may  thus  readily  be  printed 
and  compared.  I  have  chosen  solutions  of  similar  tint,' 
in  order  to  shaw  that  the  spectra  of  those  of  nearly  the 
same  colour  may  be  very  different,  or,  if  analogous, 
may  differ  in  detul^  easily  expressed  by  the  symbola 
Th«  colour  of  each  is  given  after  the  name.  Nos.  i, 
8,  9,  10,  II,  12,  and  13  can.be  kept  for  a  long  time, 
seeded  up  in  tubes,  and  the  rest  are  easily  prepared. 

1.  Cudbear  in  alum  (pink):  ;j 8    11  .  — 

2.  Oolour  of  elder  beiries  with  dtric  add  (red  pink)  :— 

4. -si— 8-9...  II. 

3.  Brazil  wood  with  bicarbonate  6t  ammonia  (pink) :— 

4i-5} 8 

4.  Logwood  with  bicarbonate  of  ammonia  (pink):— 

3t-Si 7 

The  next  four  are  spectra  of  blood,  produced  by  the 
successive  addition  of  the  various  rea^nts,  as  in  detect- 
ing fresh  stains. 

5.  Freah  blood  (pale  scarlet)  :— 

at— 4l   4} -Si    7-.8-9— 

6.  Citrio  acid  then  added  (pale  brown): — 

if  . . .  2i    4 ...  8  ...  9  —  lO— 

7.  Ammonia  then  added  (pals  brown): — 

3|...4i    4I...5*    7.. 8-10— 

8.  Deoxidised  hsraaatin,  from  blood    stain  two  years  old 
(pink):-     ,  ^ 

4i  — 5    5i---6l    9.. 10— II— . 

With  these  may  be  compared  the  two  spectra  which 


more  nearly  resemble  those  produced  by  blood  than  any 

I  have  yet  seen. 

9.  Ckxihineal  in  alum  (pink) : — 

3l-4i.-St-<H-...7* 
la  Alkanet  root  in  alum  (pink):— 

3i-4»    Si* -Si 
The  following  spectra  of  compounds  derived  fix)m 
chlorophyll  are  as  complicated  as  any  I  have  met  with. 

11.  Normal  chlorophyll  in*alcohol  (deep  green): — 

i-2l-3i...4i    6}.-7i- 

12.  Ditto,  as  decomposed  by  acids,  or  as  found  in  some  leayes 
(olive  green) : — 

i-2t   2JI3I    4*...Si-5f-<ii-7f   H-9i- 

13.  Ditto,  as  decomposed  by  caustic  potash,  and  then  by  hy- 
drochloric add  (red-^p-een,  neutral  tint) : — 

}— f    li  — If    ij  — H    4^15^. .. 9^  10— 
These  instruments  and  methods  were  exhibited  and 
explained  by  Mr.  Sorby  and  Mr.  Browning  at  the  last 
soirie  of  the  Royal  Society,  where  they  excited  the 
greatest  interest. 


PHARMACY,  TOXICX)LOaY,  &o. 

On  Cotehida,  hy  John  M.  Maisch.* 

The  collection  of  chemicals  in  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy  contains  a  specimen  of  oolchicia  prepared 
by  Mr.  Carter  in  L857 ;  a  portion  of  this  was  used  for 
the  purpose  of  dearing  up  the  contradictions  in  the 
statements  of  different  authors.  The  substance  is  a 
liffht  yellow  amorphous  powder,  possessing  a  very  £uiit 
odour  and  intensely  bitter  taste,  sparing^  soluble  in 
ether,  but  easily  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  the 
aqueous  solution  being  slightly  turbid,  most  likely  in 
consequence  of  the  decomposition  of  a  small  portion 
into  resin  and  colchicein.  Heated  upon  pUtmum  foil, 
it  fuses ;  at  a  higher  heat^  it  takes  fire  and  bums  with- 
out leaving  any  residue.  Placed  upon  moistened  red 
litmus  paper,  the  blue  colour  is  restored ;  very  faintly 
reddened  litmus  becomes  blue  also  by  a  concentrated 
aqueous  solution.  One  drop  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid 
dropped  from  a  bottle  giving  fifty-two  drops  to  the 
fluid  drachm,  consequently  a)x>ut  one-eighth  of  a  grain 
HO,SO»,  when  mixed  with  one  min  of  colchicia,  re- 
tained its  acid  reaction.  One  drop  of  the  add  was 
mixed  with  one  fluid  ounce  of  distilled  water ;  in  five 
minims  of  this  mixture,  equal  to  about  one-seven  hun- 
dred and  seventieth  grain  HO,SOs,  one-sixteenth  grain 
colchida  was  dissolved,  and  the  solution  now  had  a 
distinct  alkaline  reaction  on  slightly  reddened  litmns 
pi^r;  but  on  heating  this  solution  to  the  boiling 
pointy  it  had  acquired  an  add  reaction. 

The  most  important  tests  for  recognising  the  pre- 
sence of  oolchida  are  its  behaviour  to  dilute  acids  and 
also  alkalies,  by  which  its  solution  acquires  a  yellow 
colour^  and  the  violet  aiid  blue  colour  which  is  produced 
by  oxidising  agents  with  dry  colchida.  This  latter 
coloration,  which  changes  through  various  jAiMdes 
finally  into  yellow,  is  strikingly  beautifiil  when  con- 
centrated aulpburic  add  is  used,  and  immediately  aoxne 


*  Abstract  of  •  paper  in  the  American  Journal  9f  Pkarmacg^ 
xzxlz.  97. 


CntMicAi.  Ksira, ) 
July,  1867.      r 


On  Colchicia — Foreign,  Science. 


15 


nitric  acid  or  a  fragment  of  a  nitrate  is  added ;  strong 
nitric  acid  produces  it  likewise,  but  it  changes  more 
rapidlj  to  yellow.  Sulphuric  acid,  with  a  trace  of 
cm-omate  or  bichromate  of  potassa,  or  of  sesquichloride 
of  iron,  or  of  binoxide  of  lead^  shows  the  same  reac- 
tion at^  the  point  of  contact  with  colchicia;  the  liquid 
itself  has  a  green  colour  with  the  first  two  reagents, 
owing  to  their  intense  yellow  colour. 

One  grain  of  colchicia  was  dissolved  in  one  fluid 
ounce  of  distilled  water,  slightly  acidulated  with  muri- 
atic acid :  by  repeated  trials  it  required  1 14  drops  from 
this  phial  to  make  one  fluid  drachm;  this  measure  had 
been  carefully  gauged  with  a  pipette  graduated  into 
•Hm  o*G-  Iq  making  the  following  experiments,  a  suf- 
ficient amount  of  the  reagent  was  added  to  enough 
distilled  water  to  make  one  fluid  ounce,  and  the  solu- 
tion of  colchicia  was  carefully  droppea  in  until,  after 
stirring,  a  permanent  turbidity  was  obsenrable.  Under 
these  circumstances,  it  was  required  of 

Mayer^s  iodohjdrargyrate  of  potassium,  15  drops;  turbidity 

quite  distiDCt. 
SoQueQacheiu's  phosphomolybdic  acid,  20  drops ;   turbidity 

distinct 
Tannic  acid,*  100  drops:  turbidity  scarcely  observable. 

It  follows  from  this  that  the  following  amounts  of 
colchicia  may  be  detected  by 

Mayer^s  teal '01645  g™iM>  or  x  part  in  27700  water.* 

Sonaenschein's  test  '02193      "  **  20778    |/* 

Tannic  acid. .....  .'10965      *'  "  4156      " 

Solutions  of  colchicia  in  water  acidulated  with  sul- 
phuric and  with  muriatic  acid  were  evaporated  and 
three  times  taken  up  by  water  and  again  evaporated ; 
the  aqueous  solutions  were  finally  Altered  m>m  the 
separated  resin,  and  the  filtrate  slowly  evaporated  with 
an  excess  of  carbonate  of  lead,  the  residue  th^  treated 
with  strong  alcohol  and  slowly  evaporated.  Colchicein 
was  obtained  in  yellowish  crystals,  which  were  free 
from  acid  and  lead.  Dissolved  in  water  it  still  yields 
precipitates  with  tannin,  phosphomolybdic  acid,  and 
lodohydrargyrate  of  potassium ;  but  neither  in  solu- 
tion nor  in  substance  does  it  produce  an^  reaction  on 
red  or  blue  litmus  paper.  Rendered  faintly  alkaline 
by  ammonia,  the  solution  occasions  precipitates  with 
the  soluble  salts  of  barium,  calcium,  and  lead,  which 
are  soluble  in  diidte  nitric  acid  Towards  acids  it 
braves  similarly  to  colchicia. 

The  resinous  matter  remaining  on  the  filter  when 
colchicein  is  filtered  off  was  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and 
the  solution  evaporated  j  an  amorphous  brown-green- 
ish mass  was  left,  in  which  alcoholic  solution  has  a  de- 
cided acid  reaction.  Concentrated  nitric  acid  dissolves 
it  with  an  evanescent  yellow  colour ;  on  the  addition 
of  sulphuric  acid  the  solution  takes  place  with  a  pur- 
plish brown,  rapidly  disappearing ;  pure  sulphuric  acid 
dissolves  it  with  a  brown  colour. 

Having  looked  in  vain  in  every  portion  of  the  decom- 
posed colchicia  for  glucose,  or  a  compound  which 
wonM  reduce  an  albUine  solution  of  copper,  the  ob- 
servations of  Obertin,  Ludwig,  and  Htibler  are  con- 
firmed. 

Takine  all  these  results  together,  no  doubt  colchida 
must  be  looked  upon  as  an  alkaloid,  the  salts  of  which 
are  soluble  in  water,  but  decomposed,  with  the  forma- 
tion of  colchicein,  on  keepmg  them  in  solution  as  well 
as  on  evaporating  them.    The  crystalline  mass,  obtain- 

*  One  flold-ooaoe  water  -•455'669  gnlai. 


ed  by  Mr.  Carter  on  evaporating  sulphate  of  colchicia, 
was  undoubtedly  colchicein. 

Aschoff  and  Bley  observed  already  that  colchicia 
combines  with  bases,  and  that  when  it  is  evaporated 
with  a  solution  of  the  carbonate  of  an  alkali,  the  residue 
contains  no  carbonic  acid.  Hubler  makes  it  probable 
that  colchicein  is  formed  under  these  circumstances. 
Colchicia  is  a  very  weak  base,  and  colchicein,  i£  it  can 
be  regarded  as  an  acid,  is  certainly  a  weak  one,  and 
resembles  the  alkaloids  in  its  behaviour  to  some. re- 
agents. If  colchicia  and  colchicein  have  the  same 
composition,  the  acid  resin  formed  together  with  the 
latter  can  scarcely  be  different 

In  preparing  colchicia  the  action  of  alkalies  and 
acidsL  narticcdariy  when  heat  is  applied,  must  be 
avoiaeo. 


FOKESIGN  SCIENCE. 

(FbOM  0X7R  OWH  COBRESPONDSNT.) 

Pabis,  May  i,  1^7. 
I AK  now  enabled  tO'send  you  a  list  of  prizes  to  be  awarded 
by  the  Society  of  Encouragement,  Paris,  and  their  dates. 
The  aim  of  the  Society  is  the  close  alliance  between  practice 
and  theory.  It  represents  invention,  improvement,  and  appli> 
cation.  Every  new  discovery  or  invention  to  ameliorate  the 
state  of  our  national  industry  emanates  from  this  Society.  It 
makes  no  distinction  between  the  high-placed  theorist  and 
the  practical  man  f  those  who  work  in  a  laboratory,  in  the 
study  of  a  msvanif  in  a  workshop,  or  as  labourers,  all  are 
equally  welcome  and  of  the  same  grade.  The  value  of  the 
prizes  exceeds  6000^  The  Society  does  not  confine  itself,  in 
their  distribution,  to  industrial  matters ;  it  extends  its  recom- 
penses to  individuals.  Foremen,  workmen  in  manufacture 
and  agriculture,  inventors,  pupils  of  industrial  schools,  persons 
invalided  by  work  of  hand  or  brain,  receive  encouragement, 
recompenses,  and  suhriofiUial  aid. 

Grand  Medals, — Gold  medals  of  40!.  to  French  or  foreign 
inventors  who  have  made  the  most  important  discoveries  ap- 
plicable to  French  industry,  to  be  distributed  annually  in  the 
following  order: — 1867,  Commerce,  bearing  the  profile  of 
Chaptal;  1868,  Fine  Arts,  that  of  Jean  Gougon;  1869,  ^^ 
chanical  Arts,  Prony ;  1870,  Chemical  Arts,  Lavoisier;  1871, 
Agrrculture,  Th^nard;  Economical  and  Physical  Arts, 
Ampdre. 

Gromd  Prbx  of  480?.— This  is  given  by  the  Society  to  the 
author  of  a  discovery  deemed  to  be  the  most  useful  to  French 
industry. 

FtizA  given  5v  tAe  JVorgmf  Ar^enffutZ— The  same  amount 
as  the  last,  awarded  to  tlie  discoverer  of  a  special  invention 
or  improvement,  principally  with  regard  to  objects  in  France 
which  have  not  been  vet  able  to  compete  with  foreign  mar- 
kets, either  as  to  quality  or  cheapness. 
Friaea  far  i868>  1869,  1870,  1871,  1872,  iSy^' and  1874. 

Mechanicai  Atif.— Prize  of  120L  for  the  best  machines  for 
steam  navigation,  wfaiob,  with  slight  draught  of  water,  can 
enable  the  machineiy  and  coaling  room  to  be  diminished,  and 
th«s  inoieasa  the  livailable  space  *,  1869. 

Prize  of  i2o2.  for  a  locomotive  able  to  take  a  goods-train  at 
the  rate  of  thirteen  to  eighteen  miles  a^  hour,  with  h  minimum 
of  expense  of  prime  cost  and  combustion  of  fuel;  1870. 

Prize  of  240f^  for  a  motor  engine,  from  25  to  loo-horse 
power,  burning  at  the  most  1^  lbs.  of  coal  of  best  quality  per 
indicated  horse-power,  weighing  less  than  661  lbs.,  and  oost- 
ing  from  12L  to  i6l  per  horse-power;  187 1. 

Prize  of  40I,  founded  by  the  Princess  Galatzin,  for  a  hy- 
draulic motor  for  a  small  workshop,  able  to  work  a  shaft  le- 
presenting  a  foroe  of  6  to  20  kilogrammetres*  per  second; 
1868. 


•Akfk)fnBiBMt(eba 
a  mem  in  eae  teeood. 


(S-SOO  lb.)  nlsed  to  tto  Mgkft  of 


i6 


Foreign  Science. 


Prize  of  i6ol  for  improvements  to  be  effected  Iq  the  me- 
chaDicai  weaving  of  linen  and  hempen  goods ;  to  be  awarded 
in  1872,  in  favour  of  the  manufactorer  who  can  prodooe  com- 
mercially linen  threads  of  a  fineness  of  100  melxes  to  the 
gramme,  or  hemp  threads  15  metres.  This  must  be  obtained 
by'an  economy  of  at  least  15  per  cent  of  the  motive  power, 
and  with  such  a  diminution  of  temperature  that  there  is  little 
or  no  s^m.  The  manufacturer  must  have  delivered  to  com- 
merce at  least  the  value  of  800I  worth  of  threads  of  linen  or 
hemp,  according  to  the  above  stated  conditions. 

Prize  of  120I  for  a  file-making  machine  able  to  cut  all  scftts ; 
1870. 

Prize  for  a  practical  and  economical  means  of  cutting  mill- 
stones, whilst  diminishing  the  insalubrity  of  this  branch  of 
industry ;  1860,  or,  if  necessary,  1875. 

Prise  of  8dL  for  a  water-meter,  acting  under  a  pressure 
of  from  I  to  5  atmospheres  with  a  temperature  of  0°  to 
100°  C,  and  giving  the  volume  of  water  to  within  a  hun- 
dredth part;  1870. 

Prize  of  40/.  for  a  regulator  for  gas  bamer& 

Chemical  ArU. — Prize  of  oo2.  for  the  best  process  of  mak- 
ing oxygen  on  a  large  scale ;  1869. 

Prize  of  120/L  for  thS  industrial  application  of  oxygenated 
water. 

Prize  of  80I.  for  extracting  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  In  the 
form  of  nitric  acid  or  ammonia ;  1869. 

Prize  of  80/I  for  the  economical  production  of  cyanide  by 
the  nitrogen  of  the  air;  187 1. 

Prize  of  126L  to  be  awarded  (1870)  to  the  manufacturer 
who  shall  be  the  first  to  produce  sulphuric  add,  quite  free 
firom  arsenic,  from  pyrites. 

Prize  of  402.  for  the  industrial  employment  of  any  cheap 
and  abundant  mineral ;  1868. 

Prize  of  402  for  the  utilisation  of  the  refuse  of  Ikctories ; 
1869. 

Prize  of  40/.  for  the  useful  application  of  the  newly-dis- 
covered metals ;  1870. 

Prize  of  40t  for  new  applications  of  simple  substances, 
non-metallic;  1870. 

Prize  of  402.  for  the  discoveiy  of  a  new  alloy  useful  in  the 
arts;  1871. 

Prize  of  i2o2^  for  the  artificial  production  of  graphite  for 
the  fabrication  of  pencils;  1872. 

Prize  of  120L  for  the  artificial  preparation  of  the  compact 
black  diamond ;  1873. 

Prize  of  160/.  for  the  discovery  of  processes  capable  of  fur- 
nishing, by  any  organic  transformations,  useful  substances, 
such  as  quinine,  indigo,  alizarine,  or  cane  sugar. 

Prize  of  i6qL  for  the  artificial  production  of  fatty  adds  and 
of  waxy  substances. 

Prize  of  2402.  for  a  theoiy  of  cast^steel  founded  on  certain 
experiments;  1872. 

Prize  of  i2o2.  for  the  disinfection  of  the  refuse  from  the 
purifying  of  gas;  1869. 

Prize  of  402.  for  a  process  capable  of  disinfecting  and  clari- 
fying, quickly  and  durably,  sewage  water;  1868. 

Prize  of  6o2.  for  the  discovery  of  an  ink  which  will  not  rust 
metallic  pens;  1869. 

Prize  of  iicl,  6o2.,  and  2o2L,  for  the  employment  of  boradc 
add  and  borax  in  the  cemmio  arts ;  1868. 

F.  M oiava 

PaebS,  May,  8,  1867. 
Thb  learned  societies  of  the  Sdestific  JUsodation  of  France 
held  their  annual  public  meeting  at  the  Sorbonne,  Wednes- 
day, Thursday,  and  Friday  of  J^ter  week.  The  meetings 
were  not  well  attended,  and  the  few  sul]|jects  discussed  were 
not  very  interesting;  the  attraction  of  tibe  Exhibition  threw 
them  into  the  nerative  pole  of  sight-seeing  or  lecturing. 
The  distribution  of  the  prizes  took  place  on  Saturday,  Apnl 
28^  at  noon.  M.  Blandiard,  Professor  of  Natural  History  at 
the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  and  member  of  the  Academy 
of  Sdenoes,  gave  a  good  summary  of  the  sdentiflc  works 
carried  on  in  1 866-1 867.  His  good  nature  aad  lively  ima- 
ginatioi^  were  actually  necessary  to  conceal  or  counteract  a 


truly  lamentable  sterility  of  subjects.  We  must  say,  not- 
withstanding the  rather  timid  protestation  of  the  Minister  of 
Public  Instruction,  that  the  sdenoes,  mathematics,  physics, 
geology,  botany,  and  meteorology  have  lost  in  France  much 
of  their  ground ;  our  mathematidans,  physicists,  and  natural- 
ists have  let  themselves  bo  outstripped  by  foreign  savanis  on 
the  field  of  pure  science.  The  Prussian  needle-gun  find  the 
Enfield  rifle  have  taken  the  palm  out  of  our  hands ;  they 
have,  we  may  say,  silenced  the  fire  of  our  rifles. 

This  is  a  sad  statement,  but,  alas  1  too  true.  The  Congress 
that  we  have  above  mentioned  was  only  a  gloomy  shadow 
compared  with  a  meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Sdence. 

Apropos  of  the  ozone-generating  machine  experimented 
upon  by  Mr.  Beanes  at  the  last  mrirh  of  the  Royal  Sodety  <rf 
London,  let  us  humbly  call  to  mind  that  we  were  the  first  to 
midce  known  the  nature  and  application  of  this  mysterious 
agent  In  1845,  on  the  first  news  of  the  curious  observa- 
tions of  M.  Sdddnbein,  we  proceede4  to  Basle,  and  visited 
the  celebrated  chemist  and  professor.  He  condescended  to 
repeat  before  us  his  numerous  experiments,  and  we  wrote 
to  the  Epoque  a  letter  inserted  on  Dec.  31.  Tfie  following 
very  important  passage  occurs :  "  It  is  necessary  to  return 
immediately  to  the  ideas  of  Amp^  and  consider  the  atoms 
of  bodies  as  having  two  states— first,  with  the  essential 
primitive  electridty  or  in  a  nascent  state ;  second,  with  their 
electridty  more  or  less  disseminated,  or  their  atmosphere  of 
electridty  in  a  neutral  state.  The  ozone  of  M.  Schonbein  is, 
in  our  eyes,  only  a  molecule  of  oxygen  in  a  nascent  state, 
with  only  negative  electridty  in  its  atmosphere.  I  am,  I 
think,  able  to  rigorously  prove  and  account  for  the  wonder- 
ful properties  of  this  agent  that  we  cannot  lay  hold  o^  and 
of  which  so  much  has  hsen  said.''  We  ask  all  the  chemists 
in  general  of  that  time,  and  Dr.  Thcnnas  Andrews,  of  Bel- 
fast, in  particular,  whether  at  that  period  any  one  had  so 
clearly  defined  the  essential  nature  of  ozone,  so  much  talked 
abou^  written  upon,  and  discussed  without  coming  to  a  de- 
dded  condusion. 

Two  y^ars  afterwards,  when  uncertainty  yet  reigned  in 
all  minds,  we  inserted  in  the  Kouvelle  Revue  Eneyehpedique 
of  M.  Didot,  in  the  number  for  July,  1847,  the  following 
more  explicit  lines :  "  Suffldent  attention  has  not  been  yet 
paid  to  the  important  fact  that  oxygen  disengaged  by  plants 
is  not  in  a  neutral  state.  We  are  perfectly  convinced  that 
this  nascent  oxygen,  without  its  positive  atmosphere,  is  the 
ozone  discovered  by  M.  Bchdnbein,  with  an  odour  m 
generiSj  and  possesdng,  in  the  highest  degree,  all  the  proper- 
ties of  electro-negative  substances.  The  bleaching  of  linen 
stuflb,  ivory,  wax,  Ac,  in  the  open  air,  on  grass,  the  fonna- 
tiim  of  nitric  add  and  saltpetre,  also  many  other  phenomena, 
are  only  caused  by  the  powerful  action  of  oxygen  in  a  nas- 
cent state,  or  with  its  negative  electricity  developed.'* 
From  1845  ^  '^^7>  thousands  of  contradictory  opinions 
have  been  written  on  the  subject  of  ozone,  to  return  again 
to  the  idea  that  we  so  dearly  pointed  out.  We  have  so 
often  {beaded  the  cause  and  defended  the  interests  of  others, 
that  we  must  be  pardoned  for  establishing,  once  for  all,  and 
very  humbly,  our  own  daims. 

The  Sodety  for  the  Encouragement  of  National  Industry 
has  dedded  that,  during  the  wliole  time  of  the  Exhibition, 
it  win  hold  weekly  meetings,  not  on  Wednesdays,  as  on  that 
day  too  many  members  of  the  Council  will  be  elsewhere  en- 
gaged, but  on  Friday,  when  one  Is  in  general  more  f^  fhxn 
domestic  or  social  engagementa.  The  first  of  these  meetings 
took  place  on  May  3,  under  the  presld^icy  of  M.  Dumas,  and 
the  aspect  of  the  hall,  the  tables  covered  with  crystal  aad 
glass,  gas-burners,  objects  in  ahuninium,  Aa,  show  at  once 
a  successful  departure  ttom  the  habits  of  the  Society.  The 
correspondence  was,  as  usual,  opened  by  the  two  secretaries, 
but  it  contained  x^othing  interesting.  M.  Tessi^  de  Mothay, 
in  his  name  and  that  of  M.  Marlchal,  of  Metz,  read  a  de- 
scription of  the  processes  of  phototype  whidi  have  led  them 
to  the  definitive  solution  of  the  great  problem  of  the  inde- 
0nite  reproduction,  with  thidc  and  indelible  inks,  of  photo- 


CBniiCAX,  Kurt, ) 


Foreign  Science. 


17 


graphic  imageB.  M.  Tessie  regarded  as  antiquated  the 
anterior  essays  with  regard  to  M.  Davanne,  of  whom  we 
have  afa^ady  spoken.  B!e  need  not  then  speak  of  the  pho- 
tographic processes  of  M&f .  Ni^poe  do  St  Victor,  Lereb<nir8, 
Lemercier,  and  Barreswill,  long  since  practised  hy  the  emi- 
nent photographer,  M.  Lemercier.  Meanwhile,  M.  BarreswiU 
thought  proper  to  call  to  mind  this  first  solution,  and  even 
thought  that  he  was  ahle  to  add  that  he  had  given  results 
almost  identical  with  those  of  the  new  process.  We  venture 
to  affirm  the  contrary,  and  we  are  sure  we  shall  not  he  con- 
tradicted on  this  point  hy  M.  Lemercier,  who  is  very  glad  to 
substitute  the  new  process  for  liis  own,  the  success  of  which 
was  uncertain.  The  employment  of  so  large  a  quantity  of 
ether  rendered  difficult  and  unhealthy  the  process,  which 
had  already  given  way  to  the  incomplete  method  of  M. 
Poitevin. 

K.  Dumas  then  gave  the  paardU  to  M.  Paul  B^rard,  who 
directs,  with  M.  Paul  Audouin,  the  Laboratory  of  Essay  for 
the  Illuminating  Power  of  Gas,  established  .in  the  Rue  du 
Faubourg  Poissonni^re  for  the  Municipal  Administration  of 
Paris,  under  the  head  direction  of  MM.  Dumas  and  Beguault. 
The  young  chemist  resumed,  and  oonflrmed  by  many  experi- 
ments results  obtained,  having  a  double  view — i.  Two 
flames  of  equal  deusity  being  given,  one  produced  by  a  caroel 
hunp  burning  under  fixed  conditions,  the  other  by  a  gas 
burner,  buruing  as  much  as  possible  under  the  same  condi- 
tions, to  determine  the  respective  consumptions  of  oil  aud 
gas,  in  a  given  time,  for  each  of  the  apparatus ;  2.  To  study 
different  burners,  and  the  best  oonditioDS  for  the  combustion 
of  the  gas. 

The  first  problem  was  compkitely  resolved  by  a  series  of 
photometric  apparatus,  very  well  constructed  by  M.  Deleuil, 
and  which  comprise  a  caroel  lamp  burning  at  the  connai 
rate  of  oH,  a  Poucault  photometer  with  stanSied  c^s  plates, 
and  a  telescope  and  movable  plates,  a  standard  burner  and 
an  argand  one  with  30  holes,  and  an  automatic  balance  indi- 
cating by  a  scale,  with  the  precision  of  1  centigr.,  for  a 
charge  of  3  kilos.,  the  quantity  burned  by  a  caroel  lamp.  M. 
Audouin  said  nothing  of  the  photometric  method;  he  did  not 
even  mention  the  name  of  M.  Deleuil,  but  he  enumerated 
very  rapidly  the  oondusions  of  the  experiments  on  burners. 
I^et  us  mention  them,  as  they  are  truly  well  defined.  With 
bats-wing  humera  the  maximum  of  illuminating  powder  cor- 
responds to  a  slit  i^Lhs  of  a  millimetre  wide.  The  same 
quantity  of  gas  can  give,  when  it  bums  in  a  good  burner, 
four  times  the  light  given  by  a  bad  one.  The  increase  of  il- 
luminating power  corresponds  to  a  very  rapid  diminution  of 
pressure,  and  consequently  to  the  diminution  of  the  velocity 
of  flow ;  in  other  terms,  with  equal  consumption  of  gas  of  a 
constant  composition,  the  greatest  illuminatmg  power  cor- 
responds to  the  lowest  pressures,  the  maximum  correspond- 
ing to  a  pressure  of  2  to  3  millimetres.  The  proportion  be- 
tween the  diameter  of  the  nipple  and  the  expenditure,  keep- 
ing the  same  width  of  slit,  i^utns  of  a  millimetre,  has  next  to 
be  determined.  The  gas  flows  with  the  same  velocity  or 
under  the  same  given  pressure,  always  with  the  same  illu- 
minating power,  whatever  be  the  bat's-wing  in  which  it 
bums.  For  very  different  intensities  the  dimensions  of  the 
flame  vary  very  little,  its  height  being  sensibly  constant  and 
terminated  by  a  right  line.  (Xher  hwrwrs  than  hati-vjinga. 
Bougie  burner,  a  nipple  with  a  hole  in  the  centre.  For  the 
same  height  of  flame,  the  illuminating  power  always  coin- 
cides with  weak  pressures  and  a  hole  of  -Aiths  of  a  millime- 
tre ;  it  increases  ahndSt  indeflnitely  with  the  height.  The 
great  expenditures  of  gas  are  more  advantageous  than  the 
weak  ones.  Manchester  burner,  a  nipple  pierced  with  two 
holes.  When  the  diameters  of  the  holes  are  very  smaU,  two 
bougie  burners  give  a  light  equal  to  that  of  a  Manchester 
burner,  which  they  can  form  by  their  union.  But  the  supe- 
riority of  the  Mandiester  burner  over  the  two  bougie  burners 
becomes  more  and  more  considerable  according  as  the  holes 
increase  in  diameter.  The  maximum  lighting  power  cor- 
responds always  to  the  minimum  pressure,  and  to  a  diameter 
of  A  ths  of  a  millimetre.    Bumera  wUh  a  double  cwrrent  of 

Vol.  I.    No.  i.— July,  1867.^    2. 


cur.  The  argand  boner  of  30  holes,  i^ths  of  •  mfllimetre, 
proved  the  meet  advantageoiis  of  all,  and  it  is  much  to  be 
regretted  that  it  was  not  conpared  with  the  Monier  burner, 
which  is  much  more  eoonoiniad  again.  The  lighting  power 
incfoafloo  indeflnitely  witii  the  expenditure;  the  height  of 
the  chimney  should  not  exceed  20  oentimetreB.  The  qnai^ 
tity  of  air  burned  by  a  burner  is  not  proportional  to  the  con- 
sumption of  gas ;  all  the  burners  do  not  require  the  same 
amount  of  air  in  order  to  give  the  maximum  of  lighting  power. 
The  introdttctiDn  into  ooiDBKm  gas  of  6  or  7  per  cent,  of  lur 
diminishes  its  lighting  power  by  a  half.  20  parts  of  air 
mixed  with  30  puts  of  gas  gives  no  lights 

The  staaditrd  caroel  lamp  consumes  42  grammes  of  oil  per 
hour.  According  to  the  treaty  between  the  town  of  Paris 
and  the  Geninrai  (3aa  Company,  25  litres  or  27^  litres  of  gas 
burned  in  a  standard  burner  under  a  pressure  of  two  or 
three  millimetres,  ahonld  ftimtsh  a  flame  equal  in  intensity 
to  that  of  a  carod  lamp  burning  during  the  same  time  10 
granunes  of  purified  oolsa  oil 

M.  Debray  then  resumed  the  history  of  the  preparation, 
properties,  and  uses  of  aluminium  discovered  by  M.  Wdhler, 
and  brought  into  use  by  M.  Henri  Sainte-Glaire  Deville. 
The  principal  progieaaes  made  in  this  industry  are-*Utilisa* 
tion  of  bauxite,  a  day  very  common  in  the  south  of  France, 
composed  nearly  exdusively  of  alumina  and  sesquioxide  of 
iron;  to  this  is  due  the  purity  of  the  aluminium  of  com- 
merce. The  employment  as  flux  of  salt  and  cryolite  (double 
fluorine  of  aluminium  and  sodium,  very  abundant  in  Green- 
land). This  metal  is  used  for  optical  instruments,  and  many 
other  objecte  of  Jewellery,  Ac,  and  even  for  culinary  pur- 
poses. Aluminium  bronae,  composed  of  copper  90  to  95, 
aluminium  5  to  10^  is  ite  principal  use.  M.  Debray  stated  as 
extraordinary  facte  that  this  bronae,  containing  95  per  cent 
of  copper,  was  very  little  attacked  by  acids;  also  that 
chlorine  was  a  deleterious  gas,  and  sodium  poisonous,  but 
that  chloride  of  sodium  (table  salt)  was  innocuous ! 

When  M.  Debray  sat  down,  M.  Dumas  rose  and  indicated 
in  a  few  words  the  aim  of  these  weekly  meetings.  What 
characterises,  he  said,  Uie  Exhibition  of  1867  is  the  enor- 
mous progress  made  in  the  application  of  the  sciences  to  in- 
dustry and  flne  arte ;  everywhere  in  these  immense  galleries 
we  see  the  facto  and  theories  of  pure  science  become  mate- 
rialised into  practical  applications  of  great  value.  Is  it  not 
very  natural,  then,  that  the  Society  of  Encouragement  should 
become  the  revealer  and  appredator  of  the  successes  ob- 
tained in  what  may  be  called  ito  special  department  7 

We  are  surprised  that  the  illustrious  President  does  not 
try  some  other  thing  than  a  reduced  copy  of  our  own  pro- 
gramme in  the  conferences  of  the  Exhibition  of  1867.  He 
attempte  to  perform  far  from  the  galleries,  in  a  very  conflned 
space,  in  presence  of  a  very  limited  auditory,  what  we  aspire 
to  do  in  the  midst  of  the  Chamn  de  Mars,  in  a  gre^jk  amphi- 
theatre holding  500  auditors.  How  does  it  happen  that  the 
Commission  of  three  members,  the  triumvirate,  Dumas, 
Michel  Chevalier,  and  Perdonnet,  charged  by  the  Imperial 
Cooomission  with  ito  organisation  and  direction,  have  not 
signifled  to  us,  by  the  intermediation  of  M.  Perdonnet,  their 
intentions  issued  as  follows? — i.  That  the  entries  shall  be 
gratuitous.  2.  That  none  of  the  lectures  shall  be  paid.  3. 
That  no  exhibitor  shall  be  admitted,  either  by  himself  or  by 
a  third  party,  to  exhibit  or  make  known  the  progress  he  has 
accomplished.  Is  it  not  tyrannically  unjust  to  make  gratui- 
tous a  leoture-hall,  constructed  according  to  a  very  severe 
specification,  entailing  an  expense  of  50^000  to  60,000  fr.  ? 
Is  it  not  barbarous  to  prevent  100  or  200  £rancs  from  being 
taken  from  the  monev  received  at  the  doors  and  given  to  . 
the  9av<uU  who  may  have  succeeded  in  interesting  a  vast 
auditory,  and  iniUatod  them  agreeably  and  useftilly  into  the 
nature  and  advanteges  of  some  novel  branch  of  industry  ? 
St  Paul  characterised  this  barbarism  in  remarkable  terms 
in  his  Epistle  to  Uie  Corinthians,  when  he  told  us  not  to 
muzzle  the  ox  while  eating. 

Lastly,  it  is  astounding  that  what  is  permitted,  honour- 
ably, legally,  and  praiaoworthily,  under  the  patronage  of  the 


t8 


Foreign  Science. 


ilhiBtrious  Preaident  of  the  Ooundl  of  the  Secietf  of  Bdcoq- 
ragement,  oould  at  once  become  ilMdt  end  bkunable  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Imperial  Oommisaloa,  of  whidi  he  forms  port, 
even  of  the  triumviraie.  The  letter  of  M.  Perdoonet  we 
keep  with  great  oare.  The  trinmTirate  is  totally  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  the  leoture-hall  was  mounted  (it  is  rery 
nearly  flnisiied)  at  private  expense,  on  the  same  terms  as  the 
other  establishments  of  the  Ohamp  de  Mars  Park.  A  lee- 
tare-hall  on  the  subjects  of  objects  exhibited  seems  to  us  an 
indispensable  adjunct;  yet  the  Oommission  did  not  think  it 
worth  their  while  to  build  one ;  they  gave  the  ooneession  of 
ground  to  the  celebrated  photographer,  M.  Pierre  Petit 
(who  had  ahready  given  £2800  for  the  site  for  his  pagodaX 
on  oondition  that  he  would  bnikl  a  leeture'haU  and  furnish 
lectures,  the  profits  of  course  to  be  his  own.  Not  sa  Bight 
about  face  with  the  Commission.  The  leeture»hall  being 
done,  and  the  expense  paid  for,  M.  Petit  is  told  that  all  his 
labor  in  that  direction  is  in  vaizL  The  CoramiBsien  sbookl, 
at  least,  reimburse  the  sum  he  laid  out  in  bricks  and  mortar 
to  please  the  Imperial  Commission.  Do  they  want  to  rob 
liim  also?  Every  establishment  for  public  amusement  is 
there  opened  on  tiie  adjoinmg  grounds,  and  they  place  whai 
price  (hey  Wee  for  entrance ;  but  mtoUectoal  and  practical  in- 
formation, the  food  of  the  mind,  seems  to  find  w>  favour 
with  the  tiiumvuraie.  F.  MowNa 

Pa«W,  ICay  15,  1867. 
The  Academy  of  Sciences  indudes  in  its  body  four  sorts  of 
members — ^titular,  foreign  associates,  free  academicians,  and 
correspondents.  According  to  the  spirit  whidi  animated  its 
creation  under  tl)e  ancient  monarchy,  the  itet  academicians 
were  ordinarily  high-placed  men,  or  at  least  men  occupying 
an  elevated  position  in  sodety,  well  known  to  be  the  friencte 
of  science  and  disposed  to  patronise  it.  Tliey  had  all  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  titular  academicians— that  is  to  say, 
they  took  part  in  all  the  elections,  could  form  part  of  all  the 
administrative  or  oth*r  commissions,  &c.  They  did  not  re- 
ceive the  small  8tii>end  attached  to  the  rank  of  member  of 
the  Academy,  but  they  took  their  share  of  the  presentation 
tickets.  In  this  primitive  state  of  things,  the  title  of  free 
academician  was  superior  to  that  of  the  titular  one,  and  it 
was  ridiculous  to  ask  the  first-named  to  abdicate  in  favour  of 
the  latter.  At  the  time  of  the  re:orgaDisation  of  the  Institute 
of  France  and  of  the  five  academies  which  compose  it,  the 
democratic  spirit  which  predominated  at  the  discussion  of  the 
regulations — ^at  least  as  far*  as  concerned  the  Academy  of 
Sciences — ended  by  putting  the  primitive  and  very  legiti- 
mate instiiutiou  of  the  free  academicians  in  a  false  position, 
and  in  reducing  their  body  to  an  inferior  number,  and  thus 
subjecting  them  to  humiliation,  though  they  were  always 
cliosen  h-om  the  first  ranks.  For  example,  they  are  deprived 
of  their  wjtes  in  the  elections  of  titular  and  corresponding 
members,  and  they  cannot  take  part  in  any  elections  except 
for  free  members  like  themselves.  In  our  opinion  this  infer- 
iority, contradictory  in  itself,  ought  to  have  disappeared  long 
ago,  the  more  so  as  it  keeps  up  in  the  Academy  an  antagon- 
ism much  to  be  regretted,  and  a  mutual  silent  but  deep-seated 
discontent,  which  has  already  given  rise  to  violent  discussions, 
and,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  combats  with  arms  less  noble  and 
worthy  of  the  members.  At  this  moment  the  fire  is  smoul- 
dering under  their  feet,  and  may  burst  out  as  a  volctfno. 
Among  the  ten  free  academidans,  three — Marshal  Vaillant,  M. 
Antoine  Pussy,  Count  Jaubert— are  present  or  former  Minis- 
.ters  of  State.  The  most  ardent  advocate  in  defence  of  the 
rights  of  the  corporation  is  the  Count  Jaubert,  well  backed 
by  the  most  andent  of  his  colleagues.  Baron  Sequier,  a  dis- 
tinguished amateur  mechanical  engineer,  formeriy  councillor 
at  the  Aoyal  Court  of  Paris.  Marshal  Vaillant  does  not 
take  any  visible  part  in  the  conflict,  but  he  nevertheless  is 
mixed  up  in  it,  perhaps  with  a  sort  of  disgust  at  the  proscrip- 
tion  with  which  the  fhee  academidans  are  struck,  and  ho 
hopes,  openly,  but  timidly,  to  push  into  the  list  of  the  titulars. 
A  most  distinguished  officer  of  the  French  military  engineers, 
universally  informed,  an  ingenioas  and  popular  writer,  an 


eminent  agricnltarist  and  meteorologist,  he  had,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  ^u^s  Arago,  and,  we  may  say,  of  everybody  else, 
all  the  talents  and  qualities  for  a  titular  academician ;  no  one 
could  be  more  fitted  to  fill  a  chair  actively.  It  was  a  good 
occasion  for  granting  his  request  Not  without  his  high  influ- 
ence the  Academy  entered  into  possession  of  their  new  chair ; 
if  the  Marshal  had  not  objected,  the  Emperor  would  have,  ac- 
cording to  the  accustom^  usage,  named  by  decree  the  first 
titulars,  and  in  the  first  place  Marshal  Vaillant  In  how 
many  drcumstances  tb6  Marshal  has  been  theHady  and  pow- 
erfiil  internaediary  between  the  Academy  and  the  executive 
for  the  foundatkm  of  new  prises^  the  increase  of  the  value  of 
existing  ones,  or  the  concession  of  scientitic  missions !  He 
has  been  advised  to  resign  his  position  as  a  free  academician. 
and  to  be  proposed  a&  candidate  for  the  place  of  titular  acad- 
emican  in  the  section  correspouding  to  his  works.  He  will 
not  do  that ;  he  cannot,  on  account  of  the  respect  for  those 
who  sliare  the  seat  with  him — a  seat  awkwardly  lessened  not 
in  dignity  but  in  rights.  He  declares  that  he  puts  himself  sole- 
ly at  the  disposal  of  the  Academy,  and  that,  although  he  will 
not  resign  bis  present  chair,  lie  will  accept  with  gratitude 
the  chair  of  titiUar  academiciaQ. 

What  Is  wanted  more  ?  Can  we  understand  how  a  body 
formed  of  such  celebrated  sdentific  men  can  much  longer 
hesitate  in  acquitting  what  we  do  not  fear  to  call  a  debt  of 
honour  and  gratitude?  Marshall  Vaillant  had  two  votes  in 
the  last  election,  Snd  we  have  hoard  them  named  as  uncon- 
stitntionaL  This  is  a  farce,  and  these  two  votes  must  ab- 
solutely become  unanimity  for  the  election  of  the  Marshal 
ui  the  Section  of  Qeography  and  Navigation.  Thus,  if  the 
Academy  of  Sdences  does  not  dedde  upon  rendering  to  the 
free  academicians  their  primitive  rights  of  partidpation  in 
afl  the  elections,  it  ought  at  least  to  suppress  the  derisive 
term ;  for  it  is  repugnant  to  common  sense  now  to  have  only 
the  mutilated  honour  of  a  free  academician. 

We  have  not  succeeded  in  ascertaining  at  all  definitely  the 
series  of  the  deliberations  and  the  awards  of  the  juries.  We 
know,  however, that  in  Glass  72,  Group  Vll—sugars  and  con- 
fectionary products— ^he  jury  propose  to  award  four  gold 
medals :  the  first  to  Prussia,  the  Zollverein  exhibitors,  for 
the  efMvmbie  of  their  products,  and  especially  the  sugars 
manufactured  durectly  and  ready  for  immediate  delivery  for 
consumption ;  the  second  to  the  Mauritius  for  the  considera- 
ble increase  in  the  production  and  the  prog^ss  accom- 
plished; the  third  to  M.  C.  A.  Say  for  the  products  of  his 
refinery,  an  excellenoe  demonstrated  by  the  enormous 
quanti^  and  the  extent  of  his  exhibition ;  the  fourth  goes  to  * 
France,  considered  in  the  light  of  its  being  the  mother 
country  of  the  great  industry  of  sugars.  Here,  again,  the 
needle-gun  carries  off  the  palm,  and  we  are  well  beateut 

The  Sodety  of  Btwouragement  held  on  Friday,  the  loth 
inst.,  their  second  extraoMmary  meeting.  The  correspon- 
dence, summed  up  by  MM.  Tiesca  and  Peligot,  presented 
nothing  of  any  interest 

M.  Htnard  read,  in  the  name  of  M.  Bells,  a  very  favour- 
able report  on  the  shearing  machine  of  M.  de  Nabat  For 
dipping  horses  and  sheep-shearing  it  has  been  most  sue- 
oessftiL  We  prefer  by  far  the  littie  shearer  of  M.  Gazon, 
which  is  held  and  set  hi  motion  by  the  hand,  whilst  that  of 
M.  Nabat  is  a  real  machine,  like  a  knife-grinding  one,  set  in 
motion  by  the  foot 

M.  Bomas  read  a  letter,  by  which  our  friend,  M.  Galibert, 
in  gratitude  for  the  success  of  his  respiratory  apparatus, 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Sodety  of  Encouragement  the 
sum  of  1,000  fir.,  to  be  employed  in  forming  a  flmd  for  the 
prize,  for  the  best  appUcation  of  the  endosmoie  of  gases,  to 
be  awarded  in  1868.  This  is  one  of  the  questions  put 
forward  in  the  programme  of  prizes  which  are  most  in 
relation  with  Qalibert's  apparatus.  M.  Dumas  congratulated 
M.  Galibert  on  his  generosity,  and  tendered  him  the  thanks 
of  the  CouudL 

M.  Dumas  rend  a  second  letter  firom  M.  Taborin,  one  of 
the  oldest  manufacturers  of  files,  who,  spontaneously  on  his 
part,  and  in  thanklhlness  for  his  success,  took  upon  hunself 


CwnriCAL  Nawg, ) 


Foreign  Science — Pains  Exhibition  of  1867. 


19 


to  hand  over  3000  flr.  toteards  tbe  prize  to  be  awaited  in 
1868  for  a  flle^cotthig  machine.  This  mark  of  gratitude  to 
the  Soeie^  waa  moet  warmly  applanded,  and  the  noble 
Teteran,  moch  affeeted,  rif^mg  to  give  thanks  to  M.  Dumas 
and  the  Oovmdl,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  auditory,  said: 
*•  To  cnt  files  ia  hard  woric,  and  the  Society  has  done  well 
to  appeal  to  mechanical  skill  for  allermting  it;  but  the 
forging  of  them  is  worse  again,  and  I  beg  the  Society  in- 
stantly to  fonndf  at  my  expense,  a  second  prize  of  3^00  francs 
for  a  madune  for  foi^ng  files.**  Much  mored,  in  his  turn, 
M.  Domas  exdaimed,  "  Honour  to  the  intelligent  and  ener- 
getic man  who  oomnlenoed  his  industrial  career  forty  years 
ag^  with  only  two  and  a  half  francs  in  his  pocket,  who  has 
now  founded  three  vast  estiiblishments,  and  who  has  ar- 
rived at  a  trade  of  several  million  francs  with  honour  and 
profit." 

M.  Balafd  presented,  hi  the  name  of  M.  Oarr^  his  new 
ice-producing  maddne,  of  which  we  have  often  spoken  and 
given  a  description  in  our  report  of  the  Academy.  The 
principle  of  this  machine  consists  of  sulphuric  acid  marking 
59*»  to  66®,  circulating  in  a  thin  stream,  through  which 
passes  vapour  of  water  drawn  along  by  a  vacuum  created 
pneumatically.  The  evaporation  of  this  produces  the  cold. 
The  recipient  of  the  acid  is  formed  of  an  alloy  of  lead  and 
antimony  in  the  proportfon  of  5  to  6  per  cent. ;  it  supports, 
without  alteration  of  form,  a  pressure  of  five  or  six  at- 
mospheres, while  the  pressure  in  practice  cannot  exceed  one 
atmosphere.  The  copper  pump  is  preserved  from  the  con- 
tact of  the  snlphuroos  acid,  always  disengaged  by  the  acid 
reoenHy  hitrodneed,  by  an  arrangement  which  necessarily 
and  eoDfllantly  ofl«  the  inside  surface.  The  valves  are 
opened  medianieally,  and  cannot  get  deransed.  The  appa- 
ratus keeps  the  vacuum  for  sereral  months;  the  add  is 
extracted  when  it  has  become  diluted  to  about  52® ;  the 
congelation  eoramenees  generall  v  three  or  four  minutes  after 
the  ooflun^icement  of  making  the  vacuum;  if  cold  water  at 
3«>  or  4<>  C.  \B  required,  two  minutes  suffice,  and  a  little 
shaking  up  for  some  instants  restores  the  air  which  it  has 
los^  Other  substances  can  be  substituted  for  sulphuric 
acid  (which  is,  however,  ^  cheapest  agent  to  employ),  such 
as  cauatio  potash  or  soda,  or  chloride  of  calcium,  which 
cense  a  oongelatioo  sufficiently  prompt  and  intense.  In  the 
aE^iHcatlon,  M.  Oarr^  mentioned  the  adaptation  of  the  ap- 
pmtus  on  board  ships  and  in  cellars  where  the  temperature 
could  be  indefinitely  kept  at  5®  or  6®  G.  in  all  latitudes^  also 
for  the  refrigeration  of  apartments. 

M.  Dumas  is  of  the  same  opinion  as  M.  Balard,  with 
regard  to  the  success  of  the  new  ice-maldng  machine,  espe- 
cially if  aolphuric  acid  can  be  replaced  by  other  substances 
more  inoffensive;  he  indicated  that  oven-dried  bran,  a 
powerful  absorbent,  might  be  tried,  and  requested  M. 
Thenaid  to  give  his  opinion,  and  to  etat^What  advantage 
agriealtare  would  derive  from  this  mode  of  producing  cold. 
M.  Thenard  first  called  attenticm  to  the  curious  and  impor- 
tant fact  diBOOvered  by  mUk-women,  and  of  which  he  cannot 
find  a»  explanation.  If  milk,  a  few  minutes  after  being 
drawn  ftom  the  cow,  be  cooled  with  very  cold  raiif-water,  it 
keep9  fresh  for  many  days,  and  can  be  sent  to  a  long  dis- 
tance. Oarre*s  apparatus  can  advantageously  replace  the 
cold  water,  espec&lly  in  agricultural  distilleries,  which  em- 
ploy a  good  deal  of  sulphuric  add  and  keep  at  the  same 
time  a  great  number  of  cows. 

M.  Peligot  afterwards  gave  an  account  of  the  process  of 
K.  Paris  for  the  fabrication  of  enamels,  of  which  numerous 
beantlAil  specimens  were  laid  before  the  Bodety.  We  wiH 
resume  this  subject  ftirther  on  while  epeakuig  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion. 

M.  Peligot  also  called  attention  to  a  qnite  new  fact  that  he 
had  diaoovered.  It  arose  from  the  devitrification  of  a  piece 
of  St.  Qobain  glass,  prepared  a  long  time  ago  by  M. 
Pelooae ;  tlie  glMs  had  lost  its  transparency,  but  not  its 
densi^.  Placed  in  a  drawer,  the  piece  of  glass,  supported 
by  one  extremity,  was  found,  after  some  days,  by  M.  Peligot, 
to  be  curved  under  its  own  weight,*it  having  become  a 


I  malleable  glass;  the  surface  was  also  covered  with  efflores- 

f  cence.     Pliny  sixjaks,  in  his  history,  of  a  glass  that  could 

•  be  bent  and  unbent;   and  the  story  goes  that  Richelieu 

ordered  an  inventor  to  be  pat  to  death  for  proposing  to 

divulge  a  process  for  making  malleable  glass. 

M.  Bouillet,  in  his  name  and  that  of  the  celebrated  M. 
Christofle,  mentions  tw'o  great  improvements  made  in  thoir 
electro-metallic  manufacture,     i.    Round  bossed  galvano- 
plastic  objects  could   be  obtained  more  economically  by 
]  the  substitution  of  electrodes  of  lead  for  the  insoluble 
platinum  wire  electrodes  used  at  first  by  M.  Lenoir,  the  in- 
ventor of  the  process.    2.   A  series  of  pieces  in  bronze, 
I  decorated  with  inlaid  work  in  silver,  platinum,  and  yellow  or 
I  green  gDl<i,  had  been  obtained  by  electridty,  and  which  per- 
fectly imitated  the  charming  objects  coming  from  China  or 
Japan.  F.  MoiONO. 


PARIS  EXHIBITION  OF  1867. 

(FqOX  OCR  SpECUL  tk)RRESPONDENT.) 

Group  VI. — CUut  44:    Chemical  euid  FkarmaeeuUeal  Pro- 

duds^-Industry  of  Colouring  MaUera  extracted  from  CoaL 
This  great  industrial  art,  illustrated  for  the  first  time  at 
the  International  Exhibition  of  1862  with  great  eclai^  has 
not  ceased  to  develope  itself,  lesR,  however,  in  Prance  than 
in  Switzerland  and  Germany,  where  the  progress  has  been 
considerable.  With  us  progress  was  fettered  by  the 
fact  that  aniline  red.  the  basis  of  all  the  other  colours,  was 
the  exdusive  property  of  the  Puchsine  Company,  and  waj, 
in  consequence,  a  general  monopoly.  The  great  problem 
under  these  conditions  was  to  arrive  by  direct  process  at 
violet,  blue,  and  green  colours  without  passing  through  the 
red;  it  has  at  length  been  resolved  for  violet  by  MM. 
Poirrier  and  Chappot,  jun.,  of  Saint  Denis,  with  the  able 
assistance  of  their  chemist^  M.  Bardy.  The  methylaniline 
and  dimethylaniline  violets,  exhibited  under  the  name  of 
"  Paris  Tiolet,**  are  the  gems  of  the  chemical  section,  and 
have  most  attracted  the  attention  of  practical  men,  also  of 
the  jury,  who  have  awarded  them  a  gold  medal. 

Before  describing  this  discovery,  we  may  remark  that 
the  Puchsine  Company  have  kept  up  their  reputation,  and 
that  the  display  in  their  glass  case  is  really  magnificent ; 
their  sphere  of  radiating  crystals,  so  sharp  and  voluminous, 
of  chlorhydrate  of  rosaniline,  along  with  all  the  salts  of 
rosaniline,  have  a  wonderful  effect.  They  find  a  powerful 
rival,  however,  in  M.  Muller,  of  Basle,  who  also  exhibits 
a  large  collection,  the  prindpal  article  being  a  cup  con- 
I  taining  a  pound  of  rosanfline  so  pure  that  it  is  almost 
colourless.  We  have  not  found  chrysotoluidine  or  mal- 
vaudlne  except  on  Stuffs  of  silk  and  cotton,  of  which  speci- 
mens are  exhibited  by  MM.  Hucotte  and  Berryer,  also  the 
blues  of  MM.  Girard  and  Laire,  the  process  of  which  shall 
be  described  presently. 

The  Paris  violet,  by  MM.  Poirrier  and  Chappat,  No.  23 
Rue  d*Hautevflle,  stall  No.  2,  is  produced  from  the  methy- 
laniline  and  dimethylaniline  which  Dr.  Hoftnann  discovered 
and  made  knoi^Ti  by  a  process  very  costly  and  not  put  into 
practice.  The  celebrated  chemist  employs  as  a  i^udng 
agent  the  very  volatile  iodide  of  methyl,  and  this  would  have 
entailed  a  considerable  loss  if  Soot,  per  day  were  constantly 
risked — ^that  being  the  quantity  necessary  to  produce  150 
kilogrammesof  methylaniliuethat  MM.  Poirrier  and  Chappat 
send  to  the  market  every  day.  In  orier  to  arrive  at  a  re- 
munerative product,  they  have  substituted  a  cheaper  sub- 
stance, nitrato  of  methyl,  for  the  iodide ;  it  is  by  this  means 
that  ti)ey  weve  able  to  produce  their  first  Urn  of  Paris  violet 
at  their  chemical  works.  Still  this  mode  of  fabrication  was 
fraught  with  danger,  and  was  discontinued.  Happily,  M. 
Berthelot  pointed  out  a  process  less  dangerous  and  cheaper, 
the  treatment  of  ammonia  by  alcoholic  radicals. 

To  obtain  methylanOine  or  dimethylaniline,  MM.  Poirrier 
and  Chappat  place  in  contact  in  a  dosed  vessel,  at  a  high 


20 


Paris  ExhiUtion  of  1867. 


j  Gbbmmul  Nsira, 
1      Jiih^  18fr. 


temperature,  and  under  preflsure,  auiUne  and  hydrochlorate 
of  aniline,  or  metb jlani^ne  and  hydrochlorate  of  aniline  ; 
and  this  process,  which  baa  Required  the  conRtruction  of 
special  apparatus,  the  application  of  means  for  regulating  the 
reaction  in  order  to  obtain  at  will  either  methylaniline  or  di- 
mothvlaniliue,  &a,  works  at  present  with  perfect  regularity ; 
they  have  extended,  with  success,  the  process  towards  the 
preparation  of  other  alkaloids  baaed  on  an  alchohoUc  radi- 
cal. There  remained  yet  the  means  of  converting  methyl- 
aniline  and  dimetbyhmiline  into  violet,  soluble  in  water, 
as  there  is  no  complete  success  without  this  condition.  New 
agents  had  to  be  searched  for,  that  do  not  require  a  too  high 
temperature,  in  order  to  produce  the  reduction^  or  the  return 
would  not  be  so  great,  oor  the  colour  so  bright  or  of  so  de- 
cided a  shade.  They  finished  by  transforming  the  perfectly 
pure  methylaniline  from  toluidine  into  violets  of  all  shades 
not  inferior  to  those  derived  from  the  rosanilino  of  Hofmann. 

MM.  Tessi^  de  Mothay  and  Mar^uhal,  of  Mati,  exhibit  a 
new  process  for  bleaching  fibres,  threads,  and  woven  stuffs 
of  cotton,  hemp,  linen,  wool,  and  silk. 

Tho  fibres,  threads,  and  tis^es  contain  two  sorts  of  col- 
ouring matters-— one  soluble,  after  oxidation  in  alkaline  lix- 
ivia ;  the  other  substances  inherent  to  the  cellulose,  which 
should  be  bleached  by  the  oxygen  of  the  air  and  light,  or  by 
chemical  compounds  able  to  disengage  oxygen  in  its  nascent 
state. 

The  methods  hitherto  employed  for  bleaching  or  decolor- 
ising tissues  depend  upon  the  alternate  application  of  two 
sorts  of  agents — i.  Oxidising  substances ;  2.  Solvents. 

But  these  methods,  perfect  as  they  are  in  their  way,  have 
the  following  faults  >— The  employment  of  an  oxidising  agent 
which  acts  with  extreme  slowness  when  it  is  taken  from 
the  atmosphere,  or  with  a  destructive  combustible  power 
when  it  is  several  times  placed  in  a  medium  containing  chlo* 
rine  or  the  chlorated  eompounds,  such  as  the  hypochlorites, 
for  example :  the  use  of  alkaline  solvents  whidi  act  with 
extreme  slowness  in  dissolving  the  quantity  of  colouring 
matter  altered  by  the  oxidising  agents.  Kor  these  latter 
the  most  suitable  substitutes  are — i.  Pennanganio  acid, 
produced  by  the  decomposititiou  of  the  permanganates  by 
means  of  hydrofiuosiUcic  acid.  2.  The  alkaline  permanga- 
nates, with  the  addition  of  chlorides,  sulphates,  and  alkaline 
fiuosilicates  capable  of  forming  salts,  having  for  base  per- 
manganic acid,  at  the  moment  when  this  acid  is  decomposed 
by  the  fibres ;  passing,  themselves,  into  a  basic  state,  as  is 
shown  presently; 

lu  order  to  employ  practically  the  oxidising  agents  and 
solvents  above  luentioned,  the  operation  is  thus  :— 

For  bleacliing  stuffs  or  threads  of  cotton,  linen,  or  hemp, 
all  the  grease  or  fatty  matter  is  extracted  by  an  alkaline  batL 
They  are  then  steeped  in  a  solution  of  purmangauic  acid  or 
permanganate  of  soda,  with  the  addition  of  sulphate  of  mag- 
nesia. Afterwards  (fifVeen  minutes'  interval  generally)  the 
substances  to  be  bleached  are  remoTed  and  transported 
either  into  alkaliuo  solutions  or  into  baths  containing  sul- 
phurous add,  nitroeulphurio  acid,  or  peroxide  of  hydrogen. 

In  the  first  case  the  substances  are  heated  to  boiling-point 
in  alkaline  solutions  for  several  hours  until  the  oxide  of 
magnesia  which  covers  them  is  partially  or  wholly  dissolved. 

In  the  second  case  tlie  substances  to  be  bleached  are 
steeped  in  baths  containing  either  sulphurous  acid  or  nitro- 
Bulphuric  acid  or  oxygenated  water,  until  the  layer  of  oxide 
of  manganese,  ^-ith  which  they  are  coated,  is  entirely  dis- 
solved; after  Uiis  they  are  washed  and  resteeped,  first  in  a 
solution  of  permanganic  add  or  the  permanganate,  after- 
wards in  alkahne  solutions  or  in  the  solvents  above  men- 
tioned, and  so  on  till  the  bleaching  is  completed. 

A  bleaching-bath,  containing,  according  to  th«  nature  of 
the  fibres  or  tissues  to  be  bleached,  from  2  to  6  kilos,  of 
permanganate  of  soda,  is  sufficient  to  bleach  efibctually  a 
-  bundled  kilos,  of  cottou,  hemp,  or  fiax,  raw  or  woven. 

This  method  of  bleaching  is  the  same  for  wool  and  silk, 
except  that  the  alkaline  liquid  is  a  weak  solution  of  soap? 
and  sulphurous  add  is  alone  employed. 


The  industrial  results  obtained  in  the  factory  of  M.  Verify, 
at  Ck>mine8  (Nord),  by  the  above-mentioned  process  show 
that  hemp  and  linen  threads  are  completely  bleaohed  with- 
out alteration  in  one  day ;  that  their  tissues  are  bleached  ia 
three  days;  that  the  cost  for  complete  bleaching  is  oa 
an  average  3id.  the  kilo,  for  threads,  and  53.  per  100  metres 
for  the  woven  slui&. 

By  the  present  methods  of  bleaching,  even  the  most  rapid 
and  economical,  for  all  textile  Substances  or  tisaoes,  threads 
requure,  ao&rding  to  the  daylight  and  weather,  at  least 
fifteen  days  and  at  most  thirty;  tissnes  from  thirtv  to  sixty 
days.  Also  the  cost  of  bleaching,  on  the  other  hand,  amounts 
in  similar  cases  U;  about  4id.  per  kilogramme  for  threads 
and  7s.  6d.  per  100  metres  for  tissues. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  practical  result  which  we  have  juKt 
mentioned,  new  economical  processes  were  necessary  to  be  * 
found :-^i.  The  production  of  manganate  of  soda;  2.   To 
transform  this  mangauate  into  permanganate. 

Lastiy,  we  mention  that  manganate  of  soda  is  now  pre- 
pared and  sold  at  the  rate  of  one  firano  per  kilogramme  to 
bleachers. 

Its  transformation  into  permanganate  is  easily  and  cheaply 
made,  either  by  means  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  chloride  of 
magnesium,  or  chloride  of  calcium. 

The  following  formulse  show  the  transformation :— * 
3(KO,MnO.)  +2(MgO,80,)= 
=KOMn,OT  +  2(K0,S0.)  +  2(Mg0,H0>. 

LoMO  ago  the  researches  of  Messrs.  DeviUe,  Leohstelier,  and 
Kesaler  proved  that  fluosilido  add,  if  it  could  be  prodnoed 
cheaply,  would  most  advautage<Misly  replace  sulphttrio  acid 
in  the  great  industries  of  potash  and  soda.  On  the  one 
hand,  some  facts  seem  to  indicate  that^  under  certain  con- 
ditions, silica,  melted  wkh  fluoride  of  lime  at  the  highest 
temperature  of  our  furnaces,  produces  fluoride  of  silicium 
and  silicate  of  lime;  on  the  other  hand,  celebrated  Oerman 
and  English  engineers  afiOrmed  that  the  furnaces  for  smelt- 
ing copper  with  fluoride  of  caldum  disengaged  at  the  fumaoo 
mouth  fluoride  of  silidum,  which  seems  to  indioatoi  con- 
formably with  the  analyses  of  M.  Berthier,  that  carbon  played 
a  great  part  in  the  production  of  fluoride  of  silidum  by  the 
dry  way.  Starting  from  these  prindples,  M.  Teesie  de 
Mothay  caused  to  be  melted  in  a  dosed  crudble  a  mixture 
of  two  equivalents  of  silica,  three  equivalents  of  fluoride  of 
caldum,  .and  four  equivalents  of  carbon;  and  he  proved  that 
at  the  temperature  of  melting  iron  a  great  quantity  of  fluoride 
of  silidum  was  evolved.  The  slag  resulting  from  the  oald- 
nation,  when  analysed,  showed  that  the  fluoride  of  caldum  had 
lost  52  per  cent  of  its  fluorine ;  and  direct  observation  proved 
that  the  fluoride  of  siUdum  produced  was  always  aooomp»- 
nied  by  carbonic  oxide  gas.  Convinced  by  these  preliminary 
experiments  of  tbe^possibility  of  the  industrial  production  of 
fluoride  of  silidum,  M.  Tessie  de  Mothay  made,  along  with 
M.  JSde  Kescher,  of  Sarrebruch,  in  a  melting-pot  of  the  works 
at  Ars-sur-MoseUe,  a  first  essay  at  reduction.  This  was 
crowned  with  complete  success,  and  they  proceeded  imme- 
diately to  oonstruct  furnaces  for  the  production  on  a  great 
scale — ^first,  of  fluoride  of  nlidum  and  fluosilidc  add: 
second,  of  caustic  potash  and  carbonate  of  potash,  extraotea 
by  the  action  of  fluosilicio  add  fh>m  the  diloride  of  potas- 
sium of  the  Stasfurth  mine.  The  quantity  of  fluoaUidc  add 
obtained  in  the  blast  furnace  of  Grosbleterstrofi^  near  Sarro- 
quemines,  is  already  sufficient  to  enable  them  in  some  months 
to  deliver  a  ton  of  potash  per  diem  at  a  cheap  rate  to  the  trade. 
This  process  of  fabrication  is  very  efficacious  and  simple, 
since,  by  aid  of  fluodlidc  add,  thoy  collect  68  per  cent,  of 
the  fluorine  contained  in  the  fluoride  of  lime.  It  consists  in 
— I.  Kneading,  as  in  a  brick-making  machine,  carbon  with  a 
mixture  of  silex,  day,  and  fluoride  of  lime,  in  quantities  prc^ 
portionately  equivalent,  and  the  formation,  alter  fUsion  in 
the  blast  flimace,  of  a  bibask;  silicate  of  alumina  and  linoie. 
2.  Mixing  the  cakes  with  the  proportion  of  coke  necessary 
for  the  fusion.  3.  Filling  all  the  furnaces  through  a  double 
chamber  to  hinder  th^passage  of  the  gases  by  the  furnace 


Cbbxtcal  TTkws,  ) 


Paris  Mohihition  ^1867. 


21 


mouth.  4.  To  melt  the  cakes  by  an  intense  heat  produced 
by  powerful  blowers,  and  to  collect  the  gases  in  condensers 
whose  snrfboee  are  continually  wetted,  so  that  the  imme- 
diate contact  of  the  water  decomposes  the  fluoride  of  silicmm 
into  hydro-fluosllidc  add. 

In  Class  51  is  exhibited  a  complete  plan  of  the  works  and 
blast  ftimaces  of  Grosbleterstroff ;  and  in  Class  44  a  series  of 
bottles  contahiing  fluosilicic  add  of  iSo^,  fiuosilicate  of  pot- 
ash, of  soda,  and  of  barjtes,  caustic  potash,  and  soda,  which 
the  fluosilidc  add  has  separated  from  their  combinations 
with  sulphuric  add. 

Chemists,  only  a  few  years  ago,  would  have  refused  to 
bcliere  that  one  could  procure  so  easily  and  certainly,  and 
on  so  lar^  a  scale,  a  product  hitherto  confined  to  the  labor- 
atory, but  now  destined  to  modify  in  the  roost  successful 
manner  one  of  the  most  important  of  modem  industries. 

Paintings  on  glass  required  to  be  transparent  must  have  a 
Sickness  of  enamel  four  or  five  times  greater  than  that  of 
paintings  on  ceramic  paste,  which  are  to  be  viewed  by  re- 
flection. Hence  it  follows — i.  That  the  designs  made  to  be 
transfbrred  to  glass  cannot  be  printed  firom  ordinarily  en- 
graved copper  plates,  since,  after  baking,  it  would  not  have 
the  necessary  thickness  and  opadty;  2,  That  the  organic 
matters  serving  as  a  vehicle  for  the  vitreous  flux  to  make 
the  impressions  must  be  increased  in  a  quantity  proportional 
to  the  amount  of  the  enamels  they  are  to  contain. 

In  order  to  resolve  the  problem  of  impression  by  means 
of  applied  drawings  of  enamelled  pictures  vitrefiable  on 
glass,  it  was  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  employment 
of  deeply  engraved  plates,  similar  to  those  for  paper-hang- 
ing and  stuffy  and  organic  inks  oontaining  the  enamels  in 
a  state  of  combination. 

But  all  the  vehides  hitherto  employed  for  printing  enamels, 
porcelain,  and  earthenware,  when  mixed  with  colouring 
flnzes  in  sufilcient  proportion  to  permit  of  the  impression, 
caase  on  the  glass,  during  the  baking,  the  deformation  of 
the  designs,  and,  in  numerous  places,  non-adherence  to  the 
surfaces  they  cover.  The  siune  efibcts  of  deformation  and 
non-adherence  are  equally  produced  with  inks  composed 
solely  of  resinous  siccatives,  essences,  bitumens,  resins,  and 
other  analogs  vehicles. 

MM.  Tesffli^  de  Mothay  and  Marshal  have  happily  proved 
that  the  organic  inks  favour,  on  the  contrary,  the  union  of 
the  vitreous  flux  with  the  sheets  of  glass;  in  fact,  the 
solvent  of  the  colouring  matters  used  in  painting  on  glass  is 
fin  general  silicate  of  potash  and  lead,  or  a  silloo-borato  of  the 
same  bases.  This  combination,  rendered  plastic  by  the  ad- 
dition of  more  or  less  resin  dissolved  in  the  turpentine,  is  a 
perfect  ink,  which,  printed  in  a  thick  layer  and  transferred 
to  glass,  is  burnt  and  vitrefied  without  deformation  or  air- 
bubbles.  Thanks  to  it,  it  is  possible  to^mploy,  for  the  re- 
production of  ornamental  or  plain  prints,  tiie  rollers  with 
deeply  cut  lines,  which  serve  at  Mulhouse  for  the  printing 
of  stuffe.  Worked  by  steam  power,  these  rollers  produce  in 
an  hour  more  than  250  skilful  designers  could  do  in  a  day. 
Vany  thousands  of  plain  patterns  and  mosaics  of  stained 
glass  produced  by  this  process  already  adorn  our  churches, 
and  the  low  pnce  at  which  they  are  produced  and  sold  tends 
every  day  to  multiply  the  number. 

.  The  same  investigators  have  also  discovered  anew  method 
applicable  to  the  production  of  photographic  images  of  all 
sorts  on  glass,  enamel,  lava,  porcelain,  earthenware,  Ac.  It 
comprehends  a  series  of  ten  operations,  which  we  win  siim- 
marQy  describe,  in  their  order: — i.  Four  parts  of  caoutchouc 
are  dissolved  in  a  hundred  parts  of  benzoL  To  this  solution 
10  added  one  part  of  normal  collodion.  This  compound  is 
pomed  upon  any  of  the  substances  on  which  a  vitrefiable 
portrait  is  requited  to  be  produced.  It  is  then  dried,  either 
in  the  open  air  or  in  a  stove,  until  a  very  coherent  coatmg 
is  formed.  2.  On  this  first  coating,  thus  dried,  iodised  col- 
lodion is  poured.  This  second  coating  iinites  intimately 
wi^  the  first,  and  thus  acquires  a  resistance  equal  at  least 
to  a  layer  of  oaentchouc  of  the  same  thickness,  a  resistance 
whidi  no  ordinaiy  ooUodion  possesses.    3.  After  having  im- 


mersed the  double  coating,  thus  prepared,  in  a  bath  of  nitrate 
of  silver,  an  image  is  produced  on  it,  either  by  a  camera  or 
by  superposition.  4,  The  latent  image  thus  produced  is 
developed  by  any  of  the  agents  generally  used.  5.  It  is 
then  fixed  by  successive  action  of  two  ba^s,  one  containing 
a  solution  of  an  iodocyaaide,  and  the  other  an  alkaline 
cyanide.  6.  The  image  thus  fixed  is  steeped  for  some  in- 
stants in  a  Solution  of  sulphate  of  protoxide  of  iron,  pyro- 
gallic  add,  or  any  other  substance  that  will  reduce  the  salts 
of  silver.  7.  The  image  is  intensified  by  the  action  of  pyro- 
gallio  add,  gallic  add,  formic  acid,  or  sulphate  of  protoxide 
of  iron,  mixed  with  an  add  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver. 
This  strengthening  requires,  on  an  average,  four  to  six 
applications,  when  the  image  is  to  be  seen  by  reflection,  and 
twelve  to  fiJfteen  for  those  which  are  to  be  seen  by  transpa- 
rency. During  ti[iis  operation  of  reinforcement  the  images 
are  washed  three  or  four  times  in  alternate  baths  containing 
iodo-cyamdes  and  alkaline  cyanides ;  then,  immediately  af- 
terwards, in  sulphate  of  protoxide  of  iron,  pyrogallic  acid,  or 
any  other  reducers  of  the  saits  of  silver.  The  consecutive 
employment  of  baths  of  iodo-cyanides,  and  of  alkaline  cyan- 
ides, has  the  efibct  of  completely  dissolving  the  non-ad- 
herent silver  precipitated  over  the  whole  plate  in  each  rein- 
fordng  bath,  and  this  without  destroying  the  original  image, 
which  alone  is  intensified.  The  washings  in  tlie  redudng 
bath  rendering  neutral  the  metallic  surface,  increase  power- 
fully the  ulterior  action  of  the  reinfordng  baths.  8.  The 
photographic  image  being  developed,  fixed,  and  reinforced, 
is  immersed  for  several  hours,  either  in  a  bath  of  chloride  or 
nitrate  of  platinum,  or  in  alternate  baths  of  chloride  of  gold 
and  nitrate  of  platinum,  or,  again,  in  baths  of  chloride  of 
gold.  During  the  steeping,  the  silver  of  the  image  is  either 
partly  replaced  by  platinum,  by  a  mixture  of  platinum  and 
gold,  or  by  gold  alone.  The  purpose  of  the  diflferent  substi- 
tutive baths  is  in  order  that  the  colour  and  nature  of  the 
layer  of  silver  of  the  image  may  be  changed  after  vitrifica- 
tion. In  fact,  if  it  is  desired  to  obtain  by  the  muffle,  and  by 
the  reactions  of  stUdo  or  boradc  fluxes,  images  of  a  greenish 
black,  they  are  previously  immersed  in  a  bath  of  chloride  or 
nitrate  of  platinum ;  If,  on  the  contrary,  a  black  colour  be  re- 
quired, they  are  steeped  successively  in  baths  of  chloride  of 
gold  and  nitrate  of  platinum.  When,  lastly,  ^ilt  images  are  to 
be  produced,  they  are  plunged  into  baths  containing  exclu- 
sively salts  of  gold.  9.  The  image,  <  n  coming  from  the  plati- 
num or  gold  baths,  is  washed  in  a  soliition  of  alkaline  cyanide 
or  concentrated  solution  of  ammonia ;  it  is  then  covered  with 
a  thick  varnish  of  caoutchouc,  or  with  gutta-percha,  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  action  of  fire,  in  a  muffle,  when  the  organic 
matters  are  consumed  and  ihe  metal  left.  10.  Lastly,  the 
image,  thus  freed  from  the  collodion  and  otiior  organic  mat- 
ters, is  covered  with  a  silicic  or  boracic  glaze,  and  submitted 
to  an  orange*red  heat,  which  vitrefics  it.  This  method  is  cal- 
culated to  effect  the  perfect  preservation  of  photographic 


(h'oup  V. — 0108844:  CJiemical  wid  Pharmaceutiedl 
PtodueU, 
The  glass  case  of  Messrs.  John  Casthelaz  k  Co.,  of  Paris, 
oontains  a  very  rich  collection  of  chemical  products  obtained 
by  newly-improved  processes,  which  reflect  great  credit  on 
the  firm.  We  shall  enumerate  them  rapidly.  They  decom- 
pose daily  two  tons  of  nitrate  of  soda  by  sulphuric  acid  to 
obtain  either  nitric  add,  monohydrated  nitric  acid  of  48**  to 
50®,  or  pentahydrated  from  36"  to  40°.  Nearly  all  tlieso 
adds  are  employed  on  the  very  spot  where  they  are  pro- 
duced. The  monohydrated  add  serves  to  produce  tlie 
nitrated  products  of  benzol  and  toluol ;  the  add  at  35**  is 
used  to  transform  arsenious  into  arsenic  add,  phenic  acid 
into  trmitro- phenic  or  picric  add,  the  bichloride  of  naphtha- 
line into  phthalic  add,  4;c.  They  transform  daily  a  ton  of 
benzol  into  nitrobenzol  and  aniline,  and  fabricate,  on  a  very 
large  scale,  picric  add,  crystallised  and  fused.  The  weight 
of  some  of  the  spedmens  attains  one  or  even  two  kilo- 
grammes.   They  have  invented  also,  for  purchasers,  an  ap- 


22 


Pans  Exhibition  of  1867. 


j  Ohbiical  Nnrs, 

1    /K^y,  vm. 


paratua  termed  picroineter^  which  permits  them  to  verify, 
without  trouble,  the  purity  of  the  add  deliverod.  Starting 
with  the  fact,  noticed  by  MM.  Paris  and  Ernest  Depouilly, 
that  the  basic  phthalate  of  suiphate  of  lime  at  300^  is  changed 
into  bonzoate  of  lime,  they  make  naphthaline  serve  for  the 
production  of  benzoic  acid.  Phthalic  acid  results  from  the 
decomposition  of  the  naphthaiic  bichloride.  Phthalate  of 
ammonia  distilled  gives  phthalimide  of  lucuiue;  distilled 
with  powdered  quicklime,  the  phthalimide  produces  ben- 
zonitrile,  and  benzonitrile  distilled  with  caustic  soda  gives 
benzoate  of  soda,  from  which  chlorhydric  acid  precipitates 
benzoic  acid.  Attacked  by  nitric  add,  the  bichloride  of  naph- 
thaline leads  to  an  oil,  and  forms  binitrated  chloride  or  the 
binitro-chloroform  of  M.  Berthelot,  of  which  the  odour  is  so 
penetrating,  and  the  action  on  the  eyes  and  respiratory 
organs  so  terribly  deleterious.  Tlie  emAll  vial  of  this  oil 
which  %ures  in  the  above-named  glass  case  contains  enough 
to  burn  the  eyes  of  thousands  of  visitors.  Near  it  we  gee 
the  picrates  of  baryta,  iron,  lead,  and  merc\iry;  chloroxy- 
naphthalates  of  baryta,  iron,  zinc,  nickel,  and  copper;  with 
the  bichromate  of  potash  anihne  violets,  the  soluble  garnet 
colour,  isopurplcrate  of  potash,  a  fulminating  substance 
which  must  be  kept  wetted  wiUi  water,  the  product  of  the 
reaction  of  cyanide  of  potassium  on  picric  add,  which  dyes 
wool  in  the  richest  oolours  with  a  saving  of  25  per  cent. 

The  pure  and  crystallised  products  from  the  laboratory 
of  Messrs.  Goblentz  Brothers — ^phenotoluol,  azobenzol, 
nitranilines,  binitrobenzol,  binitrotoluolf  toluyldiamine,  and 
paraniline---do  them  the  highest  honour.  They  aVe  emi- 
nently skilful  in  transforming  into  colouring  matters  the 
direct  products  of  coal  tar.  They  exhibit  an  enormous 
block  of  nitrotoluol  admirably  weU  crystallised,  of  a  pale 
yellow  colour,  and  nearly  free  from  nitrobeuzoL  They  have 
discovered  a  very  cheap  process  for  transforming  nitrobon- 
zol  into  anilbie,  and  nitrotoluol  into  toluidine.  They  take 
cast-iron  tiimings,  roughly  ground  to  powder,  cover  ihem 
with  a  layer  of  metallic  copper,  by  plunging  them  in  a  solu- 
tion of  sulphate  of  copper.  These  gsdvanised  turnings  are 
then  placed  along  with  nearly  an  equal  quantity  of  non- 
galvanised  turnings,  and  surrouaded  by  a  suffident  quantity 
of  water.  Nitrobenzol  or  nitrotoluol  is  then  added,  and  a 
galvanic  action  .takes  place  in  the  Uquid.  The  water  is  decom- 
posed, and  the  hydrogen  makes  the  nitrate  body  pass  into  the 
state  of  aniline  or  toluidine,  which  is  tlien  recti&ed  and  ren- 
dered pure.  By  treating  the  residues  with  sulphuric  acid, 
the  copper  is  dissolved,  and  can  serve  for  another  operation. 

A  magnificent  and  curious  experiment  will  be  made  in  a 
few  days  in  the  middle  of  the  Exhibition,  in  the  portion 
allotted  to  M.  Flaud^  one  of  the  constructors  admitted  to 
furnish  motive  power  for  the  gallery  of  machines.  The  ex- 
periment is  imagined  and  organized  by  M.  Henry  Giffard, 
the  well-known  inventor  of  the  injector;  but  it  is  to  be  pro- 
duced under  the  name  of  Mr.  Toung,  formerly  tlie  companion 
of  M.  Gilfard  in  his  steam  essay  of  atrial  navigation.  It  will 
consist  of  an  anchored  balloon,  which  will  rise  with  twenty 
or  twenty-five  persons  to  a  height  of  about  a  hundred 
metres.  It  will  remain  some  time  in  the  air,  and  then  de- 
scend, to  ascend  again  i^dth  a  fresh  party,  and  so  on  all  day 
long.  The  problem  of,,  captive  aerostation  is,  it  is  well 
known,  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  physical  medianics. 
Arago  said  it  was  almost  impossible.  M.  Giffard  solves  the 
question  on  the  most  rational  side,  and  he  wiU  succeed. 
His  balloon  is  a  perfect  sphere  21  metres  in  diameter,  formed 
of  two  very  fine  and  close  tissues  stuck  together  with  sev- 
eral coats  of  black  india-rubber  American  varnish,  coated 
also  with  linseed  drying  oil  to  prevent  all  osmose  or  difiu- 
sion.  This  cloth  is  sufficiently  impermeable  to  hydrogen  to 
keep  it  in  for  a  time  sufficient  for  prolonged  experiments, 
even  for  a  whole  day.  The  dimensions  of  the  balloon  are 
calculated  so  as  to  assure  an  asoensional  power  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  horizontal  component  of  the  wind  will  only 
produce  a  slight  deviation  in  the  vertical  direction  of  tho 
cable  holding  the  balloon.  Upon  this  depends  all  the  suc- 
cessful solution  of  M.  Giffard,  and  it  is  certain  that  t^® 


I  angle  of  deviation  will  never  exceed  40**.  The  cable  unrolls 
I  and  rolls  up  oa  a  drum-wheel  very  solid^  fixed.  The  hy- 
drogen for  the  balloon  will  be  temporarily  procured  by  the 
ordinary  process— iron  and  sulphuric  add;  but  in  a  few 
weeks  it  will  be  obtained  by  the  deoomposition  of.wator  by 
red-hot  charcoal,  at  a  price  less  than  1 5  a  the  eubic  metre. 
Oxygenof  M.  Tessie  de  Mothay  at  50  c.,  and  Gifiard's  hydro- 
gen at  1 5  c.  the  cubic  metre  1  What  a  £;>rtutiate  combination 
this  will  make  for  the  use  of  many  Industries  I 

We  must  not  forget  to  mention,  in  a  few  words,  the  peSa- 
braced  proprietor  and  director  of  the  Pont-Labb^  works,  a 
real  model  establishment,  M.  L.  Paisant  Founded  in  1S40, 
for  the  manufacture  of  starches  and  their  oonvuraion  into 
alcohol,  syrup,  and  dextrine,  it  was  very  soon  afiected  hy  the 
potato  disease.  The  establishment  is  nol  now  confined  to 
its  original  manufactures ;  it  produces  all  sorts  of  chemical 
substances  from  the  seaweed  so  abounding  on  the  Brittany 
coast.  It  consumes  at  present  1800  tons  of  raw  material, 
and  delivers  to  commerce  in  places  far  inland  160,000  litres 
of  kelp  or  lixiviating  ash  produced  from  seaweed.  It  is  ex- 
tensively used  as  an  exoeuent  manure  over  a  great  portion 
of  Finisterre.  • 

M.  Paisant  is  a  great  manufacturer,  much  esteemed  by  all 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  jury  should  take  him  into  considera- 
tion. He  has  developed  his  establishment  on  a  large  scale ; 
he  has  paid  great  attention  to  the  wel£ue  of  the  population 
among  which  he  dwells,  and  has  ameliorated  the  condition 
of  the  working  classes  physically  and  morally,  increasing 
their  wages,  constructing  their  dwellings,  whidi  leave  noth- 
ing to  be  desired  as  to  salubrity,  and  has  founded  a  mutual 
helping  savings  bank,  hi  case  of  the  stoppmg  of  work  or 
sickness,  and  for  the  relief  of  women  and  children. 

In  the  first  rank  of  the  manufacturers  of  chemical  pro- 
ducts we  must  place  M.  Peiss,  of  Paris,  Marseilles,  and 
Lyons,  the  originator  of  the  iabricatk)n  of  sulphuret  of  car- 
bon, and  its  use  in  the  extraction  of  all  fatty  matters.  In 
1847,  sulphuret  of  carbon,  produced  in  a  laboratory,  cost  60 
francs  the  kilogramme.  In  1867,  M.  Deiss  sells  it  at  the 
rate  of  35  centimes  (jid.)  a  kilogramme.  In  1848  the  treat- 
ment of  caoutchouc  by  sulphuret  of  carbon  was  hardj^ 
known.  Sulphuret  of  carbon  now  takes  up,  from  the  resi- 
dues of  many  industries,  several  mllliona  of  kill(^j;rammes  of 
£atty  matters  hitherto  thrown  away;  and  this  application 
is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  discoveries  of  modern  timea. 
No  matter  how  powerful  the  presses,  a  considerable  quaA- 

I  tity  of  oil  is  Lelt  in  the  cakes  of  oleaginevs  aeeds.    The 

:  sulphuret  of  carbon  supplies,  wonderfully,  a  remedy  for 
this  imperfection,  by  taking  out  all  the  remaining  olL  Paris, 
Brussels,   Lyons,   and  Marseilles  possess  large  eatabli^- 

I  roeuts  for  the  extraction  of  the  hitherto  lost  fatty  matters. 
Since  1S62,  these  industrial  works  have  been  well  appre- 

I  dated  by  the  juries.  Dr.  Hofmann  placed  them  in  the  first 
rank.  Since  a  few  years  back,  they  have  attaitted  aii  enor- 
mous size.  At  the  Carthusian  Friary  of  Marseilles,  Boule- 
vard Achard,  a  gigantic  extractor  treats,  in  56  hours,  43 
cubic  metres  of  pulp  or  lees  of  olive,  using  45  tons  of  sul- 
phuret of  carbon,  which  penetrates  into  the  whole  moss, 
takes  up  the  oil,  and  deposits  it  in  the  distilling  apparatus. 
The  sulphuret  of  carbon  is  tiien  passed  through  a  worm,  re- 
generated, and  condensed,  without  auy  sensible  loss,  ready 
to  take  up  another  quantity  of  dl.  Thirty  to  thirty-five 
tons  of  oily  substances  are  thus  extracted  at  each  operation. 
At  Lyons  they  used  to  throw  into  the  Bhone,  annaaUy, 
the  oil  that  might  have  been  used  for  making  5000  tons  of 
soap.  Now,  on  the  contrary,  the  application  is  complete : 
oil  in  its  neatral  state  is  entirely  utilised,  and  the  process 
of  !(.  Deiss  is  welcoined  in  the  industrial  arts. 

M.  Gollas,  our  esteemed  friend  and  neighbour,  Na  8,  Rue 
Dauphine,  was  the  first  to  introduce  in  impce,  about  1840^ 
the  manufacture,  mechanically,  of  medical  loKonges.  They 
are  stamped  out  as  in  the  Mint,  like  ooins  of  different 
shapes,  and  bear  inscriptions  indicative  of.  (mality  and  the 
method  of  using  theuL    Ho  discovered,  in  1848,  benzioe  in 


GrRMiCAL  Kswa, ) 


Pains  ExTiihition  of  1867. 


23 


ooal  oilf  and  at  onoe  Introduced  it  into  comineroe  for  deans- 
ing  Btofik;  also  nitro-benzine,  whioh  is  a  cheap  substitute 
for  the  essence  of  bitter  almonds.  The  creation  of  this 
substance  really  led  to  the  beautiful  anilmo  oolonrs.  The 
Socie^  of  Mulhouse  said  of  him,  in  thefr  meeting  of  March 
22 — "  M.  OoUas  has  introduoed  into  oommeroe  iMnsine  and 
nitro-bensine ;  the  first  seems  lor  taking  out  stains  from 
stuflk,  the  second  is  used  in  perftunerjr;  ....  be  has 
not  found  out  any  colouring  matter,  but  we  are  now  in  pos- 
session of  a  product  hitherto  impossible  to  be  procured.  Dr. 
Hofmann  repeated  the  ei^riments  of  M.  Runge  on  kyanol 
(aniline).  ....  Perkin  reproduced  a  reaction  first 
indicated  by  Beraeliua,  and  a  great  industry  has  been  cre- 
ated. .  .  .  ."  Thus  the  Mulbouse  Society  give  all  the 
credit  to  U.  Gollas  ibr  tho  means  of  makmg  anUae  ootours. 

Phosphates  of  lime,  considered  in  the  light  of  physiology 
and  pharmaoy,  have  been  ono  of  the  favourite  studies  of  M. 
Collaa,  He  discovered  and  demonstrated  by  experiment 
that  gelatinous  phosphate  of  lime  possessed  the  singular 
property  of  iacilitating  the  putreihctioii  of  animal  matters. 
It  acts  under  these  circumstances  not  as  forming,  but  as 
aiding  powerfully,  the  development  of  those  infusoria  wtaioh 
determine  the  decomposition  of  animal  mattets.  Thus  it  is 
a  powerful  digestive  agent,  and  as  eapenments  prove  that 
diabetes  and  glucolucie  depend  upon  the  natnre  of  the 
blood,  and  that  the  ezoeHent  preparations  of  phosphate  of 
soda  of  M.  GoUas,  his  phosphoric  lemonade,  and  milk  of  hy- 
drated  phosphate  of  lime  are  BMwt  successful 

During  these  last  years,  stimulated  by  the  experiments  of 
M.  LuoR,  M.  CoUas  prepares  iron  reduced  by  electricity, 
quite  pure,  by  aid  of  one  Bunsan  pile  acting  on  chloride  of 
iron  in  solution.  The  iron  is  deposited  as  a  eoating,  while 
the  several  impurities  £ril  to  the  bottom,  leaving  tiia  iron 
quite  pureu  Obtained  thus  in  grains  or  in  very  friaUe 
plates,  it  i«  easi^  reduoed  to  an  impalpable  powder,  like 
the  coi^r  of  M.  Oudry.  It  is,  however,  very  oxMisabto, 
and  is  obliged  to  bo  eBick>9ed,  for  medkxd  use,  m  gelatiae 
capeules.  Kaeh  capsule  full  of  iron  weighs  lo  grammes  and 
50  centigrammes  (or  about  i6a  grains) ;  the  maximom  dose 
per  dieai  is  five  capsules,  and  observationB  continually  prove 
tiie  striking  effioacy  af  the  administration  of  metaOio  iron. 

We  recollect  having  seen  in  the  glass  ease  of  M.  Bou»- 
seau,  another  ftrst-olass  maker  of  ohemieal  prodacta,  a  great 
phial  of  iron  roduoed  by  eledaioity,  whidi  was  very  oston- 
iahmg  to  behold  It  was  not  black  like  that  of  M.  OoHas, 
but  it  had  the  grey  metallks  oalonr  of  iioii.  He  founded  in 
1843  ^^  <ietaMishment  for  the  fabrication  and  sale  of  ehemi- 
cal  products  and  apparatus  necessary  for  physical  manip»> 
lation  and  the  instruction  6t  students.  I\nr  twenty  years 
he  resided  in  the  Bue  de  TBoola  da  MedaciBe,  and  three 
years  ago  ha  removed  to  the  Boa  des  Boolssi  His  cnstom- 
e»  have  inoreaaed  daily  under  our  very  eyes,  and  tiiis  aug- 
mentation proves  that  he  has  well  AiUHled  his  engagement 
towards  the  public.  In  dass  44,  M.  Bousseau  shows  what 
ha  wdinaiil^  manu^oMires  and  delivers  fer  aale  :-~i.  Speet- 
mena  or  aamplee  of  products  and  reagents.  2.  A  series  of 
oxides  and  salts  for  colouring  silicates,  the  cost  of  which  he 
haa  lowered  without  diminishing  the  quality,  so  as  to  com- 
pete (avourahly  with  foreigBmaikets.  3.  Kassas  of  sodium 
that  he  was  the  first  to  mannfadnre  commaroiully  and 
cheaply,  so  as  tx>  render  ahiminiun  available  at  a  moderate 
cost)  and  on  which  aoooant  M.  Sainte-Claire  DeviUe  made 
him  one  of  his  paztnera.  4.  Hagneainm  also  prepared  for 
sale  ooHunaroial^,  along  with  other  metals  recently  disoev- 
ared^-Hnioh  as  omaium,  mbidium,  thallium,  fta  5.  Pyro- 
gaUic  aoid  for  photogiaphie  purposes,  of  which  ha  sells  1500 
to  1800  kilogrammes  per  annum.  6.  Benaoio  aoid  employed 
in  the  preparatkm  of  anfiine  ooloure ;  of  this  he  undoubted- 
ly extracts  several  thousanda  of  tons  every  year  from  the 
urine  of  oews,  carefully  ooiOeoted  from  the  nwnerons  dahries 
abottt  Paris.  Before  be  began  has  work  all  the  banaoic  add 
consumed  in  Franoe  oame  from  Germany.  The  great  aim  of 
M.  Bousseau  is  to  give  to  the  oommeroial  world,  at  a  reason- 
able prioe,  materials  wMoh  wore  unnattainable  with  profit 


by  the  manufacturing  world.  He  exhibits  in  Class  51a. 
stove,  which  advantageously  replaces  that  of  G^ay-Lussac, 
and  which  only  costs  25  fr.  instead  of  4  j  fr. ;  a  new  densi- 
meter easily  empteyed;  pktes  and  cylinders  of  artificial 
carbon  for  the  cheap  use  of  Bunsen*s  batteries.  Ho  also 
shows  in  Olaas  90^  marked  at  the  price  of  200  fr.  (8J.X  a  col- 
lection of  products  for  the  elementary  instruction  of  chemi- 
cal students,  with  an  explanatory  volume.  We  mention 
other  innovatioDs  made  in  France  by  the  same  distinguished 
hand.  In  1839  he  patented  the  first  process  for  obtainiDg 
sulphuric  acid  from  pyrites ;  there  was  at  that  time  a  great 
establishment  at  Javel,  but  sulphur,  then  at  a  high  price, 
suddenly  fell  in  the  market  and  pyrites  could  no  longer 
compete  with  it  To  H.  Bousseau  is  due,  also,  the  first 
idea  of  the  agglomerated  coal,  or  "  Charbons  de  Paris,"  ex- 
tensively used  in  France  for  culinary  purposes,  M.  Pope- 
Hn-du-Oftzze,  who  bought  the  patent,  has  been  very  success- 
fhl  on  the  l^rge  scale.  In  1849  ^<^  organised  the  mode  of 
extraction  of  sugar  by  the  double  action  of  lime  and  car- 
bonic acid,  which  has  now  been  followed  for  the  last 
twenty-four  years  under  the  name  of  Bousseau's  process  by 
an  Europe.  He  also  discovered  a  decolorising  charcoal 
black  at  a  cheap  price — 6  fr.  the  100  kiloga.  (220-5  ^^s.)  for 
refining,  in  pkce  of  the  cumbersome  and  ctirty  substances 
formerly  used. 

M.  HuUIard,  the  elder,  of  Paris,  exhibits  as  the  special 
objects  manufactured  by  him  orseiUe,  ordne,  orceine,  eriph- 
thlne,  eryphic  acid,  ftc.  The  other  mineral  substances,  the 
protoxide  and  seaqnfoxide  of  cobalt,  and  five  carbonates,  the 
arseniate,  phosphate,  silicate,  borate,  sulphate,  nitrate,  and 
chloride  of  cobalt;  and  the  carbonate,  nitrate,  and  chloride 
of  cadmium  are  admirably  crystallised.  These  are  very 
creditable,  and  reflect  much  honour  upon  11  Jourdin,  the 
young  and  energetic  superintendent  of  the  works,  who  is 
actively  engaged  in  solving  the  following  problems: — i. 
The  delivery  to  commerce  of  orseille,  liquid  orseille.  orcel- 
line,  extract  of  orseille,  or  imperial  red.  2.  The  production 
on  a  large  scale  of  cobalt  blues  to  rival  thoso  of  Germany. 
M.  Hulllard  has  succeeded  in  rendering  lower  the  price  of 
cobalt  blued  for  stuffs  and  wall-paper,  while  at  tho  samo 
time  they  are  more  durably  fixed.  The  Bank  of  France  has 
adopted  them  for  the  100  fr.  bank-notes,  inimitable  by  any 
photographic  process ;  also  for  tho  20  centimes  (blue  two- 
penny) postage  stamps,  though  they  are  of  a  greenish  hue 
by  candle-light,  but  readily  distinguishable  from  the  others. 

M.  Eua^be,  of  Paris,  exhibits  some  very  fine  aniline  greens 
and  reds  obtained  by  carbb-humic  acid.  He  has  yielded  the, 
fhll  right  of  manufacture  to  M,  J.  J.  MuUer,  of  Basle.  He 
has  two  magnificent  collections  of  samples  which  can  rival 
with  any  of  the  other  manufacturers  in  the  Palace. 

M.  Jean  Bod  has  already  received  our  compliments  for 
the  splendid  specimen  of  crystallised  and  almost  white 
rosanuine.  He  challenges  the  first  markets  of  Paris  or 
London,  and  the  greatest  houses  to  produce  better.  Ho  pro- 
duces dally  175  kilos,  of  muriate  of  rosauHine,  aniline  blues, 
violet,  and  greens.  He  also  produces,  with  the  same  sub- 
stances, and  delivers  to  the  commercial  world — hydrochlor- 
ate  of  aniline,  a  red  dyej  hydrate  of  monophenvlic  rosani* 
line,  giving  a  reddish-violet  tint ;  hydrochlorate  of  diphenylio 
rosaniline,  giving  a  blue  violet;  hydrochlorate  of  triphenylic 
rosaniline,  giving  a  blue  dya. 

In  another  collection  of  violets  exhibited  by  him  under 
the  name  of  Parma  or  Alexandria  violet,  in  the  preparation 
of  which  ethyl  replaces  phenyl — ^Hoftnann's  process-^ex- 
hiblted  also  by  M.  If cnier,  H.  Bod  exhibits  a  cup  of  500 
grammes  (li  lb.  avoirdttix)is)  of  cyanide  or  quinolme  blue. 
To  enumerate  the  splendid  display  of  M.  Bod  would  be  too 
much  for  our  space ;  suffice  ft  to  say  that  we  warmly  recom- 
mend him  to  the  attention  of  the  jury. 


liondon  University.— Professor  Williamson,  Ph.D., 
F.B.S.,  and  H.  Debus,  Esq.,  Ph.D.,  F.B,a,  have  been  re- 
elected  Examiners  in  Chemistry  for  the  tJniversity  of  Lon- 
don.   The  salary  of  each  office  is  175?,  per  annum. 


24 


Uliemical  Society. 


j  Chektoal  News, 
\     JiOy,  18CT. 


PROOSBDINaS  OF  SOOIBTIB8. 


CHEMICAL  SOCIBTT, 
Thursday,  AprH  i8w 

Dr,  J.  H.  Glamtokb,   F.RM.^  yke-Pre&iderU,    in  Vie 

Chair, 

In  continuation  of  our  report  of  last  week,  we  now  give  an 

account  of  the  papers  read  by  Mr.  Chapman,  and  of  the  short 

communication  from  Dr.  P.  C.  Calvert. 

The  first,  entitled  "  Oxidation  of  the  Acids  of  the  Lactic 
Sei-iesi"  by  Messrs.  K  T.  Chapman  and  Miles  H.  Smith, 
asserts  that  the  acids  of  this  series  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  products  of  oxidatioo 
which  they  respectively  furnish ;  the  first  containing  hydro- 
gen and  an  organic  radical,  giving  rise  to  the  formation  of 
aldehydes,  whilst  the  secondary  acids,  containing  two  organic 
radicals,  produced  ketones.  Dimetboxalio  acid  yielded,  on 
oxidation,  acetone  and  carbonic  acid,  and  cthornetbozalic 
ncid  (prepared  fh)m  the  corresponding  ether  of  Frankland 
and  Duppa)  gave  carbonic  acid  and  methylated  acetone,  boil- 
ing at  82-83*  ^•»  *^^  having  a  fragrant  odour,  very  similar  to 
propione.  Of  tliis  compound  an  analysis  was  made,  which 
furnished  results  in  dose  accordance  with  the  numbers  de- 
manded bv  theory.  Like  common  acetone,  it  combines  witli 
alkaline  bisulphitef*,  but  with  more  energy,  evolving  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  heat,  and  forming  a  compound  which  is 
▼ery  soluble  in  water.  On  further  oxidation  of  this  substance 
nothing  but  acetic  acid  was  produced.  Similar  results  were 
obtained  in  tho  oxidation  of  diethoxalic  acid.  The  authors 
recommend  a  resort  to  this  method  for  the  easy  preparation 
of  the  ketones,  and,  finally,  propose  by  this  means  to  investi- 
gate problems  of  isomerism  occurring  amongst  the  fatty  adds, 
illustrations  of  which  are  sketched  in  the  paper. 

The  Chairuan  insisted  upon  the  value  of  an  extended 
optical  method  of  research  carried  out  in  conjunction  with 
the  prindples  indicated  by  the  authors  in  this  communication. 

A  preliminary  note  "  On  Limited  Oxidation  with  Atkaline 
Permanganale^^^  by  the  same  authors,  was  then  read.  The 
authors  point  out  the  differences  in  the  products  of  oxidation 
of  common  alcohol  by  the  use  of  acid  and  alkaline  solutions 
of  permanganic  acid  ;  thus,  whilst,  in  the  presence  of  sulphu- 
ric or  other  mineral  acid,  a  mixture  of  aldehyde  and  acetic 
acid  is  produced,  on  the  other  hand,  in  an  alkaline  solution 
nothing  but  oxalic  acid  is  formed.  Lactic  acid  under  like 
circumstances  gave  similar  results.  80  that  much  depends 
upon  the  roaintenanoe  of  unalterable  conditions  during  the 
progress  of  oxidation  with  permanganate  of  potash,  and  the 
authors  submit  that  Truchot's  and  Berlhefot's  anomalous 
results  obtained  in  the  examination  of  amylene  are  attri- 
butable to  a  want  of  appreciation  on  their  part  of  this  fact 
The  authors  described  a  method  of  distinguislilng  between 
tartaric  and  dtric  adds,  founded  upon  the  drcumstance  that 
the  latter  acid  does  not  carry  the  reduction  further  than  the 
green  manganate  in  a  strongly  alkaline  solutk>n,  whilst  tarta- 
ric acid  furnishes  the  brown  hydrated  binoxide. 

The  Secrbtaet  ihen  read  a  paper  by  Dr.  F.  Crace  Calvert, 
*  On  the  Presence  of  Soluble  Fhonphates  in  Cotton  IKbre,  Seeds, 
d:c.'^  The  author  points  out  the  fact  that  seeds  contain  rela- 
tively more  mineral  phosphates  {ban  other  parts  of  the  plants 
upon  which  they  are  borne,  and  alludes  to  the  oomroon  prac- 
tice of  burning  oflf  the  organic  matters  before  proceeding  to 
.search  for  the  phosphates  therein  contained.  From  his  ex- 
periments Dr.  Calvert  haa,  however,  been  led  to  conclude  that 
the  whole  of  the  phosphoric  acid  or  phosphates  is  merely  held 
mechanically  distributed  throughout  the  organic  tissue,  and  in 
such  a  condition  that  they  may  be  wholly  extracted  by  the 
action  of  water.  Cotton  yam  steeped  for  several  hours  in 
distilled  water  furnished  a  solution  containing  appreciable 
quantities  of  phosphoric  add,  lime,  and  magnesia,  ^nd  quan- 
titative experiments  were  made  upon  seven  characteristic  va- 
rieties of  cotton,  which  had  been  carefully  prepared  and 
.carded  in  Manchester,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  ex- 
itent  to  which  the  phosphates  oould  be  removed  by  washing. 


The  results  showed  by  the  uranium  process  amounts  varying 
between  '035  and  '055  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  add  thus  dis- 
solved, whilst  ticaoes  only  of  this  constituent  oould  be  detected 
in  the  ash  left  upon  burning  the  washed  and  dried  cotton. 
Similar  expeHmeuHb  made  upon  wheat,  French  beans  and 
walnnts  gave  Kke  results,  much  phosphoric  add  and  magnesia 
being  discovered  in  the  aqueous  solution.  The  author  prom- 
ises to  continue  these  researdiee  and  communicate  the  results. 
The  Chaivm AN  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  in  fevour  of  the 
authors^  and  adjourned  the  meeting  as  already  reported. 

TkuTdday,  May  2. 
Frofessor  W.  A.  Millb,  M.D.,  Tres.  JL8^  Vke-Presideniy 

in  ihs  Chair, 
Ov  the  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  being  read,  the 
Chairman  stated  that  the  election  announced  to  have  taken 
pUioe  on  the  last  oocasioD  must  be  dedared  null  and  void,  by 
reason  of  an  inaulBdent  number  of  voters  taking  part  in  the 
ballot  The  name  of  another  candidate  who  was  then  re- 
tamed  non-elected  would  also  be  again  suspended,  since  the 
ballot  in  both  ihstanoes  was  infomial.  The  minutes  were  then 
oonflrmed.  The  following  gentlemen  then  signed  the  statute 
book,  and  were  admitted  Fellows  of  the  Sodety,  vis.,  Messrs. 
Henry  Weston  £re^  a  R.  A.  Wright^  William  K.  Waite,  and 
J.  W.  Hudson,  LL.D. 

The  candidates  now  proposed  for  election  were  Augustus 
Alfred  Wood,  74,  Cheapeide;  WiUiam  Pbipson  Beale.  bar- 
rister-at  law.  Stone  Buildings;  and  Alfred  Coleman,  Plough 
Court,  Lombard  Street  For  the  second  time  were  read  the 
names  of  Robert  B.  Tatfook,  Millhouse,  Kyles  of  Bute,  and 
Walter  WiUiam  Fkidee,  gas  engineer,  Soiherohaye,  Clifion. 
For  the  third  time  were  read  the  names  -of  John  Cargill 
Brougli,  4,  Norman  Terraos^  Stookwdl ;  F.  W.  Peterson,  of 
her  Majesty's  Mint,  Caleatta,  51,  Myddelton  Square,  London ; 
and  three  other  candidatesL  before  proceeding  to  the  ballot, 
the  Chairman  said  that  the  measure  which  had  been  under 
the  consideration  of  the  Cound^  and  wbicb  was  intended  to 
raise  the  standard  of  qualification  required  for  a  member's 
admissioD  into  the  Society,  was  not  to  be  construed  as  being 
retrospective  in  its  operation,  and  it  would  be  roanifoatly  in- 
oonvenient  if  the  regulations  were  made  more  stringent  in 
the  case  of  the  oandidatea  proposed  for  eleetion  on  this  occa- 
aion.  Upon  the  baUot  bdng  opened,  the  FeUows  to  the  un- 
usually laiige  number  of  thirty-two  recorded  their  votes,  and 
the  balls  in  certain  instaaoss  had  to  be  very  carefully  counted. 
The  result  was  the  retum  of  Mr.  Brough  and  Mr.  Peterson  as 
Fellows  of  the  Sodety,  but  the  other  three  candidates  were 
declared  non-elected. 

The  GuAiBitAV  referred' to  the  drcunietance  of  so  many  of 
the  leading  members  being  in  attendnnce  at  the  Paris  Kx- 
hibition  and  elaewbera,  and  said  that  a  dilBoulty  bad  been 
encountered  in  the  attempt  to  provide  formal  matter  in  the 
shape  of  papers  to  be  read ;  he  would,  therefore,  invite  com- 
muDioations  from  any  Fellow  or  visitor  in  the  room,  who 
obaneed  to  have  any  subject  of  interest  in  a  auffldently  for- 
ward state  to  bring  before  the  notice  of  the  meeting. 

Dr.  Oduha  claimed  tbe^  indulgence  of  the  meeting  in 
regard  to  the  remarks  be  was  about  to  offer,  wita  a  view 
of  starting  a  subject  for  disoussion.  In  the  first  place,  he 
would  mention,  for  the  informatfen  of  the  manufiicturing 
diemista,  that  the  French  bad  apparently  succeeded  in 
working  out  a  great  oommeroial  problem  with  respect  to 
the  recovery  of  sulphur  fron  the  waste  resldnes  of  the 
alkali  manufacture.  Great  blodcs  of  sulphur  were  shown 
in  the  Paris  Exlubition,  whidi  were  said  to  have  been  pre- 
pared from  this  source,  and  it  was  propossd  to  employ  it 
in  making  gunpowder  and  other  aulphur  products.  So  far  as 
the  spealrer  was  aware,  no  published  statement  of  the  modus 
operandi  had  appeared,  but  it  was  generally  believed  that 
manganese  in  some  form,  and  possibly  Uie  refuse  of  the  chlorine 
retorts,  was  made  avaiiabie.*    In  the  event  of  these  antid> 

•  It  lUM  b«eB  niggMtod  that  the  rafphnr  najr  ponlblr  hvn  been  ex- 
*nMed  bj  tti^  methMl  of  K.  Esoiie  Kopp,  detortbed  last  year  ia  the 
MonUwr  ScisnUJIqMe.'-T^.  G.  If, 


QinnCAL  Newi,  I 
nhO^,  18<r.      f 


Chemical  Society. 


25 


])fition8  being  realized,  there  were  vast  accumulatioiis  of 
waste  material  id  the  north  of  England  which  could  thus  be 
economised.  Taming  to  another  topic  of  more  abstract  sci- 
entific interest,  Dr.  Odling  observed  that  he  found  a  difficulty 
in  recognising  the  law  of  corabioation  by  saturation  capaci- 
ties, in  what  had  been  termed  the  "atomicity"  of  nitrogen. 
For  instance,  this  element  was  found  at  one  time  entering 
Into  combination  with  three  atoms  of  hydrogen,  and  thereby 
forming  ammonia,  whilst  at  other  times,  as  in  sal  ammoniac, 
the  nitrogen  was  united  with/wc  associated  atoms.  The  cou- 
Btitutton  of  these  bodies  might  be  thus  represented : 
I.~AinmonU.    IL-^aI  AmmoniiL 

N-H  N— H 


I    I 


A 


I 

CI 


According  to  this  yiew,  nitrogen  bad  always  five  bond«, 
two  of  which,  in  the  first  example,  oooCroiled  one  another's 
activity,  and  all  five  were  brooglit  into  play  and  united  either 
with  hydrogen  or  chlorine  in  the  ammonia  salt  In  the 
union  of  ehlorine  and  nitrogen,  there  must  be  an  abstraction  of 
lieati  sinoe  the  deoonpoaition  of  tlie  chloride  of  nitrogen  was 
attended  with  the  disengagement  of  a  considerable  amount  of 
heat,  yetk  if  ehlerine  be  passed  into  ammonia,  there  was  still 
a  development  of  heat»  and,  nevertheteas,  the  chlorine  we  are 
told,  teavea  the  hydrogen  in  order  that  it  may  nnite  with  ni- 
trogeo,  an  element  lor  which  it  has  a  very  slight  affinity.  It 
might  then,  from  this  reaction,  be  doubled  whether  nitiogen 
was  really  peatatoroic.  Agaia,  sodium  exposed  to  air  pro- 
duces KaaO;  and  this  diaaolved  in  water  (with  disengagement 
of  heat)  prcMiuoed  a  hydrate,  from  which  the  water  oould  not 
agaiu  be  driven  off  by  beat  But  inasmuch  as  eodium  gives 
out  more  heat  than  hydrogen  by  its  union  with  oxygen,  the 
conversion  of  the  molecule  of  aodic  oxide  into  hydrate  would 
produce  exactly  as  much  oc^d  as  the  conversion  of  the  mole- 
cule of  water  into  hydrate  would  produce  heat.  Thallium 
differed  from  sodium  in  these  respects,  ana  its  hydrate  lost 
water  by  the  action  of  beat^  These  facts  prove  tliat  sodium 
exerts  upon  the  hydrogen  an  action  which  thallium  does  not 
Other  illustrations  were  quoted:  thus  in  the  slaking  of  lime 
there  was  great  beat  evolved,  whereas  the  contrary  result 
might  luive  been  expected,  sinee  there  was,  so  to  speak,  "an 
un burning  of  the  calcium."  In  the  instances  of  barium  and 
magnesium  there  seemed  also  something  requiring  explana- 
tion. The  speaker  oonduded  by  offering  an  apology  for  hav- 
ing brought  forward  these  considerations  in  an  incomplete 
form,  but  he  trusted  that  the  attendant  cirodmstanoss  would 
justify  his  having  taken  such  a  step. 

Profeasor  Wiluamson  remarked  that  ehemista  were  very 
much  in  the  habit  <^  losing  s^pht  of  one  most  important  foot 
— viz.,  the  changes  of  pfoperties  whieh  elements  undergo  in 
eombination.  When  they  foond  that  one  element  had  got 
certain  combming  forces,  tlioy  were  apt  to  suppose  that  it  must 
retain  them  when  partially  saturated  by  some  other  element 
Thus,  admitting  that  in  potasne  hydrate  an  atom  of  oxygen 
was  oombioed.  on  the  one  hand,  with  au  atom  of  potaswum, 
on  the  other  with  an  atom  of  hydrogen,  it  was  not  correct  to 
assume  that  the  ibioe  whieh  bound  it  to  the  hydrogen  was 
the  same  as  that  which  bound  it  to  esoh  of  the  two  atoms  of 
hydroflen  in  water.  The  atom  of  oxygen  in  potsssie  hydrate 
was  altered  by  its  oosAbinatmn  with  peiassium  in  such  a  way 
that  it  ODOlbmed  more  powerfully  with  hydrogen  tlian  in  water. 
So  also  in  sal  ammoniac^  an  atom  of  nitrogen  was  united  with 
five  atoms,  four  of  hydrogen  and  one  of  ohlorine.  By  vnit- 
ing  with 'hydrogen  it  had  btoome  more  basjrieus,  and  oould 
iKrfd  chlorine  mors  firmly  than  it  oonld  do  when  united  only 
with  ohlorine.  Frofessor  WiUiamson  added  a  few  remarks  on 
the  sobjeot  of  the  word  *' atomicity."'  He  was  of  opinion 
that  all  we  know  on  the  sobjeot  was  represented  by  the  word 
eqoivalenos^  and  he  reoommended  the  retention  of  the  word 
eqoivalenoa  '*  Atomicity"  was  used  by  some  persons  to  de- 
note an  imrontaUe  equivalenge,  and  ia  sooh  sense  was  untrue 
•od  miscbievoiii, 


The  CnAiR&fAN  entertained  an  objection  to  the  use  of  the 
word  "  atomicity,"  since  it  implied  a  theory,  whiUt  the  term 
'*  equivalence"  was  merely  a  statement  of  the  facta 

Br.  Thudichuic  said  that  in  taking  note  of  the  &ct  that 
three  successive  speakers  had  expressed  their  dissatisfaction 
with  the  term  "  atomicity,**  he  begged  to  state  that  he  had 
never  used  it,  but  had  from  the  beginning  of  his  tesching  de- 
scribed the  property  of  atoms  which  it  was  mtended  thereby 
to  signaliso  as  "dynaraicity."  He  recognised  a  priority  of 
publicatu>n  of  the  conception  of  the  necessity  for  this  change 
on  the  part  M.  Wfirtz,*  although  this  chemist  had  not  made 
the  change  nor  abandoned  the  questionable  word.  No  one 
who  valued  logic  could  use  expressions  which  signified  the 
'^indivisibleness  of  the  indivisible,"  or  the  "undividnessof  the 
undivided,"  with  the  effect  of  thereby  defining  anything ;  but 
the  expression  would  appear  still  more  ilk>gical  when 
it  was  considered  that  it  was  used  to  define  a  power 
the  very  essence  of  whk^h,  as  it  appeared  fh>m  one 
point  of  view,  was  diviaibility.  Indeed,  the  expression 
"tomicity,"  If  properly  understood  to  refer  to  the  power, 
and  not  to  the  matter  or  body  of  the  atom,  would  be 
correct  for  a  far  greater  number  of  cases  than  the  same  word 
with  the  privative  "a"  prefixed  could  ever  reach.  Tliose 
who  had  hitherto  been  roost  active  in  developing  the  theory 
of  "  atomicity  "  had  implied  that  it  was  a  power  possessed  by 
the  atom  abeolotely,  and  that  in  eases  where  sppareotly  only 
a  portion  of  the  maximum  power  which  ah  atom  could  exer- 
cise was  employed,  the  rest  of  its  power  was  firee,  and  open 
to  engage  itself  Late  developments  of  science  had,  however, 
made  it  very  doubtful  whether  this  was  a  correct  appreciation 
of  the  facts  observed,  and  whether  the  changes  in  Uie  amount 
of  power  exhibited  by  atoms  were  not  actual  changes  of  the 
amount  of  power  possessed  by  them  in  concrete  casea  In- 
deed, if  he  had  rightly  understood  some  theoretical  consider- 
ations of  Kolbe  and  of  Wurtz,  these  chemists  seemed  to  admit 
that  what  they  called  "  atomicity  "  was  a  changeable  power 
of  atoms,  and  that  was  the  condusion  towards  which  his  own 
studies  and  reflections  had  been  driving  him  (Dr.  Thudichum) 
for  some  tim&  The  positive  part  of  his  opinion  would  appear 
from  a  few  4eflnitlons  which  he  begged  leave  to  lay  Wore 
the  meeting.  The  idea  of  atom  included,  of  course,  that  of 
element,  in  the  chemical  sense;  and  most  chemists  defined 
atom  as  the  smallest  quantity  of  an  element  that  could  exist 
in  any  chemical  compound.  All  atoms  manifested  various 
qualities  of  power,  and  of  some  qualities  of  power  many 
atoms  manifested  varying  quantities.  The  first  obvious  pow- 
er of  atoms  was  that  of  polarity,  the  differentiation  of  which, 
in  two  opposite  qualities  (conveniently  termed  positive  and 
negative,  or  +  and  - ),  explained  the  formation  of  the  ele- 
mentary mofecule,  or  molecule  conslBting  of  two  atoms  ho- 
mogeneous hi  every  respect  except  that  of  polarity.  Atoms 
further  manifested  chemism,  or  power  to  effect  interchange 
of  place,  or  substitution,  or  combination  with  heterogeneous 
atoms,  polarity  determining  the  place  which  each  atom  should 
take  with  reference  to  any  other.  Chemism  is  a 
stronger  power  than  more  polarity;  it  separates  the 
homogeneous  molecule ;  but,  in  forming  a  new  and  hetero- 
geneous molecule,  it  adds  the  entire  amount  of  the  polarity 
of  the  atoms  employed  to  its  own  effective  power.  Thus, 
out   of  the    combination    of    a   molecule    of    hydrogen 

(HE)  and  a  molecule  of  chlorine  (Old),  there  result  by 
the  action  of  chemism  two  molecules  of  hydrochloric 
acid,  equal  in  all  respects  except  the  polarity  of  their 
constituent  stoma  The  next  quality  which  atoms  mani- 
fested was  dynamicity,  which  might  be  defined  am  the 
faculty  to  vary— that  is,  to  decrease  and  increase — the 
amount  of  power  of  combination  with  other  atoms.  This 
power  might  be  exercisable  in  multiple  directions  at 
the  same  time,  but  was  not  separiMe  as  to  sest 
For  the  intensity  with  which  an  atom  was  held,  or  exercised 

tTberMdur  !•  Mlbmd  to  the  Ibotaotes,  M84  of  Wurtx**  **Fh11os. 
Cbliniqac;'  Pwrff.   186^ 


26 


Chemical  Society. 


\     July,  1867/ 


itself,  in  combination,  dynamicitj  afforded  as  jet  no  measure. 
That  intensity  was  no  doubi  the  result  of  polarity,  cbemiso), 
and  dynamicity,  and  probably  other  influences,  combined.. 
But  for  the  numeral  quantity  of  power  or  the  number  of  units 
of  power  of  combination  as  measured  by  certain  assumed 
standards,  dynamicity  afforded  a  correct  expression.  The 
unit  or  minimum  of  dynamis  manifested  by  an  atom,  he  term- 
ed monad ;  the  greatest  number  of  units  constituted  its  mo- 
nado-atomic  equivalent,  or  fbH  dynamis.  The  assumed  stand- 
ard of  unit  of  dynamis  hitherto  accepted  had  been  hydrogen, 
and  the  maximum  number  of  units  of  power,  or  monads, 
hitherto  attributed  to  any  atom  had  been  six,  or  once,  in  the 
case  of  iodine,  seven.  Now,  the  great  error  of  the  atomicity 
doctrine,  most  useful  as  It  had  been  in  evolving  new  facts 
and  ideas,  was  this,  that  it  assumed  the  number  of  monads 
of  the  atoms  of  each  clement  to  be  invariable.  The  applica- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  dynamicity  to  a  broad  field  of  chemical 
facts  would,  however,  soon  show  that  "the  dynamicity  of 
atorae  was  variable,  called  fortli  or  imparted  67  influences 
external  to  the  atom,  and  similarly  withdrawn.  Heat,  light, 
electricity,  vital  power,  and  pathogenetic  power  were  sucli 
influences,  governing  not  only  the  polarity  and  chemism,  but 
also  the  dynamicity  of  atoms.  Hydrogen  manifested  itself 
most  commonly  as  monodynamic;  it  could  be  substituted  by 
iodine  and  nitrogen.  Kow,  iodine  might  be  tridynamic,  as 
in  TCfli ;  nitrogen  might  be  tridvnamic,  as  in  ammonia.  In 
the  latter  case  tbe  defenders  of  the  invariable  pentadyna- 
micity  of  nitrogen  would  say  that  it  was  only  active  with 
three  monads,  and  that  two  were  free.  In  the  case  of  iodine, 
however,  when  it  substitutes  hydrogen,  the  assumption  that 
it  only  Ainctioned  with  one  monad  out  of  its  three  was  in- 
convenient, as  it  opened  the  door  to  the  admission  of  the  same  va- 
riability on  the  part  of  hydrogen,  and  therefore  iodine  was  here 
commonly  admitted  to  be  monodynamic,  When  nitrogen  was 
made  to  substitute  hydrogen,  it  lost  apparently  all  dynamicity, 
though  exercising  only  one,  according  to  the  assumption  of  the 
invariable  monodynamic  character  of  hvdrogen.  Out  of  such 
difficulties  there  were,  no  doubt,  ingenious  modes  of  extrica- 
tion, such  as  the  assumption  of  molecular  powers  on  the  part 
of  combined  groups  of  atoms  not  having  the  character  of  rad- 
icals. But  the  simplest  cases  were  most  simply  explained  by 
the  hypothesis  that  the  dynamicity  of  an  atom  was  variable 
and  dependent  upon  external  influences  calling  forth  its  man- 
ifestation. Iodine  had  already  been  shown  to  be  monodyna- 
mic and  tridynamic ;  in  Imide,  nitrogen  was  as  monodynamic 
as  when  it  substituted  hydrogen  in  aaobenzoic  acid ;  in  amide, 
nitrogxjn  was  didynamic;  in  ammonia  the  atom  of  nitrogen 
exhibited  tridynamic  combining  powers;  in  some  of  the 
compounds  lately  discovered  by  Griess  it  showed  tridynamic 
substitution  power,  replacing  three  atoms  of  hydrogen.  The 
generalisation  of  this  conception  would  no  doubt  destroy  the 
simplicity  of  the  present  doctrines,  but  lead  to  a  better  appre- 
ciation or  all  the  powers  and  influences  determining  combi- 
nation or  separation.  In  conclusion,  the  speaker  apologised 
to  the  Society  for  the  Imperfection  of  his  remarks.  They  had 
"been  quite  impromptu,  and  dfealt  with  a  great  and  difficult 
subject,  which  in  many  respects  required  conseq':ential  de- 
velopment But  he  recommended  his  terminology  ♦to  the 
attention  of  the  members,  feeling  sure  that  a  slight  familiarit^ 
with  it  would  prove  Its  great  convenience. 

Professor  Foster  agreed  with  Br.  Odling  that,  when  the 
two  molecules  NaaO  and  HtO  were  converted  into  2NaH0, 
the  change  undei^one  by  one  molecule  was  the  converse  of 
that  undergone  by  the  other,  and,  therefore,  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  understand  that  the  quantity  of  beat  developed  in  the 
one  case  should  differ  from  that  absorbed  in  the  other;  but 
he  observed  that  there  was  no  direct  proof  that  the  reaction 
in  question  was  attended  with  any  evolution  of  heat :  when 
water  acted  on  oxide  of  sodium,  a  great  part  of  the  obgerved 


•  In  Dr.  TbBdielniiB*8' Tables  of  Hew  Atomie  ir<lglitt,  Mo1eeii1*r 
Weights,  and  FuneUonel  Types  for  tbe  Leetnre-room  and  the  Btady, 

Snblf shed  by  Hardwicke,  ficeadlllj,  this  terminology  to  adopted,  and 
be  theoiy  of  the  variable  dynamidty  of  atomft  btdksted  on  tbe  btito  of 
some  of  tbe  best-estAboabed  flKtt. 


evolution  of  heat  was  certainly  due  to  the  oorabination  of 
NaHO  with  excess  of  water,  and  it  remained  to  be  proved 
that  this  action  was  not  the  source  of  tbe  whole.  The  con- 
version of  BaO  and  H^O  into  BaHsOt  he  regarded  as  a  reac- 
tion not  perfectly  comparable  with  the  above,  since,  in  tbia 
case,  the  two  molecules  BaO  and  H^O  coaJesoed  into  the  sin- 
gle molecule  BaHsOf  With  regard  to  the  different  beha- 
viour of  what  appeared  to  be  similarly  constituted  molecules 
when  subjected  to  the  same  treatment,  as,  for  example,  that 
of  sodic  and  thallic  hydrates  at  high  temperatures-— an  in- 
stance to  which  Dr.  Odling  had  referred — he  considered  that 
the  explanation  of  ihem  was  to  be  sought  in  the  influence  ex- 
erted by  eacft  atom  in  a  complex  molecule  npon  the  proper- 
ties of  all  the  rest  To  help  in  forming  a  definite  conception 
of  the  way  in  which  such  an  influence  might  be  exerted,  he 
suggested  that  a  diatomic  atom  (such  as  0)  might  be  com- 
pared with  a  magnet  with  its  two  poles,  while  monatomic 
atoms  (such  as  Ka  and  H)  might  be  compared  with  a  single 
iac^ated  magnetic  pole,  if  such  a  thing*  were  e»pab)e  of  ex- 
isting. Then  just  as  the  tonth  pole  of  a  magnet  would  be 
strengthened  (^  indnetion  on  bringing  another  south  pole 
into  contact  with  its  aortfa  pole,  so  by  bringing  an  atom  of 
sodinmlDto  contact  with  one  pole  of  an  atom  of  oxygen,  tl)e 
attraction  of  the  other  pc^  for  atoms  of  a  certain  kind  might 
be  increased,  although  its  attraction  fm  soditmi  nrfght  he  les- 
sened. If  this  ooro^MirisoR  of  a  diatomic  atom  wittk  a  magnet 
was  admitted,  he  pptated  out  that,  in  all  caees,  if  an  atom  of 
a  given  kind  applied  to  one  pola  of  a  diatomic  atom  tended 
to  strengthen  the  polarity  of  the  latter,  an  atom  of  the  same 
kind  applied  to  the  ether  pole  voaM  tend  to  weaken  it  in  an 
equal  degree ;  and  benoe  that,  at  a  general  rale,  if  two  sym- 
metrioal  molecules,  aueh  as  NaONa  and  HOH,  eame  together, 
the  forces  with  which  the  atoms  were  held  together  would  be, 
on  the  whole,  increased  by  an  interehenge  </  atoms  such  as 
would  ooorert  the  above  moleonles  hato  NaOH  and  NaOH. 
PrefesBor  Foster  added  that  he  did  not  offer  these  remarks 
as  aflbrding  a  solntMn  of  the  difficulties  pointed  out  by  Dr. 
Odling,  but  simyrfy  aa  indieathig  a  direction  in  which  'be 
thought  such  a  solatien  might  reasonably  be  sought  for. 

Mr.  Cbafm A«,  in  allusion  to  an  illustration  made  use  of  by 
the  last  speaker,  said  that  if  two  bar  magnets  were  placed 
end  te  end,  the  north  ftA%  of  one  being  adjneent  to  the  south 
pole  of  the  other,  the  sastafniiig  power  of  the  f>ee  end  of  the 
lower  magnet  was  not  angmented ;  but  that  if  they  were  laid 
psrallel  and  alongside,  with  similar  poles  adjacent^  the  roag- 
netk;  energy  of  each  magnet  would  be  greatly  increased. 
(This  statement  was  received  with  ttinffeet  indieations  of 
dissent) 

Profbisor  Wakkltn  had  Kkewise  a  great  objection  to  tbe 
continued  use  of  the  word  **  atemkity.''  Ammonia  and  saU 
ammoniac  presented  difibfeoees  fn  eonstltation  which  were 
not  easily  explained,  but  it  might  happen  that  tbe  ^drogen 
In  these  eompovnds  had  difRsrent  vaiiiea. 

Tbe  meeting  was  then  adjenmed  nntil  Thursday,  the  16th 
mstont. 

Thundaty,May  16. 

F.  A.  Abel,  Bsq.,  F.R.S,,  Vke-Prestdent^  in  Ihe  Chair, 

TwB. minutes  of  tbe  prsTlmis  meeting  were  lead  and  oon^ 
firsMd;  Mr.  F.  W.  Peterson  was  formaUy  admitted  a  Fellow 
of  the  Sodeiiy ;  and  the. names  of  William  PMpson  Beale, 
barriBter«t.law,  Stone  Boildiiigs;  Alfred  Colaman,  Plougb 
Oourt,  Lombard  street;  and  Augustas  Alfred  Wood,  74, 
Ghaapidde,  ware  read  fior  the  second  time, 

Mr.  PEBsm,  F.BfL,  said  he  had  a  few  observations  to 
make  upon  some  egqieriments'  vrith  which  he  had  been 
lately  engaged,  Ooumarine,  it  is  wall  kaown,  is  the  ery»- 
talline  prhadpla  of  the  Tonka  bean,  and  was  first  analysed 
by  DeUlande  and  afterwards  by  IMeibtieiL  Tbe  fonnuU 
of  this  sttbttaMO  is  0,»H»0«.  When  beated  with  potash, 
it  assimilates  aa  equiTalent  of  water,  and  becomes  con- 
Tsrted  into  ooumario  aoid  0»H^Os.  This,  agam,  if  f^sed 
with  potash,  yields  asUejlio  and  aoetic  adds,  with  ^tqIq. 
tion  of  hydrogen.    On  account  of  thlfi  latter  tcanafionnar 


GEnifioAL  Nbws,  } 
Mif,  1367.      f 


Chemical  Society. 


27 


tloD,  oooBuurtae  l8  viewed  ab  a  dexiTaUre  of  saUcyle. 
Having  be«&  lately  a  good  deal  engaged  with  the  atudy  of 
aa&ijle  derivaUveS)  he  Ikid  often  eodeiavoufed  to  obtain 
Bome  clue  to  the  oonstitution  of  ooum«rine,  hoping  that  he 
might  eventual^  be  able  to  build  it  U2>  irom  Boine  salicyle 
compound*  About  ten  days  or  a  fiortnigbt  ago  he  obtained 
a  beautiful  crjrBtalline  produot,  posaesaing  both  the  odour 
and  ooB4)otitioa  of  oousurine*  When  heated  with  potash, 
it  yl^jyded  an  acid^  apparently  identical  with  coumaric  acid, 
and  on  fuaing  it  with  potash  it  was  converted  into  salicylic 
aoid-^  wasy  in  &ot,  artiflcial  ooumarine.  He  had  not  com- 
parad  it  side  by  side  with  the  natural  prv)M^  ^u^  expected 
to  do  BO  in  tho  oourse  of  a  few  days.  As  he  hoped  sWtly 
to  bring  an  account  of  his  results  before  the  Society,  he 
would  refrain  from  enterix^  into  further  details,  except  to 
state  that  &  obtained  his  product  from  the  sodium  deriva- 
tive of  salicyle  by  meaus  of  acetic  anhydride.  Knowing 
the  interest  that  chemists  generally  take  in  the  artifidal  for- 
mation of  natural  products,  he  thought  these  remarks  would 
not  be  unaooepiable. 

An  elaborate  paper  "  On  Ote  Gonsiituiion  of  (he  PJios- 
phites^^  by  Professor  C.  Rammelsbebg,  was  read  by  the 
Secretary.  The  author  commences  with  an  historical  notice 
of  previous  researches,  which  appear  to  have  left  unsolved 
the  amount  of  water,  or  raUier  the  condition  of  the  hydro- 
gen, oonUdned  in  the  salts* of  pho^horooa  acid,  so  that  the 
constitution  of  these  bodies  might  *be  represented  by  one  or 
other  of  the  following  fonau]£»:— 

HtB"tPsOe  and  H^lf'tPtOT. 
To  elucidate  this  question,  the  author  prepared  and  analysed 
a  great  many  different  phosphites,  and  the  results  in  the 
case  of  the  dyadic  metals  warrant  the  adoption  of  the  sec- 
ond fbrmula.  Thus  the  barium  and  nickel  salts  have  pre- 
cisely the  above  composition,  the  strontram  and  caldum 
salts  containing  extra  two  atoms  of  water,  and  magnesium 
salts  were  prepared  contaming  respectively  five  and  .twelve 
atcons  of  water  of  crystdlisation.  sine  and  magnesium  ap- 
pear, however,  to  give  rise  to  the  production  of  salts  of  two 
classes,  whilst  lead,  copper,  manganese,  Ac,  always  form 
compounds  containing  one  atom  of  hydrogen  which  cannot 
be  replaced  by  a  metal 

Class  A.  Clsas  B. 

HKuPO,  H^BaaPaOi 

HMnPO»  H«C5aaPa07     . 

HZnPOs  H4MgaPa07 

HPbPO.  \njjitP2Oj] 

[HMgPOJ 
PhoiphotouB  acid  seems  to  be  incapable  of  forming  aoid 
flails.  The  orystaUised  acid  itself  oontaina  one  atom  of 
wttler,  and  any  attempt  to  expel  the  latter  by  the  applica- 
tion  of  heat  destroys  the  Bubstano^  with  evolution  of 
gafleoBs  phosphide  of  hydrogen.* 

After  tiu  Ohauuun  had  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the 
antfacxr,  and  invited  disouasion  upon  the  subject  of  the  oom- 


Pc  J.  U.  GiiiU)flT02n  said  it  waB  .Bometisiea  easy  to  build 
op  a  oempound  and  speculate  upon  its  oonstitutioi;!,  if  we 
knaw  alraady  the  nature  of  the  body  ifom  wbioh  it  was 
pciepued.  The  atarting-point  in  this  «aaa  was  the  ten^^ 
ride  of  phosphorus,  which,  undeigoiag  deoomposition  hy 
water,  furmshed  the  acid  in  question  :-r- 

PQa  4-  3H,0  5=  3HCU  +  HiPO,. 
The  acid  itself  was  stated,  by  Prot  Bammelsberg,  to  have 
the  ibllowing  compositloa  r-r-HiPsOft  +  HsO.    To  obtain  this 
result,  there  were  two  stages,  the  first  or  intermediate  pro- 
duet  being  the  oxychloride  of  phosphorus-^- 

i.2(m.)+g}o=|g;jo+2Ha 
n-  ]S  \'^+<r-a,o  =  Ijggj: } o+4Ha 

*  An  earlier  statoment  respecting  the  phosphites,  by  the  same  author, 
appeai-ed  at  pa^e  341  of  the  present  TOlume.-45D.  0, 2f» 


The  Secretabt  then  read  a  paper  by  Dr.  A  Dups^  *'  On 
ihe  Changes  in  the  Proportion  af  Add  und  Sugar  present  in 
Qra^^  during  Uua  Process  of  k^peningj"  It  has  frequently 
been  inferred  that  the  tartaric  and  midic  acids  in  grajpe-juioe 
become  transformed  into  sugar  during  the  process  of  ripen- 
ing; but  the  author's  experiments  tend  to  disprove  this 
assertion.  Dr.  Dupre  collected  and  experimented  upon  a 
hundred  berries  of  fiiealing  grapes  gathered  at  Intervals  of 
a  month,  commencing  with  September  last,  and  the  amounts 
of  tartaric  add,  f^ce  and  combined,  and  also  of  sugar,  were 
determined  in  the  separated  juices.  The  proportion  of  sugar 
increased  in  order  of  time  &om  2*98  to  12*10  and  even  to 
iC'j*  per  cent  in  the  juice  of  the  perfectly  ripe  fruit;  whiUt 
the  entire  berries  showed  but  a  slight  duninution  or  no  ap- 
preciable change  in  the  total  amount  of  add  present  The 
saccharine  matter  could  not,  tbereforo,  have  been  directly 
derived  from  the  organic  add  or  its  salts  contained  in  the 
grape ;  but  the  author  thinks  it  possible  that  the  presence 
of  suG^  acid  effects  a  change  resulting  In  Uie  producticm  of 
sugar  similar  to  that  known  to  occur  in  the  oonveraion  of 
starch  into  sugar  by  the  action  of  sulphuric  and  other  adds. 
Further  experiments,  even  more  decisive  in  their  character, 
were  made  i^pon  Gutedel  and  Muscatel  grapes,  gathered  at 
the  same  time  and  from  the  same  vine,  but  in  various  stages 
of  ripeness.  In  some  of  the  nnripe  berries  there  was  «^ao- 
lutely  no  sugar,  whilst  m  others  nearly  ripe  8*87  per  cent, 
of  sugar  wasround ;  but  the  amount  of  free  add  estimated 
in  a  hundred  grapes  was  almost  the  same  in  throe  samples 
of  Gutedel,  and  actual^  izmreaaed  with  the  ripening  of  the 
KuscateL 

Another  paper,  by  the  same  author,  was  then  read.  It 
is  entitled,  "  On  somt  of  ike  Sffects  produced  by  (he  Addition 
of  Plaster  of  Paris  to  Must.^  It  seems  to  be  a  common  prac- 
tice in  the  wine^owing  oountries  to  add  the  substance 
named  in  the  heading  to  grape-juice  either  before  or  during 
the  process  of  fermentation,  the  alleged  object  being  to  in- 
crease the  richness  of  the  must  by  l£e  absorption  of  water. 
Although  this  action  doubtless  occurs^  the  author  points 
out  that  the  loss  of  material  in  the  oourse  of  such  treat- 
ment (by  mechanical  retention  in  the  gypsum)  never  com- 
pensates for  the  augmentation  of  sug^r  in  the  remaining 
juice,  and  suggests  that  a  partial  evaporation  should  be  re- 
sorted to,  or  soaae  sugar  added  instead  of  the  earthy  sul- 
phi^.  Numerical  results  are  quoted  in  support  of  this 
assertion,  and  the  ehemioal  Qhanges  induced  by  tibe  employ- 
ment of  the  plaster  «!«  fully  stated.  Goasisting,  as  it  do^ 
of  sulphate  with  a  littla  earboBate  of  lime,  it  not  oniy 
deoompoaes  the  tartrates  in  the  grape,  with  Uberation  of 
the  purgative  sulphate  of  potash,  but  aiflo  neutralises  and 
removes  some  of  the  f^e  tartaric  add— am  eesentiial  consti- 
tuent of  wine— leaving  the  malic  acid  still  soluble,  thus  de- 
teriorating, says  the  author,  the  condition  of  the  juice,  and 
assimilating  it  to  the  quality  of  that  obtained  from  unripe 
fruit  Wine  made  according  to  the  above  system  will  be 
characterized — ist,  by  a  more  or  less  complete  absence  of 
tartaric  acid;  2nd,  by  containing  sulphates  in  solution;  and 
3rd,  by  givmg,  on  ineineration  of  the  residue,  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  ash  and  diminished  aoMMiots  both  of  phosphase 
and  oarbouate. 

Dr.  ODLiva,  m  answer  to  Colonel  Yorks,  said  that  chlo- 
ride of  barium  always  indicated  the  presence  of  dissolved 
sulphates  in  sherry,  but  gave  no  predpitate  in  a  true  claret 

The  Skobbtabt  then  proeeeded  to  describe  *^An  Adapter 
to  be  ftsed  in  amneaohn with  &d]f^tiretkd  Eydrogen  Apparatua,^ 
by  the  Rev.  B.  W.  Gibsovb,  M.A.,  B.Sa  This  arrangement 
ooDsiatB  of  an  ordinary  glass  funnel,  the  limb  of  which  fits 
into  a  cooioal  bung  of  vulcanised  iut^rubber,  whilst  the  top 
is  covered  with  a  flat  pjate  of  the  same  materia),  perforated 
with  three  hdlea,  through  one  of  which  a  current  of  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen  is  made  to  enter,  another  aperture  serving  as 
the  exit  "pipe  for  the  excess  of  gas,  which  it  is  proTOsed  to  ab- 
sorb by  passing  through  a  socoenion  of  Wouln's  bottles 
diarged  with  ammonia.  The  third  to  a  spare  hole  usually 
dosed  with  a  stopper.    Within  the  funnel  itself  is  a  long  glass 


28 


ManoTiester  Literary  and  PhiloaopMcal  Society. 


1      July,  1W7. 


tube^  with  a  thistle-shaped  expaifBioii  at  top,  into  which 
18  fitted  a  cork  and  short  piece  ot  tube  for  coDnexion  with  the 
central  aperture  abore  it,  and  this  fbnnel  tube  has  also  within 
it  a  cane  of  glass  rod  of  greater  length  than  itself,  with  a 
bead  placed  inside  the  thistle  as  a  means  of  lifting  it  from 
close  contact  with  the  apex  of  the  larger  funnel,  which  is 
kept  moistened  with  water.  When  thus  lifted  a  current  of 
the  gas  makes  its  escape  fhom  the  lower  orifice  of  the  funnel, 
and  is  made  available  by  passing  through  any  solution  con- 
tnined  in  the  bottle  to  which  the  bung  and  adapter  are  fitted. 
When  the  action  is  completed  the  flow  of  gas  is  stopped  sim- 
ply by  removing  the  vessel,  when  the  weight  of  the  glass  rod 
causes  the  funnel  tube  to  descend,  and  no  more  gas  cai^ass. 
For  a  description  of  his  sulphuretted  hydrogen  generator  the 
author  referred  to  a  sketcb  of  the  apparatus  which  had  al- 
ready appeared  in  the  CmnncAL  Nbws  {vide  p.  240  of  present 
volumet 

An  elaborate  paper  ^  Onlhe  Practical  Loss  of  Soda  in  the 
AUcaU  Manufacture^^  was  then  read  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Wright, 
B.  Sc.  The  author  has  had  an  opportunity  of  studying  the 
minute  details  of  Le  Blanc's  process  as  carried  out  in  a  large 
factory  making  upwards  of  150  tons  of  alkali  weekly,  and 
the  products  were  examined  at  every  stage  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  loss  of  soda  during  the  process  of  conversion. 
A  capital  series  of  analyses  are  given,  which  show  the  aver- 
age composition  of  salt  cake,  black  ash,  soda  ash,  refinedfash, 
and  the  dried  vat  waste,  which  last  seems  to  contain  a 
notable  quantity  of  alkali,  both  in  the  soluble  and  insoluble 
states.  The  total  loss  of  sodium  in  the  process  of  converting 
salt  into  refined  soda  ash  is  set  down  at  20*24  P^r  ceot.,  and 
consists  of  the  following  items: — 

Previous  to  LixiviatiofL 

Per  cent. 

Sulphate  of  sodium  left  Tindecomposed 3*49 

Insoluble  sodic  compounds  formed 5*44 

Volatilisation  of  sodic  compounds 1*14 

Ihtring  and  after  lAaiviation. 

Soluble  alkali  left  in  vat  waste 3*61 

Oxidation  of  sulphide  of  sodium — 

Leakage  and  losses  in  white  ash  process 6  56 

Total  loss 20*24 

The  speaker  made  reference  to  the  previous  researches  of 
Mr.  Kynaston,*  and  also  to  those  of  Mr.  James  Hargreaves 
lately  pnbliahed  in  the  Chsmica^  Nbws.  The  last-named 
gentieman  affirms  that  one-seventh  part  of  the  chloride  of 
sodium  esoapes  oonverdon  Into  sodic  carbonate  or  is  lost  in 
the  process  of  manufacture. 

The  GHAntMAir  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  tlie  authors  of 
the  respective  oommunieations,  and,  a;t  a  late  hour,  adjourned 
the  meeting  until  Jane  6,  wben  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  will  de- 
liver a  lecture  "  On  IduaJt  Ghemis^'' 


EOYAL  SOCIETY. 
Thursday^  May  2,  1867. 
At  the  usual  weekly  meeting  this  evening  the  President  read 
from  the  chair  the  names  of  the  following  fifteen  candidates 
Tooommeuded  by  the  Council  for  election.  They  will  be  bal- 
loted for  on  June  6 :  —William  Baird,  M.D. ;  W.  Boyd  Daw- 
kins,  Esq. ;  Baldwin  Franeis  Duppa^  Esq. ;  Albert  C.  L.  G. 
GQnther,  M.D.;  JoUus  Haast,  Esq.,  Ph.D.;  Captain  Robert 
Wolseley  Haig,  R.A. ;  Daniel  Hanbury,  Esq. ;  John  Whita- 
ker  Hulke,  Esq. ;  Edward  Hull,  Esq. ;  Edward  Joseph  Lowe, 
Esq. ;  James  Robert  Napier,  Esq. ;  Benjamin  Ward  Richard- 
son, M.D. ;  J.  S.  Burden  Sanderson,  M.D. ;  Henry  T.  Stain- 
ton,  Esq. ;  Charles  Tomlinson,  Esq. 

QUEKETT  MICROSCOnOAL  CLtJB.. 
Ths  usual  monthly  meeting  was  held  at  University  College 
on  the  26th  instant,  Mr.  Ernest  Hart,  President,  in  the  chair. 


Db.  Haufaz  described  his  ingenious  method  of  obtaining 
thin  section^  of  insects,  sofl  vegetable  tissues,  minute  seeds, 
fta,  by  immersion  in  wax,  and  afterwards  slioing  them  upon 
the  ordinary  section  table. 

Mr.  HiQ€FDi8  gav«  a  lengthened  and  interesting  deserip- 
tion  of  the  "  otolithes  "  or  eorbones  of  fishes,  to  the  study  of 
which  he  has  devoted  himself  wi1&  remaricable  industry  fbr 
the  last  eighteen  years.  The  result  of  many  thousand  ex- 
aminations of  fossil  and  recent  flsh  has  enabled  hinkwith 
positive  accuracy  to  identify  species,  and  in  many  instances 
genera.  His  remarits  were  illustrated  by  an  extensive  series 
of  "otolithes,''  wttidh  were  displayed  in  cases  ill  the  room, 
containing  specimens  obtained  firom  the  largest  to  the  small- 
est flsh,  l^th  freshwater  and  marine. 

The  meetmg,  which  was  attended  by  up^^;ytls  of  130 
members  and  their  friends,  terminated  with  a  converwmione. 

Eight  members  were  elected. 


•Jcum.  Chim.  Boe,  xl  13J. 


MANCHESTER    LITERARY    AND    PHILOSOPHICAL 

SOCIETY. 

Ordinary  Meeting.  AprU  16,  1867. 

Edward  Schuikjk,  PKD.,  F.ILS.,  ^c,  Presideni. 

«fi  the  Chair, 

Mr.  HE27BT  Chablbs  Bbaslit  was  elected  an  ordinary 
member  of  the  Society. 

"  On  a  Neu)  Form  of  the  Dynamic  Mdhodfor  Measwring  the 
Magnetic  Dip,^  by  Sir  Wiujax  Thomson,  M.A^  D.CL, 
P.R.S.,  Ac,  Honorary  Member  of  the  Society. 

Seven  years  ago  an  apparatus  was  constructed  for  the 
natural  philosophy  daas  of  the  TJniversily  of  Glasgow,  for 
illustratmg  the  induction  of  electric  currents  by  the  motion 
of  a  conductor  across  the  Imes  of  terrestrial  magnetic  force. 
This  instrument  consisted  of  a  large  circular  coil  of  many 
turns  of  fine  oopper  wire,  made  to  rotate  by  wheel  work 
about*  an  axis,  which  can  be  set  to  positions  inclined  at  all 
angles  to  the  vertical.  A  fixed  drde  paralled  to  the  plane 
containing  these  positions,  measured  the  angles  between 
thenL  The  ends  of  the  coil  were  connected  with  fixed 
electrodes,  sq  adjusted  as  to  reverse  the  connexions  every 
tune  the  plane  of  the  coil  passes  through  the  position  per<( 
pendicular  to  that  pUne.  When  in  use,  the  instrument 
should  be  set  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  magnetic  meridian. 
The  fixed  electrodes  being  joined  to  tho  two  ends  of  a  ooil 
of  a  delicate  galvanometer,  a  large  deflectiou  is  observed 
when  tho  axis  of  rotation  forms  any  considerable  angle  with 
the  line  of  magnetic  dip.  On  first  trying  the  instrument  I 
perceived  that  its  sensibility  was  sudi  as  to  promise  an 
extremely  sensitive  means  for  measuring  the  dip.  Accord- 
ingly, soon  after  I  had  a  small  and  more  portable  instru- 
ment constructed  for  this  special  purpose ;  but  up  to  this 
time  I  had  not  given  it  any  sufficient  trial  On  the  oooasioa 
of  a  recent  visit,  Dr.  Joule  assisted  at  some  experiments 
with  this  instrumentk  The  results  have  oonvinoed  us  both 
that  it  will  be  quite  practicable  to  improve  it  so  that  it  amy 
serve  for  a  determination  of  the  dip  within  a  minute  of  angle. 
I  hope,  accordingly,  before  long  to  be  able  to  oommnnioate 
some  dedsive  results  to  the  Society,  and  to  describe  a  eon- 
venient  instrument  which  noay  be  practicaUy  useAil  for  the 
observatkm  of  this  element 

"  OhservaHons  on  the  Alteration  of  the  Freezing  P^ni  in 
Thermometers,^  by  Dr.  J.  P.  JouLB,  P.R.&,V.P. 
Having  had  in  my  possession,  and  in  frequent  use,  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  two  thermometers,  of  which 
I  have  firom  time  to  time  taken  tiie  freezing  points,  I  think 
the  results  may  offer  some  interest  to  the  Society.  Both 
thermometers  are  graduated  on  the  stem,  and  are,  I  beUeve, 
the  first  in  tho  country  which  were  accurately  calibrated. 
Thirteen  divisions  of  one  of  them  correspond  to  one  degree 
Fahrenheit  It  was  made  by  Mr.  Dancer,  in  the  winter  of 
1 843-44*  My  first  observation  of  its  freezing  point  was  made 
A.pnl,  1844.  Calling  this  zero,  my  sucoesiSve  observations 
jmye  g^Ten 


Hayal  InetitiUion. 


29 


o    April,  1844* 
5-5    Febnuuy,  1S46. 
6-6    January,  1848. 
6*9    April,  1848. 
8-8    February,  1853 
9-5    April,  1856. 
11*1    December,  i86a 
11-8    Maieh,  1867. 
The  total  rise  has  been,  theteforo,  -91  of  •  degree  Fahren* 
heit    The  other  thermometer  is  not  so  sensitiye,  hsTing 
less  than  four  divisions  to  the  degree.    The  total  rise  of  its 
freezing  point  has  been  only  "6  of  a  degtee ;   but  this  is 
probably  owing  to  the  time  which  elapsed  between  its  oon- 
struction  and  the  first  observation  being  rather  greater  than 
in  the  case  of  the  other  thermometer.    The  rise  of  the  two 
thermometers  has  been  almost  identical  during  the  last  nine- 
teen years. 

"  On  iU  Casting^  Grinding,  and  Polishing  of  Spectda  for  lU- 
fleeting  Telescopes,  Part  /r.,"b   Jambs  Nasmtth,  Esq.jC.E., 
Corresponding  Memb  er  of  t^ Society. 
In  this  part  of  his  paper  the  anthor  gives  detailed  descrip- 
tions, illustrated  by  diagrams,  of  his  methods  of  mounting 
the  specula  of  reflecting  telescopes,  and  of  testing  the  figure 
of  the  great  speculum ;  he  also  offers  some  very  useful  re- 
marks on  the  general  management  of  Newtonian  reflecting 
telescopes^  and  on  the  atmospherical  circumstances  which 
afiect  their  performance. 


PHOTOGEAPHIOAL  SBCTlOHf. 

AprU  9,  1867. 

J.  BA2E3n>KLL,t/'.i2:^.jSL,  Vice-Prteideni  of  ihe  SeeHan,  in  (he 

Chair, 

Mr.  Bbothebs  read  the  following  "  Kote  on  Photography 
in  1787." 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  earlier  attempts  to  use 
nitrate  of  silver  for  producing  pictures  of  lace,  leaves,  and 
other  objects  on  white  leather  or  paper  were  made  by 
Wedgewood  and  Davy  about  the  year  1802 ;  but  it  wffl 
appear  from  the  following  extract  that  at  least  fifteen  years 
earlier  than  the  date  named,  and  within  ten  years  of  the 
time  when  Scheele  investigated  the  subject  of  the  action  of 
light  on  the  salts  of  silver,  the  possibility  of  utilising  the 
action  of  light  was  known.  The  title  of  the  book  from 
which  the  extract  is  taken  is  "Rational  Recreations  in 
Natural  Philosophy/  &c.,  by  W.  Hooper,  M.D.,  1787;  and 
the  paragraph  Is  headed  "  How  to  print  letters  by  sunlight" 

*'  Dissolve  chalk  in  aqua  fortis  to  the  consistence  of  milk, 
and  add  to  that  a  strong  dissolution  of  silver.  lEteep  this 
liquor  in  a  glass  decanter  well  stopped,  then  cut  out  fh>m  a 
paper  the  letters  you  would  have  appear  and  paste  the  pa- 
per on  the  decanter,  which  you  are  to  place  in  the  sun  in 
such  a  manner  that  its  rays  may  pass  through  the  places 
cut  out  of  the  paper  and  fall  on  the  surface  of  the  hquor. 
The  part  of  the  glass  through  which  the  rays  pass  will 
turn  black,  ^hile  that  under  the  paper  will  remain  white. 
Tou  must  observe  not  to  move  the  bottle  during  the  time 
of  the  operation." 

Mr.  OooTE  exhibited  some  snow  scenes,  the  negatives  of 
which  were  taken  on  coUodio-albumen  plates.  Some  of 
these  beautiftil  views  were  slightly  defective  in  the  high 
lights,  a  number  of  vein-like  markings  appearing  in  the 
sky  and  foreground. 

Mr.  Wahdlet  stated  that  these  defects  were  entirelv 
caused  in  the  development,  and  had  no  connexion  with 
the  character  of  the  collodion  used,  or  with  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  plate.  He  considered  that  the  imperfections 
were  produced  entirely  by  the  repellent  or  nonmisdble  na- 
ture of  the  solution  t,  containing  adds  and  salts,  used  in  de- 
velopment, acetic  acid  being  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
defects.  Another  source  of  the  evil  may  be  a  low  temper- 
ature and  the  developing  solution  being  allowed  to  rest, 
even  for  a  moment,  on  the  plate.    Such  defects  may  be  pro* 


duoed  in  abundance  on  any  kind  of  diy  plate  if  the  devel- 
oping solution  is  allowed  to  rest. 


ROYAL  INSTITUTION. 
Ttbeaday,  May  14,  1867. 
A  Cdurte  qf  Ibur  Lo&ures  on  JSpeoirum  Analygia  with  ita 
AppUcaUong  to  Astronomy,*  Ify  Wiluax  Allbn  Millbr, 
M,D.,  LL.D.,  Treasurer  and  V.P.S.8,,  Professor  of  Chem- 
istry, King's  College,  London, 

Lecture  I. 

Naiure  of  the  Prismatic  SpeetnmL^^Spedra  of  Sokds.-^ 

Spectra  of  Gases  and  Vapows.^'Spectra  produced  by  Ab- 

sorption.'^Spectra  of  Bays  of  Meat,  ofLighif  and  of  CheTnp- 

oal  Action, 
Mt  object*  in  the  course  of  lectures  upon  which  we  enter 
to-day  will  be  to  endeavour  to  place  before  you  distinctly 
the  mode  in  which,  by  the  opticid  analysis  of  light  from 
various  sources,  we  have  learned  not  only  to  distinguish 
the  physical  condition  of  the  body  wliich  emits  that  light, 
but  also,  in  many  cases,  to  ascertain  its  oompositipn. 

A  new  method  of  investigation  is  thus  placed  in  our 
hands.  The  mode  of  analysis,  it  is  true,  has  been  practised 
before  to  a  certain  extent,  but  it  involves  ^e  application  of 
prindples  which,  until  quite  recently,  had  been  overlooked. 
It  enables  us  to  deal  with  matter  at  infinite  distances,  for, 
provided  we  can*  see  it,  we  are  able  to  examme  it  by  this 
optical  method.  It  also  enables  us  to  examine  matter  in 
quantities  so  minute  that  no  balance  can  estimate  its 
amount.  VTe  are  therefore  brought  face  to  face,  by  its 
means,  with  mfinitudo  of  space  and  distance,  and  infinitude 
of  minuteness. 

I  know  that  those  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  attend- 
ing lectures  at  this  Institution  have  from  time  to  time 
watched  with  interest  the  progress  of  this  new  branch  of 
investigation.  They,  have  had  opportunities  from  time  to 
time  of  seeing  the  steps  by  whidi  it  has  been  raised  to  its 
present  position,  illustrated  and  experimented  on ;  but  al- 
though many 'who  may  bo  honouring  me  with  their  attend- 
ance on  this  occasion  may  not  for  the  first  time  be  consider- 
ing these  wonderful  phenomena,  the  intrinsic  interest  whidi 
they  possess— the  variety  and  beauty  of  experimental  illus- 
tration of  which  they  admit — induce  me  to  hope  that  even 
those  who  are  in  some  measure  familiar  with  the  fkets  wUI 
yet  be  able  to  follow  me  with  interest  through  the  theoreti- 
cal considerations  whidi  I  may  have  to  bring  before  them, 
and  through  the  somewhat  minute  detail  upon  which,  from 
time  to  time,  I  shall  have  to  enter. 

Without  further  preface,  then,  let  me  proceed  to  the  ex- 
amination of  the  method  of  inquiry — ^the  method  of  optical 
analysis. 

No  doubt  every  one  present  knows  what  is  meant  by  the 
prismatic  spectrum.  If  we  take  a  beam  of  white  light, 
and  transmit  it  through  a  triangular  mass  of  glass  property 
cut  and  polished,  we  divert  it  from  its  original  direction — we 
refract  it  from  its  course.  Now,  light  may  be  artifidally  pro- 
duced in  various  ways,  and  one  of  the  most  general  of  these 
modes  of  obtaining  light  consists  in  raising  the  temperature 
of  the  body  which  is  to  be  experimented  upon.  Every  opaque 
solid  object  gives  out  light  in  large  quantity  when  its  tem- 
perature is  sufiidently  raised.  At  a  temperature  of  about  a 
thousand  degrees  of  Fahrenheit  every  substance  becomes 
what  is  called  red-hot — that  is  to  say,  begins  to  emit  red 
light  As  we  raise  the  temperature,  &e  colour  of  the  light 
becomes  more  brilliant,  and  it  passes  at  length  into  a  das- 
zling  white.  That  is  a  general  eflfect  whenever  any  solid 
opaque  substance  is  sulfidently  heated.  I  shall  tako  ad- 
vantage of  this  fact  in  order  to  be  able  to  produce  the  beam 
of  light  upon  which  we  shall  have  to  experiment  in  a  part 
of  this  investigation,  and  for  this  purpose  it  will  be  my  de- 
sire to  show  you,  first  of  all,  the  solid  body  itself  which  is ' 


*  Beported  spectaUj  for  this  paper,  and  revised  by  the  author. 


30 


Moy<d  IrutittUioTK 


( CifuncAL  If  vwi, 

1    juif,  i9tr. 


producing  the  lights  becaase,  hereafter,  I  shall  have  to  show 
you  other  sources  of  light  which  are  not  solid,  and  which 
are  giving  out  li^t  of  a  dififorent  kiad. 

In  the  first  plaoe^  tiiien,  I  shall,  by  the  powerful  heat  pro- 
duced by  the  current  of  electricity  of  the  voltaic  battery, 
cause  intense  ignition  of  two  points  of  charcoal  You  will 
excuse  me  if  trom  time  to  time  in  tbede  lectures  I  bring  be- 
fore you  what  appear  to  be  very  simple  experiments. 
Philosophically,  noUiing  is  trifling  if  it  proves  a  principle. 
In  this  case  I  shall  throw  upon  the  screen  the  image  of  two 
charcoal  points.  My  object  here  is  simply  that  you  may 
see  that  although  we  get  an  Intense  light  and  a  white  light, 
it  is  produced  by  a  body  in  the  solid  state.  The  charcoal 
points  do  not  melt,  and  there  is  no  visile  vapour  given  off. 
I  do  not  say  there  ia  no  vapour  given  off,  but  there  is  none 
visible.  On  throwing  this  image  upon  the  screen,  we  shall 
see,  flrnt  of  all,  the  incandescent  points  themselves^  separat- 
ed from  each  other  to  a  considerable  distance.  Having 
shown  you  the  points,  we  will  then  examine  optically  the 
nature  of  the  light  which  those  points  are  emitting. 

You  will  observe  that  the  image  of  the  line  of  light  is 
produced  h^  allowing  simply  a  thin  slice  of  light  to  pass 
through  a  very  narrow  slit .  It  is  now  falling  upon  the  sur- 
face of  a  mirror,  and  from  that  mirror  it  is  reflected  upon 
the  screen.  We  Kill  now  withdraw  the  mirror  altogether, 
and  allow  the  light  to  pass  through  the  prisms  whicli  have 
been  arranged  for  its  diapersion.  So  long  as  these  points 
of  ignited  matter  are  ia  the  solid  condition,  we  have  that 
beautiful  elongated  image  which  now  appears  upon  the 
screen,  and  which  is,  in  fact^  composed  of  a  series  of  slices 
of  light,  each  of  which  is  of  a  particular  and  definite  colour. 
You  will  notice  that  the  extremity  whidi  is  nearest  to  me^ 
the  red — is  that  which  ia  least  refracted  from  the  original 
direction,  and  the  extremity  which  is  farthest  from  me — the 
violet^is  that  which  is  most  refracted  from  the  original 
direction.  Now,  the  point  I  particularly  wish  to  insist  upon 
in  this  observation  is  that  we  are  here  dealing  with  a  solid 
body,  which  is  not  capable  of  being  converted  into  vapour 
so  as  to  produce  flame.  If  time  allowed,  I  should  like  to 
show  that  this,  which  is  observed  in  the  case  of  charcoal,  is 
a  general  fact  with  regard  to  solid  bodies.  For  example,  if. 
Instead  of  heating  charcoal  points  by  the  voltaic  current^  I 
were  to  take  a  cylinder  of  lime  and  Introduce  it  into  the  in- 
tense heat  of  the  oxyhydrogen  jet,  or  if  I  were  to  take  a 
piece  of  magnesium;,  a  piece  of  silica,  a  mass  of  iron,  or  a 
inass  of  platinum,  and  heat  it  so  as  to  produce  incandes- 
cence or  intenae  ignition,  the  spectrum  which  would  be  ob- 
tained from  its  light,  would,  in  every  case,  when  examined, 
be  seen  to  be  continuous,  like  that  charcoal  spectrum.  [I 
dare  say  you  noticed  fla^ies  of  Ught  which  crossed  that 
spectrum  from  time  to  time.  They  were  due  to  slight  im- 
purities in  the  charcoal  points,  and  these  impurities  become 
volatilised  in  the  intense  heat.  With  them  we  shall  have 
presently  to  deal]  The  particular  fact  upon  which  I  wish 
now  to  insist  is  that,  as  a  general  rule,  whenever  a  solid 
body  is  heated,  it  gives  out  light,  which,  when  examined  by 
the  prism,  furnishes  us  with  a  continuous  spectrum.  That 
is  to  say,  this  light  is  made  up  of  an  infinite  number  of 
slices  of  Ught.  By  means  of  a  rough  model,  I  may  make 
this  more  dear.  Suppose  that  this  white  bar  represents  to 
us  a  band  of  white  light — the  Ught,  in  fact,  which  we  first 
got  before  it  is  dispersed  by  the  prism.  If  we  cause  it  to  pass 
through  the  prism,  it  is  spread  out  in  this  fan-like  manner, 
every  piece  of  that  spectrum  being  composed  of  a  slice  of 
Ught  of  the  particular  colour  whidi  ia  there  represented ; 
and  these  slices  of  Ught,  overlapping  each  other  continu- 
ously, produce  that  blending  of  colour  which  is  inimitable 
by  art,  but  which  is  so  brUUant  and  so  beautiful  in  its 
effect 

These,  then,  are  the  results  of  the  examination  of  bodies 
in  the  soUd  condition,  and  for  ihe  purpose  of  recaUing  this 
to  your  mind  we  have  here  a  diagram  representing  the  spec- 
trum of  any  sufiiciently  luminous  solid  body.  And,  fur- 
ther, if  the  soUd  happens  to  melt,  it  stUl  gives  out  a  coq. 


tinnous  spectrum.  A  mass  of  melted  cast-iron,  for  instance, 
would  furnish  a  costmuoufi  Bpectrum,  as  in  the  case  of  char- 
coal. Or  if  we  were  to  take  any  other  metal  which  can  be 
heated  sufficiently  to  be  melted  without  boiling  and  volatil- 
ising, we  should  obtain  a  fliiailar  result  I  cannot  show  you 
this  experiment,  because  I  am  not  able  by  means  of  the 
voltaic  battery  suffldently  to  regulate  the  heat 

Here  let  me  notice  that  in  spectra  of  this  kind  we  have 
no  due  to  the  diemical  nature  of  the  body  which  produces 
the  speetrum.  But  if  we  go  a  st^  farther,  and  heat  the 
body  BufBdently  to  convert  it  into  vapour,  the  spectrum 
wbidi  is  then  obtained  is  quite  of  a  different  nature.  In- 
stead of  haviog  a  oontinuous  spectrum,  we  shaU  have  an 
interrupted  spectrum ;  and  I  am  going  now  to  prove  to  you 
that  the  body  upon  which  I  am  experimenting  is  converted 
into  vapour  before  it  furnishes  a  spectrum,  and  for  this 
purpose  shaU  introduce  into  the  lamp  a  charcoal  cup,  upon 
which  we  shall  place  a  piece  of  sUver.  That  silver  will  im- 
mediately melt  with  the  intense  heat  of  the  current,  and  as 
the  current  is  continued,  it  will  not  merely  melt,  but  it  will 
actually  boil,  and  become  distilled.  In  fact,  silver  has  been 
distilled  on  a  large  sa^  by  Stas,  for  the  purpose  of  its  pu- 
rification. [The  image*  of  the  charcoal  points  on  whidi  the 
silver  was  placed,  was  thrown  on  the  screen.]  That  beau- 
tiful green  arc  is  the  vapour  of  silver.  The  silver,  you  wiU 
remember,  appears  on  the  upper  part  of  the  screen,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  inversion  of  the  image.  What  in  the  lamp 
is  the  lower  part  is  here  upon  the  screen  the  upper  part 
You  will  see  a  number  of  littie  glowing  points,  which  are 
the  distilled  silver.  Well,  now,  if  we  oould'manage  to  open 
out  these  glowing  points  of  melted  silver  (but  which  we 
cannot  in  the  present  form  of  our  experiment),  we  should 
see  that  they  were  giving  out  Ught  of  aU  colours,  but  the 
arc  itself  is  giving  out  Ught  of  a  particular  colour. 

We  shall  now  examine  the  mode  of  discriminatiBg  be- 
tween silver  and  other  bodies,  by  means  of  this  process  of 
optical  analysis.  In  another  lamp  I  have  exactly  the  same 
arrangement  as  that  which  you  have  here  seen  l^rown  up- 
on the  screen ;  but,  instead  of  making  the  image  of  the 
points  faU  directly  upon  the  screen,  I  shall  let  a  sUce  of 
Ught  only  fall  upon  a  lens  in  (rout  of  the  slit,  and  then 
upon  a  prism.  Now,  you  wiU  notwe  that  the  instant  the  tem- 
perature risea  sufficiently  we  get  these  two  magnificent 
green  bands.  These  two  bands  are  the  characteristic 
marks  of  silver  in  vapour.  They  constitute  the  arc  of  light 
which  we  saw  just  now  upon  the  screen,  and  which  is  here, 
by  means  of  the  prism,  spread  into  its  component  parts. 
You  wiU  notice  that  there  is  on  the  ground  of  these  bands 
a  smaU  amount  of  light,  which  is  due  to  the  dispersion  of 
the  Ught  ttom  the  charooal  points.  We  cannot  avoid  that 
In  these  cases  we  do  not  get  the  pure  light  of  the  sub- 
stance upon  the  points,  because  the  heat  which  is  produced 
'  is  Buffident  to  give  us  a  tolerably  strong  spectrum  of  the 
charcoal  points.  But  ybu  wiU  observe  how  very  much 
those  green  lines  predominate  over  the  other  light  in  that 
spectruuL 

The  next  fact  which  I  have  to  bring  before  yeu  is  that 
though  every  substance  which  is  capable  of  being  convert- 
ed into  vapour  gives  a  spectrum,  it  gives  a  spectrum  of  ito 
oum.  If  you  take  substances  which  to  the  naked  eye  ap- 
pear to  possess  exactly  the  same  colour,  the  moment  you 
place  them  in  the  voltaic  are  the  vapour  given  out  by  each 
is  capable  of  being  distinguished  fh>m  the  others,  and  yon 
have  a  different  spectrum  for  each  body.  I  wUl  iUustrate 
this  by  means  of  four  different  bodies,  each  giving  a  green 
light  I  have  shown  you  the  spedtrum  of  silver.  Now  I 
wiU  take  three  other  bodies,  eadi  giving  a  groen  light,  differ- 
ing a  little  in  its  shade  from  that  of  the  others.  The  first 
of  these  will  be  metallic  copper,  which,  like  other  metals, 
will  boB  in  the  intenso  heat  we  can  here  produce.  The  va- 
pour of  copper  wiU  give  us  a  spectrum  of  its  own,  which, 
although  green,  wiU  not  be  the  same  as  the  spectrum  of  sil- 
ver. [The  spectrum  was  ahown  on  the  screen.]  There  you 
Q0e  a  series  of  green  bands,  but  in  the  case  of  copper  there 


QnaciCAi.  K1W8, ) 


jRoyal  Institution. 


31 


is  also  a  large  quantity  of  red  and  orange  light  You  see  a 
series  of  channeled  or  grooved  spaces  through  a  pale  back- 
ground, due  to  the  light  from  the  charcoal  points  themselves  \ 
bat  the  brilliant  portion  of  the  spectrum  is  produced  by  the 
volatilisation  of  the  metal  Tou  will  be  able  readily  to  con- 
trast this  oopper  spectrum  with  the  spectrum  of  the  silver 
whidi  we  had  before.  Here,  you  observe,  we  have  a  green, 
but  a  green  of  a  different  order.  Copper  is  a  more  fixed 
metal  than  silver,  but  by  means  of  this  intense  heat  it  be- 
comes converted  into  vapour.  Solid  copper,  if  heated,  would 
not  give  us  this  line,  but  a  continuous  spectrum  like  lime 
and  Hke  charcoal 

I  am  now  g(»ng  to  take  another  metal,  which  also  gives 
us  a  green  light,  and  I  have  a  special  reason  for  selecting 
this  metal — magnesium — because  we  shall  consider  it  from 
another  point  of  view  hereafter.  Magnesium  is  a  metal 
which,  when  burned  with  proper  precautions,  gives  rise  to 
a  beautiful  green  lighl  I  dare  say  we  shall  see  some  blue 
also,  but  the  principal  part  of  the  magnesium  spectrum  will 
be  a  green  light,  but  a  green  of  a  different  shade  from  the 
others.  In  this  cade  you  will  not  see  the  fact  that  the  green 
light  of  magnesium  is  concentrated  into  three  bauds.  These 
three  bands  are  so  exceedingly  dose  together  that  the  ap- 
paratus we  have  at  our  disposal  for  throwing  them  on  the 
screen  does  not  enable  us  to  separate  them.  In  this  speo- 
trum  of  magnesium  you  wiH  see  a  certain  blue  line,  and  there 
is  also  a  faint  line  nearer  to  the  yellow. 

The  fourth  metal  which  I  have  selected  also  gives  a  green 
Hght,  and  tliis  is  likewise  an  extremely  interesting  body. 
It  is  thallium,  a  metal  which  was  discovered  by  the  appli- 
cation of  the  method  of  spectrum  analysis.  [The  spectrum 
was  produced.]  That  is  the  band  which  is  perfectly  char- 
acteristic of  thallium.  Whenever  we  have  pure  thallium 
we  have  that  single  intense  green  line. 

From  these  experiments  it  is  obvious  at  any  rate  that 
these  four  substances  have  totally  distinct  spectra,  although 
the  light  which  these  metals  emit  ^pears  similar  when 
viewed  with  the  prism.  If  we  were  to  throw  ^oes  of  their 
light  directly  upon  the  screen,  we  should  not  be  aide  to  dis- 
tinguish these  metals  from  one  another ;  yet^  by  spreading 
them  out  in  this  fan-like  form  by  prismatic  analysis,  it  is 
easy  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other. 

We  have  then  here  a  second  set  of  spectra^  and  these 
spectra  are  such  as  are  represented  in  the  second  of  our 
diagrams.  They  are  spectra  which  are  not  continuous— in- 
terrupted spectra — spectra  with  bright  lines.  These  occur 
in  the  case  of  flames  and  ignited  vapours  and  gases.  It  is 
true  that  in  one  instance  a  solid  body  has  been  known  to 
give  out  lines  like  this,  but  it  is  a  substance  which  I  sup- 
pose not  a  dozen  people  have  Qver  seen.  Still  it  is  an  im- 
portant fact  that  the  metal  erbium,  in  the  form  of  its  oxide 
erbia,  even  in  the  solid,  has  the  power  of  giving  out  bright 
lines  when  its  spectrum  is  viewed.  This  is  an  awkward 
fact  for  the  theory  of  spectrum  analysis,  but  at  the  same 
time  it  is  one  which  must  not  be  ignored.  We  are  always 
discovering  facts  which  do  not  square  with  our  theories ; 
and  the  more  these  facts  are  examined,  the  more  surely  are 
we  led  on  to  correct  our  theories,  formed,  as  they  always 
necessarily  are,  from  partial  knowledge  only.  This  exoep- 
tion  in  the  case  of  erbium  does  not,  however,  invahdate  the 
general  conclusk>n  that  whenever  we  see  a  body  which 
emits  a  spectrum  having  bright  lines,  that  body  is  in  a  gas- 
eous condition.  We  do  not  as  yet  know  why  erbium  nuSEes 
an  exception,  though  at  some  Aiture  time,  probably,  we 
shall  be  able  to  account  for  the  apparent  anomaly,  the  dis* 
oovery  of  which  we  owe  to  the  observations  of  Bunsen,  to 
whom  also  we  are  indebted  for  a  great  part  of  our  knowl- 
edge of  spectral  phenomena. 

We  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  cause  of  these  re- 
markable phenomena;  and  here  I  must  ask  you  to  follow  me 
for  a  few  momenta  through  a  little  speculation—not  that  it 
is  new,  but  it  is  speculation  whioh  is  necessary  to  connect 
our  ideas — speculation  as  to  what  light  is.  The  notion  of 
the  nature  of  light  which  is  at  present  adopted  by  philoso- 


phers is  of  this  kind: — ^EWng  aH  space,  and  filling  the  in- 
terstices of  all  kinds  of  matter,  there  is  a  subtlo  something 
which,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  is  called  *' ether.''  This 
ether  has  no  wei^t  It  is  not  lignt  itself;  although  it  is  the 
means  bv  which  light  is  manifested  to  us.  (Mind,  this  is  all 
speculation,  but  still  it  is  necessary.)  When  this  ether  is 
thrown  into  vibration,  the  vibrations  are  transmitted  through 
space  in  right  Imes,  radiating  in  all  directions  from  the  point 
at  which  the  vibration  is  produced.  When  those  vibrations 
.have  a  cei-tain  degree  of  frequency,  they  produce  the  phe- 
nomena of  radiant  heat;  when  they  have  a  somewhat  greater 
frequency,  they  produce  phenomena  which  are  manifested  to 
us  in  the  shape  of  light ;  and  when  these  vibrations  are 
more  frequent  stiU,  they  produce  phenomena  which  are  mani- 
fested to  us  in  chemical  effects,  or  m  those  effects  which  i'ro- 
fessor  Stokes  has  taught  us  to  associate  with  the  term 
"fluorescence.*'  Now,  the  different  degrees  of  freqvency 
with  which  the  ether  can  be  made  to  vibrate  give  rise  to 
oertsdn  phenomena  in  light.  Not  merely  is  %ht  a  vibration 
of  one  particular  frequency,  but  the  different  kinds  of  light 
are  produced  by  vibrations  differing  in  the  degree  pf  their  fre- 
quency. Those  portions  of  light  which  are  least  refracted 
\\hQ  red)  are  produced  by  vibrations  of  the  ether  of  the  low- 
est frequen<^ ;  those  portions  which  are  most  relhMted  (the 
violet)  are  produced  by  vibrations  which  are  of  the  greatest 
frequency ;  and  intermediate  between  these  we  have  vibra- 
tions whi<di  produce  all  the  intermediate  colours.  Kow,  al- 
though it  is  true  eveiy  one  here  is  prepared  to  hear  wonder- 
ful statements  of  this  kind,  I  was  going  to  say  I  scaroely 
dare  to  mention  the  number  of  these  vibrations  whidi  it  is 
calculated  must  occur.  Let  me  first  tell  you  what  the  width 
of  a  wave  of  light  must  be.  Everv  wave  of  this  ether,  as  I 
have  stated,  is  liable  to  vary  in  width  according  to  the  colour 
of  the  light  In  red  light  the  width  of  a  wave  is  about  the 
34,000th  part  of  an  inch.  A  wave  of  violet  light  is  a  little 
more  than  the  6o,oooth  of  an  inch^-that  is  to  say,  there 
would  be  a  series  of  60^000  of  theq^  little  waves  in  the  space 
of  an  inch.  Ihat  seems  a  tolerable  number,  but  when  we 
oome  to  the  frequency  with  which  these  undulations  suc- 
ceed each  other,  ,it  is  perfectly  marvellous.  In  red  light 
there  are  482  millions  of  millions  in  a  second  of  time,  and 
there  are  .upwards  of  707  millions  of  millions  in  the  case  of 
violet ;  and  we  may  fill  up  the  interval  of  the  intermediate 
colours  with  every  conceivable  variety  between  the  two. 

Now,  it  is  very  difficult,  when  one  is  looking  at  these 
things  for  the  first  time — ^and,  indeed,  it  is  always  dllficult— 
reaUy  to  grasp  these  things,  and  therefore  it  is  needful  that 
we  should  oome  down  to  somethmg  a  little  more  within  our 
ordinary  range  of  conception.  I  shall,  therefore^  take  an  Il- 
lustration or  4wo  from  another  set  of  vibrations  which  you 
had  most  admirably  illustrated  not  long  since  by  Professor 
Tyndall  I  cannot  help  reminding  you  of  one  or  two  beau- 
tiful experiments  which  he  brou^t  before  you,  and  which 
show  the  beautiful  analogy  between  colour  and  sound,  for, 
in  point  of  fkct,  red  is  the  bass  of  light,  and  violet  the  treble. 
You  all  know  that  musical  notes  are  produced  by  a.  certain 
series  of  vibrations  which  occur  in  definite  number  and  at 
perfectly  regular  intervals,  each  note  having  its  own  specific 
number  of  vibrations^4he  middle  G,  for  instance,  in  a  piano- 
forte, having  256  vibrations  in  a  second.  C  in  the  octave 
above  has  double  that  number,  or  512.  Here  is  a  tuning- 
fork  which  will  give  us  a  note  which  will  cause  the  air  in 
this  box  to  vibrate.  [The  fork  was  struck,  and  held  over 
the  mouth  of  the  box,  whereon  a  musical  note  was  obtained]. 
This  fork  is  producing  a  certain  number  of  vibrations,  which 
vibrations  correspond  to  a  column  of  air  of  a  particular 
length  contained  in  the  box.  Now,  if  I  take  another  of  these 
forks  and  hold  it  over  the  next  box,  we  get  a  note  which  is 
the  octave  above.  [Experiment  performed.]  There  are 
twice  the  number  of  vibretions  in  that  sound  as  there  were 
in  the  sound  which  I  produced  first  In  the  case  of  mu- 
sical notes  we  have  a  series  of  these  sounds  succeeding  each 
other  in  order.  Now  we  take  another  fork,  and  hold  it  over 
the  next  box;  then,  again,  the  next:  and  then  the  last^  this 


32 


Moyal  In^tuiion. 


j  OmncAi.  Ksva, 
1      Ji^.  186T. 


being  the  highest  of  alL  [A  muaical  sound  was  evoked  in 
each  case,  eadi  SQCcessivenote  being  higher  than  the  pre- 
ceding.] Now,  these  are,  in  point  of  fact,  to  sound  what 
colours  are  to  light.  In  the  case  of  light,  we  cannot  get 
through  the  octave.  If  we  assume  that  the  proportion  of 
vibrations  in  red  light  be  loo,  those  for  the  vioiot  light  will 
not  exceed  175;  so  that  the  number  of  vibrations,  immense 
as  it  is  in  the  case  of  light,  does  not  embrace  so  wide  a  range 
as  in  the  case  of  sound,  for  we  may  have  musical  vibrations 
ranging  from  16  in  a  second  to  upwards  of  2000  in  a  second. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  many  of  you  knov  the  beautiful  ez- 
I)eriment  which  I  first  saw  performed  by  Dr.  Tyndall  here, 
and  it  is  so  beautiiiil  that  I  cannot  help  desfaing  to  show  it 
to  you  again,  although  I  may  not  succeed  so  well  as  he  does, 
because  it  is  a  matter  which  he  has  made  his  own.  The  ex- 
periment is  this : — ^If  we  take  two  tuning-forks,  one  of  them 
an  octave  above  the  o^er,  and  each  having  a  thin  wire  at- 
tached to  the  limb  of  the  fork,  and  cause  them  to  vibrate, 
and  if  we  then  draw  them  at  the  same  rate  across  a  piece  of 
smoked  glass,  we  shall  have  a  sinuous  line,  which  win  re- 
present the  motions  of  each  fork.  [A  piece  of  smoked  glass 
was  marked  as  described.]  We  will  put  this  into  the  lan- 
tern, and  you  will  see  on  the  screen  two  sinuous  lines,  one 
above  the  other.  Tffe  lower  line  is  that  which  is  produced 
by  the  bass  soimd ;  the  ux)per  one  is  that  which  is  produced 
by  the  higher  soimd.  The  sinuosities  in  the  upper  line  are 
double  the  number  of  those  in  the  line  below.  In  this  we 
have  ocular  proof  of  the  difference  between  the  rate  of  vi- 
bration of  the  two  forks.  If  we  were  to  rule  lines  across, 
we  should  find  that  the  bends  In  one  of  these  lines  were 
twice  as  numerous  as  in  the  other.  This  is  one  of  the  sim- 
plest and,  at  the  same  time,  the  readiest  proofb  we  can  have 
of  the  diiTerence  in  the  vibrations. 

Now  I  must  ask  your  attention  to  a  third  set  of  spectra. 
We  produced,  first  of  aB,  a  continuous  bright  spectrum, 
then. an  interrupted  bright  spectrum;  but  what  would  hap- 
pen if  we  interposed  between  a  continuous  spectrum  and 
the  light  Hometiiing  whi^  would  take  part  of  the  light 
away?  If  we  put  an  opaque  body,  we  should  arrest  the 
whole  of  the  light ;  but  if  we  introduce  a  transparent  col- 
oured substance,  we  shall  intercept  portions  of  the  light. 
Now,  by  nroperiy  choosing  our  media,  we  may  produce 
interruptea  spectra  with  black  or  dark  line^  upon  them; 
and  these  are  spectra  of  a  high  degree  of  interest.  I  shall 
exhibit  one  or  two  of  the  methods  by  which  we  may  pro- 
duce these  efiects.  When  light  is  transmitted  throi^h  a  so- 
lution of  permanganate  of  potash  without  using  the  prism, 
the  liquid  has  a  splendid  purple  or  red  colour,  according  to 
the  degree  of  dilution.  We  will  first  show  the  spectrum  of 
white  light,  and  then  we  will  interpose  the  permanganate. 
You  will  see,  when  this  solution  is  placed  in  *a  glass  cell 
with  flat  sides,  so  as  to  intercept  the  spectrum  from  the 
charcoal  points,  we  obtain  a  certain  number  of  bands,  which 
occur  at  intervals  upon  the  screen. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  exammation  of  one  of  the  salts  of 
t£e  rare  metal  called  didymium.  Nitrate  of  didymium  and 
potash  furnishes  a  solution  of  a  very  pale  red  colour.  When 
this  is  introduced  in  the  course  of  the  ray  you  see  two  re- 
markable bends,  one  in  the  orange  and  the  other  in  the 
green.  Besides  this,  portions  of  the  blue  rays  are  also  cut 
off.  This  is  a  spectrum  of  absorption  produced  by  a  liquid 
which  has  so  faint  a  colour  that  it  is  scarcely  perceptible  to 
the  naked  eye,  yet  Its  spectrum  is  perfectly  characteristia 
Dr.  Gladstone,  who  first  pointed  out  this  peculiarity  of  didy- 
mium, was  enabled  by  its  means  to  discover  didymium  as 
an  impurity  in  other  bodies  previously  supposed  to  be  free 
from  it.  These  two  last  spectra,  you  will  observe,  are  ab- 
sorption spectra  produced  by  liquids.  Such  absorbent  ac- 
tions are  important,  as  they  enable  us  in  many  cases  to  dis- 
tinguish the  nature  of  the  bodies  which  are  held  in  solution. 
Professor  Stokes  has  insisted  particularly  upon  the  value 
of  studying  t^is  dass  of  actions ;  and  quite  recently  a  valu- 
able paper  upon  the  subject  has  been  communicated  to  the 
Eoyal  Society  by  Mr.  Sorby.    But,  interesting  and  import. 


ant  as  this  branch  of  inquiry  is,  it  would  lead  us  too  far 
astray  ftt>m  our  immediate  subject,  which  is  specially  con- 
cerned with  the  examination  of  the  spectra  of  bodies  at  a 
very  high  temperature,  and  the  action  upon  such  spectra  of 
gaseous  bodies,  either  at  ordinary  or  at  elevated  tempera- 
tures. The  phenomena  with  which  we  have  at  present  to 
deal,  enable  us  to  examine  the  constituents  of  the  gases  in 
furnaces,  hi  active  volcanoes,  in  l^e  fixed  stars,  in  meteors, 
and  in  those  still  more  enigmatical  bodies,  the  nebulseu 

For  this  purpose  we  will  now  examine  the  absorbent 
action  of  a  brownish-green  coloured  gas,  the  peroxide  of 
chlorine.  You  see  there  are  bands  coming  out,  there  being 
an  absorption,  particularly  of  the  blue  and  violet  portion  of 
the  spectrum,  to  a  very  considerable  extent  The  bands  are 
still  more  marked  in  those  portions  of  the  spectrum  which 
are  not  visible  until  they  are  received  upon  a  fluorescent 
screen.  The  next  gas  which  we  will  introduce  in  the  same 
manner,  interposing  it  exactly  in  the  track  of  the  ray,  is  the 
peroxide  of  nitrogen  (the  red  nitrous  fiunes  which  are  pro- 
dnced  whenever  a  metal,  such  as  copper  or  mercury,  is 
acted  upon  by  nitric  add).  The  bands  in  this  gas  are  in  a 
different  portion  of  the  spectrum.  The  green  is  almost 
abolished,  and  in  the  green  and  orange  we  have  a  variety  of 
dark  bands  appearing.  These  bands  are  of  particular  inter- 
est because  they  were  the  first  absorption  bands  which  were 
observed.  Sir  David  Brewster,  who  discovered  them, 
thought  that  he  saw  in  them  a  clue  to  the  explanation  of 
certain  bands  known  as  Fraunhofer's  lines  which  are  ob- 
served in  the  sun's  light  This  turned  out  to  be  only  a  par- 
tial foreshadowing  of  the  truth,  but  still  the  fact  is  interest- 
ing in  the  history  of  these  discoveries. 

I  have  now  shown  you  absorption  by  two  coloured  gases, 
both  of  them,  however,  at  the  temperature  of  the  air.  Sup- 
pose we  now  take  a  substance  which  is  highly  heated,  and 
then  examine  what  will  be  the  effect  of  transmitting  light 
through  a  vapour  of  this  description.  For  this  purpose  I 
will  now  place  in  the  lamp  a  substance  which  gives  a  light 
of  one  colour  only.  Sodium,  when  converted  hito  vapour, 
gives  out  light  concentrated  into  two  extremelv  narrow 
bands,  very  dose  together ;  these  are  actual  mathematical 
lines  of  light  which  cross  tiie  spectrum  in  the  midst  of  the 
yellow.  I  cannot  show  you  these  lines  on  the  screen,  for 
the  form  of  the  apparatus  is  not  calculated  for  the  produc- 
tion of  these  extremely  sharp  lines.  As  the  temperature 
rises,  the  sodium  becomes  converted  into  vapour,  and  it  will 
gradually  become  more  and  more  brilliant  until  you  will  see 
that  this  bright  line  is  crossed  by  an  intense  black  line, 
showing  itself  upon  the  screen  in  the  position  which  was, 
a  few  moments  ago,  occupied  by  the  sodium  line  itself. 
It  flickers  for  an  instant,  and  then  it  gradually  fades.  . 
Again  H  appears,  and  yen  may  now  see  distinctly  the 
black  line  of  the  eodium  thrown  upon  the  screen.  That  is 
an  experiment  which,  simple  as  it  looks,  is  really  the  founda- 
tion of  the  whole,  and  therefore  it  is  that  I  have  taken  a  little 
more  time  than  usual  in  obtaining  the  result  I  need  not 
apologise  to  you,  I  am  sure.  You  are  accustomed  to  look  at 
these  things,  and  to  value  them,  not  for  the  brilliancy  of  their 
appearance,  but  for  their  real  importance  with  regard  to  the 
subject  in  hand.  Now,  this  sodium  light  has,  as  you  will 
observe,  the  power  of  causing  a  black  abisorption  band,  when 
light,  produced  at  a  very  intense  temperature,  is  allowed  to 
fall  upon  the  incandescent  vapour  or  flame  of  the  metal  at  a 
lower  temperature.  Those  are  the  conditions  under  which 
the  absorption  band  is  seen,  and'the  person  who  first  pointed 
out  the  real  significance  of  the  fact  was  Kirch hoff.  Hie 
actual  fact  was  first  observed  and  described  by  Foucault,  and 
Mr.  Stokes  suggested  an  explanation,  which  turned  out  to  ba 
tlie  true  one ;  but  alihough  he  divined  it,  he  did  not  directly 
prove  it  by  experiment  or  publish  it  to  the  world,  and"  so 
make  it  his  own.  Kirchhoff,  howevei',  not  only  saw  that  this 
podium  vapour  absorbed  the  light  of  the  luminous  body  be- 
hind it  but  that  in  this  fkct  lay  the  explanation  of  those 
remarkable  dark  lines  in  the  sun's  light,  which  ever  since  they 
Vk-ere  first  indicated  by  Wollaaton,  and  carefully  examined  by 


OxBffiOAL  News,  ) 
J^y,  18«7.       f 


Phaiynaceutical  Society — Academy  of  Sciences. 


33 


Fraunhofer  have  been  a  mystery  to  all  philosophers.  The 
black  lines  of  Fraunhofer  ane  represented  in  this  diagram, 
which  is  a  repetitioQ  of  the  upper  spectrum,  phu  a  certain 
number  of  black  lines  which  cross  it  at  intervals.  The  black 
sodium  Hue  has  a  corresponding  black  line  in  the  solar  spec- 
trum exactly  at  that  part  whkih  is  marked  D.  I  say  '*  a 
black  line.''  It  does,  in  fact,  consist  of  two  Hues,  which  can 
be  discriminated  from  each  other  by  the  use  of  telescopes  of 
sufficient  power. 

Now,  I  desire,  tf  I  can,  in  a  few  words,  to  explain  to  you 
how  this  bla^  line  is  produced.  It  certainly  seems  a  re- 
markable thing  that  the  addition  of  two  lights  should  appa- 
rently produce  darkness.  We  know  this,  however,  for  a  fact 
in  other  cases ;  for  light,  and  in  some  cases  sound,  produces 
the  phenomenon  of  interference,  as  it  is  called ;  but  this  is 
not  a  true  case  of  interference — it  is  a  case  of  absorption. 
The  spectrum  of  sodium  has  the  power  of  absorbing  only  that 
thin  line  of  light  which  it  made  upon  the  screen,  just  a.^, 
when  wo  take  one  of  these  forks  and  hold  it  over  the  partic- 
ular box  which  responds  to  lt»  and  which  absorbs  its  vibra- 
tions, it  produces  a  sound :  but  the  fork  produces  no  sound 
when  held  over  a  second  box  of  different  dimensions  [hold- 
ing it  over  another  box].  In  the  first  case,  we  have  a  pow- 
erful resonance,  but  there  is  nothing  perceptible  from  either 
of  these  other  boxed.  Well,  this  furnishes  us  an  analogy — 
though  a  rough  one — to  the  way  in  which  the  sodium  vapour 
acts  in  taking  up  the  vibrations  which  are  produced  in  that 
particular  slice  of  light  from  the  sodium,  appropriating  them 
to  the  actual  raising  of  .its  own  temperature,  and  then  radi- 
ating them  out— wholly  absorbing  them  first,  and  then  rera- 
diatiiig  them. 

How  is  it  that  this  is  a  black  line  ?  In  the  black  line,  as 
it  appears  upon  the  screen,  it  is  true  that  there  is  a  greater 
nmount  of  light  than  the  sodium  alone  could  pi'oduce,  and  it 
is  black  only  by  contrast.  That  part  of  the  spectrum  which 
looked  black  just  now  would  have  appeared  bright  if  seen 
alone,  but  as  I  had  a  more  brilliant  spectrum  behind  it^  the 
light  of  that  spectrum,  in  ^falling  on  the  screen,  produced  upon 
the  eye  the  effect  of  a  contrast,  which  lod  you  to  believQ  that  the 
coraparalively  feebly  illuminated  sodium  line  was  actually 
black.  That  is  the  cause  of  the  black  lines  we  appear  to  see  in 
the  spectrum  of  the  sun,  of  the  fixed  stars,  and  of  a  variety 
of  other  lights. 

1  intended  to  say  a  word  or  two  upon  the  composite  nature 
of  the  eolar  spectrum  before  I  concluded  this  part  of  our  sub- 
ject; but  I  need  not  dwell  long  upon  this  point,  as  it  has  al- 
ready been  insisted  upon  more  than  once  in  the  theatre  of 
this  Institution.  I  stated  just  now  that  if  we  obtained  the 
solar  spectrum,  and  examined  it — spread  it  out— we  should 
have  a  certain  amount  of  light,  which  we  may  represent  by 
that  band  of  coloured  light  which  is  seen  in  this  diagram.  If 
joa  notice,  you  will  observe  that  that  ooloured  stripe  is 
bounded  by  a  curved  line  above.  This  is  the  red  end,  and 
here  it  goes  off  into  the  violet  Now,  this  curve  is  the  re- 
sult of  measurements  made  very  carefully  by  Fraunhofer  for 
tho  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  is  the  distribution  of  light 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  solar  spectrum.  A  second  curve 
traces  the  outline  of  this  black  mountain,  which  Dr.  Tyndall 
has  been  working  at,  and  is  intended  to  indicate  the  distribution 
of  heat  in  the  spectrum.  It  is  very  important  to  remember  that 
the  light  given  by  the  sun  is  but  a  small  portion  of  the  force 
which  it  is  radiating  upon  the  earth. .  Tho  portion  of  the  curve 
filled  up  with  black  represents  that  part  where  the  vibrations 
are  least  rapid.  Then,  when  the  vibrations  increase  in  ra- 
pidity, we  get  red  light.  Still  more  rapid  vibrations  give  us 
yellow  ;  still  more  rapid  give  us  green ;  then  we  get  to  the 
blue  and  violet.  The  principal  curve  in  the  diagram  repre- 
sents to  the  eye  very  roughly,  but  to  a  certain  extent  correct- 
Ij,  tho  distribution  of  heat  in  the  visible  portion  of  tho  spec- 
trum. The  heat  increases  in  intensity  as  we  approach  to  the 
red,  and  the  light  diminishes.  The  third  curve  represents 
the  distribution  of  the  chemical  rays.  If  you  allow  the  npec- 
trum  from  the  light  of  the  electric  spark  taken  between  points 
of  silver  to  fall  upon  the  photographic  surface  of  a  collodion 

Vol.  I.    No.  i.— July,  1867.     3 


film,  you  get  a  very  long  strip  of  light,  in  which  you  have  a 
series  of  the  same  sort  of  bands  as  you  have  already  seen  in . 
the  luminous  portion  of  the  silver  spectrum.     Tlie  vapour  of 
silver  gives  us  a  series  of  interrupted  bands,  which  exert  a 
powerful  efffect  in  photographic  experiments. 

One  experiment  before  I  conclude,  in  order  that  I  may 
show  you  the  photographic  image  of  the  spectra  obtained  by 
transmitting  a  series  of  powerful  electric  discharges  between 
wires  of  the  four  metals  which  I  spoke  of  just  now.  First, 
the  spectrum  of  silver.  -  There  you  will  see  the  image  pro- 
longed. This  is  the  most  refrangib'e  pa  t.  The  photo- 
graphic image  of  the  electric  spark  between  wires  of  silver 
is  five  or  six  times  as  long  as  the  visible  spectrum  obtained 
from  silver  when  heated  in  the  voltaic  arc.  Here  is  the 
photographic  spectrum  of  magnesium,  and  here  is  a  photo- 
graph of  the  spectrum  of  thallium.  About  one-tenth  onl}- 
of  the  length  of  aiiy  of  these  spectra  is  visible  to  the  eye. 
Finally,  here  is  the  photographic  spectrum  of  copper. 


PHARMAOEUnOAL  SOCIETY. 
Wednesday,  May  15,  1867. 
G.  W.  Sanford,  jE^.,  Presidentf  iff  the  Chair, 
The  twenty-sixth  annual  general  meeting'of  this  Society  was 
held  on  Wednesday,  the  15th  inst.,  when  the  report  of  the 
Council  was  received,  and  the  Council  and  Audit  Committee 
for  the  ensuing  year  were  elected.  The  meeting  then  resolv- 
ed itself  into  a  special  general  meeting,  convened  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  the  sense  of  the  membere  of  the  Society  rela- 
tive to  the  19th  clause  in  the  amended  Pharmacy  Act.  This 
was  one  of  the  largest  meetings  of  members  ever  held.  Mr. 
Abrahams,  of  Liverpool,  moved,  and  Mr.  Boyce,  of  Cho"  Isey, 
seconded,  a  resolution  condemning  the  policy  of  applying  for 
an  amended  Act  when  the  Society  was  in  such  a  prosperous 
^tate.  Messra.  Pedlar,  Richardson,  and  others  thought  that 
by  admitting  all  chemists  without  examination  they  would 
be  doing  an  injury  to  those  members-who  had  already  passed 
the  examinations.  After  a  long  discussion,  Mr.  Collins,  of 
St.  Pancras,  moved,  and  Mr.  E.  Yizer,  of  Pimlico,  seconded, 
the  following  amendment : — ''  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting,  the  proposed  amendment  of  the  Pharmacy  Act  is 
both  wise  and  expedient,  as,  by  enlisting  the  support  of  those 
members  of  the  trade  outside  the  pale  of  the  Society,  the  way 
is  cleared  for  carrying  into  effect  the  primary  objects  of  the 
Society — viz.,  the  consolidation  of  the  whole  trade,  and  legis- 
lative provision  for  the  compulsory  examination  of  all  per- 
sons entering  the  same  after  a  given  time.  This  meeting 
would  further  express  its  eptire  approval  of  the  action  taken 
by  the  Council,  and  pledges  itself  to  support,  by  all  possible 
means,  the  pi^ssage  of  the  Bill  through  Parliament."  Messra. 
Edwards,  Squire,  Orridge,  Moraon,  Savage,  and  Randall  sup- 
ported the  amendment,  which,  after  considerable  discussion, 
was  carried  by  a  large  majority. 


ACADEMY  OP  SCIENCES. 
AprU  29,  1867. 
(From  cue  own  Correspondent) 
TuE  sitting  of  the  Academy  was  very  short  to-day. 

^ir  David  Brewster  presented  the  opening  discourse  which 
he  had  made  at  the  Edinburgh  Royal  Society. 

M.  Baer,  of  St.  Peteraburg,  warmly  Ijianked  the  Academy 
for  having  given  him  the  Cuvier  prize  of  1866. 

M.  Baumhein,  present  at  the  meetirig,  called  the  attention 
of  a  considerable  number  of  members,  particularly  M. 
Fizeau,  to  a  forgetfulness  on  the  part  of  the  commission 
appointed  to  award  the  prize  for  the  determination  of  the 
length  of  the  waves  of  the  solar  spectrum.  He  deeply- 
regretted  that  they  had  not  known  the  remarkable  memoir 
of  M.  van  der  Willigen,  director  of  the  Teyler  Physical 
Cabinet  at  Haariem,  which  was  m«re  complete  than  that  of 
U.Mascartin  r866. 


34 


Academy  of  Sciencea. 


M.  Dumas  read  a  lelter,  in  which  M.  Pasteur,  at  preseDt 
at  Alais,  and  who  is  finishing  his  experiments  and  ohaenra- 
tions  on  the  precocious  rearing  of  silkworms,  announced  an 
important  discovery  made  by  him.  The  organisms  that  he 
terms  corpuscles  are  propagated,  or  at  least  multiplied,  by 
tcissipariiy.  They  contain  a  sort  of  keruel,  which  ordinarily 
presents  the  first  indications  of  scissiparity.  M.  Pasteur  has 
examined  under  the  microscope  the  corpuscles  of  the  internal 
mucous  coats  of  the  stomach  and  the  kernels,  at  all  states  of 
division,  commencing,  in  progress*,  or  terminated. 

M.  Dumas,  in  the  name  of  M.  Naquet,  presented  the  aeoood 
edition,  in  two  volumest  df  bis  ''Principles  of  Chemistry 
founded  on  Modern  Theories.*'  It  is  a  well-written  work, 
quite  up  to  the  modern  progress  of  science.  M.  Dumas,  how- 
ever, reproaches  the  author  with  having  regarded  facts  too 
much  in  a  personal  light,  and  enumerating  the  results  with- 
out mentioning  the  processes.  Formerly,  said  the  celebrated 
chemist,  the  processes  were  an  important  item  in  the  teaching 
of  chemistry ;  and  also  he  has  further  remarks  to  make  on 
this  reserve,  which  he  will  make  on  a  future  occasion. 

IL  Fremy  presented  a  memoir  on  '*  PAen^^"  in  which  M. 
Dussard  announced  that  he  had  succeeded  in  peri'ectly  and 
easily  producing  the  phehapbtic  acid  of  Berzelius,  and  pre- 
paring diatomic  phenol  possessing  very  remarkable  propertieo, 
and  which  will  bear  the  same  relation  to  the  monatomic  phenol 
as  the  glycol  of  M.  Wurtz  bears  to  monatomic  alcohols. 

M.  Henri  Sainte-Ciaire  Devilie  presented  a  note,  by  M. 
Cailletet,  on  an  amalgam  of  sodium  with  which  he  has  al- 
ready obtained  considerable  success,  lie  called  to  mind  the 
important  results  obtained  by  the  modern  researches  of  Messrs. 
Crookes,  Mat th lessen,  Regnault,  &c.,  on  alloys.  Mr.  Crookes, 
for  example,  had  rendered  great  service  to  metallurgical  oper- 
ations by  proving  that  the  addition  to  mercury  of  a  small 
quantity  of  sodium  renders  incomparably  more  easy  and  prof- 
itable the  extraction  of  the  precious  metals. 

Mr.  Sterry  Hunt  read  the  summary  of  his  researches  upon 
certain  reactions  of  magiiesian  salts  and  magnesian  rodcs. 
The  author  attacked  the  theory  df  MM.  Haidinger  and  Suo- 
kow,  who  explain  the  efflorescence  of  sulphate  of  magnesia 
by  the  reaction' of  sulphate  of  lime  and  carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia. He  belieyes  that  the  magnesiar.  silicates  which  form 
portion  of  the  dolomites  in  the  environs  of  Paris  are  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  unaltered  formation  of  steatites;  that 
the  tales  and  serpentines  are  formed  aqueously;  that  the 
greensandd  of  the  Paris  basin  are  of  the  same  composition  as 
serpentines,  Ac 

May  7,  1867. 
M.  Bertrakd  read  a  very  &TOurable  report  on  the  memoir  of 
M.  A.  Cornu,  entitled,  '^  Ihionfe  Nauvelle  de  la  Re/radion 
Crystalline  de  Fregnd."*  The  principal  conclusions  of  the  re- 
port were,  that  the  luminous  vibrations  were  normal  to  the 
plane  of  polarisation,  as  Fresnel  and  Cauchy  announced  a  long 
time  ago,  though  the  direct  proofs  hitherto  proposed  are  open 
to  discussion. 

M.  Charles  Robin  resumed  the  result  of  his  researches  on 
the  origin,  development,  and  completion  of  the  dorsal  cord, 
called  the  cord  of  Owen. 

The  Academy  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  Correspondent 
for  the  Geometrical  Section  in  pUoe  of  M.  Rieman.  The 
choice  almost  unanimously  fell  upon  M.  Plucker,  of  Bonn,  the 
well-known  Professor.  He  received  the  Copley  Medal  of  the 
Royal  Society  for  1866^  and  many  honours  which  we  cannot 
now  enumerate. 

M.  Salmon,  of  BuUin,  author  of  "  Lessons  in  High  Algebra,"* 
&a,  obtained  the  vote  left  by  M.  Plucker. 

The  Academy  then  proceeded  to  the  election  of  an  Anato- 
mical and.  Zoological  Correspondent  M.  Siebold,  brother  of 
the  Japanese  traveller,  was  elected  by  a  large  majority. 

M.  Balard  presented  an  ice-making  roacliine,  made  by  M. 
R  Carr6,  brother  of  the  well-known  inventor  of  the  ammonia 
one.  Its  action,  depends  on  the  absorption  of  vapour  of  water 
by  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  congelation  is  most  rapid,  as  soon 
as  the  vacuum  .is  iproduced. 
M.  Regnault)  iD.thename  of  M.  Soret,  of  Geneva,  ooravnnl- 


cated  a  new  cote  on  tlie  detennimitioQ  of  the  density  of  oxone. 
Experiments  of  absorption  lead  to  tlie  conclusion  tliat  the  den- 
sity of  ozone  is  one  and  a  half  times  that  of  oxygen.  He  ap- 
plied Graham  8  law  of  diflVisiou — ^vis.,  that  the  diflbsioo  takes 
place  in  the  inverse  proportion  U  the  square  of  the  dcosity. 
He  then  diffused  two  mixtures--one  of  oxygen  and  chlorine, 
the  other  of  oxygen  and  osone.  Thus  oompared,  the  density 
of  osone  to  that  of  chlorine  or  oxygen  was  found  to  be  i  :  5. 


May  13,  1867. 

(Fbom  oub  Spboul  Corbsspohbkrt.) 

Db.  Nelaton  begged  the  Academy  to  inscribe  his  name 
among  the  list  of  candidates  for  the  vacant  chair  in  the  medi- 
cal and  surgical  section,  by  the  death  ofM.  Jobcrtdu  Lamballe. 
Is  he  not  rather  late  in  the  field — when,  during  all  his  life,  he 
was  no  more  interested  in  the  Academy  than  if  it  never  existed ; 
and  when  he  never  made  his  appearance  but'onco,  to  read  a 
work  made  in  collaboration  with  a  young  recruit  ?  He  must 
have  depended  upon  the  little  respect  paid  by  the  Academy, 
sometimes,  to  itself,  to  offer  himself  as  a  candidate  in  such  an 
unprepared  manner.  For  my  part,  I  shall  not  give  my  vote 
to  M  Nelaton,  first-rate  surgeou  though  he  be  among  us. 

M.  Boussingault  communicated  a  new  series  of  researche  s 
relative  to  the  deleterious  infiuence  exerted  by  the  vapour  of 
mercury  on  the  vitality  of  plants.  He  has  repeated  and  mod- 
ified the  very  curious  experiments  made  by  some  Dutch  ta- 
vants  in  1797.  They  placed  under  a  b^U  glass  a  plant  with 
a  small  vessel  containing  mercury,  and  they  found  that,  at 
the  end  of  a  few  days,  or  even  a  few  hours,  the  leaves  of  the 
plant  were  spotted  and  blackened,  and  that  it  ultimately 
perished.  But  when  they  fixed  a  small  piece  of  sulphur  o-i 
the  inside  surface  of  the  bell  glass,  the  deleterious  action  ot 
the  mercury  ceased,  and  the  plant  remained  healthy.  It  was 
not  difficult  for  M.  Boussingault  to  assure  himself,  by  a  series 
of  careful  observations,  that  the  mercurial  vapours  had  a  sort 
of  elective  affinity  for  the  sulphur — that  sulphuret  of  mercury 
was  formed,  which  is  inoffensive.  M.  Boussingault  has  varied 
his  experiments  relative  to  the  action  of  vapours  on  plants 
and  the  precious  metals,  silver  and  gold.  He  has  measured 
their  tension,  and  appreciated  their  action  on  the  colours  and 
weight,  dec  M.  Regniault  thinks  that  the  best  reagent  against 
the  vapours  of  mercury  is  an  iodised  daguerreotype  plate  ready 
to  be  coated  and  exposed  to  the  light.  M.  Boussingault 
maintains  that  the  sensibility  of  the  plates  is  nothing  as  oom* 
pared  with  that  of  plants. 

M.  Pietie,  of  Geneva,  was  then  elected  as  member  of  the 
Section  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology,  by  forty-two  votes 
against  one,  given  to  M.  Saoe,  of  Ncufchatel. 

M.  Becquerel,  the  elder,  communicated  his  series  of  exper- 
iments on  the  influeace  of  the  capillary  action  of  surfaces 
upon  decomposition  and  cliemical  combination.  He  takes  a 
tube  with  two  branches  reversed,  and  makes  in  it  a  fissure, 
the  width  of  which  is  infinitely  small.  He  pours  iherein  a  so- 
lution of  nitrate  of  copper,  and  has  found  that  no  liquid  passes 
by  the  fissure;  but  when  placed  in  a  vessel  containing  liquid 
protosulphuret  of  sodium,  an  electncal  action  takes  place,  and 
decomposition  and  recompoeition  ensue,  manifenied  by  the 
crystals  which  appear  on  both  sides  of  the  fissure.  M.  Bec- 
querel has  demonstrated  the  new  and  curious  pbeuoraenoa 
that  the  capillarity  of  the  fissure  has  a  real  influence  on  the 
nature  of  the  products  of  the  decomposition ;  that  the  salts  or 
the  crystallisations  are  nbt  always  those  indicated  by  theory; 
that  the  double  decomposition  often  goes  to  the  extent  of  ra- 
duction  of  the  metaL 

M.  Elie  de  Beaumont  presented,  in  the  name  of  M.  Civiale, 
an  immense  collecUon  of  urinary  calculi,  arranged  according 
to  their  form  and  structure,  composition,  Ac.  He  read  a  long 
note,  giving  details  of  each  group. 

M.  Ch.  Sainte-Claire  Devilie  recounted  his  studies  *' Oniht 
Periodical  Variations  of  Ttmperaiure. "   ' 

Tlie  author  has  established,  in  one  of  his  former  memoixi^ 
that  there  exists  a  certain  depending  connexion  in  the  move- 
ment of  the  mean  temperature  of  four  days,  placed  on  the 
edlptio  at  an  angle  of  90^  one  from  the  other,  for  the  (bar 


Chuiioal  irnrt, ) 

July,  iser.     f 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


35 


months,  opposed  two  \fj  two,  of  February,  May,  August,  and 
November,  whioh  contain  the  critical  daySj  known  bj  the 
ancients  under  the  name  of  the  three  ioinia  of  ice  (H^y  ii^ 
12,  13),  and  the  mmvwr  of  Saint  Martin  (November  11).  In 
this  new  work  he  sliows  that  the  fact  is  general,  and  that  this 
connexion  or  mutual  dependence  of  the  four  opposite  days 
exists  daring  the  whole  of  the  year ;  whether  we  take  into 
consideration  a  ooosideffable  cycle — 1 10  years  at  Berlin,  90 
years  at  Vienna^  50  at  London,  40  at  Prague  and  Edinburgh, 
30  at  Brussels,  24  at  Toulouse,  21  at  Paris  —  or  that  we  take 
in  this  point  oif  view  an  isolated  year  (1864)  on  asveral  Euro- 
pean stations. 

The  former,  depending  upon  the  same  data,  establishes,  in 
fine,  that  this  connexion  is  evident  also  wlien  we  combine 
twelve  by  twelve  the  days  separated  one  from  the  other  by 
30**  of  the  ecliptic. 

The  latter  phenomenon  constitutes  the  meteorological  month, 
as  the  »eason  was  established  by  the  consideration  of  the  quad* 
ruple  days. 

U,  Marifi-Bavy  presented  his  ninth  memoir  *'  On  the  Mechan- 
ical jTheoi-y  of  Electricity."  The  re^TTie  that  we  shall  shortly 
publish  is  a  sort  of  synthesis  of  the  principal  phenomena  of 
nature.  These  are  his  conclusions : — In  a  ray  of  light  the 
vibrations  are  not  in  the  direction  of  the  wave.  In  a  hot  sub- 
stance, in  which  ^  varies  symmetrically  all  round  each  ma- 
terial  centre,  the  vibrations  take  place  generally  in  the  same 
manner  oh  the  three  axes.  In  the  circuit  in  activity  the  elec- 
tric vibration  takes  place  in  the  direction  of  the  propagation 
of  the  current,  and  the  vis  viva  set  at  liberty  by  the  chemical 
action  passes  along  that  channel.  But  light,  heat,  an^  elec- 
tricity have  the  same  vit  viva,  having  the  same  mechanical 
equivalent 

In  this  hypothesis  of  the  vibrations,  the  positive  electricity 
is  ether  condensed  in  excess ;  negative  electricity  is  ether  in 
deficiency.  It  is  a  long  time  ago  that  we  sustained  this  theo- 
ry, on  which  we  made  a  memoir  presented  to  the  Academy 
in  1845.  l^ron  Sequier,  in  the  name  of  M.  Stamm,  of  Milan, 
communicated  the  plan  of  an  association  between  a  horse  and 
a  steam  motor,  inspired  by  a  lecture  that  he  ga^e  last  year 
before  the  Academy^  and  in  which  he  drew  such  a  clear  com- 
parison between  inanimate  motors  and  animate  ones  working 
by  then*  own  will  M.  Stamm,  in  his  vehicle  with  a  steam 
engine  commanded  by  a  horse,  has  so  disposed  it  that  the 
horse  gears  the  machinery  when  in  motion,  and  ungears  it 
wheu  he  stops  ;  so  that  he  arranges  the  valves  in  a  manner 
that,  when  backing,  the  steam  is  reversed,  and  the  intelligence 
which  the  machinery  wants  is  supplied  by  the  horse. 

Mof  20^  1867.^ 

1£  Delaunat  presented,  in  the  name  of  U.  Camille  Flamma- 
rion,  a  note  on  a  change  remarked  on  the  surface  of  the  moon 
in  the  crater  of  linnssus.  It  is  well  known  that  this  crater 
has  recently  been  subjected  to  an  essential  modification. 
The  attention  of  astronomers  having  been  called  to  this  fact 
by  M.  Jules  Schmidi^  of  Athens,  M.  Flammarion  chose  the 
moment  when  the  sun  rises  at  the  meridian  of  Linnseus  to 
study  this  spot  The  sun,  being  only  yet  elevated  a  few 
degrees  above  the  horizon  of  the  crater  in  question,  lit  it 
up  very  obliquely.  The  slightest  irregularities  in  the  con- 
formation of  the  surface  were  most  d^tinctly  visible.  An 
attentive  observer  would  remark  at  once  that  Linnfisus  is  no 
more  a  crater;  there  is  no  exterior  shadow,  no  shade  in 
tiie  centre.  In  its  plaoe  there  is  only  a  cloudy,  white,  circu- 
lar spot,  or  rather  a  white  stsun  on  the  ground.  Far  from 
being  elevated  as  a  crater,  it  has  a  greenish  oolor,  Uke  the 
Sea  of  Serenity,  and  seems  to  be  neither  in  relief  nor  sunken, 
but  resembles  a  lake  of  a  lighter  colour  than  the  neighbour- 
ing plain. 

This  crater  has  therefore  descended  to  the  level  of  the 
plain — ^fallen  hi— or  else  the  plain  has  been  raised  to  about 
the  level  of  the  crater.  The  interior  appears  also  filled 
up,  for  no  shadow  is  distinguishable,  whilst  smaller  craters, 
such  as  A  and  B  of  Bessel,  A  and  B  of  Lmn»us,  and  those 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Posidonius,  show  the  dark  shadow 


very  perceptibly.  If  Linnaeus  had  this  aspect  at  tho  time 
when  Beer  and  Maedler  laid  down  their  selenographic  map, 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  indicated  it  as  a 
crater.  In  the  map  constructed  eight  years  ago  by  Leoou- 
turier  the  height  is  not  marked.  It  appears  that  it  was  very 
deep,  ten  kilometres  in  diameter,  and  that  it  served  as  a 
fixed  point  for  Lorkmann  and  Maedler. 

On  May  11,  the  sun  being  more  elevated,  Linnaeus  pre- 
sented the  same  aspect  as  on  the  evening  before.  The 
evening  of  the  12th  was  rainy;  the  13th  the  atmosphere, 
being  very  pure,  permitted  t^ie  author  to  distinguish  in  tho 
Sea  of  Serenity  a  multitude  of  small  disseminated  craters. 
The  plain  was  brilliant,  and  Linnseus  had  tho  same  relative 
brightness. 

M.  ChaconuK^  who  observed  the  same  things  at  Lyons, 
arrived  at  similar  oondusions.  Father  Secchi,  of  Rome,  has 
already  presented  to  the  Academy  his  own  observations.  It 
is,  then,  proved  for  a  certainty  that  a  movement  has  recently 
taken  place  in  this  region  of  the  lunar  world.  The  magni- 
fying power  used  was  230  to  300  times. 

Baron  von  Liebig  read  a  note  "  On  an  Alimentary  Prep- 
araiion  for  Replacing  Human  Milk  for  Children.^  Human 
milk  of  a  person  in  good  health  contains,  per  cent.,  caseine, 
3*1 ;  sugar  of  milk,  4*3 ;  butter,  31.  Baron  von  Liebig  con- 
cluded therefrom  that  woman's  milk  contains : — ^Blood-form- 
ing prindplos,  i  part ;  heat-producing  principles  3*8  parts. 
By  mixing  fiour  and  milk  in  certain  proportions,  it  is  easy  to 
compose  a  food  in  which  the  two  nutritive  principles  are  in 
the  same  proportion  as  in  human  milk — viz.,  i  to  3*8. 
Cows*  milk  contains,  on  an  average,  4  per  cent  of  caseine, 
4*j  of  lactose,  2*5  of  butter.  If  we  take,  then,  10  parts  of 
milk,  I  part  of  wheat  flour,  and  i  part  of  ground  malt,  we 
have  a  mixture  satisfying  all  the  necessary  conditions.  For 
preparing  this  the  author  recommends  the  following  method : 
— ^A  mixture  is  made  of  15  grammes  of  wheaten  flour,  15 
grammes  of  ground  malt,  and  6  grammes  of  bicarbonate  of 
potash ;  30  grammes  of  water  and  1 50  grammes  of  milk  are 
then  added.  The  whole  is  then  heated  and  continually 
stirred  until  the  mixture  begins  to  thicken.  It  is  then  taken 
oft*  the  fire  and  stirred  all  the  whUe.  After  five  minutes  it 
is  boiled,  and  then  strained  through  a  wire  or  hair  sieve. 
The  ground  malt  necessary  for  this  preparation  is  easily 
fumiwied  by  barley  malt,  obtained  at  any  brewery.  It  can 
be  ground  in  a  common  cofiee-grinder,  and  then  passed 
through  a  sieve.  If  this  preparation  is  well  made,  it  is  as 
sweet  as  the  natural  milk ;  it  is  fluid  enough,  and  keeps  for 
twenty-four  hours.  In  Glermany  the  use  of  this  iood  is 
Very  extensive,  and  its  nutritive  qualities  are  found  to  bo 
excellent  It  has  a  slight  taste  of  flour  or  malt,  to  which 
children  get  accustomed^  in  fact,  they  soon  prefer  it  to  any 
other  food. 

M.  Charles  Robin  presented  on  the  part  of  the  family  of 
M.  Qodard,  a  work  of  this  doctor  entitled  "  Medical  and 
Scientific  Observations  made  in  Egypt  and  Palestine." 
This  eavant^  who  died  at  Jaffa  of  a  Uver  complaint  contract- 
ed at  Jerusalem,  where  he  was  studying  leprosy,  founded 
an  annual  prize  of  1000  fr.  already  twice  awarded  by  tho 
Academy  of  Sciences. 

M.  Paul  Thenard  announced  that  M.  Michel  Ferret  by 
an  higenious  process,  the  result  of  theory  and  practical 
studies,  had  made  a  great  improvement  in  the  art  of  making 
wine.  He  avoids  at  the  same  time  aoetification,  and  ob- 
tains better  colour  and  more  epbit 

This  paper  was  followed  by  one  on  chemical  researches  on 
the  water  found  in  a  bronze  vase  at  Pompeii.  On  the  29th 
of  March  last,  while  making  some  excavations  in  a  house  at 
Pompeii,  a  bronze  cooking-pot  was  found  on  an  iron  tripod. 
A  cover,  also  of  bronze,  fitted  exactly  upon  the  top  of  the 
vase,  so  that  water  falling  upon  it  could  not  penetrate  into 
the  interior.  On  the  ground  were  found  three  handles,  also 
of  bronze,  two  of  which  belonged  to  the  vase,  and  the  other, 
formed  of  two  dolphins,  belonged  to  the  cover.  They  had 
originally  been  soldered  to  the  vase  and  cover.  The  vessel 
was  found  full  of  water.    The  diameter  of  the  vase  was  15 


36 


Notices  of  Books. 


(GmmcAL  lf«v8, 
1      /My,  18iT. 


centimetres,  and  it  was  20  centimetres  high.  The  water  was 
X)crfectlr  limpid,  ahd  was  hardly  rendered  turhid  by  a  pro- 
longed ebullition  with  a  feeble  alkaline  reaction.  At  the 
temperature  of  20"  0.  its  sp.  gr.  is  I'ooi,  about  that  of  dis- 
tilled water.  The  quantity  of  fixed  matters  left  by  evapora- 
tion was  1*032  gr.  per  litre.  The  gases  disengaged  by 
ebullition  consisted  of  air  and  carbonic  acid.  Lime  and 
magnesia  were  found  in  it ;  also  phosphates  in  small  quanti- 
ty ;  also  some  traces  of  sulphates,  and  even  silica  and  iron. 
There  was  not  the  slightest  trace  of  copper. 

NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Discorso  diApertura  delsecondo  anno  delta  FacoUd  di  Chimica. 

Lotto  dal  i'ondatore,  Prof.  Carlo  Cassola.  Napoli.  1867. 
The  address  of  the  President  at  ihe  opening  of  the  second 
year  t>f  a  chemical  college  could  hardly,  our  readers  might 
say,  contain  much  novelty,  or  any  details  which  they  could 
nut  note  down  beforehand.  Of  course  he  would  give  a  gen- 
eral glance  at  the  position  of  chemistry,  the  progress  of  dis- 
covery, and  the  prospects  of  the  institution  where  the  science 
was  cultivated  and  taught.  The  above  address  does  nothing 
of  the  kind.  Italy  has  been  too  long  under  despotic  rule  to  have 
retained  her  old  courage  for  scientific  inquiry,  and  now  that 
she  has  happily  reconquered  liberty,  she  is  only  beginning  to 
see  the  riecessity  of  cultivating  science  as  one  of  the  most 
urgent  means  of  cultivating  the  sources  of  national  wealth. 
Hence  this  address  is  most  curious  and  suggestive ;  its  ele- 
mentary character,  its  all  but  juvenile  pretenfiiona,  have  some- 
thing of  encouragement  in  them  ;  so  that  in  laying  the  sub- 
stiince  of  this  discourse  before  our  readers  we  are  sure  they 
will  join  us  in  an  expression  of  sympathy  for  young  Italy, 
.and  in  the  hope  that  her  intelligent  sons  may  seethe  impor- 
tance of  the  new  institution  and  encourage  it  in  the  only  way 
that  can  lead  to  durable  success — namely,  by  earnest  study 
and  hard  laboratory  practice. 

The  address  "begins  by  referring  to  the  backward  condition 
of  Italy  consequent  on  political  misrule,  and  the  paramount 
duty  of  every  Italian  to  acquire  political  independence  for  his 
country.  That  desirable  event  having  been  accomplished, 
the  next  struggle  was  the  endeavour  to  bring  up  their  coun- 
try to  the  level  of  more  civilized  nations.  How  was  this  to 
be  done  ?  Not  by  relying  on  the  Government,  but  by  their 
own  exertions,  in  constructing  railroads  and  other  means  of 
communication,  developing  the  riches  of  the  soil,  encouraging 
industry ;  taking,  in  short,  as  their  model,  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race — America  and  England. 

The  President  goes  on  to  show  bow  false  is  the  system  of 
national  prosperity  that  produces  little  and  consumes  much, 
exports  nothing,  imports  everything ;  that  produces  few  or 
no  results  of  public  education,  while  the  population  is  uneasy 
and  miserable.  Trade  and  commerce  are  depressed,  and 
those  who  should  foster  them  are  discouraged,  because  the 
system  pursued  is  a  false  one.  What  is  wanted  for  Italy  is 
the  development  of  her  internal  riches,  and  the  knowledge 
how  to  apply  science  to  her  everyday  wants. 

"  Banished  from  my  native  country  by  the  political  events 
of  1848-9,  I  have  laboured  and  studied  in  dififerent  parts  of 
Europe,  in  Asia,  and  the  two  Americas,  to  understand  the 
secret  of  national  prosperity.  I  returned  to  Italy,  and  ex- 
cited my  countrymen  to  follow  the  example  of  the  stranger. 
I  was  laughed  at  I  *  By  good  fortune  I  have  had  the  privil- 
ege of  founding  this  centre  of  instruction  and  research,  al- 
though opposed  by  the  Government  and  the  municipality. 
The  chief  object  of  th'S  Faculty  of  Chemistry  is  to  Instruct  Ital- 
ians in  analytical  chemistry  and  its  application  to  industry,  and 
then  to  distribute  the  men  so  educated  over  the  country.  An- 
other object  is  to  bring  the  scientific  Italian  out  of  his  retirement 
and  make  his  pulse  beat  in  unison  with  that  of  his  fellow- 
citizens — ^to  win  him,  in  fact,  to  the  side  of  national  indus- 
try, and  make  him  more  esteemed  in  his  native  land.** 

Italy  is  beginning  to  fbel  the  importance  of  the  ealL 
Tarious  municipal  and  other  bodies  hare  sont  mfnerals  to 


be  examined,  and  the  Faculty  is  already  in  a  condition  to 
declare  that  Italy  has  undeveloped  wealth  in  every  kind  of 
industry.  Search  has  been  made  for  coal,  that  great  motive 
force,  and  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  Government  and  of 
the*  municipality  of  Naples  (expressions  that  occur  more  than 
once,  and  which  we  confess  we  do  not  understand),  the 
province  of  Naples  can  supply  that  great  need. 

He  then  goes  on  to  show  how  to  make  the  exports  and 
imports  more  nearly  balance  each  other.  The  imports  in 
Naples  and  the  surrounding  districts  amounted  to 
200,000,000  lire  per  annum,*  and  the  exports  to  only 
36,000,00a  He  proposes  to  work  the  metallie  ores  of  the 
country  by  means  of  companies,  to  extend  railroads,  Ac 

The  Sdiool  of  Chemistry,  the  only  one  in  Italy  (!),  was 
founded  in  x866,  and  has  already  acquired  much  precise 
knowledge  as  to  the  natural  wealth  of  the  country.  It  is 
strongly  recommended  that  the  youth  of  Italy  be  educated 
in  the  theory  and  practioe  of  the  sciences ;  in  facts  and  ob- 
servations, and  not  in  dry  themes.  The  Faculty  has  already 
supplied  two  Lynenms  with  the  chemical  apparatus  required 
for  instruction,  and  the  University  has  also  sought  its  aid. 
It  has  sent  several  dbemists  to  different  parts  of  Italy,  and  it 
carries  on  a  wide  correspondence  with  persons  who  require 
information  on  sctentiflc  subjects. 

The  analyses  performed  by  the  Faculty  had  been  liberally 
paid  for  with  one  exception,  and  that  was  on  the  part  of  the 
Government.  One  of  the  departments  sent  a  liquid  to  the 
Faculty  to  know  if  it  were  adulterated,  and  on  returning  the 
analysis  the  fee  demanded  was  refhsed,  on  the  ground  that 
the  Faculty  was  a  public  department,  although  all  Its  doca- 
ments  bear  the  words  **inigialwa  privata,-'  It  is  stated  as 
one  of  the  worst  features  of  modem  Italy  that  it  grudges 
the  scientific  man  his  fee,  while  the  number  of  useless  of- 
ficials that  devour  the  public  wealth  is  legion. 

An  exhibition  of  national  products  would  be  useless  miUl 
there  is  a  larger  number  of  producers.  It  is  to  be  deplored 
that  many  Italians  are  gratified  with  an  honourable  mention 
and  a  poor  medal,  while  the  maccaronis,  once  especially  a 
native  product,  are  now  made  of  Russian  flour,  and  are  eateu 
with  a  French  fork  off  an  English  platd. 

It  appears  that  the  King  had  ofl^isred  the  President  a 
house  and  400  lire  per  annum  if  he  would  establish  the 
Faculty  at  Turin,  while  both  house  and  endowment  were  re- 
fused in  Naples.  "Such,"  he  says,  "Is  the  Government 
patronage  of  science  in  Italy,  at  a  time  when  the  Prussian 
Gk)vemment  was  expending  500,000  lire  on  the  buUding 
alone  of  a  laboratory  of  instruction  in  Berlin."  He  calls 
upon  the  people  to  get  oat  of  the  leading-strings  of  the  Go- 
vernment, and  to  think  and  act  for  themselves,  although, 
somewhat  contradictory  to  this  advice,  he  suggests  that  a 
law  be  passed  requiring  every  communer  to  set  aside  an  an- 
nual sum  for  the  purposes  of  sdentiflc  inquiry. 

There  are  other  suggestions,  sensible  enough  in  their  way, 
but  remarkable  to  us  only  for  being  so  obvious.  On  the 
whole,  we  are  gratified  with  the  manly  spirit  of  the  address, 
in  spite  of  a  little  too  much  self-assertion  and  recrimination, 
and  think  it  creditable  to  the  Government  that  young  Italy 
can  enjoy  such  freedom  of  speech.  The  very  elementary 
nature  of  the  address,  and  of  the  proposed  remedies,  show 
how  degraded  poor  Italy  had  become  under  long  years  of 
political  misrule.  That  there  should  be  only  one  establish- 
ment in  Italy  capable  of  conducting  a  chemioil  analysis,  and 
that  establishment  a  private  one,  flrom  which  a  University 
is  taking  lessons,  is  Indeed  a  commentary  on  the  oft-repeated 
proposition  that  when  a  nation  loses  its  political  fVeedom  it 
must  part  also,  sooner  or  later,  with  its  science,  its  litera- 
ture, and  its  art  It  cannot  become  enslaved  in  body  with- 
out being  also  enslaved  in  mind. 


Okemicai  Kotes  for  the  Lecture  Room.  By  Dr.  Wood,  F.CSL 
London :  W  &  H.  Warr  &  Co.,  Peatherstouo  Buildings, 
Holborn.     1867. 

•  Th«  lira  \a  worth  9Xd. 


CBsmOAL  NMrt,  ) 


Notices  cf  Boohs. 


37 


Fob  the  matricolmt'um  examinatioa  of  the  Univenity  of 
London,  an  examinatioQ  ih«l  has  acquired  of  late  years  Tory 
oooaiderable  importance^  a  knowledge  of  chemiatry  ia  in- 
aisted  upon  quite  aa  AiUy  aa  a  similar  knowledge  of  any  other 
branch  of  eduoation.  If  a  candidate  be  reyeoted  for  not 
gaining  the  minimum  number  of  marJca  in  any  one  subject, 
he  has  'to  pans  in  all  the  others  again  at  a  fiitoxe  ezamina^ 
tion.  Laat  year  641  candidates  prosented  themselves,  and 
of  these  354  were  rejected ;  in  1865,  397  out  of  616^  An  ig- 
norance of  ohemistiy  ia  a  very  fertile  cause  of  theae  rejec- 
tions, and  candidates  generally  complain  of  this  aubject  as 
being  one  of  "the  stUfest*'  Very  few  fail,  it  seems,  in 
mechanical  philoeo^^y.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  ex- 
iatenoe  of  a  book,  recognised  as  being  the  one  necessary  to 
work  14>  thoroughly,  and  almost  universally  emf^yed  in 
the  latter  subject;  while  in  chemistry  the  beginner,  ia  an 
absolute  sense,  conAises  himself  by  a  maas  of  details,  with- 
out the  corresponding  impression  from  seeing  lecture  ez- 
pdrimenta.  Br.  Wood  haa  endeavoured  to  prepare  a  short 
text-book  on  the  subjects  required,  to  answer  the  samo  pur- 
pose that  Newth*s  '*  Mechanical  Philosophy  "  now  serves  in 
another  subject.  We  think  that  ho  haa  succeeded  In  a  dif- 
ficult task,  but  thoee  who  read  the  book  will  require  to 
know  it  wea  We  need  not  talk  of  Dr.  Wood's  knowledge 
as  a  chemist,  but  we  may  mention  that  aa  a  teacher  he  ia 
widely  known,  and  few  dieoiists  have  more  knowledge  of 
what  is  required  by  candidates  for  the  before-mentioned  ex- 
amination, and  for  whom  the  book  is  almost  specially  framed. 
It  is  a  d^iital  guide-book  for  lecture  experiments,  although, 
as  the  author  remarks,  it  is  in  no  wise  intended  "  to  super- 
sede the  excellont  works  of  Miller,  Bosooe,  and  others"— *we 
presume  that  he  means  for  this  particular  examination.  It 
will  form,  as  he  remarks,  a  book  of  easy  reference.  As  an 
additional  recommendation,  the  wording  of  expressions  and 
Bymbola  are  '*  the  very  lat^  out.*' 


Guide  to  Oroft  SptL    Third  Edition.    Darlington :  J.  A  J. 
Bumey,  Rlagraph  Office,  High  Eow.     1866. 

Is  the  Ghbhioal  Nbwb,  September  14,  1861,  a  detailed  ac- 
count was  given  of  the  chemical  properties  of  the  waters  of 
this  spa.  It  will  be  seen  from  that  notice  that  three  of  the 
springs  there  contain  more  sulphuretted  hydrogen  than  any 
other  mineral  springs  in  Bngland.  We  are  glad  that  the 
prosperity  of  Croft  Yillage  has  called  for  a  third  edition  of 
this  very  complete  guide  to  its  spa. 


On  ihe  Poiaone  of  the  Spreading  Diseases,  By  B.  W.  Biohaiuo- 
SON,  M. A.,  M.D.,  F.B.S.  London :  John  Churchill  Jb  Sons, 
N  ew  Burlmgton  Street    1867. 

This  reprint  of  the  famous  lecture  delirered  at  the  Learnings 
ton  Congress  last  year,  will  give  some  satisfaction,  and  al- 
most as  much  disappointment.  The  satisfkction  will  be  de- 
rirablo  ftom  the  many  forcible  truths  and  collection  of  facts ; 
the  disappointment  caused  by  their  admixture  with  so  much 
that  is  mere  statement,  sometimes  slmost  dogmatic. 

Every  reader  of  the  book  wUl  find  this  to  be  a  difficulty, 
for  it  will  be  necessary  for  him  to  winnow,  we  will  not  say 
the  grain  flrom  the  chaff,  but  the  more  healthy  com  from 
the  other  grains  mixed  wilii  it. 

Althon^  opposed  fh>m  principle  to  the  practice  of  ladies 
attending  sanitary  congresses  and  interesting  themselves 
in  the  details  of  sewage,  we  find  from  the  present  ease 
that  fewer  evils  than  we  supposed  were  without  an 
attending  good ;  for  the  reflection  that  the  Congress  would 
be  of  a  miscellanenous  character,  **  at  which  perhaps  ladies 
might  be  present  as  weU  as  gentlemen,"  has  been  the  cause 
of  the  selection  of  the  subject  of  this  papers— a  paper  we 
honeatly  tiunk  of  very  great  nUne  in  mudi  of  its  substance. 

The  form  that  we  should  like  to  see  this  yaliiable  matter 
assume,  would  be  that  of  detailed  experiments  given,  and 
after  this  the  author's  deductions .  from  them.  The  one 
would  remam  as  valuaUe  staple  matter  of  reference ;  as 
regards  the  latter,  a  yerdict  might  be  given  by  every  reader. 


There  is  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Bichardson  has  found  entirely 
satisfactory  eyideuoe  of  everything  that  he  asserts;  but 
every  thoughtful  reader  must  decline  to  record  a  similar  con- 
viction for  himself  in  the  absence  of  the  evidence. 

We  have  fifteen  diseases  given  arbitrarily  as  those  pro- 
duced by  organic  poisons,  organic  being  used  in  a  sense  of 
its  own.  Thus  strychnine  would  not  be  an  organic  poison ; 
it  is  not  asserted,  however,  that  it  is  an  inorganic  one.  In 
tliis  list  small-pox  appears  as  produced  by  organic  poison, 
boil  and  carbuncle  with  mfections  ophthalmia  ( Opidhcl.  Egyp- 
tarvan  f ),  but  chicken-pox,  cow-pox,  dysentery  are  excluded. 
Typhus  appears  in  the  list,  and  very  strong  evidence  has 
been  tendered  of  the  connexion  of  dysentery  with  typhus, 
and  cases,  with  no  apparent  fallacy,  have  been  recorded  of 
epidemic  dysentery  brought  from  India  on  board  ship  caus- 
ing a  typhus  outbreak  in  port  by  direct  infection.  Such 
facts  ought  not  to  be  ignored  in  a  critical  examination  of 
which  every  step  is  attended  with  difficulty.  And  thus  on 
almost  every  page  the  eye  is  arrested  by  some  very  knotty 
question  comfortably  disposed  of.  This  renders  a  detailed 
criticism  a  work  of  almost  indefinite  length. 

To  choose  a  few  sentences  airandom.  *'  Each  poison  has 
a  specifio  property  always  bringing  out  the  same  disease 
through  countiess  ages.  All  are  destroyed  by  oxidising 
agents.  .  .  .  Exposure  to  nitrous  add  has  the  same  kind 
of  effect;  exposure  to  sulphurous  add  likewise  produces 
destruction.'*  *'  Common  sulphur  preserves  them  very  well ; 
the  poisons  of  hospital  fever  I  have  been  able  to  preserve  for 
months  by  this  means."  (Query :  What  means  ?)  *'  The 
poisons  will  all  dry  solid.  There  is  no  exception  to  tliis 
rule."  (Query:  Who  has  examined  this?)  "Sulphur, 
creasote,  and  arsenic  hold  these  organic  poisons  in  perfect 
steadiness ;  they  preserve  their  active  properties." 

All  these  quotations  require  support  from  experiment's 
original  or  otherwise,  for  any  judgment  to  be  formed. 
Agam,  "Miere  is  reason  to  believe  that  in  the  decompo- 
sition of  sewage  water  cholera  poison  may  be  developed." 
These  quotations  are  all  from  two  or  three  consecutive 
pages,  and  are  acoorapanlod  by  many  others  of  the  kind. 

Is  our  demand  for  a  detail  of  experiments  then  unjustifi- 
able ?  If  these  are  not  forthcoming,  England  must  yield  the 
palm  to  America ;  for  Dr.  Richardson  quotes  some  experi- 
ments that  are  convincing. 

*•  During  the  great  American  struggle.  Dr.  Salisbury  ob- 
served that  a  large  number  of  men  rose  one  morning  i^nth 
Bjpnptoms  of  measles.  .  .  .  The  men  attributed  their  ill- 
ness to  the  straw  upon  which  they  lay.  ...  Dr.  Salis- 
bury removed  from  the  straw  certain  portions  of  fungus;  he 
had  the  courage  to  inoculate  himself  with  the  fungufi,  and  • 
he  thus  produced  measles.  He  then  inoculated  his  own 
mife,  and  then  a  moOier  and  four  children^  then  a  mother  and 
two  children,  and  produced  in  all  the  same  disease."  Wo 
must  leave  the  reader  to  judge  of  the  feelings  of  the  ladies 
present  at  this  great  sanitary  congress. 


Chemical  Technology;  or^  Chemistry  in  Us  ApplieaUon  to  the 
Aria  and  Manufactures,  By  Thob.  RiOHAiiDeoN',  M.  A.,Ph.D., 
P.IL8.;.andiL  Watib,  B.A*,P.B.S.  Second  Edition.  VoLI. 
Part  V.  London:  H.  Bailli^,'  219  Begent  Street.     1867. 
This  second  edition  of  a  well-known  volume  has  given  an 
opportunity  for  several  important  additions,  with  an  an- 
nouncement of  the  parts  necessary  for  the  completion  of  the 
seriea. 

The  work  itself  has  already  acquired  imposing  slse,  and 
the  complete  set  forms  in  itself  a  library  for  the  manufEU)- 
tnring  cliemist,  who,  indeed,  could  do  without  it  altogether 
with  difficulty,  and  would  incompletely  replace  it  as  his  book 
of  reference  by  a  great  mass  of  materials— such  a  mass,  in  fact, 
as  must  of  necessity  be  consulted  by  competent  chemists  for 
the  successful  completion  of  a  scheme  like  this. 

The  first  volume  is  formed  of  five  parts,  each  of  octavo 
size,  with  from  800  to  900  pages.  Parts  I.  and  II.  contain 
Fuel  and  its  Applications;  Part  III.,  Acids,  Alkalies,  and 
Salts;  Part  IV.,  Aluminium,  Sodium,  Phosphorus,  Ludfer 


38 


Notices  of  Books — Contemporary  Soieiitijic  Press. 


{ CnvsnCAL  ITrvra, 


ifatches,  Borax,  Artificial  Mineral  Watera,  Gunpowder,  Gun- 
cotton,  Fireworks,  &c  ;  and  the  present  volume,  Part  Y., 
Prussiate  of  Potash,  Oxalic  Acid,  Tartaric  Acid,  Tartrates  of 
Potash,  and  Ciirio  Acid,  with  appendices  presently  to  be 
noticed.  We  have  thus  four  handsome  books  forming  Vo- 
lume I.  Tolume  IL  contains  Glass,  Alum,  Potteries,  Ce- 
ments, Gypsum,  Ac,  Ac.  Volume  III.,  Food  generally, 
Bread,  Cheese,  Tea,  Coffee,  Tobacco,  Milk,  Sugar. 

These  three  volumes  are  all  that  have  at  present  appeared  ; 
they  form  six  octevo  books  of  large  si2se,  illustrated  with 
woodcuts,  plates,  engravings,  and,  in  the  last  volume,  coloured 
plates. 

The  book  itself  is  rich  in  passages  we  should  like  to  quote, 
were  it  not  for  their  length.  T'nere  is,  however,  one  value 
connected  with  a  work  of  this  kind  which  ought  to  be  pointed 
out  Most  young  chemists,  after  passing  through  the  routine 
course  of  their  scientific  education,  feel  somewhat  at  a  loss  to 
know  in  what  direction  to  turn  their  experimental  energies, 
so  as  to  obtain  a  prospect  of  some  return  for  their  trouble. 
Ab  we  stated  in  these  pages  a  few  weeks  ago,  it  often  hap- 
pens that  a  difficulty  is  found  in  carrying  out  some  manufao- 
ture  which  could  easily  be  overcome,  by  a  short  investigation, 
by  a  competent  chemist ;  and,  indeed,  in  many  cases  a  diffi- 
culty which  appears  insuperable  to  the  manufacturer,  would 
prove  a  mere  bagatelle  to  the  chemist  The  difficulty,  how- 
ever, is  for  the  yoang  experimentalist  to  know  what  are  the 
problems  in  industrial  chemwtry  which  require  solving.  In 
this  respect  the  present  series  of  Chemistry  Applied  to  the 
Arts  and  Manufactures  constitutes  a  very  mine  of  wealth. 
As  an  illustration,  we  learn  that  with  regard  to  the  determin- 
ation of  the  commercial  value  of  tartars,  it  is  a  point  of  the 
utmost  importauoe  that  some  method  should  be  devised  for 
ascertaining  correctly  the  quantity  of  tartaric  acid  present, 
which  is  now  merely  deduced  from  the  quantity  of  potash 
found. 

That  this  method  is  by  no  means  an  accurate  one  may  be 
seen  from  the  three  following  analyses  of  tlie  same  sample, 
viz:— 
Tartaric  acid  present  as   bitartrate 

of  potash 70-15    69-10    7225 

Tartaric  acid  present  as  tartrate  of 

lime, 3-35      3-30      3-75 

Total  crystallised  tartaric  acid,  per       

cent,    73*50    72-40    7600 

Tills  is  so  urgent  a  matter,  that  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
distinguished  manufacturers  of  tartaric  acid  has  expressed  hik 
willingness  to  give  lOot  as  a  reward  to  any  one  who  would 
discover  a  satisfactory  method  of  determining,  directly,  the 
quantity  of  crystallisable  tartaric  acid  present  in  tartars,  in 
a  sufficiently  ready  manner  to  be  applicable  to  commercial 
analysis.  This  is  only  one  of  the  many  chemical  problems  to 
be  met  with  throughout  the  work,  the  solution  of  which 
would  be  attended  with  considerable  profit 

The  following  are  announced  as  in  preparatiou  to  com- 
plete the  work: — Vol.  IV.  devoted  to  Liquid  Food,  Ales, 
"Wines,  Spirits,  Ac ;  V.  and  VI.  to  Textile  Manufactures, 
Cotton,  Wool,  Silk,  Ac. ;  JII.  to  the  Manufacture  of 
Leather,  Gutta  Percha,  &c. ;  VIFI.  to  Manufacture  of  Pa- 
per, Aa;  IX.,  X.,  XL,  to  Metallurgy  and  Chemistry  of 
the  Metals ;  XII.  to  the  Manufacture  of  Colours,  Oils,  and 
Vamishe&  These  will  complete  an  elaborate  and  ex- 
haustive work,  which  English  chemists  will  mention  with 
pride,  as  a  proof  of  the  repute  in  which  chemistry  is 
beginning  to  be  held  in  our  country.  It  seems  that 
no  spaoe  will  be  given  separately  to  the  consideration  of  the 
preparation  of  medicinal  substances  in  a  pure  form,  such  as 
morphia,  chloroform,  Aa 

As  regards  this  present  edition  of  the  volume  under  notice, 
no  one  will  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  retention  of  the  older 
notation  of  the  former  one,  which  is  still  most  applicable  to 
the  wants  of  the  manufacturer,  who  cannot  be  expected  to 
be  well  acquainted  with  newer  views  held  in  1867.  The 
next  edition  will  be  in  time  for  those  of  a  younger  generation 
now  pupils  at  various  laboratories. 


Of  the  900  pages  of  this  party  upwards  of  700  are  devoted 
to  the  various  appendices.  Appendix  A  oomists  of  additions 
to  the  various  chapters  of  Vol.  I.,  parts  iil.,  iv..  and  v.,  first 
edition,  and  brings  the  report  up  to  the  present  time;  nearly 
300  paj^  are  devoted  to  this  part  of  the  work.  Appendix 
B  contains  abstracts  of  specifications  of  patent  inventions  re- 
lating to  materials  and  processes  described  in  those  parts ; 
Appendix  C  (of  the  greatest  value),  tables  connected  with 
processes  described  in  the  former  parts;  Appendix  D,  docu* 
roents  relating  to  the  Patent  Laws,  appearing  at  a  very  op- 
portune time.  A  casual  glance  will  show  a  g^reat  part  of  the 
value  of  all  these  appendices,  but  Appendix  C  is  so  impor* 
tant  and  would  be  so  usef^il  for  constant  i-eference,  that  we 
would  urge  a  publicatioti  of  it  separately ;  it  would  form  a 
volume  more  easy  for  constant  relerence  than  in  its  present 
form.  Lastly,  we  think  that  the  whole  (A  the  additions  to 
the  first  edition,  which  form  the  bulk  of  the  book,  ought  with 
justice  to  be  prepared  also  in  a  separate  form.  Possessors  of 
the  first  edition  should  not  be  expected  to  buy  the  whole 
volume,  part  of  which  they  already  possess.  The  same  rea* 
son  sliould  have  weight  with  the  publishers,  when  the  time 
comes  for  newer  editions  from'  time  to  time.  If  this  were  prom- 
ised, the  different  parts  would  have  a  lasting  value  even  to 
a  greater  extent  than  at  present ;  besides  this,  the  latest  in- 
formation could  be  more  frequently  supplied,  to  supply  a 
more  extensive  demand.  The  plates,  five  in  number,  are 
excellent;  two  of  them  consist  of  tables  and  scales,  the 
other  three  of  apparatus,  Ac.  It  would  have  been  better  if 
the  paper  for  these  had  been  of  a  stronger  kind,  or  mounted 
on  some  material  to  make  them  more  durable  for  frequent 
reference.  We  commend  a  consideration  of  this  point  to 
Messra  Richardson  and  Watts  for  discussion  in  the  forthcom- 
ing volumes  relating  to  textile  manu&cturea  and  the  manu- 
facture of  paper. 

"Chemical  Technology,*  clearly  and  accurately  written, 
neatly  sent  to  press,  and  very  moderate  in  price,  may  justly 
be  a  source  of  pride  t«  Uie  authors,  the  publiaber,  and  the 
profession  generally. 


CX>NTEMPORARY  SCIENTIFIC  PRESS. 

[Under  this  beading  It  Is  intended  to  rive  the  tlllee  of  all  the  chemical 
papers  which  are  puMbhed  tn  the  principal  scientific  periodicals  of  the 
Continent.  Articles  which  are  merely  reprints  or  abstracts  of  papers 
already  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  of  the  more  important  pa- 
pers here  announced  will  appear  In  ftature  nnsiberB  of  the  Cbkmicai. 
News.] 

Bulletin  de  la  Socieie  d' Encouragement.    January,  1867. 

G-.  DE  Claubrt  :  *'R«pori  on  Bon*s  Imitations  of  Precioiu 
Stones.'^ — *'Blasiivff  of  a  Cast  Iron  Roll  by  Nitroglycerine  ai 
JRoihehutie,  Uppei'  ]ffo?1a "-Putsch  and  Zibbarth:-" Improved 
I\imace  for  Melting  EnameV'^^'A  Method  of  Gilding  Glafs,'' 
—Weber:  *^An  AceowU  of  an  Exphaiim  of  PicroAtof  Soda^ 
'■-'"On  the  Preparation  of  Aniline  dolour »  in  Powder  jwr  Print- 
ing Carpets^  and  for  Lithography,'* — *'0»  Colouring  -ffrotf*.'*— 
Knaffl  ''On  Colouring  Zinc  and  Braes  BlacL^'^JvuEUAVK: 
"^  new  qtUdnirying  Pire  and  Waterproof  C«nen<."*-KLETZ- 
INSKY :  **  Solatum  for  rendering  Ibbriea  UninflammaUe*' 

Le  Technologixte.  March,  1867. 
S0AHE8  :  "0»  a  Process  for  Purifying  Paroffin^ — E. 
Jacobsbit  ''On  the  Use  of  Mosaniline  for  Detecting  the  presence 
ofPree  Fatty  Acids.''— ''On  the  RtlaHve  Indications  of  difereni 
(Mical  Saccharometers."—y,  Klbtzinsky  :  "Smechochromastf, 
O  Process  of  Colouring  by  means  ofCohured  Soaps." 

Journal  fSr  praktiitcke  Oheimit.   Ko.  22.     18661 
A.  MuLLBB :  '''A  Memoir  on  Ohromomeirical  Analysis.^* — 
H.  7oHL  "*  On  the  AcHon  of  Fuming  Nitric  Acid  on  the  CMarin* 
ated  DerivoHees  ofBenzoL" 

Nob.  23-24,  1866.— O.  E.  Erdvakv  "Onthef\frmatiou  of 
Aniiis^  V<»lours  from  Protein  Subatances^^'-^A.  C.  Oudxmaks, 
Jun. :  "  Chemical  Beseardus  on  certain  JBast  Indian  Fats.^' — 
K  Sbll  and  K  Lippiiakn  "On  the  Action  of  Mercury  Ethyl 


Cantemporartf  Scientific  Preea — Notices  of  Polenta. 


39 


o»  ifiMM^rimuMKeiais  of  iM^**-->F.  Roohlbdib!  "Oim^^tt- 
<*9M  to  M«  ITnowAic^  o/  jLniaoJifM."— H.  RrrrHAUSsir :  "i2^ 
MorvAct  on  «Df)M  CfanWfiKwto  •/ Rye;  *»  VOn  a  ncicf  Compound 
eaUed  by  ihs  Dueoverer  OltOanUnic  Addf'  ''Omihe  CimtiHtfteidB 
€f  ih€  CRMtm  obktmed  from  WhuU.''^lL.  Glaus  ""Onihe  Ac- 
tion of  Sodiwm  m  OU  of  BUtmr  Ahiumd».*''^W.  KoursR  ''On 
BrominaM  Oroionic  aci^"*-0.  Hems  *'0n  CoHnHtmue  Add 
(rar6o-i«nfn*at*re)."— K.  voN  Haueb  *'0»  a  i>M(dfe  iSMi  ^ 
Seltmate  of  Cadmmm  and  F&Uuh,'' 

March  i,  1867.— P.  Rbutdel  "On  9ome  Basic  SaUs  of  Cop- 
per,^ ''On  some  Bouble  C!^a»ttrafe»."— Eammelsbbbo  "On 
Fhoephorous  Add  and  ii*  5W4a."— P.  T.  Clbvi  "  On  some  Bro- 
minaied  and  lodaled  Ammoniacal  Platinum  CompoundsJ^-^lt, 
RiNMAX  \'0n  the  Presence  of  NUrogehin  Steel  and  Pig  Iron, 
and  on  the  Condition  of  Carbon  in  Burdened  and  Unhardened 
iSSteei."— R,  Weber  **0n  the  Formation  of  Protoxide  qf  Nitro- 
gen  by  thb  Action  of  Sudorous  Add  on  Hyponitrous  and  Niiric 
^c-tdlf."— A  Bauer  "On  the  Actioth  of  Chlorine  on  Amylene." 
— Raster  ^' On  the  Reduction  of  Ai-omatic  Compounds  by 
means  of  Zinc'^'-F.  Rochleder  "On  QaercUrine."'^W.  Stein 
*'Onthe  Elemsnlary  Analysis  cf  Hygroscopic  Substances."— C. 
W.  Patkaia  '«0»  tiU  Anai^  of  some  Swedish  Mnerais," 

Poggendsfrff^s  Amakn,  Febraary  ir,  1867. 
C.  G.  JUNOK:  "  Remarks  on  the  Diffusion  of  Steam  through 
l>ry  Atmospheric  Air  and  on  some  other  Hygroscopic  Pho" 
nomenar^—lL  Zwrnxm :  "^  Reseairchss  on  Wolfram  and  its  Com- 
pounds:'— V,  Krbickbs  "  On  the  rOative  Volume  of  Comr 
pounds  of  the  First  Degree.''^,  Mullbb  *' On  the  Focal 
Length  of  Lenses;^  ''On  the  Ituorescence  ^^rum  of  the  Elec- 
tric LighL^'-^W.  HOLTI  ''On  the  Production  of  the  Electric 
Spark  in  Glass^  with  especial  Reference  to  the  Electrical  Ma- 
chine ; ''  »Onthe  Theory  of  the  Construction  of  Electrical  Induc- 
tion Machines:'^ A.  Bbbzota  "  On  the  Use  ^  the  Stawoscope.'' 
— F.  LiKDia:  "  A  Repty  (o  K  8ch\ffs  Paper  on  Supsrsaturatr 
ed  Solutions.** — C.  RAXMELSBBBa  **  On  the  Composition  of 
Frjuddiniter—AMSm  "  On  NageU  and  Schwendener's  Method 
of  Cakukding  the  Magnifying  Power  of  Microscopes:* — W. 
Schmidt  "  On  a  new  Metattic  Thsnnometer," 


tern."—  J.   SiTTTH  i**  On  the    Presence    of   Ozone    in  Vte 


Monatsbericht  der  kdniglich-Preussischen  AJcademie, 
November,  1866. 
A.  W.  HOFKANN  "  On  the  Transformation  of  the  Aromatic 
Monamines  into  Adds  containing  a  larger  Proporiiotk  of  Car- 
6on."— A.  Babyer  "  On  ^  ConsiUution  of  MeUUic  ^ctd."— • 
B.  0.  Erdxann  "  On  (he  Origin  of  the  Blood-red  Colour  which 
occasionally  appears  on  articles  ofFbod:* 


BuBetinde  VAcadhnie  de  Blgique.    Febraary  2. 
A.  Kekul]6  :  **'  Report  on  Montign^s  Memoir  on  Ihe  Corre- 
lation of  the  R^ractive  and  Calorific  Powers  of  certain  Sub- 
stancesy — Plateau  :  "  Report  on  the  »ame  Memoir:* 


NOTICES  OF   PATENTS. 


Journal  dei  Fabrieants  de  Papier,  February  15, 1867. 

E.  BoUBMLUAT  "  On  Tssting  ihe  Chemical  Products  used  in 
Paper-Making  (Continuationy*-^.  Mauslat  ^'Ontha  Prepa- 
ration of  Chlorine:* 

Annates  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique.    l£arcb,  1867. 

F.  P.  Is  Roux  *'Onihe  Relative  Position  of  the  Planes  of 
VU^ration  ofjnddeni,  Reflected^  and  Refracted  Rays  i^  Isotro' 

pic  Media,'*— BaxTEMPBi  "  Remarks  upon  J.  Pelouz^s  Memoir 
on  Glass:*— V.  P.  Lb  Rouz  ''  Onths  JbffecU  of  Annealing  on 
ihe  Cohur  of  Qt'iss:* 

Archives  dee  Sciences,  February  2.5.  1867* 

G.  Db  Safobta  ^'  On  the  Temperature  of  Geological  Periods 
as  deduced  from  an  Examination  of  lossU  Plants."— Y.  Fatio 
'*  On  the  Presence  of  Air  in  ihe  Bodies  of  Birds:*— It  DoB 
"  On  Max  8chulae*$  Researches  on  ihe  Yellow  Spot  of  the  Ret- 
tnoy  and  its  Infisience  on  Normal  Vision  and  on  Colour  Blind- 
ness.**— C.  liULLBB  :  "  Researches  on  (he  Position  of  the  Alka^ 
Voids  in  Cinchana  Bark," 


Oomptes  Rendus.  April  3. 
M.  £.  CbbvisdIi:  *'Ifeie  on  two  Works  on  Alchemy  attri- 
huted  to  Arttftus  and  Alphonso  X.**—I>a,vbv6m  :*'Anew  Me- 
thod of  Studying  the  Structure  of  Meteoriies:*^n.  Dufbbsxe: 
"  A  new  Method  of  Gilding  and  Silvering  by  Amalgamation, 
without  Danget  to  the  Workmsn:*—J,  M.  Ceafts  "  On  the 
Arsenic  Ethers,** — P.  Uautbfeuillb  "  On  some  Inverse  Reac- 
tions, **—L,  JouLDi  **  Onthe  Potash  and  Sodaof  Stassfurt.**^ 
Bbbthblot  *'  On  a  Method  of  Redudng  and  Saturating  Or^ 
game  Compounds  with  Hydrogen:* — ACitialb  ^^  On  the  AppU- 
cation  of  Photography  to  Physical  Geography  and  Geology:* — 
JOLTET  "  On  the  Action  of  Sulphate  of  Quinine  on  Progt,** — 
J.  RAiCBOflflOif  "  On  the  Influence  of  Fbod  on  the  Nervous  Syum 
tem,**—C,  SOFXAKK ;  **  ExporimenU  an   Qittmneous  dbsorp^ 


Conummleatod  by  Mr.  Vavobait,  F.C.Sh  Patbit  Aanrr,  64^  Cban- 
oery  L&M,  W.G. 

GRANTS  OF  PROVISIONAL    PROTECTION  FOR  SIX 
MONTHS. 

218.  K.  H.  C.  Monckton,  Summer  Hill,  Birmingham,  "Im- 
provements  in  the  manufacture  of  butter." — Petition  recorded 
January  26,  1867. 

952.  W.  E.  Newton,  Chancery  Lane,  **  An  Improved  pro- 
cess for  manufacturing  ice  and  for  other  refrigerating  purposes." 
A  communication  from  T.  8.  0.  Lowe,  New  York,  U.S.A. — 
March  30,  1867. 

97a  J.  Storey,  and  W.  E.  Bickerdtke,  Lancaster,  and  W. 
y.  Wilson,  Jubilee  Street,  Mile  End,  Middlesex,  "  A  new  me- 
thod of  bronzing  metallic  and  other  surfaces.**— April  2,1867. 

1044.  W,  R.  Lake,  Southampton  Buildings,  Chancery  Lane, 
"An  improved  mode  of  embalming  or  preserving  dead  bodies 
and  carcases."*  A  communication  from  G.  W.  Scollay,  St. 
Louis,    Mtasouri,  U.S. A.— April's,  1867. 

1054.  0.  F.  Claus,  Mtddlesbrougb-on-Tees,  Yorkshire, 
"  Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  chlorine.**  —  April 
8,  1867. 

1064.  J.  H.  Player,  Birmingliam,  "  Improvements  in  the 
manufacture  of  phosphorus  and  in  economising  residual  pro- 
ducts of  the  said  manufacture. '*«— April  10,  1867. 

659.  W.  R.  Lake,  Southampton  Buildings,  Chancery  Lane, 
"  An  improved  mode  of  coating  paper  and  other  materials 
with  fluid  substances,  solutions  and  compounds  for  photogra- 
phic and  other  purposes."  A  oommunicatioD  from  J.  C.  Cross- 
man,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. — ^Petition  recorded  March  8,  1867. 

1042.  W.  Henderson,  Glasgow,  "Improvements  in 
oxidising  minerals^  ores,  and  metals;  in  reducing  oxides  of 
metals ;  in  separating  certain  metals  from  each  other ;  in  kilns, 
fomaoea,  or  other  apparatus  for  these  purposes ;  and  in  the 
treatment  of  the  products  obtained  tlierefVom." — April 
6,  1867. 

1087.  W.H.Dawes,  West  Bromwich,  Stafford,  "  An  improve- 
ment  or  improvements  in  the  manu&cture  of  iron." 

1091.  G.Wilmet,  Brassels,  **  An  accelerated  tanning  by 
means  of  now  processes  and  app«ratu&" —April  12,  1867. 

1099.  J.  Aitken,  Tottington  Hig^her  End,  Lemcashire, 
*'  Certain  improvements  in  apparatus  employed  in  the  pro-- 
cess  of  refining  sugar." 

1107.  C.  Crock  ford,  Holywell,  Flintshire,  "Improvement 
in  obtaining  useful  products  from  certain  materials  produced' 
in  the  process  of  galvanising  or  coating  iron  with  sina"— 
Petition  recorded  April  13.  1867, 

1 1 18.  The  Rev.  J.  Oakden,  St.  Stephen^s  Parsonage,  Con. 
gleton,  and  J.  lacking,  Dane  Row,  Buglawton,  Congleton, 
''  A  new  or  improved  enamel  for  enamelling  metals  and, 
stones,  to  prevent  rust,  oorrosion,  and  incrustation."  April  1 
15,  1861. 

1 190.  J.  H.  Johnson,  LiDcoln*8  Inn  Fields,  Middlesex,  "Im« 
provements  in  the  treatment  of  peat,  and  in  the  manufacture 
of  peat  charooal,  and  in  the  machinery  or  apparatus  employed 


40 


Notices  of  FateiUa — Gorreepoad&nce. 


•M^lSit 


therein."    A  oomiuunicatioii  from  A.  Figge,  Hanaver. — ^April 
24,  1867. 

1 198.  C.  E.  Brooman,  Fleet  Street,  "A  new  or  improyed 
process  of  destroyii^g  vegetable  matters  in  wools,  noils,  wool- 
len waste,  and  rags.**  A  communication  from  C.  Scballer, 
Biscbweiler,  France. 

1 200.  C.  E.  Brooman,  Fleet  Street  "  A  new  or  improved 
process  oP  preserving  meat,  fish,  ana  other  substances.**    A 
communication  from  F.  Cirio,  Turin,  Italy. — April  25,  1867. 
N0TICB8  TO  Frocekd. 

3293.  F.  W.  Reeves,  Cambridge  Terrace,  Netting  Hill, 
Middlesex,  and  J.  B.  Muschamp,  Pembroke  Boad,  Middlesex, 
"An  improved  explosive  substance.*' — Petition  recorded  De- 
cember ij,  1866. 

3226.  L.  Schad,  "Warrington,  Lancashire,  "Improvements 
in  treating  aniline  colours  for  dyeing  and  printing" — ^Decem- 
ber 18.  1866. 

3348.  S,  Parry,  Thackeray  Street,  Liverpool,  "An  improv- 
ed cumposition  for  the  coating  of  the  bottoms  of  ships  and 
other  vessels." — December  20,  1866. 

3433.  J.  Napier,  Salisbury,  Wiltshire,  **  Improvements  in 
the  preparation  of  food  of  a  substance  to  be  employed  in  the 
place  of  malt,  and  for  the  medication  of  food  for  animaW."* 
December  29,  1866. 

211.  J.  J.  Lubdy,  Leith,  Mid  Lothian,  N.  B.,  *^  Improve- 
ments in  the  treatment  of  the  residual  matters  resulting  from 
and  obtained  in  the  purification  and  distillation  of  mineral  or 
hydrocarbon  oila,  and  also  in  the  iroatment  of  ooal4ar  and 
various  waste  or  other  alkaline  and  lime  substanoesi  for  the 
purpose  of  utilising  the  same." — January  26,  1867. 

3307.  C.  E.  Brooman,  Fleet  Street,  *'  Improvements  in  the 
preparation  and  application  of  certain  &tty  bodies."  A  com- 
munication from  M.  P.  Javf^l  and  £.  P.  Javal,  Paris.— Petition 
r^cotded  December  15,  i86is. 

22.  W.  Knaggs,  Euston  Qrove,  Euston  Square,  MMtdlesax, 
''  Improvements  in  apparatus  for  evaporating  and  boiling 
saccharine  liquors."— ^January  3, 1867. 

47.  W.  Way,  M.D.,  Eliot  Place,  Blaekheath,  Kent,  "  Im- 
provements  in  preparing  phospbatio  minerals  for  use  as  ma- 
nure." Partly  a  oommunioation  from  G.  Henwood,  bombrero, 
West  Indies. — January  7,  1867. 

250.  £.  V.  L.  Ebersburg,  Knightsbridge,  Middlesex,  *'A  new 
or  improved  article  of  food  for  infants  and  invalids."  Partly 
a  communication  from  Baron  J.  von  Uebig,  Manicb,  Bavaria, 
Germany  .—January  30^  1867. 

819.  J.  Greenshiekis,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  "  An  improved  oom- 
pound  or  combination  of  materials  to  be  used  for  the  produc- 
tion of  illuminating  gas." — ^March  21,  1867. 

935.  J.  Bird,  Seymour  Street  West,  Connaught  Square^ 
Middlesex,  and  J.  Bird,  Laurence  Pountoey  Hill,  London, 
^*  Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  artificial  fuel"— P^ih 
tion  recorded  March  29,  1867. 

952.  W.  £.  Newton,  Cbaneery  Lane,  "  An  improved  pro- 
cess for  manufacturing  ice,  and  for  other  refrigerating  pur- 
poses." A  noramunication  from  T.  S.  C.  Lowe,  New  York, 
U.S.A  —Mardi  30,  1867. 

1042.  W.  Hendenon,  Glasgow,  "  Improvements  in  oxi- 
dising minaralsy  ores,  and  metals;  in  reducing  oxides  of 
metals;  in  separating  certain  metals  from  each  other;  in 
kilns,  furnaces,  or  other  apparatus  for  these  purposes ;  and  in 
the  treaiment  of  the  products  obtained  therefrom." — April  6, 
1867. 

•I  1 5 3.  W.  Harrison,  Wharton  Green,  Winsford,  Chesliire, 
"  An  improved  method  of  oonauming  smoke  in  furnaoea.**— * 
Apiil  20^  1867. 

2077.  Makinff  OavsUe  Sodmfrom  Oommon  SaU^  by  (he  Adim 
of  Lead  or  iU  OoaUk,  wUh  Afiar  Rewt>0ry  of  the  Lead  for 
further  Ute.  %,  Bowboxhak,  Peukett,  near  Warrington. 
August  14,  i86d 

The  sodic  chloride  is  either  fused  with  the  lead  or  mlx^ 

with  plumbic  oxide  and  water  until  deoompOsitk>n  takes  place. 

Heat  may  or  may  not  be  necessary  ;  the  whole  is  kt»pt  x^\^ 
iby  steam.    The  caustic  soda  ia  separated  by  liziviatioo.   rjjj^e 


plumbio  chloride  left  is  then  expoeed  to  the  action  of  oxygen 
with  heat,  or  steamed  to  jreoovar  the  lead  qr  ita  oxide.  Tlie 
lead  is  further  to  be  purified  by  tba  aotion  of  obaiooal. — 
Patent  abandoned. 


2095.  CoaUng  and  Reoo9ering  MekUe  from  Ckhridee  end 
vther  Mmtione  af  Afcteik.  J.  WmagnM,  fikmingbam.  Au- 
gust 15.  1866. 
Cht^flt  applied  for  using  the  zfnc  chloride  in  the  flux  used 
in  the  pots  for  galvanismg  iron.  This  is  boQed  in  a  cast- 
iron  vat;  when  the  temperature  reaches  600*^  Fuhr, 
scrape  of  tin  or  wrought  iron  from  other  manufeclures  are 
added.  The  vat  has  a  .longitudinal  parUtion,  which  is  a 
grating  or  perforated  plate  to  allow  of  free  diffusion:  in 
one  half  the  scrap  tin  or  iron  is  placed,  in  the  other  ar- 
ticles that  require  a  coating  of  zinc  or  tin.  In  this  also 
scrap  materials  must  be  placed  and  pressed  on  the  bottom 
of  the  vat  by  another  perforated  iron  plate  for  the  hydrogen 
gas  to  escape.  Copper,  brass,  Ac.,  by  such  a  coating  of  ziuc 
or  tin,  are  protected  from  atmospheric  action. 


CORBESPONDENGE. 

Cement  Cisterns  for  Water. 
To  the  Editor  ol  the  Cbsichull  If Kva 
Sib, — ^I  find  among  the  answers  for  correspondents  in  No. 
386  of  your  valuable  paper,  an  excellent  suggestion  to  J.  T. 
S.  Permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  use  of  hot  coal 
tar  for  pre  venting  the  contamifaatiou  of  tlie  water  by  the  cement. 
It  is  a  cheap  and  efifective  means  of  preventing  what  is  com- 
plained of,  and  is  not  a  fkncy.  Experiments  made  by  Cap- 
uin  de  Bordes,  of  the  Netherlands  Royal  Engineers,  and  my- 
self, many  years  ago,  have  proved  that  even  from  hydraulic 
cement  whksh  sets  and  hardens  in  a  few  hours,  for  days  after 
lime  and  other  salts  are  dissolved  out  by  pure  distil!^  water 
in  very  appreciable  quantity.  In  the  kingdom  of  the  Nether- 
lands, in  many  parts,  and  especially  in  portions  of  the  prov- 
inces of  Zealand,  North  Holland,  and  Friesland,  no  other 
wator  than  rain- water  is  in  general  use  for  domestic  purposes, 
because,  like  as  at  Amstenlam,  Flushhig,  the  H elder,  and 
other  places,  all  the  water  of  canals,  rivers,  Ac.,  is  either 
brackish  or  decidedly  salt.  Large  cisterns  built  under  ground, 
in  order  10  prevent  foul  infiltrations  of  surface-water,  but 
which  have  to  be  laid  entirely  in  strong  cement  {h3'drauKc  aa 
it  is  termed),  are  used  to  keep  the  rain-water  for  the  use  of 
barracks  and  large  establishments.  These  cfsteros  are  often 
lined  with  Dutdi  glased  tiles,  fixed  fa  cement,  but  it  has  been 
found  cheaper  to  simply  line  the  cisterns  with  cement,  and 
after  it  is  dry  to  give  two  coattngs  of  hot  coal  tar.  I  suggested 
lately  the  same  to  an  engineer,  who,  having  applied  it  to  a 
cistern  of  his  own  in  his  hooae,  found  it  to  answer  perfectly. 
For  a  few  days  the  water  had  a  slight  tarry  taste,  which  is 
now  entirely  gone.  I  am,  fta  Db.  Aj^biavi. 


Drilling  Glass, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  CheiocjJ^  Nbwi. 
Sib,— In  the  Oheuical  News  of  April  19  there  is  a  descrip- 
tion, by  Mr.  Spencer,  of'  the  «1d  and  well-known  method  for 
drilling  glass  by  means  of  a  file  wetted  with  oil  of  turpenttno. 
Some  yean  ago  I  read  in  a  Glerman  perfodfeal  of  another 
means  for  the  same  purpose— viz.,  dilute  sulphuric  acid — and 
1  found  it,  on  trial,  to  answer  much  belter  than  the  first.  Not 
only,  it  appears,  is  the  efficacy  of  the  cutting  tool  more  in-^ 
creased  by  sulphuric  acid  than  by  oil  of  turpentine,  but  also, 
strange  as  it  seems,  the  took  (files,  drills,  Ac)  are  far  \tns 
rapidly  destroyed  by  being  used  with  the  acid  than  with  the 
oil  I  also  found  it  stated  that,  in  the  engitieenng  establish^ 
meht  of  Mr.  Pintus,  at  Bertlo,  glass  castings  for  pump  barrels. 
Ax;.,  were  drilled,  planed,  and  bored,  just  like  Iron  ones,  and  in 
the  same  lathes  and  machines,  by  the  aid  of  sulphurki  acid. 
As  to  drilling,  I  oan  fully  testify  to  the  efflcaiOy  of  that  method. 


CinanoiL  Nswil  ) 


Oorrespandencer 


41 


WheneYer  I  want»  aay,  a  bole  in  the  eide  of  a  bottle,  I  send 
it,  along  with  tome  d^ttte  (1:5)  sudplrario  acid,  to  tbe  black- 
Bmitb,  wbo  drtlle  in  it,  with  a  hand*braoe^  a  hole  of  ^inch 
diMmoter.  Thia  bole  is  tbea  widened  to  the  required  size  bj 
means  of  a  triangular  or  round  file,  again  wetted  with  the 
acid.  I  also  find  a  great  help  in  tlie  latter  when  makiug 
graduations  on  litre  fiwks,  ke.  Tbere  is  hardly  any  smeU  per- 
ceptible during  the  work,  which  proves  bow  little  the  acid 
acta  upon  the  tools,  undoubtedly  owing  to  their  being  tem- 
pered ;  but  each  time  after  use  I  take  the  precaution  to  wash 
and  dry  the  files  at  ones,  and  I  have  so  far  observ>ed  no  sen- 
sible deterioration  in  them.  Hoping  this  little  hint  may  be 
useful  to  some  oi  your  readera  as  it  has  been  to  me, 

I  sm,  Ac  G.  LUNQB,  PhJ). 

8oat]iSbittldi,AptUja. 


Department  of  Science  and  Art 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemioal  NE«r«. 
Sir, — As  you  have  occasionally  admitted  into  your  columns 
strictures  upon  the  operations  of  the  Department  of  Science 
and  Art  attacking  now  its  supposed  procrastination,  now  its 
inconsistency,  and  now  Its  impolicy,  altow  me  to  submit  to 
you  the  accompanying  extract  from  a  printed  notice,  which 
will  show,  at  least,  the  generous  intentions  and  liberality  of 
the  Council  on  Education  towards  its  certiScated  science 
teachers,  and  wtich  will,  I  hope,  prove  their  sincere  wish  to 
foster  the  spread  of  an  iuteliigent  scientific  taste  among  the 
peopla  It  will  also  furuisli  some  reply  to  those  who  have 
lately  questioned  the  justice  or  desirability  of  retaining  a  special 
class  of  beneficed  teachers ;  for  it  is  obvious  that  were  there 
no  limitation  to  the  number  of  claimants,  such  a  bounty  as 
that  which  the  Government  here  ofier — viz,,  of  paying  the 
expenses  of  each  certificated  master  who  shall  visit  the 
Paris  Kxhibition — would  become  impracticable.  I  believe 
a  score  of  othor  good  reasons  could  be  given  why  teachers 
should  conform  to  rule  and  submit  themselves  to  examina- 
tion before  benefiting  from  the  national  grant ;  and  so  far 
from  advocating  the  abolition  of  such  tests,  I,  in  common 
with  many  others,  would  rejoice  to  see  the  alreadv  high 
standard  of  qualification  raised,  as  it  is  quite  possiblo  that- 
the  Department  may  design — it  is  time  to  grumble  after 
we  have  seen  their  next  May's  questions— but  I  feel  that 
it  is  absurd  to  expect  the  Department  to  continue  to  apply 
their  vast  machinery  to  the  examination  of  sometimes  a  soli- 
tary candidate,  as  was  my  own  case  on  a  certain  day  last 
Kovember.  I  am  not  surprised  that  they  should  m.editate 
making  the  season  of  examination  of  botli  masters  and  pu- 
pils identical.  That  the  questions  proposed  to  each  will  be 
identical  is  now  at  least  problematical ;  but  were  they  the 

.  same  it  cannot  be  supposed  but  that  such  an  experienced 
professor  as  Dr.  Hofmann  ^even  with  his  1500  candidates) 
couki  perfectly  discriminate  oy  a  series  of  judicious  questions 
between  the  profioienqy  fitting  for  a  teacher  and  that  to  be 
expected  from  a  student ;  while    the  grouping  together  of 

#  both  classes  of  meu  in  the  same  grades,  though  it  m^y  mortify 
tlie  vanity  of  incompetent  or  idle  would-be  lecturers,  is  at  the 
same  time  an  additional  spur  to  such  as  have  the  pride  to  ex- 
cel, from  the  fear  lest  distinguished  pupils  of  other  schools 
should  be  classified  as  their  eouals.  I  beg  to  subscribe  myself 
as  one*  who,  though  previously  qualified  to  claim  receipt  of 
grants  dti  result,  yetprefi^rred  to  submit  to  routine  and  become, 
ader  examination,  A  C£BTIFICAT£o  Ma3TEB. 

April  2fi. 

*'  Tbeur  Lordships  announce  to  the  certificated  masters  now 
engaged  in  giving  insiructkMi  in  schools  of  soieoce  and  art 
connected  with  the  Department,  that  they  will  pay  to  each 
such  master  or  mistress  visiting  the  Paris  Exhibition,  the  sum 
of  five  pounds  \u  aid  of  their  expenses,  and  to  eaoh  an  addi- 
tk>nal  sum  of  two  pounds  for  ^ny  report  or  any  useful  sqg« 
gestions  wbioh  any  suoh  teaoher  may  make  (in  respect  to  his 
or  her  duties  or  teaching)  derived  from  the  study  of  the  Ex- 
hibition, such  report  having  first  been  published  in  any  journal 
local  or  otherwise,  and  afi.erwftrds^  Approved  hj  their  Lord* 


ships.  And  further,  to  each  of  the  three  best  of  sudi  reports 
referring  to  instruction  in  scienoe  and  to  each  of  the  three 
best  reports  referring  to  art,  ray  I«ords  will  give  respectively 
the  following  prises  in  addition  to  the  sum  above  named,  nan^ 
ly — for  science,  for  the  best  report,  twenty  pouuds;  for  the 
second  best  report,  fiA^en  pounds;  and  for  the  third  best  re- 
port, ten  pounds,  and  the  same  sums  respectively  to  the  three 
beet  reports  for  art" 


Improved  Sulphuretted  Sydrogen  Apparatue, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghsmioal  New& 

Sir, — I  venture  to  describe  a  modification  of  apparatus  for 
generating  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  which  will,  I  trust,  re- 
commend itself  to  the  laboratory  on  the  grounds  of  com- 
pactness and  clieapnesB^  combined  with  effectiveness. 

It  consists  essentially  of  a  generator  and  a  wash-bottle 
united  (in  addition  to  the  ordinary  conoexton)  by  a  siphon, 
whose  legs  dip  to  the  bottom  of  each  vessel ;  it  occupies,  there- 
fore, the  same  space  as  the  simplest  arrangement,  while 
the  production  of  gas  may  be  rapidly  arrested  or  controlled  at 
pleasure  without  the  escape  of  noxious  effluvia.  Its  cost  of 
construction  need  not  exceed  one  shilling,  while  it  affords 
even  greater  conveniences  than  tlie  more  costly  adaptation 
described  at  p.  152  of  the  Journal  of  the  Chemieal  Societtf, 
IBM. 


I£y  apparatus  oonsists  of  two  similar  wide-mouthed 
bottles,  A  and  Bi  whose  bongs  (or,  preferably,  whose 
caoutchouc  capsules)  are  pierced  each  by  three  holes.  A  is 
the  generator,  supposed  in  action ;  B  is  the  washbottle,  which 
served  also,  during  inaction,  as  a  reservoir  for  the  exciting 
acid ;  F,  a  tall  thistle-headed  funnel  passing  to  the  bottom  of 
A,  by  whioh  it  is  charged,  and  whioh  serves  also  as  a  safety- 
vent  ;  S,  8,  the  siphon  limbs,  which  dip  to  the  bottom  of  each 
vessel,  and  are  slightly  recurved  at  toe  orifices ;  e,  (2,  caout- 
chouc oonneotors ;  G,  g^  the  transit  pipes  for  the  gas  as  ge- 
nerated, the  former  terminating  at  the  top,  the  latter  at*  Uie 
bottom  of  tlieir  respective  vessels;  R,  the  eduction  pipe  ;  H, 
blocks  used  to  relatively  raise  or  depress  eaoh  bottle  as  oo- 
oasion  requirei, 


42 


OorriMjHmdence. 


1      JWIir,  18«r. 


Previous  to  operation,  A  ie  filled  •  qaarter  AilI  of  broken 
glass ;  on  this  are  laid  lumps  of  ferric  snlphidei,  which  are 
thus  prevented  from  choking  the  ends  of  P  and  8 ;  acid  ie 
pDured  in  through  F  tiU  A  is  three-quarters  Ml ;  the  siphon 
is  then  charged  by  nipping  the  other  bend  d^  when  the  pres- 
sure of  gas  formed  in  A  shoold  be  soflbred  to  foroe  the  con- 
tained liqnid  over  tite  bend  «  into  B,.till  the  mouths  of  g  and 
8  are  covered,  and  the  acid  stands  at  the  same  level  in  both 
bottles,  as  in  the  figure  L,  i  B  is  then  raised  on  the  blocks 
Hf  and  d  is  unnipped,  when  the  gas  will  commence  flowing 
in  its  normal  direction  through  O  dg^  and,  bubbling  through 
the  wash-bottle  B,  will  pass  out  at  tlie  eduction  tube  £. 
When  it  is  desired  to  stop  the  action,  A  ia  raised  on  the 
bloeksp  and  B  depressed ;  Uie  former  will  then  be  emptied 
by  tlie  siphon  into  the  latter ;  tlie  reverw  will  take  place,  i( 
with  a  view  of  re-exciting  the  sulphide^  tlie  levels  be  again 
interchanged. 

Yonr  readers*  ingenuity  will  suggest  bow,  by  varying  the 
elevations,  the  flow  of  gas  may  be  regulated  to  a  nteety,  or 
the  charge  of  acid  renewed  without  opening  the  bottles  or 
emitting  any  smell.  The  eduction  tube  should,  after  travers- 
ing the  solution  to  be  impregnated  with  UiS,  always  finally 
dip  into  a  bottle  ofstrong  liquor  anunouiae,  which  will  absorb 
any  excess  of  unused  gas,  thus  furnishing  a  useful  laboratory 
reagent  as  a  by-product. 

Should  ihe  siphon  become  inoperative  from  gas  collecti»g 
in  its  bend,  which  may  occur  through  inadvertently  over- 
emptying  eitiier  bottle,  or  from  effervescence  passing  up  its 
limb  S,  it  may  be  readly  recharged  as  at  starting. 

Sudi  an  arrangement  is  of  course  equally  applicable  to 
other  gases  of  daily  use  in  the  laboratory,  for  each  of  which 
such  an  inexpensive  apparatus  might  be  reserved. 

I  am,  &a,      B.  W.  Gibsonk  M.A.,  B.Sc. 

Eaton  Square,  8.W.,  April  8. 


RxHnction  of  Fires, 
To  the  Kditor  of  the  Chemioal  Nbw& 
Sir,— In  papers  dated  Sydney,  February  16,  I  find  an  account 
of  a  patent  taken  out  by  Pr.  Bland  for  a  method  of  extin- 
guishing fires  in  ships'  hcdds  and  other  confined  spaces  by 
means  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  The  patentee  states  that  his  at- 
tention was  directed  to  the  sibject  by  the  loss  of  a  ship  by 
fire  in  1839,  and  now,  after  twenty-eiglit  years  o(  no  doubt, 
laborious  experiments,  he  brings  forth  the  following  original 
process.  He  places  on  the  keelson  of  a  vessel  a  number  of 
barrels  containing  calcareous  minerals,  and  generates  carbonic 
>icid  gas  by  the  actk>B  of  dilute  acids  supplied  by  tubes  from 
the  deck  above.  The  gas  finds  its  exit  by  numerous  holes 
bored  in  the  upper  part  of  the  barrel. .  The  inventor  of  this 
brilliant  process  invited  to  his  establishment  at  WooUoomool- 
loo,  Sydney,  a  number  of  gentlemen,  ntembers  of  the  legisla- 
ture, Ac,  to  witness  the  success  of  his  patent,  but  the  result 
was  in  keeping  with  the  former  details.  His  apparatus  for 
confining  the  combustion  to  a  closed  space  was  so  clumsily 
constructed  that  suflBcient  air  found  access  to  keep  up  the 
combustion  in  spite  of  the  supply  of  choke-damp  generated 
from  whiting  spread  on  *'  iron  plates,"  not  from  a  barrel 

It  is  sincerely  to  be  hoped  that  we  are  not  to  be  prohibited 
by  letters  patent  from  employing  carbonio  add  gais  generated 
in  any  off'-hand  apparatus^  to  extinguish  combustion.  This 
patent  seems  about  as  novel  as  the  oavstie  soda  process  of 
Mr.  J.  Roddy,  mentioned  in  the  last  ydume  of  the  Ghbmioal 
News. 

I  asi,  Aa  T.  B. 

Kandiestw,  April  a6. 


The  ChemiccA  Society, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Kbw& 
SiB,*Tour  leading  article  in  ihe  Cbejogal  News  of  Satur- 
day 'last  interested  me.  I  have  long  been  expoctiag  to  see 
evil  effects  arise  from  the  admiasion  of  so  many  persons  into 
the  Chemical  Society  who  are  manifestly  unwor&y  of  that 
honour.    I  mean  persona  who  simply  pay  the  fees,  and  do 


not  promote  dieniftry  either  by  original  oommvnicatkNU^  or 
in  any  other  way  worthy  of  the  title  F-CS.  The  following 
drcumstance  may  perhaps  interest  you,  as  it  relates  to  this 
subject :— A  junfor  partner  in  a  maniifiictoring  firm  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  Chemical  Sodety ;  on  being  asked  what  chem- 
ical investigations  he  had  maae  to  entitle  him  to  that  hou- 
cue,  he  replied  that  other  perwMs  sMide  investigations, 
besides  tliose  who  publirtled  them,  meaning  thereby  that  he 
had  made  diemical  investigations,  but  dad  not  publish  them. 
The  objects  of  the  Chemknl  Society  are  defined  to  be*'the 
promotion  of  chemistry,  and  of  those  branches  ofsdence  im- 
mediately connected  with  it^  by  the  leading,  discussion,  and 
subsequent  publication  of  original  communications^''  The 
admission,  therefCre,  into  the  Society  of  persons  whose 
practice  (as  in  the  above  instance)  is  to  aioncpolise  chemical 
knowledge,  and  keep  it  secret  for  their  owu  personal  advan- 
tage only,  is  contrary  to  the  objects  for  which  the  Society 
exists ;  it  is  also  conferring  an  honour  upon  persons  who  do 
not  adequately  deserve  it  Further,  the  adnoisaioii  of  persons 
whose  only  object  is  to  promote  their  trades,  and  the  getting 
of  money  by  them  (however  worthy  those  otyeds  are  in 
tisemselves),  is  unjust  towards  those  membera  who,  at  con- 
siderable sacrifice  and  much  self-denial,  aid  in  the  extension 
of  chemical  knowledge.  I  am,  Ac., 

F.E.S.,  F.ca 


Garomd  Cohur*. 


To  tlie  Editor  of  the  Chbmioal  Kbw& 
SiB,~IJnder  the  ''Notes  and  Queries"  in  your  valuable  pa- 
per (No.  387),  I  happen  to  find  one  concerning  carameL 
Perhaps  tlie  following  may  be  of  use  to  your  correspondent. 

The  manu&cture  of  caramel  (cofiTee  finings,  as  it  is  often 
termed  in  London)  is  kept  a  secret  on  this  account,  that 
neither  cofiee-roasters,  nor  dealers  in  groceries,  nor  breweni, 
may  have,  or  at  least  are  presumed  not  to  have,  any  in 
their  possession — ^the  Excise  prohibiting  It.  Here  in  I^ndon 
it  is  made  by  roasting  sugar  of  coarse  description  in 
cylinders  simUar  to  those  used  for  roasting  oofiiee,  chicory, 
and  cocoa;  this  yields  a  very  inferior  preparation  both  for 
colouring  as  well  as  for  sdmixture  with  coffee.  So  prepared 
it  contains  assamar  and  other  pyrogeneUc  products  which  are 
very  bitter.  On  the  Continent  apples  of  Inferior  description 
are  treated  as  described,  yielding  a  product  superior  to  that 
obtained  from  sugar.  Sugar,  howcTcr,  is  the  only  fit  mate- 
rial to  prenare  caramel,  and  for  this  purpose  the  sugar  is 
best  heated  in  capacious  roomy  vessels  made  of  copper  (in 
Vienna  copper  lined  with  silver  is  preferred),  the  vessel  con- 
taining the  sugar  being  placed  in  an  oil  bath*  containing  a 
thermometer  to  indicate  the  temperature.  The  latter  must 
not  be  below  410'  nor  above  428*  Fahr,  The  beating  of  the 
sugar  is  continued  as  long  as  aqueous  vapours  are  given  off. 
The  crude  caramel  so  obtained  is  best  purified  by  being 
placed  upon  a  parchment  paper  dialyser,  which  is  placed  on 
water.  The  undeoomposed  sugar  and  intermediate  com- 
pounds  are  thus  got  rid  of;  they  dissolve  out  with  Ibdlity, 
and  what  remains  on  the  filter  is,  weight  for  weight,  five 
times  as  strong  in  colouring  matter  as  the  crude  caramel. 
While  the  sugar  is  being  exposed  to  heat  it  is  preferable  to 
stir  it  with  a  spatula. 

Another  mode  of  obtaining  a  pure  caramel,  fhee  from 
bitter  produce  (assamar  and  the  likeX  is  to  heat  the  fmgar  as 
above,  and  to  trelit  the  powdered  caramel  with  alcohol  (pure 
methylated  spirits),  to  digest  it  for  three  to  four  hours  there- 
with, and  repeat  this  till  all  bitter  taste  is  gone.  An  squeous 
solution  containing  10  per  cent  of  purified  oaramel  is  gummy, 
and  forms  a  jelly.  Whea  a  solimoB  of  caramel  in  water  ia 
evaporated  in  vocico  (small  vacuum  pan  as  used  in  sugar 
refineries),  It  dries  up  to  a  black  shining  mass,  freely  soluble 
again  in  water,  hot  or  cold ;  but  if  the  solution  is  evaporated 
on  a  waterbath  to  dryness  in  contact  with  air,  the  whole 
mass  beoomes  insoluble  in  water  either  hoi  or  cold. 

^  A  mtxtnre  of  tfai  and  iMd  ii  ■nin«t1ni%s  med,  jnit  made  to  m  to  re* 
BMUn  fluid  at  frpm  413**  to  430^  Fahr. ;  loms  blsmutii  li  added. 


OiKsncAL  Hnrt, ) 
•ThI^,  im.      f 


Chemical  Noticeafrom  Foreign  Sources. 


43 


A  yery  small  proportion  of  camrael  giyea  to  a  lai^  bulk 
of  water  the  dark  brown  tinge  known  as  sepia.  An  impure 
but  pretty  strong  solution  of  crude  caramel  (t.  e.,  not  purified 
by  dialysis  or  aloohol^-hettce  the  term  impure  for  the  solution) 
is  sold  in  London  under  the>  name  of  coffeena  in  small  bottles 
at  IS.  per  bottle,  to  be  had  in  many  oil  and  colour  shops  in 
the  metropolis;  it  is  used  in  teaspoonfuls  to  improve  coffee, 
dispensing  with  chicory. 

I  am,  ftc.,  A,  Adbiaxl 

LoudoB,  May  T. 

P.  S. — ^Treacle  is  not  rery  manageable  to  use  for  the  mak- 
ing of  caramel  The  sugars  should  be  first  dried  at  212^ 
Fahr.  On  the  Continent  dry  glncose  is  sometimes  used  in- 
stead of  cane  or  beetroot  sugar  for  the  purpose  of  making* 
caramel. 

Tranupcarency  of  ReA-hoi  Metals, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmical  N«wa 
Sir, — One  of  the  contemporaries,  though  not  a  strictly  scien- 
tific periodkuil,  of  your  valuable  pop^t  ^^^  attention  to  a 
highly  curious  and  startling  fHCt  observed  and  ooromunicated 
by  the  reverend  and  highly  eminent  savmUy  Father  Secchi,  of 
Rome,  ooiiccrning  the  transparency  of  iron  while  red-hot 
The  fact  that  iron,  steel,  and  also  platinum  and  copper,  are 
transparent  wlulc  at  a  bright  red  heat,  Ims  been  known  long 
since,  not  only  to  practioil  engineers,  but,  as  regards  iron, 
steel,  copper  and  platinum,  to  workers  in  these  metala  The 
account  given  of  the  manner  in  which  the  excellent  member 
of  an  eminent  society  found  out  this  property  of  iron  is  as 
follows:  The  reverend  Father  had  ordered  a  stroog  iron  tube 
to  be  made.  As  it  was  intended  for  an  apparatus  requiring 
a  vacuum,  it  was  essential  that  this  tube  should  be  perfectly 
air-tight;  and  as  Father  Secchi  had  some  doubts  about  its 
soundness  in  this  respect,  in  order  to  set  these  at  rest  the 
tube  was  made  red-hot  and  taken  into  a  dark  place,  when 
Father  Secchi  eleariy  perceived  through  the  iron,  which  was 
half  a  oenlimetre  thick,  a  crack  inside  the  tube,  and  which 
did  not  reach  to  the  outer  surface.  It  isra^er  ourious  that 
the  fisict  of  the  metals  above  alluded  to,  to  which  I  have 
reason  to  believe  that  gold  may  be  added,  beoomiog  trans- 
parent at  red  heat  should  have  esoaped  the  notice  of  scien- 
tiflo  men.  It  requires,  however,  a  good  bright  red  heat;  but 
the  transparency  of  the  metals  is  evident  thus  even  in  day- 
light^ as  I  know  from  my  own  experienoe  while  working  in 
an  engineering  establishment  attached  to  a  large  sugar  refi- 
nery, now  many  years  ago. 

I  am,  &c,  A.  Adeunl 

The  above  statements  are  so  much  at  variance  with  all  pre- 
vious ideas  on  the  subject,  that  much  stronger  evidence  will 
be  required  before  the  transparency  of  red-  or  white-hot 
metals  can  be  accepted  as  proved.— £d.  C  K] 


CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 

Aleolholfl,  9rBtMe«l«or(C=  I2).~A  Idben.  It  ap- 
pears probable  that  the  action  of  sincie  compounds  of  alcohol 
radicals  on  chlorinetted  ether,  would  be  limited  to  the  chlo- 
rine atoms,  and  afford  the  means  of  passing  fl'om  one  step 
in  the  series  of  idoohol  to  another.  It  was  neoessary,  m  the 
first  place,  to  establish  the  constitotlon  of  chk>rtaetted  ethylio 
ether.    It  appears  that  this  is  beet  expressed  by 


'''?:S:}o- 


By  ihia  light  the  body  described  by  Lieben  and  Bauer  as  re- 
sulting from  the  action  of  zlndo  ethide  on  (dilorinetted  ether 
has  ti^  ooQstitution  expressed  by 

and  abonld  be  oaUed  ethyloohlorether.    This  bodji  under 


the  action  of  iodhydrie  acid,  gives  ethylic  Iodide,  ethylated 
ethylic  chloride,  and  ethylated  ethylic  iodide,  which  last- 
mentioned  body  has  the  composition  and  boiling-point  of 
Wurtz's  butylic  iodide.  With  argentic  acetate  it  gives  ethy- 
lated ethylic  acetate  and  butyiene,  or  a  remarkable  similar 
isomer  of  bntylene.  Ethylated  ethylic  acetate,  when  boiled 
with  concentrated  potash  solution,  gives  ethylated  alcohol, 
which  is  most  probably  isomeric  with  normal  butylic 
alcohol,  and  identical  with  butylenic  hydrate.  If  it  be  so, 
then  Kolbe's  conjecture  that  the  r- — enio  hydrates  are 
secondary  alcohols  is  established.  Tiewed  from  the  same 
standpoint,  another  body  which  has  also  been  described  by 
Lieben  and  Bauer  as  a  product  of  the  action  of  zlncic  ethide 
on  chlorinetted  ether,  wherein  both  chlorine  atoms  are  re- 
placed by  ethyl,  becomes  diethylether. 

Iodhydrie  acid  produces,  with  it,  ethylio  iodide  and  diethy- 
lated  ethylic  iodide,  and  from  this  we  may  expect  to  obtain 
diethylated  ethylic  aloohol,  a  secondary  or  tertiary  alcohol 
isomeric  only  with  hexylic  alcohoL  It  is  easy  to  foresee 
the  synthesis,  on  those  principles,  of  an  almost  endless 
series  of  different  alcohols.— (.ian.  Chem.  Fkarm..  cxlL  236.) 

JleUlUe  Acid  (C=i2).— A.  Baeyer  givea  by  letter,  some 
results  of  researches  undertaken  in  communion  with  Schei- 
bler.  Mellitic  add  is  hexabasic;  it  is  benzol  in  which  Ha 
are  placed  by  (COtH)s.  Heated  with  lime,  it  splits  into 
bemsol  and  carbonic  dioxide ;  sodium  amalgam  adds  H«  to  it, 
with  production  of  a  hexabasic  acid  C«H«(CO«H)g,  which  is 
converted  by  sulphuric  acid  into  a  tetrabasic  add,  OeHs 
(G0aH)4,  to  which  body  H4  may  be  added,  and  carbonic 
dioxide  again  expelled  by  sulphuric  add,  when  benzoic 
add  is  finally  obtained.  To  complete  the  series  beginning 
with  0e(G0iH)«,  and  ending  with  G«H»(C0«H),  three  mem- 
b^v  of  which  have  been  studied,  and  to  extend  the  reaeardi- 
es  on  the  group  beginning  with  0«H«(OOtH)«,  more  material 
is  required  tiian  the  authors  can  command ;  they  therefore 
entreat  possessors  of  the  rare  honeystone  to  come  to  their 
assistance.— (Ai»n.  (^lem.  Fhamn,  dli  271.) 

IMiiitroiiaplfctlialene  and  Fotaaale  Cyantae*  (G  = 
12). — ^Muhlh&user.  The  reactions  of  potasdc  cyanide  with 
nitro-compoands  having  been  chiefly  studied  in  tiie  add  rep- 
resentatives of  this  group  of  bodies,  it  seemed  necessary  to 
extend  the  research  in  other  direetioaB,  and  dmitronaphtha- 
lene  was  chosen  as  a  substance  easy  to  prepare  and  purify. 
Pfaundler  and  Oppenheim,  in  1865,  made  some  experiments 
on  the  subject,  but  did  not  succeed  in  obtaining  decisive 
results.  An  alooholks  solution  of  dinitronaphthalene  is  mixed 
with,  aqueous  potassic  cyanide  solution,  reaction  occurs  in 
the  cold  but  is  advantageously  assisted  after  a  short  time  by 
gradually  heating  to  boiling.  *A  fine  blue-green  colour  marks 
the  end  of  the  reaction.  On  standing,  the  solution  deposits 
the  potassic  salt  of  naphtooyamic  add  GisHi^KNeOio,  easily 
soluble  in  hot  water  and  in  aloohd  with  a  splendid  -blue 
colour.  Its  tinctorial  power  is  very  great ;  it  explodes  if 
heated ;  the  bario  salt  is  insoluble  in  eold  water  and  in  ether, 
easily  soluble  in  hot  idoohol;  tlie  argentic  salt  is  almost 
insoluble  in  hot  akx>ho]  or  water,  and  is  very  expkMive. 
The  free  add  is  unorystallkiable,  insoluble  in  water,  dissolv- 
ing with  brownish-yellow  colour  in  alcohol  or  in  a  mixture 
of  alcohol  and  water ;  it  is  bibasio.  The  add  and  its  salts 
are  scarcely  less  sensitive  to  alkalies  and  adds  than  cyanin 
or  irisine,  for  if  water  be  shaken  with  magnesia,  filtered,  and 
mixed  with  a  solution  of  the  add,  the  yellowish  colour  of  the 
latter  is  immediately  changed  to  bright  blue. — {Ann,  Chem, 
Pharm,  cxli.  214.) 

Btbylie  Salphate,  Aetlon  of  JItliTlle  Iodide  and 
Klne  OB  (Ba  =137,  G  =  12).— A.  Glaus.  Perfectly  dry 
ethylic  sulphate  was  digested  with  excess  of  ethylio  iodide 
and  granulated  zinc;  tlie  reaction  was  fully  accomplished 
at  the  ordinaiy  temperature.  The  product  is  a  solid  dark- 
green,  reainoid,  semi-fusible  mass.  Water  and  ether  were 
very  gradually  added  to  the  contents  of  the  flask  until  the 
violent  reaQtion  ceased;  the  ethereal  solution,  having  been 


44 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sovo'cee. 


separated  fi-om  the  aqueous  one,  was  distilled  uotil  the 
temperature  rose  above  ioo°;  the  retort  then  contained  an 
oily  liquid,  in  bulk  about  two-thirds  of  tlie  ethjlic  sul- 
phate employed,  which,  when  further  heated,  began  to 
evolve  sulphuric  dioxide.  When  all  liquid  had  passed 
over,  a  loss  of  a  quarter  had  occurred.  This  experiment 
was  not,  therefore,  repeated,  but  the  oil  was  boiled  with 
successive  small  portions  of  baric  hydrated  oxide  aiMl 
w^ater;  the  solution  was  saturated  with  carbonic  acid, 
filtered,  aud  evaporated ;  finally,  crystals  of  Ba,C4H,oSa04 
baric  ethylsulphite  were  obtained.  No  other  product  of 
the  principal  reaction  is  described,  but  the  &ct  that  the 
addition  of  water  .  in  the  first  instance  caused  a  copious 
deposit  of  zincic  hydrated  oxide  suggests  the  formation  of 
an  intermediate  zincic  compound  analogous  to  those 
obtained  by  Frankland  and  Duppa  under  corresponding 
conditions.— (^nn  C^iem.  Pharm,  cxlL  228.) 

Nlcotlue  (C=i2).— Dr.  C.  Huber.  "When  treated 
with  chromic  acid,  nicotine  gives  an  acid  C«H»NO»,  yield- 
ing easily  crystallisable  salts  and  azo-compounds.  Distilla- 
tion with  lime  produces  CkHtN,  an  oily  base  soluble  in 
water.  Tlie  first  reaction  also  produces  another  acid 
richer  in  carbon,  and  at  least  one  base.  Details  will  be 
given  at  a  future  tlme.^A»».  Chem,  Pharm.  cxli.  271.) 

Styrol,  Isomeric  States  of.— M.  Berthelot.  Styrol 
iVom  storax  possesses  a  rotatory  power  on  polarised  light 
That  from  -cinnamates  has  none.  The  former  is  more  easily 
attacked  by  reagents,  and,  when  mixed  with  sulphuric 
acid,  disengages  more  heat  than  the  latter.  Polymers  of 
styrol  produced  by  the  action  of  heat  or  of  potassium  re- 
produce at  300^  the  original  styrol,  whilst  those  prodnoed 
by  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  distil  in  part  undecoro- 
posed,  behaving,  indeed,  aa  mixtures  of  distyrol,  volatile 
at  about  300**,  and  more  highly  condensed  and  less  vola- 
tile polymers.— (i?ttff.  Soc.  Chim,  Paris,  1867.  112.) 

CoaKtar,  Synihettoal  and  Analytteal  Studtea  on. 
— M.  Berthelot  The  reactions  of  benzol  and  ethylene  at 
elevated  temperatures  give  rise  to  styrol,  naphthalene, 
anthracene,  chiysene,  and  some  other  constituents  c^  coal- 
tar,  the  parent  substaaoes  being  themselves  directly  deriv- 
able from  acetylene.  Another  group  of  oonstituents*— the 
bensol  series— might  be  expected  to  result  from,  the  action 
of  formene  on  benasol ;  but  reaction  occurs  only  at  a  tem- 
perature incompatible  with  the  existence  of  toluol,  and 
anthracene  is  produced— «  fact  not  without  interest,  since 
toluol  is  converted  by  heat  into  anthracene.  Free  formene 
differs  therefore  from  free  ethylene  in  its  behaviour  with 
benzol  at  hi^  temperature.  To  obtain  formene  and  benzol 
ib  presence  of  each  otiier  and  naaoent,  a  mixture  of  sodio 
acetate  and  benzoate  was  heated.  A  small  quantity  of 
toluol  and  a  mixture  of  probably  higher  benzol  homologuea 
were  obtained.  The  syntlieBis  of  toluol  involves  that  of 
toluidine  and  of  numerous  other  coloured  coal-tar  deriva- 
tives. The  group  of  constitnents  which  may  be  represented 
by  aniline  was  studied  in  that  member.  A  mixture  of  bei^ 
zol  and  ammonia  paBsed  through  a  red-hot  tube  produced 
small,  but  unmistakaMe  prq[K>rtion8  of  aniline.  The  oxy* 
gMiated  bodies^phenol,  Jba-*-will  be  eommented  on  at  a 
future  time.  With  respect  to  the  analysis  of  coaL>tar,  cumol 
at  a  red  heat  gives  rise  to  precisely  the  same  series  of  liy- 
drooarbons  as  oontained  in  that  complex  mixture.— '(Buk 
80c  Chim,  Paris  1867,  113.) 

Tlienno-clieiiilGal  CondUloiia  of  Pyroffenlc  Boaa- 
tlonB.^M.  Berthelot.  Ethylene  combmes  readily  at  a 
high  temperature  vrith  hydrogen  and  benzol,  aoetylene  heat- 
ed with  many  hydrocarbons  combines  with  them  A^Iy; 
formene,  water,  carbonic  dioxide,  heated  with  hydrocarbon^ 
either  do  net  combine  '.with  them,  or  do  so  at  a  very  high 
temperature  only.  The  reason  of  this  difference  appears  to 
be  Umt  the  ibrmation  of  ethylene  and  of  acetylene  is  attend- 
ed  by  a  very  slight  evolution  or  even  by  an  absorption  of  heat  { 
the  compounds  whsn  formed  retain  much  energy,  resembling 
in  some  degree  simple  bodies,  and  in  Uieir  oombination 
with  other  bodies,  positive  work  is  performed  with  dia- 
engsgement  of  beat ;  the  formatioa  of  formene,  water,  Cf^^' 


bonic  dioxide,  and  ammonia  ia  effected  with  great  disengage- 
ment of  beat,  and  their  combiuation  with  hydrocarbons  with 
elimination  of  hydrogen,  if  occurring  at  all,  will  be  accom- 
plished with  difficulty  from  the  negative  work  of  the  direct 
affiniticFi,  and  the  absorption  of  heat  attending  the  eltminatiou 
of  hydrogen;  therefore  in  these  cases  it  is  necessary  to  call  in 
the  aid  of  bodies  possessed  of  powerful  affinities  to  supplement 
the  negative  work,  and  to  perform  the  reactions  by  some  in- 
direct roethods^Bwa.  So<^  Chim.  Paris,  1S67,  122.) 

Pertodtc  Add,  Its  Baaicity.— C.  6.  Lautsch  has  exam- 
ined a  number  of  periodates  without  being  able  to  give  deci- 
sive evidence  on  this  point  He  is  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  tliis  acid  is  pentatomic  and  tribasic,  notwitlistauding  that 
a  difference  between  atomicity  and  basicity  has  not  yet  been 
established  in  the  case  of  any  mineral  acid.  The  question  might 
be  conclusively  answered  if  it  were  possible  to  introduce  into 
the  molecule  of  the  acid  alcohol  and  orgaaic  acid  radicals, 
but  the  oxidising  power  of  the  acid  is  so  great  that  it  is  doubt- 
ful  whether  it  is  possible  to  effect  this  replacement — (Joum. 
prakt.  Chem.  e.  65.) 

Colmlt  and  If  tckel,  BqolTalents  of. — ^Dr.  E.  v.  Som- 
maruga.  The  determination  of  tlie  equivalent  of  cobalt  was 
performed  on  Gibb's  and  Genth^s  purpureo-cobaltK  chloride ; 
this  salt  was  dried  perfectly  by  many  hours'  heating  at  iio% 
weighed,  heated  till  the  ammonia,  ammonic  chloride,  and 
water  were  wholly  expelled.  The  resulting  very  hygrosco- 
pic cobaltic  chloride  was  then  reduced  by  hydrogen ;  the  me- 
tallic cobalt  was  weighed,  and  gave  a  mean  of  seven  deter- 
minations 29'965,  maximum  30*009,  minimum  29*916. 

The  nickelo-potasstc  sulphate  was  used  for  the  deter- 
mination of  the  equivalent  of  nickel.  To  prepare  this  salt^ 
commercial  nickel  was  dlssolyed  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  to 
which  nitric  add  was  occasionally  added;  a  quantity  of  po- 
taesic  sulphate,  insufficient  to  combine  with  all  the  nickelic 
sulphate,  was  added  to  the  filtered  solution;  the  solution 
was  evaporated  to  crystallisation,  and  the  crystals,  after 
washing  out  the  nickelic  sulphate,  were  recrystallised  sct- 
eral  times.  The  final  product  worked  on  still  retained  traces 
of  cobalt,  but  no  other  impurity.  The  crystals  were  dried 
at  lOo*  and  weighed ;  the  sulphuric  acid  was  detemuned  as 
usual,  and  the  equivalent  of  nickel  calculated  fh>m  the 
weight  of  baric  sulphate.  The  mean  of  six  experiments 
was  29*013;  maximum,  29*079;  minimum,  28'9It.  The 
proximity  of  these  numbers  to  those  obtained  by  rL  Schnei- 
der from  difilerent  experimental  bases  supports  the  author 
in  assigning  to  cobalt  the  equivalent  30,  to  nickel  29.— 
{Sitzungsber.  Akad.  Wien^  June,  1866.) 

Taponr  Density,  ]>etonnlnatlon  of. — ^B.  Bunsen. 
As  the  omission  of  one  minute  detail  would,  m  perfomoing 
determinations  by  this  mettliod,  render  the  resuU  worthless, 
an  abstract  of  this  wonderful  paper  wonld  be  of  little  value, 
and  no  abstract  could  give  an  idea  of  the  astonishing  deli- 
cacy of  the  operations  described ;  we  therefore  refer  readers 
to  the  original,  remarking  that  with  carbonio  dioxide,  six 
experiments,  in  each  of  which  less  than  -35  gramme  was 
employed,  a  mean  1*527,  maximum  1*529,  mfaiunom  T'525, 
were  found.  Begnault^  working  en  19  grammes,  found 
i'529.i-{i4n«.  Chem.  Pharm.  cxli.  273.) 

Fatty  Aeidsi  CUoro-deitirattTea  of  (0s=t2).«--Dr. 
W.  Schlebusch.  Hypochlorous  add  does  not  unite  with 
fSatty  acids,  but  introduces  ohlorine  into  their  molecule ;  the 
acetic  acid  chloro-derivative  is  difficult  to  obtain;  valeric 
add  gives  dilorvaleric  acid,  described  by  dark  and  Flttig. 
Valerolactic  add  and  its  baric,  oupric^  and  argentic  salts  are 
described.  Butalaaine  CsHnOsN  was  obtained  by  heating 
the  crude  dilorvaleric  add  with  absolute  alcohol  saturated 
with  ammonia.  After  a  few  hours*  exposure  in  sealed  tubes 
to  120^,  the  solution  was  evaporated  to  expel  ammonia  and 
alcohol,  heated  with  baric  hydrated  oxide  to  decompose 
ammonie  ddoride,  freed  from  baric  salts  by  sulphuric  add, 
and  evaporated  to  orystanisation.  Butalanine  oomliiiiea 
with  adds.  "With  chlorhydrio  add  transparent  plates  are 
formed. — {Ann,  Chem.  Pharm.  cxli.  322.) 
Canolnle  Acid  (0  =  I2).-'H.  Qlasiwets  and  A*  Of»* 


CmnoAL  ITmrs, ) 
./W^,  1897.       f 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


45 


bowBkL  Germinic  acid,  when  boiled  with  dflnte  sulphuric 
acid,  splits  into  cannine  red  and  sugar;  the  latter  reduces 
Trommer's  solution,  and  gives  Peitenkofbr's  reaction,  but 
neither  ferments  nor  acts  on  polarised  light;  traois  of  it 
are  dissolred  by  aiooh^  Dried  at  50°  its  formula  was 
0«H,.Oi;  at  ioo»,  O.H«04. 

Carmine  red,  OnHiaOT,  is  a  daik  purple  amorphous  sub- 
stanoe^  reflecting  green  light,  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol, 
with  a  ibie  red  color ;  insoluble  in  ether.  Like  carminic 
add,  it  pertinadousljr  retains  traces  of  phosphates;  its 
alcoholic  sohition,  when  treated  with  alcoholic  potash 
solution,  deposits  the  whole  of  the  carmine  red  as 
OiiHitKaOT,  from  which  the  corresponding  baric  and  calcic 
compounds  were  obtained.  Powerful  reducing  agents 
perfectiy  decolorise  the  solution  of  carmine  red,  but  the 
resulting  body  could  not  be  separated  in  a  pure  state. 
Fused  with  potash  solution  of  appropriate  strength,  car- 
mine red  gives  oxalic  and  succinic  acids,  and  coccinin — 
probably  OnHitOs — a  body  resembling  chinon.  Its  crys- 
tals polarise  light,  are  insoluble  m  water,  easily  soluble  in 
alcohol,  difficultly  so  in  ether.  Coccinin  dissolves  very 
easily  in  dilute  alkaline  solutions,  and  in  such  solution  is 
one  of  the  most  sensittve  bodies  to  the  action  of  oxygen. 
The  solution  is  at  first  yellow,  then  violet,  finally  a  mag- 
nificent purple  red.  Few  bodies  gjive  rise  to  so  many 
phenomena  of  colour  as  coccinin. 

From  the  sptittmg  of  carminic  add  into  carmine  red  and 
sugar,  perhaps  Schutzenberger*s  is  the  nearest  to  the  real 
formul*— probably  CtHibO,,— of  that  much-investigated 
body. — {Ann,  Chcnu  PhoTTn,  ctIj  329.) 
^  Rnflcallle  Acid,  «  BerlvaUTe  of  (0  =  X2.)-*G.  Ma- 
lin.  Bufigallic  acid  was  fused  with  potash,  and  gave  among 
other  things  a  straw-coloured  body  crystallising  in  very 
Blender  needles  soluble  in  boiling  water,  in  alcohol,  and  in 
other,  sparingly  soluble  in  cold  water,  reacting  add,  decom- 
posed by  heat;  its  aqueous  solution  reduced  argentic  and 
alkaline  cupric  solutions ;  it  did  not  appear  to  oombine  very 
definitely  with  anything.  Its  formula  is  O.H^O,,  and  its 
name  oxychinone.--^^f>n.  CheTo.  PharnL  cxlL  345.) 

lleaUui  rendered  Sola1»le«^-H.  Yiolette.  Oopal  and 
other  refractory  resms  are  soluble  in  oil  of  turpentine,  Ac., 
if  they  have  been  heated  for  15 — 20  mfaiutes  to  350 — 400®, 
of  course  m  closed  vessels.  The  best  way  of  operating  is  to 
heat  the  resin  for  a  few  minutes  in  an  open  vessel ;  5  or  6 
per  cent  of  water  are  by  this  means  expelled.  The  vessel 
is  then  dosed,  and  the  heating  continued.  The  product 
gives  very  excellent  varnishes.  To  avoid  tlie  necessity  of 
heating  the  varnishes  made  as  described,  in  order  to 
brighten  thorn,  the  oil,  &c,,  whidi  it  is  intended  should  be 
used,  may  be  heated  together  with  the  resin.  The  product 
then  simply  needs  dilution.— (^wti.  €hvnu  Fkya.  [4]  x.  310.) 

Pkoffpl&orous  Acid  (0  =  16). — Rammclsberg.  The  ex- 
amination of  compounds  of  phosphorous  add  with  dyadic 
metals  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  this  add  exists  in  three 
states,  corresponding  to  the  ortho-,  pyro-,  and  mcta- 
phosphoric  acids.  Thus  the  (K',  Na',  Am  ),  together  with 
the  (Pb",  Cu",  Cd",  Mn",  Co",  Ni"?)  salts,  which  may 
respectively  be  typified  by  HR'aPO,  and  HR'TO,,  point  to 

TT/pQVM  t  O2,  corresponding  to  motaphosphorio  add.      The 
(Ba",  Sr\Oa",  Ni"?,  Zn"?)salte  give  H^PjO,,  otherwise 
to  pyrophoephoric  add,  and 
less    dedslvely,    Indicatos 
An 


2H(P0)' 

the    maguesic 


.{o, 


oorrosponding 

salt,    though 

h/pOV  f  ^''  corresponding  to  orthophosphoric  add. 

ethyUc  salt,  in  which  the  hydrogen  is  wholly  replaced  by 

•thyl,  is  represented  '^T  o,^^R)M  ^"^       I*  *«   to   be 

observed  that  whilst  the  add  radical  in  phosphoric  add  is 
triadic,  that  in  phosphorous  add,  having  one  bond  satu- 
rated by  H,  is  only  dyadic  H(PO)" ;  simUarly  the  add  radi- 
<Hd  of  bypophosphorous  add  is  only  monadic  H»(PO)'. — 
{.MonoMfer,  JBerl,  Akad.  Aug.  1866.) 


Btliylle  dtlomeetate,  Aetlon  of  Ammoiile  Car- 
l^B«to  on — W.  Heintz.  The  adds  of  the  lactic  series 
possess  at  once  the  functions  of  adds  and  alcohols,  their 
basidty  remaining  unaltered  by  the  leplaoement  of  hydrogen 
by  add  radicals ;  and  as  under  the  influence  of  dyadic  metals 
two  molecules  of  add  will  unft«^  in  order  to  furnish  two  re- 
placeable atoms  of  H  basylous,  so  under  the  influence  of 
add  radicals  should  two  molecules  unite  to  fhmiah  Hj  chlor- 
ous. The  preparation  of  ethylic  succinyllactate  proves  the 
correctness  of  this  view.  Dyadic  carbonyl  not  having  been 
used  in  a  similar  reaction,  an  attempt  was  made  to  eflfect 
this  molecular  combination  by  means  of  sodic  carbonate, 
but  the  product  was  too  small  to  be  useful.  Ammouic 
carbonate  was  therefore  employed,  it  seeming  likely  that  its 
volatility  would  assist  the  reaction,  but  an  examination  of 
the  products  obtained  showed  that  carbonic  add  did  not 
intervene  in  the  reaction  which  really  did  occur,  the  result 
of  the  experiments  being  that  ethylic  tri-,  and  probably 
dis-,  glycolamidate  were  produced.--(^»tt.  Chem,  Fhann, 
cxll  355.) 

Cnprle  Porsnlphlde  (Cu  =  63*5,8  =  32).— A.  Gescher. 
Bloxam*s  body  Cu,  (NH4),S7  was  prepared  by  makmg 
solution  of  ammonic  persulphide  of  such  strength  that  a 
sample  of  it,  mixed  with  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  cupric 
sulphate,  deposited  on  standing  red  crystals  quite  free 
from  black  cupric  sulphide.  The  right  strength  being 
attained,  the  solutions  were  mixed  in  iiulk.  To  tlie  crystals 
so  obtained  the  formula  2CuS,  +  (NH4)aS  is  attributed.— ^i7jn. 
Cfieni.  Pharrii,  cxli.  350.) 

Aromatic  inonamines  c:lTe  rise  to  Adds  rlcber  In 
Carbon.— A.  W.  Hofmann.  'J'he  principal  product  obtained 
by  distilling  one  molecule  of  oxalic  add  with  two  molecules 
of  aniline  is  phenylformamide,  but  secondary  actions  give 
rise  in  addition  to  carbonic  dioxide;  from  the  proportions  one 
molecule  of  oxalic  acid  and  one  molecule  of  aniline,  a  crude 
product  WHS  distilled  containing  cyanhydric  acid ;  heated  with 
concentrated  chlorhydrk)  acid,  and  distilled,  this  crude  distil- 
late gave  off  with  the  steam  an  oily  body  ot  aromatic  odour, 
which,  when  boiled  wiih  solution  of  soda,  partly  dissolved 
with  disengagement  of  ammonia  (resulting  iVom  decomposi- 
tion of  dipbenylamine) ;  the  addition  of  dilorhydric  acid  to 
the  alkaline  solution  produced  a  predpitate  of  benzoic  acid, 
the  argentic  salt  analysed,  showing;  that  the  oily  liquid  with 
aromatic  odour  contained  benzonitrile.  This  body  evidently 
results  from  splitting  of  phenylformamide  into  water  and 
benzonitrile. 

The  production  is  an  analogous  reaction  of  toluylic  acid 
from  toluidine,  and  a  superbly  crystalline  acid,  CuHgOa, 
fW)m  naphthylnmine,  proves  the  generality  of  the  reaction. — 
{GompUii  R  Ixiv.  387.) 

Keactlona,  CM»neralCondfttIona  of— M.  Berthelot  con- 
siders that  a  chemical  reaction  which  is  capable  of  setting 
free  a  notable  quantity  of  heat  will  necessarily  and  directly 
occur  whenever  the  following  conditions  exist: — i.  The  reac- 
tion is  one  whibh  reaches  its  limit  within  a  very  short  time 
from  its  commencement;  this  condition  is  fuhdamental.  2. 
The  reaction  is  one  which  begins  without  foreign  aid  at  the 
temperature  at  the  commencement  of  the  experiment;  re- 
actions excluded  by  this  condition  act  In  confonniiy  with  the 
principle  enunciated,  if  they  are  caused  to  set  in,  either  by 
raising  the  temperature  or  by  Other  means.  3.  The  parent 
substances  and  the  products  possess  similar  functions.  He 
Is  of  opinion  that  the  inverse  reactions  of  iodhydric  acid  and 
argentic  chloride  might  be  foreseen  from  the  basis  of  this  gen- 
eral principle,  and  that  the  analogous  action  of  iodhydric  add 
on  potassic  chloride,  which  he  has  experimentally  verified,  is 
a  further  proof  of  the  oorrectness  of  bis  view. — (  Compies  R, 
Ixiv.  413.) 

Glmaa. — L.  Clemandot  A  sample  of  glass  was  made 
from  silica  and  soda,  free  from  lime,  the  silica  being  greatly 
in- excess;  after  fusion  at  a  very  high  temperature,  and  while 
fusing,  a  portion  was  taken  out;  this  portion  has  remained 
perfectly  unaltered ;  the  remainder,  after  slow  cooling  in  the 
crudble,  became  devitrified.  Excess  in  the  proportion  of  any 
one  ingredient  is  likely  to  render  glass  devitrifiable.    The 


46 


MisceUaneaua. 


1      Jmiy^  18«7. 


most  stable  glafls  is  that  one  which  is  moat  complex  in  oom- 
poeicioa — that  is,  which  contains  the  greatest  number  of 
bases. — {CompUa  R,  Ixiv.  415.) 


miscjbu:.anxx>u& 


CoiiTersaxloiM  «i  il&e  P]uurHaa«««Meal  Soctety.— 

The  annual  gatheriug  of  the  members  of  thia  Society  and 
their  friends  took  phioe  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday  last.  The 
attendance  was  very  numerous,  aud  included  several  visitors 
distinguished  in  various  branches  of  science.  During  the 
evening  Mr.  Baines  eave  a  descriptive  lecture  on  his  geo- 
graphical and  ethnological  explorations  in  the  interior  of 
Africa,  profusely  illustrated  with  photographs  and  transpa- 
rencies, which  were  projected  on  a  screen  from  a  magic  lan- 
tern. The  objects  of  interest  to  chemists  were  very  numer- 
ous, and  amongst  other  novelties  included  large  masses  of 
fused  and  forged  platinum,  magnesium  in  various  forma,  and 
pure  hydrate  of  sodium,  by  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Matthey; 
Mr.  Beane's  valuable  ozone  generator  exhibited  at  work,  as 
used  for  the  deoolorisation  of  sugar,  by  Mr.  Ladd ;  Professor 
"Wheatstone's  magueto-electric  machine;  specimens  of  the 
new  porcelain  standard  yard  and' metre,  as  adopted  by  the 
InteVnational  Association  for  obtaining  a  uniform  decimal 
system  of  measures,  weights,  and  coins,  exhibited  by  Mr. 
Casella;  and  a  new  form  of  gafl-engine,  and  a  new  hot-air 
engine.  These  last  two  are  sufficiently  interesting  to  deserve 
a  more  extended  notice.  The  gas-engine  is  the  invention 
of  M.  P.  Hugon,  and  is  the  first  we  have  seen  that  requires 
no  electricity.  This  engine  may  be  worked  the  wJiole  day 
without  any  auporvision  whatever,  and  requires  nothing  but 
turning  on  and  lighting  the  gas  to  set  it  in  full  work.  When 
once  started  it  may  be  Indeed  up  and  left  going  day  and 
night  without  stopping.  The^e  is  so  little  danger  from  its 
use  that  its  presence  does  not  affect  insurance.  The  expense 
of  the  power  is  said  to  be  about  one  halfpenny  per  man  per 
hour,  and,  us^  in  this  form,  the  employer  possesses  the 
advantage  of  discharging  tlie  labour  at  any  moment,  and  of 
only  paying  for  it  whUst  actually  required. 

The  hot-au'  engine  is  based  upon  the  fact,  long  known  to 
scientific  engineers,  that  the  most  economical  mode  of 
obtaining  power  from  heat  is  by  its  direct  application  to 
the  expansion  of  air,  or  other  permanent  gases,  rather  than 
by  that  of  steam  or  any  other  vapour.  1  he  hot-air  engine 
now  described  differs  from  the  so-called  "  caloric  engines" 
in  several  essential  particulars  as  to  its  construction,  so 
that  it  is  free  from  those  defects  which  have  hitherto  pre- 
vented the  practical  carrying  ont  of  the  caloric  theory.  In 
this  engine  the  motive  power,  instead  of  being  derived 
from  the  expansion  of  air  heated  in  a  separate  generator,  as 
in  former  engines,  is  produced  by  the  expansion  of  air 
heated  by  contact  with  the  fuel  itself,  and,  in  addition  to 
this  source  of  the  power,  by  the  action  of  the  expansive 
force  of  the  gaseous  products  of  the  combustion  of  the  foe], 
which  heretofore  have  been  permitted  to  escape  into  the 
chimney  without  being  in  any  way  utilised  ui  the  prodno- 
.tion  of  power.  This  result  is  accomplished  by  placing 
the  fuel  in  a  grate  which  can  be  hermetieally  closed,  and 
fordng  the  air  required  for  combustion  into  it  by  moans  of 
an  air-pump  worked  by  the  engine  itself,  so  that  no  part  of 
the  heated  air  of  the  gases  produced  by  the  combustion  of 
the  fuel  can  escape  without  passing  through  the  cylinder, 
and  there  doing  duty  in  the  production  of  force.  It  is 
obvious  that  by  such  an  arrangement  the  employment  of 
separate  iron  generators  for  the  purpose  of  heating  the  air. 
is  dispensed  with,  and  that  thereby  one  of  the  chief  diffi- 
culties of  the  old  caloric  engine  is  avoided ;  for  in  the  hot- 
air  engine  the  fhel  is  contained  in  a  fire-clay  fVimaoe  sur- 
rounded by  an  air-tight  iron  casing^  which  in  this  way  is 
entirely  protected  from  iiyury.  The  fuel,  which  may^be 
anthracite,  smokeless  coal,  or  coke,  is  thus  burned  under 
pressure  with  great  regularity,  and  with  the  production  of 
a  uniform  temperature,  and  at  a  rate  exactly  propor- 
tionate to  the  duty  the  engine  is  called  upon  to  perform, 


thus  avoiding  aU  waste  of  fuel— a  resolt  wUdi  has  not 
been  attained  witii  any  form  of  engine  yet  introduced. 

The  heated  air,  together  with  the  gases  produced  by  the 
combustion  of  the  fliel,  pass  from  the  fire-box  directiy 
into  the  cylinder,  bo  that  eveiy  iiait  of  heat  peodneed  Is 
converted  into  force.  The  piston  consists  of  a  hollow 
plunger,  to  which  the  pistxMHiod  is  attached ;  the  packing 
is  placed  around  its  upper  ciieumferenoe,  where  the  heat 
is  so  moderate  as  to  permit  of  efficient  packing  and 
lubrication.  By  means  of  an  air-pump  worked  by  the 
piston,  a  supply  of  air  is  forced  into  the  grate.  It  here 
comes  in  contact  with  the  fire,  and  a  portkm  of  it,  in 
maintaining  combustion,  combittes  with  tibe  carbon,  pro- 
ducing carbonic  acid,  Ac. ;  while  another  portion  of  the  air 
in  excess  takes  up  heat,  and  is  thereby  expanded.  The 
mixed  heated  air  and  gaseous  products  of  combustion 
speedily  accumulate  such  an  amount  of  expansive  force 
as  to  set  the  engine  in  motion,  by  presnng  on  the  piston. 
At  the  end  of  £e  stroke  the  expanded  gases  escape  by  the 
waste-pipe,  which  may  be  connected  by  a  common  store- 
p^  with  an  ordinary  cl4mney-  Bach  upward  stroke  of 
the  piston  produces  a  downward  oorreapondiug  stroke  of 
the  air-pump^  and  forces  a  fresh  charge  of  cold  air  into 
the  grate  to  maintain  the  combustion  of  the  fhel,  thus 
keeping  up  a  continual  supply  of  heated  air  and  gaseous 
products.  The  power  is  increased  or  diminished  by 
dampers^  which  pass  the  air  through  or  over  the  fire, 
according  to  tHe  amount  required. 

The  (£iief  advantages  of  the  hot-air  engine  will  be  found 
in  the  very  important  facts,  that  there  is  not  the  most 
romota  danger  in  its  use.  The  ftirnaoe  is  perfectly  insu- 
lated, so  that  all  risk  of  fire  is  entirely  avoided,  and  the 
presence  of  water,  whether  in  large  or  small  quantity,  is 
dispensed  with ;  so  that  this  engine  can  be  employed  under 
circumstances  where  it  would  be  impossible  to  use  a  steam- 
engine.  Either  of  these  engines  iirill  be  found  invsduable 
in  the  pharmaceutical  laboratory  or  physical  workshopu 
Each  poBsesaes  advantages  peculiar  to  itself  but  both  are 
free  from  the  drawbacks  attending  the  use  of  steam-engines, 
as  they  require  no  skilled  labour,  no  water,  do  not  increase 
insurance,  make  no  dirt,  and  are  entirely  free  from  danger. 

Alum  CrystelllaaUoiiB  .  over  Frealk  Flo^vera.— 
Make  baskets  of  pliable  copper  wire,  and  wrap  them  with 
gauze.  Into  these  tie  to  the  bottom  violets,  ferns,  geranium 
leaves,  chrysanthemums—in  fact,  any  flowers  except  full- 
blown rosea — and  sink  them  in  a  solution  of  alum  of  one 
pound  to  the  gallon  of  water,  after  the  solution  has  cooled, 
as  the  colours  will  then  be  preserved  in  their  original 
beauty,  and  the  crystallised  olum  will  hold  faster  than  when 
ftom  a  hot  solution.  When  you  have  a  light  coyering  of 
distinct  crystals  that  ^ver  completely  the  artudes,  remove 
carefiUly,  and  allow  them  to  drain  for  twelve  hours.  These 
baskets  make  a  beautiful  parlour  omament|  and  fbr  a  long 
time  preserve  the  f^reshness  of  the  flowers. —  W,  P.  Oreoey, 
in  the  Am,  Joum.  Pkarmacy. 

Deatli  of  Walter  Omm.— Many  of  our  readers  will . 
hear  with  regret  of  the  decease  of  Mr.  Walter  Grum,  which 
took  place  on  the  4th  inst,  at  Thornliebank.  Mr.  Orum 
had  been  for  more  than  twenty  years  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
Society,  His  papers,  chiefly  on  8uk>jeots  connected  with 
calico-printing,  were  numerous,  and  bore  the  stamp  of  great 
talent  and  originality;  we  may  especially  mentipn  his  re- 
searches on  Indigo,  on  the  Aoetirtes  of  Alumina,  on  Mciv 
dants  in  Dyeing,  on  Gotton-flbre,  kc  By  his  death  the 
Chemical  Sodety  loses  one  of  its  original  FeUows  and  a  re- 
spected Yice-Prosident 

CItU  lilst  FeBslona. — ^The  following  pensions  on  the 
Civil  List  have  been  reoentiy  granted: — xooL  a  year  to 
Lady  Harris,  widow  of  Shr  William  Snow  Harris,  in  con- 
sideration of  her  husband's  valuable  invention  of  the  sys- 
tem of  lightning  conductors.  lool  a  year  to  the  Rev.  Miles 
Joseph  Berkeley,  on  aooount  d  his  eminent  services  as  a 
botanistj  to  practical  horticulture  and  agriculture.  952.  a 
year  to  Qeorge  Cruikshank,  Esq.,  on  account  of  his  great 
merit  as  an  artist. 


CBnno4L  Nbwb,  ) 


MisceUarieou^ — Notes  and  Queries. 


47 


flelentMe  IiectwrlBc  P*7*  ^^^  ^  Amerioc  Profefl- 
Bor  Agassis  lately  deliTered  a  oonrao  of  loetures  under  the 
anapioes  of  the  New  York  A880Giaitio&  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  on  the  Natural  History  of  Brazil,  for  which 
he  demanded  and  was  paid  500  dollars  eaeh,  or  3,000  doUsrs 
for  the  course  of  six  lectures.  Taking  the  time  he  devoted 
to  each  lecture— >that  is  to  say,  an  average  of  one  hour  and 
forty  minutes — it  thus  appears  tiiat  he  received  five  dollars 
a  minute  for  eveiy  minute  he  spoke.  It  appeart^  however, 
that  the  associatioB  which  engaged  his  services  did  not  lose. 
-"PaU  MaU  GaaeUe, 

Extrmeaon  of  Indium  lyom  tlte  Prodaets  oftke 
Roastlnc  of  Hlende. — ^The  flue  dust  which  condenses 
in  the  chkno^s  of  the  sine  works  of  Gosler  contain  indium. 
The  author  has^operated  on  100  kilogrammes  of  this  dust, 
which  contains  about  one  part  of  oxide  of  indium  in  1000. 
To  extract  this  metal,  boil  the  deposit  for  half  an  hour  with 
hydrodilorio  acid,  and  digest  the  olear  liquid  with  pieces  of 
sine  for  six  hours  at  the  ordinary  temperature.  There  is 
then  deposited  a  black  metallic  powder,  which  is  washed 
with  water,  and  which  oontains  copper,  arsenic,  cadmium, 
thallium,  and  indium.  By  boiling  tiiis  with  a  concentrated 
solution  of  oxfiJic  add,  a  solution  of  cadmium,  thallium,  and 
indium  is  obtained;  the  latter  is  precipitated  by  ammonia, 
and  the  precipitate  is  then  boiled  with  ammonia  and  after- 
wards with  water,  until  the  washings  contain  no  more  thal- 
lium. The  oxide  of  indium  is  then  almost  pure,  and  only 
contains  traces  of  iron,  from  whieh  it  may  be  freed  by  Dr. 
Winckler's  method  given  in  the  CHBinoAL  News,  toL  xiv. 
pu  1^7. — JC  Boettger,  in  the  Joitmal  fir  praJOische  Chetnief  t 
xoviu.  p.  26,  Na  9b 

]>eteniilnation  •r  Iodine  hj  Means  of  €U«rlde 
or  silver. — ^To  determine  the  iodme  contained  in  organic 
hydriodates,  M.  Kraut  di^ts  the  solution  for  several  min- 
utes with  a  known  quantity  of  recently  precipitated  diloride 
of  sDver;  the  increase  of  the  weight  of  the  chloride  of  sil- 
ver is  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  iodine.  This  method 
has  the  advantage  of  not  altering  the  substance  beyond  the 
removal  of  its  iodine,  which  is  replaced  by  dilorine.  The 
process  is  very  useful  in  many  ca^s. — Zeitschrift  fur  amty- 
tiscke  Chemief  iv.  167. 

Analysis  of  BartM  eaten  In  Borneo.— Some  few 
years  ago  the  manager  of  the  Orange-Nassau  colliery,  near 
Zant^ermasin,  in  the  Island  of  Borneo,  found  that  many  of 
his  workpeople  (natives)  consumed  large  quantities  of  a 
kind  of  cUy ;  a  sample  of  this  material  was  forwarded  to 
Batavia  for  analysis,  and  the  following  is  the  result  in  xoo 
parts:— 

Pitooal  resin  (oiganks  matter  volatile  at  red  heat) 

Puie  carbon  " 

galea  "  "  " 

Alumina  "  "  " 

lion  pyrites  "  "  " 

lOO'O 

We  remind  our  readers  that  the  eating  of  day  is  a  custom 
to  which  savages— ^r,  at  least,  human  beings  of  a  very  low 
degree  of  development— are  freely  given  in  various  parts  of 
the  world.  No  other  analysis  of  any  of  the  substances  used 
as  such  have  been  made,  or  at  least,  if  made,  they  have  not 
been  published.  -  The  resident  military  medical  officer  at 
the  above-named  colliery  is  strongly  inoUned  to  consider  it 
the  duty  of  the  manager  to  eradicate  and  discountenance 
this  habit  of  the  workmen,  as  it  appears  to  injure  their  health. 

OMtnary.—It  is  with  regret  that  we  announce  the 
death  of  Mr.  Hippolyte  Bailli^re,  the  well-known  sdentiAc 
publisher,  which  took  place  on  Saturday  last  at  his  resi- 
dence, 219,  Begent  Street  Mr.  Bailliere^s  illness  has  been 
long  and  painful,  and  for  some  time  past  his  sons  have  taken 
a  very  active  part  in  the  practical  management  of  the  busi- 
ness.  The  late  Mr.  Bailli^re^s  energy  and  talents  have 
caused  his  name  to  be  known  and  respected  in  many  of  the 
capitals  of  Europe  and  America. 

^vlnlne. — ^The  £bmeward  MbU  reports  a  singular  affiidr 
vrhich  has  just  occurred  at  Calcutta^    Under  the  Indian 


Patent  Act,  every  exnluiive  privilege  must  oease  if  the 
Govemor-Qeneral  of  India  in  Council  shall  dedare  that  the 
same  is  generally  prejudidal  to  the  public.  This  has  accord- 
ingly been  done  in  the  case  of  a  petition  filed  by  W.  Gr. 
M^Ivor,  who  wishes  for  a  patent  for  an  alleged  new  inven- 
tion for  produdng  and  preparing  the  different  species  and 
varieties  of  cinchona  bark  for  the  manufacture  of  quinine, 
qufaiidine,  cinchonidine,  and  other  alkaloids^ 

Bstlmatlon  of  Stiver  In  a  KEetallle  State.— 
According  to  K.  Classen,  silver  is  wholly  precipitated  by 
cadmium;  when  dealing  with  a  nitric  solution  of  silver, 
evaporate  to  dryness  in  the  presence  of  sulphuric  add, 
dissolve  the  sulphate  of  silver  in  boilmg  water,  plunge  into 
it  a  plate  of  cadmium,  and  the  reduction  of  the  silver  takes 
place  at  once.  The  silver  is  deposited  in  a  compact  mass, 
easily  washed  with  water;  as  It  may  contain  a  little  cad- 
mium, boil  it  in  the  add  liquid  until  no  hydrogen  escapes ; 
wash  it  untU  the  water  oontains  no  sulphuric  add ;  then 
dry,  and  caldne:  the  sQver,  at  first  a  l^adc  grey,  takes  the 
metallic  lustre;  it  may  then  be  weighed:— 1^  results  are 
veryexact 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 


Tyan^/brmation  of  yaphihaUn  into  Smaoic  ^d^Z.— Slr,->Can 
70a  Inform  me  whflre  I  oan  obtain  a  formuU  for  this  process,  men- 
tlooed  In  your  namber,  385,  page  197,  in  Notes  on  tbe  Paris  Kzhibi- 
tioD  r— Smair  Uall.    bwansea. 

J^«r^&«»M»f.— Sir.— Con  70a  tell  me  how  nltro-bencol  can  be  ob- 
tained oolouriess  aod  free  from  the  tarry  smell  which  usually  accom- 
panies Ur— A  BiAMITFAOTUBaB. 

J>epoHUng  Platinmm  EUtirolyUcaUu,'-^\r,—^\\\  any  of  your 
correspoodents  tell  me  what  Is  the  best  solution  and  battery  power  to 
be  need  for  depoelling  a  coherent  film  of  platlnam  on  brass  f  I  should 
like  It  to  be  strong  enough  to  resist  liquid  acldSi  but  If  this  \a  Impractf- 
oable,  a  resistance  to  add  rapoors  will  anffloe. 

Chinfe  itfiML— Sir,— ▲  irtend  of  mine  la  deslroos  of  obtaiuing  a 
good  receipt  for  making  Chinese  bine.  He  is  a  laq^e  consumer,  and 
wishes  to  manuflictttre  lor  himself  and  another  hpuse.  He  has  made 
it,  bat  not  satfafhotozy  in  comparison  with  Loxi#»n  mannfiicturers.  He 
would  of  course  [lajr  nandsomely  fur  It.  Would  It  be  possible  to  ob- 
tain this?  and  through  what  channel  ?— E.  H.  W.,  Manoheater. 

PuryUd  SkeUao.—%\T^-^ln  reference  to  the  sasgestlon  in  your  last 

*  '  f  bl^hing  and  purify- 
any  lujurious 


nomber.  1  am  die  Inventor  of  a  new  method  of  bleaching  and 
lag  shellac,  not  by  ehloflne  or  its  homologuea,  or  by  any  k 
agent;  it  is  in  a  state  of  solution  In  metbybted  spirits,  and  ia'appli- 
cable  to  gilt  work,  Ac.,  nut  li^Juring  anything  it  is  applied  to.  Tu  any 
one  with  a  small  caplial,  or  In  the  abtire  way  of  business,  laj  serrlces 
would  be  of  Talue.  1  am  not  a  thorough  chemist,  but  pooseas  a  slight 
knowledge  sufficient  for  the  abuve^  1  cannot  afford  to  advertise  much, 
and  think  this  would  come  under  the  head  **Notea  and  Qaeriek."— £. 
M.NA8n. 

Oaramd  (^T^oiirs.— Sir,— Gam  any  of  your  nnmerous  readers  tell  me 
the  best  wav  to  make  these  f  1  am  a  vinegar  manntJMturer,  and  nse 
a  oonslderaSle  quantity  for  giving  a  dark  colour  to  the  vinegar.  The 
manufkotare  is  kept  a  profound  secret  by  those  few  houses  who  make 
a  specialty  of  it  I  have  made  several  attempts,  but  have  liltherto  been 
oMMoestfU.— £.  ▲.    Olasgew. 

CoUmnfrom  Cara«iie^— Sir,— Perhaps  the  followiAghifomiatioo  may 
be  of  use  to  your  ooirespondenti^The  secret  consists  in  using  gfaicose 
and  heating  it  with  an  ulkail.  For  vinegar,  carbonate  of  ammonU  Is 
requlnKi,  as  a  fixed  alfcnU  prodnoea  lorbldlty.  lao  pounds  of  gtaeose 
require  6  pounds  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  and  6  ptiunds  of  water. 
Heat  togetner  in  a  metal  boiler  tUI  the  glucose  is  of  the  desired  colour, 
keeping  the  mixture  well  siirred.  Iben  add  30  or  40  pounds  of  warm 
water  poured  in  a  thin  strt* am. — F.  Thompson. 

GioM  I>rUUmg —li  rorrespondent,  D.  F.,  tnfbma  us  that  the  process 
for  working  glass  with  flies,  drills,  or  other  tools  of  steel,  moistened  with 
dilate  snlvhttric  acid,  as  given  by  Dr.  Lunge  In  tbe  last  number  of  the 
Chkmioal  Nawa,  was  the  sat^ectof  a  patent  taken  out  by  Maud^ley 
aome  years  back. 

jritro-bMool,—B\r,'-Jn  reply  to  '^ManufacturQr/*  I  beg  to  inform 
him  that  I  have  prepared  nitro-beniol  nearly  colourless,  and  with  a 
pure  fragrant  odour,  by  disUlling  it  much  below  its  boiling  point  in  a 
current  of  steam.  The  flrat  porUoos,  which  contain  beniol,  Ac.,  are  to 
be  rejected. 

Lwit  Coal  Otfw— Sir,— Have  aay  of  your  readers  tried  a  plaa  of  mix- 
ing the  light  oil  obtained  from  coal  tar  with  a  solution  of  chloride  of 
lima,  and  submitting  tbe  mixture  to  distillation  f  If  so,  what  chanaea 
have  been  noticed,  and  what  was  the  action  on  the  sulplmr  oom|K>unds  f 

Mioo  .A^hIIa^.— Sir,— I  have  spent  over  three  yeait  in  tiying  to 
improve  various  colonra  now  In  a»e  by  calico  printers  and  dyervw  I 
shall  be  glad  If  you  could  assUt  me  in  obtaining  a  little  ready  monej 
for  the  folluwing  Important  discovery :— I  can  print  on  cotton  goods  a 
mordant  that  will  produce  a  perfeetiy  that  mauve,  with,  or  at  the  same 
time  as,  garandne  work,  more  bst  and  bright  than  any  produced  pr«* 
#i09aly,    I  oan  4ye  att  nnlllne  cokmra  faster  and  brighter  tliantney 


48 


Notes  and  Queries — Answers  to  Correspondents. 


j  GmnnOAL  Kswf , 


baye  ever  been  done,  and  at  a  m«ioh  leat  expenaa,  oa  any  kind  of 
fabric  I  caa  also  prodaoe  the  aame  shade  of  eoloor  od  iniau»d  goods  at 
one  operation,  and  wbleb  Is  botb  cbeap  and  simple.  I  will  render  eyeij 
explanntfun  neccFsary  to  any  one  applying  throagh  you  or  your  yala- 
able  pa|>er.  aad  give  ny  seonrtty  sad  guatanteek— «l.  K.  M. 
I  Cmico  A*tM^<»^.— Sir,— Kf  ferring  to  your  note  upon  calico  prIntlBg 
in  last  week's  publication,  I  sball  baye  pleasure  in  arranging  witb  **  J. 
K.  Bl"  a  permanent  system  of  remuneration  fat  tbe  odyantaffes  be 
naines|.  which,  if  reliaWei  will  stlmulato  tbe  aniline  colour  trade.  If 
yon  will  let  me  have  tbe  addreaa  of  **  J.  K.  M.,"*  i  will  at  onoe  eommu- 
nicate  witb  hUn.— B.  &  a,  Maocbest6r. 

Caramel  Cb2ottr«.— Sir,— 1  bave  noted  the  correspondence  respecting 
caramel  colours  in  Ibe  CifKincAL  News,  and  I  sbould  be  glad  to  learn 
where  glucoee  can  be  obtained  in  manuihotaring  qaantltios.  Tbere 
was  a  **  Olacoae  and  Caramel  OompaDir  "*  in  ezlatenee  aeme  time  ataee, 
but  it  Is  now  defbnct ;  and  I  am  therefore  at  a  loss  where  to  obtain  it, 
and  cannot  spare  tbe  time  for  making  it— «J.W. 

Map  rarfil«4.— 81r,—  t  want  to  prepare  a  good  map  yamtsb  wfafob 
will  dry  rapidly.  If  «ny  of  your  eorreapondenu  will  kindly  Inatniet 
me  In  its  preparation  through  the  medium  of  your  yoluable  section, 
**  Notes  and  Qaeries,^  they  win  confer  a  Ayour  upon  me.— J.  B. 

ArliHeial  7>e<A.— Sit,— Within  tbe  last  few  years  some  Improre- 
ments  baye  been  made  In  tbe  manufhetara  of  artificial  teeth,  by  whieh 
they  are  rendered  lesa  foiittlei.  1  am  anxloQS  to  find  directioas  for  their 
preparation,  and  shall  be  happy  to  pay  any  person  who  will  assist  me 
in  this  matter.— F.  T.,  Leeds. 

OryttaUitatkm  qf  6%r<>ma/M.—81r,— During  tbe  crystallMng  of  M 


ebrumate  of  potash,  a  coating  of  lUrht  lemon-oolonred  crystals  ftirmed 
oatbalWaitt^Uia  Uebranaatek  Thsss  eiystels  did  net|  >iews>yst»  ap- 
pear  till  the  cry«tals  of  bichromate  bad  almost  done  forming.     Ibe 


mother  liquor  at  Ibe  time  waa  nboal  six  or  eight  de^aes  warmer  than 
the  surrounding  atmosphere.  If  the  llauor  was  allowed  to  remain  in 
the  crystallising  pans  until  perfeetty  oolo,  tbe  crystals  referred  to  would 
increase  to  four  or  six  incbes  in  thickness.  The  f<irm  of  these  crystals 
was  an  oblique  four*Blded  prism.  Now,  this  did  not  nppear  from  want 
of  sulphuric  add ;  if  that  was  tbe  ease,  tbe  crystals  would  haye  been 
green.  The  amount  of  potash  required  to  decompiise  the  oxide  of 
chromium  was  oulcubited  correctly  and  added.  Has  anv  of  your  read- 
ers who  may  be  acquainted  witb  the  mnnufhoturo  of  bicbronuite  of  pot- 
ash eyer  noticed  the  formation  of  the  crystals  named,  and  to  what  cause 
can  their  appearance  be  traced  f—H. 

r  Map  roTfiOA.— 81r,— J.  8.  will  find  that  be  can  make  a  yery  good 
yarnfsh  for  coyertng  oyerareblteetural  and  mecbanical  drawings,  maps, 
A«.,  by  diaeoWing  one  pound  of  white  shellac,  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
camphor,  and  two  ounces  of  Canada  balsam  in  one  gallon  of  aicohoL 

Map  FamisA.— Sir,-I  beg  to  place  tbe  Ibllowing  recipe  at  tbe 
senrfee  of  **  J.  8.,"  who  wishes  to  know  bow  to  prepare  a  gowl,  qnick- 
dryinff  map  yaroisb :— Tbin  down  with  turpentine  Canada  balsam, 
and  aad  one-fourth  of  tHe  bulk  of  quick-drying  pale  copal  yamish ;  lay 
on  smoothly  with  a  flat  camel-balr  brush,  and  let  the  map  lie  flat  for  a 
few  hours.— Tbos.  iSoiTBiiiLA. 

Artijletal  71s«(A.-^In  reply  to  tbe  Inquiry  firom  V.  T,.  Leeds,  la  our 
Isst  number,  we  hare  received  seyeral  letters.  They  naye  been  for- 
warded as  requested. 

C7*<ness  iWtM.— Sir,— Will  yon  oblige  me  by  notifying  that  you  wish 
to  reca«ye  oommunieatioiw  for  a  subscriber  on  tbe  subject  of  Chinese 
blue  fhim  the  same  or  others  who  replied  to  K.  H.  W.,  of  Manchebter? 
Information  of  yalne  would  be  paid  for.— Wm.  SoHnrirLi>. 

Palm  ffU. — Sir,— If  any  of  your  correspondents  will  Inform  me  bow 
much  chrome  is  necessary  to  bleach  a  cwt.  of  palm  oil,  they  will  oonftr 
a  fayonr  oo  yours,  Ac,  Milo. 

iStentoains.— 81r,— Can  any  of  your  readers  flsyour  me  with  some 
good  directions  for  mounttna  santonins  for  tbe  microscope  so  as  to 
obtain  good  polarizing  crystals  ?— P.  Coopbb. 

Lettsrt  are  woUinff  at  our  Office  for  F.  T.,  Leeds ;  B.  E.  B.,  Man- 
chester; H.  F.  Meaden ;  9.K.}A.\  Manufacturer. 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

%^  All  MOitorita  OommwtieaHotu  are  to  be  addressed  to  tbe 
Editob,  and  AdverH^emente  and  BuHneett  OommundcaU&ns  to  tbe 
PuaLiSHBa.  at  the  Oflice,  x.  Wine  dBce  Court,  Fleet  btreet,  London, 
K  0.    JPrv^ate  letters  for  tbe  Kdltor  must  be  60  marked. 

%*  In  publishing  letters  from  our  Correspondents  we  do  not  thereby 
adopt  tbe  views  of  tbe  writers.  Our  Intention  to  give  both  sides  of  a 
question  will  frequently  oblige  us  to  publish  opiuiuns  with  wbloh  we 
do  not  agree. 

D.  Jf.  W.—Vl,  Stas's  researches  baye  appeared  In  the  Proc€edin(f9 
of  Me  Royal  Aead^m^  of  Belgium.    Inquire  at  Asber*s. 

O.  M.  Jk,  Brighton  —'J  be  Instrument  is  not  yet  complete.  A  ftill 
description  will  appear  In  the  CmxiOAL  Niwsassoon  as  it  Is  In  opera- 
tion. 

Jf.  MofuTe  Procese  for  the  Reeovory  qf  Sulphur  from  AtkaU 
Waste.— The  Inyentor  nas  drawn  our  attention  to  tbe  description  of 
this  pr-oess  glyen  by  onr  Paris  correspondent  in  our  number  for  April 
IS,  Ik  183,  as  not  being  suffidentiy  dear.  After  saying  that  the  process 
consists  lu  forcing  a  current  of  air  Into  the  waste  In  order  to  oxidise 
It,  and  then  lixlyiatine,  the  description  should  continue,  ^'Tfae  solution 
is  then  drawn  olT,  and  air  again  forced  Into  tbe  waste,  tbe  mass  again 
lixiyUted,  and  tbe  same  treatment  repeated  a  third  time.  Tbe  yats 
are  so  amineed  that  the  liquor  is  allowed  to  run  from  one  yat  into  the 
other  in  order  to  obtain  it  «s  concentrated  as  possible.  1  be  wbole  of 
these  operations  ean  be  performed  in  ttom  sixty  to  seyenty-two  hours.*' 
In  the  subsequent  description,  hyposulphite  of  Hme  should  baye  bee| 


spokcB  of,  taatcad  of  hyporalpblte  of  sodik    M.  Moad  says  tbaft  tbe 

Erooess  Is  being  saofessraUy  employed  at  many  aikali  works  in  Bag- 
md,  amongst  others  at  Messrs,  Hutchinson  and  Oo.^s,  Widnea. 
IT.— Crucible  is  deriycd  from  the  Latin  orti<5fo,  to  torture  or  twtet 
Toumeondi  Book  emA  Oo.^The  address  shall  bo  seat    The  author  la 
preparing  an  article  on  tbe  8a>\)ect  for  these  pages. 

W.  Becket.—lLhe  syrup  of  c»range  and  quinine  appears  likely  to  '  e  of 
yalue  In  cases  where  orange  wine  and  quinine  would  be  Injurious  to  tbe 
system. 

ConHamil  Reader  and  Another  Peremi.— ^allgbt  sblntag  on  a  fire 
will  not  pal  it  out  nor  prevent  combustion,  llio  explanation  of  tbe 
popular  opinion  on  this  point  Is,  that  tbe  light  of  tbe  sun  Is  so  Immea- 
surably superior  to  that  of  the  Are,  that  tbe  latter  ^^pears  to  lose  Its 
brilliancy  when  sunlight  falls  on  it,  and  to  an  ordinavy  obsMrer  would 


T.  /&— We  should  be  pleased  to  receive 'the  information  In  a  form  fit 
for  pubflcaiion. 

M.  M.  800  —The  anfmal  miAter  may  be  i«nof»d  fron  the  secHona 
of  bone  by  soaking  tbem  In  eaaatic  potash.  The  alkali  moat  be  well 
washed  out  before  mounting  the  sewona.  Canada  balsam  la  best  fur 
the  latter  purpose. 

Jf.  a/enibJas:— What  Is  nsnaTly  known  as  qaeen^  metai  Is  an  alloy 
formed  of  two  parts  of  tia  aad  one  part  eaob  of  lead,  aatioiaoy,  and 
biamnth. 

A  Student— The  term  "  wad  "  Is  applied  to  two  distinct  mfneralsi 
It  generally  means  an  ore  of  manganese  mixed  with  Iron ;  but  in  Cum- 
lierland  the  term  Is  applied  to  plnmbaga 

A.  jr.— Tetradymlte  coaslsU  of  salpbide  and  telluride  of  bismuth 
with  impurities.  Its  name,  however,  is  not  derived  fW>m  tbe  fsct  of 
Its  being  composed  of  four  elements,  but  tttna  its  occurrence  tn  quad- 
mple  orystala. 

C^{eric«f.-Obloroform  is,  iwrbapa,  tbe  beet  sobatoaoe  70a  can  naa 
for  removing  paint  stains  from  oak.  You  must  rememl>er  that  it  will 
likewise  aftacK  tbe  varnish, 

Jamoe  K-Tbe  term  iodide  ef  ealmnel  Is  rsCalnedIn  Amarleaa 
pharmscy  for  a  mixture  of  Iodide  and  chlorides  of  mercary,  prepared 
by  mixing  iodine  with  calomel.  Aocordina  to  tbe  sanoe  barbarona 
nomenclature,  there  is  a  blniodide  of  calomel. 

Butter.— Yon  are  mistaken  In  supposing  that  only  raneld  butter 
contains  butyric  add.  Fresh  butter  contains  a  compound  of  bntyrio 
aaM  witb  glyaaslm  wbt0b  is  tnodwoaa;  aad  it  la  to  the  deoeat^otttion 
of  this  oompoand  oa  atauding,  by  which  butyric  add  is  set  froe,  that 
tbe  flavour  of  rancidity  Is  due. 

A  Student  will  find  rail  Information  on  tbe  sntiject  of  tbe  atomldty 
of  radicals  in  Wnrtz's  *' latrodacUon  to  Chemical  Phi kieophy,'' page 
104.  e^se^. 

JLaopa.—Toa  will  find  all  yon  require  In  Oriffln^s  "Chemical  Handi- 
craft.* 

P.  Jfe/^reofs.- Hesyj  bydrecarbon  dls  oontaitdag  no  naphttia  asa 
convertible  into  oils  of  the  naphtha  series  under  tbe  actloa  of  beat. 

An  Old  Suboetiber.— The  lecture  referred  to  Is  publbbed  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society.  Bicbsrdsoft  snd  Watt..'s  **  Tech- 
nology ^  gives  an  excellent  account  cf  tbe  alkali  manuflkctnre. 

ConmMialeatloBa  bava  been  received  fram  Pritcbard,  Burden,  and 
C<t.;  8.  Uail;  Bev.  B  W.  tribeone:  T.  Davios:  F.  M.  Sergeant;  J. 
Pratt:  J.  Tomttnson ;  M.  Burton:  a,  Olllman;  J.  Hanrreaves;  J.  W. 
Swindells;  W.  T.  Suffolk;  W.  H.  By  water;  Lloyd  Smith;  George 
DnttoD  (with  anchmte);  U.  B.  Condy;  John  Uull:  Charles  A. 
Wriffbt ;  T.  B. ;  WotherqNMn  aad  C^ :  O.  M.  £. ;  Sir  W.  1  hompaon 
(witn  enclosure);  Geolo^cal  Society  (with  enclosure);  Dr.  H.  W.; 
F.  Webb:  G.  Penny;  Dr.  8.  Mnspratt  (with  endosure);  B.  H.  W.; 
Sir  H.  J.  Brownrigg;  TbeQuekett  Microscopical  Club  (with  endoanre); 
J.  Glen;  A  Coostaot  Subscriber;  G.  A.  Kevworth;  L  Mond  ;  J.  II. 
Swindells;  A.  Jaeeor;  T.  Sheriock*;  J.  Kenvon;  B.  Hulse;  J.  C. 
BelLF.C.8.;  G.  Thompson;  Lewis,  Ash,  and  Co.:  A.  Sobaeriber; 
A  Constant  Beader;  James  Browne  and  Son;  £.  Tate;  M#ssn^ 
Uuskl(«son  and  Son ;  r.  Squire ;  Johnson  and  Sons ;  Another  Person ; 
Gaskell,  Deacon,  and  Co  ;  Allhusen  and  Son ;  May  and  Balcer;  J.  B. 
Haas  and  Co. ;  W.  Beckett ;  Townsend,  Hook,  and  Ca. :  &  Melkv ;  Dr. 
Adriaai;  F.  Field ;  T.  Sheriock ;  G.  F.  Bodwell ;  W.  Webb ;  Price's  Pat- 
cut  Candle  Company;  J.  Sullivan;  Lloyd  Smith;  the  Walker  Alkali 
Company ;  T.  Parkhis ;  C.  Ogleby  snd  Co. ;  J.  Mnspratt  and  Sons;  J.  F. 
MacFarmn  and  Co.;  Davey,  Tatea,  and  Kentledge;  Allen  and  Han* 
bury;  J.  J.  Vaugban;  Profeasor  B.  SilUmsa  (with  aadoSBre);  F.  C. 
Calvert;  Geologkal  Society  (with  enclosure);  Clericus;  Henry  Charl- 
ton ;  B.  E.  B. ;  J.  T.;  W.  Gossage ;  Editors  of  Journal  of  Mbiing:  Wil- 
liam 9diofleld;  E.  Pnnkland  (irith  enefosore);  Suncom  Soap  and  Al- 
kali Company  (with  aBclamra) ;  8.  Mnt^pratt,  M.  D.,  Ac ;  W.  B. ;  A.  O. 
Hadbind  and  Co.;  B.  Wilkinson:  Messrs.  Denton  aad  Co  jW.  Bush; 
Pullar  and  Son ;  D.  Forbes;  S.  Mellor;  H.  GlUman;  (X  W.  Heaten ; 
Sir  B.  C.  Brodle;  G.  Foord ;  Clayton  and  Co. ;  F.  Barnes ;  O.  Solomon ; 
M.  WilllanM ;  W.  Johastoae;  Profesaor  Angda  Pavesi ;  G  F.  Bornanl 
(with  encloeors);  Bobert  li6ll(wiih  endoenra,);  J.  U.  Swladdto  (with 
enclosure);  William  Allen;  James  Kayen;  Thomaa  Burnes:  IL  Hugg  z 
W.  Perkins ;  A.  H.  Church.  .  -eo  1 

Book*  Received.—'*  Chemical  Notes  for  the  Leatmre  Boom,^  by  D. 
Wood,  F.as. ;  ''The  Poisons  of  the  8preadinc  DIaeaaea,*'  by  B.  W. 
Kicbardson,  M.  A^  Ac ;  *'Tbe  Calculus  of  Cbaoikal  Operations ;  bdog 
a  Method  for  tbe  investigation,  by  means  of  Symbols,  of  the  Laws  of 
the  Distribution  nt  Weight  in  Chemical  Change.  Part  L  Oa  the  C«b- 
struetion  of  Cheraicd  Bymbpls."  By  Sir  &  a  Bradia,  Bart,  F.  K.8.— > 
''Dr.  Ure's  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Mauulbcturas,  and  Mines.'*  Bdited  by 
Bobert  Hunt  Vols.  L,  II.,  and  IIL— "A  Dictionary  of  Science, 
Literature,  and  Art**  By  W.T.  Brande  and  Bev.  G.  w.  Cox.  Vols. 
I.,  II.,  and  III.;  "On  a  new  proeeas  for  Piaparfaig  Meat  far  Weak 
Stonuiebs, ' by  W.  Mareet, M.D , 4bc;  "Shaw's MedtaaTBcmarnhnmccr,** 
by  Jonathan  nQtchinson^  F.B.C.S. 


GVBMIGAL  NbWI,  1 

August,  im.  r 


>'•> 


I.  No.  2.    ^fflh 


J^tfZ  Chemistry. 


49 


THE 

Vol. 


A-L:   KEWS. 

teTtean  Reprint 


IDEAL  CHEMISTRY. 
Oh  Thursday  next  the  Fellows  of  the  Ohemical  Society 
will  assemble  at  Burlington  House  to  hear  a  lecture  by 
Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  on  the  new  Chemical  Calculus. 
The  subject  is  perhaps  the  most  abstruse  which  has 
ever  been  brought  before  the  Society,  and  it  has,  there- 
fore, been  considered  advisable  for  us  to  give  in  the 
present  number  a  slight  outline  of  the  methods  of 
reasoning  adopted  by  the  learned  author,  as  set  forth  in 
the  paper*  which  has  just  appeared  in  the  PhUowphiecLl 
Trantiactioni, 

The  memoir,  of  which  the  first  part  is  the  subject 
of  this  article,  will  mark  a  new  epoch  in  that  branch 
of  chemical  science  which  relates  to  the  symbolic  ex- 
pression of  facts.  The  complete  paper  is  not  yet  pub- 
lished. The  present  part,  which  "was  read  before  the 
Royal  Society  on  May  3,  1866,  when  it  attracted  the 
liveliest  attention,  and  some  litUe  discussion  from 
the  chemists  present,  relates  to  the  construction  of 
chemical  symboK  In  the  second  part  the  author  pro- 
poses to  treat  of  the  theory  of  chemical  equations,  which 
18  intimately  connected  with  the  general  processes  of 
chemical  reasoning,  and  especially  with  the  considera- 
tion of  the  nature  of  that  event  which  is  termed  a 
chemical  change,  of  which  a  new  analysis  will  be  given 
founded  on  its  symbolic  expression.  In  the  third  part 
it  is  intended  to  consider  the  principles  of  symbolic 
classification,  and  the  light  thrown  bv  this  method  upon 
the  origin  and  nature  of  the  numercial  laws  which  limit 
the  distribution  of  weight  in  chemical  change. 

The  author  mainly  confines  himself  at  {Hresent  to  the 
discovery  of  a  system  of  symbolic  expressions  by  which 
the  composition  of  the  units  of  weight  of  chemical  sub- 
stances may  be  accurately  represented,  and  which  may 
hereafter  be  employed  for  the  purposes  of  chemical 
reasoning.  This  problem  is  of  a  perfectly  real  nature, 
admitting,  where  the  experimental  data  are  adequate!^ 
Bupptied,  of  only  one  solution ;  and  the  discussion  of  this 
question  involves  the  consideration  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  symbolic  expression  in  chemistry. 

In  the  first  section,  considerable  attention  is  devoted 
to  the  definitions,  and  the  various  terms  used  have  de- 
finite significations  attached  to  them.  ^'Ponderable 
matter'*  and  *'  a  chemical  substance"  require  no  explana- 
tion, but  the  expression  "  a  weight*'  is  used  in  a  special 
sense.  In  this  discussion  every  chemical  substance, 
simple  or  compound,  is  exclusively  regarded  ^&&  weight 
of  matter.  Its  form,  condition,  or  state  is  disregarded, 
and  the  only  property  with  which  the  chemist  has  here 
to  do  is  the  tninmormation  of  the  weights  of  matter, 
and  the  laws  of  the  composition  and  resblution  of  these 
weights.  The  term  a  weight  is  used,  therefore,  in  a 
concrete  sense,  as  when  we  speak  of  *'  a  box  of  weights,'* 
and  call  one  01  the  pieces  of  metal  in  the  box  ^^aweighf* 
of  platinum  or  brass.  In  just  this  sense,  Sir  Benjamin 
Brodie  speaks  of  a  ioeight  of  water,  of  oxygen,  of  sul- 
phur, etc.,  excluding  all  other  forces  but  that  of  gravita^ 
tion. 

A  ''angle  weight**  is  a  weight  of  any  portion  of 
matter  regarded  as  one  object.    The  matter  making  up 


_•  •*!%€  CdleuhugOhmtftM  OpfraWmt;^  hHngaJMhodf^r  VU 


jMtMtUoaUot^  bv  Meant  ofSymhcU^  of  the  Law  ofiht 

0/  WMd  im  Ch^mioal  Chanffs;'  by  Sir  Benjamin  C.  Brodie,  Bart^ 

r.MjBl,  ProflBMor  of  ClMOibtry  In  the  UnlTenl^  of  Oxford. 

Vol.  I.    No.  2.— August,  1867.     4 


this  weight  may  be  simple  or  compound,  and,  if  the 
latter,  chemically  combined  or  not.  So  long  as  it  is 
considered  as  one  object,  it  is  a  single  weight. 

A  "group  of  weights"  is  constituted  of  any  number 
of  single  weights. 

Between  two  portions  of  ponderable  matter  (two 
**weights*')  there  may  be  equality  and  identity  as 
regatds  weight  These  terms  require  fuller  explana-* 
tion.  Take  a  weight  of  water — a  gramme,  for  in- 
stance—and apply  heat  to  it;  it  itfcreases  in  bulk;  it 
becomes  a  gas;  and  at  a  still  further  elevation 
of  temperature  it  is  resolved  into  its  components, 
oxygen  and  hvdrogen.  But  tliroughout  all  these  pro- 
found physical  and  chemical  changes,  its  action  on  the 
balance  does  not  vary.  Now,  there  is  the  relation 
of  equality  of  weight  between  a  gramme  of  water  and 
a  gramme  of  oxy-hydrogen  gas,  as  there  is  between  a 
gramme  of  water  and  a  gramme  of  lead.  But  the  gramme 
of  water  is  connected  with  the  gramme  of  its  component 
gases  by  another  relation,  that  of  continuity  of  existence, 
or  idmtityj  .which  does  not  exist  between  the  gramme 
of  water  and  the  gramme  of  lead. 

A  compound  weight  is  here  defined  as  a  single  weight 
of  which  the  whole  is  identical  with  two  or  more 
weights.  Such  weights  are  termed  the  components  of 
the  compound  weighty  which  is  said  to  be  composed  of 
them.  A  "simple  weight"  is  a  weight  which  is  not 
compound — ^that  is,  which  has  only  one  component 

It  is  necessary  to  select  a  "unit  of  ponderable  matter** 
which  may  serve  as  the  common  measure  of  those 
chemical  properties  which  it  is  desired  to  investigate, 
and  in  this  investigation  the  "  unit*'  is  defined  as  that 
portion  of  gaseous  ponderable  matter  which  occupies 
the  volume  of  1000  c.c.  at  0°  C,  and  a  pressure  of  760 
m.  m.  of  mercury.  This  volume  is  called  the  "  unit  of 
space,**  and  the  weight  of  a  unit  of  hydrogen  is  selected 
as  the  standard.  The  weights  of  other  units  of  matter 
can  therefore  be  expressed  absolutely  in  grammes,  or 
relatively  in  reference  to  the  standard  unit  of  hydrogen. 

When  a  compound  weight  (e.g,,  a  weight  of  water) 
is  resolved  into  its  component  weights  (e.g,^  a  weight 
of  oxygen-  and  a  weight  of  hydrogen),  the  weight  is  said 
to  be  "distributed.**  The  same  expression  is  used  in 
reference  to  the  converse  operation  of  synthesis.  The 
meaning  of  the  term  "  undistributed  weight**  follows 
firom  the  above.  A  distributed  weight  is  necessarily  a 
compound  weight,  and  an  undistributed  weight  must 
be  regarded,  in  respect  to  the  events  under  considera- 
tion, as  simple,  although  under  other  circumstances  it 
might  prove  to  be  a  compound  weight 

A  chemical  operation  is  defined  as  an  operation  per- 
formed on  the  unit  of  space  of  which  the  result  is  a 
weight  These  chemical  operations  are  represented  by 
symbols  x,  y,  , ,  ,  The  symbol  +  is  the  symbol  of  the 
operation  by  which  one  weight  is  added  to  another  to 
constitute  with  it  one  group.  The  symbol  —  represents 
the  removal  of  a  weight  from  a  poup  of  weights.  The 
symbol  =  is  the  symbol  or  identity.  The  symbol  x  -{-  y 
represents  a  group  constituted  of  the  two  weights 
A  and  B ;  «  +  od  or  2a;,  is  the  symbol  of  two  weights 
A;  and  x  —  y  is  the  symbol  of  tiie  weight  A  without 
the  weight  R  The  symbol  o  is  the  symbol  of  a  group 
in  whicn  no  weight  appears,  and  which  has  had  its 
origin  in  the  several  performances  of  the  operations  x 
and  —  x;  so  that  a?  —  sb  =  o,  and  o  +  x  ss  x.  The 
f^rmbols  +,  — ,  and  =  are  here  used  in  a  sense  analo- 
gous to  tiieir  arithmetical  meaning.  No  uniform  in- 
terpretation has  hitherto  been  attached  to  them  in 
chemistry. 


50 


Ideal  Cliemistry. 


But  the  most  important  feature  of  the  method  is  the 
introduction  of  the  symbol  xy  as  the  symbol  of  a  com- 
pound weight,  of  which  two  portions  of  matter,  say  A 
and  B,  are  the  component  weights.  This  symbol  indi- 
cates that  we  are  to  perform  the  operation  y  upon  the 
unit  of  space,  and  then  to  perform  sqccessively  upon 
that  same  unit  the  operation  x,  in  which  respect  it  dif- 
fers from  the  symbol  x  •{-  y,  which  indicates  tliat  the 
operations  are  to  be  performed  upon  distinct  units, 
the  results  being  difierent,  according  as  the  opera- 
tions are  perform^  successively,  jotnUy.  severally ,  or  col- 
leeHvely,  The  symbol  scy  is  the  symbol  of  the  succesHve 
operations  x  and  y;  (xy)  represents  their  joint  opera- 
tions ;  X  -^  y  represents  them  operating  severally ;  and 
(x  +  y)  represents  the  same  operations  operating  col- 
lectively. We  can  thus  express  with  accuracy  the 
various  ways  in  which  we  conceive  of  the  existence  of 
the  same  ponderable  matter. 

The  symbol  i  is  necessarily  contained  as  a  common 
factor  in  every  chemical  symbol,  and  is  the  symbol  of 
the  common  subject  of  operation,  the  unit  of  space. 
But  the  unit  of  space,  as  above  explained,  is  space 
without  weight,  and  the  symbol  i  is  therefore  the 
symbol  of  "  no  weight."  It  is  therefore  inferred  that 
o  =  I.  This  equation  may  at  first  sight  appear  paradox- 
ical; it  need  not,  however,  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that 
in  the  chemical  calculus  we  should  have  two  symbols 
for  *'  no  weight,"  since  in  that  system  the  same  pon- 
derable matter  may  be  denoted  by  xy  and  x  -^  y,  Tnese 
different  symbols  are  necessary,  as  representing  the 
different  ways  the  "weight"  or  the  "no  weight"  has 
been  obtained  Similarly,  the  symbol  oo  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  the  svmbol  of  the  ponderable  universe  re- 
garded as  a  whole,  and  the  symbols  i  and  oo  represent 
in  the  calculus  of  chemistry  the  limits  between  which 
the  values  of  all  other  symbols  are  comprised. 

Now,  according  to  the  definition  given  of  chemical 
identity,  two  weights  are  said  to  be  identical  which 
consist  of  the  same  weights;  hence  the  weight  (or 
matter)  of  which  xy  is  the  symbol  is  identical  with  the 
weight  (or  matter)  of  which  od  +  y  is  the  symbol;  and 

xy=x-{-y. 

This  equation  is  the  fundamental  equation  of  the  Cal- 
culus, and  from  it  the  properties  of  the  symbols  are 
derived. 

After  a  discussion  of  the  fundamental  chemical  equa- 
tions, the  symbols  of  simple  weights  (which  are  termed 
prime  factors),  and  the  construction  of  chemical  equa- 
tions from  the  data  afforded  bv  experiment,  the  author 
proceeds  to  the  symbols  of  the  units  of  chemicid  sub- 
stances. One  hypothesis  is  assumed,  and  that  is  that 
the  unit  of  hydrogen  is  a  simple  weight  The  symbol 
of  this  "weight"  is  expressed  by  ttie  letter  flk  The 
absolute  weight  of  the  portion  of  ponderable  matter 
thus  symbolii^d — that  is  to  say,  of  looo  cc.  of  hydrogen 
at  o*  C.  and  760  m.  m.  pressure — ^is  0*089  grm.  This 
is  identical  with  the  "cnth  of  Dr.  Hofmann.  It  is  sub- 
sequently shown  that  the  units  of  the  elements  mercury, 
zinc,  cadmium,  and  tin  may  be  symbolised  in  an  equally 
simple  manner.  The  author  employs  letters  of  the 
Grreek  alphabet  as  symbols  of  simple  weights.  Speaking 
of  this,  he  says,  "  It  is  a  mistake  to  confuse  the  objects 
of  a  symbolic  system  with  those  of  a '  memoria  technica,' 
and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  a  purely  accidental 
distribution  of  letters  among  the  weights  to  be  express- 
ed would  be  the  best.  In  the  selection  here  made, 
.  however,  I  have  not  proceeded  rigidly  upon  this 
principle,  a  certain  reminiscence  of  the  name  being 


'  enunple 


1    AftfftiH,  IMT. 


retained  in  the  symbol,  as  for  efKmple  {  dtvf,  the  9  of 
etiwj  the;t  ofa:XMf>o(,  an^|^^  of  vapapyiipo$.  Facility 
of  writing  and  readingTne  symbols  is,  however,  far 
more  important  than  any  aid  to  memory  which  can  be 
thus  afforded,  and  these  points  are  to  be  mainly  con- 
sidered. The  unit  of  hydrogen,  which  occupies  a 
peculiar  position  as  the  '  modulus^  of  the  system,  is  in- 
dicated by  a  special  symbol  a." 

It  is  known  by  experiment  that  2,  units  of  water  can 
be  decomposed  into  2  units  of  hydrogen  and  i  unit  of 
oxygen.    Now,  let 

a* /•■>'= symbol  of  the  unit  of  water, 
a        =8ymbol  of  the  unit  of  hydrogen, 
a*f>  =  symbol  of  the  unit  of  oxygen, 

where  a  and  $  are  the  symbols  of  simple  weights,  and 
m,  mi,  n,  Ui  positive  integers.     Then 

To  this  is  attached  the  condition  that 
iK«)=i, 
M+f»,io(0=9; 

from  the  fundamental  equation 

whence 

2tn=2  4*  n  and  ami  =iii. 

Selecting  fi-om  the  possible  solutions  of  these  equations 
the  minimum  solution  as  both  necessary  and  suflScient 
to  satisfy  the  condition  of  the  equation,  we  have 
«i  =  I,    n  =  Oi 
mx=  I,    ni=  2, 
which  give 

Symbol  of  water,  a^; 

Symbol  ot  oxygen,  i* ; 
the  relative  weights  corresponding  to  the  prime  factors 
a  and  i  are 

the  equation  being  thus  expressed : — 

The  following  table  is  given  of  the  ooiobinatioDS  of  the 
prime  factors  a  and  {  : — 

Mne  AbMlat«  weight    BeUtlTe 


Name  of  sabstaaee. 


FaekMB. 


ingrammM. 
0-089 
0715 


Weight. 
I 
8 


BTmboL 

Hydrogen m  0*089  > 

Oxygen ?  1-430  16 

Water a^  0*805  9 

Peroxide  of  hydrogen «^  i  -520  1 7 

By  a  similar  process  of  reasoning,  starting  from  the 
ascertained  facts  that  the  density  of  sulphur  vapour  is 
32,  that  of  hydrogen  being  i,  and  that  the  ponderable 
matter  of  2  units  of  hydrogen  is  identical  with  the 
ponderable  matter  of  2  units  of  hydrogen  and  i  unit  of 
sulphur,  it  is  shown  that  the  symbol  of  sulphur  is  e\ 
and  that  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  oB.  The  symbol  of 
sulphuric  acid  aBi*,  and  that  of  pentathionic  acid  a0*t*. 
Similarly,  selenium  is  symbolised  as  x',  seleniuretted 
hydrogen  becoming  ax. 

In  the  case  of  chlorine,  which  may  be  taken  as  the 
representative  of  another  group  of  elements^  it  is  ascer- 
tained that  2  volumes  of  hydrochloric  acid  can  be  decom- 
posed in*o  I  volume  of  hydrochloric  acid  and  i  volume 
of  chlorine. 

Hence,  putting  a'';^''*  as  the  symbol  of  the  unit  of 


CminoAL  Niwt, ) 


Ideal  Chemistry — The  Ohemiati^  of  the  Future. 


51 


hydrochloric  acid,  and  aV'  ^  ^^^  symbol  of  the  unit 
of  chlorine, 

and 
whence 

and 


2t»=i4-  « 
2mi=»i 


a  minimum. 

Since  the  density  of  hydrochloric  acid  is  18*25,  "^^ 
have  to  determine  the  absolute  weight  of  the  simple 
wei^t  X, 

»n+mito(x)=  18-25, 
whence 


which  gives  the 


w(jt)=i7'25. 


Symbol  of  hydrochloric  aoid  ay, 

Symbol  of  chlorine <ixV 

We  can  only  briefly  allude  to  the  discussion  of  the 
83rmbob  of  carbon,  siucon,  and  boron.  Owing  to  the 
impossibility  of  asertaining  the  rapour  densities  of  tiiese 
elements  by  direct  experiment,  their  symbols  cannot  be 
determined  in  an  analogous  manner  to  those  of  the  pre- 
cedii]^  elements;  but  inasmuch  as  we  are  able  to  con- 
struct  numerous  chemical  equations  which  connect  the 
Tapour  densities,  of  carbon,  silicou,  and  boion  with 
known  vapour  densities,  we  are  able  to  determine  from 
these,  within  certain  limits,  the  symbol  of  the  elements 
themselves. 

From  such  data  as  these  it  is  rendered  very  probable 
that  the  symbols  of  carbon,  silicon,  and  boron  are  re- 
spectively of  the  terms 

In  the  case  of  the  elements  antimony,  bismuth,  tin, 
sine,  cadmium,  and  silver,  different  principles  of  inves- 
tigation have  to  be  adopted,  and  their  symbols  are  given 
according  to  two  or  more  hypotheses. 

The  following  table  of  the  symbols  of  the  units  of 
certun  well-known  substances  affords  sufficient  ilustra- 
tion  of  the  method  pursued : — 

Symbol  of  iodine .aw* 

"        **  bromine.... a$* 

"        "  nitrogen av^ 

"        *•  phosphorus aV 

*•        "  arsenic .V 

«*        "  chlorioadd a^|« 

"        **  ammonia aV 

«<  <^oride  of  ammonium aV;^ 

"  phosphide  of  hydrogen aV 

"  Qzycfaloride  of  phosphorus  . .  a'^.x'^ 

"  acetylene ..'««* 

"  alcohol aV| 

"  hydrocyanic  add «*'« 

"  cyanogen. avV 

We  quote  the  following  from  the  concluding  remarks 
of  the  author: 

^  Our  conclusions  on  this  point  are  so  remarkable, 
and  so  contrary  to  anticipation,  that  doubtless  we  could 
noTor  trust  them  but  for  the  simple  and  exact  process  by 
which  they  are  deduced'.  Now,  the  conceptions  which 
we  form  of  the  nature  of  the  elemental  bodies  consti- 
tute tiie  fundamental  theory  of  the  science,  for  these 
conceptions  comprise  and.  determine  every  similar  con- 
ception.   The  unit  of  the  element  hydrogen  is  here 


conceived  of  as  a  simple  weight,  and  symbolised  by 
the  letter  a.  That,  to  say  the  least,  this  view  may  be 
permitted,  is  proved  by  constructing  the  symbols  of 
chemical  substances  upon  this  hypothesis.  There  are, 
however,  certain  exceptions,  be  they  real  or  apparent, 
in  which  this  mode  of  expression  is  impossible."  .  . 
*'  The  unit  of  the  element  mercury,  and  the  units  of 
several  other  metals,  such  as  zinc,  cadmium  and  tin,  so 
far  as  our  imperfect  experience  extends,  appear  to  be 
analogous  in  this  respect  to  hydrogen.  But  these  are 
the  only  elements  of  this  simple  composition.  The 
units  of  a  second  group  of  whicn  the  element  oxygen, 
symbolised  as  |',  may  be  taken  as  a  type,  and  to 
which  belong  sulnhur  0*  and  selenium  x',  are  composed 
of  two  identical  simple  weights,  and  the  facts  of  the 
science  do  not  permit  us  to  assume  these  units  as 
otherwise  composed.  Lastly,  another  group  of  de- 
ments appears  m  this  system  of  a  different  and  more 
complex  composition,  to  which  group  belong  the  ele- 
ments chlorine  a;t*>  bromine  aj3',  iodine  aw*,  nitrbffen  av' 
phosphorus  (a?.*)*,  arsenic  (op")*,  and,  in  all  probability,  nu- 
merous other  elements.  The  simplest  view  which,  consis- 
tently with  the  fundamental  hypothesis,  can  be  taken  of 
the  composition  of  these  elements,  regard  being  had  to 
the  total  system  of  chemical  combinations,  is  that  they  are 
severally  composed  of  a  unit  of  hydrogen  and  of  two 
'identical  simple  weights — ^as,  for  example,  in  the  case 
of  chlorine,  of  the  simple  weight  a  and  two  of  the 
simple  weights  symbolised  by  Xi  so  that  the  elements 
of  this  group  are  to  be  considered  as  combinations  of 
elements  of  the  two  previous  forms  respectively." 

The  author  concludes  by  saying  that  from  these  and 
other  equations  "  we  unavoidably  have  suggested  to 
us  as  the  ultimate  origin  of  our  actual  system  of  com- 
binations ...  a  group  of  elements,  ?,  0,  X}  /3,  w,  v,  ... 
of  the  densities  indicated  by  these  symbols,  and  which, 
...  we  cannot  but  surmise,  may  some  day  become,  or 
may  in  the  past  have  been,  '  isolated  and  independent 
existences.'  Examples  of  these  simple  monad  forms  of 
material  being  are  preserved  to  us  in  such  elements  as 
hydrogen  and  mercury,  which  appear  in  the  chemical 
system,  as  records  suggestive  of  a  state  of  things  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  actually  prevails,  but  which*  has 
passed  away,  and  which  we  are  unable  to  restore." 

"  Such  a  hypothesis  is  not  precluded  to  us,  but  nev- 
ertheless we  are  not  to  imagine  that  it  is  a  necessary 
inference  from  the  facts.  So  far  as  the  principles  or 
conclusions  of  this  method  are  concerned;  the  "  simple 
weights  "  t,  ^,  Xi  0j »,  y,  ^.  .  .  .  may  be  treated  purely 
as  "ideal "  existences  created  and  called  into  being  to 
satisfy  the  demands  of  the  intellect,  to  enable  us  to 
reason  and  to  think  in  reference  to  chemical  phenomena, 
but  destined  to  vanish  from  the  scene  when  their  pur- 
pose has  been  served ;  and  the  existence  of  which,  as 
external  realities,  we  neither  assume  nor  deny." 


THE  CHEMISTRY  OF  THE  FUTURE. 
Thb  meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society  on  Thursday, 
the  6th  inst.,  will  always  be  memorable  in  the  history 
of  the  Society.  The  importance  of  the  subject  whicn 
Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  was  to  bring  forward,  the  fact 
that  eminent  physicists  and  mathematicians  had  been 
specially  invited  to  attend,  and  the  probability  that  the 
discussion  would  vie  in  interest  with  the  lecture  itself, 
justified  us  in  taking  unusual  means  to  secure  a  full 
and  accurate  report  of  the  proceedings.  We  are  sure 
we  need  make  no  apology  for  devoting  to  this  abstruse 
subject  so  large  a  space  of  our  present  issue.    The  re- 


52 


History  of  the  Benzole  8eriee. 


{ OnaacAi.  Vkwi, 
1  Auffutt,  isa. 


port  of  the  lecture,  and  the  discnssion  thereon,  we^are 
justified  in  speakine  of  with  pride  as  a  veritable  tour 
deforce  of  the  shorUiand  writer.  Having  to  deal  with 
a  multitude  of  technical  expressions,  enhancing  the 
difficulties  of  his  wonderful  art,  he  has  given  to  our 
readers  the  very  words  as  they  fell  from  uie  lips  of  the 
speakers ;  the  editorial  right  of  omission  or  condensa- 
tion having  been  very  sparingly  exercised. 

In  order  to  give  unabridged  and  undivided  this  re- 
markable report,  occupying  almost  the  entire  space  of 
an  ordinary  number,  we  have  been  compelled  to  omit 
several  original  articles,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  our 
foreien  and  home  correspondence;  but  so  that  we 
should  not  disappoint  that  numerous  giaaa  among  our 
readers,  who  care  less  for  ideal  than  for  positive  che- 
mistry, and  who  value  the  Chemical  News  in  propor- 
tion as  it  gives  them  solid  facts  and  useful  hints,  we 
have  enlarged  this  number  to  twenty  pages  by  the  is- 
sue of  a  supplement 


80IENTIFI0  AND  ANALYTICAI. 
CHEMISTRY. 


feasor  of  Chemistry^  Royal  Agricultural  College, 
Cirencester. 
The  more  elaborate  and  exact  study  of  the  homologues 
and  derivatives  of  benzole  has  revealed  many  most  im- 
portant facts.  Admirable  diffests  of  these  recent  re- 
searches will  be  found  in  Will's  Jahresbericht  for  1865 
(pp.  514  et8eq,)j  and  in  the  second  volume  of  Kekul^'s 
Lehrbvch  der  organischen  Chemie  (pp.  528  et  seq.).  My 
present  object  in  writing  on  this  subject  is  twofold — I 
wish  to  reassert  my  own  discovery  of  several  new  sub- 
stances and  new  reactions,  and  I  wish  to  vindicate 
the  accuracy  of  some  of  my  experiments  against  the 
attacks  which  Uiey  have  suffered  from  one  or  two 
foreign  chemists. 

Twelve  years  ago  my  first  paper  on  the  benzole  se- 
ries was  published.  Since  that  time  not  only  have 
there  been  made  many  additions  to  our  knowledge  of 
hydro-carbons  and  of  the  nature  of  isomerism,  but  the 
process  of  fractional  distillation  has  also  been  mate- 
rially improved.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that  some 
of  my  former  results  I  now  interpret  di£ferently,  some 
I  have  modified  or  further  developed,  some  I  have  cor- 
rected in  later  papers,  while  some  are  discoveries  now 
generally  acknowledged,  and  which,  in  not  a  few  cases, 
ave  served  as  starting-points  for  the  subsequent  re- 
searches of  other  chemists.  I  am  compelled,  therefore, 
to  attribute,  in  some  measure  at  least,  the  hostile  criti- 
cism of  Mr.  C.  M.  Warren  and  Professor  Beilstein  to 
their  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  whole  series  of 
my  published  notes  and  papers.  I  do  not  wish  to  en- 
ter mto  any  personal  controversy  with  my  critics,  and 
I  will  not  speak  of  the  manner  in  which  my  reputa^ 
tion  as  a  chemist  has  been  assailed,  but  I  do  feel  bound 
to  restate  the  broad  facts  concerning  the  matters  in  dis- 
pute, drawing  my  data  entirely  from  published  sources. 
These  matters  in  dispute  may  be  arranged  under  the 
three  heads  of— i.  Bouing  points;  2.  The  parabenzole 
series;  3.  Reactions. 

I.  BoUlnv  Polnl0« — ^The  boiling  points  I  assignedf 
in  1855  to  benzole  and  to  the  cumole  from  caminis 


acid  do  not  differ  widely  from  those  given  by  Mr. 
Warren,*  and  even  the  slight  difference  that  exists  is 
probably  due  to  the  methods  adopted  for  correcting 
the  observed  temperatures — 

Waxren.       Chnrdi. 

Benzole 8o'i        8o*8 

Buioole 1 51*1       148*4 

With  toluole,  xylole.  and  cymole  the  case  is  different 
Warren  places  the  boiling  point  of  toluole  at  1 10*3'',  my 
determination  gave  1037",!  a  result  not  far  from  that 
^f  Gl^nard  and  Boudault  (106")  and  that  of  Max  Durre. 
Coal  naphtha,  there  is  no  doubt  contains  a  large  quan- 
tity of  a  hydrocarbon  boiling  between  109°  and  113°, 
and  seemingly  having  the  composition  and  properties 
of  the  toluole  from  toluic  acid ;  but  this  fact  is  not  in- 
compatible with  the  co-existence  of  other  hydrocar- 
bons of  the  same  formula.  I  may  have  placed  the 
boiling  point  of  toluole  6''  too  low ;  all  I  can  say  as  to 
this  matter  is  that  the  liquid  boiling  at  104''  gave  me 
every  proof  of  its  being  toluole. 

Xylole  was  discovered  by  Cahoars  in  the  light  oils 

of  wood  naphtha.    It  was  ascertained  by  its  discoverer 

to  boil  between  128°  and  130%    My  expenmenta  led 

me  to  fix  its  boiling  boint  a  little  lower,  at  126*28 ;  and 

Eemarks  on  some  Recent  Contributions  to  the  EUtory  0/ 1  ^  ^  obtained  from  coal  naphtha  an  oil  having  the  same 

the  BmzoUJeries*  fcy  A.  H.  Church,  KA.,  A6-^?^'^l^^'^<'r'^^..^^''Vt^^^^^^ 


^  Oommnnteated  bj  the  wtlMr. 
t  J'Ml.  Mag,  1855- 


the  same  derivatives,  I  concluded  the  two  hydrocar- 
bons to  be  identical  Mr.  Warren  fails  to  disooTer  in 
his  sample  of  coal  naphtha  this  hydrocarbon  boiling  at 
126"*— he  concludes  at  once  that  it  does  not  exist  in 
any  coid  naphtha^  and  that  my  experiments  are 
untrustworthy «,  As,  however,  Mr.  Warren  makes  oat 
Cahours  to  have  been  wrong  as  to  his  xylole,  and  tells 
us  that  Mansfield  mistook  cumole  for  cymole,  I  cannot 
think  myself  very,  badly  off  in  sharing  with  those 
eminent  chemists  the  censure  of  Mr.  Warren,  for,  "if 

Slid  rust^  what  should  iron  do  ?  "  The  liquid  "which 
r.  Warren  calls  xylole  is  the  petrole  of  Bussenius  and 
Eisenstuck;}  the  pseudocumole  §  of  W.  De  la  Rue 
and  H.  Miiller;  my  paraxylole.|  and  has  also  been 
redescribed  by  B&hampf  ana  by  Naquet^^  But 
that  the  true  xylole  discovered  by  Cahours  really  does 
exist  I  cannot  doubts  I  would  here  merely  add  that 
the  boiling  point  of  my  xylidine,tt  213" — 214.^,  differs 
by  little  more  than  1°  from  the  number  assigned  by 
Deumelandt  XX  to  xylidine  obtained  firom  a  coal  naphtha 
fraction  boihng  13°  above  that  which  yielded  my 
product 

The  case  of  cymole  still  remains  Warren  does  not 
find  this  hydrocarbon  in  coal  naphtha^  while  he  aflfirms 
the  boiling  point  of  the  cymole  from  oil  of  cumin  to  be 
179*6".  Dr.  Noad,  who  prepared  large  quantities  of 
this  liquid,  gives  171*5^  as  its  boiling  point,  while  my 
determination  was  1707"  for  the  oil  as  distilled  from 
sodium,  and  175"*  to  176°  after  treatment  with  oil  of 
vitriol  This  number  175''  is  that  now  generally  con- 
firmed by  other  chemists  as  the  true  boiling  point  of 
cymole. 

The  discrepancies  between  some  of  my  boiling  points 
and  those  more  recently  determined  depend  in  great 
measure  upon  the  different  corrections  implied  to  the 
thermometric  indications,  and  also  upon  the  existence 
in  coal  naphthas  of  two  series  of  isomers,  which  seem 
to  me  to  have  been  jumbled  together  by  some  observen. 


•  SiU.  Amer,  Joum.  (a)  xl.  pp.  89.  816^  3&4' 
t  PhU.  Mag,  X855.    X  ^nn,  (Xim.  /" 

%Fm.  - 

\Com\ 


ezIlL  I5X. 


M.  5fV«fM.  1863,  pp.  33«.  34*  J9»Mi.N»»».  xll,  vjfu 

mpt  Rmtd,  1864,  lu.  47.305.    ^  Ibid.  lix.  199. 

\U  Mag.  1855.    tt  MUchriftfur  C»M»<«»  i866»  p.  si. 


Chsmioal  Nswi,  ) 
Amffutt,  16<r.   f 


History  of  the  Benzols  Seines — Separation  of  Tin  and  Arsenic.     53 


On  this  second  point  a  word  or  two  will  at  once  explain 
my  meaning. 

"warren  accepts  8o*i*  as  the  boiling  point  of  benzole; 
the  identity  of  benzole  from  yarious  sources  is  generally 
allowed.  Now  cumole  obtained  from  cummic  acid 
boils,  according  to  Warren,  at  1 5  r  i  °.  I  do  not  suppose 
that  any  one  has  good  grounds  for  controverting  the 
statement  that  benzole  from  benzoic  acid,  and  boiling 
at  8o'i°,  and  cumole  from  cuminic  acid,  and  boiling  at 
151*2'*,  are  members  of  the  same  series.  Both  are 
derived  by  the  same  process  from  homologous  acids.* 
If  we  compare,  as  we  may  fairly  do,  their  boiling  points, 
to  what  difference  for  C«H«  does  it  point  ?  Not  to  Mr. 
Warren's  30%  but  to  the  smaller  difference  of  23**  or  24°. 

BUferenee  forjCHa. 

Benzole ^•***  Uit  •_-,,.,»  v  -. 

Cumole isi-2- 1-71  ^-237    x  3. 

Nearly  all  the  difficulties  suggested  by  the  divergent 
results  of  different  experimenters  will  be  explicable  if 
the  existence  in  various  coal  naphthas  of  two  or  more 
series  of  benzolic  homologues  be  granted.  Warren, 
while  readily  admitting  the  occurrence  of  several  similar 
isomeric  series  in  different  kinds  of  natural  and  artifi- 
cial paraffin  oils,  seems  to  deny  the  occurrence  of  analo- 
gous variations  in  different  samples  of  coal  naphtha. 

II.  The  Pambenmole  Series. — In  treating  of  the 
boiling  points  of  the  benzole  series,  I  have  necessarily 
referred  to  the  existence  of  an  isomeric  series  of  hydro- 
carbons. Warren  makes  the  very  obvious  suggestion 
that  parabenzole  is  a  mere  mixture  of  benzole  and 
toluole.  I  originally  entertained  the  same  notion  my- 
self, till  a  close  examination  of  the  physical  and  chemical 
properties  of  this  liquid  convinced  me  that  it  was  un- 
tenable. I  have  sufficiently  combated  this  idea  in  my 
notes  on  the  parabenzole  series  published  in  the  volume 
of  the  Ghemioal  Nbws  before  cited. 

The  existence  of  an  isomeric  benzole  has  received 
strong  confirmation  in  some  experiments  by  Fittig,  the 
occasional  collaborateur  of  Beilstein.  He  finds  a  hydro- 
carbon, in  some  points  closely  resembling  parabenzole,  in 
the  products  of  the  distillation  of  camphor  with  zinc 
chloride. 

I  will  add  one  &ct  about  the  occurrence  of  paraben- 
zole in  coal  naphtha  which  may  serve  to  account  for  its 
non-detection  by  some  observers.  My  experiments 
were  made  with  fractions  boiling  at  about  loo"*,  and 
which  had  been  collected  during  some  years  in  nume- 
rous distillations  of  large  quantities  of  the  naphtha ;  yet 
a  few  ounces  only  of  parabenzole  was  the  ultimate  pro- 
duct. 

III.  Ileaetlona,  aad  Neiir  Oenipoanda  and  Pro- 
ce<gg«. — The  following  are  the  chief  points  under  this 
head  to  which  I  would  wish  to  call  attention.  I  claim 
as  my  own  the  following  processes,  methods,  &c., 
most  of  which  have  been  republished  of  late  years 
as  new  discoveries  or  adopted  without  acknowledg- 
ment : — 

1.  The  purification  of  hydrocarbons  by  distillation 
from  sodium.  {PhU.  Mag,  1855.) 

2.  The  production  of  the  so-called  *' nitro-sulpho " 
acids  by  dissolving  nitrobenzole,  ^to.,  in  oil  of  vitnol  or 
Nordhausen  acid.  {Ibid,  1855.) 

3.  The  oxidation,  by  chromic  acid,  of  nitrotoluole  and 
its  homologues  into  |3  nitrobenzoic  acid,  etc  {Ibid, 
1 861.)  In  1862  I  showed  in  the  International  Exhi- 
bition a  roecimen  of  this  ^  nitrobenzoic  acid  thus 
labcdled  and  distinguished  from  the  ordinary  a  acid. 

*  TIm  ftifting  poUta  of  the  Mlda  0)  the  benioio  Mries  demand 
ftifther  liiTeett^on. 


4.  The  oxidation  of  sulpho-toluen^lic  acid  into  ben- 
zoic acid  by  the  action  of  the  chromic  acid. 

5.  The  probability  of  the  existence  of  methyl-ben- 
zole, Ac.     (PAiZ.  MagA^S^)* 

I  trust  that  none  of  the  foregoing  remarks  will  lead 
any  one  to*  suppose  that  I  underrate  Mr.  Warren's 
own  researches.  While  demurring  to  much  of  his 
criticism,  I  look  upon  some  parts  of  his  experimental 
investigation  as  monuments  of  patient  labour  and  as 
most  valuable  additions  to  our  accurate  knowledge  of 
a  complex  subject  And,  with  reference  of  Professor 
Beilstein^  I  am  far  firom  denying  that  in  some  particulars 
his  criticism,  though  rough,  is  just.  For  example,  in  my 
earlier  papers  I  rested  my  convictions  of  the  identity  of 
some  of  the  benzolic  homologues  from  various  sources 
upon  experimental  grounds,  which  have  since  been 
shown  to  be  inadequate.  Then,  again,  I  stated  in  1855 
(Joe,  dt^  that  coal-tar  toluole,  by  digestion  with  sodium, 
yields  two  hydrocarbons  differing  in  boiling  point— an 
asssertion  which  is  erroneous  if  pure  toluole  be  opera- 
ted upon,  but  which  I  mvself  corrected  in  1857,  explain- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  the  real  fruits  of  the  case.  In 
the  other  charges  which  Professor  Beilstein  brings 
against  my  statements,  I  believe  him  to  be  unjust,  and 
that  he  is  BO  in  some  instances  may  be  proved  very 
readily.  He  statest  that  I  assert  xylole  to  be  chang- 
ed into  benzoic  acid  by  oxidation  with  chromic  acid. 
The  fact  is  tiiat,  on  the  contrary,  I  offered  no  experi- 
ments of  my  own  on  the  subject,  but  simplv  stated  J — 
"  I  have  not  yet  experimented  with  the  ooyloU  series  I'' 
The  last  matter  in  which  my  reputation  is  assailed  is 
as  to  the  identity  of  the  a  and  jl  nitrobenzoic  (nitro- 
benzoic and  nitrodracylic)  acids;  as  already  stated,  I 
affirmed  them  to  be  different  as  earl^  as  1862.  But 
Professor  Beilstein  is  not  content  with  charging  me 
with  the  terrible  mistake  of  confounding  two  bodies 
which  every  one  knows  are  actually  isomeric^  for  he 
does  me  the  fiirther  kindness  of  recommending  my 

Erocess  as  the  best  method  of  preparing  the  ^  nitro- 
enzoic  acid!    He  does  this  without  acknowledgment 
in  his  attack  on  another  chemist.§. 


On  the  Separation  of  Tin  and  Arsenic, 
by  Profe98or  Wohlbb. 
This  method  is  based  upon  the  solubility  of  sulphide 
of  arsenic  in  bisulphite  of  potash,  which  does  not  dis- 
solve sulphide  of  tin.  The  mass,  oxidised  by  nitric 
acid,  is  allowed  to  digest  with  sulpnur  and  caustic  pot- 
ash till  solution  is  complete  (or  tul  the  formation  of  a 
metallic  oxysulphide,  which  is  separated  by  filtration). 
The  liquid,  treated  by  excess  of  sulphurous  acid,  is 
allowed  to  rest  for  some  time,  and  is  then  evaporated 
till  two-thirds  of  the  water  and  all  the  sulphurous  acid 
have  gone  off.  Filter  off  the  sulphide  of  tin,  and  wash 
it,  not  with  water,  which  must  not  be  used  here,  but 
with  a  concentrated  solution  of  chloride  of  sodium. 
This  may  be  removed  from  the  precipitate  by  means . 
of  a  slightly  acid  solution  of  acetate  of  ammonia,  but 
the  liquor  so  obtained  must  not  be  added  to  the  wash- 
ing waters  charged  with  salt  The  sulphide  of  tin,, 
when  dried,  may  be  converted  into  oxide  of  tin  by 
roasting  in  contact  with  air.  The  arsenic  which  the 
liquid  contains  in  the  state  of  arsenious  acid  may  be 
precipitated  by  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen. 

•  V4d4  Fittli;  And  Tolleiu,  ^im^  Ohem.  Pharm,  cauzL  3<h* 

i  Phil.  Mag,  March,  1861. 
$  C]Usm.^Mbwb,  1866,  p.  6s. 


54         Applicatio7i  of  the  Bhiopipe  to  the  Assay  of  Certain  Metale. 


{ CnniiCAL  Kbwb, 
1   AHifxut,  1867. 


On  the  AppUoatwn  of  ^e  Blowpipe  to  the  Quantita^ 

Hve  DetorminaHon  or  Assay  of  certain  Metals,  hy 

Datid  Forbks,  RR.8.,  etc* 

Determination    of    tbe    "Welirkt    or    tke    SUver 

Globule  obtained  on  Cnpellatlon. — ^As^the  amouat 

of  lead  wliich  can,  by  the  method  before 

described,  be  conTenientlj  cupelled  before 

.  the  blowpipe,  is  necessarily  limited,  the 

silver  globule  which  remains  upon  the 

bone-ash  surface  of  the  cupel  at  the  end 

of  the  operation  is,  when  substances  poor 

in  silver  have  been  examined,  frequently 

so  very  minute  that  its  weight  could  not 

be  determined  with  correctness  by  the 

most  delicate  balances  in  general  use. 

The  blowpipe  balance  employed  by 
the  author  turns  readily  with  one-thou- 
sandih  of  a  grain,  but  could  not  be  used 
for  determining  weights  below  that 
amount. 

G-iobules  of  silver  of  far  less  we'ght 
thap  one-thousandth  are  distinctly  visible 
to  the  naked  eye—*  circumstance  which 
induced  Harkort  to  invent  a  volumettical 
scale  based  upoa  the  measurement  of  the 
diameters  of  the  globules,  which  scale  in 
practice  has  been  found  of  very  great 
utility  in  the  blowpipe  assay  of  silver. 

The  scale  for  tms  purpose  which  is 
employed  by  the  author  is  shown  in  full 
size  in  the  annexed  woodcut. 

This  figure  represents  a  small  stiip  of 
highly  polished  ivory  about  6+  inches 
long,  f  inch  broad,  and  \  iuch  in  thick- 
ness, on  which  are  drawn,  by  an  ex- 
tremely fine  point,  two  very  fine  and 
dist  net  lines  emanating  from  the  lowor 
or  zero  point,  and  diverging  upwards 
until,  at  the  distance  of  exactly  six  Eng- 
lish standard  inches,  they  are  precisely 
four-hundredth  parts  of  an  incn  apart 
This  distance  (six  inches)  is,  as  shown 
in  woodcut,  divided  into  lOO  equal  parts 
by  cross  lines  numbered  in  accor^nce 
from  Zero  upwards.  It  is  now  evident, 
if  a  small  globule  of  silver  be  placed  in 
the  space  between  these  two  lines,  using 
a  magnifying  glass  to  assist  the  eye  in 
moving  it  up  or  down  until  the  diameter 
of  globule  is  exactly  contained  within 
the  Lnes  themselves,  that  we  have  at 
once  a  means  of  estimating  the  diameter 
of  the  globule  itself,  and  therefrom  are 
enabled  to  calculate  its  weight. 

As  the  silver  globules  which  cool  upon 
the  surface  of  the  bone-ash  oupel  are  not 
true  spheres,  but  are  considerably  flattened 
on  the  lower  surface,  where  they  touch 
and  rest  upon  the  cupel,  it  follows  that 


lOO  — f 

98- 

— 

96- 

— 

94-^ 

I 

92-^ 

— 

90- 

— 

88  - 

1— 

86- 

__ 

84- 

~-. 

8a- 

— 

80- 

— . 

78- 

— 

76- 

— 

74- 

—. 

7a- 

— 

70- 

— 

68  — 

_ 

66^ 

1- 

64- 

— 

6a  j: 

I— 

60-: 

I_- 

S8- 

I_ 

56-^ 

— 

54  — 

— . 

Sa   - 

— « 

50   - 

_ 

48  = 

!L-. 

46  : 

__ 

44  - 

— . 

4a  I 

L- 

40  I 

1_ 

38  = 

L_ 

36  - 

-_ 

34  - 

~-m 

3>    - 

— . 

30   - 

^— 

a8   I 

— 

26   I 

~ 

24   - 



32    - 

ao  - 

—^ 

18  - 

. 

x6  I 

_ 

«4  - 

— — 

la  - 

— ^. 

10  - 

8  - 

6  ^ 

■ 

4  - 

a  - 

0  -J— • 

the  weight  of  globules  corresponding  in  diameter  to  the 
extent  of  divergence  at  the  different  degrees  of  the  scale 
cannot  be  calculated  directly  from  their  diameters  as 
■spheres,  but  require  to  have  their  actual  weight  experi- 
mentally determined  in  the  same  manner  as  employed  by 
Plattner. 

The  table  here  appended  has  been  calculated  by  the 
;  author,  and  in  one  column   shows    the   diameter   in 


•  Commnnlcated  by  the  antbor. 


English  inches  corresponding  to  each  number  or  degree 
of  the  scale  itself,  and  in  the  two  next  columns  the  respec- 
tive weights  of  tlie  flattened  spheres  which  corrt- sponi 
to  each  degree  or  diameter;  for  convenience  these 
weights  are  given  in  the  different  columns  in  decimals, 
both  of  English  grains  and  of  French  grammes. 

These  weights  are  calculated  from  tne  following  data 
found  as  the  average  result  of  several  very  careful  and 
closely  approximating  assays  which  showed  that  globules 
of  silver  exactly  corresponding  to  No.  95  on  this  scalp, 
or  0*038  inch  in  diameter,  possessed  a  weight  of  0-0475573 
grains  or  0*003079  grammes.  From  this  the  respective 
weights  of  aU  the  other  numbers  or  degrees  on  this 
scale  were  calculated,  on  the  principle  that  solids  were 
to  one  another  in  the  ratio  of  the  cubes  of  their  diameters. 
This  mode  of  calculation  U  not,  however,  absolutely 
correct  in  principle,  for  the  amount  of  flattening  of  the 
under  surface  of  the  globule  diminishes  in  reality  with 
the  decreasing  volume  of  the  globule.  In  actual  prac- 
tice, however,  this  difference  may  be  assumed  to  be  so 
small  that  it  may  be  neglected  without  injury  to  the 
correctness  of  the  results. 

The  smaller  the  diameter  of  the  globule,  the  less  will 
be  the  difference  or  variation  in  weight  in  descending 
the  degrees  of  this  scale,  since  the  elobules  themselves 
vary  in  weight  with  the  cubes  of  tneir  diameters ;  for 
this  reason,  also,  all  such  globules  as  come  within  the 
scope'^of  the  balance  employed  should  be  weighed  in 
preference  to  being  measured,  and  this  scale  should  be 
regarded  as  more  specially  applicable  to  the  smaller 
globules  beyond  the  reach  of  the  balance. 


No.  on 

Graatort  dia- 

Wolglitorglobnto 
IngreiniL 

Weight  of  globato 

■cAle. 

meter  in  incbM. 

in  gnumoM. 

I 

0*0004 

0-00000005 

0*000000003 
0-00000002]  1 

2 

0.0008 

0*00000044 

3 

0'00I2 

000000149 

0  000000096 

4 

o'ooi6 

0-00000355 

0000000229 

1 

00020 

0*0000069 

0*00000044 

0*0024 

00000119 

I 

0-0028 

00000190 

OXX1000I20 

00032 

0*0000284 

000000184 

9 

0*0036 

0*0000403 

OX>0000262 

10 

0*0040 

0*0000554 

0*00000359 
0*00000478 

11 

0-0044 
0*0048 

0*0000736 

12 

00000958 

0*00000620 

13 

0-0052 

00001218 

0-00000789 

14 

0*0056 

O'OOOO 

00001522 
0*0001872 

000000985 

IS 

0*00001203 

i6 

0*0064 

0*0002272 

0*0000 1 47 1 

\l 

0*0068 

0*0002725 

000001764 

0*0072 

0-0003234 

000002094 

19 

0*0076 

00003804 

0*00002463 

20 

o-oo8o 

0-0004437 

0-00002872 

21 

0*0084 
0-0088 

0-0005137 

0-00003527 
0-00003823 

22 

0*0005906 
00006748 

23 

0-0092 

0*00004367 

24 

0*0096. 

00007668 

000004964 

li 

O'OIOO 

0*0008667 

0*0000561 1 

0*0104 
0*0108 

OUOO9749 
0*0010918 

ot)ooo63ii 

27 

0*00007068 

28 

001 1 2 

00012176 

00000788^ 
0-00008758 

29 

O'OI  16 

00013528 

30 

0*0120 

00014976 

000009696 

3J 
32 

0*0124 

0-0128 

00016524 
0-00x8170 

0*00010698 
0  0001 1677 

33 

0*0132 

0-0019034 
0-0021801 

0*00012817 

34 

0*0136 

0*00014114 

35 

0*0140     ' 

0-0023786 

000015397 
0000x6755 

3^ 

00144 

0-0025879 

OBwmokL  Nbwh,  ) 


Chemical  Oomposition  of  Mud  from  Streets  of  London. 


55 


Kaon 


38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 

:i 
:5 

49 
50 
5^ 
52 
53 
54 

60 
61 
62 

64 
65 

66 
67 
68 
69 
70 
71 
72 
73 
74 

76 

77 
78 

80 
81 
82 

f^ 
«4 

85 
86 

87 
83 

89 
90 

9» 
92 
93 
94 

96 

98 

99 

100 


Orenteflt  dl*- 
metar  In  inchea. 


0*0148 
0'0I52 
0'0I56 
o'oi6o 
0*0164 
0-0168 
0*0172 
0*0176 
0*0180 
0*0184 
00188 
0*0192 
0*0196 

0'0200 
0*0204 
0*0208 

0*0212 
0*0216 

0'0220 
0*0224 
0'0228 
0*0232 
0*0236 
0*0240 
0*0244 
0*0248 
0*0252 
0*0256 
0*0260 
0*0264 
0*0268 
0*0272 
0*0276 
0*0280 
0*6284 
00288 
0*0292 
0*0296 
0*0300 
0*0304 
00308 
0*0312 
0*0316 
0*0320 
00324 
0*0328 
0*0332 
0*0336 
0*0340 

0-0344 
0*0348 
00352 
00356 
0*0360 
0*0364 
0*0368 
0*0372 
0*0376 
0*0380 
0-0384 
0*0388 
0*0392 
0*0396 
0*0400 


Ingralna. 


0*0028097 
00030437 
0*0032903 
o*oo3«50 
0*0038230 
0*0041096 
0*00441 1 1 
0*0047250 
0*0050546 

00053991 
0*0057590 

0*0061344 
00065258 
0-0069335 
0*0073581 

0*0077799 

0*0082580 

0*00873438 

0*00922854 

0*0097412 

0*0102725 

0*0108228 

0*0113922 

o'oii98i5 

0*0125901 

00132119 

o'oi  38901 

0*0145440 

0*015231 1 

0*0159472 

0*0166828 

o'oi744i4 

0*0182220 

00190256 

0*0198529 

0*0207035 

0*0215782 

0*0224469 

0*0234010 

0*0243496 

0*0253224 

0*0263228 

0*0223484 

0*0284000 

00294789 

0*0305838 

0*0317162 

0*0328768 

0*0340649 

0*0349739 
0*0364422 
0*0378008 
0*0390138 
0*0404368 
.00417943 

0*0431930 
0*0446162 
0*0460718 

0*0475573 
o*o%65239 
0*0506249 
0*0522069 
0053821c 
0*0554688 


Weight  of  frlobole 
In  gruomea. 


0*00018190 
000019705 
0*00021302 
0*00022983 
0*00024751 
0*00026606 
0*00028553 
0*00030589 
0*00032725 
0*00034955 
0*00037285 
0*00039716 
0*00042250 
0*00044890 
000047638 
0*00050495 
0*00053464 
0*00056549 
0*00059748 
0*00063067 
0*00060506 
0*00070021 
000073753 
0*00077570 
0*00081513 
0*00085588 
0*00089797 
0*00094141 
0*00098623 
0-OOIOJ245 
0*00108010 
0*00112918 
0*00117974 
0*00123177 
0*00128535 
0*00134041 
0*00139704 
0*00145525 
000151504 
0*00157645 
0*00163950 
0*00170422 
0*00177060 
0*00183869 
0*00190852 
0*00198008 
0-00205340 
0-00212851 
0*00220549 
0*00228400 
0*00235938 
0*00244730 
0*00253168 
000261797 
0*00270790 
0*00279642 
0*00288860 
0*00298276 
0*00307900 
0*00317728 
0*00327759 
0*00338020 
0*00348452 
0*00359138 


C'^^emiGal  Oomposition  of  the  M'ld  from  the  Streets  of 

the  City  of  London^  by  Br.  Lbthbby.* 
D7BI50  the  last  twelve  months  many  analyses  hare 


*  OommanlMted  b/  (he  wnthor. 


been  made  in  my  laboratory  of  the  mud  from  the  City 
thoroughfares,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  the  rela- 
tive proportions  of  horsedung  .to  the  matter  from  the 
abraded  stones  and  iron  of  wheels  and  horseshoes ; 
and  the  results  show  that  the  former  material  averages 
about  57  per  cent,  of  the  dried  mud. 

It  was  first  ascertained  that  the  amount  of  moisture 
in  the  street  mud  varies  to  a  considerable  extent,  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  the  weather,  but  it  is  rarely 
less  than  35*3  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  mud  in 
the  driest  weather — the  average  of  ordinary  weather 
being  48*5  per  cent — and  in  wet  weather  it  ranges 
from  70  to  90  percent 

After  all  moisture  has  been  driven  off  from  the  mud 
by  exposing  it  for  many  hours  to  a  temperature  ot 
from  266®  to  300®  of  Fahrenheit,  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  organic  and  mineral  matters  were  as  follows ; 
and  for  comparison  the  composition  of  well-dried  fresh 
horsedung  and  common  farmyard  dung  has  also  been 
determined : — 

Oomposition  of  Mud  from  the  Stone-paved  Streets  of  the 

Oity,  compared  with  fresh  Horsedung  and  Farmyard 

Dung  dried  at  300**  Fahr. 

Mud  from  Stone  paved  Streets. 

Farm-    , * » 

'ord     Haxlmam  Miaimom 

ung.     Organic.    Orgaolc.  Average. 


Fresh 
Constitaents.         Horse- 
Bang. 

Organic  matter .  82*7 
Mineral  matter .  17*3 


69*9 
301 


58*2 
41*8 


20*5 
79-5 


47*2 
528 


1000       1000 


The  largest  amount  of  mineral  matter  is  always  found 
in  the  mud  in  wet  weather,  when  the  abrasion  of  the 
stone  and  iron  is  greatest  At  that  time  it  may  amount 
to  79  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  dry  mud ;  whereas, 
in  dry  weaUier,  it  does  not  exceed  42  per  cent  Taking 
the  average  of  all  weathers,  the  amount  of  horsedung  to 
abraded  matters  is  about  57  per  cent 

The  exact  proportions  of  stony  and  ferruffinous  matters 
in  the  mineral  constituents  of  the  mud  nave  not  been 
determined ;  but  from  the  deep  red  colour  of  the  ash 
obtaining  by  incinerating  the  mud^  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  proportion  of  iron  m  the  mud  is  very 
large ;  and  it  must  have  been  derived  from  the  wheels 
and  horseshoes  abraded  by  the  stones. 

In  the  case  of  the  wood  pavement,  the  amount  of 
organic  matter  in  the  dried  mud  was  larger  than  in  the 
case  of  the  stone  pavement  It  amounted,  in  fact,  to 
about  60  percent,  and  t^e  ash  was  highly  ferruginous. 

Very  probably  the  average  proportions  of  horsedung, 
abraded  stones,  and  abraded  iron  in  the  mud  from  the 
stone-paved  thoroughfares  is  about  as  follows :  — 

Horsedung 57 

Abraded  stone 30 

Abraded  iron 13 

100 
The  mud  was  in  every  case  so  finely  comminuted 
that  it  fioated  freely  away  in  a  stream  of  water,  and  Uie 
inference  is  that  it  would  not  subside  to  any  great  ex- 
tent in  a  sewer  with  a  moderate  flow  of  water. 


On  the  Invariahleness  between  the  Ratios  of  the  Weights 
of  the  Elements  forming  Ohemical  Compounds^  by 
J.  S.  Stas. 
I  HAVB  already  stated  that  the  laws  of  chemical  pro- 
portions are  not  mathematically  proved.  Indeed,  the 
attentive  examination  of  all  the  facts  in  the  science 


56 


Ifivafnablene-ss  between  the  Ratioe  of  Weights  of  Elements. 


J  CnnnoAL  Niwi, 

1  Augwd,  iser. 


bearing  upon  this  subject  has  conyinoed  me  that  che- 
mists rely  rather  upon  the  constancy  of  the  composition 
of  compounds,  than  upon  a  rigorous  demonstration  of 
Wenzers  law,  and  of  Dalton's  hypothesis,  known  as  the 
law  of  mtiUipU  proporiiana, 

I  shall  not  here  examine  Gay-Lussac's  celebrated 
article  ^^  On  the  Mutual  Comhinationa  of  Oetsea,*'*  nor 
Wollaston's  article  ''  Upon  the  Carbonates  and  the  Ox- 
alates "\  which,  since  the  commencement  of  this  century, 
have  served  as  the  experimental  basis  of  Dalton's  hy- 
pothesis. It  is  now  allowable  to  affirm  a  priori  that 
Q-ay-Lussac  has  not  succeeded  in  proving  his  law  of 
volume  as  a  mathematical  law ;  for,  in  fact^  it  can  only 
be  correct  within  oertain  limits,  since  the  law  of  the 
compressibility  of  elastic  fluids  and  the  law  of  the  ex- 
pansion of  gases  by  heat  are  themselves  only  approxi- 
mately correct  The  experiments  of  Wollaston  on  the 
relations  of  oxalic  acid  and  potash  in  the  neutral  and 
acid  oxalates  were  performed  upon  such  a  small  scale 
that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  from  them  if  the  law  of 
multiple  proportions  is  a  mathematical  or  an  approxi- 
mate law.  Even  admitting  the  quantities  to  have  been 
sufficient,  the  principle  relied  on  by  the  famous  English 
chemist— viz.,  neutrality  measured  by  cohuring  matter — 
is  but  an  hypothesis  whose  basis  requires  a  priori 
proof. 

All  the  analyses  and  the  syntheses  yet  performed  are 
quite  powerless  to  prove  the  law  of  definite  proportions 
to  be  a  mathematical  law.  For,  whatever  skill  a  chemist 
may  possess,  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  perform  an 
analysis  or  synthesis  without  committing  an  error  of 
observation.  Now,  hitherto,  nothing  has  proved  that  the 
differences  found  in  certain  analyses  between  experi- 
ment and  calculation  must  be  wholly  owing  to  error  in 
the  operation ;  a  certain  part  may  be  due  to  the  inexacti- 
tude of  the  law  of  definite  proportions.  Then,  again, 
if  the  existing  analyses  ana  syntheses  could  give  an 
exact  solution  of  this  problem,  all  chemists  would  agree 
as  to  the  atomic  weights  of  a  large  number  of  bodies, 
and  Front's  hypothesis  would  be  definitely  decided. 
The  diversity  which  has  long  existed  as  to  certain 
atomic  weights  proves  better  than  any  reasoning  that 
an  absolute  proof  of  the  law  of  definite  proportions  is 
still  wanting. 

The  constancy  of  the  composition  of  stable  cora- 
pounds  being  admitted,  what  is  required  to  resolve  this 
problem  ?  ft  must  be  proved  that  in  binary  and  ter- 
nary bodies,  for  example,  having  each  two  elements  in 
common,  the  common  elements  exist  with  invariably  the 
same  ratios  as  to  weight.  Thus  in  two  bodies,  AB  and 
ABC,  the  ratios  of  the  weights  of  A  to  B  should  be  just 
the  same  in  AB  as  in  ABC* 

It  may  be  seen  that  the  solution  of  this  problem  may 
be  made  independently  of  analysis,  for  to  resolve  the 
problem  it  is  merely  required  to  discover  if  the  ter- 
nary bodies  may  be  reduced  to  binary  bodies  without 
any  fraction,  however  small,  of  either  of  the  common 
elements  becoming  free ;  or,  inversely,  if  the  binary 
may  be  transformed  into  ternary  substances  without  any 
fraction  of  one  of  the  elements  of  the  binary  compound 
remaining  unincluded  in  the  ternary  compound. 

Among  all  the  facts  composing  the  science  of  che- 
mistry, t£ere  is  not  one  which  entirely  satisfies  these 
conditions.  The  transformation  of  the  chlorate  and  bro- 
mate  of  potassium  into  the  chloride  and  bromide  under 

*  Mhnoireset  de  Phylque  de  CMmUde  iaSooUii  d*Arou4il,  rol.  IL 

t  PhUosophical  Traneaetiorm  of  the  Royctl  Society.  xSoS,  xst  part, 
P-96. 


^he  inflaence  of  heat  is  the  nearest  approach  of  any. 
Chemists  who  have  closely  studied  this  decomposition  ot 
the  chlorate  have  observed  traces  of  chlorine  only  in  the 
disengaged  oxygen.  In  the  analysis  that  M.  Marignac 
made  of  this  salt,  he  attempted  to  measure  these  traces 
of  chlorine.* 

For  my  part  I  have  tried  every  means  for  fixing  the 
chlorine  on  red-hot  silver.! 

In  the  hope  of  finding  in  the  transformation  of  chlorate 
and  bromate  of  potassium  into  chloride  and  bromide  a 
solution  of  the  problem  in  question.  I  made  new  and 
lengthy  trials,  but  they  were  all  miitless.  I  always 
found  traces  or  chlorine  or  bromine,  although  I  had  taken 
every  conceivable  precaution  to  deprive  the  chlorate  and 
bromate  of  the  infinitesimal  quantities  of  silica  or  of  for- 
eign metals  which  they  retain  with  the  most  persistent 
tenacity.  I  was  not  more  fortunate  with  the  perchlorate 
of  potassium ;  however  slowly  I  decomposed  it  by  heat^ 
and  whatever  pains  I  took  to  purify  it,  the  oxygen  it  gave 
off  by  the  action  of  heat  was  always,  towards  the  last, 
contaminated  by  traces  of  chlorine. 

Having  failed  in  these  attempts,  I  directed  my  re- 
searches in  another  direction.  It  is  well  known  that 
sulphurous  anhydride  transforms  into  iodide  of  silver  the 
iodate  of  that  metal  suspended  in  water,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  becomes  sulphuric  add.  I  have  shown  that,  under 
the  same  influence,  bromate  becomes  bromide,  and  chlo- 
rate chloride,  of  silver.  The  absolute  insolubility  of 
iodide,  bromide,  and  chloride  of  silver  in  water  acidula- 
ted with  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  possibility  of  recognising 
in  a  liquid  a  ten-millionth  part  of  silver,  of  iodine,  of 
bromine,  or  of  chlorine,  are  exceptionally  favourable 
conditions  for  submitting  the  law  or  definite  proportions 
to  a  decisive  test  For  this  purpose  I  undertook  the 
researches  I  am  about  to  describe. 

These  experiments  were  very  difficult  of  execution 
There  were  two  obstacles  I  haa  to  contend  with ;  the 
first,  which  is  readily  foreseen,  consists  in  the  great  diffi- 
culty of  procurinfi^  salts  of  silver  sufficiently  pure  to  be 
submittett  to  so  rigorous  a  test;  the  other,  which  was 
quite  unforeseen,  is  due  to  the  property  possessed  by 
sulphurous  acid  of  chaneing  under  tne  influence  of  still 
obscure,  or  rather  comjuetel^  unknown,  causes,  and  of 
having,  in  its  changed  condition,  peculiarities  opposed 
to  those  which  it  possessed  before  undergoing  this 
change. 

It  IS  of  course  impossible  for  me  to  give  here  any 
idea  of  the  difficulties  I  met  with  in  the  preparation  of 
pure  iodate,  bromate^  and  chlorate  of  silver;  they  were 
naturally  different  for  each  of  their  salts.  As  the  dif- 
ferent steps  which  I  took  will  prove  very  instructive  to 
those  who  would  care  to  repeat  these  researches,  I 
wiH  relate  very  fiilly  the  means  to  which  I  had  recourse 
to  obtain  these  salts,  and  to  ascertain  their  degree  of 
purity. 


On  the  Microscopical  Exqmination  <jf  Coal  Ash  or  Dust 
from  the  Iflue  of  a  Furnace,  by  J.  B.  Danobb,  F,B,A.S.X 
When  coal  is  burnt  in  a  fiimace  to  which  atmospheric 
air  has  free  access,  a  portion  is  converted  into  gaseous 
and  volatile  matter ;  and  the  incombustible  substance 
which  remains  is  the  ash.  The  amount  of  ash  in  coals 
from  different  localities  is  very  variable ;  it  is  said  to 
range  from  i  to  35  per  cent    The  ash  or  dust  which  is 

*  B(btMMm»0  UniMfOU  de  Omies,  vol  zL  pw  148. 
t  Bech^rchee  tur   le»  EapporU   Ricimroques   dts  Foids  Ato* 
m4qu€9  :  **•  Aiftfytit  ofCMoraU  ^fPoteuhr 
t  i:eftd  before  the  Mooehestw  Litenry  and  Fbllotophleal  Society. 


*^"^  SSr }     On  the  Microscopical  Meamination  of  Cod  Ash  or  Bust. 


57 


the  subject  of  this  paper  was  collected  from  the  flue  of 
my  steam  boiler  furnace,  in  which  common  engine  coal 
is  used  as  fuel.    This  coal  leaves  a  considerable  amount 
of  incombustible  matter.    A  specimen  of  the  dust  is  now 
before  you ;  it  is  of  a  reddish-brown  colour,  and  free 
from  soot  or  carbonaceous  particles.*    When  this  dust  is 
examined  under  the  microscope  with  a  power  of  40  or  50 
diameters,  it  is  found  to  consist  of  ferruginous  matter 
and  crystallised  substances,  some  particles  transparent, 
others  white  and  red.    It  contains  also  a  number  of 
curious-looking  objects,  which  vary  considerably  in  size 
and  colour;  the  majority  of  these  bodies  are  spherical, 
and  when  separated  from  the  irregularly  shaped  particles 
forming  the  bulk  of  the  dust  they  become  interesting 
objects  for  the  microscope.    I  shall  conflne  my  remarks 
more  especially  to  these  globular  bodies.     Some  of  these 
are  as  perfect  in  form  as  Uie  most  care^Uy  turned  billiard 
balls,  and  have  a  brilliant  polish.     The  various  colours 
which  these  globules  exhibit  give  additional  interest  to 
their  examination.   Some  are  transparant  crystal  spheres, 
others  are  opaque  white,  many  are  yellow  and  brown, 
and  variegated  like  polished  agates  or  camelian  of  diffe- 
rent shades.     The  most  abundant  of  the  highly  polished 
balls  are  black ;  there  are  others  which  look  like  rusty 
cannon  balls — some  of  these  have  an  aperture  in  them 
like  a  bombshell,  and  many  are  perforated  in  dl  direc- 
tions.   To  obtain  these  objects  the  dust  should  be  washed 
in  a  bowl  and  all  the  lightest  particles  allowed  to  float 
away ;  the  remainder  consists  of  fragmentarv  crystalline 
and  ferruginous  substances ;  mixed  with  these  %re  the 
polished  balls  described,  which,  under  the  microscope,  by 
a  brilliant  reflected  light,  look  like  little  gems.    To  sepa- 
rate the  spherical  bodies  from  the  irregular  ones,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  sprinkle  some  of  this  materiid  on  an 
incuned  glass  plate,  and  by  gentle  vibration  the  balls 
roll  down,  and  can  thus  be  coUected.    Having  satisfied 
ourselves  with  the  examination  under  the  microscope, 
it  is  natural  thai  we  should  desire  to  know  more 
about  these  novel  objects.     What  is  their  elementary 
constitution?    Why   are  they    spherical?    How  do 
tbey  get  into  the  flue  ?    I  have  not  attempted  a  che- 
mical analvsis  of  these  minute  bodies,  many  of  which 
are  less  than  the  looth  part  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
I  can  only  therefore  offer  an  opinion  as  to  their  pro- 
bable constitution,  judging  from  what  is  known  or  the 
chemical  analysis  of  coal  ash,  and  from  the  appearance 
they  piresent  under  the  microscope.     Referring  to  the 
chemical  analysis  of  coal  ash,  we  find  that  it  sometimes 
contains  silica,  magnesia,  alumina,  sesquioxide  of  iron, 
lime,  soda,  potash,  sulphate  of  calcium,  anhydrous  sul- 
phuric acid,  anhydrous  phosphoric  acid,  sulphur,  and 
so  rietimes  traces  of  copper  and  lead.    The  vegetable 
origin  of  coal  is  now  generally  admitted,  and  doubtless 
some  of  the  substances  I  have  just  named  have  been 
taken  up  by  the  coal  plants,  whilst  other  portions  may 
have  collected  in  the  locality  where  the  coal  was  formed. 
As  this  is  not  immediately  connected  with  our  present 
inquiry,  I  proceed  to  speculate  as  to  the  constitution  of 
these   globular  bodies.       The  transparent  spheres  I 
imagine  to  be  slUcates  of  soda  or  potash ;  the  opaque 
white  are  most  likely  silicate  of  soda  or  potash  combined 
with  Ume  and  alumina;  the  yellow  and  brown  are  sili- 
cates coloured  by  iron  in  different  proportions.      The 
black  globes  are  not  all  alike  in  composition ;  some  of 
these  are  silicates  coloured  by  carbon,  others  are  iron 
baUs  coated  externally  with  a  siHcate.     Manv  of  these 
rusty  cannon  balls  are  probably  ferrous  oxide  formed  by 

•  Mj  attention  was  drawn  to  this  subject  b7  Mr.  JoJinaon,  of  Wlsao. 
In  November,  1866. 


the  action  of  heat  on  the  iron  pyrites  in  the  coal.  There 
are  also  balls  of  black  magnetic  oxide ;  the  perforated 
shells  are  probably  ferrous  sulphides.  The  globular 
form  of  these  bodies  suggests  that  they  have  been  thrown 
off  in  scintillations,  such  as  are  seen  during  the  com- 
bustion of  iron  in  oxygen  gas,  and  whilst  in  a  fluid  state 
they  assume  a  spheroidal  form.  They  are  earned  by  the 
draught  into  the  flue,  and  being  of  greater  specific  gravity 
than  the  carbonaceous  matter  forming  the  smc^e,  they 
fall  before  the  current  of  air  has  reached  the  chimney. 
Some  of  the  dust  has  been  a  considerable  time  in  the 
flue,  exposed  to  the  intensely  heated  circulating  flame ; 
the  reducing  action  of  this  would  probably  convert  some 
of  the  oxide  into  metallic  iron.  Many  of  these  balls 
have  the  appearance  of  reduced  oxides.  The  flue  dust 
contains  a  larger  amount  of  ferruginous  matter  than  can 
be  accounted  for  by  the  analysis  of  coal  ash.  I  think 
the  surplus  may  be  regarded  as  representing  the  wear 
and  tear  of  the  iron  work  about  tne  furnace,  such  as 
fire  bars,  boiler  plates,  &c.  The  brick  work  and  cement 
about  the  boiler  and  flues  may  also  supply  some  of  the 
silica,  alumina,  and  iron  for  these  baUs,  numbers  of 
which  are  merely  thin  shells.  The  movements  of  these 
objects,  caused  by  the  approach  of  a  magnet  under  the 
stage  of  the  microscope,  are  somewhat  amusing,  and  it 
is  at  times  startling  to  see  the  crystalline  objects,  both 
spherical  and  irregular,  exhibit  magnetic  attraction; 
probably  they  contain  particles  of  iron  imbedded  in 
them ;  if  they  do  not,  may  we  not  imagine  that  there  is 
some  magnetic  compound  in  which  the  crystalline 
matter  predominates?  When  we  consider  the  accidental 
condition  under  which  this  matter  has  combined,  it  is 
just  possible  that  some  new  molecular  arrangement  or 
combination  of  elements  may  have  taken  place.  It  is 
very  probable  that  many  of  these  polished  balls  are  much 
more  complex  in  their  elementary  constitution  than  I 
have  stated.  They  are,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  glass,  and 
many  of  them  merely  bulbs.  Pelouze  states  that  glass 
is  probably  an  indefinite  mixture  of  definite  silicates. 
Glass,  containing  small  quantities  of  ferrous  oxides  and 
sodic  sulphates,  when  exposed  to  sunlight,  becomes 
yellow,  and  possibly  some  of  these  balls  may  have 
changed  in  colour  since  they  came  from  the  flue.  Hy- 
drochloric and  nitric  acid  exert  very  little  action  on  the 
ferruginous  globes ;  this  may  be  due  in  some  measure  to 
the  lagh  ^temperature  at  which  the  oxides  have  been 
formed ;  in  other  cases  they  are  no  doubt  protected  by 
an  external  coating  of  some  silicate.  It  would  require 
much  time  and  patience  to  collect  a  sufficient  number  of 
each  kind  of  these  minute  objects  for  a  chemical 
analysis ;  but  the  spectroscope  might  probably  assist  in 
reveahng  their  constitution.  When  time  permits  I  hope 
to  resume  the  subject. 


On  the  Supposed  Nature  of  Air  prior  to  ike  Discovery 

of  Oxygen^  hy  Georob  Fabrer  Bodwell,  F.  C-S, 
XTI.  J.  €•  stiijm. —  John  Christopher  Sturm,* 
although  not  very  notable  in  the  science  of  pneumatics 
as  an  original  investigator,  did  much  to  propagate  the 
discoveries  of  others,  and  to  induce  pneumatical  re- 
search. He  has  been  called  "  2e  restaurateur  des  sciences 
physiques  en  AUemagnej**  but  we  cannot  admit  this 
designation,  both  on  account  of  the  inaccuracy  of  the 
expression,  and  because  it  behoves  us  to  remember 
that  Otto  von  Guericke,  Gaspar  Schottus,  and  Atha- 


*  Born  at  Bippolateiti  In  Bavaria  in  1635,  died  at  Altorff  in  Fran- 
oonia  in  1701. 


58 


Supposed  Natxvire  of  Air  prim*  to  the  Die€ove7^  of  Occygen.    \  ^SJ^  ?^ 


nasiue  Kircher  were  among  his  contemporaries,  and 
with  him  assisted  in  the  introduction  of  a  taste  for 
physical  science  into  Gkrmany.  In  regard  to  the 
inaccuracy  of  the  above  expression,  we  may  remark 
that  the  term  "  restaurafeur  des  sciences  physiques  " 
is  incapable  of  being  applied  to  any  individual  of  the 
period  in  which  Sturm  lived.  A  restorer  is  one  who 
brings  back,  or  induces  the  return  of,  that  which  existed 
at  some  former  time,  but  the  physical  sciences  had  no 
pre-existence,  and  therefore  could  not  be  restored. 
We  may  speak  of  "  the  restoration  of  learning,"  and  of 
the  "  Renaissance  period  of  literature,"  b^use  we 
know  that  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  a  noble  and 

n^'te  literature  had  arisen  at  a  long  prior  period,  and 
been  sustained  by  some  of  the  most  sovereign 
intellects  which  the  world  has  beheld.  We  may  speak 
of  Petrarch  as  the  restorer  of  heUes-UHres,  and  of  Cosmo 
de'  Medici  and  Marsilio  Ficino  as  the  restorers  of  a  taste 
for  the  Platonic  philosophy,  because  an  elegant  and 
refined  erudition  and  a  love  for  the  Platonic  philosophv 
had  prQ-existed,  and  had  for  a  time  been  extinguished. 
But  this  was  not  the  case  with  physical  science;  it  had 
no  Renaissance  period.  In  the  age  of  Sturm  it  was 
new  bom  into  the  world ;  hence  he  cannot  be  called  its 
restaurateur  in  Germany,  but  may  rather  be  regarded 
as  an  indefatigable  and  assiduous  nurse,  who  helped  to 
rear  the  young  child,-  and  to  give  it  a  good  start  in 
life. 

We  have  no  wish  to  depreciate  Sturm,  but  rather  to 
show  that  he  is  not  entitled  to  the  extravagant  praise 
which  one  of  his  biographers  (who  probably  committed 
this  error  of  judgment  ''  quoniam  dilexit  multum  ") 
awards  to  him.  We  do  not  think  that  the  services  of 
Sturm  have  ever  been  sufficiently  recognised  by  the 
world  at  large,  although  they  were  undoubtedly  well 
recognised  in  his  own  country  during  his  lifetime,  and 
in  the  succeeding  period.  Apinus  speaks  of  him  as 
"hie  puaAfffw/tixotafof  et  per  omnem  Europam  longe 
oeleberrimusnaturalis  scientise  Doctor;"*  while  Brucker 
at  a  somewhat  later  period  designates  him  as  "  vir  longe 
doctissimus  et  tum  veteris  philosophiss,  tum  reoentioris 
callentissimas,  quique  experientiam  naturali  philosophi» 
Optimo  consilio  junxerat^  ut  ex  ejus  OoU^o  Gurioso 
constat"! 

The  "  CoUegium  Curiosum "  alluded  to  in  the  last 
sentence  was  a  scientific  society  founded  by  Sturm  in 
1672  on  the  plan  of  the  Accademia  del  Gimento.  It 
originally  consisted  of  twenty  members,  and  it  con- 
tinued to  flourish  long  after  the  death  of  its  founder. 
The  early  labours  of  ttie  society  were  devoted  to  the 
repetition  (and  often  modification)  of  the  most  notable 
experiments  of  the  day,  and  to  the  discussion  of  the 
results.  Two  volumes  of  proceedings  were  published 
by  Sturm,  the  first  in  1676,  and  the  second  in  1685  ;  in 
them  we  find  a  collection  of  the  principal  pneumatic 
experiments  of  the  Florentine  academicians,  and  of 
Pascal,  Boyle,  Hooke,  Otto  von  Quericke,  and  Huygens. 
The  volume,  which  appeared  in  1676,  is  entitled,  '^Col- 
leffium  JSxperimentale  sive  Curiosum,  In  quo  primaria 
hujus  secuU  inventa  et  experimenta  phystco-maihevnaUca 

per    ulHmum    quttdrimistrs   anni    1672. 

VigitUi  natures  sorutatortbus,  &c."  The  "  Programma 
lavitatorium"  is  dated  June  3,1672;  and  Sturm  therein 
urges  that  inasmuch  as  the  age  of  disputatious  philo* 
sophy  had  given  way  to  that  of  experimental  philo* 
sophy,  and  as,  moreover,  scientific  societies  had  been 

*  **  ViUe  Profossorum  Phi1o9oph|a  ^ui «  oondita  4<»demla  Altor^n*.** 
NorlmberfCM,  ijal^ 
t  "  loBtitiitiones  Hls^wUi  Philosopbiov.'*   l^ipslw,  1756. 


founded  in  Florence,  London,  Paris,  Rome,  andVenioe, 
it  would  seem  to  be  desirable  to  found  one  in  Germany, 
for  the  attainment  of  which  end  he  requests  the  colla- 
boration of  the  learned. 

The  dedication  of  the  work  (to  Antonio  Magliabecchio, 
Duke  of  Tuscany)  is  a  good  example  of  the  turgid  and 
florid  Latinity  which  prevailed  in  the  dedications  both 
of  that  and  of  a  much  later  period.  Then  follows  a 
list  of  the  members,  and  a  preface  by  Sturm  describing 
the  object  and  aims  of  the  society,  and  the  first  chapter 
commences  with  an  account  of  the  diving-bell  "  reoens 
inventa,"*  and  described  by  George  Sinclair t  in  his 
"  Ars  Magna  et  Nova  Gravitatis  et  Levitalisy  Next 
follow  chapters  relating  to  the  camera  obscura,  the 
Torricellian  experiment,  the  gravity  of  air,  the  water 
barometer,  the  mechanical  powers,  the  thermometer, 
the  air-pump,  the  microscope,  the  telescope,  iit.  In  the 
1685  volume  (which  is  a  C(mtinuation  of  the  above), 
Sturm  describes  a  modified  form  of  B  yle*s  air-pump, 
which  he  had  invented ;  but  although  by  its  means  a 
partial  vacuum  was  rapidly  obtained,  a  good  vacuum 
was  impossible,  because  a  spring  was  employed  to 
close  the  valve,  which  allowed  air  to  pass  from  the 
receiver  to  the  pump  barrel ;  but  when  the  air  within 
the  receiver  was  much  rarefied,  the  force  exercised  by 
its  expansion  was  incompetent  to  overcome  the  pres- 
sure of  the  spring,  and  the  receiver  ceased  to  be  further 
exhausted. 

Altogether  these  two  volumes  would  seem  to  consti- 
tute a  r.earer  approach  to  a  text-book  of  the  very  sparse 
(but  rapidly  increasing)  physics  of  the  period,  than  any 
preceding  work.  In  addition  to  the  above  Sturm  was 
the  author  of  a  large  number  of  works,  chiefly  mathe- 
matical and  physical 

Sturm  was  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy  in  the  University  of  AltorflFJ  for  thirty-four 
years,  and  in  that  capacity  possessed,  and  exercised, 
considerable  influence  as  a  propagandist  of  the  new  phi- 
losophy. His  own  studies  had  been  pursued  in  the 
Universities  of  Jena  and  Ley  den,  in  the  former  of  which 
the  Aristotelian  philosophy  prevailed,  and  in  the  latter 
the  philosophy  of  Descules.  He  commenced  his  career 
as  a  rigid  Aristotelian,  and  afterwards  became  a  syn- 
cretist,  §  and  endeavoured  to  unite  the  philosophy  of 

*  The  Inrention  of  the  dlvlng-beH,  Is  howerer*  wronsly  tttrlbnted 
to  Bindfllr,  for  H  Is  mentioned  by  Bacon  la  the  ^*  Novum  OrgMam,** 
and  by  the  Italian  mathematician  Nloohu  TartafcUa. 

t  At  that  time  Proreasor  of  Natural  Philosophy  In  the  Unlrerflfty 
of  Glvffow. 

t  Thifl  most  not  be  oonfoanded  with  Its  homonyme,  the  oudtal  of 
the  Swiss  canton  of  UrI,  which  Is  a  town  of  sreater  ^e,  ana  in  the 
present  day  of  greater  importance.  The  Altorff  allnded  to  above  is  lo 
Franconia,  a  few  mil  s  distant  from,  and  ander  the  Jariadlctlon  oC 
Nuremberg.  It  la  mentioned  as  early  as  the  year  912,  i^nd  In  tSaj 
contained  1800  inhabitants.  The  University  was  fbnnded  in  1579  ao- 
oording  to  Lloyd  0*  Diotionariam  Historlonm.  Gcoffraphicom,  et 
Poedcnm,"  1686)  and  Hoiftnann  C*  Lexicon  Unlrersale,^'  169S) ;  and 
in    1575,  aooordinsr  to  ScMlly  (**  Oeoffrftphleal  Dictfo'iary,'*  1787)  and 


Worcester  ('^Oeogr.  Diet,"  iSa* ;  bnt  we  mast  aocei>t  the  latter  date, 
becaase  Aplnas  (^  Yitss  ProC  Phil.,  etc")  gives  the  life  of  a  wofeaMr 
who  la  described  as  holding  ofiloe  in  the  University  In  1575.  Seally  In 


1787  writes  as  follows :  -**  The  line  UnlTersIty  strnctare  consists  tif  a 
buildlnv  three  stories  high,  and  contains  in  It  a  valnable  library,  ui 
anatomical  theatre,  and  a  ohemioal  elaboratory.  In  the  main  body  nf 
It  Is  an  observatory.  .  .  It  now  contains  abont  aoo  stadenlSb**  In 
1809  it  was  incorporated  with  the  University  of  KrUnffen,  nnd  It  thus 
happens  that  one  of  the  earliest  homes  of  experimental  philosophy  In 
Germany  has  ceased  to  be  recognised  or  noticed. 

%  From  ffvy<(B(vci>  to  oox^oin,  cement  together,  applied  to  thoee  who 
endeavoor  to  unite  the  opinions  of  diverse  sects  into  one  system,  and 
thus  to  produoe  a  comprehensive  eoaliUon  system,  and  a  eonse^iaent 
coalition  of  sects.  Eruoker  has  well  observed—"  Pamm  atllltatis 
attulisae  phllosophiie  hoc  syncretismi  stadium,  res  ipsa  et  eventos 
loqaltar.  Frastra  eaim  phlloeophln  vero  anctoritas  bominle  ant  sectss 
prssflgitur,  qan  noo,  quls  dlxerit,  vel  quid  dixerint  phlloeophonun 
prlncipes,  qussrit,  nee  carat,  atrara  coram  eflhtft  salii»rl  queaot,  led 
qql4  Tonim  Sit  modit»tlone  Aw»  Inqairii"    ^ 


Oqsmical  Ninrs, ) 
Auffutt,  1867.    f 


On  the  Manufdcture  of  Garamd  Brown. 


59 


Aristotle  with  that  of  Descartes,  so  as  to  produce  a 
^tem  participating  in  the  dominant  qualities  of  each. 
Ill  this,  however,  he  failed,  and  he  then  abandoned  syn* 
erotism,  and  became  essentially  and  completely  a  Baco- 
nian philosopher.  In  his  thirty-seTcnth  year  we  find 
him  asserting  that  for  a  ri^ht  investigation  of  nature 
the  philosophy  of  Aristotle  is  not  to  be  followed,  neither 
that  of  Descartes,  but  ^e  principles  of  truth  and  reason 
founded  upon  experimental  proof. 

Sturm  was  one  of  the  first  professors  in  Europe — 
"  physicam  scientiam  juzta  cum  mathematicis  pubUce 
dooere."  What  a  mighty  revolution  had  occurred  in 
this  century  in  regard  to  the  tolerance  of  individuality 
of  opinion  and  the  dissemination  of  free  philosophical 
thought  1  Here  we  have  the  Baconian  philosophy  in- 
troduced into  the  very  heart  of  a  centre  of  learning 
without  opposition,  and  with  a  simultaneous  and  ne- 
cessary subversion  of  the  Aristotelian  philosopher.  How 
well  this  contrasts  with  the  intolerance  exhibited  by 
the  Universities  of  Pisa  and  Padua  (always  noted  for 
their  strong  adherence  to  Aristotle) — an  intolerance 
which  drove  from  the  former  University  its  greatest 
ornament  and  glory,  G-alileo  I 

It  is  not  in  the  capacity  of  a  great  discoverer  in 
science  that  we  have  here  spoken  of  Sturm ;  it  is  not 
because  he  exercised  a  markedly  direct  influence  either 
upon  pneumatics  or  pneumatic  chemistry :  but  because, 
by  indirect  means,  he  did  much  for  the  lurtherance  of 
those  branches  of  science ;  because  he  helped  to  induce 
a  permanent  and  wide-spreading  taste  for  physical 
science;  finally,  because  he  laboured  long  and  lov- 
ingly, and  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Baconian  phi- 
losophy. 

The  University  which  he  adorned — "  ubi  mathesin 
et  physicam  summa  cum  laude  et  applausu  docuit " — 
has  passed  away,  and  with  it  the  memory  of  the  man. 
It  would  seem  to  be  forgotten  that  he  established 
in  the  heart  of  Europe  a  centre  for  the  propagation  of 
experimental  philosophy;  it  would  seem  to  be  for- 
gotten how  deeply  he  stamped  his  name  upon  the 
times  in  which  he  lived,  and  now  great  has  been  the 
after-influence : — ^the  letters  are  all  but  obliterated,  and 
it  has  become  necessary  to  grave  them  more  deeply 
before  they  quite  disappear. 


TECHNICAL  CHEMISTRY. 


On  the  Manufacture  of  Caramel  Brown* 
by  Thos.  Shsslooe. 
Caramel  brown  may  be  prepared  in  a  variety  of  ways 
from  glucose,  molasses,  or  cane  sugar.  The  following 
process  gives  a  uniform  and  perfectly  satisfactory^  ar- 
ticle, and  after  having  manufactured  large  quantities 
of  the  colour  and  tried  several  other  processes,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  this  is  the  best. 

Provide  an  iron  pan  capable  of  holding  twenty  im- 
perial gallons.  Provide  also  an  iron  paddle  or  stirrer, 
flattened  out  broad  at  the  end.  about  four  feet  long, 
and  made  light  enough  to  be  nandled  easily.  Have 
also  close  at  hand  three  or  four  gallons  of  clean  boil- 
ing water.  Set  the  pan  on  a  ring  over  a  fireplace, 
and  put  in  hdlf  a  hundred  weight  (56  lbs.)  of  good  or- 
dinary raw  sugar.  It  is  mistaken  economy  to  use  the 
▼ery  conmionest  brown  sugar.  Light  a  fire  under  the 
pan,  and  as  it  burns  up  stir  the  sugar  about  with  the 
paddle.    The  sugar  gradually  melts,  giving  out  puffs 

*  Commiuilottted  by  tb«  aatlior. 


of  vapour,  and  finaUy  becomes  a  viscid  liquid  of  a  light 
brown  colour.  This  is  the  first  stage  in  the  process. 
Only  a  moderate  heat  is  required,  and  the  melting 
should  not  be  hurried.  Now  increase  the  heat  gra- 
dually, stirring  briskly  and  constantly.  The  Uquid  will 
become  thinner  and  darker  in  colour,  and  at  length 
begin  to  boil  vigorously  and  rise  up  in  the  pan.  The 
whole  secret  consists  in  the  management  of  this  part 
of  the  process,  and  minute  attention  should  be  paid  to 
the  following  simple  directions.  Allow  the  melted 
mass  to  rise  up  till  the  pan  is  half  full ;  then  open  the 
fire-door,  throw  water  on  the  fire,  and  pull  it  out 
quickly.  This  should  be  done  by  a  second  person,  the 
actual  operator  stirring  sharply  with  the  paddle  to 
keep  the  mass  in  the  pan.  If  the  fire  be  drawn  with- 
out first  throwing  water  on  it^  the  contents  of  the 
pan  will  inevitably  boil  over,  and  there  will  be  a  cor- 
responding loss  of  product  Continue  the  stirring  till 
the  boiling  subsides,  and  the  dark  brown  mass  lies 
quiet  at  we  bottom  of  the  pan.  If  a  little  be  now 
dropped  on  to  a  cold  plate  or  piece  of  metal,  it  will 
solidify  to  a  brittle  lump,  of  a  clear  rich  brown  colour, 
showing  that  the  operation  has  succeeded.  All  that 
now  remains  is  to  add  sufficient  water  to  bring  the 
mass  to  the  desired  consistence.  The  water  must  be 
boiling  when  added,  and  in  very  small  quantities  at  a 
time.  There  is  a  considerable  rush  of  steam  as  the 
first  portions  of  water  are  stirred  in,  and  care  must  be 
taken  in  utfing  the  paddle  to  stand  clear  of  the  hot 
particles  projected  from  the  pan ;  but  afler  a  few  ad- 
ditions of  water  all  this  subsides,  and  the  water  may 
be  added  more  freely. 

The  finished  colour  is  usuallv  sent  out,  either  as  a 
stiff  paste-like  extract,  in  which  condition  it  is  used 
by  soldiers,  curriers,  &c.,  for  browning  certain  kinds 
of  leather,  or  as  a  syrup  more  or  less  thick.  In  this  • 
last  form  it  is  used  for  colouring  vinegar,  spirits,  gra- 
vies, and  many  other  Uquids,  and  is  well  known  in 
the  drug  trade  as  "  color  fuscus."  If  the  stiff  form  be 
required,  about  a  gallon  of  water  will  be  sufficient, 
and  in  this  case  the  product  should  be  ^t  out  while 
hot  and  put  into  stone-ware  jars^  previously  heated, 
and  standing  on  a  piece  of  wood. 

Fifty-six  pounds  of  raw  sugar  should  yield  at  least 
60  lbs.  of  the  stiff  colour,  and  proportionately  more  of 
the  thinner  kind,  and  wnen  cold  should  dissolve  rea- 
dily in  water,  ^ving  a  clear  brown  solution,  without 
deposit  or  turbidity. 

The  causes  of  failure  in  the  manufacture  may  be  either 
a  deficiency  or  an  excess  of  heat. 

If  the  heat  use4  be  insufficient^  some  of  the  sugar 
remains  imperfectly  converted,,  and  a  muddy  dirty- 
looking  product  is  the  result.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  heat  used  be  excessive  (strong  heat  is  not  required 
in  any  part  of  the  process),  the  mass  becomes  blaclc 
granular,  and  insoluble  in  water — ^in  £ftct,  burnt  ana 


Note  on  the  Bituminous  Schists  of  Vagncu  {Ardichs)*- 

by  M.  L.  SiMONiN. 
This  bed  of  schist,  now  worked,  merits  notice.  It  is 
more  a  sort  of  tertiary  boghead  than  a  true  schist.  Its 
texture  is  compact  and  massive,  hke  that  of  carbonised 
and  compressed  peat  Its  origin  from  peat  is  frirther 
revested  by  Uie  numerous  very  delicate  vegetable  fila- 
ments apparent  to  the  naked  eye  in  the  rock. 


«  CoiQwiaiwted  by  tbe  Mthor. 


6o 


On  ike  Occlusion  of  Hydrogen  Oaa  hy  M€teo7*ic  Iron. 


j  CBUflGAD  VSWB, 

1    August,  1667. 


The  schist)  distilled  in  a  rcTolving  retort^  gives  about 
10  per  cent  by  volume  of  raw  paraffin  oiL  This  oil  is 
decarburetted  in  a  fixed  retort^  and  j^ives,  with  a  lighter 
oil,  a  very  pure  coke  as  residue.  The  tar  is  separated 
from  the  decarburetted  oil  by  means  of  sulphuric  acid 
and  soda,  and  it  furnishes  an  oil  that  is  purified  by  a 
second  distillation  and  a  new  treatment  with  acid  and 
alkali-  The  result  is  a  white  opalescent  light  oil,  of  a 
specific  gravitv  of  0-825°,  »nd  an  agreeable  ethereal 
odour.  The  illuminating  power  is  that  of  nine  ordinary 
wax  candles,  and  the  point  of  combustion  is  158*  F., 
whereas  the  American  oil  inflames  at  113°  F. 

The  yield  of  light  oiliB  $  per  cent,  of  distilled  schist^ 
and  the  secondary  products  are  the  coke  above  mention- 
ed, the  acid  tars,  paraffin,  &c.  The  distilled  schist  serves 
as  a  combustible  for  all  the  operations  of  the  manufao- 
tory;  also,  for  the  same  purpose,  the  lignites,  too  poor 
to  be  distilled  into  mineral  oil,  are  made  use  of. 


PHYSICAI.  SCIENOE. 

On  the  Occlusion  of  JBydrogen  Gat  hy  Meteoric  Iron* 

hy  Thomas  Graham,  -F.i2.iS'. 
Some  light  may  possibly  be  thrown  upon  the  history 
of  such  metals  found  in  nature  as  are  of  a  soft  coUoid 
description,  particularly  native  iron,  platinum,  and  gold, 
bv  an  mvestigation  of  the  gases  which  they  hold  oc- 
cluded, such  gases  being  borrowed  from  the  atmosphere 
m  which  the  metallic  masses  last  found  themselves  in  a 
state  of  ignition.  The  meteoric  iron  of  Lenarto  appeared 
to  be  well  adapted  for  a  trial  This  well-known  iron  is 
free  fi-om  any  stony  admixture,  and  is  remarkably  pure 
and  ^alleable.  It  was  found  by  Wehrle  to  be  of  specific 
gravity  7.79,  and  to  consist  of— 

Jjon 90-5883 

Nickel 1.^50"* 

Cobalt 0665 

Copper 0002 

From  a  larger  mass  a  strip  of  the  Lenarto  iron  50 
millimetres  by  13  and  10  millimetres,  was  cut  by  a  dean 
chisel.  It  weighed  45-2  grammes,  and  had  the  bulk  of 
5-7^  cubic  centimetres.  The  strip  was  well  washed  by 
h  ot  solution  of  potassa,  and  then  repeatedly  by  hot 
distilled  water,  and  dried.  Such  treatment  of  iron, 
it  had  been  previously  found,  conduces  in  no  way  to 
the  evolution  of  hydrogen  gas  when  die  metal  is  sub- 
sequently heated.  The  Lenarto  iron  was  enclosed  in  a 
new  porcelain  tube,  and  the  latter  being  attached  to  a 
Sprengel  aspirator,  a  good  vacuum  was  obtained  in  the 
cold.  The  tube,  being  placed  in  a  trough  combustion 
furnace,  was  heated  to  redness  by  ignited  charcoal. 
Gas  came  ofi^  rather  freely,  namely — 

In  35  minutes 5-38  cub.  centims. 

In  100  minutes. 9*52  *' 

In  20  minutes 1-63  " 

In  2  hours  35  minutes. 16-53  " 

The  first  portion  of  gas  coUected  had  a  slight  odour, 
but  much  less  than  that  of  the  natural  gases  occluded 
from  a  fire  by  ordinary  malleable  iron.  The  gas  burned 
like  hydrogen.  It  did  not  contain  a  trace  of 
carbonic  acid,  nor  any  hydrocarbon  vapour  absorb- 
able by  sulphuric  acid.  The  second  portion  of 
gas  collected,  consisting  of  9*52  cub.  centims.,  gave 
by  analysis — 


»  Seal  before  the  Boyal  Sooletj.Max  16, 1867. 


Hydrogen 8*26  cub.  centims.        85-68 

Carbonic  oxide 0*43        "•  446 

Nitrogen 0*95        "  98  6 


9*64 


lOO'OO 


The  Lenarto  iron  appears,  therefore,  to  yield  2*85 
times  its  volume  of  gas,  of  wnich  86  per  cent,  nearly  is 
hydrogen.  The  proportion  of  carbonic  oxide  is  so  low 
as  4(  per  cent. 

The  gas  occluded  by  iron,  from  a  carbonaceous  fire, 
is  very  different,  the  prevailing  gas  then  being  car- 
bonic oxide.  For  comparison  a  quantity  of  clean  horse- 
shoe nails  was  submitted  to  a  similar  distillation.  The 
gas  collected  from  23*5  grammes  of  metal  (3*01  cub. 
centims.)  was — 

In  1 50  minutes. 5*40  cub.  centims. 

In  120  minutea 2*58  " 

In  4  hours  30  minutes 7*98  " 

The  metel  has  given  2*66  times  its  volume  of  gas. 
The  first  portion  collected  appeared  to  contain  of  hy&o- 
gen  35  per  cent.,  of  carbonic  oxide  50*3,  of  carbonic 
acid  77,  and  of  nitrogen  7  per  cent.  The  latter  por- 
tion collected  gave  more  carbonic  oxide  (58  per  cent.) 
with  less  hydrogen  (21  per  cent.),  no  carbonic  acid, 
the  remainder  nitrogen.  The  predominance  of  carbo- 
nic oxide  in  its  ocduded  gases  appears  to  attest  the 
telluric  origin  of  iron. 

Hydrogen  has  been  recognised  in  the  spectrum  ana- 
lysis of  the  light  of  the  fixed  stars,  by  Messrs.  Huggins 
and  Miller.  The  same  gas  constitutes,  according  to  the 
wide  researches  of  Father  Secchi,  the  principal  ele- 
ment of  a  numerous  class  of  stars,  of  which  a  Lyrse  is 
the  type.  The  iron  of  Lenarto  has  no  doubt  come 
from  such  an  atmosphere,  in  which  hydrogen  greatly 
prevailed/  This  meteorite  may  be  looked  upon  as  hold- 
ing imprisoned  within  it,  and  bearing  to  us,  hydrogen 
of  the  sters. 

It  has  been  found  difficult,  on  trial,  to  impregnate 
malleable  iron  with  more  than  an  equal  volume  of 
hydrogen,  under  the  pressure  of  our  atmosphere.  Now, 
the  meteoric  iron  gave  up  about  three  times  that 
amount,  without  being  fully  exhausted.  The  inference 
is  that  the  meteorite  has  been  extruded  fi-om  a  dense 
atmosphere  of  hydrogen  gas,  for  which  we  must  look 
beyond  the  light  cometary  matter  floating  about  within 
the  limits  of  Uie  solar  system. 


FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 


Group 


PARIS   EXHIBITION  OF   1867. 

(Fbou  oub  Special  Oorbbspondent.) 
V. — Close  44:    Chemical   and  Pharmaoeuiicai 
Products, 


Felix  Dehatnin,  of  Paris,  has  founded  at  AubervUliers, 
near  Paris,  some  large  chemical  works,  for  the  treatment, 
on  a  large  scale,  of  the  products  of  the  distllltftion  of  coal 
tar.  One  would  aoarcely  believe  that  the  quantity  of  coal 
tar  annually  distilled  in  the  manufactory  of  Gosselies,  where 
the  dust  and  small  coal  are  agglomerated  in  the  form  of 
small  bricks,  of  immense  utili^  for  railway  locomotives, 
amounts  to  eight  or  ten  thousand  tons.  It  is  then  treated 
by  another  operation,  and  transformed  into  benzol,  nitro- 
benasol,  and  aniline,  substances  emyloyed  for  the  preparation 
of  the  new  colours,  the  solution  of  caoutchouc,  removal  of 
grease  firom  stuffs,  leather  varnishing,  etc.     The  bonsol, 


Ohbooal  Nkws,  Y 
Avffytt,  1867.    f 


Foreign  Science — Parte  Eochibition  (j^  1867. 


61 


nitrobenzol,  and  the  aniline  of  AuberviUiers  are  mnch  es- 
teemed. The  eye  cannoi  contemplate  without  astonishment 
the  array  of  twenty-flye  bottles,  which  only  fonfa  a  part  of 
the  products  of  the  distillation  of  coal 

The  glass  case  of  M.  Bobinet,  of  Paris,  3,  Rue  de  TAb- 
baye  Saint-Germain,  formerly  President  of  the  Academy  of 
Medicine,  is  distinguished  from  his  neighbours'  by  the  foot 
that  he  sells  nothing,  that  he  gives  away  aii  the  products 
he  obtains— that  is  to  say,  his  numerous  analyses  of  waters 
—and  he  lunits  himself  to  the  task  of  soliciting  new  ones, 
which  he  analyses  in  snocession,  and  gives  gratuitously  the 
results  of  his  analyses  to  those  who  send  the  samples.  He 
even  goes  so  far  as  to  give  bottles  of  certain  waters  to  those 
who^  for  particular  reasons,  would  be  interested  in  knowing 
the  nature  of  those  in  their  neighbourhood;  and  he  bears 
the  expense  of  carriage,  bottles,  fta,  even  if  they  are  sent 
to  the  other  end  of  the  world  What  motive  has  induced 
H.  Bobinet  to  make  so  many  great  sacrifices,  and  to  give 
himself  so  much  labour?  Nothing;  is  more  simple  to  answer. 
He  has  undertaken  to  fill  up  a  void  in  the  physical  history 
of  our  country ;  he  has  given  to  science,  industry,  agricul- 
ture, and  public  salubrity,  a  Hydrographic  Dictionary  of 
France.  There  exist,  undoubtedly,  already,  numerous  docu- 
ments l¥om  which  such  a  work  might  be  compiled ;  but  they 
are  scattered  about  and  incomplete.  The  '*  Qeographicsd 
Dictionary  "  no  longer  exists.  The  work  of  221  pages,  pub- 
lished under  this  title  in  1787,  by  M.  Mothey,  geographer 
to  the  king,  did  not  fulfil  the  required  result  K.  Bobinet 
set  courageously  to  this  task  after  the  work  he  had  per- 
formed as  reporter  to  the  commission  of  inquiry  for  the  di- 
version of  the  waters  of  the  Dhuys.  He  proposes  to  treat 
of  soft  or  potable  waters  in  a  statistical,  geographical,  geo- 
logical, chemical,  economical,  hygienic,  and  agricultural  point 
of  view.  A  first  essay,  already  published,  devoted  to  the 
study  of  the  basin  of  the  Mane,  amply  proves  that  the 
author  will  complete  his  programme. 

In  his  glass  case  we  find  a  hundred  specimens  of  water, 
and  one  of  the  labels  bears  the  number  2082.  In  face, 
IL  Bobinet  has  analysed  more  than  2000  waters  I  His  ex- 
hibition is  only  intended  to  invite  remittances  of  water  f^om 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  We  would  say  that  his  ap- 
peal has  already  been  responded  to,  for  we  find  in  the  gid- 
leries  waters  from  London,  the  Danube,  ^,  and  there  is 
eveiy  reason  to  hope  that  the  geographical  dictionary 
especially  devoted  to  France  will  also  interest,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  most  of  the  foreign  nations.  We  sincerely 
wish  that,  among  the  numerous  pilgrims  to  this  great  ^  of 
n»tion.s,  some  will  not  object  to  encourage  his  work  and 
send  specimens  of  waters.  The  notation  for  the  representa- 
tion of  watercourses  of  M.  Bobinet  is  well  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  hydrographic  and  other  engineers,  his  new  system 
gives  immediately  a  very  exact  idea  of  the  direction,  extent, 
inclination,  and  other  essential  characters  of  watercourses. 
In  order  that  the  remittance  of  water  to  be  examined  may 
be  complete,  it  should  comprise  the  waters  of  the  rivers, 
brooks,  and  wells,  with  the  nature  of  the  S(^  in  which  they 
rise,  drainage  water,  rain  water  collected  in  an  earthenware  or 
poroelain  vessel,  and  drinking  water  from  the  public  fountains. 

We  find  in  the  glass  case  of  M.  Joly,  of  La  Bochelle  and 
Fbris,  No.  13,  Bue  d^Antin,  a  very  original  and  new  product 
— ^viz.,  marine  silk.  M.  Joly  discovered  in  the  eggs  of  fishes 
of  the  family  of  Sebacians  ^the  ray)  that  their  exterior  en- 
Telope  is  formed  of  a  very  close  tissue,  composed  of  an 
infinite  number  of  delicate  filaments  which  are  easily  re- 
moved and  separated.  Once  drawn  out  they  possess  the 
appearance,  colour,  and  finish  of  cocoon  silk,  serving  with- 
out trouble  for  tissues  of  ordinary  silk  or  silk  wad.  The 
interior  of  the  eggs  contains  an  albuminous  white  substance 
which  can  serve  usefully  in  competition  with  the  white  of 
bens*  eggs  for  printmg  on  tissues ;  they  contain  ^  consider- 
able quantity,  as  each  roe  weighs  on  an  average  240  gram- 
mes (about  ^  lb )  The  manufacturing  indust^  of  tissues 
win  certainly  make  good  use  of  these  new  products. 

We  also  remark  in  the  collection  of  M.  Joly: — i.  Wb 


cream  of  cod-liver  oil,  much  more  agreeable  to  the  taste, 
and  more  digestible,  than  the  best  and  purest  ordinary  cod- 
liver  oil.  2.  His  Squalus-liver  oil,  which  M.  Joly  was  the 
first  to  think  of  extracting  from  these  fishes.  3.  Fish-Hver 
oil  for  leather  manufacture.  4.  French  guano,  a  manure 
formed  of  inedible  fish  and  the  dejbris  of  fisheries,  very 
much  sought  after  by  agriculturists,  and  which  is  likely  to 
improve  the  condition  of  the  fishermen,  as  they  can  sell 
with  profit  what  was  formeriy  thrown  into  the  sea. 

The  pharmaceutical  establishment  of  M.  Oh.  GenevoiXj 
48,  Bue  Bonaparte,  was  the  first  that,  thirty  years  ago, 
manufactured  in  quantities  of  a  ton  a  day,  ferruginous  pSls 
and  lozenges.  His  syrups  of  iodide  of  iron  and  his  purgative 
lemonade  are  remarkable  for  their  indefinite  preservation. 
His  gaseous  powder  replaces,  weight  for  weight,  and  with 
much  economy,  tartaric  acid  in  the  preparation  of  aerated 
waters  in  the  gazogene  apparatus  with  two  compartments. 
The  Paris  hospitals  employ  every  year,  on  an,  average, 
10,000  packets.  The  quality,  the  attractive  form,  the  low 
price,  and  exueilenoe  of  manufacture  combine  to  render  the 
establishment  of  M.  Oh.  Genevoix  a  model  pharmacy. 

M.  Emile  Qenevoix,  14,  Bue  des  Beaux  Arts,  exhibits 
feculous  seeds  and  firuits  containing  from  i  to  10  per  cent 
of  diflerent  oils  which  play  an  important  part  in  alimenta- 
tion. Disseminated  between  the  g^ms  of  starch,  these  oils 
can  be  extracted  by  means  of  suiphuret  of  carbon,  chloro- 
form, benzol,  ether,  Ac.  IL  Genevoix  substituted  for  these 
solvents,  firstiy,  carbonisation  by  sulphuric  add,  which,  in 
spite  of  the  high  temperature  produced,  set  the  fatty  mat- 
ters at  liberty,  without  destroying  them,  in  a  state  easily 
soluble  in  menstrua,  or  able  to  be  obtained  in  a  greater 
quantity  by  distillation.  But  this  method  was  too  costiy 
when  it  was  used  on  the  large  scale,  and  it  has  given  j^ace 
in  the  factory  of  M.  Gtonevoix  to  an  industrial  process  which  ' 
allows  the  production  by  tons  weight  of  the  oil  of  some 
fhiits,  very  abundant  and  without  value — ^the  horse-chestnut, 
for  example.  Bought  at  40  or  50  ft.  the  ton,  the  finest 
chestnuts  are  rasped,  submitted  to  a  full  fermentation,  boil- 
ed in  ten  times  their  weight  of  water,  and  transformed  into 
gluoose  by  the  addition  of  2  per  cent  of  sulphuric  add. 
The  liquor,  freed  from  insoluble  portions,  is  submitted  taa 
slow  ebullition,  which  allows  the  oil  to  agglomerate  at  the 
surface  partide  by  partide.  Drawn  oS  and  filtered,  this  oil 
is  sold  to  the  public  without  any  addition.  For  ten  years 
past  the  average  quantity  of  oil  manufactured  in  the  chemi- 
cal works  at  Bomainviile  has  been  600  kilogrammes,  ex- 
tracted from  fifty  or  sixty  tons  of  horse-chestnuts  which 
wore  bought  from  agriculturists  for  2500  to  3000  tt.  The 
wholesale  price  of  the  oil  is  20  f^.  Vegetable  wax  is  sepa- 
rated from  it  under  the  form  of  stearin,  margarin,  &c  The 
water  on  which  the  oil  floats,  when  neutralised,  gives 
"syrup  of  glucose,"  and  "horse-chestnut  alcohol,"  prepared 
for  trade  on  a  Large  scale.  The  fabrication  of  starch  had  to 
be  abandoned,  as  the  supply  of  horse-chestnuts -was  uncer- 
tain and  insutUdent 

This  fatty  substance,  very  fluid,  absorbable  by  the  skm, 
has  a  place  marked  out  in  the  therapeutics  of  the  gout  and 
rheumatism — ^in  lact,  the  chestnut  oil  of  M.  Genevoix  has* 
been  found  very  efficadous,  and  enjoys  a  great  success. 

M.  Genevoix,  struck  with  the  happy  ell'ects  obtained  by 
the  valerianate  of  ammonia,  has  combined  valerianic  add 
with  other  new  base.  Bis  valerianate  of  triamyhne  oontains 
four  equivalents  of  valerianic  acid.  If  the  medidnal  action 
depenas  upon  the  acid,  and  not  upon  the  base,  the  new 
compound  cannot  fail  to  be  suooesstUL 

Poultices  are  attended  with  great  inconvenience  in  oon- 
sequence  of  their  weight,  their  cooling,  and  their  more  or 
less  disagreeable  odour.  For  the  application  on  the  skin  of 
liquid  medicaments,  laudanum,  tincture  of  iodine,  or  fatty 
matters,  M.  Genevoix  proposes  an  impermeable  tissue  en- 
dosmg  a  double  layer  of  swanskin,  which  is  wetted  with  a 
decoction  of  marshmaUows,  linseed,  or  poppyheads,  and 
whidi  preserves  its  temperature  for  more  than  twelve  hours 
at  70*  0. 


62 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exhibition  of  1867. 


J  Chimtcal  Hkivi, 
\    AuqmH,  1967. 


M.  BODCBUF,  No.  9,  Roe  Buffault,  Paris,  the  inventor  of  Bodiac 
phenolf  18  an  old  acquaintanoe  of  ours.  We  have  often 
enough  spoken  of  bim  to  peririt  us  to  say  oolj  a  few  words 
to-day.  Along  with  phenol  he  exhibits  magnificent  speci- 
mens of  phenic  acid  and  picric  acid  manufiactured  by  his 
processes.  Thanks  to  jiim,  the  price  of  phenic  acid  has 
descended  from  loo  to  5  fr.  the  kilogramme;  that  of  picric 
acid  from  60  to  14  fr.  His  perfumed  phenol,  of  which  the 
odour  is  really  agreeable,  and  the  hygienic  and  preservative 
qualities  are  incontestable,  will  vie  with  the  most  popular 
toilet  water  and  dentifrices.  His  phenol  soap  will  certainly 
be  useful  in  the  therapeutics  of  skin  diseases.  It  suffices  to 
comb  the  head  a  few  times  with  a  comb  dipped  in  a  small 
quantity  of  phenate  of  soda,  to  cause  all  pimples,  greasy  or 
dry  scurC  &c.,  to  disappear.  He  obtained  the  Montbyon 
Prize,  and  a  most  favourable  report  was  made  by  M.  Euhl- 
mann  in  September,  1866,  at  the  Mulhouse  Industrial 
Society.  These  honours,  joined  to  his  commercial  success, 
recommend  1£.  Boboeuf  to  the  attention  of  the  jury. 

M.  Scipion-  Dumoulin,  No.  5,  Rue  St  Claude,  commenced, 
in  1820,  by  the  preparation  of  unalterable  ink,  rendering 
forgery  impossible.  This  ink  was  favourably  reported  upon 
at  the  Academy,  by  Vauquelin  and  Deyeux.  In  1842  be 
took  out  a  patent  for  employing  essential  oils  in  a  lamp, 
called  the  ^oaofne^re,  which  was  put  into  activity  or  stopped 
by  means  of  a  cock ;  it  was  a^prelude  to  the  Mille  gazo-lamp, 
which  was  not  posuble  in  those  days,  as  the  lighter  oils  did 
not  exist  In  1852  he  devised  a  carburetor,  a  vase  or  reser- 
voir containing  a  spongy  matter  soaked  in  volatile  essence  for 
extre-carburising  the  g^  passing  through  it  The  means  of 
procuring  the  gas  without  machinery  is  a  secret  discovered 
by  M.  MiUe,  by  which  the  air  or  gas  is  charged  spontaneously 
by  passing  over  the  volatile  matiera  so  as  to  be  rendered 
more  inflammable.  In  185 1  he  communicated  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  a  new  process  for  preparing  picric  acid  by  the  re- 
action of  nitric  acid  on  the  quasi-resin  of  canauba  palms. 
This  forms  picric  acid,  and  another  part  of  the  resin  is  trans- 
formed into  wax  like  beeswax.  The  process  is  carried  on 
with  success  in  several  manufactories  of  Lyons ;  the  picric  acid 
obtained  is  very  pure,  and  is  not  greasy  like  the  acid  extracted 
fK>m  coal  tar ;  it  is  very  detonating,  and  explodes  at  the 
least  shock.  VL.  Payen  repeats  every  year  this  experiment 
in  his  course  of  lectures. 

In  1862  M.  Dumoulin  proposed  to  replace  the  oxide  of  lead 
glaze  used  for  culinary  purposes,  at  the  potteries,  by  a  glaze 
completely  unalterable  by  alkalies  and  acids.  Aided  by  a 
skilful  potter,  he  thought  at  first  be  bad  realized  the  wished- 
for  improvement,  but  it  was  otherwise ;  after  a  short  struggle 
he  gained  the  ground.  He  exhibited  firet  in  1855  his 
liquid  glue  first  discovered  in  1850,  which  Francis  Arego 
presented  to  the  Academy  on  September  27, 1852,  as  solving 
a  very  difficult  problem.  The  process  was  given  voluntarily 
to  the  world  by  M.  Dnmoulin— it  consists  in  pouring  a  small 
quantity  oJf  nitric  acid  into  a  solution  of  common  glue  or 
gelatin  in  its  own  weight  of  water.  This  glue,  of  two 
sorts,  brown  and  white,  is  very  strong,  and  is  employed  in 
private  houses,  workshops,  and  by  jewellers,  clockmakera,  &c. 
Thousands  of  phials  are  sold  abroad.  To  this  liquid  M. 
Dumoulin  has  added  a  cement  insoluble  in  boiling  water,  and 
which  rendered  great  service  in  the  restorations  at  the 
Campana  Museum.  We  may  mention  his  cobalt  green  and 
blue,  which  were  the  firet  in  France  which  really  opposed 
the  blues  and  greens  of  Saxony ;  his  process  of  gilding  and 
silvering  without  the  battery,  very  easily  and  promptly 
effected  by  means  of  precipitated  gold  and  silver,  which 
render  so  much  nervioe  in  the  jewellery  art;  his  new  ink, 
double  black,  prepared  since  1855,  without  salta  of  iron,  and 
incapable,  therefore,  of  corroding  the  pens  or  paper,  possess- 
ing from  the  firet  moment,  and  preserving  indefinitely,  ita 
deep  colour. 

In  i860  M.  Jean-Henri  Chaudet,  of  Rouen,  was  the  first  to 
propose  the  use  of  bisulphite  of  soda  or  leucogen^  for  wool 
bleaching,  which  is  now  universally  employed  in  Franco, 
Belgium,  Italy,  Pruaaia,  and  Russia.    In  a  tub  filled  with 


cold  water,  tlie  first  operation  is  to  pour  18  litres  of  leuoogene 
at  25*^  for  every  100  kilogrammes  of  wool  to  be  bleached. 
The  wool,  Washed  and  scoured  as  well  as  possible,  is  steeped 
for  at  least  three  houre  in  this  bath,  and  left  to  drain  over 
the  tub  so  as  to  save  all  the  liquid.  It  is  then  dried  in  the 
open  air.  The  same  bath  serves  for  any  length  of  time, 
provided  at  each  operation  there  are  added  nine  firesh  litres 
of  leueogene  per  100  kilogrammes  of  wool,  with  a  sufBdeiit 
quantity  of  water  necessary  to  replace  that  used  up  by  the 
preceding  operation.  The  wools  thus  bleached  have  a 
whiteness  which  is  permanent  and  more  lasting  than  the 
bleaching  obtained  by  sulphurous  acid  They  can  enter  into 
the  manufacture  of  tissues  And  other  goods  without  the 
sliglitest  danger  of  injuring  the  most  delicate  colours.  Leu- 
oogene is  an  excellent  decolorising  matter  if  used  in  the 
bleaching  of  vegetable  textile  matters,  such  as  cotton, 
linen,  hemp,  jute,  or  pfaormiom.  It  gives  a  silky  white 
colour  to  threads  and  tissues,  that  cannot  be  obtained  with 
the  hypochloritea  M.  Chaudet  manufactures  annually  140 
tons  of  leueogene,  representing  2000  tons  of  white  wool. 

In  1866  he  conceived  the  idea  of  applying  bisulphite  of 
soda  and  icdigo  to  the  blueing  of  wools.  He  has  rendered 
ffreat  service  to  manufacturing  arte  by  introducing  an  agent 
for  permanently  dyeing  white  wools  blue  by  sulphurooa 
acid.  The  process  is  extremely  simple.  All  that  is  neces- 
sary is  to  add  to  the  ordinary  leueogene  bath  fh>m  three  to 
five  parte  by  weight  of  blue  dye  for  every  100  kilogrammes 
of  wool  to  be  bleached.  The  operations  of  dyeing  and 
bleaching  take  place  simultaneously. 

In  the  course  of  1865-66,  M.  Chaudet  effected  another 
improvement  in  the  industrial  arts.  Up  to  that  time 
diromium  was  only  employed  as  a  mordant  in  the  state  of 
chromate^  in  which  it  acted  the  part  6f  an  acid.  The 
colouring  matter  was  often  burnt  by  the  oxygen  of  this 
acid,  and  the  tinto  obtained  changed  rapidly  when  exposed 
to  the  air.  By  substituting  for  the  chromato  other  salta  in 
which  chromium  acted  as  base,  new  and  permanent  effects 
have  been  obtained.  The  salta  used  by  M.  Chaudet  are 
the  sulphate,  the  nitrate,  and  the  oxalate  of  chromium. 
They  are  employed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  aalte  ot 
alumina.  In  copper  vessels  4  or  5  by  weight  of  sulphate 
of  chromium,  at  62^  Beaum^,  are  dissolved  as  mordant  for 
100  of  wooL  The  liquid  is  raised  to  a  boiling  point  and 
left  to  simmer  for  two  hours.  The  stuff  is  then  washed 
and  rinsed  as  usual.  For  vegetable  substances  such  as 
flax,  cotton,  or  hemp,  the  batli  is  composed  of  a  solution 
of  nitrate  or  oxalate  of  chromium,  marking  i^^  to  3^ 
Beaum^.  It  is  stove-dried,  rinsed,  and  dyed.  For  printing, 
the  ordinary  method  of  operation  is  not  changed,  except 
that  the  acetate  of  alumina  is  replaced  by  the  nitrate  or 
oxalate  of  chromium,  or  the  sulphate  of  alumina  by  the 
sulphate  of  chromium.  With  the  salta  of  chromium  as 
mordants,  new  shades  of  colour  are  obtained  of  a  solidity 
before  unknown. 

(FbOH  OUB  own  COBRE8PONDENT.) 

Paws,  May  28,  1867. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Society  of  Encouragement  on  May  17, 
M.  Treses,  who  replaces  M.  Combe  in  the  secretary's  chair, 
paid  a  high  compliment  to  the  new  steam  engines  of  M. 
Duvergier,  the  constructor  of  the  boata  now  plying  on  the 
Saone  and  Loire ;  he  pointed  outimprovementa  in  the  machin- 
ery and  in  the  employment  of  steam. 

M.  Julien  Caudron,  ropemaker  at  Malaunay  (Seine  Infi^ 
rieure),  submitted  to  the  Society  (Rope  Section)  ropes,  splkses, 
and  knote  of  cotton,  which,  owing  to  their  tested  strength  and 
cheapness,  are  preferred,  for  naval  purposes,  in  some  cases  to 
hemp  ropes.  Experimenta  made  at  the  several  seaports 
amply  confirm  the  hopes  of  the  inventor. 

M.  Payen  resumed,  in  a  rather  long  but  learned  and  inter- 
esting discourse,  the  progress  accomplished  in  the  fabrication 
of  paper,  parchment,  and  the  employment  of  parchment 
paper  for  the  separation,  by  endosmose,  of  the  salts  which 


Chwical  Kswa, ) 
Augu^  1897.    f 


Foreign  Science — Paiie  Exhibition  of  1867. 


63 


bmd«r  the  extraction  and  ciystallisation  of  sugar  contained  in 
juioee,  svrupa,  and  molasses.  A.(ler  having  called  to  mind  the 
pbjaicaf  and  chemical  oomposllion  of  herbaceous  or  woody 
fibres,  he  enumerated — i.  The  papers  of  MM.  Bachet  and 
Marehad,  who  treat  the  sprigs  of  fir  first  by  hydrochloric 
add,  aod  afterwards  by  chloride  of  lime  to  bleach  them. 
2.  The  papers  made  from  seaweed  and  other  marine  plants 
obtained  nearly  in  the  same  manner  by  MM.  Poinsot,  Breton, 
Jbo.  5.  The  luoem  papers  of  M.  Caminade,  the  wild-thistle 
papers,  the  straw  and  sparta  papers,  &c.  4.  Chinese  rice 
papers,  or  those  made  from  the  pith  of  Laruca  paperia ; 
5.  The  parchment  papers  of  M.  Neumann,  at  St  Denis.  We 
s^all  not  return  to  the  subject  of  the  osmose  of  sngars,  as  we 
think  our  readers  are  already  sufficiently  initiated  into  it 

M.  Isambart  had  at  work  two  magnesium  lamps,  the  first 
being  exactly  similar  to  that  of  M.  Splomon.  A  movement 
by  clockwork  rapidly  unrolls  the  magnesium  wire,  which  is 
•oiled  on  a  bobbin.  It  has  the  inconvenience  of  disengaging 
too  much  white  vapours  of  magnesia,  which  for  a  moment 
obscure  the  light  The  second  is  only  a  modified  Larkin's 
lamp ;  and  M.  Isambart  should  not  have  omitted  to  mention 
his  name.  An  ordinary  spirit-lamp  occupies  the  bottom ;  a 
glass  tube  forms  a  chimney  ;  a  small  box  or  recipient  contain- 
ing magnesium  in  powder  mixed  with  50  or  80  per  cent  of 
fine  Baud.  By  turoing  a  small  button  a  cock  is  opened ;  the 
mixture  is  inflamed,  and  burns  with  a  very  brilliant  light  We 
prefer  the  first  light  to  the  second,  of  which  the  intermittent 
aod  unsteady  light  is  intolerable  to  the  eye.  M.  Isambart 
said  that  the  expense  per  hour  of  the  second  lamp  was  about 
3  fr.,  and  that  the  price  of  magnesium  may  still  be  lowered. 
At  3  fr.  this  intense  light  is  not  too  dear. 

M.  Durand  presented,  and  set  at  work,  a  small  model  of  a 
brick-making  machine,  representing  one  of  the  novelties  of  the 
Exhibition,  of  wliich  we  shall  spe^  shortly. 

M.  Julten  presented  a  pamphlet  on  iron  and  steel.  We  do 
not  wish  to  enter  into  controversy  here  on  this  subject,  only 
we  notice  that  iron  and  carbon  do  not  combine;  they  only 
mix  together  as  water  and  oil 

M.  Kmile  Petit  sent  specimens  of  artificial  lithographic  stones. 
We  wish  him  success,  as  the  lithographic  presses  of  MM. 
Kocher  and  Houstiaux  require  for  continuous  impression 
cylindrical  stones  of  a  size  difficult  to  be  found  in  nature. 

M.  Lavollee,  in  the  name  of  the  Committee  of  Commerce, 
read  a  teporton  the  exportation  of  the  habitable  constructions 
by  M.  Bonis.  Two  portable  private  houses  were  sent  out  to 
the  Island  of  St  Thomas.  The  walls  were  formed  of  two 
vertical  and  parallel  sheets  of  scagliola  or  imitation  of  marble, 
the  interior  being  filled  up  with  wood  shavings,  alga  marina, 
Aa  The  ceilings  are  partly  of  m)n  and  partly  of  wood  sub- 
jected to  the  process  of  iijection  of  sulphate  of  copper  and 
tar  afterwarda  The  floors  are  of  imitation  marble,  A;g.  The 
cost  of  the  two  houses  was  45,000  fr.,  including  1 100  fr.  for  the 
carriage.  Their  aspec(  is  exactly  that  of  houses  built  of 
marble. 

M.  Tresoa  made  a  communication  on  the  mechanical  appli- 
cations in  th^  interior  of  mines.  Works  in  mines  require  a 
motive  power,  either  sudden  and  discontinued  or  continuous 
and  slow.  In  the  first  case,  the  best  motor  is,  compressed 
air ;  in  the  second,  water  under  pressure.  As  in  tunnel  work 
there  can  be  no  admission  of  fire,  combustion,  or  the  engen- 
dering of  steam.  Compressed  air  has  been  happily  employed 
by  M.  Sommelier  for  the  engines  used  by  him  in  the  tunnel 
or  the  Alps.  Water  under  pressure  was  employed  by  M. 
Perret  in  the  works  of  the  South  of  France  railways,  to  give 
a  rotatory  movement  to  the  rings  of  circles  of  M.  Deschaux, 
armed  with  diamond  points  for  cutting  the  hardest  rocks. 
The  great  problem  of  the  day  is  the  mechanical  getting  of 
coaL  He  expUuned  and  put  before  the  eyes  of  the  members 
two  models;  one  of  Carrett,  Marshall,  and  Co.'s  coal-cutting 
machine,  the  other  of  that  of  Jones,  Levick,  and  Co.,  of  New- 
port, Mon. 

IC  Chalmel,  of  Paris,  exhibits  a  preservative  varnish, 
used  by  all  the  great  silversmiths  and  goldsmiths  of  Paris. 
This  vaniiah  is  also  very  serviceable  for  copperplate  en- 


graving. He  also  exhibits  au  excellent  green  for  water- 
colour  drawings,  miniatures,  &c. ;  and  oil  of  turpentine  and 
lavender  for  the  vitrification  and  incorporation  of  colouring 
matters  on  marble,  porcelain,  crystal  glass,  &a 

M.  Bourgeois-Bocques,  of  Ivry  (Seine),  has  adopted  a 
singular  method  of  manufacturing  essences  of  wine.  He 
sells  it  in  small  phi&ls  to  vendors  of  natural  and  artificial 
liquids  for  the  purpone  of  giving  the  colour,  aroma,  and 
"  bouquet  ^  of  firstrdass  wine  crops,  and  of  the  best  growers. 
For  example  he  gives  to  the  most  ordinary  white  wmes  the 
perfume  and  taste  of  Sauteme. 

The  widow  Madame  Audouin,  of  Paris,  exhibits  a  species 
of  marine  glue,  which  is  susceptible  of  being  put  to  au 
immense  variety  of  uses.  The  forms  are  very  variable- 
black  glue,  resisting  the  action  of  salt  water ;  red,  replacmg 
minium ;  yellow,  for  staining  wood ;  and  soldering  glue  for 
sticking  together  wood,  meials,  glass,  or  porcelain. 

Chsmioal  ajid  Pharmaceutical  Pboductb  nr  ¥hb 
Biunsn  Sacnov. 
(Fbom  Anotheb  Cobbbspoitokrt.) 
In  giving  a  short  account  of  the  chemical  and  pharma- 
ceutical products  of  British  manufacture  in  the  French 
Exhibition,  our  object  will,  in  the  first  place,  be  to  state 
what  the  substances  exhibited  are,  and  in  the  next,  when- 
ever possible,  to  glance  rapidly  at  the  chemical  reactions 
and  principles  involved  in  their  production. 

We  need  scarcely  say  that  in  a  vast  number  of  instances 
the  Exhibition  has  simply  been  used  as  a  means  of  adver- 
tising goods  of  no  scientific  merit  whatever.  In  an  almost 
equsd  number  of  cases  the  goods  shown  are  devoid  not 
only  of  aO  claim  to  the  interest  of  scientific  men,  but  are 
not  even  remarkable  as  representing  any  advancement  in 
either  manufacturing  skill  or  inventive  resource.  In 
addition  to  these  there  are  many  instances  where  there  are 
no  means  whatever  of  forming  a  judgment  as  to  the  quality 
of  the  substances  exhibited.  We  allude  to  compounds  and 
mixtures  in  liquid  or  powder,  the  true  composition  of  which 
is  a  secret  known  only  to  the  manufacturer.  The  chemical 
and  pharmaceutical  products  form  Class  44  of  the  Exhibition 
Catalogue ;  they  are  contained  in  Gallery  V.  of  the  building, 
and  have  been  thus  classified : — 

Adds,  alkalies,  salts  of  all  kinds,  sea-salt,  and  products 
extracted  fipom  mother  waters. 

Various  products  of  chemistry;  wax  and  fatty  sub- 
stances, soaps  and  candles,  raw  materials  used  in  perfumery ; 
resin,  tar,  and  the  products  derived  therefrom;  essences 
and  varnishes ;  various  coating  substances,  blacking,  india- 
rubber  and  gutta  percha  and  theur  products;  dyes  and 
colours. 

Mineral  and  sparkling  waters,  natural  or  artifidaL 

Raw  materials  used  in  pharmacy,  simple  and  compound 
drugs. 

We  shall  take  them  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  order  in 
which  they  occur  in  tho  Catalogue. 

The  first  exhibitors  whose  case  we  shall  notice  are  the 
well-known  firm  of  Allen  and  Hanburys,  of  Plough  Court, 
London.  They  exhibit  only  two  artides — vi&,  cod-liver  oil 
and  Liebig's  extract  of  meat  Of  the  first  of  these  two, 
ttiere  are  samples  manufactured  in  London  and  in  Norway, 
both  with  the  stearme,  and  also  with  so  much  removed  as 
will  crystallise  out  at  ordinary  temperatures. 

Messrs.  Xllen  and  Hanburys  inform  us  that  they  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  cod-Hver  oil  as  early  as  the 
year  1843,  and  according  to  the  directions  then  recently  pub- 
lished by  Profbssor  Donovan.  They  have  continued  the 
manufacture  regularly  since  that  date,  both  m  London  and 
abroad,  with  only  slight  modifications  of  the  original  pro- 
cess. The  oil  is  of  a  pale  straw  colour,  and,  when  first 
made,  has  a  sea-weed  like  odour,  which,  however,  cannot 
long  be  preserved,  no  matter  how  carefblly  it  has  been 
prepared.  Donovan's  process,  according  to  Cooley,  is  as 
follows : — "  The  perfectly  fresh  livers  are  placed  in  a  metal- 


64 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exhibition  of  1867. 


(  Cbckioai.  Nkwi, 


lie  vessel  and  heated  with  constant  stirring  to  i8o<>F.,  by 
which  treatment  they  break  down  into  a  uniform  pulpy 
liquid  mass.  This  mass  is  immediately  transferred  to  calico 
bags,  whence  the  oil  drains  out;  after  filtration,  while  still 
warm,  this  oil  is  sufSdently  pure  for  use.'' 

Cod-liTer  oil  is  now  so  much  used  in  medicine,  that  it  has 
become  a  highly  important  article  of  commerce. 

In  this  country  we  are  inclined  to  look  with  more  or  less 
of  suspicion  upon  any  name  that  is  connected  with  a  largely 
advertised  medicine.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  the 
lustre  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  names  in  chemical  science 
has  been  somewhat  dimmed,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  by  being  continually  seen  attached  to  jars  of  a  highly 
nutritive  but  certainly  uninviting-looking  preparation  in 
great  favour  at  the  present  moment  with  the  debilitated 
and  dyspeptic. 

This  circumstance,  although  certainly  unfair,  is  absolutely 
inevitable.  There  are  few,  therefore,  who  read  the  adver- 
tisements of  "  Dr.  De  Jongh's  light  brown  cod-Uver  oil,'' 
who  are  aware  that  that  gentleman  (who,  from  the  perti- 
nacious way  in  which  he  has  been  decorated,  appears  to  be 
a  favourite  with  kingly  amateurs  of  cod-liver  oil)  nublished 
in  1843  a  most  laborious  research  on  the  substance  alluded  to. 

That  cod  liver  oil  is  a  valuable  remedial  agent  in  nu- 
merous diseases  of  a  scrofulous  type  is  now  so  generally^ 
conceded,  that  it  would  be  a  wasto  of  time  to  argue  the' 
point.  To  which  of  the  numerous  ingredients  detected  by 
De  Jongh  we  ought  to  attribute  the  active  properties  of  the 
oO,  is  another  matter.  We  need  hardly  say  tiiat  the 
wildest  views  are  entertained  on  the  subject,  especially  by 
medical  men,  whose  chemistry,  as  a  general  rule,  is  dis- 
gracefully defective.  The  subject  is  so  important  that  we 
shall  make  no  apology  for  quoting  the  analyses  of  the 
authority  we  have  named.  It  is  true  that  they  show  weak 
points,  especially  as  regards  the  bile  ingredients;  the 
defects,  however,  are  more  easy  to  point  out  than  to 
remedy,  and,  at  the  time  the  analyses  were  made,  were 
not  80  obvious. 

Brown.       light  Brown.  Pale. 

Oleic  acid  (with  gaduine 

and   two   other   sub- 
stances,)     6978500      7175700      74-03300 

Blargaric  acid 16*44500      15-42100      1175700 

Olyoerine 971100       9*07300      10-17700 

Butyric  acid o'l  5875  —  0-07436 

Acetic  acid o'X25o6  —  0-04571 

Felllnic  acid  and  cholinic 

acid,  with  some  mar- 
garine,    oleine,     and 

bilifulnne 0*29900        0*06200        0-04300 

Bllif^lviue,       bilifellinic 

add,  and  two  peculiar 

substances 0*87600        0-44500        0*26800 

A     peculiar    substance 

insoluble  in  alcohol  of 

0-968sp.gr 0-03800        0*01300        o-oo6oo 

A    peculiar     substance 

insoluble    in     water, 

alcohol,  and  ether...      0.00500        0*00200       0*00100 

Iodine 0*02950        0-04060        0*03740 

Chlorine    and  traces   of 

bromine.... 0*08400        0*15880        0*14880 

Phosphoric  acid. 0*05365        o'0789p        0-09135 

Sulphuric  acid o-oioio        0-08595        0-07100 

Phosphorus 0*00754       o'Oi  1^6       0*02125 

lime 0*08170       0*16780        0*15140 

Magnesia 0*00380       o.oi  230       o-ooSSs 

Soda 0*01790        0.06810        0-05540 

Iron traces  —  — 

Loss 2-56900        2*60319        3.00943 


100-00000    1 00  00000    100-00000 

It  is  not  remarkable  that  so  many  persons  should  entertain 

unsound  views  regarding  the  causes  of  the  efficacy  of  ood- 


Wver  oil.  Dr.  De  Jongh  considers  the  value  of  the  oil  to  be 
derived  from  the  iodine  and  the  elements  of  the  bile.  Others 
have  imagined  its  curative  properties  to  reside  in  the  bromine, 
others  in  the  phosphorus.  It  appears  to  us  that  these  views 
are  sufficiently  refuted  by  the  fact  that  none  of  the  attempts 
to  administer  the  ingredients  of  the  oil  in  a  separate  state 
have  succeeded.  It  is  true  that  it  has  been  attempted  to 
evade  this  difficulty  by  saying  that  in  cod-liver  oil  the  sub- 
stances alluded  to  are  in  a  peculiar  condition  in  which  they 
are  especially  prone  to  assimilation.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
evidence  that  this  is  the  case.  The  free  phosphorus  has  had 
the  credit  of  being  the  really  valuable  ingredient  But  is  it 
absolutely  certain  that  the  phosphorus  in  cod-liver  oil  is  free? 
Unless  we  are  mistaken,  the  evidence  for  the  existence  of 
free  phosphorus  rests  upon  the  fact  that  more  phosphoric  acid 
is  obtained  afler  oxidation  of  the  oil  with  nitric  add  than  is 
obtained  by  precipitation  from  the  liquid  sepifrated  from  the 
fatty  acids  after  saponification.  We  think  the  evidence  for 
the  existence  of  free  phosphorus  requires  to  be  greater  than 
this.  But,  even  assuming  the  fact,  we  think  it  in  the  highest 
degree  doubtful  if  cod-liver  oil,  even  if  of  the  most  absolutely 
correct  "light  brown"  tint,  possesses  any  remedial  virtues 
save  what  are  due  to  the  fact  of  its  being  a  highly  digestible 
&t  oil ;  and  we  consequently  contend  that  the  coloured  and 
foetid  oils  possess  no  curative  properties  that  are  not  found  in 
the  carefully  prepared  and' consequently  nearly  colourless 
oils— nay,  more,  that  the  disgusting  flavour  of  the  foul  fish* 
oil  of  commerce,  by  rendering  it  more  loathsome,  in  the  same 
ratio  renders  it  more  difficult  to  assimilate. 

(FrOH  OUB  OWK  Ck)RIUESPO}n)ENT.) 

Paris,  June  18,  1867. 
The  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers  of  England  held  its  an- 
nual meeting  in  Paris  a  few  days  ago,  presided  over  by  Mr. 
Penn,  the  celebrated  constructor  of  marine  engines.  The 
meetings  took  place  in  the  amphitheatre  of  the  (S>nservatoire 
des  Arts  et  Metiers,  and  many  papers  were  read  and  com- 
munications made  by  the  members.  Amongst  others  were — 
"  Pttddiing  by  Machinery,''  by  M.  Menelaus ;  "  VeniOaiion  of 
BuUdingt,"  by  General  Morrin ;  "  TTu  Flowing  0/  SoUd  Bodiem 
through  Orificu,^^  by  M.  Treses,  etc.  Without  presenting  any 
novelty,  the  subjects  brought  forward  were  listened  to  with 
much  interest  The  scientific  congress  terminated  with  a 
magnificent  banquet^  at  which  200  persons  sat  down.  The 
meeting  took  place  iu  the  magnificent  saloon  of  the  Restau* 
rant  des  Fr^res  Provinciaux.  Among  the  French  celebrities 
invited  we  may  mention  General  A.  Morrin,  M.  Leverrier, 
M.  Combe,  M.  Solacroup,  director  of  the  Orleans  railways, 
M.  Tresca,  &o,  Mr.  Penn  proposed,  in  the  handsomest  tennsi 
the  health  of  General  Morrin,  Messr&  Treses,  Fairbaim,  and 
Stewart,  of  Mancester,  and  dwelt  on  the  cordiality  existing 
between  the  mechanical  engineers  of  JPVance  and  England. 

M.  Pasteur  continues  actively  his  researches  on  silkworms. 
He  is  uow  able  to  state  that — i.  Not  a  single  silkworm,  chry- 
salis, or  moth  derived  from  the  eggs  exempt  fnftn  corpuscles 
presented  any  of  these  microscopic  organisms;  out  of  16  seta 
of  eggs  laid,  not  infected  with  corpuscles,  15  succeeded.  2. 
The  silkworms,  chrysalides,  and  moths  from  the  eggs  obtained 
from  corpusculous  moths  gave,  in  a  noore  or  less  degree,  the 
worms,  chrysalides,  or  moths  affected  with  corpuscles.  M. 
Pasteur  has  also  discovered  in  his  researches  aooiber  terrible 
malady,  which  be  carefully  describes,  and  for  which  the  only 
remedy  seems  to  be  the  renewing  of  the  air  by  a  shaft  IC. 
Le  Ricque  de  Monchy  has  found  from  his  observations  that 
creasote  preserves  healthy  silkworms  from  parasitic  diseases^ 
and  cures  sick  ones. 

In  submitting  to  the  action  of  the  poles  of  an  electrumsgr- 
net,  bubbles  of  the  glycerine  liquid  of  M.  Pasteur,  filled  wiOi 
oxygen,  M.  Ghantard,  of  Nancy,  has  succeeded  in  obtaining 
energetic  attractions,  and  considerable  oscillatory  movements. 
He  produces  a  sort  of  magnetic  pendulum,  which  can  be 
rendered  visible  to  all  by  a  ray  of  Drummond  Ught 

The  lectures  at  the  great  hall  in  the  park  of  the  Champ  de 


GniRCAL  Kbvb,  I 


foreign  Science — Pm^ia  JSxhibition  of  1867. 


65 


Mare  cooitnenced  last  week.  Tlwy  will  be  oontinned  dally — 
at  midday,  2  p.  m^  4  p.  m.,  and  8  p.  m.— on  different  subjects, 
at  the  same  time  exhibiting  and  explaining  varioos  objects 
in  the  palace.  Fdf  this  purpose  special  authority  has  l)een 
granted  by  the  Imperial  OommisRion  for  the  temporary  re- 
moval of  objects  fifom  the  stalls  to  the  lecture  hall  in  the 
park.  ExcufBions  will  also  be  made^  accompanied  by  the 
audience,  to  visit  and  explain  important  objects  in  the  main 
building,  park,  and  reserved  garden.  The  lectures  at  noon 
embrace  subjects  only  indirectly  connected  with  the  Exhibi- 
tion, su€^  as  lectures  on  the  untTersal  language  of  music,  in- 
vented by  M.  Sudre;  studies  of  India,  by  M.  G-iguel,  etc. 
From  2  to  5.30  p  m.  the  attentkm  of  the  audience  will  be 
directed  to  various  objects,  and  at  4  p.  m.  the  subject  is  con- 
fined to  those  in  direct  relation  with  the  Exhibition.  Among 
the  scientific  lectures  wiH  be  one  by  Dr.  Creee  Calvert  on 
phenic  acid  and  other  analogous  products.  The  new  building 
IS  situated  at  the  riglit  of  the  Pont  de  Jena,  next  to  the 
International  Club  building  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine.  It 
holds  500  persons,  and  the  decorations  are  carried  out  in  the 
style  and  with  the  well-known  taste  of  Parisian  omaroenta- 
tiOQ.  The  electric  light,  the  Carievaris,  Druromond,  oxy- 
hydro  lamp  (magnesia),  and  the  millegazo  lamp  will  alter- 
nately ligtit  up  the  interior  of  the  hall 

F.  MOIQKO. 

(Fbom  om  Spsoial  Cobxbspondbnt.) 

TBI  Glass  Company  of  St  Qobain,  Chauny,  and  CSros, 
Jiave  foor  plate  ^astfworks  and  two  manufactures  of  chemi- 
cal prodocts. 

The  Ihctoriee  at  Saint  Gobain  and  Channy  are  the  oldest 
«f  those  belonging  to  tiw  Company.  Their  creation  dates 
as  flur  back-  as  1693.  ^^®7  compri9e  all  the  workshops, 
fhmaoes,  and  apparatos  necessary  for  the  manufacture  of 
mirror  and  nlate  ^sSi  thin  white  or  coloured  glass  for  dwell- 
ings, and  thick  slabs  for  lighting  cellars.  They  also  fUmish 
moulded  glass  of  a  special  quafity  for  laiiticnlar  hghlhouses, 
tiie  eattmg  smL  poUi&ipg  of  whkh  is  exeooted  in  the  woric- 
shops  of  KM.  Henri  Lepaute,  Sautter,  Barbier,  and  Fenestra. 

The  gnat  lenses,  whidi  serve  for  enlarging  photographic 
views  in  the  apparatos  of  Worthly  and  others,  are  made  at 
SL  Gobaftn,  as  was  also  the  gveat  pieoe  of  glass  3  ft  1 1^  m. 
in  diameter  for  the  great  silvered  mirror  of  iL  Loan  Fon- 
oanlt's  teleseope. 

The  glasa  ptetea,  «tc^  oast  at  St  Qobahi  are  sent  to 
Ohaany,  nine  miles  oil;  to  be  poUahed,  silvered,  eta  At 
these  iiumetMio  woiIcb  the  motive  power  for  grinding  and 
pcriisiiing  is  600  horse-power,  partly  ftmished  by  a  £iJl  of 
water,  and  partly  by  steam.  The  polkifaing  powders,  saoh  as 
emery,  Bnglieh  ved.  eta,  are  there  prepared.  The  manufao- 
ture  of  Unfoil  for  silvering  glass  is  also  carried  on  at  Chauny, 
whence  are  snppyed  all  the  mirror  fSsotories  of  theCoinpany. 
Th^  sMke  sheets  of  tinfoil  of  diaacnsioDS  aknost  without 
Ihait^  ellher  by  hammering  and  roUing,  or  by  casting  on  doth. 

The«etabh8hmeut.atCire»-snr-Veaouie  neplaoed  in  1740 
tiie  faetoiy  of  Saint  Qniiln,  and  includes  the  workshops  and 
melting  llumaees,  a  portion  being  sitoated  near  Mis  of  water, 
wfaioh  are  utilised  as  motive  power.  The  plate  glass  factory 
at  Stolbaig  was  founded  in  1853  by  the  Aix^a-Chapelle 
Company.  An  establishment  was  founded  by  the  Company 
at  Uanhefan  hi  1854,  at  the  oo&AiieDoe  of  the  river  ^eokar 
with' the  Bhene. 

Amongst  tim  4ilfiects  exhibited  by  the  Company  are-* 
Y.  Plate  s^asa,  nnsflvered,  meaauiing  ^'93  m.  by  3-64  m.,  or 
21*58  square  metres  iu  superiioies,  and  5*88  m  by  3*60  m., 
or  si-17  aqnare  metres. 

2.  Silvered  mifrors,  5*90  bl  by  3*68  m.,  sorfooe  2171 
«qaare  awtrea;  5*01  vdl  by  3^  m.  ••  18*04  aqoAre  metres. 

3.  Moalisd'ioi^h  g^ass. 

4.  Coloured  and  aventurine  glass,-  ths  laittor  being  vary 


5»  Thin  glass  for  bsdsII  mirrors  and  photographic  plates. 
6.    Diflbimrtpralii«ts,hioludmgalearof  tinfoil,  6  m.  by 
4  SL,  for  silTonBg-tiie  Utfsest  i^asses. 

Vol.  I.    No.  2.— August,  1867.      5 


There  are  also  eight  fine  specimens  of  different  sorts 
from  the  otiier  works  mentioned  above,  owned  by  the  Com- 
pany. The  glass  for  the  immense  plates  described  above, 
was  melted  in  one  single  pot,  capable  of  containing  a  ton  of 
matters  in  fusion,  700  to  800  kilogrammes  being  utilised. 

The  silvering  of  these  gigantic  glass  plates  is  one  of  the 
most  delicate  operations.  For  those  of  twenty  square 
metres,  the  sheet  tin  weighs  two  pounds  per  square  metre ; 
if  it  ii^  any  thinner,'  it  dissolves  the  mercury  before  the 
operation  is  finished. 

For  a  long  time  past  I  have  abstained  from  discussing 
tiie  chemical  and  pharmaceutical  products  of  England,  for 
my  heart  always  foiled  me,  as  it  was  with  pain  that  I  viewed 
the  inferiority  of  the  English  display  in  this  class.  I  cannot 
help  regretthig  their  abstinence  from  our  gaUeries,  either 
from  indiflbrenoe  or  from  other  causes,  inns  inferiority, 
perhaps,  may  be  explained  by  the  bad  light  in  which  the 
objects  are  placed,  so  that  the  daylight  hardly  penetrates  ex- 
cept in  a  triste  and  gloomy  ray.  Several  English  chemists, 
well  informed  of  all  that  has  been  accomplished  latteriy,  ac- 
companied us  to  this  department,  and  found  almost  nothing 
of  nov^ty. 

Trb  ChbmtoalKbws  has  announced  that  one  of  its  oldest 
and  most  qualifled  oollaborateurs  is  coming  to  Paris  to  ex- 
amine the  English  section,  and  bring  to  light  the  hidden 
articles.    I  warmly  applaud  this  step. 

I  am  now  able  to  give  you  the  following  Ust  of  those 
to  whom  the  great  prises  of  the  Exhibition  have  been 
awarded:— 

2nd  Group. — "hDL  Maine,  printer  and  publisher  at  Tours ; 
Gamier^  photographic  engraving,  Paris ;  Sax,  wind  instru- 
ments, I^Euris;  M(Uhitu,  surgical  instruments,  Italy;  the 
Reverend  Father  £^006^1;  meteorologic  a^^ratus,  Rome; 
Ekhms,  astronomical  instruments,  Paris;  Jboo&i^.  galvano- 
j^sttc  work,  Russiflu 

3rd  GhroupH-jRwrrfmoMi  art  fomiture,  Paris;  TheBaocairci 
Company,  for  crystal  glass,  France;  Klagmann,  sculptor, 
Paris. 

4th  Group—f?^  C%  0/  Lffons,  tissues  and  sflk  goods. 

5th  Group— Petiii,  Oandei,  and  Co.,  steel,  France ;  JiesM- 
mer,  manufacture  of  steel,  England ;  Bofinann,  colours  ob- 
tained from  ooal4ar,  Berlin  (^ssia);  Krupp^  steel  workp, 
Essen  (Prussia);  BrmH,  Algeria,  BrUuh  India,  Egypt,  Italy, 
Bsd  the  Ottoman  Empire,  for  cotton  shice  i86x. 

6th  Group— Oini0O<  Oofnpany,  different  machines,  steam 
engines,  etc.,  France;  SisTnens,  gas  ftumaces,  Berlin  (Prussia); 
Whitworth,  mechanical  tools,  Eng^d;  Viguier,  railway  sig- 
nals, France;  Oyrue  W.  IMd,  Transatlantic  cable,  New  York 
(United  States);  Hughes,  telegraphic  apparatus;  Isthmus 
of  Suez  Company  ;  Kindt  and  Ohaudron,  apparatus  for  tubbing 
mine  shafts  and  sounding  apparatus,  Belgium;  ffofmann, 
brick  ovens ;  Napier,  marine  steam  engines,  Glasgow ;  John 
Fenn,  marine  engines,  Greenwich;  Bim,  transmission  of 
motive  power,  ^ance ;  Ihreoti  steam  engines.  Saint  Omer 
(Fnnce), 

7th  Group— if.  Pasteur,  member  of  the  Institute,  preser- 
vation of  wines,  France ;  ffemri  Mitres,  application  of  sulphur 
to  vines;  The  Emperor  of  Russia,  thorough«bred  horses. 

lotii  Group— rAe  Emperor  of  (he  French,  workmen's 
dwellii^ ;  Dufresne,  mercury  gQding,  France. 

F.  lCo»»ra 

(FftOlf  OUR  OWN  C01lKB8P0in>ENT.) 

Paus,  Jane  25,  iS67«. 
Ws  have  seen  petroleum  oU  recommended  in  an  Eng^h 
pi^r  for  the  destruction  of  msects.  The  method  is  very 
effoacious,  hut  Dr.  Saoc,  of  Neufchdtel,  in  Switserland,  re- 
marks to  us  that  petroleum  oil  has  a  more  powerful  effect 
upon  plants  than  upon  insects:  it  kills  them  as  if  by  fire. 
He  saw  a  magnificent  STorfolk  island  pine  {Araucaria  excelsa) 
killed  by  being  doctored  with  petrc^eum  oil,  applied  in  order 
to  Idll  the  insects.  In  tiiis  case  the  remedy  is  worse  than 
the  disease. 


66 


Foreign  Science — PaHa  MLhibUion  of  1867, 


A  joung  chemisti  IL  Berand,  relates,  in  a  letter  to 
M.  Biunae,  how  his  grandfather,  Etienne  Beraud,  was  the 
first,  at  the  works  of  La  Faille,  along  with  Chaptal,  to  con- 
oeiye  and  put  into  practloe  the  oontinuons  combustion  of 
sulphur  in  leaden  chambers.  *'One  evening  in  the  year 
1795,  mj  grandfather  submitted  to  Chaptal  the  following 
project: — A  brick  ftimace  is  to  be  constructed  dose  beside 
the  chamber.  The  fumes  of  sulphur  are  to  pass  into  it  by 
means  of  a  leaden  pipe  three  lines  thick  and  a  foot  diameter, 
and  to  prevent  the  heat  from  melting  the  pipe  it  is  to  be 
surrounded  by  another  lead  pipe  fkiU  of  water,  to  be  renewed 
when  necessary.  Chaptal  made  a  Uiousand  objections  to 
this  process ;  the  draught  produced  in  the  chamber  would 
waste  a  great  quantity  of  the  add  vapours,  and  take  away 
an  tiie  profits  of  the  enterprise.  After  a  long  discussion, 
Chaptal  returned  home  very  late ;  on  going  to  bed  he  could 
not  sleep,  but  was  haunted  with  the  idea  put  forward  by 
his  pupil  and  partner.  Thinking  over  his  objections,  Chap- 
tal found  them  aU  disappear  one  by  one,  and  at  last  so  well 
did  he  approve  of  the  proposal  that  he  roused  his  servant 
and  Qent  him  off  to  La  Faille,  a  quarter  of  a  league  firom  the 
town.  Of  course  he  found  the  place  shut  up  aod  silent,  but^ 
by  throwing  stones  at  the  window-shutters,  the  man  roused 
my  grandfather,  who  put  his  head  out  of  the  window.  The 
man  then  cried  out — *  M.  Chaptal  has  found  your  idea  ex- 
cellent, and  he  begs  of  you  to  put  it  into  execution  the  first 
thing  in  the  xaorning-' "  The  uew  apparatus  had  such  suc- 
cess that  three  years  afterwards  the  two  partuers  divided 
265,000  f^.  between  them  as  profits.  A  portion  of  tiiis  sum 
was  spent  in  the  construction  of  new  works  at  the  Temes, 
Paris, 

The  director  of  the  Dieuze  Salt  Works,  M.  Faul  Bouquet, 
and  the  d^^ctor  of  the  laboratory,  IL  W.  Hofflnan,  nephew 
of  the  celgbirated  profe&^or  at  Berlin,  have  placed  at  our  dis- 
posal 4  complete  memoir  on  the  regeneration  of  the  sulphur 
ftdOL  soda  waste,  which  we  propose  to  analyse  in  snflSdent 
detail  to  g^ve  an  exact  and  d^ar  id^a  of  the  whole  process. 
Soda  waste,  oxidised  in  the  air,  is  transformed,  after  a  cer- 
tain time,  into  two  series  of  compounds ;  one,  insoluble,  con* 
sists  of  sulphate  of  lime,  carbonate  of  lime,  silicate  of  lime, 
silicate  of  aiiunina,  silicate  of  magnesia,  and  sulphur. 
.  The  other  is  soluble,  and  consists  of  polysulphide  and 
hydrosulphate  of  sulphide  of  caldum,  polysulphide  of  so- 
dium, hyposulphite  of  lime,  hyposulphite  of  soda,  sulphate 
of  soda,  and  chloride  of  sodium.  Left  to  itself,  and  to  the 
action  of  rain,  the  alkaline  sulphide  varies  greatly  in  strength. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  add  chloride  of  manganese  con- 
tains, besides  dilorides  of  iron  and  barium,  free  chlorine, 
hydrochloric  add,  water,  chlorides  of  magnesium,  ^umi- 
nium,  cobalt,  and  nickel.  If|  in  order  to  regenerate  the 
sulphur,  we  allow  the  add  chloride  of  manganese  to  react 
upon  the  soda  waste,  or  on  the  sulphurous  vapours  whidi 
proceed  from  it,  an  abundant  escape  takes  place  of  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  gas.  The  presence  in  the  atmosphere 
of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  caused  serious  ophthalmia,  even 
when  present  in  a  small  quantity,  which  made  it  necessary 
for  the  workmen  to  stop  work  for  some  days  occasioiiallv; 
also,  when  the  quantity  of  gas  was  more  considerable,  the 
air  was  infected  to  such  an  extent  that  birds  passing  over 
the  vessels  in  which  the  reaction  took  place,  fell  oom^etely 
suffocated.  It  was,  therefore,  necessaiy  to  produce  a  oom- 
.  bination  whidi,  whilst  it  separated  ttom  the  soda  waste  all 
the  sulphur  it  contained,  would  avoid  the  disengagement  of 
sulphuretted  hydrogen,  or  reduce  it  to  such  a  degree  tiiat 
itd  presence  would  be  no  longer  noxious.  It  has  been 
ascertained  that  if  the  soda  waste,  on  being  removed  from 
the  lixiviating  apparatus,  is  mixed  direcUy  with  a  certain 
proportion  of  sidphates  of  iron  or  maug^hese,  these  salts 
are  transformed  into  sulphides.  The  mixture  is  th^n  heaped 
up  and  left  e:3^osod  to  the  air,  and  is  stirred  fh>m  time  to 
time  and  kept'  wett^ed  by  a  thin  stream  of  water  until  the 
metallic  sulphides,,  absorbing  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  are 
transformed  ii\to  fiiee  sulphur  and  metalUc  peroxides.  These 
last^  in  presence  of  an  excess  of  sulphide  of  calcium,  are 


reduced  afiresh  into  suljphidea  of  in^  and  manganese,  whiob, 
at  the  end  of  a  short  time,  are  again  oxidised  in  their  turn 
by  contact  with  the  air,  and  so  on.  The  oxygen  of  the  oxides 
combining  with  the  sulphide  of  caldum  gives  rise  either  to 
hyposulphite  of  soda  or  soluble  oxysulphides,  the  oomposi- 
tion  of  which  approaches  nearly  OaOSb  Lastly,  the  sulphur, 
being  set  at  liberty  by  successive  oxidations  of  the  metallic 
sulphides,  combines  with  the  sulphide  of  caldum  to  form 
polysulphide  of  calcium  soluble  in  water. 

'Ibe  process  is  now  carried  on  at  Dieuze^  and  is  based  upon 
the  above  observation.  The  experifuoe  of  several  mooihs 
has  practically  proved  that  from  the  2aooo  litres  of  di'oride 
of  manganese  and  the  30^000  kiloa.  or  soda  waste  produced 
every  day  at  the  Dieuze  works.  14,000  kilos,  of  pure  sulphur 
can  be  economically  obtained,  together  with  2,200  kiloa  of 
sulphur  in  the  state  of  sulphides^  770  kilos,  of  binoxide  of 
manganese  at  60  per  cent.,  20  kilos,  of  hyposulphite  of  Ume, 
and  600  kilcs.  of  sulphate  of  lime,  which  can  be  employed 
instead  of  kaolin  in  the  manufiaMiture  of  paper. 

A  very  interesting  lecture  was  given  on  June  22,  in  the 
great  ball  in  the  Kxhibition  grounds  at  the  Champ  de  Mara,  by 
Capum  Craufurd,  B.N.,  F.R.G.&,  etc,  on  the  subject  of  the 
depolarisation  of  iron  ships,  by  the  method  invented  by  Mr. 
£.  Hopkins,  C  B.  Captain  Craufurd  was  introduced  to  Ihe 
assembly  by  the  writer  of  this  article,  under  whose  auspices 
the  hall  was  constructed.  This  inntructive  lecture  was  admir- 
ably delivered  by  Captain  Craofnrd — ^not  in  Eaglisb,  but  in 
excellent  French ;  and  the  practical  experiments  were  conduct- 
ed by  the  Rev.  K.  Hopkina,  son  of  (he  inventoi;  and  illustrat- 
ed by  a  model  of  H.M.  irondad  frigate  NorihumberlandL 
Among  the  aavanla  assembled  to  bear  tbe  lecture  of  the 
gallant  captain  we  remarked  Admiral  lisbroueee  and  M. 
Qossin,  b^  of  geographical  fame.  F.  MoittMO. 

(FbOIC  our  SfBOIAL  CORBBSPOlTDnfT.) 

YouB  correspondent,  when  he  promised  to  go  to  Paris  and 
communicate  his  views  upon  the  ExpoaiUoii,  Utile  knew  the 
task  be  had  undertaken  1 

He  arrived  at  the  moment  of  the  advent  of  tbe  sovereigDa 
of  Baasia  and  Prussia,  and,  for  the  time^  nothing  was  thought 
of  in  Paris  but  tbe  *'  Grand  Prix/'  the  rsview,  and  the  prepa- 
retiona  for  the  entertainment  at  the  Hdtel  de  Ville^ 

It  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  detail  the  grand  sighta  at 
which  your  correspondent  *'  assisted,*'  and  you  would  not  care 
to  know  bow  near  he^  was  to  the  asMsaiA  when  a  cmy^  A 
piaiolH  nearly  plunged'  France  into  a  state  of  anard^.  Let 
us,  then,  leave  these  interesting  but  uoadentiflo  detaiiiv  aud 
hire  a  conveyance  to  take  us  to  the  Kxpositioo.  But  this  ia 
more  easily  said  than  dona.  To  get  a  ooav^anoa  now  in 
Paris  is  a  feat  not  to  be  undertaken  too  rashly.  In  one  of  the 
soK»41ed  comic  journals  with  which  Paris  is  iofosted  (aud  at 
whose  jokes  we  would  weep  instead  of  laugh,  if  the  fluids  of 
the  body  were  not  dried  up  by  the  heatX  t^re  is  a  picture  of 
a  fiunily  on  their  knees  in  the  street  imploring  a  ooachmaa  to 
take  pity  on  them  and  drive  them  to  the  Exhibition.  The 
coachman  passas  on,  noae  in  air ;  then  wildly  exclairoa  the 
ikther  (aa  a  last  resource),  "Take  the  hand  of  ciir  daughter/' 
From  the  difficulty  we  had  in  Paris  to  get  a  oonveyaooe^  we 
believe  even  that  bribe  would  be  insufficient 

The  appearance  of  the  Kxhibition  buUdmg  fh>m  the  out- 
side is,  as  every  one  has  heard,  most  unprepospcwdng.  At  :he 
prindpal  entrance  you  walk  under  an  awning  of  dark  green, 
powdered  vrith  the  Napdeonks  bee&  On  the  left  ia  tbe  ex- 
quisitely decorated  tahn  of  the  Emperor,  on  tbe  right  the  de- 
partment occupied  by  the  Wbitworth  and  Armstrong  guna. 

To  tboee  who  remember  the  two  £xhibitions  in  thia  country, 
eapedally  that  of  1851,  tbe  genei-al  aqyect  of  the  French 
building — whether  we  regard  the  interior  or  e^terioc  cannot 
fiul  to  be  disappohitung. 

Tbe  arrangemen|  in  concentric  rings,  large  as  the  ringpare, 
eflEectually  prevents  the  poaubili^  cl  the  eriafeaice  of  gieat 
Unea,  and  consequently  tliere  is  no  part  of  the  buiiding  or 
grounds  where  the  view  ia  really  graud  or  impnaing.    Now 


CtaBMlOAI.  Kiwt, ) 


Royal  Inatit'Htion. 


67 


w  eowtend  Umt  ftom  the  great  npatation  which  the  French 
have,  not  unjustly  Mquired,  end  the  experience  which  tliey 
hvrt  bad  to  Mp  tbeos  we  have  a  right  to  expect  something 


To  say  that  the  Fren^  Xxbibition  as  a  building,  or  the  ar- 
raapemeDta  aa  a  whoKcan  io  aay  way  compare  with  the  previ- 
ooa  SngUah  oaeai  is  siinply  and  obrioualy  untnie.  That  there  is 
much  in  the  pnaent  ooUectkMi  soperior  to  objects  of  the  same 
daaawhioh  were  in  the  pireyioua  Exhibitions,  00  unprejudiced 
panon  will  attempt  to  deny  {  bat  the  advance  is  not  so  great 
aa  mifht  have  been  anticipate  and  of  the  discoyeiy  of  new 
prine^tea,  or  even  really  new  applications  of  principles  pre- 
▼ioQtly  raaognised,  there  is  scarcely  a  trace. 

To  retom  la  our  remarks  on  the  general  arrangements.  We 
all  know  theunsaMeoiful  manner  in  which  almost  all  the  details 
of  the  English  Exhibitions  were  criticised,  both  at  home  and 
OQ  the  ContineDt  Biiiaveu  poor  Ck>loDel  Sibthorpe  never  (at 
least,  in  our  hearing)  accused  the  Comminioners  of  sacrificing 
the  dignity  of  a  nstioaal  undevtakiag  with  the  view  of  finding 
anraaement  for  those  who  were  too  stupid  to  feel  an  interest 
in  the  eoatents  of  the  building  What  would  have  been  said 
if  withm  our  grounds  we  bad  allowed  a  music  hall  aAer  the 
typa  of  the  Alhambra  of  the  Oxford?  and  yet  the  preoent 
Exhibition  contains  a  eafs  cMmiani,  where  four  or  five  young 
hidios  aingTety  French  aongs,  while  their  audience  drink  beer 
and  amoke  their  cigars.  What  would  have  been  said  if  within 
the  grennds  of  either  of  our  Exhibitions  we  had  admitted 
BieiMfdaon^  show?  and  yet  in  the  new  Exhibition  gardens  is 
a  ao-oaUed  Thidin  Chinou,  where  conjurors  swallow  swords 
and  toss  oopa  and  balls;  but  we  pledge  our  word  that  the 
entertainment  of  the  much-lamented  Richardson  was  decidedly 
iBore  attractive  than  that  oif  his  French  descendant. 

The  straining  after  effect  evinced  in  sending  A.rab8,  mounted 
on  oaroelSi  to  promeDade  the  grounds,  is  upon  a  par  in  taste 
with  the  plan  adopted  of  drossing  the  barmaids  in  the  costume 
of  the  oountry  represented  by  the  refreshment  rooms  in  which 
they  display  themselvea.  It  is  some  comfort  to  our  insular 
▼anity,  however,  to  know  that  the  Englishwomen  in  the 
ordiuary  dress  of  the  period  immeasurably  surpass  in  appear- 
ance their  fiintastically  attired  sisters  of  other  nations. 

Tour  correspondent  (who  has  been  repeatedly  accused  of 
•a  oodoe  leaning  towards  French  things)  nas  no  hesitation  In 
Baying  that  m  the  Paris  Exhibition  the  dignity  of  a  great 
national  undertaking  has  been  sacrificed  to  glitter,  theatrical 
effieo^  and,  above  ^  to  the  great  principle  of  "  making  the 
war  pay  ita  expeosee.^' 

AAer  the  building  is  dosed,  the  theatre  and  refVeshmeot 
ban  remain  open,  and  the  aspect  of  the  place  so  much  resem- 
bles that  of  a  MoMile  or  MoMm  Rouge,  that  really  one  would 
flcaceely  be  aatoniahed  at  lighting  upon  groups  fflustrating 
the  dances  of  all  natiftna  wiu  a  aovipqon  of  cancan, 

Ko  unbiassed  person  of  good  taste  will,  we  are  certain, 
deay  that  iu  gruidemv  repose,  and  dignity,  the  present 
IVench  Exhibitkn,  as  reguils  building  and  arrangements, 
is  inferior  to  both  its  En^h  predecessors. 

If  we  were  asked  what  we  thought  the  visitors  generally 
admired  moat»  we  should  unhesitatingly  say  the  pictures. 
Thia,  however,  is  alwaya  the  case,  it  b^g  obvious  enough 
that  there  are  more  people  canable  of  appredating  pictures 
than  there  are  of  oomprehencung  machmea,  spedmens,  and 
olmcts  Hkkstratixig  the  present  state  of  practical  science. 

Ik  waa,  however,  deckiedly  an  unexpected— shall  we  s^ 
undesiied  ? — ^pleasure  to  meet  so  many  old,  very  old  fiiends 
among  the  ptcturea.  It  must,  nevertheless  be  admitted  tliat 
iujfittitely  more  tact  has  bean  exerdsed  by  the  judges  who 
admitted  the  pictures  (whatever  the  rejected  artists  may 
aay)  than  has  been  shown  by  tiiose  whose  province  it  was 
to'aelect  the  objects  considered  worthy  of  representing  the 
preaent  state  of  chemical  manufactures. 

Wo  ocmtend  that  no  otiject  should  be  'adnutted  into  an 
exhibition  unless  it  has  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  a  diarao- 
taiiatie  appearance  or  property.  A  platinum  still  ir  a 
proper  object,  because,  although  the  pUtinum  might 
poaaibfy  be  impure,  ita  appearance  in  some  degree  enables 


the  spectator  to  form  a  judgment  upon  it,  and  moreover 
its  value  and  beauty  render  it  an  object  of  interest ;  but 
cakes,  bottles,  and  tins  of  blacking,  no  matter  how  good 
in  quality,  can  represent  no  important  advance  in  excellence, 
no  development  of  an  idea,  and  serve  no  purpose  whatever 
save  to  show  the  vanity  and  bad  taste  of  the  exhibitor. 

Wlien  we  think  how  many  beautifhl  works  of  sdenoe 
and  art  have  been  refused  space,  and  how  many  more 
have  never  been  sent,  owing  to  the  modesty  or  timidity  of 
their  inventors  or  makers,  we  cannot  refridn  from  expressing 
our  disgust  at  seeing  cases  filled  with  soda  water,  bcJdng 
powders,  and  bladring. 

In  our  next  artide  we  shall  retiam  to  the  description 
and  study  of  the  diemical&in  the  English  department 

Pabis,  June  15. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  SOCIETIES. 


ROYAL  INSTITUTIOK. 
2W&y,  May  21,  1867. 
A  Omrm  df  Fhw  fsedvirm  on  Spectrum  Analysis  wUh  Ha 
Applieaiuma  to  Astronomy*  by  William  Aludt  ICillbs, 
MD^  UUD,,  Treaswrer  and  F.PJ2L&,  Frofessor  of  Chem- 
istry, King's  CoUegs^  London, 

Lbotttbb  IL 
l^pedra  of  Siw^U  Bodiea,—8pedra  of  Compounds. — Effect 
rf  IhnvercUure  upon  each  of  these  classes  of  Spectra.-^ 
Mode  of  Compariitg  Spectra  with  each  other — Analysis  of 
Artificial  Flames  hy  the  Spectrum. — Nature  of  Informa' 
Hon   Utus   obtained, — Discovery   of  New   Metals   by   the 
Spectrum, 
In  the  last  lecture  I  brought  before  you  three  difierent 
classes  of  spectra— i.  The  spectra  produced  by  the  ignition 
of  solid  and  liquid  bodies,  which  are  continuous.    2.  Tlio 
spectra  of  ignited  gases,  which  are  discontinuous^  or  inter- 
rupted.   3.  Composite  spectra,  the  result  of  the  action  of  the 
spectrum  of  an  ignited  gas  or  vapour  upon  a  continuous 
spectrum  at  a  higher   temperature  which  is   transmitted 
through  the   gaseous  spectrum.      We  have,  therefore,    i, 
apeotra  exhibiting  one  continuous  shaded  band  of  varying 
colour,  from  red,  on  the  one  hand,  to  violet  on  the  other ;  2, 
spectra  in  which  certain  colours  only  are  present,  each  band 
of  colour  being  perfectly  definite,  and  referable  to  the  partic- 
ular substance  by  which  it  is  produced;   and  x,  we  have 
absorption  spectra  produced  by  the  superposition  of  this 
second  olass  of  spectra  upon  the  first 

I  purpose  to-day  to  confine  our  attention  chiefly  to  those 
spectra  which  are  furnished  by  the  incnndeacenoe  of  gaseous 
matter  under  different  conditions — different  especially  as 
regards  temperature;  for  the  study  of  differences  of  this 
kind  is  particularly  necessary  to  enable  us  correctly  to  inter- 
pret the  cbaoges  going  on  in  objects  at  a  distance. 

It  is  a  remarkable,  but,  at  the  same  time,  not,  perhaps,  on 
consideration,  a  very  surprising  fact,  that  the  same  sub- 
stance in  the  liquid  or  solid  ooodition  should  give  out  a  very 
different  spectrum  from  that  which  it  exhibits  in  the  gaseous 
state.  The  particles  of  which  bodies  consist  in  the  solid  or 
liquid  form  are  fettered,  so  to  speak,  by  association  with  each 
other.  Consequently,  the  vibrations  to  which  th^y  give  rise 
are^  of  necessity,  of  a  more  oomposite  order  than  those  which 
would  be  produced  by  the  same  substance  if  it  were  con- 
verted into  the  gaseous  condition,  where  its  particles  not 
only  have  no  mutual  attraction,  but  are  powerfully  self- 
repulsive.  These  ultimate  particles  or  atoms,  in  the  case  of 
simple  bodies — molecules  in  the  case  of  compound  bodies — 
by  the  fact  of  their  being  raised  in  temperature,  acquire  mo- 
tiona  of  thdr  own,  which  they  are  able  to  communicate  to 
the  other;  and  by  these  motions  they  occasion  in  us  the 
sensation  of  light. 


•  Beported  ipedally  for  this  p&per,  and  revlied  by  th«  anthor. 


68 


HoycA  Institaiion. 


I  CtamoAT.  J^Bvs, 


I  shall,  for  ^e  purpose  of  fixing  our  ideas,  project  upon 
the  screen  before  jou,  in  the  first  place,  two  or  tltfoe 
gaseous  spectra  of  elementaiy  metallic  bodies  which 
appear  to  exist  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  sun.  These 
metals  will  be,  suocesslTelr.  iron,  nickel,  and  chrondunL 
The  proportion  of  iron  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  sun,  as 
we  shall  see  on  a  ftiture  occasion,  is  very  considerable. 
It  is  also  probable,  but  not  absolutely  certain,  that  nickel 
is  tbere ;  and  there  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  chromium 
is  present  Iron,  at  first,  will  give  a  comparativelj  feeble 
spectrum.  As  the  temperature  rises,  the  particles  of  the 
iron  will  beoome  more  intensely  incandescent,  and  the 
spectrum  of  the  m^tal  will  proportionately  increase  in 
brilliancy.  Iron  is  a  metal  which  requires  an  extremely 
h%h  temperature  for  its  yolatilisation ;  and  therefore, 
until  the  chazooal  points  have  become  fully  ignited^  the 
bands  are  i^t  to  a{qpear  more  fitfully  than  is  the  case 
with  more  ToUKtOe  metals,  such  as  ane  and  thallium, 
and  some  others  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  examine 
already.  The  bright  bands  which  are  here  prominent 
will  be  some  of  those  to  which  I  shall  haye  to  call  your 
attention  herofi^r  when  we  consider  them  in  relation  to 
the  sun's  spectrum.  As  the  iron  has  now  disappeared, 
we  will  introduce  another  nagnetki  metal— nick^  The 
spectrum  of  nickel  is  one  in  which  we  haye  certain  bands 
in  the  green  particularly  prominent)  and,  like  Iroii,  niakal  is 
a  metal  which  requires  a  yery  high  temperature  for  its 
yolatilisation.  Each  of  these  metals  is  an  elementary 
substance,  so  far  as  we  at  present  know,  and,  as  you  see, 
is  capable,  in  the  intense  heat  of  the  ydtaic  aro^  of 
becoming  conyened  into  yapour.  We  will  next  examine 
the  spectrum  of  chromium.  The  chromium  bands  are  also 
yery  characteristic;  among  them  you  will  obserye  a  number 
of  brilliant  lines  in  the  blue.  These  three  metals  cannot 
be  yolatilised  in  the  heat  of  such  a  flame  as  the  Bunsen 
gas  flame,  which  is  produced  by  burning  a  mixture  of 
atmospheric  air  with  coal  gas,  although  it  is  a  yery  hot 
flame,  and  may  be  used  to  yolatilise  a  large  number  of 
substances.  Amongst  others  ft  yolatilises  the  metals  of 
the  earths  and  of  the  idkalies  and  most  of  their  coso- 
pounds ;  but  it  does  not  yolatilise  the  metals  which  belong 
to  the  class  with  which  we  are  at  present  engaged.  The 
spectra  produced  by  the  ignition  of  the  elementary  bodies 
are  diirerent  from  tiiose  fornished  by  the  compounds  of  the 
some  bodies.  Many  of  these  compound  substances,  if 
heated  to  a  temperature  not  suiBdent  to  decompose  tiiem, 
exhibit  peculiar  spectra.  The  number  of  compound 
bodies,  howeyer,  which  can  be  so  conyerted  into  yapour  in 
a  common  fla&ie  without  undergoing  decomposition,  is 
comparatiyely  smalL  Metallic  sodium  has  its  own  peciiliar 
spectrum,  which  I  haye  already  shown  you ;  there  is  also 
a  spectrum  of  potassium  equally  characteristic^  and  tiiese 
appear  when  the  compounds  of  sodium  and  potassium  are 
decomposed  by  heat  without  snedal  precautions.  But  if 
you  yolatifise  the  chlorides  of  these  substances  in  an 
atmosphere  of  chlorine,  the  characteristic  spectra  of  these 
metals  will  disappear  altogether.  This  is  an  experiment 
that  I  do  not  yenture  to  make  here  on  account  of  the 
extremely  irritating  nature  of  the  fumes.  Indeed,  I  am 
not  able  to  project  upon  the  screen  directly  the  spectra 
of  compound  boidios,  and  for  a  reason  which  will  be  at 
once  understood.  The  temperature  which  is  required  for 
a  sufficient  ignition  to  enable  us  to  project  any  spectrum 
upon  the  screen  is  exceedingly  high,  fSur  beyond  any  that  we 
can  attahi  m  our  furnaces,  so  that  the  yery  act  of  produc- 
ing a  sufficient  heat  to  render  them  luminous  enough  to  be 
seen  by  a  large  audience  would  be  attended  with  the  aeloal 
separation  of  their  constituents,  and  the  de8tru<^on  of  the 
compounds  themselyes  as  compounds. 

I  shall,  therefore,  in  order  to  giye  you  some  idea  of  the 
difference  between  the  spectra  of  the  elements  and  their 
compounds,  ask  you  to  look  at  a  photogmph  reptesedtf  ng 
the  spectra  of  certain  compound  substances.  I  haye  selected 
the  spectra  produced  by  the  oompounda  of  copper,  because 


they  resist  a  higher  tempentare  than  noBt' ethers  wIUkniI 
undergoing  decomposition,  and  an  60iiseqtMMly  SfSBOBgst 
those  most  easily  obserred.  Ontiiispliotogtaph^wn'Me 
a  representation  of  three  spectra,  placed  one  oyer  the  oAev. 
The  uppermost  is  tiie  spectram  of  metallk  copper;  the 
second  is  the  spectrum  or  cnprfe  <flilcvrfde,  ^  the  oompoond 
of  copper  with  dilorine ;  and  the  ttdrd  is  that  of  eufivic 
iodide,  or  the  compound  of  copper  with  iodtoe.  Ton  "wHI 
obserye  certain  Imes  in  tfie  yAkm  and  the  gremi,  ^«Moh 
are  pretty  constant  in  them  aD.  In  the  second  spectmn,  ekar- 
acterised  by  Hues  in  the  bine,  we  see  the  eiftet  prsidaood 
by  the  combhiation  of  dilorine  with  the  copper;  and  this 
is  agam  different  from  the  spectram  of  the  todidSk  Whiea 
Bunsen  and  Kirdihoff  first  made  their  expeiteents  upon  the 
yolatilisation  of  bodies  in  the  flames  upon  whi<A  they  ««• 
perimented,  they  oondnded  that,  whaleryer  the  temperatare 
employed,  the  same  spectram  was  always  produced  \ff  tfie 
same  substance.  That  stateoient  lM»  since,  howeyer,  been 
ascertained  not  to  be  abeoluteiy  corred.  An  etoaeafiy 
body  may  be  heated  throfugh  a  yery  wide  range  of  teaiper' 
ature  without  experiencing  any  diange  In  fts  9pectaruBB,'lNit 
at  a  yery  high  temperature  new  lines  not  preyiousiy  ob- 
served often  moke  their  appearance.  I  am  indeMed  to  my 
friend,  Mr.  Grookes,  tiie  discoveief  of  thallium,  for  the  kMn 
of  this  diagram  representing  the  spectram  of  the  bmCsI  at 
an  intense  heat,  and  also  for  some  specimens  of  tlMlBttin 
Itself.  Here  is  a  bar  of  tiallinm,  the  body  of  wMeh  I  nm 
now  speaking,  of  between  two  and  three  pounds  hi  weiglitw 
It  is  one  of  (he  rare  metalHd  elementary  bodies  recently 
disooyered  by  the  appHoation  of  this  method  of  spectram 
analysis.  The  ordiuary  spectrum  of  thallium  exMUts  a 
single  strong  band  in  the  green ;  but  when  the  Cleetric 
spark  is  sent  between  two  t&Dium  wires,  supported  on  a 
suitable  hisnlating  stand,  If  the  light  of  this  spark  be  ex- 
amined by  the  spectrosoope---an  instraraent  the  plan  of 
which  I  shall  presentiy  haye  to  explain— not  only  does  tbe 
brilliant  green  band  come  oat,  but  a  serfes  of  others  are 
produced,  especially  in  the  more  lefrangibie  part  of  the 
spectrum,  in  consequence  of  the  intense  heat  of  the  eleetric 
spark.  Seyeral  other  bodlee  show  the  same  phenomeBon, 
and  exhibit  additional  lines  in  the  more  reftangible  poftkm 
of  the  spectrum  when  the  temperature  is  suffldently  raised. 

lAthium  offers  an  example  of  this  kind.  This  metal 
presents  a  singular  characteristic  Une— riz.,  a  brilliant  crim- 
son band — ^which  is  brought  out  at  moderate  tempefratwrea ; 
but  tiiere  is  another,  a  fainter  line,  hi  the  orange,  wMdi 
requires  a  higher  temperature  for  its  deyelopment;  and, 
lasUy,  a  yeiy  brilliant  band  in  the  blue,  which  requiras  a 
still  higher  heat  such  as  that  of  Jthe  yottaie  ara  I  beHere 
the  first  time  this  blue  band  was  seen  was  in  the  theatre  of 
this  Institution  at  a  lecture  i>y  Dr.  TyndalL  I  hare  here  in 
one  of  these  diagrams  a  representation  of  the  spectnim  of 
lithium  indicating  the  blue  line,  whidi  we  ^hali  presentiy 
see,  in  addition  to  the  two  fines  in  19ie  red  and  tiie  orange 
usually  seen  in  the  lithium  qiectram.  The  orange  line  te, 
indeed,  a  littie  too  bright  hi  comparison  with  the  other 
when  seen  by  the  gas  flmne.  [The  green  line  of  thaOium 
was  produced.]  T%at  is  the  beantilVil  green  Ifaie  of  thallium 
when  heated  m  the  ydtalc  arc ;  and  if  I  CooM  produce  n 
suffidentiy  Intense  heat,  by  sending  an  electric  spark  be- 
tween wires  of  this  metal,  to  project  the  light  on  the  screen, 
a  large  number  of  other  Ifaiee,  whidi  are  not  now  yiaiblei, 
would  be  deyeloped  in  the  still  higher  temperature  tims  cb- 
tuned.  Althou^  in  the  yottaic  arc  we  haye  a  most  intense 
heat,  the  temperature  is  not  suffident  to  cause  the  thafflnm 
to  ^rate  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  more  than  a  sIMIe 
fine.  The  lithium  at  the  same  temperature  wfli  acquire  &e 
power  of  produdng  an  additional  number  of  yibrattona  cT 
increased  frequency,  so  tliat  we  shall  Iiaye  at  least  three 
distinct  bandit— a  band  in  the  red,  a  band  In  tiie  orange,'and 
another  in  the  blue.    [Lithium  spe(^rum  shown.] 

Hitherto  I  haye  taken  the  substances  in  their  meldlio 
state,  but  I  wish  to  show  you,  in  tiie  next  place,  tluit  if  we 
take  certain  bodies  hi  their  oompomd  coudftion  we  m^y 


^fl^MI^  Mfm» 


JRoyvA  In^ution. 


69 


the 


I  Aom  eAcb  olber  in  the  flame  of 
SVurmrtiwioe^ii^uuilH^of  tekiii«  metaUio 
,  I  teke  a  ooHpomA  of  bad— a  with  ohlorme,  and 
hM^llMii  stroBgt^  ift  thelamp^  the  <dikirioa  aod  tbe  bariam 
at  tbal  vwry  elerated  lemperatura  Will  bo  ieperatod  from 
eaok  olher ;  Ifao  baiinm  wiB  bo  eooreitod  into  vapour,  emd 
wo  aball  obtam  from  tbo  MotaL  ita  ohaaaeleriBtio  series  of 
bmda,  the  dilorae  qpeotnini  behiir  80  faint,  as  to  elude  our 
ob— ialion  mder  theae  eivoamataiioea  [Barium  spectrum 
fWim  ohlofridd  of  bariuai  ahown.]  I  must  request  jon  to. 
bear  im  wSaad  tin  pooMtii  of  theae  banda^  as  I  am  about 
to  take  aaotfaer  oompond  eC  barium  in  onier  to  demoar 
atmta the &et  that  weave  here leaily  dealiog  with  barium 
Uoalf.  We  before  had  the  ehbrida  Now  I  take  the  caiw 
booate  of  the  same  substauoa,  and  thia  eari>oiiate  will  at  the 
aame  temperature  be  reaelTed  into  barinm  on  the  one  band, 
whiehleibe  p^owkig  gaa  from  whidi  that  spectrum  was 
produoed,  and  into  other  bodies  wfakh  giTO  out  oompan^ 
tmlj  Ihfele  light)  and  whkfa,  therefoae,  oocaaion  no  inter- 
feranae  with  the  leenlta.  [Speotruai  of  carix>nate  of  barium 
shown.]  Ton  seethe  apeetrum  is  not  quite  00  bright  aa 
the  kat,  for  tiie  reason  that  the  oariiouate  is  not  a  body 
whidi  is  so  eomplete^  and  easflj  Tolstilisable  as  the 
cfakvide.  The  chloride  is  a  anbetanoe  whi^  like  most 
chlorides,  is  readily  volatittaed  bj  a  moderate  heat  The 
OMbaante  is  a  body  whacii^  at  a  high  temperature,  becomes 
deoomposed.  It  gives  off  its  cariaonks  acid  and  produoea 
bafyta,  and  that  baryta,  in  the  foona  of  heat  wliich  wehave 
hen^  is  undergoiiig  deeompositwn.  Its  oxygen  ia  being 
aepantod  fkom  it  just  ma,  when  oxide  of  mercury  is  mod* 
eiataly  heated  in  a  spirit  of  flame,  we  can  separate  that 
into  ita  components— Hneronry  on  the  one  hand,  and  oxygen 
on  the  other.  So  it  is  here  with  baryta;  in  the  intense  heat 
of  tiie  vchafe  arc,  the  barinm  and  the  oxygen  are  becoming 
amialed  from  eaoh  other. 

1  wantyou,  then,  to  draw  a  dMnotion— fbr  ii  is  a  very 
important  one— between  the  spectra  of  compounds  and  the 
spectra  of  sinqile  tedies.  It  has  been  observed  that  the 
q»eelmm  of  a  compound  body  generally  exhibits  a  series 
of  broad  bands,  whilst  ui  the  case  of  dementary  bodies  the 
charaoterietic  qiectra  consist  of  sharpy  narrow,  Inrigfat  lines. 

I  sti^ed  just  now  that  when  compound  bodies  were 
decomposed  in  the  veitale  arC|  their  gaseous  oonstituonta, 
aa  they  diaappaared^  produeed  little  or  no  effect  upon  the 
but  you  are  not  from  that  to  conclude  that  a 
I  body — ^I  mean  a  permanently  gaseous  body,  such 
an  oxygen  or  nitrogen— ia  not  capable  of  producing  a 
speotmm.  It  dees  giv»a  speetrum,  but  one  of  very  much 
leaa  brilliancy  and  intensity  of  lig^t  than  metallic  bodies 
SQoh  aa  I  have  been  showing  yon.  I  wish  to  make  this 
msorifsst^  hot  I  oaunot  throw  the  spectra  of  these  gAaes  on 
the  smeen^  They  are  so  very  foint  that^  if  I  were  to  attempt 
topradnoe  them,  they  would  be  invisible  at  a  distance.  But 
I  HMst  show  you  an  ingenious  way  in  which  this  difficulty 
has  keen  overcome  b^  Pluoker,  who  has  succeeded  in 
oMalnSng  such  spectra  m  a  form  in  which  he  could  analyse 
tkefe  light  by  the  priam;  and  thus  he  has  not  only  been 
nUa  to  distinguish  one  gaseous  body  from  another,  but 
even  to  measure  the  distances  between  the  different  lines 
of  each  and  make  maps  of  the  spectra  of  these  various 
bodisft.  Ben  I  have  four  glass  tnbes,  each  containing  a 
ditRBBent  elementary  gas.  These  tubes  have  been  made  in 
a  partienlar  manner,  in  order  that* we  may  be  able  suf- 
ftoMitiy  to  oenoentrate  the  heat  of  the  electric  spark 
in  ks  passage  through  them  to  render  the  gas  luminous. 
Basil  of  tiiese  tubes  oonsists  of  two  somewhat  wide  por- 
tkms  separated  by  a  narrow  thermometer-like  tube  in  the 
middle.  AM  each  end  is  a  platinum  wire  melted  into 
tbs  glass,  and  there  ia  a  narrow  tube  at  the  side  for  the 
Mvpose  of  introduoing  gas,  and  then  removing  more  or 
MS  of  it»  aa  may  be  necessary,  by  connecting  this  tube 
isitii  an  air-pump.  After  the  glass  tube  has  been  qxhausied 
onlBciently  it  is  melted  oO;  and  tiie  vessel  remains  perma- 
mntly  charged  with  a  q[uantity  of  gas  for  examination. 


When  ttie  experiment  is  to  be  made,  the  platinum  wires  are 
connected  with  the  terminals  of  the  secondly  wire  of  a 
Ruhmkorff's  coil,  from  whieh  the  induction  spark  is 
transmitted  through  the  tube.  You  wiU  see  how  different 
tb»  appearance  of  the  spark  ia  when  it  passes  through  the 
wide  part  of  the  tube  from  that  which  it  exhibits  in  pass- 
ing tlurough  the  narrow  portion.  In  the  latter  it  is  much 
more  brilliant^  and  the  temperature  is  higher'  It  was  by  an. 
arrangement  of  this  kind  that  Plucker  was  enabled  tO; 
increase  the  brilliancy  of  these  spectra  sufficiently  to 
analyse  their  light  by  means  of  a  prism.  Here  are  hydro-, 
gen,  nitrogen,  ehlorine,  and  iodine.  You  wiU  observe  that. 
I  am  shcming  yon  the  entire  light  caused  by  passing  the 
spark  throu^  these  gases.  Every  one  of  these  hfs  a 
special  light  of  its  own.  Here  is  the  red  light  of  hydrogen,, 
the  violet  light  of  nitrogen;  the  third  tube  shows  the 
necuhar  lii^ht  of  chlorine,  while  the  light  of  k>dine  in  the 
foorth  is  quite  diffdrent  from  any  of  the  others.  Badi  of 
these  luminous  lines,  wImu  viewed  through  a  prism,  is  seen 
to  consist  of  bright  lines,  as  in  the  case  of  the  metals.  I 
cauiot  show  you  their  spectra ;  if  I  could,  I  should  be  very 
glad  to  do  so^  because  they  are  exceeding^  beautifuL 

Here  let  me  say  that,  beautiful  and  brUUant  as  are  the: 
spectra  which  I  throw  upon  the  screen,  they  are  totally 
unfitted  in  this  form  for  eramination  from  a  philosophical 
point  of  view.  The  object  of  these  experiments  at  the. 
present  time  is  to  show  distuiotly  and  in  a  broad  way  the 
differences  which  exist  in  the  spectra  of  different  elements ;. 
but  &e  philosopher,  in  examining  these  in  his  doset,  has 
not  merely  to  see  that  they  are  different^  but  he  has  to 
measure  with  great  precision  the  intervals  between  each, 
of  these  bare  of  light;  for  you  will  see  that  here,  as  in  the 
notes  of  musics  eadi  one  of  these  lines  has  its  own  special 
position  in  the  scale,  and  we  must  know  exactly  what  that, 
position  is  in  order  to  be  able  to  recognise  it  agmn,  so  as  to 
connect  it  with  the  substance  by  which  it  is  occasioned. 
The  eye  has  no  means  of  comparing  these  diflbreneos  aa 
the  ear  compares  sounds,  but  we  are  obliged  by  angular 
measurea  to  determine  the  position  of  these  Ihies  with 
regard  to  certain  fixed  points.  More  of  that^  however, 
by-and-by. 

Before  I  quit  this  pert  of  our  subject,  I  wish  to  show  you 
that  in  particular  cases  the  same  gas  may  give  two  different 
spectra.    If  you  send  an  electric  spark  through  one  of  these 
exhausted  tubes  of  nitrogen  at  a  low  temperature,  you  will 
obtain  a  spectrum  of  a  particular  kind,  but  the  same  ^amwilL 
exhibit  at  a  higher  temperature  a  spectrum  whksh  is  quite 
different    This  is  one  of  the  most  important  discoveries 
with  reference  to  gaseous  spectra  which  Plficker  has  made. 
Here  is  a  nitrogen  tube  arranged  on  a  whirling  table  for  im«- 
parting  to  it  a  rapid  rotary  motion.     Nitrogen  is  a  substance 
which,  at  a  low  temperature,  emits  a  golden  yellow  light,  and 
tbW|  when  examined  by  the  prism,  is  seen  to  consist  of  * 
series  of  bands  in  the  less  refrangtUe  part  of  the  spectrum. 
If  the  temperature  is  raised — as  by  sending  a  spark  from  a 
large  Leyden  jar  througli  the  tube— the  light  becomes  of  a 
bluish  or  violet  colour,  and  then  the  diaraeter  of  the  spectrum 
is  aeon  to  be  entirely  altered.    I  can  only  show  the  alteration: 
in  the  colour  and  duration  of  the  light  at  the  two  different 
temperaturea.    But  as  I  cannot  show  you  the  spectra  of  the 
gases  upon  the  screen,  I  have  endeavoured' to  obtain  a  substi-. 
tute  by  employing  the  aid  of  the  photographer;  and  if  this, 
photo^vph  be  placed  before  the  lamp  we  shall  be  able  to., 
project  upon  the  screen  a  representatk>n  of  the  different, 
spectra  which  PlQcker  has  figured.    I  shall  give  you  first  the- 
series  of  ba^ds  wbi^  are  produced  at  low  temperatures^, 
directing  your  attentioe  fi(^t  to  nitrogen,  a  material  which  is  oC 
special  interest  to  us,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  most  abundant, 
constituent  in  our  atmosphere.    You  will  observe  particularly 
the  npectram  of  nitrogen,  and  notice  the  particular  way  in> 
which  the  bands  are  distributed.    It  is  found  that  these  bandsi 
are  made  up  of  fine  lines  closely  aggregated  together.    The- 
speotrum  becomes  more  feeble  towards  the  refrangible  end,, 
and  at  this  point  in  the  violet  it  suddenly  ceases.    This  is  tbot 


70 


Moyal  IfUftitviion. 


A%4Mt,vm^ 


nitrogen  spectram  at  the  lowest  temperaturd.  PlQdcer  and 
Bittorf  (who  made  their  experiments  together)  call  this  the 
xiitrogen  spectram  of  the  first  order.  I  now  wish  to  show 
you,  in  contrast  to  these  lines,  the  effect  which  is  produced  by 
sending  through  the  same  gas  a  sparic  at  a  high  temperature ; 
here  we  have  a  series  of  brilliant  bands  so  produced,  forming 
a  spectram  quite  different  from  that  of  the  same  gas  at  a 
lower  temperature.  So  also  in  the  case  of  sulphur  the  spectram 
at  a  high  temperature  is  of  a  very  different  nature  from  that 
which  the  same  body  exhibits  at  a  lower  temperature.  This 
is  trae  also  of  selenium,  though  I  have  not  the  spectram  of 
selenium  at  the  lower  temperature  to  exhibit  to  you.  These 
cases,  in  which  the  character  of  the  spectram  changes  with 
the  temperature^  are  the  exceptions.  In  the  case  of  oxygen 
there  is  no  such  change,  neither  is  there  in  the  case  of  phos- 
phoras,  chlorine,  iodine,  bromine,  andarsenicum. 

Tliese  differences  are  very  important  when  viewed  theo- 
retically, though  as  yet  we  have  no  satisfactory  explanation  of 
them.  It  has  been  supposed  that  where  two  spectra  occur 
the  bands  formed  at  a  low  temperature  are  produced  by  a 
substance  which  is  really  different  from  that  which  gives  rise 
to  the  bands  which  are  given  out  by  what  appears  to  be  the 
same  body  at  an  intense  heat  It  has  boen  oonjeotured, 
though  it  is  by  no  means  proved,  that  substances  which,  like 
nitrogen,  sulphur,  and  selenium,  give  two  different  spectra,  are 
not  elementrary  bodies,  but  that  at  the  high  temperature  they 
are  actually  separated  into  their  components,  Just  as  we 
recently  separated  chlorine  from  barium,  and  carbonic. acid 
and  oxygen  from  the  same  metal.  But  this  conclusion  is  by 
no  means  well  established,  because  it  is  seen  that  the  moment 
we  cease  to  pass  the  electric  spark,  the  whole  thing  is  as  it 
was  before ;  and  if  the  substance  has  been  decomposed  by  the 
Intense  heat,  it  has  been  as  instantly  reoomposed  on  the 
diminution  of  temperature.  Professor  Stokes  has  suggested 
that  the  degree  of  rapidity  in  the  vibration  of  the  particles  of 
the  substance  is  connected  with  the  different  duration  of  the 
electric  diadiarge  in  tlie  two  cases,  and  that  a  higher  intensity 
of  the  electric  spartc  gives  to  the  nitrogen,  for  instance,  the 
power  of  producing  a  higher  series  of  vibrations  than  it  can 
furaish  when  heated  for  a  longer  period  to  a  lower  degree.  At 
present,  however,  that  is  a  point  for  further  investigation. 
We  do  not  know  why  it  should  be  that  certain  elements, 
if  they  be  elements,  should  be  thus  altered,  and  certain 
others  should  not  experience  a  like  change  under  circum- 
stances apparently  similar.  It  is,  however,  an  extremely 
curious  fact,  and  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  application 
of  observations  of  thisnature  to  the  interpretation  of  astronom- 
ical and  other  phenomena. 

There  is  another  fact  with  regard  to  the  spectra  of  gases 
which,  as  I  am  now  upon  that  subject,  I  may  mention  here. 
Pliteker  observes  that,  although  in  the  nase  of  solid  bodies 
you  may  gradually  distinguish  the  presence  of  small  quantities 
in  admixture  with  others,  it  is  not  easy  to  do  so  in  the  case 
of  gasea  You  may  have  a  notable  quantity  of  one  gas  added 
to  another,  and  yet  the  spectram  will  be  only  that  of  the  pre- 
dominant gas.  It  is  not  so  in  the  case  of  solids.  For 
instance,  if  you  heat  an  alloy  of  gold  and  silver  by  the  electric 
spark,  the  gold  gives  a  spectram  in  which  you  have  also  the 
diaracteristk}  lines  of  silver  superadded,  although  the  pro- 
tportion  of  silver  may  not  exceed  one  part  in  a  hundred. 

I  wish  to  show  you,  if  I  can,  the  effect  that  is  produced  by 
examining  two  spectra  at  the  same  time.  My  object  now  is 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  principle  upon  which  two  different 
spectra  are  compared  ^dth  each  other.  Toa  must,  if 
you  please,  be  indulgent  to  me  if  I  should  not  succeed, 
because  I  believe  this  is  the  first  time  this  has  l^en  attempt- 
ed  before  a  public  audience.'  1  ))ave  here  two  lanterns, 
and  I 'Wish  so  to  arrange  them  as  to  throw  upon  the  screen 
at  iiie  same  instant  two  spectra  passing  through  the  same 
lens  and  the  same  prisms.  [The  spectra  were  produced  as 
derfred.]  Thesearethespectraof lithium andof strontium; 
and  I  have  selected  these  two,  because  In  each  case  the 
oolour  they  communicate  to  flame  is  so  similar  that  they  are 
not  capable  of  being  distinguished  from  each  other,  if  viewed 


without  the  aid  of  t^priflSL  Botik  bodieB  tinge  tiie 
of  a  brilliant  fed  cdoor.  But  by  means  of  the 
which  we  have  here,  we  tee  at  onoe  that  the  podtionof  the 
Unes  fai  the  two  cases  is  quite  diffefent.  We  hare  ih»  erinaon 
line  of  the  lithium  on  the  edge  of  the  scfeeo.  Then  we  get 
&e  orange  line  and  the  blue  band  as  the  temperatniv  risea, 
and  you  will  observe  that  there  is  a  blue  band  given  by  the 
strontium,  very  near  the  saaDoe  positkm  aathatof  tfaelitUnm 
Une.  It  is  so  near  that  when  it  was  obeenred  for  the  tert 
time  in  this  theatre  the  remaric  was  oaade,  *'OhI  that  must 
be  a  mistake:  yon  have  taken  strontiiim  instead  of  hthinail" 
But  you  see  when  we  compaxe  ttie  two,  there  iano  doubt 
whatever  about  the  difibrence.  Mr.  Fox  Talbot  wae  the 
first  to  pohit  out  the  fect^  mere  than  tfair^  yeara  ago^  that 
lithium  and  strontium  compoonds  oould  be  immedialeij 
distinguished  by  the  aid  of  the  prism. 

The  apparatus  which  we  use  for  the  porpoee  of  oompar- 
ing  spectra  for  philosophical  purposes  is  not  liable  to  any 
of  the  unoertahity  whidi  an  extempote  amngonent  for 
projection  on  tiie  screen  is  Hable  to  entail  from  the  off«r* 
lapping  of  the  two  spectra.  In  the  spectroscope,  when 
properly  arranged,  the  two  spectra  are  presented  to  eadi 
other  edge  to  edge  witii  the  greatest  possible  aocoraojv 
and  I  must  now  endeavour  to  show  to  yon  how  it  is  that 
this  measuring  apparatus  is  used. 

We  want,  for  example,  to  make  an  examination  of  the 
residue  of  a  water  which  has  been  boiled  down,  and  we 
wish  to  ascertain  if;  among  other  tidngs,  there  is  any 
strontium  present  in  the  salts.  For  this  purpose  we  make 
an  experiment  precisely  similar  in  prinoi^  to  that  which 
I  made  just  now  upon  the  screen.  We  take  a  salt  of 
strontium,  and  we  arrange  it  so  that,  by  means  of  the 
apparatus  at  our  disposal  we  can  transmit  the  light  from 
the  strontium  flame  through  the  instrument  •  It  enters  the 
tube  at  a  narrow  slit,  and  passes  idong  it  until  it  falls  vpon 
a  lens.  Fkced  at  just  such  a  distance  fit>m  the  slit  as  to 
render  the  beam  of  light  parallel,  the  sheaf  of  parallel  rajs 
immediately  falls  upon  the  prism  behind  the  lens;  and 
when  the  light  comes  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  prism,  it 
is  separated  into  the  coloured  bands  of  strontium.  The 
observer  does  not  throw  these  upon  a  screen  like  the  one 
we  have  been  using,  but  upon  a  far  more  sensitive  sereen 
at  the  back  of  his  eye— the  retina.  To  bring  these 
lines  to  a  focus,  there  is  a  small  telescope  arranged  behind 
the  prism,  fitted  with  a  slidmg  tube  for  adjusting  the  Aieal 
distance.  The  light  from  the  other  flame  also  passes  throngh 
the  same  slit.  If  I  intr^uoe  a  little  salt  from  some  of  the 
Bath  waters,  for  example,  into  this  flame,  I  immediatrty 
colour  it  We  place  the  second  flame  opposite  to  a  small 
right-angled  prism,  which  is  so  snudl  that  at  a  distance  yen 
do  not  see  it  m  the  mstrament;  but  it  is  so  arranged  that 
it  shall  cover  just  half  the  alit  In  this  case  the  prism  is 
used  simply  as  a  reflector,  which  directs  the  beam  down  tiM 
axis  of  the  tube.  We  have,  then,  two  beams  passing  threap 
the  same  prism  and  the  same  telescope,  and  fUhng  upon  the 
eye  at  the  same  moment  They  are  so  adjusted,  however, 
that  their  spectra  shall  meet  edge  to  edge.  If  we  do  this, 
then  we  have  a  means  of  making  the  spectram  of  the 
strontium  compare  itself  with  that  of  the  substmoe  we  plaoe 
in  the  second  flame. 

If  I  toke,  as  1  will  do  now,  a  littie  of  the  resSdne  from  ttie 
Bath  water,  and  make  its  spectram  fall  upon  the  ecraeo}  we 
shall  have  a  very  complex  Image.  There  is  the  yellow  line 
of  sodium ;  there  are  green  bands ;  I  believe  there  is  a  little 
strontium ;  and  there  are  the  bands  of  calcium.  Here  is  a 
line  which  is  very  like  the  lithium  lina  We  will  put  soaae 
litiiiura  into  the  other  lamp,  and  see  whether  that  gives  the 
same  line.  We  can  compare  spectra  in  this  way  one  with 
the  other ;  and  if  the  bodies  we  introduced  into  the  aeeood 
flame  are  present  in  the  original  substance  which  is  b^ng 
examined,  certain  lines  of  its  spectram  will  ran^into  each  of 
the  lines  of  the  spectram  with  which  it  is  being  compared, 
thus  proving  that  the  body  compared  is  present  in  the  ordi- 
nal substance.     In  other  words,  we  take  a  substance  the 


JRoyal  Instiitvtiofi — Royal  Dvhlin  Society. 


71 


composiUoii  of  which  is  known  to  us,  and  we  compare  its 
spectnim  with  the  speetnim  of  a  bodj  the  oompoeition  of 
which  is  nnlcnown  to  us. 

Eaefa  of  the  earttm  has  a  apeetnim  of  its  own,  which  I 
would  show  yon  if  time  allowed,  but  as  that  is  not  the  case, 
I  BDost  msice  the  best  approach  to  it  that  I  can  by  ezhibiliDg 
a  photograph  of  the  spectra  of  those  bodies. 

This  is  the  characterisUc  line  of  potassium — a  donble  line 
in  tlie  red.  Then  there  is  a  diffused  light  in  the  middle,  and 
here  we  ha?e  a  blue  or  violet  line  near  the  most  refrangible 
extremity,  indicating  potassium.  Poiasrium  is  not  distin- 
guishable in  BQcih  small  quantities  as  some  other  metals. 
Here  is  the  spectrum  of  rubidium,*  a  metal  which  was  dis- 
oovered  by  means  of  this  method  of  analysis.  Bunsen  was 
examining  the  water  of  the  Durkheim  spring,  and  be  found 
he  had  a  donble  red  line  which  he  had  not  seen  before,  and 
some  lines  in  the  blue  which  he  had  also  not  seen  before. 
These  were  the  lines  of  substances  which  he  had  not  previ- 
ously met  witli;  and  although  in  the  original  water  only 
between  three  and  four  grains  of  the  substances  were 
present  in  a  ton  of  water,  yet,  relying  upon  the  accuracy  of 
the  indkaitions  which  he  had  obtained  in  the  spectrum,  he 
procured  a  large  quantity  of  the  water,  boiled  it  down,  and 
succeeded  in  isolating  these  two  bodie&  One  of  them  he 
called  rubidium,  from  the  .occurrence  of  these  red  lines,  and 
tlie  other  cttsium,  so  named  from  the  occurreuce  of  two 
bright  lines  in  blue.  In  addition  to  these,  two  other  metals 
have  also  been  discovered  by  the  aid  of  the  prism ;  one  of 
them — thalliunH-I  have  already  mentioned,  and  you  have 
seen  the  green  line  by  the  occurrence  of  which  the  metal 
was  discovered  by  Mr.  Crookes  as  he  was  examining  a 
particular  substance,  of  which  he  possessed  but  a  small 
quantity.  The  dilBcnlty  then  was,  first,  to  find  out  in  what 
minen^  it  existed,  and  next  to  devise  chemical  means  of 
obtaining  it  These  difficulties  have  been  overcome,  and  it 
can  now  be  procured  in  considerable  quantities.  I  have  seen 
manses  of  it  weighing  thirty  pounds.  1  have  quite  recently 
beard  that  carbonate  of  thallium  has  been  introduced  by  M. 
Lamy  into  the  preparation  of  glass,  which  is  said  to  be 
superior  to  any  hitherto  used  for  optical  purposes. 

The  short  remainder  of  the  hour  shall  be  devoted  to  the 
eaEaraination  of  the  spectra  of  these  metals,  which  were 
originally  discovered  by  the  aid  of  the  spectra  themselves. 
We  wDl  ilret  project  upon  the  screen  that  of  CKsium.  Tou 
will  probably  see  several  lines,  but  the  characteristic  lines 
are  those  two  blue  lines  now  visible,  one  of  them  consider- 
ably brighter  than  the  other.  These  are  the  lines  more  par- 
ticularly distinguishable  at  low  temperatures.  There  are 
also  a  number  of  lines  in  the  red.  In  showing  you  these 
bodies  in  the  voltaic  arc,  I  am  working  under  considerable 
disadvantage^  because,  at  so  high  a  temperature,  the  spectra 
are  much  less  simple  than  they  are  at  lower  temperatures. 
At  high  temperatures  many  of  tiiese  bodies,  as  I  have  said, 
acquire  the  power  of  vibrating  with  different  degrees  of 
Telocity,  in  consequence  of  which  additional  bands  cor- 
responding to  these  new  velocities  of  vibration  are  developed 
at  a  high  temperature,  but  they  do  not  lose  the  power  of 
Tibrating  with  the  definite  velodties  which  they  acquired  at 
a  lower  temperature;  they  therefore  preserve  the  banjos 
originally  seen,  as  well  as  those  produced  by  the  intense  heat 
aji^ied. 

We  will  now  throw  upon  the  screen  the  rubidium  speo- 
tmm,  using  the  chloride  of  the  metal  In  this  case  the 
dilorine  is  separated  ftom  the  rubidium.  If  the  spectrum 
is  a  good  one,  we  shall  have  a  donble  red  line  upon  the 
less  refhmgible  edge  of  the  spectrum.  Here  is  the  rubidium 
fine,  accompanied  by  the  paler  bands  in  the  blue.  The 
donble  red  line  is  the  oharacteristlo  portion  to  which  the 
body  owes  its  name,  from  rrOndua,  dark  red.  This  is  very 
diflferent  from  the  spectrum  of  caesium,  where  the  blue 
lines  wei^  particularly  promment  The  brightness  of  the 
blue  lines  in  rubidium  is  not  to  be  compared  with  that  of 
tike  line  in  the  red. 

I  shall  ooD^ude  by  showing  yoa  one  of  the  latest  fruits 


of  spectrum  analysis^a  substance  characterised  by  two 
remarkable  lines  in  the  blue.  The  name  of  '* indium" 
has  been  given  to- it,  becanse  it  gives  a  light  of  an  indigo- 
blue  colour.  These  bands  are  at  the  violet  end.  Here  is 
the  spectrum  of  this  body.  I  am  indebted  to  an  old  friend, 
Professor  Yarrentrapp,  for  this  sample  of  indium,  who  has 
sacrificed  half  his  specimen  hi  order  that  I  might  be 
enabled  to  show  you  these  bands.  It  is  a  substance 
scarcely  to  be  obtained,  although  in  the  Paris  Exhibition 
there  is  a  mass  of  upward^  of  a  pound  weight  of  it^  but 
it  is  there  at  present  in  prison  as  an  exhibit 


EOTAL  DUBLnsr  SOOIBTT.* 
At  the  last  evening  meeting  of  the  Royal  Dublin  Sodety, 
Dr.  Emerson  Beynolds  read  a  piqper  upon  **  An  JMrner  of 
Sulphooyanoifen."  If  the  new  body  which  he  has  discovered 
proves,  on  investigation,  to  be  reimy  an  isomer  of  the  theo- 
retical radical,  S(^,  the  communication  will  be  one  of  the 
most  important  contributions  received  for  some  tune  in  con- 
nexion with  organic  chemistry.  The  author,  having  referred 
to  the  fact  of  sulphocyanogen  never  having  been  isolated, 
dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  different  views  that  had 
been  taken  by  workers  with  the  subject,  particularly  as 
regards  the  composition  of  the  sulphooyanldes.  ^ese 
views  may  be  enumerated  in  a  few  words,  i.  We  have 
the  radical  theory.  In  this  theory,  the  existence  of  the 
salt-radical,  CyS,  is  admitted,  and  we  may  look  upon  the 
ammonium  salt  as  NH«,OtNSs.  This  molecular  arrange- 
ment is  the  one  that  is  generally  accepted.  2.  The  com- 
position may  be  viewed  as  a  sulphide  of  ammonium  com- 
bined with  sulphide  of  cyanogen,  thus — ^NHtSjOtNS. 
3.  The  body  may  be  viewed  as  snlpheretted  urea,  or  as  a 
sulphooarbamide.  The  relation  to  urea  is  represented  in 
the  following  formulie:— 

C,K,H«S,  C,N.H40s 

Hydroealphoeyanio  add.  UrM. 

Gladstone  {vide  Watts's  Diotionaxy,  vol  v.  page  ^05)  has 
also  noticed  that  sulphocyanic  add,  together  with  urea 
(carbamide),  is  formed  by  the  action  of  sulphuretted 
iiydrogen  on  ammonio-cuprio  fulminate.  Dr.  Reynolds 
referred  to  all  these  views,  but  stated  that  the  first  was  the 
accepted  one. 

Now,  when  snlphocyanide  of  ammonium  is  submitted  to 
destructive  distillation,  it  is  split  up,  according  to  Liebig, 
into  bisulphide  of  carbon,  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  ammonia, 
and  a  residual  substance,  wnidi  that  chemist  has  named 
melam.  This  latter  substance  is  afterwards  converted  into 
hydrbmellone— 

8(NH4,C,NS,)=40S,  +  8HS + sNH, + 0|,N,  ,H,. 

Mebm. 
0itNiiH8=,NH«  +  Oi«N.H,. 
HydromeUone. 

When,  in  the  presence  of  water,  sulphopyanide  of  ammo- 
niui^  is  submitted  to  the  action  of  heat,  Dr.  Reynolds  says 
that  it  gives 

NH4,0  Jf S, + H0= 0  jra.H + NH4O. 

Hydrosulpliocyttnle  mM. 
But  be  finds  that  heat,  in  the  absenoe  of  water,  produces 
KH4,0,NS,=NH,  +  H + 0,N8,. 


The  latter  is  purified  by  reciystallisation.  It  Is  a  very 
stable  compound,  which  will  bear  a  considerable  temperature 
without  deoomposition.  The  uialysis  gave  figures  that  cor- 
responded to  OtNSa. 
llie  following  compounds  were  described : — 
Bichloride  or  platinum  gives  a  red  crystalluie  precipitate, 
havmg  the  followmg  composition— OiNS^PtGla*    It  will  be 

•Spedally  reported  for  tho  Ohsjooal  Maws,  byOberiM  B.  C. 
TIchbomo,  r.  0. 8.,  etc 


72 


Academy  of  Sciences — Gheniieal  Society. 


AM0^vm. 


seen  at  onoe  that  this  oompound  does  not  follow  the  ijfrjpe 
of  the  ammonium  salt,  but  aocords  witii  the  oomposition 
of  urea. 

Nitrate  of  sUyer  fonns  a  compound,  a  direct  combination 
of  the  salt  with  the  isomer. 

^ere  is  also  a  mercurial  salt,  0,NSs)HgCU. 

The  author  said,  in  conclusion,  that  we  might  natuiallj 
expect  to  find  an  isomer  of  sulphocyanogen,  as  such  changes 
seem  to  be  a  natural  property  of  the  ojranogen  oomponnda. 
Thus,  he  gave  as  instanoes  die  three  chlorides  of  (yanogen, 
and  the  paracyanogen  procured  on  submitting  cyanide  of 
mercury  to  destnictiYe  dustillatlon. 

Aa  the  author  used  the  dd  notation,  we  do  so  in  our  report 


QUEKETT  mOROSaonCAL  GLT7B. 

IHday,  Jftiy  24,  1867. 

Mr.  Ebkbst  Habt,  Frmdmtf  in  the  Chair. 

Thb   ordinary   monthly  meeting  was  held  at  University 

College. 

A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  M.  C.  Gookb  "  On  Binocular 
TfWtm." 

The  PBEsmBRT  read  a  paper  "  0»  ^  JIBmOe  Sirudure 
of  the  Iris  and  OUiary  Muadt,^  in  the  course  of  which  he 
demonstrated  the  structure  and  direction  of  the  cillaiy  or 
accommodative  muscle  of  the  eye  in  man,  ruminants,  and 
birds,  and  showed  that  there  are  presented  no  circular  or 
sphinctral  fibres  in  the  latter,  and  discredited  their  exist- 
ence in  the  former.  The  paper  was  illustrated  with 
enlarged  diagrams,  and  numerous  injected  specimens  under 
the  microscope.  The  meeting,  which  was  fully  attended, 
terminated  with  a  conversazione.  Ten  members  were  elected. 


AOADBMY  OF  80ISN0B& 
Mof  27,  1867. 
M.  L.  D.  GiRABD  presented  and  described  a  new  ball  gov- 
ernor, giving  perfect  isochronism  and  acting  instantaneously 
upon  the  steam  valve.  He  maintams  the  balls  in  any  posi- 
tion by  giving  to  the  motor  a  constant  velocity,  and  also  an 
angular  velocity  equally  constant.  He  proves  by  calculation 
that  the  four-balled  regulator,  when  in  equilfbrhun,  is  iso- 
ohroDous;  that  it  does  not  follow  the  matiiematical  laws  of 
the  conical  pendulum  of  Watt;  that  it  can  be  applied  with- 
out any  change  to  all  machines. 

M.  Felix  de  Luca  placed  upon  the  table  in  the  name  of  his 
brother  Dominique  de  Luca,  director  of  the  ophthalmic  sec- 
tion of  the  "faicurable"  hospital  at  Naples,  a  note  "  On  the 
BmploymmU  of  SuJIphais  of  Soda  in  the  Treatweni  ofS^^is  on 
(he  Cornea:'  After  having  mentioned  the  inefflcacy,  mcon- 
venience,  and  at  the  same  time  the  dangers  of  the  known 
methods — ^laudanum,  alooboHo  or  tannic  liquids^  etc^— ho 
thinks  that  crystallised  sulphate  of  soda,  by  reason  of  the 
property  it  possesses  of  maintaining  in  sohition  the  flbrine 
of  the  blood,  can  exerdse  a  favourable  action  on  spots  in 
the  cornea.  In  the  first  experiments  use  was  made  of  an 
aqueous  solution  q€  sulphate  of  soda  saturated  in  the  oeldj 
it  was  let  fall  drop  by  drop  on  the  eyeball  The  spots  di- 
minish in  extent,  but  with  an  excessive  slowness.  For  the 
solution  M.  de  Luca  substitutes  the  sulphate  reduced 
to  a  fine  powder,  which  he  lets  fall  by  pinches  on  the  eje 
twice  a  day,  the  head  resting  nearly  horizontaL  The  salt  is 
dissolved  by  the  humours  of  the  eye,  at  the  same  time  pro- 
ducing an  agreeable  sensation  of  cold.  At  the  end  of  a  few 
days  the  spots  commence  to  disappear,  and  the  patients, 
who  could  not  see  at  all,  distinguish  the  movements  of  the 
hands  and  fingers,  and  the  blindness  soon  ceases. 


GHEMIOAL    SOCIETY. 

Tkurpday,  June  6,  1867. 
Db.  a.  W.  WiLUAMflow,  F.R.a,  Vioo-Presideni,  ^  (he  Chair. 
The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and  con- 
firmed* 


Sir  Bbuamxn  a  Bbodh,  Bart,  Profeasor  of  Gbemistij  in 

the  University  of  Oxford,  then  delivered  the  foOowing  lec- 
ture:— 

"OnihtJIMsofR^^resmtBakm  t^mkd  Iff  the  Chemioai  C^ 
cutttSy  as  oonirasted  wOh  Vie  Atomic  Theory.^ 

Mb.  PsBSiDtNT,^!  CM  that  I  have  undertakwi  this  evening 
a  truly  difficult  task,  wbidi  is  to  give  to  the  Ohemioal  Society, 
in  the  brief  space  of  one  boor,  an  account  of  a  aomewhat 
abstruse  and  difficult  subject,  the  exact  comprehension  of 
which  requires  that  it  should  be  minutely  considered  in  all 
its  detaila.  I  should  not,  however,  shrink  from  this,  if  I 
did  not  feel  tiiat  the  subject  is  really  before  thoae  who  are 
meet  competent  to  judge  of  it,  in  a  somewhat  imperfect  form ; 
that  I  have  as  yet  offered  to  the  chemical  world  the  firat  part 
only  of  tiie  method  of  which  I  am  about  to  speak ;  and  that 
this  method  will  be  much  better  comprehended,  both  from  a 
mathematical  and  chemical  point  of  view,  when  you  have 
before  you  the  subsequent  parts  which  X  hope  to  present 
hereafter. 

I  am  to  speak  of  a  method  of  representing  the  facta  of 
chemistry,  which  is  fiindamentaUy  different  from  the  method 
at  present  in  use.  Let  me  say  a  few  words  upon  the  past  his- 
tonr  of  chemical  theories. 

1  believe  that  theory  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  chem- 
istry. The  birth  of  the  science  was  inaugurated  by  the  oon* 
struotion  of  a  definite  theory  of  cfaemistry— the  firat  theory 
which  had  ever  been  pr(^>osed,  and  whu^  sought  to  ^ve  a 
definite  and  rational  account  of  the  facts  of  the  scieuoe. 
This  theory  was  the  once  world-fbmous  doctrine  of  Phlo- 
giston. In  this  theory  the  foots  of  diemistry  wereexplained 
by  the  agency  of  a  subtie,  hypothetical,  allrprevadlng  princi* 
I^  by  l£e  transference  of  which,  from  one  chemical  sub- 
stance to  another,  it  was  assumed  the  facts  of  diemistiy  were 
correctiy  accounted  for.  It  is  easy,  firom  our  present  point 
of  view,  t6  pass  critical  remarks  upon  the  doctrine  of  Phlo- 
giston, but  it  is  not  quite  so  easy  really  to  comprehend  that 
doctrine,  and  to  put  ourselves  in  the  position  of  those  great 
chemists  who  worked  and  who  studied  through  its  agency. 
If  ever  any  one  was  tempted  to  speak  slighting  of  the  doc- 
trine of  Phlogiston,  let  him  remember  that  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  this  doctrine  the  great  discoverer  of  chlo- 
rine, the  chemist  Scheele,  worked.  Let  him  remember  that 
the  exact  mind  of  Cavendish  was  contented  with  this  doc- 
trine. Let  him  remember  again  that  the  illustrious  Priestley, 
that  transcendentally  inventive  genius,  in  poeseasien  of  thia 
doctrine,  made  the  great  discovery  of  oxygen ;  and  that  not 
only  was  he  then  content  with  this  doctrine,  bat  that  be 
died  a  firm  believer  in  and  adherent  to  it  However,  the 
doctrine  of  Phlogiston,  like  many  human  tilings,  was  dea- 
tined  to  pass  away,^Lavoisier  shattered  Phk^ton.  For 
no  inconsiderable  period  after  this,  chemists  appear  to  have 
worked,  if  I  may  so  say,  without  a  theory ;  that  is  to  say,  that^ 
as  during  the  long  alchemical  ages  chemists  were  oooui^  in 
collecting  together  those  facts  which  were  afterwards  to  be 
embodied  in  the  theory  of  Phlogistoii ;  so  for  a  period  of  above 
thirty  or  forty  years — that  is  to  say,  from  the  time  of  La- 
voisier to  the  time  of  Dalton — (demists  were  en^loyed  in 
coUectlDg  together  that  exaoter  system  of  foots  wiiiai  was 
to  Term  the  basis  of  a  far  wider,  a  flu  more  comprehensive^ 
and  a  far  nobler  theory,  namely,  the  great  atomic  doatrioe. 
However,  Davy  appears  to  have  woriced  and  to  have  made 
his  great  discoveries  without  a  theory.  Davy  never  admit- 
ted the  atomic  theory,  but  rested  content  simply  with  the 
facts  of  numerical  analysis. 

In  the  year  1808  there  appeared  that  famous  book,  "A 
New  System  of  Chemical  Philoaopliy,*'  which  contained  the 
germs— indeed,  I  may  say,  almost  the  full  development— of 
tlie  atomic  theory  itself.  In  this  atomic  doctrine  I^diton  took 
up  the  conception  of  combination,  which  was  introduced  »dU» 
the  science  by  means  of  the  theory  of  Phlogiston.  He  took 
up  that  doctrine  of  combination,  aod  moulded  it  iato  a  new 
and  a  more  definite  form.  It  would  be  useless  for  me,  before 
the  Chemk»l  Socie^,  to  dwell  upon  the  atomic  theory.    It  is 


Chemical  Society. 


73 


a  tbec^  wiHi  whlth  evety  one  is  funlliar,  for  ererj  ohemlflt 
of  this  day  has  worked  with  that  tbeoiy,  has  oonceived  his 
acienoe  from  the  point  of  view  of  that  theory ;  and,  indeed,  I 
believe  it  is,  to  the  opicion  of  many,  almost  impossible  that 
that  doctrine  riiould  ever  fall  to  the  ground.  This  doctrine 
of  DaltoD,  however,  was  a  doctrine  far  more  audacious  than 
that  of  Stahl.  In  the  theory  of  Phtegiston,  Stahl  considered 
that  be  had  palpable  evidenoe  of  Uie  traosferenoe  of  his 
Phlogiston  from  chemical  system  to  chemical  system ;  but 
Dalton  told  us  that  this  notion  of  the  continuity  of  matter — 
that  obvious  foot  which  our  senses  teach  us — was  simply  an 
iUusioo  of  the  senses,  and  that,  if  only  we  could  see  things 
aif  ight,  we  should  see  that  this  world,  which  appears  to  us  so 
ooonected  and  so  continuous,  was  really  made  up  of  an  almost 
infinite  number  of  disjointed  fragments. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  atomic  theory,  I  say,  chem- 
ists have  worked  for  a  period  now  of  about  sixty  years,  and 
the  progrwH  of  chemictd  theory  has  consisted  in  the  almost 
constant  and  unremitting  development  of  this  doctrine.  I 
cannot  say,  however,  that  this  has  been  an  unremitting  pro- 
gress. )t  has  rattler  been  a  succession  of  eventa  System 
has  followed  system,  doctrine  has  followed  doctrine;  but 
these  doctrines  have,  one  after  another,  fallen  to  the  ground. 
IJV  e  have  had  but  little  that  is  permanent,  and  at  the  present 
moment  the  theory  of  chemistry  is  built  upon  the  ruin  of 
other  theories.  Now,  no  one  can  have  more  respect  or  more 
admiration  for  these  great  ideas,  which  were  thus  ushered  into 
the  science  by  Dalton,  than  I  myself  have.  It  cannot  be 
necessary  for  me  to  express  to  this  Society  the  admiration 
which  I  feel  for  that  theory;  but,  nevertheless,  I  cannot  but 
BAy  that  I  think  the  atomic  doctrine  has  proved  itself  inade- 
quate to  deal  with  the  complicated  system  of  chemical  facts, 
which  has  been  brought  to  light  by  the  efforts  of  modem 
chemists.  I  do  not  think  that  the  atomic  theory  has  suc- 
ceeded in  constructing  an  adequate,  a'  worthy,  or  even  a  use- 
ful representation  of  Uioee  facts.  I  say  that  for  sixty  years 
the  united  efforts  of  chemists,  including  many  of  the  most 
able  men  in  the  world,  have  been  deVot^  to  the  development 
of  this  doctrine,  and  they  have  formed  their  representations 
upon  this  doctrine.  Now,  let  me  read  to  you  an  account  of 
the  last  modem  representation  of  the  atomic  doctrine,  and 
the  chemical  symbols  in  which  the  atomic  doctrine  has  re- 
sulted. I  will  read  to  you  a  paragraph  headed  "  Glyptic 
Formulae ;"  it  is  given  in  a  scientific  journal.  Here  is  the 
paratraph: — 

''  Those  teachers  who  think,  with  Dr.  Frankland  and  Dr. 
Cram  fiiown,  that  the  fundamental  facts  of  chemical  com- 
bination may  be  advantageously  symbolized  by  balls  and 
wires,  and  those  praotical  students  who  require  tangible 
demonstration  of  such  facts,  will  leam  with  pleasure  that  a 
set  of  modelB  for  the^sonstmotion  of  glyptic  formulffi  may 
now  bo  obtained  for  a  oomparatively  small  sum.*'  (Much 
laaghter.)  **  At  first  sighty  the  collection  of  bright-coloured 
and  sUvmd  balls  suggests  anything  but  abstract  ohemioal 
truth," 

And  so  on.  However,  I  will  tell  you  what  you  ma^  get 
for  your  money:— 

"  There  are  seventy  balls  in  all  for  the  representation  of 
atoms— Hmonads,  dyads,  triads,  tetrads,  pentads,  andhozads, 
being  distinguiahed  by  the  number  of  holes  pierced  in  the 
baDa.  To  connect  these  into  rational  formulee"— [which.  I 
confess  I  should  think  was  a  truly  difficult  problem]  — 
*'  brass  rods,  stndght  or  bent,  and  oocasionally  fleodhle  bands 
are  employed/'    (Laughter.) 

And  BO  on.  However,  the  editor  seems  to  have  had 
some  misgiTinffs,  for  he  proceeds  to  say,— 

'*  Wheuer  they  are  calculated  to  induce  erroneous  oon« 
ceptions  is  a  question  about  whieh  much  might  be  said." 

Now,  however  much  might  be  said  upon  this  subject,  I 
certainly  am  not  going  to  say  a  great  deal  to  the  Soeie^ 
upon  it;  but  it  is  truly  *  remarkable  &ct,  that  tho  atomio 
theoi7)  after  so  many  efforts,  has  resulted  in  sudi  a  sym- 
bolical repreeentation  as  this.  I  think  that  great  injustice 
JM  done  in  connecting  tlie  xuunes  of  Dr.  Fnmkland  or  of  Dr. 


Onun  Brown  specially  with  sudi  ideas  as  these,  for  I  cannot 
but  say  that  I  think  the  promulgation  of  sudi  ideas— even 
the  partial  receptkm  of  such  views—- indicates  that  the 
science  must  have  got,  somehow  or  another,  upon  a  wrong 
track ;  that  the  sdetioe  of  chemistry  must  have  got,  in  its 
modes  of  repreeentation,  altogether  off  the  rules  of  phileeo* 
phy,  for  it  really  could  cmly  be  a  long  series  of  errors  and 
of  misconoeptions  which  could  have  landed  us  in  such  a 
bathos  as  this. 

You  may,  however,  ssk  me,  and  with  reason,  "  In  i^iat 
way,  then,  are  we  to  represent  the  foets  of  chemistry,  if  we 
are  not  to  represent  tiiem  in  this  way  f  Do  you  mean  to 
deal  with  this  complicated  system  of  &ots,  and  to  offer  us 
no  mode  of  representing  these  fhcts,  and  no  mode  of  con- 
ceiving these  &ots  7"  Now,  I  certainly  believe  that  my 
person  who  serioudy  attacks  these  ideas,  is  bound  to  show 
some  other,  and,  I  will  say,  some  better  way  of  representiag 
the  facts.  I  think  he  is  bonnd  to  do  this,  or  he  should  re* 
frain  firom  his  attacks.  You  ask  me  how  we  are  to  repro- 
sent  the  facto  of  the  sdenee.  It  is  to  that  question  that  I 
vrish  to  oAGk*  an  answer  to^dght 

i  say  that  we  are  to  express  the  numerical  fiEMts  of  the 
science  by  means  of  symbc^;  but  I  attach  to  the  term 
'*  symbol "  a  very  special  signification.  We  have  plenty  of 
what  are  called  ^'cheniioal  symbols"  already;  but  these 
chemical  symbols  are  not,  fhNn  my  point  of  view,  symbols 
at  all,  and  you  will  presently  see  why.  Kot  only  according 
to  my  ideas,  but  according  to  the  ideas  of  most  persons  who 
consider  this  question,  a  symbol  may  be  regarded  as  a  mark 
by  which  we  express  the  objects  of  our  thoughts  for  the 
purpose  of  reasoning  about  those  objects;  and  one  which 
Is  capable  of  being  combined  with  other  simflar  marks  ac- 
cording to  certahi  definite  laws  of  combination ;  which  laws 
of  combination  are  to  be  possible,  through  the  mterpreta^ 
tion  of  the  symbol,  in  the  suliject  natter  which  is  sym- 
bolized.   That  is  what  I  mean  by  a  symbol 

You  will  readily  see  that  our  present  notation  really  can 
hardly  be  called,  even  in  courtery,  a  symbolic  representation. 
The  reason  is,  in  the  first  place,  that  these  letters  are  not 
capable  of  being  combined  with  other  letters,  or  other 
marks,  according  to  any  definite  lavrs  at  all ;  and,  in  the 
second  place,  so  far  are  they  fh>m  having  any  definite  signi- 
fication or  meaning  attached  to  them,  that  every  chemist 
thinks  himself  at  liberty  to  deal  with  them  just  as  he  pleases, 
according  to  his  fimqy.  Now,  I  say,  I  wish  to  put  a  re- 
striction upon  tiiat  mode  of  dealing  with  the  suljeet,  and 
to  bring  my  fellow  chemists  and  myself  under  some  definite 
laws  when  they  deal  with  sjrmbols. 

Symbols  are  of  two  kinds.  We  may  have  symbols  of 
things,  and  we  may  have  symbols  of  operations.  Symbols 
of  operations  are  simply  symbols  of  what  we  do  to  things. 
Take  a  popular  case;  ordinary  language  is  an  imperfect  sym- 
bolic system,  and  here  we  have  just  those  twokmdsof  sym- 
bols. A  "  dog ''  is  the  symbol  of  a  things  and  ''  beating," 
"caning,"  ^  coaxing"  and  so  on,  are  the  symbols  of  opera- 
tions, or  of  something  which  we  may  do  to  a  dog.  We  have 
marks  by  which  we  express  things  and  marks  by  which 
we  express  what  we  do  to  things.  We  might  also  have  a 
third  kind  of  symbol;  we  might  have  the  symbol  of  an  opera- 
tion and  a  thmg  together.  Thus,  if  we  did  not  wish  to 
represent  particularly  what  sort  of  ammal  we  were  going  to 
beat,  we  might  have  a  single  mark  for  '*  beating  an  ani- 
mal;" the  tUng  and  the  operation  being  included  in  one. 

I  purpose,  however,  to  go  into  a  more  exact  kind  of  sym- 
bolism ;  but  before  I  commence  my  esqplanations,  I  should 
like  to  remove  one  or  two  popular  errors  upon  this  subject. 
I  believe  there  is  no  error  more  ingrained  In  the  po][)ular  ndnd 
tiian  that  these  marks  +  —  x  =  are  the  symbols  of  adding, 
subtracting,  multiplying,  and  identification  or  equalization ; 
I  mean  that  these  marks  are  purely  arithmetical  symbols, 
and  are  to  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  arithmetic  alone,  and 
that  in  any  other  subject  matter  to  whidi  ther  are  anpUed 
it  is  essential  for  us  to  give  these  symbohi  their  arithmet- 
ical Bigniflcation.     If  that  were  true^  the  application  of  sym- 


74 


Chemical  Society. 


1    Afigm4^\W. 


bote  to  the  BOJenoe  of  ehemistry  wonld  simply  be,  from  mj 
point  of  TieWf  an  impomibilitjr. 

Perhaps  I  shall  best  ittostrate  this  matter  if  I  give  yon, 
from  another  subject,  an  example  of  the  mode  of  oonstnict- 
ing  a  symbol,  and  whAt  we  mean  by  a  symbol.  It  is  an 
example  whidi  will  bring  beforo  you  dearly  how  indepen- 
dent symbols  are  of  their  arithmetical  meaning  or  interpre- 
tation. I  say  of  thoir  arithmetical  meaning^  not  of  their 
arithmetical  lavos^  which  is  another  thing.  In  ordinary 
algebra  we  denote,  by  the  mark  a,  tiie  operation  of  confer- 
ring upon  the  unit  of  length  a  certain  lenf^  whidi  we  desig- 
nate as  &  This  length  we  may  call  three  feet,  and  the  mark  a 
will  thus  stand  for  a  line  three  feet  long.  Now,  if  we  take  an- 
other pymbol,  ft,  that  may  indicate  to  us  a  line  drawn  in  the 
same  direction  as  a,  bat  of  auotiier  length.  We  wilLsay  that  h 
is  llTe  fret  Nowa  tells  us  that  we  are  to  draw  a  line  of  a 
csitain  lengtti;  and  we  may  say  that  the  symbol  +  a  means 
tiiat  w«  are  to  draw  it  in  a  certaui  direction.  Now  if  we 
ask  what  is  the  meaning  of  +  a  +  2i,  this  indicates  to  us 
that,  having  draws  o^  we  are  to  start  again,  and  we  are  to 
draw  another  straight  line  of  tiie  length  of  five  feet,  which 
we  call  &.     Or,  in  ordinary  gecn^try,  +  a  +  &    would 

rboliwto  us  a  line,  the  length  of  wmoh  was  the  sum  of 
length  of  a  and  &,  and  drawn  in  the  same  direction. 
I  wish  now  to  bring  before  you,  rery  briefly,  an  iSustra- 
tioD  of  how  totally  unnecessary  this  arithmetical  application 
of  the  meaning  of  tiie  symbol  +,  is  to  its  algebraic  meaning. 
We  have  another  kind  of  geometry,  we  may  say,  in' which 
the  symbols  a,  (,  c,  and  so  on,  may  indicate  to  us  not  only 
length,  but  direction  also ;  so  that  if  we  take  a  certain  point 
as  our  starting  point,  the  symbol  +  a  would  indicate  to  us 
that  we  were  to  start  from  the  point  a  and  draw  the  line 
•f  in  a  certain  direction — we  will  say  towards  the  horiison. 
And  h  would  indicate  to  us  that  we  were  to  draw  a  line  in 
another  direction,  and  of  another  length;  and  c  that  we 
were  to  draw  a  line  in  a  third  dbrection,  and  also  of  another 
length.    Thus 


in  short,  It  Is  open  to  us,  if  we  choose  to  do  so,  to  express 
by  letters,  not  magnitude  only,  but  also  position. 

Now,  I  wish  yon  simply  to  see  at  what  we  arrive  by 
following  out  these  principles.  What  is  the  interpretation 
of  a  +  ^f  a  tells  me  to  draw  a  line  from  our  storting  point 
in  a  certain  direction  and  to  a  certain  length.  a-\-a 
indicates  that  I  am  to  make  a  line  in  the  same  direction  as 
a  and  twice  as  long ;  in  like  manner  —  would  also  indicate 
to  us  the  direction  in  which  we  were  to  draw  our  line 
relatively  to  the  f!tarting  point.  —  a  would  be  a  line  equal 
in  length  to  a,  but  in  the  opposite  direction  to  -i-a. 

Now  h  tells  us  that  we  are  to  perform  upon  the  unit  of 
length  an  operation  which  is  to  consist  in  drawing  a  line 


in  another  direction.    Here  is  oar  line 


h 


+a 


What  therefore  do  wo  mean  by  +a  +ftf  Why  +a  tells 
us  that  we^re  to  construct  the  line  a.  And  having  done 
that  wo  are  to  go  on  again  and  construct  &,  That  is  done 
by  bdginniag  a^fn  at  the  end  of  the  line  a,  and  dra^ring 
a  Ime  in  the  direction  of  6,  and  equal  in  length  to  it,  by 


which  means  we  get 


h 


If  we  draw  the  diagonal  of 


the  parallek)gram  of  which  a  and  ft  are  tiie  sides,  the  dia- 
gonal of  that  panllslogram  is  ezpressed,  and  properly 


expressed,  asa+ft 


And  I  say  that  a  line  drawn 


through  the  first  point,  equal  in  length  to  the  other  dia- 
gonal of  the  parllelogram  bul  in  the  opposite  direction,  is 

6— a    15  a+6 


properiy  represented  by  5«-a 


Those  two 


diagonal  Ihies  in  the  system  of  geometry  egress  a+5  and 
5-0.  The  roason  of  this  you  wUl  perceive  is  very  obnous, 
for,  as  we  aU  know,  the  diagonal  line,  relativelji;  to  direo- 
thon  and  to  the  motion  which  makes  it,  would  be  the  same 
m  kind  and  in  quantity  as  the  motion  which  constitutes 
the  lines  a  and  ft.  In  short,  we  first  of  all  construct  the 
line  a,  and  then  we  go  on  again  and  take  up  the  line  h. 
The  diagonal  of  the  parallelogrem  is  therefore  properly 
expressed  as  a  +  &,  but  of  course  this  diagonal  is  not  equal 
in  length  to  the  sides  of  the  parallelogram. 

There  is  one  other  property  I  must  refer  to,  which  is 
very  important,  and  comes  out  to  us  in  the  symbol  + . 
It  is,  mt  a  4  5  is  the  same  thing  as  (  +  a.  Why  ia 
this?  It  is  simply  that  when  we  go  along  the  line  in 
direction  a,  and  tiien  travel  through  the  length  of  5, 
we  arrive  at  the  same  quantity  as  when  we  go  along 
the  lines  6  +  a. 

In  constructing  any  calculus  or  method,  thon,  the 
principle  to  be  observed,  in  regard  to  the  symbols,  is  by  no 
means  to  give  to  them  their  arithmetical  meaning  or  inter- 
pretation, but  simply  to  construct  them  properly  aocord- 
ing  to  the  kiws  which  they  obey  in  arithmetic  and  in 
algebra. 

To  take  another  example,  using  the  marks  +  and  —  as  the 
simplest  illustration.  Tbcy  may  be  regarded  as  marks  which 
are  subject  to  a  certain  system  of  laws^  which  laws  are  given 
in  the  following  equations  :— 

+  +  =  + 

If,  then,  you  can  find  in  any  subject  matter,  any  properties 
to  which  you  may  apply  these  symbols  +  and  —  oonsistentiy 
with  this  interpretation,  I  think  you  are  Justified  in  using  the 
symbols  +  and  —  to  express  those  properties. 

Let  me  proceed  to  explain,  very  briefly,  what  I  mean  by  a 
chemical  symbol  The  ot^ect,  I  should  say,  of  the  first  part  of 
this  method  is  to  discover  a  proper  system  by  which  we  are 
to  express  tlie  unit  of  chemical  substanoes.  I  may  put  this 
in  another  way,  and  say  that  we  wish  to  discover  what  is  the 
nature  and  the  number  of  tlie  operations  by  which  cbemk^d 
substanoes  are  made  or  construcied.  This  is  the  first  object 
of  our  method.  I  should,  perhaps,  limit  myself  a  littie  farther, 
for  I  should  say  that  before  we  begin  to  think  about  ohemieal 
substanoes  at  all  we  should  conceive  of  them  as  all  brought 
into  the  condition  of  perfect  gases.  Now.  the  reason  of  this 
ia  one  which  I  am  sure  will  commend  itself  to  every  chemist: 
it  is  the  simplicity  of  the  laws  to  which  gaseous  oombinations 
are  subject,  which  simplicity  was  first  discovered  by  the  great 
chemist  Gay-Lussao.  Of  course  we  may  deal  with  tiie 
properties  of  tiie  combinations  of  solids  and  liquids,  but  here 
it  is  far  more  diiBcult  for  us  to  arrive  at  any  intelligible  and 
simple  results;  and.  whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  before 
beginning  to  think  about  tiie  nature  of  a  chemical  substance, 
I,  for  my  part»  always  conceive  it  as  broaght  into  the 
condition  of  a  gas.  And  to  go  a  little  further,  and  to  speak  s 
little  more  definitely,  we  shall  always  oonsider  the  ohemksal 
substance  brought  into  the  condition  of  a  gas  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  0  degrees,  and  at  a  pressure  of  760  milUmetretL    Tins 


Chemical  SoGi^. 


75 


is  the  Bori  of  ideal  chemical  world  willi  which  we  have  to 
deal.    It  is  a  world  of  gases. 

First  let  me  indicate  to  you  the  deflnitioQ  wbieh  I  will  take 
of  a  unit  of  matter ;  for  it  is  absolutely  esaential,  before  we 
think  about  matter  at  all,  to  begin  with  defining  the  unit 
which  we  are  about  to  consider.  That  definition  ia  of -such 
great  importance  that  I  have  had  the  wohis  placed  up  before 
yoti  in  this  diagram. 

The  unit  €/p<mderabk  maUer^  is  ihatporUen  of  ponderable 
maiter  trMcA,  €U  a  lemperakire  ofo  degreeB,  and  at  a  prewure 
of  760  mtWnM^ec  of  mercury^  occupiee  a  tpact  of  1000  cubic 
centimeins. 

From  considering  the  unit  of  matter,  I  pass  bow  to  the 
oonsideration  of  a  unit  of  another  kind,  and  that  is  what  I  call 
tbe  unit  of  space— that,  ia,  .the.  volume  of  1000  cubic  centi- 
metres. And  just  as,  before  we  begin  to  thtaik  about  diemical 
substances,  we  must  bring  them  aU  theoretically  to  the  state 
of  gas;  fio^  before  beg^ning  to  think  about  the  unit  of 
chemical  substances,  we  must  begin  by  thinking  about  a  unit 
of  space*  This  is  the  fundamental  conception  of  this  method ; 
and  it  is  a  notion  whidh  appears  to  me  to  be  almost  easential 
to  any  constAictive  chemistry  at  all — ^that  is,  the  conception 
of  the  unit  of  space ;  let  us,  tlierefore,  clearly  understaud 
what  the  unit  of  space  means.  Now,  that  there  may  be  no 
doubt  shout  it,  I  have  brought  you  the  unit  of  space  [exhibiting 
hollow  cube  with  glasa  walls,  and  of  the  dimensions  alK)ve 
assigned  to  the  unit  of  space]. 

You  have  to  do  something  else,  however,  before  you  get 
the  unit  of  space.  It  is  indeed  the  space  of  1000  cubic 
centimetres  which  is  confined  within  these  glass  widls;  but 
before  you  can  get  at  tbe  unit  of  space,  you  have  to  go  a  step 
farther,  and  by  the  process  of  imagination,  or  by  the  efibrts  of 
reason,  you  have  to  divest  this  cube  of  glass  of  weight,  and 
take  out  of  it  all  the  ponderable  matter  which  it  contains^ 
and  conceive  the  space  within  the  walls  divested  of  matter 
altogether.  Now,  this  unit  of  space  is  so  fundamentally  import- 
ant to  us  that  I  shall  begin  b^  giving  it  a  mark  to  itself.  The 
mark  which  I  give  to  that  unit  of  space  is,  for  certain  good 
reasons  which  I  will  not  explain  now,  the  mark  i.  When 
you  see  that  mark,  it  ia  to  reoAll  to  your  mind  the  matter  con- 
tained in  the  unit  of  spaca  Now,  what  is  that  matter? 
Why,  that  matter  ia  simply  no  matter  at  all ;  there  is  no 
ponderable  matter  in  it 

Perhaps,  however,  if  I  were  to  speak  a  little  more  exactly 
.^d  predsely,  I  should  say,  for  tiie  benefit  of  those  persona 
who  may  be  more  philosophically  inclined,  that  the  mark  i 
is  the  symbol  of  the  operation  of  taking  the  unit  of  space 
as  it  is.  thst  is,  take  tiie  unit  of  space  as  it  is,  and  do 
nothing  at  all  with  it 

However,  we  must  not  only  consider  units  of  space,  the 
oonsidecation  of  which  alone  would  lead  us  to  very  little, 
but  we  are  going  to  consider  the  nnits  of  matter.  Now, 
how  are  we  to  conceive  a  space  becoming  matter,  or  of 
matter  getting  into  space— chemically,  I  mean?  Well,  I 
shall  Uiink  of  this  through  the  aid  of  an  operation,  and  I 
shall  define  bj  a  mark  the  operation  by  which  this  emp^ 
unit  of  space  is  turned  into  a  unit  of  ponderable  matter. 
Par  example,  I  will  take  s  as  such  a  mark.  This  is  the 
mark  of  the  operation  by  which  &e  unit  of  space  becomes 
a  unit  of  ponderable  matter.  It  is  the  mark  of  a  certain  densi- 
ty which  is  appropriated  to  x^  and  of  a  certain  kind  which  is 
also  supposed  by  x.  Here,  then,  is  as,  the  symbol  of  the 
operation ;  and  how  are  we  to  symbolise  the  performing  this 
operation  upon  the  unit  of  space  ?  I  shall  do  this  in  a  natural 
manner  by  writing  the  letter  x  before  the  unit  of  space,  xi ; 
and  that  indicates  to  me  matter  of  a  certain  density,  and  at 
760  millimetres  pressure. 

How  are  we  now  to  conceive  a  matter,  double  the  density, 
hot  the  same  in  kind  as  s7  Having  once  conferred  upon  the 
unit  of  space  this  density,  we  jj^ve  only  to  perform  the 
operation  a  seoond  time.  Hence,  to  double  the  density,  we 
have  only  to  write  x  agahi,  thus:  xxi.  This  will  symbolisse 
that  we  confer  tm  the  unit  of  space  a  certain  density,  and 
bairing  done  that  we  oonfor  that  density  on  it  again.    That  is, 


we  make  It  doaUe  the  density,  xxxi  will  mean  that  we 
give  it  three  times  tiie  density.  We  can  abbreviate  the 
expresskms.  We  need  not  write  the  Ob's  out  at  length.  The 
unit  of  space  is  i ;  with  the  first  density  conferred  upon  it, 
it  becomes  xi ;  with  double  the  density,  x*i ;  and  vnth  three 
times  the  density,  «*!.  If  you  compere  tiiese  operations 
with  the  symbols  whwh  express  the  densities,  you  will  see 
that  the  symbols  of  the  units  of  matter  which  we  have  thus 
constructed,  stand  to  the  numbers  which  express  the  den* 
sities  of  that  matter^  hi  the  seme  relation  as  numbers  do 
generally. 

We  will  now  take  another  land  of  matter :  i,  yi,  y*i,  y*x . 
This,  again,  would  b^  a  symboliaed  nonderable  matter  which 
would  be  contained  in  this  glass  box  at  the  pressure  and 
temperature  indicated,  of  the  kind  indicated  by  y,  and  of  the 
density  indicated  by  the  number  of  units  of  y.  You  will 
see  tMs  more  obviously  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the 
symbols  of  chemkial  substances. 

If  we  proceed  fiEurtber  upon  the  same  principles,  we  come  to 
consider  what  is  the  symbol  of  units  of  space  containing  two 
kinds  of  matter.  WeU,  on  the  same  principles,  you  see,  we 
have  sy I  as  tbe  symbol  of  the  unit  of  space  filled  with  the 
matter  of  as,  and  also  flUed  with  the  matter  of  y ;  that  is  to 
say,  having  the  density  ssy,  the  sum  of  the  densities  of  a;  and 
y.  And  of  course  we  can,  in  this  way,  symbolize  also  the 
unit  of  space  filled  with  the  matters  x  sjfkd  y  in  various 
proportions. 

You  will  see  that  there  is  a  real  analogy  between  the 
symbols  which  I  am  here  employing,  and  the  symbols  which 
I  used  just  now  in  my  illustration  derived  from  double 
algebra;  for  just  as  the  symbols  of  double  algObra  indicate 
to  us  not  only  the  length  of  a  line,  but  also  its  direction  or 
position,  BO  these  chemical  symbols  indicate  to  us  not  only 
the  weight,  but  also  the  kind  of  matter.  You  are  not  10 
confound  them  with  the  numbers  which  express  the 
densities,  or  the  letters  by  which  we  might  express  those 
numbers ;  but  they  are,  I  say,  symbols  which  express  to  us, 
at  one  and  the  same  tune,  the  nature  of  the  matter  and  the 
density  of  the  matter,  having  a  double  si^^niflcation  of  this 
kind. 

Bef<»e  we  go  Airther,  let  me  say  a  word  about  the  nature 
of  this  operation.  I  am  here  symbolising  the  unit  of  mat- 
ter by  the  symbols  of  the  operation  by  which  the  unit  of 
matter  is  made.    But  what  is  that  operation  ? 

Well,  speaking  generally,  I  may  say,  without  entering 
into  too  nice  logical  distinctions,  that  it  is  an  operation 
which  every  chemist  knows  better  than  any  other  physical 
operation.  It  is  the  operation  of  combination.  That  is 
what  x  is,  and  what  y  is.  They  are  operations  of  combina- 
tion. We  are  getting  thus  at  a  definition  of  our  unit  in 
terms  perhaps  more  in  accordance  with  our  ordinary  lan- 
guage. We  will  call  the  matter  of  a^  A,  and  the  matter  of  y, 
B ;  and  the  matter  of  unit  of  space,  merely  a  That  is  always 
definite.  What,  then,  does  x  staud  for,  considered  from 
the  pomt  of  view  or  combination  7  It  is  the  operation  of 
combining  the  matter  A  with  any  substance  whi^h  we 
please  to  write  after  the  symbol  of  the  letter.  Similarly,  y 
is  the  symbol  of  combining  the  matter  B.  Then  we  may 
call  I  the  symbol  of  no  matter;  it  is  the  symbol  of  the  unit 
of  space,  which  has  no  matter,  xi  tells  us  we  ore  to  take  A 
and  combine  It  with  the  matter  of  unit  of  space.  The  result 
of  that  is  to  constitute  the  matter  A.  JHaving  done  that,  I 
write  y  to  it  {xyi).  That  tells  me  to  take  the  matter  B  and 
combine  that  also  with  the  matter  of  the  unit  of  space.  If 
you  do  that,  the  result  is  the  matter  of  A  combined  with  the 
matter  of  B.  These  are  the  operations.  Do  not  imagine 
there  is  anything  mysterious  about  these  terms.  They  are 
the  operations  about  which  you  think  every  day  of  your  life ; 
and,  I  say,  if  you  want  to  think  philosophically  about  chemis- 
try, you  must  embody  in  your  symbol  the  very  thing  which 
you  are  thinking  about,  namely,  the  operation  of  combina- 
tion itself. 

I  must  not  seek  to  explain  to  you  now  the  process  or 
method  by  whidi  we  arrive  at  the  symbols  of  chemical 


76 


ChemiocA  Society. 


AH^mt^vm. 


substanoeB,  for  to  explain  the  proeess  on  the  boArd,  and  to 
do  H  any  Justice,  wtnild  occnpy  ftir  more  time  than  is  at  my 
disposal.  Ton  mnst  aBow  me  now  simply  to  expiate  wliat 
\r6  mean  by  the  symbol  dT  ehemica]  substances  (I  mean  te 
spectal  cases),  and  then  to  consider  the  general  resoHs  to 
which  this  mode  of  representation  oonduete  us. 

As  to  the  mode  of  constructbig  these  symbols,  it  is  based 
in  the  most  absolute  way  upon  fkets.  "We  do  not  oonstmci 
a  symbol  at  aH  We  simply  look  for  the  symbol  of  matter 
and  we  find  it  Where  are  we  to  look  for  the  symbols  of 
a  chemical  substance?  Why,  plainly  to  the  S3rmbol8  of 
matter  in  the  gaseous  condition;  and  where  are  we  to  look 
for  the  symbols  of  the  operations  by  wMch  units  of  matter 
are  made?  Why,  plainly  in  the  fects  of  oombinatioilL 
That  is  the  source  whence  you  are  to  deduce  the  symbol: 
it  is  the  fact  of  combination  itself.  The  facts  in  gaseous 
combinationaare  sudi  as  these: — 2  volumes  of  hydrochloric 
acid  consist  of  the  same  ponderable  matter  as  i  toL  of 
hydrogen  and  x  vol  of  chlorine.  2  vols,  of  gaseous  water 
consist  of  the  same  ponderable  matter  as  2  toIs.  of  hydro- 
gen and  I  YoL  of  oxygen.  Again  (I  will  now  put  it  m  my 
way),  2  units  of  ammonia  consist  of  the  same  ponderable 
matter  as  3  units  of  hydrogen  and  i  unit  of  nitrogen.  These 
are  the  facts,  and  chemistiy  supplies  us  with  a  rast,  but  not 
an  infinite  number,  of  such  facts.  The  method  which  I 
have  ventured  to^vo  is  simply  a  method  of  expressing  the 
'  facts  of  the  equation  in  the  symbol  of  the  substance.  It  is 
^ply  and  purely  a  method  of  taking  an  equation  and  of 
embodying  in  the  symbol  the  facts  of  tiie  equation.  Through 
the  ifects  of  the  equation  we  construct  the  symbols  of  the 
units  of  ponderable  matter.  We  then  take  the  symbols  out 
of  the  equations,  and  we  thus  separate  and  analyse  the  fitcts 
one  from  the  other.  It  is  simply  an  analysis  of  flieta  of  a 
peculiar  kind. 

I  have  constructed  some  tables  expressive  of  the  general 
nature  of  the  condusions,  at  which  we  arrive  through  the 
aid  of  this  method,  as  to  the  composition  of  these  units  of 
matter.  I  have  h^d  a  good  many  of  these  symbols  written 
out,  for  roally  it  is  easier  for  you,  by  looking  at  these  tables, 
to  see  the  general  results  which  we  arrive  at  by  this  method, 
than  it  would  be  for  me  to  enter  into  a  long  explanation  of 
the  process.  Here  you  see  are  the  symbols  of  the  chemical 
substances.    We  start  with  the  symbol  of  the  unit  of  space. 

Symbols  0/  the  Vnita  of  Cheeimcai  StMancea^ 

XTbit  of  space i 

Hydrogen a 

Oxygen (^ 

Water af 

Peroxide  of  Hydrogen af" 

Sulphur fl* 

Protosulphide  of  Hydrogen aB 

Bisulphide  of  Hydrogen afl* 

Sulphurous  Anhydride 9^ 

Sulphuric  Anhydride e(* 

Sulphurous  Acid ae(* 

Sulphuric  Acid • . .  .aB^ 

Chlorine ax* 

Hydrochloric  Acid. a^, 

Hypochlorous  Add. ax( 

Chlorous  Add axi* 

Chlorosnlphurous  Add «x^^ 

HypochlorosulphuTOUs  Add ,axH' 

CWorosulphuric  Add «;r^^ 

Iodine aw* 

Bromine a0* 

In  the  next  table  is  another  system  of  symbols,  those  of 
the  oombinatlon  of  oarbon,  hydrogen,  and  two  or  three 
other  elements. 

Carbon. «* 

Acetylene •«* 

Marsh  Gaa •  .aV 

*01eflantaaa aV 


OEurfaonic  Oxide; «^ 

Carbonic  Add «^ 

Akjokol..... ^'^ 

Bther ^m*( 

Glycol AV 

OlycerittB «Vi' 

Anhydrous  Aoetio  Add.  ...........  ,«V' 

Tetradiloride  of  Carbon «V** 

(%lorofoni «V« 

Cbk>raoatio  Add a*x'*^ 

Tridiloraoetie  Add. .«V**^ 

Chloride  of  Benzo^ a»v«'«6 

QyMo^ea ayV 

Hydroqranie  Acid .«»« 

Metfa^anine. aVv 

Meronrie  Bthlde a^V 

Yon  must  regard  these  symbols  as  being  (^endcal  eqm- 
tions  turned  into  another  form,  and  divemd  of  a  oertain 
amount  of  superfluous  and  usdess  matter,  which  we  do  nol 
want  now  to  consider  or  thmk  about  ITatare  does  not 
supply  us  with  the  key  note  to  enable  ns  to  co^^stract  a  de- 
finite system  of  diemical  symbols.  Nature  does  not  tell  as 
absolutely— though  I  think  she  does  tell  us  probably— how 
we  are  to  proceed  to  oonstmct  a  system.  In  order  to  be 
able  to  conatruot  a  diemical  system  we  must  start  with  a 
hypotheais  of  some  kind  or  other.  As  we  go  on  constmct- 
ing  our  symbols,  of  course  our  hypothesis,  as  we  prove  il^ 
becomes  a  fact;  but  we  must,  at  any  rate,  start  with  some 
hypothesis ;  that  is  to  say,  we  must  know  one  symbol  We 
may  oonstmct  a  complete  chemioal  system  from  one  symbol; 
and  we  may  view  all  these  symbols  as  taken  from  one  hypo- 
thesis, combined  with  the  fticts  given  to  us  and  snpi^ied  by 
the  equation.  Now,  that  hypothesis  is  this,  that  the  symbol 
of  the  unit  of  hydrogen  is  expressed  by  one  letter,  a.  That 
is  my  starting  pohit;  and  I  should  say  that  the  symbols 
which  you  see  in  the  tables,  as  hidicating  chemical  opera- 
tions, are  regarded  as  symbols  of  primary  operations,  tluit 
is  to  say,  operatbns  whldi  you  cannot  resolve  or  decompose 
into  any  other  symobls. 

They  are  symbols  of  the  primary  operations;  and  when  T 
say  that  the  symbol  of  hydrogen  can  be  expressed  in  chemi- 
cal equations  by  one  letter,  I  mean  that  in  the  changes  and 
transformations  of  chemistry  that  unit  of  hydrogen  is  never 
broken  up ;  that  it  moves  as  a  whole  from  system  to  systeoo, 
and  that  that  unit  of  hydrogen  is  never  decompoeed  or  re-  - 
solved  into  parts.  The  unit  of  hjrdrogen  is  constmcted  at 
once,  by  one  operation.  What  I  mean  is  this :  imagine  yonr- 
self  witnessing  the  formation  of  hydrogen.  To  form  some 
substaoces  you  want  many  operations ;  but  to  form  hydrogen 
you  want  only  one  operation.  That  [striking  a  blow  on  ^e 
glass  model  of  the  unit  of  space]  represents  the  formatkm  of 
hydrogen,— one  operation.  It  w  one  act '  If  we  could  wit- 
ness chemical  transformations,  and  nature  would  only  beoome 
vocal  toufv  and  indicate  each  combination  as  it  occurred,  by  • 
musical  note,  that  [again  striking  a  blow]  is  what  you  would 
hear  when  hydrogen  was  formed.  Now,  as  we  go  on  we 
come  to  much  more  complex  substances.  Let  us  take  oxy- 
gen. This  is  a  substance  very  diflbrent  indeed  from  hydro- 
gen in  its  chemical  properties;  and  as  you  can  conceive  of 
the  unit  of  hydrogen  being  made  at  once  by  one  operation, 
I  say  that  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  conceive  of  the  unit  of 
oxygen  being  made  by  less  than  two  operations.  To  return 
to  our  metaphor,  when  you  take  water  and  decompose  it,  and 
when  you  hear  the  oxygen  go  away,  you  ought  to  hear  two 
notes^  like  this  [striking  two  blows  in  dose  succession]. 
That  is  what  I  mean  by  sajring  that  oxygen  is  made  by  two 
operations.  Again,  the  unit  of  water  is  made  by  two  opera- 
tions like  the  unit  of  oxygen ;  but  it  diflbrs  from  the  unit  of 
oxygen  in  this  respect,  that  one  of  those  operations  is  the 
same  as  that  by  which  hydrogen  is  made,  and  the  other  is  the 
same  as  that  by  which  oxygen  is  made.  That  is  to  say,  fat 
the  operation  by  which  water  was  ftmned,  you  would  bear 
I  two  sounds,  one  difforent  from  the  other,  a,  (. 

The  symbol  of  ohloriue  is  ax\    Chlorioe  from  this  point 


OnmoAh  News,) 


Chemical  Societof. 


17 


of  view,  is  to  be  conoeiyecl  «a  made  up  of  three  operationa. 
Tea  are  to  hear  x»  x^  ^^^  ^^  ^  again.  Que  of  tbeae  opera- 
tions 18  the  same  as  that  hj  whioli  iMrdrofi^ea  ia  made,  and  the 
other  is  an  operation  peculiar  to  chlorine  itself,  namelj,  j^, 
▲gain :  a  unit  of  hydrochloric  aoid-^e  thousand  cubic  Cv^nti- 
metre^  in  tlie  condition  of  a  perfect  gasat  a  pressure  of  760 
miiUmetres— is  to  be  ooaoeived  of  as  made  hjr  two  operations, 

To  go  one  st^  forther :  let  me  refer  you  to  this  table : — 

Nitrogen w* 

1'  Ammonia ii'y 

Protoxide  of  Nitrogen -^^ 

Nitrous  Acid..« av^* 

Nitric  Acid «»<  * 

Phosphorus. «V* 

Phosphide  of  Hydrogen «V 

Hypophosphoros  Acid. , «V(" 

Ortbophoephoric  Acid. m^^* 

TeroWoride  of  Pliosphorus «Vx* 

Pentachloride  of  Phosphorus «Vx* 

Nitrogen  is  to  be  oonceived  of  here  as  made  of  three  opera- 
tions^ iw,  and  then  •  upon  that.  In  the  formation  of  the  unit 
of  ammonia  three  operations  concur.  One  of  them  being  one 
of  the  operation  of  nitrogen,  «,  and  the  other  two  being  the 
opontion  hy  which  hydrogen  is  formed,  a. 

I  most  not  enter  into  Chrther  details  upon  this  subject, 
but  I  have  little  doubt  that,  with  this  explanation,  you  will 
rsMii^  apiHreoiate  the  meaning  of  the  symbols  which  are 
'Written  up  before  you.  Yon  wiU-aee  that,  by  following  this 
process  of  taking  the  facts  of  the  equiUkms  and  turning  them 
into  the  language  of  symbois,  we  acrfye  at  a  peculiar  view 
M  to  th»  nature  of  matter,  which  view  is  emb<xlied  in  those 
pgFaiMs. 

Now,  as  to  the  nature  of  the  view  which  is  here  indicated, 
for  that,  perhape,  will  oocur  to  most  persons  as  the  most 
iDsportaiit  point  to  be  considered.  This  view  is  the  only 
losult  whi(dk  I  have  placed  before  yon  in  the-flrst  part  of  this 
OMthod.  It  IS  the  view  as  to  the  nature  of  matter  Itself. 
Too  will  observe  that^  looldag  simply  firom  the  general  poUit 
of  view  of  t^e  nature  of  matter,  the  point  which  it  is  most  im- 
Bortant  for  41s  to  insist  upon  is  the  nature  of  the  elemental 
bodies,  because  it  is  out  oif  these  elemental  bodies  that  every- 
thing  else  is  made,  and  into  them  all  things  are  capable  of 
faaiDg  resolved.  The  view  which  we  take  of  these  bodies 
givos  to  us  unphcitly  the  view  which  we  are  to  take  of  the 
composition  of  every  oUier  body  whatever.  To  understand 
this  it  is  only  necessary  to  appreciate  the  view  which  is 
bero  given  of  the  nature  of.  U»e  elements  themselves,  and 
overySung  eUie  foUows  from  that  We  are  led  to  the  folio w- 
Ing  singular. results,^ that|  speaking  generally,  there  are, 
perhi^M,  Ibnr— certainly  at  least  three--TfundainentaU7  dis- 
tinot  classes  of  the  elemental  bodies. 

first  of  all,  there  are  elemental  bodies^  the  anits  of  whidi 
j»o  made  by  one  indivisible  c^eration.  These  bodies  are 
j^^iresented  to  us  by  moroury  and  hydrogen.  To  this  dass 
aiao  piobablj  belong  suoh  elements  as  sine,  cadmium,  and 
tin;  but  we  oannot  speak  with  great  confidence  on  that 
point 

Seoendly,  we  have  a  dass  of  double  elements,  formed  by 
two  similar  operations ;  tiiese  are  o^gen  k\  sulphur  9*,  sole- 
nhuB  A'.  Carbon  we  are  not  certain  about ;  it  belongs,  in 
all  probability,  to  the  first  or  second  daas,  we  do  not  quite 
kDow  which ;  but  I  have  symbolised  it  9Ji  «*. 

But  we  have  another  and  a  vecy  large  class  -perhaps  the 
Ingest  of  all  the  (proups  of  the  elements— and  we  may  take 
tiie  olsBients  chlorioe  and  nitrogen  as  representatives  of  it 
Hflffo  ia  the  symbol  of  the  element  chlorine,  ay*;  here  is  ni- 
tvogen,  «»*;  here  is  iodine,  ««*;  and  soon.  You  will  see 
that  the  symbols  of  these  elements  occupy  a  certain  inter- 
wcwiisto  position  betvoen  this  group  of  elements,  a,  ^  (,  etc., 
and  that  group  of  elemeats,  { ,  it\  x\  eta  We  have  many 
^ocmpound  substanees  which  are  un  every  way  analogous  to 
4lHg  group  (^  elements— analogous  as  to  their  properties^ 


analogous  as  to  their  symbols.    Of  this  class  we  have  a  most 


unit  of  the  element  hydrogen  with  one  unit  of  oxygen^ 
which  things  really  exist— just  as  the  element  chlorine  may 
be  regarded  as  a  combination  of  the  unit  of  hydrogen  (a) 
with  a  substance  which  does  not  exist,  and  which  I  have 
symbolixcd  as  x^  The  unit  of  nitrogen  is  to  bo  regarded  as 
similarly  composed  (a^*).  We  may  regard  it  as  a  combined 
with  the  unknown  element  v. 

There  is  one  question  which  must  occur  to  oveiy  one,  the 
explanation  of  which  is  of  fundamental  importance  to  the 
comprehension  of  this  system.  Tou  mi^  ask  me,  "  What 
do  you  mean  by  these  symbols— by  calling  chlorine  «;t*» 
nitrogen  av**;  o^Kygen  ^7  Bo  you  mean  that  there  are  cer- 
tain portions  of  matter,  really  existing,  capable  of  being 
brought  to  the  lecture-room — theoreticaUy,  at  any  rate — ^and 
shown  upon  the  lecture-table :  portions  of  matter  which  are 
represented  by  a  and  x%  «  &nd  <?,  and  so  on  7  Do  you  mean 
this  7  or  do  you  mean  that  these  things  are  the  creation  of  your 
hnaginatlon — that  they  are  fictions — illusions  7  We  hke," 
perhaps  you  may  say  to  me,  "  we  liko  Dalton  a  great  deal 
better  than  we  do  you ;  for  Dalton,  at  any  rate,  dwelt  with 
realities,  or  possible  realities.  He,  at  anv  rate,  showed  us  the 
matter  of  wnioh  all  substances  are  made.  He  brought  the 
elemental  bodies  into  the  lecture-room  in  bottles,  and  he 
showed  us  there  the  elements  out  of  which  matter  is  made. 
Are  you  going  to  do  that  7  Do  you  mean  to  show  us  n,  ^,  y, 
in  the  lecture-room  7  Affain,  Dalton  dealt  with  realities 
through  these  atoms.  Although,  certainly,  we  have  never 
seen  them,  yet,  nevertheless,  we  most  perfectly  believe  them 
to  exist  There  are  such  things  as  atoms,  although  we  have 
never  seen  them.  Dalton  brought  the  elements  to  the  lec- 
ture-table:  and  if  -he  did  not  actually  show  us  the  atoms, 
you  will  find  pictures  of  them  at  the  end  of  his  book ;  he 
made  Uttle  bits  of  wood,  which  were  excessively  like  atoms 
although  thev  were  wood.  £ut  you  don^t  even  do  this  for 
us.**  Well  this  is  rather  a  perplexing  question ;  for  if  you 
ask  me  if  wese  things  really  exist— whether  tiiey  are  thmgs 
cc^ble  of  being  brought  to  the  lecture-table  and  placed  be- 
fore us — ^in  answer  to  such  an  inquiry  I  say,  in  the  first 
place,  that  they  do  not  necessarily  exist  Then,  i^n,  you 
ask  me  this :  "  Da  you  si^  that  they  are  unaginary  things, 
that  they  are  creations  of  your  fancy?  Because^  if  so, 
we  don't  trouble  ourselves  much  about  your  fancies.  They 
are  not  worth  thinking  about"  I  say,  no,  they  are  not  fan- 
cies of  mine ;  I  never  made  them,  t  only  found  them.  Then 
you  answer :  "  All  things  are  either  imi^nary  or  real ;  which 
are  these?"  Well,  I  reply,  these  things  are  ideal  things. 
Well,  then,  ra^  Mend  says  I  am  getting  beyond  him  when  I 
sa^  tiiese  are  ideal,  for  he  does  not  understand  what  ideal 
thmgs  are :  all  things  are  either  imaginary  or  real.  Tea ; 
but  I  say  there  is  a  pomt  which  you  have  ovedooked. 
Either  all  things  exist  according  to  the  hiws  of  nature  whidh 
make  it  possible  for  them  to  exist,  or  there  are  insuperable 
barriers  in  the  laws  of  nature  to  their  existence.  But  though 
we  m^y  not  know  whether  certain  things  exist  or  do  not 
exist,  3ret  we  may  reason  about  these  things  as  if  they  were 
real  things.  A  thing  may  not  exist  at  all,  but  yet  it  may 
serve  to  us  all  the  purposes  of  a  real  thinff.  That  is  what  I 
mean  by  an  ideal  thixig.  It  is  a  thing  wnich  may  exist  or 
may  not  exists  we  do  not  know  which,  but  which  satisfies 
all  the  conditions  of  reality. 

I  shall  venture,  at  the  risk  of  delaj^ing  you  a  little  longer, 
to  give  you  an  illuatration  on  this  poiut,  which  was  suggested 
to  me  by  some  remarks  and  illustrations  of  Professor  btokes, 
with  whom  I  have  had  the,  to  me,  incomparable  advantage  of 
discusHing  and  considering  several  of  these  difiicuU  and 
abstruse  questioas.  My  illustcatiou  is  simply  his  illustration 
a  little  modified  for  you.  I  am  going  to  make  a  general 
assertion.  I  will  draw  a  conic  section— «  curve  on  the 
board,  and  I  am  going  to  say  that  every  straight  line  cuts 
every  oouie  sectioo  in  two  points.    That^  you  see^  is  some* 


78 


Chemical  Society. 


\  l8tT. 


what  analogous  to  my  statement,  that  the  unit  of  every 
chemical  substance  is  composed  <^  an  integral  number  of 
prime  factors,  and  is  to  be  regarded  as  made  up  of  an  integral 
number  of  these  bits  of  matter  which  I  call  symbol  weights. 
There  are  the  two  corresponding  assertions.  But  you  say, 
^Do  you  mean  that  every  Ftraigfat  line  really  cuts  the  conic 
section  in  two  points?"  I  say,  no,  I  never  said  that  it  realty  cut 
it  at  all  I  said  it  eul  it.  Then  you  say,  "  Do  3rou  mean  that 
it  cuts  in  imagination  P  I  say,  no,  I  do  not  say  this.  I  do  not 
know  whether  the  line  cuts  it  in  reality  or  in  the  abstract  I 
do  not  know,  speaking  generally,  whether  the  points  at 
which  a  straight  line  cuts  a  conic  section  are  real  or  imaginary. 
They  are  one  or  the  other.  You  see  that  is  a  perfectly 
general  mathematical  truth  and  principle.  Nothing  is  easier 
than  to  prove  any  propoeitlon ;  and  I  may  go  on  to  say,  that 
in  the  case  of  a  straight  line,  of  course,  we  can  go  farther:  we 
can  investigate  the  nature  of  these  points ;  we  can  determine 
the  nature  of  these  points.  But  in  chemistry  we  come  to  a 
bar.  We  cannot  go  on.  We  have  not  yet  got  the  data  to 
prove  whether  these  prime  fectors,  these  units  of  weights,  are 
real  things  or  imaginary.  They  are  undoubtedly  one  or  the 
other,  but  we  cannot  tell  which.  There  are  fccts  here  which 
satisQr  all  the  analytical  conditions  of  the  fhcts,  whether  the 
matter  is  real  or  imaghiary.  There  are  symbols  of  fkcts, 
which  satisfy  the  analytical  conditions  supplied  to  us  by  the 
equations  of  chemistry,  and  as  such  we  are  bound  to  accept 
them.  We  cannot  do  otherwise  It  is  imposrible  for  us  not 
to  accept  the  conclusion. 

We  cannot,  however,  endrelv  dismiss  from  our  consideration 
the  alternative  that  these  portions  of  matter —  a,  Xi  ^  '>  ^^^ 
«,  mav  l)e  real  I  mean  a  real  thing  when  I  say  "  a  real 
thing."  I  mean  something  which  may  be  brought  to  the 
lecture-table  and  put  there,  really  or  theoretically.  We 
cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  alternative;'  and  there  really  are, 
though  not  at  all  derived  firora  this  method  itseMJ  but  derived 
from  other  considerations,  certain  real  reasons  which  would  lead 
US  to  suspect  that  chemical  substances  are  really  composed  of  a 
primative  system  of  elemental  bodies,  analogous  in  their 
general  nature  to  our  present  elements,  some  of  which  we 
possess,  but  of  which  we  possess  only  a  fbw.  I  will  take  the 
case  of  the  peroxide  of  hydrogen.  I  will  throw  overboard 
oxygen  and  a  great  class  of  certain  oxygenated  combinations, 
and  I  will  suppose  for  the  moment  tliat  I  have  these  combina- 
tions-—hydrogen,  water,  peroxide  of  hydrogen,  and  certain 
other  substances  whk^h  I  could  specif^.  If  I  were  to  apply 
my  method  to  finding  the  symbol  of  peroxide  of  hydrogen,  not 
regarding  the  oxygen  at  all,  the  symbol  at  whidi  we  arrive 
for  peroxide  of  hydrogen  Is  a  ^,  Thus  the  same  question 
would  arise  in  that  case  about  peroxide  of  hydrogen  as  now 
arises  about  chlorine.  In  peroxide  of  hydrogen  we  really  have 
sueeeeded  in  separating  the  elements  which  it  contains,  and 
i\i\6  fhct  leads  us  to  the  suspicion  that  some  of.  these  bodies 
which  we  spea  k  of  as  elements  may  in  fact  be  com  pounds.  In 
i^oit  we  are  led,  through  our  method,  to  a  certain  physical 
hypothesis,  of  whatever  value  that  hypothesis  may  be,  as  to 
the  origin  asd  causes  of  chemical  phenomena. 

Now,  what  I  am  going  to  suggest  is  ot  course  put 
before  you  with  reservation,  but  we  may  conceive  that, 
either  in  remote  time,  or  fn  remote  space,  there  either  did 
vxfat  formerly,  or  there  do  exist  now,  certain  sampler 
forms  of  matter  ^han  we  find  upon  the  surface  of  our 
glob»— a,  X*  ^t  ^  <tnd  so  on— -in  sliort,  these  symbols  of 
^emioal  operations.  I  say  we  may  at  least  conceive  of;  or 
imagine  the  existence,  either  in  time  or  in  space,  of  these 
simpler  forms  of  existence,  of  which  we  have  some  records 
remaining  to  ns.  Here  they  are — hydrogen  and  mercury- 
two  things.  We  may  consider  that  in  remote  ages  the 
temperatare  of  matter  was  much  higher  than  it  is  now,  and 
that  these  other  things  existed  then  hi  the  state  of  perfect 
gases  ooparate  existences-'-^iiieombined  at  any  rate.  Tfafe 
Is  the  farthest  barrier  to  which  we  can  reach.  There  may 
be  something  farther,  but  if  so,  we  can  have  no  suspiekm 
of  it  fh>m  the  facts  of  the  science.  We  may,  then,  oon- 
oeire  that  the  temperature  begins  to  fUl;    these  things 


begin  to  combine  with  one  another.  They  enter  into 
forms  of  combination,  appropriate  to  the  cirenmstaoeefl  ib 
whidi  they  are  placed.  The  result  is  the  Ibrmatkm  of 
new  combinations.  We  may  suppose  that  at  this  time 
water  (a^  hydrochloric  acid  (a^).  •nd  many  other  bodies 
began  to  exist.  Now,  we  may  fbither  consider  that 
as  the  tompersture  went  oo  fiiDing,  certain  forma  of 
matter  became  more  permanent  and  more  stable,  to  the 
exclusion  of  others,  we  have  evidence  on  the  snrfhce  of  our 
globe  itself,  of  the  permanence  of  certain  forms  of  matter  to 
the  exclusion  of  others.  We  may  conceive  of  this  process  of 
the  lowering  of  the  temperature  going  on,  so  that  theee 
substances,  a^*  and  a»*  when  they  were  once  formed 
could  never  be  decomposed — in  fact  that  the  resolution 
of  these  bodies  into  their  component  elements  could  never 
occur  again.  Tpu  then  have  something  of  onr  present  8]rs- 
tem  of  things.  You  might  yet  imagine  that  it  would  be 
possible,  on  looking  oarefHilly  at  chemical  equatiopa,  and 
minutely  studying  them,,  to  recover  fVom  the  equations  the 
record  of  the  truths  which  were  buried  and  preserved  in  the 
equations;  and  some  analyst  might  come  and  say,  "These 
equations  are  only  consistent  with  this  hypotiudris,  that 
chlorine  is  composed  of  a  and  x*)**  <'*^  ^  letiK^  it  might  be 
said  that  the  equations  ore  eonalstent  with  that  hypotbesy^ 
for  I  do  not  want  to  go  farther  tiutt  that  In  abort,  we  can 
conceive  of  such  a  state  of  things.  Now,  tUs  is  not  leaUy 
and  purely  an  Imagination,  for  when  we  look  upon  the  aor- 
ftice  of  our  globe,  as  I  said  before,  we  have  evidence  of 
similar  changes  in  nature.  We  talk  of  the  elemental  bodies 
as  though  they  were  existing  tilings;  but  where  are  tfaeyf 
We  have  oxygen,  nitrogen,  sulphur,  certain  metals,  and  eer- 
tern  bodies  which  we  could  specify,  but  whs*  has  become  of 
ttie  others?  Where  is  hywogenT.  Where  is  chkrineT 
Above  all,  where  is  fluorine?  Where  are  these  tfaiagsf 
Why,  they  are  at  any  rate  locked  np  in  oomibinatkHi,  in 
such  a  way  that  it  is  only  withhi  the  last  hundred  yesn 
that  the  art  of  the  chemist  has  revosded  them  to  nanklnd. 
Now,  if  hi  our  globe  there  had  been  more  hydrogeiH- if 
there  had  been  an  excess  of  hydrogen  present  in  the  matter 
from  which  our  globe  was  made  and  if  we  suppose  it  to 
be  true  l^t  the  gases  condense  fn  the  s<^d  matter  of  onr 
globe,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  whole  of  the  fiee  <»Eygeft 
would  have  been  carried  away  ffom  eur  planet,  and  that  we 
should  have  had  sfanply  oxygen  stored  up  in  the  form  of 
water.  We  should  have  had  water,  bnt  no  oxygen  at  all; 
an  the  hydrogen  would  have  oombhied  with  it  and  canied 
It  all  away. 

When  we  look  at  some  of  the  foots  whkih  have  been 
revealed  to  us,  by  the  extraordinary  analyses  whidi  have 
been  made  of  the  matter  of  distant  worlds  and  nebtdss,  by 
means  of  the  spectroscope,  it  does  not  seem  qaite  incredible 
to  me  that  there  may  even  be  evidence,  some  day.  of  ^la 
independent  existence  of  sodi'  IMngs  as  these,  %  and  ». 
We  know  that  Dr.  Miller  and  Mr.  Hoggins  saw  a  most 
wonderful  hydrogen  combnstionr-^at  least,  what  they  imag^ 
ined  to  be  a  hydrogen  oombostion— taking  place  in  a  varl-^ 
able  star.  Now,  for  an^t  we  know  to  the  contraiy,  this 
h3rdrogen  combustion  ra^ht  be  merely  hydrogen  oombinin|^ 
with  unknown  elements,  and  carrying  them  tdl  away  in  the 
form  of  chlorine,  nitrogen,  and  the  like.  One  of  the  nebulse 
examined  by  Br.  MiDer  and  Mr.  Huggins  aflforded  tiism  liie 
spectrum  of  an  ignited  gas,  and  in  the  spectrum  of  the  oebuln 
^ey  saw  one  of  the  lines  of  nitrogen  akme.  Now,  tiiSs  sug^ 
gests  that  this  line  might  have  been  produced  by  one  of  the 
elemente  of  nitrogen  before  it  had  combined  with  anottier 
substance  to  form  nitrogen.  That  might  have  been  tiie 
element,  r.  I  am  only  suggesting  that;  bnt  I  say  that  IT 
we  follow  up  the  subject  we  may  have,  one  day  reveaM 
to  us,  independent  evidence  of  die  existenoe  of  these  de> 
ments. 

Let  me,  in  condnsion,  make  one  or  two  observations  npon 
a  point  which,  of  eonrse,  must  oeour  to  every  ohemist  wbe 
has  studied  this  method.  If  we  had  taken,  not  «  as  ^le 
symbol  of  hydrogen,  but  had  aivted  with  a  ^jOTereDt  hypo-  . 


Chemical  Society. 


79 


tbeiis,  name^  that  the  Bjmbol  of  hydrogen  was  a*,  we 
ahouki,  of  ooune»  have  arrived  at  a  different  Bjmbolio  eja- 
tem,  that  would  have  been  analogous  in  ka  form  to  oar 
preaant  qrmbolic  system — that  is  to  say,  you  might  have 
given  to  it  an  Interpretatitm  analogous  to  that  system.  We 
ahould  have  had  hydrogen  as  a*;  water  a*^,  and  so  on.  Ic 
fact,  we  shonkL  have  been  led  to  develop  a  system  different 
ftom  that  which  I  have  brou|(ht  before  yon.  You  may  with 
reason  ask  me^  **  Why  do  you  prefer  one  of  these  systems 
to  the  other;  or  do  yon  prefer  it;  or  what  view  do  you  take 
of  that  question?  "  Let  me  say,  In  the  first  place,  that  my 
Ol^ect  has  been,  hitherto  at  least,  not  to  give  you  a  very 
definite  answer  to  this  qoestion.  For  I  have  not  yet  placed 
before  you  and  others,  the  ideas  upon  which  a  judgment 
can  proper:^  be  formed  on  the  question;  but  it  is  oertainly 
true,  in  a  certain  senae^  that  there  is  more  than  one  answer 
to  the  chemical  problem,  and  that  this  system  as  thus  de- 
veloped, leads  to  another  solution  of  the  question.  It  gives 
you  another  auawer  to  your  inqniry.  Bat  fUrther  than  this, 
there  may  be  other  answers  still,  although,  perhaps,  these  are 
the  only  two  answers  necessary  in  considering  the  chemioed 
problem :  and  this  point  which  I  wish  to  bring  before  you 
is  of  a  xar  more  subtile  nature  than  it  has  been  suspected 
to  be.  It  is  a  method  whick  you  cannot  attempt  by  the 
modes  of  atomic  symbolism.  It  may  be  regarded  as  an 
equation  of  which  there  are  not  only  one  root,  but  several 
roots.  Some  of  these  roots  m^y  be  thrown  aw^,  but  some 
nu^  lead  us  to  a  real  solution.  Now,  X  am  not  spying  that 
one  answer  is  the  same  in  kind  as  the  other  answer,  for  I, 
with  a  natural  preference^  select  the  system  a.  I  think  there 
is  something  thm^  which  is  really  of  more  importance  and 
more  necessary,  in  expressing  (he  symbols  thah  that  which 
is  given  in  the  second  system.  I  do  not  at  all  disregard 
that  system.  Indeed,  I  shall  hereafter  consider  it,  and 
endeavour  to  see,  at  any  rate,' what  it  means;  but,  1  sc^, 
there  is  something  in  my  system  which  is  not  in  ^  second 
system — something  in  the  system  of  a,  which  is  not  in  the 
aystem  of  a'.  I  cannot  discuss  this  question  with  the  hope 
of  producing  conviction  in  your  min^  but  I  wUl  Just  point 
out  one  fact  It  ia  this — ^that  you  can  pass  from  the  system 
of  a  to  the  system  of  <i'  by  a  direct  process  of  substitution. 
I  mean,  that  if  you  say  that  here  are  two  independent  sys- 
tems —the  system  of  a,  and  the  system  of  a*-*!  say  those 
aj stems  are  not  entirely  independent:  for  if  you  have  con- 
structed the  system  of  a,  you  can  make  a  substitution  of  a' 
for  aH  What  that  system  would  be,  it  is  not  necessary 
here  to  imagine.  But  having  constructed  this  system  of  »\ 
you  cannot  go  back.  It  is  not  a  logical  consequence  at  all 
that)  because  you  can  take  the  square  of  the  first  system, 
fheretbre  you  can  go  back  again.  It  will  be  absolutely  im- 
possible to  pass  at  all  from  the  latter  system  to  the  former. 
The  one  is  derived  primarily  by  substitution,  and  the  other 
is  not  derived  purely  by  substitution,  but  firist  by  substitu- 
Uon,  and  then  by  reduction. 

Dr.  Franklastd:  X  am  sure,  sir,  that  I  only  express  the 
feelings  of  every  one  present  when  I  say  that  X  have  listened 
to  the  lecture  which  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  has  just  given  ns 
with  gi-eat  interest  afid  admiration.  I  cannot  help  tbinkiug 
that  the  brtugiog  forward  of  an  entirely  new  method  of 
viewing  chemical  phenomena  such  as  has  been  brought 
before  us  to-night,  most  be  fraught  with  great  good  to  the 
science;  but  at  the  same  time,  1  may  be  permitted,  perliaps, 
having  been  alluded  te  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  lecture  as  a 
prominent  advocate  of  what  might  be  termed  the  opposite 
system  of  representing  chemical  facts,  to  protest  at  the  out- 
set, in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  against  the  view  'wbich 
8ir  Benjamin  Brodie  appears  te  have  of  such  represeatations. 
I  am  not  going  to  speak  on  behalf  of  other  chemists  who 
employ  those  more  concrete  modes  of  chemical  representa- 
tion«  On  my  own  behalf|  however,  in  repudiation  of  the 
notion  that  I  regard  such  representations  as  these  graphic 
or  glyptic  formuko^  or  even  symbolic  formi^m  by  letters  only 


in  the  sense  of  representations  of  tlie  constitution  of  those 
portions  of  matter  called  atoms,  or,  as  repreeeutationa  of  the 
position  of  these  atems  in  the  compound ;  perhaps  I  cannot 
do  better  than  stete,  simply  and  at  once,  that  k  neth«r  b^ 
lieve  in  atems  themselves,  nor  do  I  believe  in  the  existenoe 
of  centres  of  foroe,  so  that  I  du  not  think  I  can  be  fairly 
charged  with  this  very  crude  notion  which  would  olherwisp 
attach  to  me  with  regard  to  the  representation  of  such  chem- 
ical compounds.  Now,  sir,  many  p«oplev  I  beUeve,  have  been 
much  dissatisfied  of  late  with  chemical  formuin  ia  one  re- 
spect, and  I  confess  that  I  um  one  of  the  most  dissatisfied. 
This  note  of  dissatisfaction  wa%  I  beheve,  firat  expressed  by 
Mr.  Watersteu.  W«i  do  not  ex|>ress  in  our  ohenucal  funnu- 
Im,  and  in  our  chemical  symbols,  the  idea  of  the  force  which 
has  been  involved  in  the  operations  expressed  in  those  chemi- 
cal compounds  to  which  we  apply  the  lormuim ;  and  I  think 
that  one  of  the  greatest  advances  which  could  possibly  be 
made  in  the  notation  of  chemical  compounds,  would  be  the 
introduction  of  this  element  When,  however,  we  leave 
statical  formulie-r-wben  we  leave  the  mere  representation  of 
the  atems  of  compounds  (if  you  will  allow  me  figuratively, 
for  a  moment,  to  use  the  expression) — and  when  we  go  to 
the  operations  themselves  by  which  those  oumpounds  are 
formed,  I  think  we  require  then  tliia  expression  of  the  forces 
involved,  still  more  than  we  do  in  the  statical  formulm  that 
have  hitherto  been  employed  by  chemists.  Now,  it  appears 
to  me,  tliat  we  seek  in  vain  for  this  element  in  the  new  de- 
velopment which  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  has  so  eloquently 
placed  before  us  this  evening.  Again,  I  think  that  every 
chemical  formula  is  of  use  chiefly,  if  not  wdy,  as  a  means  for 
future  dij>covery  m  nature.  So  far  as  it  serves  that  purpose 
it  is  of  use ;  if  it  does  not  serve  that  purpose  it  is  U8elee& 
The  more,  therefore,  that  a  chemical  Ibrmula  expi  esses  of 
our  knowledge  of  the  body  fi>r  which  we  put  it,  tiie  more 
Viiluable,  I  apprehend,  that  formula  is.  Now,  if  we  take  two 
well-known  chemical  compounds — namely,  nitric  acid  on  the 
one  hand,  and  sulphuric  acid  on  the  other  hand — I  believe 
that  if  there  is  anything  that  we  do  know  with  certainty 
regarding  these  two  acidSt  it  is  this:  that  in  the  case  of 
nitric  acid  the  hydrogen  present  in  that  compound  can  be 
taken  out  of  it  in  one  piece  only,  whilst  in  the  sulphurus 
acid  you  can  take  out  the  hydrogen  in  two  pieces.  Now, 
when  I  look  at  the  formula  of  nitric  acid  w{*,  and  of  sul- 
phuric acid  ad^\  I  find  in  both  these  formulm  the  same  ex- 
pression for  the  hydrogen ;  so  that,  I  say,  there  is  not  oon- 
tained  in  that  formula  the  same  amount  of  information,  and 
of  the  most  essential  information,  with  regard  to  these  two 
acids,  that  we  posses*  in  the  present  formula,  differ  as  they 
may  amongst  different  chemists^  and  lamentably  they  do  so 
differ;  still,  by  almost  every  chemist  those  two  acids  are 
expressed  by  formula  representing  this  peculiarity  of  the 
hydrogen  in  those  two  compounds.  These  new  furmuln,  I 
say,  do  not  express  that  idea,  do  not  give  us  that  informa- 
tion. I  certainly  do  not  imagine  that  any  evil  is  likely  to 
arise  from  such  symbolical  representations  aa  have  been  hith- 
erto used,  even  those  of  the  very  crudest  kind  which  have 
been  so  8troi>gly  censured  by  t^ir  Benjamin  Brodie ;  and,  fur- 
ther, I  do  not  think  Uiat  science  would  ever  suffer  from  the 
legitimate  use  of  hypothesis.  In  fiict,  I  cannot  oonceive  of 
the  future  progress  of  science  without  such  use  of  hypo- 
thesis :  and  I  must  say  that  it  is  to  me  a  great  recommendation 
for  the  new  notation  which  has  just  been  placed  before  us, 
that  it  involves  a  very  fair  amount  of  suoh  hypothesis, 
which,  I  hope,  will  be  capable  of  being  used  for  the  aidvsnce 
of  the  scieuce,  and  for  the  benefit  of  its  representations. 

Professor  Clerk  Maxwell  said  he  confessed  that  when  he 
came  into  the  room  his  feelings  received  a  wholesome  shock 
from  two  of  the  statements  in  the  diagrams— first,  that  space 
was  a  chemical  substance,  and  second,  that  hydrogen  asd 
mercury  were  operations.  He  now,  however,  understood 
what  was  meant.  The  present  seemed  to  be  an  endeavour 
to  cauHe  the  symbols  of  chemical  substances  to  act  in  the 
formuliB  according  to  their  own  hiws.  The  formulsa  at 
present  used  were  made  to  express  many  valuable  proper 


8o 


Chemical  Society. 


I  CvanoiL  ITnrs, 
1    Amg^td.'Vm. 


ties  of  chemical  substanoes,  just  as  a  great  many  formato 
were  employed  to  represent  the  syllogism  in  logic,  which 
Teqnired  a  logical  mind  to  form  them,  to  understand  them, 
-and  to  reason  upon  them.  The  only  successful  attempt  to 
introduce  a  new  system  in  the  logical  representatioii  was 
that  of  Mr.  Boole,  who  accomplished  it  by  the  metaphysical 
and  mathematical  conception  that  «*  was  equal  to  %.  in  Sir 
Benjamin  Bredie^s  system  a  did  not  mean  exactly  "  iiydro- 
gen,'*  but  '*make  hydrogen;*"  that  is,  take  the  cubic  cenct> 
metre  of  space,  and  put  hydrogen  into  it  of  the  proper  press- 
ure and  temperature.  But  if  they  were  to  compress  into 
that  space  another  volume  of  hydrogen,  that  would  not  be 
a",  because  it  would  increase  the  pressure  to  double  what  it 
was  before.  If  it  were  possible  to  get  o^,  they  would  require 
io  combine  two  yolumes  together  by  a  process  unknown  to 
chemists,  keeping  the  pressure  and  temperature  as  liefore. 
There  was,  in  thU  respect,  no  doubt,  an  idea  which  differed 
fhom  the  mere  collooation  of  symbols.  The  unit  of  ponder- 
able matter  described  in  the  system  was  one  which  had  been 
derived  by  chemists  from  chemical  ooosiderations  alone.  It 
had  also  been  advocated  by  physicists  fVom  considerations 
derived  from  the  theory  of  heat  In  order  to  decide  with 
certainty  on  the  trut^  or  flilsehood  of  the  atomic  theory,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  consider  it  from  a  dynamical  point  of 
view.  He  meant  that  kind  of  dynamics  treated  of  io  books 
on  mechanics.  It  was  worth  while  to  direct  the  attention  of 
chemists  to  the  fact  that  a  belief  in  atoms  conducted  necea- 
aarily  to  exactly  the  same  definition  as  was  given  tbere — 
namely,  that  for  every  kind  of  substance  the  number  of 
atoms,  or  molecules,  m  the  gaseous  state,  occupying  the 
apace  of  a  litre,  at  a  temperature  of  o  degrees,  and  of  a 
pressure  of  760  mfllhnetres,  must  necessarily  be  the  same. 
That  was  a  consequence  which  could  l>e  deduced  from  purely 
dynamical  considerations  on  the  supposition  advocated  by 
'Professor  dausios  and  othere,  that  gases  consist  of  molecules 
floating  about  in  all  directions,  and  producing  pressure  by 
their  impact.  That  theory  was  now  under  probation  among 
cihemists,  physicists,  and  others.  The  next  step  was  one 
which  mtgiit  be  fiir  off—the  finding  of  the  numl>er  of  tiiese 
molecules.  That  number  was  a  fixed  one,  and  when  it 
cooM  be  arrived  at,  we  should  have  another  unit  of  ponder- 
able matter— -that  of  a  fixed  molecule. 

Professor  Btokbb  (on  bemg  invited  by  the  President  to 
Jofai  in  tiie  discussion)  said  he  had  very  little  to  add  to  what 
had  been  said ;  but  referring  to  the  way  in  which  the  sym- 
'bols  of  some  of  the  elements  were  arrived  at,  he  might  say 
they  were  based  upon  the  known  laws  of  combination  by 
volume.  The  chief  feature  which  strtick  him  in  the  sys- 
tem of  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  was,  tliat  it  allowed  them  to 
express  the  composition  of  bodies  by  a  method  which  took 
in  aH  their  existing  knowledge,  and  did  not  assume  anything 
besides.  Of  course  the  mode  of  expression  was  liable  to 
change  wilii  an  Increase  of  knowledge ;  but  taking  tiieir 
knowledge  at  a  fixed  point,  such  as  it  was  at  the  present 
day,  the  method  expressed  everything  that  was  known 
without  superfluous  hypotheses.  The  question  of  binoxide 
of  nitrogen  was  a  very  important  one ;  for  if  the  known 
vapour  density  of  that  substance  was  to  be  admitted,  it 
would  seem  to  resign  the  question  in  favour  of  Laurent's 
system.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  agreed  to  pass  over 
that  anomaly  for  the  present — and  aH  chemists  would  ad- 
'tt&t  that  there  was  an  apparent  anomaly  about  it — ^then  they 
were  led  to  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie*s  system. 

Ifr.  WAKRLYir  said  the  remarks  of  Professor  Stokes  had 
suggested  what  probably  would  occur  to  every  one  in  the 
room — that  the  new  method  was  a  one-volume  system.  The 
well-known  system  of  Qerfaardt  was  a  two-volume  system. 

Dr.  Odlinq  :  The  pteasure  wifii  which  I  have  heard  Sir 
Benjamin  Brodie' s  lecture  is,  I  am  afraid,  almost  counter-, 
balanced  by  the  shock  which  my  feelings  received  on  hear- 
ing from  Ihr.  Frankland  that  he  questioned  the  positive  ex- 
istence of  atoms.  If  Dr.  Franldand's  opinion  on  that  sub- 
ject was  what  he  has  stated,  he  has  grossly  deceived  the 
chemical  public:    (Lau^^ter.)    The  Chairman  has  said  quiet- 


ly aside  to  me  that,  after  1^  Dr.  PriSnkhmd  iiev«r  reaOy  be- 
Heved  in  atoms,  or  he  would  not  have  ventored  to  takeflodi 
liberties  with  them.  We  have  been  led  to  brieve  that  not 
only  have  we  atoms,  bat  that  these  atoma  poeseas  imaglr 
nary  prongs,  and  tfaa*  there  Is  aa  JmagJiwry  daaphig  be- 
tween them  by  means  of  these  imaginary  prongs,  in  a  sort 
of  hermaphroditism  which  it  is  acaroely  peaaible  to  refer 
to.  It  behoves  charaists  to  give  thoir  attenUon  to  Una  mat- 
ter, as  it  aflbcts  their  ftindamental  notions  of  chemioalttm- 
atitutioB  and  chemical  change.  After  all,  the  aystem  of 
symbols  is  a  method  of  expression,  and  its  Talue  must 
depend  upon  its  useftdneas,  upon  the  aocoracy  with 
which  it  expresses,  and  the  fhciHty  with  which  it  can  be 
naed  The  accuracy  with  which  Sir  Benjamhu'a  systCTB  can 
express,  has  been  brought  out  in  the  part  of  lus  p^ier  al- 
ready pubUahed ;  bvtwewaitibrinlbrmationonthelaCQ^y 
with  whidi  the  method  can  be  used,  and  tiM  advantagee 
attending  upon  its  aae.  It  appeare  to  me  to  poeseas  one 
prominent  merit,  and  that  la  expressed  by  the  author  in  hie 
papei^^hatthe  expressions  are  brought  faito  immediate  re- 
taUona  with  the  ftnts  tbemselvee.  The  present  method  of 
chemical  expreaaiOB,  really,  is  not  based  directly  upon  the  fiMto 
but  upon  the  (hcts  through  the  intervention  of  atoouc  theory. 
There  is  nothing  of  this  Idnd  in  the  method  wUdi  the  lecturer 
has  introduced  to  the  Society.  No  doubt  the  expreaaion  bear* 
a  relation  dkectly  to  the  fhct,  be  the  tiieory  what  it  may.  In 
the  ordinaiy  use  of  our  present  symbolic  language,  there  are 
some  chemists  wlio,.  differing  from  Dr.  Fraiddand,  do  believe 
hi  atoms,  bat  1H10,  not  differing  from  Dr.  fVmiklaBd,  bring 
the  idea  of  atoms  prominently  forward.  On  tiie  ottier  hand, 
there  are  s<Mne  who^  Uke  myself,  do  not  b^ens  in  atotne^ 
and  who  keep  the  idea  of  atoms  in  the  baolqgronttd  as  much 
as  possible.  But  whether  we  do  or  donot  believe  m  atoma, 
it  stifi  remidns  true  that  our  notation  is  baaed  upon  the 
atonnc  tiieory,  and  wittiout  the  atomic  theory  our  kngriage 
has  no  yeaning  wliatever.  One  of  the  advantages  of  the 
new  method  is,  that  it  is  not  inoonristent,  by  any  means, 
with  the  atomic  theory;  but  it  la  not  baaed  upon  it.  An* 
other  point  of  view  hfom  which  the  aystem  conunends  ttaelf 
even  more  strongly  to  our  attention,  is  that  whidi  has  been 
adverted  to  by  Mr.-  Wanklyn,  and  which  it  does  not  require 
anybody  to  point  out— namely,  Ihat  it  is  a  one^vvdnme  ays- 
tem, while  tiie  method  which  haa  been  hitherto  in  use  in  a 
two-volume  system.  Laurent,  however,  haa  also  introdnoed 
a  one-volume  system;  but  in  that  of  the  preeont  auAor 
there  is  this  additional  feature :  that  it  is  the  only  mode  in- 
^oduced  to  chemists  by  which  the  volumea  of  subetaooes 
can  be  represented  by  integral  numbers  without  fractions. 
In  Laurent's  system  there  are  fractione.  It  aeems  a  thing 
altogether  ridiculous  that,  under  any  system,  we  ahould 
adopt,  as  a  unit  of  diemical  snbetanoe,  tiutt  which  consists 
of  two  units,  and  which  we  are  obliged  to  express  m  every 
way  aa  consisting  of  two  units.  The  new  system  ia  the 
first  in  which  all  prime  &otora  can  be  written  l^  aa  uitagml 
number.  Another  point  of  iateBest  ia  the  dissipation  of 
that  extreordinaiy  law  of  even  numbers  whidi  wasbrou£;ht 
into  notice  by  Laurent  and  Oerhardt  Why  tliat  law  should 
exist  upon  the  atonnc  hypothesis,  which  is  a  dualistio  hypo- 
thesis—the hypothesis  whldi  idao  eziyto  intheexpres8k»is 
based  on  Laurent's  one-volume  system— Is  truly  faioonoeiT'- 
able ;  but  in  the  mode  of  expression  intredooed  by  Sir  Ban- 
jamhi  Brodie,  this  disappears  altogether,  and  weget^  at  nxkj 
rate,  an  entire  series  of  compounds  formed  by  the  ainiide 
inerement  of  atoms,  one  upon  another,  and  without  any  of 
the  objections  wliidx  the  ordmary  formnlm  preaentb  £»r. 
Fhmkland  has  adduced,  as  a  reoommendation  to  this  metbod, 
that  it  really  hutaoduces  a  great  deal  of  hypothesis.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  the  whole  system,  aa  compared  with  tiie 
system  of  «*,  is  based  upon  an  hypothesis ;  but  with  Hie 
exception  of  that  hypotnesis,  I  do  not  ttuidk  that  tiicre  ia 
anything  hypothetical  in  the  whole  aystem.  Admit,  foroste 
mstant,  the  not  improbable  hypothesis  that  the  unit  of 
weight  of  hydrogen  ia  an  indivisible  quantity,  and  all  the  re- 
maining portion  IbilowB  as  a  matter  of  course.    There  re- 


Ohbmioai.  Knra, ) 


Chemical  Society. 


8i 


nudns  only  the  qaestiaii  whether  the  coBsequences,  which 
the  adoption  of  audi  an  hvpothesia  leads  to,  are  of  such  a 
character  as  to  confirm  the  hypothesis,  and,  in  fact,  to  de- 
monstrate its  truth.  On  that  point  I  must  say  that  I  feel 
the  difficolty  whibh  has  been  suggested  by  Dr.  Frankland 
respecting  die  bodies  which  chemically  behave  in  a  different 
manner,  and  which  are  distribated  in  a  different  way,  al- 
though, judging  from  their  mere  formuUe,  it  would  be  sup^ 
posed  that  ttiey  should  be  distributed  in  an  identical  way. 
We  hsTe  no  means  of  separating,  in  our  minds,  that  hydro- 
gen which  is  distributable  fh>m  that  which  is  not  Alto- 
gether, I  view  the  paper  as  of  very  great  use  to  chemists, 
as  oallhig  upon  them  to  consider  the  ground  upon  which  their 
present  opinions  are  based,  and  as  shattering  to  the  ground 
a  great  many  of  the  superstructures  which  have  been  raised 
upon  the  old  theory.  The  paper  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance and  the  greatest  interest  I  feel,  as  many  must  have 
felt  upon  former  occasions,  ^lat  a  blow  has  been  given  to 
one*s  longs^herished  oonvictions.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
I  am  not  at  the  present  moment  inclined  to  abandon  them 
altogether.  I  look  upon  myself  as  vanquished  for  the  mo- 
ment, bnt  I  am  not  altogether  disinclined  to  renew  the  com- 
bat, when  further  knowledge  shall  give  me  the  means  of 
doing  sa 

Mr.  fiBATLET  said  that  it  appeared  that  one  of  the  most 
striking  and  important  elements  of  the  subject  which  Sir 
Benjamin  Brodie  had  placed  before  the  Society,  had  not  been 
adverted  to  by  any  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  joined  in  tlie 
discussion.  That  was,  the  probability  which  it  shadowed 
forth  of  discovering  the  compound  nature  of  some  of  our 
present  elements  by  a  kind  of  chemical  calculus.  Professor 
Stokes  had  characterised  the  new  method  as  embodying  the 
representation  of  all  we  knew,  but  it  appeared  to  add  to  this 
a  hypothetical  shadowing  forth  of  what  we  might  hope  to 
know  hereafter.  It  would  be  aoceptable  to  chemists  if  the 
author  would  have  the  goodness  to  explain  the  manner  in 
which  he  arrived,  by  his  method,  at  the  conclusion  that  what- 
ever was  represented  by  a  (whether  hydrogen  or  any  other 
substance)  was  contained  in  all  those  haloid  elements  to 
whioh  the  sign  of  «  was  attached,  such  as  chlorine,  iodine, 
and  bromine. 

Mr.  FosTEB  said  he  thought  the  point  which  must  strike 
chemists,  at  first  sight  at  any  rate,  as  the  most  interesting 
result  of  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie's  method,  was  that  it  enabled 
them  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  some  elements  were,  in 
point  of  fiict  compounds.  This,  however,  was  by  no  means 
the  first  time  it  had  occurred  in  the  history  of  the  science  that 
chemists  had  arrived,  by  pure  reasoning,  at  the  conclusion 
that  some  sabetanoea,  whose  elements  they  did  not  know, 
were  compounds.  F6r  instance,  before  it  was  known  that 
the  alkalies  and  ^e  alkaline  earths  could  be  separated  into 
oxygen  and  a  metal,  the  majority  of  chemists  were  pretty 
well  convinced  that  they  were  compound  substances.  And 
with  regard  to  chlorine  itself,  that  substance  was,  at  its  very 
disooveiy,  viewed  in  a  manner  which  was  analogous  to,  if 
not,  in  point  of  fact,  identical  with,  the  view  which  was  in- 
dicated by  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie^s  notation.  Hydrogen^  hydro- 
chloric acid,  and  chlorine  were  regarded  in  early  tiroes  as 
bodies  which  formed  a  series  with  each  other,  hydrochloric 
acid  being  exactly  half-way  between  hydrogen  and  chlorine. 
One  point  which  had  been  alluded  to,  as  well  by  Dr.  Frank- 
land  as  by  Dr.  Odling.  was  that  the  symbols  exhibited  in  the 
diagram  did  not,  in  all  cases,  express  quite  as  much,  from 
some  points  of  view,  as  the  ordinary  chemical  formulaa.  For 
instance,  the  formulae  of  sulphuric  acid  and  of  nitric  add  did 
not  show  that  the  sulphuric  acid  was  what  was  commonly 
called  bibasic^  and  nitric  acid  monobasic.  That,  he  thought, 
was  hardly  a  &ir  criticism  upon  the  formulae.  For  sulphuric 
acid  the  symbol  was  «d{* ;  for  nitric  acid  the  symbol  was  av^*. 
Bat  althoQgh  the  symbol  representing  hjrdrogen  occurred  mere- 
ly ODoe  in  each  formula,  still,  having  regard  to  the  other  let- 
ters, these  tell  us  that  the  hydrogen  is  distributable  In  one 
case  and  not  in  the  other.  Take  again  the  similar  cases  of 
waler  and  hydrochloric  acid.     The  first  was  represented  by 

Vol.  I.    No.  ^2.— August,  1867.         6 


a^,  and  the  other  by  ax^  One  of  the  properties  of  the  symbol 
X  was  to  render  the  a  with  which  it  was  combined  undistribut- 
able,  whereas  the  ^  combined  with  the  hydrogen  rendered  the 
hydrogen  distributable ;  so  that  although  a  occurred  once  only 
in  the  formula  of  water  and  hydrochloric  acid,  the  other 
letters  showed  that  its  properties  varied.  They  should,  there- 
fore,  judge  of  the  formula,  not  by  one  of  its  [signs  alone,  but 
by  the  varied  meaning  due  to  the  collocation  of  symbols. 

Dr.  WiLUAHsON  (Chairman):  I  cannot  refhiin  ftom  ex- 
pressing on  my  own  behaU^  what  I  am  sure  must  have 
been  felt  by  all  present— the  strong  sense  of  the  obligation 
under  which  we  are  placed  to  our  eminent  colleague,  for 
the  most  laborious  and  most  important  work  which  he  has 
been  carrying  on  for  many  years,  though  it  is  only  now 
becoming  known  to  chemists.  It  is  a  peculiarly  difficult 
thing  to  dissociate  oneself  from  the  prevailing  ideas  on 
such  a  subject  as  has  been  put  before  the  Society;  and  yet 
such  dissociation  is  essential  to  the  working  out  of  any 
truly  new  conception,  and  especially  any  new  mode  of  ex- 
pression. The  novelties  of  expression  which  Professor  Max- 
well spoke  of  as  having  been  a  shock  to  him,  are  in  them- 
selves the  essential  condition  of  the  working  out  of  tfte  new 
system  of  notation.  One  is,  perhaps,  pained  on  first  hearing 
that  I  is  equal  to  sera  Nor  are  we  accustomed  to  under- 
stand an  operation  performed  merely  upon  space.  I  must 
confess  that  although  I  have  given  considerable  time  and 
attention  to  the  paper,  I  do  not  feel  that  I  am  in  a  condition 
to  fully  appreciate  all  the  expressions  used  in  that  part  of 
the  system  already  published.  There  are  some  things  which 
T  feel  hardly  able  to  accept  on  the  present  basis ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  I  feel  that  until  one  can  understand  in  plain  Eng- 
lish and  in  ordinary  words  the  meaning  of  those  operations 
and  thmgs  denoted,  it  will  be  exceedingly  presumptuous  to 
doubt  the  correctness  of  results  which  have  primd  fade 
evidence  of  great  consistency.  Every  chemist  must  be 
struck  with  the  unity  and  consistency  of  the  new  method; 
but  those  qualities  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  present  sys- 
tem of  notation.  I  am  quite  convinced  that  whatever  modi- 
fications Sir  Benjamin  Brodie's  system  may  undergo  at  the 
hands  of  its  author,  its  introduction  will  inaugurate  an  ex- 
ceedingly important  era  in  chemical  language  and  notation. 
I  am  surs  the  Society  will  join  with  me  in  thanking  the 
author  most  cordially  for  the  great  hitellectnal  feat  which  he 
has  performed  in  working  out  this  subject,  and  in  hoping 
that  before  long  he  may  accomplish  some  further  steps  in 
his  great  work. 

Tht  Ladtwrw^s  Reply, 

Sir  BsNJAUiN  Bbodib  :  I  do  not  know  that  there  reaOy 
remams  very  much  for  me  to  say  upon  this  matter.  With 
many  of  the  remarks  that  have  been  made,  both  by  Professor 
Frankland  and  Dr.  Odling,  I  cannot  but  agree.  I  think,  my- 
self,  that  the  object  of  a  method  is  not  simply  to  give  us 
statical  formula,  but  that  we  must  also  consider  the  dynamics 
of  the  science.  I  mean  l^  "  statical  formula,''  that  we  are 
not  merely  to  consider  what  matter  is,  but  that  we  are 
to  consider  the  laws  also,  by  which  matter  changes; 
and  that  is  a  point  upon  which  I  hope  to  throw  some 
light  at  a  fhture  tune,  in  the  second  part  of  the  paper. 
It  is  then  that  the  question  will  naturally  arise  as  to  the 
way  in  which  the  kinds  of  facts,  which  it  has  been  attempt- 
ed to  express  by  the  theories  of  atomicity,  will  appear  in 
this  method.  You  must  not  suppose,  because  I  have  not 
entered*upon  these  subjects,  that  I  liave  ignored  them ;  I  only 
postpone  the  consideration  of  them.  With  regard  to  the 
other  point,  about  the  relative  merits  of  this  mode  of  state- 
ment and  the  one  ordinarily  in  use,  I  think  that  some  of  the 
remarks  of  Dr.  Frankland,  and  my  friend  Dr.  Odling  too, 
are  based  simply  upon  a  misconception.  Dr.  Frankland 
seems  to  imagine,  in  the  case  of  such  symbols  as  those  of 
nitric  acid  av{*,  and  of  sulphuric  add  aQ\\  that  the  important 
and  ftindamental  distinction  which  is  assumed  in  our  present 
system  to  consist  in  the  different  number  of  atoms  of  re- 
pUoeable  hydrogen  which  these   substances   respectively 


82 


Chemical  Society — Moyal  Institviion. 


( OnianoA.1.  Kswi, 
1    Aug%it,\Wt. 


contain,  is  altogether  obliterated  and  lost  sight  of.  But  this 
is  not  so.  By  simple  inspection  of  the  symbols,  you  can 
ascertain  precisely,  as  in  our  present  notation,  the  changes 
of  this  order  of  which  chemical  substances  are  susceptible. 
But,  as  Professor  Foster  justly  observes,  you  must  take  into 
account  the  whole  symbol,  and  not  a  bit  of  it  only.  If  you 
tfJce  into  account  the  fact  that  the  matter  of  all  known  chem- 
ical substances  is  identical  with  the  matter  of  the  elementary 
bodies,  then  there  is  nothing  to  be  added.  To  one  who  is 
familiarised  with  the  use  of  these  expressions  (when  this 
point  is  properly  regarded),  it  is  at  once  apparent,  that, 
whereas  we  can  perform  two  of  the  operations,  for  example, 
symbolised  in  Xi  &i)d  two  only  of  those  operations,  upon 
the  symbol  a0{^  we  can  perform  one,  and  one  only,,  of  those 
operations  upon  the  symbol  a¥i^\  These  important  questions, 
however,  cannot  be  thus  briefly  discussed,  and  I  must  defer 
their  consideration  to  other  opportunities. 


EOYAL  INSTITUTION. 

Friday,  May  31,  1867. 

Oh  Vie  Chemistry  of  iheFrimeval  Ea/rOi^^  by  T.  Stbbbt  Huht, 
M.A.,  F.R.S 

Thb  subject  of  my  lecture  this  evening,  as  has  been  an- 
nounced, is  the  Chemistry  of  the  Primeval  Barth.  The 
natural  history  of  our  planet,  to  which  we  give  the  name  of 
geology,  is,  necessarily,  a  very  complex  science,  including,  as 
it  does,  the  concrete  sciences  of  mineralogy,  of  botany,  and 
zoology,  and  the  abstract  sciences  of  chemistry  and  physics. 
These  latter  sustain  a  necessary  and  very  important  relation 
to  the  whole  process  of  development  of  our  earth  from  its 
earliest  ages,  and  we  find  that  the  same  chemical  laws  which 
have  prcdided  over  its  changes  apply  also  to  those  of  extra- 
terrestrial matter.  Recent  investigations  show  the  presence 
in  the  sun,  and  even  in  the  fixed  stars — suns  of  other  sys- 
tems— the  same  chemical  elements  as  in  our  own  planet. 
The  spectroscope,  that  marvellous  instrument,  has,  in  the 
hands  of  modem  investigators,  thrown  new  light  upon  the 
composition  of  tlie  farthest  bodies  of  the  tmiverse,  and  has 
made  dear  many  points  which  the  telescope  was  impotent 
to  resolve.  The  results  of  extra-terrestrial  spectroscopic  re- 
search have  lately  been  set  forth  in  an  admirable  manner  by 
one  of  iis  most  sucoessflil  students,  Mr.  Huggins.  We  see 
by  its  aid  matter  in  all  its  stages,  and  trace  the  process  of 
condensation  and  the  formation  of  worlds.  It  is  long  since 
Herschel,  the  first  of  his  illustrious  name,  conceived  the 
nebulsd,  which  his  telescope  could  not  resolve,  to  be  the  un- 
condensed  matter  from  which  worlds  are  made.  Subsequent 
astronomers,  with  more  powerful  glasses,  have  been  able  to 
show  that  many  of  these  nebulse  are  really  groups  of  stars, 
and  thus  a  doubt  was  thrown  over  the  existence  in  space  of 
nebulous  luminous  matter:  but  the  spectroscope  has  now 
placed  the  matter  beyond  doubt  We  thus  find  in  the  heav- 
ens pluiets,  bodies  like  our  earth,  shining  only  by  reflected 
hght ;  suns,  self-luminous,  radiating  light  IVom  solid  matter ; 
and,  moreover,  true  nebuUa,  or  masses  of  luminous  gaseous 
matter.  These  three  forms  represent  three  distinct 
phases  in  the  condensation  of  the  primeval  matter,  from 
which  our  own  and  other  planetary  systems  have  been 
formed. 

This  nebulous  matter  is  conceived  to  be  so  intensely  heated 
as  to  be  in  the  state  of  true  gas  or  va^ur,  and,  for  this  rea- 
son, feebly  luminous  when  compared  with  the  sun.  It 
would  be  out  of  place,  on  the  present  occasion,  to  discuss 
the  det&iled  results  of  spectroscopic  investigation,  or  the 
beautiful  and  ingenious  methods  by  which  modem  scienoe 
has  shown  the  existence  in  the  sun,  and  in  many  other 
luminous  bodies  in  space,  of  the  same  chemical  elements 
that  are  met  with  in  our  earth,  and  even  in  our  own  bodies ; 
realising,  in  a  most  literal  manner,  the  genial  intuition  of  the 
poet,  who 

*  Beported  ipecUUy  for  tbls  paper,  and  revised  by  the  autlior. 


**  See*  alike  In  stars  and  flowers  a  part 
Of  the  self-aame  uiiiven«]  being 
That  b  throbbing  in  bis  mind  and  bearf* 

Calculations  based  on  the  amount  of  light  and  heat  radi- 
ated fh>m  the  sun  show  that  the  temperature  which  reigns 
at  its  surface  is  so  great  that  we  can  hardly  form  an  adequate 
idea  of  it  Of  the  chemical  relations  of  such  intensely  heated 
matter  modem  chemistry  has  made  known  to  us  some  curi- 
ous facts,  which  help  to  throw  light  on  the  constitution  and 
luminosity  of  the  sun.  Heat,  under  ordinary  conditions,  is 
favourable  to  chemical  combination,  but  a  higher  tempera- 
ture reverses  all  affinities.  Thus,  the  so-called  noble  metals, 
gold,  silver,  mercury,  ftc,  unite  with  oxygen  and  other  ele- 
ments ;  but  those  compounds  are  decomposed  by  heat,  and 
the  pure  metals  are  regenerated.  A  similar  reaction  was 
many  years  since  shown  by  Mr.  Grove  with  r^pard  to  water, 
whose  elements — oxygen  and  hydrogen — when  mingl€xl  and 
kindled  by  flame,  or  by  the  electric  spark,  unite  to  form 
water,  which,  however,  at  a  much  higher  temperature,  \a 
again  resolved  into  its  component  gases.  Hence,  if  we  had 
these  two  gases  existing  in  admixture  at  a  very  high  tem- 
perature, cold  would  actually  effect  their  combination  pre- 
cisely as  heat  would  do  if  the  mixed  gases  were  at  the  ordi- 
nary temperature,  and  literally  it  would  be  found  that 
"frost  performs  the  effect  of  fire."  The  recent  reaearcbes 
of  Henry  Ste.-Claire  Deville  and  others  go  far  to  show  that 
this  breaking  up  of  compounds,  or  dissociation  of  elements 
by  intense  heat,  is  a  principle  of  universal  application;  so 
that  we  may  suppose  that  ail  the  elements,  which  make  up 
the  sun  or  our  planet,  would,  when  so  intensely  heated  as 
to  be  in  that  gaseous  condition  which  all  matter  is  capaUe 
of  assuming,  be  uncombined— that  is  to  say,  would  exist  to- 
gether in  the  condition  of  what  we  call  chemical  elements, 
whose  further  dissodation  in  stellar  or  nebulous  masses  may 
even  give  us  evidence  of  matter  still  more  elemental  than 
that  revealed  by  the  experiments  of  the  laboratoiy,  where  we 
can  only  conjecture  the  compound  nature  of  many  of  tiie 
so-called  elementary  substances. 

The  sun,  then,  is  to  be  conceived  as  an  immense  mass  of 
intensely  heated  gaseous  and  dissociated  matter,  so  con- 
densed, however,  ti^at,  notwithstanding  its  excessive  temper- 
ature, it  has  a  specific  gravity  not  much  below  that  of  water, 
probably  offering  a  condition  analogous  to  that  which  Gagni- 
ard  de  la  Tour  observed  for  volatile  bodies  when  submitted 
to  great  pressure  at  temperatures  much  above  their  boiling 
point  The  radiation  of  heat,  going  on  from  the  surface  of 
such  an  intensely  heated  mass  of  uncombined  gases,  will 
produce  a  superficial  cooling,  which  will  permit  the  combina- 
tion of  certain  elements  and  the  production  of  solid  or  liquid 
partides,  which,  suspended  in  the  still  dissociated  vapours, 
become  intensely  luminous  and  form  the  solar  photosphere. 
The  condensed  partides,  carried  down  into  the  intensdy 
heated  mass,  again  meet  with  a  heat  of  dissodation,  so  that 
the  process  of  combination  at  the  surface  is  incessantly  re- 
newed, while  the  heat  of  the  sun  may  be  supposed  to  be 
maintained  by  the  slow  condensation  of  its  mass ;  a  diminu- 
tion by  -nAmth  of  its  present  diameter  being  auffldent,  ac- 
cording to  Helmholtz,  to  maintain  the  present  supply  of  heat 
for  21,000  years. 

This  hypothesis  of  the  nature  of  the  sun  and  of  the  lumi- 
nous process  going  on  at  its  surface,  is  the  one  lately  put 
forward  by  Paye,  and,  although  it  has  met  with  opposition, 
appears  to  be  the  one  which  accords  best  with  our  present 
knowledge  of  the  chemical  and  physical  conditions  of  nutter, 
such  as  we  must  suppose  it  to  exist  in  the  c($ndensing  gase- 
ous mass,  which,  according  to  the  nebular  hypothesis, 
should  form  the  centre  of  our  solar  system.  Taking  this,  as 
we  have  already  done,  for  granted,  it  matters  little  whether 
we  imagine  the  different  planets  to  have  been  successive^ 
detached  as  rings  during  tiie  rotation  of  the  primal  mass,  as 
is  generally  conceived,  or  whether  we  admit  with  Chacotnac 
a  process  of  aggregation,  or  concretion,  operating  within  the 
primal  nebular  mass,  resulting  in  the  production  of  sun  and 
planets.    In  either  case  we  come  to  the  condusion  that  our 


GireincAL  Kbvs*  I 


Royal  lastUation. 


83 


earth  mast  at  one  time  have  been  in  an  intensely  heated  gase- 
ous condition,  such  as  the  sun  now  presents,  self-lurainou8| 
and  with  a  process  of  oondensation  going  on  at  first  at  the 
Bur&oe  only,  until  by  cooling  it  must  have  reached  the  point 
where  the  gaseous  centre  was  exchanged  for  one  of  combined 
and  tiqnefled  matter. 

Mere  commences  the  chemistry  of  the  earth,  to  the  discus- 
sion of  which  the  foregoing  considerations  have  been  only 
preliminary.  So  long  as  the  gaseous  ooudition  of  the  earth 
lasted,  we  may  suppose  the  whole  mass  to  have  been  homo- 
geneous; but  when  the  temperature  became  so  reduced  that 
the  existence  of  chemical  compounds  at  the  oentre  became 
possible,  those  which  were  most  stable  at  the  elevated  tem- 
perature then  prevailing,  would  be  first  formed.  Thus,  for 
example,  while  compounds  of  oxygen  with  mercury,  or  even 
with  hydrogen,  could  not  exist,  oxides  of  sOioon,  aluminum, 
calcium,  magnesium,  and  iron  might  bo  formed  and  condense 
in  a  liquid  form  at  the  centre  of  the  globe.  Bv  progressive 
cooling,  still  other  elements  would  be  removed  m>m  the  gase- 
ous mass,  which  would  now  become  the  atmosphere  of  the 
non-gaseous  nudeus.  We  may  suppose  an  arrangement  of 
the  condensed  matters  at  the  centre  according  to  their  re- 
spectiTe  speciflc  gravities,  and  thus  the  fact  that  the  density 
of  the  earth  as  a  whole  is  about  twice  the  mean  density  of 
the  mattors  which  form  its  solid  surface.  Metallic  or  metal- 
loidal  compounds  of  elements  grouped  dUTerently  flrom  any 
compounds  known  to  us,  and  &r  more  dense,  may  exist  in 
the  oentre  of  the  earth. 

The  process  of  oombination  and  cooling  hajing  gone  on, 
until  those  elements  which  are  not  volatile  in  the  heat  of 
our  ordinary  furnaces,  were  condensed  into  a  liquid  form, 
we  may  here  inquire  what  would  be  the  result,  upon  the 
mass,  of  a  furthor  reduction  of  temperature.  It  is  generally 
assamed  that  in  the  cooling  of  a  liquid  globe  of  mineral 
matter,  congelation  would  coomienoe  at  the  sur&oe,  as  in 
the  case  of  water ;  but  water  offers  an  exception  to  most 
other  liquids,  inasmuch  as  it  is  denser  in  the  tiquid  than  in 
the  solid  form.  Hence  ice  floats  on  water,  and  freezing 
water  becomes  covered  with  a  layer  of  ice,  which  protects 
the  liquid  below.  With  most  other  matters,  however,  and 
notably  with  the  various  mineral  and  earthy  compounds 
analogous  to  those  whidi  may  be  supposed  to  have  formed 
the  fieiy-fluid  earth,  numerous  and  careful  experiments 
show  that  the  products  of  solidification  are  much  denser 
than  the  liquid  mass;  so  that  solidification  would  have 
oommenced  at  the  centre,  whose  temperature  would  thus  be 
the  congealing  point  of  these  liquid  compounds.  The 
important  researches  of  Hopkins  and  Fairbaim  on  the 
influence  of  pressure  in  augmenting  the  melting-point  of 
soch  compounds  as  contract  in  solidifying,  are  to  be  con- 
sidered in  this  connexion. 

It  is  with  the  snperfldal  portions  of  the  (Used  mineral 
mass  of  the  globe  that  we  have  now  to  do,  since  there  is 
no  good  reason  for  supposing  that  the  deeply-seated  por- 
tions have  intervened  in  any  direct  manner  in  the  produc- 
tion of  tho  rocks  which  form  the  superficial  crust  This, 
at  the  time  of  its  first  solidification,  presented  probably  an 
irre^olar,  diversified  surface,  from  the  result  of  contraction 
of  the  congealing  mass,  which  at  last  formed  a  liquid  bath 
of  no  great  depth,  surrounding  the  solid  nucleus.  It  is  to 
the  oomposition  of  this  crust  that  we  must  now  direct  our 
attention,  since  therein  would  be  found  aU  the  elements 
(with  the  exception  of  such  as  Were  still  in  the  gaseous 
form)  now  met  with  in  the  known  rocks  of  the  earth. 
This  crust  is  now  everywhere  buried  beneath  its  own  rains, 
and  ^pve  can  only,  from  chemical  considerations,  attempt  to 
reconstruct  it.  If  we  consider  the  conditions  through 
which  it  has  passed,  and  the  chemical  affinities  which  must 
have  come  into  play,  we  shall  see  that  they  are  just  what 
would  now  result  if  the  solid  land,  sea,  and  air  were  made 
to  react  upon  each  other  under  the  influence  of  intense 
heat.  To  the  chemist  it  is  at  once  evident  that  from  this 
would  result  the  conversion  of  all  carbonates,  chlorides, 
and   sulphates  into  silicates,  and  the  separation  of  the 


carbon,  chlorine,  and  sulphur  in  the  form  of  add  gases, 
which,  with  nitrogen,  watery  vapour,  and  a  probable  excess 
of  oxygen,  would  form  the  dense  primeval  atmosphere. 
The  resulting  fused  mass  would  contain  all  the  bases  as 
silicates,  and  must  have  much  resembled  in  composition 
certain  furnace  slags,  or  volcanic  glasses.  The  atmosphere, 
charged  with  acid  gases  which  surrounded  this  primitive 
rock,  must  have  been  of  immense  density.  Under  the 
pressure  of  such  a  high  barometric  column,  condensation 
would  take  place  at  a  temperature  much  above  the  present 
boiling-point  of  water,  and  the  depressed  portions  of  the 
half-oooled  crust  would  be  flooded  with  a  highly  heated 
solution  of  hydrochloric  acid,  whose  action  in  decomposing 
the  silicates  is  easily  intelligibie  to  the  chemist  The 
formation  of  chlorides  of  the  various  bases,  and  the 
separation  of  silica,  would  go  on  until  the  affiniiies  of  the 
acid  were  satisfied,  and  there  would  be  a  separation  of 
silica  taking  the  form  of  quartz,  and  the  production  of  a 
sea-water  holding  in  solution,  besides  the  chlorides  of 
sodium,  calcium,  and  magnesium,  salts  of  aluminium  and 
other  metallic  bases.  The  atmosphere  being  thus  deprived 
of  its  volatile  chlorine  and  sulphur  compounds,  would 
approximate  to  that  of  our  own  time,  but  differ  in  its 
greater  amount  of  carbonic  acid. 

We  next  enter  into  the  second  phase  in  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere  upon  the  earth's  crust  Thia,  unlike  the  first, 
which  was  subaqueous,  or  operative  only  on  the  portion 
covered  with  the  precipitated  water,  is  sub-aerial,  and  consists 
in  the  decomposition  of  the  exposed  parts  of  the  primitive 
crust  under  the  influence  of  tlie  carbonic  acid  and  moisture 
of  the  air,  which  would  convert  the  complex  silicate  of  the 
crust  into  a  silicate  of  alumina  or  clay,  while  the  separated 
lime,  magnesia,  and  alkalies,  being  converted  into  carbonates, 
would  be  carried  down  into  the  sea  in  a  state  of  solution. 
Tho  flrst  effect  of  these  dissolved  carbonates  would  bo  to  pre- 
cipitate the  dissolved  alumina  and  the  heavy  metals,  afler 
which  would  result  a  decomposition  of  the  chloride  of  calcium 
of  the  sea-water,  resulting  in  the  production  of  carbonate  of 
lime  or  limestone,  and  chloride  of  sodium  or  common  salt 
Ihis  prooese  is  one  still  going  on  at  the  earth^s  surface,  slow- 
ly breaking  down  and  destroying  the  hardest  rocks,  and, 
aided  by  mechanical  processes,  transforming  them  into  days ; 
although  the  action,  from  the  comparative  rarity  of  carbonic 
acid  in  the  atmosphere,  is  loss  energetic  than  in  earlier  times, 
when  the  abundance  of  this  gas  and  a  higher  temperature, 
fovoured  the  chemical  decomposition  of  the  rock&  But  now, 
as  then,  every  dod  of  clay  formed  from  the  decay  of  a  crys- 
talline rock  corresponded  to  an  equivalent  of  carbonic  acid 
abstracted  from  the  atmosphere,  and  equivalents  of  carbonate 
of  lime  and  common  salt  formed  from  the  chloride  of  calcium 
of  the  sea-water. 

It  is  very  instructive,  in  this  connexion,  to  compare  the 
composition  of  the  waters  of  the  modem  ocean  with  that  of 
the  sea  in  ancient  times,  whose  oomposition  we  learn  from 
the  fossil  sea-waters  which  are  still  to  be  found  in  certain 
regions,  imprisoned. in  the  pores  of  the  older  stratified  rocks. 
These  are  vastly  richer  in  salts  of  lime  and  magnesia  than 
those  of  the  present  sea,  from  which  have  been  separated,  by 
chemical  processes,  all  the  carbonate  of  lime  of  our  lime- 
stones with  the  exception  of  that  derived  froifi  the  sub-aerial 
decay  of  calcareous  silicates  belonging  to  the  primitive  crust 

The  gradual  removal,  in  the  form  of  carbonate  of  lime,  of 
the  c;irbonic  add  l^om  the  primeval  atmosphere,  has  been 
connected  with  great  changes  in  tlie  organic  life  of  the  globe. 
The  air  was  doubtless  at  first  unfit  for  the  respiration  of 
warm-blooded  animals,  and  we  find  the  higher  forms  of  life 
coming  gradually  into  existence  as  we  approadi  the  present 
period  of  a  purer  air.  Calculations  lead  us  to  conclude  that 
the  amount  of  carbon  thus  removed  in  the  form  of  carbonic 
acid  has  been  so  enormous,  that  we  must  suppose  the  earlier 
forms  of  air-breathing  animals  to  have  been  peculiarly  adapted 
to  live  in  an  atmosphere  which  would  probably  be  too  impure 
to  support  modem  reptilian  life.  The  agency  of  plants  in 
purifying  -the  primitive  atmosphere  was  long  since  pointed  out 


84 


Royal  Institution — Academy  of  Scimcea. 


(CnoncAi.  Hkwi, 
1    Amqu^  latT. 


by  BroDgniart,  and  our  great  stores  of  fossil  fuel  have  been 
derived  from  the  deccmpofiition,  by  the  ancient  vegetation,  of 
the  excess  of  carbonic  add  of  the  early  atmosphere,  which 
through  this  agency  was  exchanged  for  oxygen  gas.  In  this 
connexion  the  vegetation  of  former  periods  presents  the 
curious  phenomenon  of  plants,  allied  to  those  now  g^wing 
beneath  the  tropics,  formerly  flourishing  within  the  polar 
circles.  Many  higenious  hypotheses  have  been  proposed  to 
account  for  the  warmer  climate  of  earlier  times,  but  are  at 
best  unsatisfactory,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  the  true  solution 
of  the  problem  may  be  found  in  the  constitution  of  the  early 
atmosphere,  when  considered  in  the  light  of  Dr.  TyndalVs 
beautiful  researches  on  radiant  heat  He  has  found  that  the 
presence  of  a  few  hundredths  of  carbonic  acid  gas  in  the 
atmosphere,  while  offering  almost  no  obstacle  to'  the  passage 
of  the  solar  rays,  would  suffice  to  prevent  almost  entirely  the 
loss  by  radiation  of  obscure  heat,  so  that  the  surface  of  tlie 
laod  beneath  such  an  atmosphere  would  become  like  a  vast 
orchard-house,  in  which  the  conditions  of  climate,  necessary 
to  a  luxuriant  vegetation,  would  be  extended  even  to  the 
polar  regions.  This  peculiar  condition  of  the  early  atmos- 
phere cannot  fail  to  have  influenced  in  many  other  ways  the 
processes  going  on  at  the  earth's  surface.  To  take  a  single 
example :  one  of  the  processes  by  which  gypsum  may  be 
produced  at  the  earth's  surface  involves  the  simultaneous 
production  of  carbonate  of  magnesia.  This,  being  more  sol- 
uble than  the  gypsum,  is  not  always  now  found  associated 
with  it,  but  we  have  indirect  evidence  that  it  was  formed, 
and  subsequently  carried  away,  in  the  case  of  many  gypsum 
deposits  whose  thickness  indicates  a  long  continuance  of  the 
process,  under  conditions  much  more  perfect  and  complete 
than  we  can  attain  under  our  present  atmosphere.  "While 
studying  this  reaction  I  was  led  to  inquire  whether  the  car- 
bonic acid  of  the  earlier  periods  might  not  have  favoured  the 
formation  of  gypsum,  and  J  found,  by  repeating  the  experi- 
ments in  an  artificial  atmosphere  impregnated  with  cnrl^nic 
acid,  that  such  was  really  the  case.  We  may  thence  con- 
clude that  the  peculiar  composition  of  the  primeval  atmos- 
phere, was  the  essential  condition  under  which  the  great 
deposits  of  gypsum,  generally  associated  with  magnesian 
limestones,  were  formed. 

The  reactions  of  the  atmosphere  which  we  have  con- 
sidered, would  have  the  effect  of  breaking  down  and  d^ 
integrating  the  surfiioe  of  the  primeval  globe,  covering  it 
everywhere  with  beds  of  stratified  rock  of  mechanical  or  of 
chemical  origin.  These  would  now  so  deeply  cover  the 
partially  cooled  surface  that  the  amount  of  heat  escaping 
from  below  is  inconsiderable,  although  in  earlier  times  it  was 
very  much  greater,  and  the  increase  of  temperature  met 
with  in  descending  into  the  earth  must  have  been  many 
times  more  rapid  than  now.  Ihe  effect  of  this  heat  upon 
the  buried  sediments  would  be  to  soften  them,  producing 
new  diemical  reactions  between  their  elements,  and  con- 
verting them  into  what  are  known  as  crystalline  or  meta- 
morphic  rocks,  such  as  gneiss,  greenstone,  granite,  &a  We 
are  oflen  told  that  granite  is  the  primitive  rock  or  substratum 
of  the  euih,  but  this  is  not  only  unproved,  but  extremely 
improbable.  As  I  endeavoured  to  show  in  the  early  part  of 
this  lecture,  the  composition  of  this  primitive  rock,  now 
everywhere  hidden,  must  have  been  very  much  like  that 
of  a  slag  or  lava,  and  there  are  excellent  chemical  reasons 
for  maintaining  that  granite  is  in  every  case  a  rock  of 
sedimentary  origin — that  is  to  say,  it  is  made  up  of  materials 
which  are  deposited  Arom  water  like  beds  of  modem  sand 
and  gpravel,  and  indudes  in  its  composition  quarts,  which 
so  &r  as  we  know,  can  only  be  generated  by  aqueous  agendes, 
and  at  comparatively  low  temperatures. 

The  action  of  heat  upon  many  buried  sedimentary  rocks, 
however,  not  only  softens  or  melts  them,  but  gives  rise  to 
a  great  disengagement  of  gases,  such  as  carbonic  and 
hydrochloric  adds,  and  sulphur  compounds,  all  results  of 
the  reaction  of  tiie  elements  of  sedimentary  rodcs,  heated 
in  presence  of  the  water  which  everywhere  filled  their 
pores.    In  the  products  thus  generated  we  have  a  rational 


explanation  of  the  diemical  phenomena  of  volcanos,  whidi 
are  vents  through  which  these  fused  rock  and  confined  gasee 
find  their  way  to  tiio  surface  of  the  earth.  In  some  caaeB, 
as  where  there  is  no  disengagement  of  gates,  the  fbsed  or 
half-flised  rocks  solidify  tn  iitu^  or  in  rents  or  fissures  Sn  the 
overlying  strata,  and  constitute- eruptive  or  {dutooic  rodu 
like  granite  and  basalt 

This  theory  of  volcanic  phenomena  was  put  fbrward  in 
germ  by  Sir  Jghn  F.  W.  Herschel  thirty  yeare  since,  and,  as 
I  have  during  the  past  few  years  endeavoured  to  show,  it  is 
the  one  most  in  accordanoe  with  what  we  know  both  of  the 
chemistry  and  the  physics  of  the  earth.  That  all  volcanic 
and  plutonic  phenomena  have  their  seat  in  the  deeply  buried 
and  softened  zone  of  sedimentary  depodta  of  the  earth,  and 
not  in  its  primitive  nucleus,  accords  with  the  condusions 
already  arrived  at  relative  to  the  solidity  of  thatnudeus; 
and  also  with  the  remarkable  mathematical  and  astronomi- 
cal deductions  of  the  late  Mr.  Hopkins,  of  Cambridge,  based 
upon  the  phenomena  of  precession  and  nutation;  those 
of  Archdeacon  Pratt ;  and  those  of  Professor  Thompson  on 
the  theory  of  the  tides;  all  of  which  lead  to  the  same  con- 
clusion— namely,  that  the  earth,  if  not  solid  to  the  centre, 
must  have  a  crust  several  hundred  miles  in  thickness,  which 
would  practically  exdude  it  from  any  partidpation  in  the 
plutonic  phenomena  of  the  earth's  sur&oe,  except  such  as 
would  result  firom  its  high  temperature  communicated  by 
conduction  to  the.  sedimentaiy  strata  reposing  upon  it 

The  old  question  between  the  plutonists  and  the  ueptnn- 
ists,  which  divided  the  sdentific  world  in  the  last  generation, 
was,  in  brief,  this^whetber  fire  or  water  ha#  been  the  great 
agent  in  giving  origin  and  form  to  the  rocks  of  the  earth's 
crust.  While  some  maintained  the  direct  igneous  origin  of 
such  rocks  as  gneiss,  mica-schist,  and  serpentine,  and  ascribed 
to  fire  the  filling  of  metallic  veins,  others— the  neptunian 
school — ^were  disposed  to  shut  their  eyes  to  the  evidences  of 
igneous  action  on  the  earth,  and  even  sought  to  derive  all 
rocks  (torn  a  primal  aqueous  magma.  In  the  light  of  the 
exposition  which  1  have  laid  before  you  this  evening,  we  can, 
I  tiiink,  render  justice  to  both  of  these  opposing  schools.  We 
have  seen  how  actions  dependent  on  water  and  add  solutions 
have  operated  on  the  primitive  plutonic  mass,  and  liow  the 
resulting  aqueous  sediments,  when  deeply  buried,  oome  again 
withm  the  domain  of  fire,  to  be  transformed  into  cryatalliDe 
and  so-called  plutonic  or  volcanic  rocks. 

The  scheme  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  put  before  yon 
in  the  short  time  allotted,  is,  as  I  have  endeavoured  to  show, 
in  strict  conformity  with  known  chemical  laws  and  the  fiicts 
of  physical  and  geological  sdence.  Did  time  permit,  I  would 
gladly  have  attempted  to  demonstrate  at  greater  length  its 
adapution  to  the  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  various 
classes  of  rocks,  of  metallic  veins  and  deposits,  of  mineral 
springs,  and  of  gaseous  exhalation.  I  shall  not,  however, 
have  failed  in  my  object,  if;  in  the  hour  which  we  have  spent 
together,  I  shall  have  succeeded  in  showing  that  chemistry  ia 
able  to  throw  a  great  light  upon  the  history  of  the  formation 
of  our  globe,  and  to  expUin  in  a  satisfactory  manner  some  d[ 
the  most  difficult  problems  of  geology;  and  I  feel  that  tiiere 
is  a  peculiar  fitness  in  bringing  such  an  exposition  before  the' 
members  of  this  Royal  Institution,  which  has  been  for  so 
many  yeara  devoted  to  the  study  of  pure  sdence,  and  whose 
glory  it  is,  through  the  illustrious  men  who  have  filled,  and 
those  who  now  fill,  its  professorial  chairs,  to  have  contributed 
more  than  any  other  school  in  the  world  to  the  progress  of 
modem  chemistry  and  physics. 


ACADEMY   OF   SCIENCES. 
JuM  3,  1867. 
(Fboh  oub  Special  CoRBESPONDBrr.) 
M.  Debray,  aided  by  M.  Wisnegg,  described  and  set  to  work 
two  apparatus  for  producing  very  elevated  temperatures  \>j 
means  of  common  gas  mixed  with  air.    llie  firet  was  that  of 
M.  Schldsing,  modified  by  M.  Wisnegg,  the  second  Uiat  of  tf . 
Perrot, 


Academy  of  Sciences — Ohemuxd  Society. 


85 


If  a  oertain  number  of  Bunsea  barnen  be  united  together 
80  M  to  form  one  single  jet  of  flame,  without^  however, 
oompleie  incorporation,  the  heating  power  is  most  remarlc- 
able,  provided  a  sufficiently  energetic  and  swift  draught 
is  given  to  it.  The  form  of  the  fbmaoe  must  also  be 
varied,  and  the  draught  regulated,  aooording  to  circum- 
atanoea 

With  an  apparatus  bumhig  70  cable  feet  per  hour,  under 
a  pressure  of  two  or  three  inches  of  water,  and  without 
any  draught  but  that  obtained  by  a  sheet-iron  pipe  6\  feet 
high,  IL  Debray  was  able  in  fifteen  minutes  to  melt  670 
grammes  (1*48  lb.)  of  sQver.  It  only  takes  half  an  hour  at 
most,  when  the  operation  is  at  foil  work,  to  melt  and  cast  a 
kilogramme  of  copper  into  a  bar.  Lastly,  M.  Debray  melted 
several  specimens  of  grey  and  white  iron ;  a  pound  of  a 
sort  of  cast-iron  whidi  passes  for  being  very  dilScult  to 
melt,  was  run  in  thirty  minutes ;  another  piece  weighing  \\ 
lb.  was  melted  in  an  hour  or  so.  During  the  operation  the 
csrudble  can  be  examined  in  the  interior  by  tiie  aid  of  a 
mirror,  or  a  bucket  of  water,  which  can  receive  the  metal  in 
case  of  accident 

IL  Ohevreul  announced  the  melancholy  news  of  the 
death  of  our  esteemed  friend,  M.  Pelonze,  in  a  touching 
letter  firom  his  son.  He  was  equally  excellent  as  a  fkUier, 
husband,  and  practical  chemist 

IL  Trosca  read  the  third  part  of  his  memoir  ^^  On  (he 
Flawing  of  SoUdBodiea,  etpecMy  Metals,  (hrmtgh  Apertures:' 
Pressure  exerted  on  any  point  of  a  substance  is  transmitted 
throughout  the  interior  of  the  mass. 

IL  Hulot,  director  of  the  workshops  of  the  manufactory 
of  postage-stamps  at  the  Paris  Imperial  Mint,  made  two 
communications.  "  On  Aluminium  Bronxe  and  Ahminium 
Soidcriog.^  The  paper,  and  especially  that  gummed  and 
dried,  as  used  for  postage-stamps,  rapidly  deteriorates  tools 
even  of  the  best  tempered  steeL  The  300  perforators  for 
piercing  the  postage-stamps  are  used  up  alter  a  day*s 
work,  in  a  few  hours  their  ends  become  blunted,  and 
instead  of  piercing  only  crush  the  paper,  the  last  holes 
made  being  considerably  enlarged.  IL  Hulot  replaces  the 
steel  by  aluminium  bronze  at  10  per  cent,  and  the  new 
tool,  striking  126^000  blows  per  day,  or  180,000,000  holes, 
has  worked  for  several  months  without  need  of  repairs. 
Ahunininm  bronze  does  not  unite  freely  with  solder  by  the 
old  process;  but  if  we  take  equal  quantities  of  ainc 
amalgam  and  common  solder,  aluminium  bronze  can  be 
admirably  soldered  together  by  it  This  solder  becomes 
better,  again,  if  it  is  alloyed  with  once  or  twice  its  weight 
of  tin.  Thus  we^have  three  excellent  solders— ist,  soldor 
with  half  its  weight  of  amalgam ;  2nd,  with  a  fourth ; 
jrd,  with  an  eighth.  This  is  an  excellent  discovery,  as  it 
places  aluminium  on  a  new  footing  as  regards  mec^nical 
appliances,  especially  for  bushes  or  bearings  for  machinery, 
as  the  metal  is  almost  indestructible  by  friction. 

The  Academy  then  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  member 
in  the  section  of  medicine  and  surgery.  M.  N^laton  was 
elected,  the  majority  consisting  of  tUrty-two  votes,  against 
twenty-six  given  to  IL  Laugier. 

June  la 

)L  Schdnbein  placed  a  sealed  letter  in  the  hands  of  the 
Academy,  containing  a  description  of  an  important  discovery 
by  M.  Liebig. 

M.  Boussingault  communicated  a  new  mode  of  finding  the 
quantities  of  lime  in  analyses.  The  process  consists  in  pre- 
cipitating the  lime  in  the  state  of  sulphate,  which  is  de- 
composed either  by  a  Bunsen  gas  blowpipe  or  by  one  of 
Schlosing's  fUmaces,  the  sulphuric  acid  being  vaporised, 
and  the  lime  remaining  pure.  In  several  experiments  on 
the  decomposition  of  earthy  or  metallio  sulphates,  M. 
Boussingault  remarked  frequent  anomalies,  the  quantity  of 
the  base  remaining  often  being  less  than  it  ought  to  be. 
This  tact  is  not  easy  to  account  for. 

IL  Payen  reproduced  in  part  his  communication  made  to 
the  Society  of  Encouragdment,  on  the  fabrication  of  paper 


pulp  from  wood  fibre,  and  on  the  transformation  of  ligneous 
matters  into  cellulose  and  glucose. 

MIL  de  Luca  and  Ubaldine  communicated  a  "  Note  on  the 
Reaction  between  Sulphurous  Acid  and  SulpkureUed  Hydro- 
gen.^ The  sulphur  which  is  deposited  by  the  reciproc^ 
action  of  sulphurous  and  hydrosulphuric  acid  consists  of  two 
varieties  of  sulphur,  one  soluble  and  the  other  insoluble  hi 
bisulphide  of  carbon.  The  relative  proportion  of  ^ese  two 
sulphurs  depends  upon  the  conditions  under  which  the 
operation  Lb  made;  the  quantity  of  insoluble  sulphur  is  in- 
creased when  an  excess  of  sulphurous  acid  vi  present  The 
reaction  expressed  by  the  formula 

2HS-|-S0,=2H0  +  3S 

has  its  analogy  in  the  reaction  between  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen and  seleuious  add 

2  HS  -I-  Se0,=2  HO + SeSa, 

with  this  difference— that  the  biiBulphide  of  sulphur  889=38, 
etc,  is  replaced  by  the  bisulphide  of  selenium  SeS«. 

M.  de  la  Rive  read  the  principal  conclusions  of  a  memoir 
^^  On  the  Sources  and  Fhrnomena  of  Aimospheric  EledricUy,'* 
but  there  was  nothing  new  in  it 

June  17. 

IL  Becquerel  placed  before  the  eyes  of  the  Academy 
several  specimens  of  metals  reduced  and  predpitated  by 
capillary«ction.  In  order  to  answer  the  objection  that  these 
phenomena  of  reduction  or  predpitation  might  be  attributed 
to  the  action  of  the  alkalies  of  the  split  glass  tube,  he 
employed  polished  plates  of  rock  crystal  applied  one  against 
the  other  so  as  to  leave  only  a  very  small  interval,  and  pro- 
duce coloured  rings ;  he  has  thus  obtained  perfect  reduction 
of  several  metaL  The  interval  between  the  plates  must  be 
varied  aocording  to  the  different  metals,  and  he  has  obtained 
by  this  means  the  reduction  of  such  metals  as  cobalt,  nickel, 
copper,  gold,  etc.  Por  the  reduction  of  gold,  for  example, 
the  space  between  the  plates  must  be  less  than  that  for 
copper.  When  the  solution  is  dQute,  there  is  no  further 
reduction  of  metal,  but  a  predpitation  of  oxide. 

M.  Leverrier  communicated  the  observations  made  by 
M.  Wolf  on  the  crater  of  LinnsBus  in  the  moon,  from  May  10 
to  June  I  a  His  observations  con6rm  those  made  by 
M.  Bospighi  at  Rome,  and  lead  to  the  same  conclusion— viz., 
that  it  is  not  proved  that  there  has  been  any  change  in  this 
crater  for  a  century. 

IL  Dumas  read,  in  the  name  of  IL  de  la  Rive,  of  Geneva, 
a  note  upon  an  apparatus  for  measuring  the  different  degrees 
of  transparency  of  the  air.  According  to  M.  de  la  Rive,  the 
great  transparency  of  the  air  before  rain  is  due  to  the  pres- 
ence, in  the  air,  of  a  quantity  of  invisible  vapour  which 
renders  transparent  the  numerous  germs  floating  in  the 
air,  to  whose  presence  light  mists  are  attributed. 


CHEMICAL    SOCIETY. 
Thursday,  June  20,  1867. 

Dr.  Warbbk  De  la  Rub,  F,R  .9.,  President,  in  the  Chair. ' 
On  the  minutes  being  read,  Dr.  Thudichum  protested  against 
tiie  interruption  of  Mr.  R.  Davey's  speech  by  tiie  Chairman 
on  the  last  occasion;  upon  which  Dr.  Williamson  answered 
by  saying  that  he  merely  called  to  order  a  gentieman  who, 
instead  of  speaking  on  the  subject  of  Sir  Benjamin  firodie's 
paper,  was  addressiug  inquiries  to  Mr.  Davey.  After  this 
little  contretemps,  and  a  few  words  by  way  of  further  expla^ 
nation  from  Mr.  J.  Newlands,  the  minutes  were  duly  con- 
firmed. Mr.  J.  C,  Brough  was  formally  admitted  a  Fellow 
of  the  Sodety,  and  the  name  of  Mr.  Charles  IL  Tidy,  F.R. 
C.S.,  was  read  for  the  first  time. 

Mr.  W.  H.  PEBKiif  read  a  paper  "  On  Some  New  Derivatives 
of  the  Hydride  of  SalicyL^  The  author  referred  to  a  previous 
communication  in  which  he  had  stated  that  the  hydride  of 
salicyl  partook  of  the  properties  both  of  an  alcohol  and  an 


86 


Chemical  Society — Notices  of  Books. 


S  CnKMiCAi.  Nkwb, 
1     Avffud,  1M7. 


aldehyde,  and,  upon  extending  these  experiments,  he  has 
succeeded  in  producihg  several  new  derivatiyea  containing 
the  alcohol  radicals. 

Hydride  of  MelhylSoHcyl  was  formed  hj  the  action  of 
iodide  of  methyl  upon  salicylate  of  sodiom,  in  scaled  tuhes 
heated  to  135-140''  G.  It  separates  as  a  light  yellow  or 
nearly  colourless  oil.  on  adding  water  to  the  contents  of  the 
tubes.  Washed  with  dilute  solution  of  hydrate  of  potassium 
and  re-distiUed,  the  product  came  over  at  238''.  Its  formula 
was  established  by  two  combustions,  which  gay&— 

C.Hb09=HC,H4(CH,)0,. 
The  hydride  of  methyl-salicyl  is  isomeric  with'the  hydride 
of  anisy],  but  differs  from  it  both  in  boiling  point  and  odour. 
It  is  a  true  aldehyde,  and  combines  with  the  bisulphites,  the 
potassium,  sodium,  and  ammonium  compounds  of  which  are 
described. 

Hydride  of  methyl  hromotaUcal  was  formed  as  a  substitu- 
tion product  by  the  action  of  bromine  upon  the  hydride  of 
methyl-salicyl  It  separates  from  a  hot  alcoholic  solution 
in  the  form  of  flat  prismatic  crystals,  which  Aise  at  113- 
1 14*5*'  0.,  and  have  the  following  composition — 
C6H,BrOa=HC,H,Br(CH,)0,. 

The  actions  of  ammonia  and  of  nitric  add  haTO  been 
studied;  the  laiter  gave  rise  to  the  production  of  two  bodies 
— viz.,  a  dark-ooloured  oil,  which  is  probably  the  hydride  of 
mehtyl-nHroeaiicyl  and  a  pale  yellow  crystalline  body,  assumed 
to  be  methyl^itrosaUqflic  add. 

Hydride  of  ethyl-eaiicyl  was  formed  in  a  manner  similar  to 
the  first  of  this  series.  It  is  a  nearly  colourless,  highly  re- 
Aractive  oil,  b<Hling  at  247-249''  0.    Its  composition  is — 

C9H,.O,=HC,H4{0»Hft)O,. 
It  possesses  the  properties  of  an  aldehyde,  and  combines 
with  the  alkaline  bisulphites. 

The  hydride  of  eOtyl-bromosalicyl  was  produced  by  the  ac- 
tion of  bromine  upon  the  preceding  compound.  The  crys- 
tals fHise  at  67-68**  C,  and  contain  GgHsBrOt. 

A  new  base  hydro-^Xhyl  acdicyUimide^  OsfHs»KsOt,  was 
formed  by  the  action  of  alcoholic  ammonia  upon  the  hydride 
of  ethyl-salicyl,  according  to  the  following  equation  : — 

30,H,oO,  +  ,H,N=0,7H,.N9O,  +  3H,0 ; 
and  from  this  again,  by  the  action  of  heat,  another  base 
which  is  isomeric  with  the  last,  named  tihyieaiidiine^  the 
platinum  salt  of  which  was  prepared  and  analysed. 

By  the  action  of  nitric  add  upon  the  hydride  of  ethyl- 
salioyl,  two  bodies  appeared  to  be  formed ;  the  first  is  a 
yellow  oil,  heavier  than  water,  assumed  to  be  the  hydride 
of  niUro-isOiyUiaiicylf  and  the  ultimate  product  gave  on  analy- 
sis nmnbers  corresponding  to  those  demanded  by  ethyl  ni- 
trosalicylic  add.    Their  production  was  thus  accounted  for — 

I.  C7H»(0,H»)0,  +  HNO,=C7H,(NO0  CaH.)0,  +  H,0. 
II.  C,H4(N0,)(C,H,)0,  +  0=0,H4(NOa)(C,H.)0. 

The  second  stage  of  this  oxidation  was  said  to  be  analo- 
gous to  the  conversion  of  aldehyde  into  acetic  acid. 

The  author  further  described  the  compounds  resulting 
from  the  actions  of  the  iodides  of  allyl  and  amyl  respective- 
ly upon  hydride  of  sodlum-sallcyl  (salicylate  of  sodium),  and 
oondudes  with  some  interesting  theoretical  considerations 
arising  out  of  the  results  of  his  investigation.  It  is  thus 
proved  that  the  replacement  by  alcohol  radicals,  of  the  hy- 
drogen usually  regarded  as  alct>holic  in  the  hydride  of  saH- 
cyl,  does  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  its  aldehydic  charac- 
ters. The  formation  of  hydrosalycylamide  fh>m  the  same 
hydride  by  the  action  of  ammonia  affords,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  its  properties  as  an  alcohol 
or  hydrate  remain  unimpaired. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone  communicated  some  flirther  partic- 
ulars of  his  research  "  On  Fyrophoepharic  AddS^  Accord- 
ing to  Graham's  original  yiew  of  the  constitution  of  this 
add,  when  regarded  as  2H0,P0»,  it  was  believed  to  be  a 
bibasic  acid.  Since  the  atomic  weight  of  oxygen  has  been 
doubled  its  formula  is  written  2HaO,PiO»=PaH407,  and  it 


becomes  a  tetrabasic  add.  The  correctness  of  the  latter 
view  receives  support  from  the  existence  of  amides  contain- 
ing one.  two,  and  even  three  molecules  of  NHa  in  the  place 
of  HO.  The  present  paper  treats  of  some  normal  pyrophoe- 
phates  and  certain  allotropic  modifications  of  these  salts, 
and  indicates  the  constitution  of  the  add  as  deduced  horn 
several  modes  of  formation.  The  author  confirms  Schwartz- 
enburg's  analysis  of  the  ferric  pyrophosphate,  Pafe407  + 
3H9O,*  and  suggests  the  existence  of  a  soluble  double  salt 
P..Na9fes07.  The  cupric  salt  was  found  to  have  a  simflar 
composition,  but  contained  only  two  atoms  of  water.  Dr. 
Gladstone  mentioned  some  remarkable  facts  tending  to  e»- 
tabliMh  tiie  existence  of  an  allotropic  ferric  pyrophosphate. 
Thus,  if  a  solution  of  sodium  pyrophosphate  be  mixed  with 
a  large  excess  of  sulphuric  add  and  ferric  chloride  then 
added,  there  is  no  predpitate  in  the  coM,  but^  on  heating,  a 
white  flooculent  compound  is  formed,  which  differs  fh>m  the 
ordinary  modification  of  that  substance  by  being  insoluble 
either  in  dilute  mineral  adds,  ferric  chloride,  or  in  alkaline 
pyrophosphates.  A  quantity  of  this  substance  was  pre- 
pared and  analysed.  Its  composition  was  found  to  be  iden- 
tical with  that  previously  recognised — viz.,  Pi,fe407,3H..O. 
It  is  proposed  to  use  this  reaction  as  a  test  for  the  add  iu 
question.  Sunilar  results  were  observed  in  the  case  of  cop- 
per. Regarding  the  modes  of  preparation,  it  is  stated  that 
the  pyrophosphates  had  hitherto  been  obtained  by  the  ac- 
tion of  heat  upon  the  orthophosphates,  but  Dr.  Gladstone 
puccceded  in  producing  them  by  dissolving  phosphoric  an- 
hy(Hde  In  an  alcoholic  solution  of  hydrate  of  potassium  or 
'other  alkaline  base ;  or  if  the  oxychloride  of  phosphorus  be 
dropped  into  a  strong  aqueous  solution  of  the  saine  hydrate 
the  product  was .  identical.  That  this  result  is  true  in  the 
case  of  the  strongest' ammonia,  had  been  previously  shown. 
The  author  concluded  by  tradng  the  formation  of  pyrophoa- 
phoric  add  in  stages,  as  follows ; — 

L    PClft  +  H,0  =  PCliO  +  2HCL 


IL2 


ni 


+H.o=2Ha+^;g[o 

IS:8l0-H4H.0=4Ha.gH0),8[0 
Fyrophosphoric  add,  PaH«07. 


The  limited  space  at  our  disposal  in  the  pre^nt  number 
compels  us  to  defer  imtil  next  week  a  full  account  of  the 
remaining  communications. 

The  titles  of  the  other  papers  which  were  read  at  the 
meeting  were : — "  Water  Anaiysia ;  Determination  of  the 
Nttrogenout  Organic  Matter,''  by  Messrs.  J.  A.  Wanklyn,  E.  T. 
Chapman,  and  Miles  H.  Smith.  "Analysis  of  a  BHiofy 
Concretion^  and  on  a  New  Method  of  Preparing  BiUverdine,"  by 
Dr.  T.  L.  Phipson.  "  The  Action  of  Chloride  of  Iodine  on 
Picric  Acid^^  by  Dr.  John  Stenhouse.  "  On  JuUus'  Chloride 
of  Carbon,  C^Clt.^  by  Mr.  Henry  Bassett 

The  President  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  authors  of 
these  communications,  and  acyoumed  the  meeting  until  after 
the  recess. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Analysis^  etc,,  of  Coal  Gas,  By  Rev.  W.  R.  Bowditch,  1L  A., 
F.G.S.  London:  B.  and  F.  V.  Spon,  16  Bucklerabury. 
1867. 
NoTHiKO  in  the  history  of  diemistry  offers  a  parallel  to  the 
extraordinary  series  of  results  obtained  by  the  close  study 
of  the  products  of  the  distillation  of  coaL  The  matter  has 
been  treated  by  almost  every  chemist  of  eminence,  and  an 
endless  series  of  new  products  have  enriched  the  philoso- 
pher, chemist,  physidan,  economist,  photographer,  and 
dyer.  No  worthier  or  abler  historian  of  coal  gas,  as  regards 
its   purification  and  use,  could  well  be  found  than  Mr. 


._  •  rerrioom  (fe)-x8'6&    (WUllamMOi.} 


Augtut,  1897.     f 


Notices  of  Boohs. 


87 


Bow^tch,  who  has,  year  after  year,  by  his  disoof^eries 
lairly  earned  the  name  of  a  public  benefiictbr.  The  chemical 
readers  will  obtain  from  Mr.  Bowditch  facts  not  to  be  found 
elsewhere,  and  before  unknown  to  him,  and  also  a  more 
forcible  expression  of  fragmentary  knowledge  contained  in 
scientific  works,  in  which  difiUsion  of  matter  is  so  often 
unayoidable,  and  whose  only  remedy  is  a  compilation  of 
this  kind.  The  book  is  of  necessity,  as  regards  its  mass,  a 
compilstion,  but  it  is  also  a  comparison  of  the  author's  own 
results  with  those  of  other  authors,  whether  antecedent  or 
fiubaequent 

Periuq>s  the  greatest,  certainly  the  most  obvious,  of  the 
benefits  for  which  we  have  to  thank  Mr.  Bowditch,  is  the 
attention  that  he  has  drawn  to  the  effects  arising  from  car- 
bnreMing  or  naphthalising  gas.  Indeed,  if  we  mistake  not, 
the  spirit  of  the  present  works  points  to  a  division  of 
labour — ^to  operations  necessary  at  the  place  of  manufac- 
ture, not  to  be  confused  with  others  more  expedient  at  tilie 
place  of  consumption— but  a  strong  and  forcible  expression 
of  this  is  wanting.  On  the  question  of  carburetting  gas, 
we  find :  "  The  hirge  proportion  of  carbon  in  naphthalin 
pdiited  it  out  as  being  fitted  to  yield  much  light  with  little 
heat,  if  it  could  be  burnt  But  only  a  short  time  ago  it  was 
the  prevailing  opinion  among  chemists  that  naphthiUin  could 
not  be  so  burnt  At  the  instant  of  liberation  it  crystallises, 
and  so  dogs  the  pipe,  being  regarded  \iey  the  manufacturer  as 
a  waste  product  only — and  a  very  inconvenient  one  too. 
Bxperiment  also  proves  that  ordinary  gas  at  common  atmos- 
pheric pressures  and  temperatures  has  no  power  to  combine 
with  the  crystallised  naphthalin.**  With  these  fiicts  in  mind, 
Mr.  Bowditch  contrived  an  apparatus,  which  he  fhlly  de- 
scribes, on  the  principle  of  using  naphthalin  when  in  an  avail- 
able state— i  e..  nol  as  a  solid ;  and  this  object  is  effected  by , 
the  gas  burner  itself,  which  so  by  its  own  waste  heat  sup- 
plies to  itself  increased  light — a  simple  device,  but,  as  will  be 
shown,  of  great  practical  application.  Garbolen  is  used  for 
the  apparatus,  a  commercial  general  term  for  these  heavy 
oils,  offering  so  little  from  naphthalin  that  the  latter,  as  being 
a  definite  diemical  body,  is  taken  as  its  type.  A  gaL'on 
of  this,  weighing  10  lbs.,  costing  2s.  6d.,  yields  a  light  of 
14,000  candles.  As  a  simple  tabulated  result  we  nod — 
Weight      y4_v^  Cost 

burnt  ^*8fc*-  £    8.    d. 

Kaphthalin     .       10  lbs.      14,000  candles     026 
€kui       .  280  lbs.      14,000      "  I  17    4 

For  equal  weights  the  heating  powers  of  gas  and  naph- 
thalin are  as  12,000  to  8,786.  But  add  to  this  fact  one  more 
important  still — or  rather  the  sister  (act  to  it — viz.,  that  all 
the  carbon  added  by  the  method  gives  light,  and  so  lessens 
the  amount  of  gas  used.  No  unnecessary  carbonic  acid  being 
formed  from  the  marsh  gas  and  carbonic  oxide  unused  (if  not 
carburetted)  for  lighting  purposes,  the  smaller  quantity  of  car- 
bonic acid,  of  course,  as  will  be  at  once  seen,  is  not  so  as  a 
total  result,  but  is  so  per  unit  of  light,  an  excess  of  the  ma- 
terial being  thus  avoided. 

The  reader  will  grant  also  to  the  author  his>  other  two 
statements  of  minor  importances— first,  the  greater  steadiness 
of  carburetted  light ;  for  ^  highly  carburetted  gas  cannot  be 
burnt  without  buraers  of  small  aperture  and  under  consider- 
able pressure,  without  smoke  and  dimiuished  light" — ^these 
are  the  very  conditions  of  a  steady  light  The  second  point 
is  that  by  the  light  of  carburetted  gas  we  can  distinguish 
colours  with  almost  the  same  ease,  distinctness,  and  accuracy 
as  by  daylight — ^this  as  a  result  of  quality,  not  of  more 
quantity  of  light 

This  also  the  chemist  might  expect;  but  he  could  not  ex- 
pect the  following  strange  result: — **In  fact,  the  spectrum 
of  my  light  approaches  the  Rpeotrura  of  sunlight  more  nearly 
than  that  of  any  other  artificial  light  does."  '  The  materials 
naed  by  the  inventor  of  the  apparatus  are  cymol  and  naph- 
thalin -  both  very  cheap  and  abundant  As  regards  the  safety 
of  these  materials,  '*ttiey  will  not  bum  alone,  but  require 
the  heating  power  of  a  combustible  gas  to  sustain  the  com- 
bustion.   When  lighted  matdiea^  candles,  etc,,  were  plunged 


into  the  materials  at  100"  C,  the  lights  were  ex'inguished  as 
they  would  have  been  by  immersion  in  water,  and  in  no  in- 
stance were  the  hydrocarbons  ignited."  The  officers  of  in- 
surance companies  state  that  they  are  unacquainted  with 
anything  in  use  as  an  illuminant  which  is  so  safe.  To*  con- 
clude the  question,  Laurent  hns  found  that  naphthalin  thrown 
into  a  red-hot  crucible  volatilises  undecomposed,  and  con- 
nenses  in  the  air  in  snowy  spangles.  For  our  part  we  should* 
like  to  know  if  any  purification  of  the  so-called  carbolen  is 
required  for  the  separation  of  the  sulphur  which  is  taken  up 
by  naphthalin  in  very  notable  quantity,  and  what  is  the  extra 
cost  involved  by  such  purification.  If  the  crude  oil  is  to  be 
used,  it  would  be  necessary  to  purify  from  sulphur  at  the 
place  of  manufacture ;  otherwise,  for  the  same  amount  of 
light,  if  the  carbonic  acid  be  less,  the  sulphurous  acid  will  be 
more,  and  poisoning  by  the  former  is  prefera*  le  to  the  same 
result  by  the  latter,  with  less  seneral  destruction  of  property. 

We  have  followed  Mr.  Bowaitch  so  fully  in  this  poition  of 
his  work  that  we  cannot  treat  other  most  interesting  subjects 
at  the  same  length.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  same 
comprehenBiveness  and  enthusiasm  in  the  subject  are  features 
common  to  every  chapter.  A  full  history  is  given  of  M. 
Berthelot's  synthesis  of  acetylen,  and  the  great  chain  of  re- 
sults hanging  upon  that  discovery  up  to  the  time  when  the 
k)Ook  went  to  press.  One  fact,  stated  in  a  very  modest  way, 
will  doubtless  be  thought  worthy  of  greater  interest  by  in- 
surance companies.  We  allude  to  the  proved  gnawing  of  gas- 
pipes  by  rats  as  a  probable  explanation  of  sudden  gas  ex- 
plosions, caused,  of  course,  as  it  was  formerly  said,  by  care- 
lessness in  turning  off  the  gas.  A  diagram  of  a  pipe  so  in- 
jured is  append^  An  iron  pipe  it  was ;  but  the  dangers 
attending  lead  are  of  course  much  greater. 

Methods  are  given  aeriaiim  for  tar-testing  in  coal  gas. 
**  Some  of  the  oils  so  dissolved  ttom  gas  are  of  such  a  high 
boiling-point  .that  they  cannot  be  distilled,  except  at  a  tem- 
perature which  softens  Florence  JUutks,  and  their  density  is  fiir 
gpreater  than  [that  of?]  ivater.''  Kraut^a  flame  test  for  am- 
monia in  gas  by  combustion  is  quoted  from  the  Chemical 
News,  No.  311 ;  also,  Dr.lHofmann*s  original  demonstration  of 
the  inflammability  of  ammonia.  The  author  remarks: — *' I 
must  caution  inexperienced  manipulators  against  buying  their 
test-papers.  I  have  seen  purchased  turmeric  paper,  held  in 
a  full  stream  of  scandalously  ammoniacal  gas  for  more  than  a 
minute,  remain  perfectly  unaffected ;  whereas  properly  made 
paper  became  red-brown  in  a  single  second.  Managers  and 
boards  of  directors  have  been  so  known  to  have  been  deceived.'^ 

As  reganls  the  diifioulty  of  obtaining  tri-ethy-phosphine 
for  tcAtiog  for  bisulphide  of  carbon,  it  is  remarked  that  it  is 
not  sold  as  an  article  of  commerce,  and  only  experienced 
chemists  can  make  it    Mr.  Bowditch  has  known  52.  to  have 
been  offered  and  refused  for  an  ounce  of  this  compound.    It 
is  therefore  practically  inapplicable  as  a  test    This  makes 
Mr.  BowditcVs  own  test  for  the  same  eoropound  by  solution 
in  alcohol,  and  subsequent  dilution  by  water,  the  more  valu- 
able    A  figure  of  the  necessary  apparatus  is  given,  with  a 
Axil  description.    Tlie  author  has  also  thrown  much  light 
upon  sulphur  generally  in  gaa,  founded  upon  the  power  (as 
our  readers  doubtless  remember)  of  heated  lime  to  act  upon 
all  the  sulphur  compounds  in  gas.    Of  course,  the  origin  of 
such  sulphur  is  not  learnt  thus.    As  regards  sulphur  test*, 
ing,  we  come  to  some  statements  that  will  be  of  the  greatest 
interest  to  chemists.   **I  have  passed  this  sulphur  compound , 
into  nUroprwside  of  aodium  for  some  time,  and  have  failel: 
to  have  obtained  any  indication  of  the  presence  of  a  sul- . 
phide ;  and  yet  lead  paper  has  been  ooiowred.    I  think  I  can  ^ 
name  the  compound,  and,  indeed,  I  have  done  so  to  friends ; 
in  private;  but  as  I  am  not  prepared  here  to  give  proof  of  ■ 
the  accuracy  of  the  conjecture,  I  forbear."    Also,  from  steps, 
in  the  process  specified,  the  author  oontipues  t — *'  I  therefore . 
conclude  that  the  blackening  of  the  lead  paper  in  the  above . 
oase  was  not  due  to  hydrosulphe-oarbonio  odd,  but  to  some  • 
unknown  or  unstispected  compound,** 

Mr.  Bowditch  has  found  by  e:f periment  that  when  the . 
test  candle  is  thinned,  Hiher  an  incrioat  oer  decrease  of  cou- . 


88 


Notices  of  Books. 


(  Chkmioal  Kvwfl, 


Bumptbo  may  reeulb— which  is  very  eatisTactory  to  us,  for  it 
BerveB  to  show  that,  apart  from  the  clttmsiDefis  and  isacca 
racy  of  ezpresBion  involved  by  the  use  of  the  term  "  eo 
many  candles,"  a  positive  radical  evil  attends  their  use. 
Arago  by  his  photometer  was  on  the  more  trustworthy 
track,  and  to  his  method,  improved  so  as  to  be  practically 
worked,  all  experience  tends  to  point  The  author  gives  ns 
the  ontline  of  a  new  and  ingenious  scheme  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  use  of  candles,  which  he  calls  '*  the  new  photo- 
metric candle  balance  and  elevator;  "  we  hope,  however, 
that  he  will  turn  his  energies  to  the  question  of  examining 
light  by  any  refractive  or  polarising  means,  admitting  of  a 
concise  expression  of  results  It  wul  not  be  the  first  time 
that  Mr.  Bowditch  will  have  rendered  a  useful  original  pro- 
cess useless  by  a  subsequent  and  more  perfect  one. 

Ure's  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Jfanufadurea,  and  Mines,  Edited 
by  Robert  Humt.  F.R.S.,  F.S.S.  Fifth  Edition.  Chiefly 
rewritten  and  greatly  enlarged.  3  vols.  Longmans. 
A  Dictionary  of  Science,  Literature,  and  Art  Edited  by  W. 
T.  Bbandb,  D.C.L..  F.B.S.L.  and  E.,  of  Her  Mnjeety^s 
Mint,  and  Rev.  Gborqe  W.  Cox,  M.A.,  late  Scholar  of 
Trinity  College,  Oxford.  3  vols.  Longmans. 
The  new  editions  of  these  two  well-known  diotwnaries, 
each  consisting  of  some  3000  pages,  and  each  dealing  largely 
with  chemistry,  are  now  before  us,  and  it  behoves  us  to  offer 
some  criticism  upon  them.  Few  tasks  could  be  more  diffi- 
cult We  might  indeed,  with  perfect  honesty,  confine  our- 
selves to  general  praise,  speak  of  the  great  difficulties  which 
attend  the  compilation  of  such  works,  and  poiut  out  the 
number  of  admirable  articles,  and  the  vast  mass  of  impor- 
tant information  which  each  contains.  But  if  we  approach 
the  work  of  criticism,  and,  while  bestowing  fair  praise  on 
their  many  excellences,  endeavour  to  point  out  some  of  their 
&ults  of  fact  and  arrangement,  we  are  met  by  the  fear  lest^ 
our  praise  being  necessarily  vague  while  our  objections  must 
needs  be  specific,  we  should  end  by  leaving  upon  our  readers' 
minds  an  unfair  impression  of  the  true  worth  of  the  books. 
The  criticism  which  employs  itself  in  picking  out  small  errors 
and  blemishes  from  a  substantially  good  book,  arraying  tliem 
in  rows,  and  parading  them  before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  is 
unfair  and  UDgracious,  and  cannot  be  atoned  for  by  any 
amount  of  indefinite  praise.  We  should  be  sorry  to  be  be- 
trayed into  injustice  of  this  kind,  and  shall  therefore  deal  as 
lightly  as  possible  with  minor  blemishes,  and  shall  only  point 
out  errors  of  fiict  when  they  appear  to  go  hand  in  hand  with 
feiulte  of  method. 

Two  general  objections  will,  however,  suggest  themselves 
to  the  chemist,  on  his  first  glance  at  the  new  dictionaries — 
for  new  they  are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  One  of 
these,  indeed,  they  share  with  but  too  many  modem  works 
of  reference.  Original  authorities  are  not  quoted  in  either 
book,  nearly  as  often,  or  as  fUly,  as  they  should  be ;  and 
this,  we  fear,  will  curtail  their  usefulness  to  scientific  men 
in  a  marked  manner.  To  select  an  illustration  at  random. 
Suppose  a  chemist  wishes  to  "  read  up  "  Madder.  He  turns 
to  Ure,  and  there  finds  an  excellent  article  by  Dr.  Schunck, 
in  which  the  results  of  Persoz,  Bunge,  Robiguei,  and 
many  other  experimenters,  besides  those  of  the  writer,  are 
chronicled ;  but  scarcely  in  one  single  instance  will  he  find 
a  direct  reference  to  the  memoirs  in  which  those  results 
were  first  announced.  This  is  hardly  fair.  The  original 
memoirs  are  often  just  what  the  diemist  wishes  to  get  hold  of, 
.  and  he  has  a  right  to  expect  that  his  dictionary  shidl  help  him 
in  what  is  generalljr  a  troublesome  and  laborious  search. 

The  other  objection  is  a  less  serious  one.  We,  of  course, 
are  not  likely  to  quarrel  with  editors  for  putting  too  mudi 
.  chemistry  into  their  books,  but  we  cannot  but  thuk  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  left  to  treatises  on  pure  chemistrv 
.a  good  deal  that  is  included  in  these  volumes.  Would  it 
not  have  been  better,  foi  instanoe,  in  a  technological  work 
like  Ure,  to  have  omitted  such  articles  as  "atoms,'*  *' atomic, 
\theory,''  **  combining  numbers,"  and  **  equivalents  "  ?    And 


what  possible  object  can  there  be  in  describing  such  com- 
pounds as  '*  hederioacid,"  *'ambreic  add,"  '^diloriodoform," 
"  pittacal,*'  and  "  anisidine,'"  all  of  which,  and  many  more  as 
unimportant,  axe  to  be  found  in  one  or  other  of  tho  diction- 
aries? When  every  line  of  space  is  so  valuaUe,  the 
greatest  care  should  be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  matter, 
and  the  exdsion  of  these  irrelevaat  subjects  wduld  have 
allowed  of  a  fuller  treatment  of  many  which  now  fare  badly. 

And  now,  could  we  but  afford  the  space,  we  should  enter 
upon  a  more  detailed  examination  of  the  works  before  us. 
Mr.  Robert  Hunt,  the  editor  of  "  Ure, "  has  done  his  work 
oonsdentiously  and  woU,  and  each  of  his  volumes  is  crowded 
with  artides  of  the  utmost  interest  and  importanoe  to  the 
practkial  chemist  We  can  do  no  more  than  give  the  tiHea 
of  a  few  of  them.  **  Coal-gas,''  an  admirable  treatise,  60 
pages  long,  by  Dr.  Frankland;  *' Bread,"  by  Dr.  Normandy; 
'* Bleaching,"  and  "  Oahoo-printing,"  "Caoutchouc,"  "Man- 
ure," by  Dr.  Voelcker;  "Sugar,"  by  Mr.  Fryer;  "Candles,"' 
"Ghuss,"  ^* Disinfectants,"  by  Dr.  Angus  Smith;  and 
"Naphtha,"  by  0.  GreviUe  Williams,  are  all  elaborate  and 
most  valuable  artides.  Mr.  GreviUe  Williams's  ccmtribu- 
tions  to  the  work  are  numerous  and  uniformly  well  written. 
Dr.  Schunck  and  Dr.  Noad  have  likewise  been  large  contri- 
butors, the  artide  "Iron,"  by  the  latter,  occupying  over 
80  pages. 

The  smaller  artides,  though  firequently  leaving  much  to 
be  desired,  are  on  the  whole  sattsfSaLCtory.  They  aeem 
generally  to  have  been  oomiHled  with  care,  and  the  editor 
has  wisely  allotted  them  a  fair  proportion  of  the  spaoe  at 
his  command,  and  has  not  suffered  them  to  be  entirely 
swamped  by  the  more  important  ones.  We  are,  neverthe- 
less, inclined  to  believe  that  they  might  advantageously 
have  filled  an  even  lai^r  proportion  of  the  book  thiui  they 
do:  for  the  true  province  of  a  book  like  this  is  to  supply 
knowledge  which  cannot  easily  be  obtained  elsewhere,  and 
important  manufactures  usuallvhave  spedal  treatises  do- 
voted  to  them,  whereas  the  others  can  only  hope  to  find 
their  places  in  a  work  of  reference.  We  have  purpoeely 
said  nothing  of  some  very  important  sections  of  the  book. 
The  metallurgy  alone  would  form  a  good-sised  manual,  and 
the  descriptions  of  machinery  and  medianical  processes  are 
probably  quite  as  extensive ;  but  our  task  would  be  even 
more  hopeless  than  it  it  is  now,  if  we  attempted  to  comment 
on  subjects  such  as  these.  We  leave  the  book  safely  to  our 
readers'  criticism,  convinced  that  very  few  chemists  will  be 
able  to  do  without  it 

"Brando's  Dictionary,"  the  republication  of  which  is  onlj 
just  completed,  is  very  different  firom  the  preceding  work 
in  object  and  execution.  Much  of  it,  of  course,  deals  with 
subjects  with  which  we  have  no  concern,  and  upon  whioh 
we  have  no  right  to  speak;  but  as  chemistry,  naturally 
enough,  occupies  a  somewhat  prominent  position  in  it,  we 
have  a  fair  loeua  standi.  We,  mdeed,  almost  wish  we  had 
not,  for  the  respect  which  every  chemist  must  feel  for  the 
memory  of  its  original  editor  makes  it  an  unpleasant  task  to 
disparage  it  But  the  truth  must  be  told,  and  although  we 
admit  very  cheerfully  that,  many  valuble  chemical  artidlea 
are  to  be  found  in  it,  it  ia  on  the  whde  a  most  unsatisfisotory 
epitome  of  modem  diemical  knowledge.  In  regard  to  theory 
this  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  No  one  expected  any  very 
cordial  recognition  of  "croquet-ball"  atoms,  though  we 
might  have  begged  that  our  teeth  might  not  be  set  on  edge 
by  barbarous  and  long-exploded  definitions  and  doctrines 
coeval  with  Lavoisier.  But  we  surely  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect accuracy  in  facts.  We  do  not  complain  that  there  are 
so  few  formula  in  the  book,  although  the  most  out-of-the-way 
compounds  are  described.  We  will  not  quarrel  with  CH« 
as  a  representation  of  marsh-gas  or  O^Hs  for  acetyl,  and  we 
will  only  object  on  the  score  of  oonvenlenoe  to  our  M  fHend 
CS«  being  described  as  carburet  of  sulphur  I  (we  only  foond 
the  compound  by  chance^  bat  we  must  assert  in  the  most 
earnest  manner  that  the  atomic  weight  of  ddorine  is  noi 
36,   nor  that  of  idone  126,  nor  that  of  bromine  about  78. 

And,  moreover,  if  we  concede  C4H1  as  the  formula  for 


Auguti,  1867.     f 


Notices  of  Boolca. 


89 


acetyl,  we  muBt  refuse  our  asseDi  to  the  Aiiiher  propositicm 
that  aoetamide  is  "derived  from  ammonia  by  Uie  replace* 
meni  of  one  equivalent  of  hydrogen  by  aoetyle.  There  is, 
it  appears,  a  species  of  lead  poisoiung  to  whidi  oompositors 
are  liable,  and  which  is  oalled  "wrist-drop."  "It  may  be 
cured,*'  we  are  told,  by  soaking  the  hand  in  a  solution  of 
potassium  and  eliminating  the  lead."  We  do  not  attempt 
to  deny  it ;  but  we  anticipate  some  difficulty  in  applying  the 
cure. 

Frimcipes  de  CMmie,  fondee  aw  les  Thhriea  modemoB,    Par 

A.  Naqubt,  Professenr  agr6g^  4  la  Faculty  de  Mededne 

da  Paris,  &a     2e  ^tion,  oonsid^blement  augmentee. 

Paris:  Savy.     1867.  0 

LBfona  elementaires  de  Chimie  modeme.     Par  M.  Ad.  Wustz. 

Doyen  de  la   Faculty  de  Hedecine  de  Paris.    Premier 

fascicule.    Paris:  Masson.     1867. 
IMies  EUfnerUavres  de   Cnimie  MidicdU.    Par  Ad.  WUBTZ, 

Parts  LetlL  Paris:  Masson.  1864-5. 
2C  Naquet'b  little  book,  published  less  than  two  years 
ago^  has  already  reached  a  second  edition,  and  we  are  glad 
to  find  that  the  author  has  taken  the  opportunily  of  increas- 
ing its  bulk  very  considerably.  The  book  is  no  doubt  well 
known  to  man^  of  our  readers,  and  we  believe  that  no  one 
who  has  seen  it  wiU  hesitate  to  join  in  our  cordial  praise  of 
it.  It  is  a  well  written,  dear,  and  sucdnct  account  of  the 
leading  doctrines  of  modem  chemistry,  and  is,  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word,  an  original  work.  We  do  not  not  mean 
that  the  author  has  invented  a  new  system  of  classification, 
of  nomendature,  or  of  notation,  or  that  he  crowds  his  pages 
with  records  of  his  own  discoveries,  but  simply  that  every 
chapter  he  writes  bears  the  stamp  of  individual  thought — that 
the  facta  and  theories  he  describes  are  presented,  not  as  raw 
material  cut  by  a  compiler's  scissors  from  a  hundred  different 
sources,  but  digested,  assimilated,  and,  so  to  speak,  organ- 
ised in  the  brain  of  an  author  who  tekes  the  trouble  to  make 
a  thing  his  own  before  issuing  it  to  others.  The  book  is  too 
well  known  to  require  a  detailed  description  from  us,  even 
if  we  could  afford  the  space  for  one,  and  we  will  content  our- 
selvBS  with  glancing  at  a  few  of  the  new  additions.* 

2C  Naquel^  wisely,  as  we  think,  devotes  a  hundred  pages 
at  the  beginning  of  his  book  to  laws  and  general  prindples, 
thus  dissenting  from  the  fashion  which  appears  to  have 
taken  root  in  England  of  interspersing  eveiything  of  the 
kind,  theories  of  atomidty,  rules  of  nomendature,  laws  of 
combination,  and  the  like,  among  the  sections  on  the  history 
of  the  elemente.  Many  portions  of  this  introductory  matter 
have  been  entirely  rewritten,  and  all  have  received  some 
modification. .  At  page  22  we  find  an  historical  sketch  of 
the  great  "dissociation"  controversy,  the  author  Anally 
givii^  in  his  adhesion  to  that  remarks^ly  convenient  disco- 
Teryi  Hie  section  on  the  atomidty  radicals  oonUuns,  of 
course,  an  account  of  Kekul^'s  views  very  dearly  steted. 
Hofmann's  term  "  quauti valence**  is  adopted,  and  is  employed 
as  distinct  from  **  atomidty,"  the  atomicity  of  an  element 
being  regarded  as  invariable,  while  ite  quantivalenoe  may 
be  subject  to  change.  We  think  the  author  has  made  a 
misteke  in  devoting  three  pages  to  the  absurd  hvpothesis  of 
sub-atoms  invented  to  account  jGor  the  observed  variations, 
in  atomicity,  but  we  can  easily  pardon  it  for  the  sake  of 
the  distinct  rejection  which  is  accorded  to  it  We  are  dis- 
poaed  to  agree  heartily  with  the  fbllovring  pajisage  from 
M.  Haquet :  "  Quant  i  nous,  ne  voulant  pas  aller  au  deli  des 
faita,  nonsadmettons  que  des  molecules  non  satur^s  existent 
i  I'etat  de  liberty,  paroe  que  Tezyde  de  oarbone  et  beaucoup 
d*aucres  corps  en  foumissent  les  preuves,  et  nous  admettons 
aossi  que  les  radicaux  d'atomioite  impaire  peuvent  exister 
Bans  ae  doubler,  parce  que  oela  a  Ueu  pour  le  biozyde 
d^azoto  AxO,  et  rhyfi>a9otlde  AzOg.'*  f—PciS^  48. 

•  We  ara  ffUfl  to  bear  that  ft  tr(uiBlatl<in  of  the  new  edition  U  la  pro- 
greaa.  tod  will  be  publiibed  before  long. 

t  Nitric  peroxiao  has  been  ihown  to  dissociate  below  •to'*  C,  and 
J>rr  fVtoklwd  ^Leetnre  l^otM,  p.  6i)tri««  to  ff9i  over  tbo  W  dUlioiUt7 


With  respect  to  two  of  the  gravest  difficulties  on  the  new 
views,  the  compounds  AgNaOls  and  ICli,  our  author  rejecte 
Kekul^'s  hypothesis  of  '*  molecular  combination,"  and  pre- 
fers to  regard  chlorine  and  iodine  as  being  triatomia  The 
wisdom  of  such  an  assumption  is,  however,  extremely  ques- 
tionable. 

In  tl^e  section  on  adds,  bases,  and  salte,  the  views  of  Can- 
nizzaro,  Wurtz,  and  Kekule  aro  described  with  a  clearness 
which  we  have  never  seen  surpassed.  No  student  could 
have  the  least  difficulty  in  mastering  them. 

Before  leaving  the  book,  we  must,  however,  advert  to 
one  or  two  somewhat  importent  omission — omissions  which 
surprise  us  in  such  a  carefhlly  edited  manual  In  the  account 
of  ozone  the  fact  that  when  &e  ozone  is  absorbed  from  ozon- 
ised oxygen,  no  contraction  of  volume  is  observed,  is  duly 
noted,  and  the  hypothetical  explanation  of  this  fact  suggest- 
ed by  Dr.  Odling — ^namely,  that  the  true  formula  for  ozone  is 
O2O,  and  that  the  removal  of  one  atom  of  oxygen,  therefore, 
leaves  the  volume  unchanged — is  likewise  given;  but  the 
beautiful  experimental  verification  of  this  hypothesis  recently 
supplied  by  M.  Soret,  we  succeeded  in  absorbing  the  whole 
molecule  of  ozone  by  oQ  of  turpentine,  is  unaccountebly 
omitted.  The  other  omission  is  even  more  important. 
The  author  is  evidently  ignoraut  of  the  splendid  memoir  of 
H.  Eopp  an  atomic  heats,  which  was  pubUshed  in  the 
FhUodophical  TraneacUons  for  1865.  The  result  is,  that  he 
not  only  assumes  the  atomic  heats  of  all  elements  except 
carbon,  boron,  and  silicon,  to  be  identical ;  but  he  mak^s  the 
grave  mistake  of  deducing  the  molecular  constitution  of  water 
from  the  specific  heat  of  water,  instead  of  from  that  of  ice. 

M.  Wurtz,  two  of  whose  manuals  we  take  this  opportunl-  * 
ty  of  noticing,  is  certainly  a  most  diligent  writer.  Besides 
his  completed  works,  he  has  three  books  at  present  in  pro- 
gress. The  titles  of  two  of  them  are  given  at  the  head  of 
this  article,  while  the  third,  a  large  dictionary  of  chemstry, 
is  announced  for  speedy  publication.  Of  the  Ohimie  Medi- 
cak  two  parte  have  already  appeared,  one  devoted  to  inor- 
ganic, the  other  to  organic  chemistry.  The  third,  on  "  Ghimie 
Biologique,"  has  been  expected  for  some  time.  As  far  as  it 
has  gone,  it  is  a  very  good  and  practical  work.  Ite  title, 
however,  hardly  gives  a  true  idea  of  it,  for  it  is  simply  a 
manual  of  chemistry,  well  written  and  arranged  in  a  dear 
though  somewhat  old-fashioned  manner.  The  only  thing 
peculiar  about  it  is  that  all  subjects  especially  interesting  to 
medical  men,  such  as  mineral  waters,  substonces  used  in 
pharmacy,  the  detection  of  poisons,  and  the  like,  are  brought 
into  marked  prominence,  .and  are  treated  in  great  deteil. 
Strange  to  say,  the  old  equivalents  are  employed  through- 
out The  author  apologises  for  it  in  his  prefiace,  by  alleg- 
ing the  necessity  of  conforming  to  the  official  teaching  of 
Paris ;  but  HO,  in  a  work  by  M.  Wurtz,  seems  almost  as 
much  out  of  place  as  an  account  of  phlogiston  would  be. 

Only  one  pari  of  the  Ltfons  has  as  yet  reached  us,  and  it 
is  not  of  a  character  to  call  for  any  particular  remark.  It  is 
simple,  dear,  and  concise;  but  though  the  new  atomic 
weights  aro  adopted  in  it,  it  lacks  the  original  and  sdontific 
arrangement  which  distinguishes  M.  Naquet's  Principee, 
In  s^ite  of  some  advantages,  we  cannot  but  regard  it  as  far 
iufenor  to  the  last-named  work. 

Theology  andKatural  Science;  iheir  Mutual  RelaUons.  A  lec- 
ture by  J.  H.  GLAJDffroNB,  F.R.S.  Jos.  Nisbet  and  Co. 
Do,  GriiADSTONS  has  endeavoured  to  show  in  the  present 
lecture  how  the  study  of  natural  sdenoe,  being  the  study 
of  one  volume  which  has  issued  from  the  Divine  Being,  pre- 
pares the  mind  for  the  reoeption  of  the  truths  delivered  in 
the  companion  volume  of  God*8  word.  Both  are  difficult 
studies,  and,  in  many  cases  wrong  interpretetions  are  arrived 
at;  but  the  fact  that  the  interpretetion  of  the  one  record, 
clashes  with  the  apparent  meaning  of  the  other,  shows  not 

by  renwdlng  it  as  IT'O*  dissoeiated  at  a  very  low  temporalnre.  Bat  If 
this  were  the  ease  It  oonld  only  dissoctate  into  NO  and  NO,  and  the 
obnoxions  comp«>and  most,  therefore,  at  ordinary  temperatorei,  contain 
diatomlo  aiUrufen* 


90 


Notices  of  Books — Gontemporary  Sdeniijic  Press. 


( CincMirAL  T^nra, 


that  the  original  works  are  inoonsietent  the  one  with 
the  other,  but  that  our  interpretations  in  neither  oa^e  are 
perfect  All  the  Inspired  teachers  of  religion  have  drawn 
lessons  fh>m  the  stady  of  nature,  whereas  Nature  has 
acted  the  part  of  a  terrible  giant  a  destructiTe  Jupiter, 
or  an  awftd  Thor,  in  the  religions  that  have  had  no  revela- 
tion. Scienoe  repays  the  debt  bj  dearing  the  mind  from 
superstition,  by  exciting  an  earnest  reverend  spirit,  bj 
inducing  humility  of  mind,  deamess  of  definition,  calmness 
of  judgment 

The  slur  cast  upon  science,  that  it  leads  to  infidelity,  is 
well  rebutted  by  Dr.  Gladstone.  He  states  it  as  his  expe- 
rience that  there  are  no  more  irreligious  men  in  the  walks 
of  sdenoe  than  in  other  professions.  What  a  man  is  be- 
fore he  begins  to  study,  that  he  remains.  The  religious 
man  becomes  more  firmly  convinced,  the  irreligious  man 
gains  greater  scope  for  scofiKng.  Sdence  is  not  necessarily 
religious,  nor  is  it  the  reverse ;  it  may  be  condudve  to 
either  end.  Dr.  Gladstone  has  spoken  kindly,  thoughtfully, 
and  well  on  one  of  the  questions  of  the  day  that  touches 
us  not  as  scientific  men,  but  as  men^  who  cannot  be  indiffer- 
ent when  it  is  sought  to  place  sdenoe  in  opposition  to  reli- 
gion. 


rUn( 
CAipai 


CONTEMPORARY  SCIENTIFIO  PRISSS. 

rdndcr  thli  beading  it  Is  intende'l  to  glye  f  he  Utief  of  all  the  ebeml- 
papers  which  are  pnbHsbed  In  the  prinetpal  sdentlflo  periodicals  of 
the  Continent.  Anides  which  sre  merely  reprints  or  abstrsets  of 
papers  already  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  of  the  more  impor- 
tant papers  here  annonnoed  will  appear  in  ftktnre  nambers  of  the 
CnuiiOAL  Nsws.] 

ZeUschrift  des  Architecten  und  Ingenieur-  Vereins  fur 
Hannover,  No.  4.  1866. 
Von  Kaven  "Or  the  Elasticity  and  Tsnsik  Strength  of  Iron 
and  Steel" — BEDfit ''  On  the  Avtion  of  the  Atmosphere  on  Coal** 
— P.  RzTHA  "On  the  Cost  0/ Manufacturing  Cfem#nt"— Oppeh- 
KANN  "On  Rtrniain-La^'aucts  Gla*s  Mannfnriorg  at  la  Villette, 
Paris  ;^  '^On  GuiUaumeCs  Dye  Works  at  Puteattx-fwr-Seine^' 
— A.  WoHLER:  ''RenUts  of  Experiments  on  the  Relative 
Strength  of  Iron,  Steely  and  Copper:^ 


Dinffler's  Polyiechnisches  Journal    No.  3,  February,  1867. 

A.  VON  Waltenhopen  '^On  the  Electro-mciive  Fbrce  of  cer- 
tain Voltaic  BaUeries,"-^K  Waoneb  ''On  the  QuaniUaiive 
Estimation  of  Jknnic  Acid," — A.  Ott  ''On  Petrolewn  as  a  Lu- 
bricanL" — T,  Kick  "On  a  Cheap  and  Rapid  Method  of  iVe- 
paring  Lecture  Diagrams." — "On  Ke*ping  Sodium  in  Paraffin 
Oil""-"  On  the  Une  of  Glycerine  in  Ga^  M^'ters.^—^On  the 
Manufacture  of  Black  Paraffin  CandU8."—KXKULt  "  On  a 
Simple  Mtthod  of  Transforming  Nitrobenznl  into  AnUiTie," — 
K.  P.  RiCHTEB  "On  the  Extraction  cf  Fixed  Oils  by  BiwljMie 
of  Carbon." — G.  C.  Wittstein  "  On  the  Use  of  Poisonous 
Colours  on  Wearing  Apparel"^- J,  OsER  "  On  a  Simple 
Method  of  Thstiftg  FlourS 

No.  4,  Pebruary. — A.  Sciteuber-Kbstner  "On  Riviere's 
Method  of  Manufacturing  Caustic  Baryia."'—C.  Scheibler  : 
"An  AppareUus for  ancertaining  the  Quantity  of  Carbonic 
Acid  contained  in  the  Gas  used  for  removing  the  Lime  from 
Beetroot  Juice."— -'E.  ScniTLZ  "On  the  Chemical  Compoktion 
ajfkd  on  some  Physical  Properties  of  different  kinds  of  Animal 
Charcoal"— H.  Vohl  "  On  the  'Use  of  Peat  for  'Preparing 
Lighting  and  Lubricating  MateriaU.  and  for  Producing  Acetic 
Acid,  Wood  Naphtha^  Ammoniacal  Salts,  ire."— Baeyeb  "On 
the  Redudion  of  Aromatic  Compounds  by  means  of  Zinc," 

No.  j;,  March.— H.  Wagner  "On  the  Extraction  of  Copper 
from  Poor  Ores  in  the  Wet  Wav.*'— R.  Waoneb  "On  (he  bent 
Method  of  Preserving  Sodium  "—T>avgeyill^  and  Gauhn 
''On  a  Aiethod  of  Discharging  Aniline  Colours.^ 

No.  6,  March,— A.  von  Waltenhopen  "On  a  new  Electro- 
magnetic  Machine^  and  on  the  Useful  Effect  and  Cost  of  such 
Machines."— C.  Puscheb  "On  a  Method  of  Preparing  Gela- 
tine from  Olue;"  "On  the  PreparaUun  of  the  ngw  Mothtr^f- 


Pearl  Paper;"  "On  Landscapen  in  Glass,  a  ww  Phnctf  Jrfi- 
de;"  "  A  Cement  for  attaching  Brass  to  OtoAt."— R.  Ltnner 
"On  (he  Use  of  Movable  l\tbs  as  Receptacle*  for  ExcremenHtums 
Matters  at  Gratz."'—W.  Stein  :  "  A  Method  of  ascertaining  the 
Presence  of  Free  Alkalies  in  Soap  and  AtkaUne  SaU^."—C 
Peldmanh:  "  A  Bottle-irush  made  of  0««-</r»jp«."— T. 
WxxiCEL  "  On  the  AduUerotion  of  Japanese  Wax,** 

Jottmal  fttr  praktische  Chemie.  Mait^b  7,  1867. 
C.  G.  Lautsch  "  On  Oie  Saturating  Capacity  of  Periodic 
Acid." — P.  W.  Pernlunds  On  the  mme  mbject. — R.  Heb- 
KANN  "  On  the  Composition  of  RutHe  from  the  I/men  Maun' 
fcitn*."— B  VON  Sokmaruoa  "On  the  Equivalents  of  Cobalt 
and  ^icfe/."— M.  Delai^taine  **0n  the  Oxides  of  Niobium," 
— P.  T.  Cleve  and  A.  E.  Nordenskjold  "On  the  Hjfdrated 
SiUcaies  of  Iron," — C  Birnbauh  "On  the  Action  of  Suifhur* 
ous  Acid  on  Hydrated  Oxide  of  Platinum." —h.  J.  Ingelstbom  : 
"An  Analysis  of  some  new  Swedish  Minerals," 

Le  Technologiste,  April,  1867. 
T.  Becker  "On  the  Method  in  Use  at  Staxsfurtfor  E^Hmai' 
ing  Potash  as  a  TaWra<t"— C.  Gisbke  "On  the  Detection  of 
Free  Sulphuric  Acid  in  Sulphate  of  Alumina. "-^OoiQTXEt  "On 
a  Sciooit  of  Indigo  and  Oochineal."—lM  Walkhopp  "On  a 
Sflf-acting  'Apparatus  for  Drying  Animal  CharcoaL"'^'iixrm 
"On  a  Method  of  Purifying  KaphthaUne," 

Comptes  Rendus,  April  8,  1867. 
A.  Secchi  "On  a  Spectroscope  for  Celestial  Ohservaiioms,^ 
— A.  WuRTZ  "On  the  Tranrformaiion  of  Aromatic  Carbides 
into  Phenols."— 'A.  Kekul^  '*0n  some  Derivatives  of  Benzol,*' 
— MABii-DAVT  "On  the  Electromotive  Force  of  Voltaic  BaU 
ieries." — P.  Chbistopli  and  H.  Boun.HET:  "Obnervations  on 
Dufresne^s  Memoir  on  a  process  for  Gilding  and  Silvering  bif 
Amalgamation  without  Danger  to  the  Woi^^nen." — R.  Duchb- 
MIN  "On  the  Use  of  Picric  Add  in  Voltaic  Batteries." -^Bvsl- 
TRELOT  "On  a  Method  of  Reducing  and  Saturating  Organic 
Compounds  with  ^ylrovjen.**— I>dbbunpaut  "On  the  Preeenee 
and  Ibrmation  of  CrystaOisdbk  Sugar  in  the  TSAers  of  the 
Jerusalem  Artichoke," 


Poggendorff''s  Annalen,  Marcb  15,  1867. 
G.  Magnus  "On  the  Influence  of  the  Adhesion  of  Vaponr  m 
Experiments  on  the  Absorption  of  ffeat."—K  VoiT  "On  (he 
Diffusion  of  Liquids,"^^  Zettnow:  ''Contributions  to  the 
Knowledge  of  Wolfram  and  its  Compounds;"  "On  a  new 
Method  of  Qualitative  Analysis,  in  which  Sufphureited  Hydro- 
gen and  Sulphide  of  Ammonium  are  dispensed  withJ** — R. 
Weber  "  On  the  theory  of  the  Manufacture  of  Sv^^hurie 
Jcid."— W.  Holtz  "On  the  Oonftruction  of  Induction  Ma- 
chines for  obtaining  Electricity  o/"  High  Thnsion.'*  —  F. 
Schneider:  "Remarks  on  Von  Sommaruga^n  Memoir  en 
the  Equivalents  of  Nickel  and  Cobalt."— A.  Brio  "  On  the 
Crystalline  Form  and  Optical  Properties  of  Formiate  of  Cad- 
mium afid  Baryta." 

Annalen  der  Chemie  und  Pharmacie.  March,  1867. 
R.  Bunsen  '*Ona  Method  of  Estimating  the  Specific  Grav- 
ity of  Vapours  and  Oases.'^ — M.  von  Pbttenkoper  and  K. 
Voit  *'0n  t^  Quantity  of  Carbonic  Acid  given  out.  and  the 
Oxygen  consumed,  by  the  Human  Subject  during-  Waking  and 
Slewing,"— W.  Schlebuboh  "On  the  Chlorinated  SftbstUHtion 
Products  of  Fatty  Acids.^* — H.  Hlasiwetz  and  A.  Grabow- 
SKi  "On  Carminic  -Icui"— JJ.  Malik  "On  a  Derivative  of 
Rufigallic  Acid." — ^A.  Gescheb  "On  Sulphide  of  Copper  and 
Ammonium." — W.  Heintz  "On  the  Action  of  Carbonate  of 
Ammonia  on  ChloraceHc  Ether  "^^Ti,  Otto  and  H.  OsTBOP 
"  On  BenzO'Sulphurous  Acid.^  ^ 

Romberg^s  ZeUschrift  fikr  praktische  Baukunst, 
N08.  1-3.     1867. 
Bbad  "On  a  Method  of  TuHng  the  Capability  of  Natural 


CmniOAL  Nkws,  ) 


Contem^porary  Scientific  Press — Notices  of  Patents. 


91 


and  Ariifieidi  l^one  for  Retisiing  Frost  and  W<^**— Schuook 
"0»  the  Impregnation  of  Wood  with  Preservative  Solutions,'' — 
SoYBiur :  '^l  Method  0/ Purifying  the  Waste  Watere  of  Sugar 
and  other  Manufactories,^ 

Journal  des  FaJnicanis  de  Papier.    March  i,  1867. 
E.  BouRDiLUAT  "On  Testing  (he  Chemical  Products  used  in 
Paper-making,^^ 


NOTICES  OF  PATENTS. 


21  la  Treating  Fatty  and  Oity  Matters,  G.  Patks, 
Battersea.  August  16,  1866. 
An  inoreased  quantity  of  fatty  adds  is  thus  obtained.  After 
the  breaking  up  of  any  fat  into  its  acid,  and  glycerine  as  its 
base,  by  sulphuric  acid,  as  a  further  treatment  the  fatty  acid 
la  combined  with  an  inorganic  base  (as  litharge  or  potash), 
and  then,  by  a  stronger  acid,  the  fatty  add  is  again  liberated 
and  may  be  distilled  offl 


2ioi.  Steel  and  Iron  Manufacture,    J.  Cameron,  Mount 
Pleasant,  Barrow-in-Furness.    August  15,  1S66. 
Tbe  Bessemer  process  is  modified  by  the  use  of  lime,  caldc, 
barytic,  sodic,  potassic,  and  ferric  carbonates;  with  other 
iron  ores,  fluor  spar  and  salt,  as  fluxes. 


2081.  Production  of  Green  Colouring  Matter  for  Dyeing  and 
Printing  Textile  Fabrics  and  Tarns.  J.  A.  Wankltn,  City, 
London,  and  A.  Pabaf,  Manchester.  August  14,  1866.— 
Not  proceeded  with. 
Equal  weights  of  rosaniline  and  an  alcohol  or  suitable 
solTent  are  taken,  with  ethylic  or  isopropvlic  iodide  (or  other 
replacer  of  hydrogen^  and  are  subjected  to  a  temperature 
230*'Fahr.  for  three  hours  under  pressure.  The  solution  of 
Rodic  carbonate  (one  pNercentage  strength)  is  added  to  the 
product  in  the  proportion  of  four  times  its  weight  There 
results  a  green  dye  in  solution,  and  Tiolet  dye  as  a  predpi- 
tate.  The  latter  is  converted  by  Hoda  ley  into  a  nearly 
colourless  base,  with  violet  salts.  The  base  is  powdered 
again^  heated  to  230°  Fahr.,  and  treated  as  before,  more  green 
solution  resulting,  and  so  on  for  two  or  three  times  until  all 
ta  oonvered  into  green  dye. 


21 15.    Use  and  Application  of  an  Inorganic  Glyceric  EUter. 

A,  Parav,  Manchester.    Dated  August  17,  1866. 
Depbkds  on  the  formation  of  a  neutral  arsenite  which  is  .of 


ralue  in  madder  dyeing.    Arsenious  add  of  commerce  is  jjijane,  ^'Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  white  leadJ 


di«6olved  in  an  equal  weight  of  glycerine.  This  so-called 
arsenious  glycerine  ether,  with  residual  arsenic  dissolved  in 
glycerine,  easily  decomposes  in  presence  of  steam,  leaving  the 
insoluble  arsenious  add.  i  Ib.of  the  ether  mixed  with  2  os.  of 
any  djstallised  aniline  colour  is  dissolved  in  starch  solution ; 
steaming  for  about  half  an  hour  deposits  the  acid,  and  fixes 
the  oolonring  matter  in  a  printed  textile  fabric 


shire,  ''  Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  steel  and  soft 
iron  fVom  cast  iron." — April  16,  1867. 

1356.  C.  D.  Abel,  Southampton  Buildings,  Chancery  Lane, 
"  A  new  or  improved  method  and  apparatus  for  converting 
the  gaseous  products  of  combustion  into  combustible  g^ases.' ' 
— A  communication  fh>m  N.  Lebedeff,  St  Petersburg,  Russia. 
—May  8,  1867. 

1382.  O.  McEenzie,  Glasgow,  N.  B.,  "Improvements  in 
the  manufacture  of  illuminating  gas.*' — May  10^  1867. 

KoncBS  TO  Pbocbed. 

39.  B.  Biggs,  Laurence  Pountuey  Hill,  London, ''  Improve- 
ments in  and  applicable  to  candles.'*— Petition  recorded 
January  7,  1867. 

87.  W.  G.  Blagden,  Hackney  Wick,  Middlesex,  **  An  im- 
proved  method  of  separating  silver  fVom  lead." — A  com- 
munication fW)m  F.  Marques-Millan,  Bue  Liandier.  MarseOles, 
—January  14,  1867. 

119.  E.  SiiTem,  Halle,  Prussia,  "An  improved  mode  of, 
and  apparatus  for,  purifying  the  impure  waters  emanating 
fh>m  sugar  factories  and  other  industrial  establishments, 
applicable  also  to  the  purification  of  sewage  water.** — 
January  17,  1867. 

605.  S.  Newington,  Ticehurst,  Sussex,  "An  improved 
compound  for  destroying  insects  and  preventing  and  check- 
ing blight  in  plants."— March  4,  1867. 


Comnmnifiated  by  Mr.  Yavoham,  F.C.8.,  Patbmt  Aaurr,  5^  Ohanoory 
Lant,  W.  a 

GEANTS  OF  PBOVISIONAL  PROTECTION  FOB  SIX 
MONTHa 

1272.  P.  Salmon,  Westminster,  Middlesex,  "Improve- 
ments in  the  manufacture  of  gas,  and  in  apparatus  for 
holding  the  same."— Petition  recorded  May  2,  1867. 

1345.  W.  E.  Newton,  Ghanoenr  Lane,  "  Improvements 
in  explosive  compounds,  and  in  the  means  of  igniting  the 
same."  A  communication  ttam  A.  Nobel,  Rue  St  Sebastien, 
Paris. — ^May  7,  1867. 

1408.  G.  A.  Neumever,  Dobitz,  Prussia,  "Improvements 
in  gunpowder  for  mining  purposes." 

1409.  J.  G.  N.  Alleyne,  Alfreton,  Derbyshire,  "  Improve- 
ments in  puddling  furnaces,  also  applicable  to  other  furnaces 
of  similar  construction.'* 

141 1.  G.  Lunge,  Ph.D.,  South  Shields,  Durham,  "Im- 
provements in  the  |^rep>aration  of  ores,  metals,  and  other 
substances  for  working  in  furnaces." 

1416.  W.  E.  deBourran,  Rue  Hustin,  Bordeaux,  France, 
"  Improvements  in  evaporators  for  concentrating  saccharine 
fluids."— May  13,  1867. 

464.  W.  R.  Lake,  Southampton  BuOdings,  Chancery 


Oommnnleatod  by  Mr.  YAiiOHAif,  F.C.a,  Patkht  AoBirT,54,  Cbanoery 

Lmu,  W.C 

GRANTS  OF  PROVISIONAL  PR0TEC5TI0N  FOR  SIX 

MONTHa 

133-  W.  Weldon,  Park  Villa,  West  Hill,  Highgate,  Middle- 
sex, '*  Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  chlorine,  and  in 
tl&e  iNToduction  of  artificial  oxides  of  manganese  for  employ- 
ment both  in  that  and  other  manufactures." — Petition 
recorded  January  18,  1867. 

284.  J.  Buhrer,  Munich,  Bavaria,  and  A.  P.  Pi  ice, 
Lineoln's  Inn  Fields,  Middlesex,  "  Improvements  in  efibcting 
the  distillation  of  coal,  shale,  wood,  peat,  and  other  bitu- 
minous or  carbonaceous  substances." — February  i,  1867. 

1122,   J.  Hargreaves,    Appleton-within-Widoos,   Lanca- 


A  communication  f^om  T.  M.  Fell  and  A.  G.  FeU,  New  York, 
U.S.A— May  17,  1867. 

1472.  T.  Richardson,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  "  Improvements 
in  the  extraction  of  oils  firom  vegetable  substances."— May 
18,  1867. 

Noncn  to  Pbooesd. 

131.  J.  G.  Franklin, Broadway,  Somersetshire,  "Improve- 
ments in  tanning." 

133.  W.  Weldon,  Park  Villa,  West  Hill,  Highgate,  Mid- 
dlesex,  "  Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  chlorine,  and 
in  tbe  production  of  artificial  oxides  of  manganese  for  em- 
ployment both  in  that  and  other  manufactures." 

134.  W.  Weldon,  Park  Villa,  West  Hill,  Highgate,  Mid- 
dlesex, "  An  improved  method  of  manufacturing  chlorine." 
— Petitions  recorded  January  18,  1867. 

148.  G.  L.  Loversidge,  Greenfield,  Saddle  worth,  York- 
shire, "  Improvements  in  the  tanning  of  hides  and  skins, 
and  in  the  apparatus  employed  therein." 

152.  J.  Rowley,  Camberwell,  Surrey,  "  An  improved  pro- 
cess for  hardening,  bleaching,  and  sweetening  crude  paraffin." 
— January  21,  i8i57. 

172.  Q.  A.  Bonneville,  Rue  de  Mont  Thabor,  Paris,  "A 


92 


Notices  of  Patents — Corre^^Hmdenoe. 


1    Auifu^  19K. 


new  and  improved  process  of  treating  skins  in  order  to 
separate  therefrom  the  hair  and  wool,  and  In  the  preparation 
of  the  hair  for  the  manufacture  of  hats.'*  A  communication 
from  A.  Frayss^,  Junior,  Rue  Oroix-des-Petits-Ohamps, 
Paris."— January  23,  1867. 

285.  W.  B.  Newton,  Chancery  Lane,  "An  improved 
process  for  obtaining  metals  from  their  ores."  A  commu- 
nication from  J.  N.  Wyckoff;  Brooklyn,  New  York,  U.S.A. 
— ^February  i.  1867. 

379.  W.  Clark,  Chancery  Lane,  "  Improvements  in  pre- 
serving animal  or  vegetable  matters,  whether  fluid  or  solid, 
in  a  wholesome  and  edible  oondition,  without  material  loss 
or  ohauge  in  their  natural  flavour."  A  communication  from 
L.  H.  Spear,  Braintreo,  Orange,  Vermont,  U.S.A.— Febru- 
ary 9,  1867. 

684.  H.  A.  Bonneville,  Rue  da  Mont  Thabor,  Paris,  "A 
new  and  improved  means  of  preserving  solutions  of  certain 
plants  and  matters  in  a  concentrated  state."  A  commu- 
nication fh>m  C.  d'Estains,  Rue  de  Chaillot,  Paris.— March  1 1, 
1867. 

ix^i.  S.  y.  Lee,  Macclesfield,  Cheshire,  and  C.E.  Lankes- 
ter,  Peckham,  Surrey,  "Improvements  in  the  manufacture 
of  colours  and  the  extraction  of  colouring  and  dyeing 
matters  from  coal  oil,  shale  oil,  or  coal  tar,  combhied  with 
peat  or  turf,  and  for  a  combination  of  any  of  these  sub- 
stances, and  also  for  the  utilisation  of  the  residue  for  the 
purpose  of  what  is  known  as  m9ulders'  blacking,  after 
tha  colouring  and  dyeing  matters  have  been  extracted.*' 
— April  20,  1867. 

1295.  J.  Heaton,  Langley  Mill,  Derbyshire,  "Improve- 
ments in  the  conversion  of  cast  iron  into  wrought  iron, 
part  of  which  improvement  is  also  applicable  to  the  con- 
version of  cast  iron  into  steel" — May  3,  1867. 


Fdient  Viial  thru, 

Tm  groat  mystery  of  life,  that  sages  have  meditated  upon, 
and  philosophers  wondered  at,  in  all  ages— the  Archsus 
of  Paracelsus,  the  Auima  of  Aristotle,  the  Vital  spirits  of 
the  older  physiologists — ^has  at  last  been  cleared  up  by  a 
brilliant  genius  who  resides  in  Paris.  M.  Martin  Ziegler 
has  not  only  demonstrated  the  existence  of  a  "vital  fluid," 
but  has  even  made  the  astounding  discovery  that  it  is  dis- 
engaged "whenever  azote  and  carbon  are  brought  into 
contact."  His  method  is  simple — all  grand  truths  are  simple 
— he  immerses  a  porous  cell  containing  ammonia  in  a  vessel 
filled  with  treacle  I  The  end  of  a  silk  thread  is  placed  in 
each,  and  then,  on  connecting  them,  "  the  circuit  Is  closed, 
and  the  current  of  vital  fluid  passes,"  capable  of  producing 
"on  an  animated  being  very  considerable  eflfects."  No  won- 
der the  lucky  inventor  rushed  off  and  patented  his  invention 
at  once.  He  does  not,  it  is  true,  teU  us  the  precise  nature 
of  the  "very  considerable  effects"  which  he  is  able  to  pro- 
duce, but  we  can  of  course  have  no  difficulty  in  guessing  at 
them.  We  picture  to  ourselves  the  tottering  steps  and 
shrivelled  limbs  of  the  scarce  "animated  being,"  who  will 
seek  the  patentee's  laboratory,  his  stock  of  "vital  fluid" 
well-nigh  exhausted,  and  we  see  him  return,  after  a  brief 
exposure  to  the  life-giving  treacle,  with  the  energy  and  fire 
of  manhood's  prime,  and  with  a  stock  of  "  vital  fluid  "  enough 
to  last  for  another  fifty  yean !  We  can  fancy  the  inventor, 
with  a  cask  of  treacle  and  a  carboy  of  ammonia,  operating 
at  the  Morgue  before  a  distinguished  assemblage,  and  bring- 
ing back  the  warm  tone  of  life  and  health  to  the  cheeks  and 
Hmbs  of  the  ghastly  corpses  arranged  there.  Nay,  the  ex- 
perience of  Pygmalion  himself  seems  hardly  incredible  in 
the  light  of  this  now  discovery. 

We  could  wisli,  however,  for  a  little  more  detail  We 
should  very  much  like  to  learn  the  equivalent  in  treacle  of 
the  vital  force  of  an  average  man.  How  many  pounds  of 
treade  would  be  required  to  bring  a  man  from  seventy  back 
to  twenty  ?  Would  rejuvenescence  be  a  very  expensive  pro- 
cess ?    And  we  feel  no  Uttle  anxiety  to  know  whether  we 


are  justified  in  going  on  living  without  paying  a  royalty  to 
M.  Martin  Ziegler. 

We  have  not  been  playing  upon  onr  readers'  credulity. 
The  patent  we  have  been  describing  has  actually  been 
granted  to  the  well-known  patent  agent  Mr.  Brooman.  Its 
date  is  October  3,  1866,  and  its  number  2536.  We  recom- 
mend our  readers  to  examine  it,  for  a  more  powerfU  satire 
on  the  present  state  of  the  patent  laws  we  have  never 
seen.  From  the  following  quotations  the  diaracter  of  the 
document  can  be  told: — 

"Whenever  azote  and  carbon  are  brought  into  oontact, 
whether  an  azoted  body  and  a  carbonated  body,  or  even  a 
body  strongly  azoted  and  another  which  is  only  feebly 
azoted,  there  is  disengaged  an  imponderable  fluid,  the  pre* 
senoe  of  which  is  made  known  by  particular  effects  on  the 
organism  of  living  things,  animal  or  vegetable.  This  fluid, 
which  the  present  inventor  calls  the  vital  or  organic  fluid, 
is  thus  a  new  agent  generated  in  the  midst  of  chemical 
circumstances,  like  heat,  light,  and  electricity.  It  is  col- 
lected, manifested,  and  transmitted  by  currents  like  the 
electric  fluid,  as  hereafter  explained,  but  notwithstanding 
that  the  phenomena  by  which  it  manifests  itself  have  a  cer- 
tain analogy  with  electric  phenomena,  this  vital  or  organic 
fluid  has  reaUy  an  existence  of  itself^  antonomoos  and  in- 
dependent, and  the  best  proof  of  this  is,  that  its  cuirents 
can  pass  through  conductors  which  are  insulating  for  eleo* 
tridty. 

"  Azoted  bodies  are  those  which  are  the  best  conductors 
of  the  vital  or  organic  fluids,  and  among  them  preferenoe  is 
given  to  sOk,  which  has  the  advantage  of  intercepting  the  • 
electrical  currents,  the  intervention  of  which  would  be  in- 
convenient As  msulatiug  bodies  of  the  vital  fluid  I  may 
mention  glass,  enamels,  and  minerals  in  general 

"  The  present  inventor  has  also  observed  that  if  an  add 
or  an  alkali  be  made  to  act  upon  an  organic  matter  a  large 
quantity  of  vegetable  or  organic  fluid  is  disengaged ;  also 
that  if  the  organic  matter  is  devoid  of  azote  the  disengage- 
ment of  the  fluid  takes  place  if  an  add  or  an  alkali  be  made 
to  react  upon  a  hydrocarburet,  or  even  upon  carbon. 

"I  now  proceed  to  describe  several  arangements  of 
apparatus  for  produdng  the  vital  or  organic  fluid,  wfaidi 
are  comparable  m  one  point  of  view  with  voltaic  pflee  or 
batteries. 

"The  following  is  a  good  arrangement: — ^A  porous  vessel 
or  bladder  is  filled  with  caustic  ammonia  and  immersed  up 
to  the  neck  in  molasses  contained  in  an  ordinary  vessel ;  a 
silk  thread  is  attached  to  the  neck  of  the  porous  vessel  or 
bladder,  and  the  end  of  a  second  silk  thread  is  placed  in  the 
molasses ;  the  two  ends  of  the  silk  threads  being  oonneoted, 
the  drcuit  is  dosed,  and  the  current  of  vital  fluid  passes ; 
its  effect  will  become  manifested  on  an  organised  being  in 
the  line  of  the  current  If  a  certain  number  of  theoe  ele- 
ments are  gathered  together  in  couples,  a  dosen  for  example, 
by  plunging  the  thread  fh>m  the  ammonia  of  the  first  ele- 
ment in  the  molasses  of  the  following  element,  and  so  on, 
or  by  connecting  on  the  one  side  all  the  threads  firom  tiie 
ammonia,  and  on  the  other  all  those  from  the  molassea^  a 
powerful  current  wUl  be  obtained,  which  produces  on  an 
animated  being  very  considerable  effects." 

OORRESPONDENOE. 


Transparency  of  Bed-Twt  MekUs, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  CamacAL  Nbwb. 
Sib,— Every  reader  of  your  valuable  journal  would  note 
with  interest,  in  your  last  week's  impression,  a  letter  upon 
the  above  subject  signed  "  A.  Adriani,"  but  very  few,  I  think, 
would  endorse  the  author's  opinions.  With  regard  to  Father 
Secohi's  disoovery  of  a  oraok  in  the  interior  of  an  iron  lube 
by  (seeming)  transparency,  is  it  not  more  likely  that  the 
crack  exhibited  itself  because  where  it  existed  the  metal 
would  be  thinaer  than  throaghout  the  rest  of  the  tube,  and 


Chuical  NIW8,  I 
August,  184rr.     f 


Correspondence. 


93 


would  therefore  ood  more  rapidly,  beooxningin  oonseqtieoce 
darker  oolourod,  thus  showing  oo  the  exterior  both  its  ex- 
tent and  direction?  * 
I  am,  Ac 
^^                    W.  F.  K  Stock,  F.C.& 

Jiaaoiitoiji  DnHogtm. 


*  Sovtlh  KoMtngton  Science,    ' 

To  the  Editor  of  the  CnxincAL  Ksws. 
SiBj^Gan  you  or  any  one  else  tell  me  the  meaning  of  Science 
in  the  South  Kensington  Yocabulaiy,  and  why  it  should  al- 
ways be  coupled  wiUi  the  word  Ari  when  it  is  spoken  of 
west  of  nydB  Park  Comer?  Wlmt  possible  connection  is 
there  between  the  two  ?  and  what  oooult  reason  is  there 
that  the  public  should  have  the  idea  inoesAantly  dinned  intb 
them  that  the  same  faculties  which  have  given  us  steam, 
the  telegraph,  the  soda  trade,  and  aniline  dyes,  are  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  Mt^olica  Ware  and  Old  Masters  that 
they  must  perpetually  form  a  binary  compound  of  "  Science 
and  Art,"  as  inseparable  as  **Box  and  Cox,''  "  Fyramus  and 
Thiabe,"  or  *'  Medes  and  Persians  ?  ^ 

I  rather  suspect  the  true  interpretation  is  thia  The 
practical  English  public  don't  much  care  for  Art,  but  they 
do  care  for  Science ;  so  the  latter  is  tacked  on  to  the  former 
to  make  it  go  down.  If  this  is  not  the  reason,  and  if  Science 
is  really  viSued  at  South  Kensington,  the  oiBciBds  there  have 
ffhown  a  roost  unappredative  spirit  in  keeping  it  so  much  in 
the  background  as  they  did  at  the  late  inauguration  of  the 
Albert  Hall  of  Science  and  Art 

I  was  one  of  the  spectators  there.  I  noticed  numerous 
Ari  celebrities  and  official  personages  in  seats  of  honour, 
but  poor  Science  had  to  content  itself  in  the  crowd. 

I  am,  fto,         F.R.a 

[Oar  oorrefipondent  evidently  had  not  a  good  *' stand- 
point"  in  the  crowd,  or  he  would  have  seen  two  or  three 
Boientiflc  men  in  reserved  seats.  We  cannot  say  we  feel 
the  same  indignation  which  our  correspondent  expresses  at 
the  non-recognition  of  science.  Englirii  science  requires 
no  petting  to  enable  it  to  flourish,  and  can  exist  in  a 
healthy  state  without  official  patroxuige. — Ed.  C,  N.} 


A  Good  Suggestion, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  CnsiaoAL  News. 
Sis, — Would  you  allow  me,  through  the  medium  of  your 
Taluable  journal,  to  make  a  suggestion?  I  would  suggest 
Uiat  chemical  students  should  Team  some  system  of  short- 
band.  This  art  is  easily  acquired.  If  the  student  would  de- 
TOte,  say,  an  hour  daily,  or  two  hours  a  day  three  times  a 
week,  to  learning  and  practising,  he  might  attain  such  a 
d^iree  of  proficiency  as  would  enable  him  in  the  course  of 
three  or  six  months  to  write  at  the  rate  of  80  to  90  words 
per  minute.  This  rate  would  be  sufficient  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  notes  at  lectures,  or,  indeed,  reportiDg  most 
lectures  verbatim.  Shorthand  writing  will  be  found  useful 
on  many  occasions — for  iustance,  jotting  down  thoughts 
arising  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  for  making 
memoranda  intended  to  be  read  by  yourself  only.  Many 
other  uses  would  suggest  themselves  for  the  employment  of 
thiB  art  Of  course,  to  follow  a  very  quick  speaker  and 
report  hia  speech  word  for  word,  much  time  must  be  devoted 
to  hard  practice.  X  was  able,  after  six  months'  practice,  to 
write  at  the  rate  of  100  words  per  minute ;  many,  however, 
find  it  impossible  to  go  beyond  80  worda 

The  system  I  recommend  is  Pitman's  "Phonography,*^ 
which  is  written  according  to  sound.  Nothing,  I  am  con- 
▼inoed,  strengthens  the  memory  so  much  as  the  use  of  short- 
hand. I  have  often  attended  lectures  and  taken  down  the 
greater  port  of  them  and  the  discussions  arising,  and  have 
SnumI,  on  coming  to  transcribe  my  note  into  longhand,  that 
I  could  do  so  with  but  seldom  looking  at  the  shorthand 


I  trust  many  of  your  readers  may  be  indtod  to  learn  the 
art  of  shorthand.  The  books  required  are  cheap,  the  time 
taken  to  learn  shorthand,  especially  Pitman's,  is  short,  and 
it  can  be  done  without  a  teacher.  I  think  tliat  by  drawing 
attention  to  this  subject  much  good  may  be  done. 

I  am,  &a  J.  H.  Swnn)KU& 

EdOUe  Earths, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmioal  Nbws. 
Sir, — I  notice  in  a  recent  number  of  your  journal  a  para- 
graph containing  the  analysis  of  a  species  of  clay  eaten  by 
the  natives  of  Borneo,  and  where  it  is  asserted  that  **  no 
other  analyses  of  any  substances  used  as  such  have  been 
made,  or  at  least  published. 

Perhaps  you  will  allow  me  to  state  that  Yanquelin  for- 
merly analysed  the  day  eaten  by  the  Ottomacs  (Humboldt, 
"  Ansichten  der  Natur''),  and  that  an  analysis  by  Dr.  Trail 
of  an  earth  used  as  an  aliment  is  given  in  one  of  my  works 
("  Utilisation  of  Minute  life  ''X  where  the  results  of  another 
analysis  by  Liebig  are  also  aUuded  to.  Finally,  I  beg  to 
subjoin  my  own  analysis  made  in  1865,  of  the  earth  which  is 
extensively  mixed  with  flour  in  Umea  Lapmark  in  periods 
of  scardty: — 

Water  and  organic  matter 15-0 

Silica 8o'o 

Sand 0*9 

Alumina  and  oxide  of  iron .,,    3-5 

Carbonate  of  lime o'6 


London,  Haj  36, 


xoo-0 
I  am,  Ac.       T.  L.  Phipson,  Ph.D. 


Transpareney  of  Red-hoi  MOoHs, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  mws. 
Snt, — ^In  reference  to  the  above  subject,  I  may  state  that  pla- 
tinum, at  least,  appears  to  me  transparent  when  it  is  at  a 
strong  white  heat.  If  some  carbonate  of  sodium  is  fused  in 
a  thin  crudble,  and  then  raised  to  a  very  high  temperature,  on 
shaking  the  crucible  the  motion  of  the  fusMl  salt  may  be  dis- 
cerned through  the  sides  of  the  crucible. 

I  am,  ibo,  W.  B.  G. 

Liverpool,  Jvno  3. 
[This  is  more  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  platinum 
cools  more  rapidly  where  not  in  contact  with  the  fused  salt 
than  it  does  where  the  salt  touches  it. — Kd.  C.  N.] 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Kews. 
Sir, — As  to  the  transparency  of  some  metals  at  bright  red 
heat|  workers  in  metals  know  it  pretty  well  Molten  copper 
poured  out  of  a  ladle  in  a  thick  stream  is  as  transparent  as 
glass.  T  was  acquainted  many  years  ago^  while  at  Utrecht 
University,  with  a  gentleman  residing  there,  who  was  the 
owner  of  an  extensive  establishment  for  rolling  copper,  etc.; 
the  quantity  of  metal  usually  molten  down  at  once  exceeded 
ten  tons  in  weight,  and  the  workmen,  among  [other  tests 
about  the  proper  degree  of  purity  of  the  metal  (t.  e.  freedom 
from  suboxide),  used  to  pour  out  100  kilos,  in  a  stream,  the 
thickness  of  which  was  fully  from  i  to  17  centimetre,  and 
was  as  perfectly  transparent  as  glass,  with  a  slight  bluish 
hue.  Copper  in  bars  heated  for  forging  is  the  same ;  iron  and 
platinum  far  more  so ;  while  gold  07  centimetre  thick  presents 
the  same  property ;  silver  does  not  become  transparent. 

I  am,  &a        Dr.  Adrukl 
[We  still  think  these  alleged  facts  require  verification  by 
sdentiflc  men  accustomed  to  exact  observation, — Ed.  €.  N."] 


Science  and  Art 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nswa 

SiB»— Tour    correspondent  "F.R.S."  wants  to  know  the 


94 


Corresponderice, 


ICmnacukL  Nswi, 
JtviMf,  iaC7. 


Brompton  meaning  of  the  wood  "  Science."  A  good  many 
would  like  to  know  the  exact  sense  in  which  "  Art*'  is  there 
used.  "  F.R.S."  and  the  m^joritj  of  the  public  appear  to 
associate  it  only  with  painting,  sculpture,  eta  But  from  the 
mysterious  addition  of  a  final  t.  which  has  lately  taken  place 
(e.  g.  Albert  Hall  of  Science  and  Arts),  I  suspect  that  the 
term  is  now  intended  to  mean  the  useful  and  manufacturing 
arts.  No  one  can  deny  that  the  word  Science  is  properly 
associated  with  the  Art  of  dyeing  and  calico-printing,  the 
Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Aria^  Majsufactures,  and 
Commerce,  or  the  Dictionary  of  ArU^  Manu&ctures,  and 
Mines ;  but  remove  the  final  «  in  the  last  two  instances,  and 
the  meaning  becomes  totally  different 

W];)atever  may  have  been  its  original  derivation  and  mean- 
ing, the  word  Art  at  present  refers  to  two  distinct  fiinctiona 
In  one  sense  "  Science  and  Art"  is  an  incongruity,  in  the 
other  sense  it  is  a  legitimate  combination. 

I  am,  Ac  PuzzuED. 


Mhemomc  Nomendaiure, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Kiews. 
Sir, — Permit  me  to  rectify  a  statement  made  by  a  corre- 
spondent on  page  200,  No.  285  of  the  Chbmioal  News. 
Omelin  did  not  publish  any  new  plan  for  a  chemical  nomen- 
clature in  the  year  1827.  At  that  time  Laurent  was  sUll  at 
school,  and  Dumas  had  not  yet  made  the  disoo^ries  on  which 
the  doctrine  of  substitution  was  baaed.  However,  in  the  next 
"generation"  (1848)  a  chapter  on  that  subject  appeared  for 
the  first  time  in  the  fourth  edition  of  <}roelin*8  '*  Handbook 
of  Chemistry."  In  the  English  translation  of  that  work,  this 
chapter,  entitled  **  Suggestions  for  a  New  Chemical  Nomen- 
clature, particularly  for  Organic  Compounds,"  occupies  just 
four  pages  (vol.  viL  pp.  149—153).  The  article,  by  its  al 
lusions  to  recently  discovered  compounds  and  new  chemical 
reactions,  bears  internal  evidence  that  it  was  written  imme- 
diately prior  to  its  publication  in  1848.  Long  anterior  to  this 
date  I  had  conceived  the  idea  which  was  the  germ  of  my  own 
schemei  In  1850  I  extended  the  system  of  counting  so  as 
to  express  the  highest  oombinationa  My  first  promulgation 
can  be  proved  by  the  following  statements  by  well-kuown 
scientists : — 

**  On  wnsalting  my  diary  I  find  that  the  first  time  you 
mentioned  your  new  chemical  nomenclature  to  ine,  in  which 
yon  proposed  to  use  vowels  as  numerals,  and  to  distinguish 
the  non-metallic  elements  by  differeht  consonant  terminals, 
was  on  Saturday,  May  13,  1848 

*^This  is  no  occasion  on  which  to  offer  a  criticism  of  your 
nomenclature,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from  adding  my  testimony 
to  its  wonderful  adaptation  to  the  simplest  expression  of  the 
most  complex  chemical  compounds. 

"  Charles  A.  Jot, 
"  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Columbia  College 
and  in  the  School  of  Mines,  New  York.** 

"  For  several  years  preceding  1846  Professor  S.  D.  Till- 
man and  I  resided  in  the  same  town.  I  well  remember  his 
plan,  then  and  there  made,  of  a  new  chemical  nomenc'abre, 
in  which  the  name  of  a  compound  denoted  its  exact  com- 
ponent parts.  The  number  of  equivalents  was  expressed  by 
a  vowel  immediately  preceding  the  last  letter  (m)  in  the  names 
of  all  metals,  as  well  as  before  the  different  consonants  ex- 
pressing non'metallic  elements. 

**  Edward  Bayard,  M.D. 

"  No.  6,  West  Fourteenth  Street,  New  York." 

The  question  of  priority  of  conception  will  be  deemed  of 
minor  importance  by  those  who  have  carefully  examined 
what  has  been  done  by  Gmelin  and  by  me.  That  Gmelin 
did  not  "  fully  elaborate"  his  scheme  is  evident  ftom  his  own 
admissions.  In  the  chapter  alluded  to  (page  151,  Watts's 
Translation,  1852)  he  says:  "In  working  our  the  details  of 
this  nomenclature  it  would  doubtless  be  found  that  many 
additions  and  oorrectioos  were  aeoessary.  ....  In  a 
nomenclature  for  organic  compounds  sometliing  more  is  re- 
quired than  the  names  of  elements  mid  the  expression  of 


their  numbers  by  vowels.**  This  author  gave  new  names  to 
all  the  elements,  yet  failed  to  express  any  but  the  simplest 
facts  of  comt)ination.  After  devising  a  very  defective  nu- 
merical system,  in  which  the  value  of  vowels  depended  on  their 
position,  he  was  compelled  to  coin  new  words  for  each  nucleus 
having  no  reference  to  their  composition,  thus  virtually  aban- 
doning the  vowel  plan.  By  scrutinising  Gmelin^a  method  any 
one  who  comprehends  the  requirements  of  a  complete  nomea- 
dature  will  he  convinced  that  the  scheme  cannot  be  used  aa 
a  substitute  for  the  notation.  Similar  objections  may  be  made 
to  Mansfield^s  method  (see  "Theory  of  Salts,**  London,  1865  >. 
This  author  shows  that  the  use  of  the  five  vowels  as  numerals 
was  of  English  origin,  and  was  employed,  altbougfa  not  in 
connexion  with  chemistry,  in  Dr.  B.  Gray*s  "  Memoria  Tech- 
nica*'  (new  edition,  Oxford,  1831). 

J  claim  for  my  sdieme,  which  is  adapted  to  0erhardt*8 
unitary  system,  and  may  properly  be  called  "  the  unitary 
nomenclature,**  as  its  diief  merit^  simplicity  of  conatructioB. 
Accepting  the  old  names  of  the  elements,  I  have  so  modified 
them  that  each  begins  with  its  old  symbol,  and  ends  with  its 
new ;  the  latter  so  generally  correspond  with  the  former  that 
only  seven  new  characters  are  introduced.  With  these 
materials  and  a  more  perfect  numerical  method  than  that 
employed  by  Gmelin,  I  have  succeeded  in  representing,  by  a 
combination  of  letters  and  syllables,  bodies  of  the  most 
intricate  structure.  For  the  first  time,  systematic  terms 
have  been  applied  to  radicalB,  so-called  residues,  and  tlioir 
numerous  combinations.  Every  hydrocarbon  has  an  appro* 
priate  symboHic  appellation,  and  not  only  polymers  but 
isomers  have  distinctive  names.  The  only  paper  which  I 
have  yet  published  on  the  subject  contains  word-formuln 
for  more  than  seven  ihauaand  compounds. 

Although  the  unitary  nomenclature  is  commensurate  with 
all  possible  atomic  oombmations,  I  do  not  daim  that  Ihe 
new  names  would  be  preferable  to  a  portion  of  the  corre- 
sponding names  now  employed,  nor  do  I  entertain  the  hope 
that  any  part  of  the  new  scheme  will  be  adopted  until  com- 
binations of  terms  on  the  old  pUu  become  too  cumbersome 
for  common  use. 

I  am,  Aa    Samukl  D.  Thucak. 

American  Instltate,  N«w  Yorit,  May  n,  1867. 


Jianufadure  of  Suiphunc  Add, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nkws. 
Sra — Tn  answer  to  the  queries  of  "  T.  G.  H.,  Lisbon, **  I  beg  to 
offer  the  following  remarks : — 

When  pyrites  is  bumt^  a  considerable  less  quantity  of 
sulphuric  acid  «an  be  made  with  a  given  quantity  of  chanober 
space  then  when  pure  sulphur  is  employed,  owing  to  the 
consumption  of  additional  air  in  order  to  oxidise  the  ircm, 
etc.,  hi  the  pyrites ;  the  nitrogen  of  the  extra  air  thus  employed 
oocupies  a  portion  of  the  dbamber  space,  and  thus  renders 
the  chamber  relatively  smaller.  Also,  to  overcome  the  efifeot 
of  the  dilution  of  the  gases,  additional  nitre  must  be  em- 
ployed. The  quantity  of  sulphur  which  can  be  economically 
burnt  with  a  given  quantity^  of  chamber  spaoe  depends 
much  on  the  mode  adopted  in  working  the  diambers,  on  the 
sise  of  condensing  towers,  etc.,  used  Usually  there  is  a 
greater  waste  of  sulphur  when  only  one  or  two  chambera  are 
used  than  when  several  are  worked  together,  arranged  as 
"  working  **  and  "  receiving  **  chambers.  In  Richardson  and 
Watts*s  "Technological  Dictionary,*'  i  ill  p.  80,  about  3000 
cubic  feet  to  112  lbs.  of  sulphur  per  diem  is  given  ais  an 
ordinary  average  quantity.  This  represents  1*672  calno 
metre  per  kilogramme  of  sulphur  per  diem. 

I  am,  however,  acquainted  with  instances  where  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  sulphur  has  been  regularly  consumed 
than  this.  Thus,  a  single  chamber,  ftimished  with  a  ooke 
condensing  tower,  burnt  regularly  i  kilog.  of  sulphur  (in 
the  shape  of  pyrites,  containing  about  48  per  oent  of 
sulphur)  per  diem  to  1*047  cabte  metre  of  chamber  space ; 
and  at  one  time,  when  the  manuAKiture  was  pushed  to  the 
utmost,  only  0*726  cubic  metres  were  allowed* 


CwnacAL  Kbws,  ) 


Correejpondence. 


95 


Several  chambers  worked  together,  oa  the  EDglish 
system,  and  furnished  with  good  coke  towers,  averaged 
1-080  cabic.metre  per  kilog.  of  sulphur  (as  pyrites)  per 
diem. 

•Allowing  1*200  cubic  metre  per  kilogramme  of  pure 
snlphur  per  diem  (representing  about  2*1  kilos,  of  Huelva 
pyritesX  a  chamber  of  29,000  cubic  feet  (English),  or  821 
cubic  metres,  should  consume  about  1437  kiloga.  of  Huelva 
pyrites  daily.  A  kiln  of  the  undermentioned  dimensions 
will  allow  about  350  kilogs.  or  such  pyrites  per  diem  to  be 
properly  burnt.  A  larger  quantity  of  pyrites  may  be  passed 
through  the  kiln,  but  the  burnt  pyrites  will  frequently  con- 
tain a  considerable  amount  of  unbumt  sulphur.  From  2  to 
3  per  cent  of  sulphur  is  always  left  in  the  pjrrites,  so  that 
lour  kilns  of  these  dimensions  would  about  sufQce  for  the 
above  chamber. 

A  convenient  form  of  burner  for  Huelva  pyrites  is  one 
measuring  about  i;3  to  1*4  metre  square  at  tho  level  of  the 
bottom  of  the  charing  door  (t.  e.,  at  the  top  of  the  mass  of 
burning  pyrites),  and  about  I'o  to  1*1  metre  square  at  the 
level  of  the  bars;  between  these  levels  a  vertical  distance 
of  0'6  to  07  metre  is  allowed.  If  deeper^  kilns  be  used, 
fluxing  of  the  ore  becomes  a  very  probable  occurrence. 
Larger  or  smiUler  kilns,  with  about  the  same  relative  areas, 
maj  be  used. 

A  cast-iron  pipe  would,  I  think,  be  preferable  to  an 
ettrthenware  one  for  conductuig  away  die  gases  to  the 
chamber,  both  on  account  of  durability  and  &e  cooling  of 
the  gases.  When  pyrites  is  burnt,  a  thick  sublimate  is 
often  formed  in  the  pipe,  materially  diminishing  its  capacity. 
A  tube  of  o'5  metre  internal  diameter  would  suffice  for  the 
above  kilns  and  chamber;  but  a  larger  one  would  be 
desirable,  on  account  of  this  tendency  to  being  blocked  up. 

A  pipe  of  twenty-one  metres  length  will  hardly  prevent 
fine  dust  of  ferric  oxide,  etc.,  fVom  being  carried  over  into 
the  chamber.  For  ordlhary  uses  the  presence  of  a  little 
ferric  sulphate,  etc,  in  the  acid  produced  is  immaterial ;  but 
where  coneeotrated  acid  is  manufactured  the  presence  of 
such  bodies  will  often  injuriously  affect  its  sale.  Arsenic  is 
ttlmoet  invariably  present  in  add  made  from  pyrites.  I  am 
acquainted  with  au  instance  where  the  manufacture  of  sul- 
phuric acid  (rectified)  from  pyrites  was  given  up,  solely  on 
account  of  the  impossibility  of  selling  the  impure  add  thus 
produced.  It  is,  however,  quite  possible  to  obtain  a  colour- 
loss  add  at  66^  BaumS  from  Huelva  pyrites. 

Should  ""  T.  O.  H.^*  desire  any  further  information,  plans 
of  burners,  eta,  I  shall  be  happy  to  communicate  with  him. 
lam,  eta. 
•  Chaklbb  B.  Wbight,  B.Sa 

81.  Tlioinas*«  Hofpltal,  SuTrey,  8.,  Jane  4. 


CJumiairy  m  Schools. 
To  the  Bklitor  of  the  Chemical  New& 
Sib, — ^Having  now  for  three  years  made  chemistry  a  regular 
and  important  part  of  my  pupils*  studies,  I  am  able  to  speak 
most  favorably  of  the  general  results  of  my  experiment. 
At  first  I  feared  the  boys  would  neglect  their  other  work 
for  the  sake  of  this  most  fasdnating  subject,  and  that  I 
should  detect  a  fiEilUng  off  in  their  mathematics,  or  Latin,  or 
hiatoxy,  or  what  not.  My  fear  was  entirely  groundless. 
They  have  not  learnt  less  of  languages,  but  more  of  science. 
Boys  who  before  had  no  idea  of  study  for  its  own  sake 
have  been  tempted  to  apply  themselves,  of  their  own 
aooord,  to  chemistry,  and,  wil^  the  earnestness  which  this 
pursuit  has  put  into  them,  have  worked  all  the  better  at 
their  other  lessons.  Of  course  they  take  more  interest  in 
the  experiments  than  in  the  explanations.  But  even  this 
(diaracteristic  of  boys'  nature  has  its  good  side.  They  are 
nor  liable  to  value  theories  more  than  facts ;  and  in  course 
of  tim^  Uiey  learu  to  ask  for  explanations,  and  are  not  con- 
tent tali  they^  get  them.  Ohemistry  teaches  habits  of  carefU 
observation,  patience,  caution,  neat-handedness,  and  quick- 
It  stimulates  ingenuity,  and  strengthens  the  faculty 


of  generalisation.  The  other  day  I  found  that  one  of  the 
boys  had  for  months  been  colouring  his  maps  with  prussian 
blue  of  his  own  manufacture,  having  got  it,  by  an  obvious 
method,  out  of  the  red  marl  which  abounds  in  this  district. 
He  dissolved  the  peroxide  of  iron  with  sulphuric  add,  and 
precipitated  his  prussian  blue  with  ferrocyanlde  of  potassium. 
Without  enlarging  upon  the  topic  of  my  letter  further,  I 
very  strongly  recommend  those  of  my  fellow-teachers  who 
have  not  yet  thoroughly  tried  the  experiment,  to  introduce 
chemistry  forthwith  into  their  ^hool-course ; '  only  it  must 
be  taught  weU—^a  accurately  and  as  fViUy  as  the  Latin  or  the 
mathematics.  I  am  convinced  that  the  most  exact  of  the 
experimental  sciences,  lying  at  the  basis  of  so  many  other 
departments  of  inquiry,  must  form  an  indispensable  part  of 
a  judldous  and  philosophical  scheme  of  education. 

I  am,  ota,  ^  Q, 

NottlagluuD,  Jane  6th,  1I367. 


Tht  Dricht  of  Tirade, 
.To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghemioal  NEwa 
Sib, — Will  you  permit  me  to  call  public  attention  to  a  system 
which  is  undermining  the  chemical  mauufactures  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  which,  if  not  checked,  will  drive 
these  important  branches  of  industry,  for  which  we  possess 
such  eminent  natural  fiicilities,  more  and  more  into  foreign 
countries  ? 

The  evil  to  which  I  refer  is  that  organized  system  of  bri- 
bery and  oorruptioD  prevailiug  in  the  aale  of  drugs  and  chemi- 
cals, such  at  least  as  are  used  in  the  cotton,  woollen,  and 
silk  trades  for  dyeing,  printing,  bleaching,  etc  Suppose,  e.g.j 
that  a  traveller  calls  at  a  dyeworks  and  obtains  an  order. 
He  unmediatoly  sends  a  message  to  the  fo.  eman  who  is  to 
use  the  artide,  requesting  an  interview.  The  parties  meet 
at  some  out-of-the-way  public- house,  and  ailer  a  little  gen- 
eral conversation  over  a  glass  of  brandy,  business  begins, 
bays  the  traveller,  **  I've  just  seen  your  governor  and  ffot  a 
trial  order  for  a  dozen  boitlos  of  *  double  muriate,'  and  if  you 
will  give  it  a  good  characier  we  will  make  it  a  snug  thing 
for  you."  The  foreman,  putting  on  an  air  of  completo  indif- 
ference, asserts  that  he  is  very  well  satistied  with  the  artide 
he  has  in  use,  but  is,  of  course,  not  averse  to  anything  really 
bettor.  At  length,  aft«r  much  bargaining  and  more  brandy, 
it  is  agreed  that,  in  consideration  of  a  bribe  of  from  5R.  to 
X  OS.  per  carboy,  the  neW  ai-ticle  is  to  be  reported  better  than 
the  old.  A  couple  of  sovereigns  are  then  handed  to  the 
foreman  as  a  retaming  fee,  and  the  meeting  torminatoa  It 
must  be  distinctly  understood  that  if  a  traveller  neglects  thus 
to  '*  make  all  right*'  with  the  foreman,  his  wares,  bow  ex- 
cellent soever,  will,  in  most  establishments,  be  condemned. 
If  needful,  a  quantity  of  goods  will  be  spoiled  by  some  in- 
tontional  neglect,  and  the  blame  will  be  laid  on  **  that  new 
lot  of  bottles." 

If  a  traveller  &i]s  to  obtain  .an  order,  he  still  seeks  out  the 
foreman,  and,  by  dint  of  cash  and  promises,  attempts  to 
gain  Jiim  over.  "  You  are  using  Messrs.  N.  N's.  wares  ? 
Well,  you  can  say  by  opportunity  that  they  have  been  falling 
off  in  quality,  and  that  you  have  heard  ours  very  highly 
spoken  of.    If  you  can  get  us  in,  you  shall  have  so-and-so." 

The  amount  thus  given  in  bribery  is  enough  to  startle  out- 
siders. I  could  point  out  a  foreman  dyer  who  demanded  as 
the  price  of  his  good  will  los.  per  carboy  on  "scarlet  finish- 
ing spirits,"  invoiced  at  4d.  per  lb.  As  the  carboys  would 
aven^  130  lbs.  net^  tliis  man's  modest  share  of  the  plunder 
would  amount  to  23  per  cent.  On  nitrate  and  nitro-solphate 
of^iron  the  "pre&eut  quotations"  are  is.  to  28.  6d.  per  car- 
boy, and  on  hquid  ammonia  is.  to  2s.  Solids  and  pastes, 
from  obvious  reasons,  do  not  allow  as  much  '^tip"  as  Uquidf. 
Still  the  amount  is  in  some  cases  considerable.  On  extract 
of  indigo  the  fee  averages  2s.  6d.  per  cwL  On  cudbear  and 
archil  it  is  also  heavy.  I  could  name  a  foreman  who  re- 
ceived 142.  for  .usiog  about  7^  tons  of  tliese  artides.  Other 
chemicals,  .4uch  as  oil  of  vitriol,  soda-ash,  and  bleaching 
powder,  are  jold  honestly  when  comiz^g  direct  fi-om  the 


96 


Oorre&pondence. 


( CnmiCAL  Newt, 
1    ^ii<?ii<  xwr.| 


maker,  though  there  are  plenty  of  middlemen  who  Bell 
these  articles,  of  course  duly  adulterated,  on  the  bribery 
system.  I  hare  uever  yet  met  with  an  authenticated  case  of 
« tip  "  being  given  on  the  anUine  colours. 

But  to  get  in  at  an  extensive  dye  or  print  works^  some 
manufacturing  chemists  and  drysalters  will  for  a  time  go  far 
beyond  the  tariff  above  given,  even  offering  to  hand  over  to 
tlie  foreman  who  can  manage  the  "Job  "  the  entire  profits  on 
all  transactions  for  the  first  two  or  three  months.  A  pattern- 
dyer,  about  to  obtain  a  i)oeition  in  a  first  rate  establishment, 
holds  a  perfect  levte  of  travellers  and  agents,  and  literally 
sells  his  rature  employer  to  the  highest  bidder.  Nor  is  this 
all:  the  drysalter  is  expected  to  treat  the  foreman^dyer 
whenever  they  meet,  to  lend  him  a  trap  for  an  airing  on 
Sundays,  and  to  assist  him  if  out  of  work  or  in  trouble. 
Some  firms  give,  yearly  or  quarterly,  a  dinner  or  supper  to 
all  foremen  who  patronise  their  wares.  In  one  town  there 
was  established  a  so-called  **  dyers' club/'  ostensibly  for  dis- 
cussing  trade  mysteries.  It  struck  the  public  as  suspicious 
that  the  traveller  of  one  particular  manufacturing  ctiemist 
was  unremitting  in  persuading  dyers  to  attend  the  convivial 
meetiffgs  of  the  **club,"  and  that  this  same  chemist,  or  some 
representative  of  his,  invariably  occupied  the  chair  on  these 
occasions. 

I  must  mention  that,  though  foremen-dyers  take  a  leading 
part  in  this  system,  yet  the  plunder  is  in  many  establishments 
shared  by  clerks,  warehousemen,  pattern-designers,  and,  in 
short,  by  any  one  who  has  contrived  to  gain  a  share  of  infiu- 
ence,  and  has  opportunities  of  '*  ear- wigging "  the  master. 
Sometimes  even  one  member  of  a  firm  is  found  accessible  to 
bribery,  and  will,  for  so  much  per  cask  or  per  carboy,  connive 
at  the  robbeiy  of  his  partners  and  of  himself. 

Transactions  of  this  nature  sometimes  come  to  light  in  an 
amusing  manner.  A  young  man  who  had  represented  an 
eminent  drysaltery  firm  lately  left  them,  and  accepted  a  dif- 
ferent employment  in  the  same  district  One  day  he  received 
from  his  late  principal  a  letter  to  this  effect :  —  '*  We  are  for- 
warding a  sample  chest  to  Messrs. .    As  a  large  order 

is  depending  upon  it,  will  you  oblige  by  seeing  their  dyer, 

whom  you  know  ?   Tell  him  that  the  chest  is  marked , 

and  that  if  he  will  speak  well  of  it  we  will  make  it  a  good 
thing  for  him.  Please  not  to  mention  the  matter  to  our 
present  agent,  as  we  are  cutting  the  Job  too  fine  to  allow 
him  his  commission."  Another  traveller  offered  the  head 
dyer  at  a  certaui  establishment  2s.  6d.  per  cwt.  on  a  cask  of 

extract  of ,  for  which  he  had  just  taken  an  order.  The 

dyer,  who  had  a  share  in  the  concern,  at  once  mentioned  this 
in  the  office;  and  when  in  due  course  the  traveller  called  for 
the  account,  the  amount,  less  2s.  6d.  per  cwt.,  was  paid  him, 
with  the  Intimation  that  any  fbture  visits  would  be  useless. 

Two  makers,  A.  and  B.,  haA  been  in  the  habit  of  supply- 
ing **  blue  iron  "  to  a  certain  dyeworks.  A  new  head  dyer 
who  had  been  appointed  declared  himself  unable  to  use  A.*8, 
which  he  stated  to  be  deficient  m  bloom.  One  day  he  sought 
up  A.,  and  said  to  him,  "  If  you  will  give  me  is.  6d.  per  bot- 
tle, as  B.  does,  I  will  give  your  blue  iron  a  good  diaracter." 
A.  not  only  refused,  but  told  the  man's  employers,  who, 
when  B.  called,  informed  him  that  they  could  only  continue 
to  do  business  with  him  on  condition  that  he  would  supply 
them  with  the  same  quality  of  iron  at  is.  6d.  per  bottle  less, 
to  which,  after  a  little  bargaining,  he  consented. 

The  first  result  of  the  system  is  to  encourage  adulteration 
and  other  phases  of  commercial  dishonesty.  The  object  of 
the  bribegiver  is  to  make  the  very  poorest  article  which  will 
pass  muster.  He  therefore  dilutes  his  liquid  preparations 
with  water  as  far  as  practicable,  and,  to  keep  up  the  specific 
gravity,  adds  matters  more  or  less  prejudicial  The  weight 
of  packages  is  often  deficient.  A  dyer,  bargaining  with  a 
traveller  for  an  increase  of  **  tip/'  has  been  known  to  say, 
*'  Empties  are  never  tared  at  our  shop,  so  you  can  write  your 
tare  three  or  four  pounds  lighter  than  it  really  is^  keeping  the 
gross  right,  and  give  me  the  price  of  what  that  will  save 
you."  The  following  ingeuious  scheme  was  practised  for 
some  time  sucoessflilly  by  a  manuftoturing  chemist:  —  The 


tops  of  his  carboys  were  covered  with  several  pounds  of 
loose  damp  straw  and  rubbish,  the  tare  being  represented  9a 
ligliter,  and  the  net  weight  as  heavier,  than  was  the  fuA, 
The  bottles  being  weighed,  the  gross  was  found  correct,  and 
they  were  passed  on  to  the  dye-house.  In  pouring  out  the 
contents  of  the  bottles,  this  wet  thatch  fell  ofl;  and  the 
empties,  when  returned  to  be  tared,  were  found  quite  cor- 
rect A  chemist  has  been  known,  among  a  dozen  bottles  of 
**  red  cotton  spirits "  and  oxalo-chlbride  of  tin,  to  send  one 
or  two  bottles  filled  with  water,  and  distinguished  by  a  mark 
known  to  the  dyer,  who  poured  the  contents  down  the  sink 
and  coolly  fetched  another  bottle.  The  same  dj-er  was  tn 
the  habit  of  regularly  wasting  his  mordants  and  colours  in 
order  that  a  fr^h  supply  and  a  new  bribe  might  be  the  re- 
sult He  also,  with  the  connivance  of  the  gate-keeper,  sent 
back  bottles  when  only  half  empty.  The  chemist  then  filled 
them  up  and  sold  them  afresh.  By  such  means  oonsamers 
are  robbed  of  the  money  which  is  to  corrupt  their  aervantai 

Another  result  of  the  system  is  the  discouragemeDt  of 
invention  and  improvement  Success  does  not  turn  upon  the 
question  who  can  make  preparations  yielding  at  the  <£eapcet 
rate  the  brightest,  fiutest,  evenest,  and  solidest  colours,  but 
simply  upon  this— who  can  and  will  go  farthest  in  the  career 
of  bribery  and  corruption  7 — a  contest  in  which  a  Runge,  a 
Hofmann,  or  a  Perkin  would  inevitably  be  beaten  by  lees  acm- 
pulous  persons.  You  may  make  better  mordants  than  v 
the  old-established  bribers.  It  is  of  no  avail  The  dyer  will 
shake  his  head  and  say  that  he  **  cant  get  his  colour**  with 
your  preparations.  Nor  is  the  case  altered  if  you  bring  for- 
ward something  entirely  new.  Tour  invention  may  save  time 
and  labour,  and  may  give  a  better  result,  but  the  general  quae- 
tion  head  dyers  will  ask  is  simply — How  will  it  affect  our 
perquisites?  And  unless  this  can  be  satis&ctorily  answered 
you  will  be  **  wet-blanketed"  to  your  heart's  content  Nov- 
elties like  the  aniline  coloured  of  course,  take  the  trade  by 
storm;  but  many  improvements,  valuable  if  less  striking, 
never  get  a  fiiir  tnal  Thus  invention  is  driven  to  seek  else- 
where that  scope  which  is  denied  at  home. 

Further,  when  a  master  dyer  discovers  how  he  is  bemg 
robbed,  he  very  naturally  grows  Jealous,  and,  as  ftr  as  passi- 
ble, procures  his  requisites  from  foreign  makers. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  objected  that  a  dyer  must  get  bis 
colour,  and,  if  so,  that  he  cannot  use  really  bad  articles.  I 
reply  that  a  colour  may  be  generally  got  in  various  wayi^ 
but  that  it  IS  commercially  essential  to  get  it  in  the  cbeapesi 
and  quidcest  manner,  and  in  the  one  which  interferes  least 
with  the  strength,  durability,  and  suppleness  of  the  fibre. 
There  is  also  a  wide  margin  between  a  colour  which  barely 
passes  muster  and  one  which  is  pronounced  equal  Cb  the  very 
best  in  the  market.  The  bribe-loving  dyer  does  not  aim  at 
excellence ;  his  attention  is  sufficiently  occupied  with  pro- 
ducing a  passable  result  with  the  rubbish  which  his  tempter 
puts  in  his  hands. 

The  tinctorial  trades  of  England  are  evidently  not  pro- 
gressing as  they  ought    It  is  painful  to  see  woollen  mills 
running  night  and  day  to  produce  **  sale-yams  " — t.  e.,  yams 
which,  instead  of  being  dyed  in  this  country,  are  exportod. 
uncoloured. 

With  your  kind  permission  I  will  on  a  future  occasion  point 
out  how  the  bribe-gi?eni  and  bribe-takers  may,  to  a  great 
extent,  be  baffled.  I  am,  etc.,  W. 

[The  statements  in  this  letter  are  so  well  authenticated  by 
the  writer  that  we  feel  bound  to  give  them  msertM>n.  At 
the  same  time  we  must  express  our  conviction,  in  juetioe 
to  many  honourable  firms,  that  such  practices  as  above 
deecribed  are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. — Six  C  N.] 


Mcaiufadwre    of  (he   Biau^hide   of   Carhon, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chvmical  Newp. 

Sir,— On  looking  over  the  article  on  the  Freccfa  Exhibitaoii, 
in  your  last  week's  number,  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  the 


Correspondence. 


97 


writer  had  g:iveQ  M-  Deias,  of  Paria,  the  merit  of  being  the 
first  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  bisulphide  of  carbon 
ou  a  large  scale  and  at  a  low  price  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poees. 

This  18  a  mistake,  and  an  injustice  to  myself  and  for  the 
sake  of  truth  in  the  history  of  a  new  manufacture  I  beg  to 
inform  you  that  I  took  out  my  first  patent  in  England,  June 
27?  XS45,  ^'^^  ^®  application  of  bisulphide  of  carbon  as  a 
solvent  of  india-rubber  and  other  gums,  and  also  as  a  solvent 
of  phosphorus  in  connexion  with  some  improvements  in  elec- 
tro-metallurgy. Shortly  before  the  date  of  this  patent,  all 
the  sulphide  of  carbon  I  could  procure  either  in  England  or 
Germany  for  my  experiments  was  only  six  or  seven  ounces, 
costing  sixty  shillings  per  pound,  and  even  for  this  I  had  to 
wait  nearly  six  months.  On  applying  to  an  eminent  manu- 
facturing chemist  in  London  for  help  in  the  manufacture  of 
bisulphide  of  carbon  on  a  large  scale,  I  was  politely  informed 
that  I  must  be  mad  to  expect  that  a  hundredweight  could  be 
made,  as  the  danger  of  preparing  it  would  be  fatal  to  any 
one  making  the  attempt 

Being  fully  convinced  of  the  very  valuable  properties  of 
^  bisulphide  of  carbon  for  commercial  purposes,  I  put  up  appara- 
tus to  prove  that  it  could  be  produced  in  a  large  way  and  at 
a  trifling  cost,  and  completely  succeeded. 

In  justice  to  a  gentleman,  Mr.  Jesse  Fisher,  Madeley,  Salop, 
whom  I  then  employed  to  manufacture  it  on  a  large  scale  for 
'  Messrs.  Elkington  and  Mason,  who  were  interested  in  my 
patent,  I  would  observe  that  under  my  instruction  he  erected 
the  necessary  apparatus,  and  in  the  year  1844  made  many  tons 
weight  at  a  cost  of  one  shilling  per  pound,  and  very  soon 
afterwards  he  was  able  to  produce  it  at  threepence  per  pound ; 
and  that  gentleman  has  continued  the  manufacture  in  England 
ever  since.  My  object  in  furnishing  this  information  is  to 
show  that,  long  before  M.  Deiss  gave  his  attention  to  the 
subject,  I  had  succeeded  in  making  a  large  commercial  manu- 
facture of  bisulphide  of  carbon,  and  I  was  also  the  fir^t  to 
introduce  it  for  manufacturing  purposes.  And,  in  fact,  before 
11.  Deiss  commenced  his  operations  in  the  manufacture  of  this 
article  it  had  been  made  by  the  ton  at  threepence  per  pound, 
and  it  was  not  used  at  aU  %  France  until  the  introduction 
.  of  my  patent  for  improvements  in  treating  india-rubber  in 
that  country ;  fi^om  which  you  will  see  that  it  was  in  the  year 
1844  that  I  made  it  a  success,  and  not,  as  stated  in  the  arti- 
cle in  the  Chrmioal  News,  1848. 

I  am,  etc.,        Alkxander  Pabkes. 

BtrmtnghftTn,  May  a8. 


Mamfadure  of  SvUphvaric  Add, 
To  the  Editor  of  t^  Ohemioal  News. 
Sis, — In  Ko.  392  of  your  journal  I  notice  a  letter  on  this 
BubjecL  Among  other  matters  the  writer  states  that  "  it  is 
quite  possible  to  obtain  a  colourless  acid  at  66°  Beaum^  from 
Huelva  pyrites."  I  was  not  aware  that  there  was  any 
difficulty  in  preparing  an  acid,  colourless  and  pretty  pure, 
fVom  this  class  of  pyrites.  With  regard  to  the  fixing  of 
the  pyrites,  I  can  etay  that  carelessness  has  as  much  to 
do  with  this  irregularity  as  wrong  construction  of  the 
bumers.  A  want  of  proper  attention  on  the  part  of  the 
bamer-men  in  breaking  up  the  sulphur  ore,  and  managing  a 
regular  and  sufficient  supply  of  air,  is  a  most  frequent  cause 
of  flimug ;  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  this  is  the 
sole  cause.  Then  we  have  the  complaint  of  the  small 
quantity  of  add  got  from  chambers  which  have  been  con- 
Btmcted  to  4>roduce  a  far  larger  amount  than  is  ever 
obtained  from  them ;  in  many  cases  the  cause  of  this  proceeds 
from  the  too  slow  combustion  of  the  sulphur  ore ;  a  greater 
part  of  the  pyrites  may  be  "  dead  out "  or  only  half  ignited, 
generally  proceeding  from  the  want  of  a  proper  supply  of 
air. 

Again,  the  steam  may  not  be  admitted  into  the  chamber  in 
a  satisfactory  way.  This  matter  is  much  overlooked.  Some 
makers  admit  the  steam  at  stated  intervals.  Now  this  is 
wrong ;  the  admittance  of  steam  should  be  continuous  and  at 

Vol.  I.    No.  2.— August,  1867.         7 


a  proper  pressure.  "We  often  hear  of  the  acid  doing  serious 
damage  to  the  platinum  stills,  and  the  cause  is  often  over- 
looked for  a  length  of  time ;  tliis  is  more  particularly  the 
case  where  the  proprietor  has  no  scientific  supervision.  At 
last  it  is  discovered  that  the  cause  of  the  damage  proceeds 
from  the  presence  of  oxide  of  nitrogen  in  the  add.  It  is 
well  known  that  acid  so  contaminated  has  the  property  of 
attacking  platinum.  The  most  important  part  of  the  process 
is  frequently  left  in  the  hands  of  the  burner-men,  and  left 
entirely  to  them  as  to  how  the  manufacture  shall  be  con- 
ducted. In  some  cases  this  plan  may  work  well,  when  the 
men  happen  to  be  intelligent ;  but  in  many  cases  the  men  are 
lamentably  ignorant.  This  mostly  arises  from  the  fact  that 
no  trouble  is  taken  by  the  manager  or  diemist  to  explain  to  ' 
the  men  in  simple  language  the  various  processes  o6nnected 
with  their  work.  This  is  seldom  the  case;  the  men  go 
mechanically  about  their  work,  and  so  long  as  things  happen 
to  go  right  no  further  interest  is  taken,  but  let  anything  out 
of  their  ordinuy  course  occur,  and  the  men  are  at  sea. 

However  unimportant  what  I  have  said  may  appear,  I  have 
always  found  it  to  my  interest  to  have  the  men  as  well  in- 
formed as  possible.  Oarelessneds  and  inattention  to  trivial 
matters  often  lead  to  the  downfall  of  many  operations  in 
manufacturing  chemistry. 

In  your  "Suggestion  to  Manufacturers  and  Inventors" 
you  make  a  very  good  remark  respecting  the  difficulties 
which  often  beset  tibe  manufacturer,  and  which  might  easily 
be  overcome  by  a  short  investigation  by  some  competent 
chemist,  "  and  in  many  cases  a  difficulty  which  appears  insu- 
perable to  the  manufacturer  would  prove  a  mere  iMigatelle  to 
the  chemist.'*  Your  ideas  coindde  with  mine,  but  I  know  many 
manufacturers  who  object  to  a  sdentiflc  man  having  access  to 
their  works.  1  can  say,  however,  that  such  supervision  is 
much  needed  by  them. 

1  am,  etc.  J.  H.  Swindells. 


Owe  for  Dry  Rot  in  Bouses. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

SiH, — It  may  be  of  interest  to  many  of  your  readers,  whose 
houses  are  infested  with  dry  rot,  to  learn  that  a  perfect 
cure,  or  rather  a  way  of  preventing  it,  has  been  found  out 
in  the  alkali  works  at  Saaran,  in  Silesia.  The  dry  rot  is 
caused  by  the  spores  of  a  fungus  (M&rvUus  lacryvians), 
which  may  be  carried  away  b^  currents  of  air,  but  are 
mostly  contained  in  the  soil  if  any  soil  containing  them 
be  used  for  filling  the  spaces  between  the  joists  and  board- 
ing of  a  chamber-fioor,  the  appearance  of  dry  rot  in  the 
house  need  not  create  any  surprise.  A  little  of  such  earthy 
matter  may  easily  be  mixed  among  the  sand  or  slag,  if  such 
Is  used  for  filling  those  spaces,  or  even  among  the  sand 
which  forms  part  of  the  mortar.  Of  course  dry  rot  will  not 
set  m  if  the  timber  is  kept  completely  diy ;  but  it  is  well 
known  that  this  condition  is  often  not  easily  achieved.  A 
radical  remedy  against  dry  rot  is,  however,  found,  if  the 
space  underneath  the  flooring  boards  be  filled  with  a  mass 
capable  of  destroying  vegetable  life  without  doing  any  in- 
jury to  the  timber  or  bridfwork.  No  doubt  many  such 
compositions  might  be  found,  but  the  builders  would  be  de- 
terred by  any  considerable  expense  from  using  them.  Now, 
on  the  Saaran  alkali  works  it  has  been  observed  (as  the 
manager,  Mr.  Junker,  reports  in  the  Bresiauer  GewerbeUaU) 
Uiat  tank-waste,  that  great  nuisance  of  alkali  works,  is  an 
exoellMit  remedy  against  dry  rot  If  some  of  it  is  used 
along  with  the  rubbish  for  filling  the  spaces  between  the 
joists,  and  if  the  whole  is  beaten  down  into  a  mass,  it  hard- 
ens very  well,  like  ordinary  tank-waste  floors,  and  it  never 
allows  any  dry  rot-  to  spring  up.  It  makes  no  difibrenoe 
whether  the  air  has  access  or  not;  there  is  also  no  smell 
whatever  exhaled.  Besides  many  other  striking  illustra- 
tions of  the  efficacy  of  tank-waste  in  this  respect,  Mr.  Junker 
mentions  a  case  where  two  adjoining  souterrains  had  been 
boarded,  the  one  with,  the  other  (by  mistake)  without,  the 


98 


CJiemical  Notices  f rem  Foreign  Sources. 


i  Cbbmioal  Nbviu 

t  Auffuu,  iser. 


application  of  tank-waste.  Tho  latter  room  was  at  once  in- 
fested with  dry  rot;  the  former  remained  quite  sound.  The 
boards  of  the  infected  room  were  then  taken  up  agsdn,  and 
tank-waste  was  applied ;  since  that  time  (two  years  and  a 
half)  no  dry  rot  whatever  has  set  in,  and  the  decay  of  the 
boards,  half-rotton  as  these  had  already  become,  was  stopped 
altogether. 

None  of  your  readers  need  be  told  that  tank-waste  may 
be  had  at  all  alkali  works  for  the  carting  away. 

I  am,  etc.        G.  Lunge. 

Test  for  CobaU. 
«  To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  New& 

Sir, — Haying  tried  some  experiments  on  the  new  test  for 
cobalt  (viz^  Sie  production  of  a  deep  red  coloration  on  the 
addition  of  tartaric  acid,  excess  of  ammonia^  and  ferricyanide 
of  potassium),  I  found  that  not  only  was  the  coloratiou  pro- 
duced when  tartaric  or  oxalic  acid  had  been  added,  but  with 
any  other  acid  (as  many  as  I  tried)  or  salt  of  ammonia,  p^ 
Tided  that  the  add  (or  saltX  ammonia,  and  ferricyanide 
were  first  mixed  and  then  udded  to  the  solution  of  cobalt. 

For  instance,  the  coloration  is  developed  quite  as  well  by 
the  addition  of  a  mixture  of  chloride  of  ammonium,  ammouia, 
an4  ferricyaulde,  as  in  the  method  by  tartaric  add.  The 
adds  tried  were  hydrochloric,  'nitric,  sulphuric,  carbonic, 
chromic,  and  acetic.  Probably  these  experiments  have 
been  already  tried,  bat>  not  having  seen  them  mentioned,  I 
thought  it  best  to  place  them  on  record. 

I  am,  etc.  Ttro. 

Tricks  of  Trade, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemioal  News. 
Sis, — ^Drugs  and  chemicals  are  not  the  only  things  that  ab- 
sorb so  much  "  bribing ;  ^  here  is  a  sample  of  one  style,  to 
hand  this  morning: — 

**  Messrs.  G and  Co.,  D****  Street.--The  employes 

in  the  above  firm  most  respectfully  beg  to  intimate  that 
they  intend  celebrating  their  second  annual  dinner  on 
Saturday,  July  27,  1867.  The  favour  of  your  subscription 
in  aid  of  the  above  will  be  most  thankftiUy  received.  Yours 
respectfully,  for  the  employts^  A.  D**.  N.B. — Post-Office 
Orders  to  be  made  payable  at  Gray^s  Inn  Road."  • 

Persistent  neglect  of  all  such  dishonesty  has  lost  the 
writer  many  a  customer's  trade.  But  what  are  we  to  ex- 
pect when  masters  are  so  ignorant  of  their  own  businesses 
as  is  generally  the  case  ?  Having  no  judgment  of  their  own, 
nor  capability  of  testing  for  themselves  and  proving,  they 
are  afraid  to  unsettle  this  foreman  or  that  workman.  I  shall 
be  glad  to  hear  your  correspondent's  solution  of  tiie  prob- 
lem, ?uno  to  neutralise  it ;  but  when  competition  is  strong, 
British  honour  is  a  myth. 

I  am,  etc.  T.  C. 

Manufacture  of  Bisulphide  of  Carbon. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  CHSiaoAL  New& 
Sib, — Mr.  Parkes  errs  in  conveying  the  impression  that  my 
apparatus  for  me  manufacture  of  bisulphide  of  carbon  was 
erected  under  his  instructions.    The  only  assistance  he 
rendered  me  was  in  directing  my  attention  to  the  artide  in 
Mitscherlich's   "Practical    and    Experimental  Chemistry," 
translated  by  Dr.  Hammock  m  1838  (pp.  209-12),  which 
upon  examination,  you  will  find,  was  not  calculated  to  aid 
me  much ;  and  Mr.  Parkes'  first  visit  to  my  works  was  in 
1849,  some  years  aiW  I  had  been  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture. I  am,  etc.  Jbbsb  Fisher. 
Chemical  Works,  Ironbrldge,  Salop,  Jane  24. 

CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 

Colours  ttom  Coal-tar.  (C=6).— De  Laire,  Girard,  and 
Chapoteaut    If,  in  preparing  vio'aniliue  (3  moleculen  of  ani- 


h'ne  oonjoined  with  eh'mination  of  HsX  aniline  containing 
toluidine  be  used,  the  product  is  contaminated  with  a  small 
quantity  of  rosaniline,  and  a  larger  proportion  of  mauvani- 
line — 

Ci3H4,H ) 

C,aH4,HVN,,H0, 

CmH„H  ) 

a  base  possessing  remarkable  tinctorial  properties.  Its  for- 
mula is  substantiated — ist.  By  its  formation  by  appropri- 
ate oxidation  of  a  mixture  of  aniline  and  toluidine  contain- 
ing a  greater  proportion  of  the  former.  2nd.  By  simul- 
tanouf  formation  of  water,  ^rd.  By  the  replacement  in  its 
molecule  of  Hg  by  methyl,  etliyl,  phenyl  4th.  By  its  de- 
composition on  distillation  into  the  primary  and  secondary 
monamines  of  the  phenylic  and  toluylic  radicals.  It  is  de- 
rived from  two  molecules  of  aniline  and  one  molecule  of  to- 
1  luidine.  He  being  eliminated ;  it  is  crystallisable ;  retains 
'  HO  even  after  several  hours'  exposure  to  120— 130*,  but 
loses  it  at  a  higher  temperature;  it  is  soluble  in  etlier, 
benzol,  and  alcohol ;  insoluble  in  cold,  sparingly  so  in  boiling 
water;  it  forms  crystallisable  salts  with  acids;  the  acetate 
and  chlorhydrate  are  especially  fine  bodies ;  the  salts  are  * 
slightly  soluble  in  cold  water;  rather  soluble  in  boiling 
water.  Triphenylomauvaniline  is  obtained  by  acting  upon 
.  mauvaniline  with  aniline ;  it  is  a  crystallisable  base,  soluble  in 
ether  and  alcohol,  insoluble  in  water;  its  salts  form  splendid 
blue  dyes. 

Yioianiline,  mauvaniline,  rosaniline,  and  chrysotoluidine 
(derived  from  the  conjunction  of  three  molecules  of  toluidine. 
He  being  eliminated)  are  the  first  four  consecutive  terms  of 
a  series  having  a  common  difference  CsHg. —  CompUa  R. 
Ixiv.  416.) 

Rotene:  lt»  Confttltutlon  (C=  6).— M.  Berthelot  Re- 
tene  CseHis  is  distinguishable  from  naphthalene,  which  it 
resembles  in  aspect  by  its  having  no  odour,  by  its  lesser 
solubility  in  alcohol,  and  by  its  melting  at  95° ;  it  boils  at 
at  about  .400° ;  the  vapour,  mixed  with  hydcogen  and  passed 
through  a  red-hot  tube,  decomposes,  producing  large  quan- 
tities of  anthracene,  carbon,  ^tylene,  and  some  gaseous 
hydrocarbons,  one  of  which  is  absorbed  by  monohydrated 
sulphuric  acid.  Yielding,  under  these  conditions,  anthra- 
cene, from  which  it  differs  by  4CaH8,  it  cannot  be  derived 
from  benzol,  although  its  formula  is  triple  that  of  benzoL 
but  it  might  be  derived  from  benzol  and  a  hydrocarbon  such 
as  ethylene  or  formene,  capable  of  supplying  the  acetylene 
necessary  for  the  production  of  anthracene,  its  lower  homo- 
logue.  Attempts  to  obtain  it  from  cumol  in  a  reaction  simi- 
lar to  that  which  gives  anthracene  fh>m  toluol  have  not  been 
successful  The  first  members  of|  the  homologous  series 
commencing  with  anthracoA,  and  including  retene,  will 
probably  be  found  among  the  solid  hydrocarbons  which 
crystallise  immediately  after  naphthalene  in  the  heavy  oil  of 
coal-tar.— (JBUff.  Sac  Chim.  Paris,  1867,  231.) 

Xylol,  Chloro  deHiratiTes  or(C=i2).— C.  Laathand 
E.  Grrimaux.  (Xylol  distilling  entirely  between  137''  and 
139*)  vapour  and  chlorine  gave  a  liquid  from  which  a  frac- 
tion collected  between  190 — 195**  precipitated  cold  argentic 
nitrate  solution:  boiled  with  argentic  acetate,  a  liquid  of 
agreeable  odour,  probably  tolylic  acetate  was  formed ;  booled 
with  plumbic  nitrate  solution,  a  liquid  having  an  odour  re- 
sembling bitter  almond  oil,  combining  with  s^ic  disuljdiite, 
and  boiling  at  200**,  was  produced,  evidently  CbH^O  tolylic 
aldehyde.  Therefore,  in  the  first-mentioned  reaction  a 
change  occurs  analogous  to  that  by  which  benzylic  chloride 
is  produced  fh>m  toluol,  and  the  chlorxylol  obtluned  should 
be  represented  by 

nT,  (CH,a 

^•^*  \  CH, 
The  fhictions  distilling  between  230—260''  contained 
CeHftCla,  a  crystalline  body,  but  in  smaller  quantity  than 
was  necessary  for  the  study  of  its  reactions ;  it  melts  at  100^. 
It  is  proposed  to  extend  this  reaction  to  trimeth>lphecyl, 
cumol  fh)m  coal-tar,  the  alcohol  C»Hi«0  being  at  preseat 
unknown.— (A*/i  Soc  Chim,  Paris,  1867,  233.) 


August^  I'iGt.     f 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


99 


BenzoUiklphuroas  Add  (C  =  I2).--R.  Otto  and  H 
Ostrop.  BeDzoisulphurous  chloride,  CoHfiClSOa,  most  care- 
fully dried,  was  diluted  with  ether  perfectly  free  from  alcohol 
and  water;  sodium  amalgam  was  added  by  small  portions  till 
a  sample  of  the  fluid,  after  expulsion  of  the  ether,  dissolved  in 
water ;  the  ether  was  then  expelled,  and  a  small  quantity  of 
water  was  added ;  the  aqueous  solution  was  separated  from  an 
oily  body  and  mixed  with  chlorhydric  acid ;  the  crystals  which 
formed  were  recrystallised  from  hot  water,  and  about  two- 
thirds  the  theoretical  quantity  of  benzolsulphurous  acid  was 
obtained.  Its  properties  were  the  same  as  described  by  its 
discoverer,  Kalle,  who  made  it  from  zincic  ethlde  and  benzol- 
sulphurous  chloride.  With  fuming  nitric  acid  benzolsulphu- 
rous acid  gave  CjeHjeNaSsOe,  for  the  unravelling  of  the  con- 
stitution of  which  material  was  wanting:  nitrobeuzolsulphuric 
acid  C8H»(NOs)S03,  was  also  formed.  With  bromine,  benzol- 
sulphurous  bromide  was  produced,  0«Hft,S03,Br,  and  not 
brombenzolsulphurous  acid,  C8H4Br,SOa,H,  for  ammonia 
gives  with  it  an  amide,  and  not  amraonic  brombenzolsulphite. 
With  phosphoric  pentachloride,  benzolsulphurous  chloride, 
and  a  body  probably  QiaHioSaOs,  separated  from  the  former 
by  dilute  solution  of  potash,  were  obtained.  The  oily  body 
formed  in  the  first  reaction,  and  toluol-  and  xyloi-sulphurous 
acids,  will  form  the  subjects  of  future  communications. — (Jnr*. 
Chem,  Pharm.  cxlL  365.) 

Cyanln  (C  =  12).— Dr.  G.  Nadler  and  Dr.  V.  Merz.  The 
cyaniu,  or  chinolioe  blue,  which  forms  the  subject  of  this 
paper,  was  prepared  from  tolerably  pure  chinoline,  and  was, 
therefore,  an  amylcliinoline  derivative.  Chinoline  blue,  or 
iodocyanin,  CieUsANal,  is  almost  insoluble  in  ether  and  cold 
water,  rather  soluble  in  hot  water,  sparingly  so  m  oold  alcohol, 
aud  very  soluble  in  hot  alcohol;  the  green  crystals  molt  alid 
lose  water  at  100'';  their  solution  in  alcoholic  solution  of 
Ditric  acid  is  precipitated  by  argentic  nitrate.  Iodocyanin  is 
capable  of  uniting  with  one  or  two  molecules  of  acids ;  its 
solution  in  chlorhydric  acid,  if  allowed  to  evaporate  spont^e- 
ously  in  the  presence  of  lime,  deposits  colourless  crystals, 
CatHgftNIjHaCl,  which  lose  HCl  at  90—100".  A  w>rm 
alcoholic  solution  of  iodocyanin  digested  with  fresh  argentic 
oxide  gave  cyanin  CagHgaNaO.  A  chlorhydric  acid  solution  of 
ejanin  precipitated  by  ammonia,  or  an  alcoholic  solution  of 
iodocyanin  digested  with  argentic  chloride,  gives  chlorocyanin, 
CssHsoNaCI,  easily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  hot  water,  sparingly 
80  in  ether  and  cold  water,  combining  with  acids  to  form 
colourless  compounds.  Nitrato-cyanin  was  prepared  by  pre- 
cipitating an  alcoholic  solution  of  iodocyanin,  acidulated  with 
nitric  acid,  with  argentic  nitrate ;  it  is  slightly  soluble  in  ether 
aud  oold  water,  easily  so  in  alcohol ;  its  formula  is 

C„H„Na}o. 
.-KOaf"' 
it  combines  with  acids  to  form  colourless  bodies ;  treated  with 
ammonic  sulphide  at   lOo"*!  C68He8N4SsOa  was    obtained. 
Iodocyanin,  heated  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  gave 
sulphatocyanin — 

20ai^„Nalri 
SOaf^'' 
wbich,  air-dried,  is  a  light  brown  body,  which  decomposes. 
Without  melting,  at  120".     From  it  other  similar  bodies,  such 
as  oxaloqyanin. 

2CaeHa,Na)^ 

coar** 

are  obtainable. 

It  appears  from  the  above  that  cyanin  is  capable  of  forming 
with  acids  three  kinds  of  bodies— the  monacid  bodies  are 
intensely  coloured,  the  triacid  compounds  are  colourless  and 
easily  decomposed,  giving  rise  to  diacid  compounds.  All  the 
coloured  compounds  are  uustable  in  sunlight. — (Jown.praki. 
Chem,  c  129.) 

Allaaiia- — 0.  Koechlin.  The  colouring  matter  from 
madder,  after  sublimation  or  exposure  to  280°,  no  longer 
give»  the  tints  sought  by  dyers :  a  yellow  tint  is  wanting,  in 
searching  for  which  the  author  is  engaged  with  Schiitzenberger. 
— {BuU.  Sue  Chim.  Paris^  1867,  235.) 


Valerylene,  Polymers  of  (C  =  12).— E.  Reboul.  Con- 
centrated sulphuric  acid  acts  violently  on  valerylene ;  no  con- 
jugated acid  is  formed.  A  fraction  of  the  product  between 
175—177°  was  divalerylenic  hydrate,  2CJl8,HaO.  The 
fraction  between  265—275**,  sp.  gr.  0*862,  at  15°,  was 
trivalerylene,  (CeHe)..  The  distillate  between  280 — 350**,  in 
which  interval  the  thermometer  rises  continuously,  as  also  the 
residue,  which,  on  cooling,  solidified  to  a  semi  transparent 
mass,  is  a  mixture  of  polymers  of  different  degrees  of^con- 
densation.  Sulphuric  acid  diluted  witii  one  or  one-third 
volume  of  water  produces  the  same  results,  but  more  slowly,' 
and  consequently  with  less  violence. — {Comptes  R.  Ixiv.  419.) 

Oxaloliydroxaiiilc  Add  (C=i2). — H.  Lessen.  This 
is  one  of  two  acid  bodies  formed  by  the  action  of  hydroxy- 
lamine  on  ethylic  oxalate ;  it  is  very  diflScultly  soluble  in  cold 
water,  but  crystallises  from  boiling  water;  it  explodes  at 
105° ;  dried  over  sulphuric  acid  it  contains  CtH4Na04,  which 
formula,  however,  may  need  to  be  tripled.  Its  salts  are  gener- 
ally insoluble,  or  sparingly  soluble^  in  water,  and  explode  if 
heated  to  130**  or  180°,  or  if  put  into  concentrated'  sulphuric 
acid.      The  constitution  of  the  acid  is  probably  expressed  by 


GaOa) 
(IlO)aUa 
Ha) 


{Zeiisckr  Chetru,  N.  F.,  iii.  129.) 

Sarcolactle  Acid. — 0.  Schultzen.  The  urine  of  mon  or 
animals  that  have  been  poisoned  by  phosphorus,  when  the 
poisoning  has  reached  the  stage  of  colouring  the  skin,  contains 
large  quantities  of  this  acid.  To  extract  it  the  urine  was 
evaporated  to  syrupy  consistence,  the  alcoholic  extract  of  the 
syrup  was  evaporated,  the  residue  was  treated  with  sulphuric 
acid  and  ether,  the  ether  was  decanted,  aud  the  substance 
left  on  its  evaporation  was  purified  by  a  small  quantity  of 
plumbic  acetate  freed  from  lead  by  sulphydrio  acid,  and  from 
acetic  acid  by  evaporation ;  sarcolactic  acid  remained,  which 
was  identified  by  analysis  of  the  ziucio,  cupric,  and  calcic 
salts.    {Zeitschr.  Chem.  N.  F.,  iii  138.) 

Blehloraulpl&obenxlde  (0  =  12).— R  Otto.  This 
body — 

C.H,Cl)gQ 

CeH^Cip"* 
is  easily  obtained  by  the  action  of  chlorobenzol  on  sulphuric 
anhydride.     It  is  insoluble  in  water,  and  crystallises  from 
hot  alcohol  in  long  white  needles,  melting  at  140— 141''. — 
(Ztiischr.  Chem,,  N.  F.,  iii.  143.) 

Clilor1>enzolsnlplinrlc  Add  (0=i2).— R.  Otto.  This 
acid  is  a  by-product  in  the  preparation  or  bichlorfiulphobenzide. 
It  is  obtainable  in  long  white  asbestoslike  deliquescent  nee- 
dles, fusible  in  the  water  oven,  easily  soluble  m  water  and 
alcohol,  insoluble  in  ether  and  benzol.    It  is  monobasic — 


C.H^Ci  ) 

SOaVO. 


Its  salts  are  mostly  soluble  in  water,  and  may  be  heated  to 
200°  without  decomposition.      The  sodic,  pota.ssic,  calcic, 
baric,  plumbic,  cupric,  and  ethylic  salts  are  described. 
The  chloride 


CeH4ClS0, 
01 


is  easily  obtained  by  acting  upon  sodic  chlorbenzolsulphate 
with  phosphoric  pentachloride.  It  is  soluble  in  ether,  benzol, 
and  alcohol ;  insoluble  in  water.  It  forms  magnificent  four- 
sided  rhombic  tables,  often  of  considerable  dimensions.  It 
melts  at  50 — 51°.  With  alcoholic  solution  of  ammonia, 
sulphochlorbenzolamide  is  formed, 

CeH^ClSOa  )  ^ 

crystallising  from  water  in  four-sided  rhombic  pillars  of  large 
size.  It  melts  at  143 — 144°.  By  acting  on  chlorbenzolsul- 
phuric  chloride  with  zinc  and  sulphuric  ac!d,  chlorphcnyl- 
phydrate  is  obtained, 


lOO 


CJiemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


j  CEEmcAL  Nkws, 
\    Augutt,  1807. 


which  forms  superb  crystals,  melting  at  53— S4'',  distilling 
undecomposed,  insoluble  in  water,  soluble  in  ether  and  alco- 
hol. It  combines  with  mercuric  chloride  to  form  a  compound 
insoluble  in  boiling  water  or  alcohol,  and  gives  with  nitric 
acid  chlorphenylic  sulphide, 

CeH4Cl  )  « 

insoljible  in  water,  easily  soluble  in  hot  alcohol,  ether,  or 
benzol,  melting  at  71",  and  distilling  undecomposed. 

Chiorbenzolsulphurous  ncid  results  from  chlorbenzolsul- 
phuric  chloride  under  the  influence  of  sodium  amalgam.  It 
crystallises  in  small  rhombic  needles,  easily  soluble  in  hot 
water  and  alcohol,  meltmg  at  88-— 90°.  The  sodic,  calcic, 
plumbic,  and  ethylic  salts  are  described.  Its  formula  is 
C.H^Cl ) 
SOf-0. 

hJ 

^Zciischr,  Chem,,  N.  F.,  iii.  144.) 

Organic  Acids,  a  New  8erte«  of  (C=I2).— P.  Greiss. 
Diazobenzoic  perbromide  {Ann.  Vhem.  Pharm.  axxxv.  121), 
in  solution  of  ammonia,  decomposes  with  formation  of  C7H8 
NjOa,  easily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether,  difficultly  so  in 
boiling,  insoluble  in  cold  water,  melting  at  about  160** ;  it 
forms  definite  salts.  The  argentic  salt  is  a  white  amor- 
phous precipitate,  C7H4  AgNjOa.  Analogous  acids  are  formed 
by  the  action  of  ammonia  on  diazodracylic  and  diazosalylic 
perbromidee.  Diazoanissic  and  diazobippuric  perbromides 
react  in  a  similar  manner.  The  reaction  is  therefore  general. 
— {ZeiUchr,  Chem.,  N.  F.,  iii.  164.) 

(  Btliyl-and  Dletliyl-benzol.  products  of  Oxida- 
tion of  (C=i2.) — R  Fitlig  and  J.  Kouig.  Kthylbenzol  is 
easily  oxidised  by  dilute  nitric  acid,  benzoic  acid  with  traces 
of  a  nitro-acid  being  produced.  Monobromethylbenzol  gave 
by  oxidation  bromdracylic  acid,  identical  with  that  obtained 
by  Hut^er  and  Philipp  from  bromtoluol.  DiethylbenzoL 
treated  with  potassic  dichromato  and  sulphuric  acid,  gave 
terephthalic  acid,  but,  if  oxidised  with  dilute  nitric  acid,  an 
acid  isomeric  with  xylylic  acid  is  produced,  and  which  may 
be  called  etbylbeuzoic  acid, 

It  crystallises  frcnn  water  or  alcohol,  and  melts  at  about  1 10°. 
The  baric,  calcic,  argentic,  and  cupric  salts  were  analysed. 
This  acid  differs  from  all  others  of  similar  constitution.  It 
may  be  regarded  as  bromdracylic  acid,  in  which  Br  is  replaced 
by  ethyl ;  and  it  will  perhaps  be  identical  with  an  acid  which 
Kekule  hopes  to  obtain  by  the  action  of  bromethylbenzol  on 
sodium  and  carbonic  dioxide.  The  production  of  bromdra- 
cylic acid  above  mentioned  proves  that  in  bromethylbenzol 
the  same  H  atom  in  the  benzol  residue  is  replaced  by  bromine, 
as  is  the  ca^e  in  bromtoluol. — {Zeittchr.  Chem.,  N.  F.,  iii.  167.) 

Oplnm,  Alkaloids  oft  tlielr  Separation. — M.  £ubly. 
The  substance  to  be  examined  is. extracted  with  benzol ;  nar- 
coiine,  papaverine,  thebaine,  and  codeine,  are  dissolved. 
Amylic  alcohol  dissolves  morphine  from  the  residue,  and 
alcohol  will  extract  narceine,  if  present  in  what  is  left  undis- 
solved by  the  two  former  solvents.  To  separate  the  four 
alkaloids  soluble  in  benzol,  cold  amylic  alcohol  is  used,  which 
dissolves  codeine ;  very  dilute  acetic  acid  will  then  extract 
papaverine  and  thebaine  from  the  narcotine  which  remain& 
Finally,  thebaine  is  precipitated  from  the  sulphuric  acid  solu- 
tion of  ptipaTerine  and  thebaine  by  bismuthic  iodide  in  potas- 
sic iodide  solution,  papaverine  remaining  in  solution. — 
{Pharm,  Jcum,  Rusa.  Nov.  1866,  457.) 

Cleaning  Glass. — A  method  of  cleaning  glass,  which 
may  be  useful  where  other  methods  fail,  is  given  in  the  appen- 
dix to  the  second  edition  of  Major  Russell's  **  Tannin  Pro- 
cess," published  by  Robert  Hai  dwicke,  Piccadilly.  Dilute  the 
ordinary  hydrofluoric  acid  sold  in  gutta-percha  bottles,  with 
four  or  five  parts  of  water,  drop  it  on  a  cotton  rubber  (not  on 
the  glass),  and  rub  well  over,  afterwards  washing  till  the 
acid  IS  removed.  The  action  is  the  same  as  that  of  sulphuric 
acid  when  used  for  cleaning  copper;  a  little  of  the  glass  is 


dissolved  off  and  a  fresh  surface  exposed.  The  solution  of 
the  acid  in  water  does  not  leave  a  dead  surfhoe  on  the  glasS) 
as  the  vapour  would ;  if  a  strong  solution  is  left  Idng  enough 
to  produce  a  visible  depression,  the  part  affected  will  be  quite 
bright  This  method  is  recommended  in  some  cases  for  clean- 
ing photographic  plates,  but  we  should  think  it  might  also  be 
useful  in  cleaning  the  insides  of  bottles,  flasks,  etc,  which 
have  got  stained  through  use. 

A  <|alnlne  Famine. — ^The  following  is  an  extract  fh>m 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Colville  Barclay,  President  of  Poor  Relief 
Committee  of  the  Island  of  Mauritius :  "  The  mortality  from  the 
eflects  of  fever  just  now  is  from  180  to  200  every  day  through- 
out the  island.  Alt  the  quinine  in  the  place  is  finished, 
and  half  a  dozen  bottles  received  from  Reunion  last  week 
were  sold  at  135  dollars  the  ounce  (27L  109.).  The  doctors 
are  using  arsenic  as  a  substitute.  The  Government  has  sent 
home  for  30  lbs.  of  quinine,  as  well  as  to  Ceylon  and  the  Cape 
for  all  that  can  be  obtained." 

Cantharldln. — Professor  Dragendorff  bus  found  in  can- 
tharides  a  volatile  body  which  acts  on  the  oi^nism  in  a 
similar  manner  to  cantharidin.  Freshly  powdered  cantharides 
are  moistened  with  water  and  distilled ;  the  portion  going 
over  below  and  at  100"  C,  which  has  an  acid  reaction,  con- 
tains the  new  body.— (PAarm  ZeiUchr,  f.  RutsL,  Jan.  1867,  L) 

Borates. — F.  P.  1e  Roux.  Equal  equivalents  of  calcined 
magnesia  and  boric  anhydride,  heated  to  whiteness,  noeh 
readily  together,  forming  a  slightly  green,  strong,  and  light 
glae&  Rapid  cooling  is  necessary  to  obtain  it  amorphous  and 
transparent.  Three  equivalents  of  boric  anhydride  and  one 
equivalent  of  suboxide  of  copper,  melted  together,  and  poured 
on  an  iron  plate,  form  a  glass,  the  surface  of  which  basadiflfer- 
ent  colour  from  the  interior. 

Other  borates  behave  vb  a  similar  manner;  most  of  them 
form  glasses  of  different  colours,  according  to  whether,  after 
m^iting,  they  are  cooled  slowly  or  rapidly.— {OwwptM  it 
Ixiv.  26.) 

Blectrolysls  of  Alkallc  SnlpUdes.— H.  Buff.  In  an 
electrolyte  under  the  action  of  an  electric  current,  elements, 
or  groups  of  elements,  travel  in  opiposite  directions,  canyiDg^ 
an  equal  amount  of  electricity  of  opposite  nature ;  they  are 
electric-equivalent  Constituents  not  taking  part  in  this 
locomotion  do  not  contribute  to  the  conduction  of  the  elec- 
tric current 

From  his  experiments  with  alkalic  sulphides,  the  author 
concludes  that  the  decomposition  of  the  various  mono-  or 
poly-sulphides  of  potassium  or  sodium  always  takes  place 
in  this  manner,  that  the  metals  travel  towards  the  one 
electrode  and  all  the  sulphur  towards  the  other,  or  that  a 
group  of,  for  instance,  five  atoms  of  potassic  pentasulphide 
is  electric-equivalent  to  one  atom  of  potassic  monosulphide. 
— (Ann,  Cheiti,  Pharm.  Supplem.  iv.  257.) 

Nloblnm  and  Tantalani)  Chloro-  and  Cliloro- 
oxyeen  Componnds  of. — H.  Sainte-Claire  Deville  and 
L.  Troost  (0=i6).  The  vapour  densities  of  the  Tolatile 
niobic  chlorides  and  oxychlorides  agree  with  Marignac'a 
formuI»  NbCU  and  NbUCls.  The  presence  of  oxygen,  in 
the  oxychloride  may  also  be  proved  synthetically.  If  NbOU 
(melting  at  194"^  C,  boiling  at  240°  C.^  in  a  state  of  vapour 
is  repeatedly  driven  over  red-hot  niobic  anhydride  (in  a  cur- 
rent of  carbonic  anhydride),  it  is  ix}nverted  into  a  white 
non-fusible  body,  volatile  at  about  4QP°  C,  having  all  the 
properties  of  the  oxychloride. 

TaClft  and  tantalic  anhydride,  under  the  same  oonditionfli, 
do  not  act  upon  each  other.  The  chloride  obtained  from 
pure  tantalic  anhydride,  prepared  according  to  Marignac'S 
method,  is  crystalllsable,  melts  at  211*3*'  ^-t  <^d  boiU  at 
241*6°.  It  has  a  slight  yellow  colour,  and  decompos€» 
slowly  when  exposed  to  air.  The  density  of  its  vapour 
was  found  to  be  12-8;  theory  requires  12-5  (Ta=  182 j. — 
(Comptes  R.  Ixiv.  294.) 

RosanlUne,  DerfvatlTes  of.— H.  Schiff  (C  =  12). 
Sulphite  of  rosauiline,  dissolved  in  aqueous  sulphurous  acid 


Ohemiocd  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


lOI 


(  0,oH,. 
N,  ^  0  H. 


K.  \  C.H., 


(a  jellow  solution,  oontaining  leacaniline  salt  and  polysul- 
pbito  of  roBaoiline),  shaken  with  a  few  drops  of  an  aldehyde, 
evolves  sulphuroos  add,  and  a  violet  crystalline  precipitate 
is  gradually  formed.  Bosamline  salts  treated  in  this  manner 
wi&  oil  of  bitter  almonds,  oenanthol,  or  valeric  aldehyde, 
gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  the  new  bases 

BeDzyllden-  aSn«nthylid«n-  Yaleryllden- 

roaaolline.  rosanUlne.  roeaniline. 

The  salts  of  these  bases  contain  one  equivalent  of  acid. 
The  typical  hydrogen  may  be  replaced  by  ethyl.  They  are 
insoluble  in  ether,  water,  or  dilute  acids ;  soluble  in  alcohol, 
with  a  violet  blue  colour. 

The  author  believes  that  the  blue  and  violet  dyes  obtained 
by  the  action  of  the  bromides  of  terebene  and  ethylene  upon 
rosaniline  have  a  similar  constitution  to  the  bases  described. 
-^Oomptes  R,  bay.  182.) 

Trlamldopbeaol    and    Amldodlliiildoplienol.-^ 

O.  Heintzel  (0=  1 2).  The  product  of  the  reduction  of  picric 
acid  with  tin  and  chlorhydric  acid  the  author  finds  to 
be  hydrochlorate  of  triamidophenol,  protochloride  of  tin 
0«H,(HO)(NH,),(H01),(Sn01,),  and  not,  as  stated  by  Beil- 
Btein,  0«H5(N'H,),(H01)»(Sn01«\  hydrochlorate  of  plcram- 
monium,  protochloride  of  tin.  The  body  is  soluble  in  water, 
alcohol,  and  ether,  and  is  obtuned  in  white  crystals  by  pre- 
dpitating  its  saturated  aqueous  solution  with  chlorhytlric 
acid.  Sulphuretted  hydrc^n  decomposes  it,  and  forms 
hydrochlorate  of  triamidophenol,  CeH-,(H0)(NUa),(HGL)8, 
easily  soluble  in  water,  and  obtained  from  its  solution  in 
white  crystals  on  adding  ohlorhydrlc  add.  It  is  less  sol- 
uble  in  alcohol  and  ether. 

Hydriodic  add  reduces  picric  acid  to  hydriodate  of  triami- 
dophenol O0H9(HO)(NH.,)3(HI)<i,  and  not,  as  Lautemann 
stated,  to  hydriodate  of  triamidobenzol,  or,  as  he  called  it, 
picrammonie  iodide,  GeHs(NH9)«(HI)s. 

Triamidophenol  cannot  be  separated  from  its  salts  with- 
out decomposition. 

Ferric  chloride  acting  on  the  hydrochlorate  produces  the 
*  hydrochlorate  of  amidocQimidophenol, 

CcH,{HO)(NEi,)(N,Ha).Ha 
It  dissolves  easily  in  water,  with  a  beautiful  blue  colour,  is 
sparingly  soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  ether,  and  crystal- 
lises in  dark  yellow  needles.  The  base  cfinnot  be  separated 
from  its  salts  without  decomposition.  Digestion  with  dilute 
chlorhydric  or  sulphuric  add  converts  this  body  into  the 
hydrochlorate  of  a  new  base,  the  probable  formula  of  which 
is  C«H,(HO;(NH,XNHKHO).Ha  That  is  hydrochlorate  of 
amidoimidohydroxylphenol,  soluble  in  water  and  aloohoL 

Another  new  base  is  obtained  from  hydrochlorate  of  ami- 
dodiimidophenol  on  reduction  with  tin  or  zinc  and  chlor- 
hydric add  of  its  aqueous,  or,  with  sodium  amalgam,  of  its 
acid  solution.  It  can  be  isolated  from  its  salts  by  means  of 
an  alkali.  It  crystallises  in  white  needles,  dissolves  readily 
in  water,  sparingly  in  alcohol 

T!he  author  here  corrects  his  former  statement,  pubb'shed 
in  a  preliminary  communication  {ZeUschr.  Chem.  1866,  211), 
that  by  this  reduction  the  hydrochlorate  of  triamidophenol 
was  regenerated.— (tTburn.  prakL  Chem.  a  193.) 

^etl&odi   of  Redaction,   newr  'Application  of.— 

Berthelot  (C=i2).  Bromide  of  ethylene  with  water  and 
potassic  iodide,  heated  in  sealed  tubes  for  ten  hours,  is  first 
oonverted  into  iodide  of  ethylene,  and  this  is  decomposed 
again  according  to  the  following  equation : — 

7  OaHJs  +  4  HaO=6  CaHe  +  2  00,  +  7 19. 

The  reaction  can  only  be  explained  by  the  supposition  of  a 
temporary  formation  of  hydriodic  add.  This  caused  the 
author  to  investigate  the  action  of  a  strong  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  this  add  on  various  substances  at  a  high  temperature 
(275''  G.)  in  sealed  tubes.  Under  these  conditions  hydro^ 
carbons  of  tlie  marsh-gas  series  were  obtained  in  most  cases^ 


Mar^  gas  was  produced  in  this  way  from  methylic  for- 
mate, besides  carbonic  oxide  and  water,  resulting  from  the 
decomposition  of  the  fbri;nic  add. 

Effiylic  hydride  resulted  from  the  reduction  of  chloride, 
bromide,  and  iodide  of  ethylene,  bihydriodate  of  acetylene, 
ethylic  iodide,  carbonic  sesquich'oride,  ethylene,  acetylene, 
alcohol,  aldehyde,  acetic  and  tartronic  add.  The  last-named 
body  also  gave  rise  to  the  formation  of  carbonic  anhydride, 
evidently  in  consequence  of  its  having  split  up  originally 
into  carbonic  anhydride  and  acetic  acid,  the  latter  only  giv- 
ing ethylic  hydride. 

Propylic  hydride  was  obtained  from  allylic  iodide,  glycerin, 
and  acetone. 

Buiylic  hydride  from  butyric  acid  and  succinic  add.  The 
gaseous  hydrocarbons  in  most  cases  contained  an  admixture 
of  hydrogen,  derived,  no  doubt,  from  spontaneous  decom- 
position of  the  hydriodic  acid  used  in  the  experiments. 
From  oxalic  add  no  carburetted  hydrogen  could  be  obtain- 
ed, only  carbonic  oxide  and  carbonic  add,  from  formic  acid 
carbonic  oxide  only  (BuU.  Soc.  Cliem,  7,  53). 

Benzol    and    Pl&enol.    Snlptto-derivatlveis    of, 

(0=  12). — ^A*  Kekul^  Vogt^s  benzylmercaptan  may  ho  pre- 
pared by  substituting  sulphur  for  oxygen  in  phenoL  Phos- 
phoric sulphide  and  phenol  are  heated  together  in  a  retort, 
and  the  mixture  distilled.  The  principal  product  of  the  reac- 
tion is  thiophenol  OeHaSH,  Identiad  with  the  benzylmer- 
captan of  Yogt,  obtained  by  the  action  of  zinc  and  sulphu- 
ric add  on  benzolsulphochloride.  The  other  bodies  formed 
are  benzol,  sulphide  of  benzol,  and  liquids  of  a  high  boiling 
point,  probably  phenylethers  of  sulphophosphoric  acid. 
The  sulphide  of  benzol  thus  obtained  has  been  found  iden- 
tical with  the  sulphide  obtained  by  Stenhouse  from  sodic 
benzolsulphate.  The  substance  produced  by  oxidising  sul- 
phide of  benzol,  and  called  by  this  chemist  sulphobenzolen, 
the  author  dedares  to  be  identical  with  sulphoxide  of 
benzol 

Benzylmercaptan  may  be  converted  into  sulphide  of  benzol 
by  exposing  one  of  its  metal  compounds  to  dry  distillation. 
The  decomposition  takes  place  according  to  ttie  following 
equation: — 

2(0cHftSM)=(0«H5),S  +  M^a 
Experiments  in  progress  seem  to  show  that  thiophenol 
may  be  converted  into  benzol  by  losing  its  sulphur,  or  into 
phenol  by  exchanging  it  for  oxygen.— (^ifec^r.  Chern.^  N  F., 
iii.  193.) 

Tlilacetle  Acid  from  Acetic  add  Phenol  (0=I2). 
— A.  Xekul^  Phenol  is  still  very  generally  believed  to  be 
in  every  respect  analogous  to  the  monatomio  alcohols.  It 
may  now,  however,  be  taken  as  certain  that  the  so-called 
phenylic  chloride,  iodide,  etc.,  are  identical  with  tiie  corre- 
sponding substitution  compounds  of  benzol,  and  that  the 
phenyl  therein  is  incapable  of  being  transferred  to  other 
compounds.  According  to  the  old  view,  acetic  add  phenol 
acted  upon  by  potassic  sulphhydrate  ought  to  give  potassic 
acetate  and  thiophenol : — 

The  reaction,  however,  takes  place  in  a  different  manner ; 
phenol  is  formed  and  potassic  thiacetate: — 

O.H,0  f"+Hf^-  H       j:^  +      K     r 

Showing  that  it  is  not  phenyl  and  the  metal  of  the  sulph- 
hydrate which  exchange  their  places,  but  hydrogen  and 
acetyl,  and  that  acetic  add  phenol  should  not  be  viewed  as 
phenylic  acetate,  but  rather  as  aoetylic  phenylate.— {^itec/tr. 
Chem,,  N.F.,  iii  196,) 

Phenol,  Salphoaclds  of  (C=i2). — ^A.  Kekul^.  The 
author  considers  the  so-called  phenylsulphuric  acid  to  be  a 
sulphoacid,  containing  a  residue  of  sulphuric  add  in  a  simi- 
lar manner  as  nitro  compounds  contain  a  residue  of  nitric 
add.    He  gives  it  the  formula 


I02 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


j  Chbmioal  Nbwb, 


lC«h, 


in  place  of  the  old  one. 


OH 
8"0a 
H 


i° 


The  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  phenol,  however,  gives 
rise  to  the  formation  of  two  isomeric  bodies — phenolpara- 
sulphuric  acid  and  phenolmetasulphuric  acid  The  salts  of 
the  first  being  less  soluble  in  water  than  those  of  the  latter, 
their  separation  is  easily  accomplished  by  fractional  crystal- 
lisation. If  the  phenolsulphuric  acids  still  contain  their 
original  hydroxy!,  as  is  assumed  here,  the  hydrogen  of  the 
latter  will  be  replaceable  by  an  alcohol  radical,  without 
thereby  causing  a  change  in  the  general  character  of  the 
sulphoacid.  If  methyl  be  introduced,  sulphoacids  will  be 
formed,  identical  in  composition  with  the  acid  obtained  from 
anisol  with  sulphuric  add. 

This  substitution  is  effected  by  heating  phenolpara-  (or 
meta-)  sulphuric  add  with  potassic  hydrate,  alcohol,  and  ^c 
iodide  of  the  desired  alcohol  radical  in  sealed  tubes. 

The  potassic  salts  of  the  phenohneta-  and  phenolpara- 
sulphnric  acid  thus  obtained  resemble  each  other  so  closely 
that  it  is  difficult  to  say  to  which  of  them  the  corresponding 
anisol  compound  belongs ;  but  it  is  believed  that  there  also 
exist  two  isomeric  anisolsulphuric  acids.  The  author  also  is 
of  opinion  that  the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  aromatic 
compounds  nearly  always  gives  rise  to  substitution  com- 
pounds.— {ZeUschr.  Chem.j  N.F.,  iil  197.) 

monoclUorplienyl  (0=i2). — ^Ed.  Duljois  has  succeeded 
in  obtaining  monochlorphenol  by  passing  a  slow  current  of 
chlorine  through  cooled  phenol.  500  grms.  of  phenol  were 
taken,  and  the  action  of  chlorine  continued  for  twelve 
hours.  On  distillation,  the  portion  going  over  between  212° 
and  22^°  0.  was  collected  separately  and  rectified.  He 
finds  the  compound  thus  prepared  identical  with  the 
monochlorphenol  obtained  by  the  action  of  sulpburylchloride 
on  phenol.  Nitric  add  converts  it  into  dinitromonochlor- 
phenoL  Griess  has  obtained  this  body  by  treating  phenol 
first  with  chlorine,  and  then,  without  previous  purification  of 
the  chloro-compound,  with  nitric  add.  The  author  believes 
he  has  observed  differences  between  his  compound  and  that 
of  Griesa,  and  it  would,  therefore,  appear  probable  that  in 
the  latter  chemist's  case  first  di-  or  trichlorphenol  was 
formed  (vide  Ann,  Chem,  Pharm,  cxx.  286),  wliich  after- 
wards exchanged  a  portion  of  the  chlorine  against  nitryl. — 
(Zettsckr.  Chem,,  N.F.,  iii.  205.) 

Alumlnlc  Snlpbates,  Ba(ilc(0=8).— H.  Debray.  Zinc 
in  contact  with  platinum  (or  lead)  is  readily  acted  upon  by  a 
hot  solution  of  alum.  A  precipitate  is  formed  of  the  compo- 
sition of  Lowigit ; 

KOSO,  +  3(Ala03,S0,)  +  9HO, 
whidi  is  almost  insoluble  in  strong  chlorhydric  or  nitric 
acid,  but  attacked  by  sulghurio  add.  Heated  to  low  redness 
it  loses  nearly  all  its  water;  at  a  still  higher  temperature  it 
decomposes  into  alumina  and  potassic  sulphate.  Finally  pow- 
dered caldc  carbonate  digested  in  the  cold  with  a  solution  of 
alum  in  excess  forms  a  salt,  readily  soluble  in  dilute  acids. 
Its  composition  is 

4AIaO„3SO,  +  36HO. 

A  solution  of  aluminic  sulphate  in  excess,  boiled  with  zinc  or 
platinum,  forms  a  precipitate  soluble  in  dilute  adds ;  dried  at 
loo^C,  its  composition  is  SAlaOsjjSOt -H  20HO.— (BWi.  Soc, 
Chem,  7,  9.) 

Nitrotolnol. — A  Kekuld,  in  a  previous  communication 
(vide  Chemical  News,  No.  386),  confirmed  Jaworsky's  state- 
ment, that  the  crystalline  nitrotohiol  is  the  pure  compound, 
and  the  liquid  not  an  isomeric  modification  of  it,  but  simply  a 
mixture  of  the  pure  with  some  other  bodies.  He  now 
publishes  some  experiments  he  made  with  both  the  solid 


and  the  liquid  nitrotoluoL  If  ordinary  nitrotoluol  is  dis- 
tilled, the  greater  portion  goes  over  between  220*  and  225" 
0. ;  the  fraction  distiUing  above  233°  sooi^  solidifies.  The 
latter  is  purified  by  repeated  distillation  and  crystallisation 
from  alcohol  or  ether.  The  nitrotoluol  thus  prepared  boils  at 
237°  C,  and  crystallises  readily.  Nirtic  and  sulphuric  add 
convert  it  into  dinitrotoluol.  On  oxidation  with  potassic  bi- 
chromate and  sulphuric  add,  paranitrobenz(Hc  add  (nitro- 
dracylic  add)  is  formed;  the  oxidation  proceeds  more  readily 
than  it  does  with  ordinary  nitrotoluol,  and  a  better  result  is 
attained,  both  as  regards  quantity  and  quality.  Toluol  pre- 
pared from  toluolsulphuric  add  yields  by  careful  treatment  a 
nitro  compound  which  after  the  first  distillation  solidifies  to  a 
great  extent  From  the  facts — ist,  that  on  liquid  nitrotoluol 
being  reduced  with  tin  and  chlorhydric  acid,  no  hydrocarbon 
is  observed  to  be  ^ven  off  with  the  vapours  of  water: 
2ndly,  that  the  toluidine  prepared  from  liquid  nitrotoluol 
contains  aniline ;  and  3rdly,  that  a  mixture  of  pure  nitro- 
toluol and  nitrobenzol  on  distillation  behaves  in  a  very  simi- 
lar manner  to  ordinary  nitrotoluol — the  author  believes  ihat 
the  liquid  state  of  ordinary  nitrotoluol  is  due  solely  to  an 
admixture  of  nitrobenzoL  As  to  the  source  of  this  benzol 
in  those  cases  where  it  was  not  originally  present  in  the 
toluol,  the  author  thinks  it  possible  that  under  favourable 
conditions  nitric  add  actmg  on  toluol  (methylbenzol)  might 
destroy  the  methyl,  and,  substituting  nitryl,  form  nitroben- 
zol— {Zeitschr.  Chem,,  N.  F.,  iii.  225.) 

Hydrocarbons,  Solid,  rrom  Coal-tar.  Fritzsche 
(0=6). — ^The  hydrocarbon  CaJHio,  investigated  by  Ander- 
son, and  considered  by  that  chemist  to  be  the  anthracene  of 
Dumas  and  Laurent,  the  author  believes  to  have  been  a 
mixture  of  the  pure  OatjHio  with  other  hydrocarbons  of 
lower  melting  points.  The  melting  point  given  by  Ander- 
son is  180°  C,  by  Dumas  and  Laurent  213**  0.,  by  Fritzsche 
(five  years  age)  210''  C. 

The  author  has  now  succeeded  in  obtaining  this  body  in 
a  state  of  perfect  purity,  and,  though  unable  as  yet  to  give 
an  exhaustive  comparison  of  its  properties  with  those  of 
tlie  accompanying  hydrocarbons  of  coal-tar,  he  has  esta- 
blished some  characteristic  reactions,  whi(^  will  suffice  for 
their  identification. 

The  body  OagHto  separates  from  its  solutions  usually  in 
thin,  flat  crystals,  wiiich  are  n^ver  twisted  and  always  of  a 
definite  shape.  The  best  mode  of  observing  this  is  to  dis- 
solve a  small  quai^tity  in  a  drop  of  ether  on  a  glass  plate ; 
on  evaporation  a  spot  is  left  which  appears  transparent,  but 
under  the  microscope  is  seen  to  consist  of  a  mass  of  crystals 
which,  especially  along  the  edge,  are  well-formed  hexagonal 
platea  The  transparency  and  crystalline  structure  of  the 
spot  are  peculiar  to  this  body,  which,  by  that  means,  can  be 
distinguished  from  another  closely  related  to  it  This  latter 
body  dissolves  more  readily  in  ether,  and  leaves  a  spot  less 
transparent,  showing  a  crumpled  appearance  at  the  edges. 
The  spot  produced  by  a  mixture  of  the  two  is  white,  per- 
fectly opaque,  and  with  the  rim  as  before. 

On  cooling  an  alcoholic  solution  of  the  body  CigHio,  flat 
leaf-shaped  crystals,  either  hexagonal  or  rhombic,  appear, 
which  grow  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel.  The  other  body, 
under  these  conditions,  forms  a  voluminous  mass  of  thin 
twisted  plates,  which  remain  suspended  in  the  liquid.  A 
mixture  of  the  two  always  shows  the  latter  mode  of  crystal- 
lisation. It  is  then,  however,  easily  seen,  with  a  magnifying 
glass,  that  the  crystals  are  not  Jiomogeneous. 

The  method  employed  by  the  author  for  the  separation  and 
purification  of  the  body  OagHio  consists  in  dissolving  the 
raw  material  in  coal-tar  naphtha,  redissolving  again  the  first 
portions  that  are  separated  from  the  solation^  and  repeating 
this  process  several  times,  until  the  above-described  charac> 
teristic  phenomenon  of  crystallisation  is  observed.  To  free 
the  body  from  a  yellowish  colour,  caused  by  an  admixture  of 
chrysogene,  its  hot  solution  in  ooal-tar  naphtha  is  exposed  to 
direct  sunlight.  On  coo'ing  the  bleached  liquid,  large  crys-^ 
tals  of  the  pure  material  are  obtained.  It  is  well  to  treat' 
them  finally  with  a  boiling  alcoholic  solution  of  picric  acid, 


*^"^  SST" }    Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources — Miscellaneous. 


103 


which  removes  any  admixture  of  a  bodj  of  much  higher 
melt'tig-point 

Tho  meltiug-point  of  the  pure  body  daHio  the  author  has 
never  found  higher  than  207**  C. 

The  behaviour  of  this  body  towards  light  is  very  remark- 
able. If  a  cold  saturated  solution  of  it  is  exposed  to  direct 
sunlight)  microscopic  crystals  soon  appear,  varying  in  shape 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  solvent— elongated  hexagonal 
plates  from  coal-tar  naphtha^  four-dded  rhombic  ones  fh>m 
aleohoL  These  crystals  differ  g^reatly  firom  the  mother  sub- 
stance. They  are  almost  insoluble  in  any  solvent,  and  are 
altogether  very  indifTerent ;  but  if  they  are  melted  (a  higher 
temperature  being  required  than  for  O^sHio)  they  are  con- 
verted again  into  the  original-body  C^sHio. 

The  action  of  nitric  acid  on  CisHio  gives  rise  to  a  number 
of  other  compounds.  The  mode  of  operating  was  as  follows : 
— ^The  powdered  substance  was  mixed  with  glacial  acetic 
acid,  and  nitric  acid  added  drop  by  drop.  The  liquid  assumes 
a  yellow  colour,  and,  if  heat  be  avoided,  a  dear  dark  jellow 
solution  is  obtained.  On  addition  of  water  a  resinous  precip- 
itate is  formed;  if  the  liquid  is  allowed  to  stand,  evolution 
of  gas  gradually  sets  in,  and  crystalline  bodies  are  precipi- 
tatcHL  ]f  it  is  heated  to  50° — 60''  C,  red  vapours  are  given 
off,  and  crystals  separate.  Of  these  various  derivatives  the 
author  describes  three :  — 

1.  A  colourlf  ss  body,  soluble  in  alcohol  and  benzol,  which 
separates  from  the  latter  in  monoclinometric  crystals ;  is  de- 
composed by  continued  boiling  with  acetic  acid;  forms  a 
precipitate,  which  combines  with  picric  acid,  on  adding  a 
basic  substance  to  its  alcoholic  solution. 

2.  Large,  colourless,  prismatic  crystals.  An  alkali  added 
to  their  solution  in  alcohol  colours  the  liquid  dark  orange, 
and  an  acid  is  formed,  the  potassic  salt  of  which  crystallises 
in  red  needles.  A  current  of  ammonia  passed  through  its 
benzolic  solution  produces  a  dark  red  amorphous  precipitate. 

3.  A  body  endowed  with  the  property  of  combining  with 
nearly  ail  solid  hy*t)carbonB  from  coal-tar  as  well  as  with 
retene  and  idrialine.  The  body  is  obtained  in  microscopic 
crystals,  sparingly  soluble  in  most  solvents,  but  soluble  to 
some  extent  in  benzol 

This  new  nitro-body  combines  with  CabHio,  forming 
beautiful  large  violet  crystals  of  the  rhombic  system.  K 
they  are  heated  to  170° — i8o°C.,  the  body  CaaH,©  is  vola- 
tilisod,  and  the  nitro-compound  remains  behind.  They  also 
decompose  on  being  dissolved  in  benzol,  the  nitro-compound 
crystallising  first ;  or  if  treated  with  acetic  or  nitric  acid,  in 
which  case  the  hydrocarbon  is  extracted. 

Besides  the  body  OsgHio,  the  author  has  obtained  fh>m 
ooal-tar  three  others  (a,  ^,  y)  melting  at  about  190"  C,  one 
(o)  melting  at  about  235°  0.,  and  another  (c)  at  about  100° 
C.  Neither  of  them,  however,  has  been  obtained  pure.  They 
all  combine  with  the  now  nitro-compound,  which  combination 
furnishes  the  chief  means  of  distinguishing  them  from  each 
other. 

a,  the  body  already  alluded  to  as  resembling  closely 
CjflHio,  gives  with  the Jiitro-oompound  a  dark  red-brown  sub- 
staiiise,  ^uch  less  soluble  than  that  produced  by  Gj^Hio.  Like 
the  latter,  it  is  converted,  on  exposure  to  light,  into  a  *'  para-'' 
compound. 

ti  forms  with  the  nitro-compound  a  dark  green  product 

y,  an  orange-coloured,  insoluble  compound,  ciystallising 
from  benzol  in  ueedles.  This  body  i ^  ipscHuble  even  in  hot 
ooucontrated  sulphuric  wX&.-^BulL  Acad,  Imp.  Feiersb,  vii.) 

Toluol-  and  Beozol-aiilpliiirous  Add — 'H.  Otto 
(C=i2,  0=i6>  ToluolsulphurouB  acid,  heated  with  water 
to  1 50"  C.  in  St  aled  tubes,  splits  up  into  toluolaulphuric  acid 
aad  a  body  of  the  composition  CtO^SO,  according  to  the 
following  equation  ;— 

2CTH6S0a5=C7H«S0.  +  OtHsSO. 
The  new  body  is  not  add,  is  insoluble  in  water,  readily 
soluble  in  hot  alcohol,  from  which  it  separates  in  rhombic 
crystals.    Zinc   and  sulphuric  acid  convert  it  into  meta- 
benzylsulphhydrate. 


The  decomposition  of  benzol%ulphurous  acid  takes  place  in 
a  similar  manner.— (Zsi^^r.  Ckem.^  N.  F.  iii.  262.) 

Adds  "With.  IVater  at  nisli  Temperatures. — ^W. 

Markownikoff  and  Th.  v.  Purgold  (0=i2,  0=i6).  CStrio 
acid,  when  heated  with  water  in  sealed  tubes  to  160°  0. 
splits  up  into  carbonic  anhydride  and  itaconic  add,  according 
to  the  follovring  equation  : — 

(CO.OH  (ooOTT 

o,H,(HO)  j  co.oH  =  o,H4|  ^5;5g  +  00.+H,0. 

Similar  reactions  are  obtiuned  with  tartaric,  quinic,  lactic, 
anisic  acid,  and  some  substitution-compounds  of  benzoic 
acid.— (ZsitecAr.  CherrUj  N.  F.,  iil  264  ) 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


d&emlcal  Soelety. — The  next  meeting  of  the  Society 
will  be  held  on  Thurday  evening,  at  8  o'clock,  when  a  lecture 
"  On  (Ae  Mods  of  BepreaerUation  afforded  by  the  Chemical  Col- 
cultut^  (M  cofUraated  vrUh  the  Atomic  Theory"  will  be  delivered 
by  Sir  B.  C.  Brodie,  BarL  A  large  attendance  of  Fellows 
and  visitors  being  anticipated  on  this  occasion,  the  Royal  So- 
ciety have  kindly  placed  their  large  meeting  room  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  Chemical  Society  for  that  evening. 

]>r«  Odllng^s  liecture  on  tbe  Absorption  of 
Gases  by  IVIetals. — Our  verbatim  report  of  the  above 
lecture  was  not  returned  corrected  by  the  author  in  time 
for  insertion  in  this  number,  but  will  certainly  appear  in 
our  next. 

Tlie  Paris  Bxblbltlon* — One  of  our  eartiest  contri- 
butors, who  is  at  the  same  time  an  eminent  scientific  chemist 
and  a  valued  member  of  our  editorial  staff",  is  on  the  point  of 
starting  for  Paris.  His  attention  will  be  more  espedally 
directed  to  the  English  department  of  tho  Chemical  Exhibi- 
tion, and  the  results  of  his  observations  will  be  placed  before 
our  readers  in  a  series  of  articles.  These  will  be  in  addition 
to  the  usual  articles  forwarded  weekly  by  our  Exhibition 
correspondent 

Britlsli  Association  of  Gas  IVanaffers.— The  fourth 
annual  general  meeting  of  the  members  of  this  Association  is 
announced  to  be  held  at  Nottingham  on  the  nth,  12th,  and 
13th  of  June,  when  the  following  papers  will  be  submitted: 
-—"7^  UtilUation  of  the  Residual  Products  of  the  Manu- 
fariure  of  Coal  G<iSy  with  especial  reference  to  the  Production 
of  AniUne  Colours  from  Coal  Thr,"  by  Dr.  Letheby,  M.B., 
M.A.,  etc.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  College  of  the  Lon- 
don Hospital,  Gas  Analyst  and  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for 
the  City  of  London.  "  On  the  Practical  Working  of  the  Liquor 
System  of  Purificatum ;"  being  a  statement  of  results  in  con- 
tinuation of  the  paper  of  last  year  on  "  An  Improved  Method 
of  Purifying  Coal  Gas,"  by  Mr.  George  T.  Livesoy,  South 
Metropolitan  Gasworks,  London.  "  On  the  Purification  of 
Gas  from  Ammonia^  and  the  UtiUsaiion  of  the  Product,'^  by 
Mr.  George  Anderson,  London.  "  Notes  on  the  Manufacture 
of  Sulphate  of  Ammofiia,'^  by  Mr.  W.  Esaon,  Gasworks,  Chel- 
tenham. "  On  the  Application  of  Liquid  Bydrocarbons  cts  a 
Substitute  for  Cannd  in  t?ie  Manufacture  of  Gas  of  High  Ilh^- 
minating  Power j"  by  Mr.  B.  Goddard,  Gasworks,  Ipswich.  " 
"jSbTTW  Remarks  on  die  Explosive  Properties  of  Fire-damp  and 
Coed  Gas,  with  Particulars  of£xperimenis  made  in  Lighting  Por- 
tions of  the  Oaks  GofUery  with  Pit  Oa»,''  by  Mr.  J.  Hutchinson, 
Gasworks,  Barnsley.  "  On  Leakage  from  Gas  Mains^"  by 
Mr.  £.  S.  Cathels,  Gasworks,  Crystal  Palace  District.  '*  On 
the  Valves  of  Gas  Purifiers,''  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Warner,  Gasworks, 
South  Shields. 

Action  of  Cl&areoal  In  RebaoTlns  Oraranle  IHatter 
ttonk  Water. — Mr.  Edward  Byrne  has  examined  how  lar 
the  statements  generally  made  with  regard  to  the  action  of 
charcoal  in  purifying  water  might  be  depended  on.  Nearly 
five  pounds  of  new  and  fVeshly  burned  animal  oharooal,  of 
the  degree  of  fineness  used  in  sugar  refineries,  were  packed 
in  an  ordinary  stoneware  Alter.    The  water  employed  oou- 


I04 


Miecellaneous. 


j  Chvmtoai.  Kbwi. 
1    AvifuU,  IMT. 


tatned,  in  the  gallon,  orgnnic  matter^  lO'So  grains;  inorganic 
matter,  88-30  grains.  The  hardness,  before  boiling,  was 
found  to  be  50'5o®,  and  after,  33° ;  and  the  oxygen  required 
to  oxidise  the  organic  matter  contained  in  one  gallon  amounted 
to  00116  grain-  Several  gallons  of  the  water  were  allowed 
to  percolate  slowly  through  this  charcoal,  and,  upon  exami- 
nation afterwards  it  was  found  that,  of  the  inorganic  matter^ 
52*60  grains  were  removed  from  the  first  gallon,  but  from 
each  succeeding  gallon  less  and  less,  so  that,  from  the  twelfth 
gallon  that  passed  through  the  charcoal,  only  8-8o  grains  of 
inorganic  matter  were  removed.  Of  the  organic  maUer^ 
4*8o  grains  were  removed  from  the  first  gallon ;  but»  with  a 
gradual  decrease,  the  charcoal  ceased  to  remove  any  after 
the  sixth  gallon.  In  fact,  immediately  afterwards,  it  com- 
menced to  give  back  a  portion  of  the  organic  matter  removed 
in  the  first  instance,  the  quantity  returned  to  the  twelfth 
gallon  amounting  to  1*55  grain,  Thua  of  the  13-54  grains 
of  organic  matter  removed  by  the  charcoal  from  the  first  six 
gallons  of  water,  as  much  as  4'98  grains  were  given  back  to 
the  next  six  gallons,  from  which  the  author  concluded  that, 
had  this  set  of  experiments  been  carried  a  little  further,  all 
the  organic  matter  removed  at  first  by  the  charcoal  would 
have  been  given  back  again.  Tlie  author,  in  conclusion,  gave 
it  as  his  opinion  that,  by  chemical  agency,  bad  water  could 
be  purified  to  a  very  limited  extent  only.  [Mr.  Byrne  has 
overlooked  the  important  feet  that  the  efficacy  of  charcoal  as  a 
filtering  agent  for  the  removal  of  organic  matter  does  not  de- 
pend upon  mechanical  absorption,  but  upon  oxidation ;  and 
from  his  drawing  no  distinction  between  the  removal  by 
charcoal,  of  the  inorganic  and  the  organic  impurities  of  the 
water,  it  would  seem  as  if  he  wore  ignorant  of  this  property. 
A  few  ounces  of  charcoal,  used  properly,  will  oxidise  a  pound 
or  more  of  organic  matter.  Charcoal  has  not  fair  play  in  a 
filter  unless  it  is  occasionally  allowed  an  opportunity  of  ab- 
sorbing atmospheric  oxygen. — Ed.  C.  N.] 

Composition  and  <|nallty  of  tiie  IVTetropolltan 

-Waters  In  May,  1867.— The  following  are  the  returns 
of  the  Metropolitan  Association  of  Medical  Officers  of 
Health :— 


H 

* 

Hardnesa. 

Namea  of  Watar  Companlce. 

Before 
boiling. 

After 
bulling. 

7%a«w  Water  Companies, 
Grand  Jnnotion    . 
West  MIddlMez   . 
Sonthwark  A  YaozfaaU 

OhelMa 

Lamberh        .       .       .       . 
Other  Comp'tnies. 

Kent 

New  River    .       .       .       . 
East  London. 

Grains. 
21*17 

xqOO 
18-43 

20-83 

J077 

2662 
X6-80 
1874 

Gms. 

X'OO 

o'45 
o'50 
075 
0*50 

0-20 
0*50 

o'Si 

Grains. 
0-68 
o;4o 
0*46 
0-69 
064 

018 

0'2X 

Degi. 

X2-0 

"•5 

X2  0 
I2'0 

xa'o 

X5.0 
xx'o 

XIO 

Decs. 
4*5 
3*5 
40 
4*o 
40 

80 
40 
40 

Deatb  of  Pelonze. — ^e  have  to  announce  the  death  of 
one  of  the  best  and  most  celebrated  French  chemists,  M. 
Pelouze,  Master  of  the  Mint  in  Paris,  which  took  place  on  the 
31st  ult.  The  previous  day  he  had  been  attacked  by  heart 
ciropsy,  and  he  expressed  an  urgent  desire  onoe  more  to 
breathe  the  pure  air  of  the  heights  of  Belle vue  (near  Meudon). 
No  sooner  was  he  in  the  carriage  than  a  faintness  came  over 
him  from  which  he  recovered  with  much  difficulty.  His 
family  yielded  to  his  wish  by  taking  him  to  the  desired  spot, 
where  he  arrived  in  the  evening  only  to  die  on  the  following 
morning  at  7.    Since  the  sudden  death  of  his  exoellent  and 

*  The  loss  by  ignition  represeii^  a  Tartety  of  volatile  mattem.  as  well 
aa  organio  matter,  as  ammoniaoar  salts,  moisture,  and  the  volatile  ooa- 
sdtaents  of  nitrates  and  nitrites. 

t  Tlie  oxidlsable  organic  matter  is  det-rmined  by  a  standard  solution 
of  permanganate  of  potash,  the  available  oxygen  of  which  is  to  the  or- 
ganic matter  as  i  is  to  8;  and  the  resnlts  are  controlled  by  the  ezauil* 
nation  of  the  colour  of  the  water  when  seen  ihroogh  a  glass  tube  two 
feet  in  length  and  two  ioobes  ia  diameter. 

Ht.  Li;Ta£B7i  M.B. 


distinguished  wife  he  pined  awajj^  notwithstanding  the  affec- 
tionate attentions  paid  him  by  his  son  and  three  daughteraL 
He  was  born  at  Yalonges  in  the  department  of  the  Manche, 
in  1807,  and  was,  at  his  first  outset  of  life,  a  simple  labora- 
tory student  He  became  successively  Professor  at  the  Poly- 
technic School,  Professor  at  the  French  College,  Member  of 
the  Academy  of  Sciences,  Verifier  of  the  Mint  Assays,  Mem- 
ber of  the  Municipal  Council  of  Paris,  Director  of  the  SI. 
Gobain  Glass  Works,  and,  lastly,  President  of  the  Commis. 
sion  of  the  Mint,  the  highest  post  that  a  practical  cbemisEt 
can  aspire  to.  M.  Pelouze  died  with  resignation,  and  ia 
the  &ith  of  li  Christian.  He  was  buried  at  Mooimartre 
Cemetery,  in  the  family  tomb,  the  corpse  being  followed  by 
an  immense  cortig^  composed  of  all  the  ^iie  of  society,  the 
principal  members  of  the  Academy,  six  carriages  of  the 
Municipal  Council,  and  the  National  Guard  in  full  uniform. 
M.  Fremy,  the  distinguished  chemist  of  the  Conservak^irt 
des  Aria  ei  MHiers,  delivered  the  usual  funeral  oration. 

Action  of  Lifflftt  on  Chloroform* — l^he  chloroform 
used  for  the  experiments  had  a  specific  gravity  of  1-492  at 
70°  F.,  was  absolutely  free  fh>m  add  reaction,  and  imparted 
no  coloration  whatever  to  sulphuric  acid.  The  diluted  chloro- 
form was  made  of  eight  ounces  of  the  former,  by  the  addition 
of  one  fiuidrachm  of  strong  alcohol.  The  bottles  used  for 
the  occasion  were  made  of  flint  glass,  of  uniform  size  and 
shape,  and  filled  alike.  The  experiments  lasted  one  week 
during  the  hot  days  in  August  Jt  was  concluded  from  these 
experiments : — i.  That  in  order  to  preserve  pure  chloroform 
of  specific  gravity  1*49,  it  should  be  kept  totally  excluded 
from  the  light.  2.  That  to  keep  chloroform  in  the  daylight, 
it  should  be  reduced  in  specific  gravity  by  the  addition  of  about 
two  fluidrachms  of  95  per  cent,  alcohol  to  one  avordupots 
pound  of  chloroform,  sp.  gr.  i'492.  During  the  repetition  of 
some  of  these  experiments,  attention  was  drawn  to  the 
presence  of  moisture  in  some  of  the  bottles,  and  it  was  deter- 
m'ned  to  try  its  effects  on  chloroform;  accordingly,  diloro- 
form  of  1*492,  dried  by  standing  over  Chloride  of  calcium, 
was  kept  in  absolutely  dry  bottles,  and  in  bottles  slightly 
moist,  and  both  kinds  exposed  to  diffused  daylight  and  direct 
sunlight.  The  bottle  containing  the  moisture  always  showed 
the  presence  of  free  chlorine  much  sooner  than  the  dry  one, 
though  the  entire  absence  of  moisture  would  not  be  sufficient 
to  preserve  the  chloroform  unaltered.  But,  if  the  chloroform 
had  been  reduced  in  specific  gravity  to  1-475  or  lens,  the 
presence  of  several  drops  of  water  in  the  bottle  would  not 
induce  the  liberation  of  chlorine  afi»r  an  exposure  of  two 
weeks  to  the  direct  sunlight  For  medicinal  purposes — that 
is,  for  inhalation — this  amount  of  alcohol  would  be  unolijeo- 
tionable,  since  it  amounts  in  one  fluidounoe  only  to  about 
forty  drops. — J,  Ji,  Maiach^  Broe,  Am.  Pharm.  Assoc, 

Cliemleal  Society. — ^The  next  meeting  of  the  Society 
will  be  held  on  Thursday  evening,  at  8  o'clock,  when  the  fol- 
lowing papers  will  be  read: — "  On  Derivatives  of  Hydride  of 
Salicyl,''  by  Mr.  Parkin ;  "  Analysis  of  Biliary  Concretion,'* 
by  Dr.  Phipson ;  "  On  Pyivphosphoric  Acid,"  by  Dr.  Glad- 
stona 

IVIafimeslam. — "^Q  understand  that  the  Magpiesiiim  Metal 
Company  are  progressing  in  the  manufacture  of  magnesium 
wire  and  riband.  They  have  found  from  experience  that  if 
magnesium  riband  is  pressed  broader  and  thinner,  and  by  this 
means  made  to  present  a  larger  surface  to  the  oxygen  of  the 
atmosphere  for  the  same  weight  of  metal,  it  bums  much  okore 
steadily  and  surely.  They  are  now  supplying  the  metal  in 
this  form. 

Bxtractuna  Conll. — Dr.  John  Harley  has  proved  by 
experiment  that  the  ext  conii  is  a  very  uncertain,  if  not  an 
inert,  preparation.  He  attributes  this  to  the  fact  that  tiie 
active  principle  of  the  plant  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  vaporia- 
able,  even  at  a  natural  temperature  of  70''  to  90"*  Fabr.,  and 
that  a  prolonged  exposure  to  a  high  temperature  is  accom- 
panied by  a  progressive  diminution  of  the  oonia,  the  alkaloid 
being  oonvertod  into  ammonia  and  some  other  secondary  pro- 
duct   It  is,  therefore,  necessary,  in  order  to  obtain  an  extract 


CllSinCAL  TfBfTS,  I 


MisceUaneous. 


105 


of  full  power,  to  expose  the  juice  in  ahallow  dishes  to  a  rapid 
curreui  of  dry  air  haviag  the  temperature  of  150"  Fabr.  Bj 
this  process,  an  extract  oootaining  one  per  oentw  of  oonia  may 
be  procured. — Fhann.  Journal. 

Sabllmatlon  of  me  Alkaloids. — Dr.  Guy  suggests  the 
fbllowiug  mode  of  procedure : — Provide  small  crucible  covers 
or  slabs,  or  fVagmeuts  of  white  porcelain,  a  few  microscopic 
cell-gia!«8es,  with  a  thickness  of  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
and  a  diameter  of  circle  of  about  two-thirds  of  an  inch,  and 
discs  of  window-glass  about  the  size  of  a  shilling.  Place  the 
porcelain  slab  on  the  ring  of  a  retort-holder,  then  the  glass 
cell,  and  upon  the  porceiam,  in  the  centre  of  the  cell,  a  minute 
portion  of  the  alkaloid  or  other  white  powder  or  crystal 
reduced  to  powder.  Then  pass  the  clean  glass  disc  through 
the  Hame  of  the  spirit  lamp  till  the  moisture  is  driven  off,  and 
adjust  it  over  the  glass  ring.  Now  apply  the  flame  to  the 
porcelain,  underneath  the  powder,  and  continue  to  heat  till  the 
powder  undergoes  its  characteristic  change  and  gives  off  vapour. 
Watch  the  deposit  of  this  vapour  on  the  glass  disc,  and  re- 
move the  spirit  lamp,  either  directly  or  after  a  short  interval, 
as  experience  may  determine.  By  this  process  Dr.  Guy  has 
sucoeeded  in  getting  very  beautiful  crystalline  sublimates  of 
morphia,  strychnine,  solanine,  and  cryptopia.  He  recommends 
it  in  preference  to  that  of  Dr.  Helwig.— /%arm.  Journal 

Crypiopla. — ^Messrs.  T.  and  H.  Smith  have  discovered  a 
new  alkaloid  in  opium,  which  they  have  named  cryptopia.  It 
is  extiacied  from  ihe  weak  spirituous  washing  ot  crude  pre- 
cipitated morphia,  but  the  quantity  yielded  by  opium  is  very 
buiaU,  JieesTk  dmith  baving  operated  upon  four  or  Ave  tons 
of  opium,  and  only  obtamed  Ave  ounces  of  muriate  of  crypt- 
opia. They  have  prepared  the  sulphate,  muriate,  nitrate, 
toebolactute,  and  the  aoetate ;  these  all  crystallise  in  beauti- 
ful and  distinct  forms,  but  the  alkaloid  itseli'  has  much  better 
dedued  crystalline  forms  than  any  of  its  compounds.  Its  pri- 
mary loriu  is  a  hexagonal  prism,  and  it  is  obtained  in  tliis 
condition  il  crystallised  slowly  in  a  tube  from  its  alcoholic 
solution.  The  formula  of  the  new  alkaloid  is  CasHsoNOs. — 
Fhann,  JoumaL 

Preparmtlon  of  Hydrate  of  Sodiam  firom  Sodium. 

-~At  Uie  recent  soiree  oi  the  Pharmaceutical  iSouiety,  a  large 
bk»ck  of  pure  fused  hydrate  ol  sodium,  prepared  from  metallic 
sudium,  was  exhibited,  and  excited  much  attention.  It  is 
thought  that  a  short  account  of  the  means  adopted  to  oxidise 
so  explosive  a  substance  may  not  be  without  interest  to  our 
readers.  Sodium,  as  prepared  for  the  market,  is  cast  in 
moulds,  which  are  well  smeared  with  oil,  which  coats  the 
GLetai  and  prevents  it  oxidising;  but  the  sodium  fh>m 
which  the  hydrate  is  made  is  cast  in  bright  dean  moulds. 
When  removed  it  is  well  rubbed  with  a  clean  linen  cloth,  in 
which  it  is  encased  to  prevent  contamination  from  the  atmos- 
phere. The  bars  of  sodium  are  now  cut  into  lumps  about 
oue  inch  square.  One  of  these  lumps  is  thrown  into  a  per- 
fectly clean  silver  dish,  which  floats  on  a  stream  of  cold 
water.  A  ^tew  drops  of  distilled  water  are  poured  on  the 
eodium,  and  the  vessel  is  well  agitated  by  hand,  which  pre- 
TODts  explosions.  -  When  the  flrst  lump  of  sodium  is  dissolved, 
aaoUier  piece  is  thrown  in,  additional  drops  of  water  are  added, 
and  the  vessel  kept  constantly  agitated,  and  so  on  throughout 
ihe  operation.  After  a  deposit  of  soda  forms  at  the  bottom 
and  around  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  and  the  hquid  becomes 
completely  saturated,  the  tendency  to  explosions  seems  much 
redaoed  If  the  dish  remains  quiet,  great  amount  of  heat  is 
generated,  and  the  fusing  sodium  bursts  out  like  a  tiny  vol- 
cano, scattering  globules  of  Are — t.  e ,  burning  sodium— all 
around ;  but  it  the  vessel  is  kept  in  constant  motion,  a  fresh 
aariace  of  cold  water  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  fusing 
flodium,  its  temperature  is  reduced,  and  explosions  are  almost 
prevented  The  milky  liquid  thus  prepared  is  now  Altered, 
and  Uien  fused  in  a  silver  crucible,  over  a  gas  fhrnace  to  a 
dull  red  heat,  or  until  all  moisture  is  driven  otf  and  the  liquid 
l>eoomes  perfectly  transparent  The  crucible  is  carefully 
covered  up,  and  the  contents  allowed  to  cool ;  but  as  the 


hydrate  of  sodium  is  very  deliqnesoentj  absorbing  moisture* 
even  when  too  hot  to  be  handled  with  impunity ;  il  is  removed 
from  the  crucible  whilst  warm,  quickly  broken  into  lumps, 
and  placed  in  well-stoppered  bottle&  The  operation  is,  at 
the  best,  a  slow  and  tedious  one,  accompanied  witli  an  un- 
pleasaot  smell  and  some  annoyance,  as,  with  the  utmost  care, 
explosions  cannot  be  entirely  avoiaed.  A  steady  workman 
will  dissolve  up,  working  with  one  dish,  about  i^  lb.  of  sodium 
per  day,  but  he  could  be  trained  to  take  charge  of  two  disheo. 

Preparation  of  ]>llate  Pl&oapliorlc  Add. — Intro- 
duce into  a  French  glass  tubulated  retort,  of  capacity  of  forty- 
two  parts,  twelve  parts  of  water  and  fwo  pans  of  phosphorus. 
Place  the  retort  on  a  sand  bath,  and  introduce  through  a  fun- 
nel tube,  fixed  in  the  tubulure  by  means  Sf  a  cork  and  reaching 
half  an  inch  below  the  level  of  the  liquid,  eight  parts  of 
nitric  acid.  Apply  gentle  heat,  and  watch  the  operation 
closely  as  soon  as  reaction  commences.  When  the  reaction 
slackens  add  more  nitric  acid  in  portiors  of  about  one-fourth 
part  at  a  time.  Should  the  reaqUpu  become  violent,  small 
quantities  of  warm  water  must  be  added  until  it  is  reduced 
to  its  ordinary  action,  which  may  be  compared  to  the  gentle 
boiling  of  water.  The  formation  of  frothy  bubbles  on  the 
surface  of  the  hquid  is  always  the  forerunner  of  violent  reac- 
tion, and  should  be  checked  at  once.  I  have  found  that  if 
it  was  checked  at  this  stag^,  a  comparatively  small  amount 
of  water  would  answer,  but  if  allowed  to  react  violently  a 
much  larger  quantity  of  water  was  necessary.  The  evapora- 
tion of  the  acid,  after  the  phosphorus  is  all  oxidised,  is  conduct- 
ed in  a  porceiam  capsule ;  towards*  the  end  of  this  process  it 
will  froth  up,  owing  to  the  rapid  disengagement  of  nitric 
oxide.  The  dish  must  therefore  have  about  three  times  the 
capacity  of  the  acid  when  concentrated,  and  a  little  distilled 
water  should  be  kept  conveniently  near,  to  add  in  case  there 
is  danger  of  frothing  over.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add 
that  the  operation  should  be  conducted  under  a  good  furnace 
hood,  or  otherwise  the  beak  of  the  retort  should  be  intro- 
duced mto  a  good  flue. — (7.  L,  Diehl,  Am.  Fharm,  Assoc. 

DetermlnaUoii  of  Arsenic  InSnlpiilde  of  Arsenic; 

— To  determine  the  arsenic  contained  In  sulphide  of  arsenic 
— an  operation  often  necessary  for  the  estimation  of  arsenic — 
M.  Graebe  useii  a  standard  solution  of  iodine,  as  in  the  esti- 
mation of  arsenious  acid  Suspend  the  sulphide  of  arsenic 
in  water,  add  some  carbonate  of  soda,  then  a  little  starch 
paste,  and  the  standard  solution  of  iodine.  (It  is  evidently 
necessary  that  the  sulphide  of  arsenic  should  be  freed  IVom 
sulphuretted  hydrogen.)  The  reaction  takes  plaoe  according 
to  the  equation — 

AsS,  +  $1+ 5H0= AsO.  -f  5HI  +  3a 

— JcmrTtalfarprakUsche  ChenUe,  xcvL  261. 

Volnmetrlc   Estimation   of   Lead   and   Tin*— - 

M.  Graeger  determines  the  load  by  ferrocyanlde  of  potas* 
slum ;  the  decomposition  takes  place  according  to  the  equa- 
tion— 

2(Pb0,N0ft)  +  2(KCy),Fe0y= 2(PbCy),Fe0i  +  2K0,N0». 

.Ferrocyanlde  of  lead  is  almost  insoluble  in  adds,  and  its 
precipitation  is  easy.  The  author  employs  a  standard  solu- 
tion of  ferrocyanlde  of  potassium ;  when  all  the  lead  is  pre- 
cipitated, the  liquid  colours  ferric  salts  blue,  which  may  be 
tested  m  one  drop  of  it  An  excess  of  ferrocyanide  may  be 
added,'  and  detemiined  in  the  filtered  liquid  by  permanganate 
of  potash.  As  a  Control,  the  ferrocyanide  of  lead  may  be 
suspended  in  water,  and  titrated  by  permanganate.  Tin,  in 
the  state  of  bichloride,  may  be  estimated  in  the  same  way, 
but  not  when  in  the  state  of  protochloride ;  m  that  case  it 
must  be  first  changed  to  bichloride. — Journal  fur  praktische 
Chemiej  xcvi.  33a 

Larkln's  masneslam  Powder  Iiamp. — It  is  a  sin- 
gular circumstance  that  England,  so  pre-eminently  the  home 
of  mechanical  invention  and  skill,  should  hitherto  have 
failed  to  produce  a  good  lamp  for  the  combustion  of  magne- 


io6 


Miacdlaneous — Notes  and  Quei'ies. 


jXhiBMlCAL  Kfw^ 

]     AttguHt,  18C7. 


*  8mm.  A  lamp  answering  this  designation  must  be  simple 
in  construction  and  certain  in  its  operation,  the  light  must 
be  continuous  and  well  under  control,  and  mechanical  skill 
should  help  to  economise  a  light  necessarily  costly  from  the 
present  limited  scale  of  its  production.  Mechanical  inge- 
nuity ought  also  to  assirt  the  continuance  of  a  fiame  liable 
to  go  out  so  long  as  it  relies  for  its  source  upon  one  solitary 
wire  or  ribbon.  The  best  magnesium  lamps  hitherto  in- 
vented have  come  from  America,  which  country  has  far 
distanced  England  in  the  applications  of  magnesium,  and  in 
the  ingenious  construction  of  apparatus  for  consuming  it. 
In  making  these  remarks  we  mtend  no  disparagement  to 
Solomon's  lamp.  It  was  constructed  with  the  object  of  as- 
sisting photographefS,  on  duD,  wet,  and  foggy  days,  to  fol- 
low their  avocation.  And  as  it  was  early  found  that  from 
four  to  eight  grains  of  magnesium  wei*e  sufScient  to  take  a 
single  portrait,  a  lamp  working  from  three  to  five  minutes 
was  amply  sufficient,  and  this  want  Solomon's  lamp  supplied ; 
but  for  those  manifold  uses  where  the  light  was  required 
for  a  longer  period,  one  Ht  other  of  the  American  lamps  had 
to  be  used.  But  this  slur  upon  English  mechanical  ingenuity 
no  longer  exists.  In  Larkin's  magnesium  powder  lamp  we 
have  a  lamp  adapted  to  many  requirements.  It  is  very 
simple  in  construction,  and  it  need  not  be  a  very  costly 
lamp.  In  it  the  light  is  continuous  and  absolutely  under 
control ;  the  combustion  of  the  metal,  and  the  light  arising 
therefrom,  is  also  greatly  economised.  The  leading  features 
of  the  lamp  are  these: — A  reservoir,  funnel-shaped,  and 
attached  to  it  a  long  narrow  tube,  at  the  end  of  which  is 
placed  a  small  spirit  lamp— these,  with  mechanical  details 
controlling  and  guidmg  each  part,  constitute  the  whole  of 
the  invention.  And  yet  it  will  be  easily  seen  that  these 
principles  are  capable  of  a  great  variety  of  modifications  of 
form  and  of  manifold  application.  For  instance,  in  the  re- 
servoir can  be  placed,  according  to  the  brightness  of  the 
fiame  required,  either  pure  magnesium  reduced  to  dust,  or 
magnesium  powder,  mixed  one-half,  two-thirds,  or  three- 
fourths  with  sand,  or,  if  a  coloured  flame  be  required,  nitrate 
of  strontia  or  other  chemical  substances  can  be  added. 
These  mixtures  flow  down  the  funnel-shaped  tube — as  sand 
flows  down  the  common  hourglass— and  through  a  small 
spirit  flame  placed  at  the  orifice  of  the  tube,  where  the  mag- 
nesium ignites  into  a  continuous  flame ;  the  spirit  flame  in- 
sures the  ignition  of  the  magnesium,  and  prevents  the 
fouling  and  blocking  up  of  the  tube  by  the  oxide  of  magne- 
sium, which  would  otherwise  form  around  the  exit  tube. 
The  mixture  can  be  stopped  or  turned  on,  as  required,  by 
means  of  a  small  finger  tap.  In  this  way  the  combustion 
of  the  metal  is  economised,  and  the  amount  of  light  and  its 
continuity  are  absolutely  under  control  The  hand-lamp  now 
before  us,  constructed  on  this  principle,  is  light  and  portable, 
hardly  exceeding  in  size  an  ordinary  watchman's  lantern. 
K  is  not  easy  to  predict  the  uses  opening  out  for  so  bright  a 
light  and  so  portable  a  lamp,  but  they  must  be  very  nume- 
rous. It  seems  admirably  adapted  for  valuing  mines  and 
surveying  undergp'ound  workings.  It  might  be  used  with 
great  advantage  in  deep  sea  fishidg,  and  as  a  decoy  light  by 
sportsmen  and  naturalists ;  it  may  also  before  long  be  used 
for  lighthouse  purposes,  and  for  lighting  the  entrance  to* 
harbours  and  signalling  at  sea. 

On  tl&e  Decomponliig  Action  of  Hlffli  Temnerm- 
tnres  upon  some  Suli^bates,*  by  M.  Boussingault.— It 
appears  from  the  experiments  made  that  the  sulphates 
of  lime,  magnesia,  load,  etc.,  are  decomposable  at  a  white 
heat,  and  that,  in  consequence,  in  analytical  researches, 
their  calcination  should  be  made  only  at  a  moderately 
elevated  temperature;  and,  although  the  complete  separa- 
tion of  the  elements  of  the  acid  of  the  sulphates  of  strontia 
and  baryta  does  not  take  place  except  at  th3  melting 
heat  of  iron,  precaution  must  be  taken  in  their  calcining, 
as  it  appears  certain  that  the  decomposition  of  these  sul- 

*  B«ftd  before  the  Apademy  of  Sciencea,  June  xa 


phates  commences  at  a  much  lower  temperature.  As  to 
the  volatilisation  of  the  alkaline  sulphates,  this  must  be 
taken  into  careful  consideration  when  vegetable  ashes  are 
being  examined  and  their  proportions  estimated ;  for,  if  the 
ashes  are  obtained  at  a  high  temperature,  a  perceptible  loss 
of  alkaline  salts  takes  place,  especially  those  of  potassium, 
which  are  more  volatile  than  those  of  sodium. 

General  metaliurslcal  method  of  Meftsrs.  IBrhelp- 

ley  and  Storer.— For  the  application  of  the  chemical  por- 
tion of  this  process,  the  ore  must  be  in  the  slate  of  very  fine 
powder.  The  calcination  of  the  ore  in  this  state  takes  place 
in  what  is  called  a  water-furnace.  This  consists  of  a  fire 
tower  about  20  feet  high,  3  feet  in  diameter  at  the  top,  and 
4  feet  at  the  .base,  built  of  brick  with  double  walls,  and 
havin|^  a  large  water  tank  at  the  bottom.  Around  the  upper 
portion  are  four  fire  boxes,  opening  into  the  tower,  which  is 
closed  and  connected  with  a  large  fan-blower.  By  this  means, 
besides  the  supply  of  air  heated  by  passing  between  the  two 
walls  of  the  tower,  air  and  fuel,  in  the  state  of  dust,  are  car- 
ried down  into  the  furnace.  The  heating  eflfects  obtained  are 
very  surprising.  In  the  calcination  of  sulphuretted  ores,  only 
a  moderate  temperature  and  a  large  supply  of  oxygen  are 
required.  The  fire  tower  of  the  water  furnace  being  heated 
to  redness,  the  ore,  with  or  without  pulverised  fuel,  is  driven 
by  a  small  fan  down  the  tower.  The  sulphur  and  base  metals 
are  rapidly  oxidised,  and  the  calcined  ore  falls  into  the  water- 
tank  below,  the  current  of  air  being  carried  through  succes- 
sive chambers  open  to  the  tank  beneath.  In  the  case  of 
sulphuretted  ores  of  copper,  the  water-tank  is  filled  with  a 
solution  of  the  ciilorides  of  sodium  and  calcium,  by  which, 
with  the  aid  of  a  spray  wheel  at  the  end  where  the  air  car- 
rent  has  exit,  the  sulphurous  acid  is  absorbed,  and  the  oxide 
of  copper  converted  into  the  dichloride.  Mr.  T.  Sierry  Hunt, 
F.R.S.,  finds  the  reaction  to  take  place  according  to  the  fol- 
lowing equation : — 

CaCl  4-  SOi + OuaOa=CaS04  +  CujCl. 

The  dichloride  of  copper  is  held  in  solution  by  the  chloride  of 
sodium.  A  small,  portion  of  protochloride  of  iron  generally 
occurs  in  the  solution,  which  is  separated  by  addition  of  oxide 
of  copper,  according  to  this  equation:— 

Cu,0«  +  Fe«Cla=Cu,Cl  +  CuOl  +  Fe«0,. 

The  addition  of  milk  of  lime  precipitates  the  whole  of  the 
copper  as  hydrated  oxide;  simultaneously  the  bath  is  regene- 
rated. 

The  Brlttsli  Association  of  Gas  IHanafi^eFS  held 
a  very  successful  congress  at  Nottingham  on  the  nth,  I2tb, 
and  1 3th  inst.,  under  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Hawskley.  A  bout 
eighty  members  attended,  and  thirty-eight  new  members 
were  elected,  the  total  number  now  amounting  to  17S.  Seve- 
ral interesting  papers  were  read,  including  the  continuation 
by  Mr.  G.  T.  Livesey  of  his  communication  '*  On  the  PTOdi- 
cal  Working  of  the  lAquor  Sydem  of  Pur^cuion; "  a  paper 
by  Mr.  G.  Anderson  ^'  On  (he  Extraction  of  Ammonia  from 
GctSf  and  the  Utilisation  of  the  Product;**  a  oommunicatioii 
"  On  the  Application  of  Liquid  Hydrocarhons  as  a  Sttbstiiuie 
for  Cannd;'  by  Mr.  E  Goddard.  Mr.  E.  S.  Cathela  read  a 
paper  "  On  Leakage  from  Gaa-mains  ;^^  and  papers  "  On  the 
Manufacture  of  Sulphate  of  Ammonia^**  by  Mr.  W.  Esson  j 
''  OnVie  Explodve  Properties  of  Firedamp,"  by  Mr  J.  Hutchin- 
son ;  and  ^' On  the  Valves  of  Purifiers^"  by  Mr.W.  J.  Warner,  were 
also  read.  Dr.  Letheby,  as  on  former  occasions,  delivered  a 
lecture  to  the  Association,  the  title  of  it  being  "  The  VUU»a- 
tion  of  the  Residual  Products  of  the  Manufacture  of  Coal 
Gas,  with  especial  Referenee  to  the  Production  of  Aniline  Col- 
ours from  Coal  Tar^  The  learned  author  is  preparing  a  full 
report  of  this  lecture  for  our  columns.  It  was  agreed  to  bold 
the  congress  in  London  next  year,  when  a  large  accessicii  to 
the  number  of  members  is  expected  to  take  place,  as  the 
metropolitan  gas  managers,  who  have  hitherto  kept  aleof^ 
will  most  probably  take  that  opportunity  of  joining  the  Asso- 
ciation. 


Cbrhical  News, ) 
AuffoH,  1887.    f 


^otes  aiid  Queries — A'iiswera  to  Correeponlents. 


107 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 


Jf<MMi/bc«tir«  <^  Sulphuric  ^oid— Sir,— I  see  br  the  GnmoAL 
Nbws  or  April  a6  (jusi  rocelyedX  that  you  propose  to  aid  munufiictarers 
by  placing  tbeu  in  comiuuiiicvtioii  with  competent  pardea  to  get  them 
out  of  their  dil]ioaltle&  Now,  I  am  In  connexion  wiih  a  oompany  who 
bare  been  for  some  time  past  manofiieturlng  sulphuric  acid  from  saN 
phar.  but  now  wish  to  use  pyrites,  and  desire  to  know  the  best  pro- 
eess  R>r  tliat  purpose.  Oar  chamber  is  of  the  ordinary  cunstructluD, 
and  of  the  capacity  29,000  cubic  feet.  We  liaye  already  built  four  py- 
rites kilns ;  the  internal  capacity  of  esoh  is  about  1*51  m.,  and  the  ols- 
tanoe  these  are  placed  from  the  chambers  is  az  ul,  oounected  by  an 
aeid-proof  earthenware  lube  of  0*50  m.  dUmeter.  Is  this  distance  aod 
tabe  sofflclent  to  arrest  any  foreign  matter  the  mineral  may  contain 
from  getting  into  the  chamber,  and  do  yon  consider  the  kilns  of  good 
ahspe  for  burning  Uoelva  or  Sl  Domingo^s  ore  fireely  y  My  oliject  is 
to  be  placed  in  communication  dircet  with  a  practical  person  who 
would  give  me  all  the  information  for  working  a  chamber  with  pyrites 
on  the  best  known  plan,  by  correspondence  and  plans,  11  possible ;  and, 
If  not,  I  would  go  or  send  a  person  to  England  for  that  purixMe.  Or 
ooorse  a&lr  remuneration  would  be  given  for  the  Infurmatiun.  \Se 
coneeatrate  oar  add  to  66  deg.  Baum6  in  a  platinum  still.  Would  py- 
rites acid  distil  perfectly  colourless,  and  ss  pure  ss  that  made  from  sul- 
phur f—T.  U.  h!,  Lisbon. 

Chin»M  .fi^uA— bhr,— In  answer  to  the  inquiry  for  the  way  to  make 
Chinese  Blue,  1  beg  to  say  that  I  am  quito  able  to  show  li  fur  a  coosid- 
eratiou.  I  have  been  a  oulour-maker  twenty  yean>.— Samuel  Johmsuk. 
EtUmaUan  qf  TUr^ralss.— Sh:,— In  the  Ouwiioal  Nkws,  Is^o.  390, 
May  24,  1867,  it  is  stated  that  a  manufacturer  of  tartario  scid  hss  ex- 
pressed Ills  willingness  to  give  looi^  to  any  one  who  shoold  succeed  in 
diaooveriog  a  correct  and  ready  method  for  the  estimation  of  tartaric 
aoid  in  tartrates.  Would  you  kindly  give  me  the  name  of  the  manu- 
Iketurer  f — Chbhiocb. 

[The  statement  is  made  on  the  authority  of  the  anthers  of  the  book 
rsriewed.  Perhaps  Mr.  'Watts  will  kindly  give  the  required  refer- 
eocew— £0.  Chbkioal  Nkwb.] 

^iltn  Oik—B»plj  to  ''Mik^'*Ma7s4^— The  quantity  of  chrome 
Beoeaaaiy  to  bleacQ  i  cwt  of  palm  oil  varies  with  the  kind  of  oil,  of 
which  there  are  several  in  the  market  It  may  vary  from  0*85  to  1-35 
lb.  Care  should  be  taken  to  purify  the  oil  from  all  toroign  matter ;  else 
more  ehrome  will  be  reqalred.^^  Blbach.^* 

CMfMes  Biu^—iiir,  -A  substance  called  ''Chinese  Blue""  has  been 
referred  to  several  times  recently  amongst  your  '*  Notes  and  Queries." 
I  should  Ibel  much  obliged  to  auy  of  your  correspondents  who  would 
t«ll  me  what  is  the  composition  of  this  sabstaoce.— '' LBA-Kzaau,"  St. 
Helan's,  Lancashire. 

jrapJUhttUru.—tHrt—U  there  any  process  (heat  excepted)  bj  which 
aaphiliaUne  can  be  kept  liquid?— W.B. 

Oarbon  iKsea^te.— Sir,— Can  any  of  yoar  readers  kindly  supply  me 
with  a  rvcipe  ior  making  **  carbon  biscuts ;  **  also  where  thoy  are  to  be 
proeared  i—^UErr. 

J>y0ing  Fancy  Zea<A«r.~Sir,— I  should  be  glad  If  you  could  inform 
me  where  I  csn  purchase  a  work  on  dyeing  and  dresulng  fancy  leathers, 
Ac,  and  similar  artidea—E.  Chubou. 

BspairiHg  Loobing-fftoM^—^ir^—l  have  a  latse  looking-glass,  with 
•  patch  of  silvering  about  as  large  as  a  shilling  rubbed  oif  in  the  centre. 
Csn  I  mend  it?  I  am  soaoalnted  with  the  mode  of  maklog  looking- 
glaasea,  and  thoald  think  tbat  with  plenty  of  mercury  and  a  piece  of 
Unfoll  sftnewhat  larger  than  the  bare  spot,  there  woold  be  no  diffloulty. 
Befiwe  1  begln^  I  should,  however,  like  to  Itnow  what  the  experlenc<f  of 
othiffs  mk^  have  been.— J.  Thompsok. 

ifiianloiufis.— Sir,— In  answer  to  your  correspondent,  I  can  recom- 
mend ohloruform  as  a  solvent  for  santouine  for  preparlug  good  micro- 
•cupie  slidea.  l>i«olve  santonins  in  six  or  «ight  times  its  weight  of 
«blon>form,  and  allow  a  drop  to  fall  on  a  glass  slide  and  evaporate  spon- 
taneously. Beautiful  msettes  of  crystals  will  be  left.  I'tiey  cau  be 
moanted  with  Canada  balsam,  or  may  be  viewed  dry.— F.  B.  w . 

Sudimm  —Sir,— If  any  one  can  give  me  a  liiat  as  to  the  best  means  of 
preserving  sodium,  I  shall  be  greatly  obliged.— N.  Tthi. 

J*aaking  for  i*ump9/or  Vorro«i«€  Liquids,— mr^—U  one  of  your 
nninervus  correspondents  would  tell  me  wbat  sort  of  packing  I  could 
uae  for  a  chemical  pump,  he  would  confer  a  gfeat  boon  upon  me.  1 
want  it  Ibr  a  plunger  pump,  to  lift  chloride  of  lime  UquioL  Yam  is 
eaten  away  in  a  few  days.  Valcanised  india-rubber  is  not  aifeoted  by 
th«  '^bieaeh,''  but  there  is  a  diilicalty  in  screwing  it  tight.— M. 
JaiuB^ 

Ottrbon  BUouU9,—8lTf—l  cannot  tell  joar  correspondent  *'  Sheff." 
bow  to  make  carbon  biscuits,  but  1  can  strongly  rsoommend  highly 
carbonised  bread  ss  equally  efllcaolous.  Doubtless  this  mixed  wltn 
fl<yiir  and  water  would  make  good  charoual  biscuits. 

J>ff4tnff  Fanoy  Ltaih6r.—^\t^—\l  your  correspondent,  £.  Church, 
will  refer  to  O'Neill's  ''Chemistry  of  Calico  Printing,"  or  to  the  Dic- 
tionary of  Calico  l*rintiDg  and  Dyeing,  by  the  same  author,  he  will  find 
a  jpneat  deal  of  very  useful  information  on  this  subject.  Hunt's  edition 
OKUre*s  Dictionary  of  Arts,  article  **  Leather,^  also  contains  much  that 
ba  wiU  Hod  useful. 

OMaese  JSItM.  -**  Learner,*'  St  Helenas,  Lancashire,  wishes  to  know 
tha  oomposition  of  Chinese  blue,  it  is  one  of  the  svnonyms  of  ^  Prus- 
slaa  Uue,^'  which  is  also  called  indifferently  Paris,  Berlin,  and  mineral 
blae.  Fall  prsotlcal  account  in  Watu's  Diet,  art.  **  Pruss.  Blue,*'  also 
nndar  head  '^Ferricyanidea,"  p.  345,  subheading  **  Potasslo- Ferrous 
Ferricyaaide.** 

M^paiHuig  Lookinff-gla$».—^lXt—J,  Thompson  will  find  that  the 
plan  Be  speaks  of  will  repair  the  bare  place ;  but  there  will  generally 
be  a  mark  at  the  outer  circumference  of  thebool  of  mercury.  1  strong- 
ly adrise  him  to  scrspe  all  the  amalgam  ol^  and  deposit  a  coating  of 


pure  silver  on  the  gUui.  By  following  Browning's  excellent  directions 
(quoted  in  your  last  volume)  he  will  he  able  to  do  this  in  a  few  hoars. 
—A.  MiLO. 

Zino  /'(i^sr.— Sir.— Coald  yoa  afford  me  information  about  buying 
or  making  zinc  psper,  covered  on  one  sidv,  ss  tin  paper  is?— J.  C.  J. 

jpackinff  for  l*umpii  for  Corro«U>e  Liquids. — air,— Has  Mr.  James 
tried  pocking  the  piston  with  cork  fibre  r  Ue  will  find  this  answer 
perfectly,  and  not  be  acted  on  by  the  chlorine. — F.  W.,  Knncorn. 

P/  oducUon^  ffeat  by  Psrci«*io».— Sir,— la  many  elementary 
works  on  science  it  Is  stated,  as  an  illustration  of  the  above,  that  black- 
smiths sre  in  the  habit  of  hammering  a  cold  nail  on  the  anvil  until  it 
becomes  red  hot  Have  any  of  your  readers  ever  known  of  tnis  being 
done  ?  Can  the  heat  rise  to  such  intensity  ?  Would  not  the  cooling 
influence  of  the  anvil  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  heat  tkx>m  rising  to  red- 
ness? and  wunld  not  the  iron  be  flattened  out  to  loll  flnt?— Sokxtjo. 

Frsservinff  /SMfiiim.— :jlr,— The  slmpiest  and  at  the  same  tiuie  the 
most  effective  means  of  preserving  sodiuui,  is  to  immerse  It  complete- 
ly in  oil — Young's  paraflln  oil  is  the  best^-and  then  to  pUce  it  in  an 
empty  air-tight  Jar  or  bottle.  It  ought  to  be  inunersed  in  oil  after 
every  time  of  osiug. — ^M. 

Distroyinff  Ants.— Sir,— My  house  is  infected  with  a  very  small  kind 
of  ant,  which  at  some  seasons  so  swanu  about  the  kitchen  cupboards  as 
to  be  a  nuisance.  Can  you  tell  me  how  to  get  rid  of  them?  They  are 
much  smaller  and  paler  in  color  than  the  common  garden  ant— K  M. 

Ose  ofifuperAeated£iteafn,'^lr^—l\xlBh.  tu  try  a  plan  of  turning  su- 
perheated stesm  through  an  ordinary  evaporating  pan.  Now,  I  wlch 
to  know  if  any  of  your  readers  are  aware  If  this.plan  hss  been  tried, 
and  with  what  result?  Instead  of  passing  the  steilm  through  the  pipes 
of  the  pan  direct  firom  the  steam-boiler,  I  propose  to  pass  the  sieaui 
througu  a  superheater,  and -then  through  the  pipes  of  an  evaporatiug 
pan,  such  as  may  be  used  for  boiling  ale,  alum  liquor,  etc  Information 
on  this  point  will  oblige.— S. 

Oiidina  and  Silosring. — Sir, — Can  any  of  your  correspondents  in- 
form me  how  to  obtain  dead  or  matt  gliding,  similar  to  what  Is  seen  un 
French  clocks  ?  Also,  by  whom  are  watcu-dials  gilt  and  slivered  ?— 
W.  Smith. 

AwU. — Sir.— I  got  rid  of  the  ants  In  my  house  by  adopting  the  sug- 
gestion you  yourself  made— viz.,  putting  carbolic  acid  into  the  holes 
whence  they  were  seen  to  issue.    A  few  doses  were  elfeciuaL— J.  Tu. 

Wood  Engraving. — ^,— A  Leipzig  wo<»d-engraver,  particularly 
skilled  in  natural  history  illustrations,  wishes  to  find  a  scope  lor  nis 
abilities  among  British  publishers  of  Illustrated  scienllAo  works.  Per- 
haps some  readers  can  tell  whether  there  is  a  want  of  skilful  artists  of 
his  kind  felt  in  this  country,  or  whether  there  is  not  much  chance  fur 
a  foreigner  in  thiS  department— Q.  L. 

FrMetvation  qf  i£kK/itMik— Sir,— Permit  me  to  observe  the  follow- 
ing:—Sodium  is  best  of  all  kept  and  preserved  by  coating  it  with  a 
layer  <tf  pore  paraflln.  I  find  that  the  well-;vnown  Professor  Kud. 
Wagner,  of  Wuciburg,  recommended  tbls  mode  uf  preserving  sodium 
some  time  since,  and  that  it  is  applied  with  perfect  success.  Of  course 
some  precautions  are  necessary,  and  first  and  foremost  amongst  these 
are,  that  only  purs  paraflln  should  be  used ;  that,  by  being  kept*  in  a 
Aiscd  state  previously  to  being  applied  for  this  purpose,  ii  should  be 
freed  flrom  water  entirely ;  and  then  that  it  should  be  fused  at  Its  low- 
est melting  point,  50  deg.  Cels.,  and  the  sodium  (melting  point  95  deg. 
— 96  deg.  Ce.s.)  tinuier«ed  in  it  at  no  higher  temperature  than  (say) 
from  55®  to  60".  It  is  easy  to  remove  the  coating  of 'paralllu  nbeu 
the  sooium  is  wanted  for  use.— A. 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 


%*  All  SdUcrial  Communications  are  to  be  addressed  to  the  Editor, 
and  AdvsrtissnietUs  and  Business  Commitnicatlons  to  the  Pubusiix^ 
at  the  uflioe,  x.  Wine  Office  Court,  iileet  Street,  L.ondon,  fi.  C.  Fiicate 
letten  for  the  i£dltor  must  be  so  marked. 


*«*^In  publishing  letters  from  our  correspondents  we  do  not  thereby 
adopt  tne  views  of  the  writers.  Our  intention  to  give  both  sides  of  a 
qucdt.on  will  frequently  oblige  us  to  pubihih  opinions  with  which  we 
ao  Hot  agree. 


Articles  by  D.  Forbes,  F.B.a,  T.  SheHock,  and  Dr.  Phlpson  are  In 
type,  but  are  unavoidably  postponed.  Our  repurt  of  last  •Monday*8 
moeung  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  arrived  tuo  htte  for  insertion  in 
this  number. 

F,  S.  j;— EvidenUy  chalk  and  paraffli  oil. 

8tudios!us.—YMix  will  be  sale  In  foliowlnff  Dr.  Mohr*s  directions.  Dr. 
Hossall  has  written  a  work  **  On  Uriue,^  which  will  give  you  much 
information.  Yon  can  also  Cv>nsult  with  advautuge  Lehmann's  "*  Physio- 
logical  Oiiemlstry,"  Golding  Bird's  treatise  *-On  Urinary  Deposits,'* 
and  Beaie's  treatise  "^ On  Urine,  Urinary  Deposits,  and  Calculi.*^ 

F.  S,  J.— 'To  determine  the  sulphur  in  argillaceous  iron  ore,  dissolve  a 
weighed  quantity  of  ore  in  nltro-hydrochlorio  add.  evaporate,  etc.,  to 
separate  tne  silica;  dissolve  the  residue  in  aoid;  dilate,  and  precipi- 
tate the  sulphuric  acid  with  chloride  of  barium,  'ihe  weight  of  sul- 
phate of  bsiyta  obtained,  multiplied  by  o' 13734,  gives  the  sulphur. 

X  Y.  Z. — If  you  apply  <to  our  publisber,  ne  wUl  send  the  numbers 
you  require,  if  they  are  in  print  Occasional  copies  of  our  first  and 
second  volumes  are  to  be  met  with ;  but  they  are  worth  flu-  more  than 
their  pabllshing  price. 

A  Siiner.—U  is  not  at  all  prored  that  oar  coal  supply  will  ran  short 
for  the  next  three  or  four  hundred  years,  and  in  the  meantime  there 
will  certainly  be  many  discoveries  made  by  which,  If  coal  cannot  be 


io8 


Ans^oers  to  Qyrrespondente. 


j  Chkxtcil  Ifsvs, 
)    Augwi,  1867. 


superseded  Altogether,  its  waste  may  be  diminished.  This  is  the  most 
Important  problem ;  for  nine-tenths  of  the  ooal  raised  is  absolntely 
wasted,  so  far  as  the  utilisation  of  the  srailable  force  it  is  capable  of 
exertinar  Is  concerned.  Dr.  Frankland,  speaking  of  coal  gas,  says  that 
physical  science  has  yet  scarcelj  attempted  to  estimate  the  true  light, 
glring  power  of  any  sample  of  gas;  Mt  it  can  be  prored,'  from  the 
biwB  orconserratlon  offeree,  that  the  light  obtained  by  an  argaod 
burner  is  certainly  less  than  the  i-a65th  of  the  light  which  could  pos* 
sibly  be  obtained  from  the  same  gas  consumed  at  the  same  rate.    Our 


burner  is  certainly  less  than  the  i-a65th  of  the  light  whi< 

sibly  be  obtained  from  the  same  gas  consumed  at  the  aan 

problem  now  should  be  to  try  and  get  some  of  this  enormously  greater 

amount  <rf  light  out  of  our  easb    But  w<         '      '  '     .       ^    - 

coal  for  gas.    An  ingeuins  Frenchman 


amount  of  light  out  of  our  msb  But  we  need  not  be  dependent  upon 
coal  for  gas.  An  ingeuins  Frenchman  has  lately  propounded  a  bril- 
liant Idea.    His  theory  (advanced  throuafa  the  medium  of  La  OaattU 


Midioaie  de  Lyon)  is  that  all  dead  bodfes  of  human  beintps  are  at  pre- 
sent wasted,  when  ther  might  as  well  be  utilised  by  disullsation  into 
sas,  to  be  used  for  Illuminating  purposes.  He  remarks:— ^* Coal  ie 
being  ezhaasted,  and  since  the  human  carcase  is  capaWe  of  supplying 
a  gas  of  good  illaminating  power,  why  should  It  not  be  employed  to 
this  end  f  In  India  the  Idea  is  already  realized.  By  a  proeees  of  com- 
bustion in  retorts  a  corpee  of  common  dimensions  may  be  made  to 
yield  twenty-five  cubic  metres  of  illaminating  gas,  which,  at -a  cost  of 
twentv-flve  centimes  per  cubic  metre,  would  give  a  value  of  about 
right  nrancs  for  a  body  of  ordinary  sl^e.^ 

Communications  have  been  received  flrom  C.  Qreville  Williams; 
W.  M.  By  water;  H.  Cross;  J.  W.  Swindells;  O.  P.  Bodwell;  Sir  B. 
C.  Brodie,  Bart;  S.  Wilson;  W.  Odllng;  Rot.  F.  Bouley  Johnstone; 

B.  Mordan;  W.  Briffgs;  C.  H.  Heaton;  Dr.  Adrlanl;  T.  A.  Beadwln; 

A.  H.  Church;  T.  Twining;  Dr.  W.  8.  Squire;  A.  C:  8.  Meller; 
Huncom  Soap  and  Alkali  Company;  R.  £.  Bibbey ;  b.  Mnspratt, 
M.D. ;  Hadland  and  Co.,  with  enclosure;  E.  Parnell ;  T.  L.  Phipeon, 
Ph.  D. ;  Ceamen ;  W.  Lang:  £  Stock ;  Joseph  llioriey ;  Wm.  L.  Oar- 

C^nter ;  Samuel  Johnson ;  K.  Church ;  Dr.  Lish ;  O.  Foord ;  P.  Jesson ; 
r.P  rice  (with  enclosure);  W.  Valentin ;  C.  S.  C.  Tlohbome :  S.  T.  Till- 
man; Professor  Joy;  J.  W.  Swindells;  G.  Burditch;  Jonnson  and 
Matthey;  H.  £.  Marsden;  Dr.  W.  T.  Bobertson;  J.  Bedford;  B.  H. 
Wilkinson:  O.  F.  Bodwell;  K.  C.  C.  Stanford;  Dr.  W.  Allen  Miller; 

E.  Church ;  Rev.  J.  L.  Gordon ;  L.  Mend ;  W.  White ;  B.  P.  H.  Vaughan ; 
S.  Hunt;  S.  Mnspratt;  H.  L.  Bayner;  H.  K.  Bamber,  F.C.S.;  Ueolo- 

5 leal  Society;  H.  Sugg;  C.  R.  Wright;  R.  Oxland;  Mr.  McDonnell; 
ames  Blackhouse;  Gossage  and  Sons;  A.  £.  Hawkes^with  enclosure); 
W.  Smith;  Dr.  H  .Letheby :  Charles  Cochrane  (with  parcel);  Henry 
Deano(with  enclosure);  John  Wilkinson  (with  enclosure);  J.  Atkin- 
son; Chas.U.  Wri^t  (with  enclosure);  Alex.  Parkee  (with  enclosure); 
Dr.  OdIIng;  Rey.E.  Smith;  Dr.  Odling;  Johnson  and  MaUhey  (with 
enclosure);  the  Assistant-General  Secretary  to  the  British  Association; 
Dr.  Gladstone;  F.  Field;  F.  0.  Ward;  S.  Mellor;  Dr.  B.  Angus  Smith 
(with  enclosure) ;  W.  Schofield  {  J.  Levlncke;  H.  Walker ;  Dr.  Letheby ; 
H.  Hofhian ;  S.  Baker;  A  Watt ;  W.  MDlward;  J.O.  Tod*  kpienderson  ; 
£.  Rothwell;  Dr.  A.  Miller;  John  Bray,  F.C.S. ;  Geological  Suciety;  H. 
H.  Watson  (with  enclosure);  Dr.  Apiohn  (with  enclosure);  Ritchie  and 
Co.;  Savory  and  Moore;  Sir  Henry  James;  Mr.  Wortfaen;  McDougall 
and  Co.;  Henry  Hall;  Sir  B.  G.  Brodie,  Bart.;  John  Pollard;  August 
Stromeyer;  Dr.  Rbhrig(wiih  enclosure);  Sir  B.  C.  Brodie,  Bart ;  T. 
Bterry  Hunt;  K.  Fairiand,  M.D.;  Dr.  8.  Muspratt;  8.  Mellor;  J. 
Oulpar;   Gates,  Ingiism,  and  Sons;  Dr.  Letheby;  J.  Morris,  MJ).; 

F.  Field  (with  enclosure);  Ayellno  Aramayo:  A  Sarle;  F.  Jem- 
Ingham ;  C.  Helsch ;  J.  West ;  T.  Grubb;  J.  Sptller  (with  enoloeure) ; 

C.  B.  A.  Wright,  B.  Sc.  (with  encfosure) ;  J.  Bobbins;  Thomas  Beader; 
Dr.  Frankland;  Demuth  and  Go.;  J.  Tnmor;  J.  H.  Blunt  (with 
eneloeure);  T.  B.  Atkins  ^with  enclosnre);  Runcorn  Soap  and  Alkali 
Company;  Thomas  Hill;  W.  A  Johnson;  J.  Thudlchum;  Thomas 
Blair;  B.  Wilding;  Joseph  Davis;  Dr.  H.M.Noad;  J.  H.  Swlnddls; 

B.  P.  H.  Taughan;  Wm.  By  water;  H.  James;  Jesse  Fisher;  Dr. 
Adrianl;  Dr.  Kohrig;  Capel  H.  Berger;  Dr.  K.  Angus  Smith,  F.R.S. ; 
U  B.  a  Tichbome;  ProfT  Williamson,  F.B.8. ;  Dr.  Odling,  F.B.S.;  G. 
Gore,  F.R.S  ;  H.  M.  Jenkins;  E.  P.  H.  Yaughan;  Dr.  Lunge;  C.  Gre- 
ville  Williams,  F.B.S. ;  J.  Lawrence  Smith  (Vice-President  of  Jury. 
Group  4;  Paris,  1867);  Dr.  Wm.  Allen  Miller,  F.B.a;  the  Board  of 
Trade:  Bnmard,  Lack,  and  Co.  (with  enclosure);  May  and  Baker;  J.  8. 
Parker;  J.  Swain  window;  John  Parry;  w.  Browning;  Bvnuel 
ColllnsL 

Books Iieceived.—**QM  Manipulation,"  by  U.  T.  Sugg;  "An  Index 
to  Mineralogy :  being  an  Alphabetical  List  of  about  3500  Minerals,  with 
concise  References  to  their  Composition,  Synonyms,  and  Place  in  Che 
BriUsh  Museum,''  by  T.Allison  Beadwln,  F.G.S.:  '^  A  Guide  to  the 
Chemical  Department  of  the  Museum  of  the  Boyal  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, Cirencester.  Part  I.— The  Mineral  Collection,''  by  A.  H.  Church, 
M.A. ;  "science  made  Easy,"  by  Thomas  "Twining,  Esq.:  "New  Theo- 
ries of  the  Universe,"  by  James  Bedford,  Ph.  D.;  •*  1  he  Technologist," 
June ;  Transactions  of  the  American  Institute  for  1865-6 ;  **  Photo- 
graphs of  Bmioent  Medical  men,''  by  W.  T.  Robertson,  M.D.,  etc. ; 
"* Natural PhUosophy,"  by  0.  Brooke,  M.A.,  F.R.&,  etc;  *'The  Mixture- 
book;*'  **  Germinal  Matter  and  tho  Contact  Theorv,"  by  James  Morris. 
M.D.  Lond. ;  **■  Journal  of  .Materia  Medica,"  No.  k\  **  Chemical  Physica;** 
by  Dr.  Wm.  Allen  Miller,  F.R.S;  "^  Arithmetic  Blmplifled  for  General 
Use,"  by  NeU  Amott,  M  D.,  etc 

Ferrum. — Add  a  little  caustic  soda  to  the  water,  and  you  will  find 
that  the  lix>n  axles  and  shaft  will  not  rust  so  readily. 

c/sAtt.— Apply  to  Professor  Tuson,  at  the  Veterinary  College,  Cam- 
den Town.     We  cannot  answer  such  questions. 

S.  K.  B<ifij/b«».— Miller's  " Chemlstrr,"  Bloxam"^  "Chemistry," 
WatU's/ Dictionary  of  Chemistry,"  Freseniua'  "QoallUtlve  and 
Quantitative  Analysts,"  and  Sutton  s  "^Yolnmctric  Analysis,"  will  form 
a  good  foundation  for  the  chemical  library  of  vour  Mechanics'  Institute. 

J.  T.  Oordon.-^The  name  and  address  of  the  inventor  of  the  ice- 
making  machine  are  given  in  the  article  describing  the  machine,  bee 
page  29  of  this  rolume,  No.  372. 


f%r6-damp  Tndieator.—A.  few  weeks  ago  the  8eieni^  Atntrieon 
advised  a  correspondent,  who  had  applied  for  Mr.  Ansell's  address,  to 
forward  the  letter  to  the  **  care  of  W.  Crookes,  England."  Our  Ameri- 
can contemporary  will  be  glad  to  know  that  the  advice  was  taken , 
and  was  perfectly  sucoessftil.  The  letter  has  been  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Ansell. 

OlyceHn  Soap.-^'We  have  reeeived  f^m  the  manager  of  Prioe*a 
Patent  Candle  (Jompany  samples  of  a  new  preparation  of  toilet  soap. 
It  contains  half  its  wetgut  of  pure  distilled  glycerin,  and  is  apparenffy 
free  from  eocoanut  oil  or  excess  of  alkali.  The  glycerin  Is  solidified  by 
dlssolvinff  In  it  an  equal  weight  of  fine  toilet  soap.  This  uHcIe,  firom 
its  containing  so  lane  a  proportlonofglveerin,  if  exposed  to  the  air, 
attracts  moisture  and  beeomes  sticky,  rt  has  been  found  to  lather  and 
wear  well,  and  has  a  fhigrant  perfhme.  The  value  of  glycerin  as  a 
remedy  fbr  ch^>ped  or  irritated  skins  Is  now  well  known. 

Iron  Kgg%.—L  correspondent  draws  our  attention  to  the  fbllowinf 
statement  in  an  American  paper,  and  asks  if  any  one  can  throw  light 
upon  the  subject :— "  Eggs  with  iron  shells  will  be  a  (ket  at  the  Paria 
Exposition.  A  Berlin  ebemist  caused  his  hens  to  pniduce  them  by 
feeding  them  on  a  preparation  in  which  iron  was  made  to  Cake  tlie 
place  of  Ume."  We  should  be  sorry  to  throw  doubts  on  the  anthenti^y 
of  the  statement,  but  we  pity  the  poor  chickens !  Probablyjiowever, 
they  were  canardn^  not  hens,  which  were  experimented  on.  would  the 
iron  eggs  be  thick  enough  to  be  used  against  armour  plating?  Boiled 
hard,  they  would  serve  as  solid  shot,  and,  if  sacked  and  filled  with  pow- 
der, they  would  make  caidtal  shells,  as  effective  against  our  Iron-clada 
as  any  other  foreign-made  shells  would  probably  be. 

Srraia, — ^Dr.  Miller  has  called  our  attt-ntion  to  two  rolflprlnts  ia  our 
report  of  his  first  lecture  Page  260,  twenty-two  lines  flrom  YuAxma^Jbr 
"magnesium,"  rack!  " magnena ; "  page  262,  seventeen  lines  fhMn  bot- 
tom, for  "  light,"  rsad  "  eye." 

^—Spelter  Is  the  commercial  jiame  for  sine 

F.  .SSf^Aens.— Artificial  ivory,  for  billlard-ballft,  has  been  made  ftom 
a  mixture  of  paper  pulp,  sulpnate  of  baryta,  and  gelatine  They  are 
said  to  be  quite  eqtuu  to  i  Any  balls. 

C,  L.— Apply  to  Mr.  Sutton,  Btetem  Counties  Laboratory,  Korwicb. 
He  will  supply  you  with  all  the  requisites  for  volumetric  analysis 

Dr.  Adriani  wishes  us  to  state  that  his  last  letter  was  forwarded, 
together  with  a  former  letter  on  the  same  subject,  and  was  Intended  as 
a  private  oommunlcation.  That  being  the  case.  Dr.  Adriani  should 
have  given  some  intimation  that  his  letter  was  not  intended  for  pabB- 
cation. 

A.  B.  C.—i.  Amongst  sqneons  solutions  having  pAwerftd  aillntty  fbr 
oxvgen,  you  may  find  the  following  useful  :-^A  solution  of  pyrogalllc 
acid  in  potash;  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  subchloride  of  copper;  a 
mixture  of  potash  and  solotbn  of  ferrous  sulphate.  Tou  may*  perhaps, 
find  it  ulefnl  to  absorb  oxrgen  by  shaking  together  copper  tnmuigs  and 
y^ry  dilute  sulphuric  add.  2.  The  mixture  explodes  rather  vk&ntly, 
and  has  more  thui  once  occasioned  serious  injury.  3.  in  taking  photo- 
graphs of  the  spectrum,  we  did  not  find  that  Uie  pomtof  maximnra  In- 
tensity of  deposit  was  in  the  slightest  degree  Influenced  by  the  base  of 
the  bromide.  Iodide,  etc.  used  in  conjunction  with  the  silver  salt^ 

S  jPatrtoncf.— Speaking  generally,  it  Is  correct  to  say  that  the  heal 
from  the  sun  will  pass  through  glass,  whilst  the  nj%trom  a  dark  sonree 
of  heat  are  interoepted.  The  reaaon  A>r  this  is  that  gtoss  is  opaque  to 
heat-rays  of  tie  renangibillty  of  those  proceeding  from  a  dark  sooree  of 
heat,  whilst  it  Is  transparent  to  those  coming  firom  a  body  so  hot  as  to 
be  brightly  luminoue 

PhyMcm.—lX  is  recorded  that  galena  is  slightly  yolatfle  la  the  va- 
pour of  water,  at  a  high  temperature.  This  might,  therefore,  aeeoont 
for  wliat  you  have  observed.  * 

J.  Bywnsr.—A.  gallon  of  water  is  required  to  be  conTerted  into  steadl 
to  drive  a  railway  train  a  little  more  than  100  feet.  Each  pnif  at  steam 
ejects  about  half  a  pint. 

F.  Oxrfe.— Phosphoric  acid  solution  will  take  the  enamel  off  a  glased 
Iron  dish,  but  It  wiU  not  attack  good  Berlin  porcelain. 

SMI  anothtr  Ifew  MaUrialfor  Oas  Making.— Apropos  to  the  aag- 
gestlon  we  published  recently  for  turning  bodies  Into  gas,  a 


spondent  tells  us  that,  according  to  a  Swiss  journal,  a  means  has  bean 
discorered  of  ntiUsinff  cockchafers.  The  SwafetU  of  Lausanne  atatee 
that  between  four  ana  five  millions  of  those  lni»eots  were  reotmtly  aent 
to  Friburg  for  the  manufacture  of  gas,  and  the  r^aldne  was  found  to 
form  an  excellent  carriage-grease. 

J.  O.  7!— We  think  that  the  new  iron  and  sulphuric  acid  pile  of  M. 
Monthier  differs  in  some  respect  from  OaUan's  battery,  uthoo^  It 
miffht  be  considered  a  '*  colourable  imitation  "  of  it. 

Cdrbo.—TviTt  caramel  may  be  obtained  by  placing  a  solution  of  emde 
caramel  on  a  dialyser.  The  undecomposed  sugar  and  bome  other  mat- 
ters pass  throuffh  into  the  water,  whilst  the  caramel  remains  behfaid. 
It  forms  when  dry  a  black,  highly  hislrous  mass,  Foluble  In  water  when 
it  has  been  evaporated  without  neat,  but  Insoluble  when  It  has  been 
dried  over  a  water  bath. 

W.  8.— The  process  of  depositing  ellTer  on  glass,  whieh  we  quoted  in 
ftill  in  the  review  of  Browning's  *^  Plea  for  B«flootors,"  is  the  beat  for 
your  purpose 

B.  jK  JIf.— You  will  find  Dr.  Boscoe^s  "  Treatise  on  Chemistxy  '*  gtva 
you  foil  information. 

C.  iT.— The  Act  compels  the  condensation  of  9c  per  cent  of  mntetle 
acid  gas,  but  In  most  worlu  the  condensation  is  more  than  99*5  per 
cent    The  average  for  this  year  has  been  99*27  per  cent. 

Jfcfy.->-Cyanlde  of  potassium  will  remove  stains  caused  by  nitrate  of 
rflTer.    Bemember  that  It  Is  rery  poisoaooe 

Phvgicus.—lt  matter  be  not  infinitely  divisible.  It  is,  at  all  erenta, 
sufficiently  so  for  all  purposes  of  experiment,  or  even  reasoning.  8(dkl- 
aparelli  concludes  that  the  matter  In  a  sphere  o*  meteoric  clond  100 
miles  in  diameter  weighs  abont  15  cralns ;  If  that  be  not  infinite  divisi- 
bility, It  Is  a  very  near  approadi  to  It 


"^WIG^^S 


Application  of  the  Blmvpipe  to  the  Asmy  of  Silver. 


V      A^-  CHEMICAL      NEWS 

^Mt  Vol.  I.  No.  3.     American^  Reprint. 


109 


ON  THE  APPLICATION  OF  THE  BLOWPIPE 
TO  THE  QUANTITATIVE  DETERMINATION, 
OR  ASSAY  OF  CERTAIN  METALS. 

BT  DAYID  FORBES,  F.B.S.,  ETO. 
(Gontlnned  from  T0I.  XV.,  p.  aSa.) 
Sliver  Aaaay*  Cnpellatlon  I«obs« — This  term  is  ap- 
plied to  indicate  a  minute  loss  of  silver,  unavoidably 
sustained  in  the  process  of  cupellation,  which  arises 
from  a  small  portion  of  that  metal  bein^  mechanically 
carried  along  with  the  litharge  into  the  body  of  the 
cupeL  The  amount  of  this  loss  increases  with  the 
quantity  of  lead  present  in  the  assay  (whether  con- 
tained originally  in  the  assay  or  added  subsequently 
for  the  purpose  of  slagging  off  the  copper,  etc.) ;  it  is 
relatively  greater,  as  Sie  silver  globule  is  larger,  but 
represents  a  larger  percentage  of  the  silver  actually 
contained  in  the  assay,  in  proportion  as  the  silver 
globule  obtained  diminisnes  in  size.  It  has,  however, 
been  experimentally  proved  that  in  assays  of  like  rich- 
ness in  silver,  this  loss  remains  constant  when  the  same 
temperature  has  been  employed,  and  similar  weights 
of  lead  been  oxidised  in  the  operation. 

In  the  blowpipe  assay  this  loss  is  not  confined  to  the 
ultimate  operation  of  cupellation,  but  occurs,  though  in 
a  less  degree,  in  thie  concentration  of  the  silver-lead, 
and  in  the  previous  scorification  of  the  assay,  had  such 
operation  preceded  the  concentration.  The  total  loss 
in  the  blowpipe  assay  is  found,  however,  to  be  less  than 
in  the  ordinair  muffle  assay,  since  in  the  latter  case 
the  whole  of  the  oxidised  lead  is  directly  absorbed  by 
the  cupeL 

In  mercantile  assays  of  ore  it  is  not  customary  to 
pay  attention  to  the  cupellation  loss,  and  the  results 
are  usually  stated  in  the  weight  of  silver  actually 
obtained.  Where,  however,' great  accuracy  is  required, 
especially  when  the  substances  are  very  rich  in  silver, 
the  cupellation  loss  is  added  to  the  weight  of  the 
silver  globule  obtained,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  true 
percentage. 

The  amount  to  be  added  for  this  purpose  is  shown 
in  the  annexed  table,  which  is  slightly  modified  firom 
Plattner's. 

The  use  of  the  table  is  best  explained  by  an  exam- 
ple, as  the  following : — An  assay  to  which  there  had 
been  added,  in  all,  five  times  its  weight  of  assay  lead, 
rave  a  globule  of  silver  equivalent  to  six  per  cent. 
U  pon  referring  to  the  table,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
cupeUation  loss  for  this  would  be  0*07 ;  consequently 
the  true  percentage  of  silver  contained  in  the  assay 
-would  be  6'07.  This  table  is  only  extended  to  whole 
numbers,  but  fractional  parts  can  easily  be  calculated 
from  the  same. 

When  the  globules  of  silver  are  so  minute  that  they 
cannot  be  weighed,  but  must  be  measured  upon  the 
scale,  the  cupellation  loss  should  not  be  added,  since, 
as  a  rule,  it  would  be  less  than  the  difference  which 
might  arise  from  errors  of  observation  likely  to  occur 
-when  measuring  their  diameters  upon  the  scale. 

In  the  case  of  beginners,  it  wUl  be  found  that  the 
cupellation  is  usually  carried  on  at  too  high  a  tempera- 
ture, and  that  thereby  a  greater  loss  is  occasioned  than 
would  be  accounted  for  by  the  annexed  table.  Afler 
Vou  I.    No.  3.— Sept.,  1867.       8. 


Actual  per 
eentage  of  sil- 
ver fonnd   by 
assay. 


Cupellation  loss,  or  per-centage  of  Silver  to  be  added  to 
the  actual  per-centage  found  by  assay  in  order  to 
sbow  the  true  per-centage  of  silver  contained  in  the 
same.  The  entire  amount  of  lead  in  or  added  to  the 
assay  being  the  foUotrlng  mulUples  of  the  original 
wdght  of  assay  :— 


9975  l 
99-5     )■ 


70. 
60. 
so. 
40. 
35- 
30- 
25- 
20. 

12. 
10. 

9- 
8. 

7. 
6. 

5- 
4. 
3. 
2. 


0*25 

0'22 
0*20 
018 
0.16 

0'i4 

0'12 
O'll 
O'lO 

0*09 
o-o8 

o'Q7 
o'o6 
005 
0*04 
0-03 
0*02 

O'OI 


0-32 

0*29 
026 
0-23 

0*20 

017 
0-15 

0-I3 

0*I2 
O'lO 
O'OQ 

o-o8 
0*07 
o*o6 
0*05 
0*04 
0*03 

0"02 
O'OI 


o'39  0'45,o'5o 

0*360 

0-330' 

0*29|0 

o'26!o 
0-23  o^ 


|0*20 

o-iS 
o*i6 
014 

0'12 
O'lO 

0*09 

o-o8 

0*07 

o*o6,o' 

0*05  jo 

0'04,o" 

0*03  O' 

0*02  io" 
0*01  O' 
O' 


"4210-47 
39  0*44 
35|0-40, 
3010-36 
•260-32 

•22'0'27 

'i8]o-25 

•l60*22 
•I40'20 
126-17 

II  O-IS 

100-13 


O'll 

o-io 
0-09 
0-08 
0*07 
o-o6 
0-05 
0-04 
0-03 

0*01 


0-69 
064 

0*58 

o'S 
c-46 

0-39 

0*36 
0-32 
0*29 
0*25 

0-20 

0-17 

0-15 

0-14 
0-13 

0-12 
O-IO 

0-09 
0-07 


8 


0-83 
075 

0-68 
o'6i'o" 

o-54|o' 
0-461 0' 

0*42 10 

0-38 
0-34 

0*29 
0-23 
0*19 
0-17 
o-i6 


13 


16 


0-45 


0-15 
0-13 

O'lI 
0-10 

o-o8  o- 

O' 
O' 
O" 


0-05  5-06 
0-04 1 0-04 
o'03|0'03 


0-62 

0-57 

0-51 

0*45 

0*39  < 

o-32|0-37 

0-2610-32 

■200-23!o*27 

i8|o-2i|0-2S 
'i6p*i8,o-22 

140*16  0*20 

i2,o*i4loi7 
ii|o-i2|o-i4 
■09'o'io'o*ii 
'0710-08  0-09 
•05 1 0-06  0*07 
;04  0-04 '0-05 


lo-AAi 


some  trials  the  necessary  experience  will  be  acquired 
in  keeping  up  the  proper  temperature  at  which  this 
operation  should  be  effected. 

Silver  Assay, 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  consider  in  detail  the 
processes  requisite  for  extracting  the  silver  contents 
(in  combination  with  lead)  from  the  various  silver  ores, 
and  other  argentiferous  compounds,  which  are  met  with 
in  nature  or  produced  in  the  arts. 

In  considering  these,  the  following  classification  of 
the  substances  will  be  found  convenient : — 

L  Metaluc  ALLOva 

A.  Capable  of  direct  cupellation. 

a.  Consisting  chiefly  of  lead  or  bismuth:  silver  lead 

'and  argeDtiferous  bisrautli,  uative  bismuthic  silver. 

h.  Consisting  chiefly  of  silver :  native  silver,  bar  silver, 

test  silver,  precipitattid  silver,  retorted  silver  amnl- 

gam,  standard  silver,  alloys  of  silver  with  gold  and 

copper, 
c.  Consisting  chiefly  of  copper:  native  copper,  copper 

ingot,  sheet  or  wire,  cement  copper,  copper  coins, 

copper-nickel  allojs. 

B.  Incapable  of  direct  cupellation, 

a.  Containing  much  copper  or  nickel,  with  more  or 
less  sulphur,  arpenic,  zinc,  etc. ;  unrefined  or  black 
copper,  brass,  German  silver. 

b.  Containing    tin;    argentiferous    tin,    bronze,    bell 
*         metal,  g^o  metal,  bronze  coinage. 

c.  Containing  antimony,  tellurium,  or  zinc. 

d.  Containing  mercury :  amalgama 

e.  Containing  much  iron :  argentiferous  steel,  bears 
from  smelting  furnaces. 

IL  Mineralised  Cohpouxd& 

a.  Silver  and  other  ores,  furnace  products,  sweep?, 
and  products  of  the  arts  containing  sulphides,  arse- 
nides, and  other  compounds  of  the  metals  in  combi- 
nation with  more  or  less  earthy  matter. 

l.  Argentiferous  sulphide  of  molybdenum. 


no 


Application  of  the  Bhtopipe  to  the  Assay  of  Silver. 


(  Cbrvigll  Nbv 
1      Sept.,  1867. 


c.  Piibstances  nearly  free  from  sulphides  or  arsenides, 
but  containing  chlorine,  iodine,  or  bromine. 

d.  Argentiferous  litharge,  and  other  easily  reducible 
oxides. 

I.  A.  Metallic  Alloys  capable  op  direct  Cupblla- 

TIOK. 

a.  Connliitlns:   clitefly  of  I«ead  or  Blsmatli.—In 

determining  the  silver  contained  in  these  alloys,  it  is 
only  requisite  to  place  a  clean  piece  of  the  same, 
weighing  about  from  one  to  ten  grains  according  to  its 
probable  richness  in  silver,  upon  a  cupel  of  coarse  bone 
ash,  and  proceed  by  concentration  and  cupellation 
exactly  as  has  been  already  described  under  these 
heads. 

Should  the  substance  be  not  altogether  metallic,  or 
not  free  from  adherent,  slag,  earthy  matter,  or  ower 
extraneous  matter,  it  should  previously  be  fused  on 
charcoal  with  a  little  borax  in  the  reducing  blowpipe 
flame,  and  the  clean  metallic  globule  then  removed 
from  the  charcoal,  and  treated  as  before.  In  order  to 
remove  the  globule  from  the  inherent  borax-glass,  it 
may  be  allowed  to  cool,  and  then  detached ;  or,  after  a 
little  practice,  it  will  be  found  easy,  by  a  quick  move- 
ment oif  the  charcoal,  to  cause  the  globule  still  melted 
to  detach  itself  completely,  and  drop  on  the  anvil  in 
the  form  of  a  single  somewnat  flattened  globule,  with- 
out suffering  any  loss  of  lead  adhering  to  the  charcoal. 

In  the  case  of  argentiferous  bismuth  alloys  the  pro- 
cess is  carried  on  in  all  respects  the  same  as  if  silver- 
lead  were  being  treated.  As,  however,  the  bismuth 
globule  is  very  brittle,  care  must  be  taken  when  sepa- 
rating the  concentrated  globule  from  the  litharge,  as,  if 
not  carefully  done,  a  loss  may  easily  be  sustained  from 
a  portion  of  the  globule  remaining  behind  adherent  to 
the  litharge.  It  is  better,  therefore,  to  remove  the 
litharge  by  degrees  from  the  globule  with  the  aid  of 
the  forceps. 

Argentiferous  bismuth,  free  from  lead,  when  cupelled 
alone,  invariably  leaves  a  globule  of  silver,  having  a 
dull  frosted  surface.  If,  however,  at  the  end  of  uie 
operation  a  small  quantity  of  lead  (i  to  i  a  grain)  be 
added,  and  fiised  along  with  it,  the  silver  globule  then 
obtained  will  be  perfectly  bright  and  free  from  all 
bismuth. 

In  the  case  of  native  bismuthic  silver  it  is  advisable 
to  fuse  the  previously  weighed  mineral  with  a  little 
lead  and  borax-glass  on  charcoal  in  the  reducing  flame, 
so  as  to  free  it  from  any  adherent  earthy  matter,  and 
then  proceed  by  concentration  and  cupellation,  as 
before  described. 

silver  Assay* 
I    I.  A.  Metallic  Allots  capable  op  direct  Cupella- 
tion. 
h.  Consisting  chiefly  of  silver :  native  silver,  bar,  test, 
and  precipitated   silver,  retorted    silver  amal^m, 
standard  silver,  silver  coin,  and  other  alloys  of  silver 
with  g<dd  and  copper. 

These  alloys  may  be  at  once  fused  with  lead  on  the 
cupel  itself,  and  the  operation  finished  as  before  de- 
scribed. In  general,  however,  it  is  better  to  fiise  the 
weighed  assay  previously  with  the  requisite  amount  of 
pure  lead  and  a  little  borax-glass,  say  from  a  quarter  to 
half  the  weight  of  assay,  in  the  reducing  flame  at  a  low 
heat  on  charcoal  until  the  globule  commences  to  rotate. 
This  ensures  having  a  perfectly  clean  button  of  silver- 
kad,  which  is  then  cupelled  in  the  ordinary  manner. 

In  most  cases  the  quantity  of  lead  to  be  added  need 
not  exceed  that  of  the  weight  of  the  alloy,  but  when 
several  percentages  of  copper  are  present  in  the  assay, 


as  in  case  of  many  coins,  etc.,  the  lead  should  b%JB- 
creased  to  some  three,  or  even  five  times  the  weight 
of  the  assay  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  copper 
actually  contained  in  the  substance  under  examination, 
and  which  will  be  treated  of  more  at  length  under  the 
head  of  copper-silver  alloys. 

When  no  more  lead  has  been  added  to  the  assay  than 
its  own  weight,  the  cupellation  may  be  concluded  in 
one  operation  by  inchning  the  stand,  and  so  moving 
the  globule  on  to  a  clean  part  of  the  cupel ;  but  when 
more  copper  is  present,  it  is  preferable  to  concentrate 
first  and  cupel  subsequently,  in  order  thereby  to  reduce 
the  cupellation  loss  to  its  minimum. 

In  the  concentration  as  much  copper  as  possible 
should  be  slagged  oflf  with  the  lead,  which  is  eflTected 
by  inclining  the  cupel  somewhat  more  than  usual,  so 
that  its  surface  may  be  less  covered  up  with  the  lith- 
arge and  exposed  as  much  as  possible  to  oxidation,  by 
which  means  the  litharge,  as  it  forms,  is  enabled  to 
carry  off  more  of  the  copper  contained  in  the  silver 
lead. 

Should  the  silver  globule  after  cupellation  show  indi- 
cations of  still  containing  copper,  as  before  noticed, 
when  treating  of  cupellation,  a  small  quantity  of  lean 
must  be  fused  along  with  it,  and  the  cupellation 
finished  as  usual 

As  at  the  present  time  no  means  are  known  by 
which  silver  can  be  separated  from  gold  by  the  use  of 
the  blowpipe,  in  all  cases  of  alloys  containing  gold,  this 
metal  remains  to  the  last  along  with  the  silver,  and  the 
result  in  such  cases  always  indicates  the  combined 
weight  of  both  these  metals  contained  in  the  alloy 
under  examination.  The  employment  of  the  humid 
assay  must  be  resorted  to  for  effecting  their  separa- 
tion : — 

c.  Containing  chiefly  copper:  native  copper,  ingot, 
wire,  or  sheet  copper,  cement  copper,  copper  coins, 
copper-nickel  alloys. 

Under  the  most  favourable  conditions  in  cupellation, 
the  amount  of  lead  requisite  when  converted  into 
litharge  to  slag  off  one  part  of  copper  along  with  it  as 
oxide,  amounts  to  between  seventeen  and  eighteen 
parts  its  weight.  In  the  blowpipe  assay  It  is  usual 
to  add  to  any  cupriferous  alloy  an  amount  of  pure  lead 
equal  to  twenty,  times  the  amount  of  copper  contained 
in  the  alloy,  in  order  to  ensure  the  whole  of  the  copper 
being  separated  in  the  litharge.  In  the  case  of  nicicel 
the  amount  of  lead  required  is  somewhat  less  than  with 
copper,  but  in  practice  the  same  amount  of  lead  may 
be  employed. 

When  the  copper  is  quite  clean  the  requisite 
amount  of  lead  may  be  added  to  it  in  a  single  piece  on 
the  cupel,  fused  and  cupelled  as  usual,  after  previous 
concentration  of  the  silver-lead  to  a  small-sized 
globule. 

It  is  generally  found,  however,  that  traces  of  iron, 
slag,  gangue,  or  other  foreign  matter  is  present;  and, 
consequently,  it  is  usually  advisable  to  fuse  the  assay 
along  with  the  requisite  amount  of  lead^  and  about  one- 
half  its  own  weight  of  borax-glass  m  the  reducing 
flame,  until  the  whole  of  the  sul^tance  is  seen  to  have 
perfectly  combined  or  alloyed  with  the  lead,  and  the 
globule  has  come  into  brisk  rotation,  whilst  at  the  same 
time  no  detached  metallic  globules  are  seen  in  the 
borax-glass. 

The  concentration  of  the  silver-lead  and  cupellation 
are  then  conducted  as  usual,  taking  care  when  concen- 
trating to  inchne  the  cupel-stand  so  as  to  expose  as 


Sept,  1967.      f 


Note^  on  the  Chemical  Coilcvlus. 


Ill 


much  of  the  metallic  surface  of  the  melted  globule  to 
the  oxidising  action  of  the  air  as  possible,  with  a  view 
of  enabling  the  litharge  whilst  forming  to  carry  off  as 
much  copper  along  with  it  as  possible. 

Should  the  silver  globule  obtained  after  cupellation 
spread  out,  or  appear  to  the  eye  more  flattened  than 
usual  with  globules  of  pure  silver,  it  indicates  that  some 
copper  still-  remains,  and  a  small  piece  of  assay  lead 
ft  to  I  grain  weight)  should  be  placed  alongside  it 
whilst  still  on  the  cupel,  fused  together,  and  the  cupella- 
tion finished  on  a  clean  part  of  uie  same  cupel  as  usual 

Precipitated  or  cement  copper,  especially  that  which 
is  in  the  crude  state,  and  has  not  been  melted  and  run 
into  ingots,  is  often  very  impure,  containing  so  much 
iron,  lead,  arsenic,  earthy  matter,  etc.,  as  not  to  admit 
of  direct  cupellation,  and  in  such  case  should  be  treated 
as  pertaining  to  class  B.  a. : — 

&  Metaluo  Allots  ikoapablb  or  disbot   Cufel- 

LATIOK. 

a  Ck)ntaining  much  copper  or  nickel,  with  frequently 
some  little  sulphur,  arsenic,  zinc^  iron,  cobalt, 
etc.,  as  unrefined  or  black  copper,  brass,  German 
silver,  eta 

As  the  presence  of  these  extraneous  matters  would 
interfere  with  the  cupellation  either  by  causing  a  loss 
of  ^ver-lead  projected  from  the  cupel  upon  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  volatile  substances  present,  or  by  forming 
oxides  which  could  not  be  absorbed  by  the  cupel,  it  is 
necessary  to  eliminate  such  substances  by  a  scorification 
with  borax  on  charcoal  previous  to  concentration  or 
cupellation. 

In  the  case  of  unrefined  and  black  copper,  the  por- 
tion used  in  the  examination  is  placed  m  the  scoop 
with  twenty  times  its  weight  of  assay  lead,  and  its  own 
weight  of  powdered  borax-glass,  mixed  with  the  spat- 
ula, and  transferred  to  a  soda-paper  cornette.  It  is 
then  fused  on  charcoal  in  the  reducing  flame,  which 
should  be  constant  and  uninterrupted,  until  all  particles 
have  completely  united,  and  a  brisk  rotation  sets  in.  which 
is  kept  up  for  a  short  time,  when  the  silver-lead  globule, 
whicm  should  appear  bright  on  the  surface  after  cool- 
ing, is  concentrated  and  cupelled  precisely  as  is  directed 
under  A.  c.  By  this  preliminary  scorification  the  sul- 
phur, arsenic,  and  zinc  are  volatilised,  and  any  lead, 
cobalt,  or  iron  slagged  off  into  the  borax-glass. 

In  the  assay  of  brass  and  German  silver  the  quantity 
employed  is  fluxed  with  its  own  weight  of  borax-glass, 
but  only  requires  ten  times  its  weight  of  assay  lead. 
The  operation  is  commenced  as  before,  but  the  globule 
is  kept  somewhat  longer  in  rotation  (always  keeping 
the  name  directed  only  on  to  the  borax-glass),  so  as  to 
fiUow  the  zinc  present  to  be  completely  volatilised. 
^hich  is  evident  when  the  surface  of  the  silver-lead 
t)ecome9  bright,  on  which  the  heat  is  increased  for  a 
w  moments  to  expel  the  last  traces  of  that  metal,  and 
Lhe  sUver  lead  thus  obtained  is  concentrated  and  cupel- 
led as  before. 

The  silver  globule  obtained  from  the  cupellation  of 
Bubetances  rich  in  copper  generally  requires  the  addi- 
tion of  a  small  quantity  of  lead  and  re-cupellation  (as 
before  described),  in  order  to  ensure  its  freedom  from 
Dopper. 

BeliaTtoar  of  Ume  wben  Burned.— Dorlhar  and 
Bsmino.  Two  cylinders  rormed  out  of,  the  same  piece  of 
broestone  measured  27  millimetres  in  length  and  17  milli- 
metres in  diameter.  After  being  completely  burned  their 
folume  had  increased  nearly  i-ioth — viz.,  lo  28  millim. 
Dd  177  millim. — Berg,  undhuttimnij  Zeiiung^  1867. 


NOTE  ON  THE  CALCULUS  OF  CHEMICAL 
OPERATIONS. 

BY  PROFESSOR  WILLIAMSON,  F.R.S. 

The  remarkable  memoir  of  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  re- 
specting which  these  remarks  are  made,  is  the  first  con- 
sistent attempt  to  introduce  analytical  reasoning  into 
the  body  of  the  science  of  chemistry. 

One  mndamentally  important  question  of  method  is 
raised  by  the  memoir ;  and  as  it  may  be  considered 
apart  from  the  rest  of  the  subject,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  pre- 
hminary  to  any  discussion  upon  it,  the  author  wishes 
to  draw  attention  to  some  considerations  relating 
to  it. 

Sir  B.  Brodie  defines  a  chemical  operation  as  an  oper- 
ation performed  upon  the  unit  of  space,  pf  wliich  the 
result  IB  a  weight  The  unit  of  matter  (or  molecule) 
adopted  is  the  weight  of  matter  of  a  specified  kind, 
which  occupies  in  the  state  of  perfect  gas  the  volume 
of  ome  litre  at  o^'O.  and  a  pressnre  of  760  millimetres 
of  mercury. 

This  absolute  definition  is  intended  to  supersede  the 
prevailing  theory  that  the  molecule  of  each  compound 
is  the  smallest  proportional  weight  in  which  we  can, 
consistently  with  its  other  properties,  represent  it  as 
lakin^  part  in  any  reaction,  or  in  which  we  can  sup- 
pose it  to  exist  by  itself. 

In  some  casr^s  the  vapour-densities  of  many  com- 
pounds have  confirmed  the  molecular  weights  assigned 
to  them  by  a  comparison  of  their  reactions;  but  in 
other  cases,  many  of  which  are  too  familiar  to  need 
mention  here,  the  vapour-density  contradicts  the  above 
evidence  of  the  molecular  weight.  What  is  the  result 
in  such  a  case  of  conflict?  Uniformly  this:  that  if  the 
vapour-density  and  reactions  are  irreooncileable,  we 
know  that  the  vapour-density  must  have  given  wrong 
advice,  and  it  only  rema  ns  to  be  seen  by  an  examina- 
tion of  the  anomalous  vapour  how  the  molecule  broke 
up  on  evaporation. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  judge  of  the  working  of 
the  new  definition  is  to  see  the  manner  in  which  Sir  B. 
Brodie  himself  applies  his  principle.  Thus,  at  page  817 
of  his  memoT,  the  units  of  thirteen  substances  are 
given,  and  opposite  each  formula  is  given  the  "  abso- 
lute weight  in  granunes"  of  a  litre  of  the  vapour,  and 
in  another  column  the  "  relative  weights  '*  of  each.  Of 
these  fundamental  statements  four  only — viz.:  the 
numbers  for  sulphur,  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  sulphurous 
acid,  SOi,  and  sulphuric  acid,  SOt,  are  the  records  of 
observations.  The  numbers  for  three  other  substances 
are  at  variance  with  observation,  for  SOi  Ht  breaks 
up  on  evaporation  into  S0«  and  H«0,  forming  a  mixed 
vapour  of  about  half  the  denuty  given.  SO4H9  breaks 
up  similarly,  forming  a  vapour  of  about  half  the  specific 
gravity  assumed,  and  Nordhausen  acid  first  breaks  up 
into  SOs  and  SO«Ht,  and  this  hydrate  decomposes  at  a 
higher  temperature,  as  above  mentioned.  The  vapour 
from  Nordhausen  a  id  has,  therefore,  a  specific  gravity 
vastly  below  that  assumed.  No  doubt  there  are  good 
reasons  derived  from  a  study  of  other  facts  for  believ- 
ing that  these  three  compounds,  if  they  were  capable 
of  evaporating  undwompoged,  would  have  the  vapour 
densities  assigned  to  them  by  Sir  B.  Brodie ;  but  tak- 
ing the  simple  definition  as  given,  we  are  led  to  mole- 
cular weight',  which  the  author,  in  common  with  all 
chemists,  considers  inadmissible,  and  which  he  very 
properly  corrects. 


112 


Notes  on  the  Chemiccbl  Oalcvlits. 


j  G&KMtCAL  Nm, 
\      SepL,  198T. 


The  other  six  substances  of  the  table  are  more  unsta- 
ble compounds,  which  have  never  been  evaporated  with- 
out even  more  permanent  and  fundamental  changes 
in  their  composition.  It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  m- 
stances,  but  enough  has  been  said  to  illustrate  the  fact 
that  molecular  formulse  are  not  deduced  from  mere  va- 
pour densities,  and  that  we  should  only  be  justified  in 
taking  a  fixed  vapour  volume,  as  the  definition  of  mole- 
cules, if  we  could  show  that  from  the  vapour  densities 
of  compounds  their  molecular  weights  could  be  inferred 
with  certainty. 

There  are  strong  reasons  against  the  supposition  that 
the  molecules  of  chemistry  can  all,  or  nearly  all,  exist 
in  the  state  of  vapour.  If  we  were  to  speculate  upon 
the  probable  distribution  of  the  elements  at  a  temper- 
ature sufficiently  high  for  the  volatilisation  of  all  known 
substances,  it  would  be  safe  to  assume  that  a  very  great 
if  not  the  greatest,  number  of  known  molecules  would 
be  resolved  into  others  containing  a  smaller  number  of 
atoms. 

Numberless  known  molecules  are  notoriously  broken 
up  ai  temperatures  within  easy  reach  of  every  opera- 
tor, and  there  is  reason  io  anticipate  that  the  progress 
of  research  will  gradually  give  us  more  in-ight  into  the 
conditions  of  condensation  which  distinguish  volatile 

•  from  non-volatile  laolecules,  so  as  to  explain  why  the 
latter  cannot  exist  in  ihe  gaseous  state. 

It  is,  moreover,  not  -only  undesirable  on  the  ground 
of  accuraf-y,  but  also  exceedingly  inconvenient,  to  de- 

•  fine  chemical  molseulss  as  being  one  litre  of  vapour, 
for  the  artifice  niecessitates  the  establishment  of  a  new 
scale  of  atomic  weights  And  znoLscular  weights. 

The  molecul,e  of  hydnogen  in  this  scale 

weighs , 0-089 

"  •'  "    oxygen.^ 1*430 

"  "  "    nitrogen 1*251 

«*  "  «'    ohlorine ...••••••  3'*73 

u  M  «    steam  ............... ^-805 

a  <(  '<    ammonia .•••..•,#0760 

"  '*  "    hydrxiehloric^cid 1*^31 

The  numbers  represent  in  gramme8.the.wi*igl\t  of  a 
.  litre  of  the  respective  substances^ 

If  yfQ  retain  the  ordinary  molecular  weight — :vi«. : 

Hydrogen    .  ^  > .  ^ . « « .  ^    .^^    H, 

Oxygen    ,... 52  -==    0« 

.  I^itrogen  .....  ^ ......  28     =     "S^ 

I    Steam    , 18    =     H,0 

Ammonia ....   ....*.  \1     =     KHt 

Hydrochloric  acid 73    =  '  ClH 

:    we  have,  numbers  which  are  ^^fly  r^piembered  and' 

•  easily  used,  a^d  which  answer  ^1  tjie.  purposes  of 
the  other  numbers,  in  a  far  more  convenient  manr. 
ner.  Relations  betw£ien  these  short  numbers  are 
seen  at  a,  .glance,  and  ooinpui«rtiiQn&^  are  rapidly  made 
with  them  in  the  head,  which,  wiih  the  numbers  of  the 
criik  series  of  the  litre,  ftr«  comparatively  slow  and 
difficult.    Oalculatioas  relaiing  to  any  absolute  measure 

.  are  most  easily  made  upon  Lhe  j)a^is  of  the  common 
molecular  weight.    One  constant  has  to  be  used  for  the 

-  .reduction  in  absolute  .volumer-rviss.::  ir2  litres,  or  the 
volume^  St  the  uormftl  temperature  and  pressure,  of  one 
gramme  of  .hydrogezi.  Every  formula.of  a  volatile  mo- 
lecule represents  22%  litres  of  the  ya^iii;.  weighing  as 
many  grammes  as  there  Are  units  in  the  molecular 
weight. 

Some  interesting  considerations  are  .suggested  by  the 
proposal  to  consider  the  molecule  -of  hydrogen  as  con- 
taining only  one  atom^  and  jbhe  m.Ql^cules  of  chlorine, 


bromine,  iodine,  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  arsenic,  etc,  as 
each  compounded  of  one  atom  of  hydrogen  with  two 
atoms  of  elements  at  present  unknown.  The  formiilA 
for  hydrochloric  acid  is  a>Xj  which  we  may  define,  a;r= 
HCl,  and  this  combined  with  the  fundamental  assump- 
tion a=Hs,  gives  us 


Hajt^^^^T  whence  X^-a'  In  like  manner  the  sym- 
bol of  chlorine,  o,xtj  may  be  translated  into  ordinur 
symbols  by  the  aid  of  the  equation  a;t»=Clt,  in  wMch 
we  replace  a  and  x  by  their  values  as  above. 

CI 
In  explanation  of  the  symbol   ^  it  is  merely  stated 

that  it  represents  an  atom  of  chlorine  from  which  an 
atom  of  hydrogen  is  removed.     Chemists  employ  the 
sign  of  multiplication  to  denote  combination,  as  in  HC,  - 
and  the  si^  of  division  is  here  employed  to  indicate  - 
decomposition. 

The  assumption  that  two  molecules  of  hydrochloric 
acid  decompose  so  as  to  form  a  single  atom  of  hydro- 
gen necessarily  involves  for  a  molecule  of  the  acid  a 
formula  like  ax,  representing  it  as  one  atom  of  hydrogen 

CI  ' 

to  which  another  atom  -n^ZA'S  ^  united. 

CI 
HsTT  is  the  translation  of  the  formula  of  hydrochloric   i 

acid;  and  when  two  such  molecules  are  deoomposed 
into  hydrogen  and  chlorine,  the  process  consists  ra  re- 
moving Ha  from  ori^  of  them,  and  combining  the  reei-  ' 

CI  CU 

due  ^  with  the  other  molecule  of  acid,  forming  Hin 

In  like  manner  hydrobromic  acid  is  described  by  the 

symbol  Hi.tt. 


Bromine 


=  Ha. 


Br, 
Ha 


Hydriodic  acid   =  Ha.|T 


Iodine. 


Ammonia  . 


Nitrogen =  H,. 


N, 


The  author  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  hypothesis 
kdopH^c^  respecting  the  constitution  of  chlorine,  nitrogen, 
etc.,  diight,  with  advantage,  be  extended  to  oxygen  sad 
•other  atoms, of  even  equivalence,  if  adopted  at  (ul,  so  a& 
to  'tepresent  those  elements  as  containing  hydrogen. 
Oxygen  can  be  supposed  to  be  built  up  fi*om  water  by 
the  addition  of  an  increment  of  weight,  analogous  to 
the  incremeiub  which  transforms  hydrochloric  acid  into 
chlorine.  Watef  would  thus  be  represented  by  a  symbol 
of  the  usual  form  («ay  aa^),  and  the  decomposition  of  the 
unit  of  water  into  two  units  of  hydrogen  and  one  unit 
of  oxygen  would  bte  jrepresented  in  a  manner  analogooi 
to  that  adopted  in  <the  case  of  hydrochloric  acid.  Om 
unit  of  water  would  "lose  ^,  liberating  two  units  of 
hydrogen,  which  ^  ir ould  enter  into  combination  wi^ 
the  oUier  unit  of  ilrater,  thereby  forming  o*^*.  oa^  il 
thus  the  symbol  of  oxygenj  and  ^  is  an  element  whidii| 
contained  in  oxygen,  tuid  ^Hiich  leaves  it  to  unite  wCdk 
two  atoms  of  hydrogen.       '   * 

Let  a  represent  2  grammes  of.  hydrogen    =22*4  litrei 
at0a      '*       32  g^mmes^of  oxrjnen. .    =22*4        *' 
««^         "       18  grammes  of  (Steam  .  ■    =22-4       •* 


GnmcAL  Nbwb,  ) 
SepL,  1867.       f 


Analysis  of  Tinhdcite. 


113 


Then  ^  is  the  symbol  of  an  imaginary  element,  repre- 
senting the  increment  to  be  added  to  4  grammes  of 
hydrogen,  when  they  are  converted  into  18  grammes  of 
water.  The  weight  of  ^  is,  therefore,  14.  It  may  be 
translated  thus : 

f  =  ^',  and  if  a  =  H,,  we  have  2  H^  +  H*^*  =  2H4  ^ 

The  following  equation  represents  the  process : 

It  is  interesting  and  important  to  observe  that  Sir  B. 
Brodie's  ftindamental  hypothesis  is  an  atomic  hypothe- 
sis, viz.,  that  the  molecule  of  hydrogen  consists  of  one 
atom  instead  of  containing  two  atoms,  as  we  have  been 
accustomed  to  see  it;  and  that,  in  constructing  each 
molecular  formula^  he  limits  himself  to  some  integral 
number  of  atomic  weights. 

In  weighing  the  arguments  which  will,  no  doubt,  be 
brought  forward  in  fevour  of  the  proposed  change, 
chemists  will  need  to  compare  the  whole  of  the  new 
system  to  the  old  one.  Such  comparison  can  only  be 
made  when  the  new  systems  are  before  us.  The  author 
hopes,  before  long,  to  bring  forward  various  considera- 
tions relating  to  the  interpretation  and  application  of 
our  present  system  of  chemical  facts  and  theories.  He 
wishes  now  to  point  out  that  the  proposed  system 
would  be  at  an  unnecessary  disadvantage  in  the  com- 
pariaon  or  contest,  if  it  were  left  to  rest  on  the  quick- 
sands of  conjecture  respecting  vapour  densities. 


CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  STREET  M^JD. 

By  0.  B.  0.  TIOHBOBHE,  F.CS. 

Thb  communication  on  the  above  subject,  from  Dr. 
Letheby,  which  appeared  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Chemical  News,  possesses  to  my  mind  considerable 
interest  from  two  causes.  First — ^from  its  important 
sanitary  aspect,  and  second — ^from  the  fact  that  last 
year,  I  endeavoured  to  bring  prominently  before  the 
authorities  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  the  highly  deleterious 
nature  of  street  dust,  or  mud,  which  from  their  hygienic 
point  of  view  was  vulgarly  looked  upon  as  harmless. 
In  a  letter  published  in  the  Irish  Times^  Tuesday, 
October  9,  1866  ,  I  gave  the  analysis  of  the  mud  taken 
from  one  of  our  narrowest  streets,  but  which  street 
was,  and  is  to  the  present  day,  our  greatest  thorough- 
fare. The  letter  was  written  at  the  commencement  of 
the  severe  attack  of  cholera  with  which  Dublin  was 
visited  last  autumn,  and  was  published  mainly  with  a 
view  to  advocate  the  use  of  carbolic  acid  for  watering 
the  roads.  On  referring  to  my  notes,  I  find  that  the 
street  dust  in  Dublin  -contained  on  an  average  24  per 
cent,  of  organic  matter,  which  is  lower  than  the  average 
given  by  Dr.  Letheby  for  the  London  mud,  even  allow- 
ing for  difference  of  moisture.  This  lower  percentage 
is  probably  owing  to  the  much  larger  percentage  of 
animals  working  upon  the  same  extent  of  roads,  or  also 
because  many  of  our  streets  are  macadamized,  or  con- 
atmcted  in  a  similar  manner.  From  the  continual  state 
of  steeping  (if  I  may  use  the  expression),  and  re-dry- 
ing that  this  comminuted  manure  is  constantly  under- 
going. I  am  of  opinion  that  we  are  hardly  alive  to  the 
roiflchief  that  it  is  capable  of  perpetuating.  Antiseptics, 
snch  as  carbolic  acid,  from  their  expense,  are  inadmis- 
sible for  general  use  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events. 
In  seaport  towns  an  efficient  antiseptic,  and  harmless 
friend,  would  be  found  in  the  sea- water.  This  should 
be  used  freely  for  watering  the  streets.  In  dry  and  hot 
weather  the  saline  substance  very  soon  accumulates,  and 


the  sea-water  leaves  a  perceptible  hard  crust  of  the 
briny  matter.  From  its  slightly  deUquescent  nature 
it  answers  its  mechanical  requirements  admirably,  and 
during  the  usual  dry  weather  adds  no  expense  to  the 
work  ordinarily  done  to  restrain  the  dust  The  three 
and  a  half  per  cent  of  chloride  of  sodium,  etc.,  contained 
in  sea-water  collects  rapidly  when  exposed  to  super- 
ficial evaporation,  even  in  damp  weather,  and'  it  would 
be  next  to  impossible  that  fermentable  changes  could 
take  place  in  the  presence  of  so  large  a  proportion  of 
sea-salts. 

Such  a  project  would  perhaps  be  hardly  feasible  in  a 
city  like  London,  which  is  situated  so  far  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  but  it  could  be  easily  adopted  in 
in  such  towns  as  Liverpool,  Portsmouth,  Dublin,  etc. 
The  following  analyses  taken  from  my  note-book  of 
last  year,  may  possess  some  interest  in  connection  with 
my  remarks. 

Moist  Dust  from  Qrcfion-street^  Dublin,  October ,  1866. 

Moisture 33*3 

Organic  mattor 25*1 

loorganic  matter 41*6 

1 00*0 

Street  Dust,  October,  1866. 

Soluble  salts i'3  per  cent 

Organic  matter 25.1 

SoUJrom  a  wed  made  road  upon  which  sec^water  had 
been  used. 

Soluble  salts 7-5  per  cent 

Organic  matter 211 

Here  it  will  be  seen  that  the  salts  are  about  i  the 
weight  af  the  total  organic  matters  present 


ANALYSIS  OF  TINKALCITE— Na0,2B0,  +  2(CaO, 
2BO0  +  I8HO*— DETECTION  OF  BORON  AND 
FLUORINE  IN  MINERALS 

BY  PBOFESSOB   F.   WOHLEB. 

Afteb  estimating  the  water  of  crystallisation,  dissolve 
the  mineral  in  hydrochloric  acid,  and  after  neutralising 
with  ammonia,  precipitate  the  lime  with  oxalate  of  am- 
monia. Concentrate  the  filtrate,  and  estimate  tlie  bor- 
acic  acid  in  the  state  of  double  fluoride  of  boron  and 
potassium. 

To  estimate  the  soda  dissolve  another  portion  of  the 
mineral  precipitate  the  lime  as  above  with  oxalate  of 
ammoma,  evaporate  the  filtrate  to  dryness,  and  drive 
oflf  Uie  ammoniacal  salt  by  heat  Then  digest  with 
concentrated  hydrofluoric  acid,  evaporate  to  dryness, 
and  digest  with  strong  sulphuric  acid;  all  the  boracic 
acid  wul  be  carried  away  in  this  operation  in  the  form 
of  gaseous  fluoride  of  boron.  The  sulphate  of  soda 
may  then  be  heated  to  redness  in  a  crucible  with  a 
firagment  of  carbonate  of  soda. 

There  are  some  minerals  which  contain  a  rather  large 
quantity  of  fluorine,  silica,  alumina  and  alkalies  (princi-  ' 
pally  potash) :  some  also  contain  soda  and  hthia,  micas 
for  example.  Micas  being  sufficiently  heated  to  dis- 
engage fluorine,  it  must  be  noticed  if  they  only  give 
off  fluoride  of  silicium,  since  they  contain  consderable 
quantities  of  siUca:  the  coloration  of  the  blowpipe 
flame,  however,  will  suffice  to  indicate  the  volatilisation 


•0-8. 


114 


Analysis  of  TiiiMlcite —  Vapour  Density  of  Water. 


of  alkaline  fluorides.  K  this  occurs,  the  best  plan  to 
adopt  is  to  perform  the  experiment  just  described,  re- 
placing the  lime  by  silica;  all  the  fluoride  of  silicium 
traverses  the  silica  undecomposed,  but  the  alkaline  fluo- 
rides are  arrested  and  changed  into  fluoride  of  silicium, 
which  is  evolved,  and  into  silicates  of  potash,  soda,  and 
lithia,  which  remain  in  contact  with  an  excess  of  silica. 
Take  up  Ihe  silica  by  distilled  hydrofluoric  acid ;  this 
will  change  it  into  fluoride  of  silicium,  whilst  alkaline 
fluorides  remain  behind.  The  alkaline  fluorides  are 
treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  changed  into  sulphates 
of  potash,  soda,  or  lithia,  and  in  this  mixture  the  base 
is  to  be  sought  for. 

When  the  object  is  therefore  to  determine  the  fluo- 
rine, one  can  always  estimate  the  water  and  the  fluoride 
of  silicium  alone  or  mixed. 

In  the  case  of  fluoride  of  boron  the  question  is  not 
so  simple ;  on  heating,  some  is  disengaged  from  tour- 
malines, which  contain  fluorine  and  boron.  The  vola- 
tile matters  contained  in  a  tourmaline  may  be  determin- 
ed by  a  process  analogous  to  that  employed  in  the  case 
of  fluoride  of  silicium ;  the  fluoride  of  boron  being 
changed  into  a  mixture  of  fluoride  of  calcium  and  bor- 
acic  acid.  Unfortunately  we  do  not  know  a  method 
of  estimating  boron  in  mineral  substances,  especially  if 
associated  with  fluorine  and  silicium ;  so  that  if  we 
have  fluoride  of  boron,  fluoride  of  silicium,  and  alkaline 
fluorides,  we  can  estimate  the  alkalies,  but  not  the 
boron,  silicium,  and  fluorine.  In  the  absence  of  a 
quantitative  method  for  estimating  fluorine,  boron,  and 
siUcium,  we  have  an  excessively  delicate  quaUtative 
test.  The  best  method  of  recognising  the  presence  of 
fluorine  consists  in  mixing  the  substance  with  potassic 
bisulphate,  grinding  the  whole  together  in  a  small 
mortar,  and  introducing  a  small  quantity  of  the  paste 
slightly  moistened  into  a  glass  tube,  open  at  each  end ; 
place  the  substance  at  the  lower  part  of  the  tube,  and 
direct  a  blowpipe  flame  on  to  it  so  as  to  heat  the 
fluoride. 

Under  the  combined  influence  of  the  water  in  the 
bisulphate  of  potash,  and  that  resulting  from  the  com- 
bustion of  the  gas,  there  are  formed  alkaline  sulphates, 
with  disengagement  of  hydrofluoric  acid.  It  is  true 
that  if  there  is  a  sufficient  quantity  of  silica,  fluoride 
of  siUcium  may  be  formed,  but  the  result  will  be  the 
same.  This  gas  condenses  with  the  globules  of  water 
a  little  beyond  the  part  heated ;  if  hydrofluoric  acid 
has  been  formed  the  glass  is  attacked,  and  the  same 
effect  is  produced  if  fluoride  of  silicium  has  been 
formed ;  in  the  latter  case  this  gas  changes  in  contact 
with  the  aqueous  vapour  into  hydrofluosuicio  acid  and 
silica ;  if  then  the  drop  of  water  condensed  with  the 
acid  is  heated,  the  latter  attacks  the  glass  and  becomes 
changed  into  fluoride  of  silicium.  The  glass  tube  should 
have  been  washed  and  dried  careftiUy,  and  ought  to  be 
transparent ;  the  same  precautions  must  be  taken  after 
the  operation. 

In  the  case  of  boron  the  process  is  quite  different. 
If  no  fluorine  is  present,  mix  the  substance  with  a 
^  small  quantity  of  fluoride  of  calcium  and  bisulphate  of 
potash,  having  previously  ascertained  that  tne  two 
reagents  do  not  contain  boron ;  two  experiments  must 
therefore  be  made,  one  on  the  reagents,  and  the  other 
on  the  substance  mixed  with  the  reagents.  The  mix- 
ture is  slightly  moistened,  and  held  on'the  extremity 
of  a  perfectly  clean  platinum  wire.  Direct  the  reduc- 
ing flame  of  the  blowpipe  on  to  the  paste :  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  mixture  appears  to  boil  the  flame  as- 
sumes a  vivid  green  colour,  characteristic  of  boron. 


When  but  little  boron  is  present  this  must  not  be  tried 
in  full  daylight,  and  it  should  be  viewed  against  a  dead 
black  background ;  the  colour  of  the  flame  will  then  be 
easily  detected. 


VAPOUR  DENSITY  OF  WATER. 

Thb  following  remarks,  bv  Mr.  F.  0.  Ward,  occur  in  a 
private  letter  recently  addressed  by  that  gentleman  to 
a  chemical  friend.  It  will  be  perceived,  by  the  famfli- 
arity  of  the  style,  and  the  cursory  character  of  the 
statements,  that  this  passage  was  not  intended  for 
publication.  It  contains,  however,  several  indications 
of  interest  bearing  upon  theoretical  questions  which 
are  at  present  strongly  attracting  the  attention  of 
chemical  philosophers:  and  we  believe  that,  in  sub- 
mitting it  to  our  readers,  we  shall  not  unpardonably 
overstep  the  limits  of  editorial  discretion. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  on  whose  authority  rests  the  asser- 
tion that  water  expands  1,696-fold  in  becoming  steam 
at  2i2<^  F.  ?  It  is  repeated  from  book  to  book,  and  I 
have  repeated  it  myself  in  print  (in  one  of  the  chapters 
of  Hofmann's  "  Introduction  to  Chemistry.")  It  does 
not,  however,  by  my  reckoning,  tally  with  the  vapour- 
density  of  water,  for 

^  Gnunme. 

2  litres  of  H  at  0-0896= 0*1792 

I  litre  of  0  at  16  x  0*0896= 14*3360 

14*5152 

The  3  litres  being  condensed  into  2  we 
^»^® M;5^=7-2576 

2 
as  the  vapour  density  of  steam  at  ordinary  pressure 
and  temperature.       A  Utre  of  water  weighs    1000 
grammes,  and 

::  =1377*8     for     the    expansion.      Reducinir     the 

7*2576 

alleged  1,696  for  temperature  (by  _i_  per  degree  F.) 

460 
from  boiling  point  to  60°= 152''  we  have  the  ratio 
20S 
— 7— X    1696  =  1266  as  the  expansion 

so  deduced,  against I377'8  as  shown  above. 

Diflisrenoe i  io*8  (over  S  per  cent) 

This  is  a  large  discrepancy,  and  (unless  I  blunder  in 
my  reckoning)  it  shows  error  in  one  or  other  of  the 
figures  compared,  which  ou^ht  not,  therefore,  hoih  to 
appear  (as  tnev  do,  the  1696  in  so  many  figures,  the 
other  implicith/y)  in  the  same  books  (vide  passim 
"  Fownes'  Chemistry,"  the  only  one  I  have  with  me  in 
mv  trunk).  One  question  tjiis  suggests  to  my  mind  is, 
whether  we  are  not  going  a  little  too  fast  in  accepting, 
as  we  are  all  disposed  to  do,  the  volumetric  relations 
of  bodies  as  so  perfectly  symmetrical  ?  Just  so,  some 
years  back,  we  were  all  seduced  into  the  pretty  belief 
that  the  ponderal  relations  of  bodies  were  in  Front's 
simple  multiple  ratios.  Stas  stemmed  and  turned  back 
that  false  current  of  chemical  philosophy,  and  we  may 
want  a  Stas  to  keep  our  volumetric  opinions  ia  the 
path  of  truth  t 

'^  The  differences  as  to  volume-ratios  imputed  en  masse 
to  *  errors  of  observation,*  may,  very  possibly,  have  in 
some  cases,  an  aelual  existence, 

^^  It  may  well  be,  indeed,  that  as,  in  music,  certain 
ininute  secondary  vibrations  give  to  musical  tones 
their  vowel  modifications  and  all  the  admirable  vwi<> 


Cbbmicxl  News, ) 


Variation  in  the  Atomic  Weights. 


115 


ties  of  timbre  which  make  up  our  orchestral  wealth ;  so 
the  small  deviations  from  symmetry  in  the  ponderal 
and  volumetric  relations  of  matter,  may  be  the  very 
conditions  of  the  infinite  variety  we  observe  in  the  mo- 
dulations of  chemical  phenoniena  in  those  unnumbered 
surprises  of  harmony  and  discord  to  which  we  owe  the 
richness  and  beauty  of  our  diemicd  orchestra." 

F.  0.  W. 


ON  A  POSSIBLE  CAUSE  OF  VARIATION  IN 
THE  WEIGHTS,  ATOMIC  AND  OTHERWISE, 
OF  ELEMENTS  AND  COMPOUNDS. 

BT  JOHN  A.  R.  NEWLANDS,   F.C.& 

M.  Stas  has  lately  remarked  that  "  hitherto  nothing 
has  proved  that  the  differences  found  in  certain  analy- 
ses between  experiment  and  calculation  must  be  whouy 
owing  to  error  m  the  operation ;  a  certain  part  may  be 
due  to  the  inexactitude  of  the  law  of  definite  propor- 
tions."* It  is  open  for  us  then  to  inquire  whether  any 
cause  exists  which  should  induce  the  atomic  weights 
of  two  or  more  elements  to  vary  in  different  com- 
pounds, or  which  should  make  the  atomic  weight  of  a 
compound  greater  or  less  than  the  sum  of  the  atomic 
weights  of  its  constituents. 

If  the  attraction  of  gravitation  were  the  sole  force 
concerned  in  the  question,  and  if  the  force  of  gravity 
be  assumed  to  be  always  the  same  for  all  bodies  and 
at  all  temperatures,  it  would  seem  reasonable  enough 
to  believe  that  the  atomic  weight  of  each  element 
would  be  expressible  by  an  absolutely  invariable  num- 
ber, and  that  the  atomic  weights  of  compounds  would 
be  absolutely  the  sum  of  the  atomic  weights  of  their 
constituents.  I  of  course  take  it  for  granted,  in  this 
case,  that  the  weighings  should  be  performed  in  vacuo, 
and  neglect  the  almost  infinitesimal  error  which  might 
possibly  be  caused  by  the  amount  of  the  ether  of  space, 
displaced  by  a  given  weight  of  matter,  being  greater 
in  certain  forms  of  combination  that  in  others. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  we  are  living 
on  the  surface  of  an  immense  magnet,  and  that  all,  or 
almost  all,  the  constituents  of  the  earth's  surface  are 
capable  of  bein^  either  attracted  or  apparently  repelled 
by  a  magnet  with  a  force  which  vanes  with  the  tem- 
p  -rature,  the  state  of  combination,  etc. ;  the  magnetic 
attraction  of  the  earth  being  most  powerfully  manifest- 
ed at  its  two  colder  points,  viz.,  the  two  poles. 

Among  the  theoretical  consequences  of  this  state  of 
things  the  following  may  be  mentioned : — ist.  A  given 
weight  of  a  magnetic  substance  would  weigh  more  the 
lower  the  temperature,  being  under  the  influence  of  an 
increasing  attraction.  Th^s,  the  oxygen  of  the  atmos- 
phere would,  during  the  winter,  be  drawn  to  the  earth 
with  more  force  than  during  the  summer;  and  also,  as 
a  general  rule,  be  attracted  more  in  the  night  than  in 
the  day. 

2nd.  A  given  quantity  of  an  element  would  weigh 
more  when  in  the  state  in  which  it  was  attracted  by 
the  magnet  than  it  would  in  another  state.  Thus,  a 
given  quantity  of  iron  would  weigh  more  in  the  state 
of  black  oxide  than  in  the  state  of  potassium  ferrocya- 
nide.  The  weight  of  a  compound  might,  therefore,  be 
less  than  the  sum  of  the  weights  of  its  constituents ; 
tlms,  the  weight  of  ferric  oxide,  which  is  but  slightly 
magnetic,  would  be  less  than  the  sum  total  of  the 
weights  of  the  iron  and  oxygen  it  contains,  weighed 

•  OuiKioAii  Nbws,  Jane  x^th,  1867. 


separately,  both  of  these  being  highly  magnetic.  By 
the  reverse  of  this  operation,  it  is  possible  that  the 
weight  of  some  compounds  01  certain  elements,  appa- 
rently repelled  by  the  magnet,  such  as  bismuth  and 
thallium,  might  be  greater  man  the  sum  of  the  weights 
of  their  constituents. 

3rd.  The  magnetic  attraction  of  the  oxygen  of /the 
air  above  any  substance  might  possibly  reduce  or  aug- 
ment its  weighs,  according  as  it  might  be  of  a  magnetic 
or  diamagnetic  character. 

4th.  A  portion  of  the  increase  of  weight  which  takes 
place  when  a  given  quantity  of  matt^  is  transferred 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  earth's  equator  to  that 
of  its  poles,  may  be  due  to  the  increased  magnetic  at- 
traction of  the  latter.  If  such  be  not  the  case,  we 
should  find  the  gain  in  weight  of  iron,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, to  be  no  greater  than  the  gain  in  weight 
of  bismuth. 

5  th.  Admitting  the  existence  of  a  variety  of  small 
bodies,  or  fragments  of  planets,  meteorites,  etc.,  of  all 
kinds  of  composition,  traveUing  through  space,  and  ap- 
proaching from  time  to  titne  the  earth's  path  in  their 
respective  orbits,  we  should  expect  to  find  if  they  weie 
drawn  to  the  earth  by  the  action  of  gravity  alone,  pure 
and  simple,  that  the  substances  so  railing  would  be  of 
all  shades  of  composition.  On  the  contrary,  if  they  were 
drawn  to  the  earth  by  virtue  of  its  magnetic  powers, 
we  should  Gnd  that  the  substances  so  falling  would 
consist  entirely,  or  at  least  partially,  of  bodies  of  a 
highly  magnetic  character,  such  as  iron  and  nickel,  and 
never  of  mamagnetic  substances,  such  as  bismuth  and 
antimony.  This  latter  view  is  corroborated,  to  a  great 
extent,  by  the  analysis  of  meteorites.  Those  who 
maintain  that  the  fall  of  meteorites  is  due  to  gravity 
alone,  must  also  believe  that  the  proportions  of  iron 
and  nickel  to  other  kinds  of  matter  in  surrounding 
space  is  far  greater  than  we  know  it  to  be  on  the  earth's- 
crust)  and  that  the  earth  attracts  only  iron  and  nickel 
because  it  has  nothing  else  to  attract.  The  presence  of 
hydrogen  gas  in  some  specimens  of  meteoric  iron  may 
be  explained  by  supposing  that  the  iron  in  question 
originally  contained  within  its  substance  a  minute 
amount  6f  water,  and  that  as  it  became  heated  by  pass- 
ing into  the  earth's  atmosphere,  this  water  was  decom- 
posed. The  oxygen,  under  these  circumstances,  would 
unite  with  the  iron  to  form  black  oxide  of  iron,  and  the 
hydrogen  thus  set  free  would  be  retained  within  the 
pores  of  the  softened  iron  in  a  highly  compressed  state, 
as  was  the  case  with  that  found  by  G-rahara  in  the 
meteoric  iron  of  Lenarto. 

If  the  amount  of  hydrogen  so  liberated  were  very 
great,  the  heated  mass  would  explode  and  split  up  into 
a  number  of  smaller  meteorites.  This  explosion  of  me- 
teorites has  also  been  observed. 

6th.  As  far  as  the  magnetic  attraction  of  the  earth  is 
concerned,  the  fall  of  meteorites  would  occur  mostly  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  north  and  south  poles.  A  krcre 
quantity  of  finely  divided  meteoric  dust  desowiding  in 
this  manner  into  the  earth's  atmosphere,  and  becoming 
ignited  therein,  might  contribute  to  the  phenomena  of 
aurora  borealis  and  australis. 

7th.  If  the  magnetic  intensity  of  the  earth  be  liable 
to  secular  variation,  we  should  find  the  ordinary 
weights,  and  also  the  atomic  weights,  of  substances  to 
vary  likewise. 

8th.  If  the  real  atomic  weights  of  the  elements,  after 
eliminating  the  magnetic  action  of  the  earth,  could  be 
obtained,  we  should  probably  be  able  to  observe  nume- 
rical relations  between  them  of  a  simpler  character 


ii6 


Action  of  NiU^ogen  on  the  Silicates  of  Magnesium. 


j  CaioncAX.  Nkws, 


than  can  at  present  be  found.  They  might  then  prove 
to  be  multiples  of  a  unit,  without  any  fractions  whatever, 
in  accordance  with  the  idea  of  Prout,  as  modified  by 
M.  Dumas. 

9th.  The  length  of  a  pendulum  vibrating  seconds 
would  be  different  if  constructed  of  a  magnetic  or  of  a 
diamagnetic  substance. 


ON  THB  ACTION  OF 

NITROGEN  ON  THE  SILICIDES  OF  MAGNE- 
SIUM AND  CALCIUM, 

AND  ON  A  NEW  DEGREE  OF  OXIDATION  OF  SILIOIUM. 
BT   M.  A.  OAUTHER. 

SiLicixjic  possesses  but  a  small  affinity  for  nitrogen, 
which  affinity  only  becomes  manifest  near  its  fusing 
point.  The  author  considered  that  the  combination 
might  be  more  easily  effected  by  making  aitrogen  act 
on  silicide  of  calcium,  and  especially  on  silicide  of  mag- 
nesium, magnesium  having  itself  a  strong  affinity  for 
nitrogen. 

W6hler*8  silicide  of  calcium,  heated  to  a  red  white 
heat  in  a  current  of  nitrogen,  increased  5*2  per  cent  in 
weight;  but  the  surface  only  of  the  silicide  was  at- 
tacked, a  small  quantity  of  nitride  of  calcium  was 
formed,  and  the  silicium  separated.  The  crystallised 
silicides  of  magnesium,  when  treated  in  the  same  way, 
gives  a  black  mass,  which  behaves  like  a  mixture  of 
silicide  and  nitride  of  magnesium ;  by  the  action  of 
water  it  gives  ammonia  and  magnesia,  which  dissolves 
on  addition  of  hydrochloric  acid,  leaving  the  silicium 
pui'e :  thus  again,  the  nitrogen  was  only  fused  on  the 
metal 

The  author  prepared  silicide  of  magnesium  by  the 
action  of  magnesium  on  fluosilicate  of  sodium.  J?lace 
at  the  bottom  of  a  Hessian  crucible  a  layer  of  chloride 
of  sodium,  melted  and  pulverised  j  then  a  mixture  of 
7  grammes  of  fluosilicate  of  sodium  with  2\  grammes 
of  chloride  of  sodium,  and  over  this  mixture  7,\  grammes 
of  magnesium  in  lumps.  Cover  the  whole  with  melted 
Chloride  of  sodium,  heat  the  crucible  quickly  in  a  good 
wind  furnace.*  when  the  reaction,  which  is  Uvely, 
abates,  leave  tne  crucible  in  the  fire  five  minutes,  then 
take  it. away  and  stir  the  mass  with  a  day  spatula, 
cover  the  crucible,  and  let  it  cool.  Whilst  the  crucible 
is  open,  part  of  the  magnesium  bums  in  the  air,  giving 
magnesia  and  nitride  of  magnesium ;  the  metallic  button 
contained  in  the  crucible  is  more  or  less  rich  in  silicide 
of  magnesium ;  when  it  contains  an  excess  of  magne- 
sium, which  occurs  when  the  temperature  is  raised  too 
slowly,  this  button  may  be  considered  as  magnesium, 
and  submitted  to  a  new  operation.  First  treat  it  with 
water  to  remove  the  dross,  and  then  with  a  cold  dilute 
solution  of  sal  ammoniac,  which  dissolves  the  magne- 
sium. Metallic  cystals  are  easily  obtained,  and  the 
silica  may  be  mechanically  separated  by  rubbing :  they 
generiJly  represent  10  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the 
naagnesium  used :  they  are  leaden  grey,  and  seem  to  be 
regqlar  octahedra.  A  hot  solution  of  sal  ammoniac  at- 
tacks them,  disengaging  hydrogen,  accompanied  by  sil- 
icated  hydrogen,  leaving  a  residue  of  silica.  Hydro- 
chloric acid  completely  attacks  them  in  the  cold,  giving 
iiydrogen,  silicated  hydrogen,  and  a  white  residue  hav- 
ing the  form  of  crystals,  and  constituting  an  oxide  of 
sflicium  which  will  be  noticed  later.  The  composition 
pf  silicide  of  magnesium  is  explained  by  the  formula, 
HgoSiafSi,  41 '2 1  Mg,  5S18  per  e^^t,) 


The  author  takes  Si=2i ;  Mg=i2.  In  taking  Si=28 
and  Mg=24  this  formula  becomes  MgtSii. 

The  author  considers  that  the  sihcide  to  which  M. 
Wohler  assigned  the  formula, 

MgjSi  (Si,  30-6;  Mg,  52-9  per  cent), 
was  impure  and  contained  silica. 

The  dross  formed  in  the  preparation  of  this  silicide 
contains  another  product,  crystallised  in  cubes,  insolu- 
ble in  water,  and  which  is  a  double  fluoride  of  sodium 
and  magnesium : 

NaFI,2MgFl, 
which  may  also  be  obtained  by  melting  chloride  of 
magnesium  with  fluoride  of  sodium  in  excess,  and  chlo- 
ride of  sodium.  The  crystals  of  silicium  which  accom- 
pany them  may  be  removed  by  treating  them  with  a 
mixture  of  hydrofluoric  and  nitric  acids. 

Oocide  of  Silicium. — This  oxide,  which  is  formed  by 
the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid  on  silicide  of  magnesium, 
has  already  been  indicated  by  Wohler,  who  had  ob- 
tained it  by  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid  on  the 
silicide,  but  he  did  not  give  its  composition.  Prepared 
with  pure  siUcide,  it  is  perfectly  white,  and  possesses 
all  the  qualities  indicated  by  Wohler.  Treated  with 
potash.  It  disengages  hydrogen;  heated  in  a  tube,  it 
leaves  amorphous  silicium,  and  gives  a  gas  which 
smokes  in  the  air.  It  is  not  attacked  by  concentrated 
and  boiling  sulphuric  acid :  nitric  acid  attacks  it  slowly. 
Its  composition  is — 

3SiO„2HO,  or4SiO„3HO. 

By  operating  with  the  greatest  precaution,  and  by 
taking  care  that  the  temperature  does  not  pass  o''  when 
attacking  the  silicide  of  magnesium  by  hydrochloric 
acid,  hydrated  oxide  may  be  obtained,  having  this  com- 
position : 

2Si0„H0. 

In  taking  Si=28,0=i6,  these  fonnulse  become 
3Si.04,4H,0;  2Sit04  and  Sit04,H,0. 

According  to  the  author  these  bodies  are  very  different 

from  the  leucon  of  M.  Wohler.    Leucon  is  richer  in 

hydrogen  and  silicium  than  the  preceding  compound; 

according  to  MM.  Qeuther  and  Sheerer  it  is  a  hydrate ; 

SiO,HO. 

Thus  it  is  SiiO«,2HaO. 

Afler  a  discussion,  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  re- 
sume here,  the  author  concluded  that  there  were  four 
oxides  of  silicium, 

SisO,  SiO,  SiO„  SiO,; 
Or  with  Si=28,  and  0=i6:  SitO;  SiiO«:  SuO*; 
SiOt;  and  for  the  silicated  Rydrogen.  SiHa;  the  sili- 
cide, MgftSia,  becomes  MgaSis=2Mg«SiMgSi.  He 
admits  that  the  silicated  hydrogen  is  HsSi«,  and  that 
the  silicide  of  magnesium,  MgsSia,  ought  to  be  regard- 
ed as  a  combination  -of  two  smcides, 

3Mg58ia=4Mg,Si+ MgsSi,^ 
only  the  silicide,  MgaSis  taking  part  in  the  reaction 
which  produces  the  sihcated   hydrogen,  whilst    the 
silicide,  MgsSi,  gives  rise  to  the  hydrate,  «SiOi,HO. 


ON  THE  LOSS  OF  SULPHURIC  ACID  IN  SALT- 
CAKE  MANUFACTURE. 

BT  OB  ARISES  R.  A.  WBIOHT,  B.  SO. 

More  or  less  sulphuric  acid  is  always  lost  in  the  pro- 
cess of  conversion  of  sodium  chloride  into  sulphtfte, 
through  the  mechanical  effoct  of  the  escaping  gases  in 
Qai'r^ing  off  ye^iclea  of  ftoid  fuid  pulphate  spirted  up ; 


Hecovery  of  Sulphur  from  Alkali  Waste. 


117 


in  the  roasters  also  a  portion  of  sulphuric  acid  is  volatil- 
ized as  such,  especially  if  so  much  acid  have  been  add- 
ed as  would  be  necessary  to  convert  the  vrhole  of  the 
eodium  chloride  into  sulphate.  The  total  amount  thus 
lost  necessarily  varies  in  different  instances,  being  de- 
pendent on  tlie  f©rm  of  pot  and  roaster  usea,  the  mode 
of  ^plying  heat,  etc. ;  and  especially  on  the  amount 
of  salt  left  undecomposed  in  the  salt^-cake.  When  or- 
dinary salt-cake  is  withdrawn  from  the  roaster,  a  white 
cloud  or  vapour  is  emitted  from  it;  when  the  amount  of 
acid  originally  added  is  sufficient  to  decompose  all  the 
sodium  chloride  present,  and  when  the  roasting  has 
been  carried  so  far  as  to  decompose  from  98  to  99  per 
cent,  of  the  chloride,  the  escaping  vapour  ct^ntams 
mostly  sulphuric  acid  with  but  little  hydrochloric ;  if 
more  sulphuric  acid  have  been  originally  added,  and 
the  roasting  carried  so  far  as  to  leave  only  i  to  1*5  per 
cent,  of  "  free  acid,"  a  good  deal  of  sulphuric  acid  is 
given  off  from  the  salt-cake  on  withdrawal  from  the 
roaster ;  whilst^  if  less  than  the  requisite  amount  of 
sulphuric  acid  have  been  originally  added,  so  that  4  to 
6  per  cent,  of  the  sodium  chloride  remain  undecomposed, 
the  vapours  emitted  consist  chiefly  of  hydrochloric 
acid. 

Some  experiments  made  on  this  subject  by  the 
'writer,  together  with  some  similar  details  kindly  fur- 
nished by  different  manufacturers,  yielded  the  following 
results: — 


Nature  of  Furnace, 
etc.,  need. 


Average  per  centage 

of   undecomposed  salt 

in  the  salt-cake. 


1)    Open  Furnace 

3)    BUnd furnace:  one 

pot, 
3)     Ditto       ditto 
Ditto       ditto 


5)     Ditto       two  pot» 


o'6o 


3*40 
5-00 

3'oo 


Approximate  amount 
of  sulphuric  acid  lost 
out  of  100  parts  ori- 
ginally used. 


13-6 

About  6 
Less    than     x 
i*o 

?:4 


As  might  be  anticipated,  there  seems  to  be  a  greater 
amount  lost  with  an  open  furnace  than  with  a  blind  one ; 
apparently  also  when  salt-cake  containing  ^5  per  cent. 
of  available  sodium  sulphate  (t.  «.,  5  per  cent  of  sodium 
chloride,  "  free  acid,"  ferric  oxide,  moisture,  etc.)  is 
manufactured  in  blind  furnaces,  the  average  amount  of 
sulphuric  acid  lost  is  about  2  parts  in  100.  Such  salt- 
cake  will  contain  about  54*5  per  cent  of  SOs^  and  con- 
sequently 100  parts  of  salt-cake  will  require  for  its 
production  about  54.5 +0*02  x  54*5  or  55*6  parts  of 
SOi.  Acid  of  roecific  gravity  1*591  at  is^C.  contains 
5  5  "6  percent,  of  SOi  (Sineau)*  hence  a  kilogramme 
of  such  salt-cake  represents  a  kilogramme  of  sulphuric 
acid  of  sp.  gr.  1*591 ;  or  p'68  kilogr^imme  of  SO^Ht, 

It  may  be  noticed  that  in  (4),  the  SOs  present  in  the 
shape  of  sodium  sulphate  in  the  condensed  muriatic 
acid  was  only  about  onccsixth  of  the  total  amount: 
hence  indicating  that  the  majority  was  deriyed  from 
the  roaster  where  the  heat  would  be  sufficient  to  vola- 
tilize SOiHs  as  such;  the  mechanical  transfer  of 
vesicles  spirted  up,  is  however  evidenced  by  the  pres- 
ence of  perceptible  amounts  of  sodium  compounds  .in 
*tLe  gases  passing  off  from  the  pot.  ^ 


ON  THE  RECOVERY  OF  SULPHUR  FROM 
ALKALI  WASTE, 

BY    LUDWIO    MOND. 

Alkali  waste,  black  ash  waste,  tank,  vat,  or  blue 
Tvaste,  are  the  different  names  of  the  insoluble  residue 
obtained  bjr  the  lixivi^tion  of  ftrtificial  pruc}§  spda,  or 


black  ash,  produced  by  Leblanc's  celebrated  process 
for  the  manufacture  of  alkali,  which,  in  spite  of  innu- 
merable attempts  to  supersede  it,  still  furnishes  almost 
alone  the  very  large  quantities  of  alkali  at  present  con- 
sumed, and  has  undergone  hardly  any  essential  change 
since  its  illustrious  inventor  introduced  it  about  eighty 
years  ago.  This  superiority  to  all  other  known  pro- 
cesses is  undoubtedly,  to  a  great  extent,  due  to  the 
production  of  the  above  named  waste,  on  account  of 
the  valuable  property  it  possesses  of  separating  com- 
pletely and  easily  from  the  alkali  in  the  black  ash  by 
Uxiviation.  Nevertheless  this  waste  has  been  always 
regarded  as  the  greatest  drawback  to  this  important 
manufacture.  Every  ton  of  alkali  produces  no  less 
than  li  tons  of  dry  waste,  and  the  enormous  quantities 
thus  obtained  are  generally  deposited  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  works,  often  forming  hills  of  considerable 
height.  In  damp  weather  especially  this  waste  evolves 
large  quantities  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  that  most 
noxious  and  most  disagreeable  of  all  gases,  sadly  annoy- 
ing the  surrounding  population;  and,  moreover,  the 
rain  and  ground- water  coming  into  contact  with  it  dis- 
solve out  considerable  quantities  of  yellow  liquor  con- 
taining hydrosulphide  and  polysulphide  of  calcium, 
which  poisons  the  water  of  all  weUs  and  rivers  to  which 
it  has  access.  These  evil  results  are  altogether  due  to 
the  sulphur  contained  in  the  waste,  which  amounts  to 
no  less  than  80  per  cent  of  all  the  sulphur  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  alkali,  and  which  represents,  of  course, 
a  very  considerable  value.  All  efforts  to  recover  this 
sulphur  by  a  cheap  and  simple  method,  and  thus  also  to 
do  away  witJi  the  nuisance  of  the  vvaste,  have  until 
lately  fsoled  in  their  object,  though  a  great  many  dis- 
tinguished chemists  and  intelligent  manufacturers  have 
for  the  last  thirty  to  forty  years  devoted  much  time  and 
expense  to  this  important  task,  amongst  whom  Mr. 
Wniiam  Gossage  (to  whose  well  known  labours  we 
owe  so  many  valuable  improvements  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  alkali)  takes  again  the  first  place.  A  consider- 
able number  of  methods  have  been  described  and 
patented,  none  of  which,  however,  have  overcome  the 
principal  practical  difficulty  of  the  question. — to  treat 
the  large  quantities  of  waste  without  employing  too 
much  labour  and  too  lar^e  a  plant. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  few  years  that  sulphur  has 
for  the  first  time  been  regularly  manufactured  from 
alkali  waste,  by  a  process  of  the  author's  invention, 
and  so  rapid  has  since  then  been  the  progress  of  this 
new  industry,  that  at  this  year's  Paris  Exhibition  no 
less  than  seven  works  exhibit  sulphur  recovered  from 
waste  by  three  different  methods,  aU  of  which  have 
been  patented  in  England  as  follows: — L.  Mond,  8th 
September,  1863;  M.  Schaffner,  23rd  September, 
1805 1  P,  W,  Hpfmann,  9th  April,  1866.  All  these  pro- 
cesses are  based  on  the  same  principle— viz.,  conver- 
sion of  the  insoluble  sulphide  of  calcium  in  the  waste 
into  soluble  compounds  by  bringing  the  waste  into  con- 
tact with  air  in  order  to,  oxidise  it  Lixiviation  of  the 
oxidised  mass  and  precipitation  of  the  sulphur  in  these 
liquors  by  a  strong  a<Jid,  i^i  practice  of  course  muriatic 
acid. 

This  principle  ha?  already  been  described  by  Vt  H. 
Leighton,  in  his  patent  for  improvements  in  converting 
sulphate  of  soda  into  sub-carbonate  of  soda,  dated  Octo- 
ber, 1863.  He  proposes  to  jillaw  waste  to  remain  in 
the  vats  until  it  heats  and  gives  off  smoke,  then  to  lixi- 
viate and  to  precipitate  the  sulphur  from  the  liquor  thus 
obtained  by  muriatic  acid,  It  is,  however,  not  prob- 
able  that   he  ever  worked    his  process  out,  no  ac- 


ii8 


Recovery  of  Sulphur  from  Alkali  Waste. 


j  CHRiacAL  Nkws, 
1       SepL^  18C7. 


count  of  it  being  found,  except  that  in  the  Register  of 
Patents.  In  1852  W.  S.  Losh  took  out  a  patent  for 
obtaining  hyposulphite  of  soda  by  exposing  waste  in 
heaps  to  the  atmosphere,  lixiviating  it,  adding  carbonate 
of  soda  to  the  liquor,  and  crystamsing.  This  process 
has  ever  since  been  worked  very  successfully  at  the 
Walker  Alkali  Works,  near  Newcastle,  where  about 
six  tons  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  per  week  are  produced. 
Bein  J  engaged  in  researches  on  the  different  processes 
for  sulphur  recovery  by  Mr.  Gossage  and  others  in  the 
summer  of  i860,  my  attention  was  drawn  to  Mr.  Losh's 
patent,  and  I  at  once  started  a  series  of  experiments  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether,  and  under  what  conditions, 
a  quantity  of  hyposulphite  of  lime  could  be  obtained  by 
oxidation  of  the  waste,  which  would  render  practicable 
the  extraction  of  sulpnur  on  a  large  scale,  and  its  re- 
covery by  means  of  muriatic  acid.  I  soon  found  out 
that  the  formation  of  soluble  sulphur  compounds  in  the 
waste  increased  only  up  to  a  certain  maximum,  when 
sulphur  to  the  extent  or  about  5  per  cent  of  the  weight 
of  the  dry  waste  could  be  extracted  by  lixiviation,  and 
that  this  quantity  decreased  by  exposing  the  waste 
any  longer.  When  these  soluble  compounds,  however, 
were  washed  out,  the  waste  oxidised  quite  as  well  a 
second  time,  a  similar  quantity  of  sulphur  being  ob- 
tained again,  and  this  treatment  could  be  advanta- 
geously repeated  even  a  third  time. 

The  waste  I  used  for  these  experiments  being  lixivi- 
ated by  a  singular  method,  since  abandoned,  was,  how- 
ever, so  dense  that  all  efforts  to  oxidise  it  in  heaps,  or 
by  forcing  air  through  it,  failed,  so  that  I  had  to  expose 
it  in  shi3low  layers  on  shelves.  This  process  was 
patented  in  France  in  December,  1861,  and  in  England 
m  Aujrust,  1862,  and  sulphur  to  the  extent  of  12  per 
cent,  of  the  waste  has  been  obtained  by  it  in  consider- 
able quantities  in  a  German  alkali  works. 

Coming  to  England,  in  the  autumn  of  1863,  I  very 
soon  found,  however,  that  the  enormous  quantities  of 
waste  to  be  treated,  and  the  high  rate  of  wages,  made 
this  process  quite  impracticable  here,  and  that  the  waste 
produced  by  the  excellent  process  of  lixiviating  black 
ash,  in  general  use  in  this  country,  was  very  likely  to 
aUow  01  a  much  more  simple  treatment.  I  tried  again 
to  oxidise  it  by  forcing  km  through  it,  and  succeeded 
so  well  that  the  time  necessary  to  oxidise  and  lixiviate 
the  waste,  which  had  previously  been  six  to  eight 
weeks,  was  soon  reduced  to  60  or  80  hours,  and  that 
manual  labour  was  almost  altogether  avoided  by  perform- 
ing these  operations  in  the  same  vat  in  which  the  waste 
was  produced,  without  moving  the  latter.  These  facts 
led  to  a  new  process,  which  was  patented  the  8th  of 
September,  1863,  since  when  there  have  been  no  alter- 
ations in  the  main  features  of  the  process  described  in  my 
specifications  of  that  date.  In  place  of  the  set  of  four 
vatB.  generally  in  use  for  lixiviating  black  ash,  I  employ 
a  set  of  ten  or  twelve.  All  of  these  are  connected  by 
pipes  in  the  usual  way,  so  that  the  soda  liquor  runs 
from  the  bottom  of  one  vat  to  the  top  of  the  next  one, 
and  by  special  pipes  and  taps  which  allow  the  sulphur 
liquor  to  run  out  of  the  bottom  of  each  vat  to  the  top 
of  any  other  vat  in  the  set.  Besides  this,  they  are  pro- 
vided with  extra  taps  and  shoots  to  convey  the  sulphur 
liquor  to  wells  or  setters.  The  lower  parts  of  all  the 
vats  are  connected  with  a  fian,  capable  of  producing  a 
a  pressure  of  about  7  inches  of  water  by  pipes  with 
dampers,  which  regulate  the  quantity  of  air  passing 
through.  A  silent  fan  of  Schiele's  construction,  20 
inches  diameter,  price  £10,  propels  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  air  for  the  treatment  of  the  waste  resulting  from  100 


tons  of  salt-cake  per  week.    Four  of  the  vats  are 
always  filled  with  black  ash  in  the  course  of  lixiviation, 
the  other  six  or  eight  with  waste  to  be  treated  accord- 
ing to  my  invention.    As  soon  as  the  black  ash  is  com- 
pletely spent  and  the  weak  liquor  well  drained  off,  the 
connection  with  the  fan  is  opened.     The  waste  soon 
begins  to  heat,  the  temperature  gradually  rising  above 
200*  F.,  and  gives  off  quantities  of  tfteam,  becoming 
greenish  and  afterwards  yellow  on  the  top,  gets  more 
and  more  dry,  and  would  take  fire  if  the  air  was  passed 
through  long  enough.     The  period  at  which  oxidation 
should  be  stopped,  and  the  passing  of  air  discontinued, 
so  as  to  give  the  best  results,  must  be  ascertained  in 
each  works  by  experiment,  and  varies   according  as 
much  or  little  hyposulphite  in  the  liquors  is  desirable. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  action,  hydrosulphide  and  bi- 
sulphide of  calcium  are  formea,  which  are  afterwards 
oxidised  into  hyposulphite.     A  part  of  the  hyposulphite 
is  again  decomposed  into  sulphur  and  sulphite,  which 
is  very  insoluble  and  cannot  be  extracted  bv  lixiviation. 
Carrying   the  oxidation   too  far  would  therefore  en- 
tail a  serious  loss.     On  an  average,  the  time  of  ex- 
posure will  be  limited  to  between  12  and  24  hours. 
The  waste  is  now  lixiviated  sytematically  with  cold 
water,  the  weaker  Uquors  passing  from  one  vat  to"  the 
next  one  in  course  of  lixiviation,  so  as  to  obtain  only 
strong  liquors,  which  operation  can  be  easily  perform- 
ed in  six  to  eight  hours.     When  this  lixiviation   is 
finished,   air  is  again  passed   through  the   waste   in 
exactly  the  same  way  as  before ;  the  waste  is  again 
lixiviated,   and  the  same   treatment  repeated  a  third 
time.     The  vat  is  then  ready  to  be  cast,  and  is  again 
filled  with  black  ask.    When  the  operations  have  been 
conducted  well  sulphur  equal  to  about  12  per  cent,  of 
'the  weight  of  the  salt-cakes  used  in  making  black  ash 
is  obtained  in  solution  from  the  waste.     The  waste 
contains  only  traces  of  sulphide  of  calcium,  and  is  prin- 
cipally composed  of  carbonate  of  lime,  sulphite  and  sul- 
phate of  lime,  which,  far  from  being  noxious,  make  the 
waste,  on  the  contrary,  a  valuable  manure.    In  sepa- 
rating the  sulphur  from  the  liquors  thus  obtained,  by 
adding  muriatic  acid,  I  met  with  much  more  difficulty 
than  I  had  anticipated  from  apparently  so  simple  a. re- 
action. 

Firstly,  I  wanted  an  easy  and  rapid  method  of  deter- 
mining the  quantity  of  acid  necessary  for  the  decompo- 
sition of  a  given  quantity  of  liquor,  which  always  con- 
tains hyposulphite,  polysulphide,  and  hydrosulphide  of 
calcium  and  sodium.  For  this  end  I  availed  myself  of 
the  following  method  :— 

1.  The  hyposulphite  is  determined  as  usual  by  a 
standard  solution  of  iodine  and  starch,  after  having  first 
separated  tiie  polysulphide  and  hydrosulphide  by  adding 
an  excess  of  chloride  of  zinc,  and  filtering. 

2.  To  a  certain  quantitv,  say  3-20.0.  of  the  original 
liquor,  and  starch,  is  added  a  standard  solution  of  iodine 
until  it  turns  blue,  the  liquor  is  then  again  decoloured 
by  a  drop  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  solution,  and  litmus, 
and  a  standard  solution  of  caustic  soda  are  added  until 
the  liquid  is  neutral. 

The  following  reactions  take  place : — 

2CaO,S,OB  +  T=CaI  +  CaO.SiO*, 
CaSa;  +  I=CaI+iBS, 
CaS,HS  +  2l=CaI+9  +  HI, 
HI  +  NaO=NaI-f  Ua 

Thus  the  caustic  soda  corresponds  to  the  sulphuretted 

I  hydrogen,  the  iodine  used  in  the  first  titration  to  the 

hyposulphite,  and  fi:om  the  Jodine  used  in  the  second 


CBcancAi.  Nkwb,  ) 
Seg4^  1867.       f 


Recovery  of  SvJphurfrom  Alkali  Waete. 


119 


titration  and  the  two  former  numbers  the  calcium 
present  in  the  form  of  sulphide  is  easily  calculated. 

Using  for  both  titrations  3*2  c.c.  of  hquor,  and  stand- 
ard solutions  containing  one-tenth  of  an  e(][uiyalent  per 
litre,  and  presuming  that  the  polysulphide  is  bisulphide 
only,  we  have  simply  to  add  the  measures  of  iodine 
used  in  both  determination,  to  subtract  die  measures 
of  caustic  soda,  and  divide  this  number  by  ten,  in  order 
to  find  the  total  percentage  of  sulphur  in  the  liquor, 
fi:om  which  the  muriatic  acid  is  easily  cidculated,  every 
32  of  sulphur  requiring  36*5  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

Generally,  the  polysulphide  contains  very  little  more 
than  2  equivalents  of  S  to  i  of  Oa,  so  that  this  method 
is  also  sufficiently  exact  for  the  determination  of  the 
sulphur  in  the  liquors,  for  practical  purposes. 

Though  this  method  has  been  proved  to  be  perfectly 
correct  by  a  number  of  accurate  experiments,  tne  muri- 
atic acid,  as  calculated  by  it^  was  still  more  than  was 
actually  required  to  effect  a  complete  decomposition  of 
the  liquor.  A  number  of  careful  investigations  made 
with  the  view  of  explaining  this  fact,  have  shown  that, 
contrary  U>  the  assertions  of  all  chemical  handbooks, 
the  products  of  the  decomposition  of  hyposulphite  of 
lime  by  muriatic  acid  are,  comparatively  little  sulphur 
and  very  little  sulphurous  acid,  but  principal  trithionic 
acid,  and  a  small  quantity  of  pentatnionic  acid.  The 
reaction  was  proved  to  tAke  place  principally  according 
to  the  following  equation : — 

SCttOSaO,  +  3HCl=3CaOl  +  3HO  +  2C5aOS,Ofi  +  4S. 

On  boiling,  the  trithionate  of  lime  is  decomposed  to 
sulphate  of  lime,  sulphur,  and  sulphurous  acid.  The 
latter  transforms  a  portion  of  the  hyposulphite,  which 
is  still  in  the  liquor,  again  into  trithionate,  according  to 
the  well-known  equation : — 

2Ca0S,0a  +  3S,=2CaOS,05  +  S. 
The  newly-formed  trithionate  is  again  decomposed,  and 
so  on.  In  consequence  of  these  reactions  it  is  possible  to 
decompose  a  solution  of  hyposulphite  of  lime  completely 
into  sulphur,  sulphate  of  hme,  and  very  little  sulphu- 
rous acid,  by  adding  to  it  when  boiling  a  quantity  of 
muriatic  acid  sufficient  to  neutralise  about  one-half  of 
the  lime  in  solution. 

In  places  where  hydrochloric  acid  has  a  compara- 
tively high  value,  these  facts  may  be  talcen  advantage 
ot  As,  however,  at  the  present  moment,  fully  one-half 
of  the  acid  produced  by  Uie  decomposition  of  salt  is  run 
into  the  rivers,  or  passes  into  the  air,  and  as,  besides,  the 
above-quoted  reactions  involve  a  very  heavy  loss  of 
sulphur  in  the  foim  of  sulphate  of  lime,  and  prbduce  also 
a  very  impure  sulphur,  I  prefer  the  following  plan,  which 
Avoids  these  inconvenieuces. 

The  oxidation  of  the  waste  is  regulated  so  as  to  obtain 
a  liquor,  which  contains  as  nearly  as  possible  to  every 
equivalent  of  hyposulphite,  two  equivalents  of  sulphide. 
This  liquor  is  decomposed  by  first  adding  to  a  certain 
smidl  quantity  of  acid  an  excess  of  liquor,  until  there  is 
a  trace  of  sulphide  in  the  mixture ;  then  a  quantity  of 
acid  sufficient  to  neutralise  the  whole  of  the  calcium  is 
poured  in,  a  new  quantity  of  liquor  equivalent  to  this 
fast  quantity  of  acid  is  added,  and  then  acid  again,  and 
liquor  again,  and  so  on,  until  the  vessel  is  nearly  nlled. 
To  the  last  liquor  only  one-half  of  the  reciuired  acid  is 
added,  and  steam  introduced,  until  the  liquid  shows  a 
temperature  of  about  140"  F.  Practically  speaking,  the 
liquor  and  the  acid  are  poured  at  the  same  time  into  the 
decomposing  vessel  in  nearly  equivalent  proportions, 
the  workmen  taking  care  to  keep  a  small  excess  of 
liquor  up  to  the  end  of  the  operation.    This  part  of  the 


process  is  carried  on  in  wooden  tanks  covered  in  and 
connected  to  a  chimney,  in  order  to  carry  oflf  any  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  which  may  be  evolved  by  mistake 
of  the  workman.  If  properly  carried  out  there  should  be, 
however,  no  appreciable  quantity  of  that  gas  evolved. 

The  practical  result  of  this  mode  of  working  is  simply 
precipitation  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  smphur  in  a 
pure  state. 

CaO,S,Oa  +  2CaSx  +  3HC1= 3CaCl  +  3IIO  +  (2  +  a;)S 
The  details  of  the  reaction,  are,  however,  very  compli- 
cated, almost  all  the  different  acids  of  sulphur  bemg 
probably  formed  during  the  process. 

In  the  first  place,  by  adding  liquor  to  acid,  some  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  is  given  off  (which  may  be  avoided 
by  starting  the  operation  with  liquor  rich  in  hyposul- 
phite) and  hyposulphurous  acid  is  set  free,  which  will 
give  rise  to  the  formation  of  sulphurous  and  several 
Qiionic  acids.  All  these'are,  however,  again  converted 
into  hyposulphite  by  the  sulphide  of  calcium  in  the 
liquor,  then  added  in  excess. 

3RaO»  +  2C«Sy = 2CaO.S30a  +(yc  +  2.v  +  4)8. 
3Sa;0»  +  sCaSy = sCaO^aO,  +  (30;  +  51/+  io)S. 

The  muriatic  acid  entering  next,  thus  only  produces 
hyposulphurous  acid,  and  its  products  of  decomposition, 
wluch  are  again  converted  into  sulphur  and  hyposul- 
phite without  the  formation  of  any  gaseous  product, 
and  so  on.  At  the  end  there  is  a  certain  quantity  of 
hyposulphite  left  in  the  liquors,  which  is  decomposed 
into  sulphate  and  sulphur  by  adding  an  insufficient 
amount  of  muriatic  acid.  In  practice  about  90  per  cent, 
of  the  muriatic  acid,  calculated  according  to  the  above 
described  method,  are  required  to  effect  thus  the  com- 
plete decomposition  of  a  well-proportioned  liquor.  If 
it  contains  more  hyposulphite  than  above  indicated,  less 
acid  is,  of  course,  to  be  used.  About  90  per  cent  of  the 
sulphur  contained  in  the  liquor  is  precipitated  in  an 
almost  pure  state,  and  settles  exceedingly  well  within 
two  hours.  The  supernatant  clear  solution  of  chloride 
of  calcium  is  then  drawn  off,  and  another  operation 
directly  commenced  in  the  same  vessel  As  soon  as  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  sulphur  is  collected  in  it,  which 
will  depend  on  the  size  oi  the  vessel  and  on  the  strength 
of  the  hquor  (varying  fi*om  4  per  cent,  to  7  per  cent  of 
sulphur),  it  is  drawn  out  by  means  of  a  door  at  the 
lower  part  of  the  vessel  into  a  wooden  tank  with  a 
double  floor,  where  the  chloride  of  calcium  is  washed 
out  by  water,  and  the  sulphur  then  simply  molted  down 
in  an  iron  pot  The  product  thus  obtained  contains 
only  from^tf  per  cent  to  i  per  cent,  of  impurities,  and  is 
thus  by  far  superior  to  any  sort  of  brimstone  in  the 
market,  though  it  has  sometimes  a  rather  darker  colour 
caused  by  traces  of  sulphide  of  iron,  or  a  little  coal  dust, 
which  latter  may  have  been  suspended  in  the  muriatic 
acid. 

The  total  yield  of  sulphur  obtained  by  the  process 
amounts  thus  to  10  or  1 1  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the 
salt-cake  used  in  making  black  ash,  or  about  ^  of  the 
sulphur  therein  contained,  and  to  about  60  per  cent 
of  the  sulphate  contained  in  the  waste.  I  still  hope, 
however,  to  be  able  to  increase  this  quantity  consider- 
ably by  some  more  years'  experience.  The  cost  of 
production,  as  well  as  that  of  the  plant,  are  inconsider- 
able. In  tne  different  continental  and  English  works, 
where  the  process  has  now  been  working  for  years,  the 
expense  for  wages,  fuel,  and  maintenance  amounts  only 
to  £1  per  ton  of  sulphur,  and  the  outlay  for  the  plant 
has  been  more  than  covered  by  the  net  profits  of  the 
first  year. 


no 


Application  of  the  Bloivpi2?e  to  the  Assay  of  Silver.      { 


CanriCAL  News, 
Sept.,  1S67. 


c  Substances  nearly  free  from  sulphides  or  arsenides, 
but  containing  chlorine,  iodine,  or  bromine. 

d  Argentiferous  litharge,  and  other  easily  reducible 
oxides. 
I.  A.  Mbtallio   Alloys  capable  op  direct  Cupella- 

TIOK. 

a.  Consliitlns:   clilefly  of  Lead  or  Bliiiniitta.— In 

determining  the  silver  contained  in  these  alloys,  it  is 
only  requisite  to  place  a  clean  piece  of  the  same, 
weighing  about  from  one  to  ten  grains  according  to  its 
probable  richness  in  silver,  upon  a  cupel  of  coarse  bone 
ash,  and  proceed  by  concentration  and  cupellation 
exactly  as  has  been  already  described  under  these 
heads. 

Should  the  substance  be  not  altogether  metallic,  or 
not  free  from  adherenY  slag,  earthy  matter,  or  other 
extraneous  matt«r,  it  should  previously  be  fused  on 
charcoal  with  a  little  borax  in  the  reducing  blowpipe 
flame,  and  the  clean  metallic  globule  then  removed 
from  the  charcoal,  and  treated  as  before.  In  order  to 
remove  the  globule  from  the  inherent  borax-glass,  it 
may  be  allowed  to  cool,  and  then  detached ;  or,  after  a 
little  practice,  it  will  be  found  easy,  by  a  quick  move- 
ment of  the  charcoal,  to  cause  the  globule  still  melted 
to  detach  itself  completely,  and  drop  on  the  anvil  in 
the  form  of  a  single  somewhat  flattened  globule,  with- 
out suffering  any  loss  of  lead  adhering  to  the  charcoal. 

In  the  case  of  argentiferous  bismuth  alloys  tlie  pro- 
cess is  carried  on  in  all  respects  the  same  as  if  silver- 
lead  were  being  treated.  As,  however,  the  bismuth 
globule  is  very  brittle,  care  must  be  taken  when  sepa- 
rating the  concentrated  globule  from  the  litharge,  as,  if 
not  carefully  done,  a  loss  may  easily  be  sustained  from 
a  portion  of  the  globule  remaining  behind  adherent  to 
the  litharge.  It  is  better,  therefore,  to  remove  the 
litharge  by  degrees  from  the  globule  with  the  aid  of 
the  forceps. 

Argentiferous  bismuth,  free  from  lead,  when  cupelled 
alone,  invariably  leaves  a  globule  of  silver,  having  a 
duU  frosted  surface.  If,  however,  at  the  end  of  3ie 
operation  a  small  quantity  of  lead  (i  to  i  a  grain)  be 
added,  and  fused  along  with  it,  the  silver  globule  then 
obtained  will  be  perfectly  bright  and  free  from  all 
bismuth. 

In  the  case  of  native  bismuthic  silver  it  is  advisable 
to  fuse  the  previously  weighed  mineral  with  a  little 
lead  and  borax-fflass  on  charcoal  in  the  reducing  flame, 
so  as  to  free  it  from  any  adherent  earthy  matter,  and 
then  proceed  by  concentration  and  cupellation,  as 
before  described. 

silver  A  may. 
[    I.  A.  Metallic  Allots  capable  op  direct  Cupella- 
tion. 
6.  Consisting  chiefly  of  silver :  native  silver,  bar,  test, 
and  precipitated   silver,  retorted    silver  amal^m, 
standard  silver,  silver  coin,  and  other  alloys  of  silver 
with  gold  and  copper. 

These  alloys  xxxK7  be  at  once  fused  with  lead  on  the 
cupel  itself,  and  the  operation  finished  as  before  de- 
scribed. In  general,  however,  it  is  better  to  fuse  the 
weighed  assay  previously  with  the  requisite  amount  of 

Sure  lead  and  a  little  borax-glass,  say  from  a  quarter  to 
alf  the  weight  of  assay,  in  the  reducing  flame  at  a  low 
heat  on  charcoal  until  the  globule  commences  to  rotate. 
This  ensures  having  a  perfectly  clean  button  of  silver- 
lead,  which  is  then  cupelled  in  the  ordinary  manner. 

In  most  cases  the  quantity  of  lead  to  be  added  need 
not  exceed  that  of  the  weight  of  the  alloy,  but  when 
several  percentages  of  copper  are  present  in  the  assay, 


as  in  case  of  many  coins,  etc.,  the  lead  should  1 
creased  to  some  three,  or  even  five  times  the  weight 
of  the  assay  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  copper 
actually  contained  in  the  substance  under  examination, 
and  which  will  be  treated  of  more  at  length  under  the 
head  of  copper-silver  alloys. 

When  no  more  lead  has  been  added  to  the  assay  than 
its  own  weight,  the  cupellation  may  be  concluded  in 
one  operation  by  incUnmg  the  stand,  and  so  moving 
the  globule  on  to  a  clean  part  of  the  cupel ;  bat  when 
more  copper  is  present,  it  is  preferable  to  concentrate 
first  and  cupel  subsequently,  in  order  thereby  to  reduce 
the  cupellation  loss  to  its  minimum. 

In  the  concentration  as  much  copper  as  possible 
should  be  dagged  off  with  the  lead,  which  is  effected 
by  inclining  the  cupel  somewhat  more  than  usual  so 
that  its  surface  may  be  less  covered  up  with  the  lith- 
arge and  exposed  as  much  as  possible  to  oxidation,  by 
which  means  the  litharge,  as  it  forms,  is  enabled  to 
carry  off  more  of  the  copper  contained  in  the  silver 
lead. 

Should  the  silver  globule  after  cupellation  show  indi- 
cations of  still  containing  copper,  as  before  noticed, 
when  treating  of  cupellation,  a  small  quantity  of  lead 
must  be  fused  along  with  it,  and  the  cupellation 
finished  as  usual 

As  at  the  present  time  no  means  are  known  by 
which  silver  can  be  separated  from  gold  by  the  use  of 
the  blowpipe,  in  all  cases  of  alloys  containing  gold,  this 
metal  remains  to  the  last  along  witii  the  silver,  and  the 
result  in  such  cases  always  indicates  the  combined 
weight  of  both  these  metals  contained  in  the  alloy 
under  examination.  The  employment  of  the  humid 
assay  must  be  resorted  to  for  effecting  their  separa- 
tion : — 

c.  Containing  chiefly  copper:  native  copper,  ingot, 
wire,  or  sheet  copper,  cement  copper,  copper  coins, 
copper-nickel  alloys. 

Under  the  most  favourable  conditions  in  capellation, 
the  amount  of  lead  requisite  when  converted  into 
litharge  to  slag  off  one  part  of  copper  along  with  it  as 
oxide,  amounts  to  between  seventeen  and  eighteen 
parts  its  weight  In  the  blowpipe  assay  It  is  usual 
to  add  to  any  cupriferous  alloy  an  amount  of  pure  lead 
equal  to  twenty*  times  the  amount  of  copper  contained 
in  the  alloy,  in  order  to  ensure  the  whole  of  the  copper 
being  separated  in  the  litharge.  In  the  case  of  nicsel 
the  amount  of  lead  required  is  somewhat  less  than  with 
copper,  but  in  practice  the  same  amount  of  lead  may 
be  employed. 

When  the  copper  is  quite  clean  the  requisite 
amount  of  lead  may  be  added  to  it  in  a  single  piece  on 
the  cupel,  fused  and  cupelled  as  usual,  after  previous 
concentration  of  the  silver-lead  to  a  small-sized 
globule. 

It  is  generally  found,  however,  that  traces  of  iron, 
slag,  gangue,  or  other  foreign  matter  is  present;  and, 
consequently,  it  is  usually  advisable  to  fuse  the  assay 
along  with  the  requisite  amount  of  lead^  and  about  one- 
half  its  own  weight  of  borax-glass  m  the  reducing 
flame,  until  the  whole  of  the  sul^tanoe  is  seen  to  have 
perfectly  combined  or  alloyed  with  the  lead,  and  the 
globule  has  come  into  brisk  rotation,  whilst  at  the  same 
time  no  detached  metallic  globules  are  seen  in  the 
borax-glass. 

The  concentration  of  the  silver-lead  and  cupellation 
are  then  conducted  as  usual  taking  care  when  concen- 
trating to  incline  the  cupel-stand  so  as  to  expose  as 


OnsnCAL  Nrwa, ) 
SepL,  186T.      f 


Notes  on  the  Chemical  Calcvlus. 


Ill 


much  of  the  metallic  surface  of  the  melted  globule  to 
the  oxidising  action  of  the  air  as  possible,  with  a  view 
of  enabling  the  litharge  whilst  forming  to  carry  oflF  as 
much  copper  along  with  it  as  possible. 

Shoula  the  silver  globule  obtained  after  cupellation 
spread  out,  or  appear  to  the  eye  more  flattened  than 
usual  with  globules  of  pure  silver,  it  indicates  that  some 
copper  still*  remains,  and  a  small  piece  of  assay  lead 
(i  to  I  grain  weight)  should  be  placed  alongside  it 
whilst  still  on  the  cupel,  fused  together,  and  the  cupella- 
tion finished  on  a  clean  part  of  tne  same  cupel  as  usual 

Precipitated  or  cement  copper,  especially  that  which 
is  in  the  crude  state,  and  has  not  been  melted  and  run 
into  ingots,  is  oflen  very  impure,  containing  so  much 
iron,  lead,  arsenic,  earthy  matter,  etc.,  as  not  to  admit 
of  direct  cupellation,  and  in  such  case  should  be  treated 
as  pertaining  to  class  B.  a. : — 

B.  MxTALUc  Allots  inoapablb  or  dibegt  Cupbl- 

LATION. 

a  Containing  much  copper  or  nickel,  with  frequently 
some  little  sulphur,  arsenic,  zinc,  iron,  cobalt, 
etc.,  as  unrefined  or  black  copper,  brass,  German 
silver,  eta 

As  the  presence  of  these  extraneous  matters  would 
interfere  with  the  cupellation  either  by  causing  a  loss 
of  silver-lead  projected  from  the  cupel  upon  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  volatile  substances  present,  or  by  forming 
oxides  which  could  not  be  absorbed  by  the  cupel,  it  is 
necessary  to  eliminate  such  substances  by  a  scorification 
with  borax  on  charcoal  previous  to  concentration  or 
cupellation. 

In  the  case  of  unrefined  and  black  copper,  the  por- 
tion need  in  the  examination  is  placed  m  the  scoop 
with  twenty  times  its  weight  of  assay  lead,  and  its  own 
weight  of  powdered  borax-glass,  mixed  with  the  spat- 
ula, and  transferred  to  a  soda-paper  comette.  It  is 
then  fused  on  charcoal  in  the  reducing  flame,  which 
should  be  constant  and  uninterrupted,  until  all  particles 
have  completely  united,  and  a  brisk  rotation  sets  m.  which 
is  kept  up  for  a  short  time,  when  the  silver-lead  globule, 
which  should  appear  bright  on  the  surface  after  cool- 
ing, is  concentrated  and  cupelled  precisely  as  is  directed 
under  A.  c.  By  this  preliminary  scorification  the  sul- 
phur, arsenic,  and  zinc  are  volatilised,  and  any  lead, 
cobalt,  or  iron  slagged  off  into  the  borax-glass. 

In  the  assay  of  brass  and  German  silver  the  quantity 
employed  is  fluxed  with  its  own  weight  of  borax-glass, 
but  only  requires  ten  times  its  weight  of  assay  lead. 
The  operation  is  commenced  as  before,  but  the  globule 
is  kept  somewhat  longer  in  rotation  (always  keeping 
the  name  directed  only  on  to  the  borax-glass),  so  as  to 
aJlow  the  zinc  present  to  be  completely  volatilised, 
which  is  evident  when  the  surface  of  the  silver-leaa 
becomes  bright,  on  which  the  heat  is  increased  for  a 
few  moments  to  expel  the  last  traces  of  that  metal,  and 
the  sQver  lead  thus  obtuned  is  concentrated  and  cupel- 
led as  before. 

The  silver  globule  obtained  from  the  cupellation  of 
substances  rich  in  copper  generally  requires  the  addi- 
tion of  a  small  quantity  of  lead  and  re-cupellation  (as 
before  described),  in  order  to  ensure  its  freedom  from 
copper. 

BeliaTloar  of  lilme  wben  Bnrned.— Dorlhar  and 
I  Saminn.  Two  cylinders  rormed  out  of.  the  same  piece  of 
limestone  measured  27  millimetres  in  length  and  17  milli- 
metres in  diameter.  After  being  completely  burned  their 
volume  had  increajwd  nearly  i-ioth — viz.,  lo  28  millim. 
and  177  millim. — Berg,  und  huttimm^  Zeiiung^  1867. 


NOTE  ON  THE  CALCULUS  OF  CHEMICAL 
OPERATIONS. 

BT  PROFESSOR  WILLIAMSON,  F.R.S. 

Thr  remarkable  memoir  of  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  re- 
specting which  these  remarks  are  made,  is  the  first  con- 
sistent attempt  to  introduce  analytical  reasoning  into 
the  body  of  the  science  of  chemistry. 

One  fundamentally  important  question  of  method  is 
raised  by  the  memoir ;  and  as  it  may  be  considered 
apart  from  the  rest  of  the  subject,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  pre- 
liminary to  any  discussion  upon  it,  the  author  wishes 
to  draw  attention  to  some  consiJerations  relating 
to  it. 

Sir  B.  Brodie  defines  a  chemical  operation  as  an  oper- 
ation performed  upon  the  unit  of  space,  pf  which  the 
result  is  a  weight.  The  unit  of  matter  (or  molecule) 
adopted  is  the  weight  of  matter  of  a  specified  kind, 
which  occupies  in  the  state  of  perfect  gas  the  volume 
of  ome  litre  at  o^'C.  and  a  pressure  of  760  millimetres 
of  mercury. 

This  absolute  definition  is  intended  to  supersede  the 
prevailing  theory  that  the  molecule  of  each  compound 
is  the  smallest  proportional  weight  in  which  we  can, 
consistently  with  its  other  properties,  represent  it  as 
taking  part  in  any  reaction,  or  in  which  we  can  sup- 
pose it  to  exist  by  itself. 

In  some  casos  the  vapour-densities  of  many  com- 
pounds have  confirmed  the  molecular  weights  assigned 
to  them  by  a  comparison  of  their  reactions;  but  in 
other  cases,  many  of  which  are  too  (amiliar  to  need 
mention  here,  the  vapour-density  contradicts  the  above 
evidence  of  the  molecular  weight.  What  is  the  result 
in  such  a  case  of  conflict?  Uniformly  this:  that  if  the 
vapour-density  and  reactions  are  irreconcileable,  we 
know  that  the  vapour-density  must  have  given  wrong 
advice,  and  it  only  rema  ns  to  be  seen  by  an  examina- 
tion of  the  anomalous  vapour  how  the  molecule  broke 
up  on  evaporation. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  judge  of  the  working  of 
the  new  definition  is  to  see  the  manner  in  which  Sir  B. 
Brodie  himself  applies  his  principle.  Thus,  at  page  817 
of  his  memoT,  the  units  of  thirteen  substances  are 
given,  and  opposite  each  formula  is  given  the  "  abso- 
lute weight  in  grammes  "  of  a  litre  of  the  vapour,  and 
in  another  column  the  "  relative  weights  "  of  each.  Of 
these  fundamental  statements  four  only — viz.:  the 
numbers  for  sulphur,  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  sulphurous 
acid,  SOs,  and  sulpnuric  acid,  SOt,  are  the  records  of 
observations.  The  numbers  for  three  other  substances 
are  at  variance  with  observation,  for  SOi  Ht  breaks 
up  on  evaporation  into  S0«  and  H9O,  forming  a  mixed 
vapour  of  about  half  the  density  given.  SOiHt  breaks 
up  similarly,  forming  a  vapour  of  about  half  the  specific 
gravity  assumed,  and  Nordhausen  acid  first  breaks  up 
into  SOs  and  SO4HS,  and  this  hydrate  decomposes  at  a 
higher  temperature,  as  above  mentioned.  The  vapour 
from  Nordhausen  a  id  has.  therefore,  a  specific  gravity 
vastly  below  that  assumea.  No  doubt  there  are  good 
reasons  derived  from  a  study  of  other  fiftcts  for  believ- 
ing that  these  three  compounds,  if  they  were-  capable 
of  evaporating  undtcomposedy  would  have  the  vapour 
densities  assigned  to  them  by  Sir  B.  Brodie ;  but  tak- 
ing the  simple  definition  as  given,  we  are  led  to  mole- 
cular weight*,  which  the  author,  in  common  with  all 
chemists,  considers  inadmissible,  and  which  he  very 
properly  corrects. 


122 


Nature  of  Air  prior  to  ike  Discovery  of  Oxygen. 


j  Chkntcal  News, 
\      Sept.,  \WL 


seems  to  be  every  reason  to  believe  was  constructed  in 
1675.  Papin  became  Boyle's  amanaensis  in  1676,  and 
remained  lor  some  length  of  time  in  his  service,  during 
which  he  conducted  a  number  of  experiments  at 
Boyle's  suggestion,  chiefly  with  a  view  of  testing  the 
accuracy  of  previously  made  expeiiments :  these  were 
published,  together  with  a  description  of  the  new  air- 
pump,  in  1680,  in  a  work  written  by  Papin,*  but  read 
over  and  revised  by  Boyle,  whose  name  alone  appears 
on  the  title-page.  It  was  written  in  French,  and 
translated  into  Latin  before  printing;  a  translation  into 
English  was  subsequently  published. 

It  commences  with  a  description  of  Papin's  double- 
barrelled  air-pump,  which  consisted  of  two  vertical 
cylinders  of  brass,  in  each  of  which  worked  a  piston 
fitted  with  a  valve  opening  upwards ;  at  the  bottom  of 
each  cylinder  there  was  a£o  a  valve  opening  upwards ; 
indeed  the  pump  was  precisely  similar  to  that  used  in 
the  present  day  as  regards  the  fitting  with  self-acting 
valves,  and  only  differed  in  the  mode  of  working  the 
pistons.  At  the  top  of  each  piston  rod  a  metal  stirrup 
was  fixed,  and  these  were  connected  by  a  cord  passing 
over  a  pulley.  The  pump  was  worked  by  a  man  who, 
putting  one  foot  into  each  of  the  stirrups,  threw  the 
weight  of  his  body  first  upon  one  piston  and  then  upon 
the  other ;  thus  the  action  somewhat  resembled  that 
which  is  practised  on  a  tr^ad-miU.  The  advantages  of 
the  double  pump  barrel  over  the  single  barrel  are  con- 
siderable :  in  all  the  previous  air-pumps  the  piston  had 
to  be  drawn  from  one  end  of  the  barrel  to  the  other 
against  the  whole  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  but  by 
the  introduction  01  two  barrels,  and  the  connection  of 
the  piston,  rods,  so  that  the  descent  of  one  piston 
caused  the  ascent  of  the  other,  it  will  be  perceived 
that  the  pistons  balance  each  other,  for  the  down- 
ward pressure  of  the  atmosphere  upon  one,  balances 
the  pressure  tending  to  press  down  the  other.  Thus  a 
double-barrelled  air-pump  not  only  exhausts  in  half 
the  time  required  by  a  single-barrelled  pump,  but 
requires  less  force  to  work  it 

The  degree  of  rarefaction  which  obtained  in  the  re- 
ceiver was  measured  by  a  mercury  gauge  enclosed 
within  the  receiver.  It  consisted  of  a  graduated  tube 
sealed  at  one  end  and  filled  with  mercury,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  apace  occupied  by  a  bubble  of  air,  by 
the  expansion  of  which  the  degree  of  rarefaction  was 
ascertained. 

The  first  experiment  is  dated  July  nth,  1676,  and 
relates  to  "  several  waies  used  to  help  the  production 
of  air."  The  work,  for  the  most  part,  treats  of  the 
preservation  of  edibles  in  vacuo,  and  the  amount  of  air 
produced  by  various  substances  when  kept  for  a  length 
of  time  in  closed  vessels.  There  is  nothing  of  interest 
or  utility  among  the  experiments,  which  much  resem- 
bles those  described  in  Papin's  former  treatise. 

Among  other  things,  we  find  an  account  of  Papin's 
wind-gun  and  of  some  experiments  made  upon  animals 
in  compressed  air.  A  mouse  was  placed  in  the  receiver 
of  the  gun,  and  the  air  rapidly  compressed  to  one- 
twentieth  of  its  former  volume,  the  gun  was  then  dis- 
charged, the  receiver  opened,  and  the  mouse  was  found 
to  be  dead,  at  which  Papin  expresses  great  surprise,  as 
he  expected  to  find  it  "  only  a  Uttle  convulsive.*'  A 
second  mouse  was  then  placed  in  the  receiver,  and  the 

•  This  work  is  entitled  "-4  ConHnuation  qf  Ifew  EipperimtinU 
phy9ico-nMchanical,  touching  th^ttpring  and  xcHgkt  of  tfie  air^  and 
th€ir  ^B^^y  The  second  part  By  the  Hon.  Robert  Bovle.  London, 
1680.  The  first  part  of  the  contlnnatlon  was  pabtished  in  1669;  an 
aeoount  of  it  will  be  foand  in  the  thirteenth  of  these  papers,  Ciibmioal 
Nxwa,  Vol.  12,  p.  63. 


air  compressed  to  one-fourth  its  original  volume.  On 
discharging  the  gun  and  opening  the  receiver,  the 
mouse  was  found  to  be  ahve  and  well.  Finally,  a 
mouse  was  left  in  air  compressed  to  one-seventh  of  its 
volume  for  24  minutes,  and  the  gun  then  discharged. 
When  the  mouse  was  taken  out  it  was  observed  "  to 
fetch  manjr  deep  groans,"  and  soon  after  it  died,  from 
all  of  which  experiments  he  deduces  the  corollary, 
'^That  a  grreat  compression  of  air  is  noxious,  yea  mor- 
tiferous  to  animals." 

In  1684,  Papin  was  appointed  curator  to  the  Royal 
Society  with  a  salary  of  £30  a  year,  for  which  he  was 
to  show  at  least  one  experiment  at  each  meeting  of  the 
society.  It  will  be  bot'ne  in  mind  that  this  office  had 
previously  been  held  by  Hooke,  notv  one  of  the  secre- 
taries to  the  Society.* 

In  the  Philosophical  TransacHons  for  1686,  we  find  a 
paper  entitled,  "  An  Account  of  an  Experiment  shown 
beiore  the  R.S.,  of  Shooting  by  the  Rarefaction  of  the 
Air,"  by  Dr.  Denys  Papin,  R.S.S.  Otto  Von  Guericke 
had  previously  described  a  similar  invention,  but  Pa- 
pin's  gun  was  considered  more  effective.  It  consisted 
of  a  long  tube  fitted  with  suitable  valves.  It  was  ex- 
hausted by  an  air-pump,  and  the  external  air  was  sud- 
denly admitted.  By  this  means  a  bullet  weighing  two 
ounces  was  propelled  with  great  velocity  to  a  consider- 
able distance. 

In  the  Philosophical  Transactions  for  October,  in  the 
same  year,  Papin  gives  "  A  demonstration  of  the 
velocity  wherewith  me  air  rushes  into  a  vacuum."  The 
Academic  des  Sciences  had  previously  endeavoured  to 
determine  the  relative  velocities  of  air  and  water  under 
similar  conditions,  by  filline  a  bladder  first  with  water, 
then  with  air,  applying  a  like  pressure,  and  noting  the 
time  necessary  to  empty  the  bladder  respectively.  It 
was  thus  found  that  tne  bladder  of  air  could  be  emptied 
in  one  twenty-fifth  the  time  necessary  to  empty  the 
bladder  of  water,  and  it  was  hence  concluded  that  with 
equal  orifices  and  pressures  the  velocity  of  air  is 
twenty-five  times  greater  than  that  of  water.  But  for 
many  reasons  stated  by  Papin  this  method  is  most 
erroneous.  .The  following  mode  of  demonstration  was 
adopted  by  Papin.  It  had  been  proved  that  the  heights 
to  which  dissimilar  Hquids  will' be  driven  by  the  same 
pressure  will  be  reciprocally  as  the  specific  gravity  of 
the  liquids ;  thus  a  pressure  which  causes  mercury  to 
rise  to  a  height  of  one  foot  will  cause  water  under  the 
same  conditions  to  rise  to  a  height  of  i  x  13*5  feet. 
From  Galileo's  demonstration  that  the  velocities  of 
bodies  are  as  the  square  roots  of  the  heights  to  which 
they  would  ascend,  it  follows  that  the  velocities  of  two 
dissimilar  liquids  is  as  the  square  root  of  their  respec- 
tive specific  gravities.  Now  the  pressure  of  the  air  is 
equal  to  that  of  a  column  of  water  32  feet  high,  which 
would  rush  out  with  a  velocity  of  45  feet  per  second.  The 
specific  gravities  are  as  840  to  i,  and  the  roots  as  2910 
I ;  therdbre  the  velocity  of  air  is  29  times  greater  than 
that  of  water  under  similar  conditions ;  hence  he  con- 
cludes that  the  velocity  of  air  driven  by  the  whole 
{)ressure  of  the  atmosphere,  or  in  other  words  the  ve- 
ocity  of  air  entering  a  vacuum,  would  be  45  x  29=1,305 
feet  per  second. 

Papin  continued  to  act  as  Curator  to  the  Royal  So- 
ciety till  the  year  1687,  when  he  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Marburg, 
an  appointment  which  he  held  until  his  death,  in  17 14. 

Although  Papin  did  riot  do  much  by  direct  means  to 

•  See  the  tenth  of  these  papers,  CiraiL  Nswa,  vol  U.  p.  38. 


Apt,,  1867.       f 


Utilisation  of  the  Wa-S'te  Products  of  Coal  Gas. 


123 


further  pneumatics,  he  did  much  indirect  service  to  the 
science  by  the  invention  and  improvement  of  apparatus. 
It  is  strange  that  the  invention  of  the  double-barrelled 
ur-pump  should  be  so  frequently  attributed  either  to 
Boyle  or  Hauksbee ;  the  error  is  probably  due,  on  the 
one  side,  to  the  fact  that  the  first  account  of  -it  was 
published  in  a  work  which  claimed  Boyle  for  its  author ; 
and  in  the  second  place  because  it  was  improved 
and  first  perfectly  figured  by  Hauksbee,  and  by  him 
brought  into  general  use.  Winkler*  of  Leipsic,  while 
he  is  most  cautious  to  mention  the  sUsht  improvements 
introduced  by  Sengwerdus,  Wolfius,  Leupold,  S'Grave- 
sande.  and  Mus'.'henbroek,  does  not  so  much  as  men- 
tion Papin.  The  air-pump  as  Papin  found  it  possessed 
but  one  barrel ;  one  at  least  of  its  valves  was  worked 
by  hand ;  and  the  receiver  had  to  be  cemented  to  the 
pump-plate  before  the  commencement  of  each  experi- 
ment. As  he  left  it,  it  possessed  two  pump-barrels, 
fitted  with  self-acting  valves;  a  ground  pump-plate 
upon  which  a  receiver  with  ground  edges  could  remain 
air-tigfat  without  the  necessity  of  cement ;  and  a  con- 
nection was  established  between  the  pistons,  so  that 
the  descent  of  one  effected  the  elevation  of  the  other. 

We  can  scarcely  be  surprised  that  Papin  did  not 
greatly  extend  our  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  prop- 
erties of  the  air,  for  the  above  extracts  from  his  works 
clearly  show  us  that  his  object  was  to  apply  the  air- 
pump  to  usefiil  purposes,  rather  than  to  extend  pure 
pneumatical  research.  He  was  prouder  of  his  ^'  Di- 
gester of  Bones?"  ^an  of  his  double-barrelled  air- 
pump  ;  and  he  preferred  the  experiments  on  the  pre- 
servation of  fruits  to  the  ^'  demonstration  of  the  velocity 
wherewith  the  air  rushes  into  a  vacuum." 

We  may  mention  en  passani^  that  Papin  was  one  of 
the  first  to  adopt  the  important  theory  of  combustion 
(since  completely  verified),  of  "  Oe  tr^s  subtil  Anglois 
M.  Bobert  Hook,"  as  he  calls  him. 


ON  THE 

UTILISATION  OF  THE  WASTE  PRODUCTS  OP 
^THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  COAL  GAS. 

BT  DB.   LETHSBT.t 

As  you  are  aware,  the  residual  products  of  gas-making 
are  six  in  number — ^namely,  coke^  ammonicuxU  liquor^ 
eoai  tar^  and  the  three  waste  products  from  the  puri- 
fiers, as  the  spent  oxide  of  iron^  the  refuse  lime,  and  the 
acid  or  other  matters  used  for  absorbing  ammonia,  each 
of  which  has  its  special  value  on  account  of  its  tecnnical 


I. — ^COKB. 

This  need  not  occupy  much  of  our  attention,  as  its 

f  radical  value  and  uses  are  pretty  well  known  to  you. 
may  say,  however,  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  late 
Dr.  Fyfe,  and  is  stili  the  opinion  of  many  chemists  who 
have  examined  the  power  of  coal  under  steam-boilers, 
that  the  heat  actually  made  available  in  practice  is  very 
nearly  the  same  as  ought  to  be  produced  according  to 
theory  by  the  quantity  of  coke  which  the  coal  yields. 
He  found  that  a  pound  of  Scotch  coal  from  Trenant 
would  boil  away  5*61  lbs.  of  water,  and  that  the  coke 
of  itu  which  amounted  to  0*525  of  a  pouitd,  produced 
3-9  lbs.   of  steam ;    so  that  the   practical    loss  was 

*  Tide  his  Aufctng^gr&TuU  der  PhyHo,  Lelpalo,  1754,  trmnslated 
into  Encllsh  in  ijkj. 

t  ▲  Teoture  aeUvend  before  the  British  Associstion  of  Gas  Msn- 
Agen.    Cvrrected  and  oommnnioaled  to  this  paper  bjr  the  Author. 


5 '6 1  —  3*9  =  171  lbs.,  but  the  theoretical  value  of  the 
coke  was  about  5*5  lbs.  of  steam.  Here  is  a  table  of 
the  relative  heating  power  of  different  fuels,  expressed 
in  the  number  of  pounds  of  water  which  i  lb.  of  the 
substance  will  boil  away  when  the  water  has  been 
heated  to  its  boiling  point: — 

Dry  wood  (average  of  many  specimens)    4*51  lb«. 

Derbyshire  coal  (ditto) 7-58   " 

Scotch  coal  (ditto) 770  " 

LaDcashire  coal  (ditto) 7-94  " 

Newcastle  ooal  (ditto) 837   " 

Welsh  coal  (ditto) 905    " 

Good  coke  (ditto) 1000  ** 

K  all  these  numbers  are  multiplied  by  5*5,  they  give 
the  quantity  of  water  which  a  pound  of  the  fuel  wiB  in 
each  case  raise  from  ^2""  to  212**,  and  the  results  dhow 
that  the  thermotic  power  of  coke  is  very  high. 

n. — ^AmMOKIAOAL  IjIQUOB. 

This  is  the  aqueous  portion  of  the  condensed  pro- 
ducts of  the  gas.  .  It  floats  upon  the  tar,  and  is  a 
watery  solution  of  carbonate,  sulphide,  and  sulphocya- 
nide  of  ammonium,  with  certain  carbohydrogens  of  no 
value. 

If  all  the  nitrogen  contained  in  coal  were  converted 
into  ammonia,  so  as  to  make  a  liquor  of  8-oz.  strength 
(4°  Twaddle),  it  would  yield  from  142  to  226  gallons 
per  ton  of  coal  This  will  be  evident  from  the  table 
which  is  before  you,  and  which  represents  the  average 
amounts  of  nitrogen  in  certain  well-known  coals  in  a 
dry  condition : — 

Gallons 
Nitrogen        Ammonia      of  Liquor  of 
per  cent,  in  per  cent,  (rom    4'  Twaddle 
CoaL  CuaL         p.  ton  of  Coal. 

"Welsh  coal  (average)    0*91  I'lo  142 

Lancashire  coal  (ditto)  1  25  152  196 

Newcastle  coal  (ditto)    1-32  1*60  206 

Scotch  ooal  (ditto)         1*44  175  226 

But  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  nitrogen  is  not  con- 
verted into  ammonia,  n)r  bv  combining  ;with  sulphur 
and  carbon  it  forms  the  sulphocyanides  which  are  so 
abundant  in  ammoniacal  liquor  and  in  spent  lime,  and 
much  of  it  also  unites  with  carbon  and  hydrogen  to 
produce  the  alkaloids  which  exist  in  the  tar.  In  prac- 
tice, therefore,  you  get  but  a  comparatively  small  pro- 
portion of  the  nitrogen  as  ammpnia  in  the  ammoniacal 
liquor.  The  quantity  of  liquor  rarely  exceeds  45  gal- 
lons of  8-oz.  strength  per  ton  of  coals ;  and  to  obtain 
this  quantity  you  must  condense  well,  and  also  wash 
the  gas  with  water.  I  have  already  explained  to  you 
how  this  is  done  at  the  Birmingham  and  Staffordshire 
Gas  Works  by  Mr.  Hugh  Younff,  who  obtains  44  gal- 
lons of  liquor  per  ton  of  Staveley  coal  in  his  yearly 
working.  In  ordinary  practice  the  yield  is  about  25 
gallons  per  ton,  and  in  London  it  is  not  above  13  gal- 
lons—calculated in  every  case  as  8-oz.  liquor.  You  will 
see  from  this  how  largely  the  production  of  ammoniacal 
liquor  may  be  increased;  and  I  wiH  call  to  your 
recollection  the  valuable  advice  of  your  president,  Mr. 
Hawksley,  with  respect  to  the  copious  washing  of  raw 
eas  with  ammoniac^  Hquor,  for  this  practice  has  a  two- 
fold advantage — ^it  not  only  purifies  the  gas  by  remov- 
ing tarry  matter  and  sulphur  compounds,  but  it  also 
strengthens  the  liquor  and  renders  it  a  more  valuable 
product  By  using  the  Uquor  as  a  shower  or  in  a 
scrubber,  in  me  proportion  of  i  volume  of  liquor  to  16 
of  gas,  tne  liquor  may  easily  be  raised  to  10"  or  11"  of 
Twaddle,  which  are  equivalent  to  from  20  to  22  ounces 
of  acid ;  and  considering  that  the  price  of  Uquor  rises 


124 


Utilisation  of  die  Waste  products  of  Coal  Gas. 


"i      Sept.,  1867. 


abput  4d.  or  6d.  per  butt  for  every  degree  of  Twaddle, 
it  is  manifestly  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the 
liquor  should  be  sent  away  from  the  works  as  strong 
as  possible.  It  ought,  in  fact,  never  to  be  under  6°  of 
Twaddle,  or  of  less  than  i2-oz.  strength-  and,  with 
proper  condensation  and  judicious  washing,  there 
should  be  from  29  to  30  gallons  of  such  liquor  pro- 
duced from  every  ton  of  coals.  The  average  price  of 
ammoniacal  liquor  of  8-oz.  strength,  in  eleven  towns  of 
England,  is  at  the  present  time  2s.  7d.  per  butt  of  108 
gallons.  It  ranges  from  is.  9d.  to  4s.  6d.  per  butt,  and 
in  London  it  fetches  28.,  with  an  increase  of  4d.  per 
butt  on  every  additional  ounce  of  acid  strength.  Be- 
low 3"  of  Twaddle  or  50Z.  of  acid  it  does  not  pay  for 
working,  whereas  at  10°  or  11*  of  Twaddle  it  is  a  valu- 
able product.  The  strength  of  the  liquor  may  be  esti- 
mated either  by  the  hydrometer  or  by  the  quantity  of 
strong  sulphuric  acid  (sp.  gr.  '1845)  required  to  neutral 
ise  it ;  and  it  will  be  found  that  every  degree  of  Twad- 
dle is  equal  to  about  2  ounces  of  acid  per  gallon  of 
liquor. 

The  method  of  converting  the  liquid  into  a  salt  of 
ammonia  varies  in  different  places  according  to  the 
facilities  for  working.  In  some  places  the  liquor  is  at 
once  saturated  either  with  sulphuric  or  muriatic  acid,  in 
a  close  tank,  and  the  evolved  gases  (sulphuretted 
hydrogen  and  carbonic  acid)  are  carried  to  a  furnace  or 
to  a  furnace  shaft.  The  saturated  liquor  is  then  evapo- 
rated and  crystallised  in  open  troughs.  This,  however, 
produces  a  dark-coloured  salt  which  is  not  very  saleable. 
The  liquor,  therefore,  is  either  distilled  alone  from  a 
steam-boiler,  or  it  is  mixed  with  lime  in  the  boiler,  so 
as  to  fix  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen  and  carbonic  acid, 
and  is  then  distilled.  In  many  works  the  liquor  is 
heated  in  an  apparatus  called  a  Coffey*s  still,  which  is  a 
tall  vessel  containing  a  number  of  transverse  divisions 
(from  20  to  30)  which  alternately  pass  to  nearly  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  vessel  The  liquor  is  run  in  at  the 
top,  and  as  it  flows  from  side  to  side  over  the  alternate 
divisions,  in  its  way  downwards  it  meets  a  rush  of 
steam,  which  is  admitted  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel, 
at  a  pressure  of  from  20  to  30  lbs.  upon  the  inch,  and 
thus  the  carbonate  and  sulphide  of  ammonium  are 
volatilised.  In  all  these  cases  the  ammonia  is  dis- 
tilled into  a  close  vessel  containing  sulphuric  acid, 
diluted  with  enough  water  to  prevent  the  salt  from 
crystallising  (equal  parts  of  brown  chamber  acid  of 
commerce  and  water  are  good  proportions) ;  and  the 
evolved  gas  (carbonic  acid  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen) 
is  conveyed  to  the  furnace  fire,  or  is  used  for  the  pro- 
duction of  oil  of  vitriol.  When  the  ammoniacal  liquid 
is  evaporated  by  blowing  steam  into  it,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  worm,  or  other  cooling  apparatus,  to  con- 
dense the  water  from  the  gases  before  they  are  carried 
to  the  furnace,  or  they  will  perhaps  extinguish  the  fire. 
While  the  distillation  is  going  on  the  acid  in  the  satu- 
rating vessel  is  frequently  examined,  and  when  it  is 
thoroughly  neutralized^  it  is  run  out  into  a  proper 
receiver,  and  is  then  transferred  to  shallow  pans  or 
troughs,  where  it  is  evaporated  to  the  crystallising 
point. 

The  residual  liquor  from  the  stills  is  not  completely 
exhausted  of  ammonia,  but  contains  from  3  to  5  ounces 
of  sulphocyanide  of  ammonium  per  gallon.  It  is,  there- 
fore, treated  with  lime,  and  again  distilled,  whereby 
more  ammonia  is  obtained. 

If  there  were  a  large  demand  for  the  sulphocyanide, 
it  might  perhaps  be  worth  while  to  recover  it  from  the 
spent  liquor  by  evaporation,  especially  where  it  could 


be  done  by  waste  heat  Here  is  some  of  the  residual 
liquor,  and  you  will  notice  that  when  I  add  to  it  a  very 
acid  solution  of  a  persalt  of  iron  it  produces  a  deep 
blood-red  colour  of  the  ferricnsulphocyanide.  Here 
also  is  some  of  the  salt  obtained  from  the  liquor  by 
evaporation,  and  it  is  well  suited  for  the  preparation  of 
this  white  powder,  the  mercuric  sulphocyanide,  which 
is  the  sole  constituent  of  the  little  toys  called  Pharaoh's 
serpents.  Sulphocyanide  of  ammonium  is  also  used  to 
some  extent  by  photographers.  I  may  here  mention 
that  the  watery  solution  which  runs  from  the  hydraulic 
mains  with  the  tar,  when  the  temperature  is  not  below 
150°  Fahr.,  contains  this  salt,  without  any  carbonate  or 
sulphide  of  ammonium ;  there  is  no  reason,  therefore, 
why  this  solution  may  not  be  collected,  apart  from  the 
true  ammoniacal  liquor  which  is  found  in  the  condens- 
ers, for  even  if  it  be  not  of  much  value  on  it*  own 
account,  it  might  be  kept  from  diluting  the  liquor  in  the 
first  stages  of  condensation,  and  be  afterwards  used 
instead  of  water  for  finally  washing  the  raw  gas. 

In  country  gas-works,  where  mere  is  little  or  no 
sale  for  ammoniacal  liquor,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
convert  it  into  sulphate  of  ammonia,  by  transferring  it 
to  an  old  boiler,  then  blowing  steam  into  it,  and  carry- 
ing the  vapors  into  a  properly  constructed  vessel, 
charged  wiSi  the  brown  sulphuric  acid  of  commerce, 
diluted  with  the  mother  liquor  of  a  previous  crystallisa- 
tion. In  this  way  every  ton  of  coals  should  yield  about 
30  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  ammonia. 

This  sulphate  is  worth  from  £12  to  £14  per  ton, 
and  it  is  not  merely  used  for  agricultu?^  purposes,  but 
it  is  the  salt  from  which  all  other  preparations  of  am- 
monia are  obtained.  DistiUed  with  quick-lime  it  yields 
pure  ammonia,  which  by  condensation  in  water  forms 
the  liquor  ammoniae  of  commerce ;  distilled  with  chalk 
it  makes  carbonate  of  ammonia ;  and  it  has  other  ap- 
plications. There  are  good  reasons,  therefore,  why 
great  pains  should  be  taken  to  recover  all  the  am- 
monia of  ffas-making.  We  shall  presently  see  how 
this  may  be  further  accompUshed  by  means  of  ab- 
sorbent agents  placed  at  the  end  of  the  purifiers. 

III.— Coal  Tab. 
This  is  a  very  complex  hquid,  for  it  contains  at  least 
three  classes  of  compounds — viz.,  acids,  neutral  bodies^ 
and  alkaloids,  the^  composition  and  leading  properties 
of  which  are  as  follows : — 

Acids  of  Coal  Ihr, 

Nazneo.  Fonnala.  gpeciflc       BolUnR-polnti 

Gravities.  (Fabr.) 

Acetic C4  H*  O4  1062  243* 

Butyric Ca  He  O4  973  3^4 

Carbolic C,8H«  0,  1065  370 

Cresylic Cm  H  0,  —  397 

Phlorylic C,«H,flOa  —  4^4 

Rosolic Ca^HiaO,  —  — 

Brunolic ?  —  — 

Neutral  Bodies  of  Coal  Ihr, 

Alliatous  oils. . . .         f  f                I 

Benzole Cu  H«  850  177 

Toluole CnHg  870  230 

Xylole CieHio  867  164 

Cumole CibHxj  870  299 

Cymole Cao  H14  861  341 

liaphthaline Cao  Hb  i  i  53  428 

Anthradne Cas  H,o  1147  572 

Pyrene Cao  Hit  —               ^ 

Chryseue. ......    Ca4  Ha  —                t 


Sept^  1867.       f 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  Coal  Ga^. 


125 


986 

242 

1077 

272 

961 

271 

946 

310 

937 

354 

— 

370 

1080 

360 

-— 

388 

— 

418 

952 

% 

— 

1081 

462 

1072 

510 

— 

52s 

Basic  or  Alhalme  Bodies  of  CocX  Tar, 


Pyridine CoHft  N 

Pyrrol C,  H»  N 

IMcolino CaH,  N 

Liitidine O14H9  N 

Coliidine CeHjiN 

Parvoline CibH,sN" 

Aniline CuH,  N 

Toluidine C,4H.  N 

Xylidine OieHuN 

Cumidine CieHi,N 

Cymidine CioHiaN 

Cbinoline CibH,  N 

Lepidine C«H,  N 

Crypiidine .....  GmHuN 


The  general  properties  of  coal  tar,  as  well  as  the 
proportions  of  its  several  constituents,  vary  with  the 
quality  of  the  coal  used,  and  with  the  temperature  at 
which  it  is  distilled  or  carbonized.  The  tar  which  is 
produced  from  common  gas  coals  at  rather  high  tem- 
perature is  always  heavier  than  water  (sp.  gr.  ii2q  to 
1 1 50).  It  dries  freely  in  the  air,  and  its  hydrocarbons 
are  so  rich  in  carbon  that  the  tar  cannot  be  burnt  in 
an  ordinary  lamp.  But  the  tar  which  is  produced  from 
cannel  coal  at  lower  temperatures  is  lighter  than  wa- 
ter, and  does  not  readily  dry  when  it  is  exposed  to  the 
air.  Besides  which,  its  hydrocarbons  are  compara- 
.  tivelj  poor  in  carbon,  and  may  be  burnt  in  lamps. 
There  is  almost  every  varietv  of  coal  tar  from  these 
two  extremes,  but  the  tars  of  commerce  are  chiefly  of 
three  kinds — ^viz.,  the  rich  cannel  coal  tar  of  Scotland ; 
the  tar  which  is  produced  from  common  coal  in  coun- 
try gas-works,  wnere  the  temperatures  are  generally 
low:  and  the  still  heavier  tar  of  the  London  gas- 
works, which  is  produced  at  excessively  hi^h  tempera- 
tures. The  yield  of  tar  per  ton  of  coals  is  from  9  to 
15  K^llons — the  latter  being  the  average  at  country 
woi^ ;  and  the  former,  or  from  that  to  10  gallons,  is 
the  yield  in  London,  where  the  tar  is  undoubtedly  af- 
fected by  the  hijjh  temperature  of  the  retorts,  for  it  is 
not  only  small  in  quantity,  but  it  is  deficient  of  naph- 
tha, and  contains  more  pitch  than  country  tar :  besides 
which,  the  dead  oil  from  it  is  always  overloaded  widi 
naphthaline. 

In  London  the  distillation  of  coal  tar  is  always  ef- 
fected in  stills,  which  are  placed  over  a  fire,  and  the 
groductfl  are  collected  at  different  stages  of  the  distil- 
i.tion.  Up  to  a  temperature  of  from  160^  to  190^ 
Fahr.  little  or  nothing  flows  over,  but  at  that  temper- 
ature ammoniacal  Uquor,  with  crude  naphtha  of  a  jnra- 
vity  of  850,  begins  to  distiL  These  continue  to  now 
until  the  thermometer  rises  to  from  310^  to  340^,  when 
a  heavier  naphtha  of  a  gravity  of  about  920  is  carried 
over.  This  is  called  light  oil,  and  it  is  collected  sepa- 
rately until  the  temperature  rises  to  from  370*^  to  400* 
and  then  the  oil  begins  to  have  the  gravity  of  water; 
after  that,  and  up  to  the  temperature  of  from  690^  to 
700^,  the  oil  which  is  collected  is  heavier  than  water, 
and  is  therefore  called  heavy  oil  or  dead  oi2— the  last 
runnings  hav^ing  a  gravity  of  about  1060  or  therea- 
bouta  If  a  sofl  pitch  is  'mnted  the  process  of  distilla- 
tion is  stopped  at  this  stage,  but  if  a  harder  pitch  is 
required  it  is  pushed  a  Utile  further,  and  the  areen 
oil  which  flows  over  is  rich  in  neutral  oils,  which  are 
well  suited  for  making  railway  grease. 

A  still  containing  2  500  gallons  of  coal  tar  will  in 
this  way  yield  about  the  following  proportions  of  the 
several  products : — 
Vol.  I.    No.  3.— Sept.,  1867.         9 


Ainmoniacal  liquor  from  50  to 

Crude  napbtha 30  ** 

Light  oil 12  " 

CreoBote  or  dead  oil. . .  689  " 
Pitch  8  " 


70  gals,  (average)  60  gals. 
50    "         "         40    " 

35    "         *'         30    " 
740    "  ,      "       720    " 
10  tons  9  tons. 

Each  of  these  products  has  its  commercial  value,  the 
naphtha  and  light  oil  being  used  for  the  production  of 
benzole  and  toluole  of  commerce — ^naphthas  which  are 
largely  in  demand  for  the  manufacture  of  coal-tar 
colours. 

Formerly  the  greatest  value  was  attached  to  the 
naphtha  or  benzole  which  had  a  low  boiling-point,  and 
the  contracts,  especially  with  the  French,  were  for  a 
benzole  or  naphtha  which  yielded  90  per  cent  of  vol- 
atile oil  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  212®,  and  I 
have  examined  thousands  of  gi^ons  of  this  quaUty  for 
the  French  market.  Even  at  the  present  time  there  is 
a  demand  for  this,  which  is  called  90  per  cent,  ben- 
zole, for  making  certain  aniline  reds ;  and  to  obtain  it 
the  crude  naphtha,  or  the  first  runnings  from  the  tars, 
were  distilled  alone.  At  presen^  however,  there  be- 
ing a  demand  for  a  less  volatile  oil,  the  practice  is  to 
mix  together  the  crude  naphtha  and  the  Ught  oil,  and 
to  subject  them  to  fractional  distillation,  thus : — Steam 
is  blown  into  them  at  a  pressure  of  from  20  to  30  lbs. 
on  the  inch,  and  the  napntha  which  comes  over  with 
the  steam  is  called  once  run  naphtha.  This  is  purified 
by  shaking  it  with  strong  sulphuric  acid  (sp.  gr.  1845), 
using  the  acid  in  small  proportions  at  a  time,  for  fear 
of  injuring  the  naphtha,  ana  washing  with  water  be- 
tween each  operation.  In  this  manner,  after  using 
about  5  per  cent  of  acid  (or  i  lb.  to  each  gallon  of 
naphtha),  the  brown  colouring  matter  of  the  naphtha 
and  all  basic  compounds  are  either  destroyed  or  re- 
moved, and  the  brown  naphtha,  after  being  well  washed 
with  water,  is  ajgain  distilled  by  blowing  high-pres- 
sure steam  into  it,  and  the  products  are  coUected  at 
three  stages;  that  which  comes  over  first  is  called 
crude  benzole  o/»8o  per  cent,  strength,  the  second  run- 
nings are  a  naphtha  containing  50  per  cent,  of  benzole, 
and  the  third  is  a  naphtha  which  is  used  for  solvent 
purposes.  With  the  view  of  strengthening  the  50  per 
cent  benzole,  and  making  it  80  per  cent,  it  is  redis- 
tilled from  a  vessel  with  a  steam  jacket,  whereby  the 
temperature  can  \>e  regulated.  That  which  flows  over 
at  a  temperature  up  to  210^  is  set  aside  as  80  per  cent, 
benzole;  that  which  distils  between  210^  and  260^  is 
is  called  30  per  cent  naphtha ;  and  the  residuum,  on 
being  treated  with  high-pressure  steam,  yields  solvent 
naphtha.  Once  more  the  30  per  cent  naphtha,  or  that 
which  has  flowed  over  at  from  210°  to  260^,  is  dis- 
tilled with  a  dry  steam  heat^  and  when  the  thermome- 
ter has  risen  to  106^  there  is  obtained  a  little  more  80 
per  cent  benzole ;  after  which,  and  up  to  234^,  there 
flows  over  what  is  called  46  per  cent  naphtha,  and 
from  234*^  to  260^  a4ittle  of  the  30  per  cent  Steam  is 
then  blown  into  it,  and  it  yields  a  little  more  of  the 
solvent  naphtha. 

In  this  way,  by  a  series  of  fractional  distillations,  the 
washed  naphtha  is  made  to  yield  at  each  successive  opera- 
tion a  quantity  of  80  and  40  per  cent  naphtha.  AH  the  80 
per  cents,  are  then  mixed  together,  and  are  once  more 
distilled  by  a  dry  steam  heat  The  naphtha  which  flows 
over  at  a  temperature  up  to  204^  is  called  90  per  cent, 
benzole;  that  which  flows  between  204**  ana  210^  is 
called  80  per  cent  benzole,  and  is  again  fractionally 
distilled  up  to  204*^ ;  while  the  residue,  on  being  treated 
with  high  pressure  steam,  yields  a  quantity  of  40  per 
cent  naphtha. 


126 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  Coal  Gas. 


jCnwncAL  Nkwb, 
1       8ept^\Wl. 


Five  separate  products  are  thus  obtained — ^namely, 
90  per  cent,  benzole,  40  per  cent,  benzole,  solvent  naph- 
tha, the  last  runnings  of  the  first  operation,  and  the 
residuum  of  each  distillation.  Operating  in  this  man- 
ner with  a  charge  of  1,587  .gallons  of  crude  naphtha 
and  light  oil,  there  is  first  obtained  897  gallons  of  once 
run  naphtha  and  56  gallons  of  the  last  runnings,  the  re- 
mainder (634  gallons)  being  a  residuum  of  no  value 
except  for  mixture  with  dead  oil ;  and  the  897  gallons 
of  once  run  naphtha  yields,  after  it  has  been  purified 
with  sulphuric  aci^,  301  gallons  of  90  per  cent,  benzole, 
195  gallons  of  40  per  cent,  237  gallons  of  solvent  naph- 
tha, 12  gallons  of  last  runnings,  and  152  gallons  of  resi- 
duum. 

The  40  per  cent,  benzole  contains  also  50  per  cent,  of 
volatile  oil,  chiefly  toluole,  which  distils  over  between 
212®  and  248**.  This  is  the  oil  which  is  preferred  at 
the  present  time  for  the  manufacture  of  coal-tar  colouri^ 
The  several  products  which  are  thus  obtained  in  the 
distillation  of  coal  tar  are  upon  the  table  before  you, 
and  roughly  speaking,  the  proportions  per  10,000  gallons 
of  crude  tar  and  their  commercial  values  are  as  fol- 
lows:— 

40  per  cent,  benzole 34*4  gala,  worth  2p.  4d.  per  gal. 

90  per  cent        "     S5''    "  "     2&  od.       '* 

Solvent  naphtha 418    "      ig.  9d.  to  28.       " 

Last  runnings 1 2*0     "  "     oe.  9d.       " 

Dead  oil 30187     "  "     oe,  id.       " 

Pitch 36  tons        '*  45&  od.  per  ton 

Before  rectification  the  crude  naphtha  is  worth  about 
IS.  per  gallon,  and  the  light  oil  about  6d.,  the  two  to- 
gether fetching  9d.  or  lod.  a  gallon ;  and  once  run  naph- 
tha is  worth  IS.  6d.  a  gallon.  Two  samples  of  this  oil 
from  difierent  distillers  yielded  by  firactional  distillation 
the  following  percentage  of  proportions  of  oil  at  differ- 
ent temperatures : — 

Sample  i.  Sample  2. 

Up  to  212"  Fahr 150  17-5 

From  212°  to  248** 44*0  42*0 

"     248°  to  264" 8-0  8*5 

"     264°  to  300** 130  130 

.  "     3oo°t0320° 5*5  4.5 

Kesiduum 14*5  14-5 


The  samples  therefore  in  commerce  from  good  markets 
may  be  regarded  as  of  pretty  uniform  quality. 

In  Scotland  the  method  of  distilling  coal  tar  is  a  little 
different  from  what  it  is  in  England,  and  this  arises 
from  the  circumstance  that  the  Scotch  cannels  yield  a 
tar  which  is  so  rich  in  the  volatile  naphthas  that  it  is 
not  altogether  safe  to  distil  the  tar  from  a  still  with 
a  naked  fire.  The  tar,  therefore,  is  first  submitted 
to  the  action  of  high  pressure  steam,  which  is  blown 
into  it  until  the  more  volatile  products  are  passed  off. 
In  this  way  from  7  to  13  per  cent,  of  crme  or  rough 
naphtha  is  obtained  with  a  gravity  of  about  930.  The 
residuum  is  called  boiled  tar,  and  is  distilled  with  a 
naked  fire.  It  thus  yields  from  6  to  7^  per  cent,  of  a  light 
oil  called  pitch  oil  or  torch  oil  which  has  a  specific  grav- 
ity of  from  973  to  976.  The  next  runnings,  which 
amount  to  from  27  to  30  per  cent,  of  the  boiled  tar,  are 
generally  heavier  than  water,  and  are  called  heavy 
pitch  oil,  and  they  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  the  pro- 
duct. 

The  several  products  of  coal  tar  are  thus  used  in  the 
arts: — 

Coal  tar  is  itself  employed  as  a  rough  varnish  for 


iron,  and  in  Scotland  the  hoUed  tar  is  extensively  used 
for  covering  woodwork,  etc. 

Light  oil  and  crude  naphtha  are  either  redistilled  for 
procuring  benzole  and  toluole.  as  I  have  already 
explained,  or  they  are  employea  for  making  common 
black  varnish  or  for  burning  in  naphtha  lamps.  In 
liiis  country  they  are  for  the  most  part  distilled,  bat  in 
Scotland  they  are  largely  used  in  a  lamp  called  the 
foundry  lamp.  It  is  an  enlarged  form  of  a  lamp  which 
was  patented  many  years  ago  by  Mr  Beale,  and  it  con- 
sists of  a  chamber  suppHed  with  naphtha,  and  having  a 
nozzle  or  jet  for  directing  a  blast  of  air  through  it. 
The  chamber  is  covered  with  a  bell  with  a  large  hole  in 
the  top  of  it  When  the  naphtha  is  lighted  ana  the  bell 
put  upon  it,  the  blast  of  air  forces  the  vapour  of  the 
burning  naphtha  through  the  hole  in  the  top  of  the  bell, 
and  thus  produces  an  enormously  large  volume  of  flame. 
The  light  is  equal  to  at  least  a  dozen  gas  jets,  and  the 
cost  of  it  is  said  to  be  a  penny  a  night.  It  is  very 
generally  used  in  the  foundries,  the  ship  yards,  and 
other  large  workshops  of  Scotland, 

Solvent  naphtha  is  a  colourless  spirit  which  is  chiefly 
employed  for  dissolving  india-rubber  for  waterproofing, 
and  resins  or  pitch  for  varnishes. 

The  Uut  runnings  are  also  used  for  varnishes,  for 
making  a  superior  lamp  black  called  spiiit  black.  Bad 
for  burning  in  Holliday's  lamp,  which  is  the  common 
naphtha  lamp  of  the  streets.  It  is  an'ingenious  contriv- 
ance for  converting  the  naphtha  into  vapour  by  means 
of  a  mass  of  heated  metal,  and  spreading  it  out  in  a 
star-like  form. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  use  of  coal  naphtha  as 
a  means  of  increasing  the  illuminating  power  of  common 
12  or  14  candle  gas,  and  have  shown  that  with  a 
moderately  good  naphtha,  which  yields  about  seven 
grains  of  vapour  to  every  cubic  foot  of  gas,  the  illumi- 
nating power  may  be  mcreased  about  60  per  cent. 
Considering  that  naphtha  is  now  becoming  a  drug  in 
the  market,  firom  the  waning  of  fashion  in  respect  of 
coal-tar  colours,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  encourage 
its  use  as  a  naphthaliser,  rather  than  to  yield  to  the 
public  clamour  for  cannel  gas.  I  have  long  thought 
that  gas,  as  well  as  water,  should  be  dealt  with  at  the 
consumers'  houses,  when  in  either  case  it  is  required 
to  be  of  unusual  quidity. 

The  creosote  J  or  dead  oil  of  coal- tar,  is  used  almost  en- 
tirely for  the  pres<*rvation  of  timber,  and  at  the  present 
moment,  in  the  stagnant  condition  of  railway  business, 
it  is  almost  uufaleable.  I  apprehend,  however,  that  it 
is  valuable  as  a  fuel,  and  that  it  will  ere  long  be  ufrvd  in 
steam  furnaces.  Already  there  are  several  patents  for 
its  application  in  this  manner,  and  experiments  are  now 
being  conducted  at  Woolwicn  with  the  view  of  ascer- 
taining its  prjvctical  and  economical  capabilities.  The 
contrivances  which  appear  to  offer  the  largest  prospects 
of  success,  are  those  which  deliver  the  oil  into  the  fur- 
nace in  the  form  of  a  spray  or  vapour,  by  means  of  a 
jet  of  steam  or  blast  of  hot  air ;  and  it  is  said  that  the 
heating  power  of  the  oil  u  from  2}  to  3  times  that  of 
a  similar  weight  of  coal. 

In  applying  the  oil  to  i)\e  preservation  of  timber,  it 
is  necessary  that  it  should  be  forced  deeply  into  the  tissue 
of  the  wood.  The  method  employed  by  the  best  op- 
erators is  to  place  the  limber  in  large  wrought-iron 
cylinders,  and  then  to  exhaust  it  of  air  and  moisture  as 
completely  as  possible  by  creating  a  vacuunn.  After  a 
time  the  dead  oil,  heated  to  a  temperature  of  120^  Fahr,, 
and  thus  made  as  fluid  as  possible,  is  let  into  Uie  cylin- 
der.    Pressure  is  then  put  upon  it  until  the  oil  is  forced 


OnviOAL  Nicwa,  ? 


Chemical  Prizes — QaantivaleTwe  of  Ohloriiie, 


127 


into  the  wood  with  a  power  of  150  lbs.  upon  the  inch. 
In  about  three  hours  the  wood  absorbs  the  prescribed 
amount  of  creosote,  which,  with  the  best  houses,  is 
never  less  than  from  30  lbs.  to  50  lbs.  of  creosote  to  a 
load  of  50  cubic  feet  of  timber  j  every  cubic  foot  of 
timber  ha<,  therefore,  taken  up  from  6  lbs.  to  10  lbs. 
of  oil 

The  preservative  power  of  the  dead  oil  is  partly  due  to 
the  antiseptic  properties  of  the  creosote,  and  partly  to 
its  filling  up  the  pores  of  the  wood  with  an  oil  which 
frradually  rei«inifie8  and  excludes  air  and  moisture.  Dif- 
ferent views  are  entertained  of  the  quality  of  creosote 
which  is  best  salted  for  this  purpose.  In  the  contracts 
which  I  have  prepared  for  the  Indian  railway  works,  I 
have  prescribed  that  the  creosote  should  have  the  fol- 
lowing properties : — "  It  should  have  a  density  between 
1,045  and  1,055;  it  should  not  deposit  any  crystalline 
matter  at  a  temperature  of  40*  Fahr. ;  it  should  yield 
not  less  than  5  per  cent  of  crude  carbolic  acid  to  a  so- 
lution of  caustic  potash  of  the  density  of  1,070  (14" 
Twaddle) ;  and  it  should  furnish  90  per  cent,  of  liquid 
oil  when  distilled  to  tjie  temperature  of  600®  Fahr." 
The  contracts,  which  I  have  lately  seen,  for  the  Dutch 
Government,  prescribe  that  the  creosote  shall  be  clear, 
and  shall  not  deposit  more  than  40  per  cent  of  naptha- 
line  when  cooled  to  the  temperature  of  32",  and  kept  at 
that  temperature  for  24  hours.  Here  are  specimens  of 
creosote  from  country  tar  which  fully  realise  those  pro- 
perties; but  this  sample  from  London  tar  is  alujost 
solid  at  32*. 

Another  use  to  which  dead  oil  has  lately  been  put  is 
the  preparation  of  a  dip  for  washing  she^p.  It  was 
patented  by  Mr.  M«Douga]l  in  i860,  and  is  made  by 
heating  together  two  parts  by  weight  of  dead  oil  with 
one  of  a  solution  of  caustio  soda  of  50"  Twaddle  (8p.gr. 
1,250)  which  contains  about  15  p^jr  cent,  of  soda;  and 
to  this  is  added  on^  part  (if  tallow,  fat,  or  other  si^oni- 
fiable  substance.  The  mixture  which  is  thus  obtained 
has  the  appearance  of  a  very  dark  soft  soap,  and  it  is 
either  smeared  upon  the  skin  of  the  animal,  or  dissolved 
in  water  and  used  as  a  wash. 

The  greasy  matter  or  greeti  (n7,  which  follows  the 
dead  oil  in  the  distillation  of  coal  tar,  is  used  for  mak- 
ing railway  grease,  with  resin,  oil,  etc. ;  and  the  pitch 
^'hich  is  the  residual  product  of  tlie  distillation  is  largely 
employed  for  all  sort^  of  purposes. 
(To  be  oonUnned.) 


CHEMICAL  PRIZES. 
The  custom  of  offering  prizes  for  the  snccessful  solu- 
tion oT  problems  in  chemistry,  is  one  which  deserves 
some  attention  in  thi-*  country.  On  the  Continent  it  is 
not  rare  to  find  chemical  manufacturers,  or  directors  of 
large  works  where  a  particular  operation  in  testing  or 
analysis  has  to  be  performed  many  times  a  day,  resort  to 
the  expedient  of  publicly  offering  a  prrize  for  the  dis- 
covery of  a  process  which  shall  fulfil  certain  prescribed 
conditions.  This  plan  has  several  advantages.  In  most 
large  chemical  works  there  is  one  operation  which  has 
to  be  performed  almost  hourly,  and  on  the  accuracy  and 
dispatch  of  which  much  money  is  risked.'  It  is  impos- 
sible for  any  chemist  attached  to  the  establishment  to 
be  acquainted  with  all  the  improvements  which  are  be- 
ing made  in  a  particular  process,  and  his  time  is  gen- 
erally too  mucn  occupied  in  routine  work,  to  admit  of 
his  carrying  out  the  experiments  necessary  fe>r  the  work- 
ing out  of  minor  details.  A  publication  of  the  .difficulty 
through  the  agency  of  a  scientific  press,  is  often  suffi- 


cient to  bring  forward  many  good  suggestions,  and  we 
can  point  to  our  own  "  Notes  and  Queries  "  column  in 
illustration  of  the  readiness  with  which  chemists  will 
assist  each  other  in  the  elucidation  of  a  technical  prob- 
lem. 

This  plan,  however,  of  asking  for  advice  is  obviously 
of  limited  use.  Although  any  of  our  readers  would, 
we  doubt  not,  be  willing  to  give  a  querist  information 
when  he  could  do  so  by  simply  writing  a  letter  to  our 
columns,  few  would  feel  inclined  to  enter  gratuitously 
into  an  investigation,  and  occupy  their  time  for  some 
weeks,  to  solve  a  technical  problem  simply  fur  the  bene- 
fit of  a  manufacturing  finn.  Hence  the  system  of 
offering  prizes  appears  especially  appropriate,  an!  in 
many  instances  tne  expenditure  of  X50  or  Xioo  has 
secured  to  the  manufacturer  an  analy  ticfd  process  which 
has  saved  the  outlay  many  times  in  the  year. 

A  prize  of  300  thalers  has  just  been  offered  by  the 
Mansfield  Copper  Mining  Company,  Eisleben,  for  the 
discovery  of  a  process  for  the  estimation  of  copper  in 
the  Mansfield  schist,  the  following  conditions  being  fiil- 
fiUed : — ^The  process  must  not  occupy  more  than  five  or 
six  hours,  including  all  operations.  One  person  must 
be  able,  without  much  exertion,  to  finish  at  least  eigh- 
teen analyses  dailpr.  The  differences  between  the  an- 
alyses must  fall  within  narrow  limits.  All  the  claims 
for  the  prize,  with  full  particulars,  are  to  be  sent  to  the 
Company  before  the  end  of  December  next.  The  de- 
cision will  be  announced  on  June  30,  1868,  and  if  any 
of  the  processes  sent  in  fulfil  the  requisite  conditions 
the  piize  will  be  forthwith  paid,  but  shouhl  several  be 
found  which  appear  eligible,  to  the  best  will  be  awarded 
200  and  to  the  second  100  thalers.  If,  however,  no 
satisfactory  process  is  discovered,  it  is  intended  that  the 
prize  shall  be  divided  amon^t  those  who  have  sent  in 
the  best  investigations  oti  the  subject.  The  successful 
processes  are  to  remain  the  property  of  the  Company. 

A  few  months  ago  we  drew  attention  to  the  fitct  that 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  extensive  manufacturers  of 
tartaric  acid  would  give  £100  as  a  reward  to  an j*  one 
who  would  discover  a  satisfactory  method  of  determin- 
ing, directly,  the  quantity  of  crystallisable  tartaric  acid 
present  in  tartars,  in  a  sufficiently  ready  manner  to 
be  applicable  to  commercial  analysis ;  the  name  *  of 
this  firm  has  not  been  made  public,  but  should  any  of 
our  readers  wish  to  know  more  accurately  the  con- 
ditions of  the  prize,  they  can  address  a  private  letter 
to  our  office. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  premature  to  mentioa  that  in  all 
probability  a  money  prize  will  shortly  be  offered  through 
the  Chexioal  News,  for  the  discovery  of  a  somewha'; 
similar  process  of  technical  analysis,  co.mected  with  an 
important  branch  of  manufacture.  The  details  are  now 
under  consideration. 


ON   THE    QUANTIVALENCE    OF    CHLOKINE 
AND  OTHER  REPUTED.  MONADS. 

By  JOHN  A.  B.  NEWLANDS,  F.O.S. 

The  difficulties  with  regard  to  the  formation  of  certain 
compounds  which  have  been  lately  pointed  out  by  Dr. 
Odhng  and  others,  seem  to  indicate  that  chlorine  and 
other  reputed  monads  must  really  possess  latent  bonds, 
and  be  capable  of  acting  as  triads,  etc.,  under  peculiar 
circumstances.  Thus,  in  the  union  of  ammonia  and 
hydrochloric  acid,  the  nitrogen  acts  as  a  pentad,  and,  if 
we  regard  the  hydrogen  and  chlorine  in  hydrochloric 
acid  as  monads,  the  hydrochloric  acid  must  be  decom- 


128 


Foreign  Science — Arbificial  Milk 


j  dnoacjii,  Nsvai 
1      J9BPL,  IWl. 


posed  in  order  that  its  hydrogen  and  chlorin'e  may  unite 
with  nitrogen,  an  element  for  which  they  have  but  slight 
afl&nity.  On  the  contrary^  if  we  admit  that  chlonne 
may  act  as  a  triad  (just  as  iodine  does  in  ICls)/w'e  may 
suppose  that  two  of  its  bonds  are  latent  in  HCl,  and 
that  on  bringing  HCl  in  contact  with  NHa  the  two 
latent  bonds  of  the  CI  unite  with  the  two  latent  bonds 
of  the  N.  Or,  we  may  suppose  that  the  01  in  HCl 
remains  a  monad,  and  that  the  H  acts  as  a  triad  having 
two  latent  bonds,  which  on  the  approach  of  NHt  serve 
to  unite  it  with  the  two  latent  bonds  of  the  N.  This 
latter  view  of  the  constitution  of  sal-ammoniac,  and 
similar  bodies,  is,  perhaps,  preferable,  as  it  represents 
the  H  of  the  HCl  as  directly  united  to  the  N  of  the  NH.. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  this  view  holds  ffood  regarding 
the  union  of  HCl  and  NHs,  it  ought  to  hold  good  with 
regard  to  the  union  of  ethylic  iodide,  CsHftl,  with  NHt, 
and  that  either  the  I  or  one  of  the  five  atoms  of  H  in 
the  ethyhc  iodide  acts  by  virtue  of  two  latent  bonds, 
and  so  imites  itself  with  the  two  latent  bonds  of  N 
inNH,. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  present  communication,  I 
admit,  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  Frankland  and 
others,  that  multivalent  elements  may  have  their  appar- 
ent quantivalence  reduced  by  successive  pairs  of  bonds 
beconainj?  latent  Thus  N  is  a  pentad  in  NH4CI,  a 
triad  in  NHs,  and  a  monad  in  ONs,  and  0  is  a  tetrad 
in  CH4  and  a  dyad  in  CO,  still  N  is  always  a  perissad 
and  C  always  remains  an  artiad. 

These  views,  however,  may  be  extended  by  con- 
sidering it  possible  for  a  monad,  by  the  development  of 
two  or  more  pairs  of  latent  bonds,  to  become  a  triad, 
a  pentad,  a  heptad,  etc.,  still,  however,  remaining  a 
perissad.  In  like  manner  we  may  consider  it  possible 
for  a  dyad,  by  the  development  of  two  or  more  pairs 
of  latent  bonds,  to  become  a  tetrad,  a  hexad,  an  octad, 
etc»  still,  however,  remaining  an  artiad. 

So  Ihat  all  perissads  may  really  have  the  same  num- 
ber of  bonds  (that  number  being  an  odd  number),  and 
may  differ  only  by  the  number  of  pairs  of  latent  bonds 
which  their  atoms  respectively  possess  under  ordinary 
circumstances.  Again,  all  artiads  may  really  have  the 
same  number  of  bonds  (that  number  being  lyi  even 
number)  and  may  differ  only  by  the  number  of  pairs 
of  latent  bonds  which  their  atoms  respectively  possess 
under  ordinary  circumstances. 

Thus  I,  which  is  a  monad  in  KI,  becomes  a  triad  in 
in  ICli:  B,  which  is  a  triad  in  BPt,  becomes  a  pentad 
in  £KF4  J  Pt,  which  is  a  dyad  in  PtCl«,  becomes  a 
tetrad  in  PtCU,  and  an  octad  in  PtEiCU;  and  Si, 
which  is  a  tetrad  in  SiFi,  becomes  an  octad  in  SiEsFe. 

In  the.  following  table  certain  compounds  of  the 
monads  with  0,  etc.,  are  given,  which  are  analogous  to 
the  compounds  of  triads  and  pentads  placed  alongside 
of  them.  I  am  aware  that  too  great  stress  must  not 
be  laid  upon  such  facts,  inasmuch  as  the  number  of 
atoms  of  0  combining  with  an  element,  affords  us  no 
absolute  proof  of  its  quantivalence: — 


H,0 
H,o« 

cue, 

CUO4 
1.0. 


C1,0  . 
K,0, 
N,0,  . 
K.O4 
N,0, 


KCIO, KNO, 

HOlO HIO,  . 

ICl PCI. 


k:.o.. 

N.O, 
P.O. 
N,04 
P.O. 

HNO, 


N,0 


HPO, 


This  table  might  easily  be  enlarged  to  a  considerable 
ei^tent,  but  I  think  the  above  will  be  sufficient  to  render 


the  view  probable  that  reputed  nionads  may,  under 
certain  circumstances,  play  the  part  of  triads  and  pen- 
tads. This  is  certainly  the  case  with  I  in  ICl.,  and 
the  privilege  we  accord  to  I  we  cannot  well  refuse  to 
CI,  £r,  or  even  to  H  itsel£ 

Laboratory,  19,  Gt.  81  Heleni,  E.a 

FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 

(FBOK  OUB  OWH  COBRESPOKDEMT.) 

Baron  Lid^ig'a  Artifidai  MUk ;  Death  of  ihs  PatieiU8.^Lmid 
XHffruion  applied  to  the  Extraction  of  Gone  Sugar.-^^ect 
of  ToboAXo  and  Snt^  in  Jmpairing  iftmory. 

Paris,  July  3d,  1867. 

Arttflclal  niUk. — At  the  last  meeting  of  ihe  Academy 
of  Medicine,  M.  Giboust,  Professor  at  the  School  of  Pharmacy, 
read  a  paper  which  we  cannot  help  noticing.  He  called  the 
attention  of  the  medical  world  to  the  description  given  of  the 
artiflcial  milk  invented  by  Baron  Von  Liebig,  and  regretted 
very  much  being  obliged  to  enter  into  a  ooutroverBy  with 
him.  After  having  reminded  the  assembly  of  the  composi- 
tion of  this  milk,  and  insisting  upon  the  difficulties  attending 
the  preparation  of  such  aliments  in  places  where  it  might 
be  most  necessary,  such  as  with  wetnnrses  or  small  frmiUes, 
M.  Giboust  added  that  we  have  at  our  disposal  a  natural  pro- 
duct which  more  nearly  resembles  human  milk  than  does  a 
mixture  of  cow's  milk,  flour,  malt,  lactate  and  butyrate  of 
potash.  It  is  cow's  milk  itself.  On  an  average,  human  milk 
contains  a  little  more  water,  more  sugar  of  milk,  less  butter 
and  caseine  than  cow's  milk.  Thus,  by  taking  the  latter,  and 
adding  a  little  sugar  and  a  fifth  of  its  weight  of  water,  we 
have  an  aliment,  at  the  diBpoeal  of  everybody,  forming  » 
better  substitute  for  human  milk  than  any  artificial  com- 
pound. 

M.  Depaul,  on  his  part,  declared  that  be  undertook  experi- 
ments on  new-born  children,  to  examine  the  effects  of  this 
artificial  milk,  the  taste  of  which  was,  by  the  bye,  less  agree- 
able than  that  of  natural  milk,  ^ur  children  were  tried. 
The  first  two  were  twins,  and  bom  prematurely.  In  spite  of 
the  care  bestowed  on  them,  and  the  nourishment  by  the  arti- 
ficial milk,  they  died  in  two  days.  The  third,  bom  at  full 
time,  weighed  3  kilogs.  370  grammes ;  the  mother  was  ilL 
The  nourishment  given  was  that  of  artificial  milk.  At  the 
end  of  two  days,  the  dejections  became  green,  and  on  ^is 
day  the  child  perished.  The  fourth  infant,  bora  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  nourished  with  the  same  aliment,  died 
after  four  days.  M.  Wurtz  promised  to  write  to  Baron  Von 
Liebig,  to  obtain  moce  precise  details  on  the  preparation  of 
this  milk. 

nunisloii,  by  HE.  Robert  of  SeelswftC%  applied  Ui 
Uie  Kmmt  Indies  for  tlie  extraction  of  e«.ne-eii|Enr. — 

Previous  to  a  voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  be  traversed  Ger- 
many and  Austria,  with  the  intention  of  studying  the  progrea^ 
made  in  the  manufactc>re  of  beet-root  sugar  in  those  ooun- 
tries,  and  to  see  how  far  the  method  could  be  introduced  into 
the  East  Indies,  for  the  manufacture  of  cane-sugar.  This 
process  of  extracting  the  juice  of  the  beet-root  by  means  of 
diffusion  was  invented  by  M.  Jules  Robert,  of  the  firm  of 
Robert  and  Ck>.,  proprietors  of  works  situated  in  Moravia. 
8tmck  with  the  simplicity  of  this  process,  which  with  cheap 
machinery  and  scarcely  any  wear  and  tear,  gives  a  finer  and 
more  abundant  Juice  at  less  cost  than  the  usual  process,  he 
consulted  M.  Jules  Robert  on  the  possibility  of  applying  this 
method  to  the  sugar  in  the  East  Indies,  and  the  only  difficulty 
was,  that  of  having  a  machine  to  cut  the  cane  into  the 
required  lengths,  inasmuch  as  cane,  from  its  hardneea,  pre^ 
sented  greater  resistance.  A  cane  cutting  machine  viras  con- 
structed at  Seelswitz,  which  was  found,  to  work  sucoessfullj 
on  maize  stalks.  Four  engines  were  sent  to  the  East  Indies* 
along  with  a  triple  evaporator.    Up  to  the  time  of  sending 


Foreign  Science — Artificial  MilK 


129 


off  the  samples  to  the  Champ  de  Mars,  i,$oo  tons  of  sugar- 
cane had  been  prepared.  A  steam  engine  of  i2-hor9e  power, 
fear  cane  cutters,  and  diffusing  apparatus  in  wood  will  suffice 
for  70  tons  of  sugar-cane.  The  advantages  have  been  found 
to  be : — I.  Less  force  is  necessary  for  equal  weights  of  cane, 
to  cut  the  cane  into  slices  than  to  drive  rolling  machines.  2. 
That  diffusion  extracta  a  juice  purer  than  that  obtained  by 
mills.  3.  That  diffusion  extracts  from  the  same  quantity  of 
cane  20  per  cent,  more  juice  than  by  mills,  as  is  proved  by 
the  comparison  of  the  weight  of  the  stalks  and  the  residues 
of  the  diffusion.  4.  As  the  cane  contains  less  pectose  than 
tlie  beet-rooc»  the.  temperature  can  be  allowed,  without  in- 
convenience, to  exceed  5o''0.  and  even  to  amount  to  7o'*C. 
This  is  important,  because  diffusion  is  quicker  at  a  higher 
-  temperature. 

Tobacco* — The  Abbd  Migne  has  just  addressed  a  letter  to 
a  very  honourable  director  of  one  of  the  great  seminaries  of 
Paris,  condemning  the  use  of  tobacco  and  snuff.  This  letter 
fhmishes  us  with  an  opportunity  of  relating  a  fact  that  is 
personal  to  us.  Several  times  in  our  youth  and  riper  age  we 
have  taken  up  and  discarded  the  use  of  the  snuffbox.  In 
1 861,  when  writing  our  mathematical  treatises,  during  our 
labours  with  M.  Lindelof^  for  the  calculation  of  variations, 
and  when  we  commenced  the  editing  of  our  lectures  on  ana- 
lytic mechanics,  we  used  snuff  to  excess,  taking  20  to  25 
grammes  per  day,  incessantly  having  recourse  to  the  fatal  box 
and  snuffing  up  the  dangerous  stimulant.  The  effect  of  this  was, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  stiffening  of  the  nervous  system,  which 
we  could  not  account  for ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  rapid  loss  of 
memory,  not  only  of  the  present  but  of  the  past  We  had 
learned  several  languages  by  their  roots,  and  our  memory 
was  often  at  a  loss  for  a  word.  Frightened  at  this  consider- 
able loss,  we  resolve  1  in  September,  1861,  to  renounce  the 
use  of  snuff  and  cigars  for  ever.  This  resolution  was  the  con^ 
mencement  of  a  veritable  restoration  to  health  and  spirits, 
and  our  memory  recovered  all  its  sensibility  and  force.  The 
same  thing  happened  to  M.  Dubrunfaut,  the  celebrated  chem- 
ist, in  renouncing  the  use  of  tobacco.  We  do  not  hesitate  in 
saying  that  for  one  moderate  snuff-taker  or  smoker  there  are 
99  who  use  tobacco  to  excess. 

F.  MOIQNO. 


Artificial  MUk ;  Manufddyre  of  it  in  England j  AnalyHs  Dis- 
puted.— Report  of  the^Weigkts^  Measures,  and  Coins  Com- 
milfee  ;  Official  RecammendaUons.  —  New  process  of  Evapor- 
ation,— Improvements  in  EJfictroiyping  Copper, 

Pabis,  July  10,  1867. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Medicine  two  pro- 
testations were  again  made  against  the  artificial  milk  of  Bar- 
on Liebig.  The  first  is  by  M.  Boudet  The  second  objection 
was  raised  by  M.  Poggiale,  in  the  following  terms : — Baron 
Liebig  tells  us  that  his  artificial  milk  is  manufactured  on  a 
large  scale  in  England ;  that  there  is  an  Ind\istrial  Company 
which  carries  on  the  business  on  a  large  scale.  The  import- 
ant point  to  be  considered  is,  whether  this  new  product  dif- 
fers widely  in  composition  from  human  milk.  Baron  Liebig 
has  taken  as  the  basis  of  his  preparation  that  of  a  milk  ana- 
lysed by  a  Qerman  chemist,  named  Haideln.  This  analysis 
is  very  old,  and  when  it  was  made  scientific  men  were  not 
provided  with  the  means  which  are  now  at  their  disposal ; 
and  the  results  have,  therefore,  been  contested. 

Nevertheless,  in  accepting,  ancf  taking  for  granted  the  truth 
of  Haidelu's  analysis,  we  ol^rve  tliat  in  the  formula  of  M. 
Liebig  the  plastic  elements  are  represented  by  10,  and  the 
respiratory  elements  by  38,  instead  of  24  required  by  the  an- 
alysis of  M.  Haideln.  The  composition  of  the  artificial  milk 
thus  differs  much  fVom  the  true  proportions,  and  in  this  re- 
spect it  is  inferior  in  quality  to  natural  milk.  In  it  the  fiitty 
matters  are  replaced  by  starch.  But  glycoee,  it  is  well 
known,  gives  less  heat,  and  therefore  cannot  replace  advan- 
tageously the  sabstanoes  we  have  mentioned.    We  may  also 


ask  why  does  Baron  Liebig  add  bicarbonate  of  potash  ?  this 
new  element  gives  to  the  milk  a  taste  far  from  agreeable.  In 
a  word,  this  artificial  milk  differs  from  the  natural,  by  its 
odour,  taste,  colour,  and  chemical  composition.  We  should 
certainly  recommend,  m  preference  to  it,  milk  which  is  most 
similar  in  composition  to  human  milk,  namely,  cows*,  goats', 
and  asses'  milk. 

The  Committee  of  Weighty  Measures,  and  Coins,  at  the 
Universal  Exhibition  of  Paris,  1867,  have  made  their  official 
report  relative  to  units  of  measure  and  weight.  The  commis- 
sion advance  the  following  measures : — The  prompt  substitu- 
tion, in  all  its  integrity,  of  the  metric  system,  for  the  old  sys- 
tems of  weights  and  measures,  as  it  is  practically  adopted  in 
severtil  other  countries  in  the  west  of  Europe.  This  system, 
introduced  and  legalised  optionally,  cannot  be  at  once  ren- 
dered imperative  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  syntem.  A 
certain  delay  is  necessary  for  the  change ;  and  the  different 
nations  are  alone  capable  of  fixing  its  duration  Let  us  ob- 
serve in  the  meantime  that  experience  in  several  countries 
has  proved  that  a  too  long  delay  does  not  have  the  effect  of 
sensibly  facilitating  the  accomplishment  of  this  task.  Thus 
it  is  desirable  that  Governments  take,  henceforth,  the  follow- 
ing measures,  viz: — 

1.  To  order  the  teaching  of  the  metric  system  in  public 
schools,  and  to  require  that  it  should  form  part  of  the  public 
examinations. 

2.  To  introduce  its  use  into  scientific  publications,  in  pub- 
lic statistics,  in  postal  arrangements,  in  the  custom  houses, 
and  other  branches  of  Government  administration. 

3.  The  commission  does  not  consider,  as  appertaining  to 
its  mission,  the  duty  of  making  standards  the  exact  prototypes 
of  those  of  Paris.  The  (Government  of  each  country  will 
take  upon  itself  the  verification  of  each  of  these  standards. 

The  commission  declares  that  the  present  report  contains 
the  expression  of  its  deliberations  and  conclusions.  It  ex- 
presses a  wish  that  different  nations  will  yield  to  the  solicita- 
tions of  science  and  the  manifestations  of  opinion. 

A  new  evaporating  process  is  carried  on  by  M.  E.  Parion, 
at  Wardrecques,  St.  Omer.  This  process  is  carried  on  essen- 
tially by  the  renewal  of  the  surface  of  the  liquid  exposed,  in 
the  state  of  fine  division,  in  contact  with  the  air,  or  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  combustion  according  as  the  evaporation  should 
take  place,  with  or  without  the  aid  of  artificial  heat.  When 
the  evaporation  takes  place  by  the  aid  of  the  temperature  of 
the  air  alone,  the  liquids  are  divided  into  a  small  shower  ex- 
posed to  the  wind  and  sun.  By  maintaining  them  in  this 
state,  we  obtain  in  a  small  space,  and  one  easy  to  cover  when 
necessary,  the  same  results  as  the  concentrating  basins  and 
the  graduating  buildings  give,  at  great  cost,  and  with  a  vast 
extent  of  land. 

In  the  case  of  the  employment  of  artificial  heat,  the  waste 
heat  firom  chimneys  of  factories  is  utilised  in  preference,  and 
in  the  absence  of  this  any  source  of  heat  is  employed  if  the 
products  obtained  have  a  sufficient  value  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses. 
•The  reduced  model  of  the  apparatus  tor  evaporating  by  the 
aid  of  artificial  heat,  is  exhibited  at  the  Universal  Exhibition 
class  50,  group  YI. ;  moreover,  a  small  apparatus  is  at  work 
in  the  annexe  at  Billauoourt. 

M.  Bouillet  has  discovered  a  remedy  for  a  defect  in  the 
electro  deposition  of  copper,  which  is  sometimes  seriously  in- 
jurious, viz.,  its  brittleneas.  He  has  found  that  a  v:ery  small 
quantity  of  gelatic  dissolved  in  the  bath  gives  a  copper  oi  near* 
ly  equal  malleability  to  rolled  copper,  whereas  the  pure  bath 
only  gives  a  porous  defective  metal  like  cast  copper.  The 
relative  specific  gravities  of  copper  in  different  states  are : 
cast  copper,  878 ;  laminated  copper,  8*95  ;  galvanic  copper, 
8'86.  Gutta-percha  moulds  are  exclusively  used  by  the  firm 
of  Christop'hle  and  Co.  They  are  applied,  either  oold  by 
pressure  with  a  lever,  or  by  the  hand.  The  mould  is  rendered 
conductive  either  by  black-lead  or  silver,  reduced  from  the 
nitrate  by  nascent  hydrogen. 

F.  Moiavo. 


I30 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exiiibition  of  1867. 


( CinmicAt  Nsva, 
\      SepL,  1807. 


Manufacture  of  starchy  utilisation  of  the  waste. — Phenic  acid, 
its  manufacture  and  properties, 

Paris,  July  17,  1867. 
More  than   100   tons  of  wheat  are  annually  employed  in 
the  fabrication  of  starch  in  France.     M.  L.  Maicbe,  of  Paris, 
now  proposes  to  utilise  the  waste  as  an  aliment 

The  best  wheat  only  contains  55  per  cent  of  starch,  while 
rice  of  the  most  ordinary  description  contains  85  per  cent  ; 
maize  and  buck-wheat  also  contain  a  considerable  proportion. 
The  difficulty  consists  in  the  separation  of  foreign  matters, 
such  as  bran,  cellulose,  gluten,  etc.,  contained  in  the  pulp  of 
the  grains.  Having  isolated  small  quantities  of  cellular  tissue 
and  other  substances,  the  author  found  that  the  specific  grav- 
ity of  these  bodies  was  much  less  than  that  of  starch. 

If  raw  starch  is  placed  in  water,  a  small  quantity  of  almost 
pure  starch  is  deposited,  but  the  bulk  only  falls  mixed  with 
the  different  substances  above  mentioned;  these,  although 
specifically  lighter,  are  relatively  more  heavy,  bein^  much 
larger  than  the  starch  grains.  M.  Maiche  takes  advantage  of 
difference  of  specific  gravity,  in  order  to  obtain  a  complete 
separation ;  he  makes  use  of  centrifVigal  force,  by  which  the 
specifically  heavier  bodies  are  thrown  farthest  off.  The  mode 
of  operation  is  the  following : — A  mixture  of  raw  starch  and 
two  parts  of  water  is  introduced  into  a  sort  of  drum  of  cop- 
per, turning  on  its  axis  at  the  rate  of  1,000  to  1,200  revolu- 
tions per  minute ;  as  soon  as  the  velocity  attains  450  turns, 
the  starch  commences  to  be  separated,  and  collects  in  a 
compact  mass,  adhering  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel ;  all  the 
impurities  remain  in  the  water,  in  the  centre,  which  is  easily 
drawn  off,  while  the  perfectly  white  and  pure  starch  can  be 
removed  in  lumps.  All  amylaceous  matters  can  be  treated 
by  this  method,  and  the  extraction  of  the  starch  which  for- 
merly required  several  weeks,  now  takes  place  in  a  few  min- 
utes. The  return  is  much  greater,  for  100  kilogs.  of  rice, 
costing  less  than  100  kilogs.  of  wheat,  give  more  than  twenty 
francs  worth  of  starch.  There  is  then  no  reason  for  employ- 
ing, in  the  manufacture  of  starch,  wheat  which  gives  the  best 
and  most  nutritious  flour,  and  the  chief  principle  of  nutrition 
of  which,  the  gluten,  is  almost  entirely  lost  by  the  process 
actually  employed. 

We  give  an  extract  from  the  excellent  lecture  given  at 
the  Society  of  Enoouragement  for  National  Industry,  on 
Phenic  Add  and  its  Compound*,  by  Dr.  Crace-Calvert  It 
is  well  known  that  when  coal  is  heated  to  a  low  degree  in 
retorts  or  distillatory  apparatus  it  gives  off  substances  that 
can  be  classed  into  tour  groups. 

1.  Gaseous  products  furnisliing  light,  heat^  and  motive 
power. 

2.  Water  containing  ammoniacal  salts,  which  can  be  puri- 
fied by  well-known  chemical  means,  and  utilised  in  agricul- 
ture and  in  the  industrial  and  medical  arts. 

3.  A  thick,  black,  sticky  mass  of  a  repulsive  odour,  to 
which  the  name  of  tar  has  been  given,  and  which  passes  over 
along  with  the  above-named  products. 

4.  A  solid  porous  body,  known  by  everybody  as  "  coke," 
which  remains  in  the  retorta 

When  tar  is  submitted  to  distillation,  first  water  is  ob- 
tained, then  products  which  pass  over  with  this  liquid,  but 
which,  lighter  than  it,  fioat  on  tlie  surface,  and  are  there- 
fore termed  the  Ught  coal  oils.  Lastly,  there  is  distilled  a 
compound  heavier  than  water,  and  consequently  called  heavy 
oH 

It  was  about  the  year  1837  that  these  heavy  oils  were  first 
used  for  the  preservation  of  sleepers  according  to  Bethell's 
process.  M.  Farestier,  engineer-in-chief  of  the  department  of 
the  Vendue,  conjointly  with  M.  Marin,  engineer,  published  a 
very  remarkable  and  very  complete  work  on  the  creosoting 
of  wood  and  its  preservation  (or  twelve,  fifteen,  or  twenty 
years  from  decay  and  the  ravages  of  water  and  the  teredo. 
There  remains  in  the  retort  a  substance  fusible  at  the  high 
temperature  attained  after  the  oils  have  parsed  over.  This 
is  asphalte  or  bitumen,  which  hardens  on  cooling.  The  dis- 
tmguifibed  lecturer  then  proceeded  to  "  phenic  acid,"  stating 


that  M.  Laurent,  the  great  French  chemist,  was  the  first  to 
indicate  the  method  of  extracting  phenic  acid  from  tar.  It 
consisted  in  submitting  the  light  coal  oils  to  a  partial  distilla- 
tioD,  and  treating  by  a  concentrated  solution  of  potash,  the 
products  distilling  at  a  temperature  between  160  and  200"" 
0. 

In  1847  Mr.  Mansfield  indicated  another  method  of  treating 
the  heavy  oils  by  caustic  alkalies,  and' towards  1856  M.  Bo- 
boBuf  made  known  his  modified  process  of  M.  Laurent  This 
consists  chiefiy  in  the  use  of  caustic  soda  instead  of  potash, 
and  treating  the  whole  of  the  light  oils,  instead  of  a  pNortioo^ 
by  Laurent's  method ;  but  this  only  gave  an  impure  acid,  yet, 
in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  it  was  a  progress.  Of  a  sim- 
ilar nature  were  the  products  manufactured  by  Mr.  John 
Bethel,  since  1847,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Calvert  They 
were  used  for  several  purposes,  either  for  the  production  of 
picric  acid,  or  for  transforming  tannic  acid  into  gallic  acid,  or 
for  preserving  organic  substances  from  putrefaction.  M.  Bo- 
boeuf  used  it  also  very  extensively  for  this  purpose. 

In  1859,  M.  Marmas,  of  the  firm  of  Guinon,  Marmas,  and 
Bonnet,  of  Lyons,  came  to  Manchester,  and  requested  Mr. 
Calvert  to  furnish  a  purer  picric  acid  than  that  hitherto  made, 
showing  him,  at  the  same  time,  a  product  white  and  crystal- 
line, which  they  furnished  as  a  type.  Mr.  Calvert  made  new 
researches,  and  discovered  that  the  roost  favourable  mode  of 
preparation  was  not  to  treat  the  coal  oils  with  concentrated 
alkalies;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  treat  impure  benzine  of 
commerce,  or  naphtha,  by  weak  alkaline  solutions. 

By  this  means,  a  blackish  semi-fiuid  product  was  obtained, 
a  little  heavier  than  water,  having  a  sp.  gr.  of  i'o6,  contain- 
ing 50  per  cent  of  real  phenic  acid,  and  which  acid  he  sepa- 
rated partly  by  the  aid  of  distillation.  After  further  re- 
searches, Mr.  Calvert  produced  white  phenic  acid  in  detached 
ciystals,  melting  between  26"  and  27  C.  Towards  the  end 
of  last  year  he  discovered  a  process  by  which  he  produces 
phenic  acid  free  from  all  unpleasant  taste;  and  what  deserves 
remark  is,  that  it  is  as  pure,  though  it  is  made  from  coal  tar, 
as  if  it  had  been  artificially  produced  by  the  aid  of  reactions 
recently  discovered  by  MM.  Wurtz  and  K6kul^. 

F.  M016NO. 


PARIS  EXHIBITION  OF  1867. 
(From  oub  Special  Correspondknt.) 

Copyright  of  the  Medals, — An  Explanation  Wanted, — Awarda 

of  Gold  and  Silver  Medals,^Extract  of  Meat. 
In  our  last  commuuicaLlon  we  felt  ourselves  bound  to  ex- 
press our  opinion  somewhat  strongly  regarding  some  of  the 
more  salient  and  least  agreeable  of  the  features  of  the  Paris 
Exhibition.  Grumbling  comes  so  naturally  to  us  English, 
and  is  therefore  so  completely  to  be  expected  fh>m  a  **  Special 
Correspondent,"  that,  feeling  a  little  ashamed  to  think  we 
had  fallen  so  easily  into  the  conventional  groove,  we  deter- 
mined to  complain  no  more,  but  proceed  like  Hotspur  in 
the  Teitgraph  to  point  out  the  probable  winnes.  At  this 
moment  the  following  circular  was  placed  before  us : — 

"  Notice  to  ExhibiU>rs,—The  Medals. 

"The  Jurors*  Awards,  and  Medals,  and  Honourable  Men- 
tions will  be  published  in  course  of  a  few  days^  and  duly  no- 
tified to  the  successful  Exhibitors. 

•*The  copyright  of  the  Medal  being  invested  in  us  by  the 
Imperial  Commission,  and  fully  secured  for  the  United  King- 
dom (13  and  14  Via,  cap.  104,  and  at  Stationers'  Hall^  we 
have  the  exclusive  right  to  publish  facsimile  copies  of  the 
Medal,  as  well  as  to  supply  all  reproductions  of  the  design  by 
every  process  of  pnnting,  photography,  embossing,  electro- 
typing,  or  otherwise. 

'  "Exhibitors,  desirous  of  introducing  the  medal  on  their 
show  cards,  labels,  or  other  printing,  should  fovour  us  w  ith 
instructions  immediately  on  receipt  of  notice  of  award. 

*'  J.  M.  JOHKSOM  AND  SOK8, 

Sole  CoDoesuonaires." 


CHsmoAL  News,  ) 
JSejA,  186T.       f 


Foreign  Science — Paria  Exhibition  of  1867. 


131 


This  predoas  document  (precious  alike  in  style  and  spirit),  in 
one  seuse  is  u>  be  received  with  enthusiasm.  Henceforth 
who  shall  dare  to  call  us  *'a  nation  of  shop  keepers?**  The 
writer  oootends  that  to  sell  any  firm  such  a  monopoly  is  emi- 
nently disgraceful.  Every .  exhibitor  then  who  obtains  a 
Medal  or  Honourable  Mention  is  to  be  forced  to  wait  as  long 
for  his  bill  heads,  blank  invoices,  or  headed  papers,  as  '*  MM. 
the  Ck>nce8sioBaires  "  pleAse,  and  will  also  be  compelled  to  pay 
any  price  for  ihero  they  may  choose  to  demand-  "  MM.  the 
Concessionaires  "  may,  for  auhgt  we  know  or  care,  be  absolute- 
ly incapable  of  presuming  unduly  on  their  exceptional  position ; 
bat,  if  ihey  do  not,  it  will  solely  be  due  to  their  good  feeling 
and  moderation.  It  is  more  than  ever  evident  that  everything 
connected  with  the  Exhibition  is  "  sold,"  especially  the  "  Kx- 
bibitors."  It  is  generally  believed,  however,  that  "  MM.  the 
Concessionaires  "  will  not  have  the  resources  of  their  estab- 
lishment too  heavily  taxed.  *'  In  things  Rone  by  we  see  the 
archetypes  of  things  that  are  to  come."     Verhum  nap. 

One  word  more;  the  readers  of  this  Journal  wiU  have  ob- 
served that  in  its  advertisement  columns  it  is  not  unusual  to 
have  illustrations  of  Exhibition  Medals.  Is  it  then  to  be  un- 
derstood that  if  any  English  Firm,  after  having  won  a  medal, 
should  wish  to  have  a  cut  of  it  as  a  heading  to  their  adver- 
tiaement^  such  firm  will  have  to  pay  a  tax  to  "MM.  the 
Concessionaires  "  ?  And  are  we  to  understand  that  in  default 
they  will  have  infringed  the  rights  "  .  .  .  .  fully  secured  for 
the  United  Kingdom  (13  and  14  Vic,  cap.  104,  and  ai  Sia- 
turners^  BaU)  **  t  We  call  upon  the  authors  of  this  wonderful 
parenthesis  to  define  disticctly  the  position  of  advertisers  in 
this  matter.  If  this  tax  is  intended  to  be  en'^orced  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  English  Medalists  will  refuse  to  lend  them- 
selves to  what  can  only  be  characterised  as  a  most  odious 
monopoly. 

It  is  with  pain  that  your  correspondent  has  felt  called  upon, 
by  an  absolute  sense  of  duly,  to  make  some  of  the  remarks 
to  be  found  in  this  and  the  last  letter.  It  is  desired,  t^  ere- 
fore,  before  proceeding  with  the  criticisms  upon  the  contents 
of  the  Exhibition,  to  state  that,  despite  what  has  been  eaid, 
the  writer  is  deeply  and  most  favourably  impressed  with  the 
vast  majority  of  his  French  experience.  Red  tape  is  always 
red  tape ;  the  red  tapists,  like  Talleyrand's  fair  enemy,  have 
bat  one  defect,  they  are  insupportable.  The  French  people 
in  general  we /cannot  speak  too  higlily  oC  It  has  been  said 
that  the  grand  old  French  politeness  is  disapp  aring ;  we 
deny  iL  Go  where  we  would,  we  found  not  only  civility  and 
politeness,  but  kindness  and  good  feeliug.  Depend  upon  it, 
where  English  people  do  not  meet  good  treatment  in  France, 
it  is  because  by  their  insular  pride  and  gaucherie  they  render 
good  t  eatment  impossible.  How  often  do  we  hear  our  coun- 
trymen use  the  idiotic  expression,  *'I  do  not  like  (oreigneis." 
Your  true  cosmopohtan  does  not  care  whether  the  man  he 
meets  is  a  foreigner  or  not ;  If  he  behaves  well  he  should  re- 
ceive corresponding  treatment  Apologising,  as  in  duty 
bound,  for  this  digression,  we  resume  our  study  of  the  objects 
exhibited.  As  we  stated  in  our  last  letter  but  one,  we  shall 
endeavour  to  take  the  cases  as  they  are  numbered  in  the  Ex- 
hibition Catalogue. 

In  addition  to  cod-liver  oil,  Messrs.  Allen  and  HanbiiYy, 
of  Plough-court,  exhibit  Liebig's  extract  of  meat,  manufac- 
tured in  Australia  at  the  establishment  of  Mr.  Robert  Tooth, 
of  Sydney,  who  was  the  first  person  in  Australia  to  establish 
works  for  the  manufacture  of  this  article.  Up  to  the  present 
time  at  Mr.  Tooth's  works  they  only  employ  beef  as  the  raw 
matenaL  These  works  alone  produce  no  lees  at  the  present 
time,  than  between  8,000  and  10,000  lbs.  per  month,  and  the 
resources  of  the  manufactory  are  such  that  they  are  capable 
of  yielding  a  much  larger  quantity  than  this. 

When  we  reflect  that  10,000  lbs.  of  extract  represent  no 
leas  than  160,000  lbs.  of  the  lean  flesh,  we  are  in  a  position 
at  once  to  see  the  amount  of  work  that  must  be  gone  through 
in  a  short  time,  in  order  that  so  perishable  a  raw  material  may 
not  be  allowed  to  spoil 

This  extract  of  meat  is  so  rapidly  flnding  its  way  into  our 
kitchens,  and  is  becoming  so  much  used  as  "  stock  "  for  soups 


and  as  the  basis  of  gravies,  that  it  bids  fair  to  become  one  of 
the  most  valuable  of  our  imports,  and  it  is  interesting  to  see 
that  the  idea  of  concentrating  a  large  amount  of  nutritious 
matter  in  a  small  compass  is  being  worked  out  in  other  direc- 
tions. Powdered  meat  is  now  being  imported,  and  if  of  really 
high  class  quality  will  probably  be  used  in  many  cases  where 
the  employment  of  the  extract  would  be  inadmissible. 

We  would  earnestly,  however,  caution  the  manufacturers 
of  these  essences  or  e:^tracts,  and  powders,  agnius^  allowing 
ever  so  small  a  quantity  of  bad  quahty  to  find  its  way  into 
the  market.  Such  substances  are  precisely  those  which  peo- 
ple at  first  are  slow  to  appreciate  and  adopt,  and  one  or  two 
bad  samples,  by  disgusting  the  purchasers,  will  retard  the 
sale  within  a  considerable  area. 

We  are  now  able  to  announce  that  no  less  than  88  gold, 
325  silver,  and  400  bronze  medals  have  been  gained  by  Bris- 
tol firms,  and  that  270  of  those  sources  of  all  despair  to  ex- 
hibitors, viz.,  honourable  mentions,  have  also  been  inflicted. 

Among  the  exhibitors  of  chemical  and  pharmaceutical 
products  the  following  have  obtained  gold  medals: — 

G.  AUhusen  and  Soru,  Tyne  Chemical  Works,  Gateshead, 
and  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  bicarbonate,  sulphate,  and  crystals 
of  soda,  alkali,  caustic  soda,  chloride  of  lime,  etc. 

W.  Gossage  and  Sonit^  Widnes,  near  Warrington,  for  soaps, 
and  silicates  used  in  making  soaps. 

The  Ja/rrow  Chemicai  Company^  South  Shields,  for  speci- 
mens of  chemical  products. 

James  Muapraii  and  Sons^  41,  Oldhall-street,  Liverpool,  for 
chemicaljproducts  connected  with  1  he  manufacture  of  alkali. 

Howard  and  Sons,  Stratford,  salts  of  quinine  and  other 
chemicals. 

Price**  Patent  Candle  Company  (LimHed)^  Belmont  Works, 
Battersea,  for  candles,  night-lights,  ols,  soaps,  and  gly- 
cerin. 

James  Young^  Chemical  Works,  Bathgate,  Scotland,  for 
solid  paraffin,  candles,  oils,  eta 

Johnson^  MaUhey^  and  Co.^  Hatton-ganlen,  for  articles  iu 
platinum  and  other  precious  metals.  In  this  instance  there 
has  been  an  award  of  what,  in  University  language,  may  be 
called  a  "  double  first,*'  as  they  have  also  received  a  gold 
medal  in  group  6,  as  well  as  a  silver  medal. 

It  is  a  most  invidious  task  to  criticise  awards  of  medals  in 
these  casea  We  all  know  how  enraged  every  exhibitor  be- 
comes who  does  not  get  a  medal.  We  must  remember,  hoW' 
ever,  that,  in  the  first  place,  many  of  our  best  houses,  dis- 
gusted with  the  labour,  expense,  and  loss  of  time  entailed  by 
exhibiting,  had  refused  to  send  anything  to  Paris.  In  the 
next  place,  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  Very  large  proportion  of 
the  chemicals  and  drugs  exhibited  were  not  above  medioc- 
rity. 

We  regret  that  so  much  of  the  small  space  which  is  week- 
ly at  our  disposal  has  of  necessity  been  spent  in  discussions 
not  immediately  connected  with  the  chemistry  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion. Now,  however,  that  the  awards  are  given,  we  hope 
that  nothing  further  will  arise  to  force  us  to  occupy  our  let* 
ters  with  matters  unconnected  with  science. 

The  following  firms  have  obtained  Silver  Medals : — Bailey, 
B6wicke,  British  Seaweed,  Calvert,  H.  B.  Oondy,  O^w,  Hill, 
Denton  and  Jutsum,-  Deniuth,  Field,  Gaskell,  D.  and  W.  Gibbs, 
Hopkin  and  Williams,  Hurlet  Alum  Company,  Johnson  and 
Matthey,  Knight,  Macfarlane,  Mauder  Brothers,  Mawson, 
Ogleby,  Parkes,  Rose,  Smith,  Tudor,  Walker  Alkali  Company, 
Warne,  Wilkinson.  Bronze  Medals : — Adams,  May,  and  Baker 
(Class  30),  Britannia  Rubber,  Burgoyne,  Bush,  Cailey,  Clark, 
W.  Cook  and  Co.,  Danley,  Davy  Yates  and  Routledge,  Day 
and  Martin,  Dodge,  Garrod,  Goodwin,  Green,  Haas  and  Co., 
Hodgson  and  Simpson,  Holland,  Hosegood,  Huskissou,  J. 
Jarrow,  Langton  and  Bicknells,  Lamb  and  Sterry,  Lange 
and  Moselle,  Lowe  (Manchester),  M'Dougal,  M'Kay,  Mason, 
Nimmo,  J.  N.  Parker  and  Co.,  Pulford,  W.  Ransome,  Rogers, 
Rumsey,  Squire,  Stephens,  Talbot  and  Alder,  W.  Taylor^  and 
Co.,  Turner  and  Son,  Wandle,  Waring. 

Class  45.— Specimens  of  the  Chemical  Processes  used  in 
Bleaching,  Dyeing,  Priming,  and  Dressing.— Silver  Medal: 


1^2 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exhihitian  of  1867. 


j  CfflOciCAL  News, 
1     \36pL,  18«7. 


— Hands,  Ripley.  Bronze  Medal : — ^Barlow,  Dickens,  Howe. 
Honourable  Mention : — Whincup. 

Messrs.  C.  AUhnsen  and  Sons,  of  the  Tyne  Chemical  Works, 
Gateshead,  and  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  obtained  a  medal  in 
Class  U.  Section  A.  for  their  display  in  the  English  Exhibi- 
tion of  1862,  and  that  they  fully  sustain  their  old  position  is 
evident  from  their  present  exhibition  illustrating  the  manufac- 
ture of  soda.  They  show  bicarbonate,  sulphate,  and  crystals 
of  ^]^,  alkali,  caustic  soda,  of  60  and  70  per  cent.,  chloride  of 
lune,  etc.  As  we  stated  in  our  last,  they  have  obtained  a  gold 
medal  for  the  superior  quality  of  their  productions. 

It  is  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  study  the  mechan- 
ical and  chemical  requirements  of  one  of  these  colossal  chemical 
manufactories.  We  all  know  the  enormous  space  required  for 
Yitriol  chambers,  and  the  absorption  apparatus  for  making 
chloride  of  lime.  In  addition  to  this,  which  alone  forms  an 
immense  plant,  there  are  actually  saw-mills,  common  and  fire- 
brick manufactories,  coke-ovens,  and  gas-works,  besides,  of 
course,  an  extensive  cooperage.  Such  is  the  nature  of  Messrs. 
Allhusen  and  Sous*  "  plant,"  and  they  are,  we  believe,  by  no 
means  the  largest  manufacturers  of  their  class.  After  this  we 
shall  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  their  weekly  oonsumption 
of  raw  material  is  as  follows : — 

Coal 2,250  tons. 

Pyrites 350  " 

Nitrate  of  soda 10  " 

Chalk 900  " 

Salt 450  " 

Manganese 100  " 

Dmestone 125  *' 

The  weekly  production  of  sulphate  of  soda  is  500  tons,  eqniv 
alent  to  375  tons  of  soda  ash  or  unrefined  alkali ;  which  is  in 
subsequent  processes  converted  into  quantities  varying  with 
the  demand,  and  not  exceeding  separately  450  tons  of  crystals 
of  soda,  150  tons  refined  alkali,  100  tons  bicarbonate  soda,  30 
tons  caustic  soda,  and  1 10  tons  chloride  of  lime. 

So  much  has  been  written  and  said  about  the  soda  process, 
that  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  to  enter  upon  the  subject  here, 
except  to  say  that  in  spite  of  the  innumerable  attempts  that 
have  b^n  made  to  supersede  Leblanc^s  method,  it  is  still  ad- 
hered to  by  all  manufacturers  of  soda.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  W. 
Goesage,  of  Warrington  (whose  name  has  been  so  long  and  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  alkali  manufacture),  has  devised  a 
new  plan  which  appears  to  have  the  germs  of  success  in  it; 
but  whether  it  is  absolutely  a  commercial  success,  we  are  not 
at  the  present  moment  aware.  This  much  is  certain,  that  the 
new  process  cannot  be  in  the  hands  of  any  one  more  aware  of 
the  difficulties  lying  in  the  way,  or  better  prepared  successfully 
to  encounter  them. 

Vauquelin  a  very  longtime  ago  endeavoured  to  take  advan- 
tage of  a  reaction  which  even  appears  to  have  been  known  to 
the  alchemists,  namrly,  that  when  chloride  of  sodium  is  heated 
to  a  high  temperature  in  presence  of  silica  and  water  vapour, 
hydrochloric  acid  is  evolved  and  a  silicate  of  sodium  formed. 
The  production  of  soda  from  this  silicate  is  a  problem  that  has 
attracted  a  vast  number  of  chemists,  but,  up  to  the  present 
time,  unsuccessfully.  Tilgbmann  in  1847,  and  Fritzsche  in 
1858,  have  both  attacked  the  question,  but,  as  &r  as  we  know, 
with  no  material  advantage. 

Mr.  Gossage  subjects  the  silica  to  the  action  of  chloride  of 
sodium  in  the  state  of  vapour,  and  in  an  atmosphere  of  steam. 
Th  s  is  effected  by  sendmg  the  steam  and  the  vapour  of  the 
salt  into  a  large  tower  lined  with  fire  brick  and  filled  with  flints. 
The  silicate  of  soda  flows  down,  thus  exposing  a  fresh  surface 
of  the  flint  to  the  action  of  the  vapour.  The  silicate  of  soda 
has  to  be  decomposed  by  either  carbonic  acid  or  lime.  The 
details  of  this  part  of  the  process  are  not  in  our  possession  at 
present,  and  trom  the  known  difficulties  which  lie  in  the  way, 
must  be  very  ingenious  and  instructive ;  we  hope,  however, 
to  be  able  to  lay  a  complete  account  before  our  readers  at  no 
distant  period. 

Mr.  Gossage  has  most  deservedly  had  hiB  labours  recog- 


nised, he  being  one  of  the  few  Bng^h  exhibitors  of  diem- 
ical  products  who  have  been  awarded  a  gold  medaL 

Before  proceeding  any  farther  in  our  notices  of  the  Eng- 
lish exhibitors,  we  must  once  more  express  our  deep  regret 
that  none  of  the  manufacturers  of  aniline  dyea  ware  repre- 
sented. When  we  remember  the  part  that  England  has 
taken  in  the  disooyery  and  investigation  of  ooal  tar  colours, 
it  is  almost  humiliatiMg  to  see  the  brilliant  cases  of  foreign 
manufacturers,  whose  only  pert  in  the  matter  has  been  to 
infringe  our  patents,  and  by  deluging  the  market  with  cheap, 
and  in  most  cases  inferior  ooloura,  bringing  the  trade  to  the 
verge  of  ruin.  This  remark,  be  it  understood,  is  not  intend- 
ed to  apply  to  the  French  chemists,  who,  it  must  be  admit- 
ted, have  treated  us  with  fa^more  justice  than  our  German 
brethren.  We  looked  in  Vlun  for  a  specimen  of  the  superb 
Britannia  violet  of  the  MM.  Perkin,  which  for  two  years  has 
been  the  most  sucoesafal  rival  of  Hofinann's  violets.  For  a 
long  time  its  extreme  solubility  in  water  (almost  as  great  as 
ordinary  ^  Kofinann  *'  in  spirit)  made  it  stand  alone,  but  we 
believe  that  M.  Porrier's  violet  from  methyl-aniline  is  also  re- 
markable in  that  respect  as  well  as  for  its  brilliancy.  A 
method  has  been  adopted,  we  understand,  for  rendering 
Hofmann's  violet  soluble  ui  water. 

The  cases  of  MM.  Perrier  and  Cheppet  Fils,  and  of  the 
Fuchsine  Company  are,  especially  the  latter,  exoeecungly 
interesting  and  well  arranged,  and  the  more  we  admired 
them  the  more  vexed  we  were  to  see  no  rivals  to  them  in 
the  English  department,  especially  when  we  knew  how 
easy  it  would  have  been  for  Perkin  and  Nidbiolson  and  Gow  to 
have  beaten  them. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked  us,  '*  Did  the  Faoh- 
sine  Company,  ever  bring  out  any  colour  of  their  own  in- 
vention ?'*  Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  will  be  able  to 
answer  this. 

The  next  case  in  order  which  we  shall  notice,  is  that  of 
Messrs.  Samuel  Berger  and  Co.,  who  display  spedmena  of 
rice  starch ;  but  their  case,  which  looks  very  dull,  has  only 
two  dishes  of  starch  and  sevenshow cards  in  it,  and  there- 
fore simply  seems  as  a  foil  to  tne  case  of  J.  and  J.  Coleman, 
and  Isaac  Beckitt  and  Sons.  Both  l^ose  firms  gained  medals 
in  the  English  Exhibition  of  1862.  the  starches  of  all  these 
makers  appear  of  the  finest  possible  quality.  Messrs.  Cole* 
man  and  Co.,  and  Messrs.  Beckitt  and  Sons  both  show  col- 
oured starches  of  various  shades.  By  means  of  these 
tinted  starches  muslins  can  be  "got  up  "  of  any  desired  tint> 
and  ladies  can  therefore  have  a  muslin  dress  of  a  different 
colour  every  day,  it  being  merely  necessary  to  wash  it  and 
then  stiffen  with  starch  of  the  desired  hue.  We  have  been  in- 
formed by  those  who  have  used  them,  that  the  results  are  all 
that  can  be  desired. 

Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  may  be  unaware  that  starch 
can  be  dyed  with  &o  utmost  facility,  and  without  destroy- 
ing the  granules,  by  merely  filtermg  a  solution  containing 
the  desired  colouring  matter  through  a  layer  of  the  starch. 
When  dried  at  a  very  moderate  temperature,  the  so-called 
"  starch  lakes ''  are  thus  produced,  and  in  brilliancy  and  soft 
beauty  of  tone  they  are  perhaps  unsurpassed.  Unfor- 
tunately colours  thus  prepared  have  but  little  "body,"  and, 
what  is  perhaps  worse,  they  are  decidedly  fhgitive.  Never- 
theless for  many  purposes  where  a  beautiful  "mat*^  surface 
is  required  of  velvety  texture,  they  are  very  useful  Coloured 
confectioneryjnay  be  cited  as  an  instance  where  the  starch 
lakes  may  be  legitimately  employed. 

Messrs.  Isaac  Beckitt  and  Sons  have  had  the  wisdom  to 
display,  side  by  side  with  the  coloured  starches,  muslins  of 
corresponding  tint  prepared  by  theur  use.  We  would 
recommend  these  gentlemen  to  renew  the  muslins,  and  also 
the  coloured  starches,  at  moderate  intervals,  as  they  will  not 
stand  many  months  of  glaring  daylight,  without  undergoing 
deterioration. 

We  are  not  with  certainty  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  dyes 
used  by  these  firms  for  the  purpose  of  colouring  their 
starches,  but  all  the  coal  tar  colours  are  admirably  fuiapted 
for  the  purpose,  as  the  colour  is  almost  entirely  absorbed 


GBBXICAL  F«W8,  ) 

Stpi^  1867.      f 


Foreign  Science — Pam  Mjohibition  of  1S67. 


133 


when  oold  aquoous  solutions  are  filtered  throngh  a  moder- 
ately thick  layer  of  the  starch. 
Group  v.— ClaiM  44 1  Cbemlcal  and  Pl&annae«utl- 

cal  Products.— Numbered  7  in  the  English  catalogue  (8 
in  the  Gaialogut  04nerdl)j  we  find  *'  Berwick,  George,  34, 
Chiswell  Street,  London.  Baking  powder,  chemicals,  spices, 
etc,"  and  wo  are  also  referred  to  p.  132  of  the  appendix  for 
Airier  details.  What  can  induce  any  one  to  exhibit  baking 
powder  we  are  really  at  a  loss  to  imagine.  It  oertaiuly  is 
not  a  subject  of  any  sdontific  interestj  it  is  not  a  novelty,  it 
is  not  interesting  in  appearanoe ;  its  mere  physical  character 
offers  no  guarantee  of  its  purity,  and,  in  fact,  its  negative 
qualities  preponderate  so  largely,  that  positively  we  are  as- 
tonished that  its  exhibitor  did  not  (like  a  great  firm  of 
blacking  manufacturers)  obtain  a  medal  And  yet  this  bak- 
ing powder,  so  insignificant  in  appearance,  so  uninteresting  in 
a  scientific  point  of  view,  so  unfit,  therefore  for  exhibition,  is 
measured  by  a  commercial  standard,  of  far  more  importance 
than  many  objects  that  rivet  our  attention  by  their  beauty  or 
scientific  interest.  We  have  been  credibly  informed  that  a 
fortune  has  been  made  by  its  sale. 

*  Then  what  is  this  baking  powder  out  of  which  fortunes 
have  been,  or  are  to  be  made  7  Of  the  composition  of  the 
powder  of  Berwick  we  know  nothing,  but  Cooley's  powder 
is  as  follows }— Tartaric  add,  i  lb.;  borcarbonate  of  soda  and 
potato  farina,  or  British  arrow-root,  of  each  f  lb.  (eadi  in 
powder) ;  separately  dry  them  perfectly  by  a  very  gen  He  heat, 
then  mix  them  in  a  dry  room,  press  the  mixture  through  a 
sieve^  and  at  once  put  into  packets,  observing  to  press  it  hiard, 
and  to  cover  it  with  the  foil  or  dose-made  paper,  to  preserve  it 
as  much  as  possible  ih>m  the  air  and  moisture.  Delfort's 
formula  prindpally  difiiers  in  the  addition  of  ahrniTf  and  car- 
bonate of  ammonium.  With  the  addition  of  a  little  turmeric 
the  compound  becomes  the  "  Egg  powder  "  so  often  seen  in 
the  windows  of  grocers  and  oil-men.  These  mixtures  are 
used  in  domestic  economy  as  substitutes  for  yeast  in  bread 
and  butter  in  pastry,  and  are  in  their  way,  and  in  their 
proper  places,  useful, although  humble  a^uncts  to  the  materia 
may  we  not  say  mddica\  of  the  non-professi^al  cook. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  by  enaUing  pastry  to  be  made 
equally  light,  and  with  one-third  less  butter,  the  better  class 
of  balnng  powders  have  prevented  many  a  bilious  and  dys- 
peptic attack. 

Mr.  Berwick,  in  addition  to  his  baking-powders,  exhibits 
what  he  terms  "  ozonised  cod-liver  oil"  We  are  sorry  to 
find  cod-liver  oil  '*  repeating "  itself  in  our  notices  of  the 
chemical  and  pharmaceutical  products  in  the  Frendi  Ex- 
hibition, but  we  will  not  prevent  the  unsavoury  nature  of  the 
subject  to  turn  us  from  our  duty.  We  consider  "  ozonised 
cod-liver  oil "  to  be  the  greatest  of  the  many  delusions  con- 
nected with  this  useful  food — ^for  food  it  is  purely  and  simply, 
and  the  sooner  medical  men  understand  its  true  character 
the  better  for  their  patients. 

Mr.  Berwick's  prospectus  states  that  the  impregnation  of 
cod-liver  oil  with  ozone  is  for  the  purpose  of  "  conveying 
artifidallj  to  the  lungs  of  the  delicate  and  consumptive, 
without  the  effort  of  inhah^tion,  and  in  larger  proportions 
than  found  in  the  atmosphere,  this  extraordinary  life-giving 
agent"  The  prospectus  concludes  with  t^  following  some- 
what rash  paragraph :  "  In  fact,  it  is  now  proved  beyond 
doubt,  that  ozone  is  to  the  weak,  delicate,  and  consumptive, 
what  quinine  is  to  those  who  are  affected  with  fever— (^ 
nearesi  approach  to  a  ape'siflc  yet  discovered.^  The  italics  are 
those  of  Mr.  Berwick. 

Now,  it  appears  to  us  that  this  prospectus  has  certain 
points  of  resemblance  to  the  three  incompatible  pleas  anent 
the  cracked  pot,  viz.:  '*  ist,  that  it  was  cracked  when  we 
borrowed  it;  2nd,  that  it  was  whole  when  we  returned  it; 
ird,  that  we  never  had  it  at  aE"  For,  in  tiie  first  place,  a 
distinguished  diemist  who  purchased  some  and  examined  it, 
came  to  the  condusion — ist,  thai  it  did  not  convey  ozone  to 
the  lungs  of  the  delicate  and  consumptive ;  2nd,  that  if  it 
did,  it  was  not  "  to  the  weak,  delicate,  and  consumptive, 
what  quinine  is  to  those  who  are  affected  vrith  fever;  and, 


3rdly,  that  it  did  not  contain  ozone  at  all."  It  is  really  in- 
conceivable how  any  one  with  even  a  smattering  of  chemical 
knowledge  could  imagine  even  if  the  oil  did  contain  ozone 
that  it  would  carry 'it  to  the  lungs.  The  trifling  fact  that  the 
oil  has  to  be  digested  before  it  can  enter  the  blood  seems  to 
escape  the  believers  in  this  so-called  remedy.  That  certain 
oils  acquire  powerfully  oxidising  properties  on  exposure  to 
light  and  air  we  admit,^but  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  all 
cases  yet  known  the  active  oxygen  attacks  the  oil  iiself  as 
soon  as  the  temperature  is  raised,  and  many  even  attack 
other  oxidisable  substances  present  at  the  same  time.  The 
most  remarkable  instance  of  the  oxidisation  of  essential  oil, 
is,  undoubtedly,  that  of  isoprene* ;  but  when  ozonised 
isoprene  is  distilled  (although  it  boils  at  about  4o''0.)  the 
ozone  present  attacks  the  isoprene  with  violence,  and  eon- 
verts  it  into  an  oxodised  substance.  We  think,  moreover, 
with  the  observer  of  that  reaction,  that  it  is  doubtful  if  the 
oxygen  in  what  we  have  hitherto  termed  ozonised  oils  is 
really  in  the  state  of  ozone.  The  phenomena  attending  the 
passage  of  ozone  through  tubes  of  caoutchouc  seem  to  in- 
dicate the  impossibility  of  ozone  existing  (as  audi)  in  the 
preisence  of  oxidisable  organic  matters. 

Even  if  we  admit  that  consumptive  patients  are  better  in 
an  atmosphere  which  indicates  the  presence  of  ozone  (or 
what  is  assumed  to  be  ozone)  what  does  that  really  prove  ? 
It  seems  to  us  rather  to  show  that  consumptive  people  are 
better  when  the  air  is  free  fh>m  impurities  inoompatible  with 
the  presence  of  ozone,  than  that  the  ozone  itself  is  beneficial 
to  them.  The  reaction  indicated  by  ozone  test  papers  is  not 
the  measure  of  the  total  quantity  originally  in  the  air,  but  of 
the  residue  left  after  the  destruction  of  the  impurities.  But 
enough  of  this ;  we  trust  that  the  time  is  fast  approaching 
when  medical  men  will  know^more,  and  talk  less,  about  oxy- 
gen and  ozone.  If  one  did  not  hear  it  so  often,  it  would 
seem  impossible,  that  in  these  days  of  education,  doctors  are 
still  found  who  tell  their  patients  to  go  to  the  sea-side, 
^' where  there  is  more  oxygen  than  in  the  dose  and  confined 
streets  of  towns." 

The  British  Sea*>weed  Oompany  (Limited)  Whitecrook 
CJhemical  Works,  Dahnuir,  Glasgow,  have  aii  interesting 
ooUection  illustrating  Mr.  Stanford's  process  of  treating  sea- 
weeds. 

When  sea-weed  is  incinerated  in  the  usual  way  a  great 
loss  of  iodine  is  experienced,  amounting,  it  is  said,  to  no  loss 
than  half.  Mr.  Stanford,  by  distilling  the  weeds  in  iron 
retorts,  entirely  prevents  this  loss,  and  obtains,  in  addition 
to  a  valuable  series  of  products  of  destructive  distillation,  a 
charcoal  whidi,  after  lixiviation,  is  well  adapted  for  the 
purposes  for  which  animal  charcoal  is  generally  used.  Indeed 
we  are  informed  that  the  carefully  prepared  charcoal,  from 
oertain  varieties  of  weed,  actually  exceed  in  bleaching 
power  the  best  animal  charcoal  to  be  found  in  commerce. 
The  extreme  porosity  of  sea-weed  charcoal  is  greatiy  in  its 
favour  for  bleadiing  and  deodorising,  in  fact,  so  readily  does 
it  allow  even  thick  syrups  to  pass,  that  the  filters  seldom  or 
never  become  clogged,  if  properly  arranged.  They  exhibit 
three  different  kinds  of  this  charcoal ;  No  i  flrom  "  Tangle  " 
is  intended  for  sewage  filtration  and  as  a  deodoriser ;  No.  2, 
from  Bardarrie,  is  at  present  sold  for  bleaching ;  and  No.  3, 
from  Black  Wrack,  is  proposed  for  sugar-refining. 

The  Company  also  exhibit  iodine,  bromine,  and  potash 
salts,  the  latter  extracted  from  the  charcoal  remaining  in  the 
retorts  after  the  distillation  is  finished.  There  is  also 
sufBdent  nitrogen  in  the  sea-weed  to  yield  enough  ammonia 
to  figure  as  an  element  in  the  profits  of  the  undertaking. 
Whether  the  oils  and  tar  shown  are  of  sufficient  value  to  be 
of  importance  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view  we  are  not 
aware.  We  should  like  to  know  whether  a  thorough  sden- 
tific  examination  of  the  add,  basic,  and  neutral  products  of 
the  destructire  distillation  of  sea-weed  has  yet  been  made, 
as  it  would  be  very  interesting  to  compare  them  with  those 
from  wood  and  coaX  and  espedally  peat 


•  PblL  Trans,  i860. 


134 


CliemicdL  Society. 


j  ComiCAi.  NKW0, 
1       SepL,  1867. 


It  18  highly  satisfactory  to  find  that  the  process  which 
was  considered  hy  the  jurors  of  the  Exhibition  of  1862  as 
sufficiently  hopeful  and  ingenious  to  deserve  a  medal,  ia  now 
carried  to  a  successful  issue  under  the  superintendence  of 
i  ts  inventor. 

REPORTS    OF    SOCIETIES. 


CHEMICAL    SOCIETY. 

Thursday^  June  2a 

Dr.  Warb£N  De  ia  Rub,  F.KS.,  President^  in  the  Chair. 

In  continuation  of  our  report  of  this  meeting,  we  have  yet 

several  communications  remaining  to  be  noticed. 

Professor  J.  A.  Wakklyn  read  a  paper  on  "  Water  Ana^ 
lysia;  Determinaiion  of  ihe  Niirogenoue  MoXiiesr^^  of  which 
Messrs.  E.  T.  Chapman,  Miles  H.  Smith,  and  himself  were 
joint  authors.  Referring  to  the  present  unsatisfactory  state 
of  our  knowledge  respecting  tho  decompositions  md  mode 
of  detection  of  organic  matters  (and  particularly  those  of 
animal  origin)  occurring  in  potable  waters,  the  authors  quote 
experiments  which  tend  to  prove  that,  by  the  evaporation 
test,  the  quality  of  an  identical  (bad)  sample  of  water  may 
appear  widely  different  according  to  the  rate  of  evaporation 
and  the  manner  of  applying  the  necessary  heat  in  the  pro- 
cess of  analysis ;  and,  further,  when  a  sample  of  water  con- 
taining urea  or  other  sewage  products,  is  diluted  with  a 
known  proportion  of  distilled  water  the  indication  of  impurity 
is  not  diminished  in  the  ratio  anticipated.  Extracts  from 
the  Report  on  Metropohtan  Waters  by  Drs.  Hofmann  and 
Blyth,  1865,  and  flrom  the  Discourse  on  Potable  Waters 
delivered  last  year  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Miller  were  read  as  author- 
itative admissions  of  this  and  similar  practical  difficulties. 
The  authors  further  state  that  no  reliance  can  be  placed  on 
Pugh's  method  of  estimating  nitric  acid  as  ordinarily  per- 
formed, and  that  ammonia  cannot  bo  determined  in  waters 
containing  nitrogenous  organic  matters  by  any  process 
involving  the  boiling  with  an  alkali 

Direct  experiments  were  made  upon  known  quantities  of 
urea,  albumen,  and  gelatin  dissolved  in  water,  and  the  sin- 
gular fact  was  disclosed  that,  whilst  the  first  of  these  bodies 
is  completely  changed  into  ammonia  by  boiling  with  carbon- 
die  of  aodOy  the  two  latter  substances  resist  decomposition 
until  caustic  soda  (or  potash)  is  introduced,  when  ane-Vwrd 
of  the  nitrogen  contained  in  them  is  evolved  m  the  form  of 
ammonia.  The  remaining  two-thirds  of  this  constituent  are 
finally  liberated  in  the  same  form  upon  adding  some  crystals 
of  the  permanganate  of  potash  and  continuing  the  distilla- 
tion. The  authors  employ  Nessler's  test  for  indicating  the 
proportion  of  ammonia  originally  contained  as  such  in  the 
water,  as  well  as  that  subsequently  formed,  and  they  rely 
upon  the  before-mentioned  ratio  9M  oonfirmatory  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  nitrogen  in  this  most  objectionable  albuminoid 
form.  The  details  of  operating  are  minutely  described  in 
the  paper,  and  several  examples  are  given  by  way  of  show- 
ing the  application  of  the  process.  Thames  water  collected 
at  London-bridge  on  June  iS,  tide  two  hours'  flood,  con- 
tained— 

Oraiiis  per  galloBk 

Ammonia  (ready  formed) '0980 

Urea -0889 

Albuminous  matter  (equivalent  to  white  of  egg)    '8820 

Other  results  are  quoted  for  East  London  water.  New  River, 
Lambeth  and  Vauxhall,  and  water  taken  from  the  pumps  in 
Berkeley-square  and  Bishopsgate-street 

The  President  inquired  the  reason  of  its  being  found 
necessary  to  determine  the  ammonia  separately  in  the  dis- 
tilled products  obtained  hi  the  second  and  third  stages  of 
the  operation.  Why  not  mix  these  together  and  proceed  to 
estimate  at  once  the  whole  of  the  nitrogen  existmg  in  the 
organic  form  ? 

Professor  Wakkltn,  In  reply,  said  this  course  might  be 
adopted,  but   he   considered   that  a  valuable   indication 


towards  fixing  the  nature  of  the  nitrogen  was  obtained  by 
their  separate  examination,  and  this  did  not  in  practice  00 
cupy  a  longer  time. 

D^  Thddichum  offered  some  remarks  on  the  probable 
applicability  of  this  process  to  the  examination  of  the  "  rice- 
water  "  evacuations  in  cases  of  cholera. 

Mr.  DuoALD  Campbell  said  tliat  his  experiences  were  not 
in  accordance  with  the  statement  just  now  made  by  Profes- 
sor Wanklyn.  He  found  that  a  solution  of  gelatin  invariably 
gave  off  part  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia  even 
upon  distillation  with  carbonate  of  soda,  and  the  results 
in  the  case  of  urea  were  not  decisive,  since  it  required  an 
addition  of  caustic  alkali  before  all  the  ammonia  resulting 
from  its  decomposition  could  be  expelled.  Permanganate 
of  potash  had  been  tried  by  the  speaker  in  the  examination 
of  abnormal  excreta  obtained  in  a  diabetic  q^se,  but  neither 
this  agent  alone,  or  aided  by  the  addition  of  the  caustic 
alkali,  sufficed  to  liberate  the  whole  of  the  nitrogen  even 
when  the  heat  applied  was  so  great  as  to  cause  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  glass  vessel 

Mr.  B.  T.  Chapkan  remarked  that  when  the  amount  of 
albumen  or  gelatin  operated  upon  was  found  considerable,  it 
was  necessiuy  to  fill  up  the  retort  once  or  twice  with  pure 
water,  otherwise  the  whole  of  the  ammonia  oould  not  be 
obtained  by  distillation.  This  precaution  might  even  be 
required  in  the  examination  of  any  impure  water. 

Dr.  Cook  made  a  short  statement  in  general  confirmation 
of  Mr.  Campbell's  remarks. 

The  Sbgbbtart  then  r^id  a  paper  entitled  "  Anadgsis  of  a 
Biliary  Concrdum^  and  on  a  New  Method  of  preparing  BQivef' 
dtne,^'  by  Dr.  T.  L.  Phipson.  The  concretion  was  found  in 
the  liver  of  a  pig,  and  was  of  considerable  sise,  being  about 
3  by  2  inches,  and  of  a  yellow,  waxy  appearance.  In  the 
natural  state  it  contained  37  per  oent.  of  water,  but  afler 
pulverisation  and  exposure  to  air  it  lost  all  but  the  8  per 
oent  shown  in  the  analysis.  Duplicate  determinations  were 
made  of  most  of  the  constituents.  The  gall-stone  had  the 
following  composition: — 

Watef 800 

Cholesterine 1*35 

Mucus 1 1*50 

Hyocholate  of  soda,  with  some  hyocholic  acid  - 

and  hyocholine 275 

Cholep3rrrhine 61  '36 

Carbonate  of  lime 1  '55 

Phosphate  of  lime 3*25 

Soda i-ii 

Chloride  of  sodium y'ljv 

Caprjlio  acid,  matters  not  determined,  and 

loss ...     2'00 


The  principal  constituent  is  the  y^ow  colouring  matter, 
cholepyrrhine  (or  bilipheine) ;  this,  on  digestion  with  alcohol 
acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  passes  into  solution  as 
biliverdine,  which  has  a  bluish-green  colour,  and  may  be 
separated  on  addition  of  water.  The  author's  experiments 
have  led  him  to  believe  that  there  is  a  dose  analogy  between 
the  yeUow  and  green  colouring  matters  of  leaves  and  the 
bilipheine  and  biliverdine  derived  from  animal  sources.  The 
last  named  body  is  said  to  differ  from  chlorophyll  only  by 
the  elements  of  two  equivalents  of  carbonic  acid. 

Dr.  THUDioauM  said  that  the  occurrence  of  gall-stones  in 
the  pig  was  exceedingly  rare.*  He  regarded  the  analogy  or 
identity  of  chlorophyll  and  biliverdine  as  altogether  impos- 
sible, these  substances  showing  great  differences  in  meir 
optical  properties  as  well  as  in  Uieir  composition. 

A  paper,  by  Dr.  Stenhouse,  ^^  On  the  Action  of  Chloride  of 
Iodine  on  Picric  Addt^^  was  next  read.  Referring  to  a  pre- 
vious communication  to  the  society  in  which  the  ultimate 
products  of  this  acllon  were  stated  to  be  chloropicriu  and 
chloraml,  the  author  has  now  investigated  the  intermediate 


Nrits, 


}       Spectinim  Aiialyais  applied  to  the  Heavenly  Bodies. 


135 


plwiiut  \ 


'  Ji^i  ^^<^  could  not  fonnerly  (from  the  manner  of  con- 
'  r^.^  P  operation)  be  ietolatcMi.  Three  parts  eacii  of 
.  .';'  fcicric  add,  together  with  one  part  of  iodine,  were 
■  into  a  digestiDg  flask  through  which  a  current  of 
'y^  pasaedf  whilst  the  contents  were  maintamed  at 
inperature  for  several  hours,  and  until  red  nitrous 
•  Aenoed  to  appear.  The  chloride  of  iodine  was 
jed  off  and  the  residue  in  the  retort  heated  with 
kter,  from  which,  on  cooling,  crystals  of  dinitro- 
,  /nio  add  separated  out  Ansdjses  both  of  this  acid 
.  m  silver  salt  were  made.  Its  formula  (GsHsCl  [NO9]) 
.  /all  its  properties  coincide  with  those  observed  m 
fduct  obtained  by  Griess  when  acting  upon  chlorinated 
it  with  nitric  add. 
Dr.  Stenhouse  treated  Siyphnic  Add  in  a  similar  manner, 
bat  this  gave  only  chloropicrin  and  carbonic  add,  thus  add- 
ini^  fbrther  support  to  a  previous  statement  of  the  author 
"  that  Btyphnic  add  is  not,  as  Erdmann  erroneously  cup- 
poeed,  merely  an  oxidated  picric  add,  but  it  must  have  a 
different  nudeus." 

The  Secbetabt  then  gave  a  short  account  of  a  paper,  by 
Mr.  Henry  Basaett,  "  On  JtUin'e  Chloride  of  Ccbrbon:'  Dr. 
Hugo  M  Oiler  obtained,  in  1864,  a  white  chlorinated  product 
by  Uie  action  of  pentachlorlde  of  antimony  upon  benzol,  and 
gave  to  4t  the  formula  GaGIq,  suggesting  its  identity  with 
the  chloride  of  carbon  of  Julin,  to  whidi  Berthelot  ascribed 
the  doubtful  formula  CioClio.  Mr.  Bassett  has  now  repro- 
duced Dr.  Muller's  body  by  passing  chloroform  vapour 
through  a  red  hot  porcelain  tube.  It  crystallises  in  long 
colourless  needles,  which  are  fusible  at  231^  C,  and  the 
Tapour  density  and  analytical  results  were  found  to  corre- 
spond  to  the  formula  GsCle. 

The  President  then  adjourned  the  meeting  until  Novem- 
ber 7,  as  already  announced. 


BOYAL  INSTITUTION  OP  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

A  Course  oflbur  Lectures  on  Spectrum  Analysis^  mih  its  Ap- 

pUcaiions  to  Astronomy.    By  Williah  ^len  Milleb, 

M.D.,  F.R.S.,  <fcc 

Lbotube  III 
Soiar  Spectnmi. — MeOiods  of  Observation, — Constituents  of  the 
Solar  Atmosphere.— Spectra  of  the  Moon,  and  of  the  Planets^ 
Comets,  and  Meteors. — Inferences. 
Wb  approach  to-day  the  most  difficult,  and  what  may  prob- 
ably bo  considered  the  most  interesting  part  of  the  subject 
xrhich  I  have  undertaken  to  bring  before  you,  the  applica- 
tion of  the  prindples  of  spectrum  analysis  to  the  examina- 
tion of  the  condition  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Our  attention 
will  be  specially  directed  to  the  sun  and  some  of  the  bodies 
of  the  aolar  system. 

In  order  that  I  may  do  this  with  effect,  let  me  briefly  re- 
capitulate the  prindpal  facts  which  I  have  to  make  use  of— 
&ct8  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  bring  before  you  experi- 
mentally in  the  last  two  lectures. 

We  shall  have  to-day  to  examine  the  third  of  the  classes 
of  spectra  represented  in  the  diagram — continuous  bright 
spectra  crossed  by  dark  lines.  Now  it  will  be  remembered 
that  every  gaseous  body  at  a  suffidently  elevated  tempera- 
ture, has  a  spedfio  spectrum.  That  spectrum  may  have  its 
brilliancy  increased  as  the  temperature  rises,  and  it  may 
have  new  lines  brought  out,  but  it  does  not  lose  lines  which 
it  exhibits  at  a  lower  temperature.  We  saw  that  compound 
bodies,  when  su£5deutly  heated,  were  separated  into  their 
components,  and  that  such  compound  bodies  under  those 
circumstances  gave  rise  to  the  special  spectra  of  their  com- 
ponents. In  many  cases  some  of  these  components  are  of  a 
nature  whidi  give  feeble  spectra,  consequently  the  spectra 
of  these  bodies  may  entirely  disappear  fVom  tiie  image  pro- 
jected upon  the  screen,  although  the  spectra  of  the  other 
constituent  is  exceedingly  plain.  Spectra  of  the  transparent 
elementary  gases  in  ^drticnlar  are  amongst  those  which 


disappear  under  those  conditions,  such  as  oxygen,  nitrogen, 
and  the  permanent  gases  generally.  In  one  or  two  instances, 
elevation  of  ten^^erature  brings  out  in  these  gases,  spectra 
which  differ  from  those  produced  at  lower  temperatures.  A 
new  spectrum  is  indicated  at  the  high  temperature,  which 
was  not  previously  discerned.  It  is  supposed  that  in  these 
cases  the  change  in  the  spectrum  is  accompanied  by  a  change 
either  in  the  chemical  or  the  molecular  constitution  of  the 
body  by  which  that  change  is  manifested. 

Let  me  now  remind  you  of  an  experiment  which  I  showed 
in  the  first  lecture,  where  we  transmitted  the  light  of  the 
charcoal  points  through  the  vapour  of  sodium ;  but  it  will 
depend  upon  the  relative  temperature  of  the  two  spectra 
what  the  effect  shall  be.  If  the  vapour  of  sodium  is  at  a  con- 
siderably lower  temperature  than  me  body  behind  it,  which 
is  giving  the  contiauous  spectrum,  sodium  vapour  in  this  case 
absorbs  rays  corresponding  in  the  frequency  of  their  vibra- 
tion to  its  own.  The  temperature  of  the  sodium  being  only 
slightly  raised,  tlie  light  which  it  emits  will  be  a  little 
greater  than  that  which  the  sodium  alone  would  have  pro- 
duced, but  it  will  be  considerably  less  than  that  which 
would  be  produced  by  the  portion  of  the  continuous  spec- 
tnun,  behiud,  which  it  has  absorbed ;  and  the  result  is  that 
when  the  image  of  this  sodium  light  is  thrown  upon  the 
screen,  instead  of  having  a  bright  line,  we  obtain  a  black 
line,  or  what  appears  to  us  a  black  line,  that  black  line  being 
really  a  line  of  low  illuminating  power  contrasted  with  the 
spectrum  of  high  illuminating  power,  and  therefore  produc- 
ing upon  our  eyes  the  impression  of  a  black  line.  The  In- 
tensi^  of  that  black  line  will  vary  with  the  difference  be- 
tween the  temperature  of  the  body  behind  and  that  of  the 
sodium  by  which  the  absorption  is  effected. 

If  the  sodium  be  raised  in  temperature  until  it  acquires 
the  same  degree  as  that  of  the  body  behiud  it,  the  light 
which  falls  upon  the  sodium  will  bo  absorbed  as  before ; 
but  now  as  the  intensity  of  the  sodium  light  itself  is  equal 
to  that  of  the  iuddent  light,  we  shall  have  no  sensible  effect 
produced.  Therefore  the  spectrum  which  falls  upon  tiie 
screen  will  be  continuous,  if  the  sodium  be  at  the  same  tem- 
perature and  equally  luminous  with  the  portion  of  spectrum 
which  falls  upon  and  is  absorbed  by  it  But  if,  on  tlie  other 
hand,  the  sodium  be  still  hotter,  and  be  still  more  intensely 
limiinous  than  the  body  behind  it,  it  will  now  in  its  turn 
predominate,  and  instead  of  a  blade  line  we  shall  have  a 
bright  line,  or  a  line  of  increased  brilliancy. 

Now!  wish,  you  specially  to  bear  in  mind  these  three 
conditions,  which  may  be  produced  by  the  incandescent 
sodium  vapour,  i.  We  may  have  a  black  line  when  the  tem- 
perature of  the  sodium  is  low ;  or,  2,  we  may  have  no  sen- 
sible effect,  in  which  case  the  temperature  and  the  light  of 
the  sodium  are  equal  to  those  of  the  inddent  light ;  or,  3, 
we  may  have  a  bright  line,  in  which  case  the  temperature 
of  the  sodium  and  its  light  are  considerably  greater  than 
those  of  the  incident  light.  What  is  true  in  these  respects 
of  the  vapour  of  sodium  is  also  true  of  the  vapours  of  all  in- 
candescent bodies.  We  shall  see  the  application  of  these 
points  very  shortly. 

Before  we  go  directly  to  the  consideration  of  the  solar 
spectrum,  let  us  endeavour  to  acquire  some  notion,  if  we 
can,  of  this  vast  centre  of  force  upon  which  we  are  de- 
pendent every  Instant  of -our  lives,  and  upon  which  the 
whole  frame  around  us  is  dependent  for  the  maintenance  of 
its  energies. 

The  sun,  then,  we  must  remember,  is  a  vast  body  at  the 
distance  of  95  millions  of  miles  from  us,  or  perhaps  a  little 
less,  a  globe  the  visible  disc  of  which  is  about  880,000  mUes 
across.  This  wonderful  globe  is  continually  throwing  forth 
au  amount  of  light  and  heat  in  aU  directions  into  space.  Of 
that  light  and  heat  we  at  any  given  moment  are  never  re- 
ceiving more  than  about  a  2,300  millionth  part:  all  the  rest 
is  passing  into  suace,  here  and  there  intercepted  by  other 
planets  and  by  other  suns.  But  the  vast  mass  of  the  light 
and  of  the  heat  which  is  being  given  forth  from  the  sun  is 
radiated  into  space.    What  becomes  of  it  ?    That  is  a  ques- 


136 


Spectrum  Analysie  applied  to  (lie  Heaverdy  Bodies. 


(  Ghditcal  Xnri, 
1      &«pt,  l«I 


tion  which  no  one  has  answered,  and  no  one  can  answer  in 
the  present  state  of  our  knowledge.  Let  us  further  con- 
sider that  this  vast  globe  is  maintaiued  in  a  state  of  intense 
incandescence.  We  have  now  to  inquire  whether  we  have 
any  means  of  ascertaining  what  the  cause  of  that  incan- 
descence is ;  and  if  we  do  not  reach  so  far  as  that,  have  we 
any  means  of  ascertaining  the  composition  of  the  matter 
which  is  in  this  wonderftilly  active  state? 

In  an  inquiry  of  this  kind  every  aid  that  is  at  our  command 
must  be  pressed  iuto  the  service.  The  appearance  of  the  sun, 
wlien  viewed  through  a  telescope,  manifests  to  us  the  fact 
that  the  solar  surface  is  in  a  perpetual  state  of  violent  agita- 
tation.  It  is  not  a  smooth  glowing  mas)  of  molten  iron — 
nothing  of  the  sort,  for  we  can  see  that  at  different  points  upon 
the  surface  of  the  sun  there  are  differences  in  the  degrees  of 
activity,  and  differences  in  the  amount  of  light  which  it  is 
giving  out.  The  surface  of  the  sun  on  the  whole  may  be  con- 
sidered as  made  up  of  \  series  of  what  have  been  called  britirht 
granules,  the  forms  of  which  have  been  variously  described 
by  different  observers  according  to  the  powers  of  the  instru- 
ments applied.  But  these  bright  granules,  be  it  remembered, 
represent  masses  hundreds  of  miles  in  diameter.  The  distance 
of  the  sun  is  such  that  a  circle,  a  single  second  of  arc  in  diam- 
eter, which,  according  to  Sir  John  Herscbel,  is  the  smallest 
surface  we  can  see,  is  467  milesln  diameter.  These  masses  of 
luminous  matter  are  diffused  over  the  surface  of  a  substance 
which  is  much  less  luminous  than  itself.  Upon  the  surface  of 
the  sun  there  are  dark  points  which  have  been  called  pyrts. 
In  addition  to  these  appearances  we  have  evidence,  at  inter- 
vals, of  vast  tornadoes  or  storms  which  appear  to  be  taking 
place  in  this  undulating  luminous  atmosphere.  This  luminous 
atmosphere  of  the  sun,  or  photosphere  as  it  is  ft^uently  called 
according  to  Sir  John  Herschel,  is  best  conceived  to  consist 
of  a  quantity  of  very  finely  divided,  highly  luminous,  cloudy 
matter  in  suspension  in  a  transparent,  slightly  luminous'^ody 
of  air,  differences  in  luminosity  depending  upon  differences  in 
the  distribution  of  this  suspended  matter.  I  am  very  far 
from  saying  that  this  condition  is  maintained  by  an  ordinary 
process  of  combustion.  But  I  believe  there  is  nothing  which 
gives  us  a  better  notion  of  what  the  luminous  particles  of  the 
sun  may  be,  than  is  afforded  by  examining  the  product  ob- 
tained when  a  substance  is  burned  in  oxygen,  like  phospho- 
rus, which  gives  out  a  quantity  of  solid  flooculent  phosphoric 
acid,  glowing  with  an  intense  white  light  by  the  heat  evolved 
during  combustion.  The  suspended  matter  in  the  sun  is 
possibly  liquid,  but  probably  solid  particles,  which  are  depos- 
ited in  this  intensely  heated,  but  not  highly  luminous  atmos- 
phere, in  large  cloud-like  masses,  these  masses  perpetually 
sinking  to  a  lower  level  and  as  continually  being  raised 
again  by  currents  in  the  solar  atmosphere.  In  order  to 
interpret  these  appearances  we  must  call  to  our  aid  every  fact 
that  we  can  ascertain  with  regard  to  the  physical  condition 
of  the  sun.  We  must  apply  the  laws  of  physics  as  we  have 
ascertained  them  upon  the  earth.  We  must  invent  no  new 
ones  to  explain  these  phenomena,  \$  we  would  proceed  in  the 
true  path  of  philosophical  inquiry. 

Supposing,  then,  the  whole  disc  of  the  sun  were  filled  up 
with  matter  of  uniform  density  (a  very  violent  supposition,  I 
grant),  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  mass  of  the  sun, 
taking  that  portion  of  it  which  we  see  as  its  luminous  disc, 
would  be  represented  by  a  mass  of  matter  a  little  less  than 
half  as  heavy  ag^in  as  water.  Again,  we  must  remember.that 
the  effbct  of  gravity  upon  the  surface  of  the  sun  far  exceeds 
its  power  at  the  surface  of  the  earth.  A  pound  weight  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth  would  gravitate  upon  the  sun's  surface 
with  the  force  of  a  quarter  of  a  hundred  weight,  so  that  at 
the  surface  of  the  sun  the  effect  of  gravity,  like  that  of  many 
forces  in  operation  upon  the  earth's  surface,  is  exaggerated  to 
a  wonderful  extent. 

Besides  these  bright  granules,  lying  between  which  are  the 
dark  pores  or  spots  producing  what  we  may  regard  as  the 
ordinary  appearances,  we  have  upon  the  surface  of  the  sun, 
as  already  stated,  evidence  of  what  appears  to  be  violent  tor- 
nadoes.    The  luminous  mass  which  constitutes  the  photo- 


sphere of  the  sun  is  from  time  to  time  apparently  torn  a|i.i 
thousands,  aye,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  i 
surface  are  tossed  aside,  and  a  vast  cavity  is  fonned  in  ' 
luminous  mass.    I  am  not  saying  tliis  without  warrant  I 
ed  from  observations  upon  the  sun's  spots,  first  oiade  1 
a  hundred  years  ago  by  Professor  Wilson  of  Glasgow,  1 
since  confirmed  in  a  remarkable  manner  by  the  investigatia 
which  have  been  made  since  the  state  of  the  sun  has  been  1 
minutely  examined  in  modern  times.    The  most  recent  ex 
inations  of  this  description  are  due  to  oar  countrymen,  D 
Rue  and  Stewart,  aided  by  Mr.  Lowy.     Their  inve 
show  us  that  these  vast  craters  in  the  luminous  surface  ( 
expression  may  be  allowed)  consist  of  two  principal  \ 
the  margin  consisting  of  a  faintly  shaded  portion,  the  j; 
^ro,  with  a  dark  spot,  the  wnStyrOy  in  the  middle.     One  of  t 
enigmas  for  solution  is  to  explain  what  these  solar  spots  1 
Has  the  photosphere  been  heaped  up  to  form  the  adji 
brilliant  streaks  known  as  facula^  and  are  these  dark  f 
douda  of  colder  material  which  have  been  depressed  into  t 
photosphere,  and  which  gradually  disappear  in 
of  the  incandescent  portions  gradually  again  raising-  the  c 
to  their  usual  temperature  7    Are  they — and  I  think  here  i 
evidence  goes  against  this^— are  they  holes  in  this  lu 
photosphere  showing  behhid  it  a  dark  mass — the  interior  0 
the  sun  itself?    I  cannot  now,  however,  go  more  minuteljr  ii 
the  question  of  sun-spots,  as  it  would  be  foreign  to  my  | 
My  object  is  to  prepare  your  minds  by  bringing  before  joo  I 
some  of  the  principal  points  in  the  physics  of  the  snn.whiA 
have  been  ascertained  from  different  sides  by  iovestigatiDf 
the  recent  additions  to  our  knowledge  by  the  spectrum.    I  ahall  I 
therefore  simply  now  give  you  on  the  screen  a  representatkn  of  I 
a  photograph  of  the  surface  of  the  sun  itseU)  which,  it  will  be  [ 
recollected,  will  be  a  reversed  image  of  the  sun ;  that  is  to  nj, 
where  the  sun  is  brightest  we  shall  have  in  the  photograph  the  ' 
g^test  diminution  of  brightnesa     At  the  upper  part  of  tbc 
disc  you  see  a  brilliant  spot.    That  is  a  very  characteria& 
sunspot    Remembering  that  the  most  brilliant  part  of  the 
screen  is  that  which  is  really  the  darkest  on  the  sun,  you  vill 
observe  in  the  centre  of  the  opening  the  umbra  of  the  spot 
Then  around  that  is  what  is  called  the  penumbra,  or  more 
slightly  shaded  portion :  on  the  other  sides  are  groups  of  spota 
which  are  in  the  process  of  formation  or  of  healing  up,  for  I  do 
not  know  at  what  period  this  particular  spot  was  taken. 
These  cross  lines  on  the  photograph  are  merely  lines  of  posi* 
tion  showing  which  way  the  sun  is  moving.    The  spots  cross 
the  disc  of  the  sun  from  led  to  right,  and  as  they  gradQiHj  , 
diminish  it  is  always  found  that  the  umbra  is  the  first  poitioo 
which  disappears. 

I  wish,  in  the  next  place,  to  show  you  another  fact  con- 
nected with  the  sun,  which  recent  observation  has  enabled  os 
to  ascertain.  The  sun  is  not  simply  a  great  glowing  ball,  sikA 
as  it  looks  lo  us,  but  there  is  something  outside  the  sun  of 
which  we  in  general  take  no  notice,  and  of  which  until  some 
twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  we  were  in  absolute  ignorance. 
The  phenomenon  to  which  I  am  going  now  to  direct  your 
attention  is  only  visible  on  those  rare  occasions  when  the  diso 
of  the  sun  is  obscured  by  the  passage  of  the  moon  between 
us  and  its  body.  In  those  cases,  and  under  suitable  condi- 
tions, we  have  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining  that  the  sun  is 
surrounded  by  a  vast  atmosphere  which  is  not  in  that  intensely 
glowing  and  incandescent  condition  which  the  surface  that  we 
usually  see  is.  I  have  here  a  photograph  which  represents 
an  observation  made  by  Mr.  De  la  Rue  in  July,  iS6a  [The 
photograph  was  introduced.]  This  indicates  to  us  the  appear- 
ance which  is  seen  when  the  whole  disc  of  the  sun,  which  is 
visible  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  entirely  eclipsed  by 
the  moon.  You  will  notice  that  round  the  dark  body  of  the 
moon  we  have  a  remarkable  halo  of  light,  and  that  this  halo 
is  at  certain  points  much  more  brilliant  than  at  others, — that, 
in  point  of  fact,  there  are  clouds  thrown  up  into  this  atmos- 
phere. Some  of  these  clouds  have  been  seen  detached  from 
each  other.  It  is  estimated  that  the  height  at  which  these 
clouds  occur  is  in  some  cases  at  least  72,000  miles  from  the 
surface  of  the  sun,  so  that  around  the  sou  there  is  a  vast  atmos- 


Cbbmioal  Nbws,  ) 
Apt,  1367.       f 


Spectrum  Analysis  applied  to  the  Heavenly  Bodies. 


137 


>here  invisible  under  ordinary  circumstances,  into  which  in- 

aible  atmosphere  are  projected  what  you  see  here,  and  what 

ive  been  called  red  flames,  clouds,  probably,  of  incandescent 

alter.  In  this  photogpraph  the  solar  atmosphere  is  all  of  one 

lirorm  tint,  but  as  actually  seen,  its  projections,  instead  of 

'  ig  white,  are  of  a  rich  red  colour,  and  possess  considerable 

photographic  power.     What  the  nature  of  these  flames  may 

is  a  point  on  which  further  inquiries  are  necessary.    It  is 

>bable  that  next  year  there  will  be  an  opportunity  of  mak- 

Ig  observations  upon  them  under  conditions  more  favour- 

ible  than  have  ever  existed  since  attention  was  directed  to 

ittieae  points,  for  in  the  month  of  August  there  will  be  a  total 

f«olipee  of  the  sun,  visible  in  the  central  portions  of  India, 

;Trhich  will  have  the  unusual  duration  of  nearly  five  minutes. 

i.Thua,  if  the  atmosphere  is  favourable,  opportunity  will  be 

given  to  persons  properly  prepared  for  making  observations 

upon   these  flames  by  means  of  the  spectroscope,  and  thus 

probably  of  ascertaining  what  the  constituents  are. 

I  will  now  endeavour  to  explam  how  the  spectroscope 
will  act  in  determining  the  character  of  these  flames,  and 
how  it  has  enabled  us  to  ascertain  what  some  of  the  com- 
ponents of  the  sun  are.  We  are  indebted  for  our  great 
stride  in  this  direction  to  the  observations  and  discoveries 
of  KirchhofiT.  Let  me  call  your  attention  for  a  few  moments 
to  the  diagram  which  we  have  here,  which  is  intended  to 
represent  certain  appearances  exhibited  by  the  solar  spec- 
trum. Suppose  the  light  to  be  admitted  through  a  vertical 
slit  at  a  distance,  if  it  be  viewed  after  it  has  passed  through 
the  prism,  the  spectrum  so  obtained  will  be  seen  to  be  crossed 
by  an  almost  countless  number  of  dark  lines.  I  am  not 
sure  whether  these  dark  bands  were  not  first  observed  in  this 
very  institution,  but  at  any  rate  the  observation  was  first 
made  by  one  of  its  most  distinguished  members,  Dr.  Wollas- 
ton.  Th^  importance  of  this  observation  was  certainly  not 
anticipated  at  the  time  it  was  made.  He  merely  looked 
at  the  light  coming  in  at  the  chink  of  a  door,  through 
a  prism  which  he   held  up   to  his  eye.      Some  twelve 


years  ailerwards  Fraiinhofer  examined  the  solar  spec- 
trum by  viewing  the  slit,  which  he  placed  at  a  distance 
of  24  feet  from  him,  through  a  very  clear  prism,  and 
by  means  of  a  telescope.  He  then  saw  not  merely  eight 
or  ten  b9nds,  as  Dr.  Wollaston  had  done,  but  he  mapped 
and  measured  nearly  600  of  them,  and  these  lines  have- 
been  called  after  him  "  Praunhofer's  lines."  In  the  diagram 
you  see  a  number  of  letters  which  run  along  the  bottom. 
These  letters  were  appropriated  by  Praiinhofer  to  the  indica- 
tion of  the  most  important  and  most  prominent  of  the  lines 
which  he  observed.  Fraunhofer  found  that  the  solar  lines 
are  perfectly  fixed  in  position  in  different  colours,  and,  being 
an  optician,  he  applied  this  observation  to  the  purpose  of 
determining  the  refractive  power  of  the  glass  which  he  used 
in  his  lenses  and  prisms.  These  lines  have  always  been 
designated  by  the  letters  which  Praiinhofer  gave  them. 
Many  persons  have  since  carefliUy  examined  the  solar  spec- 
trum, and  some  have  described  and  mapped  additional  lines. 
Though  I  cannot  here  go  into  the  history  of  this  matter,  I 
may  mention  particularly  the  names  of  Angstrom  and  of 
our  own  countryman,  Sir  David  Brewster  (who  has  latterly 
worked  in  association  with  Dr.  Gladstone) :  above  aU  we 
are  indebted  to  Kirchhoff.  He  used  an  instrument  exactly 
similar  in  principle  to  that  which  I  described  in  the  last 
lecture,  the  only  difference  being  that,  instead  of  taking  a 
single  prism  as  is  represented  in  the  diagram,  he  made  the 
light  pass  through  three  additional  prisms.  The  light  was 
thrown  upon  his  eye  by  a  telescope.  By  the  kindness  of 
Mr.  Gassiot  I  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  you  what  I 
believe  to  be  the  finest  instrument  of  the  kind  which  has 
ever  been  constructed.  It  was  made  by  Mr.  Browning,  and 
the  accuracy  and  the  workmanship  have  been  attested  by 
all  who  have  used  it.  In  this  instrument  the  light  is  allowed 
to  fall  upon  a  battery  of  nine  prisms,  and  after  passing 
out  through  the  last  prism  it  falls  upon  the  face  of  the 
telescope,  through  which  it  is  viewed  by  a  person  at  the 
other  extremity.    It  is  clear  that  if  we  transmitted  the  sun's 


rays  through  such  an  instrument  they  would  be  opened  out 
by  the  successive  action  of  the  prisms,  until  each  line  was 
brought  out  in  such  a  way  that  the  character  of  that  line 
could  be  ascertained  with  the  greatest  nicety.  Kirchhoff 
carefully  mapped  all  these  lines  between  A  and  G.  They 
▼ary  greatly  in  their  strength  and  degree  of  definition.  This 
18  a  curious,  and  at  the  same  time  an  important  point,  and 
as  will  be  seen  it  may  be  made  use  of  in  order  to  enable  us 


to  ascertain  the  origin  of  the  lines  in  certain  cases.  As  I 
cannot  project  the  Unes  of  the  solar  spectrum  itself  upon  the 
screen,  I  will  substitute  for  it  a  photograph  of  Kirchhoff 's 
map.  It  is  a  beautiful  map,  but  there  is  considerable  diffi- 
culty in  rendering  such  fine  lines  visible  to  a  large  audience. 
[The  representation  of  the  map  was  produced  on  the  screen.] 
You  see  how  very  greatly  the  lines  vary  m  thickness,  in 
blackness,  and  in  definition.    Some  of  them  are  as  sharp  as 


138 


Spectrum  Analysis  applied  to  the  Heavenly  Bodies. 


( CBmncAL  KirvB, 
1      iSept.,  1867. 


^ 


a  line  can  be  drawn,  while  others  are  broad  and  confused 
and  somewhat  indefinite  in  their  outlines.  Hence  it  is  evi- 
dent that  these  lines  possess  a  sort  of  character  by  which 
they  can  be  recognised  when  they  are  again  rendered  visible. 
[The  attention  of  the  andienoe  was  then  directed  to  the 
character  of  certain  groups  of  lines,  particularly  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lines  D  and  C] 

Before  I  quit  this  part  of  the  subject  I  shall  call  your  atten- 
tion to  a  beautiful  photograph  which  indicates  the  exact 
position  of  these  lines,  as  produced  by  the  action  of  the 
sun's  rays  upon  a  collodion  plate.  They  were  taken  in  New 
York  by  Mr.  Rutherford,  from  whom  I  received  the  speci- 
men before  yoiL  When  compared  with  Kirchhoflf's  maps, 
it  is  wonderful  to  see  how  perfect  is  the  correspondence, 
and  how  faithfully  those  maps  represent  the  actual  lines. 

I  once  more  project  the  map  upon  the  screen,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  calling  your  attention  to  the  green  portion.  There 
are  three  lines  in  the  green  due  to  magnesium.  Underneath 
this  map  you  will  see  a  number  of  letters.  For  example,  here 
are  the  letters  Fe.  That  is  a  contraction  for  the  laXm^er- 
rum  (iron),  and  it  shows  that  every  one  of  these  lines  so 
marked  corresponds  with  a  bright  line  in  the  spectrum  of 
iron.  There  are  a  number  of  other  bodies  indicated  in  the 
same  way ;  thus,  Ni  signifies  nickel ;  Ca,  calcium ;  Cd,  cad- 
mium ;  Au,  gold.  Not  that  every  one  of  these  metals  has 
corresponding  lines  m  the  solar  spectrum,  but  Kirclihoflf  has 
examined  the  bright  lines  produced  by  these  different  bodies, 
and  has  marked  tiie  position  of  the  solar  spectrum  to  which 
these  lines  correspond. 

I  will  show  you  now  the  blue  portion  of  the  spectrum 
which  is  beyond  the  parts  at  which  we  have  just  looked. 
This  black  line  is  Fraiinhofer's  line  G.  You  see  what  dark 
groups  of  lines  there  are  in  this  part  of  the  spectrum.  Each 
of  these  lines  has  its  own  meaning,  if  we  can  only  succeed 
iiL  determining  it,  though  in  many  cases  this  has  not  been 
done. 

I  have  now  to  explain  to  you  how  Kirchhoff  has  made 
these  lines  interpreters  of  the  composition  of  the  sun. 
When  a  series  of  electric  sparks  is  made  to  pass  between 
wires  composed  of  any  metal,  the  spark,  when  examined  by 
the  prism,  exhibits  the  special  spectrum  of  the  metaL  For 
instance,  in  this  case  we  have  two  wires  consisting  of  silver. 
If  I  cause  this  secondary  current  fVom  an  induction  ooil  to 
pass  in  sparks  through  the  interval  o\  air  between  the  two 
silver  wires,  particles  of  the  metal  will  be  detached  in  a 
gaseous  condition,  and  they  will  g^ve  the  special  spectrum 
of  silver.  The  heat  produced  in  this  way  is  most  intense. 
Any  other  metal  may  be  substituted  for  the  sUver,  and  may 
thus  be  made  to  yield  its  spectrum,  the  metallic  points  being 
placed  in  such  a  position  that  the  light  of  the  spark  shall  be 
reflected  into  the  spectroscope,  and  so  into  the  eye  of  the 
observer. 

I  have  already  stated  that  it  had  been  ascertained  by 
Fraiinhofer  and  other  observers  that  a  particular  double 
black  line,  called  D,  in  the  sun's  light,  coincided  with  a 
bright  line  which  was  observed  in  certain  flames,  now  known 
to  be  due  to  sodium.  Kirchhofi*,  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
exact  coincidence  of  the  line  D  with  the  sodium  lines,  placed 
the  light  of  the  sodium  so  that  the  sun's  light  passed  tlmiugh 
it,  and  he  found  that,  instead  of  getting  the  bright  sodium 
line,  he  got  a  still  more  intensely  dark  line ;  he,  in  fact,  dis- 
covered that  the  sodium  line  was  reversed  by  the  action  of 
the  more  brilliant  light  of  the  sun,  as  already  explained. 
But  having  found  this  in  the  case  of  sodium,  he  immediately 
began  to  examine  other  bodies  in  the  same  way,  and  he 
found  that  the  lines  of  barium,  strontium,  and  other  metals 
were  similarly  reversed.  He  then  began  systematically  to 
compare  the  bright  spectra  of  the  metals  with  the  dark  lines 
of  the  solar  spectrum.  When,  for  iustanoe,  iron  is  acted 
upon  by  the  electric  spark  in  the  way  I  have  described,  it 
gives  rise  to  a  spectrum  which  contains  some  70  bright  lines 
in  the  space  between  the  extreme  red  and  the  extreme 
violet.  These  bright  Hues  differ  very  much  in  degrees  of 
brightness:    some  are  strong;   some  are  weak;   but  the 


interesting  point  observed  by  Kirchhoff  was  not  merely  that 
for  every  bright  line  in  the  spectrum  of  iron  there  was  a 
corresponding  black  line  in  the  solar  spectrum,  but  that  they 
also  corresponded  in  intensity.  The  brightest  lines  of  the 
iron  spectrum  were  the  blackest  in  the  sun's  spectrum,  and 
the  feeblest  in  the  iron  spectrum  were  precisely  the  feeblest 
in  that  of  the  sun.  This  was  a  case  not  of  the  ooincidenoe 
of  two  lines  merely,  which  some  persons  might  .suppose  to 
be  an  accident,  but  it  was  the  coincidence  of  some  70  lines, 
line  for  lino  and  strength  for  strength.  It  is  impossible  to 
have  more  striking  proof  of  the  identity  of  the  cause  by 
which  these  two  eftt*cts  were  produced.  Well,  having 
ascertained  in  the  case  of  iron  that  this  coincidence  occurred, 
he  proceeded  to  take  other  metals,  and  among  them  mag- 
nesium. This  metal  gives  a  very  limited  spectrum,  oonsiat- 
ing  of  ^  a  remarkable  triple  group  in  the  green,  and  that 
group  is  found  to  coincide  absolutely  in  strength  and  in 
position  with  the  dark  line  marked  h  in  the  spectrum ;  for 
when  this  solar  line  is  examined  with  care  it  is  found  to 
consist  of  three  black  lines,  exactly  corresponding  in  charac- 
ter with  the  three  lines  of  magnesium.  Magnesium  in 
vapour,  therefore,  is  one  of  the  constituents  of  the  atmosphere 
of  the  sun.  So  I  might  go  on  particularising  the  character 
of  each  metallic  spectrum,  but  to  save  time  I  have  enumer- 
ated in  this  list  all  the  metals  which  are  known  to  exist  in 
the  sun's  atmosphere : — 

Sodium.  Nickel 

Calcium.  Zinc. 

Barium.  Strontium. 

Magnesium.  Cadmium. 

Iron.  Cobalt. 

Chromium.  Hydrogen. 

Copper  might  have  been  added,  though  its  presence  is 
rather  doubtful.  Others  are  also  marked  as  dmabtful. 
Though  many  of  their  lines  correspond  with  dark  solar  lines, 
yet  there  are  other  lines  produced  by  these  metals  wbich 
have  no  corresponding  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum.  That 
may  arise  from  the  circumstance  that  the  proportion  in 
which  they  qcctv  in  the  sun's  atmosphere  is  small  As  a 
rule,  the  metieds  which  are  enumerated  in  the  list  furnish 
bright  lines  corresponding,  line  for  line,  with  dark  lines  in 
the  spectrum  of  the  sun. 

Now,  this  leads  me  to  another  important  poii^  It  wHl 
naturally  be  suggested  to  the  mind,  "  it  is  very  true  that 
these  are  lines  produced  in  the  light  which  leaves  the  sun, 
before  it  gets  to  us ;  but  how  do  we  know  that  they  are 
produced  in  the  sun  itself?  All  the  substances  of  which 
we  have  seen  lines  in  the  solar  spectrum  are  bodies  which 
we  know  upon  the  earth.  Is  it  not  possible  that  all  these 
bodies  may  exist  in  such  quantities  in  the  earth's  atmo- 
sphere that  they  may  be  the  means  of  shutting  out  these 
rays  of  light  which  are  found  to  be  deficient  in  the  sun's 
rays  when  they  reach  us  7  "  That  is,  certainly,  an  important 
question;  but  it  can  be  answered  perfectly.  If  we  had 
only  the  light  of  the  sun  to  judge  from,  it  might  be  a  diffi- 
cult point  to  decide ;  but  we  have  in  the  stars  a  multitude 
of  other  bodies  from  which  we  derive  light  quite  indepen- 
dent of  that  of  the  sun.  If  we  found  t£uat  every  star  gave 
us  the  same  spectrum  as  the  sun,  then  we  might  well  ques- 
tion whether  these  lines  .were  really  due  to  matters  existing 
in  the  sun,  or  whether  they  were  not  due  to  bodies  in  the 
earth's  atihosphere.  But,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  lecture, 
every  star  gives  a  spectrum  of  its  own.  Now  the  light 
which  comes  from  the  stars  ought  to  be  acted  upon  exactly 
in  the  same  way  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  if  the  cause  of  the 
lines  were  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  earth.  We  find  it  is 
not  so.  The  cause,  therefore,  does  not  reside  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  earth >-at  least  in  the  majority  of  cases: 
although,  as  I  shall  show  you  presently,  there  are  certain 
lines  truly  due  to  the  action  of  the  earth's  atmosphere. 

Spectrum  analysis  cannot  tell  us  whether  tiie  visible  sur- 
face of  the  sun  is  solid  or  liquid,  or  whether  it  is  made  up 
of  doud;  because  either  a  cloud,  or  a  liquid,  or  a  solid  body 


r 


CnrancAL  News,  ) 


Spectrvm  Analysts  applied  to  the  Heavenh/  Bodies. 


139 


would  give  us  a  continuous  spectrum.  If  we  took  the  light 
emitted  by  phosphoric  acid,  produced  in  burning  phosphorus 
in  oxygen,  it  would  give  us  a  continuous  spectrum  just  as 
the  surface  of  the  sun  does.  But  wo  know  that  there  is  a 
great  atmosphere  outside  the  visible  disc  of  the  sun  which 
is  revealed  to  us  temporaril/ during  a  total  eclipse.  That 
great  atmosphere  contains  bodies  of  aU  sorts  in  a  state  of 
vapour,  volatilised  by  the  enormous  heat  wliich  is  produced 
in  the  sun  itself.  Of  course  the  farther  this  extends  from 
the  sun  the  colder  it  must  be,  and  therefore  there  must  be 
a  point  in  the  sun's  atmosphere  in  which  we  are  precisely 
in  the  position  required  to  give  this  reversal  of  the  bright 
lines  due  to  each  metallic  vapour;  that  is  to  say,  we  must 
have  an  intensely  heated  nucleus  behind  a  colder  atmos- 

Ehere;  but  even  this  colder  atmosphere  may  be  so  intensely 
eated  as  to  keep  all  these  bodies,  which  we  cannot  even 
volatilise  in  our  furnaces,  in  a  state  of  vapour :  if  so,  they 
must  give  us  the  dark  lines  observed  in  the  solar  spectrum, 
by  absorbing,  from  the  light  of  the  incandescent  nudens  of 
the  sun,  vibrations  of  the  particular  flrequency  correspond- 
ing with  those  produced  by  the  metallic  vapours  themselves. 
Thus,  in  the  light  whidi  comes  to  us,  we  have  proof  from 
the  absent  vibrations.  We  have,  I  say,  a  proof  of  the  exist- 
ence of  these  atmospheric  bodies  in  the  sun  which  arrest 
the  corresponding  vibrations  produced  behind  them.  That 
is  the  proof  whidi  Blirchhoff  has  given  us  of  the  presence 
of  these  bodies  in  the  sun. 

I  stated  just  now  that  there  are  lines  produced  by  the 
earth's  atmosphere.  This  is  ap  curious  observation.  It  was 
first  Tnade  by  Sir  David  Brewster,  and  he  arrived  at  the  fact 
in  thifl  way.  Here  is  a  diagram,  which  may  help  to  make 
it  plain.  Suppose  this  part  to  represent  the  globe  of  the 
earth,  and  here  is  an  exaggerated  representation  of  the  at- 
mosphere. You  can  see  easily  that  if  the  sun  were  nearly 
vertical,  the  Ught  would  traverse  a  much  smaller  portion  of 
the  atmosphere  than  it  would  when  its  beams  are  nearly 
horizontal,  near  sunrise  or  sunset  The  sun's  light  would 
then  have  to  traverse  a  portion  of  the  atmosphere  nearer 
the  earth,  and  greater  in  density  than  that  through 
which  the  light  would  pass  when  the  sun  was  high  up ;  so 
that  if  the  spectra  are  different  when  the  sun  is  in  these 
two  different  positions,  we  might  then  say  that  it  is  probable 
that  this  effect  is  due  to  something  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
earth  itself.  Sometimes  opportunities  of  proving  this  occur 
accidentally.  I  have  had  myself  such  an  opportunity.  I 
was  one  day  looking  at  the  spectrum  when  a  thunder-shower 
came  on ;  suddenly  there  started  into  view  a  group  of  new 
fines,  evidently  produced  by  some  sudden  change  in  the  air 
at  the  moment  The  storm  shortly  after  subsided,  and  the 
changes  which  had  occurred  in  the  spectrum  vanished.  M. 
Janssen,  a  distinguished  French  experimentalist,  and  Prof. 
Cooke,  an  American  man  of  science,  have  both  made  obser- 
vations which  showijiat  variations  in  the  amount  of  moisture 
in  the  air  are  connected  with  changes  of  this  kind.  The 
experiments  which  M.  Janssen  made  were  of  this  kind.  On 
the  border  of  the  lake  of  Geneva,  he  caused  a  pile  of  wood 
to  be  lighted  on  tlie  top  of  a  mountain.  Having  stationed 
himself  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake,  about  thirteen  miles 
off,  he  viewed  this  fire  through  a  spectroscope,  across  the 
body  of  moist  air  resting  upon  the  lake,  taking  care  to  have 
it  at  the  same  time  observed  near  at  hand,  where  a  con- 
tinuous spectrum  only  was  seen.  In  this  way  he  detected 
the  presence  of  certain  lines  in  the  less  refrangible  end,  oc- 
casioned by  moisture  contained  in  the  atmosphere.  He 
afterwards  performed  another  ingenious  experiment,  which 
I  regret  that  I  cannot  show  in  this  theatre.  He  took  an 
iron  tube,  of  about  37  metres,  that  is,  about  40  yards,  in 
length,  closed  by  plates  of  glass  at  tlie  extremities.  At  one 
end  he  placed  a  gas  flame,  and  then  looked  through  the  tube 
at  the  spectrum  of  the  flame,  by  means  of  a  spectroscope, 
and  thus  obtaibed  a  continuous  spectrum.  He  then  in- 
jected into  the  tube  some  steam,  at  a  pressure  of  7  or  8 
atmospheres,  so  that  he  got  a  dense  body  of  aqueous  vapor. 
Then,  on  looking  through  the  tube  at  the  flame  by  means  of 


the  spectroscope,  he  saw  in  the  red  part  of  the  spectrum, 
lines,  something  like  those  which  are  seen  in  the  diagram, — 
strong  bands  of  lineS)  evidently  produoed  by  the  absorptive 
action  of  the  aqueous  vapour  in  the  tube.  The  temperature 
and  the  pressure  of  the  vapour  were  high,  but  they  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the-  production  of  the  lines;  they  were 
merely  used  as  a  means  of  getting  a  large  mass  of  vapour 
into  a  small  space. 

In  the  application  of  this  observation  we  have  a  number 
of  curious  and  very  interesting  facts.  You  will  remember 
that  the  solar  light  has  this  remarkable  feature, — and,  in- 
deed, all  lights  are  the  same  in  that  respect, — that  whether 
it  is  seen  directly,  or  whether  it  is  reflected  from  a  clean 
white  surface,  it  still  betrays  its  origin ;  that  is  to  say,  it 
sJways  shows  the  same  lines.  If  we  were  to  look  at  the 
spectrum  obtained  from  the  sun's  light  direct,  and  then  look 
at  the  spectrum  of  the  same  light  after  reflection  from  the 
surface  of  a  doud  or  from  a  mirror,  we  should  And  that  the 
position  and  number  of  the  lines  were  just  the  same  in  both 
instances.  In  the  reflected  light  we  should  not  have  so  in- 
tense a  spectrum,  but  the  lines  would  be  in  just  the  same 
places  as  in  the  direct  light,  and  we  should  know  for  certain 
that  the  light  in  either  case  came  from  the  surface  of  the 
sun. 

Now  what  is  true  in  this  case  appears  to  be  true  In  all 
cases  of  reflection,  it  is  true,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of 
reflection  from  the  moon.^  I  will  throw  upon  the  screen 
a  representation  of  the  moon,  as  it  appears  from  one  of 
Mr.  De  la  Rue's  recent  phot(fgraphs  of  tlie  moon.  What  I 
want  to  call  your  attention  to  is  this,  that  we  have  in  the 
spectroscope  the  means  of  travelling  over  the  surface  of  the 
moon,  and  examining  the  quality  of  light  reflected  from  its 
different  parts.  Now,  what  use  can  we  make  of  this?  Sup- 
pose we  wish  to  examine  whether  the  moon  has  an  atmos-^ 
phem.  We  find,  by  the  telescope,  that  we  can  see  right 
down  to  the  surface  qf  the  moon.  The  parts  of  its  face  are 
never  obscured  by  clouds  or  by  dark  vapours  connected  with 
the  moon  iteelfl  *  But  it  might  yet  happen  that  a  delicate 
atmosphere,  containing  a  very  small  quantity  of  vapour,  ex- 
isted roimd  the  moon,  and  the  thickness  of  this  stratum 
would  necessarily  vary  when  viewed  at  different  parts  of 
the  surface.  If  we  looked  at  the  edge  of  the  moon,  the 
effect  would  be  similar  to  that  produced  by  viewing  the  sun 
near  the  horizon,  the  light  which  was  transmitted  from  the 
edge  would  come  through  a  long  column  of  this  atmosphere 
before  it  reached  us.  If  we  looked  direct  at  the  centre, 
of  the  disc,  where  the  light  would  have  to  traverse  a  smaller 
depth  of  atmosphere  than  at  any  other  point,  we  ought,  if 
there  were  any  atmosphere  containing  absorbent  vapours,  to 
observe  a  difference  between  that  Ught  and  the  light  at  the 
moon's  edge.  Now,  on  looking  at  these  different  portions 
of  l^e  moon,  we  find  that  the  light  comes  from  all  parts, 
without  any  change.  Hence  we  must  conclude  that  if  there 
is  an  atmosphere  around  the  moon,  it  must  be  so  excessively 
dilute  that  it  cannot  produce  any  absorptive  change  in  the 
fight  which  is  perceptible  in  its  spectrum. 

Again :  we  can  apply  these  observations  to  show  that 
the  moon  does  not  shine  of  its  own  fight,  though  we  do 
not  need  the  proof  of  that  fact  from  this  source ;  and  we 
may  also  apply  the  same  proof  to  aU  the  planetary  bodies. 
But  though  we  already  know  that  the  moon  and  the  planets 
shine  by  reflected  light,  in  other  instances  the  knowledge 
we  can  thus  derive  may  be  of  importance  to  us.  Take,  for 
example,  the  case  of  a  comet;  does  that  shine  by  direct  or 
reflected  light?  I  wiU  show  you  how  this  question  may  be 
answered.  But,  before  doing  so,  it  wiU  be  desirable  to  con- 
sider the  result  obtained  by  observations  upon  Jupiter, — a 
body  which  certainly  shines  by  reflected  fight.  And  here 
we  acquire  some  information  regarding  the  atmosphere 
which  surrounds  Jupiter,  because  the  light  reflected  from 
Jupiter  is  not  identical  with  the  fight  which  falls  upon  it 
Here  is  a  diagram  of  some  observations  made  at  Tulse  Hill, 
by  Mr.  Huggins  and  myself)  which  may  make  this  dear. 
The  spectrum  of  Jupiter's  light  shows  us,  in  particular,  a 


I40 


Spectrum  Analysis  applied  to  the  Heaverdy  Bodies. 


J  CmvicjiL  Hbwv, 
1      Sept,  1867. 


dark  band  in  the  orange.  Besides  the  ordinary  solar  Uses, 
which  are  verj  well  seen  in  the  case  of  Jupiter's  light,  there 
are  groups  of  Hues  connected  with  the  atmosphere  of  the 
planet  The  object  was  to  see  whether  the  spectrum  pro- 
duced bj  Jupiter  was  different  from  that  of  the  earth^s  at- 
mosphere ;  and  this  object  was  attained  by  comparing  the 
light  of  the  planet  with  that  of  the  sky,  which  was  at  that 
time  reflecting  the  light  of  the  setting  sun,  under  circum- 
stances in  which  a  reflected  spectrum  fh>m  the  surface  of 
the  sky  itself  was  not  too  intense  for  comparison  with  the 
spectrum  of  Jupiter.  Those  are  some  photographs  of  draw- 
ings of  the  appearance  of  Jupiter,  made  some  years  ago  by 
Mr.  Huggins,  from  telescopic  observations.  Astronomers 
hayo  long  believed  that  an  atmosphere  of  considerable 
density  exists  around  this  planet.  These  bands  or  belts  are 
produced,  it  is  supposed,  in  consequence  of  clouds  accumu- 
kting  near  its  equator.  They  show  us  that,  in  all  proba- 
bility, the  atmosphere  of  Jupiter  is  largely  charged  with 
aqueous  vapor,  and  that  the  surface  of  the  planet  itself  is 
not  actually  seen.  Consequently,  the  light  which  we  see 
reflected  by  the  planet  does  not  come  from  the  body  of 
Jupiter  itself;  it  penetrates  to  a  certain  depth,  and  then 
comes  back,  after  traversing  a  portion  of  its  atmosphere ; 
and  therefore  we  do  not  know  what  is  the  actual  condition 
of  its  surface.  lu'Satum  and  Mars  we  also  obtain,  by  means 
of  the  spectrum,  a  certain  amount  of  knowledge  of  the  state 
of  things  upon  both  those  planets.  In  the  spectrum  of  Mars 
a  number  of  bands  in  the  blue  make  their  appearance.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  the  red  colour  of  Mars  was  produced 
by  a  peculiar  colour  of  the  soil  These  spectrum  observations 
seem  to  show  that  it  is  due  rather  to  something  in  the  at- 
mosphere, and  not  to  anything  in  the  soil ;  b^use,  if  it 
were  the  latter,  we  should  merely  have  a  blotting  oit  of  the 
spectrum,  and  there  would  not  be  a  series  of  re^ilar  bands, 
which  have  been  observed  in  the  case  of  Mars. 

I  have  stated  that  by  the  method  of  spectrum  observation 
wo  may  ascertain  whether  comets  are  self-luminous,  and 
may  even  attain  to  some  knowledge  of  their  composition. 
Our  knowledge  of  the  spectra  of  comets  is,  indeed,  exces- 
sively limited.  Donati,  in  1864,  made  some  observations : 
but  the  results  he  obtained  were  not  very  definite.  I 
believe  that  those  of  Mr.  Huggins,  upon  the  small  telescopic 
comet  of  1866,  are  the  best  at  present  existing.  It  had  a 
bright  central  nucleus,  and  around  that  was  a  nebulous  at- 
mosphere, not  prolonged  into  a  tail,  as  is  usual  in  most 
comets.  By  means  which  I  must  explain  in  the  next  lecture, 
the  spectroscope  was  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  when  it  was 
found  that  the  coma,  or  tail,  gave  a  prolonged  continuous 
spectrum,  and  in  the  middle  of  that  spectrum  there  was  a 
spot  of  bright  greenish  blue  colour,  indicating  the  position  of 
the  nucleus.  What  information  does  this  g^ve?  It  appears 
to  show  that  the  spectrum  of  the  coma  is  produced  by  re- 
flected light,  and  that  the  tail  of  the  comet  is  somewhat  in 
the  position  of  a  fog ;  that  that  fog  reflects  from  the  sun 
light  of  all  colours,  whilst  the  central  portion  is  giving  out 
light  of  its  own,  and  light  of  one  colour  only.  However,  I 
have  not  time  to-day  to  go  into  that  point  I  shall  take  it 
up  again  in  connection  with  those  remarkable  bodies,  the 
nebulsQ,  with  which  I  shall  deal  in  the  next  lecture. 


lboturb  rv. 

Spectra  of  (he  Fixed  Stars. — Jifode  of  Ol>servaUon. — Double 
Stars. — Variable  Stars. — Temporary  Bright  Star  in  Corona. 
-^NebvlfB. — Clusters. — Oeneral  Conclusions, 
In  the  last  lecture  I  gave  you  some  account  of  the  solar 
spectrum,  and  stated  some  of  the  principal  facts  which  were 
revealed  to  us  by  its  examination.  You  will  remember  that 
in  the  solar  spectrum  there  are  a  great  number  of  lines  pro- 
duced, as  we  now  know,  by  absorptive  action  in  an  atmos- 
phere which  surrounds  the  more  intensely  luminous  portion 
of  the  sun.  We  have  learned  to  interpret  many  of  these 
lines,  and  we  have  found  that  in  a  great  number  of  cases 
they  are  produced  by  the  presence  of  elementary  bodies, 


known  to  us  upon  the  earth,  which,  in  the  gaaeou^  state, 
exert  an  absorptive  action  upon  certain  parts  of  the  sun's 
rays.  We  have  learned,  also,  that  there  are  certain  bodiea 
which  are  not  present  in  the  sun — among  them  gold,  silver, 
lithium,  and  several  others.  But  there  are  still  a  great 
number  of  lines  of  the  nature  of  which  we  know  nothing; 
Many,  no  doubt,  will  be  explained  as  we  proceed  further 
with  our  investigations  into  the  spectra  of  terrestrial  ele- 
mentary bodies.  Notwithstanding  the  efforts  that  have 
been  made  within  the  last  few  years,  our  knowledge  of  ter- 
restrial spectra  can  be  at  present  considered  to  be  only  in  its 
mfancy.  We  can  not  know  what  elements,  indeed,  are  still 
existent  upon  the  earth.  We  can  not  be  supposed  to  have 
come  to  the  end  of  our  knowledge  upon  this  point,  for  within 
the  last  five  years  no  fewer  than  four  of  these  elementary 
substances  have  boen  discovered  by  the  simple  applicatioD 
of  this  method  of  spectrum  analysis. 

The  investigation  of  the  soUff  spectrum,  difficult  as  it  is, 
is  one  considerably  favoured  by  certain  circurastanoes.  We 
are  not  limited  by  season,  or  the  angular  altitude  of  the  sun, 
but  can  pursue  the  investigation  whenever  the  sun  shines. 
Moreover,  we  can  command  any  amount  of  light  which  the 
eye  can  bear.  We  can,  therefore,  by  the  action  of  an  almost 
unlimited  series  of  prisms,  dissect  and  open  out  that  solar 
spectrum,  and  so  scrutinise,  with  minute  accuracy,  the  posi- 
tion and  character  of  every  line  which  it  contains. 

I  have  to-day  to  refer  to  other  sources  of  light  wbidimay 
be  analysed  in  a  similar  way,  but  the  study  of  whidi  pre- 
sents (Ufficulties  of  no  ord^ary  character.  I  propose  to 
explain  some  of  the  methods  which  have  been  adopted  for 
the  examination  of  stellar  spectra,  and  to  state  the  chief 
results  obtained  by  that  examination,  and  I  shall  oonclade 
by  giving  you  some  account  of  the  remarkable  and  unex- 
pected results  obtained  by  a  study  of  some  other  stiU  fainter 
objects  which  are  visible  in  the  lieavens — the  nebule. 

It  may  be  necessary  for  mo  to  give  you  some  notion  of 
the  kind  of  difficulties  with  which  we  have  to  contend  iu 
these  enquiries,  in  order  to  explain  how  it  is  that  the  results, 
important  as  they  are,  arc  still  very  imperfect  Solar  light, 
as  I  have  said,  may  be  obtained  in  unlimited  quantity ;  but 
when  wo  examine  the  spectra  of  the  stars  we  have  to  deal 
with  points  of  light  We  must  collect  the  light,  therefore, 
and  for  that  purpose  either  a  large  reflector  or  refractor  is 
necessary.  Cumbrous  machinery  is  required  for  moving  the 
tube  to  enable  it  to  follow  the  motions  of  the  star,  which  is 
apparently  perpetually  shifting  its  place  in  the  heavens. 
We  have  to  bring  this  light  to  a  point  by  means  of  our 
lenses.  The  more  accurate  our  telescopes  the  more  exactly 
is  this  light  brought  to  a  mathematical  point  Now,  if  we 
attempt  to  analyse  by  means  of  a  prism  a  point  of  light  like 
this,  we  shall  spread  it  out  into  a  line,  but  that  line  wiU  be 
so  exceedingly  narrow  l^at  we  shall  not  be  able  to  trace 
across  it  the  lines  of  which  we  are  in  search,  and  which  are 
to  speak  to  us  of  its  nature.  The  first  thing,  therefore,  we 
have  to  do,  after  we  have  obtained  our  point  of  light,  is  to 
open  it  out  into  a  line.  That,  may  be  done,  as  was  pracdsed 
by  Fraiinhofer,  by  means  of  what  is  known  as  a  eyUndruxU 
lens.  I  shall  endeavour  to  throw  upon  the  screen  a  little 
pomt  of  light,  which  you  may,  if  you  please,  for  a  monaent 
consider  to  be  a  star,  and  will  then  elongate  its  image  into  a 
line  of  light 

*  [A  circular  spot  of  light  was  projected  upon  the  screen, 
and  then  by  means  of  a  cylindrical  lens  expanded  into  a  line 
of  Ught] 

Though  I  can  imitate  a  star  in  the  exceeding  minuteDesfl 
of  its  light,  I,  unfortunately,  cannot  imitate  it  in  the  quality 
of  its  light,  and,  therefore,  on  this  occasion,  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  show  yon  the  spectra  themselves,  but  I  shall  have 
recourse  to  photographs  fh>m  careful  drawings  made  upon 
the  observations  of  the  stellar  spectra.  In  the  observations 
from  which  these  drawing^  were  made  an  achromatic  object 
glass  of  eight  inches  aperture  was  used,  and  the  observa- 
tions were  made  at  the  observatory  of  Mr.  Huggins,  at 
Tulse  Hill,  where  he.  and  I  worked  together  for  some  years 


r 


CBBMI04L  NbITJ,  ) 


SpSGtrum  Afudysie  applied  to  the  Heavenly  Bodiea. 


141 


upon  stellar  and  planetary  spectra,  and  where  he  has  smoe 
still  further  added  to  our  knowledge  by  his  examination  of 
the  nebolse. 

Having  obtained  our  line  of  light,  the  next  thing  is  to 
project  it  upon  a  suitable  instrument  for  making  the  obser- 
rations,  and  this  line  of  light  must  be  kept  absolutely  steady 
at  the  end  of  a  tube  ten  foot  long,  upon  a  slit,  the  width  of 
which  is  not  more  than  the  jooth  part  of  an  inch,  or  much 
finer  than  any  ordinary  hair.  Obviously,  this  can  be  ob- 
tained only  by  an  exceedingly  smooth  motion  maintained  by 
the  dock  movement  of  the  telescope. 

Here  is  a  star  spoctroscope  in  the  form  which,  after  many 
trials,  we  fouud  to  be  most  convenient  for  these  obser- 
vations. I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Messrs  Simms 
for  the  loan  of  this  beautiful  instrument,  whidi  they  are 
going  to  send  to  Professor  Cooke,  in  America.  I  am  also 
indebted  to  Mr.  Browning  for  the  opportunity  of  showing 
you  another  instrument  intended  for  Mr.  De  la  Rue,  which 
is,  in  some  respects,  ev6n  better  for  our  purpose,  because 
it  enables  us  to  see  the  parts  of  which  it  is  composed.  This 
instrument  of  Messrs.  Simms  is  provided  with  shutters,  so 
as  to  exclude  dust  and  other  sources  of  injury  to  the  prisms' 

"^within.  When  in  use  the  spectroscope  is  attached  to  the 
eye-end  of  the  telescope,  instead  of  the  ordinary  magnifying 
power,  and  will  be  carried  round  with  it,  accurately  follow- 
ing all  its  motions.  The  cylindrical  lens  is  placed  between 
the  object-glass  and  the  slit,  so  that  the  light,  instead  of 
foiling  upon  the  slit  as  a  point,  shall  fall  upon  it  as  a  line, 
such  as  I  just  now  showed  you,  only  much  more  definite 
than  the  line  which  was  projected  upon  the  screen.  The 
line  of  light  having  fallen  upon  that  slit,  is  then  passed 
through  an  apparatus  precisely  similar  in  principle  to  the 
spectroscope  which  we  examined  in  the  last  lecture. 

The  light  of  the  star  is  brought  to  a  focus  by  the  action  of 
the  object-glass  of  the  telescope  itself,  exactly  at  the  spot 
occupied  by  the  slit  of  the  instrument.  But  before  reaching 
that  spot,  it  passes  through  the  cylindrical  lens,  by  means 
of  which  it  is  spread  out  into  a  line,  instead  of  ji  point. 
After  passing  through  the  slit,  the  light  falls  upon  a  ool- 
limating  lens — ^tbat  is  to  say,  upon  a  lens  the  object'  of 
which  is  to  bring  all  the  rays  that  fall  upon  it  into  a  parallel 
direction.    The  rays  rendered  parallel  next  fall  upon  a  couple 

.  of  prisms — ^the  first  prism  dispersing  the  light  to  a  certain 
extent,  and  the  second  dispersing  it  still  farther,  and  pro- 
ducing a  spectrum  of  the  star,  the  most  refrangible  end  be- 
ing that  whicfi  is  most  turned  from  the  original  direction. 
The  spectrum  then  falls  upon  the  lens  of  a  small  telescope, 
by  means  of  which  the  image  can  be  viewed  at  the  proper 
distanoe.  The  object  of  the  screw  beneath  the  tube  is  to 
enable  us,  by  a  regulated  movement,  to  carry  round  the 
small  telescope,  so  that  each  part  of  the  spectrum  can  be 
suooessively  examined.  There  are  cross  wires  in  the  tele- 
scope, so  that,  on  bringing  any  of  the  lines  in  the  star  spec- 
trum one  after  the  other  upon  the  cross  wires  by  the 
micrometer  screw,  the  distance  between  the  lines  may  bo 
measured  exactly. 

The  object  which  we  had  in  view  in  these  investigations 
was  not  merely  to  ascertain  that  the  lines  existed  in  the 
stellar  spectra,  for  that  had  been  done  by  Fraunhofer,  Donati, 
Secchi,  and  others,  but  to  determine  what  these  lines  repre- 
sented— to  ascertain  the  constituents  of  the  stars  if  possible ; 
and  that  could  be  done,  approximately  at  least,  by  measuring 
the  position  of  each  of  these  lines,  and  then  comparing  it 
with  a  map  in  which  the  lines  of  certain  metals  had  been 
laid  down,  these  metals  having  been  examined  by  the  same 
instrument  as  that  which  was  to  be  applied  to  the  stars. 
This,  however,  although  it  would  give  a  result  which  was 
very  valuable  to  us  as  suggesting  what  probability  there  was 
that  certain  metals  were  present  in  these  stare,  did  not  give 
OS  that  absolute  certainty  respecting  the  nature  of  the  sub- 
stances which  it  seemed  it  was  possible  to  attain  by  another 
mode  of  experimenting.  That  mode  consisted  in  refiectiog 
into  the  instrument  the  light  produced  by  a  series  of  electric 
sparks  sent  through  wires  of  different*  metals  in  succession. 
Vol-  I.    No.  3.— Sept.,  1867.        10. 


In  order  to  attain  this  object  we  have  attached  to  this  instru- 
ment a  means  of  producing  sparks  between  two  points  of 
silver.  The  instant  that  this  circuit  is  included  between  the 
terminals  of  the  secondary  wire  of  an  induction  coil,  a  torrent 
of  electric  sparks  paases  between  the  two  silver  points.  The 
light  is  reflected  from  a  mirror,  by  which  it  is  thrown, 
through  an  opening  in  the  side  of  the  tube,  upon  a  little 
prism  which  acts  as  a  reflector,  and  sends  the  light  through 
the  slit  into  the  spectroscope  for  examination.  In  this  way 
various  stars  can  be  submitted  to  experiment,  but  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  even  here,  although  we  hnye  at  command  a  large 
instrument,  we  are  limited  by  the  brightness  of  the  stars. 
We  cannot  examine  with  any  degree  of  precision  stars  which  - 
are  below  a  certain  magnitude,  the  quantity  of  light  being 
too  small.  I  shall  endeavour  to  show  you  the  results  of  the 
most  accurate  observations  we  have  been  enabled  to  make. 
Amongst  these  stars  there  are  two  in  particular  which  are  of 
special  interest.  These  two  are  .^|baran,  the  bright,  reddish 
star  in  Taurus,  and  a  Ononis,  ocJfpRgeux,  the  principal  star 
in  Orion.  Here  is  a  list  in  which  are  mentioned*  certain 
elementary  substances,  all  of  which  have  been  found  to 
produce  lines  coincident  with  certain  lines  in  this  star  Alde- 
barau: — 


Sodium, 

Iron, 

Magnesium, 

Hydrogen, 

Calcium, 


Bismuth, 
Antimony, 
Tellurium, 
Mercury. 


There  is  not  merely  the  coincidence  of  a  single  line  in  each 
case,  for  that  might  be  an  accidental  circumstance,  but  the 
principal  bright  lines  in  each  spectrum  produced  by  these 
bodies  have  corresponding  black  lines  in  the  spectrum  of 
this  star.  You  see  that  there  are  here  nine  of  the  substances 
known  to  us  upon  the  earth.  By  similar  means  we  ascertained 
the  absence  of  certain  other  bodies ;  these  have  no  coincident 
lines  in  the  star  spectrum.  Among  these  are  nitrogen,  tin,  lead, 
cadmium,  lithium,  cobalt,  and  barium.  We  have  ascertained 
not  simply  what  are  there,  but  what  may  not  be  there.  Of  the 
lines  which  are  contained  in  this  star  we  measured  no  fewer 
than  seventy,  notwithstanding  the  faintnesa  of  the  object 
Actual  measurement,  however,  is  possible  only  with  rcer- 
tain  number  of  ]iue&  There  are  an  indefinitely  greater 
number  of  lines  existing  in  the  spectrum  of  the  star,  many 
of  which  might  possibly  be  measured  by  the  devotion  of  still 
more  time  and  application. 

These  observations  are  excessively  fetiguing  to  the  eye, 
and  require  special  conditions  of  the  atmosphere.  A  clear 
night,  which  would  be  very  favourable  to  observatlBns 
made  simply  with  the  telescope,  might  not  be  suitable  for  ob- 
servations with  the  spectroscope.  The  slightest  flicker  or 
tremor  in  the  atmosphere  disturbs  the  accuracy  of  the  obser- 
vation. It  must  be  remembered  that  we  are  not  observing 
approximative  coincidences,  but  we  are  desiring  to  observe 
absolute  coincidences— coincidences  between  Uie  bright:  lines 
of  the  metals  we  have  on  the  earth  and  the  black  li^es  in 
the  spectrum  of  the  star. 

In  a  Ononis  we  measured  eighty  lines,  and  amongst  these 
we  find  that  six  of  the  metals  of  the  earth  had  lines  coinci- 
dent with  those  in  this  star,  viz. : — sodium,  iron,  magnesium, 
csdcium,  bismuth,  and  thallium  (?;,  and  that  a  still  larger 
number  were  not  coincident. 

I  shall  project  upon  the  screen  a  representation  of  the 
spectra  of  these  two  stars.  They  will  both  be  visible  to- 
gether. The  upper  spectrum  is  that  of  the  star  in  Orion,  the 
lower  one  that  of  Aldebaran. 

Beneath  each  diagram  a  number  of  bright  lines  may  be 
seen.  These  represent  the  bright  lines  produced  by  causing 
sparks  to  pass  between  points  of  different  metals  attached  to 
the  coil.  For  example,  here  we  have  a  Ime  marked  Sn. 
This  is  one  of  the  lines  indicating  tin,  but  it  has  no  corre- 
sponding line  in  the  star,  though  we  were  able  to  measure 
within  5000th  of  an  inch,  or  the  1800th  part  of  the  length  of 
the  entire  spectrum,  the  coincidence  between  two  lines.   Here 


142 


Absorption  of  Gases  }yy  Mdals. 


1      Sepi^  1867. 


^ 


are  th©  three  Imea  of  magnesium  which  hare  corresponding 
lines  in  the  spectrum  of  this  star.  Here  is  the  double  line 
D  in  the  sodium  spectrum.  That  is  a  bright  double  line  cor- 
responding perfectly  with  two  black  lines  in  the  star.  Sodi- 
\im  is  one  of  the  most  widely  diffused  substances  iu  the 
stars ;  magnesium  and  iron  are  also  present  in  both  these 
stars.  The  lines  in  this  photograph  only  extend  to  a  certain 
distance  into  the  blue.  Here  is  the  line  6,  and  this  is  the 
line  F,  which  is  upon  the  margin  between  the  green  and 
bluei  Note  in  passing  that  there  is  no  line  corresponding  to 
F  in  the  star  a  Orion  is.  There  is  a  strong  line  corresponding 
to  it  in  Aldebaran,  but  no  line  iu  the  other.  This  line  F  is 
one  of  those  due  to  hydrogen.  I  carry  you  to  another — near 
the  end  of  the  red.  Now  this  line  in  the  spectrum  of  Aide- 
baran  is  a  marked  line  corresponding  with  Fraunhofer's  solar 
line  C.  That  line  also  occurs  in  the  spectrum  of  hydrogen. 
There  are  three  lines  in  the  spectrum  oi  hydrogen— C,  F,  and 
G ;  but  the  point  of  int^U:  here  is  that  none  of  these  lines 
are  present  in  the  star  cWi^is,  and  we  conclude  that  there 
is  no  hydrogen  there.  Besides  these  are  a  large  number  of 
other  lines,  some  of  which  are  interpreted,  others  still  await 
interpretation. 

We  are  not  yet  able  to  explain  in  the  case  of  these  stars, 
any  more  than  in  that  of  the  sum,  what  every  lioejiindk^ates. 
It  may  very  well  be  that  many  of  these  lines  are  caused  by  sub- 
stances which  are  known  to  us,  but  of  the  apecira  of  which 
we  are  still  ignorant ;  in  other  cases  it  may  well  be  that  they 
are  produced  by  substances  which  are  not  known  to  us,  and 
which  have  no  existence,  indeed,  upon  our  planet  Amongst 
the  substances  which  are  present  in  the  atmosphere  of  these 
stars,  are  some  which  are  present  in  our  own  sun.  In  other 
instances,  as  in  the  ease  of  bismuth,  metals  are  found  in  these 
stars  which  furnish  lines  which  are  not  present  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  sun.  Both  in  Aldebaran  and  in  a  Ononis  there 
are  lines  corresponding  with  those  of  bismuth.  Tellurium 
appears  to  be  an  important  element  in  the  absorbent  atmos- 
phere round  Aldebaran.  Then  there  are  also  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  this  star  substances  such  as  antimony  and  mercury, 
which  we  consider  to  be  poisons.  Here  is  the  bismuth  spec- 
trum thrown  upon  the  screen.  Though  not  so  striking  as  that 
of  some  other  metals,  its  characters  are  sufficiently  strong  to 
enable  us  to  pronounce  with  certainty  upon  the  presence  or 
absence  of  lines  corresponding  with  this  substance  in  any 
star  with  which  its  spectrum  is  compared.  / 

(To  be  continued.) 


On  the  AlsorpUon  of    Gases  by  MetdlSf  by  Db.  Obung, 
♦  F.Ji.S.,  etc. 

In  ft  Friday  evening  lecture  whicli  T  had  the  honour  of  de- 
livering here  before  Easter,  I  drew  your  attention  to  a  very 
singular  property  possessed  by  the  metal  platinum,  some 
very  beautii\il  specimens  of  which  are  exhibited  in  the  libra- 
ry, through  the  kindness  of  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Matthey, 
to  wliom  I  am  also  indebted  for  the  greater  portion  of  the  ar- 
tidet  upon  the  table.  Now  platinum,  especially  that  which 
has  been  solidified  after  fusion,  appears,  at  any  rate,  to  be  a 
perfectly  homogeneous  metaL  It  does  not  show  the  slightest 
evidence  of  porosity,  and  is  absolutely  impermeable  to  the 
passage  of  gas  through  it  For  mstance,  if  we  take  a  \j^de 
platinum  tube,  drawn  out  from  a  single  piece  of  fused  pla- 
tinum, and  seal  one  end  by  soldering  on  to  it  a  piece  of  pla- 
tinum foil,  and  similarly  close  the  other  end  with  another 
piece*  of  foil  havmg  a  small  central  orifice,  through  which  a 
narrow  attachment  tube  projects,  we  shall  have  a  hollow 
cylinder  of  platinum,  from  which,  by  connection  with,  the 
barrel  of  an  ordinary  air-pump,  or  with  an  air-pump  of 
Sprengel's  construction,  the  air  can  be  exhausted  as  readily 
and  completely  as  from  a  glass  tube.  That  is  to  say,  as  per- 
fect a  vacuum  can  be  produced  and  sustained  within  a  tube 
of  platinum  as  within  a  tube  of  glass.  Not  a  particle  of  air 
passes  bodilT  from  the  external  atmosphere  through  the 
substancei  or  the  metal  into  the  internal  vacuous  space  by 
means  of  atmospheric  pressure,  and,  what  is  more  to  the 


purpose,  not  a  particle  of  air  passes  molecularly  through  tihd 
metal  by  means  of  the  far  more  refined  and  accusing  process 
of  diffusion ;  and  this  is  true,  not  onl^  of  atmospheric  air, 
but  of  every  gas  with  which  the  experiment  has  been  made, 
and  is  doubtless  true  of  all  gases  whatsoever.  But  i^  in- 
stead of  making  such  an  experiment  with  the  platinum  tube 
at  ordinary  temperature,  we  make  it  with  the  tube  at  a  red 
heat,  under  this  condition  the  metal  still  remains  perfectly 
impervious  to  the  passage  of  atmospheric  air,  and  of  aU 
other  gases— except  one.  One  gas  alone,  under  those  cir- 
cumstances, is  found  to  penetrate  the  platinum,  even  with 
very  considerable  facility,  and  that  gas  is  hydrogen.  The 
fact  that  hydrogen  has  this  distinctive  property  of  penetrat- 
ing igmited  platinum,  first  observed  by  M.  Beville,  of  Paris, 
evidently  shows  that  there  is  something  peculiar,  something 
altogetlier  special,  in  the  relation  subsisting  between  the  gaa 
and  the  metal,  to  which  the  effect  is  due.  The  mode  in 
which  the  experiment  has  been  recently  made  is  of  this 
kind: — ^The  platinum  tube  is  first  attached  to  an  air-pump 
of  Dr.  Sprengel's  construction,  which  acts  on  the  principle 
of  the  trompe.  We  have  mercury  constantly  dropping  firom 
a  constricted  funnel  down  a  long  narrow  glass  tube ;  and  as^ 
each,  drop  of  falling  mercury  is  sufficient  to  fill  the  tube, 
each  such  drop  actB  as  a  small  piston  which  pushes  down  a 
column  of  air  before  it  and  by  pushing  down  successive 
portions  of  air  eventually  effects  a  complete  exhaustion  of 
any  vessel  communicating  with  the  fall  tube.  Indeed,  by  an 
instrument  of  this  kind,  as  perfect  a  vacuum  can  be  obtained, 
as  in  the  Torricellian  vacuum  itself,  and  by  its  employment 
a  vacuum  is  easily  obtained  in  the  interior  of  our  platinum 
tube.  Before  being  exhausted,  the  platinum  tube  is  placed 
within  a  tube  of  porcelain ;  while  in  the  space  between  the 
two  tubes  a  current  of  hydrogen  is  continually  passed.  The 
internal  platinum  tube  being  rendered  vacuous,  the  external 
porcelain  tube  is  heated  in  any  form  of  ftimace, — in  a  gas 
furnace,  for  instance,  as  shown  here,  or  in  a  charcoal  fur- 
nace; and  so  soon  as  the  external  porcelain  tube  acquires  a 
bright*red  heat, — so  soon  in  fact,  as  the  interior  platinum 
tube  becomes  red  hot, — and  not  till  then,  do  we  find  that  as 
each  drop  of  mercury  falls  through  the  tube  of  the  pump,  H 
carries  before  it  a  certain  quantity  of  ahr  ot  gaa  which  it  de- 
livers into  this  small  inverted  test-tube  of  mercury  placed 
for  its  reception.  So  soon,  therefore,  as  the  platinum  tube 
becomes  red  hot,  a  portion  of  the  hydrogen  gas  confined  m 
the  intermediate  annular  space  between  the  pyrcelain  and  ttae 
platinum  tubes,  enters  the  platinum  tube,  is  exhansted  from 
its  interior  by  means  of  the  Sprengel  pump,  and  is  delivered 
into  the  test-tube  for  exammation. 

There  is  another  metal,  namely  palladium,  one  of  t^e  pla- 
tlnum  group  of  metals,  and  closely  related  to  platiiium, 
through  which  the  transmission  of  hydrogen  is  yet  more 
easily  exhibited,  since  a  temperature  very  far  short  of  red- 
ness is  sufficient  to  render  this  metal  pervious  to  the  gas. 

Here  is  an  ordinary  apparatus  for  generating  hydrogen. 
The  gas  passes  through  sulphuric  acidto  dry  it,  and  then 
through  the  glass  tube  in  which  l^e  palladium  tube  is  coa- 
tained.  You  see  it  from  time  to  time  take  fire,  though  it 
does  not  bum  continuously  in  consequence  of  its  being  de- 
livered through  the  sulphuric  acid  m  the  form  of  bubbles. 
The  small  tube  of  palladium,  contained  within  the  glass 
tube,  is  made  exactly  like  our  platinum  tube,  except  that  it 
is  much  shorter.  At  the  present  time  it  is  vacuous,  having 
been  exhausted  by  means  of  the  Sprengel  pump  before  the 
lecture.  If  you  will  direct  your  attention  to  toe  small  in- 
verted test  tube  of  mercury,  you  will  see  that  at  the  present 
time  there  is  no  gas  being  delivered  into  it,  but  we  will  now 
heat  the  palladium  tube  gently  through  the  glass  tube,  and 
long  before  it  gets  to  a  red  heat  you  will  find  that  some  of 
the  hydrogen  gas  which  is  passing  outside  the  vacuous  pal- 
ladium tube  will  penetrate  through  the  thickness  of  the 
metal  into  the  interior  of  the  tube,  be  sucked  from  its  faite- 
rior  by  means  of  the  Sprengel  pump,  and  delivered  into  the 
test  tube.  I  have  no  doubt  that  after  a  fbw  moments,  yoa 
will  see  that  a  quantity  of  gas  will  be  delivered  into  the  test 


< 


Absorption  of  Gases  by  MeUds. 


143 


tale  in  tbia  way,  wliioh  gM  we  shaU  Bee  to  be  hjctrogen, 
indeed  &om  tbe  interior  of  the  tube  ef  palladimn,  through 
the  substance  of  whidi  U  has  been  traMmltted.  At  the 
present  moment^  If  yoa  listen,  you  will  hear  eedi  drop  of 
aaicury  falling  juat  as  it  falte  in  a  burometer;  but  in  a  few 
minutes— «Dd  I  must  beg  your  patiwiee  for  this  experiment^ 
beosuse  it  will  take  some  little  time— we  shall  loae  this 
dicking  sound,  through  the  entrance  of  gas  into  the  faH 
tube;  of  which  gas,  after  a  litUe  while,  We  shall  get  an  ap- 
preciable volume  delitered.  A  few  bubbles  of  gas  have  al- 
isady  come  over.  Those  who  are  near  can  see  that  a  quan- 
tity of  gas  is  being  gradually  collected  in  the  inverted  test 
tube,  which  will  soon  amount  to  several  cubic  oentim^tres. 
On  now  puttmg  a  light  to  it^  you  see  that  it  takes  fire  and 
boms  in  the  characteristic  manner  of  hydrogen.  Within  a 
few  minutes,  then,  hydrogen,  to  the  amount  of  several  cubic 
oentimdtres,  has  passed  from  the  ezterk>r  of  the  moderately 
heated  pidladium  tube,  through  the  substanoe  of  the  tube, 
into  its  previously  vacuous  interior,  whence  it  has  been 
sucked  out  and  detivered  by  t^e  Sprengel  pump. 
A  curious  point  of  interest  is  that^  in  the  case  of  heated 
'  palladium,  as  in  the  case  of  ignited  platinum,  hydrogen  is 
the  only  gas  which  passes  through  the  metaL  If  we  take  a 
mixture  of  hydrogen  gas  with  some  other  gas,  the  hydrogen 
only  is  sucked  through  the  platinum  or  palladium,  the  other 
gases  remaining  untransmitted.  From  the  complex  mixture 
of  gases,  for  instance,  which  constitute  ordinary  coal  gas, 
hydrogen  may  be  separated  in  a  perfectly  pure  state  by  its 
passage  through  heated  platinum  or  palladiuzn,  which  are 
impervious  to  aU  the  other  coal-gas  constituents,  as  I  had 
tbe  honour  of  showing  you  in  ray  former  lecture. 

Now  what  is  the  nature  of  this  transmission  of  hydrograi 
through  solid  metal?  On  the  last  oocasion,  I  had  an  oppor^ 
tnnity  of  demonstratfaag  to  you  that  the  phenomenon  had  no 
\  relation  to  those  physical  actions  whioh  are  denominated 
!  transpiration  and  diffusion,  but  that  it  was  an  action  of  an 
entirely  peculiar  character,  and  was  probably  pjw»ded  by 
an  absorption  of  the  hydrogen  in  the  substance  of  the  met- 
al; and  this  absorption  of  hydrogen  by  platinum,  and  of 
other  gases  by  other  metals,  forms  the  subject  of  my  present 
lecture.  I  wish  to  show  you  that  in  these  cases  the  passage 
or  transmission  of  the  hydrogen  gas,  through  the  platinum 
or  the  palladium,  is  preceded  by  an  absorption  of  the  hydro- 
gen gas  in  the  substanoe  of  the  platinum  or  the  palla- 
dium. 

The  experiment  is  made  m  this  way:  in  the  first  instance 
some  platinum  wire  is  introduoed  into  a  porcelain  tube  of 
this  description,  which  is  closed  at  one  end,  and  at  the  other 
end  connected  with  a  Sprengel-pump.  The  tube  is  then 
heated,  and  its  interior  rendered  vacuous.  After  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  vacuum,  hydrogen  gas  is  passed  over  the  red 
hot  platinum  wire  oontained  in  the  tube,  and  the  platinum 
gradually  and  slowly  allowed  to  cool  with  the  hydrogen  gas 
still  passmg  over  it»  so  that  if  the  platinum  has  any  power 
of  abiaorbing  hydrogen  gas  it  shall  have  every  chance  of  do- 
ing so,  and  shall,  so  to  sp^k,  select  its  own  absorbing  tem- 
perature, from  the  temperakure  of  a  red  heat  down  to  that 
of  the  atmosphere.  The  platinum  was  then  removed  and 
exposed  freely  to  the  air,  so  that  any  aocidental  hydrogen 
adhering  to  tiie  surface  might  be  removed.  It  was  then 
introduced  into  another  tube  of  this  kind,  which  in  this  par- 
ticular case  is  made  of  glaav  in  order  that  it  may  be  seen 
through,  but  which,  in  the  actual  experiment,  was  made  of 
porcelain.  This  tube,  containing  the  charged  platinum  wire, 
was  attached  to  the  Sprengel  pump,  and  again  perfectiy  ex- 
hausted,— the  air  removed  from  it  by  the  exhauster  being 
Ibond  absolutely  free  from  hydrogen.  Then  heat  was  a|>- 
plied,  and,  at  the  moment  when  the  tube  became  red  hot  a 
delivery  of  hydrogen  gas  begia  to  take  place,  and  oontinued 
for  soDM  time,  showings  that  the  platinum  had  absorbed  a 
certain  quantity  of  hydrogen  gas,  which  it  delivered  up  at  a 
red  h^t  under  the  influence  of  the  vacuum.  In  the  first 
esperiment,  then,  from  fused  platinum  exposed  m  this  man- 
ner to  the  action  of  hydrogen  at  a  red  heat  and  gradually 


decreasing  temperature,  there  was  afterwards  extracted  as 
much  as  2 1  per  oenL  of  hydrog^en. 

Now  what  was  the  nature  of  this  behaviour  of  platinum 
towards  hydrogen  ?  Did  it  depend  upon  surface  action?  If 
so  it  would  be  increased  by  an  increase  of  the  surface  of  the 
platinum.  The  wire  was  accordingly  drawn  out  to  four 
times  its  length,  whidi  would  give  rather  less  than  four 
times  the  former  surfietce;  but  in  this  case  only  17  per  cent. 
of  liydrogon  was  extracted  after  treating  the  wire  as  in  the 
previous  experiment  Quadrupling  the  surfaoe,  therefore, 
did  not  increase  the  quantity  of  gas  absorbed,  and  it  was 
found  on  a  repetition  of  these  experiments  that  the  quantity 
of  *  gas  absorbed  gradually  got  less  and  less.  In  a  third 
experiment  with  the  same  wire,  the  quantity  absorbed 
amounted  to  only  13  per  cent 

Now  comes  the  question,  if  this  power  of  the  metal  to 
absorb  hydrogen  is  not  a  question  of  surface,  is  it  a  question 
of  texture?  Accordingly,  spongy  platinum  was  employed, 
and  in  that  case  it  was  found  that  the  metal  absorbed  148 
per  cent  of  gas,  that  is«  about  1^  times  its  volume  of  hydro- 
gen gas,  measured  at  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere. 
As  fused  i^atinum  we  had  the  metal  in  its  densest,  or  rather 
in  its  most  compact  form.  As  platinum  sponge  we  had  it  in 
its  most  porous  form ;  while  as  ordinary  wrong^t  platinum 
we  have  it  in  a  sort  of  intermediate  form — not  so  porous  as 
the  one,  and  not  so  compact  as  the  other.  What,  tiien,  was 
the  result  obtained  with  the  wrought  platinum  ?  Well,  it 
was  found  that  one  volume  of  wrought  platinum  absorbed 
4*8  times  its  volume  of  hydrogen,  or  480  per  cent.  This  is 
the  mean  of  three  experiments  made  with  the  same  portion 
of  platinum.  One  of  them  gave  5*5;  another  gave  about 
4*9;  and  tbe  other  gave  3*8  volumes  of  gas.  The  next  ex- 
periment was  made  with  a  difibrent  portion  of  platinum ; 
and  in  this  case,  although  the  metal  containod  3}  times  its 
volume  of  hydrogen  gas  (379  per  cent),  measured  cold.  It 
was  found  that  none  of  this  gas  could  be  evolved  into  a  va- 
cuum except  at  a  red  heat.  At  first  the  platinum  was  sub- 
mitted to  a  temperature  of  240°,  but  not  a  particle  of  gas 
was  given  6£  The  metal  was  then  heated  by  a  smiall 
Bunsen  burner  to  a  temperature  just  short  of  redness  for  an 
hour,  and  still  no  gas  was  given  off;  not,  indeed,  until  the 
temperature  arrived  at  the  point  of  redness,  could  any  gas 
whatever  be  extracted. 

We  are  all  of  us  famlHar  with  the  effects  of  atmospheric 
pressure,  and  know  that  a  variety  of  experiments  have  been 
devised  by  whidi  the  results  of  this  pressure  may  be  mani- 
fested. One  of  these  is  the  common  experiment  of  bursthig 
a  bladder  stretched  over  a  short  giass  cylinder  exhausted  by 
the  air-pump.  [This  experiment  was  performed,  a  sharp  re- 
port aooompanymg  the  breaking  of  the  membrane.]  Now, 
let  us  compare  the  force  exerted  by  atmospheric  pressure  in 
this  way,  with  the  force  exerted  by  platinum  in  condensing 
hydrogen  gas.  Let  us  consider  tiie  experiments  of  whi(£ 
tiie  moan  result  was  4*8.  As  I  have  said,  one  of  these  ex- 
periments gave  5*5 ;  and  for  the  sake  of  taking  round  num- 
bers, we  will  say  that  5  volumes  of  gas  were  absorbed  by  one 
vohune  of  platinum.  Taking  a  cubic  centimetre  of  platinum, 
then,  it  absorbs  five  times  its  bulk  of  gas.  To  condense  these 
6  centimetres  of  gas  into  the  space  of  one  cubic  oentimdtre, 
WQuld  lequire  the  pressure  of  five  atmosi^eres :  or  five  times 
the  force  just  exerted  by  the  air  in  bursthig  that  bladder.  Bat 
at  the  temperature  at  which  the  experiment  was  made,  these 
five  oentiffldtres  were  really  ij^;  and  accordingly,  we  have 
to  conadder  the  compression  of  1 5  cubic  oentimdtres  of  hy- 
drogen into  one  cubic  centimetre,  for  whioh  purpose  we 
should  require  1 5  times  the  atmospheric  pressure  which  was 
just  employed.  But  in  reality,  this  does  not  represent  any- 
thing like  what  has  been  done.  We  have  not  merely  com- 
pressed these  15  volumes  of  gas  into  i  cubic  centimetre  of 
space,  but  we  have  compressed  them  into  so  much  of  i  cubic 
centimetre  of  space  as  appears  to  be  fully  occupied  by  plat- 
inum, but  is  not  reaUy  so  occupied.  If  we  assume,  for  in- 
stance, that  in  this  cubic  centimetre,  whkih  appears 'to  be  all 
platinum,  there  is,  say,  one  thousandth  part  of  it  which  is 


144 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


i  CsKMiCAL  Nstra, 
1     SepL,  tm. 


not  platinum,  to  oompress  our  15  cubic  centimetres  of  hy- 
drogen into  this  space  would  require  a  pressure  of  15,000 
atmoapfaeres.  So  that  when  this  piece  of  platinum  absorbs 
15  times  its  bulk  of  hydrogen  gsis  at  a  red  heat,  it  exerts 
some  1 5,000  times  the  compressing  force  that  was  exerted 
by  the  atmosphere  in  bursting  that  bladder. 

My  time  is  passing  away  so  rapidly  that  I  fear  I  sliall  have 
to  omit  a  good  many  points  of  interest;  but  I  may  direct 
your  attention  to  the  "fact  that,  although  the  evolution  of  hy- 
drogen by  platinum  takes  place  dn\y  at  a  red  heat, — and 
indeed  some  charged  platinum  that  had  been  preserved  for 
two  months  was  found  still  to  retain  the  whole  of  its  hydro- 
gen— yet  the  absorption  of  the  gas  by  the  metal  takes  place 
at  a  much  lower  temperature.  Thus  at  230%  platinum  ab- 
sorbed i^  times  its  volume,  or  145  per  cent,  and  even  at  a 
temperature  below  100°,  the  boilmg  point  of  water,  it  ab- 
sorbed 76  per  cent  of  gas. 

When,  however,  we  come  to  8peak  of  palladium,  the  facts 
are  far  more  striking  even  than  with  platinum, — palladium 
appearing  to  be  a  metal  altogether  special  in  its  relations  to 
hydrogen,  which  it  abnorbs  abundantly  even  at  a  comparative- 
ly low  temperature.  A  piece  of  wrought  palladium  foil  heated 
to  245*^  was  found  to  absorb  526  times  its  volume  of  hydrogen, 
the  gas  being  measured  at  the  ordinary  temperature ;  but  it 
was  found  that  even  the  temperature  of  245°  exceeded  the 
most  suitable  point,  and  that  at  the  temperature  of  100**  the 
metal  absorbed  643  times  its  volume  of  the  gas.  Now,  if  it 
is  a  difficult  thing  to  conceive  how  15  cubic  centimetres  of 
h3rdrogen  should  be  compressed  into  the  interspace  existing 
in  a  cubic  centimetre  of  platinum,  still  more  difficult  is  it  to 
conceive  how  6  metres  of  centimetres  af  hydrogen  should 
in  tlie  same  way  be  compressed,  not  into  one  cubic  centi- 
metre of  space,  but  into  so  much  of  what  seems  to  be  a 
cubic  centimetre  of  palladium  as  is  not  really  occu- 
pied by  the  palladium.  At  a  temperature  falling  short  of 
2o^  that  is  without  the  limits  of  ordinary  atmospheric 
temperature,  the  palladium  still  absorbed  376  volumes  of 
gas. 

In  the  case  of  spongy  palladium,  of  which  I  have  here  a 
specimen,  there  was  not  sudi  a  difference  between  it  and  the 
wrought  palladium,  as  there  was  between  the  spongy  plati- 
num and  the  wrought  platinunk  It  was  found  that  the 
spongy  palladium  absorbed  680  times  its  volume  of  gas, 
while  the  wrought  palladium  absorbed  643  tunes. 

Here  is  some  wrought  palladium  foil  which  has  been 
charged  in  the  manner  I  have  described,  and  now  (SOntains 
some  six  or  seven  hundred  times  its  volume  of  hydrogen 
locked  up  or  ooduded  in  it.  This  hydrogen  does  not  come  off 
appreciably,  or  only  in  very  small  proportions,  until  the 
metal  is  heated,  but  on  the  application  of  heat,  we  shall  be 
able  to  collect  the  gas  with  facility.  The  piece  of  foil  has 
been  charged  with  hydrogen  gas  at  a  temperature  of  200"*, 
then  exposed  freely  to  the  air,  and  afterwards  introduced 
into  the  tube.  The  tube  is  then  exhausted,  and  now  we  are 
beginning  to  heat  it.  On  the  application  of  heat,  the  hy- 
drogen gas  will  be  given  off  and  delivered  in  the  test  tube  as 
in  the  former  experiment^  the  only  difference  being  that  in 
the  former  experiment,  we  sucked  the  hydrogen  through  the 
tube,  and  in  this  case  we  are  extracting  the  hydrogen  which 
has  been  absorbed  by  the  metal.  It  will  take  some  little 
time  for  us  to  collect  any  considerable  quantity,  but  you  see 
already  that  the  hydrogen  gas  which  was  absorbed  by  the 
palladium^  is  now  being  given  off  by  it  Mr.  Roberts,  to 
whose  zeal  Mr.  Graham  and  myself  are  both  much  indebted, 
has  now  got  the  hydrogen  in  the  test  tube,  and  on  my  ap- 
plying a  light,  you  perceive  the  combustion  of  the  hydn^n 
gas,  which  we  have  just  extracted  from  the  charged  pfdla- 
dium. 

The  hydrogen  gas  condensed  in  this  way  in  the  substance 
of  the  palladium  is  capable  of  exerting  certain  chemical 
actions  whidi  hydrogen  gas  in  its  ordinary  state  is  not  We 
find  that  this,  condensed  hydrogen  acts  as  nascent  hydrogen, 
exhibitmg  all  those  reducing  actions  which  are  characteristic 
of  nascent  hydrogen.    To.  give  you  an  illustration  of  some 


of  these  chomical  actions  of  the  condensed  hydrogen,  we 
have  here  a  solution  of  permanganate  of  potassium,  into 
which  we  wUl  introduce  a  portion  of  the  palladium  diarged 
with  hydrogen.  The  action  will  not  be  immediate,  but  after 
a  little  while  you  will  see  that  the  permanganate  will  become 
decolorised  by  the  action  of  the  hydrogen  which  has  been  ab- 
sorbed into  the  poUadiunL  Here  we  have  some  solution  of 
the  ferricyanide  of  iron,  and  on  putting  into  it  a  portion  of 
the  charged  palladium,  we  shaU  have  a  gradual  development 
of  Prussian  blue.  The  difficulty  of  the  experiment  is  that 
the  palladium,  being  heavy,  sinks,  and  does  not  come  much 
into  contact  with  the  hquid ;  but  even  now  you  see  that  a 
certain  amount  of  blue  tinge  has  been  imparted.  You  also 
see  that  in  the  other  vessel  which  contains  the  permanga- 
nate a  certain  amount  of  bleaching  action  has  taken  plaoeL 
Hydrogen,  in  this  form,  will  also  bleach  the  iodide  of  starch 
If  we  introduce  into  that  compound  some  of  this  hydro- 
genetted  palladium,  hydriodic  acid  will  be  formed,  and  the 
blue  colour  of  the  iodide  of  starch  disappear,  though  tlie 
action  will  require  some  little  time.  In  the  case  of  the  fern- 
cyanide  of  iron  solution  a  very  decided  blueing  has  now 
takeu  place,  which  will  increase  to  a  yet  more  obvioua 
extent  The  permanganate  is  already  almost  bleached  by 
the  reducing  action  of  the  hydrogen  absorbed  into  the 
palladium,  while  the  colour  of  the  iodide  of  starch  is 
gradually  disappearing.  By  these  results  you  see  that 
hydrogen  is  capable,  when  thus  absorbed,  of  producing  those 
characteristic  chemical  effects  which,  under  ordinary  dr- 
cumstances,  are  only  observed  of  so-called  **  nascent  hydro- 
gen." 

There  are  a  great  number  of  other  interesting  points  con- 
nected with  the  absorption  of  gases  by  these  two  metals, 
palladium  and  platinum;  but  my  time  is  getting  on  so 
rapidly  that  I  must  proceed  if  you  please  to  consider  the 
alraorptions  manifested  by  some  other  metals.  In  the  case 
of  copper  it  is  found  that  this  metal,  in  the  form  of  wire, 
will  absorb  30  per  cent  of  hydrogen,  whereas  in  the  spongy 
form  it  will  absorb  60  per  cent  Gold  is  unlike  platinum  in 
this  particular — that  it  will  absorb  a  great  number  of  differ- 
ent gases,  whereas  platinum  absorbs  hydrogen  only.  Gold, 
in  the  form  of  assay  comettes,  was  found  to  absorb  48  per 
cent  of  hydrogen,  29  per  cent  of  carbonic  oxide,  16  per 
cent  of  carbonic  acid,  and  20  per  cent  of  air,  but  of  this  air, 
absorbed  by  the  gold,  nearly  the  whole  was  niirogen. 
Whereas  ordinary  atmospheric  air  contains  21  percent  of 
oxygen,  the  air  absorbed  by  gold  contained  only  5*3  per  cent, 
of  oxygen.  Gold,  therefore,  seems  to  be  a  metal  which  is 
singularly  indifferent  to  oxygen.  Before  charging  the 
comettes  with  carbonic  acid  or  carbonic  oxide  it  was 
necessary  to  ascertain  tliat  they  did  not  contain  any  gas  in 
the  first  instance.  But  it  was  found  that  they  reallj  did 
contain  a  considerable  proportion  of  what  may  be  called 
natural  gas,  which  had  to  be  removed  from  them.  Tlie  gas 
amounted  to  212  per  cent  The  gold  comettes  actually  oon- 
tained  twice  their  volume  of  natural  gas,  which  consisted 
chiefly  of  hydrogen  and  carbonic  •oxide,  with  the  exact  pro- 
portions of  which  I  wiU  not  trouble  you,  and  which  had 
been  absorbed  from  the  muffle  furnace  in  which  the 
oomettes  had  been  originally  heated. 
vTo  be  continued.) 


ACADEMT  OF  SCIE^JCES. 
June  24, 1867. 
(From  cue  owk  Coreespondext.) 
M.  Cbevebul,  president,  read  a  letter  from  the  Roister  of 
Public  InstructioD  announoing  to  the  Academy  that  the  elec- 
tion of  M.  Yvon  de  Villaroeau  in  the  section  of  Geography 
and  Navigation  was  approved  by  an  Imperial  decree  of  tiie 
19th  June. 

M  Elie  de  Beaumont  read  a  letter  from  M.  Agassi?,  dated 
last  November,  in  which  this  savani  gives  details  on  his  voy- 
age up  the  river  Amazon  and  its  tributaries.     He  has  Ibund 


S$pl,  18W.      f 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


145 


that  that  |nrt  of  the  American  oontiDeot  is  formed  of  mud  or 
dQuWum  resting  on  a  cretaceous  deposit,  similar  to  the  basin 
of  the  Seine  or  banks  of  the  Somme. 

M.  Rouget  addressed  a  memoir  in  which  he  differs  fW>m  the 
opinions  lately  put  forward  on  muscular  contraction. 

It  Thomas  gave  a  paper  on  cholera  remedies. 

IL  de  Paravajr,  on  ancient  Chmese  books. 

M.  Edward  Robin,  on  the  length  of  life. 

IL  Clauaius,  now  in  Paris,  presented  a  oopj  of  his  work  on 
the  "Theory  of  Heat." 

M.  Yelpeau  sent  a  note  by  Trubart  on  a  new  mode  of  the 
introduction  of  medicament&  He  had  only  made  a  small 
number  of  experiments,  which  he  communicated  in  order  to 
take  date.  For  cephalalgia,  ophthalmia,  etc ,  he  uses  remedies 
introduced  by  the  nostrila 

M.  Charles  Deyille  communicated  the  obsenrations  made 
by  M.  Janssen  on  the  eruption  of  Santorin,  and  submitted 
the  flames  to  spectrum  analysis.  The  results  are,  the 
presence  of  sodium  in  abundance,  carbon,  chlorine,  and  cop- 
per.   Experiments  made  on  Stromboli  gave  the  same  results. 

M .  Balard  presented  the  work  of  M.  Friedel  on  silicates  and 
other  chemical  products. 

M .  Jules  Pemot,  of  Avignon,  sent  a  note  on  the  prepara- 
tion of  silicates  and  other  chemical  products.  He  has  ob- 
tained a  flr8^class  material  for  calico-printing,  eta 

M.  de  Pambour  read  a  paper  on  hydraulic  machines. 

The  Academy  named  two  commissions,  one  for  prizes  for 
statistics  and  another  for  the  Bordin  priz<*. 

11  Artur  gave  some  explanations  of  his  theory  of  the 
molecular  actions,  capillary  attractions,  and  chemical  deoom- 
positiona 

M.  Zalewski  read  a  note  on  the  method  of  augmenting  the 
power  of  the  Bunsen  pile. 

M.  Caron  criticised  the  artificial  processes  for  preparing 
sobstitutes  for  milk,  and  concluded  by  pronouncing  them 
indigestible  and  injurious  to  in&nts. 

M.  Daubr^e  read  a  note  of  M.  Bonafouson  the  meteor  seen 
on  June  ii«  at  8b.  25m. 

Jfdy  I,  1867.* 
New  Volcanie  Manda, —  Works  of  Lagrangt, — Sir  D,  Brew$Ur 

on  Lighthouses, — AnUine  Colourt  on  OoUon, 
M.  Chevreul,  president,  opened  the  meeting,  and  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  perpetual  secretary  read  the  correspondence, 
minutes,  eta 

M.  G.  St  Claire  Deville  handed  in  a  note  inserted  in  a 
Portuguese  journal,  the  /^aetvratyio,  announcing  that  be- 
tween Tersira  and  Gradosa,  two  islands  near  Lisbon  have 
been  subjected  to  continual  volcanic  eruptions ;  very  strong 
eboeks  of  earthquakes  have  been  felt,  and  have  produced 
many  islets,  one  after  the  other,  analogous  to  those  of  San- 
torin  in  Greece.  On  the  ist  June  a  submarine  volcano  cast 
up  igneous  matters  in  such  quantity,  that  a  tongue  of  land  has 
been  formed  with  the  continent  This  ground  is  as  yet 
unapproachable,  on  account  of  the  incandescence  of  the  rooks, 
as  well  aa  the  sulphurous  vapours  from  the  fissures.  Bl  De- 
ville asked  that  the  Academy  should  take  an  interest  in  these 
new  eruptions  as  it  did  in  those  of  Santorin. 

M.  Treuil  read  a  note  on  the  lactiferous  vessels  of  fig-trees 
and  eopborbiacea. 

M.  Serrett  presented  to  the  Academy  the  first  volume  of 
the  works  of  Lagrange,  which  were  published  under  bis  di- 
rection by  order  of  the  Minister  of  Public  Works.  This 
great  work  consists  of  eight  volumes  of  1,800  pages  esoh, 
with  plates,  and  will  be  distributed  to  each  meml^r  of  the 
academy.  They  contain  papers  on  mathematics,  chemistry, 
physics,  anatomy,  hydraulics,  etc. 

8ir  David  Brewster  sent  a  very  interesting  memoir  on  the 
history  of  lighthouses  and  dioptric  apparatus. 

M.  Morris  sent  a  copy  of  his  book  on  wine-making,  eta 

If.  Foumet,  of  Lyons,  sent  a  great  memoir  on  atmospheric 
electricity. 

M.  Chevreul  read  a  note  from  M.  Biddeman,  at  Berlin,  on 
aniline  oolours  for  cotton. 


The  meeting  then  resolved  itself  into  a  secret  committee  . 
to  elect  a  member  in  place  of  M.  Pelouze,  deceased.     MM. 
Cahours,  Bertbelot,  and  Wurtz  are  proposed;  M.  Wurtz  will 
most  likely  succeed  to  the  vacant  chair. 

July  9,  1867. 
Practical  Meteorology, — Letters  from  RouTEOu  to  Cardinal 
Richelieu. — Alleged  Discovery  of  the  Law  of  Gravitation  by 
Pascal,  prior  to  Newton. — E.  Bkcquerkl  on  Capillary 
Clumisiry.-^Retearchfis  on  Benzol  and  its  Derivatives. — 
Cause  of  Tubercular  Disease. — Daubr^e  on  the  CloHsification 
of  Meteoric  Stones  — Theory  of  Volcanic   Upheavals — Tek- 
scopie  Vinos  of  the  Oreat  Nebula  in  Orion, — Election  of 
Adolphb  Wurtz,  F  R  S.,  to  (^  Acadanician's  Chair,  va- 
cant by  the  Death  of  Pelouzb. 
M.  GHAPELAS-CouLyiEB-GRAViBB  presonted  to  the  Academy  a 
small  volume  which  be  published  under  the  title  of  '*  Practi- 
cal Meteorology." 

M.  Chasles  presented  to  the  Academy  two  letters  from  the 
poet  Routrou  to  Cardinal  Richelieu.  In  the  first,  Routrou  ad- 
vises the  celebrated  minister  to  found,  in  Paris,  a  literary 
society  analogous  to  that  of  the  floral  games  of  Toulouse ;  in 
the  second  he  thanks  him  for  having  seriously  entertained  the 
proposition  by  founding  the  French  Academy.  To  these 
presents  M.  Chasles  added  two  other  letters,  one  from  Routrou 
to  Comeille,  and  another  from  Corneille  to  Routrou.  M. 
Chevreul  reminded  M.  Chasles  that  he  told  him  one  day  that 
ho  (the  latter)  was  m  possession  of  two  autograph  letters, 
from  which  it  resulted  that  Pascal  had  discovered  and  calcu- 
lated, before  Newton,  the  law  of  universal  grovitation  of 
masses,  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  the  square  of  the  distance. 
Pascal  was  bom  in  1623,  died  in  1662,  and  Newton  only 
made  his  great  discovery  in  1665.  If  it  is  true  that,  in  docu- 
ments written  by  his  hand,  Pascal  had  established  the  law  of 
gravitation,  it  is  certain  that  he  was  in  advance  of  Newton, 
the  documents  M.  Chasles  possesses  are :  the  first,  a  letter 
written  by  Pascal  to  Robert  Boyle,  the  illustrious  physician ; 
the  other  is  a  note  certainly  written  by  his  own  hand.  M. 
Cbaales  promised  to  bring  to  the  Academy,  on  Monday  next, 
the  two  precious  documents,  and  to  make  them  the  subject  of 
a  more  explicit  communication. 

M.  Becquorel,  sen.,  read  a  third  communication  on  capillary 
chemistry.  He  pointed  out  new  facts  of  chemical  decompo- 
sitions taking  place  under  the  influence  of  capillarity,  and  he 
thought  he  has  proved  that  these  truly  curious  phenom- 
ena were  produced  under  the  triple  influence  of  affinity, 
capillaritjr,  and  electricity.  To  demonstrate  the  intervention 
of  electricity,  M.  Becquerel  has  made  the  following  experi- 
ment: he  immersed  his  «p^  bell  glass,  containing  nitrate  of 
copper,  in  a  second  bell  containing  a  solution  of  monosul- 
phide.  as  in  the  first  experiments;  then  he  dips  the  two 
extremities  of  a  silver  wire,  6ne  into  the  nitrate  and  the  other 
into  the  monosulphide.  A  constant  electric  current  is 
formed:  i.  The  deposit  of  silver  is  made  not  in  the  CHpillary 
slit,  but  on  the  iron ;  2.  When  the  wire  is  removed  the  de- 
posit is  formed  in  the  slit  and  on  the  edges  along  the  side  of 
the  split  bell-glass.  The  capillary  action  is  as  powerful  as  an 
electrical  action.  M.  Becquerel  continues  to  improve  his 
experimento;  for  the.  split  bell-glass  he  substitutes  prisms  of 
crystal  glass  pierced  with  a  small  hole;  the  slit  or  fissure  is 
replaced  by  plates  of  glass  witli  edges  in  eontaot,  or  even  by 
sand ;  and  he  has  thus  obtained  effects  of  silvenog,  gilding, 
platinising,  and  very  remarkable  deposits  of  gold,  silver, 
nickel  and  cobalt 

M.  Zinin,  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  St  Petersburg, 
read  a  resumS  on  his  researches  on  benzol  and  its  deriva- 
tives, azobenzol,  azoxybenzol,  eta 

M.  Velpeau  read  a  letter  in  which  M.  Lebert,  of  Breslau, 
states  that  he  thinks  he  has  found  the  cause  of  tubercular 
disease  in  the  shortening  of  the  pulmonary  artery. 

M.  Baubree  enumerated  the  bases  of  the  classification  and 
methodical  arrangement  of  the  collection  of  meteoric  stones 
and  iron  of  the  Museum  of  Natural  History. 
M.  Edmond  Becquerel  communicated  an  observation,  of  M 


146 


Notices  of  Books. 


\  CnmioAi,  Kvirt, 


•  Janeeen,  from  wbioh  it  results  that  the  o0ctIUtoi7  motions  of 
volcanic  upheayiDgs  are  alwnys  perpendicular  to  the  flittlts 
that  OBQ  be  oom pared  to  an  opening,  the  edges  of  which  open 
and  shut  by  turna 

Father  Secchi,  of  Rome,  handed  in  two  telescopic  views 
of  the  nebula  in  Orion,  made  in  1859  and  1865. 

The  Academy  then  formed  into  a  committee  for  the  discus- 
sion of  the  claims  of  the  candidates  for  the  chair  in  the 
chemical  section,  rendered  vacant  by  the  death  of  M.  Pe- 
louze.  The  section  presented  in  the  first  placQ  M.  Wurtz, 
and  secondly  in  alphabetical  order,  M.  Bertholot,  and  M.  Ca- 
hours.  M.  "Wurtz,  the  discoverer  of  glycol,  and  compound 
ammonias,  is  most  likely  to  be  elected  unanimously.  The 
discovery  of  glycol  and  compound  ammonias  gained  for  him 
the  prize  of  £400.  His  "  Chemical  Philosophy "  has  been 
translated  into  many  langnages — into  Bnglisli  by  Mr.  Grookea, 
eta ,'  his  claims  are  of  the  first  order,  even  in  the  presence 
of  the  innumerable  discoveries  of  M.  Berthelot,  and  the  long 
and  glorious  labours  of  M.  Oabours. 

July  1 1^  1867. 
Pre-KewUmian  ideas  of  gravitcUion — Marine  Engmts — EUe- 

Hon  of  M.  WuBTZ  att  a  MenJber  of  the  Aoademif — Perftuo- 

ride  of  Manganese^-IsokUion  of  Piuorine    Oxyckhride  of 

Magneaiatoreplare  PlaaUr  of  Parie. 
M.  Chasles  laid  on  the  table  the  letters  and  notes  from 
Pascal  alluded  to  at  the  last  meeting.  It  is  incontestable 
that  in  these  autographs,  the  date  of  which  is  certainly  an- 
terior to  1662,  the  year  of  the  death  of  Pascal,  the  tlhistrious 
philosopher  speaks  of  attraction  at  &  distance  as  well  as 
at  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  in  the  midst  of  the  celestial 
spaces,  and  even  of  molecular  attraction,  in  the  same  terms 
as  Newton.  He  makes  the  same  calculation  of  bodies  fall- 
ing in  an  orbit^  of  mass,  of  distance ;  he  lays  down  the  same 
laws,  etc. 

M.  Du  Puy  de  Lome  made  a  long  and  Interesting  commu- 
nication on  the  marine  engines  of  the  ship  of  war  Friedland, 
of  the  French  navy,  with  three  cylinders  and  of  i,coo  nomi- 
nal horse-power,  and  an  effective  power  of  4,000,  wliioh  will 
give  the  ship  a  speed  of  fourteen  knots  an  hour  with  nxty 
revolutions  of  the  screw  per  minute. 

The  academy  then  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  member 
in  place  of  M.  Pelouze.  The  number  voting  was  53;  M. 
Wurtz  was  elected  with  45  votes  against  3  given  to  M. 
Berthelot,  and  2  to  M.  Cahours.  It  is,  as  we  have  before 
stated,  almost  the  unanimity  of  votes ;  there  were  two  blank 
billets,  that  is  to  say,  that  two  of  the  illustrious  did  not  con- 
sider MM.  Wurtz,  Berthelot^  and  Cahours  worthy  of  sitting 
beside  them,  and  did  not  give  themselves  the  trouble  of 
choosing  between  them.  It  is  melancholy  to  see  academi- 
cians imbued  with  feelings  of  such  a  foolish  disdain,  or  evinc- 
ing publicly  so  great  a  meaimess  of  spirit 

M.  Dumas  announced  that  M.  Nickl^  of  Nancy,  had  just 
made  a  discovery  in  mineral  chemistry  by  showing  how  to 
prepare  a  combination  of  fluorine  and  manganese,  which  la 
to  the  simple  fluoride  what  the  binoxide  of  sesquioxide  is  to 
the  simple  oxide,  the  protochloride,  and  the  protoidide  to  the 
deuto,  sesqui,  or  polychloride,  or  iodide.  M.  Nickl^  has 
found  that  the  new  combination,  deutofluoride,  or  fluoride  of 
fluoride  of  manganese,  is  less  stable  than  the  analogous  chlo- 
ride or  iodide.  Moreover,  and  this  gives  great  importance  to 
the  discovery,  the  deutofluoride  will  certainly  be  leas  stable 
than  the  simple  fluoride  of  manganese,  and  it  seems  difficult 
to  believe  that  we  shall  not  one  day  succeed  in  decomposing 
it  by  heat,  or  otherwise,  into  fluorine  and  fluoride  of  mftnga- 
uese,  under  conditions  which  will  permit  the  fluorine  to  be 
isolated,  and  so  fill  up  a  great  gap  in  chemistry. 

M.  Dumas  then  called  the  attention  of  the  academy  to  a 
new  industry  of  M.  Sarel,  which  nothing  could  lead  us  to 
foresee,  viz.,  that  chloride  of  magnesium  can  unite  and  asso- 
ciate with  magnesia  cr  oxide  of  magnesium  to  form  an  ozy- 
chloride  of  magnesium  perfectly  insoluble,  and  possessing,  as 
does  the  oxychloride  of  zinc,  in  a  degree  incomparably 
greater  than  plaster  of  Paris,  the  property  of  not  only  taking 


an  variety  of  forms,  but  of  causing  the  soHdiflcatfon  and 
taking  a  high  polish  of  a  great  number  of  substances  with 
which  it  may  be  mixed,  in  the  proportion  of  a  fifteenth  to  a 
twentieth  of  their  weight  Experiments  made  two  years 
ago  leave  no  doubt  on  the  good  quality  of  stones  prepared 
by  this  process,  and  the  absolute  resistanee,  of  objects  so  (hb- 
ricated  and  moulded,  to  the  deleterious  action  of  water.  In- 
dustry and  art  will  therefore  enter  into  possession  of  new 
elements  of  construction  and  transformation.  The  chloride 
of  magnesium  that  can  bo  extracted  from  sea  water,  or  which 
is  found  in  great  quantities  solidified  in  interior  seas  as  that 
of  Stassfurtti.  does  not  require  to  be  entirely  pure,  and  ooata 
less  than  the  oxychloride  of  zinc 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

MINERALOGICAL  PAMPHLETS. 
An  Index  to  MineraUfgy,    By  T.  AuasON  Bbadwin,  F.G.S.. 

F.S.a,  eta  London:  £.  and  F.  N.  Spon,  Charing-cross. 
Boyai  Agricultural   CoUege,    CirencesUr,      A    Guide   lo   (ke 

Chemical  Ikparimeni  of  Ihs  GoOegeMimum.    Part  L    The 

Mineral  Ck)lleotion. 
Sketch  of  the  Mineralogy  of  2iova  Scotia^  as  IlhutnOed  hy  the 

Collections  of  Min^als  sent  to  the  Paris  Exhtbition,  1S67. 

By  Professor  How,  D.CL.,  University  of  King's  CoUego, 

Windsor,  N.S.    Published  by  authority  of  the  GomBais- 

sioners  for  Nova  Scotia. 
Ma.  Bbadwik,  in  the  preAuse,  states  that  the  list  is  obviously 
imperfect,  and  that  he  hopes  it  will  elicit  correction  at  tbo 
hands  of  diemista  and  others.  The  index  is  a  lidt  of  sotne 
2,500  minerals,  with  synonymes,  the  constituents  expressed 
l^  oontractions  in  a  small  space,  and  the  number  of  tiio  case 
in  the  British  Museum  oontaining  specimens.  We  take  an 
example  showing  the  method  Mr.  Reedwin  employs  :•* 

''  Eulysite  (chrysoUte)  Mg.  Sil  B.  M.  36  (var.  Otivine.)* 

By  an  explanation  at  the  commencement  of  the  book  the 
student  finds  eulysite  te  belong  to  the  same  species  of  min- 
eral as  chrysolite.  The  remainder  of  the  information  with 
regard  to  the  mineral  is  evident  at  once. 

It  is  a  little  work  which  will  be  appreciated  by  those  in- 
terested in  mineralogy. 

The  aim  of  the  writer  of  the  second  pamphlet— -Professor 
A.  H.  Church — is  merely  to  describe  the  more  important 
minerals  to  be  found  in  the  museum.  There  is  no  attempt 
at  being  encyctopeedia  The  mhienils  are  classed  under  six 
divisions,  and  the  most  important  mineral  specios  belongin|^ 
to  each  division  are  pointed  out  The  informotion  is  giv«n 
in  a  very  dear  and  concise  manner,  and  were  it  not  pnbhshed 
in  the  form  of  a  guide,  we  should  be  inclined  to  oall  it  brief 
to  a  fault 

It  is  stated  by  Profbssor  How  that  the  odlections  of  min* 
erals  made  on  the  present  ocoasioii  are  sufficient  evidence 
that  the  mineralogy  of  Nova  Scotia  is  Tory  interesting,  both 
from  a  scientilte  and  an  eoonomio  point  of  view.  In  the  first 
plaoe  gold  is  obtained  in  considerable  quantity.  Very  vahk- 
able  iron  ores  are  also  worked,  ores  yielding  bar  iron  whic^ 
ranks  with  the  finest  Swedish  metal  for  making  steeL  Ores 
of  manganese  are  worked,  and  the  value  of  ttiat  sent  from 
Teny  i'ape  up  to  the  present  equals  £8,000  or  £9,oocx 
Wad,  manganite  and  pyrolusite  are  exhibited.  Native 
copper  and  other  ores  are  to  some  extent  worked.  A  variety 
of  copper  ores  are  sxhibited,  copper  pyrites,  cupriferous  oxide 
of  iron. 

Galena  is  also  represented  from  several  localities.  Mis- 
plckel  is  also  exhibited  from  three  or  four  looalities,  and  is 
sometimes  found  in  large  amount;  cobalt  occasionally  ooeura 
with  it  Barytes  occurs  in  some  places  in  sufficient  qnan- 
tity  to  be  exported.  Ojrpsum  exists  in  inexhaustible  pro- 
fhsion;  natroborocaloite,  and  a  mineral  oontaining  59  per 
cent  of  boric  acid — cryptomorphite — ^have  been  found  em- 
bedded in  it  Both  «re  exhibited.  Anhydrite  occurs  in 
quanti^.    Otiier  products  are  marblei  limestones,  gFanits, 


Gbvooal  Vcwa, ) 


Notices  of  Boohs. 


H7 


sandstone,  etc    The  author,  we  think,  oertaiuly  proves  his 
opening  statem^t. 


Tha  AXkaU  Aci^  1S63.  Third  Annual  Report  hy  ike  Inepecior, 
qJ  his  Proceedings  during  the  Tear  1866.  By  Dr.  AKeizS 
SjitTii,  F.R.S.,  etc.,  GroverniDent  Inspector. 

It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  Dr.  Angus  Smith  is  able  to  state 
in  this,  his  third  report,  that  there  has  been  a  farther  ad- 
Tanoo  in  the  manner  of  preventing  the  escape  of  muriatic* 
acid  gas ;  and  that,  although  during  the  last  year  the  escape 
has  been  greater  in  the  actual  number  of  tons,  it  is  owing 
to  the  increase  in  the  manufacture.  The  amount  of  salt  de- 
composed during  the  first  year  of  inspection  was  288,000 
tons,  during  the  second  310,000,  and  during  the  third  it  is 
371.950.  The  necessity  .for  inspection  is  well  borne  out 
by  many  of  the  fects  related  in  counection  with  them. 

For  instanoe,  in  one  case,  where  there  appeared  to  be  all 
the  ordinary  contrivances  for  condensation,  20*5  per  cent,  of 
the  muriatic  add  was  found  to  be  escaping.  Another  test, 
taken  after  alterations  had  been  made,  with  a  view  of  check- 
ing the  escape,  showed  the  presence  of  13*5  per  cent.  The 
owner  was  prohibited  from  working  with  these  arrange- 
ments. He  storied  work,  and  erected  a  second  condensing 
tower,  bat  the  escape  was  still  15  per  cent  The  inspector 
again  prohibited  work  until  a  remedy  was  found.  "Ae  ar^ 
raagementa  ultimately  were  properly  made,  and  at  a  subse- 
quent inspection  the  escape  was  only  i  per  cent  Dr.  Angus 
Bmith  writes-^^The  struggle  with  the  condensers  may  be 
said  to  have  ceased;  the  circumstances  are  understood. 
Our  DOW  struggle  is  with  this  escape  from  the  works,  and 
of  a  oertaia  amoont  of  gas  which  passes  through  bricks, 
tobea,  and  even  stone,  as  well  as  of  that  coming  occasionally 
from  the  month  of  the  furnace." 

The  aathor  remarks  upon  the  way  in  which  the  manufao- 
turora  have  oomo  to  regard  inspectors.  Finding  that  in 
many  manufactories  there  was  not  a  suffldent  stafiT  with 
cfaemical  knowledge,  the  inspector  has  given  advice  with 
regard  to  the  alterations  required,  and  if  the  changes  have 
been  speedily  made,  has  refrained  from  prosecution.  A 
letter  from  a  manufkctarer  illustrates  the  feeling  referred  to. 
In  the  course  of  it  he  writes :  "  It  is  very  annoying  to  me 
thai  you  should  ever  find  anything  to  find  fault  with,  but  as 
oar  method  of  working  is  uniformly  the  same,  and  as  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing  when  the  condensation  is  right 
except  from  your  tests  and  inspections,  I  hope  you  will  not 
be  long  before  you  oome  again,  and,  if  possible,  often."  The 
author  of  the  report  says :  "  I  consider  this  letter  an  indicap 
tion  that  the  time  has  now  come  for  throwing  aside  much 
of  the  responsibility  which  we  have  taken  from  the  manu- 
fincturera,  or  they  will  turn  round  to  throw  on  us  the  blame 
of  any  infraction  of  the  Act  committed  in  their  own  works." 
It  would  appear  that  the  proprietor  found  that  hi  the  visits 
of  the  inspector  he  obtained  such  valuable  advice  as  to  save 
him  the  expense  of  attaching  a  chemist  to  his  establishment 
No  doubt  great  good  haa  been  done  by  the  excellent  spirit 
in  which  the  Inspections  have  been  made,  but  now  that 
manufacturers  are  mking  greater  piofits  by  the  larger 
amount  of  add  they  are  enabled  to  obtain  from  the  same 
amount  of  material,  and  likewise  by  the  saving  in  many 
coaea  of  the  amounts  formerly  paid  as  damages,  we  consider 
that  Dr.  Angus  Smith,  and  those  gentlemen  under  his 
direction,  have  no  longer  any  need  to  burden  themselves 
with  duties  which,  as  inspectors,  they  were  in  no  way  bound 
to  undertake.  The  author  is  evidently  not  inclined  to  a 
radioal  change  In  this  direction,  as  the  following  extract  in 
reference  to  the  peremptory  demand  of  good  condensutiou 
snows : — "  When  the  habit  of  condensing  or  of  destroying  all 
noxious  vapours  has  been  longer  confirmed,  this  demand 
may  grow  to  be  just  and  reasonable."  In  another  place  be 
remarks  that  if  the  number  of  works  under  the  inspectors 
were  much  increased,  there  would  be  no  time  left  in  which 
to  consider  and  advise  manufacturers.    At  the  end  of  the 


report  are  a  few  pages  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  what 
ia  meant  by  a  nuisanoe. 

Dr.  Angus  Smith  showSj'^we  think  very  dearly,  an  advan- 
tage of  inspection.  This,  although  a  minor  one,  is  of  great 
importance  to  manufacturers,  as  they  possess  one  interest, 
and  the  public  another.  It  is  in  refereuce  to  the  subject  of  a 
nuisance — a  word  conveying  an  excessively  vag^e  meaning — 
that  the  author  draws  attention.  At  present,  he  says,  ex- 
cepting those  factories  coming  under  the  Alkali  Act,  the  pub- 
lic are  not  protected  from  the  manufacturer,  neither  is  the 
latter  protected  from  the  public.  Take,  in  the  first  place,  the 
case  of  a  housholder  who  suffers  from  the  escape  of  noxious 
gases  evolved  from  a  nest,  such  as  in  London  is  found  at 
Belle  Isle.  The  processes,  which  may  be  bad  enough  when 
properly  carried  on,  are  probably  clumsily  managed.  He 
must  of  course  be  able  to  fix  the  nuisance  upon  a  particular 
fiictory,  and  this  is  one  great  difficulty.  .  In  such  cases  the 
evidence  is  characterised  by  great  uncertainty;  even  a 
chemist,  as  Dr.  Angus  Smith  says,  is  frequently  obliged  to 
trust  chiefiy  to  his  senses,  as  he  cannot  obtain  admission  to 
the  factory,  and  therefore  the  gases  may  be  so  diluted  where 
he  examines  the  air  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  prove  their 
presence.  The  following  sentence,  occurring  in  the  report, 
exactly  expresses  our  own  opinion  upon  this  poiut : — 

''The  want  of  protection  to  the  public  lies,  in  ordinary 
nuisanoe  cases,  in  the  want  of  power  to  enter  the  works  and 
to  make  experiments." 

In  another  place  the  author  writes,  "  Unless  chemists  can 
define  a  nuisance,  and  have  opportunity  of  examining  in  cases 
of  complaint,  neither  the  public  nor  the  manufacturer  is 
protected." 

Taking  now  the  case  of  a  manufacturer,  a  case  is  stated 
showing  that  he  is  liable  to  be  attacked  and  injured  un- 
justly:— 

"  It  sometimes  happens,"  as  the  author  puts  it,  '^  that  a 
neighbour  who  is  peculiarly  sensitive,  objects  to  the  smell  of 
even  well-conducted  works;  he  may  be  able  to  say  truly  that 
they  are  to  him  very  offensive,  and  he  may  have  no  idea 
that,  were  all  men  to  have  an  equally  acute  sense  of  smell, 
manufactures  would  cease.  He  may,  however,  care  little 
for  such  things,  and  be  determined  to  seek  his  own  comfort 
only,  and  he,  therefore,  on  oath  and  with  truth,  says  that  the 
smell  makes  his  house  unpleasant" 

The  laws  referring  to  nuisances,  we  are  told,  are  also  vague, 
owing  to  the  want  of  precise  modes  of  detecting  them. 

This  is  not  the  case  with  those  which  come  under  the 
Alkali  Act.  Here  there  is  complete  protection  up  to  a  cer- 
tain point,  to  both  manufacturers  and  the  publia  We  quote 
once  more  to  give  the  opinion  of  the  author,  who  is  neces- 
sarily an  authority,  upon  this  point.  He  says : — "  It  seems 
to  me  that  the  system  of  inspection  protects  both  sides  if  the 
inspector  has  his  direct  instructions,  as  under  the  Alkali  Act, 
to  look  for  the  condensation  of  a  distinct  amount  The  public 
is  freed  from  95  per  cent  of  muriatic  acid  by  this  Act,  and 
the  manufacturer  is  protected  from  the  c>mplaints  of  the 
public  so  far.  If  a  similar  fixed  point  could  be  adopted  in 
tlie  case  of  every  gas,  there  would  be  complete  protection  to 
the  public  and  manufacturer  on  both  sides  up  to  that  point, 
occasional  mLstakosand  accidents  excepted.  It  seems  to  me 
a  most  important  thing  to  seek  such  fixed  points,  and  where 
they  cannot  be  attained  to  make  the  nearest  approach  to 
them,  so  that  evidence  may  be  taken  by  competent  persons 
on  the  spot,  instead  of  by  persons  stretching  at  some  distance 
beyond  the  works  the  capacities  of  their  sense  of  smell." 

The  Act  referring  to  the  manufacture  of  hydrochloric  acid 
has  worked  so  well  that  we  would  urge  upon  the  Government 
the  necessity  of  the  inspection  of  cdl  similar  manufactures. 
There  can  be  little  question  that  the  Alkali  Act  has  resulted 
in  benefit  to  the  manufacturers  who  were  brought  under  its 
infiuenoe.  Imagine  a  manufacturer  of  hydrochloric  acid  (we 
are  willing  to  believe  it  an  exceptional  case)  allowing  an 
esoape  of  20  per  cent ! 

In  an  appendix  Dr.  Angus  Smith  describes  an  apparatus, 
and  the  method  of  using  it,  for  the  determination  of  the  speed 


148 


Correspoixdence. 


i  Ghevtcal  17kw«, 
\       Sept,  186T. 


of  air  in  flues.  We  must  refer  tlioso  of  our  renders  who  may- 
be interested  to  the  original,  as  ^e  paper  is  long,  and  not 
capable  of  condensation. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


A  Lecture  ExperimenL 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nbws. 

Stb, — The  following  simple  apparatus  which  I  contrived 
lately  for  illustrating  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid, 
may  be  interesting  to  some  of  your  readers.  Three  tubes 
are  passed  through  the  cork  of 
wide-mouthed  bottle,  the 
largest  being  connected  by  an 
india-rubber  junction  with  a 
pint  funnel,  and  the  small  one 
to  the  left  with  a  test-tube 
generating   NO    by  means  of 

/g^-^ —   ^  ly  I  copper    turnings     and    nitric 

^  iils=q         acid*    The  middle  tube  admits 

tfZ^^3^  air.  A  little  water  is  poured 
^E^^r  into  the  bottle  first,  to  combine 
[  V  B  with  SOs  for  the  production  of 
!  B       HaSO^.    The  funnel  is  covered 

1^  >  -  in  with  a  metal  cap  to  which  a 
small  pan  is  suspended.  This 
pan  is  a  miniature  furnace.  A 
bit  of  sulphur  is  placed  in  it 
and  lighted.  The  fumes  of  SOa 
immediately  flow  down  in  a 
conspicuous  stream  into  the 
bottle.  Here  they  encounter  NO,  and  the  usual  reaction 
takes  place.  Any  SOa  which  the  water  may  dissolve  is 
expelled  by  boiling,  when  the  solution  answers  to  all  the 
tests  for  the  presence  of  sulphuric  acid.  An  extra  cover 
which  slides  on  the  metal  Ud,  conceals  some  air-holes,  use- 
ful at  the  beginning  of  the  experiment  Hoping  this  modi- 
fication of  the  apparatus  described  by  Miller  for  a  similar 
purpose,  may  be  acceptable  as  an  exact  and  economical 
imitation  of  a  most  interesting  manufacturing  process, 

I  am,  etc.,  E.  S. 

Nottingham,  June  6,  1867. 


Extmctian  of  Fires, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sir, — Will  you  allow  me  to  make  a  few  remarks  respecting 
a  fire  which  took  place  the  other  day  in  an  oil  distillery  at 
Hackney  Wick  ?  I  happened  to  be  passing  at  the  time,  and 
watched  the  progress  of  the  flames.  We  all  know  that 
from  whatever  cause  a  fire  takes  place,  water  is  rushed  to 
for  putting  it  out.  In  the  case  I  refer  to,  the  place  was,  as 
usual,  drowned  with  water,  which  merely  had  the  effect  of 
spreading  the  flames  and  increasing  their  intensity,  for  the 
oil  burned  until  there  appeared  to  be  nothing  left  to  support 
the  flames.  Now  my  reason  for  sending  you  this  letter  is 
to  point  out  how  easily  this  fire  might  have  been  put  out  if 
a  simple  plan,  which  I  shall  mention,  had  been  adopted,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  many  similar  fires  could  be  extin- 
guished by  the  same  means.  At  the  fire  referred  to  I  noticed 
the  flaming  oil  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water  on  the 
floors.  The  water  running  down  the  walls  bore  a  flaming 
surface  of  oil  likewise.  This  shows  that  the  water  had  Uttle 
or  no  power 'over  the  burning  oil. 

There  was  lying  near  the  building  in  which  the  fire  broke 
out,  a  large  quantity  of  sand.  Now  if  half-a-dozen  men, 
provided  with  spades,  had  "  dashed  *'  a  lot  of  this  sand  upon 
the  flames  soon  after  the  fire  was  discovered,  1  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  it  would  have  been  put  out,  and 
but  little  damage  done.  But  this  was  not  the  case,  for  long 
before  the  engines  arrived,  the  fire  had  got  such  a  hold  upon 
the  building  and  its  contents  that  the  firemen's  work  was 


little  hotter  than  labour  in  vain,  for  the  place  was  completely 
gutted.  The  sudden  throwing  of  sand  or  iby  similar  sub- 
stance upon  masses  of  flame  proceeding  from  burning  oil, 
eta,  is  generally  suflftcient  to  extinguish  or  choke  them  out. 

Some  time  ago  I  put  out  a  fire,  which  might  have  destroyed 
an  immense  amount  of  valuable  property,  by  simply  dashing 
fifty  or  a  hundred  shovelfuls  of  slaked  lime,  which  hap- 
pened to  be  near  at  hand,  upon  the  flames,  which  literally 
choked  them  out  The  fire  in  this  case  was  caused  by  a 
cask  of  oil  being  set  on  fire  accidentally.  This  is  only  ono 
of  the  many  fires  which  I  have  seen  put  out  by  adopting 
the  same  means.  I  consider  it  would  be  a  good  plan  if 
owners  of  such  places  as  oil  works,  eta,  always  had  at  hand 
a  quantity  of  sand,  dry  old  lime  waste,  eta,  which  oould  be 
used  in  the  manner  I  have  stated  when  necessary. 

I  am  advancing  no  fancy  statement,  but  giving  your 
readers  a  plan  which  has  been  tried  with  every  success,  and 
I  could  write  much  in  favour  of  this  plan  did  I  think  such  a 
course  at  all  necessary. 

I  am,  eta,  T.  H.  Swindells, 

July  a.  Consulting  ChemiaL 


Use  of  DigtiUed  Water. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohe^cal  News. 

Sib, — In  Mr.  Quints  report  upon  the  Paris  Exhibition,  refer- 
ence is  made  to  the  use  of  distilled  water  at  the  Wallaroo 
Copper  Mines  in  South  Australia,  stating  that  until  tanks 
for  collecting  rain-water  had  been  constructed,  "  perhaps  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  there  was  a  pop- 
ulation of  some  thousands,  with  all  their  horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  eta,  drinking  aqua  distiUcUcL^^  As  many  of  your  read- 
ers may  not  be  aware  of  the  fact,  it  may  be  interesting  here 
to  mention  that  in  the  rainless  region  of  the  Pacific  coast  of 
South  America,  the  entire  population  of  the  country,  be- 
tween about  the  i8th  and  28th  parallels  of  south  latitude,  or 
some  600  miles  fh>m  south  to  north,  including  the  important 
towns  of  Caldera,  Cob\ja,  Iquique,  Pisagua,  and  several 
minor  ports,  have  for  many  years  derived  tideir  supply  of 
potable  water  from  the  sea  water  of  the  Pacific,  distilled  in 
greater  part  by  coal  imported  fh>m  England  and  costing 
above  £3  per  ton. 

Not  only  is  a  population  of  many  thousand  inhabitants, 
principally  engaged  in  the  mines  of  this  district,  as  well  as 
a  still  larger  number  of  beasts  of  burden,  and  other  animals, 
supplied  from  this  source,  but  even  the  locomotives  on  the 
Copiapo  and  Caldera  railway,  and  some  steam  engines  for 
other  purposes,  are  actually  driven  with  distilled  water.  For 
a  distance  of  some  thirty  to  fifty  miles  inland  from  the  coast^ 
very  few  natural  springs  are  met  with  in  this  rainless  desert, 
and  when  met  with  they  are  seldom  sufficiently  tree  from 
saline  matter  to  be  potable.  D.  F. 


Magnetism  and  CfravUaiion, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cbemioal  News. 

Sir, — ^Tlie  paper  by  Mr.  Newlands  appears  to  me  to  be  based 
in  great  part,  if  not  entirely,  on  erroneous  notions  regarding 
magnetism. 

If  the  distance  between  the  pole  of  a  magnet  and  a  ma^ 
netic  body  is  very  considerable  as  compared  to  tlie  size  of 
the  latter,  the  body  will  not  be  attracted,  inasmuch  as  two 
opposite  poles  are  always  produced  by  induction;  and  as, 
under  the  above  conditions,  both  these  induced  poles  may 
be  regarded  as  at  the  same  distance  firom  the  inducing  pole, 
the  one  will  be  repelled  exactly  as  strongly  as  the  other  is 
attracted,  the  result,  as  regards  attraction,  will  therefore  be 
nil  The  distance  of  the  poles  of  the  earth  being  almost 
infinite  compared  to  the  size  of  a  piece  of  iron  on  the  pan 
of  our  balance,  the  iron  will  not  be  attracted  by  the  magw 
netic  power  of  the  earth,  and  will  weigh  as  much  on  the 
equator  as  on  the  poles,  subject  only  to  the  altered  force  of 
gravity.  I  am,  eta,  A.  D- 


CHKvirAi  News, ) 
a^,  166r.      f 


149 


Vapour  DmaUy  of  Water, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sib, — ^The  apparent  diacrepancy  between  the  two  modes  of 
calculating  the  expansion  of  water  in  becoming  steam 
noticed  by  Mr.  F.  0.  "Ward,  in  your  last  nnmber,  arises  fVom 
a  slight  error  in  one  of  the  calculations,  which  should  be  as 
follows: — 

"^  Orammefl. 

2  litres  of  H  at  o'o8936*=. . . .  0*17872 
I  litre  of  0  at  16  x  0*08936= ....  i  '42976 

1*60848 
The  3  litres  being  condensed  into  2,  a  litre 
of  aqueous  vapour  at  o^C.  and  760 mm.  j.gQg.8 
weighs ^=0*80424 

2 

and  henoe  (neglecting  the  slight  expansion  of  water  in  cool- 
ing from  its  point  of  maximum  density  0°)  i  litre  of  water 


at  0°  would  become- 


or  1243*4  litres  of  aqueous 


0*10424 
▼apour.    The  steam,  however,  being  formed  at  100°,  will 

become  expanded  to—  x  1243*4  or  1,699  litres,  so  that 

again  neglecting  the  slight  expansion  of  the  water  in  heat- 
ing from  the  point  of  maxtmum  density  to  100°,  i  litre  of 
water  at  100  becomes  1,699  litres  of  steam  at  100°. 

The  vapour  density  of  water  (observed,  air  =  I'oooo),  and 
the  weight  of  a  litre  of  air  at  o"*  and  760  mm.  as  given  in 
Gooke's  Chemical  Phynct^  p.  693,  are  respectively  06235 
and  I  '29206  grammes :  hence  the  weight  at  o^  and  760  mm. 
of  a  litre  of  aqueous*  vapour  will  be  1*29206x06235,  or 
0*8056  grammes,  which  does  not  differ  much  from  the  pre- 
vious theoretical  number  0*80424,  and  corresponds  to  an 

1000       373 
expansion  at  100"  of  1,696  thnes  since    o  ^  x  — --  =  1,696. 

— I  am,  etc,  Gharlbs  R.  A.  Wbight,  B.Sc 

Chemical  Laboratory,  SI  Thomas*!  IIoBpital, 
Jal^  i3tb,  1867. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sib, — ^The  few  editorial  remarks  which  appeared  in  your  issue 
of  the  12th  inst,  induced  me  to  look  over  Mr.  Ward's  8tf4te- 
ments  on  the  above-named  subject.  I  think  I  may  safely 
advance  that  Mr.  Ward  has  erred  in  this  instance  to  the 
extent  of  the  difference  indicated  between  his  numbers  and 
the  experimental  results.  Adopting  the  specific  weights 
which  be  gives  for  the  volume  of  the  water  constituents,  the 
weight  of  a  litre  of  steam  at  o^C,  and  ordinary  pressure, 
woiSd  not  be  7*2576  grros.,  as  Mr.  Ward  states,  but  0*8064 
g^m,  sit  follows,  therefore,  that  a  litre  of  water  would  pro- 
duce a  volume  of  steam  at  ioo°C.,  which,  when  corrected 
to  0°,  would  amount  to 

1000 
1241*3  litres  (^Tg^g^  =  I24I-3)- 

According  to  Mr.  Ward's  figures  this  volume  should  be 


137*77  litr€8(=" 


-  =  13777),  although  he  enlarges  the 


7*2^76 
result  to  1377-8  liirea 

Gay  Luflsac's  experimental  determination  of  1,700  litres 
as  the  volume  a  litre  of  water  acquires  when  converted 
into  steam  by  a  temperature  of  loo'*  if  corrected  to  o°G. 
oorresponds  very  nearly  with  the  volume  of  1341*3  litres, 

1700 
*^i-l665="^ 

The  corrections  to  o**  cannot  make  any  important  difference 

*  The  weight  In  grammes  of  a  litre  of  hydrogen  at  o  deg.  C.  and  760 
mm.  prMsnre.— i?owotf^«  Chemietry^  1^19, 


in  the  ratios;  and  I  may  state  that  the  relation  of  volumes 
deduced  by  theory,  or  obtained  by  experiment,  would  bo 
coincident  at  any  point  intermediate  between  o''  and  100°. 
So  far,  therefore,  we  may  believe  that  perfect  harmony  exists 
between  the  theoretical  and  experimental  results  in  relation 
to  the  expansion  of  water  into  steam  at  1,00*'. 

Indeed,  it  is  beyond  my  capacity  to  comprehend  how  any 
difference  could  arise  here  between  theory  and  experiment, 
or  that  in  the  entire  series  of  volame-ratios  any  discord  or 
diversity  could  be  educed  under  similar  or  analogous  con- 
ditions to  those  referred  to. — I  am,  etc., 

Martin  Murphy. 

College  of  Cbemlstiy,  Liverpool,  xath  Jaly,  1867. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sir, — ^The  assertion  that  water  expands  1696-fold  in  becom- 
ing steam  at  2i2°F.,  rests  on  the  authority  of  Gay  Lussac, 
and  is  a  result  of  direct  experiment     He  found  that  i  aa  of 
water  gives  16264  aa  of  steam  measured  at  loo'^C. 

Now,  2  litres  of  H  weigh 0*1792 

I 0  ^4336 

1*6128 
I  litre  of  steam  at  o^'G.  weighs,  then,  0*8064  ?rm-  Hence, 
0^8064  c.a  water  at  4°G.  becomes  1000  cc.  steam  at  o°C.  and 
1367  C.C.  at  loo^'G.,  or  i  c.c.  water  becomes  1695*2  cc.  steam 
at  ioo°C. 

The  difference  between  theoretical  and  experimental  re- 
sults amounts  thus  not  to  8  per  cent  but  to  008  per  cent. 

There  are  three  errors  in  Mr.  Ward's  calculations,  which, 
however,  counteract  each  other  rather  curiously. 
16  X  0-0896   =    14336,  not        14*336 

1000 
7.2576  =13778    not        13778 

I  am  utterly  unable  to  understand  the  method  adopted 
for  the  correction  for  temperatura  I  may  remark,  however^ 
that  the  coefficient  of  expansion  of  gases  for  i°F.  is 

-~  and  not   -^ 

and  that  the  correction  should  be  made  from  2i2°F.  to  32 ''F., 
and  not  to  6o*F, — I  am,  etc., 

W.  M.  Watts,  D.Sc. 
Glasgow,  July  16th,  1867. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghemical  News. 

Sir,— -I  observe  some  calculations  under  the  above  heading  in 
this  week's  Chemical  News.  If  Mr.  Ward  had  made  his  cal- 
culations correctly,  he  would  have  had  no  difficulty  in  recon- 
ciling the  fact  that  water  expands  i -696-fold  when  converted 
into  steam  at  212"  F.,  with  the  vapour  density  of  water. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  point  out  all  the  errors  of  calculation. 
The  following  calculations  will  show  most  of  them  when 
placed  in  juxtaposition,  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that 
the  weights  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen  are  taken  from  "  Bun- 
sen's  Gasometry." 

Grammes. 

2  litres  of  H  at  0*08961  =  . . . .      17922  at  32"  F. 

ilitreofO= 1*43028      " 


2  litres  of  water  vapour  =  . . 
I  litre  of  do  =  . 


1*60950 
.    -80475 


•8^  =  "^"'^ 
1 242*6  X  1*3665  =  16980  =  volume  of  vapour  at  212**  F., 
fh)m  unit  of  water  of  maximum  density  (at  39*2°  F.).    1,696 
has  probably  been  arrived  at  by  cutting  off  fVactions ;  by 
multiplying  1,242  by  1*366  we  get  1696*5. — I  am,  etc., 

D.  H. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghkmioal  News. 
SiBj-'In  Mr.  F.  0.  Ward's  calculation  of  the  vapour  density 


f50 


GorrMponderux. 


of  wftter  a  mistake  ocouni,  which,  if  oorrected,  will  ramov^  the 
djacrepaney  notieed  hj  bin. 

2  litres  Hat  0*0896  =  0-1792 

I  litre  Oat    16x0*0896  =  14336 

1-6138 
I  61 28 
3  litres  becoming  2  we  have  — —  =  0*8064  =  9  x  0*0896 

08  the  weight  of  one  litre  of  steam  at  o^C,  and  760  mm. 
preesare.  A  litre  of  water  weighing  1000  grammes,  at  4°0. 
or  999*88  grammes,  at  0°  will  therefore  give 

999*88 

^.go^    =  i239'9  litres  steam  at  o°C.  and  760  mm.  pressure. 

EednciDg  the  alleged  1*696  litres  at  loo*"  for  temperature, 

1696 
We  get  J.       =s  1240*6  Utffei  at  0°  and  760  mm.  pressure, 

or  almost  exactly  the  theoretical  quantity,  assuming 
steam  to  possess  the  same  coefficient  of  expansion  as 
atmospheric  air,  vii.,  0*367  between  0°  and  lOo",  and 
under  constant  pressure.  The  erilh^  it  should  be  remem- 
bered, is  the  weight  of  a  Htre  of  gas  or  vapour  at  760  mm. 
pressure^  and  at  o^a,  and  oot  at  60"^^!  am,  etoi« 

JLD. 

•    Vapotsr  DeruUy  qf  Water.^''  Chemistry  qf  ike  Future." 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Obsmkuz.  News. 
Sn,— I  notioe,  with  not  nnpleasurable  surprise,  fliatyou  haVe 
bestowed  the  honour  of  publicity  on  some  remarks  of  mine, 
not  penned  with  a  view  to  impression,  and  wanting^  I  see, 
some  little  revision.  They  refer  to  the  discrepancy  of  the 
figures  representing  th»  Vapour  density  of  water,  as  on  one 
band  deduced  from  its  received  volumetric  constitution,  and 
as  computed,  on  the  other  hand,  by  correcting,  for  tempera- 
ture, the  ordinary  statement  of  the  expansion  of  water  in 
becoming  steam  at  2I2**F.,  viz.,  1696-fold.  The  accidental 
misplacement  of  a  decimal  point,  and  a  casual  error  in  the 
reduction  of  boiling  point  to  60"  F.  have  led  to  the  working 
out  of  the  discrepancy  as  greater  than  it  really  is.  I  subjoin 
(he  corrected  figures,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  dis- 
crepancy is  still  large;  leaving  me  nothing  to  alter  in  the 
remarks  founded  thereon. 

Computing  the  vapour  densi^  of  stoam  fVom  its  volu- 
metric constitution,  we  have  :— 

2  litres  of  H=i  at  0-0896 0*1792 

I  litre  of  0=  16  x  0*0896 *..,..  »*4336 

5  Htree  weig^dag. 1*6128 

These  3  litres  being  condensed  into  2,  we  have 

=iO*8oo4 

AS  the  vapour  density  required.  As  a  litre  of  water  weighs 
kooo  grammes,  its  expansion  ratio,  in  becoming  steam  at 
ordinary  temperature  and  pressure,  is  obviously 

1000 

Turning  now  to  the  usually  alleged    expaoBioxi-ratlo, 

I 
1696,  and  reducing  it  for  temperature,  at  the  rate  of  Tg^ 

per  degree  R,  for  the  difference  between  boiling  point  and 
6o°F.=X2o*',  we  have  the  ratio 

^><i^« "5x5656 

whidh,  set  against  the  above  computed 1240*0000 

Shows  a  diserepanqr  of 13*5656 

This  is  the  point  to  ^riiioh  I  oalled  my  friends*  attention. 


with  reference  to  die  question  whether  the  volumetric  re- 
lations of  bodies  are  so  symmetrical  as  is  our  present  dis- 
position to  suppose. 

.  This  touches  a  suhject  now  strcmgly  attracting  the  at- 
teatioQ  of  the  chemical  world— I  mean  the  nature  and 
00QBtitutk)n  of  matter  and  the  mode  to  be  preferred  of  con- 
ceiving and  representing  its  chemical  transformations. 
With  referenoe  to  these  deeply  interesting  questions,  I  will 
ask  your  permiss&oii  to  cite  here  a  letter  wfaidi  I  received, 
more  than  20  years  ago,  firom  Frofeasor  Faraday.  I  was  at 
that  time  a  youth  at  college,  in  the  first  ardor  of  my  scien- 
tific studies,  and  I  had  devised — as  most  chemical  tyros  do^ 
I  believe —  a  fantastical  theory  of  the  nature  of  matter  and 
of  the  forms  and  properties  of  ita  elementary  particles,  as 
also  of  the  building  up  of  these  into  compound  molecnles. 
No  doubt  I  made  my  add  particles  pouitod  and  my  sugary 
and  oleaginous  mdeoules  round,  taking  care  to  provide  mj 
atoms  with  suitable  facets  whereby  to  it  one  another  in  the 
construction  of  compounds,  all  which  ordinary  fluttering  of 
B^  young  chemical  wings  I  must  have  deemed  vastly  pro- 
found and  original,  since  I  posted  the  paper,  with  high 
expectations,  for  the  illustrious  processor's  judgment. 

Two  days  afterwards  I  received  a  letter,  on  the  comer  of 
which  I  read,  with  a  beating  heart,  the  celebrated  philoeo* 
pher*s  sig^turo.  Being  at  present  far  away  f^om  my  ar- 
diives,  I  oan  but  quote  tl^  letter  Arom  memory,  yet  I 
think  I  can  give  it  to  you  nearly  ^erbcUim,  so  profound  was 
the  impression  made  on  my  mind  by  ite  modest  simplicity, 
coatrasted  with  my  boyish  presumption,  and  so  lasting  was 
the  phUosophio  lesson  it  c(»veyed.     It  ran  nearly  thus  :^- 

"I  have  received  your  ingenious  speculations  on  the 
nature  of  matter,  and  on  the  forms  and  properties  of  atoms ; 
and,  in  reply  to  your  question,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  advis- 
ing you  to  experiment  in  support  of  your  views,  because 
whether  they  be  confirmed  or  oonAited,  good  always  oomaa 
of  experiment. 

**  As  to  your  views  themselves,  sad  my  own  opinion  on 
the  subject,  I  am  fain  to  confess  that  1  have  thought  long 
and  closely  on  the  theories  of  matter,  and  on  the  nature  of 
ite  particles  or  atoms;  and  that  the  more  I  think,  in  associa- 
tion with  experiment,  the  less  disthiot  does  my  idea  of  an 
atom  or  partide  of  matter  become.'' 

I  have  never  known  which  most  to  admire  m  this  letter — 
its  modest  wisdom,  or  the  condescending  kindness  whidi 
prompted  ite  writer  to  bestow  on  an  obscure  yonth-^4o  hnn 
a  total  stranger — so  gentle  yet  impressive  a  monition. 

But  why  is  it  dted  now  and  here  T 

Because  ite  marking  words — '*  in  association  wiffi  aeperf- 
merU  ^ — are  if  I  mistake  not,  particularly  apposite  to  the 
present  posture  of  chemical  aithirs. 

The  chemical  world  is,  indeed,  under  invitetion  to  embraoe 
a  new  theoretic  system,  which  incorporates,  as  an  essential 
part  of  ite  fabric,  the  affirmation  tiiat  several  bodies,  never 
yet  decomposed,  are  compounds  of  a  known  with  certam 
unknown  elemente;  and,  fbrther,  as  regards  the  known 
elemente  themselves,  that  they  are  the  results,  some  of  one, 
others  of  two  or  more  **  (meraHonSf^  strangely  likened  to  so 
many  **  strokes  on  a  belL" 

It  would  ill  befit  a  mere  student^  lOce  myseli;  of  some  of 
the  simpler  parte  of  chemistry,  to  dritidte  proposals  brought 
forward  by  a  recosnised  master  of  the  science.  Tet  my  ad- 
mitted inferiority  leaves  me  all  the  freer  to  confess  that  my 
dim  conceptions  of  elementary  matter  derive  no  light  from 
the  suggestion  that,  in  a  ^^dhemioal  operation,''  the  evolution 
of  hydrogen  is  attended,  as  it  were,  with  one  sound,  and  that 
of  oxygen  with  itoo, 

80,  again,  I  may  frankly  avow  that,  to  ue,  the  proposed 
substitution  of  Greek  for  Roman  letters,  in  our  chemical 
symbols  and  formuhe,  seems  likely  to  impart  to  our  hitherto 
attractive  scienoe.  an  aspect  of  abstruseness  uncompensated 
by  any  real  addition  tihereby  made  to  the  profundity  of  our 
knowledge. 

Our  real  experimental  acqaaiutaac§  with  the  oature  and 


CmnncAL  Kswt.  ] 

s^,  iser.     j 


Cbr^^efpondenc^ 


151 


oonstitation  of  hjdroohlorio  add,  for  example,  reraaina  un- 
altered, so  far  aa  I  oan  aee,  whether  yn  write  it  HCl,  aa  of 
old,  or  denote  il  by  the  Greek  symbol,  «x:  and,  for  mj  own 
part,  I  feel  the  deep  myatery  of  ehlorine  undiminiahed»  when 
I  am  told,  aa  the  leauU  of  a  aeries  of  equatioBS,  tiiat 

01 


x=- 


H 


Siin  leas,  methinks,  oan  the  eleameaa  of  onr  phyaioo- 
chemicol  conceptions  and  reasonings  be  promoted  by  the 
two-fcdd  interpretratk>n  which  it  ia  proposed  to  beatow  on 
the  algebraic  signs + and  — .  Theae,  it  would  seem,  we  are 
invited  to  employ,  aometimes  in  thmr  did  aoouatomed  aooep- 
tation,  Bometimea  aa  aymbols  of  differenoea  in  "  direction ; " 
whidi  differences,  an  arrow-head  turned  this  way  or  that, 
voukly  I  tliink,  much  more  fit^  represent. 

By  an  equally  gratuitooa  oonfa8i<»  oC  things  different,  the 
ordizuury  ooUocationa  signifying  ia  algebra  multiplioatioa  and 
diviaion,  are  to  be  henceforth  employed  by  chemists,  not  in 
those  familiar  senses  only,  but  also  aa  aigna  of  chemical 
oombination  and  decompoaition.  For  my  part^  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  cannot  trace  the  faintest  analogy  between  the 
mtiltiplicatkm  of  one  number  by  another,  and  the  combina- 
tion of  two  chemical  elementa;  though  here  confusion  can 
acaroely  be  avcMded,  the  a^braista  having  unadvisedly  aa  I 
think,  made  the  mere  writing  of  two  quantities  in  iauaedlato 
raooeaai<m  the  sign  of  their  mvltipiication  into  each  other. 
So  such  neceaaity  oan  be  p^saded  to  justify  the  use  of  the 
siymbolio 

a 
groaping~^  heretofore  set  apart  to  ezpreaa  the  division  of 

one  quantity  by  another,  as  the  sign  of  so  utterly  dissimilar 
a  conception  as  that  of  chemical  decomposition,  which  we 
are,  nevertheless,  invited 

CI 
to  write  in  much  the  same  manner— putting  *g»  for  in- 

atanoe,  to  signify  the  decomposition  of  hydrochloric  aoid.  If 
aymbola  of  chemical  combination  and  aeveranoe  be  needed, 
why  not  devise  some  simple  forma  of  expreaaioQ  for  tilM  pui^ 
pose;  aa,  for  example,  marks  of  parenthesis,  ordinary  and 
reversed,  the  former  for  oombination— (HCl),  the  latter  for 
decompoaition— HXCL  Surely  this,  or  some  equivalent  ex- 
pedient, would  be  more  philoaophical  than  the  forcing  into 
an  artificial  quasi-connezity,  of  facts  and  conceptions  so 
utterly  incongruous  as  to  be  abaoltttely  incomparable. 

I  own  myself  at  a  loss  to  discover  the  additional  pro- 
fundity of  reasoning  assumed  to  be  derivable  from  this  am- 
biguous duplication  of  the  meaning  of  symbols  hitherto 
received,  each  only  in  a  single  sense.  This  miring  up  of 
algebraic  and  chemical  symbols,  so  far  flrom  assisting  ratlo- 
cmation  in  either  kind,  will  rather  tend,  1  think,  to  Increase 
the  toil  of  chemical  thought  And  to  multiply  the  chances  of 
chemical  error,  by  the  additional  stress  gratuitously  imposed 
on  the  chemist's  attention,  thus  called  on,  as  it  wfll  be,  to 
catch  correctly  so  many  alternating  modes  of  interpretation, 
each  in  its  variable  turn. 

Ab  for  the  new  "  fVindamental  definition "  of  a  chemical 
phenomenon,  it  is  "  an  operation  on  the  unit  of  space,  the 
result  of  which  is  a  weight "  I  confess  that,  for  me,  this 
play  of  words  throwd  not  the  faintest  ray  of  light  on  any  of 
the  &niiliar  marvels  of  chemistry,  such  as  solution,  elTerves- 
cence.  crystallisatioii,  explosion,  and  all  the  numberless 
tranaformations  of  form,  colour,  obmbiuation,  properties,  etc., 
which  collectively  make  up  our  astonishing  science.  In 
what  sense  is  the  above  definition  more  luminous,  more  ex- 
plaoatoiy  of  the  wonders  amidst  wliich  we  move,  than  If 
one  should  say,  conversely,  that  a  chemical  phenomenon 
results  from  the  operation  of  a  weight  (or  weights)  within 
given  limits  of  space  (and  time).  There  is  no  limit  to  the 
multiplication  of  such  abstractions,  and  if  that  now  pro- 
pounded gains  acceptance,  I  cannot  see  why,  to-morrow,  a 
new  Transcendental  school  may  not  be  started,  with  a 
modified  *' f\mdamental  definition,"  declaring  a  "chemical 


phenomenon**  to  be  an  "operation  upon  the  unit  of  Time, 
the  result  of  which  is  a  Force.*' 

Such  expressions  maybe  more  or  less  neat  and  antithetic, 
but  thev  afford  us  not  the  slightest  insight  into  those  hidden 
ways  of  nature  which  they  afl^  to  fathom  and  reveal.  The 
essence  of  natural  phenomena  is,  indeed,  unknowable ;  we 
may  study  their  relations,  and  ascertain  the  conditions 
of  their  existence,  so  as  to  obtain  means  for  their 
modification  and  control,  but  when  we  seek,  with  subtie 
phrases,  to  express  thehr  absolute  nature  and  causation,  we 
do  but  disguise  our  ignorance  and  cheat  our  yearning  curi- 
osity with  words.  W  sudi  kind  appears  to  be  the  abstract 
de^tion  of  chemical  phenomena  now  put  forward  to  fit  our 
science  for  the  new  analvtical  method  proposed ;  and  unless 
this  apprehension  should  prove  to  be  ill-founded,  the  new 
S3rstem  will  do  little,  I  fear,  towards  promoting  the  real  in- 
ductive progress  of  chemistry. 

Far  be  it,  however,  f^om  me  to  deprecate  the  introduction  in- 
to chemical  science  of  any  high  analytical  method,  if  such  there 
be,  really  compatible  with  its  eminently  concrete  and  ex- 
perimental character,  and  really  calculated  to  support  the 
arduous  reasoning  of  chemists  through  fhrther-reaching  con- 
catenations than  have  heretofbre  been  possible  for  them. 
But  no  such  transcendental  methods  will  avail,  unless,  aa 
Faraday  enjoins,  they  be  used  in  constant  "association 
with  experiment,"  and  due  subjection  to  its  wholesome 
chock. 

This  rule  would,  I  think,  be  as  seriously  hifVinged  by  the 
premature  acceptance  of  chlorine,  and  a  series  of  cognate 
bodies,  as  compounds  of  hydrogen  with  various  unknown 
elements,  as  it  would  have  been,  if;  m  Sir  Humphrey  Davy's 
time,  the  suspected  composite  character  of  the  alkalies  had 
been  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  an  established  fact  before  its 
reality  had  been  demonstrated,  by  Davy's  ever  memorable 
experiments. 

I  would  not,  however,  be  understood  aa  seeking,  by  any 
means,  to  undervalue  or  disparage  the  intellectual  power 
displayed  by  the  eminent  propounder  of  the  new  doctrine, 
in  his  vigorous  assault  on  the  so-called  "  Chemistry  of  the 
Past,"  and  equally  cogent  demonstration  of  the  necessity  for 
a  higher  and  larger  "  Chemistry  of  the  Future."  In  this 
proposition  all  (demists  are,  I  think,  agreed.  It  has  long 
been  felt  by  philosophical  reasoners — Auguste  Comte 
among  the  number — ^that  the  atomic  theory  fails  to  satisfy 
our  intellectual  requirements,  when  it  is  applied  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  organic  chemistry,  though  it  has  answered 
its  purpose  admirably  as  a  means  of  intelligibly  connecting 
the  main  facts  of  inorgame  chemistry.  We,  therefore,  need 
a  unitary  conception,  of  more  comprehensive  scope,  capable 
of  embracing,  under  common  forms  the  facts  of  both  divi- 
sions of  the  science,  and  adapted  to  make  manifest  their 
intrinsic  harmony,  not  only  with  each  other,  but  also  with 
the  recent  developments  of  physical  science,  such  as,  for 
instance,  the  lately  proved  convertibility  of  motion  into 
fbroe,  and  vice  versti. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  in  any  captious  dislike  of  innovation, 
still  less  in  a  cavilling  or  disrespectful  spirit,  that  I  have 
ventured  to  submit  what  seem  to  me  objections  to  the  sys- 
tem now  proposed.  My  attitude  is  rather  that  of  a  student 
who,  after  a  perplexing  lecture,  lays  his  doubts,  with 
deference,  before  his  professor.  I  fbel  anxious  lest  chemical 
philosophy,  at  this  juncture,  should  be  led  into  a  false, 
though  brilliant  path;  lest,  in  striving  after  analytical 
methods,  possibly  un suited  to  a  science  so  essentially  con- 
crete and  experimental,  we  should  barter  solid  facts  fbr 
metaphysical  subtieties,  and  only,  after  all,  make  chemistry 
more  abstract,  at  the  ooet  of  making  it  less  real. 

Like  my  chemical  betters,  however,  I  await,  before  finally 
judging  the  new  system,  its  fVill  and  complete  development; 
and  I  shall  be  found  among  its  first  and  most  grateful  de- 
votees, should  it  open  up  new  spheres  of  really  ptwr'fivc  reason- 
ing and  research,  and  tend  to  Chciiitate  fm  Faraday's  preg- 
nant phrase)  "  Thouoht  assocutbd  with  Expekiment." 

F.  0.  Ward. 


15^ 


Cliemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


j  Ohkmioal  Krwi, 
\      BepL,  1667. 


VAPOUR  DENSITY  OF  WATER. 

To   the    EdUor   of  ike    Chemical   Kem. 

Sib,— I  have  read  with  much  interest  the  five  communi- 
cations  called  forth  by  some  remarks  on  the  vapour  density 
of  water,  extracted  by  you  from  a  letter  of  mine  to  a  private 
friend. 

It  is  curious  to  note  the  little  discrepancies  which  oocur 
in  the  computations  of  so  many  able  and  learned  men  apply- 
ing their  minds  to  the  same  subject. 

On  one  point  the  five  letters  supply  these  different 
figures : — 

•80424    "80475    *^S^    '8064, 
of  which  the  last-named  has  the  rapport  of  the  minority, 
and  is  the  figure  at  which  I  had  previously  arrived. 
On  another  point  I  gather  these  figures: — 

1239*9    1240-6    1 24 1 '3     I242-6    1243-4 — 
my  own  figure,  independently  oedculated,  being  1240. 

On  the  question  of  the  true  gas-expansion  ratio,  touched 
by  one  of  your  correspondents,  and  lying  at  the  very  root 
of  the  matter,  I  happen  to  have  a  paper  at  hand,  giving  the 
results  arrived  at  by  seyeral  eminent  authorities,  and  low- 
ing notable  discrepancies  between  them,  even  as  to  this 
fundamental  datum.  These  ratios  are  as  folows,  for  the 
Tolume  at  zero  F. : — 

Dalton  and  Gay  Lussac ..Tir 

Regnault tH 

Magnus ji^ 

Rudberg ^ii 

0>rrecting  these  ratios  for  the  Tolome  at  fireezing-pointy 
they  become : — 

Dalton  and  Gay  Lussao. rhr 

Regnaxilt jiff 

Magnus ^Jl 

Rudberg 7^ 

Applying  the  first  and  last  of  these  ratios  to  the  question 

1000 
in  hand,  and  taking^^r— r-^  =1240  as  the  standard  for  com- 
parison (my  own  computation  whereof  is  sanctioned  by  the 
majority  of  your  correspondents},  we  have,  according  to 
Dalton  and  Gay  Lussac — 

480      ^  ^ 

^x  1696=1233-45 

and,  according  to  Rudberg : — 

1^x1696=1243-06 

On  comparing  each  of  these  results  with  our  abovQ-men- 
tioned  standard,  deduced  from  the  volumetric  composition 
of  water,  we  obtain,  as  the  respective  discrepancies,  Ihe 
values  6-55  and  3*06 ;  the  former  being  hehw  and  the  latter 
above  the  standard ;  so  that  the  discrepancy  between  the 
two  results  themselves  is  the  sum  of  the  amounts  above 
stated,  viz.,  6-55  +  3'o6=9-6i. 

Neither  of  these  discrepancies,  however,  is  so  large  as 
that  worked  out  by  me  in  my  last  letter — ^iuto  which,  I  must 
own,  that  error  crept  through  my  using  (in  the  absence  of 
my  books  of  reference)  an  imperfectly  remembered  rule  of 
computation. 

If  lastly,  we  work  out  the  calculation  as  before,  substi- 
tuting Regnault's  ratio,  we  obtain 

400 

—  X  1696=1240-3582 

which  differs  from  the  standard  by  only 
0-3582. 
The  question  therefore  turns,  so  far  as  the  greater  or  less 
discrepancy  is  concerned,  upon  the  relative  merits  of  the 
respective  determinations,  by  the  eminent  authorities  quot- 
ed, of  the  expansion  ratio  for  gases :  as  also,  upon  the  more 
or  less  thorough  soundness  of  the  laws  laid  down  as  govern- 


ing the  expansion  of  gases,  one  or  two  of  which  laws,  if  I 
remember  rightly,  rest  partly  on  assumption. 

Meanwhile,  though  we  are  free  to  regard  the  discrepancy 
under  oonsideratioD  as  larger  or  smaller,  according  to  the 
expansion  ratio  on  whidi  we  eleot  to  rely,  science  as  yet 
affbrds  no  absolutely  certain  proof,  entitling  any  one  to  deny 
its  existence. 

The  observed  and  calculated  vapour-densities  of  many 
other  bodies,  besides  water,  show  also  (unless  my  memory 
betrays  me)  fractional  difTerences  more  or  less  important, 
the  very  smallest  of  which  may  have  a  real  existence,  and 
may  exercise  more  influence  than  is  yet  suspected  on  the 
play  of  chemical  phenomena.  This  was  the  special  con- 
sideration I  addressed  to  my  friend — supporting  it  by  an 
example  drawn  from  water,  and  an  analogy  supplied  by 
music  In  the  carelessness  of  intimate  pen-talk,  I  inadvei^ 
testiy  made  out  the  4i8orep«acy  cited  too  great ;  and  this, 
not  only  as  regards  the  fact  itself,  but  also  as  regards  the 
fitness  of  the  illustration  to  my  argument  For  I  was  really 
referring  to  minute,  not  considerable  differences :  and  my 
example  is  rendered  all  the  more  apposite  by  the  correction 
now  supplied. 

The  want  of  symmetry  established,  by  Stas,  m  the  ponderd 
relations  of  matter,  lends  colour,  I  think,  to  the  hypothesis, 
that  a  like  condition  may  attend  its  cognate  volumetric  pro- 
portionalities :  for,  that  these  relations  should  be  all  abso- 
lutely integral,  whUe  so  many  of  the  others  are  fractional, 
seems  to  me  a  somewhat  hazardous  assumption. 

In  these  musings,  however,  I  carefully  avoid  afBrmation; 
I  merely  ponder  and  surmise.  Such  unripe  germs  of  thought 
are  fitter,  no  doubt,  for  the  oonmierce  of  friends  than  for  tiie 
wider  public  audience,  which  accident  has,  in  this  instance, 
afforded  to  mine.  If  your  favour.  Sir,  have,  as  I  fear,  given 
them  more  prominence  than  they  deserve,  I  can  only  hope 
that,  by  stimulating  thought,  or,  still  better,  by  suggesting 
experiment,  they  may  pay  for  the  time  and  space  thay  have 
occupied. 

To  your  able  correspondents,  whose  courteous  indications 
have  afforded  jne  much  light,  1  beg,  in  conclusion,  to  oARbt 
my  best  acknowledgements,  and  I  remaiu,  etc, 

F.  O.  Wabd. 

North  Walee,  July  «Mh,  1867. 


CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 


Tnnsaten*  properties  and  eomi^oiinds  of  (0=8). — 
B.  ZettDor.  The  best  method  of  preparing  pure  compouncU  of 
tungsten,  from  the  mineral,  is  to  fuse  the  latter  with  i  of  its 
weight  of  sodic  carbonate.  The  fused  mass  is  extracted  with 
boiling  water,  which,  on  evaporation,  yields  crystals  of  the 
neutral  sodic  tungstate,  NaO,WOt  +  2  aq.  The  mother- 
liquor,  acidulated  with  nitric  acid  and  evaporated,  gives  crys- 
tals of  the  acid  salt,  NaO,  7WO,  +  16  aq. 

The  quantitative  determination  of  tungstic  acid  may  be 
effected  by  adding  a  standard  solution  of  plumbic  acetate  to 
an  aqueous  solution  of  tungstic  acid,  acidulated  with  acetic 
acid.    The  results  are  very  accurate. 

The  atomic  weight  of  tungsten  has  been  deduced  from  the 
composition  of  ferrous  and  argentic  tungstate;  the  first  gave 
the  number  92*038,  the  latter  91*927.    Mean=9i  976  or  92. 

Metallic  tungsten  is  obtained  as  a  dark  grey  powder,  by 
melting  tungstic  acid  together  with  sodium,  under  a  cover  of 
sodic  chloride,  or  by  passing  a  strong  electric  current  through 
fused  sodic  tungstate. — (Pogg,  Ann.  cxxx.  x6.) 

liead-Cliamlier  Proeeaa.— R.  Weber.  Sulphurous  add, 
in  presence  of  much  water,  reduces  binoxide  of  nitrogen  to 
oxide  of  nitrogen.  Sulphuric  add,  of  a  certain  strength,  pre- 
vents this  reactiou.  This  explains  the  loss  of  nitric  acid  in 
the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  which  always  takes  place 
when  the  sulpiiuric  acid  in  the  lead  chamber  is  below  the 
normal  strength. — (Pogg.  Ann.  cxxx.  277.) 

Fluorides  of  ABtlmony  and  Arsenic.— Harigoaa 


QmnciL  Nbwi,  ) 
Sept,  IMT.      f 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


153 


Fluoride  of  anlimouy  forms  an  amorphous,  gum-like  mass, 
when  evaporated  in  yaona  Its  oonoentrated  solution  cannot 
be  beaied  without  decomposition.  If  potassie  or  sodic 
hjdrate,  or  ammonia,  be  added  to  a  yery  concentrated  solu- 
tion of  the  fluoride,  double  fluorides  in  crystals  may  be  ob- 
tained. They  are  nearly  all  deliquescent,  and  their  solution 
is  not  immediately  precipitated  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
acids,  or  alkalies.  They  are  stable  in  the  crystalline  state, 
but  decompose  in  solution,  forming  oxy-fluoride& 

The  corresponding  fluo-arseniates  are  still  more  difficult  to 
obuin  in  crystals.  Sulphuretted  hydrogen  decomposes  their 
solution  slowly.— (ylrc^  Science,  1867.) 

IMMoelatlon.—H.  Debray  finds  that  the  phenomenon  of 
dissociation  may  be  observed  in  solid   bodies  which   are 
formed  by  direct  combination  of  a  volatile  and  a  non- volatile 
.body. 

Pure  Iceland  spar  was  heated  in  a  tube,  which  .could  be 
exhausted,  or  tilled  with  any  gas  by  means  of  a  Geisler's 
mercury  air-pump.  At  JSo'C.  the  decomposition  of  the 
mineral  was  zero;  at  440**  scarcely  preceptibie,  at  860°  very 
distinct,  but  censed  when  the  pressure  in  the  tube  amounted 
to  85  mm.  Heated  to  1070°  the  pressure  became  stationary 
at  520  mm.  This  ''  tension  of  dissociation  "  is  constant  at  a 
given  temperature,  increases  with  the  rise  of  temperature, 
and  is  independent  of  the  extent  of  decomposition  the  carbo- 
nate has  undergone.'  If  in  these  experiments  the  apparatus, 
alter  having  been  heated,  is  allowed  to  cool,  the  generated 
carbonic  acid  is  entirely  reabsorbed,  and  a  vacuum  agaic  pro- 
duced. The  author  further  finds  that  caustic  lime,  at  ordi- 
nary temperatures,  does  not  obsorb  a  trace  of  carbonic  acid, 
if  the  latter  be  perfectly  dry ;  the  absorption  begins  at  a  dark 
red'he&t.^CompteM  R,  Ixiv.  603.) 

Ky driodlc  Acid,  action  of  lieat  on,~T.  Hautefeuille. 
Bydriodic  acid,  if  gradually  heated,  begins  to  decompose  at 
i8o°C ,  the  violet  colour  of  the  gas  increasing  slowly  up  to 
440'';  but  from  440""  to  700°  the  decomposition  proceeds 
rapidly.  The  amount  of  decomposed  gas  varies  with  the  ex- 
tent of  surface.  At  a  given  temperature  it  is  greatly  increased 
by  spongy  platinum,  but  the  latter  also  causes  hydrogen  and 
iodine  to  combine.  If)  at  a  certain  temperature,  equal 
YAlnmes  of  U  and  I  pass  over  platinum  in  the  tlnely  divided 
state,  the  quantity  of  the  gases  remaining  uncorobined  is 
exactly  equal  to  that  which  would  be  formed  by  decomposi- 
tion, if  hydriodio  acid  had  been  used. — {C(/mpte8  R.  Ixiv. 
608.) 


en  orOie  Aelds  of  Anenlc (C=i2).— T.  M.  Crafts. 
The  reaction  of  silicic  ethide  on  boric  acid,  studied  by  Friedel 
and  Grafts,  in  which  ethylic  borate  is  formed,  has  been  tried 
by  the  latter  chemist  with  the  acids  of  arsenic,  but  only 
araenious  acid  behaves  like  boric  add.  The  action  of  dry 
arsenic  acid  upon  silicic  ethide  takes  place  under  pressure  at 
220''— 230^0.,  silicic  acid  is  precipitated,  and  a  gas  escapes 
which  seems  to  be  ethylene.  On  distillation,  arsenious  ethide 
'is  obtained.  The  residue  consists  of  arsenious  add,  silicic 
acid,  and  some  arsenic  acid. 

Arsenic  ethide,  3  (dK^)  ASO4,  is  formed  by  heating 
etbylio  iodide,  diluted  with  twice  its  volume  of  ordinary 
ether,  and  argentic  arseniate,  sliglitly  in  excess,  together  in 
sealed  tubes  to  1 20°G.  The  contents  of  the  tube  are  extract- 
ed with  ether,  the  ether  evaporated  in  a  current  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  the  remaining  liquid  distilled  under  diminished 
pressure.  Under  ordinary  pressure,  arsenic  ethide  boils  at 
235° — 238'',  but  decomposes  partially.  Its  sp.  gr.  at  o^C.  is 
=  1-3264.  It  mixes  with  water  in  every  proportion,  showing 
then  all  the  reactions  of  arsenic  acid. 

Arsenious  ethide  3(CflBft)AB0t,  is  produced  on  heating 
silicio  ethide  with  arsenious  acid  to  220  under  pressure.  It 
boils  at  166'' — 168**.  Its  vapour  density  was  fouud  ranging 
from  7*197  to  7*615,  according  to  the  temperature  at  which 
it  was  taken ;  theory  requires  7*267.  Its  sp  gr.  at  o'^O.,  is 
=  I  ^2  24.    "Water  decom  poses  it 

The  ether  may  also  be  obtained  from  argentic  arsenite  with 
etbylio  iodide,-^Coinpte$  R,  Ixiv.  70a) 


Aromatic  Hydrocarbons  converted  Into  Plienols 

(C=  1 2 ). — A.  Wurtz.  Sulphobenzolic  acid  and  its  analogues, 
melted  with  potassie  hydrate  (250° — 300*'C.),  splits  up  into 
sulphurous  add  and  the  respective  phenol.  The  phenols 
thus  obtained  are  very  pure.  The  reaction  takes  places 
according  to  the  following  equation : 

SO,  I  ^^*  +KHO=SO,  I  ^g.  +0.H.OII. 
—  Gompies  R.  Ixiv.  749. 

€ry«talllsable  Sucar  In  HellantHus  Taberosus,— 

Dubrunfaut.  The  juice  of  the  tubers  of  the  Jerusalem  arti- 
choke, if  gathered  in  September,  contain  inulin  in  large  quan- 
tities; if  reaped  in  March  or  April,  it  is  found  to  contain 
dextrose  and  a  non-crystallisable,  inactive  sugar  instead. 
These  two  saccharine  matters  are,  no  doubt,  produced  by 
the  con  version  of  the  inulin,  which  is  formed  during  the  first 
period  of  vegetation.— (^mpfov  R.  Ixiv.  764.) 

Pbenol,  derivatives  of.— H.  Brunk  has  prepared  a 
series  of  substitution-compounds  of  phenol,  especially  those 
containing  uitryl  and  bromine  together.  Their  salts  crystallise 
well.  He  also  describes  the  methylio  ethers  of  the  two 
isomeric  nitrophenols,  which  he  finds  to  be  ideuticul  with 
monouitranisol  and  isouitranisol.  The  first  is  an  oily  liquid, 
the  latter  a  crystalllsable  body.  Both  exchange  their  nitryl 
for  amide  on  reduction  with  tin  and  chlorhydric  acid.  The 
monamidophenyl-methylic  ether  (anisidin)  is  a  liquid,  the 
isamidophenol-methylic  ether  (isauisidin),  a  solid.— -(.^^c^. 
Chem,  N.  K  iil  202.) 

Pbenol^sroup,  Contrlbntlons  to  tbe  blBtory  of.— 

L.  Du^sa^t.  ('6=12,0=16).  Naplithalene,  on  being  heated 
with  sulphuric  acid  (10  parts  of  the  former  to  25  of  the  lat- 
ter), is  completely  converted  into  sulpho-naphthalic  acid, 
which,  on  continued  heating,  changes  into  disulpho-naphthalic 
acid.  If  pure  naphthalene  has  been  taken,  little  sulphurous 
acid  is  formed.  The  salts  of  disulpho-naphthalic  acid  are  de- 
compoised  by  fusing  potassie  hydrate  under  formation  of  a 
new  body,  the  analysis  of  which  led  to  the  formula  of  the 
diatomic  phenol  OioHsO*.  This  body  is  more  soluble  in 
water  than  in  naphthol ;  it  dissolves  readily  in  caustic  potash, 
which  solution  is  instantaneously  decomposed  on  exposure  to 
air. — (Comptes  R.  buy.  859.) 

Benzoin,  derivatlvesof  (€=i2,e=i^.— M.  Zinin.  If 
benzoin  is  heated  with  fuming  chlorhydric  acid  to  130^. 
under  pressure,  an  oily  body  is  formed,  which  on  cooling 
solidifies  to  a  crystalline  mass.  Of  this  mass  about  72  per 
cent  are  soluble  in  ether  or  alcohol,  and  this  solution,  on 
evaporation,  yields  crystals  of  benztl,  and  a  thick  yellow  oil, 
insoluble  in  water,  easily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether.  The 
portion  insoluble  in  ether  is  a  new  compound  which  the 
author  calls  lepiden ;  its  composition  is  OsaUsoO.  It  is  in- 
soluble in  water,  readily  soluble  in  benzol.  It  melts  at  1 75°, 
and  evaporates  at  220".  Potassie  hydrate,  either  solid  or  in 
alcoholic  solution,  does  not  act  upon  lepiden.  Nitric  acid  and 
chromic  acid  convert  it  into  crystalline  oxy-lepiden  OisHaoOa, 
which  is  insoluble  in  water,  nearly  so  in  ether,  readily 
soluble  in  benzoL  Its  melting  point  \a  220°.  Zinc  and  acetic 
acid  reduce  it  again  to  lepiden.  A  bromine  substitution 
compound  of  lepiden,  OisHigBriO,  has  been  obtained  by 
adding  bromine  to  its  solution  in  acetic  acid. — {Acad,  Fe- 
tersh.  xi.  151.) 

Platlnlc  and  Anric  CbJorldea,  Oomblnatlons  of.— 

Weber.  (0=8.)  The  yellow  cr>'8tals  which  are  obtained  on 
adding  fuming  nitric  acid  to  a  solution  of  platinic  chloride 
have  the  composition  Pta  +  N0,C1 4-  HO.  They  dissolve  in 
water  with  disengagement  of  N0>  From  a  solutiou  of  pla- 
tinic chloride  in  chlorhydric  acid  (free  from  nitric),  red 
brown  crystals  separate  on  evaporation  under  the  desiccator, 
which  have  the  composition  of  Marignac's  double  chloride  of 
platinum  and  sodium,  but  containing  U  in  place  of  Na., — 
Pt0l3  4-C1H+6H0.  A  similar  compound  has  been  obtained 
with  auric  chloride  AuOl, +  U  CI +  6U0.— {^corf.  Berl,,  Feb., 
1867.) 


^54 


Chemical  NoUceafrom  Foreign  Sources. 


1     Sept,  ton. 


▲eUon  mf  Oiaavid«  •f  Svlybiir  •«  Bieteto  Mid 

8iilFlUde«-(^=i6). — ^E.  Baudrimont  has  gtudied  tbe 
action  of  sulphurous  chloride  (SaCi)  on  Yarious  metals  aiMl 
sulphides.  The  reaoiioQ  in  which  laetallio  cblorids  is  fomod, 
and  sulphur  precipiUted,  takes  place  moBi  readily  witli  those 
metals,  the  chlorides  of  which  are  volatile,  but  is  preTeBt4Ml 
altogether  in  the  case  of  magnesium  and  sodium.— -(Cbmo/eff 
R.  Ixiv.  3lSS.) 

Benzyllc  bromldey  and  bromtoln^l.-**!'-   Bettetein- 

"The  action  of  bromine  on  toluol  is  analogous  to  that  of  chlo- 
rine on  toluol.  Benzjlic  bromide  (not  free  from  bromtoluol) 
is  obtained  when  vapours  of  bromine  are  made  to  act  upon 
boiling  toluol,  and  bromtoluol  (free  from  benzjlic  bromide), 
when  bromine  in  presence  of  sodium  acts  on  toluol,  either 
cold  or  hot. — {Zeitschr,  Chem,  K.F.,  iii.  281.) 

Fh«ii]rl«iie  browii»-Caro  and  GWew(€=ri2).  Experi- 
ments of  Uofmann,  Martius,  and  HoUe,  bave  shown  that  0 
phenylene-diamine  on  being  acted  upon  by  nitrous  acid  is 
decomposed  with  formation  of  a  brown  substance,  which 
under  favourable  conditions  may  be  obtained  as  a  crystalline 
body  of  basic  nature.  If  to  a  cold,  dilute,  neutral  solution 
of  phenylene-diamiuic  chlorhydrate  is  added  a  neutral  solu- 
tion of  a  nitrite,  a  crystalline  dark'red  mass  is  precipitated. 
Washed  with  water  and  treated  with  strong  chlorhydric  acid, 
it  first  dissolves  and  then  the  chlorhydrate  of  the  new  base 
separates  as  a  tarry  liquor.  The  latter  decomposed  in 
aqueous  solution  by  ammonia,  yields  the  dye  in  a  crystalline 
state.  The  phenylene-brown  consists  ehiefly  of  a  new  base 
of  the  composition  ^laHitN^,  and  is  derived  from  0  pheny- 
leoe-diamine  aocordiug  to  the  equation: 

a^eiisN,  +  NHe,=ei,H„N.  +  2HaO. 
Its  constitution  is  considered  to  be  6i9Hf(NHa)»Nt,  that  is, 
triamidoazobenzol. — {Zciakhr,  Chem,  N.F.,  iiL  278.) 

€iT«talllne  Cliromle  Oxide.— R-  Otto  has  obtained 
chromic  oxide  in  the  crj^stailine  state,  by  passing  a  current 
of  hydrogen  over  potassic  bichromate.  The  salt  is  reduced 
to  potassic  chromate,  which  serves  as  the  medium  in  which 
the  oxide  crystallises.— (-4nfi.  Ofiem.  Pharm.,  cxlii.  102.) 

Btkyl-pyropliospliorle  A€td^<3^.  DiliiDg(C=6,0=8). 
Phosphoric  anhydride  at  ordinary  temperature  does  not  act 
upon  zincic  ethide ;  heated  togetlier  in  aealad  tubes  to  i4o*'0. 
Bincic  ethyl-pyrophosphate  ie  formed,  besides  other  products. 
The  basic  salt  of  this  acid  has  the  composition. 


»»«o|c:h:1''<>"0. 


£4hyl-pyrophoapboric  aoid  may  be  oonsiderad  as  a  deriva- 
tive of  pyrophospboric  add  in  wbioh  one  or  two  atons  of 
oxygen  are  replaced  by  elhyl.~-(2M<sefcr.  Vkew^,  K.F.  iil 
966.) 

Creosote.— ^-  Probst,  in  a  prelimhiary  communication, 
states  that  he  has  obtained  pyrocatechin  from  beech-wood- 
creosote  by  melting  the  latter  with  an  excess  of  potassic  hy- 
drate.  He  reserves  to  himself  a  more  complete  investigation 
of  this  subject. — {Zeitschr,  Chem.^  N.F.  iiL  280.) 

««llle,  Pyrogallle,  amd  OiWVl^0*l®  Aolda«  Bromao- 
derlTaUvea  of.— H.  Ulasiweu  (^=i2,0=i6).  These 
three  acids  combine  readily  with  bromine,  forming  the  follow- 
ing substitution-compounds : — Bromogallic  acid,  ^fHtBraOi, 
readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  in  which  solution  ferric  chloride 
produces  a  brilliant  violet,  ammonia  a  red  coloration.  Bromo- 
pyrogallic  acid,  -OsHtBrtOs,  is  somewfiat  less  soluble  in 
water,  but  gives  the  same  reactions  as  the  former.  Bromoxy- 
phtrnic  acid,  ^sHaBrAOa,  is  insoluble  in  water,  readily  soluble 
in  dilute  alcohol;  its  solution  assumes  a  dark  blue  colour 
on  addition  of  ferric  chlorida —(^dcadL  Wim.,  55,  1867.) 

TIteBle  lodlde.—P-  Hautefeuilla  This  compound  is 
readily  obtained  by  acting  upon  titanic  chloride  with  hy- 
driodio  acid.  When  purified  by  repeated  sublimation  in  a 
current  of  hvdrogen  it  forms  a  brittle  red-brown  mass,  which 
fuses  at  i^ C,  and  crystallises  on  coolii^.  It  boils  above 
360°,   and  its  vapour  density,  taken  at  440"*,  was  found 


=  16*054;  calculated  for  3  volumes,  it  should  be  19*334.  It 
is  sohible  in  water,  bnt  tlia  solution  soon  decomposes  with 
preoipitatioo  of  titanic  aoid.— (Aitf.  80c  Chirn,  viL  201.) 

Chloric  Acid,  determination  or.-C.  Stelling  (0=8). 
Potassic  chlorate  is  reduced  to  cliloride  on  being  treated  with 
ferrous  oxide,  according  to  the  equation,  K0,CI05+  i2FeO= 
KCl  +  6Fei.0i.  This  suggested  the  following  method  for  the 
determination  of  chloric  acid : — ^To  a  solution  of  the  chlorate 
is  added  ferrous  sulphate  and  an  excess  of  potassic  h3*drate ; 
the  mixture  is  boiled  and  filtered,  and  in  the  filtrate  the 
chlorine  determhied  In  the  usual  manner. — {ZtdUchr.  AnahfL 
Ohem.,  vi  32.) 

Cobalt  and  Niekel,  Ationilc  Welfflita  of.-Cl.  Winkler 
has  determined  the  atomic  weight  of  these  metals  according 
to  the  following  method: — ^Tbe  metals  were  prepared  in  a 
state  of  perfect  purity ;  the  cobalt  by  reduction  of  repeatedly 
recrystaHised  purpureo-cobaltic  chloride  in  a  current  of  hydro- 
gen at  a  high  temperature.  The  nickel,  by  adding  to  a  solu- 
tion of  the  commercial  carbonate  in  chlorhydric  acid  sodic 
hypochlorite,  and  treating  the  liquid  in  this  manner  again  so 
long  as  any  cobalt  could  be  detected  in  it ;  the  solution  was 
then  purified  from  traces  of  copper  and  arsenic  and  precipi- 
tated with  sodic  carbonate.  The  carbonate  was  converted 
into  chloride,  and  sublimed  in  a  current  of  chlorine,  and  lastly 
reduced  in  a  current  of  hydrogen. 

Weighed  quantities  of  the  metals  were  then  immersed  in  a 
perfectly  neutral,  concentrated,  cold  solution  of  sodio-auric 
chloride,  and  the  weight  of  the  precipitated  gold  determine^ 
The  mean  of  five  experiments  with  cobalt  gave  the  number 
29*496.    The  mean  of  four  with  nickel,  the  niimber  29*527. 

The  atomic  weights  of  these  metals  may  therefore  l>e  taken 
as  identical,  «.«.,  29*5. — {ZeiL  AnalyL  Ch.^  vi  18.) 

Succinic  Acid.  constltnUon  of.— H.  Wichelhaus 
(6=12,0=16).  While  succinic  acid,  in  accordance  with  its 
formation  from  bicyanethylene,  has  generally  boon  viewed  as 
bicarbethylenic  acid, 

6B[t*60>  V  a. 

I 

"OH  a.OO.OH 

it  has  been  represented  recently  by  Clans  {Awk  Oh.  JPhaufim. 
cxli^  49)  as  bicartoetfaylidenic  acid, 

t 

€H(6e.eH), 

Am  a  necenary  support  to  the  latter  vi«w,  the  aeid  derived 
by  H.  Mliller  finom  cyanpropionk;  acid  (which  was  prepared 
from  chlorpropionic  ethide)  should  have  been  identical  with 
snocinio  aod.  Thi^  however,  is  not  the  case ;  they  differ  in 
melting  point,  solubility,  and  in  their  behaviour  towards  fenric 
chloride.  On  the  other  band,  an  acid  has  been  obtained 
from  0  ohlorpropioDM  acid  (derived  from  glyceric  add)  by  the 
same  reaction,  that  is,  treatasent  with  potassic  cyanide  and 
deoompoeition  with  potasua  hydrate,  which  has  the  ssme 
properties  as  succinic  acid.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that 
0  chlorpropionic  acid  is  the  starting  point  for  the  synthesis  of 
soocinic  acid,  and  that  the  lattef  must  still  be  considered  as 
bicarbethylenic  acid. — (Zeiischr,  Chem^  N.F.  iii.,  247.) 

Tannic  Add.— H.  Hlasiwetz  (0=I2,  0=i6).  Ca£^ 
tannic  acid,  when  treated  with  potassic  hydrate,  is  succes- 
sively converted  into  Cafleic  acid,  sugar,  and  protocatediuic 
acid.     Cafieic  acid 

0»H804  "IHjO 
is  obtained  by  boiling  cailetannks  acid  with  a  solnUon  sf 
potassic  hydrate  of  1.25,  q>.  gr.  |  of  an  hour.  It  is  then 
precipitated  with  sulphuric  acid,  reoryatallised  from  water, 
and  decolorised  with  animal  charcoal  It  is  soluble  In 
alcohol ;  ferric  chloride  produces  m  its  aqueous  solution  a 
green  colour,  which  turns  dark  red  on  addition  of  soda;  it  is 
precipitated  by  plumbic  acetate,  and  converted  into  oxalic 
acid  by  nitric  acid.  Fused  witii  potassic  hydrate,  it  breaks 
up  into  protocatechuic  and  acetic  acid,  and  dry  distillatiiMi 


,  Apt,,  1807.       f 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


155 


lioiiTerts  it  into  pyroofttecbin.    Treated  wii  h  sodi am  amalgAm 
it  takee  ap  ail  forming  hydrooaileic  acid.     Caffeio  acid  is 
Iriaiomio^  and  ia  tbe  Uurd  in  the  followtDg  aeries: 
Cinnamic  acid. ....  rr-GgHTO.OH 

Ooumaric  acid ="eBHe020H 

Caffeic  acid =636^3011 

which,  on  being  treated  with  fusing  potassic  hydrate,  are 
eoawled,  with  fbrmatioa  of  aeelio  aeid,  into  theseriea: 

Benzoic  acid =e7H»e.eH 

Salycylio  acid =€,H4e.2eH 

Protocatechnic  acid  =e,H.0.3eH 
The  solution  from  which  tbe  caffeic  acid  has  crTstallized  con- 
tains sugar;  it  is  neutralised  with  potassic  hydrate,  evapo- 
rated and  extracted  with  alcohol.  After  purification  the  sugar 
appears  as  a  egrrupy,  non-crystallisable  mass,  showing  tbe 
xisual  reactions.     An  analysis  gave  the  formula^  6«Hiq04. 

Gaffetannic  add,  by  its  splitting  up  into  caffeic  acid  and 
sugar,  is  thus  proved  far  l^  a  gluoo8id.^JA;ad  Wein,  I7. 
1867. 

ABunonteeal  Flatlnnai  C^mpemmAs* — ^T.  T.  CSeve 
has  given  an  account  of  his  researches  on  the  plAtinum^-bases, 
comprising  a  critical  examination  fo  those  already  known, 
and  a  description  of  many  new  derivatives  of  these  interest- 
ing compounds.  For  detail,  we  must  refer  to  Uie  original 
paper. — {Bull  80c  Chim.  vii.  12;  or,  more  complete.  Acta 
SocieL  ISeieut  d^Uphala,  1866.) 

T«a,  censtltnento  of—- H.  Hlastwets:  and  Malia  {fi= 
1 2,0=  1 6).  Rochleder  states  that  uinnio  acid  and  bohoK  acid 
may  be  obtained  from  a  decoction  of  tea  by  precipitation,  first 
with  neutral  plumbic  acetate,  and  tbe  filtrate  therefrom  with 
baaic  or  ammoniaoal  plumbic  acetate.  The  authors,  however, 
find  that  both  preeipitatee  alike  contain  tannic,  gallic,  and 
-exalic  acid ;  the  latter,  besides,  a  small  quantity  of  queroetin, 

wbioh  imparts  to  it  a  yellow  colour.  If  the  lead  precipitate 
is  decomposed  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  the  filtrate 
boiled  with  dilute  sulphuric  add,  much  more  of  this  body  is 
obtained;  fi>om  which  it  appears  that  the  origioal  solution 
does  not  contain  quercetin  in  the  free  state^  but  probably  as 
quercitrin.— (iii;ad:  Wwin.  hr.,  1867,) 

Aromiktlc  Aldeliydea  under  tKe  Inflnenee  of  l»e- 
1ky«ra«tifts  acenta, — V.  lionguinine.  (^  =  12,  O  =  16.) 
Ouffiiool  (^i«H„0.)  is  powerftiUy  acted  upon  by  phosphoric 
anhydride,  being  converted  by  it  into  a  resinous  mass.  Zina- 
ie  chloride  is  without  action  in  the  cold,  and  ahnost  so  at 
the  temperature  <^  tbe  water-bath,  but  if  emplAyed  fak  tbe 
fuaed  state,  a  violent  reaotioa  takes  plaoe,  which  results  in 
the  formation  of  Cymol  (^isHu).  Tbe  author  believes  that 
first  the  hydrocarbon  €^i»Hio  is  formed,  whwfa  subsequently 
combines  with  hydrogen,  resulting  from  the  complete  deoom- 
poaition  of  a  portion  of  the  aldehyde.— (Cbmptef  ii.  Ixiv. 

7850 

Arffemtle  Iodide,— -H.  Fizeau  finds  that  amorphous  ar- 
gentic iodide  (prepared  by  precipitation),  like  the  crystallised 
and  fused  modification  (Chemical  News,  No.  386),  shows 
the  remarkable  phenomenon  of  contraction  with  rising,  and 
expansion  with  foiling  temperature.— (Cfempfe*  R.  Ixiv.  772.) 

lodlne-atarcli. — ^H.  Pellet  I'rora  experhnents  made 
afi  to  the  cause  of  the  decolorisation  of  iodine-starch  on  beat- 
ing, and  reappearance  of  the  odour  on  cooling,  the  author 
arrives  at  tbe  Ibllowing  condusions: — i,  Decolorisation  is 
caused  by  tbe  solution  of  iodine-starch  in  an  exeess  of  hot 
■lareh ;  the  solubility  being  less  in  the  cold,  the  colour  reap- 
pears again  on  cooling.  2.  Iodine-starch  is  decomposed  at 
ioo*'G.  and  iodine  volatilises.  3.  Iodine-starch  remains  un- 
ehaDged  in  alcohol,  being  equally  insoluble  in  that  liquor 
whether  hot  oroold.  4.  Iodine-starch  may  be  regarded  as  a 
aaH,  which  in  certain  solvents  is  more  readily  soluble  when 
hot,  than  when  th^  aie  cold.— (£t^  Sue.  Chim.  viL  147.) 

OzoBitf metr  y«  -» A.  Oossa  is  engaged  with  experiments, 


the  object  of  whidi  is  to  diaoover  sd  exact  method  for  the 
deterrainatioia  of  ozone  in  atnospberio  air.  Tbe  author  hato 
at  present  estaUisbed  the  following  faots:— i.  A  solution  of 
pure  potassic  hydrate  (firee  ttom  every  <jaoe  of  oiganio  mat- 
ter) absorbs  nitlpo-ox^gen  compounds  without  destroying 
ozone.  2.  The  quantity  of  iodine  liberated  in  a  solution  of 
pure  potassic  iodide  is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  ozone  that  has  passed  through  the  liquid,  and  may  be  ac- 
curately measured  by  means  of  Bunsen's  volumetric  liquid. 
—{ZeU.  AnalyL  Oh.  vi.  24.) 

^mlnine,  Teatt»ir  of,— Stoddart  recommends  the  follow- 
ing methods  for  testing  quinine  for  quinidina,  etc. :— »6 
grammes  of  the  suspected  quinine  are  dissolved  in  a  test  tube 
in  5  grammes  sulphuric  add,  diluted  witlf  3  grammes  water; 
to  this  is  added  7*q  grammes  ether,  18  grammes  alcohol,  and 
2  grammes  of  a  solution  of  sodic  hydrate  containing  about  8 
per  cent  Tbe  mixture  is  well  shaken  and  left  to  itself  for 
12  hours.  If  quinidine,  oinchonine,  or  cinchooidine  are 
present,  they  will  be  found  in  a  layer  below  the  ether~qui- 
nidine  as  an  oily  liquid,  dncb(»idiae  in  crystals. 

The  second  method  consists  of  a  microscopic  examiDationof 
the  crystalline  prec^itate  produeed  in  a  saturated  and  neu- 
tral solution  of  quininic  sulphate  by  potassic  sulpbocyanide. 
(10  gr.  in  45  gr.  water.) — (.fcttm.  Fkarm.  Chim,  iv.  50.) 

Perrlc  CflLlorlde,  Tdatllitjr  or. — R.  Presenius.  The 
author  has  made  a  few  experiments  in  order  to  decide  whether 
any  loss  is  Ukely  to  occur  in  analytical  operations  through 
iron  being  volatilised  during  evaporation  of  its  solution  with 
an  excess  of  chlorhydric  acid.  In  one  experiment  he  evapo- 
rated ferric  chloride  with  chlorhydric  acid  nearly  to  dryness ; 
in  a  second,  tbe  evaporation  was  performed  in  presence  of  an 
alkaline  chloride,  and  the  mass  afterwards  kept  on  the  water- 
bath  for  twelve  hours ;  in  a  third,  ferric  chloride,  with  much 
chlorhydric  acid,  was  kept  boiling  for  i^  hours.  In  neither 
ease  did  any  loss  of  iron  take  place.— {ZirtfecAr.  AncUyt.  Ghent. 
vi.  92.) 

Absorption  of  Carbonftc  Add  bgr  Oxldea.^^  KoU) 
finds  that  the  anhydrous  and  monohydrated  oxides  of  potas- 
sium, sodium,  magnesium,  and  barium,  hke  calcic  oxide,  do 
not  increase  in  weight  when  exposed  to  dry  carbonic  anhy- 
dride, but  absorption  takes  place  if  the  latter  is  charged  with 
moisture. — (Compiea  R.  Ixiv.  861.) 

0«0De,  IVenstty  of, — T.  L.  9oret  Having  previously 
found  that  tbe  density  of  ozone  is  li  times  as  great  as  oxy- 
gen, tbe  author  now  applies  the  method  of  diffbsion  as  a  con- 
trol of  his  former  obaarvatkni^ 

Under  similar  conditions,  in  one  case,  a  known  mixture  of 
ohloriqe  and  oxygen,  in  another  a  known  mixture  of  ozone 
and  oxygen,  were  diffused  into  pure  oxygen.  .  Tbe  velodty 
with  which  chlorine  and  osone  passed  through  tbe  diaphragm 
was  in  the  ratio  :-*- 

Chlorine .227 

Ozone 27 1  "'^3^* 

This  value  approaches  dosely  that  of  the  in  versed  propor- 
tions of  tbe  square-roots  of  their  respective  densities,  taking 
that  of  OKone  as  i^  that  of  oxyfen,  ie.  =£'8243.— (Cbmp(9<. 
R,  Ixiv.  904.) 

Psendo-liezTlnrea, — ^T.  T.  C^hydenius.  This  compound 
is  prepsred  by  heating  pseudo-hexylic  iodide  (obtained  from 
mannite)  with  argentic  cyanate  to  50°— 6o°0.  The  reaction 
is  violent,  and  a  liquid  stronglv  affecting  the  eyes,  and  pos- 
sessing a  very  disagreeable  odour,  distils  over.  An  excess 
of  ammonia  is  added,  and  the  solid  mass,  thus  formed,  recrys- 
tallised  from  water.  Pseudo-hexylurea  crystallises  in  white 
needles  which  are  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  ether,  and 
alcohol,  melt  at  i27°C.,  and  boil,  with  partial  decomposition, 
at  220%    Its  formula  is: 

ee 

(^•Hi,H,)H 


NJ(e,] 


156 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


j  Gbemical  Kkwb, 
\      SepL,  1867. 


When  heated  with  a  strong  aqueous  solution  of  potassic 
hydrate  in  sealed  tubes,  decomposition  sets  in  at  230* — 250", 
aoiinonia  being  given  off,  and  an  oily  liquid  formed,  which 
probably  is  isopropj^lamina — {Comptea.  R.  Ixiv.  975.) 

Nttrfles,  Action  on  Bromine  of. — C.  Engler.  Propio- 
nitrile  and  bromine  combine  when  heated  together,  forming 
bromhydrateof  propioniirile,  N68H4BraHBr9.  The  body  is 
very  deliquescent,  fuses  at  64°C.,  and  begins  to  subh'me,  with 
partial  decomposition,  at  72^  It  will  be  seen  that  bromine 
in  this  case  acts  differently  from  chlorine,  the  latter  produc- 
ing, as  is  well  known,  dichloTpropiooitrile.  NOsHtCla.  Water 
decomposes  the  bromhydrate  to  bromammonium,  bromhy- 
dric  acid,  and  a  new  body  which  is  dimonobrompropionamid. 
[  ^|H4BrO 
UBre 


N^e,H4 


This  latter  compound  is  obtained  in  white*crystals  which 
are  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether,  almost  insoluble  in  cold 
water,  fuse  at  i48''C.,  and  decompose  at  152°.  Aqueous  po- 
tassic hydrate  decomposes  the  amide  with  formation  of  a  new 
acid,  tlie  argentic  salt  of  which  has  the  composition  BsHg 
AgOs.  Dimonobrorobutyramide,  N(64HaBrO)sH,  is  prepared 
in  the  same  way  as  the  propyle-compound,  which  it  resembles 
closely. — (Antu  Chem.  Fharm.  cxliL  65.) 

Trleldorliydrin,  Action  of  Amntonia  on. — C.  Eng- 
ler.   Dimonochlorallylaniine 


( €,H4a 
N  \  e,H4Gl 


is  formed  by  digesting  trichlorhydrin  with  alcoholic  ammonia 
under  pressure  at  130'' — i4o''0.  It  is  a  heavy  oil,  sparingly 
soluble  in  water,  soluble  m  alcohol  and  ether ;  it  decomposes 
partially  on  distillation,  the  portion  analysed  went  over  be- 
tween 185°  and  195*'.  The  salts  of  this  base  are  deliques- 
cent, and  difficult  to  obtain  in  crystals  from  an  aqueous  solu- 
tion. The  platino-chloride  is  readily  soluble  in  water,  moder- 
ately so  in  alcohol,  and  nearly  insoluble  in  ether.  It  has  the 
composition  N(e8H4CI)2H,Cl,PtCl,. 

An  eihyl-substitution-compound  of  dimonochlorallylamine 
is  obtained  bv  heating  the  latter  with  ethylic  iodide  in  sealed 
tubes  to  100  C.    Its  composition  is 

N 

It  differs  but  little  from  the  original  compound.— (^nn. 
Chem.  Fharm,  cxii.  77.) 

Analyslsof  Ors^nlc  Conaponnds,  Ne^r  Rfethod  of. 

— A.  Mitscberlich.  Of  this  new  method  of  analysis,  which 
is  applicable  to  all  organic,  and  many  inorganic  compounds, 
and  which  includes  the  direct  determination  of  oxygen,  we 
can  only  indicate  the  principle,  as  it  would  be  impossible  in 
these  few  lines  to  give,  without  pictorial  illustrations,  an  in- 
telligible description  of  the  complicated  apparatus  and  mani- 
pulations required. 

1.  Oxygen  and  hydrogen  are  determined  together  by 
heating  the  substance  in  a  current  of  chlorine,  passing  the 
products  of  combustion  over  red-hot  charcoal,  and  absorbing 
the  chlorhydric  acid,  carbonic  anhydride,  and  carbonic  oxide 
formed  by  a  saturated  solution  of  plumbic  nitrate,  a  solution 
of  potassic  hydrate,  and  a  solution  of  cuprous  chloride  in 
chlorhydric  acid  respectively. 

2.  Chlorine,  bromine,  iodine,  and  sulphur  are  determined 
simultaneously  with  carbon  and  nitrogen,  by  volatilising  the 
substance  in  a  current  of  hydrogen,  burning  the  mixed  gases 
and  vapours  with  oxygen,  removing  the  water  by  means  of 
sulphuric  acid,  and  collecting  the  products  of  combustion  in 
weighed  vessels — with  the  exception  of  nitrogen,  which  is 
measured.  The  products  of  combustion,  besides  the  water, 
may  consist  of  carbonic  anhydride,  chlorhydric  acid,  bro- 
mine, iodine,  sulphurous  acid,  sulphuric  acid,  and  traces  of 
brom-  and  clilorbydric  acid.  A  residue  of  carbon  may  also 
be  left  in  the  combustion  tube.  The  water  is  absorbed  by 
sulphuric  acid,   the  chlorhydric  acid  by  plumbic  nitrate. 


bromine  by  mercuric  oxide,  iodine  is  weighed  as  such,  sul- 
phurous acid  is  absorbed  by  potassic  bichromate,  carbonic 
anhydride  by  potassic  hydrate,  nitrogen  is  measured,  and  the 
residual  carbon  weighed. 

The  specimens  of  analysis  given,  prove  that  veiy  accurate 
results  may  be  obtained  by  this  new  method.— (Po^^.  Ann. 
cxxx.  536.) 

(inalltatlTe  Analyalji  'without  nslns  Salplinret- 
tod  Hydroi^en  and  Amnionic  Sulplitde. — £.  Zettuow. 
The  author  tests  an  aqueous  solution,  which  may  contain  all 
of  the  more  common  bases,  with  the  following  reagents  in 
succession : — 

1.  Chlorhydric  acid  precipitates  lead,  mercury,  and  silver. 

2.  Sulphuric  acid  precipitates  lead,  biarium,  strontium,  and 
calcium. 

3.  Baric  hydrate  sets  free  ammonia,  the  filtrate  is  used  for 
the  detection  of  sodium  and  potassium. 

4.  Zinc  is  added  to  the  filtrate  from  2,  the  hydrogen  ig- 
nited and  tested  for  antimony  and  arsenic;  antimony,  arsenic, 
tin,  mercury,  copper,  cadmium,  and  bismuth  are  precipitated. 

5.  Baric  carbonate  precipitates  from  the  filtrate  from  4, 
iron,  chromium,  and  aluminium. 

6.  Ammonic  carbonate,  after  removal  of  the  baryta,  pre- 
cipitates from  the  filtrate  of  5,  manganeso  and  calcium ;  the 
filtrate  is  tested  for  magnesium,  cobalt,  and  nickel. 

7.  Zinc  is  tested  for  in  the  original  solution. — {Pogg.  Ann. 
cxxx.  324.) 

Rea^rent  fbr  IVltrle  Aeld..O.  D.  Braun.  A  very  deli- 
cate test  for  nitric  acid  is,  according  to  0.  D.  Braun,  anilinic 
sulphate.  Half  a  cc.  of  a  solution  of  the  aniline-salt  is 
added  to  one  co.  of  pure,  strong  sulphuric  acid,  contained  in 
a  watch-glass.  A  glass  rod  is  then  moistened  with  the  liquid 
to  be  tested,  and  moved  about  in  the  aniline  mixture,  when 
a  red  coloration  indicates  the  presence,  of  nitric  acid. — 
(ZeiL  AwdyU  Ch,  vi.  71.) 


MISCEI1I.ANEOUS. 


The  Repreaentatlon  of  tlie  UnlTersIty  of  I«ondon« 

— We  have  been  requested  to  state  that  amongst  the  names 
of  those  who  have  been  proposed  to  represent  this  Univer- 
sity in  Parliament  that  of  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart.,  F.R.a, 
has  met  with  many  warm  advooatea  There  is  no  doubt 
that  Sir  John  Lubbock  possesses  unusual  qnalifications  for 
such  a  task;  for,  while  his  intellectual  and  scientific  emi- 
nence woul^  give  weight  to  his  words  on  questions  of  ad- 
enoe,  of  education,  and  civil  polity,  his  position  in  the  Gty 
of  London,  and  his  reputation  as  a  man  of  business,  would 
obtain  for  him  a  hearing  that  might  be  denied  to  a  man  oc- 
cupied exclusively  in  scientific  pursuits.  For  the  same 
reason  he  is  peculiarly  fitted  to  be  the  spokesman  in  the 
House  of  Commons  of  the  large  and  increasing  body  of  scien- 
tific men— 4  dass  whose  opinions  have  hitherto  found  very 
inadequate  expression  in  Parliament  We  li^ve  heard  th« 
name  of  Dr.  W.  Allen  Miller,  F.ILa,  proposed  as  that  of  a 
gentleman  also  fitted  to  represent  this  University,  and  should 
Dr.  Miller  be  induced  to  come  forward  as  a  candidate,  there 
is  little  doubt  that  he  will  obtain  the  unanimous  support  of 
the  chemical  fraternity ;  but  in  the  event  of  this  rumour  tun- 
ing out  incorrect,  chemists  oould  not  have  a  better  repre- 
sentative than  Sir  John  Lubbock,  supported  as  ho  is  by  sudi 
well  known  men  as  Dr.  A.  Crum  Brown,  G.  C.  Foster,  Dr. 
Odiing,  Dr.  Pye-Smith,  and  H.  Watts. 

Suapenjslon  of  tlie  Storm  liramlnsa.— ^e  have  mow 
than  once  expressed  our  regret  that  the  scientific  oommi^ 
tee,  which  has  been  appointed  by  the  President  and  Council 
of  the  Royal  Sodety,  has  adviseid  the  discontinuance  of  tiie 
Storm  Warnmgs  of  the  late  Admiral  Fitzroy.  At  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,  of  Man- 
chester, the  subject  was  again  brought  forward  by  Mr. 
Baxondell,  who  strongly  u^^  that  the  Board  of  Trade 


GmciCAL  News, ) 
JSepL,  1887.      f 


MisceUaneotcs. 


157 


would  again  take  the  management  of  the  Meteorological  De- 
partment int(t  their  own  himda,  and  appoint  Mr.  Babington, 
or  some  other  competent  and  reeponaible  person,  to  resume 
and  carry  on  the  system  of  storm  warnings.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  lamentable  consequences  of  the  suspension  of 
storm  signals,  it  may  be  stated  that  among  the  wrecks  caused 
by  the  nnusoally  heavy  gale  of  the  loth  of  April,  there 
were  four  vessels,  which  had  sailed  from  Liverpool  just  be- 
fore the  commencement  of  the  storm.  Three  of  these  ves- 
sels had  been  thrown  on  the  Lancashire  coast,  and  totally 
lost,  and  the  lives  of  three  of  the  crew  of  one  vessel  had 
been  sacrificed.  The  fourth  vessel  had  foundered  in  the 
Irish  Sea,  and  all  hands  were  lost  Now  the  meteorological 
phenomena  immediately  preceding  the  occurrence  of  this 
storm  were  of  such  a  nature  that  there  could  have  been  no 
difficulty  in  giving  notice  of  its  approach  in  ample  time  to 
prevent  the  sailing  of  these  vessels.  In  fact,  without  the 
aid  of  telegrams  fh)m  distant  stations,  its  approach  was 
confidently  announced  in  Manchester,  so  early  as  the  even- 
ing of  Monday,  the  8th  of  April,  and  the  direction  in  which 
the  wind  woiQd  blow  during  the  most  violent  period  of  the 
storm  was  also  stated  at  the  same  time. 

Tfce  Parts  BxJilMUon.-Mr.  Sterry  Hunt,  P.R.S.,  the 
celebrated  Canadian  Geologist,  has  been  made  an  officer  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour.  Had  its  acceptance  been  permitted 
by  our  Government,  a  number  of  honours  would  have  been 
conferred,  on  Monday  last,  upon  many  English  men  of 
science. 

Tbe  Human  Voice.— Dion  Bourcicault,  commenting  on 
the  Albert  Hall  of  Science  and  Art,  in  the  Pall  MdU  Gazette^ 
says: — "The  human  voice,  when  speaking  with  clear  arti- 
culation and  supplied  from  good  lungs,  will  fill  400,000  cubic 
feet  of  air,  provided  they  he  enclosed  in  a  proper  manner, 
and  the  voice  placed  and  directed  advantageously.  The 
same  voice  singing -can  fill,  with  equal  facility,  600,000  cubic 
feet  When  singing,  the  vowels  are  principally  used,  be- 
cause it  is  necessary  to  dwell  upon  a  note,  and  we  cannot 
prolong  a  consonant.  In  speaking,  on  the  contrary,  we  de- 
pend for  articulation  on  the  consonants ;  but  their  short  per- 
cussive sound  does  not  travel.  When  we  shout,  or  in  open- 
air  speaking,  which  partakes  of  shouting,  we  prolong  tiie 
vowels,  drawling  the  syllable  of  each  word;  but  what  we 
gain  in  sound  we  lose  in  clearness  of  articulation ;  expression 
is  lost  in  monotony,  because  its  fineness  depends  on  the  in- 
finite variety  of  which  the  consonant  is  capable  and  bestows 
on  the  vowel  2000  voices,  singing  or  speaking  togetlier, 
travel  no  further  than  one  voice.  They  may  ml  a  certain 
area  more  completely  with  that  intricacy  of  waves  which, 
when  very  troublesome,  we  call  a  din;  but  each  voice  exerts 
its  own  influence  on  the  air,  according  to  its  power,  and  dies 
away  within  certain  limits.  A  second  voice  acts  independent- 
ly, and  produces  its  own  separate  effect,  not  fortifying  the 
first,  but  (Ustinct  from  it  And  so  with  any  number  of 
voices — say  10,000 — shouting  together,  if  a  single  trumpeter 
were  placed  among  them,  the  note  of  his  trumpet  would  be 
heard  clearly  at  a  distance  where  the  Babel  of  voices  would 
have  expired  in  a  murmur.  Yet,  among  the  din  produced 
by  the  10,000  voices,  the  trumpet  would  be  inaudible.  To 
illastrate  this  theory  more  clearly,  it  is  plain  that  2000  per- 
sons cannot  throw  stones  further  than  one  person.  It  is 
true  that  the  air,  within  certain  limits,  will  be  more  full  of 
stones ;  but  they  will  all  come  to  the  ground  witiiin  a  limited 
area. 

On  tUte  Mannflictare  of  Zlne«— C.  Trainer.  Compa- 
ri6<»i  of  the  Belgian  and  Silesian  distilling  Airnaces  gives  the 
f<^owing  result :  The  Belgian  furnaces  with  some  60  effec- 
tive retorts  in  7  to  8  horizontal  rows  require  less  fuel,  ther 
process  is  more  intense,  is  finished  sooner,  and  yields  more. 
However,  they  require  a  iVdl-flaming  coal,  and  the  consump- 
tion of  retorts  is  greater ;  and  when  breakages  occur  the 
under  retorts  otlen  suffer.  The  attention  to  Siese  Airnaces 
requires  very  intelligent  and  experienced  workmen,  as  they 
Vol.  I.     No.  •?. — Sept..  1867.        11 


have  to  keep  up  an  equal  temperature  of  all  the  retorts, 
above  and  below,  fh>nt  and  back.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Silesian  furnaces  require  less  skilful  workmen,  and  less 
vessels,  as  they  last  longer,  while  the  consumption  of  fuel  is 
larger,  but  a  less  open  burning  coal  may  be  used.  The  latest 
improvements  in  the  Silesian  fUruaces  for  the  purpose  of 
saving  fuel  (tvro  rows  of  muffles  above  each  oUier,  and  a 
downward  flame)  require  a  free  burning  coal  as  well  as 
more  expert  workmen.  A  greater  durability  is  ascribed  to 
the  Silesian  furnaces  than  to  the  Belgian ;  this  advantage, 
however,  is  doubts  after  having  introduced  considerably 
improved  arrangements  in  the  front  wall  of  the  Belgian 
furnaces.  Such  improved  furnaces  lasted  two  years,  at  an 
average,  nearjserlohn.  It  is  advantageous  to  the  durabi- 
lity of  the  furnaces  for  them  always  to  be  attended  by  the 
same  workmen.  The  Silesian  process  extracts  more  zinc 
from  the  ores  on  account  of  their  longer  stay  in  the  furnace 
and  the  less  amount  of  breakage  of  the  distiUiug  vessels, 
whilst  the  Belgian  furnaces  have,  for  a  fixed  time,  greater 
productiveness.  When  the  ore  forms  tough  slags  the  Sile- 
sian method  is  preferable.  Trials  of  zinc-melting  in  blast- 
furnaces have  not  been  successful.  It  would  lead  to  consi- 
derable advantage  if  the  distillation  of  the  zinc-ore  could  be 
effected  in  a  large  flat  muffle,  which  could  be  sufficiently 
heated  and  would  not  crack.  Such  an  apparatus,  on  the  one 
side  with  openings  for  charging,  on  the  other  with  vessels 
for  condensation,  would  require  a  less  amount  of  fuel — 
Berff-und  BuUer^ZeUung,  1867,  No.  24. 

MercerUinr  Cotton,— To  Mr.  Mercer  muTt  be  attrib- 
uted the  discovery  of  the  peculiar  action  of  caustic  soda 
and  sulphuric  acid  upon  cotton.  This  singular  process,  now 
called  '*  mercerising,"  has  the  effect  of  untwisting  the  nor- 
mally twisted  flattened  tubes  of  cotton  filaments  and  con- 
verting them  into  cylindrical  tubes.  When  colours  are 
applied  to  the  cotton  so  treated,  they  pass  more  readily 
through  the  minute  pores  of  the  tubes  and  are  precipitated 
in  denser  layers  in  l£e  interior  of  the  latter,  whereby  darker 
and  more  permanent  shades  are  produced.  Calico  so  treated 
becomes  greatly  increased  in  strength,  and  though  hitherto 
no  large  quantities  of  cloth  thus  prepared  have  been  printed, 
owing  to  the  expense  of  preparation,  advantage  has  been 
taken  of  the  prooess  to  prepare  the  cotton  fabric  used  in  the 
production  of  the  endless  web  known  to  calico  printers  as 
the  india  rubber  blanket,  which,  when  made  with  prepared 
calico,  is  rendered  much  more  durable.— Proc  Lit,  PhiL  Soc,^ 
Manchester, 

Determination  of  Bfamuth    in    Lead    Am^ym-^^ 

(Patera).  The  alloys  are  dUeolved  in  nitric  acid,  the  solu- 
tion  diluted  with  water,  and  the  bismuth  precipitated:  by«a 
strip  of  pure  lead.  The  precipitated  bismuth,  black  of.  col- 
our and  in  the  state  of  powder,  is  quickly  washed  off"  the 
lead,  the  solution  of  lead  is  decanted;  the  bismuth  iathen 
washed  first  with  water  and  then  with  alcohol,,  filtered 
on  a  weighed  filter,  dried  and  weighed.— Aryyeirt,  1867, 
No.  28. 

Blastlnc  -with  Sodium. — Experiments  are  n^w.  being 
made,  in  the  Isle  of  Man  and  elsewhere,  to  ascertain  the 
value  of  sodium,  in  contact  with  water  and  other  substanoes, 
for  blasting  purposes.— Pri^wA  Journal  of  Photography, 

An  Old  Anaeatlioac  ReTlved— An  enterprising  Amer- 
ican dentist  advertises  that  he  now  takes  teeth  out  painlessly 
by  merely  causing  the  patient  to  inhale  the  C(yMtiiuent8  o/tfia 
atmosphere — oxygen  and  hydrogen — chemiccUly  combinect. 

Partzlte—This  mineral,  discovered  by  Dr.  Part  in  1865 . 
has  been  investigated  by  Albert  Arents.  It  occurs  in  amor- 
phous masses,  generally  without  lustre.  Fracture,  varies  from 
conclioidal  to  even ;  colour,  yellowish  green  to  blackish  green 
and  black;  sp.  gr.  =  38;  hardness.  34.  Before  the  blow- 
pipe  on  platinum  it  is  melted,  but  with  difficulty,  to  a  black 
slag ;  on  charcoal,  especially  with  addition  of  carbonate  of 
soda  and  powdered  charcoal,  a  metalUc  button  is  easily  ob- 


158 


MiscellaiieovrS, 


i  Cbbmical  Nbws, 
\     Sept.,  im. 


tained  much  resembling  pure  antimony.  Sulphuric,  nitric,  or 
hydrochloric  acid  decomposes  the  mineral.  An  analysis  gave 
numbers  corresponding  to  the  formula : 

(CuO,AgO.PbO,FeO),SbO,  +  3HO 
Partzite  occurs  with  argentiferous  galena. — Siiliman^s  Jour- 
ncUj  May,  1867. 

Action  of  IVater  upon  Carbohydrates  at  an  Ble« 
▼ated  Temperature.— O.  Loew.  Cane  sugar  at  i6o°C. 
yields  levolosan  and  glucose;  at  iSo*"  caramelan;  at  200** 
caramel,  aasamar,  and  carmelin  ;  and  at  about  250''  is  totally 
decomposed.  The  author  finds  that  the  presence  of  water 
makes  a  great  difference.  Sugar  is  perfectly  decompo.sed 
when  heated  with  water  in  a  sealed  tube  to  160°,  the  water 
seeming  to  act  as  an  acid.  Sugar  heated  with  alcohol  in  a 
sealed  tube  to  the  same  temperature  remains  unaltered.  Su- 
gar heated  with  baryta  water  in  tubes  is  not  decomposed  at 
i70**C.  Water  acts  in  the  same  way  upon  other  "carbohy- 
drates." Starch,  gum,  and  milk  sugar  with  water  are  decom- 
posed by  five  hours'  beating  at  70** C.  The  products  are 
formic  acid,  carbon,  and  carbonic  acid. — SiUiman^a  Journal^ 
May,  1867. 


A  Catastroplie  Averted.— In  the  course  of  last  winter 
the  river  Irwell  rose  nearly  twenty  feet  above  its  ordinary 
level,  and  flooded  the  works  of  the  Magnesium  Metal  Com- 
pany on  the  Salford  side  to  a  depth  of  about  seven  feet  in 
every  part.  There  were  then  from  three  to  four  hundred- 
weight of  sodium  in  stock,  and,  soon  after  the  commencement 
of  the  flood,  the  room  in  which  the  sodium  was  stored  was 
two  feet  deep  in  water ;  but,  as  it  rained  in  torrents,  it  was 
then  considered  best  not  to  run  the  risk  of  attempting  to 
move  it  off  the  premises.  The  sodium  was  stored  in  long 
Barrow  jars,  with  loosely-fitting  covers,  made  air-tight  by 
allowing  the  bottoms  of  the  lids  to  rest  in  a  circular  groove 
flljed  with  oil.  As  the  flood  did  not  abate,  and  the  position 
began  to  grow  more  dangerous,  one  of  the  men  volunteered 
to  go  on  the  roof  of  the  sodium  shed  and  watch  the  water 
rise,  and  for  hours  he  lay  upon  the  roof  in  a  soaking  shower 
of  rain,  watching  the  sodium  jars.  Inch  by  inch  the  vreter 
rose,  and  at  last,  when  it  was  only  half  a  foot  from  the  top  of 
the  jars,  he  drew  his  head  out  of  the  hole  in  the  roof  where 
it  had  been  sticking  so  long  and  summoned  the  rest  of  the 
men.  They  unslated  the  roof  of  the  store  room,  let  them- 
selves down  into  the  water,  now  reaching  nearly  to  their 
armpits,  and  removed  the  sodium  lump  by  lump  into  other 
vessels  placed  among  the  rafters  of  the  roof.  By  accident 
one  little  ingot  of  sodium  fell  into  the  water,  causing  the 
courage  of  the  men  to  fialter ;  but  the  lump  fortunately  only 
fumed  and  fizzed,  and  dissolved  away  without  exploding. 
After  the  flood  was  over  the  Magnesium  Metal  Company 
built  a  platform  near  the  roof,  on  which  all  sodium  is  now 
stored.  We  have  not  heard  what  bonus  the  Company  voted 
to  the  men  who  removed  the  sodium,  especially  to  the  one 
who  stuck  to  the  top  •of  the  roof  like  a  limpet  to  a  rock  in  a 
storm,  but  doubtless  it  was  something  handsome. — British 
Journal  of  Photography. 

Obituary. ~Our  readers  will  probably  have  already  seen 
the  announcement  of  the  death,  and  have  lamented  the  loss, 
of  Dr.  Thomas  Richardson.  Dr.  Richardson  was  Reader  in 
Chemistry  at  the  University  of  Durham,  as  well  as  a  Fellow 
of  ihe  Royal  Societies  of  London  and  Edinburgh,  and  mem- 
ber of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  He  died  somewhat  sud- 
denly, at  Wigan,  on  the  loth  inst,  of  congestion  of  the  brain. 
Of  late  years  Dr.  Richardson  was  best  known  to  the  chemical 
world  by  his  work  in  connection  with  "Richardson  and 
Watts'  Chemical  Technology."  Several  papers  of  his  are  to 
be  found  in  the  volumes  of  this  Journal  and  the  Chemical 
Gazette.     They  relate  chiefly  to   manufacturing  chemistry. 


supplying,  the  pipes  are  often  left  empty,  and  in  that  case 
sometimes  get  saturated  with  impurities.  This  happened  in 
Portlaud-road,  where  analysis  detected  sewage  contain  ination 
in  the  water  drawn  from  the  stand  pipe  on  June  ist;  the 
sewage  was  equivalent  to  i  per  cent,  of  the  water,  which  was 
turbid  wheu  drawn,  and,  after  standing  a  few  days,  emitted 
an  oflensive  odour,  and  threw  down  flooculent  matter. 

UnlTerslty  of  I«ondon.~SeIenee  ExamlnaUon.- 
Results. — First  B.  So. — ist  Division  :  Bottomley,  Carey, 
Gum,  Harding,  Hopkinson,  Robinson,  Tilden,  Wormell. 

2nd  Division :  Ball,  Brice,  Bright,  Graham,  Leonard,  Pear- 
sail,  Sheldon,  Thorp,  Whipple. 

Secojjd  B.  Sc.— ist  Division :  Exall,  W.  H.  (King's  Col- 
lege) ;  Payne,  J.  F.  (St  George's  Hospital) ;  Smith,  R.  S. 
(King's  College). 

2nd  Division:  Duer,  S.  (private  study);  Ridge,  J.  J. (St. 
Thomas'  Hospital);  Robinson,  E.  (Owen's  College);  Spren- 
gell,  J.  C.  F.  L.  (private  study) ;  Waller,  A.,  B.  A.  (St.  Thomas' 
Hospital) ;  Wigner,  J.  M.  (private  study). 

HosrouRa.— Exall,  W.  H.,  second  class ;  Chemistry. 

Prel.  Scient.  M.B. — ist  Division:  A veling,  Ball,  Barfl; 
Bruce,  Bum,  Carter,  C.  H.,  Elkington,  Gibbings,  Harris, 
J.  A.,  Harris,  M.,  Haynes,  Hunt,  Saunders,  Wall.    . 

2nd  Division :  Bindley,  Burgees,  Carr,  Carter,  A.  H.,  Cotr 
terill,  Coupland,  Cross,  De  Mdric,  Edwards,  Fox,  T.  C,  Prank- 
lin,  Graham,  Herman,  Ingoldley,  Jones,  T.,  Lowe,  Lyell, 
Male,  P^get,  Perkins,  Pippette,  Puglie,  Ralli,  Raynor,  Row- 
land, Rugg,  Simon,  Sloman,  Smith,  Southee,  Taunton,  Waddy, 
Willaus,  WQliams. 

Kacperlments 
cape] 


licpenments  on  tlie    Fotoon  of   the  €obra-4i- 
jella—The  Melbourne  Argus,  for  April  26th,  contains  an 
interesting  article,  by  Dr.  G.  B.  Halford,  on  the  above  sub- 
ject, from  which  we  extract  the  following: — "The  melancholy 
accident  which  so  lately  happened  with  the  cobra-di-capella 
induced  me  to  make  some    experiments  and  obaervationa 
uponr  the  action  of  the  reptile's  poison.    When  a  person  is 
mortally  bitten  by  the  oobra-di-capella,  molecules  of  living 
'  germinal '  matter  are  thrown  intp  the  blood,  and  speedily 
grow  into  cells,  and  as  rapidly  multiply ;    so  that,  in  a  few 
hours,  millions  upon  millions  are  produced  at  the  expense, 
as  far  as  I  can  at  present  see,  of  the  oxygen  absorbed  into 
the  blood  during  inspiration ;  hence  the  gradual  decrease  and 
ultimate  extinction  of  combustion  and  chemical  change  in 
every  other  part  of  the  body,  followed  by  coldness,  sleep- 
iness, insensibility,  slow  breathing,  and  deatlL    The  oeBs 
which  thus  render  in  so  short  a  time  the  blood  unfit  to  sop- 
port  life  are  circular,  with  a  diameter  on  the  average  of  one 
seventeen-hundredth    of  an  inch.     They  contain    a  nwriy 
round  nucleus  of  one  two-thousand-eight-hundredth  of  an  inch 
in  breadth,  which,  when  further  magnified,  is  seen  to  contain 
other  still  more  minute  spherules  of  living  ♦  germinal '  matter. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  application  of  magenta  reveals  a  minute 
coloured  spot  at  some  part  of  the  circumference  of  the  celL 
This,  besides  its  size,  distinguishes  it  from  the  white  pus  or 
lymph  corpuscle.    Thus,  then,  it  would  seem   that,  as  the 
vegetable  cell  requires  for  its  growth  inorganic  food  and  the 
liberation  of  oxygen,  so  the  animal  cell  requires  for  its  growth 
organic  food  and  the  absorption   of  oxygen.      Its  food  ia 
present  in  the  blood,  and  it  meets  the  oxygen  in  the  lungs; 
thus,  the  whole  blood  becomes  disorganized,  and  nothing  js 
found  after  death  but  dark  fluid  blood,  the  fluidity  indicating 
its  loss  of  flbrine,  the  dark  colour  its  want  of  oxygen,  which 
it  readily  absorbs  on  exposure  after  death.     It  results,  then, 
that  a  person  dies  slowly  asphyxiated  by  deprivation  of  oxy- 
gen, in  whatever  other  way  the  poison  may  also  act,  and  so 
far  as  the  ordinary  examination  of  Uie  blood  goes,  the  post- 
mortem  appearances  are  similar  to  those  seen  after  drowning 
and  suffocation.    I  have  many  reasons  for  believing  that  the 


Many  chemists  will  have  pleasent  reminiscences  of  their  "^'^^^^  X^maieriea  morU  of  cholera  is  a  nearly  allied  animal  poison.  I 
to  the  Newcastle  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  and  of  |  Yiq^q  ^\^  to  show  the  presence  of  the  poison  of  our  snakes  in 
Dr.  Richardson's  hospitality  on  that  occasion.  |  ^y^^  -^iqq^  of  bitten  and  inoculated  animals,  and  to  make  some 

THe  Water  we  Drink.-The     Registrar-General     in  |  experiments  on  the  possibility  of  saving  life, 
his  weekly  report  says,  that  on  the  intermittent  system  of       BeliaTlonr  of  Iff  ansanese  witfc  Chlorate  of  P«>*- 


"CauiiCAL  News, ) 
S^pt.,  1867.       [ 


Notes  and  Queries. 


159 


m$ih.  before  Ute  Blowpipe.— If  chlorate  of  potash  be 
heated  by  meaos  of  a  blowpipe,  in  a  tube  closed  at  one  end 
till  oxygen  is  evolved,  and  then  a  trace  of  manganese  added, 
the  potash  salt  will  assume  a  purple  colour,  owing  to  the  pro- 
duction of  permanganate  of  potash.  This  reaction  of  manga- 
nese w  quite  as  delicate  as  the  one  proposed  by  Berzelius. 
— 7!  Landaner. 

CONTBMPORARY    SOEBNTIFIO    PRBSS. 

[Under  this  heading  it  is  intended  to  give  the  titles  of  all  the  ohemical 
papera  wtdoh  are  published  In  the  prindpal  scientific  periodicals  of  the 
Continent.  Articles  which  are  merely  reprints  or  abstracts  of  papers 
^ilready  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  of  the  more  important  pa- 
-ers  here  announced  will  appear  in  future  numbers  of  the  Ghbhica.l 
Kbwb.] 

Compt6s  Rendtts.  April  15  and  33,  1867. 
H.  FiziAtr:  "  A>»p  Ohservations  on  Iodide  qf  SUrery^k.  Snconi : 
•**  KoU  on  the  Spectra  of  the  Siarn."  *•  On  the  Transparency  of  Red- 
JM  /r<w»."-— V.  LououraiNa:  '^Action  qf  certain  Substanoes  hav- 
ing a  Powtrfvki  aMnUyfor  Water  on  some  AromaMc  Aldehyde».^^ 
Sbbthklot  :  "*  Mutfiod/or  Beducinij  and  Saturating  Organic  Com- 
pounds with  JSrpdrogen.*'—DDS\Er:  ''Preparation  of  Phenol^.'"— 
TKSSCA :  **  On  the  flow  <\f  Solids  under  Heavy  Pre«*urM."— T.  S. 
Hvrrrr  ^On  the  Formation  of  Gvpsume  and  Magnesium  Lime 
Sionea."—'?.  Oauchlkb  :  "  TheoreUcat^and  Practical  Peeearc/tea 
<Ns  the  Flow  and  Motion  of  Water P — T.  Ricotbb:  "t>/i  //wftum." — 
BsBTHioiyT:  ^'Method  of  Reducing  and  Saturating  Organic  Com- 
pounds with  Hydrogen^ — A.  Pbrbot  :  "  On  obtaining  High  Tetn- 
peraiure^  by  the  Combustion  oJ*a  Mivture  of  Illuminating  Gas 
-and  Airy 

April  39. 
Beoquixkl:  "  On  the  Causes  of  Rainy— T.  S.  Hunt:  "^^Soms  Re- 
4tcUona  if  Magnesia  Salts  and  on  Rocks  Containing  Magnesia^— 
CouPTKirr  DBS  Bois:  **  On  the  Determination  of  Vie  South  Magnetic 
PoUV—^SAqmsr:  **0n  the  Principle^!  </  Chtmisfry  according  to 
Modem  Tories."— Ghacobkac  :  ^  Resumi  of  a  Memoir  on  the 
Solar  Systemy—lj.  Caillbtbt:  '' On  a  Process  of  Gilding  and 
Siltering  by  Means  of  Sodium  Amalgamy—K.  Dbyillb  :  '^  On  ths 
-earns  ^ubfcct^'—'L.  Ditsart  :  *'  Contributions  to  the  knoidedge  of 
Phendsy—J.  Kolb:  "  On  the  Absorption  qf  Carbonic  Acid  by  some 
Oxides.**— P.  P.  DBiiEHAiir :  "  JSdrperimenial  Researches  on  the  Cst  of 
Potash  Salts  in  Agriculture:*— C.  Mens:  ^' On  Yellow  and  White 
Iron  Pyrites." 

May  6. 
1.  Oabbb  ;  "  On  some' new  Refrigerating  Apparatus:*  —J.  L.  Sobst  : 
'*  Rsssarehes  on  the  Destiny  of  Osone:*  (Second  Part}.— P.  P.  Lb 
Boux:  *^  On  the  Cause  qf  the  Undulations  produced  in  Metallic 
Wires  by  the  Electric  Discharge:* —E.  JuaroFLBisii :  "  On  some  Points 
of  Relation  betioeen  the  Melting  Points,  Densities,  and  Specific  Vol- 
mmss  <^  some  Chlorinated  Dervcatives  qf  Bensene:* 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 


like  use  qf  Superheated  «Steaw.— Sir,— About  ten  years  since  I  car- 
ried ooi  a  series  of  experiments  with  superh'eated  steam^  in  coAjunction 
with  an  experienced  engiDeer.  In  the  first  instance  the  steam  was  ap- 
plied direct  from  the  boiler  at  a  pressure  of  50  lbs.,  and  passed  through 
cast-iron  cyUnders,  heated  to  redness,  from  thence  through  cap  welded 
wrought-iron  pipes  to  a  cast-iron  steam  Jacketted  pan  or  pot  (each  pot 
was  j}f  inches  in  thickness,  and  rery  strongly  bolted  together).  As 
•con  as  the  superheated  steam  passed  through  the  pipes,  the  gun  metal 
•team  taps  instantly  broke  off  short,  owing  to  the  expansion.  The 
stays  (o  the  pipes  were  then  removed  and  the  taps  replaced.  After 
the  superheated  steam  hod  been  applied  to  the  Jacketted  pot  for  up- 
wards of  two  hours,  the  interior  pot  burst  from  the  outer  pot  at  the 
flange,  and  was  projected  through  the  roof  of  the  building  to  some  con- 
siderable distance,  and  the  walls  on  each  side  of  the  building  were 
blown  down  ^the  pot  weighing  about  12  cwt).  Some  difference  of 
opinion  exbted  as  to  the  cause  of  the  accident,  as  the  steam  was  not 
locked  in ;  the  valve  at  the  bottom  of  the  pot  was  open,  and  also  the 
ralve  for  the  outgoing  steam.  Perhaps  the  steam,  being  highly  elastic, 
eoold  not  escape  with  sufficient  rapidity.  After  considerable  experience 
I  hiive  employed  superheated  steam  with  great  success  and  most  econo- 
mical results  both  for  desiccation  and  the  evaporation  of  saline  solutions, 
etc  SuperbeatinjT  steam  does  not  require  an  expensive  apparatus ;  it 
can  be  readily  accomplished  at  the  back  of  the  furnace  of  a  steam 
boiler,  more  especially  where  Jukes'  smoke  apparatus  is  used.  A  very 
even  temperature  can  be  easily  obtained,  and  in  operation  it  is  even 
Buperior  to  Perkins*  hot  water  apparatus,' although  I  have  not  obtained 
•o  high  a  temperatare.— W.  H. 

Cheap  Grease.—Skr. — I  am  endeavouring  to  make  cheap  grease.  I 
hare  succeeded  in  making  the  superior  greases.  But  with  the  cheapest 
greaaea  there  appears  to  be  a  difficulty  which  I  cannot  master.  They 
are  sold  here  at  xos.  as.  and  88.  per  cwt.  Tliese  prices  are  so  low  that  it 
Is  to  me  impracticable  to  use  any  other  ingredients  but  rosin,  alkali  and 


water.  But  I  find  that  grease  made  with  these  only  is  sticky  and  drying, 
and  totally  unsaleable.  Can  any  of  your  subscribers  give  me  an  econo- 
mical recipe  for  making  a  eood,  yet  cheap,  rosin  grease,  and  greases 
which  will  afford  a  good  profit  when  sold  at  the  above  prices  ?— J.  8;  W. 

To  Destroy  .4«fe.— Sir,— Should  carbolic  acid  fail,  try  liquor  ammo- 
niiE  fortis :  '880.    This  is  by  far  the  most  effective  for  black  beetles.— Q. 

Charcoal  Bisenits.— Sh,— To  make  charcoal  biscuits,  take  flour,  i 
pound ;  carbonate  of  ammonia  in  fine  powder,  x>^  drachms ;  white 
sugar  in  fine  powder,  2  ounces ;  mix  well  together— butter,  3  ounces ; 
one  egg ;  mix  into  a  stiff  paste  with  new  milk,  and  beat  well  with  a 
rolling  pin  for  ao  minutes ;  roll  out  thin  and  cut  out  the  biscuits  with  an 
inverted  egg-cup ;  bake  in  a  quick  oven  for  15  minutes.  Levigated 
cedar  wood  charcoal  is  to  be  had  of  Warrick,  3,  Garlick  Hill,  London, 
and  ready  made  ckarcoal  biscuits  of  Mr.  Bragg,  2,  Wlgmore  Street, 
Cavendish  8*iuare,  London.— Subscriber. 

Cure  for  Dry  Rot  in  nduses,Sir,—l  think  there  Is  an  important 
oversight  in  the  communication  on  this  subject  in  your  issue  of  21st 
hist.  At  37th  line  should  it  not  read  "  beneath  the  Joists  ?  "  I  have  a 
remarkable  instance  in  my  mind  when  asphalt  had  been  applied  merely 
between  the  Joints  of  a  gentleman's  mansion— these  Joists  or  sleepers 
were  supported  in  the  centre  and  nailed  to  wooden  pegs,  driven  about 
x8  hiches  into  the  soil.  In  about  four  years  afterwards  the  whole  of  the 
lower  apartments  were  one  mass  of  di7  rot,  the  said  pegs  having  formed 
excellent  conductors.  All  the  woodwork  was  renewed,  and  I  recom- 
mended asphalt  to  be  spread  below,  and  the  sleepers  simply  to  beSlaid 
upon  Uie  smooth  hard  surfzee  thus  formed-.  I  believe  this  has  always 
been  effectual.  I  know  a  case  Just  now  where  dry  rot  has  reached  the 
bedrooms.— W.  B. 

Chemical  Calculus. — ^Sir,— Allow  me  to  point  out  a  correction  which 
it  would  be  dedrable  to  make  hi  your  otherwise  excellent  abstract  of  my 
note  at  the  Royal  Societv  on  the  "  Chemical  Calculus.'*  In  the  abstract 
my  translation  of  Brodie's  formula  for  hydrochloric  acid  is ,  given 
thus:— 


9 


instead  of  tliur— 


And  in  Uke  manner  the  lines  which  I  employ  between  the  numerator 
and  denominator  of  other  symbob  in  the  form  of  division  is  omitted. 
My  intention  was  to  use  the  symbol  of  division  to  denote  decomposition. 
Just  as  the  symbol  of  multiplication  is  habitually  employed  in  chemical 
formulsB  to  denote  combination.  I  notice  that'  by  some  accident  the 
number  73  is  given  as  the  molecular  weight  of  hydrochloric  acid,  in- 
stead  of  36'5.— Alrx.  W.  Wiluamsox. 

Adds  from  Palm  Wfj.— Sh-,- 1  wish  to  know  the  quantities  of  hard, 
white  palmitic  acid  and  liquid  oleic  acid  which  are  usually  procured 
from  one  ton  of  average  palm  oil  by  saponification,  followed  by  distilla- 
tion and  cold  and  hot  pressure.  2ndly.  What  proportions  of  the 
fatty  acids  are  procured  firom  tallow  bv  the  lime  process,  as  adopted 
generally  on  the  continent.  I  find  sundry  loose  statements  in  various 
technical  publications,  but  as  they  differ  so  widely  I  am  anxious  to  learn 
fjrom  some  practical  person  what  are  the  real  results  obtained  in  actual 
working.— DBLTA. 

Refrigerating  Machine.S\Tf—lB  there  any  manageable  machine  in 
use  for  manufacturing  purposes,  for  cooling  mother  liquors  ?— P. 

Distilling  Oil.—Sir.—€n,n  any  of  your  readers  Inform  me  of  any  work 
that  treats  of  oil  distilling  ?  I  can  And  no  kiformation  in  any  work  on 
chemistry.  I  want  information  on  rosin  oil  distilling  and  refining,  and 
the  improvements  made  in  this  branch  of  business.  What  is  the  best 
process  for  refinhig  rosin  oil.  nearly  destitute  of  smell,  and  of  a  blueish 
colour?- H.  J.  ^ 

Cheap  Grease.— Yo\a  correspondent,  J.  S.  W.,  should  try  a  grease 
made  from  the  last  oil  or  grease  obtained  during  the  distillation  of  coal 
tar,  or  he  could  try  a  mixture  of  rosin  and  the  grease  referred  to.  If 
your  correspondent  added  a  small  quantity  of  the  commonest  soap  to 
the  grease,  he  would  find  a  great  improvement.  This  would  make  the 
cheapest  grease  for  colliery  and  other  purposes. — U. 

Chitrcoal  Biscuits.— 9>\t,— To  the  receipt  given  last  week  add  two 
ounces  of  levigated  cedar  wood  charcoal,  to  be  mixed  Intimately  with 

the  flour.— COBRESPOMDKNT. 

•  ■  Vapour  Density  of  Water.— In  reference  to  this  subject  a  correspon- 
dent draws  attention  to  a  work  published  many  years  ago,  by  order  of 
the  French  Government,  contalnbig  the  results  of  the  very  elaborate 
researches,  made  by  V.  Kegnault,  on  the  density,  etc.,  of  steam.  Our 
correspondent  does  not  mention  the  title  of  the  book,  but  he  says  that 
in  it  the  subject  mooted  by  Mr.  Ward  Is  fully  and  conclusively  set  forth. 
Sulphate  qf  Magnesia.^A.  subscriber  wishes  to  know  the  name  of  a 
flrm^ln  the  North  of  England  who  make  sulphate  of  magnesia  by  the 

I  process  described  in  our  Journal  of  April  13th. 

Origin  qf  the  word  Naphtha.— Sir, —1  have  been  trying  to  trace  the 
origin  of  the  word  naphtha,  but  have  not  succeeded.    Can  any  of  your 

I  readers  tell  me  where  it  was  first  used  to  designate  an  inflammable 

I  liquid  coming  out  of  the  ground?—?.  Pbtebson. 

Papering  Damp  Walls.-^,—U  your  correspondent  of  last  week, 
R.  A.  Dudley,  will  get  some  of  the  water-glass  or  soluble  silicate  of  soda 
advertised  in  your  columns,  and  brush  the  dilute  solution  several  times 
over  the  damp  wall,  allowing  it  to  soak  In  and  dry  between  each  appli- 
cation, he  will  effect  a  cure. — E. 

Mani{facture  of  Sulphuric  ^ci<f.— Sulphurous  add,  in  presence  of 
much  watar,  reduces  bmoxide  of  nitrogen  to  oxide  of  nitrogen.  Can 
any  of  your  readers  kindly  inform  me  what  strength  the  chamber  should 
work  to  prevent  this  ?  I  am  workhig  two  chambers  connected.  I  should 
also  be  glad  to  know  what  quantity  of  nitrate  of  soda  b  required  to  make 
ao  cwt.  of  sulphuric  add  sp.  gr.  1750.— Chilh. 


i6o 


Answers  to  Correspondents. 


j  CiuiacAi,  Nswi; 
"1       Sept,  18«7. 


'  Pl€uUr  of  Paris.— 1  choald  feel  obliged  to  any  of  jour  correspond- 
ents who  woald  inform  me  whether  there  is  any  way  of  cansing  plaster 
of  Paris  to  set  perfectly  hard,  so  that  It  cannot  he  scratched  hy  the 
flnger>nail.  I  have  tried  the  plan  recommended  in  MuapraWt  CAenUs- 
try,  pa«re  46a,  bat  do  not  find  it  to  sacceed.— A  Wokkixo*  Povna. 

Makinq  PyrogaUic  ^dd.— 8lr,— Will  any  one  inform  me  whether 
a  method  has  been  published  whereby  pyrogalUc  add  can  be  made 
in  the  wet  way  firom  galhc  acid  ?  The  process  of  sublimation  usually 
adopted  is  tedious  and  uncertain.  Borne  vears  ago  a  Tariety  of  pyrogalUc 
acid  in  hard  prismatic  crystals  was  introduced  in  photography ;  this  was 
evidently  crystallized  fh>m  an  aqueous  solution.  Query^Was  it  sob 
Ihned  first  and  crystallised  afterwards,  or  was  It  not  rather  prepared  in 
the  wet  way  ?— I.  Coupbb. 

Iron  made  Rtd-hot  by  J7a«tmer<n^.— Sir,  —In  answer  to  *'  Sceptic" 
(Chbiiical  IVkws  for  August,  1867),  I  beg  to  state  that  it  is  a  common 
thing  for  a  good  blacksmtth  to  hammer  a  horse-shoe-nail  red-hot  upon 
a  common  anvil.  I  have  seen  it  done  by  one  Jesse  Stubs  repeatedly, 
who  informed  me  that  **  years  ago  when  he  was  a  lad,"  it  was  not  an 
uncommon  thine  for  a  journeyman  blacksmith  on  applying  for  work,  to 
have  to  prove  himself  a  good  hammerman  by  makmg  a  nail  red-hot  in 
as  few  a  number  of  strokes  as  possible.  I  once  produced  a  blacksmith 
and  anvil  at  a  lecture,  before  the  Royal  Literary  Institution  of  Hull, 
when  the  man  made  the  nail  glow  before  the  audience  by  hammering  it. 
Old  blacksmiths  In  the  country  say  that  before  the  days  of  Congreve, 
Letchford,  or  Bryant  and  May,  they  many  a  time  lighted  their  forge  fire 
of  a  cold  morning  by  means  of  a  nail  made  red-hot  by  converting 
motion  Into  heat,  or  as  they  term  it,  "a  few  sharpish  taps  "with  a 
hammer.  Let  '*  Sceptic  "  go  to  a  large  blacksmith  shop  and  offer  a 
shilling  to  every  man  who  will  hammer  a  nail  red-hot^  and  unless  black- 
smiths have  degenerated  daring  the  late  severe  winter,  he  will  soon 
part  with  bis  money.— J.  W.  • 

Merceriting  CoMon.— Sir,— There  Is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Mercer^s  dis- 
covery mentioned  In  your  present  number,  is  a  valuable  one.  and 
were  the  objections  to  it  more  generally  known,  some  of  your  talented 
readers  might  succeed  in  overcoming  them.  The  advantages  are  that 
the  fabric  contracts  about  one-fifteenth  linearly  in  each  direction,  and 
the  threads  appear  rounder,  firmer,  and  closer  together :  the  cloth  does 
not  reflect  so  much  white  light,  but  has  a  translucent  appearance.  Its 
strength  is  also  improved ;  cotton  thus  treated  shows  a  superior  affinity 
for  some  colours,  especially  indigo-blue ;  it  takes  as  deep  a  shade  of  blue 
in  one  dip  as  common  cloth  takes  in  six,  and,  senerally  speaking, 
colours  look  better  on  this  than  on  untr&ted  cloth.    The  objection  to  the 

grocess  was  mainly  the  expense  of  the  soda,  but  now  that  this  agent 
as  been  reduced  in  price  this  objection  will  not  be  so  formidable.  It 
was  also  said  that  the  appearance  of  greater  fineness  and  closeness, 
produced  by  the  contraction  of  the  fibre,  could  be  more  surely  and 
economically  produced  by  the  loom.— F.  Oolxvib. 

%•  Wiihr</ereneeto  Mr,  WartTa  fgures  in  our  last  number^  toe 
feel  it  right  to  mention  that  tre  printed  them  from  a  private  note, 
evidently  written  off-hand^  and  ttnrevised :  as  also  that  tfie  icriter'a 
c<yrrected  version  reached  us  by  the poa  following  thai  by  which  Vie 
Cbziucal  Nrws  tcould  come  into  his  hands^  and  antedated  tlie  other 
letters  on  this  subject.  The  fact  qf  Mr.  Ward's  letter  foUotcing  in- 
stead qf  preceding  the  other  letters  occurs  in  accordance  tcith  a  rule 
adopted  in  mo^  printing-qfflces^  vhen  there  are  several  communica- 
tions on  the  same  suljecty  of  placing  the  shortest  Jtrst, 

ANSWERS  TO  CORBESPONDENTS. 


%*  All  JCditorial  Communications sri^to\>9  addressed  to  the  Editob, 
and  Advertisements  and  Business  Oomanunications  to  the  Pubusbsb, 
at  the  OfBce,  i.  Wine  Office  Court,  Fleet  Street,  London,  £  C.  Private 
letters  for  the  Editor  must  be  so  marked. 

\*  In  publbhing  letters  from  our  correspondents  we  do  not  thereby 
adopt  the  views  of  the  writers.    Our  intention  to  sive  both  sides  of  a 

Suestion  ^ill  frequently  oblige  us  to  publish  opinions  with  which  we 
0  not  agree.  

We  have  been  requested  to  correct  an  error  which  has  been  very 
generally  made  by  the  English  Press  (the  Chemical  Nkws  included). 
In  the  Ust  of  firms  which  have  gained  silver  medals  at  the  Paris  Exhibi- 
tion, the  well-known  firm  of  Morson  <k  Son  has  been  misprinted  Matcson. 

CUricus.  -  The  powder  for  Larkin*s  maraeslum  lamp  can  be  obtained 
at  the  magnesium  metal  company,  Mancnester;  apply  to  Mr.  Mellor, 
manager. 

^erM.— Apply  to  F.  Ylewlg  and  8on,  Publishers,  Brunswick,  for 
the  works  of  Baron  V.  liebig. 

J.  ^.->The  substance  is  sesquioxide  of  iron ;  but  whether  derived 
firom  the  pipe  or  deposited  from  the  water,  we  cannot  say.  Is  the  pipe 
corroded  ? 

Edwardy  0.— You  will  be  able  to  obtain  all  the  information  you 
require  by  applying  at  the  Patent  Office,  Southampton  Buildings,  Chan- 
cery Lane. 

A  New  Subscriber.— Owe  first  volumes  can  occasionally  be  procured 
second  hand.  Our  publisher  is  sometimes  able  to  secure  a  set.  Leave 
your  name  at  our  office,  and  state  bow  much  you  are  inclined  to  give 
for  Vols.  I.  and  II. 

Dr.  A.  L.  P. — We  regret  that  your  communication  is  too  long  for  our 
columns. 

P.  i?o2»«<m.— Pyrophosprhate  of  soda  in  solution  will  dissolve  sulphur, 
forzning  a  polysulphide. 

F.  ^uc^aer^e/c/.— Scheele's  green  is  arsenlte  of  copper.  Schwelnfurt 
green  is  mixed  arsenic  and  acetate  of  copper.  If  chromium  green  will 
be  bright  enough  for  what  you  want  we  certainly  advise  you  to  use  it  in 
preference. 


J.  <&— We  have  been  unable  to  find  the  paragraph  in  qaeatioa;  abo«fc 
what  date  did  it  appear  ? 

W.  H.  .^.— There  is  no  difficulty  in  taking  ink  stains  from  paper. 
Most  acids  will  effect  the  dcdred  obtJeck  The  principal  thing  to  be  at- 
tended to,  is  to  remove  erery  trace  of  the  add  firom  the  paper  after  It 
has  done  its  work.  This  is  a  diflfcnlt  thing  to  do  properly,  and  Sta 
neglect  is  the  cause  of  the  rotting  so  often  complained  of  alter  th«  r«> 
moval  of  ink-spots. 

W.  J.  iS— The  term  photogru>h  is  the  generic  name  applied  to  all  plc- 
tares  taken  by  the  agency  of  Bght.  A  daguerreotype  ia,  therefore^  a» 
much  entitled  to  be  odled  a  photograph,  as  a  paper  print'from  a  collo- 
dion negative. 

A  Druggist.— Vicnie  of  Potash  has  been  used  bv  Braoonnot  aa  a 
substitute  for  quinine,  in  intermittent  fevers;  the  dose  Is  from  two  to 
five  grslna  It  was  said  to  answer  very  well,  but  makes  the  patients  m 
yellow  aa  auineaa. 

D.  iK.— Sulphate  of  baryta  Is  soluble  In  hot  strong  sulphnric  acid,  but 
water  precipitates  it. 

A  Manufacturer.— It  yoa  advertise  in  oar  pages  you  will  be  oertaia 
to  receive  many  answers.  ,    *  •ji 

&  Jahnson.-^To  dye  silk  with  gold,  immerse  the  stuff  in  a  bath  «f 
chloride  of  gold  for  ten  minutes,  then  wring  and  dry.  Expose  to  the 
sunlight,  when  the  colour  changes  to  a  beautiful  lilac 

Papering  Damp  Wo^.— Sir,— One  of  the  walls  In  my  hoose  Is  so 
damp  that  the  paper  will  not  stick ;  it  mildews  and  peels  off  within  a 
few  months.  I  am  not  a  chemist,  but  I  should  think  that  some  of  yoor 
correspondents  will  be  able  to  suggest  a  remedy.— R.  A.,  Dudley. 

Errata.-  -Page  xii,  line  x6  ft-omthe  top,/br  carbonate  of  soda,  read 
carbonate pf  ammonia ;  page  117,  line  2  from  the  bottom, /or  1863,  read 
1836. 

JL  27.  .J.— Nitrite  of  amyl  may  be  prepared  by  passing  nitrous 
vapours  into  amvlic  alcohol  contained  in  a  heated  retort,  rectifying  the 
distillate,  and  collecting  apart  the  portion  which  goes  over  at  90  deg.  O. 

James  i*.— Your  problem  in  hydrostatics  fails  in  one  important  requir 
site :  you  have  forgotten  to  allow  for  the  force  of  gravitation. 

A.  L.  S.—\i  would  be  a  breach  of  confidence  to  impart  the  informa- 
tion, even  if  we  possessed  it. 

Barium.— Yqvlt  communication  is  declined  with  thanks. 

Medxcus.—Oxit  of  the  best  hemostatic  agents  is  laid  to  be  a  mixture 
of  perchloride  of  iron  and  common  salt,  dissolved  in  water.  No  fre* 
acid  must  be  present. 

M.  Kestner.—The  best  examination  of  the  fixed  line  D  of  the  solar 
spectrum  was  given  with  a  diagram,  by  Professor  Couke^  in  our  number 
for  July  4,  1863.  1  he  drawing  shows  eight  sharp  lines,  and  a  nebulous- 
hand  between  the  two  constituents  of  D. 

Junior  Student.— The  diaphanometer  Is  an  instrument  proposed  and 
employed  by  Saussure  for  measuring  the  transparency  of  the  air.  Its 
actii>n  was  very  imperfect,  and  any  variation  in  the  acuteness  of  the 
observer's  sight  would  vitiate  Its  results. 

A.  B.— There  Is  00  danger.    Push  the  heat  as  far  as  you  can. 

Zena.— Don'i  be  misled,  the  book  Is  a  very  good  one. 

W.  Thomson.— ^ilyer  solder  b  best  for  uniting  steel  together.  Make 
it  by  mellmg  together  10  parts  of  sliver,  i  part  of  copper,  and  i  pan  of 
brass.    Use  borax  as  a  flux. 

C.  Chase.— YoM  had  better  consult  a  solicitor.  We  would  rather 
not  advise  In  such  a  case. 

Dyer. — Stannate  of  soda  is  now  generally  employed.  See  If  your 
sample  contains  tungstate  of  soda.  The  stannate  contahn  9  equiva- 
lents of  water  of  crystallization.    It  is  efflurescent  in  a  dry  atmosphere. 

Foreign  Science.— Vp  to  the  time  of  going  to  press  we  have  not  rer 
ceived  the  Abbe  Moigno*s  letter,  nor  the  proceedhigs  of  the  Acadtmis 
des  Sciences  for  Monday  last. 

D.  Waldie.— Oar  correspondents  communication  is  received  with 
thanks.    We  shall  always  be  pleased  to  hear  from  him. 

Communications  have  been  received  fh>m  W.  Briggs ;  W.  Husklswn ; 
Prof.  WilUamson,  P.K.8. ;  P.  Field,  FES.;  Dr.  Odllng,  P.R.S. ;  C.  Gre- 
ville  WlUiams,  F  R.S. ;  Dr.  E.  Angus  bmitb,  F.R.9.;  D.  Forbes,  FJLS.; 
C.  8.  Eead;  P.  Jessop:  E.  Lowe;  C.  E.  Wright,  B.8c. ;  John  Robin- 
son (with  endobure);  0.  F.  EodweU,  F.C.S. ;  E.  Kierman  (with  enck>- 
sure);  Alex.  Glendinbig;  Prof.  0.  G.  Stokes,  F.R.8.;  Dr.  Letheby; 
G.  A.  Key  worth;  H.  Bywater  (with  enclosure);  J.  Wallace:  J.  B. 
Swindell;  Prof.  Daubeny,  F.E.S.;  Joseph  Davies  (^Ith  encioanre); 
Edmund  G.  Tosh  (with  enclosure);  Lewb  Demuth  and  Co.;  J.  T.At- 
kinson: W.  Ladd;  Hood;  F.  A.  Abel,  F.R.S.;  I>r.  Letheby;  W.  B. 
Kh)g:  Morson  and  Son;  U.  B.  Condy;  Sir  B.  C.  Brodie.  Bart  F.ES.; 
Dr.  F.  C.  Calvert,  F.K.S,:  B.  Westemann  and  Co.  (New  York);  O. 
Hill;  H.  Woodward;  D,  Forbes,  F.R.S.;  G.  F.  RodweU;  E.  Besnes; 
Dr.  Odlhig,  FR.S.;  W.  Bright;  Albrlgt.t  and  Wilson  (with  enckwirc); 
J.  Kavchs;  C.  It.  C.  Tlcbbome;  Muspratt  Broa;  Dr.  Oxland;  John 
Fllley;  Professor  Williamson,  F.RS. ;  J.  llif;  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  FJLS; 
U.  Burgoyne;  L.  Twining  (with  enclosure);  A.  8.  Herschel ;  J.  Ingram 
(with  enclosure);  J.  Layton  with  enclosure);  C.  GrevUle  Williams* 
F.It.S. ;  Henry  \\  oodward ;  F.  Bright ;  a  E  C.  Tichbome ;  J.  N.  Yhien ; 
tlie  Metropolitan  Association  of  Medical  Officers  of  Health ;  6.  W. . 
Moore;  T.  Landaner  (with  enclosure);  George  Lunge;  C.  Foster, BA.: 
Ludwig  Mond;  W.  M.  Watts,  B  fee. ;  Dr.  F.  CL  Calvert,  F.E.8.;  C  R. 
C.  '1  ichbornc  ;  Gossage  and  Son  (with  enclosure) ;  Jesse  Fisher,  do. ; 
Benjamin  Wheeler,  do. ;  0    Ecclee,  do. ;  Smith  and  Sons,  doj  J.  Samo- 

Eson,  do. ;  J.  Thom,  do.;  W.  Blyth,  do. ;  W.  M'Leod,  do. :  H.  Eve;  C. 
;.  A.  Wright,  B.Bc.;  W.  Kunde;  F.  Hughes;  E.  C.  C.  Uppineott;  D. 
Waldle  (Calcutta):  J.  D.  Dana;  Professor  How,  D.C.L.;  Dr.  Angosl 
Stronieyer;  F.  O.  Ward  ;  Captain  R.  F.  Burton  (with  enclosure);  A.  P. 
HurlstoDc;  S.  Norman;  Dr.  P.  Williams;  E  Quaritch;  J.  Foord  (Vic- 
toria); J.  Thorn  (with  enclosure);  John  Lundy. 

Books  Received.—^'  Researchess  on  Gun  1  otton,"  by  F.  A.  Abel, 
F.E.i5.,  being  the  Bakerlun  Lecture  for  1867;  ** Crystallogenic  and 
Crystallographic  Contributions,''  by  James  D.  Dana. 


OtikiCAL  Vnrs. ) 


On  the  Manufacture  of  NicM: 


i6i 


THE     CHEMICAL      NEWS. 
Vol.  I.  No.  4.     American  Reprint. 


NOTES  ON   SOME  COMPOUNDS    OF    PALLA- 
.     MUM. 

BY  HENBT  CROFT, 
PBarsMOB  OF  CHU118TBT,  uinvntnTT,  tobostoi 

Palladlo-bleHloride  of  potassium  is  best  prepared  by 
passing  chlorine  through  a  concentrated  hot  solution  of 
the  paliadio-protochloride.  Almost  the  whole  of  the 
m^tad  is  precipitated  as  a  double  salt  of  a  fine  colour. 
What  remains  in  solution  may  be  advantageously  em- 
ployed in  preparing  the  chloride  of  paliadammonium. 

The  double  salt  PdCUKCl  Achibits  a  remarkable 
change  of  colour  on  the  application  of  a  moderate  heat, 
turning  quite  black,  and  resuming  its  scariet  colour  on 
cooling.  If  heated  too  strongly  it  fuses,  loses  chlorine, 
and,  on  cooling,  is  of  a  brown  colour,  being  converted 
into  the  palladio-protochloride. 

cyanide  of  Palladammoiiluiii,  originally  described 
as  ammoniated  cyanide,  is  readily  obtained  by  adding 
HCy  to  a  solution  of  NHsPdCl.  It  forms  a  white  cry&- 
talline  powder,  soluble  in  hot  water.  Analysis  showed 
it  to  be  Fehling's  salt 


Salplilde  or  PaJladammoBJaitt.— When  dilute 
NH 


l\^ 


or  very  dilute  ^^  I S  is  addefto  a  solution  of  NH,^  [ 

a  bright  red  or  orange  red  precipitate  is  formed,  much 
like  Sie  sulphide  of  antimony ;  it  changes  very  rapidly 
into  brown  or  brownish  black  sulphide  of  palladium. 

Double  Siilpliocyaiilde«.— These  may  be  obtained  in 
precisely  the  same  manner  as  the  platinum  compounds 
described  by  Buckton.  The  potassium  salt  forms  ruby- 
red  crystals,  which  can  be  obtained  of  considerable  size, 
sohzble  in  water  and  alcohol  The  latter  solvent  was 
used  for  separating  it  from  the  chloride.  The  salt  is 
anhydrous,  melts  at  a  high  temperature^  gives  ofF  sul- 
phur and  bisulphide  of  carbon,  and  is  oxidised  by  nitric 
acid,  forming  a  white  compound  free  from  sulphur,  ap- 
parently analogous  to  Claus*s  product.  The  solution 
of  the  potassium  salt  precipitates  various  metallic  solu- 
tions, forming  apparently  corresponding  insoluble  pal- 
ladio-sulphocyanides. 

Similar  compounds  can  be  obtained  from  the  palladio- 
protochloride.  The  potassium  compound  forms  dark 
red  needles.  From  the  few  analyses  I  was  able  to 
make,  the  composition  of  all  the  above  salts  seems  to 
be  the  same  as  that  of  the  platinum  compounds. 

By  acting  on  the  potassium  salts  with  ammonia,  a 
sah  is  obtained  crystallising  in  fine  reddish  brown 
needles ;  the  same  can  be  obtained  by  acting  on  chloride 
of  paliadammonium  with  sulphocyanide  of  potassium 
in  the  same  way  as  reconmiended  by  Buckton  for  the 
platinum  salt. 

The  analysis  gave  the  formula  NH,^    [  S — sulphocyanide 

of  paliadammonium. 

The  sulphur  is  oxidised  with  great  diflSculty,  even  by 
hydrochloric  acid  and  potassic  chlorate. 

Seteral  compounds  of  paliadammonium  with  or- 
ganic acids,  especially  nitro-acids,  are  well  crystallised, 
more  particularly  the  trinitro-phenylate  or  carbazo- 
t«ta 

Vol.  I.    No.  4.— Oct.,  1867.       ir. 


ON  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  NICKEL. 

BT  DR.   AUGUST  8TR0METBR. 

The  folio winff  communication  concerning  the  pro- 
duction of  nickel,  will,  no  doubt,  interest  some  of  your 
readers.  The  method  employed  was  kept  a  secret  for 
a  long  tirife,  and  is  partly  so  even  now. 

Formerlv,  nickel  was  produced  from  the  speiss  ob- 
tained in  the  making  of  smalt,  but  since  the  perfection 
attained  in  the  manufacture  of  artificial  ultramarine, 
smalt  has  not  been  so  much  in  demand ;  less  has  there- 
fore been  made,  aifd  the  old  stores  of  speiss  have  been 
used  up. 

Recently  some  speiss  has  been  produced  from  copper 
and  silver  ores  containing  nickel.  These  ores  are 
smelted  with  pyrites,  by  which  means  the  copper  and 
silver  are  concentrated  in  the  sulphide  of  iron.  If  the 
ore  contains  nickel  in  combination  with  arsenic  (if  not, 
arsenical  pyrites  is  added),  a  bright  heavy  regulus  com- 
posed of  arsenic,  nickel,  and  cobalt,  called  speiss,  will 
be  found  beneath  the  slag. 

By  an  oxidising  smelting,  the  speiss  becomes  puri- 
fied, so  that  only  arsenical  nickel  remains. 

The  speiss,  in  a  pure  state,  has  the  composition  Ni.  As 
(52  per  cent,  of  nickel) ;  ordinarily,  it  contains  iron, 
cobalt,  bismuth,  lead,  antimony,  and  sulphur. 

By  smelting  the  speiss,  or  any  nickel  ore  in  contact 
with  atmospheric  air,  and  a  reagent  capable  of  fluxing 
the  resulting  oxide,  pure  arsenical  nickel  (Ni4As)  is  ob- 
tained. The  remaining  s^aration  of  arsenic  from  the 
nickel  is  very  difficult. 

The  following  process  for  the  production  of  nickel  is 
that  used  at  Dittenberg  (Nassau).  The  ore  is  iron  py- 
rites containing  capillary  pyrites  (NiS),  and  occurs  in 
veins  of  serpentine.  Besides  the  nickel  ore,  a  copper 
ore  is  also  worked.  The  nickel  ores  are  not  previously 
prepared,  as  the  matrix  gives  a  suitable  slag. 

The  average  composition  of  these  ores  is : — 

^^oroi. JSSSj.;::;:::::;::!:?^ 

Sparry  iron  ore FeO,CO« 22'8o 

Copper  pyrites CusS  +  FesSt  .  .^ zrgS 

Nickeliferoua  pyrites 1 1  Fe  [  ^ ^'^ 

Bismuth  glance BiSa 2*05 

Iron  pyrites. FeS, 772 

Red  hematite FeaO» 1 1  '61 

Quartz SiOa 1033 

Moisture 027 

Aa,Co,KO,NaO 030 


Other  analyses  make  the  nickel  to  exist  as  capillary 
pyrites  (NiS) — ^this  mineral  is  seen  now  and  then  in  the 
ores.  The  ore  yields  on  an  average  3  per  cent,  of  nickel 
and  5  per  cent,  of  copper.  In  1857,  Heusler  intro- 
duced a  process  for  the  production  of  a  nickel-copper 
alloy  similar  to  the  Swedish  one. 

The  process  may  be  divided  into  four  parts. 

1.  Raw  meltliis.'Roasting  the  ore  and  smelting  it 
to  coarse  metal 

2.  Concentration  MeUlns.— Roasting  the  coarse 
metal  and  smelting  it  to  a  concentrated  regulus. 

3.  Reflntnic  melttntf.— Separation  of  the  iron  from 
the  concentrated  regulus. 

4.  Roasting  and  Rednclns  Procemi.~Transfonna- 
tion  of  the  regulus  into  oxides  of  copper  and  nickel  by 
roasting,  and  reduction  of  the  oxides. to  copper-nickel. 

I.  Raw  Meltinc*— The  ore  is  crushed  to  pieces  of  the 


l62 


On  the  Inactive  Condition  of  Solid  Mailer. 


J  CBmiOAL  Neva, 
1       <9dL,l8«7. 


size  of  a  man's  fist  and  roasted  in  kilns.  On  the  sole  of 
the  fiirnace  are  bedded  about  f^  cwt  of  charcoal,  then 
i  cwt.  of  brown  coal,  then  15  cwt  of  ore,  then  again 
i  cwt.  of  brown  coal,  and  finally  25  cwt.  of  ore.  The 
charcoal  at  the  bottom  is  lighted,  and,  after  12  hours,  the 
roasting  will  have  proceeded  so  far  that  three-fourths 
of  the  ore  may  be  taken  out  of  the  furnace"  as  being 
well  roasted.  Brown  coal  and  ore  are  again  put  on  in 
layers.  100  cwt.  of  roasted  ore  is  mixed  with  63  cwt 
of  slag  from  the  former  melting,  and  smelted  with  coke 
in  a  furnace.  This  is  filled  with  charcoal,  which  is  lit 
and  allowed  to  bum  down  a  httle,  which  having  taken 
place,  one  barrow  of  coke  and  two  of  slag  are  put  on 
and  the  blast-engine  worked.  Two  barrows  of  mix- 
ture are  now  put  on  to  one  of  coke,  and  by  a  gradually 
increasing  amount,  seven  or  eight  barrows  of  mixture 
are  added  within  a  few  days  to  one  of  coke.  (One 
barrow  of  coke=2olbs. ;  of  mixture=3olbs.)  The  sili- 
cious  slags  from  the  copper-ore  smelting  are  the  most 
convenient  to  employ.  One  operation  usually  lasts  six 
weeks. 

2.  Oonoentratton  9felttiifi;.~The  regulus  is  now 
stamped  and  passed  through  sieves.  It  is  then  roasted 
in  a  reverberatory  furnace.  The  charge  of  the  furnace 
is  10  cwt.,  the  volume  of  which  becomes  doubled  by 
roasting. 

The  firing  in  the  beginning  of  the  process  is  kept 
low,  as  the  heat  increases  by  the  oxidation  of  the 
charge.  After  two  hours  the  heat  is  raised,  till  at  the 
end  of  the  process  it  reaches  a  white  heat  During  the 
last  two  hours  powdered  charcoal  is  added  to  decompose 
any  sulphates  formed. 

Sohnabel  has  made  most  careful  analyses  of  the  reg- 
ulus removed  at  different  times  during  the  process. 
From  these  it  is  found  that  the  desulphurisation  takes 
place  gradually. 

The  regulus  still  contains  7  per  cent,  sulphur.  It  is 
again  smelted,  being  now  mixed  with  i  per  cent  of 
lime.  100  cwt.  is  prepared  with  67  cwt.  of  silicious 
copper  cinders,  poor  in  oxide.  The  charge  commences 
with  2  barrows  of  preparation  to  i  barrow  of  coke, 
and  the  proportion  mcreases  to  5  or  6  barrows  in  24 
hours. 

3.  ReflniiM):  Melilna:.— This  melting  operates  as  an 
oxidation  process,  and  is  used  to  separate  completely 
the  iron.  It  is  carried  on  in  a  copper  refining  nirnace 
with  silica.  Here  the  concentrated  regulus  is  smelted 
with  coke,  when  it  melts  and  falls  in  drops  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  furnace.  The  iron  remains  m  the  slag  as 
silicate  of  protoxide  of  iron,  which  is  easily  fusible. 

To  melt  170  lbs.  of  regulus  it  takes  about  1}  hours. 
The  fiiel  is  now  taken  out  of  the  furnace,  and  ^e  slag 
on  the  surface  of  the  metal,  cooled  by  a  blast  and  re- 
newed. The  process  is  renewed  with  fresh  flux,  and 
repeated  until  the  slag  possesses  an  enamel-like  ap- 
pearance, a  proof  of  the  separation  of  the  iron.  The 
resulting  metal  is  melted  and  drawn  off  by  a  gutter  in 
the  smelting  hearth. 

4.  Boastluff  and  Reduclns  ProoeM,~The  nickel- 
copper  regulus  thus  obtained  is  now  converted  by 
roasting  into  oxides  of  nickel  and  copper.  For  this 
purpose  it  is  ground  to  powder  and  sifted  through  very 
fine  sieves ;  4  cwt  of  the  powder  are  spread  out  on 
"the  hearth  of  a  reverberatory  fiirnace,  and  are  roasted 
for  12  hours,  being  oontinuaJly  and  thoroughly  stirred 
up.  The  regulus  by  this  roasting  becomes  desulphur- 
ised till  it  contains  not  more  than  }  per  cent.  The 
powder  is  then  again  roasted  for  8  hours,  at  fii^t  at  a 


red  heat,  and  finally  at  a  white  heat  By  this  trea^ 
ment  all  the  sulphur,  and  also  the  small  amounts  of  an- 
timony and  arsenic  still  retained,  are  separated. 

The  manipulation  used  in  this  latter  process  is  kept 
a  secret  The  writer  presumes  that  the  regulus  is 
mixed  with  carbonate  and  nitrate  of  potash ;  by  heat- 
ing with  this  mixture  sulphantimoniate  and  arseniate  of 
potash  would  be  formed,— compounds  soluble  in  water. 
The  oxides  of  copper  and  nickel  have  now  only  to  be 
reduced  to  the  metallic  state.  The  moistened  oxide, 
in  charges  of  150  or  200  Iba.,  is  reduced  in  a  charooal 
furnace. 

The  slags  contain  nickel  and  copper,  partly  scorified, 
partly  mechanically  suspended.  They  are  reserved  for 
re- smelting.  • 

The  result  of  the  process  just  described  is  an  alloy  of 
copper  and  nickel ;  the  nickel  is  therefore  in  a  conve- 
nient form  for  use  in  tbe  manufacture  of  Grerman  silver. 


ON  THE    INACTIVE    CONDITION   OF   SOLID 
MATTER. 

In  the  Chkmioal  News  for  Nov.  30,  1866,  we  gave  an 
account  of  some  remarkable  experiments  by  M.  Gemes, 
as  recorded  in  the  Oomptes  Rendtis  for  I9tli  November, 
1866.  It  is  well  known  that  when  a  solid  body,  such 
as  a  glass  rod,  is  introduced  into  soda  water,  seltzer 
water,  or  other  supersaturated  solutions  of  gas,  it  be- 
comes immediately  covered  with  gas  bubbles,  and  even 
effervescence  may  set  in.  The  rod,  however,  becomes 
inactive  after  a  short  time,  or  it  may  be  made  so  by 
previously  immersing  it  in  water,  or  by  heating  it  in 
the  flame  of  a  spirit  lamp,  or  by  keeping  it  out  of  eoih 
tact  with  air.  The  theory  is  that  it  is  not  the  solid 
that  disengages  the  gas  from  its  solution,  but  the  air  in 
contact  with  such  solid.  The  inactive  solids  beoome 
active  if  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  quarter-of-an-hour  or 
an  hour.  Every  solid,  however  smooth,  is  covered 
with  toughnesses  that  form  a  sort  of  network  of  capillary 
conduits,  into  which  surrounding  gases  penetrate  and 
condense '  and  the  gas  bubbles  tnus  imprisoned  act  as 
centres  01  force  in  liberating  gas  from  solution.  The 
rougher  the  body  the  more  brisk  the  effervescence. 
The  disengagement  of  gas  ceases  in  time,  since  eadi 
bubble  carries  with  it  a  portion  of  the  gas  which  pro- 
duced its  hberation.  Heat  expels  the  gas  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  solid  by  expansion,  and  immersion  in  water 
by  solution. 

In  order  to  support  this  view,  the  author  relies  upon 
the  following  experiment : — "  I  introduce^d  into  a  su- 
persaturated aqueous  solution  of  carbonic  acid  an  almost 
capillary  tube,  closed  at  one  end,  and  inverted  like  a 
gas-jar,  and  containing  air.  I  had  previously  deprived 
this  tube  of  the  property  of  Uberating  gas.  Lnme- 
diately  after  immersion,  ^as  adhered  to  the  column  of 
air  which  the  tube  contamed,  forming  quickly  a  large 
bubble,  which  was  disengaged ;  then  another  was  pro- 
duced, and  so  on.  The  gas  formed  then  only  at  the 
point  where  the  liquid  touched  the  column  of  air. 
From  this  experiment  which  I  have  varied  in  several 
ways,  it  may  be  concluded  ^at  air  liberates  carbonic 
acid  from  its  aqueous  solution."  It  is  further  stated 
that  the  nature  of  the  gas  is  of  no  consequence,  for 
"  supersaturated  solutions  lose  their  gas  under  the  in- 
fluence of  any  gas  bubbles  whatever." 

In  the  August  number  of  the  PkUosophical  Maga- 
zine Mr.  TomRnson,  F.B.S.,  of  King's  College,  combats 
the  above  theory,  and  denies  that  air  or  gas  has  any 


OamacAL  Nswi,  1 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  Coal  Gas. 


163 


action  in  liberating  gases  from  their  solutions.  The 
theory  that  he  proposes  to  substitute  rests  on  the  dis- 
tinction between  a  chemically  clean  solid  and  one  that 
is  dean  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  If  the  solid 
be  chemically  clean  tiiere  is  jjerfect  adhesion  between 
it  and  the  solution,  and  there  is  no  liberation  of  gas ;  if 
the  solid  be  not  chemically  clean,  then  the  adhesion  is 
imperfect)  and  there  is  a  separation  of  gas.  If  the 
water  is  not  attracted  by  the  soMd,  the  gas  is;  for 
although  the  rod  may  not  be  clean  enough  for  water  to 
adhere  to  it.  yet  gas  will  adhere  to  a  dirty  or  a  greasy 
rod.  If  the  rod  be  made  chemically  clean  it  soon  ceases 
to  be  80  by  exposure  to  the  air ;  and  this  circumstance, 
according  to  Mr.  Tomlinson,  has  led  the  numerous 
writers  on  supersaturated  solutions  of  salts  into  error 
as  to  the  action  of  nuclei,  etc.,  in  inducing  crystallisa- 
tion. If  the  nucleus  be  chemically  clean,  the  solution 
wets  it  perfectly,  and  there  is  no  separation  of  salt  from 
the  water;  if  5ie  nucleus  be  not  chemiciJly  clean  the 
adhesion  is  differently  distributed  between  the  water 
and  the  salt^  or  the  water  and  the  gas,  and  there  is  a 
separation.  According  to  this  view  a  chemically  clean 
body  which  appears  to  be  "  inactive,*'  is  really  most 
active ;  while  the  so-called  *^  active  "  conditidh  is  really 
one  of  imperfect  adhesion. 

We  select  a  few  of  Mr.  Tomlinson*s  experiments  in 
support  of  this  novel  view,  which,  if  admitted,  will 
tlttow  a  great  deal  of  light  on  a  very  obscure  ob- 
ject:— 

Experiment  i.  Two  ordinarily  clean  test-glasses,  A 
and  B,  were  taken ;  A  was  first  filled  with  methylated 
spirits  of  wine  and  then  rinsed  with  abundance  of 
water.  A  bottle  of  soda  water  was  now  poured  gently 
into  the  two  glasses.  The  inner  surface  of  B  was  pro- 
fusely covered  with  gas  bubbles,  but  not  a  single  bub- 
ble was  seen  on  the  surface  of  A. 

Experiment  2.  A  glass  rod  and  a  platinum  spatula 
were  dipped  into  A  and  B,  and  produced  abundant 
effervescence.  They  were  dipped  into  spirits  of  wine, 
rinsed,  and  again  put  into  A  and  B.  Not  a  bubble  of 
gas  appeared  on  either  surface,  except  above  the  points 
at  which  the  bodies  had  been  made  chemically  clean, 
and  there  numerous  gas  bubbles  appeared.  Indeed  it 
was  accurately  determined  by  the  formation  of  these 
bubbles  how  far  the  solids  had  been  dipped  into  the 
spirit. 

Experiment  3.  A  rat's-tail  file  made  chemically  clean 
did  not  liberate  any  gas ;  but  dried  and  drawn  through 
the  moist  band  (experiment  4)  it  liberated  gas  abun- 
dantly. 

In  like  manner  dry  iron  filings  (experiment  5)  that 
produced  effervescence,  did  not  do  so  idler  being 
washed  in  spirit;  when  thrown  wet  into  soda  water  tlie 
spirit  was  of  course  displaced  by  the  Uquid,  and  the  fil- 
ings were  wetted  by  it,  and  yet  there  was  no  libera- 
tion of  gas, 

A  wire  gauze  cage  (experiment  7)  fiill  of  air  was 
lowered  into  soda  water  and  there  was  no  escape  of 
gas  so  long  as  the  cage  was  chemically  clean ;  when  the 
cage  was  handled  with  dirty  hands  (experiment  8)  and 
put  into  the  soda  water  there  was  an  abundant  efferves- 


Experiment  9.  A  glass  rod  was  heated  in  oil  above 
300^  F. ;  then  wiped  with  a  duster  and  put  into  soda 
water.  It  was  instantly  and  completely  covered  with 
gas  bubbles. 

Experiment  11.  A  large  fragment  of  flint  was  brok- 
en into  two  pieces  and  put  into^soda  water.  .Q-as  was 
abundantly  liberated  except  from  the  two  new  and 


chemically  clean  surfaces,  and  on  them  not  a  bubble 
was  seen. 

Experiment  12.  A  narrow  tube  eleven  inches  long 
was  kept  in  spirits  of  wine  for  an  hour  for  five  inches 
of  its  length.  It  was  closed  at  top  and  so  lowered  into 
soda  water.  There  was  no  liberation  of  gas  either 
fi'om  the  tube  or  the  column  of  air  in  contact  with  the 
solution.  On  removing  the  finger,  the  solution  as- 
cended the  tube,  but  there  was  no  liberation  of  gas  un- 
til the  solution  touched  that  part  of  the  tube  which  had 
not  been  immersed  in  the  spirit^  and  from  this  gas 
was  liberated  both  from  the  outside  and  inside  of  the 
tube.  It  is  remarked  that  had  M.  Gremez  made  the 
inside  of  his  tube  as  '^  inactive  "  as  he  made  the  out- 
side, he  would  have  seen  that  the  column  of  air  had 
really  no  action  in  li!fbrating  the  gas. 


ON   THE 

UTILISATION    OF    THE    WASTE    PRODUCTS 
OF  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  COAL  GAS. 


BY  DR.  LETHEBY. 


(Continaod  from  page  127.) 

Looking,  therefore,  at  the  compositions  of  the  prin- 
cipal products  of  coal  tar  distillation,  it  may  be  said 
that  tne  crude  naphtha  contains  certain  alhaceous  oils, 
with  benzole,  toluole,  xylole,  cumole,  and  a  little  cy- 
mole,  besides  the  more  volatile  basic  compounds,  as 
pyridine,  picoline,  lutidine,  collidine,  and  a  little  ani- 
line, witn  from  2  to  3  per  cent.  o£  carbolic  acid  and  a 
httle  naphthaline. 

Light  ail  contains  cumole,  cymole,  and  the  other  less 
volatile  hydrocarbons,  with  a  large  amount  of  naph- 
thaline, and  the  denser  alkaloids,  as  coUidine,  aniline, 
toluidine,  and  even  a  little  chinoline ;  besides  which  it 
contains  from  10  to  20  per  cent  of  carbolic  and  cresy- 
lic  acids. 

Heavy  oU  consists  chiefly  of  hydrocarbons  which  have 
not  been  well  studied,  and  the  bases  which  have  a  high 
boiling  point,  as  chinoline,  lepidine,  and  cryptidine, 
with  small  quantities  of  cumidine  and  cymidine,  and 
from  7  to  10  per  cent,  of  carbolic  and  cresylic  acids. 
•  Carbolic  acid  (Ci«  HaOa),  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called 
phenic  acidy  is  largely  in  demand  for  making  dyes  and 
for  disinfecting  purposes,  and  it  is  mos%  profitably  ex- 
tracted from  me  li^ht  oil  before  it  is  distilled  for  ben- 
zole, etc.  The  naphtha  which  flows  over  between  300*^ 
and  400°  Fahr.,  and  which  has  a  gravity  below  900,  is 
best  suited  for  the  preparation  of  carbolic  acid ;  for  al- 
though there  is  much  acid  in  the  heavier  oils,  yet  they 
are  so  nearly  of  the  same  gravity  as  the  alkaline  solu- 
tion used  in  extracting  it  that  there  is  great  difficulty 
in  separating  them.  The  hght  oil  is  well  shaken  with 
about  one-third  of  its  bulk  of  a  solution  of  caustic  soda 
of  from  14*=^  to  16°  Twaddle  (1-07  to  i'o8  sp.  gr.)  and 
containing  from  5  to  7  per  cent,  of  alkali.  After  stand- 
ing for  some  time  the  oil  separates,  and  the  alkaline 
liquor  may  be  drawn  off  by  means  of  a  syphon.  This 
is  to  be  neutralised  with  sulphuric  or  muriatic  acid,  and 
then  the  carbolic  acid  floats  as  a  dark  brown  oil.  This 
is  the  crude  acid  of  commerce,  and  when  purified  by 
means  of  sulphuric  acid  and  careful  distillation  from 
chloride  of  calcium,  it  forms  the  camphor-like  sub- 
stance wluch  you  here  see.  It  has  a  peculiar  creosote- 
like smdl,  and  when  largely  diluted  with  water,  even  to 
the  extent  of  i  part  in  10,000,  it  has  a  sweet  taste.  It  is 
a  very  powerful  caustic,  turning  the  skin  white  and 


J 


1 64 


Utilieation  of  tJie  Waste  Products  of  Goal  Gas. 


quickly  raising  a  painless  blister.  The  specific  gravity  of 
the  pure  acid  is  i  '065.  It  melts  at  from  05^  to  98° 
Fahr.,  but  the  merest  trace  of  water  will  lower  its 
melting  or  congealing  point,  so  that  this  is  the  test  of 
the  quality  of  the  acid.  It  boils  at  369^  or  370^  Fahr., 
and  its  vapour  burns  with  a  sooty  flame.  If  it  be 
passed  through  a  red-hot  tube  it  is  decomposed,  form- 
ing naphthaline  and  other  hydrocarbons ;  and  if  it  be 
heated  for  some  time  with  ammonia  in  a  closed  tube, 
at  a  temperature  of  from  400*^  to  500^  Fahr.,  it  pro- 
duces aniline  and  water  thus : — 

CnH«0a+NH,=C,aH7N  +  2H0 


Carbolic  ftcU. 


Aailiiie. 


It  combines  with  alkalies  to  fom]L  salts,  but  the  com- 
bination is  very  feeble,  for  the  acid  is  set  free  by  heat 
and  even  by  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  atmosphere,  so 
that  the  common  preparation  of  it,  carbolate  of  lime, 
slowly  evolves  carbolic  acid  when  it  is  exposed  to  the 
air. 

The  acid  is  a  very  powerful  antiseptic  and  disinfect- 
ant. It  is  especially  destructive  of  the  lower  forms  of 
organic  life,  and  hence,  perhaps,  its  value  as  a  disinfect- 
ant. Several  varieties  of  the  acid  are  now  prepared 
and  sold  for  general  and  medical  purposes,  and  the 
experience  of  the  last  few  years  has  proved  it  to  be 
an  important  hygienic  agent.  Its  use  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  dyes  will  be  explained  directly. 

The  other  acids  of  coal  tar,  as  cresylic  (CMHeOu), 
phlorylic  (Ci«HioO»),  rosolic  (CaiHiaOe),  may  be  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  a  stronger  alkaline  solution  as 
recommended  by  Laurent.  A  saturated  solution  of 
potash,  added  to  the  mixed  light  oil  and  heavy  naphtha, 
and  then  treated  with  a  little  powdered  caustic  potash, 
will  produce  a  magma  from  which  the  unattacked 
liquid  oil  may  be  separated.  By  dissolving  it  in  a 
small  quantity  of  water  and  allowing  it  to  stand,  it  sepa- 
rates into  two  layers — an  upper  oily  layer  which  is  of 
no  use,  and  a  lower  layer  tv^hich  contains  the  tar  acids. 
When  this  is  neutralised  with  muriatic  acid,  the  crude 
acids  float  as  an  oily  layer,  and  may  be  separated  from 
each  other  by  fractiontU  distillation. 

IV. — Spent  Oxide  of  Iron. 
This  is  the  next  substance  in  order  of  the  purification 
of  coal  gas.  In  its  fresh  state  the  hydrated  peroxide  of 
iron  freely  absybs  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen  of  foul 
gas,  forming  the  black  sulphide  of  iron.  On  exposure 
to  the  air  the  iron  again  absorbs  oxygen,  and  becomes 
revived — ^the  sulphur  which  it  had  before  taken  in  as 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  being  set  free  among  the  parti- 
cles of  the  oxide.  In  this  manner,  by  a  succession  of 
foulings  and  revivifications,  the  oxide  becomes  so 
charged  with  sulphur  as  to  be  unfit  for  use.  It  then 
contains  from  35  to  57  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  the  average 
being  about  42  per  cent. ;  and  although  it  is  useless  at 
the  gas-works,  it  is  of  some  value  in  the  production  of 
oil  of  vitriol.  Special  furnaces,  however,  are  necessary 
for  its  combustion,  for  as  it  contains  about  20  per  cent, 
of  sawdust  it  is  not  capable  of  bein^  used  in  ordinary 
sulphur  furnaces.  At  Messra  Lawes  and  Messrs.  Hills, 
where  I  have  gpen  the  spent  oxide  largely  used  for 
making  sulphuric  acid,  the  furnaces  are  constructed 
with  very  long  flues,  for  the  purpose  of  completely 
burning  the  organic  vapour  before  it  enters  the  vitriol 
chamber.  Each  furnace  is  about  12  feet  long  and  18 
inches  square,  with  a  floor  of  fire-brick,  upon  which 
Hie  oxide  burns.  It  takes  about  2\  cwts.  of  oxide  at 
a  charge, ^and  it  bums  continuously  for  twelve  hours. 


The  air  is  admitted  by  a  ediding  door  in  ftxmi,  and  the 
gaseous  products  are  conveyed  from  the  fomaces, 
which  are  placed  side  by  side,  and  in  three  tiers  orer 
each  other,  to  a  common  flue  at  the  back,  and  this  is 
extended  backwards  and  forwards,  below  and  above, 
so  as  to  prolong  the  combustion  to  the  greatest  extent 
before  the  vapours  enter  the  vitriol  chamber,  for  if  the 
combustion  is  not  complete  there  is  a  con^derable 
waste  of  nitre  J  as  it  is.  indeed,  the  quantity  of  ni^« 
used  for  the  oxidation  01  the  sulphurous  acid  is  always 
about  half  as  much  more  as  is  required  with  native  sul- 
phur or  pyrites.  I  think  the  process  might  be  very 
considerably  improved  by  continuous  instead  of  inters 
mittent  burning,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  the  use  of 
sawdust  may  not  be  abandoned  altogether,  and  spent 
oxide  employed  in  its  place. 

V. — Spent  or  Refttse  Lime. 

This  is  generally  a  very  profitless  material — ^in  &ct^ 
the  blue  billy  from  the  wet  lime  purifiers  is  incapable 
of  any  sort  of  application  but  that  of  luting.  Dry  lime, 
however,  is  not  so  unmanageable  a  product,  for  if  it 
it  is  treated  properly  it  need  not  occasion  ofience ;  and 
when  it  is  well  weathered  it  is  of  some  value  to  the 
farmer.  Professor  Voelcker  has  inquired  very  folly 
into  this  matter,  and  he  states  that  it  is  useful  to  certain 
soil  on  the  following  account : — 

1.  It  improves  the  fexture  of  stiff  clay  soils  by  light- 
ening them,  and  of  light  sandy  soils  by  giving  them 
solidity. 

2.  It  neutralises  the  acidity  of  some  soils,  and  breaks 
up  the  organic  matter  of  soils  which  are  too  rich  in 
humus,  making  them  more  fit  for  the  sustenance  of 
plants. 

3.  It  acts  on  the  granitic  constituents  of  a  soil,  and 
sets  free  the  alkalies,  thereby  making  the  mineral  ele* 
ments  of  it  available  as  food  for  the  plant. 

4.  It  supphes  food  to  the  plant  in  the  fonn  of  sul- 
phate of  lime,  which  is  especially  usefiil  to  the  lego- 
minosffi. 

And  he  concludes  that  well  weathered  gas  lime, 
judiciously  applied  to  a  proper  soil,  is  most  useful  to 
many  plants,  as  clover,  sainfoin,  lucerne,  peas,  beans, 
vetches,  and  turnips ;  and  that  it  is  a  good  fertflizer,  for 
permanent  pasture,,  especially  if  the  land  is  deficient  of 
lime.  On  natural  grasses  the  best  farmyard  manure 
often  produces  but  uttle  improvement  until  a  dressing 
of  lime,  marl,  or  gas  lime  has  been  applied  to  it:  the 
latter,  more  particularly,  destroys  the  coarser  grasses, 
and  favours  the  growth  of  a  sweeter  and  more  nutritions 
herbage.  It  also  destroys  moss,  heath,  feather-grass, 
and  other  plants  which  are  characteristic  of  peaty  land. 
It  is,  therefore,  especially  suited  for  the  improvement 
of  such  land ;  and  so  it  is  for  the  land  which  is  deficient 
of  lime,  and  which  causes  turnips  to  become  warfy,  and 
be  affected  with  the  disease  called  "  fingers  and  toes."  * 
For  this  it  has  been  found  a  complete  remedy.  It  may 
be  applied  in  quantities  of  from  one  to  two  tons  an 
acre,  and  even  more  where  lands  are  very  heavy,  or 
are  very  peaty ;  and  the  best  time  to  apply  it  is  in  the 
autumn,  when  vegetation  is  dormant,  so  that  it  can  not 
only  weather  before  the  spring  returns,  but  also  act  on 
the  land  during  the  whole  of  the  winter. 

One  special  precaution  is  that  the  lime  should  nerer 
be  used  in  its  fresh  state,  when  it  contains  sulphide  and 
sulphite  of  calcium  in  such  proportions  as  to  be  inju- 
rious to  plants.  The  more  it  is  oxidised  the  better, 
and,  therefore,  when  it  is  drawn  from  the  purifiers  it 
should  be  covered  over  with  old  material,  so  as  to  pte* 


Oat,  18C7.       f 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  Coal  Gas. 


165 


▼eat  smell,  and  kept  until  it  has  lost  its  activity.  The 
fresh  lime  oontainsfrom  15  to  25  percent,  of  quicklime, 
with  a  large  proportion  of  sulphide,  carbonate,  and 
solphocyanide  of  caldum;  and  even  after  six  or  eight 
months  it  may  still  contain  a  notable  proportion  of 
quicklime,  with  from  20  to  30  per  cent  of  sulphate  of 
lime,  a  like  proportion  of  sulphite  of  calcium,  and  still 
more  of  carbonate^  in  which  condition  it  is  not  inju- 
rious to  plants. 

In  many  places  farmers  are  glad  to  have  the  material, 
and  will  give  as  much  as  2s.  a  load  for  it,  although  the 
common  price  is  about  i&  a  load. 

VI. — ^AOID  AND  OTHER  AsSORBElTrS  Of  AmMOKU. 

At  the  end  of  all  the  purifiers  there  may  be  placed 
the  material  which  has  been  patented  by  Messrs.  Sug- 
den  and  Maiyatt.  It  is  made  by  moistening  sawdust 
with  sulphuric  acid  slightly  diluted  with  water,  and 
heating  it  in  a  retort.  The  woody  matter  is  in  this 
way  charred  by  the  acid,  and  contains  from  30  to  45 
per  cent,  of  free  sulphuric  acid.  When  it  is  exhausted 
lij  being  charged  with  ammonia,  it  contains  40  to  60 
per  cent  of  salt  which  is  easily  washed  out  of  it,  leav- 
m^  the  charrea  sawdust  ready  for  another  charge  of 
acid.  The  material^  with  the  sulphate  of  ammonia  in 
it,  is  fit  for  conversion  into  manure,  and  is  worth  £5 
or  £6  per  ton.  Another  absorbent  of  a  like  nature  is 
that  used  by  Mr.  CrolL  It  is  made  from  the  spent  chlo- 
ride of  manganese  from  the  bleaehing-works  by  adding 
it  to  chalk  and  sawdust,  and  when  saturated  with  am- 
monia, it  contains  from  39  to  40  per  cent,  of  muriate  of 
ammonia,  which  is  easUy  obtained  from  it  either  by 
washing  or  subliming. 

These  are  several  waste  products  of  the  manufacture 
of  gas,  and  it  will  be  seen  that,  in  the  aggregate,  their 
value  is  not  inconsiderable  provided  they  are  utilized 
to  the  fullest  extent 

Coal-Tar  Colours. 

I  will  now  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  processes 
which  are  followed  for  the  production  of  coal-tar  col- 
oars.  Most  of  them  are  derived  from  the  naphtha 
which  is  sold  as  40  per  cent  benzole,  which  is  a  mix- 
tare  of  benzole  and  toluole  with  a  litUe  xylole.  The 
first  step  of  the  process  is  to  convert  the  constituents 
of  this  naphtha  into  the  corresponding  nitro-compounds, 
by  oarefully  mixing  it  with  ruining  nitric  acid  or  with 
a  mixtore  of  two  parts  of  common  nitric  acid  and  one 
sulphoria  The  reaction  is  very  violent  if  the  temper- 
ature is  not  controlled ;  but,  with  proper  management, 
the  three  hydrocarbons  lose  each  an  equivalent  of  hy- 
drogen to  a  like  proportion  of  oxygen  in  the  nitric 
add,  and  gain  tne  residual  peroxide  of  nitrogen. 
Thus:-— 

C„H« +HNO«=C„H  JJO*  +  2HO 

OmHs  +  HN0,=C„H,N04  +  2HO 

(Toloole.  Kitrotolaole. 

C„H,o  +  HN0.=0i.H,NO4  +  2HO 

Xylolew  Hltroxylole. 

These  three  nitro-compounds  constitute  the  dark 
amber-coloured,  oily  liquid  whic^  floats  upon  the  acid ; 
and  when  it  is  separated  from  the  acid  and  washed  with 
water,  and  then  with  a  weak  solution  of  carbonate  of 
soda,  it  constitutes  the  crude  nitrobenzole  which  is 
nsed  for  the  manufacture  of  aniline  colours. 

It  has  a  strong  odour  of  bitter  almonds,  is  heavier 
t2iaix  water,  and  is  very  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether. 


K  this  crude  nitrobenzole  be  submitted  to  the  action 
of  a  reducing  agent,  each  of  the  nitro-compounds  will 
lose  its  four  equivalents  of  oxygen,  and  gain  two  of 
hydrogen,  and  be  thereby  converted  into  a  correspond- 
ing alkaloid,  thi:^ : — 

CiaH5N04  +  6H=C,aH,N+4HO 

Kitrobenxole.  AnlUne. 

CmH,N04+6H=Cx41I»N  +  4H0 

Mitrotoluole.  Toluldine. 

C,«HbN04  +  6H=C».Hi,N  +  4HO 

Nltroxylole.  Xylldiiw. 

This  process  of  reduction  may  be  effected  by  sul- 
phide of  ammonium  (Zinin's  method),  or  by  the  nascent 
hvdrogen  evolved  when  zinc  is  treated  with  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid  (Hofmann^s  method),  or  by  acting  on  the 
nitro-compounds  with  iron  and  acetic  acid  (Bechamps* 
process).  I  show  you  here  an  experimental  illustration 
of  each  of  these  processes,  and  you  will  observe  that 
for  lecture  texperiment  the  process  of  Hofmann  is  the 
most  striking,  but  in  practice  the  method  of  Bechamps 
is  the  most  economioaL 

One  hundred  pails  of  the  crude  nitrobenzole  is  mixed 
with  nearly  its  own  weight  of  strong  acetic  acid,  and 
to  this  is  added,  little  by  littie,  about  150  parts  of  iron 
turnings.  The  mixture  is  generally  made  in  an  iron 
retort,  and  after  being  well  stirred  it  becomes  hot,  and 
soon  forms  a  pasty  mass  of  oxide  of  iron  with  an  acetate 
of  aniline  and  the  other  bases.  The  reactions  are  some- 
what intricate,  but  they  may  be  practically  expressed 
thus— > 

CHH4NO4  +  4Fe  +  aH0=CiaH7N + .(FeaO.) 

Kitrobenxole.  Aniline. 

And  the  same  for  the  other  nitro-compounds,  so  that 
theoretically  the  acetic  acid  should  ^t  indefinitely. 

The  mixture  is  then  submitted  to  neat  until  the  re- 
tort is  nearly  red  hot,  by  which  means  impure  aniline, 
etc.,  distils  over,  and  when  this  is  treated  with  a  slight 
excess  of  lime  or  soda,  and  again  distilled,  it  yields  the 
crude  aniline  of  commerce.  The  best  product  is  ob- 
tained when  the  distillation  is-  going  on  between  the 
temperatures  of  340°  and  380^,  for  as  the  temperature 
rises  to  626°  two  new  alkaloids  are  produced,  which 
Hofmann  has  named  j?arani7t«6  (C14  H14N2)  and  xeny- 
lamine  (CuRuK). 

Other  processes  have  been  suggested  for  the  produce 
tion  of  aniline  and  its  homologues  from  the  nitro-com- 
pounds; thus  Kremer  has  recommended  the  use  of 
finely  powdered  zinc ;  Wohler,  an  alkaline  solution  of 
arsenious  acid;  Wagner,  the  ammoniacal  solution  of 
suboxide  of  copper ;  and  Vohl,  an  alkaline  solution  of 
grape  sugar ;  but  none  of  these  methods  have  taken 
the  place  of  Bechamps'. 

The  crude  aniline  of  commerce,  which  is  a  mixture 
of  aniline  and  toluidine,  is  more  or  less  deeply  coloured 
liquid  of  an  amber  tint ;  it  is  heavier  than  water,  and 
it  acquires  a  blue  or  red  colour  by  various  oxidizing 
agentis.  A  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  turns  it,  as  we 
see,  of  a  bluish-purple  colour.  It  was  this  reaction 
which  suggested  the  name  of  hyanol — ^blue  oil  Acid- 
ulated witii  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  water  and 
strong  sulphuric  acid,  and  treated  with  peroxide  of 
manganese  or  peroxide  of  lead,  it  produces,  as  you  ob« 
serve,  a  rich  blue.  Chromic  acid  makes  it,  as  you  may 
see,  of  a  green,  a  blue,  or  a  black  colour,  according  to 
the  degree  of  oxidation ;  but  the  most  remarkable  ex- 
periment of  all  is  the  coloration  of  the  aniline  when  it 


1 66 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  Coal  Gas. 


\     ocL,ua, 


is  acidulated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and  submitted 
to  the  action  of  the  galvanic  battery.  At  the  platinum 
pole,  where  oxygen  is  evolved,  it  instantly  becomes 
bronze-green,  then  blue,  then  violet,  and  finally  red  ; 
showing  that  the  coloration  of.  the  jilkaloid  is  due  to 
the  nascent  oxygen,  and  that  the  tint  corresponds  to 
the  degree  of- oxidation. 

The  crude  aniline  dissolves  to  some  extent  in  water, 
but  it  is  more  freely  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether.  It 
readily  combines  with  acids,  and  forms  crystalline  com- 
pounds ;  hence  it  was  called  crystalline  by  Unverdor- 
ben,  its  discoverer.  These  salts  become  coloured  on 
exposure  to  the  air. 

^  The  production  of  colours  from  this  liquid  was  the 
remarkable  feature  of  the  Exhibition  of  1862.  It  dates 
from  the  year  1856,  when  Mr.  Perkin  discovered  and 
patented  the  process  for  making  a  rich  violet  from  an- 
iline by  means  of  bichromate  of  potash;  but  it  is  right 
to  say  that  several  chemists  had  long  before  noticed 
the  fact  that  the  salts  of  aniline  were  capable  of  pro- 
ducing rich  colours.  Ru^ge,  in  1835,  obtained  a  violet 
blue  by' acting  on  one  of  the  oily  constituents  of  coal 
tar  with  chloride  of  lime.  Five  years  afterwards 
Fritzsche  observed  the  blue  coloration  of  aniline  with 
chromic  acid,  and  the  like  thing  was  described  by  Beisen- 
hirtz ;  but  none  of  these  reactions  commanded  atten- 
tion until  the  year  1859,  when  Messrs.  Guinon,  Mar- 
nas,  and  Bonnet,  of  Lyons,  introduced  a  new  fast  purple 
under  the  name  of  French  purple,  which  they  obtained 
from  orchil,  and  which  became  a  favourite  and  fash- 
ionable colour.  Tho  mauve  of  Mr.  Perkin,  which  had 
been  for  three  years  before  the  public,  was  so  much 
like  it,  that  it  rose  suddenly  into  public  favour.  The 
year  after,  in  1859,  M.  Verguin,  of  the  firm  of  R^naud 
Brothers,  of  Lyons,  obtained  a  brilliant  red  from  the 
same  base,  and  it  was  patented  by  them  under  the 
name  of  fucTidnm  These  two  results  commanded  so 
much  attention  that  the  scientific  and  technical  world 
entered  very  earnestly  into  the  investigation  with  the 
view  of  discovering  new  processes  of  manufacture ; 
and  at  the  present  time  we  have  the  means  of  making 
almost  every  variety  of  tint  from  coal-tar  products. 
Most  of  these  dyes  are  called  aniline  colours,  but  in 
truth  they  are  produced  from  toluidine  as  well  as  an- 
iline, and,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  they  are  obtained 
by  processes  of  oxidation  and  substitution.  They  are 
generally  classified  under  the  heads  of  violets,  reds, 
blues,  greens,  blacks,  yellows,  etc. 
Violets. 

These  have  received  a  variety  of  fanciful  names,  as 
mauve,  violine,  rosolane,  iyraline,  insidine,  harTnaline, 
imperial  violet,  regina  purple,  etc.,  etc. 

The  first  of  them  was  obtained  in  1856  by  Mr.  Per- 
kin, whose  patent  is  dated  the  26th  of  August  of  that 
year.  His  process  is  to  add  equivalent  proportions  of 
diluted  solutions  of  a  salt  of  aniline  (generally  the  sul- 
phate) and  bichromate  of  potash,  A  eood  proportion 
IS  2  parts  by  weight  of  aniline,  2  of  bichromate  of  pot- 
ash, and  I  of  sulphuric  acid  of  English  commerce.  The 
aniline  and  sulphuric  acid  are  at  first  mixed  and  then 
dissolved  in  water.  To  this  solution  is  added  the  bi- 
chromate of  potash,  also  previously  dissolved  in  water, 
and  after  being  well  stirred  they  are  allowed  to  remain 
quiet  for  10  or  12  hours,  when  a  dark-coloured  sedi- 
ment appears.  This  is  to  be  collected  upon  a  filter  and 
well  washed  with  cold  water.  It  is  tiien  dried  and 
treated  with  colourless  coed-tar  naphtha  until  all  brown 
tarry  and  resinous  matter  is  dissolved  away.    After 


this  it  is  again  dried  and  boiled  in  successive  portiona 
of  alcohol  or  methylated  spirit  until  the  whole  of  the 
violet  colouring  matter  is  dissolved  out.  The  spirit 
solutions  are  then  distilled  in  order  that  the  spirit  may 
be  recovered,  and  the  residue  is  mauve.  It  amountB 
to  only  about  4  or  5  per  cent  in  weight  of  the  anUine 
used,  but  its  tinctorial  power  is  very  great.  In  this 
condition  it  is  not  absolutely  pure,  iJthough  it  ^is  suf- 
ficiently so  for  common  purposes.  To  purify  it,  it  must 
be  boiled  in  a  large  quantity  of  water,  and  the  solu- 
tion treated  with  an  alkali.  The  colouring  matter 
which  precipitates  is  to  be  collected  upon  a  filt«r, 
washed  with  water  until  all  trace  of  alkah  is  removed, 
and  then  dissolved  in  spirit.  If  the  spirituous  solu- 
tion be  evaporated  to  dryness,  the  pure  colouring  mat- 
ter remains  as  a  beautiful  bronze-Uke  substance.  It 
is  hardly  at  all  soluble  in  water,  ether,  or  coal-tar 
naphtha;  but  it  freely  dissolves  in  spirit  and  in  weak 
acids,  e^ecially  acetic.  Concentrated  sulphuric  acid 
dissolves  it  without  decomposing  it,  and  forms  a  dirty 
green  solution,  which  becomes  of  a  beautiful  blue  col- 
lour  with  a  little  water,  and  a  violet  or  purple  with  a 
good  deal.  It  is,  therefore,  a  very  permanent  bodv, 
although  it  will  not  resist  the  action  of  chlorine  or  nitric 
acid.  Reducing  agents,  as  sulphide  of  ammonium  or 
protosulphate  of  iron,  change  it  to  a  brown-coloured 
solution,  which  re-acquires  its  violet  tint  on  exposure 
to  the  air.  Like  most  of  the  aniline  dyes  it  forms  a 
very  insoluble  coloured  precipitate  with  tannin. 

Other  processes  have  been  patented  for  making  this 
colour;  thus,  Bolley,  in  1858,  Beale  and  Kirkham,  in 
1859,  ^^^  Depouilly  and  Lauth,  in  i860,  patented  the 
use  of  chloride  of  lime  with  a  salt  of  aniline.  These 
solutions,  when  used  in  proper  proportions,  produce  an 
insoluble  purple  precipitate,  whicn  is  the  mauve  of 
Perkin.  It  is  purified  by  washing  it  with  water  slightly 
acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid,  then  dissolving  it  in 
concentrated  sulphunc  acid,  reprecipitation  with  water, 
washing  it  with  water  upon  a  filter,  and  lastly  dissolv- 
ing in  spirit.  In  1859  Mr.  Kay  patented  a  process  for 
obtaining  it  by  adding  peroxide  of  manganese  to  a 
strong  solution  of  sulphate  of  aniline,  and  keeping  the 
mixture  for  some  hours  at  ihe  temperature  of  boiling 
water.  The  purple  solution  thus  obtained  is  to  be  fil- 
tered and  precipitated  by  adding  ammonia  until  the 
acid  is  neutralised,  and  the  precipitate,  when  collected 
upon  a  fiter,  washed  with  water,  and  then  dissolved  in 
spirit,  forms  the  violet-coloured  dye  called  harmaUiu, 
In  the  same  year  Mr.  D.  Price  produced  a  patent  for 
manufacturing  the  colour  by  means  of  peroxide  of 
lead,  instead  of  peroxide  of  manganese,  and  Mr.  G-re- 
ville  Williams  obtained  a  patent  for  permanganate  of 
potash.  The  year  after  (i860),  there  were  several 
patents  for  it,  as  Mr.  Stark's,  with  ferricyanide  of 
potassium,  and  Messrs.  Dale  and  Caro's,  with  perchlo- 
ride  of  copper  and  chloride  of  sodium. 

In  the  year  1861,  Mr.  Adam  Girard  observed  that  a 
purple  colour  could  be  obtained  from  aniline  red  by 
mixing  it  with  its  own  weight  of  aniline  and  exposing 
it  for  several  hours  to  a  temperature  of  350*  Fahr., 
which  is  a  little  short  of  the  boiling-point  of  aniline. 
The  mixtures  employed  were  equal  parts  of  dry 
muriate  of  rosaniune  and  aniline,  and  the  product, 
which  is  a  reduced  condition  of  aniline  red,  is  washed 
with  water  slightly  acidulated  with  muriatic  acid  until 
all  the  unacted-on  aniline  and  aniline  red  are  removed, 
and  the  pure  purple  remains.  This  is  dissolved  in 
spirit  or  acetic  acid,  and  forms  the  dye  called  Imperial 
purple.    In  the  year  following  (1S62),  Mr.  Nicbokcm 


CraacAi  Nkwb,  I 
06L.,  1867.       f 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  CocH  Gas. 


167 


obtained  his  patent  for  procuring  the  same  colour  by 
merely  heating  Magenta  or  aniline  red  to  a  tempera- 
ture of  from  390'  to  420'  Fahr.  The  substance  first 
melts,  and,  after  evolving  ammonia,  is  changed  into  the 
purple  which  he  named  Regiha  purple. 

.    Aniline  Rede, 

caDed  fuehsine,  roseine,  casaMne,  ra^anUinej  Magenta^ 
Sol/erinOj  and  other  fanciful  names,  are  conspicuous 
in  the  American  section  of  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  this 
year.  This  colour  was  obtained  by  Dr.  Hofmann  as 
nr  back  as  the  year  1843,  when  he  was  experimenting 
on  aniline  with  fuming  nitric  acid;  and  15  years  later 
Qn  1858)  he  again  obtained  it,  when  he  was  studying 
the  reactions  of  bichloride  of  carbon  on  aniline.  He 
found,  indeed,  that  when  3  parts  of  aniline  were  heated 
with  one  part  of  bichloride  of  carbon  for  some  time,  a 
resinous  mass  was  produced  which  furnished  to  alcohol 
a  rich  crimson  colour.  This  was  aniline  red ;  but,  as  he 
was  studying  the  reactions  for  other  purposes  than  the 
formation  of  coloured  products,  he  merely  noticed  the 
&ct^  and  put  it  upon  record.  A  year  after  Messrs. 
Verguin  and  R^naud  Brothers,  of  Lyons,  discovered 
and  patented  their  process  for  making /t^«tn6,  or  ani- 
line red,  from  aniline,  by  means  of  bichloride  of  tin ; 
and  thus  a  practical  value  was  given  to  the  scientific 
researches  of  Dr.  Hofmann.  Fuchsine  is  obtained  by 
heating  together  10  parts  of  aniline  and  6  of  anhydrous 
bichloride  of  tin  in  a  glazed  iron  vessel  for  15  or  20 
minutes.  The  temperature  should  be  about  that  of  the 
boiling-point  of  the  mixture  (392°  Fahr.).  At  first  the 
mixture  becomes  yellow,  then  gradually  more  and  more 
red,  until  the  liquid  mass  looks  black.  When  this 
occurs  it  is  allowed  to  cool,  and  the  mass  is  treated  with 
a  large  quantity  of  boiling  water,  which  acquires  a  rich 
crimson  colour.  This  is  the  dye,  and  it  may  be  used  at 
once,  or  purified  by  adding  to  it  a  quantity  of  common 
salt,  in  which  solution  the  dye  is  insoluble.  The  pre- 
cipitated colouring  matter  is  allowed  to  subside,  and, 
after  being  collected  upon  a  filter,  it  is  dissolved  in 
spirit,  or  acetic  acid,  and  so  forms  the  red  dye.  The 
process  patented  by  Mr.  David  Price,  in  the  year  fol- 
lowing' (1859),  was  to  act  upon  a  solution  of  sulphate 
of  aniline  with  peroxide  of  lead,  by  boiling  them 
together  in  the  proportion  of  one  equivalent  of  the  for- 
mer to  two  of  the  latter,  until  the  solution  acquires  a 
deep  red  colour.  This  is  filtered ;  and,  after  being  con- 
centrated by  evaporation,  it  is  again  filtered,  to  separate 
a  resinous  substance  which  forms  in  it.  An  alkali  is 
then  added  to  neutralize  the  acid,  and  the  colouring 
matter  is  precipitated  as  a  dirty  brown  powder.  When 
this  is  collected  upon  a  filter,  washed  with  water,  and 
dissolved  in  spirit  or  acetic  acid,  it  forms  a  beautiful 
red  dye,  which  is  fit  for  use.  Messrs.  Simpson,  Maule, 
and  Nicholson,  used  this  process  very  largely  until  the 
banning  of  the  year  i860,  when  Dr.  Medlock  com- 
mitted to  them  his  patent  for  making  aniline  red  by 
means  of  arsenic  acid.  The  process  now  followed  is  to 
mix  together  a  highly  concentrated  solution  of  arsenic 
acid  with  aniline,  using  the  latter  a  little  in  excess  j  a 
good  proportion  is  20  parts  by  weight  of  syrupy  arsenic 
add,  containing  76  per  cent  of  the  solid  acid,  and  12 
of  commercial  aniline.  In  this  manner  a  pasty  mass 
of  arseniate  of  aniline  is  formed,  and,  when  this  is 
heated  for  some  time  at  a  temperature  of  about  300* 
Fahr.,  it  intumesces,  and  at  last  forms  a  dark-coloured 
liquid,  which,  on  cooling,  sets  into  a  resinous  solid, 
with  a  bronze-like  lustre.  The  crude  colouring  matter 
thus  obtained  is  very  soluble  in  spirit  or  water,  and 


may  be  at  once  used  for  dyeii'g  purposes,  but  it  is  bet- 
ter to  purify  it  by  adding  a  slight  excess  of  slaked  lime 
to  the  aqueous  solution,  and  so  precipitating  the  colour- 
ing matter  with  the  insoluble  arsenical  salts  of  lime. 
The  mixed  precipitates  are  collected  upon  a  filter,  and 
the  colouring  matter  dissolved  oat  with  acetic  or  tar- 
taric acid.  Another  and  better  method  of  purification 
is  to  dissolve  the  crude  mass  in  dilute  muriatic  acid ; 
then  to  filter,  and  to  precipitate  by  adding  a  slight 
excess  of  alkali  (carbonate  of  soda).  The  colour  thus 
set  free  is  to  be  collected  upon  a  filter,  washed  with 
water,  and  then  dissolved  in  spirit  and  acetic  acid. 

Another  variety  of  aniline  red^  the  nitrate  of  rosani- 
line,  or  azaleine^  has  been  extensively  manufactured  in 
England  by  the  process  of  Mr.  Perkin,  and  in  France 
by  that  of  if.  Grerber  Keller.  Mr.  Perkin  heats  a  mix- 
ture of  aniline,  or  its  homologues,  with  dry  pernitrate 
of  mercury  for  some  time,  at  a  temperature  of  347* 
Fahr.  The  mixture  first  oecomes  brown,  and  then 
gradually  acquires  a  dark  crimson  colour,  during  which 
time  the  mercury  is  reduced,  and  settles  to  the  bottom 
of  the  foised  mixture.  On  pouring  it  otf,  and  allowing 
it  to  cool,  it  forms  a  solid  mass  of  impure  nitrate  of 
rosaniline,  which  may  be  purified  by  dissolving  in 
water,  and  precipitating  with  common  salt.  M.  G-erber 
Keller's  process  is  nearrjr  similar,  except  that  he  uses  a 
lower  temperature.  He  takes  10  parts  of  anih'ne,  and 
7  or  8  parts  of  dry  pernitrate  of  mercury,  and  heats 
the  mixture  for  several  hours  in  a  baUi  of  boiling 
water.  Messrs.  Dale  and  Caro  obtain  the  colour  by 
heating  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  aniline  and  pow- 
dered nitrate  of  lead,  and  tnen  adding  little  bj  little  a 
fourth  part  of  anhydrous  phosphoric  acid.  Other  pro- 
cesses have  also  been  patented,  as  that  of  Lauth  and 
Depoully  (i860),  with  nitric  acid;  that  of  Smith  (i860),, 
with  perchloride  of  antimony,  antimonic  acid,  peroxide 
of  bismuth,  stannic,  ferric,  mercuric^nd  cupric  oxides ; 
and  Gerber  Keller  has  claimed  almost  every  common 
metallic  salt  that  is  known.  As  might  be  expected,  a 
number  of  these  processes  are  practically  useless  and 
have  been  claimed  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  of 
anticipating  the  profits  of  future  discoveries. 

Aniline  Blues^ 

called  azaliney  Bleu  de  Paris,  Bleu  de  Lyons,  Bleu  de 
Mulhouse,  etc.  Soon  after  the  discovery  of  aniline  red, 
it  was  observed  that  certain  reducing  agents  had  the 
property  when  heated  with  it  of  changing  its  colour  to 
a  purple  or  blue.  Mr.  Charles  Lauth,  for  example,  in 
i860,  described  the  blue  colour  which  was  obtained 
from  ttzaleine  (nitrate  of  rosaniline)  by  means  of  proto- 
chloride  of  tin,  aldehyde,  the  natural  essences,  etc.; 
and  M.  Kopp  demonstrated  that  the  same  colour  was 
produced  from  aniline  red  by  means  of  wood  spirit 
But  as  none  of  these  colours  were  permanent,  they 
were  disregarded.  In  1861  MM.  Oirard  and  DeLaire 
procured  ttieir  imperial  purple  in  the  manner  already 
mentioned,  by  heating  equal  weights  of  aniline  and  dry 
muriate  of  rosaniline,  at  a  temperature  of  about  350" 
Fahr.,  for  several  hours.  If  the  purple  is  wanted,  the 
mass  is  merely  treated  with  dilute  muriatic  acid  until 
it  loses  its  excess  of  aniline  and  aniline  red,  but  if  a 
pure  blue  is  required,  the  acid  treatment  is  continued 
until  all  the  red  tint  is  removed,  and  a  pure  blue 
remains.  This  is  finally  dissolved  in  acetic  acid,  or 
methylated  spirit,  and  the  blue  dye,  called  Bleu  de 
LyonSj  is  obtained.  The  same  blue,  but  called  Bleu  de 
PariSj  was  procured  by  MM.  Persoz,  De  Luynes,  and 
Salvetat,  by  heating  a  mixture  of  aniline  and  dry 


1 68 


Utilisation  of  tlis  Waste  Products  of  Goal  Gas. 


1       Oct,l8iT. 


bichloride  of  mercunr  in  a  sealed  tube  fo^o  hours,  at 
a  temperature  of  356"  Fahr.  The  mass  when  cold  is 
dissolved  in  boiling  water,  and  the  colour  precipitated 
by  means  of  common  salt.  This  operation  is  repeated 
until  the  blue  is  quite  &ee  from  the  green  pigment 
which  accompanies  it* 

A  blue,  called  Bleu  de  Mtdhouae,  may  be  obtained  by 
the  process  patented  by  MM.  Gros-Renaud  and  Schoei- 
fer  in  1861,  and  which  consists  in  boiling  a  solution  of 
azaleine  (nitrate  of  rosaniline)  with  gum  lac  and  car- 
bonate of  soda  for  some  time ;  and  another  blue  named 
azvline,  has  been  produced  by  M.  Marnas  by  a  hke 
treatment  of  a  substance  called  peonine,  with  eight 
times  its  weight  of  aniline ;  and  the  residuum  is  puri- 
fied with  a  succession  of  solvents,  as  water  acidulated 
with  muriatic  or  sulphuric  add,  then  hot  naphtha,  then 
caustic  alkali,  and  finally  with  water  acidulated  with 
muriatic  acid.  The  azuune,  or  blue  colour,  which  re- 
mains, is  soluble  in  spirit  and  forms  a  rich  blue  dye. 
Blues  are  also  produced  by  the  action  of  numerous 
oxidizing  agents  on  aniline  or  ite  salts,  as  by  a  solution 
of  hypochlorous  acid  (Hofmann),  by  a  solution  of  chlo- 
rate of  potash  and  muriatic  acid  (Fritzsche),  by  peroxide 
of  hydrogen  (Lauth),  by  perchloride  of  iron  or  red 
prussiate  of  potash  (Kopp),  by  peroxide  of  manganese 
or  pernitrate  of  iron  and  hydrochloric  acid  (Scheurer- 
Kestner),  by  bichromate  of  potash  and  acid  (Willm) 
and  I  have  obtained  it  by  oxidising  the  sulphate  of 
aniline  by  means  of  the  oxygen  disengaged  at  the 
positive  pole  of  a  battery.  In  all  these  cases  the  blue 
IS  very  difficult  of  solution,  for  it  resists  the  action  of 
every  solvent  but  strong  sulphuric  acid.  Taking  ad- 
vantage of  this,  Mr.  Nicholson,  in  1862,  patented  a 
process  for  purifying  the  blue  colouring  matter,  by 
dissolving  it  in  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  and  then 
heating  it  for  half  an  hour  at  a  temperature  of  302° 
Fahr.  By  diluting  it  with  water  it  is  precipitated  in  a 
modified  condition,  for  it  is  now  soluble  in  pure  water. 
Dr.  Hofmann  ascertained  that  it  was  a  substitution 
compound  of  rosaniline,  in  which  three  equivalents  of 
hydrogen  had  been  substituted  by  three  equivalents  of 
a  hydrocarbon  called  phenyl  (OiaHft);  he  therefore 
named  it  tryphenylic-rosaniline,  and  this  suggested  the 
possibility  of  substituting  other  hydrocarbons,  as  methyl 
(CsH«),  ethyl  (GiH*),  amyl  (Ci«Hu),  etc.,  in  which  he 
was  successful  by  acting  upon  rosaniUne  with  the  iodides 
of  these  radicals,  and  3iu8  producing  ethyhc.  methyUc. 
and  amyUc  substitution  compounds  of  a  ricn  blue  ana 
purple  colour,  called  Hofmann's  blues.  Very  recently 
the  change  has  been  effected  by  a  more  direct  process 
without  the  aid  of  the  iodide,  but  by  heating  a  mix- 
ture of  aniline,  muriatic  acid,  and  methylic  alcohol 
under  pressure,  and  tlien  treating  with  iodine  and  chlo- 
rate of  potafih,  or  other  oxidizing  agent. 

Aniline  Greens. 

Most  of  the  blue  substances  just  described  become 
green  by  the  action  of  acids,  and  again  acquire  a  blue 
colour  when  they  are  washed  or  treated  with  alkaUes. 
It  has  also  been  noticed  that  in  certain  states  of  oxi- 
dation, aniline  acquires  a  green  tint ;  but  all  attempts 
to  utilise  this  colour  failed,  until,  in  i860,  Messrs.  Cal- 
vert, Clift,  and  Lowe  patented  the  process  for  produc- 
ing it  upon  tlie  fabric.  Their  process  was  to  prepare 
the  fabric  with  chlorate  of  potash,  and  then  to  print 
upon  it  with  acid  muriate  of  aniUne.  In  a  few  hours 
a  beautiful  bright  green  colour,  called  emeraldinej  gra- 
dually appeared,  and  it  was  fixed  by  merely  washing 
it  with  water.    If  a  blue  tint  were  required,  the  fabric 


was  passed  through  a  solution  of  bichromate  of  potssh, 
when  the  oxidation  of  the  aniline  was  carried  stiU  fur- 
ther, and  a  dark  indigo  blue,  called  azurine,  was  pro- 
duced. 

A  green  colour  may  also  be  obtained  by  heating  » 
mixture  of  two  parts  fuchsine  with  three  parts  strong 
sulphuric  acid  and  one  part  water,  When  the  solution 
of  the  fuchsine  is  complete,  it  is  allowed  to  cool,  and 
four  parts  of  aldehyde  are  added.  The  mixture  is 
again  heated  until  it  is  a  bright  blue  colour  without  a 
trace  of  violet.  It  is  then  treated  with  a  boiling  solu- 
tion of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  and  filtered.  The  residue 
upon  the  filter  is  to  be  boiled  in  water,  ajxd  filtered 
while  hot.  After  standing  24  hours  it  deposits  a  greeo 
precipitate. 

Aniline  Black, 

Several  prooessea  have  been  proposed  for  making  a 
black  dye  irom  aniline,  as  by  acting  on  aniline  with  an 
oxide  of  chlorine,  and  tlien  with  a  salt  of  copper ;  but 
the  colour  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  conunand 
attention. 

Aniline  Yellow ^ 
called  chrysanUine,  or  phosphine.  This  colour  was  first 
obtained  by  Mr.  Nicholson,  in  1861.  He  procured 
it  from  the  residuum  of  rosaniline  by  the  action  of 
steam,  wherebjr  a  dirty  yellow  solution  was  obtained. 
On  adding  nitric  acid  to  the  solution,  the  yellow  dye 
was  thrown  down  as  a  nitrate  of  httle  solubility,  and 
by  decomposing  it  with  an  alkali  the  base  is  set  free, 
which  either  alone  or  in  a  form  of  a  soluble  salt  com- 
municates a  rich  yellow  colour  to  silk  and  wool 

These  are  the  principal  colours  obtained  fi-om  anilme, ' 
and  it  may  be  of  interest  to  examine  the  leading  pro- 
perties of  these  remarkable  compounds.  At  firat  jou 
will  have  remarked  that  the  bases  of  nearly  all  the  ani- 
line colours  are  very  insoluble  in  water,  ether,  and  coal 
naphtha.  They  are  more  soluble  in  water  acidulated 
with  the  mineral  acids,  and  are  still  more  soluble  in 
acetic  acid.  Alcohol,  however,  is  the  great  solvent  for 
them.  You  will  Ukewise  observe  that  they  are  gene- 
rally precipitated'from  their  saline  solutions  by  alkalies 
and  by  common  salt,  and  in  this  manner  they  are  gen- 
erally purified.  Tannin  also  produces  an  insoluble  com- 
pound with  them,  and  thus  they  are  oflen  fixed  upon 
vegetable  fabrics.  They  are  endowed  with  great  power 
of  resistance,  for  they  will  bear  the  action  of  strong 
sulphuric  acid  without  undergoing  decomposition,  but 
they  cannot  resist  the  action  of  powerful  oxicfiang 
agents,  as  chlorine,  chloride  of  lime,  or  nitric  acid.  Be- 
ducing  agents,  as  sulphide  of  ammonium  and  protosul- 
phate  of  u-on.  destroy  their  colour  •  but  the  action  is  not 
permanent,  ror  on  exposure  to  tne  air  oxygen  is  ab- 
sorbed, and  the  colour  reappears. 

The  bases  themselves  are  not  generally  coloured,  but 
they  acquire  their  characteristic  tints  when  they  com- 
bine wiUi  acids.  I  have  here  the  colourless,  or  nearly 
colourless,  solutions  of  rosaniline,  mauvine,  and  aoiUne 
blue,  and  you  will  remark  that  directly  I  expose  them 
to  the  vapours  of  an  acid  (acetic)  their  characteristic 
tints  appear. 

The  tinctorial  power  of  these  dyes  is  remarkably 
great.  If,  for  example,  I  put  a  Uttle  Magenta,  mauve, 
or  aniline  blue  upon  paper,  and  then  shake  off  the  pow- 
der as  completely  as  possible,  there  yet  remains  suffi- 
cient to  give  deep  tints  when  I  blow  a  fine  spray  of 
alcohol  and  acetic  acid  upon  the  paper. 

The  affiinity  of  animal  substances,  as  silk,  wool,  feath- 
ers, horn,  ivory,. leather,  etc.,  is  so  great  that  the  dye 


QmnoAi.  NRva,  2 


Utilisation  of  the  Waate  Producte  of  Cod  Oaa. 


169 


jaatantly  combineB  with  them,  and  produces  a  pentoa^ 
nent  stain.  The  affinity^  indeed,  is  so  ^eat  that,  as 
you  will  here  see,  a  piece  of  flannel  will  completely 
absorb  and  remove  the  colouring  matter  from  its  solu- 
tion in  water.  Vegetable  tissues,  however,  have  no 
Aich  affinity  for  the  colour,  and  tiierefore  processes 
must  be  adopted  for  fixing  the  dye  upon  cotton  and 
linen  fabrics.  One  of  these  processes  is  to  prepare  the 
&bric  with  some  animal  substance,  as  albumen,  serum 
si  blood,  the  caseine  of  milk,  or  the  gluten  of  wheaten 
^our.  Advantage  is  also  taken  of  the  power  which 
tamiin  has  of  combining  with  the  colour  and  render- 
ing it  insoluble.  The  process  of  Messrs.  Puller  and 
Perkin  is  to  soak  the  cotton  tissue  in  a  decoction  of 
shumach,  or  other  tannin  material,  for  an  hour  or  two, 
jnd  then  in  a  solution  of  stannate  of  soda  for  another 
iiour;  after  which  it  is  dipped  into  dilute  su^huric 
acid,  and  is  then  ready  for  tne  dye.  By  tJbese  contri- 
vances the  aniline  colours  a«:e  made  fast  upon  all  kinds 
of  veget&ble  fabrics. 

'  Starch  appears  to  have  the  power  of  fixing  the  col- 
ours, for  if  shaken  with  weak  solutions  of  them  it  will 
Absorb  the  colour,  and  by  falling  to  the  bottom  of  the 
liquid  leave  the  solution  colourless. 

The  rationale  of  the  change  which  takes  place  dur- 
ing the  formation  of  the  several  colours  is  not  alto- 
gether clear,  although  .there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
essential  part  of  it  is  the  oxidation  of  aniline ;  for,  as 
J  have  already  stated,  when  a  salt  of  aniline  is  exposed 
to  the  action  of  nascent  oxygen  set  free  from  the  pos- 
itive pole  of  a  galvanic  battery,  the  characteristic  tints 
of  aniline  are  successively  and  quickly  produced.  At 
first  there  is  bright  yellow,  then  green,  blue,  violet, 
and  lastly  red,  as  if  these  were  the  successive  phases 
of  oxidation.  The  researches  of  Dr.  Hofmann  have 
demonstrated  that  all  the  aniline  reds  are  salts  of  a 
well  defined  base,  which  he  has  named  rosaniline  ;  and 
the  more  recent  inquiries  of  MM.  de  Laire,  Girard,  and 
Ghapoteaut  have  shown  that  there  are  four  such  bases 
entering  into  the  composition  of  coal-tar  colours,  as 
viotamUne^  mauvanUm^  rosaniline^  and  chrytoioluidine^ 
which  form  an  arithmetical  series  advancing  by  suc- 
cessive additions  of  OtHs,  thus : — 

Violaniline OseHiftKt 

UauvaDillne. . .  .................  OaeHnNfl 

Rosaniline * C40H19NS 

Chrysotoluidine «.,...  CasHsiN^ 

Each  of  these  bodies  is  produced  in  the  same  maimer, 

by  the  oxidation  and  removal  of  6  atoms  of  hydrogen- 

from  3  atoms  of  aniline,  or  3  atoms  of  toluidine,  or  3 

atoms  of  the  mixed  bases,  thus : — 

6  atoms  of  hydrogen  from  3  atoms  of  aniline  produce 

wokuiiUne. 

3(CiaH,N)  +  H.=:C„Haaf, 

\  y  *  \        .       .  y  .       / 

Aniline.  TlolanlUi^ 

6  atoms  of  hydrogen  from  2  atotns  of  aniline  and  i  of 
toluidine  produce  mauvaniline, 

2(C,.H,N)+CMH,N-H,=C»H„y, 

Aniline.       Toluidioe.  MaayftnlllBe. 

6  atoms  of  hydrogen  from  i  atom  6f  aniline  and  2  of 
toluidine  produce  romniUne. 

CiaH,N+ 2(C,4H»N)-H.=C4oH„N, 
'^      ^      '      *^     ^     '  ' 

Aniline.        Toluidine.  XoaanlUne. 

and  6  atoms  of  hydrogen  from  3  atoms  of  toluidine 
produce  chrysotoluidine. 


Tolut(ttne.  Gfaiysotolaidine. 

These  colour  bases  are  perfectly  homologous  in  all  re- 
spects, for  they  not  onhr  unite  with  acids  to  form  salts 
which  crystallise  very  freely,  and  which  have  remark- 
able tinctorial  power,  but  they  also  contain  within  them 
three  atoms  of  tynic  hydrogen,  which  may  be  replaced 
by  certain  radicjus,  as  of  the  alcohols,  etc. — ^methyl, 
ethyl,  phenyl,  etc. — ^forming  derivative  compounds  of 
like  basic  properties,  and  frequently  of  high  tinctorial 
quality. 

The  best  known  of  these  bases  is  rosaniline^  which 
in  its  anhydrous  condition  is  represented  by  the  for- 
mula 

but  which  always  contains  two  atoms  of  water  in  the 
hydrated  state  in  which  it  is  set  free  from  its  com- 
pounds, thus : — 

C4bHxJ^„2H0 

It  is  readily  obtuned  by  decomposing  its  salts — ^the 
aniline  reds — ^with  an  excess  of  alkali,  soda,  or  ammo- 
nia, and  in  this  state  it  falls  as  a  dirty  yellow  or  brown- 
ish-yellow precipitate ;  but  by  earenil  purification  it 
occurs  as  a  colourless  base,  which  quickly  becomes 
rose-red  on  exposure  to  any  acid,  even  the  carboni<s 
acid  of  the  atmosphere.  It  is  nearly  insoluble  in  water, 
slightly  so  in  ammonia,  and  very  soluble  in  alcohol, 
forming  a  deep  red  solution.  Ether  and  coal-^ar  naph- 
tha have  no  solvent  action  upon  it.  It  combines  with 
one^  two,  or  three  equivalents  of  acid  to  form  salts 
which  crystallize  very  readily,  the  first  of  them,  the 
mono-acid  salts,  being  remarkable  for  their  lustrous 
metallic  or  bronze-like  appearance  and  their  beautiful 
rose-red  solutions  j  these,  indeed,  are  the  true  colouring 
compounds,  the  most  important  of  which  are  the  fol- 
lowing : — 
Fuchsinej  or  muriate  of  rosaniline. ..... .C4oHi9N«,HCl 

Azaleine  or  MageutOj  the  nitratd 04oHitfNs,HlirOe 

jRosHne,  the  acetate C4oHioN^,H04Hs04 

It  was  the  last-named  salt  which  composed  the 
splendid  bron2se-like  crystals  of  the  crown  which  were 
exhibited  in  1862  by  Mr,  Nicholson.  And,  besides 
these,  there  are  sulphate,  arseniate,  oxalate,  chromate, 
tannate,  etc.,  of  rosaniline.  Most  of  them  are  freely 
soluble  in  water  Mid  in  spirit,  but  the  tannate  is  so 
insoluble  in  water  that  it  is  used  for  fixing  the  colour 
upon  calicOf  and  for  recovering  the  dye  from  very  weak 
solutions.  To  this  end  the  otherwise  waste  products 
of  aniUine  red  are  treated  with  a  fresh  infusion  of  nut- 
galls,  and  in  a  short  time  the  rosaniline  is  precipitated 
in  the  form  of  a  magnificent  red  lake  of  tannate  of 
rosaniline.  leaving  the  solution  quite  colourless.  This 
lake  is  soluble  in  spirit  and  in  acetic  acid,  and  may  b0 
thus  used  for  dyeing. 

The  salts  of  rosaniline  with  two  equivalents  of  acid 
have  not  been  studied,  aad  even  those  with  three  of 
acid  are  not  of  any  technical  value. 

Under  the  influence  of  reducing  agents,  as  sulphide 
of  ammonium,  or  the  nascent  hydrogen  evolved  from 
zinc  when  a  solution  of  rosaniHne  in  muriatic  acid  is 
left  in  contact  with  the  metal,  it  is  rapidly  decolorized, 
and  is  transformed  into  a  new  base,  which  Dr.  Hof- 
mann has  named  leiLcanUiae,  This  is  effected  by  the 
absorption  of  two  Atoms  of  hydrogen,  thus: — 
04«H„W.+2H=C4oHj,N. 

Itotnttino.  /  JjeucaniUne. 


I/O 


On  the  Ancdysia  of  Goat  Iron. 


{  ClXKinCAL  NCVL 

1        Oot,lM7. 


The  new  base  occurs  in  the  form  of  colourless  acicu- 
lar  crystals,  which  are  scarcely  at  all  soluble  in  water, 
but  freely  so  in  alcohol.  The  salf  s  of  it  are  also  colour- 
less, or  dazzling  white,  although  they  re-acquire  the  red 
tint  of  rosaniUne  when  their  solutions  are  exposed  to 
the  action  of  oxidizing  agents  or  even  to  the  air. 

Dr.  Hofmann  has  ascertained  that  there  is  still 
another  base  derivable  from,  or  closely  related  to, 
rosaniline — viz.,  chrysanUine,  It  is  procured  from  the 
residual,  or  waste  product  of  rosaniline,  by  the  action 
of  steam  and  nitric  acid,  as  I  have  already  described. 
It  contains  two  atoms  less  of  hydrogen  than  rosaniline, 
and  therefore  it  stands  in  its  relation  to  this  base  as 
rosaniline  does  to  leucaniMne,  thus : — 

ChrysanUine CioHitN", 

RosariilivA OioHisNg 

Leiicaniline     GfoHaiNt 

It  is  very  soluble  in  water,  and  it  forms  yellow  salts 
with  acids,  one  of  which,  the  nitrate,  is  a  veir  soluble 
compound.  The  solutions  of  the  base  and  of  its  salts 
communicate  a  splendid  golden  yellow  colour  to  animal 
tissues. 

Aniline  blues  are,  for  the  most  part,  substitution 
compounds  of  aniline  red,  the  three  atoms  of  typic 
hydrogen  being  replaced  by  three  of  an  organic  radi- 
cal. The  blue,  for  example,  which  is  produced  by  the 
action  of  aniline  on  a  salt  of  rosaniline,  is  a  compound 
in  which  the  three  atoms  of  hydrogen  are  replaced  by 
three  of  phenyl,  thus  :— 

Aniline  red,  or  JRoaanUine CioHisNg 

AnUine  blue,  TriphenyUe  rosaniUne  C40  ]  /n    tt  \   [^» 

And  its  production  when  aniline  is  heated  with  a  salt 
of  rosaniline  is  accompanied  with  the  evolution  of 
jimmonia,  disregarding  the  acid  of  the  compound, 
thus: — 

C4oH,.N,  +  30,aH,N=K34o  I  (c^H%  [  ^>  +  3NH, 

Other  substitution  compounds,  in  which  the  three 
atoms  of»  hydrogen  are  replaced  by  three  of  methyl, 
ethyl,  amyl,  etc..  have  been  produced  by  Dr.  Hofmann 
*by  the  action  or  the  iodides  of  these  radicals  on  the 
salts  of  rosaniline,  or  even  by  the  more  simple  and 
direct  process  of  heating  them  with  the  alcohols  of  the 
radicals  under  pressure.  All  these  compounds  are 
basic  in  their  dhiaracter,  and  they  mostly  form,  with 
one  equivalent  of  an  acid,  the  blue  colours  which  are 
known  as  Hofmann's  blue  and  violet,  and  the  violet  of 
Paris. 

The  other  bases  of  aniline  and  toluidine  colours  have 
not  been  so  well  studied,  but  it  is  very  probable  that 
the  reactions  and  the  general  properties  of  vtolanUine, 
mauvanilinej  and  chrysotoluidine,  are  very  similar  to 
the  preceding,  and  that  they  are  capable  of  forming  the 
like  reduction  and  substitution  bases. 


ON  THE  ANALYSIS  OF  OAST  IRON. 

BY  EDMUND  O.  TOSH,  PH.D. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  regnlar  analysis  of  cast 
iron,  I  have  exammed  some  of  the  more  important  pro- 
cesses for  the  estimation  of  the  numeroiis  substances 
which  make  up  its  constitution.  The  analysis  of  cast 
iron  is  one  of  the  more  difficult  operations  of  analytical 
chemistry,  and  to  ensure  accuracy  many  special  precau- 
tions and  much  extra  manipulation  are  necessaiy — not 
because  the  ingredients  are  of  themselves  dimcult  of 


determinatioTi,  but  because  the  quantity  of  iron  in  every 
case  preponderates  so  largely  over  that  of  the  other 
elements. 

In  comparing  the  merits  of  the  various  processes  one 
specimen  of  iron  was  used  throughout. 

Bailnuitloii  of  Oarl^n. — The  estimation  of  this  ele- 
ment as  it  occurs  in  iron  is  a  problem  which  has  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  many  celebrated  chemists.  Con- 
nected with  the  literature  of  the  subject  we  find  the 
names  of  Berzelius,  Earsten,  Wohler,  Q-ay-Lussac,  Reg- 
nault,  Oaron,  and  numerous  others,  but  notwithstand- 
ing the  labour  which  has  been  expended' in  this  direc- 
tion, we  have  not  arrived  at  a  method  which  does  not 
necessitate  a  large  amount  of  time  and  work  for  its  sat- 
isfactory accomplishment 

a.  lUgnauUs  method*  with  the  modifications  of  Bro- 
meiSjt  is  thus  carried  out.  About  two  inches  of  a  com- 
bustion tube  of  hard  Bohemian  glass,  closed  at  one  end, 
are  filled  with  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  chromate  of 
lead  and  chlorate  of  potash.  3  grms.  of  the  iron  tinder 
examination,  in  a  state  of  very  fine  division,  are  inti- 
mately incorporated  with  50  grms.  of  a  mixture  of  40 
parts  of  chromate  of  lead,  and  6  parts  of  previously 
fused  chlorate  of  potash,  and  introduced  into  the  com- 
bustion tube,  and  lastly  a  layer  of  chromate  of  leai 
To  the  tube  a  chloride  of  calcium  and  a  Leibig's  potash 
apparatus  are  attached ;  the  former  to  retain  traces  of 
moisture,  the  latter  to  absorb  the  carbonic  acid  formed. 
The  combustion  tube  is  cautiously  heated,  first  near  the 
open  end  as  in  the  conduction  of  organic  analysis 
When  the  mixture  of  the  iron  with  the  lead  salt  is 
brought  to  a  dull  red  heat,  the  metal  bums  with  in- 
candescence^ and  the  carbon  is  oxidised  to  carbonic 
acid,  which  is  absorbed  by  the  potash  solution.  At  the 
close  of  the  operation  the  mixture  at  the  extreme  end 
of  the  tube  is  heated,  oxygen  is  evolved,  all  carbonic 
acid  is  driven  forward,  and  the  last  traces  of  carbon 
consumed.  From  the  increase  of  weight  of  the  potaA 
apparatus,  due  to  carbonic  acid,  the  amount  of  carbon 
may  be  calculated.  In  this  way  Begnault  obtained  very 
concordant  results,  which  were  afterwards  confirmed  by 
the  experiments  of  Bromeis.  I  made  two  estimations 
by  this  process,  and  the  results  agree  well  with  one 
another. 

1.  3'240  grms.  of  iron  gave  0*462  gnn.  COi  equal  to 

3*886  per  cent  of  carbon. 

2.  3*8245  grms.  of  iron  gave  0*5605  grm.  COj  equal  to 

3*996  per  cent  of  carbon. 
I  have  reason  to  think,  however,  that  the  percentage 
of  carbon  indicated,  is  somewhat  too  low  in  both  cases, 
on  account  of  loss  of  carbon  during  pulverisation  of 
the  iron.  This  loss,  as  pointed  out  by  Morfit  and 
Booth,!  is  often  appreciable,  and  in  the  case  of  highly 
graphitic  iron  very  considerable.  With  this  one  ex- 
ception the  process  is  in  every  respect  commendable, 
and  where,  as  with  spiegeleisen  or  white  iron,  this  loss 
of  carbon  cannot  take  place,  it  strongly  recommends  it^ 
self.  When  instead  of  a  mixture  of  chromate  of  lead 
and  chlorate  of  potash,  chromate  of  lead  is  used  alone, 
no  very  reliable  results  can  be  obtained,  and  invariably 
the  amount  of  carbon  shown  by  this  method  is  too 
small 

b.  FresenitLs's  Met'hod,% — A  weighed  portion  of  the 
metal,  in  borings  or  chippings,  is  dissolved  in  dilute 
sulphuric  acid  by  the  aid  of  heat.    The  gases  evolved 

•  Ann.  d.  Ohem.  u.  Pharm.  xxx.  p.  352, 
.  t  Ann,  d,  Chmt.  u.  Pharm.  xUil.  p.  24X. 
!   ±  Chemical  Gaeeite,  vol.  xi. 

§  ZeiL  Anal  Chem.  \y.  69. 


OA,  186T.       f 


On  the  Anah/ds  of  Cast  Iron. 


171 


daring  solution,  consisting  mostly  of  hydrogen,  are 
passed  over  red-hot  oxide  of  copper.  The  gaseous 
hydrocarbons  are  burned,  and  the  carbonic  acid  formed, 
after  drying  by  chloride  of  calcium,  is  absorbed  by 
potash  solution  in  a  Leibiflfs  apparatus,  and  thus 
weighed.  Fresenius  states  that  m  cases  where  the 
percentage  of  combined.carbon  is  very  low.  this  process 
may  be  used  for  its  direct  estimation.  Wnere  an  esti- 
mation of  the  total  carbon  is  required,  the  matter  insol- 
uble in  the  dilute  sulphuric  add,  remaining  behind  in 
the  flask,  is  collected  and  burned  in  a  stream  of  oxygen, 
and  from  the  weight  of  the  resulting  carbonic  acid,  the 
amount  of  carbon  may  be  deduced.  This  quantity, 
added  to  that  obtained  by  burning  the  gases  over 
oxyde  of  copper,  gives  the  total  quantity  of  carbon 
contained  in  the  iron.  In  drying  the  insoluble  residue 
previous  to  combustion  in  oxygen,  an  elevated  tempe- 
rature must  be  carefhlly  avoided,  as  I  have  occasionally 
noticed  that  at  a  temperature  of  about  100°  C,  this  in- 
soluble matter  gives  off  a  strong-smelKng,  disagreeable 
vapour,  in  all  probability  a  volatue  hydrocarbon,  formed 
by  the  contact  of  hydrogen  and  carbon  in  the  nascent 
state.  At  a  temperature  of  about  So*"  0.  the  odour 
evolved  is  very  slight,  and  the  loss  inconsiderable,  but 
the  safest  way  is  to  dry  over  sulphuric  acid.  The  pres- 
ence of  hydrocarbons  in  the  graphitic  residue,  at  once 
shows  that  this  process  could  not  be  safely  applied  in 
the  present  case  for  the  estimation  of  combined  carbon 
directiy.  The  following  experiments  illustrate  the  same 
point. 

1.  1*42425  gnus,  iron  dissolved  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and 
gases  evolved  passed  over  oxide  of  copper,  gave  0*2525 
gmi.     CO,  =  0*4834  per  cent,  carbon. 

2.  1*62425  gprm.  iron  treated  in  the  same  manner  gave 
0*01625  grm,     COa  =  0*2728  per  cent,  carbon. 

The  insoluble  residues  in  both  cases  were  collected 
and  burned  in  oxygen. 
From   I  gave  0.1964  grm.      CO,  =  37612  +  0*4834  = 

4*2446  per  cent  carbon. 
From   2   gave  0*2319  grm.      OOj  =  3*894   +  0*2728  = 

4*1168  per  cent  carbon. 

The  deficiency  in  the  amount  of  carbon  in  the  gases 
in  No.  2  is  made  up  by  the  larger  quantity  in  the  in- 
soluble matter. 

This  method  requires  a  large  amount  of  time  for  its 
execution,  the  apparatus  is  somewhat  complicated,  and 
the  great  number  of  operations  which  the  carbon  must 
go  through  render  the  exercise  of  extreme  care  more 
than  usually  necessary. 

I  would  here  remark,  that  in  all  my  experiments  I 
found  the  perfect  combustion  of  graphite,  even  in  oxy- 
gfen,  required  a  very  high  temperature.  In  my  first 
trials,  I  sought  to  bum  graphite  at  a  dull  red  heat  in  a 
tube  of  hard  Bohemian  glass,  but  it  remained  almost 
unaffected  in  a  stream  of  oxygen,  I  found  it  most  con- 
venient to  place  the  graphite  first  in  a  platinum  boat, 
insert  this  into  a  well-glazed  porcelain  tube,  and  ex- 
pose to  a  full  red  heat  in  a  small  charcoal  furnace.  In 
a  gentle  stream  of  oxygen  the  carbon  is  perfectly 
burned  in  a  few  minutes,  and  the  resulting  carbonic 
acid  is  absorbed  in  the  usual  way  by  potash  solution. 

e,  Wohler^s  Chlorine  Process. — This  most  excellent 
process  is  carried  out  in  the  following  way.  A  weighed 
quantity  of  iron  contained  in  a  porcelain  boat,  is  placed 
in  a  hard  glass  tube,  and  is  exposed  at  a  dull  red  heat, 
to  the  action  of  chlorine  (first  dried  by  passing  over 
pumice  stone  saturated  with  sulphuric  acid)  till  no  more 
percbloride  of  iron  is  formed.    The  whole  of  the  carbon 


remains  in  the  boat,  whirh,  when  cool,  is  transferred 
into  a  porcelain  tube,  and  the  carbon  burned  in  oxygen 
as  before  described.  An  estimation  by  this  method 
may  be  performed  in  two  hours.  Care  must  be  taken 
to  have  the  chlorine  perfectly  firee  firom  moisture, 
otherwise  a  portion  of  carbon  may  be  lost  by  the  for- 
mation of  hydrocarbons.  The  results  given  by  this 
process  are  very  concordant,  as  the  three  experiments 
given  beneath  show. 

1.  1*001   grros.  of  metal  in  borings  gave   0*1595  grm.  of 
carbonic  acid  =  4*348  per  cent  of  carbon. 

2.  1*06775  grma.  of  metal  gave  0*171  grm.    COa  =  4*357 
per  cent,  carbon. 

3.  I '002  grms.  of  metal  gave  0*159  8?"°*    C^«  =  4*3^7  P®*" 
cent,  carbon. 

According  to  Max  Buchner,*  this  process  affords  re- 
sults as  accurate  as  those  obtained  by  Berzelius'  chlo- 
ride of  copper  method ;  and  Professor  Kerl  of  Clausthal 
states  that  in  his  laboratory  it  is  employed  almost  ex- 
clusively. 

d.  WeyVs  Galvanic  Method.f — This  very  ingenious 
and  beautiful  method  for  the  estimation  of  carbon  is 
founded  upon  the  fact  that  a  piece  of  iron,  attached  to 
the  positive  pole  of  a  galvanic  battery,  and  suspended 
in  hydrochloric  acid,  is  dissolved,  while  the  hydrogen 
is  given  off  at  the  negative  pole,  dipping  into  the  so- 
lution. Carbon  and  hydrogen  do  not  thus  come  in 
contact  in  the  nascent  condition,  and  the  formation  of 
hydrocarbons,  and  consequent  loss,  is  prevented.  A 
recommendation  of  this  method  is  that  the  iron  does 
not  require  to  be  in  powder. 

A  piece  of  iron  2  to  4  grammes  in  weight,  attached 
to  the  positive  pole  of  a  fiunsen's  cell,  is  suspended  in 
dilute  hydrochloric  acid,*  just  below  tne  surface  of  the 
liquid.  From  the  negative  pole  hydrogen  passes  off, 
while  the  iron  dissolves  quite  quietly,  and  the  strong 
solution  of  protochloride  of  iron  formed  may  be  seen 
falling  in  a  regular  steam  through  the  Ughter  hquid. 
The  iron  is  dissolved  in  about  24  hours,  and  the  carbon 
is  left  behind  in  the  same  shape  as  the  piece  of  metal 
firom  which  it  was  derived. 

In  Weyl's  earlier  experiments  it  was  found  that 
some  of  the  hberated  carbon  at  the  positive  pole  was 
carried  over  to  the  negative  pole  by  the  mechanical 
working  of  the  stream.  To  prevent  this,  a  diaphragm 
of  bladder  or  parchment  paper  is  interposed  between 
the  two,  which  entirely  obviates  the  possibility  of  loss 
in  this  way.t 

Weyl  recommends  that  the  piece  of  iron  should  be 
suspended  by  means  of  platina  pointed  forceps,  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  acid  does  not  reach  the  iron  at  its 
point  of  contact  with  the  forceps,  otherwise  after  the 
partial  solution  of  the  iron,  the  separated  carbon  inter- 
vening between  the  forcep  points  and  the  remaining 
piece  of  metal,  would  interrupt  the  galvanic  current 
and  the  experiment  would  be  lost.  In  my  researches 
I  used  a  small  platinum  sieve,,  kindly  lent  me  by  Pro- 
fessor Wohler,  in  which  I  laid  the  pieces  of  iron,  wholly 
immersed  in  the  acid,  and  the  action  proceeded  till  the 
end  as  well  as  it  did  at  the  conmiencement  This 
interruption  of  the  current  is  not,  I  think,  to  be  feared, 
as  both  amorphous  carbon  and  graphite  are  good  con- 
ductors of  electricity. 

Schnitzler§  when  examining  this  process  always 
found  that  a  small  quantity  of  hydrogen  was  given  off 


*Arf!HU.  nuUm-Zeiiunff,   Jiahrff.  a4 
t  Pogg.  Ann.  Bd.  JII.  p.  507. 
'  "^  gff.  Ann.  Bd.  126.  p.  617. 
' .  Anal.  Ohem,  b.  Iv.  p.  78. 


No.  la  p.  84. 


\^\ 


172 


Action  of  OMorine  on  Garhonaieof  SH/ver. 


\ 


OcL,  IfifT. 


from  the  piece  of  iron  during  solution,  and  attributed 
this  to  the  action  of  acid  on  small  particles  of  metal 
which  were  unconnected  with  the  main  piece,  distri- 
buted through  the  surrounding  carbon,  and  beyond 
the  influence  of  the  galvanic  stream.  If  we  look  upon 
.carbon  as  a  conductor  of  electricity  this  theory  does 
not  hold  good.  I  noticed  this  evolution  of  gas  in  all 
my  experiments,  however  dilute  the  acid.  Immedi- 
ately on  dipping  the  piece  of  iron  into  the  acid,  ^as 
bubbles  formed  on  its  surface,  showing  that  the  action 
had  commenced,  which,  for  my  own  p^it^  I  am  inclined 
■to  attribute  to  a  secondary  and  independent  galvanic 
action  between  the  iron  and  free  carbon,  either  pre- 
viously existing  throughout  the  metal,  or  liberated  the 
moment  solution  begins. 

This  evolved  hydrogen  possesses  the  characteristic 
odour  due  to  the  presence  of  hydrocarbons,  always 
noticeable  when  cast  iron  is  dissolved  in  acids  under 
ordinary  circumstances.  As  shown  by  Schnitzler,  a 
loss  of  carbon  consequently  ensues,  and  my  estimations 
iead  to  the  same  conclusion. 

When  no  more  hydrogen  is  given  off  at  the  nega- 
tive electrode,  showing  that  all  the  iron  is  dissolved, 
the  carbon  is  collected  in  a  small  funnel  stopped  with 
asbestos,  dried  cautiously,  transferred  to  a  platinum 
boat,  and  burned  in  a  stream  of  oxygen,  and  the  re- 
sulting carbonic  acid  is  absorbed  in  the  ordinary  way 
by  potash  solution.  Subjoined  are  the  results  of  two 
experiments : — 

I.  A  piece  of  iron  weighing  3*59125  gnns.  gave  0*5575 
grm.  COa=4*235  per  cenu  of  carbon. 

Z,  2*04075  grms.  of  iron  gave  0*30575  grou  CO«=4"o86 
per  cent,  of  carbon. 

Weyl  *  has  also  proposed  a  second  method  for  the 
Bolution  of  iron  without  the  evolution  of  hydrogen, 
which  consists  in  suspending  a  piece  of  the  metu  in 
dilute  sulphuric  acid,  containing  bichromate  of  potash 
dissolved.  The  carbon  is  unaffected,  and  when  most 
of  the  iron  is  removed,  the  residue  may  be  collected 
«nd  bnmed  in  oxygen.  I  have  made  no  estimi^on 
by  this  means. 

Of  these  various  methods  I  seLacted  that  of  Wohler 
for  the  determination  of  carbon  in  the  specimens  of 
iron  I  have  examined,  because  while  rec(»rding  results 
of  equal  reliability  with  any,  its  perfonnanoe  requires 
much  less  time. 

Arranged  below  in  a  tabulw*  form  are  the  amounts  of 
carbon  per  cent.,  indicated  by  the  various  methods,  in 
the  same  sample  of  iron. 

Cftrbon. 
F-  J  Per  cent. 

1.  RegnauU^B  combqstion  process 3.886 

2.  "  "        3*996 

3.  FreeeniuB*  method 4*244 

4.  *•  "      4166 

5.  Wohler's  chlorine  prooeas 4*34$ 

6.  "  "  •»       4367 

7.  "  "  "      4-327 

8.  Weyl's  galvanic  method 4*235 

9-        "         "  "      4086 


NOTE  ON  THE  CRYSTALLISATION  AND  THE 
SOLUBILITY  OF  PLUMBIC  CHLORIDE. 

BY  J.  CARTER   BELL,  r.O.S. 

The  various  manuals  and  dictionaries  of  chemistry  when 
speaking  of  plumbic  chloride,  fail  to  say  anything  on 

*  Togg,  Ann,  Bd.  «kztL  p.  617. 


the  phenomenon  of  its  crystallisation;  it  is  genera]]^ 
written  that  '^  it  crystallises  in  brilliant  needles.*'.  Thv 
state  of  crystallisaUon  only  occurs  under  obtain  con- 
ditions, for  if  pure  plumbic  chloride  be  taken  and  dis- 
solved in  boiling  distilled  water,  and  then  aJlowed  to 
cool,  the  chloride  does  not  crystallise  out  *^  in  brilUaat 
needles,"  but  in  a  sort  of  cuneiform  or  arrow-shaped 
crystals,  which  are  not  white  but  of  a  delicate  cream 
colour,  and  in  tiie  many  experiments  I  have  performed, 
I  have  failed  in  producing  white  brilliant  needles  by 
this  method.  But  if  the  solution  contains  free  hydro- 
chloric acid,  then  we  obtain  white  needle-shaped  crys- 
tals ;  and  according  to  tiie  amount  of  HCl  present  in 
the  mother  liquor,  so  will  the  crystals  vary  in  size, 
colour,  and  shape.  With  a  small  percentage  of  HC3, 
the  crystals  are  white,  and  £rom  10  to  20  millimetreB 
in  length ;  if  the  HCl  increases,  very  small  white  nee- 
dles are  obtained,  and  if  it  is  strong  HCl  of  i 'i  16  spe- 
cific gravity,  the  crystals  are  no  longer  needle-shaped, 
but  are  of  the  form  of  die  base  of  the  right  rhombio 
prism. 

Tlie  Solubility  of  Plu/mMc  Chloride, — ^A  pure  satu- 
rated solution  o£  plumbic  chloride  at  i6'5^C&ntigrade, 
contains  '9414  per  cent  of  the  chloride,  being  themeen 
of  three  experiments ;  the  addition  of  HCl  diminishes 
the  solubihty  considerably,  and  up  to  a  certain  point, 
which  I  have  not  yet  det^mined,  it  may  be  stated 
that  as  the  HCl  increases  the  solubility  decreases. 


of  PbCU 
Water  containing  i   per  cent  of  HCl    (sp.  gr. 

I'l  16)  at  i6-5*'0.  only  holds  in  solution ....  '3470 

41  "2  *'  ^  **  "  *20I1 

"  "  3  «  ««  <*  ««  '1656 

4  "  "  «*  »»  -1459 

.•1310 
•1078 
•1007 

10968 
•093' 


It 

II 

1 

u 

11 

u 

<l 

7 

« 

it 

8 

u 

u 

9 

u 

10 

A  saturated  solution 
chloric  acid  of  specific 
tains  2'566  per  cent,  of 
water  nearly  the  whole 
These  experiments  seem 
minimum  hydrochloric 
and  also  a  maximum, 
shall  make  will  perhaps 

Manchester,  July  29,  1867. 


of  plumbic  chloride  in  hydro- 
gravity  II 16  at  i6*s**C.,  con- 
rbCls,  but  on  the  addition  of 
of  the  chloride  is  precipitated. 

to  point  that  there  must  be  a 
solution  of  plumbic  chloride, 

Future  experiments  which  I 
decide. 


ON  THE  ACTION  OF  CHLORINE  ON  CARBON- 
ATE  OF  SILVER.  PREPARATION  OF  CHLO- 
RATE OF  SILVER. 

BT  PROFESSOR  J.   S.  STA8. 

If  oxide  or  carbonate  of  silver  suspended  in  water  is 
diffused  through  an  excess  of  saturated  chlorine  water, 
the  silver  is  completely  changed  into  chloride,  as  in  ihe 
case  of  oxide  and  carbonate  of  mercury  ,*  and  the  water 
only  contains  besides  the  excess  of  chlorine  pure  hype- 
chlorous  acid,  without  a  trace  of  chloric  or  perchloric 
acid.  The  cnlorometric  standard  of  the  liquid,  after 
the  chlorine  has  acted  on  the  carbonate,  is  almost  iden- 
tical with  that  of  the  chlorine  water  employed. 

By  passing  a  slow  current  of  chlorine,  with  confUaU 
cigitation,  into  water  containing  an  excess  of  carboiute 
of  silver  in  suspension,  the  first  action  is  identiical ; 


OtmiOAL  KlWB,  ) 


Action  of  OMorine  on  Ca/r donate  of  Silver. 


173 


latere  are  still  produced  chloride  of  silver  and  hypo- 
dkloroQS  acid,  but  this  hypochlorous  add  only  remains 
momentarily  free,  it  slowly  transforms  another  part  of 
the  carbonate  into  metallic  hypochlorite.  Indeed,  if  at 
the  end  of  a  short  time  the  current  of  chlorine  is  inter- 
rupted, the  agitation  being  continued  all  the  time,  the 
liquid  loses  the  chu'acteriBtic  odour  of  hypochlorous 
add,  but  preserves  its  ener^tic  decolorising  power 
because  the  hypochlOTlte  of  silver  which  is  formed  is 
veiT  soluble  in  water. 

Ifypochhrite  of  silver,  which  to  my  knowledge  has 
never  before  been  described,  is  sufficiently  stable  in 
the  presence  of  an  excess  of  carbonate  of  silver,  to  re- 
main undecomposed  for  several  days;  it  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, very  instable  in  the  absence  of  this  metallic  oxide 
or  carbonate.  It  haa^  indeed,  appeared  to  me  that  so 
long  as  the  solution  of  hypochlorite  of  silver  is  kept 
agiteted  with  the  caorbonate  the  liquid  preserves  its 
transparency  and  decolorising  power ;  if,  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  left  at  rest,  scarcely  has  the  carbonate  of 
silver  settled  when  the  limpid  liquid  becomes  opales- 
oenty  and  soon  deposits  large  flakes  of  chloride  of 
silver,  which  cover  with  a  white  coating  the  carbonate 
of  silver  at  first  deposited.  The  liquid  at  the  same 
loses  its  decol<5rising  power,  and  only  contains  chlorate 
of  silver  in  solution,  rendered  alkaline  by  a  small  ex- 
cess of  carbonate  dissolved* 

According  to  what  I  Have  here  shown,  it  is  evident 
that  the  chlorate  of  silver  by  the  action  of  chlorine  on 
the  carbonate,  is  the  result  of  a  secondary  reaction  of 
the  hypochlorite  of  that  metal  which  %  previously 
formed.  It  would  appear,  moreover,  as  if  all  other 
chlorates  were  formed  in  a  similar  manner,  but  this  is 
not  the  place  to  enter  into  this  question. 

The  successive  reactions  may  be  represented  by  the 
following  equations: — 

12CI  +  3Ag,0  +  3HaO=6AgCl  +  6HC10 

6HC10  +  3AgaO=3HaO  +  6  AgClO 

6AgC10=4AgCl+  2AgC10, 

I  may  say  that  argentic  hypochlorite  is  very  soluble 
in  water ;  indeed,  the  clear  liquid  containing  carbonate 
of  silver  suspended  in  it,  and  through  which  a  slow 
cuirent  of  chlorine  has  been  passing  for  some  hours, 
contains  a  considerable  quantity  of  hypochlorite,  which 
remains  intact  so  long  as  it  is  m  contact  with  the  car- 
bonate ;  but  the  excess  of  carbonate  employed  fixes  on 
itself  a  large  quantity  of  tins  hypochlorite,  or,  at  all 
events,  of  the  elements  of  this  salt.  The  fixation  of 
hypochlorite  on  this  very  slightly  soluble  argentic  com- 
|x>und,  results  from  two  facts  observed  during  the  four 
times  1  have  produced  chlorate  of  silver  by  the  action  of 
chlorine  on  the  carbonate  and  oxide.  The  first  is  the  im- 
possibOity  of  washing  these  bodies  after  chlorine  has 
acted  on  them  for  a  certain  time.  Whatever  care  is 
taken,  and  however  the  washing  is  effected,  the  water 
always  contains,  besides  the  carbonate,  a  salt  of  silver 
containing  chlorine  and  oxygen :  the  second  fact  is,  that 
the  carbonate  on  which  chlorine  nas  acted  for  a  sufficient 
time  to  produce  hypochlorite  in  solution,  will  still,  after 
waging,  ftimish-  under  the  influence  of  chlorine,  a 
fresh  quantity  of  hypochlorite,  much  more  considerable 
than  l^at  which  coiud  result  n-om  the  chlorine  used  in 
this  second  reaction.  Observation  has  even  proved  that 
the  greatest  production  of  soluble  hypochJorite  takes 
I^ace  when  two-thirds  of  the  carbonate  have  been 
already  submitted  to  the  decomposing  action  of  the 
chlorine. 

Hypochlorite  of  silver  is  the  sole  silver  salt  that  is 


formed  by  the  action  of  chlorine  on  an  excess  of  oxide 
or  carbonate  of  silver  suspended  in  the  liquid  and  kept 
in  a  state  of  continual  agitation.  Spontaneous  decom- 
position, or  decomposition  efiected  by  the  aid  of  heat, 
never  produces  the  least  trace  of  perchlorate  when  I 
have  operated  on  a  hypochlorite  rendered  slightlv  alka^ 
line  by  an  excess  of  carbonate  in. solution.  During  the 
passage  of  the  chlorine,  the  hypochlorite  which  is  formed 
may  be  destroyed  again  with  formation  of  chloride  of 
silver;  but  hypochlorous  acid  is  still  formed  under 
these  circumstances,  and  by  reacting  on  a  fresh  quan- 
titv  of  carbonate  or  silver,  a  double  quantity  of  hypo- 
chlorite is  reproduced. 

The  conditions  necessary  to  form  chlorate  of  silver, 
according  to  the  above  observations,  are  therefore 
these : — ^A  slow  current  of  chlorine  must  react  on  the 
carbonate  of  silver  (previously  treated  with  chlorine  to 
remove  the  alkali  which  it  may  contain)  suspended  in 
water  and  kept  constantly  in  agitation  until  the  chlo- 
rine has  attacked  the  greater  portion  of  the  argentic 
compound  employed ;  this  agitation  must  be  continued 
after  the  interruption  of  the  current  of  chlorine,  so  as  to 
change  the  free  hypochlorous  acid  existing  in  the  liquid 
into  hypochlorite ;  the  solution  of  argentic  hypochlorite 
must  be  separated  firom  the  excess  of  the  argentic  com- 
pound employed  in  the  first  instance,  so  that  the  hypo- 
chlorite mav  change  spontaneously  into  chloride  and 
chlorate.  The  foUowing  is  a  description  of  the  arrange- 
ment I  adopted,  so  as  to  satisfy,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
above  conditions : — 

Three  kilogrammes  and  935  grammes  of  nitrate  of 
silver,  free  from  foreign  metaJs,  were  dissolved  in  twenty 
litres  of  distilled  water;  the  solution  was  poured  in 
small  quantities  at  a  time,  into  an  equal  volume  of  so- 
lution of  carbonate  of  potassium  prepared  from  pure 
cream  of  tartar.  The  carbonate  of  silver,  which  was 
voluminous,  and  of  a  very  pale  yellowish  white,  after 
having  been  kept  for  a  long  time  suspended  in  an  ex- 
cess of  solution  of  carbonate  of  potassium,  was  washed 
by  decantation  in  the  cold  until  no  more  potassium 
could  be  detected  in  the  residue  left  by  the  washing 
water  after  evaporation  to  dryness.  To  arrive  at  this 
point  I  was  obliged  each  time  to  violently  shake  up  the 
carbonate  of  silver  with  water  in  a  closed  flask,  as  is 
done  in  a  silver  assay,  to  clarify  the  liquid:  Taking 
these  precautions,  the  washings  lasted  for  fifteen  days, 
repeating  them  several  times  a  day. 

The  thin  paste  of  carbonate  of  silver  (which  from  its 
original  yellowish  white,  had  become  of  a  beautiful  yel- 
low colour)  was  introduced  into  a  flask  of  45  litres  ca- 
pacity, covered  with  black  doth.  This  flask  was  fixed 
firmly  in  a  frame  attached  to  a  kind  of  stirrup  suspended 
above  the  ground  by  long  cords.  At  each  side,  and  at 
the  foot  of  this  stirrup,  a  string  was  fixed,  and  by  alter- 
nately exerting  a  tractive  movement  by  these  strings, 
as  strong  an  oscillatory  movement  as  is  desired  could 
be  communicated  to  the  flask.  To  the  neck  of  the  flask 
was  affixed  a  glass  stopper  pierced  with  two  holes,  one 
of  which  allowed  the  passaffe  of  a  glass  tube  bent  at 
right  angles  and  leading  the  dfilorine  into  the  liquid,  and 
the  other  admitted  a  glass  tube,  likewise  bent,  which 
allowed  the  escape  of  the  carbonic  anhydride  set  at  lib- 
erty by  the  decomposition  of  the  carbonate  of  silver. 
The  tube  by  which  chlorine  was  passed  into  the  liquid 
was  connected  with  a  chlorine  generating  apparatus,  bv 
means  of  a  vulcanised  caoutchouc  tube,  long  enougn 
to  permit  free  oscillation  of  the  apparatus  without 
exerting  traction  on  the  chlorine  apparatus.  The  vul- 
canised caoutchouc  tube  had  been  boiled  for  ax)  hour 


174 


Action  of  Ohlorine  on  OarhonMe  of  SUver. 


t      Oet.  1S87. 


with  a  ten  per  cent  solution  of  hydrate  of  sodium  to 
desulphurise  it,  and  was  then  washed  with  pure  water. 

The  apparatus  heing  so  arranged  I  allowed  a  very  slow 
current  of  chlorine*  to  pass  into  the  flask  for  an  hour 
and  a  quarter,  keeping  it  during  the  whole  of  this  time 
in  continuous  movement.  I  then  stopped  the  current 
of  chlorine  and  continued  to  agitate  uie  liquid  so  long 
as  it  exhaled  the  least  odour  of  hypochlorous  acid.  The 
apparatus  was  then  leil  at  rest  and  the  strongly  col- 
oured supernatant  hquid  was  decanted.  The  carbonate 
of  silver  was  then  washed  again  by  decantation,  the 
first  liquid  decanted  being  added  to  the  solution  of  hy- 
pochlorite already  separated.  The  carbonate  of  silver 
was  washed  as  long  as  it  was  possible  to  aficertain  by 
aid  of  the  spectroscope  any  traces  of  potassium  in  the 
residue  left  after  evaporating  the  washing  waters  to 
dryness. 

The  solution  of  hypochlorite  of  silver,  after  having 
been  preserved  in  darkness  until  it  ceased  to  deposit 
chloride  of  silver,  was  evaporated  to  dryness  ]  it  left 
31*819  grammes  of  a  white  saline  residue. 

The  washed  carbonate  of  silver,  in  the  form  of  thin 
paste,  was  now  introduced,  with  four  litres  of  water, 
into  the  flask,  and  exposed  for  two  hours  to  a  current 
of  chlorine,  the  agitation  being  incessant  the  whole 
time,  and  being  kept  up  after  Uie  current  of  chlorine 
was  stopped  so  long  as  the  mixture  smelt  of  hypochlo- 
rous acid.  It  ftimished  by  decantation  fi^ye  litres  of  a 
strongly  decolorising  solution,  which,  left  in  darkness 
to  spontaneous  decomposition,  yielded  on  evaporation 
58*237  grammes  of  chlorate  of  silver. 

The  carbonate  of  silver  was  now  washed  for  a  third 
time.  Already  in  the  first  washing  water  it  was  impos- 
sible for  me  to  discover  the  least  trace  of  potassium, 
hj  the  aid  of  spectrum  analysis,  on  examining  the  re- 
sidue left  by  a  whole  litre  of  Uquid. 

I  then  diffused  the  carbonate  of  silver  in  a  volume 
of  water  equal  to  that  of  the  liquid  decanted  off,  and 
for  three  hours  exposed  it  to  an  uninterrupted  current 
of  chlorine  with  continual  agitation.  After  the  cur- 
rent of  chlorine  was  stopped  the  mixture  was  kept  in 
agitation  for  half-an-hour ;  after  decantation  the  clear 
and  colourless  liquid  did  not  emit  the  least  odour  of 
hypochlorous  acid,  but  it  had  strong  bleaching  pro- 
perties. On  standing  it  deposited  large  quantities  of 
chloride  of  silver,  and  on  evaporation  yielded  72 
grammes  of  chlorate  of  silver. 

FinaUy,  the  carbonate  of  silver,  mixed  with  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  chloride  of  silver,  was  washed  for 
a  fourth  time.  Diffused  through  six  litres  of  pure 
water  it  was  exposed  for  six  hours  in  the  vibrating 
flask  to  a  continuous  current  of  chlorine.  The  hypo- 
chlorous acid  having  been  changed  into  hypochlorite 
of  silver  by  agitating  the  liquid  with  the  remaining 
excess  of  carbonate  of  silver,  I  left  the  Uquid  to  re- 
pose till  all  the  hypochlorite  was  changed  into  chlorate 
and  chloride.  On  evaporating  the  clear  liquid  with  the 
usual  precautions,  I  obtained  in  this  operation  23 
grammes  of  chlorate  of  silver. 

I  ceased  acting  with  chlorine  on  the  carbonate  of 
silver  because  the  salt  was  so  whitened  by  admixture 
with  chloride  of  silver  that  it  was  impossible  by  sight 
alone  to  distinguish  whether  any  were  present  or  not. 
Besides,  when  I  stopped  the  operation  uie  evaporation 

*  The  blnnxlde  of  manjEaneae  employed  in  the  preparation  of  chlorine, 
after  being  finely  powdered,  was  treated  with  dilute,  boiling  salphurio 
acid  &o  as  to  flree  it  from  the  nltro-ooinpoonds  which  it  always  contains ; 
it  was  thiru  washed  In  purt)  water.  This  treatment  Is  Indispensable 
when  ohfprlne  is  required  absolutely  free  from  chloride  of  azotyle. 


of  all  the  liquids  was  not  finished  sufficiently  for  me 
to  know  how  much  chlorate  was  formed.  On  the 
supposition  that  the  chlorine  had  acted  to  its  fullest 
extent,  I  ought  to  have  obtained  700  mmmee  of 
chlorate,  but  the  total  weight  of  the  sidt  left  on  evapo- 
rating the  four  decanted  Uquids  only  came  to  285 
grammes.  I  had  only  produ^  two-Bftha  of  the  the* 
oretical  quantity,  and  it  was  therefore  impossible  to 
have  obtained  any  perchlorate  of  silver. 

The  chlorates  obtained  in  these  operations  were  sab- 
mitted  to  the  following  treatment : — 

A  portion  of  Ihe  31*819  grammes  obtained  in  the 
first  operation  having  been  examined  in  the  spectro- 
scope, was  found  to  contain  much  chlorate  of  potaasiiun. 
I  did  not  therefore  purify  it. 

The  58*237  grammes  of  chlorate  from  the  second 
operation  were  dissolved  in  cold  water.  The  solution 
was  found  to  be  &intly  alkaUne.  Dilute  chlorine  water 
was  added  to  it  so  as  to  cause  the  alkaline  reaction  to 
disappear,  and  it  waa  then  boiled  in  order  to  precipi- 
tate tne  traces  of  chloride  of  silver  thereby  produced. 
The  perfectly  neutral  liquid  was  decanted  and  evapo- 
rated. Three  separate  crops  of  crystals  were  obtained 
firom  it.  Each  of  these  was  separately  reduced  to  the 
state  of  chloride  by  means  of  sulphurous  anhydride. 

A  current  of  sulphurous  anhydride  precipitates  sul- 

Ehite  of  silver  from  a  solution  of  chlorate,  and  the 
quid  contains  chloric  acid.  This  sulphite  of  silver 
only  passes  to  the  state  of  chloride  by  the  consecutive 
action  of  sulphurous  anhydride  on  chloric  acid.  During 
the  passage  of  the  gas  there  is,  however,  no  way  of 
telling  whether  the  reduction  of  the  chloric  acid  is 
partial  or  total,  whether  there  is  too  little  or  an  exoees 
of  sulphurous  acid,  and  the  amount  of  the  excess. 
Another  difficulty  is  occasioned  by  the  relative  slow- 
ness with  which  sulphurous  acid  reduces  at  o^O.  very- 
dilute  chloric  acid ;  and,  notwithstanding  this,  a  low 
temperature  and  a  great  dilution  of  the  Uquid  are  in- 
dispensable conditions  of  success.  I  have,  therefore, 
effected  the  reductions  of  chlorate  of  silver  by  means 
of  a  standard  solution  of  sulphurous  acid. 

I  now  return  to  the  three  portions  of  chlorate  of 
silver  obtained  fi'om  the  58*237  grammes  of  the  second 
operation.  The  first  portion  containing  the  least  sol- 
uble salts,  still  contained  potassium,  as  shown  by  spec- 
trum analysis.  The  second  portion  I  lost  in  an  attempt 
to  reduce  it  in  a  current  of  sulphurous  anhydride  gas ; 
the  third  part,  weighing  23*932  grammes,  was  reduced 
by  a  standard  solution  of  sulphurous  acid  at  o^C. 

The  72  grammes  of  chlorate  of  silver  produced  in 
the  third  operation  were  dissolved  in  cold  water.  The 
solution  was  opalescent,  and  appreciably  alkaline.  I 
added  carefully,  dilute  chlorine  water  till  the  alkaJine 
reaction  disappeared,  then  heated  to  precipitate  the 
chloride  of  silver  formed,  and  evaporat^  the  decanted 
liquid  over  a  water  bath  till  a  pelhcle  was  formed.  In 
order  to  obtain  the  chlorate  in  small  crystalfi  the  hquid 
was  cooled  suddenly.  The  mother  hquor  was  removed 
by  aspiration.  The  chlorate  was  washed  three  times 
with  ice  cold  water.  After  drying  over  sulphuric  acid 
there  remained  40*336  grammes  of  chlorate  of  silver, 
white  and  unalterable  in  the  Ught  The  washing  wa- 
ters and  mother  liquors  yielded  27*581  grammes  of  salt 
equally  white  and  unalterable  in  the  hght^  but  ditraor- 
dinarily  changeable  by  exposure  to  the  air. 

These  40336  grammes  of  chlorate  were  added  to 
the  salt  obtained  fi*om  the  123*500  grammes  yielded  by 
the  fourth  operation.  In  order  to  free  it  from  the 
perchlorate  which,   in   spite  of  every  precaution    it 


OeL,lWt.      i 


Technical  Education. 


175 


might  contain,  I  submitted  it  to  the  foUowing  treat- 
ment:— 

It  was  dissolyed  in  cold  water,  and  the  solution  was 
mixed  with  dilute  chlorine  water  until  the  Tory  slight 
alkaline  reaction  which  it  at  first  possessed,  had  dis- 
appeared. The  liquid  was  then  boiled  to  precipitate 
the  traces  of  chloride  of  silver  thus  produced.  The 
dear  liquid  was  then  decanted,  evaporated  over  a  wa- 
ter-bath till  a  pellicle  formed,  and  cooled  quickly.  The 
mother  liquor  was  removed  by  aspiration,  and  the 
crystals  washed  with  ice-cold  water ;  all  the  washings 
except  the  first,  were  evaporared,  till  a  pellicle  formed, 
and  tiie  same  treatment  pursued  in  their  case.  After  re- 
Ideating  the  crystallisations,  the  washings,  and  evapora- 
tionsy  I  succeeded  in  obt^ning  firom  the  123*5  grammes 
originally  taken  about  99  grammes  of  chlorate  of 
.silver,  which  I  consider  is  as  pure  as  can  possibly  be 
obtained.  The  mother  liquors,  which  I  carefully  kept 
separated,  yielded  pure  chlorate  to  the  last  trace.  The 
preparation  of  chlorate  of  silver  in  the  manner  above 
described,  I  consider  to  be  the  most  laborious  and 
delicate  operation  which  can  be  performed  in  analytical 
researches. 


TECHNICAL  EDUCATION. 

The  subject  of  Technical  Education  has  recently  at- 
tracted attention  in  this  country,  owing  to  the  evidence 
considered  to  be  afforded  by  the  International  Exhibi- 
tion at  Paris,  of  the  inferior  rate  of  progress  recently 
made  in  manufacturing  and  mechanicaJ  industry  in 
England,  compared  with  that  made  in  other  European 
countries.  It  has  been  stated  that  this  alleged  infe- 
riority is  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  want  of  tech- 
nical education,  and  steps  have,  therefore,  been  taken 
to  ascertain  from  many  eminent  English  jurors  whether 
th^  agree  with  this  opinion. 

We  have  been  favoured  with  an  early  correspond- 
ence which  has  taken  place  on  this  subject^  and  we 
think  we  shall  be  doing  good  service  to  the  cause  of 
education  by  laying  an  abstract  of  some  of  the  letters 
before  the  readers  of  the  Chemioal  N£w&  The  inquiry 
originated  in  a  letter  from  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair  to  Lord 
Taunton,  Chairman  of  the  Schools  Inquiry  Commis- 
sion. In  it  he  states  that,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
a  singular  accordance  of  opinion  prevails  that  our 
country  has  shown  Uttle  inventiveness,  and  made 
but  htUe  progress  in  the  peaceful  arts  of  industir  since 
1862.  When  he  found  some  of  our  chief  medfianical 
and  civil  engineers  lamenting  the  want  of  progress  in 
their  industries,  and  pointing  to  the  wonderM  advances 
which  other  nations  are  making ;  when  he  found  our 
chemical,  and  even  textile,  manufacturers  uttering  sim- 
ilar oompiuints,  he  naturally  devoted  attention  to  eUcit 
their  views  as  to  the  causes.  So  far  as  could  be  gath- 
ered by  conversation,  the  one  cause  upon  which  there 
was  most  unanimity  of  conviction  was  that  France, 
Prussia,  Austria,  Belgium,  and  Switzerland  possess 
good  systems  of  industrial  education  for  the  masters 
and  managers  of  factories  and  workshops,  and  that 
England  possesses  none.  A  second  cause  was  also 
generally,  though  not  so  universally  admitted,  that  we 
had  safifered  from  the  want  of  cordiality  between  the 
employers  of  labour  and  workmen,  engendered  by  the 
numerous  strikes,  and  more  particularly  by  that  rule 
of  many  trades'  unions,  that  men  shall  work  upon  an 
average  ability,  without  giving  free  scope  to  the  skill 
and  ability  which  they  mc^  individually  possess.    Du- 


mas asserts  that  technical  education  had  given  a  great 
impulse  to  the  industry  of  France.  In  going  through 
the  Exhibition,  whenever  anything  exceUent  in  French 
manufacture  struck  his  attention,  his  invariable  ques- 
tion was,  "  Was  the  manager  of  this  establishment  a 
pupil  of  the  EcoU  Centrals  des  Arts  et  Mofnufactwes  f  " 
and  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  he  received  a  reply 
in  the  affirmative.  Gkneral  Morin,«so  well  known  as 
the  director  of  ih»  Conservatoire  aes  Arts  et  Metiers, 
has  lately  sat  on  a  commission  to  examine  into  the 
state  of  technical  education  in  other  countries,  and  to 
extend  it  in  France,  and  their  recommendations  are 
likely  to  be  promptly  and  largely  acted  upon.  Gen- 
eral Morin  was  of  opinion  thajb  the  best  system  for  the 
technical  education  of  workmen  is  to  be  found  in  Aus- 
tria, tHough  the  higher  instruction  of  masters  and 
managers  is  better  Ulustrated  in  France,  Prussia,  and 
Switzerland. 

In  1853  Dr.  Playfair  published  a  little  work  on  "  In- 
dustrial Education  on  the  Continent,"  in  which  he 
pointed  out  that  ^  an  inevitable  result  of  the  attention 
given  to  it  abroad,  and  its  neglect  in  England,  other 
nations  must  advance  in  industry  at  a  much  greater 
rate  than  our  own  country.  It  is  feared  that  mis  re- 
sult is  already  attained  for  many  of  our  staple  indus- 
tries, and  the  writer  concludes  his  eloquently  written 
letter  by  urging  upon  the  Government  to  hoM  an 
official  inquiry  on  this  subject,  and  tell  the  people  of 
England  authoritatively  what  are  the  means  by  which 
the  great  States  are  attaining  an  intellectual  pre-emi- 
nence among  the  industrial  classes,  and  how  they  are 
making  this  to  bear  on  the  rapid  progress  of  their  na- 
tional mdustries. 

This  letter  was  considered  so  important  that  copies 
of  it  were  sent  to  a  great  number  of  eminent  En^lidi 
jurors,  with  a  request  that  they  would  communicate 
their  views  on  the  subject. 

We  extract  from  the  numerous  answers  the  follow- 
ing opinions,  which  more  particularly  bear  on  chemi- 
cal and  physical  education : — 

Pbofessor  Ttndall,  F.R.S.,  expresses  a  general  con- 
currence in  the  views  of  Dr.  Playfair.  The  facihties 
for  scientific  education  are  far  greater  on  the  Conti- 
nent than  in  England,  and  where  such  differences  ex- 
ist, England  is  sure  to  fall  behind  as  regards  those 
industries  into  which  the  scientific  element  enters. 

He  has  long  entertained  the  opinion,  that  in  virtue 
of  the  better  education  provided  by  tontinental  na- 
tions, England  must  one  day — and  that  no  distant  one 
— find  herself  outstripped  by  those  nations,  both  in  the 
arts  of  peace  and  war.  As  sure  as  knowledge  is  power 
this  must  be  the  result 

Dr.  Fhakkland,  F.RS.,  says  that  Dr.  Playfair*s  com- 
munication substantially  expresses  his  own  convictions 
in  regard  to  the  matters  therein  mentioned.  As  a  juror 
in  class  44  of  the  present  Paris  Exhibition,  he  was  not 
only  forcibly  struck  by  the  want  of  evidence  of  prog- 
ress in  the  different  branches  of  chemical  manufac- 
tures carried  on  in  G-reat  Britain,  but  still  more  so  at 
the  great  advances  made  by  other  nations,  more  espe- 
cially by  (Germany,  France,  and  Switzerland,  in  respect 
of  such  manufactures  since  the  year  1862,  when,  as  a 
juror  in  the  corresponding  class,  he  had  also  an  oppor- 
tunity of  comparing  the  chemical  manufactures  of  dif- 
ferent nations.  He  refers  this  want  of  progress  in  the 
manufactures  of  this  country  chiefly  to  the  ^most  utter 
lack  of  a  good  preparatory  education  for  those  destined 
to  take  part  in  industrial  pursuits.  This  great  defect 
in  the  school  and  college  education  of  England  affects 


176 


TeohfhtGal  JEdueaiion, 


1     ot^^tsa. 


the  masters  and  managers  of  our  factories  eren  more 
deeply  than  the  workmen  themselves*  The  former 
have  but  rarely  had  any  opportunities  of  making  them- 
selves acquainted  with  the  fundamental  laws  and  prin- 
ciples of  physics  and  diemistry ;  they  therefore  fjid 
themselves  engaged  in  pursuits  for  which  their  pre- 
vious education  has  affonied  them  no  preparation,  and 
hence  their  inability  to  originate  inventions  and  im- 
provements. It  is  true  that  such  men  not  unfrequently 
miagine  themselves  inventors,  and  the  yearly  files  of 
patent  specifications  abound  with  instances  of  their  so- 
called  inventions.  The  great  loss  of  time  and  money 
attending  these  fiitile  patents  would  be  rendered  im- 
possible by  a  very  moderate,  if  accurate,  knowledge  of 
chemical  and  physical  science. 

In  the  polytechnic  schools  of  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land the  future  manufacturer  or  manager  is  made  fami- 
liar with  those  laws  and  applications  of  the  great  natu- 
ral forces  which  must  always  form  the  basis  of  every 
intelligent  and  progressive  industry.  It  seems  that  at 
length  this  superiority  in  previous  J^raining  is  more 
than  counterbalancing  the  undoubted  advantages  which 
this  country  possesses  in  raw  material. 

Dr.  David  S.  Price  considers  that  as  far  as  relates 
to  chemical  products,  the  exhibition  made  by  Great 
Britain  is  a  '^deficient  representation,"  and  will  not 
enable  foreigners  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  na- 
ture and  extent  of  chemical  manufactures  now  carried 
on  in  this  country ;  what  is  shown  in  class  44  is,  as  a 
rule,  injudiciously  exhibited,  contrasting  painfnly  with 
the  taste  and  spirit  evinced  by  the  French  in  their 
arrangements  in  the  same  class. 

The  writer's  conviction  is  that  it  is  most  important 
that  these  international  competitions  should  not  be 
allowed  to  degenerate  into  a  means  for  advertising,  and 
that  it  behoves  those  who  are  intrusted  with  their  or- 
ganisation to  see  that  the  several  departments  of  indus- 
try are  intrusted  to  men  who  take  sn  active  interest 
in  them,  and  are  thus  a  guarantee  that  every  endeav- 
our will  be  made  to  have  them  fidrly  and  properly 
represented,  which  is  not  the  ease  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, so  far  at  least  as  refers  to  classes  40  and  44. 

He  does  not  affree  with  Dr.  Play&ir  that  the  tech- 
nical education  of  working  men  is  the  most  important 
method  for  the  maintenance  of  our  industrial  suprem- 
acy. The  information  gleaned  by  acting  upon  his  sug- 
gestion would  be  instructive,  and  great  good  would 
result  fi*om  its  application ;  but  what  is  really  wanted 
for  this  country,  and  is  of  vital  consequence  to  our 
future  prosperity,  is  a  higher  scientific  culture  of  those 
who  are  likely,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  to  be 
master  manufacturers,  so  that  when  discoveries  are 
made  they  may  fructify  and  not  stagnate  or  decay,  as 
has  too  often  been  the  case,  for  want  of  intelligence 
on  the  part  of  those  who  command  capital  and  works 
to  perceive  their  merits;  and  that  they,  the  manu&c- 
turers,  may  be  able  to  appreciate  and  adequately  remu- 
nerate the  scientific  talent  that  this  country  is,  and 
always  will  be,  able  to  afibrd  them.  No  reformation 
bearing  upon  industrial  progress  is  more  required  than 
in  the  Legislature,  and  it  is  a  reproach  to  the  country 
that  science  is  not  represented  in  Pariiament. 

It  would  be  well  if  an  investigation  were  made  as  to 
what  have  been  the  results  of  the  teachings  in  science 
of  the  Q«rman  universities;  what  Liebig  has  done  for 
modem  chemistry,  and  how  the  system  inaugurated  by 
him  at  the  small  University  of  Giessen  has  spread 
throughout  the  world,  and  what  benefits  have  resulted 
fit>m  it ;  what  we  owe  to  the  teachings  of  other  cheni- 


istSy  the  physicists,  metallargists,  and  geologisls  of 
those  excellent  seats  of  learning.  Whilst  advocating 
the  necessity  for  the  dissemination  of  scientific  training 
in  England,  Dr.  Price  does  not  omit  to  bestow  a  pass- 
ing tribute  of  commendation  to  the  success  of  those 
institutions  of  recent  date  which  were  established  to 
supply  a  want  that  existed  many  years  since  >— the- 
Royal  College  of  Chemistry,  of  wnich  the  late  Prinoe 
Consort  was  the  President)  the  School  of  Mines,  and 
the  colleges  in  the  metropolis  where  scientific  depart- 
ments have  been  founded.  In  the  first  named,  many 
of  the  men  who  have  taught,  and  not  a  few  of  those 
who  haive  studied  there,  hAve  not  only  enriched  chexo- 
ieal  science  by  their  researches,  but  have  left  a  perma- 
nent mark  upon  the  leading  industries  of  this  countiy. 
From  the  School  of  Mines  have  emanated  men  who  in 
metallurgy  and  geolo^  have  greatly  extended  the  n»- 
plication  of  those  sciences.  It  is,  however,  a  wdl- 
known  £ftct  that  the  public  do  not  rightly  appreciate 
the  education  that  this  institution  is  capable  of  affording, 
and  that  comparatively  but  few  of  the  sons  of  manufiM- 
turers  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages. 

The  writer  calls  particular  attention  to  a  plan  pro- 
posed by  the  eminent  chemist,  Fr^my,  that  young 
chemists  of  talent,  who  are  desirous  of  devoting  their 
time  to  the  advancement  of  science,  and  therefore  for 
the  benefit  of  mankind,  should  be  liberally  supported 
by  the  State.  It  is  su^rested  that  this  excellent  idea 
should  be  brought  to  me  notice  of  the  Chancellor  of 
the  University  of  London^  who  from  his  well-known 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  from  his  position,  is 
better  able  than  any  one  else  to  obtain  the  evidence  of 
scientific  men  as  to  its  value,  and,  if  approved  of)  to 
secure  its  adoption  in  this  country.  The  same  prin- 
ciple might  well  be  extended  to  the  other  departments 
of  science  which  bear  upon  industrial  progress. 

The  author's  firm  belief  is  that  extended  scientific 
education  is  of  the  highest  consequence  to  us  if  we 
wish  to  retain  our  present  position  in  the  scale  of  na- 
tions ;  that  it  will  mostly  benefit  the  fnture  master  man- 
ufacturer, that  it  must  tend  to  elevate  the  social  posi- 
tion of  tne  intelligent  working  man,  and  to  create  a 
greater  sympathy  between  master  and  man  than  at 
present  prevails,  amd  if  it  do  this,  the  evils  ^vdiieh 
threaten  to  impede,  if  not  to  paralyse  our  national  pro- 
gress, may  be  averted. 

Jamss  Yoimo,  Chemical  Works,  Bathgate,  ffeels 
bound  to  say  that  his  experience  accords  with  that  of 
Dr.  Lyon  Playfair.  So  formidable  did  the  rate  of  prog- 
ress of  other  nations  appear  to  many,  that  several 
meetings  of  jurors,  exhibitors,  and  others  took  place  at 
the  Louvre  Hotel  on  the  subject  The  universal  im- 
pression at  these  meetings  was  that  the  rat«  of  progress 
of  foreign  nations  in  the  larger  number  of  our  staple 
industries  was  much  greater  than  our  own.  But  it 
must  be  stated  that  a  Targe  number  of  our  first-dass 
machine  and  other  manufacturers  are  not  exhibitors  in 
Paris,  whereas  other  nations,  he  believes,  have  taken 
care  to  bring  forward  their  very  best;  still,  the  great 
progress  of  other  countries  is  evident.  The  reason  for 
this  increased  rate  of  progress  is  the  excellent  syBtem 
of  technical  education  given  to  the  masters  of  work- 
shops, sub-managers,  foremen,  and  even  workmen. 

England  for  a  long  time  excelled  all  other  countries 
in  the  finish  of  her  machines ;  but  now  we  find  that 
foreign  machine  makers  are  rapidly  approaching  us  in 
finish,  and,  having  skilled  and  intelligent  labour  cheaper 
than  ourselves,  are  progressing  in  all  the  dements  of 
manufacturing. 


OlMnCAL  NtWB,  ) 


Pracpuxd  Losses  of  Sulphur  in  Vitriol  Manufacture. 


177 


The  writer  uses  his  own  case  as  an  illostration. 
Originally  he  was  a  working  man,  but  he  has  succeeded 
in  increasing  the  range  of  manufacturing  industry.  The 
foandation  of  his  success  consisted  in  his  having  been 
fortunately  attached  to  the  laboratory  of  the  Ander- 
sonian  University  in  Glasgow,  when  he  learned  chem- 
istry under  G-raham,  and  natural  philosophy  and  other 
subjects  under  the  respective  professors.  This  knowl- 
edge gave  him  the  power  of  improving  the  chemical 
manufactures  into  which  he  afterwards  passed  as  a 
servant,  and  ultimately  led  to  his  being  the  founder  of 
a  new  branch  of  industry,  and  owner  of  the  largest 
chemical  manufacturing  works  of  the  kingdom.  It 
would  be  most  ungrateful  of  him  if  he  did  not  recognize 
the  importance  of  scientific  and  technical  education  in 
improving  and  advancing  manufactures.  Many  men 
without  such  education  have  made  inventions  and  im- 
provements, but  they  have  struggled  against  enormous 
difficulties,  which  only  a  powerlul  genius  could  over- 
come, and  they  have  been  sensible  of  the  obstacles  to 
their  progress.  Stephenson,  who  so  greatly  improved 
locomotives,  had  to  be  his  own  instructor,  but  he  sent 
his  son  Robert  to  Edinburgh  University,  and  the  son 
did  works  at  least  as  great  as  the  father,  and  with  far 
less  difficulty  to  himself. 

The  improvement  in  locomotion  has  necessarily  cre- 
ated great  competition  in  the  industries  of  the  world ; 
and  unless  we  add  skilled  instruction  to  manual  labour, 
England  cannot  expect  to  maintain  her  position  in  the 
industrial  race. 


ON  THE  PEACTICAL  LOSSES  OF  SULPHUR 
Etc.,  in  THE  VITRIOL  MANUFACTURE. 

BT  CHARLES  R.  A.  VnUGHT,  B.SC. 

The  main  causes  of  the  great  differences  often  visible 
between  the  amount  of  sulphuric  acid  theoretically  ob- 
tainable from  a  given  quantity  of  sulphur,  and  that  prac- 
tically obtained,  seem  to  be  three  in  number,  viz. : — 

(i).  Loss  of  SOs  by  leakage  from  burners,  pipes, 
chambers,  etc. 

(2).  Incomplete  combustion  of  all  the  sulphur  used. 

(3).  Non-conversion  of  all  SO4  formed  into  S04Ha 
md  consequent  loss  of  SO3  by  its  passage  as  such  into 
the  chimney. 

(L)  The  prevention  of  the  first  souroe  of  loss  is  a  mere 
mechanical  matter ;  without  great  care  on  the  part  of 
the  workmen  a  considerable  amount  of  sulphurous  gas 
msy  escape  from  the  kilns  during  the  process  of  recharg- 
ing, etc. ;  inattention  to  the  speedy  repair  of  all  leaks  in 
brickwork,  pipes,  tunnels,  etc.,  may  also  cause  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  loss. 

Notwithstanding  the  manifest  bad  policy  of  such  a 
course,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  a  manufacturer 
neglecting  to  stop  a  chamber  for  repairs  until  the  escape 
of  gases  by  leakage  has  almost  completely  corroded  the 
wooden  framework  of  the  chamber.  The  writer  has 
seen  a  chamber,  when  stopped  at  last,  present,  to  an 
observer  inside,  the  appearance  of  a  star-spangled  sky, 
owing  to  the  large  number  of  small  holes  and  leaks ;  in 
such  an  instance  as  this,  the  loss  of  time  in  stopping 
earlier  for  repairs  and  the  expense,  would  have  been 
many  times  repaid  by  the  saving  of  sulphui:  lost  by 
leakage,  not  to  speak  of  the  prevention  of  damage  to  tiie 
framework  of  the  chamber  and  to  surrounding  objects 
by  corrosion.  Not  only  is  sulphur  thus  lost  by  leakage 
ind  diffusion,  but  excess  of  air  is  often  drawn  into  the 

Vol.  I.    No.  4.— Oct.,  1867.         12 


chamber  through  the  holes,  thus  practically  diminishing 
the  size  of  the  chamber,  and  still  further  reducing  the 
yield.  It  may  be  noticed  here  that  want  of  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  plumbers  in  first  building  the  chamber, 
in  so  attaching  the  strap  as  to  distribute  the  weight  of 
the  lead  equally,  is  a  frequent  cause  of  small  holes  and 
leaks ;  the  leaden  sheet  is  apt  to  become  torn  where  the 
strap  is  attached  if  too  great  a  strain  be  upon  it,  and 
even  if  not  torn  the  lead  is  strained,  becomes  thinner, 
and  is  more  readily  perforated  by  the  action  of  the  con- 
tained gases.  The  quality  of  the  lead  used,  too,  is  of 
great  importance  j  it  is  a  false  economy  to  buy  cheap 
sheet  lead,  as  it  ia  almost  certain  to  wear  unequally,  and 
last  a  much  shorter  time  than  a  really  good  weU  man- 
ufactured article. 

Some  manufacturers  consider  it  more  profitable,  in 
the  long  run,  to  pull  down  a  chamber  after  working  four, 
five,  or  six  years,  to  melt  up  the  lead,  and  rebuild  with 
fresh  materials,  giving  extensive  repairs  to  the  founda- 
tions, framework,  kilns,  etc.,  wherever  necessary;  cal- 
culating that  the  loss  of  time  and  capital  in  thus  rebuild- 
ing is  no  more  than  what  would  have  been  necessary 
for  repairs  alone  had  the  chamber  been  kept  at  work  a 
few  years  longer ;  whilst  the  prevention  of  damage  by 
leakage  and  the  saving  of  sulphur  render  a  handsome 
return  for  the  outlay  j  others,  again,  prefer  to  work  a 
chamber  for  eight,  nine,  ten  years  almost  uninterrupt- 
edly ;  in  fiact  for  as  long  as  it  can  by  any  artifice  be 
made  to  hold  gases. 

The  following  numbers,  being  the  results  of  succes- 
sive years'  working  with  a  series  of  chambers  to  which 
but  little  repairs  were  allowed  during  the  wliole  time, 
illustrate  the  enhanced  loss  from  the  increasing  leak- 
age:— 

Onbto  milres  of 
chamber  !ipao3 
Nllre  used  per  100  per  kilogramme      Practical  ylcM. 

parts  of  sQlpbarbnmt.         of  salphar  bnmt  Theoretical=  100. 
per  diem, 
istyear  ..    9*31  1150  81-5 

2nd*"     ..    9-84  1073  75'4 

3rd    "      .,10*02  I  01 7  68*4 

»  It  is  here  manifest  that  while  the  sulphur  burnt  has 
increased  a  little,  there  is  a  very  great  falling  off  in  the 
yield,  notwithstanding  that  the  proportion  of  nitre  used 
IS  progressively  greater ;  the  total  amounts  lost  in  the 
tMee  periods  are  respectively  i8'5,  24*6,  and  31*6. 

(II.)  The  loss  of  sulphur  from  incomplete  combustion 
in  the  burners  is  only  noticeable  to  any  great  extent 
where  pyrites  is  used.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  burn 
on  the  large  scale  any  pyrites  so  that  the  burnt  residue 
shall  not  contain  at  least  2*5  to  3*0  per  cent  of  sulphur ; 
where  slaty  pyrites  containing  about  30 — 35  per  cent, 
of  sulphur  (such  as  Wicklow  sulphur  ore)  is  used,  the 
residue  will  probably  retain  3*5  to  4*0  as  a  minimum,* 
and  as  this  burnt  pyrites  amounts  in  weight  to  about  80 
per  cent  of  the  green-  pyrites  used,  about  8  to  10  parts 
out  of  100  of  original  sulphur  will  remain  unburnt  as  a 
minimum. 

When  richer  ores  (such  as  Huelva)  containing  48 — 50 
per  cent,  of  sulphur  are  employed,  the  residue  may 
contain  3  per  cent,  of  sulphur  when  fairly  burnt,  and 
will  amount  to  about  67  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  green 
ore  used ;  so  that  about  four  parts  in  the  hundred  of 
original  sulphur  remain  unburnt  Sulphur  may  also  be 
volatilized  as  such,  condensing  in  the  pipes,  or  being 

*  WItb  a  hard  slaty  ore,  4  per  cent  of  snlphnr  is  probably  below  the 
mark  for  an  average  on  tlie  large  scale ;  the  writer  has  repeatedly  seen 
heaps  of  hnndreds  of  tons  of  yuch  ore,  carefblly  burnt,  and  yet  retain 
ing  an  average  of  5  or  6  per  eent.  of  snlphnr. 


178 


Foi^eign  Science — Paris  Mohihition  of  iS6'j. 


( CmmcAi.  Kkwi, 


Oct,  18(7. 


carried  over  into  the  chambers :  this  probably  is  entirely 
preventable  by  payine  due  attention  to  the  temperature 
of  the  kilns,  supply  of  air,  etc. 

(III.)  The  loss  of  sulphur  from  incomplete  conver- 
sion of  SOa  into  SOiHs  may  be  due  to  several  minor 
causes,  such  as  the  introduction  of  too  little  steam,  or 
too  much  air;  the  use  of  an  insuflBcient  quantity  of 
nitre ;  or  what  is,  perhaps,  most  frequently  the  case,  the 
allowance  of  too  httle  chamber  space  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  sulphur  burnt. 

Each  manufacturer  has  a  different  standard  as  to  the 
proportion  of  nitre  which  should  be  allowed  to  a  given 
amount  of  sulphur ;  more  nitre  is  required  when  py- 
rites is  used  than  where  sulphur  is  burnt,  to  overcome 
the  dilution  of  the  gases  by  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  used 
to  oxidise  the  iron,  etc.,  contained  in  the  pyrites;  more 
nitre  is  again  required  when  more  sulphur  is  consumed 
to  a  given  amount  of  chamber  space.  (  Vide  numbers 
previously  given.)  The  following  numbers  indicate  the 
average  amounts  of  nitre  used  by  different  manufac- 
turers, who  have  kindly  furnished  the  writer  with  in- 
formation on  this  point : — 

Nitre  per  xoo  parte 
Material  bnmt  of  satphur  oon- 

Bumed. 

'       Pyrites  contaiDiDg  45—50  per  oeot  of  sulphur    8*5 

"         30—50      "  '*  120 

"  "         ditto  "  «  lo-o 

"      averaging  35  "  **  12*5 

Sulphur 10*0 

N.B.  In  none  of  these  instances  were  Q-ay  Lussac's 
nitre  towers  employed.  For  comparison,  the  following 
numbers  are  quoted  from  Richardson  and  Watts's  Iheh- 
nological  DicHannry,  VoL  i.,  Part  iiL,  second  edition : — 

Nitre  per  xoo  parta 
of  sulphar  used. 
Page  71^  Sulphur. 5-0 

317  ditto  (Paycn,  Mareeilles) 6*0 

318  ditto  (Jarrow  Chemical  Co.) 8*9 

317  Irish   pyrites  (assumed  to   contaia  3^ 

per  cent  of  sulphur,  Gossage) 13*3 

Again,  each  manufacturer  has  a  different  opinion  m 
to  the  proportion  to  be  observed  between  the  chamber 
space  and  the  amount  of  sulphur  burnt.  Thus  the  num- 
bers given  as  an  average  in  R.  and  W.*s  T.  Z>.,  p.  80, 
correspond  to  1*672  cubic  m^tre  per  kilogramme  of  sul- 
phur burnt  daily ;  in  "  Muspratt's  Dictionary,"  Art  StU- 
jphuric  Acidj  Uie  numbers  given  as  in  a  Lancashire 
works  represent  about  i  -35  cubic  m^tre  per  kilogramme, 
whilst  the  numbers  given  before  show  that  less  space 
than  this  is  often  allowed.  With  reference  to  this  point, 
it  may  be  observed  that,  as  a  general  rule,  it  is  more 
profitable  to  sacrifice  a  small  portion  of  the  theoretical 
yield  (i.  «.,  to  cause  the  amount  lost  to  be  greater)  in 
order  to  produce  a  greater  quantity  of  a  manufactured 
article,  than  it  is  to  lessen  the  am'ount  producSid  in  order 
to  gain  the  maximum  yield  possible.  Some  manufac- 
turers indeed  say  it  is  better  to  strain  everything  to  the 
utmost,  to  produce  the  maximum  qyanUiy  ;  of  course, 
however,  there  is  a  limit  beyond  which  it  is  unwise  to 
go,  as  the  increased  wear  and  tear  and  damage  to 
quality,  together  with  the  diminished  yield,  may  render 
this  course  the  least  paying. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  more  than  a  rough  estimate  of 
the  amount  of  loss  which  is  practically  wholly  unavoid- 
able. With  Huelva  pyrites,  the  results  obtained  with 
a  large  series  of  chambers  furnished  with  coke  towers, 
but  not  with  Gay  Lus8ac*s  denitrating  apparatus,  showed 
that  it  is  perfectly  possible  to  obtain  82 — 84  parts  of 


sulphur  in  the  form  of  add  of  specific  gravity  1700 
from  100  parts  of  sulphur  used  as  pyrites;  the*  nitre 
used  being  about  10  parts  for  every  no  of  sulphur 
used;  and  from  1*100  to  1*200  cubic  mdtre  of  chamber 
space  being  allowed  to  every  kilogramme  of  sulphur 
burnt  daily.  Of  the  16 — 18  per  cent  of  this  total  Jon 
from  4  to  5  per  cent  were  due  to  the  sulphur  left  on- 
burnt  in  the  pyrites,  and  consequently  about  12 — 13 
per  cent  to  other  causes — ^viz.,  leakage,  non-convenion 
of  SO,  into  SOiHa  etc.,  etc. 

"A  Practical  Chemist"  writes  to  the  Chemical  News 
of  July  13,  1866,  that  he  obtains  from  a  ton  of  Irish 
ore,  at  30  per  cent  of  sulphur  from  r8  cwt  i  qr.  5  Ibe., 
to  18. cwt  2  qr.  o  lb.  of  acid  of  specific  gravity  175. 
Acid  of  this  strength  at  i^^'G,  contains  81*45  per  cent. 
of  SO4H2  (Bineau).  Hence  his  total  loss  is  from  18*0 
to  1 8*9  parts  out  of  106  of  original  sulphur,  of  which 
probably  eight  or  nine  parts  are  due  to  the  unbumt 
sulphur  in  toe  pyrites. 

Fayen  obtained  firom  1,600  kilogrammes  of  pure  sul- 
phur 4,280  of  acid  of  specfic  gravity  1*85  (t.  e.,  of  SO4 
Hj).  [Richardson  and  W  atts's  Teehnohyical  Dictionary ^ 
I.  iii.  317.]    Hence  his  total  loss  was  12*7  parts  in  100. 

It  would  i^pear,  therefore,  that  whether  pure  sul- 
phur, rich  pyrites  containing  48 — 50  per  cent,  of  sol- 
phur,  or  poor  pyrites  at  about  30  per  cent  are  employed, 
from  10  to  13  parts  of  sulphur  out  of  100  employed 
are  lost  by  causes  other  than  the  non-conversion  into 
SO3  of  all  the  sulphur  used.  This  probably  representB 
about  the  minimum  practical  loss  on  the  large  scale;  as 
noticed  before,  by  bad  repair  of  chambers,  etc.,  etc, 
this  loss  is  greatly  enhanced. 


FORMQN  8GIENCB. 


PARIS  EXHIBITION  OF  1867. 

(FbOIC  our  SpBOIAL  CORIffiSPONDEKT.) 

Your  correspondent  is  so  profoundly  impressed  with  the  vul- 
garity of  enthusiasm,  that  he  has  endeavoured  to  the  rery 
utmost  to  suppress  any  traces  of  that  objectionable  seDtiment 
in  his  letters.  In  fact,  it  is  very  difficult  to  be  guilty  of  the 
fault  alluded  to  after  spending  a  week  in  the  Expositioo. 
Gazing  at  works  of  science  or  art  for  a  long  time,  especially 
if  one  is  to  write  about  them,  produces  a  state  of  mind  In 
which  an  almost  stupid  tranquillity  is  a  prominent  feature, 
aud  your  correspondent  verily  believes  that  the  ^  dignified 
repoee"  which  the  world  admires  in  some  of  its  idols^  is  ofteo 
so  nearly  allied  to  stupid  traaquillity,  and  is  so  difficult  to 
distinguish  from  it,  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  merely  an  iso- 
meric modification.  Tlie  poor  worn-out  Frenchman  who  com- 
plained  so  bitterly  that  he  had  had  "beaucoup  deSuJtan,** 
told  me  in  confidence  that  the  air  of  dignified  repoee  whi(^ 
so  eminently  distinguishes  Abdul  Aziz  when  iospecting  the 
greatest  triumphs  of  science,  was  in  fact  the  stupid  trenquil- 
lity  of  ignorance.  He  also  informed  me  that  the  predeoeaeor 
of  Abdul-Aziz  (Abdul-as-was  ?)  genemlly  enjoyed  the  same 
enviable  state  of  mind.  Oeruin  it  is,  that  the  only  thing  10 
the  building  that  caused  a  smile  of  intelligence  to  pass  over 
the  Sultan's  face,  was  a  punching  machine  in  full  woric,  and 
wiien  he  was  told  by  his  interpreter  that  it  was  capable  of 
administering  1,000  punches  a  minute,  he  replied  with  decid- 
ed animation,  that  be  would  take  one  home  fur  the  benedt 
of  the  heads  of  those  who  bad  persuaded  him  to  leave  Tui^ 
key.  liet  us  hope  that  tlie  fatigues  10  which  you  will  sub- 
ject that  unhappy  potentate  in  England,  will  make  him  for- 
get his  severe  (although  just)  determination.  To  return  10 
our  work  :^ 
Your  oorrespondent  examined  with  great  interest  the  t«e 


Cmmcii.  "SwwB, ) 
aol,186T.      f 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Mchilition  of  1867. 


179 


cases  of  Measrs.  Calvert  and  Lowe.    They  are  described  ic 
the  English  catalogue  as  follows  : — 

14.  Calvert,  F.  Grace  and  Co.,  Gibbons  Street,  Bradford, 
neir  Manchester.  Carbolic  acid,  etc.  60.  Lowe,  Charles  and 
Oa,  14,  Fountain  Street,  Manchester.  Carbolic  acid  and  its 
derivatives,  etc. 

The  chemist  who  would  follow  the  history  of  carbolic  acid 
would  have  to  pass  in  review  one  of  the  mo8t  interesting 
phfises  in  the  whole  of  organic  chemistry.  Discovered  in 
1834  by  Runge,  it  forms  one  of  the  vast  number  of  intensely 
interesting  substances  presented  by  that  remarkable  man  to 
science  as  mines  of  wealth  to  be  explored  step  by  step,  and 
more  and  more  minutely,  as  methods  of  mvestigation  were 
perfected.  It  is,  in  fact,  one  of  those  products  of  destructive 
distillation,  whose  history,  which  reads  like  a  romance,  has 
been  developed  by  the  labours  of  nearly  all  the  greatest 
names  associated  with  organic  chemistry — Runge,  Laurent, 
Gerhardt  Wohler,  Kopp.  Hofmann,  Williamson,  Kolbe,  Ca- 
hours,  Erdmann,  Fritzsche,  Piria,  Liebig.  Dumas — ^all  these 
names  are  found  at  the  head  of  the  memoirs  in  which  are 
developed  step  by  step  the  history  of  carbolic  acid. 
.  Carbolic  acid,  known  also  as  phenol,  phenic  acid,  hydrate 
of  phenyl,  phenylic  alchohol,  and  coal  tar  creosote,  has  the 
formula  ^^eiisO,  and  may  be  represented  as  water  in  which 
one  atom  of  hydrogen  is  replaced  by  the  radical  phenyl.  It 
is  produced  in  a  state  of  considerable  purity  by  distilling 
salicylic  add ;  the  carbolic  acid  from  this  source  has,  howev- 
er, been  asserted,  too  hastily,  to  be  only  isomeric  with  the 
coal-tar  substance. 

The  fact  is,  that  until  very  lately,  chemists  had  no  oppor- 
tnnity  of  working  with  carbolic  acid  of  perfect  purity.  This 
has  led  to  many  incorrect  ideas  regarding  it ;  for  example, 
one  of  the  differences  between  the  carbolic  acid  from  coal  tar 
and  that  from  salicylic  acid,  has  been  said  to  be  the  greater 
rapidity  with  which  the  crystals  from  the  former  source  li- 
quefy when  exposed  to  the  air,  but,  when  perfectly  pure, 
crystals  of  the  coal-tar  acid  may  be  exposed  without  deli- 
quescing for  months  together. 

.  It  is  remarkable,  moreover,  to  find  that  the  substance 
whose  properties  we  are  discussing,  is  one  of  those  which,  as 
far  as  purification  goes,  has  been  grappled  with  more  success- 
fully in  the  manufactory  than  in  the  laboratory.  The  most 
severe  test  for  the  purity  of  carbolic  acid,  like  that  of  most 
crystalline  organic  substances,  is  its  melting  point  Accord- 
ing to  Gerhardt  this  is  between  34'  and  35*'  {Ckimie  Organ- 
iqve,  iii.  16.)  But  crystalline  carbolic  acid  can  now  be  ob- 
Uined  in  commerce,  of  which  the  melting  point  is  as  high  as 
42**,  or  even  a  little  higher.  On  the  other  hand,  the  boiling 
point  of  this  pure  acid  is  given  by  Mr.  Lowe  as  182"  ther- 
mometer, in  liquid,  or  178** -8  thermometer  in  the  vapour,  the 
atmospheric  pressure  being  743* ^  9  ro"™-  (29*26  inches), 
whereas  Laurent  gives  187*— 188°,  and  bcrugham,  who 
worked  on  the  subject  in  the  laboratory,  and  under  the  eye 
of  Williamson,  gives  184°.  From  this  we  conclude  that 
pure  carbolic  acid  has  a  much  higher  melting  point,  and  a 
somewhat  lower  boiling  point  than  has  been  ascribed  to  it 
hitherto. 

Messrs.  C.  Lowe  and  Co.  exhibit  a  large  mass  of  absolute- 
ly pure  carbolic  add,  weighing  no  less  than  two  cwt.,  having 
the  melting  and  boiling  points  given  above.  It  is  proper  to 
mention  tbat  Dr.  Grace  Calvert,  who  is  fiilly  cognisant  of  all 
the  facts  recently  discovered  relating  to  carbolic  acid  and  its 
congeners,  gives  187**  as  the  boiling  point  of  carbolic  acid* 
agreeing  nearly  with  the  determination  of  Laurent. 

The  firm  of  F.  C.  Calvert  and  Co.  were  the  first  to  manu- 
facture carbolic  add  in  a  comparatively  pure  condition ;  it 
then  consisted  in  a  colourless  fluid  yielding  crystals  at  15°. 
This  was  in  1859.  In  1861  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  it 
in  colourless  deuched  crystals,  fusing  at  about  2$°.  Two 
years  later  the  manufacture  was  so  far  improved  that  the 
melting  point  of  their  best  acid  was  raised  to  34%  the  num- 
ber given  by  Gerhardt  At  the  end  of  1864  they  succeeded 
in  removing' the  sulphur  compounds  which  adhere  with  such 
_         ♦  Chem.  80c.  J.,  xtUL  66. 


tenacity  to  the  acid  products  of  coal  tar,  and  thus  rendered 
the  carbolic  acid  fit  for  medidnal  purposes.  It  was  not  until 
1866,  however,  that  the  absolutely  pure  acid  was  isolated 
with  a  melting  point  between  41°  and  42*.  Other  manufac- 
turers do  not  appear  to  be  aware  of  the  processes  employed 
by  Messrs.  Calvert  and  Lowe,  for  they  do  not  exhibit  in  their 
cases  acid  of  a  higher  melting  point  than  about  25**. 

Messrs.  Lowe  and  Co.  state  that  absolutely  pure  carbolic 
acid  doen  slowly  become  coloured  by  exposure  to  light,  and 
that  when  this  coloration  is  not  observed,  it  arises  from  the 
protectire  influence  of  certain  impurities,  apparently  sulphur 
compounds. 

Messrs.  Calvert  and  Co.  also  exhibit  their  disinfecting 
powder,  salve  for  foot  rot  in  sheep,  and  sheep  dip,  also  picric 
acid  and  aurine,  and,  finally,  ronolic  acid. 

Messrs.  Jjowe  also  exhibit  picric  acid,  prepared  by  the  ac- 
tion of  nitric  acid  on  sulpho-phenic  acid,  a  process  which  is 
said  to  have  several  advantages,  particularly  as  regards  the 
quantity  of  the  resulting  product.  They  also  show  rosolic 
acid  alid  a  fine  lake  prepared  from  it  for  the  use  of  paper- 
stainers.  In  addition  to  the  above  they  have  in  their  case 
picramic  acid  prepared  by  reducing  picric  acid  with  an  alka- 
line sulphide.     It  is  used  in  commerce  for  dyeing  browns.^ 

Messrs.  Lowe's  case  contains  a  series  of  specimens  which 
almost  exactly  represent  the  various  epochs  of  the  improve- 
ments in  the  manufacture  of  carbolic  acid,  alluded  to  above. 
They  consist  of  the  various  commercial  qualities,  having  the 
following  melting  points  : — 

Crude  carbolic  acid,  fluid  at  ordinary  temperatures. 

Purified  do.  "         melting         at  15* 

il  (4  (I  (t  ((  20 

It  l(  ({  it  It  ^m 

Pure  '*  "  "  "  42-25 

They  also  exhibit  what  they  and  Dr.  Calvert  insist  on  call- 
ing bihydrate  of  phenyl  This  substance  is  simply  carbolic 
add,  \)(ith  water  of  crystallisation.  Dr.  Calvert's  formula 
(C  =  6)  is 

Ci,H50.2H0. 

But  as  the  water  of  crystallisation  is  given  off  on  the  ap- 
plication of  heat,  it  is  obvious  that  the  true  formula  is  : — 

(C  =    6)    2C,aHe0,.2H0,  or  ;— 

(e  =  12)  2e.H.e.9He. 

It  gives  your  correspondent  much  pleasure  to  admit  the 
gratification  he  derived  from  the  examination  of  the  cases  of 
Messrs.  Calvert  and  Co.,  and  Messrs.  C.  Lowe  and  Co. 
Messrs.  Calvert  and  Co.'s  case  would,  however,  have  appear- 
ed to  much  greater  advantage  if  the  globes  cor^ining  the 
specimens  had  not  been  covered  to  such  an; extent  by  loose 
paper  advertisements,  which  to  a  great  extent  hide  the  con- 
tents. 

Messrs.  Calvert  and  Co.  have  obtained  a  silver,  and  Messrs. 
Lowe  and  Co.  a  bronze  medal 


Fatigued  with  wandering  from  case  to  case  to  make  com- 
parisons between  English  and  foreign  manufacturers  (for, 
owing  to  the 'perhaps  inevitable  distance  between  them, 
your  correspondent  at  times  has  had  to  walk  miles  in  this 
way),  it  was  a  relief  to  come  at  last  to  a  case  where  attempts 
at  comparison  would  have  been  useless.  I  allude  to  the, 
in  many  respects,  unrivalled  display  of  Messrs.  Howard  and 
Sons,  of  Stratford.  Their  name  has  for  many  years  held  an 
enviable  position  with  regard  to  the  purity  and  beauty  of 
their  chemicals,  and  the  contents  of  their  case  fully  sustain 
their  old  reputation.  In  the  English  catalogue  they  are  de- 
scribed thus : — "  48.  Howard's  and  Sons,  Stratford,  near  Lon- 
don, salts  of  quinine,  and  other  chemicals." 

Among  the  many  remedial  agents  which  organic  chemis- 
try has  afforded  us,  quinine  occupies  the  first  place,  chloro- 
form the  second.  Without  quinine,  lai^  tracts,  indeed 
whole  countries,  would  be  simply  uninhabitable  for  Euro- 


i8o 


Foreign  Science — Paris  MchiUtion  of  1867. 


j  CxmnoAL  Nnrs, 


peaoa  To  the  backwoodsman  a  supply  of  quinine  is  as  im- 
portant as  gunpowder.  The  "  quinine  &mine"  in  the  Mau- 
ritius demonstrated  to  thousands  how  small  a  thing  even 
gold  itself  might  become  in  comparison  with  the  lile-saving 
salt. 

If  the  search  for  artificial  quinine  has  been  as  unsuccessful 
as  that  for  the  Philosopher's  Stone,  it  has  at  least  resulted 
also  in  some  great  discoveries.  It  does  not  appear  to 
be  generally  known  that  the  first  of  the  aniline  colours 
was  discovered  during  the  search  for  artificial  quinine  I 
But,  tired  of  waiting  for  that  which  did  not  come,  finding 
that  chemists  could  not  produce  quinine,  it  struck  certain 
minds  that  it  would  be  a  surer  plan  to  assist  Nature  a  little, 
and  Nature,  as  she  always  does  when  properly  called  upon, 
responded  liberally^  In  effect,  owing  to  the  wasteful  and  Igno- 
rant manner  in  which  bark  was  collected  in  its  old  habi- 
tat, it  was,  especially  in  the  finer  and  richer  varieties  getting 
scarcer,  this  circumstance  has  induced  certain  enterprising 
men  to  cause  the  cinchonas  to  be  introduced  into  India,  and 
it  has  not  only  been  found  that  the  change  of  habitat  does 
not  prevent  the  development  of  quinine,  but  the  valuable 
discovery  has  been  made  by  Mclvor,  and  confirmed  by  Be 
Vrij,  that  covering  the  bark  during  its  growth  with  moss 
increases  the  percentage  of  alkaloids.  The  cinchona  planta- 
tions in  India  are  now  so  flourishing  that  there  need  be  no 
apprehension  of  the  supply  of  quinine  ever  failing,  and  if  the 
discovery  of  artificial  quinine  should  ever  now  be  made,  it 
would  have  to  depend  upon  its  value  for  its  cheapness.  We 
are  aware  that  the  discovery  of  artificial  quinine  has  more 
than  once  been  announced,  but  up  to  the  present  time  such 
announcements  have  never  been  supported^by  positive  evi- 
dence. 

Messra  Howards  show  an  unrivalled  collection  of 
barks,  including  several  from  the  new  Indian  plantations, 
and  a  specimen  grown  in  England  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Howard. 
It  is  exceedingly  interesting  to  find  that  this  English  bark 
also  contained  quinine,  for  a  specimen  of  the  alkaloid  ex- 
tracted from  it  and  its  sulphate  are  exhibted.  In  addition  to 
the  above,  this  remarkable  case  contains  specimens  of  .the 
following  alkaloids  or  their  sulphates : — 

Quinine  OaoHsfNaOa 

Quinidine        C2oHa4NsOs 
Cinchonine      Ca8Ha4N90 
Cinchonidine  G9oHa4N30  | 
Aricine  CasHasNaOf 

^.  It  appears  to  your  correspondent  that  an  attempt  to  con- 
vert quinidine,  cinchonine,  or  cinchonidine  into  quinine  would 
be  far  mo?e  likely  to  meet  with  success  than  any  efforts  to 
produce  that  alkaloid  by  building  it  up  step  by  step,  and 
considering  the  enormous  quantities  of  cinchonine  which 
have  been  accumulated  by  quinine  manufacturers,  and  are 
almost  valueless,  it  is  evident  that  such  a  discovery,  however 
hopeless  it  may  look  at  present,  is  well  worth  an  effort.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  moreover,  that  researches  of  this  kind, 
if  carried  on  by  competent  persons,  are  certain  to  be  fruitful 
in  discoveries^  even  if  the  great  end  sought  for  be  not  at- 
tained. The  admirable  experiments  of  Pasteur  are  quite 
enough  to  prove  the  truth  of  this  assertion.  - 

In  addition  to  the  above,  Messrs.  Howard  exhibit  numer- 
ous chemicals  of  th^  highest  possible  quality.  Amongst 
them  is  benzoic  acid,  on  the  perfect  purity  of  which  they 
pride  themselves.  It  is  free  from  the  slightest  admixture  of 
the  hippuro<ben7X)ic  acid,  made  by  boiling  hippuric  acid  (firom 
the  urine  of  cattle)  with  hydrochloric  acid.  This  artificial 
benzoic  acid  is  largely  imported  from  the  continent  and  sold 
as  the  genuine  article.  The  acid  thus  produced  is,  however, 
never  quite  free  from  the  odour  of  the  urine  of  herbivorous 
animals,  and,  no  matter  how  carefully  purified,  is  without  the 
fragrance  which  characterises  it  as  obtained  by  sublimation 
from  gum  benzoin.  This  has  induced  some  unscrupulous' 
persons  to  mix  a  portion  of  the  acid  from  benzoin  with  that 
Irom  urine,  in  order  that  the  fragrance  of  the  one  may  carry 
the  other  off. 


The  tartaric  and  citric  acids  exhibited  by  this  firm  are  ia 
superb  crystals,  and  have  the  appearance  of  being  in  the 
highest  possible  state  of  purity. 

A  curiosity  in  its  way  is  carbonate  of  ammoniam,  prepared 
entirely  from  volcanic  products,  and  therefore  free  from  the 
impurities  of  which  traces  are  almost  always  to  be  found  ia 
the  salt  as  obtained  from  the  crude  sulphate  of  ammonia  of 
the  tar  distilleries.  As  is  well  known,  crude  boracic  acid 
from  Tuscany  often  contains  borate,  sulphate,  and  chloride  of 
ammonium.  One  sample  analysed  by  Wittstein,  contained 
no  less  than  eight  and-a-half  per  cenc  of  sulphate  of  ammo- 
nium. The  carbonate  of  ammonium  shown  by  the  MesRTB. 
Howard,  is  obtained  in  their  process  for  preparing  borax 
from  the  crude  boracio  acid  of  commerce,  and  is,  therefore, 
as  they  say,  of  purely  volcanic  origin.  We  believe  there  is 
no  other  firm  who  prepare  salts  of  ammonium  from  the  same 
source.  The  morphia  and  its  salts  shown  in  the  same  case, 
appear  of  very  fine  quality,  and  the  same  remark  may  be 
made  with  regard  to  their  mercurial  preparations.  I  am 
much  pleased  to  see  that  the  admirable  display  I  have  de- 
scribed, has  obtained  the  distinction  of  a  gold  medaL 


It  is  becoming  common  now  to  hear  people^ express  the 
wish  that  the  present  Exhibition  will  be  the  last  for  many 
years  to  come.  But,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  other  matters, 
the  majority  of  the  persons  who  talk  thus  have  really  no 
definite  reason  for  what  they  say.  When  you  ask  them  for 
a  motive  for  expressing  their  objection  to  exhibitions,  yon 
generally  get  such  vague  and  unsubstantial  reasons  as  "Oh, 
they  are  such  a  bore,  you  know."  "  They  don*t  really  do 
any  good,"  or  *'  They  injure  the  retail  trade  of  the  cities 
where  they  are  held.**  "One  is  sick  of  exhibitions,"  and  so 
on.  Now,  while  your  correspondent  has  never  once  heard  a 
really  sound  argument  against'  exhibitions,  be  has,  on  re- 
peated occasions,  seen  and  heard  enough  to  show  him  that 
the  present  Paris  Exhibition  must  (if  we  do  not  allow  oar 
insular  vanity  to  cause  us  to  fall  into  decadence),  exercise  a 
most  important  influence  upon  our  arts  and  manufactures. 

I  contend  that  no  -Englishmen  of  sound  judgment  could 
possibly  examine  in  detail,  as  your  correspondent  has  done, 
the  various  departments  allotted  to  the  European  kingdoms, 
without  having  the  fact  forced  upon  him  that  our  neighbours 
are  running  abreast  of  us  in  a  race  which,  if  we  lose,  will 
disgrace  us  for  ever. 

The  intense  dislike  which  a  vast  number  of  inflnenb'al 
people  took  to  all  the  schemes  of  the  late  Prince  Consort, 
led  them  to  oppose  everything  connected  with  his  attempts 
to  encourage  technical  education.  But,  if  we  are  to  retain 
our  supremacy — nay,  if  we  are  not  to  be  ignominioosly 
beaten  in  the  veiy  departments  where  we  have  somewhat 
too  superciliously  fancied  ourselves  invincible;  we  must  not 
only  soundly  educate  our  workmen  in  all  the  subjects  relating 
to  their  special  avocations,  but  we  must  also  sUmuiaU  their 
aTrUntion. 

Fortunately  the  minds  of  some  of  the  most  active  and  far- 
seeing  of  our  scientific  and  political  men  are  directed  to  this 
deeply  important  question,  and  your  correspondent  trusts 
that  you,  Mr.  Editor,  will  keep  the  matter  before  the  scien- 
tific public 

To  chemists  the  matter  is  as  important  as  to  engineers  and 
artists.  The  chemical  manufactories  of  i^nce  and  Germany, 
especially  the  latter,  are  always  able  to  obtain  the  services  of 
men  who,  having  received  their  chemical  education  in  labor- 
atories directed  by  high-class  men,  are  able  to  devise  new 
processes,  improve  those  already  existing,  and,  especially  to 
adopt,  simplify,  and  cheapen  methods  invented  in  this  coun- 
try, so  as  to  deluge  our  markets  with  low-priced  and  o(ten 
good  articles,  to  the  serious  injury  and  even  ruin  of  our  own 
manufacturers. 

Of  all  the  faults  which  tend  to  the  perpetuation  of  the 
system,  or  rather  want  of  system,  under  which  we  are  now 
obstinately  insisting  on  learning  how  to  be  beaten,  the  great- 
est is  the  stupid  vanity  which  leads  us  to.  underrate  tiie 
strength  and,  above  all,  the  intelligence  of  our  rivalib    We 


Oct,  i8«7.    r 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exhibition  of  iSSy. 


i8i 


kuow  hove  ruioons  this* is  in  war;   it  is  equally  so  in  the 
conflict  between  English  and  foreign  mauiifacturers. 

Now  that  the  Univers'ties  generally  arc  to  be  represented, 
such  men  as  Playfair  and  Lowe  will  find  a  proper  sphere, 
and  will,  we  doubt  not,  force  this  matter  on  the  attention  of 
Govern  men  t.  Whether  our  present  men  in  oflBce  will  take 
up  the  matter  is  another  afifair ;  on  the  Continent  the  idea 
appears  to  be  that  our  administrators  are  too  busy  with  the 
political  questions  of  the  day  to  do  anything  towards  the 
advanoement  either  of  science  or  art.  Unhappily  it  needs  no 
ghoat  to  tell  us  that  the  "  country  gentlemen  "  who  do  us  the 
honour  of  governing  us,  feel  very  little  interest  in  the  matter, 
and  the  so-called  representatives  of  the  trades  are  too  much 
occupied  with  supporting  strikes,  to  see  that  the  prosperity 
of  those  whose  interest  they  betray,  are  in  reality  dependent 
upon  questions  of  which  violent  and  uneducated  men  do  not 
even  know  the  existence. 

But  all  this  cannot  last  for  ever ;  foreigners  who  only  judge 
of  us  by  our  newspapers,  ask  with  astonishment,  "  But  these 
MU.  Broadhoad,  Beales,  aind  Whalley,  who  are  they  ?  "  As 
soon  as  our  workmen  are  properly  educated  they  too  will  ask 
similar  questions ;  and  il  will  then  be  seen  that  the  workman's 
friend  is  not  he  who  shows  him  how  to  strike  against  his 
employer,  but  he  who  shows  him  how  to  develope  to  the  ut- 
most those  great  gifls  of  intelligence,  patience,  skill,  and 
strength  which  for  so  many  years  made  British  engineers  and 
manufacturers  the  astonishment  of  the  world. 

Before  concluding  this  letter,  your  correspondent  must  again 
protest  against  the  use  of  exhibitions  as  mere  advertisements 
of  the  exhibitors.  I  contend  that  the  committees  to  whom  is 
delegated  the-  power  of  acceptance  or  refusal,  should  reso- 
lutely refuse  admittance  to  articles  which  do  not  show  upon 
the  face  of  them  the  condition  of  the  industry  which  they 
represent.  When  Messrs.  Wood  and  Co.  send  a  few  bottles 
of  effervescent  drinks  which  for  all  that  appears  might  be 
merely  water,  I  say  they  should  be  refused  admission.  'They 
may  be  of  the  highest  class,  but  as  they  stand  in  the  case, 
they  show  nothing  that  may  not  equally  well  be  seen  in  the 
window  of  a  restaurant.  It  is  true  that  one  bottle,  by  leak- 
ing a  little,  tries  its  best  to  attract  attention,  and  by  pouring 
out  a  sorry  libation  to  earth  may  perhaps  get  removed  to  a 
more  cciogenial  sphere  where  soda-water  bottles  .are  ^at 
rest. 

To  return,  your  correspondent  trusts  that  you,  Mr.  Editor, 
will  not  think  that  he  has  dwelt  too  much  upon  the  subject 
of  the  industrial  education  of  the  working-classes  in  this 
country.  The  question  is  of  vital  importance,  and  it  is  only 
by  the  publicity  attainable  through  the  medium  of  the  scien- 
tific journals  that  the  inertia  of  the  masses  can  be  successfully 
overcome. 

It  shall  not  be  said  that  I  have  sent  you  a  letter  upon  the 
Paris  Exhibition  in  which  no  allusion  is  made  to  the  contents 
of  the  building,  so  I  will  now  proceed  with  my  notes  upon 
the  English  section. 

15.  Calley,  Samuel,  New  Road,  Brixham,  Devon.  Speci- 
mens of  *-Torbay,"  iron  oxide  paints,  and  compositions  for 
ships,  metal  sheathing,  etc. 

The  problem  of  producing  a  good  sound  paint  of  various 
colours  suitable  for  wood,  iron,  and  stucco-work,  with  a  base 
of  iron  instead  of  lead,  has  certainly  been  creditably  solved 
by  Mr.  Calley.  In  addition  to  extreme  cheapness  they  are 
free  from  the  deleterious  character  of  lead  paints,  and  are 
said  to  be  much  more  lasting.  The  inventor  states  that  a 
square  yard  of  iron  can  be  covered  for  one  farthing,  and  that 
the  labour  in  applying  them  is  considerably  less  than  with 
ordinary  paints.  In  fact,  from  caroful  experiments  it  has 
been  ascertained  that  Galley's  paint  brought  to  a  working 
consistency  with  45  per  cent  of  its  weight  of  linseed-oil,  cov- 
ered four  square  yards  for  one  penny,  the  labour  required 
being  only  60  per  cent  of  that  required  for  lead  paint.  It  ap- 
pears from  wtiat  we  have  been  able  to  gather  that  these 
paints  are  priocipally  made  from  a  native  oxide  of  iron  found 
at  Brixham  in  Devon.  The  paints  produced  are  of  two  kinds. 
Those  of  the  first  class,  which  are  principally  adapted  for 


iron-work,  appear  to  be  made  direct  firom  the  native  oxide. 
Variety  of  hue  is  obtained,  we  believe,  by  subjecting  the  ore 
to  various  temperatures. 

Calley's  colours  of  the  second  class  are  tinted  by  admixture 
with  metallic  substances  capable  of  yielduig  the  desired 
shades.  One  experiment  that  was  made  to  determine  the 
comparative  resisting  powers  of  lead  paint  and  iron  oxide 
paint  to  heat,  is  certainly  suflBciently  remarkable  to  deserve 
mention.  Some  sheets  o^iron  were  covered  on  one  side  with 
Calley's  oxide  paTnt,  and  on  the  other  with  red-lead.  One 
of  these,  when  thoroughly  dry,  was  placed  over  an  open 
coal-fire,  the  oxide-painted  side  downwards.  The  upper  or 
red-lead  side  soon  began  to  crack  and  b'ister,  whilst  the  ox- 
ide-paint still  adhered  to  the  iron,  and  only  changed  its  tint. 
In  further  trials  it  was  found  that  at  a  temperature  which 
approached  a  red-heat,  the  oxide  paint  was  only  deteriorated, 
while  the  red-lead  was  completely  destroyed. 

(From  our  own  Cobeespokdent.) 

Paris,  July  30,  1867. 
Discovery  of  the    Cromlech  of  El-lanic.  —  AnderU  potttry, 

worked  flints,  and  stone  haicheis. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Polymatic  Society  of  Morbihan, 
M.  de  Closmadeuc  gave  a  description  of  a  very  fine  cromlech 
discovered  by  him  in  a  very  small  desert  island  in  the  gulf  of 
Morbihan,  called  El-lanic,  situated  south  of  Gavara's.  This 
cromlech  is  represented  by  more  than  sixty  obelisks  of  gran- 
ite, forming  a  vast  regular  circle  of  180  metres  in  circum- 
ference. The  mean  length  of  the  blocks  is  three  m^trea 
One  of  the  blocks  is  of  colossal  size ;  it  is  broken  into  two 
fragments,  and  measures  5*30  metres  long  by  two  metres 
thick.  A  curious  fact  worthy  of  notice  ie  that  one  half  of  the 
cromlech  is  no  longer  on  the  island  but  on  the  sea  shore,  so 
that  the  view  of  the  whole  circle  is  only  attainable  at  low 
water ;  the  sea  has  encroached  by  degrees  on  the  island  on 
the  south  side  where  the  cromlech  is  found,  and  eaten  away 
half  the  ground. 

M.  de  Closmadeuc,  who  has  made  excavations  in  the 
neighbourhood,  has  discovered  an  incredible  mass  of  ruins 
and  antiquities,  the  nature  of  which  cannot  be  doubted : — 
I.  An  enormous  quantity  of  pottery  perfectly  similar  to  those 
habitually  found  in  Celtic  monuments.  2.  A  quantity  not 
less  considerable  (several  hundreds)  of  fiiuts  worked  by  man, 
analogous  to  those  found  in  ossiferous  caverns,  or  of  Grand- 
^^''©ssigny.  3.  A  great  number  of  stone  hatchets  which  have 
been  found  under  the  Armorican  Dolmens. 

The  discovery  of  the  cromlech  of  El-lanic  is  of  great  in- 
terest. It  is  most  remarkable,  and  the  most  complete  of  the 
cromlechs  hitherto  known  in  the  Morbihan. 


?  Paris,  Aug.  6,  1867. 
Meeting  of  the  Society  of\Encouragement. —  Writing  inks.—-^ 
Decoration  of  porcelain. — Steam  Machineri/. — Industry  of 
cctoutchouc.  —  Reaction  of   oxygen  on  molten    iron. — He- 
searches  on  ozone. — Newton  and  Pascal. 
The  Couucil  of  the  Society  of  Encouragement  held  its  peri- 
odical meeting  in  Paris  on  the  26th  ult. ;  M.  Dumas  is  the 
chair.    MM.  Robert  and  Theurer,  watch  and  clock  makers  at 
Chaux-de-Fonds  (Switzerland),  laid  before  the  society  the 
drawings  of  their  great    repeating  clockwork  and  winding 
apparatus  for  clocks  and  watches,  an  appendix  to  the  com- 
munication made  by  them  on  the  12th  July. 

M.  Becker,  Rue-de-la-Glaci^re,  72,  Paris,  offered  himself 
as  a  candidate  for  the  prize  founded  by  M.  Alexandre  for  the 
improvement  of  writing  inks,  and  handed  in  samples  of  his 
black  and  violet  inks. 

M.  Besson,  ceramic  lithographer  made,  in  his  name  and 
that  of  M.  Mac^,  poroelain  manufacturer,  a  communication 
on  the  application  of  chromolithography  to  the  decoration  of 
porcelain.  He  showed  how  easy  it  was  to  transfer  on  por- 
celain and  earthenware  ohromolithographic  pictures  executed 
on  paper  with  the  colours  and  varnish  adapted  for  painting 
on  porcelain. 


l82        ^ 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exliibition  of  iS6y. 


j  Chemical  Nwa, 
\       Oct.,  186T. 


M.  Duprez  explained  a  contrivance,  invented  by  him,  for  a 
more  perfect  distribution  of  steam  by  a  variable  decent  act- 
ing without  the  aid  of  an  excentric  In  all  slide  valves  with 
a  single  box,  according  to  the  extent  of  the  admission,  the 
opening  of  the  port  is  more  and  moje  narrowed,  and  the  ex- 
haust ports  are  opened  sooner.  M.  Duprez  avoids  this  in- 
convenience by  the  following  means,  the  employment  of 
which  is  particularly  adapted  for  locomotives.  The  contriv- 
ance consists  in  a  parallelogram  fixed  to  ili^  crosshead.  In 
the  model  presented  to  the  Society,  the  durations  of  the  ad- 
mission and  the  compression  are  sensibly  the  same  (at  equal 
detente),  as  with  the  much  employed  system  of  the  link  valve 
reversed ;  but  the  new  system  gives  the  parts  a  greater  open- 
ing by  45  per  cent.  An  analogous  combination,  admitting  a 
toothed  wheel  forming  an  epicycloidal,  gives  similar  results, 
and  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  stationary  engines. 

Mr.  Balard  placed  before  the  Society  the  progress  of  the 
industry  of  caoutchouc  during  the  last  few  years.  Com- 
merce has  furnished,  in  fact,  9,000  tons  of  caoutchouc,  the 
value  of  which  is  40,000,000  francs  in  a  raw  state,  and  75  to 
80,000.000  francs  in  a  manufactured  state.  One  half  of  this 
quantity,  and  the  purest,  has  come  from  the  province  of  Para. 
The  industrial  demands  are  so  important,  that  experiments 
have  been  made  in  Brazil  for  cultivating  the  tree  which  pro- 
duces this  substance,  in  the  same  way  as  the  quinquina  has 
been  grown  in  the  Himalaya.  It  is  extensively  used  for  wa- 
terproof clothing,  boot  soles,  cards  for  wool,  etc. ;  in  the  cards 
where  much  suppleness  is  required,  the  purest  material  from 
Para  alone  is  used.  The  processes  for  vulcanising  have  also 
been  perfected.  The  employment,  for  this  purpose,  of  the 
chloride  of  sulphur,  has  become  general ;  it  has  been  em- 
ployed either  alone  or  dissolved  in  sulphide  of  carbon ;  the 
employment  of  litharge  for  neutralising  the  hydrochloric 
acid  of  moderating  the  sulphuration,  has  been  better  regu- 
lated. The  teiBperature  of  1 35°0.,  at  which  the  vulcanisation 
takes  plaoe,  has  been  rendered  more  fixed  and  certain  by 
substituting,  for  the  ordinary  boiler,  currents  of  steam. 
Cords  of  vulcanised  caoutchouc  are  made  of  the  pure  mate- 
rials, masticated  with  extreme  care  in  small  masses,  whicli 
are  kneaded  together  so  as  to  form  a  homogeneous  mass,  the 
vulcanisation  being  effected  by  steeping  the  packets  in  water 
heated  to  a  constant  temperature  of  I35°C. 

M.  Troostv  Professor  of  Chemistry,  called  the  attention  of 
the  Society  to  the  results  obtained  by  properly  treating  cast 
iron  at  a  high  temperature  with  a  current  of  oxygen  gas. 
This  experiment,  ixfade  in  1855,  by  M.  Henry  Saint-Claire 
Doville,  is  the  starting  point  of  all  the  researches  subsequent- 
ly made.  It  gives  the  means  of  easily  obtainmg  Bessemer 
steel,  or,  if  it  be  required,  a  very  pure  soft  iron.  M.  Troost 
repeated  his  experiment  before  the  assembly.  The  cast-iron 
placed  in  a  crucible  of  quick  lime,  is  fused  by  the  combus- 
tion of  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen  gases.  In  this 
state,  and  by  increasing  the  emission  of  oxygen,  the  carbon, 
silicium,  and  sulphur  are  burnt  up,  and  form  a  dross  which 
is  absorbed  by  the  substance  of  the  crucible ;  the  oxygen 
burns  the  uron  itself,  leaving  the  iron  in  a  melted  state,  excel- 
lently pure. 

From  experiments  carefully  made,  the  hydrometric  com- 
mission of  Lyons  has  established  since  1852  the  habitual  ab- 
sence of  ozone  in  the  air  of  that  town,  while  its  presence  is 
constantly  evident  in  the  exterior  of  the  city.  In  the  month 
of  September,  1865,  the  Imperial  Observatory  caused  the 
same  studies  to  be  made,  on  an  extensive  scale,  over  all 
France,  with  a  view  of  discovering  some  law,  if  there  is  one, 
that  would  explain  this  phenomenon.  The  same  reagent  pa- 
pers were  remitted  to  all  the  stations,  so  that  they  might  be 
rigorously  compared  together.  The  observations  were  taken 
during  a  whole  year  ;  the  results  of  this  immense  work  will 
be,  perhaps,  soon  known  to  the  world.  Meanwhile,  M.  Four- 
net  gives  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  his  resumed  observa- 
tions at  Lyons  and  the  suburbs,  with  the  co-operation  of  M. 
Lambert  and  Rasslnier.  While  ozone  was  very  abundant  at 
Sauvage,  on  the  heights  of  Tararae,  a  range  of  hills  separating 
the  basins  of  the  Loire  and  Rhone,  traces  were  barely  per- 


ceptible once  or  twice  a  month  at  Lyons.  It'  is  well  knowu 
that  it  has  been  often  maintained  that  the  arrival  of  the  chol- 
era was  coincident  with  the  disappearance  of  ozone  in  the 
air.  The  example  of  Lyons  does  not  agree  well  with  this  as- 
sertion ;  this  city  is  not  subject  to  cholera,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  its  atmosphere  is  always  deprived  of  ozone. 

The  revelations  of  M.  Chasles  with  respect  to  Pascal  are 
the  great  topio  of  the  day,  and  we  wait  here  with  impatience 
the  news  of  its  reception  from  the  English  press.  M.  Chasles 
is  far  from  having  furnished  bis  last  observations,  as  he  has 
only  placed  before  the  public  a  small  portion  of  his  treasures. 
He  is  in  possession  of  other  documents  which  prove  that 
Pascal  had  discovered  before  Xewton,  and  even  taught  New- 
ton, the  admirable  fact  of  the  decomposition  or  the  dispersion 
of  light ;  that  he  was  the  first  to  make  the  celebrated  experi- 
ment of  the  prism,  to  observe  and  number  the  seveu  princi- 
pal colours  of  tiie  solar  spectrum. 

Tlie  glory,  also,  of  the  employment  of  the  word  *'  differen- 
tial," or  **  differential  calculus,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  calr 
culation  of  fluxions  and  fluents  of  analytical  algebra  properly 
so  called,  escaped  Newton,  to  fall  upon  his  adopted  father. 
Pascal.^'  Newion  will  not  cease  to  be  considered  as  a  great 
man,  but  the  public  will  cease  perhaps  to  believe  in  bis  ge- 
nius and  his  good  faith,  when  it  will  be  known  tltat  at  his 
earliest  career  he  was  in  possession,  through  Leibnitz,  of 
printed  and  manuscript  documents  of  Kepler ;  througli  Vi- 
viani  he  had  ^the  MSS.  of  GalUeo;  by  Pascal,  the  MSS.  of 
Descartes,  even  those  which  were  brought  from  Sweden 
after  his  death ;  these  latter  were  sunk  in  the  Seine  along 
with  tlie  boat  which  carried  them,  and  fished  up  again  at 
the  old  quay  of  the  Louvre;  also  by  Pascal,  Newton  had  his 
letters,  notes,  thoughts  on  attraction,  the  decomposition  of 
light,  the  differential  method,  eta  When  he  had  such  a  re- 
markably preciotis  store,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  arrived 
at  such  wonderful  result^  but  it  is  astonishing  that  he  took 
so  long  a  time  to  put  these  documents  in  practical  use.  Ah ! 
if  Pascal  had  had  the  time  and  leisure  necessary  to  write  ui 
French  the  Principia,  with  what  depth  and  deameas  would 
he  have  developed  his  magnifloent  theme  I 

M.  Chasles  possesses  also  a  letter  in  which  Amand, 
grieved  a  little  at  the  effect  produced  by  the  first  of  the 
"Provincial  Letters,"  wrote  a  most  interesting  word  of 
encouragemont  to  I'ascaL 

F.  Hoiaxa 


Paris,  Aua.  13,  1S67. 
Mother  of  Pearl  Colours  applied  to  Porcelain. — Improvemenii 
in  Calico  Printing. — Engraving  on  Glass  with  Hydrofiuorie 
Acid. — Polychromic  Impressions  on  Porcelain. — The  Sphe- 
romeier,—The  Exhilntion  A%0Q/rd8:—Secwrily  from  jFIre; — 
Steel  Wire  Drawings—Cheap  prodtuHon  of  Oxygen.—BleaA- 
ing  with  FluosiUcic  and  StUpkurous  Adds, 

We  have  already  mentioned  that  the  Society  for  the  En- 
couragement of  National  Industry  holds,  during  the  Exhi- 
bition, weekly  instead  of  monthly  meetings. 

At  the  meetuig  on  July  26,  M.  Maillard  invited  the  Society 
to  attend  his  experiments  on  the  next  day,  at  Avenue  Mon- 
taigne, No.  21,  Paris,  to  show  the  superiority,  as  regards 
security  from  fire,  of  his  mineral  roof-sheeting,  compared 
with  that  of  zinc  or  tiles.  fWe  learn  sinoe,  that  the  tfles 
and  zinc  gave  way  at  once,  while  the  new  mineral  covering 
resisted  ttie  effects  of  fire.] 

M.  Lavollee  read,  in  tlie  name  of  the  Committee  of  Com- 
merce, a  report  by  M.  Legentil  on  the  manufactory  of  M. 
Teste,  established  at  Lyons,  for  steel  wire-drawmg,  in  vrbidi 
he  employs  infirm  workmen.  This  establishment  has  quin- 
tupled its  importance  in  spite  of  the  reduction  of  the  prices 
resulting  from  the  treaties  of  commerce,  it  has  more  ex- 
tended relations  with  foreign  countries,  and  in  it  are  fabri- 
cated all  important  objects  of  steel  wire-work,  needles, 
urabrella-ribs,  knitting-needles,  crochets,  enamelled-headed 
pms,  pivots  for  different  trades,  springs  for  crinolines  mid 


OHasucAL  Nbws,  ) 
i  Oct,  188T.       f 


Foreign  Science — Paris  Exhibition  of  1S67. 


183 


ooraetSy  eta  M.  Teste  announced  that  he  employs  246 
workmen  and  workwomen,  100  of  whksh  are  employed  at 
their  homes.  Besides  these  latter  he  employs  about  120 
yoong  infirm  females  who  have  found  a  refu|f^  in  a  religious 
institution,  established  near  his  works,  and  called  Sainie- 
Bliiabeth  Providence  of  the  infirm. 

On  the  2nd  of  August,  1S67,  M.  Chevallier  in  the  diair, 
a  meeting  was  held  in  which  M.  Salvetat  presented  a  report 
on  mother-of-pearl  colours  applied  to  the  decoration  of  cr3r8- 
tal  and  porcelain,  made  by  M.  Brian^n,  decorator,  Paris. 
He  remarked  that  the  pearl  Tarnishes  of  M.  BrianQon  were, 
eight  years  ago,  objects  of  examination  and  encouragement 
on  the  part  of  the  Society.  Since  then,  the  method  has 
been  extended  to  new  applications,  and  has  met  with  much 
encouragement  abroad ;  thus  we  observe  in  the  Exhibition 
a  great  number  of  pieces  of  pearly  portelain  in  the  Belgian, 
Itafian,  Spanish,  Prussian,  Austrian,  and  Russian  sections. 
The  employment  of  bismuth  for  this  purpose  originated, 
aooording  to  Mr.  Salvetat,  in  France. 

M.  Schutsenbergar,  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  College 
of  France,  gave  a  very  interesting  lecture  on  his  improve- 
ments in  the  printing  of  woven  stuffs  during  *the  last  few 
years.  The  medianiad  principles  adopted  are  the  same  as 
formerly;  the  means  of  engraving  the  plates  have  been 
much  improved,  and  blocks  of  ftisible  metal  are  now  oftener 
employed;  also  the  impressions  by  engraved  rollers  have 
come  more  generally  into  use.  l^ichines  have  been  con- 
■tmcted  for  printing  at  one  operation  eight  to  twelve 
colours,  and  in  England  they  go  as  far  as  twenty-four 
colours.  The  rollers  are  of  cast  iron  covered  with  cop- 
per, and  the  engraving  is  made  by  the  ordinary  means  of 
aquafortis ;  the  chemi«J  processes  were  the  object  of  more 
extended  study,  since  eight  or  twelve  colours  have  to  be 
fixed  on  the  tissue  by  one  and  the  same  means,  as  they  are 
applied  simultaneously.  Albumen  is  one  of  the  substances 
most  generally  used.  It  coagulates  at  the  boiling  point  of 
water,  and  retains  and  fixes  on  the  tissues  the  colouring 
matter  with  which  it  is  charged ;  it  also  forms  a  mordant 
for  applying;  on  cotton,  colours  derived  from  aniline  which 
can  only  be  fixed  by  nitrogenized  substances.  The  lecturer 
detailed  also  the  processes  employed  in  the  use  of  garandne 
or  madder  colours,  and  went  into  a  very  ample  description 
of  aniline  colours  and  their  improvement,  and  he  dwelt  upon 
the  stability  and  indestructibility  of  aniline  black. 

M.  Peligot,  member  of  the  council,  explained  the  processes 
generally  in  use,  for  engraving  on  glass  by  hydrofluoric  acid. 
This  acid  in  a  liquid  state  gives  a  polished  and  transparent 
sorfaoe  to  the  glass,  and  is  useful  for  making  decorative 
designs  on  white  glass  lined  with  coloured  glass.  Dull 
engravings  on  glass  are  obtained  by  the  use  of  neutral 
flnorides,  to  which  add  has  been  added.  M.  Kessler  ap- 
piiea  these  processes  at  Baccarat;  they  are  also  used  at 
Saint  Louis.  This  last  establishment  consumes  annually 
Soo  kilog.  of  hydrofluoric  add;  Baccarat  employs  more. 
The  designs  are  first  drawn  on  scone,  and  proofs  are  taken 
off  with  an  ink  oontaing  wax  and  bitumen,  on  unsized  paper, 
coated  with  starch  first,  then  with  gum,  and  thirdly  with 
collodion.  When  the  sheet  is  applied  to  the  glass,  the 
piqper  is  washed  off  with  water,  leaving  only  the  impression 
and  the  coating  of  collodion  which  covers  it  A  similar 
proceeding  is  employed  for  polychromic  impressions  upon 
poffoelaiu,  the  collodion  being  burned  off  in  the  fire.  Five 
nondred  large  sheets  of  glass  engraved  in  this  manner, 
meaanring  2m.  2cc.  long  l^  6oa  wide,  have  been  made  for 
the  estabtishment  of  M.  Duval,  in  Paris. 

1(.  Perreux,  engineer,  explained  the  prindples  of  his 
epharomeler.  It  consists  of  a  screw,  the  pitch  of  which  is  a 
quarter  of  a  milimdtre,  and  a  drde  divided  into  500  parts, 
so  as  to  obtain  the  graduation  of  i -2000th  of  a  millimetre. 
He  also  explained  the  construction  of  a  self-acting  machine, 
capable  of  marking,  in  a  right  line,  divisions  visible  by 
iSbd  microscope,  only  the  thousandth  part  of  a  millimetre 
asunder. 

Among  the  many  persons  of  great  merit  in  the  French 


section  of  the  Exhibition  who  have  been  either  badly  re* 
warded,  or  passed  over  in  silence,  we  cite  the  following :  M. 
CoUas,  the  pioneer  of  benzol,  hiveutor  of  nitro-benzol,  and 
dassed  by  the  Society  of  Mulhouse  among  the  discoverers 
of  aniline  colours ;  he  has  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exhibition 
two  important  discoveries,  and  the  jury  have  not  awarded 
him  even  honourable  mention.  What  has  become  of  the 
medal  certainly  awarded  him  by  the  jury  at  the  first  meet- 
ing? • 

M.  Dubrunfaut,  discoverer  of  th^  application  of  osmose  to 
the  extraction  of  sugars,  exhibited  by  M.  Gamichd  de  la 
tour  du  Piu  (Isere),  a  successful  operation,  greatly  extolled 
in  three  lectures  by  M.  Payen,  a  most  excellent  judge,  at  the 
Conservatoire  des  Aria  d  Metiers^  at  the  Sorbonne,  and  at 
the  Sodety  of  Encouragement,  has  been  completely  ignored. 

The  ^*  Mille  "  gaz,  and  gazo-lamp,  the  former  of  which  is 
remarkable  for  the  fadlity  with  which  gas  is  produced  with- 
out any  mechanical  agent  or  fire,  by  an  apparatus  easily  put 
up  anywhere;  and  the  latter  now  sold  by  thousands  all 
over  Paris,  and  in  the  Provinces,  besides  being  exhibited  in 
hundreds  of  different  shapes  and  designs  at  the  Exhibition, 
do  not  figure  even  in  the  catalogue. 

A  noble  widow,  Madame  de  Cleroq,  spent  £140,000  in 
order  to  render  the  commune  of  Oig^ies,  in  -the  Pas  de 
Calais,  in  which  she  resides,  a  terrestrial  paradise.  She  has 
constructed  at  her  expense  a  vast  church,  an  asylum,  a 
school  and  work-room  for  girls,  a  boy's  school,  a  house  of 
patronage  for  youth,  an  asylum  for  the  aged,  cheap  dwell- 
ings, etc ;  she  has  founded  courses  of  studies  for  adults, 
Sunday-schools,  a  library,  a  club,  recreation  and  exercise- 
rooms,  with  medical  consultion,  a  savings'  bank,  eta  A 
group  of  neighbouring  roads  has  also  been  organized  and 
kept  in  repair,  more  than  400  acres  have  been  deared  and 
let  out  to  550  families,  a  coal  mine  has  been  sunk,  and  water 
supply  given  to  the  town,  now  numbering  1800  souls,  all  at 
the  expense  of  this  lady,  to  whom  the  jury  have  awarded 
the  humble  prize  of  a  silver  medal  1 

The  aim  of  the  Agricultural  Sodety  of  Entomology  is  to 
contribute  to  the  multiplication  of  useful  insects,  and  to  pro- 
mulgate the  means  of  destruction  of  noxious  ones.  It  is 
composed  of  honorary  and  titular  members,  without  any 
limit  as  to  their  number.  The  title  of  honorary  member 
can  be  conferred  on  persons  who,  by  their  publications  and 
works,  forward  the  views  of  the  Society.  It  can  be  also 
conferred  upon  persons  who  aid  the  Sodety  by  their  patron- 
age or  donations. 

Any  person,  without  distinction  ol  residence  or  nationality, 
can  be  received  as  titular  member  and  correspondent  of  the 
Sodety,  by  being  presented  by  a  member  of  the  Council, 
adhering  to  the  statutes,  and  paying  ten  francs  per  annum. 
From  time  to  time  reports  are  issued  relative  to  the  multi- 
plication of  insects  useful  to  man,  and  the  destruction  of 
those  hurtful,  indicating  the  rational  means  of  healthy  devel- 
opment ;  in  the  other  case  the  most  ready  method  of  extir- 
pation. There  are  being  formed  a  library,  collections,  and  a 
museum ;  also,  the  documents  and  papers  received  are  cen- 
tralized and  classified,  and  those  intended  for  publication 
are  indicated.  An  enquiry  office  has  been  instituted,  in 
which  Interested  parties  can  obtain  information  on  the 
insects  about  which  they  desire  it 

Every  two  years  an  exhibition  is  organised  in  Paris,  of 
useful  Insects,  their  products,  and  apparatus  adapted  to  their 
cultivation ;  and  of  noxious  insects,  the  ravages  caused  by 
them  and  their  means  of  destruction. 

The  process  for  the  cheap  production  of  oxygen,  by  M. 
Tessie  de  Motay,  has  perfectly  succeeded  in  the  laboratory 
of  the  Exhibition  established  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine. 
The  new  method,  so  simple  and  efficadous,  has  fulfilled  all 
expectations.  Fifty  kilog.  of  manganaie  of  soda  give  400 
to  450  litres  of  oxygen  per  hour,  after  eighty  successive  re- 
oxidations.  M.  Tessie  do  Motay  has  so  perfected  the  fabri- 
caticn  of  manganate  of  soda,  that  he  is  almost  certain  of 
being  able  to  furnish  it  to  the  trade  at  the  price  of  30  or  40 
centimes  the  kilogramme.    The  necessary  arrangements  for 


1 84 


Absorption  of  Gaaea  hy  MeUde. 


( OHmcAL  JVvwi^ 


Ool^lMr. 


eBsaying  on  a  large  scale  the  ozyhydrogen  light  at  the  Hotel 
de  Yille,  in  the  square  as  well  as  in  the  interior,  advances 
rapidly,  and  the  generators  are  fitted  np  already  in  the  cel- 
lars. Oxygen  and  common  gas  burned  together  in  common 
burners  increase  the  illuminating  power  from  i  to  8  or  even 
IS,  or  can  serve  at  the  same  time  for  burning  in  the  chlo- 
ride of  magnesium  lamps  of  M.  Carlevaris,  which  do  excel- 
lent service. 

In  order  that  the  essays  of  spontaneous  bleaching  with 
fluosilicic  acid  and  sulphurous  add  could  completely  suc- 
ceed, it  was  necessary  1x>  render  as  cheap  as  possible  the 
production  of  manganate  of  soda.  Applied  to  pulp  of  wood 
and  straw  it  gave  such  excellent  results  that  the  manufac- 
turers themselves  scarcely  knew  whether  they  were  treating 
rag-pulp  or  straw-pulp. 

F.  MoiGVO. 


REPORTS    OP    SOCIETIES. 


ROYAL  INSTITUTION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

On    the  Abscrpiian  of  Oaaes  by  MetdU,  By  Db,  Odung, 
F.R.S.,  Oc. 

{Continued  from  p.  144.) 

You  observe  in  the  case  of  all  the  metals  we  have  as  yet 
considered,  that  they  are  characterised  by  absorbing  chiefly 
one  particular  gas.  Platinum  and  palUdi um  are  characterised 
by  absorbing  hydrogen  alone  ;  and  copper  also,  by  absorbing 
hydrogen.  Whether  it  absorbs  any  other  gases  has  not,  I 
believe,  been  determined.  In  the  case  of  gold,  the  gas  ab- 
sorbed most  abundantly  is  hydrogen,  though  it  is  certainly 
capable  of  absorbing  a  great  many  others.  Now,  with  re- 
gard to  silver,  we  find  that  it  has  the  special  property  uf  ab- 
sorbing oxygen  gas.  I  am  not  referring  to  the  ^mporary  ab- 
sorption of  oxygen  by  melted  silver,  and  its  evolution  on  the 
solidification  of  the  metal,  which  constitutes  the  well-known 
spitting  of  silver,  but  to  the  occlusion  of  the  gas  by  the  solid 
metal — for  it  is  not  merely  au  absorption,  it  is  an  occlusion, 
the  metal  retaining  the  gas  for  any  length  of  time;  and  you 
will  remember  that,  when  speaking  of  platinum,  I  mentioned 
that  the  metal  retained  its  hydrogen  for  two  months,  although 
exposed  freely  to  the  air.  In  different  experiments,  then, 
silver  wire  was  found  to  absorb  74  per  cent  of  oxygen,  and 
nearly  21  percent,  of  hydrogen.  Silver  sponge  absorbed  722 
per  cent,  of  oxygen ;  92  per  cent  of  hydrogen ;  52  per  cent 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  15  per  cent  of  carbonic  oxide.  A 
specimen  of  silver  leaf  exposed  to  the  air  at  a  red  heat  ab- 
sorbed 1 37  per  cent  of  oxygen  and  20  per  cent  of 'nitrogen. 
Accordingly,  while  ordinary  atmospheric  air  contains  21  per 
cent  of  oxygen,  and  the  air  absorbed  by  gold  only  5  percent 
of  oxygen,  in  the  air  absorbed  by  silver  the  oxygen  amounts 
to  85  per  cent 

Now  we  come  to  another  metal,  and  of  very  great  interest 
in  relation  to  this  occlusion  of  gases — namely,  iron.  Ordinary 
iron  wire  was  carefully  cleaned,  heated  in  vacuo  to  drive  off 
its  natural  gas,  and  then  charged  with  different  gases  at  a 
red  heat  It  was  found  that  the  wire,  treated  m  this  way, 
absorbed  46  per  cent  of  hydrogen ;  but  there  was  another 
gas  which  it  could  absorb  in  a  much  larger  proportion — name- 
ly, carbonic  oxide.  Just  as  platinum  is  distinguished  by  its 
copious  absorption  of  hydrogen,  and  silver  by  its  absorption 
of  oxygen,  so  is  iron  distioguislied  by  its  ready  absorption  of 
carbonic  oxide.  Whereas  it  absorbed  only  46  per  cent  of 
hydrogen,  it  actually  absorbed  415  per  cent  of  carbonic 
oxide. 

A  point  of  interest  connected  with  iron,  as  with  platinum, 
is  that  the  metal,  though  perfectly  impervious  to  gfl^  at  ordi- 
nary temperature,  yet  when  atrongly  heated,  allows  the  pas- 
sage through  it  of  hydrogen  gas,  as  shown  by  M.  Deville, 
and  of  carbonic  oxide,  as  shown  more  especially  by  Mr. 
Graham,  whose  admirable  elucidation  of  the  nature  of  tlieae 
transmissions,  forms  the  subject  of  our    oonsideratiott  this 


evening ;  and  who  hafl  shown  that  in  the  ease  of  Iron,  as  in 
that  of  platinum,  the  transmission  of  the  gas  is  preceded  by 
its  absorption  in  the  salbstanoe  of  the  metal. 

With  tegard  to  the  natural  gas  of  iron  wire — ^that  is  to  say, 
the  gas  existing  in  the  metal  as  ordinarily  met  with, — I  may 
direct  your  attention  to  the  particulars  of  one  or  two  expe^ 
iments:  In  one  experiment,  the  wire  heated  in  vacuo  was 
found  to  give  off  7*94,  which  we  will  call  8  times  its  volume 
of  gas,  while  in  another  experiment,  in  which  the  heating  pro- 
cess was  kept  up  for  a  much  longer  time,  it  gave  off  1 2  times 
its  volume,  or  1 200  per  cent  of  natural  gas,  consisting  chief- 
ly of  carbonic  oxide.  Whence  it  would  appear  that  ordina- 
ry wrought  iron  occludes  in  the  forge,  and  continuously  re* 
tains,  from  8  to  12  times  its  own  volume  of  natural  gas. 

Now  iron  has  two  distinct  origina  In  addition  to  what 
we  may  call  terrestaifil  or  telluric  iron,  there  is  another  kind 
of  iron  which  we  may  call  sidereal,  that  is  to  say  the  iron  of 
meteorites.  Henoe  it  becomes  a  question  of  interest  to  as- 
certain whether  this  meteoric  iron  contained  any  gas,  and  if 
so,  what  was  the  nature  of  the  gas;  because  it  would  appear, 
from  the  existence  in  the  different  metals  examined  of  what 
may  be  called  natural  gaar  that  every  metal  contains-a  resi- 
due of  the  gas  in  which  it  last  existed  at  a  temperatnre  of 
ignition.  If  the  metal  has  been  last  ignited  in  hydrogen  it 
retains  hydrogen,  if  the  metal  has  been  last  ignited  in  carbon- 
ic oxide  it  retains  carbonic  oxid&  Does  meteoric  iron  then 
contain  any  gas  t  and  if  so.  of  what  kind  ?  For  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  these  points,  a  quantity  of  meteoric  iron 
from  the  Lenarto  fall,  of  about  45  grammes  by  weight,  and 
six  cubic  centimetres  by  volume,  was  taken,  cleaned,  and  m- 
troduced  into  a  porcelain  tube  of  this  kind.  A  vacuum  was 
made  in  the  tube,  and  heat  then  applied,  when  so  soon  as  the 
meteorite  got  red-hot^  it  began  to  ^ve  off  some  gas ;  and 
here  in  this  repetition  of  the  experiment,  I  hope  to  show  yoa 
some  of  the  gas  which  this  meteorite  has  brought  down 
from — who  can  say  where.  There  we  have  the  poroelaia 
tube,  containing  the  meteorite,  exhausted  by  the  air-pump 
and  being  heated  by  the  furnace.  One  end  of  the  tube  is 
closed ;  the  other  end  connected  as  you  see  with  the  Spreo- 
gel  pump.  The  mercury  is  now  feUing  in  the  Sprengel 
pump,  and  as  it  falls  is  delivering  the  gas.  In  this  test^ube 
we  are  now  collecting  the  gas  extracted  from  the  meteoritt, 
and  which  the  meteorite  has  brought  down  from  the  plaee 
where  it  last  was  at  the  temperature  of  ignition. 

Now  comes  the  question,  what  is  the  nature  of  this  gas? 
Well,  the  45  grammes  or  6  cubic  centimetres  of  iron  were  ig^ 
nited  in  this  way  for  two  houre  and  a  halt  and  during  those 
two  hours  and  a  hal^  they  gave  off  60^  cubic  oenttmetras  of 
gas,  which  I  may  say  at  once  consisted  substantially,  not  of 
carbonic  oxide— the  gas  existing  in  terrestrial  iron  which  has 
been  last  ignited  in  a  coal  furnace— but  it  oonsisted  subitan- 
tially  of  hydrogen,  or  contained,  at  any  rate,  85^  per  cent  of 
that  gas,  with  a  small  quantity  of  carbonic  oxide  and  nitrogen. 
Whereas,  then,  telluric  iron  contains  carbonic  oxide  absoibed 
from  the  atmosphere  in  which  it  has  been  last  ignited,  this  si- 
derial  iron  contains  hydrogen  instead,  absorbed,  I  suppoBS^ 
from  the  atmosphere  fit)m  which  it  has  been  last  ignited.  My 
distinguished  friend,  Mr.  Miller,  in  co-operation  with  Mr.  Hog- 
gins, has  demonstrated  the  existence  of  hydrogen  gas  in  cdee- 
tial  bodies  by  an  analysis  of  the  spectra  of  several  of  tlie  stars; 
but  we  have  got,  in  this  test-tube,  the  thing  itself.  Here  is 
the  free  hydrogen  gas  which  has  been  brought  down  to  as  by 
one  of  these  smaller  stars.  Perhaps  a  point  of  still  further  in- 
terest, relating  to  this  subject,  is^the  classification  of  the  stare 
according  to  their  spectra,  which  Father  Seechi  has  recently 
made.  He  has  divided  the  fixed  stars  mto  tliree  classes,  in 
one  of  which,  typified  by  a  Lyne,  the  spectrum  is  essentially 
the  spectrum  of  hydrogen.  That  star,  then,  imdoubtedlj  con- 
tains an  atmosphere,  of  which  the  prevailhig  constituent  is  hy- 
drogen gas.  Now,  upon  a  subject  of  this  kind,  which  is  only 
three  days  old,  it  is  not  ua  human  nature  to  avoid  specolatiDg  a 
little ;  and  I  think  we  may  venture  to  speculata  thus  for,  that 
our  meteoric  iron  probably  absorbed  ita  hydrogen  fitwn  a  star- 
atmosphere  of  thedaas  which  is  so  typified. 


Gdmioal  Niwt, ) 
Oct.,  1M7.       f 


Absorption  of  Oaaea  hy  Mttala. 


185  - 


But  there  18  another  point  b^ariiif^tip6n  this  subject  Un* 
der  ordinary  circumataDces;  Ve  are  not  capable  of  fcettingf  in^ 
iron  more  than  half  its  volume  of  hydrogen ;  but  this  natural 
iron  contains  nearly  three  times  its  volume  of  hydrogen.  Now, 
if  uniler  ordinary  atmospheric  pressure,  iron  will  absorb  only 
half  its^volume  of  hydrogen,  what  sort  of  a  pressure  would  it 
require  to  Enable  it  to  absorb  six  times  that  quantity  ?  Accord- 
ing to  our  present  notions,  it  must  at  any  rate  have  been  ex- 
posed to  an  atmosphere  in  a  very  condensed  state.  We  can 
Dot  imagine  that,  in  the  interplanetary  space  of  our  ordinary 
solar  system,  there  should  be  gas  of  a  sufficient  density  to  per- 
mit the  absorption  by  this  meteorite  of  six  times  the  quantity 
of  hydrogen  absorbable  by  iron  under  the  pressure  of  our 
telluric  atmosphere. 

We  have  now  succeeded  in  extracting  a  considerable 
volame,  many  cubic  centimetres,  of  gas  fh>m  our  ignited  me- 
-  teorite.  I  almost  thinic,  although  the  experiment  is  but  a 
small  one,  that,  as  we  have  hydrogen  brought  from  so  great 
a  distance  for  our  examination,  it  is  worth  while  to  darken 
the  theatre  in  order  to  witness  its  combustion ;  and  having 
lowered  the  theatre-gas,  we  will  now  inflame  our  hydrogen  of 
the  stars.    [The  meteoric  hydrogen  was  accordingly  ignited.] 

So  much,  then,  for  the  great  tiact  of  the  absorption  and  oc- 
clusion of  different  gases  by  metals.  Now  we  have  to  con- 
sider what  is  the  nature  of  the  absorption.  In  the  year  1823, 
Mr.  Faraday  established  the  general  proposition  that  a  gas 
was  nothing  else  than  the  vapour  of  a  volatile  liquid,  existing 
at  a  temperature  considerably  above  the  boiling  point  of  the 
liquid.  In  the  case,  for  instance,  of  liquid  water,  which  boils 
at  loo'*,  if  tbe  vapour  of  this  water  bo  afVerwards  heated  up 
to  a  temperature  of  150°,  the  water-vapour  existing  at  the 
temperature  of  150''  is  a  true  gas,  possessing  all  the  physical 
properties  of  a  gas.  If  we  take  this  water-gas  existing  at 
150°,  and  cool  it  down  to  a  little  above  the  temperature  of 
100**,  it  loses  some  of  the  characteristic  properties  of  a  gas, 
and  becomes  what  we  more  strictly  caU  a  vapour ;  and  this 
vapour,  if  subjected  to  a  temperature  ever  so  little  below 
100",  at  once  becomes  converted  into  liquid  water.  Accord- 
ingly, the  boiling  part  of  liquid  water  may  be  equally  well 
called  the  coudensing  point  of  water-gas :  and  similarly,  in 
case  of  other  gases,  their  respective  condensing  points  are 
merely  the  boiling  points  of  the  liquids  producing  them.  But 
the  boiling  point  of  a  liquid,  and  the  condensing  point  of  its 
gas,  is  not  a  fixed  point  of  temperature,  but  is  a  point  of  tem- 
perature varying  with  the  pressure  to  which  the  gas  or  liquid 
18  subjected.  For  instance,  under  ordinary  atmospheric 
presKire,  water  boils  at  100°,  but  under  the  p'ressure  of  five 
atmospheres  it  boils  at  150°,  so,  that  if  we  take  our  water- 
gas  existing  at  150°,  and  maintaining  its  temperature  at  150**, 
then  subject  it  to  a  pressure  of  five  atmospheres,  its  tem- 
perature will  no  longer  be  above  tbe  temperature  of  its  boiling 
point,  and  it  will  cease  to  exist  as  a  gas  at  all,  and  become 
converted  into  liquid  water.  Accordingly,  we  may  effect  the 
condensation  of  water-gas,  existing  at  any  temperature,  by 
cooling  it  down  to  itsoidinary  oondensing-point,  or  by  subject- 
ing it  to  a  degree  of  pressure  at  which  its  existing  temperature 
will  not  exceed  that  of  its  thereby  heightened  condeusing- 
p4iiot  And  so  with  other  gases.  Every  one  of  the  very  many 
diSerent  gases  known  to  the  chemists,  with  about  six  excep- 
tions, has  been  condensed  into  the  liquid  state,  by  a  certain  re- 
duction of  temperature;  or  by  a  certain  increase  of  pressure ;  or 
by  a  conjoint  reduction  of  temperature  and  increase  of  pressure, 
until  the  temperature  of  the  gas  has  been  brought  below  the 
heightened  condensing  point  or  boiling  point  corresponding 
to  the  increased  pressure. 

Now  let  us  consider  more  minutely,  for  a  minute  or  two, 
ilie  effect  of  pressure  upon  these  condensable  gases,  taking 
water-gas  as  an  illustration.  Suppose  we  take  water-gas  ex- 
isting at  150°,  and  contained  in  a  cylinder  closed  in  by  a 
movable  piston,  which  is  balanced,  or  weightless.  Supposing 
the  area  of  the  piston  to  be  one  square  inch,  the  water.gas  is 
subjected  to  a  single  atmospheric  pressure,  which  is  equiva- 
lent in  this  case  to  151b.  Now  if  wo  place  a  151b  weight 
upon  tbe  piston,  we  afaall  double  the  pressore,  and  conse- 


quently halve  the  volume  of  our  water-gas.  In  order  to  re- 
•flBee-this  gas  to  one-fifth  of  its  original  volume,  we  shall  have 
to  quintuple  the  original  pressure,  by  placing  four  such 
weights  upon  the  piston.  But  at  a  pressure  of  five  atmos- 
pheres the  temperature  of  the  gas,  or  1 50°,  would  cease  to 
be  above  the  temperature  of  its  condensing  point;  and  the 
gas,  instead  of  being  merely  compressed  into  one-fifth  of  its 
original  volume,  would  cease  to  exist  as  gas  at  all,  but  be- 
come converted  into  a  scarcely  appreciable  volume  of  liquid, 
and  the  piston  would  descend  ^  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  cyl- 
inder. Accordingly  water-gas'  at  1 50°,  being  condensable  by 
a  pressure  of  five  atmospheres,  it  is  impossible  to  reduce  it  to 
one-fifiii  of  its  bulk  without  liquefying  iL  And,  similarly, 
with  other  gases.  Qrdinary  ammonia  gas  being,  at  ordinary 
temperatures,  condensable  by  a  pressure  of  seven  atmos- 
pheres, it  is  impossible  to  reduce  it  to  one-seventh  of  its 
volume  without  liquefying  it.  Take,  again,  the  case  of  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  gns.  That  being  condensable  at  ordinary 
temperatures,  under  a  pressure  of  15  atmospheres,  it  is  im- 
possible to  reduce  it  to  oue-fifteenth  of  its  bulk  without  lique- 
fying it.  Hydrochloric  acid  gas  being  condensable  at  ordi- 
nary temperature  by  a  pressure  of  40  times  the  ordinary 
atmospheric  pressure,  it  is  impossible  to  compress  this  gas 
into  one-fortieth  of  its  bulk  without  reducing  it  to  the  liqaid 
state.  And.  in  general,  a  gas  maintained  at  some  definite 
temperature,  cannot  be  reduced  to  a  bulk  less  than  that  cor- 
responding to  the  pressura  necessary  to  liquefy  it,  without  its 
becoming  liquefied.  Conversely,  the  reduction  of  any  gas  to 
a  bulk  less  than  that  corresponding  to  the  pressure  neces- 
sary to  liquefy  it,  must  be  taken  as  evidence  of  its  lique- 
faction. 

Now,  altliough  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases  have  never  yet 
been  reduced  to  their  liquid  state  by  mere  pressure,  there  is 
strong  reason  to  believe  that  these  and  other  gases,  absorbed 
by  heated  metals,  really  exist  as  liquids,  or,  at  any  rate,  do 
not  exist  a^  gases  within  the  substance  of  the  absorbing 
metals.  For  these  two  gases  have  never  been  reduced  to  less 
than  iHroth  of  their  bulk  by  mere  pressure,  but  when  absorbed 
by  massive  iron,  platinum  etc.,  they  are  seemingly  reduced  in 
bulk  many  thousand-fold.  Moreover,  all  gases,  even  the 
most  insoluble,  are  certainly  liquefiable  by  solution.  Hero  I 
have  an  experiment  arranged  to  show  the  liquefaction  of 
gases  by  solution  and  absorption,  with  a  view  to  suggest  the 
analogy  subsistntg  between  the  absorption  of  gases  by  liquids 
and  by  heated  metals.  This  sealed  tube  is  filled  with  ammo- 
nia gas,  and  on  breaking  the  end  of  the  tube  under  coloured 
water,  you  observe  that  the  gas  is  absorbed  in  an  instant,  the 
water  rushing  up  to  the  very  top  of  the  tube.  Now  ammonia 
is  one  of  the  most  soluble  of  all  known  gases,  but,  notwith- 
standing its  great  and  rapid  absorption,  which  you  have  just 
witnessed,  it  is  In  reality  less  soluble  in,  or  absorbable  by 
water,  than  hydrogen  is  absorbable  by  palladiuno.  At  mean 
temperature  one  volume  of  water  absorbs  about  780  volumes 
of  ammonia,  whereas  one  volume  of  palladium  absorbs  643 
volumes  of  hydrogen  measured  at  17*5,  which  would  exceed 
800  volumes  measured  at  97**,  the  temperature  of  the  experi- 
ment. 

Now,  this  absorption  of  soluble  gases  is  manifested,  not 
only  in  the  case  of  liquids,  but  also  in  the  case  of  soft  solids; 
those  which  Mr.  Graham  has  denominated  "colloids."  Ac- 
cordingly, if  we  take  a  little  hard  wfiite  of  egg,  a  substance 
which  is  not  wet  in  the  ordinaryisense  of  the  word,  and  if 
we  pass  it  up  into  ammonia  gas,  you  see  that  the  white  of 
egg  absorbs  the  ammonia  gas  with  almost  as  much  rapidity 
as  did  water  itself.  Now  one  possible  view,  in  connection 
with  the  absorption  of  gases  by  heated  metals,  is  that  these 
metals  are  in  what  may  be  termed  a  colloid  state— that  is  to 
say,  that  they  are  soft  bodies,  or  imperfect  solids,  and  that  a 
species  of  low  form  of  chemical  action  >akes  phice  between 
the  metal  and  the  gas,  allied  somewhat  to  the  low  form  of 
chemical  action  which  leads  to  solution,  or  to  the  absorption 
of  gas  by  soft  solids,  suoh  as  white  of  egg  and  india-rubber. 
There  is  one  further  point  to  which,  in  the  few  minutes 
that  remain  to  me,  I  wish  to  draw  your  attention,  and  that  is 


1 86 


Spectrum  Analysis  applied  to  the  Heavenly  Bodies. 


j  GnmiCAL  NsUBy 


the  absorption  of  gases  by  such  substances  as  charcoal,  for  it 
is  a  question  vvhetiier  the  absorbtion  of  gases  by  iieated 
metals  may  not  be  allied  in  some  degree  to  this  well-known 
phenomenon;  and  certainly  there  are  some  facts,  at  any 
rate,  which  seem  to  indicate  a  very  close  relationship  between 
the  two  acts  of  absorption.  If  we  take  a  piece  of  compact 
charcoal,  and  pass  it  under  metallic  mercnry  into  a  cylinder 
of  ammonia  gas,  we  see  in  this  case  a  somewhat  rapid  ab> 
sorption  of  the  gas ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  minutes,  the  piece  of, charcoal  will  absorb  the  whole 
of  the  gas  originally  existing  in  the  cylinder.  Now,  we  know 
that  this  absorption  of  gns  by  charcoal  varies  considerably 
'  with  the  temperature  of  an  experiment,  the  nature  of  the  gas, 

and  above  all  with  the  texture  of  the  charcoal  employed,  just 
as  does  the  absorption  of  gas  by  metal.  Thus,  in  the  case  of 
platinum,  the  fused  metal  absorbs  but  a  very  small  quantity 
of  hydrogen,  the  spongy  metal  absorbs  a  larger,  but  still  a 
comparatively  small  proportion;  whilst  the  feebly  porous 
metal,  in  the  form  of  wrought  platinum,  alone  manifests  the 
property  of  absorption  in  the  highest  degree.  Again,  it  is 
well  known  that  the  gases  absorbed  into  charcoal  have  their 
chemical  properties  intensified,  just  as  I  have  shown  you  with 
regard  to  the  hydrogen  absorbed  by  palladium.  Further,  the 
property  of  charcoal  to  absorb  different  gases  is  intimately 
related  to  its  property  of  exerting  a  selective  absorption  of 
liquid  and  dissolved  substances.  Now  we  find  this  property 
also  manifested  by  palladium.  Thus  i,ooo  volumes  of  palla- 
dium foil  were  found  to  absorb  i  volume  of  water,  5^  volumes 
of  alcohol,  and  i^  volumes  of  ether,  results  showings  special 
relation  of  palladium  to  those  different  liquids,  corresponding 
to  the  action  manifested  by  charcoal.  Moreover,  this  selective 
absorption  of  different  liquids  by  a  sort  of  capillary  affinity, 
brings  the  absorption  of  gases  by  palladium  into  relation  with 
some  very  ftimilirtr  phenomena,  at  first  sight  of  a  widely  dif- 
ferent character,  namely,  the  selective  absorbtion  of  dyes  by 
different  tissues,  and  the  action  of  mordants ;  ^e  property 
which  charcoal  has  of  abstracting  various  matters  from  solu- 
tion, being  closely  allied  to  that  by  which  certain  tissues  and 
mordants  abstract  colouring  matter. 

There  are  many  other  points  of  very  considerable  interest, 
in  relation  to  this  subject,  which  I  should  be  glad  to  bring  be- 
fore you,  were  not  my  time  already  expired ;  but  there  is  one 
point  of  practical  importance,  connected  with  the  absorption 
of  gases  by  iron,  which  I  ought  not  to  omit,  namely,  the 
bearing  which  these  facts  have  upon  the  conversion  of  iron 
into  steel.  Steel  is  manufactured,  as  we  all  know,  by  the 
application  of  diarcoal  to  bar-iron  at  a  certain  temperature. 
The  charcoal,  it  is  true,  gets  partly  converted  into  carbonic 
acid  and  carbonic  oxide,  but  it  is  only  the  surface  of  the  iron 
which  is  in  contact  with  either  the  ciiarooal  or  its  oxides; 
nevertheless  the  conversion  of  the  metal  into  steel  takes 
place  through  its  entire  mass.  Now,  it  has  hitherto  been  a 
subject  of  great  difficulty  to  explain  this  penetration  of  the 
carbon,  or  carbon-oxides,  into  the  centre  of  the  iron  bars. 
But  we  now  see  that  iron,  like  a  colloid  or  porous  substance, 
has  the  power  of  absorbing  carbonic  oxide  gas  to  its  very 
centre.  And  it  would  seem  that  the  process  of  acieration — 
the  conversion  of  iron  into  steel — really  consists  in  an.  ab- 
sorption of  carbonic  oxide  by  the  metal,  and  a  subsequent  de- 
composition of  the  absorbed  carbonic  oxide,  into  carbon, 
which  effects  the  conversion  of  iron  into  steel,  and  into  car* 
bonic  acid  gas,  which  escapes  from  the  surface  of  the  metal, 
and  gives  rise  to  the  blisters  by  which  freshly  made  steel  is 
characterised.  The  eliminated  carbonic  acid  then  takes  up 
more  carbon,  to  become  reconverted  into  carbonic  oxide, 
which  the  metal  agaic  absorbs,  and  so  on  continuously 
until  the  process  is  completed. 

In  conclusion,  it  only  remains  for  me  to  express  what  I 
am  sure  we  must  all  feel— our  sense  of  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
Graham  for  his  admirable  investigations,  which  have  not  only 
^  added  largely  to  our  knowledge  of  the  transmission  of  hydro- 
^n  through  ignited  platinum  and  iron,  observed  by  M. 
Deville,  but  have  gone  vcfj  far  to  explain  the  nature  of  the 
phenomena,  by  showing  that  they  differ  altogether  in  char- 


acter from  the  phenomena  of  diffusion,  but  are  preceded  by 
an  occlusion  and  probable  liquefaction  of  the  gas  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  metal,  somewhat  similar  to  the  occlusion  of 
soluble  gases  by  water,  or  of  absorbable  gases  by  charcoal,  in 
virtue,  probably,  of  a  low  form  of  cliemical  affinity  subsisting 
between  the  gas  and  the  metal.  They  have  brought  to  ligltt 
the  startling  tact  of  the  occlusion  of  some  of  the  lightest 
gases  by  some  of  the  heaviest  metals,  to  the  extent  of  several 
times  their  volume,  and,  in  the  case  of  palladium,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  several  hundred  times  its  volume.  They  pit>mise, 
moreover,  to  throw  great  light  upon  a  very  important  braiidi 
of  manufacturing  art — namely,  the  conversion  of  iron  into 
steel  They  have  also  g^ven  us  a  new  illustration  of  the 
strange  relationship  so  frequently  existing  between  appar- 
ently the  most  remote  phenomena,  as  the  acieration  of  a 
piece  of  iron  and  the  dyeing  of  a  piece  of  silk.  And,  lastly, 
in  the  case  of  the  meteoric  iron,  they  have  afforded  us  a  fur- 
ther demonstration  of  the  oneness  of  the  universe,  of  the  ex- 
tension of  one  chemical  system  throughout  the  entire  coemoa. 


A  Course  of  Four  Lecture*  on  Specinun  Analffsis,  with  iU 
Applications  to  Astronomy.  By  WiLLiAil  Allen  Milleb, 
M.D.,  F.E.S.,  etc. 

IiBOTtmE  rv. 

(Condaded  from  pa^e  14a.) 

Spedra  of  (he  Fixed  Stars. — Mode  of  ObaenxUion. — DonNe 
Stars. —  Variable  Stars. — Temporary  Bright  Star  in  Coroma. 
— Nt^ndas.— ^Clusters. — General  Conchaions. 

A  GBBAT  number  of  other  stars  have  been  examined.  I 
cannot,  however,  attempt  to  give  you  any  idea  of  their  com- 
position m  detail,  but  must  refer  you  to  a  list  which  70a 
will  see  here,  givmg  die  names  of  tJie  more  important  stani 
which  we  have  examined  more  or  less  completely.  Among 
the  most  interesting  of  the  stars  we  have  examined  are  Sirima, 
Arcturus,  Oapella,  Vega,  PoUux,  Castor,  Cygni,  Procjoo, 
and  a  ^  and  y  Andromedm,  Bigel^  Spica  Yirginis,  a  AquUse^ 
Cor  Garoli,  Regulua,  and  others.  The  general  result  of  these 
Invetstigations  shows  that  the  stars  are  bodies,  formed  upon 
the  same  plan  as  our  sun,  each  differing  in  composition  ffom 
its  fellows,  but  all  apparently  containing  matter,  some 
portion  of  which  iB  identical  with  that  composmg  a  part  oi 
our  own  globe. 

One  or  two  of  these  stars  may  bo  advantageously  referred 
to  more  fully.  Among  these  a  red  star  |3  Pegasi  is  much 
like  the  star  a  Orionis  in  its  general  ehardcter,  but  it  Ib 
much  fainter.  It  is  one  of  the  Uiird  magnitude.  Here,  we 
have  been  able  to  measure  only  twenty  lines.  We  can  see 
that  it  is  full  of  lines,  but  the  uncertainty  of  the  atmosphere 
and  the  difficulty  of  seeing  those  lines  with,  precision  have 
prevented  us  fVom  accurately  fixing  the  places  of  a  larger 
number.  It  contains  sodium  and  magnesium — two  of  the 
same  bodies  which  are  present  in  Aldebaran;  and.  besides 
that,  it  is  probable,  though  we  have  not  been  able  to  verify 
all  the  principal  lines,  that  barium,  iron,  and  manganese  are 
present 

Let  me  now  call  your  attention  to  the  colours  whic^  the 
stars  exhibit  It  is  a  matter  of  familiar  observation,  that 
the  stars  differ  in  their  tints.  This  difference  appears  to  be 
caused,  in  many  cases,  by  the  atmosphere  outside  the  plio- 
tosphere^  which  causes  an  absorptk)n  of  certain  colours  cost- 
tained  in  their  light,  and  in  consequence  of  this  we  have  a 
difference  in  the  tint.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  some  of  the 
red  or  orange  stars,  like  /3  Pegasi,  and  others,  hydrogen  is 
absent,  whilst  in  the  whUe  stars  this  element  is  predoiui- 
nant  In  the  spectrum  of  the  unportant  star  called  Vega  (a 
Lyrse),  sodium,  hydrogen,  and  iron  have  been  found.  It 
might  be  supposed  that  the  star  ffirius,  the  brightest  of  all 
the  stars,  would  have  given  us  more  information  than  all  the 
others ;  but  it  is  not  so.  I  will  throw  its  spectrum  upon 
the  screen,  and  you  will  see  that  it  is  remarkable  for  the  ab- 
sence of  strong  lines.    The  Ught  of  Siriua  is  white.    Therft 


OeLy  1S67.        f 


Spectrum  Analyms  applied  to  the  Hea/cerdy  Bodies. 


187 


are  only  three  important  lines  in  its  spectrum,  and  these 
correspond  exactly  in  position  with  the  lines  of  hydrogen. 
With  these  exceptions,  the  lines  of  Sinus  are  feeble.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  there  are  not  other  bodies  in  the  stars 
besides  hydrogen,  but  the  proportion  of  those  other  bodies 
tnast  be  so  small,  and  the  vapour  so  dilute,  that  the  white- 
ness of  the  light  is  not  subdued  by  them  in  any  remarkable 
degree.  Here  are  lines  which  correspond  to  P  and  0 ;  here 
is  a  Hue  in  the  blue ;  and  here  is  one  which  we  constantly 
find  in  all  the  stars,  the  double  sodium  line  D.  Here  is  the 
magnesium  line ;  and  hero  is  one  which  is  probably  due  to 
iron. 

Let  me  now  call  your  attention  to  the  varieties  in  colour 
which  the  stars  exhibit  Sirius,  as  I  have  said,  is  a  white 
star.  There  are  stars  which  have  an  orange,  or  yellow,  or 
ruddy  tint ;  and,  again,  there  are  others  which  are  blue,  or 
green,  or  purple. 

The  examination  of  these  coloured  stars  is  often  a  matter 
of  great  difficulty,  because  in  general  their  luminosity  is 
smcdl,  and  frequently  these  coloured  stars  occur  in  pairs, 
constituting  what  are  known  as  double  stars.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  a  bright  orange-coloured  star  has  a  faint  blue  or 
green  star  as  its  companion ;  and  this  companion  is  often  so 
dose  that  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty  to  separate 
the  spectra  of  the  two  stars,  though  we  can  see  them  in  the 
telescope  distinctly  enough.  In  order  to  separate  the  spec- 
tra of  two  stars,  it  is  needful  so  to  arrange  the  motions 
of  the  telescope  that  the  spectra  shall  be  always  at  right 
angles  to  the  line  joining  the  two  stars,  so  as  to  maintain 
the  two  spectra  parallel  to  prevent  them  from  overlapping, 
and  so  interfering  with  one  another.  I  will  take  first  an 
orange-ooloured  star,  the  brighter  of  the  double  stars  which 
constitute  Hercules ;  in  the  spectrum  of  this  star  on  the 
screen,  you  will  see  the  orange  and  yellow  predominating, 
whilst  other  portions  of  the  light  are  subdued  in  conse- 
quence of  the  presence  of  a  large  quantity  of  absorbent 
matter,  which  stops  certain  rays  In  the  blue  and  violet  por- 
tions of  the  spectrum.  You  must  bear  in  mind  that  in 
throwing  these  images  upon  the  screen  we  are  under  a  Con- 
siderable disadvantage,  because  though  they  are  tinted  to 
give  you  an  idea  of  the  relative  position  which  these  lines 
occupy  in  the  spectrum,  they  do  not  by  any  means  represent 
vith  accuracy  the  colours  which  the  star  itself  would  show. 
You  will  see  in  the  red  part  of  the  spectrum  ttiere  are  three 
or  four  strong  lines,  but  in  the  orange  and  yellow  there  are 
comparatively  few,  so  that  the  star  shines  with  an  orange 
light  in  consequence  of  the  absorption  of  the  green  and 
blue  portions. 

I  will  now  take  one  of  the  double  stars,  0  Oygni,  and 
project  an  imago  of  the  orange  star,  with  its  blue  companion, 
oil  the  screen.  The  orange  star  is  the  most  brilliant  one. 
The  blue  star  is  so  fabit  upon  the  screen  that  you  can  hardly 
see  it  from  a  distance.  You  may  imagine  from  this  what  is  the 
difficulty  in  seeing,  and  still  more  in  measuring  the  position 
of  such  faint  lines  as  these.  Let  us  now  examine  the  spec- 
tra of  the  two  stars.  That  of  the  orange  star  is  character- 
ised by  a  large  number  of  bands  or  lines  in  the  blue  and 
gpreen  portions,  and  comparatively  few  in  the  yellow  por- 
tions. Id  the  spectrum  of  the  blue  star  we  have  scarcely 
any  lines  in  the  blue,  but  a  large  number  of  lines  in  the  yel- 
low and  orange,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  red. 

We  have  here,  then,  examined  two  classes  of  stars — some 
which  have  a  considerable  brilliancy,  and  others  in  which 
we  have  them  varying  in  colour ;  but  there  are  other  varia- 
tions in  the  stars,  respectiug  which  the  spectroscope,  we 
may  hope,  will  at  some  time  or  other  afford  information- 
Some  of  the  most  remarkable  amongst  the  stars  are  variable 
in  their  lustre.  At  times  they  shine  out  with  a  high  brill- 
iancy, and  at  others  they  become  reduced  and  almost  disap- 
pear from  view.  One  of  the  most  interesting  problems 
demaudmg  solution  in  the  nature  of  stellar  bodies,  is  the 
explanation  of  this  singular  periodical  variation.  Some- 
times these  periods  are  tolerably  regular,  occurring  after  a 
few  days,  or  a  few  months,  or  sometimeB  after  years.    At 


other  times  the  periodical  variations  in  the  star  are  Irregu- 
lar ;  that  is  to  say,  though  the  light  of  the  star  waxes  and 
wanes  in  intensity  it  does  so  at  irregular  intervals.  One 
single  observation  seems  to  show,  so  far  as  it  goes,  that 
there  is  hope  of  further  progress  in  this  direction.  The 
star  a  Orionis,  one  of  the  first  whose  spectra  I  projected  on 
the  screen,  is  a  variable  star.  It  is  ooe,  however,  of  which 
the  variation  is  not  very  wide.  It  varies,  perhaps,  half 
a  degree  in  magnitude.  We  found,  on  making  observa- 
tions when  it  was  at  its  maximum,  that  a  certain  group  of 
lines  which  were  observed  two  years  before,  whpn  it  was 
at  a  low  state  of  illumination,  had  disappeared.  Their  posi- 
tion had  been  carefiilly  measured  during  a  period  of  mini- 
mum, but  these  lines  were  not  found  when  the  star  was  at 
its  maximum. 

There  are,  however,  others  falling  under  this  class  of 
variable  stars  which  are  still  more  remarkable.  They  have 
been  called  temporary  stars.  One  of  the  most  prominent  of 
these  was  noticed  on  November  7,  1 572,  when  Tycbo  Brah^ 
in  returning  one  evening  from  his  observatory,  saw  per- 
sons gazing  at  a  star  which  he  knew  was  not  visible  half  an 
hour  before.  It  continued  to  increase  in  brightness  for  some 
weeks,  but  in  the  tjourse  of  a  year  it  gradually  dwindled 
away.  This  star  has  been  altogetlier  lost  sight  of;  and  no 
one  knows  its  true  position.  In  October,  1604,  a  star,  equally 
bright,  appeared  in  Serpentarius.  It  almost  rivalled  Jupiter 
in  brightness.  It  afterwards  faded  away  and  disappeared. 
In  the  year  1848  Mr.  Hind  observed  a  smaller  star,  in  Ophi- 
uchus,  of  a  ruddy  colour,  which  came  out  and  disappeared  in 
the  flame  sort  of  way.  Lately  we  had  an  opportunity  of  watch- 
ing one  of  these  stars,  which  has  thus  blazed  out,  and  rapidly 
died  away.  It  was  even  more  brief  in  its  blazing  forth,  and 
more  rapid  in  its  disappearance,  than  any  of  the  others ;  but, 
happily,  at  the  moment  the  opportunity  offered,  we  were 
prepared  to  examine  its  light  by  means  of  the  spectroscope. 
Mr.  Birmiogham,  of  Tuam,  first  saw  it  in  Ireland,  on  tiie 
1 2th  May,  1866.  He  informed  my  friend  Mr.  Huggins,  who 
received  the  news  of  its  presence  on  the  i6th  May,  and  by 
the  same  post,  Mr.  BaxendeU,  of  Liverpool,  directed  his 
attention  to  the  star.  No  time  was  lost.  On  the  very  same 
evening  on  which  the  intelligence  arrived,  as  it  happened  to 
be  a  fine  night,  we  directed  the  telescope  to  the  spot,  and 
we  were  able  to  discover  a  most  remarkable  state  of  things. 
I  shall' project  on  the  screen  the  image  of  this  star.  It 
blazed  forth  in  Corona.  About  the  time  Mr.  Birmingham 
saw  it,  it  was  of  the  second  magnitude.  It  occupied  the 
position  of  a  star  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  magnitude  noted  by 
Argelander.  You  will  observe  that  the  spectrum  of  this 
star  is  crossed  as  usual  by  a  number  of  black  lines  in  the 
luminous  coloured  portions ;  but,  besides  that,  you  will  see 
some  very  bright  bands  of  light — four  strong  lines,  and  a 
fifth  much  ftiinter  in  the  blue.  We  had  never  seen  such 
lines  in  any  solar  or  stellar  observation  before,  and  they  are 
evidently  connected  with  a  new,  and,  as  it  turned  out,  a 
transient  state  of  things.  Two  of  these  lines  occupied  the 
position  of  the  line^  of  hydrogen.  One  corresponding  to 
tiie  line  G  m  the  solar  spectrum,  and  another  to  the  line  F. 
There  are  two  strong  brOliant  lines  in  the  blue,  the  nature 
of  which  we  were  not  able  to  ascertain.  The  duration  of 
the  outburst  till  it  dwindled  down  to  a  star  of  the  seventh 
or  eighth  magnitude,  was  but  a  week,  so  that  the  opportuni- 
ties of  making  observations  and  measurements  were  but  few. 
In  this  star,  then,  we  have  three  different  spectra.  First, 
we  have  a  photosphere  giving  out  a  continuous  spectrum, 
and  over  that  we  have  the  usual  state  of  the  solar  and  stel- 
lar atmospheres ;  that  is  to  say,  an  atmosphere  filled  with 
luminous  vapours,  capable  of  absorbing  a  part  of  the  light 
behind :  and  then,  outside  that,  more  brilliant  still,  is  a  lu- 
minous spectrum  of  glowing  gas,  as  though  the  star  was 
suddenly  involved  in  the  flames  of  hydrogen  combining 
with  some  substance  the  nature  of  which  we  do  not  know, 
but  which  may  be— probably  is— connected  with  the  two 
unexplained  brilliant  lines  in  the  blue.  I  say  this  star,  at 
the  time  of  this  outburst  of  light,  was  in  a  condition  in 


1 88 


Spectrum  Andlyeie  applied  to  the  Heavefily  Bodies. 


i  OHKmcAL  Kbits, 
1       OeL,  1887. 


which  a  sudden  and  Tiolent  action  upon  the  hydrogen  oo* 
cnrred,  in  consequence  of  which,  probably  the  whole  mass  of 
the  star  was  raised  in  temperature,  and  its  luminosity  con- 
sequently was  increased,  but  the  temperature  of  the  mass 
of  the  star  was  not  brought  up  to  the  same  point  as  the 
temperature  of  the  hydrogen  by  which  that  incandesceuoe 
appears  to  have  been  produced.  What  the  origin  of  this 
hydrogen  was,  of  course  it  would  be  vain  and  idle  to  spec- 
ulate. But  the  presence  of  hydrogen  is  certainly  revealed 
by  the  observations  just  described.  Moreover,  the  hydro- 
gen mus^have  been  in  a  state  of  active  incandescence 
which  may  be  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  the  luminosity 
of  the  star,  and  just  as  a  glowing  ball  of  lime  is  heated  up 
in  the  nearly  llghtless  flame  of  the  ozyhydrogen  jet,  so  the'nu- 
cleus  of  this  star  was  lighted  up  by  an  outburst  of  hydrogen 
puddenly  brought  to  an  intensely  incandescent  condition.  It 
is  dear  that  tiiis  observation  could  not  have  been  made 
without  the  aid  of  the  spectroscope,  for  on  viewing  a  star 
through  the  telescope  aU  that  can  be  seen  is  limited  to 
variations  of  colour  and  brilliancy ;  we  can  never  magnify 
a  star  so  as  to  produce  anything  more  than  a  point  of  light. 
"We  can  never  get  a  disc.  We  have  simply  an  increase  in 
the  intensity  of  the  light  as  we  increase  our  telescopic 
power.  Among  the  most  remarkable  of  the  variable  stars 
is  n  Argus,  the  spectrum  of  which  seems  to  demand  careful 
study. 

I  must  now  pass  on  to  a  totally  different  series  of  objects 
— the  mbvlx.  Scattered  over  different  parts  of  the  heavens 
are  a  number  of  remarkable  bodies  which  look  like  patches 
of  light  or  luminous  clouds.  In  some  cases  they  are  collected 
into  rings ;  in  others  into  spirals,  whilst  in  other  instances 
they  assume  still  more  definite  forms.  These  nebulous  masses 
of  light  have  ever  since  their  discovery  excited  in  a  high 
degree  the  wonder  and  curiosity  of  those  who  have  examined 
theoL  The  interest  they  awaken  is  perhaps  still  further 
increased  by  a  remarkable  speculation  concerning  them  put 
forth  by  Sir  William  Herschel,  when  he  asked  whether  it  was 
not  possible  that  these  nebul»  might  be  the  primordial  forms 
of  matter  from  which  stars  and  suns  and  their  attendant 
planets  bad  been  produced.  Notwithstanding  minute  and 
careful  observations  by  the  telescope,  nothing  was  known  of 
the  physical  condition  of  the  matter  comprising  these  nebula. 
It  was  not  even  known  whether  they  were  aggregations  of 
stars  so  infinitely  distant  from  us  that  we  could  not  discern 
the  separate  stars,  or  whether  each  nebula  was  a  separate  lu- 
minous object  of  a  nature  entirely  different  from  the  stars. 
Mr.  Huggins  has  been  enabled  in*  several  instances  to  show 
that  the  nebuhe  are  not  stars,  but  that  they  are  composed  of 
glowing  gas ;  and,  farther  than  that,  he  has  been  enabled  to 
g^ve  some  hint  as  to  what  this  gas  may  be.  I  must  now  ask 
you  to  look  at  the  photographs  of  some  or  these  bodies, 
which  I  shall  throw  upon  the  screen ;  many  of  them  have 
been  taken  from  the  beautiful  drawings  of  Lord  Rosse.  When 
Mr.  Huggins  was  examining  one  of  these  nebulie  with  his 
spectroscope  for  the  first  time,  be  observed  what  appeared  to 
be  a  single  vertical  line  of  light,  this  oi^  closer  inspection  was 
seen  to  be  accompanied  by  two  fainter  lines  in  the  more 
refrangible  portion.  This  observation  immediately  gave  him 
the  key  to  the  nature  of  these  bodies.  The  first  nebulie  that 
he  examined  was  a  comparatively  brilliant  one  in  Draco  (37 
H  iv.).  llie  nebulas  are  usually  referred  tO  by  letters  and 
numbers,  which  represent  the  position  of  these  bodies  in 
certain  catalogues  drawn  up  by  astronomers  of  eminence. 
This  nebula  in  Draco,  then,  instead  of  giving  a  continuous 
spectrum,  crossed  by  black  lines  like  the  stars,  was  found  to 
give  three  lines  of  light  only,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
light  was  concentrated  into  one  of  these  three  linea  Indeed, 
had  it  not  been  for  this  circumstance,  the  light  of  the  nebula 
is  so  excessively  faint  that  it  would  have  l^n  impossible  to 
see  it  at  all  as  sprea4  out  in  a  continuous  spectrum,  and,  in 
fact,  my  friend  scarcely  expected  that  it  would  be  possible  to 
get  any  accurate  observation  in  consequence  of  the  faintuess 
of  the  light  The  result,  however,  amply  rewarded  him  for 
bis  trial.    You  observe  upon  the  screen  a  spectrum  consisting 


of  three  lines  only.  They  are  here  exaggerated  very  greatly 
in  brilliancy,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  them  visible  at  alL 
Below  the  representation  of  the  spectrum  of  the  nebula  on 
the  diagram  are  the  bright  lines  which  correspond  most 
nearly  with  its  lines.  This  line  F  corresponds  exactly  with 
the  faintest  of  the  three  lines  in  the  nebula.  It  is  very  diffi-* 
cult  in  diagrams  of  this  kind  to  preserve  the  true  relation  in 
brilliancy  of  these  lines  to  each  other.  At  the  less  refrangible 
end  there  is  no  line  corresponding  to  the  red  line  of  hydrogen. 
An  important  observation  made  by  Plucker  upon  rarefied 
gases  in  tubes  may  have  a  bearing  on  this  point  He  found 
that  as  hydrogen  becomes  rarefied,  its  red  line  disappears. 
Hence  the  absence  of  the  red  hydrogen  line  in  the  nebula 
may  be  connected  with  the  attenuated  condition  of  its  gaseous 
materials.  In  the  diagram  you  will  see  three  other  lines 
occurring  in  the  solar  spectrum.  Those  are  lines  which  cor- 
respond to  the  group  of  magnesium  lines.  The  brightest  ard 
most  refrangible  line  in  the  spectrum  of  the  nebula  corre- 
sponds to  one  of  the  brightest  lines  of  nitrogen.  It  is  remark- 
able, however,  that  the  other  lines  of  nitrogen  are  absent 
This  second  line  in  the  nebular  spectrum  does  not  correspond 
to  any  of  the  lines  that  are  known  to  us,  but  the  nearest 
known  to  it  is  one  of  the  lines  of  barium.  It  must  not  be 
supposed  that  all  the  nebulie  are  exactly  like  this  one.  Of 
the  sixty  which  Mr.  Huggins  has  examined,  about  twenty 
exhibit  the  bright  lines  due  to  matter  in  its  gaseous  state,  all 
of  which  contain  the  bright  line  corresponding  to  that  of 
nitrogen ;  in  some  the  other  fainter  lines  are  not  seen.  Such 
spectra,  therefore,  are  not  produced  by  a  group  of  stars ;  not 
by  a  substance  like  any  others  that  we  have  seen  hitherto  in 
the  heavens ;  they  must  be  furnished  by  masses  of  glowing 
gas,  which  are  giving  out  light  of  these  three  particular 
degrees  of  refrangibility. 

Besides  these  true  gaseous  nebule  there  are  a  vast  number 
of  others,  but  in  some  of  them  the  luminous  material  is  con- 
nected in  such  a  way  that  they  appear  in  the  telescope  like 
clusters  of  minute  stars,  or  they  look  as  if  condensed  into 
little  points  of  greater  luminosity  than  others.  Now,  when 
such  clusters  are  examined  by  the  spectroscope  they  are 
found  to  furnish  continuous  spectra  crossed  in  some  cases  by 
the  same  light  lines  produced  by  the  nebulie  which  are 
wholly  gaseous,  so  tRat  here  the  nebulie  appear  to  consist  of 
two  portions,  one  still  gaseous,  the  other  undergoing  a  sort 
of  condensation.  One  dares  hardly  to  speculate  upon  these 
matters  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge.  It  is  so  easy 
to  speculate  and  get  wrong,  and  thus  to  fix  notions  in  one's 
mind  that  it  is  not  6a.sy  to  get  rid  of  again.  The  truly  philo- 
sophical course  here  is  simply  to  form  such  a  hypothesis  upon 
the  facts  observed  as  shall  serve  to  guide  us  in  our  furUier 
investigations. 

My  friend,  Mr.  Huggins,  has  placed  a  large  number  of  his 
beautiful  drawings  of  nebulous  bodies  at  my  disposal  I  can 
only  select  one  or  two  for  exhibition  on  the  screen.  There 
is  a  nebulie  which  has  a  remarkable  shape  like  that  of  the 
planet  Saturn.  All  these  nebulsB  have  a  particular  faint 
bluish  green  light  Here  there  are  the  same  three  lines. 
Here,  again,  is  a  remarkable  spiral  nebula  (80  H  iv.)«  which 
has  been  very  carefully  observed  by  Lord  Rosse.  You  will 
see  the  style  and  character  of  its  construction.  But  it  is  also 
remarkable  for  its  brightness  in  comparison  with  some  of  the 
others.  Besides  the  three  lines  previously  noted  we  observe 
a  further  bright  line  which  is  more  refrangible  than  tbe 
others.  The  gaseous  character  of  this  nebula  is  distinctly 
seen.  I  will  now  take  a  nebula  which  is  not  gaseous,  and 
which  is  visible  to  the  naked  eye — the  well-known  nebula  in 
Andromeda.  There  is  a  concentration  of  light  in  its  nucleus 
around  which  is  expanded  into  a  longitudinal  form.  It  does 
not  give  a  spectrum  with  bright  lines,  but  a  continuous 
spectrum  with  certain  peculiarities.  The  orange  and  rwHi 
portions  are  almost  absent,  and  the  other  portion  has  a  mottled 
appearance,  which  it  is  scarcely  possible  adequately  to  re- 
present upon  the  screen.  Here  is  a  table  which  will  give 
you  an  idea  of  the  diaracter  of  the  nebulse  examined  by  Mr. 
Huggins,  and  the  results  of  his  observations  compared  with 


GroncAL  iriwB, ) 
OeL,  1867.       f 


Bintish  Medical  Asaociation. 


189 


the  purel/  telescopic  obeervatious  of  Lord  Boese,  as  forniab- 
ed  to  Mr.  Huggius  bj  Lord  Oxmantowu :— • 

Gontinaons  Oaseoos 

■pectrum.  tpectrilkn. 

Cliuters 10  o 

Resolved  or  Resolved  ? 5  o 

Resolvable  or  Resolvable  ? 10  6 

Blue  or  green,  no  resolvability,  )           o  4 

or  resolva^ylity  seen f          6  5 

Not  observed  bj  Lord  Rosae. ...        jo  4 

—  41  —  19 

Here  are  the  res*:]ts  which  were  arrived  at  by  Lord  Rosse  by 
observation  with  his  colossal  reflecting  telescope.  First  of 
all  are  ten  clusters,  and  amongst  these  clusters  all  give  a 
continuous  spectrnm.  None  of  them  appear  in  the  spectro- 
scope to  have  a  gaseoas  spectrum,  so  that  the  observations  of 
the  telescope  and  spectroscope  correspond.  The  second  line 
represents  to  us  a  certain  class  of  bodies  which,  though  they 
have  not  actually  been  resolved  into  separate  stars  as  the 
others  have  been,  yet  appear  to  be  resolved.  None  of  the 
bodies  exhibit  gaseous  spectra.  On  the  other  hand,  amongst 
those  which  ;^ have  a  blue  or  g^een  colour  there  are  none 
which  are  not  gaseous.  Then  there  is  a  group  which  are  not 
resolvable,  some  of  which  give  a  continuous  spectrum  and 
others  a  gaseous  spectrum. 

I  have  thus  endeavoured,  however  imperfectly  I  have^suc- 
ceeded,  but  still  so  far  as  time  and  opportunity  admitted,  to 
bring  before  you  some  of  these  spectrum  discoveries.  The 
more  we  pursue  studies  of  this  matter  the  more  is  the  mind 
carried  forward  with  the  desire  for  further  knowledge.  Whilst 
thus  from  time  to  time  we  are  permittod  to  get  fresh  glimpses 
mto  the  constitution  of  the  universe,  and  to  trace  something 
more  of  the  infinite  mind  which  has  designed  the  whole,  so 
should  we  feel  the  more  that  we  are  bound  to  use  the  freab 
knowledge  thus  placed  at  our  disposal,  not  for  the  glory  of 
man,  but,  as  far  as  may  be,  for  the  glorifying  Him  who 
made  all  things  and  upholds  all  things  by  the  word  of  His 
power. 


BRITISH  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION. 

Tweniy-fiflh  Annual  Meeting,  1867,  ?ield  in  Dvblin, 

Bb.  Chables  a.  CAifER02r  read  a  paper,  in  the  Physiological 
Section,  on  the  ^^AssimiloHcn  of  Otlatine" 

The  author  reK>pened  the  question  of  the  nutritive  value 
of  gelatine.  He  considered  that^the  French  Commissioners 
on  this  subject  had  gone  too  far  in  denying  the  alimental 
value  of  this  substance.  He  pointed  out  as  strong  arguments 
in  fiivour  of  his  views  as  to  the  assimilation  of  gelatine,  the 
fiicta — that  that  substance  when  largely  used  as-  food  passes 
off  in  the  form  of  urea,  and  is  not  found  in  the  fieces.  As 
gelatine  passes  rapidly  from  the  rtomach  into  the  circulating 
fluids  of  the  body,  and  becomes  decomposed  therein,  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  assign  to  it  some  useful  functions.  The  author 
then  described  some  experiments  which  he  had  made  on  this 
subject.  He  employed  the  dog  and  the  white  mouse,  the 
latter  animal  being  peculiarly  well-adapted  for  such  experi- 
ments. He  found  that  these  animals  could  not  live  on  food 
consisting  of  gelatine^  &t,  butter,  sugar,  starch,  and  mineral 
sobstances.  This  was  the  result  the  author  had  expected, 
for  the  foUowing  reasona  In  the  nitrogenous  portion  of 
animals  there  exist  sensible  amounts  of  organic  sulphur  and 
phosphorous  compounds  ("alloxidic").  Gelatine  does  not  in- 
dade  tlieae  elements,  and  is  therefore  incapable  of  forming 
muscles  and  nerves.  The  addition  of  mineral  sulphates  and 
pboepbates  to  gelatine  does  not  increase  its  nutritive  value, 
because  animals  are. not  endowed  with  the  power  of  or- 
ganizing mineral  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  although  this 
fonction  in  the  attribute  of  plants. 

In  some  of  the  fiits  of  the  braiu  and   nervous  tissue 


generally  there  are  notable  proportions  of  organic  and  unoxi- 
dised  phosphorus  and  sulphur.  By  combining  these  phos- 
phorised  and  sulphuretted  fats  with  gelatine,  and  adding 
thereto  some  other  non-nitrogenous  and  mineral  substances, 
Dr.  Cameron  formed  a  food  on  which  mice  lived  for  forty-two 
days  in  a  very  healthy  state,  although  the  said  food  was  de- 
ficient in  albumen  and  fibrin. 

Taken  under  ordinary  circumstances,  gelatine,  according 
to  the  author,  is  roost  probably  employed  as  a  calorifacient, 
and  perhaps  also  as  a  source  of  motive  power.  In  an  agree- 
able form  it  was  a  food  very  much  relished  by  invalids,  and 
there  was  a  good  reason  underlying  the  popular  practice  of 
making  gelatine  a  common  article  of  food. 

Mr.  Tichborne  read  a  paper,  in  the  same  section,  on  the 
''Organic  Matter  in  Potable  Water:' 

He  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  difficulties  attendant 
upon  water  analyses.  The  point  of  difficulty  in  the  exami- 
nation of  potable  waters  being  not  so  much  their  quantitative 
as  the  qualitative  examination— -particularly  as  regards  their 
organic  constituents — you  may  have  a  water  rich  in  organic 
matter  yet  harmless,  or  a  water  containing  but  a  mimmum 
of  organic  matter  of  the  most  deleterious  nature.  He  re- 
marked that  all  the  following  points  in  an  analysis  had  an 
important  bearing  upon  the  state  of  the  organic  matter,  viz. 
nitrates,  nitrites,  ammonia,  total  nitrogen,  odour,  taste,  colour, 
hardness,  chlorides,  iron,  gases  dissolved,  microscopic  exam- 
ination, eta  The  author  gave  a  quick  method  fur  estimating 
the  nitrites  in  potable  water,  based  on  the  conversion  by  heat 
of  nitrite  of  ammonium  into  nitrogen  and  water — the  loss  be- 
ing estimated  by  a  volumetric  solution  of  permanganate  of 
potassium.  Mr.  Tichborne  then  described  a  tube  or  convenient 
instrument  for  viewing  the  colour  of  water,  and  for  examining 
^be  state  of  oxidation  of  the  iron  salts  or  matter  of  some  im- 
portance in  connection  with  the  organic  matter,  and  a  point 
not  so  easy  to  determine  in  very  diluted  ftate — as  the  micro- 
scope magnifies  the  form,  so  this  instrument  magnifies  the 
colour,  or  colour  tests,  so  as  to  be  recognisable  to  the  eye. 
When  the  iron  bears  any  conaidei^Me  proportion  to  the  or- 
ganic matter,  very  little  of  the  latter  will  be  found  (if  we  ex- 
cept ammonia),  providing  the  iron  is  in  the  state  of  a  ferric 
salt.  Itf  however,  the  iron  is  present  as  a  ferrous  salt,  it 
will  be  found  to  have  exerted  little  or  no  influence  on  the 
organic  matter,  and  frequently  such  waters  (except  chaly- 
beate springs)  will  be  found  to  contain  large  quantities  of 
soluble  orgauic  matter. 

The  author  remarked  tliat  it  had  been  stated  that  char- 
coal that  had  been  used  some  time,  so  far  from  taking  from 
the  water  the  organic  matter,  gives  up  again  a  certain  amount. 
That  water  on  analysis  before  and  after  passing  through  old 
charcoal  was  more  contaminated  with  organic  matter,  after 
having  been  passed  through  the  said  filtering  medium.  The 
modus  operandi  however,  by  which  charcoal  acts,  is  not  so 
much  by  any  attractive  power  that  it  possesses,— that  is  to 
say,  it  does  not  absorb  the  mass  of  the  organic  matter,  but 
acts  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  oxidisers.  The  oxygen 
condensed  within  the  charcoal  acting  more  energetically  than 
the  available  oxygen  we  can  apply  in  the  form  of  perman- 
ganate of  potassium.  A  charcoal  filter  was  found  from  actual 
observations  to  work  wonderfully  well,  and  to  retain  its  vi- 
tality for  a  long  period,  with  the  following  provisiona  That 
the  water  passed  through  it  did  not  contain  a  very  large  per- 
centage of  organic  matter.  That  it  was  not  continuously  at 
work, — ^that  is  to  say,  that  the  charcoal  was  expoeed  to  the 
atmospheric  oxygen  (with  as  little  of  the  dust  as  possib'e) 
the  better  part  of  each  twenty-four  hours.  That  the  water 
was  passed  through  a  filtering  medium  before  it  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  charcoal.  If  not,  the  charcoal  acted  as  a  me- 
chanical recipient  to  the  insoluble  organic  matter,  which  at 
last  accumulates  to  such  an  extent  as  to  enter  into  a  state  of 
fermentative  change;  the  activity  of  the  charcoal  being  by 
this  time  exhausted,  or  at  least  only  sufficient  to  supply  a 
minimum  of  oxygen,  would  only  assist  such  a  decomposition. 
This  state  of  the  case  would  be  simply  the  putrefaction  of  a 
mass  of  organic  matter  independent  of  the  charcoal,  not  the 


IQO 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


\       Oct,  1S6T. 


rendering  back  flnom  the  charcoal  of  something  it  had  ab- 
sorbed from  the  water. 

Mr.  Tich borne  exhibited  a  table  of  the  action  of  perman- 
ganate of  potassium  upon  organic  substances,  which  illus- 
trated the  worthlessness  of  that  substance  as  a  measure  of 
fermentable  matter.  He  also  stated  that  peroxide  of  hydrogen, 
if  it  could  be  procured  pure,  and  at  a  reasonable  price,  might 
be  used  with  advantage,  for  the'  purification  of  water. 

The  only  other  papers  read  at  these  meetings,  poaseraing  a 
chemical  bearing,  were:  Dr.  Protheroe  Smith  "  On  the  Mode 
of  DetecUng  Impwritiea  in  Tetrachloride  of  CarboUf'^  and  Dr. 
O'Leary   ''Onihe  Thennal  Value  of  Ibod,"  etc 


ACADEMY  OF  SCIBNCEa 

July  22,  1867. 

(Frox  our  owk  Gorrbspondent.) 

Sir  D.  Brewster  on  liquid  films  and  figures  of  equilibrium. — 
StarTnx  exceptionally  caused, — Proportion  0/  iodine  in  min- 
eral waters. —  Classification  of  meteorites. — IHtiCovery  of 
universal  gravitation^  letters  of  Pascal  to  Boyle;  Discus- 
sion ;  Newton  and  Pascal  in  correspondence. 

Sir  Dayid  Brewster  addressed  copies  of  his  pamphlets  (re- 
pnnted  frm  the  RoiCoal  Sietocy  of  Edinburgh)  on  the  colours 
of  thin  liquid  films  and  their  figures  of  equilibrium,  of  which 
we  have  already  published  the  analysis.  The  illustrious 
professor,  foreign  associate  of  our  Academy  of  Sciences,  at  the 
age  of  85  years,  retains  his  memory  so  fresh  and  bright  that 
the  two  memoirs  in  question  seem  to  be  the  offspring  of  a 
youthful  mind. 

M.  Foumet  of  Lyons  addressed  a  note  on  the  exceptional 
storms  caused  by  the  south-west  winds. 

We  underRtood,  vaguely,  that  there  were  communications 
on  geological  sections  of  the  Alenpon  railway — of  a  memoir 
by  M.  Thibaut  on  inundations— of  an  efficacious  method  of 
treating  croup,  by  Dr.  Abfdlle— of  researches  on  electricity 
by  K.  Girard^K>f  a  means  ot  ascertaining  the  proportion  of 
iodine  contained  in  mineral  waters  and  in  alkaline  salts — of 
a  memoir  by  M.  Humbert  on  the  resistance  of  a  voltaic 
pile,  etc. 

M.  Daubree  read  the  second  part  of  his  memoirs  on  the 
classification  adopted  for  the  collection  of  meteorites  in  the 
Museum  of  Natural  History.  His  principal  divisions  of  solid 
and  coherent  meteorites  are  as  follows :*-ist  Class:  Sider- 
ilea — meteors  containing  iron  in  a  metallic  state;  subdivi- 
sion, containing  stony  substances,  i.  Holoeideriies — Meteoric 
iron  properly  so  called;  second  subdivision  containing  ir<m 
and  atony  subsUnces.  2nd  Group :  Systideritea — iron  in  the 
form  of  a  continuous  mass.  3rd  Group:  Sporadosiderit^s— 
iron  in  the  form  of  disseminated  grains;  i.  Sub-Group  of 
sporadoaiderites,  Polysiderites,  when  the  quantity  is  con- 
siderable. 2.  Sub-group :  OHgosideriUk,  containing  a  small 
quantity  of  iron.  3.  Sub-group:  Crypioeiderites  in  which  the 
iron  is  inrisible  to  the  e;e.  3rd  Class:  AsiderUes.  4th 
Class:  Asideraies. 

M.  Le  Verrier  called  upon  M.  Chasles  relative  to  the  let- 
ters and  notes  of  Pascal  printed  i  n  the  Comptes  Rendus,  and 
of  which  we  give,  before  resuming  this  long  discussion,  a  few 
important  passages:  — 8th  May,  1652,  I'ascat  to  Boyle — 
"J'ay  pour  le  prouver  un  bon  nombre  d'observations  de 
toutes  sories  dont  persoune  m'a  encore  parle,  et  partant  en 
connaissance,  tant  sur  Tattraction  et  de  aes  lois  avec  les  phe- 
nom^nes.  Je  viens  vous  en  fairs  part  Yous  trouverez  ci- 
joint  les  experiences,  au  nombre  de  plus  de  cinquante. 

**  Pascal." 

2  Pept,  1654  or  1655. — Again  to  Boyle. — "Ihins  les 
mouverr.ents  celestes,  la  force  agissant  en  raison  directe  des 
masses  et  en  raison  inverse  du  quarr^  de  la  distance  suffit  a 
tout,  et  fournit  des  raisons  pour  expliqner  toutes  lea  grandes 
revolutions  qui  animent  I'univers.  Rien  n'est  si  bon  selon 
moy;  mais  quand  il  s'agit  des  phenomdnes  sublunaires,  de 
ces  efiets  que  nous  yojons  de  plus  pr^  et  dont   Texamen 


nous  est  plus  facile,  la  Tertu  attractive  est  un  Prot^  qui 
change  souvent  de  forma.  Les  rochers  et  les  montagnes  oe 
donnent  aucun  signe  sensible  d'attraction.  C'est,  dit-on, 
que  ces  petites  attractions  particulidres  aont  comme  absor- 
b^s  par  celles  du  globe  terrestre,  qui  est  infinement  plus 
grands.  "  Pascal." 

I^ote  to  Boyle.*^"  Le  corps  en  Tertu  de  la  tendance  aa 
mouvement  que  I'attraction  lui  imprime  est  capable  de  par- 
courir  un  espace  donn^  dans  un  temps  d^ne.  La  vilesse 
initielle  sera  done  proporUonelle  a  Tintensit^  de  Uefibrt  ou  do 
la  tendance  imprim^e  par  la  puissance  attractive ;  et  cette 
intensity  sera  elle^m^me  proportionelle  i  )a  roaase  attirante  a 
egale  distance,  et  (a)  difierentes  distances)  comme  la  masse 
attirante  divia^e  par  les  quarr^  de  ces  distances. 

"Les  observations  atronomiques  apprennent  que  toutes 
les  plan^tes  se  mouvent  dans  une  courbe  autour  du  Soleil,  et 
qu  'elles  sont  accel6r6ea  dans  leur  movement  k  mesure  qu  'elles 
approchent  iJe  ce  globe,  et  qu  'elles  sont  retardees  a  propor- 
tion qu  'elles  s'en  eloign^ent,  tellementqu  'un  rayon  tirldeoes 
plan^tes  au  Soleil  d^rit  des  aires  ou  des  espaoes  ^gaux  eu 
temps  egaux.  •*  Pascal." 

"  J'ai  dit  que  la  force  de  projection  qu'on  nomme  force  cen- 
trifuge varie  continuelleroont,  parce  que  Tattraction  est  plus 
ou  moins  grande  suivant  que  les  plan^tes  s'approchent  ou 
s*^ioignent  du  soleil.  Pour  conoevoir  comment  cette  r^volo- 
tion  s'opere,  supposons  qu'une  plan^te  soit  k  la  partie  de  ^cm 
orbite  (ou  de  I'ellipse  qu'elle  parcourt)  la  plus  proche  da  so- 
leil, la  force  attractive  est  dans  cet  ^tat  plus  grande  que  dans 
toute  autre  situation,  k  proportion  que  le  quarr6  de  la  distance 
est  moindre.  EUe  devroit  done  (aire  tomber  la  plan^te  but  le 
soleil,  mais  la  force  centrifuge  produite  par  le  mouvernent  dr- 
culaire  autour  du  soleil  augmente  en  plus  grande  proportion. 

"  Pabcau" 

*^La  puissance  qui  agit  sur  une  plan^  plus  proche  da 
soleil  est  ordinairement  plus  g^nde  que  celle  qui  agit  sor 
une  planete  plus  61oignee,  taut  parce  qu'elle  se  roeut  avec 
plus  de  Vitesse  qu'&  cause  que  son  orbite  est  moindre  et 
qu'elle  k  plus  de  courbure.  Kn  comparant  les  monvemeots 
des  plan^tes,  on  trouve  que  la  vitesse  d'une  planete  plos 
proche  est  plus  grande  que  la  vitesse  d'une  planete  plus 
eloign^  en  raison  de  la  racine  quarr^  du  nombre  qui  ex- 
prime  la  plus  grande  distance  k  la  racine  quarree  de  oeluy 
qui  exprime  la  moindre  distance.  '*  Pascau** 

"On  pent  conjecturer  et  mdme  inferer  quil  n'y  a  une 
puissance  semblable  k  la  gravity  des  corps  pesants  sur  la 
terre,  qui  s'^tend  du  soleil  k  toutes  les  distances  et  dioiioue 
constamment  .  .^  .  Le  mdme  principe  de  la  gravite  doit 
avoir  lieu  dans  les  satellites  qui  circulent  autour  de  la  terre, 
de  Jupiter  et  de  Satume.  .  .  .  Car  ils  ne  pourroient 
avoir  un  mouvement  aussi  regulier  qu'ils  ont  s*ils  D*e- 
toient  assttjettis  a  Taction  de  la  mesme  puiawoce,  eia 

"  Pascal." 

The  intimate  acquaintance  of  Newton  with  Pascal  is  prov- 
ed by  letters  written  by  Newton  in  most  excellent  French. 
Newton  was  then  only  eleven  yearB  old 

The  question  that  M.  Leverrier  at  last  put  forth,  after 
endless  circumlocution,  was  this : — Is  M.  Chasles  in  pocsea 
sion  of  letters  and  notes  which  demonstrate  undoubtedly 
that  Pa!>cal  knew,  not  only  the  laws,  but  the  demoostratioD 
of  universal  gravitation  ?  M.  Chasles  hesitated  to  answer, 
because  he  would  wait  till  the  termination  of  the  discusnon 
of  that  which  he  had  already  spoken  of  to  the  Academy ; 
he  consented,  however,  to  acknowledg'^  t  at  it  results  from 
the  authentic  autographs  in  his  possession  that  Pascal  had 
determined  centrifugal  force  in  the  curvilinear  motion  of  the 
planet;  thus,  this  determination  implies  the  demoDstratioo 
of  the  elliptical  nature  of  the  carve  described  under  the  in- 
fluence of  attraction. 

MM.  Duhamel,  Elie  de  Beaumont,  Poniilet,  Faye,  Leverrier 
and  Chasles  took  part  successively  in  the  diecossion,  but  oa 
subjects  not  bearing  directly  on  the  qoestioD.  M.  Dubamel 
supported  the  adversaries  of  Newton ;  he  could  never  un- 
derstand how  h&j^v^  at  so  late  a  period,  the  mathematical 


QinncAL  NKWt,  ? 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


191 


expression  of  the  law  of  gravitation  Id  inverse  proportion  of 
the  square  of  the  distance.  By  replacing  the  ellipse  by  its 
osculating  circle,  he  had  early  found  the  geometrical  expres- 
sion of  the  attraction,  but  it  was  necessary  to  deduce  fW)m 
synthetic  considerations  the  value  of  the  radius  of  curvature 
of  an  ellipse,  which  he  could  not  do  later.  This  geometric 
determination  is  very  remarkable,  and  we  shall  shortly  give 
further  accounts  of  it. 

It  was  well  seen  with  what  care  M.  Ghasles  avoided  pro- 
nouncing the  nnme  of  Newton  in  his  paper.  It  is  not 
generally  known  that  when  Newton  was  only  fourteen 
years  ofd,  Pascal  was  in  correspondence  with  Newton,  and 
it  was  at  his  advice  that  Mrs.  Newton  sent  her  sou  to 
Cambridge.  This  unexpected  announcement  is  most  impor- 
tant, especially  when  these  extraordinary  documents  prove 
that  Pascal  was  aware  of  the  laws  of  universal  gravitation. 
Certainly  IC  Ch&slee  ought  to  be  left  at  full  leisure  to  pre- 
pare his  dissertation,  which  is  waited  for  impatiently  by  the 
scientific  world. 

M.  Cherreuil  laid  on  the  table  two  pamphlets  relative  to 
Natural  History  and  the  GobeliTis;  the  first  is  a  most 
complete  work  describing  tiie  physical,  chemical,  and  organic 
properties  and  relations  of  all  bodies. 

JXTLY  29,  1867. 

BaacaCa  letters  forgeriea.'-Iiain^/aU  in  A1satia,^Expenmeni8 
an  Induction  currenis.— 'Surgical  instrumenU  from  Pompeii, 

The  Abb^  2^ntadeschi  presented  a  copy  of  a  work  on  the 
climate  of  Catania,  the  conclusions  of  which  are  that  this 
country  is  one  of  the  spots  in  Italy  where  the  climate  is  most 
mild,  and  it  is  exactly  the  place  where  persons  suffering  from 
pulmonary  complaints  should  be  sent 

M.  Faug^re,  sub-directorof  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
who  had  devoted  his  life  to  the  subjects  of  the  illustrious 
PSscal,  and  the  history  of  his  family,  who  had  ^the  good 
fortune  to  discover  the  several  precious  unpublished  docu- 
roentB  entitled  **  Pensees,  fragments  et  lettres  de  Blaise 
Poscal,"  was  struck  with  the  account  of  the  letters  and 
notes  presented  and  given  to  the  Academy  by  M.  Chasles; 
he  wished  to  see  these  surprising  autographs,  and  was  con- 
vinced that  the  signature  of  the  letters  deposited  by  M. 
Chasles  is  not  that  of  Pascal,  but  that  they  are  simply 
forgeries.  He  requested  the  Academy  to  appoint  a  com- 
mission for  as  scrupulously  as  possible  inquiring  into  the 
authenticity  of  these  documents. 

M.  Chasles  replied  that  he  had  no  doubt  whatever  on  the 
validity  of  ihe  letters  and  notes  presented  by  him,  and  that 
he  hailed  with  pleasure  the  appointment  of  the  commission 
demanded  by  M.  Faug^re.  Tlie  members  are  MM.  Chevreuii, 
president;  Delaunay,  Y.P. ;  £lie  de  Beaumont  and  Costs, 
secretaries ;  Chasles,  Duhamei,  PouiUet,  Faye,  and  Leverrier. 
IL  Chasles  disputed  the  assertion  of  M.  Duhamei,  "  In  admit- 
ting the  autiietiticity  of  the  letters  deposited  by  M.  Chasles, 
and  supposing  even  that  they  had  been  published  before  the 
iVmcipta,  they  would  not  give  the  right  of  priority  to  Pascal 
for  the  law  of  universal  gravitatiou.  The  glory  will  ever 
rest  with  Newton."  M.  Chatsies  maintains,  on  the  contrary, 
tiiat  the  glory  of  the  discovery,  and  the  demomslration  of 
universal  attraction  proportional  to  the  masses  is  in  tlie  in- 
verse ratio  of  tlie  distance,  belongs  to  the  immortal  Pascal. 
He  proved  by  calling  to  mind  the  following  of  the  letters  and 
notes  of  the  illustrious  philosopher,  and  which  will  create  a 
profound  sensation  in  England. 

M.  Becquerel  pit^ented  a  note  on  the  temperature  of 
wa^er  currents,  by  M.  Cb.  Grad. 

In  two  former  commuuicatious  he  gave  his  researches  on 
the  fidl  of  rain  in  AisaUa,  and  the  relations  which  exist  be- 
tween the  flow  of  water  in  th«  111,  and  the  rain-fall  in  its 
basiu ;  to-day  be  submitted  the  result  of  the  running  waters 
in  the  same  region.  These  observations,  repeated  twice  a 
day,  at  7  am,  and  4  P.M.,  were  made  principally  on  the 
Fecht  The  Fecbt  is  a  sort  of  torrential  river,  taking  rise  in 
Hautes  Yosges  at  a  height  of  3,300  feet  above  the  level  of 


the  sea.  The  following  are  the  comparisons  made  between  the 
temperature  of  the  water  and  that  of  the  air : — ^The  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  water  from  July,  1866,  to  June,  1867,  was  found 
to  be  io'*'5  C.  inferior,  by  o°-8,  that  of  the  air  at  Turckheim. 
The  difference  between  tlie  temperature,  maxima  and  mini- 
ma, of  the  year  was  23*7.  The  greatest  variation  was  dur^ 
ing  the  month  of  May,  13" '3,  and  the  greatest  diurnal  varia- 
tion, 7°*6,  occurred  the  14th  July.  The  amplitude  of  the 
oscillations  is  less  for  water  than  for  air;  the  temperature 
of  water  attains  its  diurnal  maximum  and  minimum  only 
after  the  maximum  and  minimum  of  the  air  iiave  been  reach- 
ed. In  summer  the  rains  lessen  the  temperature  of  the  Fecht, 
and  in  winter  it  is  raised.  Also  the  range  of  variations  was 
found  to  be  more  decided  in  summer  than  in  winter ;  weaker 
under  an  overcast  sky  than  in  a  clear  one.  and  it  becomes 
more  pronounced  according  as  we  recede  from  tlie  sources, 
with  the  increase  of  volume  of  the  water-course.  This  last 
observation  confirms  those  of  M.  A.  Berlin,  on  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  111  at  Strasbourg,  and  the  Lower  Rhine  at  the 
Kehl  Bridge,  as  shown  by  the  following  results  : — During  the 
year  1858  to  1859,  the  average  temperature  of  the  air  at 
Strasbourg  was  io'''2  C  ;  that  at  Kehl  Bridge  lo^'S;  the 
water  of  the  Rhine  at  Kehl  Bridge,  10'' '9;  tiie  111  at  Stras- 
bourg, ti***2.  These  results  give  to  the  III  and  the  Rhine  a 
higher  temperature  than  that  of  the  Fecht ;  and  this  general 
law  can  be  deduced,  that  in  the  same  region  the  temperature 
of  running  waters  increases  with  their  volume. 

M.  Regnault  presf'nted,  in  the  name  of  M.  Blasema,  profes- 
sor of  the  University  of  Palermo,  results  of  experiments  on  the 
passage  of  ind uction  currents.  His  conclusions  are  th  e  follow- 
ing:— r.  The  time  elapsed  between  the  closing  or  the  rupture 
of  the  circuit  and  the  apparition  of  the  current  of  induction,  or 
the  attraction  of  the  armature  for  the  bobbin  of  induction  is 
inappreciable,  less  than  the  fif\ieth  part  of  a  second.  2.  The 
current  of  induction,  feeble  at  its  commencement,  increases 
little  by  little,  then  diminishes,  and  is  extinguished  in  an  in- 
terval difficult  to  determine. 

M.  Elie  de  Beaumont  gave  official  notice  of  the  election 
of  M.  Wurtz  in  place  of  M.  Pelcuze.  late  master  of  the  Paris 
Mint,  and  called  upon  him  to  take  his  chair. 

Dr.  Scontteten,  principal  physician  of  the  army  of  Prance, 
read  a  paper  on  the  surgical  instruments,  probes,  specula,  etc, 
found  in  the  ruins  of  Pompeii.  He  mentioned,  especially,  one 
instniment,  a  probe,  presented  by  GUllien  to  a  magistrate 
named  Erastitrate,  and  which  seems  preferable,  in  a  practical 
point  of  view,  to  those  new  in  use. 

August  5,  1867. 

FaB.of  Aerslitef, — Ozonomeiry. — Oxide  of  TlicUlium  a  Test  for 
Ozone  —  The<  ryfor  Solar  Spots.—  Wax  of  tht  fig  Cochineal 
— Moulting  of  Fishes. 

The  minister  of  public  instruction  transmitted,  on  behalf 
of  the  Algerian  Government,  several  documents  relative  to 
the  fall  of  aerolites  which  took  place  on  the  Qtli  of  May,  1866, 
preceded  by  the  appearance  of  a  hoUde,  or  meteor,  which  ex- 
ploded with  very  loud  reports. 

Dr.  Benigny  presented  a  memoir  on  ozonometry,  being  a 
re«*im^  of  observations  made  during  a  period  of  nine  conse- 
cutive years  with  iodized  paper  much  more  sensitive  than 
that  of  Schonbein,  and  a  scale  of  shades  drawn  up  in  concert 
with  M.  Salleron.  The  following  are  the  principal  results 
obtained  at  Versailles;  the  month  of  May  is  that  during 
which  the  maxima  are  absolute,  in  November  the  absolute 
minima  take  place.  At  the  equinoctial  periods,  March  and 
September,  ozone  attains  its  relative  maxima.  The  import- 
ance of  the  months  is  ranged  in  the  following  progressive 
order:  May,  March,  April,  June,  August,  July,  September, 
January,  December,  Octobir,  February,  and  Xovember.  '  The 
comparison  of  the  ozonometric  curves  with  the  meteorological 
charts  of  the  observatory  show  that  a  maximum  of  ozone 
corresponds  with  the  presence  of  a  storm  in  Europe,  or  the 
Atlantic,  or  on  the  coasts  of  France  and  England.  Certain 
minima  follow  the  same  law;  but  then  it  happens  always 


192 


Notices  of  Booka. 


Cmnoix  Kkws,  I 


that  the  storm  is  thrown  back  towards  the  south  before  reach- 
ing the  meridian  of  Paris,  and  that  it  traverses  Spain  and 
the  Pyrenees  to  extend  itself  over  the  Mediterranean.  The 
coloration  is  generally  very  strong  when  the  storm  traverses 
France  and  England ;  it  is  also  produced  when  it  passes  very 
high  in  the  north.  It  varies  with  the  intensity  of  the  atmos- 
pheric movement,  and  with  the  distance  at  which  the  centre 
of  this  movement  passes. 

Dr.  Besigny  laid  on  the  table  a  copy  of  the  researches  made 
on  ozone,  read  by  M.  Schdnbein  at  one  of  the  meetings  of 
the  Scientilic  Association  of  France,  held  at  Metz.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract: — Ordinary  oxygen  is  without  action 
upon  the  protoxide  of  thallium,  while  ozonized  oxygen  com- 
bines rapidly  with  this  oxide  so  as  to  form  the  peroxide  of 
thallium,  which  is  brown.  Paper  steeped  in  a  solution  of 
oxide  of  thallium  and  exposed  to  free  air,  would  be  an  excel- 
lent ozonometric  paper  if  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air  did  not 
transform  the  oxide  into  carbonate,  which  passes  more  slowly 
to  the  state  of  peroxide,  and  blackens  with  difficulty  under 
circumstances  where  strips  of  paper,  iodized  and  starched, 
become  coloured  at  the  end  of  a  few  minutes  in  an  atmos- 
phere which  contains  a  i-2,ooo,oooth  part  of  ozouo.  Tlie 
comparison  between  the  two  papers  has  at  least  the  advantage 
of  proving  that  the  coloration  of  the  iodized  paper  is  really 
produced  by  the  atmoppheric  ozone. 

In  an  answer  made  by  Mr.  Faye  to  the  objections  urged, 
in  April  last,  by  M.  Kirchhoff,  against  his  theory  of  solar 
spots,  he  stated  the  question  in  the  following  terms : — "  Ad- 
mitting that  the  solar  spots  are  simple  '  dnylighta '  (they  are 
assuredly  only  cavities),  in  the  luminous  clouds  wiiich  ouiisti- 
tute  the  photosphere,  to  explain  how  it  happens  that  we  do 
not  perceive  through  the  cavity  the  whole  body  of  the  sun 
(150,000  leagues  thick),  the  internal  face  of  the  photosphere 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  celestial  body  in  all  its  brigbtnesa" 
Again  taking  up  the  discu«sion,  M.  Faye  calculates  tlie  tajec- 
tory  of  the  luminous  ray  starting  from  that  portion  of  the 
photosphere  opposite  to  the  eye  which  regards  the  spot,  and 
thinks  that  he  can  prove  by  a  very  simple  analysis,  by  suppos- 
ing the  obscure  mass  of  the  sun  to  be  perfectly  transparent, 
this  portion  of  the  photosphere  would  remain  invisible.  The 
reason  of  this  is  that  the  luminous  ray  would  describe  a  spiral 
curve  without  ever  coming  out.  Examining,  then,  the  Eng- 
lish theories,  which  pretend  to  explain  the  spots  on  the  sun 
by  its  atmosphere,  the  influence  or  position  of  the  planets,  the 
intervention  of  cometary  or  meteoric  matter,  he  demouBtrated 
that  these  three  causes  are  totally  insufficient  and  inadmissi- 
ble, inasmuch  as  they  imply  the  existence  round  the  sun  of 
an  atm.osphere  the  thickness  of  which  is  one-third  of  the  solar 
radius. 

M.  Blanchard  presented  a  note  from  M.  Targioni  Tozzetti, 
professor  at  Florence,  on  the  wax  produced  by  the  fig  cociii- 
neal  (coccw  cm^ce),  which  contains  half  its  weight  of  ceroline, 
and  can  be  abundantly  procured  and  used  in  the  industrial 
arta 

M.  Blanchard  also  presented  a  note  on  the  moulting  of 
fishes,  by  M.  Baudelot.  Tubercules  are  often  observed  on 
the  skin  of  fishes,  accompanied  by  the  falling  ofi*  of  the  scales ; 
these  were  sometimes  considered  a  characteristic  of  a  new 
species  of  fish.  M.  Bandelet  has  found  that  they  are  periodi- 
cal, and  are  to  be  found  in  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  thus 
constituting  a  true  moulting. 


NOnCBS  OF  BOOKS. 


Observaitonit  upon  a  New  and  Simple  Process  for  the  Pres- 
ervation of  Meat,  Fixh,  Poultry,  and  other  Varieties  of 
Animal  F(x>d.  London:  Sirapkin,  Marshall,  &  Co. 
A  HEW  process  for  the  preservation  of  meat  by  means  of  a 
Bolution  of  bisulphite  of  calcium,  has  been  lately  patented 
by  Messrs.  Medlock  and  Bailey ;  and  the  pamphlet  we  are 
about  to  discuss  has  been  written  with  the  object  of  describ- 
ing the  process  and  its  application.     It  is  somewhat  unfortu- 


nate that  the  writer  adopts  the  style  usually  displayed  in  the 
commencement  of  such  descriptive  pamphlets.  He  proves 
satisfactorily  to  himself  that  ail  the  processes  hitherto  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  to  which  this  patent  is  applied  are 
lamentably  defective.  It  is  needless  to  mention  the  objec- 
tions raised  in  each  particular  case,  and  it  is  much  to  be  re- 
gretted that  the  author  does  not  confine  himself  to  a  state- 
ment of  the  undoubted  advantages  possessed  by  the  special 
process  which  he  advocates,  without  drawing  invidious  com- 
parisons. 

The  preservative  employed  by  Messrs.  Medlock  and  Bailey, 
is  undoubtedly  a  very  powerful  one,  and  although  its  appli- 
cation to  the  purpose  of  preserving  food  may  be  new,  the  an- 
tiseptic properties  of  sulphite  of  calcium  have  long  been  re- 
cog^iizod ;  it  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  chief  components  of  Mc- 
DougalFs  powder.  In  the  patent  now  brought  before  na, 
however,  the  more  soluble  bisulphite  is  employed.  This 
compound  possesses  several  advantages  over  other  sulphites, 
wliich  will  strike  chemista-  at  once.  It  is  easily  obtained 
free  from  sulphate,  and  if  any  s*alphate  should  be  afterwards 
formed  by  oxidation  no  unpleasant  taste  would  be  noticed  by 
the  consumer ;  these  points  have  probably  operated  against 
the  extended  use  of  sulphite  of  sodium.  The  low  equivalent 
of  calcium  is  also  somewhat  in  its  favour.  Messrs.  W.  Bailey 
k  ^ons  have  eng^aged  to  manufacture  the  bisulphite  of  cal- 
cium, and  guarantee  to  deliver  it  absolutely  pure.  With 
regard  to  the  results  that  have  been  obtained,  as  set  forth  in 
the  pamphlet,  they  are  remarkably  good.  The  ordinary  pre- 
servative solution  is  made  as  follows: — Dissolve  about  a  pint 
of  common  salt  in  four  gallons  of  clear  cold  water,  to  whidi 
add  halfa-gallon  of  the  bisulphite,  and  mix  well:  if  the  naeat 
etc,  to  be  treated  is  required  to  be  preserved  for  a  very  long 
period,  a  little  solution  of  gelatine  or  white  of  egg  may  be 
added  with  advantage.  All  kinds  of  meat  may  be  kept  per- 
fectly sweet  by  simply  soaking  the  joints  in  the  above  pre- 
servative solution  for  ten  minutes,  and  then  hang^ing  Ibem 
up,  wetting  them  again  with  the  solution  once  a  day. 

It  is  stated  that  beef,  mutton,  lobsters,  etc.,  treated  by  this 
process^  kept  good  for  twelve  dajs,  with  the  temperature  vary- 
ing  between  80°  and  iio^'F.,  the  original  odour  and  fiavoar 
remaining  unimpaired  at  the  end  of  the  time.  In  twenty -six 
hours  portions  of  the  same  animal  matter,  unprepared,  were 
absolutely  putrid, 

The  process  seems  likely  to  prove  valuable  both  to  the 
public  and  the  patenteesi 


Gas  Manipulation,  By  the  late  Hekrt  BANinsTKR.  En- 
larged by  WiLUAM  T.  Suoa.  London :  Henry  Sugg,  32, 
Henrietta  Street,  ^Covent  Garden.  1 867. 
Our  roost  eminent  chemical  authorities  have  lately  interested 
themselves  so  deeply,  not  only  iu  the  actual  quality  of  oosl- 
gas,  but  also  in  practical  details  whose  consideration  is  neces- 
sary for  understanding  how  impurities  appear,  persist  and  ac- 
cumulate, that,  as  a  result,  gas  manipulation  has  become  a 
branch  of  study  that  may  be  called  chemical  jurisprudence. 
Thus,  within  a  very  few  years,  by  laborious  investigations  of 
chemists,  the  subject  of  gas  supply,  with  the  imparities  of 
gas,  has  been  raised  to  a  degree  of  accuracy  equal  or  e^en 
superior  to  that  of  the  sister  subject  of  water  supply,  with 
its  impurities.  These  two  subjects,  with  histories  so  r^rj 
different,  have  reached  a  nearly  identical  climax,  in  that  the 
chemist  and  the  engineer  will,  for  the  future,  have  nearly  an 
equal  weight  of  evidence  to  give  in  the  witness  box,  .on 
questions  touching  either  subject.  A  branch  of  the  science 
is  thus  steadily  growing  in  importance,  and  we  should  wel- 
come with  much  pleasure  a  sliort  text-book  on  this  de- 
partment of  chemical  jurisprudence  for  the  busy  practical 
man. 

Such  a  work  would  now,  tlianks  to  the  enterprise  of  pub- 
li«^her8,  and  the  increasing  number  of  text-books  on  all  t}%eea 
subjects,  be  a  mere  matter  of  compilation,  giving  in  one  vxil- 
ume  information  of  the  most  valuable  character,  now  scat- 
tered  in  scores,  or  even  hundreds  of  books  and  pamphleta. 


Notices  of  Books. 


193 


which  matter,  we  have  much  reason  to  fear,  will  be  quite 
lost  to  the  profession  if  not  properly  secured  in  time. 

In  the  absence  of  such  a  book,  however,  Bannister's,  or 
rather  Sugg's  gas  manipulation  (so  greatly  has  the  original 
book  been  enlarged  and  improved),  will  for  many  years  be  a 
valuable  text-book  for  the  chemical  jurist  j  this  could  not  so 
justly  be  stated  of  the  former  edition. 

With  regard  to  some  minor  points,  in  fairness  to  our 
readers,  we  must  make  a  few  remarks  and  extracts ; — thus 
Ae  use  of  turmeric  paper  for  testing  the  presence  of 
volatile  alkali,  is  advocated  without  any  ftiention  of  the 
fiiUaeies  that  attend  its  use;  the  very  great  superiority  of  red 
HiiQQs  paper  in  this  respect  has  generally  been  insisted  upon, 
especially  by  Iktr.  Bowditch.  Again,  for  the  quantitative 
estimation  of  ammonia,  the  decimally  divided  imperial  liquid 
measure  is  used,  which,  however  good  in  its  way,  has  not 
the  sanction  of  extensive  use  ly  chemists.  With  an  English 
and  French  method  in  vogue  of  nearly  equally  extensive  use, 
there  is  no  room  even  for  "a  golden  mean"  system,  as  its 
advocates  would  call  it.  In  any  estimates  made  in  legal 
statements,  a  very  simple  question  would  become  infinitely 
involved  by  the  necessary  explanation  that  one  cubic  iuch=: 
36*06543  septems,  and  that  i  litre  =2-2  deci-gallons.  We 
ihink  that  by  quoting  one  example,  the  volumetric  testing  by 
this  method  will  be  seen  to  be  decidedly  inferior  to  more 
recent  methods. 

"For  testing  ammonia  by  oxalic  acid" — "the  following 
solutions  are  required."  i.  A.  solution  of  oxalic  acid,  loo 
septems  of  which  are  equal  to  10  graihs  of  ammonia ;  2.  A 
solution  of  ammonia  of  which  100  septems  contain  i  grain 
of  ammonia.  3.  Tincture  of  hematine;  for  this  septem- 
burettes,  etc.,  are  us^ed;  the  results  thus  obtained  are  not 
at  all  readily  calculated  either  into  grain  or  gramme 
measures. 

In  another  part  of  the  book,  fluid  ounces  and  drachms  are 
used  for  volumetric  purposea 

A  valuable  portion  of  the  work  is  devoted  to  the  question 
of  photometry,  which  is  most  skilfully  bandied.  Two  full- 
paged  illustrations  of  the  photometers  of  Bunsen  and  Dr. 
Letheby  respectively  are  given  in  white  lines  on  a  black 
ground,  and  the  doctrine  of  irradiation  as  connected  with 
luminous  impressions,  is  very  markedly  illustrated  on  a  large 
scale  by  these  beautifully  dear  prints.  15  others  engravings 
are  also  given  on  toned  paper,  equally  artistically  executed ; 
and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  this  is  the  most 
perfectly  illustrated  scientific  work  that  we  know  of,  publish- 
ed in  iSngland. 

We  leave  to  our  readers  the  pleasure  of  reading  the  details 
of  the  selfregistering  photometer,  by  which  with  the  aid  of 
photometry  the  varying  pressure  of  ^  may  be  registered 
during  the  24  hours. 

It  has  been  named  after  the  workers  out  of  the  idea, 
Messrs.  Kirkbam  and  Sugg,  who  acknowledge  the  valuable 
assistance  rendered  by  Mr.  Giaisher. 

To  those  of  our  readei^  who  have  studied  Mr.  Bowditch's 
experimerits  on  the  value  of  illuminating  candles,  which 
seemed  of  such  a  convincing  nature,  and  have  remembered 
Dr.  Frankland's  remarks  on  the  same  subjects,  the  following 
extract  firom  the  preface  will  be  of  interest ; 

"  The  variations  so  lirequently  found  to  occur  when  using 
the  standard  candle  in  conducting  experiments,  are  shown  to 
be  in  a  g^eat  measure  attributable  to  a  defective  mode  of  ap- 
plication; and  suggestions,  based  on  actual  practice,  are 
leered,  the  ^option  of  which  will  eneure  an  great  an  approx- 
imation to  the  truest  results  as  the  present  Parliamentary 
regulations  will  admit  ofl" 


PrvprUifs  Vmnfedanis  dea  FermanganaUs  Alcali7i$.  Henrt 

BollmaN  CoKDY.     Paris:  J.  B.  BajlliereetFils.    1867. 
The  readers  of  the  Chemical  News  doubtless  remember  the 
tenor  of  some  remarks  made  in  this  journal  under  the  beading, 
<* French  Aoademioiaos  and  English  discoverers;"  from  our 
]ater  numbers  also  they  have  learnt  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton 

Vol.  I.    No.  4. — Oct.,  1867.        13. 


himself  is  not  to  escape;  and  although  we  are  sorry  that  Mr. 
Condy  should  have  occasion  to  assert  his  right  of  priority  of 
discovery,  we  congratulate  him  heartily  at  finding  himself  in 
such  good  company,  and  ourselves  for  this  opportunity  of 
learning  the  whole  history  of  the  application  of  the  perman- 
ganates to  disinfection,  afforded  by  the  necessity  of  publishine 
such  a  claim. 

Mr.  Condy  observes  truly,  that  although  M.  Marguerite  in 
1850,  and  MM.  Bussy,  FIor^-Domonte,  and  P^n  de  Saint 
Giles  still  later,  advocated  the  application  of  the  permanganates 
and  manganates  for  oxidising  purposes ;  they  did  so  merely 
for  purposes  of  chemical  analysis ;  and  the  proof  of  commercial 
application  being  still  unrecognized,  is  found  in  there  being  no 
exhibition  of  these  salts  at  the  French  Kxhibiiion  of  1855. 
Towards  tiie  end  of  this  year  Mr.  Condy  first  showed  these 
disinfecting  powers.  We  have  in  Appendix  A  the  most  com- 
plete verification  of  Mr.  Coudy's  views  from  the  highest 
authority,  Professor  Hofmann ;  thuj  document  is  dated  July  21 
1856.  In  spite  of  this  M.  Castex  claimed,  in  1863,  from  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  a  recognition  of  his  discovery  of  these 
properties.  Mr.  Condy  thereupon,  by  Dr.  Mitchell,  addressed 
to  the  Academy  a  roost  unanswerable  reply  to  M.  Castex's 
claims.  This  called  forth  in  reply  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
Academy  by  a  Dr.  Blaclie  (March  24,  1864),  and  this  will  be 
for  some  time  memorable  in  the  history  of  invention  as  an 
unexampled  specimen  of  cool  impertinence;  we  quote 

"El  puis  nous  ferons remarquer que  ce  u'est  pas  i'idee  seule 
qui  fait  U  merite  d'un  travail,  surtout  d'un  travail  qui  a  un 
but  pratique;  o'est  la  poursuite  de  cette  idee  dans  les  faitt 
.  .  .  .  M.  Castex  a  experiment^  par  lui-mdme ;  il  nous  fais 
connaitre  des  faits  puisds  dans  sa  propre  pratique.  Ces  faits 
sent  bien  4  lui.  Ces  faits  ne  sont  pas  oeux  de  M.  Condy  •  et 
s'ils  conftrment  ceux  de  M.  Condy,  tant  mieux  "II  ' 

Dr.  Blache  admits  the  discovery,  but  disputes  the  full 
demonstration  by  a  series  of  experiments,  in  effect,  if  not 
directly,  by  attributing  such  a  series  of  experiments  to  some- 
body else. 

The  history  of  this  case  may  be  taken  as  a  pattern  of  the 
flimsy  way  in  which  French  chemists  have  lately  been  in  the 
habit  of  making  discoveries.  We  can  discover  nothing  in  Mr. 
Condy's  language  that  shows  anything  but  the  strictest 
courtsey,  truth,  and  confidence  in  the  justice  of  his  claim. 

Elemenfs  of  Chemistry,  Theoretical  and  Practical    By  Wil- 
liam Allen  Millke,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Treasurer  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  Royal  Society,  Vice-President  of  the  Chem* 
ical  Society,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in   Kings  College, 
London,  etc.,  eta  Part  I.,  Chemical  Physics.    4th  Edition, 
with  additions.     1867.     (Longmans.) 
For  the  last  dozen  years  Professor  Miller's  book  has  been  the 
most  important  of  English  manuak  of  chemistry:    Smaller 
and  cheaper  works  have  indeed  very  frequently  supplied  its 
place  to  the  beginner  and  the  non  professional  student;  and 
the  advanced  chemist  has  been  constantly  compelled  to  resort 
to  the  elaborate,  though  somewhat  inconvenient,  handbook 
of  Gmelin.    But  for  ordinary  use  by  the  advanced  student, 
the  manufacturer,  the  general  reader,  and  the  professional 
chemist,  '•  Miller  "  has  been  the  almost  invariable  guide.    It 
is  looked  upon  by  most  English  chemists  with  a  kindly  regard, 
derived  partly  from  familiarity,  but  even  more  from  gratitude. 
No  one  can  estimate  the  importance  to  the  progress  and 
spread  of  a  science,  of  a  well-written,  lucid,  and  comprehen- 
sive manual.    Sciences  which  are  not  so  provided  are  sure  to 
languish,  if  not  in*  development,  at  any  rate  in  popular  esti- 
maiion  and  general  cultivation. 

Very  peculiar  qualifications  are  necessary  for  the  successful 
compilation  of  such  a  manual.  The  author  must  be  a  man 
of  original  genius  as  well  as  of  deep  and  varied  knowledge. 
He  must  be  unprejudiced  and  tolerant  in  his  judgment,  able 
to  see  the  fragmentary  truth  in  two  contending  views,  and 
able,  also,  to  sift  contending  evidence— the  amount  of  which 
is  unfortunately  always  immense,— and,  without  dogmatising, 


194 


(hi^reepondence. 


j  CimncAL  Ksvi, 


to  note  the  probabilities  to  which  it  points.  And,  finally,  to 
render  his  labours  of  much  avail,  be  must  be  a  mau  of  mark 
in  his  science — one  whose  researclies  and  experience  are 
sufficient  to  stamp  his  opinions  with  some  authority.  It  is 
not  good  that  he  should  be  too  closely  bound  to  any  one  of 
the  fleeting  systems  of  science.  He  must  be  an  exponent, 
not  an  advocate,  using  new  theories  and  crude,  half-proven 
facts  with  the  cautious  hand  of  one  who  knows  how  soon 
they  may  be  swept  away.    His  duty  it  is  to  write, 

"  Not  clinging  to  some  ancient  m*  ; 
Not  mafttrred  by  BOine  motiern  term ; 
Not  swifl;  nor  slow  to  change,  but  firm 
And  in  Ita  st-afton  bring  the  law 
That  from  placusslon^s  lip  may  fall — "" 

purrendering  the  most  cherished  of  his  conyictions,  the  most 
habitual  of  his  modes  of  expression,  the  moment  the  grow- 
ing mass  of  scientific  fact  shall  point  it  out  as  desirable. 

Jt  is  unecessary  to  point  out  how  well  Professor  MiUer 
fulfils  these  hard  conditions.  There  is  probably  no  chem- 
ist in  England  less  dogmatic  in  his  tone  of  thought  or  less 
wedded  to  any  particular  system.  The  present  edition  of 
his  "  Manual "  afibrds,  we  are  happy  to  say,  a  most  con- 
vincing proof  of  this,  if  any  proof  were  still  wanting.  Just 
at  the  juncture  when  the  interests  of  chemistry  required  it, 
when  tlie  revolution  which  began  with  the  petty  insurrec- 
tion of  0=i6  against  0=8,  is  completing  itself,  and  when 
something  like  consistency  is  once  more  apparent  in  the 
language  of  chemical  journals,  this  new  edition  appears,  and 
we  find  that  the  author,  instead  of  endeavouring  to  patch 
up  an  efibte  doctrine,  has  g^ven  in  his  adhesion  to  the  new, 
and  formally  ranged  himself  under  its  banners. 

Every  chemist  knows  the  boolr  so  well  that  it  would  be 
absurd  to  offer  more  than  a  few  passing  comments  upon  it. 
The  present  volume,  occupied  abnost  entirely  with  physics, 
is  but  little  changed  by  the  alteration  in  nomenclature  and 
notation.  The  introductory  chapter  has  been  chiefiy  re- 
written, and  although  the  author,  with  characteristic  cau- 
tion, stops  short  of  the  extreme  development  of  the  most 
modem  theorists,  his  sketch  of  the  laws  which  govern  the 
operations  of  chemical  force  is  perfectly  in  aocorSance  with 
modem  doctrine,  while  it  preserves  the  admirable  lucidity 
which  distinguished  previous  editions.  As  in  Hofmann^s 
little  book,  t£e  term  "equivalence"  is  used  instead  of  "at- 
omicity," which  is  decidedly  barbarous,  and  is,  moreover, 
open  to  the  charge  of  implying  more  than  can  be  proved. 

The  general  plan  of  the  volume  has  been  but  little  al- 
tered, £ough  a  good  many  additions  have  been  made  to  it. 
The  section  on  the  photographic  action  of  light  has,  very  wise- 
ly, been  transferred  from  the  second  volume,  and  is  a  most 
valuable  summary  of  the  present  state  of  knowledge  upon 
the  subject  Spectram  analysis  is,  of  course,  enlarged,  and 
is  prefaced  by  a  useful  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  sub- 
ject. The  recent  researches  of  Dale  and  Gladstone,  and  of 
Landolt,  upon  the  connection  of  optical  properties  with 
chemical  composition,  are  shortly  described.  The  wonder^ 
ful  results  of  Graham  on  the  absorption  of  gases  by  metals 
have  been  inserted,  although  his  last  extraordinary  experi- 
ment, in  which  hydrogen  was  separated  f^om  a  meteorite, 
was  not  announced  until  the  volume  was  in  print  In  tiie 
chapter  on  electricity  we  find  clear  descriptions  of  tbe 
magneto-electrical  machines  of  Holmes  and  Wilde,  although 
the  curious  electrical  machine  of  Holtz  is  unaccountably 
omitted.  The  conclusions  of  the  British  Association  com- 
mittee on  the  standard  of  electrical  resistance  have  been  in- 
serted in  some  detail,  well  warranted  by  their  extreme  im- 
portance. 

The  above  are,  we  believe,  the  most  important  of  the  ad- 
ditions which  distinguish  this  edition.  Of  course  there  are 
a  few  omissions  to  notice :  it  would  bo  a  strange  thing  if 
there  were  not  in  a  work  upon  so  wide  a  plan.  We  regret 
the  absence  of  Stokes's  beautiful  and  simple  methods  for  the 
spectroscopic  examination  of  liquids,  and  their  extensions 
by  Sorby,  though  perhaps  the  latter  belongs  more  prop- 


erly to  microscopy.  And,  to  select  another  illustration,  it 
would  surely  have  been  well  to  have  given  some  aooount 
of  Balfour  Stewart's  striking  experiment  on  the  rotation  of 
a  disc  in  vacfuo^  for  although  its  present  explanation  must 
still  be  regarded  as  hypothetical,  it  is  in  the  highest  degree 
suggestive.  These,  and  a  few  more  of  the  same  kind,  are, 
however,  but  specks  in  a  most  excellent  work,  and  we  can- 
not conclude  without  congratulating  the  author  on  the  care 
and  skill  with  which  he  has  moulded  the  successive  editioDB 
of  his  book  into  harmony  with  the  rapid  strides  of  sdenoe. 

Oerminal  JfaUer  and  (he  Gontad  Theory,  Jakes  Mobeis,  KD., 
Lond.,  Fellow  of  Univ.  Coll.,  LoncL  Iiondon :  John  Chur- 
chill and  Sons,  New  Burlington  Street.  1 867. 
The  author  of  this  small  pamphlet  of  twenty-three  pages 
in  the  flrat  entera  his  plea  in  the  following  skilful  manner 
— "  Depreciation  due  only  to  baseless  theories  is  too  often 
extended  to  theory  in^  general,  but  even  a  theory  that  doea 
no  more  than  harmonize  a  large  number  of  facts,  is  a  use- 
ful aid  to  further  progress,  and  is  often  the  means  by  which 
we  arrive  at  a  law."  As  a  rule  the  largeness  of  the  num- 
ber of  facts  is  in  direct  ratio  to  the  looseness  of  the  theory, 
as  opposed  to  law.  A  medical  theorem  Is  then  worked  oat 
sericUimj  by  what  the  author  calls  three  easy  steps ;  we  may 
call  them  his  axioms. 

Axiom  L  "  Air  floats  with  ease  .and  for  a  considerable 
time  and  distance,  light,  and  small  masses  of  organic  mat- 
ter." Well-known  facts  are  quoted  for  this,  but  a  certain 
vagueness  of  expression  somewhat  tends  to  embarrass  the 
reader,  e,  g^  "  Seeds  of  cUl  sizes  sail  in  the  air,  from  the 
thistle  or  taraxacum,  with  their  parachutes  of  bristlea,  down 
to  the  smallest  floated  by  its  thread  of  cotton."  A  rigidly 
accurate  reader  might  feel  disposed  to  quibble  about  this 
statement,  as  is  his  wont ;  seeds  of  all  sizes  include  horse- 
chestnut  and  cocoa-nut  seed,  and  evidence  of  their  being 
floated  by  air  is  still  wanting. 

Axiom  II.  Minute  portions  of  organic  matter  are  oonatani^ 
thrown  oflf  by  animals  and  men. 

Axiom  III.  These  are  received  into  the  body,  and  some 
pass  into  the  lungs  so  as  to  reach  the  blood. 

These  are  not  to  be  disputed,  and  the  theorem  follows, 
*'  Light  little  masses  from  the  body  of  one  individual  are  con- 
stantly received  by  other  individuals  so  as  to  reach  their 
blood." 

An  interesting  number  of  facts  are  in  the  next  place  cited, 
to  show  what  diseases  are  known  to  be  caused  by  essentially 
molecular  causes,  those  kuown  to  be  caused  by  organic  (i  e- 
organized)  agencies ;  thirdly,  the  grounds  for  suspecting  their 
presence  in  other  diseases.  Dr.  Beale's  researches  are  also 
quoted  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise;  "to  him  we  owe  the 
outline  of  what  I  conceive  to  be  a  generalization,  hereafter 
probably  to  rank  as  a  landmark  in  medical  sdenoe.'  The 
pamphlet  as  a  whole  we  esteem  highly,  more  especiaUy  for  its 
clear  ordination  of  facts,  and  the  plainly  stated  facts  for  the 
axioms  necessary  to  work  out,  a  theorem.  Dr.  Morris  w  an 
author  whom  it  is  very  easy  to  follow  in  argument,  and  it  is 
a  pleasure  to  read  a  pamphlet  written  on  his  plan;  these  good 
points  are  so  much  enhanced  by  comparison  with  woiiu  that 
now-a-day  abound  with  theorems  without  axioms^  based 
neither  upon  experiment  with  full  details,  nor  upon  bigli 
authority  with  refierencea,  judiciously  selected. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

Magnetism  and  Gravitation. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nswa. 
Sir,— In  reply  to  A.  D.,  I  cannot  admit  that  "both  tha 
induced  poles  of  a  body  undergoing  magnetic  induction  may 
be  regarded  as  at  the  same  distance  from  the  inducing  pole 
thereby  rendering  the  attraction  nil."  The  side  nearest  the 
inducing  pole  being  attracted,  and  the  side  furthest  repelled. 


OeL,  186T.       f 


Correspondence. 


195 


tlie  attractioD  will  always  predominate  over  the  repulsion. 
This  is  true  for  an  inch,  or  a  foot,  and  why  not  for  any 
distance. 

When  a  small  needle,  previously  magnetised,  is  gently  laid 
on  tlie  surface  of  water  so  as  to  float  thereon,  it  arranges 
itself  in  tiie  magnetic  meridian,  although  the  distance  of  one 
end  of  it  from  a  magnetic  pi»le  may  be  only  a  fraction  of  an 
iuch  more  than  that  of  the  other  in  a  total  distance  of  several 
thousand  miles.  Again,  we  know  that  if  a  magnet  be  placed 
al  some  distance  either  above  or  below  the  pan  of  a  balance, 
it  diminishes  or  increases  the  weight  of  any  magnetic  substance 
placed  in  the  pan.  Also,  if  a  magnetised  needle  be  introduced 
iDto  the  pan  of  a  balance,  below  which  a  magnet  is  placed, 
the  apparent  weiglit  of  the  needle  varies  according  as  we 
arrange  it  with  its  poles  similar  or  opposite  to  those  of  the 
magnet  placed  beneath  it.  The  apparent  weight  of  a  magnetic 
substance  may  then  be  altered  at  pleasure,  or  even  reduced 
to  nothing.  Thus,  when  a  small  needle  is  attached  to  the 
ground  by  thread  fixed  to  one,  or  preferably,  to  both  ends,  and 
a  horse-shoe  magnet  is  held  above  it,  the  needle  may  be  sus- 
pended in  the  air  at  a  distance  of  an  inch  or  more  from  the 
magnet,  its  apparent  weight  being  thus  practically  reduced  to 
nothing 

Is  there  anything  wonderful  in  a  magnet  being  able  to 
attract  substances  at  a  distance  equal  to  its  own  length  ?  Is 
it  not,  on  the  contrary,  a  thing  of  common  occurrence  f  Why 
then  should  we  consider  it  impossible  for  the  magnet  we  inhabit 
to  attract  bodies  on  its  own  surface  ? 

In  *'  Fownes'  Chemistry  "  (p.  94,  9th  ed.)  we  find  the  follow- 
ing passage : — "  Of  late  the  march  of  the  daily  variations  of 
declination  has  been  carelblly  compared  with  the  positions  of 
the  Pun  as  well  as  the  moon  at  the  corresponding  period. 
This  enquiry,  suggested  by  General  Sabine,  and  carried  on 
ImT  a  number  of  years  in  several  localities,  has  led  to  the  re- 
markable result  that  these  celestial  bodies  exert  a  definite 
influence  upon  the  magnetic  needle,  and  must  therefore  be 
considered  as  magnets,  like  the  earth  itself." 

If,  then,  the  moon,  as  a  magnet,  is  capable  of  exerting  a 
"definite  influence  "  at  a  mean  distance  of  237,000  miles  from 
the  earth, — ^if  the  sun,  as  a  magnet,  can  manifest  its  power  at 
a  mean  distance  of  94^  millions  of  miles  from  our  globe,  we 
are  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  magnetism  is  a  force  wjiich 
like  gravity  Itself,  though  of  a  much  more  feeble  character,  is 
oommon  to  all  bodies  existing  in  space,  and  is  capable  of 
being  exerted  at  immense  distances. 

Ii  may  be  said  that  if  the  celestial  bodies  act  as  magnets  on 
each  other,  certain  oscillations  and  other  changes  in  the 
relative  po;(ition  of  the  various  planets,  etc.,  would  be  from 
time  to  time  produced,  which  could  not  be  explained  by  the 
action  of  gravity  alone,  in  union  with  the  centrifugal  force. 
Such  changes,  indeed,  compared  with  those  produced  by  grav- 
itation, would  be  of  a  minute  and  trifling  eharacter;  and  the 
iact,  therefore,  that  they  have  not  hitherto  been  recognised,  is 
no  proof  that  they  do  not  exist. — I  am,  Ac 

John  a.  R.  Newlands,  F.C.S. 


coal,   and   can  only  be  chemically  classed  with  those  of 
bone.— I  am,  etc,. 

Edw.  0.  C.  Stakpord. 
Glasgow,  July  30*  1867. 


0)k>7te. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmical  News. 
Sir, — The  following  are  the  more  salient  points  in  the  devel- 
opment of  atmospheric  ozone  during  the  past  three  months : — 

In  April  there  was  a  marked  period  of  ozone  from  the  4th 
to  the  I  ith.  Considerable  amounts  were  present  fVom  the  ist 
to  the  3rd,  and  on  the  14th,  15th,  and  21st  No  ozone  was 
found  on  the  rooming  of  the  i8th,  and  very  little  on  the  12th, 
i6th,  17th,  aft.  of  22nd,  23rd,  25th,  and  27th  to  the  29th. 

In  May  there  were  marked  periods  of  ozone  on  the  X4th, 
and  15th,  and  25th.  Considerable  quantities  were  present 
on  the  4th,  1 6th,  21st,  27th,  and  28th.  No  ozone  was 
found  on  the  loth,  20th,  and  30th,  and  very  little  from  the 
ist  to  the  3rd,  6th  to  the  13th,  17th  to  the  25th,  and  29th  to 
the  31st 

In  June  there  were  two  marked  periods  of  ozone — ^the 
first  from  the  4th  to  the  8th,  and  the  second  from  the  24th 
to  the  28tb.  Considerable  amounts  were  found  on  the  2nd, 
1 2th,  20th,  and  2 ist  Very  little  on  the  mornings  of  the  3rd, 
loth,  13th,  14th,  i6th,  i8th,  19th,  22nd,  25th,  29th,  and  30th, 
and  throughout  the  day  on  the  27th. — I  am,  etc., 

R.  0.  C,  LlPPWOOTT. 
Boamemouth. 


The  Briiish  Seaweed  Oompany. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir,— Tliere  is  a  slight  error  in  your  correspondent's  notice 
of  our  case  in  the  Paris  Exhibition,  which  please  permit  me 
to  correct 

*•  No.  2  from  Bardarrig  is  at  present  sold  for  bleaching," 
this  should  be  blacking. 

Ko  thorough  scientific  examination  of  the  acid,  basic,  and 
neutral  products  of  the  destructive  distillation  of  seaweed 
has  yet  been  made ;  these  have  been  under  investigation  for 
some  time,  but  the  weU  known  difficulty  of  completely  sepa- 
rating these  interesting  bodies  in  a  state  of  purity  has  long 
delayed  the  publication  of  results. 

I  may  state,  however,  that  the  products  of  distillation,  as 
well  as  Uie  charcoal  from  this  source,  in  their  chemical  com- 
position present  little  analogy  with  those  of  wood,  peat,  or 


Cros  from  Charcoal 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sir, — ^Your  correspondent  "G.  L.,"  in  No.  372  of  your  jour- 
nal, asserts  that  I  have  been  anticipated  by  Drs.  Blumstrett 
and  Reich ardt  in  my  discovery  of  the  fact  that  the  gas  is 
nitrogen  which  escapes  from  recently  ignited  charcoal  when 
immersed  in  water, — ^in  answer  to  which  I  would  desire  to 
advise  "G-.  L."  that  a  notice  of  the  receipt  of  my  paper  ap- 
peared in  your  Journal  for  December  7,  1866.  Allowing, 
therefore,  for  the  length  of  the  time  required  for  the  trans- 
mission of  postal  information  fh>m  here  to  your  office,  it  will 
be  perceived  that  not  only  was  it  impossible  1  could  acquaint 
myself  with  the  researches  of  these  chemists,  but  that  were 
I  so  inclined,  I  might  reasonably  contend  for  priority  of  dis- 
covery. 

One  question  I  beg  to  be  allowed  to  ask  of  **  G.  L.,"  being 
unable  as  yet  to  examine  the  periodical  alluded  to, — ^Have 
Drs.  Blumstrett  and  Reichardt  proved — as  I  have-— that  in- 
candescent charcoal  absorbs  nitrogen  from  the  air? 

Thanking  your  correspondent  for  his  information  in  regard 
to  my  paper  on  "  Soluble  Vegetable  Fibre,"  and  for  his  cour- 
tesy throughout,  but  taking  exception  to  the  application  of 
such  terms  as  innumerable  and  exhaustive  to  the  de^scription 
of  the  researches  of  any  one^  however  distinguished. — I 
am,  etc,  William  Sket. 

Wellington,  Now  Zealand,  May  17, 1867. 


Preservation  of  Food, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  NEwa 
Sir, — In  reference  to  our  pamphlet  upon  the  preservation  of 
food,  will  you  permit  us  to  stAte  that  with  the  mass  of  evi- 
dence at  our  disposal  we  could  readily  have  shown  a  long 
list  of  the  so-called  "  preservative  processes"  which  have 
proved  utter  failures,  and  could  have  conclusively  exhibited 
the  causes  of  their  non-success,  but  such  a  course  would  have 
necessitated  the  mention  of  numbers,  dates,  and  names,  to- 
gether with  conijparisons  which  might  possibly  have  been 
considered  invidious,  and  we  preferred,  while  giving  the  public 
much  general  information  relating  to  what  has  hitherto  been 
attempted  in  meat  preservation,  to  keep  out  of  the  treatise 
anything  likely  to  be  considered  personal  or  to  give  offence. 
We  beg  to  draw  your  attention  to  the  sixth  edition  of  the 
pamphlet,  containing  much  new  matter,  and  tx)  remark  that 


196 


Correspondenoe. 


1     Oct,  im. 


the  practical  Fuccess  of  Medlock  and  Bailey's  new  patent 
process,  as  evidenced  by  the  results  obtained  by  various  well- 
known  metropolitan  butchers,  meat-salesmen,  fishmongers, 
etc.,  has  been  quite  beyond  our  expectation  for  the  ^ort 
period  that  has  elapsed.  The  Canadian  experiments  were 
conducted  by  Mr.  Collett,  and  those  in  this  country,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Dr.  Henry  Medlock,  and  Mr.  Went- 
worth  Scott — We  are,  eta, 

WiLLiAai  Bailey  ani>  Sov. 


Rerrntrks  on  the  Earth^t  DenwUy. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  NewS, 
Sib, — My  attention  has  again  been  directed  to  the  difference 
existing  between  the  earth's  density  and  the  mean  specific 
gravity  of  the  minerals  constituting  its  crust,  by  the  follow- 
ing paragraph,  occurring  in  a  recent  lecture  by  Mr.  T.  Sterry 
Hunt: — **■  We  may  suppose  an  arrangement  of  the  condensed 
matters  at  the  centre  (of  the  earth)  according  to  their  re- 
spective specific  gravities,  and  thus  the  fact  that  the  density 
of  the  earth  as  a  whole  is  about  twice  the  mean  density  of 
the  matters  which  form  its  solid  surface." 

On  the  same  subject,  W.  B.  Grove,  Esq.,  in  his  address  to 
the  British  Association,  1866,  makes  the  following  remarks: 
— "  Surprise  has  often  been  expressed  that  while  the  mean 
specific  gravity  of  the  globe  is  from  five  to  six  times  that  of 
water,  the  mean  specific  gravity  of  the  crust  is  barely  half  as 
great.  It  has  long  seemed  to  me  that  there  is  no  ground  for 
wonder  here.  The  exterior  of  our  planet  is  to  a  considerable 
depth  oxidated ;  the  interior  is  in  all  probability  free  from 
oxygen,  and  whatever  bodies  exist  there,  are  in  a  reduced  or 
leoxidated  state ;  if  so,  their  specific  gravity  must  be  higher 
(?)  than  that  of  their  oxides,  chlorides,  eta" 

This  theory  of  Mr.  Grove,  although  plausible,  is  scarcely 
satisfactory,  as  it  will  be  seen  that  many  of  the  substances 
which  go  to  form  the  great  bulk  of  the  earth's  crust,  are  ac- 
tually lower  in  £^)ecific  gravity  as  metals  than  they  are  when 
oxidised ;  while  others  differ  but  little  in  density  whether  as 
metals  or  oxide&  The  metals  whose  densities  are  much 
lower  than  their  oxides  are  the  metals  which  form  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  earth's  crust,  and  the  oxidation  or 
deoxidation  of  which  could  make  but  a  trifling  difference  in 
our  earth's  density.  Any  such  difference  would  be  more 
than  counteracted  by  the  opposite  tendency  of  those  sub- 
stances, which  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  the  earth's  crust, 
as  shown  in  the  following  table : — 

Metals  Sp.  gr.  Oxides.  8pw  gr. 

Silicon ,     2'49  Silica 2*66 

Calcium i  -57  Lime 3*08 

Magnesium. ...     174  Magnesia 3:40 

Aluminium. . . .     2*56  Alumina* 4*00 

Sodium o'97  Soda 200 

Barium 1*50  Baryta 4'oo 

Potassium •    o'86  Fotassa 2*10 

Strontium 2*50  Strontia 3*90 

These  examples  prove  that  supposing  the  earth,  beneath 
the  crust  to  which  we  have  access,  to  consist  of  the  same 
metals  as  above,  but  in  an  unoxidised  state,  the  density  of 
the  earth  would  actually  be  less  than  the  specific  gravity  in- 
dicated by  an  average  of  the  minerals  existing  on  the  sur* 
face.  Unless,  indeed,  a  far  greater  proportion  of  the  heavier 
metals  exist  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  than  on  its  sur- 
faca  That  the  heavy  metals  do  exist  in  much  greater  pro- 
portion towards  the  centre  of  the  earth  I  think  is  undoubtedly 
the  case,  and  the  only  means  of  solving  the  di£Bculty. 
V  During  the  cooling  down  of  the  molten  planet,  the  heaviest 
metals  would  naturally  tend  towards  the  centre,  and  hence  if 
we  take  a  table  of  specific  gravities  of  th«  metals,  we  find  a 
singular  relationship  to  exist  between  the  dmmty  and  aearo 
iiy  of  A  metal. 

Urns  we  find  platinum  and  gold  to  stand  almost  at  the 
bead  of  the  list  in  pomt  of  density  and  scarcity,  while  alumi- 

-*  Afkar  Mng  h«at«d  itrongly. 


nium,  calcium,  magnesium,  eta,  stand  conspicuous  for  their 
great  abundance,  and  for  the  lowncss  of  their  specific  grav- 
ities. The  metals  mei-cury,  zinc,  lead,  eta,  may  appear  at 
first  sight  not  to  fit  in  with  this  supposed  law,  but  when  we 
take  into  account  either  their  ready  volatility  or  their  avidity 
for  sulphur  or  oxygen,  as  the  case  may  be,  their  coroparHtive 
abundance  at  the  earth's  surface  may  be  explained  notwith- 
standing their  high^  densities.  For  instance,  mercury  and 
zinc  would  be  among  the  very  last  of  the  solid  substances^ 
volatilized  by  the  earth's  heat,  to  condense ;  and  would  in  all 
probability  come  into  contact  with  large  quantities  of  sulphur 
vapor,  and  would  naturally  take  that  form  in  whidi  we  find 
these  metals  most  abundantly. 

Another  exceptional  circumstance  may  be  instanced  as 
operating  against  the  tendency  of  the  metals  to  follow  this 
law  of  specific  gravities,  in*  the  case  of  iron  and  tin.  Iron 
has  a  sp.  gr.  of  7-8  while  tin  is  only  7*2.  The  apparent  se- 
quence to  this,  according  to  the  foregoing  argument,  would 
be  that  tin  should  be  more  plentiful  than  iron.  We  must  here 
again,  however,  take  into  account  the  contingent  drcumstanoe 
that  iron  is  much  more  readily  oxidized  than  tin,  and  when 
once  brought  into  that  state  has  the  low  sp.  gr.  of  4  to  5. 
This  will  account  for  the  feet  that  iron,  notwithstanding  ixa 
higher  sp.  gr.  than  tin,  is  much  more  abundant  at  the  earth's 
surface  than  tin.  These  I  give  only  as  examples  of  the 
exceptional  circumstances  that  require  to  be  considered  in 
framing  the  general  proposition  that  the  scarcity  of,  a  metal 
is  in  (he  ratio  of  its  densiiu. 

These  considerations  seem  to  me  to  point  distinctly  to  the 
presence  of  the  heavier  metals  in  much  greater  abundance 
in  the  interior  of  the  earth  than  at  its  surface,  and  espe- 
cially when  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  fact  that  the 
earth  has  a  density  twice  as  great  as  the  minerals  of  which 
its  crust  is  composed,  and  tliat  notwithstanding  the  proba- 
bility that  it  contains  many  great  cavities  filled  wiUi  water 
or  gases. — I  am,  etc., 

John  Suthebulkik 

Glasgow. 


OrtS  Absorbed  by  Charcoal 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Csemicxl  News. 
Sib, — ^Your  correspondent  from  Kew  Zealand.  Mr.  William 
Skey,  asks  me,  in  No.  400  of  the  Oebmical  Nbws  {Amer. 
BeprifU,  Oct.  1867,  p.  195)  whether  Drs.  Blumtritt  and  Reich- 
ardt  have  proved — as  he  has— that  uuxuuisseent  chiirooel 
absorbs  nitrogen  from  the  ahr  ? 

They  certainly  have  done  so ;  their  researches  extend  to  a 
grreat  many  varieties  of  charcoal,  both  old  and  freshly  ignit- 
ed, and  contain  many  full  analyses  of  gas.  The  date  of  the 
first  notice  about  them  in  the  Chsmuehs  CentraSblatt  i«  Sep- 
tember 12,  1866,  and  the  paper  is  a  reprint  from  the  ZeO- 
schrift  fur  Deutsche  Landwirtke,  The  original  publication 
must,  therefore,  be  somewhat  older,  espedal^  as  the  Gnslral- 
blatt  is  generally  several  months  behind ;  but  at  all  events 
their  priority  of  publication  to  Mr.  Skey*s  communication 
cannot  be  doubted.  However,  it  would  be  exceedingly  un- 
fair to  say  that  this  gentleman,  living  at  such  a  distance 
from  Europe,  could  in  all  probability  have  come  across 
a  German  periodical,  which  would  hardly  have  Ume  to 
reach  him  in  the  interval  between  the  publication;  I  ex- 
pressly remarked  in  my  letter  in  No.  372,  that,  "their  paper 
has  most  likely  not  yet  been  noticed  in  English  chemical 
periodicals."  No  one  can  have  the  slightest  doubt  that  Mr. 
Skey  has  independently  rediscovered  the  property  of  char- 
coal in  question,  although  his  opportunities  in  New  Zealand 
could  hardly  allow  him  to  extend  his  researches  so  syster 
matically  as  those  of  the  European  savants.    I  am,  etc, 

&.  K 
Aogait  3,  Z867. 


Magnetism  and  (hwniaiion. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nkwb. 
So^r- X  should  not  trouble  you  with  a  second  letter  on  tfaa 


ao«,186T.       i 


Correspondence. 


197 


flbo?e  subject  had  not  Mr.  Newlands  in  his  reply  to  my 
former  note  misquoted  one  of  mj  sentences,  and  thereby  en- 
tirely altered  its  meaning.  The  sentence  should  stand  thus : 
*'  If  the  distance  between  the  pole  of  a  magnet,  and  a  mag- 
netic body  be  very  considerable,  compared  to  the  size  of  the 
latter,  both  the  induced  poles  may  be  regarded  as  at  the  same 
diiitaDce/'  eta,  etc. 

A  careful  reconsideration  of  this  sentence  may  perhaps 
coiiTiuoe  Mr.  Newlauds,  that  it  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  all 
examples  advanced  by  him,  and  may  show  him,  that  he  is 
confoanding  the  merely  (or  at  least  almost  exclusively) 
directive  action  of  one  magnet,  or  pule,  on  another  magcet 
at  a  great  distance,  with  the  attraction  or  repulsion  exerted 
between  two  opposite  poles.  Thus,  a  small  magnetized 
needle,  when  floated  on  water,  places  itself  in  the  direction 
of  the  magnetic  meridian ;  but  why,  if  it  does  so  by  virtue 
of  the  superior  attraction  of  the  North  pole,  does  it  not  also 
move  in  the  direction  of  such  pole  ?  Does  not  the  very  fact  of 
its  remaining  at  rest  in  the  direction  of  the  meridian  prove 
that  the  two  forces  of  attraction  and  repulsion  are  sensibly 
eqaal  7  I  would,  in  conclusion,  recommend  Mr.  Newlands  to 
malce  the  following  calculation :  What  is  the  difference 
Wtween  the  forces  of  attraction  and  repulsion  exerted  on  the 
poles  of  a  magnetic  needle  i  inch  long  by  a  magnetic  pole 
several  thousand  miles  distant,  the  needle  pointing  towards 
such  pole?  It,  after  having  performed  this  calculation,  accord- 
ing to  the  well-known  law  that  the  force  of  attraction  or 
repulsion  varies  inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance,  he 
still  believes  that  such  difference  may  be  a  measurable 
amount,  why — I  hope  that  he  will  aoon  fiimish  the  world 
with  a  description  of  the  instrument  by  means  of  which  he 
tliinks  to  aocompliah  it«-I  am,  &c., 

A.  D. 

Commercial  Analyses, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir,— Some  months  ago  we  heard  a  little  on  this  matter  in 
your  columns.  Are  we  always  to  be  annoyed  by  these  dis* 
creptmdes  ?  I  have  just  incurred  two  fees  to  two  separate 
chemists  of  large  experience  in  analysing  artificial  manures, 
one  "high"  and  the  other  "low."  These  two  gentlemen 
have  operated  on  portions  of  the  same  fairly  drawn  sample 
of  superphosphate ;  the  difference  between  them  is  only  seven 
per  cent.  I  As  a  seller,  of  course  I  shall  believe  the  "  high  " 
analyst,  and  when  I  am  purchasing  goods  I  shall,  for  as 
obvious  a  reason,  employ  the  "low  '*  man.— I  am,  etc., 

Simon  SiifPLK. 


Equivalence,  QuajUivalenee^  and  Chemical  Value  in  Exchange. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohbmioal  News. 
Sir,— In  an  able  review  of  an  excellent  book  (Dr.  Miller's 
"  Elements  of  Chemistry  ")  published  in  your  current  number 
{Amer.  Reprint^Oct^  1867,  p.  193)  I  observe  an  error,  evidently 
inadvertent,  yet  of  a  kind  so  frequently  made,  and  tending 
so  much  to  confusion  of  thought,  on  topics  which  it  is 
eneutial  to  keep  dear  in  the  mind,  that  a  few  lines  of 
jour  valuable  space  may  not,  I  think,  be  misapplied  m  its 
correction. 

In  the  absence  of  my  friend  Dr.  Hofmann,  this  duty 
devolves,  I  feel,  upon  me ;  because  the  error  in  question  con- 
sists in  the  misquotation  of  a  terra  proposed  by  us,  in  lieu 
of  the  vague,  and,  as  your  critic  justly  calls  it,  "  barbarous  " 
expression  afomicUy.  The  substituted  appellation  is  not,  as 
your  reviewer  writes  (doubtless  by  a  mere  slip  of  the  pen), 
'' eqvitfolence,^  but  ^*  quantivalence.^' 

As  both  these  expressions  are  retained  by  us,  each  having, 
in  your  view,  its  special  scientific  value,  and  only  the  mean- 
inj^less  wi»rd  "  atomicity  "  being  abandoned,  it  is  absoliTtely 
essential  to  philosophical  precision  that  the  two  words  in 
question  should  be  scrupulously  employed,  each  only  in  its 
peculiar  sense,  as  oontra-distinguished  fh>m  the  appointed 
meaning  of  the  other. 


Now,  the  term  "equivalence'*  is  set  apart  to  denote  the 
molecule-forming  power  of  an  element,  while  **  quantivalence  " 
is  expressly  reserved  to  signify  its  aAnn-fixing  capacity. 

Both  these  are  essentially  ponderal  values — capable  of 
being  numerically  expressed  as  combiuing-weights,  in  terms 
of  the  same  standard  unit,  viz.,  H=i. 

The  molecule-forming  power  of  any  element  corresponds 
with  the  mini  mum -weight  thereof,  relatively  to  hydrogen  as 
unity,  capable  of  taking  part  in  the  formation  of  a  compound 
molecule. 

The  atom-fixing  capacity  of  any  element  is  proportional  to 
the  minimum-weight  thereof  capable  of  engaging,  or  con- 
versely, of  expelling  and  replacing,  one  8tan(butl  atom;  U= 
I  being  the  standard. 

The  former  of  these  two  values  constitutes,  for  each  ele- 
ment, its  equivalent,  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  word, 
which  is  synonomous  with  atom-weight,  and  combining  num- 
ber. It  will  be  remembered  that,  for  the  volatile  elements, 
these  equivalents  correspond  {exceptis  exc^nendis)  to  the  re- 
spective gaS'Vohtm^e-weightSy  or,  vapour-densities,  relatively  to 
hydrogen  taken  as  unity. 

The  latter  of  the  two  values,  as  I  have  elsewhere  pointed 
out,  might  properly  be  represented,  for  each  element,  by  at- 
taching to  it  a  second  ponderal  equivalent,  or  representative 
number,  most  frequently  a  fVaction  of  the  former, — a  moiety, 
a  third,  or  a  fourth, — to  denote  the  smallest  quantity  by 
weight  capable  of  fixing,  or  replacing  one  standard  atom. 

This  mode  of  notation  would  give  us  two  parallel  sets  ot 
minimum-weights,  or  o*mbming  numbers,  each  element  pos- 
sessing a  pair;  and  the  two  bein^  distinguishable,  in  moat 
cases,  as  the  major  and  minor  equivalent. 

I  say  "  in  most  cases  "  because,  for  chlorine  and  its  con- 
geners, the  two  equivalents  would  coincide. 

These  duplicate  equivalents,  for  the  typical  elements, 
would  be,  reajjectively,  in  terms  of  hydrogen  as  unity : — 

Mi^or.  Minor. 

For  oxygen  16  8 

"  nitrogen 14  4*66 

"  carbon     12  3 

while,  for  chlorine,  35*5  would  represent  both  values. 

It  is,  however,  obvious,  that  the  extension  of  such  a  dupli- 
cate system  to  62  or  more  elementary  bodies,  would  severely 
tax  the  memory  and  the  attention  (faculties  of  sadly  limited 
scope,  always  to  be  most  studiously  husbanded),  besides  also 
seriously  impairing  the  succinctness  of  the  symbolic  notation, 
so  invaluable  as  our  chemical  "  short-hand.'* 

This  short-hand,  as  commonly  practised,  represents  eao^ 
element  by  its  initial  letter,  with  which  we  associate,  by  a 
comparatively  easy  habit  of  the  memory,  its  molecule-form- 
ing minimum-weight,  or  ordinary  combining  equivalent. 

The  symbol,  so  far  prepared,  is  ready  to  liave  engrafi^d  on 
it  the  Airther  conception  of  quantivalenct  ]  which  we  can 
now  exactly  define. 

*' Quantivalence  "  is  the  atom-fixing  power  of  the  respec- 
tive elements,  denoted,  for  each  typical  group,  by  a  special 
coefficient,  whereof  the  index  is  attached  for  each  member 
of  the  group,  to  the  initial  letter  with  which  is  associated  its 
name  and  ordinary  equivalent  number;  the  result  being  an 
exceedingly  concise  symbol,  embodying,  together  with  a 
Name,  two  distinct  conceptions  of  chemical  Value,  with  their 
respective  Quantities. 

As  all  the  simple  bodies  fall  naturally,  in  respect  of  their 
quantivalence,  into  four  typical  gn^ups,  headed  respectively 
by  the  four  elements  cited  above^  the  members  of  each  group, 
how  different  soever  their  molecule-forming  weights,  corre- 
spond with  each  other  as  untvalent,  bivalent,  ^nvalent,  or 
quadrtvsilent,  in  their  atom-satisfying  relations. 

We  have  only,  therefore,  to  bear  in  mind  this  easily-remem- 
bered fourfold  classification,  with  its  simple  quantivaiential  in- 
dices (dashes  or  Roman  numerals  at  choice),  in  order  to  have 
constantly  at  hand  for  use*  all  the  information  that  the  long 
lists  of  duplicate  equivalents,  so  burdensome  to  the  memory, 
must  otherwise  have  been  employed  to  supply.. 


198 


Correspondence. 


\ 


The  disburden  men  t  of  memorj,  and  the  tereeDeas  of  sym- 
bolisatioD,  Ihus  simply  attained,  acquire  addliiuual  value  from 
the  happy  circumstance  that  the  atom-fixing  and  yoIumeKX)n- 
densing  powers  of  the  elements  advance  part  passu ;  so  that, 
(exceptis  excipiendis  once  again)  the  coefficients  of  quantiva- 
lence  serve  to  condense  into  our  symbols  and  30  to  keep  im- 
pressed upon  our  minds,  besides  the  several  ranges  of  facts 
above  mentioned,  this  further  collateral  information. 

Confining  attention,  however,  to  the  main  conceptions,  dis- 
tinct  though  allied,  of  equivalence  and  quantivalenoe  as  above 
defined,  it  is  by  carefully  coupling  these  together,  yet  as  care- 
fully avoiding  to  confuse  them,  that  we  are  enabled  to  con- 
.  template  accurately  in  exchange  in  its  two  opposite  aspects, 
that  which  I  have  ventured  to  term  Specific  cketnieal  value. 

Nothing,  I  tlilnk,  can  now  be  clearer  than  that  this  value, 
80  frequently  misunderstood,  presents  itself  in  two  aspects, 
and  as  of  two  kinds,  accordingly  as  we  contemplate  it  rela- 
tively, on  the  oae  hand,  to  the  formation  of  molecules,  or,  in 
the  other,  to  the  fixation  or  displacement  of  atoms. 

Adopting  the  first  stand  point,  we  clearly  perceive  that  12 
parts' by  weight  of  carbon  are  "  worth  "  (in  financial  parlance) 
as  much  as  14  of  nitrogen,  16  of  oxygen,  35*5  of  chlorine,  and 
80  forth. 

Placing  ourselves  at  the  second  point  of  view,  we  as  clearly 
see  that  an  atom  of  any  element  in  the  quadrivalent  group  is 
*'  exchangeable  at  par"  for  four  atoms  of  any  element  in  the 
univalent  group,  and  for  three  and  two  atoms  respectively, 
of  any  element  in  the  trivalent  and  bivalent  groups. 

I  should  trespass  unduly  on  the  hospitality  of  your  valua- 
ble columns,  were  I  to  prolong  these  elucidations,  otherwise 
I  would  fain  trace  out  a  little  further  the  nature  and  coose- 
queuces  of  these  admirable  relations.  Among  other  such 
illustrations  on  which  I  would  gladly  dwell  is  one  that  I 
was  permitted  to  adduce  in  a  little  book  which  you  were 
pleased  to  notice  with  approval  on  its  first  appearance,  and 
which  your  reviewer  cites.  I  allude  to  the  curious  and 
beautiful  quantivalential  equipoise,  or  symmetry,  which  I 
have  observed  to  prevail  among  the  five  members  of  the 
nitroxygen  series. 

These  singular  relations  will  be  found  displayed  at  pp.  181, 
et  f^eq,,  of  the  work  referred  to,  in  a  diagram  expressly  con- 
structed to  show  the  characteristic  feature  of  this  remarkable 
series ;  with  its  central  body  in  the  self-balanced  sti  uctural 
condition,  which  I  have  ventured  to  call  equiquaniicity ; 
while  its  two  wings  form  exact  quantivalential  counterparts, 
equal,  though  conversely  reflecting  one  another,  as  each  de- 
parts, by  opposite  grades  of  declension,  from  that  self-oentred 
archetype. 

I  forbear,  however,  from  a  dissertation  which  would  tempt 
roe  too  far;  and,  reverting  to  the  purpose  with  which  I  set 
out,  I  beg,  in  conclusion,  by  way  of  summary — while  ac- 
knowledging your  reviewer's  manifest  abihty — to  deprecate 
the  confusion  which  his  lapms  calami  (nor  his  alone)  tends 
to  introduce  between  conceptions  so  fundamentally  distinct 
as  those  of  chemical  equivalence  and  quaniivalence ;  slgmfyiug 
as  they  do,  two  opposite  forms  or  aspects  of  "  chemical  value 
in  exchange, ** — those,  namely,  which  we  trace,  respectively, 
in  the  mfAecvk-forming  and  aUnn-fimng  powers  of  the  ele- 
ments.   I  am,  Sir,  etc., 

F,  0.  Ward. 

London,  Aug.,  1867. 


Magnetism  ana  Gravitation, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

"  A.  D."  admits  that  the  foree  of  magnetic  attraction  varies 
inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distance,  and  yet  arrives  at 
the  singular  conclusion  that  ''when  the  distance  between 
the  pole  of  a  magnet  and  a  magnetic  body  is  very  considera- 
ble as  compare^  to  the  size  of  the  hitter,  the  body  will  not  be 
attracted."  According  to  "  A.  D.'s"  views,  therefore,  if  a 
small  particle  of  iron,  say  a  single  «iolecule,  were  placed  at  a 
distance  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  the  pole  of  a  magnet,  it 
would  not  be  attracted,  because  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of 


an  inch  would  be  iuoonoeivably  great  compared  witli  tlie 
length  of  a  molecule  of  iron.  Now,  if  this  holds  good  for  one  . 
molecule  of  iron,  it  holds  good  for  any  number  of  molecules, 
for  the  attraction  of  a  mass  may  be  regarded  as  made  up  of 
the  attraction  of  the  molecules  of  which  it  is  composed.  So 
that  "  A.  D.'s"  process  of  reasoning,  legitimately  carried  out, 
leads  to  the  remarkable  result  that  a  piece  of  iron  would  not  be 
attracted  by  the  pole  of  a  magnet  placed  at  the  distance  of  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  from  it,  **  which,"  to  quote  a  well-known 
author,  "  is  absurd." 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  I  have  contended  for  is 
that,  theoretically  speaking,  just  as  a  magnet  placed  under  a 
balance  increases  or  diminishes  the  apparent  weight  of  cer- 
tain substances  introduced  into  the  pan  of  the  balance,  so  the 
weights  of  substances,  at  ordinary  temperatures,  on  the  eartli's 
surface  are  not  their  absolutely  true  weights.  That  is  to  say, 
they  are  not  entirely  due  to  the  force  of  g^vitation,  but  a 
part,  it  may  be  an  inconceivably  small  part,  of  the  apparent 
weight,  is  due  to  the  magnetic  attraction  and  repulsion  of  the 
earth,  and  of  the  atmosphere  by  which  it  is  surrounded. 

On  this  point  1  would  quote  "  Watts's  Dictionary,''  voLiii., 
p.  774,  where  we  read  that  "  a  cubic  metre  of  oxygen  gas 
would  act  on  a  magnetic  needle  with  the  force  of  54  centi- 
grammes of  iron,  and  a  cubic  metre  of  air  with  the  force  of 
1 1  centigrammes  of  iron.  The  whole  atmosphere  is  conse- 
quently equal  in  magnetic  power  to  a  shell  of  iron  covering  the 
whole  earth  to  the  thickness  of  o'l  millim^tre.*^ 

If  bodies  were  weighed  at  high  temperatures,  that  portion 
of  their  weight  which  was  due  to  the  magnetic  attraction  of 
the  earth,  would  almost  entirely  disappear,  and  hence  the 
weight  of  a  given  quantity  of  iron  would  be,  theoretically, 
less  if  weighed  at  a  red  heat  than  if  weighed  at  ordinary  tem- 
peratures.— I  am,  etc., 

John  A.  R.  Newlands,  F.aS. 

Laboratory,  19,  Great  St  Hftlen's,  £.  0.,  Aug.  13, 1867. 


CchoperaUve  Chemicai  Club. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir,— It  occurs  to  me  that  in  these  days  of  co-operation,  it 
might  be  a  good  thing  to  form  "  chemical  and  physical  dubs" 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  wherever  sufficient  numbers 
of  00- operators  could  be  obtained.  There  are  many,  I  dare- 
say, like  myself  engaged  in  commerce,  manufactures,  or  the 
professions,  who  love  science  for  its  own  sake,  and  from  va- 
rious causes  cannot  acquire  a  laboratory  wortliy  of  the  nape, 
who  would  gladly  contribute  a  considerable  sum  yearly  for 
the  privilege  of  having  the  use  of  a  well-stored  laboratory, 
and  intercourse  with  others  having  similar  tastes  and  pursu- 
ing similar  studies.  If  there  were  clubs  of  this  sort  in  all  oar 
large  towns,  I  am  sure  they  would  tend  greatly  to  advanos 
the  cause  of  science  and  to  spread  a  correct  knowledge  of  it 
in  many  quarters  where  at  present  it  is  but  Ktlle  understood. 

It  would  tend  to  success  were  some  influential  gentleman 
to  bring  the  subject  before  the  British  Association  next  month, 
and  have  dubs  instituted  under  its  auspices. 

If  you  consider  this  idea  at  all  practicable,  I  shall  be 
obliged  by  your  inserting  it  iu  your  widely -circulating  jour- 
nal.—I  am,  eta 

Wm.  Durham. 

Carrie,  near  Edinbargh,  Aagust  17,  1867. 
[The  idea  is  excellent,  and  we  shall  be  happy  to  give  it  all 
the  support  in  our  power. — Ed.  C.  N.] 

Specific  Gravity  Problem, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — Tour  correspondent  "  C.  H.  P."  may  well  be  aston- 
ished at  the  reduced  sp.  gr.  of  the  iron  as  obtained  by  his  cal- 
culation ( I •10506).  He  will  find,  however,  that  this  lowness 
is  due  entirely  to  the  mistake  which  has  been  allowed  to 
creep  into  the  method  adopted  for  ascertaining  it,  and  not  at 
all  to  any  error  in  the  observations  of  Sidtros,  tor^  working 


CUMICAL  News,  ) 

OcL,  1867.       f 


Oliemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


199 


the  problem  out  correctly  from  tliem,  the  sp.  gr.  is  obtained 
n^rly  double  what  it  should  be.  if  the  substance  is  iron  1 
The  system  he  has  adopted  is  a  proper  one,  and  that  given 
in  "  Pownes  "  (in  the  8th  ed^  page  8),  for  finding  the  sp.  gr. 

I       of  substances  lighter  than  water,  and  may  be  applied  to  this 
esse  thus: — 

i       Weight  of  iron  and  olivine  in  air 50    gns. 

"  "  "      "  water. 41-8    " 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  iron  and  oliviue     8-2    " 

Weight  of  olivine  in  air. 20*      ** 

"  "      "water 1375" 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  olivine 6*25  " 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  olivine  and  iron..      8*2    " 
Weight  of  water  equal  to  olivine  alone 6*25  " 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  iron. '  '95  " 

Weight  of  iron  in  air 30 

=  15*384  = 

i       Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  iron ....  i  '95 

=  gp.  gr.  of  the  iron  according  to  Sideros'  proposition,  which 
brings  it  to  the  same  result  as  in  my  calculation  of  last  week. 
"Lloyd"  would  have  obtained  a  more  accurate  result  also 
with  his  ingenious  formula,  had  he  not  unfortunately  made  a 
mistake  in  multiplying  3*2  x  6*i  x  30,  which  is  585*6,  and  not 
575*6.  as  given  in  his  solution. 

The  method. worked  out  above  is  accurate,  but  it  may  be 
interesting  to   consider  the  rea'toning  by  which  a  shorter 
method  for  working  out  all  problems  of  this  character  may  be 
arrived  at 
Supposing  a  body  weighing  A  grains  in  air 

I  weighs  in  water a  grains. 

And  another  body  weighing  B  grains  in  air 

weighs  in  water. b  grains. 

Then  the  two  together,     "      A  +  B.  "        " 

will  weigh  in  water a+ft  grains. 

This  is  self  evident,  it  only  requires  stating  to  be  perceived, 
for  the  body  which  weighs  A  in  air  will  displace  the  same 
bulk  of  water  when  attached  to  or  mixed  with  that  weighing 
By  that  it  did  when  by  itself,  and  the  same  holds  tru  eof  that 
weighing  B ;  consequently  their  united  action  on  the  balance 
roost  be  the  sum  of  the  weigiits  obtained  when  immersed 
aeparatoly.  This  established,  it  will  be  easy  to  see  that  if  a 
body  weighing  A-f-B  in  air,  weighs  in  water  a +6,  and  one 
of  its  components  weighs  A  in  air,  and  in  water  weighs  Ck, 
then  the  second  component  weighing  B  in  air,  must  in  water 
weigli  b.  This  last  term,  which  is  all  that  is  wanted  for  ob- 
taining the  sp.  gr.  of  the  second  component,  being  obtained  by 
sabtracting  a  from  a +6  in  the  same  way  that  its  weight  in 
air  was  obtained  by  deducting  A  from  A+B. 

Bearing  in  mind  the  nature  of  the  difference  between  those 
Bubstances  which  are  heavier  and  those  which  are  lighter 
than  water,  this  system  becomes  applicable  to  the  solution  of 
the  interesting  problem  of  finding  the  sp.  gr.  of  substances  of 
the  latter  class  ;  all  that  is  required  being  great  attention  in 
the  use  of  the  signs  during  the  calculation. 

As  an  example,  let  us  take  that  in  "  Fownes,"  already  al- 
luded to.  The  problem  is  to  find  the  sp.  gr.  of  a  piece  of  wax, 
this  is  attached  to  a  piece  of  brass  in  order  to  make  it  sink  in 
water. 

Brass  and  wax  together  In  air  weigh  1837  gms.,  in  water  38*8 

Brass  alone  in  air  weighs 50       "  "    44*4 

Subtracting  we  obtain—  

I       Wax  alone  in  air I337   **  "    -5*6 

Bnt  to  find  the  sp.  gr.  of  a  substance,  we  must  deduct  the 
weight  in  water  from  that  obtained  in  air,  and  this  diflference 
becomes  the  denominator  of  a  fraction  representing  the  sp.  gr. 
of  the  substance,  and  of  which  the  enumerator  is  its  weight 
in  air,  i.e.— 


In  this  case  the  sp.  gr.  of  wax  = 

^37        _        1337        ^1337  _o.q-qo 
1337  -  ( S*6>       1337  +  5-<5      139-3 "■  ^ 


F.  J.  B.  0. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — I  send  you  herewith  particulars  of  two  experiments, 
which  for  my  own  satisfaction  I  have  made,  and  in  case 
you  may  think  them  wortliy  of  record  they  are  at  your 
service. 

The  olivine  employed  was  in  pure  translucent  yellow  frag- 
ments from  Vesuvius — the  iron  being  common  iron  wire.    The 
sp.  gr.  of  both  were  determined  with  care. 
A  Weight  of  some  fragments  of  olivine,  sp.  gr. 

3"i9.  was 20*33   «"'• 

Do.    of  iron  wire,  sp.  gr.  7*51 30*21     " 

Consequent  weight  of  iron  +  olivine  was. .     5054     ** 
And  the  sp.  gr  of  same  taken  together  was  found  to  be  4-87. 
Supposing  the  problem  put  in  the  form  proposed  by  Sideros, 
the  formula  of  "  F.  J.  R.  S."  would  give- 
Weight  of  iron+oliviue  in  water= 

=5o-54-(5o*54-f-4-87)= 40*i7 

Deduct  weight  of  olivine  alone  in  water= 

=20-33-(20-33-*-3'i9)= -    ^3*96 

Gives  weight  of  the  30*21  grs.  uron  in  water  =r 26*21 

and30'2i-*-(30*2i— 26*2i)=7-55sp.  gr.  of  iron  required.  Ac- 
ing  to  "  Lloyd's  "  formula. — 

3*19  X  4*87  X  30-21  469-321413  _ 

(319  X  50-54  -  (4*87  X  20-33)        62-2155 
=7*54  sp.  gr.  of  iron  required. 
B.  Another  experiment  gave  following  results: — 

Weight  of  olivine  of  sp.  gr.  3*20  employed= 20*32 

"       of  iron  «         7*87        "        = 33*55 

Total  weight  of  iron 4-oli vine  being 53*87 

The  specific  gravity  of  which  conjointly  was  5*09.    As  before 
"JF.  J.  R.  S's.  *'  formula  gives- 
Weight  of  iron  H- olivine  in  water = 

53'87-(53  87-»-509)= 43*29 

Deduct  weight  of  olivine  alone  in  water= 

=20*32— (20*32-1-3*20)= 13*97 

And  33*55-*-(33'55— 29*32)=7-93  specific  gravity  of  iron. 
Or  by  **  Lloyd's  "  formula— 

3*20  X  6*09  X  33*55         _  546*46240  _ 
(32  X  53-87)  -  (5-09  X  20-32)       699552 
=7*8i  sp.  gr.  of  iron. 
The  difference  being  probably  in  part  at  least  due  to  errors 
of  observation.  D.  F, 


CHEMICAIi  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 


Ammonlaeal  Colmlt-bases,  lUodes  of.  Formation 

of. — C.  D.  Braun.  i.  To  a  solution  of  cobaltio  chloride  or 
nitrate  is  added  solid  ammonic  chloride  and  aqueous  ammo- 
nia, the  mixture  is  well  shaken,  plumbic  peroxide  added, 
and  the  whole  boiled  for  half-an-hour.  The  solution  then 
contains  chiefly  hexammonio-cobaltic  chloride,  which  is  pre- 
cipitated in  crystals  on  addition  of  chlorhydric  acid. 

2.  A  moderately  strong  solution  of  cobaltic  nitrate  is 


200 


OTiemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


(  OOKIITCAL  Nr.ws, 

\     Oct,  \m. 


well  shaken  with  strong  ammonia,  pure  Indigo-blne  (pre- 
pared according  to  Fritzsche's  method)  added,  and  the  mix- 
ture boiled ;  on  cooling,  crystals  of  pentammonio-oobaltic 
chloride  are  obtained. 

3.  Tetrammonio-cobaltic  oxychloride,  hexammonio-cobal- 
tic  chloride,  and  aqueous  ammonia,  heated  together  under 
pressure,  form  pentammonio-chloride,  according  to  the  fol- 
lowing equation: — 

(A=NH,) 

3"{     CI.    P  01      r  f  ^401.     \- 

_„  Co, A,  )      ro,A» 


=8 


CI. 


f«ai:!«- 


4.  The  reaction,  by  which  from  .tetrammonio- oxychlo- 
ride plus  ohlorhydric  add,  is  obtained  hoxa-  and  peutam- 
monio  salt  (Schiff,  Fremy)  the  author  explains  by  the  fol- 
lowing two  equations,  the  first  representing  the  action  of 
strong  chlorhydric  add,  the  second  that  of  diluted: — 


=4''a'}+^a^*h5<''^+H^^ 


U.    10 


2Hci= ; 

3Co«e,  X  HaO 


e.  Penta-  and  hexammonio  compounds  may  also  be  ob- 
tained by  acting  upon  xantocobaltic  salts  with  strong  am- 
monia, or  by  dissolving  in  them  ammonic  chloride  and  heat- 
ing.—(-Ann.  Chem.  Pharm.,  cxlii.  50.) 

Tolnolsnlplmroufl  Aetd. — R.  Otto  and  0.  V.  Gruber. 
Toluolsulphurous  acid  (€,HBSOa)  according  to  these,  is 
prepared  by  acting  upon  sulphotoluolic  chloride  in  ethylic 
or  bcnzolic  solution  with  sodium-amalgam,  and  decompos- 
ing the  sodic  salt,  thus  formed,  with  chlorhydric  acid.  It 
crystallisfies  from  water  in  large,  white,  rhombic  plates,  re- 
sembling benzoic  acid ;  dissolves  readily  in  alcohol,  ether, 
or  benzol;  fiises  at  85**,  and  decomposes  above  100".  Ex- 
posure to  moist  air  converts  it  into  toluolsulphuric  add* 
(^iHtSO.) 

The  salts  of  toluolsulphurous  add  are  crystallisable  and 
mostly  soluble  in  hot  water  or  alcohol;  its  ethylic  ether  is 
an  oily  liquid. 

Bromine  substitutes  an  atom  of  hydrogen,  forming  brom- 
sulphotoluol 

■G7H7  \ 

Br  > 
Chlorine  acts  in  a  like  manner,  furnishing  a  chloride  iden- 
tical with  that  obtained  in  the  ordinary  manner  (from  phos- 
phoric chloride  and  sodic  sulphotoluolate),  and  giving  with 
nascent  hydrogen  Marker's  metabenzylsulphhydrate. — Ann, 
Cheni,  Pluirm.,  cxliL  92.) 

ArfireilUe  Hydrates— C.  Weltzein.  Silver  dissolves  in 
a  neutral  solution  of  hydric  peroxide  with  disengagement  of 
oxygen  and  formation  of  a  small  quantity  of  a  blueish  gray 
precipitate.  The  solution  contains  argentous  hydrate  (Ag* 
=  216),  and  is  not  precipitated  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
nor  immediately  by  chlorhydric  add ;  the  precipitate  formed 
after  some  time  consists  of  a  mixture  of  chloride  and  me- 
tallic silver ;  potassic  hydrate  produces  a  dark  brown  pre- 
cipitate. When  left  exposed  to  air,  the  solution  assumes  a 
reddish  brown  colour,  and  becomes  turbid  ft*om  silver  being 
separated.  When  evaporated  to  dryness  and  extracted  with 
water,  a  residue  of  metallic  silver  is  left,  and  a  solution  ob- 
tained which  now  contains  argentic  hydrate  (Ag=io8). 
Tliis  sohition  has  a  slightly  alkaline  reaction,  and  is  at  once 
precipitated  with  chlorhydric  acid.  The  nature  of  these 
reactions  is  shown  in  the  following  equations : — 


I.   2Ag,H-naea=^2HAg50 

IL  2HAgae=2HAge-hAg, 
m.  2HAgaH-2HCl=2H4e-h2AgCl-hAga. 
(Arn,  Chern,  FhamUj  cxlfL  105.) 

Oxidation  of  Alcoi&ol. — c.  F.  Sehdnbein.  The  pies- 
enoe  of  certain  hydrocarbons  in  alcohol  gre«tly  acoeleratos 
the  oxidation  of  the  latter.  When  absolute  alcohol  is  mixed 
with  pure  oil  of  turpentine,  or  a  simflar  substance,  and  ex- 
posed to  sunlight  and  atmo6|dieric  oxygen,  hydrio  peroxide 
is  soon  formed.  The  nature  of  this  process  the  auth«/r  00- 
lieves  to  be  this : — ^The  hydrocarbon  pokrises  the  oxygeo 

of  the  air,  that  is  to  say,  causes  it  to  split  np  intoT  and  t 

"^  is  used  for  the  formation  of  resin,  formic  add,  etc.,  and  t 

combines  on  the  one  hand  with  the  hydrocarbon,  forraiBg  a 
compound  similar  in  constitution  to  hydric  peroxide:  on  Sie 
other  oxidizes  the  alcohol,  forming  hydric  peroxide.^ Jbttr. 
iV.  CTiem.^  0. 469). 

r  OUTof  Bltteir  Almonds,  comblDatlon  wltli  Aeette 

Aul&ydride.-— Hilbuer.  The  researches  of  Limpricbt  and  of 
NeuiK)f  have  proved  the  identify  of  diaoetic  benaol,  derived 
from  benzoylic  chloride  and  ai^entic  acetate,  with  the  oom-  ' 
pound  obtained  from  chlorinated  toluol ;  but  it  remained  to  be 
decided  whether  this  compound  is  also  identical  or  only 
isomeric  with  the  body,  first  obtained  by  Geuther  from  oil  of 
bitter  almonds  and  acetic  anhydride,  the  latter  having  beeo 
obtained  as  an  oil.  diflferitig  in  that  respect  from  the  true 
diacetic  benzol  which  crystallises  readily.  '  Hubner  bu 
repeated  Geuther^s  experiments,  and  confirmed  the  lattef 
chemist's  statements,  but  adds,  that  the  smallest  fragment  of 
a  crystal  of  diacetic  benzol  brought  in  contact  with  the  oil, 
causes  it  to  crystallise  immediately,  and  after  several  recrjTR- 
tallisations  from  elher  it  shows  the  melting  point  (44*^ — 45") 
and  all  other  properties  of  diacetic  benzol  "e7He(6«H,Oi)i.— 
[ZeUschr.  Ch,  N.lf.  iil.  27?.) 

Pyrrol,  Preparation  and  Oxidation  oC  _  M.  Gold. 
Schmidt  prepares  pyrrol  by  heating  ammonic  mucate  with 
glycerine  in  a  retort  to  180-200".  At  that  temperature  the 
decomposition  of  the  mucate  into  ammonic  carbonate  and  ! 
pyrrol  takes  place  with  great  regularity.  This  method  is  like- 
wise preferable  to  that  of  dry  distillation,  on  a(.xx>unt  of  the 
larger  quantity  and  superior  quality  of  the  product  obtained. 
Pyrrol  reduces  argentic  oxide,  being  converted  thereby  into  a 
well  defined  acid  which  is  soluble  in  water,  alcohol,  or  ether, 
forms  precipitates  with  silver  and  lead,  and  sublimes  in 
needles.— (Z«fec?ir.  Ch,  N.P.  iii.  280.) 

Gallic  acid,  Bronto^erlTattTcs  oA—M.  B.  Griioaiit. 
Bromine  substitutes  readily  one  or  two  atoms  of  hydrogen  in 
gallic  acid,  forming  mono-  and  di-bromga)lic  acid=^7H«Br0i 
and  OTH^BrsOa.  Both  are  readily  soluble  in  boiling,  spar- 
ingly in  cold  water,  soluble  in  alcohol  and  in  ether. — (Oomfia 
R,  Ixiv.  976.) 

Tantalam,  Atomic  Wel^bt  and  Componnda  of.— 

K.  Hermann  believes  the  composition  uf  Uuulic  chloride  to 
be  TaCla,  for  with  this  assumption  the  vapor-density,  as  found 
by  Deville,  9*6  agrees  with  the  calculation,  which  requires 
9*66.  The  atomic  weight  of  tantalum  based  upon  this  formula  | 
is  S60.  To  these  considerations  is  added  a  compilation  of  all  | 
known  compounds  of  tantalum,  including  several  new  ones, 
in  regard  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  original  paper. 
— {Joum.  Praei.  Cfiem.  c.  385.) 

Toluol,  Gltloro-derlTatlTes  of. — 0.  Pieper.  Toluol, 
saturated  with  chlorine,  separates  on  standing  ci^stals  of  the 
composition  ^tHsCU.  They  fuse  at  ISC'*,  are  insoluble  in 
water,  sparingly  soluble  in  alcohol,  more  so  in  ether,  but  tbey 
dissolve  readily  in  carbonic  bisulphide.  Sodic  hydrate  in 
alcoholic  solution  decomposes  the  new  compound  readily  at 
no*",  and  on  adding  water  to  the  product  of  decomposition  a 
brown  oil  separates,  the  aqueous  solution  containing  smaH 


OtfniCAL  Nkws,  ) 
OcL,  1807.       f 


Ohemical  Notices  from  Foi^eign  Sources, 


201 


qaantities  of  an  acid  Which  ae^ms  to  be  dicfalordracvlic  &cfd, 
^7H4CIa03.  The  oil  after  puriflcatioa  is  eoloariea%  distils  at 
280° — 290**,  and  has  the  oomposiliott^fHAGlv — {Ann.  Chem. 
Fharm.  czlii.  304.) 

Speeuifti*  Iroii  made  at  Biber  (Bepia),  and  used,  with 
great  success,  for  the  production  of  cast  steel  cannons,  being 
dissolved  by  electrolysis  in  hydrochloric  acid,  was  found  to 
oontain  (according  to  Bagh)  the  following  substances : — 

Carbon 37S8 

Iron 87*99:^ 

Manganese ^'555 

Phoephorns < . . . .     0*578 

Silicon 0*497 

Sulphur 0*1 7 1 

Calcium o*i  27 

Copper  o*i2o 

Arsenic i 0*118 

Magnesium • . » » 0*052 

Antimony 0*027 

Silver,  lead,  bismuth, trace. 

— {Ann.  d.  Ghem.  tt.  Phatny  IkL  140,  p.  180.) 

ttla«t  l^nrnace.— To  increase  the  production  of  iron  blast 
furnaces  six-fold,  Morgan  gives  them  greater  dimensions;  for 
instarice,  9I  metres  in  diameter,  blowing  into  the  furnace  by 
12  tuyeres.  A  hollow  cone  is  besides  constructed  in  the 
middle  part  of  the  bottom  of  the  furnace,  by  means  of  which 
a  blast  is  also  introduced  mto  the  ftirnace. — Revus  Uhivers.  X 
ann.,  4  livr.,  p.  62.      « 

tnflaeiice  of  a  Ciirl*eiit  6f  Gas  611  the  Hecompo- 
tfttton  of  Compomids.— D.  Gernez.  When  a  current  of 
an  indififerent  gas,  as  nitrogen,  hydrogen,  or  air,  passes 
through  a  solution  of  baric,  calcic,  or  potassic  bicarbonate, 
carbonic  acid  is  given  off;  alcalic  sulphhydrates  under  these 
conditions  lose  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  aiid  acid  sulphites 
and  acetates  are  converted  into  neutral  salts.  These  phenom- 
ena of  decomposition  are  oonsidered  due  to  dissociation.-^ 
{Cbmptes  R.  Iziv.  606.) 

¥lifltUInai"*malgam^J.  Regnauld.  thallium  coito- 
bines  with  mercury  with  evolution  of  heat,  and  the  amalgam 
is  electro-negative  compared  with  thallium;  this  is  a  fbrtber 
proof  of  the  lact  that,  whenever  a  metal  dissolves  in  mercury 
aod  heat  is  given  off,  tbe  metal  is  electro-positive  in  compar- 
ison with  the  amalgam.— (Cbmp^  H,  Ixiv.  611.) 

Propyle-bensol,  Acttoaof  If  routine  on.— E.  Men- 
sal.  The  action  of  bromine  on  cumol  at  ordinary  temperature 
gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  two  substitution-compounds, 
monobromcuraol  0»HiiBr,  boiling  between  218''  and  220**, 
and  a  crystalline  compound  of  the  composition  -GsHTBrs, 
meltmg  at  99** — 100°.  At  high  temperatures  and  in  pres- 
ence cf  water  an  acid  has  been  obtained  which  has  the 
oomposition  of  dibrombemcoic  acid— (^"focA)*.  Ohem,  N.  P. 
fii.  322.)       ^ 

l^liosplkoroiis    Acid,    Acttoil   of    Ittromlne   and 
loAIne  on.— G.  Gustavson.     Equal  moiecules  of  bromine 
And  phosphorous  acid  act  upon  each  other  in  sealed  tubes  at 
100*"  and  below,  according  to  the  following  equation : 
PH,e,+Bra=2HBr+BHe, 

Metaphosphoric  acid. 
Fotir  molecules  of  acid  and  three  of  bromine  decompose  in 
the  following  manner — 

4PH,eg-|-3Br,=3PH.e4-+'3HBr-fPBr, 
Iodine  combines  less  readily  with  phosphorous  acid;   the 
reaction  between  eight  molecules  of  the  latter  and  Ave  Of 
iodine  takes  place  as  follows : — 

8PH.e,+5l=6PHa044-2HTH-PHj4-PIa 
'•^AkacL  Fetersh,  xi.  299.) 

Xl&allluni. — Wohler  separates  this  metal  from  flue-dust 
in  the  following  manner : — ^The  material  is  repeatedly  extract- 
ed with  boiling  water,  slightly  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid, 


and  the  filtrate,  without  previous  concentration,  precipitated 
with  chlorhydric  acid.  The  chloride  is  converted  into  sul- 
phate, and  the  latter  in  aqueous  solution  redUw-ed  by  zinc  or 
by  an  electric  current  derived  ftom  a  single  cell :  the  metal 
is  finally  ftised  under  a  layer  of  potassic  cyanide.* — {Awn, 
Chem.  Pharm,  cxlii.  263.) 

Pluoapliorua,  Combinations  of.— H.  Wichelhaus. 
The  compound  PCU(eBr)  has  been  obUined  {M&nschvMn 
AmL  Ch.  Ph.  139,  343),  by  acting  upon  absolute  alcohol  with 
phosphoric  tercbloride,  and  substituting  in  the  compound 
PCUieeaHs)  thus  formed,  bromine  for  etiiyle.  The  author 
hds  by  means  of  this  reaction,  but  employing  chlorine 
instead  of  bromine,  prepared  the  compound  PCla(6Cl),  which, 
he  finds,  is  identical  with  the  ordinary  phosphoric  oxychlo- 
ride.  This  synthesis liaa  some  not  unimportant  consequences. 
tt  will  be  possible,  starting  from  oxychloride  or  ethylephos- 
phorons  chloride,  to  prepare  the  compound  PO(OaHB)s  which, 
supposing  it  to  bd  identical  With  the  oxide  of  triethylephos- 
phine,  will  thus  prove  the  constitution  of  the  latter  to  be 
analogous  to  phosphoric  oxychloride — * 

'"  (  OCl        '"  (  e^iH, 

Pia    andP^eaH, 

Farther,  the  constitution  of  phosphoric  acid  will  be 

showing  it  to  be  the  mono^xy-acid  of  phosphorous  acid,  and 
the  existence  of  di-  and  tri-oxy-acids  consequently  may  be 
predicted.  The  other  believes  to  have  ahneady  obtained  th« 
compound 

'"  (  e-OH 

( eeH 

{Zeitsehr.  C^em.  N.  t.  in.  321.) 

Neurin.— A.  Baeyer.  The  constitution  of  neurin  is  that 
of  the  hydrate  of  trimethyle-oxethyle-ammonium 

=N(eH,),  r(6aH4(He)^  U 

The  aoro^lc»ide  of  this  base 

=NeftHx4eCl,Au01a 
]g  soluble  in  hot  water,  and  crystallises  in  beautiful  yellow 
needles.    The  hydriodate  of  neurin  has  the  formula 

K(eH.),(eaH,(eH))L 

but  if  neurin  is  heated  with  an  excess  of  hydriodic  acid, 
water  is  eliminated,  and  the  iodide  N(eH8)3(09H  J)  I  formed, 
which  on  being  treated  with  argentic  oxide  yields  a 
base,  the  auro-cliloride  of  which  has  the  composition 
Ne6lInCl,AuCl„  showing  thus  a  conversion  of  neurin 
into  a  vinyle-compound.  The  platino-chloride  contains 
one  molecule  of  water.  In  order  to  remove  any  doubt 
as  to  the  existence  of  oxethyle  =6aH4(OH)  in  neurin, 
the  action  of  aoetylic  chloride  upon  the  latter  had  been  tried, 
and  a  body  obtained  of  the  composition 

Which  is  neurin  whorein  an  atom  of  hydrogen  is  replaced 
by  aoetyle.— (Aim*.  Chunk  Fharm.  cxlii.  322.) 

OeuAntbylldetie  and  Caprylldene.— B.  Rubien.  Oe- 
nanthylidene,  6,Hia,  is  prepared  by  heating  oenanthylenic 
chloride  with  twice  its  volume  of  a  strong  alcoholic  solu- 
tion of  potassic  hydrate,  first  under  ordinary  pressure,  and 
afterwards  in  scaled  tubes  to  150°,  repeating  the  treatment 
again  and  again,  until  the  greater  part  of  the  oil,  which 
which  separates  on  addition  of  water,  distils  below  120". 
From  this  portion  the  pure  oenanthylidene  is  obtained  after 

•  This  f«  Idetitteal  ifUh  the  prooeMliy  which  I  prepared  oonsWerBble 
gnantitlea  of  tfaAlUam  four  rwtt  ago.  For  full  details  see  Cuemioaii 
NKwa,  voL  vliL,  p.  159.— W.  U. 


202 


CTieniical  Nolicea  from  Foreign  Sources. 


j  Ohkmtcal  News, 


OeL,Vsei. 


repeated  fractional  distillations,  boiling  at  io6° — loS"*.  It 
is  a  colorless,  thin  liquid,  lighter  than  water,  rapidly  vola- 
tilising at  ordinary  temperature,  burning  with  a  luminous 
flame,  and  dissolving  in  ether,  alcohol  and  benzoL  Bromine 
gives  rise  to  two  substitution-oompounds — ^i^ii^u  and 
OiHioBrj,  tho  latter  only  having  been  obtained  pure.  Ca- 
prylidene,  OsHm  is  obtained  ft^Sm  caprylenic  bromide  by 
the  same  process,  the  reaction  taking  place  somewhat  more 
readily.  Bromine  produces  the  compound  0«H,  «Br4,  which 
on  being  treated  with  alcoholic  potassic  hydrate  is  con- 
verted into  OaHiiBr. — {Ann.  Chem,  Pharm,  cxlii.  294.) 

Trtclilordracyllc  add*— P.  Janasch.  A  boiling  mix- 
ture of  potassic  bichromate  and  diluted  sulphuric  add  (z 
acid  to  I  water)  converts  the  solid  trichlortoluol  (fusing  at 
75**— 70*)  into  trichlordraoylic  add,  €7H.Ca,02.  The  add 
melts  at  160",  is  readily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether,  spar- 
ingly so  in  hot,  almost  insoluble  in  cold  water.  The  baric 
salt  crystallises  in  long  needles,  and  has  the  composition 
O7H401sO2)aBa". — {Ann.  Ghem,  Pharm.  cilii.  301.) 

Trlxylylamtne.— P.  Janasch.  This  body  is  formed 
when  chlorzylol  (boiling  at  200°)  is  heated  with  alcoholic 
ammonia  in  sealed  tabes  to  100°.  For  its  separation,  the 
alcohol  has  to  be  boiled  off,  and  ammonic  chloride  removed 
by  washing  with  water ;  the  remaining  oil  is  then  treated 
with  chlorhydric  add,  and  extracted  with  ether,  the  latter 
dissolving  an  oily  body  of,  as  yet,  unknown  nature.  Trixy- 
lylaminic  chlorhydrate  is  insoluble  in  ether  or  water,  but 
soluble  in  alcohol,  f\ises  at  203°— 7204°,  and  has  the  formula 
(ObH3^3N,HCL  Sodic  hydrate  precipitates  the  free  base, 
trixylylamine,  as  a  thick  oil,  heavier  than  water,  not  solidi- 
fying at  —15". — (Ann.  Chetn.  Pharm.  cxlii.  303.) 

Metliylsallcyllc  add,  formation  of.— 0.  Graebe.  The 
similarity  in  the  behaviour  of  the  hydroxyl-group  in  phenol 
and  in  gaultheria-oil  led  to  the  belief  that  analogous  to  tl^ 
synthesis  of  salicydic  add  (Kolbe  and  Lautemann)  oxy- 
phtalic  acid  might  be  obtained  by  acting  upon  gaulthoria-oil, 
with  sodium  and  carbonic  anhydride,  the  reaction  might  be 
expected  to  proceed  aocordmg  to  the  equation : 

fOH  \  ^ 

No  acid  of  the  composition  of  oxyphtalic  add,  however, 
was  formed,  but  salicylic  and  methylsalicylic  add  instead. 
As  carbonic  anhydride  does  not  take  any  part  in  the  reac- 
tion, the  effect  of  sodium  alone  on  methylio  salicylate  had 
been  tried,  and  it  was  found  that  at  ordinary  temperature 
the  methylic  ether  of  sodiosalicylic  add 
-^  XT  i  ONa 

(  \7T7aT7n3, 

and  at  200° — 220°  sodic  me^ylsalicylate 

-^•^*^ee,Na 

besides  a  small  quantity  of  methylic  methylsalicylate  and 
sodic  salicylate  is  formed. — {Ann.  Chem.  Pharm.  cxliii.  327.) 

Hydroplitallc  Acid.— 0.  Graebe  and  0.  Born.  Benzol, 
although  a  saturated  compound,  is  capable  of  uniting  with 
two,  four,  or  six  monovalent  elements,  or  groups  of  ele- 
ments, thus  forming  the  so-called  products  of  addition  of 
the  aromatic  series  which  possess  tiie  common  property  of 
being  more  or  less  easily  reconverted  into  compounds  of  the 
benzol  type.  None  of  these  bodies,  however,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  quiuic  add  (Ann.. Chem.  Pharm.  cxxxviii.,  197), 
have  been  suffldently  studied  to  afford  a  dear  insight  into 
their  constitution.  The  present  contribution  contains  the 
results  of  the  author's  researches  on  the  addition  of  hydro- 
gen to  phtalic  acid. 

Hydrophtalic  add  is  prepared  by  adding  sodium-amalgam 
to  a  solution  of  i  part  of  phtalic  acid,  i  of  crystallised  sodic 
carbonate,  and  8  of  water ;  the  add  is  then  predpitated 
with  chlorhydric  add,  recrystaUised  and  decolorised  by 
means  of  animal  charooaL    It  is  sparingly  soluble  in  cold 


water  and  ether,  more  readily  in  aloohol  and  hot  water ;  it 
may  be  heated  to  200  without  decomposition;  being  a 
bibasic  add,  it  forms  neutral  and  add  salts,  several  of  which 
are  described.  The  deoompoeition  which  hydrophtalic  add 
undergoes  with  various  reagents  are  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing equations : — With  soda-lime: 

'©«H«(^0aB[)  J  :=  OeHg -|- H  J +•  2"0O» 


with  phosphoric  pentacbloride : 

e«Ue(eeBH)a+2Pci»= 

=e.H.feeci)+ee-h3Ha4-2Pea, 

Benzoylie  chloride, 
with  sulphuric  acid : 

e«H«(ee9H)a+H,se4=e,H4(ee,H),+2H,e+se, 

Phtalic  acid. 

and  e«He(ee,H),=eaHft(ee,H)-hee-t-Hse 

Benzoic  aotd. 
with  bromine : 

e«H«(ee.,H),-hBr,=eeH»(€eaH)-t-2BrH+€e, 

with  fusing  potassic  hydrate : 

€.H.(ee,H),=eeH»(eo,H)+ee,4-2H 

with  nitric  add,  or  potassic  bichromate  and  sulphuric  acids 
benzoic  acid  is  principally  formed.  Heated  by  itself  to  above 
200''  hydrophtalic  anhydride  is  obtained.  Chlorhydric  add 
acting  upon  an  alcoholic  solution  of  hydrophtalic  acid  does  not 
produce  the  ether  of  the  latter,  but  benzoic  ethide. — (Ana. 
Ghem,  PJiarm.  cxlii  330). 

Tl&allle  Add— According  to  B.  Cargtanjen,  thallic  acid  is 
formed  when  a  current  of  chlorine  passes  through  a  hot  solu- 
tion of  potassic  hydrate  containing  thallic  oxide  in  suspension, 
the  liquid  at  the  same  time  assuming  a  crimson  colour.  The 
solution  may  be  evaporated  and  even  filtered  through  paper, 
without  unaergoing  decomposition  ;  acids  decompose  the  new 
compound,  setting  free  oxygen.  Further  details  are  promised. 
— (Jowm.  Prakt.  Chem.  ci.  55). 

Molybdatea—F.  Ulik  finds  that  there  are  six  series  of 
molybdates,  corresponding  to  the  general  formule : — 
I. .  MO,MoO«+nHO  4.    M0,3MoO.4-nHO 

2.  M0,2Mo0s  5.     M0.4Mo084-nHO 

3.  3MO,7MoO,+nHO  6.    MO,8MoO,+nHO 
Those  hitherto  known  belong  to  series  i,  3,  and  4.     The  salts 
of  the  4th  and  5th  series  appear  in  two  modifications,  a  crys- 
talline and  an  amorphous. 

It  is  further  shown  that  a  decided  analogy  exists  between 
molybdic,  chromic,  and  sulphuric  acid,  the  first  forming  a 
magpoesic  salt  analogous  in  composition  to  the  corresponding 
sulphate ;  and  in  the  double  salt  KO,MgO,2MoOs,  oue  half  of 
the  molybdic  acid  may  be  replaced  by  chromic  acid. — (/ours. 
PrakL  Chem.  ci.  61). 

nietlioxybeiuEote  Add—0.  Graebe  and  0.  Schultzen- 
It  has  been  shown  (Ann.  Chem.  Pharm.  cxxxix.  134)  that 
the  body  obtained  by  acting  upon  gantheria-oil  witii  potassic 
hydrate  is  potasso-salicylic  methide,  and  that  tbi  latter  may 
be  converted  into  methylesalicylic  aold ;  it  has  Ukewi»e  been 
proved  that  paraoxybenzoic  acid,  by  the  same  reaction,  gives 
rise  to  the  formation  of  sodioparoxybenzoic  ethide  and  anisic 
acid.  The  object  of  the  present  communication  is  to  show 
that  oxy benzoic  acid,  as  regards  the  derivatives  mentioned, 
behaves  like  its  two  isomers. 

Oxybenzoic  add,  prepared  with  unimportant  modificatiens 
according  to  Fischer's  method  (Ann.  Chem.  Pharm.  cxxxvii 
137),  is  heated  together  with  potassic  hydrate  and  methylic 
iodide  in  sealed  tubes,  to  140°, -when  the  ibllowiog  reaction 
takes  place  :— 

C.H4 1  |;^^g-f  2€U8H-2KHe= 

=  e.H.j||f^'g^+2KI+2H.e 

The  methoxybenzoic  methide  thus  farmed  is  treated  with 
potassic  hydrate,  and  thereby  oonverted  into  methoxybenioie 
acid. 


GhixincAL  NivSf ) 
6WL,  18$T.        f 


MiacellaneoMs. 


203 


=eeH4 


OOgBE 


The  Add  is  readily  soluble  in  hot  water,  from  which  it  crystal- 
liaes  in  long  white  needles ;  it  is  also  soluble  in  alcohol  and 
ether;  it  fuses  at  95",  aud  sublimes  without  decomposition. 
The  argentic  salt  =48H7AgOs  is  obtained  as  a  white  precip- 
itate^ soluble  in  hot  water. --(-Ann,  Chem.  Pharm.  cxlii.  350.) 


Vfe^nr  Series  of  Salplto-compoundii. — A. 

Salphamylic  oxide,  (6ftIIij),S0,  fuses  at  37 — ^8".  Zincic 
ethide,  ethyhc,  or  amylic  iodide  are  without  action  upon  it ; 
when  heated  with  hydriodic  acid  in  sealed  tubes  to  100°  a 
brown  oil,  insoluble  in  water,  is  formed.  The  acid  liquor 
remaining,  after  sulphamylic  oxide  has  been  separated,  con- 
tains a  small  quantity  of  amylsulphurous  acid. 

Butylic  sulphide,  (64HB)aS,  is  formed  by  healing  butylic 
chloride  with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  potassic  sulphide ;  it 
separates  from  the  mixture  on  addition  of  water  as  an  oily 
liquid  which,  after  having  been  dried  and  rectified,  boils 
between  176  and  185'' ;  it  is  insoluble  in  water,  soluble  in 
alcohol  and  ether.    Amylethylic  sulphide 

"^6^11    )  ft 

is  obtained  by  treating  sodic  amyl-mercaptide. 

eftHoNaS 
with  ethylic  iodide  as  a  transparent  liquid,  insoluble  in 
water,    and  boiling  at   158 — 159''.    Treated  with  fuming 
mtric  acid,  the  oxide ' 

e.H.  \^ 

is  fonned,  besides  a  trace  of  an  acid,  containing  sulphur. 
These  observations  differ  from  those  of  Garius,  who  gives 
the  boiling  point  of  the  sulphide  at  132 — 133*5°,  ^^^  '^^^ 
has  obtained  ethylsulphurous  add  as  the  onlj  product  re- 
snlting  from  the  action  of  nitric  add. 

Sulphethylic  oxide  (6sil5)9i&0T  is  obtained  by  the  action  of 
nitric  add  on  ethylic  siilphide ;  it  is  a  thiclc,  nearly  colourless 
liquid,  which  crystallises  on  coohng.  Redudng  agents  re- 
convert it  again  into  ethylic  sulphide;  further  oxidation 
pi^uces  diethylsulphan. 

Solphomethylic  oxide  (6Hs)sSO,  is  prepared,  like  the 
eihjle-compound,  by  acting  upon  methylic  sulphide  with 
strong  nitric  add ;  the  same  reaction  gives  risO  to  the  form- 
ation of  nitrate  of  sulphomethylic  oxide 

(eH,),6e.HNe, 

which  is  a  crystallisable,  deliquescent  salt  If  a  solution  of 
the  methylic  snlphide  in  nitric  add  is  heated  for  several 
hours  in  a  sealed  tube  methylsulplian  is  formed,  which  is 
soluble  in  water,  fuses  at  109"  and  boils  at  238°.  The  action  of 
methylic  iodide  on  amylethylic  sulphide  was  expected  to  re- 
sult in  the  formation  of  the  compound  S(<^H8.^aH6.^5Hi  1)  I : 
instead  of  this,  however,  iodide  of  trimethylsulphinSl'BUs),! 
was  formed,  besides  ethylic  and  amylic  iodide.— (Zi^toc/tr. 
Chem,  N.  F.  iii  358.) 

Soaie  Hydrate,  Crystal! ised—E.  Schone.  A  hot  satu- 
rated solution  of  sodic  hydrate  begins  to  crystallise  when 
cooled  to  between  40  and  50°.  The  crystals  have  the  compo- 
sition NaaO H-  s  H aO  or  Nsa  H aO,  -h  4HaO.  They  are  very  de- 
liquescent, but  after  being  thoroughly  dried  upon  a  porous 
snrf^oe  under  the  desiccator,  do  not  fuse  below  80°. — 
{Zeiiach/r.  Chem.  N.  F.  iii  383.) 

XlftioneMat.--M.  Fleischer.  The  formula  of  ihionessal 
according  to  the  author  is  ^asHaoS,  instead  of  ^aeHjsB  as 
stated  by  Laurent  and  Marker.  Bromine  substitutes  three 
atoms  of  hydrogen  forming  ^auHxTBraS  which  may  be  ob- 
tained in  crystals  f^om  its  solution  in  petroleum  (of  a  high 
boiling  point)  fusing  at  265'' — 267  *".  This  compound  again 
treated  with  bromine  is  converted  into  6a8HiaBr4S.  Potas- 
sic chlorate  and  chlorhydric  add  oxidise  all  tiie  sulphur  of 
thionessal  into  sulphuric  add,  converting  it  thereby  into  the 
compound  6i4liioO,  which  fuses  at  214".    Phosphoric 


chloride  forms  eiHeCI  (or  yeTHftCl),  fusing' at  about  130°. 
Fuming  nitric  add  first  produces  the  nitro-compound^asMie 
(NOa)4S  which  subsequently  is  converted  into  a  body,  free 
ftom  sulphur,  probably  Oi4H.o(NOa)a08,  and  finally  into 
nitrodracyJic  acid.  Fuming  sulphuric  add  dissolves  thiones- 
sal with  disengagement  of  sulphurous  add,  and  formation  of 
the  acid  07Hflfi04,  the  baric  salt  of  which  has  the  composi- 
tion (€,H6S04)«Ba4HaO.  The  compound  produced  by  the 
action  of  soda-lime  seems  to  be  tolaUylic  sulphide  -OmUioB. 
—{Zeitsckr.  Clienu  N.  F.  iiu  yj6.) 

Mereiiric  Napbtlde.— >R.  Otto.  Sodium-amalgam  was 
made  to  act  upon  monobromnaphthalene,  diluted  with 
several  times  its  volume  of  benzol  (boiling  between  120 
and  140°)  in  the  hope  of  getting  djnaphtyl 


.  ^  +  Na,Hg"=||»2j  [  Hg"  +  2NaBr 


The  reaction,  however,   proceeded  differently — mercuric 
naphtide  being  formed  according  to  the  equation  :- 
261  oH, 
Brj 

Mercuric  naphtide,  which  may  thus  be  prepared  with  ease, 
and  in  any  quantity,  crystallises  in  white  needles,  soluble  in 
hot  benzol,  sparingly  so  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  water;  they 
fuse  at  248'. 

When  heated  with  lime  naphtalene  principally  is  formed, 
but  no  dinaphtyl.  Iodine  combines  with  mercuric  naphtide, 
formmg  mercuric  di-iodmercaptide, 

which  ^^crystallises  from    hot   alcohol    in   beautifVil  silky 
needles.    Bromine  added  in  excess  acts  in  the  following 


JSTapbtalenlo  bromide. 
By  the  action  of  sodium-amalgam  sulphonaphtalenic  chloride 
is  resolved  into  naphtalene  and  sulphurous  add : — 

eioH,s^  I  -h2H=6e,+Ha-h€ioH, 

{Zeitschi    Chem.  N.  F.  iii.  377') 

Isomer  ofBtliylainyle.  and  Obserrations  oii»  Mix- 
ed Btlier— Reboul  and  Truchot.  When  hexylic  chlo- 
ride is  acted  upon  by  alcoholic  potassic  hydrate,  hexy- 
lene  6«H,«  is  formed,  (Pelouze,  Cahours),  but  besides  this 
ethylhexyl;  heptylic,  octalyc,  and  decylic,  chloride  likewise 
are  converted  into  both  the  hydrocarbon  and  mixed 
ether;  amylic  chloride  gives  chiefly  ethyl-amyle,  but  also 
some  amylene,  even  ethylic  bromide  yields  besides  ethylic 
ethide,  ethylene.  This  reaction,  therefore,  is  a  general  one. 
the  members  of  the  series  differing  in  this  respect,  that  the 
lower  ones  give  rise  to  the  formation  of  mixed  ether  princi- 
pally, while  those  of  higher  atomic  weight  yield  hydrocarbon 
more  abundantly.  By  the  action  of  alcoholic  potassic  hydrate 
upou  amylenic  bromhydrate  a  body  is  obtained  of  the  com- 
position of  ethyl-amyle,  but  differing  from  the  latter  in  boiling- 
point  by  about  lo**,  as  also  in  its  behaviour  towards  hydro- 
bromic  acid, — ethyl-amyle  forming  ethylic  and  amylic 
bromide,  the  isomer  ethylic  bromide  and  amylenic  brom- 
hydrate. The  authors  propose  for  the  isomeric  compound 
the  formula : — 

^GampiesR  Ixiv.  1243.) 

MISCELLANEOUS. 


Intercolonial  ISxldbltton,  18 66-7. — The  shadow 
of,  the  Paris  Exhibition  has,  it  is  true,  obscured  somewhat 
the  iclai  of  the  similar  event  of  the  Southern  World,  but  the 


204 


Miscellaneotis. 


1     Oct,,  rsvi. 


history  of  the  latter  is  well  worthy  of  a  short  record.    A  few 
months  Ago,  the  Governor  of  Victoria  publicly  received  the 
report  of  tlie  jurors,  and  formally  declared  their  awards  at 
Melbourne.     Up  to  the  middle  of  February  tlie  number  of 
admissions  had  been  242,892,  which  speaks  well  for  the 
interest   taken  by  the   inhabitants  of  a  thinly  inhabited 
district  in  their  national   undertaking.    A  few  notices  of 
these  awards  will  give  a  rery  fair  notion  of  the  character 
of  this  Bxliibition,  and  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  comparison 
between  it  and  similar  European  festivals.     The  public  spirit 
shown  in  the  Southern  hemisphere  cannot  be  mistaken,  for  it 
is  most  probable  that  this  national  work  will  remain  as  a 
permanent  exhibition,  while  in  England  at  the  present  time 
no  decided  step  has  been  taken  to  secure  aay  of  the  marvels 
of  the  Paris  Exhibition  for  the  public,  the  more  valuable  of 
which  have  already  been  bespoken  by  foreign  governments. 
The  most  interesting  department  of  course  is  that  of  the  ores 
and  non-metallic  products,  in  which  medals  are  allotted  for 
nuggets,  ingots,  and  granulated  samples  of  gold  and  silver 
auriferous  quartz  and  colonial  gems.       Antimony  was  ex- 
hibited in  abundance,  and  native  copper  of  a  very  superior 
cl>aracter.    Mr.  G.  Milner  Stephens,  F.RS.,  received  a  medal 
for  gems  and  precious  stones ;  tin-ore,  slate,  and  limestone, 
were  exhibited^  but  by  far  the  greatest  interest  is  attached  to 
the  coal  from  Newoastie  (neither  upon  Tyne,  nor  under  Lyne), 
the  shale  from  the  Hartley  Kerosene  Oil  and  Paraffin  Com- 
pany,  and  the  kerosene  from  the  Western  Kerosene  Oil  Ck>m- 
pany.    Similar  shales  were  sent  from  New  South  Wales  and 
Tasmania,  also  coala  from  both ;  from  the  latter  country  also 
the  moat  valuable  topazes  were  sent      South    Australia 
carries  off  the  palm  for  the  following  valuable  minerals: 
copper  ores,  bismuth,  plumbago,  cobalt  and  its  ores.    The 
ores  from  Western  Australia,  for  which  medals  are  awarded, 
were  copper  only.    New  Zealand  produces,  in  common  with 
the  other  colonies,  gold    and    coals,  witlx  plumbago  and 
Titaniferous  iron  ore,  with  novelties  in  the  way  of  chromium 
ores  and  alum.    The  absence  of  all  mention  of  platinum 
would  lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  almost  the  only 
metal  of  commercial  importance  not  found  plentifully  in 
Australia.      The  chemical  products,  when  contrasted  with 
the  brilliancy  of  the  preceding,  are  rather  meagre,  the  lead- 
ing items  for  which  medals  are  awarded,  being  "  a  beautiful 
sample  of  higher  tarascaci,"  colonial  soft  soap,  and  fluid 
magnesia.    Several  awards  were  made  for  photographic  chem- 
icals, one  for  commercial  mineral  acids  from  Victoria,  two 
for  colonial  made  ink,  these  with  Moulder*8  coal-dust  colonial 
made  ink,  and  fine  quality  blackings,  exhaust  the  products 
for  which  awards  were  made  in  this  section  of  "  Chemical 
and  Metallurgical  Products  and  Processes."     In  the  section 
for  horns,  hoo&,  bones,  etc.,  we  notice  steariue  candles,  silicat- 
ed  soaps,  anti-corrosive  composition  for  ships^  bottoms,  super- 
phosphate of  lime,  deodorising  powder,  Victorian  guanos. 
The  native  oils  and  waxes  possess  a  special  interest,  with 
sperm  oil,  black  whale  oil,   spermaceti,  etc.      In   another 
department  many  Medals  were  given  for  preserved  meats, 
and  essence  of  beef,  chiefly  from  New  South  Wales.    Of  gen- 
eral interest  will  be  the  awards  of  medals  to  Mr.  AUport 
for  salmon  two  years  old,  smolt  and  perch,  to  the  Acclimati- 
zation Society  for  the  Angola  goats,  alpacas,  and  llamas :  we 
mention  these  especially  to  show  the  spirit  that  exists  in 
the.  colony.    The  following  are  prepared  in  Australia  now 
also — formerly  imported  from  foreign  countries  — arrow-root^ 
coffee,  and  spices  in  great  abundance,  starch,  maizena,  gran- 
ulated potatoes,  "  a  very  valuable  article  for  long  voyages ; " 
maccaroni  and  vermicelli  are  also  commended  as  a  good  spe- 
cimen of  a  new  industry.      The  Netherlands  India  Society 
received  medals  for  tea,  coffee,  nutmegs,  and  doves.    New 
Caledonia  is  very  ably  represented,  thanks  to  the  exertions 
of  the  eminent  scientific  workers,  who  have  prepared  speci- 
mens of  gluten,  starch,  and  sugar,  from  the  various  native 
plants  of  that  colony.     A  separate  class  is  formed  for  diemi- 
cal  and  philosophical  apparatus.      We  might  prolong  this 
notice  to  an  indefinite  length,  but  will  allude  only  to  the 
sections  for  native  wines  and  liqueurs,  glass  manufacture,  and 


photography,  with  photographs  of  the  Aborigines.  In  con- 
clusion, we  may  add  that  the  interest  taken  by  neighbouring 
Sutea  in  it,  has  given  to  this  Melbourne  Exhibition  quite  an 
international  character ;  every  one  of  our  AustnUiati  colonies 
exhibited,  and  producta  were  also  sent  (torn  the  Mauritius 
and  the  French  settlement  of  New  Caledonia.  The 
Aufltra^Aa  Mareeehino,  brandy,  Hermitage,  and  Burgandy, 
may  perhaps  attract  attention 'even  at*  Paris,  wliere  one  of 
tho  b^st  conducted  English  departments  is  unported  directly 
from  Melbourne ;  we  allude  to  that  of  Messrs.  Spiers  and 
Pond,  who,  as  recognized  representatives  of  England  at 
Paris,  bear  witness  to  the  rapid  strides  in  dviliaation  made 
by  our  Australian  colonies. 

««Artlflclal  Ck>ld.»— The  following  alloy,  "artificial 
gold,"  aB  it  is  called,  has  been  lately  the  subiect  of  oorre- 
spondeace  in  the  Mining  JownuU^  eta,  and  is  hailed  as  a  grand 
discovery  likely  to  serve  the  Comisli  copper  and  tia  mines, 
by  introdudng  a  new  demand  for  these  metals.  The 
description  here  quoted  is  fVom  the  En/ginetr,  of  July  i^ 
1867,  as  follows  :—**  It  is  stated  that  an  American  has 
discovered  a  beautifUl  alloy,  which  has  been  most  sucoesE- 
fully  applied  as  a  substitute  for  gold ;  it  is  composed  of  pore 
copper,  100  parts;  pure  tin,  17  parts;  magnesia,  6  parts; 
tartar  of  commerce,  9  parts;  sal  ammoniac,  3*6  parts;  and 
quicklime,  1  '6  part.  The  copper  is  first  melted  then  the 
lime,  magnesia,  sal  ammoniac,  and  tartar  are  added,  little  at 
a  time,  and  the  whole  is  briskly  stirred  for  about  half-an- 
hour,  so  as  to  mix  thorouglily,  after  which  the  tin  is  thrown 
on  the  surface  in  sm^  grains,  stirring  until  entirely  fused. 
The  crudble  is  now  covered,  and  the  fusion  kept  up  for 
about  thirty-five  minutes,  when  the  dross  is  skimmed  oS| 
and  the  alloy  found  ready  for  use.  It  is  quite  malleable  and 
ductile,  and  may  be  drawn,  stamped,  chased,  beaten  into 
powder,  or  into  leaves,  like  gold-leaf.  In  all  of  which  condi- 
tions it  is  not  distinguishable  firom  gold  even  by  good  judges, 
except  by  its  inferior  weight.  The  alloy  has  already  been 
largely  applied  in  the  United  States,  and  requires  only  to 
be  known  in  Great  Britam  to  become  a  fkvorite." 

The  Metric  System^— Interpretation  of  tlie  Act  of 

1864. — During  the  past  year  a  subject  of  some  importance, 
involving  the  legal  construction  of  the  Metric  Act  of  1S64, 
was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  One  of 
the  inspectors  of  weights  and  measures  for  the  county 
of  Surrey  stated  that  he  had  seized  some  metric  weights  in 
a  tradesman's  shop  in  Southwark,  as  being  illegaL  On  his 
bringing  the  matter  before  the  magistrates  at  tiie  Newing^ 
ton  Sessions  House,  the  defendants  alleged  that  the  Metric 
Weights  and 'Measures  Act,  1864,  27  A  28  Vict  c  117,  per- 
mitted the  use  of  metric  weights,  but  gave  the  inspector  no 
power  to  examine  them.  The  magistrates  dismissed  the 
information,  observing  that  the  Act  was  loosely  drawn,  and 
they  advised  tlio  inspector  not  to  seize  metric  weighta, 
as  the  defendants  were  justified  under  the  Act  in  using 
them.  Upon  this  subject  the  Board  of  Trade  directed  a 
case  to  be  prepared  for  the  opinion  of  the  law  officers,  who 
gave  their  opinion  that,  notwithstanding  the  provisions  of 
the  Metric  Act,  a  person  imnf^  material  metrio  weights  and 
measures  is  liable  to  have  tnem  seised,  and  ta  convktion 
and  forfeiture  of  the  weights,  under  the  Act  5  &  6  Will  iv. 
C63. 

Plkannacentliits  and  tlie  JTm-y  lilsta* — ^We  have  1}een 
requested  to  remind  members  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society, 
and  others  who  may  be  entitled  to  claim  exemption  fiom 
serving  on  juries,  that  the  ohurchwafdens  and  overseers 
receive,  during  tho  month  of  July,  the  precept  to  return  lists^ 
of  persons  qualified  to  serve  on  juries  for  the  ensuing  year ; 
and  that  in  August  such  lists  are  prepared  and  affixed  to 
the  church  doors,  eta  Pharmaoeutical  chemists  should  see 
that  their  names  are  not  inserted  in  such  lists,  and,  if  in- 
serted, should  attend  en  the  day  of  appeal  and  present  their 
legal  oertificato  of  registration  and  exemption ;  such  certifi- 
cate may  be  obtained  fh)m  the  registrar  of  the  Pharmaceu- 
tical Society,  17,  Bloomabury  Square,  on  payment  of  is. 


CanncAL  Kkws,  ) 


MisceUaneoue. 


205 


Qaeketi  lKUeroseopl<ml  Club.  —  The  second  aniwal 
genenU  meeting  was  held  in  the  library  of  univeraity  col- 
lege on  Friday  the  26th  alt  Mr.  Ernest  Hart,  President, 
in  the  chair.  The  report  of  the  committee  showed  that  the 
sodety  now  numbers  273  memberSi  of  whom  130  were 
elected  daring  the  year ;  that  many  papers  of  microscopic 
interest  had  been  read,  field  excnrsions  succeasflilly  car- 
ried out,  and  dasa  mstruction  in  the  uses  of  the  microscope 
afforded  to  the  younger  members.  The  treasurer's  report 
eaye  a  saUsfactoiy  balance  and  in  eveiy  way  the  club  was 
m  a  very  prosperous  state.  The  president  delivered  an  ad- 
dress, in  the  course  of  which  he  congratulated  the  members 
on  tlie  remarkable  success  which  luul  attended  the  opera- 
tions of  the  year,  and  on  paperd  having  been  read  which 
would  bear  comparison  with  those  of  any  other  club.  He 
urged  the  members  to  remember  that  the  microscope  was 
not  only  a  source  of  amusement  but  an  instrument  of  re- 
search, and  it  was  its  real  use  which  ought  rather  to  be 
cultivated.  Amusement  and  research  were  not  incompati- 
ble, and  the  contemplation  of  minute  forms  was  in  itself  a 
means  of  recreation,  bnt  the  true  microscopist  is  he  who 
looks  through  form  and  structure  to  discover  uses  and  laws, 
who  is  never  contented  with  endeavouring  to  ascertain  what 
are  its  relations,  merely  with  a  view  to  systematizing,  but 
as  a  means  to  an  end.  Whether  we  consider  the  study  oif  the 
microscope  as  an  intellectual  amusement  or  look  into  it  as 
teaching  some  of  the  very  highest  truths  relating  to  law, 
order  and  power  in  the  universe,  we  yield  only  to  the  con- 
rictions  which  are  taught  us  whilst  looking  upon  structure 
in  relation  to  the  causes  which  modify  it  The  following 
officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year: — President,  Mr. 
Arthur  B.  Dunham,  F.L.a  Vice-Presidents  —  Dr.  Tilbury 
For,  M,R.C.P. ;  Mr.  Ernest  Hart;  Mr.  William  Hislop,  F,R. 
A.&;  Mr.  John  K.Lord,  F.Z.6.;  Treasurer — Mr.  Robert 
Uardwicke,  F.L.B. ;— Hon.  t»ecrctary--Mr.  Witham  M.  By- 
water ;— Hon.  Secretary  for  foreign  correspondence  —  Mr. 
M.  C.  Cooke;— Committee— Mr.  W.  J.  Arnold,  Mr.  N.  Bur- 
gess, M.  S.  J.  Mdntire,  Mr.  J.  Slade. 

Petrolevm  mm  Foel.— According  to  Adam's  trials  with 
petroleum  for  heating  boflers,  the  following  advantages,  in 
comparison  to  coal,  resulted :— Quicker  steam  generation, 
smaller  dimensions  of  fire-place  and  boiler,  constant  firing, 
no  smoke,  ashes,  or  residua  (these  amount  from  7  to  16  per 
cent  when  using  coal) ;  possibility  of  having  an  Intense  fire 
at  once  without  the  assistance  of  increased  draught  (this  is 
of  great  hnportance  to  steam  vessels) ;  easier  working,  and 
oonsiderab^  smaller  store-rooms  tlian  coal  would  require.-:- 
Bavne  Unwers  X  ann.,  livr.,  p.  206,  with  drawing. 

FavtMllty  of  Alumtnates  coatalnlns  a  large 
amonnt  of  lime— ^Fremy.)  ICxtures  of  80  parts  lime 
and  20  alumina  and  90  parts  lime  and  10  alumina  become 
liquified  when  heated  In  crucibles  in  a  wind  fbniace.  Mix- 
tiiires  of  93  lime  and  3  alumina  still  frit  at  such  tempera- 
ture. The  cooled  masses  have  crystalline  fracture,  alkaline  re- 
action, swell  up  in  water,  and  may  be  used  in  metallurgy  on 
aceuont  of  their  afllni^  for  sulphuric  and  phosphoric  add. — 
(Dmgl.  F.  hdL  177,  p.  376.) 

A  New  Science  BcliolaniMp.— On  Friday,  26th  ult, 
was  celebrated  the  30th  anniversary  of  the  City  of  London 
School,  and  upon  that  occasion  a  report  was  presented  de- 
tailing the  progress  made  towards  the  foundation  of  a 
Testunanial  Scholarship  in  honour  of  the  Rev.  G.  W.  F.  Mor- 
timer, D.D.,  late  head  master,  whose  eminent  services  in  the 
cause  of  education,  and  especially  in  the  successful  conduct 
of  1|)ie  school  for  a  period  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
were  deemed  worSiy  of  public  and  permanent  recognition. 
For  the  purpose  of  giving  effect  to  this  resolution  a  com- 
mittee, composed  of  old  pupils  of  the  school,  and  a  few  lead- 
ing members  of  the  Corporation,  took  the  matter  in  hand 
shortly  after  Dr.  Mortimer's  retirement,  and  invited  sub- 
scriptiooB,  which  already  amount  to  about  five  hundred 
pounds.  This  sum  will,  it  is  believed,  be  further  augmented, 
80  that  an  amnual  grant  of  at  least  twen^  pounds  may  be 


realised.  It  has  now  been  proposed  by  Mr.  Ernest  Hart, 
one  of  the  secretaries,  to  devote  the  proceeds  to  the  en- 
oouragement  of  the  study  of  science  m  the  school,  and,  by 
granting  an  annual  premium,  assist  in  supporting  a  pupU 
either  at  the  Royal  College  of  Chemistry,  or  other  scientific 
educational  establishment  of  Great  Britain.  This  proposal 
met  the  hearty  approval  of  the  subscribers,  and  its  expedi- 
ency was  strongly  urged  by  Mr.  Thomas  Hall,  B.A.,  who 
for  twenty  years  past  has  conducted  the  science  classes  m 
the  City  of  London  School.  When  this  suggestion  has  been 
finally  decided  upon  we  will  inform  our  readers ;  in  the 
meanwhile,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  there  is  already  a 
medical  scholarship  (tenable  for  three  years  at  St.  Thomas's 
Hospital),  and  that  Mr.  Alderman  Hale  presents  a  silver 
medal  for  proficiency  in  chemical  science,  to  be  competed 
for  annually  by  the  pupils,  all  of  whom,  to  the  number  of 
six  hundred,  are  now  taught  chemistry  as  a  branch  of  gen- 
eral education  in  the  school  We  notice  the  names  of  Mr. 
W.  H.  Perkin  and  Mr.  J.  SpiUer  among  those  acting  on  the 
committee,  and  in  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the  Testi- 
monial Fund  are  to  be  seen  the  names  of  several  other 
chemists  who  received  their  early  scientific  training  in  the 
school.  The  treasurer,  J.  Sharp,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  was  ^0 
formerly  one  of  Dr.  Mortimer's  pupils. 

Composition  and  <^oallty  of  tbe  lEetropolHan 
liTaAeTslB  July,  18tf7._The  following  are  the  Returns 
of  the  Metropolitan  Association  of  Medical  Officers  of 
Health:— 


Names  of  Water 


TfuifnM  Water  Oo». 

Grand  Junctloo.    

WAst  Middlesex 

Sontbwork  and  Vanxhall. 

Oheh»ea. 

Lambeth. 

(HhiwOomkpamU0, 

Kent 

NewRlrer 

Ka8tLondon» 


hi 

n 

• 

ill 

Gralne. 

18-67 

a8-49 
17-00 
»7-83 

emias. 

060 
0-43 
0-59 
0'7Z 

050 
049 

0-49 

eralna. 
083 
0-7X 
071 
071 
080 

o-4a 
o*4i6 

HardB«Mi 


Before 

bolHnit. 

D«g». 

i-a5 

"S 
12-5 
13*0 
la's 


»5'5 
las 
'35 


After 

botiing. 

DegB. 

40 

3*5 

40 

4"o 

3*5 


75 
SO 
50 


*  The  loee  by  IgnUioii  vepreeentii  a  Tariety  of  Tolottle  mattera,  as 
well  a» organic  matten,  as  ammoniaeal  salts,  moUtore,  and  the  TolatSle 
constitnents  of  nitrates  aod  nitrites. 

t  The  orydisable  organic  matter  is  determined  by  a  standnrd  sohi- 
tkm  of  permanganate  of  potash— the  sTailable  oxygen  of  which  is  to 
tbeonpmiemutOTas  i  is  to  8;  and  the  results  are  eontroUed  by  the 
examlDation  of  the  colour  of  the  water  when  seen  tbrouch  a  alaas  tube 
two  feet  in  length  snd  two  inches  in  diameter. 

The  amount  of  ammonia  in  the  water  and  of  that  derir- 
ahle  from  organic  nitrogen  did  not  in  any  case  exceed  the 
00094  of  a  grain  per  gallon  of  water,  and  there  was  no  or- 
gaoic  nitrogen  or  ammonia  in  the  Kent  water.  It  was,  there- 
fore, ahsolutely  free  from  organic  matter  of  an  animal  origin. 

H.  LSTHIBT,  M.B. 

Vhe  State  of  tl&e  Tliamtti.-.in  a  letter  to  the  Timea 
dated  Aug.  7th,  "  Y  "  writes,  that  last  night  durmg  low  wa- 
ter  the  characteristic  stench  of  the  Thames  was  distinctly 
perceived  by  several  independent  observers  on  the  terrace 
at  the  Houses  of  Parliament  though  in  a  lew  degree  than 
in  former  times.  As  the  water  of  tiie  river  is  chemically 
examined  from  time  to  time  by  persons  appointed  by  the 
Board  of  Healtii,  it  would  be  interestkig  to  learn  from  them 
whether  either  the  proportion  or  condition  of  the  organic 
matter  in  the  water  wiU  explain  the  unwelcome  fact. 

Beonomy  of  Ll«:l|t  In  Bark  Alleya.-If  in  a  very 
narrow  street  or  lane  we  look  out  of  a  window  with  the  eye 
in  the  same  plane  as  the  outer  face  of  the  waJl  in  which  the 
window  is  placed,  we  shall  see  the  whole  of  the  sky  by 
which  the  apartment  can  be  illuminated.  If  we  now  with- 
draw the  eye  inwards,  we  shall  gradually  lose  sight  ctf  the 


2o6 


MisceUnneoua. 


j  Chutcal  Nxm, 


sky  till  it  whollj  disappears,  which  may  take  place  when 
the  eye  is  only  six  or  eight  indies  from  its  first  position.  In 
such  a  case  the  apartment  is  iUuminated  only  by  the  light 
reflected  from  the  opposite  wall,  or  the  sides  of  the  stones 
which  form  the  window ;  because,  if  the  glass  of  the  win- 
dow is  six  or  eight  inches  within  the  waU,  as  it  generally  is, 
not  a  ray  of  light  can  fall  upon  it.  If  we  now  remove  our 
window  and  substitute  ano^er  in  which  all  the  panes  of 
glass  are  roughly  ground  on  the  outside,  and  flush  with  the 
outer  wall,  the  light  from  the  whole  of  the  visible  sky  and 
from  the  remotest  parts  of  the  opposite  wall  will  be  intro- 
duced into  the  apartment,  reflected  from  the  innumerable 
faces  or  facets  which  the  rough  grinding  of  the  glass  has 
produced.  The  whdle  window  will  appear  as  if  the  sky  were 
beyond  it,  and  from  every  point  of  tliis  luminous  surface 
light  will  radiate  into  all  parts  of  the  room.  In  order  to 
explain  the  superior  e^ect  of  roughly  ground  glass,  let  us 
suppose  that  the  ordinary  window  is  replaced  with  a 
single  sheet  of  the  best  glass  inserted  flush  with  the  outer 
wall.  The  whole  of  the  light  from  the  visible  portions  of 
the  sky  will  fall  upon  its  surface,  but  at  such  an  obliquity 
that  four  or  five-sixths  of  it  will  be  reflected  outwards,  and 
the  other  two  or  one-sixth,  which  is  transmitted,  wUl  fall  on 
the  floor  or  on  the  shutters,  and  be  of  no  value. — Svr  D, 
Brewster, 

Tl&e  Earliest  UnlTersal  Bxposltlon  of  which  we 
have  any  record,  was  held  at  Rome  in  the  days  of  Nero. 
The  philosopher  and  moralist,  Seneca,  g^ves  the  following 
account  of  it :  "I  was  present,  the  other  day,  at  a  solemn 
exhibition  of  the  wealth  of  Rome;  where  I  saw  statues 
which  were  marvelSj'^perfect  masterpieces ;  exquisite  stuSs 
and  draperies,  and  costumes  brought  from  countries  even 
beyond  the  Roman  frontiers,"  eta 

Nltro-GIyceilne  In  Blastlns.— A  correspondent  of  the 
Nevada  Gazette,  who  has  recently  visited  the  summit  tunnel 
on  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  writes  that  the  contractor 
thinks  they  are  going  ahead  with  the  tunnel  fully  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  faster  by  the-  use  of  nitro-glycerine  than  they 
could  by  using  powder.  The  small  holes  required  for  the 
oil  can  probably  be  drilled  in  less  tlian  one-third  the  time 
required  far  larger  ones  necessary  in  using  powder.  The 
oil  does  much  more  execution  than  powder,  as  it  always 
break.s  the  rock  from  two  to  sixteen  inches  beyond  the  hole, 
and  also  throws  out  a  much  larger  body.  The  oil  in  hard 
rock  shows  a  strength  five  times  greater  than  powder, 
pound  for  pound.  It  is  made  upon  the  spot,  and  is  con- 
sidered much  stronger,  as  well  as  safer,  than  tliat  imported. 
They  have  now  been  using  it  for  several  months,  and  have 
never  yet  had  a  premature  explosion,  or  any  other  accident, 
and  not  a  single  blast  has  missed  fire  since  the  Chinamen 
commenced  filling  the  cartridges.  The  work  upon  this  road 
seems  to  have  fully  set  at  rest  the  superiority  of  nytro- 
glycerlne  over  powder,  both  for  economj  and  safety.  Of 
course  this  applies  to  the  oil  made  upon  the  spot,  and  not  to 
the  imported  article.. 

€larlf>'liis  Action  of  Salpl&ate  of  Alnmlna  on 
Turbid  Water.— Whatever  be  the  nature  and  quantity  of 
the  earthy  substances  held  in  suspension  in  turbid  water,  it 
becomes  fit  to  drink  in  fh>m  seven  to  fifteen  minutes  if  to 
each  litre  there  be  added  '04  granuues  of  finely  powdered 
alum— care  being  taken  to  agitate  the  liquid  when  the  alum 
is  introduced  (this  is  about  i  lb.  per  ton  of  water).  If 
potash  alum  is  Used  the  alum  is  decomposed  into  sulphate 
of  potash,  which  is  all  dissolved  by  the  water  and  sulphate 
of  alumina,  which,  by  its  decomposition,  purifies  the  water. 
The  alumina  separates  in  an  insoluble  form,  and  carries  down 
with  it  as  it  precipitates  the  matters  which  render  the 
water  troubled,  and  the  organic  matter.  The  acid  attacks 
the  alkaline  and  earthy  carbonates,  and  transforms  them 
into  sulphates.  The  water  becomes  slightly  richer  in 
bicarbouates  and  free  carbonic  add,  whilst  all  organic  mat- 
ter is  destroyed.  Seven  parts  of  sulphate  of  alumina  will 
purify  as  much  water  as  ten  parts  of  rock  alum  or  potash 


alum,  and  the  sulphate  of  alumina  does  not  introduce  any 
alkaline  sulphate  into  the  dariflod  water.—  TBcknoiogistej  vol 
xxiv.,  p.  197. 

IVliat  U  Fame !— The  following  extract  from  an  Ameri- 
can scientific  paper  somewhat  surprises  us.  The  only  ex- 
planation wd  can  offer  is,  that  the  paragraph  was  possibly 
translated  from  the  French,  "  Offers  of  knighthood  have 
been  made  and  refused  by  several  of  the  distinguished  me- 
chanics and  men  of  sdence  in  Great  Britain^  i  James  Watt 
refused  knighthood,  as  did  Michael  Faraday.  The  latter 
commenced  life  as  a  poor  mechanic,  and  worked  up  to  the 
head  of  his  profession;  is  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Institute  of  France,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Sodety,  an 
able  author  on  engineering  subjects,  and  is  the  inventor  of 
the  cellular  hollow  girder  system  upon  which  the  Britannia 
tubular  bridge  is  built" 

HEoir  to  Produce  Stonelera  Fruit.— At  a  late  meet- 
ing of  the  Agricultural  Society  in  India,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fir- 
raiDger  communicated  a  plan  by  which  the  stones  of  firuit 
may  be  reduced  or  made  to  disappear,  and  the  pulp  increas- 
ed in  size  and  flavour.  At  any  time  during  the  cold  season 
select  a  brancli  that  is  to  be  used  aflerwards  for  inardiing. 
Split  it  up  carefully  somewhat  leas  than  a  span  long.  From 
both  halves  of  the  branch  tiius  split  sooop  out  cleanly  all  the 
pith ;  then  bring  the  split  halves  together  again,  and  keep 
them  bandaged  till  they  have  become  thoroughly  united.  At 
the  usual  time,  the  beginning  of  the  rains  inarch  the  branch 
thus  treated  upon  suitable  stock,  taking  for  the  place  of 
union  the  portion  of  the  branch  just  below  where  the  split 
was  made.  Upon  a  branch  of  the  tree  thus  produced  a  sim- 
ilar operation  is  performed,  and  so  on  for  successive  seasoaa, 
the  result  being  that  the  stone  of  the  fruit  becomes  less  and 
less  after  each  successive  operation.  This  process  has  bcra 
applied  likewise  to  the  grape  vine  at  Malaga,  and  plaots 
thereby  have  been  produced  which  bear  the  finest  fruit,  with- 
out the  slightest  vestige  of  a  stone  within  them. — Mining 
Press,  i 

Explosion  or  Gnn-cottOTt.^On  Monday  afle- noon  an 
explosion  occurred  in  a  building  used  for  the  purpose  of 
drying  gun-cotton  at  the  works  of  Messrs.  T.  Prentice  and 
Co.,  Stowmarket  The  building  was  a  two-storied  one, 
the  bottom  being  built  of  day  lumps,  and  the  upper  part  of 
wood  with  a  lining,  the  space  being  filled  up  with  sawdust 
packing.  The  roof  was  of  slate.  The  building  was  situat- 
ed near  the  bank  of  the  river  on  the  railway  side,  at  the 
further  end  of  the  works.  The  custom  has  been  to  place 
the  manufactured  cotton  in  the  buildmg  moist,  and  to  sub- 
ject it  for  a  time  to  heat  varying  fh)m  90**  to  1 20*.  Tliis  heat 
was  imparted  by  means  of  pipes  from  an  adjacent  shed,  in 
which  were  a  series  of  stacks  of  horizontal  pipes  generating 
heat  from  steam  conveyed  to  them  by  a  pipe  across  the  riv- 
er. About  3  p.m.  a  loud,  dull  report  was  heard,  followed 
by  another  sharper  report,  and  the  building  attadced  was 
leveDed  with  the  ground,  while  the  ruins  were  in  a  blaae. 
The  flames  spread  to  another  drymg  shed,  in  which  was  a 
quantity  of  the  sheets  of  paper  used  in  cartridges,  hung  up 
for  drying.  The  roof  of  this  shed  was  blown  up,  and  the 
flames  thence  extended  to  some  large  tanks  cont»ning  cot- 
ton in  process  of  manufacture.  Some  of  the  covers  were 
burnt,  but  the  cotton  was  only  blackened  in  places.  Some 
trees  on  the  railway  side  of  the  works  were  burnt  and 
scorched,  and  some  cattle  belonging  to  Mr.  Arnold  Seattle 
were  badly  burnt  No  person  was  in  the  shattered  build- 
iugs  when  the  explosion  took  place,  although  two  men 
named  Oonham  and  Broom  had  been  in  the  drying  shed  a 
few  seconds  before  the  accident  happened.  The  oocorrenoe 
is  attributed  to  over  heating;  the  sun  made  the  roof  vezy 
hot,  and  the  pipes  forcing  in  more  hot  air,  the  temperature 
was  raised  to  170°,  at  which  gun-cotton  explodes.— r*e 
Times. 

[If  170"  refers  to  Fahrenheit's  scale  it  is  entirely  wrong. 
Professor  Abel  places  the  exploding  point  of  gun-cotton 
at  about  150**  0.,  which  is  equivalent  to  302*  F.— Ed.  C.N.1 


i 


Gbkxtcal  Niws,  ) 
Oct.,  18«7.       f 


Miscettaneotts. 


207 


Lesallsed  Poisonlna^.— Jt  is  high  time  that  steps  were 
taken  to  compel  the  Metropolitan  Bail  way  Company  to  sup- 
ply their  passengers  with  air  which  can  he  inhaled  without 
danger  to  life.  Travelling  daily .  along  that  line,  we  have 
notioed  for  some  months  past  that  the  atmosphere,  espe- 
cu^y  between  Baker  Street  and  King^s  Cross,  has  been  get- 
ting more  and  more  foul,  until  at  the  present  time  it  is  al- 
most unbearable.  Sulphurous  add  is  almost  habitually 
present  in  such  quantities  as  to  render  breathing  painful, 
and  to  induce  a  feeling  of  suffocation.  That  these  state- 
ments are  not  exaggerated  is  proved  by  the  shocking  death 
which  actually  took  place  at  one  of  these  stations  one  day 
last  week.  The  inquest  was  held  by  Dr.  Lankester.  The 
deceased,  Sarah  Dobner,  whilst  at  the  station,  complained 
of  great  difhculty  of  breathing,  and  said  she  was  in  great 
pain.  A  medical  ma,n  advised  her  removal  to  the  hospital, 
bat  it  was  then  believed  she  was  dead.  Mr.  Anderson,  one 
of  the  surgeons  at  St  Mary^s  Hospital,  who  made  the  post 
mortem  examination,  said  the  deceased  was  labouring  under 
disease  of  the  bronchial  gland,  and  undoubtedly  the  suffo- 
cating air  of  the  Underground  Railway  had  accelerated 
death.  The  coroner  said  he  had  experienced  the  depressing 
effect  of  that  railway,  and  therefore  avoided  it  as  much  as 
possible.  The  tunnels  and  stations  should  be  ventilated, 
bat  he  supposed  that  would  not  be  done  until  some  shock- 
ing loss  of  life  from  suffocation  had  occurred.  The  jury  re- 
turned a  verdict  of  '*  Death  from  natural  causes,  accelerated 
by  the  suffocating  atmosphere  of  the  Underground  Rail- 
way." The  Underground  Railway  is,  however,  not  the 
only  place  where  a  neglect  of  the  most  ordinary  dictates  of 
common  sense  has  occasioned  loss  of  life.  The  British 
Medical  Journal  last  week  chronicled  the  poisoning  of  a 
young  clerk  by  the  bad  atiyosphere  of  a  small  telegraph- 
office  room,  ill  ventilated,  and  with  four  gas-burners,  of 
which  "  all  the  clerks  had  complained."  This  is  only  a 
rapid  and  compressed  view  of  a  tragedy  constantly  being 
worked  out  more  slowly  in  work-rooms  and  offices,  and  ap- 
proximately imitated  by  tne  poisoning  and  illness  duo  to 
the  bad  ventilation  of  our  gas -lit  theatres,  churches,  and 
ball-rooms. 

Double  Sesqulelftloride  of  Iron  aud  Sodium.— 
I  produced  Uiis  combination,  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  a 
new  one,  by  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid  upon  artificial 
ultramarine.  The  silicate  becomes  separated,  and  if  water 
be  added  and  the  solution  filtered,  the  double  chloride  in 
question,  which  is  colourless,  will  be  found  in  the  filtrate. 
The  following  equation  wOl  serve  as  a  further  explanation : — 

f*l    ^0.+Na,0+PeS,j+8Ha= 


Si.   ) 


-f-HaO+sHsS+Naa)^^ 


By  writing  upon  paper  with  the  solution  and  fifterwards 
warming  it,  the  letters  become  black,  juat  as  in  the  case  of 
some  sympathetic  inks.  As  the  writing  does  not  disappear 
again  by  the  action  of  water,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  ses- 
quichloride  of  iron  and  sodium  is  decomposed  by  heat  — 
J,  Landauer. 

Til©  Standard  Pound._It  appears  from  the  reports 
Of  the  Comptroller-General  of  the  Exchequer  that  the  Ex- 
chequer standard  avoirdupois  pound  is  actually  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  a  most  unsatisfactory  condition,  "  oxidated  on 
the  surface,  practically  erroneous  on  the  face  of  it,  and 
known  to  be  erron^us ;"  and  as  all  tlie  Exchequer  stand- 
ard weights  are  made  of  brass,  a  metal  stated  to  be  pecu- 
liarly liable  to  oxidation  in  the  atmosphere  of  London,  and 
described  by  Professor  Miller  as  '*  quite  unfit,  unless  well 
potected  by  gilding,  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  weights 
Laving  that  degree  of  accuracy  which  is  required  in  second- 
ary standard,"  it  is  to  be  feared  that  others  of  these  Ex- 
chequer standard  weights  may  be  wanting  in  accuracy. 

Petroleum  as  Fuel.— The  idea  of  employing  petroleum 


as  a  substitute  for  coal  in  the  generation  of  steam  has  for 
some  time  engaged  the  attention  of  scientiflc  men  in  Amer- 
ica, and  recently,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, a  series  of  experiments  on  the  subject  has  been  car- 
ried on  at  Boston,  and  there  seems  a  fair  prospect  that  the 
investigations  will  result  successfully.  A  gunboat  called  the 
Palos  was  used  for  the  experiments.  She  had  becu  built 
for  the  Government,  to  make  a  speed  of  eight  knots  an  hour, 
and  with  coal  could  never  be  forced  beyond  that  First,  she 
was  tied  to  the  dock,  and  the  possibility  of  getting  up 
steam  with  petrqleum  was  demonstrated.  She  was  then 
sent  on  a  trisd  trip  down  the  harbour.  Steam  was  got  up 
with  petroleum  in  25  minutes,  and  the  Palos  steamed  down 
the  harbour  and  back,  a  distance  of  25  nautical  miles,  in  i 
hour  and  55  minutes.  In  making  this  trip  she  consumed 
but  four  barrels  of  petroleum.*  The  fires  are  reported  to  be 
kindled  and  extinguished  with  nearly  the  same  ease  as 
lighting  and  extinguishing  a  gas-burner.  The  furnaces  of 
the  Palos,  originaiUy  built  for  burning  coal,  were  fitted  at 
comparatively  small  expense  with  burners  to  which  the  pe- 
troleum was  led  by  pipes  from  the  tanks  on  deck.  The 
burners,  by  their  own  heat,  turn  the  petroleum  in  the  pipes 
into  gas,  and  in  this  form  it  is  burnt.  The  flames  produced 
are  intensely  hot,  and  the  petroleum  burnt  on  the  trip  pro- 
duced as  much  steam  as  20  times  its  bulk  in  coals — a  great 
saving  of  room  in  ocean  voyages.  The  dangerous  proper- 
ties of  the  petroleum  appear  to  be  the  only  drawback  to  its 
use  in  this  way,  for  coal-burning  furnaces  can  be  adapted 
to  its  use  at  but  a  trifiing  expense.  The  supply  of  petro- 
leum is  now  so  much  greater  than  the  demand  that,  even 
with  three-fourths  of  the  wells  in  the  producing  regions 
abandoned  it  can  be  bought  for  2d.  a  gallon.  Its  cheapness 
is  therefore  another  strong  inducement  to  use  it  for  gener- 
ating steam.  , 

Tlie  (lueen'a  EnsUiili  at  Paris.— The  following  is  a 
literal  copy  of  a  handbill  which  has  been  extensively  circu- 
lated in  the  Exhibition  by  a  Spanish  firm:  "Blacking,  ocly 
and  resinous,  titled  the  emperor  of  the  blackings  black  ink 
and  of  alloolours  to  write  with  of  D.  J.  G.  . .  .  member  of 
the  national  academy  of  Great  Britain.  This  Blackings  is 
knoconod  to  be  the  most  useful  for  the  conservation  of  the 
shes,  for  its  brilliancy,  solidity,  and  complete  discomposition 
of  the  black  animal  Mr.  J.  G.  dus  a  present  of  £20  ster- 
ling to  the  person  that  will  present  hum  a  blacking  in  paste, 
that  will  reunite  the  same  conditions,  as  the  Emperor  of 
the  Blackings." 

Popular  Scientific  InformaUon.  —  The  following 
paragraph,  from  the  pages  of  a  weekly  contemporary  which 
makes  great  pretensions  to  accuracy,  shows  the  kind  of 
science  on  which  the  mining  public  are  fed: — "An  inven- 
tion has  been  provisionally  specified  by  Mr.  Bonneville,  of 
Paris,  for  obtaining  white  lead  direct  from  the  ore,  by 
pouring  the  molten  metal  into  cold  water,  to  render  it  as 
porous  and  bulky  as  possible ;  it  is  then  dissolved  in  sul- 
phuric acid,  and  the  sulphate  is  treated  with  pyroligneous 
or  oxalic  acid,  combined  or  not  with  tincal  dissolved  in 
water,  and  next  dried  over  the  fire  on  ways.  The  vessels 
employed  are  either  made  of  stone  or  wood,  lined  with  lead, 
which  become  coated  with  a  protecting  covering  of  lead." 

Red  licad,  according  to  Barton,  may  be  produced  by 
heating  oxide  of  lead  to  redness  with  nitrate  of  soda,  or  by 
heating  at  the  same  temperature  a  mixture  of  1,894  parts 
of  sulphate  of  lead,  665  parts  of  carbonate  of  soda,  and  177 
parts  of  nitrate  of  soda.  The  resulting  mass  is  to  be  washed. 
— Berggeigt^  No.  50. 

Polsonlos  by  CUorlne  Vapour— Professor  Maisch 
says  that  a  direct  antidote  to  the  poisonous  effects  of  the 
inhalation  of  chlorine  is  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  the  halo- 
gen combining  instantly  with  the  hydrogen,  Uberatiug  sul- 
phur. The  professor  has  tried  it  himself  after  accidentally 
inhaling  dilorine,  and  obtained  immediate  relief.  The  same 
remedy  would  doubtless  be  effectual  in  cases  of  bromine 
poisoning. 


3o8 


Miecdlcmeoujs 


( CvnttCAL  Ncn, 


OeL,  1867. 


The  Polflonoaa  Aetton  of  Pliospliionia. — Contrary 
to  the  current  docftrine  that  death  in  case  of  poisoning  by 
phosphoraH  results  from  fatty  degeneration  of  the  liver, 
produced  by  phosphorous  acid,  M.  Dybkowsky  states  In  a 
recent  memoir  that  the  toxic  result  is  entirely  due  to  the 
formation  of  phosphuretted  hydrogen  g^  which  in  passing 
through  the  blood  completely  uses  up  the  oxygen  present. 
Hence  he  concludes  that  death  from  phosphorus  is  nearly 
equivalent  to  death  by  asphyxia. — Medical  Times  and  Oa- 
zette. 

Metliylated  Spirits—After  the  ist  of  October  next 
the  duty  on  licenses  to  retailers  of  metiiylated  spirits  is  to 
be  reduced  to  los.  per  year. 

AnU-lncmstattoji  RUxtare  for  the  prevention  of  the 
formation  of  sediments  (strongly  adhesive)  in  steam  boilers. 
125  kilos,  of  crystallised  chl5nde  of  barium  dissolved  in  50 
kUofl.  of  water  with  addition  of  25  kilos,  of  hydrochloric 
add  (specific  gravity  1*20).  To  every  1000  litres  =  i  cubic 
metre  =  35*5  cubic  feet  English,  15  litres  of  this  acid  solu- 
tion should  be  applied. — Elaner^s  Ohemikk,  Teeknisch  Kotuen, 
1867. 

Technical  Edacatloii._The  following  extract  from  The 
THmes'  account  of  the  **  safe  contest,^'  forms  an  appropriate 
commentary  on  the  remarks  on  Tecbnichal  Education  in  the 
supplement  to  last  week's  Chbmical  News  {Amer,  Reprint 
for  OcUy  1S67,  p.  175):  —  "Mr.  Herring's  workmen  were 
three  intelligent  Germans— one  of  them  a  man  of  marked 
ability— he  spoke  three  languages — and  went  about  his 
business  in  the  most  scientific  way.  Mr.  Chatwood's  man 
were  three  Lancashire  men,  who  represented  brute  force 
rather  than  intellect.  One  of  them  had  a  wonderful  touch 
both  for  power  and  precision ;  but  that  was  the  only  thing 
remarkable  in  the  party.  Any  one  who  saw  the  contest 
between  these  two  sets  of  workmen  would  carry  away  a 
very  vivid  idea  as  to  the  nature  of  the  race  whicdi  is  now 
being  run  between  the  manufactories  of  England  and  those 
of  the  Continent  It  is  an  admitted  faot  that  the  Continent 
has  made  an  immense  stride  in  advance,  that  the  progress 
which  we  in  England  have  made  in  the  last  1 5  years  is  as 
nothing  compared  with  that  which  our  continental  rivals 
have  made,  and  that  it  wQl  cost  us  a  good  deal  in  the  future 
not  merely  to  hold  our  own,  but  to  save  ourselves  from 
being  disgracefully  beaten.  The  chief  reason  which  the 
most  intelligent  observers  assign  for  this  diange  in  our  po- 
sition as  manufacturers  is  to  be  found  in  the  superior  edu- 
cation of  the  continental  workman.  He  has  gone  through 
a  regular  course  of  instructioii  at  some  polytechnic  school, 
he  has  been  trained  to  appredate  principles,  and  he  brings 
the  exercise  of  brain  to  his  work.  An  English  foreman  is 
of  another  stamp.  He  has  had  no  special  education;  he 
^  risen  from  the  ranks;  he  knows  his  business  by  rote 
and  rule  of  thumb ;  long  practice  has  given  him  a  certain 
mechanical  facility  of  toudi,  but  sdenoe  he  haa  none.  By 
the  very  laws  of  the  trade  to  which  he  belongs  science  is 
in  a  manner  forbidden  to  hun.  Sdenoe  will  i»wAi  him  to  do 
in  an  hour  what  hitherto  has  occupied  him  two  hours.  Thib 
sdenoe  is  expressly  forbidden  him,  because  it  would  inter- 
fere with  the  wages  of  his  comrades  and  take  the  bread  out 
of  their  mouths." 

8Ulcate8orflEeth7l.^0.  Friedel  ^d  J.  M.  Crafts  first 
tried  to  prepare  this  body  by  reacting  on  methyho  alcohol 
with  chloride  of  silicium ;  like  Ebelmen,  they  obtained  a 
product  impossible  to  purify,  turning  brown  in  the  air  and 
possessing  a  foetid  odour.  They  noticed  that  this  product 
always  contained  chlorine.  Wood  spirit  was  purified  by 
treatment  with  chloride  of  caldum ;  the  chloride  of  oaldum 
compound  decomposed  with  water,  and  the  aloohol  rectiflud 
several  times  with  sodium.  The  alcohol  thus  prepared  was 
sealed  in  a  tube  with  silicate  of  ethyl,  and  the  mixture  heat- 
ed during  20  hours  at  2io«  a  After  several  fractional  dis- 
tillations the  prindpal  product  isolated  from  tike  contents  of 
the  tube  was  a  liquid  boiling  at  143"  to  147*'.    This  liquid 


gave  on  analysis  numbers  which  correspond  with  the  com- 
position of  a  mixed  silicate,  diethylic,  diroethylic,  silidc 
ether.  There  being  reason  to  believe  that  a  minute  trace 
of  water  contained  in  the  methylic  aloohol  interfered  with 
the  success  of  the  processes  in  which  it  was  employed,  this 
alcohol  was  distUled  twice  with  sodium,  then  with  a  small 
quantity  of  anhydrous  phosphoric  acid.  Thus  prepared,  it 
boILs  at  65'5<',  has  not  the  disagreeable  odour  it  usually  has, 
smells  like  common  alcohol,  and  does  not  turn  brown  witii 
soda.  Methylic  aloohol  purified  in  tiiis  way,  when  added  to 
chloride  of  sihdum,  reacts  like  ordinary  aJcoloL  When  the 
theoretical  quantity  of  tiie  alcohol  has  been  added,  the  pro- 
duct is  dfstiUed,  and  afler  a  small  number  of  fractional  dis- 
tiHations  two  prindpal  products  are  obtained,  one  bdling 
at  120°  to  122  ,  and  the  other  at  201*  to  202•5^  The  first 
is  the  normal  silicate  of  methyl ;  the  second  is  the  hexame- 
thylic  disilidc  ether.  The  normal  «Qicate  of  methyl  is  a 
colourless  liquid,  has  rather  an  agreeable  odour,  is  soluble 
in  a  considerable  quantity  of'water.  Moisture  or  aqueous 
alcohol  gives  rise  to  condensed  products,  ultimately  silica. 
It  bums  with  a  white  smoke  composed  of  silica. — SiOmasits 
Journal,  May,  1867. 

Nitroglycerine.— The  destracHon  of  the  European  st 
Colon  by  an  explosion  of  nitroglycerine,  haa  been  the  csuse 
of  an  action  at  law.  The  plaintiffs — the  West  India  and 
Padfic  Steamship  Company — were  the  owners  of  the  vessel; 
the  defendants— -Guion  and  another — merchants  and  for- 
warding agents.  The  defendants  had  received  from  their 
correspondents  in  Hamburg,  Messrs.  Bandemann,  70  cases  of 
oil,  described  in  the  letter  of  advice  as  "glonoin  oil,"  and 
one  of  20,000  percussion  caps  to  be  forwarded  to  San  Pran- 
cisco.  It  appeared  that  the  defendants  knew  very  little 
concerning  the  oil  they  were  shipping.  Professor  Abel, 
P.R.S.,  Professor  Roscoe,  P.R.S.,  Colonel  Boxer,  F.RS.,  Su- 
perintendent of  the  Woolwich  laboratory,  gave  evidence  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  material.  By  their  evidence  it  was 
shown  to  be  a  highly  explosive  substance,  the  explosion 
being  excessively  rapid  and  unaccompanied  by  smoke,  and 
it  is  produced  by  heat  Professor  Abel  stated  that  the 
greater  the  quantity  of  0^  the  lower  would  be  the  degree  of 
temperature  necessary  to  explode  it^  and  having  in  experi- 
ments exfrfoded  12  to  20  drops  by  keeping  them  for  six 
hours  daily  at  a  temperature  of  180",  he  had  arrived  at  the 
condusion  that  a  temperature  of  1 10°  to  130''  would  explode 
the  quantity  contained  in  one  of  the  casep.  It  appeared 
that  the  commercial  article,  being  far  from  pure,  contained 
a  certain  quantity  of  free  add,  whidi  genorated  a  gas  and 
produced  decomposition,  which  increased  the  heat,  and  the 
decomposition  again  Was  increased  with  the  temperatore, 
and  all  this  tended  towards  explosion.  Moreover  when  the 
compound  became  saturated  with  this  gas  it  became  in- 
creased in  bulk,  and  its  pressure  against  the  sides  of  the 
case  became  stronger,  rendering  it  more  liable  to  be  explod- 
ed by  coftcuasion.  To  the  oil  and  to  the  operation  of  these 
qualities  in  it  they  did  not  hesitate  to  assign  the  explodoii, 
and  Professor  Roscoe  stated  that  one  case  of  this  oil  ex- 
ploded would  have  destroyed  the  Ewropean.  Colonel  Boxer 
proved  that  it  was  practically  impossible  to  explode  a  graat 
quantity  of  percussion  caps  at  once,  for,  although  the  explo- 
sion of  one  extended  to  the  few  immediately  surrounding  it, 
it  never  went  fhrther,  and  he  produced  a  box  of  capa  upon 
which  he  had  let  a  hundredweight  fall  from  a  height  (^  6ft, 
and  it  appeared  crushed  and  out  of  shape,  but  the  cape  were 
unexploded.  Moreover,  he  had  put  two  ounces  of  gunpofr- 
der  into  the  centre  of  2,000  caps  In  a  cylinder  and  placed 
the  whole  in  a  packing-case  and  exploded  the  powder. 
One-third  of  the  caps  only  were  exploded,  and  the  others 
were  untouched.  The  mode  of  dearing  the  composition  out 
of  caps,  when  it  is  necessary  to  do  so,  is  by  shovelling  20,000 
at  a  time  into  a  heated  oven ;  there  is  no  explosion,  and  a 
minute  at  least  elapses  before  the  composition  is  consumed. 
The  result  of  all  this  is  that  caps  will  not  explode  in  a  body 
and  are  not  practically  dangerous,  and  in  consequence,  the 


OniiftcAi.  Niewa,  ] 
eWL,1867. 


Contemporai^  Scientifio  Press, 


practice  is  to  issue 
middle  of  the  packoj 
accidental  explosion 
was  contended  that 
by  torpedoes  to  he 
amongst  the  cargo 
jury  found  the  oil  to 


209 


all  caps  from  Woolwich,  packed  in  the 
;es  of  small  ammunition ;  and  no  case  of 
has  ever  occurred.  For  the  defence,  it 
the  explosion  might  have  been  caused 
used  hy  Chili  against  Spain,  loaded 
without  the  owniers'  knowledge.  The 
be  the  cause  of  the  explosion. 


OONTSMPORART    SOrONTIFIO    PRESS. 

iJE«  whlS»~*2S5»*l^/?^®J^*^  !^i*^®  *^  *»"^  0'  »"  *^e  chemical 
££««•«?     a!!?  P"**""^*?  J**  ^he  prlndpal  sdentifle  periodicals  of  the 

^^wi^^J^A^  «?*****^    Abstracta  of  the  more  Important  pa- 
jejiMbere  anuoimced  wlU  appearhi  fotve  nomben  of  thrCHBMiOAL 

M^naUUriOa  dtr  k&niffUcA-PreusHschM,  AkadrmU  der  WU»en- 
tehq/ten,    December,  1866. 

Janoaiy,  1867. 
OtpansUm,  qf  Iron  and  Zinc  Metrical  Standards.''       ^^'^•*^*«»»  v 

Xwut  and  OewerhebkOt,    February,  1867. 

t^JaJ^iEV^.  2?  *;<"*««  Umber  and  BaOwny  SlfipJ, 

No.  3.    March. 

rLS!S""i"A^?J  ;Er??''Sf!!r  ^  «  S^h^^uu  for  Amma 
»if?^*'  r~?-  ^^^ :  ^OntAs  Produetian  of  PrintinaShirfaeM  h», 

^/2L^w./^*'**'*"^2.  of  ,867:  Catalogue  of  B^S^rtan  pSt?^ 

A*.      "  e>»t  lFa<«r  &^<xw  M  an  IngrediMtfor  OwnmV'      "^^"V^^ 
BulleHn  de  La  SoeiAU  ^Eneow^oQemwU,    Febroary,  1867 

f^f^StcnMy-GvvamitK'.  •'A  Method  of  Producina  Caiunaa  W 

lV^I^:.7Z^*t^^^  ■  A"^  Improved  Uwi^aUng  Apparatm/'--- 
Lacboix  :  "  Oti  the  Manvfactttre  qf  Colours  /«r  PainHiidonG^'' 
^'Ona  dangerous  AduUeration  of  Petroleum:'  '^^''^'^  *^  ^^"^ 

Journal  J\*r  Prattisehs  Chemie.    March  28, 1867. 
rS'^/^^  ^^^'  ¥'^'  '*  ^  ChinoHne  Bhie.'^-V.  Holm:  «  C>» 
vSr*?!?***^   «^V^^*^"-""-    '*^  «^  coiowHni^  Matter  of  the 
l^^£^^A:l:2'  S^'-i*  1I?*  ^^  ^^"'C''^  Constituents  of  iZ  ,^ 
SST^S"''^-  rT-  D^^o'^btst:  "  <M  <A«  /rfewftYy  0/  Choline 

AS2S^^^^^T^?r""ft^"*  =  ^^"'P^rnents  ^th  MiaJoret 
JttSSw^  "" :  " ^ tt^ Preparation qf  Cdrbo^ 


Journal  des  Fabricants  de  Papier.    March  15,  1867. 
^'^P^r  Making.''—^  A,  0ot«lle8:  **  Apparatus  A>r  utUiaina  Chlni 

^tfafw  ^  Potash.  -J.  M.  Mkllob  ;  "  ^  Method  of  softenina  /ienl. 
rating,  and  bUaehing  VegetaibU  Fibres.^^^  ^  ^V^ntng,  sepa- 

April  I. 
c^rJZXSl';"*!  '^  ff^u^  Chemical  Products  used  in  Pa. 
^^^SS^'J^tST'-^^  ^^^c*^*  of  Petroleum  for  Ivhricaiing 
N^F^;h£»   ^ :  "  4  n««;  ^S^ety  Paper  for  pretenting  Bank 

April  15. 

iJS:,22JSS?'"''u=  n  ^  **^!^  ?*  <7A«»/ctrf  /y«/t«*,  used  in  Pa- 
psr-mak%ng. »— H.  Bkbub  :  "  OnLigniU  from  MokUnda." 

Mayx. 
E.BoimDiLUAT;   "<?»  tMf<«flr  the  Chemical  Products  used  in 
^Pl^;;^maling.-    "  On  the  JESimatlon  qf  WoodpS^  ^frf^ 

Oenie  Indu^riel    May,  1867. 

jL^  o    ^*  Sr,^"'"®  •     ^  ^«  comparative  Adwintaaes  of  Wash- 
ing Sugar  FUtersuUh  Hot  and  CM  Water.----T.QKAV -^^  OnU^ 

S-  7^«-  7  J-^  •     P",^-^*^****?  4«*no^  a«tf  Vegetable  Fibres  "    •♦  6>» 

uJ^O^niL:^m'S''S:  ''^PP<fri^  for  Charging  and  Collect^ 
ing  Gases  from  Blast  -^rwacw."— Schlottbbbbk  :  «  Varnish  for 


Journal  fur  Praktische  Chemie.    April  4. 

r%?.5f*'u  »•  "  ^/»*'<»'^**»<>' ««<« -4»»<<'orf<m«f<TO*<^mrf.''~ 
K^BMH:  ^^  Researches  on  Creosote  "--A.  W.  Hokmann  ?  '^  On  the 
«^2Sr*22f**^y  «^^romo«c  JTimamiiiM  into  Acids  containing 
LS^J^g^^^  K  ^Yi^-:^  Rochlbdbr:  "  On  th^  ConOiHL 


protecHng  the  Surface  of  Iron  fr'omRust:' 

SUmtngsberichie  der  Wiener  AkademieiMathemaUcal  and  Physical 

Section).  December,  1866. 
T^:X'  ^"T"'  '*^  ^^^Pii^h.  Cock,  for  stopping  India  Rubher 
mw."-,F  RociiLKDER  x  '' On  the  ElenifntaryA^alysU  of  Oraanic 
^«tonc2."--K  Fritch  :  "  On  the  periodica! Ph^^^iJL  of  PlS^ 
«?^*r*C''^^«^'*^2.'"*^  f^it»inAusbraMa:'-^K.  fiaio 7^ 
the  Crystalline  Fonn  of  FomiaU  of  Baryta."  •    «*"  .     t/»» 

Comptes  Rendus.    No.  19. 

o/z'wS"'  •  4^^^''  ^  """"^  n^f>lydiscovered  Chemical  Rffeets 
%  Cap^Uary  ^c«o»."-BoiTMi!ieATiLT .  '^  On  fh4  Effect  of  Mercury 
^^^^.S"  ^^^JT^-r^-  Dkvillb:  »'  On  P,e  P^-iodical  Varil 
tions  of  7W»p«ra/»r«."~CiviAT.B:  '^  Description  of  a  Collation  of 
IHnary  attculi,  classified  according  to  thS^  Stricture  ana  Devei 
o/^^A^-J  Briot  :  "  On  CrystaUike  Reflection  andRefractfZr 
--PoTiBB :  Researches  on  Vie  mffraction  qf  Polarised  LiaJU  "—H 
M abk-Datt  :  *  On  ths  ^  EUctHc  f^ass '  of  CondHctors.'^-V.FJ>Eiii: 
«tiL;.r^"'{^r??''"'''^^*'*?'^^x>^  '^^  ^-"^  <*f  Potash  Silts  in  Agri- 
^^!^f'  Z^'  J- Ohtdkbius  :  'On  Pseud  o-netc^ylrUrea:'—^,.  Qrimaux  • 
*^  On  the  Brominated  Dervoatioes  qf  Gallic  Acid:'  "»*«*. 

Annalen  der  Chemie  und  Pharmacie.    April,  1867. 

0.  Ti  Beauh  :  "  On  thf  Formation  of  Curtain  OobftU  Amine  Con^ 

^^Vi!l^£l2'^''^if''     On^^^onofBromineonsome  XitriUsT 

On  the  Action  of  Ammonia  on  TrichlorhvdHne."—U.  Otto  and  0 

Von  Grcbkr  :  "  On  Toluol-sulphurous  Aeid:'    fi.  Orro  :  "^  simpli 

Method  of  Preparing  OrystaUized  Sesquioxide  of  Chrotnlum:'-^. 

Weltzikx  :  ^' On  the  fff/draied  SubofHde  and  OttUle  qf  Silvei^ 

yH.  *'*f,^?''^?^*?*  ^f  Ozoner-^A.  Sibrsch  . '^  On  the  PreparaUon 

of  the  Fatty  Alcohols  from  their  Primary  Members.'"      '^*'^"^"*^'* 

May. 
L.  Cabius  '.''On  the  Sj/nthfsis  of  Organic  ^of<f*,"— B.  8cttu«  akt> 
A^  Bbinkckk  :  •*  0»  ^  AnalyHs  qf  Animal  Fats,  especially  those  of 
Mutt^,Beef  andP&rkr—H.  HLAMwrKTz  :  "  On  some  Tannw  Acids '" 
"J*!;  HLA8IWKTZ :  ^'Onthe  Brominated  Derivatim^s  of  Gallic  Acid, 
'<S^ ^pityphenie  ^ciA'— Gdokblbbboeb;  ''On  the  Extraction  of 
Thaliium.'  ' 


^-  ZL-L^Tk  i  •,r^"""""*  *^  «''»*  jytcjceiiferotts  Cobalt 
^f'^„^^^«*'haU'  —^LxawKTz  abd  G'-abowski  :  »»  On  Carminic 
^S^"?^^"''!^;  1  ^  ^'^^  Acid."-V.  Rochlbdbk:  -  On  «JJ 
Aettonqfyascent Ilydrogenon  Chinine,  Cinchonine,  and  CaffeiT^e  " 

April  15, 1867. 
A^L^t^^^Vi  "  ?»?r»'^^,  <7«»iwnl '»-Pbtbbpok:  ^Analysis  of 
^^^AHdT''  "*  -^'^^-  -^  Babtkb:  "  On  ths  ConstUuHon 

Le  Teeknohglste,  May,  1867. 
aJ!\?^^^'  "  P^JL^***  oonsmning  Fumaces."-^W.  T)b  La  Rms 
/S^*S!5"y  ^  ^S^*^  of  Copper  and  Silver  from  Iron 
/W«M.  — C.  Litwob:  "On  the  Manufacture  of  NUrateof  PotaOi 
2^  <tfpure  CarbonaU  of  Potash."--c7DiKtsioax  "On  the  Prepara- 
«*on  of  Chrome  Green."  ^ 

Vol.  I.    No.  4.— Oct.,  1867.        14 


Annales  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique.    April,  1867. 

C.  Mariokao:  "On  some  Flttates  of  AnUmony  and  Arsenic"— 

WYRorBOFF  -."On  the  Ovtieal  Properties  of  some  new  Tartrates  "— 

D^l^Wcd^'  ***  Jfoawmttm  Density  and  on  (he  Expansion  of 

Bulletin  de  la  Sociitd  d* Encouragement.    March,  1867. 
PusrHKB:  "  On  a  new  Gold-coloured  Lacquer  for  Brass  Articles," 
"On  JA«  Enaction  of  Copper  by  Bydroohloric  Acid  as  used  at 
Braubac/i  (Naasan )." 


Annales  du  Gdnie  Civil.  May,  1867. 
L.  lJ«our :  ''On ths  Providenda  Soap  and  Candle  Works  in  San 
SebastalntnSpa%n.''-Jii.  Basset:  "  On  G.  ViUe's  Improved  Artiit- 
ctal  i/annre "-JPaquot:  "On  the  U»e  of  Chloride  of  Rnivmfor 
preventing  the  Formation  qf  Boiler  ScaU."—Ufinm:  "On  ths  Use 
of  Catschufor  Preventing  ths  Formation  of  Boiler  Scale."— Taskw  : 
"  On  the  fh-eveniion  of  Bailer  Scale."  —A.  Soithfub  :  "  A  new  Pe- 
troleitm  Safety  Lamp  for  Mines."  »'  On  Pie  Use  qfuaturaUy-fbrmed 
Gas  frr  lOuminaUng  Purposes." 


2IO 


Patents — Notes  and  Queries. 


{  Chemical  Kkwb, 
\        OeL,  1867. 


Dingier^ 8  PolyUchnischs  Jovmal.  April,  1867. 
0.  ScRnvz :  **  On  LundM%  RegmieraUfi6  Oas  Fumacs."  "  On  J?«. 
gmwraUM  Oom  Futwiom  as  applUd  to  the  Mam^factttre  of  Glassy 
**  On  IAndner*B  Theory  Reaping  Uu  Jnjlutnce  oflht  Form  of  Fuel 
on  Oombtutiony—U  Kamdorb:  ^On  ihs  Production  of  Oa%  from 
aoms  of  the  WatU  Proditeta  <^  the  Ma/nufneHwe  of  Oreoeote^—E, 
fckWTMANN :  ^^Onthe  Uaeof  Paraffitn  in  the  Jiani^aature  qf  Sugar.^ 
L.  YON  LiBBio:  "On  the  DUeaeea  qf  SUA  worms,'*  Nbsslu;  **0n 
MaoDougalTs  JHsinfecUng  Powder  for  Stables.*' 

April  13.  X867. 
**  On  a  Method  qf  rsn&vaiing  Files  bv  etching  with  Sulphuric  Add.** 
—A.  Pateba  :  ^^Onthe  BSlectrolytic  Precipitation  of  Otpperfrom  Us 
Solutions.*'— C  Aubkl:  **  On  a  new  Method  of  Extracting  Copper 
from  slags  by  means  of  dilute  Sulphuric  Jcid.**^Vi  Bbimmbyb  : 
"  On  the  diyer&nt  Processes  for  uUUming  the  Refuse  qf  the  Fuchsifie 
Mantifacture^  and  for  reobtainina  the  Arsenic  Aeid.*''—L.  Walk- 
hoff:  "  On  JOubunfauPs  Method  <tf  obtaining  Sugar  from  Molasses 
by  Dialysis.**-^.  C.  Lbbmeb  :''Onthe  Alkaloid  of  Beer.** 

Oomptes  Rend^is.    May  ao,  1867. 

BouBsiKGAiaT:  ^' On  the  Effects  of  Mercury  Vapours  on  Plants.** 
— Likbig  :  *'  On  ArUfldalMiJjb/br  Infants.'*— Qvxon :  '' Onths  Effedt 
of  the  Sting  qfthe  Scorpion:*— ¥.  Tbthard:  *^  On  the  Oalculatloft  of 
^  Numorioal  Ekmetus  of  a  Simple  Achromatic  Objective  for  Pho- 
tography.** — Namxai)8  :  ^On  ths  use  of  Bromide  of  Patasstum  as  a 
Remedy  for  J^lepsy.**—G.  Flammabiom:  **0n  a  Change  v^ich  has 
taken  place  in  the  Orator  of  IAmubus  in  the  Moon,**— Chaookvac  : 
*^  On  the  same  subject.**— J.  B.  Baillb:  "*  Researches  on  the  Varia- 
tions in  the  Dispersive  Power  of  Luiuids  under  the  Ir^uence  <tf 
22«at*'— Yblteb  -."^  On  the  EJMs  of  Silicate  of  Potash  when  applied 
as  a  Manure  on  the  Laying  of  CereaU,  and  on  the  Strength  of  the 
Stems  of  Cereals."'—VitmaouK :  **Onthe  Solid  Carbides  qf  Hydrogen 
obtained  &om  Coat:*— S.  M  Lvoa:  *' Analysis  of  Water  from  a 
Browse  Vase  discovered  at  Pompeii:* — M.  Pbbbbt  :  '*  An  Improved 
Wine  Fermenting  Vat.* —h.  Bbcbamp:  ^  On  Pa^ieur's  Memoir  on 
the  Oorpusclesqf  the  Silk  Worm  Disease.'*  *' Some  new  Facts  on  the 
present  Silk  Worm  Disease^  and  on  the  Kature  of  the  Vibrating 
Corpuscle.**— BM.BI  An  A  :^' On  the  Supposed  Reproduction  by  Fission 
of  the  Corpuscles  or  Psorosperms  of  the  Silk  Worm  Disease.**— E. 
OroN :  ^On  the  It\/tuenoe  (tf  CarbotUo  Acid  and  Oxygen  on  the 
Heart:* 

May  r,. 

T.  Obarait:  ^*  On  the  Occlusion  of  Hydrogen  Oas  by  Meteoric 
Iron*'— J  Fourmbt:  *'Onthe  Path  ^Storms  in  the  Department  of 
the  Rhone.**— F.  Dbsains  :  ^  ResearMss  on  the  Absorptive  Action  of 
Ether  and  Formic  Ether  and  their  Vapours  on  the  Heat  radiated 
from  a  Lamp  furnished  with  a  Glftss  Chimney.**— h.  Wurtz:  **  On 
the  Synthesis  qf  Methyl-AUyl.  *-C.  Mesr:  *'  An  Analysis  of  some 
OrystuUiseti  and  Amorphous  Oraphites.**—D.  dk  Luc  a  :  **  Oti  the' Use 
of  Crystallised  Sulphate  of  Soda  for  restoring  the  Transpareiusy  of 
{he  domea.**  Hulot  :  ^  Onthe  Lse  of  Aluminium  Bronze  for  mak- 
ing the  lower  Die  of  Mtichines  for  Perforating  Postage  Stamps.**'^ 
H.  Dkvillb:  **  On  IluloVs  Improved  Hard  Solder^  formed  by  mixing 
Zine-afmtlgam  with  ordinary  St*lder.**  ^  On  the  Rapid  Oxidation 
of  Alloys  of  Lead  and  PltUnum  when  exposed  to  the  Air. *'-'&.  Du- 
oladz  '.  **Ona  Hydrate  qf  Bisulphide  qf  Carbon:* 

Junes. 
&  BEoqrBBicL:  ^I^otiee  of  the  AuihorU  Work  on  *  Light ^  its 
Causes  and  Slfscts:  **  -L.  Fastkub:  "  Two  Letters  to  Dumas  on  the 
S*lk  Worm  Disease.**- h.  Sbcohi:  *^  Reeum^  of  Observations  on  Sun 
Spots  for  the  first  Six  Months  qf  the  year  1866,"  "  On  the  reported 
Disappearance  of  'the  Crater  of  Linnaus  in  the  Moon.**—^.  Ciiau- 
tard:  "  Researches  on  the  Magn4tit<m  and  Diamagnetism  of  Oases.** 
— J.  Rosekthal:  '*  On  Phenomena^  observed  in  Cases  of  Poisoning 
by  Strychnine.**— hn  Ricqub  dk  Mumout  :*"  On  the  Use  of  Creostote 
in  the  Rearing  of  Silk  Worms.** 


PATENTS. 

Communleafced  by  Mr.  Yaughak,  F.  0.  S.,  Patent  Agent,  54,  ChBnoery 
Lane,  W.  C. 

OBAllTS  OF  PROVISIONAL  PROTECTION  FOR  BIX 
M0NTH3. 

zaia.  E.  Gneoln,  Henrietta  Street,  C-orent  Oarden,  Middlesex, 
■*  ImprovemeniB  in  the  preparation  and  application  of  mustard  for  car- 
ative  itarposes.**  A  conuntinicatlon  Arom  P.  KlgoUot,  Paris.— Petition 
recorded  April  a6,  1867. 

1549.  G.  Sanderson,  Worksop,  NottlngliamBhire,  "  Improvements  in 
the  manufacture  or  melting  of  cast  steeL^'— May  34,  1S67. 

i<83.  W.  Mitchell,  Northwold,  near  Brandon,  Norfolk,  **  An  improved 
food  for  sheep  and  other  animals.*  —May  2&y  1867. 

z6a8.    A.  O.  SchaeflTer,  Gloucester-street,  Newcastle-on-tyne,   **Im- 

Srovements  hi  obtaining  increoaed  light  in  the  combination  of  lllnmlnat- 
ig  matters."— June  1,  1867. 

1635.  W.  H.  liichardson,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  "  Certain  improvements  In 
the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel,  and  in  the  means  or  apparatus  for 
effecting  the  same.*' — June  3,  1867, 

1646.  E.  Meldrum,  Bathgate,  Linlithgow,  N.B.,  ^  Improvements  in 
the  parilication  of  parafDne.*'— June  4,  1867. 

1655.    Q.  White,  Queen  Street,  Cheapside,  London,  "^  Improvements 


in  the  manufacture  of  hydrate  and  carbonates  of  soda.**— A  commnid- 
cation  from  F.  Blall,  Turlo,  Ita^.^-June  5,  1867. 

NOTICES  TO  PROCEED. 

Z2K.  J.  Wright,  and  T.  Cobley,  Copthall  Court,  Throgmorton-«treet, 
London,  **  Improvements  in  the  treatment  of  ores  of  lead  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  salts  and  colours  of  the  same.** 

337.  J.  Graham,  Manchester  Road,  Warrington,  Lancashire,  ^*lBa- 
pvovements  in  the  manufacture  of  spelter  from  sine  ashes  and  refkMea, 
obtained  when  coating  iron  with  iin&"— Petition  recorded,  Vebroacy 
6,  1867. 

344.  G.  E.  Pain.  High-street,  Camden  Town,  and  O.  Gorry,  Dean- 
stretrt,  Soho,  Middlesex,  *"  Improvements  in  the  preparation  of  oils  tor 
laminating,  lubricating,  and  oUier  purposes  for  which  they  may  be  ap- 
plicable.**   February  7,  1867. 

z^ia.  A.  A.  Bonneville,  Rue  du  Mont  Thabor,  Paris,  "An  improved 
washing  powder.**  A  communication  f^m  L.  Lacilm,  and  B.  A.  Oayot^ 
Aubin,  France.— Petition  recorded  May  13,  1867. 

GRANTS  OF  PROVISIONAL  PROTECTION  FOR  SIX 
MONTHa 

14 z a.  H.  A.  Bonneville,  Rue  du  Mont  Thsbor,  Paris,  **  An  impror«d 
washing  powder.**  A  Communication  from  L.  Lacalm,  and  B.  A.  GajoC, 
Aubin,  France^ — PetUlon  recorded  May  13, 1867. 

1617.  F.  W.  Dolman,  Jermvn-street,  St  James*s,  Middlesex,  **  A  new 
or  improved  method  for  obtaining  an  essential  oil  applicable  as  a  cur- 
ative agent  or  medicine,  in  the  treatment  of  inflammatory  Joint  diseases, 
rheumatism,  sprains,  bruises,  and  ^milor  ailments.**  A  communication 
tnm  L.  Jamieson,  Bnxar,  Bengal,  India. — May  31,  1867. 

i7za.  J.  Graham.  Banfonl,  Gilford,  Down,  Ireland,  **An  Unprored 
mixture  or  composition  for  bleaching  vegetabte  fibres.** 

X7IX.  H.  Fletcher,  Old  Ilall-^treet,  Uverijool,  *'  Improrements  In  the 
manufacture  ofartiUcial  fuel.**— June  11,  1867. 

1738.  A.  M.  Clark,  Chancery  Lane,  "  Improvements  In  the  manufiae- 
inre  and  treatment  of  white  lead,  and  in  apparatus  connected  there- 
with.*'—A  communication  tnm  R.  G.  Hatfield,  New  Toilc,  U.  S.  A.— 
June  12,  1867. 

1747.  J.  Onions,  Devon  Place,  Newport,  Monmouth,  ^Tmprovemeats 
in  the  manufacture  of  steeL" 

1748.  G.  M*Kenzie,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  "  Improvements  In  the  mana- 
facture  of  illumlnathig  sas.**— June  15, 1867. 

1803.  H.  K.  York,  Cardiff;  *'  Improvements  In  the  manof^Miare  of 
steeL  — June  20. 1867. 

1819.  G.  Dickie,  Kilwinning,  Ayrshire,  N.B.,  "Improrements  In  the 
manufacture  of  illuminating  gas.*' — June  at,  1867. 

1836W  J.  K.  Field,  Upper  Marsh,  Lambeth,  Surrey,  "  ImprovemeuU 
in  the  manufacture  of  candles.**— June  34,  1867. 

1845.    J.  Webster.  Birmini^iam,  **  A  new  metallic  sine  paint." 

1846     J.  Crow,  West  Ham,  Essex,  **  improvements  In  the  mi 
ture  of  Illunilnatinsr  gas  from  gaa  tar  oil.  or  from  gas  tar."* 

z85a  L.  Brunettl,  Rovigno,"*An  Improved  process  of  embmlnlns 
and  preserving  animal  substances  firom  decay,  for  anatomical  puixKisea.** 
—June  25,  1867. 

1886.  C.  O.  Heyl,  Berlin,  "  An  improved  method  of,  and  apparatus 
for,  making  sulphuret  of  carbon.** 

1888.  J.  C.  Sellers,  Bh-krahead,  Cheshire,  '*  Improvements  In  the 
utilisation  of  a  certain  waste  material  obtidued  in  ihe  manufacture  of 
hydrocarbon  liquids.**— June  28,  z867. 

1900.  A.  M.  Fell,  West  Calder,  Midlothian,  N.B.,  "  Improvements  In 
purifying  or  preservative  compounds  to  be  applied  to  the  fleeoes  or 
skins  of  sheep  and  oUier  animals." 

1905.  W.  H.  Richardson,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  **  A  certain  Improved  mode 
of  manufacturing  iron  and  steeL** — June  so,  1867. 

iQSa  A.  Ifi.  Ilerrmanu,  Mincing  Lane,  London,  **  An  Improved  hibtl- 
catlng  compound.**  A  communication  from  H.  WaltJen,  BremttL< — 
July  3,  X867. 

aoo6.  G.  Gabillon,  Hue  Joquelet,  Paris,  "  A  process  to  prepare  and 
preserve  paper  and  tissues  with  a  solution  of  ^r-chloride  of  iron.  In- 
tended for  stopi>ing  the  bleeding  of  wounds.'*— July  9, 1867. 

ao34.  J.  11.  Johnson,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  Middlesex,  **  ImproTe- 
ments  In  the  manufncture  of  refined  sugar.'*  A  communication  front 
E.  P.  Bastwick,  Baltimore,  Md.,  U.  8.  A.-4ulv  n,  1867. 

ao46.  .J.  Hargreaves,  Appleton-within- W  Idpes,  Lancashire,  **Imr 
provements  In  the  manulacture  of  isteel  and  soft  iron  trorn  cast  iron." 

205c  A.  E.  Herrmann,  Mincing  Lane,  London,  ^.\n  improved  eesn- 
pound  to  be  used  for  igniting  fires.**  A  communication  from  H.  Wnltr 
jen,  Bremen.-nJu'y  12,  1867. 

2 100.  J.  H.  Johnson,  Lmcoin*s  Inn  Fields,  Middlesex,  **  ImproTO- 
ments  In  the  treatment  and  purification  of  oils.'*  A  comnmnloatkin 
fh>m  F.  Asseiin,  Paris,  France.«nJnly  17, 1867. 


NOTES  AND  QUCRIBS. 

Stearic  Add  in  Paraffin.— Slr^—Lt  there  a  test  for  the  presence  of 
stearic  acid  In  paraffin  ?— X. 

Oxidation  qf  Xn^Zine.- Sir,— I  should  feel  obliged  to  any  of  ytmr 
readers  who  would  rive  me  the  name  and  formula  for  the  crystals  re* 
suiting  fh>m  the  acuon  of  bichromate  of  potash  on  an  add  solution  of 
sulphate  of  aniline.— Ox 2H7N. 

Wires  for  Micrometers.— 9At^— It  any  of  your  Ingeniom  readers  can 
suggest  anything  which  can  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  micrometer 
wires  for  the  mlcroeeope,  they  will  confer  a  favour  on  the  onderslpied. 
At  present  spider  threads,  fine  platloum  wire,  and  diamond  marks  on 
glass  are  used,  but  they  are  all  open  to  objections.— O.  KAnsso'iTon. 

nitrogen,— &Xi-l  require  absolutely  pore  nitrogen  gas  for  aoofee 


CaiMioAL  News,  ) 
OeL,  1867.       ) 


Notes  and  Queines. 


211 


experiments.  I  have  Institated  a  few  triab  of  different  methods  which 
appear  likely  to  be  sncceesfbl,  bat  it  has  occurred  to  me  that,  perhaps, 
a  few  lines  from  one  of  your  correspondents  may  save  me  the  trouble 
of  ftirther  Inrestigation.    I  may  state  that  the  pnrpoee  for  which  I  re- 

2 aire  the  nitrogen  makes  me  anxious  not  to  prepare  it  iW>m  air.    I8 
here  any  way  of  liberating  it  fh>m  a  solution  or  mixture  so  that  the 
amount  and  Telocfty  of  the  supply  may  be  varied  at  wUl?— Theta. 

Ifardemina  SUeL — Sir,— It  has  recently  been  mentioned  that  flle> 
makers  at  Sheffield  prefer,  for  hardening  their  steel  goods,  water  that 
has  been  for  a  long  time  tn  use.  They  say  **  old  water  hardens  much 
better  than  new  water;  ^  and  amongst  the  acts  occasionally  indulged  In 
by  workmen  against  their  employers,  that  of  making  a  hole  In  the  hard- 
ening tank  and  letting  the  water  run  away,  is  considered  to  inflict  injury 
for  some  considerable  time.  Is  there  any  foundation  for  this  opinion  ?— 
A  SoxmsLO  Blaj>b. 

Cammereial  TuUriff  of  Aniline  Oolour§.—Slr,-^ThB  ordinary 
method  of  determining  the  ralue  of  these  colours,  viz  ,  dyeing  swatches 
of  equal  weight  and  of  equal  quantities  of  the  various  samples  In  ques- 
tion. Is  quite  satisfactory  for  reds, and  blues,  but  fails  completely  for 
purples,  violets,  and  all  intermediate  shades.  The  reason  Is  that  these 
colours,  instead  of  being  homogeneous,  are  now  frequently  made  by 
mixing  an  ordinary  **  magenta*^  with  blsu  de  Lyons  in  the  required 
prc^portions,  or,  in  other  cases,  by  adding  to  a  violet  or  purple  colour  a 
little  magenta  or  aidline  blue,  to  alter  the  shade  according  to  wish. 
Now,  a  mixed  colour  of  this  khid  may  dye  a  swatch  in  the  most  satis- 
factory manner,  but  when  need  In  the  large  scale  the  goods  first  put  into 
the  pan  and  those  entered  last  will  have  quite  different  shades,  owing  to 
the  nnequal  affinities  of  the  colours  for  the  fibre,  and  to  their  dlffei-ent 
behavtour  with  the  other  substances  present  The  method  which  I  em- 
ploy to  determine  whether  an  aniline  violet  Is  homogeneous  or  a  mere 
mixture.  Is  the  successive  operation  of  different  solvents.  Thus  a  sam- 
ple of  this  nature  was  treated  witii  hut  water  and  filtered.  The  filtrate 
exactly  resembled  a  solution  of  common  magenta  in  hot  water,  and  gave 
a  worsted  the  colour  which  such  a  solution  would  produce.  The  residue, 
insoluble  in  water,  was  then  dissolved  In  alcohol,  and  was  found  to  be 
an  ordinary  aniline  blue.  If  a  mixed  colour  is  dissolved  In  spirit  and 
^Qhited  with  water,  a  drop  of  the  liquid  let  fall  upon  white  blotting  pa- 
per will  exhibit  concentric  rings  of  colours— W. 

Stearic  Add  in  i^rf(^»w— Sir,— In  reply  to  your  correspondent 
"  X'*"  query  in  last  week's  Cukmioal  Nbwb  (Amer.  Reprint  for  Octo- 
ber, 1867X  I  can  recommend  him  to  try  Wagner^s  test.  Dissolve  the 
BQ^>ected  paraffin  in  boiling  alcohol,  and  add  to  It  an  alcoholic  solution 
of  aeetrate  of  lead.  If  stearic  acid  be  present  a  white  preclpitttte  will 
Sail  of  stearate  of  lead,  but  if  the  paraffin  be  pare  no  precipitation  will 
take  place.  I  can  speak  from  experience  as  to  the  value  of  this  pro- 
cess.— ^B.  lIOFnc  AV. 

Wlr^fnr  Jnerometira.—Slr,—!  think  perhaps  the  best  thing  your 
correspondent,  **  0.  Kamsbottom,"  can  use  fur  the  above  purpose  Is 
asbestos.  This  was  suggested  many  years  ago  by  Professor  W  allace, 
who  states  that  fibres  of  this  substance  of  the  i-joooth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  give  a  line  beautir>illy  even  under  the  microscope  and  of  con- 
slderab'e  capacity;  the  subdivision  of  the  substance  can  be  cariied  to 
almost  any  degree  of  minuteness.— J.  S.  S. 

ytirogw^  Preparation  (j/:— Sir,— '^TheU"*  will  probably  find  the 
following  plan  answer  his  purpose :— Half  fill  a  tubulated  retort  with  dry 
nitrate  of  ammonia.  By  means  of  a  wire  pnsdng  stiffly  through  a  cork 
in  the  tubolus  suspend  a  piece  of  zinc  so  that  It  can  be  moved  up  and 
down  at  wUl.  Fuse  the  nitntte  of  ammonia  by  heat,  and  then  push  the 
zinc  down  into  it  Nitrogen  and.  ammonU  will  be  evolved,  and  the 
Litter  can  be  absorbed  bv  collecting  over  water  or  by  passing  through 
WouUTs  bottles  eontalnlng  water  and  dilute  acid.  By  accosting  the 
heUeht  of  the  zinc  and  the  temperature  of  the  salt  the  ^engagement  of 
gas  may  be  varied  as  desired. — 3.  Fktbkso.m. 

Picric  ilcicf .— t*ir,— Out  of  the  many  works  on  chemlstiy  that  I  have, 
besides  ibe  last  seven  volumes  of  the  Ciikiiioal  Nkws,  I  have  not  In 
them  ail  a  good  process  for  making  picric  acid.  All  the  processes  that 
one  reads  are  thus :— Picric  acid  is  formed  by  acting  on  carbolic  add 
with  nitric  acid,  assisted  by  a  llttie  heat  Now,  what  I  wsnt  to  know  Is, 
the  proportions  uf  carbolic  acid  and  nitric  acid,  and  the  strength  of  the 
nitric  acid,  and  the  degree  of  heat  and  the  length  of  heat,  anil  the 
length  of  time  that  it  has  to  be  heated ;  or,  in  other  words,  a  good  pro- 
cess for  making  It  If  you  can  give  me  the  above  Information  through 
the  Nkws,  I  shall  feel  extremely  obliged.— S.  R. 

NUrogen,  Ptfparation  of.— A.  correspondent  informs  ns,  in  answer  to 
the  qaery  on  this  subject,  wiat  the  best  wsy  to  prepare  nitrogen  is  to 
react  on  dilute  ammonia  with  bromine.  The  ammonia  is  to  be  put  Into 
a  tabulated  retort,  or  WonUTs  bottle,  and  the  bromine  poured  in  through 
a  ftannel-tube  reaching  to  the  bottom.  Nitrogen  comes  off  fireely,  and 
may  be  collected  over  water.  No  bromide  of  nitrogen  Is  formed.  The 
product  I-t  bromide  of  ammonium. 

OxaUiie  of  Ctriwtn—SiUtide  of  Aluminium  — Sir,— <3ould  any  of 
yoor  correspondents  inform  me  what  remains  on  igniting  the  oxalate  of 
cerium,  and  how  to  obtain  slllcide  of  aluminium  ?—G.  It.  N.  P. 

A  SpeeUic  Oravitj/  iVo&Jemw— Sir,— Might  I,  through  your  valuable 
column  of  Notes  and  Queries,  ask  assistance  in  the  following  case:— In 
examining  some  meteoric  iron  I  found  its  sp.  gr.  (using  «o  grains)  to 
l>e  6'x,  but  as  this  iron  was  intimately  mixed  with  olivine,  I  afterwards 
dissolved  out  the  iron  in  acid,  and  found  that  ao  grains  olivine  were 
left  behind,  which  had  the  specific  gravity  of  3*2.  Now,  how  can  I  cal- 
culate the  true  specific  gravity  of  the  30  grains  Iron  actually  present? 
I  have  no  doubt  that  some  of  your  ocnrrespondents  can  help  me  in  this 
dilemma.  vi^tpof. 

Bone  Boiling. — Oan  any  of  your  readers  tell  me  how  to  destroy  the 
smell  arising  (h>m  bone  boiling  ?  or,  can  they  Inform  me  how  to  utiUxe 
■be,  the  result  of  steaming  bones  *  It  is  unfit  for  any  stiffening  pro- 
cess.   If  used  In  artificial  manuroi  how  can  It  best  be  appropriated  f— 

OMw 


yaphiha,  ya<^9a  (No.  399). -This  word,  in  the  original  Chaldee,  signifies 
stiUare.,  to  ooze  or  drop ;  the  true  naphtha  has  been  found  ftrom  the 
most  remote  ages  exuding  out  of  the  earth  In  several  places  in  Chaldssa. 
Que  of  the  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel  were  the  Naphthali  (Nephtha- 
lim.  Rev.  vii.  6),  Inhabltiiig  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  No  doubt 
the  name  of  the  people  was  derived  from  their  country  produdng  naph- 
tha.- -SxPTiMUS  PixasR,  Ph.  D. 

Specific  Gra/elty  /Voft^em.— Sir,— Tour  correspondent  will  find  the 
specific  gravity  problem  solved  In  the  fuUowIng  lines :— Weight  of  me- 
teoric stone  in  water : 

=  5o-(so-f-6'x)=4i*8 
Weight  of  OUvhie  in  Water 

=  ao-(ao^3-a)= 13-75. 
Subtracting  we  obtain  the  weight  in  water  corresponding  to  the  30 
gndns  of  dissolved  matter  28*05. 
Sp.  gr.  of  matter  dissolved  out 

=30^ (30- a8o5)=  15-384.  «  ,   „  « 

F.  J.  R.  0. 
Specific  Qravtty  Av>N«it.— Sir,- The  following  formula  will,  pep- 
haps,  answer  the  pnrpose  of  Sideros  .*— Let  A,  B.,  G. ;  a.,  b.,  c.  repre- 
sent the  weights  (In  any  given  unit)  and  specific  gravities  of  the  com- 
pound and  Its  two  components  respectively.  Then  assuming  the  vol- 
ume of  unit  of  weight  of  water  as  the  unit  of  cubic  contents,  we  have : 

The  cubic  content  of  x  unit  of  weight  of  compound  body  x 


a 

B 

•  B 

="b' 

0 

0 

0 

CAB 

Ab-aB 

c      a       b 

ab 

a.b.0 

.-.  c=.\.  b-a,B 

In  the  present  case  the  sp.  gr.  would  be 

3*2  X  6-1x30  575*6 

=  r=  X5-I458. 

(3-ax5o)-(6-ix3o)      3^ 

LL0T9. 

Speefjlc  Gravity  iVoJZem.— Sir,— Tour  correspondent  Sideroe  gives 
a  most  singular  problem.  EiUier  It  must  bo  ouly  a  hoax  or  else  there  Is 
some  radical  error  In  his  observationa  If  Instead  of  giving  respecUvelv 
the  sp.  gr.  of  the  original  subsUnce  and  the  remahilng  olivine,  he  had 
simply  quoted  their  weight  in  water.  It  would  have  saved  great  trouble. 
But  notwithstanding  the  difficulty  thus  put  into  the  question.  I  answer 
It  accordkig  to  his  proposlt'on,  and  the  results  induce  me  to  beUeve  In 
my  first  assertion,  because  h-on  of  such  a  sp.  gr.  is  preposterou-*.  But 
here  Is  my  calculation,  minus  the  method  of  finding  the  sUtements, 
wUch  he  omitted  :— 

Weight  of  the  hron  and  oUvhie  in  air  rorlginal  subst.) 50  grs. 

"         «    "      •*  "       "water 8-1968 

Weight  of  water  equal  hi  balk  to  Iron  and  olivine 4«'8o3a 

Weight  of  olivine  hi  air 20  grs. 

"  "       *♦  water 6'34969 

Weight  of  water  equal  hi  bulk  to  oUvhie «37503i 

Weight  of  water  equal  hi  bulk  to  Iron  and  olivine 41  'S032 

»»      a      M       a      li      •«    u  oUvine i37S03« 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  iron 2805289 

Weight  of  iron  In  air 30 .    _^_g_  _  „#  th« 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  Iron   28-0528  "'  «o5«>-8p.  gr.  01  uie 
iron  accordhig  to  Sideroe  proposition.— C.  H.  P. 

Manufacture  qfSine. — Oan  any  of  your  readers  Inform  me  how  to 
manufacture  stee  used  for  sizing  woollen  warps,  or  if  there  b  a  treatise 
on  it  In  any  chemical  work  ?— J.  Mono  a  k. 

Picric  .4oW.— Sir,— I  can  give  your  correspondent  "8.  R."  all  the 
particulars  he  wants  concemlnsc  the  manufacture  of  picric  add.  Tou 
can  give  him  my  name  and  address,  If,  at  the  same  time,  I  have 
hia— B.Sa 

Platinufn  ilfetoC— Sir,— On  dlssolvhig  some  waste  shreds  of  platinum 
I  found  that  a  small  quantity  was  Insoluble.  It  was  in  fine  powder  with 
perfect  metallic  lustre.  Oan  any  of  your  correspondents  kindly  Inform 
me  what  it  to  likely  to  be?— C.  R.  N.  B. 

Preservation  </  Oy«tefe.— Sir,—  If  any  brother  reader  of  the  CnRMi- 
CAL  Nkws  will  Inrorm  me  of  a  convenient  way  to  preserve  fine  crj'stals, 
or  efflorescent  substances,  and  salts  which  diange  on  exposure  to  the 
air,  he  will  confer  a  favour  on  — CASftio. 

Tannate  qf  Alwnina.r^ir^~-lB  tannate  of  alundna  formed  by  adding 


212 


Anawers  to  Correspondents. 


ECbbmxcai.  Nnra, 
Ocl,18OT..tf 


gnll  liquor  to  acetate  of  alumina,  settling  and  filtering?  If  yonr  corre- 
•pondent  **  EflVa  "  wants  It  for  the  aniline  colours,  he  will  find  It  to  glre 
a  good  lake  by  adding  the  colouring  matter  to  the  acet.  alumina  and 
pre-ipltatlng  with  galls.— C.  A.  ^,       .^  .  v 

Dyeing  .Btoc*.— fflr,— WIU  you  kindly  solve  me  a  problem  that  has 
troubled  me  long?  Among  other  things  I  manufacture  inks,  and  I 
always  Bnd  black  Ink  setUe  a  good  deal  after  standing  3  or  4  weeks, 
in  fact,  tin  It  Is  almost  clear.  One  purpose  for  which  I  use  It  Is  for  Ink- 
ing  cloth,  and  I  require  It  to  have  a  thlcklsh  body,  but  not  to  appear 
glossy,  as  when  gum  is  put  on,  and  also  to  dye  cotton  In  the  cloth  and 
appear  of  a  good  blue  colour.  This  is  my  formula :— Bruised  galls,  aolbs. ; 
chip  logwood,  lolbe.;  aqua,  33  galls.;  boil  7  hours,  strain  and  add  cop- 

Eeras,  4  ois.  to  the  gallon.  Do  I  put  too  much  iron,  or  too  little,  or  what 
it  that  causes  it  to  settle  ?  Could  you  either  give  me  a  better  formula, 
or  tell  me  how  to  improve  mine  so  as  to  be  of  a  middling  thickness  and 
a  bluish  colour?  If  you  will,  I  shall  ever  be  thankful  to  you  for  so 
doing. —B1CHROM8. 

Prev&nUan  of  Dry  i?o&— Sb-,— As  an  architect  I  have  felt  rery  much 
interested  in  the  statement  made  by  Mr.  G.  Lunre  in  yonr  paper  of  the 
2iBt  June  (Amer.  Reprint  for  Au^nist,  1867,  p.  qt),  as  to  the  use  of  tank 
waste  for  the  prevention  of  dry  rot,  and  should  much  like  to  give  it  a 
trial  But  I  do  not  quite  understand  fh>m  Mr.  Lunge's  letter  as  to 
whether  the  waste  Is  to  be  in  direct  contact  with  the  timber,  or  whether 
it  is  to  be  spread  on  the  ground  ttnder  it.  I  should  b«  glad,  also,  to 
learn  how  the  waste  Is  to  be  obtained.  He  would,  perhaps,  kindly  point 
out  one  or  more  alkali  works  at  the  east  end  or  other  parts  of  London. 

ITI     If     T 

Spaeijlc  OramJ^  i¥o6/«».— Sir,— Tour  correspondent  "  0.  H.  P." 
before  writing  of  the  "  radical  errors »'  in  the  observations  of  othera, 
shonld  be  carefUl  to  be  accurate  in  his  own  communications.  He  has 
evidently  very  conftised  ideas  as  to  the  relations  between  the  weight  of 
water  equal  in  bulk  to  the  weight  in  water  of,  and  specific  gravitv  of,  a 
BQbstance.  I  think  the  subjoined  is  a  somewhat  simpler  sohitlon  of 
the  problem  In  question  than  those  of  *'F.  J.  R.  O."*  and  ''Lloyd,"  the 
discrepancy  between  the  three  results  being  due  to  the  difference  in 
the  number  of  decimal  places  used,  and  to  error  In  ''Lloyd's'*  calcula- 
tion. 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  compound=5o-t-6'i =8*1968 
Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  olivine=  20  -r  3'a=6'3496 
Subtracting  we  obtahs-- 

Weight  of  water  equal  in  bulk  to  iron= 1*9472 
Spedflc   gravity  of  iron=3o-f-x"947a=iS4o6 
As  this  Is  about  double  the  true  sp.  gr.  of  iron,  I  assume  that  Sideraa 
has,  for  the  sake  of  simplicity,  given  a  supposititious  example. 

Hkkrt  MATniKws,  F.C.B. 

fSpteiJlc  Cfraviiy  iVoft^ewi.— Sir,— The  different  solutions  of  the  above 
problem  must  have  puzzled  8idero»  almosi  as  much  as  the  problem 
tsclf.  In  that  furnished  bv  ^C.  H.  P."  "  there  Is  some  radical  error," 
he  having  mistaken  the  weight  of  an  equal  bulk  of  water  for  that  of  the 
body  hi  water,  as  will  appear  on  comparing  his  calculation  with  that  of 
*"  F.  J.  K.  C'  The  discrepancy  between  *'  F.  J.  R.  G.'s"  result  and  my 
own  is  caused  by  his  disregard  of  decimals  beyond  the  ist  or  2nd  place, 
the  remarks  with  which  "C.  H.  P.*'  was  pleased  to  preface  his  solution 
ore,  as  It  happens,  quite  apropos^  for  15' 1458  Is  an  even  more  prepos- 
terous specific  gravity  than  the  one  which  he  gives.  I  should  imagino 
that  SidtroB"  specimen  of  meteoric  Iron  was  composed  of  about  ro  grains 
of  olivine  and  40  of  pure  iron,  as  those  numbers  will  give  a  more  noiirly 
correct  specific  gravity  (7*87)  for  the  iron.— Llotd. 

Specific  Gramty  Proldem.^S\T^ — Only  this  moment  returned  ftom 
the  Continent,  I  have  not  seen  either  of  your  two  last  numbeis  before 
to-day,  and  hasten  to  correct  a  mistake,  doubtless  of  my  own.  The  sp. 
gr.  of  the  meteoric  iron  should  have  been  stated  at  4*9,  not  6'i.  For  tUs 
I  must  apologise.— Si  DRBOfi. 

Naphtha. — Sir,— The  emphatic  "  no  doubt "  of  your  correspondent  who 
repfies  to  the  query  put  In  No.  309,  Is  somewhat  amusing. .  The  same 
1  dea  had  lurked  in  my  mind  for  a  long  time,  but  I  found  It  wouldn't  fit. 
I  can't  quote  Chaldalc,  but  we  are  most  distinctly  told  that  naphtali  {not 
naphthali)  means  '*  my  wrestling"  (Gen.  xxx.  8).  This  son  of  Jacob 
was  bom  at  least  350  miles  from  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  It  is  certainly 
something  new  In  Scripture  histoiy  to  be  told  that  the  tribe  inhabited 
its  shores,  when  it  isqidte  well  known  their  Inheritance  was  much  further 
distant  than  even  this,  viz.,  north  an'1  west  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee !  (See 
Joshua  xix.  32-39)-  I  venture  to  suggest  that  between  the  words  naph- 
tha and  napthali  there  Is  no  cunnectlon  whatever. — W.  BaiGoa,  Naphtha 
I>lstiller. 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 


Ptiarmacefu.tUi.—TYie  substance  Is  Incorrectly  described  as  cryttal- 
lUed.    It  Is  a  scaled  preparation,  to  which  that  term  is  inapplicable. 

M.  Jfietfer.— The  mineral  kindly  forwarded  by  our  oorre^ondent  un- 
fortunately contains  no  trace  of  thallium. 

J.  W. — Add  shellac  to  the  solution  of  hidia  rubber  in  naphtha— that 
will  confer  on  it  the  desired  property. 

A  Cotttftant  Reader. — From  what  we  can  gather  fW>m  your  long  and 
involved  statement,'you  have  n<it  been  careful  enough  to  remove  flree 
mineral  acids  firom  your  solution.  This  has  prevented  tlie  complete 
precipitation  of  the  phosphate,  and  some  having  consequently  passed 
through,  has  complicated  the  subsequent  reactions.  You  can  eadly  test 
the  correctness  of  your  supposition  by  trying  whether  the  precipitate 
which  ought  to  be  yttrla  contains  phosphoric  acid. 

Beta.^The  alkaline  stearates  are  very  slightly  soluble  in  water. 

J.  MoMtceU. — Use  a  bath  of  Un,  to  which  bismuth  has  been  added, 
until  its  melting  point  is  reduced  to  about  439F,  cover  the  bath  with 


paraffin  to  prevent  oxidation  (powdered  charcoal  is  of  no  use),  aad 
watch  the  indications  of  a  thermometer  immersed  In  the  melted  metal. 

Laputa.—K  mixture  of  tallow  and  black  lead  is  very  effectual  ss  s 
lubricant  for  gas  taps  and  metallic  rubbing  surfaces  In  general. 

J.  •TeZiict.— Leaf-gold  is  generally  about  1-250,00001  of  an  Inch  la 
thickness. 

C.  Charles.— WaXer  your  gravel  walk  with  a  solution  of  sulphate  of 
fron,  this  will  In  all  probabiitty  Improve  Its  colour. 

4^ra.— Tannate  of  alumina  may  be  prepared  by  grindlDg  together  In 
a  mortar  equal  equivalents  of  fieshly  precipitated  ahunlna  and  tanok 
add^   Waan  and  dry  spontaneously. 

S,  Y.  G.—Ihe  best  thing  to  remove  pease  stains  firom  suk  Is  emer. 
If  you  use  methylated  the  expense  wllfbe  trifling.  '  

^.  J.— The  patent  was  taken  out  on  March  2,  1863.    Bee  the  Chim- 

iCAi  Nmws  for  July  26,  1862,  p.  ss-         .,  ^     .^.   «,  ^  _^. 

Jl  ^06.— Permanganic  add  Is  volatile,  and  may  be  disOUed  vidi 
caution,  but  the  operation  Is  not  unattended  with  danger,  as  ttsoae- 
times  explodes.  ^ 

A  Reader  from  the  JlrgL— The  crystals  have  been  examined  aad 
prove  to  be  acetate  of  morphia.  The-  quantity  you  .name  Is  a  highlj 
dangerous  dose. 

a  Porter.— The  best  enamel  to  use  is  boro-sUicate  of  soda.  Tbk  b 
not  attacked  by  ^dnegar,  salt,  or  other  Ingredients  used  in  cooking.  The 
silicate  of  lead,  which  Is  sometimes  used  as  an  enamel,  gives  up  Its  lesd 
to  many  liquids.  It  should  therefore  be  careftilly  avoided  In  manoteo- 
turlng  utensils  for  the  kitchen. 

JrWsf.— Constant  white  Is  the  trade  name  for  sulphate  of  baryta. 

Engineer  suggests  that  some  boiler  explosions  may  be  caused  by  the 
annular  disdiarge  of  steam,  sometimes  attracting  the  safety  valves  to 
their  seats,  and  thus  obstructing  the  escape ;  In  the  same  way  that  s 
strong  blast  of  air  discharged  from  a  pipe  within  a  short  distance  of  s 
fiat  surface,  will  not  repel,  but  will  attract  any  object  placed  to  the 
Intervening  space. 

jp'.  //.—The  vapour  of  bisulphide  of  carbon,  constantly  inhaled,  Is  ssid 
to  produce  temporary  insanity  amongst  workmen 

Aiif.,  U.S.A.— The  metal  erbium  certainly  seems  to  be  an  dementaiy 
body,  and  not  a  mixture  of  yttrium  and  didymlum.  Few  chemists  hen 
worked  on  the  subject,  owing  to  the  rarity  of  the  minerals  coatalning 
these  earthy  bases. 

Quateiior  a^ks  where  stoneware  vessels  capable  of  holding  1,000  gal- 
lons can  be  bad  of  the  be«t  quality,  capable  of  resisting  ihe  aclloa  of 
strong  commercial  hydrochloric  acid  at  aoo  to  300F.  He  cannot  do 
better  than  apply  to  Messrs.  Cliff  and  Co. 

Books  Received,  **  Rei^rt  on  the  Sanitary  Condition  of  the  Qtjot 
London,"  by  H.  Letheby,  M.B. 

"  On  the  Laws  of  Connection  between  the  ConditiODS  of  a  Chendcal 
Change  and  Its  Amount,"  by  A.  Vernon  Harcourt,  M.A.,  and  W.  £sioo, 
M.A. 

"  Abridgments  of  Specifications  relating  to  Plating  or  Coating  Metals 
with  Metals." 

Ditto  "  Relative  to  Photography." 

"  On  some  Pohits  of  Chemical  Nomenclature,"  by  A.  Yemen  Bar* 
coui-t,  M  A. 

"  On  the  Practice  of  Empk>v|ng  certain  Substitutes  for  the  GemilM 
Ingredients  in  some  Articles  of  Dally  Food,"  by  a  Ladt. 

Oommunications  have  been  received  ftx>m  J.  Carter  Bell  (with  en- 
closure) ;  William  Skey,  ditto ;  II.  S.  BetheU ;  F.  MaxweU  Lyte;  the  AbM 
Molgno;  Professor  He'aton:  F.  Tomllnson;  J.  Heath  (with  eDdosare); 
W.  Edmonds;  Rev.  B.  W.  Glbsone  (with  endoaure) ;  H.  Watts,  F.R.5>; 
A.  P.  UurUit(»ne;  F.  Foord  (with  enclosure);  G.  Marzison;  Tasmania 

J  with  enclosure) ;  F.  Day ;  C.  Tomllnson,  F.R.S. ;  F.  Avefino  Aramayo; 
}.R.  A.  Wright;  J.  Sutherland  (with  enclosure);  James  Camithen; 
James  Owen;  May  and  liaker;  Professor  G.  C.  Foster;  J.  Spliler;  J. 
W.  Slatter  (with  enclosure) :  Messrs.  Townsend  and  Adama,  New  Yofk 
(with  enclosure);  W.  W.  Kennv ;  J.  Henderoon,  jur.;  P.  Andefson; 
J.  A.  Lake  Gloag;  E.  C  <J.  Stanford;  John  Dods  (with  enclosure);  B. 
F.  Bright:  E.  Brembridge;  Beujamin  Wheder;  G.  W.  WIgoer;  John 
Lundy  (with  enclosure) ;  Townsend  and  Adam^  New  York ;  Dr.  E.Bdi- 
rlg  (with  enclosure);  L\  K.  A.  Wright,  B.  Sc;  Kaddiffe  and  Lsytcs 
(with  enclosure) ;  F.  MaxwdlLyte;  A.  Bird;  Dr.  Lum^e;  J.  C.  BeU; 
Dr.  E  A.  Cook  ;  F.  Ylkars;  J.  Dodd  (with  endosure):  M.  Farquama; 
S.  E.  Wood  (with  enclosure);  L.  Hughes;  Dr.  Anderson  (with  en- 
closure) ;  J.  1'aylor ;  G.  A,  Keyworth ;  K.  Scott ;  W.  Bailey ;  a  Robert- 
son (wltli  enclosure);  Professor  Church,  M.  A.;  C.  Tomflnson,  F.BS.; 
Harold  Thompson;  A  Jones;  E.  Maxwell,  United  States;  Professor T. 
Ilayter  Lewia ;  11.  Letheby,  M.B. ;  A.  Vernon  Harcourt,  M.A.  (with  en- 
closure); W.  Esson,  M..\. ;  W.  H.  Walenn  (with  encloauroi);  *•  '•  *• 
Carulla;  Dr.  Boscoe,  P.R.S.;  J.  Baxendell;  J.  Barchyr;  F.  O.  Ward; 
J.  A.  R.  Newlands ;  May  and  Baker  (with enclosures);  the  Abb«  Hoigno; 
A.  Herrmann  and  Co.;  J.  Foord  (with  enclosure) ;  J.  Landauer  (wltt 
enclosure) ;  A.  T.  Coimbro ;  W.  A.  Townsend  and  Adams ;  T.  A.  Eesd- 
wln  (with  enolo.sure);  K.  F.  Bussel;  J.  Smytlie  (with  enclosure);  Jt 
Clark ;  Qlinthus  Barry ;  G.  Farrer  Kodwell :  J.  Davics  (with  en- 
closure); C.  Stride ;  R.  C.  C.  LIpplncott ;  J.  Sutherland ;  P.  Clavd(«kh 
enclosure) ;  Mottenhead  and  Co.  (with  enclmure);  Dr.  8.  Maeadsm 
(with  enclosure) ;  R,  Graesser  (with  enclosure) ;  J.  Collins  (with  en- 
closure): B.  Beanes;  F.Swan;  M.  A.  Balnes  (with  enclosure) ;  B.W. 
Beams, BSc;  G.Davies;  R.  H.Clark  (with enclosure);  II.  HndksoD; 
W.  A.  Wood;  G.  Croome;  A.  Bird  (with  enclosure);  L.  Dourrieu;  SL 
Elliot;  J.  Ayihig;  A.  Hofteann;  B.  O.  Jones;  John  M.  Swfaslesd 
(with  enclosure) ;  J.  Schad  (with  enclosure);  a  Uttieton;  &  Highley; 
0.  U.  C.  Tichbome  (with  enclosure) ;  F.  J.  R.  Carulla  (with  endoswe); 
S.  W.  Moore  (with enclosure) ;  B.  James;  P.  J.  Butler;  D.Forbes.  F.K. 
S.  (with enclosure) ;  J.  Landauer;  Arthur  G.  Bowdler;  U.  li.  Marsdeo 
(with  enclosure) ;  L.  Power  (with  endoaure) ;  C.  Crump ;  B.  C.  C 
LIpplncott;  J.  Sleesor  (with  enclosure);  Dr.  C.  P.  Bahin;  W.  Briggs; 
James  Smith ;  John  K.  Irvine ;  Peter  Squire^ 


CnnncAL  Nrvri,  ) 


\  Blister  Steel —  Use  of  Potassic  Chlorate. 


213 


THE     CHEMICAL      NEWS. 
Vol.  I.  No.  5.     American  Reprint. 


ANALYSIS  OF  BLISTER  STEEL. 

BT  DAVn)  FORBES,  F.R.8.,  ETC. 

Vert  few  analyses  of  blister  steel  are  to  be  met  with 
in  any  of  the  treatises  on  metallurgy,  and  even  in  Dr. 
Percy's  recent  work  on  the  metallurgy  of  iron  and  steel, 
no  analysis  is  to  be  found  of  this  truly  national  product 
Under  these  circumstances  therefore,  the  following 
analysis  of  blister  steel  converted  in  Sheffield  from  bar- 
iron  of  Swedish  manufacture,  may  be  considered  as 
worthy  of  being  recorded. 

In  making  mis  analysis  the  portion  selected  for 
examination  was  obtained  in  a  sufficiently  divided  state 
by  chipping  off  the  bar  with  a  cold  chisel,  since  it  w^as 
found  that  no  reliance  could  be  placed  in  filings,  which 
even  if  produced  by  the  best  files  were  always  largely 
contaminated  bv  the  dd>ris  of  the  file  itself;  the  de- 
termination of  the  constituents  was  made  as  follows : — 


■Imatlon  of  tl^e  total  amonnt  of  Carbon— 

77-91  grains  of  the  steel  in  the  form  of  such  chippings, 
were  idlowed  to  remain  (about  ten  days)  in  a  cold  solu- 
tion of  200  grains  pure  chloride  of  copper,  untQ  no 
undissolved  steel  remained  behind  *  the  residue  was  then 
weQ  washed  by  decantation,  dned,  mixed  with  100 
grains  of  pure  oxide  of  copper,  and  burnt  in  a  current 
of  purified  dry  oxygen  gas,  at  a  heat  sufficient  to  soften 
the  Bohemian  glass  tube.  The  carbonic  acid  collected 
as  usual  in  a  potash  apparatus  amounted  to  2*08  grains, 
or  equivalent  to  0729  per  cent,  carbon  in  the  steeL 
'  netennliiattoii  of  tlie  Snlpbiir. — 107*58  grains  were 
placed  in  a  flask  provided  with  a  safety-mnncl,  and 
digested  (for  twenty-four  hours)  in  the  cold  with 
strong  hydrochloric  acid ;  the  gas  evolved  was  passed 
through  a  solution  of  pure  chloride  of  zinc  supersatu- 
rated with  ammonia ;  the  iron  being  all  dissolved,  the 
zinc  solution  was  boiled  wiih  nitric  acid  in  some 
excess,  nearly  neutralized  by  ammonia  to  prevent  any 
solvent  action  firom  excess  of  acid,  and  precipitated  by 
a  solution  of  pure  chloride  of  barium, — 0*04  grains 
sulphate  of  bary  tes  were  obtained,  equivalent  to  0*005 
per  cent  sulphur  in  the  steeL 

Determination  of  tbe  Silicon  and  nneomblned 
Carl»on. — The  solution  from  above  was  evaporated  in  a 
water-bath  to  dryness,  re-dissolved  in  water  with  some 
hydrochloric  acid,  and  filtered  from  the  insoluble  sihca 
and  graphite ;  these  latter  were  washed  off  the  filter  into 
a  silver  basin,  in  which  they  were  boiled  with  potash, 
which  dissolved  out  the  silica,  leaving  the  graphite, 
which  was  collected  on  a  filter,  washed,  dried,  carefiiUy 
scraped  off  filter,  and  afler  drying  at  250''  F.,  weighed 
0*11  grains,  equivalent  to  0*102  per  cent,  uncombined 
or  graphitic  carbon.  The  potash  solution  of  silica  was 
supersaturated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  evaporated  to 
dryness,  and  the  residue  treated  with  water  rendered 
acid  by  hydrochloric  acid.  The  silica  was  then  filtered 
off  and  determined  as  usual,  being  0*06  grains,  or 
equivalent  to  0*0304  per  cent,  silicon  in  the  dteel 

Determination  of  tlie  mianKanese*— The  acid  fil- 
trate, after  separating  the  graphite  and  silica  by  filtra- 
tion, was  now  nearly  neutralized  by  ammonia,  and  then 
treated  with  carbonate  of  barytes  in  excess,  filtered, 
and  the  filtrate  precipitated  by  sulphide  of  ammonium. 

Vol.  I.    No.  5.— Nov.,  1867.        15. 

[BngUah  Edition,  VoL 


the  sulphide  of  manganese  mixed  with  some  sulphate 
of  barytes  was  then  treated  with  weak  sulphuric  acid, 
filtered,  and  the  manganese  precipitated  by  carbonate 
of  soda  as  usual,  affording  0*18  grains  manganosoman- 
ganic  oxide,  or  equivalent  to  0*12  per  cent,  manganese 
in  the  steeL 

8ear«li  for  Plioaplioms. — 5275  grains  of  the  steel 
treated  precisely  according  to  Abel's  directions  (Chem- 
ical News,  vol.  vi.  p.  133,  Eng,  Ed,\  afforded  no  trace 
of  ammonic  phosphate  of  magnesia.  73'28  grains 
examined  by  Spiller's  process  (Chemical  News,  vol. 
xiii.  p.  170,  Eng.  Ed.\  gave  the  same  negative  result; 
and,  lastly,  48-07  grains  tested  by  Eggertz's  method 
bv  molybdate  of  ammonia,  did  not  afford  any  trace  of 
phosphorus. 

Hetermlnatlon  of  Iron— The  amount  of  iron  pres- 
ent was  estimated  as  losA  The  percentage  results 
will  be  as  follows: — 

Carbon  oombined 0*627 

— graphitic 0102 

Silicon 0*030 

Phosphorus 0000 

Sulphur » 0*005 

Manganese 0*120 

Iron 99'ii6 


100-000 


ON  THE    USE  OP  POTASSIC  CHLORATE  IN 
QUALITATIVE  BLOWPIPE  EXPERIMENTS. 

BT  JOHN  LAKDAUER. 

I  communicated  in  No.  399  of  the  Chemical  News 
{Amer,  Reprint,  Sept.  1867,  p.  159),  as  the  result  of 
many  expenments,  a  method  of  detecting  manganese 
by  means  of  potassic  chlorate  and  the  blowpipe. 

I  have  continued  these  experiments,  and  convinced 
myself  that  this  salt  may  be  used  with  advantage  for 
the  detection  of  many  oxides  by  means  of  the  blow- 
pipe, inasmuch  as  it  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  as 
regards  readiness  and  delicacy  of  execution.  The  deli- 
cacy of  the  test  especially  is  greatly  augmented  by  the 
fact,  that  the  originally  white  salt  assumes  the  respec- 
tive colours. 

The  action  of  the  potassic  chlorate  is,  of  course,  that 
of  energetic  oxidation,  caused  by  the  evolution  of  oxygen 
at  a  high  temperature.  I  find  it  most  convenient  to 
employ  glass  tubes,  not  too  thick,  in  dimensions  of 
about  ij.  centimetres  long  by  5  millimetres  in  width, 
and  closed  at  one  end;  in  these  is  introduced  a  small 
quantity  of  the  chlorate,  together  with  the  substance 
to  be  examined;  heat  is  i^phed  gradually,  at  last  with 
the  help  of  the  blowpipe,  until  no  more  oxygen  is  given 
off.  The  reaction  is  then  completed,  and  the  colour  of 
the  flux  is  examined. 

I  give  in  the  following  table  some  of  the  more  delicate 
reactions,  reservinff  a  more  complete  investigation, 
the  results  of  which  will  shortly  be  published  in  this 
journal: — 

IroD Fleeh  colour 

Lead Yellowish  brown 

Copper BUck  or  greyish  black 

Ck)biilt Blue  (in  certain  cases  black) 

Manganese Purple 

Nickel BUck  (Ni,0,.) 

XVL,  No.  404,  page  10&] 


214 


Utilisation  of  the  Waste  Products  of  Coal  Gas. 


'  j  ChBIIOAL  JE^KWk 


Not.,  1887. 


ON  THE 

UTILISATION    OF   THE    WASTE    PRODUCTS 
OF  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  COAL  QAS. 

BY  DR.  LETHEBY. 
(Continued  ftrom  page  170,  Amer.  Reprint  CnxM.  Nsws.) 

Carbolic  Acid  Colours, 

Four  or  five  dyes  have  already  been  produced  from 
this  compound,  namely,  rosolic  cLcid  or  aurine^  peonine 
or  coralline,  azvline,  and  picric  acid. 

Rosolic  acid  is  contained  in  coal-tar,  as  was  first  de- 
monstrated by  Runge  in  1834,  who  extracted  it  from 
the  dark  red-brown  residual  product  of  carbolic' acid 
by  means  of  spirit;  and  on  treating  the  solution  with 
caustic  lime,  he  separated  a  brown  compound  (bruno- 
late  of  lime),  and  obtained  a  red  solution  (rosolate  of 
lime),  from  which  he  precipitated  the  rosolic  acid  as  a 
dark  red  powder  by  the  aid  of  acetic  acid.  Other  ob- 
servers, as  M.  Tschelnitz  in  1857,  and  Dr.  Hugo  MiiUer 
still  later,  noticed  that  the  common«carbolate  of  lime 
of  commerce  became  red  on  exposure  to  the  air,  and 
that  this  was  due  to  the  formation  of  rosolate  and  bru- 
nolate  of  lime ;  but  we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Angus 
Smith,  and  more  recently  to  M.  Jourdan.  for  an  ex- 
planation of  the  changes  which  thus  take  place  in 
carbolate  of  lime,  and  for  suggestions  for  a  process  for 
making  the  dye  on  a  commercial  scale.  They  found 
that  wlien  the  vapour  of  carbolic  acid  is  passed  over  a 
hot  mixture  of  soda  and  peroxide  of  manganese,  or 
peroxide  of  mercury,  oxygen  is  absorbed  and  rosolic 
acid  produced,  thus : 


Carbolic  add. 


Boeolic  add. 


The  residue  yields  to  water  a  rich  solution  of  rosolate 
of  soda,  from  which  the  rosolic  acid  can  be  obtained  by 
precipitating  by  means  of  acetic  acid. 

The  production  of  acid  commercially  has  been  accom- 
plished and  patented  by  Messrs.  G^uioon,  Marnas,  and 
feonnet.  They  mix  together  about  23  parts,  by  weight, 
of  carbolic  acid,  10  to  20  of  oxalic  acid,  and  from  7  to 
14  of  commercial  sulphuric  acid,  and  heat  them  for 
three  hours  or  until  the  desired  colour  is  obtained.  The 
product  is  well  washed  with  water  to  remove  the  ex- 
cess of  acid,  and  the  residue,  which  is  impure  rosolic 
acid  {aurine),  is  a  soft  pitchy  material  with  a  green 
shade  of  cantharides ;  but  as  the  acid  is  insoluble  in 
water  and  cannot  well  be  fixed  upon  fabrics,  the  pa- 
tentees have  converted  it  into  a  new  compound,  named 
peonine^  by  incorporating  nitrogen  with  it. 

Peonine  or  coralline  is  produced  by  heating  i  part  of 
the  rosolic  acid  with  2  parts  of  ammonia  of  commerce, 
for  three  hours,  in  a  closed  metallic  vessel  at  a  temper- 
ature of  27o«>  Fahr.  The  product  is  a  thick  liquid  of 
considerable  tinctorial  power,  and  which  gives  with 
acids  a  deep  red  insoluble  or  fast  colour,  which  may  be 
80  applied  to  silk,  wool  and  other  textile  fabrics. 

Azuline,  as  I  have  already  stated,  is  a  blue  colour, 
produced  by  heating  5  parts  of  peonine  with  6  or  8  of 
aniline,  and  keeping  them  at  nearly  the  boiling-point 
for  several  hours. 

Picric  add,  or  carbaxotic  add,  or  triniirophenic  acid, 
is  obtained  by  oxidizing  carbolic  acid  with  nitric  acid. 
It  was  formerly  procured  by  a  like  treatment  of  indigo 
and  the  yellow  resin  {Xanihorrhea  hastilis)  of  Australia, 
and  also  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  upon  the  coal 
naphtha,  which  distils  between  300®  and  400®  Fahr. 


When  carbolic  acid  is  cautiously  dropped  into  strong 
nitric  acid  it  is  attacked  with  great  violence  and  with 
a  hissing  noise,  as  you  may  observe ;  and.  according  to 
the  strength  of  the  acid,  there  are  produced  one  or 
more  of  the  following  substitation  compounds: — 

Carbolicadd 0,iH,O» 

Mononilrophenic  aeid CuHftNOiO, 

Binitrophenic  acid CiiH4(N04)80t 

Triniirophenic  acid Ci«H,(N04)«0t 

If  the  acid  be  strong  enough,  the  last  compound  is 
alone  produced,  and  when  the  mixture  cools  it  deposits 
crystals  of  picric  acid.  These  are  purified  by  dissolv- 
ing them  in  v^ater,  neutralising  the  solution  with  car- 
bonate of  soda,  evaporating,  and  crystallizing.  The 
crystals  of  the  soda  salt  yield,  when  they  are  decom- 
posed with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  fine  yellow,  pearly 
looking  crystals,  or  plates  of  picric  acid.  They  are 
soluble  in  from  80  to  90  parts  of  cold  water,  and  they 
possess  considerable  tinctorial  power — a  grain  of  acid 
m  300.000  grains  of  water  will  give  a  moderate  shade 
of  yellow  to  looo  grains  of  silk.  The  colour  is  best 
applied  with  a  mordant  of  alum  and  cream  of  tartar; 
cotton  fabrics  do  not  retain  the  colour,  and  hence  it 
becomes  a  test  for  such  tissues  when  mixed  with  wool 
or  silk.  The  solution  is  very  bitter,  and,  as  it  is  not  a 
poisonous  compound,  it  has  been  thought  that  it  might 
be  used  instead  of  hops  for  beer.  It  forms  yellow  salta 
with  the  alkalies,  and  with  metallic  oxides,  and  most 
of  them  are  hignly  fulminating  or  explosive  when 
heated. 

If  picric  acid  is  submitted  to  the  action  of  reducing 
agents  it  produces  red  colours  of  great  beauty ;  thua 
picramic  acid  is  formed  when  the  acid  is  reduced  by 
means  of  a  hot  solution  of  protosulphate  of  iron 
(Wohler),  or  by  the  aid  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  or 
sulphide  of  ammonium  (Girard). 

CmH,(N04),0,  +  6HS=Ci,H5(N04)aNO,  +  4HO  +  S, 


Fictic  add. 


Picraodc  add. 


The  acid  thus  obtained  is  in  the  form  of  brilliant  ruby- 
red  crystals,  which  are  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether, 
and  slightly  soluble  in  water. 

Isopurpuric  acid  is  another  red  product  of  picric 
acid.  It  is  procured  from  it  by  the  process  of  M. 
Hlasiwetz,  which  consists  in  dissolving  2  parts  of 
cyanide  of  potassium  in  4  of  water,  and  when  it  is 
heated  to  a  temperature  of  140^  Fahr.,  adding  little  by 
little  a  solution  of  i  part  of  picric  acid  in  9  of  water. 
The  liquid  evolves  ammonia  and  prussic  acid,  and,  on 
cooling,  deposits  an  abundant  crop  of  crystals.  These 
are  washed  with  a  little  cold  water,  and  then  dissolved 
in  boiling  water  to  which  a  little  carbonate  of  soda  has 
been  added ;  as  the  solution  cools,  it  yidds  tolerably 
pure  crystals  of  isopurpurate  of  potash.  They  have  a 
red-brown  colour  by  transmitted  light,  and  a  green 
metaUic  by  reflected.  By  substituting  ammonia  for 
potash,  as  by  dissolving  the  crystals  in  boiling  water 
and  adding  sid-anmioniac,  there  are  formed,  as  the 
solution  cools,  beautiful  red  cr^^stals  of  isopurpurate  of 
ammonia,  which  is  isomeric  with  the  brilliant  red  dye 
called  murexide,  and  which,  but  for  the  cheaper  fonns 
of  aniline  colours,  would  have  been  an  important  dye; 
for  it  gives  to  silk  and  wool,  when  mordanted  with 
corrosive  sublimate,  a  magnificent  purple  rivalling  the 
purple  of  Tyre ;  and  wiui  'a  mordant  of  zinc  it  pro- 
duces a  brilliant  yellow.  The  colours  are  very  ns^ 
but  they  will  not  resist  the  action  of  the  sulphurous 
acid  so  constantly  found  in  the  atmosphere  of  towns. 


[BngUch  BditloD,  TdL  ZVI,  No.  404,  psge  10&] 


GsnioA^  Nvws,  Y 


ir9v^ 


Absorption  of  Gases  by  Chircoal — Losses  of  Sulphur. 


215 


We  know  but  litUe  of  the  homologues  of  carbolic 
add — namely,  cresylic  acid  (Ci4Hi09}---and  the  higher 
members  of  the  series,  which  may,  perhaps,  be  capable 
of  yielding  corresponding  coloured  compounds. 

Naphthaline  Colours 
have  not  yet  been  successfully  produced,  although 
many  attempts  have  been  made  to  utilize  it  in  this 
way;  indeec^  as  far  back  as  1858,  Strecker  drew  atten- 
tion to  the  similitude  of  chloroxynaphthalic  acid  and 
the  red  colouring  constituent  of  madder  (alizarine), 
there  being  required  only  the  substitution  of  hydro- 
^n  for  the  chlorine  to  change  it  into  madder  red ;  and 
m  1 861,  M.  Z.  Roussin  announced  that  he  had  actually 
converted  naphthalin  into  alizarine.  His  process  was 
first  to  act  on  naphthaline  with  nitric  acid,  and  so 
change  it  into  binitronaphthaline,  thus : — 

C8oH8+2HN06=C,oHe(N04)«+4HO 

NaphtbaUn*.  Binltronaph^aline. 

This  is  a  crystalline  body,  which  he  next  dissolved,  lit- 
tle by  litUe,  in  concentrated  sulphuric  acid.  The  mix- 
ture was  then  heated  to  a  temperature  of  392°  Fahr., 
and  small  portions  of  granulated  zinc  were  cautiously 
added  to  it  After  a  time  sulphurous  acid  began  to  be 
evolved,  and  the  nitronaphthaline  was  slowly  con- 
verted mto  a  red  colouring  matter,  which  he  thought 
was  alizarine.  The  change  appeared  to  be  as  fol- 
lows * 

0,.H«{NOOi+H«=OooHeO.+2NH,-f-2HO 

BinitroQaphthAllne.  Alizarine. 

By  diluting  the  mixture  with  8  or  10  times  its  bulk 
of  boiling  water,  and  quickly  filtering,  the  solution 
yielded  as  it  cooled,  brilliant  red  crystals.  But  they 
differ  from  alizarine  in  many  essential  particulars,  es- 
pecially in  not  giving  the  purole  and  chocolate  tints, 
as  alizarinejdoes,  wiui  iron  and  alumina  mordants. 

Mr.  Perkin  has  also  devoted  attention  to  this  sub- 
ject, but  his  labours  have  not  been  very  successful. 

Ndphthalamine  is  a  compound  which  bears  the  same 
relation  to  naphthaline  that  aniline  does  to  b^izole, 
and  it  is  made  by  somewhat  similar  transformations. 
Hessra  Covert,  of.  the  Tower  Chemical  Works,  have 
produced  it  very  largely,  in  the  hope  that,  by  oxida- 
tion in  the  same  way  as  aniline  and  toluidine  are  oxi- 
dised, colours  might  be  obtained.  In  this  manner  Mr. 
Brunner  produced  in  Mr,  Calvert's  laboratory  a  very  fine 
purple,  by  heating  it  with  arsenic  acid,  m,  Du  Wildes 
obtained  a  like  result  with  the  nitrates  of  mercury : 
and  M.  Roussin  has  shown  how  fabrics  may  be  dyed 
of  a  red  colour  by  acting  on  muriate  of  naphthalamine 
with  nitrate  of  potash,  and  how  a  violet-red  tint  may 
be  obtained  by  heating  a  mixture  of  naphthalamine 
and  dry  bichloride  of  mercury  in  a  sealed  tube^  at  a 
temperature  of  356^,  for  many  hours;  and  by  heating 
a  mixture  of  muriate  of  naphthalamine  and  protochlo- 
ride  of  tin  to  a  temperature  of  472^  Fahr.  The  purple- 
red  colour  is  in  both  cases  insoluble  in  water,  but  sol- 
uble in  alcohol,  and  m^  be  thus  used  as  a  dye.  Messrs. 
Guinon,  Mamas,  and  Bonnet  have  also  proposed  to 
use  it  in  the  place  of  aniline  for  the  production  of  a 
blue  colour ;  but  I  am  not  aware  that  any  of  these  pro- 
ceifsea  have  been  put  into  actual  practice. 

And  now  in  conclusion,  as  I  have  been  compelled, 
for  want  of  time,  to  deal  very  briefly  and  generally 
with  this  subject,  I  will  merely  state  that  those  who 
are  anxious  to  pursue  the  matter  further  will  find  manv 
memoirs  on  the  subject,  to  which  they  may  refer  with 
advantage.    In  this  country  there  have  been  published 


the  valuable  report  of  Dr.  Hofmann,  at  page  1 19  of  the 
chemical  section  of  the  "  Reports  of  Juries "  on  the 
International  Exhibition  of  1862,  and  the  ^'Lectures 
by  Dr.  Calvert  on  Coal-Tar  Colours,  in  Relation  to  Dye- 
ing and  Calico  Printing ;"  and  on  the  Continent  the 
following  have  been  published : — 

1.  "Examen  des  Matieres  Colorantes  Artificiellea 
ddriv^s  du  Goudron  de  Houille."    Par  E.  Kopp.  1861. 

2.  "Matieres  Colorantes  d^riv^es  du  Goudron  de 
'"Houille."     Par  Ad.  Wurtz.  1862. 

3.  "  Manufacture  and  Properties  of  Aniline  Colours, 
and  the  Bodies  used  in  their  Preparation."  By  MM. 
Depouiily  Brothers.  1866.  Chemical  News,  vol  xiv., 
pp.  77^  89,  157,  Bng,  Ed. 

4.  "  Technologic  des  Amilins."  "  Handbuch  der  Fab- 
rikation  des  Anuins,  und  der  von  ihm  derivirten  Far- 
ben."    M.  ReimaniL     1866. 

In  addition  to  which  there  are  numerous  papers  on 
the  subject  in  the  scientific  journals  of  the  last  six 
years,  several  of  which  have  appeared,  either  in  full 
or  in  abstract,  in  the  Journal  of  Gas  Lighting. 


ON  THE   ABSORPTION   OF  GASES  BY 

CHARCOAL. 

The  following  letter  from  Dr.  R  Angus  Smith,  F.R.S., 

to  Dr.  J.  P.  Joule,  F.R.S.,  has  been  forwarded  to  us : — 

"  My  dear  Joule : — ^You  asked  me  about  my  experi- 
ments on  the  absorption  of  gases  by  charcoal.  I  cer- 
tainly seem  to  delay  them,  but  I  have  little  spare  time. 
In  1848  I  illustrated  the  oxidising  power  of  porous 
bodies,  referring  chiefly  to  sand.  In  1862,  when 
speaking  of  the  absorption  of  gases  by  charcoal  I  ven- 
tured to  say  that  the  physical  and  chemical  action 
could  not  be  separated.  I  have  been  anxious  to  obtain 
more  direct  evidence. 

"  I  had  worked  a  good  deal  with  the  mixed  gases, 
but  lately  thought  it  better  to  return  to  the  simple, 
although  unwiUing  to  question  results  got  by  others. 
Five  of  these  gases  have  been  tried,  and  they  are 
found  to  be  absorbed  by  charcoal  in  whole  volumes, 
and  not  in  fractions  of  a  volume,  hydrogen  being  taken 
as  one.  In  three  cases  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and  car- 
bonic acid,  the  numbers  are  i,  7-99  and  22*05,  extremely 
exact  volumes,  with  a  relation  the  same  as  our  ordi- 
nary atomic  weights.  Saussure's  numbers  treated  thus 
give  5*3  and  20,  that  for  nitrogen  being  4'2. 

"  It  is  only  by  taking  the  average  of  many  experi- 
ments that  these  resulto  have  been  obtained,  but,  in 
doing  so,  every  one  has  been  added  without  selection. 
The  numbers  from  which  the  averages  are  obtained 
diverge  so  much  that  I  suppose  others  have  not 
thought  of  obtaining  anything  definite.  This  is  caused 
by  the  difficulty  of  nndins;  perfectly  uniform  charcoal. 

"  I  have  not  found  the  other  numbers  to  be  the 
same  as  the  equivalents,  although  still  whole.  Equiva- 
lents promise  here  to  enlarge  their  bounds.  I  cannot 
believe  that  these  numbers  can  be  the  results  of  any 
accident.  They  must  be  distinguished  firom  chemical 
equivalents  by  weight — ^I  am,  yours,  &a 

"R  Angus  Smith. 

"  ManefaMter,  Jane  17,  1867.** 

ON  THE  PRACTICAL  LOSSES  OF  SULPHUR, 
Etc.,  in  THE  VITRIOL  MANUFACTURE. 

BT  0HARLB8  R.  A.  WRIGHT,  B.80. 

The  following  table,  calculated  by  interpolation  from 
Bineau's  results  {Ann,  Chem,  et  Physique^  iii.  xxiv.  341), 


[BiifiUl  BdMon,  VoL  ZVI,  Ha  404^  pafM  107, 106.] 


2l6 


Zoases  of  SviphuVj  etc^  in  the  Vitriol  Manufacture. 


\  Cbbmical  Vkwi, 
1     Nin^  180T. 


may  be  useful  to  manufacturers  and  others  in  calculating 
the  value  of  sulphuric  acid  of  a  given  density  accord- 
ing to  Twaddell  8  hydrometer,  at  a  given  temperature. 


V 

il^ 

^ 

^ 

1 

S 

At  15  de»  Centigr. 

^H 

1^ 

«H 

t 

|l 

! 

Deg.T. 

Sp.  Gr. 

r 

68-52 

1-8426 

0-192 

100*00 

81*63 
79-18 

168 

1-840 

0-191 

97-00 

.. 

.. 

3-38 

2*75 

167 

1-835 

0-190 

93*62 

1-87 

76-43 

1*53 

166 

1-830 

0-189 

91-75 

i-iS 

74-90 

0*94 

165 

1-825 

0-188 

90*60 

0-94 

73-96 

077 

164 

1*820 

0-187 

89-66 

076 

73-19 

0-62 

162 

I -810 

0*186 

88-14 

0-70 

71-94 

0-57 

160 

1.800 

0*185 

86*75 

0*63 

70-81 

0-51 

•157 

1-785 

0-184 

84-89 

0-53 

6929 

043 

154 

1-770 

0*183 

83-30 

0*46 

67-99 

0-37 

150 

1750 

0-182 

81*45 

0-44 

66-49 

036 

145 

1-725 

0-181 

7925 

0*42 

6469 

0-34 

140 

1*700 

o*i8o 

77*16 

0*43 

62-98 

035 

13s 

1*675 

0-179 

75*oo 

0^42 

61*22 

0-34 

130 

1*650 

0-178 

72*92 

0-42 

59-52 

0-34 

125 

1-625- 

0-176 

7083 

0-43 

57-82 

0-35 

120 

i-6oo 

0*174 

68-66 

0*42 

5606 

0*34 

"5 

1-575 

0-172 

6658 

0*43 

54*35 

0-35 

no 

1*550 

0*170 

64-42 

52*59 

105 

1-525 

0-167 

62^18 

0-44 
046 

50*7'5 

0-37 
0-38 

100 

1*500 

0-164 

5989 

0-47 

48-89 

0-39 

90 

1-450 

o*i6o 

5519 

0-50 

45*05 

0-41 

80 

1*400 

0-155 

50-20 

0*53 

40-98 

0*43 

70 

1350 

0-148 

44-89 

0*56 

36-65 

0-46 

60 

1-300 

0140 

39-29 

o-6o 

32*07 

0-49 

50 

1*250 

0-131 

33-29 

o*6i 

27-17 

0-50 

40 

I  200 

0*120 

27*23 

064 

22-23 

0-52 

30 

1-150 

0-100 

20*79 

0*65 

16-97 

0*53 

20 

1*100 

0*080 

14-25 

0*67 

11-63 

0-55 

10 

1*050 

0470 

7-50 

6-12 

The  third  shows  the  fraction  of  a  de^rree  Twaddell 
streng 
ve  15® 
tracted  for  each  degree  below  15*^0. 


egree 

to  be  added  to  the  observed  strength  for  each  degree 
centigrade  that  the  acid  is  above  IJ^C. ;  or  to  be  sub- 


The  first  column  indicates  the  strength  as  given  by 
Twaddell's  hydrometer  at  a  temperature  of  iS^C,  and 
the  second  the  corresponding  sp.  gr. 


The  fourth  indicates  the  percentage  of  SOiHi,  corre- 
sponding to  the  density  at  15^  given  in  the  first  and  se- 
cond columns ;  and  the  fifUi,  the  differences  between  the 
numbers  in  the  fourth,  used  for  calculating  the  amount 
to  be  added  on  for  fractions  of  a  degree  TwaddelL 

The  sixth  and  seventh  columns  indicate  the  qjuanti- 
ties  of  SOs  corresponding  to  thos^  of  S0«H9  m  the 
fourth  and  fifth. 

Thus,  to  find  the  percentage  of  SO«Hs  present  in  acid 
in  which  a  hydrometer  manes  I54**'5  T.  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  25^0. 

i54''-5  T.  at  25°C.  correspond  to  154*5 +  10x0' 183, 

or  156"  3  T.  at  15^*0. 
Acid  at  I54°T.  at  I5*'C.  contains  83-30  per  centof  SO4H1 
Add  on  for  2*^-3  T. :  2-3  xo-53=r22       "  " 

Percentage  required  . .  84-52 
To  find  the  percentage  of  S0«,  in  add  of  lai^'-i  T.  at 
9^0. 

i2i-i*»T.at9**  0.  correspond  to  I2i*i— 6  x  0-174,  or 
i20'o6at  15®  C. 
Add  of  \7o^  T.  at  15**  C.  contains  56*06  per  cent  of 

SO.. 
Add  on  or  o**o6 :  o-o6  x  0-35  =     0-02 

Percentage  required 56-08 

An  acid  of  hiffh  specific  gravity  is  more  likely  to 
contain  lead  sulphate,  as  the  effect  of  temperature  in 
altering  the  density  is  greater  the  stronger  the  acid, 
and  as  there  is  but  UtUe  difference  in  density  for  a 
considerable  difference  in  percentage  with  strong  acid, 
it  is  evident  that  the  amount  of  S0«  or  SO4H1,  can 
only  be  approximately  determined  in  strong  acid  by 
the  aid  of  the  hydrometer  ;  taking  also  into  considera- 
tion the  fact  that  glass  hydrometers,  as  usually  sold, 
are  rarely  correct  to  within  0-5®  T.,  and  are  frequently 
more  erroneous,  it  may  be  pretty  safely  stated  that  the 
value  of  any  acid  of  above  160^  T  cannot  be  estimated 
at  all  accurately  bv  the  hydrometer. 

The  amount  of  acid  tiieoretically  obtainable  from 
any  given  ore  is  readily  calculable  by  the  following 
simple  formulae : — 

From  one  part  of  sulphur  ore  containing  «  per  cent 
of  sulphur  there  is  theoretically  obtainable— 

(1)  of  acid  containing  m  per  cent  of  SO«Ht 

« 
2-5  X  —  parts. 


(2) 


SO. 
3-0625 


X 
A 


Thus  from  a  kilogramme  of  ore  at  32  per  cent  of  sul- 
phur there  is  theoretically  obtainable  of  acid  at  135^  T. 
(containing  therefore  75-00  per  cent  of  SO4H1) 

32 
2-5  X — kilogrs.  =  l-o67kilogrs. 

75 
and  from  a  kilogramme  of  pure  sulphur  there  is  obtain- 
able of  acid  at  154°  T.  (containing  68  per  cent  of  SOj) 
100  • 

3-0625  X kilogrs.  =  4-504  kilogrs. 

68 
Chemical  Laboratoiy,  St.  TbomM^s  Hospitat,  S. 


[EngUdi  Edition,  Vol  Z7L,  No.  «H  pacw  107,  lOe.} 


Ghmioal  Nswb,  ) 
2f99^  ld67.       f 


PhUoaophical  Oonceptions  of  Qhemical  Phenomena, 


217 


PHILOSOPHICAL  CONCEPTIONS  OF    CHEMI- 
CAL PHENOMENA. 

The  "  fundamental  definition  "  of  a  chemical  phenom- 
enon lately  advanced  by  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  to  the 
effect  that  "A  chemical  phenomenon  is  an  operation 
on  the  unit  of  space,  the  result  of  which  is  a  weight," 
has  strongly  directed  the  attention  of  chemists  to  the 
primary  conceptions  on  which  the  philosophy  of  their 
science  is  based. 

At  such  a  juncture  it  cannot  but  be  interesting  to 
set  in  contrast  with  the  above  startling  philosophical 
innovation,  one  of  the  most  clear  and  powerful  exposi- 
tions extant  of.  the  received  mode  of  viewing  thb 
abstruse  question. 

Such  an  exposition  we  find  in  the  ninth  chapter  of 
the  admirable  ** Introduction  to  Modem  Chemistry" 
lately  put  forth  hy  Professor  Hofinann  in  collaboration 
with  Mr.  F.  O  "Ward, — "  whose  well-known  powers  of 
lucid  composition,  and  habits  of  philosophical  thought, 
are  traoeable,"  as  his  illustrious  colleague  justly  observed 
in  his  preface,  "  in  every  chapter  of  the  work." 

We  shall  the  more  readily  lay  these  extracts  before 
our  readers,  because,  while  specially  apposite  to  the 
present  tenour  of  chemical  meditation,  then:  appearance 
will  redeem  the  promise  made  by  us^  in  our  first  review 
of  this  book,  to  give  it  a  second  notice  in  our  columns. 

We  therefore,  without  further  preface  or  apology, 
proceed  to  lay  the  following  extracts  before  our 
readers,  merely  remarking  that  we  have  here  and 
there  exercised  our  editorial  privilege  of  excision  and 
abridgmentw 

"  Thus  far,"  say  the  collaborating  authors,  "  we  have 
not  quitted  the  domain  of  experience,  of  observation ; 
to  the  causes  of  the  remarkable  phenomenon  we  have 
contemplated,  our  attention  has  not  yet  been  turned. 
Yet  the  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  observed  phenomena 
is  urged  on  us  by  one  of  the  strongest  instincts  of  our 
intellectual  nature.  That  instinctive  curiosity  cannot, 
indeed,  be  fully  satisfied.  The  first  causes  of  phe- 
nomena lie  beyond  the  limited  scope  of  our  perceptive 
and  reasoning  faculties.  The  conditions  of  their  exist- 
ence or  production^  and  their  relations  of  succession 
and  similitude  are,  indeed,  open  to  investigation ;  but 
their  intimate  nature  and  prime  origin  are  for  us 
inscrutable  mysteries.  We  may,  however,  by  the  aid 
of  imagination,  form  hypoiheseSj  to  connect  the  results 
of  our  experiments,  and  to  guide  the  course  of  our 
inquiries.  And,  though  merely  speculative  hypotheses, 
dissevered  from  experimental  investigation,  are  to  be 
deprecated  as  vain  and  sterile  exercises  of  ingenuity, 
hypotheses  based  upon  facts,  assisting  in  their  concep- 
tion, and  deriving  probability  firom  the  number  thereof 
which  they  connect  and  explain,  besides  (and  above 
all)  tending  to  suggest  new  experiments,  deserve  to  rank 
among  the  most  valuable  aids  to  scientific  research. 

"  Hypotheses  are,  of  course,  to  be  held  provisionally, 
subject  to  modification  and  abandonment^  in  so  far  as 
they  may  from  time  to  time  prove  inconsistent  with 
the  results  of  further  experimental  research.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  hypotheses  embrace  and  explain 
extensive  ranges  pf  phenomena,  when  experiment 
confirms  the  results  they  foreshadow^  when  successive 
discoveries  raise  them  higher  and  higher  in  the  scale 
of  probability,  they  lose  more  and  more  their  pro- 
visional charad^r,  and  gradually  assume  the  name  and 
rank  of  theories,  till  at  last  they  come  to  be  embodied 
among  the  recognised  doctrines  of  philosophy. 

"  The  observed  phenomena  of  combination  in  definite 


proportions  by  weight  and  volume,  are  susceptible  of 
explanation  by  a  theory  in  the  highest  degree  probable 
and  su|;gestive,  which  comes  next  in  order  for  our  con- 
sideration. 

"  In  order  to  arrive  at  this  theoretical  conception,  we 
must  ask  ourselves,  what  «  matter  ?  Of  what  parts  is 
it  composed?  How  are  these  constructed  and  held 
together  7  How  comes  the  very  same  matter,  water 
foi  example,  to  present  itself  sometimes  in  the  solid 
form,  as  ice ;  sometimes  in  the  liquid  form,  as  the  same 
ice  when  melted ;  sometimes  in  the  gaseous  form,  as 
the  same  melted  ice  changed  to  dry  steam  by  further 
heating  ?  And,  lastly,  what  happens  to  matter,  what 
changes  does  it  undergo,  when  its  various  elementary 
forms  combine,  as  we  have  seen  them,  to  produce 
bodies  having  properties  wholly  different  from  those  of 
their  constituents  7 

^^  Setting  aside  the  more  transcendental  speculations 
of  philosophers  upon  the  nature  of  matter,  let  us  here 
select  for  consideration  those  hypothetical  conceptions 
of  its  structure  which  seem  best  adapted  to  connect 
and  explain  the  results  of  modern  research ;  and 
which,  by  enabling  us  to  comprehend  the  phenomena  we 
have  already  witnessed,  may  also  assist  us  in  shaping 
the  course  of  our  further  experimental  researches. 

"  Let  us,  for  this  purpose,  consider  the  familiar  body, 
water,  into  tiie  nature  of  which  our  experiments  have 
already  given  us  some  insight;  and  let  us  consider 
it  in  its  three  conditions,  as  ice,  as  fluid  water,  and  as 
water-gas  or  dry  steam.  What  is  the  first  thing  that 
strikes  us  in  looking  at  them  ? 

"  The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  is,  that  ice,  water, 
and  steam  manifest  two  sorts  of  activity ;— one  exerted 
by  masses  of  sensible  magnitude,  acting  through  mea- 
surable dietances  of  space;  the  other  operating  be- 
tween particles,  and  through  intervals  of  space,  so 
minute  as  to  be  incommensurable. 

"The  attraction  of  mass  for  mass  of  matter,  as 
manifested  in  the  courses  of  the  celestial  bodies,  in 
the  movement  of  falling  bodies,  and  in  the  pressure 
of  bodies  at  rest  upon  the  ground,  exemplifies  the 
first  kind  of  activity.  This  is  equally  observable  in 
the  ice,  in  the  water,  and  in  the  water  gas ;  for  these 
all  possess  weight;  a  sensible  mass  of  either  reciprocates 
attraction  witib  the  earth,  through  measurable  distances 
of  space. 

"  The  Latin  for  mass  is  fnoles ;  and  its  modem  di- 
minutive, melecula,  is  employed  to  designate  *  a  little 
mass,'  that  is  to  say,  a  material  particle  of  incommen- 
surable minuteness;  hence  the  reciprocal  actions  of 
minute  particles  through  insensible  mtervals  of  space 
are  distinguished  as  molecular.  We  may  fairly  there- 
fore contradistinguish,  by  the  epithet  moitBTj  the  recip- 
rocal actions  of  measurable  masses  through  measurable 
intervals  of  space. 

"The  means  of  mechanical  comminution  at  our  dis- 
posal, our  grinding-mills,  mortars,  and  the  like,  do  not 
carry  us  beyond  the  wio/ar  subdivision  of  matter.  How- 
ever finely  we  might  grind  up  ice,  for  example,  if  we 
took  care  to  keep  uie  temperature  below  freezing  point, 
we  should  still  have  masses  each  consisting  of  several 
molecules.  For.  our  finest  ice-powder  would  still  con- 
sist of  very  small  fragments  of  solid  ice ;  and  if,  of  this 
ice-dust,  we  took  the  smallest  grain,  we  could,  by  ap- 
plying heat,  turn  it  into  water,  thus  proving  it  to  have 
parUj  capable  of  separation,  so  as  to  be  rendered  move- 
able amongst  each  other.  There  is  no  instance  of  lique- 
faction resultingfrom  the  mechanical  comminution  of 
a  soUd  body.    Hence  we  take  it  as  certain  that  the 


[BngUah  Bdttlon,  Vol  X7L,  No.  404,  pagt  115.] 


2l8 


Philosophical  Conceptions  of  Chemical  Phenomena. 


( CanaoAL  Nvwi^ 
1      JVb^M  180T. 


most  impalpable  product  of  mechanical  pulveriBatioii 
is  still  a  cluster  of  molecules. 

'^We  are  thus  euabled  to  distinguish  in  matter  two 
kinds  of  diyisibility,  molar  and  molecniar  ;  the  former 
being  accomplished  by  mechanical  means,  and  only  re- 
sulting, even  when  pushed  to  its  utmost  attainable 
limits,  in  the  production  of  a  molecule-cluster  or  mass 
of  sensible  dimensions,  which  may  be  termed  a  mole ; 
while  the  latter  is  accomplished  by  physical  means 
(that  is  to  say,  by  the  aid  of  physical  forces,  such  as 
heat),  resulting  in  the  disruption  of  the  masses  or 
moles  into  their  incommensurably  minute  constituents 
molecules, 

"  The  study  of  the  reciprocal  action  of  material  masses^ 
or  TTiofes,  constitutes  the  science  oi  mechanics  ;  a  science 
of  the  deepest  interest,  abounding  in  simple  and  ad- 
mirable laws,  with  which,  however,  we  are  not  at  pres- 
ent concerned. 

^'  Turning  to  the  consideration  of  molecular  activities, 
of  those  which  are  distinguished  by  the  incommensu- 
rable minuteness  of  the  particles  of  matter,  and  of  the 
intervals  of  space,  between  and  through  which  they 
take  place ;  and  looking  once  more  at  the  samples  of 
matter  before  us — at  our  ice,  our  water,  and  our  wa- 
ter-gas or  steam;  we  are  a^ain,  as  before,  struck  with 
a  contrast  between  two  diametricaUy  opposite  kinds 
of  activity,  one  conspicuously  manifested  in  the  solid 
ice,  and  called  molecular  cohesion^  the  other  especially 
maiiifested  in  the  water-gas,  and  termed  molecular  rcr- 
puiston.  The  former  force  gives  to  soUd  bodies  their 
tenacity ;  to  the  latter,  gaseous  bodies  owe  their  ex- 
treme tenuity,  and  the  free  mobiUty  of  their  molecules 
amongst  each  other.*' 

"  In  fluid  bodies,  here  represented  by  our  water,  we 
observe  these  two  ftJrms  of  molecular  activity  balanced 
at  an  intermediate  point.  The  molecules  of  fluids  co- 
here with  considerable  force  j  as  we  perceive,  when  a 
rod  is  dipped  into  water,  and  a  bunch  of  them  taken  out, 
sticking  to  each  other,  and  also  to  the  rod,  in  the  form 
of  a  pendent  water-drop ;  but  this  cohesion  is  exceed- 
inslj  feeble  as  compared  with  that  of  the  same  mole- 
cules agglomerated  in  the  solid  form  in  a  block  of  ice. 
Again,  the  molecules  of  fluids  are  moveable  amongst 
each  other ;  as  we  notice  when  water  is  shaken  in  a 
vessel,  agitated  with  a  rod,  or  poured  into  another 
glass ;  but  their  mobility  is  far  inferior  to  that  of  the 
molecules  of  gas.  In  vain  should  we  dip  our  rod  into 
the  gas  to  take  up  a  drop  of  it;  we  should  obtain  no 
coherent  bunch  of  jjas-molecules,  like  the  pendulous 
water-drop.  And  it  is  precisely  to  their  superior  mole- 
cular cohesion  that  fluids  owe  their  inferior  molecular 
mobility  as  compared  with  gases. 

"  This  difference  of  comportment  is  not  surprising 
when  we  reflect  how  much  greater  are  the  intervals 
which  separate  the  molecules  of  a  gas — of  our  water- 
gas,  for  example — than  those  which  intervene  between 
the  molecules  of  the  same  body  in  the  form  of  ice  or 
of  water." 

"  What  is  the  nature  of  the  intervals  between  the 
molecules  of  a  gas? — are  they  empty  space,  or  are  they 
filled  ?  and,  if  so,  how,  or  with  what  are  they  filled  ? 
That  they  are  not  empty  spaces  we  have  very  good 
reason  to  believe,  on  account  of  the  powerful  resiuent 
property  manifested  by  gases  when  forcibly  compressed. 
"But  what  is  the  nature  of  this  elasticity  or  resil- 
ience— to  what  power  or  force  is  it  due  ? 

^'  Several  phenomena  point  to  ^ea^as  its  cause.  Heat 
is  the  agent  by  which  ice  is  made  to  pass,  through  the 
fluid,  into  the  gaseous  form;  and,  with  every  mcre- 


ment  of  heat,  the  elastic  power  of  the  ice-derived  gas 
augments. 

"  To  the  questions,  therefore,  what  is  a  gas  ?  and 
with  what  are  the  intervals  between  its  molecules  fill- 
ed ?  succeeds  the  question,  what  is  heat  7  This  brings 
us  face  to  face  with  one  of  the  most  ardently-mooted 
and  deeply-interesting  philosophical  questions  of  the 
day.  For  some,  heat  is  a  species  of  thin  ether,  vibrat- 
ing in  the  manner  of  Ught;  for  others,  it  is  a  pure 
force,  having  neither  parts  nor  weight;  for  a  third  class 
of  thinkers,  of  late  years  the  majority,  heat  has  no 
separate  existence,  but  is  merely  a  mode  of  motion, 
the  result  of  the  vibration  of  material  molecules. 

"  It  is  no  part  of  our  present  task'  to  attempt  the 
solution  of  this  deep  and  difiicult  problem.  We  may- 
content  ourselves  here  with  the  conception  that  heat^ 
whatever  may  be  its  intimate  nature,  so  operates,  when 
it  becomes  latent  in  a  gas,  as  to  surround  each  molecule 
with  a  sort  of  repellent  atmosphere  which  tends  to 
keep  it  apart  from  its  fellows;  and  that  these  molecular 
force-spheres— or,  to  employ  the  Greek  equivalent, 
dynami'Spheres^  more  shortly,  dyna-sphereSj  when  me- 
chanically compressed,  counteract  lie  pressure  with 
exactly  equal  energy,  and  on  the  removal  <^  the 
pressure,  restore  the  gas  (other  things  being  equal)  to 
the  exact  volume  it  previously  possessed. 

"  It  thus  stands  clearly  demonstrated  that,  if  equal 
volumes  of  the  elementary  gasj  hydrogen,  and  of  the 
compound  gas,  hydrochloric  acid,  be  taken  under  any 
given  pressure,  and  the  pressure  be  doubled  for  each, 
each  becomes  reduced  to  half  its  former  volume^  and 
at  the  same  time  acquires  double  its  former  resilient 
force,  or  elasticity;  which  it  exerts  in  counterbal- 
ancing the  pressure  from  without 

"  It  stands  equally  proved  that^  if  equal  volumes  of 
hydrogen,  and  of  hydrochlorio  acid  gas,  taken  at  equal 
degrees  of  pressure  and  temperature,  be  exposed  to 
equal  increments  or  decrements  of  heat^  they  undergo 
equal  degrees  of  expansion  and  contraction. 

"It  has  been  experimentally  established  as  a  law« 
that  all  true  gases,  simple  as  well  as  compound, 
comport  themselves  in  sensibly  the  same  manner 
under  like  variations  of  temperature  and  pressure  ; 
whence  the  inference  fairly  follows  that  their  molecular 
structure  is  the  same.  Assuming,  then,  each  gaseous 
molecule  to  be  clotiied  or  enveloped  by  a  resilient 
dynasphere  (as  we  have  termed  it),  due,  in  some 
unknown  way,  to  the  influence  of  latent  heat,  experi- 
ment justifies  us  in  inferring,  from  the  identical  com- 
portment of  all  gases,  when  exposed  to  like  variations 
of  temperature  and  pressure,  that  they  all  contain,  in 
equal  volumes,  an  equal  number  of  molecules  so 
clothed  ;  and  t^at,  as  an  obvious  corollaiy,  the 
diameter  of  these  gas-molecules  (including  in  that 
term  as  well  the  dynaspheres  as  their  material  nuclei)* 
is,  under  like  physical  conditions,  precisely  the  same 
for  all  gases.  To  express  it  more  shortly,  our  unit- 
volume,  or  litre,  whether  of  hydrogen,  of  hydrochloric 
acid,  or  of  any  other  gas,  simple  or  compound,  is  com- 
posed of  mutually  repellent  dynaspheric  molecules, 
equal  (omnibus  paribus)  as  to  their  number ,  and  (conse- 
quently) as  to  Sieir  size, 

"At  this  point  of  the  inquiiy  we  may  advantji-, 
geously  resume  the  consideration  of  material  divisibility, 
of  which  we  have  already  studied  two  forms  or  gradc^ 
the  molar  and  the  molecular  ;  the  fonrifer  consisUng  in 
the  mechanical  disruption  of  large  masses  into  small 
ones,  the  smallest  still  possessing  sensible  magnitude ; 
while  the  latter  is  the  further  disruption,  by  physical 


[Bnglkh  Edition,  VoL  XVI.,  Na  40i,  pagM  llfi^  116.] 


JToe^  1887.      f 


Philosophical  Conceptions  of  Chemical  Phenomena. 


219 


^ y — 

agente,  such  aa  heat^  of  moles  or  masses,  whether 
large  or  small,  into  their  constituent  molecules ;  that  is 
to  say,  into  parts  contradistinguished  from  the  minut- 
est moles  by  t)ie  fact  that  they  (the  said  parts) 
possess  no  commensurable  magnitude  at  all.  In  the 
particular  sample  of  matter  which  we  have  selected 
for  study,  as  being  the  most  famihar  of  all  compounds, 
we  see  molecular  succeeding  to  mere  molar  division, 
when  heat  melts  comminuted  ice  into  water,  and  then 
raises  water  into  invisible  steam  or  gas,  by  clothing  its 
molecules  with  the  mutually  repellent  dynaspheres,  each 
dynasphere  1689  times  larger  than  its  material  nucleus. 

"  Infinitesimal  as  this  subdivision  of  matter  appears, 
— ^inexpressibly  minute  as  we  cannot  but  conceive  the 
material  particles  to  be  that  form  the  central  nuclei  of 
the  dynaspheres  of  bodies  so  attenuated  and  rare  as 
the  invisible  gases, — we  yet  know,  by  experimental 
proof,  that  a  further  comminution  of  matter  is  possible: 
and  that,  as  the  smallest  mass  or  mole  of  any  compound 
may  be  broken  up  into  its  constituent  molecules, 
immeasurably  smaller  still,  so  the  ultimate  molecule 
itself,  however  small  we  may  choose  to  conceive  it,  is 
nevertheless  still  a  compotind,  consisting  of  at  least  two 
parts,  which,  by  chemical  agency,  may  be  detached 
nrom  each  other,  so  as  to  resolve  me  compound  into  its 
elemcnta 

"  Here  the  divisibility  of  matter,  so  far  as  our  exper- 
imental knowledge  extends,  reaches  its  final  term. 
The  elementary  bodies  are^  as  we  remember,  so  called 
precisely  because  they  resist  every  agency,  mechanical, 
physical,  and  chemical,  which  we  can  bring  to  bear  in 
the  hope  of  dividing  or  decomposing  them.  We  may 
imagine  the  two  elementary  particles  which  form  the 
compound  molecule  of  hydrocnloric  acid,  for  example, 
to  be  as  small  as  we  please.  In  this  respect  we  may 
give  the  imagination  free  rein  ;  we  may  conceive  the 
particle  of  hydrogen,  or  of  chlorine,  to  be  divided  and 
subdivided  as  many  millions  of  times  as  we  like,— or 
rather,  until  the  imaginative  power  is  baffled  by  sheer 
exhaustion  in  the  endeavour  to  push  this  conception 
further.  No  experiment  yet  made  tends  to  restrict  the 
freest  range  of  our  mental  faculties  in  this  direction ; 
ttieir  only  limitation  lies  in  their  own  finite  scope, 
doabUess  more  or  less  extensive  in  difierent  minds. 
But^  when  we  have,  each  of  us,  thus  reached  the  idea 
of  the  smallest  elementary  particle  which  it  is  within 
the  power  of  the  mind  to  picture,  all  experience  stands 
opposed  to  our  going  still  further,  and  presuming  to 
declare  the  elementary  particles  capable  of  division  ad 
infinitum,  ^Not  one  experimental  result  can  be  adduced 
in  support  of  such  an  assertion.  At  tJiis  point,  there- 
fore, tne  experimental  philosopher  arrests  his  inquiry. 
Beyond  this  limit  he  sees  onl^  the  dream-land  of 
metaphysical  speculation — a  region  essentially  sterile 
because  shut  out  from  cultivation  by  means  of  experi- 
ment, from  which  alone  can  spring  the  harvest  of 
Truth  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word  j  having  for  its 
foundation  natural  facts ;  for  its  object  the  study  of 
their  relations ;  for  its  result  the  determination  of 
their  laws. 

"  To  the  metaphysical  speculators,  therefore,  let  us 
cheerfully  resign  the  utter  futile  and  fruitless  discussion 
whether  even  elementary  matter  may  not  be  infinitely 
divisible.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that,  at  all 
events,  we  cannot  infinitely  divide  it,  but  that,  relatively 
to  our  powers  and  purposes,  to  the  limits  of  our  imagi- 
nation as  well  as  of  our  experience,  the  assertion  of 
the  infinite  divisibility  of  the  elements  is  one  we  are 
not  justified  in  making. 


"We  thus  arrive  at  the  conception  of  indivisible 
particles  as  the  ultimate  constituents  of  elementary 
bodies,  and  these  particles  have  received  the  appro- 
priate name  of  atoTns  (from  the  Greek  word  rifjuu), 

1  cut^  I  divide,  with  the  privative  a  prefixed  in  token  of 
negation). 

"The  addition  of  this  final  term  completes  and 
enables  us  to  epitomise  our  view  of  the  threefold  divi- 
sibility of  matter,  molar,  molecular,  and  atomic  ;  the 
first  (molar)  being  performed  by  mechanical  means, 
and  resulting,  when  pushed  to  its  utmost  hmits,  in 
masses  or  moles  (clusters  of  molecules)  characterised 
by  their  possession  of  sensible  magnitude:  the  second 
(molecular)  accomplished  by  the  agency  of  the  physical 
forces  (heat,  electricity,  etc.),  employed  under  special 
conditions  for  the  purpose,  and  resulting  in  the  produc- 
tion of  the  dynaspheric  molectdes  of  which  we  reason- 
ably conceive  compound  bodies  to  consist  j  the  third 
(atomic)  being  capable  of  accomplishment  only  by 
agencies,  such,  and  so  applied,  as  to  produce  chemical 
decomposition,  breaking  up  the  incommensurable  mole- 
cule itself  into  its  elementary  particles,  which  (as  ^st 
explained)  are  called  atomSy  because  incapable  of  fiir- 
ther  disruption  or  comminution  by  any  means  at  our 
disposal 

"  This  conception  of  the  threefold  divisibility  of  mat- 
ter, molar,  molecular,  and  atomic,  being  once  clearly 
understood,  and  firmly  grasped  by  the  mind,  we  may 
usefully  proceed,  in  t£e  light  which  this  theory 
supplies,  to  compare  as  to  their  structure  compound 
wili  elementary  gases.  At  first  view  we  should  be 
disposed,  perhaps,  to  anticipate  as  probable,  that, 
while  the  compound  gases  would  be  formed  of  divisible 
molecules  or  atom-clusters^  the  elementary  gases  would 
present  no  such  complexity  of  structure,  but  consist 
merely  of  separate  and  indivisible  elementary  particles. 
But  a  little  consideration  will  show  us  that  uns  view  is 
incompatible  with  the  results  of  our  preceding  inquiry. 

"  Let  us,  to  simplify  our  calculations,  assign  to  the 
unknown  number  n  of  HCl  molecules,  existing  in  our 
bilitral  volume  of  hydrochloric  acid  gas,  some  definite 
numerical  value,  say  1000. 

"  This  being  assumed  as  the  number  of  molecules  in 

2  litres,  the  number  in  i  litre  is  of  course  just  half  or 
500 ;  and,  as  we  recognise  that  equal  volumes  01  all 
gases  contain  equal  numbers  of  molecules,  the  litre  of 
hydrogen  and  the  litre  of  chlorine,  which  go  to  the 
formation  of  our  2  htres  of  hydrochloric  acid  gas,  must 
likewise  contain  500  molecules  each. 

"  Now,'.as  each  molecule  of  hydrochloric  acid  con- 
tains I  atom  of  hydrogen  joined  to  i  atom  of  chlorine, 
the  1000  molecules  of  nydrochloric  acid  must,  of  neces- 
sity, contain  1000  atoms  of  hydrogen  joined  to  1000 
atoms  of  chlorine — the  whole  number  of  atoms  present 
being  therefore  2000. 

"  But  we  have  just  seen  that  one  litre  of  hydrogen 
and  one  Htre  of  chlorine  contain,  not  1000  molecules 
each  of  the  respective  bodies,  but  only  500. 

"  It  follows  clearly  that  500  molecules  of  hydrogen  and 
500  molecules  of  chlorine  have  supplied  respectively 
twice  as  many  atoms  of  those  constituent  bodies  ;  each 
contributing  its  1000  atoms  to  the  aggregate  number 
of  2000  atoms,  existing  in  the  1000  HCl  molecules, 
contained  in  our  2  htres  of  hydrochloric  acid  gas. 

"If  500  molecules  of  an  elementary  gas  supply  1000 
atoms  it  is  plain  that  each  molecule  supplies  2  atoms  y 
and  thus  we  clearly  perceive  that  the  molecule  of  the 
compound  gas  under  review,  and  the  molecules  of 
each  of  its  elementary  constituents,  are  all  formed  on 


[Eagliah  Editiflti,  Vol  ZVI,  No.  404,  pi«M  UA  117.] 


220 


The  CJiemistry  of  Met^yintes. 


i  Chemical  Nbws, 
1       IToe^  1867. 


the  same  type — that  type  being  the  first  of  our  quad- 
ruple series,  viz.,  the  nydrochloric  acid  or  diatomic 
type. 

"  This  is  a  remarkable  and  striking,  yet  strictly  logical 
deduction.  It  completes  a  chain  of  reasonings  wijich, 
if  correct,  justify  the  conception  that  simple  as  well  as 
compound  gases  are  complex  as  to  their  molecular 
structure ;  and  that  this  structure,  for  all  the  permanent 
elementary  gases,  is  of  the  diatomic  type." 


THE    CHEMISTRY    OP   METEORITES. 

BY  W.  WARINOTON  SMYTH,  M.A.,  T.R.S. 

M.  Daubr^e,  already  so  distinguished  for  his  researches 
on  metamorphism.  has  recently  published  the  results 
of  his  -Synthetical  Experiments  on  Meteorites,  and  has 
thus  brought  before  us,  from  an  entirely  different 
point  of  view,  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  and  origin  of 
the  silicated  magnesian  rocks  and  minerals. 

M.  Daubr^  first  describes  his  experiments  on  ^e 
imitation  of  the  meteoric  irons.  The  most  characteristic 
feature  of  these  masses  is  the  crystalline  pattern 
(Widmanstatten's  figures)  which  is  brought  to  view 
on  a  polished  surface  by  tiie  action  of  an  acid.  Simple 
fusion  of  the  meteorite  of  Gaille  (Var)  in  a  brasque  of 
alumina  (to  avoid  the  contact  of  carbon,  which  would 
have  combined  with  the  iron),  was  insuflScient  to  re- 
produce the  appearance,  although  the  resulting  sub- 
stance was  certainly  crystalline.  Further  experiments, 
in  which  soft  iron  was  associated  with  some  of  the 
other  substances  that  commonly  accompany  meteoric 
iron,  such  as  nickel  and  protosulphide  of  iron  and 
silicon,  yielded  a  highly  crystalline  result,  but  not  yet 
of  the  time  character.  If,  however,  to  the  soft  iron 
was  added  phosphide  of  iron,  in  the  proportion  of  from 
two  to  five  or  ten  per  cent,  and,  still  better,  if  there 
was  introduced  at  the  same  time  nickel,  and  if  a  mass 
of  as  much  as  two  kilogrammes  in  weight  was  operat- 
ed on,  there  appeared,  when  the  cooled  lump  was 
polished  and  etched,  in  the  midst  of  dendritic  patterns 
of  great  regularity,  lines  of  a  brilliant  material  dispersed 
in  a  reticulated  form. 

A  third  mode  of  attempting  the  imitation  -was  that 
of  melting  down  certain  terrestrial  rock-substances,  as 
peridote,  Iherzolite*,  hypersthene,  basalts,  and  mela- 
phyres.  By  this  means  specimens  of  iron  were  obtain- 
ed which,  both  in  composition  and  structure,  bore 
strong  resemblance  to  many  of  the  siderolites.  Es- 
pecially was  this  notable  in  the  metal  obtained  from 
the  Iherzohte  of  Prades  (Eastern  Pyrenees).  These 
artificial  irons  were  then  found,  like  the  natural  me- 
teoric ones,  to  contain  nickel,  chromium,  and  phosphide 
of  iron,  the  latter  in  long  needles' recalling  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  natural  patterns 

Imitation  of  the  Meteoric  Stones. — Contrary  to  what 
might  have  been  expected  from  the  appearance  of  the 
black  vitrified  crust  on  the  surface,  the  substance  pro- 
duced by  the  melting  down  of  meteorites  obtained 
from  above  thirty  different  falls,  was  in  every  case 
highly  crystalline.  Those  of  the  common  type  present 
a  group  of  metallic  granules,  disseminated  in  a  stony 
mixture  of  peridote  (kg/Si)  and  enetatite  (MgSi),  the 
former  generally  on  the  surface  as  a  thin  crystalline 
pellicle,   the    latter  in  the  interior  as  long  acicular 

*  Lheraolite  (no  called  fVom  Lhen,  in  the  Pyrenees)  Is  a  rock  com- 
posed of  peridote,  enstatite,  and  pyroxene  (auglte). 


crystals.  A  notable  contrast  was  yielded  by  the  alu- 
minous meteorites,  such  as  those  of  Juvinas,  Jonzac, 
and  Stannern,  which  produced,  instead  of  crystalline, 
a  vitreous  mass. 

But  perhaps  the  more  remarkable  results  were  those 
obtained  synthetically  by  melting  dovni  pieces  of  rock 
characterised  by  the  minerals  peridote  and  enstatite. 
For  this  purpose  peridote  (olivine),  from  the  basalt 
of  Langeae  (Haute  Loire),  and  Iherzolite,  trom  Yio- 
dessos  and  Prades,  were  fused  in  earthem  crucibles. 
They  melted  easily  and  yielded  crystalline  substances^ 
the  latter  especially  closely  resembling  the  original 
rock.  The  proportion  of  enstatite  (the  bisiHcate  of 
magnesia)  was  foimd  to  be  increased  by  the  addition 
of  silica. 

When  similar  mineral  substances  were  melted  in 
presence  of  a  reducing  i^^ent,  the  iron  (which  in  the 
other  case  remained  combined  in  the  silicate)  segre- 
gated itself  in  grains  of  various  sizes,  separable  hj 
ike  magnet  Thus  a  perfect  analogy  was  established 
between  the  above  rodks  and  the  meteorites,  as  well  in 
their  stony  minerals  as  in  the  iron,  which  always 
contained  nickel 

furthermore,  some  remarkable  characters  in  the 
structure  of  the  stony  meteorites  were  found  to  have 
been  imitated,  especially  the  delicate  parallel  lines 
attributable  to  cleavage,  which  are  visible  when  a  thin 
slice  is>examined  under  the  microscope,  and  the  glob- 
ular structure  where  the  little  spherules  are  sometimes 
smooth  at  the  surface,  at  others  drusy,  or  roughened 
with  the  points  of  minute  projecting  crystals,  like  the 
meteorite  of  Sigena,  November  17,  1773. 

When  hydrogen  was  employed  as  the  reducing 
agent,  the  results  were  very  similar,  and  the  reaction 
woula  take  place  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  red 
heat 

Again,  another  method  of  imitation,  the  reverse  of 
the  foregoing,  was  by  oxidatioi^.  From  silicide  of  iron, 
heated  in  a  or<uque  of  magnesia  by  the  gas  blowpipe,  a 
substance  was  obtained  extremely  similar  to  the 
common  type  of  meteorite.  The  iron  was  separated 
partly  as  native  iron,  partly  as  a  silicate,  forming 
peridote,  some  of  it  in  the  crystallised  state.  Further 
details  of  resemblance  were  attained  by  heating  a 
mixture  of  silica,  magnesia,  and  nickeliferous  iron, 
phosphide  and  sulphide  of  iron.  The  stony  gangae 
of  the  melted  product  was  found  to  be  fi'ee  firom 
the  latter  three  substances ;  and  instead  of  the  simple 
phosphide  introduced  in  the  experiment,  there  was 
observable  the  triple  phosphide  of  iron,  nickel,  and 
magnesium,  first  noticed  by  Berzelius  in  meteoric 
irons. 

The  preceding  experiments  suggest  some  important 
deductions  on  the  condition  of  the  planetary  matter 
from  which  the  meteorites  have  been  diverted  to  our 
own  globe.  M.  Daubr^e  makes  no  attempt  to  enter 
the  lists  with  Von  Haiding^r*,  Baron  Reichenbach, 
Prof.  Lawrence  Smith,  and  others,  on  the  questions 
attending  the  entry  of  these  bodies  into  our  atmosphere, 
and  the  circumstances  of  their  fall ;  but,  considering 
that  their  surface  alone  is  modified  by  these  conditions, 
he  infers  that  their  interior  mass  remains  the  same  as 
when  it  was  wandering  in  space,  and  may  to  a  great 
extent  be  taken  as  a  sample  of  the  material  of  the 
planetary  bodies  of  which  they  are  the  fragments. 

Seeing  how  nearly  the  composition  and  structure  of 
the  meteorites  are  reproduced  by  the  two  methods  of 

*  See  Haldinger,  PMl,  Mag.  Noyember  and  December,  1861. 


[BngUah  Bdmoa,  VoL  ZVL,  ITo^  404,  pagw  U7,  lia] 


Cbbiical  Nicwa, ) 
yo9^  1887.       f 


Practical  Loeaes  in  Bleaching-Powder  Manufacture. 


221 


experiment,  M.  Daubr^  refers  by  their  aid  to  the 
onginal  mode  of  foimatioa  of  the  bodies  from  which 
these  meteorites  come. 

If  they  were  produced  from  silicated  minerals  by  re- 
duction, in  which  carbon  was  the  reducing  agent,  it 
may  be  objected  that  the  iron  could  scarcely  have 
remained  in  the  metallic  state;  and  if  hydrogen  be 
supposed  to  have  been  the  reducing  asent,  water  ought 
to  have  been  formed  at  the  surface,  whence  it  appears 
more  simple  and  reasonable  to  recur  to  the  idea  of  an 
oxidising  process.  Allow  that  silicon  and  Uie  metals 
existed  at  one  time  in  the  meteorites,  not  combined 
with  oxygen  as  they  now  mostly  are,  arid  this  by 
reason  either  of  too  high  a  temperature  to  allow  them 
to  remain  in  combination,  or  of  too  great  a  separation 
of  their  particles,  then,  as  soon  as,  by  their  cooling 
down  or  by  their  condensation,  the  oxygen  was  able 
to  act  upon  the  other  elements,  it  would  at  once 
combine  freely  with  those  for  which  it  had  most 
aflinity,  and  if  not  sufficient  in  quantity  to  oxidise  the 
whole,  or  not  enabled  to  act  long  enough,  would  leave 
a  metallic  residue.  In  fact  there  would  be  produced 
the  silicate  of  magnesia  and  iron,  peridote  or  olivine, 
and  granular  portions  of  niekeliferous  iron  and  of 
sulphides  and  phosphides  of  iron.  These  views,  whilst 
applicable  to  a  large  proportion  of  the  meteoric  bodies, 
would  require  modifications  for  tJhose  rarer  varieties 
which  consist  essentially  of  pyroxene  and  anorthite. 
Whilst  the  magnesian  silicates  crystallise  so  readily 
after  simple  fusion,  these  latter  substances  would  only 
melt  to  vitreous  and  amorphous  masses,  and  in  order 
to  become  crystalline  would  have  needed  the  presence 
of  water. — Address  to  the  Qeologuxd  Society,  Anni- 
venary  meeting j  1867. 


ON  THE  PRACTICAL  LOSSES  IN 
THE   BLEACHING-POWDER  MANUFACTURE. 

BT  C.  B.  A.  WBIOHT,  B.SO.,  F.0.8. 

Thb  difference  between  the  amounts  of  bleaching 
powder  of  a  given  strength  obtainable  tiieoretioally 
and  practically  from  a  given  quantity  of  manganese  ore, 
depend  mainly  on  three  circumstances,  viz : — 

1.  Incomplete  decomposition  of  all  MnOs  used. 

2.  Loss  of  chlorine  by  leakage  from  the  generators, 
conducting  pipes,  and  powder-chambers,  and  non- 
absorption  by  the  slacked  lime  of  aU  the  chlorine 
supplied  to  it. 

3.  Deterioration  of  the  powder  made,  either  by  loss 
of  hypochlorous  acid  from  the  action  of  the  atmos- 
pheric C0»,  or  by  conversion  of  hypochlorite  into 
chlorate  and  chloride,  or  other  compounds  deficient  in 
bleaching-power. 

In  practical  working,  it  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  a 
good  estimate  of  the  several  amounts  of  loss  experienced 
from  these  three  causes:  the  total  loss,  however,  is 
readily  calculable  when  tne  weights  of  manganese  ore 
and  bfeaching-powder  used  and  made,  and  the  average 
percentage  of  MnOs,  and  available  CI  contained  therein, 
are  respectively  known.  Thus,  taking  55  and  35*5  as 
the  respective  equivalents  of  manganese  and  chlorine, 
100  parts  of  manganese  ore  containing  M  per  cent,  of 

<<  available  bmoxide"  should   yield  ^  x    M  parts  of 

chlorine,  and  consequently  should  theoretically  give 

8 1  •6 1   X  —  parts  of  bleaching-powder  containing  n  per 

cent,  of  "  available  chlorine.'' 


ArersKC  per  eeni,  of 
available  M11O2  in 
the  maoganese  ore 
used. 

64-00 

6650 

6670 

PracUcol    yield:     the 
theoretical  being  tak- 
en as  zoo. 

76-8 

757 

728 

The  following  results  were  obtained  as  the  average 
losses,  in  different  periods  extending  over  several 
months  each,  in  a  works  manufacturing  upwards  of  70 
tons  of  bleaching-powder  weekly. 

Average  per  cent,  of 

available  chlorine  in 

the  powder  paoked  in 

casks  ready  for  sale. 

35-00 

35'3S 

3519 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  total  average  loss  is  just 
25  per  cent,  of  the  theoretical  yield. 

These  results  were  obtained  by  the  "Lancashire" 
mode  of  working;  t.  «.  where  the  chlorine  generators, 
or  stills,  are  formed  of  flags  from  4  to  7  inches  thick, 
jointed  together  and  made  tight  by  a  composition  of 
fire-clay  and  tar,  known  technically  as  "  Bary  tes."  The 
average  amount  of  powder  manufactured  per  square 
foot  of  surface  on  the  floor  of  the  chambers  was  13-5 
lbs.  weekly ;  while  the  ratio  of  the  cubic  contents  of 
the  stiUs  to  that  of  the  chambers  was  about  8'i  to  100. 
Out  of  a  100  parts  of  chlorine  contained  in  the  salt  de- 
composed, upwards  of  80  were  obtained  as  yellow 
muratic  acid  of  25**  Twaddell  (25  per  cent,  of  HCl),  and 
15  in  the  shape  of  bleaching-powaer.       ^ 

It  was  found  that  the  average  percentage  of  chlorine 
found  in  samples  taken  from  the  floor  of  the  chambers 
immediately  they  were  opened  was  about  i  per  cent, 
more  than  the  average  in  the  same  powder  when 
packed  in  casks  ready  for  sale,  and,  contrary  to  ex- 
pectation, that  this  difference  was  almost  exactly  the 
same  in  hot  weather  as  in  cold ;  the  numbers  obtained 
being: — 

Bummer  moatlis.       Winter  montfaa. 
Average   of  samples  from 

chambers 35*00  3671 

"  "  casks  34-98  35-71 


Difference 


i-ii 


This  difference  therefore  amounts  to^^  or  three 

parts  in  100  on  the  average  for  a  whole  year,  and  prob- 
ably represents  the  atmospheric  action^  on  the  powder 
during  the  processes  of  packing  in  casks,  etc.  Bleaching- 
powder  manufactured  in  hot  weather  was  frequently 
found  to  contain  perceptible  quantities  of  chlorate; 
samples  kept  in  a  warm  place  in  sealed  bottles  were 
found  at  the  end  of  some  weeks  to  contain  several  per 
cents  of  chlorate :  it  was,  however,  found  impracticable 
to  determine  the  average  amount  of  chlorate  found  in 
the  process  of  manufacture. 

The  physical  character  of  the  siiled  and  slacked  lime 
employed  was  found  to  have  a  great  influence  on  the 
rapidity  of  absorption  of  the  chlorine,  and  on  the  quaU- 
tv  of  the  powder  produced.  It  was  noticed  generally 
tiat  those  quicklimes  technically  called  "Fat,"  (1.  c, 
which  slack,  rapidly  falling  to  a  fine  flowery  powder,) 
gave  always  the  most  satisfactory  results;  whilst 
poorer  limes  which  did  not  slack  so  quickly,  and  yielded 
a  gritty  powder  after  slacking,  absorbed  chlorine  mnch 
less  rapidly,  and  gave  a  bleaching  powder  deteriorat- 
ing much  more  rapidly  on  keeping.  Samples  of  these 
two  kinds  of  bleaching  powder  kept  in  a  warm  place 
under  the  same  conditions  acted  thus:  less  chlorate 
was  found  in  the  first  kind  (Fat  lime),  and  no  gas  was 
evolved ;  more  chlorate  was  found  in  the  second  kind, 
and  frequently  gases  were  generated,  rupturing  the 
sealed  vessel  containing  the  same.     On  making  careful 


[BagUah  Bdilion,  Vol  Z7L,  Vw.  404, 40fl^  IMfw  Ufl^  U&] 


222 


Some  Useful  Applications  of  GTdoride  of  Oaloium. 


( CnsxicAL  Newt, 
1       Noe^  186T. 


analyses  of  the  limes  from  which  these  powders  were 
made,  scarcely  the  slightest  chemical  diflference  waa 
detectable,  all  contaming  but  a  few  tenths  per  cent,  of 
combined  silica,  and  scarcely  any  other  impurity ;  phys- 
ically, however,  the  former  kind  attracted  moisture 
from  the  air  very  much  more  rapidly  than  the  other. 

By  way  of  comparison  with  the  foregoing  numbers, 
the  following  calculations  are  given,  based  on  data 
g^ven  in  "  Richardson  and  Watts's  Technological  Dic- 
tionary," vol  i.  part.  iii.  p.  379 : — 

(i.)  26  cwt.  of  64  per  cent,  manganese  yield ^24 — 26 
cwt.  of  powder  of  35 — 38  per  cent,  of  chlorine ;  averag- 
ing, therefore,  25  cwt.  at  36*5  per  cent.  Hence  the 
practical  average  yield  is  61-2  per  cent,  of  the  theoreti- 
cal amount. 

(2.)  2240  parts  of  salt  give  2753  of  acid  of  28  per 
cent.  HCl,  and  with  448  parts  of  manganese  ore  at  60 
per  cent.,  yield  416  of  bleaching  powder  at  39  per  cent. 
Assuming  the  salt  to  contain,  as  is  probable,  93  per 
cent,  of  NaCl,  out  of  100  parts  of  chlorine  contained  in 
the  salt,  59*3  are  obtained  as  strong  acid,  and  12*8  as 
bleaching  powder ;  the  practical  yield  of  powder  from 
manganese  being  74*0  per  cent,  of  the  theoretical 
quantity. 
Chemical  Laboratory,  St  Tbomu^a  Hospital. 


ON  SOME  USEFUL  APPLICATIONS  OF 
CHLORIDE  OF  CALCIUM. 

BT  J.  HABGREAVES. 

The  utilisation  of  waste  products  has  within  the 
present  century  become  an  object  of  great  im- 
portance, and  the  results  such,  for  instance,  as  obtain- 
ing ammonia,  benzol,  aniline  and  its  derivatives,  etc., 
from  coal-tap ;  garancin  from  madder  waste,  acetic  and 
oxalic  acids  from  sawdust  and  other  ligneous  materials, 
ammonia,  animal  charcoal,  and  manure  from  bones, 
have  been  sufficiently  profitable  to  encourage  further 
attempts  in  the  same  direction.  The  writer  hopes 
that  the  following  may  result  in  directing  attention 
to  some  of»  the  means  of  utilising  another  waste 
product.      • 

There  is  produced  in  the  manufacture  of  soda  by 
Leblanc's  "process  a  larger  quantity  of  hydrochloric 
acid  than  can  be  utilised.  The  principal  use  to  which 
it  is  applied  is  for  the  production  of  chlorine  in  the 
manufacture  of  bleaching  powder,  but  this  uses  up 
only  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  the  total  pro- 
duction; and  many  alkali  manufacturers  throw  away 
nearly  all  the  hydrochloric  acid  made  by  them,  causing 
a  great  amount  of  mischief  in  the  streams  into  which 
the  acid  is  run,  in  many  instances  completely  ruining 
them  as  fishing  streams,  while  the  conduct  of  the 
luckless  manufacturer  wno  can  find  no  better  use  for 
his  acid,  is  commented  upon  by  anglers  and  the  lovers 
of  fish  diet,  in  language  more  remarkable  for  force  than 
refinement:  the  former  find  their  sport  ruined,  and 
the  latter  their  favourite  article  of  food  destroyed. 

This  acid  instead  of  being  thrown  to  waste  can  be 
used  to  produce  chloride  of  calcium  by  filling  the  con- 
densing towers  with  limestone  instead  of  coke,  adding 
more  stone  aa  it  is  dissolved  away  by  the  acid,  thus 
supplying  a  quantity  of  chloride  of  calcium  almost  un- 
limited. Or  the  chloride  of  calcium  may  be  produced 
by  the  reaction  of  hydrochloric  acid,  on  alkali  waste  in 
suitable  apparatus,  and  using  the  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen given  off,  in  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid. 
There  are  practical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  adopting 


this  mode  of  making  chloride  of  calcium,  but  are  they 
impossibilities?  The  chief  difficulties  are  that  unless 
great  care  is  taken  there  is  an  escape  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  which  is  not  only  very  disagreeable  but  is 
liable  to  explode  when  mixed  with  the  atmosphere. 
Q-reat  care  is  also  required  when  burning  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  for  if  the  supply  of  air  is  deficient,  sulphur 
is  sublimed  and  passed  into  the  vitriol  chambers  un- 
bumt,  and  if  the  supply  of  air  is  for  a  short  time  cut 
off,  sulphuretted  hydrogen  is  Hable  to  get  into  the 
chamber  and  cause  an  explosion  on  the  admission  of 
an  excess  of  air  afterwards.  In  fact,  making  sulphuric 
acid  by  the  use  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  has  after  many 
trials  by  various  inventors  been  found  to  be  one  of 
those  matters  which  become  dangerous  and  impracti- 
cable in  the  hands  of  ignorant  workmen  (another  illus- 
tration of  how  the  ignorance  of  a  population  restricts 
the  sources  of  wealth  in  a  nation). 

Another  cheap  source  of  chloride  of  calcium  is  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  bye  products  from  several  other  pro- 
cesses for  the  recovery  of  sulphur  from  alkali  waste, 
such,  for  instance,  as  that  of  M.  Mond,  a  description  of 
which  lately  appeared  in  the  Cqehioal  News.  The 
chloride  of  calcium  has  in  this  case  the  advantage  of 
being  free  from  arsenic,  the  arsenic  being  precipitated 
along  with  the  sulphur  as  tersulphide.  Another  ready 
source  of  chloride  of  calcium  exists  in  the  bicarbonate 
of  soda  manufacture;  the  chloride  is  obtained  when 
limestone  is  acted  upon  by  hydrochloric  acid  for  the 
production  of  carbonic  acid. 

The  chloride  of  calcium  by  whatever  means  obtained 
should,  if  it  has  to  be  carried  to  a  distance,  be  boiled 
to  dryness  in  a  reverberatory  furnace,  and  the  heat 
urged  till  the  chloride  is  in  a  state  of  igneous  fuaon,  then 
drawn  into  suitable  moulds,  and  when  cold  it  is  in  a 
fit  condition  for  packing  and  transport  It  should  be 
packed  so  as  to  be  protected  from  the  air,  on  account 
of  its  deliquescence. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  reasons  whjr  the  collection 
of  manure  by  Fedimentary  deposition  from  sewage  is 
not  practised,  is,  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  manu- 
rial  mgredients,  and  among  them  a  great  proportion  of 
that  most  important  one,  phosphoric  acid,  are  held  in 
solution,  while  the  least  valuable  are  contained  in  the 
sedimentw  Chloride  of  calcium  added  to  town  sewage 
causes  the  precipitation  of  phosphoric  acid  from  the 
soluble  phosphates.  The  compounds  of  nitrogen  are 
not,  however,  precipitated  except  in  a  very  small  pro- 
portion, and  are  therefore  lost,  when  only  the  sedimen- 
tary portion  of  the  sewage  is  used,  but  this  is  of  little 
importance  compared  with  that  of  the  loss  of  the  phos- 
phates, as  the  atmosphere  will  in  time  supply  to  plants 
sufficient  hydrogen,  carbon,  oxygen,  and  mtrogen, 
though  of  course  the  latter  elements  will  not  be  so 
rapidly  assimilated  by  the  plants,  as  would  be  the  case 
were  they  supplied  with  the  manure ;  but  the  mineral 
elements  if  once  exhausted  oan  only  be  re-supplied  by 
artificial  means.  Chloride  of  calcium  added  in  excess 
to  sewage  also  exerts  antifermentative  and  antiseptic 
properties,  retarding  the  decomposition  of  the  organic 
portion ;  and  when  fermentation  does  occur,  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  nauseous  and  poisonous  sulphide  of  am- 
monium produced  by  the  decomposition  of  organic 
compounds  of  sulphur  and  nitrogen,  is  prevented,  by 
production  of  chloride  of  ammonium  and  sulphide  of 
calcium,*  NH4S  +  CaCl  =  NH4Cl+CaS.     And  when 


*  This  and  the  snceeedlng  reactions  are  ioTerted  when  the  materitli 
aro  heated. 


[BngUah  BdMon,  ToL  XYX.,  Wo.  409^  pi«M  190^  131.] 


Notes  on  Crystals  Deposited  from  the  Brain. 


223 


carbonate  of  ammonia  is  produced  by  the  decomposition 
of  compomids  of  nitrogen,  from  which  sulphur  is  absent, 
or  fixed  by  other  combinations,  the  eyolution  of  am- 
monia is  prevented  by  the  formation  of  the  less  volatile 
chloride  of  ammonium  NH40CO«  +  Caa=NH4Cl  +  CaO 
COt.  The  addition  of  the  chloride  is  an  effectual  pre- 
ventive of  the  evolution  of  compounds  of  ammonia 
from  stable  manure  and  from  cesspools.  These  pro- 
perties make  chloride  of  calcium  an  effective  agent 
m  preventing  the  waste  of  phosphoric,  and,  in 
some  cases,  ammoniacal  compounds,  and  are  well 
worthy  the  attention  of  agricultural  and  sanitary  re- 
formers. 

When  esparto  or  other  vegetable  fibres  are  used  in 
the  manuiactttre  of  paper,  a  solution  of  caustic  soda  is 
employed  for  dissolving  out  the  resinous  and  gummy 
portion  of  the  vegetable  firom  the  fibre.  The  waste 
lye  produced  by  the  operation  is  allowed  to  run  off  in 
tiie  form  of  a  deep  brown-coloured  liquid,  and  consists 
of  extractive  matter,  and  resinous  and  fatty  substances, 
combined  with  soda  in  the  form  of  soap,  together  with 
carbonate  of  soda,  caustic  soda,  and  notable  quantities 
of  phosphate  of  soda.  All  these  soda  compounds  are 
decomposed  by  chloride  of  calcium,  causing  the  for- 
mation of  corresponding  lime  compounds  and  chloride 
of  sodium.  Thelime  compounds  being  insoluble,  are  pre- 
cipitated, carrying  with  them  a  large  proportion  of 
organic  extractive  matter,  leaving  the  water  with  com- 
paratively httle  colour,  and  by  converting  the  soda 
present  into  common  salt,  depriving  it  of  many  of 
those  noxious  qualities  which  cause  paper  works  to 
be  regarded  wim  such  disapprobation  when  situated 
on  the  banks  of  fishing  streams.  The  precipitate  con- 
tains all  the  elements  of  an  excellent  manure ;  its  prin- 
cipal disadvantage  is  owing  to  the  great  quantity  of 
water  adhering  to  it^  which  renders  it  difficult  to  re- 
move, and  dilutes  the  manure ;  but  a  little  practical 
experience  will  remove  this  objection — ^perhaps  spread- 
ing it  in  shallow  layers  to  dry  and  drain  might  make 
it  sufilcicntly  concentrated.  The  chloride  of  calcium 
has,  in  practice,  to  be  used  in  excess  of  the  quantity 
theoretically  necessary*  that  excess,  however,  does 
not  perceptibly  injure  the  water  for  supporting  life  in 
aquatic  plants  and  animals. 

On  the  one  hand,  the  streams  of  one  part  of  the 
country  are  polluted  with  a  powerful  alkali,  and  in 
another  with  a  corrosive  acid ;  in  both  instances  the 
streams  are  unfitted  for  supporting  animal  life.  In 
many  cases  rivers  once  abounding  in  salmon,  trout, 
and  other  valuable  edible  fish,  are  now  deserted  in 
consequence  of  these  pollutions.  All  that  is  required 
to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  things  is  to  use  the  one 
to  neutralise  the  other,  and  produce  a  harmless  neutral 
salt^  and,  at  the  same  time,  prevent  our  manurial 
wealth  leaving  us  by  being  earned  to  the  sea. 

The  writer  has  not  at  hand  the  means  for  forming 
a  correct  estimate  of  the  quantity  of  chloride  of  cal- 
caam  that  might  practically  be  obtained;  but  it  is  evi- 
dent to  any  one  having  any  acquaintance  with  the 
immense  manufactories  of  soda  on  the  Tyne,  the  Clyde, 
and  the  Mersey,  that  many  thousands  of  tons  of  chlo- 
ride of  calcium  per  annum  may  be  obtained,  and  the 
precipitation  that  of  phosphate  of  lime  from  sewage, 
and  the  use  of  that  precipitate  as  manure,  would  go 
far  to  supplement  or  supersede  the  phosphates  im- 
ported in  the  form  of  guano  and  bones.  All  the  ma- 
terials used  in  its  manufacture  are  cheap  and  abundant^ 
in  some  instances  costing  less  than  nothing,  inasmuch 
as  some  of  them  have  at  present  to  be  removed  out 


of  the  way  at  great  expense  of  carriage  and  space  in 
which  to  deposit  them. 
Appleton-Wldnee,  Aug.  19,  1867. 


NOTES  ON  CRYSTALS  DEPOSITED  FROM  THE 
BRAIN. 

BT  S.  W.  MOORE. 

In  the  month  of  June  this  year  (1867),  Mr.  Stuart,  cu- 
rator of  the  Museum,  St  Thomas's  Hospital,  called 
my  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  had  noticed  in  some 
of  the  brain  preparations  a  deposit  of  crystals  which 
appeared  to  him  to  present  a  very  beautiful  and  un- 
usual appearance ;  he  thought,  perhaps,  that  I  might 
like*  to  examine  them  chemically,  which  I  have  done, 
thinking  the  results  may  lead  to  facts  which  will 
ultimately  throw  some  lignt  on  the  now  very  imper- 
fectly understood  compounds  of  the  brain. 

On  inspecting  a  jar  containing  the  deposit,  there  was 
found  a  very  thick  layer  of  crystals  at  the  bottom,  which 
upon  ftirther  inspection  were  seen  to  have  the  form  of 
rhombic  plates ;  over  these,  however,  there  was  a  layer 
of  what  might  have  been  mistaken  for  mucous  or  brain 
matter,  but  on  examination  with  the  microscope  they 
presented  a  very  beautiful  appearance,  two  or  three 


distinct  forms  being  apparent,  viz.— a,  small  stars,  form- 
ed of  globular  bodies  (of  which  there  were  seven,  six 
aggregated  round  one),  a  little  smaller  than  the  male 
human  blood  corpuscle.  0,  resembling  two  pieces  of 
tape,  one  in  a  semicircle,  the  other  stretched  across  its 
diameter,  the  ends  on  both  sides  being  twisted,  y 
This  form  was  one  piece  only,  its  ends  being  brought 
round  upon  one  another  and  twisted. 

These  strange  forms  suggested  the  idea  that  some 
albuminous  principle  might  probably  have  united  itself 
with  a  crystalline  substance,  and  have  caused  these 
structures  to  become  manifest  in  the  attempt  to  crys- 
tallize ;  they  gave  under  the  influence  of  polarized 
light  a  distinct  cross,  and  what  seems  to  confirm  the 
supposition  of  their  being  a  colloid  is  that  upon  testing 
nitrogen  was  developed.  They  are  saponified  by  KHO, 
and  dissolved  by  hot  absolute  alcohol,  and  separate  out 
on  cooling  in  a  granular  form,  and  are  of  course  in- 
soluble in  water. 

On  presenting  the  various  tests  to  the  crystals  which 
were  so  densely  crowded  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel, 
some  very  interesting  data  were  collected,  agreeing 
with  the  tests  for  no  other  hitherto  mentioned  brain 
compound. 

In  appearance  the  crystals  were  waxy,  they  were 
tasteless  and  insoluble  in  water;  on  ignition  they 
burned  away  with  a  bright  smoky  flame,  leaving  no 
residue  whatever.  The  tests  for  N.  P,  and  S,  were 
carefully  applied,  but  with  no  result*  the  substance 
was  precipitable  fi:om  its  ethereal  solution  by  alcohol ; 
its  melting-point  was  103°  C,  and  on  combustion  it 
gave  the  following  percentage : — 

Carbon 4379 

Hydrogen 0*09 

Oxygen 48-12  by  difference 

lOO'OO 


[BiigUch  Editton,  ToL  ZVI,  Va  40fl^  I«8W  131, 138.] 


224 


On  the  so-called  ^^LiOGtive  "  Condition  of  Solids.  { 


Ifov^  1U7. 


From,  this  an  empirical  formula  may  be  calculated, 
having  the  following  constitutionjCiHieO*,  or  CisHisOio, 
the  latter  perhaps  giving  a  calculated  result  nearer  the 
found  one,  viz., — 

Carbon 43*64 

Hydrogen 7*88 

Oxjgen 48*48 


From  the  results  obtained  above  we  may  safely 
conclude  that  the  substance  is  not  cholesterine,  its 
high  percentage  of  oxygen,  and  its  low  melting-point, 
excluding  it  from  that  supposition.  It  is  equally  im- 
possible that  it  sliould  be  cerebric  acid,  because  it  is 
perfectly  neutral  and  contains  no  nitrogen,  the  absence 
of  phosphorus  proves  it  cannot  be  oleophosphoric 
acid. 

I  hope  to  obtun  some  more  of  the  substance,  when 
further  experiments  will  be  made,  from  which  I  shall 
doubtless  obtain  something  of  a  more  definite  nature, 
and  be  enabled  to  give  it  a  rational  formula,  it  appear- 
ing to  have  been  up  to  the  present  time  unnoticed. 

On  exposing  to  the  air  the  spirits  from  which  the 
crystals  had  been  taken,  a  fresh  crop  formed ;  these, 
however,  were  only  crystalline  plates  of  cholesterine. 


AN  IMPORTANT  ADJUNCT  TO  THE  INDUC- 
TION COIL. 

BT  HENRT  MORTON,    PH.D. 

The  arrangements  I  am  about  to  describe  have  proved 
of  great  value  to  me,  and  will,  I  presume,  be  of  like 
use  to  others  who  may  have  need  of  similar  lecture 
illustrations. 

Take  eight  plates  of  glass,  about  11  inches  by  14 
inches,  and  attach  to  both  sides  of  each  plate  sheets  of 
tinfoil  7  inches  by  10  inches  in  size,  with  rounded 
corners.  Set  these  plates  upright  in  a  box  Cprovided 
with  grooves  for  the  purpose)  about  i  and  a  half  inches 
apart :  then,  rolling  up  some  balls  of  paper  large 
enough  to  fit  between  Uie  plates,  and  wrapping  a  strip 
of  tinfoil  around  each  ball,  thrust  ih&ai  between  the 
plates,  and,  lastly,  make  an  outside  pole  to  the  terminal 
sheets  of  foil  by  means  of  wires  enclosed  in  glass  tubes 

gassed  through  the  side  or  top  of  tiie  box.  It  is  evi- 
ent  that  we  ^ave  here  a  compact  form  of  Leyden 
battery  arranged  for  "cascade."  With  the  ordinary 
electrical  machine  such  an  arrangement  would  be 
worthless  from  its  want  of  ihsiuation.  With  the 
induction  coil,  however,  which  developes  an  entire 
charge  in  an  instant,  it  becomes  of  great  value  in  a 
certain  class  of  experiments,  because  it  gives  us  at 
once  the  concentrated  charge  peculiar  to  the  Leyden 
battery,  combined  with  a  spark  length  which  is  other- 
wise lost.  (This  property  of  long  spark  in  the  "  cas- 
cade" arrangement  of  jars  is  well  known.) 

If  such  an  apparatus  as  we  have  just  described  be 
connected  with  the  secondary  poles  of  an  induction 
coil,  and  other  wires  are  then  led  off  (with  a  break  in 
the  circuit,  however,  of  i  to  i  inches)  to  some  piece  of 
apparatus  for  the  illustration  of  electric  discharge  in 
vacuo,  such  as  Gassiot's  cascade  (especially  with  a 
canary  goblet),  the  Aurora  tube,  an  electric  egg  of 
canary  glass,  etc.  (but  not  a  Geissler  tube),  the  bright- 
ness of  the  illumination  and  volume  of  the  discharge 
will  be  immensely  increased.    Thus  a  goblet  invisible 


at  30  feet  when  the  unaided  coil  is  used,  becomes  hH' 
liant  at  50  feet  with  this  attachment  I  have  used 
two  cods  with  the  above  apparatus,  both  made  by  Mr. 
E.  S.  Ritchie,  of  Boston,  one  (which  is  my  own  prop- 
erty) yielding  a  spark  of  8  inches,  the  other  (aUo  in 
my  hands,  as  it  belongs  to  the  Physical  Cabinet  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania)  which  ^ives,  in  its  present 
mounting,  sparks  of  16  inches,  but  is  capable  of  yield- 
ing sparks  two  feet  in  length.  Such  sparks  were, 
in  fact,  obtained  from  it  b^  Mr.  Ritchie  during  its 
manufacture ;  but,  in  mounting  it,  the  poles  have  been 
secured  at  a  maximum  distance  of  16  inches  to  provide 
against  accident,  such  a  length  being  abundantly  suffi- 
cient for  use.  How  the  above  battery  would  work 
with  smaller  coils  I  cannot  say.  Gkissler  tubes,  unless 
of  very  large  area,  are  not  benefited  in  appearance  by 
this  arrangement ;  because,  as  I  believe,  the  oou 
unaided  can  supply  all  the  electricity  they  are  capable 
of  transmitting,  and  this  excessive  charge  only  tends 
to  develope  inductive  resistances  in  the  ^ass  tubes 
themselves,  which  resistances  this  moTneniary  current 
is  the  least  fitted  to  overcome. 

Allow  me  to  mention  another  little  practical  detail 
in  this  connection.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  the 
induction  coil  is  unfit  for  the  exhibition  of  those  exper- 
iments of  attraction  and  repulsion  which  especudly 
characterise  statical  electricity.  A  great  number,  how- 
ever, mAj  be  very  satLsfactorily  exhibited  by  charging 
Leyden  jars  and  using  them  as  the  sources  of  ekctrio- 
ity.  Thus,  connect  a  chime  of  bells  with  the  knob  of 
a  large  jar,  connect  the  outer  coating  with  the  earth 
and  with  the  negative  pole  of  the  coil ;  then  bring  the 
positive  pole  wiuiin  striking  distance  of  the  knob,  and 
charge  by  a  few  sparks.  The  electrical  flyer,  orrery, 
sportsman  and  birds  may  be  successfully  operated  in 
this  way,  even  in  summer  weather. 

Probably,  however,  the  coil  should  not  be  of  less 
than  6  inches  spark  length. 

UnlYenUy  of  Penna.,  PhUadelphU. 


ON  THE  SO-CALLED  "  INACTIVE"  CONDITIOK 
OF  SOLIDa 

^      BT  CHARLES  TOMLINSON,   F.R.S. 

In  the  Chemical  News  for  the  2nd  of  August  (Am0r.  Rt- 
print,  OcL  1867,  page  162)  is  given  a  notice  of  my  paper 
on  the  above  subject,  in  which  I  endeavour  to  prove 
that  the  action  of  solids  in  disengaging  gases  fit>m 
their  solutions,  or  in  inducing  crystallisation  in  saline 
solutions,  is  simply  a  question  of  adhesion  depending 
on  the  state  of  purity  of  the  surface  of  the  soUd.  I 
have  since  endeavoured  to  express  my  theory  in  such 
general  terms  as  to  embrace  a  larger  number  of  phe- 
nomena, which  indeed  seem  to  increase  the  more  it  is 
examined. 
My  theory,  as  it  now  stands,  is  as  follows : — 
Any  supersaturated  solution  of  gas,  with  its  upper 
surface  freely  exposed  to  the  air,  is  always  giving  off 
that  gas,  either  with  effervescence,  or  silently  and 
imperceptibly.  It  does  so  because  the  excess  of  gas 
has  only  a  sUght  adhesion  for  the  liquid,  and  the  air  is 
virtually  a  vacuum  for  it,  the  only  difference  being, 
that  it  would  pass  off  into  a  real  vacuum  suddenly  and 
instantaneously.  The  remaining  surface  of  the  liquid, 
or  that  confined  by  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  is  in  exactly 
the  same  state,  subject  however  to  two  conditional 
(i)  the  purity  of  their  surface,  and  (2)  ^e  pressure 
exerted  by  them  (virtually)  on  the  liquid. 


[XSnglkh  BdWon,  Vol  Z7L,  IToc  400^  407,  pi«;w  13^  XI9.] 


GtemcAL  Kiva, ) 


O/i  <A^  Refraction  Equivalmts  of  Salte  in  Sohtiov. 


225 


(i.)  Suppose  the  vessel  to  be  chemically  dean.  No 
gan  will  be  disengaged,  and  no  bubbles  will  form  on 
the  sides,  because  the  adhesion  between  the  sides  and 
the  liquid  is  perfect  Hence  the  sides  may  be  consid- 
ered, pro  rdUiy  aa  merely  a  continuation  of  the  liquid 
itself  and  no  bubbles  wUl  form  there  any  more  than  in 
the  central  parts  of  the  liquid.  But  suppose  the  sides 
to  be  dirty,  adhesion  is  diminished  or  annulled  |  and 
therefore  the  surface  of  the  liquid  next  to  such  sides  is 
rirtually  as  ft^e  as  its  upper  surface.  (2.)  Hence 
bubbles  will  form  here,  just  as  they  form  on  the  upper 
ffiir/kce  ;  but  in  the  latter  case  they  do  not  appear  as 
bubbles  (except  in  effervescence)  because  there  is  no 
pressure.  The  sides  do  exert  pressure,  and  therefore 
babbles  are  formed.  Now  it  does  not  at  all  matter 
whether  tiiere  be  air  or  not  between  the  sides  and  the 
liquid :  there  may  probably  be  a  vacuum  or  any  other 
gas.  The  result  will  be  the  same.  Hence  it  is  futile 
to  talk  of  the  air  as  disengaging  bubbles,  as  in  M. 
Gemez*8  theory  ;  it  is  really  want  of  adhesion.  Now 
to  apply  this  to  the  case  of  the  so-called  ^^  inactive'' 
glass  red.  A  rod,  a  coin,  a  piece  of  flinty  etc.,  placed 
m  the  liquid,  does  nothing  more  than  form  new  sides, 
as  it  were,  to  the  vessel,  and  its  effect  is  merely  that 
of  the  sides.  K  chemically  clean,  the  rod,  etc.,  will 
form  no  bubbles  round  it,  and  it  is  called  *^  inactive  " 
because  its  adhesion  is  perfect  If  dirty,  the  surface  of 
liquid  in  contact  with  it  will  be  as  free,  or  almost  so, 
as  the  upper  surface. 

The  same  theory  applies  equally  well  to  the  action 
of  nttelei  in  inducing  crystallisation.  It  also  applies  to 
the  common  theory  of  ebullition,  and  the  action  of  the 
vessel  in  raising  or  lowering  the  boiling-point  under 
the  same  pressure.  Writers  down  to  our  own  day  state 
that  water  boils  at  about  105^  0.  in  a  glass  vessel,  and 
at  100^  in  a  metal  vessel ;  at  a  lower  temperature  in 
vessels  whose  internal  surfaces  are  rough  than  in 
smooth  ones;  that  bumping  is  produced  when  the 
fiquid  has  comparatively  little  adhesion  to  air;  and 
soon  I  think  it  can  be  proved  that  these  and  other 
phenomena  which  figure  in  our  text-books  as  remark- 
able facts,  can  be  explained  wiUi  reference  to  the  same 
law  of  adhesion,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  air 
except  indirectly. 

Khig't  CoDege,  London,  Aug.  31,  1867. 


REVISION  OF  THE   MINERAL  PHOSPHATES. 

BY  A.   H.   OnURCH,   M.A., 

nonssoR  or  cHxxnTBT,  r.a.  oollms,  oimcironTB. 

(Coottakned  fh>m  toL  XII.,  p.  183,  Kng.  Bd.  Chbi.  Nbws.) 

.  No.  VI.   OSTEOLITS. 

A  STATEMEirr  appears  in  some  chemical  works  to  the 
effect  that  'osteolite,  a  white  and  compact  mineral  not 
unlike  fine  lithographic  stone,  is  really  pure  tricalcic 
diphosphate  Ca"«2P04.  All  the  analyses,  however,  of 
the  suDStance  which  have  been  published,  point  to  a 
very  different  conclusion  ;  and,  in  fact,  a  pure  native 
tricalcic  diphosphate  is  still  unknown.  My  analyses  of 
gpectmena  of  osteolite  firom  various  localities  serve  to 
oonfirm  the  notion  that  this  so-called  species  is  merely 
an  apatite  more  or  less  altered  by  the  substitution  of 
calcic  carbonate  for  the  chloride  or  fluoride. 

One  of  my  specimens  was  from  Eichen,  Wetterhau. 
It  was  white,  hard,  and  tough,  showed  slight  signs  of 
being  stratified,  and  had  a  density  of  about  2-86.  The 
foUowing  are  toe  analytical  results : — 


35.46  ^iDS  osteolite  gave -83  grain  HO 

**  "     3007     »    Ca",2P0« 

"     426    "    Ca'CO, 

5532      "  »     139    «    CO, 

From  these  results  we  find  that  more  lime  was  pres- 
ent in  the  mineral  than  sufficed  to  saturate  the  phos* 
phoric  and  carbonic  acids.  Qualitative  tests  revealed 
the  presence  of  much  fluorine.  If  the  remainder  of  the 
calcium  be  calculated  as  if  in  union  with  fluorine,  the 
following  satisfactory  percentages  are  shown : — 

Ca",2  PO 87*25 

CaCO, 570 

CaF, 492 

H.0 234 


Osteolite,  therefore,  cannot  rank  as  a  distinct  spe- 
cies :  it  is  a  more  or  less  altered  apatite. 


ON    THE    REFRACTION    EQUIVALENTS    OP 
SALTS  IN  SOLUTION.* 

BT  J.  H.  0LAD8T0NB,  F.R.SL 

The  British  Association  has  already  more  than  once 
heard  of  "  refiraction-equivalenta,"  but  for  many  chem- 
ists the  term  may  still  require  definition.  It  is  well 
known  that  every  body  has  the  power  of  bending  a  ray 
of  transmitted  light,  and  that  this  power  may  be  ex- 
pressed by  a  number,  termed  the  **  refractive  index." 
Now  this  "refractive  index,"  minu8  unity,  divided  by 
the  density  of  the  body,  is  termed  its  "  specific  refrac- 
tive energy," — ^a  property  of  great  importance,  and  one 
that  accompanies  the  body,  notwithstanding  great  phys- 
ical or  chemical  changes ;  for  instance,  to  quote  words 
formerly  used,  as  a  rule,  when  a  gas,  liquid,  or  solid  dis- 
solves in  water,  it  preserves  its  specific  renractive  ener- 
gy."t  For  many  purposes  it  is  convenient  to  multiply 
this  number  by  the  atomic  weight  of  the  substance, 
and  that  is  termed  its  "refraction-equivalent." 

Now  it  is  not  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  refraction- 
equivalent  of  a  salt  in  solution.  Let  a  weight  of  it, 
answering  to  its  chemical  equivalent,  be  dissolved  in  a 
certMU  number  of  equivalents  of  water;  the  refraction- 
equivalent  of  the  whole  solution  will  consist  of  the  re- 
fraction-equivalent of  the  salty  plus  so  many  times  the 
refraction-equivalent  of  water ;  and  as  this  number  is 
known,  we  have  only  to  subtract  it  from  the  whole 
to  obtain  the  refraction-equivalent  desired. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  if  a  series  of  salts  in  solution 
were  thus  examined,  I  might  arrive  at  numbers  from 
which  many  interesting  facts  might  be  deduced,  and 
especially  that  it  might  afford  data  for  determining  the 
refraction-equivalents  of  all  the  metals,  and  of  those 
substances  with  which  these  metals  will  combine  to 
form  soluble  salts. 

As  the  determinations  are  matters  of  CTeat  delicacy, 
especially  when  the  solutions  are  weak.  I  am  having  a 
superior  apparatus  made  by  Mr.  Brownmg  for  the  pur- 
pose; but  some  preliminary  observations  have  been 
made  with  the  old  apparatus  of  Baden  Powell,  and 
these  perfectly  confirm  my  expectations,  and  induce 
me  to  undertake  a  carefiil  examination  of  the  whole 
subject 

In  the  first  place  I  prepared  solutions  of  iodides, 

*  Read  before  the  British  AssoclAtlon,  In  Section  B. 
t  Joum,  Chmnical  Society,  May,  1863. 


[BncUdi  BdttiflB,  VoL  XVL,  Va  4II7|  |«f«  150.] 


226 


Commercial  Analysis  of  Alkali  Manufacture. 


j  Cbcmtcal  Nb«& 

1    jfo9,,  vm. 


bromides,  and  chlorides.  The  metallic  iodides  gave  re- 
fractioa-equivalents  ranging  from  30*5  to  35*3;  the  me- 
tallic bromides  from  217  to  257;  and  the  metallic 
chlorides  from  I5'i  to  18 '6,  the  highest  number  in  each 
instance  being  the  potassium  salt,  Sie  while  ammonium 
compounds  01  these  halogens  gave  numbers  more  than 
three  higher.  Again,  it  was  at  once  evident  that  the 
dispersion-equivident  of  an  iodide  was  at  least  double 
that  of  a  bromide,  and  three  times  that  of  a  chloride. 
On  comparing  the  salts  of  the  same  metal  tliis  differ- 
ence between  the  halogens  was  still  better  defined,  the 
number  for  the  iodide  almost  invariably  exceeding  that 
for  the  bromide  bv  a  little  more  than  ten,  and  that  for 
the  chloride  by  a  little  more  than  sixteen.  It  was  evi- 
dent, therefore,  that  the  halogen  was  exerting  the  same 
influence  on  the  rays  of  light  with  whatever  metal  it 
was  combined ;  and  that  auy  metal,  as  calcium,  was 
unchanged  in  its  refraction-equivalent,  whether  it  was 
united  to  chlorine,  bromine,  or  iodine.  This  observa- 
tion was  subsequently  extended  to  a  totally  different 
class  of  salt,  the  sulphates,  which  give  numbers  always 
about  one  less  than  those  given  by  the  chlorides. 

It  may  be  asked — ^What  numbers  do  you  deduce  from 
these  results  as  to  the  refraction-equivalents  of  the 
metals  ?  Unfortunately  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  reply 
with  certainty.  If  we  knew  the  refraction-equivalents 
of  chlorine,  bromine,  or  iodine,  it  would  be  easy ;  but 
the  numbers  previously  deduced  for  them  from  organic 
compounds  evidently  require  some  rectification  before 
they  can  be  applied  to  this  purpose.  I  hoped  to  arrive 
at  the  matter  from  the  refraction-equivalents  of  the 
hydracids  in  solution,  as  the  number  for  hydrogen  is 
known  to  be  13;  but  I  obtained  such  high  numbers 
for  hydriodic,  hydrobromic,  and  hydrochloric  acids, 
that  I  am  disposed  to  think  hydrogen  in  these  com- 
pounds must  exert  afar  greater  refractive  influence  on 
the  rays  of  light  than  wlien  alone,  or  combined  with 
carbon  or  oxygen. 

In  any  case  the  refraction-equivalents  of  the  metals 
examined  in  solution  are  very  low  as  compared  with 
the  known  refraction-equivalents  of  non-metallic 
bodies,  except  those  that  have  very  small  atomic 
weights.  They  present  themselves  in  about  the  fol- 
lowing order,  commencing  with  the  lowest: — Mag- 
nesium; lithium ;  sodium ;  zinc;  calcium;  manganese; 
cadmium;  copper;  strontium;  iron  (ferricum);  ba- 
rium; potassium;  ammonium. 


ON  THE  COMMERCIAL  ANALYSIS  OF  SOME 
OF  THE  PRODUCTS  AND  MATERIALS  OF 
THE  ALKALI  MANUFACTURE,  Etc. 

ByO.   R.   A.   WRIGHT,   B.S.O.,    F.0.8. 

(I.)  Salt-cake. — Ordinary  salt-cake  is  valued  accord- 
ing to  the  percentage  of  "  Available  sulphate  of  soda" 
contained  ;  i.e.,  the  percentage  of  Na^SO*  existing 
mainly  as  such,  and  partly  as  NaHSO*.  The  mode  of 
estimation  of  the  available  sulphate  usually  pursued  is 
the  following : — 

1.  The  NaCl  is  determined  volumetrically  by  a 
standard  silver  solution. 

2.  The  quantity  of  a  standard  alkaline  solution 
required  to  render  a  known  weight  of  salt-cake  exactly 
neutral  to  test  papers  is  determined,  and  the  result, 
sometimes  calculated  as  SQs  sometimes,  as  SOiHs, 
caUed"  free  acid." 


3.  The  difference  between  the  sum  of  the  two  pre- 
vious determinations  and  100  is  assumed  to  be  ''  arail- 
able  sulphate  of  soda." 

By  this  mode  of  proceeding  errors  of  one  to  three  or 
more  per  cent,  are  mtroduced  ;  ordinary  salt-cake  con- 
taining,  in  addition  to  Na3S04,  NaBSOi,  and  Nad, 
perceptible  quantities  of  PbS04,  Fes  (SO«)s,  Fe,Oi, 
CaSOi,  MgS04,  moisture,  and  particles  of  sand,  bricl^ 
etc.,  derived  from  the  furnace  during  the  manufacturing 
processes.  Where  a  greater  degree  of  accuracy  is 
desirable,  a  known  weight  of  salt-cake  may  be  treated 
with  water,  ammonia  and  ammonium  oxalate  added  to 
the  unfiltered  solution,  and  the  precipitated  FesOs  and 
CaCOt,  with  the  insoluble  matters,  weighed  after  igni- 
tion :  by  moistening  the  ignited  precipitate  with  pure 
SOiHs,  and  igniting  again,  the  CaCOs  is  converted  into 
CaSOi,  and  then  tae  weight  of  the  mixed  substances 
indicates  all  the  '^  impurities"  present  in  the  salt-cake, 
with  the  exception  of  the  MgSO«,  which  rarely 
amounts  to  more  than  traces,  and  the  moisture,  which 
is  occasionally  a  very  perceptible  quantity,  especially 
in  sampler  that  have  been  made  some  length  of  time. 

The  amount  of  ferric  sulphate  present  deoends  on 
the  degree  of  heat  to  which  the  salt-cake  bas  been 
subjected  during  miinufacture.  In  highly  roasted  sam- 
ples, cold  water  yields  a  solution  containing  no  iron 
whatever,  all  the  iron  present  in  the  sal^-cake  conse- 
quently existing  as  FctOs ;  specimens  of  under-roasted 
salt-cake,  on  the  other  hand,  when  treated  with  cold 
water,  leave  only  fragments  of  brick,  CaSOi,  etc., 
undissolved,  all  the  iron  existing  as  Fet(SO«)t.  In 
ordinary  salt-cake,  however,  there  is  so  little  ferric 
sulphate,  that  no  perceptible  error  is  committed  in 
assuming  that  all  iron  present  exists  as  FeiOt,  and  all  the 
*^  free  acid "  as  NaHSO^.  Accordingly  Uie  following 
methods  have  been  found  to  give  tolerably  expedi- 
tiously the  exact  composition  of  such  salt-cake. 

(a.)  A  known  weight,  5  or  10  grammes,  is  dried  at 
1 10° — 120®  C,  till  constant  in  weight;  too  great  ele- 
vation of  temperature  being  avoided  to  prevent  any 
possible  loss  of  HCl  by  reaction  of  the  NaHSO«  on  the 
NaCl  present 

(6.)  The  NaCl  is  determined  volumetrically  by  a 
standard  silver  solution. 

(c.)  A  solution  of  sodium  hydrate  free  from  carbon- 
ate, or  of  caustic  ammonia,  of  known  strength,  ie  added 
to  a  known  weight  of  salt-cake  until  test-papers  indi- 
cate exact  neutrahty  of  the  hquid  ;  the  alkidine  adn- 
tion  used  accordingly  corresponds  to  the  FctCSOt), 
and  NaHSOi  together,  and  may  therefore  be  safely 
calculated  as  the  latter. 

(d)  A  known  weight  of  salt-cake  is  boiled  with  an 
excess  of  a  standard  sodium  carbonate  solution,  and 
filtered ;  the  unneutralised  alkali  is  then  determined  by 
a  standard  acid  solution.  The  amount  of  alkaline  solu- 
tion neutralised  by  the  salt-cake  indicates  the  CaSOi. 
NaHS04,  and  Fe9(S04)a  Ijogether ;  and  hence  ti)6 
difference  between  (c)  ana  (d)  indicates  the  CaSOi. 
Or  the  CaSO«  may  be  determined  gravimetrically  by 
precipitation  with  ammonium  oxalate  aller  separation 
of  the  Fe^Os  by  ammonia  from  the  solution  of  a 
known  weight  of  salt-cake  in  hydrochloric  acid. 

(e,)  The  precipitate  thrown  down  in  (c)  may  be  col- 
lected and  boiled  with  hydrochloric  acid ;  tlie  insoluble 
bricks,  etc.,  may  be  weighed,  and  the  ferric  salt  redooed 
by  zinc  or  other  reducing  agent^  and  titrated  volumet- 
rically by  permanganate  or  otherwise. 

if.)  When  the  PbSOi  is  to  be  detennined,  it  may  be 
done  by  treating  a  considerable  quantity,  eay  twenty 


IBngltoh  BdltkM^  Vol  X71,  Ha  407,  p«g«B  150^  151.] 


CumicAi  Nrws,  ) 


Gommerdal  Analysis  of  Alhdi  Manufacture. 


227 


grammes,  with  water,  and  boiling  the  insoluble  r&idue 
with  strong  hydrochloric  acid,  tih  the  PbSO*  is  entirely 
dissolved,  and  from  the  solution  PbS  may  be  thrown 
down  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  the  lead  deter- 
mined in  the  ordinary  way. 

•  {g.)  IF  MgSOi  is  to  be  determined,  it  may  be  done 
by  dissolving  a  known  weight,  say  twenty  grammes, 
in  hydrochloric  acid,  adding  ammonia  and  ammonium 
oxalate,  and  precipitating  the  magnesia  from  the  filtrate 
by  a  pho;?phate,  and  ultimately  weighing  the  magne- 
sium pyrophosphate. 

(A.)  If  the  preceding  determinations  have  been  care- 
fully conducted,  the  difference  between  ioq  and  the 
sum  of  them  may  be  safely  taken  as  Na9S04 ;  if  this  is  to 
be  directly  determined,  however,  it  may  be  done  either 
by  determining  the  total  SO4  present  by  dissolving  a 
known  weight  of  salt-cake  in  hydrochloric  acid,  and  pre- 
cipitating by  BaCla,  and  weighing  the  BaS04 ;  subtract- 
ing the  SO4  conUined  as  CaSO*,  NaHSO*,  MgS04,  Pb 
SO4,  the  remainder  being  calculated  as  Na«S04 ;  or  by 
adding  ammonia  and  ammonium  oxalate  to  the  aqueous 
solution  of  a  known  weight  and  estimation  of  the  resi- 
due left  on  evaporation  of  tne  filtrate  and  ignition  with 
SO4H9 :  on  subtraction  from  this  of  the  amounts  due 
to  MgS04,NaCl,  and  NaHS04,  the  Na,S04  is  directly 
ascertained. 

The  writer  has  obtained  very  concordant  results  by 
either  of  these  plans,  viz.,  estimation  of  Na9S04  by 
difference,  by  determination  of  total  SO4  present,  or 
by   determination  of   total  Na  present.      The  total 

"available  sulphate  of  soda"  is  known  by  adding  -^ 

of  the  NaHS04  to  the  amount  of  Na«S04  found. 

n.-Klaek-Ask  is  rarely  sold  as  such,  being  generally 
converted  into  soda-ash  on  the  spot  where  it  is  made. 
Gommercially,the  only  valuable  ingredient  is  the  sodium 
carbonate,  the  amount  of  which  is  generally  determined 
by  lixiviation  of  a  known  weight  of  black-ash,  and  ti- 
tration by  normal  test  acid  of  the  liquor  obtained.  In 
manuiacturing  establishments  it  is  frequently  the  prac- 
tice to  lixiviate  the  ash  with  water  at  some  definite 
temperature,  considered  to  be  about  the  average  tem- 
perature of  the  lixiviating  vats  j  the  liquor  so  obtained 
18  examined  (a)  for  alkali,  determined  by  test  acid ;  (b) 
for  sodium  sulphate,  generally  estimated  roughly,  but 
with  suflScient  nearness  for  manufacturing  purposes, 
by  addition  of  a  standard  barium  cliloride  solution  to  a 
portion  of  the  acidulated  Hxiviate,  till  no  further  pre- 
cipitate is  thrown  down ;  (c)  for  sulphide,  estimated  by 
passing  chlorine  through  the  alkaline  lixiviate  till  all 
sulphide  is  destroyed ;  boiling  with  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  volumetric  determination  of  the  sulphate  as  before, 
the  increased  amount  representing  the  sulphide.  Prizes 
are  frequently  given  to  those  workmen  who  produce 
black-ash  containing  but  little  sulphate,  showing  a 
nearly  complete  decomposition  of  the  salt-cake  em- 
l^oyed ;  and  occasionally  prizes  are  given  when  the 
sulphate  after  oxidation  is  low  in  amount,  it  being  sup- 
posed that  this  indicates  that  over-roasting  of  the 
black-ash  has  not  occurred.  A  slight  misapprehension, 
hovrever,  usually  attends  this  mode  of  analysis ;  al- 
ihoagh  an  over-roasted  black-ash  will  yield  a  percep- 
tible quantity  of  sulphide  when  treated  with  nearly 
absolate  alcohol,  yet  the  fact  of  an  aqueous  solution 
containing  sulphide  by  no  means  proves  that  the  ash 
was  over-roasted,  inasmuch  as  on  addition  of  water  to 
black-ash  there  is  always  a  mutual  reaction  between 
the  CaS,  and  NaaCOa  contained  therein ;  the  amount 
of  NasS  formed  therein,  as  the  researches  of  M.  Kolb 


have  shown,*  depends  on  the  temperature  and  dilution 
of  the  liquid,  and  the  time  employed ;  and  accordingly 
it  is  often  found  that  the  sulphide  existing  in  the  black- 
ash  lye  from  the  vats  ife  very  different  in  amount  from 
that  calculated  from  the  laboratory  analyses  of  the 
black-ash  worked.  The  laboratory  test  for  "  sulphate 
after  oxidation,"  therefore,  is  really  useless,  as  it  neither 
denotes  the  quality  of  work  done  by  the  furnace- 
man  nor  that  of  the  black-ash  lye. 

The  writer  has  shown  in  a  recent  paper  {Chem,  Soc, 
Joum.^  xx.j  407)  that  there  is  contained  in  ordinary 
black-ash  a  sodium  compound  insoluble  in  hot  water 
even  on  long  digestion,  but  decomposable  by  long  con- 
tinued boiling.  In  cases,  therefore,  where  the  total 
"  available  alkali  is  to  be  exactly  determined,  either 
this  long  boiling  must  be  performed,  or  the  total  sodium 
present  must  be  determined  eravimetrically,  and  that 
contained  as  chloride  and  sulphate  subtracted ;  in  either 
case  a  tedious  operation.  The  same  appUes  in  the  case 
of  the  analysis  of  the  lixiviated  black-ash,  or  vat-waste. 
Ordinarily  the  vat-waste  is  examined  by  lixiviating  or 
washing  on  a  filter  a  known  weight  of  waste  fresh 
from  the  vats,  or  previously  completely  dried.  In 
either  case  a  considerable  amount  of  calcium  hydric 
sulphide  comes  into  solution,  and  hence  if  the  solution 
so  obtained  be  immediately  titrated  with  test-acid, 
more  soda  is  indicated  as  present  than  really  has  been 
dissolved  out  By  passing  COa  through  the  solution 
till  HaS  is  completely  expelled,  boiling  to  decompose 
calcium  bicarbonate,  and  filtration  from  the  precipi- 
tated calcium  carbonate,  this  error  is  avoided.  The 
same  effect  is  produced  by  adding  ammonium  carbon- 
ate to  the  solution  and  boiling  in  a  flask  till  no  further 
evolution  of  ammoniacal  gases  takes  place ;  but  in 
either  case  the  sodium  contained  in  the  insoluble  com- 
pound, or  as  sulphate  (found  by  oxidation  of  calcium 
sulphide  and  subsequent  reaction  on  the  sodium  car- 
bonate, especially  if  the  waste  have  been  previously 
dried),  remains  unestimated.  When  accuracy  is  re- 
quired, therefore,  a  gravimetric  determination  of  so- 
dium is  unavoidable.     * 

In  cases  where  an  accurate  analysis  of  the  total  con- 
tents of  a  sample  of  black-ash  is  required,  the  foUow- 
ing  method  gives  reliable  results  tolerably  speedily. 
Most  of  the  modes  of  determination  are  hkewise  ap- 
plicable to  samples  of  dry  vat- waste : — 

(a).  A  known  weight  is  dissolved  in  hydrochloric 
acid,  the  insoluble  coke  and  sand  collected  on  a  weighed 
filter,  and  the  carbon  subsequently  burnt  off. 

(6).  In  the  filtrate  from  (a)  the  SO4  is  estimated  by  pre- 
cipitation by  barium  chloride  and  weighing  the  Ba  SO4. 

(c).  A  known  weight  is  dissolved  in  nitric  acid,  and 
the  CI  determined  volumetrically  by  a  standard  silver 
solution. 

((/).  A  known  weight  is  treated  in  Mohr*s  COa  appa- 
ratus ;  the  ammonium  carbonate  found  precipitated  by 
boiling  with  calcium  chloride ;  the  precipitate  washed  till 
the  washings  are  neutral,  dissolved  in  a  sHght  excess  of 
standard  hydrochloric  acid,  and  the  excess  determined 
by  a  standard  alkaline  solution ;  thus  the  COa  can  be 
calculated. 

(e).  A  known  weight  is  fiised  with  four  times  its 
weight  of  a  mixture  of  three  parts  dry  sodium  carbo- 
nate and  one  of  potassium  nitrate  (both  free  from  sul- 
phate). From  the  total  sulphate  thus  formed,  and  esti- 
mated gravimetrically  by  barium,  that  existing  as  Naa 
SO4  is  subtracted,  and  the  remainder  calculated  as  S. 

»  Annal4s  ds  ChemU  et  PhyHqut,  June,  x866.— r«6f«  Cuwocal 
Nkwb,  No«.  345— 347.— {^^.  JM.J 


[BiifflidiBdftloii,VcIXVL,  No.  407,  fMffi  151, 1Q8.] 


228 


^EJconomieaiion  of  Sulphurous  Acid  in  Copper  Smdting.  {^"^^'iSr^ 


(/).  A  known  weight  is  treated  with  hydrochloric 
acicL  the  filtrate  oxidized  by  nitric  acid,  and  the  mixed 
FeaOtAUOa  and  PaO*  precipitated  by  ammonia. 

(^),  The  filtrate  from  (/)  is  treated  with  ammonium 
oxalate,  the  precipitate  estimated  volumetrically  by 
permanganate,  or  gravimetricaUy  as  CaCO« ;  hence  the 
Ca  known. 

(h),  A  known  weight  is  lixiviated  with  warm  water, 
and  in  the  filtrate  from  theins  liable  matter  the  SiO»  esti- 
mated by  evaporation  to  dryness  with  hydrochloric  acid  ; 
in  the  filtrate  from  this  the  AI9O4  combined  as  aluminate 
is  determined  by  precipitating  the  alumina  by  ammonia. 

{%).  A  known  weignt  is  cautiously  treated  with  sul- 
phuric acid  in  a  capacious  platinum  crucible,  and  heated 
till  gases  cease  to  be  evolved :  the  residue  is  treated 
with  water,  filtered  and  well  washed,  ammonia  and 
ammonium  oxalate  added  to  the  filtrate ;  and  ultimately 
the  total  Na  contained  weighed  as  NaaSOi. 

In  calculating  results  from  the  foregoing  data,  the 
CI  found  is  calculated  as  NaOl,  the  SO4  as  NajSOi,  the 
SiO»  as  Na«SiO«,  and  the  AlaO*  (soluble  in  water)  as 
NaaAl904,  the  remaining  sodium  is  then  calculated  as 
NaaCOs,  and  the  remaining  C0»  as  CaOO».  The  sul- 
phur is  calculated  as  OaS,  and  the  remaining  calcium 
as  CaO.  From  the  toUl  AlaO»  +  FeaOa-f-PaO*  the  alumina 
present  as  aluminate  is  subtracted ;  the  coke  and  sand, 
etc,  are  directly  determined  (a).  The  difference  from 
100  in  a  carefully  conducted  analysis  will  not  amount 
to  more  than  a  few  tenths  per  cent.,  and  represents  cy- 
anogen, traces  of  moisture,  etc.,  and  loss. 

In  an  over-roasted  ash  tne  alkaline  sulphide  can  only 
be  safely  estimated  by  digestion  with  nearly  absolute 
alcohol,  oxidation  to  sulphate  by  chlorine,  and  precipi- 
tation by  bariunL  The  Na  contained  as  poly,  or  mono, 
sulphide,  may  be  determined  volumetrically  by  test 
acid  in  the  alcoholic  solution,  and  must  be  subtracted 
from  that  to  be  calculated  as  Ni  asCOa  as  above :  the  S 
existing  as  poly,  or  mono,  sulphide  of  sodium  must  be 
subtracted  from  the  total  sulphur  found,  the  difference 
being  calculated  as  CaS. 


ON  THE  ECONOMISATION  OF  SULPHUROUS 
ACID  IN  COPPER  SMELTING.* 

BY  PETER  SPEirOE,  F.C.8. 

It  will  be  in  the  recollection  of  members  of  this  Sec- 
tion that  Lord  Derby,  in  1861,  obtained  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  for  obtain- 
ing evidence  as  to  the  noxious  vapours  from  chemical 
works,  etc.  That  investigation,  carried  over  many 
montfa^  resulted  in  the  passing  of  what  is  called  the 
"Alkali  Works  Act,"  which  has  been  so  ably  and 
successfully  carried  out  by  my  firiend  Dr.  Angus  Smith. 

At  the  same  time  a  large  amount  of  evidence  was 
taken  as  to  the  emission  of  sulphurous  acid,  and  arseni- 
ous  acid,  from  the  copper  smelting  works  at  Swansea, 
and  other  parts  of  the  country ;  but  no  legislation  was 
adopted,  because,  with  the  exception  of  the  writer  of 
this  paper,  all  the  witnesses  testified  to  their  being  no 
practicable  means  of  suppressing  the  nuisance  without 
destroying  the  trade. 

Copper  smelting  as  now  conducted  appears  at  first 
sight  a  very  crude,  but  is  in  reality  a  very  beautiful, 
chemical  process.  The  ores  used  are  of  a  heteroge- 
neous character,  chiefly  iron  pyrites  more  or  les»  im- 
pregnated with  copper,  and  containing  besides  arsen- 
ides and  sulphides  of  various  other  metals,  with  a  large 

«  Read  before  the  Biitbh  AssoetaUon,  In  Section  B. 


mixture  of  quartz.  The  first  process  of  the  copper 
smelter  is  by  calcination  to  separate  a  quantity  of  the 
sulphur  and  as  much  as  possible  of  the  arsenic-  for 
this  purpose  the  mixed  ores  are  exposed  to  a  red  oeati 
and  these  bodies  are  dissipated  into  the  atmosphere. 
When  calcined  the  ores  must  still  retain  a  portion  of 
the  sulphur,  varying  with  its  richness  in  copper,  this  sul- 
phur playing  an  important  part  in  the  next  operation. 
The  calcined  ores  are  now  melted  down  by  a  great  heat 
into  a  fluid  state,  when  the  sulphur  not  oissipated 
unites  with  a  portion  of  the  iron  and  every  trace  of  the 
copper,  ioT  which  it  has  great  affinity,  and  sinks  to  the 
bottom  of  the  furnace  carrying  down  with  it  any  of 
the  precfous  metals  which  may  be  present.  The  large 
mass  of  the  fluid  now  floating  at  the  top  is  silicate  of 
iron,  and  is  skimmed  off  and  thrown  away  as  slag. 
The  regtUus  run  firom  the  bottom  of  the  furnace  con- 
tains from  20  to  35  per  cent,  of  copper,  and  almost  in- 
variably 28  per  cent  of  sulphur.  The  regidus  is  again 
calcined  to  throw  off  the  sulphur,  and  the  subsequent 
processes  of  refining  take  place. 

I  effect  the  saving  of  sulphur  by  calcining  in  long 
furnaces,  the  bed  being  heated  from  below,  air  being 
made  to  travel  from  one  end  of  the  furnace  to  the  other 
over  the  heated  ore, the  air  and  S0«  being  passed  firom  the 
furnace  directly  to  the  lead  chambers,  the  ore  being  at  reg- 
ular intervals  made  to  traverse  in  an  opposite  direction, 
coming  out  calcined  where  the  air  enters.  The  calcination 
of  regulits  is  exactly  similar  in  both  cases,  the  calcina- 
tion is  only  carried  to  a  certain  point,  8  to  9  per  cent^ 
of  sulphur  being  left  in  both  the  ore  and  regulus. 

This  process,  carried  out  for  several  years  chiefly  in 
vitriol  works,  is  now  being  successfully  employed  by 
the  Groole  Alum  Smelting  Company,  on  a  Urge  scale 
as  a  copper  smelting  process.  It  has  been  in  operation 
there  for  over  twelve  months,  and  at  present  150  to 
200  tons  of  mixed  ores  are  being  smelted  weekly.  These 
ores  are  Cornish,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  and  SpanisL 

About  two  months  ago  I  sent  down  one  of  my 
chemical  assistants  to  superintend  during  a  month  some 
large  working  experiments,  analysing  the  results  at 
every  stage,  so  that  reUable  data  might  be  got  One 
of  these  experiments  I  append,  and  as  it  is  typical  of 
the  general  operations,  it  may  safely  be  taken  as  indi- 
cating what  is  being  done. 

xo^  tons  Cornish   ores  containing  19  per  cent  iDl{»bur) 
I  si      "      Spanish  smalls  "         47  **  "  '  f 

Sulphur. 

(mixture      >         lom.  tUM.  q^tba. 
333  per  cent  f     =     8000 
This  was    calcined,  the  bO«  going   to  the 
vitriol  chamber.    The  result  wb«  32  tona 
of  cRicined  ore^  contaiDiDg  8  per  cent 

sulphur I  15   o   o 

The  ore  when  smelted  gave  2  tons  1 5  cwt 
of  regulus  containing  28  per  cent 
sulphur 015    I  20 


o  19 


2   8 


2  20 


The  loss  in  sulphur  dissipated  is  therefore . . . 

This  regulus  calcined,  the  Sd  going  to  the 
vitriol  chamber  became  2  tons,  10  cwt, 
containing  9  per  cent  of  sulphur o    4 

No  more  sulphur  can  be  economised,  there^ 

fore  the  total  loss  of  sulphur  is i    4    i    0 

Or  as  under, 

v^ulphur  economised 84*8  per  cent 

Sulphur  lost 1 5'4      " 

Total  sulphur  in  ore ioo*o 


[EnglUi  Bditkm,  YoL  3C7L,  No.  407,  pagMi  IflSI,  ld9.] 


CkuanoAx.  Nbwi,) 

jfy9^  1M7.   r 


On  a  New  Telegraphic  Tlier'niometer. 


229 


ON  A  NEW  TBLEGBAPHIO  THERMOMETER.* 

BT  PROFESSOR  WHXATSTONE,  F.B.8. 

Thr  telegraphic  thermometer  which  I  constructed  in 
1S43,  and  which  is  described  in  the  report  of  the  thir- 
teenth meeting  of  the  British  Association,  depended 
on  the  simultaneous  action  of  two  isochronous  chro- 
nometer or  clock  movements— one  at  the  remote  station 
regulating  the  motion  of  a  plunger  in  the  bore  of  a 
thermometer,  and  the  other  at  the  near  or  observing 
Station,  marking,  by  the  motion  of  the  needle  of  a  gal- 
vanometer^ the  moment  at  which  the  contact  of  the 
plunger  with  the  mercury  of  the  distant  thermometer 
completed  or  broke  the  circuit.  The  clock  movements 
required  to  be  periodically  wound  up,  and  therefore  the 
affected  instrument  could  not  be  left  to  itself  for  an  in- 
definite time.  There  are,  however,  many  situations 
in  which  it  might  be  desirable  to  have  meteorologic  in- 
dications when  the  instruments  would  not  be  accessible 
for  very  long  periods.  I  have,  therefore,  devised  a  new 
class  of  telegraphic  meteorometers  which  shall  be  in- 
dependent of  clock  work,  and  may  remain  in  any  situ- 
ation of  difficult  access  as  long  as  the  instrument  en- 
dures. This  principle  is  applicable  to  all  instruments 
which  indicate  by  means  of  a  revolving  hand,  and  I 
have  already  devised  its  application  to  a  Breguet's 
metallic  thermometer,  an  aneroid  barometer,  and  a  hy- 
grometer, depending  on  the  absorption  of  moisture  by 
a  thin  membrane.  It  is  also  apphcable  to  a  bar  mag- 
net in  a  fixed  position,  and  to  a  variety  of  other  indi- 
cators. The  apparatus  consists  of  two  distinct  instru- 
ments connected  only  by  telegraphic  wires.  The  first 
I  will  call  the  questioner  ^A),  the  second  the  responder 
(B).  The  questioner  (A)  is  a  r^tangular  box,  present- 
ing externdly  a  circular  dial  face,  round  which  are  en- 
graved the  degrees  both  of  the  Fahrenheit  and  Centi- 
grade thermometric  scales,  the  former  ranging  from  20^ 
below  zero  P.  to  220°  above  that  point,  and  the  latter 
from  o**  to  no*'  0.  It  shows,  besides,  three  binding 
screws  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  the  telegraphic 
wires,  and  a  handle  which  causes  the  rotation  of  the 
armature  of  a  magneto-motor  in  the  interior.  This 
magneto-motor  is  similar  in  its  construction  to  that 
employed  in  my  alphabetic  magnetic  telegraph ;  a  soft 
iron  armature  rotating  before  the  four  poles  of  the  mag- 
net occasions,  when  tne  circuit  is  completed,  alternate 
currents  of  equal  intensity.  The  box  also  contains  a 
small  electro-magnet,  which  acts  by  means  of  mechan- 
ism similar  to  that  employed  in  the  indicator  of  the 
aforesaid  telegraph,  and  causes  the  revolution  of  the 
index  of  the  dial.  The  responder  (B)  is  a  cylindrical 
brasB  box,  which  presents  on  its  upper  surface  a  simi- 
lar dial,  with  its  thermometric  scales  and  index :  at  its 
base  three  binding  screws,  corresponding  to  those  of 
the  questioner,  are  fixed  for  connecting  the  telegraphic 
wires ;  and  it  is  fiirnished  with  a  brass  cover  that  it 
may  be  hermetically  sealed  when  lowered  in  the  sea  or 
buried  in  the  ground.  Its  interior  contains  three  es- 
sentially distinct  parts. — i.  The  metallic  thermometer, 
which  consists  of  a  spiral  ribbon  of  two  dissimilar  met- 
als, ivith  its  hand  capable  of  ranging  through  the  ex- 
tent of  the  circular  thermometric  scale  of  the  dial ; — 2. 
A  small  electro-magnet,  acting  by  means  of  a  propel- 
ment  on  a  disc,  making  as  many  steps  in  one  rotation 
as  there  are  half-decrees  on  the  scale  ;^3.  An  axis  to 
which  is  fixed  a  delicate  spiral  spring,  which  causes  a 
pin  to  bear  lighUy  agiunst  the  hand  of  the  thermome- 

•  Hesd  tMfor»  the  British  Aisociatlon,  in  OecUon  A. 

Vol.  I.    No.  5 — Nov.,  1867.         16 


ter  however  it  may  vary  in  position.  The  two  instru- 
ments are  connected  by  means  of  two  telegraphic  wires. 
The  first  proceeds  fi-om  an  earth  plate  at  the  near  sta- 
tion, passes  through  the  coil  of  the  electro-motor  in  A, 
joins  the  coil  of  the  small  electro-magnet  in  B,  and  then 
proceeds  to  another  earth  plate  at  the  distant  station. 
The  second  wire  is  permanently  connected  with  the 
first  between  the  earth  plate  and  the  coil  of  the  mag- 
neto-motor, and  includes  that  of  the  electro-magnet  in 
B,  and  its  opposite  end  is  brought  close  to  the  remote 
end  of  the  first  wire.  The  mechanism  is  so  disposed 
that  when  the  first  wire  is  disconnected  from  its  earth 
terminal  it  is  brought  into  circuit  with  the  second  wire. 
By  this  arrangement,  when  the  dial  of  A  is  brought 
to  o^  and  the  handle  turned,  at  the  first  moment  the 
circuit  is  completed  through  the  first  wire,  containing 
the  coU  of  the  electro-magnet  in  B,  and  the  return 
earth.  A  disc  is  thereby  caused  to  revolve  in  an  oppo- 
site direction  to  the  graduation  of  the  scale  untU  a  pin, 
originally  starting  fi-om  0°,  comes  into  contact  with  the 
pin,  pressing  against  the  thermometer  hand,  and  there- 
by completes  the  circuit  of  the  second  wire,  and  breaks 
the  connection  with  the  earth  plate.  At  first  only  the 
electro-magnet  in  B  is  acted  upon,  but  when  the  cur- 
rents are  diverted  into  the  new  channel  both  the  elec- 
tro-magnets act  simultaneously.  In  consequence  of 
the  action  of  the  electro-magnet  in  A,  the  hand  of  its 
dial  passes  over  a  space  corresponding  with  that  be- 
tween o^  and  that  indicated  by  the  thermometers  and 
the  hand  of  the  dial  ultimately  accords  with  that  of  the 
distant  thermometer.  When  the  hand  of  the  dial  on 
A  comes  to  rest  the  disc  in  B  arrives  at  o^,  and  a 
catch  permits  the  spiral  spring  to  unwind  itself,  and 
its  pin  flies  to  and  presses  against  the  ^ermometer- 
hand.  It  must  be  observed  that  instruments  thus  con- 
structed are  not  capable  of  marking  every  possible 
gradation  *  but  they  may  be  made  to  indicate  divisions 
of  the  scale  of  any  required  minuteness.  It  is  advis- 
able to  limit  the  extent  of  the  scale  when  more  mi- 
nute divisions  are  deemed  necessary.  The  only  circum- 
stance that  can  affect  the  accuracy  of  the  indications 
of  the  instrument  is  this — the  pin  pressing  against  the 
thermometric  index  displaces  it  a  little,  and  causes  itto 
assume  a  position  about  a  degree  in  advance,  but  as 
this  pressure  is  a  constant  one,  the  inconvenience  is 
remedied  by  a  slight  corresponding  shifting  of  the 
scale.  In  thi»  class  of  instruments  the  indications  are 
not  spontaneously  conveyed  to  the  observer,  but  they 
must  oe  asked  for,  and  whenever  this  is  done  the  indi- 
cations will  be  immediately  transmitted  to  him  how- 
ever frequently  the  question  is  put.  The  uses  to  which 
this  telegraphic  thermometer  may  be  applied  are, 
among  others,  the  following : — ^The  responder  may  be 
placed  at  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  and  left  there  for 
any  length  of  time,  while  its  indications  may  be  read 
at  any  station  below.  Thus,  if  there  should  be  no  in- 
superable difficulties  in  placing  the  wires,  the  indica- 
tions of  a  thermometer  placed  at  the  summit  of  Mont 
Blanc  may  be  read  as  often  as  required  at  Chamouni. 
A  year's  hourly  observations  under  such  circumstances 
would  no  dodbt  be  of  great  value.  If  it  be  required 
to  ascertain  during  a  long-continued  period  the  temper- 
ature of  the  earth  at  different  depths  below  its  surmce, 
several  responders  may  be  permanently  buried  at  the 
required  depths.  It  will  not  be  requisite  to  have  sep- 
arate questioners  for  each,  as  the  same  may  be  applied 
successively  to  all  the  different  wires.  The  responder, 
made  perfectly  water-tight,  in  which  there  would  be 
no  difficulty,  might  be  lowered  to  the  bottom  of  the 


[EngUchEditiozi,yoLX7I,]!ra407,pagwl60^16Q.]    ^ 


230 


MecU^ical  JReeietances  of  the  Fixed  and  Volaiile  OUa. 


j  ConnqAi.  Hsvi) 


sea,  and  its  indications  read  at  anj  intervaLs  during  its 
descent  In  the  present  mode  of  making  marine  ther- 
mometric  observations,  it  is  necessary  that  the  ther- 
mometer should  be  raised  whenever  a  fresh  observation 
is  required  to  be  made. 


ON  THE  ELECTRICAL  RESISTANCES  OP  THE 
FIXED  AND  VOLATILE  OILS.* 

BT  T.  T.  P.  BRUCE  WARBEN. 

The  want  of  an  acknowledged  and  reliable  means  of 
recognising  the  purity  or  condition  of  samples  of  oils 
has  long  been  felt  by  pharmaceutists.  No  tests,  or 
sjjrstem  of  tests  at  present  used  are  free  from  objec- 
tion. An  inspection  of  the  optical  characters  of  the 
oils,  whether  fixed  or  volatile,  will  be  sufficient  to 
confirm  the  truth  of  this  observation. 

The  polariscope  has  at  best  a  very  limited  scope 
of  apphcation,  whilst  the  determination  of  the  refrac- 
tive or  dispersive  qualities  requires  such  precise 
adjustments  that  the  suitability  either  of  the  one  or  the 
other  for  the  purposes  of  a  technical  test  may  be  fairly 
questioned.  The  refractive  power  of  the  oils,  both 
fixed  and  volatile,  has  so  small  a  variation,  even 
between  the  two  extremes  of  the  scale  here  given,  that 
the  difference  produced  on  the  refractive  power  of  any 
oil  by  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  another, 
would  be  barely  perceptible.  The  objection  against 
the  measurement  of  the  dispersive  action  as  a  means  of 
expressing  the  value  of  an  oil,  is  that  the  determina- 
tion of  the  differences  of  indices  of  refraction  for  the 
extreme  rays  is  at  once  tedious  and  unreliable;  the 
'scale  of  dispersions  offers,  however,  a  much  wider 
range  of  differences. 

It  is  probable  that  the  comparison  of  two  samples  of 
oil  by  the  irrationalities  of  their  dispersion  is  worthy  pf 
some  attention.  I  am  not  aware  of  its  being  applied 
as  a  test,  but  the  samples  could  stand  side  by  side  with 
respect  to  the  illummating  source,  and  their  spectra 
projected  side  by  side  could  be  easily  observed  and 
compared. 

The  tables  here  given  of  the  dispersive  powers,  and 
the  irrationalities  of  dispersions,  are  by  Sir  David 
Brewster;  the  refractive  powers  are  principally  by  the 
same  authority. 

Talfle  of  OUs.-^Arranged  in  order  according  as  Ihey  contract 
the  less  refrangible,  and  expand  the  more  refrangible  spacei 
(irrationalUien  of  dispersion). 


Oil  of  Cassia 

Oil  of  Nutmeg 

'*      Bitter  Almonds 

II 

Peppermint 

'*      Aniseed 

K 

Castor 

"      Sassafras 

11 

Nut 

**      Fennel 

ki 

Olive 

*'      Cloves 

U 

Sweet  almonds 

"      Turpentine 

<( 

Alcohol 

"      Carraway 

Although  bromine  and  iodine  exert  on-  some  of  the 
essential  oils  chemicaliy  characteristic  effects,  it  does 
not  appear  certain  to  what  extent  the  action  may  be 
niodined  by  the  addition  of  small  quantities  of  other 
oils ;  consequently  the  chemical  phenomena,  as  well  as 
a  knowledge  of  their  specific  gravities,  and  boiling 
points,  cannot  be  considered  as  offering  any  assistance 
to  the  detection  of  accidental  or  intentional  impuriti«iS 
when  existing  in  small  quantities. 

*  Bead  before  the  Brltiih  AModetlon,  la  BMtion  B. 


OpnoAL  QuALinBS  of  Oil& 


Fame  of  OIL 


Anise 

Almond  bitter 
Almond  sweet 
Angelica..  .. 
Bergamott. . . . 

Cassia 

Carraway  .... 

Castor 

Camomile 

Cloves 

Cumin 

Dill 

Fennel 

Juniper 

Lemon 

Lavender. .... 

Nutmeg 

Olive 

^^VW 

Pennyroyal . . . 
Peppermint... 
Rape-seed .... 

Sassafras 

Spearmint. . . . 

Alcohol 

Turpentine  . . . 


I  "601 
1*603 
1-483 
1*493 
1-471 
1*641 
1-491 
1490 
I-4S7 
1-535 
1*508 

1-477 
1-506 

1-473 
1-476 
1*462 

1*497 
1-470 

1-463 
1-482 

1-475 
I '534 
1-481 


1-372 
1*475 


I 


•077 
•079 

•o£i 

•139 
•049 
•036 

•062 
.065 

•055 
•047 


•038 


•069 

-054 


•029 
•042 


•044 
•048 

•025  ' 
-024 

H>l8 

•033 
•033 

•028 

*022 


x>i8 


•032 
026 


-on 
•020 


The  process  which  I  have  to  submit  to  you  is  one 
which  nas  given  great  satisfaction  in  all  the  experi- 
ments which  I  have  made,  and  was  suggested  by  a 
discovery  due  to  M.  Rousseau,  quoted  by  De  La  Rive,* 
"  that  olive  oil  when  mixed  with  yiuth  part  of  its 
volume  of  oil  of  poppies,  increased  the  number  of 
vibrations  of  a  manietic  needle  in  a  given  tame,  when 
the  same  was  included  or  made  to  form  part  of  a 
voltaic  circuit"  This  isolated  fact  would  be  of  service 
for  the  determination  of  the  purity  of  olive  oil,  if  oil  of 
poppit^s  were  the  only  sophisticatmg  ingredientf 

I  thought  it  useful  to  extend  the  observation  to  the 
effects  produced  by  other  oils  when  mixed  with  oil 
of  olive,  and  to  ascertain  how  far  the  process  might  be 
applied  as  a  test  for  the  commercial  and  chemical  valu- 
ation of  oils  generally. 

For  this  purpose  I  had  first  to  measure  the  resist- 
ances offered  by  a  column  of  each  of  the  oils  experi- 
mented on,  having  in  each  case  the  same  length  and 
sectional  area. 

From  the  low  resistances  possessed  by  the  volatile 
oils,  the  apparatus  used  by  M!  Becquerel  for  ascertain- 


•  "*  TreatlBe  on  Electricity;'  tranabted  by  Wftlker). 

t  Since  writing  this  I  find  the  following  not«  In  ^  Paris*>  FtMnnsM- 
logia*'  ( 1833),  ander  the  article  ''  Olive  OIL**  ""  M.  Eonaeeau  has  dberr- 
ered  the  curious  fkct,  that  of  all  the  oils,  both  Tegetable  and  animal, 
oUve  oil  molt  feebly  conducts  electricity.  It  may  be  stated  thai  at  a 
medium  it  aots  675  tliuea  more  feebly  than  the  others.  Two  drops  of 
oil  of  beechmast,  or  of  poppy  seeds,  poured  into  ten  fraonnes  of  ottre 
oil,  renders  the  needle  four  times  more  sensible.  This  diitBr•no^ 
therefore,  famished  VL  Rousseau,  by  means  of  hb  diafoineCM',  a  tcrt 
fbr  determining  adulterations  with  precision.**— <«/ottniald^  I^Mrma- 
o<s,tlx.p.587.) 


[Bn^Uah  BdMon,  Vol  ZVX,  No.  407,  |ii«t  16L] 


GncMMAL  Ninra,> 

2ro9^  1867.      f 


El^Pricat  Mmstancee  of  the  Mxed  and  Volatile  OUe. 


231 


mg  the  resisUnces  of  liquids  might  be  employed,*  but 
from  the  high  resistances  offered  by  the  fixed  oils  I 
have  designed  a  modiilcation. 

I  must  here  acknowledge  the  obligation  I  am  under 
to  W.  Hooper,  Esq.,  for  the  use  of  Sir  William  Thom- 
son's delicate  astatic  reflecting  galvanometers,  and  a 
battery  which  possesses  remarkable  constancy,  viz., 
that  of  Danieirs  as  modified  by  Minotte. 

With  such  a  pralvanometer  as  used  for  these  test«, 
the  deflections  obtained  are  strictly  proportional  to  the 
resistances,  and  by  means  of  noting  the  deflection  pro- 
duced through  a  constant  resistance,  by  a  standard 
current^  it  is  easy  to  compare  the  results  obtained  at 
dijfferent  times  and  under  different  conditions.  The 
standard  current  represents  a  known  relation  to  the 
full  electro-motive  piower  employed. 

The  resistances  of  the  essentiiJ  oils  were  determined 
with  one  cell :  and  I  may  remark  that  I  was  consider- 
ably surprised  at  the  low  resistances  of  the  volatile 
oil^  this  being  the  reverse  of  what,  judging  fi*om  the 
composition  of  them  generally,  I  was  prepared  to 
expect. 

The  adulterants  of  the  volatile  oils  are  principally 
turpentine  and  alcohoLf 

Compared  with  any  of  the  essential  oils,  turpentine 
has  aor  immense  resistance,  whilst  that  of  alcohol  is 
enormously  lower  thnn  any  of  them,  except  perhaps 
that  of  oil  of  bitter  almonds,  which  is  so  low  that  I  did 
not  measure  it. 

The  importance  of  this  general  &ct  is  at  once  appa- 
rent, since  the  addition  either  of  alcohol  or  turpentine 
in  the  smallest  quantity  is  readily  detected;  and  the 
qnantity  denoted  by  the  variation  in  the  deflection, 
either  when  compared  with  a  standard  of  known 
purity,  or  by  the  resistances  themselves. 

The  oils  of  lemon  and  berganjott,  when  mixed  with 
a  small  proportion  of  turpentme,  do  not,  however,  show 
such  marked  differences  as  the  generality 'of  the  essen- 
tial oi]&  The  addition  of  turpentine  reduces  the  con- 
ducting power,  or,  in  other  words,  increases  the  resist- 
ances to  a  very  perceptible  extent  in  all  oils  except 
lemon  and  bergamott,  but  in  these  two  last  cases  it 
becomes,  nevertheless,  perceptible  in  the  eff*ects  of 
increased  resistance, — ^in  these  cases,  however,  a  prop- 
erty not  solely  confined  to  turpentine  aids  in  its 
detection,  and  consequently  enlarges  the  scope  of  the 
application  of  this  test  Large  (Quantities  of  turpentine 
are  instantly  perceptible  in  mcreasing  the  resist- 
ancea 

The  addition  of  turpentine  to  oil  of  lavender  is  more 
strongly  marked  by  this  test  than  in  any  oUier  case. 

The  following  tables  contain  the  averages  of  six 
tests  on  each  oil,  taken  at  different  times.  For  reasons 
noted  farther  on,  the  same  sample  should  not  be  used 
for  a  second  test  The  volatile  oils  were  obtained 
from  reliable  sources,  and  were  supplied  as  perfectly 
genuine  and  in  mature  condition.  I  am  particularly 
indebted  to  Messrs.  I.  and  H.  Smith  for  the  liberal 
manner  in  which  they  have  supplied  me  with  infor- 
mation  respecting  the  samples  obtained  from  them.  I 
met  with  grea^  difficulty  in  procuring  samples  of  cotton 
seed  oil,  and  although  my  samples  are  unauthenticated 
for  oondit'on  or  purity,  I  must  acknowledge  my  obli- 

gktion  to  Mr.  Edward  Mann,  7,  Fall  Mall  East,  for  his 
ndness  in  procuring  them. 


•  S€«  "  De  U  RIve'i  TiwatlM.''  toL  11. 

t  The  foreign  oUi  are  no  doubt  sometlmet  entiralj  tubitHatad  for 
the  £o«ti«h  oib,  or  Ui^lf  dllat«d  with  them. 


Table  of  Resistanobs  of  Volatzlb  Oiia. 
Gmuineneu  of  Samples  AtUhenticaied. 


Name  of  OU. 


Peppermint,  Ang. . 


Peppermint,  German . . 
Carrawajs 

"        2nd  sample. 

Cloves 

Bitter  Almonds. 

Aniseed . , 

Bergamott 

Lemon 

Lavender,  Ang 

"        Mltcham  . . . 


Observed  De- 
flection. 


224  X  8*94 
274  X  8  94 
236x894 
202  X  8*94 
202  X  8*94 
205  X  894 

57x8-94 
94x894 

.53x8-94 
310 

250  X  8*94 


Ohmad's  Reelat- 
ance. 


800,000* 
652,160! 
759,000 

90,000 

90,000 

81,000 

3,144,000 
i,9o6,ooo§ 
3',376,ooo 
5,244,0001 
717,0001 


*  1858  product    t  z86t  prodactw    %  Bef ond  range  of  obaervatfoa. 
S  Sample  turbid.    |  Oefl'otion  rialng  rapldiv  to  35a    T  Deflection 
Increasing  slowly.    Thia  arises  from  eleotrolyfllk 

Adultkrated  Samples. — Yolatils  0il8. 


Name  of  Oil. 

Adulterant 

Obaerved  De- 
flection. 

Ohmad's 

Peppermint .... 

Ang. 

Turpentine... 

185x8-94 

969,000* 

U                         i( 

Spirit  of  wine 

43x8-94 

422,000 

Lemon 

Turpentine... 

52 

3',444,000 

Bergamott 

Spirit  of  wine 

157x8-94 

11,600 

u 

Turpentine.. . 

92x8-94 

i'949,ooo 

Lavender,  Ang. 

{( 

104 

i5',630,ooo 

*  Product  of  1858. 

The  effects  produced  by  mixing  different  specimens 
of  the  same  oil  together  are  also  perceptible,  thus  the 
German  oils  of  peppermint,  or  foreign  samples  of 
lavender  oil  produce  modifications  in  tiie  electrolysis. 

In  testing  the  fixed  oils  a  much  higher  battery 
power  is  required;  this  arises  simply  from  the  fact  that 
they  all  possess  much  lower  conducting  powers  than 
any  of  the  essential  oils. 
-  For  these  tests  thirty-two  ceUs  were  used. 

Table  of  Resistances  of  Fixed  Oas. 
Samples  Purchased  as  Genuine. 


Name  of  Oil. 

Observed 
Deflection. 

Ohmad's 
BeslBtanoe. 

Olive 

40x8-94 

6S 

40x8-94 

35"  8-94 

91 

206  X  8'94 

326  "8-94 
340 

554', ,  637,60a 
•3,r86',ooo,ooo 

554',   637,600 
f7o8\   048,000 

2, 242',  152,000 

113',   287,680 
68',       444,640 
590',     040,000 

tt 

Sweet  A  Imond 

U                tt 

Castor  Oil.  Italian 

Castor  Oil,  E.  I.  Elect 

PoDpy 

Turpentine 

JCotton-seeds. 

220 
130 

S  14',   ooo^ooo 
1  23',   500,000 

"           2nd  sample 

*  Bleached.  t  Bleaehed. 

I  Sensibility  of  Instrument  Increased, 
range. 


tBisIi 


Ing  gradually  to  50a 
Bbing  rapidly  beyond 


From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  th*t  the  bleached  oils 
have  eyen  a  lower  conducting  power  than  the  un- 
bleached oils ;  and  in  this  respect  olive  oil  possesses  a 
greater  difference  th«n  almond  oil.  It  is  not  easy  to 
explain  thi^* 


{BafbOi  BdltloB,:VolJZVL,  Va  407,^piig«i  261,  Iflfll] 


232 


Golunibite  in  Wolfram — Mecovering  Sulphur  and  Manganese.  { ^^^^^eST^ 


A  singular  difference  exists  between  the  Italian  and 
the  East  Indian  castor  oils.  This  difference  will  enable 
one  to  detect  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  one  added 
to  the  other. 

Cotton-seed  oil  and  oil  of  poppy,  as  well  as  turpen- 
tine, are  so  rapidly  altered  in  their  conducting  power 
by  electrolysis,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  difficulty 
in  recognising  them  in  samples  of  oil. 

Olive  oil,  when  free  from  cotton-seed  oil  or  oil  of 
poppy,  has  its  resistance  increased  by  electrification, 
but  if  the  smallest  quantity  of  either  of  them  exists  in 
a  sample  of  olive  oil,  it  produces  a  contrary  effect  by  a 
prolonged  contact  with  the  battery. 

These  results  of  electrolysis  are  alone  important  in 
determining  the  condition  of  a  sample  of  olive  oiL 

I  regret  that  I  have  nt)t  been  able  to  extend  these 
observations  to  commercial  samples  of  olive  oil  of 
different  qualities,  and  to  have  included  a  greater 
number  of  fitted  oils,  from  the  great  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing specimens  of  reliability  in  purity  or  condition. 


ON    THE    PRESENCE     OF     COLUMBITE    IN 
WOLFRAM. 

BY  T.  L.  PHIP80N,  PH.D.,  F.C.S. 

I  HAVB  recognized  the  presence  of  columbite  (niobate 
of  iron  and  manganese)  in  a  sample  of  wolfram  from 
Auvergne  that  I  have  lately  analyzed^  which  was 
given  to  me  some  years  ago  by  M.  FisanL  I  had 
already  remarked  that  wolfram  from  different  localities 
sometimes  contained  niobic  acid,  sometimes  tantalic 
acid,  which  can  be  made  distinctly  evident  by  examin- 
ing before  the  blow-pipe  the  residue  left  when  most  of 
the  iron,  manganese,  and  tungstic  acid,  have  been 
separated. 

From  the  specimen  here  in  question  I  succeeded  in 
extracting  from  some  twenty  grammes  a  quantity  of 
columbite  sufficient  to  fill  a  small  bottle,  and  to  enable 
me  to  study  its  properties  easily.  The  separation  of 
this  rare  mineral  is  based  upon  the  simple  fact  that 
wolfram  is  attacked  by  aqua-regia,  whilst  columbite  is 
not.  Fifteen  to  twenty  grammes  of  wolfram,  finely 
pulverized,  are  attacked  by  warm  aqua-regia,  and 
when  the  action  has  proceeded  as  far  as  possible  the 
residue  is  collected,  the  tungstic  acid  separated  by  a 
solution  of  ammonia,  and  the  residue  again  submitted 
to  tiie  action  of  aqua-regia.  These  operations  are 
repeated  five  or  six  times,  as  long  as  any  tungstic  acid 
can  be  obtained  from  the  residue.  Finally,  the  latter 
becomes  quite  black,  and  then  consists  almost  entirely 
of  the  mineral  columbite  (or  niobite)  mixed  with  some 
grains  of  transparent  quartz. 

After  ascertaining  by  analysis  the  nature  of  this 
residue  I  passed  it  under  the  microscope,  and  saw  the 
mineral  in  its  ordinary  aspect.  It  appeared  in  the 
form  of  angular,  irregular,  black  fragments,  more  or 
less  metallic,  almost  vitreous,  non-magnetic,  resembling 
up  to  a  certain  point  brilliant  fragments  of  coal ;  and 
giving  all  the  blow-pipe  reactions  of  columbite. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  M.  Q^ustav  Rose  formerly 
ascertained  that  columbite  and  wolfram  are  isomor- 
phous. 

I  may  profit  by  this  opportunity  to  state  that  the 
metal  columbium,  now  cfdled  niohium^  was  discovered 
by  the  English  chemist  Hatchett  in  1801,  and  that  the 
metal  discovered  in  1802  by  Ekeberg,  and  called 
ianMum^  was  really  a  new  metal,  and  not  the  colum- 
bium of  Hatchett,  as  Dr.  WoUaston  declaSred.    The 


latter  is  niobium,  a  metal  which  has  become  remark- 
able by  the  persevering  researches  of  Heinrich  Rose, 
who  has  made  known  all  its  characteristic  reactions. 
On  comparing  the  observations  of  Hatchett  with  what 
is  now  known  of  tantalum  and  niobium,  principally  by 
the  admirable  analytic  studies  of  Heinrich  Rose,  the 
fact  alluded  to  becomes,  I  believe,  incontestable. 

London,  Aug.  31, 1867. 


ON  A  METHOD  OF  RECOVERING  SULPHrR 
AND  OXIDE  OF  MANGANESE,  AS  PRAC- 
TISED AT  DIEUZB,  NEAR  NANCY,  IN 
FRANCE.* 

BT  J.   LOTHIAN  BBLL. 

In  the  manufacture  of  soda,  the  use  of  sulphur  plays 
an  important  part ;  the  office  it  performs  being  to 
effect,  in  the  form  of  sulphuric  acid,  the  decomposition 
of  common  salU 

The  sulphate  of  soda  obtained  from  this  action  in  its 
turn  is  subjected  to  decomposition  by  exposure  to  heat 
along  witli  carbonate  of  lime  and  coal,  a  process  which 
transfers,  practically,  almost  the  whole  of  the  sulphur 
to  the  lime,  or  to  the  metallic  base  of  this  earUi,  the 
only  exception  being  the  small  portion  which  remains 
with  the  soda  as  an  impurity. 

This  new  combination  of  sulphur  is  separated  from 
the  soda  salts  by  lixiviation,  and  the  portions  undis- 
solved, containing  the  sulphides  of  lime  and  calcium, 
and  known  as  soda-waste,  are  thrown  away. 

I  will  not  dwell  on  the  inconvenience  the  soda-maker 
is  exposed  to  from  having  to  provide  deposit-room  for 
such  a  large  quantity  of  refuse  as  the  mode  of  treat- 
ment just  mentioned  gives  rise  to,  nor  on  the  some- 
what offensive  nature  of  the  soda-waste  itself,  render- 
ing the  alkali  manufacturer's  heap  any  thing  but  a 
desirable  neighbour. 

Various  are  the  plans  which  have  been  suggested  for 
the  recovery  of  this,  the  most  costly  element  of  the 
soda-maker  s  process,  but  hitherto,  so  far  as  actual  prac- 
tice is  concerned,  the  whole  of  tne  sulphur  employed 
by  them  may  be  said  to  be  still  tlirown  aside  after  it 
has  once  done  the  duty  just  alluded  to. 

Having  heard  a  favourable  account  of  a  method  in 
operation,  at  the  Chemical  works  of  the  Dieuze  Com- 
pany, near  Nancy,  by  the  permission  of  the  proprie- 
tors, I  visited  that  establishment  in  the  month  of  July 
last,  and  it  is  to  give  a  brief  account  of  their  process 
that  I  now  have  to  ask  the  attention  of  this  Section. 

It  will  be  convenient  at  this  stage  of  the  description 
to  remind  you  that  in  most  soda-works  there  exists 
another  residual  product,  scarcely  less  embarrassing  in 
its  nature  than  that  previously  mentioned.  The  muri- 
atic acid  obtained  from  decomposition  of  common  salt 
with  sulphuric  acid,  along  with  peroxide  of  manga- 
nese, is  employed  very  extensively  in  the  manufacture 
of  bleaching  powder,  a  process  wnich  gives  rise  to  the 
generation  of  a  large  quantity  of  liquid  chloride  of 
manganese  mixed  with  chloride  of  iron  and  free  hydro- 
chloric acid.  The  whole  of  these  solutions  are  run 
away  into  the  nearest  water-course  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  different  manufactories. 

The  process  I  am  about  to  describe  requires  the  as- 
sistance of  this  second  equally  valueless  materiaL  The 
operation  is  as  follows : — The  soda- waste,  after  being 
removed  from  the  vessels  in  which  it  has  been  sepa- 

*  Read  before  the  British  AMoeUtlon,  In  Section  B. 


[EngUdi  BdiUon,  VoL  ZVL,  If  o&  407, 408,  pages  102,  ie%  163.] 


*'"'^«"8«r^}'    Method  of  Recovering  Sulphur  and  Owido  of  Manganese. 


233 


rated  from  the  soda,  is  thrown  into  a  tank  of  stone- 
work about  twenty  yards  long,  bv  five  in  width,  and 
six  feet  deep.  In  uiis  vessel  an  intimate  mixture  is 
easily  effected  of  the  soda^ waste  and  the  metallic  chlo- 
rides of  the  refuse  from  the  bleaching  powder  process, 
and  from  which  latter  all  the  free  muriatic  acid  has 
been  removed  in  a  manner  to  be  hereafter  described. 
Were  the  free  acid  still  present,  a  loss  of  sulphur  by 
the  generation  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  would  take 
place,  and  this  on  all  accounts  it  is  obviously  best  to  avoid. 
A  few  hours  suffice  to  convert  the  chlorides  of  man- 
ganese and  of  iron  into  sulphides,  when  the  soluble 
chloride  of  calcium  generated  by  the  action  is  allowed 
to  drain  off.  The  solid  matter  remaining  is  cast  out 
into  a  heap  by  the  side  of  the  tank  containing  it.  In 
two  or  three  days  the  heap  is  turned  over,  and  in  a 
short  time  a  considerable  elevation  of  temperature  en- 
sues, indicative  of  strong  chemical  action.  To  restrain 
this  somewhat,  the  mass  is  kept  moist,  otherwise  spon- 
taneous combustion  would  ensue,  sulphur  would  be 
wasted,  and  the  desired  results  generally  interfered 
with.  Durio^  this  stage  of  the  process  the  metallic 
sulphides,  under  the  ioint  action  of  the  atmosphere  and 
moisture,  are  perozidized,  and  sulphur  is  separated. 
The  oxides  of  manganese  and  iron  so  obtained  are  by 
subsequent  turning  over  brought  into  contact  with 
other  portions  of  sulphide  of  calcium  of  the  soda- waste, 
and  are  again  converted  into  their  respective  sulphides, 
which  give  up  their  sulphur  a  second  time  in  the  way 
already  described.  The  process  is  continued  so  long 
as  there  remains  any  sulphide  of  calcium  from  which 
it  is  sought  to  separate  sulphur  in  the  manner  explain- 
^.  The  sulphur  thus  Uberated  is  taken  up  by  another 
portion  of  tlie  sulphide  of  calcium  of  the  soda-waste, 
and  a  polysulphide  of  calcium  resulte  from  the  combi- 
nation, which  is  soluble  in  water.  The  formation  of 
polysulphide  continues  as  long  as  other  portiohs  of  the 
original  sulphide  of  calcium  go  on  yielding  up  their 
sulphur  to  venerate  the  sulpnides  of  manganese  and 
iron.*  In  this  way  almost  the  whole  of  the  sulphide 
of  calcium  originally  contained  in  the  soda^waste  is 
converted  into  polysulphide  of  calcium,  hyposulphite 
and  oxysulphide  of  lime,  all  of  which  are  easily  dis- 
solved in  wator.  Something  like  four  or  five  days  are 
required  to  effect  these  chwiges.  These  soluble  salts 
are  separated  from  the  insoluble  portions  of  the  mass 
exactly  in  the  same  way  as  the  ball  alkali  is  treated'for 
obtaining  the  soda  it  contains.  Vats  resembling  in 
constmction  those  of  the  soda  works,  and  of  a  capacity 
equ«d  to  the  daily  production  of  soda- waste,  are  placed 
near  the  locality  in  which  the  preceding  stage  of  the 
process  has  been  effected,  and  in  a  very  speedy  man- 
ner the  polysulphide  and  other  salts  are  run  off  as  a 
deep  orange  yellow  solution,  hereafter  denominated 
theyellow  liquor. 

The   composition   of  the  insoluble    portion  is  as 
follows : — 

CaOSO, 66248 

CaOCOa   1-320 

CaO 20982 

Fe«Os  and  AljOt 7*ooo 

MnO 1.500 

Insoluble 2*800 


99-850 


•  Alotiff  wHh  tW»  formation  of  polysalpblde  of  caldnm.  there  goes  on 
at  the  asme  time  a  creneratlon  of  hyposnlpblte  and  ozysalphtdes  of  lime 
doe  to  the  liberation  of  ozrgen  from  the  metallio  oxides  at  the  moment 
of  being  again  oonvertcd  m  sulphides. 


As  a  refiise  this  substance  will  be  recognised  as  being 
of  an  inoffensive  character  to  the  neighbourhood  so  for 
as  any  subsequent  chemical  action  is  concerned.  Un- 
like the  original  soda  waste  it  contains  no  ingredient 
liable  to  oxidation ;  it  cannot  therefore  give  off  any  of 
those  unpleasant  compounds  which  more  or  less  are 
to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  all  alkali  works.  It  is, 
moreover,  not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  a  matter 
consisting  chiefly  of  OaOSO»  and  CaO  may  be  found 
useful  as  a  stimulant  to  various  descriptions  of  soils, 
and  thus  the  whole  of  the  S  used  in  the  soda  process 
in  one  shape  or  another  may  be  rendered  useful  instead 
of  being  a  nuisance,  as  is  the  case  at  present 

The  residual  products  from  the  bleaching  powder 
works  are  received  into  a  tank  so  built  that  free  hydro- 
chloric acid  does  not  destroy  the  structure.  By  this 
means  any  insoluble  portions  are  separated,  and  the 
clear  liquid  is  run  off  into  an  adjoining  cistern. 

To  this  acid  solution  of  chloride  of  manganese  and 
iron,  is  added  that  of  the  polysulphide  of  calcium  and 
lime  compounds  of  sulphur,  obtamed  in  the  manner 
previously  given.  The  presence  of  free  hydrochloric 
acid  causes  an  immediate  precipitation  of  all  the 
sulphur,  free  from  the  sulphide  of  calcium,  and  the 
accompanying  substances  containing  sulphur ;  and  the 
addition  of  the  yellow  liquor  is  contmued  until  the  first 
appearance  of  a  black  colour,  indicative  of  all  the  free 
acid  being  neutralized,  and  the  first  portion  of  iron 
from  the  chlorine  residuum  commencmg  to  be  pre- 
cipitated. The  precipitated  sulphur  is  removed  from 
the  liquid,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  accompanying 
water  is  separated  by  pressure,  After  this  the  re- 
mainder of  the  moisture  is  expelled  by  a  very  low 
heat,  and  the  sulphur  is  then  employed  fbr  producing 
sulphuric  acid. 

It  is  obvious  from  what  has  preceded  that  the  chlo- 
rides of  manganese  and  iron  must  be  left  in  the  solution 
from  which  the  free  hydrochloric  acid  has  just  been 
removed  in  precipitating  the  sulphur ;  and  it  is  in  this 
way  that  the  neutral  solutions  of  these  metals  are 
obtained  which  are  required  for  operating  upon  subse- 
quent portions  of  the  soda-waste. 

This  process  has  been  in  operation  at  Dieuze  for 
some  months,  and  at  the  present  moment  by  its  means 
about  one  ana  a  half  tons  of  sulphur  are  being  recovered 
daily.  It  will  be  seen  that  no  new  material  is  required, 
the  only  ingredients  being  the  two  waste  products  from 
the  manufactory  itself.  The  apparatus  employed  is  of 
a  most  simple  character,  consisting  almost  entirely  of 
tanks  on  which  the  expense  for  maintenance  will  be  a 
mere  trifle — ^in  fact  the  whole  cost  is  one  of  labour, 
which  at  tiie  Dieuze  works  amounts  to  something  like 
40s.  per  ton  on  the  sulphur  obtained. 

Supposing  40  per  cent,  of  the  sulphur  used  in  this 
kingdom  to  be  thus  recovered,  the  annual  saving  this 
process  is  capable  of  effecting  will  amount  to  a  con- 
siderable sum.  * 

Instead  of  employing  the  "yellow  liquor"  and  the 
chloride  of  manganese  in  the  way  set  forth  in  this 
paper,  an  attempt  has  been  made  at  Dieuze  to  employ 
both  as  a  means  of  recovering  manganese,  a  desider- 
atum with  bleaching  powder  makers  as  eagerly  sought 
for  as  the  regenerating  of  sulphur  has  been  with  the 
soda  manufacturer.  I  shall  with  your  permission 
proceed  to  describe  the  process  which  the  owners  ol 
the  establishment  assured  me  promises  to  be  a  success. 

The  acid  solutions  from  the  bleaching  powder  works, 
being  all  required  in  order  to  precipitate  sulphur  by 
means  of  the  free  hydrochloric  acid,  contain  a  consider- 


[BngUdi  EdMoo,  VoL  Z7I,  No.  408,  pages  163, 164.] 


234 


The  Physiological  Action  of  tlie  Methyl  Compounds. 


j  CsmociL  Kfvs, 
\     Jfov^  186T. 


able  quantity  of  neutral  chlorides  of  manganese,  and 
will  remain  on  hand.  To  such  portions  of  these  neutral 
chlorides  as  are  not  used  in  the  sulphur  process  itself, 
yellow  liquor  is  added  in  a  suitable  tank  so  long  as  a 
black  precipitate  falls,  which  is  variable  in  quantity  with 
the  varying  composition  of  the  manganese  used.  The 
black  precipitate  consists  of  sulphide  of  iron  and  free 
sulphur,  which  can  be  collected  and  burnt  in  an  ordi- 
nary furnace  for  burning  pyrites. 
,  The  iron  being  thus  all  separated  from  the  metallic 
solution,  a  fresh  quantity  of  yellow  liquor  is  added,  bjr 
which  all  the  manganese  is  thrown  down,  the  precipi- 
tate consisting  of  some  free  sulphur  and  sulphide  of 
manganese. 

The  sulphide  of  manganese  is  burnt  in  the  same  way 
as  that  of  iron,  but  the  residue,  instead  of  being  all 
oxide,  as  is  the  case  when  the  sulphide  of  iron  is  under 
treatment,  is  composed  of  protoxide  and  binoxide  of 
the  metal  mixed  with  a  certain  quantity  of  sulphate  of 
manganese.  The  oxides  are  separated  in  the  usual 
way  by  water,  and  being  almost  chemically  pure,  are 
of  great  value  to  the  glass-makers,  to  whom  the  pres- 
•ence  of  the  iron  usually  found  associated  with  the 
manganese  of  conmierce,  is  a  subject  of  great  inconven- 
ience. 

The  sulphate  of  manganese  as  a  concentrated  solu- 
tion is  added  to  nitrate  of  soda  in  quantities  denoted 
by  the  equivalents.  When  heated,  decomposition 
takes  place ;  nitrous  acid  is  given  oflF,  which  may  be 
used  in  the  sulphuric  acid  chambers,  or  otherwise  dis- 
posed of;  and  the  residue  consisrs  of  sulphate  of  soda 
and  the  protoxide  and  binoxide  of  manganese,  which 
latter  represent,  so  far  as  available  oxygen  is  con- 
cerned, a  manganese  amounting  to  65  to  70  per  cent,  of 
binoxiae.  The  oxides  of  manganese  are  separated  from 
the  sulphate  of  soda  in  the  usual  way  by  washing  with 
water,  and  both  used  for  any  purpose  to  which  these 
two  substances  are  commonly  applied. 

I  may  add  that  these  operations  have  been  carefully 
examined  by  some  of  the  leading  men  of  science  of 
France,  both  in  their  practical  and  scientific  relations, 
and  that  in  the  recent  adjudication  of  prizes  at  the  In- 
ternational Exhibition,  at  PariSj  the  mventors  had  a 
gold  medal  awarded  for  the  service  they  are  considered 
to  have  rendered  to  the  industry  of  their  country. 


THE   PHYSIOLOGICAL  ACTION   OF   THE 
METHYL  COMPOUNDS.* 

BT  DB.   B.   W.   RIOHABDSON,    F.R.8. 

The  author  opened  by  briefly  recapitulating  the  work 
of  the  previous  reports,  and  by  noting  several  facts 
showing  in  a  satisfactory  manner  the  practical  good 
that  had  followed  their  publication.  Passing  to  the 
methyl  compounds,  the  substances  now  to  be  consid- 
ered, he  said  they  were  of  unusual  interest,  inasmuch  as 
the  poisonous  gas  known  as  fire-damp,  and  the  benefi- 
cial agent  chloroform,  were  included  in  the  group.  He 
then  divided  the  substances  to  be  described,  in  regard 
to  their  physiological  action,  into  two  distinct  groups, 
with  their  chemical  constitutions  or  characters — giving 
first  in  detail  a  list  of  the  methyl  series  as  follows : — 


Methjlio  aloobol. 
Hydride  of  methyl ;  marsh 

gas;  flre-darop. 
Chloride  of  methyl. 
Iodide  of  methyl 


Bromide  of  methyl 
Acetate  of  methyl 
Metbylic  ether. 
Nitrite  of  methyl 
Nitrate  of  methyl 


•  Bead  In  8«eUon  D,  Brltlih  AbsocUUod. 


The  methylene  series  was  ^ven  as  follows : — 

Chloroform  (Terchloride).        Tetrachloride  of  carbon. 
Biohloride  of  methyl 

Dr.  Richardson  next  discussed  the  action  of  the  above 
substances  in  detail.  The  following  is  an  abstract  of 
his  observations: — ^With  regard  to  alcoholic  fluids, 
he  observed  that  the  physiological  law  was  that  the 
period  of  time  required  by  these  bodies  to  produce 
their  effects,  and  the  period  of  time  required  for  recov- 
ery, turned  altogether  on  the  boiling  point  of  the  fluid 
used.  This  was  so  certain  that  when  the  boiling  point 
of  one  fluid  and  its  action  were  known,  the  action  of 
other  fluids  might  be  predicted  firom  their  boiling  point 
The  explanation  was  simple.  The  alcohols  taken  into 
the  body  did  not  enter  into  any  combination  which 
changed  their  composition,  but  passed  out  of  the  body, 
chemically,  as  they  entered  it,  and  their  evolution,  and 
the  time  of  their  evolution,  was  the  mere  matter  of 
so  much  expenditure  offeree,  caloric,  to  raise  them  and 
carry  them  off".  He  had  tested  this,  and  found  that 
intoxicated  animals  recovered  more  or  less  quicklv  ac- 
cording to  the  temperature  in  which  they  were  placed 
— those  in  the  higher  degree  returning  the  sooner  to 
their  normal  condition.  The  practical  lessons  were, 
that  in  alcoholic  poisoning  of  the  human  silbject  the 
most  important  condition  ror  recovery  was  a  high  tem- 
perature :  and  that  as  methyUc  alcohol  was  more  rapid 
m  its  action  and  much  less  prolonged  in  its  effects  than 
common  alcohol,  it  could  be  used  with  great  advantage 
by  the  physician  in  all  cases  where  he  felt  an  instant 
demand  for  alcohol.  All  alcohoUc  bodies  are  depress* 
ants,  and  although  at  first,  by  their  calling  injuriously 
into  play  the  natural  force,  they  seem  to  excite,  and  are 
therefore  called  stimulants,  they  themselves  supply  no 
force  at  any  time,  but  take  up  force,  by  which  means 
they  lead  to  exhaustion  and  paralysis  of  power.  In 
other  words,  the  calorific  force  which  should  be  ex- 
pended on  the  nutrition  and  sensation  of  the  body  is 
expended  on  alcohol  Dr.  Richardson  added  to  his 
recommendation  of  methylic  alcohol  as  a  medicine  the 
facts  that  when  quite  pure  it  was  very  palatable,  and 
that  it  mixed  easily  with  either  hot  or  cold  water. 

The  Hydride  of  Methyl— The  Hydride  of  Methyl 
occurs  naturally  in  the  form  of  fire-damp  in  mines,  and 
as  marsh  gas  on  land.  It  is  made  artincially  by  heat- 
ing together  in  a  strong  flask  acetate' of  soda,  caustic 
potash,  and  well  dried  lime.  For  phvsiological  experi- 
ments the  Hydride  of  Methyl  can  only  be  administered 
by  inhalation.  It  is  a  pleasant  gas  to  inhale,  produc- 
ing no  irritation  nor  yet  giving  rise  to  any  of  thoee 
feelings  of  excitement  which  are  induced  by  nitrous 
oxide  gas  or  the  vapour  of  chloroform.  It  might  theie- 
fore  be  ranked,  as  Mr.  Nunneley  had  long  ago  ranked  it, 
as  an  anaesthetic ;  but,  as  its  effect  was  evanescent,  and 
the  quantity  of  gas  required  to  produce  an  effect  was 
very  great,  it  was  practically  valueless  for  this  purpose. 
Dr.  Richardson  then  proceeded: — As  this  gas  is  often  a 
cause  of  death  in  mines,  I  thought  it  was  worth  inquiry 
— What  percentage  of  it  would  prove  fatal  in  the  air  ? 
I  therefore  had  constructed  a  glass  chamber,  through 
which  an  atmosphere  charged  with  various  quantities 
of  the  gas  could  be  passed.  To  my  surprise,  I  found 
that  even  pigeons — animals  peculiarly  susceptible  to 
the  influence  of  narcotic  gases— could  live  in  an  air 
charged  with  not  less  than  thirty-five  per  oentw  of  the 
ga«»,  for  the  space  of  half  an  hour ;  while  I  could  my- 
self inhale  the  air  coming  fi*om  their  chamber  with  the 
utmost  ease.    When  at  last  by  pushing  the  gas  further. 


.  ^[EiigllBh  Edition,  yoLXVL,  No.  408,  pogwlHl^SA'] 


CaraacAL  Nxwa, ) 
If<n^  1867.      f 


The  Physiological  Action  of  the  Methyl  Oompounde. 


235 


death  18  induced — ^it  cameS  as  a  yery  gentle  ideep,  80 
gentle,  indeed,  that  it  ia  difficult  to  say  when  the  ac^ 
tion,  either  or  the  circulation  or  of  the  respiration,  is 
over.  The  lungs  are  left  with  the  blood  in  them,  the 
heart  has  blood  on  both  sides,  and  the  blood  itself  re* 
tains  its  natural  character.  The  death  is  by  the  slow 
negation  of  breathing.  We  may  gather  n'om  these 
facts  many  important  lessons  in  regard  to  the  risks 
and  dangers  of  miners  from  fire-damp.  I  should  think 
it  is  almost  impossible  that  any  body  of  mon,  or  any 
men  who  were  awake  in  a  mine,  could  be  so  entrapped 
with  fire-damp  only  as  to  die  in  the  absence  of  an  ex- 
plosion. In  accidents  where  this  seems  to  haye  oc- 
curred, I  should  imagine  that  with  the  fire-damp  there 
18  also  evolved  carbonic  acid  gas.  I  can,  however,  im- 
agine after  an  explosion,  when  the  mine  becomes  for  a 
moment  a  ffreat  vacuum,  that  there  would  be  sufficient 
entrance  of  the  gas  to  produce  a  fatfd  atmosphere.  In 
such  case  death  would  be  prolonged,  but  as  easy  as 
sleep ;  two  truths,  which  in  cases  of  accident  should 
inspire  thankfulness  and  hope — ^thankfulness  that  those 
who  thus  die  for  us  suffer  little ;  hope  as  to  the  pos- 
sibihty  of  rescue,  which  should  not  for  days  be  aban- 
doned. The  best  direct  means  of  recovery  of  those 
under  the  influence  of  fire-damp  is  exposure  to  heated 
Mr,  and  the  administration  of  warm  nourishing  drinks, 
such  as  milk.  Alcoholics  do  decided  harm.  Prom  this 
point  the  author  proceeded  with  a  description  of  the 
action  of  chloride  of  methyl,  the  iodide,  bromide,  and 
acetate,  methylic  ether,  nitrite  of  methyl,  and  the 
nitrate,  over  which  we  must  pass,  to  record  his  more 
general  researches  on  chloroform  and  its  alliea 

Methylene  Compounds, — Dr.  Richardson  spoke  at 
length  on  these  compounds  as  anaesthetics,  describing 
the  nature  and  action  of  chloroform,  tetrachloride  of 
carbon,  and  bichloride  of  methylene  (with  which  he 
pnt  a  pigeon  to  sleep  under  a  glass  shade).  He  had 
been  led  to  the  conviction  that  the  cause  of  death  from 
chloroform  was  in  every  case  due  to  the  arrest  of  ner- 
vous function,  and  that  the  idea  of  any  direct  action  of 
the  agent  on  the  muscular  structure  of  the  heart  was 
without  foundation.  He  had  conducted  eighty-seven 
experiments  specially  to  determine  the  direct  influence 
of  chloroform  on  the  heart,  and  found  in  every  case  that 
organ  capable  of  reaction  on  its  exposure  to  air,  while 
the  Inngs  were  always  bloodless,  white,  and  collapsed. 
The  best  means  of  restwation  in  impending  death  from 
ehloroform  was  the  introduction  into  the  lungs,  by  arti- 
ficial respiration,  of  air  heated  to  130^  Fanrenheit. 
For  doing  so  a  small  pair  of  handbellows  connected 
•  with  a  thin  tube  of  platinum  in  a  coil  was  found  to 
answer  well,  as  with  a  spirit  lamp  the  coil  could  be 
instantly  made  hot  It  was  only  necessary  to  inject 
the  air  through  one  nostril.  The  tetrachloride  of  car- 
bon had  recently  been  brought  into  use  as  a  siibstitute 
for  chloroform.  With  regard  to  it  Dr.  Richardson 
said — As  this  substance  is  now  gaining  importance,  I 
have  thought  it  proper  to  subject  it  to  very  careful  ex- 
periment^  and  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  state,  both  on  theo- 
retical and  practical  grounds,  that  it  is  far  more  danger- 
ous than  chloroform,  and  if  it  were  as  generally  used  it 
would  act  fatally  in  a  much  larger  number  of  cases. 
In  its  action  it  presents  the  same  four  stages  as  chloro- 
form, but  the  second  stage  is  more  prolonged  and  in- 
tensified. In  one  animal,  a  rabbit,  tetanic  convulsion 
of  an  extreme  character  was  presented  during  this 
stage.  But  the  worst  feature  in  the  administration  of  | 
this  body  is  the  slowness  of  its  elimination—  a  slow- 
ness fully  accounted  for  by  the  boiling  point.    Saturat-  I 


ing  the  nervous  centres,  and  expending  their  force  to 
the  fullest,  it  kills  far  more  quickly  and  determinately 
than  chloroform,  and  so  completely  is  motion  paralyzed 
that  the  muscles  scarcely  respond  to  galvanism  five 
minutes  after  dissolution.  In  order  to  make  an  exact 
comparison,  and  it  is  firom  this  comparison  I  draw  the 
results  arrived  at — I  placed  animals  of  the  same  kind, 
at  the  same  time,  at  the  same  temperature,  in  chambers 
of  the  same  size,  and  administered  the  same  doses  of 
chloroform  and  of  the  tetrachloride  of  carbon.  Pigeons 
and  rabbits  alike  gave  evidence  of  the  more  severe 
effects  of  the  latter,  substance.  In  this  opinion  my 
friend  Dr.  Sedgwick,  who  has  rendered  me  valued  aid 
in  these  inquiries,  entirely  coincides. 

The  Bichloride  of  MdhyUne. — The  last  compound 
on  our  list  is  of  great  interest,  from  the  circumstance 
that  it  promises  to  be  a  new  and  valuable  anaesthetic. 
In  experimenting  with  chloride  of  methyl  in  ether,  I 
was  so  struck  with  its  good  action  that  I  asked  Mr. 
Robbins,  the  chemist  who  had  prepared  the  compounds 
for  me,  to  endeavour  to  find,  from  the  methyl  bodies,  a 
more  stable  compound,  having  similar  physical  prop- 
erties. In  a  few  days  ne  brought  me  the  fluid  I  now 
place  before  the  Section,  made  for  him  by  Dr.  Vers- 
mann.  This  fluid  is  the  bichloride  of  methylene.  It  is 
formed  by  tiie  action  of  sulphuric  acid  on  zinc  in  chloro- 
form, and  it  differs  from  chloroform  in  that  one  atom  of 
chlorine  is  replaced  by  an  atom  of  hydrogen.  Its  boil- 
ing point  is  88^  Fahr.,  and  the  odour  of  its  vapour  is 
sweet,  and  much  like  that  of  chloroform.  On  testing 
it  physiologically,  I  found  it  to  be  a  gentle  and  perfect 
general  anaesthetic.  Under  its  influence  animals  lapse 
into  the  third  stage  of  ansesthesia  with  the  slightest 
exhibition  of  the  stage  of  excitement?*  The  insensi- 
bility is  deep  and  well  sustained,  and  the  recovery 
quiet  and  good.  (Dr.  Richardson  here  showed  the  ex- 
periment already  mentioned  of  putting  a  pigeon  to 
sleep.)  In  some  experiments,  in  order  to  see  the  ex- 
treme effect,  I  have  carried  the  administration  to  the 
extent  of  arresting  the  i)henomena  of  life.  I  have 
thus  learned  that  the  respiration  and  circulation  under 
the  last  action  of  this  agent  cease  simultaneously,  and 
that  the  muscles  retain  their  irritability  for  even  an 
hour  after  dealh.  The  lungs  are  left  wiUi  blood  in  the 
respiratory  circuit,  both  sides  of  the  heart  are  charged 
with  blood,  and  the  blood  itself  remains  unaltered  in 
physical  property.  Compared  with  other  anaesthetics, 
the  bichloride  of  methylene  appears  to  me  to  combine 
the  anaesthetic  power  of  chloroform  with  the  safer 
properties  of  ether.  It  is  too  early  to  speak  positively 
on  this  point,  but  if  the  expectation  be  fulfilled,  the 
perfection  of  a  general  anaesthetic  will  have  been  ob- 
tained for  the  Ix^nefit  of  the  world.  And,  even  should 
this  happy  result  not  be  accomplished,  the  way  at  least 
is  paved  towards  the  discovery  of  some  intermediate 
body  which  shall  answer  to  the  required  physical  de- 
mand. In  reviewing  the  facts  connected  with  the 
physiological  action  of  the  methyl  series,  we  gather 
that,  according  to  their  composition,  they  exert  certain 
definite  influences  on  different  parts  of  the  nervous 
organism.  The  oxide  produces  an  influence  specifically 
its  own,  that  of  slowly  paralysing  the  motor  function 
without  destroying  common  sensibility.  The  nitrite 
and  nitrate  rapidly  paralyse  the  centres  of  motion, 
while  the  chloride,  and  the  iodide,  together  with  the 
substitution  chlorine  compounds,  not  only  paralyse  mo- 
tion but  also  destroy  sensation.  I  conclude  this  re- 
port with  one  other  observation.  At  first  sight  it  may 
seem  that  the  isolation  of  the  phenomena  produced  by 


[fiagUih  BcUtion,  7oL  ZVI.,  No.  408,  pafM  V55, 160.] 


^36 


Real  Image  Stereoscope — Andlyaia  of  Cast-Iron. 


j  GmonoAL  Nwl 


Special  agencies,  and  the  discovery  of  a  new  anaesthetic 
are  sufficient  characteristics  of  this  research.  With 
every  respect,  I  submit  that  a  broader  question  is  in- 
volved. At  the  meeting  at  Birmingham  I  suggested, 
ahnost  with  a  feeUng  of  fear^  that  out  of  these  studies 
might  spring  up  a  fixed  principle  of  therapeutic  dis- 
covery. Now,  I  have  the  conscious  happiness  of 
knowing  that  tJie  hypothesis  was  correct.  I  feel  con- 
vinced by  this  longer  experience  that  by  continued 
labour  we  shall  be  able  to  pronounce  the  precise  physio- 
logical meaning  and  value  of  all  the  organic  compounds, 
to  extend  Uie  knowledge  of  curative  action  of  these 
compounds  to  every  condition  of  disease  that  is  physi- 
cally remediable,  and  to  bring  positive  Science  of 
Therapeutics  to  a  position  that  snail  stand  out  as  a 
leading  fact  in  the  scientific  advancement  which  the 
British  Association  so  fervently  encourages,  and  which 
at  once  solidifies  and  beautifies  the  progress  of  the 
present  age. 


ON  A  REAL  IMAGE  STEREOSCOPE.* 

BT  J.   GLARE  MAXWELL,    F.R.S. 

In  all  stereoscopes  there  is  an  optical  arrangement  by 
which  the  right  eye  sees  an  image  of  one  picture,  and 
the  left  eye  that  of  another.  These  images  ought  to 
be  apparently  in  the  same  place  and  at  the  distance  of 
most  distinct  vision.  In  ordinary  stereoscopes  these 
images  are  virtual,  and  the  observer  has  to  place  his 
eyes  near  two  apertures,  and  he  sees  the  united  images, 
as  it  were,  behind  the  optical  apparatus. 

In  the  stereoscope  which  I  have  had  made  by  Messrs. 
Elliott  Brothers  the  observer  stands  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  apparatus,  and  looks  with  both  eyes  at  a  large 
lens,  and  the  image  appears  a  real  object  close  to  the 
lens. 

The  stereoscope  consists  of  a  board  about  two  feet 
long,  on  which  is  placed — i.  A  vertical  frame  to  hold 
the  pair  of  pictures,  which  may  be  an  ordinary  stereo- 
scopic slide  turned  upside  down.  2.  A  sliding  piece 
near  the  middle  of  the  board,  containing  two  lenses  of 
six  feet  in  length,  placed  side  by  side,  with  their  centres 
about  one  inch  and  a  quarter  apart.  3.  A  frame  con- 
taining a  large  lens  of  about  eight  inches  focal  length 
and  three  inches  diameter. 

The  observer  stands  with  his  eyes  about  2  feet  from 
the  large  lens.  With  his  right  eye  he  sees  the  real 
image  of  the  left-hand  picture  formed  by  the  left-hand 
lens  in  the  air  close  to  the  lari^e  lens ;  and  with  the  left 
eye  he  sees  the  real  imagine  of  the  other  picture  formed 
by  the  other  lens  in  the  same  place.  The  united 
images  look  like  a  real  object  in  the  air  close  to  larger 
lens.  This  .image  may  be  magnified  or  diminished  at 
pleasure,  by  sliding  the  piece  containing  the  two  lenses 
nearer  to  or  farther  from  the  picture. 


ON  THE  ANALYSIS  OF  CAST-IRON, 

BY  EDMUKD  G.    TOSH,  PH.D. 
(Continued  from  page  172,  American  Sepilnti  Oct,  1867.) 

EsUmatwii  of  Graphite,  2  to  3  grammes  of  iron 
were  treated  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  and  when 
solution  approached  completion  a  considerable  quantity 
of  strong  acid  was  added  to  separate  the  last  portions 
of  iron  and  manganese.    The  insoluble  matter,  consist- 

*  Bead  before  the  Britiah  AMoclatlo2^  in  Section  A. 


ing  mostly  of  graphite,  Yfka  collected  on  a  carefiilly 
weighed  filter,  washed  with  hot  water,  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid,  solution  of  caustic  soda,  and  hot  water  again, 
successively,  lastly  with  alcohol  and  ether  to  remove 
oily  hydrocarbons  as  recommended  by  Max  Buchner.* 
By  washing  with  dilute  acid  and  wi&  alkali,  iron  and 
silica  or  oxide  of  silicium  were  separated.  After  drying 
at  120°  C.  the  filter  and  graphite  are  weighed  and 
burned  away.  The  small  residue  (a  mere  trace  of  silica 
or  titanic  acid)  is  weighed,  and  this  weight  subtracted 
from  the  first  gives  the  amount  of  graphite.  The  results 
obtained  agree  very  closely,  as  shown  in  the  two  fol- 
lowing cases : — 

1.  2*36725  grms.  iron  gave  0*08375  grm.  insoluble 
matter,  containing  0*013  S't^  incombustible  residue. 
Q-raphite  per  cent.  =2*978. 

2.  2*991  pros,  iron  gave  o-iop5  grm.  insoluble  mat- 
ter containing  0*01725  grm.  mcombustible  residue. 
Q-raphite  per  cent.  =3*0842. 

In  washing  the  graphite  with  solution  of  soda,  there 
was  always  a  brisk  effen'escence,  due  according  to 
Schafhaud  t  to  the  oxidation  of  oxide  of  silicium  to 
silicic  acid,  by  decomposition  of  water,  with  consequent 
liberation  of  hydrogen. 

The  difference  between  the  quantities  of  graphite 
and  of  total  carbon,  is  the  amount  of  carbon  in  uie  com- 
bined state. 

Ustimatian  of  Silicium,  About  2  grammes  of  the 
iron  were  dissolved  in  aqua  regia,  and  evaporated  to 
dryness.  The  insoluble  matter  was  collected,  washed, 
dried,  ignited,  and  cautiously  deflagrated  with  nitrate 
of  potash.  Grraphite  is  thus  quickly  burned  away :  the 
fused  mass  is  extracted  from  the  crucible  by  means  of 
water.  The  alkahne  silicates  in  solution  are  decomposed 
by  hydrochloric  acid  in  considerable  excess,  and  the 
whole  evaporated  to  dryness.  To  the  dried  mass  a  few 
drops  of  hydrochloric  acid  are  added,  and  afterwards 
water.  The  insoluble  silica  is  filtered  off,  washed,  dried, 
and  ignited  till  quite  white.  From  its  weight  the  pro- 
portion of  silicium  in  the  iron  may  be  deduced. 

Estimation  of 'Sulphur,^  About  3  grammes  of  the 
iron  were  dissolved  in  nitric  acid,  with  the  occasional 
addition  of  a  few  drops  of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  evap- 
orated to  dryness.  The  residue  is  dissolved  in  the 
least  possible  quantity  of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  water 
added.  The  sulphuric  acid  in  the  clear,  filtered  solution 
is  precipitated  by  chloride  of  barium.  After  standing 
24  hours,  the  sulphate  of  baryta  is  collected.  It  is 
generally  contaminated  with  a  little  iron  which  may  be 
removed  by  treatment  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid. 

Estimation  of  Phosphorus,  3  grammes  of  the  iron  are ' 
dissolved  in  aqua  regia,  the  solution  evaporated  to  dry- 
ness, and  the  insoluble  matter  filtered  off.  The  perchlo- 
ride  of  iron  solution  is  reduced  to  the  state  of  protochlo- 
ride,  by  heating  with  sulphite  of  soda.  Although  perfect- 
ly reduced,  the  solution  still  retains  a  yellow  colour  due 
to  dissolved  organic  matter.  All  excess  of  sulphurous 
acid  is  boiled  off,  a  little  perchloride  of  iron  is  added, 
and  the  solution  cautiously  neutralised  by  means  of 
carbonate  of  soda  or  ammonia,  till  the  precipitate 
formed  does  not  dissolve  again.  This  small  portion  of 
peroxide  of  iron  containing  all  the  phosphonc  acid,  is 
filtered  off,  washed,  redissolvei  in  a  little  hydrochloric 
acid,  and  the  phosphoric  acid  precipitated  as  ammonio- 
phosphate  of  ma^esia,  the  iron  being  held  up  in  the 
ammoniacal  solution  by  citric  acid. 

Estimation    of  Manganese, — 3    to    4    grammes    of 


«  Jonrn.  f  prakt.  Ohem.  Bd.  72,  p.  364. 
t  Joom.  f.  prakt.  Chem.  IxviL  p.  457. 


C[EngU8h  BdtUon,  VoL  XVL,  Wa  408,  pages  16C,  167, 168.] 


'^^Um"- }     Tlis  Electno  Induction  of  Mr.  Hooper's  Insulated  Wires. 


237 


iron  are  dissolved  in  aqua  regia:  the  solution  is  largely 
diluted  and  filtered,  and  neutralised  with  carbonate  of 
6oda  or  ammonia  till  of  a  deep  brown  colour.  The  iron 
is  precipitated  by  acetate  of  soda,  and  the  solution 
immediately  boiled.  The  large  precipitate  settles 
quickly,  the  clear  liquid  is  poured  off  and  filtered, 
Afler  three  washings  by  subsidence  and  decantation, 
the  precipitate  is  thrown  on  a  large  filter  and  again 
washed.  The  bulky  solution  coniaining  all  the  man- 
ganese is  evaporated  to  small  volume  and  refiltered. 
The  manganese  is  first  precipitated  by  sulphide  of 
ammonium,  the  sulphide  collected  and  washed  with 
sulphide  or  ammonium  water,  redissolved  in  hydro- 
chloric acid,  the  solution  boiled,  and  the  manganese 
reprecipitated  as  carbonate  by  carbonate  of  soda, 
filtered  off,  washed,  dried,  and  ignited  till  of  constant 
weighty  showing  its  perfect  conversion  into  MusOi. 

lUanium, — The  estimation  of  this  element  in  any 
substance  is  somewhat  uncertain,  and  its  determination 
in  pig  iron  can  scarcely  be  accurately  accomplished. 
Its  detection  in  iron  is  not  difficult.  A  considerable 
quantity  .(5  grms.)  of  the  specimen  is  treated  with 
dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  and  insoluble  collected, 
graphite  burned  off,  and  the  residue  freed  from  silica 
without  loss  of  titanic  acid,  by  heating  with  a  mixture 
of  hydrofluoric  and  sulphuric  acids  as  recommended  by 
Riley.*  After  driving  off  sulphuric  acid,  titanic  acid  is 
left  behind,  which  may  be  distinguished  by  the  violet 
reaction  it  gives  with  microcosmic  salt  and  a  httle  tin 
in  the  reducing  flame  of  the  blowpipe. 

It  may  be  approximately  estimated  in  the  following 
way.  About  6  grammes  of  iron  are  dissolved  in  hydro- 
chloric acid,  and  the  whole  evaporated  to  dryness. 
The  dried  mass  is  moistened  with  hydrochloric  acid, 
water  added,  and  the  solution  filtered.  Part  of  the 
titanium  exists  in  the  solution  (a)  and  part  in  the 
insoluble  (b).  The  solution,  if  containing  much  per- 
chloride  of  iron,  is  reduced  by  sulphite  of  soda,  the 
excess  of  sulphurous  acid  boiled  off,  a  little  perchloride 
of  iron  added,  and  the  titanic  acid  precipitated  in 
combuiation  with  the  sesquioxide  of  iron  thus  intro- 
duced, by  means  of  carbonate  of  soda,  as  in  the  esti- 
mation of  phosphorus.  The  small  precipitate  is 
quickly  filtered  off,  washed,  dried,  ignited,  and  carefully 
set  aside. 

From  the  insoluble  matter  (b)  graphite  is  burned 
off,  and  the  silica  is  removed  by  hydrofluoric  acid  in 
the  presence  of  sulphuric  acid.  To  the  residue  after 
this  treatment  the  small  ferruginous  precipitate  fi^om 
(a)  is  added,  and  the  whole  fused  with  bisulphate  of 
potash.  When  cool  the  fused  mass  is  extracted  with 
cold  water,  and  from  the  clear  filtered  solution,  titanic 
acid  and  iron  are  precipitated  by  ammonia ;  the  pre- 
cipitate is  slightly  washed,  and  sulphide  of  ammonium 
added.  The  sulphide  of  iron  thus  formed  is  dissolved 
by  sulphurous  acid,  while  the  titanic  acid  nuxed  with 
sulphur  is  undissolved,  and  may  be  collected,  ignited, 
and  weighed,  afber  which  it  should  be  tested  as  to  its 
purity. 

Nitrogen  was  estimated  by  the  following  process  of 
Boussingault.t  5  grammes  of  the  iron  under  examina- 
tion are  slowly  dissolved  in  very  dilute  hydrochloric 
acid.  By  this  means  a  part  of  the  nitrogen  is  converted 
into  ammonia,  and  exists  in  the  solution  as  chloride  of 
ammonium,  and  another  portion  remains  in  the  in- 
sohible,  probably  combined  with  the  titanium.  This 
insoluble  is  collected,  and  the  filtered  solution  is  treated 

•  Jonrn.  Ghem.  Soc  Vol.  p.  811. 
t  CoioptM  BeudQB,  T.  UL  p.  1068. 


in  a  capacious  flask  with  a  considerable  excess  of 
caustic  ume  and  boiled.  A  tube  connected  with  the 
flask  by  a  tight  cork,  dips  into  dilute  hydrochloric  acid, 
by  which  the  liberated  ammonia  is  absorbed.  Nitrogen 
is  estimated  in  the  graphitic  matter  insoluble  in  acid 
by  burning  with  soda-lime,  the  ammonia  formed  being 
also  absorbed  by  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.  Both 
solutions  are  now  brought  together,  evaporated  to 
small  bulk,  chloride  of  p£tinum  added,  the  small  pre- 
cipitate collected,  washed  with  alcohol,  dried,  igmted, 
and  the  remaining  platinum  weighed,  from  which  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  may  be  calctdated. 

Nickel,  cobalt,  and  copper  were  carefully  sought  for 
by  operating  on  large  quantities  of  the  various 
specimens  of  iron,  but  evidence  of  their  presence  could 
not  be  obtained.  63  grammes  of  iron  were  deflagrated 
with  a  mixture  of  carbonate  of  soda  and  nitrate  of 
potash,  the  contents  of  the  crucible  dissolved  out  witJi 
not  water,  and  the  highly  alkaline  solution  filtered  off 
from  the  large  quantity  of  sesquioxide  of  iron.  ,  This 
solution  was  first  neutralised  with  hydrochloric  acid, 
chloride  of  ammonium,  ammonia^  and  sulphate  of 
magnesia  added,  and  any  phosphoric  and  arsenic  acids 
allowed  to  precipitate  during  24  hours.  The  pre- 
cipitate was  collected,  washed  with  ammonia  water, 
dissolved  in  acid,  the  solutiou  heated,  and  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  passed  through  it.  A  very  small  light  yellow 
precipitate  formed,  which  proved  to  be  sulphide  of 
arsenic. 

In  all  determinations  of  iron,  where  practicable,  I 
have  used  the  volumetric  method  by  means  of 
bichromate  of  potash,  first  proposed  by  my  former 
professor,  Dr.  Penny,  of  Glasgow,  which  is  I  think 
preferable  to  that  of  Margueritte,  where  permanganate 
of  potash  is  employed.  Bichromate  is  much  more 
stable  than  permanganate,  and  the  strength  of  the 
solution  only  requires  to  be  determined  once.  Besides, 
in  the  estimation  of  iron  by  Penny's  method,  there  is 
no  fear  of  the  evolution  of  chlorine,  which  has  to  be  so 
carefully  guarded  against  in  Margueritte*s  process. 


THE*  ELECTRIC  INDUCTION  OF  MR.  HOOP- 
ER'S INSULATED  AVIRES,  COMPARED  WITH 
GUTTA-PERCHA  INSULATED  WIRES,  FOR 
TELEGRAPH  GABLES.* 

BY  WILLIAM  HOOPER. 

The  author  referred  to  the  relation  existing  between 
the  different  properties  of  insulated  wkes  arising  from 
induction.  He  rfiowed  by  an  extensive  series  of  ex- 
periments that  an  intimate  connection  exists  between 
the  effects  of  electrification  and  electrostatic  induction, 
and  that  the  penetration  of  electricity  into  the  sub- 
stance of  an  insulator,  when  measured  by  the  residual 
discharge,  is  a  function  of  the  electro-static  capacity, 
and  not  simply  of  resistance.  He  has  also  shown  that 
the  effects  of  electrification  are  increased  nearly  in 
the  same  proportion  as  the  interior  inductive  action  is 
reduced. 

The  results  render  it  extremely  probable  that  in 
rapid  signalling  through  lon^  circuits,  as  by  "  waves,'* 
the  rate  of  transmission  attamable  is  not  increased  or 
diminished  in  the  simple  proportion  of  the  electro- 
static capacities,  but  in  a  ratio  compounded  of  it  and 
the  interior  resistance  to  inductive  action. 


«  Be«d  before  tho  Britlflh  ABaodatlon,  in  Section  A. 


[Eac^ieb  BdUiCB,  Vd.  ZVI,  No.  406,  pagee  16e»  169. 


238  Antiseptics  in  SuJ^phitea^-New  Dynamo-Magnetic  Machine.  {^SSS^^'iaf 


This  is  a  matter  of  serious  consideration,  for  the  in> 
terior  induction,  unlike  the  surface  induction,  is  not  re- 
duced by  an  increased  thickness  of  insulator,  which 
points  strongly  to  the  practical  adyantage  derivahle 
from  Mr.  Hooper's  dielectric  over  gutta-percha  in  every 
respect  for  induction.  These  results  are  veri:.ed  hy 
Mr.  Latimer  Clark,  Mr.  Varley,  Professor  Sir  W.  Thom- 
son, and  Mr.  Fleeming  Jenkin. 

So  much  superior  is  Hooper's  dielectric  to  gutta- 
percha for  insulation,  that,  taking  the  core  of  the  elec- 
tric telegraph  cable  connecting  Ceylon  with  India  as 
an  illustration,  at  75^*  Fahrenheit,  the  temperature  at 
which  cores  are  tested,  it  would  require  a  core  nearly 
2  feet  diameter  of  gutta-percha  to  equal  '38  inch  diam- 
eter of  Mr.  Hooper's  insulator  (that  is,  200  lbs.  of 
Hooper's  insulator  is  equal  to  576,000  lbs.  of  gutta- 
percna),  the  same  conductor  being  used  in  each,  to  ob- 
tain the  same  degrees  of  insulation. 


ANTISEPTIC  PROPERTIES 
PHITES.* 


OP  THE  STJL- 


Dr.  Richardson  read  a  paper  bjr  Dr.  PoUi,  in  Section 
D^  "  On  the  Antiseptic  Properties  of  the  Sulphites." 
lie  stated  that  he  was  afraid  he  might  not  make  a 
good  representative  of  his  learned  friend,  Dr.  Polli  of 
Milan.  However,  as  he  had  long  communicated  with 
Dr.  Polli  on  the  subject,  and  knew  well  what  that 
gentleman  meant,  he  (Dr.  Richardson)  had  chosej, 
instead  of  trying  to  present  the  paper  as  a  whole, 
rather  to  give  the  facts  presented  by  him  as  the  results 
of  extended  observations.  Sulphurous  acid  was  said 
to  be  the  most  active  agent  in  preventing  or  arresting 
all  organic  fermentation.  As  the  acid,  however,  was  not 
sufficiently  appUcable  in  experiment,  Dr.  Polh  had  un- 
dertaken an  investigation  as  to  the  action  of  the  sulphites 
of  lime,  hyposulphite  of  magnesia,  sulphite  of  magnesia, 
sulphide  of  soda,  and  granulated  sulphite.  These  sub- 
stances were  found  to  possess  all  the  properties  of  sul- 
phurous acid,  with  the  advantage  that  their  action  was 
more  uniform  and  certain  and  constant.  In  experiment- 
ing on  animals  and  himself,  he  found  that  large  doses 
could  be  taken  without  risk.  On  killing  animals  treated 
with  sulphites,  and  others  not  so  treated,  he  found  that 
the  former  were  most  slow  to  decompose,  and,  indeed, 
remained  quite  fresh  when  the  others  were  putrescent 
and  oflfensive.  Another  series  of  experiments  showed 
that  in  one  class  the  administration  of  the  sulphites, 
was  sufficient  to  effect  a  more  or  less  rapid  cure  in  cases 
where  blood-poisoning  was  present,  as  in  fevers.  Dr. 
Richardson  distinctly  mentioned,  however,  that  Dr. 
Polli  was  anxious  to  have  it  clearly  stated  that  he  did 
not  attribute  this  to  any  curative  power  in  the  sulphites, 
but  to  the  fact  that  they  arrested  decomposition,  and 
by  so  doing  allowed  the  animal  to  recover  by  the  re- 
cuperative power  existing  in  its  own  constitution. 
The  author  thought  his  observations  conclusive  as  to  the 
excellent  influence  of  the  sulphites  on  the  septic  dis- 
eases, and  remarked  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  thus 
benefiting  others  that  he  had  brought  his  researches 
under  the  attention  of  the  scientiBc  world.  Dr.  Rich- 
ardson laid  some  of  the  sulphites  before  the  Depart- 
ment, and  mentioned  that  he  would  be  glad  to  let 
physiologists  have  four  or  five  ounces  of  any  of  them 
for  the  purpose  of  experimenting,  and  that  physicians 
might  also  receive  a  small  quantity  for  hospital  prac- 
tice. 


*  &a«d  before  the  Brittoh  AwMdetion. 


ON  A  NEW  FORM  OF  DYNAMO-MAGNETIC 
MACHINE.* 

BT  W.  LABD. 

It  is  now  thirty-six  years  since  Faraday  first  published 
his  celebrated  "Researches  in  Electricity  and  Mag- 
netism ; "  the  foundation  tlien  laid  has  been  receiv- 
ing additional  strength  as  the  superstructure  has  pro- 
gressed. Faraday  has  gone  to  his  rest,  but  the  name 
he  always  tried  to  hide  behind  his  philosophy  will  shine 
brighter  and  brighter,  until  the  top  stone  is  raised  in 
future  ages.  The  machine  I  am  about  to  describe  is  a 
part  of  that  superstructure.  The  repeated  application  to 
me  for  a  machine  that  would  give  a  sufficient  light  fiw 
the  purposes  of  lecture  demonstration  and  would 
dispense  with  the  galvanic  battery,  has  induced  me  to 
give  considerable  attention  to  the  subject,  and  I  must 
leave  you  to  judge  how  far  this  machine  meets  not  only 
that  requirement,  but  also  that  of  lighthouse  illumina- 
tion. 

Perhaps  the  most  powerful  magneto-electric  machine 
was  that  constructed  by  Mr.  Wilde,  the  electro-magnet 
receiving  its  charge  from  sixteen  permanent  steel 
magnets,  but  Siemens  and  Wheatstone  have  shown 
that  the  residual  magnetism  left  in  soft  iron,  after  being 
under  the  influence  of  a  battery,  or  permanent  sted 
magnets,  can  be  augmented  from  the  currents  generat- 
ed by  itself,  by  merely  appljring  dynamic  force  to  the 
revolving  armature,  containing  a  coil  of  copper  wire, 
the  terminals  of  which  are  connected  with  tiie  wire 
surrounding  the  etectro-magnet ;  and  although  great 
effects  were  produced  in  the  electro-magnet^  the  current 
itself  could  only  be  made  available  by  its  partial  or 
totid  disruption — in  the  former  case  diminishing  the 
power  of  the  electro-magnet,  and  in  the  latter  reducing 
it  to  its  normal  condition.  But  in  the  machine  I  have 
constructed,  the  power  of  the  electro-magnet  is  kept 
up,  whilst  a  separate  current,  to  be  applied  to  any 
useful  purpose,  can  be  drawn  off  by  means  of  an 
independent  arrangement. 

It  consists  chiefly  of  two  plates  of  iron  •  to  both  ends 
of  each  plate  is  fixed  a  portion  of  a  hollow  cylinder; 
these  plates  are  then  placed  a  certain  distance  apart, 
and  insulated  from  each  other  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  cylindrical  pieces  will  form  two  hollow  circular 
passages ;  into  these  spaces  two  armatures  (known  as 
Siemen's  armatures)  are  placed.  The  plates  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  quantity  of  stout  copper  wire,  connected 
together,  the  two  terminals  of  which  are  brought  into 
connection  with  the  commutator  of  the  smaller  annar 
ture,  so  that  each  change  of  polarity  in  the  annatarc 
will  augment  the  magnetism.  When  the  machine  is  first 
made  it  is  only  requisite  to  pass  a  current  from  a  small 
cell  of  Smee's  or  any  other  element,  for  an  instant^  to 
give  the  iron  a  polarity ;  it  will  then  retain  a  sufficient 
amount  of  magnetism  for  all  fiiture  work. 

If  the  armature  in  connection  with  the  electro-magnet 
is  made  to  rotate,  there  will  be  a  very  feeble  current 
generated  in  it ;  this  passing  round  the  electro-magnet, 
will  increase  its  power  with  every  additional  impulse. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  only  limit  to  the  power  of 
the  machine  is  the  rapidity  with  which  the  armature 
is  made  to  rotate,  which  is  entirely  dependent  on  the 
amount  of  dynamic  force  employed.  But  the  great 
improvement  in  this  machine  is  the  introduction  of  the 
second  armature,  which,  although  it  takes  off  very 
powerful  currents,  generated  in  its  wire  by  the  increas- 

«  Road  before  tfae  British  Aasodatlon,  in  Beetlon  A. 


[BngtUh  BdMon,  yoL  Z¥Z,  Ho.  408,  pagw  1«S^  179 J 


Obbmtoal  Nkws,  ) 
So9^  1867.       f 


Commercial  Analys-'is  of  Alkali  Manufacture. 


239 


ed  magnetism,  does  not  at  all  interfere  witli  the 
primary  current  of  the  electro-magnet. 

The  machine  now  at  the  Paris  Ezhibition  measures 
about  24  in.  in  length,  12  in.  in  width,  and  stands  7  in. 
high  J  but  this  being  imperfectly  constructed  as  to  its  pro- 
portions, the  results  obtained  are,  no  doubt,  much  less 
than  they  would  be  with  a  properly  constructed  machine. 
Still,  I  found  it  would  keep  50  in.  of  platinum  wire, 
'lo  in.  diameter,  incandescent,  and  when  a  small  voltam- 
eter was  placed  in  circuit  with  the  second  armature 
it  would  give  oflf  250  cubic  Centimetres  of  gas  per 
minute,  and  in  connection  with  an  electric  regulator 
would  give  a  light  equal  to  about  thirty-five  Q-rove's 
or  Bunsen's  elements,  the  driving  power  expended 
bein^  less  than  one  horse. 

I  have  now  to  describe  a  machine  on  the  same 
principle  as  that  just  noticed,  but  which,  instead  of 
having  two  independent  ai*maturee  running  in  separate 
grooves  has  two  armatures  fixed  end  to  end,  so  as  to 
appear  like  one  continuous  armature,  but  so  placed 
with  reference  to  each  other  that  their  magnetic  axes 
Bhall  be  at  right  angles.  By  this  arrangment  there  is 
only  one  opening  required  for  the  armature,  enabling  us 
to  take  full  advantage  of  the  horse-shoe  form  of  electro- 
magnet The  shoes  of  the  electro-magnet  and  arma- 
tures are  so  proportioned  to  each  other  that  there  is 
an  actual  bre«5c  in  the  magnetic  circuit  with  reference 
to  each  armature  alternately,  but  by  their  disposition  at 
right  angles  there  never  is  an  actual  break  in  the 
complete  magnetic  circuit,  but  simply  a  shifting  of  the 
principal  poitiou  of  the  magnetic  force  fi*om  one  arma- 
ture to  the  other  at  the  precise  moment  required  to 
produce  the  best  effect.  The  mechanical  advant^iges 
obtained  by  this  disposition  of  parts  must  be  at  once 
obvious,  as  one  pair  of  bearings  and  set  or*  d living  gear 
is  dispenssed  with,  and  from  the  fixing  of  the  two 
armatures  together  the  currents  are  made  to  flow 
perfectly  isochronously.  It  may  be  found  of  advantage 
to  vary  the  angle  of  position  of  the  armatures  wiih  ref- 
erence to  each  other,  according  to  the  speed  at  which 
they  are  driven,  so  that  the  current  given  off  by  the 
exciting  armature  may  at  the  precise  moment  exert  its 
fuil  effect  upon  the  electro-magDet,  and  tiius  produce 
the  best  effect  in  the  second  armature. 


ON  THE  CX)MMERCIAL  ANALYSIS  OF  SOME  OP 
THE  PRODUCTS  AND  MATERIALS  OF  THE 
ALKALI   MANUFACTURE,    Etc. 

BY  0.   R.  A.   WEIGHT,   aSC.,   P.C.S. 
[CoDtliined  from  page  986,  American  Boprint,  Nov.,  1897.] 

HI.  Soda  Afl]&. — ^The  commercial  valuation  of  soda- 
ash  ia  usuallv  restricted  to  the  determination  of  the 
peorcentage  of  "  available  alkali  "  contained  therein,  by 
this  term  being  meant  the  total  NaaO  contained  in  a 
state  capable  of  saturating  a  strong  acid,  as  sulphuric  ; 
and  hence  including  hydrate,  carbonate,  aluminate, 
silicate,  sulphide,  sulphite,  and  hyposulphite.  The 
analysis  is  usually  performed  by  adding  &ie  standard 
acid  to  the  hot  aqueous  solution  of  an  known  weight 
of  ash  until  a  slight  acid  reaction  is  obtained ;  by  this 
means  all  calcium  contained,  and  Alad  contained  as 
aluminate,  are  estimated  as  though  they  were  soda. 
Practically  this  error  is  of  slight  importance ;  it  may  be 
readily  avoided  by  addition  of  a  very  slight  excess  of  acid 
along  with  some  litmus  tincture,  then  adding  a  slight 
excess  of  standard  sodium  carbonate  solution,  boihng 


and  filtering  from  the  precipitated  lake  and  CaCO« : 
the  excess  of  soda  added  is  now  again  determined  by 
the  standard  acid,  and  thus  the  exact  amount  of  acid 
used  to  saturate  uie  NaaO  present  in  the  "  available  " 
state  is  known.  An  abuse,  however,  that  has  long 
been  practised  in  the  soda  trade  in  connection  with 
this  is  the  following: — ^The  equivalent  of  sodium  Lb 
considered  to  be  24  (instead  of  23*04 — Stas).  Hence 
by  varying  the  mode  of  calculation,  a  varying  error  is  ' 
introduced,  the  available  alkali  being  always  repre- 
sented as  more  than  it  really  is.    If  sodium  be  thus 

calculated,  the  error  is  +  2^  or  4-0  parts  in  ico :  if 
24 

Na»0  be  calculated,  the  error  is  z^'Z.  ^—   or  3*0  pai-ts 


64 
in  100 :  while  if  NaaCOa  be  calculated,  it  is 


108—106-08 
108 


or  1*8  parts  in  100.  Hence  according  to  the  plan  em- 
ployed in  determining  the  standard  of  the  acid  used, 
according  as  soda  stdts  are  ihuB  used,  or  other  sub- 
stances, an  error  of  irom  0-9  to  2'o  per  cent,  is  introduced 
in  the  valuation  Of  a  50  per  cent  ash.  Hence  arises 
the  custom  in  many  alkali  works  of  invoicing  the  sales 
of  ash  at  from  i  to  2  per  cent,  higher  than  their  real 
strength,  it  being  known  that  the  purchaser  will  accept 
the  analytical  certificate  calculated  on  this  erroneous 
basis.  This  practice,  which  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  a  barefaced  fraud,  is  by  no  means  universal,  nor 
is  it  known  to  many  of  the  purchasers  of  soda  ash ;  in 
certain  districts,  however,  it  prevails,  and  is  a  constant 
source  of  vexatious  complaint  whenever  the  piux)haser 
happens  to  employ  on  his  own  side  a  more  con- 
scientious analyst  The  writer  has  known  soda  ash  of 
identical  quality  invoiced  part  to  one  customer  as 
containing  48  per  cent,  part  to  another  as  49  per  cent, 
and  part  to  a  tnird  as  50  per  cent.,  the  actual  percent- 
age being  48^^*  the  separate  consignments  being 
reported  also  in  these  different  strengths  by  the 
analysts  in  the  d.fferent  towns  to  which  the  goods 
were  sent;  inasmuch  as  soda  ash  is  usually  valued  as 
80  much  per  cent  per  cwt, — this  amounts  to  a  direct 
fraud  on  the  purchaser.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
an  analyst,  known  to  object  to  this  system,  finds  tliat 
his  connection  for  the  analysis  of  soda  ash  becomes 
nil  being  transferred  to  some  less  scrupulous  rival 

When  the  exact  composition  of  a  pample  of  soda 
ash  is  required,  the  following  method  may  be  adopted. 

(a),  A  known  weight  is  heated  to  150^ — 2oo^C;, 
and  the  loss  of  weight  considered  to  be  moisture. 

(6).  The  residue  of  (a)  treated  with  hydrochloric 
acid  leaves  i-and  and  insoluble  matters,  and  in  the 
filtrate  the  SO4  may  be  estimated  volumetrically,  or 
better  gravimetrically,  by  barium  chloride. 

(c).  The  COa  present  is  estimated  in  Mohr's  apparatus, 
or  in  Fresenius'  and  Wills',  with  Uie  addition  of  some 
potassium  chromate. 

(d).  A  known  weight  is  treated  with  water,  and  the 
solution  evaporated  to  dryness  with  hydrochloric  acid ; 
thus  the  SiOs  is  determined ;  the  filtrate  from  this  with 
ammonia  throw  down  alumina,  from  which  the  AlsO* 
(as  aluminate)  is  known. 

(e).  The  insoluble  residue  of  (d)  with  hydrochloric 
acid  and  ammonia,  gives  the  FcsOi  and  AI9O1  (not  as 
aluminate),  the  filtrate  from  this  with  ammonium 
oxalate  gives  the  calcium  (usually  only  traces). 

(/) ,  A  known  weight  is  dissolved  in  nitric  acid,  and 
the  CI  estimated  by  a  standard  silver  solution. 


[BngiidiEdMon,  VoLXVI,  ITo.  408,  pagw  170, 171,] 


240 


Paris  Exhibition  of  iSS^j. 


\ 


Cbfvical  Nsvf, 


(g).  A  known  weight  dissolved  in  water  is  oxidized  ! 
by  chlorine,  and  the  sulphate  thus  formed  determined ;  1 
a  known  weight  is  dissolved  in  water,  and  the  solution  ! 
divided  into  two  equal  parts ;  in  one  the  iodine  required  , 
to  yield  a  blue  colour  when  starch  and  acetic  acid  are  | 
added,  is  determined,  to  the  other  zinc  sulphate  is  1 
added)  and  in  the  filtrate  the  iodine  required  afler  , 
removal  of  sulphide  is  ag^in  determined ;  from  these 
data  on  the  sulphide,  sulpldte,  and  hypostdphite  are 
calculable. 

(A).  The  total  "  available  alkali "  is  determined,  the 
error  due  to  the  alumina  of  the  aluminate  being  elimi- 
nated as  previously  mentioned ;  subtracting  from  this  j 
calculated  as  sodium,  the  sodium  corresponfing  to  the 
SiOiAljOi,  sulphide,  sulphite,  hyposulphite,  and  C0« 
found,  the  difference  is  calculated  as  hydrate ;  this  may 
be  checked  by  adding  barium  chloride  to  a  known 
weight,  aud  determining  the  amount  of  acid  required 
to  neutralise  the  filtrate :  rather  more  hydrate  is  usually 
indicated  by  this  mode  than  that  really  present^  owing 
to  the  presence  of  a  portion  of  aluminate,  hyposulphite, 
etc^  incompletely  thrown  down  Jby  the  barium  salt. 

Carefiilly  executed  analyses  according  to  this  method 
have  yielded  the  writer  results  adding  up  to  99-8 — 
loo-i. 

When  ferrocyanide  is  present,  it  may  be  estimated  by 
dissolving  a  known  weight  of  ash  in  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  adding  ferric  chloride ;  afler  standing  some  time, 
the  precipitated  Prussian  blue  may  be  well  washed, 
treated  with  pure  potash,  and  the  ferrocyanide  deter- 
mined in  the  solution  by  permanganate. 

(lY.)  Bleacblnc  Powder.— The  commercial  estima- 
tion of  bleaching  powder  only  extends  to  the  estima- 
tion of  the  hypochlorite  contained  therein ;  the  result 
being,  however,  csdculated  as  so  much  per  cent,  of 
'*  available  chlorine."  Of  the  numerous  methods  pro- 
posed for  the  determination  of  the  hypochlorite,  the 
one  usually  employed  in  the  trade  is  that  depending 
on  the  amount  of  ferrous  salt  oxidised  by  a  given 
weight  of  bleaching  powder.  It  frequently  happens, 
however,  that  instead  of  a  perfectly  pure  ferrous  salt 
Tsuch  as  the  ammonio-sulphate  FeSOi  +  (NH4)«S0« + 
oHaO  precipitated  by  alcohol),  the  ordinary  "  protosul- 
phate  of  iron"  of  the  druggists  is  used,  discoloured  crystals 
being  of  coarse  rejected ;  rarely  does  this  substance 
contain  100  per  cent  of  tlie  compound  FeS04  +  7HaO, 
and  hence  errors  frequently  are  introduced,'less  chlorine 
being  required  to  peroxidise  a  given  weight  of  impure 
than  of  pure  substance.  Again,  some  analysts  neglect 
to  add  an  acid  to  the  ferrous  solution  used,  and  hence 
the  precipitated  ferric  hydrate  is  liable  to  carry  down 
perceptible  quantities  of  ferrous  hydrate,  again  making 
the  apparent  amount  of  chlorine  required  less  than  that 
really  requisite.  When  acid  is  added,  an  error  is  liable 
to  be  introduced  by  the  peroxidation  of  part  of  the 
iron  by  chlorine  compounds  derived  from  chlorate  that 
may  be  present;  direct  experiments  have  shown  the 
writer  that  acid  ferrous  solutions  are  perceptibly  oxidis- 
ed by  the  presence  of  chlorate  in  small  quantities  in 
the  course  of  a  very  few  minutes,  even  at  the  ordinary 
temperature,  although  the  peroxidation  due  to  the  whole 
of  the  chlorate  is  not  manifest,  until  after  standing  some 
time  at  2o*'C.,  or  till  after  heating  to  ebullition.  Lastly, 
the  equivalent  of  chlorine  is  Sequently  taken  to  be 
36  instead  of  35*46  (3tas).  All  these  sources  of  error 
tend  to  make  the  percentage  of  chlorine  found  higher 
than  that  really  present;  accordingly  it  fi-equently 
happens  that  analyses  of  the  same  sample  by  differ- 
ent analysts  differ  by  i,  2,  or  3  per  cent  of  available 


chlorine ;  this  error  becomes  of  serious  importance,  it 
fi'equently  happening  that  the  analysts  employed  by  the 
seller  and  purchaser  differ  in  their  reports,  thus  causing 
much  annoyance,  and  possibly  the  rejection  of  the 
goods  as  not  being  of  contract  strength. 

As  regards  the  error  introduced  by  the  presence  of 
chlorate  in  the  sample  analysed,  many  careful  experi- 
ments on  tiie  subject  have  yielded  the  following  results 
to  the  writer : — 

1.  Acid  ferrous  solutions  are  peroxidised  by  addition 
of  a  chlorate,  at  a  rate  depending  on  the  strength  of 
the  solutions,  the  amount  of  free  acid,  and  the  temper- 
ature, the  reaction  taking  place  completely  after  heating 
to  ebullition  for  a  minute,  and  almost  as  completely  ailer 
standing  for  upwards  of  half  an  hour  at  20*0.,  time  be- 
ing, however,  required  for  any  temperature  short  of 
ebullition. 

2.  Acid  solutions  of  AssO»,  where  a  large  excess  of 
free  acid  is  present,  are  scarcely  affected  by  chlorate  at 
2o°C.,  until  after  standing  some  hours;  the  reaction  en- 
sues completely  on  heatmg  to  ebullition  for  a  minute, 
and  completely  in  a  few  minutes*  heating  on  a  water 
bath. 

3.  Alkaline  solutions  of  AsaOs  (containing  NaHCO» 
and  free  carbonic  acid)  are  whoDy  unaffected  by  chlorate, 
either  cold  or  boiling,  even  afler  several  hours. 

4.  Acid  solutions  of  potassium  iodide  (free  fit>m 
iodate).  Iodine  begins  to  separate  even  at  2o''C.  iii  a 
very  few  moments  on  addition  of  very  little  chlorate, 
and  after  some  time  much  separates.  Heated  to  100" 
on  the  water  bath,  the  whole  of  the  chlorate  becomes 
completely  decomposed,  after  five  minutes,  in  presence 
of  suflBcient  free  acid. 

5.  Alkaline  solutions  of  potassium  iodide  are  unaf- 
fected by  chlorates  even  on  long  standing  or  long  boil- 
ing. 


PARIS  EXHIBITION  OP  1867. 


(From  our  Special  Correspokdent.) 

Doubtless  the  majority  of  your  readers  imagine  (if  they 
ever  took  the  trouble  to  think  of  the  matter  at  all,  which 
is  not  very  likely)  that  the  paths  of  a  "  special  correspoDdept"* 
are  strewn  with  flowers.  What  has  he  to  do  but  to  examine, 
compare,  and  write  the  results  in  as  decent  Englinh  as  he  can 
command?  This  is  very  true :  but  has  it  never  struck  yon» 
^'  gentle  reader/'  that  there  is,  to  put  it  mildly,  a  tinge  of 
sameness  about  all  this  examining,  comparing,  and  writing? 
Tour  correspondent  would  not  have  alluded  to  the  subjeet 
were  it  not  that  he  has  fallen  a  victim  to  another  set  of  *'c0ii- 
cesaionnaires,*^  As  long  as  one  could  take  a  chair  outside  the 
building  and  refresh  oneself  with  a  cup  of  coffee  after  the 
fatigues  necessarily  involved  in  the  study  of  the  productions 
of  rival  blacking  and  soda-water  manufacturers,  one's  task 
was,  although  laborious,  not  without  its  redeeming  points; 
but  now  thiit  the  chairs  are  removed,  you  must  no  longer 
expect  the  same  regularity  from  your  correspondent 

Our  French  friends  here  are  in  high  glee  about  the  Newton- 
PaBcal  affair.  It  will,  indeed,  need  overwhelmirg  evidence 
to  disprove  the  mass  of  forged  documents  upon  which  the 
advocates  of  the  Pascal  theory  rely.  Unfortunately,  the  evil 
does  not  rest  here.  In  this  city  there  are  a  number  of  clever 
and  not  too  scrupulous  men  of  letters  who  delight  beyond 
measure  in  mystifications  of  the  Newton-Pascal  type.  Any 
great  event  in  scientific,  political,  or  artistic  history  is  at  once 
seized  upon  as  a  theme,  and  on  it  are  erected  a  variety  of 
literary  edifices  which,  if  not  sound,  are  at  least  showy  and 
attractive.  To  prove  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  allude  to  the 
mass  of  forged  letters  of Mlarie  Antoinette,  upon  which  such- 


[BngUflh  Editian,  V6L  ZVI,  No.  408,  page  171,  and  No.  407,  page  152.] 


OhkvioalJR^ws,  ) 


JTov^X&n. 


Foreign  Science. 


241 


opposite  theories  have  been  built  The  affair  of  the  necklace, 
the  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask,  Count  Gagliostro,  the  Count  de 
8ain(  Crermain,  Madame  de  Brinviiliers, — I  could  for  a  thou- 
sand francs  obtain  docnments  to  prove  any  theory  connected 
with  these  highly  promising  subjects  for  the  skill  and  inven- 
tiveness of  literary  charlatana  At  a  disoussion  the  other  day 
upon  the  affair  of  Newton,  a  French  literary  celebrity,  pressed 
rather  hard  on  the  question  of  these  forgeries,  stated,  with  the 
entire  concurrence  of  the  Oatlio  element  among  his  hearers, 
that  France  would  soon  prove  to  the  world  that  all  the  greatest 
discoveries  and  the  grandest  ideas  were  French.  "Your 
English  writers,  what  are  they  but  imitators  of  us  f  You 
have  invented  the  word  "  adapted"  to  conceal  your  robberies 
from  our  dramatists,  and  now,  not  satisfied  with  "adapting" 
our  dramas,  you  "adapt"  our  discoveries.  Your  Swift  and 
your  Stemes  that  you  pride  yourselves  upon  so  much,  have 
they  not  robbed  from  Rabelais!  They  should  be  kicked, 
especially  your  Sternes."  The  roar  of  laughter  that  arose 
from  the  English  portion  of  his  hearers  so  disconcerted  the 
worthy  professor,  that  "  the  sitting  was  suspended"  for  some 
minutes ;  but  he  enjoyed  the  explanation  which  followed  so 
thoroughly  that  harmony  was  immediately  restored. 

To  return  to  our  work.  Messrs.  Burgoyne,  Burbidges,  and 
Squire,  of  Coleman-street,  London,  have  a  very  handsome 
and  well-arranged  collection  of  drugs  and  chemicals.  They 
are  of  very  fine  quality.  They  exhibit  oil  of  bitter  almonds 
both  in  the  raw  state  and  as  freed  from  hydrocyanic  acid. 
Their  oils  of  cloves,  carraway,  pimento,  nutmegs,  cubebs, 
pepper,  etc,  are  apparently  as  good  as  they  can  be.  They,  like 
the  Messrs.  Howani's,  exhibit  a  fine  specimen  of  benzoic  acid : 
it  is  in  a  large  globe,  and  has  a  very  good  effect.  It  is  not 
made  by  direct  sublimation,  but  by  boiling  the  powdered  gum 
benjamin  with  lime  and  water  as  long  as  any  acid  remains 
to  be  extracted.  The  solution  is  then  precipitated  with  hy- 
•drochloric  acid,  and  the  resulting  benzoic  acid,  after  being 
separated  by  filtration  from  the  solution  of  chloride  of  calcium, 
is  dried  and  sublimed.  They  also  exhibit  white  crystallised 
benzoic  acid,  prepared  entirely  by  the  wet  process.  This 
kind  of  acid  is  used  in  Germany,  and  is  manufactured  entirely 
for  that  market.  Their  cyanide  of  potassium,  pi^pared  by 
Iiebig*s  process,  looks  well,  and  is  stated  by  the  makers  to 
ooDtain  a  very  high  percentage  of  pure  cyanide.  There  is  a 
sample  of  pure  nitrate  of  barium,  which  they  are  now  manu- 
facturing in  large  quantities  at  the  price  of  from  ;f  35  to  £^0 
per  ton.  The  chloride  of  barium  is  also  manufactured  by  this 
firm  in  a  pure  state  at  £yi  the  ton.  They  also  exhibit  nitrate 
and  carbonate  of  bismuth  perfectly  free  fW}m  arsenic ;  and 
potaasio-tartrate  of  antimony  in  crystals  and  in  powder.  The 
cobebin  shown  is  prepared  from  the  residue  left  in  the  still 
after  distilling  oil  of  cubebs.  There  are  in  this  case  two  large 
specimens,  about  sixteen  inches  in  diameter,  of  piperin  and 
caflTeiu.  Piperin  forms  a  very  easily-broken  crystalline  mass, 
and  the  most  extreme  care  had  to  be  taken  to  get  this  tine 
preparation  safely  to  the  Exhibition.  It  was  suspended  by  In 
dia^rubber  springs  so  as  to  avoid  concussion,  and  the  arrange- 
meDt  was  then  hun^  in  gimbals  like  a  ship's  compass.  Owing 
to  this  careful  packing  it  arrived  safely,  and  without  the  mass 
losing  a  single  crystal. 

When  we  think  how  many  fine  specimens,  not  only 
chemicals,  but  also  works  of  art,  were  destroyed  in  transit 
(some  by  careless  packing,  and  still  more  by  the  brutally 
rough  usage  the  packages  containing  them  received),  we 
cannot  help  expressing  the  hope  that  the  skill  and  care 
shown  in  this  matter  by  Messrs.  Burgoyne  and  Co.  will  be 
imitated  in  future  by  some  of  those  exhibitors  whose  despair, 
on  unpacking  their  cases,  was  so  ludicrously  displayed. 

TTse  rery  complete  collection  of  the  scale  preparations  of 
iron  exhibited  in  this  case  have  suffered  from  the  prolonged 
expoeure  to  light  which  they  have  necessarily  undergone, 
and  have  thus  lost  that  beautiful  colour  and  brilliant  lustre 
which  they  possessed  when  they  first  arrived. 

Among  the  other  objects  interesting  to  Pharmaceutists,  are 
a  collection  of  gelatine  capsules  containing  balsam  of  copaiba, 
eutor  oil,  oil  of  male  fern,  and  sundry  other  unsavoury  drugs. 


The  exhibitors  were  induced  to  undertake  the  manufacture  of 
these  articles  owing  to  the  low  character  of  a  vast  number  of 
the  capsuled  preparations  found  in  conimeroe.  It  is  well 
known  to  those  behind  the  scenes  in  these  matters  that,  owing 
to  the  viscidity  of  the  balsam  of  copaiba  and  oil  of  male 
fern,  it  is  a  common  practice  among  unscrupulous  makers  to 
thin  them  down  with  linseed  oil  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
process  of  filling  the  capsules.  The  dilution  of  the  active 
ingredients  of  the  capsules  which  thus  takes  plHce  is  often  so 
great  as  to  render  them  entirely  valueless  as  medicines. 

Messrs.  Burgoyne's  case  is  one  of  the  handsomest  and  best 
arranged  in  the  English  chemical  department  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion, and,  if  it  contains  no  great  novelties,  at  least  represents 
in  a  highly  creditable  manner  the  present  state  of  English 
Pharmaceutical  manufactures. 

Messrs  Davy,  Yates,  and  Routledge,  of  Upper  Thames 
Street,  London,  hitve  also  an  excellent  display  of  drugs  and 
chemicals.  Their  specimen  of  corrosive  sublimate  in  a  dome 
is  adapted  to  show  the  fracture,  and  looks  well.  They  alsc 
show  calomel  in  a  crystalline  form  as  prepared  by  the  old 
dry  sublimation  process,  and  also  as  sublimed  in  presence  of 
steam.  The  first  kind  becomes  discoloured  on  exposure  to 
light,  and  sometimes  retains  traces  of  corrosive  sublimate ; 
the  second  is  free  from  either  of  these  defects.  The  ammonio- 
citrate  of  bismuth  is  a  comparatively  new  scale  preparation. 
It  is  in  the  form  of  micaceous  scales,  containing  sixty  per 
cent  of  oxide  of  bismuth.  The  fact  of  its  ready  solubility  in 
water  without  decomposition,  and  its  being  ** compatible" 
with  the  alkalies  and  their  carbonates,  has  made  this  salt  a 
great  favourite  with  many  practitioners;  and,  indeed,  in 
some  stomach  complaints  this  and  other  preparations  of  bis- 
muth appear  to  act  almost  like  a  charm. 


FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 


(Fbom  our  own  Correspondent.) 

PARia  Sept.  3,  1867. 
Scientific  Association  at  Cherbourg. — Electricity  of  Connectiny^ 

Straps  in  Machinery, — The  JViangtUation  of  Prussia, 
The  meetings  of  the  Scientific  Association  at  Cherboui^ 
were  terminated  on  the  24th  of  August.  Nothing  was 
neglected  to  increase  the  interest  of  this  re-union  of  savants 
and  amateurs.  Visits  were  made  to  the  soda  and  iodine 
works  of  M.  Cournerie,  to  the  military  port,  where  the 
Dander berg^  now  christened  the  Bochamheait,  and  where  the  ' 
spur  of  the  Atalante  is  being  cast;  lectures  were  delivered 
on  astronomy  and  meteorology,  at  which  the  professors  at- 
tended, furnished  with  instruments,  due  to  the  munificence 
of  the  government;  and  there  were  also  reports,  memoirs, 
notices,  and  discussions  on  different  points  of  the  natural, 
physical,  and  moral  sciences. 

M.  Quesnault,  sub  prefect  of  Yalognes,  presented  a  memoir 
in  which  he  demonstrated  that  the  British  Isles  and  the 
small  archipelago  existing  on  the  north-west  coasts  of  France, 
from  the  Cape  la  Hag^e  to  Cancale  point,  or  rather,  as  far  as 
St.  Malo,  formed  part  of  the  Continent,  and  laid  down  a  map 
on  which  all  the  vestiges  of  terrestrial  vegetation  existing, 
or  supposed  to  exist,  under  the  sea  were  shown. 

M  Lenoir,  director  of  the  telegraph  at  Saint-Lo,  called  the 
attention  of  the  assembly  to  the  electricity  of  connecting- 
straps  in  machinery,  and  the  dangers  which  might  result 
from  it  in  powder  works. 

A  fortuitous  circumstance  added  considerably  to  the  in- 
terest attached  to  this  meeting.  Lady  Franklin,  widow  of 
the  celebrated  explorer  of  the  northern  regions,  assisted  at 
the  meetings  of  the  23rd  and  24th  ult  The  noble  lady  had 
arrived  on  the  22nd  by  the  American  frigate  the  Minnesota, 
accompanied  by  Miss  Grinnell,  a  young  lady,  the  daughter  of 
a  shipowner  of  New  York,  who  had  fitted  out  at  his  expense 
two  ships  Ibr  the  research  of  Sir  John  Franklin.  At  the  last 
meeting  it  so  happened  that  M.  Lambert  gave  a  description 


[BngUflh  ikUUon,  76L  ZVL,  ITo.  407,  page  153,  sad  No.  405,  page  134.] 


242 


Foreign  Science. 


j  dnoacAi.  V<«v 
\     jro9.,  186T. 


of  hia  project  of  a  voyage  to  the  North  Pole.  Thia  rencontre 
of  Lady  Frauklin  and  M.  Lambert  is  described  as  presenting 
a  most  impressive  scene  to  the  audience.  Lady  Franklin 
was  to  l^ve  on  the  27th  on  board  the  pleasure  yacht  Leda. 

The  first  volume  of  the  report  on  the  triangulation  of 
Prussia  had  scarcely  been  published  when  it  was  attacked 
on  all  sides.  It  comprised  the  triangles  measured  in  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  kingdom.  The  first  attack  was  made 
by  Lieut-General  de  Baeyer,  the  former  collaborator  of  de 
Besseli  who  repulsed  with  much  vivacity  a  criticism  made 
upon  certain  triangles  of  de  Bissel,  contained  ia  the  pref- 
ace of  the  work  in  question;  he  showed,  on  the  same 
occasion,  that  the  results  obtained  were  in  all  respects  in- 
ferior to  those  of  the  ancient  triangulation  of  de  Bessel,  and 
those  of  the  triangulation  of  the  coasts  of  Prussia.  He 
stated  tliat,  in  1863.  the  Prussian  Government  had  confided 
to  M.  de  Baeyer  the  direction  of  the  survey,  and  that  at  that 
period  he  had  already  disapproved  of  many  things  in  the 
work  which  had  been  submitted  to  him.  The  Ordnance 
department  took  no  notice  of  his  protestations,  and  pub- 
lished the  work  in  question  without  even  informing  M.  de 
Baeyer,  who  was  much  surprised  to  find  all  the  faults  pointed 
out  by  him,  and  as  many  others  as  they  bad  time  to  add. 
Ue  has  hastened  to  disavow  this  publication  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  Astronomieche  Nachrichten,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  de  llease,  Chief  of  the  Ordnance  Department,  re- 
plied, and  undertakes  to  justify  himself  but  M.  Peters  has 
taken  part  himself  against  the  department.  Moreover,  M. 
Wittstein,  Professor  of  Mathematics  at  Hanover,  has  pub- 
lished two  articles  successively  in  the  same  journal,  in  which 
he  endeavours  to  prove  that  the  Department  of  Triangulation 
does  not  know  what  a  personal  error  is,  and  that  it  does  not 
know  how  to  compose  the  bearings  observed  at  the  same 
station.  M.  Wittstein  oondudes  that  all  the  calculations  of 
the  triangulation  must  be  made  over  again. 

M.  Pisko,  professor  of  physics  at  the  Lyceum  of  Wieden, 
at  Vienna,  has  related  to  us  a  ourious  accident  which  he 
witnessed,  and  which  is  highly  interesting  to  physiologista 
The  servant  of  the  laboratory  of  the  Lyceum  is  an  old  cor- 
poral of  the  gendarmes^  of  a  strong  constitution  and  always 
in  excellent  health.  In  the  month  of  February  last  year  he 
was  occupied  in  cleaning  an  induction  apparatus,  and  he 
conceived  the  idea  of  trying  it  with  several  elements.  When 
be  had  laid  hold  of  the  two  handles  he  could  not  let  them 
go.  Fearing  that  his  imprudence  siiould  be  discovered  he 
would  not  cry  out  for  help  though  he  was  groaning  with 
pain.  He  remained  in  this  situation  for  more  than  ten  min- 
•  utes,  and  we  cannot  tell  what  would  have  happened  if  he  had 
not  fallen  to  the  ground  and  in  his  fall  broken  the  conducting 
wire.  .  After  some  time  he  recovered  the  use  of  his  limbs  and 
continued  his  usual  occupation.  The  following  day  he  felt 
some  uncomfortable  and  strange  symptoms;  when  walking 
he  fancied  everything  he  walked  upon  was  spherical.  The 
next  day,  about  1 1  o'clock,  these  sensations  became  stronger, 
both  his  arms  were  swelled  finom  the  elbow  to  the  fingers,  and 
the  legs  from  the  knee  to  the  extremity  of  the  toes ;  the  pa- 
tient liad  to  keep  his  bed.  When  he  tried  to  get  up  it 
seemed  as  if  he  could  not  touch  the  ground,  the  swelling  and 
the  pain  attaining  its  maximum  about  2  o'clock  and  disap- 
peanng  about  4  o'clock.  A  doctor  was  called  in,  but  the 
roan  at  first  concealed  the  nature  of  his  malady ;  he  said  he 
had  stirred  the  acid  of  the  battery  with  his  hand.  Warm 
baths  ordered  by  the  doctor  produced  no  effect  It  was  only 
on  the  fifth  dav  that  M.  Pisko,  absent  till  then,  was  informed 
of  the  state  of^^  his  assistant  M.  Pisko  went  to  soe  him,  and 
on  his  saying  he  did  not  believe  the  story  of  the  acid,  the 
man  confessed  what  had  happened.  The  Professor  then  pro- 
posed to  the  doctor  who  attended  the  patient  to  use  the  same 
remedy  as-  tliat  applied  in  cases  of  lightning  stroke,  viz., 
quinine  and  old  wine.  This  treatment  turned  out  to  be 
efficacious,  and  by  the  end  of  fifteen  days  the  periodical 
symptoms  had  gradually  disappeared,  without  leaving  a  trace. 
NevertheleaH,  in  the  month  of  February  hist,  just  a  year  after 
the  accident)  the  same  i^mptoma  were  renewed,  though  with 


less  intensity.  Treated  with  the  same  remedy  as  before  tbej 
yielded  at  the  end  of  eight  days.  It  will  be  curious  to  see 
if  the  symptoms  return  in  February,  1868. 

Tne  Imperial  School  of  Pharmacia  has  just  lost  one  of  its 
most  experienced  savants,  in  the  person  of  M.  Guibour^ 
honorary  professor.  He  was  bom  in  J'aris,  in  1790,  and  was, 
at  sixteen  years  old,  on  the  termination  of  his  classical 
studies,  apprenticed  to  the  Boadet  pharmacy.  He  was  author 
of  several  pharmaceutical  works  of  the  highest  merit  By 
these  and  his  constant  studies  he  acquired,  justly,  Uie  name 
of  being  the  most  distinguished  savant  In  medical  and  phar- 
maceutical materia.  Named  Member  of  the  Academy  of 
Medicine  in  1824,  and  Professor  of  the  School  of  Phannacy 
in  1832,  he  was  also  received  into  many  national  and  foreign 
learned  societies. 

F.  MoiGxa 


Pabis,  Sept.  18,  1867. 
ArUi-incrustaJUyr  for  Steam  BoHert. — Gilford's  Monsier  BaUoon, 

— Prize  SubfecU  of  the  Haarlem  Society  of  Scieneea. — 

Fluorine  Compoimds^  IwUiUon  of  FUtorine.-'^PoiaU)  Diaeaae, 
.  — Prewrvation  of  AnaioffUcal  Speci$nen9.^Report  on  Unity 

of  Weights  and  Measures. 
M.  B.  ScHHrrz  exhibits  an  anti-incrustator  for  a  steam  boiler, 
composed  of  small  surfaced  curved  blades,  placed  in  contact 
one  with  the  other  in  the  same  manner  as  curved  tOes  on  the 
ridge  of  a  house  roof,  in  such  a  way  that  their  ensemUe  forma 
a  sort  of  double  bottom  in  the  boiler  and  in  the  generators. 
This  double  bottom  only  leaves  a  thin  layer  of  water,  of  un- 
equal thickness,  absorbing  the  caloric,  in  consequence,  under 
unequal  conditions.  The  result  is  that  the  liquid  particles  • 
are  pat  rapidly  in  motion  according  to  the  difierence  of  dens- 
ties  produced  by  the  heat  The  direction  of  the  motion  is 
transversal,  and  the  circulation  is  caused  to  move  upwards; 
on  one  side  the  steam,  as  soon  as  it  is  formed,  while  on  the 
opposite  side  the  water,  less  hot,  descends  to  be  vaporized  in 
its  turn.  This  circulation,  whicli  is  very  rapid  and  oontinaoua, 
produces  effects  which  annihilate  completely  the  two  causes 
of  destruction. 

The  velocity  of  the  liquid  current  is  propagated  throughout 
its  entire  mass,  and  determines  a  sort  of  molecular  rolling 
which  tends  to  take  up  the  heat  transmitted  by  the  heated 
surface  of  the  boiler,  as  quickly  as  it  is  formed.  The  liquid 
mass  tiius  becomes  the  regulator  of  the  heating  of  the  metallic 
envelope  which  contains  it,  and,  consequently,  diminishes  the 
causes  of  unequal  dilations.  By  its  rapidity,  the  current  does 
not  allow  any  matter  to  adhere  to  the  surfaoe  of  the  boiler, 
and  carries  all  impurities  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  where 
the  steam  is  separated  without  -perturbation.  Tims  the  de- 
posit takes  place  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  double  bottom, 
and  as  there  is  always  a  current  of  water  m  contact  with  the 
bottom  of  the  boiler,  it  can  never  get  red  hot  By  the  anti- 
incrustator  of  M.  Schmidt  the  risk  of  explosion  is  considerably 
reduced. 

The  great  news  of  the  day  is  the  inauguration  on  the  7th 
inst  of  the  anchored  balloon  of  M.  Henry  Gifiard,  the  cele- 
brated inventor  of  the  injector  for  steam  engine8#  He  has 
spent  more  than  £^000  upon  the  realisation  of  the  greatest 
experimen  t  of  modem  times.  U  a  ring  rented  a  plot  of  ground 
adjoining  the  extensive  engine  factory  and  machine  works  of 
M.  Henry  Flaud,  he  has  erected  an  immense  cylindrical  screen 
of  canvas  fixed  upon  vertical  poles.  In  this  he  has  construct- 
ed a  balloon  69  feet  in  diameter,  holding  210,000  cubic  feet  of 
gas,  formed  of  two  webs  of  closely  woven  linen,  cemented 
together  by  several  layers  of  American  bUck  india-rubber 
varnish,  the  whole  being  covered  with  drying  oil  so  as  to  pre- 
vent any  of  the  effects  of  osmose  or  diffusion.  Two  series  of 
gigantic  apparatus  have  been  constructed  on  the  same  spot, 
for  the  production  of  pure  hydrogen.  The  first  is  composed 
of  100  barrels,  each  containing  I55lb8.  of  dilute  sulphuric 
acid,  with  a  large  xjuantity  of  iron  turnings  capable  of  famirii- 
ing,  each,  350  to  400  cubic  metres  of  gas.  The  seoond  apparatus 
is  a  steam  generator,  by  aid  of  which  the  steam  is  deoompoaed, 


[E|B|(liah  Bditfoi^  Vol  XVX^  Va  40^  pace  IH  «od  Ni^  407,  pat^ 


CnDOOAL  News, ) 
Jfb9^  185T.      f 


foreign  JSoienoe. 


«43 


by  paasiag  over  red-hot  charooal  or  incandesceot  coke,  into 
pure  hydrogen  and  carbonic  acid  gas ;  the  hydrogen  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  mixture  by  the  aid  of  quick  lime,  which  absorbs 
the  carbonic  acid  gas  and  leaves  the  hydrogen  pure,  dry,  and 
oooL  to  be  conducted  by  a  main  pipe  to  the  upper  part  of  the 
ballooQ.  With  this  second  series  the  hydrogen  only  costs 
two-pence  per  m^tre  cube  (or  about  4s.  9d.  per  i, 000ft.),  but 
the  preparations  are  not  quite  completed ;  in  a  trial  on  the 
9th  inst  the  balloon  was  inflated  with  hydrogen  resulting 
from  the  action  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  operation  was 
finished  in  8  hours,  whereas  the  filling  of  the  balloon  with 
gas  procured  by  the  decomposition  of  water  took  48  hours. 
The  former  process  gave  also  3f 500  cubic  feet  of  mother- water 
of  sulphate  of  iron,  collected  in  a  vast  subterranean  basin, 
which  can  be  sold  to  be  evaporated  by  chemical  manufacturers, 
and  which  are  sufficient  to  disinfect  the  cesspools  of  a  whole 
quarter  of  Paris.  Inflated  on  Saturday,  the  balloon  had  lost 
almost  nothing  of  its  gHS  on  Monday,  and  on  Thursday  the 
12th,  when  we  visited  it,  the  total  loss  of  hydrogen  was  only 
2,100  cubic  feet,  or  a  hundredth  part  of  the  total  volume  of 
gas  with  which  the  balloon  had  been  inflated.  The  osmose 
or  the  diffusion  is  really  prevented.  The  closing  of  the 
upper  and  lower  valves,  ingenious  beyond  description,  is 
absolutely  hermetical.  We  need  scarcely  remind  our  readers 
that  the  cable,  984  feet  long,  by  which  the  balloon  is  attached 
to  the  earth,  is  coiled  and  uncoiled  by  two  difierent  steam 
engines,  which  the  mechanician  can  stop  or  set  at  work  at 
will  by  means  of  cocks  which  serve  for  the  distribution  of  the 
steam. 

The  inflation  being  terminated,  the  balloon,  containing 
2iOyO00  cubic  feet  of  hydrogen  gpas,  was  retained  by  the  bal- 
last ;  at  each  of  the  70  ropes  of  the  group  were  attached  ten 
sand  bags  weighing  each  33lbs. ;  and  in  spite  of  this  weight  of 
22,ioo1b6.  the  car  was  more  than  3  feet  from  the  ground,  so 
great  was  the  ascensional  force.  A  rather  strong  wind,  that 
may  be  estimated  at  33  feet  per  second,  was  then  blowing, 
but  it  did  not  prevent  the  balloon  from  rising  in  a  vertical 
direction.  These  experiments,  suspended  for  some  days,  were 
to  have  been  renewed  on  Saturday  last.  This  organisation 
of  a  view  of  Paris  from  a  height  of  984  feet  reflects  great 
oredit  on  M.  Gifiard. 

The  Dutch  Society  of  Sdences  of  Haarlem  proposes  for  public 
competition  the  following  subjects,  the  essays  on  which  are  to 
be  deposited  before  the  ist  January,  1869 : — i.  Profound  re- 
searches ou  the  nature  of  the  infecting  principle  of  the  con- 
tagions typhus  of  cattle,  indicating  at  the  same  time  the  pro- 
phylactic methods,  the  employment  of  which  proceeds  ration- 
ally from  the  result  of  these  investigations.  On  account  of- 
the  great  importance  attached  to  the  solution  of  this  first 
question  by  the  Society,  an  extraordinary  premium  of  five 
hundred  florins  will  be  added  to  the  gold  medal.  2.  Detailed 
examination  of  the  difierent  substances  composing  the  liquid 
produce  of  the  dry  distillation  of  coaL  3.  The  experiments 
of  Mr.  Tyndall  have  demonstrated  that  the  intensity  of  sound 
differs  oonsiderably  according  as  it  is  propagated  in  hydrogen 
or  in  atmospheric  air,  even  when  the  densities  of  the  two 
gasea  are  equal ;  the  Society  demands,  on  this  subject,  com- 
parative experiments  made  with  at  least  three  diffbrent  simple 
gaaea.  4.  To  decide  experimentally  if  the  radicular  extremi- 
tiea  of  plants  exude  matters  capable  of  dissolving  the  silicic 
actd  which  is  found  in  the  ground  in  the  shape  of  quartz.  5. 
New  researches  on  the  mutual  decomposition  of  ^ine  solu- 
tions containing  diflerent  bases  and  acids  which  decide  be- 
tween the  doctrine  of  affinities  and  that  of  Bergmann.  6. 
Ulterior  exact  researches  on  the  remarkable  phenomena  of 
diflsociation  discovered  by  M.  Sainte-Olaire-Deville. 

The  diemical  event  of  the  last  month  has  been  the  forward- 
ing hy  M.  Dumas,  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  of  the  researches 
of  Mr.  Prat  on  the  chemical  constitution  of  fluorine  compounds 
and  the  separation  of  the  fluorine.  Mr.  Prat  started  from  this 
Uct  that  the  fluorides  are  really  oinrfluorides ;  that  the  fluoride 
of  calcium,  for  example,  is  formed  of  two  equivalents  of  calcium, 
one  of  oxygen,  one  of  fluorine,  and  that,  inconsequence,  the  true 
^qoivaleut  of  fluorine  is  29*5,  and  not  19,  and  that,  in  order 


to  obtain  it,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  treat  the  fluoride  of  cal- 
cium with  chlorate  of  potassium,  or,  what  is  better,  percblo- 
rate  of  potassium,  for  it  is  only  with  this  last  salt  that  the  re^ 
action  takes  place.  Oxygen  is  disengaged  and  a  gas  is  pro* 
duced  which  silvec  absorbs,  giving  rise  to  a  fluoride  of  silver, 
insoluble  in  water,  soluble  in  anynonia,  from  which  it  is  pre? 
cipitated  by  nitric  acid,  and  which  is  altered  by  the  action  of 
light  more  rapidly  than  the  chloride  of  silver ;  the  formula  of 
the  real  chloride  is  AgFl,  whilst  that  of  the  soluble  fluoride 
of  chemists  is  AgFl,AgO.  Fluorine  is  obtained  by  heating, 
in  a  platinum  retort,  fluoride  of  lead  of  the  chemists  one  part, 
either  with  nitre  five  parts,  or  with  binoxide  of  manganese 
two  parts.  Oxygen  gas  and  fiuorine  are  disengaged,  the  oxy- 
gen is  taken  up  in  its  passage  by  fragments  of  heated  baiyta. 
Fluorine  is  gaseous,  nearly  colourless,  possessing  an  odour 
like  chlorine,  v«ry  visibly  giving  off  fumes  in  the  air,  incom- 
bustible, and  heavier  than  air;  it  dissolves  indigo,  reddena 
and  discolours  litmus  paper,  disengages  fumes  in  contact  with 
ammonia,  decomposes  water  at  the  ordinary  temperature, 
combines  with  hydrogen  under  the  infiuence  of  difiused 
light)  and  eliminates  bromine  and  iodine  from  their  com- 
pounds; it  unites  with  boron,  silicium,  and  all  the  metals 
of  the  first  five  groups. 

MM.  Juette  and  Ponteves  have  succeeded  in  preparing  tar- 
taric acid  from  the  skins  of  grapes,  after  they  have  been 
pressed  and  distilled,  and  can  be  put  to  no  use  but  as  manure. 
After  distillation  the  skins  are  treated  with  water  so  as  to 
obtain  lees,  to  which  is  added  2  per  cent,  of  sulphuric  acid, 
and  the  mixture  is  boiled  for  some  hours.  The  tartaric  acid 
in  combination  is  set  at  liberty,  and,  moreover,  not  only  the 
sugar  escaped  from  the  fermentation  is  not  eliminated,  but  the 
action  of  the  sulphuric  acid  on  the  cellulose  of  the  pulp  of  the 
grape  forms  a  certain  quantity  of  glucose.  The  liquor  is  al- 
lowed to  ferment,  and  a  supplementary  distillation  gives 
again  an  appreciable  quantity  of  alcohol.  When  the  decan- 
tation  has  been  made,  lime-wash  is  added,  and  tartrate  of 
lime  is  produced,  from  which  the  tartaric  acid  is  extracted  by 
the  ordinary  method.  According  to  the  inventors  the  quan- 
tity of  grape  skins  left  after  i  million  hectolitres  of  wine, 
treated  by  this  process,  would  give  200,000  kilogrammes  of 
tartaric  acid  the  value  of  which  is  about  600,000  fl'ancs. 
(;f  24,000) 

Ihe  Marquis  of  Havrincourt  has  addressed  to  the  Courier 
de  Fas  de  Calais  tlie  following  letter:  '*  M.  Geoi^s  ViUe,  by 
following  his  very  ingenious  method  of  examining  the  vege- 
tation of  plants  themselves,  has  just  discovered  the  cause  of 
the  potato  disease.  The  cryptogamia  are  the  result  and  not 
the  cause  of  the  malady.  Let  any  one  go  to  the  experimen- 
tal grounds  of  Vincennes  and  he  will  be  convinced  as  I  have 
been.  He  will  see  there  a  plot  of  potatoes  divided  into  five 
parts  touching  each  other :  the  first  is  luxuriant  and  has  not 
a  sick  leaf,  the  second  is  attacked  by  the  malady ;  the  third 
is  as  the  first ;  the  fourth  is  as  diseased  as  the  second  ;  and 
the  fifth  resembles  the  first  and  third.  Thus  M.  Georges  Yille 
produces  or  avoids  the  potato  disease  at  will." 

The  following  is  tlie  process  of  M.  Von  Velter  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  anatomical  specimens: — Add  to  7  parts  of  glyce- 
rine at  22"  one  part  of  raw  brown  sugar,  and  half  a  part  of 
nitre  till  a  slight  deposit  is  formed  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 
Jhe  portion  required  to  be  preserved  is  then  plunged,  dried 
or  not  dried,  and  it  is  left  in  the  mixture  for  a  time  propor- 
tional to  its  dimensions ;  a  hand,  for  example,  should  remain 
eight  days  in  the  liquid ;  when  it  is  taken  out  it  is  as  stiff 
as  a  piece  of  wood,  but  if  it  be  suspended  in  a  dry  and  warm 
place  the  muscles  and  articulation  recover  their  suppleness. 

M.  Jacobi  has  just  issued  his  report  on  the  Unity  of  Weights 
and  Measures,  drawn  up  in  th^name  of  the  Commission  of 
Moneys,  etc.,  of  the  Exhibition. 

On  summing  up  the  commission  think  that  the  govern- 
ments ought  to  keep  the  following  objects  in  view : — The 
substitution,  as  soon  as  possible,  but  integrally,  of  the  metric 
system  as  is  practised  in  the  west  of  Europe  and  in  many 
other  countries,  in  place  of  the  old  systems  of  weights  and 
measures.   This  system  introduced  at  once,  and  rendered  legal 


[BngUah  Bdltion,  Vol  ZVI,  Va  407, 


1«»  156.] 


244 


Manckeatei"  Society — British  Mediodl  Association.  \ 


bat  optional,  cannot  be  rendered  obligatory  at  first  The 
period  of  toleration  yaries  with  the  state  of  the  different 
people,  their  degree  of  instruction,  etc.,  and  it  cati  only  be 
determined  by  the  governments.  It  has  been  remarked,  how- 
ever, that  a  too  long  delay  does  not  perceptibly  aid  the  gov- 
ernments in  the  accomplishment  of  their  task.  At  all  events, 
it  is  desirable  that  governments  should  take,  henceforth,  some 
necessary  measures,  which  are — first,  to  order  the  study  of 
the  metric  system  in  all  schools,  and  to  require  a  knowledge 
of  it  in  public  examinations;  secondly,  to  introduce  its 
exclusive  use  in  scientific  publications,  public  statistics,  in 
post-offices,  custom-houses,  public  works,  and  any  other 
branches  of  the  administration  that  the  governments  may 
deem  convenient.  The  commission  does  not  consider  that  it 
is  part  of  its  mission  to  occupy  itself  with  the  making  of 
standards,  exact  copies  of  the  prototypes  of  Pari^,  the  pos- 
session of  which,  in  a  practical  point  of  view,  is  the  indispen- 
sable preliminary  of  every  metrical  reform.  The  administra- 
tion of  eanh  country  will  appreciate  the  degree  of  exactitude 
suitable  to  the  different  destinations  of  these  standards. 

F.  MoiGNO. 


KBPORTS    OF    SOCIETIES. 

MANCHESTER    LITERARY    AND    PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY. 

MICBOSCOPICAL  AlO)    NATURAL  HI8T0&T    BEOnON. 

My  iSth,  1867. 

J.  B.  Danceb,  F.JLA.8,,  PreitderU  of  the  Section,  in  the 
Chair. 

"  Some  Farther  Observations  on  the  Cause  of  Rotation  in 
the  Cells  of  Vallisneria,"  by  James  G.  Lynde,  F.G.S., 
F.R.M.S. 

In  a  paper  read  by  me  at  a  meeting  of  the  Section  on  the 
1 6th  February,  1863,  *'0n  the  Action  of  Magenta  Dye  upon 
Yeg|etable  Tissue/'  I  described  n  series  of  experiments  upon 
cuttlngB  of  Yallisneria,  made  chiefly  with  a  view  to  aiicertain, 
if  possible,  the  cause  of  the  rotation  of  the  chlorophyl  vesi- 
cles within  the  cells. 

I  then  concluded  that  the  rotation  was  due  to  the  action 
of  cilia  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  cell  wail,  and  wan  con- 
firmed in  this  opinion  not  only  by  the  appearance  of  the  lu- 
minous stratum  or  so-called  ciliary  wave  which  had  been  ob- 
served by  Dr.  BransoUf  Mr.  Wenharo,  and  others,  but  also  by 
the  appearance  on  the  cell  walls  of  certain  markings  revealed 
by  the  action  of  the  dye  on  the  suspension  of  the  vital 
action. 

The  above  experiment  was  exhibited  to  the  Section,  and 
many  of  the  members  present  attributed  these  markings,  as 
I  had  done,  to  the  presence  of  cilia. 

I  have  since,  from  time  to  time,  pursued  my  experiments 
on  the  subject,  in  the  hope  that  I  might  be  able  to  adduce 
more  positive  evidence  as  to  the  cause  of  the  wave  of  light 
on  the  interior  of  the  cell  walL 

Aflermany  fruitless  experiments  I  at  length  determined 
to  try  the  effect  of  polarized  light,  and  on  the  application  of 
it  with  a^th-inch  objective,  having  an  aperture  of  130"  to 
162**,  and  so  arranging  Darker  s  series  of  selenite  plates  as  to 
give  a  dark  blue  ground,  there  appeared  over  the  surface  of 
the  surface  of  all  the  cells  brilliant  gold-coloured  scintilla- 
tions which  bad  all  the  appearance  of  cilia  in  motion. 

The  portion  of  leaf  under  examination  exhibited  very 
sluggish  circulation,  and  waS  therefore  in  a  very  favourable 
state  for  the  observation. 

I  have  since  repeated  the  experiment  several  times,  and 
have  never  failed  witnessing  the  same  appearance. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  I  have  seen  I  cannot  say  that 
I  am  convinced  the  appearances  can  be  attributed  to  nothing 
else  but  cilia ;  it  is  possible  they  may  be  due  to  the  presence 
of  active  corpuscles,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Wenham  in  his 


paper  on  the  leaf  cells  of  Anacharis  alsinastrum  published 
in  the  Microscopical  Journal  for  1855,  which  corpuscles  may 
be  Vibrionia  or  Zoogle,  described  by  Dr.  Cohn  in  his  "Re- 
searches on  the  Development  of  the  Microscopic  Algs  and 
Fungi,"  as  representing  the  developmental  condition  of  a 
plant,  but  it  is  only  by  further  research  that  this  point  can 
be  definitely  settled. 

The  result  of  ray  observations  so  far  appears  to  be  thatin 
addition  to  the  wave  of  light  already  seen,  the  separate  ob- 
jects  causing  that  wave  may  now  be  observed  in  the  manner 
I  describe ;  what  these  objects  are  is  still  a  matter  to  be  de- 
termined, but  at  present  I  am  inclined  to  believe  them  to  be 
cilia  on  the  cell  wall,  while  at  the  same  time  there  are  also 
independent  moving  corpuscles  within  the  cell;  some  of 
these  bodies  have  the  appearance  of  crystals,  and  in  one 
specimen  I  observed  a  g^eat  number  of  starch  granules  ia 
the  cells. 

In  investigating  this  subject  the  smallest  step  in  advance 
cannot  but  be  deemed  of  importance,  and  I  trust  that  in 
giving  the  results  of  my  observations  as  they  occur,  I  m«r 
be  the  moans  of  saving  time  and  trouble  to  others  who  may 
be  investigating  the  same  class  of  objects^  and  of  inducing 
them  to  follow  up  so  interesting  a  subject,  as  it  is  only  by 
many  and  independent  observations  the  truth  can  be  ascer- 
tained. 

For  the  information  of  members  T  may  state  in  detail  Ihe 
method  of  observation  I  have  found  most  succeasfnl. 

The  microscope  I  made  use  of  is  one  of  Smith  and  Beck's 
largest  size,  buiocular,  with  one  of  Beck's  most  recent  Ch- 
inch objectivea 

The  illumination  was  by  means  of  an  Argand  gas  burner, 
the  light  passing  into  a  right-angled  prism  below  the  stage  in 
a  line  with  the  axis  of  the  object  glass. 

Immediately  beneath  the  stage  was  the  achromatic  con* 
denser,  used  both  with  and  without  the  central  stop  in  the 
diaphr:ij(m,  the  object  being  seen  equally  well  in  both  waT« 
with  different  effects  of  light 

Below  the  achromatic  condenser  was  fixed  Darker**  Bcrioa  . 
of  selenites,  and  below  this  the  polarizing  prism,  the  analys- 
ing prism  being  inserted  immediately  above  the  objective. 

I  made  use  of  the  low  Huyghenian  eye-pieces  and  uwd 
the  microscope  either  as  a  binocular  or  single  tube,  the  field 
being  well  illuminated  in  each  case. 

I  need  not  add  that  the  most  careful  centering  and  adjurt- 
ment  are  essentinl. 

In  preparing  the  object  I  made  a  section  of  a  small  po^ 
lion  of  the  leaf  laid  on  a  piece  of  cork  in  water  under  a  win- 
pie  microscope,  separating  only  one  layer  of  cells ;  I  laid  this 
on  a  slip  made  of  thin  covering  glass,  and  over  it  applied 
a  thin  glass  cover,  a  small  feeding  bottle  and  thread  be- 
ing made  use  of  to  prevent  the  object  being  dried  by 
evaporation.  ^ 

1  then  covered  the  stage  and  object  with  a  piece  of 
black  velvet,  to  prevent  interference  from  other  lights  in 
the  room. 


BRITISH    MEDICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

Twenty-Fifth  Annual  Meeting,  1867.  held  in  Dublin. 

In  a  paper  entitled,  "iftxfc  of  Detecting  Impurities  in  f^ 
trachloride  of  Carbon^'*  read  in  the  Midwifery  Section,  Dr. 
Protheroe  Smith  observed,  that  previous  to  the  publica- 
tion of  his  account  of  this  anaesthetic  in  the  numbers  of 
the  Lancet  of  last  June,  there  were  few  if  any  pure  speci- 
mens of  the  tetrachloride  to  be  obtained.  To  this  cir 
cumstance  he  attributes  the  contradictory  conclusions  whidi 
in  some  instances  had  been  arrived  at  by  those  who  had 
experimented  with  the  tetrachloride.  After  studying  con- 
cisely its  physical  and  chemical  properties,  T*r.  Protheroe 
Smith  remarked  that  the  chief  cause  of  the  failures  abors 
mentioned  were  the  three  following  impurities: — 

I.  Bisulphide   of  Carbon. — ^Tliis    is    easily   detected  bv 
evaporating  over  a   spirit-lamp  a  portion  of  the  suspected 


[EncUah  EdMon,  VoL  XVL,  No.  407,  page  156,  and  Na  404»  pages  106^  109.] 


OkuncAL  If  Kirs, ) 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


245 


fluid  ID  a  deep  cup,  when,  if  it  contains  bisulphide,  a  slight- 
ly bluish  flame  wiU  appear,  whereas  if  free  from  this  ixnporitj 
it  would  be  entirely  uninflamniable. 

n.  Frte  jSiiipAfir.-^hould  such  exist,  after  spontaneous 
evaporation  of  some  of  the  tetrachloride  on  a  watch-glass,  a 
fine  opaque  film  will  remain,  which  when  heated  woudd  give 
off  the  well-known  fumes  of  sulphurous  acid. 

III.  A  peculiar  sulphur-compound,  which  is  discovered  by 
dipping  in  the  suspected  fluid  some  clean  blotting  paper, 
which  when  dry  will  give  a  peculiar  unpleasant  smell  of 
dirty  linen. 

Dr.  Protheroe  Smith  also  exhibited  his  inhaler.  It  con- 
sists of  a  graduated  glass  receiver  for  the  ansssthetic,  with  a 
tube  in  its  centre,  by  which  at  every  inspiration  air  passes  first 
through  the  fluid,  and  then  through  the  spongy  thus  becom- 
ing so  highly  charged  with  its  vapour  as  very  rapidly  to 
induce  anesthesia. 

This  mode  of  administering  anaesthetics  effects  a  salvage 
of  from  }  to  {  of  the  fluid,  so  that  a  drachm  may  go  as  far 
as  an  ounce  when  employed  as  ordinarily  on  a  handkerchief. 
Dr.  Protheroe  Smith  entered  more  fully  into  the  comparative 
merits  of  tetrachloride  of  carbon  and  chloroform  in  an  ani- 
mated discussion  on  the  action  of  anaesthetics  which  took 
place  in  the  Midwifery  Section,  on  Friday  afternoon,  when 
Sir  James  Simpson  called  upon  him  to  give  his  experience. 
Some  of  the  advantages  claimed  for  tetrachloride  of  carbon 
were  that  its  administration  is  rarely  followed  by  sickness  or 
other  derangement  of  health, — that  it  does  not  seem  to  in- 
terrupt the  natural  efforts  of  labour  as  often  observant  with 
chloroform, — that  its  effect  upon  the  perceptive  faculties  very 
rapidly  ceases, — that  it  can  be  made  at  much  less  cost  than 
any  other  ansBSthetic,— that  a  smaller  quantity  suffices  for 
use.  and  for  many  other  medical  reasons  which  were  given. 

Dr.  Smithes  tetrachloride  is  evidently  made  by  passing  the 
vapour  of  bisulphide  of  carbon  and  chlorine  through  a  red- 
hot  lube.  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  compound  can  be 
procured  very  cheaply  by  this  method,  and  that  ultimately 
it  will  be  used  in  the  arts;  much  of  the  so-called' tetra- 
chloride, however,  now  met  with  is  procured  by  the  action 
of  chlorine  upon  chloroform,  and  is  frequently  a  mixture  of 
chloroform,  other  chlorides  of  carbon,  and  the  tetrachloride. 


ACADEMY  OF   SOIBNCES. 


A0O.  20,  1867. 
(From  our  owk  Cobbbspoxtdent). 

ShooHng    Stars. — Animal  Ekeiriciiy. — The   Pascal-NewUm 

Fhrgeriea. — Phoiographie  Registraium  of  the  Beatings  of 

the  HearL 
The  correspondence  was  without  interest. 

M.  Coste  presented,  on  the  part  of  MM.  Coulvier-Gravier 
and  Chapelas,  the  result  of  their  x)bservations  on  the  shoot- 
ing scars  during  the  nights  of  the  9th,  loth,  and  ixth  of 
August  of  this  year.  They  showed,  by  a  tabular  statement, 
that  from  the  5th  of  August,  the  mean  hourly  number  at 
midnight  on  a  clear  sky,  that  is  to  say,  corrected  for  the 
lunar  light  and  the  presence  of  clouds,  was  16*2  stars ; 
this  became  337  on  the  9th,  49*9  on  the  loth,  and  287 
on  the  nth;  giving  an  average  of  37*4.  Comparing  this 
with  the  year  1848,  which  had  given  for  the  mean  hourly 
number,  1 10  meteors,  it  is  plain  that  the  quantity  diminishes 
▼ery  sensibly. 

M.  Saigey,  formerly  collaborator  of  M.  Coulvier-Gravier, 
has  jost  published  the  results  of  his  meteoric  observations 
made  in  1845  and  1849  for  all  the  dear  nights. 

M.  Schnltzstein^  of  Berlin,  read  a  paper  on  animal  elec- 
tricity, stating  that  all  the  phenomena  are  reduced  to  simple 
voltaic  currents  in  which  salt  acts  the  part  of  the  electro- 
motor. 

M!.  Chasles  took  np  the  discussion  relative  to  Pascal^s  and 

^  Newton's  letters.    He  is  astonished  that  their  authenticity 

has  been  doubted,  inasmuch  as  they  are  exchanged  between 


twelve  different  persons.  The  writing  of  Montesquieu  is 
well  known;  and  there  are  letters  from  Marriotte,  whose 
writing  can  be  compared  with  that  of  manuscripts  m  the 
library,  etc.  There  are  about  500  letters  and  notes  of 
Pascal,  200  of  Newton,  and  300  of  Labruyere  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Pascal. 

M.  Le  Terrier  declared  his  incompetence  as  a  member  of  - 
th<9  commission  to  inquire  into  the  documents  of  M.  Chasles, 
and  regretted  that  he  could  not  assist  this  gentleman  in  any 
way  in  the  absence  of  proofs ;  and  in  polite  terms  demanded 
the  usual  proofs  of  authenticity  required  by  astronomers,  so 
that  they  could  judge  when  they  received  them. 

M.  Chasles  replied  in  warm  terms,  and  a  rather  stormy 
discussion  ensued.  Ho  said  that  the  number  and  nature  of 
the  documents  communicated  ought  to  satisfy  all  doubts 
as  to  their  authenticity  1  He  added  that  he  was  going  to 
publish  the  most  curious  letters  —  for  example,  those  of 
Molidre  to  Botrou,  and  Rotrou  to  Pocquelin,  poetry,  unpub- 
lished, and  other  pieces  by  Botrou,  also  letters,  eta,  from 
Corneille  to  Botrou. 

M.  Chevreul  stated  to  M.  Le  Yerrier  his  acknowledgment 
of  the  mutility  of  a  commission  appointed  with  too  much 
precipitation. 

M.  De  Landolle  proposed  in  the  name  of  several  foreign 
botanists  a  change  in  the  nomenclature  of  botanical  classifi- 
cation. 

M.  Ozonam  presented  a  note  on  an  apparatus  by  which 
the  beatings  of  the  heart  are  registered  and  photographed. 
They  are  made  to  act  on  the  surface  of  a  bent  tube  contain- 
ing mercury,  the  fluctuations  of  which  are  noted  in  the  same 
manner  as  those  of  the  thermometer  and  barometer  are  pho- 
tographed. He  exhibited  several  curves  obtained  by  this 
means,  and  some  magnified  by  the  megascope. 

Auo.  26,  1867. 
JDeaih  of  Dr,  Velpeau. — Ftuorine.-^M.  ChmUi  ManuacrtpU, 
A^  GLOOM  was  cast  over  the  assembly  by  the  death  of  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Velpeau,  bom  on  i8th  May,  1785,  at  the 
village  of  La  Briche,  in  Touraino.  The  son  of  a  blacksmith 
and  farrier,  whom  he  aided  in  his  trade,  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  first  notions  of  veterinary  surgery.  In 
18 1 6  we  find  him  at  Tours,  a  medical  student ;  and  in  1820 
at  Paris,  where  he  was  made  doctor  three  years  later.  La- 
borious and  tenacious,  he  rapidly  amassed  money,  especially 
as  his  private  practice  was  confined  to  the  higher  aristocracy. 
As  hospital  surgeon  of  the  Pitie,  as  professor,  as  acade- 
mician, he  led  the  example  of  punctuality,  assiduity,  and  prac- 
tical skill  in  conducting  operations,  so  tl>at  he  became  at 
once  one  of  the  best  surgeons  of  France.  In  1842  he  was 
elected  to  the  vacant  chair  at  the  Institute,  having  been 
previously,  in  1835,  nominated,  though  he  had  for  a  fellow 
competitor  the  celebrated  lisfrana  His  titles  were:  Sur- 
geon to  the  Charity,  Member  of  the  Institute,  and  of  the 
Academy  of  Medicine,  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honour, 
Professor  of  Medicine,  and  Consulting  Surgeon  to  the  Em- 
peror. The  numerous  works  written  by  him  are  not  so 
easily  enumerated;  we  have  before  us  the  list  of  18,  most 
of  which  are  in  several  volumes  and  accompanied  with 
atlases  and  magnificent  engravings;  without  counting  all 
the  valuable  papers  read  at  various  societies,  they  prove 
that  he  wielded  the  pen  as  steadily  as  the  bistoury,  or  the 
hammer  on  the  anvil,  in  his  early  days. 

Surgical  and  medical  science  have  lost  latterly  many  in 
their  front  ranks ;  Malgaigne,  Jobert,  Givlale,  Trousseau, 
Charri^re,  and  last,  Velpeau.  Funeral  discourses  were  pro- 
nounced by  Nelaton,  Biche,  Gosselin,  Husson,  Guyon,  and 
Longett;  the  Utter  was  pupil  and  friend  of  the  deceased. 

Among  the  correspondence,  which  was  opened  by  M. 
Chevreul,  was  an  important  one  on  fluorine,  by  M.  Pratt. 
According  to  this  chemist  we  have  been  hitherto  mistaken 
upon  the  composition  of  fluorides,  and  on  the  theory  of  fluo- 
rine. M.  Pratt  proposes  new  formula,  which  harmonise 
better  with  known  analyses.  These  will  be  examined  in 
detail  when  the  Comptss  Bendw  appear. 


Vol.  I.    No.  5.— Nov.,  1867,        17. 

[Bnglkh Edition,  Vol ZVI,  Ho.  404»pag«il09, 112;  Ka  405^  pages  132, 133.] 


^46 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


.  (OssinaAL  Vbwil 
1     JTofuiaCl. 


K.  Balard  presented  a  note  on  chloride  of  ethylene. 
M.  Blanchard  reminded  the  assembly  that  at  the  last 
meetings  of  the  Academj  doubts  were  expressed  upon  the 
ezistenoe  of  unpublished  manuscripts  of  Paecal,  which  would 
contain  important  discoveries.  He  thinks  that  these  doubts 
ought  to  be  satisfied  by  a  declaration  contained  in  a  passage 
of  the  preface  of  tl;e  "  Treatise  on  the  Equihbrium  of  Heavy 
liquids,"  published  in  French.  M.  Blanchard  states  that 
this  preface  was  probably  written  by  Madame  Perier.  The 
edition  in  the  hands  of  M.  Blanchard  is  dated  169S,  and  is 
conformable  to  those  of  1663  and  1664. 

M.  Faugdre  having  been  invited  by  the  president  to  state 
his  objections  against  the  authenticity  of  the  documents  pub- 
lished by  M.  Chasles,  slated  that  the  falsificator  had  not  even 
well  imitated  the  handwriting  of  PascaL  He  said  tiiat  the 
forg;er  was  merely  satisfied  in  fidopting  the  writing  and 
style  of  language  of  the  17th  century. 

M.  Faug^re  confined  his  observations  to  mentioning  an 
anachronism,  according  to  him,  most  evident  There  is  a 
question,  in  one  of  the  letters,  on  the  froth  of  cofi'ee ;  now, 
the  use  of  coffee  was  not  introduced  into  France  before  the 
end  of  the  year  1669.  He  contested  that  Newton  never 
wrote  in  French,  also  he  remarked  upon  the  common-place 
style  of  the  letters  attributed  to  Pascal,  whose  diction  was 
far  different  and  added  that  the  forger  was  caught  in  his 
own  net.  He  hoped  that  the  imposition  upon  M.  Chasles 
would  be  shortly  cleared  up. 

M.  Chasles  replied  that  all  these  doubts  have  not  shaken 
his  confidence  in  the  authenticity  of  his  documents,  so  nu- 
merous and  varied. 

M.  Regnault  observed  that  photography  would  fhmish  the 
means  of  recognising  whether  the  old  papers  contained  an- 
terior writing  that  m^  have  been  made  to  disappear.  Also 
there  are  chemical  reagents  calculated  to  revive  effaced 
writing. 

M.  Chasles  declared  that  he  would  place  at  the  disposition 
of  the  Academy  all  the  letters  and  documents  to  be  submit- 
ted to  all  manner  of  tests. 

M.  d'Abbadic  presented  on  the  part  of  M.  Radau  a  note  on 
the  ancient  meteorograph  and  on  the  theory  of  the  barometer 
of  M.  Moreland.  We  find  in  the  Jowmal  de  Physique  of  the 
Abbd  Rozier  (1782),  a  memoir  of  Magellan,  giving  a  de- 
scription, accompanied  with  plates,  of  a  "  Perpetual  Meteoro- 
graph." Seven  instnimcnts  trace  parallel  curves  on  the  same 
diagram,  moved  by  clockwork.  The  pressure  is  registered  by 
a  wheel  barometer,  the  temperature  by  a  metallic  thermome- 
ter, and  the  humidity  by  a  hygroscope  constructed  of  wood ; 
the  force  and  direction  of  the  winds  are  obtained  by  a  very 
ingenious  anemograph ;  rain,  evaporation  and  the  height  of 
the  tides  are  indicated  by  apparatus  furnished  with  floats. 
Nothing  is  wanting,  and  in  several  respects  this  meteorograph 
is  superior  to  those  recently  constructed.  The  steel  yard 
barometer  was  invented  by  Sir  Samuel  Morland,  who  pre- 
sented it  towards  1670  to  Charles  IL  Magellan  possessed  a 
barometer  on  this  principle,  constructed  by  Jonathan  Sisson  ; 
he  improved  the  mode  of  suspension.  Later,  in  1791,  the 
Rev.  Arthur  M 'Quire  le  transforma  en  barographe  en  attach- 
ant  un  crayon  au  souhnet  du  tube  {lyanxactiorut  of  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy,  Vol.  IT.).  The  theory  of  the  barometer,  oom- 
pUcated  enough,  was  not  as  yet  given  exactly. 

Skpt.  2,  1867. 
Death  of  Faraday. — Oodard  and  Savigny  Prizet;  Father 

Secchi  OH  Shooting  Stars.—  Stellar  Spectroscope, 
A  LBTTBR  from  Mr.  Dumas  informed  the  Academy  of  the 
loss  it  has  just  sustained  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Faraday,  one  of 
its  foreign  associates.  M.  Dumas  made  this  moumfbl  oom- 
munication  at  the  request  of  M.  Tyndall,  who  thought  that 
M.  Dumas  could,  as  one  of  the  friends  of  the  illustrious  de- 
ceased, replace,  in  the  performance  of  this  duty,  his  family. 

M.  Chevreul,  after  having  rend  this  letter,  added  that  all 
the  members  of  the  Academy  would  certainly  participate  in 
the  sentiments  it  expressed ;  he  paid  a  solemn  homage  to 
the  memory  of  the  great  English  physicist,   and  rokted 


several  facts  which  manifested  his  modesty,  and  the  nohto- 
nees  of  his  character. 

The  correspondence  included  some  documents  on  the 
definitive  disappearance  of  the  great  birds  of  Madagascar 
(Epiornis  Maximus),  and  on  the  work  of  MM.  Burden  and 
Bourget,  on  heat,  etc. 

M.  Chasles  replied  to  the  criticisms  of  M.  Faug^re.  He 
commenced  by  enumerating  again  the  very  important  and 
varied  documents  in  his  possession,  among  which  are  about 
1,000  documents  of  La  Bruy^re  (nearly  300  letters,  a  key  of 
characters,  the  same  which  circulated  at  that  time  among  tiie 
intimate  friends  of  La  Bruy^re,  and  many  other  isolated 
pieces).  M.  Chasles  combated,  one  by  one,  the  objectiong 
raised  by  M.  Faug^re,  apparently  sucoeesfuUy.  He  reoisrked 
bow  very  improbable  it  was  that  a  falsificator  could  fabricate 
such  an  immense  number  of  documents  of  a  nature  so  dif- 
ferent.   He  must  have  bad  a  great  imagination  I 

M.  Chasles  cited  letters  from  Desmaizeaux  to  Fontenelle, 
in  which  there  is  doubt  of  the  relations  between  Newton  and 
Pascal ;  they  say  it  was  the  professor  of  young  Newton  who 
wrote  his  letters.  M.  Bertrand  remarked  how  singular  it 
was  that  no  allusion  is  made  to  this  in  Fontenelle*8  doge  of 
Newton.  M.  Chasles  replied  that  Fontenelle  had  requested 
of  Desmaizeaux  informatioq  as  to  the  youth  of  Newton  be- 
fore he  wrote  his  discourse.  Desmaizeaux,  in  his  reply,  said 
that  he  possessed  NewtonHi  papers,  but  that  his  family  had 
confided  them  to  him  on  the  condition  of  not  making  use  of 
them.  "  I  will  give  you,"  he  said,  **  notes,  but  which  will 
not  injure  the  reputation  of  M.  Newton,  so  well  established." 
Fontenelle  submitted  to  Desmaizeaux  his  project  of  dogt^ 
and  the  latter  prayed  him  not  to  revive  old  souvenirs  nearlj 
forgotten.  Leibnitz  knew  all  these  things;  he  avowed  that 
he  had  papers  of  Pascal,  htii  thai  he  rnakes  no  mystery  6j 
ihenij  like  M.  Newton. 

A  commission  was  appointed  for  the  Gk)dard  prize,  and 
another  for  the  Savigny  prize,  founded  by  Mademoiselle 
Lettellier,  in  favour  of  young  travelling  zooIogistSw 

Father  Secchi  made  several  interesting  communicatioos. 
The  first  was  on  shooting  stars.  The  cholera  had  dispened 
the  small  staff  of  assistants  at  his  disposal  at  Rome ;  never- 
theless, he  had  two  observers  who  determined  that  on  the 
loth  of  November  the  hourly  number  was  thirty-five  between 
two  and  three  in  the  morning.  Comparing  this  number  with 
that  observed  in  the  previous  year,  it  appears  that  at  Bome 
the  diminution  was  not  so  sensible  as  at  other  places.  He 
then  presented  a  stellar  spectroscope,  of  very  moderate  di- 
mensions, made  by  Secretau ;  also  a  memoir  on  the  actual 
state  of  the  science  of  meteorology  as  regards  metorographic 
instruments,  and  laid  upon  the  table  sheets  on  which  the 
meteorograph  of  the  Exhibition  had  traced  curvesi 
M.  Archiac  presented  several  memoirs  relative  to  geofe^. 

Sept.  9,  1867. 
Tlte  PaecaJ-Netoton  Forgeries. — New  Compounds  of  Oyamds 

of  AmyX, — Potarisation  of  Electrodes. 
Let  me  say  a  few  words  on  the  answers  of  M.  Chasles  to 
the  objections  urged  by  M.  Faug^re,  which  had  some  ap* 
pearance  of  gravity.  The  first  was  the  allusion  made  in  ooe 
of  the  letters  written  by  Pascal,  in  1652,  aboiU  coffee  acd 
the  fV-oth  of  coffee.  "  Coffee,"  he  said,  "  was  not  introduced 
into  Parisian  society  before  1660,  about  aeven  years  after  the 
death  of  Pascal."  Thus,  vrithout  going  further,  M.  Chaeke 
finds  in  the  Dictionary  of  Bouillct  that  coffee  was  drank  in 
Venice  jn  161 5,  and  at  Marseilles  in  1654;  and  in  the  new 
curious  treatises  on  coffee,  tea,  and  chocolate,  published  by 
Philii>  Sylvester  Dufour,  in  1684,  we  find  "coffee  has  not 
been  known  in  France  for  more  than  forty  years."  Subtraetr 
ing  these  forty  from  1684  we  have  1644.  Pascal,  yoirog, 
well  acquainted  with  the  world,  and  ardent  in  tbe  advance- 
ment of  progress,  would  not  have  been  the  last  to  have 
known  the  existence  of  coffee.  Moreover,  a  forger,  while 
treating  on  universal  gp:tivitation,  would  not  have  dreamt  of 
connecting  it  with  the  froth  of  coffee. 
To  the  second  objection  of  the  improbability  of  a  colT^ 


.  [SagUali.EdltkiB,  VoL  ZVL,  Ho.  405»  pages  133, 134»  ITa  407,  page  155.] 


BrUish  PTmrmaceutical  Conference. 


247 


spondence  between  Pascal  and  Newton  while  cbildren,  as 
M.  de  Morgan  and  Sir  David  Brewster  remark  that  he  never 
knew  French  otherwise  than  with  a  dictionary,  M.  Chasles 
answers  by  presenting  striking  documents. 

"PASCAL  TO  WALUS. 

"  This  29th  August,  apropos  of  this  young  student  (New- 
ton), can  you  give  me  some  tidings  of  him,  and  principally 
about  his  arrangements.  Some  fHends  assured  me  that  the 
letters  written  by  him  to  me,  and  the  questions  that  he  has 
sabmitted  seem  to  have  rather  come  from  his  professor  than 
from  him.  I  should  like  very  much  to  have  correct  informa- 
tion. Perhaps  you  can  give  me  a  word  about  it?  I  am 
waiting  for  your  reply." 

"DJB8MAIZBAUZ  TO  FONTEKELLB. 

"October  20,  1747. — ^This  one  (the  Professor)  advised  his 
young  pupil  to  write  a  letter  to  Pascal,  and  to  submit  to  him 
some  geometric  questions  or  problems  to  be  solved.  It  is 
the  beet  way,  said  he,  to  obtain  an  answer.  The  letter  was 
then  prepared  in  concert  with  the  Professor,  as  well  as  the 
quesiious,  and  sent  by  young  Newton,  yet  a  student,  to  M, 
Fbacal  The  latter  finding,  without  doubt,  the  letter  and 
questions  extraordinary  for  a  child,  and  recollecting,  perhaps, 
that  h«  himself  had  been  a  precocious  child,  ardent  to  learn, 
searching  everywhere  to  instruct  himself,  replied  to  the  young 
Kewton.  It  was  thus  that  relations  sprang  up  between  the 
two  men  of  genius,  which  lasted  till  the  death  of  Pascal.  I 
am  perfectly  sure  that  young  Newton  took  part  in  it.  It  could 
not  be  otherwise.  However,  *  M.  Le  Chevalier  Newton '  has 
avowed  it  to  me  himself,  that  it  was  these  relations  which 
engaged  him  to  follow  a  scientific  career." 

Little  satisfied  with  the  peremptory  answers  of  M.  Chasles, 
H.  Faugere  returned  to  the  charge  and  answered  one  by  one 
his  argil  nents  without  signification,  insisting,  above  all,  on 
tlie  verification  of  the  writing.  Now,  M.  Chasles  declared 
that  he  is  ready  to  accompany  him  to  the  Imperial  Library, 
in  presence  of  the  members  of  the  Commission  and  the  Aca- 
demy who  would  wish  to  take  part  in  it. 

At  the  last  meeting  M.  Dumas  transmitted  a  second  letter 
from  Dr.  A.  W.  Hofmann  on  a  new  compound  of  cyanide  of 
amyl  analogous  to  hydrocyanic  acid.  By  pouring  gradually 
a  mixture  of  an  alcoholic  solution  of  ethylamine  and  chloro- 
form into  a  retort  containing  pulverised  hydrate  of  potash,  a 
most  energetic  reaction  takes  place ;  the  mixture  becomes 
heated  to  the  boiling  point,  and  a  liquid  distils  over,  the 
penetrating  odour  of  which  surpasses  all  that  can  possibly  be 
imagined.  The  liquid  ia  the  cyanide  of  amyl,  transparent, 
colourless,  lighter  than  water,  insoluble  in  water,  soluble  in 
alcohol  and  ether,  possessing  an  insufferable  odour  something 
like  that  of  amylaceous  alcohol  and  hydrocjtanic  acid.  Its 
vapour  possesses,  in  a  higher  degree  than  that  of  cyanide  of 
phenyl,  the  property  of  leaving  an  intensely  bitter  taste  on 
the  tongue,  and  a  suffocating  feeling  in  the  throat  similar  to 
that  prMiuced  by  prusj<ic  acid.  It  can  be  distilled  without 
decomposition,  and  boils  at  i;j7''C.  But  little  attacked  by 
alkalies,  it  is  decorapo<«ed  by  acids,  with  an  almost  explosive 
violence ;  a  slight  ebullition  in  presence  of  acidulated  water 
is  sufficient  to  transform  it  into  formic  acid  and  amylameo. 

C,H„N  +  2H,0=CH,0,  +  C.H„N 
Cyanide  of  amyl.       Fonnlc  acid.  Amylamen.  * 

At  present  M.  Balard,  by  virtue  of  a  note  inserted  in  the 
Compiee  Rendus,  and  the  TretMiite  on  ChemUiry^  of  M.  ^aquet, 
claioiB  the  discovery  of  this  new  analogue  of  cyanhydric  acid 
in  favour  of  M.  Armand  Gauthier,  laboratory  pupil  of  M. 
WurtaL 

M.  Gaugain  presented  a  note  on  the  polarisation  of  elec- 
trodes. Several  savants  have  sought  toi  determine  the  part 
which  each  of  the  electrodes  takos  in  the  polarisation,  and 
have  arrived  at  different  results:  M.  Poggendorff  found  that 
the  two  electrodes  contributed  equally  to  the  production  of 
the  electromotive  force  developed ;  MM.  Lenz  and  Sawelgew 
foand  on  the  contrary  that  the  part  of  the  cathode  is  greater 
than  tbat  of  the  anode.    M.  Gaugain  tried  in  his  turn  to  re- 


solve the  question  by  making  use,  as  he  did  on  former  occa- 
sions, of  the  method  of  oppoaiiion^  and  the  following  are  the 
dispositions  he  adopted.  Jn  a  cylindrical  glass  vase  he  placed 
a  porous  cylinder  of  much  smaller  diameter,  and  both  vessels 
were  ^lled  with  the  same  liquid.  The  strips  of  platinum 
which  are  to  serve  for  the  decomposition  of  the  liquid  are 
placed  in  the  exterior  vase,  and  a  third  plate  of  metal  is  in- 
troduced into  the  porous  cyliuder;  this  third  plate,  which 
remains  constantly  out  of  the  circuit,  traversed  by  the  cur- 
rent, does  not  experiencs  any  polarisation,  and  can  be  suc- 
cessively compared  with  each  of  the  electrodes  when  these 
are  polarised  to  saturation ;  this  comparison  gives  the  meas- 
ure of  the  two  polarisations  of  the  anode  and  the  cathode. 
The  porous  diaphragm  serves  to  keep  the  neutral  plate  out  of 
reach  of  the  influence  of  the  hydrogen  disengaged  by  the 
electrolysis. 

The  following  are  the  results  thus  obtained  by  a  series  of 
experiments  carried  on  with  a  mixture  of  nine  parts  by  vol- 
ume of  distilled  water,  and  one  part  of  sulphuric  acid. 

Polarisation  of  the  anode 193 

"  "     cathode 157 

Total  polarisation 352 

It  appears  to  be  of  little  consequence,  if  more  or  less  sul- 
phuric acid  be  added  to  the  electrolysed  water,  provided  that 
this  proportion  does  not  fall  below  a  certain  limit;  but  when 
it  becomes  extremely  small  the  polarisation  of  the  cathode  in- 
creases without  the  polarisation  of  the  anode  being  sensibly 
modified.  The  following  are  the  results  obtained  by  electro- 
lysing pure  water : — 

Polarisation  of  the  anode 193 

"  "       cathode 243 

Total  polarisation 434 

M.  Matteocci  recently  {Oompies  Rendu*,  Jan.  14,  1867) 
called  the  attention  of  the  Academy  to  an  experiment  which 
he  had  made  in  183S,  and  upon  which  he  depended  to  prove 
that  the  polarisation  proceeded  from  the  gases  adherent  to 
the  electrodes.  In  fact,  polarised  metals  should  be  considered 
as  fugitive  combinations  formed  by  the  metals  and  gases,  and 
the  author  is  of  opinion  that  in  couples  of  polarisation  as  well 
as  in  Grove's  gas  pile,  the  electromotive  force  is  the  affinity 
exerted  on  one  of  the  elements  of  the  water  by  a  gas  associ- 
ated in  a  particuhir  manner  to  a  metal. 


BRITISH  PHARMACEUTICAL  CONFERENCE. 

Iburih  Annual  MeeHngat  Dundee.  }Pretident^  Pbofessob 
Bkntley,  F.L.S.,  M.R.C.S.,  etc. 

Thb  President  opened  the  proceedings  on  Tuesday,  Sept.  3, 
by  delivering  a  most  interesting  address  on  "  the  study  of 
botany  in  connection  with  pharmacy."  Last  year  he  gave  an 
address  on  the  same  subject,  when  ho  confined  himself  to  the 
consideration  of  some  of  the  more  immediate  and  direct  ad- 
vantages which  the  pharmaceutist  would  derive  from  a  knowl- 
edge of  botany,  while  this  year  he  spoke  of  its  value  as  a 
mental  training,  and  as  a  recreation.  Having  alluded'  to  the 
great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  study  of  such  bmnches 
of  natural  history  as  botany,  in  training  the  mind  to  observe 
correctly,  discriminate  accurately,  and  to  acquire  orderly  and 
systematic  habits,  the  president  expressed  a  hope  that  it 
would  not  be  long  before  such  studies  will  become  an  essen- 
tial part  of  the  education  of  our  youth.  He  then  spoke  of  the 
advantage  which  the  pharmaceutist  would  derive  from  taking 
up  the  study  of  a  natural  science  by  the  combination  of  sci- 
entific with  the  more  purely  practical  studies  of  their  profes- 
sion, thanking  the  liberal  and  enlightened  founders  and  sub- 
sequent supporters  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  for  doing 
much  to  drive  away  the  erroneous  idea  that  a  pharmaceutist 
should  confine  his  attention  entirely  to  the  practical  parts  of 
his  business.  The  president  then  proved  the  study  of  botany 
to  be  eminently  calculated  to  prove  an  agreeable  and  health- 
ful recreation  to  the  pharmaceutist,  urging  upon  the  young 


[BngUShBdMon,  VoL  XTL,  Ka  407,  pafet  16fi;  156 ;  Ha  408,  pac«ilM] 


BriHsh  FJimtnaceutical  Conference. 


248 

=tr,Hont  nf  nharmaov  aie  importance  of  ita  study  during  his 
nui^awl  orfTSt  he  mayacquire  that  knowledge  of  ite 
SeSran"  S^bniSluties,  as  wiU  enable  him  hereafter  to  p^^ 
Burand  enioy  it  as  a  recreation,  and  concluded  by  tlianking 
Z  Ic^^mmittee  for  the  kind  hospitable  manner  in»whjd> 
thev  iweived  the  visitors  and  for  the  very  satafactory  arrange- 
mentlXrbad  made  for  holdinf  the  meetings  of  the  confer 

^°We   subjoin  abstracts   of  the  papers   read  during   the 

sittings. 

.    "  On  tt«  AdtMeration  of  WiiU  Precipitaie."      By  J.  B. 

'  Babnbs,  F.CS.  . 

ciRVBNTBBii  years  ago  I  tested  some  white  precipitate,  in  the 

f^™  hig^r  Jpectable  pharmaceutist,  and  found 't  con- 

?S?S^  50  per  ce"t  ofcbalk,  it  bad  been  sappUedby  a  large 

-orhnlnoale  bouse.  at  the  price  of  a  pure  article.. 

Ih^  re^"ved  from  members  of  tl.e  Conference,  residmg 
in  the  pri^  towns,  58  samples,  and  three  other  specimens 

«maU  Mrtions  of  each  of  these  parc«l8  were  separately  ex- 

;;^  K  aaiou  of  a  strong  heat.    Of  this  large  number 

fe^o^Xexhibitedevideuceof  theadulteranti  from  Br^ 

tol  I  received  four  specimens,  No.  i,  was  pure ;  No.  2,  contained 

^i:,  TSft.  of  c4rbonateV  lead ;  No.  3,  cont^'fi  22  per 

J^nl  ofclJalk,  and  No.  4,  consisted  ^''f  «'y  °f  ^^"'^J^ 

lead     From  North  Shields,  three  samples,  one  of  them  said 

f  hkve  been  obtained  by  the  retailer  from  Newcastle,  and 

Ltelned^  ^r  cent  of  chalk.    One  sample  from  Shrews- 

wv  wnta^ed  a  trace  of  peroxide  of  iron   the  remaimng 

LmnS  w^  all  pure-I  venture  to  think  the  result  is  very 

^Ktoto  the  members  of  our  profession,  the  samples  hav- 

Sfbl^n  obtained  in  neighbourhoods  where  it  mjght  have 

Wn  suDDOsed  that  adulterated  samples  would  be  met  with , 

ST^rill  contributor  states  that  be  obtained  h« 

e^^ens  from  a  locality  where  he  was  sure  to  be  able  to 

lind  adulterated  drugs. 

"  Note^  on  Zffervetciug  CitraU  of  Mdgnetia."    By  E.  Dtmond, 

Birmingham. 
Thb  author  protests  against  the  pleasing  deception  which  is 
inicl^  in  the  sale  of  the  various  popular  granulated  effer- 
?Sd^«mpounds,  being  almost  without  exception  known 
b^^wbichdonot  Ixpress  their  composition  and  real 
X^er  and  he  holds  that  the  welfare  of  true  pharmacy  is 
^eopa%  whilst  we  tacitly  recognize  such  departiire  fi^m 
SrrXXmical  nomenclature,  and  from  those  obligations 
wS  we  are  under  to  the  pure  truths  of  science  and  mora  ■ 
kv  The  writer  placed  upon  the  table  a  specimen  of  sacdiarat- 
leffJi^eScitrat^of  magnesia  which  fulfils  the  conditions 
^uled  Ui  this  preparation  of  brisk  effervescence  during  the 
ffiSe  of  carbo.Sc  acid,  and  a  nearly  brihgt  subsequent 
solution. 
"  Bmarks  on  a  Spuimm  of  SeatveedCkar."    By  Ed.  C.  0. 

Stanford,  F.O.S. 
Me.  Staufobd  introduced  to  the  meeting  an  interesting  speci- 
m^  Of  oharooaL  obtained  by  the  carbonization  of  tangle. 
Thta  ^b^tan^cSnsiste  of  the  long  stems  of  Lami„wry,  d,gu 
iS*  wS  we  thrown  up  in  great  abundance  on  the  west- 
era  Bhor^  of  the  outer  Hebrides ;  these  are  coUecled  in  the 
trintar3  dried  in  the  air:  these,  when  first  thrown  up  are 
C  fleshy  stems,  7  to  8  feet  in  length,  and  alK,ut  the  thick- 
^  of  the  wrisCbut  when  dried,  present  hard,  bomy,  flexa- 
bterods,  about  the  size  of  the  finger.  These,  when  carboi^ 
Sed  sweU  out  into  a  highly  porous  charcoal,  about  three 

nr  cht  ItTns'atuTio  per  cent,  of  salta  fiee  from  sul- 
nhides  and  very  rich  in  iodine. 

A^r  lixiviation  the  residual  char  has  the  following  compo- 
sition ;  it  Taries  slightly,  and  the  average  proximate  analysis 
in  the  dry  state,  is  here  given  :— 


C  Gbbxioa].  KKWt, 


Oarbon 

Phoeph.  lime  . 


SO 
4 


Carbonate  of  lime 20 

Carbonate  of  magnesia " 

Silicic  acid. 5 

Alumina ^ 

Sulphate  of  potash 5 

Chlor.  iodine. 5 

and  about  1-25  per  cent  ammonia. 
It  generally  contains  about  15  per  cent  of  water,  whwh  it 
is  veiy  difficult  to  separate,  the  diarooal  havmg  a  powerful 
affinity  for  moisture.  ,    , ,  .       v«»«.^ 

Attention  was  caUed  to  the  remarkable  analogy  betwe«i 
the  chemical  composition  of  this  ohw  and  that  of  anunal  c^r- 
coal,  which  appeared  to  cUss  it  with  that  8^^^o«»  ^^ij^^^ 
der  it  unlike  any  other  char  of  a  vegetable  ongm  Th«  char 
cannot  be  used  for  sugar  refining,  on  account  ot  the  ^^^V^' 
oentage  of  carbonate  of  lime;  but  it  poesess^  deooloramg 
and  deodorizing  properties,  superior,  weight  for  ^J^^J? 
the  best  animal  charftestM  with  solution  of  canmieU  d^' 
orizes  25  per  cent  more  than  animal  char  under  the  same  cod- 

^irhas  been  subjected  to  continued  filtration  of  the  thickat 
town  sewage,  for  several  months,  witiiout  the  least  ciogpng, 
and  its  efficacy  under  this  treatment  remained  unimpaired. 

This  commuuication  was  merely  preliminary  the  aothor 
promising  the  results  of  further  investigation  on  this  and  other 
specimens  of  seaweed  char.         .   .      ^^  ^.       „«^^« 

The  tangle  char  was  brought  before  the  meeting  as  a  cheap 
and  efficient  substitute  for  animal  char  in  its  applicsiiOT 
other  than  that  of  sugar  refining  ;  andte  introduction  exciied 
an  interesting  discussion. 

"  On  Glycelaum,  a  Proposed  basis  for  OintmefUs."   By  T.  B. 
Groves,  F.ca 

Take  of 

Almond  meal t  <^- 

G.yoerine '  ^^ 

Olive  oil 3 

Mix  s.  a.    It  may  be  effected  in  a  mortar  in  the  .ordmfliy 

wav,  up  to  nearly  the  end  of  the  operation ;  but  it  »  bet^, 

1  thinkT  to  use  the  spatula  and  "  slice"  in  the  last  additi^  ot 

oil     It  wiU  then  form  a  soft,  semi-gelatinous  pwte,  whidi, 

when  mixed  gradually  with  water  or  a  watery  flmd,  fo™ 

readily  an  emulsion.   The  glycerine  it  contains  being  P™*^ 

by  the  oU  it  does  not  quickly  deliquesoe,  though  when  expoeea 

to  the  air  for  some  time  it  does  often  somewhat    «  »  ^^ 

course  unaffected  by  the  ordinary  temperatures  of  the  boay ; 

if  it  were  otherwise.  iU  softness  would  be  an  objection  to  its 

use ;  as  it  is,  it  leaves  plenty  of  room  for  powdery  adnuxtures 

of  every  kind.  ^  ^    •    *v*  ««t 

It  is  only  essential  to  remember  that  the  body  m  the  firS 

place  must  not  precipitate  emulsine,  in  the  second  plaf^'J 

be  a  fluid.    I  have  in  several  ways  attempted  to  emulseiiri 

I  have  melted  it  and  succeeded  perfectly,  so  long  as  it  remained 

fluid ;  but  if  stirred  after  solidification,  the  emulsion  was  « 

once  "inverted,"  or  as  Mr.'  Proctor  styles  it,  ^^^^f^^^^J" 

"  negative"  emulsion,  i.e.  the  glycerine  is emulsed  m  the  w, 

and  not  the  fat  in  the  glycerine. 

The  advantages  I  attribute  to  glycelieum  as  oompared  wini 
ointments  and  with  plasma,  I  imagine  to  be  ^ffe^-J^^' 
ments  are  greasy,  prone  to  rancidity,  do  «i.?<^  " *ouch  b» 
strict  sense,  watery  surfaces,  and  are  not  eaaly  "moved  M 
the  surfaces  to  which  they  become  attached;  on  the  o»« 
hand  they  are  cheap,  tiiey  are  fatty,  and  they  are  repeUcnttf 
moisture.  ,  ,      ,  .  ,— 

Glycelieum  has  been  little  tned  as  a  remedy ;  I  m^ 
had  difficulty  in  finding  persons  to  make  a  tnal  of^ 
TQbury  Fox  has,  hewever,  at  Mr.  D.  Hanbury  s  Bug|^ 
made  some  experiments  with  it,  and  reports  *'  that  1»  1*«  » 
very  much  ;  that  it  is  a  capital  thing  where  it  is  a  desiderau^ 
to  get  hardened  parts  into  a  more  *  supple  condiUon.  J^ 
though  I  can  bring  but  one  testimony  in  its  favour,  itmuaw 
allowed  to  be  a  first-rate  one.  - 

StiU  less  trial  has  been  made  of  glycel«um  aa  a  vehicle  w 


[BngUah  Bdltion,  VoL  XIV.,  Na  408,  pagM  166, 167,] 


N99^  18«7.       f 


JBritiah  Association  for  tlie  Advancement  of  Science. 


249 


the  administration  of  oils  and  balsams,  though  it  would  not 
be  difficalt  to  find  stomachs  that  support  with  difflcultj  cas- 
tor and  ood-liTer  oils,  and  balsam  of  copaibs.  As  *'  oiled  " 
melted  butter  is  known  to  upset  a  weak  stomach,  whilst  well- 
made,  i.&  well-emylsed  melted  butter  does  not,  it  might  be 
inferred  that  an  emulsed  oil  would  in  some  cases  ag^ree  with 
the  stomach  when  the  plain  oil  would  not  I  am  convinced 
of  this,  that  the  gljcelsum  copaibsB,  stiffened  with  powdered 
cubeby  would  form  a  more  elegant  and  a  more  supportable 
electuary  than  the  nasty  and  Jmperfectly  mixed  mass  one 
commonly  meets  with.- 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  it  is  to  the  emulsine 
contained  in  the  oil-seed  we  must  attribute  the  extraordinary 
emulsive  power  of  these  emulsive  powders.  (Certainly  no  or- 
ganic principle  has  been  more  consistently  named  than  it) 
This  I  have  proved  experimentally,  by  preparing  some  of  the 
substance,  and  trying  it  in  its  pure  stata  I  found  that  five 
grains  dissolved  in  one  drachm  of  water  would  emulse  into  a 
jelly  four  drachms  of  olive  oil  (using  the  spatula,  not  the  pes- 
tle)! I  prepared  the  emulsine  by  digesting  for  a  few  hours 
powdered  almond  meal  with  tepid  water  filtered,  and  added 
to  three  measures  of  the  filterate  five  measures  of  rectified 
spirit,  collected  the  precipitate  and  dried  it  at  a  temperature 
not  exceeding  100''. 


BRITISH  ASSOCIATION  FOR  THE  AD- 
VANCEMENT OF  SCIENCE^ 


DUNDEE  MEETINa,  1867. 

(FEOM   OUB  SPBOtAL  CORRBSPONDBNT.) 

Dundee,  Sept  5,  1867. 

Is  spite  of  the  great  distance  ttom  London,  and  the  depress- 
ing influence  exerted  by  the  parsimony  of  the  railway  com- 
panies, the  present  meeting  promises  to  rival  any  of  the  pre- 
vious northern  gatherings,  excepting,  perhaps,  the  Newcastle 
meeting  in  1863,  at  which  the  total  number  of  attendants 
amounted  to  3,335.  At  the  time  I  write  they  are  nearly 
equal  to  tlie  total  of  the  Nottingham  meeting — 2,300,  and 
new  arrivals  are  coming,  both  by  rail  and  boat  The  exi- 
gencies of  the  Post  Office  allow  me  only  a  very  limited  time 
to  furnish  this  preliminary  letter,  so  that  if  my  narrative  is 
imperfect  in  any  material  sense^  I  will  communicate  by  tele- 
l(raph,  aad  the  facts  may  then  be  interpolated  by  you.  The 
lodging  aocoromodation  in  the  town  seems  as  yet  in  excess  of 
the  demand,  and  the  prices  first  quoted  are  being  reduced. 
Probably  this  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  tickets  issued  has  been  purchased  by  resi- 
dents in  Dundee  and  the  neighbourhood.  The  General  Com- 
mittee met  yesterday,  at  the  Panmure  Street  Chapel,  at  i  p.m. 

Professor  Hirst,  one  of  the  General  Secretaries,  read  the 
report  of  the  Council  for  the  year  1866-7. 

Mr.  W.  Spottiswoodk  then  read  the  report  by  the  treasurer, 
which  was  also  agreed  to. 

Mr.  Griffith,  Assistant  General  Secretary,  read  the  report 
by  the  Parliamentary  Committee. 

REPORT  OF  THE  KEW  COMMITTEB. 

Mr.  J.  P.  GASSiOTread  the  report  of  the  Kew  Committee. 

The  Assistant  General  Secretary  then  read  the  report 
of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Council  of  the  Aasociation 
to  consider  the  best  means  for  promoting  scientific  education 
in  schools.  The  report,  after  pointing  out  that  there  is  already 
a  general  recognition  of  science  as  an  element  in  liberal  edu- 
cation, and  stating  that  general  education  in  schools  ought 
to  indude  some  training  in  science,  went  on  to  refer  to  the 
diAculties  in  the  way  of  introducing  science  into  schools, 
which  the  committee,  however,  considered  easily  surmount- 
able. With  a  view  to  the  furtherance  of  the  scheme,  the 
committee  made  the  following  suggestions: — 

I.  Tliat  in  all  schools  natural  science  be  one  of  the  subjects 


to  be  taught,  and  that  in  every  public  school  at  least  one 
natural  science  master  be  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

2.  That  at  least  three  hours  a  week  be  devoted  to  such 
scientific  instruction. 

3.  That  natural  science  should  be  placed  on  an  equal  footing 
with  mathematics  and  modem  languages  in  effecting  promo- 
tions, and  in  winning  honours  and  prizes. 

4.  That  some  knowledge  of  arithmetic  should  be  required 
for  admission  into  all  public  schools. 

5.  That  the  universities  and  colleges  be  invito  to  assist  in 
the  introduction  of  scientific  education  by  making  natural 
science's  subject  of  examination,  either  at  matriculation,  or 
at  an  parly  period  of  a  university  career. 

6.  That  the  importance  of  appointing  lecturers  in  science, 
and  offering  entrance  scholarships,  exhibitions,  and  fellow- 
ships for  the  encouragement  of  scientific  attainments,  be  rep- 
resented to  the  authorities  of  the  colleges. 

In  the  afternoon  the  grand  floral  f&te  in  Baxter  Park  was 
opened  under  very  &vourable  circumstances  as  to  weather ; 
this  is  considered  to  be.  the  largest  and  finest  floral  and  horti- 
cultural show  ever  held  north  of  the  Tay.  It  was  again  open 
this  morning  to  private  inspection  of  the  members  of  the  As- 
sociation. 

Yesterday  evening  the  first  great  meeting  took  place  in  the 
Kinnaird  Hall,  the  company  being  but  little  assisted  on  their 
way  to  the  assembly  by  the  electric  light,  which  was  exhib- 
ited in  fipont  of  the  High  School,  under  the  charge  of  Mr. 
Louis  Schwendler.  At  eight  o'clock  Sir  Roderick  L  Murchi- 
son,  F.R.S.,  acting  for  Mr.  Grove,  who  was  prevented  by  ill- 
ness from  attending,  in  a  short  speech  formally  vacated  the 
chair  to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Bucdeuch,  the  president  of 
this  year. 

The  large  meeting-hall  was  crowded  in  every  part,  and 
confusion  had  been  as  much  as  possible  avoided  by  number- 
ing each  seat,  and  not  admitting  members  or  associates  un- 
less they  had  previously  got  their  tickets  stamped  with  a 
similar  number.  Your  correspondent,  who  was  not  aware 
of  this  judicious  regulation  till  the  last  moment,  would  have 
had  a  poor  chance  of  .hearing  the  forcible  speech  of  the  noble 
president,  were  it  not  that  a  General  Committee  ticket  car- 
ried with  it  the  privilege  of  admission  to  the  platform. 

Sir  RoDBRiOK  MuRCHisoN,  in  introducing  the  Duke  of 
Buocleuch,  expressed  regret  at  the  unavoidable  absence  of 
Mr.  Grove,  in  whose  behalf  it  had  fallen  to  him  as  a  former 
President,  and  as  one  who  had  filled  nearly  every  office  in 
the  Association,  to  hand  over  tiie  chair  to  the  President 
elect. 

About  a  quarter  to  eight  o'clock,  considerable  excitement 
was  caused  by  Sir  David  Brewster  having  been  seen  to  be- 
come suddenly  faint.  He  was  conversing  with  Professor 
Balfour,  who  sat  behind  him,  his  arm  being  thrown  over  the 
back  of  the  chair,  when  he  ceased  speaking,  his  face  became 
deadly  pale,  his  hand  fell  from  the  back  of  the  seat^  and  he 
was  about  to  fall,  when  Professor  Balfour  sprung  forward 
and  caught  him.  After  Sir  David  Brewster  had  been  ex- 
tended motionless  on  the  platform,  and  water  brought,  in  a 
few  minutes  he  recovered  from  his  swoon,  and  Was  carried 
out  of  the  haU. 

After  the  confusion  had  subsided,  Professor  Phillips 
came  forward  and  said :  Our  highly  honoured  member,  Sir 
David  Brewster,  has  been  affbcted  by  the  heat  of  the  hall. 
He  is  now  decidedly  better. 

The  Duke  of  Buocleuch,  having  taken  the  chair,  said — 
Gentlemen  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science,  and  ladies  and  gentlemen, — ^As  to  what  has  fallen 
from  Sir  Roderick  MurchiBon,  I  feel  that,  whatever  bold 
deeds  my  ancestors  may  have  done,  or  may  have  attempted, 
perhaps  in  one  sense  I  have  attempted  the  boldest  of  them 
all.  If  it  were  only  a  question  of  physical  endurance,  or 
dashing  enterprise,  I  should  not  have  felt  abashed,  nor  shy, 
nor  disinclined  for  the  encounter.  I  think  the  old  spirit  of 
the  Borderer  would  have  carried  me  through.  I  have  been 
told,  and  perhaps  with  reason,  that  it  is  better  and  more 
usual  upon  such  a  great  occasion  as  this  for  the  President 


[BngUidi  Editfon,  Vol  Z7L,  Ka  403,  page  107;  Ha  405,  page  119.] 


250 


British  Associatiati  for  the  AdvarhcemeTii  of  Science. 


to  prepare  his  speeoh  or  address  with  care  beforehand,  to 
commit  it  to  writing,  sad  give  an  opportunity  of  having  it 
put  in  print  for  the  convenience  of  liie  members  of  the  As- 
sociation, and  also  of  those  whose  particular  vocation  and 
duty  it  is  to  communicate  to  the  public  that  which  passes 
at  public  meetings.  Unfortunately,  perhaps,  for  myself,  and 
still  more  unfortunately  for  you,  I  have  not  so  done.  I 
never  in  my  life  attempted  to  pen  an  address  or  to  prepare 
a  written  speech  to  be  delivered.  If  I  had  done  so,  and  had 
recourse  to  the  productions  of  the  pens  and  heads  of  others, 
I  might  have  read  an  address  to  you  in  flowing  language — 
full  of  science,  full  of  information^  but  I  could  not  have  pre- 
tended that  what  I  read  came  flrom  myself.  I  preferred 
rather  to  fail  by  speaking  what  I  had  to  Bay  direct  from  my- 
self, as  it  came  from  my  heart  and  from  my  head,  than  have 
recourse  to  the  assistance— ^though  most  valuable  it  would 
have  been — of  the  thoughts  and  pens  of  others. 

When  I  consider  the  nature  and  intention  of  this  great 
Association,  I.  cannot  but  feel  that  one  of  the  greatest  gifts 
which  Providence  has  bestowed  upon  man  is  great  intellec-- 
tual  power.    It  is  a  talent  of  the  highest  price ;  it  is  a  talent 
vouchsafed  to  but  few.    Happy  are  those  men  themselves, 
and  blessed  is  it  for  this  country  and  for  the  world,  when 
they  who  have  the  intellectual  power  have  also  the  will  to 
exercise  it,  the  power  to  exercise  it,  and  to  direct  it  aright 
Tou  will  rarely  see  that  any  one  man  possesses  the  frill  in- 
tellectual power  to  make  himself  master  of  the  whole. 
Ladies  and  gentlemen,  this  reminds  me  that  since  the  last 
meeting  of  this  Association,  and  within  a  very  short  time, 
one  most  distinguished  member  has  been  gathered  to  his 
fathers — I  mean  Professor  Faraday— one  of  the  most  dis* 
tingruished  men  in  his  own  branch  of  science,  one  who  hav- 
ing great  intellectual  power,  and  having  great  personal  will, 
was  determinejl  to  rise  above  that  position  in  life  in  which 
he  happened  to  be  bom.    Happily  for  him  he  took  a  line, 
and  sought  a  friend  in  one  who  wasiible  to  forward  his 
views ;  and  I  believe  that  in  his  own  department  of  science 
no  man  was  more  prominent  than  Professor  Faraday  lived 
to  become.    In  him  we  have  to  mourn  one  that  is  lost ;  but 
when  we  mourn  one  that  is  lost,  is  it  not  an  incentive  to 
many  others  who  may  have  been  bom  in  the  8«ne  position 
as  himself,  -or  may,  perhaps,  have  been  born  in  other  posi- 
tions, in  a  higher  and  better  position  than  he,  with  every 
opportunity  of  cultivating  scleuoo,  and  instructing  them- 
selves in  every  way?    Is  it  not  an  incentive  to  every  man 
who  may  feel  himself  possessed  of  that  power  to  pusli  him- 
self forward  quietly,  unostentatiously,  but  at  the  same  time 
not  for  the  personal  pride  of  position,  but  for  the  more  gen- 
erous ambition  of  being  a  great  benefactor  to  his  country. 
We  heard  to-day  at  the  preliminary  meeting,  a  report  made 
upon  an  important  matter— ^namely,  that  of  having  science 
taught  at  our  public  schools—that  it  should  form  a  portion 
of  the  curriculum  of  study  in  every  school.    I  quite  agree 
with  that,  but  I  think  you  must  not,  at  all  events  in  the  flrst 
instance,  attempt  to  push  it  too  far.    Give  the  youth  a  taste 
for  science,  and  when  they  have  acquired  this  taste,  those 
who  have  an  aptitude  for  the  sciences  will  each  be^  very 
much  inclined  to  follow  a  particular  science  for  himself. 
You  can  no  more  drive  science  down  a  boy's  throat  than 
you  can  teach  mathematics  to  a  horse.    (Laughter.)    If  he 
has  a  turn  for  it,  he  will  take  it  in ;  if  he  has  not  a  turn  for 
it,  he  will  say  that  it  is  a  greater  bore  than  Latin  or  Greek ; 
but  to  teach  him  the  elements  of  sdenoe  is  of  great  impor- 
tance.   In  every  relation  of  life  a  knowledge  of  science  is 
becoming  more  and  more  necessary.    I  need  not  go  further 
than  the  town  in  which  we  are  at  present  assembled. 
Where  would  the  prosperity  of  this  town  have  been  had  it 
not  been  for  science.    Tou  will  say  we  have  manufactures 
of  flax,  hemp,  jute,  and  things  of  that  sort;  there  is  not 
much  science  in  that    Well,  go  to  the  cultivation  of  these 
plants— go  on  to  the  preparation  of  these  plants  after  they 
are  cultivated,  and  bring  them  to  this  country.    I>o  we  not 
require  some  amount  of  science  to  build  those  ships,  and  to 
navigate  them  ?    and  when  those  vessels  come  to  port  do 


we  not  require  some  science  to  produce  the  do^s  and  har- 
bours in  which  these  vessels  lie  ?    Then  again,  wlien  you 
come  to  the  manufacture  of  the  raw  material,  do  we  not  re- 
quire some  science  in  chemistry  and  in  mechanics ;   and  in 
mechanics,  we  reqtdre  mathematics  to  b^gin  with  ?    Then, 
these  inevitable  faculties  are  necessary  to  produce  the 
machinery  by  which  aU  these  raw  materials  are  toSie  made 
into  useful  artides  of  commerce.    Is  it  not  also  the  case 
when  we  come  to  the  cultivation  of  the  8(nl?    What  do 
people  do  now?    It  is  not  the  role  of  thumb  process— tiie 
old  story,  that  you  must  put  hme  here  and  from  manure 
there.    You  ask,  why?    The  answer  is,  it  stands  to  reason 
— ^because  tiie  soil  requires  tiiat    Standing  to  reason  is  a 
very  good  answer ;  but  the  man  who  gjves  it  goes  by  the 
role  of  thumb.    We  want  a  man  witii  sdenoe  and  chemistiy 
to  tell  us  why  we  do  these  things — ^why  we  apply  one  de- 
scription of  manure  to  one  soil,  and  one  to  anotiier;  and 
why,  if  we  apply  this  description  of  manure  to  one  place 
and  to  another,  we  apply  it  to  tiie  wrong  plaoe.    Again,  we 
have  many  other  branches.    Take  geology  for  instance.    I 
am  sure  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  how  many  hundreds  of 
thousands  have  been  sunk  and  lost  in  seeking  for  that 
wonderful  vein  of  gold  in  the  shape  of  ooal,  and  otiier  things 
which  nobody  would  have  dreamt  of  doing  if  a  question  had 
been  asked  of  any  common,  ordinary  geologist    1  was  talk- 
ing a  little  while  ago  of  sdentific  education  in  sdiools. 
We  want  sdentific  education  in  our  Universities.     We 
want  to  have  natural  and  physical  science  taught  in  our 
UniversHies.    It  is  not  many  months  ago  since  a  powerful 
effort  was  made  to  get  an  endowment  for  a  geological  chair  in 
Edinburgh,  which,  we  may  stfy,  is  the  cradle  of  geology— where 
it  took  its  rise,  and  flourishes  particularly.    Unfortunately 
that  attempt  was  simply  snuffed  out.    We  met  with  a  cold 
reception.    In  vain  did  we  say  that  endeavours  had  been 
made  to  endow  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  which  happens 
to  be  very  poorly  endowed ;  but  the  efforts  and  contribu- 
tions of  almost  ail  those  who  responded  to  the  application 
have  been  directed  to  founding  scholarships  and  bursaries 
to  enable  poor  students  who  thirst  for  knowledge  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  knowledge  which  might  be  afforded  there; 
and  we  thought  the  public  purse  might  well  afford  a  prK^Sses- 
or  to  teach  that  which  was  really  of  national  importance. 
I  cannot  pretend  to  go  through  aJl  the  different  points  and 
sections  whidi  are  taken  up  by  this  Association.    I  will 
only  call  your  attention  to  one  which  I  take  some  interest 
in — namely,  meteorology.    There,  great  efforts  have  been 
made,  and  with  signal  success,  by  the  British  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Sdence,  more  particularly  at  Kew 
Observatory.    What  I  and  others  have  urged  on  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  day  is  the  great  importance  of  having  renewed 
and  carried  on  what  were  called  the  storm  signals  at  oar 
different  porta.    This  is  of  immense  value  and  importance; 
and  I  believe  mudi  valuable  property  has  been  saved,  and 
many  valuable  lives  preserved  by  the  timely  hoisting  of  the 
drum  signifying  bad  weather.     At  the  Firth  of  Forth  I  ha?e 
seen  the  d&um  hoisted  indicating  tremendous  storms  of 
wind,  and  risks  that  may  be  ron,  and  yet  not  a  breath  of 
wind  blowing  in  that  particular  quarter.    Some  who  had 
not  this  simple  warning  might  have  said,  "We  mi^t  just 
as  well  go  out  to  sea,  as  there  is  not  a  breath  of  wind  here.'' 
But  then,  there  comes  the  newspaper,  twenty-four  or  forty- 
eight  hours  afterwards,  tettkig  of  disastrous  galos  of  winds 
and  shipwrecks  upon  no  very  frff  distant  portions  of  the 
coast    Well,  the  great  thing  I  may  say  with  regard  to  this 
Assodation  is,  that  it  is  not  ezdusive  or  repoUive.    It  wiU 
neither  expel  nor  repel  others,  nor  will  it  seek  to  indnde 
within  its  sphere  other  sodeties'  that  ought  naore  properly 
to  be  by  themselves.    I  do  not  know,  gentiemeo,  that  I 
have  any  right  to  trespass  any  more  upon  your  tlrae^I  have 
trespassed  already  too  long,  perhaps.    I  must,  in  oonduskHi, 
be  allowed  simply  to  thank  tiie  gontleman  of  the  British  As- 
sociation for  the  Advancement  of  Sdenoe  for  the  bonour 
they  have  done  me  in  piaoing  me  in  this  chair.    I  know  it 
is  no  slight  honour— I  feel  it  is  no  slight  honour-*!  also  feei 


[BngUsh Edition,  VoLZTL,  No.  '.05, pages  119, 120.]  : 


GBaiiiOA.L  NBirii 

Kot^  issr. 


}      BrUieh  Association  for  ths  Achcmcement  of  Science. 


551 


it  is  no  Blight  responfiibility — but,  so  far  as  in  me  lies,  I  will 
endeayour  faithfully  to  psrform  m j  duties,  and  I  hope  these 
dnties  wiU  not  bo  ao  performed  as  to  show  that  you  have 
been  entirely  deoQiyed  in  haying  selected  a  person  for  this 
high  position  who  was  totally  unfit  to  be  your  choioe. 
(Cheers.  >« 

Professor  Phillips,  in  an  eloquent  and  interesting  speech, 
passed  in  review  the  progress  of  the  British  Association  aud 
the  work  it  had  done  towards  the  advancement  of  science 
during  the  course  of  36  years,  and  concluded  by  proposing  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chairmau  for  the  iuaugural  address  he 
had  jQSi  delivered. 

Sbction  B. — Ohbhioal  Sciekck. 

iVMufeni;— Professor  Thomas  Anderson,  M.D.,  F.R.S.B- 
Ftc«-iV««ae«to;— Maxwell  Simpson.  M.1).,  F.R.S. ;  Professor 
Williamson,  P.RS. ;  J.  Lothian  Bell,  F.C.S.;  W.  Odling,  M.B., 
F.R.S. ,  1>T.  Gilbert;  Professor  J.  S.  Brazier;  Dr.  Penny. 
Seereiaries : — ^Professor  Liveing,  M.  A.,  F.C.S. ;  Dr.  Russell, 
F.C.a;  Dr.  Crum  Brown,  F.R.a  C<mmitUe:^J.  Atifield, 
Ph.D.,  F.aS.;  Dr.  Barford,  F.C.8.;  A.  R.  Cstton,  F.CS.;  R. 
Calvert  Clapham,  F.Ca;  W.  Crookes,  F.R.S;  John  Davy, 
M.D.,  F.R.a;  Dr.  Heddle;  W.  E.  Heathfleld,  F.C.S.;  P. 
Spence,  F.CS.;  J.  Spiller,  F.C.S.:  E.G.  C.  Stanford,  F.C.S.; 
Dr.  B.  Angus  Smith,  F.R.S. 

In  the  High  School 

President's  address. 

Ar,  R.  Catbm. — Report  on  the  Synthesis  of  certain  Organic 
Acid. 

A.  R.  CaUon, — ^On  the  Synthesis  of  Formic  Acid. 

A  very  animated  discussion  took  place  upon  tliese  synthet- 
ical papers  between  Professor  Wanklyn  and  Mr.  Gbtton,  in 
which  each  speaker  defended  his  own  views,  and  attacked 
those  of  the  other  in  very  energetic  language. 

J,  A.  W(m%n  and  R,  ScherUc-^On  the  Synthesis  of  Ca- 
proic  Acid. 

J,  A.  F^cui^^-^Action  of  Sodium]  on  Talerianic  and  sim- 
ilar Ethers. 

P.  T.  Main  and  A,  R  CaUon.—On  a  new  Synthesis  of  Am- 
monia. 

J  Spiller. — On  the  Decay  of  Stone. 

W  Wddon. — On  the  Regeneration  of  the  Oxide  of  Man- 
ganese. 

To-day  the  sections  commenced  their  regular  work.  The 
committee  of  Section  B  met  at  half-past  ten  a.m.,  and  at 
eleven  the  President,  Dr.  Thomas  Anderson,  F.R.S.E.,  opened 
the  proceedings  with  the  following  address: — 

On  many  previous  occasions  the  British  Association  has 
,  met  in  places  which  have  afforded  the  chemist  most  valuable 
opportunities  of  seeing  the  principles  of  his  science  reduced  to 
practice,  and  the  various  papers  which  have  been  read  in  this 
Section  on  these  subjects,  and  the  discussions  which  have  arisen 
regarding  them,  have  formed  a  very  interesting  department  of 
its  proceedings.  At  the  present  meeting  little  of  this  is  likely 
to  engage  our  attention,  for  though  the  manufactures  of  Dun- 
dee have  probably  increased  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen 
years,  in  a  more  rapid  ratio  than  those  of  any  other  town  in 
the  kingdom,  they  have  taken  a  direction  which  gives  but 
fiitle  scope  for  the  applications  of  chemistry,  so  that  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  of  the  simpler  operations  of  the  dyer. 
there  is  really  scarcely  anything  which  need  specially  attract 
our  attention.  Under  those  circumstances  it  may  be  fairly 
anticipated  that  the  business  of  the  Section  will  be  more  par- 
ticularly occupied  with  the  discussion  of  the  great  principles 
of  the  science  which  to  the  general  public  are  often  lees  in- 
teresting, and  regarded  as  the  exclusive  province  of  those  en- 
gaged In  scientific  study,  and  not  sufficiently  recognised  as 
being  tiie  only  sure  foundation  on  which  the  superstructure 
of  practical  progress  can  be  raised.' 

The  consideration  of  these  general  principles  is,  however, 
at  the  present  moment  -a  matter  of  the  very  highest  impor- 
tance, for  the  science  of  chemistry  is  in  a  state  of  transition. 
The  immense  accumulation  of  facts  which  baa  been  made 


during  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years,  has  not  only  increased 
her  bounds,  but  has  shown  the  insufficiency  of  those  principles 
on  which  tlie  chemist  was  formerly  ready  to  rely  with  almost 
implicit  confidence,  and  introduced  changes  amounting  to  a 
revolution  which  have  had  the  effect  of  unsettling  the  views 
formerly  entertained  by  almost  all  chemists,  without  as  yet 
introducing  anything  conclusive  in  their  place.  The  atomic 
theory,  which  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  century 
explained  with  clearness  and  precision  all  ibe  facts  of  the 
science  then  known,  has  proved  itself  (at  least  in  the  form  in 
which  Dalton  left  it)  no  longer  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  Ac 
that  time  the  knowledge  of  chemists  was  confined  to  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  compounds,  among  which  those  of 
oxygen  had  so  preponderating  an  importance  that  the  science 
of  the  time  might  almost  be  described  as  the  chemistry  of 
oxygen.  At  the  present  moment,  if  wo  were  to  attach  to  it 
the  name  of  any  individual  element  we  should  roost  unques- 
tionably describe  it  as  the  chemistry  of  carbon,  for  it  is  in  the 
study  of  its  compounds  that  all  the  difficulties  with  which 
the  chemist  has  now  to  contend  have  had  their  origin.  At  a 
comparatively  early  period  indeed,  doubts  were  expressed  as 
to  the  sufficiency  of  the  atomic  theory  of  Dalton,  and  Ampere 
especially  suggested  that  the  chemical  atom  might  with  ad- 
vanta)?e  *  be  considered  to  be  a  congeries  of  smaller  parti- 
cles ;  but  this  and  other  analogous  additions  to  the  original 
conception  of  the  chemical  atom,  haying  no  immediate  bear- 
ing on  the  facts  then,  or  even  now,  known,  have  never  been 
accepted  by  chemists,  or  received  from  them  more  than  a  very 
passing  notice,  and  were  not  unfairly  considered  to  be  unnec- 
essary complications  of  the  theory.  It  was  left  for  time  to 
accumulate  facts,  for  which  Dalton's  theory  supplied  no  ex- 
planation of  any  kind,  and  these  were  at  first  neglected,  but 
as  thdir  number  increased,  their  explanation  was  evaded  by 
the  invention  of  names  intended  to  group  together  facts  sup* 
posed  to  be  dependent  on  similar  causes.  Such  names  as 
catalysis,  allotropy,  and  the  like  really  explained  nothing, 
they  are  little  better  than  scientific  lumber-rooms,  in  which 
unexplained  facts  are  stowed  away  until  it  suits  our  knowl- 
edge or  our  convenience  t'>  classify  and  explain  them.  I  am 
far  from  asserting  that  this  mode  of  grouping  facts  supposed 
to  have  something  in  common,  has  not  its  advantages,  pro- 
vided only  it  be  distinctly  understood  that  it  is. the  grouping 
of  ignorance.  The  risk  lies  in  the  name  being  accepted  as 
an  explanation,  and  inquiry  being  thereby  retarded,  and 
something  of  this  sort  has  indeed  occurred,  for  though  these 
facts  were  admitted  to  be  beyond  the  scope  of  the  atomic 
theory,  they  were  quietly  set  aside ;  things  went  on  as  they 
were  before,  and  it  was  not  till  the  introduction  of  (he  theory 
of  atomicity,  which  shows  itself  in  every  chemical  fact,  that 
the  doubts  which  had  been  long  gathering  in  the  minds  of  all 
thoughtful  chemists  found  distinct  expression.  I  do  not  on 
the  present  occasion  propose  to  discuss  in  detail  the  effect 
which  the  introduction  ol  this  view  has  had  upon  chemical 
theory,  further  than  to  remark  that  it  renders  it  necessary 
either  to  abandon  altogether  the  atomic  theory 'of  Dalton,  or 
to  introduce  into  it  such  modifications  as  fundamentally  alter 
its  entire  character,  and  make  it  substantially  a  new  theory. 
The  former  is  an  alternative  which  some  chemists  will  be 
greatly  disinclined  to  adopt.  They  will  not  willingly  abandon 
a  theory  which  has  admittedly  done  admirable  seiyice,  which 
at  its  first  introduction  established  order  and  regularity,  where 
confusion  and  disorder  previously  reigned  supreme,  and  under 
whose  influence  the  science  has  attained  its  present  goodly 
proportions.  Others  again  may  be  of  opinion  that  the  atomic 
theory  has  done  its  work  and  in  the  future  is  less  likely  to  act 
as  an  assistance  than  as  a  hindrance  to  progress,  by  forcing 
us  to  consider  all  facts  in  its  particular  light,  and  causing  us  to 
overlook  relations  which  might  be  at  once  detected  by  an  un- 
biassed mind. 

This  latter  opinion  has  been  very  strongly  expressed  by  Sir 
Benjamin  Brodie,  and^n  the  calculus  of  chemical  operations, 
which  he  has  recently  made  public,  we  have  the  first  system- 
atic attempt  which  has  been  made  to  express  the  constitution 
of  chemical  compounds,  by  a  method  in  wb'ch  the  idea  of  an 


[BngllBh  SdWoo,  YqL  X7L,  Vo,  40fl^  pagas  120, 12L] 


252 


British  Aeeooiation  for  the  Advancemeni  of  Science.      { 


atom  haa  no  place.  As  this  is  the  most  important  chemical 
doctrine  which  has  heen  put  forward  for  many  years,  and 
must  if  accepted  materially  alter  our  present  views,  I  shall 
venture  to  consider  it  in  some  detail,  premising,  however,' that 
as  only  the  first  part  of  the  investigation  has  yet  been  made 
public,  any  opinion  I  may  now  express  regarding  it,  may  be 
liable  to  modification  when  the  entire  investigation  is 
published. 

Sir  B.  Brodie,  as  has  been  already  observed,  discards  alto- 
gether the  idea  of  an  atom,  and  compares  with  one  another 
the  weights  of  different  substances  in  tite  gaseous  state  which 
are  capable  at  the  standard  temperature  and  pressure  of 
filling  a  unit  of  space,  which  is  the  bulk  of  i,ooo  cubic  cen- 
timetres. If  we  consider  this  space  to  be  empty,  and  fill  it 
with  hydrogen,  a  chemical  operation  is  performed  which  is 
represented  by  the  symbol  a,  expressing  the  fact,  that 
the  weight  so  introduced  is  cemically  indivisible.  If 
now  in  place  of  hydrogen,  oxygen  be  introduced,  the  unit  of 
space  is  filled  by  a  quantity  sixteen  times  as  great,  but  this 
weight  is  not  indivisible,  as  is  at  once  apparent  if  we  notice 
what  happens  when  oxygen  is  introduced  into  the  unit  of 
space  already  filled  with  hydrogen.  In  that  case  a  second 
operation  is  performed  on  it,  in  which  a  weight  eight  times  as 
great  as  that  of  the  hydrogen  is  introduced,  and  water  is  the 
result.  The  quantity  of  oxygen  which  fills  the  unit  of  space 
most  therefore  be  regarded  as  divisible,  and  this  is  expressed 
by  assigning  to  it  the  symbol  <^2,  indicating  the  fact  that  two 
identical  operations  are  required  to  fill  the  unit  of  "Space  with 
oxygen.  By  the  same  line  of  argument  it  is  concluded  that 
sulphur,  selenium,  etc,  must  be  similarly  constituted,  and 
they  are  accordingly  represented  respectively  by  ©2>2,  etc. 
So  far  it  will  be  observed  that  the  system  is  merely  a  modifi- 
ciition  of  that  at  present  used  by  chemists  for  expressing  the 
laws  of  gaseous  combination,  excepting  that  all  substances, 
compounds  as  well  as  elements,  are  referred  to  the  unit  t>f 
space,  while,  according  to  our  present  plan,  the  former  are 
referred  to  two  units  of  space,  and  the  latter  to  one.  But 
when  the  compounds  of  chlorine  and  the  allied  elements, 
with  hydrogen,  are  to  be  represented  according  to  Sir  B.  Bro- 
die's  system,  it  at  once  becomes  apparent  that  some  further 
hypothesis  must  be  introduced  if  they  are  to  be  referred  to 
the  same  volume.  When  the  quantity  of  hydrogen  represented 
by  the  symbol  a,  unites  with  chlorire,  the  product  fills  two 
units  of  space,  and  as,  according  to  the  fundamental  hypothe- 
sis, a  is  indivisible,  the  question  is  to  obtain  some  means  of 
expressing  without  fractions  the  quantity  of  hydrochloric  acid 
which  fills  the  unit  of  space.  This  end  Sir  Benjamin  attains 
by  assuming  that  chlorine  is  itself  a  'compound  of  hydrogen 
with  an  unknown  element  to  which  the  symbol  y  is  assigned ; 
chlorine  being  0^2,  and  formed  by  these  operations,  one  be- 
ing hydrogen,  and  the  other  two  which  are  identical,  result  in 
the  introduction  into  tbe  unit  of  space  of  two  quantities  of  a 
hypothetical  substance  ^,  whose  weight  is  17*25,  and  accord- 
ing to  this  view,  when  hydrogen  and  chlorine  unite,  the  action 
id  expressed  by  the  equation : 

On  precisely  the  same  principle  iodine,  bromine,  nitrogen, 
phosphorus,  antimony,  and  bismuth,  must  also  be  hydrogen 
compounds.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  Sir  Benjamin's 
system  involves  a  very  large  amount  of  hypothesis,  for  it 
assumes  that  a  considerable  number  of  those  substances 
hitherto  regarded  as  elements  are  really  compounds.  I  do 
not  imagine  that  much  difficulty  will  be  experienced  by  any 
one  in  admitting  the  possibility  of  this,  for  I  apprehend  there 
is  no  chemist  who  imagines  those  bodies  which  we  call  ele- 
ments to  be  the  ultimate  constituents  of  matter,  or  who 
doubts  that  the  time,  though  still  far  distant,  will  come  when 
they  may  be  resolved  into  simpler  substances.  But  when  we 
come  to  reduce  these  speculations  to  a  definite  form,  and  seek 
to  mako  them  part  of  the  science  itseilf,  it  becomes  essential 
to  subject  them  to  a  very  close  and  searching  scrutiny. 

In  order  to  justify  their  assumption,  it  seems  to  me  neces- 
sary either  that  they  should  be  supported  by  experimental 


evidence,  or  that  they  should  afford  the  means  of  tracing  out 
unsuspected  relations,  and  thus  extending  the  bounds  of  the 
science,  or,  at  all  events,  that  they  should  involve  the  mini- 
mum amount  of  hypothesis.  Now,  as  regards  the  findt  of 
these,  it  is  unnecessary  to  observe  that  there  is  not  one  tittle 
of  evidence  to  show  that  chlorine  is  a  compound  any  more 
than  hydrogen  itself.  As  &r  as  extending  the  bounds  of  the 
science  is  concerned,  we  must  look  for  an  answer  to  the 
future,  and  it  may  be  expected  that  in  the  remaining  parts 
of  the  investigation,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  soon  be 
made  public,  it  will  be  shown  how  the  method  may  be  used 
for  this  purpose ;  but,  in  the  meantime,  I  confess  I  am  un- 
able to  see  bow  it  can  be  used  so  as  to  open  up  new  fields  of 
inquiry,  and  it  is  certain  that  it  leaves  unexplained  all  those 
anomalies  which  are  encountered  in  the  existing  systein. 
Neither  can  it  be  asserted  that  the  system  involves  the  mini- 
mum amount  of  hypothesis,  for,  in  point  of  feet,  the  assump- 
tion of  the  compound  nature  of  certain  of  the  elements  ja 
rendered  necessary  by  the  fundamental  hypotheas  that  a  is 
indivisible.  If  it  be  assumed  to  be  divisible,  the  necessity 
for  holding  those  elements  to  be  compound  at  onoe  lalls  to 
tlie  ground,  and  I  confess  it  appears  to  me  that  we  should 
require  very  clear  evidence  of  the  advantages  it  offers  before 
we  accept  a  hypothesis  involving  so  many  others.  The  ques- 
tion must  at  best  be  considered  as  still  sub  judice^  and  the 
method  is  not  likely  to  meet  with  general  aicceptance  until  it 
is  supported  by  a  much  larger  body  of  facts  than  those  we  at 
present  have. 

While  Sir  B.  Brodie's  theory  is  one  from  which  the  idea 
of  atoms  is  excluded,  it  is  important  to  notice  that  it  is  by  no 
means  incompatible  with  tbem,  and  it  even  appears  to  me 
that  though  it  may  suit  our  convenience  to  consider  matter  in 
relation  to  space  only,  the  real  subject  of  inquiry  is  not  the 
unit  of  space,  but  the  unit  of  matter,  and  to  it  we  must 
eventually  come.  If  I  hold,  as  I  most  undoubtedly  do,  that 
the  atomic  theory  of  Dalton  must  sooner  or  later  be  aban- 
doned, it  is  not  because  I  do  not  believe  in  the  existence  of 
a  unit  of  matter.  Whether  we  assume  it  to  be  a  hard  spheri- 
cal particle,  a  centre  of  force,  or  a  vortex  produced  in  a  per- 
fect ether,  is  another  question;  but  it  seems  evident  that 
some  kind  of  molecular  hypothesis  is  indispensable  for  the 
explanation  of  physical  phenomena,  and  it  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  doubt  that  some  connection  must  ^xist  between  the 
chemical  and  the  physical  unit  of  matter.  In  the  mean  time 
it  is  only  by  the  most  cumbrous  and  improbable  assumptions 
that  the  existing  atomic  theory  can  be  made  to  tit  in  with  the 
fects  which  chemistry  has  recently  discovered,  and  of  these 
the  theory  of  atomicity  is  one  which  can  scarcely  be  con- 
nected with  it  at  all.  The  fact  is  that  theory  is  a  merely 
temporary  hypothesis,  constructed  to  keep  before  our  eyes 
the  tendency  which  substances  have  to  form  compouD<te  of 
certain  definite  forms,  under  special  circumstances ;  and  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  doubt,  that  in  20  or  30  years  it  will  have 
passed  away  and  have  been  replaced  by  something  of  a  rooPe« 
satisfactory  character.  Meanwhile  its  important  influence  on 
the  recent  progress  of  chemistry  is  too  obvious  to  be  dilut- 
ed. It  is  only  to  be  regretted  that  so  many  conflicting  modes 
of  considering  the  atomicities  of  the  elementa  should  have 
been  introduced  by  different  writers.  Into  the  consideration 
of  this  matter  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have  entered  at 
some  length,  but  I  feel  that  I  have  already  deUined  you  too 
long  from  the  actual  business  of  the  Section,  and  no  doubt 
opportunities  will  arise  in  the  course  of  the  business  for  indi- 
viduals expressing  their  opinions  on  this  and  other  subjeds. 
Among  these  the  mode  of  expreasiug  the  symbols  of  chemi- 
cal compounds,  which  was  objected  to  long  since  by  Sir  Joha 
Herschel,  and  has  been  again  brought  into  promineneeby 
the  publication  of  Sir  B.  Brodie's  paper  merits  attention. 
The  present  unsettled  state  of  chemical  nomenclature,  so  in- 
convenient to  the  teacher,  ought  also  to  be  discussed,  and  it 
might  even  be  well  to  consider  whether  a  committe  should 
not  be  appointed  to  ascertain  how  far  it  might  be  po8»ble  to 
adopt  a  uniform  system.  Nor  do  I  think  we  ought  to  sepa- 
rate without  recording  our  opinion  on  the  subject  of  betted 


[English  Edition,  7oL  XVI.,  ITa  40d^  pagM  122, 123.] 


*^^"Sr^  }     -BHtish  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 


253 


and  more  extended  scientific  education.  The  events  of  the 
Paris  EzhibitioQ  have  brought  our  deficiencies  in  this  respect 
very  conspicuouslj  before  us,  and  show  us  how  much  we 
htive  yet  lo  do.  That  we  have  made  progress  in  this  respect 
is  not  iodt>e  doubted.  Science  is  much  more  cultivated  than 
formerly, — it  is  becoming  more  and  more  a  branch  of  general 
education.  Much,  however,  still  remains  to  be  done  in  this 
direction,  especially  in  Scotland,  and  it  will  no  doubt  surprise 
many  of  my  audience  to  hear  that  chemistry  and  natural  his- 
tory are  still  excluded  from  the  course  of  study  for  degrees  in 
arts  in  the  Scotch  universities.  Of  late  years  the  study  of 
this  and  other  departments  of  natural  science  has  been  intro- 
duced to  some  extent  in  schools  both  in  England  and  Scot- 
land ;  but,  I  must  confess,  with  but  little  advantage,  so  f{ir  as 
my  experience  goes.  The  failure,  I  think,  lies  in  the  kind  of 
instruction  offered ;  the  xisual  practice  having  been  to  give  a 
course  of  lectures  from  which  the  discussion  of  principles  and 
of  everything  which  exercises  and  developes  the  mind,  is 
eliminated,  and  only  that  which  it  is  supposed  will  entertain 
or  surprise  is  retained,  and  boys  are  thus  led  to  look  upou 
science  merely  as  a  pastime.  They  are  shown  enough  to  see 
the  difference  between  this  and  the  closer  and  more  severe 
system  of  study  pursued  in  the  other  departments  of  their 
education,  and  they  are  apt  either  to  avoid  work  altogether, 
or  to  acquire  their  knowledge  in  a  superficial  manner.  The 
whole  system  of  teaching  science  to  school-boys  is  a  subject 
which  merits  fhr  more  attention  than  it  has  yet  received,  and 
the  SQCcess  of  the  movement  must  greatly  depend  on  the 
method  of  teaching  adopted.  AU  these,  however,  are  sub- 
jects the  discussion  of  which'  would  carry  me  &r  beyond  the 
limits  of  those  introductory  observations  with  which  it  has 
been  customary  to  open  the  business  of  the  section.  It  must. 
be  left  for  its  members  to  bring  forward  their  own  views  on 
these  and  kindred  questions. 

Professor  Williamson: — ^I  rise  to  propose  the  thanks  of 
this  meeting  to  our  worthy  President  for  the  address  with 
which  he  has  just  favoured  us.  He  has  touched  on  several  of 
the  most  weighty  and  important  matters  which  are  interest- 
ing to  us  as  theoretical  chemists,  and  he  has  very  justly  re- 
marked upon  the  very  rapid  progress  which  our  science  has 
been  undergoing  of  late  years,  eepecially  in  the  way  in  which 
existing  theories  have  been  made  or  modified.  And  it  is 
surely  a  roost  encouraging  proof  of  the  life  which  is  in  our 
science  to  see,  besides  the  discovery  of  facts,  these  immense 
evidences  which  have  manifested  themselves  in  all  directions. 
Our  distingruished  President  has  also  touched  on  a  peculiarly 
interesting  topic  to  nil  persons,  namely,  the  introduction  into 
general  education  of  those  important  results  which  chemists 
and  others  have  attained  in  their  special  departments.  It  is 
certainly  to  be  regretted  that  these  results  should  remain  as 
yet  rather  unknown  in  our  schools.  It  is  one  illustration  of 
the  slowness  with  which  we  excuse  many  results  of  great 
benefit  to  see  that  these  great  discoveries  are  not  yet  intro- 
duced into  general  education;  and  certainly  we  owe  our 
President  thanks  for  the  formal  way  in  which  he  has  drawn 
i^ttenUon  io  the  importance  of  introducing  scientific  education 
ioto  schools. 

The  practical  subjects  which  we  heard  treated  of  with  so 
much  interest  in  bis  able  address  are  so  fruitfld  and  weighty 
tiiat  I  am  sure  the  section  will  concur  with  our  president  In 
a  wish  that  it  may  form  the  subject  of  one  of  our  meetings, 
and  I  would  venture  to  suggest  that  some  early  day  should 
be  fixed  for— I  was  going  to  say  a  field  day  on  the  subject 
of  chemical  theories. 

It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  one  of  our  strong  characteristics 
that  we  are  quite  as  much  inclined  to  the  practidhl  as  well 
as  to  theoretical  views,  and  though  we  are  perhaps  to  have 
one  field  day  on  theories,  I  hope  there  will  be  many  such  on 
the  more  practical  questiona 

With  regard  to  the  practical  introduction  of  science  I  ought 
not  to  omit  to  mention  that  we  have  present  to-day  a  dis- 
tinguished member  who  has  collected  on  the  Continent  a 
great  amount  of  facts  as  to  the  progress  of  scientific  and  tech- 
nical arts,  more  especially  metallurgy  and  engineering.    I 


allude  to  Mr.  Lothian  Bell,  and  I  hope  he  will  favour  us  with 
some  of  the  results  of  his  observations  on  the  subject. 

I  beg  to  move  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Professor  Anderson,  and 
I  am  sure  the  section  will  be  glad  to  see  the  printed  address 
of  our  distinguished  President. 

The  following  papers  were  then  read : — 

^^  On  the  Decay  0/ Stone;  Us  .Caituse  and  Prevention^"  by  J. 
Sptllkr. 

For  several  years  past  I  have,  been  occupied  at  intervals 
in  studying  the  causes  of  the  decay  of  stone,  and  in  experi- 
menting with  such  chemical  reagents  as  appeared  to  offer 
any  promise  of  being  usefully  applied  as  means  of  prevention. 
At  an  early  state  of  the  investigation  I  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  the  corrosive  action  of  sulphurous  and  sulphuric 
acids  in  the  atmosphere,  resulting  from  the  combustion  of 
coal  fuel,  operate,  in  large  towns  especially,  in  a  very  de- 
structive manner  upon  dolomite  and  the  numerous  class  of 
limestenes  commonly  employed  in  our  public  buildings.  This 
chemical  action,  aided  no  doubt  by  the  simultaneous  attack 
of  carbonic  acid  and  moisture,  and  in  the  winter  season  fur- 
ther supplemented  by  the  disintegrating  effects  of  frost,  must, 
I  conceive,  furnish  a  suflQcient  explanation  of  all  the  facts 
observed. 

I  would  here  remark  that  Dr.  Angus  Smith,  Mr.  Spence, 
and  others  have  already  directed  attention  to  the  immense 
scale  of  production  of  these  sulphur  acids,  and  have  even 
quoted  statistical  data  showing  the  extent  or  degree  of  pollu- 
tion of  the  air  from  this  cause  in  the  manufacturing  districts 
of  Lancashire.  When  Mf  is  known  that  the  hett  class  of  coal 
(and  coke)  contains  usually  otie  per  cent  of  sulphur,  and  that 
this  proportion,  reaches  a  treble  equivalent  when  stated  iii 
the  form  of  the  final  "oxidised  product, — hydrated  sulphuric 
acid,— it  follows  that  a  ton  of  coal  of  this  high  quality  nec- 
essarily evolves  during  its  combustion  nearly  yolbs.  of  oil  of 
vitriol  Here,  then,  is  the  origin  of  the  sulplates  which  we 
find  invariably  present  in  the  loosened  crust  cff  decayed  stones, 
whether  of  calcareous  or  magnesian  character.  I  have  tested 
numerous  samples  of  dolomite,  Caen,  Bath,  and  Portland 
stonos  fresh  from  the  quarry,  and  in  no  instance  found  more 
than  a  trace  of  ready  formed  sulphate,  whereas  scrapings 
taken  from  the  decayed  portions  of  the  stone  of  the  New 
Palace  at  Westminster  are  bitter  to  the  taste  in  consequence 
of  the  comparatively  large  amount  of  sulphate  of  magnesia 
formed  during  a  few  years'  exposure  to  the  sulphurous  ga^es 
occurrirg  in  a  metropolitan  atmosphere.  Caen  stone  from 
several  buildings  and  localities,  Portland  stone,  and  even  old 
faces  of  chalk  diff  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Woolwich,  were 
in  like  manner  found  to  contain  appreciable  quantities  of  the 
sulphate  of  lime  having  undoubtedly  a  similar  origin.* 

A  close  examination  into  the  circumstances  attending  the 
decay  of  stone  at  the  Houses  of  Parliament  invariably  shows 
an  increased  liability  to  corrosion  under  the  projecting  eaves 
and  mouldings,  and  at  such  sheltered  parts  of  the  stone  sur- 
faces as  are  usually  covered  with  soot  and  dust,  and  are  in  a 
position  to  retain  for  the  longest  period  the  moisture  ab- 
sorbed during  a  season  of  rain.  The  plain  ashlars  are 
throughout  very  much  less  affected  than  the  buttresses,  ga- 
blels,  and  other  elaborately  carved  and  highly  ornamental 
portions  of  the  work,  which  appear  to  be  more  assailable  by 
reason  of  their  relatively  greater  superficies.  In  many  places 
the  disintegrated  stone  exhibits  white  crystals  of  the  sulphate 
of  magnesia,  which,  alternately  dissolving  and  recrystallising 
in  the  pores  of  the^tone,  may  be  conceived  to  exert  a  dis- 
ruptive action  sufficient  to  account  for  the  scaling  and  frac- 
ture of  the  dolomite  which  has  been  so  often  made  the  sub- 
ject of  complaint  and  regret. 

With  the  view  of  overcoming  some  of  these  difficulties  I 

*  Caen  stone,  Korthfleet  OSUege. 
Decayed  exterior  portion  contained  of  sulphate  of  lime  3-4  per  cent. 
Interior  of  same  stone  (sound)  "  "  ml> 

Caen  stone.    6tw  Jobn*s  Church,  Woolwich.  • 

Scales  of  decayed  stone  contained  of  sulphate  of  lime  4-6  per  cent 
Interior  portions  (sound)  (•  "  nil. 


[EngUah  Edition,  V6L  ZTL,  Na  405,  v^m  183»  184.] 


254 


British  Association  for  the  AdvancenieTU  of  Science. 


{ GscmoAL  Ncwii 
\      JVbr.,  18«r. 


Bobmitted  a  plan  to  the  Royal  CJommiasioners  charged  with 
inquiring  into  the  decay  of  stone  at  Weatoiinster,  in  May, 
i86x,  which  consisted  in  the  application  to  tho  cleaned  sur- 
faces of  the  stone  of  an  aqueous  solution  of  superpbospliate  of 
lime, — a  salt  remarkable  for  its  action  in  hardening  th6  sur- 
faces of  chalk,  Caen  stone,  or  other  calcareous  building  sKme 
to  which  it  may  be  applieid  either  by  brushing  or  immersion, 
and  which  acts  upon  the  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  stone, 
giTing  rise  to  the  formation  of  Bodeker's  salt  (crystallized 
diphosphate  of  lime  =  2Ca030,  PO.  +  4  Aq.).  My  suggestion 
received  a  practical  trial  in  a  competition  to  which  oiher  five 
candidates  were  admitted  by  the  Right  Hon.  the  First  Oom- 
miasioner  of  her  Majesty's  Works,  in  April,  1864,  and  in  re- 
gard to  the  worfc  executed  on  that  occasion  upon  three  faces 
of  the  Westminster  Palace  I  fearlessly  await  the  Government 
report  In  the  meanwhile,  another  promising  scheme  for  the 
treatment  of  the  decayed  stone,  especially  applicable  to  dolo- 
mite, has  been  submitted  by  roe  to  the  notice  of  the  First 
Commissioner,  but  this  new  pixjposal  has  not  yet  been  select- 
ed for  trial.  It  consists  in  the  employment  of  baryta  con- 
jointly with  the  hardening  salt,  so  that  a  base  may  be  pro 
sented  which  is  endowed  with  the  power  of  destroying  the 
soluble  sulphate  of  magnesia  in  the  pores  of  the  stone,  form- 
ing with  it  the  remarkably  insoluble  sulphate  of  baryta,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  engaging  the  magnesia  Sn  one  of  its  most 
difficulty  soluble  combinations.  On  a  recent  occasion  I  hare 
applied  this  process  on  a  small  scale  to  some  Caen  stone  fao> 
ings  at  St  John's  Church,  Woolwich,  which  were  badly 
decayed. 

With  reference  to  the  application  of  the  superphosphate  to 
decayed  Caen  stone  I  am  able  to  refer  to  several  successful 
examples  of  its  use.  In  the  year  1862  I  applied  the  process 
upon  some  alms-houses  forming  part  of  Northfleet  College, 
where  the  decay  has  been  completely  stopped.  In  1864  I 
operated  upon  a  window  and  buttress  of  St.  John's  Church, 
Woolwich ;  and  in  the  following  year  the  fa9ade  of  the  Grand 
Hotel,  Brighton?  was  treated  by  my  process.  With  recpeot 
to  Portland  stone,  the  earliest  experiments  were  made  at  the 
Army  Clothing  Establishment,  Woolwich,  where  in  1861 
some  decayed,  window-sills  were  treated,  and  with  perfeet 
snooess.  I  have  some  interesting  results  to  record  in  connec- 
tion with  the  treatment  of  Portland  stone,  which  serve  to  illus- 
trate  the  increased  hardness  and  strength,  and  the  diminished 
rate  and  capacity  of  water  absorption  attending  the  employ- 
ment of  the  superphosphate.  Small  cubes  of  Portland  stone, 
eaoh  of  13  inch  dimensions,  were  treated  with  the  phosphate 
solution  and  left  to  dr^  in  the  air ;  these  were  then  subjected 
to  gradually  mcreasmg  pressure,  until  crushed,  between 
plates  of  lead  in  the  American  testing  machine,  at  the  Royal 
Gun  Factory;  and  the  breaking  weights  of  two  precisely 
similar  cubes  of  the  native  stone  were  at  the  same  time  care- 
fully determined.    The  results  were  as  follows : — 

Croftbing  weight 

T.      Stone  in  original  condition 3,650  lbs. 

11.        *•  •*  **         3,800    •' 

Mean 3,725     »' 

ni.  Stone  treated  with  superphosphate 5,375  lbs. 

IV.      *«  »*  "  5,500    " 

Mean 5,437    ** 

Thus  acquiring  an  increased  strength,  amounting  almost  to 
50  per  cent  The  relative  hardness  of  the  stone  before  and 
after  treatment  could  be  readily  ascertained  by  mutual  fHc- 
tion  of  their  surfaces,  and  also  by  scratching  with  a  pointed 
instrument  of  copper,  which  metal  proved  to  possess  a  de- 
gree of  hardness  intermediate  between  the  original  and 
treated  Portland  stones. 

The  porosity  of  the  stone  as  indicated  by  the  amount  of 
water  absoit)ed  in  equal  intervals  of  time  proved  to  be  greatly 
diminished  in  the  case  of  the  treated  cubes.     Ou  this  point 


several  experiments  were  made,  the  stone  being  first  weighed 
in  the  air-dried  condition,  and  then  immersed  in  distilled 
water  at  the  temperature  of  60''  Fahrenheit  for  the  several 
periods  named,  and  the  increase  of  weight  in  each  case 
noted 

''WhU  Bed''  PorUand. 

OrifftsiU  Atone.  traated  sAoac 

Gn.  QtA, 

Weight  of  cube  (dry)  1421 1420 

lifter  absorbed  m  5  min.  70 7 

•'  '*  15  min.         91 8 

"  "  30  min.         91 12 

"  1  hr.     30  min.         92 25 

"  Bate  Bed''  Portland. 

Grft  Gts. 

Weight  of  cube  (dry)  1291 1335 

Water  absorbed  in  5  min.         1 20 20 

"  "  15  min.  122 33 

"  *'  30  min.         124 50 

"  I  hr.      30  min.         126 78 

These  results  have  been  fbrther  controlled  by  other  exper- 
iments in  which  the  acttne  block  was  used  in  the  original  con- 
diUou,  and  again  after  treatment  with  the  superphosphate. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  advantage  of  the  process  is  most 
clearly  apparent  in  the  case  of  the  denser  and  more  compact 
variety  of  Portland  known  as  the  "  Whit  Bed  "  which  aloM 
is  employed  for  external  building  pnrposes ;  the  other— the 
"  Base  Bed  " — is  softer  and  only  fit  for  internal  decoration, 
and  its  texture  is  so  porous  that  in  becoming  satupited  it  ab- 
sorbs nearly  10  per  cent  of  water. 

Samples  of  Mansfield  dolomite  absoibed  amounts  of  water 
varying  in  different  specimens  from  6  to  8  per  cent  After 
treatment  by  my  process  Uie  degree  of  absorption  was  re- 
duced one-half;  and  the  results  were  even  more  favourable 
in  the  case  of  Caen  stone. 

The  oost  of  materials  employed  in  the  treatment  of  stond 
according  to  this  plan  is  very  trifling,  and  bears  but  a  small 
proportion  to  the  cost  of  labour  necessarily  expended  upon 
the  cleaning  and  preliminary  preparation  of  the  stone  before 
the  solution  can  be  applied.  One  gallon  of  solution  will 
cover  about  300  feet  superficial,  when  two  coatings  are  ap- 
plied upon  Oaen  or  Portland  stone.  The  superphosphate 
employed  must  not  contain  any  appreciable  amount  of  sul- 
phuric add,  and  the  specific  gravity  of  the  solution,  when 
diluted  for  use,  should  be  about  1,100. 

The  &cts  now  stated  have,  it  is  believed,  but  a  minor  in- 
terest for  the  inhabitants  of  these  parts  of  the  United  King- 
dom ;  for  with  Abenleen  granite  aud  Craigleith  sandstone  at 
command  there  will  be  no  need  to  resort  to  chemical  methods 
of  preservation. 

The  President  said :  I  am  sure  the  section  will  agree  in 
expressing  their  best  thanks  to  Mr.  Spiller  for  his  veiy  in- 
teresting communications  on  a  subject  of  so  very  great  im- 
portance ;  which  all  of  us  appreciate,  whetlier  we  be  chem- 
ists or  not.  The  destruction  of  so  very  magnificent  build- 
ings as  the  Houses  of  Parliament  has  been  naturally  looked 
upon  as  a  most  serious  question,  and  wo  have  looked  forward 
with  the  greatest  possible  interest  to  the  result  of  these  ex- 
periments, so  as  to  prevent  further  decay.  Mr.  Spiller's  ao> 
count  of  Uie  result  of  his  process  is,  therefore,  pecniiarly  in- 
teresting to  us,  and  the  observations  he  made  are  of  pecixliar 
value,  inasmuch  as  they  afford  us  some  explanatien  fd 
the  cause  of  this  decay.  We  can  see  what  is  peculiar  in  the 
decay,  add  it  shows  us  how  important  it  is  for  us  to  bear  this 
in  mind  when  we  are  making  arrangements  soch  ai 
those  in  connection  with  the  House  of  Padiaroent  At 
the  time  when  the  erection  of  the  building  was  com- 
meneed  immense  care  was  bestowed  in  the  selection  of  stone^ 
and  the  peculiar  magnesian  lime-stone  was  selected  because 
it  was  found  that  all  the  buildings  erected  with  it  in  the 
middlse  ages  were  in  an  entire  state  of  preservatioa.  The 
president  concluded  by  saying  that  it  had  now  been  dii- 


[BngllBh  BdittoB,  Vol.  XTL,  ITo.  40«»  pagw  IM,  U&] 


ChnanoAi.  Nsvt, ) 


British  Association  for  Ijie  Adhcmcement  of  Science. 


255 


ooyered  that  the  atmosphere  and  other  influeneee  of  the  dty 
bad  afiected  the  stone;  but  Mr.  Spiller*s  oommunioation 
would  be  yaluable,  as  bis  diaooveries  were  of  great  import- 
ance in  ooQuection  with  the  prooesses  for  the  prevention  of 
decay. 

After  the  President's  remarks  on  Mr.  Spiller's  paper,  a 
yery  important  discussion  took  plaoe,  in  which  Professor 
AoBted,  Mr.  Spence,  Mr.  AnseU,  and  othen^  took  part 

The  next  paper — not  in  order  of  reading,  but  in  practical 
importance, — was 

"  On  (he  EegenercUioH  of   Oxide  of  Manganese  in  Ohiorine 
SliUs,''  by  Waltkr  Wkldon. 

The  author  stated  that  the  essential  features  of  the  process 
consisted,  firstly,  in  the  use  of  an  artificial  oxide  of  manganese, 
capable  of  liberating  from  a  given  quantity  of  hydrochloric 
acid  about  twice  as  much  chlorine  as  could  practically  be  ob- 
tained therefrom  by  means  of  a  70  per  cent  native  oxide ; 
aud,  secondly,  in  a  simple  method  of  reproduciog  the  arti* 
fidal  oxide  from  the/'  still-liquor."  This  recovery  of  the  arti 
ficial  oxide  might  be  performed  in  the  stills  themselves,  so 
that  a  charge  of  oiaoganese,  onoe  placed  in  a  still,  might  al- 
ways remain  therein,  continually  generating  chlorine;  and 
not  only  never  requiring  removal,  but  never  undergoing 
diminution  of  propertied  nor  suflfonng  loss  by  waste. 

The  "still-liquor"  produced  in  this  process  oontaioed  no 
free  acid,  but  was  a  neutral  solution  of  protochloride  of  man- 
ganese, mixed  only  with  a  little  chloride  of  calcium.  The  arti- 
ficial oxide  was  recovered  from  this  still-liquor  by  adding  there- 
to an  equivalent  of  lime,  and  then  injecting  atmospheric  air. 
Double  decompoeition  took  place  between  the  lime  and  the 
chloride  of  manganese,  producing  chloride  of  calcium,  which 
entered  into  solution,  and  insoluble  protoxide  of  manganese, 
which  the  oxygen  of  the  injected  air  rapidly  peroxidised. 
W&en  the  artificial  peroxide  thus  produced  had  been  allowed 
to  subside,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  solution  of  chloride 
of  calcium  in  which  it  was  formed  run  o£f  from  it,  it  was 
ready  to  be  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  from  which  it 
then  liberated  chlorine,  with  reproduction  of  exactly  such  a 
"  still-liquor^  as  was  commenced  witli.  From  this  point  the 
series  of  operations  described  was  to  be  repeated  as  before, 
—and  so  on  continually. 

The  oxide  of  manganese  so  obtained  was  h/ydrated  in  an 
exceedingly  fine  state  of  division,  and  it  shared  with  all  such 
aitiflcial  hydrates  the  property  of  being  far  more  readily  sol- 
uble in  acids  than  a  bard,  compact^  anhydrous  naiive  oxide. 
In  fact,  instead  of  requiring,  like  the  native  oxide,  long  di- 
gestion, aided  by  beat,  in  a  large  excess  of  acid,  the  artificial 
oxide  dissolved,  even  in  the  cold,  and  with  Extreme  rapidity, 
in  an  equivalent  of  acid,  producing  a  neutral  "  still-liquor." 
Henoe,  the  full  theoretical  yield  of  chlorine  could  be  practi- 
cally obtained  from  simple  equivalents  of  acid  and  oxide, 
and  this  with  a  considerably  less  expenditure  of  time,  labour, 
and  fuel  than  the  inferior  yield  obtained  by  means  of  the  na- 
tive  oxide  required.  When  using  a  70  per  cent  native  oxide 
it  was  rarely  found  possible  to  obtain  in  the  free  state  more 
than  one-tixih  of  the  chlorine  contained  in  the  hydrochloric 
acid  put  into  the  stills ;  but  an  artificial  oxide  of  only  55  per 
cent,  liberated  one4kird  of  the  chlorine  contained  in  the  acid 
put  into  the  stills,  and  in  less  time,  and  at  a  less  cost  lor 
laboor  and  fuel,  than-4he  native  oxide  required  for  the  libera- 
tion of  half  the  quantity.  A  55  per  cent  oxide  thus  enabled  a 
giyen  quantity  of  hydrochloric  acid  to  yield  twice  as  much 
bleaching  powder  as  a  70  per  cent  native  oxide  did,  saving 
In  this  item  alone  from  £$  to  £y  per  ton  of  bleaching  pow- 
der. 

This  evening  Professor  Tyndall,  P.R.S.,  will  deliver  an  ex- 
perimental lecture  in  the  Klnuaird  Hall,  "  On  Matier  and 
Ibree.*^  Thia,  although  addressed  to  working  men,  promises 
to  be  the  moat  attractive  lecture  of  the  meeting.  At  the 
same  time  there  will  be  an  artistic  and  industrial  exhibition 
and  soiree  in  the  Volunteer  HaU.  I  have  just  returned  from 
a  private  view  of  this,  and  consider  tliat  it  will  compare 


fayourably  with  similar  exhibitions  at  former  meetings  of  tiie 
Association.  The  walls  of  the  large  Hall  are  covered  with 
paintings,  ancient  and  modem,  of  the  most  valuable  descrip- 
tiun.  Amongst  the  paintings  was  an  excellent  likeness  of 
tlie  Ikte  Professor  Faraday,  but  it  was  perched  in  such  an 
elevated,  position  that  few  would  notice  it  This  might  sure- 
ly have  taken  the  place  of  some  of  the  local  worthies  on  the 
line. 

There  are  also  several  excellent  photographs  exhibited,  in- 
cluding specimens  of  Mr.  Woodbury's  new  micro-photosculp- 
turo  process,  or  mode  of  representing  in  relief  microeoopic 
objects;  (these  will  be  described  in  the  chemical  section;)  a 
very  fine  example  of  the  Woodbury-t}  pe,  from  a  negative 
by  W.  Bingham.  Mr.  Spiller  exhibits  a  selection  of  military 
photographs ;  Mr.  H.  Butler  shows  some  beautiful  photolitho- 
graphic reductions;  and  Mr.  H.  B.  Pritchaid  photographs 
upon  silk,  satin,  cambric,  eta  There  are  also  exhibited  a 
large  collection  of  fossils,  shells,  fishes  and  reptiles  preserved 
in  spirit^  and  other  objects  of  interest 

.  DuiTDEE,  Sept.  12,  1867. 

Tke  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  which  has  just  ter- 
minated, must  be  regarded  as  most  suooessfut  either  from  a 
scientific,  financial,  or  social  point  of  view.  The  actual  num- 
ber of  members  and  asBodates  at  this  meeting  is  2,444  (this 
nearly  equals  the  Aberdeen  meeting  (2,580)  in  the  year  1859, 
when  the  Prince  Consort  was  President) :  and  the  happy  com- 
bination of  science  and  relaxation  which  each  day's  pro- 
gramme has  provided  will  cause  the  past  week  to  be  remem- 
bered with  pleasure. 

The  attendance  in  the  Sections  was  better  than  could  have 
been  anticipated,  and  the  earnestness  of  the  frequenters  of 
Section  B  was  shown,  if  not  by  the  large  attendance,  at  all 
events  by  the  number  of  papers  set  down  each  morning  to 
be  read,  and  by  the  length  and  interest  of  the  discussions 
which  the  more  important  of  these  papers  elicited. 

Every  year  the  advantage  of  these  autumnal  meetings  be« 
comes  more  and  more  apparent  The  value  does  not  how- 
ever, arise  from  a  diligent  attendance  at  the  Sections,  but 
from  those  impalpable  influences  which  result  from  a  lounge  in 
the  reception-room — a  picnic  or  excursion  to  some  plaoe  of  note 
in  the  neighbourhood — a  look  in  at  the  B.'s,  the  Red  Lions, 
or  the  Eastern  Club.  Men,  who  before  only  knew  each 
other  in  the  pages  of  a  scientific  journal,  here  meet  in  friendly 
companionship,  and  the  keen  scientific  antagonist  becomes  a 
personal  friend  for  life.  A  controversy  which  has  been  drag- 
ging on  for  years  is  settled  by  ten  minutes'  personal  explana- 
tion ;  and  opponents  who  are  rapidly  approaching  the  ortho- 
dox scientific  intensity  of  hatred,  carry  away  from  sueh  a 
meeting  mutual  forbearance  and  respect.  These  are  precious 
results,  and  if  the  sections  are  of  no  other  use,  they  have  the 
inestimable  advantage  of  drawing  men  of  kindred  pursuits 
together  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  giving  them  an 
excuse  for  a  week's  holiday  under  the  convenient  pretence  of 
attending  a  scientific  meeting. 

The  liberality  extended  to  visitors  by  residents  m  the  neigh- 
bourhood has  been  unbounded,  every  mansion  having  been 
full  of  guests.  Lord  Kiunaird  has  shown  especial  hospitality 
to  the  frequenters  of  Section  B,  and  amongst  the  chemists 
staying  at  his  seat — Rossie  Priory — have  beqp  Dr.  Angus 
Smith,  Mr.  Crookes,  Mr.  Spiller,  and  Mr.  Anaell,  the  inventor 
of  the  fire-damp  indicator. 

Last  week  I  mentioned  that  the  reports  of  the  Council  and 
of  the  I'arliamentary  Committee  had  been  presented  t9  the 
Association.  These  contain  some  remarks  which  cannot  fail 
to  interest  Uiose  readers  of  the  Chshical  News  who  are  ad- 
vocating the'  introduction  of  scientific  education  into  schools. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Association,  the  committee  of  re- 
commendations referred  to  the  Council  certain  resolutions 
which  had  been  adopted  by  the  committees  of  two  sections 
relative  to  tho  teaching  of  natural  science  in  sdiools.  The 
Council,  fully  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject, appointed  a  special  committee  for  the  purpose  of  inquiring 


[BngUihBdltloii,  VoL  Z7X.,  Ho.  400,  pegs  IflS;  Vo.  406,  page  13d.] 


256 


British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science.      \ 


jsro9^  iser. 


into  the  question,  and  of  preparinpr  a  report  thereon.  This 
committee  consisted  of  the  (ireneral  officers  of  the  association, 
the  trustees,  the  Key.  P.  W.  Parrar,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  the  Rev. 
T.  N.  Hutchinson.  M.  A.,  Professor  Huxley,  F.R.S.,  Mr.  Payne, 
Professor  Tyndall,  F.R.S.,  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Wilson,  M.A.  'The 
Council  having  considered  the  report  presented  bv  this^com- 
mittee,  adopted  the  recommendations  contained  therein,  and 
resolved  that  the  report  be  submitted  to  the  general  commit- 
tee at  Dundee.  These  recommendations  were  given  in  our 
last  number. 

The  Parliamentary  Committee  state  that  the  attention  of 
the  public  appears  to  have  been  awakened  to  the  necessity 
for  introducing  scientific  teaching  into  our  schools",  if  we  are 
not  willing  to  sink  into  a  condition  of  inferiority  as  regards 
both  intellectual  culture  and  skill  in  art,  when  compared  with 
foreign  nations.  The  voluntary  eflforts  of  the  masters  of  two 
of  our  great  schools  to  add  instruction  in  natural  science*to 
the  ordinary  classical  course  are  deserving  of  all  praise ;  and 
some  evidence  of  their  success  may  be  derived  from  the  in- 
teresting fact— disclosed  in  the  able  report  of  the  committee 
appointed  by  the  Council  of  the  Association  to  consider  this 
subject — that  some  of  the  boys  at  Harrow  have  formed  them- 
selves  into  a  voluntary  association  for  the  pursuit  of  science. 

This  has  formed  the  subject  of  a  special  discussion  in  the 
Committee  of  Section  B,  who  have  recommended  "  that  a  com- 
mittee be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  present  methods  of 
teaching  chemistry  and  physics  in  schools  of  various  classes,  - 
and  to  suggest  the  best  means  of  furthering  it  in  accordance 
with  the  recommendations  of  the  report'* 

I  mentraned  last  week  that  a  lecture  was  to  be  delivered 
on  Thursday  evening, 

"  On  MaUer  and  Foree.^^   By  Professor  Tyndall,  F.R.S. 

This  lecture  was  not  addressed  to  members  of  the  British 
Association,  but  to  working  men,  of  whom  nearly  3,000  were 
present,  the  large  Kinnaird  Hall  being  crowded  to  suffocation. 
To  give  the  lecture  at  length  would  occupy  more  pages  than 
can  be  well  spared.  I  cannot  refrain,  however,  from  quoting 
some  extracts  from  one  of  the  most  eloquent  addresses  which 
this  gifted  orator  has  ever  delivered.  The  subject  matter  of 
the  lecture  offered  no  special  interest  to  those  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  listening  to  this  philosopher  in  his  home— the  Royal 
Institution,  but  not  a  word  of  experiment  was  lost  upon  the 
auditors,  who  testified  their  admiration  of  the  noble  and 
high-toned  sentiments  by  silent  rapt  attention,  and  of  the  bril- 
liant experiments  by  enthusiastic  applause,  occasionally  so 
prolonged  that  the  lecturer  was  obliged  to  beg  them  to  mode- 
rate their  cheering,  or  he  should  be  obliged  to  extend  the 
hour  and  a  half  allotted  to  him  to  two  hours.  Professor 
Tyndairs  language  is  always  elevated  in  tone,  and  his  specu- 
lations bold  and  fearless;  and  those  who  listened  to' the 
climax  of  tumultuous  applause  which  followed  his  splendid 
peroration,  looked  in  vain  for  any  evidence  of  that  intolerance 
of  free-thought  which  is  supposed  to  be  a  national  character- 
istic north  of  the  Tweed. 

Professor  TtSdall  commenced  by  remarking  on  the  avid- 
ity with  which  the  working  men  of  London  seized  the  oppor- 
tunities afforded  them  by  the  evening  lectures  delivered  every 
year  by  the  Professors  in  the  Royal  School  of  Mines,  It  was 
a  noteworthy  fact  that  th^  lectures  were  but  rarely  of  a 
character  which  could  help*the  artisan  in  his  daily  pursuits. 
It  was  a  pure  desire  for  knowledge,  as  a  thing  good  in  itself, 
and  without  regard  to  its  practical  application  which  animated 
these  men. 

"  They  wish  to  know,"  he  continued,  "  more  of  the  wonder- 
ful universe  around  them ;  their  minds  hunger  for  this  knowl- 
edge as  naturally  as  their  bodies  hunger  for  food,  and  they 
come  to  us  to  satisfy  this  intellectual  want  It  is  easily 
argued  as  a  plea  for  science  that  it  affords  great  material 
benefits.  So  it  does.  No  doubt  of  it  Without  science  your 
Dundee  would  be  a  very  small  place  indeed.  But  still  the 
scientiflc  discoverers — ^those  high  priests,  so  to  say,  of  Science 
—they  are,  I  assure  you,  in  this  work  very  rarely  actuated 


by  a  desire  f5r  practical  application  at  all.  Take  that  great 
man  whose  name  I  can  hardly  trust  my  lips  to  utter— that 
man  whom  I  loved — and  who  has  lately  gone  from  this  earth 
— that  man  Paraday.  That  man — a  poor  book-binder^s  ap- 
prentice— has  done  more  for  practical  science  than  dozens  of 
your  practical  men  added  together ;  and  he  has  done  it  with- 
out ever  caring  to  gain  a  shilling  by  it  He  did  it  because  be 
loved  science ;  and  I  say  it  behoves  the  Legislature  to  know 
that  the  resJ  workera  in  science  are  not  those  who  are  alwajs 
trying  to  turn  it  to  a  practical  account  They  love  sdenoe 
for  itself,  and  their  desire  is  to  understand  and  know  all  the 
phenomena  of  this  glorious  universe. 

Whether  it  be  a  consequence  of  long-continued  develop- 
ment, or  whether  it  be  an  endowment  conferred  once  for  all 
on  man  at  his  creation,  we  find  him  here  gifted  with  a  mind, 
curious  to  know  the  cause  of  things,  and  surrounded  by 
things  which  excite  its  questionings,  and  raise  the  desire  for 
an  explanation.  It  is  related  of  a  young  Prince  of  one  of  the 
Pacific  Islands,  that  when  he  first  saw  himself  in  a  lookioK^ 
glass,  he  ran  round  the  glass  to  see  who  was  standing  at  the 
back  He  wished  to  know  the  cause  of  what  he  saw.  And 
thus  it  is  with  the  general  human  intellect  when  it  regnrds 
and  pondere  the  phenomena  of  the  external  world.  It  wishes 
to  know  the  causes  and  connections  of  these  phenomena. 
What  is  the  sun,  what  is  the  earth,  what  should  we  see  if  we 
came  to  the  edge  of  the  earth  and  looked  over?  What  is  the 
meaning  of  thunder  and  lightning,  of  hail,  rain,  storm,  and 
snow  ?  Such  questions  early  presented  themselves  to  men. 
and  by  and  by  it  was  discovered  that  this  desire  for  knowledge 
was  not  implanted  in  vain.  After  many  trials  it  became  evi- 
dent that  man  possessed  the  power  of  solving  such  questioos 
— that  within  certain  limits  the  secret  of  the  universe  was 
Open  to  the  human  underetanding.  It  was  found  that  the 
mind  of  man  had  the  power  of  penetrating  far  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  his  five  senses ;  that  the  things  which  are  seen 
in  the  material  world  depend  for  their  action  upon  things  un- 
seen ;  in  short  that  besides  the  phenomena  which  addreea 
the  senses,  there  are  laws  and  principles  and  processes  which 
do  not  address  the  senses,  but  which  must  be,  and  can  be, 
spiritually  discerned. 

Now,  there  are  two  thing  which  form,  so  to  say,  the  sub- 
stance of  all  scientific  thought  The  entire  play  of  the 
scientific  intellect  is  confined  to  the  combination  and  reaohi- 
tion  of  the  ideas  of  matter  and  force.  Newton,  it  is  raid, 
saw  an  apple  fall.  To  the  common  mind  this  presented  no 
difficulty  and  excited  no  question.  Not  so  with  Newton. 
He  observed  the  fact;  but  one  side  of  his  great  intellectual 
nature  was  left  unsatisfied  by  the  mere  act  of  observation. 
He  sought  after  the  principle  which  ruled  the  fact  Whether 
this  anecdote  be  true  or  not  it  illustrates  the  fact  that  the 
ordinary  operations  of  nature,  which  most  people  take  for 
granted  as  perfectly  plain  and  simple,  are  often  those  which 
most  puzde  the  scientific  man.  To  the  conception  of  the 
matter  of  the  apple  Newton  added  that  of  the  force  that 
moved  it  The  falling  of  the  apple  was  due  to  an  attraction 
exerted  mutually  between  the  apple  and  the  earth.  He  ap- 
plied the  idea  of  this  force  to  suns  and  planets  and  mooni^ 
and  showed  that  all  their  motions  were  necessary  consequen- 
ces of  the  action  of  this  force  of  attraction.  He  proved  that 
the  planetary  motions  were  what  observation  made  them  to 
be,  because  eveiy  particle  of  matter  in  the  solar  system  atp 
tracts  every  other  particle  by  a  force  which  varies  as  the  in- 
verse square  of  the  distance  between  the  partideei  He 
showed  that  the  moon  fell  towards  the  earth,  and  that  the 
planets^  fell  towards  the  sun,  .through  the  operation  of  the 
same  force  that  pulls  an  apple  from  its  tree.  And  this  all- 
pervading  force,  the  conception  of  which  was  necessary  to 
Newton's  Intellectual  peace,  is  called  the  force  of  gravitation. 
All  force  may  be  ultimately  reduced  to  a  push  or  a  puU  in  a 
straight  line ;  but  its  manifestations  are  various,  and  some- 
times so  complex  as  entirely  to  disguise  its  elementary  coo- 
stituents. 

Long  thinking  and  experimenting  on  the  materials  whKh 
compose  our  world  have  led  philosophers  to  conclude  that 


[BngUflli  Bdttion,  YoL  ZVL,  Ifa  406,  pages  136, 136.] 


OmnnoAL  News,  I 
N<n.,  13C7.       f 


British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 


257 


matter  is  composed  of  atoms  from  which,  whether  separate  or 
in  eombination,  the  whole  material  world  is  built  up.  The 
air  we  breathe,  for  example,  is  mainly  a  mixture  of  the 
atoms  of  two  distinct  substances,  called  oxygen  and  nitrogen. 
The  water  we  drink  is  also  composed  of  two  distinct  sub- 
stances, called  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  But  it  differs  from 
the  air  in  this  particular,  that  iu  water  the  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen are  not  mechanicatty  mixed,  but  chemically  combined. 
In  (act,  the  atoms  of  oxygen  and  those  of  hydrogen  exert 
enormous  attractions  on  each  other,  so  that  when  brought 
into  sufficient  proximity  they  rush  together  with  an  almost 
incredible  force  to  form  a  chemical  compound. 

One  consequence  of  the  clashing  together  of  the  atoms  is 
the  development  of  a  great  amount  of  heat  What  is  this 
heat?  How  are  we  to  figure  it  before  our  minds?  I  do  not 
deepair  of  bemg  able  to  give  you  a  tolerably  distinct  answer 
to  this  question.  Here  are  two  ivory  balls  suspended  from 
the  same  point  of  support  by  two  short  strings.  I  draw  them 
thus  apart  and  then  liberate  them.  They  dash  together,  but,  by 
virtae  of  their  elasticity,  they  quickly  recoil  from  each  other, 
and  a  sharp  vibratory  rattle  succeeds  their  collision.  This 
experiment  will  enable  you  to  figure  to  your  mind  a  pair  of 
claahing  atoms.  We  have,  in  the  first  place,  a  motion  of  the 
one  atom  towards  the  other — ^a  motion  of  translation,  as  it  is 
usually  called.  But  when  the  atoms  come  sufficiently  neur 
each  other,  elastic  repulsion  sets  in,  the  motion*  of  translation 
is  stopped  and  converted  into  a  motion  of  vibration.  To  this 
vibratory  motion  we  give  the  name  of  heat  Thus,  three 
things  are  to  be  kept  before  the  mind — first,  the  atoms  them- 
selves; secondly,  the  force  with  which  they  attract  each 
other ;  and  thirdly,  the  motion  consequent  on  the  exercise  of 
that  force.  This  motion  must  be  figured  first  as  a  motion  of 
translation,  and  then  as  a  motion  of  vibration  ;  and  it  is  not 
until  the  motion  reaches  the  vibratory  stage  that  we  give  it 
the  name  of  heat  It  is  this  motion  imparted  to  the  nerves 
that  produces  the  sensation  of  heat 

It  would  be  useless  to  attempt  a  more  detailed  description 
of  this  molecular  motion.  After  the  atoms  have  been  thrown 
into  this  state  of  agitation,  very  complicated  motions  must 
ensue  from  their  incessant  collision.  There  must  be  a  wild 
whirling  about  of  the  molecules.  For  some  time  after  the 
act  of  combination,  this  motion  is  so  violent  as  to  prevent  the 
molecules  fix)m  coming  together.  The  water  is  maintained 
for  a  time  in  a  state  of  vapour ;  but  as  the  vapour  cools,  or, 
in  other  words,  loses  its  motion,  the  water  molecules  coalesce 
to  form  a  liquid.  And  now  we  are  approaching  a  new  and 
Wonderful  display  of  force.  No  one  who  had  only  seen 
water  in  its  vaporous  or  liquid  form  could  imagine  the  exist- 
^  ence  of  the  forces  to  which  I  am  now  about  to  refer;  for,  as 
long  as  the  substance  remains  in  a  liquid  or  vaporous  condi- 
tion, the  play  of  these  forces  is  masked  by  the  agitation  kept 
up  by  the  heat  among  the  molecules.  But  let  the  heat  be 
gradually  withdrawn,  the  antagonist  to  their  union  being  re- 
moved, the  molecules  begin  to  form  new  combinations.  Like 
the  particles  of  iron  in  our  magnetic  experiment,  the  water 
molecules  are  endowed  with  attractive  and  repulsive  poles,  and 
they  arrange  themselves  together  in  accordance  with  these 
attractions  and  cepulsions.  Solid  crystals  of  water  are  thus 
formed,  to  which  we  give  the  familiar  name  of  ice.  To  the 
eye  of  science,  these  ice  crystals  are  as  precious  as  the 
diamond — ^as  purely  formed,  as  delicately  built  Where  no 
disturbing  causes  intervene,  there  is  no  disorder  in  this  crys- 
talline architecture.  By  their  own  structural  power  molecules 
baild  themselves  on  to  molecules  with  a  precision  infinitely 
greater  than  that  attainable  by  the  hands  of  man.  We  are 
apt  to  overlook  the  wonderful  when  it  becomes  common. 
Imagine  the  bricks  and  stones  of  this  town  of  Dundee 
endowed  with  locomotive  power.  Imagine  them  attracting 
and  repelling  each  other,  and  arranging  themselves  in  conse- 
quence of  these  attractions  and  repulsions  so  as  to  form 
streets  an^  houses  and  Kinnaird  Halls ;  would  not  that  be 
wonderful  ?  No  less  wonderful  is  the  play  of  force  by  which 
the  molecules  of  water  build  themselves  into  the  sheets  of 
crystal  which  roof  your  ponds  and  lakes  every  winter.    To 


use  the  language  of  the  American  poet,  Emerson,  "  the  atoms 
march  in  tune,'*  moving  to  the  music  of  law,  which  thus  ren- 
ders the  commonest  substance  in  nature  a  miracle  of  beauty 
to  the  mental  eye.  It  is  the  function  of  science,  not  as  some 
think  to  divest  this  universe  of  its  wonder  and  its  mystery, 
but,  as  in  the  case  here  before  us,  to  point  out  the  wonder 
and  the  mystery  of  common  things. 

Over  a  plate  of  perfectly  clean  glass  I  pour  a  little  water 
in  which  a  crystal  has  been  dissolved.  A  film  of  the  solution 
clings  to  the  glass ;  and  now  I  wish  to  make  this  film  crystal- 
lise before  your  eyea  By  means  of  a  microscope  and  electric 
lamp,  I  throw  an  image  of  the  phite  of  glass  upon  the  screen. 
The  boam  of  the  lamp,  besides  illuminating  the  glass,  also 
heats  it ;  evaporation  is  thereby  promoted,  and,  at  a  certain 
moment,  when  the  solution  has  become  supersaturated,  splen- 
did branches  of  crystals  shoot  out  over  the  screen.  A  dozen 
squat  e  feet  of  suriaoe  are  now  covered  by  those  beautiful 
forms.  Here  we  have  crystalline  spears  shooting  over  the 
screen,  feathered  right  and  lefr  by  other  spears.  Molecule 
thus  closes  with  molecule,  until,  finally,  the  whole  subsides 
into  crystalline  rigidity.  I  move  a  new  portion  of  the  film 
into  the  beam.  From  distinct  nuclei  m  the  middle  of  the 
field  of  view  tHe  crystalline  spears  shoot  with  magical  rapid- 
ity in  all  directions.  For  a  moment  the  whole  film  appears 
to  be  alive,  and  now  it  has  sunk  into  molecular  repose.  The 
film  of  water  on  a  window  pane  on  a  frosty  morning  exhibits 
effects  quite  as  wonderful  as  these.  Latent  in  this  formless 
solution,  latent  in  every  drop  of  water  lies  this  marvellous 
structural  power,  which  only  requires  the  withdrawal  of  op- 
posing forces  to  bring  it  into  action.  These  experiments 
show  that  the  common  matter  of  our  earth — "  brute  matter," 
as  Dr.  Young  caUs  it — when  its  atoms  and  molecules  are  per- 
mitted to  bring  into  free  play  the  forces  with  which  they  are 
endowed,  arranges  itself  under  the  operation  of  these  forces, 
into  forms  which  rival  in  beauty  those  of  the  vegetable 
world.  And  what  is  the  vegetable  world  itself  but  the  result 
of  the  complex  play  of  these  molecular  forcea  Here,  us 
elsewhere  throughout  nature,  if  matter  moves  it  is  force  that 
moves  it;  and  if  a  certain  structure  is  produced  it  is  through 
the  operation  of  the  forces  with  which  the  atoms  and  mole- 
cules composing  the  structure  are  endowed.  These  atoms 
and  molecules  resemble  little  magiiets  with  mutually  attrac- 
tive and  mutually  repellent  polea  The  attracting  poles  unite, 
the  repellent  poles  retreat  from  each  other,  and  vegetable 
forms  are  the  final  expression  of  this  complicated  play  of 
molecular  force.  In  the  formation  of  our  lead  and  silver 
trees,  we  needed  an  agent  to  wrest  the  lead  and  the  silver 
from  the  acids  with  which  they  were  combined.  A  similar 
agent  is  required  in  the  vegetable  world.  The  solid  matter 
of  which  our  lead  and  silver  trees  were  formed  was,  in  the 
first  instance,  disguised  in  a  transparent  liquid;  the  solid 
matter  of  which  our  woods  and  forests  are  composed  is  also, 
for  the  most  part,  disguised  in  a  transparent  gas,  which  is 
mixed  in  small,  quantities  with  the  air  of  our  atmosphere. 
That  gas  is  formed  by  the  union  of  carbon  and  oxygen,  and 
is  called  carbonic  acid  gas.  Two  atoms  of  oxygen  and  one 
of  carbon  unite  to  form  the  molecule  of  carbonic  acid  which, 
as  1  have  said,  is  the  material  from  which  wood  and  vege- 
table tissues  are  mainly  derived,  llie  carbonic  acid  of 
the  air  being  subjected  to- an  action  somewhat  analogous  to 
that  of  the  electric  current  in  the  case  of  our  lead  and  silver 
trees,  has  its  carbon  liberated  and  deposited  as  woody  fibre. 
The  watery  vapour  of  the  air  is  subjected  to  a  similar  action ; 
its  hydrogen  is  liberated  from  its  oxygen,  and  lies  down  side 
by  side  with  the  carbon  in  the  tissues  of  the  tree.  The 
oxygen  in  both  cases  is  permitted  to  wander  away  into  the 
atmosphere.  But  what  is  it  which  thus  tears  the  carbon  and 
the  hydrogen  frotn  the  strong  embrace  of  the  oxygen  ?  What 
is  it  in  nature  that  plays  the  part  of  the  electiic  current  in 
our  experiments?  The  rays  of  the  sun.  The  leaves  of 
plants  absorb  both  the  carbonic  acid  and  the  aqueous  vapour 
of  the  air;  these  leaves  answer  to  the  cells  in  which  our  ex- 
periments on  decomposition  by  the  electric  current  took  place. 
In  the  leaves  the  solar  rays  decompose  both  the  carbonic  add 


[EngUflh  Bdltion,  Tol.  ZVL,  Va  406, 


Idfl,  137.] 


258 


British  Asaociation  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 


j  Obkkxcal  K?wi, 
\      Jfof^.,  1M7. 


and  the  water,  permitting  the  oxygen  in  both  cases  to  escspe 
into  the  air,  and  allowing  the  carbon  and  the  hydrogen  to 
follow  the  bent  of  their  own  forces.  And  just  as  the  mole- 
cular attractions  of  the  silver  and  the  lead  found  expression 
in  the  production  of  those  beautifbl  branching  forms  seen  in 
our  experiments,  so  do  the  molecular  attractions  of  the 
liberated  carbon  and  hydrogen  find  expression  in  the  archi- 
tecture of  grasses,  plants,  and  trees. 

In  the  fall  of  a  cataract  or  the  rush  of  the  wind  we  hare  an 
example  of  mechanical  power.  In  the  combinations  of  chem- 
istry and  in  the  formation  of  crystals  and  vegetables  we  have 
examples  of  molecular  power.  Before  proceeding  further  I 
should  like  to  make  clear  to  you  the  present  condition  of  the 
surface  of  the  globe  with  reference  to  power  generally.  You 
have  learned  how  the  atoms  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  rush 
together  to  form  water.  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to 
dwell  upon  the  mighty  mechanical  energy  of  their  act  of  com- 
bination, but,  in  passing,  I  would  say  that  the  clashing  to- 
gether of  X  lb.  of  hydrogen  and  8  lbs.  of  oxygen  to  form 
9  lbs.  of  aqueous  vapour,  is  greater  than  the  clash  of  a  weight 
of  1,000  tons  falling  from  a  height  of  20  feet  against  the  earth. 
Now,  in  order  that  the  atoms  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  should 
rise  by  their  mutual  attractions  to  the  velocity  corresponding 
to  this  enormous  mechanical  effect,  a  certain  distance  must 
exist  between  the  particles.  It  is  in  rushing  over  this  dis- 
tance that  the  velocity  is  attained.  This  idea  of  distance  be- 
tween the  attracting  atoms  is  of  the  highest  importance  in 
our  conception  of  Ihe  system  of  the  world.  For  the  world, 
may  be  divided  into  two  kinds  of  matier;  or  rather  the  mat- 
ter of  the  world  may  be  classified  under  two  distinct  heads 
— namely,  of  atoms  and  molecules  which  have  already  rushed 
together  and  thus  satisfied  their  mutual  attractions,  and  of 
atoms  and  molecules  which  have  not  yet  rushed  together, 
and  whose  mutual  attractions  are,  therefore,  as  yet  unsatisfied. 
Now,  as  rc^rds  motive  power,  the  working  of  machinery,  or 
the  performance  of  mechanical  work  generally  by  means  of 
the  materials  of  the  earth's  crust,  we  are  entirely  dependent 
on  those  atoms  and  molecules  whose  attractions  are  as  yet 
unsatisfied.  Those  attractions  can  produce  motion,  because 
sufficient  distance  intervenes  between  the  attracting  mole- 
cules, and  it  is  this  molecular  motion  that  we  utilise  in  our 
machines.  Thus  we  can  get  power  out  of  oxygen  and  h;^dro- 
gen  by  the  act  of  their  union,  but  once  they  are  combined, 
and  onoe  the  motion  consequent  on  their  combination  has 
been  expended,  no  farther  power  can  be  got  out  of  the  mu- 
tual attraction  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  Their  mutual  attrao- 
tions  are  then  satisfied,  and  as  dynamic  agents  they  are 
dead. 

Now,  if  we  examine  the  materials  of  which  the  earth's 
crust  is  composed,  we  find  them  to  consist  (br  the  most  part 
of  substances  wliose  atoms  have  already  closed  in  chemical 
union — whose  mutual  attractions  are  satisfied.  Granite,  for 
instance,  is  a  widely  difiVised  substance ;  but  granite  consists, 
in  great  part,  of  silicon,  oxygen,  potassium,  calcium,  and  alu- 
minium, the  atoms  of  which  substances  met4ong  ago  in  chem- 
ical combination,  and  are  therefore  dead.  Limestone  is  also 
a  widely-diffused  substance.  It  is  composed  of  carbon,  oxy- 
gen, and  a  metal  called  calcium.  But  the  atoms  of  those 
substances  closed  long  ago  in  chemical  union,  and  are  there- 
fore dead.  And  in  this  way  we  might  go  over  the  whole  of 
the  materials  of  the  earth's  crust,  and  satisfy  ourselves  that 
though  they  were  sources  of  power  iu  ages  past,  and  loug' 
before  any  being  appeared  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  capable 
of  turning  their  power  to  account,  they  are  sources  of  power 
no  longer.  And  here  we  might  halt  for  a  moment  to  remark 
on  that  tendency  so  prevalent  Vi  the  world,  to  regard  every- 
thing as  made  for  human  use  Those  who  entertain  this  no- 
tion hold.  I  think,  an  overweening  opinion  of  their  own  im- 
portance in  the  system  of  nature.  Flowers  bloomed  before 
men  saw  them,  and  the  quantity  of  power  wasted  before  men 
could  utilise  it  is  all  but  infinite  compared  with  what  now 
remains  to  be  applied.  The  healthy  attitude  of  mind  with 
referenoe  to  this  subject  is  that  of  the  poet,  who,  when  asked 
whence  came  the  rhododendion,  replied-^ 


**  Why  wert  thou  there,  O  rival  of  the  rose  t 
I  never  thoof  ht  to  lek,  1  never  knew. 
But  in  my  ilmple  ignorance  sappoeed 
The  self-eame  power  that  brought  me  there  brought  yon." 

A  few  exceptions  to  this  general  state  of  union  of  the  partidM 
of  the  earth's  crust — all-important  to  u%  bat  triviai  in  com- 
parison to  the  total  store  of  which  they  are  but  the  residue- 
still  remain.  They  constitute  our  main  sources  of  motive 
power.  By  far  the  most  important  of  these  exceptions  are 
our  beds  of  coal,  composed  chidfly  of  carbon,  whidi  has  not 
yet  closed  in  chemical  union  with  oxygen.  Distance  still  in- 
tervenes between  the  atoms  of  carbon  and  those  of  oxygen, 
across  which  the  atoms  may  be  impeUed  by  their  mutual  at- 
tractions ;  and  we  can  do  nothing  more  tiian  utilise  the  mo- 
tion produced  by  this  attraction.  Once  the  carbon  and  the 
oxygen  have  closed  together,  so  as  to  form  carbonic  acid,  their 
mutual  attractions  are  satisfied ;  and  while  they  continue  in 
this  condition,  as  dynamic  agents  they  are  dead.  Our  woodi 
and  forests  are  sources  of  mechanical  energy,  because  they 
also  have  the  power  of  uniting  with  the  atmospheric  oxygea, 
and  the  molecular  motion  pnxluced  in  the  act  of  union  may 
be  turned  to  mechanical  account  And  let  it  be  remembered 
that  the  source  of  motive  power  here  referred  to  is  also  the 
source  of  muscular  power.  A  horse  can  perform  work,  and 
so  oan  a  man  ;  but  this  work  is  at  bottom  the  molecular  work 
of  the  elements  of  the  food  and  the  oxygen  of  tlie  air.  We 
inhale  this  vital  gas.  We  bring  it  into  sufficiently  close  prox- 
imity with  the  carbon  and  the  hydrogen  of  the  food.  Tbey 
unite  in  obedience  to  their  mutual  attractions,  and  their  mo- 
tion towards  each  other,  property  turned  to  account  by  the 
wonderful  mechanism  of  the  body,  becomes  muscular  motion. 
One  fundamental  thought  pervades  all  these  statements: 
there  is  one  tap-root  from  which  they  all  spring.  This  tap- 
root is  the  ancient  maxim  that  out  of  nothing  nothing  comes; 
that  neither  in  the  organic  world  nor  in  the  inorganic  is  power 
produced  without  the  expenditure  of  other  power ;  that  nei- 
ther in  the  plant  nor  in  the  animal  is  there  a  creation  of  force 
or  motion.  Trees  grow,  and  so  do  men  and  horses;  and  here 
we  have  new  power  incessantly  introduced  upon  the  earth. 
But  its  source,  as  I  have  already  stated,  is  the  sun.  For  be 
it  is  who  separates  the  carbon  from  the  oxygen  of  the  cir- 
bonic  acid,  and  thus  enables  them  to  recombine.  Whether 
they  recombine  in  the  furnace  of  the  steam-engine  or  in  the 
animal  body,  the  origin  of  the  power  they  produce  is  the 
same.  In  this  sense  we  are  all  "  souls  of  fire  and  children  of 
the  sun."  But,  as  remarked  by  Helmholtz,  we  must  be  con- 
tent to  shai%  our  celestial  pedigree  with  the  meanest  livihg 
thing.  The  frog,  and  the  toad,  and  those  terrible  thing*,  the 
monkey  and  the  gorilla,  draw  their  power  flK>m  the  same« 
source  as  man. 

Some  estimable  persons  here  present  very  possibly  shrink 
from  accepting  these  statements ;  they  may  be  frightened  by 
their  apparent  tendency  towards  what  is  called  materialism 
— a  word  which  to  many  minds  expresses  something  very 
dreadful.  Bu«  .« ^/ught  to  be  known  and  avowed  that  the 
physical  philosopher,  as  such,  must  be  a  pure  materialist 
His  inquiries  deal  with  matter  and  force,  and  with  them  aloDe. 
The  action  which  he  has  to  investigate  is*  necessary  action, 
not  spontaneous  action — ^the  transformations,  and  not  the  cre- 
ation, of  matter  and  force.  And  whatever  be  the  forms  which 
matter  and  force  may  assume,  whether  in  the  organic  world 
or  the  inorganic,  whether  in  the  coal  beds  and  forests  of  tiw 
earth  or  in  the  brains  and  muscles  of  men,  the  physical  pbil<» 
opher  will  make  good  his  daim  to  investigate  them.  It  is 
perfectly  vain  to  attempt  to  stop  investigation  as  to  theaetosl 
and  possible  combinations  of  matter  and  foroe.  Depend  upon 
it,  if  a  chemist,  by  bringing  the  proper  materials  together, 
could  produce  a  baby  he  would  do  it  And  why  not?  There 
is  no  command  forbidding  him  to  do  it — ^hts  inquiries  in 
this  direction  are  limited  solely  by  his  own  capacity  and  the 
inexorable  laws  of  matter  and  forca  At  the  present  moment 
there  are,  no  doubt,  persons  experimenting  on  thepoesibilitifls 
of  producing  what  we  call  life  out  d  inorganic  ma- 
terials.    Let  them  pureue   their   stodiea  ia  peaee;  it  is 


IBaglldi  Bdittoa,  76L  ZVL,  Iffc  406,  paces  137,^138.J 


OminoAL  KswB,  I 


Britiah  AeaociaUon  for  the  AdoancemerU  of  Science. 


259 


Ottly  by  sttch  trials  that  they  will  learn  the  limits  of  their 
powersw 

But  while  I  thus  make  the  largest  claim  for  freedom  of  in- 
Te:*tigation — while  1  as  a  man  of  science  feel  %  natural  pride 
in  scientidc  achievement,  while  1  regard  science  as  the  most 
powerful  instrument  of  intellectual  culture,  as  well  as  the 
most  powerful  ministrant  to  the  material  wants  of  men,  if 
you  ask  me  whether  science  has  solved,  or  is  likely  to  solve, 
the  problem  of  this  universe,  I  must  shake  my  head  in  doubt 
We  have  been  talking  of  matter  and  force;  but  whence  came 
matter,  aud  whence  came  force?  You  remember  the  first 
Napoleon's  question,  when  the  savatu  who  accompanied  him 
to  Egypt  discussed  in  his  preseuce  the  problem  of  the  uni- 
'Verse,  and  solved  it  to  their  apparent  satisfaction.  He  looked 
jilofl  to  the  starry  heavens,  and  said — "It  is  all  very  well, 
gentlemen,  but  who '  made  all  these  ?"  That  question  still 
remains  unaoswered,  and  science  makes  no  attempt  to 
answer  it.  ^s  far  as  I  can  see,  there  is  no  quality  in  the 
buman  intellect  whioh  is  tit  to  be  applied  to  the  solution  of 
the  problem.    It  entirely  transcends  us. 

The  mind  of  man  may  be  compared  to  a  musical  instru- 
ment with  a  certain  range  of  notes,  beyond  which  in  both 
directions  we  have  an  infinitude  of  silence.  The  phenomena 
of  matter  and  force  lie  within  our  intellectual  range^  and  as 
lar  as  they  reach  we  will  at  all  hazards  push  our  enquiries. 
But  behind,  and  above,  and  around  all,  Uie  real  mystery  of 
this  universe  remains  unsolved ;  aud  here  the  true  philosopher 
will  bow  his  head  in  humility,  and  admit  that  all  he  can  do 
in  this  direction  is  no  more  than  what  is  within  the  compass 
of  an  ordinar}'  child.  Fashion  this  mystery  as  you  will, 
with  that  I  have  nothing  to  do.  But  be  careful  that  your 
oonoepuon  of  the  Builder  of  this  universe  is  not  an  unworthy 
conception.  Invest  that  conception  with  your  grandest,  and 
highest,  and  holiest  thought,  but  be  careful  of  pretending  to 
know  more  about  it  than  is  given  to  man  to  know.  Be  care- 
ful, at>ove  all  things,  of  professing  to  see  in  the  phenomena 
of  the  material  world  the  evidences  of  Divine  pleasure  or 
displeasure.  Doubt  this  all  ye  who  would  deduce  from  the 
Call  of  the  Tower  of  ^iloara,  the  sin  and  wickedness  of  those 
who  were  crushed  by  the  fall  I  Doubt  this  all  ye  who  pre- 
tend to  see  in  cholera,  cattle  plague,  and  bad  harvests,  the 
evidence  of  uivine  anger  1  Doubt  this — but  it  requires  some 
courage  to  say  these  things  in  Scotland— all  ye  who  assert 
that  the  depreciation  of  railway  scrip  is  a  consequence  of 
railway  travelling  on  Sundays.  You  know  nothing  about  it. 
To  such  I  say  in  substance,  what  was  said  by  one  of  the 
mightiest  Scotchmen  living  or  dead— Thomas  Garlyle-^to  the 
foUowers  of  Dr.  Fusey — 

**  The  Builder  of  this  universe  was  wise. 
He  formed  all  souls,  all  By6t«iins,  plnnets,  partftles ; 
The  plan  he  formed  hLs  worlds  and  .£008  by, 
Was— Ueavens  I— was  thy  small  ulue-aod-thirty  articles ! " 


I  now  resume  my  report  of  the  proceedings. 

SECTION  B.       CHBMIGAL  SCIENCE. 

Diday,  Septembtr  6/A. 
The  following  papers  were  read : — 
**  On  Ihe  present  use  of  Lichens  as  Dye  Sl^ffSf^^  by  Laudeb  ^ 

LiNDSAT. 

la  the  absence  of  the  author  this  paper  wi^  read  by  Dr. 
Odling.  He  said — ^It  had  been  expected  that  the  aniline 
dyes— «  product  from  the  distillation  of  coal  tar — discovered 
a  fev7  years  ago,  would  supersede  the  lichenous  dye  stufl's 
previously  in  use,  and  that  the  latter  would  speedily  disap- 
pear, in  consequence  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  Highlands  by 
railways — and  the  improvement  of  the  communication  be- 
tween Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  and  the  south.  To  him,  how- 
ever, it  seemed  that  all  such  predictions  were  at  least  prema- 
ture. Ue  confessed  that  such  was  the  eminence  aud  ex- 
perience of  the  authorities,  that  fbr  a  time  be  acquiesced  in 


their  conclusions,  and  took  it  for  granted  that  tl^y  were  well 
grounded;  but  in  the  course  of  hie  investigations  for  a  work 
which  he  had  in  preparation  on  lichenology,  he  had  found 
that  there  existed  abundant  evidence  of  the  use  of  lichens  in 
commercial  manufactures  on  a  large  scale,  as  well  as  for 
domestic  purposes.  Dr.  Lindsay  then  stated  that  from  facts 
which  he  had  learned  at  the  Ifixhibition  of  1862,  from  his  in- 
vestigations wliile  ou  a  tour  through  the  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land Islands,  and  parts  of  the  Highlands,  and  fh)m  numerous 
writers  whom  he  quoted,  he  had  come  to  conclusions  favour- 
ing the  belief  that  lichens  would  not  be  superseded,  at  least 
for  a  long  time  to  come.  Ue  then  proceeded  to  give  numer- 
ous details  of  the  use  of  lichen  dyes  for  commercial  and 
domestic  purposes,  to  remark  on  the  unsatisfactory  state  of 
the  nomenclature  and  classifioation  of  the  li<^hens,  and  to  ad- 
vocate a  uniform  system. 

"^   Note   on    Messrs,    Wanklyn,    Chapman^   and   Smiih^s 
'    Method  of  Determming  NUrogenoun   Organic  Matters  in 
Water,'*  by  Dugald  Campbell,  F.  O.S. 

At  the  last  Ineeting  of  the  Cliemical  Society,  June  20th, 
Professor  J.  A.  Wanklyn  read  an  extract  fVom  a  paper  by 
himself  Mr.  B.  T.  Chapman,  and  Mr.  M.  R  Smith,  *•  On 
Water  Awtiyxis,  and  the  Determination  of  Organic  Matter  in 
Water, '^  in  which  they  proposed  a  mode  of  estimating  the 
amount  of  nitrogenous  matter  contained  in  water,  whether  it 
exists  as  ammonia,  or  urea,  or  as  albuminous  matter ;  a  re- 
port of  this  is  giveu  in  the  Chemical  News  of  July  5,  p.  7. 
(AvL  Reprint,  Sept.  1867,1?.  134.) 

Having  for  a  number  of  years  worked  specially  on  the  es- 
timation of  nitrogen  in  solutions  containing  ammonia,  urea, 
and  albuminous  matters,  I  was  much  struck  with  the  results 
which  were  given  by  these  geutlemen,  and  at  the  time. when 
the  paper  was  read  I  expressed  my  doubts  as  to  the  accu- 
racy of  their  observations,  my  own  having  been  so  diamet- 
rically opposite;  still,  although  nothing  was  said  on  the 
reading  of  the  extract  about  the  actions  being  different  with 
moderately  strong  and  very  dilute  solutions,  yet  after  my  re- 
marks something  was  said  by  one  of  the  gentlemen  (Mr. 
Chapman)  in  the  discussion  about  strong  solutions  Acquir- 
ing diflferent"  treatment ;  and  remembering  that  my  experi- 
ments had  all  been  made  upon  what  might  be  termed 
moderately  strong  solutions,  certainly  not  very  dilute  solu- 
tions, I  was  silent,  as  I  thought  this  might  possibly  account, 
at  least  to  some  extent,  for  the  great  differences  in  our 
results;  still  I  did  not  think  this  could  wholly  account  for 
them. 

Since  then,  however,  I  have  made  a  number  of  experi- 
ments with  very  dilute  solutions  of  both  urea  and  albumen, 
the  results  of  which  in  a  great  measure,  if  not  entirely,  con- 
firm my  views  stated  at  the  time.  viz.  that  urea  is  not  per- 
fectly decomposed  by  distilling  vrith  sodic  carbonate  as  de- 
scribed by  those  gentlemen,  and  likewise  that  1  had  invariably 
detected  ammonia  in  the  distillate  from  a  solution  of  albu- 
minous matter  when  it  was  distilled  under  similar  circum- 
stances. 

As.regards  the  first  part  of  the  process,  which  is  the  es- 
timation of  ammonia  in  the  water,  and  which  is  in  my 
opinion  a  very  material  one,  but  which  appears  to  me  to 
have  been  passed  over  by  theee  gentlemen  as  a  thii-g  of  very 
little  importance,  all  we  are  told  of  it  is  that  "  when  the 
quantity  of  ammonia  present  in  the  original  water  is  large  it 
is  determined  directly,  unless  the  water  is  too  much  coloured." 
In  all  the  experience  which  I  have  had  in  determining  the 
amount  of  ammonia  in  water,  by  Nesaler's  test,  working  on 
the  usual  scale,  I  have  never  been  able  to  apply  it  with  any 
degree  of  accuracy  to  the  original  water,  but  always  had  to 
distil  the  water  with  some  alkali  and  test  the  distillate ;  and 
this  I  know  is  the  general  experience ;  and  if  urea  is  so 
readily  broken  up  in  the  distillation  of  water,  as  it  is  said  to 
be  by  these  gentlemen,  I  should  have  thought  that  some 
means  of  distilling  the  water  in  order  to  obtain  from  it  the 
ammonia,  without  decomposing  the  urea,  should  have  been 


(BngUdi  Edltioii,  Vol  Z7L,  No.  406,  pages  138, 139.] 


26o 


BritUh  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science.      {^^!^i^ 


given,  and  that  a  process  for  estimating  the  ammonia,  urea, 
and  albuminous  matters  in  water  would  scarcelj  be  com- 
plete without  it 

After  the  determination  of  the  ammonia,  the  next  opera- 
tion, we  are  told,  is  to  introduce  a  litre  of  the  water  "  into  a 
retort  with  two  grammes  of  sodic  carbonate,  and  rapidly  dis- 
til, the  distillate  being  collected  in  a  flask  containing  loo  c.c. 
When  this  is  filled  the  receiver  is  changed,  and  another 
loo  o.a  distilled  08";  this  is  repeated  a  third  time,  and  it  is 
now  found  that  all  the  nitrogen  present  in  the  original  water, 
in  the  form  of  urea,  has  passed  over  in  the  form  of  ammonia. 
The  ammonia  in  the  distillate  is  then  determined  by  Ness- 
ler*s  test." 

I  may  state  that  in  Parliament,  and  generally  throughout 
the  kingdom,  when  reports  are  made  upon  the  analysis  of 
waters,  the  results  are  required  to  be  given  in  grains,  or 
parts  of  a  grain,  in  a  gallon  of  tfie  water  of  70,000  grains  at 
do**  Fahrenheit,  and  they  are  thus  much  more  readily  under- 
stood by  engineers  and  the  public  generally,  who  are  inter- 
ested in  these  matters,  than  when  oiherwise  expressed.  I 
have,  therefore,  in  the  following  experiment-s  thought  it  best 
to  state  that  the  waters  operated  upon  contained  so  many 
parts  of  a  grain  of  the  substance  being  experimented  upon 
per  gallon,  and  also  to  use  grains  in  making  the  solutions  in 
other  parts  of  the  experiments ;  but  I  have  retained  the  litre 
and  cubic  centimeter  measures,  as  I  wished  to  follow  ex- 
plicitly the  experiment  as  it  is  given  above,  as  to  the  quan- 
tity of  water  taken  for  distillation  and  the  amount  of 
each  of  the  distillates,  in  case  anything  might  be  said  of  my 
not  having  done  so. 

The  first  experiments  were  made  with  a  solution  of  urea 
equal  to  the  ^tb  part  of  a  grain  of  uroa  in  a  gallon  of  water, 
Prof.  Wanklyn  having  given  this  as  a  quantity  by  which  his 
proce'ss  could  be  tried,  and  with  which  he  said  it  would  work 
satisfactorily,  as  it  had  been  described  in  their  paper.  The 
following  are  the  details  and  results : — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken  in  which  was  dissolved  an 
amount  equal  to  coi  i  grain  of  urea  containing  the  elements 
of  0*0062  grain  of  ammonia,  and  introduced  into  a  retort 
capable  of  holding  twice  this  quantity.  30*87  grains  (two 
grammes)  of  sodic  carbonate  were  then  added,  and  the  dis- 
tillatiqn  was  proceeded  with  rapidly,  and  the  distillate  collect- 
ed exactly  as  described  above.  The  ammonia  which  was 
found  only  in  the  two  first  100  cc,  and  estimated  by  Nessler's 
test,  gave  0-0026  grains,  or  about  one-third  of  the  ammonia 
present  in  the  urea  taken. 

There  being  no  trace  of  ammonia  in  the  third  100  a c.^  I 
should  from  the  statements  of  Messrs.  Wanklyn,  Chapman, 
and  Smith,  have  concluded  that  all  the  urea  was  decomposed 
into  ammonia,  had  I  not  known  the  quantity  of  urea  which 
was  taken  at  the  outset,  and  also  from  my  former  experiments 
upon  stronger  solutions  of  urea  which  acted  very  similarly  ; 
but  knowing  this,  a  solution  of  potassi^  hydrate  was  intro- 
duced into  the  retort,  and  the  distillation  proceeded  with  ex- 
actly as  before  described ;  the  two  first  100  cc,  which  were 
distilled  over,  contained  0*002  graius  of  ammonia,  and  the 
third  distillate  containing  no  ammonia ;  potassic  permanga- 
nate was  added  in  crystals  to  the  liquid  in  the  retort  until  it 
was  deeply  coloured,  and  the  distillation  was  again  proceeded 
with  as  above ;  the  remainder  of  the  ammonia,  which  was 
estimated  at  0*0015  grain,  was  in  the  first  and  second,  but 
princi'pally  in  the  first  100  cc,  and  none  in  the  third.  Alto- 
gether the  ammonia  obtained  waso'oo6i  grain,  the  calculated 
quantity  being  0*0062  grain. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  as  above  described,  but  with 
somewhat  different  results,  the  distillations  with  the  sodic 
carbonate  giving  00021  grain,  the  potassic  hydrate  0001 6 
grain,  and  the  potassic  permanganate  0.0025  grain,  altogether 
0*0062  grain  of  ammonia,  which  is  exactly  the  quantitity  of 
ammonia  in  the  urea  taken. 

Experiments  were  next  made  with  a  solution  of  urea  equal 
to  ^th  part  of  a  grain  of  urea  in  a  gallon  of  water,  and  the 
following  are  the  details  and  results : — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken  in  which  was  dissolved  a 


quantitity  equal  to  0*0055  ST«^°  ^^  ^"^^  containing  the  ele- 
ments of  0*0031  grain  of  ammonia,  and  distilled  as  above 
with  sodic  carbonate;  in  the  first  two  100  ac,  the  ammoDia 
present  amounted  to  o'oox  grain;  in  the  third  xoo  cc,  there 
was  no  ammonia ;  potassic  hydrate  gave  in  the  first  two  100 
ac.  0001  grain  of  ammonia,  in  the  third  none,  and  potaaaic 
permanganate  gave  in  the  first  two  100  c.a,  but  principallj 
in  the  first,  0*00x1  grain  of  ammonia,  making  altogether 
0*0031  grain  of  ammonia,  which  is  the  exact  quantity  of 
ammonia  in  the  urea  taken. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  exactly  as  above,  but  as  Id 
the  former  case,  with  slightly  different  results ;  sodic  carb<m- 
ate  gave  o'ooi  grain,  potassic  hydrate  gave  o*ocoi  grain,  and 
potassic  permanganate  0*002  grain  ammonia,  making  altogether 
0*0031  grain  of  ammonia. 

Experiments  were  next  made  with  a  solution  of  urea  eqnal 
to  i^th  part  of  a  grain  of  urea  in  a  gallon  of  water,  and  the 
following  are  the  details  and  results : — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken,  in  which  was  dissolved  an 
amount  equal  to  0*0025  grain  of  urea,  concainmg  ox)Oi55 
grain  of  ammonia,  and  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the 
preceding  experiments ;  with  sodic  carbonate  it  gave  00013 
grain  ammonia  in  the  first  two  100  ac,  and  no  ammonia  in 
the  third ;  with  potassic  hydrate  0*0001  grain  in  the  first  two 
xoo  ac,  and  none  in  the  third;  and  with  potassic  perman- 
ganate, gave  0*0001  grain  of  ammonnia;  altogether  within  a 
fraction  of  the  amount  of  ammonia  in  the  urea  employed. 

This  experiment  was  repeated,  and  the  results  were  as  fol- 
lows:— With  sodic  carbonate,  oxxxsS  grain,  with  potassic 
hydrate  0*0003  K^^^i  ^^d  with  potassic  permanganate  0-0004 
grain;  altogether  0*0015  grain  of  ammonia,  and  making  the 
same  amount  of  ammonia  as  the  last,  but  evolved  differently. 

Experiments  were  next  made  with  a  solution  of  urea  equal 
to  the  looth  part  of  a  grain  of  urea  in  a  gallon  of  water,  and 
the  following  are  the  details  and  results: — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken  in  which  were  dissolved  010022 
grain  of  urea  containing  0*001 36  grain  of  ammonia,  and  dis- 
tilled as  above;  with  sodic  carbonate  in  the  first  two  100  ca 
there  were  0*001  grain  of  ammonia,  and  no  ammonia  in.  the 
third  100  cc. ;  and  by  potassic  hydrate  in  the  first  two  100 
ac  0*0003  S<^i" ;  whilst  by  potassic  permanganate  there  was 
no  ammonia.  The  ammonia  distilled  off  was  altogether 
0.0013  fin^i^T  which  is  a  fhiction  leas  ammonia  than  was  con- 
tained in  the  urea  employed. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  with  a  nearly  similar  re- 
sult 

Experiments  were  next  made  with  a  solution  of  urea  equal 
to  the  T^jslh.  part  of  a  grain  of  urea  in  a  gallon  of  water, 
and  likewise  with  still  smaller  portions  of  urea,  when  it  was 
found  in  all  cases  that  with  sodic  carbonate  all  the  ammonia 
contained  in  the  urea  distilled  over  in  the  first  100  cc 

From  these  experiments  it  would  appear  that  urea  is  de- 
composed entirely  when  distilled  in  the  ordinary  manner 
with  sodic  carbonate,  but  only  when  in  extremely  dilute  so- 
lutious;  requiring  the  assistance  of  potassic  permanganate 
to  decompose  it  even  when  so  dilute  as  in  the  proportion  of 
the  -gjjyth  part  o^  a  grain  of  urea  in  a  gallon  of  water,  or  one 
part  in  five  millions;  and  requiring  the  assistance  of  potassic 
hydrate  to  decompose  it  even  when  diluted  to  an  extent  above 
one  part  in  seven  millions ;  and  that  is  only  decomposed  by 
sodic  carbonate  alone  when  diluted  somewhat  above  this 
point 

I  may  add  that  these  and  all  other  experiments  were  made 
with  distilled  water,  which  tried  in  every  way  showed  not  a 
trace  of  ammonia  by  Nessler's  test,  and  that  every  experinsent 
was  made  by  dissolving  at  the  time  fresh  crystals  of  urea; 
or,  in  other  words,  that  no  solution  of  urea  was  employed 
wliich  had  been  made  or  kept  any  time.  I  may  also  add 
that  I  found  a  considerable  difference  in  the  various  speci- 
mens of  urea  which  I  examined ;  all  gave  distinct  indica- 
tions of  ammonia  bf  the  Nessler  test ;  the  larger,  less 
coloured,  and  finer  the  crystals  the  more  was  the  am- 
monia. I  need  scarcely  add  that  working  upon  such 
very  dilute    solutions    as  I   was  doing,   the  latter  spec*- 


[SagUdi  EditiOB,  V6L  ZVI,  Ko.  406;  pages  130, 140.] 


CbmiOAL  News,  ) 


British  Association  for  the  Advcmcemetit  of  Science. 


261 


mens  yielded  sensibly  more  anomoDia  by  the  sodic  carbonate 
and  potassio  hydrate  than  those  showing  less  indications  of 
ammonia  by  the  Nessler  test;  still  I  do  not  doubt  that  work- 
ing with  any  ordinary  urea,  the  results  will  not  be  far  diOer- 
ent  from  my  own,  although  variable. 
*  The  next  part  oT  the  process  to  winch  I  wish  to  call  at- 
tention is  the  estimation  of  what  is  termed  the  *'  albuminous 
substances.'' 

According  to  Messrs.  Wanklyn,  Chapman,  and  Smitli,  al- 
bumen, such  as  from  wliite  of  e^^  yields  no  ammonia,  as- 
certained by  Nessler's  test,  when  a  solution  of  albumen  is 
distilled  with  the  proportions  of  sodic  carbonate,  30*87  grains 
(2  grammes),  which  they  say  they  use  to  decompose  the  urea ; 
whereas,  as  I  stated  before,  in  all  my  experiments  I  had  in- 
variably found  that  ammonia  was  evolved  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. I  may  observe  that  hitherto  my  experiments 
had  been  made  upon  what  might  be  termed  rather  strong  so- 
lutions (one  grain  of  dry  albumen  in  a  gallon  of  water),  and 
hence  I  was  led  to  make  the  following  experiments  with 
what  I  conceive  to  be  weak  solutions: — 

*he  trst  experiment  was  made  with  a  quantity  about 
equal  to*the  -^th  part  of  a  grain  of  dry  albumen  to  i  gallon 
of  water. 

100  grrains  of  the  white  of  new-laid  eggs,  dried,  gave 
i2*oo  grains  of  dry  residue  containing  1-884  grains  of  ammo- 
nia ;  or  100  grains  of  such  white  of  egg  contained  1*884  grains 
of  ammonia. 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken  In  which  was  dissolved  an 
amount  equal  to  0*093  grain  of  white  of  egg  containing  coo  1 75 
grain  of  ammonia,  and  was  distilled  with  30*87  grains  (2 
grammes)  of  sodic  carbonate ;  in  the  two  tirst  100  c.c.  of 
the  distillate  o*ooo6  grain  of  ammonia  were  estimated  by 
Nessler's  test,  in  the  third  100  c.c  there  was  not  a  trace  of 
ammonia ;  poussic  hydrate  was  then  added,  and  the  distil- 
lation was  gone  on  with  as  before,  when  not  a  trace  of  am- 
monia was  discovered  in  any  of  the  three  100  c.c.  distilled ; 
potassio  permanganate  was  then  added,  and  the  distillation* 
proceeded  with,  when  it  gave,  principally  in  the  first  dis- 
tillate, o'ooi  grain  of  ammonia.  Altogether  there  was  a 
loss  of  0*00015  grain  of  ammonia  in  the  albumen. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  with  somewhat  similar  re- 
sults, only  rather  more  ammonia  was  evolved  by  the  sodic 
carbonate,  and  again  none  by  the  potassio  hydrate,  and  the 
remainder  by  the  potassic  permanganate. 

The  next  experiment  was  made  with  about  -^^.t^i  part 
of  a  ^rain  of  dry  albumen  to  a  gallon  of  water,  as  follows  : — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken,  in  which  was  dissolved  an 
amount  equal  to  0*0466  grain  of  white  egg,  containing  000087 
grain  of  ammonia,  and  distilled  with  the  sodic  carbonate. 
The  two  first  contamed  00007  grain  of  the  ammonia ;  potas- 
sic hydrate  gave  no  ammonia  in  any  of  the  three  100  cc.,  and 
potassic  permanganate  gave  0*000 1,  which  is  a  loss  of 
000007  of  a  grain  of  the  ammonia  contained  in  ihe  white 
of  egg  employed. 

Another  experiment  was  made  with  a  quantity  equal  to 
the  ^jth  part  of  a  grain  of  dry  albumen  to  a  gallon  of  water, 
as  follows : — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken  in  which  was  dissolved  an 
amount  equal  to  0.0233  groin  of  white  of  G%g^  containing 
0*000435  grain  of  ammonia,  and  distilled  with  the  dodic 
carbonate,  the  first  two  100  cc.  gave  00002  grain  of  am- 
monia. By  the  potassic  hydrate  no  ammonia  was  given  off, 
and  by  the  potassio  permanganate  0*0002  grain,  showing  alto- 
gether a  loss  of  ammonia  equal  to  0*000035  grain. 

Another  experiment  was  made  with  a  quantity  about 
equal  to  the  -riuth  part  of  a  grain  of  dry  albumen  to  a  gallon 
of  water,  as  follows : — 

A  litre  of  water  was  taken  in  which  was  dissolved  o*oi  165 
gnXti  of  white  of  egg,  containing  0*000217  grain  of  ammonia, 
and  distilled  with  the  sodic  carbonate.  In  the  first  two  100 
c.c.  of  the  distillate  all  the  ammonia  was  evolved,  in  the 
third  100  cc.  there  was  none,  nor  when  distilled  with 
potassic  hydrate  or  potassic  permanganate  was  there  a  trace 
to  be  found. 


This  experiment  was  repeated  and  with  the  same  results, 
all  the  ammonia  being  evolved  in  the  first  two  loo  cc  when 
the  solution  was  distilled  with  sodic  parbonate  alone. 

In  all  these  experiments  it  will  be  seen  that  with  the  sodic 
carbonate  a  distinct  quantity  of  ammonia  is  evolved,  and 
likewise  that  in  all  these  experiments,  strange  though  it  may 
appear,  after  the  ammonia  has  been  evolved  as  far  as  is  pos- 
sible by  the  sodic  carbonate,  that  potassic  hydrate  evolves 
not  even  a  trace,  and  it  is  only  on  the  addition  of  potassic 
permanganate  that  the  final  quantity  of  nitrogen  is  expelled 
as  ammoui&  It  will  likewise  be  seen  that,  as  in  very  dilute 
solutions  of  urea,  all  the  nitrogen  is  expelled  as  ammonia 
by  the  sodic  carbonate,  so  likewise  this  is  the  case  in  very 
dilute  solutions  of  albumen. 

The  whole  of  the  above  experiments,  both  with  the  urea 
and  the  albumen,  were  conducted  in  ordinary  retorts  of  not 
less  than  twice  the  capacity  of  the  liquid  to  be  distilled,  and 
as  nearly  all  alike  in  shape  and  size  as  it  was  possible  to  get 
them,  and  every  endeavour  was  made  to  distil  the  solutions 
at  a  rapid  speed  and  as  nearly  under  the  same  circumstances  as 
possible,  otherwise  I  do  not  think  the  results  obtained  would 
have  been  so  regular  as  they  are,  but  as  far  as  I  can  judge 
from  other  experiments  quite  the  reverse ;  still  on  the  whole 
they  would  be  generally  confirmatory  of  the  results  I  have 
obtained. 

Since  making  these  experiments,  my  attention  has  been 
directed  to  a  paper  by  Mr.  Chapman,  "on  Nessler's  test 
for  Ammonia,"  wherein  that  gentleman  says  that  in  com- 
paring a  solution  to  be  tested  with  the  ammonia  standard, 
after  adding  tlie  test  he  allows  the  liquids  to  stand  for  ten 
minutes  before  he  compares  them.  My  own  experience,  and. 
I  know  it  is  that  of  others,  is  that  this  time  is  not  nearly 
sufficient  to  develope  the  colour  properly,  and  this  is  espe- 
cially the  case  with  very  dilute  solutions  of  ammonia;  that 
being  so  I  do  not  see  why  such  colutious  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  stand  until  the  colour  is  fully  developed  in  ihem, 
although  it  may  take  a  longer  time,  in  which  case  experience 
has  taught  us  that  the  results  are  a  deeper  and  more  defined 
colour,  which  admits  of  better,  I  might  almost  say,  of  perfect 
comparison.  In  carrying  out  the  above  experiments  suffi- 
cient time  was  invariably  allowed  for  the  proper  development 
of  the  colour  when  determining  the  amount  of  ammonia  in 
all  of  the  distillates. 

^A  Description  of  a  New  Ether  Anemometer*^ 

By  Alpbbd  K  Flbtohbe, 

OOVSBHMSMT  ImPKOIOS  Or  AI.XALI  WOBU  POK  THB  WsSraRN  DlSTXIOT. 

The  construction  of  this  apparatus  is  based  on  the  fact  that 
a  current  of  air  passing  across  the  open  end  of  a  straight  tube 
causes  a  partial  vacuum  in  it. 

An  application  of  this  principle  is  seen  in  a  small  toy  in 
common  use,  in  which  a  liquid  is  made  to  ascend  several 
inches  in  a  vertical  tube  by  blowing  through  another  tube 
across  its  open  end.  It  rises  by  virtue  of  the  partial  va- 
cuum caused  by  the  current  of  air  which  crosses  it. 

If  then  a  straight  tube  is  inserted  through  a  hole  in  the 
brickwork  of  a  chimney  or  fine,  so  that  the  current  of  air  in 
the  flue  passes  across  its  open  end,  a  partial  vacuum  will  be 
formed  in  it,  greater  or  less  in  proportion  to  the  velocity  of 
ihe  current. 

A  tube  in  such  a  position  will,  however,  communicate  a 
suction  arising  from  that  of  the  chimney  itself,  besides  that 
suction  produced  by  the  current  of  air  passing  across  its  open 
end,  and  for  the  present  purpose  these  two  must  be  dis- 
tinguished. 

To  effect  this  two  tubes  should  be  inserted  in  the  chim- 
ney, one  of  them  having  a  straight  and  the  other  a  bent 
end,  the  bend  to  be  turned  so  as  to  meet  the  current  of  air ; 
both  tubes  are  open.  In  each  of  these  tubes  will  be  experi- 
enced the  partial  vacuum  due  to  the  suction  of  the  chimney 
itself.  In  the  straight  tube,  however,  this  will  be  increased  . 
by  the  suction  caused  by  the  passage  of  the  current  of  air 
across  its  open  end,  while  in  the  case  of  the  bent  tube  this 


Vol.  I.    No.  5.— Nov.,  1867.        18. 

[English  Edition,  VoL  ZVL,  Na  406,  pagw  140, 14L] 


262 


British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science. 


j  Chchtcal  Ifivt, 
\       Hov.,  VSSt. 


will  be  diminished  by  the  prespure  caused  by  the  current  of 
air  blowing  into  it.  The  difference  therefore  between  the 
suction  in  the  two  tubes  will  be  duo  to  the  action  of  the 
current  of  air  in  the  chimney,  and  it  remains  only  to  meas- 
ure this  difference  in  order  to  measure  the  velocity  of  the 
current  itself. 

To  effect  this  let  these  tubes  be  connected  with  a  U  tube 
containing  water,  one  with  each  limb  ;  then  the  water  will 
be  raised  up  in  ono  limb  to  a  degree  corresponding  witli  the 
difference  of  suction,  so  that  the  difference  of  level  of  the 
water  in  the  U  tube,  being  a  measure  of  the  difference  of 
suction  in  the  tubes,  becomes  a  measure  of  the  velocity  of 
the  current  of  air  in  the  chimney.  By  this  arrangement  the 
suction  power  of  the  chimney  itself  is  eliminated,  for  it  op- 
erates equally  on  each  limb  of  the  U  tube,  while  the  differ- 
ence of  pressure  experienced  will  be  due  only  to  the  differ- 
ent action  of  the  current  of  air  in  the  flue  on  the  tube  with 
the  straight  end  and  the  one  with  the  bent  end. 

It  remains,  then,  to  register  accurately  this  difference  of 
level  of  the  water  in  the  U  tube,  and  to  construct  a  for- 
mula connecting  it  with  the  speed  of  the  current  of  air  in 
the  flue,  so  that  by  measuring  the  one  the  other  may  be 
measured  also. 

Experiment  showed  that  for  high  speeds  of  air  the  meas- 
urement of  the  difference  of  this  water  level  was  easy,  but 
that  or  speeds  below  5  feet  per  second  the  amount  be- 
came too  minute  and  uncertain  for  practical  use. 

Many  plans  were  then  devised  for  constructing  a  pres- 
sure gauge  which  should  be  more  delicate  than  the  ordi- 
nary U  tube. 

Efforts  were  first  made  to  modify  the  U  tube  so  that  its 
range  might  be  increased  and  its  indications  magnified. 
This  might  be  done  by  drawing  out  its  lower  bend  hori- 
zontally and  mcreasing  the  size  of  the  vertical  portions  till 
it  assumed  the  form  of  two  vertical  cylinders  connected  by 
a  long  horizontal  tube.  If  now  a  pressure  were  exerted 
which  would  cause  a  depression  of  the  water  in  one  limb, 
the  motion  so  caused  in  the  narrow  column  of  water  m  the 
horizontal  tube  would  be  so  much  greater,  as  its  sectional 
area  was  smaller  than  that  of  the  vertical  tabes.  It  was 
found,  however,  tHat  in  proportion  as  a  greater  rauge  in  the 
scale  of  the  instrument  was  thus  obtained,  a  greater  amount 
of  friction  must  also  be  encountered,  and  that  thus  the 
advantage  of  the  one  was  neutralised  by  the  evil  of  the 
other. 

It  is  necessary  to  see  this  clearly  in  order  to  arrive  at 
the  conclusion  that  aU  methods  of  increasing  the  actual 
motion  of  the  fluids  or  of  magnifying  it  by  any  mechanical 
arrangement  of  levers  or  otherwise,  must  be  open  to  the 
same  objection.  This  proposition  seems  dear  now,  in  the 
light  jhed  by  a  long  series  of  failures  encountered  in 
the  attempt  to  act  contrary  to  it,  but  it  was  not  dear 
before. 

The  simple  U  tube  was  therefore  returned  to,  and  means 
adopted  for  accurately  seeing  and  measuring  its  slightest 
indications.  In  the  first  place,  the  limbs  were  increased 
until  they  were  no  longer  small  tubes  of  about  0*4  inch 
internal  diameter,  but  cylinders  of  4  inches  diameter ;  these 
were  connected  at  the  bottom  by  a  small  tube.  Thus  the 
power  exerted  by  the  pressure  communicated  through  the 
connecting  tubes,  operating  on  the  extended  surface  of  the 
liquid  in  the  cylinders,  was  increased  a  hundred-fold  over 
that  operating  in  the  smaller  U  tube ;  but  the  fViction  could 
only  have  been  increased  tenfold,  giving  therefore  a  tenfold 
increase  of  delicacy.  In  order  to  observe  accurately  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  liquid  in  the  cylinders  floats  were  intro- 
duced, on  each  of  whidi  was  engraved  a  very  fine  horizon- 
tal line ;  and  to  measure  accurately  the  comparative  eleva- 
tion or  depression  of  these  two  lines,  a  finely  divided  scale 
and  vernier  were  added,  working  witii  a  delicate  screw  ad- 
justment. With  this  it  is  possible  to  measure  an  elevation 
or  depression  of  -nftny  inch,  which  is  suffldently  accurate 
for  the  purpose  in  view. 
On  trying  now  to  apply  the  instrument  so  oonstmcted, 


and  attempting  to  measure  very  minute  variations  of  press- 
ure, failure  still  seemed  imminent ;  for  although  the  motion 
of  the  water  in  the  increased  limbs  of  the  U  tube  could  be 
measured  to  -^-^  inch,  the  water  refused  to  move,  except 
under  pressures  exceeding  that  which  would  be  indicated 
by  so  small  a  column ;  in  other  words,  the  water  seemed  to 
stick  in  the  cylinders.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  nuke 
experiments  with  various  liquids  in  order  to  choose  one 
more  suitable  than  water;  for  this  purpose  a  very  thin  plate 
of  metal  was  suspended  from  the  beam  of  a  delicate  balance, 
and  the  amount  of  power  required  for  its  immersion  in,  and 
subsequent  withdrawal  from,  various  liquids  thus  measured. 
This  resistance  is  due  to  what  is  often  called  capillary  at- 
traction and  repulsion ;  it  is  shown  to  exist  largely  iu  water, 
by  the  fact  that  a  needle  may  be  made  to  rest  on  its  surface 
without  sinking.  In  the  case  of  water  20  grains  were 
needed  to  overcome  it,  whQe  with  many  other  liquids  a 
much  less  force  sufficed,  and  in  the  case  of  ether  7^  grain 
was  suffldent  Ether  was,  therefore,  chosen  as  the  liquid 
which  offered  the  least  resistance,  and  also  on  account  of 
its  low  specific  gravity.  » 

After  substituting  ether  for  water,  the  action  of  the  ma- 
nometer was  quite  satisfactory,  the  lines  on  the  floats 
always  return  exactly  to  their'  original  position  after  any 
disturbance,  and  its  indications  could  be  relied  on  to  xi^ 
inch. 

It  remained  now  to  ascertain  the  value  of  these  in- 
dications when  applied  to  the  measurement  of  the  velocity  of 
air. 

Calculation  might  lead  to  this,  but  it  was  thought  mudi 
better  to  depend,  if  possible,  on  actual  experiment,  and  by 
testing  the  insinimeut  with  currents  of  air  of  known  velocity 
to  draw  up  a  table  for  future  use. 

The  following  plan  was  adopted  and  found  perfectly  suc- 
cessful:— 

A  flue  14  inches  diameter,  100  feet  long,  was  constructed 
of  iron  pipes,  one  end  was  connected  with  the  base  of  a  high 
chimney,  the  other  left  open.  A  sliding  plate  of  metal, 
capable  of  cutting  off  the  connection  between  the  chimney 
and  the  flue,  served  to  regulate  at  will  the  amonnt  of  air 
drawn  through  it. .  At  the  open  end  of  the  flue  a  red-hot 
brick  was  placed,  and  on  it  was  thrown  at  stated  times  a 
few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid.  This  raised  instantly  a  dense 
cloud  of  white  vapour,  which,  passing  along  the  flue,  could 
DC  observed  to  reach  the  other  end,  by  looking  through  two 
holes  bored  through  opposite  sides  of  it.  It  remain^  now 
only  to  note  the  time  occupied  by  the  passage  of  the  ctoad 
of  vapour  along  the  flue  to  know  the  speed  at  which  the  air 
was  passing  through  it.  At  the  same  time  the  tubes  in  con- 
nection with  the  ether  manometer  were  in  the  flue  and  under 
the  influence  of  the  same  current  of  air,  so  that  the  simul- 
taneous reading  of  the  instrument  could  be  taken.  By  now 
altering  the  position. of  the  slide  which  regulated  the  admis- 
sion of  air  to  the  flue,  the  speed  from  time  to  time  was 
altered,  and  a  corresponding  observation  by  the  manometer 
obtained. 

By  the  aid  of  this  ether  manometer  the  speed  of  any  cur- 
rent of  air  in  flues  or  chimneys  can  be  measured  by  simply 
boring  a  hole  one  inch  diameter  through  the  brickwork  and 
inserting  two  tubes,  one  with  a  bent,  the  other  with  a  plain 
straight  end  as  already  described,  and  making  the  necossaiy 
observation  of  the  floats;  and  in  this  operation  neither 
soot,  heat,  nor  corrosive  vapoui-s  can  prove  any  hin- 
drance. 

So  sensitive  is  the  apparatus  that  on  a  windy  day  the  effect 
of  each  successive  gust  of  wind  is  observable,  as  it  causes 
variations  in  the  draught  of  the  chimney. 

The  instrument  may  be  used  as  a  wind  gauge  by  fixing 
through  the  roof  of  au  observatory  a  smfdl  vertical  pipe, 
presenting  a  plain  open  end  to  the  wind.  The  lower  end  of 
this  pipe  brought  down  into  the  observatory  and  con- 
nected with  the  ether  manometer  would  oommanicate 
the  varying  pressures  due  to  the  varying  speed  of  the 
wind. 


[Bngliflh  Edition,  VoL  ZVL,  No.  406,  pages  141, 142.] 


British  Association  for  the  Advancemmt  of  Science. 


263 


'*  6»  an  Appar(Uus/ar  Indicating  the  Presence  and  Amount  of 
Fire-damp  in  Mines"  by  Georob  F.  Ansell* 

The  ide'a  embodied  in  the  apparatus  was  founded  on  the 
law  of  diffusion  announced  by  Mr.  Graham,  that  gases  diffuse 
in  the  inverse  proportion  to  the  square  root  of  their  densities, 
or,  more  popularly,  that  light  gases  diffuse  more  rapidly  than 
heavy  onea  Mr.  Ansell  showed,  by  experiment,  that  when 
a  tube  closed  at  one  end  by  plaster  of  Paris  was  filled  with 
common  coal  gas,  the  lighter  part  of  the  compound  was 
rapidly  diffused  through  the  plaster,  as  was  at  once  seen  by 
the  yellow  flame  and  slight  explosion  which  ensued  on  bring- 
ing a  lighted  match  dose  to  the  closed  end.  Hence,  Mr.  An- 
sell said,  his  proposition.  In  a  pic  the  case  is  the  reverse  of  that 
of  the  tuba  There  the  gas  is  ready  to  escape  into  the  galler- 
ies, and  the  apparatus  must  therefore  be  modified  to  suit  the 
varying  circumstance&  The  essential  parts  of  the  apparatus 
may  be  described  as  consisting  of  an  alarm  bell  and  a  tele- 
graph needle — the  former  being  rung  and  the  Htter  de- 
flected by  an  electric  current,  which  was  set  in  motion  by 
the  action  of  the  dangerous  gas.  The  means  by  which  this 
was  effected  consisted  of  an  iron  cup,  on  which  was  fixed  a 
disc  of  white  Sicilian  marble,  standing  on  a  IJ-tube,  which 
contained  a  quantity  of  mercury.  The  marble  hei-e  repre- 
sented the  plaster  which  closed  the  end  of  the  tube  in  the 
first  experiment,  and  through  it  the  dangerous  gas  was  dif- 
fused. As  it  did  so,  the  mercury  was  pressed  up  into  the 
other  extremity  of  the  tube,  completed  the  previously  broken 
circuit,  and  on  alarm  was  given  by  the  ringing  of  the  bell 
and  the  deflection  of  the  needle. 

Mr.  Ansell  proceeded  to  say  that  in  coal-fields  there  are 
many  casualties — ^including  the  bulk  of  the  accidents  aris- 
ing from  explosion, — caused  by  a  sudden  irruption  of  fire- 
damp (carburetted  hydrogen),  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render 
the  atmosphere  in  even  a  mile  of  space  explosive  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  there  are  cases  on  record  where  an  enormous 
space  has  been  so  polluted  in  a  few  seconds;  but  the  com- 
mon event  is  to  find  that  a  fall  of  roof,  or  the  breaking  in  of 
a  thin  part  of  the  sides  or  floor  of  a  gallery,  liberates  an 
amount  of  gas  which  by  mixture  with  the  ordinary  air  of 
the  pit  renders  the  whole  explosive.  This  mixture  travels 
on  slowly  with  the  ventilation  till  it  meets  a  light,  and  pos- 
sibly an  hour  after  its  flrst  formation  destroys  many  lives.  A 
source  of  great  danger  is  that  state  of  the  pit  which  arises 
from  the  gradual  bleeding  of  gas  from  coal.  As  one  walks 
in  a  pit  one  bears  a  continual  "click,"  somewhat  like  the 
noise  of  a  cricket  In  some  pits  this  may  arise  from  the 
settling  down  of  the  strata  and  cracking  of  the  coal,  but  the 
experienced  ear  soon  knows  the  difference.  Should  any  ob- 
struction arise  to  the  ventilation  this  bleeding  very  gradually 
raises  the  atmosphere  from  zero  (the  point  of  purity)  to  the 
point  of  explosion,  or  it  may  be  that  a  gradual  fall  of  the 
barometric  pressure  admits  of  the  oozing  out  of  gas  either 
from  a  goaf,  or  from  the  mass  of  coal,  and  this,  although  mi- 
nute, may  be  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  explosive  the 
whole  wr  of  the  pit  if  the  ventilation  be  not  very  good.  There 
are  parts  of  a  pit  where  gas  may  be  so  accumulated  in  half- 
an-hour,  others  where  it  may  be  two  hours,  and  again  others 
a  whole  day  in  rising  to  a  dangerous  mixture. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  thirty  per  cent,  of  gas 
Dext  the  roof,  at  six  inches  below  twenty  per  cent.,  and  at 
fifteen  inches  no  gas  at  all.  I  propose  to  fix  the  instru- 
ments *  side  by  side,  one  for  svdden  and  the  other  for  slow 
accumulations,  m  pigeon-holes  cast -in  iron  posts,  such  as  are 
used  to  support  the  roofj  and  to  be  used  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  supports  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  carry  the  in- 
dicators, the  pigeon-holes  being  clear  all  through,  so  tliat  the 
gas  can  surround  or  sweep  over  the  instruments  while  they 
are  thus  perfectly  protected  from  falling  substances ;  for  the 
gas  as  it  occurs  in  the  pits  is  very  curious  in  its  habits,  and 
from  causes  too  minute  to  enumerate  here,  it  "goes  away" 

*  Thaw  Instniaents  wer«  f ally  described  in  the  CmsiiOAL  N>w6, 
▼oL  XT.,  p.  i^—iSag.  Ed.] 


from  a  spot  with  very  little  disturbance.  The  pigeon-holes 
being  formed  in  iron  posts  would  protect  the  instruments 
from  fulling  roof,  etc.,  while  grooves  may  be  cast  in  the  sides 
of  these  posts  for  the  telegraph  wires.  It  has  been  objected 
to  by  some  that  these  instruments  would  cause  greater  de- 
struction of  life  than  now  obUina,  but  these  persons  forget 
that  my  instruments  are  not  intended  to  displace  other  means 
of  safeguard.  They  are  simply  proposed  as  additional  means 
of  knowledge. 

For  the  indication  of  carbonic  acid  I  make  a  necessary 
alteration,  which  will  be  seen  in  the  figure : — 


This  hardly  needs  description,  for  it  will  be  seen  at  a  glance 
that  the  current  is  completed  by  the  rising  of  the  mercury 
to  the  wire  within  the  precincts  of  the  closed  chamber  form- 
ed by  the  neck  of  the  funnel,  and  is  adjusted  for  use  by 
turning  the  base  on  which  it  stands,  when  a  cork  rises  against 
a  leather  bag  and  presses  the  mercury  up  to  the  required 
height.  Whether  marble  will  stand  for  a  long  period  in  con- 
tact with  carbonic  acid,  and  without  disintegration,  has  to 
be  determined ;  if  not,  I  can  replace  it  by  another  septum. 
This  instrument  is  proposed  for  use  in  those  mines  where 
carbonic  acid  becomes  a  dangerous  substance  for  the  miner. 
It  has  been  sought  by  the  French  vine  growers  as  a  means 
of  telling  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  fermentation, 
and  it  seems  probable  that  the  English  brewers  will  use  it 
for  a  similar  purpose. 

In  the  event  of  fire-damp  being  known  to  exist,  either 
when  found  by  the  fixed  indicators  or  by  the  safety  lamps, 
I  propose  for  the  use  of  the  miner,  the  manager,  or  his  dep- 
uty, an  aneroid  indicator,  which  is  not  intended  for  the  de- 
tection  of  gas  in  the  pit.  The  intention  of  this  particular 
instrument  is  that  it  shall  be  used  to  determine  the  amount 
per  cent  of  fire-damp  or  carbonic  acid  where  they  are  known 
or  suspected  to  exist;  and  for  these  purposes  it  must  be 
used  in  rigid  accordance  with  the  instructions  given  with  it, 
not  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  user,  or  as  A«  Ainks  it  should 
beused. 

It  must  be  mentioned  that  the  same  amount  per  cent  of 
fire-damp  in  different  mines  requires  a  varying  time  for  diffu- 
sion through  the  same  tile.  The  cause  of  this  is  not  known, 
but  it  is  under  investigation.  This  variation  is  from  45  to  60 
seconds ;  but  in  the  same  pit  it  is  invariably  of  a  uniform  time, 
so  that,  once  determined,  there  is  no  trouble.  That  this  is  a 
property  of  the  gas,  is  proved  by  the  feet  that  10  ger  cent  of 
gas  in  one  pit  will  explode  violently,  while  10  per  cent  in 
another  explodes  with  much  less  violence.  The  underview- 
ers  call  one  a  sharp  gas  and  the  other  a  slow  gas,  and  the 
appearance  is  perfectly  well  marked  if  observed  for  a  few 
times  in  the  Davy  lamp. 

A  mine,  to  be  well  ventilated,  should  be 'so  supplied  with 
air  that  a  considerable  eruption  should  be  detected  below  the 
point  of  explosion.  Ventilation  which  is  only  sufficient  for 
ordinary  occasions  must  be  considered  entirely  insufficient 
The  Act  of  Parliament  at  present  in  force  specifies  that  the 
working  places  shall  be  so  ventilated  as  that  "  under  ordinary 
circumstances  "  they  shall  be  "  in  a  fit  state  for  working  pass- 
ing therein.'*    This  clause  of  the  Act  should  be  altered,  and 


CBagUrii  EdlHon,  VoL  ZVL,  Vo.  40^  PHM  I'Ui  1^] 


264 


British  Association  for  tTie  Advancement  of  Science. 


j  Chcmical  Niira, 
\     JS^ot^  1867. 


the  Act  should  specify  that  five  per  cent,  of  fire-damp  should 
be  the  maximum  ever  permitted  to  attain,  because  seven  and 
a  half  per  cent,  is  the  minimum  explosion  point,  and  five  is 
two-thirds  of  seven  and  a  half,  which  is  surely  ej&  near  as 
could  be  allowed  with  safety. 

It  has  been  objected  that  my  instruments  are  too  delicate 
for  use  in  the  pits — that,  in  fact,  they  demonstrate  the  exist- 
ence of  so  small  an  amount  of  gas  as  to  render  th«ir  adoption 
a  probable  source  of  trouble  by  "  showing  the  presence  of  i^ 
per  cent,  of  fire-damp,  and  thus  causing  alarm,  while  that 
amount  is  actually  harmless."  To  this  objection  I  would  reply 
that  I  have  made  my  instruments  so  delicate,  because  in  their 
former  state  it  was  objected  that  they  would  not  show  small 
quantities  —  that  is  smaller  quantities  than  could  be  detected 
bjr  the  safety  lamps  now  in  use.  But  this  objection  has  no 
weight,  because  the  instruments,  though  capable  of  being  so 
delicately  set,  need  not  be  so  adjusted  unless  by  the  will  of 
the  responsible  person.  I  prefer  that  they  should  be  so  ad- 
justed as  to  give  warning  only  when  the  quantity  of  gas 
present  reaches  the  limits  of  the  minimum  explosion  point ; 
still  I  would  urge  that  the  fact  of  an  instrument  showing 
small  quantities  as  well  as  large  does  not  necessarily  render 
it  valueless. 

When  I  was  permitted  to  exhibit  and  explain  my  instru- 
ments in  committee-room  D  of  the  House  of  Lords,  Mr.  J.  M. 
Day  inspected  them,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Mining  Association 
of  Great  Britain,  he  made  to  me  the  following  proposition: — 
"  That  I  should  make  experiments  in  the  coal  pits  he  would 
select,  and  if  my  instruments  would  effect  what  I  said  they 
would  do,  they  would  prove  to  be  very  valuable  and  would 
be  adopted — ^if,  on  the  other  hand,  they  failed  in  such  trials 
there  would  be  an  end  ot  the  matter.*' 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion  I  visited  such  pits  as 
Mr.  Day  appointed,  and  which  he  purposely  selected,  that  I 
might  meet  every  variety  of  circumstance.  My  experiments 
were  admitted  to  be  successful  1  have  just  (between  26th 
August  and  ist  September)  completed  an  exhaustive 
series  of  experiments  in  the  Monkland  pits  at  Airdrie, 
and  Mr.  Murray  gives  me  permission  to  say  that  he  has 
satisfied  himself  that  my  indicator  is  practicable  and  re- 
liable. 

From  facts  within  my  own  knowledge,  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  one  of  the  reasons  why  my  instruments  are  not 
adopted  is,  that  the -colliers  would  not  go  down  the  pits  or  re- 
main at  work  if  it  were  demonstrated  to  them  that  there  was 
a  dangerous  accumulation  of  fire-damp.  That  the  men  have 
fear  of  fire-damp  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  the  bench 
of  magistrates  of  Wednesbury  did,  on  the  2nd  November,  1866, 
convict  and  sentence  to  fourteen  days'  imprisonment  three 
colliers  for  refusing  to  work  in  a  coal  mine  because  the  said 
mine  was  full  of  fire-damp.  Yet  the  owners  took  no  meas- 
ures to  prove  to  the  men  the  absence — ^thus  admitting  the 
presence  of  fire-damp,  but  contented  themselves  with  the 
statement  that  the  complaint  of  the  men,  although  supported 
by  witnesses,  was  an  excuse  for  a  holiday.  I  am  of  opinion 
that  coal-owners  and  their  agents  will  not  voluntarily  adopt 
any  new  proposition,  they  having  for  years  blindly  ignored 
the  Davy  lamp,  and  they  still  refuse  in  a  very  great  measure 
to  adopt  safety-cages,  safety-hooks  to  prevent  overwinding, 
and  the  necessary  number  of  ventilating  shafts,  abiding  only 
just  inside  the  law  of  the  land. 

I  wish  to  remark  that  the  state  of  the  barometer  does  not 
give  warning  of  ihe  irruption  of  fire-damp  till  some  hours  after 
it  has  taken  place;  and  in  such  cases  mining  engineers  admit 
that  an  instrument  would  be  of  real  service. 

While  the  French  have  offered  considerable  prizes  for  the 
invention  of  means  devised  for  the  saving  of  life  in  mines, 
English  mine  owners  have  contented  themselves  with  offer- 
ing prizes  for  coal  cutting  machines  devised  only  for  the  sav- 
ing of  labour^  but  I  humbly  submit  that  if  I  am  right  in  my 
supposition  that  my  instruments  are  calculated  to  save  Irfe, 
they  ought  to  be  adopted,  and  all  I  ask  is  that  they  should 
be  fairly  tried.  I  am  permitted  to  refer  enquiries  to  Mr.  F. 
Murray,  Monkland  House,  Airdrie,  who  has  some  of  these 


instruments  in  his  pits,  and  who  will  kindly  exhibit  them  in 
action. 

In  consequence  of  a  wish  expressed  by  Francis  Murray, 
Esq.,  Monkland  House,  Airdrie,  I  sent  him  some  instruments 
that  he  in  my  absence  might  form  an  opinion  as  to  the  prao* 
tical  value  of  my  indicators,  and  that  the  colliery  people, 
workmen  as  well  as  officers,  might  find  out  any  objection 
to  the  instruments.  Mr.  Murray,  in  a  note  to  me,  says:— 
.  .  .  "the  instrument  was  carried  into  the  suspected 
places  and  put  on  the  top  of  a  post  close  to  the  roof  of  the 
working,  in  less  than  a  minute  after  the  connection  was  made 
the  bell  rang,  the  aneroid,  (a  pocket  indicator)  at  the  same 
spot  indicating  45  per  cent,  of  gas.  ....  I  allowed 
the  bell  to  ring  for  about  a  minute  and  then  screwed  up  the 
screw  until  it  ceased  to  touch  the  mercury,  in  less  than  a 
minute  the  alarm  sounded  again;  I  screwed  up  again  with 
the  same  results  until  the  screw  would  go  no  further.  Mr. 
Murray  then  placed  the  instrument  *'  on  the  floor  where  tho. 
aneroid  indicated  no  fire-damp  .  .  .  re-adjusted  the  mercary, 
and  repeated  the  above  experiments  with  the  same  results." 

'*  I  then  by  means  of  the  aneroid  ascertained  the  height  at 
which  7i  per  cent  of  gas  was  present,  and  then  the  alarm 
sounded  in  about  five  minutes.  I  then  got  all  the  gas  driven 
out  of  the  place,  the  aneroid  indicating  nothing  at  any  height, 
and  fixed  the  syphon  at  the  height  which  formerly  contained 
7^  per  cent,  ot  gas.  In  one  hour  the  alarm  bell  sounded. 
One  turn  of  the  screw  was  given,  and  the  alarm  sounded 
again  in  ten  minutes.  The  aneroid  at  the  moment  of  the 
second  alarm  indicated  8  per  cent,  of  gas.  These  experiments 
were  made  with  a  new  instrument  covered  with  f  inch 
marble,  and  an  old  instrument  the  thickness  of  marble  I  do 
not  recollect."  This  was  an  old  instrument  which  had  been 
in  use  a  year  in  some  pits  and  is  covered  with  i  inch  marble. 

On  Tuesday,  August  27,  I  went  into  the  pits  with  Mr. 
Murray  and  some  of  his  people,  experimenting  till  11 '30 
p.m.  without  a  single  failure.  Quite  the  last  thing,  we  chased 
the  pit  of  gns  and  set  four  syphon  instruments  with  a  view 
to  see  if  when  gas  accumulated  slowly  in  the  night  the  in- 
struments would  give  warning  and  maintain  their  action  till 
the  morning.  These  instruments  were  visited  in  the  morning 
by  Mr.  Crura  and  the  fireman  of  the  pit  Mr.  Oum  writes 
to  me  as  follows : — *'  The  place  in  the  pit  was  filled  with  fire- 
damp till  past  the  battery  and  the  beU.  The  bell  rung  with 
li  inch  of  zinc  above  top.  All  observations  in  the  dark— no 
light  even  in  main  road— no  Davy  lamp." 

Mr.  Murray  was  present  at  part  of  these  experiments,  and 
the  fireman,  accompanied  by  a  collier,  was  present  at  the 
whole  of  them  reading  the  barometer  indicator  with  me. 
Mr.  Murray  says,  "There  is  no  doubt  from  these  experiments, 
which  extended  over  a  fortnight^  that  the  instruments  are 
quite  reliable  tmd  quite  easily  managed.  We  worked  under 
great  disadvantages,  the  place  was  very  low,  I  think  the 
men  said  three  feet  four  inches ;  but  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
obtaining  the  results  needed." 

Professor  Anderson  believed  that  this  was  the  first  attempt 
to  apply  the  law  of  diffusion  to  practical  purposes,  and  it  was 
certainly  an  invention  of  the  highest  importance.  The  (Hily 
drawback  to  the  instrument  was  that  its  nicety  required  it  to 
be  worked,  not  by  ordinary  colliers,  but  by  intelligent  men. 

Mr.  J.  L.  Bell,  of  Newcastle,  feared  that  the  very  nature 
of  tlie  work  of  a  colliery,  which  would  necessitate  the  per- 
petual movement  of  the  apparatus,  might  impede  its  use  by 
the  workmen ;  but  thought  that,  in  the  bands  of  the  coal 
viewers,  it  might  be  turned  to  good  account,  as  the  accidents 
most  feared  by  coal  owners  were  those  in  which  the  atmoe- 
phere  of  a  whole  gallery,  or  a  portion  of  one,  was  polluted, 
'llie  instrument  would  be  likely  to  be  of  immense  value  in 
the  prevention  of  that  wholesale  destruction  of  life  we  had  so 
often  to  lament  He  was  afraid,  however,  that  familiarity 
would  breed  contempt,  and  after  the  novelty  of  the  mvention 
had  passed  away,  the  men  would  be  apt  to  neglect  it 

Mr.  Ansell,  in  reply,  stated  that  Mr.  Murray's  ordinary 
working  colliers  had  used  the  instrument  with  perfect  snocess. 
Mr.  Murray  had  suggested  that  the  whole  apparatus  sboold 


[English  Bdition,  YoL  ZVX,  Vo.  406,  pages  143, 144.] 


Chkxioal  Nrwa,  I 


British  Aeaociation  for*  the  Advancement  of  Science. 


265 


be  endoaed.    When  this  was  done  the  workmen  could  in  no 
way  misuse  it 


SECTION  B.      CHEMICAL  SCIENCE. 
"  yofeso/Analfftes  of  Gold  Coins  of  Columbia,  New  Grenada, 
ChiU,  and  Bolivia  ;  with  some  Account  of  the  Operaluma 
of  Gold  Mining  in  Nova  Scotia,  Dominion  of  Canada:^ 

'B7  George  Lawson,  PhD.,  LL.D., 
pBonasoB  or  Chbmutrt,  D.vlhousib  Oollboc,  Halifax,  N.S. 
^  The  first  part  of  this  paper  was  principally  devoted  to  the 
history  and  description  of  the  gold  coinage  of  the  above- 
mentioned  countries,  with  physical  and  chemical  analj'ses. 
Some  information  was  then  given  respecting  the  composition 
of  the  native  gold  of  coining  countries,  and  a  useful  list  was 
appended,  showing  the  principal  gold  coins  of  various  coun- 
tries, with  their  weights,  fineness,  and  values,'  and  a  synopsis 
of  the  results  of  assajrs  and  analyses  of  native  gold  from 
the  chief  mines  of  the  world. 

The  author  then  proceeds  in  the  following  words: — 
"  Writing  from  a  gold  country,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  if 
I  refer  briefly  to  the  results  of  gold  mining  in  this  province. 
The  geological  relations  of  our  auriferous  quartz  veins,  so  far 
as  ascertained,  have  been  detailed  by  several  able  geologists. 
I  shall,  therefore,  merely  offer  a  few  statistics,  serving 
to  show  the  extent  and  present  condition  of  the  mines,  which, 
although  they  have  not  proved  so  profitable  as  was  antici- 
pated by  speculators,  are  still  vigorously  worked  in  most  of 
the  districts." 

If  The  general  results  of  the  gold  mining  operations  in 
Nova  Scotia  up  to  the  end  of  last  year  (1866)  are  shown  in  a 
table,  the  facts  in  which  may  be  thus  summarised : — *'  Total 
amount  of  quartz,  eta,  crushed,  101,946  tons  :  gold  obtained, 
91,^58  ounces,  nearly  three  tons  weight,  worth  £380.861  ■ 
givmg  an  average  of  21^  grains  of  gold  for  every  100  lbs 
weight  of  quartz  crushecL  and  an  average  annual  yield  of 
gold  of  20  oz.  for  every  mtn  employed,  or  a  daily  return  of 
68.  lod.  per  nAn  for  every  working  day.  This  return  has  to 
meet,  not  only  the  wages  of  men,  but  likewise  interest  on 
capital,  royalty,  tools,  machinery,  and  expenses  of  manage- 
ment 

**  The  gold  of  all  the  Nova  Scotia  mines  compares  very 
favourably  with  that  obtained  in  other  countries ;  in  other 
words,  our  gold  is  remarkably  pure.  Whilst  Californian 
gold,  as  shown  by  thousands  of  assays,  contains  on  an  aver- 
age ii|  per  cent  of  silver,  and  the' gold  of  several  of  the 
South  American  States  a  much  larger  proportion,  our  Nova 
Scotia  gold  contains  (on  an  average  of  analyses)  less  than 
4  per  cent,  and  some  samples  less  than  2  per  cent  of 
silver.  The  gold  would  be  still  purer  were  it  not  that 
the  various  metallic  minerals  that  oocur  in  the  quartz 
veins  and  adhering  slate  and  quartzite  are  crushed  up  with 
the  gold  in  the  process  of  extraction  ;  and,  no  doubt, 
likewise  whilst  iron  and  copper  are  abstracted  from  the 
stamping  boxes  and  machinery  during  amalgamation,  lead, 
silver,  eta,  are  probably  introduced  from  impurity  of  the 
mercury  employed.  The  principal  minerals  of  the  auriferous 
quartz  veins  here  are  zinc  blende,  galena,  iron  and  copper 
pyrites,  and  mispickel  (arsenical  pyrites);  which  last  abounds 
in  some  mines,  and  causes  inconvenience  to  the  workmen,  if 
the  ore  be  roasted  before  crushing." 

In  all  our  mines  the  gold  is  separated  by  the  method  of 
amalgamation.  The  quartz  is  pulverised  in  a  strong  iron 
stamping  box,  which  rests  on  a  heavy  granite  block  to 
resist  the  continual  action  of  the  heavy  piston  hammers. 
The  stamping  box  contains  mercury,  and  has  a  continuous 
supply  of  water.  The  powdered  quartz  is  continually  floating 
out,  as  a  silt  or  "  slime, **  through  a  wire  gauze  arranpement, 
and  is  carried  in  a  small  hollow  sluice  over  little  sunken  cups 
or  pools  filled  with  mercury,  then  through  a  series  of  sluices 
or  "  shaking  tables"  lined  with  copper,  the  surface  of  w^hich 
lias  been  rubbed  or  amalgamated  with  mercury  ;  these  shak- 
ing tables  are  arranged  one  under  the  other  like  steps  of  a 
staircase,  and  have  a  continued  oscillating  motion,  whilst  the 


stream  of  water  (hot  or  cold)  runs  from  one  to  the  other, 
carrying  the  slimea  Thus  the  process  goes  on  continuously, 
—a  "  crusher,"  as  it  is  called,  being  in  reality  a  mill  in  which 
the  various  processes  of  pulverising,  washing,  and  amalga- 
mating go  on  during  the  week  without  interruption.  A 
crusher  usually  consists  of  a  number  of  stamping  boxes,  and 
relative  sluices,  and  other  arrangements,  such  as  described, 
arranged  parallel  to  each  other,  so  that  two  or  three  men 
may  conveniently  feed  the  whole  of  the  stamping  boxes. 
The  mercury  takes  up  the  gold  from  the  sluices  as  they  pass 
over  its  surface,  and  the  amalgamated  surfaces  of  copper 
slowly  become  incrusted  with  a  dull  pasty  coating.  This 
pasty  substance  of  a  leaden  colour  is  the  gold  amalgam, 
a  chemical  compound  of  gold  and  mercury.  Once  a  week 
the  mill  is  stopped,  or  it  may  be  once  a  fortnight,  or  once  a 
month,  and  the  pasty  incrustation  is  carefully  scraped  away 
from  the  shaking  tables  and  sluices,  the  mercury  is  taken 
out  of  the  cups  or  grooves,  and  the  whole  put  into  an  iron 
retort ;  heat  is  applied,  the  mercury  is  distilled  off  to  be  used 
again  for  the  absorption  of  fresh  supplies  of  the  precious 
metal,  and  the  gold  is  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  retort  in 
the  form  of  a  more  or  less  porous  and  impure  mass.  It  is 
re-melted  to'  get  rid  of  impurities,  and  is  then  ready  to  be 
sent  in  the  form  of  a  brick  or  bar  to  the  bank  or  mint. 

The  process  lately  invented  by  Mr.  Crookes,  by  which  so- 
dium amalgam  is  added  to  the  mercury,  has  not  yet  been 
taken  advantage  of  to  any  extent  in  our  mines.  I  have  ex- 
perimented to  a  considerable  extent  on  the  effects  of  sodium 
amalgam,  and  find  it  to  exert  a  very  remarkable  power  in 
facilitating  the  absorption  of  gold  by  mercury,  quite  inde- 
pendently of  any  action  of  the  soda  necessarily  formed  dur- 
ing the  operation.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  much  benefit 
would  result  from  the  use  of  Mr.  Crookes^s  amalgam.  The 
coating  of  the  copper  surfaces  with  mercury  alone  has  beeu 
found  practically  to  be  a  troublesome  and  tedious  operation ; 
but  the  use  of  a  little  sodium  amalgam  added  to  the  mercury 
enables  the  coating  to  be  given  by  a  simple  rubbing  with- 
out any  waste  of  time.  Some  illustrations  of  the  advantages 
of  Mr.  Crookes's  process  were  given  in  a  paper  which  I  pub- 
lished last  year  in  the  Transactions  of  our  Institute  of  Natu- 
ral Science.*  It  was  stated  that  in  some  experiments  under- 
taken in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Krackowizer,  formerly  of  Vi- 
enna, at  the  Lake  Major  Mines,  a  quantity  of  pyrites  collect- 
ed from  the  tailings  (after  passing  through  the  mill  in  the 
usual  way)  was  re-subjected  to  the  action  of  mercury,  te 
which  sodium  had  now  been  added,  and  by  this  means  the 
waste  material  from  which  all  the  gold  was  supposed  to  have 
been  abstracted,  yielded  a  fresh  supply  at  the  rate  of  five 
ounces  of  gold  per  tou  of  pyrites.  In  the  waslihig  of  allu- 
vium, during  which  there  is  a  great  loss  of  mercury  from 
"flouring,"  the  advantages  of  Mr.  Crookes's  process  were 
equally  obvious. 

Professor  Anderson,  in  proposing  thanks  to  the  author  of 
this  paper,  asked  Mr.  Crookes,  who  was  in  the  room,  if  he 
oould  give  any  f»;rther  details  respecting  the  sodium  pro- 
cess of  amalgamation  of  which  he  was  the  inventor. 

Mr.  Crookes  said  that  there  was  one  thing  which  ought 
especially  to  be  attended  to  in  employing  this  process,  and 
that  was  to  avoid  introducing  too  much  sodium.  Kvery  fail- 
ure which  had  come  under  his  notice  had  arisen  from  igno- 
rance of  the  action  which  the  sodium  was  intended  to  ex- 
ert on  the  mercury.  If  too  much  were  added  it  exerted  a 
chemical  action,  reduced  the  iron,  copper,  lead,  etc.,  which 
might  be  present  in  the  ore,  and  loaded  the  mercury  with 
base  metals,  destroying  its  power  of  wetting  gold,  and  caus- 
ing it  rapidly  to  flour  away  when  triturated  in  a  stream  of 
water.  If.  however,  only  a  trace  of  sodium  were  introduced 
(say  I  in  10  000,  or  i  in  100,000),  it  acted  physically  rather 
than  chemically ;  it  put  the  mercury  into  a  highly  electro- 
positive state,  and  by  greatly  widening  the  electric  interval 
between  this  metal  and  gold,  increased  their  mutual  afllnity. 


*  "  On  some  recent  Iraprovemeato  In  the  Amalgnmation  Process  for 
Extracting  Qold  from  Quartz.'*  By  George  Lawgon,  LL.D.  Trans. 
Inst.  Nat.  Sdenci  of  Nova  Scotia,  part  iv.,  pp.  71-76. 


[Bnglidk  Edition,  VoL  XVI,  Na  406,  pagw  144, 145, 14&] 


^66 


British  Association  for  tfie  Advancement  of  Science. 


j  Cdimical  Kcwi, 
i      Ko9^  186T. 


Profeesor  Williamson  said  that  some  specimens  of  aurifer- 
ous pyrites  had  been  brought  under  his  notice,  containing  as 
mucjfi  as  25  ounces  of  gold  to  the  ton,  and  which  yielded 
nothing  whatever  by  the  ordinary  mercurial  treatment.  He 
was  anxious  to  know  from  Mr.  Crookes  whether  his  sodium 
process  would  extract  the  gold,  and  would  also  enquire 
whether  it  was  known  m  what  state  of  combination  the 
gold  existed. 

Mr.  Crookes  replied  that  the  general  opinion  was  that  the 
gold  existed  in  aurifeious  pyrites  in  the  metallic  state,  and 
not  as  a  single  or  double  sulphide.  The  gold  was  sometimes 
visible  in  plates  between  the  crystals  of  pyrites,  and  was  fre- 
quently left  behind  in  the  form  of  brilliant  spangles  and 
crystals  on  dissolving  the  pyrites  in  acid. 

Although  mercury  in  its  ordinary  state  would  not  extract 
the  gold  from  pyrites,  the  addition  of  a  trace  of  sodium  con- 
ferred this  property  upon  it,  and  in  skilful  hands  it  was  easy 
to  obtain  almost  the  assay  quantity  of  gold  without  appre- 
ciable loss  of  mercury  by  flouring. 

Mondai/j  September  gth. 

The  meeting  was  very  well  attended  this  morning.  The 
first  paper  was  one  entitled, 

^''Remarks on  the  Cakuhu  of  Chemical  OperaiUmsy    By  Dr. 
A.  Cbuh  Bbown. 

This  was  followed  by  an  exceedingly  animated  discussion, 
in  which  Professor  Clerk  Maxwell,  F.R.S.,  Rev.  Professor 
Harley,  F.R.S.,  Mr.  A.  R.  Catton,  Professor  Wanklyn,  Dr.  Od- 
liug,  F.R.S.,  and  Dr.  Williamson,  P.R.S.,  took  part.  The  line 
of  argument  was  somewhat  similar  to  that  adopted  on  the 
occasion  of  the  discussion  of  Sir  B.  Brodie's  paper  at  the 
Chemical  Society,  and  the  general  feeling  was  adverse  to 
the  introduction  of  so  radical  a  change  as  that  advocated 
by  Sir  B.  Brodie,  although  most  of  the  speakers  appeared 
disposed  to  reserve  their  opinion  till  the  publication  of  the 
second  part  of  the  "  Calculus  of  Chemical  Operations."  Time 
will  not  admit  of  our  preparing  an  abstract  of  the  paper  and 
discussion  in  time  for  publication  this  week. 

This  was  followed  by  a  paper —  ' 

"  On  certain  New  Processes  in  Photography^    By  J.  Spilleb, 
F.O.S. 

I  have  the  pleasure  of  submitting  to  the  notice  of  the 
Section  several  interesting  results  and  improvements  in 
photography,  based,  it  may  be  said,  on  the  chemistry  of 
gelatin.  The  processes  to  which  I  refer  are  the  various 
modifications  of  the  Woodbury  type,  including  the  new 
method  of  micro-photo-sculpture,  the  art  of  photo-lithog- 
raphy, as  practised  in  the  Royal  Arsenal  at  Woolwidi; 
and  some  illustrations  of  the  use  of  gelatin  or  albumen,  on 
a  foundation  of  silk,  satin,  or  cambric,  the  work  of  H.  P. 
Pritchard,  of  the  War  Department. 

The  Hon.  H.  Fox  Talbot  was  one  of  the  first  to  describo 
and  make  a  practical  use  of  the  action  of  light  upon  a  mix- 
ture of  gelatin  and  a  soluble  bichromate,  and  after  him  Colo- 
onel  Sir  Henry  James,  Mr.  Swan,  of  Newcastle,  and  Mr. 
Woodbury,  of  Manchester,  have  applied  the  same  chemical 
principle  in  new  directions.  It  is  known  that  the  chemical 
rays  of  light  have  the  effect  of  rendering  insoluble  gelatin 
to  which  a  bichromate  has  been  added.  It  would  appear 
that  this  oxidising  salt  hardens  the  animal  substance,  by 
forming  with  it  a  combination  of  chromic  oxide.  In  proof 
of  t^is  view,  it  may  be  stated  that  Mr.  Swan  has  lately  de- 
vised a  mode  of  working,  in  which  a  minute  quantity  of 
chrome  alum  or  sulphate  of  chromium  is  used  instead  of  the 
red  chromate,  and  it  is  found  that  when  dried  this  mixture 
is  not  again  affected  by  water.  The  carbon  prints  of  Mr. 
Swan,  which  were  exhibited  and  so  much  admired  last  year 
at  Nottingham,  are  illustrations  of  the  use  of  a  chromate  in 
conjunction  with  gelatin  and  pigments.  Mr.  Woodbury's 
process  is  also  based  on  the  insolubility  of  the  cliromo- 
gelatin  after  exposure  to  light,  and  upon  the  subsequent  ac- 


tion of  water  upon  a  sensitive  film,  which  has  been  in  dif- 
ferent degrees  influenced  by  insolation  under  an  ordinary 
photographic  negative.  The  depths  of  tint  in  the  original 
are  represented  by  variations  in  the  thickness  of  the  film  of 
gelatin  left  unacted  upon  by  water,  and  this  dried  may  then 
lie  used  as  a  matrix  to  produce  a  corresponding  series  of 
depressions  upon  a  surface  of  lead  or  type  metal  by  the  aid 
of  a  powerful  hydraulic  press.  The  blocks  so  produced 
serve  for  printing  off  a  great  number  of  proofs  when  they 
are  liberally  "  inked "  with  warm  gelatin,  highly  charged 
with  Frankfort  black  or  other  suitable  pigment,  and  pressed 
down  upon  a  smooth  sheet  of  paper  until  the  excess  of  ink 
is  forced  out  on  all  four  sides  of  the  block,  and  so  removed 
from  the  space  constituting  the  picture,  which,  when  set,  is, 
lastly,  protected  with  a  varnish  of  collodion.  (Specimens 
of  the  Woodbury  type  were  exhibited.)  A  glass  plate  may 
be  used  instead  of  papor  to  receive  the  ink,  and  this,  backed 
with  another  (opal)  glass,  gives  an  excellent  result,  suitable 
for  a  variety  of  ornamental  purposes.    (Specimen  shown.) 

Mr.  Woodbury  has  lately  perfected  a  modification  of  his 
process,  which  is  applicable  to  the  representation  in  high 
relief  of  microscopic  objects.  The  method  consists  in  spread- 
ing a  warm  solution  of  gelatin,  containing  a  little  sugar  aod 
chromate  of  potash,  over  a  glass  plate  previously  coated 
with  collodion.  The  film  sets  on  cooling,  and  is  then  placed 
in  contact  with  an  ordinary  photographic  negative  of  the 
microscopic  objects  to  be  delineated,  exposed  to  light,  sub- 
mitted as  before  to  the  action  of  water,  and  the  soluble 
portions  washed  aw^y.  When  the  surface  moisture  has 
evaporated,  a  mixture  of  plaster  of  Paris,  containing  a  small 
proportion  of  alum,  is  poured  over  the  relief  to  the  thickness 
of  half-an-inch,  and  left  to  set  When  dry  it  will  be  found, 
owing  to  the  alum  in  the  plaster  hardening  the  surface  of 
the  gelatin,  directly  on  coming  in  contact  therewith,  to  leave 
the  gelatin  easily,  without  any  fear  of  adhosion.  To  give  a 
finished  appearance  to  the  resultif  g  casts,  this  intaglio,  when 
dry,  may  be  placed  in  a  lathe,  and  a  suitably  border  turned 
on  it,  which  will  be  represented  in  the  resulting  proofs  by  a 
raised  border,  similar  to  what  is  seen  on  medallions  or 
plaster  casts.  The  name  of  the  object  may  also  be  neatly 
engraved  on  the  intaglio,  to  appear  in  raised  characters  on 
the  reliefs.  This  int^lio  should  then  be  well  waxed  to  fill 
up  the  pores,  and  is  ready  for  taking  any  number  of  impres- 
sions in  plaster ;  or  a  better  plan  is  to  take  one  in  plaster, 
and  having  smoothed  away  any  defects  to  mould  a  reverse 
in  sulphur,  which  will  give  a  greater  number  of  fine  impres- 
sions.    (Specimens  exhibited.)  * 

Great  progress  has  been  made  during  the  last  year  m  per- 
fecting the  details  of  photo-lithography,  and  the  results 
which  I  now  exhibit  are  illustrations  of  the  practical  nse  of 
this  art  as  a  means  of  procuring  on  a  reduced  scale  printed 
reproductions  of  the  largo  series  of  lithographs  used  for  the 
use  of  the  British  army  by  the  Royal  Carriage  Departmeut 
Negatives  of  the  required  size  are  taken  in  the  first  instance 
by  the  collodion  process,  this  service  being  performed  in  the 
photographic  establishment  of  the  War  Department  at  Wool- 
wich, under  my  supervision.  The  pictures  are  then  copied 
upon  a  sensitive  surface,  prepared  by  fioating  a  sheet  of 
bank  post  paper  upon  warm  chromo-gelatin  solution  in«<lfi 
as  follows: — I.  Glelatin,  3  oz. ;  hot  water,  40  oz.  IL  Bichro- 
mate of  potash,  2  oz. ;  hot  water,  10  oz.  The  two  solutions 
are  mixed  together,  and  should  then  be  kept  from  the  light 
The  prepared  side  of  the  paper  is  taken  dry,  laid  against 
the  negative,  and  for  a  short  time  is  exposed  to  light. 
It  is  then  greased  all  over  by  spreading  a  thin  layer  of 
"  litho-transfer  ink "  upon  stone,  and  passing  through  a 
lithographic  press,  and  the  whole  surface  is  in  the  next 
place  submitted  to  the  action  of  warm  water  thickened  with 
gum.  The  ink  resting  upon  the  unexposed  portions  of  the 
print  is  thus  removed,  tho  gelatin  in  these  parts  re- 
maining perfectly  soluble,  and  the  paper  is  washed  with 
dilute  gum  water,  using  a  sponge  to  assist  in  detaching  th« 
loosened  layer  of  ink,  and  finally  washed  with  warm  water 
alone.    This  sheet  of  paper  is  an  accurate  transcript  is 


[English  EdMoo,  VoL  ZVl.,  No.  406,  pagw  14fi,  147.] 


OsaiiCAL  News, ) 


JBntieh  Assodatian  for  the  Advancement  of  Sdeiice. 


267 


Mthographio  ink  of  the  original  photograph.  All  the  lines 
should  he  dear  and  sharp,  and  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
transfbrrmg  to  stone  and  printing  off  anj  requh^d  number 
of  impressions  by  following  the  details  of  the  ordinary  litho- 
graphic process.  The  cost  of  production  is  very  trifling, 
and  a  lai^  number  of  prints,  both  plain  and  coloured,  haye 
been  executed  in  this  manner  by  Hr.  Henry  Butter,  of  the 
Royal  Carriage  Department  I  have,  lastly,  to  show  a  few 
Bpecimens  of  photographs  printed  on  silk,  satin,  and  cambric, 
the  work  of  Mr.  H.  B.  Pritchard,  of  the  W.  D.  He  produces 
them  by  salting  the  fkbrics  with  the  following  solution: — 
Ck>mmon  salt,  5  grammes;  water,  500  cubic  centimetres; 
albumeu,  the  whites  of  four  eggs.  The  air-dried  fabric  is 
then  sensitised,  printed,  and  fixed,  in  the  ordinary  manner, 
but  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  This  method  furnishes  a 
means  of  reproducing  photographs  upon  a  stronger  and 
more  flexible  basis  than  paper,  and  is  particularly  applicable 
for  diagram  purposes  and  architectural  plans ;  we  have  used 
it  in  the  Royal  Arsenal  for  preparing  sketches,  and  illus- 
trated descriptions  for  military  instruction  and  use  in  the  field, 

A  discussion  followed. 

The  next  paper  was  one 
*^  Ona  new  Polarising  Phoiometer.^^   By  W.  Cbookes,  F.R.S., 
which  will  appear  in  our  next. 

MEETTNO   OF  THE  GENERAL  COMMITTEE. 

A  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  was  held  on  Monday 
afternoon  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  place  of  meeting 
of  the  British  Associatiou  next  year.  His  Grace  the  Duke  of 
Buccleuch  presided,  supported  by  Sir  Roderick  Murchison, 
Dr.  William  Fairbairn,  Professor  Phillips,  Sir  John  Lubbock, 
Prof.  Tyndall,  S.  M.  E.  Grant  Duff,  Esq.,  Sir  John  Bowring, 
and  the  Earl  of  Enniskillen. 

Deputations  were  present  from  Plymouth,  Exeter,  Norwich, 
Liverpool,  and  Edinburgh,  inviting  the  British  Association 
to  meet  in  their  respective  towns  next  year.  After  a  discus- 
sion the  daims  of  Norwich  carried  the  day,  and  it  was  de- 
dded  that  the  British  Association  should  meet  in  that  city,  in 
August  1868,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Joseph  Dalton 
Hooker,  M.D.,  D.O.L.,  F.Ra,  eta 

The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  Vice-Presidents 
for  the  next  year's  meeting  of  the  Association  r—The  Karl  of 
Leicester,  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Norfolk ;  Sir  John  Peter  Boileau, 
Bart.;  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart,  F.R.S.,  the  Rev.  Adam  Sedg- 
wick,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  etc.,  Woodwardian  Professor  of  Geology 
in  the  University  of  Cambridge;  J.  Couch  Adams,  Esq.,  M.A., 
D.O.I1.,  F.R.fi.,  Lowerdean,  and  Professor  of  Astronomy  and 
G^roetry  in  the  University  of  Cambridge ;  Thomas  Bright- 
well,  Esq. 

Dr.  Dalrymple,  Rev.  Canon  Hind  Howell,  and  Rev.  J. 
Cronipton  were  appointed  Local  Secretaries;  and  S.  Gurney 
Buxton,  Esq.,  and  R<^er  Kerrison,  Esq.,  were  appointed  Local 
Treasurers  for  tlie  meeting  at  Norwich. 

In  the  evening  Professor  Alexander  Herschel,  F.R.A.S.,  of 
Glasgow,  delivered  a  lecture  on  Meteors  and  Meteorites,  in 
the  Kinnaird  Hall,  which  was  crowded  by  a  very  brilliant 
audience. 

A  report  of  this  lecture  is  unavoidably  postponed  for 
want  of  space. 

On  Tuesday  the  Chemical  Section  met  as  usual,  when  the 
following  papers  were  read :  — 

1.  Lothian  BelL— On  the  present  State  of  the  Manufacture  of 
Iran  in  Britain,  and  its  position  as  Compared  with  that  of 
same  other  countries. 

J.  B.  Lawes  and  J.  H.  Gilbert— iVc/tmtfwry  notice  of  Re- 
suUs  on  the  Composition  of  Wheats  grown  for  twenty  years  in 
succession  on  the  same  land. 

R.  F.  Smith. — On  the  Gaseous  Products  of  the  Destructive 
IHsliUaUon  of  Hydrocarbons^  obtained  fr^n  Shales  and  Coals 
at  low  and  high  temperaturee. 

P.  Spence. —  On  the  Economisation  of  the  Sulphurous  Acid 
in  Copper  SmeHing, 


W.  L.  Scott. — On  the  Bisulphide  of  Calcium  as  a  preservative 
of  animal  substances. 

W.  L.  Scott— iVbfe  on  the  Artificial  Production  of  Oil  of 
Cinnamon. 

T.  T.  P.  Bruce  Warren.— (?n  the  Eleetriccd  Hesistances  of 
the  Fixed  and  Volatile  OHn. 

Full  reports  of  these  papers  are  in  hand,  and  will  appear 
next  week. 

CONCLUDING  MEETINGS. 

A  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  was  hold  on  Wednes- 
day, Sept  II.  The  Secretary  read  the  grants  of  money  for 
scientific  purposes,  from  which  we  extract  the  following: — 
Dr.  Anderson,  Synthesis  of  Organic  Acids,  £60 ;  Mr.  R  R. 
Lankester,  Investigation  of  Animal  Substances  with  the  Spec- 
troscope, £1$)  I^r.  Bennett,  Action  of  Mercury  on  the  Se- 
cretion of  Bile,  £z^ ;  Dr.  Richardson,  Physiological  Action  of 
the  Methyl  Series,  £2$.  The  Secretary  then  read  the  rec- 
ommendations not  involving  money  grants,  which  included 
resolutions  relating  to  the  continuation  of  storm  signals ;  and 
the  introduction  of  the  metric  system  to  government  schools. 
These  were  referred  to  the  Council  of  the  Association.  It 
was  also  recommended,  in  Section  A. — That  the  Metrical 
Committee  be  re-appointed ;  that  Professor  Stokes  be  request- 
ed to  continue  his  researches  in  physical  optics ;  that  Mr. 
Low,  Mr.  Glaisher,  Dr.  Moffat,  Mr.  C.  Brooke,  Dr.  Anderson, 
and  Dr.  Ward  Ricliardson  be  a  Committee  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  accurate  meteorological  observations  on  ozone ;  that 
Dr.  Tjndall,  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair,  Dr.  Odling,  Rev.  C.  Pritchard, 
Professor  Kelland,  Professor  W.  A.  Miller,  and  Professor  Fos- 
ter, be  a  Committee  for  the  purpose  of  enquiring  into  the 
present  system  of  teaching  the  elements  of  dynamics,  experi- 
mental physics,  and  chemistry  in  schools  of  various  classes, 
and  of  suggesting  the  best  means  of  promoting  this  object,  in 
accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the  report  of  the 
Committee  appointed  by  the  Council  of  the  British  Associa- 
tion, and  that  Professor  Foster  and  Dr.  Odling  be  the  Secre- 
taries. Section  B.— That  Dv,  Matthiessen  be  requested  to 
continue  his  researches  on  the  clieuiical  constitution  of  cast 
iron ;  that  Mr.  Fairley  be  requested  to  continue  his  researches 
on  the  polycyanides  of  the  organic  radicals;  that  the  Commit- 
tee on  Scientific  Evidence  in  Courts  of  Law,  consisting  of  the 
Rev.  William  Vernon  Harcourt,  Professor  A.  W.  Williamson, 
the  Right  Hon.  J.  Napier,  Mr.  W.  Tite,  Professor  Christisou, 
Mr.  Carpmael,  Dr.  Tyndall,  Mr.  J.  Hey  wood,  Mr.  J.  F.  Bateman, 
Mr.  G.  Webster,  Sir  B.  Brodie,  and  Professor  W.  Allen  Miller 
(with  power  to  add  to  their  number)  be  re-appointcd,  and  that 
Professor  Williamson  be  the  Secretary.  The  Secretary  then 
read  a  communication:— That  the  President  of  the  Associa- 
tion be  requested  to  communicate  the  report  of  the  Committee 
appointed  by  the  Council  to  consider  the  best  means  for  pro- 
moting scientific  education  in  schools,  to  the  President  of  the 
Privy  iOouncil,  and  to  the  Pariiamentary  Committee,  on  the 
part  of  the  Association ;  and  that  the  general  ofQcers  be  au- 
thorized to  take  steps  to  give  publicity  to  the  report  Dr. 
Richardson  intimated  thac  at  the  next  meethigof  the  General 
Committee  he  would  move  that  a  Section  for  Applied  Science 
should  be  formed.  The  concluding  general  meeting  of  the 
Association  took  place  m  the  afternoon,  at  three  o'clock.  Mr. 
Griffiths  made  the  following  statement  of  the  number  of 
tickets  which  hod  been  issued  on  the  occasion  of  the  Associa- 
tion meeting  in  Dundee:— 167  old  life,  25  new  life  members, 
193  old  annual,  118  new  annual,  1,163 associates;  771  ladies, 
and  7  foreigners;  total,  2,444.' 


SolpbHrous  Acid  and   Hydrle  Sulphide.— S.  de 

Luca  and  T.  Waldini.    The  mutual  decomposition  of  these 
two  bodied  is  not  correctly  expressed  by  the  equation : 

2HS  +  S02=2HO  +  3S 
for  the  formation  of  pentath ionic  acid  is  observed  during  the 
reaction,  which,  however,  decomposes  again,  setting  free  sul- 
phur. The  sulphur,  liberated,  appears  in  two  modifications, 
of  which  one  is  soluble  in  carbonic  disulphide,  the  other  in- 
soluble.— {Comptes  R,  Ixiv.  1200.) 


[Bnglkh  Bdltloii,  VoL  Z7X;  Ho.  406,  pages  147, 148 ;  ITo.  404^  pag*  109.] 


J 


268 


Faraday. 


( QynmicAi.  N«w^ 
1      No9^  18S7. 


FARADAY. 


A  TRULY  great  man  is,  alas  I  gone  from  among  us,  and  a 
man,  moreover,  whose  place  cannot  be  filled.  We  have 
great  chemists,  and  great  physicists  left,  but  we  have  not, 
and  probably  never  shall  again  have,  a  Faraday. 

It  is  not  often  given  to  the  world  to  possess  a  man  so 
nearly  without  a  blemish,  either  in  his  morals  or  bis  intellect, 
— it  is  still  less  often  given  to  the  world  to  possess  a  man  of 
whom  all  men  speak  well.  In  this  respect  Faraday  stood 
absolutely  alone.  But  in  how  many  more  respects  did  he 
stand  alone?  A  man  of  humble  birth,  and  of  high — the 
highest — aspirations,  he  sought  no  social  distinctions :  a  man 
born  poor,  and  yet  who  never  coveted  riches.  He  was  the 
only  man,  we  s^iy,  who  has  raised  himself  to  the  first  rank  in 
science  in  this  country,  whose  every  attribute  we  may  fear- 
lessly hold  up  as  a  model  to  our  children  I  Davy  had  as  great, 
certainly  not  a  greater  genius,  but  his  vast  ambition,  eternal 
pining  after  rank,  and  his  hauteur,  made  up  an  ensemble 
whicli  it  is  not  for  us  to  imitate.  Wollaston  was  as  great  a 
manipulator,  and  possibly  a  greater  chemist,  but  hig  secretiye- 
ness  and  his  coldness  forbid  us  from  entertaining  even  the 
faintest  interest  in  him  as  a  man.  Despite  the  recent 
discoveries  (?)  of  our  French  brethren,  we  cherish  a  feeling  of 
veneration  akin  to  awe  for  Newton,  but  there  is  no  tinge  of 
affection  in  our  admiration.  But  Faraday^s  intellect,  while  it 
burnt  as  brightly  as  Davy's,  was  as  deep  searching  as  Wollas- 
ton's.^  and  as  reverent  as  Newton's,  had  nothing  in  it  which 
could  repel  us,  chill  us,  or  forbid  our  affection. 

We  will  not  suppose  for  a  moment  that  our  readers  are  not 
to  some  extent  aware  of  the  principal  incidents  in  the  career 
of  Faraday,  but  we  cannot,  while  announcing  his  death, 
omit,  in  a  few  words,  a  slight  sketch  of  his  history,  premising 
that  less  of  it  is  known  than  we  could  wish ;  but  this  defect 
will  soon  be  remedied,  for  too  much  cannot  be  known  about 
him,  and  unlike  most  great  men,  he  will  never  require  a 
Froude  to  rehabilitate  his  name. 

Michael  Faraday  was  born  in  1791,  at  Newington,  in 
Surrey.  His  father  was  a  blacksmith,  and  we  deeply  regret 
that  we  have  no  authentic  record  of  his  youth  until  the  time 
he  was  apprenticed  to  a  book-binder.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  at  the  time  of  his  apprenticeship  ho  was  enthusiastically 
fond  of  science,  and  had  even^  made  an  electrical  machine 
and  other  scientific  apparatus.  The  almost  incredible  skill 
which  he  had  with  his  hands  (a  skill  which  is  born  in  a  man, 
and  which,  in  its  perfection,  cannot  be  taught),  induces  us  to 
believe  that  he  would  find  much  less  difficulty  than  most 
men  in  acquiring  the  power  of  using  the  materia  technica  of 
chemistry  and  physics ;  and  the  readiness  with  which  Sir 
Humphry  Davy  received  him  as  an  assistant  into  his  labor- 
atory, is  a  pretty  strong  evidence  that  at  that  time  he  knew 
enough  of  chemistry  to  make  himself  exceedingly  useful. 

The  jfciirning-poiut  in  his  career  really  begins  with  his  con- 
struction of  the  electrical  machine  and  apparatus  to  which  we 
have  alluded.  His  master  happening  to  point  them  out  to  a 
Mr.  Dance,  a  member  of  the  Royal  Institution,  that  gentle- 
man took  him  to  hear  some  lectures  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy^s. 
The  result  may  easily  be  guessed.  Every  one  knows  that 
there  was  an  almost  magical  charm  about  Davy's  lectures. 
His  wonderful  discoveries,  his  enthusiasm,  his  brilliant  ex- 
periments, his  great  reputation — if  all  these  advantages  could 
so  enchain  his  audiences,  that  the  women  would  fall  in  love 
with  him,  and  send  him  letters,  no  wonder  that  the  intellect 
of  the  noble  boy  was  captivated  and  fired  by  them.  In  the 
puriiy  and  simplicity  of  his  heart  he  thought  that  the  priests 
who.  cherished  the  sacred  fire  were  free  from  the  meannesses 
and  weaknesses  of  ordinary  men. 

Unliappily,  scientific  men  are  by  no  means  what  young 
Faraday  thought  them,  and  although  science  proved  to  him 
an  indulgent  mistress,  she  too  often  is  seen  as  the  stem 
goddess  who  can  only  be  propitiated  by  the  sacrifice  of  life ; 
or,  like  the  dames  in  the  old  romances  of  chivalry,  by  the 
performance  of  labours  which  tax  the  strength  and  courage 
of  her  votaries  to  the  very  utmost.    The  whole  history  of 


science  is  the  history  of  a  struggle  for  pre-eminence  among  its 
students,  who,  too  often,  take  more  delight  in  demolishing 
the  reputation  of  the  one  man  who  has  raised  himself  above 
his  fellows,  than  in  assisting  the  ninety  and  nine  poor 
students  who  vainly  appeal  to  them  for  help.  The  war 
between  professors  is  a  war  to  the  death,  and  woe  be  to  the 
weaker  sword;  and  as  the  crusaders  crammed  the  true  faith 
down  the  throats  of  the  unbelievers  beneath  the  banners  of 
the  Cross,  so  professors  slaughter  each  other's  reputations  in 
the  gentle  name  of  truth.  As  poor  Mulder  said  of  his  tor- 
mentor, "It  is  in  the  name  of  truth  that  he  plunges  his 
branding  iron  into  the  fire,  and  it  is  while  shouting  *  truth ' 
that  he  presses  it  on  the  forehead  of  his  victim,  and  r^oices 
in  the  ascending  vapour  I " 

Faraday,  knowing  nothing  of  these  things^  took  copHOOs 
notes  of  Sir  Humphry's  lectures,  and  forwarded  them  to  him 
with  a  letter,  in  which  he  stated  his  anxiety  to  leave  trsde, 
and  devote  himself  to  Science,  so  that  he  might  assodate 
himself  with  men,  who,  purified  by  the  grandeur  and  sacred- 
ness  of  their  calling,  were  free  from  the  littlenesses  and 
weaknesses  of  other  men.  Sir  Humphry  received  him 
kindly,  and  (no  one  being  better  fitted  for  the  task)  dispelled 
his  illusions  regarding  the  disinterestedness  and  simplicity  of 
men  of  science.  He  also  made  him  his  laboratory  assistant, 
a  position  for  which,  perhaps,  no  man  in  the  world  was  so 
well  qualified.  This  was  in  1813,  and  for  several  years  he 
worked  unremittingly  for  Davy,  who  does  not  seem  to  have 
regarded  him  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  good  assistant,  out 
of  whom  as  much  work  as  possible  was  to  be  got,  and  of 
whom  it  was  expected  that  he  sliould  never  forget  the  vast 
difference  in  their  relative  positions.  Even  during  their  stay 
at  Paris,  Davy  is  said  to  have  been  annoyed  at  the  attentions 
that  were  shown  to  Faraday.  Still,  but  for  Davy.  Faraday's 
progress  would  probably  have  been  much  slower,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  prestige  of  being  Davy's  assistant  was 
of  no  small  value  to  him  in  his  career. 

What  Faraday  did  it  is  not  possible  for  us  here  to  recapit- 
ulate. He  discovered  benzol,  and  determined  the  composi- 
tion of  naphthalin.  The  first  discovery  has  led  to  one  of 
the  greatest  industrial  suceasea  which  chemistry  has  ever 
achieved,  and  the  study  of  the  second  led  Laurent  to  some  of 
the  most  important  theoretical  discoveries  of  the  age. 

As  early  as  1820  Faraday  discovered  the  chloride  of  carbon, 
and  it  is  to  him  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  information  that 
the  chloride  of  defiant  gas  is  formed  by  the  union  of  eqaal 
volumes  of  its  constituents.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  at 
the-  time  of  this  observation  being  made,  chemists  had  not 
their  present  definite  views  about  combination  by  volume. 

In  the  year  1821  Faraday  made  his  brilliant  discovery  of 
the  rotation  of  a  wire  carrying  an  electric  current,  roand  a 
magnetic  pole,  and  vice  versd.  This  cardinal  fac«  excited 
immense  attention,  and  in  addition  to  inducing  him  to  devote 
himself  for  many  years  to  electricity  with  almost  unparalleled 
success,  was  the  means  of  causing  numerous  investigators  to 
pursue  the  same  track.  In  182 1  he  published  his  brilliaat 
paper  on  the  condensation  of  the  gases,  in  which  he  enmici- 
ated,  for  the  first  time,  the  important  axiom  (now  obriocs 
enough)  that  gases  are,  in  fact,  simply  the  vapours  of  volatile 
liquids.  In  1824  he  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Rojil 
Society,  chiefly,  it  is  said,  through  the  influence  of  hia  un- 
wavering friend  Richard  Phillips,  and  in  spite  of  the  uuirill- 
ingness  of  Davy;  who,  however,  did  not  take  any  active 
measures  to  prevent  it,  and  whose  unwillingness  appears  to 
have  been  of  a  purely  passive  kind. 

In  1827  Faraday  published  the  first  edition  of  his  "Chemical 
Manipulation."  This  work,  which  has  long  been  out  of  print, 
is  a  most  extraordinary  proof  of  the  versatility  of  the  author's 
chemical  knowledge.  It  shows  that  there  was  no  brandi  of 
chemistry  cultivated  in  his  time  with  which  he  was  not 
practically  familiar.  In  it  we  see  the  key  to  most  of  Fara- 
day's success,  namely,  to  omit  no  precaution.  The  style  in 
which  it  is  written,  although  clear,  is  verbose,  and  far  iron 
elegant.  This  is  the  more  remarkable.  Inasmuch  as  be  was 
almost  unrivalled  as  a  lecturer,  not  only  for  deameaa,  bat 


[EngUdi  Editioii,  VoL  ZVL,  Na  404,  pages  110^  Ul.] 


CttnaoAL  Nrvra, ) 
JVb©.,  196T.        f 


Faraday — Notices  of  Books. 


269 


ooncbeness,  and  the  power  of  roosing  the  eothusiasm  of  his 
audieace. 

In  1829  he  was  appointed  Lecturer  od  Chemistry  at  the 
Royal  Military  Academy,  Woolwich ;  and  in  1833,  FuUerian 
Profe8£ior  of  Chemistry  iu  the  Royal  lustitution.  In  1839  he 
published  the  first  of  his  three  volumes  of  **  Experimental 
Beeearches  in  Electricity."  The  second  volume  appeared  in 
1844,  ADd  the  third  in  1855. 

In  1846  he  received  the  Rumford  medal  of  the  Royal 
Society,  for  his  discovery  of  the  rotation  of  the  plane  of 
polarisation  of  light  under  the  influence  of  magnetism ;  and 
in  1847  he  announced  the  magnetic  cliaracter  of  oxygen,  and 
the  relations  towards  mngnetism  of  gases  generally. 

So  long  ag)  as  1835  lie  received,  at  the  recommendation 
of  Lord  Melbourne,  a  fusion  of  ;f  300  a-year  from  Govern- 
ment 

His  fcientific  titles  were  almost  too  numerous  to  recapitu- 
late. In  addition  to  being  a  member  of  all  the  Academies  of 
Science  of  any  note  in  Europe,  he  was  a  Doctor  of  Civil  Law 
of  Oxford,  Knight  of  the  Prussian  Order  of  Merit,  of  the 
Italian  Order  of  St  Maurice  and  Lazarus,  Officer  of  the 
Legion  of  Honour,  one  of  the  eight  Foreign  Ajsaociates  of  the 
Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris,  and  an  Associate  of 
the  Paris  Academy  of  Medicine. 

Fbraday,  in  addition  to.  and  beyond  all  his  titles,  was  a 
true  gentleman.  His  manners  were  characterised  by  an 
extreme  gentleness  and  tenderness  for  the  feelings  of  othera 
No  one  oould  write  to  him  for  advice  or  assistance  without 
receiving  it,  and  his  advice  was  sure  to  be  wise  and  good. 
He  was  entirely  free  from  jealousy  of  the  scientific  discoveries 
of  others ;  indeed  he  delighted  iu  doing  justice  to  the  merits 
of  his  scientific  contemporaries. 

It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  in  1858  the  Queen  gave  him  a 
residence  in  Hampton  Court 

1 1  would  be  ungrateful  not  to  put  on  record  a  few  of  the 
personal  impressions  which  have  stored  themselves  in  our 
memory,  in  the  course  of  the  many  years  during  which  we 
have  had  the  honour  and  happiness  of  knowing  Faraday. 
We  have  seen  him  at  work,  we  have  attended  his  lectures, 
we  have  asked  his  advice,  we  have  consulted  him  in  our 
difficulties,  and  in  every  position  in  which  we  have  known 
him,  he  has  more,  far  more,  than  realised  the  ideas  we  had 
formed  of  him. 

We  can  speak  of  him  in  his  capacity  as  a  lecturer  with 
more  confidence  perhaps  than  most  persons,  no  matter  how 
often  they  have  heard  him,  for  we  have  followed  him  word 
for  word  in  reporting  two  of  his  courses  of  lectures,  viz.  those 
on  the  "  Various  Forces  of  Matter,"  and  alsa  on  the  •'  Chemical 
History  of  a  Candle."  His  delivery  was  by  no  means  rapid, 
and  shorthand  ^riters  followed  him  with  &r  more  ease  than 
they  did  most  persons.  His  language  was  well  chosen,  and 
when  surrounded  by  his  apparatus,  he  seemed  almost 
inspired.  The  most  simple  experiment  in  his  hands  told  its 
tale  so  well,  and,  by  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done, 
assumed  such  marvellous  freshness,  that  we  forget  that  we 
had  performed  it  hundreds  of  times  ourselves,  and  gazed  upon 
it  as  eagerly  as  the  veriest  tyro  in  the  theatre. 

How  valuable  this  giU  of  enthusiasm  is  in  a  lecturer  we 
need  not  say  ;  it  is,  as  it  were,  contagious,  and  in  his  case  at 
leaat  the  enmest  lecturer  always  secured  an  attentive,  nay,  a 
rapt  audience.  To  see  him  perform  an  experiment  was  in 
itself  a  most  instructive  study.  A  foilure  was  with  him 
almont  a  thing  unknown.  His  readiness  of  resource  was 
wonderful,  and  if,  in  the  course  of  an  experiment,  an  unfore- 
seen phase  developed  itself,  if  instructive,  it  was  commented 
on  and  turned  to  account  as  an  illustration  of  those  forces,  in 
the  delightful  study  of  which  he  passed  his  life ;  if,  on  the 
oUier  hand,  the  experiment  took  a  turn  which  threatened  to 
defeat  .the  object  in  view,  he  was  ready  in  an  instant  with  a 
remedy. 

A  most  characteristic  act  of  Faraday  was  that  which 
Punch  (who  can  be  serious  enough  at  times)  illustrated  by  a 
eartoon  headed  "Faraday  presenting  his  card  to  Father 
Xhamee.''    Faraday,  in  the  course  of  a  trip  in  one  of  the 


London  steamboats,  made  some  very  important  observations 
on  the  state  of  the  river,  and,  in  order  to  acquire  a  tolerably 
exact  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  it  was  polluted  b^  solid 
matter,  threw  pieces  of  card  into  the  stream,  and  noticed  at 
what  deptli  they  became  mvisible,  owing  to  the  opacity  of 
the  water.  The  information  thus  gained  formed  the  nucleus 
of  a  letter  to  The  Times^  which  did  more  to  call  attention  to 
the  dangerously  foul  state  of  the  river  than  any  number  of 
letters  from  less  gifted  and  venerated  writers. 

We  have  said  that  no  one  ever  asked  the  advice  of  Faraday 
in  vain ;  and  certainly,  no  more  golden  words  were  ever 
uttered  than  those  in  which  he  told  to  a  young  inquirer  the 
secret  of  his  uniform  success  :  "  the  secret,"  said  he,  "  is 
comprised  in  three  words — "Work,  Finish,  Publish.*'  It 
must  be  confessed  that  young  chemists  of  the  present  day 
follow  this  advice,  carefully  omitting  the  second  word. 

Faraday  was  married,  but,  like  Davy,  Berzeliua,  and 
Wollaston,  left  no  children  to  inherit  his  glorious  name. 

On  Sunday  last  he  died,  and  it  will,  indeed,  be  long  before 
we  shall  look  upon  his  like  I 

He  is  to  be  buried  this  day.  The  funeral  will  leave 
Hampton  Court  in  time  to  be  at  the  Royal  Institution,  Albe- 
marle Street,  at  2  oWck  p.m.  Thence  it  will  proceed  to 
Highgate  Cemetery.  His  funeral  will  be  private,  but  let  us 
hope  that  bis  country  will  not  faU  to  erect  a  monument  to 
his  memory,  worthy  of  his  genius. 

We  have  no  Public  Laboratory  in  this  country,  as  they 
have  in  France,  where  really  deserving  students  may  carry 
out  their  researches  at  the  public  cost  What  would  be  a 
more  fitting  monument  to  Faraday  than  such  an  institution, 
bearing  his  name  ? 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


The  Ekmenis  of  Natural  Philosophy;  or,  an  Introduction  to 
the  Study  of  the  Physical  Sciences.  By  Charles  Brooke, 
M.A.,  F.H.S.,  Pr.M.S.,  etc.  Based  on  the  treatise  by  the 
late  Gk)lding  Bird,  M.A.,  M.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.L.S.  6th  edition, 
3rd  by  present  autlior,  amended  and  greatly  enlarged. 
London:  Churchill  and  Sons,  1867. 
Although  entitled  a  6th  edition  this  may  be  considered  in 
all  essential  respects  a  new  work,  as  not  only  the  illustrations 
and  facts,  but  even  the  theories  adopted  are  those  current  at 
the  present  time.  The  author,  in  an  introduction  entitled, 
"  On  the  Nature  of  Energy  and  the  Correlation  and  Trans- 
mutations of  its  various  Physical  Forms,"  explains  the  views 
now  held  by  scientific  men  in  place  of  the  old  ideas  of 
imponderable  fluids,  the  conversions  of  energy  from  form  to 
form,  and  the  probable  mode  of  propagation  of  the  so-called 
wave  motions  through  material  substances.  It  is  rather  un- 
fortunate that  in  an  introduction  such  as  this  to  a  purely 
scientific  work,  and  immediately  after  endorsing  the  opinions 
of  our  leading  scientific  men  as  to  the  connection  and  relations 
of  force  and  matter,  the  author  should  expressly  condemn 
those  who  would  advance  science  a  step  further,  and  by 
hypotheses  such  as  Darwin's,  endeavour  to  connect  the  varied 
fbrms  of  life  existing  around  us.  If  this  be  presumptuous 
and  beyond  the  domain  of  science,  who  shall  say  which  of 
the  questions  treated  of  in  this  work  are  not?  Those  who 
persecuted  Galileo  evidently  held  the  same  opinions  concern- 
ing astronomy,  yet  they  were  defeated  eventually,  &r^]\  must 
be  who  attempt  to  impose  limits  to  human  knowledge,  and 
would  say  to  it,  ''  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come  and  no  further." 
With  the  exoeption  of  this  passage,  which  should  never 
have  been  introduced  in  a  scientific  work,  and  might  ad- 
vantageously be  left  out  in  the  future  editions  that  are  sure 
to  be  needed,  the  work  appears  a  most  excellent  one,  well 
adapted  either  to  be  a  manual  for  the  student  or  a  work  of 
reference  for  the  scientific  inquirer ;  a  copious  index  at  the 
end  of  the  volume  renders  it  specially  suitable  for  the  latter 
purpose. 
A  work  of  this  kind,  treating  of  subjects  that  are  altering 


[Eiig]khSdi1iaii»VoLZVL,Vo.4Hpi««lll;  No.  40fi^  pi««  117.] 


270 


Correepondence. 


(  CUSVICAL  NbWI^ 


from  day  to  dajr,  is  naturally  valuable  in  propK)rtion  as  it 
includes  recent  inventions  and  improvements, — with  the  older 
parts  of  the  subject^  there  are  already  many  means  o^  becom- 
ing familiar ;  the  author  seems  to  have  taken  this  view,  and 
acted  accordingly  ;  indeed  it  would  be  hard  to  say  what  in- 
vention or  discovery  of  any  general  interest  is  omitted.  An 
illustration  and  a  full  description  of  Anseirs  fire-damp  indi- 
cator is  given  as  exemplifying  the  diffusive  power  of  gases, 
while  the  chapter  on  the  principles  of  meclianism  is  aptly- 
concluded  by  a  full  account  of  Babbage's  diflference  engine, 
and  that  on  magnetism  includes  the  various  methods  of 
correcting  the  compass  errora  in  iron  ships,  and  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  they  are  applied ;  none  of  the  methods 
now  employed,  however,  seem  to  be  quite  satisfactory, — at 
all  events,  for  the  firat  year  or  so  after  the  ship  is  built,  and 
before  the  iron  has  had  time  to  assume  its  normal  condition. 
In  electricity,  especially,  we  find  much  new  and  very  valuable 
matter  introduced ;  ex.  gr..  Sir  William  Thompson's  beautiful 
electrometers  and  galvanometers  recently  empl«»yed  in  the 
laying  and  working  of  the  Atlantic  cables;  Wheatstone's 
electric  balance  and  ingenious  automatic  printing  telegraph ; 
Sieraens^s  polarised  relay,  now  so  generally  used  in  connection 
with  the  Morse  instrument;  Wilde's  magneto-electric  machine, 
and  Wheatstone's,  Siemens's,  and  Ladd's  modifications ;  the 
galvanic  cautery,  etc. ;  while  the  theoretical  part  comprises 
Ohm's  laws,  the  method  used  for  determining  the  standard 
of  electrical  resistance  known  as  the  B  A  unit,  the  principles 
of  testing  cables,  localising  faul's,  etc.,  and  the  latest  diacov 
eries  bf  Becquerel  and  Marcus  in  therrao-electriiy. 

Where  there  is  so  much  in  the  book  that  is  excellent  it 
seems  invidious  to  find  fault,  but  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
how,  whatever  mode  of  classification  be  adopted,  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  can  be  classed  together  as  electro-negative  elements, 
while  platinum  and  potassium  both  come  under  the  title  of 
electro-positive  elements.  Whether  a  body  be  positive  or 
negative,  of  course  depends  upon  the  substance  it  is  compared 
with,  and  the  fluid  in  which  it  is  immersed ;  but  in  no  fluid 
ever  tried  will  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  platinum  and  potassium, 
appear  other  than  at  opposite  extremities  of  the  scale.  The 
extent  to  which  a  body  is  positive  is  usually  considered  to 
depend  on  its  affinity  for  oxygen,  water  being  the  exciting 
fluid  ;  but  here  the  author,  if  we  understand  his  table  rightly, 
would  actually  make  hydrogen  negative  to  platinum  I  It  is 
true  the  author  states  in  explanation  that  many  of  the 
elements  are  arranged  according  to  their  chemical  analogies, 
still  the  chemical  dissimilarity  between  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
is  certainly  as  great  as  the  electrical. 

The  latter  portion  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  the  considera- 
tion of  light  and  heat,  both  of  which  forces  have  lately 
received  much  attention  from  our  leading  scientific  men. 
Spectrum  analysis,  and  the  wonderful  discoveries,  terrestrial 
and  celestial,  effected  by  its  means,  forms  a  very  interesting 
portion  of  the  chapter  on  light,  and  is  illustrated  by  diagrams 
of  many  of  the  more  curious  spectra  of  substances  and  celes- 
tial bodies ;  the  difficult  subject  of  polarized  light  is  also  very 
fully  dwelt  upon,  and  the  generally  received  theories  to 
account  for  its  phenomena  are  clearly  explained. 

The  chapter  on  heat  contains  a  great  amount  of  new 
matter,  comprising  the  recent  researches  of  Professor  Tyndall 
on  the  powers  of  absorbing  radiant  heat  possessed  by  various 
bodies ;  in  treating  of  rcgelation,  however,  the  author  seems 
rather  to  have  misunderstood  the  explanation  of  the  phenom- 
enon recently  arrived  at  by  the  experiments  of  Professor 
Tyndall  when  he  speaks  of  it  as  a  "plastic  property  of  ice," 
and  says,  "This  action  is  probably  analogous  to  the  welding 
of  two  pieces  of  iron,  depending  on  a  plastic  or  viscous  con- 
dition of  the  immediate  surface,  intermediate  between  the 
solid  and  the  fluid  states."  This  explanation  is  contrary  to 
the  meaning  of  the  term  "  regelation,"  and,  though  at  one 
lime  it  was  oommonly  received,  later  researches  have  satis- 
factorily proved  it  to  be  erroneous.  With  the  exception  of 
one  or  two  passages,  like  those  we  have  mentioned,  which 
are  not  of  very  great  importance,  and  may  readily  be  cor- 
rected in  a  future  edition,  the  work  appeara  carefully  written. 


and  the  views  enunciated  such  as  are  now  held  by  our 
leading  physicists ;  as  a  book  of  reference,  Uierefore,  it  will 
be  found  extremely  valuable^  and  may,  we  think,  be  veiy 
safely  depended  upon. 

Tables  of  the  Spectra  of  MetcUs  from  the  Original  Drawingi, 
By  C.  KiRCHHOFP  and  R.  Buksen.  Loudon :  W.  Ladd, 
Beak  Street,  W. 
We  have  received  Table  2  of  this  set  of  spectra  diagrMna 
The  characteristics  of  the  various  elements  are  shown  very 
clearly,  the  field  being  about  two  feet  in  length.  The  specu* 
of  indiutn,  carbon,  boron,  manganese,  lead,  copper,  cobalt, 
nickel,  and  iron  are  exhibited  in  this  diagram,  as  obtained 
from  their  chlorides.  The  colouring  is  good,  and  in  most  cases 
the  bright  lines  represent  the  actual  spectra  better  than 
could  be  expected  by  those  who  have  experienced  the  diffi- 
culty of  imitating  the  spectrum  by  aid  of  a  paint-box* 


COKEIBSPONDENCE. 


Technical  JSducaiioru 
To  the  Editor  of  the  CflEMic.Ui  New& 
Sir, — Having  just  returned  from  a  fortnight's  study  of  the 
Paris  Exhibition,  I  read  the  paper  on  "  Technical  Educa- 
tion "  in  your  last  number  with  very  great  interest,  and  it 
induces  me  to  oflfer  a  few  suggestions,  more  especially  in 
connection  with  the  scientific  training  of  the  artizan  class. 

The  advantages  of  such  a  training  to  those  who  are  engaged 
in  the  mechanical  and  manufacturing  industry  of  the  country 
are  so  generally  admitted,  that  it  would  be  unwise,  not  to 
say  positively  injurious,  to  make  any  distinction  in  this  respect 
between  the  employer  and  the  workman.  The  laUer,  from 
the  very  nature  of  things,  is  often  more  likely  to  suggest 
improvements  in  processes  wliich  the  former  would  overtook. 
Hence  the  value  of  a  scientific  training  for  the  one  is,  at  any 
rate,  quite  as  important  as  it  is  for  the  other. 

Assuming  that  our  alleged  inferiority  in  the  present  Ex- 
hibition is  owing  to  the  want  of  technical  education,  mt  is 
naturally  led  to  inquire  into  the  operations  of  the  Science  and 
Art  Department— a  branch  of  tlie  Government  recently 
created  for  the  special  purpose  of  promoting  the  scientific 
education  of  the  people. 

As  far  as  my  own  experience  goes,  I  am  of  opinion  that 
the  action  of  the  department  is  far  too  limited  to  render  any 
great  service  to  the  country.  It  serves  to  ascertain,  by 
means  of  training"  and  examination,  that  there  is  a  very  con- 
siderable amount  of  latent  talent  in  the  country,  but  takes  no 
further  steps  to  turn  this  talent  to  account  So  far  as  the 
adult  artizan  is  concerned,  I  know  not  thatUny  more  can  be 
done  than  to  put  him  in  the  way  of  applying  the  scientific 
knowledge  he  has  gained  to  the  more  intelligent  performance 
of  his  work.  But  with  regard  to  the  sons  of  artizans,  who 
pass  through  this  preliminary  course  with  credit,  and  who 
give  evidence  of  superior  talents,  is  it  right  or  even  expedient, 
to  allow  these  talents  to  fall  into  decay  for  want  of  a  higher 
culture? 

Now,  if  we  had  possessed  in  England  such  schools  as  the 
EcoUi  Centrale  in  Paris,  or  the  Ecolea  dea  ArU  et  Meiien  of 
Ch&lons,  and  other  places,  where  youths  ot  all  classes  are 
admitted  to  compete  for  admission,  and,  in  cases  where  their 
parents  or  relatives  are  too  poor,  are  provided  for,  either 
partly  or  wholly  at  the  country's  expense;  I  will  venture  to 
say  that,  far  from  occupying  a  position  of  inferiority  to  other 
nations  in  manufacturing  industry,  we  should,  with  such 
advantages,  bavQ  maintained  a  decided  supremacy. — I  am, 
Sir,  etc,  A  TfiACHBa  OF  Soiekcb. 


Cooperative  Chemical  Club, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — I  was  very  much  pleased  with  Mr.  Durham's  letter  la 

your    last    number    {American  Reprint  Cukkical   ^EfTS, 


[BngliahBdMoD,  YoL  ZVL,  No.  406^  pago  127;  No.  404»  pago  112;  No.  405,  page  128.] 


Gbhocal  Nnra, ) 


Oorre^pondence. 


271 


Oct,  1867,;?.  198),  EB  it  embodiee  an  idea  that  had  many 
times  flitted  before  my  mind  without  taking  any  tangible 
form.  There  are  many,  no  doubt,  who  would  be  glad  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  a^,  Chemical  club,  with  a 
laboratory  and  library  attached,  and  if  such  were  started  in 
this  city  by  a  few  influential  gentlemen  I  believe  it  would 
be  self-supporting  and  be  the  means  of  reviving  a  taste  for 
scientific  pursuits  that  I  fear  is  now  much  upon  the  decline. 
In  the  metropolis  no  doubt  there  are  some  establishments 
'  of  the  kind,  but  in  smaller  cities  no  such  advantages  are  to 
be  obtained,  and  those  who  wish  to  pursue  experimental 
chemistry  must  fit  up  a  room  in  their  dwelling-houses,  which 
as  they  are  constructed  in  these  modern  times,  are  quite  un- 
suited  for  the  purpose,  and  a  source  of  inconvenience.  I 
trust,  Sir,  you  will  give  this  question  the  assistance  which 
your  valuable  paper  affords,  and  that  much  good  fruit  may 
oome  of  it. — I  am,  etc.,  Inquirer. 


I  The  FrevenHon  of  Bribery. 

I  To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

SiH, — ^With  your  permission  I  will  now  endeavour  to  show 
bow  the  bribery  and  corruption  described  in  my  former  letter 
on  "*  the  tricks  of  Trade  "  (American  Reprint  Chemical 
News,  Aug.  1867,  P-  95)  ™ay  be,  to  a  great  extent,  pre- 

»  vented.  Firstly,  all  travellers  who  solicit  orders  should  be 
told— The  only  condition  on  which  we  can  do  business  with 
you  is  that  you  give  no  gratuities  to  our  men.  They  have 
not,  in  our  establishment,  the  power  of  selecting  wares.  A 
corresponding  intimation  should  be  given  to  every  foreman 
on  bis  engagement.  I  should  even  suggest%the  formation 
of  a  protection  society  among  master  dyers,  printers,  etc., 
iu  which  the  names  of  all  detected  offenders — whether  givers 
or  receivers  of  bribes — should  be  confidentially  circulated. 

Secondly,  all  mordants,  colours,  etc.,  on  arrival,  should  be 
delivered,  not  into  the  dye-house,  but  into  a  ware-room,  to 
be  issued  out  to  the  dyers  fi-om  day  to  day,  as  may  be 
requisite.  The  books  of  the  establishment  will  then  s1k)w, 
with  tolerable  accuracy,  how  much  of  any  particular  ware 
is  needed  for  dyeing  such  and  such  goods;  and  any  inten- 
tional waste,  such  as  pouring  the  contents  of  a  bottle  down 
the  sink,  will  be  at  once  detected. 

Thirdly,  all  wares  should  be  carefully  weighed  upon  ar- 
rival—a step  frequently  omitted,  lest  the  warehousemen 
should  be  bribed  to  pass  deficient  weights;  this  process 
should  from  time  to  time  be  watched  by  the  master,  man- 
ager, or  head-clerk.  AH  package  should  likewise  be 
tared  as  soon  as  empty.  Bottles  of  liquids  should  be  tried 
with  the  hydrometer,  to  see  whether  they  have  all  the 
same,  or  nearly  the  same  specific  gravity.  Any  package 
or  bottle  which  appears  to  have  a  private  mark  or  sign 
upon  the  label  should  be  at  once  impounded  for  further 
examination. 

Fourthly,  the  dyer  using  any  lot  of  ware  should  be  called 
upon  to  give  his  opinion  in  writing  as  to  its  quality.  These 
papers  sliould  then  be  carefully  preserved.  If  the  dyera 
can  be  kept  in  the  dark  as  to  the  precise  number  of  bottles, 
etc,  arriving  from  any  place  on  a  given  day,  so  much  the 
better.  But  the  main  method  for  frustrating  bribery  is  ex- 
emplified in  the  following  incident: — A  foreman  dyer  had 
long  been  complaining  of  the  extract  of  quercitran-bark 
supplied.  To  put  him  to  the  test  the  maker  was  request- 
ed to  obliterate  all  marks  of  ownership  on  a  cask,  to  fill 
it  with  the  very  same  extract,  and  send  it  by  a  strange 
cart  This  was  done,  and  the .  extract  was  pronounced 
excellent,  and  nearly  double  in  strength  to  the  previous 
lot!  If  a  dyer  is  suspected  of  praising  a  bad  arUdo  or 
condemning  a  good  one,  out  of  corrupt  motives,  ply  him 
,  with  samples  merely  numbered,  or  marked  in  cypher,  and 
require  his  opinion  as  to  their  comparative  valu^.  If  he 
has  not  been  acting  honestly,  he  cannot  avoid  committing 
himselt 

These  recommendations  will  doubtless  involve  a  little 
trouble  at  the  outset^  but  if  perseveringly  acted  upon  I  feel 


confident  that  they  will  abate,  if  not  destroy  the  evU  m 
question.  I  know  that  honest  drjsalters  and  mauufactunng 
chemists  will  be  very  happy  to  co-operate  in  the  proposed 
measures.— I  am,  Sir,  yours,  etc.,  *^« 


Gas  from  Iron, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Niiwa 
Sir,— In  the  valuable  article  of  Dr.  E.  G.  Tosh,  "On  the 
Anafysis  of  Cast  Iron  *»  (vol.  xvL  p.  94-  Amer.Repnnt,  OcU 
1867,  «.  171),  mention  is  made  of  the  observation  01 
Schnitzler  that  in  Weyl's  process  for  the  estimation  of  the 
carbon,  bubbles  of  gas  are  evolved  from  the  metal  during 
solution.  Rather  than  entirely  accept  the  explanation 
proposed  by  the  author,  or  entertain  that  of  Schnitzler,  I  am 
more  inclined  to  venture  to  draw  attention  to  another  pos- 
sible explanation.  I  have  noticed  that  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances, gas  is  disengaged  from  thin  iron  wire,  and  it 
struck  me  as  being  the  natural  gas  occlwded  by  the  metal. 
May  it  not  be  so  with  the  cast  iron  ?  Iu  t?he  Journal  OAm. 
80C.  (vol.  V.  p.  287),  Graham  states  wrought^  iron  probably 
carries  about  6  or  8  times  its  volume  of  occluded  carbonic 
oxide,  and  as  much  as  12-55  volumes  of  natural  gas  ftave 
been  extracted ;  now  according  to  this  4  &^^^  <»8t  u-on, 
say  of  7-q  sp.  gr.,  might  contain  from  3-18  cc.  to  4*24  c^ 
or  even  L  much  as  6-36  c.c.  of  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and 
carbonic  oxide,  the  former  varying  in  the  proportions  ot 
21  to  35  per  cent,  that  is,  supposing  cast  iron  to  ocdudo 
gases  in  the  same  way  as  wrought,  which  I  Relieve  has 
not  yet  been  shown,  and  from  its  crystalline  nature  might 
not  be  anticipated.  Nevertheless  we  find  that  white  variety 
of  cast  iron  is  of  a  pasty  consistence  when  fused,  and  the 
grey  iron  is  always  of  a  porous  nature,  conditions  whicn 
lead  one  to  expect  them  to  have  the  property  of  occlusions ; 
further,  Deville  has  extracted  carbonic  oxide  fr^^  a  cast 
Steel  tube.  The  gas  which  escapes  during  electrol^^^^^^ 
solution  has  a  peculiar  odour,  so  also  has  that  naturally 
occluded  by  malleable  iron.— I  am,  eto.  ^  -er^a 

Walter  Noel  Hartley,  i.Ub. 

September  3, 1867. 

Baking  Powders. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chjemical  News. 
Sib— In  a  recent  number  of  the  Chemical  News  (Amer. 
Beprini,  Sept  1867,  p.  I33)  y^^  published  some  remarks  on 
the  above  subject  from  your  Paris  correspondent;  the 
paragraph  was  copied  into  various  journals,  and  as  ine 
remarks  referred  to  are  calculated  to  mislead  the  public, 
perhaps  you  wiU  aUow  me  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 

'"^Th^^ question  as  regards  "baking  powders"  does  not 
relate  to  their  composition  so  much  as  to  their  «ceaBive 
use  as  a  substitute  for  more  proper  ingredients;  ^^^^^ 
of  soda,  tartaric  add,  and  a  small  proportion  f  "Jf-A^^f' 
which  form  the  compound,  are  so  inexpensive  that  there  is 
no  temptation  to  the  manufacturer  to  «'^P^<>y  "j.^"?^^^^ 
cheaper  articles,  if  even  they  could  be  found.  There  easte, 
therefore,  no  necessity  for  those  prominent  warmngs,  which 
are  continually  published,  against  "imitations"  of  ^^ain 
baking  powders ;  but  the  public  need  guarding  agj"^f  J^® 
belief  tlikt  these  powders  can  adequately  supply  the  place  ot 
butter  and  eggs  in  pastry  and  puddings. 

Baking  powders  may  be  perfectly  genuine  f;^^V^f^^^ 
far  as  they  go,  but  they  must  be  pernicious  to  health  if  used 
habituaUy  as  a  substitute  for  the  nutritious  elements  which 
ought  to  have  a  place  in  articles  of  daily  food. 

The  sum  total  of  the  matter  is  this,  that  baking  powders 
may  be  perfectly  genuine  and  harmless  in  themselves,  but 
they  become  injurious  to  health  if  employed  to  adulterate 
food  into  which  they  are  introduced. 

I  do  not  deny  that  a  small  proportion  of  baking  powders 
may  be  used  with  advantage  in  pastry  in  addition  to  the 


[EngUah  Bdition,  Toi.  ZVL,  ITa  406,  page  128 ;  Vo.  407,  page  167.] 


^ 


272 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


j  Cbbmioal  Nnri, 
\      Jfov.,  IWT. 


usual  ingredients,  but  not  as  a  substitute  for  any  of  them ; 
and  this  is  all  that  can  be  said  in  favour  of  the  compound. — 
I  am,  etc. '  Sanitas. 

September,  1867. 


The  Alkali  Trade, 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — ^By  the  aid  of  your  valuable  paper,  I  would  be  glad  to 
ask  your  readers  if  any  of  them  could  advise  me  in  a  few 
law  and  other  points  connected  with  the  alkali  trade.  I  am 
the  manager  of  works  which  are  situated  in  a  village,  and 
though  I  know  no  preventable  gas  escapes,  and  the  inspect 
tor  gives  us  credit  lor  a  very  complete  condensation  of  mu- 
riatic gas  at  the  condensers,  still  I  am  constantly  annoyed  by 
receiving  complaints  from  persons  living,  or  having  works  in 
the  vicinity  of  ours.  We  have,  like  all  other  alkali  and  bleach- 
ing powder  works,  to  cause  a  trifling  unpleasantness  for  a  short 
time,  when  running  off  our  stills,  but  unlike  many  others 
we  are  situated  in  a  populated  neighbourhood,  and  still  more 
unfortunately  the  still-house  is  placed  next  our  neighbour's 
wall.  I  keep  the  nuisance  at  a  minimum,  but  still  I  hear  re- 
ports of  action  which  make  me  desire  to  know  (if  any  of 
your  readers  can  kindly  inform  me),  whether  there  is  any 
law  about  a  case  of  this  description,  where  the  gas  causing 
the  nuisance  la  not  muriatic  acid,  and  therefore  does  not 
come  under  the  supervision  of  the  government  inspector.  I 
would  also  like  to  know  whether  the  inspector  have  any 
control  over  the  muriatic  gas  that  escapes  from  the  furnaces, 
because  it  is  well  known  that  a  close  or  "  blind "  furnace 
does  not  throw  off  its  gas  so  well  as  an  open  one,  conse- 
quently with  a  "blind"  furnace  there  is  a  great  deal  more 
comes  off  a  batch  of  "  sulphides  "  when  being  drawn.— I  am, 
®^-»  "Nuisance." 


Specific  Gravity  Problem. 
To  the. Editor  of  the  Chemical  NBwa 
SiRj—The  following  solution  of  the  Specific  Gravity  Prob- 
lem, proposed  by  your  correspondent  Henri  du  Chemin-creux, 
may  satisfy  him,  although  I  do  not  bring  it  forward  with 
the  idea  that  there  may  not  be  a  shorter  way  of  solving  it 
The  question  may  be  summarised  thus : — 

To  1,000  grains  of  liquid  of  Sp.  6r.  1-314 


I '000  are  added, 


giving  1,000  +  ;^" 


"  "        1-286 

Find  X' 
Now,  the  relation  which  subsists  between  these  two  groups 
of  quantities  is,  that  the  sum  of  the  products  of  the  number 
of  grains  of  the  two  liquids  taken  separately  into  their  re- 
spective specific  gravities  is  equal  to  the  product  of  the  num- 
ber of  grains  of  the  two  liquids  taken  together  into  the  spe- 
cific gravity  of  the  mixture  thus  obtained.    We  have  then— 

«.     ,.^  ^oooxi-3i4  +  ;,^xiooo=(i,ooo  +  x)i-286. 
Simplifymg  this  equation,  we  obtain — 
02S6x=    28 
28 

From  which        x= =97'9  gra.,  the  quantity  required. 

0-286 

In  conclusion,  I  may  state  that  I  tried  this  process  with  a 
solution  of  common  salt,  and  arrived  at  a  satisfactory  result 

F.  J.  B.  C. 

Hydrostatic  Paradox. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sir,— The  following  simple  experiment  will  illustrate  the  im- 
portant principle  of  hydrostatic  pressure;  and  I  therefore 
take  the  liberty  of  sending  it  for  the  amusement  of  your 
readers. 


Let  two  test  tubes  of  equal  dimensions,  one  nearly  full  and 
the  other  about  half  full  of  water,  be  suspended  at  opposite 
ends  of  a  beam,  turning  freely  on  a  pivot,  and  let  the  8eo> 
ond  tube  be  so  hung  as  to  move  in  the  same  vertical  straight 
line,  during  the  vibration  of  the  beam.  DirecUy  over  this 
tube  let  a  glass  rod  of  smaller  diameter  be  made  to  slide 
vertically  through  a  fixed  wire  spring  capable  of  holdiog  it 


steady  in  any  position.  On  lowering  the  rod  carefully  into 
the  second  tube  so  as  not  to  touch  its  inner  surface  till  the 
water  therein  is  raised  by  displacement  to  the  same  level  as 
that  in  the  first  tube,  the  two  tubes  will  balance  each  other, 
though  the  original  weight  of  water  in  each  is  different 

For  if  a  be  the  area  of  the  aperture  of  the  tubes,  h  and  k' 
the  heights  of  the  two  columns  of  fiuid,  io  the  weight  of  a 
unit  of  water,  and  P,  P'  the  pressures  on  the  base,  we  shall 
have  P  =  wahf  and  F  =  wah\  the  weight  of  water  in  Uie 
two  tubes  respectively.  Therefore,  when  h  =:  h'  we  have 
P  =  P'. 

If  the  glass  rod  had  been  suspended  from  the  beam  of  a  bal- 
ance during  the  experiment,  it  would  of  course  be  found  to 
have  lost  the  weight  of  the  water  displaced,  or  just  the  addi- 
tional weight  needed  to  counterbalance  the  full  tube.  This 
additional  weight,  so  to  say,  was  given  to  the  second  tube  by 
means  of  hydrostatic  pressure. 

Instead  of  the  glass  rod  a  small  cylinder  of  ice  attadied  to 
a  thin  piece  of  wire  may  be  employed,  of  such  dinaeQsions 
that,  when  the  cylinder  is  entirely  immersed  in  the  water  of 
the  second  tube,  the  fluid  shall  stand  at  the  pame  level  in 
both,  and  both  be  in  equilibrium.  Now,  a  given  weight  of 
water  occupies  less  space  than  the  same  weight  of  park  ice 
and  part  water.  Consequently,  as  the  ice  melts,  the  columa 
of  fluid  will  sink  in  the  second  tube,  and  be  unable  to  couBte^ 
balance  the  column  in  the  first  The  additional  weight  of 
water  does  not  exactly  replace  the  hydrostatic  pressure  with- 
drawn.   The  second  tube  will,  therefore,  rise. 

If  the  balance  be  furnished  with  a  long  index,  the  more- 
men  t  will  be  more  easily  perceived,  and  curiously  illoslnte 
the  different  specific  gravities  of  ice  and  water.— I  am,  etc 

Edwin  Sjiith. 
Nottingham,  Sept  3,  1867. 


CHEMICALi  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 

Ethers,  Contribution,  to  the  Hlirtory  of. — Gh.  Glrard 
and  P.  Ghapoteaut  If  one  equivalent  of  alcohol  is  mixed 
with  one  equivalent  of  stannic  chloride,  and  rb^  of  tempen- 
ture  has  been  guarded  against,  crystalline  componnds  are 
formed  which  are  volatile  almost  without  decompositioD ; 
they  dissolve  in  water,  and  then  decompose  gradually,  fonn- 
ing  alcohol,  chloride  of  alcohol-radical  and  stannic  oa^- 
chloride.  Heated  with  one  equivalent  of  an  alcohol  they 
form  ether  and  chloride  of  the  alcohol  employed,  beffljfea 
stannic  oxide,  and  chloride.    The  formula  of  the  ethyl-ooo* 


[EnglishEditloa,  VoLZVL,  No.407,  pagel67;  iro.408,  pag«17a;  ]Sra407,page  156.] 


r 


CttnncAK  Fkws,  • 


(JkemicoL  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


273 


pound  is  CfHs^HOfSnClt.  Alcalio  hydrates  deoompose  tbem 
into  alcohol  and  stannic  oxide,  and  boiling  alcohol  into  ordi- 
nary or  mixed  ether.  These  reactions  show  that  the  part 
taken  by  stannic  chloride  in  the  formation  of  ether  is  similar 
to  that  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  this  is  still  more  apparent  if 
the  action  of  the  stannic  chloride  on  mixtures  of  acids  and 
alcohols  is  considered ;  in  this  case  the  compound  of  alcohol 
and  stannic  chloride,  originally  formed,  acts  upon  the  acid 
and  produces  by  mutual  decomposition  the  mixed  ether. 
The  authors  have  in  this  way  prepared  the  roethylic^  ethyllc, 
and  amylic  ethers  of  formic,  acetic,  tartaric,  lactic,  butyric, 
beneoic,  palmitic,  and  stearic  add.  The  action  of  stannic 
chloride  is  explained  in  the  following  equations. 

1.  On  alcohols  (ethylic  alcohol  as  example) 

C4H«O,+SnCl,=04H»O,Sna9,HO 
C4Hft0,SnCl„H04-C4H«0j=2(C4H.0)4-(SnCl8,2H0); 

2.  On  a  mixture  of  alcohol  and  acid  (ethylic  alcohol  and 
acetic  add  as  example) 

C4HeOaH-Sna,=04HftO,Sn01„HO 
C4H»0,SnaaHO+04HaO,,HO= 

=:C4Hft0,04Ha0s+(Sna4,2H0) 
{Coimptea  R.  hdv.  1252.) 

Synthesto  of  inietliylallyle.— A.  Wurtz.  It  has  been 
shown  by  the  author,  some  years  ago,  that  the  action  of 
zindc  ethyde  upon  allylic  iodide  gives  rise  to  the  formation 

of  ethylaUyle    =^'2*  which  is  isomeric  with  amylene. 

Zmdc  ethyde  and  brominated  propylene  scarcely  act  upon 
each  other,  either  in  the  cold  or  at  an  elevated  temperature ; 
nor  do  zinde  methide  and  allylic  iodide.  But  if;  in  the  latter 
case,  sodiiun  be  added,  and  the  temperature  raised  to  1 20**, 
an  energetic  reaction  takes  place,  in  course  of  which  a  very 
volatile  hydrocarbon  is  formed,  which,  combined  with  hy- 
driodic  acid,  has  the  composition  ^4Ht,HI.  A  more  ready 
method  to  obtain  this  body  is  the  following :  A  mixture  of 
methylic  and  allylic  iodide,  diluted  with  twice  its  volume  of 
dry  ether,  is  heated  together  with  sodium  to  100°  for  several 
hours  in  sealed  vessels.  After  the  completion  of  the  reac- 
tion, the  contents  of  the  vessels  are  distilled,  the  distillate 
saturated  with  bromine,  the  excess  of  the  latter  removed  by 

Cssic  hydrate,  and  again  distilled.  When  all  the  ether 
gone  over,  the  distillation  is  continued  in  a  vacuum  and 
stopped  when  the  temperature  reaches  100°.  The  residue 
solidifies  on  cooling  and  consists  of  diallylic  tetra-bromlde, 
the  portion  distilled  off  is  subjected  to  repeated  fractional 
distillationa,  and  finally  a  colourless  bromide  is  obtained. 
This  bromide  is  readily  decomposed .  by  sodium,  and  the 

hydrocarbon  B^H^  =e  H*  ^'^"^®^»  ^^ch  is  a  gas  at  or- 
dinary temperatures,  but  may  be  condensed  to  a  liquid  bv 
being  cooled  10—12**;  it  then  boils  between— 4°  and  H-8  . 


The  hydriodate  of  methylallyle  boUs  between  1 16**  and  118*. 
Butylenic  hydriodate,  although  of  the  same  boiling-point 
and  sp.  gr.,  is  not  considered  by  the  author  to  be  identical 
with  the  former,  on  account  of  the  hydrocarbon  having  a 
considerably  lower  boiling-point. — (Cainptcs  R.  Ixiv.  1088.) 

Tyroflln,  derivatives  of.-^Q,  Beyer.  Ty rosin  was 
obtained  by  boiling  one  part  of  horn  turnings  with  two  of 
sulphuric  add  and  ten  of  water ;  the  liquid  was  neutralised 
with  calcic  hydrate,  filtered,  and  evaporated  to  half  its 
original  bulk.  The  calcium-compound  of  tyrosin  was  then 
converted  into  the  corresponding  lead-compound ;  this  de- 
composed by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  and  the  solution  evap- 
orated to  crystallisation.  It  was  converted  into  the  nitrate, 
and  then,  according  to  Stadeler's  method,  into  nitrotyrosin. 
This  nitro-compound  is  reduced  to  aroidotyrosin,  6»HiaN90a, 
by  the  action  of  tin  and  chlorhydric  acid.  The  amido-com- 
pound  is  very  deliquescent,  but  may  be  obtained  as  a  crystal- 
line powder  by  concentrating  its  aqueous  solution  at  100^, 
and  cooling  under  the  desiccator  in  a  vacuum.  It  is  anhy- 
drous, sparingly  soluble  in  hot  alcohol,  and  is  not  decomposed 
when  heated  to  100^.    It  dissolves  readily  in  diluted  adds, 


forming  well  defined  salts.  Of  these  the  hydrocblorate 
e.HuNaOa,  2HC1  +  Hae  — two  sulphates  'G^HiaNaea. 
2HsSe4,  and  6»HisNaei,  HaSO*— and  a  double  sulphate  of 
amidoty rosin  and  zinc,  Zn,6O4+s(^i>HiaNa6»,HaS04)  are 
described. — {Arch,  Fharm.  [2]  130  44.) 

liecture  Bxperlment.^A.  Baeyer.  When  a  glass  rod, 
moistened  with  chlorhydric  acid,  is  plunged  into  a  flask, 
containing  a  few  drops  of  an  alcoholic  solution  of  propargylic 
ethide -OaHs.O.^aHft,  thick,  white  clouds,  like  sal-ammoniac, 
are  formed.  This  phenomenon  evidently  consists  of  an 
addition  of  CIH  to  the  other;  by  which  .the  compound 
OsH4C1.0.OaH»  is  formed,  and  may  serve  as  an  illustration 
of  the  similarity  which  exists  between  non-saturated  carbon- 
compounds  and  ammonia. — (Ann.  Chem.  Fhann,  cxlii.  326.) 

Oxysnlpliobenzld— -L.  Glutz.  It  is  still  a  matter  of 
uncertainty  whether  phenol  is  to  be  cocsidered  as  the  hy- 
drate of  phenylic  oxide  daHsO.HO,  or  as  oxybenzol 
CiaHftOa.H.  Supposing  the  latter  to  be  the  correct  view, 
the  action  of  sulphuric  acid  upon  phenol  will  give  liae  to  the 
formation  of  an  oxysulphobenzid 

corresponding  to  the  sulphobenzid 

c;:h:[[8.o.] 

fi^m  benzol.  This  reaction  does  indeed  take  place  when  two 
parts  of  phenol  and  three  of  sulphuric  acid  are  heated  toge- 
ther to  160** — 170**.  Oxysulphobenzid  is  sparingly  soluble 
in  cold  water,  readily  in  hot  water,  alcohol,  and  ether.  It 
has  the  properties  of  a  weak  acid;  when  dissolved  in  am- 
monic  hydrate,  and  left  to  evaporate  at  ordinary  temperatures, 
the  compound 


CiaH.Oa       J 


[Sa04] 


crystallises  out. 
benzid 


Nitric  acid  converts  it  into  nitro-oxysulpho- 


which  is  insoluble  in  cold,  sparingly  soluble  in  hot  water, 
soluble  in  alcohol  Strong  sulphuric  acid  dissolves  oxysul- 
phob'enzid  at  the  ordinary  temperature  without  decomposing 
it ;  when  heated,  decomposition  takes  places,  in  course  of 
winch  oxyphenylsulphurio  add  is  formed. — [Zeitschr,  CTiem,, 
N.  F.  iii.  435.) 

nerenrlc  Snlplioeyanldes. — T.  Philipp.  The  white 
precipitate  which  is  formed  by  adding  potassic  sulphocyanide 
to  mercuric  nitrate,  and  which  is  soluble  in  an  excess  of 
either  salt,  is  mercuric  sulphocyanide,  HgCyaS.  Potasso- 
mercuric  sulphocyanide,  HgCyaB, -H  KCyS,  is  formed  when 
mercuric  nitrate  is  added  to  potassic  sulphocyanide  until  the 
originally  white  precipitate  is  converted  into  a  yellowish 
crystalline  mass.  The  double-salt  of  mercuric  cyanide  and 
potassic  sulphocyanide,  HgOyaH-KCyS  +  2aq.  is  obtained  by 
mixing  solutions  of  its  two  constituents  together.  Compounds 
of  mercuric  iodide,  bromide,  and  chloride  with  potassic 
sulphocyanide  may  be  obtained  in  a  similar  manner.  The 
basic  mercuric  sulphocyanide  of  Glaus,  which  is  formed  by 
adding  ammonia  to  potasso-mercuric  sulphocyanide,  has  the 
composition, 

K|H'CyS,Hge 

{Pogg.  Ann.  cxxxi.  86.) 

Oxyplienylendlsnlplionlc  Add.— C.  Weinhold.  This 
acid  is  obtained,  besides  phenol  sulphuric  acid,  from  phenol 
by  the  action  of  sulphurie  add.  The  author  prepares  it  in 
the  following  manner :  sulphuric  anhydride  is  distilled  into  a 
well  cooled  flask  containing  crystallised  phenol ;  the  reaction 
which  thus  takes  place  with  moderate  energy  is  completed 
by  exposing  the  contents  of  the  flask  to  the  temperature  of 


[Engliah  Edition,  ToLZTLjKo.  407,  page  156;  Na  400,  pag*  184.] 


274 


Miacdlaneous. 


I  (^WTOAL  Kiwi, 
[      Aoe.,  13«T. 


the  water-bath  for  a  couple  of  hours.  The  mixture  is  then 
diluted  with  water,  and  the  new  acid  separated  from  the 
excess  of  sulphuric  acid  by  fractional  precipitation  with 
plumbic  carbonate.  The  solution  of  the  neutral  lead-salt  ia 
readily  decomposed  into  a  soluble  acid  and  difficultly  soluble 
basic  salt;  and  by  adding:  further  quantities  of  plumbic 
carbonate,  the  whole  may  be  converted  into  the  basic  salt, 
and  thus  be  freed  from  phenol  sulphuric  acid  which  remains 
in  solution.  The  oxyphenylendisulphonic  aoid  ia  now  iso- 
lated by  means  of  sulphuric  acid  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen. 
It  is  a  dibasic  acid ;  its  composition  is : 


2HO(CnH4O0"(|;o;)o. 


It  is  readily  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  and  with  difficulty 
obtained  in  crystals.  Its  salts,  with  the  exception  of  the 
basic  lead  salt,  are  also  very  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol. — 
(Ann,  Chem.  Pharm.  cxJiiL  58.) 


MISCEULANEOUS. 


Qaekett  microscopical  Club. — The  monthly  meeting 
was  held  at  University  College,  on  Friday  evening,  Septem- 
ber 27,  Mr.  A.  £.  Durham,  President,  in  the  chair.  Mr.  Glade 
read  a  paper  on  "snail's  teeth,"  in  which  he  described  those 
organs  of  moUusca  known  as  the  tongue  or  palate,  oonsisting 
of  a  long  and  narrow  strip  of  membrane  on  which  are  ar- 
ranged, in  various  patterns,  successive  series  of  strong 
recurved  teeth,  by  the  rasping  action  of  which  the  animal  is 
enabled  to  obtain  its  food.  By  this  means  the  carnivorous 
molluscs  bore  through  the  shells  of  the  animals  on  which 
they  prey.  The  numbers,  arrangement,  and  shape  of  these 
teeth  afford  to  naturalists  a  means  of  determining  species. 
Dr.  Maddox  exhibited  a  collection  of  beautifully  executed 
micro-photographs  of  deep  sea  80Qnding8»  many  of  the  objects 
being  magnitied  3,000  times. 

Xlie  Director  of  tlie  Paris  ]niint*...M.  Dumas,  chem- 
ist and  senator,  has  been  appointed  to  succeed  the  late  M. 
Pelouze  as  Director  of  the  Commission  des  Monnaies  of  Paris. 
M.  Dumas  had  previously  resigned  his  appointment  of  pro- 
fessor in  the  faculty  of  science  in  the  University  of  Paris,  and 
inspector-general  of  the  high  schools  of  France. 

A  Patent  for  Seclns  Gho«t«.— The  "vitel-force"  pa- 
tent on  which  we  commented  some  little  time  since,  has  been 
out  done  by  a  scheme  which  has  just  come  across  the  Atlan- 
tic According  to  Dr.  Van  der  Weyde,  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Mining^  a  spiritualist  of  New  York  has  lately  ap- 
plied forajwtent  for  an  arrangement  to  make  ghosts  or  spirits 
visible.  It  consisted  in  a  room  from  which  light  and  air  was 
almost  excluded,  only  air  was  admitted  by  a  stop-cock,  which 
was  opened  from  time  to  time,  and  light  was  passed,  in  a  very 
small  quantity,  through  a  piece  of  dark-blue  or  black  glass,  or 
fluid,  so  that  when  first  entering  the  room  nothing  was  seen, 
but  remaining  in  it  for  any  length  of  time  a  very  faint  view  of 
the  interior  was  obtained.  The  inventor  asserting  that  the 
bodies  of  ghosts  or  spirits  are  80  attenuated  tiiat  common  light 
passes  straight  through  them  and  makes  them  invisible. 

Carbonic  Dtoulplilde,  Hydrate  of«_£.  Duclaux. 
When  carbonic  disulphide  is  rapidly  volatilised,  a  white  crys- 
talline mass  is  formed  which  is  a  hydrate  of  carbonic  disul- 
phide. The  crystals  are  very  unstable,  they  decompose  at 
—30° ;  their  composition  ia  2^782 +  H,0. — (Compies  R.  Lsiv. 
1099.) 

Pascal  and  Ne-mrton. — The  impudent  attempt  on  the 
part  of  some  French  academicians  to  deprive  Newton  of  the 
glory  of  the  Law  of  Gravitation  has  now  been  effectually  ex- 
posed. It  will  be  remembered  that  when  our  Paris  corre- 
spondent alluded  to  them  a  fortnight  ago,  we  characterised 
Paacars  letters  as  forgerie&    It  will  be  seen  from  the  follow- 


ing statement  that  Newton's  letters  are  also  forged.  Sir 
David  Brewster  writes  as  foUows  to  the  Aikenoeam : — "  Ab  the 
biographer  of  8ir  Isaac  Newton,  and  the  only  living  persoa 
who  has  examined  his  letters  and  MSS.  in  the  poesessioD  of 
the  Earl  of  Portsmouth,  I  feel  that  I  am  called  upon  to  ex- 
pose the  forged  correspondence  between  him  and  Pascal 
which  has  recently  been  presented  to  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences,  and  published  in  successive  numbers  of  tfaie 
Cornptes  Rendtts,  etc.  After  perusing  this  correspondeoce,  I 
communicated  to  M.  Chevreul,  the  President  of  the  Academj, 
the  most  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  letters  are  forgeries; 
but  as  my  letter  may  not  -be  published  till  the  Goromiitoe  of 
the  Academy  give  in  their  report^  I  am  anxioos  that  the 
truth,  in  so  far  as  I  can  state  it,  should  be  known  in  this 
country.  If  the  oorreepondenoe  in  question  is  gennine,  Pas- 
cal has  anticipated  Newton  in  the  disoovery  of  the  Law  of 
Gravity ;  and  our  French  foe  across  the  Channel  might  jostly 
charge  Mr.  Conduitt,  Bishop  Horsley,  and  myself— who,  I  be- 
lieve, are  the  only  persons  who  bad  thoroughly  examined  the 
papers  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton — with  having  destroyed  the  let- 
ters of  Pascal,  in  order  to  give  to  Newton  the  honour,  and  to 
EngUnd  the  glory,  of  so  -great  a  discovery,  i.  In  the  Porta- 
ihoulh  papers  there  is  not  a  single  letter  from  Pascal  to  Nor- 
ton, nor  any  letter  or  document  in  which  his  name  is  meu- 
tioned.  2.  Pascal  is  alleged  to  have  heard  of  Newton*s  prt-  I 
eocious  genius  as  a  mathematician,  and  to  have  written  to  | 
him  encouraging  letters,  when  he  was  only  eleven  years  of  age! 
Newton  was  not  a  precocious  genius.  His  great  powers  were 
very  plowly  developed.  Till  he  was  sixteen  he  was  occupied 
with  water-  and  wind-mills  and  dials;  and,  as  he  himself  told 
Mr.  Conduitt,  his  first  experiment  was  made  in  165S,  wbea 
he  was  sixteen — an  experiment,  too,  indicating  very  little  ge- 
nius. 3.  Newton's  mother,  under  the  name  of  Anne  A^ 
cough,  thanks  Pascal  for  his  attention  to  her  son ;  bat  Anne 
Ayscough  ceased  to  have  that  name  when  Newton  was  only 
four  years  old,  and  had  she  written  after  that  time  it  could 
only  have  been  as  Hannah  Smith.  4.  The  letters  of  Newton 
are  signed  /.  Newton  and  Isoojc  Newton.  Newton's  letters  of 
corfespondence  were  always  signed  Is.  Newton  ;  the  only  ex- 
ception I  know  being  when  he  signed  Isaac  Newton  to  a  long 
scientific  communication  to  Boyle.  5.  According  to  the  al- 
leged correspondence,  Newton  received  at  least  two  Atui^vi 
manuscripts  and  notes  fh>m  Pascal,  which  he  offered  to  re- 
turn ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the  offer  was  accepted.  6. 
Newton  never  wrote  in  French ;  his  lett^v  to  Yarignon  and 
other  French  savants  were  always  written  in  Latin.  7.  The 
letters  contain  internal  evidence  that  they  were  not  wriiten 
by  Newton.  He  never  could  have  expressed  an  eternal  gra- 
titude for  the  kindness  of  his  friend.  8.  An  examination  of 
the  handwriting  and  of  the  paper  by  an  English  expert  will, 
doubtless,  add  to  the  evidence  given  above^  that  the  C01T&' 
spondence  in  question  is  not  genuine.*' 

Gnn«€otton  Exploalon. — ^Meavs.  Prentice  and  Oix 
write  to  explain  that  the  temperature  of  170  would  have 
been  more  correctly  written  i7o**C.  (or  Centigrade)  which 
is  equivalent  to  about  349* F.  (or  FahrenheitX  the  more  nsual 
English  scale.  This  has  long  been  considered  the  ordinary 
explosive  point  of  gun-cotton.  Since  the  introduction  of  the 
present  improved  system  of  washing  the  material  after 
it  has  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  pulp,  they  hare  not  an 
instance  in  their  experience,  extending  over  several  i&onths, 
where  the  explosive  point  has  been  found  to  bo  undef  350P 
Fahrenheit.  Without  expressing  any  gratification  on  such 
an  occasion,  they  cannot  help  feeling  some  satis^Action  that 
such  a  quantity  of  gun-ootton,  when  not  closely  con6Ded, 
could  be  exploded  without  even  the  fracture  of  a  pane  of 
glass  in  any  of  the  buildings  only  ten  yards  distant,  formuig 
on  a  grand  scale  an  illustration  that  it  is  only  when  subject  to 
a  considerable  degree  of  resistance  or  confinement  that  tha 
destructive  nature  of  gun-cotton  is  fiilly  developed.  TIn 
sporting  cartridges  made  of  "safety  gun-ootton  paper"*  (cf 
which  there  were  none  in  this  part  of  the  works)  may  be 
safely  stored  in  any  closet  or  cupboard,  the  particular  mod* 


[Bngliah  BOMm,  T^'XfL,  »d  40B,>ifM;ia4»  177 ;  Na  4CMI»  pagM^UM^  118, 113.] 


Chkmical  Nkwi,  ) 
JTiw.,  186T.      f 


Miecdlaneou^. 


^75 


of  preparation  renderiDg  them  still  less  liable  to  ignition,  and 
harmless  unless  cootined,  as  in  the  barrel  of  a  gun. 

^Sulpliate  of  Aliunlna— Po^A  alum   is  composed  of 

KO,SO«,  Al>0i,3S0,  +  24HO=474.5. 
Ammoniacal  aium,  the  most  generally  used  in  Paris, 

NH40,SO,,Al,0„3SO,+24HO=38i,4. 
Simple  Sulphate  of  Aktmina, 

Al,0„3SOs  +  24H0=3is,4. 
Every  lOO  kilogr.  of  these  three  products  contains  the  follow 
ing  proportion  of  sesquiozide  of  aluminium. 

For  loo  kilo,  potash  alum 10*820  kilo,  of  M%0» 

**         "     Ammoniacal  ditto. 13*460      **  " 

•«     "         "     Sulphate  Alumina ib  270     *'  ** 

Thus,  it  is  easy  to  find  the  real  value  of  tlie  simple  sulphate 
alumina,  the  more  so  as  that  which  constitutes  the  real  value 
of  alum,  is  not  the  potash  or  the  ammonia^  but  only  tiie 
alumina.  It  is  the  alumina  that  the  dyer  wants  to  hx  his 
colours  in  a  state  of  lacker;  the  tanner  wants  the  alumina 
to  preserve  his  hides,  and  make  them  tit  for  gloves  and  shoes ; 
again,  the  paper-maker  requires  tbe  alumina  to  make  his  pulp 
lit  for  writmg  on,  that  is  to  say,  that  paper  which  contains  a 
resinate  of  alumina  obtained  from  the  double  decomposition 
of  sulphate  alumina  with  a  solution  of  resin  in  caustic  soda, — 
this  paper,  we  say,  can  take  writing  without  fear  of  tbe  mk 
running.  If  the  alumina  in  these  salts  is  the  only  part 
useful  in  commerce,  one  ought  to  look  for  a  product  which 
to  a  give  weight  shall  contain  the  largest  quantity  of  this 
alumina.  Preference  should  be  given  to  sulphate  alumina, 
which  contains  16  per  cent,  useful  product,  whilst  potash 
alum  only  contains  lO'i  per  cent — Moniteur  Scientijiqtte^ 
vol.  i3L,  p  574. 

The  Atnaoiiplftere  of  tbe  ntetropoUtan  Railway. 

— An  inquest  wad  held  on  Friday  last  on  the  body  ot  Eliza- 
beth Staiusby,  who  died  very  suddenly  while  travelling  on 
the  Underground  Railway.  This  is  the  third  sudden  death  on 
tbe  line  within  a  few  weeka.  Previous  to  entering  the 
Bishop's-road  btaUoa  she  complained  of  a  pain  in  her  chest. 
Upon  reaching  the  platform  she  remarked,  "  It  a  vei7  nice 
Btation,  but  it  feels  very  hot"  As  soon  as  the  train  started 
she  exclaimed,  "Dear  me,  what  a  dreadful  smell  there  is," 
and  Uiese  were  the  last  words  she  uttered.  When  they  had 
proceeded  some  distance  into  the  tunnel  she  seemed  to 
Kutfer  great  inconvenience,  and  fell  sideways,  with  her  head 
upon  the  shoulder  of  her  companion.  After  leaving  Gower- 
Bireet  station  she  struggled  and  gasped  a  great  deal,  but 
upuQ  reaching  King's  cross  she  sunk  apparently  laintiug. 
Although  J<'arriugdou-8treet  was  her  destination,  she  was  at 
once  removed  to  the  waiting-room  at  Kiug's-cross,  and  a 
medical  man  was  sent  for,  but  it  was  founa  she  was  quite 
dead.  Dr.  Popham,  who  made  a  paet-mortem  examinaiion, 
when  predsed  10  state  whether,  in  his  opinion,  the  atmosphere 
of  the  Underground  Railway  had  hastened  death,  declined 
to  give  a  decided  answer.  He  had  no  doubt,  however,  that 
air  containing  a  large  quantity  of  sulphurous  acid  gas  and 
carbouio  acia  gas  wouM  nasteu  the  death  of  a  diseased  person. 
The  compauiuu  of  the  deceased  stated  that  the  atmosphere 
of  tbe  tunnel  between  Portland-road  and  King's-cross  was 
particiUarly  oppressive.  In  accordance  with  the  strong  opin- 
ion of  the  jury,  the  coroner  adjourned  the  inquiry  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  result  of  a  chemical  analysis  of  the 
atmosphere  of  the  tunnel.  We  since  learn  that  the  directors 
of  the  Metropolitan  Railway  being  anxious  that  the  facts 
sboiild  be  inquired  into  by  competent  and  impartial  persons, 
so  as  at  once  to  remove  all  possible  cause  for  anxiety,  have 
requested  Dr.  Letheby,  the  medical  officer  of  health  for  the 
city  of  London,  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Whitmore,  the  med- 
ical officer  of  health  of  Marylebone,  and  Dr.  Bachhofiner, 
to  report  to  them,  alter  a  thorough  investigation  upon  the 
subject^  and  those  gentlemen  are  now  engaged  upon  the 
inquiry. 

MeDT  node  of  Anaionalcal  Reeeareli. — Professor 


Braune,  of  the  University,  Leipsic,  has  just  published  a 
method  of  making  accurate  drawings  of  the  human  system, 
which  is  at  onoe  novel  and  startling.  He  first  freezes  the 
subject  to  a  metallic  hardness  by  exposing  it  to  a  tempera- 
ture many  degrees  below  zero  for  a  sufficient  period  of  time, 
then  with  a  Hue  saw  he  severs  the  frozen  body  in  any  direction 
as  may  be  desired.  If  proper  saws  are  used,  these  cuts  will 
be  perfectly  clean  and  smooth ;  over  these  cuts  a  stream  of 
water  is  poured,  which  instantly  freezes,  as  the  whole  opera- 
tion is  carried  on  in  a  room  at  a  low  temperature,  and  the 
ice  forms  a  sort  of  tren^oparent  coating  to  the  severed  surface, 
revealing  very  distinctly  every  part  and  outline. 

Popular  Scientific  Inrorinatloii.—Tlii  A(MayB«— 

In  the  Mining  Journal  of  Aug.  1 7,  in  a  report  upon  the  Missouri 
tin  discoveries,  we  find  the  following:— "Professor  H.  M. 
Beauregard,  a  graduate  of  the  Paris  School  of  Mines,  writes 
as  follows.''  **  I  have  three  comparative  assays  with  Bpeci- 
mens  obtained  from  the  surface  of  the  code.  First,  from  a 
light  to  a  dark  green  colour,  showing  in  an  unmistakable 
manner  the  presence  of  black  tin,  exhibiting  the  same  char- 
acteristics, as  V specimens  from  the  tin  mines  of  iSaxony. 
Second,  from  some  specimens  of  yellow  and  ^;:^y  yellow 
streaks,  containing  a  small  quantity  of  tin;  and  if  we  take 
into  consideration  their  position  of  the  surface,  they  present 
very  good  indications.  Third,  the  brown  specimens  contain 
no  metal ;  however,  the  covering  of  '  putty '  which  is  found 
very  abundant,  is  of  a  rich  quality,  and  if  we  consider  that 
these  as8a}*s  were  made  in  open  air,  that  tin  is  the  most 
acydable  of  metals,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  a  temper- 
ature of  heat  equal  to  442**  Fahrenheit  in  order  to  smelt  it 
into  ingots,  the  object  in  view,  to  establish  the  fact  of  the 
presence  of  tin,  is  reached  " !  I 

SUlelnm-mercaptan. — C.  Friedel  and  A.  Ladenburg. 
Pierre's  silicic  chlorosulphide,  which  is  prepared  by  passing 
a  current  of  hydric  sulphide,  charged  with  the  vapour  of 
silicic  chloride,  through  a  red-hot  porcelain  tube,  the  authors 
find  to  be  a  mixture  of  silicic  chloride,  and  a  body  of  the 
composition  SiClsBH.  They  may  be  separated  from  each 
other  by  repeated  fractional  distillations,  the  new  compound 
distilling  between  95**  and  97°,  silicic  chloride  at  59"-66°. 
The  reaction  by  which  the  silicium-chlorsulphhydrate  is  formed 
may  be  represented  by  the  following  equation : 

SiCla+H,S=SiCl,SH  +  HCl 
Bromine  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  eilicic  chlorobromide 
according  to  the  equation : 

SiCl,HS+3Br=SiCl«Br-frBrS-f-BrH. 
This  bromide  resembles  silicic  chloride  closely ;  it  boils  at 
So"*,  and  gives  off  fumes  when  exposed  to  air.    Its  density 
was  found  7*25. 

Temperature  required  fbr  forming  Fntrible  Com- 
bluatiousy  and  for  meltlnc^  tlie  same* — G.  Bchinz. 
Schinz  finds  by  application  of  a  thermo-electric  pyrometer, 
that  silicates  are  formed  and  melted  at  the  same  temperature, 
and  that  the  formation  of  the  silicates  depends  more  on  time 
than  on  temperature,  1.0.,  it  depends,  in  fact,  on  the  conduct- 
ing power  of  heat,  which  the  materials  composing  the 
silicates  possess.  He  also  finds  the  temperature  required  for 
melting  meUils  and  metallurgical  products  to  be  lower,  as 
form^ly  has  been  stated  by  Plattner.  The  latter  states  that 
a  temperature  of  1,789" — i,876°C.  was  required  for  forming 
silicates  of  iron,  and  of  1,431 — 1,445''  ^*^^  melting  the  same. 
Schinz  now  finds  that  a  temperature  of  1,000 — I,I56°C.  is 
sufficient  for  both  purposes.  He  also  finds  that  a  tempera- 
ture of  a  glass-furnace  in  operation  is  only  1,100—1,250**; 
that  crystal  glass  is  worked  at  833**,  and  becomes  completely 
liquid  at  929°.  A  Bohemian  green  glass  tube  softens  at 
769^*,  and  becomes  liquid  at  1,052°.  Pure  limestone  loses  its 
carbonic  acid  by  heating  for  several  hours  at  a  temperature  of 
617 — 67  5^0.  An  increase  of  the  temperature  will  shorten 
the  time.— (Din^i.  /.  bd.  182,  p.  206.) 

Rapid  BeportliMr— -We  would  draw  attention  to  the  • 
promptness,  hitherto  unknown  in  the  scientific  press,  with 


[BnglldiBdltion,T6LZVT.,Ho.4<M»peg«n3;  Vo.  406^  pages  128»  lfl»,  1S6^  196;  Na  406»  pace  348.] 


276 


MiaoeUaTieotis. 


(  Cbemicai.  Kswa^ 
1       Nov^  18«r. 


which  the  proceedings  of  the  British  Asaociatioa  wore 
reported  last  week  in  these  columns.  It  should  be  remem- 
bered that  Dundee  is  fifteen  hours'  railway  journey  from 
London  ;  but  the  Chemical  News,  which  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  public  on  Friday  morning  last,  contained  a  full  account 
of  the  proceedings  in  Seciion  B  of  the  previous  day.  Not 
only  was  Dr.  Anderson's  introductory  address  given  in  full, 
but  the  two  most  important  papers  were  also  reported,  and 
the  discussion  given.  All  the  important  papers  have  been 
reported  for  us  verbatim,  and  the  discussions  and  papers 
of  minor  importance  are  "reported  in  abstract ;  bat  our  avail- 
able space,  although  extended  by  the  issue  of  a  supplement, 
is  still  insufficient,  and  we  are  reluctantly  compelled  to  defer 
the  concluding  part  of  the  proceedings  till  next  week.-^- 
Chemical  Njcws  {Eng.  Ed.)  8tpt  13, 1867. 

Oiiffin  of  Gypsum  and  Dolomite. — In  a  memoir 
read  before  the  Acadimie  des  Sciences^  22nd  April,  this  year 
— "  Sur  la  formation  des  gypses  et  des  dolomies"  ( Cf/mpt 
JRend.^  tome  Ixiv.,  p.  815),  Dr.  Sterry  Hunt  gives  the  results 
of  an  interesting  experimental  investigation  on  the  origin  of 
these  rocks.  Afler  alluding  to  a  previous  communication  to 
the  Academy  (23rd  May,  1859),  in  which  he  demonstrated 
that  the  mutual  reactions  of  bicarbonate  of  hme  and  sulphate 
of  magnesia  would  give  rise  to  the  formation  of  gypsum  and 
hydrated  carbonate  of  magnesia,  he  proceeds  to  account  for 
the  origin  of  the  carbonate  of  magnesia,  which,  under  the 
form  of  dolomite,  is  found  bo  abundantly  in  nature,  unac- 
companied by  gyp^fum.  He  regards  in  the  first  place  the 
carbonates  of  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia,  to  have  been 
.  formed  from  the  decomposition  of  primitive  silicates  by 
atmospheric  carbonic  acid,  and  that  the  carbonate  of  soda  so 
formed  precipitated  first  the  lime  and  then  the  magnesia 
(more  or  leas  mixed  with  lime)  from  the  primeval  ocean  ;  in 
cases  of  isolated  basins  of  water  previously  deprived  of  its 
lime,  carbonate  of  magnesia  would  be  alone  precipitated. 
The  most  important  point  in  this  investigation,  however,  is 
the  discovery  announced  by  Dr.  Sterry  Hunt  of  the  mode  in 
which  the  chemical  reactions  concerned  in  the  production  of 
dolomite  and  gypsum  are  modified  under  the  infiuence  of  an 
atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid,  from  which  he  infers  that  the 
ancient  period  was  much  more  favourable  to  the  development 
of  these  rocks,  since  the  atmosphere  of  the  primitive  epoch 
must  doubtless  have  contained  much  more  carbonic  acid 
than  at  present;  and  concludes  by  ascribing  to  this  cause 
the  production  of  the  great  masses  of  gypsum  associated  with 
dolomites  which  are  foi^d  in  the  most  ancient  formations  up 
to  those  of  the  tertiary  period. 

in. P.  l)>r  liondon  UnlTersItjr.  Candidature  of*  Sir 
Jobn  IiUbbocl£*..An  influential  meeting  was  held,  in  the 
Committee  Room  of  Section  D.,  of  gentlemen  anxious  to 
assist  the  CTommittee  of  Graduates  formed  to  secure  the 
election  of  Sir  John  Lubbock  as  representative  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  London.  Among  those  present  Were — Sir  W. 
Thomson,  President  of  Mathematical  and  Physical  Section  ; 
Dr.  Sharpey,  President  of  the  Section  of  Anatomy  and  Physi- 
ology ;  Prof.  Busk,  President  of  the  Section  of  Zoology  and 
Botany  ;  Prof.  Wheatstone  ;  Prof.  Sylvester  ;  Prof.  Tyndall ; 
Prof.  Allen  Thomson  ;  Prof  Ansted  ;  Dr.  Williamson  ;  Mr. 
Gassiott;  Prof.  Hirst;  Dr.  Odling  ;  Dr.  Turner  ;  Prof.  M. 
Foster  ;  Prof,  f^,  C.  Foster  ;  Dr.  A.  C.  Brown,  etc.  Professor 
Tyndall  was  in  the  chair ;  and  it  was  proposed  by  Sir  Wil- 
liam Thomson,  and  seconded  by  Professor  Williamson,  and 
carried  unanimously: — "That  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Bart, 
having  been  brought  forward  by  an  influential  party  among 
the  graduates  of  the  University  of  Loudon,  and  an  opportu- 
nity being  thereby  afforded  of  obtaining  for  science  a  repre- 
sentative in  the  House  of  Commons,  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  those  who  are  interested  in  science  should  do  all  in 
their  power  to  secure  his  election." 

In  niemorlam* — Paraday.  —  Iq  his  introdactory  ad- 
dress to  Section  A  of  the  Sritish  Association,  the  President, 
Sir  William  Thomson,  said :  It  was  my  intention  not  to  de- 
tain you  from  the  interesting  subjects  and  abundant  matter 


for  discussion  which  will  so  fully  occupy  our  time  during  the 
meeting,  by  an  introductory  address ;  but  I  must  ask  you  to 
bear  with  me  if  I  modify  somewhat  this  resolution,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  recent  event,  which,  I  am  sure,  must  touch  very 
nearly  the  hearts  of  all  present,  and  of  very  many  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  to  whom  the  name  of  Faraday  has  be- 
come a  household  word  for  all  that  is  admirable  in  scien- 
liflc  genius.  I  wish  I  could  put  in  words  aomeiliing  of  tlie 
image  which  the  name  of  Faraday  always  suggests  to  nay 
mind.  Kindliness  and  unselfishness  of  disposition;  deamess 
and  singleness  of  purpose ;  brevity,  simplicity,  and  direct- 
ness ;  sympathy  with  his  audience  or  his  friend' ;  perfect  nat- 
ural tact  and  good  taste;  thorough  cultivation — all  these  he 
had,  each  to  a  rare  degree ;  and  their  infiuence  pervaded  his 
language  and  manner,  whether  in  conversation  or  lecture. 
But  all  these  combined  made  only  a  part  of  Faraday's  charm. 
He  had  an  indescribable  quality  of  quickness  and  life.  Some- 
thing of  the  light  of  his  genius  irradiated  all  with  a  certain 
bright  intelligence,  and  gave  a  singular  charm  to  his  man- 
ner, which  was  felt  by  eveiy  one,  surely,  from  the  deepest 
philosopher  to  the  simplest  child  who  ever  had  the  privilege 
of  seeing  him  in  his  home — the  Royal  Institution.  That  light 
is  now  gone  from  us.  While  thankful  for  having  seen  and 
felt  it,  we  cannot  but  mourn  our  loss,  and  feel  that  what- 
ever good  things,  whatever  brightness  may  be  yet  in  store 
for  us,  that  light  we  can  never  see  again. 

An  American  Vleir  of  EngrlUb  Patent  I^aiv. — ^We 

quote,  the  following  from  our  talented  oontemporaiy,  TA^ 
ATTurican  Journal  ^  Mining.  From  the  amusing  illustration 
quoted  in  the  latter  part,  it  would  appear  that  the  American 
patent  laws  are  at  least  as  elasiic  as  our  own.  "  The  Chem- 
ical News  describes,  with  well-merited  ridicule,  an  appa- 
ratus patented  Oct.,  1866,  in  England,  for  the  generation  of 
'  vital  force '  by  the  contact  of  '  an  azote  and  a  carbonated 
body.'  The  extract  will  be  found  in  another  column.  The 
News  justly  says,  'a  more  powerful  satire  on  the  preseni 
state  of  the  patent  laws  we  have  never  seen.  The  patent 
laws  of  England  are  perhape>  more  absurd  than  that  of  any 
other  country.  They  date  back  to  a  period  when  it  was  de- 
sired to  transplant  into  England  the  secrets  of  European 
manufacturers ;  and  they  were  primarily  intended  to  reward 
those  enterprising  individuals  who  should  courageously  spy 
out  the  discoveries  which  others  had  made,  and  then,  with 
sudden  virtue,  wish  to  be  protected  in  their  rights  to  the 
stolen  property.  If  we  mistake  not,  it  is  still  a  feature  of 
the  English  system,  that  the  patentee  need  not  claim  to  be 
the  original  inventor,  and  that  foreign  inventors  have  no 
rights  which  patentees  are  bound  to  respect  A  natural  con- 
sequence of  this  fundamental  injustice  is  an  extreme  loose- 
ness in  the  administration  of  the  patent  laws.  It  is  prover- 
bial that  anything  can  be  patented  in  England.  The  gov- 
ernmental examination  amounts  to  little  or  nothing.  The 
records  ehow  many  cases  of  the  same  inventions  repeatedly 
patented  by  diflerent  parties;  of  patents  covering  only  ele- 
mentary principles,  which  have  long  been  public  property; 
and  of  preposterous  bits  of  quackery  like  this  'battery  of  vi- 
tal force,'  receiving  the  sanction  of  parchment  and  the  royal 
seal.  We  pride  ourselves  on  our  superior  system ;  but  is  it 
free  from  similar  faults  in  administration  ?  It  is  certain  that 
our  citizens  would  be  saved  much  perplexity,  and  our  courts 
much  vexatious  business,  by  a  stricter  examination  of  pat- 
ents in  the  beginning  by  the  government  officials.  As  an 
offset  to  the  amusing  instance  presented  by  the  A'etoa,  we 
might  mention  an  American  patent,  obtained  a  year  or  two 
ago,  for  preserving  the  bodies  of  deceased  relatives,  by  sub- 
jecting them  to  hydraulic  pressure,  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
pressing all  moisture  I  We  should  like  to  submit  a  body, 
prepared  by  our  patent,  to  the  inventor  of  '  vital  force,*  and 
see  whether,  by  the  application  of  azote  and  carbon,  be 
could  *  bring  it  to  1 ' " 

Tl&e  IVasneslam  lilglnt. —  We  understand  that  this 
light  is  likely  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  Abyssiniaa 
expedition.   Mr.  Mellor,  the  manager  of  the  Magnet um  Met«J 


[BngUflh  Bdltion,  VoL  XVL,  Kb.  40(S  paS0 148 ;  Na  407,  pogw  157, 108^  166,} 


Contemporary  Sdefniijic  Press. 


277 


Company,  is  prepared  to  supply  several  hundred-weights  of 
the  powdered  ni^tal ;  and  the  anthorities  at  Chatham  have 
been  for  some  time  experimenting  on  the  subject 

Iilquid  Carbonle  Add*— The  well-known  apparatus 
employed  for  so  long  a  time  by  Mr.  Robert  Addams  for 
liquefying  carbonic  acid,  has  been  purchased  by  Mr.  Stewart 
frooB  funds  supplied  by  t^e  Royal  Sodety,  and  Mr.  Addams 
lias  kindly  undertaken  to  make  a  preliminary  experiment 
with  his  apparatus,  as  well  as  to  give  f^edfic  mstmctions 
regarding  it.  As  the  exact  thermometric  value  of  the  freez- 
ing-point of  mercury  has  been  priviously  determined  by  Mr. 
Stewart,  it  is  expected  that  the  apparatus  will  furnish  the 
means  of  verifying  thermometers  at  very  low  temperature& 

lodlae  floloble  In  certain  Organic  Compounds.— 

Hlanwetz.  lodioe  dissolves  to  a  oonsiderable  extent  in 
aqueous  solutions  of  resorein,  orein,  or  phtoroglucin, 
without  imparting  to  them  any  colour.  The  solutions  may 
be  boiled  without  iodine  being  volatilised ;  they  have  almost 
neutral  reaction,  and  staroh,  or  carbonic  bisulphide  does  not 
indicate  free  iodine.  A  solution  of  the  latter  in  aksohol  or 
carbonic  bisulphide  is  decolor»ed  by  adding  one  of  the 
organic  bodies  mentioned,  which  may  therefore  be  used  in 
place  of  SDlphurous  acid  in  volumetric  determinations  by 
means  of  iodine.  Other  organic  substances  have  been 
observed  to  behave  in  a  similar,  but  less  decided  manner. — 
{Akad,  TFfen,  131,  1867.) 

OONTfiBCPORART   SOXHNnFIO   IPRESS. 


CDnder  this  beading  It  Jm  ioteaded  to  (f^re  Che  titlee  of  all  the  chemical 
l>apen  irhkb  are  publiahed  hi  (be  principal  aoientlfic  periodicala  of  the 
Confeiaent  Artidee  which  are  merely  reprints  or  abttracta  of  papers 
ahready  aotloed  vill  be  omitted.  Abetracts  of  the  more  important  pa- 
pers here  announced  wlU  appear  in  future  nomben  of  the  Cbkuicai. 
NawB.] 

JMUHn  de  PAoadimU  ds  BOoiqw,  March  2,  ZS67. 
A.  Kkkuui:-  *^  SeporU  on  S-  XhtboiH*  Memoir  on  Monochlorinaied 
J'hmic  Afeid.*^'^YAM  BsMmu :  **  Report  on  F,  Terb^'e  Memoir  eth 
Ihs  M^Uked  puretted  hjf  Spiders  for  eonneeUng  JHeki^U  J^nta  by  a 
TJiread^^—A,  Qurslst  :  *'On  the  J>ermination  qf  the  Hour  at 
ecMcA  Fatte  of  AeroMea  generally  take  place.'*'— K.  Kkkitlb:  *'  On 
0ome  atUplmretUd  DeriwMvM  of  FhenoV'--''  On  the  Sulpkophenic 
Adde,"—^  DtTBoia:  **  On  MonoddoHnated  Pkenio  A<Hdy—f.  Tbr- 
■t:  "On  the  MMod  pmwed  by  Spiders  fbr  oonnecUng  JHetant 
J\>int»byaTbread,^ 

Aprtt  6. 
SiUungeberiehte  der  kbniglich^Bayeriadhen  Akademie  der  Wiessn* 
sc&^ften.    (Mathematiach-j^aikaliache  Glaeee.)    March  zo. 
"  Hat  of  JSuMeelefbr  Priee  Euaysfoa  the  Tear  x868." 
BcHouan :  ^'  OontributioM  to  the  Knowledgs  ofBiruwideqf  ffy- 
drogen,^—YaaKQVtLL:  *^On  Pectolite  and  Oematie.'**—A.  vooxl, 
Janr. :  "On  the  Variations  in  the 'Oompoaition  of  Water  at  Diferent 
Depths,^—**  On  the  Etitimaiion  ^  AtnmoniaJ*'—Bi\misrEivo :  "*  On 
Almospherie  B^fraoUon^^-^**  JB^^erimenis  oti  OapUlary  Action  at  a 
Low  Atmospheric  Pressura. 

April  2x— May  5.  ^ 

Kaobu  :  **  Smerlments  on  Capillary  Action  ai  a  kw  Atmospheric 
Pressure.^    "On  the  Theory  of  Capillarity.** 

Jane  2. 
A.  Toon.,  Janr. :  ^On  HheManvfadwre  qfPsat  CharcoaL'^—^catm- 
vax  '.**0n1he  FermaUon  of  Bino»ide  xtf  Bydrogen  durUtg  the 
eiUno  OaMatio»  ^  OrgamHo  JMstances,** 

July  14. 
A.  TooBL,  Janr.  i  *^  On  the  Faiimatton  qf  iK$  Chemical  Action  qf 
IA(^  by  HshMuenoe  on  Prussian  BPue.**    **Onthe  Volatile  Acids 
^otdalned  in  Peat,  and  on  the  Variation  in  QuaU^  of  Peat  from 
J>ifereHtP&riiomsofthssameBed:* 

November  xo, 

Tom  pRixirKona  axd  Voir:  **Onthe  Quantity  of  Carbonic  Aeid 
takaled  and  Owygsn  consumed  by  the  Human  i^Mect  daring  Wab- 
ing  and  Bleeping,  in  Health  and  JHseaae?*—k.  vogku  juor. :  **  On 
the  AssimikUion  ^  SiUea  by  Plants,'*— Yqh  Qobup-Bbsambz  :  **  He- 
eeas'ehes  on  Creosote.^'^BMOBnjMm* :  ^  On  the  S»paneton  of  Aloohd 
bySeatr 

December  x$. 

SnannoL:  **  On  a  Portable  Photographic  ApparatuaJ^—'E.  Vorr: 
'*JBi«seare^  on  the  Laws  of  Hifkmon  ef  JAgfUdsJ*''SoBotrBKn: 
'*Onthe  Accslsrative  Actionj^Fmid  Hydrocarbons  and  other  JSub- 
eianees  rick  in  Carburetled  Hydrogen  on  the  Ooftdation  of  Absolide 


Alcohol,  xMd  on  the  Formation  of  Peroxide  of  Hffdrogen  wkieh  ac- 
companies such  O»idation.*^ 


SUntngsberiahte  der  Wiener  AJbademie  (MatthemaUschmaturwissen 
schajttiche  Olassey.    October— November,  1866. 

A.  Sohkavf:  "  On  the  Optical  Properties  of  Crystals  and  of  Alio- 
tropic  ModMcaUons.**—*^  On  the  HOations  between  lUfractime  Bqui- 
vaUenta  and  Specific  FoitwiM*"— T.  Pisokolt:  "  On  Via  Chsmteal 
Composition^  Preparation,  and  EoeportaUon  of  Ouarana  or  Udr- 
ana^'—lt.  Ditsohukkb:  **  On  the  Theory  of  DlfracUm,  in  Double 
R^rading  Media."*— T,  Hsm:  **Atuay9is  oTa  Meteorite  fhm 
Dacca,  Bengal:*— R.  L.  Malt  :  *«  On  some  DerUaticea  qf  Thiostna- 
tn^MA"— H.  Ulasiwktz  ahd  A.  Grabowski:  "  On  Carminic  Acid."— 
G.  Malik:  "0»  a  Derieaiioe  of  Huflgallio  Add.** -F.  Kochlkdbb: 
'^  On  the  TanaUn  of  the  Horse  Chestnut.**— L.  Babth  :  **  On  Paracon/- 
benedc  Add:*— J,  LoecHiuor :  *'Onihe  Theory  qf  Oases,** 

Janaazy,  1867. 
H.  Hlasiwbtb:  "  On  some  Tannic  Adds.**  **0n1he  Constituents 
of  Toa,**  On  the  Baaidty  of  Gallic  Acid.**—h.  Bakth  :  ♦*  On  Proto- 
catechuic  Acid.**  **Onihe  Brominated  DericaUces  of  GaUic  Acid, 
PyrogaUie  Acid,  and  Oooyphenic  Acid.**—K  Bchwabb:  *' Analysis 
of  the  Mineral  Waters  qf  MedUng,  near  Vienna.**-^M.  YiixoTSCHAU : 
'-On the  Action qf  Physostigmine on  the  Amphibia,**— A.  Sibkbcu : 
""Onthe  Action  of  Common  Salt  on  Zinc  and  OsOde  y  Zinc'*— A. 
B«o:  "^Onthe  Optical  Properiies  of  Crystals  qf  HyposuIpMU  qf 
Baryta.**— A.  Loclbgo  i**Onthe  Spectrum  qfthe  Flame ff'om  Bessemer 
ConiMTters,** 

Kunst  and  Oemerbeblatt  April,  1867. 
ScBAFBAULT :  *^  On  the  Cause  of  the  Brittleness  qf  Braaa  Wir- 
tohen  uaedfbr  Lightning  Conductors,**  **Onthe  History  and  Pro9 
grass  of  Tanning  in  Oermany.**—Jt,  Dnmicn:  **  On  Fusel  OH  and 
its  Applioations,**-K.  Schlbb  : '' On  the  Produetionof  Artifidal 
Meerschaum  and  Horn  from  Pstaioes,  Turnips,  and  Wood.**  "  On 
Plastie  Wood,**  "*  On  the  ComposiUon  and  mUiaatlon  qf  the  WatA 
Waters  of  the  Wheat  Starch  Manvfiicture.**  ''  On  Iron  Minium  as 
a  Paimifor  Wood  and  Metal**  ''Price  list  qf  Philosophical  Ap- 
paratus manufUctured  by  P,  Carl,  at  Munich,*^ 

May. 

W.  VBKULKTn :  "^  Press  f»r  forming  Spent  TUn  into  Cakes  for 
Use  as  Fuel "— B.  Lakqbn  :*•(?»  a»  Arrangement  of  Apparatus  fbr 
mechanically  emptying  the  Cooling  CyUnders  qf  Betowts  far  re- 
d»ifylng  Animal  CharcoaV*—2i,  Zkbolxb:  "^  On  tke  Presence  qf 
Carbonate  of  Lime  in  Brick  Clay,  on  its  Influence  on  th'*  Ware,  and 
on  the  Methods  <f  preventing  its  injurious  Action.**—^  Litikbb  : 
''On  the  Use  of  Moveable  Tubs  as  Rsoeptaeles  for  EBOcrementiiious 
Matters  at  Oraie,** 

Kunst  and  OewerbeblatL    May. 
*'Onihe  CryataUiaation  qf  Glycerine  and  on  the  Action  qf  Impure 
Glycerine  on  the  Sktn,**—n  WAowERi  "  On  the  Quantitative  Estima- 
tion of  Eaaence  qf  Mirbane  {Mirobenjgol)  in  Oil  qf  Bitter  Almonds,** 

Journal  yftr  Praktische  Chemie.  April  35, 1867. 
H.  Kolbb:  "  Bemarks  on  tfeintael's  Memoir  on  TriomidophenoL** 
— Bonass:  "On  the  Uae  qf  Antimony  in  Voltaic  BatieHea,**—F, 
Hoppb^bylbb:  "On  the  Preaence  of  Indium  in  Wolfram**— y, 
ScnoTTLANOEB:  *' 0»  Hyposulphite  of  Platinum  and  Soda.**—V. 
Baunstakk  :  "  Ont/te  A^on  of  Oa^ychloride  qf  Sulphuric  Add  on 
certain  Organic  Compounds.*^— KL.tmLmiQ:  '*0n  the  Spectrum  of 
the  Flame  from  Bessemer  Converters,** 

May  9. 

B.  Ubbmahx:  '^  On  the  Atomic  Weight  of  Tantalum,  and  on  tfte 
Composition  qf  the  Compotmds  qf  that  Metak**  "  On  a  Double 
Fluoride  qf  Antimony  and  Araenie."—T.  Pctebsbh  :  '*  Contributiona 
to  the  Theory  €f  Leblanc*a  Process.**— A.  C.  Oupbu abb  :  "  Experi- 
ments on  some  East  Indian  Fats  and  Oils.**—"  Experiments  on  Palm 
OUfrom  Surinam.**— "W,  P.  Gintl:  "A  new  Pinch-cock  for  Stop- 
ping India  Bubber  Tubes,**— U.  Hlabxwbtz:  "Ot^  Hydrocaffdc 
Add.**—Q,  Tboubbilak:  '*0n  Qlaudocote,  Danaite,  cma  Arsenical 
Pyrites.** 

May  34. 
J.  G,  Qbt^blb  i^OnC  PHedel  and  J,  Crqjts*  Pdper,  or  a  new 
Alcohd  in  which  Carbon  is  partly  replaced  by  Sttidum,  published 
in  the  GoxPTBB  BBMmrs,  vol.  61,  p.  yga?*-"  On  the  Boiling  Points  of 
Ethers  and  Alcohols,  and  qfffte  corresponding  Sulphides  and  Suboh- 
hydrates.**—"  On  the  supposed  Identity  of  Senoylamine  and  Tolur 
€Une.**  "On  the  Similaviiy  of  the  Behaa^iour  of  Carbonic  Oxide  and 
Nitrous  Oaide  in  Chemical  Compounds,  where  they  replace  a  Base 
or  an  Acid:*— G.  P.  Scoobbbix:  "On  the  Accelerative  Action  ^ 
Liquid  Hydrocarbons  and  other  Bodies  rich  in  CarbureUed  Hydro- 
gen  on  the  OsDidationqf  Absolute  Aloohd,  cmd  on  the  Formation  qf 
PerosUde  qf  Hydrogen  whUch  accompanies  such  OondatUm,** 

Monatsbericht  der  k&nigUcX-Prenssiachen  Akademie.    Yeh.,  1867. 

J.  BBBirsfBDi :  "On  the  Duration  of  <A«  Ksgative  Variation  of 
Hervous  Currents.**— R.  Wbbbb:  "  On  some  Compounda  of  the  Chlo- 
rides qf  Platinum  and  <?oW."— Dove:  "On  the  Combination  of 
Prismatte  Colours  to  White.**    ''On  the  Produdion  qf  Accidental 


[BngiiBh  Bditia^  ToL XTI,  JTo. 407, p^a  Ua ;  110.406,  paga  V»  \  Vo. 404^  pace  114;  Na  405,  page  U9.] 


278 


Patents. 


CotwTB  hy  ^  Shotrie  liffht.^  "  On  Ihe  Invsrstons  trhiehlieeur  &n 
lookinif  at  Drafotnga  in  Persp^il'ge  and  Tran»par&Mi  OhjtcU  fHBi 
one  or  both  Eye9.^  On  the  PoUtrimxHon  qf  Light  by  Repeated  R^c- 
iUmy—VwQVKoom :  '*  Obeervatione  on  HotWe  Slecirieal  HaeJune,''^ 
^Ona  new  JSXeotrieal  Machine  invented  by  Bbltk** 

Jownaldee  FcSbraeamMe  de  Papier,    Vixf  t^  ^B&r'. 
E  Bousdilliat:   **(M  Testing  the  Chemical  ProdueU  used  fn 
Paper  Making.^-~3.  Nickim  x^OnE.  PoHonU  Method  <^  UtiUaing 
JSipeni  L\fet  and  other  Waste  Product*  of  Paper  MUUJ* 

ArtMeee  dee  Sdencee.   TA«f  35^  1867. 
M.  MiCMu:  "^  On  the  CotouHruf  Matter  of  CfUorcphyUr —'L, 
DcFOOR :  **  Oa  A  JFiek  and  J,  WUUcenus'  Paper  on  the  Production 
cf  Mudoular  Jbroe.^    **  On  lyanJcUn'e  Paper  on  the  tame  St^tfeot,^ 

Comjp€et  Rendue.  Jane  lo*,  xVbj, 
BatrBSiNOATTLT \*^Onihe Decomposing  Action  of  a  ITigh  Temper^ 
aiwe  on  some  Sulphates."**— Pxr^Ti  i  **  On  the  Structure  and  Con- 
stitution qf  Ligneous  Fibres^  fiOovjed  by  an  Acovtent  ^  the  Methods 
of  maniijadLiiring  Paper  from  Woodr—h.  D«  la.  Riv«  :  •*  On  the 
Sleetrieal  Condition  of  the  JBarih.'^'-'L.  Simoxih  :  "  On  the  Bitumi- 
nous Sohisu  oT  VagnaSj  in  the  Department  of  Ardechiy  Fance:*— 
GoAOORirAC  \  ^On  the  Periodioify  0/  Sun  Snots:^—V.  YoLPicaLLi : 
'''Onthe  Determination  of  the  Poles  qf  Bar  Jfo^n^t*."^— S.  du  Luca 
AND  J.  Ubaldini:  "  Researches  on  the  reciprocal  Action  of  SuXphu- 
roue  Acid  and  Sulphuretted  ffydrogenr—G,  Foktuoxmb:  **  Re- 
marks on  M.  Psrrevs  Improved  Wine  Fermenting  Fat" 

Annalen  der  Chsmie  and  Pharmacist  lane,  1S67. 
A-  Naitmaoti:  "  On  the  Specijte  Heat  of  Oases  fir  soua9  Volumes 
under  Constant  Pressured  ^^  On  the  Velocity  <f  the  Movements  of 
Atoms,'"— ^  BuBiBX :  "  On  CBnanthyUdsne  and  eapryUdene.^—F. 
Jahaboh  :  "  On  Triehlorodraoylic  Add.*'  **  On  iyixylylam4ne.**—0, 
rxxpB»:  ^On  a  Chlorinatea  Dsrtvativs  qf  TWiio?."— A.  Baktbb: 
'^  On  Neurine.^  '*  A  Leetwe  JBbeperiment  demomtrating  the  Action 
qf  UUric  loid  on  an  aicoholio  Solution  of  Propargylio  Ether.'^—O. 
Obabbk  I'^Ona  new  Method  of  Forming  MethylsaUcyUoAcid:''—C 
Qbakbb  akp  O.  Bobm  1  "*■  On  uydrophihaUo  Acid,"—0.  Obabtb  akd 
O.  SoBULTZBH,  *^  On  the  Rehamowr  of  the  Aromatic  Adds  in  their 
Passmge  tnrough  the  Body.**— *^  On  Metho»ybentoio  Acid.**  H. 
Ulah  wxin  '.^''Onihe  Hydroct^sic  and  Hydroparac^umvric  Acids.** 

DingUr's  Polytechnisches  Joumdt,  Haj  3, 1867. 
G.  Soin^TB :  ^*  On  J.  Lundin*s  Improved  Regenerative  Oas  Fur* 
naee.**  *^ On  the  Calorific  Value  (^Austrian  Coals:*— 1L*Nkb!ss.\ 
"  Contrilnttions  to  the  Knowledge  qf  the  Manufacture  of  Sulphuric 
Add  in  Lead  Chainbers.** —?,  Bitghkbb:  **  On  the  Estimatiofh  of 
Tannic  Add  in  Oak  Bark.**— J.  Malmbdib:  "  Apparatus  for  Bleach- 
ing Flats  Yams.**— A,  Liblbgo:  ^  On  the  Spectrum  of  the  Flame 
from  Bessemer  OMveriers.** 

May  i8> 
O.  SoiiNiTZBB :  **  Analyses  of  Ba\mUe/rom  Austria.*^  F.  BucmrsB : 
"  On  ths  Estimation  qf  Tannic  Add  in  Oak  Bark.**  J.  C.  LBttMBB : 
"  On  the  Destruction  qf  Wooden  Brewing  Utensils  by  Fungi.**  Jl. 
DcFBBRB :  **  On  Rousseau*e  Improvements  in  TreaUng  Beet  JiOce 
with  Lime,**—C.  Kvm :  *^  On  the  use  of  Canada  Oilaea  SubstitOte 
fbr  Bisulphide  of  Carbon  in  the  BoetracUon  qf  OH  from  Seeds.**— J. 
Stiitdb  :  ''Onihe  Preparation  of  Spirits  qfyUrt.**—0.  RBiircn  :  "  On 
colouring  Thin  Sheets  ofMetctl,  and  rendering  Membrane*,  FaJyrtcs 
and  Glass  iridesce7U.**—Cosj>vBEi  *^A  method  of  obtaining  Silver 
from  Argentiferous  Lead  by  means  of  Zf/Mx"— Clkmandot  :  **  A  new 
Stlioa  Glaeefer  Pottery  Ware.**—B.  BorraAHir  r  ^''Some  remarks  on 
OaokeriU:*  

Oompies  Rendms.    Jane  17, 1867. 

Bbcqvbbbl  t  ^Onsome  new-discovered  Ciemical  FffScts  qf  OapiUary 
Adion.**—h.  Db  la  Bivb  :  **Noie  on  a  Photometer/or  Measuring  the 
Brightness  qf  Distant  ObisctSy  and  qn  the  increased  Transparency 
qftke  Atmosphere  due  wo  the  Presence  of  Moisture.** -Cnzynvuh: 
''  On  the  same  StMed.*"—J.  LsroRr:  "Researchee  on  the  Chemical 
History  of  iTitfniw.  —  Pool  :  '*3'ole  on  an  eaplosive  Compound  ob- 
tained by  treating  Glue  with  (quorate  and  J^itrate  of  Potash.**— 
SiunsxANK  :  **  On  some  Peculiar  Phenomems  observed  in  a  Shooting 
Star  on  Atne  11, 1867."— Reboot,  ahb  Tbuobvt  :  "  On  Ethylaie  of 
Amylene,  cm  Isomer  qf  EthyiamyUc  Ether :  followed  by  some  Re- 
marks on  the  Production  qf  Mimed  Ethers.*^— F.  U  CALVEirr:  "C>n 
Oxidation  by  means  qf  (^gsn  condensed  in  Charcoal,**— lisco^  db 
BotSBAiTimAS :  **<?»  some  Ewperimsnts  on  Supersaturatton.**—C. 
QiBABD  AND  p.  Chapotbavt:  **  Contributions  to  the  Knowledge  qf 
Ethers.**— E.  Maumbzt^  :  *•  Anstter  to  Forthomme*s  Remarks  on  the 
Author's  Paper  on  an  Improved  Fermenting  Fal. "—Dcbbceil  aiid 
Lboros  :  "-  Researches  en  the  Physiological  Action  of  Sulph^-cywUde 
cf  Potassium,** 

June  24,  1867. 

Abtur  :  **  On  BeequereVs  Memoir  on  the  Chemical  J^ects  qf 
Capillary  J<rf<o»."— Zaijw8K1-Mikob8ki  :  **  On  the  Effect  of  in- 
creasing the  Height  qf  the  Elements  of  a  Voltaic  Battery,  the  Base 
remaining  unchanged.**  *•  An  improvement  in  the  Bunsen  Battery.** 
—A,  Baudrimobt:  "^  the  Estimation  qf  Organic  Matter^  Phos- 


phoric A  dd^  and  NUrogen  in  Peruvian  Guano  and  ether  Manures.'" 
-"KuiAOftVBQ  ASD  OoTniAXX  '."Onthe  P^sidogical  Action  qf  Bro- 
mide (^  Potassium.**-^.  Pmxsoi>  :  '*0n  the  Preparation  qf  Madder 
fur  Calico  Printing  in  the  Topical  Style.**-  Chbybeul  :*^  On  the  eamo 
Subi}ecL**—Q.  Fbibdbl  abb  A.  Ladbvbubg  :  *'  On  a  mtdc  MereapianJ" 
— R,  D.  SavA :  *♦  On  Compound  Ammonias  with  an  Amyle  Ba9e^— 
Jaksbbx:  *^  On  the  Cbmposition  qfthe  Gases  emitted  fivm  the  Veo- 
eane  at  Semtorin. 

Volts.  -^''«.x-  *»»y. 

A.  eAVDiN  :**Onthe  Spsdal  FsmetLvn  of  Hydrogen  in  Adds,  ana 
particularly  in  PoUiybasSc  Adds,** 

MonatsbsHcht  der  kbniglich^Prsussischen  Akademie.  Bfatt^  1867. 
W.  KvEixm  -.^  On  the  Digestion  qf  Albvminoms  Substances  by  the 
Pancreatic  Juice.**— TwiQm>omrr :  **  On  the  Use  qf  Paper  Pyr^W- 
tin  as  an  EtedroscopeC^-^i.  Bosr :  "-On  the  Formation  qf  Orymaa 
in  Beads  of  Boraes  €Md  other  Blowpipe  Re-aoents^  regarded  as  tho 
Cause  of  the  Opacify  of  such  Beads  when  attowed  to  cooi.""  **  On 
the  Preparation  qf  JtnaUtsoandihe  othsr  AUotrqpic  Forms  qf  Tttmm- 
tic  Add.** 

Annates  de  Chemie  et  de  Physique.    Hsj,  1867. 
G.  A,  HiBs:  '^Msmoir  oA  Thermodynamics.**— IL  P.  Bbbabh. 
"^Le&er  to  Dumas  on  the  Invention,  qf  a  Furnace  fsr  the  ConUns^- 
ous  Combustion  of  Sulphur  in  Sulphuric  Add  Chambers.**-^.  M, 
JOBEOWHEK :  *'  On  thePeriodides  ^the  Alkaloids.'* 

Jane. 

B.  Rbhavlt:  *'An  Experimental  VeHJtcation  qf  ««  Reciprocal  cf 
Faraday*sLaw  qf  the  DecompoeUiom  qfEteetrdyies.**—A.fcmKfa- 
bbb-Kkbthbr  :  **Some  new  Researches  on  the  Thsory  qf  LaUine» 
Process  for  the  Manrtfadure  qf  Soda  " 

AnnaUs  dm  G4nU  OtdL  Jase,  1867. 
B.  Fbbbabv:  '' OntheMlMlory^Pry^etrafion,  Properties, AeUonon 
the  Workmen'employed  in  ths  Mantmidure  and  Applications  qf  Omt 
Tar  DyM."— Geibss  :  "  On  ChlorochromaU  qf  Dtaeobensidet  a  new 
Ebplodve  Compound.*'—VaB,tnn.  akd  Pbiuppb:  ^On  tU  Ueo  of 
Carbonate  of  Ammonia  for  Washing  Wod  and  Cloth**  "On  a 
Method  of  Renovating  Files  by  Etching  with  Su9phurie  Aoia.*' 
**Ona  newFuet  for  Steam  Engineo^  consis»ing\sf  Peat  saturaUd 
voith  Petroleum.** 

Le  Technologists^,  Jbda,  1867. 
H.  WiGinEB  :*'Onanoio  Method  qf  Treating  poor  Copper  Orm  in 
the  Wet  Way.**—F.  Lb  Gubb  :  "  On  a  Method  qf  AUoying  Msseemer^ 
Steel  wia  7kmgsten.**—lj.  Jovua  I'^Onlhe  Depodte  of  Potash  ami 
Soda  Salts  at  Stassfurt.**—A.  8obbvbxb-Kb8tmbb:  *'Soms  now  Mo- 
searches  on  the  Theory  (^  Leiblanc*s  Procsss.**—¥.  Sxouia  :  "  On  the 
Preparation  qfSukyhurous  Add.**—lt.  Gobtkakx:  *^0n1heuaeqf 
ParaMnofor  chectkig  the  ViotontEbuUitionqf  Syrup  in  Evaporat- 
ing and  Vacuum  Pans.**—H.  A.  Abgubbav  :  "  A  Method  qf  Manu- 
facturing Oowgenby  decomposing  SulphurU  Add,  smd  on  udng  tho 
Gas  produced,  in  CowibiauxUon  with  Hydrogen,  for  lUuminatinff 
Purposes.**-^.  Pubcbbb:  »*  OnJhs  Mdnt^oture  qf  ArU^fidalMeor^ 
schaum  and  Mom.**^A.  Pabaf  :  ""Ontheueeofa  Glyceric  Ether  in 
Dydng.**—Dn  Lairb,  C.  Girars,  awd  Chapotkaut:  **On  Mauo- 
aniline,  a  new  Coal  Tar  Dye.**  ^'Ona  new  Method  cf  Dfdn^  Sew- 
ing Silk  Black.**-43.  JAcoBBzrarar  :^Ona  new  Marking  Ink pr^ared 
fromAnUine**—Q.  Libbebmaxn :*^Ona  Method  of  DietinguisMmg 
Wool  qnd  Cotton  in  Fabrics  and  T^sads.**^€.  Wotzlbb  :  **  A  Pro- 
csssfbr  Purifying  Graphite.**      * 

PATENTS. 

Comnranlcated  by  Mr..  Tauohav,  F.O.8.,  Pateat  Ageat^  54,  Cfaaooeiy 

Lan«,  W.  C. 

GRANTS  OF  PR0TI8IONAL  PBOTBGTION  FOR  SIX 

MONTHS. 

ann.    C.  King,  Regent  Street  W.,  "An  improveaient  fa  the  prepas*- 

tion  of  chocolate  and  cocoa.^    Petition  reeord6d.~Jaly  17, 18^. 

241a  J.  G.  Marshall,  Leeds,  *'  Improvementa  In  solvent  or  detergeek 
processes/*— August  32,  1867.— Invention  protected  by  the  depoall  of  % 
complete  speeificatlon 

2453.  J.  Storey  and  W.  E.  BickefifKo,  Latieaater,  mod  W.  Y.  WBbob, 
JnbDee  Street,  Mile  Bnd,  Middlesex,  ^A  new  mellKMi  of  broutas 
metallic  and  other  surfaces."    Petition  reeorded.^Augost  aS,  1867. 

NOnCSS  TO  PROGEBD. 

»9a  J.  H.  JohoBon,  Uncoln^s  Ina  Fields,  MMdlesez, "  iBpTorenMiita 
in  the  treatment  of  peat,  and  in  the  manufactare  of  peat  diarcoal,  aad 
in  the  machinery  or  apparatus  Moployed  tiiereia.*^— A  commmdcatlHi 
firom  A.  Frigge,  Ifanover.— Petition  recorded.— April  24,  1867. 

I2T2.  K.  GuenfD,  Henrietta  Street,  Goveat  Garden,  MWdleBer, 
"Improvements  in  the  preparation  and  application  of  nmstari  fsr 
curative  purposes."— A  communicalion  from  F.  Rigollot,  Paris. — ^Aprtl 
26»z867L 

1512.  J.  StenhoMse.  Rodney  Street,  PentonviUe,  Middlesex,  and  J. 
Duncan.  West  Ham,  Kssex,  ^  improvements  In  the  treatment  of  mnlmal 
cfaAreoal,  and  in  the  apparattis  employed  therdn."— May  21, 1867. 


[En^lshBdltioo,Vol.XVL,ira40S^p«g«lS9;  Mo.  407,  page  168 ;  ira.408,p«igaal7ay  173;  Ka  407,  pagia  £5B.] 


Notes  and  Quei'ies. 


279 


S4aa  W.  B.  lAke,  Soathampton  Bolldlngi,  Chancery  Lane,  *'Iin- 
proTementi  !n  the  maanfactare  of  Iron  and  steel,  and  apparatns  em- 
ployed in  the  caid  maouXiMtttre.**— A  communication  m>m  W.  W. 
Wanchard,  Brldport,  Vermont,  U.S.  A.-<AagQst  33, 1867. 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Vcnrtaif^  <?f«iM.— Mr,— dan  toy  of  y<mr  rteadeft  kindly  supply 
ue  with  the  eompoeltion  of  earriago  greaie,  dry  and  wet  wheel  greaae. 

PjfroUgne^nf  J[otf<i.*-Si«,— Will  any  of  your  readera  inform  me  of 
a  good  method  of  conveiitaig  cmde  pyrolign^oos  add  Into  pare  aoetlc 


Tra/iuaeUwM   of  the   Afironaatlcal 
49,  Mr.  F.  Brearey,  speaking  of  some 


acid.— W.  A.  (Mass.) 

A  Kern  &OA—Hr,— In  the 
flodety  of  Great  Britain,  pace  ,,.  . ,  . 

deddcrata  in  afirial  locomotion,  said  that  **  If  it  were  possible  todls- 
tover  1^  turn-Inflammable  gas,  the  obteet  woold  be  attainable  without 
danger.  H«  meatSoned  this  not  without  hope,  aa  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  a  gentleman  stating  thnt  he  had  succeeded  in  manufSieturing 
SBch  a  gas,  which,  altlMUgh  at  present  expenslre,  be  thought  might  be 
considerably  rednced  ht  cost,  and  that  it  was  nearly  of  the  speciflo 
gravity  i>r  hydrogen.*'  Can  any  of  your  readers  teU  me  what  gas  this 
can  bet    I  am  utteriy  at  a  loss  to  tmagine.~acspTio. 

J^cipUiUr.— 8lr,^-On  referring  to  the  ist  chapter  of  the  second  book 
of  Maccabees,  verses  19  to  36,  the  origin  of  the  word  naphtha  will,  I 
sobmlt,  be  plainly  seen.  In  a  letter  of  the  Jews  from  Jerusalem  to 
those  <^  Egypt^  they  state  that  when  th<4r  fathers  were  led  into  Persia, 
the  prieata  ^  took  the  fire  of  the  altar  pA^U^U^  and  hM  it  in  a  hollow 
ptoce  of  m  pit  without  water,  where  they  kept  It  sure,  so  that  the  place 
was  unknown  to  all  men."  After  many  years  Keemias  scot  on  the 
matter,  when  U  was  told  "they  found  no  fire  but  thick  water."  This 
thick  water  was  then  drawn  up  and  laid  on  the  sacrifice,  and  when  the 
ttoM  came  **  that  the  son  shone,  there  was  a  great  fire  kindled.'*  **  When 
the  sacriflee  was  oonsuoMd  Neesdas  commanded  the  water  that  was 
left  to  bo  poured  on  the  great  stones ;  when  this  was  done  there  was 
kiadled  %  flame.**  '^flo  when  the  matter  was  known  It  was  told  the 
Xbg  of  Persia  that  ht  the  place  where  the  priests  that  were  led  away 
had  hid  the  fire  there  appeared  water,  and  that  Neemias  had  purified 
the  lacrifloes  therewith;  then  the  King  endofling  the  place  made  it 
holy,  after  he  had  tried  the  matter,'*  »and  Neemias  caUed  this  thing 
naphthar,  which  is  ss  much  as  to  say,  a  cleansing.**— W.  0. 

Man^faetwre  nf  Sulphitroua  .icid .— Sir,  —  Any  readers  of  the 
CnxieAL  Nbws  will  greatly  oblige  the  writer  if  he  or  they  could 
Inform  him  ^rtien  u4ng  the  oeke  tower,  or  condenser,  at  the  end  of 
snlphurlc  «cid  chambers  if— tst  The  gas  that  b  passfaig  out  of  last 
chamber  dwuld  be  dark.  and.  The  acidulated  water  can  be  used  in 
ers.  3d.  (If  possible)  the  quantity  of  water  required  to  con- 
Mie  reiUnid  gases.     An  eaily  answer  will  greatly  oblige— *«A 


fiumTisom  or  Cham  ens. 

PJicmMd  OMorUU.SHr,— In  my  paper  on  the  "Solubility  of 
Plumbie  Chloride**  I  find  I  haTO  made  a  slight  mistake  in  the  nwdflc 
grarity  of  HO,  it  ougfat|to  be  i*z6  not  1*116.  I  should  have  noticed  H 
before,  only  I  was  away  tnm  home  at  the  time  it  appeared.— J.  Oxvrma. 
Bkix. 

/VeeenNon  qf  Diy  ito<.-S|r,— The  enquliy  of  "Mr.  T.  U.  U*" 
in  No.  403  (Amerlean  Reprint  Oirmiioii.  Nawa,  October,  1867,  p.  aia.) 
has  not  reached  me  until  now,  owing  to  my  absence  from  houui.  The 
tlnber  should  be  in  eontaot  with  the  waste.  The  latter  mar  not  be 
ver7  easDy  obtainable  in  London  ;  at  least  I  am  not  aware  of  Uie  exhit- 
eaee  of  any  alkali  works  there.  If  required  in  large  quandtles,  the 
waste  might  be  shipped  from  Newcastle  or  Liverpool.— O.  LvwGa. 

PtaUnitlna  MBkik.—%ir^  —  I  find  great  Ineonvenience  from  the 
brass>work  of  my  balance  and  ether  Instraments  being  attacked  by 
add  vapours  in  the  laboratory.  Some  years  ago  I  remember  seeing 
beams  and  pans  of  balances  which  had  been  coated  with  a  brilliant  and 
coherent  layer  of  platinum,  I  believe  by  electro-depositien.  Can  any 
of  your  courteous  readers  kindly  give  me  directions  to  prepare  a  platl- 
nlMng  soluden,  and  teU  me  what  strength  of  battery  is  required  f— 

OUMTBUf. 

The  W&rd  ^«er9M .— 9fcr,— Can  any  of  your  correspondents  tell  me 
the  origin  of  the  word  aneroid  as  applied  to  a  barometer?  What  I 
want  is  not  a  conjectural  derivation,  or  an  "  I  have  always  taken  it  to 
mean,**  or  "  to  come  fVom,'*  but  who  was  the  originator  of  the  Aame, 
and  what  was  the  sense  that  he  put  upon  the  word  f  The  history  of 
the  invention  might,  perhaps,  supply  some  portion  of  an  answer.  A 
Frenchman,  somewhere  about  30  years  ago,  b  said  to  have  been  the  In- 
ventor.—K. 

The  Word  Aneroid,— kaerciiti  b  derived  from  the  Greek  n  privative 
—toUhatU  v»ip3s—weit  damp,  or  fluid,  i.e.,  barometer  without  mercury, 
or  fluid. — A. 

Phthalie  Acid,— Bir^— Can  any  of  your  readers  give  me  the  details  of 
the  maBnCKture  of  phthalie  add?— KipnTnAUKX. 

Pretarration  of  Oys^ab.— Sir,— In  reply  t«i  **Casslo*s  query  last 
week  (CDtmcAL  News,  American  Beprtot,  Oct.,  1867,  p.  an),  I  beg 
to  suggest  that  benzol  b  aa  excellent  medSum  in  which  to  preserve  fine 
cryitab.  Most  aqueous  salts  are  insoluble  in  bensoL  They  can  be  re- 
moved for  examination,  and  after  a  few  minntes*  exposure  to  the  air 
the  imell  of  beuol  will  have  dbappeared.  If  immersion  In  a  liquid 
b  eti({ected  to  th^y  may  be  oiled.  Many  crystab  which  change  and  be- 
come dull  by  exposure  to  air,  as  alum,  sulphate  of  copper,  sulphate  of 
Iron,  ferroH^anide  of  potassium,  etc,  if  slightly  oUed,  do  not  then  alter 
in  a  long  time,  and  many  efflorescent  substances  are  prevented  from 
changing  bv  the  same  means.  Sven  crystab  of  sulphate  of  soda  may 
be  exposed  to  the  air  for  weeks  together  without  eflloresdng  If  well 


oiled.    The  plan  b  to  soak  the  crystab  in  fine  olive  oU  fbr  a  Urn  hours, 
then  to  wipe  them  on  soft  cambric  and  put  them  in  bottles.— A.  TnoMP- 

SOH. 

Ita^miting  JTsfofe.  —  Sir,— I  ea&  recommend  my  fellow-reader 
who  applies  for  Infonfiaticin  on  thb  subject  to  adopt  the  following 
process,  given  bv  Professor  Ohurch,  In  the  tnUUeeiwU  Obeerver,  some 
time  back  ^— **  IHssolve  in  one  ounce  of  dbtilled  water  sixty  grains  of 
bichloride  of  plaUuum  and  sixty  grains  of  pur*  honey.  Add  to  the 
above  solution  three  quarters  of  an  ounce  01  ^trils  of  wine,  and  one* 
quarter  of  an  ounce  of  ether.  The  mixed  liouids,  if  not  qnite  clear, 
must  be  filtered  through  a  piece  of  white  blotting  paper.  The  objects 
to  be  platinised,  which  may  be  of  iron,  steel,  copper,  bronze,  or  brass, 
are  to  ne  thoroughly  deansed  by  washing  them  In  soda,  then  in  water. 
When  they  have  been  dried,  they  require  heating  over  a  lamp,  to  a 
heat  betow  redness.  For  thb  purpose  they  may  be  suspended,  by 
means  of  a  fine  wire,  over  a  spirit  or  an  oil  bmp,  In  such  «  way  as  not 
to  touch  the  flame.  Suddenly,  before  they  hare  had  time  to  cool,  the 
objects  are  to  be  completely  plunged  beneath  the  surface  of  the  platl< 
nbing  liquid.  One  immerdon  for  a  dngle  ndnute  generally  suffices ; 
but  the  process  may  be  repeated  if  necessary,  care  being  taken  to  wash 
and  dry  the  pieces  operated  upon  before  re-heatlng  them.  The  com- 
position of  the  solution  may  varv  condderably,  and  yet  good  results  be 
obtained.  Sometimes  the  ad<fltion  of  more  h<mey  baproves  it;  some- 
times  the  proportion  of  bichloride  of  platinum  may  be  increased  or 
dimlnbfaed  with  advantage^  Indeed,  H  will  be  found  that  the  «ppear- 
anco  of  the  platinum  film  deposited  upon  the  objects  may  be  altered 
by  cjianging  the  proportion  of  the  bichloride  present  The  solution 
may  be  used  several  times ;  gradually,  however,  it  loses  all  its  pla- 
tinum, the  place  of  thb  element  being  taken  bv  the  iron  or  copper 
dl8M»It«d  off  the  immersed  objects.**  I  have  tried  the  pbn  and  found 
it  very  suoceBsfriL  I  am  very  happy  to  contribute  my  mite  towanb 
a  column  which  has  frvqueoUy  given  me  more  Infonnatlon  than  any 
other  in  your  valuable  journal— &  Bkablky. 

Jdeetro-magneL—SiTy—Cua.  any  fellow-reader  of  the  CnnncAL 
Nawa  tell  me  If  there  b  any  great  disadvantoge  in  using  cast-iron 
insteafd  of  eoft  wrought  iron  for  the  core  of  on  electro-magnet  f  For 
the  purpose  to  which  I  wbh  to  apply  It  a  little  residual  magnetism 
will  ao  no  harm. — 0.  Ijlnlkt, 

€^erman  >ea«<.— Sir,— Can  any  one  put  me  In  the  way  of  obtaining 
any  information  rejecting  the  par<lcolars  of  the  manufacture  of 
German  yeast?  The  supply,  origlnallv  obtained  from  the  Schiedam 
Vats,  has  failed  to  keep  pace  with  the  demand,  and  I  believe  It  b  now 
specially  prepared  for  the  martcet — ^F.  laxLAKO. 

Another  Bpeoifie  Oravitif  iVo&lem.— Sir,— Perhaps  one  of  y«ur 
obliging  correspondents  would  pdnt  out  the  shortest  way  to  solve  the 
following  :—*' IIow  much  of  a  liquid  whose  s.  g.  is  1,000  must  be 
added  to  1,000  grain  measures  of  a  liquid  whose  s.  g.  b  1,314,  ^  reduce 
its  s.  g.  to  i,a86,  suppodnff  no  change  to  take  ptace  on  mixture  which 
would  vitiate  the  result  of  the  calculation,  that  b  to  say,  supposing  the 
bulk  of  the  mixture  to  be  the  sum  of  the  bulk  of  the  two  liquids 
mixed.'*— Hbnbi  dv  Cmxmik-crxux. 

^<n^n«.— Sir,— Could  you,  or  any  of  the  readers  of  your  paper,  oblige 
m6  by  informing  me  *-how  to  re-dissolve  qulnla.  which  has  been  precl- 
dpated  in  the  course  of  manufacturing  ferrl  dtr.  c.  qnlnie,  by  an 
excess  of  liq.  ammon.  fort.  In  a  warm  solution  f  **  An  addition  of  more 
citric  acid  has  no  effect  upon  it— E.  S. 

Anerotd.—Tbie  word  aneroid  b  a  contraction  of  anairoid,  dexlved 
from  ai|/>-.4dT^— and  the  'a  privatlvum — ^meanbig  a  barometer  founded  on 
the  action  of  the  pressure  of  air  on  a  tube,  from  which  the  dr  has  been 
exhausted.  It  was  first  constructed  by  Vidl,  and  improved  by  Bour- 
don, whose  weU-known  steam-gauges  are  on  the  same  prindpie.— O.  L. 

Table  of  2>en«i^<M.— Sir,— Could  you  Inform  me  where  I  can  pur- 
chase a  table  giving  the  dedrad  wdght  per  cubic  inch  of  sulphuric  add 
at  the  different  spedfio  gravities  f—OBonoB  K.  Bowxtifp. 

Teetinff  Coffnao,— Sir.— Can  yon  tell  me  whether  it  be  posdble  by 
ohemicd  analysb  to  distinguish  real  Cognac  from  spirits  of  wine  made 
into  so-called  Cognac  by  the  addition  of  ^  flavour  de  Cognac,*  or 
**  essence  de  Cognac  f  **— O.  CaimBLU 

Ihble  of  Deneitiee^-lt  your  correspondent,  O.  K.  Bowntiff,  meets 
wtth  any  oifliculty  In  finding  a  table  giving  the  weight  per  cubic  inch 
of  sulphuric  add  at  the  different  specific  gravities,  he  may  very  easily 
prepare  one  by  muRlplving  each  spedfio  gravity  by  16*358  <the  wdght 
In  grammes  of  one  cubic  Inch  of  water  at  t^'j  C),  and  each  result  will 
be  the  weight  in  grammes  of  i  cubic  inch  of  acid  for  that  specific 
gravity.  Of  course,  if  the  result  b  required  in  grains,  the  multiplier 
will  have  to  be  353*45.—?.  J.  B.  0. 

Testing  Oognao,— In  answer  to  your  correspondent  C  Campbell, 
I  beg  to  state  that  the  aroma  left  on  slow  evaporation  of  genuine 
spirits  when  gently  evaporated  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand  b  so  very 
characteristic  that  it  b  used  as  a  criterion  in  the  South  of  France  to 
distinguish  between  pure  eeprU  de  Mn^  enprU  de  mare  de  raiein,  and 
the  spirituous  fiuids  obtahied  fh>m  grdn  and  beet-root  It  b  impossible 
to  entirely  eliminate  from  the  latter  the  fddl-oll,  but  thb  b  never 
present  In  spirits  made  from  wine,  which,  on  the  contrary,  always 
contain  small  quantities  of  cenanthie  and  acetic  ethers.  The  smell 
left  on  evaporation  of  spirits  not  made  from  wine  b  so  peculiar  that 
it  may  be  even  recognised  In  the  ether  made  from  thb  spirit  Since 
the  ravagee  oecadoned  by  the  grape  disease  it  will  be  difficult  to  pro- 
cure from  France  or  Spain  really  genoine  spirits,  unless  spedally 
ordered.  The  brgest  dbtillery  in  the  United  Klnsdom  b  almost 
entirdy  eropbved  maklns  whbkey  for  exportation  to  France.  I  should 
say  that  the  ripeness  of  the  whie,  its  age,  the  grapes  it  was  obtdned 
from,  and  the  whole  process  of  fermentation,  leave  an  Indelible  im- 
pression on  the  quality  of  the  spirits  obtained.  From  my  own  ex- 
perience, I  think  it  is  hardly  likely  that  Mr.  Campbell  yr\\\  be  able  to 
find  a  chemical  test  for  the  purpose  alluded  to.— Da.  AoaiAXi. 


[Bngliah  BditioiiyVoL  ZVL,  Va  d07,  page  IM I  ITo.  4H  page  114 ;  Na  405,  page  129 ;  Ka  40C,  page  148 ;  Ka  407,  F^ 


28o 


Answers  to  CorresponderUs. 


{  CsMMaokL  ITxim; 


ANSWERS  TO  CX)RR£SSPONDENTS. 


HitQO  Bi-^'Pnn  gljroerlno  It  not  affected  bj  boUlog  with  nitrate  of 
rilTer  solotSon :  oommon  glycerine  frequentlv  oootalns  eampoandt  wUcfa 
poaeeee  a  raaeld  odoor,  md  wUch  reduce  nitrate  of  aUFev. 

PumUd.—AlwaibtA  prevents  the  preclplUtion  of  the  ammonio- 
magnedan  phosphate  under  eome  circumstancee.  This  was  pointed 
oat  by  Herr  Knop  In  our  last  Tolume,  page  207  (Gbsmioal  Nxwb, 
English  edition). 

J.  BiffnoL^AMCwiaiA  if  the  phosphoric  add  contains  phospherow 
add  by  adcUng  to  a  solution  of  It  an  aqneovs  solution  of  svlphnroos 
add,  and  gently  heating.  If  phosphoroos  add  be  present^  snlphor  will 
be  predpltoted ;  if  arsenic  be  also  present^  a  yellow  predpltato  of  sul- 
phide of  arsenic  will  be  formed. 

Tyro  asks  if  we  can  oblige  him  with  the  nane  of  a  pohon  which 
will  kill  in  about  three  days'  time,  and  with  all  the  symptems  of  sosm 
known  disease.  The  pobon,  moreorer,  most  be  one  which  an  analytical 
chemist  could  not  detect.  Will  our  correspondent  kindly  forward  his 
name  and  address  ? 

JlMJfc.— The  explanation  would  prore  too  lengthy  for  this  column. 
Ton  had  better  refer  to  Warts*s ''  Introduction  to  Chemleal  PhUssopfay/* 
where  the  question  Is  fully  treated. 

Percolator,— li  is  the  ammonia  which  chie^y  Mis.  The  sulphur 
combines  with  hydrogen  and  is  evolTed. 

A.  Payns.— They  are  given  in  ftiU  in  the  Journal  <^  GaeLighUng. 

R.  C.  C.  i^.— The  alterations  are  not  important  enough  to  bo  Worth 
^^^Upg  attention  te. 

G/J.  de  Winton.—The  WUe  Oazo-Iamp  Is  to  be  obtelned  of  Mil 
Jieplay.  M  oel  4k  Co.,  Parisw 

SpMjtc  Gravity  ProbUm.^Serenl  correspondents  are  thanked  for 
their  communications  on  this  subject  **  C.  If.  P.,"  and  another  corre- 
spondent Who  gives  no  signature,  have  each  given  the  right  solution, 
teking  Slderos's  corrected  figures,  vis.  sp.  gr.  =  7*587.  "  H.  Oftt- 
heldron  "  uses  the  original  data,  and  brings  out  the  sp.  gr.  s  U*4io4. 
"Y.  0.  U.,"  "0.  Jennhigs,"  »«John  Fordyce"  and  ^^.T  B-T?  give 
ous  f<frmnl0.     "Hueo  Schmidt,"   "Cd.  Moyes,**   '*J.  Hasle- 


wood,''  '*  W.  H.  A.,'*  and  "^  K  Boblnson,''  send  elaborate  criticisms  on  all 
the  published  formulss,  and  each  give  correct  results,  with  general 
methods  for  solving  all  such  problems.    To  print  these  letters  would 
occupy  several  pages,  and  as  they  only  give  in  different  language  the 
general  formnlv  already  published,  we  think  little  good  would  be 
gained  by  prolonging  the  discussion. 
A.  .9.— Apphr  to  Mr.  Griffin,  Garrick  Street 
A.  i>yer.— Use  peach  or  Bnudl  wood  for  the  colouring  agent 
C.  R. — ^Tou  can  so  easily  obtein  the  information  by  consulting  tny 
elementary  work  on  chenustry,  that  we  really  must  deollne  to  occupy 
so  much  of  our  space  as  answers  to  your  serenteen  queries  would  require. 

F.  n, — B5ttger*s  method  of  preparing  diloride  of  platinum  wftt  be 
found  in  our  nth  volume,  p.  x68  (CnmiCAL  Nawa,  English  edition). 

J,  Mandelkk—Mlx  white  of  egg  with  the  solution ;  boU  and  strain; 
the  precipitate  will  contain  what  you  want 

G.  M.  A. — Not  an  article  of  commerce  yet 

JV:  ^.--Picric  add  frequently  contains  a  little  nitric  add  as  an  hn- 
purlty.  This>faas  attacked  the  paper.  Pure  picric  add  will  not  affect  paper, 

PA/irm.— Balm  of  Oilead  Is  the  produce  ef  the  Sa^amodrndrotn 
GtlMtden^.    The  genuine  balm  Is  very  scarce. 

Edward  P.-oYou  will  find  a  muffle  very  convttlent  for  Indnerating 
animal  mtters.  Put  the  body  whose  ash  you'wkh  to  obtain  in  a 
platinum  dish,  and  this  in  a  muffle  heated  to  bright  redness. 

An  Old  Readsr.—Bj  this  time  you  will  have  reedved  an  answer  by 
pest 

3f.IUminff.^%o9Lli  the  agate  In  warm  oil  of  vitriol  for  some  days. 
This  will  frequently  bring  out  the  bands  and  markings  with  great  cUs- 
tinctness. 

O.  J[}r€igon.^lt  you  send  the  price  fai  stamps  to  our  publisher  the 
book  will  be  forwarded  by  post 

iHguirer.—Tho  colouring  matter  Is  peroxide  of  tren.  Our  corre- 
spondent will  perceive  that  It  la  unreasonable  to  expect  us  to  p^orm  a 
quantitative  analysis  simply  to  oblige  an  anonymous  writer.  The 
Editor  is  always  willing  to  assist  correspondente  hi  dlfficulttct,  sad 
never  objects  to  try  laboratoir  ezperimente,  or  even  perform  dmpls 
analyses  In  cases  where  It  would  appear  that  the  informatton  so  ob- 
tained would  be  of  real  value;  but  the  carrying  out  of  a  research 
which  would  occupy  several  daya  Is  more  than  a  correspondent  should 
fairly  ask.  By  referring  to  our  advertising  columns  the  names  of 
several  gentlemen  may  be  seen  who  wiU  bo  willing  to  undertake  the 
analysb  nrofessfenally. 

J,  P.,  Shirs.—Anj  wholesale  chemist  will  snpp^  you  with  bbulphite 
of  sodt.    Be  careftil  to  get  the  bisulphite,  not  the  blsulphote. 

K  JEUis.— It  Is  not  our  province  to  give  the  information  you  ask. 
Many  so-called  depiHatorles  aruto  be  met  with  In  commerce,  but  then 
is  risk  attending  their  employment 

J!  a  &— X  "Watts*s  DictlonaTy,'*  under  the  heading  Phenol  (a 
synonym),  gives  a  very  good  account  of  the  preparation  and  pwlA- 
oatfon  of  carbolic  add.  As  for  its  properttes  yon  cannot  have  a  better 
account  than  that  given  in  our  own  "  Cattle  Pbtgue  Report,"  published 
at  the  CnamOAL  Niws  Office,  a.  Consult  Bowdltoh\i  Analysto,  etc.  of 
Goal  Gas, or  Sugg's"  Gas  IMUinlpaUaon." 

C  OampbelL— To  make  permanganate  of  diver  the  two  solutloiM 


be  quite  saturated ;  the  equivalents  are  easl^  cateulated. 

J.  O.  A— The  alteration  Is  unimportant 

Tffro  —The  Increased  temperature  of  the  soapy  water  Is  evidently 
due  te  the  McUon  in  the  process  of  washing,  and  the  warmth  com- 
muniottted  to  it  by  the  hands: 

H.  K.  Bomber,  J^.aA— Your  oomraunlcatlon  has  been  careAilly 
considered,  and  steps  will  betaken  to  diminlah  the  abuse  likely  to  arise. 


JIJ:«.C— Received  wia  thanks.  We  shafl  ahruyi  $e  gf^  to  tev 
from  <l>^f  correspondent 

J.  H.  Mimn^PolyteohMoTtuiUuUf  3Voy,  JTev  Fori:.— Commnidca- 
tion  received.  The  offer  came  to  us  through  an  ualmpeadiaUs 
ckaand,  but,  owlqg  to  the  sudden  decease  of  thojentleman  entrastcd 
with  the  negotiation,  the  matter  is  In  abeyance.  We  wlD  therefoiv  heM 
the  communlcatleii  at  our  eonenoDdent's  disposal,  to  be  either  pdK 
lished  or  returned  to  him,  unless  m  the  meanUme  we  can  forward  it  to 
the  proper  quarters. 

/(^oromiML—Nothing  whatever  Is  known  about  the  cause  of  the 
transparency  of  meUmo  "" 


tainly  wrons.    Take  our 


in  sdotbn.    Your  theory  b  csr- 

vice;  avoid  theories  for  the  present   Hesr 


What  8b  Humphxir  Davy  said  >-**  When  I  ccndder  the  variety  of 
theories  which  may  be  formed  on  the  slender  foundation  of  one  or  t«o 
fhcts,  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  the  busfaiess  of  the  true  philosopher  to 
•void  them  altogether.  It  Is  mors  laborious  toaoeumulate  facli  thsato 
reason  conoemlng  ttiem ;  but  one  good  ejqieiiiaeMt  Is  of  more  vatae  than 
the  ingenuity  of  a  brain  Hke  Newton's." 
Ihomae  MacFtvrlans.'—Yfe  doubt  If  a  minute  description  of  your 

rm.  would  be  admitted  to  competition  if  it  is  only  a  trifling  modlfiea- 
of  the  pTocem  in  ordinary  usei  We  hnagine  that  an  entirely  assr 
process  Is  wanted ;  there  Is,  howerar,  no  ham  In  tqrhsg. 

V.  OruM.—Yft  regret  we  cannot  give  the  information  requirSO. 

2>.  J.  a--You  can  get  the  JoumaU  at  Asbei's,  Bedford  Street,  Oevent 
Garden,  or  BailUdre's,  Regent  Street 

i9tMMciM.~x.  There  Is  no  special  memoir  that  we  know  of  on  the 
su^ectofntoo^oerineasanezpflcahnsacent  x  Idyrkin^mapwdw 
powder  lamp  is  the  best 

F.  J.  SooHk.'^lhB  camphor  Wsalheri^ass  is  only  a  toy.  In  yosr 
question  about  the  dendty  of  the  afar  you  put  cause  for  effbct 

JE  anUt\.^Th9  article  b  reodved  with  thanks. 

J.  Fordims.^Aik  article  on  the  snbifect  wiU  soon  ^»pear.  We  am 
wafting  for  the  report  of  the  adsaliflo  esasdners  of  tha  fool  atsMS- 
phere  of  the  railway. 

Xllen  ^.-Tea  Is  not  adulterated  to  the  extent  you  suppose.  Yosr 
suspicions  in  the  present  instanoe  are  quite  unfounded,  as  tibs  sonpls 
sent  us  Is  qurom  eolonring  matter. 

G>mmwH43(UUm9  Aa«s  fresfs  reeelMd  from  D.  rorbes,  F.R.8.; 
W.  Afaisworth  (with  endosnrv);  J.  SpUer;  a  B.  a  Wri^  B.  Bt.; 
B.  0.  C.  Upphicott;  Dr.  Parkes,  F.R.8.<(  G.  J.  de  Wlnton;  W. 
HuggtaM,  F.B.S. ;  A.  Payne;  8.  Reeve ;  A.  Pritohard  (with  parcel); 
U.  Woodward ;  Dr.  Adrian! ;  E.  Anderson ;  P.  Jestram  :  J.  Ferasuyi; 
G.Griffith;  F.  Price(wlth  endosuro);  Dr.  B.  Smith;  Edward  Bora; 
Edward  Beanes;  W.  Armstrong;  J.  Cubitt<wlth  endosurs);  Howardi 
and  Sons;  S.  Sew ;  Prot  Pspper  (with  enclosure) :  Page  and  TIbbs 
(with  endosure);  R.  Alison;  J.  J.  Buchanan;  0.  Teunant  (with  cu- 
olosure);  H.  Oathddron;  O.  Jennings;  J.  rordyoe;  Hugo  SchaMt; 
E. Moyes;  J.  Haalewood;  M.  Robinson;  W.  A.  Townsend  (wUh  ea- 
desnre);  Victor  Oruse;  Dr.  FUpson;  Rev.  B<  G.  Douglas;  Charisi 
TomUnson  (with  endosure);  M.  A.  Bofaies;  George  Hopwood;  Joha 
Heywood  (with  enclosure);  J.  C.  Wilson  (with  endosure);  Bdwin 
Smith  (with  enclosure):  G.  A.  Key  worth ;  J.  a  WUson;  John  Bny, 


F.C.&;  m.  Ellis;  W. 


P.  J.  Wordoy  (with 


Ladd;  F.  C.  Calvert  and  Co. ;  J.  Hociley  (with  endesaie) ;  J.  fbny 
Taylor;  A.  Scott;  Watson  Smith;  D.  J.  O.;  Edwin  Smith  (with  en- 
dosure) ;  D.  J.  O. ;  Abb6  Moigno ;  Thomas  Anderson ;  A.  Soott  (with 
endosure) ;  W.  HsHley  (with  endosurS) ;  J.  Heywood  (with  endoosre) ; 
F.  C.  Calvert  F.EA;  F.  Muspratt;  Hany  Tsylor;  —  Warringtea; 
J.  Turner  (with  endosure);  Peter  Squire;  G.  Wetutey;  JabeaHaihsl 
(with  enclosure);  A.  Brown  (with  endosure) ;  H.  GlUman  (with  endosoit); 
Sdward  Beanes  (with  enclosure) ;  F.  J.  Booth ;  J.  Mercer  (wRh  ends- 
sure) ;  W.  Herapaf"  .....         .     .   ^      ....        . , 

J.  C.  Bralthwdte  ( 

Ireland  (with  enc 

(with  enclosure) ;  B.  W.'Gtbsone  (with  endosure) ;  *w».  ^».  tw—  .^ 

dosure);  W.  L.  lindmy :  M.  A.  Balnea  (with  endosurs);  A.  DahkB; 

W.  Bywater ;  W.  Ladd ;  0.  A.  Wr^t ;  W.  J.  Morgan  (with  cndesurs); 

Nicholson  and  Maull;  B.  A.  FtoneU  (with  endoswe) .  Dr.  Andensa; 


M.  Khanikof ;  a  Tomlinson,  F.R.8.  (with 


Church  (with  endosure);  T.  Hitt;  J.  Thoriey;  F.  J.  R.  CaruUa;  W. 
Procter,  Junr. ;  T.  G.  Wormley,  M.D.  (with  endosurs);  W.  J.  LmmO; 
O.  F.  Bodwell;  J.  Attfteld;   Rev.  R.  bariey.  F.R.&:  A.  E.  f 


^x,   Mf,  juiMiwvu,    tf.  AMucttt,     nov.  n.  ^mxtmj.   «.ch.ak,  a.  «■«  uw  n      , 

M.D. ;  J.  CUff;  J.  P.  O'Brien;  T.  J.  Barker  (with  endosure);  W.  U«^ 
renee;  H.  Bedford  (with  endosure);  R.  Wsrd;  CL  J.  KUam  (wfthcu- 
dosure ;  J.  E.  Wright ;  John  Brown ;  Dr.  Adrian!  (with  endosure);  R. 
Armstrong  (with  endosure) ;  Henry  Denny ;  J.  Splilor ;  Lewis  and  Son; 
Robert  Hariey ;  0. L.  Lee  (with  enclosure): P.  W. Hofinann  (with endo- 
sure) ;  E  Oorbettjunr.  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  S.  Blckerdlke,  F.OJl ;  Jsbn 
Heywood :  Peter  Squire :  B.  Klenmann ;  John  W.  Burton  (with  endssort) 
Boots  Reeeited.—^  Analysis  of  aBlUary  Concretion :  and  en  a  aav 
method  of  Preparing  BlUverdin."  By  Dr.  Phipson,  F.aS.  "Theldhf 
of  Pohk  by  the  use  of  Metallic  Tractors."  **  Catalogue  of  tha  Utemysf 
the  late  Dr.  Rlohardsou."  "A  Dictionary  of  Chemistry.''  Fort  xl. 
"  InteUectoal  Observer."  ^Rsmerimento  on  the  Removal  of  Orgads 
and  Inorganic  Substances  In  Water."    "  Mlcro-cfaeml^  of  FdM% 


trated  Ahnanaok.' 


Srratum,—lik  the  Report  of  Mr.  Stanford's  paper,  cfven  In  thb  nam* 
her  (Amer.  Reprint  for  Nov.,  1867,  page  z^U  /^  ftMoHde  ^  iodim 
read  ehlortde  qf  eodium. 


£Biigli8hBdttion,VoLZ7L,ira404l»pagoU4;  Ha  405»  page  129 ;  No.  407,  page  158 ;  Na  408,  page  173.] 


Ou  same  Points  in  Chemical  Geology. 


a8i 


THE     CHEMICAL      NEWS. 
Vol.  L  No.  6.     American  Reprint. 


ON  SOME  POINTS  IN  CHEMICAL  GEOLOGY, 

BT  DATID  FORBliS,   F.R.S.,   ETO. 

It  mast  be  admifcted  that  the  study  of  geological 
obeioistry  has  more  particularly  of  late  years  met  with 
but  little  attention  trom  British  chemists  ;  this  appar- 
ent neglect,  howeyer,  cannot  be  attributed  to  any  want 
of  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  tliis  branch  of  the 
science,  bat  13  rather  due  to  the  greater  attractions 
posaeaaed  by  the  more  novel  and  extensive  field  of 
exploration  now  opened  up  by  the  rapid  strides  of 
(ffganic  research,  which  appears  to  have  all  but 
alworbed  the  supply  of  labourers  in  the  domain  of 
dhemical  science. 

The  appearance  in  a  late  number  of  this  periodical 
of  a  somewhat  lengthy  communication  on  chemical 
gCK>logy,  was  hailed  by  the  author  of  these  remarks 
with  much  pleasure,  aiul  as  he  has  already  long  devoted 
himself  to  similar  inquiries,  and  believes  that  a  little 
discussion  on  the  subject  might  prove  useful  in  excit- 
ing afresh  the  interest  of  tiiose  &miliar  with  this 
branch  of  the  science,  and  might  assist  in  arousing  the 
study  of  chemical  geology  from  its  present  semi-torpid 
state  in  England^  does  not  consider  further  apology 
necessary  for  laymg  before  the  chemical  public  some 
observations  upon  the  theoretical  views  in  geological 
chemistry  recently  propounded  by  Dr.  S terry  Hunt,* 
whidi  are  at  considerable  variance  with  those  hitherto 
generally  accepted  by  those  chemists  who  have  more 
dpecially  studied  this  branch  of  the  science. 

In  the  Geological  Magazine  for  this  month  the  author 
has  treated  of  the  same  subject  more  from  a  physical 
and  gec^ogical  point  of  view,  and  therefore  wiU  in  the 
present  communication  as  much  as  possible  confine 
himself  to  a  more  purely  chemical  examination  of  the 
arguments  and  data  brought  forward  by  Br.  Hunt  in 
support  of  his  propositions. 

In  explaining  the  origin  of  this  globe,  Dr.  Hunt 
adopts  the  nebulous  hypothesis,  imagining  the  whole 
ef  tne  chemical  elements  now  constituting  its  mass,  to 
have  been  originally  present  as  '*  dissociated"  gases,  in 
a  state  of  chemical  ^'indifference"  to  one  another,  due 
to  the  intensely  hi^h  temperature  to  which  he  su{>po8e8 
tibiem  to  have  originally  been  exposed.  A  lowering  in 
temperature  is  then  assumed  to  have  brought  about 
the  chemical  oombinations  of  these  elements,  and  the 
Subsequent  condensation  of  their  compounds  into  the 
form  of  a  sphere  of  igneous  fluid  matter  surrounded  by 
a  dense  gaseous  atmosphere. 

The  old  hypothesiB  of  Davy  assumed  a  simjllar  result 
as  being  due  to  the  heat  eliminated  by  the  combinar 
tioB  of  the  elements  themselves ;  but  in  Dr.  Hunt's 
]0ctare  he  does  not  explain  how  he  imagines  the 
intense  heat  which  originally  caused  the  elements  to 
become  "  dissociated  and  indifferent"  to  have  arisen. 

Aoeording  to  Dr.  Hunt,  this  igneous  sphere  when 
eooling  commenced  to  solidify  at  its  centre,  and 
extended  outwards  towards  its  exterior  so  as  to  pro- 

•  Dr.  HaQt>  rswmA  of  Ma  leotare,  "*  On  the  Gk«mlBtry  of  tl»e  Pri- 
meval £Mth,'^  CaRMiOAi.  Nswe,  vol  xv.  pp.  315*317  ^nif.  ISd.  {Atmt. 
BepHmt,  Aug.  Z867,  p.  32:)  short-hnnd  ▼•rDstlm  report  of  nme  in 
Geological  JfagoHns^  roL  ir.  pp.  357-3691  cootaliUng  more  deteiU 
tban  the  tiborh  Abttr^et;  also  Pr.  Hants  coDunanmions  to  the 
Aoad«nie  dee  SeUnee*^  aand  April,  1867,  noticed  In  the  Ohemioal 
Hbws,  toL  xyI.  p.  148,  £nff,  Sd^—iAmsr.  Beprinty  Nov.  1867,  p.  276.) 

Vol.  I.    No,  6,    Dec,  1867.         19 


duoe  a  ^lobe  solid  to  the  core,  his  words  being,  "  The 
cooling  in  a  mass  like  this  would  be  just  like  the  cool* 
ing  of  a  great  bath  of  metal  or  sulphur— t.  e.,  in  oiket 
words,  the  condensation  or  congelation  would  com- 
mence at  the  centre  and  extend  outwards  towards  the 
surface."*  It  is  almost  superfluous  to  observe  that 
everyone  knows  that  this  is  not  the  case  with  either 
sulphur  or  metals  when  cooling  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances ;  for  chemists  and  oUiers  are  accustomed  in 
preparing  crystals  of  sulphur  or  metals  to  allow  such  a 
melted  bath  to  cool  until  its  exterior  has  alone  become 
solidified,  and  then,  after  making  an  orifice  through 
the  crusty  to  pour  out  the  still  fluid  central  mass,  which 
consequently  has  not  solidified  first 

Dr.  Hunt,  however,  explains  that  in  the  case  of  a 
cooling  globe  the  central  part  would  solidify  first* 
owing  to  its  melting  point  being  much  more  elevated 
by  the  pressure  to  which  it  was  subjected,  and  appeals 
to  experiments  of  the  late  Mr.  Hopkinst  as  conclusive 
proof  that  the  melting  points  of  bodies  do  become 
(ad  infinitum)  elevated  in  proportion  to  the  applied 
pressure. 

Without  disputing  that  the  fusing  points  of  many 
bodies  may  be  elevated  by  pressure,  a  reference  to  this 
experiments  appjealed  to  by  Dr.  Hunt  will  show  that 
(in  the  present  instance  at  least)  they  are  not  at  ^ 
conclusive.  Setting  aside  the  experiments  made  on 
^>ermaceti,  stearine,  and  wax,  which  being  organic 
substances  decomposed  at  comparatively  low  tempera- 
tures, and  possess  no  analogy  whatever  to  the  mineral 
compounds  here  under  consideration,  the  other  experi- 
ments of  Mr.  Hopkins  were  made  on  sulphur  and 
metallic  alloys,  and  consequenUy  their  results  should 
be  particularly  applicable  to  the  case  of  a  '*  bath  of 
metal  or  sulphur/'  alluded  to  as  a  simile  by  Dr.  Hunt. 
On  reference  to  the  report  in  question,  however,  it  will 
be  at  once  perceived  that  the  result  of  these  experi- 
ments cannot  at  all  warrant  deductions  so  conclusive 
as  Dr.  Hunt  has  drawn  from  them  ;  for  Mr.  Hopkins 
expressly  states  that  in  the  case  of  the  metallic  idloya 
experimented  upon,  ^*  he  htu  not  delected  any  elevaiion 
of  ftufinff  temperature  acqmred  by  increanng  the  pre&^ 
9ure,^'  Again,  the  experiments  made  witii  sulphur 
afforded  the  following  results : — 

PMwnre  in  •tmo-       Preosore  in  lb.  per  TutUng  point  In 

spheres.  square  inch.  Centigrade. 

1 15 107*2 

520 7.790 135*2 

793 ".990 MO-5 

In  other  words  expressed,  these  figures  show  that  the 
melting-point  of  sulphur  under  a  pr^sure  varying- 
from  I  to  520  atmospheres,  becomes  elected  in  tem- 
perature at  the  rate  of  0*594^  Centigrade  per  atmos- 
phere of  applied  pressure,  but  that  subsequently  up  to 
793  atmospheres,  the  highest  pressure  employed  in 
these  experiments,  this  rate  diminished  greatly,  be- 
coming bttle  more  than  one  quarter  of  the  previous 
rate  of  increase,  or  only  o  oioi^  Centigrade  for  each  at- 
mosphere. It  may  not  unreasonably  be  supposed,  there- 
fore, that  greater,  pressure  would  still  further  lower  this 
ratio,  and  eventually  reduce  its  fiising-point  once 
more  to  the  temperature  at  which  it  melts  when  not 
subjected  to  any  pressure,  and  it  may  even  be  imagined 
that  subsequently,  as  in  the  case  of  water,  a  still 
higher  pressure  might  actually  cause  depression  instead 
of  elevation  of  its  fusing-points. 
It  is  admitted  now  that  tiiere  is  a  limit  to  ih^ 

*  O^ogical  Magaaini^  vol.  iv.  p.  361. 
t  BrittsD  Aasoelf^Uon  Import,  2854,  pass  57. 


CBngUfH  SaiSl«V  Voir  ZTI,  Va^<Oma||0 17&] 


^82 


On  some  Pointa  in  OhemiGoL  Qedogy, 


1       i>ML,  18tT. 


increase  in  density  of  bodies  when  subjected  to  pres- 
sure, or  rather  that  after  a  certain  point  is  reached 
liiat  the  increase  of  density  of  a  body  bears  a  less  and 
less  ratio  to  the  actual  compressing  force  employed  ; 
and  it  may«be  imagined  that  the  same  result  would 
be  also  found  to  take  place  in  the  relations  of  the 
increase  in  temperature  of  the  fusing-points  of  bodies 
to  the  pressure  applied.  It  seems  not  improbable 
oven  that  substances  when  once  brought  to  the  con- 
dition of  maximum  density  might  not  then  have  the 
temperature  of  their  fusing-points  further  elevated  by 
increase  of  pressure. 

Whether  this  be  or  be  not  the  case,  however,  Dr. 
Hunt's  argument  would  not  be  valid  unless  he  at  the 
same  time  brought  forward  proof  that  the  substance  of 
the  earth  is  homogeneous  throughout,  or  made  up  of 
substances  possessing  the  same  or  nearly  the  same 
fusing-points  as  tha:  of  the  original  external  crust  or 
layer.  Now,  there  seems  no  ground  for  believing  that 
such  can  be  the  case ;  for  since  the  mean  specific 
gravity  of  the^earth  is  about  double  that  of  the  sub- 
stances composing  its  known  exterior  crusty  it  would 
appear  all  but'  certain  that  the  interior  mass  must  be 
composed  of  substances  different  in  composition,  and 
mn<m  more  dense  than  those  known  to  form  the 
snperficial  parts  of  the  globe  ;♦  and  this  would  indicate 
the  great  probability  of  there  being  in  the  interior  of 
the  earth  an  immense  accumulation  of  metallic  bodies 
of  great  density  ;  and  as  the  fusing  pomts  of  such 
substances  are  acknowledged  to  be  immensely  lower 
liian  that  of  those  composing  the  known  crust  of  the 
earth,  it  might  be  advanced  in  opposition  to  Dr.  Hunt's 
views  that  this  difference  would  more  than  counter- 
balance the  tendency  to  solidify  at  the  centrt  in  the 
case  of  the  fusing  points  being  really  even  considerably 
elevated  by  the  effects  of  pressure. 

For  these  and  many  other  reasons,  some  of  which 
will  be  aflerwards  noticed  in  the  course  of  this 
discussion,  the  author  cannot  agree  with  Dr.  Hunt 
that  the  earth  is  solid  to  the  core,  but  believes  that 
there  is  still  some  vast  reservoir  or  reservoirs  of 
molten  matter  in  its  interior. 

In  entering  into  the  consideration  of  the  chemical 
history  of  the  earth  from  the  moment  of  solidification 
Dr.  Hunt  now  bases  the  whole  of  his  views  of  the 
reactions  and  the  entire  exposition  of  the  chemical 
changes  which  took  place  in  this  newly-Created  globe 
upon  the  c6n3tituti6n  of  the  atmosphere  with  which  it 
then  was  surrounded  j  it  consequently  becomes  of  the 
highest  importance  to  ascertain  by  careful  scrutiny  as 
to  whether  his  views  upon  this  subject  are  sound  and 
Hkely  to  meet  with  acceptance  in  the  chemical  world. 
•  This  atmosphere  according  to  Dr.  Hunt  was  intensely 
acid  and  of  great  density,  and  contained  all  the  carbon, 
sulphur,  and  chlorine  in  combination  respectively,  as 
carbonic,  sulphurous  and  hydrochloric  acids  along  with 
the  nitrogen,  steam,  and  "  a  probable  excess  of  oxygen," 

That  the  nitrogen,  steam,  and  carbonic  acid  would 


1. 1  Sr/^T*"!  *^?*  ***"  ^  »  ""**  beyond  which  sabstencos  Inorense 
bDt  Mttloin  denaUy  when  raMeoted  to  ftddltloa&l  pressure,  It  may  be 
Wriy  MSiimed  that  the  materials  of  the  known  external  crust  would 
have  attained  their  maximum  density  long  before  the  conditions  here 
required  would  have  been  arrived  at ;  a  Smple  caloalation  win  show 
lliat  If  we  regard  the  mean  density  of  the  earth  as  5-3,  and  that  of  the 
mrface  crust  sa  one  half  this,  or  2-65,  and  further  imagine  the  earth  to 
be  composed  of  three  concentric  laTert  of  equal  thickness,  and  of  den- 
sities  Increas  ng  respectively  In  arithmetical  progression,  there  woqM 
be  respectlvelv  an  outer  crust  of  specific  gravity,  3-65,  an  intennedkte 
■one  of  speHlle  gravltr  10-7,  and  a  central  kernel  specific  gravity  ig-g. 
Ifinstead  of  three  such  rones,fmorc  than  this  number  are  imagined, 
then  the  calealation  will  show  that  the  speelfie  gravity  of  the  oenknu 
kernel  wiU  cone  ool  slUl  higher  than  18-8. 


be  there  is  really  admitted,  but  it  may  fairly  be  inquired 
whether  any  chemist  can  beheve,  that  after  the  grand 
scene  of  general  combination  of  the  elements  occnrring 
under  the  circumstances  assumed  by  Dr.  Hunt,  that 
(even  if  possible  ?)  it  could  be  at  all  probable  that  an 
eoDcess  of  oxygen  could  exist  along  with  the  vast  amomit 
of  sulphurous  add  which  was  present,  if  that  gentle- 
man's premises  were  correct.  Further,  the  improba- 
bility of  such  an  atmosphere  containing  a  mixture  of 
heated  hydrochloric  and  sulphurous  acid  gases,  may  be 
inferred  from  Dumas*  researches;*  that  chemist  having 
long  ago  shown  that  these  gases  when  mixed  together, 
react  and  mutually  decompose  one  another  with  the 
formation  of  water,  chlorine,  and  sulphur. 

The  strong  affinity  which  sulphur  nas  for  the  metals 
is  well  known,  as  also  the  fact  tliat  sulphurous  acid  is 
itself  readily  decomposed  by  many  metals,  with  the 
formation  of  metallic  sulphides  and  oxides ;  and  the 
inference  which  the  author  would  deduct  herefrom  is 
that  so  far  from  all  the  "sulphur  having  at  this  crisis  of 
chemical  combination  gone  into  the  atmosphere  as 
sulphurous  acid^it  in  re&ty  united  itself  to  the  metals, 
and  thus  formed  dense  sulphides  which  at  once  sunk 
through  the  external  and  lighter  fluid  layer  of  the  still 
liquid  igtieous  sphere,  and  there  remained  in  it»  interior 
protected  from  oxidising  action. 

The  existence  in  Dr.  Hunt's  imaginary  atmosphere 
of  all  the  chlorine  in  the  form  of  hydrochloiic  acid  is 
also  pretested  against  Independently  of  the  probabil- 
ity of  in  such  event  the  oxygen  and  hydrochlorie  acid 
gas  reacting  upon  one  another,  and  reproducing  Mo- 
rine  with  uie  vapour  of  wat-er  ;  it  is  contendwi,  that 
hydrochloric  acid  was  not  even  likelv  to  have  been 
formed  at  all  under  the  circumstances  here  alluded  to. 
Amongst  the  most  stable,  if  not  the  most  stable  of  aU 
the  compounds  of  chlorine  are  the  alkaline  chlorides— 
for  example,  chloride  of  sodium  or  salt^  and  it  may  be 
gathered  iVom  Dr.  Hunt's  lecture  that  he  cannot  bat 
admit  that  there  must  have  been  abundance  of  metallic 
sodium  present  at  the  moment  of  the  general  combina- 
tion of  the  cliemical  elements.  Chemists  therefore  will 
require  of  Dr.  Hunt  an  explanation  as  to  why  he  in 
such  a  case,  supposes  the  chlorine  to  have  united  itself 
with  the  hydrogen  to  foilh  hydrochloric  acid,  instead 
of  at  once  combining  with  the  equally  accessible 
sodium,  for  which  cmorine  is  known  to  possess  a 
stronger  affinity  than  for  hydrogen  j  chlorine  unites 
even  at  ordinary  temperatures  and  without  compulsion 
directly  with  sodium,  and  still  more  energetically  at 
more  elevated  temperatures ;  and  that  its  affinity  far 
sodium  is  far  stronger  than  for  hvdrogen  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  hydrogen  does  not  decompose  chloride  ci 
sodium  even  with  the  assistance  of  heat,  whilst,  on  the 
contrary,  the  chloride  of  hydrogen  or  hydrochloric  acid 
is  decomposed  and  yields  up  its  chlorine  to  the  sodium 
and  various  other  metals,  even  in  the  cold. 

When  summing  up  the  arguments  advanced  on  both 
sides,  as  to  the  constitution  of  the  atmosphere  which 
enveloped  the  earth  at  this  early  period  of  its  existoice, 
the  writer  confidently  believes  that  chemists  will  agree 
with  him  in  di<<puting  the  probability  and  even  possi- 
bility of  such  a  chlorhydric  and  sulphurous  atmo^ers 
as  Dr.  Hunt  has  attempted  to  realize,  and  thinks  with 
him  that  the  main  diJSerences  between  the  air  of  that 
period  and  the  present  age  would  be  in  the  large 
quantity  of  carbonic  acid  and  water,  along  with  proo 
ably  a  much  less  amount  of  oxygen. 

To  elucidate  the  chemical  reactions  which  character- 


•  TV^iU  <r«  ChimU,  t  L  p.  146. 


[BagUsli 


▼oL  T7L,  Va  406^  p«gMl7«^  IW.] 


Ptc,im, 


Kkwb,! 


On  some  JPointe  in  Chemical  Geology. 


283 


iaed  this  stage  of  the  earth^s  history,  Dr.  Hunt  states 
that  they  were  '^  just  what  would  now  'result  if  the 
solid  land,  sea  and  air  were  made  to  react  upon  each 
other  under  the  influence  of  intense  heat*' ;  it  is  weU 
known  that  temperature  may  greatly  modify  chemical 
action,  but  as  Dr.  Hunt's  ultra-igneous  theory*  deals 
with  the  effects  of  heat  so  immensely  intense  as  to 
'dissociate"  and  vaporize  even  the  most  refractory 
bodies,  it  must  be  admitted  that  his  comparison  is 
quite  correct,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  not  admitted 
tnat  the  results  of  such  reactions  would  be  such  as 
Dr.  Hunt  represents  them  to  be  when  he  states,  "  to 
the  chemist  it  is  at  once  evident  that  from  this  would 
result  the  conversion  of  all  carbonates,  chlorides,  and 
sulphates  into  silicates,  and  the  separation  of  the 
carbon,  chlorine,  and  sulphur  in  the  form  of  acid 
gaaefi" ;  on  the  contrary  the  author  believes  that  the 
ehemist  who  knew  anything  about  geology  would 
remember  the  vast  stores  of  carbonaceous  matter  locked 
up  in  the  earth's  bowels,  and  deduce  therefrom  that 
the  carbon  of  these  would  react  upon  the  sulphates, 
converting  them  into  sulphides  without  their  evolving 
aQ  the  sulphur  thev  contain  in  the  form  of  acid  gas,  as 
Dr.  Hunt  would  have  us  to  believe — ^nor  would  he 
admit  that  all  the  chlorides  were  converted  into 
silicates,  or  that  as  Dr.  Hunt  elsewberef  tells  us  that 
the  chlorine  of  the  sea-salt  would  be  expelled  into  the 
atmosphere  in  the  form  of  hydrochloric  acid  gas  ;  for 
although  he  would  be  fully  aware  that  silica,  sea-salt, 
and  water,  if  exposed  to  heat  under  forced  circumstan- 
ces, as  for  example  when  heated  in  confinement  or 
when  the  vaponr  of  water  and  salt  be  passed  over 
highly  heated  silica,  that  in  such  case  siUcate  of  soda 
would  be  formed  and  hydrochloric  acid  evolved  j  this, 
however,  would  not  be  the  case  in  nature  in  the  event 
alluded  to  by  Dr.  Hunt,  for  the  water  in  the  sea  would 
be  all  evaporated  at  the  first  approach  of  the  heat^ 
leavii^  the  anhydrous  salt^  which,  being  also  volatile, 
would  be  next  sublimed  as  soon  as  tne  heat  became  more 
intense ;  the  unaltered  qnartas  remaining  behind,  before 
it  had  even  attained  a  temperature  sufficient  to  have 
effected  the  supposed  reaction. 

The  sea,  which  would  cover  the  earth's  surface  as 
soon  as  this  had  cooled  do'mi  sufficiently  to  allow  of 
the  condensation  of  the  vast  accumulation  of  aqueous 
vapour  in  the  atmosphere,  would,  the  autlior  believes, 
become  salt  the  moment  it  appeared  upon  the  surface 
of  ths  globe,  since  the  water  would  at  once  dissolve 
the  chlorides  formed  by  the  direct  combination  of  the 
metals  with  chlorine,  as  previouslv  alluded  to,  and 
thus  produce  a  solution  of  the  chlorides  of  sodium, 
potassium,  calcium,  magnesium,  eta,  alon^  with  iodides 
ani  bromides  •  which  owed  their  origin  to  similar 
reactions.  As  Dr.  Hunt  does  not  attempt  to  explain 
why  the  chloride  of  sodium  should  so  preponderate 
over  that  of  potassium  as  the  other  alkalies,  Uiis  ques- 
tion may  be  reserved  for  future  research  and  speculation. 

Dr.  Munt  however  accounts  for  the  saltness  of  the 
seA  by  an  explanation  totally  different  from  the  above, 
and  afcer.  stating,  that  "  the  depressed  portions  of  half 
cooled  crosts  would  be  flooded  with  a  highly  heated 
solution  of  hydrochloric  acid,"  proceeds  to  inform  his 
aodience  that  this  acid  deluge  would  extract  the  soda 

*  The  Ide*  of  Igneous  action  propounded  by  Huttoo  and  hifl  follow- 
ers the  Plotonbta,  to  bat  a  milk-warm  theory  when  ooropartsd  to  that 
ct  Dr.  Hunt,  who,  whilat  protecting  against  the  eavth  hftTing  been 
formed  ''entirely  by  Are,**  diaeoarsea  eloquently  on  Ita  creation  from  * 
•tiiia  of  ultra  lnc%naeseence  at  temperature  so  elevated  as  would  have 
b«eo  Ikr  beyond  the  ooneeption  of  Uutton  hlmselt 

t  O^otogUcU  Mag<mi*^  rot  !▼.  p^  36a.     • 


along  with  some  other  bases  from  the  silicates  of  the 
crust,  and  thus  form  the  salt  sea. 

Should  chemists,  however,  adopt  the  author's  opin- 
ion that  the  chlorine  really  had  at  once  united  with 
the  sodium  to  form  salt  and  other  chlorides,  then  it 
naturally  follows  that  Dr.  Hunt's  views  of  this  stage  in 
the  eartii's  history  are  untenable. 

For  the  sake  of  argument,  however,  let  it  be  supposed 
for  a  moment  that  Dr.  Hunt  is  correct  in  insisting 
upon  that  all  the  chlorine  and  sulphur  had  ascended 
into  the  atmosphere  as  acid  vapours  ;  then  it  must  be 
asked.  What  became  of  the  sulphur  ?  As  Dr.  Hunt 
did  not  inform  bis  audience  in  bis  lecture,  we  must 
inquire  ourselves.  The  sulphurous  acid  would  natur* 
ally  convert  itself  sooner  or  later  into  sulphuric  acid, 
and  would  be  condensed  and  fall  down  on  to  the  globe, 
and  be  carried  into  the  sea. 

As  now,  sulphuric  acid  is  more  powerful  than  hvdro* 
chloric  acid,  it  would  at  once  turn  out  the  hydrochloric 
acid,  and  convert  the  chlorides  into  sulphates,  so  that, 
instead  of  the  ocean  formed  by  Dr.  Hunt's  theory 
being  a  salt  sea  in  the  ordinary  .acceptation  of  this 
term,  it  would  really  be  a  solution  of  glauber-salt  of 
sulphate  of  soda. 

There  are  many  reasons  for  estimating  the  probable 
quantitv  of  sulphur  contained  in  the  globe  as  fully  as 
large,  if  not  larger,  than  that  of  chlorine ;  but  as  the 
equivalent  of  sulphur  is  only  16,  whilst  that  of  chlorine 
is  35*5,  it  would  not  require  as  much  sulphur  as  even 
one-half  the  amount  of  the  chlorine  present  in  the  sea 
to  convert  the  entire  amount  of  salt  contained,  in  the 
ocean  into  sulphate  of  soda. 

Dr.  Hunt  next  makes  the  surprising  assertion  that 
all  true  limestones  are  the  result  of  the  precipitation  of 
carbonate  of  lime  thrown  down  from  a  solution  of  the 
chloride  of  calcium  by  the  action  of  solutions  of  car- 
bonate of  soda.  As  Dr.  Hunt  does  not  in  his  lecture 
advance  any  evidence  whatsover  in  support  of  this 
statement,  it  is  considered  to  be  purely  hypothetical ; 
and  it  is  believed  that  chemists  wiU  still  adhere  to  the 
opinion  that  limestones  have  not  been  so  found,  but 
that  they  are  essentiidly  the  result  of  organic  action,  as 
has  been  very  satisfactorily  demonstrated  by  the  care- 
ful study  already  made  of  these  rocks  by  geologists, 
palaeontologists,  and  microscopists. 

It  is  not  probable  that  either  chemists  or  zoologists 
will  agree  with  Dr.  Hunt's  further  assertion  that 
''  animals  can  only  appropriate  the  carbonate  of  lime 
which  they  find  ready  formed,"  but  that  they  will 
consider  these  animals  capable  of  utilising  the  other 
lime  salts  in  the  sea  until,  at  least^  Dr.  Hunt  brings 
forth  convincing  evidence  to  the  contrary. 

Sorby's  admirable  microscopical  investigations  have 
clearly  demonstrated  that  the  magnesian  limestones 
and  dolomites  in  reality  only  represent  ordinary  lime- 
stone beds,  altered  in  situ  by  the  infiltration  of  magne- 
sian solutions.  Dr.  Hunt,  on  the  contrary,  claims  to 
have  discove^d  that  magnesian  limestones,  dolomites, 
and  gypseous  beds  have  originated  through  chemical 
"  reactions  hitherto  unsuspected,"  and  that  his  experi- 
mental researches  have  proved  them  to  have  been 
formed  at  a  time  when  the  surface  of  the  earth  was 
covered  by  a  dense  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid.  In 
reply  to  Dr.  Hunt,  the  author  would,  in  plain  words, 
dedare  his  firm  belief  that  geologists,  pakdontologists, 
or  zoologists  will  be  as  little  disposed  to  consider  his 
conclusions  even  Ukely  to  be  true,  as  chemists  on  the 
other  hand  will  admit  his  reactions  and  experiments  to 
be  new. 


r«l.zn,V<k400^ 


17«;  177.) 


284 


Commercial  Arujlysis  of  AUali  Martvfacture. 


\ 


The  former  will  content  themselves  with  informing 
Dr.  Hunt  that  every  geologist  should  be  aware  that 
the  great  development  of  such  beds  took  place  at  an 
epoch  in  the  world's  history,  when  air-breathing  ani- 
mals (both  vertebrate  and  invertebrate)  lived  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  with  expressing  their  sur- 
prise that  Dr.  Hunt  could  imagine  these  animals  living 
m  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid  ;  whilst  chemists,  on 
tiieir  part,  would  not  be  disposed  to  regard  the  mutual 
reactions  of  the  sulphate  or  chloride  of  magnesium 
with  carbonate  of  lime,  as  possessing  novelty,  and 
would  further  inform  Dr.  Hunt  that,  notwithstanding 
he  has  considered  the  results  of  his  experiments  on 
magnesian  compounds  under  an  artificial  atmosphere 
of  carbonic  acid  as  worthy  of  being  laid  before  the 
Accbdmnie  dn  Sciences  of  Paris,*  for  nearly,  if  not  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  these  very  processes  have 
been  in  general  application  on  the  large  scale  in  the 
manufactories  of  preparations  of  magnesia  both  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland. 

In  concluding  these  remarks,  the  author  can  only 
but  record  his  protest  against  the  soundness  of  the 
arguments  propounded  by  Dr.  Hunt  in  his  explanation 
of  the  origin  of  granite  and  the  formation  of  the 
metamorphic  and  eruptive  rocks,  both  ancient  and 
modem,  as  in  this  present  communication  the  space  at 
disposal  will  not  ailow  of  more  extended  discussion. 
On  some  ftiture  occasion,  however,  an  attempt  will  be 
mad%  to  take  the  chemistry  of  the  formation  and  alter- 
ations undergone  by  these  rock-masses  also  into  consid- 
eration. 


ON  THE  COMMERCIAL  ANALYSIS  OF  SOME 
OF  THE  PRODUCTS  AND  MATERIALS  OF 
THE  ALKALI  MANUFACTURE,  Etc. 

BT   0.   B.   A.   WEIGHT,   B.SC,   FCB. 
(Oontixraed  from  pag^  228,  Amer.  Repriat,  Not.  1867.) 

Where  the  hypochlorite  contained  in  a  sample  of 
bleaching  powder,  which  may  also  contain  chlorate,  is 
to  be  determined,  the.  only  safe  and  convenient  method 
is  that  of  Penot,  te.,  by  the  use  of  an  alkaline  solution 
of  AsaOs.  When  the  chlorate  likewise  is  to  be  deter- 
minedy  it  may  be  expeditiously  done  by  heating  the 
sample  with  a  known  quantitv  of  the  same  arsenite 
solution,  and  addition  of  HCl;  from  the  difference 
between  the  quantities  of  arsenite  peroxidised  in  the 
two  instances  the  chlorate  is  readily  known.  The 
writer  has  found  bleaching  powder  of  commerce  to 
contain  several  per  cents,  of  calcium  chlorate,  even 
when  newly  made  ;  in  older  samples  the  chlorate  has 
been  occasional] v  found  to  represent  as  much  as  10  per 
cent,  of  available  chlorine,  or  fully  one-fourth  of  the 
amount  originally  present ;  thus  indicating  overheating 
either  in  the  process  of  manufacture  or  subsequently. 

(V.) — ntanfiranese  Ore. — The  mode  of  aniJysis  of 
manganese  ores  usually  adopted  is  that  of  Fresenius 
and  Win,  viz.,  estimation  of  fiie  COa  evolved  by  acting 
on  an  oxalate  in  presence  of  S04Ha.  Although  capable 
of  yielding  the  most  accurate  results,  this  process  is 
usually  misapplied  in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate  2,  3, 
and  more  per  cents,  of  "  available  binoxide  "  over  and 
above  that  really  present.  In  order  to  shorten  the 
time  requisite  for  analysis  the  apparatus,  weighed  cold 
previously  to  the  expulsion  of  CO9,  is  usually  weighed 
whilst  quite  hot  the  instant  the  reaction  is  complete ; 

Comptes  Rendos,  April  aa,  1867,  Ixlv^  p.  815. 


thus  errors  of  varying  amount  are  introduced,  the  appa- 
ratus always  appearing  to  weigh  less  while  hot  than 
when  cold  on  account  of  tiie  effect  of  the  ascending 
current  of  warm  air  buoying  up  the  scale-pan,  etc. ;  the 
writer  has  found  differences  of  from  i  to  3  per  cent 
between  the  results  obtained  by  weighing  the  apparatos 
while  quite  hot,  and  those  got  by  allowing  it  to  eool 
completely  before  weighing.  Again,  many  kmds  of  man- 
j^nese  ore  contain  perceptible  quantities  of  carbo&a^e 
m  the  gangue,  and  frequently  the  commercial  analyst 
does  not  take  the  trouble  to  estimate  and  subtract  fiie 
COt  evolved  from  this  source.  Through  haste,  also, 
the  COa  may  be  liberated  too  rapidly  to  gt*t  perfectly 
dried  before  escaping  from  the  apparatus.  Lt^tly,  the 
COa  evolved  is  considered  to  represent  the  availaUe 
MnOa  present,  whereas  it  represents  |f  of  that  amount^ 
55  being  the  generally  admitted  equivalent  of  man- 
ganese.  From  one  or  all  of  these  reasons  it  is  by  no 
means  unfrequent  to  find  the  percentage  reported  l^ 
a  commercial  analyst  4  or  5  per  cent,  above  what  is 
really  present ;  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to 
the  purchaser  who  pays  according  to  the  certificate  of 
analysis.  Practically  shaking,  Sierefore,  volumetric 
methods  requiring  less  time  or  attention  on  the  part  of 
the  analyst,  are  more  likely  to  give  correct  results  in 
cases  where  accuracy  must  be  sacrifieed  to  speed 
which  is  too  often  the  case  when  low  fees  are  demandea 
for  analytical  work. 

In  order  to  compare  the  results  obtainable  by  the 
better  known  processes  for  the  valuation  of  manganese 
ores,  the  following  methods  were  tried  with  the  same 
sample  of  uniformly  mixed  finely  powdered  ore. 

(I.)  Fresenius  and  Wills'  process:  oxidation  of  oxa- 
late and  estimation  of  CO9  produced  by  loss  of  weight. 
(2.)  Bunsen's  process  :  distillation  with  strong 
hydrochloric  acid  and  reception  of  chlorine  evolved  in 
potassium  iodide  solution,  the  tiberated  iodine  being 
determined  by  hyposulphite  of  soda  and  standard 
iodine  solutions. 

(3.)  Mohr's  process:  distillation  with  hydrochloric 
add,  reception  of  chlorine  evolved  in  an  alkaline 
arsenite  solution  of  known  strength,  and  estimation  of 
unoxidised  arsenite  by  standard  iodine  solution. 

(4).  Price's  process  :  boiling  the  ore  vrifh  hydro- 
chloric acid  and  a  known  amount  of  AsaOt,  in  a  fiask 
to  which  a  bulb  tube  is  attached  to  prevent  the  kws  of 
AsCIs,  estimation  of  unoxidised  AssOs  by  a  solution  of 
permanganate. 

(5.)  Price's  process  modified:  604Ht  used  instead  of 
HCl,  and  accordingly  an  ordhiary  fiask  being  used 
instead  of  the  flask  and  bulb  apparatus. 

(6.)  Otto*8  process :   boiling  with  a  known  amount 
of  a  ferrous  salt,  the  excess  of  iron  being  determined 
by  a  standard  solution  of  potassium  di-chromate,  or 
permanganate. 
These  methods  gave  the  following  results : — 

Peroenturft  of  «T«fliib1«        IMffereiiM 
Fame  of  m«thod.  UiKoUe  ftnmd.  ftom  iimm. 

(i.)  Fresenius  and  Wills' 65*49 +  o-o* 

**  2nd  experimeDt .».  .65*43 —  oia 

(a.)  BuDsen^ 65*41  —  o^ 

"        2Ddezpenm^t 6563 +  o-i8 

(3.J  Mohr's 65*46 +  oxM 

(4.)  Price's 6549 -f  0-04 

(5.)      "    modified 65-60 +  0-15 

**  2nd  experiment  .65-35 —  o*io 

(6.)  Otto's. .V. 65*35 ~  0-I5 

**  »nd  ezperiiBent  .65*36 —  ot)9 

Mean  result ^ 65*45 


[BnsUsk  Bdlta^  ToL  XVi;  V4  Ml^ 


ITI^tTCL] 


Obvical  Niiv«,  Y 


On  Meteor^^ 


285 


In  no  case  is  there  so  great  an  error  as  ±  0*2  from 
the  mean  result.  In  point  of  speed  Fresenius  and 
WiDs'  is  very  good,  bu^  as  usuallj  employed,  is  opsn 
to  the  objections  previoosly  stated;  and  whon  any 
carbonate  is  contamed  in  the  ore,  requires  a  double 
estimation.  Bun<en's  and  Mohr*8  are  both  speedy,  but 
are  troublesome  in  a  commercial  laboratory,  and 
require  accurate  weighings  on  account  of  the  small 
amount  of  substance  taken.  The  latter  objection  also 
applies  to  Otto's  process.  Price's  process  and  its 
modification  are  both  open  to  the  objection  that 
permanganate  does  not  act  absolutely  uniformly  on 
AfiiOa,  and  that  a  reddish  manganic  salt  is  produced  by 
the  reaction ;  for  technical  purposes,  however,  this 
error  is  rendered  negligible  by  not  taking  a  very  large 
excess  of  AssOs,  and  standardising  the  permanganate 
by  an  arsenious  solution  of  known  strength.  In  per- 
ibrmtng  the  process  with  S04Ht,  tlie  weighed  AstOa 
should  be  placed  in  a  flask,  and  boiled  with  sufficient 
pore  sulphuric  acid  diluted  with  twice  its  bulk  of 
water  to  dissolve  it ;  the  weighed  manganese  ore  is 
then  dropped  in,  and  the  whole  boiled  until  no  black 
specks  of  MnOa  are  visible.  For  every  gramme  of 
manganese  ore  of  70  per  cent,  available  peroxide  0*85 
grammes  of  AsaOs  is  sufficient,  leaving  thus  only  a 
smaU  portion  of  onoxidized  A89O9  to  be  determined  by 
the  permanganate,  which  should  be  standardised  by  a 
solution  of  a  known  weight  of  AsaO»  in  sulphuric  acid. 
If  any  considerable  excess  of  AstOa  have  been  used  it 
will  be  more  convenient  to  dilute  the  acid  fluid 
obtained  after  boiling  with  the  manganese  ore  to  a 
known  volume — say  300  cc. — and  filter  off  an  aliquot 
portion  for  titration  by  permanganate. 

Occasionally,  manganese  ores  contidn  admixtures  of 
magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  ferrous  carbonate,  or  other 
iron  compounds  not  fully  oxidised  to  the  ferric  state. 
Accordingly,  when  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  the 
chlorine  given  off  will  be  a  measure,  not  of  the  total 
MnOs  present,  but  of  that  MnOa  over  and  above  what 
is  requisite  to  peroxidise  the  ferrous  compounds.  In 
order  to  see  how  the  presence  of  ferrous  compounds 
affects  Fresenius  and  Wills'  process,  known  weights 
of  pure  FeSO*  +  (NH4)»S04  +  6B[aO  were  treated 
alon^  with  weig^hed  portions  of  the  manganese  ore 
previously  experimented  on  in  the  COt  apparatus  with 
the  following  results : — 

A  B.  C. 

Percentage  of  MnOa  correspond- 

iDg  to  the  COa  evolved 62*61   . .  61-38  . .  45*46 

"            "    Ferrous  salt  used...      271   ..  4*14  ..  2058 

Total 6533  ..  6552  ..  6640 

It  therefore  appears  that  even  when  a  considerable 
amount  of  ferrous  compound  is  present  the  CO9  evolved 
corresponds,  as  in  the  processes  depending  on  the 
evolution  of  chlorine,  not  to  the  whole  MnO«  present, 
but  to  that  left  after  the  ferrous  compound  is  oxidised. 
In  the  case  of  Price  and  Otto's  processes  the  same  will 
evidently  be  the  case. 


ON  METEORS.* 

BT  PBOFSSSOR  ALBXANDBR  HEBSOHEU 

A  QiTXSTioir  which  at  present  agitates  the  minds  of 
physical  astronomers  is,  to  ascertain  whether  a  slight 
acceleration  of  the  moon's  apparent  motion  can  be 
attributed  to  a  lurking  error  in  the  calculations  of  its 

«  FiRMft  %  iMtar*  4eUrerad  before  Ihe  British  Aflsobbttoi,  at  Dundee. 


f)lace,  or  whether  the  earth,  in  the  course  of  ages,  has 
ost  a  small  portion  of  its  speed  of  revolution  round  its 
axis.  The  latter  alternative  would  appear  to  explain 
the  fact  that  the  lunar  tables,  which  exactly  represent 
the  moon's  apparent  motion  at  the  present  time,  do 
not  absolutely  give  the  hour  of  the  day  of  an  eclipse 
which  happened  when  the  sun  was  setting  at  Babylon 
some  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The 
eclipse  began,  according  to  the  tables,  when  the  sun 
was  already  below  the  horizon,  and  it  would  be  invis- 
ible at  Babylon.  But  if  the  earth's  rotation,  instead 
of  being  uniform,  were  a  little  more  rapid  in  former 
times  than  it  is  at  present,  the  sun,  instead  of  beiug  set 
below  the  horizon  of  Babylon,  would  appear  eclipsed 
above  it,  as  the  phenomenon  was  in  reality  observed. 
To  account  for  a  slower  rotation  of  the  earth  about  its 
axis  at  the  present  time  than  that  which  it  possessed 
formerly,  the  friction  of  the  tides  has  been  supposed  to 
play  an  important  part  in  checking  its  velocity.  A 
slow  accumulation  of  meteorites  upon  the  earth's  sur- 
face, although  not  appreciably  altering  the  figure  and 
dimensions  of  the  globe,  must  yet,  in  the  course  of 
many  ages,  produce  an  average  effect  of  diminishing  its 
velocity  of  revolution.  The  change  of  a  hundredth 
part  of  a  second  in  the  length  of  the  day,  since  the 
time  of  the  earliest  observations,  would  explain  the 
small  error  which  astronomers  have  discovered,  and  the 
cause  of  which  still  eludes  their  search* 

Damages  to  life  and  property  by  the  fall  of  meteor- 
ites are,  from  the  generally  small  sice  of  aerolites, 
among  the  rarest  catastrophes  on  record.  Yet  a 
Franciscan  monk  was  struck  and  killed  by  an  aerolite, 
at  Padua,  in  the  year  1660,  and  the  Italian  philosopher 
Zerzago,  wondeiiully  concerned  at  the  event,  inquired 
if  .the  stone  could  not  have  been  projected  from  a 
volcano  on  the  moon.  At  a  later  period  of  discovery 
with  regard  to  meteorites,  this  conjecture  received 
considerable  support,  but  it  was  finally  rejected  as 
insufficient  when  it  was  found  that  aerolites  move  with 
velocities  much  greater  than  that  of  satellites  of  the  earth. 
In  the  year  a.d.  1719,  a  meteor  of  unusual  size 
appeared  in  England,  to  which  trigonometrical  calcula^- 
tion  assigned  a  diameter  of  at  least  a  mile,  a  velocity  of 
three  mues  per  second,  and  a  height  in  the  atmosphere 
of  sixty  geographical  miles.  A  detonation  like  thunder 
shook  the  houses  as  it  passed.  Dr.  Ednrand  Halley, 
who  was  then  Professor  of  Astronomy  at  Oxford, 
described  the  appearance  of  this  meteor.  He  hold  the 
opinion  of  Aristotle  that  the  meteor  was  caused  by  the 
kindling  of  a  tract  of  inflammable  gas,  collected  in  a  long 
trun  at  the  top  of  the  atmosphere,  and  there  explod- 
ing. Aristotle  s  opinion  cannot  oe  entertained,  on 
account  of  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere  at  great  heists 
being  insufficient  to  support  the  vivid  illumination  of 
large  meteors  by  simple  inflammation  and  combustion 
of  a  gaseous  mixture.  It  was,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Wallis,  who  described  an  equaUy  large  meteor 
that  passed  over  England  at  twilight  on  the  20th 
September,  1676,  thought  to  be  more  probable  that  the 
fire-ball  was  a  near  view  of  a  comet  which  was  seen 
near  the  sun  about  a  fortnight  later.  It  deserves  to 
be  mentioned  that  Dr.  Wallis  occupied  the  same  chair 
in  the  University  of  Oxford  in  which  Dr.  Baden 
PoweU,  who  alone  instituted  and  began  the  present 
series  of  reports  of  the  British  Association  on  luminous 
meteors,  afterwards  proved  his  illustrious  successor, 
and  that  the  views  which  Dr.  Wallis  first  introduced 
on  the  subject  of  observations  of  luminous  meteors  to 
English  readers  have  been  singularly  verified  in  the 


▼«L  XVL,  Va  409^  pi«w  17a,  199.] 


286 


On  Meteore. 


i  GamiCAL  Nvm, 


events  of  the  past  year.  In  the  years  1758  and  1783 
Dr.  Pringle  and  Dr.  Blagden,  at  that  time  the  Secreta- 
ries of  the  Royal  Society^  described  two  of  the  largest 
meteors  that  appeared  in  the  last,  century  in  England. 
Their  calculated  height  in  the  atmosphere  was  about 
50  miles,  and  they  were  accompanied,  like  that  de- 
scribed by  Halley,  by  very  loud  explosions.  The  dis- 
covery of  atmospheric  electricity  had  hardly  been 
made,  w^hen  these  two  writers  attributed  the  appear- 
ance of  large  meteors  to  the  same  cause  as  that  which 
gives  rise  to  lightning  in  the  lower  regions  of  the 
atmosphere.  The  character  of  the  discharge  of  elec- 
tricity in  exceedingly  rare  gases  was,  however,  begin- 
ning at  the  time  to  be  studied,  and  Lichtenber^*s 
experiments  at  Gottingen  convinced  Chladni  at  Wit- 
temberg  that  the  real  explanation  of  fire-balls  had  not 
yet  been  discovered.  In  the  Mineralogical  Museum  of 
St.  Petersburg  a  large  mass  of  metalUc  iron,  weighing 
about  seven  hundred  weights,  had  been  brought  by 
Pallas,  the  geologist  and  explorer,  from  the  summit  of 
the  hill  of  ^rasnojarsk,  in  Siberia,  where  it  was  found. 
The  origin  of  the  mass  was  a  vexed  question  with 
geologists  when,  in  the  year  1794,  Chladni  published 
his  work  on  "  The  Iron  Mass  of  Pallas,  and  on  Other 
Masses  of  Iron  and  Stone  Reputed  to  have  Fallen 
from  the  Air."  In  this  work  Chladni  supposes  that  all 
the  accounts  hitherto  received  of  the  falls  of  aerolites 
were  correct,  and  he  presents  a  catalogue  of  them, 
together  with  all  the  accounts  of  large  fire-balls  which 
he  was  able  to  collect.  Chladni  conceived  that  a  class 
of  cosmical  bodies  exists  in  all  parts  of  the  solar 
system,  each  forming  by  itself  a  peculiar  concourse  of 
atoms,  and  that  the  earth  from  time  to  time  encounters 
them,  moving  with  a  velocity  as  great  as  its  own,  and 
doubtless  in  orbits  of  very  various  eccentricity  round 
the  sun. 

Chladni  further  assumed  that  a  certain  property  of 
compressed  air,  which  can  be  readily  exhibited  by  an 
instrument  called  a  match-syringe,  produces  the  vivid 
liffht  and  heat  of  combustion  which  these  bodies  exhibit 
vnien  they  are  first  brought  into  collision  with  (he 
outer  strata  of  the  atmosphere.  When  air  is  confined 
by  a  piston  in  a  tube,  and  the  piston,  carrying  a  piece 
of  tinder  or  other  light  substance  at  the  end,  is  sud- 
denly forced  into  the  tube,  the  heat  developed  by  the 
compression  of  the  air  is  so  great  as  to  ignite  the 
tinder.  The  passage  of  a  celestial  body  through  the 
atmosphere  must  be  intensely  rapid,  so  that  before  the 
air  can  make  its  escape  from  the  front  of  such  a 
projectile,  it  must  necessarily  undergo  a  violent  com- 
pression of  the  kind  exempUfied  in  tiie  match-syringe 
— tlie  heat  developed  on  its  surface  must,  doubtless,  far 
surpass  what  can  be  produced  by  mechanical  means. 
A  series  of  accurate  experiments  was  made  by  Dr. 
Joule^  from  which  it  may  safely  be  concluded  that  a 
velocity  of  transit  through  tne  air,  which  is  not 
uncommonly  observed  in  meteors,  of  thirty  miles  in  a 
second,  would  produce  upon  the  surface  of  the  meteo- 
ric body  a  heat  sufficient  to  fuse,  and  probably  also  to 
volatilise,  the  most  refractory  substances.  Not  only 
the  thin  glaced  surface  or  crust  with  which  aerolites 
are  invariably  covered,  but  also  the  appearance  of  fire- 
balls and  shooting-stars  can  be  satisfactorily  explained 
on  these  assumptions.  Astronomical  observations  are 
only  required  to  determine  what  is  the  real  course  of 
the  meteoric  particles  in  space  j  what  is  their  law  of 
distribution ;  what  is  the  class  of  orbits  which  they 
pursue;  and  finally,  what  is  their  history,  either  as 
mdependent  bodies  or  as  emissaries  from  the  train  of  ^ 


some  otlier  well-known  bodies  of  the  visible  universe. 
The  first  astronomical  observations  of  the  kind  neces- 
sary to  confirm  the  theory  of  Chladni  were  those 
conducted  by  Brandes  and  !Berzenberg,  at  Gottingen, 
in  the  year  1798,  on  the  heights  and  velocities  of 
shooting-stars.  It  was  found  that  shooting-stars  appear 
at  a  surprising  height  in  the  atmosphere,  and  move 
with  the  extravagant  velocity  whicn  large  aerolitic 
fire-balls  were  already  known  to  have.  The  first  indi- 
cation was  thus  gained  that  shooting-stars  are,  in  fad, 
pigmy  aerolites,  and  that  aerolites  are  a  gigantic  kind 
of  shooting-stars.  Observations  of  luminous  meteors 
have  now  divided  themselves  into  three  classes,  for 
each  of  which  a  separate  investigation  leads  to  the 
uniform  result  that  the  hypothesis  of  Chladni  is  the 
only  one  which  bears  upon  its  face  the  stamp  of  truth. 
In  the  principal  division  of  the  subject  (to  which  Pro- 
fessor Maskelyne  has  given  tibe  name  of  aeroUtes),  it 
was  shown  by  Edward  Howard^  in  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  that  meteoric  stones  difier  essen- 
tially fi:om  terrestrial  rocks,  by  abounding  with  metallic 
iron.  But  they  agree  among  themselves,  by  having, 
in  everv  case  which  he  examined,  the  rarer  metal 
nickel  for  an  ingredient.  Chromium  was  afterwards 
shown  by  Laugier  to  be  an  even  more  constant  compan- 
ion of  iron  in  meteorites  than  nickel.  Copper^  tin, 
and  lead,  soluble  chorides  of  sodium  and  potassium, 
carbon,  in  the  form  of  graphite,  and  once  occurring  as 
a  carbonaceous  peat-hke  mass,  and  in  one  other  case 
as  a  volatile  substance — ^have  been  found  in  meteor- 
ites ;  but  no  new  element  has  been  discovered  which 
is  not  already  known  to  exist  upon  the  earth.  Quite 
recently,  the  Master  of  the  Royal  Mint^  Prof.  Graham, 
has  found  an  abundance  of  hydrogen  gas  occluded,  or 
stored  up,  in  the  mass  of  a  meteoric  iron.  The  similar- 
ity of  composition  of  all  the  members  of  the  solar 
system  receives  firom  these  discoveries  an  argument  of 
credibility  quite  as  strong,  and,  indeed,  much  stronger 
than  that  which  can  be  drawn  from  an  examination  of 
the  sun*s  light  in  the  spectroscope;  because,  in  the 
case  of  meteorites,  bodies  evidenUy  belon^g  to  the 
cele.'-tial  spaces  can  be  handled,  and  their  materials 
have  been  fi*eely  analyzed.  Among  the  largest  aero- 
lite falls  of  modem  times,  two  celebrated  examples 
have  occurred  in  France,  and  two  took  place  in  Austria 
and  Hungary.  A  violent  explosion  was  beard  at 
L'Aigle,  in  Normandy,  and  at  a  distance  of  eighty 
miles  round  L'Aigle  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  26th  of  April,  1803,  a  few  minutes  before  the 
explosion  was  heard,  a  luminous  meteor  with  a  very 
rapid  motion  appeared  in  the  air,  and  the  explosion 
heard  at  L'Aigle  was  caused  by  the  bursting  of  the 
meteor.  Two  thousand  stones  fell  at  L'Aigle,  upon 
trees,  pavements,  and  the  roofs  of  houses,  so  hot  as  to 
burn  tlie  bauds  when  touched,  and  one  person  was 
wounded  by  a  stone  upon  the  arm.  llie  shower 
extended  over  an  oval  area  nine  miles  long  and  six 
miles  wide,  close  to  one  extremity  of  which  the  largest 
of  the  stones  was  found  ;  but  the  only  description  I 
have  seen  at  all  approaching  graphic  was,  that  some 
thought  their  chimneys  were  on  fire,  and  rushed  oot 
for  a  pail  of  water.  A  very  similar  shower  of  stones 
fell  at  Stannem,  between  Vienna  and  Prague,  on  the 
22nd  of  May,  1 81 2,  when  200  stones  fell  upon  an  oval 
area  eight  miles  long  by  four  miles  wide.  The  largest 
stones,  in  this  case,  were  found,  as  before,  near  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  ellipse.  The  third  stone-fall 
occurred  at  Orgueil,  in  the  south  of  France,  on  the 
evening  of  the  14th  of  May,  1864.    The  ajrea  ia  which 


iBngUdi  Bditloii,  VoL  XVI,  Va  409^ 


iT^iaoi] 


CtamiaAL  Nnrt» ) 
JMe^  1M7.       f 


On  Meters. 


287 


the  stones  were  scattered  was  eighteen  miles  long  by 
five  miles  wide,  and  the  largest  stone  was  picked  up  at 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  area.  Lastly,  at  Kuyahinza, 
in  Hungary,  on  the  9th  of  June  last  year,  an  aerolite, 
weighing  six  hundred-weights,  was  deposited,  with 
nearly  one  thousand  lesser  stones,  on  an  area  measur- 
ing ten  miles  in  length  by  four  miles  wide.  The  large 
mass  was  found,  as  m  the  other  ca?es,  at  one  extremity 
of  the  oval  area,  and  a  luminous  meteor,  followed  by  a 
loud  explosion,  accompanied  the  stone-fall,  which  lefl 
a  smoky  streak,  visible  in  the  sky  for  nearly  half-an- 
hour.  A  considerable  aerolite  fell  upon  the  same  date 
in  Algiers,  at  Tadjera,  in  the  present  year,  and  two 
days  later,  on  the  nth  of  June,  a  6re-ball,  leaving  a 
streak,  visible  at  least  one  hour,  was  seen  in  full  day- 
lights at  sunset,  in  the  north  of  France,  in  Switzerland, 
and  m  Belgium  ;  and  those  who  were  in  Paris  at  the 
Exposition  had  doubtless  seen  many  accounts  of  it  in  the 
papers  at  that  time.  Although  it  was  accompanied  by 
a  detonation,  it  discharged  no  stones,  but  the  coinci- 
dence of  two  stone-falls  happening  in  two  successive 
years  on  the  9th  of  June  makes  it  probable  that  this 
large  fire-ball  belonged  to  the  same  aerolite  date.  The 
largest  meteors  are  obviously  divided  into  two  classes, 
one  of  which,  the  bolides,  or  silent  fire-balls,  appear  to 
have  a  looser  texture,  or  to  consist  of  more  easily 
inflammable  substance  than  the  rest.  They  bum  very 
brightly,  but  without  producing  an  audible  concussion 
of  the  air.  Several  true  bolides  accompanied  the  last 
November  star-shower.  Aerolitic  fire-balls,  as  their 
name  implies,  frequently  precipitate  solid  stones  upon 
the  ground.  Fire-balls  of  this  class  are  accompanied 
by  a  detonation.  Four  such  fire-balls  have  happened 
within  the  last  few  years,  on  or  about  the  20th  of 
November.  The  list  of  fire-balls  observed  hitherfo 
numbers  some  thousands,  and  as  far  as  their  appear- 
ance in  comparison  with  certain  shooting-stars  is  con- 
cerned, the  latter  present  a  dwarfed  resemblance  to  the 
former,  so  that  it  is  probable  that  no  break  exists,  but 
that  fire-balls  of  every  kind  are  shooting-stars  of  a 
larger  stature. 

The  progress  of  knowledge  regarding  shooting-stars 
may  also  be  identified  with  the  history  of  the  Novem- 
ber star-shower.  That  great  apparrtion  which  took 
Humboldt  and  Olmsted  by  surprise  in  1799  and  1833, 
has  met  the  gaze  of  thousands  unable  or  unwilling  to 
speculate  upon  its  nature.  Yet  how  aptly  an  Arabian 
chronicler  of  the  last  display  describes  the  host  of 
meteoric  atoms  invading  the  earth's  atmosphere,  as 
"  the  mighty  armies  of  the  sky  joined  in  a  fierce  strife." 
He  adds  that  the  earth's  atmosphere  proved  a  perfect 
safegruard  to  ward  off  the  skirmishers  from  the  sphere 
of  human  habitations,  for  "the  fire  and  sparks  (he 
writes)  were  harmless,  not  touching  the  earth,  or 
injuring  our  safety,  as  if  night's  daring  horsemen,  who 
continued  till  morning  beating  each  other  in  single 
combat)  gave  us  protection  and  peace."  Thousands, 
again,  who  never  saw  the  display  of  Humboldt,  nor 
the  much  greater  spectacle  of  Olmsted,  have  thought 
for  themselves  to  penetrate  its  meaning.  Humboldt, 
in  his  description  of  the  star-shower  at  Cum  ana,  states 
that  the  oldest  inhabitants  at  Oumana  remembered 
that  a  similar  nhenomenon  preceded  the  great  earth- 
quakes of  1760.  But  no  suspicion  of  its  periodicity 
^eonld  then  have  crossed  his  mind  for  want  of  a  state- 
ment of  the  month  and  day.  On  the  13th  of  November, 
1832,  and  again  on  the  13th  of  November,  1833,  the 
shower  reappeared,  at  first  in  Europe,  and  the  second 
time  in  full  magnificence  in  America.    No  doubt  of  its 


periodical  character  could,  afler  that  time,  exist  A 
point  of  capital  importance  was  also  discovered  on  that 
occasion,  which  distinguished  the  great  November 
star-shower  from  all  other  exhibitions  of  meteors  that 
had  been  previously  observed.  Instead  of  clashing 
together,  as  too  many  old  accounts  of  their  appearance 
might)  perhaps,  lead  us  to  imagine,  the  November 
meteors,  in  1833,  shot  outwards  in  smoothly -flowing 
lines  from  a  single  centre  of  emanation  in  some  part  of 
the  constellation  Leo.  Olmsted  himself  describes  the 
radiant  point  of  the  starrshower  as  the  vanishing  point 
of  nearly  parallel  straight  lines  seen  in  perspective. 
The  position  of  the  radiant  point  in  Leo  was  by  no 
means  unanimously  fixed  by  different  observer?.  Olm- 
sted thought  it  near  the  star  y  Leonis,  but  Professor 
Twining  placed  it  in  the  centre  of  Leo's  sickle,  close  to 
the  small  star  x  Leonis — ^the  identical  spot  where 
observers  agreed  in  placring  it  during  the  November 
star-shower  in  1866.  The  fixity  of  this  point  among 
the  stars  was,  in  the  opinion  of  Professor  Twining, 
sufficiently  distinct  to  enable  him  to  recognise  that  at 
this  juncture  tiie  earth  passed  through  a  vastly  extended 
system  of  meteoric  bodies  entirely  independent  of 
every  terrestrial  agency,  and  yet  moving  in  entire 
harmony  and  concert, — ^in  short,  that  each  November 
meteor  had  an  orbit,  and  that  in  their  orbits  they 
were  all  revolving  together  round  the  sun.  Humboldt 
described  them  a  Uttle  later  as  pocket  planets,  and 
as  such  they  continue  to  be  considered  until  their 
expected  return,  after  a  lapse  of  about  thirty- three 
years,  should  enable  observers,  with  better  means 
at  their  command,  and  with  full  preparation  for  their 
reappearance,  to  come  to  a  more  exact  conclusion. 

It  was  soon  after  this  that  Mr.  Quetelet,  of  Erussels, 
formed  a  catalogue  of  all  the  ancient  records  of  star- 
showers  that  he  was  able  to  collect,  in  order  to  discover 
in  them  any  signs  of  a  p(  riodical  character  that  might 
exist.  He  succeeded  in  predicting  the  return  of  the 
meteors  of  St.  Lawrence  on  the  loth  of  August,  1837, 
which  have  ever  since  been  the  most  constantly 
observed  of  star-showers.  The  radiant  point  of  thu 
shower  is  not  far  from  the  sword-handle  of  Perseus. 
The  result  showed  that  other  periodical  star-sbowers 
might  probably  be  looked  for  with  success,  and  one 
which  took  place  at  Richmond,  U.S.,  on  the  20th  of 
April,  1803,  was  watched  for  by  He  wick  in  America, 
and  was  found  to  resemble  that  which  from  time  to, 
time  appears  on  the  2nd  of  January,  by  great  uncer- 
tainty in  its  dreturns.  Its  radiant  point  he  found  to  be 
near  Vega  Ly».  The  other  date  when  meteors  are 
supposed  to  be  most  plentiful  is  the  2nd  of  January, 
when  the  meteors  have  a  radiant  point  near  the  right 
knee  in  the  figure  of  the  constellation  Hercules.  A 
moderate  shower  of  meteors  is  seen  every  year  on  the 
night  of  the  12th  of  December,  radiating  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Castor  and  Pollux.  Finally,  on  or 
about  the  19th  of  October,  a  tolerably  well-marked 
shower  of  meteors  has  been  seen  during  the  last  two 
years  radiating  in  a  very  definite  manner  from  Orion. 

It  is  an  interesting  discovery  in  the  familiar  phenom- 
enon of  shooting-stars,  perhaps  too  long  neglected,  as 
Mr.  Quetelet  remarks,  by  astronomers,  that  if  their 
number  seen  on  any  night,  by  one  person,  much 
exceeds  fifteen  per  hour,  the  appearance  generally 
indicates  a  special  shower ;  and  a  very  moderate 
amount  of  attention  to  their  apparent  tracks  amoner 
the  stars  in  general  suffices  to  determine  the  fixed 
centre  of  radiation  from  which  they  diverge.  A  small 
degree  of  diligence  and  perseverance  may  thus  often 


[HngMnh  TMHIoByVgLXVL,  go,  40P,fag»  180;  Ho.  410,  ptw  180,190.] 


288 


On  Meie&ra. 


be  profitably  bestowed  in  rendering  with  very  little 
trouble  an  essential  seryice  to  astronomy,  which  wonld 
doubtless  be  more  heeded  if  the  beautifully  striking 
property  of  shower-meteors  to  radiate  from  a  fixed 
point  among  the  constellations  were  more  generally 
known.  From  the  records  of  scattered  obserrations, 
extending  over  more  than  twenty  years,  the  Luminous 
Meteor  Committee  of  the  Briti^  Association  believe 
that  they  have  traced  tlie  existence  of  at  least  fifty 
periods  of  such  occurrences  during  the  twelve  montlis 
of  the  year,  with  the  positions  of  their  connected 
radiant  points.  But  the  exact  date  of  maximum  of 
many  of  the  showers  is  still  undetermined,  and  this  is 
what  an  opportunity  might  frequently  present  itself  to 
observers  of  shower-meteors  to  supply. 

A  study  of  ancient  appearances  of  the  November 
meteors  led  Professor  Newton,  of  Yale  College,  U.S. A., 
to  anticipate  their  reappearance  on  the  morning  of  the 
14th  of  November  last  The  interest  of  astronomers 
was  awakened  by  the  seasonable  appeal  in  good  time 
for  preparations  to  be  made  in  almost  every  quarter  of 
the  globe  to  note  the  reappearance  of  the  shower. 
The  area  of  its  visibility  extended  from  the  British 
Isles  to  India  in  the  east :  and  from  Europe  in  the 
northern  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  the  southern 
hemisphere.  This  was  exactly  the  district  occupied 
by  the  same  shower  at  its  appearance  in  the  year 
1832,  and  it  may  be  expected  that  this  great  shower, 
like  that  of  1833,  will  this  year  be  again  visible  in 
America  on  the  morning  of  the  I4tli  November  next 
In  that  case,  it  will  be  only  partially  visible  in 
Europe ;  but  it  may  include  some  of  the  most  brilliant 
parts  of  the  shower,  so  as  not  to  allow  of  losing 
the  opportunity  of  seeing  what  there  is.  The  position 
of  the  radiant  point,  as  well  as  the  moment  of 
the  maximum  abundance,  was  distinguished  with 
great  precision  at  the  Royal  Observatory,  Greenwich, 
and,  compared  with  observations  at  other  places, 
leave  nothing  to  be  des'red  in  respect  of  philoso|  h- 
ical  exactness.  The  moment  of  maximum  frequency, 
observed  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  Observatory, 
shows  that  South  AiHca,  on  account  of  its  high 
southern  latitude,  entered  the  densest  portion  of  the 
shower  about  fifteen  minutes  earlier  than  the  same 
phase  of  shower  was  witnessed  in  the  British  Isles ; 
while  the  total  duration  of  the  shower,  at  all  the 
« stations,  shows  that  tlie  greatest  thickness  of  the 
stream  of  meteoric  bodies  through  which  the  earth 
passed  in  two  hours  was  about  thirty  thousand  miles. 
The  inclination  of  the  stream  to  the  earth's  orbit  was 
also  determined,  whilst,  by  a  new  consent  of  eminent 
master-minds — M.  Le  Verrier  and  Professor  Ad  ms — 
at  the  end  of  elaborate  calculations,  both  agreed  that 
the  true  orbit  of  the  meteoric  stream  is  a  long  ellipse 
extending  from  the  eartJi's  orbit  at  its  least,  to  that  of 
Uranus  at  its  greatest  distance  firom  the  sun.  The 
periodic  time  of  the  meteors  in  their  orbit  is  thirty- 
three  years  and  a  quarter.  The  inclination  of  the  orbit 
to  the  plane  of  the  elliptic  is  about  seventeen  degrees, 
and  the  meteors  revolve  round  the  sun  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  the  earth.  It  appears  that  the  densest 
portion  of  the  group  has  not  yet  been  passed  through, 
as  it  occupies  such  an  extent  of  length  along  the  elliptic 
orbit  as  to  require  two  or  three  years  to  make  its 
passive  round  the  sun. 

A  most  curious  incident  connected  with  these  dis- 
coveries is,  that  a  comet  detected  by  Tempel  shortly 
after  the  first  outposts  of  the  November  meteors  made 
their  appearance  in  1865,  to  which  an  elliptic  orbit^ 


with  a  period  of  thirty-three  years  and  a  quarter,  was 
assigned  by  Oppolzer,  before  the  recent  display  of  the 
November  meteors  was  observed,  is  found  to  move  k 
exactly  the  same  orbit  with  the  meteoric  bodies, 
throughout  their  entire  revolution  round  the  sun.  A 
coincidence  so  unexpected,  and  against  which  the 
probabilities  are  a  priori  so  enormous,  must  alone 
make  the  physical  connection  between  TempeFs  ecMDet 
and  the  group  of  meteoric  bodies  UtUe  leas  than  certain. 
But  the  astronomer  of  the  Brera  College  of  Miki, 
Signer  Schiaparelli,  had  already  published  the  aa^ 
nouncement  in  a  letter  written  previously  to  this  dis- 
covery to  the  Padre  Secchi,  that  the  orbits  of  the 
St.  Lawrence's  meteors  of  the  icth  of  August,  which 
he  supposes  to  be  nearly  parabolic,  must,  in  that  case, 
coincide  almost  exactly  with  the  long  elhptic  orbit 
of  a  very  conspicuous  comet,  known  as  Swift's  or 
Tuttle's  comet,  which  appeared  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember, 1862.  A  similar  inquiry  has  since  been  made 
by  Dr.  Weisse  regarding  the  orbit  of  the  group  of 
April  shower-meteors,  supposed,  like  the  former,  to  be 
nearly  parabolic  ;  and  tliis  is  found  to  coincide  almost 
exactly  with  the  long  elliptic  orbit  of  a  bright  oomet 
which  was  visible  for  some  wedcs  in  the  month  ^f 
June  of  the  year  1861. 

Shower  meteois  thus  continue  to  enga^  great 
attention,  and  by  the  light  which  their  new-found  rela- 
tion to  those  mo^t  mysterious  messengers  from  distaot 
[^>ace,  may  end  by  throwing  hght  upon  the  obacarity 
of  the  phenomena  of  comets. 

The  spectroscope  has  been  turned  with  some  sucoeiB 
to  analyse  their  lieht ;  and  it  was  found  by  Mr.  Hug- 
gins  that  the  nudeus  of  Tempel's  comet  was  sefi"- 
luminous,  shinizig  with  a  single  ray  of  bluish  light; 
while  the  pale  light  of  the  envelope  consisted  of  the 
sun's  reflected  ra^s.  Spectroscopes  of  the  best  fonn 
that  could  be  devised  were  turned  towards  the  streaks 
of  the  November  meteors  ;  and  in  some  of  those  was 
also  recognised  a  single  ray  of  a  lavender  blue,  or  of  a 
greyish  colour. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  meteoric  particles  are 
portions  of  the  comet's  tails,  shreds  of  a  dismembered 
mist,  torn  by  the  sun's  disturbing  action  firom  the 
nucleus  of  the  comet,  and  left  upon  its  path  like  rubers 
or  smoke-flakes  in  the  track  of  an  expiring  flame. 
But  is  the  heat  of  their  coUision  with  the  atmosphere 
sufficient  to  restore  a  portion  of  the  luminous  appear- 
ance with  which  thev  shone  in  the  nucleus  of  the 
comet?  or  are  the  November  meteors  and  Tempd*s 
comet  perfect  nebulas  undergoing  condensation,  of 
which  tne  meteoric  bodies  are  the  quite-faded  staifi, 
and  the  cometary  nucleus  is  the  still  gaseous  and  seH- 
luminous  portion  of  the  nebula?  When  the  bright 
and  persistent  character  of  the  cometic  portions  of  the 
November  meteor  streaks  u  borne  in  mind,  the  tde- 
scope  armed  with  the  spectroscope  may  still  enter  the 
field  on  the  eventful  morning  of  the  14th  of  November 
next.  An  answer  will  then,  if  possible,  be  given  to 
questions  which  as  yet  hardly  admit  of  being  rightly 
framed,  so  unexpected  are  the  revelations,  and  so  novel 
are  the  conceptions  which  a  few  short  months  have  in- 
troduced into  the  rapidly  advancing  theatre  of  meteoric 
astronomy.  These  observations  are  thus  given,  and  it 
is  to  be  hoped  they  may  {Nrove  of  some  Yuue  in  asGor- 
taining  the  character  of  meteors  and  comets.  When,  on 
the  next  starry  shower  or  appearance  of  November 
meteors,  the  telescope  or  stereoscope  are  prestmted  to 
these  bri|:ht  streaks,  we  may  thus  hope  that  answera 
may  be  given  to  the  questions  whi<^  can  as  yet  hsuSf 


[finslirii  BdBUtfl,  y«L  XVZ^  Xtok  42fl^ 


ifle^i0Li 


JFliMhSUicate  of  BaHum — Iron  cmd  SaLphocyanagen. 


a89 


be  iWuned — for  sudden  are  the  conceptions  which  Lave 
in  the  few  past  months  dawned  upon  us  in  this  history 
of  meteoric  j^enomena. 


ON  FLUO-BILIOATE  OF  BARIUM. 

BT  M.   FR.   STOLBA. 

To  obtain  this  salt  free  from  sulphate  of  baryta  and 
silica,  first  add  to  the  hydro-fluosilicic  acid  a  little 
baryta^  and  separate  the  precipitate  obtained ;  the 
filtered  acid  then  contains  neither  sulphuric  acid  nor 
aLlica,  and  gives  a  pure  salt  by  saturation  with  hydrate 
of  baxyt& 

The  pure  fluo-silicate  of  barium  is  in  the  form  of 
small  microscopic  prisms  when  obtained^  by  boiling 
with  dilated  liquids ;  these  prisms  are  united  in  dus- 
ters or  dii^osed  in  stars. 

Its  density  at  21^  =  4*2772  (mean).  It  dissolves  at 
31^  in  from  3262  to  3319  parts  of  water,  and  in  3731 
parts  of  water  at  17^  ;  boiling  water  dissolves  about 
three  times  as  much. 

Acids  dis6<dve  it  more  easily,  and  some  salts  also 
increase  its  solubility.  It  dissolves  at  22^  in  272  parts 
of  nitric  acid  (containing  8  per  cent  of  NsO»),  and  in 
448  parts  of  hydrochloric  acid  containing  4-25  per  cent 
ofHCL 

To  dissolve  it  requires  563  parts  of  a  concentrated 
and  boiling  solution  of  sea-salt ;  349  parts  of  a  boiling 
solution  ca  sea-salt;  containing  10  percent  of  this 
salt ;  2185  pcirts  of  a  solution  at  10  per  cent  of  sea-salt 
at  20^  ;  1 140  parts  of  a  solution  at  5  per  cent,  at  20^  ; 
306  parts  of  a  solution  of  saturated  sal-ammoniac  at 
22^ ;  361  parts  of  a  solution  of  sal-ammoniac  at  15  per 
cent  at  22^. 

Dilute  sulphuric  acid  slowly  decomposes  the  fiuo- 
silicate  of  barium  when  cold,  rapidly  with  heat  This 
property  may  be  utilised  in  the  preparation  of  pure 
hydro-nuosilicic  acid ;  to  do  this,  digest  with  heat  the 
fluo-silicate  of  barium,  well  divided,  with  nine-tenths 
of  the  sulphuric  acid  necessary  wholly  to  decompose 
it^  until  the  filtered  hquid  contains  no  traces  of  sul- 
phuric acid 

Sulphates  also  rapidly  decompose  the  fluo-silicate  of 
barium,  but  incompletely.  Boiled  with  the  alkaline 
carbonates,  it  decomposes,  leaving  a  mixture  of  silica 
and  carbonate  of  barium ;  but  some  silica  which  adheres 
strongly  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel  is  poduced  at  the 
same  time.  Calcined  with  sal-ammoniac,  a  large  por- 
tion is  changed  to  chloride  of  barium,  but  a  complete 
transformation  is  very  difficult 

The  aqueous  solution  of  fluoride  of  barium  is  one  of 
the  best  tests  to  ascertain  the  presence  of  sulphuric 
acid  in  the  solution  of  hydro-fluosilicic  acid,  or  of 
fluoeilicates,  it  is  preferable  to  sulphate  of  8tr6ntiitm«-^ 
Journal  f&r  Ptakksche  Chemie^  xcvi  22. 


VOLATILITY  OF  THE  COMPOUND  OP  lEON 
WITH  SULPHOCYANOOEN. 

'   BT  WILLIAM  SKBT, 
Analtyst  to  the  O«ologtoal  Survey,  New  ZeiOuid. 

Wftrar  a  solution  of  eesquichloride  of  iron  and  an 
ikikalilie  sulphoc^anide  is  treated  with  a  large  excess  of 
hydrochloric  acid,  there  is  evolved,  even  at  common 
temperatures,  a  notable  quantity  of  a  red  coloured 
eompound  which  is  best  arrested  and  ooUected  by 
porous  bodies  or  rough  surfbces.  It  gives  the  reactions 
of  iron  and  su^hooyanogen. 


The  production  of  this  volatfle  iron  compound  is 
easiest  observed  by  placing  a  solution  of  the  above 
substances  in  a  snallow  vessel  resting  upon  white 
paper,  over  which  a  slightly  larger  vessel  is  inverted ; 
in  a  short  time  a  red  coloured  ring  appears  upon  the 
paper.  Tlie  penetrability  of  this  vapour  is  such  i^t  in 
a  short  time  it  traversed  through  five  thicknesses  of 
thick  writing  paper. 

As  thus  attached  to  paper,  it  did  not  re-volatilize  or 
change  in  a  neutral  atmosphere  at  a  temperature  of 
200^  F. ;  but  on  moistening  the  paper  with  water,  its 
colour  immediately  went  In  ether,  however,  it  is 
soluble  without  change  of  colour. 

The  composition  of  this  volatile  iron  compound  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  fnmish  by  the  next  homeward  maiL 
In  the  meantime  I  cannot  avoid  remarking  how  its 
volatiUty  at  low  temperature,  its  colorific  properties, 
and  its  production  only  in  presence  of  a  more  powerfiu 
acid  than  the  hydrosulphocyanio,  gives  force  to  the 
supposition  that  the  iron  present  in  it  is  united  with 
the  element  of  sulphocyano^en  to  form  a  salt  radical 
of  the  same  molecular  constitution,  probably,  as  ferro- 
cyanogen,  thus : 

Oy  Cy 

Pe  +  S  Fe+Cy 

8  Cj 

the  sulphur  oocupying  the  place  of  as  many  equiva- 
lents as  cyanogen,  at  all  events  with  the  exception  of 
the  compound  of  sulphocyanogen  with  tungsten.  I 
should  be  inclined  to  view  it  as  differently  constituted 
to  the  sulphocyanides  just  described. 


ON  TBI  PROPEBTT   OF 

TUNGSTIC  AND  SILICIC  ACIDS  TO  COMBINE 
WITH  PHOSPHORIC  ACID, 

XSm  TBB  PRXSSKOE  OV  THIS  ACID  IN   OPAL,   FLINT, 

QUABTZ,   ETC. 

BT  WILLIAM  BXBT, 

Analyst  to  the  Geological  Survey ^  New  Zealand. 

In  considermg  the  behaviour  of  molybdic  with  pho^ 
phoric  acid,  it  occurred  to  me  whether  other  anal- 
gous  phospho-compounds  with  the  more  insoluble 
mineral  acids  might  not  be  made,  or  even^have  a 
present  existence,  but  unrevealed,  owing  to  the  want  of 
those  decided  colorific  and  physical  changes  which  are  * 
involved  in  the  production  of  phospbo-m<dybdio  acid 
from  its  individual  compoand&  and  which  in  all  proba- 
hility  led  to  the  dJecoverr  of  their  mutual  chemical 
affinities  for  each  other.  Many  reasons  for  the  possible 
existence  of  such  oomponnd  presenting  themselves^  I 
began  a  course  of  experiments  with  tungstic  and, 
when  it  was  soon  ascertained  most  conclusively  that 
this  acid  was  able  to  effect  a  combination  with  phos- 
phoric acid,  in  acid  solutions.  The  compound  so 
formed  is  void  of  colour  even  when  boiled,  whereas  re- 
cently precipitated  tungstic  acid  soon  contracts  a  per- 
sistent yellow  colour^  under  similar  circumstances,  the 
colour  proper  to  the  ignited  acid. 

Following  up  the  subject,  silica  was  next  selected 
for  examination,  and  the  results  thereof  appearing  to 
have  some  degree  of  interest,  I  would  beg  to  state 
them  here. 

In  the  first  place,  a  portion  of  quartz  rock  was 
pounded  and  fused  with  a  mixture  of  carbonate  and 
phosphate  of  soda,  and  subsequently  treated  in  exactjy 
the  same  manner  as  that  described  by  Fresenius  for 
the  separation  of  siMca.    The  insoluble  residue  from 


[BnfUah  Editioii,  tbL  Jtlfl,  ir«k  <1«,  tMg«  IM ;  9^  ^  pig«  li^  160  i  V<K  410^  F^ 


79^ 


Natrob(yi'ooaloite — Preparation  of  0)ystaUised  Phenio  Acid.   { ^'^*\5r^ 


the  hydrochloric  acid  was  then  thrown  on  a  filter  and 
washed  until  not  a  trace  of  phosphoric  acid  could  be 
detected  in  the  washings  therefrom.  A  solution  of 
pure  ammonia  was  then  passed  through  the  residue  on 
the  filter,  and  to  the  filtrate  ammonio-chloride  of 
magnesium  was  added,  when  a  copious  gelatinous 
precipitate  appeared,  which  partly  dissolved  in  acetic 
acid,  and  the  filtered  solution  gave  a  considerable 
amount  of  a  crystalline  adhesive  precipitate  when  ren- 
dered alkaline  by  ammonia  :  the  part  insoluble  in  the 
acid  was  silicate  of  magnesia.  A  portion  of  the  crys- 
talline precipitate  above  mentioned  fiimished  yellow 
crystals  when  placed  in  contact  with  a  solution  of 
molybdio  acid  in  nitric  acid. 

The  capacity  of  silica  to  retain  phosphoric  acid  in 
presence  of  water  or  hydrochloric  acid  bein^  thus 
demonstrated,  the  possibility  of  the  presence  of  phos- 
phoric acid  in  certain  of  the  more  siliceous  minerals 
naturally  suggested  itself ;  and  forthwith  I  nroceeded  to 
examine  some  of  these  minerals,  when  I  found  unmis- 
takeable  indications  of  phosphonc  acid.  I  also  detected 
phosphoric  acid  in  a  specimen  of  flint,  and  in  a  portion 
of  the  quartz  rock  already  treated  o^  but  in  quantity 
not  nearly  so  large  as  when  phosphate  of  soda  was 
fused  with  it  in  the  first  experimentw  I  should  state 
that  in  this  instance,  to  get  a  fair  comparison,  the 
quartz  ;was  first  fused  with  carbonate  of  soda,  so  that 
the  whole  of  the  phosphoric  acid  could  be  eliminated; 
but  in  the  case  of  the  otiier  silicas,  for  the  removal  of 
their  phosphoric  acid  for  detection,  I  merely  passed 
ammonia  through  their  very  finely  ground  powders. 
Subsequently,  however,  I  obtained  phosphoric  acid 
firom  quartz  by  the  same  mean«>. 

As  bearing  upon  the  complete  separation  of  phos- 
phoric acid  from  granites,  basalts,  etc.,  I  may  further 
state  that)  as  far  as  I  have  gone,  I  have  invariably 
found  phosphoric  acid  as  a  constituent  of  their  silicas 
aa  separated  for  estimation.  In  one  case  I  obtained 
•i6  per  cent  of  phosphate  of  magnesia  admixed  with  a 
small  proportion  of  silicate  of  magnesia;  but  in  the 
course  of  the  laboratory  work  I  hope  to  be  able  soon 
to  furnish  the  absolute  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  thus 
retained  in  those  aiUca  residues  which  come  imder  my 
notice. 

In  conclusion,  it  would  seem  that  the  facts  here 
recited  tend  to  show — First — That  the  present  mode 
of  extracting  phosphoric  add  firom  siliceous  minerals 
for  estimation  is  radically  wrong,  or  at  least  very 
imperfect,  much  of  the  phosphoric  acid  these  minerals 
may  contain  being  determined  to  their  silica  when 
recently  precipitated,  if  not  fdready  in  combination 
therewith.  Secondly — That  in  the  great  majority  of 
the  analyses  of  silicates,  etc.,  the  silica  therein  is  given 
a  trifle  too  high;  and^  lastly — ^That  phosphoric  acid 
existe  in  larger  quantity,  and  is  even  more  widely 
distributed  tnrough  the  mineral  kingdom  than  has 
hitherto  been  suspected  —  circumstances  possessing 
some  degree  of  interest  in  connection  with  both  min- 
eralogy and  agriculture. 


NOTICE  OF 

NATEOBOROCALCITE  IN  NEW  LOCALITIES, 

AND  OF  OTHER  BORATES  IN  HANTS  OOUNTT,   NOVA 

SCOTIA. 

BT  PROFESSOR  HOW,    WINDSOR,   N.8. 

In  this  journal,  April  19th,  1867  (Bng.  Ed.\  I   men- 
tioned incidentally  some  facts  respecting  the  occurrence 


of  natroborocalcite  here,  and  having  lately  found 
this  mineral  in  the  same  matrix  in  new  localities  in 
this  county,  and  also  in  its  neighbourhood  at  one  of 
these  places,  some  other  borates  not  before  observed 
here,  and  (one  at  least)  probably  new,  I  oflfer  a  short 
note  oh  the  subject  as  possibly  not  uninteresting^ 

The  revival  of  the  trade  in  gypsum  with  the  United 
States,  which  had  declined  very  much  during  the  late 
war,  has  caused  great  activity  in  the  quarries  of  Nova 
Scotia,  especially  in  this  vicinity,  which  affords  the 
greatest  supply  to  that  market  Not  less  than  70,000 
tons  of  "plaster"  have  been  cleared  from  this  port 
during  the  18  months  ending  June  30  of  this  year,  the 
larger  part  of  which  has  been  shipped  from  the  wharves 
of  Windsor,  having  been  brought  ftom  several  quarries 
close  at  hand,  or  within  some  six  miles.  The  rock 
exported  consists  principally  of  gypsum,  the  rest  being 
anhydrite ;  both  are  called  in  the  official  returns 
gypsum,  and  locally,  plaster,  hard  and  sofl  respectively. 
An  excellent  opportunity  is  thus  afforded  here  of 
studying  the  varieties  of  these  rocks  and  the  minerals 
they  contain.  In  one  of  the  heaps  of  "  stones"  brought 
from  a  quarry  which  had  not  been  worked  for  twenty 
years  until  last  season,  I  saw  a  specimen  which  I  at 
once  recognised  as  natroborocalcite,  and,  on  examina- 
tion, I  found  a  considerable  number  of  fine  specimens, 
varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  pea  to  that  of  a  small 
hen's  eg^^  embedded  in  gypsum,  chiefly  in  a  soft  grey 
or  "  blue  "  variety,  the  colour  of  which  rendered  the 
snowy  white  borate  very  obvious.  The  rock  was 
from  near  the  surface  of  a  quarry  called  Brookville, 
situated  about  three  miles  south  of  the  original  locality 
(mentioned  in  the  paper  in  the  journal  above  referred 
to),  where  the  rocks  dip  gently  to  the  south:  low 
hills  and  a  broad  marsh  lie  oetween  the  two  quarries^ 
I  aflerwards  observed  the  same  mineral  in  gypsum 
from  a  quarry  about  six  mfles  north-east  of  the  original 
locality,  but  not  in  such  abundance  as  at  Brookville. 

The  Brookville  quarry  affords  two  other  borates, 
one  of  which  is  a  hydrated  silicated  borate  of  lime, 
apparently  a  new  species.  The  observation  of  com- 
bmed  silica  in  more  than  traces  in  these  beds  for  the 
first  time  is  interesting.  The  other  borate  seems  to  be 
quite  different  from  any  before  observed  here,  but  I 
have  not  yet  subjected  it  to  analysis. 


NOTE   ON  THE 

PREPARATION   OF  CRYSTALLISED   PHENIC 
ACID. 

BT   W.   E.   BICKERDIKE,   F.O.B. 

It  is  seldom  that  crystallised  phenic   acid   can  be 
obtained  by  the  common  process  described  for  its  pre-        J 

Earation  in  the  text  books  ;    and  even  when  the  crude        I 
quid  does  crystallise,  the  still  fluid  portion  contains 
the  largest  amount  of  the  pure  acid. 

The  following  process  X  find  always  to  give  good 
results : — 

The  impure  liquid  separated  from  tar  oils  in  the  usoal 
manner  by  means  of  soda  solution,  is  first  distilled  alone, 
so  as  to  get  rid  of  most  of  the  water  and  HiS.  It  is 
then  re-distiUed  in  a  perfectly  dry  retort  with  i  to  2]>er 
cent,  of  anhydrous  cuprio  sulphate,  collecting  the  dis- 
tillate in  5  or  6  dry  flasks.  Most  of  the  distillate  wifl 
crystallise  at  16^  C,  though  it  is  generally  necessary 
to  drop  in  a  firagment  of  the  solid. 

If  much  HsS  is  present)  it  should  be  lemoTed  by 


C^aglMi  SdWoo,  ToL  X7L,  ITo.  4JU]^  p^MlS7, 18a] 


Crkiticat.  ITrvs,  ) 


On  UUramanne. 


291 


boiling,  or  by  leaving  the  liquid  in  an  open  vessel,  over 
night,  previous  to  distilling  with  the  sulphur. 
DaJton  Sqnare,  Lancaster,  September  25th. 


ON  ULTRAMARINE. 

BT  DR.  ERNST  ROHRia. 


The   manufacture  of  artificial  ultramarine 
{preat  interest,  and  has  been  the  object 


is  one  of 
of  careful 
mvestigations  by  many  eminent  chemists  during  the 
last  fifty  years.  But  none  of  these  investigations  have 
shown  the  real  cause  of  the  colour  of  ultramarine,  nor 
have  they  given  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  chemical 
dianges  which  the  components  undergo  in  its  forma- 
tion. This  explanation  would  be  the  more  interesting 
as  it  would  supply  some  hints  with  regard  to  the 
nature  of  the  colouring  matter  of  many  minerals, 
besides  many  chemical  and  metallurgical  products. 

It  seems  surprising  to  the  writer  that  tnis  manufao- 
tore  has  not  been  introduced  into  England,  as  the 
materials  used  in  it  are  partially  English,  and  the 
others  could  be  obtained  cheaper  here  than  in  Q-ermany 
and  France,  where  the  manufacture  is  carried  on  to  a 
great  extent  j  and  as  furthermore  the  greatest  trade 
and  consumption  of  ultramarine  takes  place  in  England. 

These  facts  will,  perhaps,  render  the  following  com- 
munication acceptable  to  the  readers  of  the  Cuemioal 
News  : 

In  former  Jbimes  ultramarine  was  produced  from 
jopit  lazuli^  and  being  very  rare  had  double  the  value 
of  gold.  The  accidental  formation  of  blue  ultramarine- 
like masses  in  certain  chemical  proct'sses  (manufacture 
of  soda)  induced  trials  for  the  production  of  artificial 
ultramarine.  Such  trials  by  Guimet,  in  Toulouse,  and 
G-melin,  in  Tubingen,  were  crowned  with  success, 
almost  simultaneously,  though  both  investigations 
were  carried  on  independently  of  each  other. 

Guimet  has  always  kept  his  discovery  a  secret,  but 
Gmelin*  published  his  in  .1828,  and  may,  therefore,  be 
considered  the  founder  of  the  present  ultramarine 
manufacture. 

Both  investigators  have,  no  doubt,  taken  as  the 
basis  of  their  experiments  the  composition  of  the 
natural  ultramarine  from  lapis  lazuli.  The  composition 
of  that  ultramarine,  according  to  Desormes  and  Cle- 
ment*, is  as  follows: — 

Silica 358 

Alumina 34-8 

Soda 23*2 

Sulphur 3-1 

Carbonate  of  lime 3-1 

Some  inferior  sorts  also  contain  iron. 

CfmelitCa  mode  of  operation  is  the  following  : 

Solution  of  caustic  soda  is  saturated  with  hydrated 
silica,  and  to  this  hydrated  alumina,  containing  90  per 
cent  water,  is  added  in  such  quantity  that  35  parts  of 
dry  silica,  will  correspond  to  30  parts  of  di-y  alumina. 
This  mixture  is  evaporated  to  dryness.  It  is  then 
mixed  with  some  sulphur,  pulverised  and  thoroughly 
mixed  with  an  addition  of  drv  carbonate  of  soda  and 
flowers  of  sulphur.  A  quantity  of  each  of  the  latter 
two  substances  is  added  equal  in  weight  to  the  above 
dried  mixture.  This  compound  is  pressed  into  a  cru- 
cible, heated  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  kept  at  a  red- 
heat  for  two  hours.  The  resulting  green-yellow  mass 
is  then  heated  in  contact  with  the  air  till  it  becomes 

•  AnnalM  de  Chemie  Ixvii,  317, 

t  IfahtruifentfutfL  Abttdlngeti,  WurUnibtrg^  ii.  191. 


blue.  Afler  this  it  is  boiled  out  with  water  and  well 
washed. 

A  number  of  different  modes  of  producing  ultra- 
marine were  afterwards  published  by  chemical  investi- 
gators. 

Rohiquef*  recommended  a  mixture  of  2  parts  china- 
clay,  3  sulphur,  an  I  3  carbonate  of  soda. 

Tiremon^i  100  parts  alumina  or  hydrated  alumina, 
1075  crystallised  (or  400  dry)  carbonate  of  soda,  221 
sulphur,  3  sulphide  of  arsenic. 

Priickner^X  200  parts  sulphide  of  sodium  (prepared 
by  heating  sulphate  of  soda  with  carbon  and  some 
sulphur),  50  clay  as  pure  as  possible,  and  i  green 
copperas. 

Brunner%  heated  a  mixture  of  70  parts  sand,  240 
alum  (the  weight  calculated  for  anhydrous  alum),  48 
carbon,  144  sulphur,  and  240  carbonate  of  soda,  in  a 
closed  crucible,  at  a  low  red-heat  for  about  i^  hours. 
The  resulting  mass,  partly  of  a  ^eenish  hue,  and 
partly  of  a  radish  yellow  hue  (and  which  was  reduced 
to  ^  of  its  original  volume)  was  washed.  He  obtained 
a  light  ash-grey  powder,  which  he  mixed  with  an 
equal  weight  of  su5>hur,  and  with  i  J  times  its  weight  of 
dry  carbonate  of  soda  and  heated  as  before.  This  caused 
it  to  take  a  blueish-green  hue.  He  then  spread  flowers 
of  sulphur,  until  about  j^  of  an  inch  in  depth,  upon  an 
iron  plate,  and  on  this  a  similar  quantity  of  tlie  last 
product,  after  having  pulverised  it.  By  heating  the 
iron  plate,  he  ignited  the  sulphur,  taking  care  to  keep 
the  temperature  as  low  as  po?sible,  avoiding  heating 
the  ultramarine  to  redness.  After  repeatmg  such 
heating  with  sulphur  3 — 4  times,  the  ultramarine 
became  of  a  fine  dark  blue  colour.  In  this  process  it 
is  necessary. to  remove  the  ultramarine  from  the  plate, 
and  to  pulverise  it  afresh  each  time. 

By  roasting  this  ultramarine  with  sulphur  it  increases 
in  weight  from  5 — 10  per  cent,  and  it  is  possible  for  it 
to  increase  still  more  if  the  heating  is  oftener  repeated ; 
however,  the  colour  will  not  improve  any  more.  If 
the  ultramarine  be  heated  without  addition  of  sulphur, 
a  decrease  of  weight  takes  place  (probably  as  then 
sulphur  becomes  exchanged  for  oxygen),  the  ultrama- 
rine becomes  paler  and  tlie  powder  more  compact  and 
granular. 

According  to  OenfeWa  published  method  ultramarine 
is  produced  in  manufactures  from  a  mixture  of  clay 
wifii  sulphate  of  soda  and  carbon  ;  or  with  carbonate 
of  soda,  sulphur,  and  less  carbon  ;  and  also  with  sul- 
phate of  soda,  carbon,  carbonate  of  soda,  and  sulphur. 
by  heating  tliese  mixtures  a  green  ultramarine  would 
result,  which  bv  roasting  with  sulphur,  in  contact  with 
air,  would  becAne  blue. 

JliUer\  used  for  the  production  of  ultramarine,  a 
mixture  of  clay,  sulphate  of  soda,  and  carbon. 

He  used  china-clay  fix)m  Cornwall,  of  the  following 
composition. 

Silica 1 47*06 

Alumina 36*47 

Peroxide  of  iron i*io 

Potash 31^ 

Water 1205 

9984 


*  AnnaU  de  Pharn^^  x.  91. 
t  Comptw  Rendtut^  xiv.  761. 
t  JHngL  Polyi.  Joum^  xciv.  388. 


,  Poggend.  Annaf^m^  Ixvii.  54"  • 
i  Butter  ub«r  det  Ultram^  9at^ 


^otHng&n,  iS6o^ 


(BagUdi  BdUtoo,  ToL  XVI,  int.  4ltf^  peffw  IBS,  lfl».] 


292 


On  Ultramarine. 


kOaKmeAJL^ww% 


JMa^l^n. 


This  mixture  was  roasted  at  a  strong  red-heat  (ooo- 
950°)  J  the  result  was  raw  ultramarine,  white  in  colour, 
similar  to  that  obtained  by  Brunner.  This  he  caJled 
white  ultramarine,  as  it  is  the  first  transformation  of 
the  alumina  by  the  action  of  sulphide  of  sodium.  This 
white  compound,  when  exposed  to  atmospheric  air  at 
common  temperatures,  does  not  change,  but  if  heated 
for  some  time  at  loo*',  it  slightly  increases  in  weights 
and  if  heated  to  400°  in  firee  contact  with  air,  it  will 
take  a  dark  yellow  colour  which  changes  to  green  on 
cooling.  If  the  heating  is  continued  for  a  longer 
period  the  Ultramarine  will  become  blue.  All  the 
colours  produced  in  this  way  are  very  pale,  but  they 
may  be  made  much  darker  ;  the  change  takes  place  in 
a  shorter  time  if  sulphurous  acid  or  chlorine  is  made  to 
act  at  the  same  time,  upon  white  ultramarine. 

The  components  of  the  white  ultramarine,  as  fur- 
nished by  analysis,  are  the  following : — 

AUO, 31-17 

Na 1775 

J 133 

Fe • 0*07 

a  S 478 

6  S 1-42 

a  S  is  that  which  (according  to  Eisner  and  Breunlin) 
is  evolTed  as  si^huretted  hydrogen  gas,  and  6  S  that 
sulphur  which  is  retained  in  the  residue. 

The  composition  of  the  white  ultramarine  may  be 
calculated  as  follows  :•--- 

SiO, 3906 

AlsO, 3117 

NaO 1475 

KO i(So 

KaS 309 

NaS, 488 

FeS o-ii 

9966 


When  this  white  compound  ia  heated  it  becomes 
green  and  then  blue,  as  one  atom  of  S  of  the  NaSi 
bums  to  sulphurous  add,  causing  the  transformation  of 
the  colour. 

As  before  stated,  the  addition  of  sulphur  hastens  the 
process  of  conversion.  In  one  of  Ritier^s  experiments, 
the  quantity  of  extracted  sulphur  amounted  to  1*3 
per  cent  and  exactly  the  same  quantity  was  contained 
in  the  NaO,SOi  (vy2)  formed.  From  this  and  from 
the  proportion  of  SOs  to  the  increase  of  weight  it  may 
be  calculated  that  two  equivalents,  SO9  combine  with 
one  equivalent,  KaS  forming  NaO, 80s  4- 2S.  It  is 
singular  that  the  sulphur  of  the  Kdfi  is  not  extract- 
ei,  and  that  it  combines  with  another  portion  oINaSs 
of  the  ultramarine  forming  a  higher  sulphuret  of  so- 
dium, while  none  of  the  sulphur  existing  as  SOa  is 
absorbed. 

By  calculating  one  equivalent  oxygen  for  one  equiv- 
alent of  the  sulphuric  acid  formed  according  to  the 
first  mentioned  process : — 

(Na  A + SjO*— XaS, + NaO,SO, + S). 

It  win  be  found  that  the  number  calculated  will 
express  almost  exactly  the  increase  of  weight  found : — 

Increase  of  weight,  i  89  . .  4-49  . ,  4*38  per  cent 
80,  +  0... 13-95  ..  4-44  .,  420        " 

It  is  evident  that  sulphurous  acid  does  not  enter  into 
the  constitution  of  ultramarine,  and  aots  only  by 
abstracting  some  sodium  from  it 


According  to  Gentele's  observatioii,  chlorine  will 
answer  the.  same  purpose :  Hitter  used  it,  and  found  it 
succeed  perfectly  well.  As  sulphurous  acid  only  forms 
SOaNaO,  and  CI  forms  NaCl,  omitting  mention  of  a 
trace  of  CIS.  From  this  it  may  be  concluded,  with 
perfect  safety,  that  the  sulphur  is  exclusively  combined 
with  sodium.  If  it  were  combined  with  Al  and  Si, 
MCI  and  SiOa  would  be  found  in  the  aqueous  extract 
besides  NaCl,  which  is  not  the  case  if  dry  chlorine  fi:6e 
from  hydrochloric  acid  is  employed,  and  if  the  heat  is 
not  excessively  high  and  of  long  duration.  This  (act 
also  proves  tliat  the  NaS  in  ultramarine  exists  in  red 
chemical  combination  with  the  silicate ;  otherwise  it 
would  be  completely  decomposed  by  the  action  of 
chlorine.    The  silicate  prevents  the  Na  CI  from  under* 

foing  decompositLon,  and  is  able  to  comlxne  with 
[aS. 

The  quantity  of  oxygen  which  is  absorbed  may  be 
calculated  from  the  proportion  of  the  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  gas  evolved  by  acids  firom  the  blue  ul^a&ia- 
rine.  By  deducting  the  quantity  of  S,  which  is  equiv- 
alent to  the  absorbed  chlorine  from  the  a  S  of  the 
white  ultramarine,  the  remainder  will  coirespond  te 
that  quantity  of  sulphur  which  should  be  evolved  by 
acids.  And,  as  for  each  equivident  of  O  afterwards 
absorbed,  one  equivalent  less  will  appear  as  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen,  the  quantity  of  S  in  question  may  be 
calculated  fix>m  the  difference  between  that  number 
and  that  which  expresses  the  a  S  of  the  blue  ultrama- 
rine. The  real  quantity  will  be  eqiuil  to  half  the 
difference,  as  the  equivalent  of  oxygen  is  half  as  large 
as  that  of  sulphur. 

Riiter  found,  by  analyos,  blu^e  ultramarine  to  be 
composed  ctf : — 

Silica • . .  40*40 per oant 

Alumina 3188      " 

Boda 15-18      " 

Potash 1-65      '* 

l"?^]^-^ 7M      « 

Hyposulphite  of  Soda ....     i  -84      « 

The  amount  of  sulphide  of  sodium  and  hyposulphite 
of  soda  is,  of  course,  variable,  and  depends  on  the 
greater  or  less  action  of  sulphurous  acid  or  chlorine. 

Several  other  formulae  for  producing  ultramarine 
have  been  published.  Only  those  already  referred  to 
have  been  mentioned,  as  the  investigators  have  at  the 
same  time  started  some  theory  explaining  the  blue 
colouration. 

Having  been  engaged  in  ultramarine  manufiM^ture 
for  a  number  of  years,  I  may  also  state  that  all  the 
published  modes  of  producing  ultramarine  are  incft^ 
pable  of  application  to  the  manufacture  on  a  large  and 
lucrative  scale,  though  they  are  all  very  well  for 
analytical  researches  in  the  laboratory.  I  may  be 
allowed  to  state  here  also,  that  the  mixture  for  mann- 
facturing  ultramarine  is  not  the  only  secret  connected 
with  it ;  there  are  m«iy  others  besides,  which  manu- 
facturers mostly  obtain  by  many  very  expensive  ex- 
periments. 

The  supposed  colouring  principle  in  ultramarine  has 
been  variously  stated  by  different  investigators. 

Before  the  composition  of  lapis  laeuli  was  knowB, 
it  was  believed  that  copper  was  the  cause  of  the  Uue 
colour. 


[Bnglirii  Edition,  T^LXTXiiirAtt^fiVvlB^iVe-^UltVVt^  100 1  Wo.  41^  paga  812.1 


CnmcAL  Newt, ) 


On  Ultramarine. 


^93 


Marffgraf  *  first  confuted  that  opinion,  and  he  attrib- 
uted the  blue  colour  to  iron.  Kaprotht  was  of  the 
same  opinion. 

Quyton  Morveaut  also  attributed  the  colouring  mat- 
ter to  iron.  He  had  observed  that  sulphate  of  lime 
containing  iron  became  blue  when  heated  with  carbon, 
and  that  the  blue  colour  disappeared  again  when  it 
Was  acted  upon  with  acids. 

Varrentrapf  inferred  from  the  analysis  of  nosean, 
sapphirine,  lapis  lazuli,  and  artificial  ultramarine,  that 
the  intensity  of  the  blue  colour  increased  witn  tJie 
•mount  of  sulphur  and  iron,  and  he  considered  it  pos- 
sible that  the  blue  colour  was  attributable  to  sulpnide 
of  iron. 

This  analysis  of  artificial  ultramarine  gives  the  follow- 
ing numbers : — 

Silica • .  45*604 

Alumina 23*304 

^oda 21*476 

Potash 1-752 

Lime  . . . .« 0021 

Sulphur 1*685 

Sulphuric  Add 2*830 

Peroxide  of  Iron 1063 

Chloriue trace 

9^735 

Prucknerl  stated  that  he  could  not  produce  ultra- 
marine from  clay  which  was  free  from  iron ;  he,  there- 
fore, recommended  an  addition  of  green  copperas,  and 
was  of  opinion  that  iron  was  essential  for  the  blue 
edoaring. 

msnerT  arrived,  by  a  number  of  experiments,  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  colouring  principle  was  a  com- 
bination of  sulphide  of  iron  and  sulphide  of  sodium. 
He  found  that  Gmelin's  ultramarine  base  free  from 
iron  heated  with  sulphur  and  soda,  also  free  from 
iron,  produced  a  yellowish-white  mass,  whilst  when 
Qsin^  materials  containing  iron,  a  green  mass  was 
obtamed. 

Now,  the  supposition  of  iron  being  the  blue  colour- 
ing' matter  has  a  very  weak  foundation,  since,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  proved  by  Gmelin,  Desormes,  Clement, 
Bonnner,  and  Ritter,  tnat  ultramarine  may  be  pro- 
duced from  materials  free  from  iron. 

Iron,  and  likewise  lime,  magnesia,  etc.,  substances 
wbich  are  often  to  be  met  with  in  ultramarine,  are 
only  accidental  components,  and  have  no  relation 
whatever  to  its  blue  or  green  colour. 

I>e80rmes  and  Clement  were  the  first  who  found,  by 
analysing  the  natural  mineral,  that  it  contained  no  iron. 
This  metal,  therefore,  could  not  be  the  colouring  prin- 
elple ;  but  they  expressed  no  fturther  opinion  on  the 
sn^ect. 

Ghmelin  considered  the  sulphur  as  the  cause  of  the 
blue  colour.  He  thought  he  bad  observed  that  in  de- 
composing ultramarine  by  hydrochloric  acid,  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen  gas  and  sulphuric  acid  were  formed, 
and  he  concluded  from  this  that  either  a  metallic  sul- 
^lide,  together  with  a  sulphate,  were  contained  in 
ultramarine  or  hyjjosulphurous  acid,  which  was  decora- 
posed  into  sulphuric  acid  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  a 
decomposition  of  water  taking  place  at  the  same  time. 

f  JCl^p^oW  Seitrage  «.  Ckem.  KBnrUm^  4«r  Min4f%Uim^  <.  iS^ 

±  JPoggimS.  AnnaUn  xUx.  521,  55a 

f  ^nn.  ds  Chimie,  walv.  54. 

f  Ji^mmal/.  JPraet.  OhmUs,  1844,  Id.  3. 

^  Ukmma*/,  Praet,  Ch$nUty  zziy.  085,  xxtL  xo6w 


Gf^melin  seems  to  have  given  the  preference  to  the 
latter  supposition,  which  is  yet  clearly  erroneous,  as 
hyposulphurous  acid,  when  separated  from  dilute  solu- 
tions of  its  salts  by  means  of  an  acid,  becomes  decom- 
posed into  equal  equivalents  of  sulphurous  acid  and 
sulphur. 

Schweigger  Seidel*  states  that  the  colouring  matter 
of  ultramarine  is  Vogers  blue  sulphuric  acid  (solution 
of  sulphur  in  anhydrous  sulphunc  acid)  j  but  he  does 
not  prove  how  sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas  could  pos- 
sibly be  evolved  from  that  acid :  and,  besides,  there  is 
no  sulphuric  acid  contained  in  ultramarine. 

Eisner  called  attention  to  the  important  fact  that  by 
decomposing  ultramarine  by  means  of  acids,  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen  gas  was  evolved,  and  that,  at  the  same 
time^  sulphur  became  separated.  He  found  the  pro- 
portion of  the  evolved  sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas  to 
that  of  sulphur  to  be — 


In  green  ultramarind  at 3-6 

"blue        do  " I 


I  and 
7 


and  he  supposed  that  the  blue  ultramarine  contained  a 
higher  degree  of  sulphuration  <^  sodium  than  the  green 
ultramarine. 

Breunlin\  was  of  the  same  opinion.  A  great  number 
of  analyses  of  the  blue  and  green  ultramarine  induced 
him  to  consider  that  both  kinds  of  ultramarine  con- 
sisted of  a  combination  of  a  nephelin-like  silicate  and 
sulphide  of  sodium,  the  latter  in  blue  ultramu'ine 
having  the  formula  NaSt,  and  in  green  ultramarine, 
NaSa. 

He  made  the  following  formula  to  represent  the  com- 
position of  the  ultramarine : — 

2([(2NaO)5iOj4-2[Al,0„  Si0,])+Na8») 

and  for  green  ultramarine — 

2([(2NaO)SiO J  +  2[AU0„  SiO,]^  +  NaS.) 

Gentetl  found  also  by  analysing  different  yellowish- 
green  sorts  of  ultramarine,  a  proportion  of  evolved 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas  and  separated  sulphur  cor- 
responding to  NaSi,  but  ne  is  of  opinion  that  the  green 
ultramarine  has  a  very  different  composition,  and  he 
assumes  that  it  contained  a  mixture  of  different  com- 
binations of  sulphur  with  sodium.  He  found  in  one 
sample  of  blue  ultramarine  a  proportion  corresponding 
to  NaSio,  and  he  thinks  it  not  improbable  that  ultra- 
marine consists  of  a  silicate  of  alumina,  and  a  combi- 
nation of  silicate  with  sulphide  of  sodium.  But  he 
considers  the  proportions  not  sufficiently  ascertained  to 
justify  forming  a  formula. 

Wtlkens^  concluded  from  this  mode  of  producing 
ultramarine  that  the  blue  colouring  principle  was  hy- 
posulphurous acid  in  combination  with  soda  and  NaS. 

Stotzell  considered  sulphite  or  hyposulphite  of  soda 
to  be  the  cause  of  the  blue  colouration. 

Brunner%  supposed  that  blue  ultramarine  contained 
oxidised  sulphur ;  but  he  made  this  supposition  from  an 
erroneous  observation  (influence  of  burning  sulphur 
upon  green  ultramarine). 

JRitter  has  drawn  from  his  investigations  on  the  sub- 
ject the  following  conclusions : — 

I.  The  combination  formed  by  heating  NaS  together 

♦  Schweigger'a  Joum.  !!▼.  280. 

t  Ann.  de  Ch^me  v.  Pkarm.,  zovll.  995. 

i  Dinffi.  polyt.  Joum.  exif.  xi6. 

1  Ann,  ds  Chem.  wtd  Phartn^  xetx.  aS. 

I  Ann.  d%  Ohtm.  fmd  fkarm.  xerit.  35. 

^  Poggend,  Annalen,  IzTii.  541. 


[BBglMi  SdMon,  VbL  Xn. ;  Ho.  4S^  M^  SU»  ttS.] 


294 


New  Apparatus  for  Techniccil  Analysis  of  Petroleum. 


J  Cbbkioax  Nsm. 
1      D^yim, 


with  silicate  of  alumina  is  colourless,  and  consists  of 
silicate  of  alumina  and  soda  and  NaS,  and  a  higher  sul- 
phide of  sodium;  this  compound  contains  no  combina- 
tion of  oxygen  with  sulphur. 

2.  By  extracting  some  sodium  from  the  white  ultra- 
marine (by  the  action  of  CI  or  SOa)  a  corresponding 
quantity  of  S  will  combine  with  the  remaining  NaS, 
and  form  a  higher  sulphuret  of  sodium. 

3.  The  white  ultramarine  converted  in  such  way  ab- 
sorbs oxygen  (one  part  of  the  NaS  being  transformed 
into  an  oxygeu  compound),  and  takes  the  blue  colour. 
The  blue  ultramarine,  therefore,  forms  a  combination 
of  a  silicate  of  alumina  and  soda,  poly  sulphide  of  sodium, 
and  sodium  salts  with  one  of  the  oxides  of  sulphur. 

4.  It  is  probable  that  the  combination  of  0  with  S 
contained  m  blue  ultramarine  is  either  as  sulphite  or 
hyposulphite  of  soda;  the  latter  is  the  more  likely. 

5.  KS,  when  heated  with  silicate  of  alumina,  does 
not  form  an  ultramarine-like  combination ;  the  result  is 
a  silicate  of  alumina  and  potash  free  from  sulphur. 

We  know  that  sulphur  may  take  a  blue  colour  in 
three  cases: — 

1.  When  sulphur  is  in  combination  with  anhydrous 
sulphuric  acid ; 

2.  By  melting  Rhodanide  of  potassium  at  a  tempera^ 
ture  approaching  a  red  heat; 

3.  The  sulphur  which  gets  separated  in  mixing  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  with  chloride  of  iron. 

(Considering  these  facts,  it  may  be  possible  that  a  blue 
modification  of  sulphur  may  exist  in  ultramarine. 


NEW  APPARATUS  FOR  TECHNICAL  ANALY- 
SIS OP  PETROLEUM  AND  KINDRED  SUB- 
STANCES. 

BT  8.   F.    PEOKBAM. 

In  the  Chemical  News  for  August  3i8t,  1866  (Eng, 
Ed,)  I  noticed  a  paper  in  which  was  described  a  process 
with  apparatus,  for  the  assay  of  coals  and  other  sub- 
stances yielding  illuminating  and  paraffin  oils.*  After 
stating  the  fact,  that  no  process  had  hitherto  been 
described  by  wnich  technical  analyses  of  bituminous 
and  pyro -bituminous  substances  could  be  made  to 
yield  analogous  and  satisfactory  results,  the  author 
proceeds  to  describe  what  I  should  suppose  to  be  a 
very  valuable  process  for  the  primary  distillation  in 
the  technical  analysis  of  coals  and  shales.  I  do  not 
repeat  the  description  here,  as  it  would  require  consid- 
erable space,  and  it  can  only  be  applied  to  the  treat- 
ment of  solid  substances,  which  do  not  melt  at  a 
temperature  below  that  required  for  their  distillation. 
As  the  original  paper  is  easy  of  access,  I  would  recom- 
mend its  perusal  to  all  who  wish  to  make  technical 
analyses  of  either  coals  or  shales.  The  apparatus 
is  simple  and  inexpensive,  and  I  am  aware  of  no 
reason  why  the  results  furnished  by  it  should  not 
prove  highly  satisfactory,  especially  as  its  oj>eration 
bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  most  improved 
processes  of  manufacture  on  the  large  scale. 

But  beyond  the  primary  distillation  of  the  coal  or 
shale,  I  do  not  consider  that  our  autlior  has  added 
anything  to  processes  long  in  use.  When  he  arrives 
at  the  second  distillation,  or  that  which  corresponds  to 

•  On  the  AiSfty  of  Goal,  ete..  for  Crado  Paraffin  Oil,  and  of  Crude 
on  and  Petroleam  for  Spirit,  Pbofcogen  Lnbrloaitng  Oil  and  Paraffin, 
by  John  Attfleld,  Ph.  \}^  F.aS ,  Dlreotor  of  the  Laboratorr  of  the 
PharmaceaUcal  Society  of  Great  Britain,  Cubm.  Naws,  yol.  zly.  p.  q& 
Enif.  Ed,  ,  "^  ^ 


the  primary  distillation  of  petroleum,  he  is  forced  to 
return  to  tlie  old  process  of  fractional  distillation  (rom 
a  common  tubulated  glass  retort.  This  process  is  not 
only  very  unsatisfactory  in  its  results,  but  it  is  quite 
expensive,  and  is  attended  with  considerable  danger 
from  fire.  It  is  unsatisfactory,  because  the  separatioa 
of  fluids  of  different  densities  and  different  boiling 
points,  is  much  less  complete  than  by  Warren's  pro- 
cess, lor  any  temperature  below  the  boiling  pobt  of 
mercury  ;  in  fact,  for  any  temperature  necessary  to 
ensure  the  complete  separation  of  the  light  oils  usually 
called  naphtha,  and  tne  '^photogen"  or  illuminating 
oil*  It  is  expensive,  for  the  reason  that  if  the  distil- 
lation is  conducted  to  dryness  the  retort  is  sacrificed, 
as  it  is  rarely  possible  to  remove  the  coke  with  safety. 
It  is  attended  with  danger  from  fire,  because  the  beb 
retorts  are  liable  to  fracture  from  the  high  heat  to 
which  they  are  exposed,  even  when  the  greatest  care  is 
exercised  in  conducting  the  operation. 

I  was  about  to  commence  a  technical  examinati<m 
of  several  specimens  of  California  petroleum,  when  the 
above  mentioned  paper  arrested  my  attention,  and  I 
was  unpleasantly  conscious  when  I  had  finished  its 
perusal  that  in  respect  to  apparatus  for  this  department 
of  research  my  want  was  just  as  far  from  being 
supplied  as  it  w^as  six  years  since,  when  I  conunenced 
the  study  of  petroleums.  I  had  but  a  small  quantity  of 
each  specimen,  and  besides  subjecting  them  simply  to 
fractional  distillation,  I  wished  to  test  them  by  Young's 

Erocess  of  distillation,  under  pressure.  To  conduct  ue 
itter  process  in  glass  was  an  impossibility. 
To  answer  my  purpose,  therefore,  my  apparatm 
must  fulfil  the  following  conditions.  It  should  be 
capable  of  working  not  more  than  one  and  one- 
half  litres,  and  admit  of  being  heated  by  an  ordinazy 
gas  furnace.  The  joints  shoi^d  sustain  a  pressure  U 
forty  pounds  per  square  inch,  and  it  should  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  admit  of  the  ready  extraction  of  the  coke. 
I  could  find  no  description  of  any  such  apparatus,  but 
after  numerous  failures  and  corrections,  in  an  apparatus 
of  my  own  invention  I  found  my  want  so  well  and 
fully  supplied,  that  I  am  led  to  offer  a  description,  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who,  like  myself,  have  felt  the 
need  of  such  an  instrument 

Upon  each  extremity  of  a  piece  of  a  wrouj^ht  iron 
gas-pipe,  three  inches  in  diameter  and  twenty  inches  in 
length,  a  cap  is  securely  screwed.  The  caps  should  be 
heated  nearly  to  redness  and  screwed  on  to  the  cold 
pipe  in  order  that  by  their  contraction  they  may  be 
more  firmly  secured.  The  pipe  is  then  put  in  a  lathe 
and  the  caps  turned  off  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  a 
band  upon  each  end  of  the  pipe,  about  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  in  width,  and  two  circular  discs  of  iron,  each 
about  four  inches  in  diameter,  and  one-fourth  of  aa 
inch  in  thickness,  having  a  projection  upon  one  of  their 
surfaces  to  which  a  wrench  may  be  applied.  The 
edges  of  each  extremity  of  the  pipe  with  l^e  bands  are 
now  carefully  turned  off,  presenting  smooth  sui&oea 
slightly  bevelled  inwardly.  The  pU^e  siuface  of  each 
of  the  discs  is  then  so  tuimed  off  upon  its  circumfcreuoei 
that  it  will  exactly  fit  the  bevelled  edge  of  the  pipe» 
This  completes  the  retort. 

A  stout  parallelogram  is  then  made  half  an  indi 
longer  and  wider  than  the  ret<Mrt,  one  of  the  shorter 
sides  of  which  should  contain  in  the  middle  a  stout 
set-screw,  and  the  other  an  orifice  made  to  fit  the 
projection  upon  the  disc.  This  may  be  called^  fiwne^ 

•  For  details  of  thla  procew.  Me  Cni.  Nawa,  toL  sti,  p  Sv-Ohf- 
JBcf. 


[Bnglida 


VoLZVX»NOi41%paKeai3;  ir«. 4U, pi«t  190.] 


VmaanCAi.  News,  I 


iVi??/)  Apparatt^/or  Technical  AnalyHa  of  Peh'oletmi. 


^95 


Two  holes  are  then  drilled  a  short  distance  from 
either  extrenuty  of  the  retort^  and  in  a  line  parallel  to 
the  axis  of  the  retort.  One  of  these  should  admit  a 
half  inch,  and  the  other  an  inch  gas-pipe.  With  this 
arrangement  the  retort  may  be  used  either  for  press- 
ure distillation,  or  for  distillation  by  the  ordinary 
process.  It  also  admits  of  being  connected  with  an 
apparatus  for  furnishing  superheated  steam  or  carbonic 
acid  gas,  either  of  which  are  sometimes  used  to  assist 
the  distillation  of  hydrocarbons.  Both  the  goose-neck 
and  valve  should  be  connected  with  the  retort  by  a 
short  piece  of  gas-pipe  and  a  brass  "  union"  or  coup- 
ling, as  the  difference  in  the  expansion  of  brass  and 
iron  would  cause  a  joint  of  the  two  metals  to  leak  very 
badly  when  subjected  to  a  high  temperature.  The 
goose-neck  may  be  made  ot  the  ordinary  form, 
tapering  from  one  inch  to  one-quarter  inch,  and 
about  ten  inches  in  length.  The  material  should  be 
copper  brazed.  The  valve  will  be  described  here- 
after. 

In  order  to  use  the  retort^  one  of  the  discs  is  luted 
with  a  very  thin  paste  of  plaster  of  Paris  and  firmly 
pressed  into  its  seat  The  retort  is  then  slipped  into 
the  frame  and  left  a  moment  for  the  luting  to  set,  the 
open  end  bein^  uppermost.  The  oil  is  next  poured  in 
and  the  other  <Bsc  luted  into  its  seat,  the  frame  adjusted 
and  the  set-screw  firmly  set  up,  so  as  to  securely  fasten 
both  discs  in  their  places.  The  goose-neck  or  valve  is 
then  adjusted,  and  the  connections  made  with  the 
worm  and  receiver.  It  will  be  observed  that  all 
the  expansion  that  takes  place  in  this  retort  only 
brings  the  different  portions  of  the  apparatus  more 
firm]  V  together,  instead  of  causing  them  to  crack  apart 
and  leak  with  every  slight  variation  of  temperature, 
as  is  usually  the  case.  With  this  arrangement  I  was 
able  to  distil  fifteen  hundred  cubic  centimeters  of 
petroleum  to  dryness,  the  last  portions  coming  over  at  a 
red  heat  The  distillation  was  commenced  with  two  ordi- 
nary Bunsen's  gas  lamps,  increased  as  required  to  four, 
and  towards  the  end  of  the  operation  to  six — the  latter 
Bnmber  being  sufficient  to  bring  the  side  of  the  retort 
in  contact  with  the  flame  to  a  bright  cherry-red  heat. 

Any  one  who  has  attempted  the  distillation  of  small 
quantities  of  petroleum  in  either  iron  or  copper  stills, 
or  retorts  of  whatever  form,  imbedded  in  coal  fires  or 
suspended  over  them,  must  be  aware  of  the  difficulty  of 
BO  regulating  the  fire  as  to  secure  a  constantly  increas- 
ing heat  from  beginning  to  the  end  of  this  operation. 
No  such  difficulty  is  experienced  with  this  apparatus. 
In  it  the  lightest  oils  may  be  distilled  by  means  of  a 
sand-bath,  and  the  heaviest  by  applying  the  flame  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  lamps  directly  to  Uie  retort.    The 
joints  of  this  apparatus  when  luted  with  the  smallest 
possible  quantity  of  finely  pulverized  calcined  sulphate 
of  lime,  admit  of  the  least  loss   by  leakage  of  any 
metallic  retort  that  I  have  ever  used.    With  the  exer- 
cise, of  proper  care  the  amount  of  distillate  from  Cali- 
fornia petroleum  averaged  above  ninety  per  cent,  by 
measure,  and  with  a  pressure  of  thirty  pounds  per 
square  inch  the  average  was  eighty-seven  and  one-half 
per  cent.    In  the  latter  instance  the  loss  was  increased 
by    the   formation  of  gas  and  vapours  that  passed 
through  the  worm  uncondensed  at  8®  0.    The  largest 
amount  of  distillate  that  I  have  seen  recorded,   as 
yielded  by  any  material  of  undoubted  natural  origin, 
is  ninety *five  and  one-half  per  cent,  by  measure.'*'  The 


•  B«port  of  C.  K.  WsrrexL  Esq^  eontaln«d  Id  an  article  on  Petro- 
leum In  Csllfomla,  by  ProC  a,  Sllllmao,  NatioiiAl  Intelligencer,  Jfeb. 
7th,  %966. 


distillation  of  which  this  was  the  product  was  per* 
formed  wholly  in  glass,  without  pressure,  the  crude 
material  being  a  Cidifomia  petroleum  of  medium  den- 
sity, yielding  no  permanent  gases  and  no  naphtha.  In 
this  case  the  loss  may  be  estimated  at  zero.  I  think  it 
will  be  readily  conceded,  that  any  apparatus  which 
admits  of  the  ready  extraction  of  the  coke,  and  at  the 
same  time  yields  an  average  of  ninety-two  and  one- 
half  per  cent  of  distillate,  furnishes  results  far  more 
satisfactory  than  any  hitherto  in  use  for  operating 
upon  so  small  a  quantity  as  fifteen  hundred  cubic 
cendmeters. 

A  tliermometer  may  be  inserted  in  the  smaller 
orifice,  for  noting  the  temperature  at  which  light  oils 
distil.  A  piece  of  gas-pipe  of  the  requisite  size  and 
about  two  inches  in  length  may  be  used  for  making 
the  connection,  the  thermometer  being  luted  into  one 
end  of  it.  When  but  one  of  the  openings  in  the  retort 
is  in  use,  the  other  may  be  closed  with  an  iron  plug. 

In  making  my  experiments  upon  Young^s  process  of 
distillation  under  pressure,  I  experienced  much  difficulty 
in  contriving  an  apparatus  that  would  enable  me  to 
register  the  amount  of  pressure,  and  at  the  same  time 
prevent  any  loss  of  vapour.  I  first  attempted  to 
register  the  pressure  by  means  of  a  U  tube,  the  arms  of 
which  were  of  unequal  length.  The  tube  was  filled 
with  mercury  to  a  level  with  the  shorter  arm,  and  the 
long  arm  sealed  with  a  column  of  air  above  the 
mercury.  The  pressure  was  indicated  by  the  rise  of 
mercury  in  the  longer  arm  and  consequent  compression 
of  the  air,  the  shorter  arm  being  in  communication 
with  the  retort.  The  escape  was  badly  regulated  by 
an  ordinary  stop-cock.  The  very  unequal  expansion 
of  glass  and  iron  prevented  me  from  making  a  tight 
joint  between  the  retort  and  U  tube. 

I  next  tried  a  small  valve  constructed  like  an  ordi- 
nary safety-valve.  I  found  it  impossible  with  this 
valve  to  prevent  a  large  amount  of  loss  from  escape  of 
vapour  around  the  spindle. 

I  next  tried  a  loaded  valve,  the  load  of  which  was 
placed  directly  upon  the  spindle,  the  whole  contained 
m  a  chamber  resembling  a  miniature  steam-chest,  from 
which  the  vapours  could  only  escape  into  the  worm. 
It  was  found  upon  trial  with  the  safety-valve  that  an 
orifice  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  was  too 
large  in  proportton  to  the  size  of  the  retort,  the  vapours 
escaping  in  too  large  volume  to  admit  of  a  continued 
flow  from  the  worm.  The  vapour  escaped  in  inter- 
mittent puffs,  thereby  causing  an  undulatory  movement 
from  the  requisite  amount  of  pressure  to  no  pressure 
at  alL  As  a  consequence,  the  results  rendered  were 
very  imperiect  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  I  made  the 
orifice  beneath  the  valve  only  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch 
in  diameter,  the  surface  of  the  orifice  being  to  that  of 
the  retort  as  one  to  sixty  thousand.  This  arrangement 
enabled  me  to  secure  a  constant  flow  of  vapour  from 
the  retort,  to  maintain  a  constant  pressure,  and  to 
preserve  a  constant  degree  of  temperature.  I  found  hj 
computation  that  a  pressure  of  two  ounces  avoirdupois 
upon  an  orifice  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
was  equivalent  to  a  pressure  of  forty  pounds  to  the 
square  inch,  yet  when  I  placed  a  weight  of  two  ounces 
upon  the  spindle,  which  of  itself  weighed  half  an  ounce, 
the  steam-gauge  registered  only  ten  pounds,  and  the 
oils  passed  through  it  unchanged  in  density.  Although 
I  employed  one  of  the  most  ddlful  workers  of  brass  in 
this  city  to  grind  the  valve,  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
fault  was  in  the  mechanical  execution  of  the  work,  and 
that  the  bearing  of  the  valve  was  upon  the  side  of  the 


V«l.ZVl,JV<b«ll» 


ug^Mo.] 


agfi 


Production  of  some  New  MetaUlo  Sulphocyanidea. 


1      JUe^vm. 


cone  instesMi  of  tt  its  apex,  leaving  a  minute  cavity 
beneath  the  vidve.  Thia  fault  could  only  be  rezdedied 
bj  increased  pressure.  The  chamber  being  too  small 
to  admit  of  placing  the  requisite  weight  upon  the 
flpindle,  I  made  use  of  a  spiral  spring,  the  force  of 
which  was  adjusted  by  an  ordinary  steam-gauge.  By 
^is  means  I  was  enabled  to  obtain  the  required  press^ 
nre  and  to  estimate  its  amount^  with  but  one  source  of 
error,  viz.,  the  diminution  in  the  elasticity  of  the  spring 
incident  to  the  high  temperature  of  the  vapours  of  tlie 
oil.  I  am  convinced  that  the  amount  of  this  diminution 
is  considerable  ;  I  have  estimated  it  at  one-fourth. 
The  original  elasticity  returns,  however,  as  soon  as  the 
spring  is  cold. 

The  following  is  a  descriptioB  of  the  valve  as  finally 
arranged.  A  piece  of  vnrought  iron  gas>pipe  one  inch 
in  diameter  and  three  inches  in  length  is  bored  out 
true,  and  an  orifiee  drilled  in  its  side  one  and  one- 
fourth  inches  from  the  upper  end,  into  which  is  brassed 
a  piece  of  quarter  inch  gas-pipe  about  tl»'ee  inches  in 
length.  Both  ends  are  now  turned  off  and  threads 
out  upon  'tiiem,  to  which  are  carelully  fitted  strong 
brass  caps.  The  upper  caps  should  be  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  perforated  two-thirds 
wough  from  the  inside  with  an  eighth-inch  drill,  the 
orifice  to  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  upper  end  or  tlie 
spindle.  There  should  be  a  nipple  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  in  length  upon  the  lower  cap,  to  connect  it  with 
the  retort  The  cap  should  be  about  one-half  an  inch 
in  thickness,  and  with  the  nipple,  should  be  perforated 
with  a  sixteenth  inch  drill  The  seat  of  the  valve 
should  be  excavated  in  the  inside  of  the  lower  cap. 
A  diaphragm  should  be  placed  within  the  iron  tube, 
one  inch  from  its  lower  end  to  serve  as  a  guide  for  the 
spindle,  through  the  centre  of  which  the  spindle  should 
pass,  while  around  it  should  be  numerous  small  open- 
ings to  allow  for  the  free  passage  of  the  vapour.  The 
valve  itself  should  be  turned  upon  the  end  of  a  spindle 
three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  carefully 
ground  into  its  seat.  The  length  of  the  spindle  should 
be  one-fourth  of  an  inch  less  than  the  distance  from 
file  seat  of  the  valve  to  the  bottom  of  the  orifice  upon 
the  inside  of  the  upper  cap,  when  both  caps  are  in 
position.  This  allows  the  spindle  to  lift  well,  with 
sufficient  room  for  the  passage  of  the  vapours.  The 
diameter  of  the  spindle  should  be  reduced  to  ono- 
eighth  inch  above  the  diaphragm.  A  spiral  spring,  of 
a  diameter  nearly  equal  to  the  interior  of  the  pipe, 
made  of  brass  wire  about  onenrixteenth  of  an  indi  in 
thickness,  is  so  adjusted  that  the  valve  would  be  raised 
against  the  elastic  force  of  the  spring.  This  is  effected 
by  gradually  reducing  the  diameter  of  the  coils  of  the 
lower  end  of  the  spring  to  one-eighth  inch,  when  it 
will  just  rest  upon  we  Moulder  upon  the  spindle.  The 
upper  coil  of  the  spring  should  just  touch  the  inside  of 
the  upper  cap.  when  it  is  firmly  screwed  up.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  tnat  a  force  sufficient  to  cause  the  spring 
to  contract  one  quarter  of  an  inch  is  equal  to  a  direct 
pressure  upon  the  valve  of  two  ounces.  This  depending 
for  the  same  length  of  spring  and  sise  of  wire  upon  the 
wmnher  of  coils  employed. 

With  this  apparatus  and  the  one  described  by  Mr. 
Attfield,  small  quantities  of  every  variety  of  bituminous 
and  pyro-bituminous  substances,  may  be  subjected  to 
treatment  analogous  to  the  most  improved  processes 
now  in  use  upon  the  large  scale.  The  results  are 
reliable  and  admit  of  ready  comparison.  The  cost  of 
the  retort  with  goose-neok  and  valve,  made  by  the 
Bioet  skilful  workmen,  is  about  twen^-^ve  dollan. 


OK  THE 

PRODUCTIOJS"  OF  SOME  NBW  METALLIC 
SULPHOCYANIDES, 

AWD    THE    SEPARATION    OF    CERTAIN    BASES    FROM    BACH 
OTHER  BY  THE  METHOD  THEREIN  EMPLOYED. 

BY  WILLIAM  SKET, 
AoAlyat  to  the  Ocologfoal  Bnrrej,  Few  Zeftland. 

The  principle  employed  in  the  production  of  the 
following  sulphocyanides  is  their  great  solubility  ia 
ether,  by  which  not  only  can  they  be  readily  removed 
from  their  aqueous  solutiou,  but  even  their  productiou 
in  some  instances  determined, 

SwlpliocFmiitde  or  ColMat* — ^If  an  alkaline  8ul]du>- 
cyanide  is  added  to  an  aqueous  solution  of  a  salt  of 
cobalt,  the  colour  thereof  is  merely  browned,  or,  if 
ether  is  ddook  up  with  the  cobalt  salt^  it  remsios 
colourless  ;  but  if  ether  is  shook  up  with  a  mixture  of 
the  two  salts,  a  blue  colouration  instantly  resuks, 
which,  on  the  subsidence  of  the  water,  is  found  to  be 
confined  to  the  etiier.  The  etheriai  solution  left  to 
evaporate  spontaneously,  affords  heautiful  slender  crys- 
tals of  a  dark  blue  colour,  containing  gulphocyaaogen 
and  cobalt. 

If  alcohol  is  substituted  for  ether,  the  solutimi  of  the 
mixed  salt  is  also  coloured  blue.  The  blue  colour  is 
destroyed  by  acetate  of  soda,  chloride  of  mercury,  sad 
hyposulphite  of  soda. 

SulplMkeyaBftde  of  Umnlvm* — ^If  ether  is  agitated 
with  a  solution  of  chloride  of  uranium^  it  rerasins 
colourless,  but  the  addition  of  sulphocyanide  of  potas- 
sium thereto  determines  the  uranium  to  the  ether  on 
further  agitation,  ailer  first  markedly  increasmg  the 
colour  of  the  uranium  solution.  On  examination,  Iha 
whole  of  tJie  metal  is  found  in  the  ether  united  with 
the  sulphocyanogen.  If  iron  is  present,  the  etheriai 
solution  will  have  a  more  or  less  red  colour.  In  this 
case  a  deoxidizing  agent  is  necessary  to  remove  ths 
iron,  and  thus  manifest  the  colour  i^oper  to  ura- 
nium. 

Svlpbeeyantae  of  nfotybdeiiiim. — A  sohitioa  of 
molybdic  acid  in  hydrochloric  acid  is  coloured  a  de^ 
yeUow  by  sulphocyanide  of  potassium,  which  colour  is 
permanent  in  the  air  at  common  temperatures,  wiiile 
the  addition  of  alcohol  does  not  afiect  it ;  but  instaDtIf 
on  contact  with  ether  the  colour  rapidly  darkens,  and 
continues  darkening  till  a  deep  red  colour  is  attained. 
Also,  if  zinc  is  placed  in  a  molybdic  solution^  to  whidi 
a  sulphocyanide  has  b^n  added,  together  witii  excess 
of  acid,  the  solution  acquires  a  deep  clear  red  colov, 
and  ether  removes  a  rich  magenta  coloured  sulphocy- 
anide of  molybdenum,  having  a  depth  i^proacMng  to 
that  of  the  iron  compound  with  the  same  add.  Aeetats 
of  soda  instantly  discharges  the  eolour. 

Snljplioeyiiiilde  of  Tmncateiu — This  salt  is  b^ 
prepared  by  first  treating  a  solution  of  tungstate  of 
ammonia  with  the  sulphocyanide.  The  granular  pre- 
cipitate thus  produced  is  placed  in  ccmtact  with  hydro- 
chloric  acid  and  ether.  In  a  short  time  thfi  ether  acquires 
a  yellow  colour,  and  affords  to  the  proper  test  good 
indication  of  both  sulphocyanic  acid  and  tungsten. 

8ul4plii»eF«iitae  oT  Ctol4« — ^This  sulphooyanide  is 
very  soluUe  ia  ether  or  alcohol,  but  scarcely  disaotred 
by  water.  After  taking  great  precaution  to  ensure  the 
absence  of  iron,  the  colour  of  the  ethecial  solution  was 
red. 


PWiMi  -BdWw,  VA  xw,  y»  #H,  1 


■JIN^Ml.] 


2>«0^  1867.       f 


Hcematite  Irons  of  West  Oiimberland. 


297 


Solpliocyaiilde  of  Copper  is  also  soluble  in  ether 
if  an  excess  of  hjdrosulphooyanic  acid  is  present,  com- 
municatiag  to  it  a  dark  brown  colour.  It  can  be 
completely  removed  from  water  by  this  solvent. 

The  metals  of  the  following  oxides  or  chlorides  I 
have  not  been  able  to  combine  with  sulphocyanogen 
to  form  compounds  soluble  in  ether : — Oxides  of  man- 
ganese, sesquioxide  of  aluminium,  sesquioxide  of  chro- 
mium, bichloride  of  platinum. 

In  respect  to  tiie  iron  compound  with  sulphocyan- 
ogen, its  solubility  in  ether  has  been  already  pointed 
out  in  a  former  paper;  but  since  then  it  has  been 
ascertained  that  its  affinity  for  ether  is  so  great  that  it 
can  be  entirely  removed  from  water  by  this  solvent^ 
and  its  presence  revealed  where  the  eye  fails  to  detect 
it  And,  further,  that  ether  determines  in  a  remark- 
able manner  the  instant  and  abundant  formation  of 
this  coloured  compound  from  protochloride  of  iron  and 
Bulphocyanide  of  potassium  even  in  presence  of  a 
soluble  hyposulphite  —  a  circumstance  in  no  ways 
wholly  accounted  for  by  the  presence  of  ozone  in  the 
ether  employed,  since  but  the  faintest  indication  of 
this  body  could  be  obtained. 

Separation  of  certain  Bases  Arom  eaeli  otlier  by 
tbe  method  bere  employed. — ^It  is  I  think  highly 
probable  that  the  principle  of  the  abstraction  of  certain 
of  the  metaJs  from  water  by  ether  in  presence  of 
hydrosulphocyanic  acid  might  be  advantageously 
adopted  for  the  separation  of  the  following  metals. 

1.  Iron  from  the  alkaline  earths — alumina,  sesqui- 
oxide of  chromium,  oxides  of  manganese,  also  from 
uranium,  platinum,  and  nickel 

2.  Cobalt  from  nickel. 

3.  Grold  from  platinum. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  for  the  separation  of 
iron  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  solution  somewhat 
dilute,  and  for  reasons  which  will  presently  appear, 
the  solution  must  not  be  very  acid. 

The  separation  of  cobalt  from  nickel  has  just  been 
satisfactorily  accomplished  upon  this  principle. 


ON  THE 

CONSTITUTION  AND  PROPERTIES 

or  THB 

HEMATITE  IRONS  OF  WEST  CUMBERLAND. 

BT  EDMUND  O.   TOSH,   PH.D. 

Thk  composition  of  five  specimens  of  Cumberland 
Hsematite  pig  iron,  as  determined  by  chemical  analysis, 
u  given  below. 

I.  II.  in.         IV.  V. 

Iron 93*552  93100  92*850  92798  92802 

Graphite 3082      2-952      2-997  1*902      1-879 

Combined  carbon.     1*265       ^"^ZS      ^''34  2*186      1*892 

Siliciam 1*389      2*286      2706  2*714      2753 

Solpbur 0*068      0075      0068  0*065      0*164 

Phosphorus 0*027      °*^55      0*028  0*030      0*05  j 

Manganese 0*216      0*288      0140  0*140      0*288 

Titanium o*oo6      0*006      0*007  0*007  0*005 

Nitrogen 0*056      0*041      0051  0051      0049 

Arseoio trace  trace        trace  trace        trace 


99661  100*038    99981    99*893    99887 

I.  U.  and  ni.  are  from  Cleator,  Harrington,  and 
Workington  respectively,  and  were  all  manufactured 
specially  for  conversion  into  the  best  varieties  of  Bes- 
semer steel  In  appearance  they  were  much  alike: 
the  firacture  presented  a  bold  crystalline  structure,  due 

Vol.  I.    No.  6.--N0V.,  1867.       20 


to  the  graphite  disseminated  through  the  mass  in 
large  scales.  IV.  is  a  pig  iron  likewise  intended  for 
the  production  of  steel,  but  on  account  of  its  containing 
too  little  free  carbon  or  graphite,  could  not  be  success- 
fully employed.  Like  me  first  three  specimens,  its 
fracture  was  highly  graphitic,  but  in  an  inferior  degree. 
V.  is  the  analysis  of  ordinary  grey  forge  iron  made  at 
Harrington. 

Before  examining  the  parts  played  by  the  various 
elements  of  pig  iron  in  its  conversion  into  steel,  it  is 
necessary  to  give  a  short  outline  of  the  Bessemer 
process. 

Highly  graphitic  pig  iron  is  melted  and  run  into  a 
large  egg-shaped  vessel  of  iron  lined  with  some  fire- 
resisting  material,  known  technically  as  the  "  convert- 
er." In  this  vessel  air  is  blown  through  the  metal 
from  beneath,  the  carbon  and  silicium  are  oxidised, 
and  by  their  combustion  produce  a  heat  so  intense, 
that  in  from  14  to  30  minutes,  at  the  end  of  the  pro^ 
cess,  the  resulting  almost  pure  iron  at  a  dazzling  white 
heat^  may  be  poured  out  of  the  converting  vessel  in  a 
stream  almost  as  liquid  as  water.  If  steel  be  required, 
the  necessary  quantity  of  spiegeleisen  (containing  a 
known  proportion  of  carbon)  in  a  molten  state,  is 
added  to  the  decarburized  iron  in  the  converter,  pre- 
vious to  running  the  metal  out  into  ingots. 

If  now,  white,  instead  of  grey  iron  be  introduced 
into  "  the  converter,"  and  an*  blown  through  it,  the 
heat  does  not  increase,  no  carbon  or  silicium  is  burned. 
I  have  this  upon  authority  of  several  influential  steel- 
makers who  have  made  practical  experiments  on  the 
subject.  This  different  bearing  of  white  and  grey 
iron  is  somewhat  remarkable,  as,  up  till  the  present 
time,  it  has  been  the  opinion  of  metallurgists,  LT  there 
was  a  definite  one  on  the  point,  that  the  internal 
arrangement  of  the  various  kinds  of  cast  iron  was  very 
similar  when  in  the  molten  state.  The  phenomena 
here  presented  would  seem  to  point  directly  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  two  varieties  of  iron,  grey  and 
white,  retain  in  the  molten  state,  at  least  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  constitution  they  possessed  when  solid. 
Karsten  states  that  graphite  in  fused  graphitic  iron, 
may  exist  either  in  chendcal  combination  or  in  mechan- 
ical solution.  The  different  deportment  of  grey,  as 
distinguished  from  white  iron,  inclines  us  to  t£e  latter 
opinion  or  an  approximation  to  it,  for  besides  simple 
solution  of  graphite  in  the  mass  of  metal,  we  may 
admit  the  existence  of  a  high  carbide  of  iron,  necessarily 
a  much  more  unstable  compound  than  that  existing  in 
white  iron,  and  the  carbon  of  which,  being  in  a  some- 
what weak  state  of  combination,  may  combine  more 
readily  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  at  a  high  tempera- 
ture. Further,  either  the  graphite  or  this  high  carbide 
of  iron  may  be  dissolved  in  a  second  lower  carbide, 
nearly  resembling  white  iron  in  composition.  Of  course 
any  premises  as  to  the  state  in  which  carbon  occurs  in 
iron  must  be  in  a  great  measure  hypothetical,  on 
account  of  the  extremely  hn^ted  and  imperfect  nature 
of  our  knowledge  of  the  carbides  of  iron.  One  conclu- 
sion we  may  draw  with  perfect  safety  I  think,  that 
the  carbon  at  a  temperature  not  far  above  the  melting 
point,  is  very  differently  distributed  in  grey  and  white 
iron  respectively  ;  and  if  in  the  latter,  the  4  or  5  per 
cent,  of  carbon  is  combined  with  about  95  per  cent,  of 
the  metal,  we  are  justified  I  think  in  inferring  that  a 
portion  of  the  carbon  in  grey  iron  exists  in  one  of  the 
conditions  I  have  mentioned  as  probable. 

I  here  give  an  extract  verbatim  from  a  paper  read 
by  Bessemer  before  the   Mechanical   Engineers,  in 


[Bni^Ui  Bditkn^  ViO.  ZVl,  ira  411,  pi«M  201, 908.] 


298 


HcBmatite  Irons  of  West  Cumberland. 


(CnvicAL  Nm, 
1       J>te^  IMT. 


which  the  various  changes  that  take  place  during  the 
conversion  of  pig  iron  into  steel  are  very  clearly  and 
fully  described.  "  The  silicium  always  present  in 
greater  or  less  quantities  in  pig  iron  is  first  attacked, 
and  unites  readily  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  produc- 
ing silicic  acid ;  at  the  same  time  a  small  portion  of  the 
iron  undergoes  oxidation,  and  hence  a  fluid  silicate  of 
iron  is  produced,  a  little  carbon  being  simultaneously 
burnt  off.  The  heat  is  thus  gradually  increased  until 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  silicium  is  oxidised,  which 
generally  takes  place  in  about  12  minutes  from  the 
commencement  of  the  process.  The  carbon  of  the  pig 
iron  now  begins  to  unite  more  freely  with  the  oxygen 
of  the  air,  producing  at  first  a  small  flame  wliich 
rapidly  increases,  and  in  about  three  minutes  from 
its  appearance,  a  most  intense  combustion  is  going 
on ;  the  metal  rises  higher  and  higher  in  the  vessel, 
sometimes  occupying  more  than  double  its  former 
space,  and  in  this  frothy  flaid  state  it  presents  an 
enormous  surface  to  the  action  of  the  air,  which  unites 
rapidly  with  the  carbon  contained  in  the  crude  iron, 
and  produces  a  most  intense  combustion,  the  whole 
mass  being  in  fact  a  perfect  mixture  of  metal  and  fire. 
The  carbon  is  now  burnt  off  so  rapidly  as  to  produce  a 
series  of  harmless  explosions,  throwing  out  the  fluid 
slag  in  great  quantities,  while  the  combustion  of  the 
gases  is  so  perfect  that  a  voluminous  white  flame 
rushes  from  the  mouth  of  the  vessel,  illuminating  the 
whole  of  the  building,  and  indicating  to  the  practised 
eye  the  precise  condition  of  the  metal  inside.  The 
blowing  may  thus  be  left  off  whenever  the  number  of 
minutes  from  the  commencement,  and  the  appearance 
of  the  flame,  indicate  the  required  quality  of  the  metal 
This  is  the  mode  preferred  in  working  the  process  in 
Sweden,  but  at  the  works  in  Sheffield  it  is  preferred 
to  continue  blowing  the  metal  beyond  this  stage,  until 
the  flame  suddenly  drops,  which  it  does  on  the  approach 
of  the  metal  to  the  condition  of  malleable  iron ;  a  small 
measured  quantity  of  charcoal  pig  iron,  containing  a 
known  proportion  of  carbon,  is  then  added,  and  l£us 
steel  is  produced  of  any  degree  of  carburisation,  £he 
process  having  occupied  about  23  minutes  from  the 
commencement.  The  converting  vessel  is  tipped  for- 
ward, and  the  blast  shut  off  for  adding  this  small 
charge  of  pig  iron,  after  which  the  blast  is  turned  on 
again  for  a  few  seconds." 

"  In  the  new  process  the  carbon  and  silicium  of  the 
iron  itself  were  employed  as  fuel  to  support  the  heat 
for  reducing  the  cast  iron,  and  the  intense  heat  thus 
obtained,  together  with  the  intimate  mixing  of  the  air 
blown  through  the  metal  in  a  fluid  state,  caused  the 
reduction  to  be  much  more  rapid.  Instead  of  the 
silicium  in  the  iron  requirine  2  or  3  hours  to  be  burnt 
out  as  in  the  ordinary  puddling  process,  it  was  now 
bamt  out  in  only  12  minutes,  giving  out  a  great 
amount  of  heat  by  its  combustion ;  and  the  complete 
reduction  of  the  metal  occupied  less  than  half  an  hour. 
and  was  accomplished  with  far  greater  certainty  and 
f  completeness,  while  3  to  4  tons  were  acted  upon  at 
once  instead  of  as  many  hundred-weights." 

From  this  it  would  appear  that  silicium  is  first  oxid- 
ised in  the  process  of  conversion,  and  that  its  com- 
bustion produces  a  great  elevation  of  temperature.  If 
this  be  correct,  returning  to  the  way  white  iron 
behaves  in  the  converting  vessel,  it  seems  that  not 
only  the  carbon,  but  the  silicium  too,  is  differently 
situated  in  white  and  grey  pig  iron  in  a  state  effusion. 
An  explanation  of  these  various  conditions  and  phe- 
nomena most  at  present  be  a  matter  of  pure  oorgectare^ 


as  we  are  almost  without  information  on  this  very 
important  point.  When  the  combustion  of  the  gra- 
phitic carbon  commences,  the  heat  rises  rapidly,  chem- 
ical affinity  between  the  iron  and  its  constituents  is 
so  to  speak  weakened,  the  oxygen  of  the  air  is  at 
liberty  to  act  with  peater  effect,  the  carbon  which 
existed  in  the  crude  iron  in  the  combined  condition  is 
burnt,  the  last  portions  of  silicium  are  oxidised,  and 
good  malleable  iron  results.  If  in  the  use  of  white 
iron  a  temperature  could  once  be  obtained  high  enough 
to  lessen  to  such  an  extent  the  affinity  between  the 
metal  and  its  carbon,  as  to  allow  the  oxygen  to  take 
the  latter,  the  conversion  would  succeed,  but  unless 
this  elevated  temperature  could  be  imparted  to  it  pre^ 
vious  to  its  treatment  with  air  in  the  converting 
vessel,  its  peculiar  constitution  renders  this  otherwise 
impossible.  Lately  in  Styria,  and,  I  believe,  in  certain 
parts  of  England,  by  a  lengthened  treatment  in  "  the 
converter"  with  highly  pressed  air,  pig  irons  resembling 
lY.  (in  the  table)  in  composition,  containing  a  smau 
quantity  of  graphite,  have  been  manufactured  into  an 
inferior  kind  of  steel. 

Chemists  are  generally  of  the  opinion  that  the 
quality  of  Bessemer  steel  is  strongly  influenced  by  the 
amount  of  silicium  contained  in  the  raw  iron  from 
which  it  was  derived,  and  Phipson  *  sought  to  prove 
that  in  pig  irons  which  may  be  successfully  used  in  ihe 
making  of  steel,  the  silicium  must,  like  the  carbon, 
exist  in  the  free  state.  The  means  by  which  he  arrived 
at  this  conclusion  were  somewhat  peculiar,  and  1  was 
induced  to  make  some  experiments  on  the  subject^  an 
account  of  which  I  published.  Phipsont  had  examined 
three  varieties  of  iron,  A,  B  and  C,  in  which  he  found 
the  silicium  to  exist  as  under : — 

A 
Combined  silicinm  or  Sia. . .    98 
;6raphitoidal  silicium  or  Si^.3'22 

420  3-96  4*23 
Because  A  contained  its  silicium  principally  in  the 
free  state,  and  C  for  the  most  part  combined;  they 
yielded  respectively  good  and  bad  steels.  In  order  to 
detect  this  graphitoidal  silicium.  I  dissolved  about  20 
grammes  of  iron  I.  (in  the  table  of  analyses,  which 
ranks  highest  among  steel  makers),  in  dUute  hydro- 
chloric acid,  collected  the  insoluble  matter,  and  burned 
it  in  oxygen.  The  residue  was  evaporated  to  dryness 
twice  with  hydrofluoric  acid  to  remove  silica,  and 
afterwards  heated  with  strong  hydrochloric  acid  to 
remove  a  small  quantity  of  oxide  of  iron.  After 
this  treatment  I  obtained  a  very  small  quantity  of 
a  light  brown  substance  which  displayed  none  of 
the  physical  properties  of  graphitoidiu  silicium  under 
the  microscope,  but  which  proved  to  be  titanic  add. 
Had  firee  silicium  been  present  I  shoula  have  detected  it 
To  estimate  the  two  modifications  of  silicium,  Dr. 
Phipson  treated  a  weighed  quantity  of  the  iron  with 
aqua  regia,  the  resulting  siHoa  from  Sia  was  dissolved 
by  the  acid,  while  that  from  SijS  was  insoluble.  It  iss 
well  established  scientific  fact^  that  any  variety  <^ 
silicium  which  has  once  been  exposed  to  a  red  heat(tf 
Si3  in  iron  must  certainly  have  been)  ia  quite  unaffect- 
ed by  aqua  regia — enough  in  itself  to  show  how  little 
this  process  is  to  be  relied  on. 

To  see  if  the  amount  of  insoluble  silica  was  a  oon- 
stant  quantity  I  made  the  following  three  experimente. 

*  CompUt  XMd^M^  t.  Iz.  p.  X030. 

t  Chemioal  Nsw<,  Ho.  330,    {Mfig.  AH) 


B 

C 

I -81 

2-60 

215 

x-63 

[gncUA  BdttkB,  T6L  ZVL,  Kbw  411,  !«(«•  flO^  M3.] 


Z>«&,  186T.        f 


IIcBmatite  Irons  of  West  Oiimbei*land. 


299 


I.  2*409  grms.  of  iron  dissolved  in  aqua  regia  (3HCI 
+  NOeH)  gave  0-0565  grm.  SiOi= 1-094  per  cent 
silicium. 

II.  2*39575  grms.  of  iron  in  a  large  excess  of  aqua 
re?ia  gave  0*038  grm.     Si02=o*74  per  cent,  silicium. 

IIL  2  336  grms.  of  iron,  dissolved  in  aqua  reria,  and 
most  of  the  acid  carefully  boiled  off  bejfore  mtering, 
gave,  0*06775  fifrm-  SiO«=r353  per  cent  silicium. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  amount  of  insoluble 
silica  varies  with  the  quantity  of  acid  employed  ;  thus 
in  II..  where  much  acid  was  used,  the  quantity  of 
wlica  IS  only  about  \  of  that  in  III.,  where,  previous  to 
filtration,  most  of  the  acid  was  boiled  off. 

In  what  I  took  as  a  reply  to  my  communication  of 
these  experiments,  Dr.  Phipson*  stated  that  what  he 
at  first  looked  upon  as  free  silicium  in  pig  iron, 
occurred,  he  had  more  recently  found,  as  silicic  acid 
combined  with  protoxide  of  iron.  Now  if  we  are  to 
consider  the  3*22  of  Si/3  (given  in  Dr.  Phipson*s  esti- 
mations), as  present  in  the  state  of  silicic  acid  saturated 
with  proloxide  of  iron,  we  arrive  at  the  astounding 
discovery  that  this  iron  contains  23-46  per  cent  of 
slag.  Few  chemists  would  accept  this  statement 
without  strong  evidences  of  its  truth.  To  ascertain 
whether  this  position  were  tenable,  I  heated  3  to  4 

Enmes  of  Cleator  iron  (I.)  in  a  stream  of  perfectly 
chlorine ;  all  iron  and  silicium  are  volatilised  as 
>rides,  while  silica,  if  present,  remains  unaffected. 
The  carbon  burnt  off  in  oxygen.  I  obtained  a  small 
residue,  mostly  titanic  acid,  weighing  only  i  or  2 
milligrammes,  equal  to  0*3  per  cent,  instead  of  6  or  7 
per  cent,  as  Dr.  Phipson  would  show. 

From  his  experiments,  by  a  course  of  reasoning 
upon  which  we  have  no  enlightenment.  Dr.  P.  infers 
that  only  Sia,  and  not  Si)3,  exerts  a  deleterious  action 
in  the  conversion  of  iron  into  steeL  If,  however,  we 
have  shown  his  assumption  that  Si/3  exists  in  pig  iron 
is  groundless,  no  correct  conclusions  can  be  drawn 
from  the  data  which  he  has  given,  and  until  our 
information  is  more  definite,  the  subject  must  remain 
where  it  is. 

The  presence  of  graphitoidal  silicium  in  iron,  though 
believed  possible  by  many  metallurgists,  has,  as  far  as 
I  know,  been  never  clearly  shown.  Percjrt  thinks  its 
existence  highly  probable,  and  BuchnerJ  makes  a 
statepaent  to  the  same  effect,  but  neither  seem  to  have 
made  any  special  experiments  on  the  subject.  Hahn§ 
prepared  a  silicide  of  iron  containing  as  much  as  20*29 
per  cent  silicium.  By  treatment  of  this  substance 
with  hydrofluoric  acid,  a  small  crystalline  residue 
remained  undissolved,  which  proved  to  be  a  definite 
compound  FeSi«.  Even  with  this  enormous  percentage 
of  suicium  none  of  that  element  separated  in  the  free 
state.  In  the  preparation  of  this  compound  only  pure 
materials  of  known  composition  were  used,  and  it  may 
be  urged  that  in  the  presence  of  the  numerous  sub- 
stances  which  make  up  the  constitution  of  crude  iron, 
its  behaviour  might  be  modified.  Caron,|  a  high 
authority  in  these  matters,  distinctly  states  that  silicium 
never  can  exist  in  the  uncombined  state  in  iron,  and 
that  on  account  of  its  superior  affinity  it  expels  most 
other  elements  from  combination. 

Although  altogether  disagreeine  with  Dr.  Phipson*8 
conclusions,  or  more  exactly  with  the  way  in  which 
be  arrives  at  them,  I   believe  it  quite  possible  that 


•  OmptM  Bmdiu,  1  Izlt.  p.  803.    t  **  MetalL  Iron  md  Steel.** 


.  Chemie^  bd.  7a,  p.  364, 

Ann.  SL  Ch«m.  t*.  PJutrm ,  ezzlz.  p.  57. 
[  Msmoli^  tw  iM  Aeiers.^ 


silicium  may  exist  variously  combined  in  pig  iron,  and 
as  it  occurs  in  one  manner  or  another  (as  yet  undefined) 
may  exert  a  more  or  less  deleterious  ^wtion  upon  the 
steel  made  from  it  I  look  upon  it  nevertheless,  as  a 
fact,  that  an  iron  tolerably  rich  in  silicium,  may  be 
converted  into  good  steel,  although  it  contains  neither ' 
graphitoidal  silicium  nor  silicate  of  protoxide  of  iron. 

As  I  mentioned  in  the  earlier  part  of  my  paper,  the 
quantities  of  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  particularly  the 
latter,  in  iron,  are  not  verv  materially  lessened  by  its 
conversion  into  steel  by  the  Bessemer  process,  hence 
only  those  varieties  of  crude  iron  can  be  used  which 
contain  an  exceedingly  small  proportion  of  these  ele- 
ments, otherwise  the  resulting  steel  would  be  of  very 
inferior  quality  and  possess  the  properties  of  cold  and 
red-shortness  in  an  objectionable  de^ee.  This  is  a 
drawback  to  the  very  general  application  of  the  Besse- 
mer process,  as  only  in  exceptional  cases  are  irons  of 
sufficient  purity  to  be  met  with.  Numerous  attempts 
have  been  made  to  remove  these  substances,  and  many 
patents  have  been  taken  out  with  the  same  object,  but 
as  yet  none  have  been  successful.  Calvert  recom- 
mended the  use  of  common  salt,  but  its  volatility  at 
the  extraordinarily  high  temperature  of  the  metal  while 
undergoing  decarburization  was  an  impediment  to  its 
employment  Recently  a  patent  has  been  taken  out 
by  Wintzer,  a  Hanoverian  ironmaster,  for  the  use  of 
chloride  of  calcium  for  the  removal  of  these  objection- 
able substances.  If  chloride  of  calcium  have  the  effect 
desired,  a  great  obstacle  will  have  been  overcome,  but 
I  have  not  heard  of  any  experiments  having  oeen 
made  with  it 

I  have  estimated  sulphur,  phosphorus,  and  silicium  in 
a  specimen  of  steel  made  from  Harrington  pig  iron  (II. 
in  the  table).  The  percentage  amounts  in  the  iron  and 
steel  respectively  are  as  follows : — 

Iron  Bted 

Sulphur 0075  0*034 

Phosphoras ^'^SS  0*046 

Silicium 2*286  0*172 

Red-shortness. — I  have  already  observed  that  malle- 
able bars  made  from  haematite  pig  iron  by  the  ordinary 
Erocess  of  puddling,  are  so  exceedingly  red-short  as  to 
e  almost  useless.  A  piece  of  this  iron  at  a  dull  red- 
heat  is  so  brittle  that  it  breaks  into  fragments  afler  a 
few  blows  under  the  hammer.  This  most  remarkable 
and  undesirable  property  can  not  in  the  present  in- 
stance be  ascribed,  as  it  usually  is,  to  the  presence  of 
an  excessive  quantity  of  sulphur,  for  even  the  raw 
haematite  iron  contains  a  less  proportion  of  that  ele- 
ment than  the  refined  malleable  bars  of  the  best 
Swedish  and  English  makes,  such  as  Dannemora  and 
Lowmoor;  and  it  is  very  unlikely  that  the  amount  of 
sulphur  should  increase  by  puddling. 

The  Cumberland  pig  irons  are  as  a  class  rich  in 
silicium,  and  on  the  other  hand  contain  very  little 
manganese,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  these  co- 
existmg  peculiarities  of  constitution  point  towards  the 
true  cause  of  red-shortness  in  the  present  case.  Caron  * 
made  the  very  interesting  observation  that  at  a  high 
temperature  in  an  oxidising  atmosphere,  manganese 
possessed  the  power  of  removing  silicium  from  iron. 
This  property  at  once  assigns  to  manganese  a  place  of 
high  importance  in  connection  with  many  operations 
in  the  metallurgy  of  iron,  particularly  that  of  puddling. 
Until  spiegeleisen  began  to  be  used  in  making  Besse- 
mer steel,  and  its  beneficial  influence  forced  itself  to  be 

•  **M«moIre  sar  1m  Aoten."* 


[fiB^llflh  BdMdn,  YdL  XTL,  No.  411,  page  903 ;  Kd.  412,  pages  313,  214] 


300 


The  AJcazga  Ordeal  of  West  Africa. 


(  Cbbiooai.  Nswi. 
)        Dee.,  1867. 


recognised,  the  action  of  manganese  was  greatly  ignored 
by  many  practical  men,  at  least  in  Britain.  Any 
literature  we  h^e  on  this  neglected  subject  is,  for  the 
most  part,  of  an  exceedingly  vague  description :  the 
determination  of  manganese  in  iron  by  commercial 
analysts  is  often  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  minor 
importance,  hence  we  have  no  good  grounds  to  go 
upon  in  seeking  to  understand  the  action  of  this  sub- 
stance. It  is,  however,  highly  probable  that  in  the 
removal  of  silicium  by  puddling,  manganese  plays  a 
very  important  partj  and  looking  upon  the  small  pro- 
portion of  this  metal  in  haematite  pig  iron,  in  forcible 
contrast  with  the  large  amount  of  smcium,  it  is  very 
possible  that  a  comparatively  large  percentage  of  the 
latter  element  remains  combined  witb  the  iron,  exert- 
ing upon  it  a  most  deleterious  efifect^  and  causing  the 
red-shortness  in  question.  Unfortunately  I  have  not  a 
specimen  of  the  malleable  iron  at  my  disposal,  other- 
wise I  might  test^  by  chemical  analysis,  the  value  of 
these  remarks. 

Titanium. — This  substance  exists  in  small  quantities 
in  all  the  haematite  irons  I  have  examined,  very  prob- 
ably combined  with  cyanogen  and  nitrogen,  forming 
cyano-nitride  of  titanium,  the  composition  of  which  was 
first  rfiown  by  the  classical  researches  of  Wiihler.*  Al- 
though the  effect  of  its  presence  in  iron  is  not  distinctly 
known,  the  prevailing  opinion  among  chemists  and 
metallurgists  is,  that  the  cyanogen  compound  being 
probably  merely  diffused  throu^  the  metal,  and  not 
chemically  combined  with  it,  its  influence  is  very  small 
In  repairing  the  blast  furnaces  in  the  Cumberland  dis- 
trict, very  considerable  quantities  of  this  cyano-nitride 
of  titanium  are  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  hearths, 
generally  in  the  irregularly  shaped  lumps  which  though 
black  and  dull  on  the  outside,  exhibit  when  broken  an 
exceedingly  beautiful  copper-coloured  mass  of  crystals, 
among  which  a  little  iron  is  diffused.  All  crystals  I 
have  seen  were  octahedral,  and  although  I  have  tried 
several  times  to  obtain  a  perfect  octahedron  by  dis- 
solving away  the  surrounding  iron  with  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid,  I  have  not  succeeded.  The  faces  of  the 
crystals  are  rough  and  deeply  striated,  resembling 
occasionally  the  skeleton  forms  presented  by  common 
salt. 

I  examined  the  blast  furnace  slag  for  titanic  acid,  and 
found  that  it  contained  a  mere  trace. 

Nitrogen^  as  it  occurs  in  iron,  stands  in  close  relation 
with  titanium.  According  to  Caron  t  it  is  to  be  found 
to  a  greater  or  less  Extent  in  all  commercial  iron,  from 
which  it  can  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  be  perfect- 
ly removed.  The  proportions  of  the  titanium  and 
nitrogen  in  these  haematite  irons,  as  determined  by  me, 
are  not  bv  any  means  those  which  are  found  in  cyano- 
nitride  of  titanium,  but  where  quantities  are  so  small 
the  unavoidable  errors  of  analysis  may  account  for  any 
such  difference. 

Although  somewhat  out  of  place,  I  would  here  make 
some  remarks  upon  a  specimen  of  slag  from  one  of  tbe 
Cumberland  blast  furnaces,  which  when  analysed  was 
shown  to  have  the  following  composition : — 

Oxygen. 

Silica 30*200  i6'i  I 

Alumina i2'oo7l 

Protoxide  of  Iron. . .       1*269  I 

Lime    S0*5O7  )*  21*58 

Magnesia 2*553  I 

Alkalies 1*225  J 

*  Ann.  d  Chmn.  «.  Pharm.  IxxiU.  p.  33. 
t  Memoira  ftur  les  Aden. 


Sulphide  of  calcium. . .  2*400 

Phosphoric  acid trace 

Titanic  "    trace 

Protoxide  of  manganese  trace 


100-173 


The  percentage  of  silica  is  strikingly  low,  and  if  it 
be  calculated  it  is  found  that  the  bases  are  very  con- 
siderably in  excess,  the  relation  of  oxygen  being  about 
8  in  silica  to  10  in  the  bases. 

I  have  often  heard  of  the  loss  some  of  the  companies 
in  this  district  experience  from  the  rapid  wearing  out 
of  the  furnace  lining ;  sometimes  after  only  three  monlbs 
working,  or  even  less,  the  fire  bricks  were  quite  burned 
through.  If  the  specimen  analysed  represents  the  dags 
usually  produced,  and  it  is  not  a  very  exceptional  case, 
this  destruction  of  the  fiimace  lining  is  easily  explained. 
If  unneutralised  bases  cannot  find  silicic  acid  in  the 
ores  to  combine  with,  they  will  seek  it  elsewhere,  and 
coming  in  contact  with  the  firebrick  lining  will  at  once 
attack  the  silica  in  it,  car.sing  this  disastrously  rapid 
wear  and  tear  of  which  I  have  heard  so  many  com- 
plaints. In  order  to  remedy  this  evil,  ftimace  mansgera 
must  either  use  less  limestone  or  a  larger  quantity  of 
siliceous  matter.* 

This  slag  was  of  very  vesicular  and  open  stracturc, 
and  of  a  greyish  colour,  agreeing  closely  with  another 
described  by  Percy,*  which  he  looked  upon  as  ahi^^y 
basic  silicate,  a  conjecture  fully  confirmed  by  my 
analysis. 

The  Bessemer  process,  as  yet  in  its  infancy,  presents 
a  most  interesting  subject  for  study  and  examination. 
The  chemical  reactions  involved  in  the  process  are  still 
imperfectly  understood,  and  a  careful  series  of  observa- 
tions of  the  phenomena  which  are  presented  during  ita 
performance,  while  leading  to  a  correct  knowledge  of 
the  changes  which  take  place  during  the  conversion, 
would  I  have  no  doubt  give  us  much  more  correct  and 
reliable  views  as  to  the  internal  constitution  of  raw  iron 
than  any  which  we  hitherto  possess. 


A  PRELIMINART  KOTIOB  OF 

THE  AKAZaA  ORDEAL  OF  WEST  AFRICA, 

AND  OF  ITS  AOTIVB  PBIKOIPLB. 
BT  THOMAS  B.   FRASBR,   M.D. 

This  ordeal  poison  is  referred  to  in  the  works  of  Dn 
Chaillutand  Win  wood  Reade  ]\  and  several  of  its  toxic 
properties  have  been  described  by  MM.  Pecholier  et 
SaintpierrcJ  A  few  specimens  were  sent  to  this 
country  in  1864  by  the  Rev.  A.  BushneU  of  BaralO} 
and  these  were  very  kindly  given  to  the  author  by 
Mr.  Thomson  of  Qlasgow ;  and  a  further  supply  came 
from  the  same  quarter  in  1865.  These  gentlemen,  and 
Dr.  Nassau  of  Bonita,  supplied  valuable  and  interesting 
information  regarding  its  employment 

The  poison  is  known  in  Africa  as  Akazga,  Boundon 
(or  M'Boundou)  Ikaja,  and  Quai  j  Akazga  being  prob- 
ably derived  from  nhazga^  which  signifies  pam  or 
hurt.  It  is  used  as  an  ordeal  for  the  detection  of  real 
and  superstitious  crimes  on  the  West  Coast  of  Afiica, 
in  a  large  district  which  extends  north  and  south  of 
the  equator,  and  many  miles  inland,  and  also  in  the 
adjacent  island  of  Corsica.    It  is  believed  that  seTeral 

•  "  Metall.  Iron  and  Steel,"  p.  506. 

t  Explorations  and  Adrentnres  In  Bqaatorlal  AMea,  1861. 

X  Sarage  AMca,  186a.     S  Oomptee  Jtendus^  1866,  p.  809^ 


[BnfUflh  BdtHod,  Vol  ZVX,  Nd  4U,  pi««  S14 ;  Va  411,  pi««  903.] 


OkxinoAL  Niwi,) 
J>*c^  1667.       f 


TJie  Akazga  Ordeal  of  West  Africa. 


301 


thousand  persons  are  annually  subjected  to  this  method 
of  trial,  and  that  the  fatal  cases  are  about  50  per  cent. 

The  Akazga  arrived  in  bundles,  which  consisted  of 
long,  slender,  and  crooked  stems,  having  their  roots 
generally  attached  to  them,  but  sometimes  their  leaf- 
bearing  branches  only,  and  containing  also  a  very  few 
complete  plants,  with  roots,  stem,  and  branches.  The 
plant  is  usually  about  six  feet  in  length ;  but  some 
specimens  were  only  four,  and  others  as  long  as  eight 
feet.  The  bark  is  yellowish  orange,  and  in  some  parts 
light  red,  and  it  is  frequently  covered  with  a  gray 
efflorescence.  It  adheres  firmly  to  the  stem,  but  may  be 
readily  detached,  after  exposure  to  a  gentle  heat  for 
some  days.  Its  internal  surface  is  light  brown.  The 
space  between  the  bark  and  the  wood  was  found^  in  a 
few  pieces,  to  be  occupied  by  a  large  number  of 
minute  sparkling  crystals;  but  it  has  not  yet  been 
determined  whether  these  consist  of  a  vegetable  or 
mineral  substance.  The  leaves  are  opposite  and  oval- 
acuminate  in  form  ;  the  apex  frequently  consisting  of 
a  linear  prolongation  more  than  an  inch  in  length. 
From  its  generS  characters,  the  plant  is  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  Loganiacese,  but  the  materials  are  insuf- 
ficient to  identify  it. 

By  boiling  the  powdered  bark  with  alcohol  of  85 
per  cent,  and  distilling  and  evaporating  the  tincture,  a 
brown  shining  extract  is  procured,  weighing  from  12 
to  15  per  cenU  of  the  bark  employed.  It  has  a  bitter, 
non-persistent  taste,  and  when  treated  with  concen- 
trated nitric  acid,  produces  a  brownish-yellow  colour, 
which  is  not  materially  affected  by  heat,  nor  by  solu- 
tion of  proto-chloride  of  tin.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
active  principle  of  Akazga  is  contained  in  this  extract ; 
and  to  separate  it  the  following  method  has  been 
adopted,  after  several  attempts  at  various  processes : 
— The  extract  is  treated  with  a  very  dilute  solution  of 
tartaric  acid,  which  removes  77  per  cent,  and  filtered. 
The  clear,  yellowish-brown  acid  solution  is  shaken 
with  successive  portions  of  ether,  so  long  as  any  colour 
is  removed  ;  and  by  this  means  also  a  small  quantity 
of  an  aromatic  oil  is  separated  fi*om  it.  After  decanta- 
tion,  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  sodium  is  added  to  the 
liquor,  so  long  as  it  causes  a  nearly  colourless,  flocculent 
precipitate.  It  is  again  shaken  with  etber,  which  is 
decanted,  and  agitated  with  three  successive  portions 
of  distilled  water,  and  finally  received  in  a  bottle 
containing  a  dilute  solution  of  tartaric  acid,  and  shaken 
with  it.  As  soon  as  the  etherial  solution  is  brought  in 
contact  with  the  acid,  it  becomes  opalescent,  but  again 
assumes  its  normal  appearance  on  agitation.  This 
change  is  of  some  value,  as  indicating  the  firequency 
with  which  the  alkaline  solution  should  be  treated 
w^ith  ether,  as  the  milkiness,  on  contact  with  tartaric 
acid,  is  not  produced  when  the  former  is  exhausted. 
On  reaching  this  stage  the  tartaric  solution  is 
exposed  to  a  gentle  heat — to  fi*ee  it  completely  fi'om 
ether — filtered,  and  again  treated  with  carbonate  of 
sodium,  by  means  of  which  a  bulky,  colourless,  and 
flocculent  precipitate  is  obtained.  This  is  collected  in 
a  filter,  washed,  and  dried,  by  exposure  to  a  gentle 
heat  for  a  short  time,  and  then  by  the  action  of 
sulphuric  acid  in  vacuo. 

By  this  means  a  colourless,  amorphous  substance  is 
obtained,  which  is  the  active  principle  of  the  Akazga 
poison,  and  which  possesses  the  general  properties  of  a 
vegetable  alkaloid.  About  10  grains  may  be  separated 
from  500  grains  of  the  powdered  stem-bark,  or  2  per 


cent.  Ahazgxa  is 


[  as  its  name ;  and  it  is  hoped 


that  when  the  plant  is  described,  if  it  has  been  pre- 


viously unknown  to  science,  Akazga  will  be  adopted 
as  its  specific  name,  and  thus  the  usual  connection  of 
nomenclature  between  the  vegetable  alkaloid  and  its 
source  will  be  maintained. 

Akazgia  is  soluble  in  about  60  parts  of  cold  absolute 
alcohol ;  in  about  16  parts  of  spirit,  of  85  per  cent ;  in 
about  120  parts  of  anhydrous  sulphuric  ether;  and  in 
13,000  parts  of  distilled  water,  at  a  temperature  of  60** 
F.  It  IS  freely  soluble  in  chloi  oform,  in  bisulphide  of 
carbon,  in  benzole,  and  in  sulphuric  ether  of  specific 
gravity  0735.  ^^  crystallises  with  difficulty,  but  it 
may  be  obtained  in  the  form  of  minute  prisms,  by  the 
slow  evaporation  of  a  solution  in  rectified  spirit.  An 
analysis  of  its  platinum-salt,  and  a  determination  of  its 
combining  proportion  with  dry  hydrochloric  acid, 
yielded  290  m  tne  former,  and  293  in  the  latter,  as  the 
equivalent  of  Akazgia.  When  heated  it  becomes 
yellow,  then  melts,  and  gives  off  fumes  of  a  pungent, 
disagreeable  odour,  and  finally  becomes  charred,  but 
leaves  almost  no  residue  if  the  heat  be  continued 
for  a  sufficient  time.  Its  solutions  have  an  alkaline 
reaction,  and  neutralise  acids ;  and  the  salts  are  freely 
soluble  in  water,  and  have  a  very  bitter,  non-persistent 
taste.  Concentrated  nitric,  hydrochloric,  and  sulphuric 
acids  change  its  colour  to  brown,  but  these  in  a  diluted 
state,  as  well  as  many  of  the  organic  acids,  form  pale, 
yellowish  solutions  with  Akazgia.  It  is  precipitated 
from  these  solutions  by  hydrate,  carbonate,  and  bicar- 
bonate of  sodium,  and  of  potassium  ;  by  iodide,  sul- 
phocyanate,  ferrocyanide,  and  cliromate  of  potassium  ; 
by  phosphate  of  sodium,  proto-chloride  of  tin,  trichlo- 
ride of  gold,  dichloride  of  platinum,  potassio-mercuric- 
iodide,  carbazotic  acid,  tincture  of  galls,  solution  of 
iodine,  and  various  other  substances,  hut  these  precipi- 
tate are  never  crystalline.  Corrosive  sublimate  causes  an 
amorphous  white  precipitate,  which  is  dissolved  by  heat, 
and  reappears  in  a  non -crystalline  form  when  the 
solution  has  cooled.  Chlorine  produces  an  amorphous, 
colourless  precipitate,  which  does  not  disappear  on  the 
addition  of  ammonia.  With  concentrated  sulphuric  acid, 
and  peroxide  of  manganese,  bichromate  of  potassium, 
or  any  other  of  the  usual  oxidising  agents,  the  same 
succession  of  colours  is  produced,  from  blue  to  brown, 
which  results  from  a  similar  treatment  of  strychnia. 

The  alcoholic  extract  of  Akazga  possesses  physiolo- 
gical properties  very  similar  to  those  of  nux  vomica ; 
and  comparative  experiments  were  detailed,  to  show 
that  the  principle,  Akazgia,  has  exactly  the  same 
actions  as  the  extract,  and  a  proportional  activity  to  it. 

There  are  several  instances  in  which  a  Natural  Order 
produces  several  very  similar  active  principles.  In  the 
Longaniacese  itself,  strychnia,  bnicia,  and  igasuria  al- 
ready exist,  and  these  are  nearly  identical  in  their  phy- 
siological actions.  In  chemical  properties,  brucia  and 
igasuria  have  much  in  common,  and  they  are  both  readily 
distinguishable,  in  this  respect,  from  strychnia.  Akazgia 
conveniently  completes  this  group,  as  its  chemical 
properties  are  nearly  allied  to  those  of  strychnia, 
whilst  its  connection  with  aU  the  members  is  main- 
tained by  the  similarity  of  its  physiological  actions. — 
Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh.  Session 
1866-67. 


Tolatlllty  of  Sesqulcliloilde  oOIron  at  Common 
Temperatnres.— When  sesquiclHoride  of  iron  is  rendered 
very  acid  by  lijdrochloric  acid,  the  vapour  tberefrom  colours 
a  solution  of  sulpbocyanide  of  potassium  faintly  red,  when 
allowed  lo  impinge  upon  it  for  a  short  time. —  William  Skey, 
New  Zealand. 


^EnctUah  Bdidon,  Vol.  ZVL,  Ha  411,  pages  203,  204, 207.] 


302 


On  the  Application  of  ike  Blowpipe. 


1       />«o.,  1867. 


ON   THE   APPLICATION   OF   THB 

BLOWPIPE  TO  THE  QUANTITATIVE  DETER- 
MINATION OR  ASSAY  OF  CERTAIN  MET- 


ALS. 


BY  DAYID   FORBES,  F.R.8.,  ETC. 


(Cootinaed  ft-Qm  Ajnerican  Bcprint,  Bept.  x867»  p.  xxi.) 
SIlTer  Assay— 

B.  metallic  AUojrs  ineapable  of  dlreet  Cupella- 
Uou. 

}>,  Containing  tin:  argentiferous  tin,  bronze,  bell  and 
gun  metal,  bronze  coinage,  etc. 

Alloys  of  silver  with  other  metals  containing  tin  do 
not  admit  of  being  cupelled,  since  the  oxide  of  tin 
formed  by  the  oxidation  of  that  metal  is  not  absorbed 
by  the  bone  ash  of  the  cupel  along  with  the  litharge ;  it 
consequently  remains  upon  the  surface  of  the  cupel, 
and  if  present  in  any  quantity  interferes  with  the  oper- 
ation. As  tin  is  not  volatile  when  heated  on  charcoal 
either  in  the  oxidating  or  reducing  blowpipe  flame,  it 
canuot  be  so  dissipated,  and  in  consequence,  the  entire 
amount  of  tin  contained  in  any  alloy  under  examina- 
tion must  be  removed  by  oxidation  or  scoriflcation 
from  the  silver  lead,  previous  to  its  being  submitted  to 
cupellation. 

For  this  purpose :  i  part  of  the  stanniferous  alloy  is 
fluxed  with  from  5  to  1 5  parts  granulated  assay  lead 
(according  to  the  amount  of  copper  suspected  to  be 
present  in  the  alloy),  0*5  part  anhydrous  carbonate  of 
soda,  and  0*5  part  pulverized  borax  glass,  made  up  as 
usual  in  a  soda  paper  comet,  and  the  whole  at  first 
gently  heated  in  reduction  flame,  until  the  soda  paper 
IS  charred  and  the  alloy  has  afterwards  united  with  ihe 
lead  to  form  a  single  globule,  whilst  the  borax  and  soda 
have  combined  as  a  glass  or  slag  in  which  the  soda  pre- 
vents the  easily  oxidisable  tin  becoming  oxidised  to 
any  extent  before  a  perfect  alloy  has  been  formed  with 
the  lead,  which  then  contains  the  whole  of  the  silver. 

As  soon  as  this  is  effected,  the  blowpipe  flame  is  fX- 
tered  to  an  oxidating  one,  and  the  metallic  globule  is 
kept  at  the  point  of  the  blue  flame,  which  should  touch 
it  so  as  to  cause  the  tin  to  become  oxidised  and  be  at 
once  taken  up  by  the  glass  surrounding  it. 

Should,  however,  it  be  seen  that  minute  globules  of 
metallic  tin  made  their  appearance  on  the  outer  edge 
of  the  slag  or  glass,*  the  operation  must  be  at  once 
discontinued,  and  the  assay  allowed  to  cool ;  after  cool- 
ing the  metaUic  globule  is  detached  from  the  slag  sur- 
roimding  it,  and  being  placed  in  a  cavity  on  charcoal, 
is  fused  in  tiie  reducing  flame  along  with  a  small  piece 
of  borax  glass  and  afterwards  treated  with  the  oxidat- 
ing flame  exactly  as  before  (and  if  necessary,  which  is 
seldom  the  case,  unless  when  treating  argentiferous 
block  tin,  this  operation  may  again  require  to  be  re- 
peated), until  it  is  seen  that  the  surface  of  the  metallic 
silver  lead  globule  does  not  any  longer  become  cov- 
ered with  a  crust  or  scales  of  oxide  of  tin,  but  presents 
a  pure  an(t  bright  metallic  surface. 

The  silver  lead  globule  is  now  quite  free  from  tin, 
and  can  be  cupelled  and  the  amount  of  silver  deter- 
mined as  usual. 

c  Metallic  alloys  containing  much  antimony,  telluri- 
um, or  zinc:  antiraonial  silver  and  argentiferous 
antimony,  telluric  silver  and  argentiferous  zinc. 

Alloys  of  antimony  with  silver  when  treated  on  char- 
coal in  the  oxidating  flame  give  off  all  their  antimony, 

*  This  occars  when  the  flax  has  become  so  aaturated  with  oxide 
of  tin  that  it  cannot  take  up  any  moro. 


leaving  the  silver  behind  as  a  metallic  globule  having 
a  frosted  external  appearanoe;  telluric  silver,  on  the 
contrary  however,  when  treated  in  similar  manner  only 
evolves  a  part  of  ita  tellurium,  and  even  after  cupella- 
tion with  lead  a  small  amount  of  tellurium  generally 
remains  behind  alloyed  with  the  silver. 

All  these  compounds  may  be  assayed  as  follows : — 

One  part  of  the  alloy  is  placed  in  a  soda  paper  comet 
along  with  5  par^s  granulated  assay  lead,  and  0*5  part 
pulverised  borax  glass,  and  fused  in  reducing  flame  un- 
til the  globule  and  slag  are  weU  developed;  the  oxidat- 
ing flame  is  now  directed  on  to  the  globule,  causing 
the  whole  of  the  zinc  along  with  most  of  the  antimony 
and  part  of  the  tellurium  to  volatilise  before  the  lead 
conunences  oxidising.  The  last  traces  of  antimony  are 
removed  with  some  difficulty,  during  which  operation 
some  portion  of  the  lead  becomes  oxidised.  On  cool- 
ing, the  globule  is  now  separated  from  the  slag  and 
concentrated  upon  a  coarse  bone  ash  cupel  as  usual,  and 
if  no  tellurium  were  present  in  the  concentrated  ulver 
lead,  this  may  now  be  cupelled  as  usual. 

If  tellurium  is  present,  as  is  seen  by  the  concentrated 
globule  of  silver  lead  possessing  a  dark  coloured  exte- 
rior, it  must  be  remelted  with  5  parts  assay  lead  and 
again  concentrated,  and  these  operations,  if  necessary, 
must  be  repeated  until  the  surface  of  the  concentrated 
globule  is  iound  to  be  clean  and  bright  as  usual  with 
pure  silver  lead,  when  it  may  be  cupelled  fine  and  the 
silver  globule  weighed. 

It  sometimes  happens,  even  after  all  these  precau- 
tions have  been  taken,  that  the  silver  globule  after 
cupellation  shows  a  crystalline,  greyish  white,  frosted 
appearance  from  its  still  containing  tellurium ;  in  such 
cases  its  own  weight  of  assay  lead  (in  one  piece)  should 
be  placed  beside  it  on  the  cupel,  melted  together,  and 
the  globule  again  cupelled  fine  on  another  part  of  the 
surface  of  the  same  cupel.  In  assaying  substances  veiy 
rich  in  tellurium  the  results  obtained  are,  however,  not 
very  satisfactory,  and  may  be  as  much  as  one  or  two 
per  cent,  too  low,  even  a&r  employing  all  precautionfi. 

d.  Compounds  of  silver  with  mercury;  arquerite, 
native  and  artificial  amalgams  and  argentiferous 
mercury. 

The  assay  of  these  compounds  is  very  simple.  A 
weighed  quantity  of  the  Hquid  or  solid  amalgam  is 
placed  in  a  small  bulb  tube,  and  heated  over  the  lamp 
very  gradually  in  order  to  avoid  spirting  and  to  allow 
the  mercury  to  volatilise  quietly* ;  the  heat  is  increased 
by  degrees  as  long  as  any  mercury  is  driven  off,  and 
the  residue  is  heated  for  some  time  at  a  red  beat  in 
order  to  drive  off  as  much  mercury  as  possible  without 
fusing  the  glass  or  causing  the  residual  silver  to  adhere 
to  it.  The  mercury  expeUed  condenses  itself  above  the 
bulb  on  to  the  upper  part  of  the  tube,  and  by  gently 
tapping  will  collect  in  globules,  which  by  carefully 
turning  the  tube  unite  and  can  be  poured  out  of  the 
tube;  after  which  the  silver,  left  behind  as  a  porous 
mass,  may  be  removed  firom  the  tube,  and  after  being 
fluxed  with  an  equal  weight  of  granulated  assay  lead 
and  half  its  weight  of  borax  glass,  must  be  fused  on 
charcoal  in  the  reducing  flame,  and  the  button  on 
cooling  cupelled  as  usual.  Should,  however,  much 
copper  have  been  present  in  the  amalgam,  a  propor- 

*  *  Id  the  oase  of  aoUd  amalnma.  which  ofkeii  aptrt  Texj  Tiol«ntir, 
this  may  be  obviated  by  wrappin^r  ihe  assar  in  a  small  piece  of  tissue 
paper,  and  heating  It  in  a  blow-pipe  orneible,  when  all  U>e  mereoiy  ■ 

Sven  offqnietlv,  leaving  the  stiver  b«hlnd;  a  osefbl little  dodge  shAmi 
le  author  lately  by  Mr.  Crookes. 


English  Edition,  VoL  ZVI,  If 0. 41^  page  211.] 


GsmioAL  Nswa, ) 


On  a  New  Test  for  Hypomtpltitea. 


303 


tionately  larger  amount  of  assay  lead  is  required  to  be 
added. 

When  the  argentiferous  residue  is  extremely  small, 
afi  is  often  the  case  when  assaying  argentiferous  mer- 
cury, this  may  adhere  firmly  to  the  glass  of  the  tube. 
On  such  occasions  this  part  of  the  tube  must  be  cut  off 
with  the  adherent  residue,  and  the  whole  fused  in  a 
strong  reducing  flame  along  with  its  own  weight  of 
granulated  assay  lead,  and  with  half  its  weight  of 
anhydrous  carbonate  of  soda.  Upon  coohng,  the  glob- 
ule of  silver  lead  thus  obtained  is  cupelled  as  usual 

(c.)  Compounds  chiefly  consisting  of  iron ;  argentif- 
erous-steel ;  cast-iron ;  bears  from  smelting  tumace. 

Compounds  consisting  principally  of  iron  with  a 
small  percentage  of  silver,  although  occasionally  pro- 
duced in  the  arts  intentionally,  as,  for  example,  the  so- 
called  silver  steel,  are  commonly  found  on  the  blowing 
out  of  furnaces  used  in  the  smelting  of  silver  and  cop- 
per ores,  and  are  frequently  rich  in  silver,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  bears  flrom  the  silver  furnaces  at  Kongsberg 
in  Norway.  An  alloy  of  iron  with  silver  is  occa- 
sionally also  found  appearing  in  small  quantities  on  the 
surface  of  melted  silver  in  the  process  of  casting,  and 
in  some  cases  at  least  this  may  be  due  to  the  action  of 
the  melted  silver  on  the  iron  rods  used  for  stirring  up 
the  molten  metal 

As  iron  cannot  be  made  to  alloy  itself  with  lead 
before  the  blowpipe,  it  becomes  necessary  to  extract 
the  silver  by  a  more  indirect  process  than  is  used  in 
the  case  of  other  alloys  containing  that  metal  In 
order  to  remove  the  iron  the  alloy  must  first  be  con- 
verted into  sulphide  of  iron  and  silver,  and  to  effect 
this,  the  iron  or  steel  must  be  reduced  to  powder,  or 
fragments  none  great^er  than  about  a  quarter  of  a  grain 
in  weight;  for  which  purpose  steel  when  hardened 
may  require  to  be  softened  previously. 

One  part  of  the  finely-divided  iron  or  steel  is  now 
mixed  with  075  part  sulphur,  eight  parts  granulated 
assay  lead,  and  one  part  pulverised  borax-glass;  the 
mixture  after  being  placed  in  a  soda  paper  comet  is 
carefully  fused  in  a  cavity  on  charcoal  in  the  reducing 
flame,  until  the  whole  appears  as  a  fluid  globule  con- 
taining both  the  lead  and  iron  in  combination  with  the 
sulphur.  Without  removing  either  this  globule  or  the 
glass  surrounding  it  firom  the  charcoal,  an  amount  of 
borax  glass  in  one  or  more  fragments  (in  all  about 
equal  in  weight  to  the  original  amount  of  iron  employ- 
ed), is  now  added  (in  order  to  combine  with  and  slag 
off  the  whole  of  the  iron\  and  fused  along  with  the 
former  globule,  after  which  the  whole  is  submitted  to 
a  strong  oxidating  flame  until  the  impure  lead  globule 
shows  itself  protruding  from  the  slag. 

The  charcoal  is  then  inclined  so  that  the  lead  is  alone 
subjected  to  the  action  of  the  outer  flame,  in  order  to 
volatilise  the  sulphur,  and  at  same  time  oxidise  the 
iron  which  goes  into  the  slag :  this  operation  is  con- 
tinued until  the  globule  of  leaa  appears  with  a  bright 
metallic  surface;  should  it  on  cooling,  however,  be 
found  to  possess  a  black  colour,  and  to  be  brittle,  it 
must  be  still  further  oxidised  as  before  described. 

The  silver  lead  thus  obtained  will  now  be  found  to 
contain  all  the  silver,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  free 
from  both  iron  and  sulphur,  and  can  be  cupelled  as 
usual 

No  notice  is  here  taken  of  alloys  of  silver  and  gold, 
fdnce  these  metals  cannot  be  separated  before  the 
blowpipe  by  any  process  yet  known ;  and  in  all  cases 
where  gold  may  be  present  in  an  alloy,  treated  as  here 
directed  for  obtaining  its  contents  in  silver,  the  gold 


also  will  be  found  to  follow  along  with  the  silver,  and 
must  be  parted  from  that  metal  by  the  humid  method, 
in  order  to  enable  the  true  amount  of  silver  present  in 
the  substance  to  be  ascertained. 


ON  A  NEW  TEST  FOR  HYPOSULPHITES. 

BY   M.    CAREY   LKA. 

In  an  examination  of  the  platinum  metals  which  I 
published  some  time  back  in  this  journal,  I  described  a 
very  delicate  test  for  ruthenium,  by  which  the  faintest 
traces  of  that  metal  could  be  detected  through  the 
agency  of  hyposulphite  of  soda.  Recently,  having 
occasion  to  test  for  the  last-named  substance,  it  occurred 
to  me  as  probable  that  ruthenium  might  be  rendered 
available  for  that  purpose.  This  I  found  to  be  the  case, 
and  that  the  reaction  exhibited  considerable  delicacy. 
It  is  true  that  ruthenium  is  at  present  a  very  rare 
metal,  and  not  within  the  reach  of  all  who  might  wish 
to  use  it,  but  the  changes  from  rarity  to  more  or  less 
abundance  are  now  so  common  and  sudden  that  pres- 
ent scarcity  is  no  reason  for  ignoring  any  useful 
reagent. 

When  a  solution  of  ruthenium  is  rendered  alkaline 
by  ammonia  and  boiled  with  hyposulphite  of  soda,  it 
gradually  assumes  a  rose  colour  which  passes  into  a  rich 
carmine ;  with  strong  solution  the  color  is  so  intense  as 
to  be  almost  black.  When  diluted  the  shade  is  mag- 
nificent, rivalling  the  aniline  red  in  richness. 

I  have  already  stated  within  what  limits  ruthenium 
can  be  detected  by  hyposulphite  of  soda,  I  now  sub- 
join the  limits  observed  with  respect  to  hyposulphite 
of  soda. 

A  solution  containing  one  four-thousandth  of  hypo- 
sulphite, gave  a  clear  rose  red. 

One  containing  one  twelve-thousandth  gave  a  well 
marked  pink  fluid. 

One  containing  one  twenty-five-thousandth  gave  a 
salmon  colour. 

The  experiment  was  not  carried  further  because  the 
salmon  colour  in  the  last-mentioned  trial  showed  that 
the  test  had  then  reached  its  practical  limit  I  do  not 
doubt  that  even  with  one  hundred-thousandth  a  colour* 
ation  could  be  obtained,  but  it  would  not  have  the 
specific  distinctness  given  by  the  carmine  and  rose 
shade  previously  described. 

A  few  words  remain  to  be  said  as  to  the  best  mode 
of  applying  this  test 

I  have  recognised  in  solutions  of  sesquioxide  of  ru- 
thenium a  strong  tendency  to  decompose  by  dilution ; 
dilute  solutions  have  a  strong  tendency  to  gradually 
deposit  their  ruthenium  as  oxide.  And  even  before 
the  slightest  sign  of  a  precipitate  appears,  in  fact  imme- 
diately upon  dilution,  solutions  show  a  tendency  to 
change  their  reactions.  So  that  I  find  it  invariably 
better  on  diluting  the  ruthenium  solution  for  use  in 
testing,  to  boil  it  (as  I  have  elsewhere  pointed  out  in 
speaking  of  the  dilution  of  ruthenium)  with  a  few  drops 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  this  even  although  the  solu- 
tion is  to  be  immediately  afterwards  rendered  alkaline 
by  ammonia.  To  ascertain  with  certainty  that  this 
improved  the  delicacy  of  the  Reaction,  I  made  compara- 
tive experiments  on  two  portions  of  the  same  ru- 
thenium solution,  and  found  that  the  colouration  by 
hyposulphite  was  at  least  three  times  stronger  in  the 
case  of  the  portion  that  had  been  boiled  with  HGl 
than  with  that  that  had  not. 

As  ammonia  was  thereafter  immediately  added,  it 


[Englkh  EdftSon,  T«L  XTl^  Vo,  411^  pugM  212,  212^  216.] 


304 


Practical  Hints  to  the  Student 


\  CntmoAL  Nbwil 


might  appear  that  the  function  of  the  hydrochloric  acid 
was  to  form  hjdrochlorate  of  ammonia.  But  it  was 
found  by  experiment  that  the  addition  of  sal-ammoniac 
in  no  way  aided  the  reactiou. 

The  addition  of  ammonia  to  a  hot  solution  of  sesqui- 
chloride  of  ruthenium  immediately  darkens  ii  to  a  black- 
ish olive  colour,  which,  according  to  the  dilution  and 
the  light  that  falls  on  it,  is  of  a  reddish  or  a  greenish 
shade.  By  standing,  the  ruthenium  is  precipitated  as 
oxide.  As  this  condition  is  the  necessary  preliminary 
(as  before  explained)  to  the  production  of  the  charac- 
teristic carmine  reaction,  it  is  not  a  little  singular  that 
the  delicacy  of  that  reaction  should  be  so  p-eatly 
enhanced  by  taking  steps  to  strengthen  the  combmation 
with  excess  of  acid  and  boiling,  immediately  before  the 
affinities  are  to  be  loosened  by  ammonia. 

In  using  this  reaction  for  the  detection  of  small 
quantities  of  hyposulphite,  it  is  useful  to  remark  that 
it  succeeds  best  when  very  little  ruthenium  is  present. 
After  the  ruthenium  solution  has  been  boiled  with  acid 
and  supersaturated  with  ammonia  and  the  liquid  to  be 
tested  for  hyposulphite  added,  the  mixed  solution 
should  have  so  little  ruthenium  in  it  as  to  exhibit  only 
a  very  pale  transparent  olive  colouration — should  in 
fact  be  almost  without  colour,  Otherw  ise  if  the  hy- 
posulphite is  present  in  mere  traces,  we  get  a  salmon  or 
flame  colour  mstead  of  the  pure  carmine. — American 
Journal  of  Seienc^^  September,  1867. 


PRACTICAL   HINTS   TO   THE   STUDENT.* 

BT   WILLIAM  ALLEN   MILLER,    M.D.,    LL.D.,   V.P.R.B. 
Professor  of  Chcmlstrj  in  King's  College. 

I  SHALL  best  consult  the  wishes  of  those  whom  I 
represent,  and  shall  be  doing  what  is  most  fitting  upon 
such  an  occasion,  if  I  aim  at  usefulness  rather  than 
novelty  ;  and  for  that  purpose  I  shall  direct  my 
remarks  chiefly  to  those  who  are  just  commencing 
their  career  among  us,  and  who  may  perhaps  not 
unnaturally  feel  some  degree  of  perplexity  and  appre- 
hension at  the  formidable  array  of  studies  to  which 
they  are  now  at  once  introduced  as  a  preUminary  to 
the  practice  of  their  profession. 

It  will  not  be  sufficient  for  any  one  of  you,  however 
diligent)  to  content  himself  with  mere  attendance  upon 
lectures.  Admirable  as  these  may  be,  they  can  only 
present  an  outhne  of  the  subject,  which  the  student 
must  fill  up  by  reading  and  reflection.  No  man  can 
really  do  the  work  of  thinking  for  another,  if  that 
other  is  to  be  anything  more  than  a  cypher.  The 
most  important  part  of  every  man's  education  is  that 
which  he  gives  to  himself  He  must  learn  to  master 
his  own  mind,  and  to  conquer  the  tendency  which 
every  one  naturally  has  to  prefer  ease  to  persevering 
work.  When  once  the  habit  of  steady  application  has 
been  acquired,  all  others  are  comparatively  easy. 

In  preparing  yourselves  for  the  practice  of  your 
profession,  your  great  object  must  be  to  seize  upon  the 
principles  of  each  branch  of  your  studies ;  and  it  is 
here  tiat  good  lectures  are  of  such  value  in  directing 
the  mind  of  the  student  Do  not  suppose,  however, 
that  I  wish  you  to  undervalue  the  acquisition  of  even 
very  minute  details  in  certain  cases.  Details  indeed 
are  not  to  be  despised  or  neglected,  for  it  is  upon  the 
mastery  of  detail  that  all  successful  practice  depends. 
All  acquired  knowledge,  to  be  valuable,  must  be  pre- 


*  Bxtraots  from  an   Introductory  Lecture  ftt  the  opening  of  the 
Medi«al  Session  at  King's  College,  London,  October  x,  1867. 


cise  as  far  as  it  goes  :  but  the  selection  of  those  points 
that  must  be  filled  up  minutely,  and  the  omission  of 
details  where  the  knowledge  of  the  principle  only  will 
suffice  in  others,  are  essential  conditions  to  success  in 
study  ;  and  in  such  cases  a  hint  obtained  from  the 
Professor  may  often  save  you  many,  an  hour  of  profit- 
less labour.  For  example — ^the  custom  of  taking  notes 
during  lectures  is  one  which  may  be  beneficial  or  inju- 
rious, according  to  the  mode  in  which  it  is  carried  out 
If  judiciously  managed,  it  may  be  of  great  value. 
Unless,  however,  you  are  a  master  of  shorthand  it 
would  be  a  mistake  to  endeavour  to  take  down  all  that 
is  said.  The  great  value  of  notes  of  lectures  will  be  to 
guide  you  in  your  subsequent  reading ;  but  since  most 
of  the  details  given  in  systematic  courses  of  lectures 
will  be  found  m  the  text-books  upon  the  subject,  it 
would  be  waste  of  effort  to  do  more  than  preserve  the 
heads  and  main  divisions  of  the  discourse.  If  more  be 
attempted,  the  attention  is  in  danger  of  being  distract- 
ed by  the  mechanical  effort  of  writing,  and  the  drift  of 
the  argument  of  being  lost  in  consequence.  It  will 
often  be  useful  to  tiie  down  references  to  books, 
numerical  details,  and  special  information  of  any  kind. 
If  it  is  an  experimental  lecture,  a  list  of  the  illustra- 
tions employed  may  be  preserved ;  whilst  a  sketch  of 
any  particular  piece  of  apparatus,  or  of  the  arrangement 
of  an  experiment,  will  frequently  both  save  a  long 
description  and  recall  the  whole  more  vividly  to  the 
memory.  In  short,  good  notes  to  a  lecture  are  like  an 
index-map  to  an  intricate  country,  upon  which  a  few 
of  the  leading  rivers,  mountains,  and  cities  are  dearly 
marked  out. 

Every  student  who  aspires  to  distinguish  himself— 
and  who  is  there  among  you  that  does  not  ? — must  set 
apart  methodically  certain  portions  of  the  dajr  for  study. 
Four  or  five  hours  a  dav  spent  in  real  study,  in  addition 
to  the  time  occupied  m  the  class-room,  in  dissecting, 
and  at  the  hospital,  will  be  as  much  as  will  be  profitable 
to  most  men.  The  mental  food,  like  the  food  for  the 
body,  must  be  digested  and  assimilated,  otherwise  it 
will  not  become  part  of  the  mind,  nor  will  it  be  avail- 
able for  use. 

This  systematic  and  orderly  arrangement  of  your 
studies  will  be  greatly  facilitated  by  the  custom  of  draw- 
ing up  every  evening  a  plan  for  vour  work  on  the 
following  day  j  it  will  preserve  you  from  indecision,  and 
will  save  time  as  you  pass  from  one  pursuit  to  another 
in  its  due  order.  You  will  then  also  be  in  less  dango" 
of  falling  into  the  habit  of  procrastination,  which  so  often 
ruins  a  promising  character.  If  you  know  that  a  thing 
which  must  be  done  can  be  done  at  once,do  not  postpone 
i  t.  The  recollection  of  the  duty  will  either  hang  uneasily 
over  you,  and  rob  you  of  your  repose,  or  else  you  wiD be- 
come indifferent  j  the  habit  of  delay  will  be  confirmed, 
and  your  power  over  yourself  will  be  weakened. 

Tlie  first  requisite  to  successful  study  is  the  concen- 
tration of  the  powers  of  the  mind  upon  the  subject  in 
hand ;  and  this  concentration  of  the  faculties^  though  a 
voluntary  act,  is  difficult  at  first  to  accomplish,  but  it 
gradually  becomes  easier  by  repeated  practice.  A  weB- 
trained  mind  will  find  that  this  process  will  afford  in- 
valuable aid  to  the  memory,  even  when  not  naturally 
retentive,  whilst  it  will  enable  one  endowed  with  a 
really  strong  memory  to  acquire  a  knowledge,  at  once 
ready  and  accurate,  of  any  subject  which  he  may 
select 

We  often  hear  complaints  of  memory  on  the  part  of 
those  who  really  ought  to  blame  themselves  for  want  of 
attention.    The  same  man  who  complains  that  his  mem- 


[BngUflhEditi(m,ToL  XVL,  Ko.  411^  pi«wai6,  216.1 


GnonoAX.  Kbwb,  1 


Practical  Hints  to  the  Student. 


305 


017 18  so  bad  that  he  forgets  what  he  has  read  as  soon 
as  he  has  closed  the  boot,  will,  nevertheless,  often  give 
you  the  particulars  of  a  boat-race,  or  of  a  game  at  crick- 
et, or  of  football,  in  which  he  was  himself  personally 
interested,  with  the  mihute  details  of  every  inci- 
dent^ showing  no  want  of  memory  in  this  case,  where 
his  bodily  and  mental  powers  were  called  into  full 
activity. 

The  mind  must  be  directed  to  the  subject  for  a  certain 
time  with  a  view  to  remembering  it^  and  the  idea  must 
be  strengthened  by  repetition.  Systematic  repetition 
or  review  of  the  leading  features  of  the  subject  under 
study  should  never  be  neglected.  It  is  irksome,  but 
indispensable.  This  habit  of  directing  the  mind  in- 
tensely to  whatever  comes  before  it  in  reading  or  ob- 
servation should  therefore  be  cultivated  by  afl  means 
in  your  power,  and  the  opposite  habit  of  listless  inactiv- 
ity should  be  carefully  guarded  against,  for  in  this  lies 
the  foundation  of  a  sound  intellectual  character. 

Next  to  attention,  there  is  nothing  that  affords  so 
important  an  aid  to  the  memory  as  the  habit  of  asso- 
ciating ideas  correctly  with  each  other.  The  constant 
practice  of  tracing  the  relation  between  new  facts  and 
those  ahready  acquired;  the  custom  of  referring  facts 
to  the  principles  which  they  confirm,  illustrate,  or  ex- 
tend, is  of  the  utmost  value ;  since  it  not  only  fixes  the 
new  facts  firmly  in  the  memory,  but  it  refers  them  to 
their  proper  place  in  the  mind,  thereby  enabling  you  to 
recall  them  in  connection  with  the  subject  itself  to 
which  they  relate.  This  mental  operation  is  most  ira- 
Dortant  to  prevent  confusion  of  mind.  Indeed,  it  is  not 
less  necessary  than  the  corresponding  mechanical  pro- 
cess of  arranging  one*s  papers  in  which  every  one  at 
once  feels  the  importance  of  separating  those  relating 
to  different  subjects,  while  those  referred  to  allied  ones 
are  placed  together,  each  series  being  indicated  by  its 
apwopriate  label 

The  habit  of  correct  association  may  be  attained  by 
any  one,  but  it  requires  assiduous  cultivation.  It  not 
only  exerts  a  great  influence  upon  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge,  but  also  upon  the  formation  of  the  mental 
characteristic ;  and  it  is  closely  connected  both  with 
that  activity  of  mind  which  it  is  so  important  to  foster, 
and  with  that  soundness  of  judgment  upon  which  so 
much  of  the  solidity  of  a  character,  and  its  usefulness 
to  others,  must  depend  in  fiiture  life. 

In  mtany  sciences  our  knowledge  rests  upon  an 
assured  and  exact  basis.  This  certainly  depends  upon 
the  facility  with  which,  we  can  trace  effects  to  their 
true  causes,  can"  predict  the  effects  of  known  causes, 
and  consequently  can  calculate  upon  the  absolute  uni- 
formity with  which  particular  results  may  be  obtained. 
This  is  a  certainty  which  can  be  secured  so  long  as  we 
are  dealing  with  limited  portions  of  inanimate  matter. 
We  can  determine  with  absolute  accuracy  the  effects 
of  a  mechanical  combination,  and  we  can  predict  the 
results  of  a  chemical  experiment  which  we  have  already 
tried.  If  the  consequence  which  we  expect  does  not 
follow,  we  are  sure  that  some  unobserved  disturbing 
agent  has  prevented  the  conclusion  which  we  antici- 
pated ;  and  a  little  observation  will  enable  us  to  dis- 
cover and  obviate  its  effects.  It  is  our  accurate  knowl- 
edge which,  gives  us  the  power  that  in  so  many 
instances  we  possess  over  material  objects;  and  we 
must  remember  with  Bacon,  "  Natura  non  nisi  parendo 
vincitur." 

The  knowledge  of  the  philosopher  differs  from  that 
of  the  uneducated  man  less  in  kind  than  in  degree,  and 
in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  acquired.    In  addition  to 


the  observation  of  the  phenomena  as  they  occur,  the 
man  of  science  institutes  experiments;  that  is  to  say, 
he  arranges  and  selects  certain  circumstances  and  ex- 
cludes others,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  determine  what 
are  the  necessary,  and  what  the  merely  accidental  an- 
tecedents of  the  phenomena  which  he  is  examining; 
and  upon  the  skill  with  which  those  experiments  are 
arranged  depends  his  progress  in  the  discovery  of 
scientific  truth. 

Now,  in  medical  science  there  are  sources  of  uncer- 
tainty which  do  not  exist  in  physical  science.  One  of 
the  most  important  of  these  arises  from  the  fact  that, 
in  most  cases,  we  cannot  make  experiments  and  vary 
them  at  pleasure.  In  nearly  every  case  of  disease  we 
must  content  ourselves  with  the  observation  of  the 
phenomena;  and  how  much  lies  hid  even  from  the 
most  careful  observation!  We  see  complex  results 
only,  but  cannot  trace  all  the  conditions  necessary  to 
produce  them.  Hence  accurate  inferences  can  be  de- 
duced only  by  slow  degrees ;  and  hence  it  is  in  so  many 
instances  difficult  to  estimate  the  true  value  of  the  con- 
clusions at  which  we  have  actually  arrived. 

The  remaining  subject  with  which  you  wiU  be  en- 
gaged during  your  first  winter  session  is  Chemistty^  by 
which  you  are  taught  the  nature,  properties,  and  modes 
of  combination  of  the  different  kinds  of  matter;  a 
science  of  vast  extent,  and  of  fundamental  importance 
to  you.  From  its  wide  range,  and  its  difficulty,  there 
is  no  branch  which  the  student  is  more  often  tempted 
to  neglect  than  this,  although  its  bearing  upon  the 
practical  part  of  his  profession  is  unquestionably  very 
great.  It  will  be  my  business,  after  impressing  upon 
you  its  leading  principles,  to  endeavour  to  guide  you  in 
selecting  those  parts  of  the  science  which  admit  of  direct 
application  to  your  profession.  For  instance,  the  mi- 
croscopic investigations  of  the  physiologist  and  the  pa- 
thologist would  be  partial  and  incomplete  if  the  various 
tissues  were  unravelled  only  by  the  aid  of  the  scalpel 
or  the  needle.  The  judicious  use  of  solvents,  the  appli- 
cation of  tinctorial  agents,  and  the  various  expedients 
of  microscopic  chemistry,  must  be  called  in  at  every 
step  to  assist  the  ruder  dissections  effected  by  the  knife. 

With  the  chemistry  of  the  atmosphere  and  of  water 
many  of  the  most  important  problems  of  hygiene  and 
sanitary  science  are  bound  up.  Efficient  ventilation,  or 
the  removal  of  that  portion  of  the  atmosphere  which 
has  become  chemically  altered  by  respiration  or  by 
combustion,  and  which  is  consequently  no  longer  fitted 
for  the  due  support  of  life,  is  one  of  the  great  objects 
of  the  sanitary  reformer.  It  is  for  this  purpose  that  he 
widens  streets,  opens  courts,  puts  in  additional  win- 
dows, and  inserts  ventilating  gratings.  It  is  to  prevent 
the  pollution  of  the  air  we  breathe  by  the  miasmata 
evolved  by  decaying  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  and 
the  spread  of  pestdence  and  death,  that  it  becomes 
necessary  to  close  the  cesspool,  and  to  cause  the  closet 
to  be  properly  trapped.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the 
officer  of  health  insists  upon  the  removal  of  heaps  of 
ordure,  which,  when  duly  returned  to  the  soil,  serve  as 
needful  manure  to  stimulate  the  growth  of  future 
plants,  and  which,  by  the  transforming  actions  of  the 
chemistry  of  vegetation,  again  become  fitted  to  supply 
food  and  vigour  to  the  animal  creation. 

Typhus,  diarrhoea,  even  cholera  itself,  may  often  be 
traced  to  contamination  of  the  water  supply  of  a  dis- 
trict with  organic  impurity ;  and  in  such  cases  a  simple 
chemical  examination  of  the  water  has  often  revealed 
the  acting  cause,  and  thus  led  at  once  to  the  adoption 


[EngUih  BdltioD,  ToL  XVl^  No.  412,  pagw  21^217.] 


$o6 


Address  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital  Medical  School. 


\       J>4e,  180T. 


of  the  appropriate  remedy  in  the  introduction  of  water 
from  a  purer  source.  As  illustrations  of  the  direct 
applications  of  chemistry  to  medical  practice,  I  need 
but  remind  you  of  the  large  and  important  class  of  dis^ 
eases  of  the  kidney  and  bladder.  The  different  forms 
of  gravel  and  the  varieties  of  calculous  affections  can 
only  be  successfully  treated  by  carefully  watching  the 
changing  chemical  conditions  of  the  urine  and  its  de- 
posits. In  diabetes  and  albuminuria,  it  is  from  the 
application  of  chemical  tests  that  the  physician  obtains 
the  most  rapid  and  certain  indications  of  the  progress 
of  the  disease  and  the  effects  of  his  remedies. 

Few  subjects  offer  more  important  matter  for  inves- 
tigation from  a  chemical  point  of  view  than  the  various 
forms  of  dyspepsia;  for  there  is  no  fiinction  more 
intimately  dependent  than  digestion  upon  chemical 
changes ;  and  yet  there  are  few  over  which  we  at  pres- 
ent possess  less  definite  control  The  manner  in 
which  the  food  becomes  converted  into  a  soluble  form, 
Buitable  not  merely  for  absorption  but  for  assimilation, 
is,  indeed,  but  little  understood ;  and  no  greater  service 
could  be  rendered  to  practical  medicine  than  a  sound 
interpretation  of  the  physiology  of  digestion,  and  of 
the  pathology  of  dyspepsia  j  and  this  we  must  look  for 
at  the  han(£  of  the  chemical  physiologist. 

Let  me,  then,  earnestly  urge  you  to  the  diligent 
study  of  the  principles  of  chemistry.  In  no  branch  of 
science  is  it  of  more  importance  to  obtain  a  strong 
grasp  of  principles,  and  in  none,  from  the  enormous 
mass  of  facts  which  it  embraces,  is  a  judicious  selection 
of  the  parts  to  be  studied  in  detail  more  indispensable. 
At  the  same  time  there  is  no  subject  which  will  by  its 
intrinsic  value  and  interest  more  amply  repay  the  time 
and  labour  bestowed  upon  its  acquisition. 


ADDRESSES. 

INTRODUCTORY     ADDRESS     DELITERED    AT     ST. 
BARTHOLOMEW'S  HOSPITAL  MEDICAL  SCHOOL.* 
Session  1867-68. 
by  william  oolino,  u.b.  lond.,  r.r.s., 

Lecturer  on  Cbemlstry  at  tha  Hospital 
I  HAYB  dwelt  largely  upon  the  importance  of  your  acquiring 
the  utmost  attainable  knowledge  of  disease,  in  order  that  you 
may  be  able  hereafter  to  deal  with  disease.  You  are  now  for 
a  few  years,  and  must  indeed  continue  to  be  all  your  lives, 
■students  of  medicine,  so  as  to  become  and  continue  practition- 
ers of  medicine.  With  you,  as  future  practitioners,  knowledge 
is  only  a  means  to  an  end,  and  that  end  the  cure  of  disease. 
The  medical  man  is  a  medical  artist ;  and  his  ultimate  object 
18,  not  to  accumulate  knowledge,  but  to  multiply  cures.  As 
practitiooers  of  medicine,  then,  you  are  called  upon,  not  only 
to  know,  but  to  act  Now,  as  was  so  dearly  pointed  out  last 
year,  in  almost  every  concern  of  life  in  which  action  has  to  be 
taken,  we  do  not  act  with  an  absolute  certainty,  either  of  the 
state  of  affairs  under  which  we  act,  or  of  the  result  that  will 
follow  our  action,  but  upon  a  probability  only,  approximating 
more  or  less  to  the  value  of  an  absolute  certainty  in  different 
cases.  And,  if  we  are  judicious  men,  we  are  all  the  more 
cautious  in  acting  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  our  act, 
and  the  inferior  certainty  of  our  knowledge.  The  practice  of 
medicine,  indeed,  like  that  of  any  other  art,  may,  in  various 
ways,  be  good  or  bad,  judicious  or  injudicious,  skilful  or  un- 
skilful ;  but^  to  act  skilfUlly,  it  is  above  all  things  necessary 
for  you  to  act  with  a  well-founded  and  well-applied  judgment, 
alike  as  to  the  conditions  and  consequences  of  your  act  For 
this  purpose,  you  must  have  an  exp^ienoe  of  cases  on  which 
to  ^und  your  judgment  of  any  particular  case,  and  also  an 


*  Extract,  eommanleated  and  corrected  by  ttie  Aathor. 


experience  in  the  application  of  your  judgment  to  the  features 
of  different  cases.  And  this  double  experience  by  which  yea 
will  be  enabled  to  appreciate  what  is  required,  must  be  further 
supplemented  by  an  experience  in  effecting  what  is  required. 
Skill  in  ascertaining  how  matters  stand,  skUl  in  pereeiving 
what  i»  desirable,  and  skill  in  effecting  what  you  desire,  can 
only  be  attained  by  constant  practice  in  ascertaining,  perceiv- 
ing, and  effecting.  In  other  words,  so  as  to  express  an  ob- 
vious truism,  for  the  skilful  practice  of  medical  art  you  most 
be  practical  men ;  not,  indeed,  as  (^stinguished  from  adentiflo 
men^-not  as  being  unacquainted  with  the  science  of  disease, 
but  rather  as  having  pursued  your  knowledge  of  that  science 
to  its  most  special  developments,  and  fiEimiliarised  yourselves 
with  its  most  special  applications.  As  practical  men,  havfaig 
that  prompt  understanding  of  what  is  required  to  be  done^ 
and  how  to  do  it,  which  continuous  practice  alone  can  impart, 
you  may,  periiapa,  have  a  something  in  addition  to  the  merely 
scientific  roan,  but  assuredly  nothing  in  contradistinction  to 
him.  Mentally,  indeed,  we  may  dissociate  the  scienoft  from 
the  art  of  medicine ;  actually  they  are  one  and  indivisible. 
Science  is  knowing;  art  is  doing  or  practising ;  but  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  know  the  science  without  practising  the  art,  or 
to  practise  the  art  without  learning  the  science  of  medicine: 
Of  course,  the  scientific  man,  though  possessing  a  knowledge 
of  all  the  sciences  under  the  sun  except  the  science  of  medi- 
cine, wanting  the  knowledge  of  that  can  never  be  a  physi- 
cian. And  the  knowledge  of  medicine,  like  any  other  branch 
of  natural  history  knowledge,  can  only  be  acquired  by  work- 
ing at  the  subject  of  that  knowledge— that  is  to  say,  by  attend- 
ing to  the  practice  of  medicine  and  the  investigation  of  dis^ 
ease.  For  the  successful  practice  of  medicane,  then,  as  for  the 
practice  of  any  other  art>  that  particular  kind  of  intimate  pe^ 
soual  knowledge  which  results  from  or  constitutes  personal 
experience,  is  most  of  all  required ;  since  the  conditions  af- 
fecting disease  in  any  particular  case  are  so  various  that 
nothing  but  experience  will  enable  you  to  estimate  them  even 

approximately 

And  now,  gentlemen,  whai  has  been  the  object  of  my  ad- 
dress ?  It  has  been  to  satisfy  you  of  tlie  reality  of  medidne 
as  a  branch  of  human  knowledge,  and  of  the  soundness  of 
medical  practice  in  so  far  as  it  is  based  upon  knowledge  and 
philanthropy.  Every  branch  of  human  knowledge  is  neoei* 
sarily  incomplete,  and  very  much  in  proportion  to  the  complez 
and  recondite  character  of  the  phenomena  with  which  it  con- 
cerns itself.  As  a  consequence  of  its  incompleteness,  eTCjy 
branch  of  knowledge  is  more  or  less  tinctured  with  OTor; 
and  much  unsuspected  error  doubtless  prevails  and  will  pre- 
vail in  medicine.  But  the  strength  of  our  position  is  this,  that 
we  are  desirous  only  for  the  establishment  of  troth.  Ow 
present  views  are  merely  the  resultant  of  our  present  knowl- 
edge, and  are  held  by  us  on  the  express  tenure  of  change- 
ability with  greater  certainty  of  knowledge.  To  acquire  thig 
greater  certainty,  our  method  is  to  consider,  observe,  and  ra- 
veetigate  phenomena ;  not,  indeed,  without  an  expectation  of 
finding-^not  even  without  some  unpbilosophical  wish  to  find 
—that  the  truth  may  lie  in  a  particular  direction ;  but  stffl 
with  the  single-minded  intention  of  learning  what  the  facta 
the  matter  is,  and  of  loyally  accepting  it 

It  is  thus  that  our  present  knowledge  of  medicine  hn 
been  established  by  the  same  method  as  the  knowledge  of 
every  other  branch  of  natural  science ;  and  many  investiga- 
tions in  practical  medicine  will  take  their  place  amongst  the 
finest  examples  of  scientific  work  recorded.  Allowing  abo 
for  the  different  character  of  its  subject,  much  of  our  knowl- 
edge with  regard  to  disease  will  bear  the  most  searching  ex- 
amination to  which  any  branch  of  knowledge  can  be  exposed; 
and  there  is  no  part  of  our  professed  knowledge  that  we  fesr 
to  submit  to  the  most  rigorous  ordeal,  since  we  derive  no  tea 
benefit  from  its  refutation  than  its  confirmation.  As  studenti 
of  nature,  we  have  no  system  of  medicine  to  stand  or  fall  by; 
for  the  physician,  of  all  men  in  the  world,  is  essentially  hom» 
naiurcB  minister  et  interpret^  and  nothing  more.  He  w 
longer  looks  upon  himself  as  the  depository  of  some  occnll 
mystery,  but  as  a  mere  student  of  nature;  whose  knowledge, 


[SngUahBdmon,  VoLZVL  7X0.412,9999211 :  Vo.  410,  pages  193,  IM.] 


OkwHUL  Nnra,  1 


Foreign  Scienct. 


307 


indeed,  so  &r  as  it  goes,  is  a  real  knowledge,  but  who  aspires 
to  and  JQcessaDtly  strives  for  the  attalument  of  more  perfect 
knowledge. 

The  knowledge  of  diseases,  however,  is  a  plant  of  slow 
growth.    You  cannot  complete  the  knowledge  here ;  you  can, 
indeed,  do  little  more  than  lay  the  foundation  for  it ;  and  the 
sounder  and  broader  your  foundation,  the  greater  the  degree 
to  which  you  will  hereafter  be  able  to  extend  your  knowledge. 
Bot  to  understand  disease  aright,  as  to  understand  every 
other  phenomenon  of  nature,  you  must  not  only  study  the 
disease  itself,  but  must  also  prepare  yourselves  for  such  study 
by  the  acquisition  of  extensive  preliminary  knowledge.    It  is 
most  unfortunate  that,  ft'om  the  defective  state  of  physical 
education  at  schools  and  colleges,  much  of  the  preliminary 
knowledge  which  you  ought  already  to  possess,  you  will  have 
to  acquire  here,  whereby  valuable  time,  which,  in  this  home 
of  disease,  could  be  advantageously  devoted  to  the  work  of 
yoar  profession,  will  be  seriously  encroached  upon ;  and,  afler 
all,  you  will  not  obtain  such  a  knowledge  of  general  science 
aa  you  ought  to  possess,  and  which — in  the  forcible  language 
of  Prof.  Huxley — ^you  would  possess  "  if  those  who  regulate 
education  in  this  country  had  a  right  conception  of  what  their 
duties  are.  or  of  the  purpose  of  education,  and  the  conditions 
of  the  prepress  of  mankind  at  the  present  time."    By  rights,  I 
maintain,  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  enter  at  a  medical  school 
without  having  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  three  great  di- 
visions of  natural  science — namely,  physics,  chemistry,  and 
biology ;  whereby  our  distinct  courses  of  comparative  anat- 
omy, of  botany,  and  of  general  chemistry  and  physics,  might 
be  abolished  from  the  curriculum  of  hospital  study,  as  deriv- 
ing no  advantage  from  their  association  with  hospital  work. 
Chemistry,  indeed,  as  the  basis  of  vital  dynamics  and  sheet- 
anchor  of  rational  therapeutics,  must  ever  form  an  important 
branch  of  medical  education.    But  the  sort  of  chemistry  which 
should  be  taught — in  our  own  chemical  theatre,  for  instance, 
and  in  that  magnificent  laboratory  which  you,  Sir,  have  lately 
had  constructed — -is  very  different  from  the  chemistry  which 
I  am  in  the  habit  of  teaching,  and  shall,  I  fear,  long  continue 
to  teach.    It  should  be  an  altogether  special  development  of 
diemistry,  having  to  the  chemistry  ordinarily  taught  much  the 
pune  relation  that  the  study  of  human  anatomy  and  phys- 
iology has  to  the  study  of  biology  in  general,  and  having  a 
Raroely  less  direct  bearing  upon  your  strictly  professional 
duties. 

But  you  must  make  the  best  of  circumstances  as  they 
exist,  and  endeavour,  while  here,  to  obtain  as  much  prelimi- 
nary science  as  you  can.  In  your  future  careers  you  will  ne- 
cessarily have  to  compete  with  men  far  more  experienced  in 
disease  than  yourselves,  and  your  only  chance  of  competing 
with  them  successfully  will  consist  in  compensating  as  far  as 
may  be  for  their  superior  experience,  by  starting  upon  a  surer 
foundation  of  medical  knowledge  than  was  possible  to  them 
at  the  outset  of  their  careers.  But  all  your  preliminary  knowl- 
edge must  culminate  in  your  acquiring  an  ultimate  knowl- 
edge of  disease,  and  the  ultimate  branch  of  your  knowledge 
is  just  as  scientific  as  the  preliminary.  If  you  content  your- 
selves with  laying  the  foundation— if  you  neglect  to  raise  the 
superstructure, — ^you  cannot  be  called  physicians.  In  that 
case,  and  in  that  case  only,  will  you  be  at  a  disadvantage  with 
the  so-called  practical  man,  whose  superstructure  at  any  rate 
exists,  though  based  on  a  much  less  certain  foundation,  and 
constituting  a  far  more  rickety  edifice  than  yours  might  be. 
Tua  cannot,  I  have  said,  complete  your  knowledge  of  disease 
during  your  study  here.  You  may,  nevertheless,  among  the 
out-patients,  and  in  the  wards,  and  more  especially  in  the 
dead-house,  of  this  great  hospital,  learn  that  of  disease  which, 
neglcctinf?  to  learn  here,  you  will  never  be  able  to  learn  else- 
where. Here  alone  can  you  acquire  the  art  of  examining 
disease  in  the  living ;  here  alone  can  you  examine  the  results 
of  disease  in  the  dead. 

The  knowledge,  then,  both  preliminary  and  professional, 
you  will  have  to  obtain  during  your  few  years  of  hospital 
study  is  enormous  in  its  amount,  and  in  its  kind  not  only  most 
variuos,  but  for  the  most  part  very  different  from  any  to  which 


you  have  previously  devoted  yourselves.  It  is  lamentable 
that  this  should  be  die  case,  and  reflects  seriously  upon  those 
on  whom  the  charge  of  general  education  in  this  country 
chiefly  depends.  Both  as  regards  the  attainment  of  real  knowl- 
edge, however,  and  the  training  of  your  powers  of  observa- 
tion, your  judgments,  and  your  understandings,  many  of  you 
will,  I  believe,  gain  more  during  your  first  year  of  study  here 
than  during  the  last  half-dozen  years  of  your  previous  lives. 
But  to  achieve  this  gain,  you  must  work  laboriously  and  con- 
tinuously. Even  the  ablest  of  men  cannot  aflbrd  to  dispense 
with  work.  I  have  set  before  you  the  career  of  Sir  William 
Lawrence,  not,  perhaps,  as  an  example  to  you  in  every  re- 
spect, for  men  of  his  extraordinary  powers  could  not  fail  of 
success  in  any  walk  of  life,  and  might  safely  neglect  the  special 
requirements  demanded  by  any  particular  walk.  But  even 
he  would  never  have  succeeded,  either  in  surgery  or  any  other 
profession,  without  work.  Referring  to  Lawrence  in  his  stu- 
dent-days. Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  wrote  of  him,  some  fiHy  years 
aflerwards,  "J  never  knew  anyone  who  had  a  greater  capa- 
city of  learning  than  he  had,  or  more  industry."  I  have  said 
that  the  amount  of  knowledge  you  will  have  to  acquire  is 
enormous.  Still  it  is  not  more  than  can  be  acquired,  or  more 
than  habitually  is  acquired,  by  industrious  men,  an  appellation 
which  all  of  you  must  make  it  a  point  to  deserve.  Remember 
that  the  period  of  your  sojourn  here  is  the  most  important 
period,  is  indeed  the  seed-time  of  your  lives.  With  a  view 
to  the  harvest  of  ultimate  success  in  life,  if  for  no  nobler  ob- 
ject— ^for  the  sake  of  your  own  future  happiness  and  self- 
respect,  still  more  for  the  welfare  of  those  committed  to  your 
charge,  take  care  that  that  time  is  not  misspent  or  frittered 
away.  What  you  may  if  you  please  secure  now,  you  will 
never  be  able  to  attain  hereafter.  Let  me  then  entreat  you 
to  make  the  most  of  your  present  opportunities.  Let  me  say 
to  each  one  of  you — 

**  Stay,  stay  the  present  Instcnt  I 
Imprint  the  marks  of  wisdom  on  its  win^  ! 
O,  let  it  not  elude  thy  grasp,  bat,  like 
The  frood  old  patriarch  upon  record, 
Hold  the  fleet  angel  fast  until  he  bless  thee  I  ** 


FOREIGN  SCIENGS. 


(From  oub  own  Correspondent.) 

Paris,  Oct.  2,  1867. 
Formation  of  Volcanic  Sal-ammoniac — Power  of  the  light  of 

the  electric  »park  to  penetrate  *pace, — Solar  radiaiUm  at  high 

elevations, 
K.  ANaiOLO  Baniebk  has  presented  a  memour  to  the  Acad- 
emy of  Sdeuces  relative  to  the  martial  sal-ammoniac  collected 
on  the  lava  of  Vesuvius  during  the  eruption  of  1850,  starting 
from  the  region  known  by  the  name  of  the  Atrio  dell  Ca»alU^ 
as  far  as  the  south-east  of  the  actual  crater. 

For  a  long  time  past  naturalists  have  been  divided  upon 
the  question  of  the  origin  of  the  sal-ammoniac  disengaged  by 
the  fumes  of  volcanic  lava.  (See  third  eeriee  of  the  "  An 
ncUes  de  Chimie  et  de  Physique,  1853,"  pp.  289  A  292.)  Some 
admit  that  the  hydrochloric  acid,  escaping  from  lava  in  motion, 
united  to  the  iron  which  enters  into  their  composition,  formed 
a  perchloride  of  iron,  which,  joined  to  the  ammonia  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  to  the  excess  of  hydrochloric  acid  of  these 
same  lavas,  would  give  rise  to  this  mixture,  of  simple  ammo- 
niacal  salt,  and  perchloride  of  iron,  collected  in  the  fissures. 

This  opinion  does  not  agree  with  facts  observed  by  M.  Ba- 
niere  during  the  flow  of  the  lava  at  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius 
in  185a  He  observed  that  no  fumes  existed  except  where 
the  lava  had  invaded  a  cultivated  and  manured  territory { 
also  that  these  fumes  were  in  such  abundance  that  they  gave 
more  than  10,000  kilogrammes  of  salt  of  ammonia,*  while 
at  another  spot  where  the  igneous  current  had  taken  its 


•  Antonio  de  KapoU,  dealer  in  cdiemkal  prodaets  at  Naples,  boa  ght 
more  than  a  hundred  qofaitals,  and  be  has  stUl  twenty  quintals  toll. 
Many  other  q^eoiators  have  followed  his  example. 


[BngUsh  EdiHoo,  VoL  XVI.,  No.  410,  pages  19i,  195;  No.  409,  page  183.] 


3o8 


Foreign  Science. 


j  Cbicvioal  Nkvi, 
1      J>tc^  WsKl, 


direction  over  the  Java  of  1834,*  which  was  nothing  but  a 
rocky  aud  sandy  mass,  there  were  found  no  Baits  of  ammonia. 

This  fact  demonstrates  clearly  that  the  ammoniacal  salt 
proceeds  from  the  decomposition  of  organic  substances  con- 
tained in  the  ground  invaded  by  the  lava,  which  efTects  at  a 
g^eat  heat,  a  sort  of  distillation,  during  which  carbonate  of 
ammonia  is  disengaged,  to  be  converted  into  sal-ammoniac  by 
the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid.  We  shall  speak  of  tho  origin 
of  this  latter  presently. 

After  the  extreme  inten»ty  of  heal  has  fused  the  silicic 
acid  of  this  lava  it  acts  on  the  silex  of  the  lands  surrounding 
Vesuvius.  These  latter  are  in  a  great  portion  formed  of 
quartz,  sand,  and  pouzzolana ;  and  in  the  same  manner  as 
quartz  acts  in  the  preparation  of  phosphorus,  by  the  process 
of  Wohler,  the  silez  reacts  on  the  sea-salt  of  these  lands,  as 
well  as  on  other  chlorides  which  they  contain,  and  gives  rise 
to  muriatic  acid,  and  to  chloride  of  iron,  wiih  the  hydrate  of 
the  sesquioxide  of  iron  contained  in  the  ground.  Both  of 
these  products  being  volatile  at  this  very  elevated  tempera- 
ture, the  result  is  that  they  acquire  an  extraordinary  expan- 
sive force,  and  when  the  lava  is  yet  soft  they  make  their  way 
through  the  mass,  and  compose  what  is  called  "  fumerollea" 
From  this  gas  emanates  an  aqueous  vapour  and  a  mixture  of 
porchloride  of  iron,  chloride  of  ammonium,  sulphurous  acid, 
sulphuretted  hydrogen,  etc.  This  lasts  as  long  as  the  lava  is 
not  quite  cold. 

Mr.  Felix  Lucas,  concludes  from  very  original  theoretic 
considerations,  that  the  luminous  distance  at  which  the  elec- 
tric spark  is  visible  is  greater  than  that  of  a  permanent  light 
the  apparent  intensity  of  which  would  equal  250,000  times 
that  of  the  spark.  The  light  actually  employed  to  illuminate 
our  new  lighthouses  gives  a  brilliancy  equal  to  125  carcel 
lamps.  An  electric  spark  possessing  the  illuminating  power 
of  the  200th  part  only  of  a  caroel  burner,  is  superior  as  to  its 
power  of  projecting  light.  Hence  we  can  conceive  the  im- 
mense effect  of  a  warning  light  composed  of  the  intermittent 
flashes  of  the  electric  spark  proceeding  from  a  strong  Leyden 
jar  battery.  M.  Lucas  states  that^  in  an  experiment  made  in 
a  laboratory,  two  apparatuses  were  established,  one  voltaic 
equal  to  125  carcol  lamps,  and  another  spark-battery  equiva- 
lent to  only  the  i -2000th  part  of  a  carcel  wick.  The  photom- 
eter (such  as  is  employed  in  the  lighthouse  administration) 
showed  a  marked  superiority  in  favour  of  the  spark. 

Actinometrio  experiments  made  with  the  greatest  care,  at 
Geneva,  on  the  Glacier  des  Bossons  and  on  the  summit  of 
Mont  Blanc  by  M.  Sorel,  have  led  him  to  the  following  con- 
clusions : — ^The  increase  of  the  radiation  in  proportion  as  the 
altitude  is  less  rapid  than  the  diminution  of  the  barometric 
pressure,  or  than  the  diminution  of  the  atmospheric  thick- 
Dees.  This  result  is  ooutrary  to  what  can  be  deduced  from 
the  observations  made  by  Mr.  Forbes,  in  1832,  on  the  Faul- 
bom,  and  the  Brientz,  (PhxL  Trans,  1842,  part  it,  p.  225). 
The  atmospheric  pressure  being  the  same,  the  radiation  ob- 
served at  an  elevated  altitude  is  incontestably  more  powerful 
than  at  a  lower  altitude. 

The  ratio  of  the  intensity  of  the  solar  radiation  on  Hont 
Blanc  and  Geneva  is  as  about  6  to  5.  Thus  the  solar 
heat  which  has  arrived  as  far  as  4,800  metres  above  the  supe- 
rior strata  of  the  atmosphere,  is  subject  to  an  absorption  of  ^, 
in  traversing  at  an  angle  of  60**  to  65°,  the  lower  strata  of 
the  air  at  an  altitude  of  400  metres.  F.  Moiqno. 


Paris,  Oct.  9,  1867. 
Deep  Engraving  without  Varnish — Spectrum  of  the  Flame 
0/  the  Bessemer  Converter — Analogy  of  it  toSteUar  Spectra — 
i^pectrum  of  the  colour  of  Water  and  Ice  through  greai  thick- 
nesses— Nisw  Voltaic  Files — The  Pascal- Newton  Ibrgeries. 


*  This  lava  destroyed  a  whole  well  populated  district  of  more  than 
two  hundred  dwellings  in  the  commune  of  Oitaffano  at  a  spot  called 
Tenlgno.  It  ftimished  also  several  hundred  qi&ials  of  salts  of  am- 
monia. H.  Ranlere  is  of  opinion — and  bis  theory  is  in  perfect  harmony 
with  facts— that  the  muriatic  acid  proceeds  from  either  rock  saLt  in  the 
ground  or  from  the  infiltration  of  sea-water. 


Method  of  obtaining  deep  engraving  and  relief  without 
varnish,  by  Mr.  Joseph  Balsamo,  Professor  of  Physica  at 
the  College  of  Lecca,  Italy.  Starting  from  the  fact  that  by 
pressing  the  finger  on  different  points  of  a  vibrating  plate, 
a  great  variety  of  reliefs  and  bosses  are  formed  by  the  dis- 
tribution of  sand  at  the  surface,  M  Balsamo  thinks  that 
pressure  obtained  on  different  points  of  a  plate  immersed  in 
a  galvanic  bath  would  modify  the  deposit  of  metal  at  tiM 
surface.  Experiments  have  confirmed  his  theory,  and  the 
mode  of  operation  is  as  follows:— In  a  solution  of  acetate 
of  iron,  to  which  has  been  added  some  grammes  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  some  fragments  of  phosphorus,  he  plunged 
two  plates  of  common  iron,  communicating  one  with  the 
negative  pole,  and  the  other  with  the  positive  pole  of  a  Bon- 
sen  battery  of  three  elements.  Between  the  two  plates,  and 
perpendicularly  to  their  surface,  a  blade  of  glass  is  fixed, 
210  millimetres  long  and  35  wide,  so  as  to  press  by  Its  edges 
the  two  plates  suspended  at  the  two  poles  of  the  pile.  Id 
order  to  better  establish  the  contact  between  these  two  iron 
plates  and  tho  edges  of  the  glass  blade,  he  drives  in  two 
edg^s  of  wood,  one  on  each  side,  between  the  sides  of  the 
vessel  containing  the  ferruginous  solution  and  the  exterior 
surfinoes  of  the  metallic  blades.  After  two  days  of  voltaic 
action,  the  metallic  iron  is  deposited  on  the  blade  suspended 
at  the  negative  pole  in  paralled  vertical  bands  on  the  two 
sides  of  it,  a  hollow  groove  alternating  with  a  ridge  in  reliet 
The  hollows  correspond  to  the  space  occupied  by  the  edge 
of  the  glass  sheet,  and  the  reliefs  on  the  sides  of  thia  same 
plate.  The  vacant  lines,  that  is  to  say,  those  on  which  die 
metallic  iron  is  not  deposited,  were  in  consequence  ibe 
nodal  lines,  the  full  lines  on  which  the  iron  was  predpitated 
were  the  reliefs,  or  lines  of  vibratioiL 

M.  Balsamo  has  substituted  for  the  straight  piece  of  g^ 
a  curved  one  of  an  S  shape,  so  that  the  points  of  contact 
of  the  glass  can  form  a  slight  sinuosity,  and  the  iron  is  de- 
posited in  sinuous  planes  alternating  with  sinuous  hollows. 
In  forming  the  desig^is  with  the  aid  of  glass  or  clay,  porce- 
lain, etc.,  all  the  parts  in  contact  with  the  edges  of  the  design 
will  be  reproduced  as  many  times,  on  the  same  surface,  as 
the  free  space  left  by  contours  is  more  extended.  Damask 
work,  designs  in  engraving  or  in  relief  work,  repeated  oa 
the  same  surface,  can  be  obtained  thus  by  a  simple  applica- 
tion of  the  negative  type  against  the  blade  suspended  at  the 
positive  pole.  In  place  of  acetate  of  iron  we  can  empk>y 
other  solutions  of  iron  or  metallic  salts. 

In  a  communication  to  the  Italian  Society — called  the 
Forty— of  Modena,  Father  Seochi  made  the  following  very 
interesting  and  curious  observation  on  the  spectrum  of  a 
terrestial  flame  that  struck  him  as  very  similiar  to  the  ^>eo- 
trum  of  cortain  yellow  aud  red  stars.  This  flame  is  thai 
which  proceeds  from  a  converter  in  which  Bessemer  steel 
is  being  made ;  and  this  spectrum,  well  known  by  directofs 
of  iron  works,  when  the  iron  is  completely  decarbonised, 
presents  a  series  of  very  fhie  and  very  numerous  lines  or 
streaks  which  remind  one  of  a  Ononis  and  a  Herculls,  oaly 
that  it  is  reversed.  This  results,  undoubtedly,  from  tbs 
gpreat  number  of  metals  burning  in  the  flame,  and  the  spec- 
trum presents  several  lines  well  known  and  determined: 
also,  this  flame  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  comparable  with 
that  of  the  coloured  stars,  and  there  is  nothing  improbaUe 
in  this  fact  when  we  consider  the  composition  of  "aerolites 
in  which  iron  predominates.  But  what  is  most  importaat 
in  our  terrestrial  flames,  we  have  a  fertile  and  abundant  fidd 
of  observation  of  spectra  which  are  closely  allied  to  those 
of  certain  stars.  M.  Secchi  states  that  he  is  indebted  to  )L 
Lemonnier,  director  of  the  Terre-Neuve  Works,  near  St 
Etienne,  for  this  observation. 

M.  Seochi  had  formerly  ascertained  that  the  spectrom  01 
the  colour  of  sea  water  is  deprived  of  its  red  portkm  st 
small  depths,  and  successively  of  the  yellow  and  green,  it 
least  partially,  for  the  greater  depths,  and  then  it  appean 
of  a  violet  blue.  He  tried  to  find  out  whether  the  same 
was  the  case  in  glaciers,  and  made  some  interesting  expen* 
ments  in  an  ar&dal  grotto  in  the  Grindenwald  Racier. 


[En^iahBdltkm,yoLXVI,Na4(»,psgeJ83;  No.  410,  pages  105^  106.] 


Csaaokt  VwwBt  I 
iVft,  1S67.       f 


Fm*eign  Science. 


309 


This  cavern  was  100  mdtrea  deep,  transparent  in  its  walls, 
through  which  the  solar  light  penetrated.  This  light  was 
of  a  fine  blue  tint  In  this  shade  of  colour  the  red  was  ex- 
tremely weak,  so  that  in  this  grotto  human  countenances 
had  a  cadaverous  aspect  almost  alarming.  On  looking 
towards  the  entrj,  at  a  certain  distance  in  the  cavern  it  ap- 
peared to  be  lit  up  with  a  red  light,  undoubtedly  the  effect 
of  oontrast  The  thickness  of  the  superposed  mass  was  not 
enough  to  show  a^greater  effect  than  the  almost  complete 
absence  of  the  red,  and  a  great  diminution  of  the  yellow. 
The  ice  was  said  to  be  15  mitres  thick,  but  it  was  probably 
less.  The  ice  was  perfectly  compact,  limpid  as  crystal,  but 
with  a  few  air  bubbles.  The  hardness  was  not  consider- 
able. 

At  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  the  25rd  ult,  M.  Peligot 
presented,  in  the  name  of  M.  J.  E.  Balsamo,  a  memoir  on  the 
onipolarity  of  iron  in  liquids,  and  a  new  voltaic  pile. 

'ha  pile  is  formed  of  two  blades  of  iron,  one  plung^  in 
dilate  sulphuric  acid,  the  other  in  a  solution  of  chloride  of 
sodiam  separated  from  the  acidulated  water  by  a  porous 
diaphragm.  The  iron  of  the  acidulated  water  acts  as  zinc, 
and  that  of  the  saline  solution  acts  as  copper.  The  current, 
constant  and  of  considerable  intensity,  proceeds  from  the 
property  possessed  by  iron  of  polarising  itself  differently  in 
certain  solutions  between  which  osmogenic  action  takes 
place. 

If  two  blades  of  iron  of  the  same  molecular  constitution 
be  suspended  at  the  two  poles  of  a  galvanic  bath  (acetate 
of  iron  and  phosphoric  acid)  animated  by  the  current  capa- 
ble of  decomposing  the  salt  of  iron  of  the  bath,  the  plate 
suspended  at  the  positive  pole  will  be  attacked  as  usual, 
whOe  the  blade  suspended  at  the  negative  pole  is  covered 
with  a  homogeneous  and  thick  coating  of  iron,  fixperi- 
meats  have  proved  that  the  first  iron  is  electro-poaitive,  as 
sine,  and  that  the  second  acts  electro-uegatively,  as  copper; 
perhaps  it  is  because  the  iron  suspended  at  the  positive  pole 
la  combined  with  a  small  quantity  of  phosphorus.  M.  Bal- 
samo plunges,  at  the  same  time,  in  oxalic  add,  two  small 
magnetised  bars  of  the  same  surface  and  of  the  same  weight, 
one  having  its  north  pole  in  the  liquid  and  its  south  pole  out 
of  it  The  second  bar  is  in  the  contrary  position.  The  first 
acted  as  zinc,  the  latter  as  copper,  and  a  current  of  electri- 
city was  the  consequence. 

The  insertion  in  the  Chemioal  Nsws  of  the  letter  of  Mr. 
Bobert  Grant  (Amer.  Beprini^  Dec.,  1867,)  makes  us 
revert  to  the  question  of  the  authenticity  of  M.  Pascal's 
letters.  The  long  discussion  of  Kr.  Grant  only  proves  one 
thing,  and  that  is,  that  the  figures  in  the  notes  of  Pascal 
are  those  of  the  third  edition  of  the  Frincipia;  or  rather 
that  Newton  has  only  inserted  in  his  third  edition  the 
figures  that  he  had  received  in  1658.  It  does  not  prove  at 
aU  that  Pascal  was  not  in  possession,  or  could  not  be  in 
possession,  of  observations  exact  enough  to  deduce  the 
flgnres  of  the  notes.  He  does  not  demonstrate  either  the 
astronomic  authenticity  of  the  figures  which  should  serve  as 
a  base  for  the  calculations  of  Newton. 

But  M.  Chasles  has  brought  to  light  letters  firom  Galileo, 
Flamsteed,  Huygens,  Polignac,  etc.,  etc  We  are  also  in- 
formed that  the  observations  which  have  served  as  a  basis 
to  Pascal's  calculations  come  from  Kepler  and  Galileo,  but 
the  figures  in  the  third  edition  of  the  Frincipia  (1760)  come 
from  the  hands  of  Galileo,  who  had  Ihem,  as  he  declares, 
from  Pascal 

To  resume:  i.  Acquainted  with  the  fact  that  the  essential 
difference  between  the  writing  in  the  autographs  and  that 
of  the  authentic  letters  of  Newton  consisted  principally  in 
the  conformation  of  the  e  and  d,  M.  Chasles  has  shown  that 
many  of  these  documents  had  the  two  characteristic  forms 
required.  2.  These  autographs  date  evidently  as  far  back 
as  the  17th  century,  and  contain  four  authentic  signatures 
of  Newton.  Sir  David  Brewster  afiOrms  that  after  a  publi- 
cation brought  out  in  this  century  in  the  General  Dictionary, 
or  the  Macclesfield  Correspondence  of  184 1,  these  signatures 
were  made.    3.  Messrs.  Hirst  and  White,  thinking  that  they 


had  made  a  discovery,  and  proud  of  finding  in  the  collection 
of  Desmazeaux  and  Clarke  the  text  of  the  notes  of  Newton, 
did  not  expect  to  learn  f^om  M.  Chasles  that  Desmazeaux, 
whose  collection  ho  has,  only  reproduced  the  documents 
passing  through  his  hands,  and  that  Newton  sent,  under 
the  form  of  notes  to  Clarke,  arguments  in  favour  of  Leibnitz. 
4.  M.  Grant  finds  in  the  third  edition  of  the  Frincipia  in 
1725,  Pascal's  figures  purposely  different  from  those  of  the 
second  edition,  but  he  was  not  aware  that  the  same  figures 
were  attributed  in  1760  to  Pascal  by  an  authentic  letter  of 
GalUeo.  F.  MoiQNO. 

Paris,  Oct.  24,  1867. 
FreparcUion  of  Eydrogen  on  ihe  large  scale. — Chemical  Ma- 
nurea. — T^e  Chemistry  of  Rotten  Eggs. — SUU  another  Cure 
for  Cholera, 
For  the  very  costly  process  of  the  preparation  of  hydro- 
gen by  iron  and  sulphuric  acid,  M.  Giffard  now  substitutes 
the  decomposition  of  steam  by  incandescent  coke.  The  gas 
is  produced  in  a  sort  of  furnace  charged  at  the  back  with 
coke,  divided  by  refractory  stones  at  the  front  into  a  g^eat 
number  of  channels  which  are  traversed  by  the  gas.  When 
the  fire  is  well  lighted,  the  sides  of  these  channels  attain  a 
red  heat,  and  the  coke  is  uniformly  red  throughout  its  thick- 
ness, which  is  considerable.  Then  the  damper  is  shut,  the 
ashpit  closed,  and  a  jet  of  steam  is  made  to  play  on  the 
under  surface  of  the  coke.  By  traversing  this  mass  of  coke, 
the  steam  is  decomposed,  producing  carbonic  oxide  and 
hydrogen  gases. 

At  the  upper  part  of  the  boiler  there  are  nine  small  jets  of 
steam,  ^hich  pass  through  the  carbon  and  mix  with  the  hy- 
drogen and  oxide  of  carbon  as  far  as  the  red-hot  channels, 
where  a  new  reaction  takes  place.  The  carbonic  oxide  gas 
is  more  highly  oxygenated  at  the  expense  of  the  steam,  and 
is  converted  into  carbonic  add  gas,  while  the  hydrogen  is  set 
at  liberty.  The  system  of  tubes  is  very  ingeniously  contrived ; 
the  tube  which  unites  the  two  boilers  and  supplies  the  four 
cylinders  is  prolonged  on  the  opposite  side  in  case  of  need. 
Two  tubes,  which  start  from  the  principal  trunk,  conduct  the 
jets  of  steam  which  pass  over  the  coke,  and  those  which  tra- 
verse it  for  the  production  of  gas.  Two  other  tubes  called 
blowers,  leading  to  the  chimney  and  the  ashpit,  assist  the 
combustion  by  jets  of  steam.  The  second  produces  a  reversed 
draught  in  order  to  produce  a  downward  combustion.  Last- 
ly, two  groups  of  tubes  furnished  with  and  controlled  four 
ways  by  oocks,  conduct  the  steam  to  two  cylinders,  the  object 
of  which  is  to  open  and  shut,  ooe  the  ashpit  door,  and  the 
other  the  damper  of  the  chimney.  The  gsus  on  quitting  the 
generating  Aimace  is  necessarily  charged  with  much  steam, 
and  it  passes  into  tubes  kept  constantly  surrounded  by  cold 
water,  changing  continuously,  which  condenses  the  greater 
part  of  the  steam ;  the  water  of  condensation  falls  into  the 
bottom  of  a  sort  of  vertical  tubular  boiler,  transformed  into  a 
refrigerator,  and  is  let  out  by  a  discharge  cock.  The  gas 
then  passes  through  a  lime  purifier,  in  which  it  is  desiccated 
before  it  arrives  at  the  balloon.  The  purifier  is  a  large 
case  of  strong  boiler  plate,  with  a  man-hole  at  top  for  intro- 
ducing the  lime,  and  a  grating  at  the  bottom  on  which  the 
lime  rests,  and  beneath  which  the  gas  passes.  At  a  small 
distance  above  the  grating  there  are  moveable  plates  revolv- 
ing on  their  axes.  In  the  ordinary  position  in  which  they 
are  placed,  vertically  on  their  edges,  the  gas  enters  by  inter- 
stices similar  to  those  of  a  Venetian  blind.  But  when  the 
lower  part  of  the  lime  is  exhausted  the  plates  are  turned 
horizontally ;  they  then  form  a  floor  on  which  the  unslacked 
lime  rests. 

The  production  of  gas  is  intermittent  When  the  steam 
has  in  part  extinguished  the  poke  and  cooled  the  sides  of  the 
refractory  stone,  the  admission  of  the  steam  is  cut  off;  the 
ashpit  and  damper  closed,  then  one  or  other  of  the  blowers 
are  set  in  motion,  and  the  operation  of  gas-making  commenced. 
M.  Georges  Ville,  the  learned  professor  of  the  Museum,  has 
rendered  to  the  agricultural  world  an  immense  service.    In 


[BagUah  Sditioii,  VoL  ZVX,  Na  410^  page  )96;Na  410,  pafe  817.] 


3IO 


Britiah  Pharmaceatiml  Conference. 


1      2>«^  ]8CT. 


1 


fact,  plants  which  live  in  the  ground  and  seem  to  know  the 
beet  constituents  for  their  well-being,  are  perhaps  the  best 
chemists  as  far  as  regards  the  choice  of  their  elements.  M. 
6.  Yille  has  examined  and  ascertained,  by  the  aspect  even, 
what  elements  exist  in  a  sufficient  quantity,  and  what  are 
wanting  in  the  soil  to  noun<«h  the  vegetable. 

On  the  property  of  M.  Payen,  at  Boncourt  (Aisne),  there 
is  an  experimental  plot  of  ground,  which  is  quite  perfect  in 
its  way,  and  which  has  already  furnished  important  results. 
This  piece  of  ground  is  laid  out  similarly  to  that  of  Vincennes, 
where,  by  the  different  chemical  manures  combined  by  the 
formulas  of  M.  Ville,  we  remark  the  same  ascending  scale  of 
crops,  from  the  weakest  to  the  most  luxuriant,  without  the 
law  governing  the  culture  having  shown  a  single  exception. 
Not  far  from  the  border  of  a  road,  in  a  flinty  land  of  very 
bad  quality,  a  plot  was  manured  with  40  tons  to  the  hectare ; 
another  parcel  of  the  same  ground  received  a  comple!e  manure 
of  400  kil  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  200  kil.  nitrate  of  pot- 
ash, 250  kit.  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  350  kil.  of  sulphate  of 
lime— in  all  1.200  kil. — ^the  cost  of  which  was  325  francs  per 
hectare.  Stable  dung  produced  a  miserable  crop  of  wheat ; 
the  chemical  manure  gave  a  splendid  return.  From  a  letter 
addressed  to  the  Journal  de  VAwne  we  learn  the  following: — 

A  hectare  of  sand  treated  by  the  complete  manure  pro- 
duced— 

1.  8  hectolitres  of  wheat,  at  27  francs, 756  f.    oc. 

2.  Straw,  6,070  kiloa,  at  of.  4  a, 242     80 

3.  Small  straw, 4 

1,002  C  80  a 
The  same  ground  treated  with  good  (arm  manure,  40  tons 
per  hectare,  only  produced — 
Foreign  Science    2, 

1.  28  hectolitres,  50  litres  at  27  francs^ 229  f.  50  a 

2.  Straw,  1,696  kilos.,  at  o  C  4  c, 67     84 

3.  Small  straw, i      50 

298  f.  84  a 
M.  Al.  Donne  read  a  note  on  rotten  eggs,  and  the  manner 
of  action  upon  the  organic  products  which  result  from  his  col- 
lection of  eggs.  The  following  experiments,  the  ideas  of 
which  have  been  suggested  by  M.  fialard,  respond  completely 
to  the  conditions  of  the  problem.  Old  eggs  are  taken  and 
well  shook  up  so  as  to  mix  the  yolk  with  the  white ;  they 
are  plunged  into  a  vase,  which  is  half  filled  with  distilled 
water ;  the  vase  is  put  then  under  the  receivers  of  an  air- 
pump.  While  the  vacuum  is  being  made,  small  air  bubbles 
cover  the  surface  of  the  egg-shells,  penetrating  by  the  pores 
into  the  exterior  air.  The  eggs  are  kept  for  many  hours 
under  the  bell-glass  without  necessarily  having  a  perfect  va- 
cuum. When  a  great  portion  of  the  gases  of  the  egg  have 
thus  passed,  air  is  let  into  the  bell  receiver ;  the  vase  is  left, 
and  the  eggs  remain  in  the  water  for  four  hours ;  the  water 
penetrates  into  the  egg,  and  by  augmentation  of  weight  it 
sinks  deeper  in  the  water;  it  is  then  drawn  out,  wiped,  and 
left  alone  in  an  egg-cup.  Eggs  thus  treated  decompose  and 
rot  most  easily ;  loft  in  a  stove  at  30*  or  35"  C  in  daylight 
(which  is  perhaps  essential  to  the  vitality),  they  exhale  at 
the  lapse  of  eight  or  fifteen  dajrs,  perhaps  three  weeks,  a  fetid 
odour;  often  the  same  substance  exudes  through  the  pores  of 
the  shell  In  another  series  of  experiments — instead  of  leav- 
ing the  eggs  in  the  free  air,  M.  Donne  left  some  in  water 
In  two  or  three  days  the  water  became  turbid,  and  it  was 
peopled  with  monads  and  vibrios  visible  by  the  micro- 
scope. The  egg  itself  was  rotten  and  presented  no  trace 
of  animation. 

M.  Poznanski  has  recently  investigated  the  effects  of  prus- 
sic  acid  administered  in  cases  of  cholera  and  intermittent 
fever,  in  which  alteration  and  carbonisation  of  the  blood  takes 
place.  Experiments  on  dogs  and  on  cholera  patients  show 
that  half  a  drop  of  pure  pruasic  acid  suitably  administered  is 
well  adapted  for  the  treatment  and  care  of  cholera. 

F.  Moioiro. 


REPORTS    OF    SOCIETIES. 

BRITISH  PHARMACEUTICAL  OONFBRENCB. 

IhuriJt  Annual  Meeting  at  Dundee.    Pretident,  Professor 

Bbntly,  F.L.&,  M.RC.a,  eta 

(Contliraed  ftom  page  349,  American  Keprtnk,  If  ov.,  1867.) 

•'  On  Burgundy  Pitch.''    By  Daniel  Hakbubt,  P.R.& 

Tbe  authors  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  have  deilaed 
Burgundy  Pitch  (Pix  Burgunthca)  as  a  rettinowt  ejrvdattw 
from  the  stem  of  the  Spruce  Fir,  Abies  exeelsa  DC.  (PtiMtf 
Abiee  L.,  P.  exceUa  Lam.)  melted  and  strained.  They  hare 
thus  followed  the  London  College  of  Physicians,  whidi  for 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  has  included  this  substance  in 
its  Materia  Medica,  indicating  in  the  later  editions  of  its 
PharmacopcBia  a  similar  botanical  origin. 

On  the  Continent  the  term  Pix  Bwrgundiea  (whk^  is  not 
frequently  applied)  appears  to  have  a  less  definite  significa- 
tion than  with  us,  being  used  synonymously  with  i2e$^a26a 
to  designate  the  resins  of  various  coniferous  trees  after  pari- 
fication  by  being  boiled  in  water  and  strained. 

In  France  as  in  England  the  term  Burgundy  Pilek  (Mr 
ds  Bourgogne)  is  by  the  more  accurate  writers  restricted  to 
the  melted  and  strained  resin  of  the  Spruce  Fir,  of  which 
substance  the  following  description  is  given  in  the  last  editna 
of  the  Codex : 

[Translation]  Burgundy  Pitch  is  of  brownish  yellow,  solid 
and  brittle  in  the  cold,  flowing  when  warm,  very  ienacioa% 
having  a  peculiar  odour,  and  an  aromatic  taste  withoot 
bitterness;  not  completely  soluble  in  alcohol  in  the  odd. 
There  is  frequently  substituted  for  it  another  product  called 
white  pitch  [poix  M»acA«],  prepared  with  galipot  or  a 
mixture  of  yellow  resin  and  Bordeaux  turpentine,  mettod  and 
mixed  with  water ;  this  artificial  pitch  has  a  strong  smell  of 
Bordeaux  turpentine,  and  a  very  marked  bitter  taste.  It  is 
entirely  soluble  in  aloohoL 

Where  then  is  true  Burgundy  Pitch  manu&cturedl  Is  it 
actually  met  with  in  commerce?  By  what  characten  may 
we  judge  of  its  purity  ? 

The  authors  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  mention  it  as  a 
production  of  Switzerland,  where  the  Spruce  Fir  is  certainly 
found  in  great  abundance.  But  I  have  it  upon  exoelleot 
authority,  that  of  my  finend  Dr.  Fluokiger  of  Bern,  that  at 
the  present  time  no  terebinthinous  resins  are  collected  in 
Switzerland  for  commercial  purposes.  Neither  is  true  Bv- 
gundy  Pitch  produced  in  France,  as  its  name  would  seem  to 
indicate,  Piwis  mariUma,  Lamb.,  being  in  fact  the  only  tree 
the  resin  of  which  is  collected  in  that  country  as  an  indostriil 
product 

I  examined  the  various  collections  of  foreflt-prodocto  is 
the  French  Exhibition.  From  Finland  I  discovered  a  saite 
of  specimens  illustrating  this  very  subject  Baron  Linder  of 
Svarta,  near  Helsingfors,  is  >he  exhibitor  of  tbe  resin  of  tbe 
Spruce  Fir  in  two  forms,  namely: 

1.  The  crude  resin  as  exuded  from  the  trank  of  the  tsee 
and  described  in  the  following  words :  "  Barras  on  gomae 
concrete,  adh^ente  aux  sapins  {Pinus  Abies\.  Prodoit  brM 
servant  A  la  fabrication  de  r^ine,  etc.,  etc. — ^Prix  12  frum 
les  100  kilogr. 

2.  The  resin  purified  by  melting  in  contact  with  thevapoor 
of  water,  and  straining.  It  is  thus  described  on  the  label 
attached  to  the  specimen :  Risinejaune  cuite  (a  vapeor  d'esa 
&  chaleur  mod^r^)  de  barras  de  sapin  {Pinna  Abu»\  Prix 
40  francs  les  xoo  kilogr. :  production  annuelle  35.000  ktlogr. 

Of  these  two  resins,  tbe  first  is  not  fonnd  in  Bngfiah  ooa* 
merce:  the  second  conetitutee  genuine  Buiigmidy  Pilcb, 
precisely  such  as  may  be  bought  in  the  London  market  Tbe 
quantity  of  this  purified  resin  produced  annually,  it  will  be 
observed,  is  very  considerable,  being  equiYtleot  to  77,000 
pounds,  or  more  than  34  tons  weight 


*  (JTote  by  translator)   Oatipot,  dry  reeia  oofleoted 
from  the  tronke  of  Pinus  marUima.  Lamb. 


TeL,  T7L,  Va  411^  pagM  217, 218 ;  Va  409,  page  1SL] 


Dm.,  iser.    f 


British  PTmrmoGmlioal  OonfereTice. 


311 


The  Paris  exhibition  shows  that  true  Burgundy  Pitch  is 
also  produced  in  Germany. 

Another  exhibitor  of  genuine  Burgundy  Pitch  is  Mr. 
Theodor  Mftllner,  of  Hinter  Briihl  Post  Modling,  near  Vienna, 
who  shows  Fiehienharz  or  crude  resin  of  the  Spruce  Fir  and 
Fiddenpechy  which  is  the  same  in  a  purified  condition.  The 
hiter  may  be  regarded  as  a  type  of  good  Burgundy  Pitch. 

These  oontributions  to  the  Paris  Exhibition  show  that  the 
resin  of  the  Spruce  is  collected  for  trade  purposes  in  Fin- 
land and  in  Grermany,  and  in  the  first  named  country  upon 
a  very  considerable  scale.  It  docs  not,  however,  appear 
that  it  is  ever  termed  Bwgvndy  Pitch  in  the  places  where  it 
is  produced. 

Although  genuine  Burgundy  Pitch  (usually,  it  must  be 
admitted,  in  a  very  impure  state)  has  been  always  obtainable 
in  the  London  market,  it  is  rarely  found  genuine  in  the 
shops,  an  artificial  compound  being  very  generally  supplied 
in  place  of  it 

In  examining  the  characters  of  genuine  and  spurious 
Burgundy  Pit(£,  I  have  noted  the  following  differences : 


True  Burgundy  Pitch, 
Colour  dull  yellowish-brown ; 
fhicture  shining  conchoidal ; 
translucent;  some  samples  oon- 
tain  much  water,  and  are 
opaque  and  of  a  duU  grey 
colour,  and  require  straining  to 
free  them  from  Impurities. 
Odour  peculiarly  aromatia 

Kot  wholly  soluble  in  alcohol 
of  '838,  but  leaves  a  small 
amount  of  fine  white  flocculeut 
matter. 

Placed  in  contact  with  double 
its  weight  of  glacial  acetic  acid 
in  a  vial,  is  dissolved  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  amount  of 
flocculent  matt^. 


ArHftdai  Burgundy  PUch. 
Colour  usually  more  bril- 
liant than  that  of  the  true 
Burgundy  Pitch. 


Odour  weak  and  hardly 
aromatic. 

Still  less  completely  sol- 
uble in  alcohol  of  -838. 


Similarly  treated,  forms 
a  turbid  mixture,  which 
soon  separated  into  two 
layers,  a  thick  oily  liquid 
above  and  a  bright  solu- 
tion below. 

The  foregoing  characters  apply  to  most  of  the  artificial 
Burgundy  Pitch  which  I  have  examined,  and  may  be  useful, 
80  far  as  they  go,  for  distmguishing  the  genuine  from  the 
spurious.  The  odour  of  true  Burgundy  Pitch  is  in  itself  an 
excellent  criterion  which  cannot  be  conveyed  by  description- 
Solubility  in  glacial  acetic  acid  serves  to  reveal  the  presence 
of  fatty  matter,  which  is  a  common,  perhaps  an  essential, 
ingredient  in  the  artificial  Burgundy  Fitch  made  in  this 
country. 

From  what  haB  preceded  may  be  deduced  the  following 

Gondtuions : 

1.  True  Burgundy  Pitch  is  the  melted  and  stndned  reein 
of  Abies  exeebOf  DO. 

2.  An  artificial  compound  is  usually  sold  in  lieu  of  it,  both 
in  this  country  and  on  the  Oontinent 

3.  True  Burgundy  Pitch  is  produced  on  a  large  scale  in 
Finland,  also  of  very  fine  quality  in  Baden  and  in  Austria. 

4.  True  Burgundy  Pitch  differs  palpably  from  the  arti- 
ikiid,  and  nuiy  be  easily  distinguished  from  it. 


L  lUpori  an  ihe  Advantageaor  JDiaadvaniages  of  (he  EmpUry- 

meni  in  Pharmacy  nf  NUrie  Acid  of  Specific  Gravity  i  -5. 

n.  Report  on  ihe  NUro  Hydrochloric  Acid  0/  the  British  Phar- 

macopcaOf  and  the  Changes  in  it  on  keqnng. 

By  W.  B.  Hrathfisld,  F.O.S. 

The  inquiry  proposed  in  reference  to  the  first  of  these  two 
subjects  havuig  been  rendered  supererogatory,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  change  prescribed  in  the  British  Phaimaoo- 
pceia,  wMcfa  has  i^peaxed  since  the  announcement  of  these 


questions,  I  pass  it  over  with  the  comment  that  it  has  been 
difficult  to  procure  nitric  add  uniformly  of  the  gravity  of 
1*5 ;  that  it  is  very  rarely  free  from  a  considerable  quantity 
of  nitrous  add,  as  evidenced  when  the  add  is  poured  into 
water  with  a  view  to  dilution;  that  it  is  uucertaiu  in 
strength,  from  its  tendency  to  decompose,  and  that  it  is 
inconvenient  to  pack,  dangerous  in  transit,  and  unmanage- 
able in  use.  The  acid  of  Uie  British  Pharmacopoeia  of  1867 
is  doubtless  an  excellent  substitute,  containing,  as  it  does, 
70  per  cent,  of  monohydrated  add,  this  water  being  com- 
bined with  the  add  as  a  base,  whilst  the  accompanying  30 
per  cent  are  in  such  a  state  of  combination  as  to  be  termed 
the  constitutional  water.  It  undergoes  no  change  on  keep- 
ing. 

Referring  to  the  second  mquiry— the  nitro-hydrochloric 
add,  and  the  changes  in  it  on  keeping — it  is  to  be  observed, 
that  since  the  institution  of  these  experiments,  the  British 
PharmacopoBia  of  1867  has  been  presented  with  an  altera- 
tion in  the  formula  and  directions  for  the  production  of 
this  add,  which  yields  the  following  results :  The  specific 
gravity  of  the  two  acids  on  admixture  and  after  cooling  was 
1*277,  but  on  standing  for  24  hours,  as  directed,  was  1268. 
On  adding  the  quantity  of  water  for  the  production  of  the 
dilute  add,  the  specific  gravity  was  found  to  be  but  1*063, 
and  352*4  grains,  or  6  fluid  drachms,  required  but  840 
measures  of  volumetric  solution  of  soda  for  neutralization. 

This  expmriment  having  been  conducted  witii  a  view  to 
determine  tke  loss  of  hydrochloric  add  consequent  upon 
leaving  the  mixed  adds  for  twenty-four  hours,  the  operation 
was  conducted  so  tliat  on  the  mixture  of  the  two  adds  in  a 
loosely-stoppered  bottle,  tlie  escaping  chlorine  should  be 
collected  under  a  beU-glass,  and  should  be  received  into  a 
solution  of  potassa.  This  solution,  at  the  end  of  the  twenty- 
four  hours,  was  subjected  to  estimation  by  means  of  nitrate 
of  silver,  and  was  found  to  be  charged  with  chlorine,  which, 
calculated  as  hydrochloric  add,  was  found  to  be  in  such  a 
proportion  as  to  have  diminished  the  strength  of  the  nitro- 
hydrochloric  acid  by  about  3  per  cent  l%e  loss  ot  nitric 
add  was  not  estunated. 

Proceeding  somewhat  differently,  with  a  view  to  the  pro- 
duction of  dilute  nitro-hydrochloric  add,  the  following  pro- 
cess was  adopted :  Tho  proportions  of  acids  ordered  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  of  1867  were  united,  and  on  cooling  the  spe- 
cific gravity  was  1*277.  Th©  Ti-ater  was  then  added,  and  the 
specific  gravity  was  1*074,  thus  corresponding  to  the  theo- 
retic g^vity  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1864.  352*4  gprains 
required  i  *ooo  measures  of  volumetric  solution  of  soda.  This 
experiment  was  made  on  the  31st  of  May,  and  the  tests 
were  again  applied  on  the  29th  of  August,  when  no  varia- 
tion had  taken  pUioe,  thus  proving  that  the  diluted  add  was 
not  impaired  by  keeping  for  a  moderate  length  of  thne. 

Whatever  may  be  the  estimation  in  which  the  process  for 
the  production  of  diluted  nitro-hydrochloric  add  is  held,  it 
is  dear  that  it  con  scarcely  attain  the  result  desired,  viz., 
uniformity.  If  the  adds  are  mixed  as  directed,  ^ere  must 
necessarily  be  loss,  for  it  is  not  easy  to  imprison  the  escap- 
ing vapours,  and  an  explosion  would  be  likely  to  occur  in  a 
bottle  well  stoppered ;  in  one  not  so,  as  directed,  the  escape 
of  vapours  is  considerable,  as  indicated  by  the  experiments 
detailed  in  this  paper. 


"  Notes  on  Tindnra  Opii  and  Liq.  Opii  SedaHmts** 
By  Mr.  Alfbbd  SouthalIi,  Birmingham. 
In  continuation  of  a  suhjeot  which  was  brought  forward 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Conference,  viz.,  tlie  analysis  of 
various  spedmens  of  ordinary  commercial  opium ;  in  order, 
farther,  to  show  the  extremely  uncertain  medidnal  value  of 
different  samites,  I  have  sinoe  examined  a  variety  of  sped- 
mens of  tincture  of  opium,  some  of  which  have  been  kindly 
forwarded  to  me  by  Dr.  Attfield.  These  specimens  were,  I 
beUeve,  procured  indiscriminately  fh>m  the  establisbmentB 
of  various  pbaimaeeutifiti^  and  show  a  variation  in  strength 


[Bnfltak  SAlki^  ToL  ZVX,  lla.  400^  pafa  18);  Vo.  4IA  PHIPt  IM-] 


J 


312 


Britiah  PhaririaceiUiGal  Conference. 


j  (tancAL  Vnri^ 


Dto^vm, 


06 


which  may  well  rather  alarm  the  prescriber  for  the  welfare 
of  his  patiedt. 

■  Taking  the  standard  of  strength  required  by  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia,  which  states  that  100  grains  of  opium  should 
yield  at  least  6  to  8  per  cent,  of  morphia,  the  consequent 
strength  of  tincture  of  opium,  B.P.,  should  be  not  less  than 
0*5  per  cent  of  morphia.  The  following  is  my  result  of  nine 
samples  of  tincture :  — 

No.  I  specimen  contained  0*3  per  cent  of  morphia. 
I.    2        " 

ti   ^     u 

U     ^  1(  11  Q.^  II  II 

a  f     it  tt  Q.2     i<  (( 

((     5  (I  II  Q.^  II  II 

11     J  «  U  Q.^  II  II 

a   g      II  11      Q.y  u  It 

11   g  a  II        Q.^        II  u 

Good  commercial  opium,  such  as  is  commonly  found  in  the 
English  market  (as  our  analysis  last  year  showed),  contains 
frequently  as  much  as  10  to  13  per  cent  of  morphia;  and 
the  Pharmacopoeia,  laying  no  restriction  upon  a  maximum 
yield  of  morphia,  opens  a  wide  door  for  a  great  dirersity  in 
the  strength  of  its  opium  preparations,  so  that  a  tincture 
yielding  from  ^  to  i  per  cent  of  morphia  is  within  the  Phar- 
macopoeia limits. 

Although  liq.  opii  sedativus  is  not  officinal,  yet  this  form 
of  admiaisteriug  opium  is  scarcely  less  important  than  the 
tincture.  It  is,  however,  interesting  to  notice  in  the  analysis 
of  the  eight  following  samples,  that  the  same  wide  diversity 
exista:^ 

No.  I  specimen  contains  0*6  per  cent,  of  morphia. 
II    2        '^  "        1*2        '*  " 

It   .       II  II       Q.y  tt  II 

It     ^  II  II  J.Q  II  II 


7 
8 


I '5 
II 


**liemark8  upon  the  Uses  of  Bisulphite  0/ Lime  in  Pharmacy." 
By  Wentworth  Lascelles  Scott,  F.C.S.,  etc 

I  have  undertaken  to  lay  before  the  British  Pharmaceutical 
Conference,  in  a  few  words,  the  results  of  some  experiments 
instituted  with  a  view  of  discovering  a  means  of  preventing 
the  rancidity  and  decomposition  to  which  various  ointments 
and  fatty  preparations  are  liable,  if  kept  for  any  length  of 
time. 

A  series  of  specimens  of  freshly-made  spermaceti  and 
other  ointments,  cold-cream,  bear's  grease,  and  simple  lard, 
were  placed  in  similar  pots,  and  allowed  to  rest  in  a  warm 
situation ;  a  duplicate  series,  to  which  a  very  small  propor- 
tion of  bisulphite  of  lime  had  been  added,  being  put  by  the 
side  of  the  tirat 

In  the  course  of  six  or  seven  months,  most  of  the  first 
series  had  become  more  or  leas  decomposed;  they  had  an 
acid  reaction  and  disagreeable  odour,  while  those  to  which 
the  bisulphite  had  been  added  remained  absolutely  fresh  and 
sweet  In  consequence,  I  now  treat  all  preparations  of  fatty 
or  oleaginous  substances  with  a  little  of  this  salt,  applied  in 
the  form  of  strong  solution,  and  have  never  yet  found  it  to 
fail. 

For  ointments,  a  fluid  drachm  to  each  pound  is  quite  suffi- 
dent  to  preserve  them,  while  it  has  no  injurious  action  what- 
ever, and  is  quite  compatible  with  the  g^at  majority  of  oint- 
ments and  oily  preparations, — a  remark  which  does  not  apply 
to  the  alkaline  sulphites  or  bisulphites  which  have  from  time 
to  time  been  brought  forward  for  similar  purposes. 

Beef-tea  or  broth  in  hospitals  or  otherwise  may  be  pre- 
vented from  tuniing  sour  by  stirring  in  a  few  drops  of  the 
bisulphite  of  lime  solution  to  each  pint  of  the  soup ;  and 
the  same  plan  will  enable  us  to  keep  jellies,  which  ordinarily 


decompose  so  rapidly  in  the  organic  germ-laden  air  of  the 
sick-room,  for  many  days  unimpaired ;  these  are,  in  my  opin- 
ion, considerations  of  some  moment  in  all  circumstaDoes,  but 
most  especially  in  the  habitations  of  the  poor. 

Clothes  or  matting,  soaked  in  the  same  solution  and  hong 
up,  act  as  disinfectants  of  the  most  effective  kind,  and  do  not 
exhale  the  peculiarly  unpleasant  odour  of  carbolic  acid,  or 
the  irritating  vapours,  so  distressing  to  the  bronchial  system, 
of  chloride  of  lime. 

I  have  successfully  employed  the  bisulphite  of  calcium  for 
the  preservation  of  numerous  anatomical  and  other  specimeiis^ 
as  it  does  its  work  perfectly,  and  without  occasioning  the 
great  changes  of  colour  and  contraction  of  muscular  structare 
so  frequently  produced  by  ordinary  antiseptics ;  moreover,  iu 
special  advantage  over  the  preparations  of  mercury  and  arse- 
nic lies,  to  my  thinking,  in  the  fact  that  it  is  not  poiaooooa^ 
and  can  therefore  be  handled  with  perfect  safety. 

There  are  numerous  substances  employed  in  pharmacy,^ 
such  as  musk,  oastoreum,  lard,  and  other  fatty  matters,— 
which  are  more  or  less  injured  by  decomposition  or  keejwig 
for  any  length  of  time.  To  these  the  bisulphite  can  be  ap- 
plied with  considerable  advantage. 


Nbiea  on  the  Use  of  the  Microtoope,  and  its  OrystaBographk 
Application,    By  W.  W.  Stoddabt. 

After  referring  to  the  history  of  the  microscope,  the  anther 
spoke  of  it  as  a  source  of  the  greatest  assistance  in  saving  time 
by  indicating  what  the  chemist  afterwards  verifies  with  bis 
reagents. 

The  analytical  chemist  will  tell  you  to  the  uttermost  pait 
of  a  fraction  the  proportion  of  C,  H,  0,  Ca,  K,  etc,  bnt  he 
cannot  tell  in  what  state  of  combination  they  existed  till  the 
lens  showed  the  granules  of  starch  or  the  vegetable  cell.  The 
mineralogist  would  know  that  his  tripoli  was  silica  and  alu- 
mina, but  how  could  he  possibly  guess  that  it  was  composed 
of  myriads  of  elegant  and  most  beautifully  sculptured  v^;e- 
table  skeletons  ?  So  with  the  retail  chemist ;  how  (without 
the  microscope)  would  he  be  able  to  tell  that  his  wholesale 
brother  had  been  putting  bean-fiour  with  his  fienugreek,  or 
lignum  vitae  with  his  jalap  7 

A  good  example  of  the  large  amount  of  knowledge  obtain- 
able in  a  short  time,  and  very  commonly  required  from  the 
dispensing  chemist,  is  in  the  examination  of  urine  or  nriaarf 
deposit  We  will  suppose  a  dear  example  to  be  given  with 
no  apparent  deposit  Evaporate  and  ignite  a  few  drops  on  a 
bit  of  platinum  foil.  While  this  is  going  on  put  a  drop  of  the 
secretion  on  a  glass  slip  with  a  very  little  nitric  acid,  when  in  a 
few  minutes  crystals  will  appear,  which  under  the  microsoope 
show  tlie  well-known  rhomboids  of  nitrate  of  urea. 

Examine  another  drop  as  it  is  under  a  quarter-inch  leos, 
when  oxalate  of  lime,  epithelial  scales,  etc.,  may  be  detectei 
Now  dissolve  off  the  ash  left  on  the  foil  with  a  drop  or 
two  of  distilled  water.  Place  a  drop  on  two  glass  slips.  To 
the  one  add  the  smallest  quantity  of  ammonia,  and  dry.  Tbe 
lens  will  then  show  phosphate  of  Mme,  irq>(e  phosphate^  and 
chloride  of  sodiftm.  To'  the  other  drop  add  bichloride  of  platr 
inum,  and  evaporate  to  dryness.  If  eoda  be  preeent  yoQ 
will  have  acicular  crystals  of  the  platino-chloride ;  or  itpdaA 
be  there,  you  will  find  cubical  crystals  of  the  corresponding 
salt  Thus  in  a  few  minutes,  by  tbe  aid  of  tbe  microsoope^ 
no  less  than  seven  distinct  salts  may  bo  readily  detected, 
besides  a  great  number  of  others. 

Few  fluids  can  be  found,  whether  natural  or  artificial, 
whether  a  secretion  or  a  chemical  solution,  that  do  not  con- 
tain substances  which,  by  some  means  or  other,  may  be 
made  to  separate  as  crystals.  Now,  as  tliese  cfystailine  at- 
tributes are  so  universal  and  constant,  the  author  has  founded 
on  it  his  method  of  determining  tbe  name  and  nature  of 
the  crystalline  constituents  of  a  given  fluid, — a  method  bj 
which,  without  any  chemical  test  but  simply  a  micn^ 
niometer,  the  name  may  be  determined. 

Crystals  may  be  obtained  from  a  given  solution  lor  oi- 


[BaiUflk  Bdmoo,  ToL  ZVL,  Vc.  410,  pafea  19a,  m,  1A3.] 


J 


Britieh  Pha/rmaoeutmd  Conference. 


S13 


ffosoopicai  purposes  in  six  different  vays,  no  matter  how 
small  the  quantity  maj  be: — 

1.  By  flimple  deposition  by  cooling;  as  the  well-known 
triple  phosphate,  so  often  seen  in  animal  secretions. 

2.  By  precipitating  saH  in  a  comparatively  insoluble 
form;  as  the  sulphocyanide  of  strycbnia  or  bitartrate  of 
potash. 

3.  By  fusion ;  as  in  the  case  of  salicine  and  aeyeral  of 
the  alkaloids. 

4.  By  galvanic  deposition ;  as  In  the  detection  of  lactic 
•dd. 

5.  By  sublimation ;  as  in  arsenious  and  benzoic  acids, 
thein,  eta 

6.  By  evaporation. 

Id  all  the  previous  methods  the  object  usually  is  to  ob- 
toin  separaU  and  characteristic  crystals,  whose  natures  are 
only  to  be  known  by  their  peculiar  form  or  conformative 
testing.  By  the  mode  now  to  be  described  the  author  has 
obtained  certaiu  results  which,  as  they  have  not  hitherto 
been  published,  be  wishes  now  to  lay  before  you,  hoping 
that  to  some  they  may  prove  useful. 

A  drop  of  the  given  solution  is  placed  on  a  glass  slip, 
and  slowly  evaporated  over  the  flame  of  the  spirit-lamp, 
or  in  a  drying  chamber.  A  crystalline  residue  is  left  which, 
to  the  eye  only,  appears  simply  a  magma  of  crystals  without 
any  defioite  arrangement  From  a  careful  study  of  these, 
considerably  magnified,  the  author  noticed  a  certain  arrange- 
ment of  lines  peculiar  and  constant  to  every  salt  Again,  on 
every  slide  it  will  be  noticed  that  two  angles  always  predom- 
inate over  the  others,  and  that  the  same  salts  have  these 
two  angles  invariably  the  same.  It  is  thought,  therefore, 
that  a  table  might  be  constructed  from  these  angles,  so  that 
a  measurement  and  reference  to  the  table  would  give  the 
name  of  the  salt 

The  gonioEoeters  used  by  the  author  are  that  made  by 
Boss  aud  that  invented  by  Dr.  Leeson ;  the  latter  being 
more  correct  while  the  former  is  more  easily  used. 

Ross's  goniometer  is  a  positive  eye-piece,  across  the  field 
of  which  is  a  very  fine  line,  the  whole  being  made  to  revolve 
in  a  circle  very  finely  graduated.  When  used,  the  engraved 
fine  is  placed  over  or  parallel  to  one  side  of  the  angle  to  be 
measured.  The  line  is  then  revolved  by  means  of  the  rack- 
work  till  it  coincides  wi^  the  oiher  side  of  the  angle,  when 
that  portion  of  the  graduated  arc  traversed  by  the  vernier 
gives  a  very  correct  measurement  of  the  angle  required. 

The  beautiful  instrument  of  Dr.  Leeson  is  an  ingenious 
application  of  the  phenomena  of  double  refraction.  It  is 
equaDy  adapted  for  measuring  opaque  or  transparent  crys- 
tejs,  microscopic  or  the  largest  crystals.  It  consists  of  a 
double  refracting  prism  of  Iceland  spar,  which  is  mounted 
over  the  eye-piece,  and  the  whole  fitted  mto  a  yqtj  finely- 
divided  circle.  When,  therefore,  the  crystal  is  viewed 
through  this  prism  two  angles  are  produced,  which  revolve 
round  each  other  as  the  prism  is  revolved.  The  amount 
of  rotation,  when  applied  to  the  angle,  gives  the  measnre- 
ment  required. 

The  author  feels  that  he  has  not  worked  out  the  subject 
as  it  deserves ;  indeed,  so  much  more  work  remains  to  be 
done,  requiring  more  time  than  he  has  at  his  disposal,  that 
having  made  public  the  modus  operandi,  he  hopes  some  one 
will  continue  its  development 

TdXUe  of  Angle*. 
KAm«  of  Crystal.  ProdomlnatlBg  Aoglea 


Sulphate   of  magnesia 1 20**  4'     . .     105^ 

Bicarbonate  of  potash 90°  ..     128° 

Nitrate  of  potash 7^"  30'    ••     *o3° 

Ammonia  alum 90°  ..     120° 

Tartarioacid 97^  10'    ..      8V 

Oxalic  acid 74°    2'    •-     ^^^ 

Choleaterine 79"  3©'    ••     ^oo"  _ 

Mr.  C.  Kerr,  of  Dundee,  read  a  paper  on  the  interferenoe 
of  the  excise  in  the  sale  of  quinine  wino,  observing  that 
Bomethiji^  must  be  radically  wrong,  when  chemists  were 
made  to  pay  license  for  making  mediated  wine  with  Britiah 


3^ 


wine,  and  not  for  making  them  with  foreign  wine ;  and  now 
that  quinine  wine  is  a  preparation  of  the  British  Pharma- 
copoeia, he  proposed  that  the  Excise  Board  be  communi- 
cated with  on  the'  subject 

"  On  Granular  Charcoal^    By  Wentworth  Lascellgs 
Scott,  F.C.S.,  etc. 

For  some  years  past  the  value  of  charcoal,  Ibr  internal  use, 
has  been  gradually  more  and  more  recognised,  and  probablj 
it  would  have  been  employed  to  a  still  greater  extent,  bu« 
for  some  little  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  convenient  ad- 
ministration. 

I  may  truthfully  claim  the  originality  and  priority  as  re- 
gards grranular  charcoal,  as  it  is  now  many  years  since  my 
first  experiments  were  made  with  this  preparation,  with  the 
kind  assistance  of  my  friend  the  late  Mr.  Frank  B.  Fowler. 

Granular  Charcoal  has  the  several  advantages  of  being  a 
definite  preparation,  easy  of  administration,  aud  not  liable  to 
alter  by  keeping. 

1  prefer  to  use  box,  willow,  or  lime-tree  wood  for  conver- 
sion into  charcoals  for  medical  purposes,  merely  on  account 
of  their  texture  aud  abaor])tive  powers;  aud  the  carbonised 
matters,  when  free  from  all  volatile  substances,  should  be 
cooled  out  of  contact  with  air,  and  boiled  for  some  time  in  a 
dilute  solution  of  hydrochloric  acid,  followed,  after  copious 
washings  with  pure  distilled  water,  by  a  little  weak  ammonia. 
The  dried  fragments  of  charcoal  thus  purified  are  then 
ready  for  a  second  ignition,  which  may  be  effected  in  tubes, 
cylinders,  or  retorts  of  metal  or  porcelain ;  after  which,  and 
before  they  are  cold,  they  must  be  quickly  pulverised  and 
passed  through  a  sieve  of  from  80  to  100  apertures  to  thjS 
inch. 

Nine  pounds  of  this  finely-divided  carbon  may  then  be  in- 
timately mixed  with  one  pound  of  pure  sugar  (which  has 
been  passed  through  a  No.  30  sieve),  and  about  four  ounces, 
of  arabine  or  gum  acacia  in  the  state  of  impalpable  powdere 
The  whole  should  next  be  slightly  moistened  by  means  of 
an  Atkinson's  diffuser,  or  other  similar  iustrument,  with  a 
few  ounces  of  warm  distilled  water,  to  which  has  been  added 
about  i}-  ounces  of  tincture  of  benzoiu,  and  a  little  mucilage; 
it  is  then  ready  for  granulation,  which  is  effected  upon  a  flat 
steam -pan  in  the  usual  manner,  at  a  temperature  of  215°  to 
225*' ;  a  little  extra  care  and  attention  should  be  given  to 
the  manipulation  in  granulating  charcoal,  as  compared  with 
other  preparations;  an  additional  rolling  kind  of  action  being 
required,  which  is  readily  learnt  after  a  few  trials. 

The  charcoal  should  be  sifted  when  perfectly  dry,  and 
while  yet  warm,  and  secured  in  well-stoppered  bottles  or  jars. 
I  would  recommend  sieves  of  Nos.  6  and  16  gauze  respec- 
tively. 

Granular  charcoal,  when  properly  made,  should  possess  a 
hard  compact  structure,  and  a  sweet  and  slightly  aromatic 
taste;  it  should  not  soil  the  fingers  when  dry,  but  must 
disintegrate  very  quickly  without  exhibiting  any  gritty  par- 
ticles in  the  presence  of  moisture ;  further,  its  iutegral  porosis 
ty  is  by  no  means  destroyed,  as  good  granular  charcoal  may 
absorb  fully  eight  and  a  half  times  its  volume  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  at  ordinary  temperatures,  and  proportionate  quan- 
tities of  other  gases. 

It  is  to  this  very  property  of  the  absorption  or  liqpefactioa 
of  gases  by  charcoal,  that  I  wish  to  draw  your  attention  for 
a  few  moments.  We  all  know  that  upon  this  alone,  or  very 
nearly  so,  depends  the  value  of  charcoal  as  a  disinfectant 
and  as  an  oxidiser,  in  whatever  way  it  be  employed,  and  we 
are  very  generally  acquainted  with  the  fact,  that  its  power 
of  taking  up  many  of  the  easily  liquefied  or  more  soluble 
gases  is  very  great  indeed.  As  an  instance,  take  ammoni- 
acal  gas ;  in  the  generality  of  scientific  manuals  and  text- 
books some  notice  is  taken  of  this,  but  in  very  loose  terms, 
the  amount  of  absorption  being  variously  given  up  to  **  about 
ninety  times  the  volume"  of  the  oharcoal  itseU;  while  my 
own  experiments  show  that  charcoal  is  capable  of  abeocbing 
no  less  than  122  volumes  of  ammonia. 


Vol.  I.    No.  6.— Dec,  1867.       ai 

{BacUah  iMMfliH  V^.  Zyi,  me.4)%  fi««e  Ifid ;  K^ 


ZH 


Pharrnaceutical  Society — Academy  of  Sdences. 


Nov,  putting  aside  certain  collateral  points  for  the  mo- 
ment^ we  may  slate  generally  that  charcoal  is  taken  inter- 
nally,  for  the  purpose  of  absorbing  and  masking  the  action 
of  any  acidulous  and  soluble  gases  that  may  be  present  in 
excess,  thereby  preventing  or  greatly  diminishing  their  in- 
jurious action.  Granting  its  usefulness  in  this  respect,  the 
question  immediately  arises,  wliy  not  sometimes  reverse  the 
proposition?  Why  should  not  charo^al  be  made  the  carrier 
of  gaseous  bodies  suited  for  the  treatment  of  certain  forms 
of  disease,  but  whicli,  under  all  ordinary  methods,  are  either 
impossible  or  very  diSicult  to  administer? 

My  late  experiments  have  been  directed  towards  this 
question,  and  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  ciiarcoal,  satu- 
rated with  various  gases,  may  hereafter  become  useful  reme- 
dial agents.  The  subject  is  naturally  one  which  cannot  be 
treated  lightly,  and  which  requires  some  extended  and  pa- 
tient labour  lor  its  proper  develojfment,  but  as  far  as  I  have 
already  gone,  the  results  are,  in  my  opinion,  most  encour- 
aging. 

"  Analytis  of  Ordinary  Commercial  Specimeru  of  Jalap, 
showing  Uieir  relative  Value  in  proportion  of  Resin  of 
Jalap  compared  wiOi  market  price. 

By  Mr.  Alfred  Soutuall,  Birmingham. 
DesoriptioQ.  fiedin.  Market  Price. 

No.  I     ..     Jalap  tops     ..       5  per  cent...  4^  per  lb. 

"    2     ..        "      "        ..     12    •*           ..          5d  " 

"    3     ..         «*    Tampioo     9^    **           ..         lod  *' 

«•    4     ..         "        "           10^    '*           ..   w.    od,  " 

"           30J     "           ..   K.    orf.  " 

"       *    29      "           ..   18,    6d  »* 

"    7     ..         "        "           I2i    "           ..   w.    6d  ** 

"    8     ..        "        "           33f    "           ..  2«.    od.  " 

"    9     ..         "        •*           27       *'           ..  2A    od  " 

"10     ..        "    Vera  Cruz  1 5^    "           ..  4A    oi  " 

"II     ..         "        "            I7i    "           ..  4*.    od.  " 

"12     ..         "        "           I7i    "           ..  4«.    od.  " 

*♦  13     ..         **        "           I2i    "           ..  4*.    od.  " 

"14     ..         "        "            23       "           ..  4«.    Ad.  " 

«*  15     ..         »*        "           20i    "           ..  4«.    6d.  " 

*»  16     . .         "        "           i6f    "            . .  4«.  lodl  " 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  medicinal  value  of  the  supplies 
of  jalap,  as  found  in  the  shops  of  pharmaceutists,  I  procured 
five  specimens  of  powdered  jalap  at  different  establishments, 
and  found  the  result,  in  percentage  of  resin,  as  follows  :— 

No.  I,  13  per  cent  of  resin. 
.1    2,  15        "  " 

"    3.     9^      " 

'»    4,  i6k      "  '* 

"  5,  17  " 
The  commercial  value  of  jalap  imported  from  Tampico  is 
much  inferior  to  the  kind  imported  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz, 
bat  an  average  of  seven  samples  "of  each  kind  here  analysed, 
ihow  that  the  Tampico  is  richer  in  resin  than  the  Vera 
Cmz  ;  the  average  in  the  one  case  being  about  22  per  cent, 
and  in  the  other  17^  per  cent 

I  have  made  an  experiment  with  the  purgative  effects  of 
the  two  varieties,  and  find  them  much  the  same.  The  resin 
from  Tampico  jalap  is  somewhat  darker  than  that  from  the 
Vera  Cruz  variety,  and  has  a  distinctive  peculiarity  of  smell, 
bat  I  have  not  discovered  any  difference  in  chemical  character. 


::  I  :: 


PHARMACEUTICAL    SOCIETY. 

nasT  ifEETiNa  of  the  session. 

Wednesday,  October  2,  1867. 

T.  BL  Hills,  Esq.,  Vice-President,  in  the  Chair. 

Sbfbbal  donations  to  the  library  and  museum  were  an- 
nooDoed,  and  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  given  to  the  donors. 
AmoDgBt  them  were  some  well  executed  drawings  by  Mr. 


Brady,  illustrating  the  appearance  of  quinodine,  the  ttrintiy 
deposits,  etc.,  under  the  microscope. 

The  Chairuak  then  proceeded  to  present  to  the  snooesBfol 
competitors  the  prizes  and  certificates  of  merit  awarded  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  last  session,  first  calling  upon  the  Pro- 
fessors to  report  the  results  of  their  respective  examinatioos. 

Professor  Redwood  reported  the  results  of  the  examina- 
tions  in  botany,  also  alluded  to  the  exemplary  conduct  of  Uie 
pupils,  as  well  as  to  the  progress  they  had  made. 

Professor  Attfield  reported  the  results  of  the  ezaminatioo 
in  chemistry  and  pharmacy,  and  in  doing  so  he  spoke 
very  highly  of  the  conduct  of  the  class,  both  as  regards 
attendance  and  behaviour. 

Professor  Bentley,  in  reporting  the  results  of  the  exanu- 
nation  in  practical  chemistry,  which  were  very  satisfactoiy. 
In  speaking  of  examinations,  he  said  they  were  not  tlie  best 
proofs  of  a  man's  qualifications,  although  they  are  the  beet 
we  possess.  Knowledge  gained  by  practical  experimenU 
was  more  lasting  than  that  derived  solely  from  books. 

The  Chairman  then  gave  some  excellent  advice  to  thon 
who  had  received  the  prizes,  speaking  of  the  good  they 
would  receive  by  attending  the  meetings  and  rallying  roaod 
the  Society.  He  had  attended  the  meetings  regularly  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  never  went  home  without  deririiig 
some  good. 

Mr.  MoRSOK  made  some  remarks  npon  a  remarkable  case 
of  the  crystillisation  of  borotartrate  of  potash.  A  solution  of 
borotartrate  of  potash  had  been  placed  in  a  bottle  previoos 
to  its  being  converted  into  scales.  On  examination  it  was 
found  to  have  become  solid,  and  retained  the  shape  of  the 
bottle,  which  was  broken.  He  had  mentioned  it  to  Dr. 
Redwood,  who  would  give  them  the  results  of  his  experi- 
ments. 

Professor  Redwood  said  that  borotartrate  of  potash,  or 
soluble  cream  of  tartar,  was  considered  an  uncryBtalliBa\)le 
substance.  It  was  obtained  by  making  a  solution  of  boradc 
acid,  or  borax,  and  cream  of  tartar,  and  evaporating  to 
dryness,  or,  if  required  in  the  form  of  scales,  it  was  evaporated 
to  a  syrupy  consistence  and  laid  upon  plates.  He  bad 
examined  it  under  the  microscope,  and  made  several  experi- 
ments, but  had  not  been  able  to  discover  why  it  had  assumed 
such  an  unusual  form. 

Dr.  Attfield  made  some  remarks,  in  which  be  anggested 
that  a  quantitative  analysis  might  throw  some  further  light 
on  the  subject 


ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES. 

Sept.  30,  1867.  1 

(FecJm  our  own  Correspondent.)  | 

The  Paaeal-Niewton  ^brgeriu.— Sulphuric  Add  m  Utiag  \ 
MoUusca^-^Dransfonnation  of  Wood  Spirit  into  Alddi^—  \ 
Experiments  on  Projectiles.  | 

The  secretary,  M.  Coste,  read  a  letter,  on  the  Pascal  docu-  I 
ments,  from  Mr.  Robert  Grant,  Regius  Professor  of  Astrono- 
my at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  transmitted  by  M.  Le 
Verrier,  and  inserted  also  in  the  THmes.  The  learned  author 
of  the  history  of  physical  astronomy  demonstrated  invincibly 
— and  we  agree  with  him — that  the  numbers  expressing  the 
masses  of  the  sun,  the  earth,  Jupiter  and  Saturn,  the  dens- 
ties  of  these  bodies,  and  the  force  of  gravity  at  their  snrfiioe^ 
that  are  found  in  Pascal's  notes,  were  copied  from  the  third 
edition  of  the  Principia  given  by  Newton  in  1726;  and 
from  this  simple  fact  Mr.  Grant  concludes  that  aU  the  motf 
of  documents  communicated  by  M.  Chasles  to  the  Academy  ^ 
Sciefices  are  forgeries.  Evidently  this  concIu8k>ii  is  not  con- 
tained in  the  premises,  and  Mr.  Grant  errs  against  the  roles 
of  logic  He  ought  to  have  confined  himself  to  his  first 
alternative:  either  Pascal  had  received  from  an  unknown 
observer  the  elements  of  calculation  identical  with  those  of 
Newton ;  or,  ihe  numbers  of  his  note  had  been  simply  copied 
from  the  third  edition  of  the  Principia ;  and  this  note  is  not 
m  Pascal's  handwriting. 


[BnilUi  Bditkn,  TqL  ZVX.,  page  fl06  { Vo.  410^  pafo  IM ;  Ha  409,  page  182.] 


Chbical  Nkwi,  ) 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


315 


M.  Chasles  coofessed  that  it  is  difficult  to  explain  the  coin- 
adence  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Grant;  but  his  letter  does  not 
invalidate  the  capital  fact  of  the  relations  between  Pascal 
and  Newton,  corroborated  by  irresistible  proofs.  Here  is  a 
yery  striking  one.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Hujghens,  Pascal 
defined  the  quantity  of  movement,  and  gave  a^  its  value  the 
product  of  the  mass  by  the  square  of  the  velocity,  and 
deduced  from  this  expression  different  practical  conclusions. 
Huygiiens,  in  his  answer,  expressed  to  Pascal  the  fear  of  an 
error  on  bis  part.  The  quantity  of  movement,  he  said,  was 
■proportional,  not  to  the  product  of  the  mass  by  the  square  of 
the  velocity,  but  to  the  product  of  the  mass  by  the  velocity. 
The  two  letters  of  Pascal  and  Huyghens  are  in  the  hands  of 
M.  Gbasles;  also,  a  letter  in  which  Newton  communicates  to 
Huyghens  this  same  deduition  of  the  quantity  of  motion,  and 
the  answer  of  Huyghens  affirming  that  he  formerly  pointed 
out  to  the  late  M.  Pascal  the  error  into  which  he  had  fallen. 
The  close  approach  of  those  four  letters,  which  cannot  have 
been  forged,  leave  not  the  least  doubt  as  to  the  communica- 
tions made  by  Pascal  to  Newton.  The  same  relations  be- 
tween these  two  great  geniuses  is  still  more  evident  from  the 
very  curious  and  extraordinary  series  of  letters,  or  projects 
of  letters  exchanged  between  Newton,  James  II.,  and  Louis 
XIV.  We  again  repeat  that  the  mass  of  proofs  in  the  pos- 
session of  M.  Chasles  is  so  overwhelming  that  wo  are  forced 
to  yield  before  the  evidence. 

M.  Coste  read  also  a  letter  in  which  Sir  Di^jvid  Brewster,  to 
whom  M.  Chasles  had  sent  four  of  MS.  notes  of  Newton, 
gave  an  account  of  the  comparisons  made  by  the  £arl  of 
Portsmouth,  the  Earl  of  Macclesfield,  and  Sir  Frederick 
Hadden,  between  these  notes  and  authenticated  letters  and 
signatures  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  The  conclu.sion  of  this  ex- 
amination shows  that  not  only  were  the  letters  forgeries,  but 
Uiat  the  forger  could  never  have  seen  the  writing  or  signature 
of  Newton  otherwise  than  in  the  general  Dictionary,  or  in 
the  Macclesfield  correspondence  published  in  184 1.  M.  de 
Kbacikof,  as  ocular  witness  of  one  of  these  oomparisons,  had 
reported  to  M.  Chasles  that  the  cause  of  tliis  judgment  was 
principally  owing  to  the  permanent  difference  between  the  t 
and  the  n  of  the  notes  from  those  in  the  authentic  documents ; 
now,  in  searching  anew  in  the  immense  collection  of  M. 
Chasles,  he  found  notes  in  which  the  t  and  n  were  the  same 
as  those  in  the  English  MSS.,  and  others  in  which  the  same 
lettera  have  a  different  form  in  the  English  docnments,  and 
in  the  French  notes  placed  by  M.  Chasles  in  the  hands  of  Sir 
David  Brewster;  the  two  forms  are  also  found  in  a  Latin 
letter  of  Nowtoo,  of  which  Father  Secchi  has  brought  a  fac- 
simile from  Geneva.  In  fine,  the  handwriting  of  a  man 
varies  with  time;  the  differences  between  the  writing  of  the 
same  hand  corresponding  turn  by  turn  in  English,  French, 
German,  and  Latin  are  sufficient  to  account  for  all  the  differ- 
ences pointed  out  by  the  friends  of  Sir  D.  Brewster,  and 
remove  any  serious  objections  raised  by  these  comparisons. 
The  fact  that  Newton  had  four  or  five  different  signatures, 
£iithfully  found  in  the  notes  of  M.  Chasles,  and  the  extremity, 
to  which  Sir  David  Brewster  is  reduced,  of  pretending  that 
the  forgeries  are  recent  and  posterior  to  184 1,  when  speaking 
of  the  documents  from  the  collection  of  M.  Desmab^eau,  are 
powerful  arguments  in  favour  of  the  authenticity  of  tho 
autographs  of  M.  Chasles. 

M.  Dumas  communicated  a  curious  note,  by  which  K(.  de 
Loca  determined  in  the  liquid  contained  in  living  rooUusca 
the  presence  of  a  thirtieth  part,  or  about  3  per  cent  of  pure 
sulphuric  acid;  and  stated  also,  that  the  same  moUusca 
plunged  in  water  disengages  a  considerable  quantity  of  car- 
bonic acid. 

M.  Dumas  also  laid  on  the  table  a  work  of  great  interest 
by  Dr.  Hofmann,  on  the  transformation  of  wood-spirit  into 
aldehyd,  a  problem  which  WA.,  Dumas  and  Peligot  had 
vainly  attempted  to  solve.  Dr.  Hofmann  placed  in  a  suffi- 
eieatly  long  tube  a  spiral  of  platinum,  wliich  he  raised  to  the 
temperature  of  incandescence  by  means  of  a  voltaic  current, 
then  he  traversed  the  tube  by  a  continuous  Jet  of  the  vapour 
of  wood-spirit ;  this  vapour  is  sufficiently  heated  to  be  de- 


composed, and  transformed  into  aldehyd,  which  can  bo  col- 
lected in  the  form  of  a  continued  stream ;  the  operation 
can  be  continued  for  several  days,  and  it  has  been  proved 
that  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  wood-spirit  is  converted 
into  aldehyd. 

M.  Dumas  resumed  the  very  original  experiments  made  by 
M.  Melsens  on  projectiles.  By  causing  a  leaden  ball  to  fall 
into  water  from  the  height  of  about  a  mdtre,  he  found  that 
the  ball  drew  along  with  it  twenty  times  its  volume  of  air. 
This  same  ball  projected  several  metres,  by  powder,  to  the 
interior  of  a  cylinder,  filled  with  water,  the  two  vertical 
openings  of  which  are  shut  by  diaphragms  of  plaster,  intro- 
duced into  the  cylinder  nearly  a  hundred  times  its  volume  of 
air.  If  the  initial  velocity  is  small,  the  hole  is  about  the 
same  size  as  the  ball  (11  millimetres);  by  increasing  the 
velocity  it  is  much  enlarged  in  size,  and  when  considerably 
increased  the  hole  becomes  enormous.  It  is  impossible  to 
assign  the  cause  of  the  increase  of  the  hole  to  the  ball  alone. 
Also,  when  the  velocity  of  projection  is  excessive,  there  is  a 
double  border  inside  and  outside  formed  round  the  holes 
where  the  ball  enters  and  quits. 


OCTOBBB  14,  1867. 

Lever  B(uromeier,—New  MounUUn  Barometer.-^Solar  and  Lxir 
nar  Bdlos  and  CoronoB. — 7'Aa  PoMol-Newion  Forgeries.— » 
Solar  Spots. —  Waier  ConduUs, 

The  diSDussion  between  IL  Radau  and  the  Bey.  Father 
Seccbi  on  the  lever  barometer  is  not  yet  terminated.  At 
the  last  meeting,  M.  Secchi  tried  to  prove  that  the  barome- 
ter did  not  require  any  thermometric  corrections.  M.  Radau 
now  affirms  that  Father  Secchi,  in  his  demonstration,  has 
confounded  the  dilations  produced  by  10"  with  those  pro- 
duced by  I**  C,  J  the  consequence  is  that  the  calculated  num- 
bers are  false.  In  reality,  the  error  of  the  barometer  is 
more  than  a  millun^tre  for  10°,  instead  of  being  the  hun- 
dredth part  of  a  millimetre,  as  M.  Secchi  affirms. 

M.  P.  de  Bruno,  Professor  at  the  University  of  Turin, 
presented  a  barometer  formed  of  two  or  three  concentric 
tubas  of  glass  or  cast  iron — a  sort  of  lever  barometer  which 
possesses  the  'considerable  advantage  of  being  able  to  be 
transported  without  great  danger  of  rupture,  or  the  loss  of 
the  vacuum.    His  idea  is  simple  and  ingenious. 

If.  A.  Decharme,  Professor  at  the  Imperial  Lyceum  of 
Angers,  observes  witli  much  care  the  great  and  small  solar 
analunar  halos  and  corons^;  he  has  ascertained  that— ist. 
At  Angers  these  meteoric  phenomena  are  more  frequent 
than  is  generally  belieyed.  From  the  30th  August,  1866, 
to  30th  August,  1867,  he  had  observed  33.  2nd.  In  all 
cases  they  were  followed  by  ram  or  snow  on  the  same  day, 
the  day  following,  or,  at  latest,  on  the  next  day  for  a  very 
small  numbor.  3rd.  That  in  general  the  rain  is  the  nearer 
and  more  abundant  in  proportion  to  the  brilliancy  of  the 
phenomenon.  The  study  of  halos  can  thus  furnish  precious 
indications  as  prognostics  of  the  weather. 

M.  Faug^re  writes  to  the  Academy  a  letter  truly  incredi- 
ble :  also  a  comparison  of  Pascal's  notes  with  the  only  page 
of  the  illustrious  philosopher  which  was  at  his  disposition, 
and  has  very  roughly  concluded  the  falsity  of  all  the  docu- 
ments of  H.  Chasles.  At  present  the  comparison  of  a  letter 
Qf  King  James,  kindly  placed  in  his  hands  by  M.  Chasles, 
yrith  the  facsimile  of  a  similar  letter  found  by  him  in  a 
printed  work,  he  declares  apocryphal  to  the  letters  of  M. 
Chasles.  He  does  not  even  remark,  as  M.  Morin  observes, 
that  often  the  letters  of  sovereigns  are  neither  written  nor 
signed  by  them,  and  that  they  are  not  tl^e  less  authentic 
documents.  He  asks  simply  that  all  the  autographs  of  M. 
Chasles  be  submitted  to  an  enquiry  confided  to  the  direction 
of  the  Imperial  Printmg  Establishment,  and  to  the  most 
learned  connoisseurs  of  its  administration.  M.  Chasles  de- 
clares formally  that  he  denies  the  competence  of  M.  Tasohe- 
reau,  whose  abilil^  in  discernment  of  autographs  appears  to 
him  to  be  doubtful ;  that  he  is  disposed  to  publish  the  en- 


[Bni^hSdition,  VoL  XVI.,  Vo.  409,  pagw  182, 183 1  Va  411,  F««e  907.] 


J 


3i6 


Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society. 


J  OrancAL  Kiw% 
\      Dee^  18W. 


tire  co%ction  of  these  documents.  Meanwhile  he  places 
them  at  the  disposition  of  all  those  who  wish  to  consult 
them,  but  that  thej  shall  not  leave  his  possession.  He  re- 
marked thai  this  enquiry  has  been  already  made,  for  several 
of  the  most  important  pieces  with  those  of  the  British  Mu- 
seum, the  Royal  Society  of  London,  by  many  amateurs,  by 
the  aid  of  a  fao-simile  taken  from  the  most  authentic  auto- 
graphs, and  the  comparisons  have  successfully  overriiled  all 
the  objections  put  forward.  M.  Ohasles  reverted  also  to 
the  origin  of  his  autographs ;  he  thinks  that  he  can  satisfy  to 
all  purposes  the  indiscreet  questions  that  have  been  put  to 
him  in  affirming  that  they  formed  part  of  the  collection  of 
Desmaizeau.  He  is  convinced  that  by  indicating  the  series 
of  hands  through  which  they  passed  into  his  otvii,  no  step 
would  be  gained  as  to  proving  their  authenticity.  Seven 
portfolios  of  the  same  collection — ^that  of  Desmaijseau — ^have 
remained  in  London,  where  he  died,  and  which  may1)e  found 
in  the  British  Museum  or  elsewhere  by  proper  search,  which 
will  servo  to  demonstrate  most  forcibly  the  authenticity  of 
the  last  portfolio  remaining  in  France,  for  the  possession  of 
which  English  amateurs  have  made  vain  endeavors  sinoe 
the  death  of  Desmaizeau.  It  seems  to  us  that  he  can  say 
nothing  more  explicit ;  and  the  search  for  the  portfolios  of 
Desmaizeau  is  the  only  reasonable  way  of  putting  an  end  to 
this  painful  discussion.  Let  the  Royal  Society  of  London 
order  a  commission  of  its  members  to  examine  seriously  the 
autographs  in  the  possession  of  M.  Ohasles.  We  repeat 
that  the  falsifying  of  these  thousands  of  documents  is  an 
utter  impossibility.  And  the  fact  that  the  pretended  forger 
makes  the  relations  between  Newton  and  Pascal  date  as  far 
back  as  the  time  when  Newton  was  only  14  years  old,  is  in 
itself  a  convincing  proof  of  their  authenticity. 

M.  Lo  Terrier  made  a  discourse  in  which  he  tried  to  dem- 
onstrate; in  the  most  positive  manner,  the  false  origin  of 
the  astronomical  documents  attributed  to  Pascal  The 
President,  and  the  Secretary,  M.  Elie  de  Beaumont,  begged 
of  him  to  reserve  his  proofs  for  the  commission  to  which  was 
referred  the  proposition  of  M.  Faugere.  M.  Le  Verrier  in- 
sisted on  being  heard  by  the  Academy,  inasmuch  as  that  the 
overwhelming  proofs  in  his  possession  wiil  arrive  soon  from 
England ;  but  the  language  of  M.  Le  Verrier  was  so  far 
from  being  academical,  and  so  injurious  to  M.  Ohasles,  that 
it  was  received  with  marked  signs  of  disapprobation  by  the 
whole  assembly.  M.  Saint  Claire  Deville  read  a  letter,  in 
which  M.  Kirchhoflf  answered  to  a  question  made  by  M. 
Cliasles,  as  to  his'  theory  of  solar  spots. 

Father  Secchi  read  a  paper  on  the  admirable  water  con- 
duits made  in  the  Roman  Oompagna  with  full  success. 


MANCHESTER  LITERARY  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL. 
SOCIETY. 

Ordinary  Meeting,  October  isi,  1867. 
Edward  Schukok,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.,  etc.,  Prmdent,  in  the  chair. 
Dr.  Crompton,  alluding  to  the  paper  he  read  in  October, 
1866,  *'  On  the  Portraits  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,"  said,  that 
while  preparing  his  essay  for  publication  in  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Society,  he  had  opened  up  fresh  sources  of  information, 
and  become  possessed  of  facts  of  considerable  interest  respect- 
ing the  portraits  of  Newton.  He  had  examined  about  twenty 
portraits  of  the  great  philosopher,  all  of  which  wereconsideied 
to  be  originals,  and  most  of  which  were  undoubtedly  painted 
ft  longtime  ago;  but  he  had  seen  no  portrait  which,  in  his 
opinion,  was  of  equal  importance  and  interest  with  the 
Kneller  Newton  of  1689,  ^o  which  he  last  year  directed  the 
attention  of  the  Society,  as  by  far  the  most  valuable  portrait 
of  the  ^eat  philosopher  in  existence,  and  of  whioh  he  ex- 
bibited  an  admirable  engraving  by  Mr.  Oldham  Barlow.  His 
extended  inquiries  into  the  subject  of  the  portraits  of  Newton 
had  led  him  to  the  conclusion  that  there  are  several  (if  not 
many)  which  pass  current  as  portraits  of  him  which  are  most 
decidedly  reprenentations  of  other  persons.  In  the  National 
Portrait  Exhibition  at  Kensington  of  the  present  year  there 


were  four  portraits  of  Newton,  two  of  which  he  feels  sure 
have  no  real  claim  to  be  regarded  as  authentic  or  genaine. 
These  two  are  pictures  contributed  by  the  Earl  of  Dartrey 
and  by  the  Marquis  of  Exeter.  The  former  purports  to  be 
a  portrait  of  Newton  when  he  was  a  Bachelor  of  Ans^  and  to 
be  painted  by  Lely.  It  represents  a  young  man  with  his 
hand  resting  on  a  globe ;  and  there  is  an  engraving  of  the 
picture,  done  many  years  back,  but  he  had  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  the  picture  had  no  right  to  be  considered  a  por- 
trait of  Newton.  The  features  were  not  Newton's,  and  it  was 
most  improbable  that  the  poor  Trinity  College  Sizar  would, 
when  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  (that  is,  between  January,  1665,  and 
July  7,  1668)  have  cared,  or,  if  he  had  cared,  could  have  had 
the  means  to  obtain  a  portrait  of  himself.  He  apprehended 
that  because  the  portrait  represented  a  young  man  with  his 
hand  on  a  globe,  some  imaginative  person  had  supposed  that 
it  mnst  be  a  representation  of  the  great  philosopher  who  had 
explained  the  system  of  the  universe.  But  this  portrait  rep- 
resents one  of  the  poorest  specimens  of  humanity;  and 
certainly  not  a  Newton,  but  rather  a  Simple  Simon.  The 
Marquis  of  Exeter's  picture  has  hardly  any  greater  daim  to 
be  regarded  as  a  Newton.  It  represents  a  man  with  a  bald 
head,  but  we  have  the  clearest  evidence  that  Newton  was 
not  bald.*  The  two  Vanderbank  portraits,  representing  him 
the  year  before  his  death  without  his  wig,  show  that  he  bad 
a  beautiful  head  of  silver  white  hair.  There  is  another  por- 
trait of  Newton  by  Thomhill,  taken  at  an  earlier  period, 
which  represent%  him  without  his  wig,  but  with  short  white 
hair  and  no  trace  of  baldness.  The  I'ortsmouth  Kneller  of 
1689,  which  represents  him  when  he  was  47  years  old,  shows 
him  without  a  wig  and  with  abundant  grey  hair.  This  is  a 
sufficient  ground  for  rejecting  this  picture :  but  no  one  who 
has  studied  the  portraits  of  Newton  could  be  brought  to 
believe  that  this  is  a  representation  of  the  great  philosopher. 
Last  year,  when  reading  his  paper,  Dr.  Crompton  remarked 
that  he  had  been  unable  to  discover  where  the  original 
Kneller  of  Newton,  engraved  by  Houbraken,  was  to  be  found. 
He  then  pointed  out  that  in  some  impressions  of  the  Hou- 
braken print  it  was  stated  to  be  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Conduit  Dr.  Crompton  went  to  the  Earl  of  Portsmouth's 
seat  at  Hurstbonme  Park,  and  there  found  the  original 
picture.  It  is  dated  1702  and  signed  by  Kneller.  The  Sari 
of  Portsmouth,  Newton's  collateral  descendant,  tberefora 
possesses  the  two  most  important  portraits  of  Newton.  This 
portrait  of  Newton  was  engraved  also  by  Smith,  about  1712. 
A  replica,  if  not  an  earlier  copy,  without  any  name  of  an 
artist  upon  it,  is  in  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  at 
Holker.  His  Grace  informs  me  that  he  cannot  positively  trace 
its  coming  into  the  possession  of  his  family,  but  he  conjeo> 
tures  that  it  may  have  been  at  Holker  before  the  marriage  of 
one  of  the  Lowthers  with  Lady  Mary  Cavendish,  through 
whom  this  Holker  property  passed  to  the  OavendLshea  l^ere 
is  an  exact  replica  or  early  copy  of  the  Portsmouth  Kneller 
of  1689  at  Lord  Galway's,  except  not  having  the  name  of 
Newton  or  of  Kneller  upon  it,  which  Dr.  Crompton  has  ex- 
amined, and  which,  in  an  old  catalogue  of  the  pictures,  is 
said  to  be  painted  by  Bond.  Dr.  Crompton  said  that  he 
had  examined  the  three  oil  paintings  of  Newton  in  tiie 
Royal  Society's  collection;  also  the  Kneller  at  HampHoD 
Court,  which  is  dated  1689,  and  differs  from  the  Portsnocth 
Kneller  of  1689  only  in  the  position  of  the  bands;  also  all 
the  portraits  of  Newton  belonging  to  Trinity  College,  Oani- 
bridge ;  the  Indian  Ink  drawing  of  Newton  in  the  Peprsian 
library  at  Magdalen  College;  and  a  portrait  at  Mrs.  l^e^, 
at  Firbeck  Hall,  Yorkshire,  which  resembles  very  much  the 
Egremont  Newton  by  Kneller,  engraved  as  a  frontispiece  to 
Sir  David  Brewster's  first  life  of  Newton,  published  in  the 
Family  Library.  Dr.  Crompton  exhibited  this  edition  of 
Brewster's  life,  as  well  as  the  larger  one  in  rwo  vc^  In  the 
text  of  both  the  engravings,  which  differ  very  greatly  from 


♦  Mr.  CoodQlt,  Newton^a  ]i«ph«w  by  marrlaffei,  vben 

Newton's  personal  appearftnoe.  aaji,  "  Wlih  a  floe  head  ofbair  asTUto 
as  sllrer,  without  any  baldoess.  and  when  hli  peruke  was  oS;  wai  a 
venerable  aight.'*— Brewster'a  Life  qfjfewton^  1855,  toI.  iL  p.  4x3. 


[Bncliah  Edition,  VoL  XVL,  No.  411,  pagef  207,  a05»  906.] 


CnlMKUL  NftWB,  I 


CTieinical  Notices  from  Foi^eign  Sources. 


317 


each  other,  are  said  to  be  from  a  picture  ia  the  poseesaion  of 
Lord  Egremont  Sir  David  Brewster  is  unable  to  explain 
how  it  is  that  two  eograviDgs  from  distinct  and  difiTerent 
portraits  should  thus  happen  to  be  spoken  of  in  the  text^ 
except  that  bia  publisher  must  have  selected  the  second 
portrait  and  got  it  engraved.  It  is,  I  think,  unmistakoablj' 
taken  from  Sfuiith's  print  of  17 12  or  an  early  impression  of 
Houbraken*8  engraving.  The  portrait  prefixed  to  the  small 
Life  of  Newtou  is  the  same  as  that  engraved  in  Lodge's  por- 
traits. At  present  Dh  Crompton  is  unacquainted  with  the 
historical  evidence  regarding  the  genuineness  of  this  portrait. 
It  ia  signed  by  Kneller  and  dated  17 16;  but  Dr.  Crompton 
has  oot  yet  seen  it,  nor  one  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Turner, 
of  Stoke  Ashford,  near  Grantham. 

In  Lord  Portsmouth's  collection  at  Hurstbourne,  besides 
three  genuine  and  autheutic  portraits  of  Xewton,  there  is 
a  fourth  picture  with  the  name  of  Newton  painted  upon  it.' 
It  was  described  to  Dr.  Crompton  by  a  gentleman  who  had 
bad  an  opportunity  of  a  very  close  examination  of  it,  as  the 
earliest  and  most  important  portrait  of  the  great  philosopher. 
But  Dr.  Crompton  found  neither  date  nor  artist's  name  upon 
it,  and  tlie  picture,  whk^h  is  mounted  upon  panel,  has  a  crest 
in  red  wax  behind  it,  which  is  not  the  crest  of  the  Ports- 
mouth family,  but  could  uot  be  sufficiently  determined  what 
it  was  for  want  of  a  magnifying  glass.  The  history  of  this 
picture  will  be  investigated  further ;  though  it  is  certain  that 
il  cannot  be  a  portrait  of  Kewton,  for  the  features  are  not 
bis,  and  the  ey<^s  are  brown,  while  Newton's  were  bluish 
grey.  It  is  moat  earnestly  to  be  desired  that  all  the  portraits 
of  Newton  miglit  be  collected  together  at  Kensington  next 
year  for  comparison  with  each  other,  and  that  the  portraits 
of  other  great  men  (where  there  are  several)  should  be  thus 
exhibited  in  juxtaposition.  It  would  probably  then  be  evi- 
dent that  there  exist  many  spurious  ones,  and  an  opportunity 
would  be  thus  afforded  of  determining  which  are  the  best  as 
well  as  the  true. 

Mr.  R  D.  Dabbishirb,  F.G.S.,  referred  to  a  paper  "  On 
the  Existence  of  a  Seabeach  on  the  Limestone  Moors  near 
Buxton."  (IVtzim.  Manchester  Geol.  Soc.j  v.  p.  273),  in 
which  Mr.  John  Plant,  P.G.S.,  had  described  as  sea  beach 
the  surface  of  the  limeatone  rock  as  the  same  ia  seen  when 
bared  of  swaid  and  surface  clay  above  the  quarries  on  Grin 
Edge  and  Harper  Hill,  south-west  of  Buxton,  and  to  Mr. 
Plant's  conjecture  that  this  worn  surface  probably  extended 
uearly  to  the  crown  of  the  hills. 

His  own  observation  bad  marked  on  each  bill,'  above  the 
stratum  whose  upper  surface  exhibited  those  indications 
of  wear,  a  stratum  of  somewhat  different  texture  still  sub- 
sisting in  the  shape  of  a  slight  vertical  cliff  or  reef.  This 
bed  had  not  worn  in  the  same  manner  as  the  "  beach,**  that 
is  to  say,  with  many  interlacing  fissures  having  a  close  (^evavx 
defrize  of  limestone  points,  but  rather  in  great  blocks  with 
round,  curved  edges  or  holes. 

In  connection  with  this  bed,  Mr.  Darbishire  had  obtained 
specimens  from  each  hill  exhibiting  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  remains  of  the  burrows  of  Pholas  shells. 

On  the  top  level  of  Grin  Edge,  dose  to  the  ruins  of  the 
tower,  one  stone  had  a  group  of  seven  holes.  They  were 
placed  like  Pholas  holes  as  he  bad  collected  them  on  Great 
Orme's  Head ;  and,  though  the  surface  of  the  stone  about 
them  was  much  worn,  taken  along  with  the  specimen  next 
described,  it  seemed  more  fitting  to  ascribe  to  them  a  similar 
origin,  than  to  attribute  them  to  the  natural  wear  of  the  stone, 
notwithstanding  the  variety  and  singularity  of  many  of  the 
forms  in  which  atmospheric  or  aqueous  ooiTosion  affect  the 
limestone  rock. 

This  stooe  lay  amongst  a  heap  of  others  near  the  ruins  of 
the  tower,  and  had  doubtless  been  brought  up  a  few  feet. 
The  height  above  the  sea  of  the  tower  is  stated  on  the  Ord- 
QaQoe  Map  as  1,435  ^'^^• 

On  Harper  Hill,  in  two  large  blocks  of  the  overlyinjr  stra- 
tnm,  he  had  detected  more  characteristic  holes.  Both  blocks 
were  lying  in  the  sward  above  the  "beach'*  surface,  and 
were  a  few  feet  below  the  rock  in  ntu,  from  which  they  had 


evidently  been  detached.  Of  the -first  of  these  spcMnens  he 
exhibited  a  photograph.  It  showed  in  the  underi^lre  of  the 
edge  of  a  projecting  ledge  or  table  of  stone  six  well  marked 
holes  from  f  in.  to  i  in.  in  diameter,  and  one  an  inch  dcep^ 
and  traces  of  two  others.  The  holes  were  grouped  just  as 
Pholas  holes  usually  are,  and  apparently  were  quite  inde- 
pendent of  the  structural  fi-ssures  of  the  stone. 

According  to  measurement  with  an  aneroid  barometer,  the 
stone  in  which  those  holes  occurred  was  about  1,380,  and 
the  reef  from  which  it  had  fallen  about  1,400  feet  in  elevation. 

If  the  holes  were  realjy  Pholas  burrows,  they  would  indi- 
cate the  elevation  of  these  bills  since  the  period  of  glacial 
action  by  sea  or  land. 

Mr.  BiNNET,  F.R.S.,  P.G.S.,  remarked  on  the  great  eleva- 
tion of  these  remains  if  the  observations  were  accurate,  and 
observed  that  they  were  on  the  west  side  of  the  hills.  Mr. 
Prestwich  had  discovered  shells  in  shingle  on  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Axe-edge  hills  towards  Macclesfield,  at  the 
height  of  1,150  feet  He  would  like  to  hear  of  observations 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Derbyshire  Kills  if  any  traces  of 
marine  action  were  to  be  discovered  there. 

Mr.  Darbishire  had  not  the  specimens  at  band,  but 
would  produce  them,  in  connection  with  a  series  of  similar 
remains  from  Orme's  Head,  to  which  he  proposed  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  Society  at  an  early  meeting. 

CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 

Benzyllc  Etber,  Nltro-derlTatlTes  of.— Ed.  Grimauz* 

Nitrobenzylic  hydride  dissolves  in  alcoholic  potasaic  hydrate* 
with  formation  of  potassic  nitrobenzoate,  and  an  oil  which 
probably  is  nitrobenzylic  alcohoL  The  reaction  takes  place 
m  the  following  manner : — 

2[e7H5(Ne8)e]4-KHe= 

=eTH4(Nea)eaK + €7H,  (Ne,)e. 

Tills  oil  cannot  be  distilled  at  ordinary  pressure  without  un- 
dergoing decomposition;  in  a  vacuum  it  boils  between  17$° 
and  iSo^C.  Phosphoric  chloride  converts  it  into  nitrodrace- 
thylic  chloride  (the  nitrobenzylic  chloride  of  Beilstein  and 
Geitner,  Ann.  Chem.  Pharm.  cxxxix.  337),  which,  on  being 
boiled  with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  potassic  acetate,  forma 
the  ether  e« H4(Ne,)eHa(ea El .Oa).— (Compter  i?.  Ixv.  211.) 
Oreln,  Methyl-,  Ktliyl-,  and  Amyl-deiiTatlTes  of.— 
V.  de  Luynes  and  A.  Lionet.  Tlie  action  of  alcoholic-iodides 
and  potassic  hydrate  upon  orcin  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of 
three  series  of  compounds,  in  which,  according  to  the  condi- 
tions of  the  experiment,  one,  two,  or  three  atoms  of  hydrogen 
of  orcin  are  replaced  by  alcohol-radicals.  The  authors  have 
prepared  by  this  method — 

1.  Methyl  orcin,  e7H7(eH,)e„ 
ethyl-orcin,                e7H7('e,H6)ea, 

and  amvl-orcin,  •07H7('06Hii)O,, 

2.  Diethyl-orcin,  e7H«(eaH6),e,, 
and  diamyl-orcin,  "81  H«(^6Hii)i,Oj. 

3.  Trimethyl-orcin,  6,H6(6H«)80,. 
triethyl-orcin,  €7H6(e,H8),e„ 
and  triamyl-orcin,  •67H6(-OftUii)Oi. 
— (Comptes  Rendus,  Ixv.  213.) 

GlyeoHe  Hydrlodate,  and  Nenv  Synthesis  of  Al* 
cohols.— A.  Butlerow  and  M.  Osokin.  Glycolic  hydriodate 
(iodhydrin)  OaHftlO  is  readily  formed  by  the  action  of  potassic 
iodide  upon  glycolic  hydrochlorate ;  potassic  chloride  and 
iodide  are  extracted  from  the  mixture  by  water;  the  remain- 
ing oil  is  washed  first  with  a  solution  of  sodic  hydrate,  then 
with  water,  and  finally  dried  over  dehydrated  sodic  sulphate, 
and  distilled  in  a  vacuum.  Iodhydrin  is  energetically  acted 
upon  by  zincic  methide  or  ethide,  and  if  water  is  added  to 
the  prodiV3t  of  the  reaction,  iodhydrin  is  again  formed,  be- 
sides hydrocarbons : 

^^*^  [e+2Hae=€,Hje-hRH+znH,e, 


Engllah  EditKm,  YoL  XVL,  ITo.  411,  pages  206, 207, 208.] 


3i8 


Cliemical  Noticee  froni  Foreign  Sources. 


j  CmnOAL  Kivi, 
1      Jfte^tm. 


If,  however,  certain  conditions  are  observed  during  the  reacs 
tioo,  thMloohoIs  BiHaO  and  BtBi^B  may  be  obtained. — 
(ZeitschF  Chem.  N.F.  iii.  369.) 

Aeetonle  and  Oxytoobntyrlc  Add.  —  Markownicoff 
has  prepared  acetonic  acid  according  to  Sladeler's  method, 
and  compared  it  with  oxyisobutyric  acid.  He  finds  that  they 
agree  as  regards  the  temperature  required  for  their  sublima- 
tion (50°C.)  and  fusion  (79''— 80*),  and  that  their  character- 
istic zinc-salts  show  the  same  properties.  From  these  ex- 
periments, and  others  published  on  a  former  occasion  (Zeitschr. 
ii.  502),  the  author  concludes  that  Frankland's  dimethoxalic 
acid,  Stadeler^s  acetonic  acid,  and  his  oxyisobutyric  acid,  first 
obtained  from  monobromisobutyric  acid,  are  identical — 
(ZeUsdir.  Chem,  N.F.  iiL  434.) 

Solplioplienjle-C.  G.Wheeler.  By  the  reduction  of 
phenylsulphonic  chloride  by  means  of  zinc  and  sulphuric  acid, 
phenylic  sulphhydrate  and  phenylic  bisulphide  are  formed.  On 
dissolving  the  mixture  of  the  two  in  warm  alcohol,  the  bisul- 
phide is  obtained  in  crystals,  while  the  oily  sulphhydrate  re- 
mains in  solution.  Bromine  acts  readily  upon  phenylic 
bisulphide,  forming  a  crystalline  body  of  the  composition 
^«H»BrS,  which  is  readily  soluble  in  ether,  moderately  so  in 
alcohol,  insoluble  in  water.  The  author  intends  to  convert 
this  bromide  into  a  cyanide,  which  on  being  treated  with  po- 
ta»9ic  hydrate  is  expected  to  yield  an  acid  corresponding  to 
oxybenzoic  acid,  and  identical,  perhaps,  with  the  acid  ob- 
tained from  potassic  sulphhydrate  and  chlorbenzoic  acid.  The 
reaction  would  be  the  following:— 

^m  [s+KeH+Hae=H,N+(e«H,s)6e.eK. 

{Zeitachr.  Chem.  N.F.  iii.  436.) 

Benzyl- Amides.— H.  Limpricht  The  action  of  alcoholic 
ammonia  upon  chlorbenzyl  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of 
mono-,  di-,  and  tri-benzylamine,  which  may  easily  be  separ- 
ated by  converting  them  into  hydrochloratea  and  subjecting 
the  latter  to  fractional  crystallisation. 
^  Tri-benzylamine  crystallises  in  large  plates;  it  may  be  dis- 
tilled in  small  quantities  at  above  300'' C.  without  under- 
going decomposition.  The  chlorhydrates  heated  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  dry  chlorhydric  acid  to  25o''0.  is  resolved  into  chlor- 
benzyl and  dibenzylaminic  chlorliydrate : 

(e,H,),N,Hci + Hci=«e,n,cn-(e7HT),HN,Ha 

The  free  base,  when  distilled  with  bromine  and  water, 
gives  oil  of  bitter  almonds  and  bromhydrate  of  dibenzy- 
lamine: 

(e7H,)aN+Br,  +  Hae=e7H,e+(e,H,),HN,HBr+HBr. 

A  similar  reaction  takes  place  when*  heated  with  iodine  and 
water  in  sealed  tubes  to  120°.  Dry  bromine  added  to  an 
etheric  solution  of  tribenzylamine  precipitates  an  amorphous 
yellow  body  of  the  composition  (69,ll9iN)9Br«.  Fuming  sul- 
phuric acid  converts  tribenzylamine  into  a  sulpho-acid,  the 
baric  salt  of  which  has  the  formula  6,4Hi,NSsO«,Ba. 

Dibenzylamioe  is  a  thick  colourless  liquid,  insoluble  in 
water,  readily  soluble  in  alcoh^>l  or  ether.  It  forms  well 
crystallisable  salts  with  clilor-,  brom-,  and  iodhydric  acid, 
which  are  soluble  in  hot  water,  sparingly  so  in  cold. 

Monobenzylamine  awaits  further  investigation,  not  hav- 
ing been  obtained  in  sufficient  quantity. — {ZeitscJir,  Chem. 
N.F.  iii.  449.) 

nippDricAcld,  Syntlio«Uof.— N.Iazukowitech.  The 
reaction  by  which  sarcosine  (methl-glycocyne)  is  formed 
(acting  upon  chloroacetic  acid  with  methy famine)  may  be 
employed  for  the  syntliesis  of  hippnric  acid  (benzoyl-glyco- 
cyne),  using  benzamid  instead  of  methylamine : 

e,H,cie,+N  I  ^2j=€,H,N  j  ^^"e,+Hci 

Barcoilae 


eaH,cie,+N 


BfppQiic  add. 


Equivalent  quantities  of  benzamide  and  chloracetic  acid  were 
heated  in  a  sealed  tube  to  150° — i6o*'C.  The  contents  of  the 
tube,  which  had  become  solid  on  cooling,  were  ^tracted  with 
ether,  the  insoluble  portion  saturated  with  caldc  hydrate,  and 
the  calcic  salt  analysed ;  it  had  the  composition  of  calcic  hip- 
purate  2  (^bH^NOi).  Ga+3H«0,  the  acid  obtained  from  this 
salt  by  precipitation  with  chlorhydric  acid,  had  the  composi- 
tion of  hippuric  acid,  OsH^NO,.— (^i<9cAr.  N.F.  iiL  466.) 

Hltrle  Acid  In  UTater. — T.  Fuchs  determines  nitric 
acid  in  water  by  the  following  methpd : — Two  litres  of  water 
are  boiled  down  to  about  2tx)  cc.,  and  daring  evaporation 
jjure  potassic  permanganate  is  added  (the  object  of  which 
is  to  convert  nitrites  into  nitrates),  until  a  permanent  pink 
colour  is  obtained.  The  concentrated  liquid  is  filtered,  pare 
sulphuric  acid  added,  and  distilled  into  a  flask  containing 
baric  carbonate  suspended  in  water.  The  distillation  is  in- 
terrupted when  sulphuric  acid  begins  to  go  over.  The  con- 
tents of  the  receiver  are  filtered,  and  in  the  filtrate,  which 
contains  baric  nitrate  and  chloride,  the  barium  is  determined 
in  the  usual  manner.  The  amount  of  chlorine  being  known 
from  a  separate  experiment,  all  data  are  given  for  the  calcu- 
lation of  the  quantity  of  nitric  acid  present  in  the  2,000  ex. 
water. 

The  error  caused  by  the  oxidation  of  ammonia  to  nitrous 
and  nitric  acid  the  author  finds  to  be  inappreciable.— 
(Zeitschr.  Analyt,  Chem.  vL  175.) 

Pbospborto  Acid   and  Nascent   Hydrogen— B. 

Fresenius.  It  has  been  stated  by  Herapath  {Pkarm.  JSwm^ 
viL  57)  that  phosphoric  acid  ^ras  reduced  by  zinc  and  sulpba- 
ric  acid,  so  that  hydric  phosphide  was  mixed  with  the  hydro- 
gen evolved.  Fresenius  tried  the  experiment,  but  with  a 
negative  resulL  100  grammes  of  zinc  were  slowly  dissolved 
in  diluted  sulphuric  acid  in  presence  of  10  grammes  of  sodic 
phosphate.  The  gase?,  afiier  passing  a  small  wash-bottle 
containing  water,  were  conducted  through  two  IJ  tubes  filled 
with  a  neutral  solution  of  argentic  nitrate.  A  small  qnantitj 
of  black  precipitate  was  formed,  which  on  examination  was 
found  to  contain  arsenic  and  silver,  but  not  a  trace  of  phos- 
phorus in  any  form.  A  similar  experiment  in  which  no 
pha^phate  had  been  added  to  the  sine  gave  tlie  same  result 
exactly.— (Zi;t(scAr.  Analyt  Chem.  vi.  20S  } 

Tolnmetrlc  Determination  of  Iron— A.  (X  Oade- 
mans.  The  inaccuracies  attached  to  the  method  of  the  direct 
determination  of  iron  by  means  of  sodic  hyposulphite,  as  firat 
proposed  by  Scherer,  have  been  removed  by  the  foUowia^ 
modification  of  the  process.  To  a  solution  of  ferric  oxide, 
which  may  contain  much  free  chlorhydric  acid,  are  added  a 
few  drops  of  a  solution  of  a  cupric  salt,  and  potassic  sulpho- 
cyanide  sufficient  to  render  the  liquid  dark  red.  A  standard 
solution  of  sodic  hyposulphite  is  tlien  added  until  the  red 
colour  has  entirely  disappeared,  which  point  may  be  observed 
with  great  accuracy.  The  action  of  the  small  quaittity  of 
cupric  salt  consists  in  causmg  a  more  rapid  deoxidatioa  of 
the  ferric  salt. 

The  analyses  given  in  illustration  of  this  method  are  veiy 
satisfactory. — (Zeitschr.  Analyt  Chem.  vL  129.) 

Hypoffaclc  Add— K.  Schroder.  The  oil,  extracted 
from  the  seeds  of  aracnis  hypogaea  by  means  of  carbonic 
disulphide,  was  saponified  with  sodic  hydrate.  The  swp  de- 
composed with  chlorhydric  acid,  and  the  mixture  of  aradu- 
dic,  oleic,  and  hypogaeic  acid  subjected  to  repeated  crystal- 
lisations from  alcohol,  until  the  last-named  acid  was  obuined 
in  a  state  of  purity. 

Hypogaeic  dibromide,  6i«HioBr,0,  is  obtained  by  the  ac- 
tion of  bromine  on  the  acid  at  a  low  temperature.  This  bro- 
mide, on  being  treated  with  alcoholic  potassic  hydrate  at  100* 
C,  is  converted  into  monobromhypogaeic  acid,  €i«Ht«Br6t; 


[English  Edition,  ToL  ZVL,  Na  411,  page  206 ;  No.  412,  page  21&] 


*"5Wr} 


Notices  of  Boohs — Correspondence. 


319 


when  the  reaction  is  made  to  take  plaee  under  pressure  and 
the  temperatare  raised  to  170^  palmitolic  acid,  OiaHts^s.  a 
lo^nrer  homologue  of  stearolio  acid,  is  formed,  the  deoomposi- 
tbn  taking  place  according  to  the  equation: 

eieH,oBr.e-|-  2KHe=e,  eHasOaH-  2KBr+ 2Hae. 

Monobromh7x>ogaeic  acid  again  treated  with  bromine  is  con- 
verted into  monobrombypogaeic  dibromide, 

^laHaaBrjOj, 

and  this  when  digested  with  alcoholic  potaasic  hydrate  is 
ehanged-into  monobrompalmitolic  acid, 

"^leHftBrOa. 

Faming  nitric  acid  oxidises  palmitolic  acid  to  suberic  acid, 
Sttberio  hydride,  and  palmytoxylic  acid : 

2€|«H880t  +  7^=^l«^a8^4+^sHi4O4+^BHi4Oa 

Palmytoxylio   Buberio  8nb«rlo 

acid.  ftcld.  bydiide. 

Freshly  precipitated  argentic  oxide  and  water  acting  upon 
hypogaeic  dibromide  at  100"  convert  it  into  oxyhypogaeic 
acid,  and  the  latter,  on  being  boiled  with  an  alkaline  hydrate 
takes  up  water,  forming  dioxypalmitic  acid: 

€,eH8oBraea  +  Ag,e=6i«H,oO,+2AgBr, 

and  ozyhypogaeic  acid 

'GieHao'^s  +  HaO^^Gj  0H83O4 

dioxypalmitic  acid. — {Ann,  Ghent.  Pharrru  cxiiii.  22.) 


NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 

TTte  (kUendar  of  the  Fhamuxceuiical  Socieiy. 

Pharmaceutists  will  find  this  book  of  great  value  as  a  ref- 
erence on  all  matters  connected  with  the  Society.  In  ad- 
dition  to  the  list  of  members  and  associates  which  was 
formerly  published  in  the  July  number  of  the  Journal,  it 
contains  the  various  Acts  of  Parliament  relating  to  Pharma- 
<gr,  the  regulations  of  the  Board  of  Examiners,  the  rules  of 
tto  Benevolent  Fund,  and  much  that  will  be  useful  to  those 
interostcd  in  Pharmaceutical  matters. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


The  Soda  Trade. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sni. — I  beg  here  to  offtr  some  remarks  on  Mr.  Wright's 
p^)er  in  your  last  impression.  (Amer.  Reprini  Chemical 
Netos^  Nov.  1867,  p.  239.)  He  complains  of  the  trade  use 
wbich  retains  the  old  equivalent  (24)  for  soduim,  and  it  can 
oertainly  not  be  denied  that  it  would  be  far  better  if  the 
right  equivalent  (23)  were  taken  instead.  But  I  mu.<!t  pro- 
test against  Mr.  Wright's  calling  this  woU-known  practice 
"  a  barefaced  fraud."  The  facts  of  the  case  are  known  to 
most  or  all  important  buyers  of  soda-ash,  and  all  bargains 
are  made  on  the  express  condition  of  going  by  the  analysis 
of  ^Q/tne  analytical  diemist  who  may  or  may  not  take  24  as 
equivalent  for  Na,  but  will  take  24  in  most  cases.  The 
choioe  of  the  analytical  chemist  is  practically  always  in  the 
hands  of  the  buyer.  Does  Mr.  Wright  redly  mean  to  im- 
pute a  "  barefaced  fraud  "  to  the  great  majority,  if  not  to  the 
whole,  of  the  chemical  manufacturers  in  this  country?  Be- 
sides, woidd  they  on  their  side  submit  to  the  equivalent  44 
for  peroxide  of  manganese  if  they  considered  it  a  "  barefaced 
frand,"  and  not  a  custom  of  the  trade  which  is  understood 
by  buyer  and  seller? 

Mr.  Wright  farther  supposes  that  for  the  estimation  of 
chloride  of  lime  the  iron  process  is  the  one  generally  used, 
and  he  asserts  that  all  its  known  sources  of  inaccuracy 


tend  to  heighten  the  apparent  percentage  of  chlorine.  But 
he  overlooks  two  important  sources  of  possible  eniys,  viz., 
the  eflSorescence  of  the  ferrous  salt  and  the  escape  of 
chlorine  during  the  operation,  the  latter  of  which  can  hard- 
ly be  totally  avoided,  and  both  of  which  lower  the  apparent 
percentage.  It  is,  consequently,  generally  assumed  that 
the  iron  process  shows  a  little  lower  percentage  (say  i  per 
cent )  of  available  chlorine  than  the  arsenite  of  soda  pro- 
cess, and  the  latter,  far  more  reliable  one,  is  rightly  super- 
seding the  former  more  and  more  in  the  laboratories. 

I  am,  eta,  A  Peactical  Chemist. 


The  Soda  Trade. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  NBwa 

Sir,— In  answer  to  the  remarks  of  "A  Practical  Chemist**  in 
your  last  impression  [Am.  Reprini^  Dec.  ^67,  page  319),  I  beg 
to  observe  that  the  practice  stigmatised  as  a  "barefaced 
fraud"  is  not  so  much  the  mere  use  of  24  as  the  equivalent  of 
sodium,  as  the  habitual  invoicing  of  sales  of  soda-ash  as  con- 
taining a  considerably  higher  percentage  of  available  alkali 
than  that  really  present.  To  take  an  example :  pure  Na,COa 
contains  (on  the  supposition  thatNa=24,C=i2.0=i6)  59*26 
per  cent,  of  NaaO;  whilst  of  Na=23,  it  contains  58*49.  the 
diflTerence  between  the  two  being  077  per  cent,  out  of  5926: 
on  a  48  per  cent,  ash,  accordingly,  the  difference  would  be 
jJ.fff+0'77.  or  0-62  percent;  that  is,  the  real  percentage 
would  be  48 — 0-62,  or  4738  per  cent.  If.  however,  such 
ash  were  invoiced  at  2  per  cent,  above  its  real  strength,  it 
would  be  called  49*38  per  cent. — say  49  percent. ;  and  if  the 
commercial  analyst  referred  to  by  either  party  adopted  such 
a  mode  of  computation  as  would  allow  this  invoice  to  pass 
unchallenged  (and  the  writer  has  known  many  such  instan- 
ces), the  result  would  be  that  the  purchaser  would  pay  for 
49  units,  whilst  the  ash,  even  on  the  supposition  that  Na=24, 
only  contained  48  units;  accordingly,  it  does  not  appear  a  very 
extravagant  statement  that  in  this  case  the  purchaser  is  *'  de- 
frauded." 

Ifthe  taking  Na=24  were  a  point  simply  affecting  trade 
customs,  it  would  be  of  no  more  material  consequence  tnan 
the  selling  of  some  goods  by  the  ton  of  20  cwt.  and  others  by 
the  ton  of  21  cwt. ;  but  as  none  of  the  higher  class  of  chemists 
accept  this  equivalent,  and  as  there  is  no  reason  whatever  to 
be  ossigned  for  its  retention,  whilst,  in  addition  to  the  scien- 
tific inaccuracy,  there  is  the  objection  that  it  opens  the  way 
to  disputes,  and  is  the  cause  of  considerable  discrepancies  in 
the  analysis  of  the  same  substance  by  different  analysts,  it  is 
evident  that  the  abolition  of  this  custom  would  ultimately  be 
attended  with  advantage  to  the  manufacturer,  and  would  also 
tend  to  raise  commercial  analysts  from  the  somewhat  low  po- 
sition they  unfortunately  hold  at  present. 

"With  respect  to  the  iron  process  for  bleaching  powder  de- 
terininations,  I  have  only  to  remark  that  visibly  eflfloresccd 
crvstals  of  ferrous  sulphate  are  uniformly  more  or  less  perox- 
idised,  and  are  totally  unfit  for  use.  With  pure  chemicals 
and  careful  manipulation  I  have  always  obtained  precisely 
identical  results  with  both  the  iron  process  and  the  sodium 
arsenite  process,  in  the  absence  of  chlorate  in  the  sample  an- 
alysed.— ^I  am,  etc., 

Charles  R.  A.  Wright,  B.Sc. 

Edinburgh,  October  5,  1S67. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — ^I  have  read  with  much  pleasure  the  communications  of 
Mr.  Wright,  giving  us,  as  they  do,  a  brief  glance  at  all  the 
methods  capable  of  being  employed  in  commercial  determina- 
tions. As  he  does  not  mention  it,  I  think  the  process  I  em- 
ploy for  the  determination  of  manganese  must  not  be  generally 
known.  I  ploce  a  given  weight  of  the  manganese  with  HCl 
in  a  small  flask  with  a  leading  tube  attached.  I  absorb  the 
CI  by  means  of  a  solution  of  NaOCOg,  using  an  inverted  re- 
tort for  a  condenser;  then  by  means  of  a  solution  of  arseniate 


[BngUah  Edition,  YoLXVLjira  412,  pages  218,  239;  ITo.  400^  page  184 ;  Na  410,  pages  196, 197.] 


320 


CorresptmdeMe. 


I  CMttxcAi.  SM^ 


of  soda  I  estimate  the  CI,  and  thus  arrive  at  the  percentage 
of  MdQ»;  or  rather  I  have  prepared  a  set  of  tables  for  this 
and  other  determinations,  by  referring  to  wiiich  I  can,  with- 
out calculation,  or  at  least  with  the  simplest  possible,  arrive 
at  what  I  want.  Of  course  I  claim  no  credit  for  this  adop- 
tion. Tlie  thing  appears  so  obvious  to  substitute  two  com- 
monly occurring  materials  for  the  KI  and  SO9  of  Bunsen's 
process,  that  I  should  have  supposed  it  in  use  in  every  labor- 
atory where  such  determinations  were  made. — I  am,  etc., 

P.  H. 


f2>r,  Clatis  on  Succinic  Add. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — ^Under  the  title  "Claus  on  Succinic  Acid,"  Mr.  Church 
communicated  in  the  Laboi-atory  an  answer  to  the  remarks 
which  I  have  made,  concerning  his  experiments  on  tlie  action 
of  nascent  hydrogen  on  oxalic  and  succinic  acids.  I  am  sorry 
to  be  forced  to  take  notice  of  this  reply  of  Mr.  Church ;  sorry 
the  more  as  the  reply  misrepresents  what  he  said  in  his  first 
Communication ;  and  I  am  forced  the  more  as  Mr.  Church  ap- 
pears to  charge  me  with  such  a  misrepresentation. 

With  respect  to  the  first  point,  that  Mr.  Church  did  not 
assert  that  oxalic  acid  yields  by  reduction  a  substance  iso- 
meric with  acetic  acid— I  cannot  know  in  how  far  he  himself 
lays. stress  upon  his  own  examinations,  and  if  Mr.  Church 
said :  ''  If  the  preliminary  examination  of  these  substances 
has  conducted  me  to  a  correct  conclusion,  I  am  right  in  sup- 
posing the  last-mentioned  acid  to  have  the  formula  assigned 
to  it,  we  have  a  new  isomer  of  acetic  acid ;"  I  must  think  Mr. 
Church  himself  believes  that  he  is  right  in  his  speculations, 
and  in  this  supposition  I  quoted  Mr.  Church's  communication. 
But  Mr.  Church  himself  seems  to  know  very  well  how  much, 
or  better,  how  little  authentic  his  examinations  are,  and  I  now 
share  this  view  with  him  entirely,  and  I  promise,  in  the  future, 
Bever  more  to  quote  any  of  his  communications  or  to  believe 
them. 

The  second  point,  that  Mr.  Church  protends  never  to  have 
stated,  **  that  succinic  acid  might  be  make  to  yield  butylactic 
acid,"  is  wrong,  and  in  his  citation  all  that  he  said  about  ihia 
acid  is  left  out.  Mr.  Church  quotes  from  his  communication : 
"I  have  commenced  a  few  experiments  iu  tiiis  direction  also. 
.  .  .  But  the  products,"  etc.  What  Mr.  Church  here  leaves 
out  and  signs  with  the  three  points  ia  verbatim  as  fol- 
lows:— 

"  Succinic  acid,  after  the  prolonged  and  energetic  action 
of  nascent  hydrogen  as  above  described  in  the  case  of  oxalic 
acid,suflrer8  a  similar  change.  I  have  not  endeavoured  to  moder- 
ate the  action  so  as  to  form  the  intermediate,  or  butyloxylic 
acid,  but  have  pushed  it  tu  the  extreme,  so  that  butylactic  acid 
might  be  obtained.  The  operation  wa^  performed  in  a  retort; 
towards  its  oonclusion  a  powerful  odour,  resembling  that  of 
butyric  acid,  was  noticed  in  the  aqueous  distillate.  The  mix- 
ture of  ziuc-salts  in  the  retort  was  evaporated,  sulphuric  acid 
added  in  excess,  and  the  liquid  shaken  up  with  ether.  From 
this  ethereal  solution  {be«ides  some  unchanged  succinic  acid) 
a  deliquescent  acid  was  obtained,  the  properties  and  salts  of 
which  agreed  completely  with  the  butylactic  acid  of  Wurtz. 
I  have  likewise  submitted  suberic  and  phthalic  acids  to  the 
above  described  treatment  and  the  reactions  promise  inter- 
esting results."  But  Mr.  Church's  last  remark :  '*  and  it  would 
be  altogether  premature' to  express  any  opinion  as  to  their 
composition  "  belongs  not  to  the  butylactic  acid,  but  to  the 
products  of  these  reactions  on  suberic  and  phthalic  acid. 

I  suppose  Mr.  Church  never  thought  that  his  answer  would 
come  into  my  hands,  otherwise  I  cannot  understand  how  he 
could  thus  deny  his  own  words.  1  do  not  like  to  discuss  this 
behaviour  of  Mr.  Church  in  your  journal,  but  for  the  sake  of 
the  truth  I  must  ask  you  to  make  this  letter  public. — I  am,  etc., 

A.  CULUS. 
Freiberg,  August,  1867. 

\*  The  following  is  Professor  Chuhcu's  communication  re- 
ferred to  in  the  above  letter;  — 


"  The  researches  of  M.  Glaus  have  shown  certain  resolta 
contradictory,  accordmg  to  this  chemist,  of  my  earlier  ex- 
periments. Would  you  permit  me  to  deny  the  aasertioDa  pat 
into  my  mouth  by  M.  Claus?  I  will  do  so  very  briefly,  (i)  I 
did  not  assert  that  oxalic  acid  yields  by  reduction '  a  sab- 
stance  isomeric  with  acetic  acid.'  ( 2)  I  never  stated  that  •  saoci- 
uic  acid  might  be  made  to  yield  butyUictic  acid.'  All  my 
experiments  were  merely  preliminaiy,  and,  as  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  my  paper  *  show,  were  not  deemed  by  my- 
self to  be  adequate  proof  of  my  anticipations. 

"  'If  the  preliminary' examination  of  these  substances  iii8 
conducted  me  to  a  correct  conclusion,  and  I  am  right  in  sap* 
posing  the  last-mentioned  acid  to  have  the  formula  assigned 
to  it,  we  have  a  new  isomer  of  acetic  acid 

"  *  It  will  not  be  unreasonable  to  expect  corresponding 
results  from  the  action  of  nascent  hydrogen  on  the  homologoes 
and  analogues  of  oxalic  acid,  and  the  acid  and  neutral  etheca 
of  these  acids. 

" '  I  have  commenced  a  few  experiments  in  this  directioa 
also.  .  .  But  the  products  of  these  reactions,  obtained  only 
within  the  last  few  houra,  await  further  puriflcation  and 
analysis :  and  it  would  be  altogether  premature  to  expreaa 
any  opinion  as  to  their  composition.'  '* 
**■  Uoyal  Agricultontl  GoIlegA,  Girenoeater, 
April  J3.   1867." 


The  Science  and  Art  Department. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmio&l  Nbws. 

Sib,— Since  the  publication  of  the  new  Directory  of  the  Da- 
parlment  of  Science  and  Art,  after  the  annual  examinations 
of  1867,  we  are  now  in  a  better  position  to  understand  the 
intentions  of  the  Government  with  respect  to  its  masters 
certificated  in  science ;  perhaps  therefore  you  will  permit  me 
to  re-open  a  subject  of  interest  to  no  inconsiderable  number 
of  your  readers. 

On  comparing  the  new  Directory  with  the  old,  two  impor- 
tant  contractions  strike  us. 

I.  The  omission  of  the  list  of  certificated  masters. 

IL  The  omission  of  the  rules  for  their  special  examination 
in  November,  they  being  henceforth  required  to  undergo  the 
same  examination  as  students  in  May. 

These  significant  changes  taken  in  conjunction,  render  the 
supposition  not  improbable  that  the  committee  of  the  Cooocil 
of  Education  mediiato  hereafter  sweeping  away  the  diatioc- 
tions  of  the  sonlewhat  privileged  class  of  certificated  teachers, 
by  Tlrst  inundating  it  with  a  flood  of  new-comers  of  lower 
qualifications,  and  subsequently  throwing  down  all  boundaiy 
marks. 

As  the  new  rule  stands,  which  came  into  operation  tha 
year,  all  persons  above  twelve  years  of  age  who  shall  hare 
obtained  a  flrst  or  a  second  class  at  the  May  exarainatioMOl 
students,  shall  be  deemed  qualified  to  receive  payment  oa 
results;  if.,  shall  receive  the  monetary  encouragemeot 
hitherto  granted  to  certificated  masters  alone ;  this  exteoatcm 
admits  this  year  (I  believe)  between  1,000  and  2,000  adfr 
tional  teachers,  and  in  the  course  of  three  years  may  be 
expected  to  swell  the  present  total  number  of  licensed  teachers 
(about  400)  to  s,ooo  ;  this  number  will  then  be  found  too 
costly  for  the  application  of  the  former  bonuses,  and  the 
Oovemment  grant  will  be  withdrawn. 

Nor  will  the  preceptor  have  cause  pecuniarily  for  complaral, 
since  he  has  been  yeariy  warned  by  the  department  that 
these  allowances  are  temporary,  and  may  cease  whenever  tw 
system,  whose  infancy  they  were  intended  to  foster,  shaU 
have  acquired  self-supporting  vigour.  He  will,  if  ppovideot 
like  the  wise  steward  of  the  parable,  make  provision  against 
the  day  of  being  cast  out,  and  will  seek  some  more  permaneat 
ahd  less  speculative  remuneration.  Here  his  Govemmeat 
certificate  might  be  a  recommendation  if  its  prestige  were  tM 
suffered  to  be  dimmed  in  the  eyea  of  the  scientific  publfc. 


*  Journal  Chem,  Soc^  1864  [a],  p.  y>i. 


[Engliah  CdMoa,  VoL  ZVL,  No.  410^  page  197;  No.  411,  page  209.] 


Correspondence. 


3^« 


Oa  the  old  plan  each  candidate  for  the  diploma  had  to 
paas  a  practical  as  well  as  a  theoretical  test ;  eg,,  iu  chemis- 
try three  hoars  were  assigned  to  him  to  analyse  and  describe 
some  such  unkno*^ai  mixture,  as  silica  with  sulphates  of 
baryta  and  magnesia.*  Thus  every  successful  master  was 
known  to  have  some  slight  acquaintance  with  manipulation, 
while  a  certificate  of  the  first  grade  implied  a  certain  higher 
degree  of  proficiency  in  qualitative  analysis.  For  this  is  now 
iubfitituted  an  examination  in  theory  of  perhaps  greater  diffi- 
culty, coupled  with  the  written  answering  of  such  questions 
as  the  following : 

Q.  How  is  brass  separated  into  its  elementary  constituents  7 

•Q.  A  mixture  contains  Cu,  Pb,  Fe.  Ba,  Ca,  Mg ;  how  are 
the  several  oonstitueuts  detected  ?  ' 

Q.  What  is  the  action  of  sulphide  of  ammonium  upon 
iesquicblorides  of  iron  and  chromium  and  chloride  of  nickel  ? 

But  the  examinee  has  an  optii>u  of  questions  and  may 
omit  all  the  practical,  still  obtaining  the  required  first  or 
aooond  dass;  hence  there  is  now  hardly  any  guarantee  that 
future  candidates  shall  have  any  experience  in  the  laboratory 
or  in  the  handicraft  of  their  profession. 

This  practical  skill,  however,  in  such  subjects  as  chemistry, 
mineralogy,  botany,  physiolqipy,  and  geology,  is  essential  to 
their  masterly  understanding,  and  is  moreover  by  far  the 
more  costly  and  laborious  portion  of  the  science  to  acquire. 

This,  if  any,  is  the  grievance  of  the  old  regime  of  masters, 
that  they  are  liable  to  be  confounded  with  a  different 
dflss  of  aspirants  ;  it  might,  however,  be  so  easily  removed 
by  two  trifling  concessions  from  the  department,  that  I  am 
tempted  to  recommend,  as  they  have  courted  suggestions — 

L  Since  the  present  examinations  are  wholly  conducted 
in  the  evenings  of  May,  that  the  mornings  of  the  same  days 
be  partly  devoted  to  an  additional  voluntary  examination  in 
the  practical  portion  of  such  above-named  subjects,  and  tliat 
to  those  candidates  only  who  pass  this  probation  should  the 
Blasters'  printed  certificate  be  issued. 

II.  That  in  the  register  of  certificated  (which  should  be 
retained  in  some  public  form),  those  examined  before  1867 
should  have  some  distinctive  mark  attached,  e.g.^  that  of  their 
C^de. 

This  arrangement  will  save  both  the  Government  and  the 
master  expense  ;  the  additional  trouble  to  the  four  or  five 
examiners  concerned  will  be  small 

The  department  will  thus,  by  equitable  and  conciliatory 
measures  (considering  the  pre-eminent  character  of  their 
noble  phalanx  of  examiners),  shortly  attain  to  an  influence 
upon  the  scientitic  studies  of  the  country  possessed  by  no 
oiher  body,  whether  learned  society  or  university  ;  even  in 
May  last  they  examined  8,439  Papers  belonging  to  about 
5,000  different  individuals.  ~ I  am,  etc.,  M.  A. 


Dr.   Claut  on  Succinic  Acid. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohestioal  News. 

Sir, — ^Permit  me  a  few  words  in  reply  to  Dr.  Claus's  com- 
munication to  your  paper  of  lust  week.  {Amer.  Beprintf  Dec, 
1867,  jpo^e  320.) 

Dr.  Clans  wishes  it  to  be  understood  that  I  made  two  un- 
conditional assertions  with  reference  to  two  particular  points 
noticed  in  my  paper  "  On  some  Metamorphoses  of  Oxalic 
Acid."  I  affirm  that  I  did  not  make  these  two  unconditional 
assert'ons.  On  the  contrary,  I  gave  it  to  be  understood  that 
my  results  as  to  (i)  the  existence  of  an  isomer  of  acetic  acid, 
and  (2)  the  conversion  of  succinic  into  butylactic  acid,  were 
not  sufficiently  comple'e  to  warrant  any  positive  assertion. 
In  the  case  of  the  supposed  isomer  of  acetic  acid  I  expressly 
gaid — '*  If  the  preliminary  examination  of  these  substances 
has  conducted  me  to  a  correct  conclusion,  and  I  am  right 
in  aupposinic  the  last-mentioned  acid  to  have  the  formula  as- 
sfg^aed  to  it,  we  have  a  new  isomer  of  acetic  acid.*'  Dr. 
Claua  ingeniously  omits  the  word  '*  and  **  in  his  quotation, 


*  An  actual  exercise  proposed  in  1865. 


thus  making  me  say,  "I  am  right,  etc."  I  ask  you,  Mr. 
Editor,  is  this  om'ssion  honest?  If  it  be  not  a  printer's  op 
clerical  error,  Dr  Glaus  either  does  not  know  the  significance 
in  English  of  such  an  omission,  or  he  knows  it  too  well. 

With  reference  to  butylactic  acid,  I  stated  my  examination 
of  the  product  in  question  to  be  merely  qualitative.  I  cer- 
tainly intended  my  remark  as  to  its  being  premature  to  ex- 
press any  opinion  as  to  the  composition  of  my  products,  to 
apply  to  the  supposed  butv lactic  acid.  While  stating  that 
the  properties  and  salts  of  the  acid  I  obtained  did  correspond 
with  those  of  the  true  acid,  I  affirmed  nothing  concerning  its 
composition,  not  having  submitted  it  to  analysis. 

Dr.  Claus  accuses  me  of  certain  omissions  in  my  letter  to 
the  Laboratory.  My  letter,  which  you  quote,  contained 
naturally  those  paragraphs  only  of  my  original  paper  which 
showed  the  reservation  I  had  felt  it  necessary  to  make:  fuller 
extracts  would  have  been  out  of  place;  nor  have  I  newly  ex- 
pressed any  opinion  as  to  the  correctness  or  my  original  re- 
sults and  anticipations.  I  will  indeed  acknowledge  freely 
any  errors  I  may  have  committed. 

I  hardly  care  to  refer  to  the  uncourteous  tone  of  Dr.  Claus'a 
letter,  or  its  offensive  innuendoes.  What  occasion  can  Dr. 
Claus  have  for  telling  your  readers  that  he  promises  never 
more  to  quote  any  of  Mr,  Church's  communications  or  to 
believe  them  ?  Does  he  wish  me  to  say  how  deeply  such  a 
terrible  threat  grieves  me,  and  that  I  have  in  consequence  no 
lonprer  any  incentive  to  chemical  work  ? 

Dr.  Claus  supposes  that  I  never  thought  my  answer  would 
come  into  his  hands.  Is  not  this  supposition  perfectly  gra- 
tuitous? On  what  shadow  of  foundation  does  it  rest?  It  is 
not  only  gratuitous  but  foolish,  Dr.  Claus  says,  moreover^  that 
I  have  denied  my  own  words.  He  says  this,  but  his  attempts 
to  prove  it  will  I  am  sure  be  generally  considered  ineffectual. 
I  have  quoted  my  own  words,  not  denied  them. 

But  it  is  not  worth  while  to  argue  concerning  these  matters 
with  a  disputant  who  descends  to  offensive  personalties.  If 
his  position  were  a  strong  one  he  would  not  need  them :  a 
weak  position  they  will  not  avail  to  strengthen.— -I  am,  eta, 

A.  H.  Church.    . 

^  Cirencester,  October  21,  1867. 


Volatility  of  Sesquicldoride  of  Iron, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cheuioal  News. 

Sir — After  reading  Mr.  Skey's  note  on  the  volatility  of  ses- 
quichloride  of  iron  at  common  temperatures,  given  in  last 
week's  Ciiemioal  News,  (Amer,  Reprint,  Dec,  1867,  page 
289.)  I  tried  some  experiments  upon  the  subject  Without 
at  present  in  any  way  disputing  the  fact,  I  would  draw  the 
attention  of  this  gentleman  to  a  poa«»ible  source  of  error.  In 
my  experiments  I  found  that  the  vapour  from  pure  hydro- 
chloric acid  caused  a  faint  tint  in  an  aqueous  solution  of  the 
ordinary  crystals  of  sulphocyanide  of  potassium. 

M.  Stas  states  that  hydrochloric  acid  evaporated  in  an  open 
vessel  becomes  contaminated  with  impurities;  and  an  ex- 
amination made  by  myself  has  shown  the  presence  of  iron  io 
the  light  particles  of  dust  deposited  on  the  upper  shelves  of 
lofty  rooms.  It  may  be  safely  stated,  ihen,  that  minute  par- 
ticles of  iron  are  continually  floating  about  in  the  atmos- 
phere. 

Now,  considering  the  great  delicacy  of  the  test,  and  the 
excessively  small  quantity  of  iron  necessary  to  effect  colour- 
ation in  a  solution  of  an  alkaline  sulphocyanide,  it  must  sure- 
ly be  difficult  to  prepare  on  a  manufacturing  scale  crystallised 
siilphocyanides  which  will  not  give  a  faint  pink  tint  by  con- 
tact with  hydrochloric  acid. — ^I  am,  etc., 

Henry  Seward. 


Chemical  PatenU. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nbw& 

Sib,— I  write  for  information,  or,  at  all  events,  to  throw  some 


CBngliflh  Bdifion,  YoL  ZVL,  Ko.  411,  pages  300^  210 ;  No.  413,  page  tlO.] 


3^2 


Miscellaneous. 


(  CUSHICAL  Nnvii 


light  upon  a  critical  expression  of  yours,  which  under  alight 
modification  is  not  uncommonly  to  be  met  with  in  the  pages 
of  the  Chemical  News.  To  quote  an  instance  of  this  re- 
mark in  illustration, — T  may  state  that  having  been  recently 
engaged  in  a  controversial  dispute,  in  another  journal,  as  to 
the  originality  of  a  certain  invention  for  producing  chlorine, 
and  my  opponent  having  referred  in  condemnatory  terms  and 
for  reasons  of  his  own  to  a  totally  different  patent  of  mine, 
viz.,  "for  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  inflammable 
gases,**  he  makes  an  extract  in  support  of  his  views  from  the 
columns  of  some  un-named  authority ;  but  having  already 
seen  the  remark  myself,  I  know  that  authority  to  be  the 
Chemical  News.  Tlie  extr&ct  referred  to  is  the  following  :— 
Ton  say,  speaking  of  my  patent— "This  is  another  case 
of  patenting  well-known  chemical  processes."  Now,  Sir,  having 
already  stated  that  I  seek  for  information,  will  you  be  so  kind 
as  to  furnbh  me  and  your  readers  generally  with  other  than  a 
very  exceptionaWist  of  chemical  patents  which  are  not  founded 
on  ^ell-known  chemical  processes?  Take  for  instance  Howard's 
or  Scoflfern's  patents  for  refining  sugar.  The  remarkable  power 
possessed  in  so  high  a  degree  by  animal  charcoal  of  absorbing 
colouring  matters,  as  well  as  the  coagulative  property  of 
serous  albumen  when  heated  beyond  140''?.,  were  facts  I 
apprehend  as  thoroughly  known  aa  was  the  abstract  physical 
principle  of  the  vacuum  pan  prior  to  the  date  of  the  first  of 
these  patents ;  as  was  also  the  depurative  power  of  acetate 
of  lead,  anterior  to  the  date  of  the  second  patent  A^in, 
and  taking  at  random  another  invention  out  of  many.  In 
"  Brankart's  Patent  Copper  Smelting  Process,"— the  chemical 
facts  upon  which  this  patent  rests  were  thoroughly  well  known 
before  they  were  applied  to  this  specific  purpose  by  the  inventor. 
Was  it  not  known  that  sulphide  of  copper  roasted  under 
certain  conditions  would  produce  sulphate  of  copper,  and 
that  such  sulphate  of  copper,  when  dissolved,  would  by  the 
superior  aflQnity  of  iron  throw  down  the  copper  in  a  metallic 
state,  and  by  the  appropriation  of  the  negative  elements  pres- 
ent produce  sulphate  of  iron  or  copperas?  Take  another  in- 
stance. Mr.  Gill,  a  few  years  since,  invented  a  lamp  without 
flame  in  which  a  cylindrical  coil  of  platinum  wire,  the  hun- 
dredth part  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  making  about  ten 
turns,  was  maintained  in  a  state  of  incandescence  by  the* 
vapour  of  alcohol.  The  chemical  principle  here  was  also  old, 
having  been  discovered  years  before  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy. 
1  do  not  suppose  I  have  selected  the  happiest  illustrations  of 
the  application  of  known  chemical  principles  to  useful  pur- 
poses, but  they  will  at  least  serve  to  prove  my  position, 
namely,  that  in  innumerable  instances,  what  are  called  chem- 
ical inventions,  and  are  recognised  by  the  law  to  be  legally 
such  in  the  abstract,  and  therefore  sound  and  patentable,  are 
all  more  or  less  so  many  other  cases  of  patenting  well  known 
chemical  processes.  It  is  true  that  instances  may  be  occa- 
sionally brought  forward  where  a  chemical  or  physical  dis- 
covery is  recorded  for  the  first  time  in  the  specification  of 
a  patent,  secnririg  its  application  to  some  useful  purpose; 
but  this  is  an  exception  to  the  rule,  and  not  the  rule 
itseie 

And  again,  it  occasionally  occurs  that  a  chemical  principle 
is  so  well  known  in  its  application  to  any  particular  purpose 
that  a  patent  will  only  hold  good  by  claiming  certain  specific 
machinery  or  apparatus  as  applied  thereto.  "Where,  however, 
such  is  not  the  case,  where  a  useful  and  economical  result  is 
obtained  by  combining  several  separate  but  well  known 
chemical  principles  together,  in  consecutive  order,  so  as  to 
constitute  what  may  be  termed  a  circle  of  afllnities,  and  to 
lead  to  important  manufacturing  results  not  hitherto  ob- 
tained,— then  I  think  the  judgment  of  the  general  reader 
should  not  be  warped,  the  co-operative  power  of  capital  sus- 
pended, nor  the  criticism  of  the  malicious  invited.  First,  by 
sweeping  the  bulk  of  chemical  patents  into  one  condemnatory 
sentence,  and  saying  of  each  in  succession  as  it  appears — 
•*  This  is  only  another  case  of  patenting  well  known  chemical 
processes"— as  though  there  were  really  no  novelty  whatever 
in  the  case,  either  as  to  metliod  of  operation  or  useful  results. 

The  reason  that  induces  n^e  to  speak  is  that  such  remarks 


are  calculated  to  do  considerable  injury,  and  rests,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  on  no  solid  or  legal  foundation. — ^I  am,  etc.. 

ISHAM  Bagqsl 
54,  Chancery  Lane. 


Oxone. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemtoal  Nkws. 

Sir, — The  following  is  an  account  of  the  development  of 
ozone  during  July,  August,  and  September : — 

In  July  there  were  periods  with  very  little  ozone  from  the 
I  St  to  the  mom.  of  the  3rd,  from  the  5th  to  the  mora,  of  the 
13th,  on  the  aft.  of  the  i6th,  mom.  of  the  i8th,  from  the  19th 
to  the  2 1  St,  from  the  aft.  of  the  23rd  to  the  28th,  and  on  the 
afts.  of  the  29tb,  30th.  and  31st.  Considerable  quantities  of 
ozone  were  present  on  the  alt  of  the  13th,  and  from  the  22tJd 
to  the  mora,  of  the  3rd.  Large  amounts  on  the  aft.  of  the 
3rd  and  morn,  of  the  4th,  from  the  14th  to  the  morn,  of  the 
i6th,  OD  the  17th  and  aft  of  the  18th,  and  on  the  moms,  of 
the  29th,  30th,  and  31st 

In  August  there  were  periods  with  very  little  ozone  fixim 
the  4th  to  the  morn,  of  the  5th.  aft.  of  7th.  aft.  of  9ih  to  iith, 
1 5th,  aft  of  19th  and  morn,  of^oth,  and  from  the  26th  to 
the  31st  Considerable  amounts  on  the  morns,  of  the  8th  and 
on  the  2ist  Large  amounts  on  aft.  of  the  5th,  on  the  monuL 
of  the  6th,  7ih,  and  oth,  the  14th,  17th,  morns,  of  i8ih,  19th, 
and  aft.  of  20th.  There  was  a  period  of  variable  develop- 
ment from  the  22nd  to  the  25th.  In  September  there  were 
periods  with  very  little  ozone  from  the  ist  to  the  mom.  of 
the  2nd,  on  the  3rd,  morn,  of  the  8th,  from  the  9th  to  the 
nth,  aft  of  1 2th  to  mom.  of  i^ih,  15th  to  mom,  of 
17th,  from  the  aft.  of  the  19th  to  mora,  of  21st  on  the  aft. 
of  22nd  and  mom,  of  23rd,  room,  of  24th,  and  from  the 
25th  to  the  28th.  Considerable  quantities  on  the  mom. 
of  1 2th,  morn,  of  19th,  aft.  of  24th,  and  aft.  of  30th.  Large 
amounts  aft.  of  2n(i,  4th  to  morn,  of  7th,  aft.  of  8th,  aft.  of 
14th,  aft.  of  17th,  to  1 8th,  aft.  of  21st  and  mom.  of  22nd  and 
29th  to  mom.  of  30th. — 1  am,  etc., 

R.  C.  C.  LiPPiNCOTr. 
Boamemonth. 

Recovery  of   Sulphur  from  Alkali    Waste. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cjibiiical  News. 

Sib, — In  your  impression  of  26th  of  July,  1867  {Amer. 
ReprxTii,  Sept,  1867,  page  120),  in  an  article  on  the  recov- 
ery of  sulphur  from  alkali  waste,  by  Ludwig  Mond,  that 
gentleman  says  "  the  most  successful  of  them  has  probably 
been  that  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Jones,  a  workman  who  assisted 
me  in  working  my  process  out  on  a  largo  scale  in  1863,  at 
the  works  of  Messrs.  Hutchinson  and  Co.,  Widnes.  One  of 
the  three  patents  which  he  took  out  between  December, 
1863,  and  May,  1864,  has  been  worked  a  short  time  m  War- 
rington, but  was,  however,  quickly  abandoned." 

Now,  Mr.  Mond  must  have  been  conscious  at  the  time  of 
writing  the  above,  that  I  Was  not  working  at  Messrs. 
Hutchinson*s  at  the  time  to  which  he  alludes,  and  I  inay 
add  that  I  only  know  Mr.  Mond  by  report,  never  having 
either  seen  or  spoken  to  him,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge. 

It  is  trae  that  my  patent  was  worked  (br  some  time  at 
Warrington,  but  the  reason  of  its  discontinuance  was  not 
through  inefficiency  of  the  process.  I  shall  esteem  it  a 
favour  if  you  will  kindly  insert  this  in  your  next  impres- 
sion.— I  am,  etc., 

Bekjamin  Joheb. 
Castle  Hill,  Hindley,  near  Wigan,  Lanca»hhre,  Oetober  19, 1867. 


BQSCELJLANIIOUS. 


Soiaer  for  StoeL— The  best  solder  for  flue  steel  work, 
according  to  the  American  Artisan,  is  composed  of  nineteen 
parts  of  silver,  one  part  copper  and  one  part  brass.  Borax 
is  the  best  flux. 


CEngliah  Editioii,  7oL  SVL,  No.  412,  pages 219,  220 ;  No.  409,  pagv  181.] 


OrmCAL  Kbwb,  ) 


Miacellmiemis. 


323 


The  Newton-Poseal  Foi^«rl<>«.~Dr.  T.  Archer  Hirst 
F.R.S.,  writes  to  the  7Vme»  as  follows : — 

StB, — lira  connminication  to  the  British  Association  at 
Dundee,  I  stated  that  M.  Chasles,  desirous  of  submitting 
his  newly  acquired  papers  to  every  possible  test,  had  for- 
warded specimens  of  tho  alleged  handwriting  of  Newton 
to  Sir  David  Brewster  and  myself  through  his  friend  M.  de 
Khanikof.  Sir  David  Brewster  has  since  submitted  five 
of  these  specimens  to  the  inspection  of  the  Earl  of  Ports- 
mouth, the  Earl  of  Macclesfield,  amd  Sir  Frederic  Madden, 
and  the  unanimous  verdict  of  these  authorities,  as  recorded 
in  the  Athenceum  of  September  28,  is  "  that  the  handwrit- 
ing is  not  that  of  Newton." 

On  Thursday  last,  M.  de  Khanikof  accompanied  me  to 
Burlington  House,  for  the  purpose  of  ftirther  comparing 
these  specimens  with  the  authentic  letters  of  Newton  in 
the  posses<!ion  of  the  Royal  Society.  We  were  assisted 
in  our  investigations  by  Dr.  Sharpey,  and  the  result  was 
I)erfectly  conclusive— in  short,  entirely  in  accordance  with 
the  verdict  above  quoted.  We  also  searched  for  evidence 
of  a  more  positive  nature  tonching  the  origin  of  these  doc- 
uments, and  were  rewarded  with  success.  Without 
troobliug  you  with  the  details  of  this  new  investigation, 
I  may  state  that  our  efforts  were  first  directed  towards 
obtaining  further  information  relative  to  the  Pierre  Des- 
maizeauz  whose  name  so  fVequently  appears  in  M.  Chasles' 
documents.  We  found  that  at  the  commencement  of  the 
1 8th  century  this  gentleman  resided  in  London;  that  on 
tha  3rd  of  November,  1720,  he  was  admitted  a  Fellow  of 
the  ttoyal  Society  by  bir  Isaac  Newton,  then  president; 
and  that  shortly  before  his  election  he  had  presented  to 
tlie  Society  a  copy  of  his  new  work,  entitled,  Becueil  de 
diverses  Pteces  tur  la  Philosophies  la  Religion^  cfc.,  par 
MM.  Leibnitz,  Clarke^  Newton,  etc  (Amsterdam,  1720). 
On  turning  over  the  pages  of  the  second  volume  of  this 
work  Mr.  Walter  White  (assistant  secretary  to  the  Royal 
Society)  had  the  good  fortune  to  discover  that  three  out  of 
the  five  of  the  alleged  specimens  of  Newton's  handwriting 
were  veibatim  copies  of  isolated  passages  occurring  in  the 
French  translation  of  three  letters  originally  written  by 
Newton  in  English.  To  each  passage  thus  extracted  the 
foi^r  had  appended  Newton's  name  as  a  signature. 

Without  further  comment  on  this  annihilating  fact,  I 
peas  to  a  more  astounding  one.  Here  is  an  exact  copy  of 
a  fourtli  document  alleged  to  have  been  written  by  New- 
Um: — 

"La  realite  de  Tespace  n'est  pas  une  simple  supposi- 
tion; elle  a  este  prouv^e  par  les  argumens  que  j'ay  rap- 
portez,  auxquels  on  n'a  point  repondu.  On  n'a  point 
repondu  non  plus  A  un  autre  argument;  savoir;  que,  I'es- 
pace  et  le  temps  sont  des  quantitez,oe  qu'on  ne  pent  dire  de 
la  situation  et  de  I'ordre.  "  I.  NEWTON." 

Newton  is  here  made  to  copy  and  sign  a  garbled  trans- 
lation of  a  passage  to^the  authorship  of  which  even  he  has 
not  the  slightest  claim.  The  real  author  is  the  well-known 
Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  rector  of  St.  James,  Westminster,  be- 
tween whom  and  Leibnitz  a  celebrated  discussion  on  the 
principles  of  natural  philosophy  and  religion  was  con- 
ducted by  letters  in  171 5-1 7.  In  17 17  Dr.  Clarke,  after 
having  had  Leibnitz's  letters  carefully  translated  from 
French  into  English,  and  his  own  from  English  into 
French,  published  the  whole  correspondence  in  duplicate. 
From  a  copy  of  this  work  now  in  tho  British  Museum  I 
extract  the  following  paragraph  in  Dr.  Clarke's  fourth  reply 
to  lieibnitz: — 

Page  134.  Page  135. 

"Sec.  14.  La  realitd  de  "Sec.  14.  The  reality  of 
Fcspaco  n'est  pas  une  simple  space  is  not  a  supposition, 
supposition ;  eUe  a  6te  prou-  but  is  proved  by  the  fore- 
V€'0  par  les  arguments  rap-  going  arguments,  to  which 
portez  ci-dessus,  auxquels  on  no  answer  has  been  given. 
n'a  point  repondu.  L'Auteur  Nor  is  any  answer  given  to 
n'a  pas  r^poudu  non  plus  a    that    other    argument,    that 


un  autre  argument,  sgavoir,    space  and  time  are  quanti- 
qne  Tespace  et  le  temps  sont    ties,   which     situation     and 
des  quantitez;    ce  qu'on  ne    order  are  not." 
peut  dire  de  la  situation  et  de 
I'ordre." 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  copying  the  passage  on  the  left 
— not  from  Dr.  Clarke's  work,  but  from  Desmaizeaux's  Jiecueil, 
where  the  French  edition  only  of  the  ^o^^espondence  was 
re-published, — the  forger  has,  in  one  or  two  places,  slightly 
departed  from  the  original  text  His  motive  for  so  doing 
has  obviously  been  to  render  the  extract  somewhat  less 
unsuited  to  the  illustrious  name  he  had  the  audacity  to 
append  thereto. 

M.  Chasles,  whose  disinterested  integrity  as  a  historian^is 
beyond  question,  has  hitherto  declined  to  admit  the  possibility 
of  the  fabrication  of  the  numerous  documents  in  his  posses- 
sion. "Un  faussaire,"  he  has  urged,  "^ui  aurait  fabriqu^ 
toutes  ces  lettres,  toutes  ces  pi^es.  pour  prouver  qu'il  a 
exists  des  relations  entre  Pascal  et  Newton,  aurait  eu  biea 
du  talent,  pulsqu*il  aurait  fait  tout  i  la  fois  du  Pascal,,  du 
Newton,  du  Moutesquieu,  du  Leibnitz,"  etc  We  know,  at 
nil  events,  in  what  manner  this  faussaire  a  faU  du  Newton 
without  the  expenditure  of  any  talent  whatever;  and, 
knowing  this,  we  cannot  but  regard  the  entire  collection  of 
documents  as  wholly  untrustworthy — as  wholly  unworthy, 
indeed,  of  the  further  patronage  of  the  eminent  author  of  the 
Aperfu  Hisiorique,  • 

Teebnlcal  Ediicatloii.— The  following  is  a  brief  out- 
line of  the  provision  made  by  law  in  tho  Netherlands,  in 
order  to  secure  proper  technical  education  for  all  cla&ses  of 
society.  Section  12  of  the  law,  which  came  into  operation 
on  ihe  I  St  of  July,  1863,  sanctions  and  orders  the  establish- 
roent  of  the  following  four  descriptions  of  schools,  viz.  a, 
schools  destined  for  the  education  of  the  ordinary  artisans, 
and  labourers,  and  agricultural  labourers ;  6,  in  a  higher 
class  of  schools;  these  are  divided  into  such  with  three 
years  and  five  years'  course  of  instruction ;  c,  agricultural 
colleges ;  d^  a  polytechnic  school.  Now  Holland  has  always 
been  a  country  where  public  instruction  has  ranked  very 
high,  as  it  does  yet  The  general  government  has  establish- 
ed fifteen  of  the  schools  alluded  to  suh,  &.,  five  of  which  are 
with  a  five  years'  course  of  instruction.  Moreover,  the 
municipal  authorities  of  all  larger  towns  have  established 
schools  as  specified  suh,  6.  Besides  these  schools  there  are 
in  Holland  three  Athensa  established  at  Amsterdam,  De- 
venter,  and  Maastricht,  these  being  schools  whereat  in  addi- 
tion to  physical  science,  also  law,  medicine,  and  literature 
are  taught ;  no  degrees  however  are  granted  at  the  Athentea; 
besides  these  there  are  three  universities,  while  there  are 
distinct  schools  for  educating  officers  of  the  army  and  navy. 
The  whole  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Netheriands  in  Europe  is  a  little  over  three  millions,  and  the 
occupation  is  chiefly  agiicultural  and  mercantile,  rather  than 
industrial.  The  law  of  1863  on  middle  class  and  technical 
education  was  made  afler  the  lower  class  education  had  been 
thoroughly  revised.  There  are  several  private  middle  clafs 
school*  which  have  modified  their  programme  in  accordance 
with  the  law  alluded  to. 

Fortbcomlnc  Scientific  Books.— Amongst  Messrs. 
ChurchiU's  literary  announcements  for  the  ensuing  session  we 
find  the  following  : — 

"The  Microscope  audits  Revelations."  'With  400  plates 
and  wood  engravings.  By  W.  B.  Carpenter,  M.D,,  F.R.S. 
Fourth  edition. 

"  Companion  to  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  of  1867,"  com- 
paring it  with  the  Pharmacopoeias  hitherto  used  in  Britain  ; 
including  that  of  1864 ;  also  the  new  editions  of  the  U.S., 
the  French,  and  the  Prussian  Pharmacopoeias.  By  Peter 
Squire,  P.L.S.    Fifth  edition. 

"  On  the  Action  and  Use  of  Oxygen.  With  selected  cases 
proving  its  value  in  the  treatment  of  various  intractable 
diseases."  By  S.  B.  Bibch,  M.D.,  M.B.C.P.,  Lend.  Second 
edition. 


[EngliahEditioiHyoL  ZVX,  Vo.  409,  pagM  385, 186;  VailO^  page  297.] 


324 


MUcettaneous. 


1      J>6c^  \m. 


**  The  Pharmacopceios  of  the  principal  HospilalH  of  London." 
Arranged  in  groups  for  easj  reference  and  comparison.  By 
Pjeter  Squire,  F.L.S.    Second  edition. 

"  Germinal  Matter  and  the  Contact  Theory.  The  key  to 
the  prevention  and  study  of  zymotic  disease."  By  James 
If  ORRIS,  M.D.,  Lond.     Second  edition. 

"Urine,  Urinary  deposits,  and  Calculi,  and  on  the  Treat- 
ment of  Urinary  Diseases."  "Witli  numerous  plates.  Bv 
Dr.  Lionel  S.  Beale,  F.R.&  Third  edition,  very  much 
enlarged. 

"Chemical  Notes  to  the  British  Pbarmacoposia  of  1867. 
By  Charles  Henbt  Wood. 

"The  Induction  Coil :  being  a  Popular  Explanation  of  the 
Klectrical  Principles  on  which  it  is  constructed."  With  a 
series  of  beautiful  and  instnictive  experiments.  By  Hekry 
M.  NOAD,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.,  F.C.S.  Third  edition,  with  eugrav- 
ings. 

**  The  Calendar  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Great 
BritHin." 

"•First  Linos  for  Chemists  and  Druggists  preparing  for 
Examination."    By  John  StegoaLL,  M.D.    Third  edition. 

"  On  Local  Amesthesia  and  Volatile  Fluid  Spray  in  Medi- 
cine and  Surgery."  By  Bbnj.\min  W.  Richardson,  M.D., 
J'.R.S. 

"  The  First  Step  in  Chemistry  :  a  new  method  of  teaching 
t}\e  elements  of  the  Science."  By  Robert  Gallowat. 
Fourth  edition 

Tlie  Borax  Comfany,  engAged  in  taking  out  borax, 
in  Lake  county,  will  soon  be  in  condition  to  extract  live 
tons  of  this  article  per  day  from  the  borax  lake,  as  they  have 
just  received  a  new  and  powerful  steam  dredger  and  an 
immense  pump,  with  which  to  exhaust  the  water  from  the 
coffer  dams.  This  pump  weighs  something  over  1,000 
pounds,  and  is  to  be  worked  by  steam. — Mining  and  ScienLific 
Freat, 

Polsonlnfi:  by  Caustic  Fota«li.— Adeath  has  recently 
occurred  at  Pendleton,  caused  by  drinking  the  contents  of  a 
jug  supposed  to  contain  porter,  but  which  in  reality  contained 
a  solution  of  caustic  potash.  Tlie  deceased  drank  it  on  the 
2  2d  May,  and  lived  until  the  20th  September.  Mr.  Hey  wood, 
surgeon,  Pendleton,  who  had  attended  the  deceased,  sUted 
that  he  had  been  unable  to  swallow  anything  during  his 
illness,  and  be  attributed  death  to  starvation  in  consequence 
of  that  inability.  He  had  made  a  post-mortem  examination 
of  thd  body,  and  found  a  stricture  of  the  oesophagus,  extend- 
ing over  four  or  five  inches,  rendering  swallowing  an  impos- 
sibility. The  injury  bad  been  caused  by  taking  caustic 
potash. 

The  AtmiMpliere  •f  tbe  IHetlropolttaii  RaHway.— 

The  inquiry  respecting  tlie  death  of  £.  Btainsby,  who  died 
on  the  28th  of  August,  at  the  King^s-cross  station  of  the 
Metropolitan  Railway,  afler  travelling  fh>m  Bishop's- road 
station,  was  resumed  on  Friday  last  by  Dr.  Lankester.  The 
inquest  had  been  twice  adjourned  for  the  purpose  of  having 
sdeotiftc  evidence  as  to  an  analysis  of  the  atmosphere  in  the 
tunnels  of  the  railway  laid  before  the  jury,  so  as  to  lead  them 
to  a  just  conclusion  as  to  whether  the  death  of  Elizabeth 
Stainsby  was  accelerated  by  the  condition  of  tlie  atmosphere 
in  the  railway  between  Bishop Vroad  and  King's-cross 
stations.  The  Coroner  said  he  had  received  a  communication 
from  Mr.  Fenton,  the  general  Manager  of  the  Metropolitan 
Railway  Company,  in  which  he  stated  that  the  scientific 
evidence  which  the  company  wished  to  lay  before  the  jury 
was  not  yet  completed.  The  scientific  referee  whom  he  (the 
coroner)  had  appointed,  had,  he  believed,  completed  his 
experiments,  but  still  he  thought  it  well  that  the  jury  should 
have  the  whole  evidence  before  them  in  order  that  they 
might  arrive  at  a  right  conclusion.  He  had  received  assur- 
ances from  a  great  many  persons  that  the  ventilation  of  the 
Metropolitan  Railway  had  been  much  improved.  Therefore, 
setting  aside  any  result  at  which  the  jury  might  arrive  as  to 
the  death  of  Elizabeth  Stain3by,it  appeared  that  from  the  fact  of 
the  deceased  and  others  having  complained  of  the  atmosphere 


of  the  railway,  the  directors  had  done  something  to  remedy 
the  evil  Therefore,  the  jury  would  not  feel  that  their  time 
was  lost  in  keeping  a  watcli.over  this  railway  for  the  benefit 
of  the  public.  It  hud  been  said  that  tlie  jury  and  he  wen 
unnecessarily  interfering  with  the  railway  company,  but  he 
might  remark  that  he  had  received  many  oommunicaUons 
from  persons  who  stated  that  they  had  felt  very  modi 
oppressed  in  their  breathing  while  in  the  tunnels  of  the  rail* 
way,  and  from  others  who  had  been  advised  by  their  medical 
attendants  to  give  up  travelling  upon  it  He  had  also  received 
many  letters  suggesting  modes  of  improving  the  veotiiatioa 
in  the  tunnels,  so  tliat  the  jury  would  see  the  inquiry  wm 
very  important,  and  absolutely  necessary  for  the  public 
interests.  Everything  that  oould  be  put  before  the  jury  in 
the  shape  of  information  ought  to  be  adduced,  both  for  the 
sake  of  the  public  and  of  the  company.  He  proposed  thiit 
the  inquiry  should  be  adjourned  to  Wednesday,  tlie  30th  of 
October.  The  jury  acquiesced  in  the  suggestion,  aud  tbe 
inquiry  accordingly  stood  adjourned. 

Royal  Polsrtecltnte  Insiltatlon.— A  few  evenings 
since,  we  visited  this  Institution  by  invitation  from  Mr.  Pep- 
per, and  it  gives  us  considerable  pleasure  to  be  able  to  com- 
mend the  entertainment  The  Polytechnic  fulfils  now,  as 
it  has  for  many  years,  a  useful  purpose,  in  instructing 
while  amusing  its  audience.  Many  who  would  shrink  from 
reading  for  instruction,  or  from  attending  strictly  scien- 
tific lectures,  would  take  pleasure  in  attending  the  enter- 
tainment given  here,  and  at  the  same  time  learn  a  little  of 
some  branch  of  science.  Those  who  have  seen  the  various 
optical  delusions  and  have  heard  the  popular  lectures  on 
electricity,  sound,  light,  etc,  which  have  from  time  to  time 
been  delivered  here,  will  refrain  from  quibbling.  One  of  the 
leading  features  in  the  present  entertainment  is  the  lecture  oo 
the  Paris  Exhibition,  which  perhaps  deserves  the  lion's  share 
of  praise.  Few  would  imagine  how  good  an  idea  of  the 
Exhibition  may  be  gained  from  this  lecture;  the  positioos 
for  photographing  seem  well  chosen.  The  photographs  are 
projected,  magnified,  on  to  a  screen.  Among  those  which 
were  most  noticed  were  the  exhibitions  of  glass,  of  the  fioe 
arts  fh>m  Italy,  and  of  English  designing,  and  machine-made 
jewellery;  the  photographs,  too,  of  the  intricate  macbineiy 
came  out  very  clearly.  la  the  reading  of  "The  Bridal  of 
Belmont,"  by  Mr.  Millard,  a  lighter  feature  in  the  enter- 
tainment is  foudd.  This  poem  offers  a  fitting  subject  for  a 
ghost  scene,  and  is  taken  advantage  of;  a  rather  coiioas 
mu!>ical  instrument  is  also  introduced  here,  which  appeared  to 
give  great  satisfaction.  The  only  other  point  to  which  wo 
need  allude  is  the  Automatic  Leotard,  which  as  a  piece  of 
mechanism  is  very  clever. 

Preservation  of  Stone.— Tliis  subject,  which  has  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  so  many  chemists,  seems  nov  to 
have  been  brought  to  a  very  successful  point  We  have  re- 
ceived some  specimens  of  chalk  treated  by  a  process  discov- 
ered by  Messrs.  Dent  and  Brown,  of  the  Chemical  Depart- 
ment, Woolwich.  Their  process  consists  in  the  applioalioo 
of  a  solution  of  oxalate  of  alumina  to  the  stone.  Tbe  ex- 
periments date  from  December,  1865.  and  the  results  Ih^ 
have  now  obtained  are  most  encouraging.  The  prooesB  it 
applicable  to  limestone,  dolomite,  and  chalk,  and  miiy,  we 
think,  be  made  subservient  to  the  preparation  of  htliogniphie 
stones.  Oxalate  of  alumina  is  readily  soluble  in  water,  end 
the  solution,  which  is  simply  applied  with  a  brush,  is  madeof 
a  strength  varying  with  the  porosity  of  the  material  to  which 
it  is  to  be  applied.  The  speci  nens  we  have  before  us  arel^ 
in  the  original  condition  at  one  end,  and  have  been  prepared 
with  the  solution  at  the  other.  The  physical  characteristics 
of  chalk  so  treated  aro— lightness,  the  possession  of  a  glared 
surface  approaching  somewhat  in  appearance  to  marble,  and 
greatly  increased  hardness ;  in  this  respect  the  atone  is  about 
equal  to  Fluor  spar,  or  4  in  Mobs'  scale.  Pjirrhermore,  the 
lime  being  transformed  into  one  of  the  most  insoluble  and 
unalterable  of  its  compounds,  and  tbe  alumina  being  precijh 
itated,  tbe  pores  are  filled  with  a  substance  almost  unacted 


BDglliriiCditioD,yoLZVX.,»o.410,pagel97;  Ka  411,  page  210 ;  Vo.  4U,  pa^e  S21.] 


OmnoikL  Nkwi,  ) 
/>M,  1867.      f 


Contemporary  Scieniific  Prese. 


32$ 


upon  by  water  or  by  the  impurities  present  in  the  atmosphere 
of  large  cities.  We  should  be  glad  to  bear  that  the  discov- 
erers had  one  of  the  experimental  bays  of  the  Houses  of 
Parliament  placed  at  their  disposal.  They  might  thus  prove 
their  process  to  be  a  formidable  rival  to  that  of  their  colleague 
Mr.  Spiller,  which  according  to  present  appearances  is  likely 
to  be  the  most  succesaful  of  all  the  numerous  schemes  now 
mibjudice  at  Westminster. 

Tbe  Britlsb  AaMoclatlon,— A  meeting  of  the  Local 
Invitation  Committee  of  Kxeter  and  Plymouth  for  securing 
the  visit  of  the  British  Association  to  one  of  these  places  in 
1869,  has  been  held  to  consider  what  steps  should  be  taken 
to  end  the  present  rivalry.  After  much  discussion,  it  was 
decided  to  refer  the  question  to  the  last  three  Presidents  of 
the  British  Association,  Professor  Phillips.  Mr.  Grove,  and 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  to  say  which  towu  should  retire  and 
help  the  other. 

Solubility  of  Amhydroiia  Alumlnft  tn  Ammonia. 

— If  alumina  is  heated  to  whitenea«,  and  pounded  up  tine, 
then  allowed  to  remain  in  contact  with  ammonia  for  a  few 
hours,  a  tolerably  heavy  gelatinous  precipitate  is  produced 
by  chloride  of  sodium  or  ammonium. —  William  Skeyj  New 
Zealand. 

Composition  and  l^nallty  of  tbe  metropolitan 
l¥aters  In  September,  1867. — The  following  are  the 
Betarns  of  the  Metropolitan  Association  of  Kedical  Officers  of 
Health:^ 


I.I 

^\ 

I04: 

HardoeHL 

^1 
1 

Water  Companies. 

Total  8 

matt 

per  gal 

IgnlUo 

|ii 

Before 
boiling. 

After 
boiling. 

Thnm6«  WaUr 

Omipanies. 

Orand  Junction  — 

West  Middl«MX  .... 

aonthwark  and 

VaaxhaU. 
Ghelaea 

Grains. 

17-80 
»7*47 

17*93 
«9'33 
xS'so 

27  "oo 
1473 
1791 

Gma. 

115 
1-50 

J-5S 

x-95 

XS5 

1-40 
r6o 

Oraina. 

0*56 
052 

0-78 
093 
0-72 

0-48 

Dega. 

X3-0. 
"•5 

12-5 

13*5 
"3-5 

X9'o 

«3'5 

Degs. 

40 
40 

3*5 
35 
40 

70 
40 
40 

D      q  q  0      00      0 

Lambeth    

Ot*sr  Companies. 
Kent 

HewRtver    

East  London 

0002 
0*003 

•  The  loaa  by  Ignition  represents  a  varfety  of  Tolatlle  matterSi  as  well 
aa  organic  ^matter,  as  ammonlacal  salts,  molsturet  and  the  volatile 
-OBsataents  of  nitrates  and  nicrlteo. 


t  The  oxldlaablb  organic  mi&ttor  Is  determined  by  a  standard  solntlon 
of  permanganate  of  potash— the  available  oxygen  of  which  is  to  the 
organic  matter  as  z  Is  to  8;  and  the  results  are  controlled  by  the  ex- 
aoiinatioD  of  the  coloar  of  the  water  when  seen  through  a  glass  tube 
two  feet  in  length  and  two  inches  in  diameter. 

Impermeable  OH  Barrel*.— ThoTituaville, Pa.,  iTcro/rf 
deflcnbes  the  process  for  rendering  casks  or  barrels  air-tight 
aud  impermeable  to  oil,  spirits,  turpentine,  and  all  Tohitile 
flaid,  that  has  been  in  operation  in  its  vicinity  for  a  year, 
with  such  good  results.  The  barrel  haying  passed  from  the 
finishing  hands  of  the  workmen,  the  process  of  permeating 
is  in  this  wise.  The  barrel  is  placed  over  tubes  through 
which  hot  air  is  injected  into  it  for  twenty-four  hours, 
thoroughly  heating  the  wood  and  opening  the  pores.  Any 
worker  in  wood  knows  that  glue  will  not  stick  to  a  cold  sur- 
fiice  as  well  as  to  a  warm  one,  and  this  fact  is  a  serious  in- 
coDTenienoe  in  the  old  fashion  of  glueing  barrels  by  hand^ 
From  these  tubes  the  barrel  is  placed  in  a  framework  that 
braces  the  head,  and  allows  it  to  revolve  on  either  axi&  Hot 
glue  is  poured  into  it,  and  distributed  over  every  portion  of 
the  inner  surface.  A  tube  is  then  introduced  through  the 
^UDg  hole,  and  a  pressure  of  twenty  pounds  of  air  to  the 
square  inch  applied,  forcing  the  glue  into  every  crack  and 
crevice  and  even  the  pores  of  the  wood ;  so  great  is  the  pressure 
that  the  glue  is  often  forced  through  the  pores  to  the  out- 
side of  the  barrel'  The  package  is  then  impermeable  and  as 
tight  as  a  bottleL 


OONTBMPORART   SUJUJNTU'IO   PRBBS. 

ler  this  heading  It  Is  Intended  to  aire  the  titles  of  all  the  ohemtcal 
.  .  which  are  published  in  the  principal  scientific  periodicals  of  the 
Continent.  Articles  which  are  merely  reprints  or  abstracts  of  papers 
already  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  of  the  mare  Important  pa- 
pers here  announced  wiU  appear  in  (Utore  numbers  of  the  CasMiOAfc 
NawB.] 

Le  GinU  Indtuiria.    June,  1867. 
F.  L.  Rome :  **  A  Method  qf  Preserving  Armour  Plated  and  other 
Iron  Vessels  by  means  of  Copper  Sheathing.'^—^Kxwojun^A.Ji :  **  New 
Apparatus  for  the  Manufacture  of  Sugars  -  E.  Qbisdalk:  **  A  new 
Apparatus/or  Waiving  Photographic  Proq/k." 

Oomptes  Rendue.  Jnly  8,  1867. 
BBCQT7BKKL :  *»  Third  Memoir  on  some  newly-diseovered  Chemieal 
Ejfeets  qf  Capillary  Action."^DAVBun :  '•  On  the  Classification 
adopted  by  the  Paris  Museum  for  the  Collection  of  Meteorites:'— 
Secchi  :  **  On  the  Nebula  qf  (?rkm."— N.  Zixm  :  "  On  BenMoin  and 
its  Derivatives.'*— VLzBouJ.  and  Taronor:  "^  Researches  on  the  Iso- 
merism qf  the  Acetylene  Series.*'— T.  Uioktd  ahl  :  '^On  Protosulphide 
qf  Cobalt,'' 

July  15. 
Ohaslu:  *^Note  on  fhe  Discovery  of  the  Laws  qf  AUraoUon  by 
P(tMoa/.'*->  80RBL :  **  Note  on  a  new  Cement  made  by  slaking  Magne- 
sia with  a  solution  of  Chloride  of  Magnesium:'— J.  Niokles:  **  On 
liuomanganous  Acid  and  other  new  Manganese  Oompound-s."— 
Lxcoq  DB  BoiSBAUOBAiv :  ^  JBeperim^nts  on  SupersaturaUon."^ 
Balbiahi  :  "  On  a  simple  Method  of  Detecting  the  Presence  of  Cor* 
puscles  on  JSilii  Worms:' 

Joly  as. 
DvHAiiai, :  **  Note  on  PaseaPs  Correspondence  retaUng  iotheLanc% 
of  AUraction."—¥A\M :  ♦'  Note  on  PascaPs  Oorrespondenoe  relating 
to  the  Laws  of  Attraction."— Cuky^kvi.:  "  Note  on  PascaPs  Corre- 
spondence relating  to  the  Laws  of  Attraction."— CnABLv» :  "  Note  on 
PascaPs  Correspondence  relating  to  the  Laws  of  Attraction.'*— 
Cbbvubul:  ^Report  of  the  Author's  Lectures  on  Chemisirv  deliv- 
ered at  the  Museum  of  Natural  UitAory:*  —Daubrbb  :  "  Contributions 
to  the  Knowledge  0/ the  Structure  q^  Meteorites.''— C  Mattbucoi: 
"  On  the  Secondary  Electro-motive  Power  of  the  Nerves,  and  its 
Application  to  Physiology.''— ZKhivfaKY-ldiKOBBKi :  "^Note  on  a  New 
Syphon."— O.  Orimaud  db  Caux:  ^*A  Comparative  Study  of  the 
Results  of  the  Removal  of  the  Sewage  Waters  of  Paris^  Vienna^ 
London.,  MarseilUe,  and  Venice."— ^1.  Raykaud  :  •*  C^  a  Practical 
Method  of  Determining  the  Voltaic  Constants  of  a  Battery."— O. 
Lkohartibr  \  '"'  Onthe  Reproduction  ofMimetese  and  qfsom^  Ctoro- 
arseniates:'—B,it\o:  "Some  n*w  Researches  on  Glycogen."— PniF' 
SOX :  *•  Note  on  a  Simple  Method  qf  detecting  Iodine  in  the  Presene^ 
of  Bromine,'* 

July  ag. 
OnABLiB :  **  Some  further  Communications  relative  to  PascaPs 
Letters  on  the  Laws  of  Attraction."     Duuaxbl:  "Some  further 
Communications  relative  to  PascaPs  Letters  on  the  Laws  of  Attrac- 
tion."—(J.  Mattbuoci  :  "On  the  Secondary  Electromotive  Force  qf 


the  Nerves,  and  its  Application  to  Physiology.*^— U.  ScouTsrrsx : 
n  some  Surgical  Instruments  found  at  fferculaneum  and  Pontr 


*0n  i 


peii:*—¥AVQimu:  "  On  the  Pascal  Correspondence."  Bknard  :  "  On 
the  Pascal  Correspondence.*'— 1^.  Blasbrna  :  "  On  the  Duration  qf 
Induction  Currents."— K  D.  Silva  :  "  On  Titaniferous  Iron  Sana 
from  Santiago,  Cape  de  Verd  Islands.**— E,  Qrimatjx  :  •'  On  the 
Nitro  Dertvates  of  the  BeneyUc  Ethers.**— "V.  Db  Lutmxs  amd  A.  Lio- 
RBT :  "On  the  Methylic,  Ethylic,  and  Amylic  Derivatives  of  Orcin.^ 
CuxTRRUL :  **  Remarks  on  J.  Lemaire's  Emperiments  on  the  Proper- 
ties qf  Phenic  Add.** 

Bulletin  de  PAcadetnie  Royale  de  Belgique  {Otaese  des  Sciences) 
June. 

A.  QvBnutr :  "  Note  on  the  PuUicatlon  qf  the  Meteorological  An- 
nals of  the  Royal  Observatory  at  Brussels.*'— A.  Quktrlet  :  "Ertraet 
from  Chacomae's  Letter  on  Sun  Spots,  and  on  the  Disappearance 
of  the  Crater  qf  Linnctus,** 

Monatsberiehi  der  koniglich-Preussischen  Atademie, 
April 
RisBB :  "  On  Double  Induction,  and  on  the  TTieory  qf  the  Electro- 
phorus.*'—G.  RoBB :  "  Onthe  Meteorite  which  feU  at  Knyahinya^  in 
Hungary,  on  June  9,  1866.^*— J.  Puilipp  :  '^  On  the  Sulphocyanogen 
Compounds  of  Mercury."— 0,  Bammblsbbro  :  **  On  Phosphorous  Acid 
and  its  Salts."— ^.  lUuscn:  "On  the  ^ect  of  Pressure  on  Rock 
Salt  and  Calcite."—K.  IlBLnnoLTz:  "  On  If.  Ikwts  Earperimente 
on  the  Velocity  qf  Propagation  qf  Irritation  in  the  Motor  Nerves 
of  the  Human  Body.** 

Poggmdorf*$  Annalen,    April  la. 

H.  Burr:  "  On  the  Indneiive  AeUon  of  a  Voltaic  Current  on  the 

Maes  of  the  Oonductor.**—C  Bonn :  **  On  Negative  Fluoreseence  and 

Phosphorescence.**— E,  Vow:  **  On  the  Difusion  qf  Liquids.'*— "W. 

YoxBoo^d:  *' On  Binooular  FM<m.**— A.  BcuAvr:  ^On  IheDe- 


[BngUBhSditlon,  VoL  XVL,  No.412,  pag«a 221,  212, 214,  220,  221 ;  Va  409^  page  180 ;  Sow  410,  paga  IM.] 


326 


Patents. 


j  OnimoAL  News, 
\       Dm,  1867. 


ducUon  of  the  Form  of  Oryatals  from  the  J2^ra<itive  Equivalents  of 
the  BlemenU  of  which  the  Crystal  is  eomposecU'^^ii.  Bkcbcu  :  *^An 
Bx^erimerU  toiih  Prifu»  Bup^rCs  Drops." 

May  i6. 
A.  TopLSR :  **Onih€  Construction  and  Pmformancs  of  IKs  Rotat- 
ing JSlsarophorus,*' — A.  Mit6ch8blich  :  ^  On  soms  new  Methods  qf 
Determining  the  Constitution  of  Organic  Compounds.^^—Vf .  Bbbtz  : 
*•  On  the  Ji^uence  of  the  MoUon  of  the  Origin  qf  a  Sound  on  its 
Fitch.^'—Q.  Jkn'zsgii  :  "  On  the  Laws  of  the  Formaiion  of  Twin  Crys- 
tals <jf  ^wurtr."— A.  Baio  :  *^  On  the  Optical  Froperties  qf  Jlypoeul- 
phate  of  Baryta." 

Annalen  der  Chemie  und  Fharmacie.    Supplement    Vol.  5.  No  1. 

C.  ZwKKOKB :  "  On  the  MtlLlotic  Acid^  and  on  its  Preparation 
from  Cou,marin.'*''—L.  Dahnstaxdtkb  :  **  On  Puiassio-ChLoride  and 
Ammonia- Chloride  of  Gold.'' 

Julj  1S67. 

H.  WionsLnArs :  ^  On  the  Constitution  and  Composition  of  Or- 
ganic Adds  containing  three  Atoms  of  Carbon.^'* — 11.  Soiirodbk  : 
**  On  Bypogaic  AHdy—O.  Maussknkcut  :  *'  On  some  Deritatttes  of 
Xrucic  Aci^t.^'—C.  Weimuold  :  "  On  Oaeyphenylene  Sulphurous 
Jicid.'^—ll.  KoLBB :  '^Bemarks  on  the  foregoing  Paper  .'^-^U.  KolbA  : 
^  On  the  Sulphuric  and  Sulphurous  Bthers-^'—ti.  Warlitz:  ^  On  the 
Sulphurous  Ether  Isomeric  utith  Bthylsufphuric  Acid. " — B.  Otto 
AMD  L.  Brummcb  :  "  On  Sulphoc/UotobeneoUc  Acid,  and  on  some 
Derivatives  qf  the  same." 

Annaiee  d^  Chimde  et  de  Physique.    Joly. 
A.  CoBNiT :  **  Besearehes  on  OrystaUine  B^fioetionJ*' 


Journal  des  Fdbricanis  de  Papier.    June  15. 
E.  Boubdiluat  ;  ^  On  Testing  the  Chemical  Products  used  in 
Paper^maMng :  Starch.^ 

July  X. 
E.  Boubdiluat:   ^  On  Testing  the  Chemical  Products  used  in 
Paper-maJting,    Conlinuation:  Ultramarine.    Antichiore.    Prus- 
tiates  of  Potash,'' 

Journal  fur  PraiMsche  Chemie.    June  8. 

A.  Ebbkoott:  "  On  the  Alkaline  Be-action  of  some  Minerals.''— 
A  Kbnkowt:  "  On  BichmondUe^  OsmelUe^  and  A^eoUte."—h.  Kbnic- 
autt  :  *'  On  PyrophyUite,  BydrargiUUe^  Pennine^  CJUorite^  and  Clin- 
ocfUor€."—'L.Vi.\QS  Jb'BLLKKBKBQ :  ^'Analysis  of  a  Green  Mineral 

iAnoithitef  Felspar  f)  from  the  Bernese  Oberland."—L.  R.  Vom 
'kLLKNBKBG  :  *'  Analysis  qf  SerpenUnefrom  the  MaUnkerthal  in  the 
Grisons.^'  L.  B.  Fbllkmbbko:  **  Analysis  of  Caldtefrom  Mer- 
lingen."—T.  Bail  :  "  CM  W^  Formation  qf  Yeasf^K.  Cabbtamjbb  : 
•'  On  ThalUc  Acid," 

Jane  aa 

B.  Wribs  :  **0n  the  Colouring  Matter  of  Safiwt.^—U.  Wagkeb  : 
^^  On  the  Detection  of  Woollen  Fibres  in  Silk  Goods. ' 

June  27. 

B.  HoFFMAXK :  "  Onthe  Causes  of  the  Brittleness  qf  the  Bones  of 
Bomed  CaUle."  J.  C.  Leucus  ."'Onthe  BiUer  PHndple  of  Hops^ 
and  on  Deoondatlon  as  a  Means  qf  Destroying  the  samc^'—F. 
Btoua  :  ""  Ont/ie  Quantitative  Estimation  of  Lead  by  Precipitation 
Zy  Zimj.*'--F.  feioLBA :  "*An  Analysis  of  some  Ancient  Bronze  Ob- 
jects^ from  the  Collection  in  the  Bohemian  Museum  at  Prague."— 
F.  Stolka  :  "'Onthe  Analysis  qf  Bone  Black.'"^?.  Stolba  :  '•  On  the 
Estimation  qf  the  Water  qf  Crystallised  Fluoride  of  Calcium  Com- 
pounds.'"—^. Wolf  :^  On  the  Constitution  of  some  Aniline  Colours." 

Dingler's  Polyiechnisches  Journal.  June. 
J.  P.  Bbininoiiaus  '.'"An  Apparatusfor  Measuring  and  Begtclat- 
ing  the  Supply  of  Fluids.''— O.  Biboiiof,  Jew:  "* On  the  Colt^i- 
metrical  Ehtim^ttion  qf  Copper."— C.  Thibl  :  •'  On  the  Preparation 
of  Meat  Biscuits."— C.  Simkoms  :  ""  On  the  Mant^facture  of  Articles 
in  Mica  by  M.  Baphael^  qf  Breslau." 

June. 

C.  KuHH :  ""  On  PouiUeVs  Method  of  Applying  lAgjdninij  Conduc- 
tors toPotcder  Magazines."— Q.  Ldnub  :  -  Jvotes  on  Technical  Chem- 
istry: $.  On  the  Manufacture  qf  Bone  Blacky  Sulphide  ^  Ammo- 
nium^ and  Super-phosphate  of  Lime."— R.  Brivmbybb:  "^JHotes  on 
Technical  Chewistry :  c.  On  the  Decolourising  Power  af  Bone 
Black.  6,  On  the  AniUne  Dyes  at  the  French  Exhibition."— R. 
Waonrr  i"' On  the  Detectum  of  Woollen  Fibres  in  Silk  Yam  and 
Fabrics," 


L'Invention.  July. 
PoTBBiER  Aim  Cbappat:  '^On  a  Method  itf  Manufacturing  Dyes 
by  the  Action  of  Alcohols  on  AniUne." — Holliday  :  '*  A  new  Process 
for  producing  Bed  and  Violet  Aniline  Colours."— J>A.vQKyihiM  and 
Gautiit  :  "  A  Process  for  Discharging  Aniline  Colours  from 
JV76rto*."— QoBMBAD  :*"  On  the  Use  of  Crude  Limestone  for  JMein- 
fecting  Beet  «/*»<««.  ^'-Jukxmamn,  Du  Rixux,  and  RosrroBR  z  ""Onthe 


Extraction  qf  Sugar  frtfm  Sacchfirine  Solutions  by  means  of  Ums." 
Hkurtbbisb  :  '*  On  an  Economical  Process  for  Producing  Uydregtm 
Gas  by  MeaHng  Carbonic  Oaoide  in  Contact  with  Supsrheatsi 
Steam." 


G'tnic  InduOrieL    July. 
E.  Firtrt  :  "  On  Measuring  Tsmpercaures."—BoBna: 
proved  Pyrometer," 


Anlm- 


Oomptes  Bendus.    Au^ost  5, 1867. 
Fatb  i"^  On  the  It^uence  oj  BaUemal  Causes  on  the  Formatiei^ 
of  Sun  Spots."— H.  TAR'iioNi-TozBBrrc:    ""On   the  Wax  of  Ooocot 
carica"— V.  PoiTLBT :  ""Onthe  Preience  qf  Infu^ria  in  the  Breath 
of  Persons  suffering  from  Whooping-Ooagh.'' 

Au^^uflt  IX 
Sib  David  Brxwbtbb :  ""On  the  Authenticity  o^  the  JTewton  emd 
Pascal  Correspondence.*'— Ca.K^LKB:  ""  On  the  Authenticity  ef  (ke 
N&tcton  and  Pascal  Correspondence."  — Duoamkl  :  **Onthe  Auths^ 
ticiiy  of  the  Ntwion  and  Pascttl  Correspondence."— R.  Uokiss: 
""  On  a  MeUiod  of  destroying  the  Magnetic  Polarity  of  Iron  Ships'" 
—Wolf  am  u  Kayrt  :  *•  On  the  Spectra  of  Th'-se  Stars  in  the  CondsUa- 
tion  Cygnus:'—P.  Volpicblu:  "  ^n  the  Correlations  qf  ffo^oano- 
meters  and  of  Gauss'  and  Laments  Methods  ^  CalcuUtting  iht 
Uorioontal  InteneUy  of  the  Earth's  Magnotiam," 

Monateberieht  der  Eoniglich-PreussiKhen  Akademie  der  Wisse^ 
schaften  mi  Berlin.  May,  1867. 
W.  FoBSTBR :  «  On  the  Influence  of  the  Density  of  the  Air  on  tie 
Bate  of  a  Clock,  especifiUy  on  the  Normal  Clock  of  the  Berii%  Ob- 
servatory^ and  on  the  Performance,  tohen  enclosed  in  an  Air-tight 
Case,  of  an  Electro-magnetic  Clock  made  by  F.  Tiede."—Poaass- 
DORFF :  ""On  the  Development  of  Heat  in  the  Path  of  the  EUatria 
Spark." 

Sitmngsberiehte  der  KaiserUchen  Akademie  der  WissenstAqflsnss 

Wien.    {Mathematisch-witurwissenseht0liehe  Claase.) 

February,  1867. 

8.  Strickbr  :  *'  Besearehes  on  the  ntalUy  of  the  Colourless  BUnti 

Corpuscles  In  Man."—b\  Rocklrdbb:  ^  Note  on  the  OonstituenU^ 

the  Boot-Bark  qf  the  Apple-Tree."    J.  F.  SoaMiDr:  *"Onthe  Becesi 

Changes  in  the  Crater  of  Lir2«.«os.'* 


SitMungsbericMe  der  EonigUch-Bayerischen  Aoademie  der  Wissen- 
schciften.  {Mathematisch-physikaHeche  Claese.)  Janoaiy  12, 1867. 
VoGBL,  JuN. :  '» On  Washing,  Pressing,  and  Preparing  PeaL"" 
Veil  Gouvi*-BK8A?rB2 :  **  On  I^rocatechine,  a  Product  qf  the  Ac^on 
of  Iodine  and  Phosphorus  on  the  Bhenish  Beech  Wood  litrGreosfots.*' 

Poggendorfs  Annalen  der  Physiik.  No.  5,  1867. 
H.  Knoblauch  -.""Onthe  Interference  Colours  qf  Badiant  Etat " 
L.  Pfaumdlrb:  ""Contributions  to  Chemical  Status;  bHng  ob 
Attempt  to  explain  the  Phenomena  of  Dissociation  and  4f^. 
according  to  a  new  Theory.''— J.  Puilupp  i**  On  the  Action  qf 
Sulpho-cyanide  of  Potassium  on  the  StUs  qf  Mercury."— IL  LoR- 
mbl  '.""Onthe  Cause  qf  the  Bedness  of  the  Skv  in  the  Evening,  and 
of  some  Phenomena  in  Connection  th^eumhj" — A.  UAAon:  '"JL 
Determination  of  the  Befhactite  Index  and  Specific  Gratitjl  V 
some  Liquid  Haloid  Compounds :  Tetrachloride  <^  Car^n,  Colore- 
form^  Chloride  of  Efhylene,  Bromide  qf  Ethyl,  Bromide  of  Amgl. 
Bromide  of  Ethylene,  Iodide  qf  Methyl,  Iodide  of  Ethyl,  lodUe  (f 
Amyt,  BunUphide  of  Carbon,  Chloride  of  Sulphur  TerchlorHs  if 
Phosphorus,  Terchloride  of  Arsenic,  Peniachioride  of  JiiltaMy, 
Chloride  of  Zinc,  Chloride  of  Silicium,  and  Chloride  qf  SotUm, 
apropos  of  the  Question  qf  the  Befractiiw  E&uioalent  qf  the  Ele- 
ments."—K  Souobrb:  ""Xote  on  Crystallised  Hydrate  qf  Potas- 
sium."—T?.  R1K8S  :  ""On  the  Can^e  of  the  UndulaHons  produced ia 
Metallic  Wires  by  the  Electric  Discharge."— Q.  Quibckb  :  •'  Bmorks 
on  L  Diniels  Paper,  published  in  the  "  Oomptes  Bendus'  sfMa^ 
II,  1867,  on  the  Transport  of  Matter  by  the  VoUaic  OurrtHC^ 
Kindt  :  *'  On  the  Spectrum  of  the  Phosphorescent  Light  qf  Pho^)ker- 
ite,  Clorophane,  and  other  Varieties  of  Flour  Spar.** 


PATENTS. 

Communicated  by  Mr.  Yauohait,  F.C.&,  Patent  Agent,  51,  ChaiK«7 
Lane,  W.  O. 

GRANTS  OF  PROVISIONAL  PBOTECTION  FOR  SIX 
MONTHS. 

2505.  F.  H.  Pattbon,  and  J.  W.  H.  PatUson,  Glasgow,  N.B.,"A 
new  or  Improved  metal-founder's  blacking.**— retitloo  recorded  8ip- 
tember  4,  1867. 

257  X  •  ^-  Baker,  Tipton,  Staffordehlre. "  ImpTorementa  lu  the  nMBi* 
facture  of  iron,  and  in  fuma<fi»  used  In  the  manufacture  of  fro.n.'* 

2577.  U.  K.  Li -ekes,  Coleford,  GlonceBterabire,  **The  maanftetara 
of  artificial  or  compreaeed  fttel.in  the  treatment  of  ooal,  peat,  cbaieoal 
tan,  sawdust,  and  woody  fibre,  whereby  thoee  substances,  eitfaer  togeUtftf 


[SngUah  Editton,  VoL,  XVX,  Na  410,  page  196 ;  No.  412,  pag«a  222,  221.] 


DetL,  186T.       f 


Notes  and  Queriee. 


327 


•r  lepAniU,  can  b«  utilised  when  In  a  state  of  powder  or  mlnate  dlvl' 
ikm,  and  converted  into  a  aerylceable  fnel."— September  xi,  1867. 

a6o8.  I*.  Domont,  Stoke  Newiogton  Road,  Middlesex,  '*  An  improved 
manofiaetare  of  soap."  A  coinmanication  from  A.  L.  Labather,  A. 
MMt,  and  L.  F.  J.  Lecat,  Place  Saint  Jacques,  Compeigne,  j!>ance.— 
fleptember  16.  1867. 

26x1.  C.  Uolflte,  HenrletU  Street,  Covent  Garden,  Middlesex,  **  Im- 
provements in  blast  furnaces.*'  A  communication  from  F.  Lurmann, 
Oesede,  near  Osnabriick,  Pru8tfla.>-September  17,  1867. 

2637.  J.  G.  Willan,  Suint  Stephen's  Crescent.  Baj water,  Middlesex, 
**  Improvements  la  the  manufacture  of  iron."— September  19,  1867. 

2679.  W.  Beardmore,  W.  Brock,  and  A.  G.  Kirk,  Glasgow,  N.  &, 
'*  Improvemonls  relating  to  fUrnaces." 

3685.  A.  Ziegeie,  Mlnctn^  Lane.  London,  "Improvements  in  the 
manufacture  '^f  Kpsom  saitsT"  A  communication  from  Messrs.  Yorster 
and  Qruueberg,  Cologne,  Prussia. — September  23,  1867. 

2711.  K.  W.  Bennie,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  **-Improvemeuts  in  the  manu- 
flkctare  of  moulders*  blackening." 

2721.  J.  l<'o.-dred.  filackheath,  Kent,  "  Improvements  In  Bleaching 
and  purifying  paraffin."— September  26,  1867. 

2731.  L.  de  la  Pejrouse,  Somerset  Street,  Portman  Square,  Middle- 
sex, **  Improvements  hi  the  treatment  of  paraffin,  faity,  and  resinous 
matters^**  A  communication  from  L.  Kratfi,  Rue  de  L'£gUse,  NeuiUy, 
near  ParlSu— September  27,  1867. 

2756W  £.  P.  Alexander,  Lincoln*8  Inn  Fields,  Middlesex,  **  Improve- 
menta  in  ihe  manufacture  of  cast  st*  el,  and  in  furnaces  to  be  employed 
theraln.    A  communication  fk-om  K.  Ellershausen,  Ottawa,  Can'.da. 

2760L  G.  Alllbon,  Worcester, and  \.  Mtmbfe',  Baker  Street,  Middlesex. 
*  Improvements  in  Apparatus  api>llcable  to  the  conversion  of  cereal  and 
Tegetable  substances  into  saccharine  matter,  in  treating  and  purli^ing 
saccharine  substances  extracted  from  malt,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  in 
treating  fatty  matters,  and  In  the  manufacture  of  chemical  products.**— 
October  1, 1867. 

2782.  H.  D.  Pochin,  Salford,  Lancashire,  and  £.  Hunt,  Manchester, 
**  An  improvement  In  the  construction  of  furnaces,  flues,  and  vessels 
vhleh  are  subjected  to  high  temperature."— October  3,  1867. 

280X.  J.  Anderson,  Londonderry,  Ireland,  ^*  Improvements  In  ob- 
taining chlorine,  sodium,  potassium,  phosphorus,  and  their  compounds.'* 
—October  6^  1867. 

3S16.  C.  D.  Abe!,  Southampton  Buildings.  Ohaneery  Lane,  **  A  new 
or  improved  process  and  apparatus  for  refining  camphor.  '*  A  commu- 
nication from  C.  £.  Perret,  Boulevard  de  Strasbourg,  Paris. 

3819.  i>.  Swan,  jun ,  Marv-hill,  Laaarkshire,  N.B.,  **  Improvements 
In  the  manufacture  of  zinc*^ 

2822.  J.  II.  Brown,  U«*msey,  Hants,  "Improvements  In  utilising 
rcAtse  animal  matters,  and  producing  dclns  and  sheets  therefrom.**— 
October  7,  1867. 

NOTICES  TO  PROCEED. 

1646.  E.  Meldmm,  Bathgate,  Llnllthirow,  N.B.,  "Improvements  in 
ttxe  purification  of  paraffin.**— Petition  recorded  June  4,  1867. 

1652.  N.  Kausch  and  E.  L.  Dariet,  Brussels,  ^  Improvements  In  the 
aaaoufacture  of  artificial  fuel.'* — June  5,  1867. 


pulp  for  the  manufacture  of  paper.**    A  communication  from 
,  Rue  St.  Sebastian,  Paris.— June  15,  1867. 


X752.    W.  B.  Newton,  Chancery  Lane,  "  Improrements  In  the  prepa- 
ration of  pulp  '      "  '  '  "     *  ■    " 
A.  Anasedot^  1 

2102.  C.  King,  Itegent  btreet,  W.,  **  An  improvement  In  the  preparsr 
tlon  of  chucoUte  and  cocoa.**— July  17,  1867. 

2395.  0.  VT.  blemeos,  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  "  Improve- 
ments In  furnaces,  and  in  processes  and  apparatus  hi  connection  there- 
with, prindiially  appUcabw  to  metallui^cai  operations.'*— August  31, 
X867. 


NOTES  AND  QUEBIES. 


SoarUtlnt. — Can  any  reader  of  the  Ghxmioal  News  put  me  hi  the 
way  to  make  a  scarlet  ink,  to  write  scarlet  on  blue  paper  with  a  steel 
pen?-B.W. 

J>eieoti(m  of  Sulphur  in  Petrolettm, — Is  there  an  easy  test  for  the 
prcflence  of  sulphur  In  refined  petroleum?  IUnd  a  difficulty  In  know- 
ing when  it  is  sufficiently  refined,  as  I  have  no  ready  test  for  this  ol^eo- 
tionable  impurity.— UKrissa. 

Pre^trving  Fre%h  FUnoen. — I  shall  be  greatly  obliged  If  bjoj  of  your 
courteous  readers  will  kindly  tell  me  how  I  can  preserve  cut  flowers  in 
A  room.  I  remember  reading  somewhere  that,  adding  some  chemical 
sabatance  to  the  water,  would  cause  them  to  keep  f^reah  for  a  week  or 
Bkori*,  but  I  have  forgotten  the  name  of  the  chemical. — Emily  D. 

Oiarififing  0»yvMl«,—G9Jk  any  of  your  readers  inform  me  of  the 
plan  generally  adopted  by  pharmaceutists  for  clarifying  oxymels? — 

flClLLA   MaBITUIA. 

JBucein4c  Acid. — Is  the  following  reaction  of  sucdnic  add  known  ? 
It  bas  punle<l  me  cooiiiderably,  and,  before  I  found  out  the  cause,  led 
me  into  some  mistakes.  I  have  been  in  the  Ifabit  of  nsing  succinic  acid 
as  a  means  of  separating  iron  from  solutions  In  quantitative  analytJs. 
A  few  weeks  ago  i  was  aurprlsed  to  find  that  no  precipitate  was  pro- 
doeed  under  circumstances  In  which  I  fully  expected  to  nee  one,  as  I 
knew  there  was  a  ferric  salt  in  solution.  The  solution  was  almost 
neatral,  and  I  had  addfd  sueoinate  of  potash,  but  no  precipitate  of  suo- 
elmte  of  iron  took  place.  After  many  expetimentd  to  ascertain  the 
caoae,  I  ascerUined  that  the  non-precipitation  wjt  owing  to  the 
preaenee  of  acetate  of  potaah.  which  I  had  added  iu  rather  large  quan- 
tity to  get  rid  of  free  mineral  add.  following  this  up,  I  have  ascer- 
taijoed  that  ihe  presence  of  acetic  add,  or  a  soluble  acetate,  partially 
or  entirely  suspends  the  ordinary  reaction  of  sucdnic  add  in  solutioni 
of  fenie  aalta.   Perhaps  a  note  of  this  may  prove  usefUl  to  some  of  your 


readen.  If  inserted  in  your  valuable  ** Notes  and  Queries**  column.— 
J.  Hoo^aa. 

German  rea«&— In  reply  to  P.  Ireland,  a  valued  correspondent  sends 
us  the  following  hiformatlon.  The  bulk  of  what  is  erroneously  called 
in  this  country  German  yeast  Is  made  at  Schiedam,  Delftshavun,  and 
Kotterdam.  In  a  large  cylindrical  wooden  vat,  1x5  meters  blgli,  and 
I '6  meters  diameter,  a  lar^e  quantity  of  tepid  water  is  poured,  and  x8o 
kilogrammes  of  coarsely-ground  ryo  and  barley  malt  are  added ;  thb 
mixture  Is  beaten  into  a  thm  pattc.and  the  vat  closed  with  a  well-fitting 
lid ;  in  order  to  prevent  too  rapid  coollns,  It  Is  covered  with  a  stout 
blanket,  and  left  at  rest  for  about  two  hours.  At  the  end  of  this 
time  the  paste  is  diluted  with  very  cold  water,  and  thin  distilleta 
wuoh  till  perfectly  fluid.  Beer  yeast  of  good  quality  Is  now  added  in 
the  proportion  of  half  a  kilogramme  for  every  2,000  litres  of  fluid ;  the 
whole  is  well  stirred  and  left  tu  settle.  Fermentation  soon  commences, 
and  after  from  five  to  seven  hours  the  larger  portion  of  the  fluid  is  care- 
ftiily  drawn  off  trom  the  sediment  and  collected  hi  a  tank ;  thence  It 
b  pumped  into  shallow  wooden  troughs  placed  under  shelter  and 
surrouuded  on  ail  sides  by  k>uvre  blinds.  Each  trough  is  4  meten 
loni?,  2- 75  broad,  and  o  5  deep.  Th»»  liquid  shortly  becomes  very  turbid, 
a  thick  mass,  not  unlike  boiled  starvh,  settles  to  the  bottom,  and  the 
surface  also  becomes  covered  with  a  thick  coherent  cream-like  scum ; 
each  of  these  deposits  Is  the  yeast ;  after  24  hours  the  intermediate 
fluid  is  withdrawn  and  returned  to  the  original  vat,  whence  it  had 
been  taken.  The  yeut  is  collected  in  bagi  made  of  strongly-woven 
lineu  canvass,  and  submitted  to  great  pressure  for  24  hours :  it  Is  then 
fit  for  use,  and  Is  exported  as  dry  yeast.  When  one-third  by  weight 
of  best  barley  malt,  and  two-tldrds  of  rye  of  good  quality  are  used, 
and  the  openitions  carefully  conducted,  and  when  it  is  not  Intended  to 
obtain  spirits,  the  quantity  of  yeast  may  be  very  much  increasvd.  There 
Is  no  truth  in  the  assertion  Uuit  such  materials  as  chaik,  bone-a^ 
plaster  of  Paris,  French  cluUk,  plpe-chiy,  etc.,  are  used  as  adulteranta. 
A  small  quantity  uf  the  best  starch  is,  in  the  summer,  sometimes  mixed 
with  the^east.    It  makes  it  keep  better  in  hot  weather. 

To  Preserve  Fretili  Floicers.— Put  a  pinch  of  nitrate  of  soda  Into  the 
water  every  day  when  you  change  it.  This  will  preserve  flowers  for  a 
fortnighL    Nitrate  of  potosli,  in  powder,  has  nearly  the  same  effect 

ISABKl.  DB  W. 

Ifetection  0/ Sulphur  in  PetroUum  — "  Refiner  **  will  find  the  follow- 
ing plan,  suggested  I  believe  by  Dr.  Yohi,  an;»wer  his  purpose :— Digest 
the  oil  for  some  hours  at  a  gentle  heat  witli  a  small  piece  of  sodium. 
W  ater  being  added,  the  aqueous  solution  is  to  be  tested  with  nitro- 
prusside  of  sodium.  The  preseuce  01'  buiphur  is  shown  by  the  produc- 
tion of  the  well  known  purple  colouration.— E  S.  P. 

Scarlet  Ink.— Take  garuncin  of  best  quality  one  ounce,  digest  with 
liquor  ammonias  one  ounce,  add  one  pint  of  cold  diatlUed  water 
triturate  together  in  a  mortar,  filler,  and  dissolve  In  the  Kolution  half  an 
ounce  of  guin  arable;  or  take  pure  carmine  twenty  grains,  liquor  am- 
moni»  three  fluid  ounces,  dissolve,  then  add  eighteen  grains  of  powdered 
gum.— D II.  A. 

Succinic  .^dcf.— The  property  of  acetic  add  to  prevent  the  ordinary 
reaction  of  succinic  add  alluded  to  by  your  correspondent,  J.  Hooper 
in  your  last  week*s  Notes  and  (Queries  column  {Atnerioan  JieprifU,  DeeL 
1867,  page  327),  is  not  new,  although  It  does  not  seem  to  be  generally 
known.  More  than  forty  years  ago,  two  French  chemlsta,  named  Lecann 
and  Serbat,  pointed  out  that  the  presence  of  acetic  acid  takes  from  suc- 
dnic add  the  power  of  forming  precipitates  with  solutiona  of  iron,  copper, 
lead,  and  barium.  Neither  will  a  mixture  of  acetate  and  succinate  of 
potash  precipitate  solutions  of  these  raetala.— A»bl  Soott. 

DevelopmefU  of  Ueai,—l  was  reading  in  a  scientific  work  tiie  other 
day  that  air  may  be  diiven  with  so  much  force  aH  to  set  solid  substances 
on  fire ;  and  that  ice  may  be  dashed  with  such  violence  against  another 
piece  of  ice  that  sparks  of  fire  will  be  produced  by  the  collision.  Can 
any  one  tell  me  where  the  record  of  the«e  experiments  may  be  found, 
and  who  was  the  experimt-nter?  I  aui  aware  that  Sir  M.  Davy  pro- 
duced heat  by  rubbhog  two  pieces  of  ice  together,  but  I  have  never 
heard  of  fire  being  produced  by  the  ice ;  perhaps  some  of  your  readen 
may  enlighten  me. — Caucia. 

i^phur  in  PetroUun\.—li  U'not  quite  dear  whether -your  corre- 
spondent wants  a  test  for  sulphur  ur  any  of  \\a  adds,  since  in  refining 
petroleum  sulphuric  add  Is  used ;  however,  it  seems  at  all  events  best  to 
convert  any  sulphur  compounds  Into  sulphuric  acid,  and  test  for  the 
latter.  The  oil  may  be  decomposed  by  careful  treatment  with  nitric 
add,  and  afterwards  the  n^aidue,  after  complete  decomposition  of  the 
oil,  diluted  with  water,  and  treated  with  nitrate  of  b.tryta  to  detect 
sulphuric  acid.  It  must  not  be  lost  sight  of^  that  when  sulphuric  add  Is 
used  for  refining^  this  will  have  to  be  removel  entirely  first,  while  one 
must  al»o  bear  in  mind  that  its  use  entaib  the  possibiiity  of  engendering 
sulphu-olls  not  attacked  by  alkalies.- A. 

Clarifying  (Arymrts.- Oxymels  can  be  obtained  brilliantly  bright 
without  any  body  being  used  lor  their  clarification,  by  keeping  the  honey 
at  a  temperature  of  2x2  dee.  Fahr.,  and  separating  the  scum  rising  to 
the  surface  as  long  as  any  b  formed,  then  filtering  through  twill  cloth. 
The  colour  of  the  oxymel,  however,  b  much  darker  than  the  product 
obtained  by  the  process  of  British  Pharmacopoeia  in  1867,  whldi  merely 
directs  the  honey  to  be  melted— Scilla  Makitima. 

Development  of  I/eat.— in  my  early  chemical  days  I  was  in  the  liabit 
of  attending  lectures  at  the  Polytechnic  Instiiutbn,  London.  The  lec- 
turer, whenever  he  was  dbcouredng  upon  heat,  always  brought  in  this 
story :  **  There  b  an  old  saying,  tliat  you  may  go  to  the  mint,  snd  carry 
away  ^  many  jovereigns  as  you  please,  provided  you  pick  them  up  with 
your  naked  fingers  aa  they  fall  from  the  pre&a.**  The  reason  yon  were 
allowed  thb  privilege,  was  because  they  dropped  fh>m  the  die  so  hoi 
it  was  impossible  to  hold  them.  Can  any  of  your  readers  say  whether 
the  story  b  a  myth,  or  b  it  founded  upon  some  former  press,  aa  I 
visited  the  mint  a  few  days  since,  and  found  thai  the  coin  c 
the  stamp  comparatively  cold. — VaAisxMBLATica. 


[BngUahBdiHao,  ToL  ZTI,  Va  412^  pi«Ma21;  ITo.  409,  page  180:  ITcilO,  page  198:  No.  411,  pi«e  210.] 


328 


2b  Correspondents. 


1      Jho^im. 


Pr€9irving  Fr$»h  FforMrs  —Flowers  mny  be  kept  In  pretty  fSdr 
condition,  for  say  a  week  or  ten  daya,  according  to  the  speclKS  selected 
for  bouquets  and  the  time  of  the  jeat^  by  renewing  the  water  erery 
alternate  day,  and  while  doing  so  rejecting  decayed  flowers  and 
leaves,  and  taking  care  to  out  off  flrom  the  stems  Immersed  in  water, 
with  a  sharp  pair  of  scissors,  about  from  a  ouartcr  to  half  Inch  of  the 
length ;  then  should  be  added  to  the  water  aoont  n  pinch  of  salt,  and  a 
few  grains  of  saltpetre  for  every  pint  of  fluid ;  when  flowers  are  very 
much  faded  thev  may  be  revived  by  immersion  of  the  stems  for  two  or 
three  minutes  in  hot  water,  or  better  yet  in  Htrong  spirits  of  wine, 
or  £au  de  Cologne;  In  some  oases  liquid  ammonia  may  be  advan- 
tageously applied  to  the  stems  for  a  few  minutes  to  revive  flowers. 
These  recommendations  are  applied  by  several  of  the  largest  borti- 
cnlturlfits  of  Ghent  and  other  parts  of  Belgium,  and  found  to  answer 
in  practice  very  well  if  properly  applied.  To  keep  well,  flowers  should 
not,  after  being  cut,  be  placed  in  localities  where  there  is  tobacoo- 
amoke,  or  bad  ventilation,  neither  should  the  rooms  be  too  much 
heated.— A. 

Qun-CotiofL — Gon  any  of  your  rea<1ers  Inform  me  what  works  have 
been  published  upon  thfe  new  explotdves,  nltro-glycerine,  gun-ootton, 
and  Scheiltzes  wood  gunpowder,  and  if  any  and  what  chemical  author- 
ities have  reported  upon  them  ? — K. 

Trarmparency  qf  Had  Hot  M«t<iU.—^\r^—l  noticed  a  short  time 
■Inoe,  in  one  of  the  numbers  of  the  Cukjmical  Nkws,  some  letters  on 
the  transmrency  of  red  iiot  metals.  A  few  weeks  .igo,  I  wont  over 
some  steel  works  in  the  North  of  England,  ami  thi-re  the  manager  spoke 
of  it  as  a  well-known  fact  that  steel  at  a  white  he^it  was  transparent  In 
proof  of  it  he  showed  that,  when  the  molten  metal  was  being  poured 
out,  the  edge  of  the  cmcible  appeared  to  bo  distinctly  visible  through 
the  molten  metal.  This  could  only  be  sei-n  directly  the  crucible  was 
taken  out  of  the  ftimace,  before  it  had  cooled  in  the  least.  If  the  metal 
is  not  transparent  will  any  of  y4»ur  correspondents  sav  whether  this  ap- 
penrance  can  be  accounted  for  In  any  other  way  ?— 1j,xon. 

BUachin{f  Palm  Oi/.— Sir.— Would  you  oblige  me  by  giving  me 
some  information  through  the  medium  of  your  Notes  and'  Queries 
column  In  reference  to  "  Bleaching  Palm  Oil."  I  am  connected  with 
a  works  at  which  palm  oil  is  used,  and  occasionally  it  is  required  to  be 
bleached.  I  have  applied  myself  to  the  task  of  bleaching  it  with  only 
indiflferent  sncci^ss ;  I  follow  (as  I  believe)  the  method  once  patented  by 
Mr.  Watt.  I  first  introduce  the  orange  coloured  oil  Into  a  tub  open  at 
the  top  Into  which  an  open  steam  Jet  is  conducted ;  I  allow  the  steam  to 
blow  Into  it  until  its  temperature  marks  xxo  deg.  or  134 deg.  F.  1  then 
add  to  the  oil  a  saturated  aqueous  solution  of  x  lb.  oonunercial 
^  Blcbrome  ^^  for  each  cwt.  of  oil  to  be  operated  upon,  as  nearly  the  same 
temperature  as  the«oil  as  p«>ssible  I  then  add  a  quantity  of  hydro- 
chloric acid  (commercial)  equal  in  weight,  as  nearly  as  I  ran  guess,  to 
double  the  weight  of  blchrome  before  being  dissolved.  I  then  a«;itate 
the  mixture  with  a  paddle,  and  the  chnracterlsiic  odour  of  nascent 
oxygen  is  quickly  perceptible,  which  continues  to  emanate  lor  1)4  or  2 
hours  without  decolourising  the  oil  to  any  sensible  extent,  the  agitation 
being  kept  up  the  whole  of  the  time.  Pamell  describee  this  pn»ce8s  as 
requiring  only  five  minutes  for  decolourising  the  oil.  I  must  therefore 
be  most  egregiously  at  fault,  for  even  after  the  expense  of  so  much 
labour  the  product  is  not  at  all  satisfactory.  I  have  even  employed 
double  the  quantity  of  the  bleaching  agents  with  no  better  success.— 
Gbo.  J0HK8ON. 


TO  COKRESPONDXINTS. 


F.E.  Wriffht—Tor  the  purpose  yon  name  we  recommend  "Bloxam^e 
Chemistry,'*  published  by  Churcldll.  The  price  is  not  so  high  as 
yon  say  yon  are  willing  to  go  to,  but  we  presume  that  will  be  no 
objection. 

A  9ub9criber  from  (h4  eofntneMemtnt  of  the  Ghkihcal  Nbwb.— 
The  sign  ^  in  mathematical  language  is  the  f^lgn  of  Infinity.  Consult 
the  article  "  Crystallography  "  in  Watt's  Dictionary. 

W.  R  .fitc*errf/Jfc«.— Received  with  thanks.  We  believe  a  native 
hydrated  ferric  oxide  is  now  used. 

jr.  if.  i>e(/t— We  are  sorry  we  cannot  accede  to  our  correspondenrs 
request.  The  Jonmal  b  noc  now  In  our  possession.  It  can,  however, 
be  obulned  through  a  foreign  bookseller. 

If.  Wi  Tapper.— yfiW  0'  the  Wisp  paper  Is  simply  gun-paper,  <.«, 
paper  rendered  explosive  Hke  gun-cotton.  The  flame  may  be  coloured 
by  aoakbig  it  in  nitrate  of  baryta,  strontia,  etc. 

W.K  <?<«.— Received  with  thanks. 

Wm.  Jokn9on  fiollas.—A  letter  addressed  to  Meters.  Bailey  and  Sons, 
Wolverhampton,  will  obtain  for  you  the  desired  information. 

Bwri  Ihi  Chfmin-OreuoD.—YonT  letter  has  been  forwarded. 

K  Bowler,  Philadelphia.— HYie  journal  shall  be  forwarded  If 
poBsible. 

J.  D.  Jf.— No  fuller  particulars  have  been  published  for  obtaining 
oxygen  from  bleaching  nowder  than  appeared  in  the  number  of  the 
CincMTOAL  N«ws  containing  the  announci-ment. 

EUora. — ^I'he  new  cement  yon  i-eft-r  to  is  not  oxy-chloride  of  man- 
canese,  but  oxy-chloride  of  m'agnesium.  It  was  described  by  H.  Sorel, 
Defr>re  the  French  Academy,  a  fi-w  months  ago. 

A..  B.  -4.— Nearly  all  specimens  of  fluor  spar  are  Tery  phosphores- 
<>ent.  The  native  carbonates  of  lime  are  so  in  a  less  degree.  M.  Hein- 
rich  has  published  some  verv  interesting  experiments  (m  this  snbject. 
lie  exposed  the  substances  for  abont  10  seconds  to  the  lljrht  of  a  clear 
day,  but  out  of  the  direct  rays  of  the  HUn  t<»  prevent  their  becoming 
heated ;  the  observer  was  for  30  or  40  minutes  previously  in  a  perfectly 
dariE  chamber.  The  diamond  and  nnor  spar  shine  for  above  an  hour, 
but  nothing  else  for  more  than  a  minote.    When  shining,  If  a  deep  cut 


be  made  In  the  substance,  it  will  be  Been  to  he  as  Ivmlnoiia  at  the  bottom 
as  at  the  surface. 

Chemicus  Jwiior.—Thej  will  bo  proo«eded  with. 

F,  J.  Hawker.— The  suggestion  shall  receive  attention.  We  in 
greatly  obliged  for  the  same. 

St.  Jfelens,— Chinese  blue  la  a  synonym  of  PraaaUn  bloei  8c« 
GuBuicAL  Nbws,  voL  XT.,  p.  310.    (£nff,  JBA.) 

An  Old  Snbseribsr.—Thej  were  discontinued  mainly  beeanse  to  de 
bare  Justice  to  the  subjects  would  have  nearly  filled  our  eotumns  eack 
week.    Bverythlngof  importance  will  still  be  ootieed. 

Mes9r9.  Oudkei\j3rothere.—Yfe  are  unable  to  give  our  eorreipondents 
the  address  required.  A  short  note  in  our  advertbiqg  culnwns  would 
doubtless  procure  it. 

W.  H.  H.  Haverford  Wed.—x.  Flateau^a  description  for  preparinf 
glyct^rine  soup  liquid  was  given  in  our  4th  vol.,  page  290.  {Fug.  Si.) 
2.  Dangerous  In  a  small  room.  3.  The  heat  evolved  in  the  C4)mbusttoa 
of  a  certain  weight  of  mixed  oxy -hydrogen  gases  Is  the  same  whstever 
the  rate  of  cttmbustion.  4.  If  our  correspondent  will  Ikveor  us  with 
a  call  we  will  see  If  an  arrangement  can  be  made. 

Enquirer. — The  report  has  been  long  out  of  print. 

TV^to.— -Uayesite  is  another  name  for  Boronatroealeite. 

S.  A.  r.— No  process  is  yet  known  for  the  quantitative  sepantieD  of 
the  two  metals. 

JH^UUer  (0.  J.  O.)— Bisulphide  of  Carbon  has  been  found  in  naor 
specimeas  of  Amerioan  Petroleum.  The  portion  distilling  below  80  d^s. 
G.  contains  nearly  all. 

Jamea  Pe^er«on.— Artificial  tttbographle  itonee  have  been  made  la 
France,  but  we  know  not  with  what  suoceaa.  Their  manufM^tnm  shooM 
not  present  any  insuperable  difficulty.  All  would  depend  on  the 
demand,  and  price  willing  to  be  paid.  Send  a  spechnen  of  what  yoa 
have  produced. 

Fi  Garland.— Ywi  will  probably  find  a  paste  made  of  starch,  gly- 
cerine, and  [daster  of  Baria,  answer  your  requirements.  It  will 
retain  ita  plasticity  and  adhesivene«i  longer  than  most  other 
cements. 

W.  O.  Lever.— Th^  impurity  has  got  into  your  test  solotloo  from 
the  glaas  buttle  in  which  it  has  been  kept..  This  ia  a  &r  more 
frequent  source  of  impurity  in  reagents  than  mnny  (^emiato  would 
imagine. 

Booke  Iiec6ived,—Tbe  PhUoaopkioal  Magamine  for  Octobsr.- 
ScUntifc  fUHew.-^Seoond  Keport  of  the  Quekett  Mlcroscoi^l  OoU" 
—Fourth  Report  of  the  BrlUsB  Association  of  Gas  Managers,  with  BnlfS, 
Regulations  and  List  of  Members.— The  Shipwrecked  Jfariner  for 
July.— iSWence  Gomijo,  for  October.— The  Calendar  of  the  Phannsr 
ceutlcal  Society  of  Qvaat  Britain  for  xSaT-^S.*"  Papvlar  SdeiM 
Becimc,  for  October.  "A  Lecture  on  the  Sewage  dlfficnlty,"  \ff 
Baldwin  Latham,  C.B.  **  An  Introduction  to  Pharmaceutical  Chemia> 
try,"  by  John  Attfield,  Ph.D.,  P.C.8.  Lrmdon :  Tan  Voorst  *-Tbs 
Ophthalraic  Review,"  by  J.  Zachaiiah  Lawrence.  London:  Hardwickc. 
*'  Squire's  Companion  to  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  1867-"  Fifth  Edldfla. 
London :  CburchiU.  "*  PracUcal  Uinta  to  the  Medical  Student,**  by  Wit 
lUoi  Allen  Miller.  M.I).  LL.D.  ''The  Nation'*  for  October  lo,  1867. 
"The  Chemical  Nkws,*'  American  Reprint,  VoL  x.  N<\  4,  for  October 
1 867.  "  Si  lliman's  American  Jonmal  of  Science  "  for  Sept.  1867.  **  The 
Standard"  for  October  21  and  22, 

Communications  have  been  received  from  Lord  SoekTllIe  Cedl; 
F.  Kimington;  E.  M.  Delf ;  Samuel  Highly;  Robert  Hogg;  Dr.  Saosom 
Onrlth  enclosure) ;  John  Newlunds ;  James  Brown  and  Son ;  H.  W.  Tapper; 
Clayton  and  Co.;  Dr.  R.  Oxland  (with  enclosure);  William  Baxter (vitb 
enclosure) ;  R.  Robertson  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  By  water  (with  endosare); 
J.  Hey  wood;  Samuel  Sharpe;  J.  Blackburn;  Dr.  O.  Lunge  (with  en- 
closure) ;  F.Yorsmann ;  Maxwell  Simpson,  F.R.&  (with  twoenclosurm); 


W.  Millar:  L.  Stokes  (with  enclosure) ;  D.  Forbes,  F.RA  (with en- 
closure); IS.  C.  0.  Stanford ;  H.  Dixon ;  W.  H.  Smith  (with  enelosare); 
L.  Power;  W.  E.  Gill  (with  enclosure);  J.  MacuUoc  (with  eoclosort); 
H,  Dixon  ;  Henry  Bower ;  Prof.  H.  How  (with  eneioanre) :  W.  Ingie- 
fleld;  W.  Godwin  (with  enclosure);  J.  Watson;  J.  D.  Muter; 
P.  Sharp  (with  enclneure);  S.  W.  Hlnde;  C.  G.  Willlamss  F.&&; 
F.  Cochrane;  Dr.  Odilng,  F.R.8  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  H.  Harrlsoa;  A. 
Smart  (with  enclosure) ;  J.  Salter ;  T.  Maguire  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  Till- 
son  ;  H.  Day  (with  enclosure):  0.  Schmidt ;  W.  J.  SuiEblk ;  it.  Moafltt; 
W.  Johnson  Sollas;  Dr.  Adrlani;  John  Herwood;  Alex.  Parkes;  J. 
Herschel:  John  Bray,  F.C.S. ;  E.  P.  SandbnxT  (with  encloeure) ;  H 
Corbett  (with  enclosure) ;  O.  F.  De  WInton ;  K.  Schenck  (with  en- 
closure); John  Spencer;  Macku:hlan  and  Stew^irt;  B.  W.  Glhsone;  T. 
A.  Read  win;  P.  Halt  (with  enclosure);  8,  Mcllor;  F.  J.  Hawker; 
Cocker,  Brothers;  Q.  Johnson  (with  enclosure);  T.  J.  Reeves  (withes- 
closure)  ;  R.  Jamieson  (with  enclosure) ;  Dr.  A.  Clans  (with  encJosnrfV, 
Rev.  C.  W.  Kelt;  R.  E.  Bibby;  C.  Umney  (with  enc!t«ur«) ;  a  F. 
Pcckham  (with  enclosure);  W.  H.  Hoftnan  (with  enolosurr);  I.  CL 
Dnrham;  W.  Graves  (with  enclosure);  R.  M.  Brown;  W.  Andrew 
(with  enclosure) ;  A.  B.  King  (with  enclosure) :  H.  Henson ;  —  Reniia^ 
ton  (with  I'nclosnre) ;  F.  0.  Jackson  (with  encloeare);  R.  Simpson:  A. 
Jones ;  M.  Wilson  Smythe  (with  encl(»sure)  :  W.  Bird ;  Samuel  HI^j 
(with  eneloBiirc) ;  J.  CMfL  C.  Nelson :  B.  \V.  Gibsone ;  W.  Bywater; 
J.  W.  Swindells ;  W.  Chapman ;  J,  Johnson ;  Profea^or  Gnstavns  nia* 
richs  (with  enclosure);  W.  Y.  Dent;  Miss  Becker  (with  endosnre); 
W.  A.  Townsend  and  Adams ;  J.  ^ceWy  (with  enclosure) ;  Professor  A. 
II.  Church  (with  endosure);  D.  Forbes,  F.R.S.  (with  enclosure):  Dr. 
W.  A.  Miller,  F.ft.8. ;  Henry  Seward ;  J.  D.  Munro ;  W.  Mackle ;  Wflliam 
Rogers  (with  enclosure) ;  A.  Frauds ;  W.  Hickman ;  J.  Jelley ;  K  Dela- 
field ;  W.  Thomas  (with  enclosvre) ;  Rev.  B.  W.  Gibsone ;  John  ParaeO 
(with  parcel) ;  Mr.  Thome;  R.  Campbell,  Jun.,  Canada;  ^Enquirer"; 
W.  Sugg;  C.  Mulllngbacb  (Hanover);  Arthur  Warner;  C.  a  Wiidit 
(with  enclosure) ;  H  Greenwood  (with  encloeure) ;  Alment  and  JobnsM 
(with  encknure);  W.  Preece  (with  emdosure);  Bailey  and  Son  (vttk 
•aclosure).  ^ 


[Bng.  Ed^y<d.ZVL,]lQ.4U,p««elUO;Vo.iX2,imfe333;  Va409,pB«Bl9a;9a410,pegel^    nra411,p«8»2l0:  Se.412,pece89a.] 


THE 


CHEMICAL    NEWS 


AND 


JOURNAL  OF  PHYSICAL  SCIENCE: 


(with  wmcE  m  xnooBPOiunD  tbb  '^ohxmioal  qazrti.**) 


%   lottrnai  of   |radkal  %mistrj 


IN  ALL  ITS  APFUOATIONS  TO 


PHARMACY,    ARTS,    AND    MANUFACTURES 


EDITED    BY 

WILLIAM  CKOOKES,  F.RS. 


AIJTHOBIZED  AMEBIOUUT  BSFBDTT,  YOUTMB  IL— JABUABT  TO  JtFLT,  1868. 


NEW  YORK : 
W.  A.  TOWNSEND  &  ADAMS,  PUBLISHEKS. 


MDCOCLXYin. 


VOLXTME  n.,   AMERICAN  REPRINT, 


BBING    PARTS   OF 


VOLUMES  XVI.,  XVn.,  VIZ.  NUMBERS  413-438, 


OF   THS   ENQUSH  EDITION. 


Thb  Nbw  York  Printing  Company, 
8z,  83,  and  85  Ctnirt  Strtttt 
N«w  York. 


PREFACE 


The  publishers  of  the  authorized  American  reprint  of  the  London  Chemical  News  submit  their  second 
semi-amiual  volume  to  the  pubUc  with  gratification,  and  desire  to  renew  their  indications  of  its  permanent 
interest  and  value.  This  volume  will  bear  witness,  in  common  with  its  predecessor,  to  the  high  place  occupied 
by  this  journal  in  the  region  of  pure  and  practical  science. 

In  these  earlier  stages  of  the  re-issue  in  America,  it  may  be  well  to  repeat  that  the  Chemioal  News  is 
not  a  journal  of  recent  origin.  In  connection  with  its  predecessor,  The  Chemical  Gazette,  it  has,  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years,  fully  and  faithfully  represented  the  progress  of  Chemistry  and  cognate  sciences  in 
England  and  throughout  the  world.  Its  present  position  has  been  attained  by  successive  improvements,  until 
it  now  numbers  among  its  contributors  nearly  every  chemist  of  note  in  Europe  and  America  In  its  columns 
some  of  the  most  important  chemical  and  physical  discoveries  have  for  the  first  time  been  made  known,  and 
investigators  frequently  make  use  of  its  pages  to  secure  priority  of  a  discovery,  by  the  bare  mention  of  facts 
and  results,  before  publishing  their  full  papers.  The  good  influence  of  this  journal,  in  the  progress  of  pure 
chemical  research  and  advancement,  has  been  felt  for  years.  It  is  now  everywhere  cited  as  the  great  repository 
of  chemical  knowledge,  discussion,  and  authority.  Its  editorial  staff  is  made  up  of  gentlemen  in  the  first  rank 
of  science.  Moreover,  as  the  Chemical  News  is  not  the  organ  of  any  institution,  cUque,  professional  or  trading 
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But  however  high  the  position  of  this  journal  as  a  treasury  of  all  that  is  firesh  and  valuable  in  chemistry, 
it  would  be  a  mistake  to  consider  the  Chemical  News  as  covering  that  department  of  science  alone.  It  is 
hardly  less  a  periodical  of  importance  to  the  medical  profession,  for  it  often  contains  papers  giving  the  methods 
and  results  of  the  thorough  application  of  chemistry  to  medicine.  These  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  present  the 
fiiiits  of  studious  observation  and  thought  in  a  manner  elsewhere  unattained.  Several  papers  in  the  current 
volume  may  stand  in  support  of  this,  as  ab^o  to  show  the  attention  given  by  its  editors  to  pubUc  sanitary 
questions. 

The  Chemioal  News,  again,  is  a  rich  medium  of  information  to  every  theoretical  and  practical  pharma- 
ceutist, druggist,  and  apothecary.  In  its  reports  of  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Society,  and  the  British  Pharma- 
ceutical Conference,  with  occasionfd  papers  upon  special  topics,  and  its  Chemical  Notices  fi-om  Foreign  Sources, 
it  constantly  supphes  matter  indispensable  to  every  well-trained  and  furnished  member  of  this  respected  and 
important  calUng.  It  affords  much  gratification  to  the  American  publishers  to  be  the  means  of  advancing  the 
character  and  qualifications  of  so  numerous  and  wide-spread  a  class  in  the  conununity. 

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Chemical  News  as  a  valued  auxiliary  and  guide  in  the  various  processes  by  which  their  goods  and  fabrics  have 
been  prepared  for  consumption  and  use,  and  the  number  of  such  persons  is  on  the  increase. 

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who  prepare  the  CThemioal  News.  New  processes  and  profitable  suggestions  in  this  connection  are  not  seldom 
brought  out  for  the  first  time  in  its  pages. 

In  its  analyses  of  metals,  its  record  of  the  developments  in  mining  throughout  the  world,  its  attention  to 
mineralogy,  its  discussions  of  mechanics  and  electricity,  it  is  believed  to  be  without  a  competing  rival 

To  fill  so  wide  a  range  of  application  is  apparently  dif&cult  of  accompUshment.  That  it  is  done,  and  in 
the  most  thorough  way,  no  regular  reader  of  the  Chemical  News  need  be  informed. 

The  general  features  of  this  journal  may  be  thus  summed  up  in  detail : 

1.  Leading  and  Editorial  articles  by  the  well-known  Editor,  Mr.  William  Crookes,  F.R.S.,  on  all  topics 
within  the  proper  scope  of  the  journal.  2.  Graphic  pictures  of  Foreign  Science,  by  its  Paris  Correspondent, 
the  Abb$  Moigno.  3.  Reports  of  the  learned  Societies — the  Chemical  of  London,  the  Eoyal.  the  Pharmaceuti- 
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Glasgow  Chemical  Society,  Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow,  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  etc.,  etc.  4.  Fresh, 
prompt^  and  impartial  Notices  of  Scientific  Books.    5.  Columns  for  Correspondence.    6.  Chemical  Notices  from 


Foreign  Sources,  giving  a  condensed  account  of  every  important  chemical  paper  in  the  world,  as  soon  as  it  is 
published.  7.  M&ellaneous  Paragraphs.  8.  Contemporary  Scientific  Press,  a  feature  introduced  at  the  sugges- 
tion and  request  of  many  leading  cneroists.  It  purports  to  give,  as  soon  as  possible  after  publication,  the  title 
of  every  chemical  paper  in  the  world.  9.  Lists  of  English  Patents.  10.  Notes  and  Queries.  11.  Brief  Answers 
to  Correspondents,  Lists  of  Communications,  Books  Received,  etc.,  etc. 

Desirous  of  increasing  the  value  of  the  Chemical  News  in  America,  and  widening  its  influence,  the  pub- 
lishers have  been  induced  to  add  a  new  feature  to  it  which  cannot  fail  to  ^ive  it  high  importance  in  a  commer- 
cial as  well  as  scientific  aspect.  They  therefore  propose  to  give  hereafter,  m  connection  with  the  reprint  of  the 
London  publication,  a  monthly  general  price-current  of  drugs,  paints,  and  oils.  The  title  of  the  publication 
hencefor^  will  therefore  be,  The  Chemical  News  and  Journal  of  Physical  Science,  and  American  Druooists* 
Price-Current. 

W.  A.  TOWNSEND  &  ADAMS. 
Junb  1,  1868. 


INDEX. 


AAsoKVtTO^r  of  etebofile  acid  gas  by 
liqnidft— Teriflcatlon  of  the  law 
of  Henry  aod  Dalton  for  It,  by 
M.  Khanlkofl;  14 

Academy  of  Sdancea,  88. 80. 40, 801, 
lao/liO,  18S,  188,  tt^  164,  MS, 
27«,277,«T8. 

Acetamlde,  ammonia  and  area, 
in  strongi/  alkaliae  solatloos, 
action  of  permanganate  of 
potash  on,  by  Messrs.  Wanklyn 
and  Gamgee,  49. 

Acetic  anhydride,  on  the  action  o^ 
upon  the  hvdrides  of  s&licyl, 
ethyl  salleyi,  ete^  by  W.  H. 
Perkln,41. 

Aceto-salicyl,  on  the  hydride  ol^  by 
W.  H.  PerklQ,  887. 

Acetylene,  144. 

Acid,  bensoic,  artificial  prodootion 
of,  fkvm  naphthalln,   by  Dr. 
Adolf  Ott,  60. 
carbolic  or  pbentc,  and  its  pro- 
perties, by  Dr.  F.  0.  OalTert, 

p.R.a,  etc,  eo. 

carbonic,  on  the  estimation  of^  In 
mineral  waterSi  by  Prot  Fre- 
senins,  101. 

cMonalylic,  S8. 

cyanaoetic,  8SL 

erucic,  derivatives  of,  47. 

fflyozylio,  on  the  oonstitation  of, 

*by  W.  H.Perkln,STa. 

hydrocyanic,  on  a  new  class  of 
bodies,  homologons  to,  by  A. 
W.  Hofouum,  LLD.,  F.B.8.,  78. 

meliloUc.  47. 

ozyethylendlsulphonic,  and  new 
formation  of  isethtonic  add,  87. 

phenyllc,  and  derivatires  of;  87. 

sucolnic.  formation  of  Arom  chlo- 
ride  or  ethylldene,  by  Maxwell 
Simpson,  M.D.,  F.R.&,  18. 

snccimc,  from  ethylidenlo  chlo- 
ride, 116. 

salphochiorbenaollc,  and  deriva- 
tives o^  87. 

uric,  note  on  the  action  of  per- 
oxide of  manganese  upon  it,  by 
C.  Gilbert  Wheeler,  8. 

valeric,  isomeric  forma  of;  by  Mr. 
A.  Pedler,  141. 
Acrolein,  888. 
Adulteration  of  white  precipitate, 

by  Mr.  Borland,  48. 
Agricnltaral Chemistry,  "Reports 
of  some  experiments  in,  at  the 
Boyal  Agrlcaltural  College," 
by  A  H.  Charch,  M.A..  80. 
Alcohols  and  aldehydes,  sobstltat- 
ed,80. 

synthesis  of.  888. 
Alaehyde  and  anhydrous  prossio 
acid,  on  a  eomponnd  formed 
by  the  direct  union  of,  by  Max- 
well Bimpeoo,  M.D.,  F.K.8., 
and  Aaaatler,M.D.,8. 

and  cyanhydric  add,  144 

methylic,  contributions  to  the 
hitttoiy  of,  by  A.  W.  Hofhoann, 
LL.D.,  F.kS.,  68,  88l 

monamlnes  derived  from,  ML 
Alloy^  and   their  uses,  by  Prof. 
Augustus  Matthlessen,  F.BJS^ 
270. 
Alumina  and  oxides  of  iron,  the 
pflort  taken  by  them  in  the  ab- 
sorptive action  of  soils,  by  Ro- 
bert Warington,  Jr.,  41. 
Amber.  lAl. 

Amides,  the  tetraphosphoric,  by 
Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone,  S7& 


Amtdo-adds   ftvm    cblordracylic 

and  chlorsalyllc  add,  19& 
Ammonia,  carbonate  of,  its  con- 
version Into  urea,  by  Prof.  H. 
Kolbe,  888. 

determination  of,  887,  888. 

evolved  by  alkaline  perman- 
ganates acting  on  organic  ni- 
trugei^ous  compounds,  by  J. 
A.  Wanklyn  and  £.  T.  Chap- 
man. 884 

solubility  of  amorphons  silica  in, 

urea  and  aoetamlde  in  strongly 
alkaline  solutions,  action  of 
permanganate  of  potash  upon 
them,  by  Messrs.  Wanklyn 
and  Gamgee,  48. 

Ammonium,  note  on  the  occur* 
renoe  of  solphocyanlde  ol  in 
gas  nuiins,  by  Peter  Hart,  £s<i., 
b6;  do.  by  U.  Letbeby,  51. 

Amyllc  alcohol,  oxidation  of;  884 

Amyl,  nitrite  of,  84 

Analysis,  elementary  organic,  on  a 
new  process  of,  founded  on  the 
analysis  of    the  gaseous  pro- 
ducts, by  M.  F.  Schulxe,  108. 
Gas,    by    Drs.    Graodeaa    and 

Troost,  87,  67. 
on  a  new  general  method  of  vo- 
lumetric, by  Wolcott  Gibbs, 
M.D.,888. 

Andrews,  Thomas,  M.D.,  F.R.8., 
on  the  identity  of  the  body  in 
the  atmosphere,  which  decom- 
poses iodide  of  potassium, 
with  osone,  110. 

Anfavdrous  prussic  add  and  alde- 
hyde, on  a  oomponnd  formed 
by  the  direct  union  oL  by 
Maxwell  SUnpeon,  ftLD.,  F.K. 
&,  and  A.  Gantler.  M.D.,  8. 

Aniline,  detection  of  in  presence 
of  toluodine,  101. 

Anisic  aldehyde,  reactions  of,  8tt. 

Answers  To  C-orreepondents,  60, 
100, 160,  804, 858,  806. 

Antiseptics,  140. 

"  A  Programme  of  Atomechanlcs, 
or  Chemistry  as  a  Mechanics 
ot  the  Panatoms.^  By  Gus- 
tavus  Hlnricha,  Prof,  etc.,  40. 

Arsenic,  absorption  of,  tnngstic 
and  arsenlous  adds,  from  so- 
lutien  by  charcoal,  848. 

Arsenlous  add,  845. 
prismatic,  on  the  occurrence  oi; 
by  F.  Claudet,  887. 

Artifldal  production  of  benaolc 
add,ftom  napbthalin,  by  Dr. 
Adolf  Ott,  60.       ^ 

Aspirator,  a  new,  by  J.  Landauer, 
881 

Atmosphere,  a  search    for  solid 
bodies  In.  by  R.  Aingus  Smith, 
Ph.  D.,  F.K.8.,  etc.,  -^SS. 
of  the  MetropoUtan  RaUway,  5. 

Attfleld,  Prof,  a  laboratory  ex- 
periment relating  to  magnetic 
hydrate  of  iron,  844 
on  the  analysis  of  the  water  of  a 
remarkable  medicinal  spring 
in  Jamaica,  880. 

Basks,  the  gray,  utilisation  of;  08. 

Beet  Root  Sugar,  104. 

Bell,  J.  Garter,  on  the  solubility 
and  crystallization  of  plumbic 
chloride  in  water,  and  in  water 
containing  various  proportions 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  874 


Benzoic  sold,  artificial  production 

of;   f^om  naphthalln,  by  Dr. 

Adolf  Ott,  60. 
Bensol,  oxidaUon  of,  848. 
Bensyllc  derlTatives,  new,  of  the 

salieyl  series,  by  W.  H.  Per- 

kin,  F.R.S.,  188. 
Bessemer  flame,  spectrum  of,  864 
''  Bible  and  Bdence,"  by  W.   A 

Miller,  M.D^  LUD^  OL 
BInney,  E.  W.,  F.R.8.,  F.G.a,  on  a 

dulerite  at  Gleaston,  in  Low 

rurnMS,284 
Blot,  Faraday  and  Savart,  on  some 

experime  ts  of,  by  John  Tyn- 

dall,  LL.D.,  r.R.8.,84 
Birt,  W.  R.,  F.R.A8.,  on  variable 

SDots  on  the  moon^s  surface, 

Blsmutlrand  water,  fi^eslng  ot  by 
Mr.  A.  Tribe,  88. 

Blood  stains  aod  dissolved  blood, 
on  the  use  of  the  spectroscope 
and  microspectrosoopo  <n  the 
discovery  o^  and  In  pathologi- 
cal Inquiries,  by  W.  Bird 
Herapath,  M  J).,  F.R.8.,  808. 

Blowpipe  cool  assay,  by  Bei^amln 
Sinlth  Lyman,  866. 
(he,  and  crystallography,  by  W. 
A.   Ross,  Captain,  &,  A.,  74, 
147, 167, 104 
vesicular  reactions,  108. 

Bodies,  on  a  new  class  of;  homolo- 

50US  to  hydrocyanic  acid,  by 
L  W.  Uofmann,  LL.D.,  F.Ri»., 
74 

**  Boiler  Deposits,*"  on  their  chemi- 
cal nature,  etc-  by  Dr.  T.  L. 
Phipson,  848. 

Boiling  water,  in  Lecture  XL,  on 
""Heat  and  Cold,""  at  Royal 
Institution,  by  J.  Tyndall, 
LL.D.,  F.is,  180. 

Books,  Notices  of,  48,  80,  145,  108, 
848,887.       ■'--»»    -^      -* 

Brass,  to  cement  it  on  glass,  04 

Brewster,  Shr  David,  obituary  no- 
tice, lU 
last  words,  896. 

Brown,  J.  A.,  r.R.S.,  note  upon  a 
method  of  varying  weights  by 
miaate  quantities,  8. 

Brombydric  acid,  action  of  on 
nitrites,  47. 

Bromides,  proparatlon  of,  800. 

Brown,  DrsL  Cram,  and  T.  R. 
b'raser,  on  the  relation  of  the 
chemical  constitution  and  phy- 
siological action  of  medicine. 

Browning,  John,  Esq.,  F.B.  A.8.,  on 
the  InHuence  of  aperture  in 
dUnlnishiog  the  intensity  of  the 
colour  of  surs,  114 

Brother^  A.,  F.lt.A.8.,  etc,  on  the 
colour  of  the  moon  during 
eclipses,  84 

Brush,  Geo.  J.,  observations  on 
the  native  hydretes  of  iron, 
with  analysis  of  tuiiglte,  by 
Charles  &  Rodman,  114. 

Bttrnard,C.  F.,  F.Cd.,  on  the  volu- 
metric estimation  of  phosphoric 
add,  168. 

0AI.CU1TA,  the  water  supply  of, 

Calvert.  Dr.  F.  C,  F.R.8n  etc.,  on 
carbolic  or  phenic  add  and  Its 
properties,  60. 

Camphor  storm  glass,  60^  61. 


Capillary  action  of  soOs,  by  Jola 
Wrightson,  F.as.,  80. 

Ourbo-bydrat^s,  action  of  wster  st 
hish  temperatures  on,  47. 

Carbolic  or  phenic  scld  sad  its 
properties,  by  Dr.  F.  C.  CU- 
vert,  F.R.S.,  etc.,  €0. 

Carbonates  In  water,  i^. 

Carbonic  add  gas,  rerificatlon  of 
the  hiw  of  Henry  and  Dsltos 
for  the  absorption  by  liquids  of 
It,  by  M.  KhanlkoS;  14 

Carbonic  add,  on  the  esiimatioQ  o( 
In  mineiml   watsrs,  by  PmL 
Fresenlus,  101. 
reduction  ot^  to  oxalic  add,  by 

Prof.  H.  Kdbc,  187. 
reduction  o^  to  oxalic  add,  by 
J.  Wischin  and  Th.  Wllm,  844 

Carbonic   anhydride,  inflnenee  of 
coloured  light  on  the  dscompo- 
sltinn  of;  by  plants,  144 
oxysolphide,  841. 

Casule  soap,  powdered,  notes  on,  by 
Joseph  P.  Remington,  Brook- 
lyn, kx.,  4 

Cattle  plague,  an  alleged  pmerrs* 
Uve  against,  848. 

Cement,  144 

Cerkim,884 
on  the  separation  ot,  from  dMy^ 
mlum  aod  lanthanum,  by  IL  M. 
Pattison,   Anderaonisu,  Glas- 
gow, and  John  Clsiks,  RlD., 

Chalmers,  J.,  and  R.  R.  Tstloek,  F. 
C.S.,  on  the  esthnstba  of  pot- 
ash, 884. 
Champagne  fTOm  petroleum,  894 
Chance,  U.,M.A^  Mr.,  oatheBSBO- 

Cacturo  of  glass,  886. 
Chapman,  E.  T.,  note  on  Dr.  Ftank* 
land's  process  of  water  ssslyns, 
886. 
note  on  the  estlm&tloo  of  dtiio 

add  In  iiotable  waters,  tM. 
and  J.  A.  Wanklyn,  onths  sctioa 
of  oxidising  agents  oo  orgaais 
compounds  In  presesee  of  ex- 
cess of  alkali     PartL,8Mi 
and  Miles  M.  8mith  on  thssottou 
of  zinc  ethyl  on  nitrons  snd 
nitric  ethers,  888. 
Charcoal,  applied  to  sever  vaotlap 
tors,8&u. 
on  the  absorption  of  vspoon  by, 
by  John  Hunter.  MA.,  S8T. 
Chellfers,  by  &  J.  Mclntire;  4A. 
Chemical  constitution  sndpliyite- 
l<^cal  action  of  medicine,  the 
relation    of,    by   Drs.  Gcva 
Brown  and  T.  K.  Fraser,S>9. 
nomenclature,   808:    on  some 
pohits  In,  by  A.V.  Usn3oart,Si 
geology,  by  D.  Forbes,  FJL4, 

188,806. 
*"  Notes  for  the  Lecture^wa- 
on  lie^'  by  J.  Wood,  fhJX, 
F.CSV.,  887. 
notices  from  Foreign  SourosB, 

47,87,144,101,841,881. 
reactions  in  the  rossting  of  py- 
rites, by  J.  U.  Tiemann,  Jr.SSl 
researches  on  the  manofactare  of 
glass  for  veaseta  eoaplsrsd  hi, 
by  Prof  J.  &  8tas,  lUi. 
Society,  41,  48,  8l7d8,  141, 198, 
187, 18^  886,  ^871,872,874 
election  of  Fellows  at,  41, 

44  81,  01. 
recent  diBcosdoa  sl^  186. 
soir6e  oi;  847. 


OnanoAL  Nbwi,  ) 


Chcnktrr,  «griealtiirft],  •*  Reports 
of  MOM  ejcpeiimeati  in,  at  the 
S«7tl  AfHraitttral  CoUege," 
bj  A.  HTOkorch,  M  A^  89. 

*  laornnic,  a  numnal  o^"  bv  OL 
W.  EBot  Mid  F.  U.  8toi«r,  19S. 

In  Fnnee,  enoonntgementof,  54. 

"^  Modern,  FlntPrlnclpleaot  A 
Haniul  of  Inorgame  Chemta- 
tcf  for StadentB,  and foruMin 
Bdenoe  GlaaMfl,"  by  U.  J.  Kay 
Shttttleirorfeh,  146. 

**  PiindplM  o^  founded  on  Mod- 
em Tkooriee,*'  by  M.  Neqael^ 

Chlonuill,  Part  L,  by  Dr.  StenhouM, 

GUorfardrate  of  cyanhydrfo  acid, 

Chloride  of  rilrer,  action  of  light 
on.  by  M.  Morren,  68. 

Chloride,  nlphnroos,  derivatlTee 
of,  145. 

ChknMyUc  add,  88. 

Chrondiun,  enlphocyanide  of,  9T. 

Ghromliim,  dnc,  tin.  mercuryi 
molybdenum,  plaUnnm,  gold, 
Iron,  and  tungsten,  on  the  for- 
rnattun  of  a  series  of  doable 
solphocyanldes  of  certain  uf 
the  alkaloids  with  them,  by 
William  Skey,  826,  2«2. 

Onrch,  Prof.  A.  H.,  on  Oorowal- 
Itte,  in  **  Beeearohes  on  New 
and  Bare  Cornish  Minerals,*' 
974. 
on  **  Report  of  some  experi- 
ments In  Agricaltural  Chemis- 
try,'' at  Koyal  Agricultural 
College,  89. 

Clark,  Thomas,  obituary  notice  of; 
Mb 

Clarke,  John,  Fh.  D.,  and  M  M. 
Pattison,  Andersonlan,  on  the 
separation  of  eerlam  fhmi  dl- 
dymium  and  lanthanum,  S7. 

Clandet,?.,  on  the  occurrence  of 
prismatic  araenioos  add,  287. 

Clay,  ooagulatlon  and  precipitation 
oi;  by  neutral  salts  generally, 
by  William  Skey,  854. 

C9agnlation  and  precipitation  of 
clay  by  neutral  salts  generally, 
by  William  8key,  861 

Coal,  on  some  sourceH  uf,  in  the 
iilastem  hemisphere,  199. 
gas  as  a  poaslble  source  of  con- 
taminating substaucos  to  be 
tested  for  ammonia,  86(B. 
gas,  on  the  estimation  of  sulphur 
in,  by  Wm.  Valentin,  JBaq., 
165. 

Cobaltic  Mlphide,  47. 

Cod-flsheriea,  the  Norwegian,  by 
Mr.  Uowden,  81 

Cellece  of  Chemistry,  800. 

Colloid  slliea,  on  organic  appear- 
anoes  in,  obtained  by  dialysis, 
867. 

Colour  of  stars,  on  the  influence  of 
aperture  In  diminishing  the  in- 
tensity of,  by  J.  Browning, 
F.S.A.8.,  118. 

Coloured  light.  Influence  of,  on  the 
decompoeltion  of  carbonic  an- 
hydride  by  plant*,  141 

Colooilag  matter  of  saflhrn,  88. 

Compounds,  mono-carbon,  by  Dr. 
Odliog,  F.K.8.,  61. 

Contemporary  Bdentiflc  Fk«aa  66, 
9^  168,  200,  294. 

Contraction  un  solidification,  246. 

Contributions  to  our  knowledge  of 
thalttum,  by  PniC  i>r.  J.  W. 
Gunning,  819. 

Copper  and  nickel,  on  the  predpl- 
(atloQ  uf;  by  alkaline  carbon- 
ates, by  Woloott  Oibbe,  M.D^ 

determination  of;  48. 

on  the  predpltutlon  o^  1^  hvpo- 

pbospnoroas  add,  by  Wolcott 

Oibbe,  M.D.,  861 
ComwalUta,   deseribed  by  A.  H. 

Church,   in    '*  Researches   on 

Kew  and  Bare  Ooralsb  Min- 

eralSb"  871 


Index. 


Correspoi 
84S,S 


>ndence,  60,  91,  146,  194, 


Cotton  flbre,  on  some  eonstltaents 
ot;  by  E.8chunck,  Ph.D.,  F.B.8. 
888. 

Conmarine,  on  the  artificial  pro- 
duction of;  and  formation  of  its 
homologues,  by  W.  H.  Perkin, 
88. 

Counterfeit  creosote,  96 . 

Country  welh,  198. 

Cryolite  and  its  products,  by  Evan 
T.  Ellis,  869. 

OrystalUsatlonB  produced  by  means 
of  the  blowpipe,  97, 146. 

Crystallognmhy  and  the  blowpipe ; 
law  of  norizontal  crystallisa- 
tion, 196. 
by  W.  A.  Boss,  Captain,  B.A., 
74, 147, 157. 

Crystals  containing  fluid,  some  re- 
marks on,  by  J.  B.  Dancer, 

F.B.A.8.7»1. 
Microscopic,  preparation  of,  by 
f[.  B.  Waddlngton,  46. 

Cubic  foot  of  any  mini'ra]  ore, 
metal,  earth,  or  any  other  sub- 
stance, either  native  or  artifi- 
cial, table  for  aBcertaining  the 
weight  of;  fk-om  its  spedflc 
gravity,  by  Dr.  Lewis  Fencht- 
wanger,  i67. 

Cyanacetlc  add,  88. 

Cymol  f^om  camphor,  146. 


Dalton  and  Henrr,  Yertflcatlon  of 
thdr  law  f«>r  the  absorption  by 
liquids  of  carbonic  add  gas,  by 
M.  Khanlkoff,  11 

Daubeny,  Dr.,  obituary  notice  of, 
94. 

Dancer,  J.  B.,  on  Jupiter  as  ob- 
served at  Ardwlck,  on  the  night 
of  Aug.  81, 1867, 85. 
on  the  nUcrosoopic  examination 
of  solid  particles  from  the  air 
of  Manchester,  888. 
some  remarks  on  crystals  con- 
Uininff  fluid,  281. 

Debray,  M  H.,  on  a  now  precipi- 
tant for  potash,  260. 

Dendrites,  on  the  t'ormation  of,  by 
Dr  Emerson  Beynolds,  888. 

Desiccated  egg,  96. 

DichlonBulpbobensid,  SU. 

Dhlymium  and  lanthanum,  on 
the  separation  of  cerium  fh>m, 
by  M.  M.  Paulson,  Anderso- 
nian,  01asgow,and  John  Clarke 
Ph.13.,  87. 

Dtethylated  tofatol,  synthesis  of; 
144. 

Difltasion,  80a 

Distillation,  881 

Dolerite  at  Gleaston,  in  Low  Fur- 
neaa,  by  K  W.  Binney, 
F.RA,F.Q.8.,280. 

DabUu  Chemical  and  Phlloeophl- 
cal  Club,  66. 

Dydng  Trade,  salt  as  an  adulter- 
ant in,  62. 

EoLTPsn,  note  on  the  ooloar  of  the 
moon  during,  by  A.  Brothers, 
F.B.A.8.,  etc.  81 
the  late  lunar,  14& 

Edinburgh,  Boyal  Society  of;  899. 

Education,  science  as  a  part  of,  95. 

Edwards  9.  Norria,  in  Cbanoery, 
96. 

Eggerta,  V.,  on  the  determination 
of  dlicon  in  iron  and  steel, 
160,811. 

Electrical  resistances,  841 

Electrolysis,  experiments  In,  58. 

Elementary  organic  analysis,  on  a 
new  process  ol^  founded  on 
the  analysis  of  the  caseous 
product^by  H.  F.  Schulze,  HA. 

EUot,  C.  W.,  and  F.  H.  8torer, 
**  A  Manual  uf  Inorganic  Che- 
mistry,'* 198. 

Ellis,  Evan  T.,  on  cryolite  and  Its 
products.  859. 

English  mannfactores,  the  decline 
of;  98. 

Erudc  add,  derivattyes  of;  47. 


Ethers,  nltrona  and  nitric,  by 
Me«rs.  Chapman  and  8mith, 
41. 

Ethylene,  action  of,  on  sulphuric 
oxyehloride,  191. 

Ethylidene,  chloride  of,  on  the  for- 
mation of  suodnic  adds  from, 
by  Maxwell  Simpson,  M.D., 
F.R.8.,  18. 

Examination  of  water  for  organic 
matter,  by  Dr.  B.  -  ^gus 
Smith,  F.R.8.,  181 

Exhibition,  The  Paris,  of  1367, 89. 

Experiments,  Lecture,  91,  92. 

Explodun,  singular,  98. 

Explosive  powder  for  blasting 
rocks,  I«L 

FAima  in  Eastern  Praasta,  198. 
Faraday,  198. 
as  a  aiscoverer,  91 
Blot  and  Savart,  on  some  exper- 
iments  ot,  by  John    fyndall, 
Esq.,  LL.D.,  P.R.S.,  81 
Feiridcyanlde  of  potassium,  and 
sesquisulphate  of  iron  as  a  test, 
by  Edwin  Smith,  M.A.,  1. 
Ferrocyanides,  yolumetrlo  deter- 
mination of,  47. 
Feuehtwanger,  Dr.  Lewis:  table 
for  ascertaining  the  weight  of 
a  cubic  foot  of  any  mineral  ore, 
metaU  earth,  or  any  other  sub- 
stance, either  natiye  or  artifi- 
dai,  fk>om  its  specific  gravity, 
867. 
Floating  soap  bubbles  in  earbonle 

add,  98. 
Flour,  adulterated,  the  detection 

ot,289. 
Fluorine  compounds,  on  the  chem- 
ical ooDstitntion  of,  and  on  the 
isohuion  of  fluorine,  by  M. 
Prat,  id 
Food,  Dr.  Letheby  on.  Lectures  I., 

II.,  181 
Fo'-bes,  D.,  F.R.S..  on  chemical 
geology,  188,  206. 
chemical  geology,  by  T.  Sterry 

Flunt,F.R.8.,lOT. 
on  some  nolnts  in  chemical  geol- 
ogy, 1 10. 
on  the  compodtlon  and  metal- 
lurgy of  some  Norwegian  iron 
-  ores,  81 

OB  the  mieroseope  In  geology, 
160. 
Forcea,  identity  of  physical  with 

so-called  viUl,  61 

Foreign  Science,  by  Abb4  Molgno, 

80,  83,  88,  80, 186, 187, 188,  ISl, 

188,  889,  880, 868,  269, 870, 871. 

Fonnul.'V!,  Graphic,   by  Professor 

Guthrie,  876. 
Franhland,  Dr.,  on  water  analysis, 
141. 
note  on  hie     recess   of  water 
analysis,  by  E.  T.  Chapman, 


Fraser,  Drs.  T.  B.  and  Cram 
Brown,  on  the  relation  of  the 
chemical  constitution  and  the 
physiological  action  of  luodi- 
dne,  888. 

Frescoes  in  Westminster  Palace, 
61 

Freaenioa,  Prof.,  on  the  estimation 
of  cart>onic  add  In  mineral 
waters,  101. 

Friction  and  combustion,  in  Lec- 
ture I.  on  "  Heat  and  Cold," 
by  J.  Tyndall,  LL.D.,  at  Boyal 
InstltQdim,  116. 

Friction  hn  vacuo,  147. 

Frozen  potatoes,  Dr.  A.  Ott  on  the 
sweet  prindple  of,  961. 


Galuo  acid,  conrerslon  Into  tan- 
nin, 141 

Gas  analysia,  by  Drs.  Grandean 
and  Troost,  87,  67. 
by  Dr.  W.  J.  Busseli,  187. 

Gas,  supplied  to  the  City  of  Lon- 
don, quality  of;  160. 

Gasca,  vdcanlcj  47. 

Gasi'oas  impurities  In  oil  of  vitriol, 
note  on  the  detection  oi;  by 
Bobert  Warington,  161 


Gas  mains,  note  on  the  occurrence 
of  sulphocyaoide  of  ammonium 
In,  by  Peter  Hart,  Eeq.,  86u 
do.  by  H.  Letheby,  51. 
GauUer,  A.,  M.D.,  and  MaxweU 
Simpson,  M.D.,  F.R.S.,  on  a 
compound  formed  by  the  di- 
rect   union  of  aldehyde  and 
anhydrous  prussic  add,  8. 
Geology,  chemical  by  D.  Forbes, 
f!b.&,  188,  806. 
the    chemical,   of    Mr.    David 
Forbes,  by  T.    Sterry  Hunt, 
F.B.8.,  107. 
diemical,  some  points  in,  by  D. 

Forbes,  F.R.  S.,  etc.,  110. 
the  microscope  in,  by  D.  Forbes, 
F.E.8.,  160. 
GenUng,  Dr.  Th.,  "  Geschichte  der 

Chemie,"  48. 
"  Geschichte  der  Chemie.'*    Bear- 
bdtet   von  Dr.  Th.    Gerding. 
Leiprig,  1867,  48. 
Gibbs,  Wolcott,  M.  D.,  on  anew 
general  method  of  volumetric 
analysis,  226. 
on  the  estimation  of  manganese  aa 

pyrophosphate,  267. 
on  the  precipitation  of  copper  and 
nickel  by  alkaline  carbonates, 
258. 
on  the  precipitation  of  copper  by 
hypophoflphorous  acid,  251 
Gilbert,  J.  U.  Ph.  D.,  F.BS ,  and 
J.  &  Lawes,  F.  B.  8.  etc.,  on 
results  of  the   composition  of 
wheat  grown  for  twt-nty  years 
In  succession  on  the  same  land, 
11 
Glaciers,  Ice,  and  8now,hi  Lecture 
III.,  on  "  Heat  and  Cold,"  at 
Koyal  Institution,  by  J.  Tyn- 
dall, LL.D.,  F.R.8.,  126. 
Gladstone,  Dr.  J.  H.  on  the  tetra- 

phosphoric  amides,  275. 
Glasgow  Chemical  Society  240. 
Glasgow,  Dinner  of  the  Scientific 
and  Manufacturing  Chemists  of, 
95. 
Glass,  on  the  manufacture  of  by 
Mr.  H.  Chance,  M.A..  288. 
on  the  manufaicture  of,  for  vessi^ls 
employed     in     chemical    re- 
searchea,  by  Prof  J.  8. 8taB,101. 
to  cement  brass  on,  96. 
Glycerin,  198. 

impurities  In,  191 
Glycogen,  144. 
Glyoxvlic  add,  on  the  constitution 

of,  by  W.  H.  Perkin.  272. 
Glyoxalic  amide,  by  Dr.  OdUng,  278. 
Gold,  zinc,  tin,  mercury,  mol>-t>- 
denum,  platinum,  irou,  tungs- 
ten, and  chromium;    on    the 
forauition  of  a  series  of  double 
sulphocyanides   of  certain  of 
the   alkaloids  with  them,  by 
WilUnm  Skcv,  825, 862. 
Grandean  and  Tniosl,  Drs.,  on  gas 

analysis,  27,  67. 
Graphic   Formuln,   by   Professor 

Guthrie,  275l 
Graphic  Formulae,  892. 
Groves,  T.  B.,  F.C.8.,  on  preserva- 
tion of  the  syrup  of  iodide  of 
iron,  186. 
Gun-cotton  transport,  866L 
Gunnery,  school  of,  lectures  at,  800. 
Gunning,  Prof.  Dr.  J.  W.,  contri- 
butions to  our  knowledge  of 
tbalUum,  819. 
on  the  detection  of  methylated 
spirits  by  chemical  reactions, 
868. 
Guthrie,    Professor,    on    graphic 
formula),  275. 
on  an  improved  voitastat,  876. 


F.B.8.,    on    the 
of      medicinal 


Hahbitbt,  D., 
cnltiyation 
planta,  889. 

Hareourt,  A.  Y.,  on  some  points 
in  chemical  nomenclature,  28. 

Hargreaves.  J.  on  th  manuf^tcture 
of  steel  ftrom  east  iron  by  the 
use  of  nitrates  and  other  oxi- 
dising saltd,  106. 


VI 


IndesS. 


Hart,  Peter,  E9q.,on  the  occarrencc 
of  sulphocy.  nide  of  ammon- 
ium in  ^as  mains,  85. 

Healthiness,  is  it  d^-pendent  on 
strata?  147. 

Heat  and  Gold,  Lectors  I.,  at  the 
Koyal  lustttutinn,  by  John 
Tyndall,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  F.R.8., 
—on  the  nature  of  heat  and 
varioas  modes  of  frenerotlng 
It.  Friction  and  combu»tion.  — 
Changes  of  volume  produced 
by  heat,  116. 
Lecture  II.,  change  of  volume 
continned.— The  force  of  heat. 
— IIuw  to  measure  heat-Boll- 
Ing  water,  120. 
Lecture  I II.,  Wind  and  Breezes. 
— loe,  Snow, and  Glaciers,  liS5. 
Lecture  IV.,  the  Geysers  of  Ice- 
land continued. — The  mechan- 
ical equivalent  of  heat.— Ck>n> 
cumption  of  heat. — Proimga- 
tlon  of  heat,  180,  178.  * 
Lecture  V.,  Radiant  Heat— Re- 
flection and  absorption  of  ra- 
oiant  heat,  176. 
Lecture  VI.,  Bellectlon,  Refrac- 
tion and  Abso  ption  uf  radiant 
heat— The  heat  of  the  sun.— 
Visible  and  invisible  ravs.-£z- 
traction  of  li«ht  from  toe  rays 
of  heat  179,228. 

Henrv  and  Dalton,  verification  of 
tneir  law  for  the  absorption  by 
liquids  of  •  arbonic  acid  gas,  by 
M.  Khaulkoff,  14. 

Herapath,  W.  Bird,  M.D.,  F.R.8., 
on  the  use  of  the  spectroscope 
and  mioroepectroscope  in  ine 
dtBCOvery  of  blood  stains  and 
dissolved  blood,  and  la  patho- 
logical Inquiries,  208. 

Herapath.  W.,  8en.,  obituary  notice 
of,  199. 

Hinrlcha,  GusUvua,  Prof.,  etc  "A 
programme  of  afeomecnanlos,  or 
chemistry  as  a  mechanics  of 
the  panatoms,  49. 

Hoftnann,  A.  W ,  LL.D.,  F.B.8., 
contributions  to  the  iitstory  of 
methylic  aldehyde,  GS,  62. 
on  a  new  class  of  bodies  homolo- 
gous to  hydrocyanic  acid,  76. 

Holland,  Philip,  on  the  estiuiation 
of  nitrites  in  waters.  218. 

Holy  Well,  analysis  uf  the  water  of 
the,  a  mediciBal  spring  at 
Humphrey  Head,  North  l/Mk- 
cashh-e.  by  T.  K  Thorpe,  42. 

Howden,  Mr.,  on  the  Norwegian 
cod-flsheries,  84. 

Hunt,  T.  Sterry,  F.B.8.,  on  th6 
chemical  geology  of  Mr.  David 
Forbes,  107. 

Hunter,  John,  M.A.,  on  the  absorp- 
tion of  vapours  by  charcoal,287. 

Hydride  of  aci'to-sallcyl,  by  W.  H, 
Perkin,287. 

Hydrocarl>ons,  conversion  of^  into 
ketons.  191. 

Hydrocyanic  acid,  on  a  new  class  of 
bodies  homologous  to,  by  A. 
W,  Hofraann,LL.D.,  F.R.8.,  76. 

Hydrous,  not  hydrated,  149. 

Ice,  Snow  and.  Glaciers,  in  Lecture 
III.  on  •*  Heat  and  Culd'  at 
Boyal  Institution,  by  J.  Tyn- 
dall, LI^D.,  F.K.b.,  125. 

Iceland,  Geysers  of,  continued,  in 
Lecture  IV.,  on  "Heat  and 
Cold,*'  at  Royal  Institution,  by 
J.  Tyndall,  LL.D.,  F.R.a,  180. 

Ideas,  development  of,  in  natural 
philosophy,  by  Justus  von 
Liebig,  18. 

Identity  of  physical  with  so-called 
vital  forces,  64. 

niumlnating  oil,  and  naphtha, 
from  heavy  California  tar,  by 
Prof.  B.  Silllman,  257. 

Improved  Spectroscope,  199. 

Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  The, 
46. 

Iodide  of  iron,  Byrup  of,  on  its 
preservation,  by  T.  B.  Groves, 
r.C.S.,  186. 


Iodides  of  orsanic  baaes  191. 
lodhydric  add,  144 
Iodine  and  carbolic  acid,  96. 
Iron  and  steel,  on  the  determina- 
tion of  silicon  in,  by  V.  Eg- 
gertz,  169,  211. 

hypophosnhlte  of,  on  the  syrup 
of,>>yC.H.  Wood,  240. 

magnetic  hydrate  ot  a  laboratory 
experiment  relating  to,  by 
Prof.  Attfleid,  240. 

new  volumetric  asaay  of,  147. 

observations  on  the  native  hv- 
drates  o^  by  Geo.  J.  Brush, 
with  anal r sis  of  tnrgite,  by 
Charles  8.  'Rodman,  114. 

ores,  Norwegian,  on  the  compo- 
sition and  metallurgy  of  some, 
by  David  Forbes,  F  .R.8.  etc 
24. 

oxide  of  and  alumina,  part  taken 
by  in  the  absorptive  action  of 
soils,  by  Robert  Waiington, 
Jr ,  41. 

sesqnichloride  of,  vohitility  ot,  50. 

sesqnLiulphate  of,  and  ferridcya- 
nide  of  potassium  as  a  test,  by 
Edwin  Smith,  M.A.,  1. 

volumetric  determination  of.  148. 

line,  tin,  mercury,  molybdenum, 
platinum,  gold,  tungsten  and 
chromium,  on  the  formation  of  a 
series  of  double  sulphocyanides 
of  certain  of  the  alkaloids  with 
Uiem,  by  William  Skey,  225, 
262. 
Isethionic  acid,  new  formation  of, 
and  oJ^ethylendisulphonio 
acid,  87. 
Isomeric  compounds  derived  fh>m 

benaoic  add,  241. 
Isomerism    of  the  hydrocarbons, 

286. 
Iso^qrlol,  prelindnary  notice  of,  145. 

Jamaica,  on  the  analysis  of  the 
water  of  a  remarkable  medi- 
cinal spring  in,  by  ProC  Att- 
fleid, m. 

Jelf,  Dr.,  testimonial  to,  199. 

Jones,  Dr.  H.  Bence,  on  solnbOity 
of  xanthin,  274 

Joule,  Dr.  J.  P.,  F.R.8.,  etc,  on  a 
thermometer  unaffected  by 
radiation,  85. 

Jupiter,  as  observed  at  Ardwlck,  on 
the  night  of  Aug.  21, 1867,  by 
J.  B.  Daneer,F.R.S.,  85. 

Khaivikoft,  M.,  on  the  verification 
of  the  law  of  Henry  and  Dai- 
ton  for  the  absorption  by  11  • 
quids  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  14. 

Kolbe,  Prof.  H.,  on  the  conversion 
of  carbonate  of  ammonia  into 
urea,  288. 
on  the  reduction  of  carbonic  add 
to  oxalic  add,  137. 

Lakdaubb,  J.,  on  a  new  aspirator, 
824 

Lanthanum,  and  didymium,  on  the 
separation  of  cerium  fhom,  by 
M.  M.  Pattison,  Andersonian, 
Glasgow,  and  John  Clarke,  Ph. 
D.,  27. 

Lawes,  J.  B.,  F.R.S  .  etc,  and  J. 
H.  Gilbert,  Ph.  D.,  F.R.S.,  on 
results  of  the  composition  of 
wheat  grown  for  twenty  years 
In  sacceasion  on  the  same  land, 
14 

Lead  floating  on  molten  iron,  152. 
on  the  estimation  of  by  precipi- 
tation in  a  metallic  state,  by 
M.  F.  8tolb^  109. 

Lecture  experiments,  91,  98,  247. 

Lecture  experiments,  notes  on,  116. 

Letheby,  Dr.,  on  "Food"— Lec- 
tures L,  II.,  184 

Liebig's  extract  of  meat,  149. 

Liebig,  Justus  von,  on  tho  devel- 
opment of  ideas  in  natural  phi- 
los<»phy,  la 

Lifl^t  action  oC,  on  chloride  of  sli- 
ver, by  M.  Morren,  68. 
extraction  of,  from  rays  of  heat, 

^  in  Lecture  VL,  on  **Heat  and 


Cold  "  by  J.  TyndaU,  LL.D., 
F.R.8.,  179,  228. 
velocity  of,  150. 

Lime  light,  the  use  o^  In  barracks, 
248. 

Lyman,  Beidamin  Smith,  on  Blow- 
pipe coal  assay,  256. 

Maosktic  Carbide  Filters,  65. 

Manchester  Literary  and  Philo- 
sophical Society.  85,  84,  85, 148 
184,  281,  280,  m 

Manchester,  microscopic  examina- 
tion of  solid  particles,  from  the 
air  of,  by  J.  B.  Dancer,  F.R. 
A.8.,  288. 

Manganese,  new  compounds  ot  88. 

on  the  estimation  of,  as  pyrophos- 

nhate,  by  Wolcott  Oibbs,  M. 

peroxide  of^  note  on  its  action 
upon  uric  acid,  by  0.  Gilbert 
Wheeler,  8. 

Mann,  George  U.,  on  the  determi- 
nation of  tartaric  acid,  814. 

Matthlessen,  Professor  Augustus, 
on  alloys  and  their  uses,  279. 

Manufactures,  English,  the  decline 
of.  98. 

McInUre,  S.  J.  on  chelifera,  40. 

Meat,  preservation  of,  238. 
Prof.  Gamgee*s  method  of  pre- 
serving, )i50. 

Medicine,  relation  of  the  chemleal 
constitution  and  physiological 
action  of,  by  Drs.  Crum  Brown 
and  T.  R.  Fraser,  289. 

Medidnal  plants,  on  the  cultiva- 
tion of,  by  D.  Haabury,  F.R.8., 
289. 
spring,  in  Jamaica,  on  the  analy- 
sis of  the  water  of  a  remark- 
able, by  Prof.  Attfldd,  889. 

MeUlotIo  acid,  47. 

Mdting  metal  in  a  handkerchief, 
847. 

Mercury,  tin,  line,  molybdenum, 
platinum,  gold,  Iron,  tungsten 
and  chromium,  on  the  forma- 
tion of  a  series  of  double  sulpho- 
cyanides of  certain  of  the  alk- 
aloids with  them,  by  WiUiam 
Skey,  825.  862. 

Medtylene,  derivatives  of,  contain- 
ing  sulphur,  248. 

Method  of  volumetric  anal: 
new  general,  by  Wolcott  Gib1 
M.D.,  226. 

Methyl,  addition  of  the  Iodide  ot  to 
vegetable  alkaloids,  889. 

Metbvlated  spirits,  on  the  deteo- 
tion  of,  by  chemical  reactions, 
by  Dr.  J.  W.  Gunning,  868. 
on  the  use  of.  In  pharmacy,  885l 

Methylic  aldehyde,  contributions 
to  the  history  ot  by  A.  W. 
Ilofmann,  LL.D.,  F.RJB.,  68,  88. 

Metroi>oUtan  Railway,  the  atmos- 
phere of,  6. 

Metropoliten  waters,  composition 
and  quality  of  in  Octuber,1867, 
54 
avcrace  composition  and  qnalttj 
ot  during  year  1867, 149. 

M^Gaulev,  the  late  Professor,  me- 
morial to,  98. 

Mlcr«>ftcopo,  the.  In  geology,  by  D, 
Forbes,  F.B.8, 160. 

Microscopic  crystallography,  96. 

Adicro-sublimations,  byli.  8.  Wad- 
dington,  1S& 

Bfllk,  value  of  as  an  artlde  of  ibod, 
150. 

Miller, W.  A.,  M.D.,  LL.D., '^  Bible 
and  Science,*"  91. 
on  the  ventilation  of  sewers,  814 

Mimetesit,   artificial   preparation 

Mineral  waters,  on  tho  estimation 
of  carlwnic  acid  in,  by  Prof.  fVe- 
senius,  101. 
Mines,  Roval  School  ot  196,  197, 

844  888,  890,  89L 
Miscellaneous,  58,  92, 149, 198,  247 

Mock  Scotch  soda  crysUls,  200. 
Model  scientific  writer,  a,  298. 
Modern  physical  science,  848. 


Moigno,  the  Abb6,Fnrdgn  Science, 
80,  88.  88,  80, 186, 187, 18S.181, 
1S2,  229.  880,  866, 869, 270,271. 
Reports  of  Academy  of  Sdeneeft, 
88,  89, 4A.  85, 189, 140.181, 188, 
888,  834  885,  276,  VH. 

Molten   metals,  transparent^  o( 

Molybdenum,  mereniy,  tin,  doe, 
platinum,  gold.  Iron,  tuogstsD, 
and  chranunm,  on  the  forms- 
tion  of  a  series  of  doobU 
sulphocyanides  of  certaia  of 
the  alkaloids  with  them,  br 
William  Skey,  885, 269. 
new  test  for,  9T. 

Monamines  derived  tnm  alde- 
hydes, 144 

Mond,  M.  lAidwig  on  the  reoorerj 
of  sulphur  from  the  waste  of 
alkali  woiks,  879. 

Mono-carl>on  compounds,  by  Dr. 
Odling,  F.R.S.,  61. 

Moon,  colour  ot  during  edipses,  by 

A.  Brothera,  F.R.AA,  etc,  8A. 
Moon*s  surface,  variable  spfM  on, 

by  W.  B.  Birt,  F.R.A.S.,  1S4 
Morren,  M  ,  on  action  of  Hghtoa 
chloride  of  silver,  6Bl 

Naphtha  and  illuminating  oQ  from 
heavy  California  tar,  by  ProC 

B.  SiUhnan,  857. 

Naphthalene,  886. 

Naphthalln,  on  the  artificial  pro- 
duction of  benzoic  add,  by  Dr. 
Adolf  Ott,  68. 

Napthaline,    action   of  oxidisiag 

agents  on,  88. 
Natal,  silk-produdng  wonns  fhun, 

Natural  philosophy,  on  the  devd* 

opment  of  Ideas  in,  by  Juatiu 

Ton  Liebig,  18. 
Naquet,  Professor,  56^ 
Naquet,  M.,  ''  Principles  of  Gbem- 

Istxy,  founded  on  taiodeni  ttieo- 

ries,^198. 
Nesder*s  test,  849. 
Neurin  and  slncalin,  886. 
Nickel  and  copper,  on  the  prsd^l- 

taUon  of,  by  alkaline  cariMH* 

atea,  by  Wolcott  Gibbo,  M.IX, 

85& 
NIobic  and  tlUnIo  add,  separstioa 

otaoo. 

Nitric  add,  determination  ot  191. 

hi  potable  waters,  note  on  the 

estimation  ot  by  £.  T.  Chsp- 

man,886. 

the  action  ot  on  i>ior«niicadd,by 

Dr.  Stenhouse,  287. 

Nitriles,  action  of  biomhydiieadd 

on,  47. 
Nitrite  of  amy],  86. 
Nitrites  in  waters,  estlmaUon  cf, 
by  Philip  Holland.  818. 
the  reaction  ot  with  Iodide  of 
potssdum,  845l 
Nitroglycerine,  ISa 
and  Greek  fire,  199. 
experiments  with,  by  CL  A  Riflh- 

ter  of  Freiberg,  16L 
or  glonoine.  109. 
storage  ot  W. 
Nitrous    and    Nitric    Elhen,  by 
Messrs.  f^ap»»^B  and  Smkh, 

Nomenclature, 

Dolnts  h^  by  A.  V. 

M.A.,  86, 

Norwegian  cod-flaheriesi,    by  Mr. 

Howden,  84. 

iron  ores,  the  composition  sad 

metallurgy  of  some,  by  Darid 

Forbes,  F.B.8.,  etc..  94 

Notes  and  Queries  68,  99, 151, 908; 

951,896. 
Notices  of  Books,  48,  89,1A1'9« 

849,887. 
OnrruABT :  Thomas  Clark,  91 
Mr.  Warington,  F.H.S^  94 
Dr.  Danbeny,94 
Bh-  David  Brewster,  193. 
W.  Herapath,  Sen ,  199. 
Odling  Dr.,  on  giyoxaHc  amide, 

«. 


OnsDOAL  News,  I 
/(MM,  1866L      f 


Index. 


vu 


OrpixHc  matten,  ezamlnaUon  of 

water   for,  bj  Dr.  R.  Angus 

Bmilh,  r.R.8.,  14IL 
Ott|  Dr.  iL,  on  sweet  principle  of 

froten  potatoes,  857. 
on  the  arClfldal  production  of  ben- 

aok  add  from  naphthaUn,  60. 
Qzalle  add,  poisoning  with,  898. 
reduction  ot  flrom  carbonlo  Sicid, 

by  Prat  H.  Kolbe,  18T. 
Oxldliing  agenta— the  action  o^  on 

organic  compoands  in  presence 

of  excess  of  alkali,  hy  J.  A. 

WanUyn  and  EL  T.  Chapman, 

PartI.,8M. 
Ozyethylendisnlphonlc    add,   and 

neir  fiimiation   of   iKthlonle 

scid,87. 
Olooe,  148, 808. 
aeUon  of  so  MndttTO  photogra- 

phic  plateflk  by  I>r.  Bmcraon 

Seynoltto,  88. 
detection  of,  149. 
00  the  idenUty  of  the  body  In 

the  atmosphere  which  deoom- 

Mies  Iodide  of  potasdam.with, 

by  Thomas   Andrews,  M.D., 

P.R.8.,  110. 

Pixim,  IL,  and  men  of  seienoe, 

F&raffln  lamps,  91 
Paih  £zhIbItlon  of  1867,  89. 
Piseal-Newton  fiyrgerles,  68. 
Patents,  06,  98,  154,909,800. 
P>t«Bts  by  sclenUflc  men,  898. 
PWtison,    M.    iL     Andereonlan, 

Gbngow,  aadJohn  Clarke,  Ph. 

D.,  on  the  aeparatioB  of  cerlnm 

from  Adymlaon  and   lantha- 

iiam.87. 
Pedler,  M.  A^  on   the  Isomeric 

forms  of  Talerio  acid,  141. 
Pokin,  W.  H.,  on  some  new  ben- 

lyllo  derivatlyes  of  the  saUcyl 

ieries,188. 
on  the  action  of  aoetio  anhydride 

npon  the  hydrides  of  wMisjL 

ethyl  salloyl,  eta,  41 
the  arttficlaf  production  of  con- 
marine,  and  formation  of  its 

bomolognes,  88. 
on  the  constltation  of  glyozylic 

add,878. 
on  the  hydride  of  aoeto-saUcyl, 

887. 

I  of  potash  and  or- 
„    « — 0  matter  In  water,  890. 
Pennanganate  water  test,  the,  88a 
reroride  of  manganese,  note  on  the 

actfan  of,  npon  uric  acid,  by  0. 

Ollbert  Wheeler,  8. 
Petroleum  for  steamship  boilers  in 

the  United  States  Navy,  151. 
Pbaraoh*s  serpents,  harmless,  848. 
Fhsimaoeutleal   Society  of  Great 

Britain,  45.  88, 185,  889. 
"PharmacopcBU,  the  British,  com- 
panion to  the  new  edition  of," 

Dy  Peter  8qalpa,F.L.8.,  48. 
Pbsrmacy,  on  the  ose  ofmethylated 
^  «iritin,9«Bu 
Phenic  or  caibolie  acid  and  Its 

properties,  bwDr.  r.  CL  CalTcrt, 

Fbenelsnlphnrie  add,  salts  of;  8& 
Phenylenedleihylaeetoneand  etby- 
_  len«dleth7la«etone,191. 
rhmlic  aeid,  and  deriTatlTOS  o^ 

FUlos^ipfaleal  Society  of  Glasgow, 

Philosophy,  Natend,  oa  the  devel- 
opment of  Ideas  in,  by  Jastns 

_   ▼onUeblg.ia 

PMpaon,  Dr.  T.  L.,**  Boiler  l>e- 
pcatta,^  on  their  chemical  na- 

^^  tare,  etc,  f4S. 

Fblogistoii,  Mr.  Bodwdl  on,  171. 

Phosphates,  eeUmatlsn  oC,  846. 
**  solubility  oC,  reports  of  experi- 
ments on,**  by  R.  Wariagton, 
Jr.,F.C.i..8i. 
''the  naiaral^not*  on  some  of 
the  dreamstanoes  which  deters 
ndne  the  agricultural  value  oL" 
by  R.  Waringtoo,  Jr.,  F.aSw, 
89. 


Fhoephorescenoe  of  potassium  and 

sodium,  IWL 
Phosphoric  add,  remarks  on  the 
Tolnmetrio  estimation  of,  by  C 
F.  Bumard,  F.C.8.,  16S. 
simple  method  for  the  extraction 
of,  from  glass,  161. 
Physiological  action  and  chemical 
constitution  of  medldne,  the 
relation    of,   by    Drs.    Ornm 
Brown  and  T.  K.  Fraser,  889. 
Picramlc  add,  action  of  nitric  acid 

on,  by  Dr.  Stenhouse,  887. 
Platlnnm,  double  chlorides  of;  146. 
zinc,     mercury,     molybdenum, 
gold,   iron,     tun^steu,    chro- 
mium, on  the  formation  of  a 
series  of  double  sulphocvan- 
ides  of  certain  of  the  alkaloids 
with  them,  by  William  Skey, 
885,  868. 
Finmbio   chloride,  solubility  and 
crystallization  o^  in  water,  and 
In  water    contsAning  various 
proportions    of   hydrochlorio 
add,  by  J.  Carter  Bell,  876. 
Poisons,  micro  chemistry  ol^*^  by 
T.  G.  Wormley,  M.D.,  90. 
Poisoning  with  oxalic  acid,  898. 
Potable  waters,  note  on  the  esti- 
mation of  nitric  add  hi,  by  E. 
T.  Chapman,  886. 
on  the  nature  and  examination 
of  the  organic  matter  in,  by  C. 
B.  C.  Tlohborne,  F.C.8.,  Dub- 
lin, 881. 
Potash,  estimation  oC  by  J.  Chal- 
mers, and  &.  B.  Titlock,  F.  C 
B.,88t. 
on   a  new  precipitant  for,  by 

M.  H.  Debray,  8  0. 
permanganate  of,  its  action  on 
urea,    ammonia,    and    aceta- 
mlde  in  strongly  alkaline  solu- 
tions, by  Messrs.  Wanklyn  and 
Gamgee,  48. 
Potasdum  and  sodium,  oxidation 
of,  144 
ferridcyanlde  of,  and  sesqulsul- 
phate  of  Iron  as  a  test,  by  Ed- 
win Smith,  M.A.,  1. 
Potatoes,  frozen,  sweet   prindple 

of,  by  Dr.  A.  Ott,  857. 
Prat,  M.,  on  the  chemical  oonfrtitu- 
tlon   of  fluorine   compounds, 
and  on  the  isolation  of  naorlne, 
101     • 
Predpitation  of  copper  and  nickel 
by   alkaline    carbonates,    by 
Woloott  Glbbs,  M.D.,  858. 
"  Principles  of  chemistry,  founded 
on    modern  theories,^  by  M. 
Naqnet,  198. 
Prismatic  arsenious  add,  on  the 
occurrence  of;  by  F.  Chiudet, 
887. 
Putresdble  matter  in  water,  sani- 
tary water  tests,  891. 
Pyrites,  on  the  chemical  reactions 
in  the  roasting  of,  by  J.  H. 
TIemann,  Jr.,  868. 
Pyropbosphoric  amides,  Dr.  J.  H. 
Gladstone  on,  44. 

QusKSR  Hlcrosooplcal  Qnb,  40. 

Bailwat,  the   Metropolitan,   the 

atmosphere  of,  5. 
Remington,  Joseph  P.,  Brooklyn, 

N.    Y.,   notes   on    powdered 

castile  soap.  A, 
Redn,  produetlon  of  a  fragrant 

substance  from,  850. 
Reynolds,  Dr.    Emerson,  on   the 

actio  u  of  osoae  on  sensitive 

photographic  plates,  86. 
on  the  formation  of  dendrites, 

888. 
BIchter.  0.  A.,  ef  frelbere,  c 

periments  with  nitroglycerine, 

Rodman,  Charies  (L,  on  aaalyds  of 
turgite,  with  observations  on 
the  native  hydrates  of  Iron,  by 
Geo.  J.  Brush,  114 

Bodwell,  Mr.,  on  phlogiston,  171. 


Bosooe,  Henry  E.,  B.  A.,  F. R.a,  on 
vanadium,  one  of  the  trivalent 
group  of  elements,  816. 

Boss, W.  A.,  Captain,  B.  A.,  on  crys- 
tallography and  the  blowpipe, 
74, 147, 157, 196. 

Rosse,  Earl  of— death  of.  58. 

Boyal  Dublin  Sodety,  48. 
Geological  Sodety  of  Ireland, 

InsUtnUon  of  Great  Britain,  84^ 

98,  879. 

programme  of  lectures  at,1867 
8,58. 
Polytechnic  Institution,  96. 
School  of  Mines,  196,  197,  844, 

888,  890,  891. 
Society,  officers  elected  Nov.  80, 

1867;  56. 

of  Edinburgh,  889. 
Bnssell,  Dr.,  W.  J.,  on  gas  analysis, 

187. 

Safpbok,  colouring  matter  o^  88. 

Sallcyl,  ethyl  salicyl,  on  the  ac- 
tion of  acetic  anhydride  npon 
them,  by  W.  H.  Perkin,  41« 

Sallcyl,  series,  new  bensylic  de- 
rivatives ot  by  W.  U.  Perkin, 
F  B.a,  188. 

Sslt  as  an  adulterant  in  the  dyeing 
trade,  59. 

Salt,  dietetic,  15. 

Saltpetre,  on  the  manufacture  of; 
by  J.  H.  Swindells,  1. 

Savart,  Faraday  and  Blot,  on  some 
experiments  of,  by  John  Tvn- 
dall,  Esq.,  L.L.D.,  F.R.S.,*84. 

Schulze,  M.  F.,  on  a  new  process  of 
elementary  organic  analysis, 
founded  on  the  analysis  of  the 
gaseous  products,  l(n. 

Schunek,  £.  Ph.  D.,  F.R.S.,  on 
some  constituents  of  cotton 
flbre,  888. 

Sdence  as  a  part  of  education,  95. 
Foreign,  by  Abb6Mulgno,  80,  88, 
88,  80, 188,  187,  138,  181,  188, 
889,880. 
Teachers,  61. 
Teacbhig,  898. 

Sdentiflc    Blue    Books,    No.  1, 

abridgments  of  spedflcations 

of  patents,"  887. 

dub,  new,  161. 

Select  Conunlttee  on  sdentiAo  ed- 
ucation. 849. 

Sesqulchlonde  of  iron,  volatility  of; 

Sesquisulpbate  of  iron  and  fer- 
ridcyanlde of  potassium  as  a 
test,  by  Edwhi  Smith,  M.  A.,1. 

Sewer^  on  the  ventilation  of,  by 
W.  Allen  Miller,  F.It.8.,  814 

Ship  barnaclo,  note  on,  by  Mr. 
Sidebotiiam,  84. 

Shuttteworth,  U.  J.  Kay,— "First 
prindples  of  modem  chemis- 
try. A  manual  of  biorganlc 
diemistrv  for  students  and  for 
use  in  sdence  classes,**  145. 

Sldebotham,  Mr.,  on  the  ship  bar- 
nacle, 84 

Silicates,  analysis  of;  191. 

SUceous  stalactites,  61. 

Silieon,  on  the  determination  o^  in 
iron  and  steeL  by  Y.  Eggerts, 
169,811. 

Silk -prodndng  worms  from  Natal, 

worm,  the  Japanese  oak>feedlng, 

SiUlman,  Prot  B.,  on  naphtha  and 
Illuminating  oils  firum  heavy 
California  tar,  857. 

Sliver,  chloride  oi;  action  of  light 
on,  by  M.  Morren.  68. 

Simpson,  Maxwell,  M.D.,  F.B.S., 
and  A.  Gautier,  M.D.,  on  a 
compound  formed  by  the  di- 
rect union  of  aldehyde  and 
anhydrous  prussic  aeld,  8. 
OB  the  formation  of  sucdnlc 
acid  from  chloride  of  etiiyli- 
dene,  18. 

Sbicalln  and  neurin,  888. 

Singular  explosion,  98. 


Skey,  'William,  on  the  coagnlation 
and  prerlpitatlon  of  clay,  by 
neutral  salts  generally,  25 1. 
on  the  formation  of  a  series  of 
double  sulphocyanldes  of  cer- 
tain of  the  alkaloids  with  the 
metals,  zinc,  tin.  mercury, 
molybdenum,  platinum,  gold, 
iron,  tungsten,  and  chromium, 
885,  868. 

Smith,  R.  Angus,  Ph.  D.,  F.B.8.,  on 
a  search  for  solid  bodies  In  the 
atmosphere,  888. 
on  examination  of  Water  for  or- 
ganic matters,  148, 184. 

Smith,  Edwin,  on  sosqulsulphate  of 
iron  and  ferridcyanlde  of  pot- 
assium ss  a  test,  1. 

Smith,  Miles  H.,  and  £.  T.  Chap- 
man,  the  action  of  zlnc-ethvl-    . 
on  nitrous  and  nitric  ethers, 
888. 

Snow,  Ice,  and  Gladers,  In  Lecture 
III.,  on  «  Heat  and  Cold,"  at 
Boyal  Institution,  by  J.  Tyn- 
dall,  LL.D.,  F.R.S..  185. 

Soap  bubbles,  floating  in  carbonic 
add,  92. 

Soap,  castile,  powdered,  notes  on 
by  Joseph  P.  Kemlngtoa 
Brooklvn,  N.  Y.,  4 

Soils,  the  absorptive  action  of,  part 
taken  in  by  oxide  of  iron  and 
alumina,  by  EcAert  Waring- 
ton,  Jr.,  41. 

Solid  bodies,  a  search  for  In  the  at- 
mosphere, bv  R.  Angns  Smith, 
Ph.  D.,  F.E.S..  etc,  2S2. 
particles  from  the  air  of  Man- 
chester, microscopic  examina- 
tion of;  by  J.  B.  Dancer, 
F.R.A.S.,  888. 

Solubility  of  amorphous  silica  In 
ammonia,  849. 

Spectral  analysis  and  the  Bessemer 
process,  847. 

Spectroscope  and  mlcrospectro- 
scope,  on  the  use  of.  In  tlie  dis- 
covery of  blood  stiilns  and  dis- 
solved blood,  and  in  pathologi- 
cal inquiries,  by  W.  Bird 
Hempath,  M.D.,  F.R.S.,  203. 

Spectrum  of  Bessemer  ilame,  858. 

Squire,  Peter,  F.L.8 ,  "  Companion 
to  the  new  Edition  of  the 
British  Pharmacopoeia,^  48. 

Stannic  dleUiyldlmetiiyle,  287. 

Star-shower  of  Nov.  14, 1S67,  55. 

Stars,  on  the  Influence  of  aperture 
In  diminishing  the  Intensity  of 
the  colour  o(  by  J.  Brownhag, 
F.R.A.a,  118. 

Stas,  J.  S.,  Prof.,  on  the  manufac- 
ture of  glass  for  vessels  employ- 
ed In  chendcal  researches,  101. 

Stenhouse,  Dr.,  on  cbloranll.    Part 
I.,  887. 
on  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on 
picramic  aisid,  887. 

Steel,  on  the  manufacture  of,  Arom 
cast  Iron  by  the  use  of  nitrates 
and  other  oxidising  salts,  by 
J.  Hargreaves,  105. 

Stolba,  M.  P.,  on  the  estimation  of 
lead  by  predpitation  In  a 
metaUic  stete,  108. 

Stopper  cord,  894 

Storer,  F.  H.,  and  C.  W.  Eliot— 
"^A  Miuual  of  Inorganle 
Chemistry,"  198. 

Substituted    alcohols    and    alde- 
hydes, 89. 
Sucdnlc     add.     formation     ol^ 
flrom  chloride   of  ethytldene, 
by    Maxwell   Simpson,  lidLD., 

f:r.s.,  18. 

f^om  ethylldenic  chloride,  116. 
Sugar,  manufacture  of,  198. 
manufketnre     of    influence    of 
chemical  knowledge  on,  199. 
Bulphechlorbenz'ilic  acid,  and  de- 
rivatives of,  87. 
Sulphocyanides,    doable,  on   the 
formation  of  a  eer  es  of,  of  cer- 
tain of  the  alkaloids  with  the 
metals    zinc,    tin,    mercury, 
molybdenuD),  plati»am«  gold 


Vlll 


iron,  tungsten  and  chromiam, 
by  William  Skey,  226,  262. 

Bnlphocyanide  of  ammonium,  oc- 
currence of  in  gas  mains,  by 
H.  Letheby,  61,  by  Peter  Hart, 
Enq.,  86. 
of  chromium,  97. 

Bulphophtallc  acid,  191. 

Sulphur,  on  the  estimatlOB  ot  in 
coal  gas,  by  Wm.  Valentin, 
Esq,  166. 
recoYory  ot  ftt>m  the  wast«  of 
allcalt  works,  by  M.  Lndwlg 
Mond,  279. 

Swindells,  J.  H^  on  the  msnii- 
liftcture  of  saltpetre,  1. 

Tabls  for  ascertaining  the  weight 
of  a  cubic  foot  of  any  mineral 
ore,  metal,  earth,  or  any  other 

I  snbstance,  either  native  or 
artiflcliil.  ft-om  Its  specific 
gravity,  by  Dr.  Lewis  Feucht- 
wanger,  2oT. 

Tar,  haavv  California-- on  naphtha 
and  illuminating  oils  f^om,  by 
Prof.  B.  Sllllman,  257. 

Tartaric  acid,  on  the  determina* 
tion  of,  by  George  U.  Mann, 
214. 

TaUock,  R.  K.,F.C.8.,and  J.  Chal- 
mers on  the  estimation  of  pot- 
ash, 281  ^ 

Telescope,  new  reflecting,  at  Hel- 
bouine,  Australia.  6& 

Test  for  the  presence  of  a  free  add, 
247. 

Tetraphoephorlc  amides,  on  the, 
bv  Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone,  276, 

Thallium  and  iron,  double   chlor- 
ide of,  986. 
Contributions  to  our  knowledge 
Qf,  br  ProU  Dr.  J.  W.  Gunning, 
219. 
metallic,  29. 

oxide,  suboxide,  peroxide,  sul- 
phate, nitrate,  chloride,  p.er- 
chloride,  bromide,  iodld  e,  per-, 
iodide,  dlicate,  phosphate,  sul- 
phide, and  carbonate  of.  90. 

Thermometer  unaflSected  by  radia- 
tion, by  J.  P.  Joule^F.£^.  etc^, 
86. 

TlchbooTie,  C.R.C,  F.C.S.^DubllnjOn 
the  nature  and  examination  of 
the  organic  matter  ^i  potable 
waters,  221. 

Tiemann,  J.  H.,  Jr.,  on  the  chemi- 
cal reactions  in  the  roasting  of 
pyrites,  962. 

Tin,  zinc,  mercury,  molybdennnv 
platinum,  gold,  iron,  tungsten 


Index. 


j  Cbbhicai.  Nm^ 

1        .^iMM»18tt. 


and  chromium— on  the  forma- 
tion of  a  series  of  double  sul- 
phocyanides  of  certain  of  the 
alkaloids  with  them,  by  Wil- 
liam Skey,  228.  269. 

Toluol,  dletbyh)ted.Bynthe^  of,144 
substitution  compounds  ot^  88. 

Toluolsulphurous  acid,  242. 

Torpedo  experiments,  249. 

Tribe,  Mr.  A.,  on  the  freezing  of 
water  and  bismuth,  88. 

Trimethylomlne  in  wine,  241. 

Trooet  and  Grandeau,  Drs.,  on  gas 
analysis,  27.  67. 

TangBten,sinc,  tin,  mercury,  mdyb- 
dennm,  platlnnm,  gold.  Iron 
and  chromium,  on  the  forma- 
tion of  a  series  of  double 
snlphocyanides  of  certain  of 
the  alkaloids  with  them,  by  W. 
Skey,  225. 262. 

Tnrelte.  analysis  of,  by  Charies  8. 
Bodman,  and  observations  on 
the  native  hydratee  of  iron,  by 
.  Geo.  J.  Brush.  114. 

Tyndall,  John,  LL.D.,  F£.8.,  Lec- 
tures 1.,  IL,  UI.,  IV..  v.,  VI., 
at  the  Boyal  Institution,  on 
"^  Heat  and  Cold,*"  116, 120, 126, 
180, 178, 176, 179,  228. 
on  some  experiments  of  Fara- 
day, Biot  and  Savart,  84. 

Tyrian  Purple,  169. 

UaAviD,  sulphite  ot  donUe  salts 
oi;68. 

Ursa,  ammonia  and  aoetsmlde,  ac- 
tion of  peiman^nate  of  potas- 
sium upon,  by  Messrs.  Wank- 
lyn  and  Gamgee,  42. 
note  on  the  preparation  of,  by 
John  Williams,  82. 

Uric  acid,  note  on  the  action  of 
peroxide  of  manganese  upon 
It,  by  C.  Gilbert  Wheeler,  & 

VALSHTiir,  Wm.,  Esq.,  on  the  esti- 
mation of  sulphur  in  coal  gas, 
166. 

Vanadium,  one  of  the  trivalent 
group  of  dements,  by  Henry 
L  Boscoe,  B.  A.,  FJELS.,  216l 

Vapows,  itbsorptloo  of;by  charcoal, 
by  John  Hunter,  M.A ,  287. 

Variable  spots  on  moon^s  surftuM, 
by  W.  R  Birt,  F.E.A.S.,  184. 

Ventflation  of  sewers,  by  W.  Allen 
Miller,  V.P.R.8..  214 

Vinyl  compounds,  oeriTatives  of, 
Ml. 

V^dlnic  acid,  141 

V^ible  and  l«tvl|Blb1«  ray«,  In  Leo^ 
tare  IV.^on  "  Heat  and  Cold," 


by  J.  Tyndall,  LL.D.,  F.B.&, 

Vital  forces,  so-called,  the  identic 
of  physical  with  them,  64 

Vitriol,  oU  o(  on  the  detection  of 
easeous  impurities  in,  by 
Robert  Warington,  164 

Volatility  of  sesqalchloride  of  Iron, 
50. 

Volcanic  gases,  47. 

Voltastai,  an  improved,  by  Profes- 
sor Guthrie,  276. 

Volume,  changes  of^  produced  by 
Heat,  in  Lecture  t,  on  "  Heai 
and  Cold,'*  at  Boyal  InsUtu-. 
tion,  by  J.  Tyndall,  LL.D., 
F.E.&,  116, 120. 

Volumetric  analyst  on  a  new  ge- 
neral method  oi;  by  Woleott 
GIbbs.  M.D.,  226. 
estimation  of  phosphoric  add,  by 
a  F.  Bumard,  F.G.&,  168. 

Waddixot-  H,  H.  S.,  on  micro-Bnb- 

limatlon,  186^ 
Wanklyn,  J.  A.,  and  1.  T.  Chap- 
man, on  the  action  of  oxidising 
agents  on  organic  compounds, 
in  presence  of  excess  of 
alkali.  Part  L,  986. 
Warington,  Wm.,  F.B.S.,  obltnaxy 

notice  of,  94 
Waringtun,  Hubert,  on  the  detec- 
tion of  gaseous  Impurities  in 
oilofyitriol,164 
Warington,  Bobert,  Jr.,  **  Notes  on 
some  of  the  dreumstaneea 
which  determine  the  agricultu- 
ral Talue  of  the  natuni  phos- 
phates, etc,  89. 

OB  the  part  taken  br  oxide  of 
iron  and  alumina  in  the  ab- 
sorptive action  of  soils,  41. 

**  Beport  of  experiments  on  fbe 
solubility  of  phosphates,*'  89. 
Water  analysis,  148, 194 

of  a  series  of  artlfldal  waten, 
▼eriflcation  of  Wanklyn,  Chap- 
man and  Smith's,  49. 

at  the  Chemical  Society,  94& 

byDr.  Fraokland,141. 

by  Dr.  Frankland,  discussion  oJ^ 
at  Chemical  Sode^,  contin- 
ued, 186. 

relation  between  the  results  of, 
and  the  sanatory  value  of  the 
water,  by  E.  T.  Chapman,  48. 

and  bismuth,  the  freeiing  ol  bj 
Mr.  A.  Tribe.  88. 

carbonates  in,  99. 

estiniation  of  nitrites  in»  by  Phil 
ip  Holland,  918. 

examination  of;  for  organic  mat 


ter,  by  Dr.  B.  Ang«  S^th, 
F.B.S.,14a.l84. 
organic  matter  in,  69. 

Waters,  potable,  note  on  tbs  Mil* 
matron  of  nitric  add  te,  by  £. 
T.  Ch^nnan,  984 
pe«able,  «n  the  nature  and  ex- 
amination of  the  ortooiic  mat- 
ter in,  by  a  B.  a  TkhbooM, 
F.C.S.,  Dublin,  991. 

Water  supply  of  Cakatta,  4 

Water  tests,  999, 291. 

Water,  the  remoTal  of  ofjEuie  and 
inorganic  subetances  is,  by  Mr. 
Edward  Byrae,  M.  Inst  a  S^ 
46. 

Weights,  note  upon  a  method  of 
vaiylng,  by  minnte  osaBtl- 
ties,  by  J.  A.  Brown,  Y\SL\ 

Well  deserved  honour,  a,  94. 

Westminster  Palace,  frescoes  la,  M. 

Wheatw  preUmlnaiy  notice  of  le- 
Bults  on  the  ooraposlffam  o^ 
when  grown  for  twenty  vssn 
in  socesedon  on  the  same liDd, 
by  J.  B.  Lawea,  F.BJB.  etc, 
imd  J.  H.  GUbert,  Ph.  D.,  7Ji. 
S..  14 

Wheeler,  C.  Gilbert,  note  on  the 
action  of  peroxide.of  uaa^b- 
nese  upon  uric  acid,  8. 

White  precipitate,  addtcfstioo  of, 
by  Mr.  Bodand,  44 

WUliamB,  John,  on  the  piepsidkn 
of  area,  89. 

Winds  and  Breoes,  fa  Lectors 
IIL,  on  »  Heat  and  CeM,"st 
Boyd  Instltntlon,  Vf  J-  Tra- 
daii,LL.D„F.lL8.,12& 

Wood,  C.  H.,  on  the  synip  of  hy- 
pophos^te  of  Iron,  214 

Wonnley,  T.  G-  MJ).,  "M 
chemistiy  of  PdeoosJ:  Ml 

Wiightson,  Z^  F.C.S-  -The  C^ 
pUlaiV  AoOon  of  SdH"  SH 

XAirmnr,  solubnity  d;  by  Dr.  H. 

Bence  Jones,  »4 
Xylol,  deriratlyes  dl  and  dins- 

thylbeniol,  146. 


ZniOk  tin,  nersniT,  nwlybdeinns 
platlnnm,  gold.  Iron,  tuagMes, 
and  chruniiam,  on  the  fonns* 
tion  of  a  series  of  doable  lal- 
iMiocyanides  ofoertalBorte 
alkdoids  with  them,  by  Wil- 


liam Skey,  996i»  219. 

ic  ethyl,  the  aedon  of 

a&d  nitric  ethers  on,  byS.  T, 

Chapman  and  Miles  H.  Siilth 


Mc 


Saltpetre — Sesquisulphate  of  Iron^  etc. 


THE     C  t#gpfri  C  A47^  E  W  S. 

Vol.  IL  ^K  i.     American  Reprint. 


'      ON  TnE  MA^l^ACftrri:  OF  SALTPETRE. 

BY   J.    n,    SWlSriELL?. 

I  HAVE  lately  examined  several  lota  of  refuse  (muriate 
of  soda,  etc.)  from  various  saltpetre  makers,  and  find  a 
serious  loss  of  potish  and  other  material^.  The  refuse 
from  saltpetre  works  is  mostly  sold  for  manure,  either 
alone  or  mixed  with  other  substances.  From  the  anal- 
jrsis  I  give  below  it  will  be  seen  that  this  refuse  in 
many  cases  contains  a  large  amount  of  potash,  etc.,  thus 
showing  bad  and  careless  working. 
Analysis  of  muriate  of  soda. 

Muriate  of  soda, 7o*i;o 

Muriate  of  potash, 8'Si 

Nitrate  of  potash, 6-15 

The  rest  was  made  up  of  sulphate  of  lime,  insoluble 
ihat  er,  and  water.  Another  sample  showed  very  near 
working;  it  gave  me 

Muriate  of  soda, 97*i3 

Nitrate  of  soda, I'lo 

Insoluble  matter,  sulphate  of  lime,  etc.,  formed  the 
remainder. 

Twelve  samples  of  refuse  gave  me  an  average  of  5*6 
per  cent  of  potash  lost  in  working.  Several  samples 
gave  me  a  large  amount  of  insoluble  matter,  owing,  I 
should  imagine,  to  the  "  sweeping^  up  "  of  the  factory 
and  to  the  muriate  of  potash,  whicn  in  many  cases  I 
know  contains  a  larger  amount  of  foreign  matter  tlian 
it  ought  to  do,  although  it  is  sold,  generally  speaking, 
with  a  guarantee  that  it  contains  "80  per  cent." 

I  will  now  give  a  short  account  of  the  method  gene- 
rally followed  in  the  manufacture,  and  a  recommenda- 
tion of  my  own  to  prevent  loss  of  materials.  In  all 
the  manufactories  I  have  been  able  to  visit  the  process 
was  as  follows : — ^A  certain  weight  of  muriate  of  potash 
and  nitrate  of  soda  was  put  into  an  iron  pan  along  with 
a  quantity  of  water.  The  steam  was  then  blown  into 
the  "  mixture,"  which  is  stirred  about  till  such  time  as 
it  is  thought  the  muriate  and  nitrate  are  dissolved.  The 
liquid  is  then  run  or  syphoned  into  a  tank,  and  after  a 
certain  time  the  resulting  crystals  are  removed,  and  in- 
variably refined.  The  last  process  is  simply  done  by  dis- 
solving down  the  crystals  and  re-crystallising.  I  found 
that  no  hydrometers  were  used  for  ascertaining  the 
density  of  the  liquids,  but  that  everything  was  done  on 
the  "guess"  principle.  By  following  tliis  process  a 
loss  will  always  occur*  for  how  is  it  possible  to  tell 
when  all  the  materials  have  thoroughly  dissolved? 
Moreover,  it  takes  a  longer  time  to  dissolve  the  mate- 
rials together  than  it  would  occupy  if  the  muriate  and 
nitrate  were  dissolved  separatelv. 

The  chemical  action  is  too  well  known  to  be  described 
here ;  I  will,  therefore,  proceed  to  consider  the  best  way 
of  preventing  any  loss  of  materials.  I  would  recom- 
mend that  the  muriate  of  potash  should  be  dissolved  in 
as  Htile  water  as  possible;  then  dissolve  the  nitrate  of 
soda  also  in  as  little  water  as  may  be  convenient,  add 
the  two  solutions  together  and  boil  for  one  hour  or  so. 
This  will  precipitate  a  portion  of  the  muriate  of  soda, 
which  may  be  "  fished  "  out  of  the  pan ;  the  liquid  will 
now  be  found  to  have  a  specific  gravity  of  about  i  '200, 
1*250,  or  1*275,  according  to  the  manner  in  which  the 

Vol.  II.    No.  I.— Jan.,  1868.        i 


"dissolving  and  boiling"  down  is  conducted.  The 
liquid,  after  remaining  at  rest  2  hours  or  so,  may  be 
run  into  the  coolera  in  the  usual  way  to  allow  the 
nitrate  of  potash  t6  crystallise  out  of  the  liquor;  of 
course  all  the  nitrate  of  potash  does  not  crystaUise  out. 
A  quantity  remains  in  the  "  mother  liquor,"  a  portion 
of  which  may  be  used  for  dissolving  the  raw  materials. 
The  mother  liquor,  however,  should  not  be  too  strong, 
as  neither  the  muriate  nor  nitrate  dissolve  well  in  strong 
mother  liquor ;  about  1 5  Twaddell  will  be  found  about 
the  strength.  When  the  "  motliers  "  begin  to  increase 
and  become  too  many  for  "  dissolving  "purposes,  they 
must  be  salted  down  and  crystallised.  This  is  done  by 
placing  them  in  an  evaporating  pan,  and  boiling  them 
down  to  about  35°,  or  so,  Twaddell ;  care  must  be  taken 
to  remove  the  muriate  of  soda  as  it  faUs  to  the  bottom 
of  the  pan.  This  may  be  done  by  means  of  perforated 
ladles.  There  is  sure  to  be  a  Uitle  nitrate  of  potash 
clinging  to  the  muriate  of  soda,  and  the  manner  of 
separatmg  this  must  be  coui^idered.  Even  when  there 
is  so  much  as  5  per  cent  of  potash  mixed  with  the 
muriate  of  soda,  it  will  scarcely  pay  to  extract  it,  un- 
less coals  are  very  cheap ;  for  the  entire  mass  would 
have  to  be  dissolved,  and  the  liquor  evaporated  down 
to  the  crystalL'sing  point.  I  would  recommend  the 
following  plan : — As  the  muriate  of  soda  is  taken  out 
of  the  pans  it  should  be  placed  in  a  strong  tub  with  a 
kind  of  filter  bottom — this  tub  to  be  provided  with  a 
tight-fitting  top,  through  which  a  pipe  passes  for  the 
admittance  of  steam.  Afler  the  muriate  of  soda  has 
been  put  in  this  tub  and  the  top  secured,  the  «team  is 
blown  through  the  mass  for  1 5  minutes,  and  the  liquor 
run  oflf  by  means  of  a  tap  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the 
tub.  This  liquor  may  be  used  for  dissolving  the  raw 
material,  and  all  over  and  above  that  required  for  this 
purpose  must  be  evaporated  down  along  with  the 
mother  liquor.  By  all  means,  the  manufacturer,  if  he 
is  not  capable  of  making  his  own  analyses,  should  have 
analyses  made  from  time  to  time  of  his  muriate  of  soda ; 
he  will  then  be  able  to  form  the  best  opinion  of  what 
he  is  doing,  and  thus  avoid  any  unnecessary  loss.  Owing 
to  the  low  price  of  saltpetre,  very  close  working  is 
required  to  make  the  business  pay,  and  adulteration  is 
coming  much  into  vogue.  The  adulteration  is  practised 
by  the  manufacturer,  and  the  saltpetre  also  meets  with 
sophistication  after  it  leaves  his  hands.  The  most  glar- 
ing adulteration  is  common  salt  and  alum.  The  muriate 
of  soda  from  saltpetre  making,  is  cleansed  and  mixed 
in  the  proportion  of  2  cwt.  to  the  ton  of  petre.  In  the 
process  of  refining  the  saltpetre,  from  2  to  3  cwt  of 
alum  is  sometimes  used.  Nitrate  of  potash  adulterated 
like  this  will  not  of  course  do  for  the  gunpowder  mak- 
ers, but  for  many  other  purposes  this  adulteration  oflen 
unnoticed. 


ON  SESQUISULPHATE  OF  IRON  AND  FERRID- 
CYANIDE  OF  POTASSIUM  AS  A  TEST. 

BY   EDWIN   SMITir,    M.A. 

Having  occasion  .to  explain  to  my  class  the  deoxidising^ 
property  of  sulphurous  acid,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the 
property  in  question  might  be  illustrated  by  exposing  a 
slip  of  bibulous  paper,  dipped  in  a  mixed  solution  of 
sesquisulphate  of  iron  and  ferridcyanide  of  potassium, 
to  the  vapour  rising  from  a  bit  of  sulphur  burning  in 
air.  For  should  the  persalt  of  iron  be  reduced  to  a 
protosalt  by  giving  up  an  equivalent  of  oxygen  to  the 
sulphurous  acid,  a  blue  reaction  ought  to  take  place 


ToL  ZVI,  Na  4ia^  PH*  SB3>1 


Aldehyde  (mid  Avhydroua  Prusaio 


j  Onamui.  KkwIi 
1      Jim^vm. 


with  the  ferridcyanide  of  potassium  present- in  the  solu- 
tion. I  tried  the  experiment,  and  the  colour  of  the 
paper  was  instantly  changed  to  a  beautiful  blue.  A 
solution  of  sulphurous  acid,  or  of  a  sulphite  or  hypo- 
sulphite, gives  the  same  result;  while  only  a  very 
slight  greenish  tinge  is  imparted  to  the  mixture  by  a 
sulphate,  except  in  the  case  of  protosulphate  of  iron. 
With  this  exception,  a  use^  test  seems  to  be  afforded 
between  sulphites  and  sulphates.  I  find  the  same  test 
will  discriminate  a  nitrite  from  a  nitrate.  To  the  mixed 
solution  of  sesquisulphate  of  iron  and  ferridcyanide  of 
potassium  add  a  few  drops  of  nitric  acid ;  then  add  a 
little  of  the  solution  to  be  tested.  If  the  latter  con- 
tains a  nitrite,  a  greenish-blue  precipitate  will  begin  to 
fall,  and  quickly  increase;  if  a  nitrate,  only  a  slight 
greenish  tinge  will  be  imparted  to  the  test.  Nitric 
oxide  or  nitric  trioxide  passed  into  the  mixed  solution 
throws  down  the  same  characteristic  precipitate,  which 
is  produced  by  the  decomposition  of  a  nitrite  in  the 
previous  case.  Carbonic  oxide  wiU  act  in  the  same 
way,  and  if  a  slip  of  paper  dipped  in  the  test-mixture 
be  held  over  the  clear  part  of  a  bright  coal  fire,  it  turns 
blue  with  the  carbonic  oxide  or  sulphurous  acid  there 
given  off.  Again,  if  a  bit  of  phosphorus  is  dropped  into 
a  little  of  the  test  in  a  porcelain  dish,  the  phosphorus 
immediately  becomes  coloured  a  greenish  blue,  and  on 
stirring  about,  gradually  imparts  the  same  tinge  to  the 
solution.  Phosphorous  acid  may  be  discriminated  firom 
phosphoric  acid,  just  as  sulphurous  acid  was  dis- 
tinguished from  sulphuric  acid,  by  the  blue  reaction 
w^ith  ou^  test  Thus  also  phosphites  are  distinguished 
from  phosphates.  A  solution  of  phosphorous  acid 
showed  the  reaction  readily  on  being  shaken  up  with 
the  test.  Lastly,  if  copper  turnings  are  boiled  m  the 
latter  for  a  few  minutes,  a  greeoish-blue  tint  is  imparted 
to  it,  which  becomes  gradually  deeper  with  the  oxida- 
tion of  the  copper  and  the  consequent  reduction  of  the 
persalt  of  iron  to  the  state  of  a  protosalt. 


ON  ▲       . 
'COMPOUND  FORMED  BY  THE  DIRECT  UNION 

OF 

ALDEHYDE  AND  ANHYDROUS  PRUSSIO  ACID. 

BT  MAXWELL  SIMPSON,  M.D.,  F.R.S.,  and  A.  GAUTIER,  M.D. 

'Thi  synthesis  of  alanin  from  aldehydate  of  ammonia. 

i>russic  and  hydrochloric  acids,  and  the  formation  or 
actio  acid  by  the  action  of  the  same  acids  upon 
:jildehyde  in  presence  of  water,  render  it  highly  probable 
tliat  an  intermediate  body  exists,  resulting  from  the 
•direct  combination  of  hydrocyanic  acid  and  aldehyde. 
It  is  this  body  which  forms  the  subject  of  the  present 
memoir. 

If  one  molecule  of  anhydrous  prussic  acid  is  added  to 
•one  molecule  of  diy  aldehyde,  contained  in  a  mattrass 
.-surrounded  with  a  freezing  mixture,  the  two  liquids 
mix  without  combining  chemically,  and  their  chemical 
•combination  is  not  accelerated  by  heating  at  loo^  0. 
If,  however,  we  leave  them  in  con  tact*  for  ten  or  twelve 
•days,  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  air,  they 
gradually  unite,  formmg  a  perfectly  transparent  and 
^colourless  liquid.  On  subjecting  this  to  distillation  it 
was  observed  that  hardly  a  drop  passed  over  at  loo"*. 
^although  we  operated  upon  a  large  quantity  of  liquid 
(34  grms.),  a  small  quantity  between  160''  and  174°,  and 
rthe  remainder  of  the  liquid  between  174"  and  185**  C. 
<0n  re-distilling  the  latter  portion,  in  order  to  fractionate 


it,  it  was  fojlKi4  t!iat  the  grealur  part  passed  over  st 
about  183°  C  ,Notabte  i|Bftntiti€8  m  the  liquid,  how- 
ever, came  ^ver  "liejfween  40*  and  6p*'  C,  consisting 
principally  of  tl]«  parent  bodies  T^ioh  had  been  dis- 
sociated by  the  simple  vaporisfttitn  ol  the  liquid.  On 
leaving  these  bodies  thus  Awujapciated  once  more  in  con- 
tact for  some  days  the  point  of  ebnllltion  rose,  as  before, 
to  183®  C.  The  fractions  boiling  at  180°,  and  between 
183^*  and  184°  C.  gave,  on  analysis,  the  following 
results : — 


ProdDct  boiling  at 

FrodoetboUlng  between 

TiMN»r. 

180' 0. 

I83**.I84^ 

CNH,CA. 

0  4978 

5170 

5071 

H    7-44 

764 

7*04 

N  2042 

t< 

>9'83 

These  analyses  prove  that  the  body  in  question  results 
from  tlie  direct  combination  of  one  molecule  of  aldehyde 
and  one  molecule  of  anhydrous  prussic  acid,  or  at  least 
of  equal  numbers  of  molecules  of  these  bodies,  and  that 
its  point  of  ebuUitioii  is  intermediate  between  180**  and 
184*^.  We  have  tried  the  above  experiments  on  mix- 
tures containing  the  two  generating  bodies  in  varioA 
proportions,  but  always  with  the  production  of  the 
same  body.  The  name  we  propose  for  this  compound 
is  cyanhydrate  of  aldehyde,  wnich  is  simply  founded 
upon  its  synthetical  formation. 

iVop«r^«..— The  cyanhydrate  of  aldehyde  is  a  colour- 
less liquid,  having  a  faint  odour  of  its  generators;  it  has 
a  bitter  and  acrid  taste;  it  does  not  crystallise  at  =  21^ 
C,  but  becomes  syrupy.  It  can  bear  the  temperature 
of  150^  for  a  considerable  time  without  suffering  de- 
composition; at  i8o<*,  however,  slipht  dissociation  com- 
mences^ and  the  liquid  must  be  rapidly  distilled  in  order 
to  avoid  the  loss  of  a  considerable  quantity.  It  is 
soluble  in  all  proportions  in  water  and  alcohol  It  may 
be  heated  witn  water  in  a  sealed  tube  to  150*^  C.  with- 
out suffering  the  slightest  decomposition,  and  the  entire 
liquid  can  be  recovered  by  distillation.  Caustic  potash 
appears  to  separate  it  into  its  two  generators,  fonning 
cyanide  of  potassium  and  resin  of  aldehyde.  A  little 
ammonia  is  also  evolved,  owing,  probably,  to  the  de- 
composition of  the  cyanide  of  potassium. 

Gaseous  ammonia  is  absorbed  by  this  body,  witii  the 
production  of  a  base,  which  gives  a  precipitate  with 
bichloride  of  platinum.  Our  analyses  of  this  salt  have 
not  yet  enabled  us  to  ascertain  the  composition  of  &e 
base. 

A  strong  solution  of  hydrochloric  acid  acts  With  great 
violence  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  air  upon 
cyanhydrate  of  aldehyde.  If,  however,  the  cyanhydrate 
is  introduced  into  a  balloon  surrounded  with  a  freezing 
mixture,  and  the  hydrochloric  acid  added  gradually, 
the  two  liquids  mix  without  any  reaction  taking  place. 
On  removing  the  open  balloon  from  the  freezing  mix- 
ture, and  placing  it  in  water  at  the  ordinary  temperature, 
the  reaction  soon  commences,  and  proceeds  gradually 
till  the  entire  liquid  becomes  a  mass  of  crystals.  These 
were  twice  treated  with  absolute  alcohol,  and  the 
alcoholic  solution  evaporated,  in  order  to  separate  the 
chloride  of  ammonium  which  is  formed.  A  syrupy 
liquid  was  thus  obtained,  which  was  saturated  at  100® 
C.  with  pure  oxide  of  zinc  and  filtered.  The  iil- 
tered  liquor  gave,  on  cooling,  a  mass  of  beautiful 
prismatic  crystals.  These  were  recrystallised,  heated  in 
an  oil-bath  to  150**  C.  and  analysed.  The  numbers 
obtained  prove  that  tne  body  in  question  was  the 
lactate  of  zinc,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  fbUowing 
table : 


PBni^Wi  adMan,  ToL  XVL,  Na  aa^ 


an,«*-3 


Jan^  1M9L      f 


Method  of  Varying  Weights  hy  MiniUe  Quantities. 


SzpitinMDL 


0  29-84 
H  452 
Zn  2677 


GtUftZn'et. 
29-63 

2675 

The  following  equation  explains  the  formation  of  this 
acid 

C,H4e,HCN + HOI  +  2(Hae)= 0,H.e,  +  NH4GI 

The  insolubility  of  this  salt  in  alcohol,  its  non-decom- 
position at  150^  0.  (sarcolactate  ^ves  off  vapours  at 
this  temperature),  and  its  crystalhne  form,  suflaciently 
prove  that  it  is  the  ordinary  lactate  of  zinc,  and  not  the 
sarcolactate. 

The  cyanhydrine  of  aldehyde  is,  then,  isomeric,  and 
not  identical  with  the  cyanhydrine  of  glycol  of  Wis- 
licenus,  seeing  that  it  gives  ordinary  lactic  acid  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  and  that  it  is  converted  into  a  resin 
by  potash  instead  of  giving' sarcolactic  acid.  Moreover, 
the  cyanides  of  the  glycols  nave  no  disposition  to  evolve 
prussic  acid,  and  cannot  be  obtained  in  quantity  and  in 
a  state  of  purity,  whereas  our  body  can  be  found  in  any 
quant itr  and  perfectly  pure. 

We  have  endeavoured  to  obtain  the  vapour  density 
of  this  body  by  Dumas'  method,  but  without  success. 
On  heating  the  balloon  containing  our  body  till  210®  in 
an  oil-bath  and  removing  it  fron^  the  bath,  we  observed 
that  the  aldehyde  had  been  converted  into  a  resin.  On 
deducting  its  weight  from  the  weight  of  the  balloon  the 
density  of  the  vapour  approached  very  near  that  of 
prussic  acid.  It  appears  to  us,  however,  to  be  suffi- 
ciently proved  that  this  xjompound  only  contains  one 
molecule  of  each  of  the  parent  bodies,  from  the  facts 
that  it  gives  lactic  acid  with  hydrochloric  acid,  and  that 
it  separates  bv  the  action  of  heat  into  prussic  acid  and 
ordinary  aldehyde,  and  not  into  aldehyde  or  paralde- 
hyde. 

It  appears  to  us  that  time  is  a  very  striking  example 
of  an  organic  body  which  is  dissociated  by  heat  and 
reconstructed  by  time. 


NOTE  ON  TES 

ACTION  OP  PEROXIDE  OP  MANGANESE " 
UPON  URIC  AOID. 

BT   0.  GILBERT   WHEELBR. 

The  oxidising  action  of  a  peroxide  upon  organic  sub- 
stances varying  to  some  extent  according  to  the  per- 
oxide employed,  I  have  investigated  the  action  of 
peroxide  of  manganese  upon  uric  acid. 

If  uric  acid  and  peroxide  of  manganese  are  heated 
together  with  a  like  quantity  of  water,  and  sulphuric 
acid  is  added  in  small  portions  at  a  time  until  no  further 
action  is  to  be  observed,  the  black  pasty  mass  then 
filtered,  and  the  filtrate  evaporated  to  about  one-fourth 
of  its  original  volume,  there  is  obtained,  after  consider- 
able time,  a  quantity  of  large  hexagonal  crystiJfl,  which 
by  analysis  and  characteristic  reactions  was  found  to  be 
parabanic  acid.     • 

If  uric  acid  is  heated  with  a  large  quantity  of  water 
onlv,  until  the  latter  is  brought  to  the  boiling-point, 
and  then  peroxide  of  manganese  added  as  long  as  evo- 
lution of  carbonic  acid  occurs,  and  the  mass  filtered, 
there  remains  on  the  filter  peroxide  of  manganese  and 
oxalate  of  manganese,  while  the  filtrate  on  being  some- 
what concentrated  yields  crystals,  which  if  again 
dissolved  and  treated  with  animal  charcoal  may  be 
obtained  colourless  and  quite  pure.  They  were 
tasteless,  rather  difficultly  soluble  in  cold  bat  readily 


soluble  in  warm  water  j  the  solution  gave  with  chloride 
of  mercury  no  precipitate,  while  a  very  voluminous 
one  was  obtained  on  adding  the  nitrate  of  the  same 
base;  nitrate  of  silver  and  ammonia  gave  a  white 
glistening  precipitate;  on  heating,  cyanide  of  am- 
monium was  evolved. 

o*3595  gramme  yielded  on  combustion  0-133  water 
and  0-398  carbonic  acid ;  which  relation  indicated  the 
substance  to  be  allanioin. 

Found.  Theoiy. 

0  30-13        ,  304 

H  4-09  3-8 

The  mother-liquor  contained  much  urea;  also  an 
amorphous  substance,  the  quantity  of  which  was  too 
trifling  to  admit  of  an  analysis.  The  action  of  the 
peroxide  of  manganese  may  be  explained  by  the  fol- 
lowing equation. 
3(CioH4N40.)+6MnO,+8HO=2(CeH«N40«)+i(CaO.H« 
N,)+4(MnO,C,0.)4-  2{Mn0,C0,). 

If  uric  acid  is  heated  with  peroxide  of  manganese  it. 
the  presence  of  but  a  small  quantity,  of  water  there  is 
formed  urea,  oxalic  and  carbonic  acids,  and  but  a  very 
small  quantity  of  allantoin:  the  action  of  peroxide  ot 
manganese  upon  uric  acia  resembles  therefore  very 
closely  that  of  peroxide  of  lead. — Amerioan  Journal  of 
Science^  Sept  1867. 


NOTE  UPON  ▲ 

METHOD  OP  VARYING  WEIGHTS  BY  MINUTE 
QUANTITIES. 

BY  J.   A.   BROUN,   r.B.8. 

A  KOTiCE  of  a  Gravimeter,  proposed  by  me,  appeared 
in  the  Procetdinga  of  the  Koyal  Society  of  Edinburgh 
early  in  1861.  The  instrument^  with  various  modifica- 
tions, was  forwarded  to  me  in  India  about  three  years 
thereafter,  and  was  found  to  have  several  imperfections 
which  could  have  been  corrected  only  by  my  own 
supervision  of  the  work  as  it  proceeded.  His  Highness 
the  Rajah  of  Travancore  has  been  good  enough  to 
sanction  a  sum  of  money  for  the  construction  of  a 
second  instrument,  with  iXL  the  precautions  experience 
has  suggested. 

There  are  two  methods  by  which  the  observations 
may  be  made.  One,  by  which  there  is  a  constant 
angle  of  torsion  of  a  single  wire  giving  a  variable 
angular  movement  to  the  weight  suspended  by  two 
wires  (depending  on  the  force  of  gravity  at  the  place 
of  observation).  The  other,  by  which  the  weight  sus- 
pended is  varied,  and  the  angles  of  torsion  of  the  single 
wire  and  movement  of  the  weight  are  constant  This 
second  method  I  had  at  first  rejected,  as  experience 
had  shown  me  the  difficulty  of  changing  the  weights 
without  affecting  the  stability  of  the  instrument.  I 
desire  now  to  note  that  I  devised,  about  a  year  ago. 
and  communicated  to  different  men  of  science,  a  methoa 
of  varying  the  weight,  suspended  with  the  greatest 
delicacy,  and  without  jar  to  the  instrument.  This 
methoa  consists  in  suspending  from  the  weight  a 
metallic  wire,  which  enters  a  piece  of  barometer  tube 
fixed  below  the  instrument:  by  means  of  a  screw 
entering  a  cistem  below  the  tube,  mercury  (or  another 
fluid)  can  be  forced  into  the  tube  so  as  to  immerse  the 
metallic  wire  in  the  fluid;  the  wire  being  properly 
chosen  as  to  fineness,  or  as  to  its  specific  gravity  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  fluid,  and  the  height  of  the  fluid 
being  read  to  a  thousandth  of  an  inch  as  in  the  bar^- 


[BncUdi 


▼oL  ZVI,  Na  413^  pi«M  tM,  lift.} 


Powdered  Oastile  Soap — The  Watefi^  Svpply  of  Calcutta.   {^^■X1;^^ 


meter,  the  weight  suspended  can  be  mad«^,  by  turning 
the  cistem-Bcrew,  to  vary  gently  and  gradually ,  by  as 
minute  a  quantity  as  we  please;  Vhile  the  eye  is 
occupied  with  the  coincidences  of  the  telescope  wire 
and  its  images,  which  indicate  the  constancy  of  the 
angles  of  torsion  of  the  single  and  double  wires. 

Although  the  dijQerence  of  the  specific  gravities  is 
consideraljle,  I  propose  to  employ  iron  for  the  wire  and 
mercury  for  the  fluid. 

It  has  occunped  to  me  that  this  method  of  varying  a 
weight  might  be  of  use  in  other  branches  of  research. — 
Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh^  Session 
1866-67. 


NOTES  ON  POWDERED  CASTILE  SOAP. 

BY   JOSEPH   P.    REMIKOTON,    BROOKLYN,    N.Y. 

Thc  following  notes  are  contributed  to  the  present  fund 
of  knowledge  on  the  subject  of  drug  powdering : — 
'  Exp,  I.  986  avoirdupois  ounces  of  white  Castile  soap 
(Conti)  were  shaved  into  thin  sUces,  by  means  of  a 
common  cabbage-cutter,  then  spread  on  shallow  trays, 
and  exposed  to  the  air  in  a  drying-room,  temp.  84®  F., 
for  one  week,  transferred  then  to  a  drying-room,  temp. 
125^,  and  left  there  three  weeks,  at  tibe  end  of  which 
time  it  weighed  724  ounces  avoir.,  thus  losing  26*57 
per  cent  of  water ;  it  was  then  powdered  in  the  orcfi- 
nary  chaser  or  Chilian  mill,  and  lost  7  ounces  more  in 
the  process  of  pulverising,  making  the  total  loss  27*28 
per  cent. 

Exp.  2.  960  ounces  avoirdupois  of  the  floating  variety 
of  white  Castile  soap,  afler  standing  in  a  moderately 
dry  room  for  fifteen  months  (losing  224  ounces,  or  23- 3 
per  cent.),  on  being  further  dried  and  powdered,  in  a 
similar  manner,  lost  56  ounces  more,  making  a  total 
loss  of  280  ounces,  or  29*16  per  cent. 

£xp,  3.  1,112  ounces  avoirdupois  of  mottled  Castile 
soap  (conmiercial)  treated  precisely  in  the  same  way, 
lost  320  ounces,  or  28*8  per  cent.  The  average  loss  on 
five  previous  lots  vras  21  per  cent,  the  amount  of  water 
present  varying  in  each  case,  losing  respectively  20, 
11^,  18,  27  and  29  per  cent  The  lots  which  lost  iii 
and  18  per  cent  had  undoubtedly  been  kept  some  time, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  lot  losing  ii^  per  cent,  half  of 
the  water  which  would  help  to  form  the  ordinary  loss 
was  lost  before  it  was  sent  to  powder.  The  first  and 
last  experiments  were  made  with  soap  recently  im- 
ported. It  will  be  noticed  that  in  these  experiments 
(which  I  may  state  were  carefully  conducted)  the  mot- 
tled Castile  soap  does  not  support  its  reputation  for 
strength  (its  only  credited  merit  over  the  white).  Ac- 
cording to  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  good  mottled  Cas^ 
tile  soap  should  not  contain  more  than  14  per  cent  of 
water ;  this  contained,  then,  double  the  proper  amount 
The  same  authority  states  that  white  Castile  soap 
should  not  have  more  than  2 1  per  cent. ;  in  both  experi- 
ments' with  the  white  it  was  found  to  contain  an 
excess  of  at  least  6  per  cent  of  water. 

There  is  an  important  reason  for  not  putting  the  soap 
in  the  room  of  hieher  temperature  at  first  for  it  would 
then  melt,  insteaa  of  drying  properly,  and  become  un- 
manageable. The  powder  from  the  first  experiment 
was  fine,  light,  and  very  white ;  that  from  the  second 
was  not  so  white,  owmff,  probably,  to  the  fact  of  its 
being  kept  a  greater  length  of  time  and  the  presence  of 
a  UtUe  sesquioxide  of  iron,  the  colour  of  the  iron  being 
masked  when  the  soap  was  fresh,  as  in  the  first  experi- 
n\ent)  the  iron  being  then  in  the  state  of  protoxide;  21 


cents  per  lb.  was  paid  for  the  white  Boi^  (in  Exp.  i) 
which  was  a  low  figure  (Feb.,  1867),  and  as  the  loss 
was  27*28  per  cent,  allowing  12  cents  per  lb.  for  pow- 
dering, the  lowest  cost  of  the  powder  would  he  38 
cents,  and  yet  a  powdered  white  Castile  can  be  bought 
for  that  price ;  the  infereuce  regarding  the  character  of 
such  a  powder  is  of  course  unmistakable.  It  would  be 
an  easy  task  for  the  pharmacist  to  prepare  his  own 
powdered  soap,  the  only  necessary  outlay  would  be  for 
that  unscientinc  instrument,  the  cabbage-cutter,  which, 
however,  could  be  used  with  advantage  in  making 
linct  sapon,  camph.,  opodeldoc,  soap  plaster,  etc.,  not 
to  speak  of  its  legitimate  use ;  for  small  operations  the 
soap  could  be  shaved  with  a  spatula.  If  a  drying-room 
is  not  at  command,  the  difficulty  of  drying  it  thoroughly 
may  be  overcome  by  shaving  the  soiq>  very  thin,  then 
spreading  on  paper  and  setting  in  a  warm  place ;  the 
(frying  of  course  is  hastened- by  a  current  of  air.  Afler 
it  becomes  dry  and  friable,  it  can  be  easily  powdered 
in  a  mortar  and  sifted  through  a  fine  sieve,  and  the 
pharmacist  has  then  the  satisfaction  of  saving  the  dif- 
lerence  in  the  cost  of  powdering  and  of  furthering  the 
cause  of  "Medicinae  Puritas." — American  Journal  of 
Pharmacy, 


THE  WATER  SUPPLY  OF  CALCUTTA.* 

Thb  question  of  the  water  supply  is  now  beins  agitated 
in  Calcutta,  and  the  first  of  these  papers  has  been 
drawn  up  by  Mr.  Spencer,  by  order  of  the  municipal 
justices. 

The  matter  treated  of  in  the  report  is  taken  under 
the  following  heads — subsidence,  mechanical  filtration, 
purification,  nature  of  the  purifying  material.  The 
Hoogly  water,  it  appears,  contains  a  large  quantity  of 
suspended  matter,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  veiy 
fine  mud.  The  author  thinks  it  would  not  be  safe  to 
estimate  the  amount  of  sedimentary  matter  at  less  than 
a  cubic  inch  to  a  cubic  foot  of  water.  He  therefore 
strongly  insists  upon  the  necessity  of  lai^  reservoin 
for  the  subsidence  to  take  place  in,  so  as  to  give  the 
filter  beds  as  little  mechanical  work  as  possible.  There 
are  some  difi*erences  from  the  ordinary  methods,  and 
apparently  advantages  in  the  one  recommended  for  the 
construction  of  the  filter  beds. 

The  water  enters  the  beds  considerably  like  a  ^riDg. 
It  is  suppUed  from  a  basin  in  the  centre,  and  qtreada 
gradually  over  the  surface.  The  author  says:  "The 
water  descends  through  the  sand,  not  in  straight,  but 
in  a  series  of  cohoidal  lines,  intersecting  each  other, 
and  which  converge  below  at  the  regulating  apparatus, 
where  the  water  is  bent  upwards,  as  in  a  spring,  before 
it  reaches  the  lateral  drains  at  ihe  bottom  of  the  bed." 
The  purifying  material  is  magnetic  oxide  of  iron  im- 
pregnated with  carbon;  it  is  mixed  with  sand,  sod 
fragments  of  some  coarser  material  are  added  to  act  as 
retarding  media. 

It  is  necessary  -that  .the  msignetic  oxide  should  be 
porous,  and  for  this  reason  the  native  mineral  is  not 
suitable.  The  author  explains  that  a  compact  crystal- 
line ore  cannot  be  as  effective  as  the  same  material 
when  porous;  few  would  be  inclined  to  dispute  the 
fact  In  the  preparation  of  the  artificial  magnetic 
oxide  to  be  used,  either  spathic  iron  ore  or  haematite 
is  heated  until  the  carbonic  acid  or  oxygen  is  expelled. 

•  "  Repo-t  on  the  PurlfloaUon  of  the  Hoogly  Water  for  the  tepp^ 
of  Calcutta.'^  by  Thomas  SpcDoer,  F.C.8. 

*•  Experimental  InTesifgatfoiw  eonneeted  wfth  the  Happly  of  Water 
from  tke  Uoegly  to  Oaloatta,"  by  DarM  WaldlA,  F.CJS. 


▼«L  ZVL,  X^  413^  ptCM  fl8^«(^  aU.] 


OmncAL  WswB,  I 


The  Atmosphere  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway. 


The  heat  required  in  the  latter  case  must  make  it  a 
radier  expensive  operation.  The  porous  material  re- 
maining is  impregnated  with  carbon. 

The  use  of  this  purifying  material,  to  which  the  name 
carbide  has  been  given,  is  to  destroy  the  organic  matter 
in  the  water.  The  ordinary  process  of  atmospheric 
oxidation  proceeds  more  rapidly,  we  are  told,  by  a 
magnetic  attraction    for  oxygen,  which  the  carbide 


"  The  purifying  operation  which  takes  place  in  con- 
tact with  the  carbide,  may  be  explained  by  stating, 
that  the  atmospheric  oxygen  in  the  water  is  attracted 
into  the  pores  or  cells  of  this  substance,  in  virtue  of  its 
magnetic  nature— and  because  oxygen  it8*»lf  is  also  a 
magnetic  body.  The  consequence  is,  that  this  purify- 
ing gas,  like  all  other  magnetic  bodies,  becomes  polar- 
ised in  the  presence  of  a  similar  body,  by  which  a 
complete  change  of  property  ensues.  In  a  word,  from 
a  state  of  comparative  inertness,  which  does  not  allow 
it  to  combine  very  readily  with  organic  matter,  this 
gaseous  body  suddenly  becomes  a  most  active  agent  of 
natural  purification,  viz.,  ozone." 

The  author's  theory  is  ingenious,  but  like  many 
beautiful  things  it  is,  we  are  afraid,  fragile. 

It  is  mentioned  in  the  report  that  large  purifying 
works  have  been  constructed  at  Wakefield  in  York- 
shire, upon  the  plan  recommended,  and  have  proved 
very  successful.  Still  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  so  little 
has  been  heard  of  this  process  during  the  seven  years 
in  which  the  author  says  he  has  had  practical  experi- 
ence with  it.  In  remarking  this  we  have  no  wish  to 
disparage  Mr.  Spencer's  process:  on  the  contrary,  if 
the  purifying  material  possess  the  virtues  accorded  to 
it  by  the  discoverer,  it  is  especially  our  duty  to  protest 
against  anything  less  than  the  universal  application  of 
the  process  in  this  country.  The  destruction  of  the 
organic  matter  contained  m  water  used  for  drinking 
pnrpos»'8  is  a  question  of  immense  importance.  Un- 
fortunately, results  obtained  with  any  method  by  its 
discoverer,  are  apt  to  be  viewed  sceptically.  There 
are  many  who  believe  such  bodies  as  carbon,  and 
magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  to  act  by  the  oxygen  which 
has  b^»en  condensed  in  their  pores  when  dry,  and  that 
after  being  in  contact  with  water  for  a  time,  the  action 
becomes  feebler,  and  finally  disappears.  We  are  not 
aware  that  any  experiments  proving  the  contrary  in 
'  thp  case  of  the  magnetic  oxide  of  iron  have  ever  been 
published  if  made.  The  subject  is  too  important  to 
allow  of  the  passing  over  of  facte,  as  if  proved,  without 
such  has  been  shown  to  be  the  case  by  the  most  rigid 
tests.  A  few  lines  further  on  a  quotation  is  inserted,  con- 
taining an  assumption  which  it  is  hardly  possible  to  grant 

An  examination  of  the  Hoo;ily  water  suggested  to 
the  author  the  presence  of  decomposing  animal  matter 
in  the  water.  Describing  the  odour  emitted,  he  says : 
— "It  was  that  peculiar  odour  which  unmistakably 
betokens  those  gases  which  are  generated  by  decom- 
posing animal  matters."  Shortly  afterwards  this 
statement  occurs,  in  reference  to  the  water  passed 
through  a  carbide  filter.  "  Subsequent  analysis  showed 
that  it  contained  (o'6o)  a  very  little  over  half  a  grain 
of  organic  matter  to  the  gallon — a  quantity  which  is 
practically  harmless,  if  composed  of  vegetable  matter." 
Has  the  author  any  reason  to  suppose  that  the  decom- 
posing animal  matter  would  be  oxidised  before  the  veg- 
etable matter  ?  Most  chemists  would  oppose  such  a  sup- 
position, but  the  author  makes  use  of  it  as  a  quasi  fact 

The  amount  of  organic  matter  in  the  water  of  the 
River  Hoogly,  after  separation  of  sedimentary  matter, 


is  given,  as  well  as  that  of  the  other  constituents,  in  an 
addendum :  organic  matter  and  loss  together  equal  i  '96 
grains  to  a  gallon.  This  amount  includes  certain  small 
amounts  of  phosphoric  and  nitric  acids,  which  were 
Hietected,  but  were  too  small  to  bear  quantitative  esti- 
mation. In  the  present  scheme  there  would  be  8  filter 
beds,  and  5,000  tons  of  carbide  is  the  amount  estimated 
as  necessary  fbr  the  proper  purification  of  the  water 
which  would  pass  through. 

Mr.  Waldie  has  been  engaged  for  some  time  in  mak- 
ing a  minute  examination  of  the  constituents  of  both 
the  water  and  mud  of  the  Hoogly,  behoving  the  re- 
search would  possess  some  scientific  interest.  The 
investigation,  he  says,  is  far  from  completion,  but  as 
the  subject  is  now  attracting  considerable  attention. in 
Calcutta,  he  publishes  some  of  the  results  obtained — 
those  bearing  on  the  suitability  of  the  river  as  a  source 
of  water  supply  for  domestic  purposes.  This  water  has 
been  found  to  be  superior  to  most  of  the  other  waters 
supplied  to  the  town.  These  other  waters  are  the 
tank  waters,  which  the  author  found  to  be  harder,  and 
to  contain  much  more  organic  matter — two,  three,  or 
four  times  as  much.  The  Hoogly  water  is  rather  hard 
during  the  dry  season,  but  by  boihng  the  hardness  is 
reduced  to  a  very  small  amount  As  regards  organic 
matter,  the  river  water  is  better  than  any  of  the  Lon- 
don waters.  In  January  and  November  it  in  no  case 
exceeded  i'05  grains  per  gallon.  During  flood  tide  the 
organic  matter  is  about  twice  as  much  as  during  ebb 
tides.  Yet  the  highest  amount  obtained  was  rather 
less  than  two  grains  per  gallon.  The  quality  of  the 
organic  matter  does  not  seem  very  satisfactory.  The 
author  says  that  when  partially  separated  firom  saline 
matter,  the  organic  matter  in  the  Hoogly  water,  during 
the  rainy  season,  resembled,  in  its  general  properties, 
animal  excrementitious  matter ;  while  in  the  dry  season 
it  more  resembled  urinous  secretions.  Certainly,  water 
contaminated  in  this  way  must  be  very  efficiently 
purified  to  make  drinking  it  a  harmless  experiment 
The  soil  of  Calcutta  is  more  or  less  penetrated  by  sew- 
age water,  all  over  the  town;  for  the  author  found 
that  the  water  from  temporary  wells,  dug  for  the  pur- 
pose, was  "  simply  sewage  water  deprived  of  the  greater 
part  of  its  bad  smell  by  passing  through  the  earth." 

Mr.  Waliie  considers  the  permanganate  of  potash  a 
doubtful  means  of  estimating  the  organic  matter  in 
water;  the  oxidation  test  appears  to  indicate  only 
certain  kinds  of  impurities.  According  to  this  test 
General's  tank-water  (considered  the  best  for  drinking 
in  Calcutta)  contained  as  much  organic  impurity  as  the 
water  of  the  salt  marsh  to  the  east  of  the  town.  The 
water  of  the  circular  canal,  too,  which  receives  the 
greater  portion  of  the  sewage  of  Calcutta,  required  no 
more  oxygen  than  that  of  the  best  tanks.  He  believes 
the  determination  by  weight  to  be  the  most  trust- 
worthy method.  In  summing  up,  the  author  says — 
As  regards  the  inorganic  constituents,  the  water  of 
the  Hoogly  is  at  least  as  good  as  any  supplied  to  Lor  - 
don.  The  organic  impurity  seems  to  be  worst  during 
the  rainy  season ;  the  water  is  purest  in  this  respect  in 
the  cold  season,  and  it  is  doubtfiil  whether  during  the 
very  hot  season  the  organic  matter  equals  that  during 
the  rainy  season. 

THE  ATMOSPHERE  OF  THE  METROPOLITAN 
RAILWAY. 

In  this  part  of  our  paper  we  give  a  fiill  report  of 
the  inquiry  relating  to  the  air  of  the  Metropolitan 


[Bajllsli  EdltioB,  ToL  Z7L,  Ha  413,  paisf  881 ,  831 ;  lf»  414,  !»«•  ^^1 


The  Atmosphere  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway. 


j  CnmcAL  Viwi, 


Railway.  In  the  interests  of  the  public  the  results  of 
the  scientific  evidence  here  brought  forward  should  not 
pass  without  comment.  Considering  the  mode  in 
which  gas  analyses  generally,  especially  those  of  air, 
are  periormed,  the  work  done  by  the  chemical  referees 
deserves  high  praise  ;  but  the  inferences  which  the 
public  are  hkely  to  draw  from  the  condensed  reports 
nitherto  published  are  certainly  not  justified  by  a 
careful  analysis  of  the  whole  of  the  evidence.  For  the 
sake  of  clearness  we  will  here  give  a  summary  of  the 
details.    In  the  tunnels  Professor  Rodgers  found — 

I  of  sulphurous  acid  in 40,789  vols. 

"  "     .      "    .      23.913    " 

13  of  carbonic  acid  m 10,000    " 

187        "  **   10,000    " 

The  average  amount  of  oxygen  found  was  20*17  per 
cent.,  in  one  instance  sinking  as  low  as  187  per  cent 

At  Box  tunnel  there  were  found  to  be  20-3  per  cent 
of  oxygen ;  at  Blackheath  tunnel,  20'0  ;  at  the  Crystal 
Palace  tunnel,  107 ;  at  Birkenhead  tunnel,  20*1  per 
cent ;  at  Wolverhampton  tunnel,  20*3  per  cent  These 
figures  are  contrasted  with  Pimlico  air,  which  con- 
tains 20'9  per  cent  ' 

Such  results  are  very  remarkable,  and  we  confess  we 
iirere  not  prepared  for  such  a  deficiency  of  oxygen  in 
tunnels.  The  actual  loss  of  oxygen  is  known  not  to  be 
of  great  importance  in  itself,  but  as  an  indication  of 
impurity  it  is  one  of  the  most  delicate  tests.  When 
the  oxygen  is  removed  in  small  quantities  by  simple 
absorbents,  it  is  not  missed,  but  when  it  is  replaced  by 
the  ordinary  products  of  combustion  and  of  respiration, 
the  minutest  portions  make  the  deterioration  of  air 
evident  to  the  senses.  The  deficiency  here,  according 
to  Professor  Rodgers,  is  as  much  as  20*9 — 20*17,  or 
073  per  cent 

The  amount  of  oxygen  found  in  the  bowels  of  the 
deepest  mines  of  Grreat  Britain  was  found  in  an  average 
of  several  hundred  cases  to  be  20*26,  or  more  than  in 
the  tJnderground  Railway,  whilst  the  air  of  a  large 
city  has  been  found  to  contain  20*947.  Now  we  can 
scarcely  look  on  the  air  of  London  as  worse  than  that, 
and  we  may  safely  say  that  if  the  air  of  Pimlico  had 
been  taken  more  frequently,  a  higher  average  than 
90*9  would  have  been  attained,  although  we  agree 
with  Professor  Rodgers  that  209  wiU  be  the  amount 
at  some  times  and  places.  Without  being  too  minute, 
we  have  therefore  to  record  the  existence  in  the 
Underground  Railway  of  an  atmosphere  more  hurtful 
than  that  of  the  average  of  metalliferous  mines. 

Besides  this,  sulphurous  acid,  one  of  the  evils  absent 
from  the  mines,  is  found  in  the  Underground  Railway. 
One  volume  in  23,000  we  consider  very  high,  if  we 
accept,  on  Dr.  Letheby's  authority,  that  i  in  100,000 
would  create  coughing. 

As  to  carbonic  acid,  the  amount  in  London  streets  is 
less  than  4  in  10,000.  18*7  is  high  for  the  Under- 
ground Railway,  although  Dr.  Letheby  is  right  in 
saying  that  crowded  rooms  contiun  sometimes  more 
than  this. 

If  we  look  at  the  analyses  of  Drs.  Letheby,  Bach-* 
hoffher,  and  Whitmore,  we  observe  results  different 
from  those  of  Professor  Rodgers.  They  do  not  give 
the  oxygen,  but  say  that  sulphurous  acid  to  the  amount 
of  I  in  100,000  could  not  be  detected.  The  carbonic 
acid  found  was  about  5,  although  it  ruse  in  one  case  to 
9,  and  in  another  to  12*7  in  10,000.  It  is,  moreover, 
worthy  of  remark  that  only  where  the  carbonic  acid  is 
low  are  the  maximum  and  minimum  shown.     In  all 


cases  where  the  quantity  exceeds  5*5  parts  in  10,000, 
the  air  was  taken  when  it  was  likely  to  be  foulest 
(4  p.m.),  and  the  mean  only  is  given.  An  explanation 
why  the  maximvm  was  not  given  in  these  cases  is 
certainly  due  to  the  public.  The  oxygen  is  said  not  to 
be  deficient,  but  results  are  wanting. 

We  have  here  two  views  of  the  case  not  agreeing 
very  well  with  each  other,  although  not  in  all  points 
contradictory.  Both,  however,  agree  in  drawing  con- 
clusions favourable  to  the  air  of  the  railway.  For 
ourselves  w'e  are  unable  to  tlraw  any  such  satisfactory 
conclusions;  the  analyses  are  not  dear.  Are  we  to 
look  on  the  average  air  as  containing  only  five  or  nz 
parts  of  carbonic  acid  per  10,000,  or  are  we  to  consider 
that  it  has  lost  7  or  8  tenths  of  a  per  cent  ot 
oxygen,  which  would  indicate  a  larger  amount  of  car- 
bonic acid  ?  Or,  again,  are  we  to  believe  that  there  is 
too  httle  sulphurous  acid  to  do  injury,  or  5  times  more 
than  is  needful  to  make  us  cough  ?  All  these  questions 
still  remain  unanswered,  and  yet  the  Companies  are 
believed  by  many  to  have  made  an  excellent  case. 

If  there  is  a  loss  of  0*73  per  cent  of  oxygen,  where 
has  it  gone  ?  We  do  not  find  it  accounted  for  either 
in  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  or  sulphurous  acid. 

We  do  not  say  that  this  proves  the  analyses  to  be 
incorrect,  because  the  air  might  have  been  collected 
separately  for  the  two  analyses,  but  it  certainly  proves 
insufficiency  of  evidence.  The  public  ought  not  to  be 
troubled  with  these  discrepancies  ;  the  results  ought 
to  be  laid  before  them  clear  and  unquestionable  :  less 
than  this  implies  imperfect  work  and  deficient  time. 
Chemical  referees  cannot  fail  to  come  to  identical 
results  if  they  work  well  and  long  enough. 

We  can  see  little  good  in  partially  corroborating 
evidence,  or  in  oppoSing  it  with  contradiction  enoup 
to  admit  of  doubt  The  c^uestion  is  not  pushed  to  the 
utmost,  and  the  public  will  think  exactly  as  before. 
And  what  does  it  think  ?  Why,  that  the  air  is  reaDj 
very  bad,  and  that  if  chemists  have  failed  to  prove  it 
so,  so  much  the  worse  for  the  chemists,  but  the  air  is 
no  better  for  all  that  They  think  too  that  the^  care 
little  for  averages,  because* a  traveller  by  the  Lnder- 
ground  Railway  does  not  breathe  there  a  m^re  average, 
but  at  times  a  real  blast  from  the  chimney,  in  an 
atn^osphere  already  vitiated.  What  is  the  amount  of 
carbonic  or  of  sulphurous  acid  in  that  blast  ?  That 
depends  on  the  coal,  and  is  easily  calculated.  They  wifl 
believe,  too,  that  although  the  air  may  not  be  capable 
of  killing  a  strong  man,  it  is  less  capable  of  supporting 
vitality  Sian  the  air  outside,  and  it  is  deadly  to  those 
who  cannot  bear  so  much  impurity,  exactly  as  the  air 
even  of  London  is  to  those  who  are  so  constituted  that 
they  must  live  in  the  country.  To  take  a  delicate 
organism  as  an  instance ;  will  anyone  say  that  a  lark 
could  live  in  such  air  as  was  found  ?  We  cannot  name 
the  point  at  which  the  quality  '^  deadly  "  begins ;  it  is  a 
matter  of  degree.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  air  is  of 
an  inferior  description,  how  bad  we  do  not  exactly 
know ;  but  if  it  were  really  desired  to  be  ascertained, 
numerous  experiments  should  be  made,  and  when 
there  was  a  diversity  of  opinion  we  would  have  the 
matter  investigated  till  every  point  was  clear.  It  does 
not  amount  to  a  scientific  inquiry  when  two  sides 
throw  down  the  dice  and  shout  immediately  who  has 
won.  The  first  experiments  are  generiUly  useful 
merely  to  show  the  difficulties.  Time  and  money  are 
spent  in  obtaining  scientific  reports,  and  again  more 
time  and  money  in  obtaining  reports  to  contradict 
them  ;   but  tlie  next  step,  namely,  insisting  that  the/ 


[BngUahBdltlaiVyoLXn.,No.414|  pH*33^] 


CnxTOAt  Niirt,  1 


The  Atrfiosphere  of  the  Metropolitan  RdUway. 


shall  agree,  is  too  seldom  taken.  In  this  case  they  do 
agree  in  conclusions,  we  think  without  sufficient  reason. 
Perhaps  in  this  case  some  of  the  weakness  arises 
from  a  desire  to  protect  the  Company.  It  would  be 
unwise  to  blame  that  body  as  it  its  conduct  were 
reprehensible.  The  Directors  must  desire  pure  air  more 
even  than  the  public  desires  it,  as  it  would  increase 
both  the  comfort  of  the  public  and  their  profits.  It 
shows  great  weakness  on  the  part  of  the  Cfompany  to 
appear  at  all  afraid,  or  to  seek  to  defend  itself.  It  is 
enough  if  the  Directors,  have  done  their  best,  and  are 
ready  to  improve  as  soon  as  a  method  is  shown  them. 
The  railway  is  too  valuable  to  be  without  defenders, 
and  the  appointment  of  persons  by  the  Company  to 
conduct  the  examination  for  them  weakens  their  case 
in  the  eyes  of  the  public.  However  honourable  these 
men  are,  the  public  will  say — "  The  Directors,  after 
blowing  smoke  into  our  nostrils,  attempt  to  throw 
dust  into  our  eyes."  It  would  be  far  better  for  them 
to  make  no  defence  at  all,  but  improve  the  air  of  the 
tanneU  to  their  utmost,  never  resting  satisfied  until  the 
public  ceases  to  complain. 


An  adjourned  inquiry*  before  Dr.  Lankester,  coroner 
for  the  central  division  of  Middlesex,  relative  to  the 
death  of  Elizabeth  Stainsby,  who  died  suddenly  at  the 
King's  Cross  station  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway  on 
the  evening  of  the  28th  of  August,  was  concluded  on 
the  30th  of  October. 

In  consequence  of  a  suggestion  at  a  former  sitting 
that  the  impurity  of  the  air  in  the  tunnels  of  the  line 
might  have  accelerated  the  death  of  the  person  in 
question,  the  Coroner  directed  a  scientific  examination 
of  the  air  of  the  various  tunnels.^  The  result  of  that 
investigation  was  now  laid  before  *the  jury. 

Mr.  Hawkins,  Q.C.,  and  Mr.  Myles  Fenton,  General 
Manager  of  the  Metropolitan  Railway,  attended  on 
behalf  of  the  Company. 

The  Coroner  reminded  the  jury  that,  according  to 
the  evidence  of  Dr.  Popham,  the  young  woman,  whose 
death  they  were  investigating,  had  disease  of  the 
heart;  but  although  a  person  suffering  from  that 
disease  mi^ht  be  expected  to  die  suddenly  even  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  the  jury  might  very  properly 
inquire  whether  any  circumstance  or  condition  to 
which  the  deceased  had  been  exposed  had  accelerated 
death  ;  and  in  the  present  instance  it  was  more  espe- 
cially their  duty  to  ascertain  whether  tha  condition  of 
the  atmosphere  in  the  underground  tunnels  had  had 
the  effect  of  bringing  about  the  dieceased's  death  sooner 
than  it  would  have  otherwise  occurred.  Dr.  Popham, 
who  had  made  a  post-mortem  examination,  said  m  his 
evidence  that  he  did  not  know  sufiicient  of  the  nature 
of  the  atmosphere  of  the  line  to  be  able  to  say  whether 
or  not  it  had  hastened  death  in  this  case.  Although  it 
had  been  said  by  some  persons  that  the  atmosphere  of 
the  railway  really  produced  no  other  effect  than  the 
external  air,  there  seemed  to  be  a  general  feeling  at 
the  former  sittings  that  the  air  of  the  tunnels  was 
different  in  its  quality  from  the  air  in  the  open  street ; 
and  the  question  arose  whether  that  difference  was 
due  to  anything  which  would  hasten  the  death  of  any 
person.  For  this  reason  it  was  determined  that  an 
analvsis  of  the  air  should  be  made,  and  he  had  request- 
ed Professor  Rodgers  to  make  such  an  analysis.  The 
railway  authorities  had  been  very  anxious  to  get  at 
the  truth  of  the  matter,  and  they  had  themselves  em- 

*  SpecUtllf  reported  for  the  Chsmioal  Nkws. 


ployed  some  scientific  gentlemen  to  make  a  similar  in- 
vestigation. He  rthe  Coroner)  must  say  that  he  re- 
gretted that  in  such  cases  as  the  present  the  Coroner 
had  not  a  competent  official  assessor  to  instruct  and  as- 
sist him,  for  when  scientific  men  were  employed  by 
the  parties  interested  in  these  cases  it  often  happened 
that  they  were  supp)osed  to  advocate  the  interests  of 
the  side  which  had  sought  their  services. 

At  the  request  of  Professor  Rodgers,  the  Coroner  read 
his  notes  of  Dr.  Popham's  evidence  as  to  the  posUmoV' 
tern  appearances. 

Mr.  J.  B.  D.  RoDGERi  was  then  sworn  and  examined. 
He  said :  I  am  lecturer  on  medical  jurisprudence  and 
toxicology  at  the  London  Hospital  Medical  College,  and 
I  lectured  many  years  on  Chemistry  at  the  old  St. 
George's  School  of  Medicine.  I  am  also  a  member  of 
the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  and  Licentiate  of  Apoth- 
ecaries* Hall.  I  have  often  been  eniployed  to  give 
evidence  at  coroners'  courts, — as  much,  I  believe,  as  any 
toxicologist  in  England.  I  was  especially  so  employed 
by  Mr.  Wakley.  I  hold  the  coroner's  warrant  for  exam- 
ining the  air  of  the  Underground  Railway.  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  the  fact  that  the  illness  of  the  deceased 
commenced  at  the  Bishop's  Road  station.  Dr.  Popham. 
has  informed  me  that  her  stomach  was  full  of  food,  and 
I  have  also  been  informed  that  the  dress  was  remarkably 
tight  round  the  waist. 

The  Coroner  :  We  have  had  no  evidence  of  that  fact^ 
Who  undressed  the  woman  ? 

Dr.  Popham  :  I  was  present.  The  dress  was  certainly 
very  tight — more  than  ordinarily  so.  I  think  it  was  X 
who  cut  the  stay-lacea.  They  compressed  the  lungs  and 
chest  a  good  deal.  She  had  no  belt,  but  she  wore  two 
dresses. 

Professor  Rodgers:  I  have  carefully  analysed  and 
tested  the  air  contained  in  the  tunnels  of  the  Under- 
ground Railway  between  the  Bishop's  Road  and  King's 
Cross  stations.  I  have  done  this  on  four  occasions — 
namely,  September  4th,  September  loth,  October*  2nd, 
and  dctober  28  ih.  With  a  view  to  compare  the  chemi- 
cal constitution  of  the  air  of  these  tunnels  with  that  of 
others,  I  have  also  subjected  to  experiments  air  tak^n 
from  the  Blackheath  tunnel,  the  Gipsy  Hill  tunnel  on 
the  Crystal  Palace  line,  the  tunnel  between  King's  Cross 
and  Finchley  on  the  Great  Northern  line,  and  the  Box 
tunnel,  the  Wolverhampton  tunnel,  and  the  Birkenhead 
tunnel,  on  the  Great  Western  Railway.  I  have  also 
examined  and  tested  the  air  of  London  m  as  pure  a  con- 
dition as  I  could  obtain  it,  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
amount  of  deterioration  that  that  of  the  tunnels  had 
undergone.  The  atmosphere  in  a  pure  condition  con- 
sists by  volume  of  79*19  measures  of  nitrogen,  and  20'8i 
of  oxygen,  and  every  10,000  measures  of  air  contain  from 
37  to  6*2  measures  of  carbonic  acid.  On  September 
4th  I  visited  the  Metropolitan  Railway  between  the 
hours  of  3  and  5  p.m.,  and  tested  the  general  nature  of 
the  air,  and  collected  certain  portions  for  subsequent 
examination.  In  1 7  cubic  inches  of  air  taken  from  each 
of  the  five  tunnels  between  Bishop's  Road  and  King's 
Cross,  and  tested  for  carbonic  acid  (with  the  exception 
of  the  air  from  the  Gower  Street  and  King's  Cross 
tunnel,  which  contained  a  more  notable  quantity),  only 
a  slight  trace  of  carbonic  acid  was  indicated.  The  per- 
centage of  oxygen  in  the  samples  then  taken  was — 

.  In  the  Bishop's  Road  tunnel 20*48 

"        Kdgnare  Road       " 206 

"       Baker  Street  "  ....   20-3 

«'       PortlandRoad       " 201 

In  the  air  of  the  tunnel  between  Gower  Street  and 


[BncUdi 


ToL  XVI,  Va  4H  pi«Ma38^  230^  237.] 


8 


The  Atmoephere  of  the  Metropditan  Railway. 


King's  Cross,  an  opportunity  having  been  watched  to 
get  some  of  the  worst  air,  I  found  that  the  percentage 
of  oxygen  was  187.  With  this  exception  the  air  of  the 
tunnels  was  not  far  below  the  external  atmosphere  as 
for  as  its  oxygen  was  concerned.  In  travelling  back- 
wards and  forwards  the  atmosphere  between  Gower 
Street  and  Portland  Road  was  occasionally  unpleasant, 
but  still  I  felt  no  faintness  or  exhaustion  from  it.  On 
my  next  visit,  September  10th,  between  the  hours  of 
ID  and  1 1  p.m.,  I  made  an  arrangement  by  which  I 
could  determine  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  and  sul- 
phurous acid  contained  in  775  cubic  inches  of  the  air 
taken  from  the  tunnels  during  my  transit  backwards 
and  forwards  from  King's  Cross  and  Bishop's  Road. 
The  result  was  that  the  average  sample  of  air  contained 
13  measures  of  carbonic  acid  in  10,000,  and  one  measure 
of  sulphurous  acid  in  40,789 — nearly  41,000.  On  this 
occasion  also  the  air  taken  from  the  Qower  Street  and 
King's  Cross  tunnel  gave  clear  evidence  of  the  presence 
of  carbonic  acid  in  17  cubic  inches.  On  my  next  visit, 
October  2nd,  my  object  was  to  ascertain  the  quantity 
of  carbonic  and  sulphurous  acids  in  the  air  of  the  Gower 
Street  and  King's  Cross  tunnel  only,  and  I  found  187 
measures  of  carbonic  acid  in  10,000,  and  one  measure 
of  sulphurous  acid  in  23,913. 
The  Coroner:  You  were  getting  worse 'then? 
Witness  :  Rather  worse.  Then  I  had  the  air  of  that 
one  tunnel  in  its  worst  possible  condition.  On  mv 
last  visit,  October  28th,  I  tested  the  air  in  all  the  tunnefc 
between  the  hours  of  8  and  9  p.m.,  and  found  traces  of 
carbonic  acid  evident  in  the  17  cubic  inches,  the  air  of 
Gower  Street,  on  this  occasion,  containing  the  minimum, 
and  that  of  Portland  Road  the  maximum.  I  brought 
away  samples  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  per- 
centage of  oxygen,  and  the  results  of  my  analysis  I  will 
now  give  you. 

Percentage  of  Oxygen  on  October  28. 

In  Bishop's  Road  tunnel 20*5 

"  RdflTware  Road    *' 202 

"  Baker  Street        «     20*5 

•'  Portland  Road    "     200 

"  Gower  Street       "     20*4 

On  October  2nd  I  found  in  the  Gower  Street  tunnel  the 
percentage  of  oxygen  was  20'i. 

The  witness  then  submitted  the  following  results  of 
observations,  which,  for  the  sake  of  comparison,  he  had 
made  on  the  air  of  different  railways : — 

Percentage  of  Oxygen  in  Air. 

Blackheath  tunnel  (Sept.  28th) 20*0 

Crystal  Palace  tunnel  (Oct  2nd),  taken  in  the 

midst  of  traffic 197 

King's  Cross  and  Finchley  tunnel 20'5 

Box  tunnel 20*3 

Birkenhead  Tunnel 20*1 

Wolveriiampton  tunnel 20*3 

Open  air  of  Pimlico  (Sept.  21  \   going  from 

Battersea  Park  by  the  S.  W.  Railway 20*9 

The  Coroner  :  Is  that  the  general  average  ? 

Witness:  To  get  the  exact  determination  of  oxygen 
in  the  air  is  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty.  It 
would  take  perhaps  many  months  to  determine  it 
exactly. 

The  Coroner  :  But  that  is  in  accordance  with  general 
analyses  ? 

Witness  :  It  is.  My  object  in  making  these  analyses 
was  fairly  to  contrast  the  air  of  the  metropolitan  tunnels 
with  that  of  other  situations  and  other  tunnels.  The 
highest  point  of  carbonic  acid  which  I  found  is  187 


measures  in  10,000.  That  occurred  in  the  Gower  Street 
and  Kind's  Cross  tunnel  That  is  the  worst  quantity 
on  that  hne.  I  must  here  observe  that  the  quantity  of 
carbonic  acid  in  different  airs  has  been  determined  by 
other  observers.  Dr.  Roscoe  found  that  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  a  crowded  theatre  four  feet  above  the  sta^ 
there  was  no  less  than  23*37  measures  of  carbonic  acid 
in  the  10,000 ;  and  going  a  htUe  higher  (34  feet  from 
the  stage)  he  found  32*12  measures  in  the  10,000.  In 
the  Wellington  Barracks  it  was  determined  that  2  feet 
6  inches  from  the  floor  there  were  12*42  measores  ot 
carbonic  acid  in  the  10,000. 

The  Coroner  :  Have  you  found  any  fluctuation  with 
regard  to  the  sulphurous  acid  ? 

Witness  :  No,  I  have  not. 

The  Coroner  :  Do  you  think  the  deficiency  of  oxygen 
likely  to  act  injuriously  upon  the  health  of  dehcate 
persons? 

Witness  :  Only  if  they  continued  there  for  some  lime. 
Not  if  they  passed  rapidly,  as  they  do  in  the  trains. 

The  Coroner  :  AA^r  all,  the  deficiency  of  oxygen 
appears  to  be  very  slight? 

Witness :  It  is  a  very  slight  deficiency. 

The  Coroner  :  Except  in  that  one  case  of  Gower 
Street,  where  there  was  only  18  per  cent. 

Witness  :  At  that  time  there  had  been  trains  rapidly 
passing,  and  there  was  one  passiog  at  the  time  I  took 
the  air. 

The  Coroner  :  You  do  not  think,  then,  that  the 
deficiency  of  oxygen  would  hasten  the  aeath  of  a 
person  who  had  already  constricted  disease  of  the 
aorta  ? 

Witness  :  I  would  answer  that  question  in  this  way, 
Mr.  Coroner.  She  has  diseased  heart;  she  has  eaten 
considerably ;  she  is  tightly  laced ;  she  begins  to  be  faint 
at  a  station  where  the  air  is  unexceptionable — that  is, 
at  Bishop's  Road.  I  do  not  think  that  under  those 
circumstances  the  deficiency  of  oxygen  hastened  her 
death. 

The  Coroner  :  I  will  just  say  to  the  jury  (I  do  not 
know  whether  thejr  understand  it)  that  the  deficiency  of 
oxygen  is  one  pomt  to  be  considered.  But  here  are 
also  two  other  things, — a  redundancy  of  carbonic  acid, 
and  also  the  presence  of  a  gas,  which,  I  suppose,  does 
not  exist  in  the  atmosphere  at  all,  namely,  sulphurous 
acid.  [To  the  witness.]  With  regard  to  the  carbonic 
acid,  do  you  think  that  that  gas  would  be  likely  to  act 
injuriously  unon  a  person  under  those  circumstances  7 

Witness:  Not  in  the  quantity  found.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  thnt  under  an  attack  of  that  kind  the 
respiration  would  be  more  feeble,  and  consequently 
less  air  would  be  taken  in,  and  it  would  be  more  slowly 
taken  in. 

The  Coroner  :  Then  there  is  the  sulphurous  add. 
Would  that  be  likely  to  produce  any  injurious  effect? 

Witness  :  No,  not  in  that  quantity.  The  proportion 
would  not  be  so  great  as  if  an  ordinary  sulphur-match 
containing  a  few  grains  of  sulphur  were  burned  in  this 
room. 

Q.  Did  you  perceive  the  odour  of  sulphurous  acid  gas 
there  ? — A.  In  the  Portland  Road  and  the  Gower  Street 
tunnels,  and  occasionally  on  the  passing  of  some  of  the 
trains. 

Q.  What  was  the  highest  quantity  that  you  found 
of  sulphurous  acid  gas? — A.  In  the  Gower  Street 
tunnel,  i  in  23,000. 

Q.  And  you  do  not  think  that  would  be  more  than 
would  be  given  by  a  match  lighted  in  this  room?— 
A,  That  would  be  rather  more.  . 


[Eng lid&  Bdltioa,  ToL  ZVL,  Vo.  414,  pi«M  837, 238.] 


OimcAL  Hiwi, 


iSr^}  The  Atmosphere  of  ike  MetropdUan  Railway. 


Q.  There  are  about  3,000  cubic  feet  in  this  room. 
Now,  if  found  in  that  quantity,  would  the  sulphurous 
acid  produce  any  feeling  of  depression  upon  persons 
subjected  to  its  effecta  ? — A,  I  think  not. 

$.  Then  when  persons  feel  this  gas  so  oppressive, 
do  jou  think  that  arises  from  any  peculiarity  or  idiosyn* 
crasy  in  tliem,  or  is  there  more  gas  at  those  times  ? — 
A,  It  might  arise  from  more  gas  at  those  times  and  the 
heat 

Q,  Yon  think  there  may  be  more  sulphurous  acid  gas 
atone  time  than  another? — A,  Certainly. 

Q,  Supposing,  then,  there  is  less  oxygen,  more  car- 
bonic ac^d,  and  more  sulphurous  acid,  at  one  time  than 
'  another,  dfo  you  think  there  is  sufficient  ventilation  to 
prevent  dangerous  results? — A,  I  think  that  during 
my  last  two  visits,  there  was  unquestionably  sufficient 
ventilation  to  prevent  such  an  accumulation  of  those 
gases  as  would  be  injurious  to  the  public  health. 

Q,  You  would  not  mind  going  up  and  down  any 
number  of  times  a  day  ? — A.  No. 

Q.  Have  you  seen  any.  of  the  servants  of  the  railway 
at  all,  and  questioned  them  as  to  the  effect  of  the  air 
upon  them  ? — A.  Yes.  They  made  no  complaint. 

Q.  They  all  knew  you  were  examining  for  the  Cor- 
oner's court? — A,  They  did:  and  I  would  here  mention 
that  I  have  had  everv  facility  given  to  me  so  that  the 
examination  should  be  perfect. 

Q.  Would  you  mind  staying  all  day  in  one  of  those 
tunnels  if  you  were  handsomely  paid  for  it  ?  (Laughter) 
A,  Oh,  that  becomes  another  question. 

The  Coroner  :  I  really  want  to  know  what  is  your 
opinion  with  regard  to  tiie  effect  of  the  air  upon  health. 
There  is  a  very  decided  feeling  that  persons  suffer  from 
it.  I  have  had  a  high  pile  of  letters  about  it,  and 
amongst  other  things  it  is  stated  that  servants  of  the 
Company  have  suffered  and  gone  away.  I  want  to  get 
your  opinion  as  to  whether  they  would  be  likely  to  suffer, 
and  to- test  in  your  own  person  whether  you  would  like 
to  stay  in  those  tunnels  all  day  long  for  a  handsome 
sum. 

Witness  :  My  opinion  of  the  air  is  that  it  is  not  an 
air  that  yon  would  choose  for  »  dwelling,  to  be  con- 
stantly residing  in.  But  I  speak  of  the  line  simply  as 
a  tunnel  for  travelling ;  and,  comparing  it  with  other 
tunnels  and  crowded  places,  I  think  that  the  air  of  the 
Ketropolitan  Railway  tunnels  will  now  bear  comparison 
with  any.  It  is  not  an  air  that  ought  to  be  chosen  as 
one  to  dwell  in  constantly. 

Mr.  Hawkins  :  You  would  not  take  the  air  of  this 
room  to  dwell  in  ? 
Witney  :  Certainly  not 

The  Coroner  :  Can  you  tell  the  jury  whether  it  is 
known  that  sulphmrous  acid  has  an  injurious  effect  i^pon 
health?  ^ 

WmvESS :  Long  continued  exposure  to  it  unques- 
tionably ha&  I  recollect  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Turner 
and  another  on  the  influence  of  sulphurous  acid  on 
planta.  The  mixture  in  that  case  was  much  stronger, 
being  one  part  of  sulphurous  acid  in  5, 000.  That  at- 
mosphere killed  plants.  They  withered  in  twenty-four 
hours.  That  points  to  the  injurious  effedt  of  burning 
gas  in  greenhouses.  I  do  not  think  that  animals  are  so 
susceptible  as  vegetables  to  the  effects  of  sulphurous 
acid.  I  do  not  think  that  in  the  hot  summer  weather, 
when  there  is  less  interchange  of  air  between  the  tunnels 
and  the  outside  atmosphere,  there  would  be  more  car- 
bonic and  sulphurous  acids  and  less  oxygen  than  in  the 
months  when  I  examined  the  tunnels.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  the  trains  passing  backwards  and  forwards 


ventilated  very  completely  and  caused  a  change  of  air. 
I  do  not  think  that  tne  tunnels  would  be  more  oppres- 
sive in  hot  than  in  cold  weather,  because  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  in  the  tunnels  is  rather  lower  than  that 
of  the  external  air  in  the  summer,  and  rather  higher  in 
the  winter.  There  would  always  be  a  difference.  When 
I  made  my  experiments  the  temperature  of  the  air  was 
72  outside  the  tunnels  and  69  inside.  I  cannot  say 
whether  there  had  been  any  removal  of  the  glass  or 
the  windows  at  Baker  Street  and  Gower  Street  stations 
before  I  took  the  first  atmosphere,  which  was  on  the 
4th  of  September.  Unquestionably  the  removal  01 
that  glass  would  make  a  difference  in  the  ventilation. 

A  JUROR :  I  should  like  to  know  whether  the  tests 
were  made  in  a  compartment  similar  to  that  in  which 
the  deceased  died. 

Witness  :  I  do  not  know  in  what  class  she  travelled. 
For  the  purpose  of  convenience  I  travelled  in  a  third 
class  carriage.  ^ 

At  the  request  of  the  Coroner,  the  witness  exhibited 
and  explained  the  apparatus  which  he  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  the  air.  It  consisted  of  three  small 
flasks  connected  by  tubes  and  communicating  with  a 
Urge  bottle  of  water  to  which  a  syphon  was  attached. 
The  flasks  contained  baryta  in  solution ;  and  the  tubes 
were  so  arranged  that  when  water  was  drawn  off  by  the 
svphon  from  the  large  bottle,  a  corresponding  bulk  of 
the  dxtemal  air  would  enter  at  the  flask  most  remote 
from  the  syphon,  and  pass  consecutively  through  the 
two  other  flasks  and  ultimately  into  the  large  bottle, 
there  taking  the  place  of  the  water  drawn  off  by  the 
syphon.  The  bulk  of  the  water  so  discharged  was  equal 
to  that  of  the  air  passing  into  the  flasks.  The  bottle 
was  of  known  capacity,  and  thus  the  experimenter 
knew  how  many  cubic  inches  of  air  he  operated  on. 

Mrs.  Annie  Pembridge,  who  was  in  the  railway  car- 
riage at  the  time  the  deceased  was  taken  ill,  deposed 
that  she  did  not  feel  the  air  of  the  tunnels  oppressive 
on  that  evening,  and  she  heard  no  one  complain  of  its 
being  so.  The  carriage  was  a  third  class.  Witness 
entered  the  carriage  at  Portland  Road.  The  deceased 
was  already  there.  Witness  did  not  hear  the  deceased 
say,  "What  a  stink  I" 

The  Coroner  asked  if  any  stranger  in  court  wished 
to  give,  evidence  as  to  the  condition  of  the  tunnel 
atmosphere,  but  no  person  came  forward  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

Drs.  George  Henry  Bachhoffner,  Henry  Letheby,  and 
John  Whitmore  were  then  sworn.  They  presented  in 
evidence  a  printed  copy  of  a  joint  report  of  an  exami- 
nation of  the  air  of  the  tunnels  made  by  them  at  the 
request  of  the  Directors  of  the  railway. 

The  report  was  read  by  Mr.  Hawkins,  and  was  as 
follows : — 

Report  of  an  Examination  of  ik»  Air  in  iht  Tnnikdi  of 
the  Metropolitan  Railway. 

Having  received  instructions  from  the  Directors  of 
the  Metropolitan  Railway  Company,  through  Messrs. 
Burchell,  their  solicitors,  by  letter  addressed  to  Dr. 
Bachhoffner,  to  examine  and  report  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere  in  the  different  tunnels  on  their  line,  and, 
on  the  sanitary  condition  generally  of  the  stations  and 
tunnels^  we  beg  to  present  the  following  as  the  result 
of  our  investigations : — 

We  proceeaed  in  the  first  instance  to  obtain  samples 
of  the  air  in  the  tunnels,  and  we  collected  them  on  three 
separate  occasions,  namely  : — ^Pirst,  immediately  after 
the  trains  had  ceased  running  at  night;  secondly,  just 


[BtaglUi  Bdmoa,  ToL  ZTL,  Va  414,  ptgts  838^  930.] 


lO 


The  Atmosphere  of  the  Metropolitan  Bailway.  {^^X^ST" 


before  they  commenced  running  in  the  morning ;  and, 
thirdly,  in  the  afternoon  between  4  and  5  o'clock,  the 
period  of  the  day  when  there  is  generally  the  largest 
amount  of  traffic. 

The  samples,  twenty-eight  in  number,  were  taken  at 
different  places  in  each  tunnel,  and  at  different  altitudes ; 
some  near  the  crown  of  the  arch,  some  near  the  ground, 
and  others  on  a  level  with  the  heads  of  the  passengers. 
These  samples  were  analysed  for  sulphurous  acid,  car- 
bonic acid,  carbonic  oxide,  coal  gas,  and  oxygen. 

The  presence  of  sulphurous  acid  was  sought  for  by 
the  most  delicate  chemical  test  with  which  we  are 
acquainted;  namely,  its  action  upon  iodic  acid  and 
starch,  which  we  have  ascertained  is  capable  of  show- 
ing the  presence  of  one  part  by  volume  of  sulphurous 
acid  in  100,000  parts  of  air,  but  we  could  not  in  any 
case  discover  by  such  test  the  presence  of  this  acid ; 
from  which  we  conclude  that  its  volume  was  less  than 
the  above  in  the  tunnels.  The  proportion  of  carbonic 
acid  by  volume  in  10,000  parts  of  the  air  in*  the  several 
tunnels  and  stations  was  as  follows : — 

Max.  Min.  Mmii. 

Tunnel  between  Blshop'e  Road  and  Edgwaro  Eoad 

3  a.in.  S('pt.  3. 4"x  4"i  4*1 

Tunnel  between  JBdfrware  )  i  to  3  a.ni.  September  3  $'2  4*3  4*8 ' 

Road     and     Baker  >  a  to  4  a.m.  September  6  5*4  47  5*0 

Street \  4  p.m.  September  7....  —  —  57 

Raker  Street  Station,  4  p.m.  September  10 —  —  6*  j 

Tunnel    between    Baker  )  i  to  3  a.m.  September  3  6*0  4-6  51 

Street  and  Portland  V  a  to  4  a.nL  September  6  4*5  4'a  '  4*4 

Bond )  4  p.m.  September  7 ... .  —  —  6*9 

Tunnel    between    Port-  )  i  to  3  a.m.  September  3  60  I'x  5*5 

land  Road  and  Gower  Va  to  4  a.m.  September  6  6'i  4*5  51 

Street ^  4p.m.  September  7  ...  —  —  iff 

Oower  Street  Station,  4  p.m.  September  7 —  —  5-7 

Tunnel  between  Gower  1  1  to  3  a.m.  September  3  5*4  4*4  4*9 

Street    and    Ung'sV  a  to  4  a.m.  September  6  5 'a  4*3  4'6 

Court )  4p.m.  September  7....  —  .  —  ;9'x 

The  amounts  of  carbo-hydrogen  (coal  gas)  and  of 
carbonic,  oxide  present  were  so  small  as  to  be  barely 
discoverable  by  the  most  delicate  processes  of  analysis. 
Lastly,  we  ascertained  that  the  amount  of  oxygen  in 
the  air  of  the  tunnels  and  stations  was  not  in  any  case 
deficient 

These  results  prove  tha^;  in  no  instance  was  the  air 
found  to  be  vitiated  to  any  material  extent,  dthough 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  air  taken  in  the  aflemoon  was 
less  pure  than  that  taken  at  night.  The  researches  of 
Regnault,  Bunsen,  and  other  eminent  chemists,  and 
more  recently  those  of  Dr.  Angus  Smith,  show  that 
what  may  be  termed  ''model  or  normal  atmospheric 
air"  in  cities  and  large  towns  consists  in  every  10,000 
parts  by  volume  of 

Oxygen 2,096 

Nitrogen 7»900 

Carbonic  acid 4 

10,000 

It  is  the  last  constituent  which  when  in  excess  ren- 
ders the  air  impure,  and,  in  proportion  to  its  increase, 
80  is  the  air  made  unfit  for  respiration.  Experiments 
conducted  by  Dr.  Bernays  and  Dr.  Angus  Smith  have 
shown  that  in  several  of  our  London  theatres  at  about 
10  o'clock  p.m.,  in  many  other  places  of  public  resort, 
and  especially  in  some  of  our  law  courts,  the  quantity  of 
carbonic  acid  in  the  atmosphere  of  those  places  varied 
from  10  to  32  parts  per  10,000 ;  and  from  the  Army  Re- 
port (vol.  V.  page  272)  it  appears  that  in  some  fairly- 
ventilated  barracks  at  Aldershot  the  quantity  of  car- 
bonic acid  at  midnight  amounted  to  6*42  per  10,000  of 
air,  and  at  5  p.m.  it  amounted  to  7*59  per  10,000 ;  and 
in  Wellington  Barracks,  from  11*89  to  i4'iS*    Even  in 


the  streets  of  Mandiester,  in  foggy  weather,  it  has 
amounted  to  8  parts  per  10,000  of  air. 

In  order  to  determine  the  atmospheric  conditions  of 
these  tunnels  by  comparison  with  the  condition  of  the 
air  in  the  tunnels  of  other  lines  of  railway,  we  took 
samples  of  the  air  from  several  tunnels  near  London ; 
and  firom  these,  which  we  designate  by  numbers  only, 
we  obtained  the  subjoined  restuts : — 

Tunnel. 
No.     1—47  Carbonic  acid  per  10,000  of  air  by  volamoi 

a        2—12*1  "  **  " 

"      3—4*6  "  "  " 

4 — 4  3  • 

"      5—7*8'  "  "  " 

"      6—4*5  "  "  " 

a  y_e><>  ((  <(  u 

«  8—4*3  "  "  " 

**  9—4*2  '*  "  " 

"  10—5*1  "  "  ** 

"  11—4*3  '*  **  " 

"  12-4*2  "  "  " 

"  13—4*6  "  "  «* 

Our  inquiries  were  next  directed  to  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  the  fuel  used  in  the  engines,  and  to  the 
mode  by  which  its  combustion  is  efiected.  The  pUn 
adopted  (with  which  we  cordially  agree)  is  to  diminish 
as  far  as  practicable  the  combustion  of  the  fuel  during 
the  passage  of  the  trains  through  the  tunnels  and  sta- 
tions. The  steam  in  the  boiler  is  raised  in  the  open 
air  to  a  temperature  and  pressure  which,  by  experience 
and  daily  practice,  is  found  sufficient  to  work  the  traiu 
through  the  tunnels ;  and,  when  the  trains  come  again 
into  open  space,  fresh  steam  is  then  generated  sufficient 
to  propel  the  trains  through  the  next  journey,  when 
the  process  is  again  repeated;  by  which  means  &e 
engine  driver  is  enabled,  when  passing  through  the 
tunnels  and  stations,  to  close  the  fire-box  and  damper 
so  as  merely  to  keep  the  fire  in  such  a  condition  that 
it  may  be  easily  revived  kt  either  end  of  the  journey. 

The  evolution  of  the  products  of  combustion  is  thus 
almost  entirely  confined  to  that  portion  of  the  journey 
when  the  trains  are  passing  through  the  open  space& 

The  coke  is  of  a  superior  quality,  being  made  fix>m  a 
coal  which  is  known  to  be  more  than  usually  fi^efrom 
iron  pyrites,  and  it  is  burnt  in  the  ovens  for  twenty- 
four  hours  longer  than  the  ordinary  coke  generally 
used  upon  railways.  In  addition  to  which  a  staff  of 
eight  men  and  a  foreman  are  constantly  employed  m 
examining  and  selecting  the  coke,  so  as  to  ensure  that 
none  but  the  best  quality  of  coke  is  transmitted  to  Loo- 
don  for  the  use  of  the  Underground  Railway. 

To  determine  the  percentage  of  sulphur  in  the  coke, 
thirteen  samples  were  submitted  to  chemical  analysis, 
and  these  gave  an  average  proportion  of  0*26  per  cent 
of  sulphur,  which  is  about  one-fourth  the  quantity 
found  in  ordinary  coke.  As  regards  the  coke,  there- 
fore, we  see  nothing  to  which  we  can  take  exception, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  best 
available  means  are  used  for  obtaining  a  fuel  as  free  from 
deleterious  matter  as  possible,  in  addition  to  which  the 
combustion  of  the  same  is  conducted  with  the  view  of 
preventing  as  far  as  possible  the  escape  of  offensive 
gases. 

The  presence  of  sulphur,  or,  more  correctly  speaking, 
of  sulpnurous-acid  gas,  in  the  tunnels  and  station^ 
which  at  times  is  appreciable  both  to  taste  and  smell 
more  particularly  on  those  days  when  the  external 
atmosphere  is  unusually  dense,  must  not  be  taken  as 
an  indication  that  this  gas  exists  in  dangerous  qnanti- 


[BnglMli  BdWon,  ToL  XVI,  Va  4H  ptg«i  936^  MO.] 


CHmoiL  fTiws, ) 
Jan^  1868.       f 


The  Atmosphere  of  the  Metropolitan  HaUicay. 


II 


tieSy  for  as  little  as  one  part  of  this  gas  in  100,000  parts 
of  atmospheric  air  is  strongly  perceptible  both  to  taste 
and  smell;  and  paper  moistened  with  a  solution  of 
iodic  acid  and  starch  becomes  tinged  with  a  blue  colour 
when  exposed  for  a  few  minutes  to  air  having  the 
above  proportion  of  sulphuirous  acid.  On  several  occa- 
sions we  have  exposed  this  delicate  test  to  the  air  in 
the  tunnels  while  passing  througl^  them,  both  in  the 
carriajspes  and  on  the  engines ;  and  although  the  quan- 
tity of  air  thus  brought  into  contact  with  the  test  has 
been  considerable,  yet  it  has  only  been  during  the  time 
of  active  traffic  that  the  teat  has  shown  the  presence 
of  sulphurous  acid,  and  then  in  an  insignificant  degree. 
In  addition  to  the  above,  we  beg  to  point  out  another 
cause  which  communicates  to  the  air,  more  particularly 
in  the  stations,  a  pungent  smell,  which,  although  disa- 
^eable,  cannot  in  the  slightest  denee  be  regarded  as 
injurious  to  health ;  we  aflude  to  the  partial  combus- 
tion of  the  wood  forming  the  breaks  when  acting  upon 
the  tires  of  the  wheels  m  checking  the  speed  of  the 
train  as  it  approaches  the  stations. 

The  number  of  trips  made  by  the  trains  through  the 
tunnels  daily  amounts  to  358,  of  which  284  are  by  the 
narrow-gauge  trains,  and  74  by  the  broad-gauge.  Each 
of  the  narrow-gauge  trains  occupies  20,000  cubic  feet 
of  space,  and  those  of  the  broad-gauge  23,000  cubic 
feet.  The  length  of  time  occupied  by  each  train  in 
passing  through  the  tunnels  and  stations  is  ten  minutes. 
There  are  numerous  openings  communicating  with  the 
external  atmosphere  above,  amounting  in  the  aggregate 
to  3,164  square  feet,  and  distributed  in  the  following 
manner:  namely.  Baker  Street  station,  1,362  square 
feet;  Portland  Koad  station,  863  square  feet;  Gower 
Street  station,  939  square  feet.  The  western  end  of 
the  tunnel  at  Edgware  Road  opens  into  a  large  area 
called  the  yard,  and  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  tunnel 
at  King's  Cross  an  opening  has  been  made  directly 
into  the  atmosphere^  40  feet  in  width,  in  addition. 
By  an  extensive  series  of  thermometric  observation, 
we  find  that  there  is  an  average  difference  of  about 
17**  Fahrenheit  between  the  temperature  of  tunnels  and 
that  of  the  external  atmosphere;  the  mean  outside 
temperature  being  70*^  Fahrenheit,  while  the  air  in  the 
tunnels  had  a  mean  temperature  of  683^  Fahrenheit, 
so  that  it  was  iv*'  Fahrenheit  colder  than  the  external 
atmosphere.  During  tlie  winter  months  this  condition 
will  possibly  be  reversed ;  but  in  either  case  there  will 
be  a  rapid  change  of  air  by  an  ascending  and  descend- 
ing current.  Having  regard  to  the  cubical  volume  of 
the  trains,  the  short  time  occupied  by  them  in  passing 
through  the  tunnels  and  stations,  the  large  volume  of 
air  which  they  displace,  and  the  increased  impetus 
given  to  the  horizontal  movement  of  the  air  by  the 
rapidity  of  their  transit,  we  are  of  opinion  that  the 
vitiation  of  the  atmosphere  cannot  be  of  a  serious  char- 
acter, and  this  accords  with  the  results  of  our  analy- 
sis. 

A  careful  inspection  of  the  tunnels  has  also  shown 
that  they  are  well  constructed,  and  are  generally  dry 
and  free  from  infiltration  of  liquid  or  other  matter 
preiudicial  to  health,  with  the  exception  of  a  portion 
of  the  tunnel  between  Portland  Road  and  Gower  Street ; 
to  this  we  directed  the  attention  of  Mr.  Fenton  imme- 
diately after  our  first  inspection ;  and  we  are  happy  to 
be  able  to  add  that  tl;ie  defect  was  at  once  attended  to, 
and  is  now  in  a  perfect  sanitary  condition. 

We  find  on  inquiry  that  the  general  health  of  the 
employes  is  such  as  to  afford  unquestionable  proof  of 
the  sanitary  condition  of  tlie  air  in  the  tunnels.    From 


a  statement  furnished  to  us  by  Mr.  Fenton,  it  appears 
that  the  percentage  of  sickness  and  mortality  of  these 
persons  is  considerably  less  than  that  of  the  employ  & 
on  the  Great  Western  Railway.  To  this  fact  we  may 
add  the  results  of  our  own  personal  inquiries,  which 
fully  confirm  it,  as  many  of  the  engine-drivers  and 
guards  have  been  in  the  service  of  the  Company  since 
me  opening  of  the  line.  They  are  to  all  external  ap- 
pearance robust  healthy  men,  and  they  have  assured  us 
that  since  they  were  first  appointed  they  have  scarcely 
had  a  day's  illness. 

(Signed)  Geo.  H.  Bachhoffner,  Ph.D.,  F.C.S.,  etc. 

Hy.  Letheby,  M.B.,  M.A.,  etc.,  Professor  of 
Chemistry  in  the  College  of  the  London 
Hospital,  and  Medical  Officer  of  Health 
for  the  City  of  London. 
J.  Whitmore,  M.D.,  etc.,  Medical  Officer  of 
Health  and  Chemical  Examiner  of  GtkS 
for  the  Parish  of  St  Marylebone. 

Dr.  Whitmore  stated,  in  answer  to  the  Coroner,  that 
the  glass  was  not  removed  from  the  windows  of  the 
Baker  Street  stition  until  afler  the  first  samples  of  air 
had  been  taken  for  examination.  The  numbers  given 
in  the  report  were*  the  result  of  a  large  number  of  ex- 
periments made  on  the  days  stated. 

Mr.  Myles  Fenton  stated  that  the  glass  from  the 
Gower  Street  station  was  removed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  summer,  and  long  before  the  death  in  question. 
The  removal  was  not  due  to  any  complaint  he  had  re- 
ceived. Had  had  no  complaint  of  the  atmosphere  offi- 
cially previous  to  the  death.  At  the  op(^mng  of  the 
line,  when  it  was  worked  by  the  Great  Western  Rail- 
way Company,  some  of  the  porters  were  taken  ill  at 
the  Portland  Road  station.  The  reason  was  that  there 
was  no  special  provision  made  for  securing  the  most 
perfect  coke,  and  the  drivers  were  not  so  skilful  in  the 
working  of  their  engines  as  they  are  now.  When  the 
Metropolitan  Company  took  the  working  of  the  line 
into  their  own  hands  they  took  means  to  secure  the 
best  coke  in  the  country.  They  believed  they  had  ob- 
tained it,  though  at  very  great  cost.  The  atmosphere 
of  the  line  was  as  good  as  they  could  make  it,  and  the 
proportion  of  sickness  among  their  men  was  smaller 
than  among  the  Great  Western  Company's  men. 

Frederick  Gibbons,  an  inspector  on  the  Metropoli- 
tan Railway,  stated  that  there  had  been  no  complaints 
of  the  air  on  the  part  of  the  men  employed  on  the  line 
since  the  Company  had  used  their  own  engines  and 
employed  good  coke.  The  train  in  which  the  de- 
ceased travelled  was  the  last  but  two  that  night. 

Mr.  Hawkins  stated  that  twenty-five  millions  of 
people  travelled  by  the  line  everj-  year,  and  that 
seventy-two  millions  had  travelled  by  it  from  the  time 
of  its  opening. 

The  Coroner  remarked  that  there  was  a  slight  dis- 
crepancy between  the  examination  made  by  Mr.  Rod- 
gers  and  those  made  by  Drs.  Bachhoffner,  Letheby,  and 
Whitmore,  with  regard  to  the  sulphurous  acid  present 
in  the  tunnel  air.  The  latter  gentlemen  stated  that 
they  could  not  detect  it  at  all. 

Dr.  Lethkby  said  sulphurous  acid  could  be  readily 
detected  when  a  large  volume  of  the  air  was  caused  to 
play  upon  the  test-paper;  but  when  only  70  or  80 
inches  of  air  was  collected,  they  in  every  instance  failed 
to  discover  sulphurous  acid.  The  nose,  however,  was 
more  sensitive  than  any  chemical  test.  One  part  of 
sulphurous  acid  in  100,000  of  air  would  create  cough- 
ing.   Persons  who  had  an  irritation  of  the  bronchial. 


[BngUih  IMUttoo,  YoL  TTL,  No.  414,  pagM  240^  fl41.] 


12 


The  Atmojsphere  of  the  Metropolitan  HaUway. 


membrane  and  of  (he  throat  would  be  more  susceptible 
of  its  effects  than  others. 

The  Coroner  said  that  that  would  account  for  some 
persons  complaining  very  constantly  of  the  effect  of 
sulphurous  acid  in  the  tunnels.  The  evidence  on  the 
whole  had  been  very  re-assuring  to  the  public. 

Dr.  Lethebt  said  that  the  smell  of  the  wood-breaks, 
which  became  charred  as  the  trains  were  being  stopped, 
would  be  more  evident  to  the  passengers  than  the  sul- 
phurous acid.  Probably  the  gas  evolved  at  such  times 
was  what  persons  found  most  oppressive.  It  would 
be  a  carbo-hydrogen,  and  probably  there  would  be  a 
little  acetic  acid. 

The  Coroner  :  Would  that  carbo-hydrogen  produce 
an  irritating  effect  ? 

Dr.  Lethe^y  :  Yes.  When  wood  is  submitted  to  heat 
it  gives  off,  vinegar  and  an  empyreumatic  oil  which  is 
very  irritating. 

The  Coroner  :  It  has  an  irritating  effect  upon  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  lungs  ? 

Dr.  Lethebt:  Yes. 

The  Coroner  :  Do  you  think  that  any  person  with 
congestion  of  the  lungs,  we  will  say  an  abnormal  con- 
gestion from  disease  of  the  heart,  would  be  likely  to 
feel  this? 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  There  is  no  doubt  there  is  a  difference 
in  the  sensibility  of  the  nerve  of  smelL  and  also  in  the 
sensibility  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  lungs ;  but 
although  there  may  be  differences  in  the  recognition  of 
it,  I  do  not  think  that  under  any  circumstances  there 
would  be  sufficient  to  produce  any  dangerous  effect. 

The  Coroner  :  The  differences  amongst  persons  in 
perceiving  it  will  account  for  some  persons  telling  me 
that  they  have  been  obliged  to  give  up  travelling  by 
that  line,  in  consequence  of  a  sense  of  irritation  after 
leaving  the  train. 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  I  have  calculated  the  quantity  of  sul- 
phurous acid  which  would  be  given  off  by  the  burning 
of  the  coke  now  used,  and  I  find  that  if  they  were  to 
Bhut  the  tunnels  up  from  end  to  end,  the  burning  of 
the  coke  for  i8  hours  would  not  produce  enough  sul- 
phurous acid  to  be  dangerous  to  the  most  susceptible 
persona.  Sulphurous  acid  is  used  as  a  disinfectant  in  a 
much  larger  proportion  than  would  be  present  under 
such  circumstances.  It  enters  into  the  composition  of 
a  disinfectant  which  is  used  over  and  over  again,  and  I 
have  never  heard  of  any  bad  effect  from  it 

The  Coroner:  And  you  know  there  are  cases  in 
which  persons  live  in  an  atmosphere  pervaded  by  it,  as 
at  Luton,  where  they  bleach  straw  by  it,  and  at  other 
places. 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  Yes,  and  it  is  used  also  for  bleaching 
blankets. 

The  Coroner:  How  much  coke  is  consumed  in  the 
tunnels  a  day  ? 

Dr.  Bachhoffner  :  Two  tons. 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  The  coke  contains  0*261  per  cent  of 
sulphur.  61b8.  of  coke  are  consumed  per  mile  in  the 
tunnels  and  stations.  The  length  of  tne  tunnels  and 
stations  is  11,056  feet,  that  is  2*09  miles.  The  cubic 
contents  of  the  tunnels  (without  the  stations)is  4,606,792 
feet  The  number  of  trains  passing  up  and  down  in  the 
day  of  18  hours  is  358.  If  you  work  that  out  it  will 
come  to  this, — that  suppoamg  the  whole  space  to  be 
hermetically  sealed,  ana  that  the  whole  of  the  sulphur 
is  burned  in  a  closed  atmosphere,  the  quantity  of  sul- 
phurous acid  produced  by  the  sulphur  of  the  coke  in 
that  cubic  space  of  air  will  amount  to  2*95  parts  in 
100,000  by  volume.    The  sulphur  burned  amounts  to 


11717  lbs.  in  the  18  hours.  That  will  produce  nearly 
136  feet  of  sulphurous  acid.  That  going  into  a  volume 
of  4,606,792  cubic  feet  of  air  gives  2*95  parte  of  sul- 
phurous acid  in  100,000  volumes  of  air. 

The  Coroner  :  That  is  supposing  no  change  of  air 
during  the  eighteen  hours? 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  Yes.  Well,  I  say  that  quantity  is  quite 
incapable  of  doing  mischief. 

In  reply  to  the  Coroner,  Dr.  Letheby  stated  that  the 
apparatus  he  used  for  ascertaining  the  proportion  of 
carbonic  acid  in  the  air  was  a  contrivance  of  Dr.  Angus 
Smith,  invented  for  use  in  mines  and  crowded  places 
where  chemical  apparatus  could  not  be  conveniently 
used.  It  gave  quantitative  results  immediately.  The 
apparatus  consisted  of  an  india-rubber  ball  of  known 
capacity,  by  means  of  which  the  air  to  be  tested  was 
blown  into  a  known  quantity  of  baryta  water.  Account 
was  kept  of  the  number  of  ballfulls  of  air  required  to 
produce  turbidity  in  the  water,  and  the  proportion  of 
carbonic  acid  was  ascertained  by  reference  to  a  calcu- 
lated table  accompanying  the  apparatus.  The  air  of  the 
inquest-roora  was  found  to  contain  44*4  volumes  of 
carbonic  acid  in  io,ooa 

The  Coroner  :  Well,  we  are  very  much  worse  Ihan 
the  tunnel,  then.     (Laughter.) 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  It  is  three  times  as  bad  as  we  have 
ever  found  it  in  the  tunnel  (The  witness  then  put  in 
the  subjoined  table.) 

Amounts  of  Carbonic  Acid  per  10,000  o/Air  in  different 

1.  Cities  and  Ibums — 

London from  28  to    4-3    Average  3*4 

Manchester **    4*9  lo  15'©  '*        54 

MuDich 5'0 

Madrid "    3-0  to    80  "        52 

Paris "    3*6  to    5"i  "       4*9 

2.  Places  qf  Public  Resort— 

Court  of  Cbaocery  (doors  closed) 19*8 

"                '*        (doors  open) 4*8 

Chamber  of  Deputies,  Paris 250 

Theatres  (London) 7  6  to  32 "  14-0 

" .    (Manehesler). .  10*2  to  27-3  ...     "  14-8 

"     (Paris) 23    to  43 "  330 

3.  Dwelling-houses  by  Day — 

From 5-410  127... •     «       7*8 

4.  DwePAng^houses  by  Night — 

In  a  study  near  table ii'8 

"    ceiling ij-6 

Bed-room  at  night 2S'0 

**       **        window  open 8*0 

5.  Dormitories — 

At  Paltpetriere So-o 

Another  at  ditto 58*0 

Workhouse  Ward 125*0 

Lodging-house  in  City 1000 

6.  Schools  by  day — 

Various  in  France   "      27  to  47  "  36*0 

*'      in  Germany       20  to  56  "  39*2 

**      in  Enp:lan<J       97  to  31  V  21-5 

7.  Jmis  and  Workshops — 

"    283  to  30-0  "      29-1 

8.  Barracks  at  night — 

"    11-91014-2  •'      12-8 

10.   Cornish  Mines — 

Average  of'good 8*o 

"        of  bad..... 1909 


[Engllali  BttttoB,  VoL  ZTL,  Vo.  414,  in«w  941,  MB.] 


QBjjcAL  Hjw.  ^     formation  of  Succinic  Acid  from  Chloride  of  Mhylidene. 

ri    7;.  cvM^i^y^  7?«.«A#]; 'iff^   ♦/%  f><^^       %  it'^f  nxr  nxT  nir 


13 


II.  In  Expired  Breaih — 350  to  500. .  .'^  . . .  425 
iz  In  Boom  loith  Chafing  Dish — ;  .1400 

The  GoROMER  asked  Professor  Rodgers  whether  he 
could  accoant  for  finding  so  much  more  sulphurous  acid 
than  the  other  experimenters. 

Mr.  RoDOBRS  replied  that  both  he  and  a  gentleman 
who  accompanied  him  had  noticed  that  some  of  the 
trains  which  passed  them  seemed  to  emit  no  sulphur  at 
alL  He  had  not  the  remotest  doubt  of  the  accuracy 
of  Dr.  Letheby 's  experiments,  but  he  must  say  that  he 
(Mr.  Rodgers)  should  not  have  found  sulphur  if  it  had 
not  been  there.  He  first  obtained  sulphite  of  baryta 
bj  means  of  the  sulphurous  acid  in  the  air,  and  Ife 
afterwards  converted  the  sulphite  into  sulphate  by 
means  of  chlorine.  He  then  estimated  the  quantity, 
and  finally  applied  nitro-prusside  of  sodium  as  a  test  to 
show  the  existence  of  the  sulphur  compound.  The 
weight  of  the  sulphite  subtracted  from  the  gross 
weight  of  the  precipitate  showed  the  weight  of  the  carr 
benate. 

The  Coroner  :  Do  you  see  any  objection  to  that  plan, 
Dr.  Letheby? 

Dr.  Lethebt  :  No ;  but  there  is  a  very  small  quantity 
to  work  upon. 

Mr.  Rodgers  :  The  balance  I  used  turns  at  the  thou- 
sandth of  a  grain. 

The  Coroner:  Would  the  quantity  of  sulphurous 
aad  you  found  do  any  harm. 

Mr.  Rodgers  :  No. 

The  use  of  the  iodic  acid  and  starch  test  for  sul* 

earous  acid  was  then  illustrated  to  the  jury  by  Dr. 
theby.  A  decided  blue  tint  was  produced  on  the 
test  paper  by  the  fumes  from  a  burning  sulphur  match. 
The  Coroner  briefly  summed  up  the  evidence. 
After  a  few  minutes*  consultation,  the  jury  returned 
the  following  verdict:  "That  the  deceased,  Elizabeth 
Stainsby,  on  the  28th  August  was  found  dying,  and 
did  die,  from  the  constricted  disease  of  the  aorta,  and 
the  jury  say  that  the  said  death  arose  from  natural 


ON  THE 

FORMATION  OF  SUCCINIC  ACID  FROM  CHLO- 
RIDE OF  ETHYLIDENE. 

BY  MAXWELL   SIMPSON,   M.D.,    F.R.8. 

Some  years  ago*  I  ascertained  that  when  bromide 
of  ethylene  is  successively  treated  with  cyanide  of 
notassium  and  caustic  potash  ordinary  succinic  acid  is 
lormed.  This  reaction  has  since  been  confirmed  by 
M.  Geuther,t  who,  however,  employed  chloride  instead 
of  bromide  of  ethylene. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  it  would  be  interesting  to 
ascertain  whether  the  chloride  of  etliylidene  would, 
when  subjected  to  the  same  treatment,  produce  the 
same  or  an  isomeric  acid.  One  would  naturally  be 
inclined  to  expect  the  latter  result,  seeing  that  the 
constitution  of  the  chloride  of  ethylidene  is  different 
from  that  of  the  chloride  of  ethylene.  The  following 
fbrmube  will  make  this  intelligible,  and  show  the  prol^ 
able  constitution  of  the  isomeric  acid  : — 


CH,C1 

CH,a 

Ghlortda  of 
ethylene. 


CH,Cy 

CH,Oy 

Cyanide  of 
ethylene. 


cH,{ceeHy 

I 
cH,(ceefi)' 

Ordinary  raodnle 
acid. 


•  Pbtloenphleal  TraoMctlons  for  1861. 

t  ABJMlea  der  Cbemie  and  PJiarmade,  xzx.,  p.  a68. 


CH, 

CHa, 


CH. 


DHCy, 

Cyanide  of 
ethylidene. 


CH, 

CEr(ceeH)« 

laomeric  acid. 


Chloride  of 
eUiylidene. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that,  in  the  transformation  of 
cyanide  of  ethylene  into  ordinary  succinic  acid,  the 
group  COOH  takes  the  place  of  each  equivalent  of 
cyanogen.  In  the  transformation  of  cyanide  of  ethyli- 
dene, it  is  to  be  supposed  that  the  cyanogen  is  replaced 
in  a  similar  manner,  an  isomeric  acid  being  formed. 

In  order  to  determine  this  point  I  made  the  follow- 
ibg  experiments : — 

A  mixture  of  one  equivalent  of  pure  chloride  of 
ethyle  chlorSy  which  is  identical  with  the  chloride  of 
ethylidene,  two  equivalents  of  pure  cyanide  of  potas* 
sium  and  a  large  quantity  of  alcohol  was  exposed  in  a 
sealed  mattrass  for  twenty-seven  hours  to  a  tempera- 
ture ranging  between  ido^  and  180®  C.  I  had  pre- 
viously ascertained  that  a  high  temperature  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  determine  the  reaction.  At  the  expi- 
ration of  this  time  the  mattrass  was  opened  and  its 
contents  filtered.  The  filtered  liquor  was  then  treated 
with  sohd  potash  and  afterwards  exposed  to  the  tem- 
perature of  a  water-bath  till  ammonia  ceased  to  be 
evolved.  When  this  was  observed  the  alcohol  was  dis- 
tilled offf  and  nitric  acid  added  in  excess  to  the  residue. 
Finally  this  was  evaporated  to  dryness  at  a  low  tem- 
perature, and  the  liberated  organic  acid  taken  up  by 
alcohol  By  dissolving  in  absolute  alcohol  and  crys- 
tallising from  water,  it  was  obtained  quite  pure.  The 
quantity  I  obtained  was  small ;  dried  at  100^  C.  it 
gave  the  following  numbers  on  analysis : — 

Bzperiineoft. 


Theory. 
Succinic  acid. 


C« 

H. 

^4 


Per  cent. 
48  40*67 

6  5*lO 

64  5423 


40-86 
•    5*55 


118 


It  had,  therefore,  the  composition  of  succinic  acid. 
That  it  was  the  ordinary  acid  was  sufficiently  proved 
by  the  following  properties  and  reactions : — It  melted 
at  179*^  C.  and  sublimed  in  the  form  of  needles  on  the 
application  of  a  higher  temperature.  The  vapour  pro- 
duced, on  being  inhaled,  instant  coughing  and  a  painful 
sensation  in  the  nostrils.  The  neutralised  acid  gave  an 
abundant  brown  precipitate  on  the  addition  of  per- 
chloride  of  iron.  This  test  was  tried  both  before  and 
after  the  body  in  question  had  been  treated  with  nitric 
acid,  and  with  the  same  result 

The  only  explanation  I  can  give  of  the  formation  of 
%rdinary  succinic  acid  in  this  case  is,  that  the  chloride 
of  ethyle  chlor^  was,  in  presence  of  the  cyanide  of 
potassium^  partially  converted,  by  the  high  temperature 
to  which  it  had  been  subjected,  into  chloride  of  ethy- 
lene, one  equivalent  of  nydrogen  changing  its  place 
with  one  equivalent  of  chlorine — 

CHHH  CH,a 

CHCla  CHsCT. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  I  perceive  (hat  M. 
Wichelhaus*  has  formed  the  isomeric  acid  from  cyan- 
propionic  acid.  The  difference  between  it  and  the 
ordinary  acid  is  well  marked.  Its  melting-point  is 
40^  lower,  and  it  does  noty  when  neutralised,  give  e 

*  'Zeitschrifl  fiir  demie/  Keae  Volge,  Ui,  Bud,  i.  S4T. 


▼oL  ZVI,  ITa*  «ld»  vagM  01%  aaiw] 


14 


Wheat — Absorption  by  Liquids  of  Carbonic  Add  Gas.    {^'^S^iSa?' 


precipitate  with  perchloride  of  iron.  These  results 
correspond  with  the  researches  of  M.  Caventon,  who 
has  shown  that  ordinary  glycol  can  be  obtained  from 
the  bromide  of  ethyle  hrome. 


PRELIUINART  NOTICE  OF 

RESULTS  ON  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  WHEAT 

GROWN  FOB  TWENTT  TEARS  IN  SUCCESSION  ON 

THE  SAME  LAND.      (ABSTRACT.) 

BT  J.  B.  LA  WES,  F.R.S.,  ETC.,  AND  J.  H;  GILBEBT,  PH.D.,  F.R.&# 

The  results  had  reference  to  the  produce  of  a  field  in 
which  wheat  had  now  been  grown,  on  some  plots  without 
manure,  on  one  with  farm-yard  manure,  and  on  others  by 
different  artificial  mixtures,  for  twenty-four  years  in 
•succession  ( 1 843*4  to  1 866-7  inclusive).  At  the  Chelten- 
ham Meeting  of  the  British  Association,  in  1856,  the 
authors  treated  of  the  effects  of  season  and  manures  on 
the  composition  of  the  crop  as  illustrated  by  the  results 
of  analysis  relating  to  the  produce  of  some  of  the  plots 
during  the  first  ten  years  of  the  experiments.  At  the 
Manchester  Meeting,  in  1861,  they  recurred  to  the  sub- 
ject; the  analytical  results,  which  then  extended  to 
the  produce  of  some  of  the  plots  for  sixteen  years,  were, 
however,  chiefly  applied  to  the  illustration  of  certain 
points  in  connection  with  the  exhaustion  of  soils.  At 
the  Nottingham  Meeting,  in  1866,  they  treated  of  the 
accumulation  of  the  nitrogen  of  manure  in  the  soil  of  the 
same  experimental  field.  The  results  adduced  on  the 
present  occasion  showed  the  effects  of  season  and 
manuring  on  the  composition  of  both  the  grain  and  the 
straw  during  twenty  years  of  the  experimental  growth. 

The  particulars  of  composition  given  are  the  per- 
centages of  dry  substance,  of  mineral  matter,  and  of 
nitrogen,  and  the  constituents  of  the  ash  of  both  grain 
and  straw,  more  than  200  complete  ash-analyses  being 
brought  to  bear  on  the  subject;  and,  side  by  side  with 
these,  as  indicating  the  general  characters  of  the  produce 
of  the  different  seasons  and  plots,  are  given  the  pro- 
portion of  corn  to  straw,  and  the  weight  per  bushel  of 
the  com. 

In  the  case  of  the  plots  without  manure,  with  farm- 
yard manure,  and  wiUi  ammonia-salts  alone,  every  year, 
the  ash  of  the  grain  last  16,  or  more,  and  of  the  straw 
of  the  last  16,  of  the  twenty  years,  had  been  analysed  ; 
and  in  the  case  of  9  differently  manured  plots  (includ- 
ing the  above  3)  the  ash,  of  both  corn  and  straw,  of  the 
first,  the  last,  and  two  intermediate  seasons  (one  bad 
and  one  good)  of  the  last  1 2  of  the  20  years  had  been 
analysed.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  authors  to  pub- 
lish the  results  of  the  investigation  in  detail  before  long ; 
and  on  the  present  occasion  they  confined  attentioz^ 
to  a  few  of  the  most  prominent  effects  of  the  respective 
manures  on  the  composition  of  the  crop,  when  thus 
appUed  for  so  long  a  continuance,  year  after  year  on 
the  same  plot 

It  is  first  pointed  out  as  remarkable,  though  fully 
established  by  their  results  from  the  commencement, 
that  variation  in  manure,  even  though  maintained  for 
many  years  in  succession,  and  resulting  in  great  varia- 
tion in  amouat  of  produce,  affects  comparatively  Utile 
eitlier  the  proportion  of  corn  to  straw,  or  the  weight 
per  bushel  of  corn,  excepting,  indeed,  in  a  few  extreme 
cases  of  abnormal  exhaustion  or  repletion.  Nor  do  the 
percentages  of  dry  substance,  of  mineral  matter  in  dry 
substance,  or  of  nitrogen  in  dry  substance,  vary  much 

*  Read  la  Seetlon  B  at  the  Brttbh  AModatton  Meeting,  Dtmdee. 


under  the  direct  influence  of  variation  in  manure,  unless 
again  in  very  abnormal  cases.  Very  different,  however; 
is  the  effect  of  season ;  the  variation  in  the  character 
of  the  produce,  in  every  one  of  the  above  particukn, 
being  much  greater  in  different  seasons  witn  the  same 
manure  than  with  different  manures  in  the  same  season. 

Consistently  with  these  broad  &cts,  the  composition 
of  the  ash  of  the  grain  is  found  to  be  pretty  uniform 
under  a  great  variety  of  manurial  conditions  in  one  and 
the  same  season,  only  in  a  few  extreme  cases  of  spedal 
interest  varying  in  any  material  degree.  The  same  maj 
be  said  in  some,  though  in  a  much  less  degree,  of  the 
composition  of  the  ash  of  the  straw,  which  is  obviously 
much  more  directly  affected  by  the  character  of  the 
supplies  within  the  soil 

The  general  result  is  that  (excepting  in  a  few  abnor- 
mal cases)  the  variation  in  the  composition  of  the  adi 
of  the  grain  is  limited  to  the  slight  variations  due  to 
differences  of  development  and  maturation,  which,  in 
their  turn,  are  much  greater  with  variation  of  seaaon 
than  with  variation  of  manure.  The  composition  of  the 
ash  of  the  straw,  on  the  other  hand,  much  more  nearij 
represents  the  total  mineral  matters  taken  up  by  the 
plant,  and  much  less  the  character  of  development  d 
its  own  more  fixed  and  essential  constituents.  In  other 
words,  whilst  there  may  be  considerable  range  in  the 
composition  of  the  matters  taken  up  by  the  entire  plant, 
the  tendency  in  the  formation  and  ripening  of  the  ulti- 
mate product,  the  seed  (whether  produced  in  small 
quantity  or  large)  is  to  a  fixed  and  uniform  composititHi, 
the  deviation  Irom  which  is  little  directly  affected  bT 
the  character  of  the  supplies  within  the  soil,  but  much 
more  by  the  various  influences  of  season. 

The  deviations  from  the  point  of  fixed  and  unifonn 
composition,  thus  due  primarily  to  variations  in  climatic 
circumstance,  are,  however,  when  considered  in  relation 
to  other  characters  of  the  grain,  sufficient  to  show  the  ge- 
neral connection  between  the  comparative  predomi- 
nance of  individual  constituents  and  that  of  certain  ^- 
eral  characters  of  development.  A  few  illustratioos 
were  given ;  but  the  fuller  treatment  of  the  subject,  in 
its  bearing  on  these  as  well  as  on  other  points,  was 
reserved  until  the  results  could  be  considered  ia  the 
detail  necessary  to  their  proper  elucidation. 

One  point  of  interest  prominently  brought  out  by  Ae 
results  relating  to  the  composition  of  the  str«w-ash  was, 
that  a  high  percentage  of  silica  was  almost  uniformly 
associated  with  a  b^,  and  a  low  percentage  with  a 
good  condition  of  the  produce — a  fact  to  which  the 
authors  had  on  former  occasions  called  attention,  but 
which,  as  was  remarked  by  the  President,  was  quite 
inconsistent  with  the  generally  accepted  views  on  the 
subject, 

VERIFICATION  OF  THE  LAW  OF  HESTIT 
AND  DALTON  FOR  THE  ABSORPTION  BT 
LIQUIDS  OF  CARBONIC    ACID  GAS. 

BT  M.  KHANIKOFF. 

The  absorption  of  gases  by  liquids  was  known  to       | 
natural  philosophers  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  oen-        | 
tury,  but  the  first  important  observations  on  this  sub- 
ject were  made  by  Cavendish  and  Priestley.  ' 
At  the  beginning  of  this  century,  in  the  year  1803,        1 
Dr.  Henry  formulated  a  law  of  absorption  of  gase* 
which  is  very  simple — ^namely,  he  concluded  from  ha 
experiences  that  the  absorption  is  directly  proportional 
to  the  pressure  and  inversely  to  the  temperBture. 


[Bafflidt  BdMoB,  ToL  ZVX,  Ha  414|^iM«e  936 ;  Vo.  415,  |«i«S47.] 


Cnmcii.  Vxwt, ) 
Jw^^  1868.      S 


Aheorption  hy  Liquids  of  Carbonic  Acid  Ods. 


15 


Nevertheless,  it  was  eyident  that  in  the  expression  of 
.the  power  of  absorption  possessed  by  liquids,  in  so 
simple  a  manner,  the  pressure  and  temperature  could 
onlj  be  rough  approximations,  and  that  in  reality  a 
phenomenon  so  intimately  connected  with  the  molecu- 
lar structure  of  the  liquids  could  not  be  expressed  in 
such  an  uncompounded  form.  For  if  this  law  were 
admitted  without  limitations,  an  unlimited  absorption 
of  gases  must  also  be  admitted, — already  impossible  for 
all  ga9e8,  especially  for  coercible  ones.  Dr.  Henry,  by 
the  nature  of  the  apparatus  that  he  constructed  for  his 
researches,  could  not  come  to  any  other  conclusion. 
His  apparatus  consisted  simply  of  a  glass  bell,  in  which 
he  introduced  the  absorbing  liquid  and  the  absorbable 
gas.  This  bell  was  connected  with  a  manometer  by  a 
tube  of  india-rubber,  and  after  the  establishment  of  the 
required  pressure  was  separated  from  the  manometer 
and  shaken  by  the  observer  a  long  time,  so  as  to  pro- 
duce the  total  absorption.  This  construction  has  two 
great  imperfections — ^firstly,  a  pressure  of  more  than 
three  atmospheres  forces  the  joint,  and,  secondly,  the 
long  contact  of  the  hands  of  the  observer  with  the 
vessel  containing  the  gas,  makes  the  temperature  of  the 
gaseous  volume  very  imcertain,  both  before  and  after 
the  absorption. 

Saussure  repeated  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Henry 
without  channng  considerably  his  apparatus,  and  came 
naturally  to  the  same  result 

Nearly  forty  years  after  the  experiments  of  Dr. 
Henry,  M.  Bunsen,  of  Heidelberg,  made  a  valuable 
aeries  of  experiments  on  absorption  of  gases  at  different 
temperatures ;  but  the  ingenious  apparatus  he  invented 
for  Uiis  purpose  could  only  be  employed  under  the 
ordinary  pressure  of  one  atmosphere,  and  left  untouched 
the  relation  established  by  Dr.  Henry  and  Dalton 
between  absorption  and  pressure.  More  recently, 
Messrs.  Roscoe,  Ditmar,  and  Simms  have  made  very 
interesting  investigations  on  the  absorption  of  the 
gases  of  hydrochloric  acid,  ammonia,  and  sulphurous 
add;  they  proved  the  law  of  Henry  and  Dalton  to  be 
only  exact  at  an  elevated  temperature — viz.,  40"  Cen- 
tig.  for  the  sulphurous  acid  gas  and  100°  for  the  ammo- 
niacal  gas.  For  this  reason  my  friend  Mr.  Longuimine 
and  I  resolved  to  undertake  a  new  series  of  experi- 
ments on  gases  not  so  absorbable  as  those  investigated 
by  Messrs.  Roscoe,  Ditmar,  and  Simms. 

Before  all  it  was  necessary  to  construct  an  apparatus 
which  should  not  be  liable  to  the  above-mentiohed 
imperfections  of  the  apparatus  of  our  celebrated  prede- 
cessor, Dr.  Henry.  It  was  evident  that  it  must  consist 
of  a  glass  vessel  exactly  gauged,  and  arranged  in  a 
manner  to  be  easily  put  in  connection  with  a  large 
manometer,  and  separated  from  it  in  a  very  short  time. 
Secondly,  the  absorption  must  be  produced,  not  by 
shaking  the  apparatus  with  the  hands,  but  by  moving 
It  mechanically  in  a  space  with  an  invariable  tempera- 
ture. 

The  first  question  was  easily  solved  by  an  iron  tube 
with  a  cork,  and  the  second  by  the  observation  that 
the  contact  of  the  absorbing  liquid  and  the  absorbable 
gas  would  be  very  perfect,  by  revolving  the  glass 
vessel  containing  the  liquid  and  the  gas  in  a  great  mass 
of  water  maintained  constantly  at  the  same  tempera- 
ture. These  are  the  two  principal  differences  between 
our  apparatus  and  those  of  our  predecessors,  and  with- 
out entering  into  more  details  on  our  experimentation 
executed  at  the  College  of  France,  in  the  laboratory  of 
M.  Regnault,  and  published  in  the  last  number  of  the 
AnnalU  deph,  tt  de  ch,,  I  pass  directly  to  the  results 


we  obtained  for  the  carbonic  acid  gas  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  I5\ 

If  we  designate  by  L,  the  co-efficient  of  absorption  of 
a  given  gas  under  the  pressure  of  P,  and  by  Li  the 
co-efficient  of  the  same  kind,  but  under  a  higher  pres- 
sure Pi,  by  the  law  of  Henry  and  Dalton  we  must 
have, 

L,:  d=P,:Pi,or-y^|^=:o 
111    1*1 

But  not  only  are  these  differences  never  im7,  but  they 
are  constantly  increasing  with  the  pressure,  so  that 
this  discrepancy^  with  the  law  mentioned  cannot  be 
ascribed  exclusively  to  the  inevitable  errors  of  obser- 
vations. 

From  the  moment  that  carbonic  acid  gas  was  lique- 
fied it  was  evident  that  the  co-efficient  of  its  absorp- 
tion by  liquids  must  be  nil  for  two  different  pressures, 
first,  for  a  pressure  nil,  or  nearly  nil,  and  second,  for  the 
pressure  which  reduced  the  gas  at  a  given  temperature 
to  a  liquid  state. 

It  was  evident,  also,  that  the  expression  of  a  rela- 
tion between  the  co-efficient  of  absorption  and  the 
Pressure  could  not  be  a  lineal  function  of  this  variable, 
ut  that  this  co-efficient  a  could  be  nearer  expressed 
by  the  equation : 

«=A+BP  +  CP, 

Fortt=o, — ^the  equation  A+BP  +  CPi=o  must  have 
two  positive  and  real  roots,  and  also  o=A  x  BP— OPa 
and  B}  A,  and  C  -{  B.  Applying  to  this  equation  for 
the  difierent  values  of  a  andP,  obtained  by  our  experi- 
ments, the  method  of  least  squares,  we  found  for  A, 
B,  and  G,  the  following  values : 

A  =±0*01520946 
B=  ±001393995 
€=±0-00283004 

The  values  being  put  in  the  equation  a=o  gives  us 
the  two  numerical  expressions  of  P,  which  renders 
a=o,  namely, 

Atmofl. 
P=oio983  and  P=6i  at  1439 

The  first  of  these  two  values  is  manifest,  and  requires 
no  special  commentary,  but  the  second  merits  close  in- 
vestigation. 

Our  observations  were  made  at  the  temperature  of 
15®  Cent,  and  we  have  no  direct  experiment  on  the 

Eressure  necessary  to  coerce  carbonic  acid  gas  to  a 
quid  at  this  temperature;  but,  taking  the  observa- 
tions of  M.  Eegnault  on  the  point  of  ebullition  of  the 
liquefied  carbonic  acid  gas  at  different  temperatures,  we 
obtain  the  following  table : — 

Temperature.  Prcesure  in  Atmos. 

ys'^a «-8 

567 53 

40*0 113 

289 163 

12*2 26*8 

I'l 37a 

SO  that  the  pressure  increases  for  every  degree  of  the 
Centigrade  mermometer 

In  the  firfit  interval  of  i6*'i  by  o  at  2,108 
In  the  second  "  of  i6'*7  by  o  at  3,473 
In  the  third  **  of  1 1  ^  1  by  o  at  4,684 
In  the  fourth  "  of  17° 7  by  o  at  6,287 
And  in  the  fifth   "    of  ii^i  by  o  at  9,369 

so  that  without  supposing  that  ocr  last  value  of  P=6l 


ToL  zn,  VOb  4U8f  vagM  M7,  SML] 


i6 


Moperimenta  wiffi  NUroglycerifie. 


j  CaawAi.  Nm 


at  1,439  ^  exact;  but)  admitting  only  that  for  the  in- 
tervfU  of  1 6°  I  coming  next  after  i**i,  the  increase  fol- 
lows the  same  law,  this  increase  must  be  for  eTery 
de^ee  of  the  thermometer  of  i  at  4,845. 

Bat  this  value  multiplied  by  161  gives  23  at  23*9  + 
76-2=6ri. 

More  importance  than  they  deserve  must  not  be 
attached  to  these  numerical  results,  which  cannot  be 
strictly  exact,  being  deduced  from  a  too  limited  series 
of  experiments. 

1  have  mentioned  them  only  10  show  that  our 
method  of  experimentation  can  give  us  in  a  compara- 
tively easy  way — ist.  The  value  of  pressure  required 
for  liquefaction  of  gases;  and,  2nd.  The  numerical 
value  of  the  maximum  of  absorption  varying  only 
with  the  nature  of  the  gas  and  with  the  tempera- 
ture. 


EXPERIMENTS  WITH  NITROGLYCERmE. 

BY  C.  A.  RICHTEB,  OF  FREIBERG.'*' 

Thk  following  is  an  account  of  the  results  of  a  com- 
parison of  the  effects  of  nitroglycerine  and  the  nitrate 
of  soda  gunpowder,  which  is  used  in  this  neighbour- 
hood. 

The  first  experiment  was  made  under  the  guidance 
of  one  of  the  inventor's  agents  in  the  year  1805. 

Beihilf  shaft,  which  was  being  sunk  thirty  feet  long 
by  eight  feet  wide,  was  chosen  as  a  suitable  place  for 
the  experiments.  The  shaft  was  being  sunk  in  the 
"  country  "  (t.  c,  not  on  the  vein),  which  consisted  of 
hard  grey  gneiss ;  now  and  then  only  it  had  a  few 
joints,  which  rendered  the  work  easier.  This  happened 
to  be  the  case  on  the  day  of  the  above-mentioned  ex- 
periments, and  partly  explains  the  extraordinary  eff'ect 
produced  by  the  nitroglycerine.  The  effect  was  indeed 
extraordinary,  because  bore-holes,  placed  so  as  to  give 
them  twice  as  much  to  do  as  usual,  and  even  more,  did 
their  work  perfectly,  and,  indeed,  more  than  sufl&cienUy, 
for  they  caused  such  an  accumulation  of  stuff*  in  the 
shaft  that  for  three  days  no  more  boring  could  be  done, 
and  the  men  had  to  devote  themselves  entirely  to 
winding  up  the  stuff!  The  holes  were  bored  partly 
single-handed,  and  then  one  inch  in  diameter  and 
twenty-seven  to  thirty  inches  deep,  partly  by  two  men, 
and  then  two  inches  in  diameter  and  thirty-six  to 
forty-eight  inches  deep.  The  holes  were  charged  in 
the  mode  originally  adopted  by  the  agent.  As  all  the 
holes  looked  downwards,  the  nitroglycerine  could- be 
poured  in  by  means  of  a  tin  funnel.  Upon  the  top  of 
it  a  small  wooden  cartridge,  three  inches  long,  contain- 
ing a  little  powder,  was  let  down  by  means  of  the 
Bickford's  fuse,  to  which  it  was  attached,  and  then  the 
hole  was  filled  up  by  hand,  without  using  any  tool  at 
all,  first  with  mud  and  then  with  sand  or  small  stuffl 

It  appeared  from  the.<;e  first  experiments  with  nitro- 
glycerine that,  without  any  exaggeration,  its  power 
was  four  or  five  times  greater  than  that  of  the 
powder  hitherto  in  use.  From  this  it  naturally  follow- 
ed, as  the  advantages  of  a  powerful  explosive  material 
would  be  most  felt  in  large  workings  in  close  little-joint- 
ed rocks,  such  as  sinking  a  shaft  in  the  '^  country,'*  that 
such  workings  could  be  carried  on  much  faster  than 
had  previously  been  the  case.  This  advantage  which 
'  nitroglycerine  afforded  could  only  be  looked  upon  as 
most  important 

Besides,  other  advantages  were  apparent^  which,  it 

•  *'Berg-  and  hutteamlnnlwlni  £ell«^'*  1867. 


is  true,  did  not  seem  so  great  as  the  first,  but  which, 
nevertheless,  promised  to  exercise  a  decidedly  favoura- 
ble influence  on  the  economy  of  mining.  They  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows : — 

1.  Fewer  men  are  wanted  for  working  out  a  certain 
sized  pieee  of  ground,  and  fewer  holes  have  to  be  bored 
than  at  present.  A  dearth  of  miners  may  to  a  certain 
extent  be  remedied  in  this  manner,  and  bas  steel  and 
iron  will  be  used  than  hitherto. 

2.  Nitroglycerine  does  not  take  fire  easily,  and  when 
lighted  burns  but  docs  not  explode,  and  goes  out  as 
soon  as  the  flame  with  which  it  had  been  brought  in 
contact  is  taken  away. 

3.  The  holes  can  be  tamped  easily,  quickly,  and  with- 
out danger. 

4.  The  amount  of  smoke  after  a  blast  is  small  com- 
pared with  that  of  powder,  and  workmen  can  go  back 
at  once  to  the  place  where  tbey  have  blasted  without 
trouble.  This  is  a  considerable  advantage  in  places 
where  there  is  but  little  draught,  and  holes  can  be 
bored  and  fired  singly,  which  was  hitherto  almost  im- 
possible in  consequence  of  the  all  but  impeDetnfale 
smoke,  and  had  to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible. 

5.  Holes  that  have  missed  or  only  partly  torn  can  be 
retamped  and  shot  ofl^  which,  with  the  present  a^ 
rangements,  is  either  impossible  or  accompanied  b/ 
great  danger. 

Against  these  advantages  must  be  set  the  following 
disadvantages : — 

a.  The  gases  formed  during  the  explosion  of  (he 
nitroglycerine  have  an  injurious  effect  on  the  organs  of 
sight  and  respiration. 

6.  Nitroglycerine  explodes  on  being  struck  smartly, 
and  easily  freezes. 

c.  The  masses  of  rock  which  it  removes  are  mostly 
very  large,  and  considerable  time  has  to  be  spent  in 
breaking  them  up. 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  disadvantages,  it 
should  be  remarked  that  during  the  first  day's  experi- 
ments, scarcely  any  signs  of  pain  in  the  ey^  or  bead 
were  remarked,  although  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  was 
not  particularly  well  ventilated ;  later  they  grew  more 
and  more  marked,  so  that  it  became  gradually  more  ap- 
parent that  where  nitroglycerine  was  used  every  ef- 
fort should  be  made  to  secure  good  ventilation.  In  the 
course  of  time,  however,  tbe  workmen  seem  to  haTO 
become  accustomed  to  the  smell,  and  this  disadvantage 
of  the  nitroglycerine  was  no  longer  looked  upon  as  one 
which  need  restrict  its  employment 

The  dangerous  property  of  nitroglycerine  of  explod- 
ing fi'om  a  smart  blow  cannot  be  denied,  but  this  is  not 
more  dangerous  than  the  property  of  ordinary  gunpow- 
der of  taking  fire  readily  and  exploding;  and  again, 
the  fact  of  its  freezing  must  be  looked  upon  rather  as 
an  inconvenience  than  a  danger. 

We  must  allow  that  the  last  of  the  three  disadnn- 
tages  also  exists;  holes  blasted  with  nitroglycerine  throw 
down  large  masses  rather  than  small  These  may  easi- 
ly be  broken  up  vnth  a  sledge,  or,  if  necessary,  be 
blasted.  At  all  events,  it  is  no  greater  disadvantage 
than  what  happens  so  often  with  powder ;  the  rock  is 
blown  into  small  pieces,  which  are  sometimes  tlirown 
to  a  great  distance,  and  may  perhaps  do  damage,  not 
only  to  the  workings  but  aUo  to  the  miners.  On  tbe 
contrary,  it  would  seem  to  be  rather  an  advantage  than 
a  disadvantage  that  the  rock  should  be  thrown  down 
gently  and  without  danger,  because  the  workmen, 
die  timbering,  and  masonry  are  not  so  liable  to  be  in- 
jured as  in  blasting  with  powder. 


»  Vol  Zn^  Ifoi  41A  waMi^MAI 


CHZnCAL  Nbws,  > 


J5kpenmefit'9  with  Nitrogh/ceiine. 


17 


AU  the  results  of  the  first  trials  with  nitroglycerine 
were  so  favourable,  that  they  naturally  instigated  us  to 
obtain  further  and  more  certedn  proofs  of  the  possibility 
of  practically  employing  nitroglycerine  underground. 
A.  comparative  experiment  was  made  between  the 
nitrate  of  soda  powder  in  use  here  and  nitroglycerine 
at  Segen  Gottes  mine,  in  sinking  a  shaft,  in  driving  a 
level,  and  in  stopes.  The  nitroglycerine  was  tried  first ; 
226  holes  were  bored,  in  all  5,043  inches  (English) 
deep.  Of  these  holes,  180,  or  80  per  cent,  tore  per- 
fectly, 40,  or  17  per  cent.,  only  half,  whilst  6  or  3  per 
cent,  did  nothing.  9*302  cubic  fatnoms  (English)  of 
ground  were  removed;  the  smith's  cost  was  £1  6s.; 
blasting  materials  cost  178.  ijd.;  nitroglycerine,  ;£  11 
1 18. 6d, ;  wages,  £2^  12s.  9d. ;  so  that  the  cubic  fathom 
cost  £/^  OS.  4d. ;  the  end,  on  account  of  its  small  dimen- 
wona,  costing  comparatively  the  most,  and  the  sinking 
of  the  shaft,  for  the  opposite  reason,  being  the  cheapest 
work.  The  experiment  with  the  nitrate  of  soda  powder 
was  then  made;  559  holes  were  bored,  in  all  9,249 
inches  deep,  or  333  holes,  with  a  depth  of  4,206  inches 
more  than  in  the  previous  experiment  315,  or  57  per 
cent,  tore  perfectly ;  225,  or  %o  per  cent,  only  half; 
and  19,  or  3  per  cent,  not  at  all.  By  means  of  these 
holes,  6*036  cubic  fathoms  of  ground  were  removed,  in 
which  the  end  and  the  stopes  do  not  stand  anything 
nearly  so  far  behind  as  in  the  first  case.  The  smiih's 
cost  was  £1  iSs.  2d. ;  blasting  materials,  9s.  7d. ; 
powder,  ^3  13s.;  wages,  £2^  7s.  lajd;  so  that  the 
cubic  fathom  cost  £$  os.  9id.  With  powder,  therefore, 
3*266  cubic  fathoms  less  ground  were  removed,  though 
the  wages  (in  spite  of  one  case  of  loss  of  wages)  were 
15s.  i^.,  and  the  smith's  cost  12s.  2d.  more;  on  the 
other  hand,  on  account  of«  using  the  needle  in  blasting, 
the  blasting  materials  cost  7s.  6^d.  less;  the  powder 
also  cost  £y  iSs.  6d.  less  than  the  nitroglycerine.  Tak- 
ing all  together,  the  cubic  fathom  with  powder  cost  £1 
as.  5Jd.  more  than  it  did  with  nitroglycerine. 

These  experiments  show  that  the  employment  of 
nitroglycerine,  especially  in  large  workings,  already 
offers  great  advantages  over  ordinary  p^owder,  and  that 
these  advantages  lie  in  the  fact  that  with  fewer  holes, 
and  in  a  shorter  time,  a  greater  amount  of  ground  can 
be  removed  than  by  the  present  mode  of  proceeding. 
Besides,  in  working  out  any  given  quantity  of  ground 
nitroglycerine  is  found  to  do  the  work  much  cheaper, 
on  account  of  the  extraordinary  force  with  whicn  it 
blasts  the  holes,  and  the  smaller  quantity  of  iron  and 
steel  used  up.  Lastly,  the  holes  can  be  tamped  much 
quicker  and  without  danger,  as,  if  they  are  loosely  filled 
with  sand,  any  small  stufl*,  or  even  water,  they  can  be' 
considered  as  thoroughly  well  tamped.  But  even  a  1 
stronger  tamping,  such  as  is  in  use  m  the  Hartz,  has, 
up  to  the  present  time,  been  entirely  exempt  from 
danger,  and  has  doubtless  caused  a  greater  effect,  undrr 
certain  circumstances,  as  may  be  readily  understood. 
In  the  HartZu  the  cartridges,  made  of  well-glued  paper. 
arc  filled  wita  sand  in  order  to  make  them  stiffer,  ana 
especially  to  allow  their  being  longer,  and  thus  to 
spread  the  explosive  force  over  a  greater  area;  in 
other  words,  to  give  the  explosive  force  a  greater  lever- 
age, and  thus  increase  the  effect  The  proper  quantity 
of  nitroglycerine  for  each  hole  is  then  poured  into  the 
cartridge  by  mean^  of  a  little  can  with  a  spout,  until 
the  sand  is  more  tJian  saturated,  and  the  whole  of  the 
nitroglycerine  forms  one  single  mass;  on  the  top  a 
Kttle  sand  is  put  so  as  to  close  the  cartridges  better, 
and  then  the  upper  part  is  pinched  up  just  as  in  the 
cartridges  filled  with  powder.     Where  nitroglycerine  is 

Vol.  IL    No.  i.    Jan.,  1868.        2 


used  alone,  without  sand,  the  cartridges  are  made  long 
and  narrow  for  the  reason  explained  above ;  they  are 
closed  with  a  cork.  The  cartridge  in  either  case  is 
carefiiUy  let  down  into  the  hole,  or  pushed  in  with  the 
tamping  bar,  or  scraper.  Upon  the  top  of  it  comes  a 
paper  cartridge,  about  two  or  three  inches  in  length, 
not  particularly  strong,  and  filled  with  good  powder, 
such  as  sporting  powder:  it  has  the  ordinary  iron 
needle  stuck  in  it,  but  without  the  reed ;  a  little  clay 
is  stuck  on  the  top  of  the  cartridge  and  round  about 
the  needle.  The  tamping  employed  is  clay-slate  beaten 
up  fine,  and  made  into  a  soft  mass  with  water ;  this  is 
moulded  into  lumps  like  pieces  of  peat,  and  when  dried 
is  ready  for  use.  This  tamping  is  forced  in  with  the 
iron  tamping  bar,  the  wooden  one  being  discarded; 
the  first  blows  are  gentle,  and  then  gradually  harder 
and  harder  until  the  mass  rings.  The  hammer,  how- 
ever, is  not  used,  the  tamping  is  simply  rammed  in  with 
the  iron  bar.  When  the  hole  is  tamped  .it  is  clayed 
over,  the  needle  drawn  out,  and  instead  of  the  reed 
filled  with  powder,  a  paper  fuse  is  stuck  in  and  the  hole 
fired  off. 

The  results  obtained  by  the  experiments  described 
above  would  probably  have  been  greater  had  the  work- 
men been  as  thoroughly  accustomed  to  the  use  of  nitro- 
glycerine as  they  are  to  that  of  powder.  This  may  be 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  far  fewer  holes  were  bored 
in  the  experiments  where  nitroglycerine  was  used  than 
in  those  where  powder  was  the  blasting  material  em- 
ployed. For  though  it  must  be  conceded  that  holes 
blasted  with  nitroglycerine  brought  about  more  delay, 
and  caused  more  time  to  be  spent  in  winding  stuff, 
and  thus  caused  a  loss  of  time,  still  the  difference  in 
the  number  of  holes  bored  is  so  great  that  we  may  as- 
sume that  the  men  would  have  bored  more  holes  if 
they  had  had  more  experience  in  the  mode  of  procedure 
adopted  with  nitroglycerine. 

The  same  thing  no  doubt  happened  when  gunpowder 
was  first  introduced,  and  probably  less  work  could  be 
done  with  it,  and  much  more  danger  accompanied  its 
eniployment,  than  l\as  since  proved  to  be  the  case. 

in  speaking  of  the  many  advantages  which,  accord- 
ing to  these  experiments,  nitroglycerine  possesses  over 
gunpowder,  it  may  be  added  that  still  further  progress 
has  been  made  with  regard  to  its  introduction,  and 
people  have  not  been  stopped  even  by  two  accidents 
which  have  occurred  from  using  it  In  one  case  walls 
to  keep  up  the  attle  heap  were  being  built  out  of  some 
large  pieces  of  rock  brought  up  from  the  Beihilf  shaft, 
and  which  had  been  lying  out  in  the  air  for  some  time. 
These  pieces  had  to  be  trimmed  a  little  with  the  hammer, 
and  during  this  work  a  small  explosion  occurred,  slightly 
injuring  the  mason  in  the  eye. 

The  explosion  was  probably  caused  by  some  nitro- 
glycerine which  had  escaped  decomposition  and  re- 
mained sticking  to  the  rock.  In  the  second  case  a  hole 
in  the  m'ne  did  not  tear  the  rock  properly,  but  sinply 
split  and  loosened  it  As  the  miner  was  removing 
these  loose  pieces  an  explosion  occurred  from  undecom- 

E[)sed  nitroglycerine  which  remained  in  the  cracks, 
uckily,  the  man  was  but  slightly  injured. 
The  accidents  can  only  have  occurred  fi'om  the  nitro- 
glycerine having  been  used  alone  without  any  cartridge, 
or  from  the  hole  not  having  been  properly  clayed,  so 
that  the  nitrogl3xerine  found  means  of  ^tting  into 
joints  and  cracks  and  escaped  decomposition.  The 
consequence  has  been  that  nitroglycerine  is  not  so 
often  poured  straight  into  the  hole,  but  is  enclosed  in 
a  cartridge  of  paper  well  joined  with  glue,  and  in  order 


[fengikh  EdMfdB.  ToL  XVI,  Vo,41%  fwfw  846^  860.1 


i8 


Development  of  Idem  in  Natural  Philosophy. 


to  give  the  cartridges  greater  strength,  and  the  explosive 
material  a  greater  area  to  act  on,  the  cartridge  is  first  of 
all  filled  up  to  a  certain  height  with  sand,  or,  as  I  have 
since  tried,  it  is  at  once  filled  with  common  powder. 

Now,  although  it  has  been  remarked  that  a  hole  con- 
taining fi'ee  nitroglycerine  does  more  work  than  one 
in  which  tlie  blasting  oil  •  is  contained  in  a  cartridge, 
which  sometimes  hinders  the  quickness  of  its  decom- 
position, it  must  not  be  assumed  that  the  real  reason 
has  yet  been  hit  upon,  and  before  a  final  decision 
further  evidence  must  first  of  all  be  obtained. 

Further  experiments  were  made  in  the  above-de- 
scribed manner  in  sicking  a  shaft  in  clay-slate.  During 
a  period  of  three  months  the  men  were  paid  for  having 
worked  372  shifts,  £iz  iSs.  9Jd.,  or,  adding  in  the 
money  paid  for  extra  work,  ^2  los.  ofd.,  altogether 
£16  5s.  loid.  251  holes,  with  a  total  depth  of  7,520 
inches,  were  bored,  and  1 1  '972  cubic  fathoms  of  ground 
were  removed.  Of  these  holes  229,  or  01*2  per  cent, 
tore  perfectly;  18,  or  7*2  per  cent,  only  half;  and  4,  or 
1*6  per  cent,  simply  blew  out,  but  could  be  used  again 
on  bein^  recnarged.  In  each  shift,  then,  "67  of  a  hole, 
or  20'2  mches  were  bored,  and  '0321  of  a  cubic  fathom 
of  ground  removed,  whicn  cost  od.,  or,  including  die 
extra  wages,  10^.  The  smiths  cost  was  9s.  4d.; 
blasting  materials.  i6s.  5d.,  and  the  expense  of  99*67 
pounds  of  nitroglycerine  £17  i8s.  9I.;  so  that  the 
total  expenditure  was  £ZS  los.  sd.,  or  £2  19s.  3l<l. 
per  cubic  fathom. 

The  results  of  these  experiments  are  still  more 
favourable  than  those  obtained  previously,  and  the 
reason  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  tlie  experiments  were 
confined .  to  a  shaft  which  was  being  sunk  of  greater 
length  and  breadth  than  the  previous  one,  and  conse- 
quently, the  full  effect  of  the  nitroglycerine  was  ob- 
tained. The  sinking  of  the  shaft  in  question  has  been 
consequently  continued  with  the  aid  of  nitroglycerine, 
and  with  excellent  results,  for  the  holes  do  quite  three 
times  as  much  work  as  they  did  with  gunpowder. 
The  sinking  of  course  proceeds  more  rapidly ;  the  com- 

Elaints  about  headaches  caused  by  the  nitroglycerine 
ave  ceased,  and  no  other  inconveniences  have  mani- 
fested themselves.  It  must  not  be  denied  that  this 
favourable  result  is  partly  owing  to  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  shaft^  the  tight  nature  of  the  ground,  as 
well  as  to  the  porous  nature  of  the  clay-slate,  and  the 
wetness  of  the  sinking.  Still  some  means  should  be 
discovered  to  lessen  or  prevent  entirely  the  injurious 
effect  which  nitroglycerme  has  on  the  health  of  the 
workman.  If  further  experience  does  not  bring  any 
other  disagreeable  qualities  to  light^  there  is  no  doubt 
that  nitroglycerine  will  be  more  generally  introduced 
in  certam  workings  to  which  it  is  specially  adapted, 
and  then  further  iaiprovements  may  bring  about  more 
important  results  than  those  which  have  already  been 
obtained  in  certain  cases. 


dk 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  IDEAS  IN 
NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.* 

BT  JUSTUS  VON  LIEBIO. 

The  history  of  natural  philosophy  teaches  us  that  the 
final  object  of  our  knowledge  of  matter  and  phenomena 
is  the  material  and  intellectual  acquirements  of  man- 
Idnd. 
Nature  has  denied  to  man  the  means  of  resistance 

L  LaeCim  d«UT«red  ai  Um  Mutiny  of  the  Boy  al  Aoadeny  of  SdoDce, 


against  external  injurious  effects  which  constantly 
endanger  his  existence ;  and  it  is  in  tlie  first  place  w 
pressure  acting  upon  him  firom  without,  which  chal- 
lenges his  dormant  mental  powers  to  a  combat  He 
gains  fi*om  nature  whatever  he  requires  for  the  purpose. 
as  a  protection  against  the  influence  of  climate  ana 
against  his  enemies,  as  a  means  of  supporting  life  or 
restoring  health,  and  thus  originates  the  acquaintance 
with  innumerable  substances,  and  their  qualities,  and 
with  the  processes  by  which  they  are  made  suitable  to 
his  purposes.  In  a  former  lecture  I  took  occasion  to 
draw  attention  to  the  peculiar  power  ofthe  imagination 
to  call  forth  the  relationship  between  different  pictures 
raised  by  impressions  upon  our  senses,  and  to  draw  in- 
ferences, which  depend  upon  each  .other  in  a  simihr 
manner  as  the  ideas  which  guide  the  understanding  in 
its  combinations^  only  with  this  difference,  that  Uie  in- 
ferences of  imagrmation  are  likewise  pictures.  A  word 
taken  as  the  sign  of  an  idea  is  the  same  to  the  under- 
standing, as  an  impression  upon  the  senses  to  the 
imagination. 

The  word  "  tar"  is  very  likely  without  the  slightest 
reaction  upon  the  imagination  of  most  people,  whereas 
the  smell  of  ship's  tar  will  awaken  in  tne  imagination 
of  an  individual  the  picture  of  a  ship  or  a  sea-port 
visited  by  him  years  ago. 

The  husbandman,  the  shepherd,  the  hunter,  stand  in 
direct  communication  with  nature.  The  first  learns  by 
simple  observation  of  the  senses,  how  sunshine  and 
rain  act  upon  the  growth  of  his  plants,  how  the  seed 
germinates  and  developes  itself  into  a  plant^  how  the 
latter  blossoms  and  bears  firuit ;  in  the  same  manner 
the  shepherd  collects  a  mass  of  experience  on  the 
maintenance  and  propagation  of  the  animals  he  tenda 
he  becomes  acquainted  with  their  diseases,  and 
through  them  with  nutritive  and  venomous  plants, 
he  constructs  himself  a  time-niece  on  the  starry  sky,  he 
learns  to  know  the  course  or  the  heavenly  bodies  and 
how  they  move  with  the  seasons.  The  priest  who 
dissects  the  animals  of  sacrifice  learns  to  tmow  their 
internal  parts  and  their  relative  functions.  A  collection 
of  such  facts  leads  those  who  observe  them  to  draw 
inferences  about  the  existence  of  other  facts.  1%e 
shepherd  searches  for  medical  herbs  for  his  animals, 
and  applies  them  to  man  ^  from  the  changes  produced 
by  diseases  in  the  organism  of  animals,  me  sacrifioer 
draws  inferences  as  to  the  nature  of  human  diseases. 
Thus  the  shepherd  becomes  the  first  therapeutist^  the 
priest  the  first  pathologist 

The  processes  of  manufacturing  leather,  soap,  glass, 
wine,  oil,  bread,  and  cheese,  have  been  invented  by 
deductions  of  a  similar  nature ;  they  are  very  ancient, 
as  are  also  the  application  of  woofien  and  vegetable 
fibre  to  textiles,  the  art  of  dyeing,  smelting  of  copper, 
tin,  and  iron  ores,  the  extraction  01  gold  and  silver. 

The  superiority  of  man  over  other  animals  chiefly 
depends  upon  his  capacity  to  produce  inventions 
which  meet  his  requirements,  and  the  sum  total  of 
these  inventions  in  a  population  expresses  the  meaning 
of  its  civilisation.  By  means  ofthe  inventions  of  men 
in  art  and  manufacture,  in  medicine,  mechanics^  and 
astronomy,  those  facts  are  acquired  which  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  subsequent  development  of  sdenoe; 
they  lead  to  the  knowledge  of  the  phenomena  of 
motion  in  the  firmament  and  upon  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  of  the  constituent  ptfrts  of  the  eardi  and  of  the 
animals  and  plants  on  the  same ;  they  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery ofthe  effects  of  fire  and  ofthe  natural  forces^— 
but  the  experimental  science  whidi  leads  toinveation& 


[Bnglidi  BdMfla,  YoL  XVI,  No^  41A  Fi«w  960^  S6IJ 


I 


Deodopment  of  Ideas  in  Natural  PhUoeophy. 


19 


does  not  seek  any  solution  of  the  nature  and  essence  of 
matter  and  natural  phenomena,  for  this  is  ^uite  beyond 
its  range.  The  scientific  study  of  nature  auns  at  differ- 
ent results ;  it  springs  from  the  intellectual  require- 
ments of  man,  from  the  impulse  of  his  mind  to  account 
for  the  world  in  which  he  Hves,  and  for  the  objects 
and  phenomena  which  daily  engage  his  senses. 

Now,  at  the  commencement  of  this  inquiry,  man 
does  not  know  anything  of  the  nature  of  his  senses : 
not  that  the  origin  of  things  is  inaccessible  to  them ; 
the  senses,  intended  to  assist  him  in  comprehending 
the  outer  world,  are  to  him  implements  the  handling 
of  which  he  does  not  know  ;  he  sees  and  hears,  but  he 
knows  nothing  of  light  or  sound,  he  does  not  know 
whether  he  looks  with  his  eyes  at  certain  objects  or 
whether  these  objects  look  into  his  eyes,  nor  that  the 
temperature  he  feels  is  his  own. 

History  teaches  us  that  the  popular  notions  of  sub- 
stances and  eyents  in  the  outer  world  develope  them- 
selyes  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  mind  of  a  child, 
which  becomes  acquainted  only  gradually  with  the 
impressions  of  his  senses.  By  continued  and  repeated 
testing  things  with  the  hand,  the  eye,  or  the  tongue, 
the  child  learns  to  recognise  and  distinguish  their 
shape,  colour,  and  condition,  the  resistance  offered, 
solid  from  the  liquid,  the  cold  from  the  warm,  the  dry 
from  the  wet ;  and  the  child's  further  development 
chiefly  depends  on  his  capacity  to  reproduce  within 
himself  the  already  observed  without  calling  in  further 
assistance  of  his  senses.  The  pictures  retained  by 
memory  gradually  increase  in  number,  and  the  human 
mind  be^ns  unconsciously  to  put  questions  to  the 
senses ;  it  compares  and  discovers  analogies  and  dis- 
tinctions ;  it  notices  that  under  certain  conditions  cold 
becomes  warm,  liquid  solid,  solid  hquid  ;  but  a  long 
time  elapses  before  it  learns  the  characteristics  of  every 
substance.  The  idea  of  motion  connects  itself  with  a 
hand  which  lif^  pushes  away,  or  draws  something 
towards  itself. 

With  ideas  of  this  kind  the  investigation  of  nature 
began,  and  its  further  expansion  took  place  as  in  an  in- 
dividual, only  the  senses  and  minds  of  many  participated 
in  testing  matter  and  in  considertng  processes  ;  every 
man  takes  his  own  point  of  view,  every  one  observes 
in  the  object  or  phenomenon  a  different  face  and 
profile,  and  thus  it  gradually  becomes  known  from  tdl 
sides  ;  later  on,  when  the  details  become  more  distinct, 
many  phenomena  are  found  to  have  parts,  to  be  com- 
pounds, and  things  are  discovered  to  be  present  which 
escaped  the  simple  observation  of  the  senses,  our 
former  trust  in  the  impressions  of  the  senses  is  lost, 
and  measures  are  adopted  to  prove  their  veracity. 

In  this  manner  we  gradually  succeed  in  ucquiring  of 
matter  and  of  processes  definite  ideas  which  are  appli- 
cable to  mental  operations ;  with  their  accumulation 
the  number  of  their  combinations  naturally  increases, 
as  also  the  mastery  of  the  mind  over  the  senses ; — in- 
stead of  unconscious  questions  he  now  asks  positive 
ones,  instead  of  one  a  number  of  questions,  the  percep- 
tions gprow  into  conscious  observations. 

No  one  will  maintain  that  in  former  times  an  obstacle 
had  existed  in  the  senses  of  men  preventing  them  firom 
seeing  and  perceiving  everything  in  the  same  manner 
as  we  now  see  and  perceive.  Want  of  facts  is  also  not 
the  reason  of  the  difference  in  our  recent  and  former 
views  of  many  phenomena;  true,  we  now  know  more 
facts  than  formerly,  but  those  relating  to  the  mo9t 
common  phenomena — ^to  air  and  fire,  vapour  and  rain, 
heat  and  cold — ^were  just  as  well  known  and  observable 


to  men  a  thousand  years  ago  as  they  are  to-day,  and 
no  one  will  imagine  tnat  before  the  discovery  of  oxygen 
people  were  the  least  doubtful  as  to  the  necessary  pres- 
ence of  air  for  burning  and  respiration,  or  of  a  strong 
current  of  air  for  the  production  of  high  degrees  of 
heat.  Our  better  understanding  does  not  lie  in  our 
senses  nor  in  our  higher  mental  capacity,  for  in  regard 
to  the  latter  the  great  philosophers  of  antiquity  who 
endeavoured  to  gain  information  on  the  essence  of 
matter  and  phenomena  serve  still  at  the  present  day  as 
models  unsurpassed. 

The  true  reason  is  that  we  have  grown  richer  in 
ideas ;  but  the  ideas  of  things,  or,  what  is  the  same, 
the  acc^uaintance  with  sense-observed  things,  tlieir 
peculianties  and  agencies,  man  does  not  bring  into 
the  world  with  him ;  they  must  be  acquired  by  ex- 
perience, must  be  developed  in  his  n^ind  in  a  totally 
different  manner  from  the  animal,  whose  faculties  are 
developed  to  the  highest  perfection  attainable  without 
his  co-operati<Hi,  in  consequence  of  natural  laws  acting 
within  him. 

All  these  conceptions  originated  with  or  sprang 
from  impressions  01  the  senses,  and  as  natural  phenom- 
ena are  always  composite,  and  their  conditions  or 
parts  are  again  things  which  likewise  produce  definite 
and  invariable  impressions  of  their  own,  it  is  clear  that 
a  mental  conception  of  a  thing  or  phenomenon  must 
include  all  these  characteristics  in  itselfl 

We  speak  of  carbon  as  a  constituent  part  of  plants 
and  animal  bodies,  without  calling  to  our  mind  either 
diamond,  coal,  charcoal,  or  lamp-black;  the  same 
with  phosphorus  or  iodine,  which  as  such  do  not  even 
exist  m  nature.  These  are  all  abstract  notions  which 
once  settled,  ^aise  in  all  cases  where  their  character- 
istics are  perceived,  the  idea  of  carbon,  phosphorus,  or 
iodine. 

The  natural  phenomena  are  linked  together  like  the 
meshes  of  a  net,  and  the  investigation  of  individual  phe- 
nomena results  in  showing  that  they  have  in  common 
certain  conditions,  which  as  stated  above  are  active  re- 
alities ;  and  as  the  totality  of  the  conditions  or  parts  of 
all  phenomena  is  limited  and  relatively  small,  we  suc- 
ceed at  last  in  reducing  all  natural  phenomena  to  con- 
ceptions. 

This  is  the  problem  of  science, — its  progress  depends 
npon  the  accumulation  of  facts,  but  it  is  not  in  propor- 
tion to  their  number,  only  to  the  sum  total  of  mental 
material  deduced  from  the  facts.  A  thousand  facts  per 
M  do  not  alter  the  position  of  science,  whereas  a  single 
one  which  has  become  comprehensible  outweighs  in 
course  of  time  all  others  in  importance. 

These  views  of  the  development  of  the  ideas  derived 
from  experience,  or,  to  use  a  shorter  expression  here- 
after, of  derived  ideas,  may  perhaps  assist  in  leading  to 
a  more  correct  estimate  of  tlie  different  epochs  in  the 
comprehension  of  natural  phenomena  than  has  hitherto 
been  the  case. 

The  explanation  of  a  natural  phenomenon  beinff  a 
logicid  process,  our  intellect  is  d  priori  enabled  to  lav 
down  the  proposition,  i,e,  the  logical  conditions,  whica 
must  combine  in  its  comprehension  or  explanation.. 
This  has  been  done  by  Aristotle,  who  says  the  road  of 
philosophy  is  that  of  all  other  sciences — '*  One  must 
nrst  collect  the  facts,  and  then  learn  to  know  the 
things  on  which  the  facts  originate ;  not  the  mass  of 
facts  all  at  once,  but  every  one  must  be  viewed  singly 
and  separately,  and  the  inferences  drawn  from  it ;  as 
soon  as  we  have  the  facts  it  becomes  our  brsiness  to . 
settle  their  combination. 


(EagBA  Bdiiloi^  y  oL  ZTt,  K^  415,  ptgw  251,  aaa.] 


20 


Development  of  Ideas  in  Natural  Philosophy. 


( CEKVioii.  Nirws, 


jtt%^rm. 


"These  facts  are  acquired  by  observations  of  the 
senses ;  if  these  latter  are  imperfect,  the  knowledge 
depending  upon  them  will  be  so  likewise." 

"  "We  cannot  have  any  general  theoretical  proposi- 
tions unless  by  induction,  and  induction  can  be  made 
only  by  perceptions  of  our  senses,  for  these  have  to 
deal  with  the  individual." 

These  are  the  chief  principles  of  investigation  be- 
queathed to  us  by  the  great  philosopher  of  antiquity, 
and  they  have  still  the  same  import  which  they  had 
two  thousand  years  ago.  > 

On  studying  his  explanations  of  natural  phenomena 
and  those  of  the  whole  successive  series  of  natural 
philosophers,  down  to  our  own  time,  we  find  that  at 
all  times  the  opinion  obtained,  that  the  conceptions 
were  in  harmony  with  the  facts,  and  indeed  the  defini- 
tions always  corresponded  with  the  logical  laws,  but 
the  later  are  always  in  opposition  to  the  earlier ;  what 
had  been  held  to  be  right  is  found  to  be  wrong  at  a 
later  period,  and  thus  the  subsequent  definitions  annul 
the  former  ones,  and  this  goes  on  for  centuries,  hence 
it  becomes  evident  that  the  truth  of  the  definitions 
does  not  depend  upon  the  principles  of  logic  alone. 

But  if  we  consider,  on  the  other  hand,  the  derived 
ideas  of  Aristotle  and  subsequent  investigators,  we 
find  at  once  the  reason  why  the  most  highly  developed 
intellect  and  the  keenest  logic  of  themselves,  do  not 
suffice  for  a  correct  explanation,  because  this  depends 
entirely  upon  the  extent  of  the  derived  ideas. 

At  the  beginning  the  facts  which  an  idea  includes 
are  undefined,  and  their  number  and  extent  is  un- 
known ;  hence  it  follows,  eo  ipso,  that  the  first  expla- 
nations cannot  be  defined  or  exh  tustive,  and  that  they 
must  change  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  facts  become 
better  ascertained,  and  the  unknown  facts,  bein^  part  of 
the  ideas,  are  discovered  and  are  embodied  in  the  idea ; 
the  earlier  definitions  therefore  are  only  comparatively 
wrong,  and  the  latter  are  more  correct  merely  because 
the  extent  of  the  idea  of  things  has  become  larger, 
clearer,  and  more  definite.  This  development  takes 
place  in  a  certain  succession. 

No  subsequently  developed  idea  can  precede  in  order 
of  time  an  earlier  one,  and  if  it  is  ineffective,  this 
happens  because  it  is  wanting  in  extent  Witn  the 
earlier  idea  the  development  of  all  subsequent  ones  is 
bound  up. 

The  definitions  of  natural  phenomena  by  the  Greek 
and  subsequent  philosophers  prove  the  extent  and 
comprehension  of  their  '*  derived  ideas,"  and  nothing 
more ;  and  from  this  point  of  view  they  offer  a  peculiar 
interest  for  the  history  of  the  development  of  ideas  in 
natural  philosophy,  inasmuch  as  we  discover  in  them 
the.  first  outlines  in  the  elevation  of  our  ideas.  Aris- 
totle distinguishes  the  solid  from  the  hquid  and  the 
aeriform.  All  solid  bodies  are  to  him  varieties  of  one 
solid  ;  it  can  be  perceived  that  transparent  bodies 
have  something  in  common  with  water,  but  language 
does  not  suffice  to  define  the  other  varieties  of  sohd 
bodies,  such  as  form,  colour,  or  hardness  ;  only  what 
can  be  produced  from  them  or  what  results  from  them 
;are  definable.  One  white  stone  yields  in  the  fire  lime, 
.another  white  stone  fuses  to  glass,  one  red  stone  pro- 
duces iron,  another  mercury,  a.  grey  stone  tin,  a  black 
one  lead.  "The  essence  of  things,"  Aristotle  says, 
"lies  in  the  form."  Hiia  is  the  first  conception  of  chem- 
ical analysis. 

Daily  experience  teaches  us  that  solid  bodies  cannot 
float  "in  the  air  or  in  space  without  being  suspended 
by  something  ;   and  as  the  stars  are  seen  behind  the 


moon,  and  the  moon  is  nearer  to  the  earth  than  the  san, 
these  celestial  bodies,  being  solid  bodies,  must  be  fi»- 
tened  to  transparent  rings  or  discs  which  move  round 
the  earth  together  with  the  celestial  bodies." 

"  A  fi*eely  falling  stone  moves  towards  the  earth  with 
increasing  velocity  :  sense  and  mind  are  quite  inca- 
pable of  recognising  that  the  earth  has  any  part  in  the 
falling  ;  it  is  evident  there  must  be  a  desire  within  the 
stone  to  return  to  the  place  assigned  to  it  by  nature." 
niis  is  the  commencement  of  the  idea  of  gravity,  or  of  an 
attractive  force. 

These  ideas  of  the  Greeks  were  perfectly  in  har- 
mony with  their  experience,  and  correct  so  far  as  they 
could  not  have  an^  others.  The  idea  of  time,  embodied 
in  the  compound  idea  of  velocity,  was  developed  and 
incorporated  with  the  latter  1500  years  after  Aristotle. 
Watclies  or  measures  for  short  intervals  of  time  the 
Greeks  did  not  possess.  At  the  commencement  of 
investigation  of  nature  the  compound  phenomena  of 
rain,  of  the  rainbow,  of  burning  and  breathing,  are 
taken  simply  as  a  matter  of  course,  for  nothing  is 
known  of  their  parts  ;  at  a  later  period  it  is  discovered 
that  the  rain  is  preceded  by  a  formation  of  olouds,  that 
without  sun  no  rainbow  is  formed,  and  that  without 
air,  burning  and  breathing  cannot  take  place.  That 
part  of  the  phenomenon  which  is  observed  at  a  later 
time  is  always  looked  upon  as  the  cause,  the  sun  as 
the  cause  of  the  rainbow,  the  air  as  the  cause  of 
breathing  and  burning,  just  in  the  same  way  as  Uie 
course  of  the  moon  is  thought  to  be  the  cause  of  ebb 
and  flow  of  the  tides. 

And  in  this  respect  the  tracing  out  and  defining  of 
the  manifold  relaiions  of  water  by  Thalso,  of  air  by 
Anasimenes,  of  fire  by  Heraclitus,  belong  to  the  great- 
est discoveries,  for  these  philosophers  thereby  created 
the  field  for  sJl  questions  connected  with  the  most 
important  occurrences  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  with 
animal  and  human  life— questions  which  have  occupied 
us  up  to  the  most  recent  tunes. 

From  the  acute  analyses  of  words  by  the  Greek  phi- 
losophers, we  learn  with  great  precision  the  sum  total 
of  the  ideas  included  ii^  the  words  which  they  used  in 
tlieir  mental  operations,  and  it  might  suffice  to  compare 
the  contents  of  one  of  these  words — of  the  word  "  air," 
— toi obtain  a  clear  conception  of  the  "derived  ideas" 
of  those  times  and  of  their  development 

The  Greeks  knew  that  air  inclosed  in  a  bladder 
resists  pressure,  and  that  a  glass  inverted  into  water 
does  not  fill  with  the  water.  Air  was  looked  upon  as 
a  space  filling,  resisting  matter,  as  an  element,  and 
next  to  fire,  t.^.,  smoke  ascending  into  the  air,  as  the 
lightest  element  Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  i6th 
century,  air  was  considered  to  be  convertible  into 
water, — in  the  middle  of  the  i6th  century  as  not  con- 
vertible into  water.  It  was  found  to  contain  water  in 
a  gaseous  form ;  in  the  year  1630  the  idea  obtained 
that  it  was  heavy,  t.e.,  ponderable  matter ;  in  1643, 
that  it  pressed  with  its  entire  weight  upon  all  bodies 
on  the  surface  of  the  globe  ;  in  1647,  that  the  invisible 
particles  of  air  press  also  upon  each  other  and  are 
elastic,  that  the  lower  air  strata  are  denser  than  the 
upper  ones ;  in  1660,  that  different  kinds  of  air  or 
gases,   elastic  lilce  common  air,   could  be  artificialty 

})roduced  by  chemical  processes  j  in  1 727,  that  eudi 
ike  gases  were  also  in  plants,  animal  matter,  oreS)  and 
metdilic  calxes,  not  as  products,  but  as  educts,  s6xne 
inflammable,  some  stifling  fire.  In  1774,  it  was  found 
that  among  these  gases  was  one  in  which  inflammalde 
substances  burnt  more  briskly  than  in  common  air;  m 


[Bnglidi  Bditton,  ToL  XTL,  Mo.  41S^piig«aA2;  No.  410,pasw  dd,  962.] 


Orkical  NcwSt ) 
Jai^,  1868.       f 


Development  of  Ideas  in  Natural  Philosophy, 


21 


1775,  that  atmospheric  air  consisted  chiefly  of  a 
mixture  of  two  gases,  one  of  which  supported  combus- 
tioD,  the  other  not,  also  that  it  contained  variable 
quantities  of  aqueous  vapour  ;  at  the  end  of  the  i8th 
century,  that  it  contiiined  carbonic  acid  ;  in  the  19th 
century,  that  it  ajso  contains  ammonia,  nitric  acid,  and, 
lastly,  that  all  kinds  of  fungi  were  floating  in  the  air. 
Our  position  in  regard  to  the  notion  of  "  air"  has  been 
acquired  by  the  labour  of  hundreds  of  the  most  clear- 
sighted men  during  an  interval  of  more  than  2,000 
years,  by  constantly  enlarging,  separating,  and  limiting 
the  nrst  notions ;  and  this  constitutes  the  difference 
between  all  notions  of  matter  and  of  phenomena 
formerly  entertained,  and  those  we  have  to-day.  By- 
and-bye  I  shall  take  occasion  to  show  that  the  discov- 
ery of  facta  which  were  added  to  the  notion  of  air, 
and  which  gradually  enlarged  and  defined  more  com- 
pletely its  extent,  was  precisely  the  conception  of  the 
facts,  r.e.,  that  they  were  first  "  conceived"  and  after- 
wards discovered. 

It  will  easily  be  observed  that  most  of  our  notions 
in  philosophy,  and  especially  in  jurisprudence,  have 
been  traced  out  and  developed  in  an  exactly 
similar  manner,  and  that  our  present  ideas  of  the 
words  "  state"  ox  "  church"  convey  a  different  meaning 
to  what  they  did  100  years  agro.  *'The  idea  of  divi- 
nity" changes  anddevelopes  with  the  notion  of  ^' force." 
Every  one  of  our  present  notions  is  the  result  of 
time  and  of  infinite  labour  and  mental  effbrt,  and  if  our 
speculations  are  less  bold  than  those  of  the  Greeks,  it 
is  exactly  because  their  example  has  taught  us  that  the 
highest  flight  of  imagination  and  the  most  acute  logic 
do  not  alter  our  position,  and  that  they  are  without 
influence  upon  the  regular  course  of  the  development 
of  the  "derived  ideas."  Euclid,  with  his  powerful 
mathematical  mind,  thought  we  looked  out  of  the  eyes 
by  means  of  optical  rays.  Descartes,  one  of  the  greatest 
philosophers  of  all  times,  could  not  raise  himseli*  to  the 
idea  of  an  attractive  force. 

Very  widely  spread  is  the  opinion  that  a  gap  exists 
between  the  Gt  eek  and  modem  philosophy  up  to  the 
15th  century,  and  the  historians  designate  the  middle 
a^es  as  the  period  of  stand-still,  and  the  15  th  century 
as  that  of  the  re-awakening  of  science.  ^ 

This  view  if  applied  to  Europe  is  only  partly  correct, 
and  it  cannot  hold  good  for  the  western  parts  of 
Europe,  for  Germany,  England,  and  the  present  France. 
In  these  countries  Greek  and  Roman  culture  could  not 
be  extinguished  in  the  middle  ages,  simply  because  it 
found  entrance  into  them  only  at  a  much  later  peiiod. 
We  must  recollect  that  at  ihe  time  of  the  Academies 
of  Athens  Western  Europe  was  inhabited  by  half 
savage  races  who  were  clothed  in  hides,  that  under 
Charlemagne  most  of  the  dignitaries  and  the  most 
powerful  barons  of  the  empire  could  not  write  their 
own  names,  that  in  the  13th  century  Rome  was  still 
tlje  centre  of  the  Christian  slave  trade,  and  that  large 
slave  markets  existed  at  Lyons  and  in  the  coast  towns 
of  the  German  Ocean  and  of  the  Baltic. 

The  endeavours  of  tlie  great  Emperor  to  impart 
mental  cultivation  into  the  rude  and  ignorant  clergy  of 
his  time,  by  the  foundation  of  schools,  could  not  be 
crowned  with  succt-ss,  because  the  ground  on  which 
culture  spreads  had  not  been  prepared  by  cultivation. 
The  development  of  culture,  i.e.,  the  enlargement  of 
tlie  sphere  of  the  human  mind,  depends  upon  the 
increase  of  inventions  of  the  populations,  which  modify 
the  progress  of  their  civilisation  ;  for  by  these  inven- 
tions new  facts  are  gained  from  nature  which   are 


absolutely  indispensable  for  the  augmentation  of  the 
"  derived  ideas,"  or  tlie  matter  of  human  thought.  But 
other  conditions  are  yet/equired  for  the  development  of 
science,  whose  parent  is  Culture.  Science  depends  upon 
the  rise  of  a  social*  class  which  devotes  its  energy  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  mental  domain  to  tlie  exclusion 
of  every  other  purpose.  The  men  who  apply  them- 
selves to  this  task  do  not  produce  any  articles  which 
they  can  realise  in  exchange  for  the  necessaries  of  life, 
like  goods  in  the  market,  and  therefore  such  a  soci?* 
class  cannot  spring  up  until  a  certain  surplus  of  wealth 
has  accumulated  amongst  the  populations  not  neces- 
sarily required  by  its  possessors  to  meet  their  material 
needs.  Only  with  the  introduction  of  such  a  state  of 
things  are  the  mental  demands  of  any  avail,  and  the 
proprietary  class  exchanges  part  of  its  wealth  for  the 
sake  of  cultivating  the  mind. 

Although  an  uninterrupted  traffic  without  obstacle 
to  the  diffusion  of  Byzantine  learning  existed  in  the 
middle  ages  between  the  Eastern  Roman  Empire  and 
Italy,  this  learning  did  not  pass  over  into  the  Western 
countries  until  the  14th  century,  because  the  intellectual 
class  had  not  yet  been  formed,  and  with  it  the  condi- 
tions of  the  cultivation  and  development  of  learning 
were  still  wanting.  Naturally  Greek  culture  could 
only  gr«  >w  up  in  Western  Europe  in  the  same  ratio  as 
the  civiUsation  of  the  populations  approached  that  of 
Greek  antiquity. 

It  can  easily  be  proved  that  the  civilisation  of  Euro- 
pean populations  continually  increased  after  the  decline 
of  the  ancient  Greek  states ;  but  owing  to  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, to  which  I  will  presently  allude,  it  remain- 
ed for  a  time  without  influence  upon  the  progress  of 
culture,  i,  e.,  of  its  mental  domain,  and  hence  apparently 
a  gap. 

In  reference  to  the  share  which  inventions  bear  in 
the  development  of  the  conceptions  and  ideas  in  natural 
philosophy,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  draw  attention  to 
the  facts  that  the  true  view  of  the  motion  of  the  earth 
•  and  the  planets  originated  with  the  invention  of  the 
telescope,  and  tlmt  all  progress  in  astronomy  depended 
upon  the  perfection  of  optical  instruments.  The  inven- 
tion of  the  telescope  was  preceded  by  that  of  colour- 
less glass;  the  further  improvement  of  optical  instru- 
ments depended  upon  the  invention  of  flint  glass,  and 
of  the  achromatic  lens,  which  Newton  thought  impos- 
sible. By  means  of  Galileo's  instruments  Uranus  and 
the  satellites  of  Saturn  could  not  have  been  discovered. 
Copernicus  looked  upon  his  view  not  as  "  true,"  but  as 
more  simple  and  more  beautiful,  in  the  same  manner  as 
we  take  the  notions  of  a  physiologist  of  "good"  and 
**  beautiful,"  not  in  the  meaning  of  true,  as  it  is  true 
that  2x2  —  4,  but  as  "  suitable,"  "  profound,"  or 
"exhaustive."  Chemical  analysis  resulted  from  the 
manipulations  of  the  metallurgists,  mineral  chemistry 
from  pharmacy  and  from  chemico-technical  manufac- 
tures, organic  chemistry  from  medicine.  The  theory  of 
heat  has  been  amplified  by  the  steam-engines,  the  theory 
of  lii!ht  by  photography. 

In  astronomy  the  Greeks  accomplished  the  utmost 
they  possibly  could  with  a  simple,  single  sense ;  they 
discovered  the  law  of  reflection  of  light,  the  arithmet- 
ical laws  of  sound,  the  centre  of  gravity,  the  law  of 
leverage  and  of  hydrostatic  pressure,  and  whatever 
could  be  deduced  from  these  laws  and  astronomical 
observations  by  means  of  mathematics;  any  further 
progress  was  excluded  by  the  degree  of  their  civilisation. 
The  source  of  the  trade,  wealth,  and  power  of  the 
Greek  states  in  their  most  flourisliing  period  was  a 


[EngUflh  BdWoii,  YoLXVL,  No.41)6,pafM2d3,  063.] 


22 


Develcfpment  of  Ideas  in  Natural  Philosophy. 


i  OmanciL  Hivl 
1       Jan^lWA. 


hiffhly  developed,  extenBive  industry ;  Corinth  produced 
what  we  might  call  Birmingham  and  Sheffield  goods  ; 
Athens  was  the  centre  of  the  products  of  manufactures 
BOW  spread  over  Leeds,  Staffordshire,  and  London,  such 
as  woollen  textiles,  dye-stuffs,  ceramic  wares,  gold  and 
silver  articles,  and  ship-building.  The  citizens  were 
manufacturers  on  the  largest  scale,  ship-owners  and 
merchants  who  had  their  offices  and  factories  on  all 
coasts  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean ;  the  men 
of  science  were  the  sons  of  citizens,  and  well  acquainted 
with  manufactures,  industry,  and  conamerce.  Socrates 
was  a  stonemason,  Aristotle  an  apothecary  (compounder 
of  medicines  and  a  medical  man),  and  Plato  and  Solon 
were  no  strangers  to  trade.  The  men  of  science  spoke 
and  wrote  in  ancient  Greece  the  same  language  as  the 
trades-people;  in  cultivation  of  the  mind  the  latter 
were  on  a  level  with  the  philosopher,  the  difference 
consisted  only  in  the  direction  of  their  knowledge; 
democratic  governments  and  institutions  united  both 
in  an  intimate  personal  intercourse,  and  indeed. the 
thirty-eight  chapters  of  the  "  Problem  "  appear  to  be 
nothing  else  but  questions  of  trades-people,  artists, 
musicians,  architects,  or  engineers,  which  Aristotle  triea 
to  solve  as  far  as  his  "  derived  ideas"  permitted. 

No  other  land  in  the  old  world  combined  in  the  same 
degree  as  Greece,  up  to  the  time  of  Pericles,  in  her 
social  arrangements,  in  the  dose  connection  of  the  pro- 
ductive and  the  intellectual  class,  the  necessary  elements 
for  the  origin  of  science.  But  Greece  was  a  slave  state, 
and  slavery  was  the  bane  which  confined  Greek  civil- 
isation within  certain  limits,  and  made  them  impassable. 
All  products  of  the  Greek  manufactories  were  the 
result  of  slave  labour.  At  the  time  when  Athens  flour- 
ished there  were  nearly  2000  slaves  for  every  100 
citizens,  which  number  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  extra- 
ordinary development  of  the  Athenian  industry. 

Now  a  tradesman  or  artisan  is  not  able  to  produce 
by  himself  alone  more  value  than  he  requires  for  the 
very  necessaries  of  life  for  himself  and  family,  but  he 
must  be  able  to  command  at  will  the  strength  of  20 
or  more  people  if  he  will  realise  an  excess  of  products 
of  industry  large  enough  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of 
part  of  the  population  of  the  land  in  which  he  lives,  and 
all  tradespeople  in  the  land  put  together  must  produce 
a  very  much  larger  excess  if  their  products  are  to  be- 
come articles  of  export.  This  last  proportion  exists  in 
all  industrial  commercial  states,  and  it  did  exist  in 
Greece,  for  the  accumulation  of  wealth  in  precious 
metals  in  the  country  had  not  been  effected  by  plunder, 
but  by  exchanging  products  of  Greek  industry  in  other 
countries  for  the  people  of  which  they  had  more  value 
than  gold  or  silver. 

The  progress  in  Greek  civilisation  chiefly  depended 
upon  the  ti-ansition  of  the  slave  state  into  a  free  st  ite, 
which  cannot  be  imagined  without  the  utilisation  of 
natural  forces  by  means  of  complicated  tools  or  machi- 
nery which  do  the  work  of  slaves. 

It  is  evident  that  by  the  invention  of  machinery, 
which  converts  a  given  natural  force,  the  weight  of  fal- 
ling water  for  instance,  into  power  of  labour,  and 
thereby  performs  the  work  of  20  people,  the  inventor 
may  become  rich  and  the  slaves  free  men,  and  the 
natural  consequence  of  the  introduction  of  machinery 
is  an  increase  in  the  productive  class,  and  thereby  in 
the  number  of  inventors  and  an  enlarged  production 
of  the  country.  But  in  a  slave  state  the  application 
of  natural  forces  and  the  substitution  of  slave  labour 
by  machine  work  is  almost  impossible,  for  the  profit 
and  wealth  of  the  possessing  class  in  such  a  state  con- 


sists in  the  slaves,  and  every  Edngle  citizen  sees  his 
property  de  facto  endangered  by  the  introduction  of 
macliinery ;  and  if  the  citizens,  as  then  in  Greece,  form 
part  of  the  authorities,  government  and  people  combine 
to  make  the  existing  state  of  slavery  permanent,  the 
government  with  the  apparently  wise  intention  of 
securing  to  the  labouring  population  their  liveh'hood. 

The  free  man  only,  and  not  the  slave,  has  the  inward 
impulse  and  an  interest  to  improve  his  implements  or  to 
design  new  ones,  and  thus  the  workman  who  builds  up 
a  conoplete  machine  generally  participates  as  co-invent- 
or. The  regulator  and  other  most  important  parts  of  ' 
the  steam  engine  are  inventions  of  worlcmen. 

Any  improvement  in  the  methods  of  once  established 
routine  and  manufacture  by  slaves  (themselves  work- 
ing machines)  is  out  of  the  question. 

Liberty^  i .  e.,  the  loosening  of  all  bonds  which  pre- 
vent man  fi^ora  employing  the  powers  bestowed  upon 
him  by  God  to  his  own  beet  advantage,  is  the  founda- 
tion and  the  principal  condition  for  the  progress  of  the 
human  race  in  civilisation  and  culture. 

A  glance  at  China  suffices  to  comprehend  the  influence 
upon  a  gifted  people,  resulting  from  simple  exclusion 
of  the  natural  forces  in  the  execution  of  human  labour 
by  machinery ;  her  high  civilisation  has  thereby  become 
stationary  for  the  last  2000  years. 

In  England,  and  especially  in  the  United  States  of 
North  America,  where  antiquated  institutions  and  laws, 
grown  up  from  ignorance,  do  not  impede  the  free  em- 
ployment of  human  forces,  we  see  on  the  contrary  a 
continuous  increase  in  wealth,  power,  and  civilisation, 
and  we  can  scarcely  entertain  a  doubt  that  in  the  free 
states  of  North  America  all  the  elements  exist  to  lead 
them  to  the  highest  scale  of  culture  and  civilisation 
attainable  by  men. 

A  modern  state,  in  which  free  trade  does  not  exist, 
in  which  the  establishment  or  extension  of  a  business 
depends  upon  the  pleasure  of  ignorant  officials,  in 
which  the  free  man  is  not  allowed  to  choose  the  place 
he  considers  most  suitable  for  the  exercise  of  his 
powers,  and  in  which  he  requires  the  permission  of  his 
masters  to  contract  marriage, — this  is  the  ancient  slave 
sfate,  in  which  the  ilite  of  the  people  is  poor  and 
witlwut  susceptibility  for  mental  or  moral  improvement, 
and  whose  wealth  and  power  form  a  deceptive  varnish, 
ea«ly  rubbed  off  by  slight  frictiou. 

We  observe  the  influence  of  wealth  upon  the  mind 
of  the  productive  class  in  those  commercial  states  whose 
trade  originates  with  industry;  the  sons  of  the  me- 
dian ics  and  merchants  abandon  the  occupation  of  their 
fathers,  the  source  of  their  wealth ;  their  aim  becomes 
the  acquisition,  not  of  money,  which  they  possess  in 
abundance,  but  of  honour  and  distinction, — they  devote 
themselves  to  science,  to  the  8er>'ice  of  the  government, 
of  the  army,  or  the  church,  and  in  this  manner  from 
the  productive  rises  the  intellectual  class. 

In  Europe  a  manufacture  does  not  go  down  to  the 
third  generation,  and,  in  Uke  manner,  mercantile 
houses  pass  in  the  second  generation  into  other  hands; 
therein  consists  in  a  free  state  the  renovation  of  the 
whole  industrial  population  with  each  generation,  and 
the  perpetual  revival  of  industry, — the  industrial  grown 
rich  makes  room  to  the  man  without  means,  who 
aspires,  and  who  produces  new  inventions,  and  thus  a 
circulation  is  establidied  in  the  state,  by  which  its 
power  and  wealth  constantly  increase. 

In  Greece  these  relations  were  shaped  in  a  totally 
different  manner;  there,  as  everywhere,  wealth  created 
tlie  intellectual  class  of  society,  whose  subsistence  must . 


[EiigUflhS<Utloii,yoLZVl.,  No.41tf»i»c«a63;  No.  417,  page  273.] 


CoraiOAi  NBvrt, ) 
/(in.,  1$68.        f 


Development  of  Ideas  in  Natural  Philosopliy. 


23 


be  secured  by  the  productive  class ;  but  the  latter  did 
not  renovate  and  recruit  itself  in  Greece :  the  free  man 
without  means  was  obliged  to  emigrate,  he  might  pos- 
sibly invent  a  machine,  but  he  could  not  invent  slaves, 
and  without  slaves  he  was  debarred  from  acquiring 
wealth  by  industry  in  his  country ;  the  way  of  trade 
remained  open  to  the  minority  only. 

As  soon  as  the  circulation  which  preserves  industry 
ceased  in  the  state,  and  the  power  or  production  in  the 
population,  upon  which  its  process  depends,  Greece 
uad  arrived  at  the  limit  of  her  civilisation  and  culture. 
•  The  rich  people  did  not'produce  any  furtiier  inventions,, 
and  with  the  absence  of  new  facts  gained  from  nature, 
dried  up  the  source  of  the  ideas  indispensable  to  the 
enlargement  of  the  domain  of  the  mind,  i>.,  the  culture. 
The  trade  in  home  productions  must  by  degrees  pass 
over  into  the  trade  in  products  of  other  countries  j  by 
this  means  the  accumulated  capital  could  still  for  a  time 
be  saved,  but  the  sinews  of  life  of  the  slave  state  with- 
ered, for  centuries  before  its  decline  became  visible  by 
outward  marks. 

The  civilisation  of  the  Greeks  travelled  by  the  Roman 
Empire  and  hj  the  Arabs  into  all  countries  of  Europe, 
and  its  continuous  development  became  manifest 
throughout  the, middle  ages  in  the  increase  of  inventions. 
At  the  end  of  the  15th  century  we  already  meet  with 
higher  algebra  and  trigonometry,  the  decimal  divisions 
in  calculations,  the  improved  ajmanac,  and  in  Uie  field 
of  medicine  a  complete  revolution  prepared ;  we  find 
admirable  progress  in  mining  and  in  the  metallurgical 
processes,  in  dyeing,  weaving,  and  tanning,  in  the  art  of 
making  glass,  in  engineering  and  architecture,  and 
especially  in  the  sphere  of  chemistry,  paper,  the  tele- 
scope, fire-arms,  watches,  knitting  witn  knitting-needles, 
table-forks^  horse-shoes,  bells,  fire-places,  and  chimneys, 
the  arts  or  wood-cutting  and  copper-engraving,  wire* 
drawing  machines,  the  manufacture  of  steel,  plate-glass, 
tinning  of  mirrors  by  lead  and  tin  amalgam ;  wind,  saw, 
and  crushing  mills  were  discovered,  and  corn-mills  and 
the  loom  were  improved. 

These  inventions  give  an  idea  of  the  progress  of 
civilisation  in  Western  Europe,  and  with  these  and 
the  geographical  discoveries  all  acquisitions  in  the 
realm  of  mind  in  the  I5th*century  are  closely  con- 
nected ;  we  find  a  flourLshing  trade  which  embraces 
the  whole  of  Europe  from  Geneva,  Pisa,  and  Venice, 
to  the  coast  towns  of  the  German  Ocean  and  tiie  Baltic, 
and  which  connects  Europe  with  the  East,  Arabia,  and 
India,  and  as  its  foundation  we  find  an  extensive  indus- 
try in  die  thriving  Flemish,  Italian,  German,  and  English 
towns ;  we  observe  in  these  towns  a  free  opulent 
citizenship  rise  in  increasing  ability,  and  out  of  the 
civic  elements  the  intellectual  class  of  society  naturally 
rises  in  consequence  of  accumulated  wealth.  From 
here  commences  the  development  of  Greek  and  Roman 
culture. 

At  first  the  faculties  of  the  newly  originated  learned 
profession  were  expended  in  endeavours  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  Inheritance  of  the  intellectual  treasures 
bequeathed  by  antiquity,  and  as  long  as  the  scholars 
had  to  learn  and  were  disciples  thcmselvei*,  and  the 
Greek  and  Roman  culture  was  not  yet  alive  in  them, 
».&,  not  capable  of  being  further  developed,  so  long 
they  could  not  fulfil  their  avocations  of  oecoming 
teachers  of  the  people.  They  even  turned  away,  and 
not  without  reason,  from  the  people  and  their  lan- 
guage, for  the  literature  of  tneir  country  scarcely 
offered  anything  worthy  to  attract  and  engage  their 
mind  filled  with  the  models  of  antiquity. 


The  position  and  the  occupations  of  the  scholars  of 
that  time  co-operated  in  excluding  them  from  inter- 
course with  the  productive  classes^  and  the  literature 
of  that  period  therefore  does  not  give  us  any  informa- 
tion as  to  the  degree  of  civilisation  and  culture  of  the 
people ;  the  knowledge  circulating  in  the  population 
and  penetrating  into  their  thoughts,  and  developing 
itself  from  the  netter  acquaintance  with  the  physical 
laws  and  in  proportion  to  the  sum  total  of  their  more 
correct  ideas  of  things  and  their  relation  to  each  other, 
had  not  yet  been  collected  ij^  books,  and  was  totally 
unknown  to  the  scholars. 

The  approximation  of  the  intellectual  and  productive 
class  was  scarcely  retarded  by  the  seclusion  of  the 
learned  profession,  because  the  trading  and  industrial 
population  up  to  the  14th  century  were  without  the 
necessary  medium  in  the  but  littie  accomplished  lan- 
guage of  books.  In  lieu  of  the  scholars  the  master 
singers  worked  successfiiUy  in  their  schools  of  music 
for  the  development  and  diffusion  of  the  language  by 
voice  and  pen  aaisgst  the  civil  classes ;  hitherto  the 
productive  class  was  limited  in  the  exchange  and 
increase  of  their  experience  exclusively  to  personal 
intercourse  by  travelling,  they;  were  a  wandering  class 
of  society ;  but  with  the  acquisition  of  the  language  of 
books  the  facts  and  experience  gained  by  them  were 
collected  and  became  diffusible,  and  writing  and 
reading,  hitherto  unknown  arts,  were  recognised  by 
the  population  as  highly  necessary  means  to  exchange 
and  increase  their  knowledge, — at  first  in  the  towns 
whose  industry  was  not  compatible  with  a  wandering 
population,  fn  these  towns  the  first  pubUc  schools 
were  founded  ;  the  ardent  desire  to  spread  the  treas- 
ures of  antiquity  by  schools  was,  with  the  learned 
class,  just  as  strong  as  the  longing  for  instruction  with 
the  productive  cIms.  Both  circumstances  combined 
increased  the  demand  for  books,  and  the  difficulty  to 
meet  this  demand  by  copvists  called  forth  in  the 
middle  of  the  15th  century  the  invention  of  printing. 

A  century  before  it  would  have  been  without  the 
slightest  influence  upon  the  development  of  the  mind ; 
from  the  time  at  which  it  took  place  dates  a  new  era 
in  the  history  of  culture. 

In  looking  over  the  literature  at  the  end  of  the  first 
century  after  the  printing  of  the  first  book  with  move- 
able letters,  one  is  filled  with  astonishment  at  the 
extent  and  importance  of  what  wias  accomplished  in 
natural  science  and  medicine,  and  at  the  extraordinary 
mass  of  facts  and  experiences  which  the  middle  a^s 
had  acquired  and  handed  down  in  astronomy,  technics, 
engineering,  in  handicraft  and  industry,  and  which 
were  now  collected  by  tJiose  intellectually  educated 
scholars  of  the  high  schools,  which  stood  nearest  to 
the  productive  classes,  the  medical  men.  In  the  i'6th 
century  the  medicid  men  were  the  founders  of  the 
modem  natural  sciences.  They  were  the  media  of  the 
intellectual  education  of  the  people.  But  again  a 
century  and  a  half  elapsed  before  the  knowledge  col- 
lected and  acquired  by  them  was  sufficiently  arran^i^ed 
— ^sufficiently  extensive  and  complete  to  become  effec- 
tive as  a  means  of  instruction  in  the  universities ; 
until  then  the  foreign  language  in  which  their  knowl- 
edge was  deposited,  and  wnich  was  familiar  to  all 
scholars  of  Europe,  had  the  advantage,  which  cannot 
be  too  highly  estimated,  of  combining  for  the  solution 
of  their  high  problems  all  men  of  all  European  coun- 
tries who  devoted  their  energy  to  the  promotion  of 
science.  Without  the  Latin  language  in  common, 
their  fruit-bearing  co-operation   would  have  become 


[EngUflh  Editicm,  ToL  ZVL,  No.  417,  pages  273,  274.] 


24 


Noi'wegian  Iron  Ores. 


j  CnncAL  Rim^ 


impossible.  Only  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  fell,  with  its  exclusion  fipora  science  luid 
literature,  the  last  barrier  which  had  separated  the 
intellectual  class  from  the  productive.  Both  spoke 
again,  as  in  ancient  Greece,  the  same  language,  and 
understood  each  other,  for  science,  school,  and  poetry 
co-operated  to  spread  an  equally  high  degree  of  edu- 
cation in  all  classes. 

With  the  extinction  of  slavery  in  the  Old  World,  and 
the  combination  of  all  elements  fiirther  to  develope  the 
human  mind,  advancements  in  civilisation  and  culture 
were  initiated,  which  aK  without  end,  indestructible, 
and  imperishable. 

In  natural  philosophy  a  change  has  taken  plac6  in 
the  course  of  its  cultivation.  For  some  time  this  science 
had  been  supplied  with  all  facts  from  which  it  formed 
by  mental  labour  the"  derived  ideas,  by  metallurgists, 
engineei-s,  apothecaries,  the  industrial  class  generally, 
and  natural  philosophers  had  reduced  their  inventions 
to  ideas  which  the  manufacturing  class  received  back 
in  the  shape  of  explanations  and  turned  to  profitable 
account  *     • 

The  antipathy  of  the  practical  class  to  theory  died 
out.  The  artisan,  manufacturer,  agriculturist,  the 
medical  man,  consult,  as  formerly  in  Greece,  the  scien- 
tific theorists.  A  new  impetus  was  given  to  science 
aa  soon  as  the  scientific  investigator — the  teacher  of 
medicine — ^had  acquired  the  technical  skill  and  dexterity 
of  the  practical  class,  and  when,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  productive  class  had  adopted  the  laws  and  scientific 
principles  laid  down  by  the  scholars.  Thus  the  man 
of  science  has  become  an  inventor,  and  is  independent 
in  the  prosecution  of  his  studies.  The  manufacturer, 
the  agriculturist,  has  become  an  independent  investi- 
gator, an  intellectually  free  man. 

A  picture  full  of  life,  of  endless  activity,  wide  in  re- 
sults, unfolds  itself  before  our  view  into  the  future. 
The  past  now  appears  to  us  in  a  different  light.  We 
look  back  with  indifference  at  the  conflicts  between 
mediaeval  scholastics  and  ecclesiastics  upon  natural 
philosophy ;  their  opposition  was  based  upon  the  in- 
capacity of  distinguishing  at  that  time  between  a  hypo- 
thesis and  a  fact.  All  the  ecclesiastical  and  secular 
power  united  could  not  prevent  the  invention  of  the 
telescope  and  the  compass,  and  the  discovery  of  oxygen, 
and  could  not  suppress  their  reaction  upon  the  human 
mind.     A  book  may  be  burned,  but  not  a  fact. 

With  the  proof  of  the  earth  being  a  small  planet 
revolving  round  the  sun,  the  former  conception  of 
"  Heaven,"  and  with  the  explanation  of  fire,  the  con- 
ception of  "heat"  lost  its  significance;  with  the  dis- 
covery of  atmospheric  pressure,  the  belief  in  witchcraft 
and  sorcery  lost  its  foundation,  for  with  the  "  dread  " 
of  a  vacuum,  nature  lost  her  "  will,"  her  love,  her  ha- 
tred. With  these  discoveries  man  began  to  feel  his 
power  and  his  position  in  the  universe. 

If  Aristotle  and  Plato  had  risen  alive  from  their 
graves  and  had  become  teachers  in  the  scholastic  insti- 
tutions of  the  middle  ages  they  could  not  have  furthered 
the  progress  in  science  for  want  of  increase  in  derived 
ideas.  The  logic  of  the  scholastics  and  the  intcllecCtial 
gymnastics  raised  upon  it,  were  only  adapted  to  their 
times  and  those  which  succeeded  them ;  their  hostile 
position  to  natural  philosophy  had  no  influence  upon 
its  progress. 

And  if  the  whole  church  and  state  power  had  been 
in  league  with  the  natural  sciences,  still  the  latter  would 
not  have  advanced  a  single  step,  and  would  not  have 
developed  itself  either  sooner  or  in  a  different  manner. 


If  we  were  to  calculate  the  influence  upon  oar  time 
and  our  position  which  Luther  effected,  in  conjunction 
with  the  great  discoveries  in  the  field  of  nature,  and 
also  the  influence  which  these  discoveries  would  have 
had  without  Luther,  we  should  arrive  at  a  peculiar 
result  We  now  know  that  the  human  conceptions 
are  organically  developed  according  to  certain  laws  of 
nature  and  of  the  human  mind,  and  we  see  the  tiree  of 
human  knowledge  planted  by  the  Greeks  grow  in  the 
soil  of  civilisation,  and  by  our  care  of  the  soil  we  see  it 
develope  itself  without  interruption,  and  blossom  in  t3,e 
sunshine  of  freedom  and  bear  fruit  in  proper  time.  We 
have  learnt  that  by  external  force  its  branches  may  be 
bent  but  not  broken,  and  that  its  delicate  and  number- 
less roots  lie  so  deep  and  hidden  as  to  withdraw  their 
silent  working  altogether  out  of  the  reach  of  human 
will  and  pleasure. 

The  past  h'story  of  nations  informs  us  of  the  impotent 
endeavours  of  political  and  ecclesiastical  powers  to  per- 
petuate the  bodily  and  intellectual  slavery  of  men.  The 
history  of  the  future  will  record  the  victories  of  liberty 
gained  by  men  by  inquiring  into  the  essence  of  things 
and  into  truth — victories  gained  with  weapons  not 
stained  with  blood,  and  in  a  combat  in  which  morality 
and  religion  will  take  part  only  as  feeble  allies. 


ON  THS 

COMPOSITION  AND  METALLURGY  OF  SOME 
NORWEGIAN  IRON  ORES. 

BT  DAVID  FORBES,  F.R.S.,  BTG. 

The  iron  ores  here  under  consideration  were  all  strongly 
attracted  by  the  magnet,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
traces  of  iron  pyrites  and  pyrrhotine,  all  the  iron  con- 
tained in  them  was  found  to  be  present  in  the  state  of 
magnetic  oxide  (Magnetite). 

The  percentage  of  metallic  iron,  besides  being  cal- 
culated from  the  amount  ofsesquioxide  of  iron  obtained 
in  the  course  of  tlie  analysis,  was  also  determined  in  a 
separate  portion  of  the  ore  by  the  bichromate  of  potash 
volumetric  process,  after  its  previous  solution  and  re- 
duction to  the  slate  of  protoxide  by  metallic  zinc;  the 
oxygen  combined  with  the  iron  was  estimated  from  the 
loss  m  analysis. 

The  portion  of  the  mineral  employed  for  determining 
the  amount  of  sulphur  was  dissolved  in  nitrohydro- 
chloric  acid,  filtered  from  the  insoluble  siliceous  matter, 
and  the  filtrate  evaporated  nearly  to  dryness  in  a  water 
bath,  so  as  to  expel  the  excess  of  free  acid  (wliich 
otherwise  might  augment  the  solubility  of  the  sulphate 
of  barytes),  and  after  having  been  precipitated  by  chlo- 
ride of  barium,  the  sulphate  of  baiytes  was  estimated 
as  usual. 

Phosphorus  was  sought  for  in  a  larger  amount  of  the 
ore,  both  by  Abel's  and  Spiller's  processes  (Chem. 
News,  vol.  vi.,  p.  133,  and  vol  xiii,  p.  170,  Eng.  Ed.), 
and  aJso  bythe  molybdate  process  recommended  by 
Eggertz. 

The  manganese  was  separated  from  the  iron  by  car- 
bonate of  barytes,  and  the  other  constituents,  carbonic 
acid,  lime,  magnesia,  and  alumina  determined  as  usual. 

The  ores  No.  i,  2,  and  3  occur  as  veins  in  the  lime- 
stones and  calcareous  shales  of  the  Silurian  foimation 
lying  to  "the  west  of  the  river  Dram  in  Norway,  and 
have  long  been  worked  for  the  supply  of  the  charcoal 
blast  furnaces  in  the  vicinity. 

These  deposits  of  magnetite  are  in  some  places  greauy 
disturbed  by  the  intrusioa  of  eruptive  granite  and  trap- 


[EngUah  Edttion,  YoL  XVX,  Na  417,  pagt  274 ;  No.  41^  page  260.] 


Chbhioal  Nswa, )' 
^n,,  1868L       f 


Norwegian  Iron  Ores. 


25 


pean  rocks;  of  these  the  granites  are  the  oldest;  break- 
ing through  the  Silurian  strata  they  frequently  dislocate 
both  these  and  the  iron  veins,  and  often  send  out 
dykes  cutting  through  the  masses  of  iron  ore  and 
dividing  it  into  sections,  or,  as  it  were,  chambers,  sep- 
arated from  ane  ani)ther  by  walls  of  granite  of  varying 
thickness ;  the  quality  of  the  iron  ore  does  not  appear, 
•  however,  to  have  been  affected  or  deteriorated  at  tiiese 
points. 

The  trappean  dykes,  being  of  still  later  age.  traverse 
alike  both  the  Silurian  strata,  iron  veins,  ana  granitic 
intrusions,  and  in  general  are  found  to  have  a  very  in- 
jurious effect  upon  the  iron  ore  in  immediate  contact 
with  them,  causing  it  (sometimes  to  the  distance  of 
several  feet)  to  become  more  or  less  stronfjly  impreg- 
nated with  sulphur,  wljich,  combining  with  the  iron, 
shows  itself  as  pyrites  and  pyrrhotine,  both  of  which 
minerals  are  usuaSly  found  in  greater  or  less  quantity 
diffused  throughout  the  substance  of  the  rock  of  the 
dyke  itself. 

No.  I.  Magnetite  from  the  Aaserud  mine,  about  5  miles 
north-west  of  the  town  of  Drammen. 

The  specimen  analysed  was  extremely  compact  in 
texture,  strongly  magnetic,  and  was  intersected  by 
minute  veins  of  carbonate  of  lime ;  some  traces  of  a 
greenish  silicate  were  also  visible,  but  otherwise  the 
ore  appeared  quite  free*  from  impurity :  it  was  broken 
out  at  a  depth  of  122  feet  from  the  surface. 

The  specific  gravity  was  found  to  be  4'56. 

The  chemicalanalysis  afforded  the  following  percent- 
age composition :  — 

Iron,  tuetallic. . . , 58*24 

Oxygen  (or  loss) 22*20 

Protoxide  of  maiiganeae 0*14 

Carbonate  of  Hine 7*44 

"         of  magnesia 2*48 

^luroioa 8*00 

Silica 1-35 

Sulphur o'l  5 

Phosphorus. o'oo 


In  the  metallurgical  treatment  of  this  ore,  owing  to 
its  extreme  compactness  in  texture,  it  requires  a  pro- 
longed roasting  in  order  to  render  it  as  porous  and  per- 
meable to  the  reducing  action  as  possible,  since,  when 
but  lightly  roasted,  the  ore  always  contains  hard  unal- 
tered kernels,  and  is  found  to  be  much  more  irregular 
and  refractory  in  the  furnace. 

The  ore,  in  lumps  of  the  size  of  a  fist^  is  roasted  in 
(somewhat  conical)  cylindrical  kilns  fired  by  the  waste 
gases  from  the  blast  fui  nace,  brought  down  from  a  depdi 
of  about  16  feet  below  the  top  of  the  fhniace.  It  re- 
mains in  t^e  roasting  kiln  about  from  twenty-four  to 
thirty  hours ;  the  small  amount  of  sulphur  contained  in 
the  ore  seems  to  be  entirely  removed  during  this  ope- 
ration. 

Beyond  being  charged  into  the  furnace,  the  roasted 
ore  (and  also  the  limestone  used  as  a  flux)  is  broken  up 
by  rolls  or  stamps  to  the  average  size  of  a  hazel-nut, 
and  the  charges  of  ore,  limestone,  and  charcoal  are  not 
allowed  to  exceed  at  a  time  about  600  pounds  of  the 
calcined  ore  along  with  from  30  to  60  lbs.  limestone, 
and  34  cubic  feet  of  fir  and  pine  charcoal ;  the  whole 
being  carefully  distributed  over  the  area  of  the  furnace 
mouti.  The  blast  is  obtained  from  three  double-acting 
horizontal  boxes  driven  by  a  water-wheel  and  working 


into  a  regulator,  from  which  the  furnace  is  supplied  by 
two  tuyeres,  the  blast  being  previously  heated  in 
an  apparatus  at  top  of  the  furnace  fired  by  the  waste 
gases.  The  dimensions  of  the  blast  furnace  are  as 
follows :—  Diameter  of  hearth,  2  feet  6  inches ;  diameter 
greatest,  7  feet ;  height  from  bottom  of  hearth  to  tuyeres, 
I  foot  6  inches;  do.  from  line  of  tuyeres  to  greatest 
diameter,  7  feet  6  inches ;  do.  from  greatest  diameter 
to  top  of  furnace,  37  feet :  consequent  total  height  from 
floor  of  hearth  to  top  of  turn  ace,  45  feet^ 

The  bottom  stone  of  the  furnace  is  made  of  Newcastle 
sandstone,  on  which  the  first  eight  feet  in  height  of  the 
interior  is  formed  of  English  (Newcastle)  firebrick;  above 
this  the  entire  lining  of  the  frimace  is  built  of  slag  from 
the  ftimace  itself,  cast  in  the  form  of  large  brick  moulds. 
These  slag  bricks  have  been  proved  to  stand  excellently ; 
in  some  cases  even  for  more  than  four  years,  during 
which  the  furnace  has  been  in  continuous  operation. 
They  appear  to  undergo  a  change  similar  to  the  con- 
version of  glass  into  Reaumur's  porcelain.  The  ex- 
terior of  the  furnace  is  built  entirely  of  the  rough 
unhewn  stone  of  the  neighbouring  hills.* 

When  in  good  trim,  and  smelting  the  ore  from  the 
above  mine  (which,  however,  only  averages  about  44 
per  cent,  iron  on  the  large  scale)  for  the  pr  oduction  of 
first-class  charcoal  pig  for  conversion  into  Bessemer 
steel,  the  burden  and  yield  of  the  above  furnace  is 
about  as  follows :  — 

Ore  smelted  weekly,  68  tons;  limestone  (Silurian) 
used  as  flux,  5  to  6  tons;  charcoal  consumed,  10750 
English  cubic  feet ;  yield  of  pig  iron,  30  tons,  or  44  per 
cent,  of  the  weight  of  ore. 

The  ftimace  is  tapped  three  times  per  24  hours,  at 
8  a.m.,  4  p.m.,  and  midnight  respectively,  and  the  cast 
iron  run  into  chills  weighing  each  about  75  pounds. 

The  charcoal  used  is  made  from  the  spruce  and  Scotch 
firs,  and  burnt  (in  heaps)  in  the  open  air ;  as  the  weight 
of  a  given  volume  of  charcoal  differs  greatly  according 
to  the  season  of  the  year,  the  quickness  orburning,  the 
length  of  lime  it  has  been  burnt  before  weighing,  and 
the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  it  is  considered  better 
to  use  volume  instead  of  weight  in  such  calculations; 
since,  however  greatly  the  weight  may  alter  under 
these  circumstances  from  ihe  absorption  of  moisture, 
the  bulk  remains  comparatively  the  same.t 

When  white  iron  is  obtained  (instead  of  the  dark 
grey  black)  this  consumption  of  charcoal  is  much  di-^ 
minished,  and  much  more  ore  can  be  run  through  the 
furnace  in  the  same  time. 

The  slag  is  glassy,  and  of  a  light  yellow  or  brownish 
tinge,  containm^  only  a  mere  trace  of  iron ;  when  in 
thin  splinters  it  is  both  transparent  and  colourless. 

Until  the  last  two  years  the  whole  of  this  iron  has 
been  manufactured  with  charcoal  in  Lancashire  hearths 
into  hammered  bars  of  a  quality  equal  to  the  finest 
Swedish  brands,  and  as  this  iron  has  shown  itself  par- 
ticularly adapted  for  conversion  into  steel,  it  has  been 
c^iiefly  employed  for  that  purpose  from  as  far  back  as 
the  middle  of  the  last  century. 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  Bessemer  process  the 
pig  iron  from  this  ore  has  shown  itself  equally  adapted 


•  The  Iron  worku  here  referred  to  are  respectiyely  situated  at  Eida- 
foaa,  on  the  Lake  Ekeren,  and  at  the  minintf  town  of  Kongaborfir.  Tho 
author  has  been  connected  vith  the  same  In  the  capacity  of  consulting 
engineer  ever  since  1847,  first  to  the  Norw^an  proprietors,  and  now 
to  the  present  owners,  the  Norwegian  Charcoal  Iron  Company. 

t  Two  different  managers  of  these  works  considered  one  English 
ton  of  charcoal  as  equal  to  242  and  255  English  cubic  feet  rcspcctlrely. 
The  consumption  of  charcoal  according  to  the  above  data  will  oonse- 
anently  be  abovt  158  cubic  feet  per  ton  iron  ore  smelted,  or  358  cubic 
leet  per  ton  pig  Iron  produced. 


[Snglkh  EditioD»  YoL  XVX,  Vo.  410,  pagM  250, 260.] 


26 


Norwegian  Iron  Ores. 


j  OinocAL  Bm, 


for  conversion  into  Bessemer  steel  of  admirable  quality, 
and  the  whole  production  is  now  employed  for  tlus  pur- 
pose; the  pi^  exported  for  conversion  shows  a  dark 
black  grey  brilliant  crystalline  fracture,  with  the  lower 
part  chilled  to  the  extent  of  half  an  incn  or  more ;  both 
parts,  however,  being  very  uniform  in  appearance. 
No.  2.  Magnetite  from  the  Saasen  mines,  about  four 
miles  from  the  east  side  of  the  Ekeren  Lake. 
This  ore  is  compact,  strongly  magnetic,  and  contains 
an  admixture  of  a  green  silicate,  probably  epidote,  along 
with  a  little  carbonate  of  lime ;  the  sulphur  present  in 
the  ore  is  evidently  in  the  form  of  pyrrhotine,  as  specks 
of  this  mineral  are  seen  disseminated  in  the  ore.  Its 
specific  gravity  was  4-22.  On  analysis  it»  oompositioD 
proved  to  be  as  follows:  — 

Metallic  iron 6i*88 

Oxygen  (or  lorn) 20*57 

Protoxide  of  manganese 0*51 

Carbonate  of  liine r, .    3*24 

Alumina 2*69 

Lime ..•.••••••     1*I2 

Magnesia 0*29 

Silica 6*50 

Phosphorus trace 

Sulphur 0*25 


This  ore,  although  not  quite  so  compact  as  that  from 
the  Aaserna  mine,  contains  more  sulphur,  and  conse- 
quently requires  a  prolonged  roasting  to  get  rid  of  this 
deleterious  ingredient. 

The  roasted  ore  melts  well,  and  requires  about  the 
same  amount  of  charcoal  for  its  reduction  as  the  last 
described  ore,  aflfording  a  strong  light  grey  iron  slightly 
chilled ;  there  was  an  evident  tendency  to  the  production 
of  whiie  iron. 

The  slag  ^^^  nearly  free  from  iron,  of  a  dull  yellow 
colour,  and  crystalline ;  it  frequently  showed  streaks  of 
ft  blue  tint^  which  is  commonly  found  when  smelting 
ores  containing  sulphur,  especially  when  irregularly 
roasted. 

When  converted  with  charcoal  in  the  Lancashire 
hearth  into  bar,  it  afforded  a  good  strong  and  tough 
bar,  but  in  quality  rather  inferior  to  the  iron  from  the 
Aaserna  ore ;  the  quality  of  this,  however,  would  doubt- 
less be  much  improved  if  more  attention  were  paid  to 
the  sorting  and  roasting  of  the  ore  previously  to  smelt- 
ing. 

No.  3.  Magnetite  from  the  Narverna  mine,  about  three 
miles  from  Drammen. 

This  ore  was  very  strongly  magnetic,  and  possessed 
a  granular  texture ;  it  invariably  contained  particles  of 
iron  and  copper  pyrites  disseminated  throuj;hout  the 
entire  substance  of  the  vein  mass;  the  only  other 
mineral  occurring  in  it  appeared  to  be  allocroite,  which 
was  frequent     The  specific  gt  avity  was  4*39. 

In  the  analysis,  the  copper  was  precipitated  from  the 
solution  of  the  ore  in  hydrochloiic  acid  by  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  and  determined  subsequently  as  oxide;  the 
composition  of  this  ore  was  found  to  be :  — 

Iron,  metallic 57*59 

Oxygen  (or  loss) 23*22 

Copper 079 

Protoxide  of  manganese 0*65 

Lime , 2  -85 

Magnesia ....    0*14 


Alumina. 


3S5 


Silica 10*25 

Piiosphorus o*oo 

Sulphur o  96 


On  account  of  the  amount  of  copper  and  Bolphur 
contained  in  this  ore,  the  pig  iron  produced  in  tlie  • 
blast  fumflce  was  not  convertible  into  malleable  ban 
when  treated  with  charcoal  in  the  Lancashire  heartii. 

As  the  ore  itself  on  the  large  scale  contained  an 
averaore  of  over  50  per  cent  iron,  and  the  deposit  wu 
capable  of  yielding  an  immense  supply  at  a  nominil 
price,  it  became  of  some  importance  to  inquire  whether 
some  means  might  not  be  found  to  eliminate  the  sul- 
phur and  copper,  and  thus  enable  the  ore  to  be  utiiiKd 
for  malleable  bar?. 

For  this  purpose  several  experiments  were  made 
(both  on  the  small  and  on  the  large  scale)  in  roartiDg 
the  ore  in  lumps  in  kilns  as  well  as  in  coarse  powder  in 
a  reverberatory  furnace  heated  by  the  waste  gases  of 
the  furnace,  sometimes  with  the  assistance  of  a  iet  of 
steam  playing  upon  the  red  hot  ore  during  the  caldDa- 
tion.  In  some  instances  the  ores  thus  treated  were  at 
once  reduced  in  the  blast  furnace,  but  in  others  thej 
were  spread  out  in  the  open  air,  and  occa^onaQj 
sprinkled  with  water  in  order  to  &cilitate  the  oxida- 
tion and  dissolve  out  any  sulphates  of  iron  or  copper 
formed.  After  well  washing  out  they  were  a^in 
roasted  and  melted.  Although  much  better  results 
were  obtained  by  so  treating  the  ores,  the  bars  were 
never  sufficiently  pood  for  the  charcoal  iron  market^ 
and  the  results  of  these  experiments  were  conda- 
sive  only  as  showing  that,  on  the  large  scale,  the  orea 
could  not,  practically,  be  sufficiently  purified  to  fit 
them  for  the  production  of  malleable  bars  of  good 
quality. 

The  pig  iron  produced  from  this  ore,  even  when 
roasted  in  the  ordinary  manner,  is  well  adapted  for 
foundry  use,  and  is  employed  wiih  advantage  in 
making  the  finest  ornamental  casting  For  thi^  par- 
pose  a  small  admixture  of  common  English  pig  (about 
20  per  cent.)  is  usually  added,  and  is  considered  to  ren- 
der the  metal  softer. 

In  order  ti)  examine  whether  the  ore  could  beexnelt- 
ed  to  advantage  with  coke  imported  from  England, 
instead  of  with  charcoal,  a  trial  smelting  of  some 
weeks*  duration  was  made  with  Newcastle  coke  in  tiie 
same  furnace  (the  dimensions  of  which  have  already 
been  given)  which  was  employed  for  smelting  the  ore 
with  cnarcoal. 

The  furnace  was  evidently  not  wt^ll  adapted  to  coke. 
The  hearth  (of  stamped  quartz  powder)  did  not  stand 
well ;  the  blast  appeared  too  weak  for  Uie  heavier  coke. 

The  results,  however,  possess  considerable  interest^ 
since  both  smeltings  were  carried  on  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. 

Not  taking  into  consideration  the  irregularity  of  the 
actual  smelting  trials,  the  results  of  these  experimentt 
may  be  stated  approximatively  as  follows: — 


Bmelttng  with 
ohAraoal. 


SlD«ttlB|t«1ik 


Iron  ore  smelted  per  week. ...     70  tons 80  tea 

Cast  iron  produced....  **    ....     36  ** 41* 

Charcoal  consomed . . . ."    ....    44  '\io,8oo  e.  fl>-*  *' 

'*      per  ton  iron  ore  amelted  0-63  *' —  ** 

**  "  east  iron  produeed  i*a2  " —  *' 

Coke  consumed  p«r  week —  " '44** 

"    per  ton  iron  ore  smelted      —  ** O'V^  " 

"    per  ton  cast  iron  produced  —  ** ow  " 


[BnclLdiSdltlon,T6LZVL,ira  416,  pages  260,  S01.] 


**S"  SSr* }  Cerium  from  Didymiw/n  and  Lanffutnum — Gas  Analysis. 


27 


Id  both  cases  tlie  peroentage  of  cast  iron  obtained 
from  the  ore  wae  about  the  same,  or  an  average  of  51*3 
per  cent. 

Other  experiments  with  coke  make  it  probable  that 
under  conditions  more  favourable  to  its  employment, 
much  more  advantageous  results  would  have  been 
obtained 

No.  4.  Magnetite  from  Ringkjem  mine,  Sandsvoerd, 
near  Kongsberg. 

The  lode  containiug  this  ore  was  situated  in  granite 
gneiss,  cutting  this  rock  at  a  nearly  vertical  angle. 

It  contained  small  veins  and  fraj^ents  of  white  and 
nearly  pure  quartz  associated  with  it^  as  well  as  occa- 
sionaily  traces  of  violet  fluor  spar,  and,  besides  these 
minerals,  it  also  had  numerous  specks  and  large  blotches 
of  iron  pvrites,  from  which  it  could  only  be  separated 
by  c^eral  breaking  and  hand-picking. 

The  magnetite  itself  presented  an  appearance  totally 
different  to  that  of  ihis  mineral  in  general,  and  would 
be  at  first  sight  taken  for  iron  fflance  or  specular  iron 
ore,  sinee  it  consisted  entirely  of  an  aggregate  of  radial 
plates  or  scales  of  the  mineral,  of  a  bright  black  metallic 
lustre.  It  gave,  however,  a  black  to  brownish  black 
streak,  and  was  very  strongly  ma^etic. 

The  specific  gravity  was  4*10 :  the  results  of  its 
chemical  analysis  were  found  to  be  as  follows ; 

Metallie  iron 6773 

Oxygen  (or  loss  in  analysis) 2581 

Protoxide  of  manganese 0*32 

Lime  and  magnesia traces 

Alumina  ...  075 

Silica 5'00 

Sulphur , . ,     o*39 

Piiosphorus   traces 


This  ore,  owing  to  its  peculiar  foliated  texture,  roasts 
with  great  ease,  and  also  reduces  well  in  the  furnace, 
but  always  yields  a  white  pig,  which  has  only  been 
employed  for  castings.  The  ^ag.  produced  was  clean, 
and  ot  an  opaque  ydlow  colour,  frequently  crystalline, 
and  always  naving  blue  streaks,  apparently  due  to  the 
sulphurous  ore. 

The  amount  of  silica  contained  in  this  ore  accumu- 
lated a  much  larger  amount  of  limestone  as  fluj^  than 
was  required  when  smelting  the  three  before  described 
iron  ores.  Some  experiments  made  on  this  pig  iron 
converted  with  charcoal  in  a  Lancashire  hearth  pro- 
duced hammered  bars  of  inferior  quality,  being  red- 
short.  They,  however,  possessed  no  trace  of  cold- 
shortnesff,  and  were  or  an  extremely  tough  fracture 
when  broken  cold,  so  that  it  is  probable  that  a  better 
sorting  and  ci^cination  of  the  ores  would  enable  the 
ore  of  this  mine  also  to  be  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  hammered  bars  for  the  market. 


ON  THE   SEPARATION   OF 

CERIUM  FROM  DIDYMITJM  AND  LANTHANUM. 

BT  M.  M.  PATTISON,  ANDERSONIAN,  GLASGOW  ;  AND 
JOHN  CLARKE,  PH.  D. 

The  foUowinpr  method  has  been  found  to  be  very  effec- 
tive for  the  separation  of  cerium  from  didymium  and 
lanthanum :  — 

It  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  when  chromate  of 
cerium  is  evaporated  to  dryness  and  heated  to  about 


230"  P.,  it  is  decompo!»ed,  and  the  oxide  of  cerium  re- 
mains as  an  insoluble  powder,  whilst  the  chromates  of 
didymium  and  lanthanum,  when  subjected  to  the  same 
treatment,  remain  unchanged. 

The  mixed  oxides  of  cenum,  didymium,  and  lantha- 
num are  subjected  to  the  action  of  an  aqueous  solution 
of  chromic  acid,  aided  by  heat  till  solution  is  complete. 
The  chromic  acid  need  not  be  entirely  free  from  sul- 
phuric acid.  The  solution  obtained  is  evaporated  to 
dryness,  and  the  residue  heated  to  about  230^*  F.  Hot 
water  is  then  added,  which  dissolves  the  lanthanum  and 
didymium  and  leaves  the  oxide  of  cerium,  which  is  then 
separated  by  filtering.  Thus  obtained,  the  oxide  of 
cerium  is  a  yellowish-white  powder  wnich  is  almost 
completely  insoluble  in  acids,  but  is  rendered  soluble 
when  fused  with  the  acid  sulphate  of  potassium. 

This  process  may  also  be  employed  for  the  quantita- 
tive determination  of  cerium,  as  it  was  found  by  careful 
trifii  that  not  a  trace  of  cerium  could  be  detected  by 
the  best  known  processes  in  the  solution,  after  its  sepa- 
ration, as  above  described. 


ON  GAS  ANALYSIS. 

BT   DR8.    ORANDSAU  ANB  TROOST. 

I.  ]!nxtar«  of  Ozysen,  Carbonic  Acidand  Nitrogen. 

— O,  CO.,    N. 

I.  Introduce  a  portion  of  the  mixture  into  a  gradu- 
ated tube  over  the  mercury  trough,  and  note  accurately 
the  volume. 

To  estimate  the  carbonic  acid,  pass  into  the  tube,  by 
means  of  a  curved  pipette,  a  small  quantity  of  a  con- 
centrated solution  of  potash,  and  agitate  several  times 
until  there  is  no  further  variation  m  the  level  of  the 
liquid :  the  carbonic  acid  will  be  absorbed  by  the  potr 
ash.  To  obtain  the  volume  very  accurately,  transfer  the 
tube  to  a  vessel  of  water,  so  as  to  allow  the  alkali  to 
fall  out;  then  retransfer  the  gas  to  another  tube  and 
determine  its  volume,  saturated  with  moisture. 

To  estimate  the  oxygen,  first  introduce  into  the  tube 
a  concentrated  solution  of  potash,  then  a  little  pyro- 
gaUic  acid.  Upon  agitation,  the  oxygen  is  absorbed, 
and  the  nitrosen  remain&  The  amount  of  the  latter 
gas  may  be  obtained  by  taking  the  same  precautions 
as  in  the  former  instance. 

After  having  determined  the  volume  of  carbonic 
acid,  phosphorus  may  be  employed  to  abso;b  .the 
oxygen.  The  experiment  may  be  performed  in  two 
ways. 

a.  In  the  Cold. — In  the  tube  containing  the  gas 
(over  mercury)  pass  up  a  long  stick  of  moist  phos- 
phorus, the  sides  of  the  tube  being  at  the  same  time 
moistened.  The  oxygen  combines  with  the  phos- 
phorus, giving  phosphorous  acid,  which  dissolves  in 
the  water.  At  the  end  of  an  hour  the  absorption  is 
completed.  It  may  be  known  by  the  absence  of  white 
fumes  on  l^e  stick  of  phosphorus.  Remove  the  latter, 
dry  the  gas,  and  measure  its  volume;  it  will  be  the 
nitrogen. 

h.  With  JT^at— The  analysis  is  effected  much  more 
rapidly  in  the  following  manner: — In  a  curved  tube 
containing  the  mixture  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen  stand- 
ing over  water,  introduce  by  means  of  an  iron  wire  a 
small  piece  of  phosphorus,  so  that  it  rests  on  the 
upper  curved  portion  of  tne  tube;  then  remove  the 
iron  wire  and  heat  the  jjhosphoms,  at  first  carefully, 
to  volatilise  the  water  which  remains  in  the  bend  of 
the  tube,  and  then  rapidly,  so  as  to  inflame  the  vapour 


[English  BdMoo,  ToL  ZVL,  Va  4S^  pvgw  261, 809 ;  irow  417,  peg6  271.] 


28 


Some  Pointa  in  Chemical  Nomenclature. 


\  CmincAi.  Knn, 
1      Jfoi^mi, 


of  phosphorus.  A  greenish  flame  will  be  seen  to  ad- 
vance, gradually  absorbings  the  oxygen  of  the  air. 
When  it  has  descended  to  the  level  of  the  liquid  it  dis- 
appears, and  the  experiment  is  terminated.  Allow  it 
to  cool,  and  determine  the  volume  of  the  residual  ni- 
trogen. 

2.  Tlie  analysis  of  a  mixture  of  carbonic  acid, 
oxygen,  and  nitrogen  may  be  effected  with  a  little 
more  accuracy  in  the  following  manner: — The  dry 
mixture  being  contained  in  a  graduated  tube  standing 
over  mercury,  introduce  a  piece  of  caustic  potash  fixed 
to  the  extremity  of  a  platinum  wire,  and  slightly 
moistened.  When'the  carbonic  acid  is  absorbed,  with- 
draw tlie  piece  of  potash,  and  a  simple  observation 
gives  the  residual  volume  of  the  mixed  oxygen  and 
nitrogen,  perfectly  dry. 

This  residue  is  introduced  into  a  mercurial  eudiom- 
eter. This  consists  of  a  glass  tube  about  2  centime- 
ters in  diameter,  having  two  platinum  wires  melted 
through  the  upper  part  terminating  exteriorly  in  a 
loop,  and  curved  inside  in  such  a  manner  as  to  have 
their  extremities  opposite  to  each  other,  and  one  or 
two  millimeters  apar^  across  which  the  spark  passes. 

Add  to  the  mixture  double  its  volume  of  hydrogen, 
and  pasj*  the  electric  spark.  Water  will  be  produced 
by  the  combination  of  the  hydrogen  and  oxygen  in 
the  proportion  of  two  volumes  of  the  former  to  one 
Volume  of  the  latter.  One-third  of  the  diminution  in 
volume  represents,  therefore,  the  volume  of  oxygen. 
The  volume  of  nitrogen  is  obtained  by  difference.  It 
is  the  excess  of  the  original  volume  of  the  mixture 
over  the  sum  of  the  volumes  of  oxygen  and  carbonic 
acid. 

The  estimation  of  oxygen  by  the  eudiometer  is  not 
exact  unless  this  gas  is  present  in  tolerable  quantity 
in  the  mixture.  If  there  is  only  a  very  small  propor- 
tion, it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  ensure  complete  com- 
bustion, to  take  the  precaution  to  introduce  into  the 
mixture  a  suflficiently  large  quantity  of  oxy-hydrogen 
gas,  obtained  by  decomposing  acidulated  water  with 
threa  or  four  Bunsen*s  elements.  The  gas  should  be 
passed  through  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  in  order  to 
dry  it. 

II.  Mtxtiire  of  Ozyceii.  BEjrdroffen  and  Nitrogen. 

—0,    H,    N. 

1.  After  having  measured  the  volume  of  the  mix- 
ture, absorb  the  oxygen  by  potash  and  pyrogallio  acid, 
or  by  phosphorus  as  described  in  section  I. 

Pass  the  remainder  into  a  curved  tube  over  mercury 
and  introduce  into  it  a  piece  of  compact  oxide  of  cop- 
per,* and  heat  it  for  about  twenty  minutes,  all  the  hy- 
drogen is  then  absorbed ;  the  residue  will  be  nitrogen ) 
it  may  be  transferred  to  a  graduated  tube,  and  its 
volume  measured. 

After  the  absorption  of  the  oxygen  the  hydrogen 
may  be  estimated  by  introducing  it  into  the  eudiometer 
with  half  its  volume  of  oxygen.  Two-thirds  of  the 
diminution  of  volume  oocasioned  by  the  passage  of  the 
spark  represents  the  volume  of  hydrogen.  The  nitro- 
gen is  given  by  difference. 

2.  The  analysis  may  also  be  effected  entirely  by  the 
eudiometer.  Introduce  the  original  mixture  into  the 
eudiometer  with  twice  it€  volume  of  hydrogen,  and 
pass  the  spark.  The  volume  of  hydrogen  which  enters 
into  combination  wiU  be  two-thirds  t£e  diminution  of 

*  M.  H.  Sto-GItilre  Deville  prepares  this  compact  oxide  by  fti9lng  2 
parts  of  oxide  of  copper  with  1  part  of  oxide  of  lead.  The  fimed  mass 
la  run  on  to  a  plate  of  eopper,  theo  broken  into  pieces  aad  preserved 
In  botaea. 


volume,  the  oxygen  being  represented  by  tiie  other 
third.  This  first  experiment  will  therefore  give  the 
amount  of  oxygen.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  amoQut 
of  hydrogen  in  the  mixture,  add  to  the  residue  of  the 
first  explosion  half  its  volume  of  oxygen,  and  pass  the 
spark  a  second  time.  Two-thirds  of  the  diminution  of 
volume  will  be  hydrogen.  The  excels  of  the  eum  of 
the  volumes  of  hydrogen  burnt  in  these  two  experi- 
ments, over  the  volume  of  this  gaa  introduced  into  the 
eudiometer,  represents  the  volume  of  hydrogen  foond 
in  the  original  mixture.  The  nitrogen  will  sdH  be 
given  by  difference. 

III.  mixture  of  Hydrogen,  CarbHreitea  Hyftrv 
senif  and  Nitrogen.— Hf     O1U4,     N. 

Introduce  the  mixture  into  a  mercurial  eudiometer 
with  twice  its  volume  of  oxygen,  and  pass  the  ppaifc 
The  free  hydrogen,  and  that  in  tiie  carburet,  combme 
with  the  pxygen  to  form  aqueous  vapour  which  con- 
denses. The  carbon  becomes  carbonic  acid.  Tlie  re- 
sidue is  therefore  a  mixture  of  nitrogen,  oxygen,  and 
carbonic  acid. 

Pass  these  gases  into  a  graduated  tube,  and  after 
having  observed  the  volume,  absorb  the  carbomc  acid 
with  potash.  The  diminution  of  volume  gives  the  vol- 
ume of  carbonic  acid,  which  is  predaely  equal  to  the 
volume  of  the  carburetted  hydrogen,  as  shown  by  the 
equation : 

CH* -H  80=4HO  +  2C0a 

4  Tola.  4  Tola. 

If  a  little  pyrogallio  acid  is  then  introduced  into  the 
potash,  the  rest  of  the  oxygen  is  absorbed,  and  the 
volume  of  nitrogen  is  obtained  aa  a  residue. 

As  to  the  hydrogen  which  existed  in  the  free  etate 
in  the  original  mixture,  its  amount  is  obtained  by  tak- 
ing the  excess  of  the  volume  of  the  original  mixture 
over  the  sum  of  the  volumes  of  nitrogen  and  caihu- 
retted  hydrogen. 

(To  be  oontlnoed.) 


ON  SOME  POINTS  IN  CHEMICAL  NOMEN- 
CLATURK* 

BY   A.   V.   HARCOURT,    If.A.,    LEE*8   BEADCB     IN   CHEM18TBT. 

Onb  of  the  dangers  against  which  the  advancing  sci- 
ences need  to  be  always  on  their  guard  is  that  of  mis- 
taking verbal  for  real  questions.  An  example  of  this 
well-known  truth  is  fiirnished  by  a  controversy^  whidi 
has  been  carried  on  among  chemists  in  an  intermitteDt 
fashion  during  several  years,  and  which  has  recently 
broken  out  afresli. 

The  subject  of  the  controversy  is  the  question,  H^at 
is  an  acid  ?  As  to  the  meaning  of  the  name  there  is  a 
tolerable  agreement,  though  no  chemist  would  attempt 
to  state  it  with  scientific  precision.  The  only  app«l 
is  to  the  popular  use  of  the  word.  By  an  acid,  I  sup- 
pose we  mean  a  sour,  corrosive  substance,  which  (lunges 
vegetable  colours,  and  effervesces  with  carbonated  al- 
kalies and  is  neutralized  by  them.  At  any  rate  an  add 
ought  to  have  most  of  these  properties.  It  has  happen- 
ed, however,  that  by  a  process  very  common  in  the 
history  of  scientific  nomenclatare,  many  sutetancea 
have  been  likened,  on  other  grounds,  to  those  to  which 
this  description  applies,  and  have  thus  received  dkc 
name  of  acid  though  devoid  of  these  properties;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  many  substances  having  all  the* 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Ashmolean  Society,  New  Series,  No.  i. 


[English  Edition,  YoL  ZVI.,  Ho.  417,  iMgos  871,  872.] 


/a«^  1868.        f 


Paris  Mohibttion  of  iS6y. 


29 


properties  are  by  common  consent  excluded  from  the 
acid  clufis.  But  the  controyersy  does  not  originftte  in 
this  border  land.  It  relates  to  some  of  the  most  typi- 
cal and  best  known  acids.  Different  chemists  apply  to 
diiferent  substances  the  familiar  names  of  sulphuric 
acid,  nitric  acid,  carbonic  acid. 

Formerly  tliese  names,  which  may  be  taken  as 
examples  of  the  class,  were  applied  to  particular  oxides 
of  sulphur,  nitrogen,  and  carbon.  But  the  founders  of 
the  unitary  system  of  chemistry,  laying  stress  upon  the 
facts,  (i)  that  these  substances  exhibited  their  character- 
istic properties  only  in  the  presence  of  water,  (2)  that 
some  well-defined  acids  while  having  hydrogen  in  their 
composition  were  devoid  of  oxygen,  transferred  the 
name  of  acid  from  these  oxides  to  their  actual  or  sup- 
posed hydrates,  and  assigned  to  the  oxides  thus  dis- 
possessed the  name  of  "anhydridea"  This  system 
having  met  with  general  acoeptance  among  scientific 
chemists,  the  change  of  nomenclature  has  also  been 
widely  adopted. 

Quite  recently  one  of  the  foremost  of  English  chem- 
istSj  Dr.  Williamson,  in  a  manual  published  at  the 
Umversity  Press,  has  reverted  to  the  ancient  practice, 
objecting  to  the  name  of  "  anhydride  *'  as  unmeaning, 
and  insisting  on  the  advantage  of  co-ordinating,  in  eacn 
series,  hydrogen  salts  with  metallic  salts  instead  of 
separating  them  under  a  distinfctive  name.  This  retro- 
grade proposal  has  naturally  been  controverted  by  the 
adherents  of  the  prevailing  system,  and  thus  it  is  now 
more  uncertain  than  ever  what  substance  a  chemist 
means  when  he  speaks,  for  example,  of  sulphuric  acid. 
All  discussion,  Gerhardt  says,  remains  necessarily  sterile 
when  the  disputants  are  agreed  as  to  facts  and  differ 
only  about  the  meaning  of  words.  In  this  case,  I  ven- 
ture to  think  the  best  solution  of  the  controversy  may 
be  to  discontinue  the  use  of  the  word  "acid"  as  a 
specific  name  for  a  particular  class  of  substances,  and  to 
apply  it  only  as  a  descriptive  term  to  any  substance 
having  the  properties  which  the  word  connotes.  The 
name  of  oxide  appears  perfectly  applicable  to,  and  suf- 
ficient for,  all  those  substances  which  have  been  called 
"anhydrous  acids,"  and  it  appears  positively  mis- 
chievous to  distinguish  the  acids  from  the  other  salts 
of  a  series.  In  order  to  determine  what  particular 
name  these  oxides  and  salts  should  receive,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  decide  some  much  more  general  questions  of 
nomenclature,  as  to  which  there  is  at  present  great  dif- 
ference of  opinion  among  chemists. 

I  should  exceed  the  limits  I  have  undertaken  to  ob- 
serve, if  I  attempted  to  offer  a  criticism  upon  the  vari- 
ous names  that  have  been  proposed  for  these  classes  of 
substances,  but  I  shall  venture  to  state  what  names 
appear  to  me  to  be  the  best,  and  shall  endeavour  to 
offer  some  reasons  for  my  conclusions.  The  name  of 
"carbonic  acid,"  for  the  substance  whose  symbol  is 
OOj,  is  perhaps  too  well  established  ever  to  be  changed, 
but  for  a  systematic  name  I  should  prefer  "carbon 
dioxide ;"  and  similarly  for  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid 
and  anhydrous  nitric  acid  I  would  substitute  "  sulphur 
trioxide  "  and  "  nitrogen  pentoxide."  To  the  salts  of 
these  acids,  as  th^y  are  called,  I  would  give  such  names 
as  "sodium  carbonate,"  "nickel  sulphate,"  "silver 
nitrate;"  and  the  hydrated  acids  I  would,  upon  the 
same  principle,  call  "  hydrogen  sulphate,"  "  hydrogen 
chlorid^"  "  hydrogen  phosphate,"  etc. 

Two  sets  of  names  are  more  familiar  than  these :  (l) 
"binoxide  of  carbon,"  "sulphate  of  nickel,"  etc.;  and 
(2)  "  carbonic  binoxide,"  "  nickelic  sulphate,"  "  hydric 
chloride,"  etc    To  the  first  it  has  been  objected  that 


tlie  use  of  the  preposition  "of"  is  incorrect^  being  in 
fact  a  too  literal  translation  from  the  French.  "  Carho- 
naie  de  sonde  "  no  more  ought  to  have  been  rendered 
"carbonate  of  soda,"  than  ''tttbh  de  hoia"  should  be 
tratslated  "  table  of  wood."  Accordingly  chemists  are 
now  accustoming  themselves  to  give  up  this  usage 
which  had  acquired  a  formidable  preFoription.  As  to 
the  second  set  of  names,  I  see  no  advantage  in  adding 
the  adjectival  termination  except  where  it  is  desired  to 
prefix  a  numeral  or  to  distinguish  a  class  of  salts  by 
one  or  other  of  the  terminations  "  -ic  "  or  "  -ous."  In 
these  cases,  which  are  comparatively  few,  such  termi- 
nations might  be  used  without  rendering  it  necessary  to 
employ  them  in  other  cases.  It  is  to  be  objected  to 
them  that  they  necessitate  the  use  of  Latin  names  in 
many  cases  instead  of  English,  as  ^argentic"  for 
"silver,"  or  are  tacked  on  barbarously  to  words  which 
are  not  Greek  or  Jjatin,  as  in  "  nickelic,"  "  zincic,"  etc. 
Further,  the  special  use  of  these  terminations,  to  indi- 
cate which  of  two  classes  of  salts  contains  the  larger 
proportion  of  metal,  causes  some  confusion  when  they 
are  applied  without  any  such  meaning.  For  example, 
"calcic  sulphate"  corresponds  in  constitution  to  "fer- 
rous" and  not  to  "ferric  sulphate."  I  would  rarely 
attempt  to  indicate  the  formula  completely  by  numerals 
introduced  into  the  name,  but  would  give  as  a  rule  the 
simple  name  of  "chloride"  or  "oxide"  to  that  com- 
pound which  is  normal  according  to  the  atomicitj^  of 
the  particular  metal.  Thus  I  prefer  "  sodium  dioxide  " 
to  "  disodium  dioxide  "  for  Na«0«.  In  a  few  cases  it 
may  be  convenient  to  express  more ;  thus  the  magnetic 
oxide  of  iron  might  be  named  "  terferrum  tetroxide." 
For  the  parallel  series  of  tin,  mercury,  and  iron  salts 
respectively,  the  convenient  designations  of  "  stannous  " 
"stannic,"  etc.  may  be  retained,  while  each  pair  would 
naturally  be  represented  by  the  simple  name  of  the 
metal  Thus  we  might  speak  of  the  two  "iron  sul- 
phates," "  ferrous  sulphate  "  and  "  ferric  sulphate."  A 
complex  salt  such  as  microcosmic  salt  might  be  called 
"sodium,  ammonium,  and  hydrogen  phosphate."  It 
appears  to  me  clearly  better  to  have  a  descriptive  name 
of  this  kind  thus  divided  into  several  distinct  words 
rather  than  to  attempt  to  form  such  a  single  word  as 
"  hydro-sodio-ammonic  phosphate."  I  wul  only  add 
that  names  with  a  numeral  appear  to  me  generally 
better  than  such  vague  terms  as  "peroxide  "  and  " sub- 
oxide," and  that  as  far  as  possible  Latin  numerals  should 
be  joined  to  Latin  words,  and  Greek  numerals  to  Greek 
words. 


PARIS  EXHIBITION  OF  1867. 


(FrOX  our  SpCOIAL  G0RRB8P02n)EKT.) 

Messrs.  Hopkih  avu  Williams,  of  New  Cavendish 
Street,  Ijondon,  have  a  most  remarkable  display  of  rare  and 
valuable  chemicals.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these 
gentlemen  have,  by  the  articles  they  have  exhibited,  shown 
themselves  to  be  second  to  none  in  their  profession  for  chem- 
ical skill.  The  collection  of  specimens  illustrating  the  chem- 
ical history  of  thallium  and  its  compounds  is  absolutely 
unrivalled,  and  casts  into  the  shade  everything  that  has  been 
done  by  the  French  chemists.  This  series  of  compounds  is 
far  too  remarkable  to  be  cursorily  passed  over ;  we  shall, 
therefore,  de$=crtbe  them  seriatimj  as  briefly  as  is  compatible 
with  doing  justice  to  the  subject. 

Metallic  JTtalliwn.—Thw  is  shown  in  the  form  of  a  large 
bar,  weighing  2  lbs.  It  has  a  dull  leaden  colour,  owing  to  a 
film  of  oxide.  It  is  only  necessary,  however,  to  wash  the 
bar  in  water  to  obtain  it  with  a  brilliant  metallic  lustre. 


[BngUah  Bdilkm,  Ydl  X7I,  We.  417^|»f«  t7t ;  iTo.  4ia^  |Mg*  926.] 


30 


Foreign  Science. 


{CnrmeAL  Vm^ 


The  water  becomes  atroDgly  alkaline,  and  is  in  &ct  a  solution 
of  oxide  of  thallium. 

Oxide  of  T^atfiuTO.— This  substance  yields  a  colourless 
solution  when  dissolved  in  water,  it  is  strongly  alkaline,  and 
precipitates  solutions  of  nitrate  of  silver,  etc.,  as  if  it  were  a 
solution  of  hydrate  of  potassium.  On  concentration  of  £he 
aqueous  solution  of  oxide  of  thallium,  it  deposits  yellow  ciys- 
tals  of  the  hydrate  ;  these  crystals  lose  water  very  readily, 
yielding  the  dark  coloured  mass  of  dry  protoxide  of  thallium 
as  exhibited.  If  dried  in  vacuo  so  as  to  prevent  the  formation 
of  traces  of  peroxide  the  salt  would  be  colourless. 

Suboxide  of  TliaUium. — When  the  metal  is  fused  in  the  air 
a  very  mobile,  dark  coloured  liquid  is  formed  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  melted  metal ;  upon  cooling  it  can  be  separated ; 
it  is  insoluble  in  water,  and  has  entirely  different  properties 
to  the  peroxide. 

Peroxide  of  ThdlUum. — This  specimen  was  prepared  by 
adding  a  solution  of  hypoclilorite  of  sodium  to  a  boiling  solu- 
tion of  protoxide  of  thallium,  the  peroxide  is  precipitated 
under  the  form  of  a  brown  pewder.  ^ 

StUptuUe  of  Thallium, — A  superb  specimen  of  large  and 
fine  crystals  about  two  pounds  in  weight. 

Nitrate  of  Tlialliwn. — X  large  specimen,  colourless  and 
well  crystallised. 

Chloride  of  T^ofltwm.— About  two  pounds  weight  crystal- 
lised from  twenty  gallons  of  boiling  water. 

Ferchloride  of  ThalHum.—A  very  fine  specimen  produced 
by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on  a  boiling  solution  of  the 
chloride. 

Bromide  of  Thallium, — This  salt  is  less  soluble  than  the 
chloride,  and  was  consequently  prepared  by  precipitation. 

Iodide  of  Thallium. — Almost  insoluble  in  cold  or  hot 
water;  a  cold  solution  of  bromide  is  precipitated  by  iodide  of 
potassium. 

Feriodide  of  7%a/2j»f?i.— Made  by  partially  precipitating 
a  boiling  solution  of  the  perchloride  by  iodide  of  potassium. 
The  salt  is  dark  brown,  and  if  in  the  course  of  preparation  an 
excess  of  iodide  of  potassium  is  used,  it  rapidly  becomes 
converted  into  ordinary  iodide. 

Silicate  of  T/taZ/iuTTi.— Prepared  by  decomposing  a  solution 
of  nitrate  of  thallium  with  silicate  of  sodium  ;  the  solution  is 
boiled,  and  on  cooling  deposits  the  silicate  in  crystals. 

Phosphate  of  ThaUium. — Produced  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  silicate,  substituting  phosphate  for  silicate  of  sodium. 
The  phosphates  of  thallium  require  investigation. 

The  molybdate,  vanadiate,  sulphantimoniate,  sulphocya- 
nide,  cyanide,  benzoate^  oxalate,  borate,  chromate,  bichro- 
mate, are  also  exhibited,  but  do  not  call  for  any  special 
remarks. 

Sulphide  of  ThaUium, — ^This  compound  may  be  produced 
by  fusing  thallium  and  sulphur  together.  Sulphide  of  hydro- 
gen does  not  precipitate  the  solutions  of  the  sulphate,  nitrate, 
etc.,  but  an  abundant  precipitate  is  produced  in  the  solution 
of  the  acetate,  and  as  thus  prepared  it  can  be  washed  and 
dried,  but  if  precipitated  by  sulphide  of  ammonium,  and  the 
precipitate  be  washed,  etc.,  when  approaching  dryness  it  will 
take  fire  even  at  a  very  moderate  temperature.  In  fact, 
Messrs.  Hopkin  and  Williams  informed  your  correspondent 
that  they  could  not  succeed  in  preparing  a  permanent  sulpliide 
of  thallium  by  this  process. 

Carhmaie  of  ThaUium,  upwards  of  lib.  in  weight,  and  in 
good  and  white  crystals,  is  also  an  interesting  salt 

There  were  also  exhibited  the  aoetate,  chlorate,  bitartrate, 
and  tungstate  of  thallium.  Among  the  double  salts  we 
observed  thallium  alum,  platino-chloride,  sodio-tartrate,  and 
the  tartrate  of  thullium  and  antimony  (thallium  tartar  emetic.) 

It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  too  highly  the  skill, 
perseverance,  and  chemical  knowledge  shown  by  this  firm  in 
the  preparation  of  the  extraordinary  and  unrivalled  collection 
of  preparations  of  thallium  contained  in  their  case. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  is  an  admirable  collection  of 
fine  chemicals,  not  mere  showy  crystalline  salts,  but  prepara- 
tions requiring  far  more  than  the  average  amount  of  scientific 
information  for  their  production.  The  bottle  of  oantharidin 
contains  nearly  5  ounces  of  superb  white  crystals  of  tliia 


substance.  The  spedmen  is  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  tiie 
Exhibition,  and  is  decidedly  better  than  tliat  in  the  case  of 
M.  Menier,  although  the  lattef  is  very  good.  It  woold  be 
improper  to  pass  over  without  notice  the  bromides  of  poU» 
slum  and  ammonium,  and  the  iodide  of  ammonium. 

The  specimen  of  pyrogallicacid  has  evidently  met  with  an 
accident,  and  been  subsequently  put  into  a  dirty  bottle ;  this 
is  unfortunate,  as  this  firm  for  many  years  were  by  &r  the 
largest  makers  of  it 

The  crude  oxalate  of  cerium,  which  is  still  used  as  a 
remedy  in  cases  of  obstinate  vomiting,  does  not  call  for  anj 
very  special  remark.  The  same  applies  to  the  permangaoata 
and  cyanide  of  potaasium. 

The  glacial  phosphoric  acid  is  very  fine  and  pure.  Larige 
quantities  of  this  substance  are  shown  in  the  German  depart- 
ment, and  sometimes  in  sticks.  In  the  latter  state  it  has  a 
very  pretty  appearance,  but  the  German  acid  found  in  com* 
merce  is  generally  frtr  from  pure,  containing  soda,  and  almoak 
invariably  more  than  traces  of  lime  and  ammonia.  Toor 
correspondent  is  informed  by  Messrs.  Hopkin  and  WiHiann 
that  the  syrupy  phosphoric  acid  jrielded  by  the  actioa  of 
nitric  acid  on  phosphorus  will  never  yield  a  solid  brittle 
phosphoric  acid  by  direct  heating ;  no  matter  how  elevated 
the  temperature  to  which  it  is  subjected,  the  product  always 
remaining  is  a  sofi;  adhesive  mass,  and,  at  an  elevated  tempe- 
rature, either  partially  sublimes,  or,  at  all  events,  yidds  a 
volatile  product 

The  scale  preparations  of  Iron — for  example,  the  ammomo- 
citrate,  the  ammonio-tartratp,  the  potassio-tartrate,  and  the 
citrate  of  iron  and  quinine — look  very  well,  especially  when 
their  long  exposure  to  light  and  heal  is  conddered.  Tbeae 
articles,  although  invented  in  France,  have  become  enor- 
mously used  in  England,  and  are  made  upon  a  very  lafge 
scale  by  several  manufacturing  chemists.  The  price  in  Bn^ 
land  is  three  or.  four  hundred  per  cent  cheapo  than  in 
France  or  Germany.  The  scale  preparations  in  MessETS.  Hop- 
kin and  Williams'  case  have  certainly  kept  better  than  any 
others  we  observed,  excepting,  perhaps,  the  ammonio-dtrate 
of  bismuth  which  has  turned  black. 

Taking  it  all  together, we  consider  that  Messrs.  H(^n  and 
Williams'  case  is  in  the  very  highest  degree  (Citable 
to  tliem.  It  is  quite  evident  that  they  do  not  aOov 
themselves  to  &11  behind  any  of  their  contemporaries ;  and 
considericg  the  efforts  that  our  chemical  manu&cturers  are 
obliged  to  make  to  compete  with  the  skilled  labour  and  k>v 
wages  which  are  such  immense  h^ps  to  their  German  rifal^ 
this  is  saying  a  great  deal 

We  are  glad  to  find  that  they  have  been  awarded  a  aSver 
medaL 


FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 


(Fboh  our  ovnsr  Oorrespondbht.) 

Pabis,  Oct.  29, 1867. 
Animal  Miagma — l^ctectrum  of  Uie  Benemer  flam^^Meteork 

folia  m  Greece — Silurian  Hystem  of  Bohemia, 
Db.  J.  Lkmairb  continues  his  researches  on  the  nature  of 
miasma  exhaled  by  the  body  of  a  healthy  man.  He  finds 
that  it  is  on  the  periphery  of  the  body  and  outside  the  orgaoa 
on  which  develope  the  microphites  and  the  microzoeires  on  a 
man  in  good  health.  The  deposit,  vulgariy  termed  "  dirt "  or 
"  scurf,"  that  the  perspiration,  mingled  with  atmospbenc  and 
other  dust  contained  in  the  linen,  produce  on  the  skin,  and 
which  accumulates  every  day,  if  the  body  be  neglected,  gives 
rise  to  myriads  of  microphites  and  microsoaires.  They  are 
the  more  numerous  according  as  the  deposit  is  more  abundant. 
This  coating  contains  an  albnmindd  matter  capable  of  ^f'^^ 
lation,  furnished  by  the  perspiration,  which  also  maintains  it 
in  a  humid  state. 

The  contact  of  the  air  and  the  mean  temperatore  of  ine 
neighbouring  body,  about  37*  C,  are  the  cause  that  this  cnat 
is  in  the  most  favourable  oonditioo  for  fennentation  to  tai» 


{BacMakBdlte,  TaL  ZTL,  Wa  4ia>  gagaa  0ft6,  «ff>3 


lAm.,  18161     i 


Foreign  Science. 


31 


place,  u)d  the  inftisorift  to  be  diBengaged-  and  developed.  In 
itodjiug  the  effects  on  roen  and  women  from  30  to  70  years, 
whose  cleanliness  had  been  neglected  for  a  week  or  two^ 
there  were  remarked  a  fetid  odour  in  various  parts  of  the 
body,  and  a  sligbtlj  acid  liquid  containing  transparent  spher- 
ical, ovotdal,  and  cylindrical  bodies  similar  to  those  found  in 
the  confined  air  of  the  Eastern  fort ;  thousands  of  bacteria 
(Badmnm  Urmo,  Bctderittm  calenula  formed  of  2,  3,  4  and  5 
articulations,  Bacierium  poneinm)^  vibrios,  etc. 

In  the  former  experiments  the  presence  of  entirely  de- 
reloped  aniroalculse  six  hours  after  the  condensation  of  the 
aqueous  vapour  of  the  barrack-ward,  can  be  explained  by  the 
eleTsted  temperature  of  the  human  body  and  the  existence 
of  a  great  quantity  of  vapour  in  this  air.  They  are  no  doubt 
fiimiahed  by  the  elevated  temperature  of  the  climate  and 
the  animal  beat  in  adults,  which  pi>oduce  miasma  so  fatal  in 
tropical  climates  to  man  and  beast 

Professor  A.  Lielegg  has  continued  his  researches  on  the 
spectra  of  the  flame  in  which  the  melting  is  carried  on  ac- 
cording to  the  Bessemer  Rvstem.  This  flame  being  only  car- 
bonic acid  gas  in  an  incandescent  state,  and  the  spectrum  of 
this  gas  being  yet  unknown,  the  observations  of  M.  Lielegg 
hate  served  to  All  up  a  gap  in  the  series  of  spectra  produced 
by  the  gases  in  combustion.  The  apparition  and  the  dis- 
appearance of  some  of  the  luminous  flxed  lines  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  metallurgical  operations.  At  the  moment 
when  the  decarburisation  of  the  iron  is  nearly  terminated, 
these  spectral  lines  assume  essential  modifications.  The  ap- 
parition of  a  group  of  lines  and  of  an  isolated  line  in  the 
Tiolet^blue  portion  of  the  spectrum,  marks  a  particular  move- 
ment of  the  period  during  which  the  soft  iron  is  being  formed, 
and  theae  hues  disappear  sooner  than  all  the  othera ;  their 
appearance  and  disappearance  serve,  therefore,  to  indicate 
the  termination  of  the  process. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  M.  Haidinger,  M.  Jules  Schmidt 
gives  some  notes  upon  some  igneous  meteors  observed  in 
Greece.  The  meteoric  fall  of  Nauplia  was  observed  the 
"17-19  June,  1850,  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  by  M.  A.  R. 
logothetis.  In  a  perfectly  clear  sky,  the  meteor,  like  a  swarm 
of  felling  stare,  seemed  to  travel  from  East  to  West,  and  fell 
at  the  North  of  Nauplia  near  l^rinthia.  Shortly  after  its 
appearance  a  loud  explosion  like  thunder  was  lieard.  The 
search  made  on  the  following  day  gave  no  trace  of  meteoric 
substances.  It  was  only  subsequently  that  a  fragment  of 
blade  stone  was  brought  to  M.  Logothetis.  This  fragment, 
lost  by  carelessness,  was  about  twice  the  size  of  an  egg,  and 
had  the  aspect  of  a  metallic  substance  subjected  to  the  action 
of  fire,  presenting  here  at.d  there  reddish  golden  specks.  It 
vridently  contained  metallic  iron  and  sulphur.  A  meteor  of 
the  flret  magnitude  was  observed  at  Athens  on  May,  1857,  at 
iih.  46m.,  at  20**  N.W.  of  the  zenith,  having  its  radiating- 
point  situated  between  Scorpio  and  Sagittarius.  It  was 
bright  green,  with  a  beautiful  red  trail.  A  sudden  explosion 
aocompanied  the  treject,  which  only  lasted  a  second.  An  ex- 
plosion similar  to  that  of  a  heavy  cannon  was  heard  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  fifty-three  romutes  after  its  extinction.  The 
conclusion  is,  that  the  detonation  took  place  fourteen  geo- 
graphic miles  from  Athens,  at  the  height  of  about  thirteen 
miles  above  the  plain  of  Thebes.  A  similar  meteor  but  much 
analler  was  observed  the  i6th  May,  1862,  at  8h.  24m.  Ihe 
catalogue  of  M.  Schmidt  states  the  occurrence,  for  the  17th 
Hay,  of  eleven  great  meteore,  four  of  which  were  terminated 
by  showera  of  stones ;  on  the  26th  May,  date  of  the  fall  of 
the  meteoric  stone  of  Agram  (1751),  seven  meteors,  two  of 
which  were  accompanied  by  showera  of  stones,  and  one  by 
the  fall  of  meteoric  iroiL  An  enormeous  one  passed  over 
Greece  on  the  27tb  May,  1867,  at  2|  to  3h.  in  the  morning. 

M.  i.  Barrande  published  in  July  a  new  continuation  of 
his  magnificent  work  on  the  Silurian  system  of  the  centre  of 
Bohemia,  a  volume  in  4to,  contaming  179  pages  and  16 
{dates,  treating  on  Pteropode  molluscs  (69  species,  included 
in  8  genera)  Uie  remains  of  which  are  incluoed  in  this  form- 
ation and  others,  such  as  Columates,  Trochocystites,  Ohittons, 
and  Rhombifera. 

P.  MOIONO. 


Paris,  Nov.  5,  1867. 
7br  Waier.-^Leaden  Electrodes.— Production  of  High  Tbmpe- 
raiures. — Father  Secchi  and  the  Roman  Observatory, — Seif- 
registering  Barometer.— Paraffin  Lubricants, 

M.  GuTOT,  an  apothecary  in  Paris,  has  made  a  sort  of 
concentrated  tar-water,  which  he  calls  tar-liquor,  calculated 
to  render  great  service  to  the  medical  worid.  The  great  ad- 
vantage of  this  preparation  is  to  be  able  to  ftuTiish  water 
more  or  less  charged  with  tar,  according  to  the  affection  to 
be  treated.  This  preparation  is  free  from  any  quackery  and 
has  given  the  best  resulta 

The  employment  of  tar^water  is  of  old  date.  The  dis- 
covery of  its  medical  properties  is  due  to  Bishop  Berkeley. 
This  intrepid  missionary  embarked  at  tiie  end  of  the  i8th 
century  for  Rhode  Island.  The  ship,  having  remained  be- 
calmed for  several  days  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean,  was  attack- 
ed by  a  terrible  epidemic  which' decimated  the  crew.  Some 
of  the  sick,  lying  at  the  bottom  of  the  hold,  the  prey  to  a 
terrible  fever,  burning  with  thiret»  drank  the  biige-water 
of  the  ship,  which  was  impregnated  with  tar.  It  was  well 
they  did  so,  for  all  those  who  drank  of  the  water  were  rapidly 
cured.  Berkeley,  a  skilftil  and  profound  observer,  remarked  at 
once  that  it  was  the  tar-water  which  cured  them,  and  by 
drinking  it  abundantly  himself  he  was  preserved  firom  the 
contagion.  On  his  return  to  Europe  he  experimented  inces- 
santly, and  hastened  to  publish  to  the  world,  in  a  very  inter- 
esting volume,  the  virtues  of  taf- water. 

M.  Plante  has  forwarded  to  the  Society  of  Encouragement 
a  plan  by  which  platinum  dectrodes  can  be  replaced  by 
leaden  ones.  A  short  time  after,  he  proposed  this  substitution 
in  order  to  prove  the  superiority  of  the  secondary  current  pro* 
duced  with  lead  over  the  secondary  current  ftirnished  by  pla- 
tinum. He  showed  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  at  the  meeting 
of  March  26th,  i860,  the  powerful  efiects  obtained  with  a 
secondary  pile  with  leaden  plates  of  great  surface.  M.  Leon 
Foucault  wrote  on  this  subject  on  7th  June,  i860: — 

^'  M.  Jacobi  employed  secondary  piles  in  platinum,  but 
M.  Plants  employed,  almost  at  the  same  time,  lead,  as  being 
preferable  to  platinum,  notoa  account. of  the  economy,  but 
certainly  by  reason  of  the  secondary  reaction.  And  to  show 
in  a  striking  manner  the  superiority  of  lead  for  this  purpose^ 
M.  Plants  has  constructed  at  very  little  coat  a  secondary  pile 
of  great  power,  which  can  become  in  the  hands  of  phyaidsta 
an  instrument  of  value/  Lead,  flexible  and  supple,  is  found 
in  commerce,  laminated  in  thin  sheets,  etc.  Experiments 
have  proved  that  two  simple  leaden  wires  polarised  were  able 
to  produce  a  sufficiently  intense  secondary  current  to  destroy 
residual  magnetism  that  oould  not  have  been  neutralised  ex- 
cept by  a  platinum  battery  of  a  ^eat  number  of  elements." 

On  13th  May,  1861,  M.  Plante  presented  10  the  Academy 
of  Sciences^  in  a  sealed  letter,  the  substitution  of  lead  for 
platinum,  in  order  to  obtain  a  greater  quantity  of  ozone  in 
the  decomposition  of  water  by  the  pile.  He  subsequently, 
being  attached  to  the  establishment  of  M.  Lenoir,  when 
the  process  of  round  oastuig  is  carried  on  by  eleotrO'deoom- 
position,  essayed  with  perfect  success  cores  of  lead  placed  in 
the  moulds. 

By  the  invention  of  the  copper  soluble  anode,  M.  Jacobi 
has  happily  completed  his  discoveiy  in  electro-metallurgy. 

By  the  employment  of  the  insoluble  platinum,  M.  Lenoir 
has  been  able  to  succeed  in  the  galvanic  reproduction,  in  a 
single  piece,  of  solid  objects. 

Introducing  in  his  turn  the  lead  anode,  M.  Plants  has 
made  an  important  improvement  in  the  same  direction. 

In  metallurgical  operations  in  crucibles,  M.  Douenne  has 
succeeded  in  dimmishmg  the  length  of  the  operation  and  re- 
ducing the  cost  of  fUel  without  having  need  of  more  blast. 
It  also  completely  does  away  with  smoke.  Steam,  admitted 
in  the  form  of  a  jet,  is  decomposed  into  the  elements  of  which 
it  consists,  oxygen  and  hydiogen,  by  which  the  oxygen  com- 
bines with  the  carbon  and  hastens  the  combustion  at  the  base 
of  the  crucible :  the  hydrogen,  disengaged,  being  in  a  medi- 
um of  higher  temperature,  rises  around  the  crucible,  when  it 
is  burnt  by  the  air.    The  necessary  temperature  of  fusion  ia 


[Bagllali  BdWoOy  Toi  Z7I,  Vo.  413»  paffw  987,  89B  J  V<k  414|  page  943.] 


32 


Foreign  Science. 


(CimnoiLKm, 


thus  produced  at  the  proper  point  by  the  combustion  of  the 
gases  resulting  from  the  excessive  temperature. 

We  have  received  from  our  illustrious  colleague,  the  Rev- 
erend Father  Secchi,  Director  of  the  Observatory  of  Rome, 
and  who  has  ji»t  quitted  Paris  to  return  to  his  post,  a  letter 
which  grieves  W)  much.  Wecanuot  forget  that  in  1848  his 
predecessor,  Father  Vico,  author  of  some  great  discoveries, 
was  driven  from  Rome  by  violence  and  went  to  live  in 
America,  for  which  place  we  procured  for  iiim  a  free  passage  1 
We  hope  that  the  same  lot  will  not  befal  Fatiier  Secchi,  and 
that  he  will  be  free  to  illuminate  the  Pontifical  Observatory 
with  new  discoveries.  M.  Francois  Arago  was  also  instru- 
mental in  the  protection  granted  to  the  learned  and  excellent 
Father  Yioo,  who  died,  not  in  Ameiica,  but  at  London,  15th 
November,  1848. 

M.  Brequet,  the  well-known  clock  and  scientific  instru- 
ment maker,  has  exhibited  tX  the  Champ  de  Mars  a  new 
self-registering  barometer  called  the  Barometrograpfi^  giving 
indications  every  six  hours,  by  diagram,  of  the  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere.  It  consists  of  four  metallic  boxes,  the  upper 
and  lower  of  whk;h  are  undulated  (the  usual  aneroid  barome- 
ter) ;  a  vacuum  is  made  in  each  of  these  boxes  separately,  and 
they  are  attached  to  a  chain  the  movement  of  whidi  is  four 
times  greater  than  that  of  a  single  box  for  the  same  varia- 
tion of  pressure.  A  steel  spring  of  great  strength  acu  upon 
these  buxes  in  a  contrary  direction  tu  the  atmospheric  pres- 
sure, and  communicates  with  an  indicating  lever.  The  re- 
gistration is  ettbcted  on  a  cylinder  which  revolver  by  means 
of  an  ordinary  dock ;  it  makes  a  complete  revolution  in  a 
week,  and  carries  a  glared  paper,  which  is  covered  wirh 
lampblack  by  being  hold  over  tlie  Hame  of  a  candle ;  the  ex- 
tremity of  this  lever,  very  fine  and  pointed,  traces  a  line  of 
variations  in  a  white  streak.  The  periods  (4  times  a  day) 
are  represented  on  the  diagram  by  vertical  lines,  and  the  baro- 
metric readings  by  horizontal  lines  placed  a  millimetre  apart, 
the  arm  of  the  indicator  being  so  arranged  as  to  mark  the 
variations  on  the  same  scale  as  a  common  mercurial  baro- 
meter. This  instrument  has  none  of  the  errors  of  tlie  com- 
mon aneroid  barometer  resulting  from  the  great  number  of 
pieces,  levers,  articulations,  gearing,  connecting  chains,  and 
springs. 

A  new  application  of  paraffin  has  been  made  by  M.  Mon- 
net  for  Iubrk»ting  machinery.  The  great  difficulty  was  in 
procuring  a  lubricating  substance  that  would  not  melt  at  a 
lower  temperature  than  from  300''  to  400"  Centigrade,  and 
cheap  'enough  to  be  employed  at  Lyons  on  a  large  Bcale. 
Now,  the  class  ofpRraffins  furnishes  a  substance  called  melon 
(CtoBflo),  insohible  in  water,  soluble  in  fatty  oils,  volatile 
without  decomposition,  and  only  boiling  at  above  370^, 
while  at  the  ordinary  temperature  it  has  tl)e  consistence  of 
wax,  and  floats  freely  on  water.  Its  degree  of  soA;enlng  at 
the  temperature  of  the  hand,  from  15"*  to  zo"  C,  is  already 
sufficient  to  form  between  surfaces  in  contact  a  thin  sheet 
of  meleu,  and  according  as  the  heat  increases  the  substance 
becomes  softer,  until.it  acquires  a  complete  liquidity  which  is 
uniformly  kept  up. 

The  following  are  the  advantages  arising  from  paraffin  or 
melen  lubvication  :— 

1.  During  the  working  of  the  machine  the  lubricating  sub- 
stance is  very  fluid,  oily,  and  unalierable.  The  melenic 
particles,  carried  by  tlie  steam,  clot  together  on  the  surface 
of  the  condenser,  and  can  be  removed  without  difficulty. 

2.  When  the  motion  has  oeaned  the  paraffin  remains  fixed 
and  beoomes  solid  much  quicker  than  lubricating  oils  com- 
monly in  use,  which  are  fluid  at  ordinary  temperatura 

3.  When  the  machine  is  sel  in  movement,  the  paraffin  ad- 
herent to  the  surfaoe  to  be  lubricated  is  melted  at  once,  while 
the  steam  gives  its  heat  to  the  mass  of  metal  of  the  recepta- 
cle before  it  acts  upon  the  piston.  The  high  temperature  of 
the  elastic  fluid  soon  equalises  the  temperature,  and  the 
fvsioti  of  the  paraffin  takes  place. 

F.  MoiGNa 


Pabis,  Nov.  12, 1867. 

IfnpravemetUa  in  Automatic  Thkgraphy. 

SiNOE  the  nth  September,  1867,  the  Directors  of  the  tele- 
graphic linos  have  made  use,  in  the  serv'ce  between  Paris 
and  Lyons,  of  a  new  syslibm  of  rapid  transmission  invented  by 
MM.  ChAuda$«ai)2nes  and  Lambrigot,  telegraph  clerks.  This 
telegraph  acts  automatically,  transmitting  the  despa'ches  be- 
tween the  two  towns  at  the  rate  of  120  or  180  despatdies 
per  hour  by  a  single  conducting  wire,  a  velocity  three  times 
as  great  as  that  obtained  by  other  systems,  and  capable  of 
be>ng  augmented  proportionately  to  the  diameter  of  the  wire. 

The  transmissions  nre  made  by  a  band  of  metallic  paper  00 
which  the  signals  composing  the  despatch  are  trac^  in  in- 
sulating ink.  The  reprodnciion  is  obtained  on  a  band  of  un- 
sized paper,  the  centre  portion  of  which  is  impregnated  with 
a  chemical  liquor  necessary  for  the  formation  of  the  characters 
existing  on  the  metallic  band. 

In  order  to  obtain  regularity  of  execution  in  tiie  different 
operations,  such  as  the  coropo»iion,  transmission,  and  recep- 
tion, they  pass  through  several  hands  according  to  the  reqaire- 
ments. 

One  instrument  in  communication  with  the  line  is  composed 
of— I.  A  clock-work  movement.  2.  A  double  roller  which 
sets  at  work  either  the  metallic  or  the  chemically  prepared 
paper.  3.  A  ringing  apparatus  for  calling  the  attention  of 
the  correspondent  4.  A  "  Morse  "  manipulator  of  ordinary 
conf^truction  for  the  exchange  of  the  conventional  mgns  neces- 
sary for  setting  in  movement  or  stopping  the  rollen 

The  clock-work  movement  is  set  at  work  by  a  weight 
easily  wound  up  by  means  of  a  pedal;  it  serves  to  maintain 
the  rollers  in  movement.  *Kear  the  rollt^r  round  whidi  the 
metallic  band  passes,  is  a  point  which  repxesents  the  extrem- 
ity of  a  conducting  wire.  The  roller  communicates  with  the 
electric  pile.  Wlien  the  band  is  drawn  into  movement  by  the 
rotatk)n  of  the  roller,  the  point  is  placed  sometimes  on  one  of 
the  metallic  parts  of  the  band,  and  sometimes  on  the  written 
parts  of  the  despatch  where  the  isolating  ink  is,  bo  that  the 
conducting  wire  marks  the  message  by  the  akemate  passage, 
and  breaking  of  the  current  Near  the  roller,  on  which  is 
coiled  the  unsized  paper,  is  placed  a  cup  filled  with  a  solotioo 
of  nitrate  of  ammonia  and  ferrocyanide  of  potassium.  In  the 
middle  of  this  cup  is  a  small  roller  which  dips  into  the  liquid 
in  its  lower  portion,  and  tlie  upper  portion  <^  which  rises  a 
little  higher  than  the  edges  of  the  basin  and  supports  the 
band  of  unsized  paper  which,  drawn  by  the  rotation  of  the 
two  rollers,  turns  the  small  dipping  roller  and  beoomes  im- 
pregnated with  the  solution. 

A  point  of  iron  representing,  like  that  of  the  metallic  band, 
the  extremity  of  the  conducting  wire,  leans,  slightly  inclined, 
resting  by  its  own  weight  upon  the  damp  paper  band,  and  is 
in  communication  with  the  earth.  The  voltaks  current  de- 
composes the  wet  portion,  and  leaves  a  coloured  deposit 
which  represents  the  signals  of  the  despatch. 

The  working  of  this  apparatus  is  entirely  mechanipaL  The 
transmission  and  the  reception  of  the  despatdies  take  place 
automatically ;  one  clerk  superintends  the  machine.  In  oider 
to  compose  the  despatches  into  conventional  signals  on  the 
metallic  band,  another  instrument,  called  the  compositor,  is 
employed,  similar  to  that  of  Morse,  the  signals  of  which  are 
employed.  The  band  of  metallic  paper  unrolling  itself  is 
raised  by  a  lever  so  as  to  touch  a  thick  roller  covered  with  a 
resinous  preparation  in  fusion,  whk^h  cools  suddenly  as  soon 
as  it  is  applied  to  the  metallic  band.  One  derk  can  prepare 
alone  35  to  40  despatches  per  hour ;  the  telegraphic  suff  ac- 
quainted with  the  Morse  apparatus  can^  without  any  study, 
compose  despatches.  For  the  service  between  Paris  and 
Lyons  three  compositors  suffice  completely  ibr  the  treosmis- 
sions.  The  despatches  reproduced  on  the  band  of  chemieallj 
prepared  paper  are  handed  over  to  other  clerks,  who  trandate 
them  for  the  printed  despatches  distributed  to  the  pnblia 

The  result  is  that  two  composing  clerks,  two  traosiating 
clerks,  and  a  superintendent  of  the  machines  (^reception  and 
transmission,  do  as  much  work  by  aid  of  a  suigle  coDdoctiog 


(Engliah  EdiUon,  VoL  X71,  Wa  414,  pi«es  243^244;  Ba  415,  page 806.] 


/am  1868.       f 


Foreign  Scienoe. 


33 


wire  as  six  clerks  with  three  wires  by  the  ordinary  telegraphic 
gystem.  A  composing  apparatus  furnished  with  electro- 
magnets has  been  established  on  a  line  from  London  to  Paris. 
Wbfin  the  employe  in  London  wishes  to  transmit  a  telegram 
to  Paris  for  the  Lyons  line,  the  only  line  in  which  this  rapid 
service  is  installed,  he  manipulates  as  tor  the  ordinary  trans- 
miflsions  of  the  Morse  apparatus ;  the  letters  or  conventional 
signs  are  printed  on  a  metallic  band,  and  a  few  seconds  after- 
wards are  transmitted  to  the  chemically  prepared  paper. 

Thus  we  have  before  us  a  great  improvement  in  modem 
telegraphy.  Up  to  nth  September  last  the  service  of  the 
Lyons  line  was  carried  on  by  aid  of  two  or  three  Hughes' 
apparatus;  each  apparatus  occupies  two  clerks  and  three 
bMttvries.  By  the  new  system  live  clerks  do  all  the  service 
with  one  line  only.  The  new  system  works  admirably  and 
without  a  single  hitch,  and  we  can  affirm  that  the  invention 
of  MjI  Chaudassaigpaes  and  Lambrigot  is  destined  to  render 
great  service  to  the  telegrapliic  service.  The  economy  of  in- 
stallation, and  the  saving  effected  in  the  number  of  clerks, 
the  maintenance,  wear  and  tear,  ^,  are  marvellous. 

By  decree  of  the  i6th  October,  M.  Bertin-Mourot  was  named 
director  of  the  scientidc  studies  of  the  Normal  College,  in  the 
place  of  AL  Pasteur.  M.  Balard  was  named  inspector-general 
of  the  order  of  sciences  in  place  of  M.  Dumas.  M.  Pasteur 
undoubtedly  will  become  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  Faculty 
of  Sciences  of  Paris  in  place  of  M.  Dumas.  Under  the  name 
of  Bertin-ICourot  the  learned  world  will  recognise  M.  Pierre 
Augoste  Bertin,  the  skilful  and  zealous  physician  who  has 
left  80  happy  a  aauvemr  in  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  of  Stras- 
burg.  F.  Moi«xo. 


Paris,  Nov.  19,  1867. 

CuHow    Terrestrial   Globe, — Orffanisalion  of  the   Imperial 
,   Observatory.-^IiqKfrt  on  Mr,  Fryer^s  Ooncreior, — New 
Opiical  Instrumenia, 

DuRixo  the  revolution  of  1795  a  curious  terrestrial  globe 
existed  in  the  royal  Chateau  de  Bellevue.  Becoming  national, 
It  was  sold  and  bought  by  one  named  Testu.  The  latter  per- 
son, after  having  lost  his  fortune,  and  not  haying  room  for  it, 
deposited  it  in  the  Royal  Library  of  the  Kue  de  Richeliea 
LaAer,  U.  Jomard,  conservator,  engaged  IL  Sanis  to  purchase 
this  curious  work,  assuring  him  that,  after  being  restored,  the 
Government  would  purchase  it  for  one  of  the  museuma  M. 
Sanis  treated  with  M.  Testu,  and  M.  Jomard  put  him  in  pos- 
session of  this  globe  so  remarkably  in  an  archteological  point 
of  view,  and  he  has  had  it  since  1846.  The  globe  has  re- 
mained, after  being  restored,  so  as  to  have  lost  nothing  of  its 
primitive  character,  in  the  hands  of  K.  Sanis,.  who  wishes  to 
yield  it  to  a  nauseum  in  any  country.  It  can  be  seen  at  No. 
22,  Bae  dee  Foss^  Saint  Jacques,  Paris. 

As  to  the  origin  of  this  globe,  the  works  of  Guache  gave 
the  idea  to  Edme.  Montell  of  oonstructing  a  globe  which 
would  represent  at  the  same  time  the  natural  and  political 
divisions  of  the  earth.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  double 
project,  the  inventor  proposed  to  trace  on' an  ordinary  globe, 
three  feet  in  diameter,  all  the  details  of  the  inequalities  of  the 
surface  of  the  globe.  The  King,  Louis  XVI.  (so  says  the 
"Universal  Biography  of  Milan"),  ordered  the  exeoution  of 
this  project  at  the  expense  of  ;f  1,200,  defrayed  by  his  Ma- 
jesty. 

This  instrument  consists  of—-i.  A  great  outer  globe  divided 
into  two  hemispheree.  Tlie  oonvex  portion  gives  the  political 
geography,  and  the  concave  portion  the  state  of  the  heavens. 
2.  A.  globe  in  relief^  a  metre  in  diameter,  rolls  in  the  interior 
of  the  lirst)  and  represents  oontinenial  and  submarine  moun- 
tains, basiiia,  6tCL 

The  decree  for  the  oiiganisation  of  the  Imperial  Observatory, 
dated  Jaooary  30,  1854,  oontained  the  following: — '* Every 
two  years,  at  leasts  the  minister  receives  a  report  stating  the 
actual  scientific  situation  and  requirements,  drawn  up  by  a 
ooramisaion  composed  of  two  members  of  the  Admiralty  Board, 
a  member  of  the  Institute,  two  members  of  the  Bureau  dee 
Vou  IL    No.  I.    Jan.,  1868.       3 


LongitudeSj  an  inspector-genera]  of  superior  instruction,  and 
the  director  of  the  observatory.  This  excellent  arrangement 
has  remained  a  dead  letter,  the  result  being  the  enormous 
abnees  whose  extent  can  be  known  from  the  following  fkcts. 
I.  The  number  of  titular  astronomers,  calculators,  and  clerks, 
etc.,  who  have  passed  through  the  Observatory  without  re- 
maining in  it  between  the  years  1854  and  1867,  exceeds  a 
hundred.  2.  Among  those  who  have  quitted  the  observatory 
there  are  many  celebrated  scientific  men.  3.  Several  titular 
astronomers,  the  saUries  of  which  ranged  between  ;f  240  and 
;f  360  jper  annum,  do  not  perform  any  regular  service. 
4.  That  the  amount  of  the  salaries  was  fixed  in  the  most  ar- 
bitrary manner.  5.  That  the  salaries  of  many  astronomers 
were  kept  back  even  more  arbitrarily.  6.  Thit  the  fbture 
career  of  6  or  7  pupils,  of  great  merit,  proceeding  from  the 
Ecole  Normale  of  France,  was  seriously  compromised  by  the 
engagemenu  towards  them  not  being  carried  out,  etc.  The 
minister  of  pubhc  instruction,  being  struck  by  this  state  of 
affairs,  has  named  a  commission  to  report  on  the  state  of  the 
Observatory.  Among  the  questions  to  be  debated  is  the  dem- 
olititm  of  the  present  building  and  the  construction  of  a 
new  one. 

M.  Dubrunfant  has  just  made  a  report  on  his  examination 
of  the  products  obtained  by  tiie  concretor  of  Mr.'  Fryer  of 
Guadaloupe.  He  states  that  the  mass  is  sufficiently  ripe,  and 
the  ciystals  sufficiently  detached  to  allow  of  refining  processes 
being  adopted,  either  by  moulds  or  by  the  turbine.  Its  colour 
is  inferior  to  the  4th  class  of  good  quality ;  and,  observing  the 
facility  with  which  the  syrup  is  displaced  in  the  mass,  he  asks 
if  the  specimen  which  has  arrived  in  Europe  is  the  same  as 
that  which  left  Guadaloupe,  or,  in  other  words,  if  it  has  not 
been  subjected  to  some  purification  which  had  sensibly  altered 
its  constitution.  This  species  of  cooked  mass,  in  fact,  does  not 
appear  homogeneous,  and  he  thought  it  useful  to  reduce  it  to 
fragments,  so  as  to  mix  them  all  together,  and  thus  form  a 
mass  representing  the  true  averaga 

The  reporter  first  examined  a  colonial  sugar  classed  as  good 
4th  (No.  12  of  the  samples) ;  the  results  are  as  follows: — 

Peroentagei 

Saccharimetric 9^'3S 

Sugar  (uncrystallisable) 3*05 

Water 363 

Ash  corrected  by  the  factor,  0*9 0*85 

Organic  and  non-saccharine  matters. . .      0*55 

-: loo'oo 

The  return  of  this  sugar  by  refining  is  aocomplished  in  the 
following  manner: — Admitting  3*73  for  the  saline  co-efficient, 
as  we  also  do  for  the  indigenous  sugar,  and  taking  unity  for 
the  glucosic  co-efficient,  as  several  refiners  of  Paris  adopt — 

0-85  x373=3-i7  sugar 
3-6sxr30=3-65 

Sugar  remaining  in  the  molasses=  6*82 

Sugar  (refined;. , . .  91  35  -  6  82=84.53 
Thus  we  have — 

Orystallisable  sugar 6*82  ) 

Glucose 3-65>-        is'47 

Water 5-00) 

Refined  sugar 84-53 

100*00 
As  the  molasses  are  delivered  by  the  refiners  at  42^ 
Beauro^  and  at  50  per  cent,  in  all  sugars,  the  return  in 
molasses  would  be  greater.  But  the  difl^rence  compennates 
the  loss,  and  the  refiners  ordinarily  oount  upon  cent,  per  cent 
of  return. 

We  can  estimate  the  value  of  the  sugar,  in  refloiag;  at 
follows: — 

t     0. 

84*53  loaf  sugar  at  i  -25  t  the  kilo. 106  66 

15-47  molasses  at  26  t • 4  02 


no  68 


p«|tSd0)  Vek4i«y 


aM,M6.] 


J 


34 


Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britai^i. 


{  OannoAX.  Hun, 


To  be  deducted 

Duty  OD  No.  I2t  leas  the  drawback  of^ 

39f.    £xpeii>es  of 'refinery  975  the  I  Af'>t 

100  kiloa,  taking  into  account  the  re-  [  47  -5  -* 

turn  in  molasses-— 8.25 J 

Leaving 6343 

for  the  value  in  refinery,  not  including  the  profit  of  the  re- 
finer. This  profit,  given  by  the  refining  of  ordinary  sugars, 
can  flometimea  attain  8  or  10  fr.  per  too  kilos,  of  the  refined 
sugars,  wliilst  the  profit  upon  the  white  grained  sugar  is 
often  negative. 

The  following  is  the  resuJt  of  the  examination  of  the  Fryer 
concreted  sugar: — 

Crystallisable  sugar  as  ascertained  by  the  saccharo- 

meter 78*00 

Uncrystallisable  sugar  (Barreswill  process) 910 

Ash 280 

Water 770 

Other  organic  matters 2*40 

100*00 
The  returns  of  the  sugar  in  Parisian  refinery,  calculated  on 
tlie  same  basis  as  the  good  4th  above  mentioned,  give  tlie 
following  results: — 

2*8o  ash     X  3*73 10*4  sugar 

9*10  glucose  X  I  9*1 

Total 19*5 

sugar  contained  in  the  molasses. 

Thus  we  have,  as  a  maximum,  in  molasses 42 

Extractible  sugar. . .  % 58 

ICO 

This  return  may  be  valued  in  Paris  (not  indudiDg  the  profit 
,  of  the  refiner)  as  follows: — 

fr.   c 

58  kilo&  of  loaf  sugar,  at  i  '25  fr. 72  50 

42  kilos,  of  molasses 10  92 

ToUl 83  42 

To  be  deducted,  we  have 

Small  duty,  less  the  drawback,  37fr.  | 

Expense  at  2o£  the  100  kilos,  refined,  >     47  60 
ii'6oC  ) 

Remaining  fcr  the  value  of  the  sugar 35  ^2 

As  a  like  produce  would  give  relatively  four  times  more 
molasses  in  refining  than  the  average  actual  process,  it  would 
soon  encumber  the  material  with  low  produce,  and  would 
thus  iiamper  the  normal  production.  Several  Paris  refiners 
refuse  systematically  the  purchase  of  every  sugar  producing 
more  than  three  per  cent  of  dross,  that  is  to  say,  more  than 
twenty  per  cent,  of  molasses.  What  is  to  be  done  with  those 
which  give  more  than  40  per  cent.  ?  It  is  probable  that,  in 
such  a  case,  they  would  not  consent  to  pay  for  this  produce 
more  than  twenty  to  twenty-five  francs  the  100  kilos,  in 
dep6t,  although  this  sugar  can  render  by  refining  the  35*82 
francs  above  calculated. 

If  we  wish  to  know,  after  the  composition  of  concrete  sugar 
and  good  4th,  what  would  be  the  return  in  concrete  sugar 
No.  4  and  molasses,  we  arrive  at  the  following  result : — 

Extractible  sugar  calculated 58  per  cent 

Molasses 16 

Or  in  good  sugar  No.  4 74  per  cent 

In  Colonial  Molasses 26 


The  aboye  74  kilos,  are  worth,  in  Paris,  46*9  francs,  to 


which  roust  be  added  the  vakie  of  26  kilos,  of  colonial  molas' 
ses;  considering  that  the  74  kiloa.  of  good  4th  have  paid  less 
freight  than  100  kilos,  of  Fryer  concrete  sugar,  it  is  plain  thst 
there  will  be  more  profit  in  making  good  ordinary  or  white 
sugar  at  the  Antillea,  tbau  in  making  the  Fryer  concreted 
sugar. 

In  fact.  In  a  fiscal  point  of  view,  100  kflos.  of  Fryer  odncrete 
sugar  having  paid  a  duty  of  37  francs,  and  only  productng  ia 
reality  58  per  cent  of  refined  sugar,  the  100  kilos,  of  refined 
sugar  thus  produced  are  burdened  with  a  tax  of  63*80  fraccs, 
while  the  loaf  sugar  is  only  valued  at  47  francs. 

The  same  calculation  applied  to  the  good  4th  does  not  bur- 
den the  100  kilos,  with  a  tax  exceeding  43*13  francff,  that  is 
to  say,  16*67  francs  less  than  the  sugar  of  the  concretor.  H. 
Dubninfaut  does  not  r«>commend  the  adoption  of  the  Fiyer 
system  into  the  French  colonies,  where  the  sugars  ure  poor  in 
refined  sngar  and  rich  in  molasses^  but  he  thinks  it  irell 
adapted  for  the  Antigua  sugars.  The  sugars  imported  into 
England  have  given  the  following  analysis  in  100  parts: 
crystallisable  sugar,  87*79 «  ^'^^^  sugar,  6*co ;  refVise,  0'8i ; 
water,  4*40;  organic  matter,  i*oa  A  similar  sugar  aasajed 
in  Paris  by  the  refiners  gave  on  the  same  bases  as  those  we 
have  given  above  furnished :  extractible  sugar  787,  molasBes 
21*3  in  100  parts. 

M.  Robert  Houdin  has  just  published  a  very  interestiog 
pamphlet  on  new  instruments  suitable  for  the  observation  of 
the  difi'erent  organs  of  the  eye,  also  the  manifestation  of  en- 
toptic  images.  These  are  the  names  given  by  him  to  the 
shadows  thrown  on  the  retina  by  intra-ocular  bodies. 

S^ven  instruments  of  this  class  have  been  invented  by  E 
Robert  Uouditi ;  these  are:  1.  The  IridoKopc,  for  the  manifests- 
tion  of  entoptic  images;  2.  Thei>^^sa!pe,by  the  aid  of  which 
the  inversion  of  the  iniages  on  the  retina  are  determined;  3. 
The  PupiUoscope^  demonstrating  in  a  magnified  form  the  di- 
lations and  contractions  of  the  pupil ;  4.  The  PupjUomder, 
which  gives  the  diameter  of  the  pupil  to  within  a  quarter  of  s 
millimetre;  5.  The  Diopsimeter  for  measuring  the  extent  of  the 
field  of  vision ;  6.  An  Opttmuier  for  the  use  of  any  pefsoos 
who  wish  to  determine  the  distance  of  distinct  vision;  7.Tb< 
ReLinoacope,  an  instniment  with  which  one  oan  see  the  vssm^ 
ular  gcoup^  in  his  own  eye. 

F.  MoiGxa 


REPORTS  OF  SOCIEnES. 


ROYAL  INSTITUTION  OF  GREAT  BRTTAIK. 

On  Bome  JSixj>erimeniM  of  Ibraday^  Biol,  and  Sawtrtf  by  Jon 

TTNDALL,.B8q.,    ULD.,   F.R.S.,   Profeeaor   of  Natonl 

Philosophy,  R.I. 
The  discourse  was  delivered  at  the  request  of  the  excellent 
President  of  the  Royal  Institution.  The  speaker  had  do 
new  discovery  to  make  known,  and  the  utmost  he  oooU 
hope  to  achiovo  was  to  give  a  few  old  discoveries  in  Buch  t 
form  as  would  interest  an  intellectual  audience. 

A  few  of  the  more  striking  phenomena  of  electro-mug- 
netism  were  first  exhibited  by  means  of  a  heHx  and  a  core 
of  soft  iron.  The  question  arose,  "  suppose  that  core  to  ! 
be  transparent,  what  would  be  the  effect  of  its  magnetisa- 
tion upon  a  beam  of  light  passing  through  it?  "  Plpohably 
such  a  question  presented  itself  to  the  mind  of  Farsdaj. 
But  iron  was  not  transparent,  and  our  great  experimentalist 
had  to  seek  long  before  he  found  a  transparent  snbstaooe, 
which  enabled  him  to  demonstrate  the  action  of  magnetidRB 
upon  light. 

Light  in  its  natural  condition  was  not  sensibly  aflMed 
by  magnetism.  The  speaker  then  defined  and  iUnstrated. 
by  means  of  a  Foucalt*s  prism  and  a  plate  of  tounnaKDe, 
the  action  of  "plane  polarized  light."  He  then  showed 
the  chromatic  phenomena  produced  when  a  plate  of  fo^' 
crystal,  cut  at  right  angles  to  the  axis,  was  placed  betweea 
the  polarizer  and  analyzer  of  a  polariscope.  He  also  d^ 
fined  and  illustrated,  by  means  of  the  tourmaline,  what 


(BnglbhBdlttoB,  Yol.  X7I.,  Vo.  410,  pagw  165,  a00 ;  Ka  413,  pafe  Stt.] 


CtannciL  Niwb,  ) 
/ofk,  186&       f 


Manchester  Literary  and  PhUosopliical  Society. 


35 


was  meant  by  the  plane  of  ribration  and  the  plane  of 
polansalion. 

A  plate  of  quartz,  composed  of  two  semicircles,  .the  one 
belonging  to  a  right-handed  and  the  other  to  a  left-handed 
erjstaJ,  was  placed  in  front  of  the  electric  lamp,  and 
through  the  plate  was  sent  a  beam  of  plane  polarized  light. 
The  beam  then  passed  through  two  perforated  masses  of 
iron,  winch  rested  on  the  two  ends  of  a  powerful  electro- 
magnet—these pieces  of  iron  were  in  fact  Uie  movable 
poles  of  the  magnet.  Beyond  the  furthest  pole  was  placed 
a  Foncault's  prism,  through  which  the  beam  also  passed, 
being  finally  reoeived  upon  a  white  screen.  A  lens  was 
introduced  between  the  circular  plate  of  quartz  and  the 
inagnet;  and  by  this  lens  a  magnificent  image  of  the  plate 
or  quartz  was  thrown  upon  the  screen. 

The  speaker  showed  the  changes  of  colour  produced  when 
the  plane  of  polarization  was  caused  to  rotate.  Bringing,  for 
example,  the  entire  ima^  of  the  quartz  plate  to  a  delicate 
puce,  the  slightest  rotation  of  the  Eoucault's  prism  coloured 
one  of  the  semicirdes  a  vivid  red  and  the  other  a  vivid 
green.  Bestoring  the  puce  colour,  and  placmg  a  bar  of  the 
heavy  glass  with  which  Paraday  first  demonstrated  the 
action  of  magnetism  upon  light  from  pole  to  pole  of  the 
magnet,  the  beam  was  transmitted  by  the  glass,  and  the 
image  upon  the  screen  was  unchanged. 

Qro.  now  exciting  the  magnet,  the  uniformity  of  the  ookmr 
disappeared ;  one  semicircle  ran  rapidly  into  a  vivid  red,  the 
other  into  a  vivid  green.  The  relative  position  of  the  colours 
changed  when  the  direction  of  the  current  was  changed: 
when  the  ourrent  Xvas  interrupted,  the  puce  colour  was  re- 
stored. Thus  it  was  proved  that  the  act  of  magnetization 
produced  the  same  eflfect  as  the  mechanical  rotation  of  the 
plane  of  polarization ;  and  this  is  the  celebrated  experiment 
which  Faraday  described  as  the  magnetization  of  a  ray  of 
light 

The  beautiful  experiment  of  Blot  on  the  influenoe  of 
sonorous  vibrations  on  plane  polarised  light  was  next 
thrown  into  a  form  which  allowed  the  whole  audience  to 
see  the  effect  A  rectangle  of  glass,  6  feet  long,  2  inchea 
wide,  and  about  \  of  an  inch  thick,  was  olasped  by  a  damp 
at  its  centre,  being  so  placed  between  the  polarizer  and 
analyzer  that  the  beam  crossed  the  glass  rectangle  near  its 
centre.  The  polarizing  prisms  were  placed  so  as  to  darken 
the  field  of  view.  A  sweep  of  a  wet  doth  over  the  distant 
half  of  the  glass  rectangle  brought  out  its  tone,  and  imme- 
diatdy  « luminous  disc  a  yard  in  diameter  flashed  out  upon 
the  screen.  .  Every  sweep  of  the  doth  threw  the  glass  into 
sonorous  vibration  and  illuminated  the  screen. 

A  plate  of  selenite  was  so  placed  between  the  polarizer 
and  analyzor  as  to  show  a  system  of  vividly  coloured  rings. 
By  a  suitable  arrangement  of  the- experiment,  the  oolours 
were  wholly  obliterated  when  the  glass  rectangle  was  thrown 
into  longitudmal  vibration. 

None  of  these  effects  could  be  produced  when  the  polar- 
ized beam  passed  through  the  rectangle  near  one  of  its 
ends ;  for  here,  as  is  well  known,  the  necessary  strains  and 
pressures  were  absent 

The  renaaining  experiments  had  reference  to  the  action  of 
sonoroos  vibrations  upon  jets  of  water.  A  vein  was  dis- 
charged obliquely  from  the  nipple  of  an  ordinary  gas  burner. 
The  vein  broke  iato  scattered  drops.  By  the  %ht  of  the 
electric  lamp,  a  dense  shadow  of  the  vein  was  thrown  upon 
a  white  screen;  on  funding  an  organ  pipe,  or  a  tuning- 
fork  of  the  proper  pitch,  the  drops  suddenly  gathored  them- 
selves together,  forming  an  apparently  continuous  band 
several  feet  in  length,  On  the  suspension  of  the  sound  the 
drops  broke  asunder  as  before. «  The  minuteness  of  the 
vibration,  which  is  competent  to  produce  this  effect  upon 
the  vein,  is  extraordinary.  After  a  tuning-fork  had  ceased 
to  be  heard,  when  placed  against  the  support  of  the  nipple 
from  which  the  vein  issued,  the  drops  gathered  themselves 
together,  and  remained  in  coalescence  long  subsequent  to 
the  apparent  subsidence,  of  the  motion. 

A  jet  of  water  was  permitted  to  descend  vertically.  Its 
two  portions,  the  continuous  and  the  discontinuous, 


described.  An  arrangement  was  devised  by  which  the  vein 
was  vividly  illuminated  from  above.  The  continuous  por- 
tion was  of  dazzling  brilliancy ;  the  point  of  rupture  being 
thus  rendered  strikingly  manifest.  On  sounding  the  proper 
note,  the  continuous  vein  shrunk  ahnost  up  to  its  aperture. 
The  effect  of  beats  was  very  fine;  as  they  addressed  the 
ear,  the  lengthening  and  shortening  of  the  liuninous  cylin- 
der, in  perfect  synchroDism  with  the  beats,  went  on.  Here 
also  the  amount  of  motion,  if  only  of  th6  proper  quality, 
which  influences  the  vein,  may  be  infinitesimal ;  the  vein, 
in  fact,  declares  the  existence  of  the  beats  long  after  th^ 
ear  has  ceased  to  hear  them. 


MANCHESTER    LITERARY    AND    PHILOSOPHIC AL 
SOCIETY. 

OTdinary  Meetingj  October  i^th,  1867.  ' 

J.  P.  JOULB,  LL.D.,  F.R.a,  etc.   Vice Fiesident, 
in  the  Chair. 

*'  ^ote  on  the  Occwrence  of  SulpTiocfyanide  of  Ammonium 
in  Oas  Main»,^'  by  Peter  Hart,  Esq. 
A  FEW  months  ago  while  some  gas  mains  in  the  street 
were  being  replaced,  I  was  induced  to  examine  the  scale 
which  forms  in  the  interior,  being  under  the  impression  that 
probably  I  should  find  sulphide  of  iron  the  result  of  long- 
continued  action  of  sulphide  of  hydrogen  on  the  iron.  On 
placing  a  portion  of  tliis  scale  in  pure  hydrochloric  acid  I 
perceived  an  intense  reddening,  mudi  more  than  would  be 
accounted  for  by  the  simple  solution  of  peroxide  of  iron,  and 
being  aware  of  the  fact  of  sulphocyanogen  being  one  of  the 
products  of  the  distillation  of  coal,  I  at  once  suspected  its 
presence.  A  portion  of  these  scales  was  boiled  in  water. 
The  clear  filtrate  from  this  gave  off  much  ammonia  on  the 
addition  of  alkali,  and  on  the  addition  of  a  dilute  solution  of 
perchloride  of  iron  it  gave  at  once  tl.e  intense  colouration  so 
characteristic  of  the  sulphocyanides.  The  insoluble  portion 
remaining  on  the  filter  was  then  boiled  to  dilute  caustic  soda ; 
the  filtrate  from  this  made  acid,  and  a  solution  of  ferric  oxide 
again  added,  this  time  with  the  production  of  a  blue  precip- 
itate mdicative  of  a  ferrocyanide.  This  must  have  existed 
as  ferrocyanide  of  iron,  which  on  boiling  with  the  alkali 
became  oxide  of  iron  and  ferrocyanide  of  sodium.  There 
appears  to  me  something  curious  in  the  fact  of  these  bodies 
being  carried  such  a  distance  (in  this  case  fully  a  mile  from 
the  gas  works)  by  the  gaseous  ourrent  I  should  think  the 
ferrocyanogen  is  the  result  of  a  reaction  between  the  sul- 
phocyanogen  and  the  metallic  or  oxide  of  iron.  The 
amount  of  these  bodies  must,  I  think,  be  tar  too  small  to 
have  any  bad  effect  on  the  health  of  gas  consumers. 

^^Jupiisr  as  6b«erved  at  Ardwick  on  tlus  night  of  August ' 
2ifit,  1867,"  by  J.  B.  Dancer,  F.B.A.S. 

The  somewliat  rare  phenomenon  of  Jupiter  without  a 
visible  satellite  extraneous  to  his  disc  (as  the  Rev.  W.  R. 
Dawes  has  correctly  designated  it)  has  been  described  in 
the  AntronomiccU  Register,  I  am  not  aware,  however,  that 
any  notice  of  it  has  appeared  before  this  Society,  and  as  few 
observers  appear  to  have  enjoyed  such  favourable  atmos- 
pherical conditions  as  we  did  in  this  locality,  I  am  induced 
to  offer  a  few  remarks  on  the  appearance  which  Jupiter  pre- 
sented  on  tbe  night  of  August  the  21st 

During  the  early  part  of  the  evening  the  S.  and  S.E.  por- 
tions of  the  heavens  were  covered  with  thick  haze ;  between 
8  and  9  o'clock  this  gradually  disappeared,  and  the  atmos- 
phere became,  clear  and  unusually  favourable  for  astronomi- 
cal observations.  Preparations  had  been  made  for  noting 
the  limes  of  the  phenomena,  but  from  various  circumstances 
this  was  abandoned.  The  observations  were  made  with  an 
achromatic  telescope  of  7i  feet  focus  and  6^  inches  dear 
aperture.  Powers  employed,  go,  175,  and  300.  At  9 
o'dook  Jupiter  was  dearly  defined  and  presented  a  remark- 
able appearance.  On  the  broad  south  belt  three  spots  were 
distinctly  visible,  and  at  the  same  time  three  saljellites  ajp- 
peared  off  the  disc.     The  first  spot  in  the  order  of  transit 


{Bngltoh,  fldmnn,  VoL  "XTU  V^  ^^ 


an,  ass.] 


36 


Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society. 


( CtanciCAL  ITbvIi 
\      Jam.,  18(8. 


was  very  black — tluB  was  the  shadow  of  the  third  satellite. 
The^  next  spot  was  brown  in  colour  when  contrasted  with 
the  belt — ^this  was  the  third  satellite ;  and  the  third  spot, 
which  was  the  shadow  of  the  fourth  satellite  was  ^ery 
dark  and  well  defined.  At  this  time  the  fourth  satel- 
lite appeared  very  faint  in  comparison  with  the  first  satel- 
lite, which  was  just  below  it  The  second  satellite,  which 
was  on  the  west  edge  of  the  planet,  was  soon  eclipsed,  and 
attention  was  entirely  directed  to  the  fourth  satellite,  which 
was  the  next  to  transit  As  this  satellite  entered  on  the 
disc  it  was  visibly  brighter  than  the  planet ;  after  a  short 
time  it  disappeared,  and  then,  to  my  surprise,  it  became 
visible  again  as  a  dark  spot,  and  at  intervals  it  was  as 
.  black  as  its  own  shadow.  The  alteration  in  the  colour  of 
this  satellite  during  its  transit  has  been  noticed  by  several 
observers,  but  I  was  not  prepared  for  such  a  complete 
change  from  a  bright  object  to  one  as  black  almost  at  times 
as  an  ink  spot.  During  these  observations  the  first  satel- 
lite had  entered  on  the  disc  of  the  planet,  aud  when  it  was 
about  half  its  diameter  on  the  planet  it  appeared  to  me  to 
be  in  contact  with  its  own  shadow.  After  a  short 
time  I  could  only  distinguish  the  first  satellite  at  intervals, 
closely  following  its  own  shadow.  Before  the  third  satel- 
lite passed  off  the  disc  it  became  nearly  invisible,  and  when 
dose  to  the  edge  of  tbe  disc  it  appeared  brighter  than  the 
surface  of  the  planet  The  fourth  satellite  was  not  observed 
at  the  end  of  its  transit 

Mr.  Robert  Worthington,  F.R.A.S.,  observed  some  of  the 
phenomena  with  me,  and  remarked  at  the  time  that  he  did 
not  recollect  having  seen  Jupiter  so  sharply  defined  as  on 
that  evening.  The  bays  and  various  markings  ot  the  belts 
were  moot  beautifully  diRtinct 

**  Notes  on  some  Superficial  Deposits  at  Oreat  Ormiis  Beady 
and  the  Period  of  its  Elevation;"  by  R.  D.  Darbisbirb,  B.A., 
P.G.8. 

MICSOSOOPIOAL  AND  VATUBAL  HISTOBT   SECTIOV. 

Odober  7«A,  1867. 

J.  B.  Dancu,  F.iLA.a,  President  of  the  SeeUan, 

in  the  Chair. 

Tbe  President,  in  his  address  to  tbe  members  of  the 
Section,  described  the  various  additions  and  improvements 
which  had  taken  place  in  microscopes  and  apparatus,  and 
gave  a  summary  of  the  microscopical  researches  which  had 
been  communicated  to  various  societies,  both  English  and 
Foreign,  during  the  past  year. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  dated  27th  of  Augfust, 
1867,  fW>m  Captain  Mitchell  of  Madras,  was  read  :— 

One  or  two .  things  have  come  tftider  my  notice,  which  a 
friend  who  arrived  in  Madras  fh>m  London  a  short  time 
since,  said  he  believed  were  unknown  to  microscopists  in 
England;  I  therefore  send  you  a  brief  notice  of  them,  in 
the  hope  they  may  interest  some  of  the  members  of  the 
Society. 

The  first  is  the  presence  of  ciliated  infusoria  in  dewdrops 
on  leaves.  I  have  to  oonfiMs  I  took  the  subject  up  in  jest, 
in  consequence  of  a  remark  in  an  article  published  in  one  of 
our  local  papers;  about  sunrise  I  pkced  an  animalcule  cage 
under  the  point  of  a  leaf  and  transferred  the  drop  of  dew 
gathered  there  to  the  glass  plate,  and  then  examined  it  with 
the  microscope.  I  repeated  the  experiment  on  two  other 
oooa8ions,.and  the  result  was,  that  in  about  one  drop  out  of 
every  two  I  found  one,  and  sometimes  two  infusoria. 

As  the  dew  did  not  begin  to  fall  until  midnight,  they 
must  have  been  produced  fix>m  the  germ  between  that  time 
and  6  a.m. 

On  the  first  occasion  I  saw  also  what  I  took  to  be  one 
or  two  spores  of  fungi.  I  supplied  the  cage  with  distilled 
water  and  put  it  by  until  the  next  morning,  when  I  found  a 
perfbot  forest,  which  continued  to  multiply  so  long  as  I  sup- 
plied it  with  distilled  water,  which  I  did  for  several  days.  It 
wiU  be  interesting  to  ascertain  if  infusoria  are  fbund  under 
'flioilar  oonditk>ns  in  England. 

Some  time  ago  Mr.  Boss  sent  me  a  binocular  body  Ibr  my 


stand  (one  of  his  father's  make).  I  have  in  my  cabinet  tbe 
tongues  (so  called)  of  two  house  flies,  which  I  had  mounled 
some  years  back.  I  was  always  under  the  impression  that 
the  divided  absorbent  tubes  were  enclosed  between  the  two 
membranes  that  form  the  upper  and  lower  surface  of  the  two 
lobes,  and  I  believe  that  is  the  general  opinion  of  their  stmc- 
.ture ;  now  on  placing  one  of  these  specimens  under  a  balf-ioch 
glass  with  the  binocular  body,  I  was  not  a  liule  astonisbed 
to  see  the  tubes  standing  out  above  the  surface  of  the  mem- 
brane on  the  lower  or  uuder  part  of  the  tongue. 

I  was  always  at  a  loss  to  understand  tbe  uae  of  these  very 
curious  vessels,  but  it  now  seems  evident  that  fluids  may  be 
taken  up  by  them  and  conveyed  to  the  lai^r  central  tube 
into  which  they  all  run.  Il  is  I  presame  known  that  tbeae 
tubes  all  open  on  the  upper  surlace  of  tbe  lobes  by  tlie  other 
and  narrower  extremity. 

Mr.  Latham  read  the  followiog  communication  on  Silk- 
producing  worms  from  Natal : — 

In  the  Natal  Eerald  of  the  8th  August  last,  there  are  copies 
of  a  correspondence  between  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of 
this  pUice  aud  some  gentlemen  at  Natal  r^arding  certain 
silk-produciug  worms,  as  they  are  termed,  found  near  6n- 
ham's  Town  by  Mr.  Uillier,  feeding  on  tbe  leaves  of  tbe  mi- 
mosa thorn  or  anacia. 

The  result  of  the  correspondence  was,  tliat  some  of  the 
cocoons  were  presented  to  the  Chamber  here  to  have  them 
reported  on  and  their  true  value  ascertained. 

They  came  into  my  hands,  aod  the  follovdng  remarks  ou 
them  may  be  interesting  to  the  Society:-— 

From  one  of  the  cocoons  the  moth  now  exhibited  emerged 
shortly  after  its  arrival  in  England,  and  though  much  crippled, 
I  hav<»,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Jansen,  had  it  dearif 
identified  with  the  insect  "Pachypasa  eflfara,^*  of  wbidi 
there  are  several  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  colledion 
from  Natal. 

The  moth  hiid  about  50  eggs,  of  which  I  have  mounted  two 
or  three,  and  they  are  here  for  examination. 

The  eggs  under  the  microscope  exactly  resemble  in  textme 
those  of  the  ostrich,  but  each  has  a  small  black  point,  probablj 
of  a  softer  substanoe  than  tbe  rest  of  the  egg*  and  through 
whidi  the  caterpillar  may  emerga 

From  one  of  the  cocoons  I  extracted  tbe  chrysalis  also  ex- 
hibited, and  further  the  cast  skin  of  the  caterpillar  rolled  ioio 
a  small  ball  as  usual ;  by  boiling  this  for  some  time  in  caoalie 
potash,  it  became  so  softened  that  it  was  poesible  to  get  it  to 
its  original  size,  and  to  show  its  original  form.  You  have  it 
before  you  dried,  and  the  series  is  therefore  oomplete,  egg, 
caterpilhir,  chrysnlis,  moth,  and  cocoon. 

The  original  cocoon  is,  you  will  notice,  a  hard  woodjlike 
substance,  but  by  certain  processes,  Mr.  Hillier  states  soaking 
in  a  solution  of  soda,  the  cement  agglutinating  the  silk  is 
dissolved  and  a  soft  silky-looking  bag  remaioa. 

This  consists  of  a  thick  outer  covering,  a  looee  middle  lining, 
and  a  thinner  internal  lining,  all  of  sil^  which  I  hardly  tbink 
could  be  wound,  but  might  possibly  be  carded. 

As  regards  the  commercial  value  of  the  artide,  an  emineot 
silk  broker  writes  as  follows : — 

**  It  is  a  carded  cocoon ;  the  waste  silk  is  the  outer  cover- 
ing of  the  cocoon  and  appears  of  tolerable  fine  fibre,  but  is 
bad  in  colour  and  not  of  a  good  merchantable  appearance^  if 
in  quantity  worth  perhaps  is.  6d.  per  lb.  all  round. 

"  Enquiries  of  a  similar  nature  have  been  made  from  Ume 
to  time  by  customers  in  the  East,  where  silk  does  not  fona 
one  of  tlie  staples  of  the  country,  and  among  other  places^ 
fK>m  Natal,  but  we  do  not  find  that  any  good  can  arise 
from  eflbrts  made  to  produce  silk  in  any  quantity ;  it  is  prob- 
ably the  roost  difficult  of  all  known  Bta[ues  to  eatabUsh  in  a 
new  land." 


Ordinary  Meeting,  Xovember  12th,  1867. 

Edwabd   Schunck,   Ph.D^   F.RS.,  etc^  Pr^tident,  ta  A« 
Chair, 
Mr.  John  Barrow  was  elected  an  Ordinaiy  Member  eC  the 
Society. 


▼•L  Xn^  Ifo.  413^  pilgt^  M^  130 1  Vo,  417,  p,^  277.] 


^jSa**  \         Manchester  Literary  and  Phiheophical  Society. 


37 


Ut.  Binxet,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.,  said  that  in  the  Rey.  J.  O. 
Gumming  9  ezoellent  "  Hifltorj  of  the  Isle  of  Man  *'  that 
anthor,  iit  pa^  132,  anyfi,  "  the  different  layers  of  the  Posi- 
doniaa  whist  yary  both  in  their  lithological  texture  and 
ofipinic  conteQt&  The  finest  and  most  compact  layer  which 
is  worked  for  ornamental  purposes,  is  characterized  by  an 
abuadance  of  Posidonia  and  the  relicts  of  tree  feme,  which  we 
most  necessarily  regnrd  with  interest  as  indicating  an  approach, 
though  still  at  a  considerable  distance,  from  ihe  coal  formation 
of  Great  Britain.**  As  the  discoyery  of  fossil  tree  fenis  in  the 
mountain  limestone  would  be  of  great  interest,  he  had  lately 
been  over  to  Poolvash  Bay.  the  locality  named  by  Mr.  Gum- 
ming, and  spent  a  considerable  time  in  searching  the  black 
limestones  there  for  those  fossils;  but  although  he  met  with 
plants,  the  remains  of  vegetables  Cf^mmon  to  the  carboniferous 
formation,  «uch  as  SUgmaria  ficoides,  Calamite*^  and  other 
ooal  plants,  he  found  nothing  resembling  tree  fern&  The 
state  in  which  the  roots  {Siigmarug)  were  found  in  this  lime- 
atone  led  him  to  believe  that  Mr.  Gumming  had  mistaken  them 
for  tree  ferns.  The  depressed  areo'te  in  this  toesil  have  the 
lower  portion  of  tlie  radicle  attached  to  them  so  as  to  give  the 
appearance  of  a  scar  not  much  unlike  that  of  a  tree  fern,  but 
be  convinced  himself  that  they  were  unquestionably  jS%7nana. 
This  portion  of  SigiUaria  is  often  met  with  in  the  beds  of 
limestone  in  the  Tordale  series  of  Professor  FbtUipe,  as  well 
as  much  lower  down  in  the  carboniferous  Kcries  in  the  lime- 
stone of  West  Galder,  near  Bathgate,  Scotland,  where  it  occurs 
in  great  abundance  He  also  stated  that  the  lower  coal  8eams 
of  Soothind  containing  workable  beds  were  of  considerably 
earlier  date  than  the  Posidonian  schists  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 

Dr.  R.  Angus  Smith,  F.RS..  said  thnt  he  had  frequently 
visited  some  parts  of  the  Gcmtinent,  and  had  been  a  student  of 
exhibitions  such  as  included  the  useful  arts.  He  was  quite  pre- 
pared to  agree  with  those  who  saw  a  very  great  improyement 
in  the  touch  of  the  workman,  in  the  countries  nearest  to  us, 
in  the  north  of  Europe  especially.  In  France  the  advance 
made  was  very  great,  and  so  also  in  Germany ;  but  in  neither 
of  these  cases  did  he  conp,ider  that  the  exhibition  showed  the 
true  state  of  the  arts  among  the  people.  A  true  exhibition 
would  give  the  proportion  of  bad  and  of  good  manufactures. 
There  was  no  attempt  to  do  this  except  in  cases  where  the 
objects  were  viewed  rather  as  curiosities,  as  for  example,  when 
costumes  and  architecture  were  introduced.  When  a  number 
of  knife-makere  showed  their  manufactures,  it  was  clear  that 
they  all  showed  their  best,  but  they  did  not  show  how  many 
made  knives  that  would  scarcely  cut,  and  even  if  they  had 
done  so,  it  would  not  have  been  sufficient  to  exhibit  the  state 
of  the  arta  among  the  people.  It  would  not  inform  us  how 
many  of  the  popuhitiou  had  no  knives  set  dowu  to  them  at 
dinner,  and  how  many  hounes  had  not  a  fork  of  any  kind.  In 
one  of  the  countries  which  had  made  greatest  progress  and 
showed  beautiful  work  of  all  kinds  at  the  Exhibition,  he  had 
been  in  a  hotel  where  no  fork  whatever  existed,  and  when  he 
asked  for  a  knife,  the  landlady  handed  him  one  from  her 
pocket  Yet  she  and  the  landlord  were  very  respectable-looking 
people,  and  the  house  waa  clean.  True,  it  was  only  in  a  vil- 
bge,  but  it  waa  only  a  few  miles  from  a  considerable  townt 
The  people  were  not  the  poorest,  but  probably  the  richest  in 
the  village.  He  had  not  found  any  similar  case  in  Great  Britain. 
These  were  decent  people  of  the  working  chiases  in  want  of 
what  we  may  consider  the  ordinary  tools  requisite  in  modern 
dviliaation  only  three  years  ago.  He  did  not  wish  to  speak 
of  any  roonufacture  for  the  study  of  which  be  may  have  had 
special  opportunity,  but,  speaking  generally,  he  did  not  think 
tliat  the  modem  changes  had  penetrated  all  classes  of  the 
community  so  deeply  in  France  and  Germany  as  the  Exhibi- 
tion represented,  whereas  England  had  done  more  than  it 
showed  at  the  Paris  Exhibition.  This  is  quite  independent 
of  the  question  which  is  best,  and  relates  only  to  the  useAil 
arts. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  wonderful  advances  have  been 
made,  and  who  makes  them  ?  He  considered  that  they  were 
made  by  the  upper  classes  of  the  manufacturers,  and  used  by 
the  upper  and  middle  classes,  but  had  not  descended  nniyer- 
aally  even  to  the  middle  classes.    When  the  general  deaoeni 


takes  place,  the  manufiicturers  will  have  a  much  larger  home 
market  than  they  have  at  present.  It  is  for  the  interest  of 
England  that  this  advance  among  the  people  should  take 
place,  as  in  some  instances  it  will  preyent  competition  in 
foreign  markets;  but  whatever  the  commercial  result  may 
be,  there  is  one  lesson  which  we  may  all  learn.  Within  the 
last  thirty  or  forty,  years,  the  violent  attempts  to  teach  the 
people  here  by  schools,  mechanics'  institutes,  and  lectures 
given  or  promoted  by  benevolent  persons  attaching  themaelvea 
to  various  societiea  have  wearied  the  souls  of  all  who  have  co- 
operated or  even  looked  on  with  interest  In  Germany,  with- 
out any  commotion,  calmly  and  -pleasantly,  the  youths  have 
been  trained  in  schools  and  colleges  without  number,  and  so 
thoroughly  that  they  are  able  to  supply  foremen  and  managers 
to  their  own  manufacturing  establishments,  and  to  send  a 
supply  also  to  foreign  countries,  without  diminishing  the 
supply  of  that  higher  order  of  men  of  learning  that  have  so 
long  made  Germany  famous.  In  other  words,  whilst  we  have 
&iled  after  the  most  violent  efforts  and  much  noise  to  teach 
our  ovni,  they  have  succeeded  not  only  to  teach  their  own 
citizens,  but  to  assist  in  educating  the  rest  of  the  world.  In 
this  matter  of  education,  the  governments  have  been  able  to 
mould  the  nation's  mind,  and  to  alter  the  habits  qf  the  lead- 
ing portion  of  it  in  a  very  few  years.  A  careful  education 
would  probably  show  its  influence  in  less  than  ten  yeurs. 
True,  many  questions  arise ;  and  we  may  ask  if  education 
would  not  smooth  down  the  peculiarities  of  the  national  char- 
acter, and  prevent  it  trusting  to  individual  will  and  genius. 
Pedantic  education  might  do  this,  but  training  is  certainly  as 
requisite  in  civil  as  in  military  affairs,  and  no  one  says  that 
discipline  diminishes  the  power  of  an  army.  It  may  be  a 
question  .whether  the  uniform  organisation  of  edncation  in 
France  is  not  calculated  to  produce  too  much  equality  in  the 
minds  of  the  nation,  but  it  will  certainly  produce  immense 
power  in  the  aggregate.  The  numerous  small  states  of  Ger- 
many,  each  fostering  its  own  schools  and  univereiiies,  seem 
best  fitted  to  produce  an  intellectual  activity.  We  see  there 
many  universities,  each  developing  its  own  peculiarities.  They 
must  make  the  nation  more  many-«ided,  and  they  have  done 
so.  At  any  rate,  the  present  lesson  seemed  to  be  that  the 
more  intelligent  part  of  a  nation  may  be  fashioned  anew  in  a 
few  years  by  its  instructors  as  easily  as  a  boy  may  be  taught 
to  be  either  a  shoenffaker  or  a  tailor;  cases  of  original  bent 
excepted.  We  desire  schools  in  this  country,  but  cannot  fliid 
them ;  there  is  no  organisation  for  making  them  to  the  extent 
they  are  required.  The  genius  of  this  nation,  great  as  it  really 
is,  impatient  of  details,  and  looking  vigorously  to  results,  will 
never  compete  in  a  wild  sute  with  the  disciplined  army  of 
thinkers  and  of  manufacturers  abroad.  Those  who  do  succeed 
here  must  train  themselves,  and  to  that  training  they  owe  their 
success,  but  it  is  hard  work,  and  not  to  be  expected  of  many. 
However,  it  is  clear  that  an  entirely  new  spirit  may  be  made 
to  animate  society  in  the  course  of  a  single  generation,  and  a 
nation  may  be  bom  in  our  own  day ;  also,  as  the  result  has 
been,  so  fur  as  the  useful  arts  are  concerned,  exactly  that 
whidi  the  mlers  desired,  we  must  believe  that  governments 
or  large  combinations  of  men  have  the  change  in  tlieir 
power. 

It  was  said  that  this  progress  in  the  arts  did  not  necessarily 
go  down  to  the  whole  of  society.  There  may  be  several 
reasons  for  this :  the  upper  classes  may  be  far  advanced  and 
tlie  lower  very  poor,  even  when  there  is  much  good  feeling. 
In  some  of  the  mining  districts  of  Germany,  sending  out  the 
most  intelligent  minora  to  distant  ports  for  cehturies,  and 
teaching  their  own  with  gpreat  care  in  schools  which  have 
been  imitated,  but  not  surpassed,  we  find  a  population  ex- 
tremely poor.  Nature  has  presented  little  to  them.  We 
cannot  expect  all  farmere  to  be  equally  rich,  when  soils  difTer 
so  much.  In  such  cases,  however,  we  can  expect  a  careful 
superintendence  and  a  thoughtful  mode  bf  husbanding  re« 
sources,  mitigating  the  evils  of  poverty,  and  producing  content 
where  otherwise  abject  misery  would  exist,  and  that  we 
find. 

The  Exhibition  shows  how  much  may  be  done  for  the  active 
minds  of  nations  by  a  government  fostering  education,  and 


[Bnglkh  Bdmen,  ▼«!.  XVL,  Vob  417, 


977, 87&  270.) 


38 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


the  state  of  the  same  countries  showM  that  iDtelltgence,  com- 
fort, and  wealth  have  been  promoted  also.  Whilst  the  poorer 
parts  alluded  to,  in  Saxony  for  example,  show  that  when 
ftom  natural  causes  wealth  has  not  been  accumulated,  educa- 
tion has  produced  intellifrence  to  mitigate  those  evils  which 
would  otherwiRe  have  crushed  the  people.  Tliis  education  is 
owing  to  the  activity  of  the  governments.  We  learnt  the  lesson 
in  this  island  once,  and  forgot  iL  We  must  be  humble  enough 
to  learn  it  again  from  the  world,  instead  of  teaching  it  to  them 
as  we  ought  to  have  done. 

The  unassisted  working  classes  in  this  country  have  raised 
themselves  to  an  enjoyment  of  the  products  of  civilisation  not 
equalled  probaljly  dny  where  in  Europe,  and  their  progress 
has  been  of  longer  duration ;  as  we  love  our  country  we  are 
still  disposed  to  believe  in  its  power  of  keeping  in  advance. 
But  how  could  a  regiment,  however  brave,  advance  with 
longbows  against  modern  artillery  7 

We  require  education  in  the  fundamental  principles  of 
physical  science;  the  moral  principles  and  teachmgs  found  in 
literature  are  not,  when  alone,  sufficient  either  for  the  higher 
cultivation  of  every  mind  or  the  pursuit  of  the  useful  arts. 
This  applies  to  the  rich  and  not  merely  to  the  poor. 

ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES. 

OCTOBEB  21,  1867. 

(From  our  own  Corrbspondent.) 

The  Newton-PasccU  fhrgerita —  Volcanic  Fhenomena — Discove- 
ry of  tfie  Law  of  Gravitation-' Them-y  of  Solar  SpoU — Z)e- 
termining  the  Longitvde— Formation  of  Crysiais  of  Gypsum. 

Sir  David  Brewstkb  addressed  to  M.  Chevreul,  in  terms 
of  great  frieodehip,  a  new  letter  against  the  authenticity  of 
the  autographs  of  M.  Chasles,  which  he  calls  the  most  auda- 
cious imposition  of  modem  times.  1  his  attack  of  our  illusti  ious 
and  veni  rable  frieud  gives  us  great  pain,  and  the  more  so  as 
it  is  reduced  to  a  series  of  assertions  immediately  confuted  by 
incontestable  fhcts. 

1.  "  King  James  II.  could  not  have  written  to  Newton 
from  Saint  Germain  on  the  i6th  January,  1688,  as  he  only 
arrived  at  the  end  of  1688."  In  the  Comptta  Rendua  of  the 
Aoidemy,  p,  551,  the  date  of  1685  **  evidently  an  error,  as 
the  second  letter,  posterior  to  that  of  12  January,  1689,  could 
have  been  no  other  than  that  of  the  16  January,  1689. 

2.  "How  could  James  II.  have  written  to  Newton,  whom 
he  knew  to  be  an  anti-Jacobite,  and  one  of  the  oonspirers  to 
upset  the  throne  ?"  In  the  letters  of  M.  Chasles  we  read,  in 
fact,  that  Newton  was  very  embarrassed  to  have  to  answer 
King  James ;  that  the  King  reassured  him,  saying  that  in 
repelling  him  from  the  throne  he  only  did  bis  duty. 

3.  *•  Newton  could  not  have  accused  Flamsteed  of  the 
disagreements  which  called  forth  the  injurious  words  against 
Descartes  and  Pascal  inserted  in  the  letter  to  Huyghens, 
since  at  that  period  Newton  and  Flamsteed  were  friends." 
All  the  correspondence  known  of  this  period,  manuscript  or 
printed,  shows  that  Flamsteed  always  complained  of  Newton's 
treatment  towards  him. 

4.  "  Who  can  believe  that  Louis  XIV.  would  have  occupied 
himself  with  an  incident  so  insignificant  as  two  or  three  disdain- 
ful words  uttered  against  Descartes  and  Pascal  ?"  Authentic 
au^>g^aphs  of  Louis  XIV.  prove,  as  Sir  David  could  have 
seen  by  the  note  of  General  Morin,  thai  the  great  king  occupied 
himself  with'the  change  of  garrison  of  a  detachment  of  25 
to  30  men.  Louis  XIV.  was  also  much  occupied  with  the 
injury  done,  by  Newton,  to  our  two  illustrious  countrymen. 
There  are  diixed  up  in  this  affair  not  only  James  II  and  the 
Abbt^  Bignon,  but  Huyghens  and  the  celebrated  astronomer 
Bouillaud,  whom  he  made  his  confidential  adviser  in  matters 
relating  to  science  and  savante,  by  whose  medium  he  nego- 
tiated the  recall  into  France  of  Huyghens  and  Cassini.  M. 
Chasles  has  in  his  hands  the  letters  by  which  Louis  XIV. 
auks  Bouillaud  to  make  a  report  on  Newton's  affair,  invites 
Huyghens  to  return  to  j^aris  to  give  explanations  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  excuses  himself  towards  James  II.  for  the  suscep- 


tibility he  had  manifested  on  this  occasion  in  indicating  the 
duties  of  a  sovereign  towards  his  most  illustrious  sobjecta 
Thus,  we  see,  the  assertions  of  Sir  David  Brewster  are 
promptly  refhted ;  the  timid  and  embarrassed  style  of  New- 
ton's letter  to  the  King  of  France  is  revolting  to  him.  M. 
Chasles,  besides  the  rough  copy  of  the  letter  of  Newton,  pos- 
sesses the  answer  to  Newton  on  which  we  see  the  words 
**  Vu  ban'^  in  the  well  known  handwriting  of  Louis  XIV. 
Evidently  the  ground  is  no  longer  tenable  by  the  advenaries 
uf  the  authenticity  of  the  autographs  of  M.  Chasiea  Svery 
objection  raised  against  it  becomes  an  argument  in  its  favour. 
M.  Chasles  has  indicated,  without  been  obliged  to  do  so,  the 
source  of  these  documents, — the  cabinet  of  De8mai2eaux;ii 
is  now  known  that  they  were  purdiased  by  the  Chevalier 
Blondeuu  de  Charnage ;  that  two  l^'nglish  gentlemen,  MesBia 
T.  Winthrop  and  W.  Hobertson,  wished  to  purchase  them 
for  40,000  francs.  It  is  even  impossible  that  there  does  not 
remain  among  the  papers  of  Newton's  family,  in  the  possesiioii 
of  the  Karl  of  Portsmouth  and  the  Karl  of  Macclesford,  traces 
of  this  negotiation  and  of  the  relations  between  Paaoal  and 
Newton.  We  know  also  the  greatest  number  of  the  port- 
folios from  the  cabinet  of  Desmaizeauxare  in  London,  probably 
at  the  British  Mut^etim,  since  Desmaizeaux  died  in  LoodoD; 
it  is  necessary  to  find  them,  and  thus  furnish  evident  proofr 
of  the  absolute  authenticity  of  the  treasure  of  M.  Chasiea 

M.  Fonqu^  charged  with  studying  in  a  chemical  point  of 
view  the  phenomena  of  the  volcanic  irruption  of  the  Azons, 
which  took  place  at  the  beginning  of  last  June,  writes  tint 
he  has  succeeded,  not  without  great  trouble,  in  coUectiiig 
enough  gas,  rising  fi*om  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  to  make  the 
analysis,  and  to  ascertain  that  it  is  entirely  free  from  carbonic 
acid,  and  rich  in  oxygen. 

IL  Babinet  fixes  the  year  1670  as  the  epoch  of  the  de- 
finitive discovery,  by  Newion,  of  the  laws  of  universal  gravi- 
tation. It  was  only  then  that  he  finished  the  calculation  of 
the  (all  of  the  moon  upon  the  earth.  At  the  moment  wliea 
he  foresaw  the  result  of  his  calculations  conformable  to  his 
previsious,  he  was  obliged  through  illness  to  get  them  finished 
by  a  friend. 

M.  Kirchhoff'  and  M.  Faye  agree  upon  the  theory  of  solar, 
spots.  Avhich  the  latter  attributed  to  an  opening  in  the  aolir 
photosphere,  allowing  the  kernel  to  be  seen,  the  emiitiDg 
power  of  which  is  inferior.  M.  Faye  continues  to  deny  the 
possibility  of  the  transmission  of  light  through  the  nudeua 

M.  Faye  announced  that  the  new  method  of  detennininf 
the  longitude  by  M.  Littrow,  has  giveu  the  best  reeults. 

M.  Drouke,  professor  of  Chemistry  at  Coblentx,  read  a  sate 
on  the  g^dual  formation  in  a  mass  of  clay  of  crystals  of  gyp- 
sum, some  of  which  were  14  centimeires  long. 

F.  MoiGira 


October  28,  1867. 
Otmagenic  Extmcthn  of  Stigar. — T?ie  PaAoat-Newkn  Fbr- 

geries.  —  Electro- Capillar j^    Beseairches — The    Nervea  (f 

Nervee, 
M.  PATEir  read  a  note  on  the  employment  in  sug:ir  refin- 
ing of  the  osmogene  apparatus  completed  by  M.  Dubrunfeot, 
in  order  to  separate  from  the  sugars  the  crystallisable  salts. 

The  molasses,  which  refuse  tocrystal]if>e,  contain  in  general 
fifty  per  cent,  of  crystallisable  sugar,  half  of  which  is  recov- 
ered by  the  os.notio  process.  Osmosis  is  more  profitably  ap- 
plied for  eliminating  the  salts  of  the  syrups  obuined  by  the 
forced  straining  of  the  first  and  third  portions  of  the  crystal- 
lisation, which  yield  more  syrup,  and  thus  give  reeults  cak»- 
lated  to  economise  the  apparatus  crowded  together  in  the 
works. 

"  M.  Dubrunfaut,"  adds  M.  Payen.  '*  has  also  found  a 
method  for  the  assay  of  raw  sugare,  which  ir.dicatee  not 
only  the  total  quantity  of  sugar,  but  that  of  the  mineral  salts. 
One  part  of  the  saline  residue  of  incineration  corresponds,  in 
the  mean,  to  the  formation  of  7*45  of  molasses  containing 
373  of  sugar  uncrystallisable  as  long  as  salts  are  present 
This  method  is  generally  adopted  at  the  present  time. 

A  member  of  the  ZoUvereiu,  relying  upon  the  autiiorityftf 


[Baglkh  Edition,  VoLZTL,  Ho.  417,  page  879;  BTa  413^  peves  830^  a31 ;  Va  414^  page  248.] 


/am  1668.     f 


Academy  of  Soiencee. 


39 


Dr.  Sbreiber,  recently  declared  that  he  had  found  by  experi- 
ment thai  the  salts  in  molasses,  especially  the  nitrates  and 
clilorides,  did  not  hinder  tiie  crystallisation  of  the  sugar. 
fii)t  in  studying  directly  and  separately  the  influences  of  tlie 
alkaline  nitrates  and  chlorides,  ^L  Pay  en  has  arrived  at  the 
foUowiog  conclusions :  nitrate  of  potash  in  various  propor- 
tions does  not  hinder  the  crystallisation  of  sugar,  chloride  of 
potaraium  ekercises  an  influence  in  making  tlie  crystallisation 
{(lower,  and  chloride  of  sodiuoi  acts  in  the  same  way,  but 
more  powerfully. 

Kov^EiCBER  4,  1867. 

M.  Arthur  Chevalier  deposited  a  sealed  packet  containing 
the  description  of  a  new  apparatus. 

Sir  David  Brewster,  responding  to  the  appeal  of  M.  Chas- 
les,  has  asked  Lord  Portsmouth,  Lord  Macc'esfield,  and  the 
Director  of  the  British  Museum,  if  in  the  collection  of  auto- 
p-aphs  in  tlieir  possession,  therie  were  not  some  traces  of  re- 
lations between  Pascal  and  Newton,  and  the  eflforts  made  by 
Messrs.  Winthrop  and  Robertson  to  purctlfese  ^rom  the  Che- 
valier Blondeau  de  Charnage  the  compromising  documents 
which  M.  Chasles  now  possesses.  The  answer  of  Lady  Mac- 
clesfield is  negative ;  that  of  Lord  Portsmouth  has  not  yet 
come  to  hand,  but  Sir  David,  who  has  had  for  a  long  time  in 
his  hands  the  autographs  which  he  possesses,  does  not  fear 
to  affirm  also  to  the  contrary.  •  The  Director  of  the  British 
Museum  recognized  that  his  collections  possess  in  fact  a  great 
number  of  documents  from  the  cabinet  of  M.  Desmaizeaux; 
that  they  form  four  great  volumes,  but  that  no  correspondence 
is  found  between  Newton  and  Pascal  Sir  David,  as  we 
have  foreseen,  rushes  into  the  conclusion  that  Desmaizeaux 
IS  the  forger  himself— rDesmaizeaux,  the  intimate  friend  of 
Newton,  who  would  have  done  him  an  injury,  while  he  re- 
fused toFonlenelle,  for  his  eulogium  of  Newton,  and  to  many 
others,  the  d'^cuments  relative  to  the  relations  between  New- 
ton and  Pascal  I 

M.  Chasles  answered  that  he  is  glad  of  the  declaration  of 
the  Director  of  the  British  Museum,  for  the  comparison  be- 
tween the  two  series  of  manuscripts  will  certainly  prove  the 
authenticity  of  mnny  of  his  documents,  as,  for  example,  those 
of  Liebnitz,  and  he  mentioned  that  all  these  papers  are  not 
from  the  Dt'smaizeaux  collection.  Many  arB  from  Msnie. 
de  Perier,  Dreux  du  Radier,  Madame  de  Pompadour,  etc. 

M.  Chasles  presented  also  four  series  of  photographs  taken 
by  reflected  or  transmitted  light.  Four  of  these  autograph 
letters  demonstrate  invincibly,  according  to  the  artist  (M. 
Murcit),  an  ancient  pupil  of  the  Saint  Barbe  College,  that 
the  ink  on  the  paper  has  really  as  ancient  a  d^te  as  the  water 
mark,  and  corresponds  to  that  on  the  letters. 

M.  Becquerel,  sen.,  read  an  additional  note  to  his  electro- 
capillary  researches.  He  shows  definitely  that — i.  The 
alteration  exerted  on  the  sides  of  the  capillary  spaces  be- 
tween two  liquids.  2.  The  electricity  disengaged  at  the  con- 
tact of  thesft  liquids  in  the  capillary  spaces.  3.  The  electric 
conductibility  of  the  sides  covered  with  liquid!.  He  has  hap- 
pily modified  hia  method  of  experimenting.  Instead  of  form- 
in?  the  Assures  in  the  tubes,  he  fastens  at  their  extremity  a 
strong  stopper  very  tightly  fixed,  made  with  filtering  paper 
soakfd  in  water;  a  platinum  wire  traverses  the  stopper  and 
connects  the  two  liquids  together. 

M.  Trecul  answered  at  great  length,  and  we  think  victo- 
riously, the  objections  made  by  the  celebrated  botanist,  Shultze, 
to  his  observations  on  the  laticeferous  organs  of  plants. 

M.  Peligot  read  a  resumS  of  his  very  long  researches  on 
the  part  played  by  soda  in  plants. 

M.  Charles  Robin  announced  that  M.  Sapey  had  discovered 
the  nerves  of  nerves,  nervi  nervorum,  the  existence  of  which 
was  well  known,  but  not  well  observed.  He  examined  by  a 
microscope  the  mufious  membrane,  atid  found  that  they  formed 
round  each  nerve  so  many  fibrous  nerves  that  enclosed  a 
canal  in  which  the  jervous  pulp  was  lodged. 

M.  Robin  presented  also,  in  the  name  of  M.  Blondeau, 
Professor  of  the  Laval  Lyceum,  the  result  of  the  experiments 
made  relatively  to  the  action  of  induced  electricity  on  the  seeds 
of  plants. 


M.  Edmond  Becquerel  communicated  some  curious  experi- 
ments of  M.  Bouchotte,  of  the  efectrolytic  power  of  the  cur- 
rents of  the  magneto-electric  machine  of  the  Alliance  Com- 
pany. When  the  current  sent  by  the  commu^itor  is  always 
in  the  same  direction,  the  electrolytic  power  is  that  of  144 
Daniell  elements  with  sulphate  of  copper;  but  when  the 
current  is  alternate,  as  in  the  production  of  the  electric  light, 
the  electro-motive  power  is  nil 

M.  Duchartre  communicated  with  great  praise  the  curious 
and  interesting  experiments  of  M.  Joseph  Balsamo,  Professor 
of  Physics  at  the  Royal  Lyceum,  liOcce  (Provincia  de  Otranto) 
Italy,  on  the  production  by  hybridation  of  new  sorts  of  cot- 
ton. He  has  succeeded  in  the  fecundation,  one  afi^r  the 
other,  of  long-staple,  short-staple,  etc.  He  has  obtained  in- 
teresting varieties,  which,  if  they  multiplied,  would  rendei; 
great  service  to  the  industrial  world.  One  of  the  principal 
aims  of  M.  Balsamo  was  to  create  a  species  of  cotton  the 
maturity  of  whicli  would  be  more  advanced,  and  which 
would  be  proof  against  the  autumn  rains,  which  in  the  south 
of  Italy  form  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  indigenous  ' 
culture  of  cotton. 

F.  MoiGNa 


November  ii,   1867. 

Vacemi    Acadkmic     Chair, — ifhe    Imperial     Obtervaiory.-^ 

Ftmciions  of  Uie  Roots  of  VegetdbUa. — The  November  Me^. 

teora, — Parallax  of  the  Sun. 
In  a  letter  to  the  President*  M.  Dubrunfaut  requested  the 
Academy  to  insert  his  name  in  the  list  of  candidates  for  the 
vacant  ohair  in  the  section  of  rural  economy,  and  promised  to 
submit  to  it  the  numerous  titles  which  he  posseasra  for  the 
honour  which  he  sohcita.  He  will  be  received,  we  are  sure, 
with  open  arms  as  one  of  our  most  eminent  practical  chemists. 
M  Dubrunfaut  at  an  early  age  imbibed  a  Uste  for  agriculture, 
and  WDrked  at  its  elementary  practice.  Taking  into  considera- 
tion that  the  great  source  of  the  prosperity  of  France  is  the 
industrial  development  of  the  soil,  M.  Dubrunfaut  made  him- 
self a  manufacturing  chemist.  Every  one  knows  the  immense 
progress  he  has  made  in  the  production  of  beet-root  sugar  and 
alcohol ;  the  benefits  to  be  reaped  by  the  application  of  os- 
mose and  the  purification  of  beet-root  juice  and  molasses  will 
be  counted  by  millions  of  franci}. 

M.  Elie  de  Beaumont  commenced  the  reading  of  three  long 
letters  relative  to  the  autt^praphs  of  M.  Chasles,  two  from  Sir 
David  Brewster,  and  one  from  M.  Grant  The  Academy  de- 
cided that  they  should  be  inserted  in  the  Gomptea  Hendus, 
It  is  high  time,  however,  to  finish  this  discussion,  and  K.  Ba- 
lard  begged  of  M.  Chasles  to  oease  answering  these  assertions, 
and  M.  Chasles  promised  to  publish  all  the  original  documents. 

M  '  Leverrier  called  attention  in  a  long  note  to  the  incon- 
veniences experienced  by  the  observatory,  owing  to  the  new 
streets  and  constructions  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Saint 
Jacques  quarter. 

M.  Corenwinder  read  a  memoir  on  the  functions  of  the 
roots  of  vegetables.  It  has  been  long  known  thai  the  roots 
possessed  the  property  of  absorbing  oarbonic  acid.  M.  Coren- 
winder proves  on  the  contrary  by  bis  experiences  that  if 
these  organs  are  put  in  communication  with  a  certain  propor- 
tion of  Uiis  acid,  either  io  a  gaseous  state  or  iu  solution  in 
water,  it  is  found  that  the  quantity  present  in  the  roots  is 
greater  than  that  which  had  been  supplied  to  the  plant. 

November  18,   1867. 

MM.  Coulvier-Gravier  and  Chapelas  oommunicated  the  fol- 
lowing note  on  the  falling  stars  of  November.  The  first 
great  appearance  of  this  phenomenon  noted  dates  ttom  1766  ; 
the  second,  of  1799,  was  observed  by  MM.  Humboldt  and 
Bonpland.  Consequently,  if  these  apparitions  are  tnily  pe- 
riodical,  these  two  observations  famish  a  peijod  of  33  years. 
But,  since  1799,  we  mast  arrive  at  1833  for  the  observation  of 
a  similar  phenomenon  which  has  served  as  basis  for  the  calcu- 
lation  of  Olbers,  by  which  he  thought  he  could  prove  that  the 
period  of  the  phenomena  of  November  was  definitively  34 


[Snglidi  Edition,  Vol.  XVL,  No.  414,  pages  242,  243 ;  Na  416,  page  264.] 


40 


Quekett  Microscopical  Olvh. 


jCnneALRivat 
1    /(M^iaoB. 


yean,  and  that  the  first  retani  woald  take  place  in  1S67.  Now, 
we  are  forced  to  note  that  the  illustrious  astronomer  had.  not 
made  a  correct  statement,  for  this  year,  though  the  moon  was 
bright  and  the  atmosphere  foggy,  we  were  able  to  ascertain  the 
presence  of  only  a  veritable  minimum.  Last  year  the  appari- 
tion Vas  very  beautiful,  though  inferior  to  1833,  and  many  ob- 
serrers  watched  impatiently  the  return  of  the  phenomenon,  re- 
lying on  the  theory  of  Olbeni.  Now  the  period  has  arrived  and 
all  observers  have  been  able  to  state  that  the  expected  phe- 
xiomenon  of  November  was  not  produced.  The  solution  of 
tliis  problem  must  be  postponed  for  some  years. 

This  year  M.  Le  Verrier  had  organised  the  observation  of 
the  falling  stars  of  November.  He  had  them  observed  at 
several  places,  but  the  height  of  the  moou  above  the  horizon 
had  rendered  observation  almost  impossible.  At  Limoges  the 
sky  was  overcast,  and  in  Paris  too  brightly  lit  up  by  the  moon. 
They  only  observed  before  two  o'clock  a  few  meteors ;  from 
2h.  48m.  to  5h.  42m.  the  number  of  meteors  seen  in  the 
moonlight  was  constantly  on  the  increase.  In  the  last  hour 
before  daylight  the  number  was  25.  This  gives  reason,  to 
believe  that  the  maximum  occurred  last  year.  M.  Wolff  ob- 
serving that  a  great  many  did  not  come  from  the  constella- 
tion Leo,  concludes  that  the  periodical  meteors  are  uncon- 
nt  cted  with  the  sporadical  ones. 

The  Academy  proceeded  to  the  nomination  of  the  commis- 
sion for  drawing  up  the  list  of  candidates  for  the  chair  ren- 
dered vacant  by  the  death  of  M.  Civiale ;  the  Section  is  com- 
posed of  two  members  of  the  Section  of  Mathematics, 
MM.  Mathieu  and  Becquerel ;  two  members  of  the  Physical 
Seiepoe  Section,  MM.  Lecaisne  and  Longet ;  two  free  Acade- 
micians, MM.  Leguin  and  de  Vemeuil ;  under  the  presidency 
of  M.  Chevreul.    The  chances  are  in  fiBVour  of  Dr.  Larrey. 

M.  Chasles  made  a  further  communication  on  the  subject  of 
the  Pascal- Newton  forgeries. 

M.  Chasles  also  oommunioated  the  translation  of  a  memoir 
of  an  American  astronomer,  M.  Simon  Newton,  with  respect 
to  the  parallax  of  the  sun.  He  gives  it  at  8*56 ;  M.  Lever- 
rier  adheres  to  8*95,  a  value  which  agrees  with  that  deter- 
mmed  by  M.  Foucaulu 

F.  MOIONO. 


^OVEHBEB  25,  1867. 

ParaJyuia  caused  ly  Santonine, — Bafriii  in  performing  large 
Amffuiation*,  ^  The  *' Just  SuMcq^iibiliiy'^  of  Marshal 
VaiUauL 
M.  Eugene  Pelikan,  director  of  the  civil  medical  depart- 
ment of  Russia,  eta,  presented  a  note  on  the  local  paralysis 
produced  by  saponine  and  analogous  substances.  He  summed 
up  the  results  of  his  experiments  as  follows:  1.  Saponine  and 
similar  substances  produce  a  local  paralysis,  followed  by  a 
rigidity  of  the  muscles,  and  also  paralysis  of  the  nerves  of 
sensation;  2.  With  regard  to  this  local  paralysing  action, 
there  exists  an  analogy  between  saponine  and  substances 
acting  upon  the  pupil,  such  as  atropine,  physostigmine,  etc. ; 
3.  Saponine,  now  employed  in  medicine,  is  probably  destined 
to  perform  another  part  than  that  at  present  attributed  to  it, 
and  for  this  reason  it  should  be  submitted  to  new  clinical  ex- 
periments ;  4.  That  saponine  does  not  cause  eitlier  contrac- 
tions of  the  muscles  or  of  other  parts  to  which  it  is  applied, 
and  that  it  annuls  completely  the  irritability  of  the  muscles 
(even  rendering  them  rigid)  submitted  to  its  action,  provided 
that  the  animal  is  in  its  normal  state  of  health  and  is  in  pos- 
session of  all  its  functiona 

Dr.  Maisonneuve,  surgeon  of  the  H6tftl  Dieu.  read  a  paper 
on  the  continuous  method  of  aspiration  and  on  the  advantages 
for  the  heahng  of  great  amputations.  In  a  recent  work  pre- 
sented to  the  Academy  he  explained  that:— The  numerous 
and  febrile  accidents  which  render  complex  the  greater  num- 
der  of  wounds,  and  whkih  constitute  the  principal  danger  of 
surgical  operations,  are  alwayi)  the  result  of  poisoning.  The 
liquids  exuding  from  the  surface  of  the  wound  become  morbid 
in  contact  with  the  external  air,  and  poisonous  putrefaction 
at  once  ensued,  and  the  author  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  liquid  at  the  Bur&oe  of  the  wound  could  be  hindered  from 


putrefying  and  that  great  surgical  operations,  such  as  smpu- 
tations,  etc.,  could  thus  always  be  performed  with  safety  to 
the  life  of  the  patient  The  process  recommended  by  Dr. 
Mai^onneuve  consists  in  submitting  the  stomp  of  the  limb 
amputated  to  a  continuous  aspiration,  which  draws  off  the 
liquids  secreted  by  the  wound  acoordinff  as  they  are  formed, 
and  to  transport  Chem  to  a  recipient  before  they  have  time  to 
putrefy.  The  following  is  the  method  employed :  After  having 
as  usual  stopped  the  flow  of  blood,  by  means  of  the  ligature 
of  the  vessels,  the  wound  is  cleaned  most  carefully;  it  is 
washed  with  alcohol  and  dried  with  clean  dry  linei ;  the 
edges  are  gently  united  b)*  means  of  bands  of  diachylon  plas- 
ter, but  without  hindering  the  flow  of  the  liquids;  a  layer  of 
lint  is  then  laid  on,  saturated  with  antiseptic  liquids  such  as 
tincture  of  arnica,  aromatic  wine,  or  any  other  analogous 
substance,  and  the  extremity  of  the  limb  is  bound  round  with 
cloth  soaked  with  the  same  liquid.  After  this  preliminary 
dressingthe  process  of  the  aspiratory  apparatus  is  brought  to 
play.  The  apparatus  is  composed  of:  i.  A  sort  of  burette  of 
caoutchouc  furnished  with  a  tube  of  the  same  substance.  2. 
A  flask  of  three  or  four  litres  capacity ;  3.  An  air-pump  which 
exhausts  by  means  of  a  flexible  tube. 

Dr.  Guerin  read  a  memoir  on  the  same  subject,  viz.,  Pneo- 
matic  Occlusion  of  Wounds,  and  he  claims  priority  for  ha 
process.  His  apparatus  consists  of  a  very  stout  glass  receiver 
with  three  tubular  openings,  one  at  the  top  and  two  lateral 
That  at  the  top  leads  to  a  dynamometer  of  very  simple  con- 
struction, a  graduated  glass  tube  terminated  by  an  india-rub- 
ber ball  filled  with  mercury.  If  the  pressure  diminishes,  or  a 
vacuum  takes  place  in  the  balloon,  the  india-rubber  bag  dilates, 
and  the  level  of  the  mercury  lowers  in  the  tube,  thus  giving  the 
variations  of  the  pressure.  The  inventor  is  convinced  that  by 
his  method  the  expense  of  hospital  dnjssings  and  the  dangere 
of  operations  will  be  much  diminished.  He  has  shown  us  his 
apparatus,  which  we  have  much  admired,  and  be  informs  ns 
that,  at  the  H6tel  Dieu,  Dr.  Maiaonneuve  had  obtained  won- 
derful results  with  his  apparatus,  which,  after  all,  is  only  a 
modification  of  that  of  Dr.  Guerin,  to  whom  belongs  exclusively 
the  idea  of  the  application  of  pneumatic  occlusion  to  wounds, 
amputations,  etc.  We  were  eye-witnesses  to  the  efficacy  of 
Dr.  Guerin 's  valuable  instrument 

The  Academy  of  Sciences  has  lost,  for  the  time  being,  one 
of  its  most  learned  and  honourable  members,  Marehal  YaillaDt, 
whose  bland  and  noble  countenance  was  one  of  the  principtl 
ornaments  of  the  meetings.  A  just  susceptibility  baa  k«-pt 
him  at  a  distance,  For  more  than  six  months,  from  his  com- 
panions, for  whom  he  was  always  ready  to  render  a  service, 
and  to  whom  he  was  much  attached.  A  favourable  occa^on 
has  presented  itself  of  bringing  him  again  to  the  vacant  diair 
which  ho  had  deserted.  He  has  been  named  member  of  Uie 
commission  charged  with  presenting  a  list  of  candidates  .to 
fill  the  place  of  free  academician,  vacant  by  the  death  of  M. 
Civiale. 

F.  HoiGxa 


QUEKETT  MICROSCOPICAL  CLUB. 

The  monthly  meeting  of  this  Club  was  held  at  Univerrity 
Collie  on  Friday  evening  last,  Oct.  25  (Mr.  Arthur  E.  Dor- 
ham,  President,  in  the  chair). 

Mr.  S.  J.  MclNTiRK  read  a  paper  on  "  Chdifers,*  m  which 
he  gave  some  interesting  facts  with  regard  to  the  hauots, 
habits,  and  mode  of  capture  of  these  curious  animals,  resem- 
bling minute  scorpions  and  having  the  backward  andsideway 
motions  of  erabfi.  Of  the  54  known  species  8  are  British, 
and  are  chiefly  found  under  the  bark  of  trees,  and  m  houses 
amongst  old  papere,  eta,  often  renderin^good  service  by 
feeding  on  the  insects  which  are  usually  aooestructive  in  old 
libraries.  Several  living  specimens  were  exhibited  under  the 
microscopes,  where  their  activity  in  the  plireuit  of  their  piry 
was  conspicuous. 

A  paper  by  Mr.  C.  Nioolson,  M.  A.,  "  On  Objtd  Glatscs 
for  the  Mtcroaeope,^*  was  read: 

Nine  membera  were  elected. 


PtofUdiBdttian,  VoL  ZVL,Ha410,  pageS64;  Ha  417,  |Mga279;  Ha 413,  i«ge 831.] 


Oumeki  Ifiws,  ) 
Jda,  1868.      f 


Chemical  Society. 


41 


CHEMICAL  SOCIETY. 
Tfturaday^  November  7. 
Wabrek  de  la  Rub,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.,  President^  in  ike  Chair. 
At  this,  the  first  meeting  after  the  summer  recess,  there  was 
an  unusoally  large  atiendance  of  Fellows,  and  a  full  pro- 
gramme of  interesting  matter  was  provided.  The  proceedings 
were  opened  as  usual  by  reading  the  minutes  of  the  last 
meeting,  and  announcing  the  contributions  to  the  Society's 
library.  Mr.  Henry  Diroks,  CK.,  was  formally  admitted  a 
Fellow  of  the  Society,  and  the  name  of  Charles  Meymott  Tidy, 
M.B.,  of  the  Hollies,  Cambridge  Heath,  Hackney,  was  read 
for  (lie  second  time.  The  names  of  the  following  candidates 
were  proposed  for  election: — Thomas  Hall,  B.A.,  Lond.,  Lec- 
turer ou  Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy  at  the  City  of 
London  School;  Charles  Walter  Maybury,  Teacher  of  Chemis- 
try, 90,  King  Street,  Manchester;  George  Lunge,  Ph.D. 
(Breslau),  10,  Albert  Terrace,  South  Shields;  Facundo  J.  R. 
Canilla,  Chemist  to  the  Atlas  Steel  and  Iron  Works,  59,  Grell 
Street,  Sheffield;  and  Alexander  Crum  Brown,  M.L>.,  Lec- 
turer on  Chemistry,  4,  RiltUank  Terrace,  Kdmbnrgh. 

The  Presidestt  stated  that  the  Council  had  appointed  a 
sob-committee  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  mode  of  elec- 
tion of  Fellows  into  the  Society,  and  to  canvass  the  opinion 
of  the  members  as  to  the  qualifications  necessary  for  the  attain- 
ment of  the  honorary  distinction  which  the  Society  has  it  in 
its  power  to  confer.  A  great  number  of  replies  had  been  re- 
ceived in  answer  to  the  circular  which  the  Secretary  issued 
in  June  last,  and  the  committee  would  at  an  early  date  be 
prepared  to  advise  the  general  body  of  members  of  the  results 
of  their  enquiry. 

The  President  further  stated  that  a  melancholy  event  had 
occurred  since  the  last  meeting  in  the  death  of  Professor 
Faraday.  Several  of  the  Fellows  shared  his  own  feelings  in 
this  matter,  and  considered  that  the  sad  occasion  demanded 
a  special  notice  on  the  part  of  the  Society,  of  which  the  de- 
ceased was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  distinguished  mem- 
•bers.  It  was  now  proposed  to  present  an  address  of  condo- 
lence to  the  widow,  framed  in  the  lollowing  terms : — 

"  Resolutioa— That  the  Fellows  of  the  Chemical  Society 
reqaest  their  President  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Faraday  their  deep 
sense  of  the  loss  which  science  has  sustamed  In  the  death  of 
her  highly  distinguished  and  much  esteemed  husband,  and 
that  they  beg  respectfully  to  express  their  heartfelt  sympathy 
with  her  in  this  great  loss.'* 

Mr.  W.  H.  PsRKiK  was  then  invited  to  read  a  paper  "  On 
the  Action  of  Acetic  Anftydride  vp<m  the  Hi/dridts  of  Salicylj 
Ethyl  ScUicyl^  etc"  The  author  endeavoured  to  obtain  the 
hydride  of  aceto-salicyl  by  acting  upon  the  hydride  of  salicyl 
with  acetic  anhydride,  but  the  expected  reaction  did  not  take 
place.  There  resulted  from  the  direct  union  of  these  bodies 
a  white  crystalhne  substance,  fusible  at  103'' — 104''  C,  and 
insoluble  in  water.  An  analysis  of  this  compound  led  to  the 
formula— 

CiiH|fOi=C7HeOj,  C4H«0s. 

By  a  similar  action  between  the  same 'anhydride  and  the 
hydride  of  ethyl  salicyl  a  body  crystallising  in  small,  brilliant, 
transparant  prisms  was  formed,  which  fused  at  about  89^  C. 
Its  composition  wasr— 

Ci»HieO»=C»HioOa,  C4HaOt. 

The  methyl  salicyl  compound  was  easily  formed.  Its  fusion 
point  was  75®  C. 

The  author  has  likewise  investigated  the  corresponding 
compounds  in  the  benzoyl  series,  and  arrived  at  results  in 
general  accordance  with  the  previous  statements  of  MM. 
Geuther,  Hiibner,  and  others ;  but  the  author  does  not  accede 
to  the  view  expressed  by  the  latter,  which  asserts  that  the 
body  produced  by  the  action  of  acetic  anhydride  upon  the 
hydride  of  benzoyl  is  identical  with  the  diacetaie  of  benzoyl 
of  M.  Neubauer.  On  the  other  hand,  this  class  of  compounds, 
like  those  of  the  preceding  series,  are  but  further  examples 
of  the  same  kind  as  the  compound  of  acetic  anhydride  and 
ordinary  aldehyde  discovered  by  Geuther;  and  not  identical, 
but  only  isomeric  with  the  acetate  of  ethylene  of  Wurtss. 


After  a  few  words  of  explanation  had  been  given  in  reply 
to  Dr.  Odling's  inquiry  as  to  what  was  intended  by  an  ex- 
pression made  use  of  in  the  concluding  paragraph  of  the 
author's  paper,  to  the  effect  that  "the  phenolic  properties  dis- 
appear," the  President  invited  Mr  Chapman  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  "Niiroua  and  Nitric  EiherSj"  samples  of  which 
were  upon  the  table. 

The  authors,  Messrs.  Chapman  and  Smith,  commence  with 
a  detailed  account  of  the  method  adopted  by  them  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  nitrites  and  nitrates  of  amyl  ethyl  and  methyl, 
and  in  the  second  place  describe  a  considerable  number  of 
reactions  and  decompositibns  which  the  ethers  in  question 
undergo  on  treatment  with  metals,  acids,  and  sundry  chemical 
reagents  in  a  digestion  apparatus.  The  most  remarkable 
feature  of*  the  author's  communication  appeared  to  consist  in 
an  easy  mode  of  preparing  the  nitrate  of  amyl  in  large  quan- 
tities. This  was  shortly  as  follows: — Nitric  acid  of  specific 
gravity  1*36  was  mixed  with  twice  its  bulk  of  oil  of  vitriol, 
and  allowed  to  cool;  of  this  mixture  150  c.&  was  placed  in  a 
beaker  surrounded  by  iced  water,  to  which  is  added  a  little 
salt  to  reduce  the  temperature  one  or  two  degrees  below  zero. 
50  c.a  of  amylio  alcohol  were  now  gradually  added  from  a 
small  dropping  funnel  the  limb  of  which  reached  nearly  to  the 
bottom  of  the  mixed  acids,  and  kept  constantly  stirred  by  the 
motion  of  tlie  funnel  itself,  six  or  eight  minutes  being  occu- 
pied in  this  process  of  admixture.  No  apparent  action  takes 
place  beyond  the  production  of  an  oily  layer  upon  the  surface 
of  the  mixed  acids,  which  is  removed  by  means  of  a  separat- 
ing fhnnel  and  washed  in  three  or  four  changes  of  water. 
100  parts  of  amylic  alcohol  yield  by  this  process  within  five 
per  cent,  of  the  theoretical  quantity,  or  about  144  parts  of  the 
nitrate  of  amyle  instead  of  151,  Afler  rectification  over 
chloride  of  ca'cium  a  colourless  liquid  is  procured,  whieh  boils 
at  147" — 148°  C,  and  at  the  temperature  of  7"  or  8°  C.  has 
the  same  gravity  as  water.  Hence  there  is  an  advantage  in 
using  v^arm  water  for  the  purification  of  the  crude  acid  pro- 
duct. The  inhalation  of  the  vapour  of  this  substance  is  to  be 
guarded  against,  for  it  invariably  produces  headache  and  other 
distressing  symptoms.  The  general  result  of  the  author's  in- 
vestigation is  to  show  the  great  stability  of  the  nitric  ethers 
and  the  extraordinary  chemical  mobility  of  the  nitrous  ethers ; 
bodies  of  tiie  latter  dass  are  not,  however,  to  be  considered 
as  unstable,  since  they  exhibit  no  tendency  to»8pontaneous 
decomposition. 

The  President,  in  moving  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  authors, 
referred  to  the  interest  attaching  to  the  ready  means  of  prep- 
aration which  had  been  deseriMl.  There  was  another  light 
in  which  these  investigations  would  prove  valuable ;  namely, 
by  pointing  put  fiicilities  for  obtaining  some  of  the  secondary 
products  by  simple  reactions. 

Mr.  Robert  Warington,  jun.,  then  gave  an  abstract  of  an 
exhaustive  agricultural  research  undertaken  for  the  purpose 
of  determining  ''the  Part  taken  by  Oxide  of  Jron  and  Alu- 
mina in  the  Absorptive  Adi<m  of  SoUis.'^  Experimenting 
with  the  artificially  prepared  hydrates  of  alumina  and  ferric 
oxide,  as  well  as  with  two  samples  of  native  soil  containing 
widely  difierent  amounts  of  the  same  ingredient  (or  rather, 
"oxide  of  iron  and  alumina,"  682  and  19*31  per  cent,  re- 
spectively), the  author  tried  the  eflfects  of  passing  solutions  of 
tricalcic  phosphate,  alkaline  carbonates  and  sulphates,  ammo- 
nium salts,  etc.,  through  them  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  rate  and  extent  of  absorption.  Inasmuch  as  the  calcare- 
ous constituents  iii  the  natural  soils  would  have  interfered 
with  the  actions  which  it  was  now  intended  to  observe,  these 
matters  were  first  removed  by  digesting  in  weak  acetto  acid 
and  thoroughly  washing  with  water.  The  s^il  thus  purified 
was  left  for  several  days  in  contact  with  a  carbonic  aqueous 
solution  of  the  tricalcic  phosphate,  a  current  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  being  occasionally  pissed,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  week 
the  ferruginous  soil  was  found  to  have  withdrawn  93.8  per 
cent  of  the  phosphoric  acid  originally  present  in  the  solution 
and  only  49  per  cent  of  the  lime,  hence  the  author  believes 
that  the  ferric  oxide  and  alumina  may  be  considered  to  pos- 
seps  a  special  aflSnity  for  this  mineral  acid,  and  that  all  the 
phosphoric  acid  applied  to  land  in  the  shape  of  manure  must 


[BngUdi  BdMon,  YoL  ZVl,  Va  41^  paflM  flfl%  M3.] 


42 


Chemical  Society. 


J  OnmoAi.  1l*■i^ 


ultimately  become  couverted  into  the  phosphates  of  these 
bases.  If  the  amount  of  iron  be  sufficiently  large^  all  the 
phosphoric  acid  will  be  retained  by  preference  in  the  form  of 
ferric  .phosphate.  The  absorption  power  of  soils  for  potassium 
salts  was  found  to  be  much  greater  in  the  instances  of  the 
phosphate,  sulphate,  aad  carbonate, 'than  with  either  the 
chloride  or  nitrate.  The  corresponding  ammonium  salts  be- 
haved in  a  similar  manner.  The  author  deduces  from  his  ex- 
periments a  general  conclusiou  to  the.  effect  that  the  absorp- 
tive action  of  soils,  for  the  constituents  named,  is  dependent 
upon  true  chemical  affinities,  in  contradistinction  to  the  view 
which  asserts  it  to  be  a  consequence  of  the  exercise  of  merely 
physical  attractions. 

.  In  passing  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Warington,  the  Passi- 
DINT  invited  the  opinions  of  the  eminent  agricultural  authori- 
ties whom  he  saw  in  the  room ;  for  his  own  part  he  should 
iudioe  to  the  belief  that  caustic  lime,  so  largely  applied  by 
the  fanner,  would  have  a  g^eat  influence  in  absorbing  the 
phosphoric  acid. 

Professor  Way  conceived  there  was  more  difficulty  in  ac- 
curately ascertaining  the  degree  of  absorption  of  the  carbon- 
ates of  ammonia  and  potash  than  in  the  cases  of  the  other 
alkaline  salts  named.  Mr.  Warington  concluded  that  the 
oxide  of  iron  and  alumina  absorbed  more  of  these  ingredients 
than  did  any  other  constituent  naturally  occurring  in  soila^  but 
be  would  remark  that  the  very  existence  of  hydrate  of  alu- 
mina was  at  the  outset  a  matter  open  to  question.  Tbia 
earth  was  generally  supposed  to  occur  in  the  form  of  a  double 
silica^  and  many  kinds  of  clay  contained  lime  locked  up  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  could  not  be  extracted  by  acids;  bodies 
of  this  class  had  the  power  of  absorbing  ammonia  without 
any  apparent  change  of  a  chemical  character. 

Dr.  VoLGKBR  said  his  experimental  results  were  mainly  in 
accordance  witii  the  conclusions  stated  by  Mr.  Warington, 
He  likewise  had  noticed  the  powerful  absorption  of  phosphoric 
acid,  and,  in  a  less  degree,  potash,  and  ammonia  by  ferrugi- 
nous soils.  There  was  a  kind  of  ferric  oxide  precipitated  by 
lime,  which  behaved  in  an  extraordinary  manner  aa«to  the 
amount  of  phosphoric  acid  it  could  take  up,  and  lime  in  a  soil 
has  great  influence  in  absorbing  ammonia.  So  also  has 
hydrated  silica,  although  the  artiflcial  preparation  is  in  this 
respect  much  inferior  to  the  silicates  naturally  occurring  in 
soils;  and,  again,  tliere  were  other  additional  constituents  of 
which  no  account  had  been  taken.  There  was  a  remarkable 
tendency  in  nature  for  *'  the  soil  to  take  care  of  itsell^"  and  if 
there  should  iiappen  to  be  a  deficiency  of  any  one  ingredient 
this  was  quickly  remedied  by  prior  selection  from  out  of  a 
mixture  of  materials  presented  in  the  form  of  manure ;  thus 
the  affinities  were  regulated  by  bulk,  and  the  land  seemed 
to  avail  itself  of  those  constituents  of  which  it  stood  most  in 
need,  and  the  double  silicates  were  in  this  respect  pre-emi- 
nently fitted  to  absorb  ammonia,  etc.,  as  was  first  pointed 
out  by  Professor  Way. 

Dr.  GiLBfiRT  said  that  many  years  ago  Mr.  Ronalds  and 
himself  pursued  a  somewhat  Similar  line  of  research,  and  al- 
though he  was  not  prepared  to  endorse  all  that  Mr.  Waring- 
ton had  advanced,  his  paper  possessed  merit  inasmuch  as  it 
established  oertain  points ;  but  there  was  a  question  as  to  the 
applicability  of  these  results  to  soils  as  they  really  exist.  The 
speaker  agreed  with  Dr.  Volcker  io  believing  that  soils  have 
almost  an  instinct  to  guide  them  as  to  what  they  should  or 
ought  to  do. 

Mr.  Warington  briefly  replied  by  asserting  that  when  the 
soil  contains  lune  in  addition  to  the  ferric  oxide  these  bases 
act  more  freely  but  iu  the  same  direction.  With  regard  to 
the  absorption  of  phosphoric  acid  by  a  ferruginous  soil  it  was 
only  a  matter  of  time  as  to  how  large  a  proportion  was  com- 
bined; humus  appeared  to  be  capable  of  absorbing  free  am- 
monia, and  so  it  must  be  admitted  thai  each  constituent  will 
require  to  be  studied  singly. 

'*AnaLy9i8  of  the  Water  of  the  Holy  Weli^  a  Medicinal  Spring 
ai  Humphrey  Head,  North  LaauMahire"  by  Thomas  E.  Thorpe, 
Dalton  Scholar  iu  the  Laboratory  of  Owen's  Ck)llege,  Man- 
chester. This  paper  was  read  by  the  Secretary,  and  described 
the  composition  of  a  brackish  water  issuing  from  the  rocks  on 


the  northern  shore  of  Moreoombe  Bay.  Its  specific  gravity  is 
1005-8,  and  constant  temperature  11-5**  C.  The  results  are 
stated  both  in  grammes  per  litre  and  grains  per  gallon ;  the 
latter  column  only  is  here  quoted. 

QfS.  per  GftUon. 

Bfirium  sulphate 0*0329 

Strontium  sulphate 0*291 2 

Calcium  sulphate 88*4898 

PotMsaium  sulphate 9*i749 

Sodium  sulphate ^'397i 

Magnesium  bromide o  0294 

Magnesium  kxlide traces 

Lithium  chloride 0*1414 

Sodium  chloride 3317524 

Ammonium  chloride 0*0231 

Magnesium  chloride 43*4882 

Calcium  phosphate 0*0266 

Calcium  fluoride traces 

Calcium  carbonate 9.2029 

Ferrous  carbonate '2191 

Manganous  carbonate 0'0i68 

Silicic  acid • i  2341 

Organic  matter traces 

5085199 


A  paper  entitled  **  On  the  Action  of  Permanganate  of  PMk 
on  Ur*a,  AmmoniOy  and  Acettmiide'in  strongly  Alkaline  Sekt^ 
tions,''  by  Messrs.  J.  A.  Wanklyn  and  Arthur  Gamgee,  wis 
read  in  abstract  by  the  first-named  author.  Referring  to  the 
anomalous  reaction  observed  on  boiling  various  organic  snb- 
stances  with  permanganate  of  potaah  and  excess  of  alkali  bv 
Chapman  and  Smith,  the  authors  treated  the  bodies  named 
in  the  heading  with  the  same  reagents  under  s  variely  of 
circumstances.     Amongst  others,  the  following  experimeats  j 

were  made^ 

I.  IL 

Urea  artiflcial 'i  grm *i  gnn.  • 

Permanganate  of  potash  .. .       I'O     "    2*0    " 

Caustic  potash 10  o    **    10*0 

Water io*o    «    *   120    " 

L  Heated  in  sealed  tube  for  12  hours  at  130**  C.  U. 
Heated  for  one  hour  at  160®  C. 

Reault)t.-^\n  the  first  experiment  rather  le«  than  half 
the  nitrogen  of  the  ui^ea  appeared  as  nitrogen  gas;  about  ^ 
half  was  oxidised  to  nitrites  or  nitrates,  and  a  small  portion 
was  found  as  ammonia.  By  increasing  the  permanganate, 
as  in  II.,  there  was  little  or  no  oxidation ;  nearly  all  tke 
nitrogen  being  liberated  in  the  form  of  gas.  When  nioch 
weaker  solutions  were  employed,  and  the  materials  iqiro- 
duoed  into  a  common  retort  and  distilled,  there  was  a  alow 
evolution  of  ammonia,  but  tlje  total  quantity  of  nitroges 
eliminated  in  this  form,  and  estimated  by  Nesaler's  testt  did 
not  amount  to  one-fourth  of  that  existing  in  the  urea. 

Ammonia,  similarly  treated  with  liberal  amounts  of  pot- 
ash and  permanganate  in  pressure  tubea  was  completely 
changed  into  nitrate.  The  same  result,  or  a  nitrate,  was  ob- 
served  in  operating  upon  acetamide. 

From  a  consideration  of  the  differences'in  the  behaviour  of 
urea  and  ammonia,  etc.,  under  the  action  of  the  pennanp- 
nate,  the  authors  refuse  to  accept  the  common  view  that  ur» 
is  carbami.le;  they  prefer  to  write  its  formula  on  the  marrii- 
gas  type,  thus— 

'  NH 
NH, 
OH 

Professor  Wanklyn  also  read  a  paper  entitled  "  Veriff^ 
tion  of  Wanklyn,  Chapman,  and  Smiih'9  Water  Anah^si*  0* 
a  Series  of  Artificial  Wa<era."  The  author  deemed  it  de#i^ 
able  to  place  on  record  the  results  of  a  series  of  synthetical 
experiments  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  acco- 
racy  of  the  method  of  analysis  lately  proposed.  Fresh  al- 
bumen (white  of  egg)  was  dissolved  in  water  with  the  aid  of 


Hi 


[BagUah  EditioD,  VoL  KVL»  Va  416^  pagw  253^  264.] 


GTiefnicai  Society, 


43 


a  little  carbonate  of  soda,  and  diluted  to  make  a  solution  con- 
uiniog  one  per  cent    Various  measures  of  this  solution  were 
diluted  to  half-a-liti  e  with  pore  water,  and  submitted  to  dis- 
UUatioo,  first  with  the  simple  addition  of  '5  grm.  of  carbonate 
of  soda,  when  it  was  found  that  mere  traces  only  of  ammonia 
passed  over  in  the  first  100  c.  e.  of  the  distillate.     At  this 
stage,  caostic  potash  (about  10  grms.)  and  permanganate  of 
potash  (-5  grm.)  were  added,  and  the  distillation  proceeded 
with.    The  total  amounts  of  ammonia  thus  procured,  and  es- 
timated by  Nessler's  test,  accorded  with  the  quantities  of  al- 
bamen  taken,  or  at  lea^t  within  the  limits  of  5  per  cent,  error. 
The  proportion  of  ammonia  obtained  is  never  the  total  quan- 
tity, but  always  that  corresponding  to  two-thirds  of  the  ni- 
trogen contained  in  the  albumen ;  and  the  authors  base  their 
calculatious  on  the  fact  that  i   part  of  moist  white  of  egg 
yields  -0121  of  ammonia     Seven  experiments  of  this  kind 
were  quoted  bj  the  author,  performed  upon  quantities  of  al- 
bumen varying  between  7  and  41  milligrammes.    The  esti- 
mation of  urea  by  the  same  method  was  not  nearly  so  accu- 
rate, and  when  pure  materials  were  employed,  no  ammonia, 
or  a  mere  trace  only,  was  evolved ;  but  when  the  urea  occurs 
along  with  "albuminoid  matter"  in  a  natural  water,  the  sur- 
rounding impurities  start  the  action,  and  enable  the  operator 
to  obtain  much  of  the  ammonia  ('37  out  of  '46)  by  long  boil- 
ing With  carbonate  of  soda.    The  addition  of  alkaline  per- 
manganate to  a  known  quantity  of  urea  did  not  induce  the 
evolution  of  the  whole  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia. 
(Seealso  experiment  recorded  in  the  previous  communication.) 
At  a  late  hour  a  vote  of  thanks  waa  passed  to  the  authors  of 
the  several  communications,  and  the  titles  of  papers  in  hand 
were  announced. '  ''On  the  Pyro-phosphoric  Amides,^'  by  Dr. 
J.  H.  Gladstone;  and  •<  The  Hdatwn  h^ween  the  BeeuUs  of 
Water  Analysis  andth^  Sanatory  Vahte  of  the  Water,''  by  Mr, 
B.  T.  Chapman.    The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  until 
Thursday,  21st  instant. 

17inrKday,  November  21. 

WiBRSN  DE  LA  RuB,  Ph.D.,  F.RS.,  Preaidenif  m  the  Chair. 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  ordinary  meeting  were   read 
and  confirmed,  and  tlie  donations  to  the  library  announced. 

The  PRBSiDEm  then  read  a  letter  of  acknowledgment 
written  by  Mrs.  Faraday  in  answer  to  the  address  of  oondo- 
lence  which  was  forwarded  to  her  agreeably  to  the  resolution 
passed  at  the  last  meeting.  The  names  of  candidates  proposed 
were— Mr.  Alfred  K.  Fletcher,  Inspector  of  Alkali  Works, 
Johnston,  near  Prescot;  and  William  Frank  Smith,  M.D., 
Lend.,  Lecturer  at  the  Sheffield  School  of  Medicine,  Glossop 
Road.  Sheffield.  For  the  second  time  were  reed  the  names 
of  Thomas  Hall,  B.A.  Lond.,  Lecturer  on  Chemistry  and  Na- 
tural Philosophy  at  the  City  of  London  School ;  Charles  Wal- 
ter Maybury,  Te«cher  of  Chemistry,  90,  King  Stheet,  Man- 
chester; George  Lunge,  Ph  D.  (Breslau),  10,  Albert  Terrace, 
South  Shields ;  Facundo  J.  R.  CuruUa,  Uliemisl  to  the  Atlas 
Steel  and  Iron  Works,  59,  Gell  Street,  Sheffield ;  and  Alex- 
ander Crum  Brown,  M.D..  Lecturer  on  Chemistry,  4,  Rillbank 
Terrace,  Bdinburjfh.  The  name  of  Charles  Meymott  Tidy, 
M.B.,  of  the  Hollies,  Cambridge  Heath,  Hackney,  was  read 
for  the  third  tima 

The  President  gave  notice  that  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Society,  December  5,  would  be  made  general  for  the  purpose 
of  oonatdering  and  taking  action  upon  the  proposal  to  alter 
the  first  by-law  relating  to  the  eleotion  of  Fellows.  The  law 
at  present  atands  thus: — 

"  Every  candidate  for  admission  into  the  Society  shall  be 
proposed  according  to  a  form  of  recommendation  (No.  i,  ap- 
peadix)  nibacribed  by  three  Fellows  of  the  Society,  to  one,  at 
least,  of  whom  he  should  be  personally  known,  and  such  cer- 
tificate shall  be  read  and  suspended  in  the  Society's  rooms, 
or  place  of  meeting,  for  three  ordinary  meetings.'* 

It  was  now  proposed  to  require  the  names  of  tive  members 
(instead  of  three)  subscribed  on  the  form  of  recommendation, 
to  three  of  whom  (instead  of  one)  the. candidate  should  be 
personally  known.  With  respect  alsQ  to  the  printed  form  of 
reoommeiAdation,  it  was  suggested  to  modify  the  phraseology ' 


to  "name;*'  and  (in  second  line)  '* qualification  or  occupation, 
if  any." 

Mr.  E.  T.  Chapman  made  a  statement  on  "  The  Relation 
between  tJie  RemUe  of  Water  Analysis  and  the  Sanatory  Value 
of  itte  Water.''  Much  has  been  said  and  written  upon  the 
proper  method  of  perfonming  water  atialysiH,  but  compara- 
tively little  attention  has  hitherto  been  given  to  the  interpret 
tatioa  of  the  resultf^  and  thus  it  happens  after  determining  the 
ammonia,  nitrates^  phosphates,  etc.,  the  repiirier  usually  ap- 
pends to  bis  analysia  an  opinion  stated  somewhat  as  follows: 
— "This  water  is  perfectly  harmless;"  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
"  exceedingly  deleterioua"  The  speaker's  object  was  to  fix 
a  standard  according  to  which  the  chemical  quality  of  any 
given  sample  of  water  was  to  be  judged.  A  good  drinking 
water  should  not  contain  any  appreciable  amount  of  ammonia  j 
lime  salts  communicate  "  hardness,"  but  are  not  directly  in- 
jurious to  health ;  water  containing  nitrates  in  solution,  but 
otherwise  pure,  was  also  harmless ;  if,  however,  these  several 
ingredients  occurred  together  in  a  water,  the  conditions  were 
favourable  to  the  development  and  growth  of  the  lower  forma 
of  vegetable  life,  and  such  water  kept  in  a  cistern  quickly 
assumed  purgative  properties.  Mr.  Chapman  has  made  ex- 
penmentB  upon  pigeons^  and  found  that  when  the  birds  were 
supplied  with  water  of  the  last  named  quality,  they  were 
purged  almost  to  death,  and  when  the  water  was  changed  to 
a  pure  sample,  or  such  as  contained  any  one  of  the  above 
ingredients  alone,  tliey  soon  rallied.  These  results  were  con- 
firmed by  experiments  on  the  human  system,  and  the  author 
argued  the  necessity  of  observing  the  relations  between*  the 
several  ingredients  in  a  water  before  pronouncing  upon  its 
sanitary  value.  'The  extended  use  of  Clark's  process  was  re- 
commended as  a  means  of  removing  the  most  objectionable 
forms  of  organic  matter  contained  in  waters  holding  in  solu- 
tion the  carbonate  of  lime.  A  small  proportion  of  impure 
water,  such  as  that  drawn  from  certain  pumps  iu  the  City  of 
London,  was  sufficient  to  start  the  deoomposition  and  render 
unwholesome  large  bulks  of  Artesian  water  with  which  it 
was  mixed.  The  quality  of  the  water  raised  from  the  well  in 
the  Bank  of  England  was  such  that,  aaer  storage  in  tanks, 
the  colour  became  quite  green,  and  the  vegetable  confervsB  ac- 
cumulated to  such  an  ext<>nt  as  to  choke  the  delivery  pipes. 
Considerable  amounts,  both  of  ammonia  and  nitrate,  existed 
in  this  water. 

The  PBsaiDBNT  referred  to  the  well  water  in  (Jolden  Square, 
which  bore  so  bad  a  character  in  times  of  cholera  visitation, 
as  an  example  of  a  perfectly  dear  water  having  a  pleasaiit 
flavour  without  any  sign  of  desmidien  or  other  species  of 
vegetable  organisms.  This  water  contained  niti  ate^  and  car- 
bonate of  lime,  but  its  deleterious  character  was  supposed  to 
be  due  to  decomposable  organic  matters  existing  in  solution. 

Mr.  DuGALD  CaMpbbll  said  tl»ere  were  a  great  many  wells 
about  London  Rupp  yiug  wuWr  pleuijitui  u>  tiic  uisie.  atid  c<>n- 
tninitig  30  ur  40  glains  to  tlie  gallon  of  nitrates  and  nitriies. 
Wl)eii  an  outbreak  of  cholera  occurred  the  wells  were  closed. 
In  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  were  two  water  mains,  marked  S  and 
H  (t.e,  soft  and  hard);  the  first  was  New  River  Water,  and 
the  other  possessed  a  degree  of  hardness  amounting  to  50  of 
Clark's  scale^  and  contained  a  large  quantity  of  nitrata  In- 
stead, however,  of  its  being  purgative  the  use  of  the  water 
had  the  opposite  efiTeci. 

Dr.  Stevenson  had  occasion  to  examine  a  supply  of  water 
of  which  cholera  patients  had  partaken.  He  could  not  find 
iu  it  any  infusoria  or  other  kind  of  pseudo-vegetable  matter, 
nor  products  of  their  decomposition.  The  general  opinion  of 
physicians  was  adverse  to  the  introduction  and  use  of  a 
vater  containing  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  carbonate  of 
lime. 

Mr.  Spillbb  referred^ to  the  treatment  of  Kent  water  by 
Dr.  Clark's  process  as  now  conducted  at  the  Herbert  Hospiul, 
Woolwich.  The  softened  water  was  found  to  differ  in  a  re- 
markable manner  from  the  original  supply  by  its  not  permit^ 
ting  the  growth  of  vegetable  oi^^anisms. 

Mr.  Oajipsbll  obwrved  similar  results  many  years  ago 
with  the  softened  water  formerly  supplied  by  the  Plumsteadl 
Compaoy. 


[Engliah  Edition,  YoL  ZVl,  Vo^  414^  paflM  an  &M  I  Vo^  417,  |«gsa  274^  275.] 


44 


Chemical  Society. 


{  OUBflUAL  HkvIL 

1      Jan^  168B. 


Mr.  Chapman  said  that  Dr.  Clark's  probess  was  still  being 
carried  out  at  Caterham,  and  that  by  its  use  fully  six-sevenths 
of  the  nitrogenous  organic  matter  present  in  a  water  might  be 
removed  by  the  precipitated  imrbonate' of  lime. 

Professor  Abel  considered  that  the  germinal  inactivity  and 
flat  taste  of  the  lime-softened  waters  were  simply  due  to  the 
removal  of  free  carbonic  acid.  Organic  matter  was  no  doubt 
partially  precipitated  together  w|th  the  carbonate  of  lime 
as  a  kind  of  lake,  but  that  portion  which  remained  in 
solution  would  eventually  make  its  existence  manifest  when 
a  re-abaorption  of  carbonic  add  firom  the  air  should  have  oc- 
curred. 

The  Pbesidekt,  in  moving  a  vote  of  thanks,  took  occasion 
to  refer  to  a  successful  instance  of  well-sinking  by  the  Ameri- 
can system,-  whereby  be  obtained  a  supply  of  good  water  at 
the  rate  of  fifteen  gallons  per  minute.  This  was  aooompli5)hed 
by  driving  Into  the  earth  i^  inch  pipes  shod  with  steel,  which 
could  be  lowered  twenty  feet  into  bard  gravel  in  the  short 
space  of  three  hours,  a  weight,  or  "  monkey,"  of  70  lbs.  being 
let  fall  upon  the  upper  extremity  of  the  tube. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstostb  then  read  a  paper  '*  On  the  Pyro- 
phosphoric  Amides,'^ 

The  author  stated  that  in  former  communications  he  had 
described  three  acid  bodies  that  may  be  viewed  as  pyrophos- 
phoric  acid,  in  which  one,  two,  or  three  molecules  of  amidogen 
hftve  displaced  an  equal  number  of  molecules  of  hydroxyl 
Their  composition  and  their  relation  to  the  original  acid  may 
be  thus  exhibited : 

Pyrophosphoric  acid PjH40t 

Pyrophoapiiamic  acid p3(HHQ)UsOfl 

Pyrophosphodiamic  acid Ps(NHa)iHaOf 

Pyrophosphotriamki  acid Ps(NH9)tH04 

Since  these  papers  were  written  he  has  come  across  some 
additional  facts,  and  has  formed  a  more  precise  conception  of 
the  rational  forroulse  of  these  bodies. 

Pyrophotphamic  Add. — This  acid  had  hitherto  been  formed 
only  by  the  breaking  down  of  the  higher  amide,  but  the 
author  gave  reasons  for  believing  that  it  might  be  prepared 
pynthetically.  When  the  pyrophosphate  of  an  earth  or  metal 
is  prepared  in  the  presence  of  ammoniacal  salts,  the  precipitate 
when  heated  p$r  m  gives  off  ammonia  and  a  peculiar  subli- 
mate, which  is  supposed  to  be  characteristic  of  a  pyrophos-' 
phamate.  The  ferric  salt,  however,  differs  fh)m  the  ordinary 
ferric  &mate  in  being  more  soluble,  an^  in  being  easily 
broken  up  by  acids,  and  it  was  never  obtained  pure  for 
analysis.  , 

Pyrophonphodiamic  Add. — ^The  author  had  previously  pub- 
lished a  characteristic  test  for  this  acid,  founded  on  the  fact 
that  wiien  a  solution  containing  it  is  rendered  strongly  acid, 
and  is  heated  with  a  few  drops  of  a  ferric  salt,  the  flocculent 
white  pyrophosphamate  makes  its  appearance.  But  a  chemist 
inexperienced  in  these  compounds  might  easily  be  misled  by 
the  formation  of  the  insoluble  ferric  pyrophosphate,  especially 
if  the  solution  is  not  very  acid.  Hence  it  will  be  generally 
desirable,  if  not  necessary,  to  dry  a  portion  of  the-  precipitate, 
and  examine  which  compound  it  is  by  heating  it  per  ae  in  a 
test-tube,  when  the  pyrophosphate  simply  fhses,  and  the 
pyrophosphamate  does  not  fuse,  but  turns  black  at  first,  and 
gives  off  ammonia  and  a  little  white  volatile  salt  '  Still,  as 
the  proof  that  this  acid  may  be  prepared  by  the  eleven 
methods  noted  in  his  paper,  rests  mainly  on  the  evidence  of 
this  test,  the  author  thought  it  well  to  repeat  the  principal  ex- 
periments, examining  whether  it  was  the  amate  that  was 
really  produced.  He  has  found  it  to  be  so  in  all  cases ;  and 
has  no  reason  to  doubt  that  in  each  instance  it  had  been 
formed  by  the  decomposition  of  pyrophosphodiamic  acid. 

Pyropho9p}ioiriamic  Add. — The  method  formerly  given  for 
preparing  this  body  was  not  a  productive  one,  and  the  acid 
was  apt  to  be  contaminated  with  another  compound,  unless 
great  attention  was  paid  to  the  temperature.  The  following 
is  a  far  more  productive  and  a  better  process : — Saturate  oxy- 
chloride  of  phosphorus  with  dry  ammonia  gas,  without  regard 
to  the  rise  of  temperature,  heat  the  resulting  mass  at  about 
200^  C,  add  water  to  it,  and  boil  for  about  a  minute.    This 


will  convert  the  whole  of  the  insoluble  portion  into  triamic 
acid,  with  very  little  loss  from  the  production  of  other  phos- 
phoric compounds.  This  acid  has  also  been  met  with  arooag 
the  products  of  decomposition  of  one  of  the  tetraphospborie 
amides  that  remain  to  be  described  at  some,  future  time. 

TheoretkaX  ConaiUulion. — In  his  last  oommunicstion  the 
author  suggested  as  the  rational  formula  of  pyiophosphoric 
acid,  Pj(H0)40t,  or  at  greater  length, 


P(HO),0)o. 
P(HOHOf^' 


and  he  expressed  his  conviction  that  when  this  acid  is  pro- 
duced by  the  mutual  action  of  water  and  oxychloride  of  phos- 
phorus, the  two  atoms  of  hydrogen  in  the  molecule  of  water 
are  attached  simultaneously  by  two  molecules  of  the  chloride, 
and  the  water  type  is  preserved  in  the  new  phosphorus  com- 
pound. 

The  same  principle  was  applied  to  explain  the  reactions  hy 
which  these  pyrophosphoric  amides  are  formed,  especially 
the  symmetrical  pyro-aiamic  acid:  its  rational  formula  will 
be 


P(NHaXHO)OU 
P(NH3HH0)0  S 


The  unsymmetrical  pyro-amic  and  pyro-triamic  adds  will  be 
respectively, 

P(HO),         0^"'*'*^ 

P(NH,XH0)OJ^" 

A  vote  of  thanks  having  been  passed  to  Dr.  Gladstone,  the 
President  adjourned  the  meeting  until  Thursday,  December 
5th,  when  Mr.  W.  H.  Perkin  would  read  a  paper  "0» 
the  Artificial  Production  of  Ooumarine  and  iU  Homo- 
loguee.^* 

The  following  report  has  been  forwarded  to  every  member  of 
the  Chemical'Society : — 

gis,_At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  held  on  May  16th,  1867, 
it  was  resolved,  "That  a  Committee  of  five  be  appointed  to 
consider  the  by-laws  relating  to  the  electiontof  Fellows,  Hoo- 
or^ry  Members,  and  Associates,  and  to  report  to  the  Councfl." 
It  was  further  resolved.  **  That  the  Committee  consist  of  Mr. 
Orookes,  Dr.  Miller,  Dr.  Odling,  Mr.  Wanklyn,  and  Dr.  Wil- 
liamson." 

Upon  the  presentation  of  the  Committee's  report,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Council,  held  on  November  7th,  it  was  resolved, 
"That  this  report  be  approved,  and  that  a  copy  of  it  be  sent 
to  each  Fellow  of  the  Society." 

We  beg  to  append  the  report  in  question,  and  have  the 
honor  to  remain, 

Your  obedient  servants, 
W.  Odling, 
A.  Ybbnon  HABOomtr, 
Hon,  Secretanu. 

"  Your  Committee  were  appointed  by  a  resolution,  paa»i 
at  a  Meeting  of  Council,  held  on  May  i6th,  1S67,  in  fulfilment 
of  the  intention  which  the  Council  announced  to  the  Society 
in  its  anniversary  report 

"  As  bearing  upon  the  standard  of  qualification  for  admis- 
sion to  the  Fellowship  of  the  Chemical  Society,  yourCoroinit- 
tee,  fh)m  replies  they  have  received  to  a  circular  which  they 
addre&sed  to  all  the  Fellows,  and  from  conversations  they  have 
held  with  different  Fellows  whom  they  clianced  to  encoonter, 
have  ascertained  the  existence  among  the  Fellows  of  the 
Society  of  two  very  distinct  views  as  to  its  nature  and  pop 
poses. 

•*  Many  Fellows  appear  to  regard  the  Sodety  as  being  by 
rights  an  association  of  eminent  scientific  men ;  atid  they  ac- 
cordingly look  upon  the  Fellowship  of  the  Society  as  a  dis- 
tinction which  should  be  conferred  only  upon  thoee  who  have 
given  evidence  of  marked  chemical  proficiency,  as  for  exampi*. 
by  tbe  production  of  some  original,  memoir;  so  that  the  e)e^ 
tion  of  any  one  as  a  Fellow  of  the  Society  should  stamp  him  at 


CBngllflh  Sditlm,  Vol  XVL,  Va  407,  pacM  S7fl;  »&] 


Ohdhcal  Vbwb,  ) 


PhamiacetUioal  Society  of  Great  Britain. 


45 


ODce  as  being  a  weU-trained  chemist  and  competent  inves- 
tigator. 

"Id  fiiTOur  of  this  view,  it  is  nrged  that  the  initials  F.C.S., 
appended  to  the  name  of  any  gentleman,  seem  to  imply,  that 
his  attainments  have  won  for  him  a  pablic  recognition  some- 
what in  the  character  of  a  degree ;  and  that  these  initia's 
ought  to  signify,  in  reality,  that  which  they  seem  to  imply, 
and  which  is  indeed  their  proper  signification. 

"It  is  further  urged  that  the  Fellowship  of  the  Chemical 
'  Society  is  essentialiy  an  honorary  distinction,  although  from  the 
ease  with  which  it  can  be  obtained,  practically  by  any  who 
choose,  it  is  a  distinction  but  little  vahied  by  the  better  sort. 
It  is,  however,  eagerly  sought  alter  and  obtained  by  men  who 
are  not  perhaps  tdtogether  desirable — who  certainly  have  no 
claim  to  the  title  of  scientific  chemists — and  who,  in  some 
caaea,  do  not  even  join  the  Society  from  any  interest  they  take 
in  chemical  science,  but  solely  with  the  view  of  parading  a 
distinction  to  which  their  merits  do  not  really  entitle  them. 

Moreover,  ftt>m  the  circumstance  that  chemistry  is  pursued 
not  only  as  a  science  but  also  as  a  profession  and  trade,  the 
right  to  append  the  initials  F.  C.  S.  possesses  a  sort  of  trade 
valae,  exceeding  its  cost,  to  mere  trading  or  professional 
chemists :  as  suggesting  that  those  who  have  the  privilege  of 
ufling  these  initials  are  better  qualified  men  than  thei;'  breth- 
ren who  are  not  thus  distinguished. 

**From  these  causes,  it  is  said,  the  Fellowship  of  the  Chem- 
ical Society  has  gradually  sunk  in  public  estimation ;  and 
accordingly  it  is  very  desirable  that  something  should  now  be 
done  to  restore,  if  possible,  its  original  prestige. 

"On  the  other  hand,  many  Fellows  are  of  opinion  that  the 
Society  is  merely  an  association  of  individuals,  having  joint 
but  various  interests  in  the  progress  of  both  pure  and  applied 
chemistry ;  that  the  object  for  which  the  Society  exists  is  not 
to  confer  honour  upon  any  individual  whatever,  but  to  pro- 
mole  Iho  general  advancement,  distribution,  and  application 
of  cliemical  knowledge;  and  that,  as  a  general  rule,  men  en- 
gaged in  pursuits  more  or  less  dependent  on  or  connected 
with  chemistry,  and  taking  a  sufficient  interest  m  chemistry 
to  wish  to  join  the  Society,  should,  unless  personally  objec- 
twnnble,  have  every  facility  afforded  them  for  joining  it 

**  In  bvour  of  this  view,  the  preamble  to  the  charter  is  ad- 
doced,  and  especially  the  foUowing  paragraph:  whereas 
certain  of  our  subjects  'did  establish  and  are  now  members  of 
a  aociety  known  by  the  name  of  the  Chemical  Society,  for  the 
general  advancement  of  chemical  science,  as  intimately 
connected  with  the  prosperity  of  the  manufectures  of  the 
United  Kingdom  .  .  .  and  for  a  more  extended  and 
economical  application  of  the  industrial  resources  and  sanitary 
condition  of  the  community,'  etc. 

^  It  is  further  maintained  that  the  Society,  from  its  origin 
antil  the  present  time,  has  always  been  of  a  mixed  rather 
than  of  an  exclusively  scientific  character — that  the  present 
Fellows  form  quite  as  distinguished  a  body  as  have  ever  con- 
stituted the  Society— and  that  many,  at  any  rate,  of  the  most 
distinguished  individual  Fellows  do  not  feel  thenjselvee  at  all 
discredited  by  being  associated  as.  joint  Fellows  of  the  Society 
with  men  who  are  engaged  or  interested  in  chemical  pur- 
suits, but  whose  scientific  or  social  position  is  inferior  to 
their  own. 

**  Moreover,  of  scientific  as  distinguished  from  purely  pro- 
fessional societies,  the  Royal  Society,  it  is  urged,  is  the  only 
one  of  which  the  Fellowship  is  conferred  in  recognition  of 
eminent  scientific  merit — the  special  science  societies  being 
practically  open  to  all  students  of  and  woi'kers  at  their  re- 
spective sub^ts,  who  may  wish  to  be  elected  to  thehr  respec- 
tive Fellowships.  To  limit  the  Chemical  Society  then  to 
eminent  scientific  chemists  would  be  tantamount  to  making 
it  tiie  chemical  section  of  the  Royal  Society,  instead  of  allow- 
ing it  to  have  a  distinct  function  and  character  of  its  own. 

^  It  is  further  urged  that  the  circumstance  of  chemistry 
being  to  some  extent  a  profession,  so  far  fh>m  indicating  the 
propriety  of  making  the  Fellowship  of  the  Chemical  SwAeij 
an  honorary  distinction,  rather  contra-indicat^s  it  For,  inde- 
pendently of  the  difficulty,  or  rather  impossibility,  of  with, 
holdiog  or  conferring  the  honour  without  doing  much  injus. 


tice  to  individuals,  the  Society,  by  professing  to  choose  out 
the  most  worthy,  would  naturally  be  held  responsible  for  its 
choice,  and  identified  more  or  less  with  the  acta  of  each  and 
all  of  its  Fellows. 

**  Tour  Committee  having  given  these  different  views  their 
best  conftidemtion,  are  not  prepared  to  recommend  any  alter- 
ation in  the  by  law  relating  to  the  election  of  Fellows,  which 
would  have  the  effect  of  confining  the  Fellowship  of  the 
Society  to  strictly  scientific  men. 

'*But  they  think  it  may  be  advisable,  although  they  have 
failed  to  elicit  evidence  of  the  admission  of  any  significant 
proportion  of  unsuitable  persons  into  the  Society,  to  make 
some  modification  in  the  present  by-law,  with  a  view  to  in- 
crease the  security  against  the  accidental  election  of  undesi- 
rable candidates. 

**  They  accordingly  suggest  that  in  future,  or  after  a  certain 
interval  of  time,  tlie  form  of  recommendation  of  a  candidate, 
referred  to  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  by-law  in  question, 
shall  be  required  to  be  signed  by  five  instead  of  by  only  three 
Fellows  of  the  Society,  of  whom  three  at  least  instead  of  only 
one  shall  be  required  to  sign  fh)m  personal  knowledge ;  and 
fhrther,  that  in  the  second  line  of  the  printed  form  of  recom- 
mendation, the  words  '  Qualification  or  Occupation '  shall  be 
substituted  for  the  words  *  Position,  Profession,  or  Occupa- 
tion.* 

**  At  present  your  Committee  are  not  disposed  to  advise 
any  alteration  in  the  second  paragntph  of  the  by-law,  which 
requires  three-fourths  of  the  votes  given  to  be  in  favour  of  the 
candidate,  in  order  to  effect  his  election.  If,  however,  con- 
trary to  the  anticipations  of  the  Committee,  any  section  of  the 
Fellows  should  be  found  to  make  an  improper  use  of  this 
requirement,  your  committee  would  then  recommend  that 
one  or  other  of  two  courses  should  be  proposed  by  the 
Council  and  adopted  by  the  Society ;  that  is  to  say,  that  the 
bjMaw  should  be  so  altered  as  to  render  valid  the  clectk)n 
by  a  mere  minority,  or  else  that  the  by-law  should  be  tempo- 
rarily abrogated,  and  during  its  abrogation  the  election  of 
Fellows  be  delegated  by  the  Society  at  large  to  a  Committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose." 


PHARMACEUTICAL  SOCIETY  OF  GREAT  BRITAISr. 

Wednesday  -Evening^  November  6,  1867. 

G.  W.  Sandfobd,  Esq.,  President^  in  the  Chair, 

The  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  read  and  con- 
firmed. 

Several  donations  to  the  library  and  museum  were  an- 
nounced, and  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  given  to  the  respeo- 
tive  donors. 

Dr.  Attfield  made  some  remarks  on  a  specimen  of  farina 
which  had  been  forwarded  by  Mr.  Palmer. 

M>.  TiLDBN  tlien  proceeded  to  describe  a  new  way  of  pre- 
serving the  syrup  of  iodide,  of  iron.  He  began  by  referring 
to  the  mode  of  preparing  it,  and  also  to  the  addition  of  iron 
wire,  which  had  not  been  found  to  prevent  the  change  it 
undergoes,  after  the  syrup  has  been  prepared.  Diffused  light 
accelerated  the  action  of  atmospheric  oxygen ;  but  if  exposed 
to  direct  sunlight  it  became  bleached  agam.  Mr.  Tilden  had 
found  that  it  could  be  preserved  from  contact  with  the  air  by 
a  stratum  of  oil  floating  on  the  surface ;  but  it  was  necessary 
to  put  the  oil  into  the  bottle  before  the  syrup,  and  it  was  bet- 
ter if  kept  in  a  dark  place.  The  syrup  might  be  removed 
from  the  bottle  by  means  of  a  tap. 

Dr.  Redwood  said  he  believed  the  introdaction  of  iron 
wire  was  originated  by  Mr.  Squire,  but  it  had  not  been  found 
a  satisfactory  mode  for  the  preservation  of  the  syrup,  for  part 
of  the  iodine  was  taken  out  of  the  solution  through  the  ac- 
tion the  iron  exerted.  He  thought  Mr.  Tilden^s  process  an 
ingenious  one.  When  it  was  first  described  to  him  there 
seemed  to  be  some  praotioal  difficulties  which  Mr.  Tilden  had 
taken  cognizance  o^  and  had  remedied  to  a  fljeat  extent 

Dr.  Attfield  asked  Mr.  Tilden  if  the  speamens  of  the  syr- 
up  had  exhibited  any  acidity.    Some  years  ago  )>.'r.  PhilKpt 


[BngUih  Xkdilieii,  YeL  Z7L,  Va  417,  pagas  87«^  fl77 1  Vo^  41^  page  Sd&U 


46 


Royal  Dvhlin  Society — Institution  of  CivU  Engineers. 


5  Crmnal  Vivi, 


ooDsidered  that  bydriodio  acid  was  formed  through  deoompo- 
sitioD  of  water. 

Mr.  TiLOEN  had  not  noticed  such  to  be  the  case. 

Dr.  Rbdwood  said  if  it  was  kept  for  some  time  the  sugar 
would  undergo  a  change  and  beoDme  solidified,  being  con- 
yerted  from  cane  into  grape  sugar,  and  it  was  quite  possible 
that  a  little  hydr iodic  acid  might  occur. 

Mr.  Hills  and  Mr.  Umney  said  that  by  bottling  it  all  off 
while  hot  they  had  found  it  keep  well  for  six  montha 

A  Meiiibee  had  noticed  that  by  simply  immersing  the  bot- 
tle in  a  water-bath  for  five  minutes  the  syrup  returned  to  its 
original  culour. 

Mr.  Barxxs  had  noticed  a  change  in  the  syrup  of  phosphate 
of  iro<i|  and  enquired  if  it  was  necessary  to  keep  it  in  a  dark 
place. 

Dr.  ArmBLO  said  it  was  owing  to  oxidation,  and  recom- 
mended the  bottle  to  be  kept  well  stopped. 

Dr.  Redwood  then  read  a  paper  on  "  7'he  Aduileration  of 
White  FrtcipitaUij"  which  had  been  sent  by  Mr.  Borland  of 
Kilmarnock. 

The  author  commenced  by  alluding  to  the  excellent  paper 
read  at  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference  by  Mr.  Barnes, 
F.C.S.,  regretting  (itat  he  had  not  stated  whether  the  sam- 
ples he  had  examined  were  fusible  or  infusible.  He  then  re- 
ferred to  the  forma  for  preparing  it  in  the  Pharmacopoeiae. 
The  infusible  would  volatilise  without  fusing  at  a  heat  be- 
low redness.  The  form  for  the  fusible  was  NHtHgCl,  and 
the  infusible  NHaHgsCl.'  He  had  examined  24  samples,  and 
only  dve  were  made  according  to  the  authorised  form.  The 
fusible  would  not  make  so  white  an  ointment  as  the  infusible. 

Mr.  Babnbs  said  that  three  or  four  of  the  samples  he  ex- 
imined  were  fusible  and  the  rest  were  infusible. 

The  PfiESiDENr  was  very  glad  to  fiD4  that  it  was  i)ot 
adulterated  to  such  an  extent  as  it  used  to  be. 

A  Mbmbbr  asked  Professor  Redwood  if  there  was  any  dif- 
ference in  the  value  of  the  two  preparations. 

Dr.  Rbdwood  was  not  aware  that  any  experiments  bad 
been  made. 

Dr.  AiTFiELD  did  not  imagine  there  would  .be  any  differ- 
ence in  their  value,  the  mercury  being  in  the  same  condition 
in  both  preparations. 

Dr.  Redwood  exhibited  some  moulds  which  had  been  sent 
by  Mr.  Procter  to  illustrate  his  paper  "  On  Suppositories  and 
Medicated  Pessaries^'*  in  the  present  number  of  the  Pharma- 
ceutical JowTial,  in  which  he  recommended  the  use  of  cones 
made  of  tinfoil,  the  usual  conical  shape  being  obtained  by  sof- 
tening the  end  of  a  rod  of  gutta-percha,  or  of  a  stick  of  seal- 
ing-wax, and  pressing  it  into  a  conical  minim  measure. 

Several  members  and  associates  gave  the  results  of  their 
experience  in  the  preparation  of  suppositories,  etc.,  and  Dr. 
Attfleld  referred  to  the  great  merits  and  the  great  educational 
value  of  Mr.  Procter's  paper,  showing  as  it  did  what  a  large 
amount  of  work  could  be  done  with  simple  materials,  but  he  did 
not  think  the  pessaries  made  in  the  way  Mr.  Procter  had 
described  were  so  ne.it  in  appearanoe  as  .those  made  in  the 
gun-metal  mould. 

Mr.  H.  S.  Waddington  read  an  highly  interesting  paper, 
*'  On  i?ie  Preparation  of  Microscopic  Crystal^''  in  which  he 
strongly  recommended  the  process  of  rapid  crystallisation. 
Mr.  Waddington  has  evidently  devoted  a  great  deal  of  time 
and  trouble  in  preparing  processes  for  the  preparation  of  mi- 
croscopic crystals,  and  we  regret  that  he  read  his  paper  so 
quickly,  for  it  contained  much  that  was  most  interesting  and 
instructive  to  the  microscopist.  After  the  reading  of  the  pa- 
per, Dr.  Attfield,  Professor  Redwood,  Professor  Bentley,  and 
the  President  spoke  in  very  high  terms  of  Mr.  Waddington's 
paper,  and  hoped  that  he  would  pursue  the  subject  still 
further. 

Mr.  UMiTBT  postponed  tlie  reading  of  a  paper  "  On  a 
New  kind  of  Kanuila"  till  the  next  meeting,  which  was 
announced  to  take  place  on  the  4th  of  December. 


ROYAL  DUBLIN  SOCIETY. 
At  the  last  evening  scientific  meeting  of  this  Society,  Dr. 


De  Ricci  read  a  paper  ^^  On  (he  Japanese  Oak-feeding  SUk 
Worm  "  [Bombay  Japonica).  The  speaker's  attempts  to  rear 
this  worm  in  Ireland  had  been  comparatively  suoonsful,  and 
from  the  results  obtained  he  was  inclined  to  believe  that  this 
species  of  silkworm  could  be  easily  acclimatised.  The  otk 
was  the  indigenous  tree  of  this  island,  and  he  firmly  beUered 
that  with  care  it  would  be  feasible  to  establish  in  this  oountiy 
the  cultivation  of  this  important  silkworm,  and  thus  create  a 
new  branch  of  industry  and  a  new  source  of  wealth.  Tbe 
gpreat  disadvantage  that  this  worm  laboured  under  in  thii 
climate  was  that  the  worms  were  hatched  before  the  oak 
leaved.  Dr.  Wallace,  of  Colchester,  bad  previously  failed  in 
hatching  this  worm. 

Amongst  an  interesting  collection  of  minerals  which  had 
been  brought  for  the  musuem  of  the  Royal  Dublin  Societj. 
was  a  remarkable  specimen  of  flexible  ^ndstone  from  Delhi. 
Although  f  of  an  inch  thk^k,  this  sandstone  could  be  moved 
about  iu  the  air  like  a  piece  of  ribband,  and  exhibited  either 
way  a  curvature  of  at  least  5  or  6  inches  from  the  onginal 
line  occupied  by  the  atone. 


THE  INSTITUTION  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERS. 

Thb  first  meeting  of  the  Session  i867-€S  was  occupied  by  the 
reading  of  a  supplement  to  and  the  discus><ioD  upon  tbe 
Paper  "  Experiments  on  the  Bemoval  of  Organic  tmd  Jnifrgaine 
Sttbstances  in  Water,^'  by  Mr.  Edward  Byrne,  M.  Inat  0.8. 
which  was  read  at  the  close  of  last  Sc^ion.  The  author 
now  gave  an  aooount  of  experiments  he  had  s'nce  made  od 
the  well-known  filtering  materials,  magnetic  carbide,  and 
silicated  carbon ;  and,  after  reoording  the  results  in  a  tabular  - 
form,  he  proceeded  to  make  a  comparison  between  tfaoae  ash- 
stances  and  animal  charooal. 

His  experimnnts  were  to  the  effect,  that  the  acUoo  of  the 
magnetic  carbide  was  exceedingly  feeble  as  regarded  the  it- 
moval  of  organic  and  inorganic  impurities,  and  that  it  did  not 
possess  the  property  of  softening  the  water  except  to  a  very 
small  extent;  whereas  this  proporty.was  possessed  in  a  high 
degree  by  the  two  other  filtering  materials.  Sitioated  earim, 
however,  quickly  lost  this  power,  and,  after  a  short  tio^  it 
rendered  the  water  positively  harder  than  it  was  before  filtra- 
tion. Animal  charooal,  in  its  softening  property,  was  not 
only  more  powerful  than  the  silicated  carbon,  but  more  per- 
manent in  its  actiou ;  and  so  far  as  the  experimeotB  went,  it 
continued  to  remove  inorganic  matter*  After  a  ahort  time, 
however,  it  commenced  to  give  back  a  portion  of  the  organic 
impurity  which  it  had  previomdy  removed.  The  aOioated 
carbon,  too,  was  found,  in  an  equally  short  time,  to  gire 
back  not  only  the  organic,  but  also  the  inorganic,  matter 
which  it  had  previously  taken  up. 

To  decide  whether  the  orgftoio  matter  contained  ia  the 
water,  so  far  as  the  nitrogen  was  ooneemed,  had  undergone 
any  oxidation  by  its  passage  through  these  subsUnoea,  tbe 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  original  water,  and  in  that  pawl 
through  each  filter,  was  determined  by  the  process  which 
Professor  Wanklyn  had  recently  made  known.  By  thia  ex- 
tremely delicate  test  it  was  found  t^iat,  for  equal  qoantitieecf 
organic  impurity,  the  amount  of  albuminous  matter  in  th« 
original  and  in  the  filtered  waters  was  predady  the  aame; 
which  fact  was  considered  a  sufficiently  clear  proof  that  tbe 
organic  matter  contained  in  the  water  had  undergone  no 
change  by  its  peroplation  through  these  filtering  materiak 

The  autlior  then  expressed  the  opinion,  that  while  filtiatioa 
must  ever  be  considered  most  valuable  for  the  remorai  of 
matter  in  mechanioal  suspension,  it  was  practically  nselenas 
a  means  of  removing  substanoes  in  solution.  He  argued  that 
the  deductions  to  be  drawn  from  these  experiment^  though 
made  oh  a  small  scale,  would,  by  reason  of  the  systematic 
manner  in  which  they  were  oonducted,  be  safely  applicable 
to  cases  of  far  greater  magnitude.  He  conduded'hy  expree- 
ing  a  hope,  that  the  result  of  these  investigations  wookl  aerte 
the  purpose  of  pointing  out  the  danger  of  depending  too  nuch 
on  the  system  generally  of  filtration,  as  wall  as  of  expoonf 
the  inconsistency  of  bringing  home  foul  water,  10  undeigo  a 


[BiiiJUahadMao,VeLrVX,iro.41fl;p««e»5;ir<i.«l6^page904;  Na  417,  fage  877.) 


GmnoiX  Niws, ) 


CTiemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


47 


delusive  metliod  of  purification,  instead  of  adopting  the 
proper  and  only  satisfactory  plan  of  procuring  water  which 
was  itself  naturally  pure. 


CHEMICAJL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 


Cobaltle  Snl^lilde.  — ^Th.  Hiortdahl.  Black  oobaltio 
oxide  heated  to  redness  in  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen fuses,  and  is  converted  into  a  yellow  sulphide  6i  a  strong 
metalliclustre,  ofthe  composition  00481.  Dehdyrated  oobaU 
tie  sulphate  fused  together  with  baric  sulphide  and  an  excess 
of  sodic  chloride,  yields  a  mass  io  which  after  cooling  pris- 
matic crystals  are  observed.  Sonoetimes  the  baric  oxide, 
Ibrmed  during  the  reaction,  separates  in  large  leafy  crystals 
wliich  are  intereected  with  prisms  of  the  sulphide.  This 
cobaltic  sulphide  is  of  a  grey  colour,  and  shows  metallic 
lustre;  it  is  soluble  in  acids,  even  acetic  acid,  and  its  compo- 
sition is  Cos.— (Cb7ni><««  R,  Ixv.  75.) 

Tolcanle  Gaaes. — Janssen  has  investigated  the  flames 
of  the  volcano  of  iSantorin  by  means  of  the  spectroscope,  and 
foand  in  it  sodium,  hydrogen,  copper,  chlorine,  and  carbon. 
—(Comptu  R,  Ixiv.  1303.) 

mtrUes,  Aetlon  orBroinliydrlc  Add  on.— O.Engler. 
If  a  current  of  dry  bromhydric  acid  is  passed  through  propio- 
nitrile  (from  potassic  cyanide  and  sulpliovinate)  a  crystalline 
mass  is  obtained  which  is  propio-nitrilic  dibromhydrate 
N6sHt2HBr.  It  fuses  between  50  and  55'*C.,  and  sublimes 
when  heated  a  little  above  that  temperature.  It  is  pretty 
stable  in  dry  air,  but  decomposes  readQ;^-  in  moist  air  with 
formation  of  propionic  acid.  The  following  equation  shows 
the  decomposition  caused  by  water: 

"OHO) 
NetH5,2HBr-h2Hae=rNH4Br-h  *    *     to  +  HBr 

H  ) 
The  reaction  between^benzonitrile  and  bromhydric  acid  takes 
place  in  an  analogous  manner,  benzonitrilio  dibromhydrate, 
N'07HB,2HBr,  being  formed.  This  compound  differs  little  in 
its  properties  from  the  one  just  described ;  it  fuses  at  70°. 
Its  decomposition  with  water  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of 
bensamid  according  to  the  equation: 


+  2HBr 


N«,H6,2HBr-fHae 

(AftieAr.  Ohem,  K.F.  iii.  506.) 

Carboliydratcs,  Acilon  of  ITater  at  tklgtk  Tem- 
pemtures  on. — 0.  Loew.  Cane  sugar  is  decomposed  when 
heated  with  water  in  sealed  tubes  to  160*  C,  carbonic 
anhydride  is  formed  and  carbon  separates,  the  latter  amount- 
ing to  nearly  half  the  quantity  of  sugar  taken.  The  contents 
of  the  tube  show  strong  acid  reaction,  due  to  formic  acid ;  a 
small  quantity  of  ulmic  acid  is  also  formed.  No  decomposi- 
tion takes  place  if  sugar  is  heated  with  alcohol  to  the  same 
temperature,  or  with  a  solution  of  baric  hydrate.  Other 
members  of  the  sugar  group  treated  in  this  manner  show  a 
similar  behaviour.  The  action  of  water  on  gum  gives  rise  to 
the  formation  of  a  new  acid  which  is  insoluble  in  .water  but 
soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether.~(j8fi//.  Am.  J.  [2]  43,  371,  and 
Zeitackr.  ch.  iii.  510.) 

Verrocyanldes,  Tolnmetrle  Determination  of, — 

Ointl.  The  solution  oonuhiiug  a  ferrucyanideKiompound  is 
aeidulated  with  sulphuric  acid  (in  preference  to  chlorhydric 
add,  which  causes  turbidity),  a  trace  of  a  soluble  ferric  salt  is 
added,  and  the  quantity  of  ferrocyanide  measured  with  a 
standard  solution  of  potassic  permanganate.  The  end  of  the 
operation  is  marked  by  the  sudden  change  of  the  originally 
bluetsh-green  oc^ur  ofthe  solution  into  a  yell(^  and  finally 
red  tint 

Ferricyanides  are  previously  converted  into  ferrocyanides 
by  redncing  them  with  sodiam'4imalgam.-4^X;ad  Z,  WUn. 
It.  1867O 


Rlelllotto  Aeid.— C.  Zwenger.  Melilotic  add,  wliich  is 
found  in  melilatus  offidnaUa  partly  in  the  free  state,  partly 
combined  with  cumarin,  belongs  to  the  saUcyUc  acid  series. 
When  fused  with  potassic  hydrate  hydrogen  is  evolved  and 
salicylic  and  acetic  add  formed.  Heated  in  a  retort,  two 
equivalents  of  water  separate  and  melUotic  anhydride, 
Ci  bHsO*,  distils  over.  The  add  is  monobasic  but  diatomic ; 
its  salts  mostly  crystallise  well  Dibrom-melilotic  add, 
OieHgBraOe,  is  obtained  by  adding  bromine  slightly  in  ex- 
cess to  melilotic  acid  at  ordinary  temperature.  This  acid  is 
crystalline,  sparingly  soluble  in  water,  readily  in  alcohol  or 
ether.  The  action  of  strong  nitric  add  gives  rise  to  the 
formation  of  dinitromelilotic  add,  0,  HHt,(N04)aO«.  Melilot- 
amide, 

0i8H«0a|0a 

H,  Jn 
is  formed  by  treating  melilotic  add  with  ammonic  hydrate. 
Melilotic  add  may  bo  prepared  artificially  from  cumarin  by 
joining  to  the  elements  of  the  latter  first  two  equivalents  of 
water  (converting  it  into  cumario  acid)^  and  then  two  of 
hydrogen : 

Oi.H«04-h«HO+2H=OiBH,oO, 
This  reaction  is  aooomplished  by  treating  cumarin  in  aque- 
ous solution  with  sodium-amalgam.— (.^»7k  Chem.  Pharm, 
SujjpL,  v.^  100.) 

Erucic  Add,  Berlvativea  of.-O.  Kausknecht  Brudc 
ticid  was  prepared  by  treating  beet-root  oil  (Rubol)  with 
plumbic  oxide,  extracting  the  lead  soap  with  ether,  and  de- 
composing the  remaining  plumbic  erucate  with  chlorhydric 
add.  The  action  of  alcoholic  potassic  hydrate  upon  erucic 
dibromide  under  pressure  and  140" — i5o''C.,  gives  rise  to 
the  formation  of  behenolic  add  633  H  40^3 : 

^nH4sBr90a=aHBr +<?a9ll4o0« ; 
at  ordinary  temperature  monobromerudc  add,  ^taH4iBrOsi 
is  formed : 

vt9H4sBra09 = HBr  4* '€iaH4iBr09. 
The  dibromide  of  the  latter,  treated  by  this  reagent  loses 
two  atoms  of  bromine,  but  whether  monobromerudc  add  is 
regenerated,  or  monobrombehenolic  acid  formed,  has  not 
been  dedded.  Behenolic  acid  is  soluble  in  water  and  in 
alcohol,  and  ftises  at  j7'5^;  it  unites  with  two  or  four 
atoms  of  bromine,  forming  the  bromides  B«tH4oBrs0i  and 
easH4oBr40«  (perhaps  e,9H|(iBr40t).  When  heated  with 
Aiming  nitric  acid  three  bodies  are  obtained:  i.  Diozy behe- 
nolic add -8ifiH4o04 ;  monobasic,  fVising  at  90"* — 91**,  insol- 
uble in  water  and  less  soluble  in  alcohol  than  behenotic 
add.  2.  Brassylio  add,  ^iiHao04;  dibasic,  scarcely  sol- 
uble in  water,  soluble  in  alcohol  or  etitier,  fusmgat  108*5''. 
3.  An  oil,  ^iiHsoOs,  probably  the  Mehyde  of  brassylic 
add,  which  may  be  converted  into  the  Utter  by  oxidation 
with  bromine : 

'OiiH9oOi+H«v+Br9^OiiHio"04-4-jHBr 
Erudc  dibromide  treated  with  freshly  predpitated  argentic 
oxide  is  converted  into  an  oily  mass  which  is  a  mixture  of 
liquid  oxyerudc  add,  Oa9H4»03,  and  solid  dioxybehenic 
acid,  69364404,  the  latter  being  obtained  as  a  bye-product. 
The  reaction  proceeds  in  the  following  manner : 

1.  e9>H4,BT,Agea=AgBr+eMH4iBret 

2.  e99H4,Brea-l-AgHe=:AgBr+ea,H«»et 

Oxyerudc  acid  is  a  heavy  oil,  inpoluble  in  water,  soluble  in 
alcohol  and  ether.  Dioxybehenic  acid  may  be  more  readily 
prepared  by  boiling  oxyerudc  add  with  an  aqueous  solution 
of  potassic  hydrate, 

€99^4  a^s  4"  KJaO=€99li4sK.04 
and  decomposing  the  potassic  dioxybehenate  with  chlor- 
hydric add.  The  add  is  soluble  in  alcohol,  and  fuses  at 
127°.  When  crude  add  is  boiled  with  diluted  nitric  add  it 
is  converted  into  an  isomeric  eompound,  brassidinic  aeid, 
O99H49O9,  whidi  is  monobasic,  ftises  at  6o^  and  is  less  sol- 
uble in  alcohol  or  ether  than  erudc  add.    The  dibromide  of 


(Baffliflh  BdidoiifTol  iTt.,  IVo.  417,  pag«  977;  No.  415, pagM 9M,  S07 ;  Vo.  41C^  pagMa66,207. 


48 


Notices  of  Boohs. 


jOnhoAi^Vvn, 
1      JofL,  188& 


brassidlnie  acid  is  a  crystalline  compound,  thus  diflfering 
charaeteristlcallj  from  the  dibromide  of  the  isomer,  which 
shows  no  trace  of  crystallisation.— (J.»n.  Chem.  Phofnn, 
cxliil  4a) 

Copper,  Determination  of.— Lecoq  de  Boisbaudran. 
Instead  of  precipitating  copper  from  solution,  in  presence 
of  other  metals,  with  4sinc^  the  author  proposes  to  effect  its 
separation  by  means  of  an  electric  current  The  slightly 
add  solution  of  the  sulphates  of  copper  and  other  metals  is 
contained  in  a  platinum  crucible  whicdi  forms  the  negative 
polo  of  an  electric  current  ^m  two  of  Bunsen's  cells ;  the 
positive  pole  terminates  in  platmum  foil,  and  passes  through 
a  perforation  in  a  watch-glass  which  covers  the  crucible, 
dipping  into  the  liquid.  The  copper  separates  in  a  perfectly 
pure  state,  and  the  reduction  is  accomplished  in  three  or 
four  hours.  Intensity  of  current,  concentration  of  solution, 
temperature,  and  amount  of  free  acid  may  vary  within  wide 
limits  without  impairing  tho  accuracy  of  the  result— (SuZ/. 
Soc,  CMm.  vil,  46&) 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 

Oetchichie  der  Cheme.  Bearbeitet  ron  Dr.  Th.  GBBDDro, 
Leipzigi  1867.  (Hiatory  of  Chemisiiry,  by  Dr.  T.  Gkrdino). 
This  is  a  highly  interesting  and  valuable  contribution  to  the 
literature  of  chemistry.  It  is  avowedly  founded  on  the  classical 
work  of  H.  Kopp,  publtsiied  in  four  volumes  in  1843-47 ;  bat 
it  differs  from  it,  not  only  in  its  smaller  size,  but  also  to  some 
extent  in  its  arrangement  Part  I.,  which  occupies  nearly 
half  the  book,  is  entitled  "  General  History  of  Chemistry  ;  or 
Historical  Development  of  Chemical  Science  with  respect  to 
the  most  important  Chemists  and  their  labours."  This,  the 
true  history,  is  divided  into  four  periods.  The  first,  which 
may  be  distinguished  as  the  ancient  period,  brings  us  down 
to  A.D.  40a  1?be  second,  the  medisBval,  extends  to  the  lytb 
century,  and  is  subdivided  into  separate  histories  of  alchemy 
and  of  medical  chemistry,  which  last  may  be  said  to  have 
commenced  with  Paracelsus  in  the  commencement  of  the 
i6th  century.  The  third  and  fourth  periods  comprise  modem 
chemiatry.  The  former  exteads  Vtom  the  middle  of  the  17th 
to  the  end  of  the  i8th  century,  and  contains  the  reign  of  the 
celebrated  phlogistic  theory;  while  the  latter,  which. occupies 
nearly  one-quarter  of  the  entire  book,  is  the  '^  quantitative 
age/'  the  short  but  brilliant  career  of  true  chemistry.  This 
last  section  is  particularly  valuable  to  the  modem  chemist, 
for  not  only  does  it  present  us  with  succinct  sketches  of  the 
lives  and  labours  of  tho  earlier  chemists  of  the  century,  La- 
voisier, Dalton,  Gay  Luasac,  Davy,  Berzelius,  etc. ;  but  it  re- 
views with  great  impartiality,  and,  on  the  whole,  with  great 
exactness,  the  researches  of  many  of  the  chief  living  chem- 
•  ists,  and  the  English  reader  will  notice  with  pleasure  the 
names  of  Graham,  Stenhonse,  Anderson,  Gladstone,  and 
many  other  distinguished  fellow  countrymen.  We  are  in- 
deed compelled  to  remark  some  glaring  omissions,  such  as 
the  absence  of  all  notice  of  Andrews,  fiaeyer,  Car.nizzaro, 
Frankland,  Odling,  Ziniu.  and  a  few  others  of  equal  celebrity ; 
but  when  we  consider  the  extent  of  the  plan  and  the  small- 
ness  of  the  book,  we  cannot  wonder  at  finding  some  blem- 
ishes. 

The  second  part  of  the  work  is  of  even  more  practical  im- 
portance. It  is  entitled  **  Spedal  History  of  Chemistry ;  or, 
Hist<iry  of  the  most  important  Doctrines,  Theories,  and  Single 
Substances."  Under  each  head  we  find  a  clear  though  brief 
summary  of  the  chief  discoveries  which  have  been  made 
upon  it  Thus  under  nitrogen  (page  365}  a  very  interesting 
account  is  given  of  the  views  which  have  at  various  times 
been  taken,  not  only  of  the  nature  of  nitrogen  itself  but  also 
of  some  of  its  chief  compounds.  We  might  give  many  simi- 
lar instances,  and  should  be  glad,  if  space  permitted,  to  give 
some  extracts  from  the  book.  As  it  is,  however,  we  can 
only  commend  it  to  the  notice  of  <>uf  readers,  and  express  our 
opinion  thnt  an  Knglisb  tnuti^^on  would  meet  with  a  fiivour- 
able  reoeptton. 


FharmacetUical  Chemistry.   By  John  Attfield,  Ph.D.,  F.C.& 

London :  John  Van  Voorst,  Paternoster  Row.  1867. 
Dr.  Attfisld's  Chemistry  has  for  its  object  the  thorough 
teaching  of  Pliarroacy  and  Chemistry  as  applied  practiosUy  to 
Pharmacy ;  professedly  and  indeed  truly  it  is  a  guide-book. 
The  information  conveyed  in  the  text  is  mainly  that  which 
cannot  be  learnt  by  experiment,  such  as  the  derivatiom  q( 
words  and  terms,  the  places  whenoe  different  materials,  pha^ 
macal  or  chemical,  are  derived,  with  some  of  the  varioui 
theories  lately  advanced  upon  the  composition  of  somewhtt 
complex  drugs,  e.  ^.,  bismuthio  carbonate,  goulard  water,  and 
tartar  emetic.  The  work  being  of  the  size  of  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia  of  1867,  and  mainly  founded  upon  itfonnB^ 
in  many  instances,  a  really  invaluable  commentary  to  it 
Thus  the  symbolic  expressions  in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  ctlled 
by  courtesy  the  formule  of  compounds  aooording  10  the  new 
system,  with  their  old  names  (truly  a  most  characteristic  ex- 
ample of  a  compromise) — formules  whksb  are  neither  rational  or 
empirical— with  Dr.  Attfteld's  aid  are  presented  to  the  student  ia 
a  more  intelligible  form.  The  expressions  of  the  PhannaoopoBia, 
such  as  2(Bi9C06)H90,  are  here  translated  into  a  form  reooo- 
cilable  with  the  trivalent  character  of  bismuth.  The  nwrt 
modem  expressions  of  chemists  are  used  throughout  the  teit, 
thus  we  meet  with  trivalent,  etc.,  and  equivalent  is  very  well 
explained  to  the  student  as  opposed  to  atoms  and  molecoke. 

We  cannot,  however,  say. that  Dr.  Attfield  has  had  the 
same  success  in  the  consistency  of  his  nomenclature.  When 
new  words  like  mercurous  and  mercuric  salts  are  explained 
to  the  pbarmaoeutical  chemist,  who  has  to  connect  the  ideie 
with  compounds  like  calomel  and  corrosive  sublimate,  thej 
should  be  strictly  limited  to  metals  like  mercury,  that  htn 
two  classes  of  salts ;  other  salts  should  have  names  coi»- 
tent  with  thoir  formuls,  or  already  lamiliar  to  the  pharaMitf 
or  dispenser.  Thus  when  the  student  reads  of  caleic  caihoo- 
ate  and  calcic  oxalate  (p.  417)  he  compares  them  in  his  mhid 
to  mercurio  carbonate,  and  mercuric  oxalate,  oondodiif 
justly  enough  that  there  is  a  calcoua  carbonate  and  oekoiB 
oxalate.  This  is  more  particularly  the  case,  from  the  expi» 
sions,  sulphate  of  calcium,  carbonate  of  calcium,  and  nitnu 
of  potasshim  being  almost  invariably  used  in  the  toi 
Again,  under  lead,  there  is  no  plumbous  oxide,  it  hdog 
caUed  oxide  of  lead,  although  plumbic  peroxide  is  abortl; 
after  mentioned. 

In  our  opinion  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  work  is  thtt 
devoted  to  the  preparations  of  the  alkaloids  and  active  princi- 
ples, the  most  difficult  thing  that  the  student  of  wio^ma  tMdka 
has  to  leara.  The  reason  for  every  successive  process  is  given 
fully,  and,  what  is  more,  accurately  and  clearly.  The  «iiiy 
excellent  features  of  Dr.  Attfield*s  book  would  have  been  in- 
creased had  more  attention  been  devoted  to  the  spectroscope 
and  saccharometer.  To  this  might  be  added  in  a  future  edi- 
tion a  discussion  of  chemical  organic  compounds  not  actually 
mentioned  in  the  British.  Pharmacopoeia,  but  of  the  greater 
value  in  f^ll  d«tail. 

As  it  is.  Dr.  Attfield's  book  is  written  in  a  dear  and  ahie 
manner ;  it  is  a  work  sui  generis  and  without  a  rival ;  it  will 
be  welcomed,  we  think,  by  every  reader  of  the  Pbaniaco 
pceta,  and  is  quite  as  well  suited  for  the  medical  student  as 
for  the  pharmacist  « 

Companion  to  (he  New  EdiUtm  of  the  Briii^  Pharmmpaaa, 
1867.  By  Petbr  Squire,  P.LS.  London:  John  Churehill 
and  Sons,  New  Burlington  Street  1867. 
Wb  are  glad  to  find  that  Mr.  Squire's  Compankm  has  leaeb- 
ed  a  fifth  edition.  The  reward  is  well  deserved,  and  isaocoid' 
ed  to  few  works  of  the  kind ;  and  this  bet  alone  would  m^ 
geet  the  vokl  there  would  be  in  the  literature  of  ifo^eria  Jfetf- 
iea  without  it 

But  a  still  more  unprecedented  &ct  is  that  this  onnsnt 
edition  has  been  reprinted  within  the  short  space  of  a  fort- 
night owing  to  the  great  demand.  It  was  wise  therefor^ 
we  think,  to  make  no  additions  to  the  reprint,  so  as  to  avow 
the  formation  of  a  new  editioD.  However,  if  the  sale  of 
the  work  is  sufficiently  great,  a  new  edition  will,  we  bop^ 
be  prepared  shortly,  which  will  incorporate  in  it  msoy  oev 


Vol  Xn„  Wo.  4U^  pafs  MT ;  irob  «lt,  page  tl8^] 


OnwoAi.  Nswi,  t 


Noticea  of  Books. 


49 


researches  in  Phannacj,  such  as  the  use  of  carbolic  acid  ex- 
teruallj  in  yarious  solutions,  the  extended  applications  of  the 
new  remedies  of  the  Pharmacopceia,  and  the  detection  of  im- 
purities in  various  commercial  specimens  of  drugs,  for  so 
manj  of  which  researches  we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  I>aniel 
Hanbury,  e.  g,,  Burg^uady  pitch  and  Storax.  Mr.  Squire  will 
find  his  materials  now  increasing  in  a  very  rapid  progression, 
and  will  yearly  find  the  duty  that  he  has  undertaken  a  more 
difficult  one.  This  perhaps  may  be  sufficient  to  atone  for 
some  trifling  matters  which  under  other  circumstances  might 
serre  for  complaint. 

Thus,  when  a  new  and  strikingly  usefbl  remedy  is  proposed, 
and  the  forftiula  for  the  preparation  of  such  is  given,  it  is 
only  fair  to  mention  the  authority  introducing  this,  as  a  sort 
of  guarantee. 

A  remedy  proposed  by  Mr.  A.  may  have  its  own  value, 
but  one  proposed  by  Dr.  B.,  whose  name  is  a  household  word 
in  the  profession,  may  probably  be  thought  more  worthy  of  a 
trial 

In  two  succeeding  paragraphs  Mr.  Squire  gives  a  notice  of 
urethral  suppositories,  or  medicated  bougies,  followed  by  that 
of  the  medicated  pledgets  of  cotton.  The  latter  we  are  told 
were  introduced  by  Dr.  Greenhalgh,  but  who  introduced  the 
former?  We  should  have  thought  that  the  name  of  Sir 
Henry  Thompson,  a  court  surgeon,  would  have  been  not  only 
gracefully,'  but  also  authoritatively  coupled  with  the  mention 
of  medicated  bougies. 

Again,  under  the  head  of  Staphisagrla  we  find  only  this : 
*'  The  oil  of  the  seeds,  i  to  7  of  lard,  has  been  successfully 
used  by  Mr.  Balmanno  Squire  in  Prurigo  seniUn"  By  the 
omission  of  the  fact  that  an  Unguentum  Staphisagrise  (made 
from  the  seeds)  has  been  prepared  in  most  of  the  hospitals  of 
London  for  many  years,  it  is  implied  that  Mr.  Balmanno 
Squire  was  the  first  to  make  known  the  vermicide  properties 
of  Staphisagrla. 

When,  m  a  work  of  authority,  names  of  originators  are 
given,  it  is  impossible  to  exercise  too  much  delicacy  and 
tact. 

All  the  chemical  formulas  are  given  as  in  the  Pharma- 
ooposia  of  1867,  with  the  addition  of  the  equivalents ;  we 
get  as  a  result  the  following  information :  "  Diluted  phos- 
phoric acid,  3H0,P0»,  or  H3PO4,  eqv.  98,  dissolved  in  water 
...  6  fluid  drachms  contain  half  an  equivalent  PO*,  or  a 
quarter  of  an  equivalent  PsOa.*'  The  confusion  here  results 
firom  following  too  closely  "  official "  authority. 

The  chief  value  of  the  work,  viewed  as  a  whole,  lies  in 
the  amount  of  practical  observation  shown  by  its  author,  and 
the  list  of  antidotes  and  incompatibles,  always  a  very  strong 
feature,  has  been  in  this  edition  strengthened  still  further. 
This  information,  so  often  neglected  in  text-books  of  Materia 
Medica,  is  really  indispensable,  and  Mr.  Squire's  book  is  the 
authority  in  this  respect  The  ^'Companion"  may  be  fairly 
called  the  parent  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  for  the  United  King- 
dom, but  the  honour  of  having  for  a  younger  ofl&pring  a 
universal  Pharm^ioopoeia,  or  Oodex,  is  we  believe  quite  un- 
attainable. The  present  edition,  or  perhaps  the  next,  with  a 
chemistry  adapted  to  Ck>ntinental  views,  we  think  deserves 
that  honour  as  much  as  any  work  does.  If  any  of  our  read- 
ers are  about  to  purchase  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  we  offer 
them  the  advice  of  Punch  to  those  intending  to  marry, — 
** don't/*  buy  "Squire's  Companion"  mstead. 

A  Programme  of  AUnruchanica ;  or,  Ghsmialry  as  a  Afeckanr 

icsif  the  Panatoms.    By  GusTATUS  HnrRiOHS,  Professor 

of  Physios,  Chemistry,  and  Ifineralogj  at  the  Iowa  State 

University;   Chemist  of  the  G^logioal  Survey  of  Iowa, 

fto. 

It   must  be  confessed  that  scientific  men  in  Europo  are 

not,  as  a  rule,  accustomed  to  look  to  America,  or  rather  to 

Americans,  for  new  lights  in  sdenoe,  and  when  such  lights 

appear  on  the  American  horizon,  it  is  generally  found  that 

the  philosopher  is  a  foreigner.    Americans  appear  to  be 

too  eager  for  an  immediate  and  material  return  for  their 

intellectual  capital  to  devote  themselves  to  the  more  recondite 

fbnns  of  sdentiflc  speculation.  That  Americans  are  capable  of 

Vol.  II.    No.  i.    Jan.,  1868.  4 

[BngUah  Bditloa,  VoL  ZVL,  Vo.  411, 


any  amount  of  work  of  mind  or  body,  that  they  are  emi- 
nently devor  and  ingenious,  we  tceelj  admit,  but  few  will 
even  attempt  to  deny  that  American  scientific  literature 
does  not,  as  yet,  hold  so  high  a  position  as  might  be  desired. 
It  is  therefore  with  great  interest  that  we  receive  any  con- 
tributions to  sdence  emanatiog  from  that  great  country. 
That  the  public  feeling  in  America  is  against  us  we  aro 
unfortunately  aware;  and  this  dislike  to  England  takes, 
among  many  others,  the  form  of  underrating  English  sdence, 
and,  whenever  possible,  French  or  Grerman  models  are  used 
by  professors  to  hold  up  to  the  study  or  emulation  of  their 
pupils.  Being  aware  of  this,  and  knowing  also  that  in 
England  we  not  only  bear  no  animosity  to  America,  but  are 
anxious  to  cultivate  her  friendsliip,  we  are  very  unwilling 
to  criticise  too  harshly  any  scientific  treatise  emanating 
from  our  brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  But 
the  name  of  the  author  of  the  work,  the  title  of  which  we 
have  quoted  above,  is  so  obviously  German  that  we  trust 
we  may  indulge  in  a  few  remarks  upon  his  treatise  (so  long 
as  we  keep  within  the  limits  of  faur  critidsm)  without  hurt- 
ing the  susceptibilities  of  any  of  our  American  brethren. 

The  author  of  this  work  has  sent  us  a  printed  sketch  of 
his  production,  but  we  may  at  once  confess  that  the  mate- 
rials before  ns  are  uofbufficient  to  induce  us  to  follow  his 
argument  in  detail,  and  we  can  therefore  only  lay  them 
before  our  readers  accompanied  by  such  comments  as  natu- 
rally present  themselves. 

The  author  indudes  in  his  "  Programme  "  some  historical 
remarks,  and  he  especially  states  that  he  made  the  disco- 
very of  **Pantogen"  in  1855,  when  studying  at  the  Poly- 
technic Sohool  of  Copenhagen.  This  pantogen,  or  "  Urstoff," 
as  M.  Hinrichs  writes  it  in  German,  is,  in  fact^  the  one 
primary  or  truly  elemental  matter  of  which  all  the  so-called 
elements  of  the  chemist  of  the  present  dav  are  made  up. 
It  is  almost  impossible  within  the  limits  of  an  article  like 
this  to  state  the  reasons  which  the  author  g^ves  for  assum- 
ing the  existence  of  pantogen;  and  then  for  conduding 
that,  by  assuming  the  existence  of  one  primary  elemental 
matter,  and  calling  it  by  a  specific  name,  he  has  discovered 
this  only  true  element 

It  is  needless,  perhaps,  to  say  that,  like  all  discoverers  of 
this  daas,  he  fidls  back  continually  on  "analogy."  This 
too  free  use  of  analogy  has  been  the  bane  of  sdence  fVom 
the  time  of  Plato,  and  it  would  appear  that  the  race  of 
speculators  who  mistake  fanciful  analogies  for  fundamental 
scientific  laws  Is  by  no  means  yet  extinct 

M.  Hiurichs  finds  that  "  the  history  of  sdence  is  one  and 
the  same,"  and  that  "  we  may  therefore  learn  the  history  of 
chemistry  by  studying  that  of  her  elder  sister,  astronomy." 
He  also  finds  that: — *^ Lavoisier  is  the  Copernicus  among 
chemists ;  both  pierced  the  veil  of  appearances,  and  discov- 
ered tho  true  order  of  things.  Copernicus  found  the  earth  too 
insignificant  to  move  the  heavens.  Lavoisier  found  the  metal 
lighter  than  its  ash  (oxide).  Modern  Ghemieiry — ^not  the 
chemistry  of  most  of  our  text-books— is  truly ^ep^enan.  The 
beautiful  laws  of  Dulong  and  ,Petit  (specific  heat  of  the 
atoms),  of  Gay  Lussac  (volume  of  atoms),  of  Mitscherlich 
•(on  isomorphism),  &a,  were  grasped  by  Gerhmrdt  (chemical- 
types)  and  now  make  modem  diemiatry  an  exact  sdence. 
The  great  discoveries  in  organic  chemistry,  from  Lietng  to 
BerUuMf  and  the  spectral  analysis  of  Bunsen  and  Kirchhofi", 
have  made  the  domain  of  chemistry  as  universal  as  that  of 
astronomy. 

"  We  may  venture  to  condude  that  this  parallelism  in 
the  history  of  astronomy  and  chemistry  does  not  end  here.. 
The  history  of  astronomy  since  1619,  when  Kepler's  third 
law  was  discovered,  may  teach  us  what  changes  await 
modem  chemistry. 

"We  must  conclude  firom  this  analogy  that  there- eidsts; 
some  general  prindple  which  will  transform  modem  chemis- 
ts into  a  mechanics  of  the  atoms ;  for  about  fifty  yeara  afteD- 
Kepfer  astronomy  had  become  a  mechanics  of  the  heayenli' 
bodies,  i.e.,  of  cosmical  atoms  I 

"  The  basis  of  this  celestial  mechanics  (as  Laplace  so  fitQf^ 
termed  astronomy)  is  but  a  A|]»aJA«nv--4bat.  of  univenMi 


|)agw37fi^S80;  «a 418, pafM 290^ 90-] 


50 


Correspondence. 


t     /a«^  IM8L 


gravitation, — ^wliich  essontiallj  consists  in  the  affirmation 
that  the  heavenly  bodies  only  differ  in  regard  to  the  amount 
or  quantity  of  matter. 

'^  I^t  us  have  the  boldness  to  pronounce  a  similar  hypo- 
thesis in  regard  to  the  chemical  atoms.  Let  us  suppose 
that  the  atoms  of  the  different  elements  only  differ  in  regard 
to  quarUity—i^tx  is,  in  regard  to  the  number  and  relative 
position  of  the  atoms  of  some  one  primary  matter,  just  as  the 
planets  only  differ  according  to  the  number  of  kilogrammes 
of  ponderable  matter  they  contain,  and  its  distribution 
around  tbeir  axes.  Since  everything  thus  would  be  com- 
posed of  this  one  primary  matter  we  call  it  paniogen^  and  its 
atoms  jMtia^Qmx.'* 

We  have  felt  bound  to  give  tliis  long  quotation  in  order 
to  show  the  method  adopted  by  our  author,  and  the  way  in 
whidi  "pantogen"  was  "discovered." 

It  must  not  be  supposed  for  an  instant  that  what  we 
have  said  gives  more  than  an  exceedingly  minute  idea  of 
our  author's  *' Programme.''  By  assuming  the  hjrpothesis 
of  pantogen  he  is  enabled  to  explain  and  calculate  all  the 
physical,  chemical,  and  morphological  properties  of  the 
elements  and  their  combinations,  which  may  be  caleukUed 
just  as  the  orbit  of  a  planet  is  calculated.  He  is  also 
enabled  to  ascertain  the  atomic  constitution,  and  flnom  them 
to  calculate  the  otoiAere  (specific  volume),  fusing  and  boiling 
point,  refhicting  power,  and,  to  some  extent,  spectral  lines. 
From  all  this  it  is  obvious,  we  think,  that  M.  Hlnrichs' 
work  is  by  far  the  most  wonderful  production  of  modern 
times,  and  its  author  certainly  the  most  remarkable  man  in 
his  adopted  country.  It  is  then  with  feelings  of  profound 
astonishment  that  we  learn  that  the  author's  paper  contain- 
ing the  first  instalment  of  his  researches  promised  to  the 
world  on  page  4  of  his  "  Atomechanik,"  was  refused  admis- 
sion into  SUUman^e  Journal^  although  the  MS.  only  con- 
tained 31  pages  large  quarto  I  His  second  paper,  "On  the 
Trimorphism  of  Titanic  Add,"  met  the  same  fate,  "only 
more  so." 

How  M.  Hinrichs  arrives  at  his  results  we  do  not  know 
until  we  see  his  work.  We  must  confess  that  Ax>m  the 
slight  glimpse  we  obtain  of  his  mental  process,  as  seen  in 
his  "  Programme,"  we  fancy  that  the  results  are  obtained 
by  arguing  badcward  and  writing  forward.  He  confesses 
to  using  principally  "  the  method  of  successive  approxima- 
tiona"  To  deduce  all  the  physical  characters  of  a  substance 
with  the  aid  of  the  hypothesis  of  pantogen  must  tax  the 
resources  of  this  method  somewhat  severely.  The  mere 
fact  that  the  addition  of  C9H4  to  a  group  in  one  caso  raises 
its  fusing  point  2^,  and  that  the  addition  of  CsHa  in  another 
case  reduces  it  4^,  must,  we  think,  be  somewhat  difficult  to 
explain,  even  by  one  who  has  the  "  Atomechanik  "  at  his 
fingers'  ends ;  but  there  is  one  feat  which  cannot,  we  feel 
sure,  be  beyond  the  resources  of  the  author  of  the  work 
alluded  to,  and  if  he  only  accomplish  it  we  will  "pro- 
nounce "  at  once  in  his  favour,  and  instantly  send  in  our 
adhesion  to  the  new  theory;  the  feat  we  allude  to  is  simply 
to  isolate  pantogen. 

OOBRESPONDENCR  ' 


Ihe  Camphor  Storm  Glass. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cheh ioal  News. 

Sib,— I  see  by  your  Notices  to  Correspondents  that  you 
sometimes  have  to  answer  inquiries  respecting  the  storm 
glass  and  its  value  as  a.  meteorological  instrument  Tbe 
frequent  reference  made  to  it  by  the  late  Admiral  Fitz  Roy 
gave  an  almost  official  sanction  to  its  use,  and  induced  some 
instrument  makers  to  manufacture  it  largely,  and  even  to 
attach  it  to  the  ordinary  barometer  and  tliermometer.  This 
led  me  to  examine  tbe  storm  glass  with  some  care.  I  made 
one  on  a  large  scale,  in  a  quart  bottle,  placed  it  on  the  window 
ledge,  and  kept  a  journal  of  its  behaviour  during  some  months. 
The  conclusion  I  arrived  at  w«s  that  the  storm  glass  is  not 


acted  on  by  light,  or  atmospheric  electricity,  or  wind  or  nio, 
etc.,  but  solely  by  variations  in  temperature ;  that  it  in,  in 
fac^  a  rude  kind  of  therrooeoope,  vastly  inferior  to  an 
ordinary  thermometer,  and  has  no  meteorological  vshw 
whatever. 

My  paper  on  the  subject  is  printed  in  the  Phiheophieai 
Magazine  for  August,  1 863.  It  prodobed  a  few  remonstraoces 
to  the  effect  that- 1  bad  degraded  a  pleasing  instrument  to  tbe 
level  of  a  toy.  I  believe  it  to  be,  as  you  replied  to  yoar 
correspondent,  only  a  toy,  but  it  is  a  very  pretty  one,  and 
exhibits  effects  of  crystallisation  of  great  beauty  and  variety. 
I  generally  have  one  baneing  up  in  a  back  window,  and 
it  affords  me  pleasure  to  look  at  it  and  to  show  it  to  my 
friends. 

One  of  my  conclusions,  viz.,  that  light  has  no  action  on  the 
storm  glass,  was  questioned  by  a  gentleman  with  apparently 
so  much  reason  and  good  sense  that  I  gladly  exammed  tbe 
case  as  put  by  him. 

This  gentleman  had  a  storm  glass  banging  up  in  a  weal 
window  of  a  house  in  a  street  in  London.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  observing  it  every  day  during  a  few  years.  He  went 
to  reside  in  the  country,  and  hung  up  his  favourite  storm 
glass  again  in  a  west  window.  He  soon  noticed  that  tbe 
crystals  were  larger  and  finer  than  any  he  had  ever  seen  in 
the  tube  when  it  was  in  town.  He  naturally  referred  tbe 
change  to  the  increased  light  and  brilliancy  of  the  akj,  as 
compared  with  the  dingy  atmosphere  of  London.  On  inquiry 
I  found  the  change  to  be  really  due  to  heat  and  not  to  light 
In  the  town  house  the  sun  disappeared  some  time  before 
sunset  behind  the  opposite  houses.  In  the  country  houses 
the  west  window  was  in  full  view  of  sunset  Now,  as  soon 
as  the  sun  came  round  to  the  vrindow  in  the  afternoon  of 
every  warm,  cloudless  day,  it  melted  the  solid  contents  of  tbe 
storm  glass,  and  allowed  impurities  to  subside;  but  after 
sunset  crystallisation  again  took  place,  excluding  other  im- 
purities, so  that  these  repeated  fusions  and  reorystallisations 
produced  the  fine  crystals,  and  not  the  improved  light  Such 
at  least  is  my  explanation  of  this  fact  as  sUted. 

I  also  proved  some  years  ago  that  the  motion  of  camphor 
and  other  volatile  bodies  towards  the  light,  is  really  towards 
the  coldest  part  of  the  bottle.  The  coldest  part  is  generallj 
towards  the  light,  because  on  that  side  of  the  bottle  radiation 
is  most  free.  A  gentleman  wrote  to  me  that  my  theory 
could  not  be  true,  because  in  a  number  of  his  bottles  tbe 
deposits  were  on  the  sides  fiirthest  from  the  light  On  inqniiy 
it  turned  out  that  his  shelves  were  erected  against  an  outer 
wall,  facing  the  north,  so  that  the  sides  of  tbe  bottles  nearest 
the  wall  were  constantly  the  coldest 

By  dipping's  piece  of  filtering  paper  into  ether,  and  pladng 
it  on  a  bottle  containing  a  little  camphor,  eUx,  a  deposit  maj 
be  determined  in  a  few  seconds  to  any  part  of  the  bottle  at 
pleasure,  and  of  any  pattern  or  device  we  may  choose  to  give 
to  the  filtering  paper.-— I  am,  etc.  0.  Tomlinsov. 

KiDg*s  College,  W.O.,  Oet  a6, 1867. 


Volatility  of  Sesquickloride  of  brm. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  CHEincAL  News.' 

Sib, — Since  writing  the  letter  which  you  kindly  inserted  !■ 
your  last  issue  {Amer,  Reprird^  Dec^  1867,  page  319),  tbe 
subject  of  it  has  received  fuller  investigation  at  mv  baud^ 
and  the  viewa  therein  contained  are  streng^ened  by  the 
following  experiments  I  have  made : — 

( I ).  Another  sample  of  the  beat  sulphocyanide  of  potassium, 
obtained  from  large  operative  chemists,  tested  with  pure  hy- 
drochloric acid,  gave  a  distinct  pink  tint  This  sulphocyauids 
of  potassium  was  dissolved  in  hot  absolute  alcohol,  the  solu* 
tion  filtered,  cooled,  and  the  crystals  separated ;  they  were 
then  freed  Uom  alcohol  by  heat  An  aqueous  solution  was 
made  from  the  salt  thus  obtained  and  filtered. 

(2).  The  aqueous  solution  tested  with  the  pure  hydrodiiorie 
acid  used  above,  gave  no.  tint 

(3).  Mr.  Skey's  experiment  was  tried  with  this  pure  reagent 
solution.    The  sesquichloride  of  iron  and  hydrochloric  scA 


|;^^||«|iBdlttavVoLX7I.,iro.4X8^pafe20O;  Ha  413»  pages  039^  233.] 


I 


OnoocAL  Niwt,  I 


Correspondence. 


51 


were  placed  in  a  large  watch-glaas  haviDg  ground  edges, 
oovered  with  a  glaas  plate  wetted  on  the  under  side  with  the 
snlphocjanide  solution.  Afler  the  lapse  of  seyeral  minutes, 
the  coirer  was  removed,  placed  upon  white  enamelled  glass, 
and  more  of  the  test  solution  added.  The  experimen|  was 
repeated  several  times  under  varying  conditions ;  with  regard 
to  the  proportions  of  sesquichloride  of  iron  and  hydrochloric 
acid,  in  no  case  was  anj  colouration  produced  in  the  sulpho- 
eyanide  of  potassium.  Mr.  Skey,  who  is  evidently  a  diligent 
worker  in  science,  has  apparently  misinterpreted  the  effect 
produced  in  a  colourless  solution  of  ordinary  sulphocyanide 
ojf  potassium  by  the  vapour  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

In  conclusion,  Sir,  I  deny  that  at  present  we  have  any 
proof  of  the  volatility  of  sesquichloride  of  iron  at  common 
tomperaturea. — ^I  am,  etc.,  Hbnby  Sbwara 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chsxioal  News. 
Sib, — Seeing  that  the  sobjeot  of  science  teachers'  is  under 
discussion  in  your  columns,  I  venture  to  offer  a  few  remarks, 
in  the  hope  that  something  will  be  done  to  remedy  the  exist- 
ing anomalous  state  of  things  with  regard  to  science  exami- 
nations ;  feeling,  doubtless  with  many  others,  that  a  measure 
which  bids  fair  to  benefit  the  country,  by  enlarging  the  area 
of  our  educational  basis,  is  falling  from  lack  of  well-directed 
energy  to  accomplish  its  desinft>le  purposes. 

It  is  admitted  on  all  sides  that  the  days  when  Latin  and 
Greek  should  monopolise  our  school  hours  are  at  an  end,  and 
that  i(  is  necessary,  in  order  to  effect  material  progress,  that 
our  scholastic  system  should  be  modernised  by  bringing 
within  its  range  those  departments  of  intellectual  culture 
in  which,  more  especially,  such  rapid  advances  have  been 
made  in  latter  years.  But  I  cannot  think  that  the  latest  step 
on  the  part  of  the  authorities  at  South  Kensington  is  calulat- 
ed  to  further  the  propa^tion  of  scientific  knowledge,  or  to 
facilitate  the  introduction  of  chemistry  and  its  concomitant 
flciences  as  recognised  and  essential  branches  of  a  middle- 
class  education.  I  refer  to  the  abolition  of  the  November 
examinations  for  teachers  and  the  amalgamation  of  pupils 
and  teachers  at  the  May  examinations.  It  is  now  only 
necessary  for  a  candidate  to  obtain  a  first  or  second  class  cer- 
tificate in  order  to  style  himself  and  act  as  a  "  science  teacher.** 
Such  a  sudden  transformation  of  pupils  into  teachers  cannot, 
I  think,  be  productive  of  beneficial  results ;  for  it  is  certainly 
not  a  matter  of  difficultv  for  a  pupil  of  z  6  or  17  years  of  age, 
who  has  applied  himself  to  his  subject,  to  pass  in  the  second, 
or  even  in  the  first  class ;  but  it  is  very  rarely  that  such  a 
pupil  becomes  by  this  circumstance  qualified  to  hold  the  re- 
sponsible position  of  a  teacher.  It  may  be  argued  that  there 
was  so  little  difference  b«twee^  a  third-rate*  teacher  and  a 
first-rate  student  that  it  was  absurd  to  have  separate  exami- 
nations for  them ;  but  was  not  this  fiict  sufficient  in  itself  to 
prove  the  necessity  of  raising  the  standard  of  examination 
for  teachers,  instead  of  lowering  it  to  that  of  the  pupils? 

This,  then,  appears  to  be  the  root  of  the  evil.  The  ex- 
aminations for  teachers  were  never  sufficiently  stringent,  or 
rather  they  did  not  sufficiently  touch  upon  the  real  work  of 
the  teacher,  which,  in  experiroez^tal  science^  is  to  a  gpreat 
extent  of  a  practical  nature.  If  a  separate  examination  for 
teachers  be  again  instituted,  I  would  suggest,  in  order  to 
render  it  more  efficient,  that  something  like  the  following 
scheme  should  be  adopted  :— 

That  no  candidate  should  be  allowed  to  style  himself  a 
"  science  certificated  teacher  "  until  he  has  passed  in  at  least 
four  subjects. 

That  there  should  be  no  second  or  third  class ;  a  certain 
standard  to  be  fixed  which  all  candidates  must  reach. 

That  there  shall  be  a  theoretical  and  practical  examination 
in  those  subjects  which  admit  of  such  treatment. 

That  each  candidate  shall  be  obliged  to  deliver  a  lecture  of 
not  less  than  half  an  hour's  duration  before  a  committee  or 
board  of  examiners,  on  some  portion  of  the  subject  in  which 
be  is  a  candidate,  and  that  a  few  simple  pieces  of  apparatus 
should  be  provided  for  the  illustration  of  the  lecture. 


This  last  requisite  I  consider  to  be  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, as  lecturing  forms  the  chief  portion  of  a  teacher's  work, 
and  his  facility  of  expression,  as  well  as  his  skill  in  manipula- 
tion, might  thus  be  thoroughly  tested.  * 

I  am  of  opinion  that  such  a  scheme  as  the  above  would 
meet  with  the  approval  of  the  majority  of  those  concerned, 
and  none  more  than  science  teachers  themselves  would 
appreciate  the  consequent  elevation  of  their  profession  in  the 
eyes  of  the  public. 

Doubtless  objections  will  be  raised  on  account  of  the  extra 
time  and  expense  involved ;  but  has  not  experience  shown 
that  neither  time  nor  money  can  be  more  wisely  expended 
than  upon  education,  and  never  with  such  certainty  of  ulti- 
mately yielding  great  and  profitable  results  ?— I  am,  etc, 

F.  V,  J. 

Ootobera9. 


On,  ihA  Ocewirence  of  Sulpkoq/anide  0/ Ammonium  ts  Oas 
Mains, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chehioal  Xswa 

Sir,— The  existence  of  sulphocyanide  of  ammonium  la  gas 
mains,  even  at  considerable  distances  from  the  gas  works,  is 
of  very  coifttant  occurrence ;  and  it  is  not  caused  by  the  gas, 
as  Mr.  Hart  suggests  in  bis  paper  before  the  Manchester  Phi- 
losophical Society  [American  Rtprint  Ohbmioal  Nbws, 
January,  186S,  page  35),  bnt  is  prodnced  in  the  mains  and 
service  apparatus  by  the  action  of  ^he  ammonia  in  the  bi- 
sulphide of  carbon  contained  in  coal  gas^  thus:-«- 

2NH,-f-CS,-NH40NS-hH,S 
This  may  at  any  time  be  proved  by  passing  the  purified  gas 
supplied  to  the  public  througli  hydrate  of  lime,  and  soon,  if 
ammonia  be  present,  the  lime  will  be  found  to  be  charged 
with  more  or  less  of  sulphocyanide  of  calcium. 

This  reaction  will  account  not  only  fbr  the  presence  of 
sulphocyanide  of  ammonium  in  the  water  of  all  the  hydrants 
and  water  meters  of  a  district,  but  also  for  the  ferrocyanide 
and  sulphide  of  iron  which  are  so  commonly  found  in  the 
iron  matna — ^I  am,  Ac  H.  Lethbbt. 

College  Laboraiorjr,  London  Bofpltel,  Kovember  5, 1867. 


Siliceous  StaladOet. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmioal  NBWSi 

Sib, — As  a  matter  of  curious  interest  I  send  you  specimens 
of  siliceous  stalactites  of  peculiar  origin.  In  the  maoufiictnre 
of  "  superphosphate  "  from  phosphates  of  fossil  or  mineral 
diaracter,  a  snow-like  substance  is  abundantly  deposited  in 
the  flues,  kc  This  is  silica,  and  has  its  origin  in  the  action 
of  the  sulphuric  acid  upon  the  fluoride  of  calcium  present  in 
the  phosphates.  Fluoride  of  siiksou  is  given  off  as  a  gas, 
which  is  carried  on  with  the  dry  steam,  but  when  the  latter 
becomes  moist,  is  decomposed,  giving  rise  to  hydrofluosilicic 
acid  and  silica.  For  the  first  time  in  my^  experience  this 
deposit  of  silica  has  taken  the  form  now  sent  Probably  some 
of  your  readers  may  have  met  with  better  examples. — I 
am,  &a  Chables  F.  Bubnabo,  F.C.S. 

Nov.  a,  1867. 


Ihe  Camphor  Shrm  Glass, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghkmioal  News. 

Sib, — The  question  put  by  your  correspondent  {Ameriean 
Beprini  Chemical  News,  Jan.,  '68,  page  59)  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  oily  looking  layer  sometimes  seen  at  the  top  of  the  liquid 
column  of  the  storm  glass,  admits  of  a  ready  answer.  I  have 
often  notioed  this  oily  looking  layer.  It  is  never  formed,  I 
believe,  except  when  the  glass  has  been  exposed  to  the  heat 
of  the  sun,  so  as  to  liquefy  a  considerable  portion  of  the  solid 
contents.  These  consist  of  nitre,  sal-ammoniac^  and  camphor. 
The  first  two  are  taken  up  by  the  water  of  the  oomposltton, 
and  the  last  by  the  spirits  of  wine,  in  quantities  varyhig  with 


[BngUih  BdltloD,  Vol  Z7L,  No.  413,  pag«  233 ;  Na  414^  page  944  2  Vo.  41^  page  M8.] 


52 


Correspondence. 


(  Obbrcal  Nm, 
1      /aisl8» 


the  temperature.  Now,  while  the  tube  lb  being  warmed  bj 
the  sun,  a  portion  of  the  alcohol  distils  to  the  upper  or  air- 
filled  part  of  the  tube,  and  when  the-sungoes  off  the  window 
and  the  tube  oooIp,  the  vapour  condenses  into  strong  alcohol, 
the  solvent  powers  of  which  for  camphor  are  much  greater 
than  the  spirits  of  wine  originally  employed.  This  alcohol, 
then,  in  settling  down  becomes  saturated  with  camphor,  and 
forms  a  well-marked  layer  at  the  top  of  the  liquid  column. 

This  effect  may  be  very  well  shown  by  the  following  con- 
trivance :  —  Put  into  a  long  test  tube  a  quantity  of  nitre  or 
sal-ammoniac;  fill  the  tube  one-half  with  water.  There 
should  be  more  salt  than  the  water  can  dissolve.  Next  put 
the  tube  into  a  gallipot  containing  warm  water  and  standing 
on  the  hob.  When  the  tube  is  quite  warm,  fill  it  up  with 
strong  camphorated  spirit,  leaving  room  for  a  well  fitting  cork 
and  a  little  air.  Shake  up  the  contents  and  return  the  tube 
to  its  warm  water  bath.  After  a  short  time  a  well-defined 
oily  looking  layer,  fhnn  two-tenths  to  five-tenths  of  an  inch 
in  thickness,  will  be  seen  at  the  top  of  the  liquid  column. 
If  crude  sal-ammoniac  be  the  salt  used,  the  colour  of  this  layer 
will  be  yellow  passing  into  brown,  due  probably  to  a  trace 
of  iron  in  the  salt  If  pure  nitre  be  used,  the  layer  will  be 
colourless.  That  this  layer  really  consists  of  a  venr  strong  al- 
coholic solution  of  camphor  may  be  shown  by  mpping  into 
it  a  cold  glass  rod,  which  will  be  quickly  incrusted  with  solid 
camphor.  If  t^e  tube  bo  left  to  cool  undisturbed  small  camphor 
stars  will  be  formed^  and  circulate  in  regular  order  within 
the  oily  looking  layer.  ^  Tlie  effects  vary  according  as  nitre 
or  sal-ammoniac  be  used,  but  they  are  very  pretty  in  either 


This  I  believe  to  be  the  best  explanation  of  the  pheno- 
menon in  question.  There  is,  however,  a  strong  tendency  to 
stratification  in  materials  of  such  different  densities,  when  in 
consequence  of  a  gentle  heat,  such  as  that  of  the  sun  and  of 
slow  cooling,  they  are  allowed  to  settle  down.  I  have  noticed 
three  and  even  four  distinct  layers  in  a  tube  containing  only 
nitre  and  camphorated  spirit  If  the  storm  glass  be  exposed 
to  a  fifbrce  sun,  its  contents  will  in  cooling  be  so  far  separated 
that  before  the  glass  will  act  properly  it  must  be  inverted 
and  shaken.  It  will  then  require  a  day  or  two  of  repose  before 
its  usual  phenomena  are  exhibited. — I  am,  etc., 

C.  TOJfLINSON. 
King'i  College,  London,  KoTember  15, 1867. 


Organic  Mailer  in  Water, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  New& 

Sib,—  Since  the  publication  of  Messrs.  Wanklyn,  Chapman, 
It,  Smith's  paper,  which  has  furnished  a  process,  at  the  same 
time  both  qualitative  and  quantitative,  for  the  estimation  of 
organic  matter  existent  in  potable  and  other  waters,  the  idea 
has  suggested  itself  to  me  that  the  results  obtained  represent- 
ing the  amount  of  ammonia  in  millegrammes  per  litre,  present 
as  such,  or  in  the'forip^of  albumenoid  nitrogen,  may  perhaps 
be  regarded  degrees,  or  parts  of  a  degree,  referable  to  some 
arbitrary  standard. 

For  such  a  standard,  we  may  take  for  instance  *i  ralgrm. 
of  ammonia  per  litre,  and  call  that  quantity  1°  of  nitrogenous 
matter.  The  amount  I  have  chosen,  viz.  *i  mlgrrm.  is  per- 
haps not  the  one  best  adapted  to  the  purpose;  it  is  a  quantity, 
however,  often  found  in  tiie  analysis  of  waters,  and  will  serve 
for  explanation. 

I  will  give  the  results  of  three  analyses  lately  made,  and 
then  apply  the  system  I  propose. 

The  specimens  examined  I  have  numbered  i,  2,  and  3. 
Booo  C.&  was  taken  for  No.  i,  and  half  that  quantity  for 
Nos.  2  and  3.  The  examination  was  conducted  in  the  manner 
described  by  the  authors  ot  the  paper  above  referred  to. 
•  Water  No.  i  is  a  specimen  of  that  supplied  by  the  Liver- 
I)Ool  Corporation  to  the  town  in  which  I  am  staying.  No.  2 
was  taken  from  a  brook  contaminated  to  some  extent  with 
mwa^e ;  No.  3  was  from  a  stream  receiving  much  sewage 
^ad  leiuse  \vovl  bleach  ana  other  wcrK& 

I  have,  for  the  sake  of  comparison,  examined  waters  from 


three  totally  different  sources,  waters  in  which  the  raticf  of 
oi|[anic  impurity  was^  presumed  to  be  progressive. 


No.  I.  1,000  c.a 
By    distUlation    with 

NaaCO. 
ISt  100  ac.  )       Mlgim 

f      '° 

2nd ) 

By  alkaline 
permanganate     '15 


No.  II.  500  O.C. 
By  distillation  with 
Na«CO, 

Mlgnn. 

•07 

By  alkaline 
permanganate  '47 


No.  m.  500  cc. 
By  distillatioD  with 
Na,CO, 

Mlgm. 

•09 

By  alkaline 
permanganate  75 


•IS  -54  -84 
In  order  to  compare  the  above  results  it  is  necesaaxy  to 
double  the  amounts  of  ammonia  found  in  Nos.  2  and  ^  and 
we  have- 
No.  I -ic 

No.  2 i*o8 

Na3 r68 

Translating  these  figures  into  degrees,  and  taking  *i  mlgrm. 
of  NHa  per  litre  as  the  representative  of  a  water  of  i**  of 
"  organic  nitrogen,"  we  have  for— 

No.  I  a  water  of    i**-s 
Na  2         *»  10-8 

No.  3         "  i6-8 

It  will  be  seen  that  I  have  not  made  any  distinction  Between 
the  degrees  corresponding  to  the  ammonia  originally  present 
as  such,  or  due  to  the  decomposition  of  urea,  and  those  whidi 
represent  the  amount  afterwards  evolved  on  the  addition  of 
alkaline  permanganate,  but  some  distinction  will  probably  be 
necessary. 

I  may  remark,  in  oondumon,  that  the  result  of  the  analjais 
of  water  No.  i  confirms  Professor  Wanklyn*s  statement  in 
the  Laboratory  (No.  26,  page  442),  with  reference  to  the 
stability  of  albuminoid  matters  in  the  presence  of  a  boiiing 
solutibn  of  sodic  carbonate  of  the  strength  used  by  himself 
and  colleagues  in  their  process. — ^I  am,  etc., 

PBnJF  Hollaksl 

Qborlej,  Luicathire. 


BaU  08  an  AcUUierant  in  ike  Dyeing  Trade. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chiehioal  News. 

Sib, — Amongst  the  substances  fraudulently  added  to  diemv- 
cals  and  drysalteries,  both  organic  and  inorganic,  common 
salt  holds  a  prominent  place.  When  thus  employed  it  not 
merelv  dilutes  or  lets  down  the  article  to  which  it  is  added, 
but  often  exerts  a  most  injurious  positive  action.  Thua,^  when 
used  to  "  spring,"  as  it  is  called,  extracts  of  dyewoods,  it  veiy 
much  injures  their  quality.  It  is  well  known  that  to  dye  an 
even,  fast,  and  brilliant  shade,  the  colouring  matter  must  be 
held  in  a  state  of  perfect  solution ;  or,  if  insoluble,  in  the  finest 
possible  suspension,  so  that  it  may  be  slowly  and  gradnany 
delivered  to  the  fibre.  Now  the  presence  of  salt  impairs  the 
balance  between  the  solvent  and  the  colour,  and  oansea  the 
latter  to  be  rapidly  and  irregulariy  deposited  onthe  but&os  of 
the  goods  in  a  dull  state,  capable  of  easy  removaL  In  some 
cases  the  affinity  of  the  fibre  for  the  colour  seems  masked, 
so  that  the  latter,  instead  of  '*  taking  on,"  falls  as  a  sediment 
to  the  bottom  of  the  dye-pan.  At  other  times  a  colcmr  or 
mordant  previously  put  on  is  impoverished  by  the  salt  thus 
present  Thus,  to  take  a  very  common  caae — suppose  a 
coburg  or  union  damask  has  to  be  dyed  green.  The  worsted 
having  been  dyed  as  usual,  and  the  warp  done  a  Prassiatt 
blue,  the  piece  is  passed  through  extract  quercitron.  If  this 
has  been  adulterated  with  salt,  the  piece  when  apparmifly 
dyed  will  be  found,  after  having  been  rinsed  and  dried,  to  have 
a  green  weft  and  a  pale  blue  warp,  the  Pruasian  bine  deposit- 
ed ^n  the  cotton  having  been  impoverished  by  the  salt 

Ground  turm'Tio  is  anrrner  article  often  mixed  with  salt,^ 
which  imparts  to  it  a  brightc  sjipcaraLcc  L.  the  state  > 


[EngIidiBdltioa,VoLZVI,iro.41«;  page  268;  No.  417,  pc^ea  280,  S81.] 


OtamcAL  Nbwi,) 


MiaceUaneoue. 


53 


powder.  The  action  of  the  salt  hero  is  very  similar  to  what 
has  been  above  described.  The  mordants  are,  as  the  djers 
term  it,  "  naiged  away "  from  the  warps  of  the  salt.  Dry- 
Balters,  when  the  salt  in  their  turmerics  is  detected,  have 
been  known  to  state  in  extenuation  that  the  article  had  been 
damaged  by  sea  water,  although  men  in  their  employment 
own  that  they  are  told  to  mix  a  certam  proportion  of  salt 
with  the  root  during  grinding. — I  am,  etc.,  W. 


MISOELIaANEOUS. 


The  Atmosphere  of  the  Viidercroiiiid  RmUway.— 

On  Wednesday  Dr.  Lankester  held  the  adjourned  inquest  re- 
lative  to  the  death  of  a  young  woman  who  died  at  King's 
Cross  Station.  Scientific  evidence  was  given  as  to  the 
quality  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  tunnels  by  Professor  J.  £. 
D.  Sodgers  and  Dr.  Letheby.  A  special  report  has  been 
prepared  for  this  Journal  and  will  appear  in  our  next. 

Soyml  Institution  of  Great  Britain.  —  The  follow- 
ing lectures  have  already  been  decided  upon : — The  Christ- 
mas  lectures^  adapted  to  a  juvenile  auditory,  will  be  deliv- 
ered by  Professor  Tyndall,  LUD.,  P.R.S.  Subject— Heat 
and  Cold.  Professor  Tyndall  will  also  deliver  ten  lectures  on 
**  the  DisooTeries  of  Faraday.''  Professor  Roscoe,  F.R.S.,  will 
deliver  eleven  lectures  on  ^the  Chemistry  of  the  non- 
MetaUic  Blementa*'  Geon?e  Scharf,  Esq.,  FS.A.,  will 
deliver  six  lectures  on  "Historical  Portraiture  of  various 
Times  and  Countries ;"  and  Professor  Foster  will  deliver  four 
lectures  on  "the  Development  of  the  Chick  in  the  Egg." 
The  Friday  evening  meetings  will  commence  on  January  17, 
when  a  discourse  will  be  delivered  by  Professor  Tyndall. 
After  EHSter,  eight  lectures  in  oontinuation  will  be  delivered 
by  Professor  Foster  on  "  the  Development  of  the  Chick  in 
the  E^;"  four  lectures  by  Professor  Odling,  F.BS.,  on 
"Chemical  Combination;"  and  four  lectures  by  Professor 
Bain,  on  "Popular  Errors." 

Heath  of^the  Earl  of  Bosse. — With  regret  we  an- 
nounce the  death  of  the  Earl  of  Ronse,  who  expired,  after  a 
lingering  illness,  at  Birr  Castle,  King's  County,  on  the  3i8t 
October,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  His  name  will 
always  be  associated  with  astronomical  research  and  discov- 
ery, aud  with  the  gigantic  reflector  known  by  his  name.  He 
was  President  of  the  Rojral  Society  in  1849,  ^"^  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^^ 
Chancellorship  of  the  University  of  Dublin  two  years  before 
his  decease. 

Sulphite  of  Vranld,  Bonble-ealte  of* — ^L.  Scheller. 
Pure  oxide  of  uranid  (uranid=U""=24o)  prepared  accord- 
ing to  Malaguti's  method  by  heating  an  alcoholic  solution  of 
uranic  nitrate  and  washing  the  residue,  was  suspended  in 
water,  and  sulphurous  acid  gas  passed  through  until  all  was 
dissolved.  On  adding  to  this  solution  potassic,  sodic,  or 
ammontc  disulphite,  crystalline  precipitates  are  obtained  of 
the  following  compositions:— UK.  l^USOa,  UNajHSOc,  and 
nNH4.HSeo.  They  are  difficultly  soluble  in  water,  but 
dissolve  readily  in  sulphuric  acid. — [Zeittchr,  Chan,  K.F.  iii. 
522.) 

Bxperlmente  In  Eleetroiyaia— It  has  generally  been 
inferred  that  the  power  of  nitro-hydrochloric  acid  as  a  solvent 
for  gold  and  platinum  is  owing  to  the  evolution  of  free 
chlorine.  The  proof  of  the  inference  has  been  this : — When 
aqua-regia  is  heated  until  no  more  chlorine  is  evolved,  the 
residual  liquid  is  "  found  to  be  a  solution  of  hydrochloric  and 
nitrous  acids  that  is  incapable  of  dissolving  gold." — Turner, 
In  experimenting  on  the  olectrolisation  of  compounds  the 
other  day,  it  occurred  to  me  that  this  hypothesis  is  capable  of 
decided  proof;  and  this  was  the  series  of  experiments,  (i). 
Into  an  ordinary  apparatus  for  the  electro-chemical  deoompo- 
sitioD  of  water,  having  platinum  electrodes,  a  weak  solution 
of  hydrochloric  acid  was  poured.  Over  the  anelectrode  a 
glass  tube  was  placed,  and  in  this  tube  some  gold  leaf. 
Twelve  pairs  of  Wollaston's  doable  coppers  were  employed 


excited  by  dilute  sulphuric  acid  only.  On  oompleting  the 
circuit,  the  penetrating  odour  of  chlorine  was  veiy  percepti- 
ble, and  in  a  few  seconds  the  gold  id  the  tube  over  the  ane- 
lectrodo  was  completely  dissolved ;  as  also  were  some  frag- 
ments that  had  been  put  into  the  solution  outside  the  tube. 
(2).  If  chlorine  has  this  power  over  gold,  it  may  be  supposed 
that  the  chloride  of  either  a  metal  or  an  alkali,  providing  that 
the  compound  is  an  electrolyte,  will  exhibit,  on  electrolysa- 
tion,  the  same  result.  Chloride  of  sodium  was  the  substance 
first  experimented  with.  A  saturated  solution  of  the  salt  was 
made,  and  with  precisely  the  same  arrangement  as  before, 
the  gold  in  the  tube  over  the  anelectrode  was  speodily  dis- 
solved. (3).  The  same  result  was  obtained  on  electrolysing 
a  solution  of  chloride  of  ammonium  and  chloride  of  barium. 
By  a  power  of  20  pairs  of  Wollaston^s  double  ooppers  the 
gold  was  dissolved  with  a  npidity  equal  to  that  when  a  so- 
lution of  chloride  of  sodium  was  the  liquid  electrolysed.  .Both 
times  the  blue  colour  of  litmus  was  quickly  discharged,  but 
there  was  no  previous  reddening  of  the  colouring  matter  to 
indicate  the  generation  of  hydrochloric  acid.  (4).  A  solution 
of  chlorate  of  potassa  was  the  liquid  next  electrolysed.  With 
the  same  power  of  20  plates  the  gold  was  very  gradually 
dissolved,  though  the  battery  was  in  good  action.  The 
odour  of  chlorine  was  perceptible,  though  fainter  than  in  the 
former  experiments.  A  solution  of  litmus  was  poured  into 
the  vessel,  and  a  tinge  of  red  was  then  perceived  at  the 
anode,  owing  to  the  action  of  the  evolved  chloric  acid  upon 
the  colouring  matter.  The  blue  colour  of  the  solution  became 
fainter  by  degrees,  evidently  proving  that  since  chloric  acid 
does  not  possess  bleaching  properties,  free  chlorine  was 
evolved.  l*ossibly  this  formation  of  chlorine  firom  chloric 
acid  is  a  secondary  result  of  the  current;  but  it  is  quite  as 
probable,  and  more  so,  that  the  chlorate  of  potassa  and  the 
chloric  acid  were  successively  decomposed  by  the  current  of 
electricity.  I  am  not  aware  that  the  dissolution  of  gold,  and 
the  influence  of  chlorine  over  the  metal,  has  been  shown  in 
this  way  before.  True,  Davy  has  proved  that  nitro-hydro- 
chloric acid  does  not  dissolve  gold  unless  free  chlorine  is 
developed.  Mr.  Grove,  also,  has  shown  the  action  of  chlo- 
rine liberated  by  the  voltaic  current;  but  in  a  different  way. 
Two  strips  of  gold  lea^  one  in  nitric,  the  other  in  hydro- 
chloric acid,  m  contact  through  a  porous  division,  were  con- 
nected by  a  gold  wire :  the  hydrochloric  acid  was  decom- 
posed, and  the  gold  in  it  immediately  diaeolved.  The  exper- 
iments now  made  may  not' possess  the  less  interest  because 
they  refer  to  a  foregone  conclusion,  and  sliow  that  by  the 
decomposition  of  other  compounds  of  chlorine  besides  hydro- 
chloric acid  the  precious  metals  may  be  dissolved.— .^me*4 
W,  BarOett 

The  Paaeal-VTewton  Forgeries— -Sir  David  Brewster 
has  forwarded  the  following  letter  to  the  I^mes: — "As  the 
French  Academy  of  Sciences  is  now  convinced  that  the  Pas- 
cal and  Newton  Letters  are  forgeries,  it  has  become  an 
object  of  interest  to  discover  Uie  name  of  the  forger,  the  time 
when  he  executed  his  work,  and  the  motives  by  which  he 
was  influenced.  That  M.  Pierre  Desmaizeaux,  a  Frenchman 
resident  in  London,  was  the  author  of  these  forgeries,  will 
appear  from  the  following  considerations : — i.  Desmaizeaux 
resided  in  England  between  the  years  1692  and  1745,  ^^^ 
year  of  his  death.  He  was  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society, 
and  was  intimately  acquainted  with  Newton  and  with  the 
leading  scientific  men  of  the  day.  He  was  a  contributor  to 
the  Oeneral  Dictionary,  as  is  stated  in  the  preface  to  that 
work,  and  he  possessed  tliat  knowledge  of  physical  science 
which  appears  in  the  correspondence  between  Pascal  and 
Newton.  2.  Desraaizeaux's  work  entitled  Becueil  de  Divertet 
Pieces,  etc,  par  Leibnitz,  Clark,  ei  Newton,  several  portions  of 
which  appear  in  the  forged  letters  of  Newton,  connect  him  in 
a  peculiar  manner  with  the  forgery.  3.  Desmaizeaux  is  the 
most  important  personage  in  the  fabricated  documents — ^the 
hero  in  the  romance  so  ingeniously  composed  to  transfer  the 
discoveries  of  Newton  to  his  countryman.  He  is  himself  the 
author  of  six  of  the  letters  published  by  M.  Chasles,  and  no 
fewer  than  nine  are  addressed  to  himself  by  some  of  the  most 


[BngUSh  Bdttifla,  YoL  ZTI,  Na  417,  pace  281  ;H(K  413^  pace  232 ;  H(K  414^  page  ^ 


54 


Miac^aTieous. 


j  Cbkical  Kmi 


«/izn^l8tt. 


distingruisbed  writers  of  the  day.  4.  Desmaizeaux's  poverty 
adds  to  the  evidence  of  lus  being  the  forger.  He  lived 
chiefly  by  liis  writings.  He  was  employed  by  Dutch  book- 
sellers to  send  them  literary  news  from  England.  In  a  letter 
to  a  nobleman,  in  1732,  he  states  *tbat  he  was  reduced  to  a 
pension  on  the  Irish  Kstablishment,  which  brought  him  ^"40 
a  year.* ...  *  After  40  years  stay  in  England,  and  in  an  ad- 
vanced age,  I  find  myself  and  family  destitute  of  a  sufficient 
livelihood,  and  suffering  from  complaints  in  the  head  and  im- 
paired sight  by  constant  application  to  my  studies.*  5.  Des- 
maizeaux's character,  both  in  its  religious  and  Tnoral  aspect, 
was  quite  consistent  with  his  criminality  as  a  forger  and  a 
systematic  slanderer  of  Newton.  *  He  was  a  great  man/ 
says  Mr.  Disraeli,  '  with  those  who  are  pleased  to  be  called 
Free-thinkers,  particularly  with  Mr.  Anthony  Collins,  and 
collects  passages  out  of  books  for  tiieir  writings.*  Anthony 
Collins,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  Locke,  placed  such  contl- 
dence  in  Desmaizeaux  that  he  bequeathed  to  him  eight  octavo 
volumes  of  his  manuscripts,  '  in  order,*  Disraeli  says, '  that 
Ihey  might  be  secured  from  the  common  fate  of  manu8cript&' 
In  an  unguarded  moment,  however,  he  relinquished  this 
precious  legacy  of  the  manuscripts,  and  accepted  50  guineas 
as  a  'present*  from  Mrs.  Collins,  who,  it  'is  supposed,  threw 
them  into  the  fire.  6.  A  large  portion  of  the  forged  corre- 
spondence, embracing  120  letters  from  Newton,  and  88  letters 
and  notes  of  Leibnitz,  was  in  Deemaizeaux's  house  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1745,  and  either  he  himself  or  his  fhmily 
sold  it  for  j£'8oo  to  a  celebrated  collector  of  manuscripts. 
During  the  interval  between  1734  and  1740  he  had  no  doubt 
good  employment  as  a  contributor  to  the  General  Dictionary, 
and  it  is  therefore  probable  that  he  spent  the  last  five  years 
of  his  life  in  the  difficult  work  of  composing  the  Pascal  and 
Newton  Correspondence.  That  his  motive  was  to  calumniate 
Newton,  who  was  his  friend,  and  exalt  Pascal,  who  was  his 
countryman,  is  by  no  means  probable.  In  1743,  two  years 
before  his  death,  he  had,  as  Disraeli  tells  us,  '  procured  his  pen- 
sion to  be  placed  on  his  wife,*  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  his  crime  against  Newton,  like  his  crime  against  Collins, 
had  no  other  object  than  to  make  a  provision  for  his  /amily.*' 

Transpareney  of  MoUen  Metals.— The  assertion  of 
Secchi,  a  few  months  ago,  regarding  the  transparency  of  heated 
iron,  has  given  rise  to  much  talk  ;  but  we  have  not  yet  seen  it 
confirmed  by  the  statement  of  any  other  competent  eye-wit- 
ness. Meanwhile,  however,  many  assertions  have  been  made 
as  to  the  transparency  of  metals  when  melted ;  and  the  evi- 
dence on  this  point  begins  to  stagger  the  savant.  It  so  happens, 
that,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  no  professional  chemist  or  edu- 
cated physicist  has  yet  testified  to  the  phenomenon  as  actu- 
ally observed  by  him.  It  is  merely  «iid,  in  various  quarters, 
to  be  a  fact,  well  known  to  the  workmen  employed  in  melting 
and  moulding  certain  metals.  We  deem  it,  therefore,  impor- 
tant to  mention  the  first  authentic  endorsement  which  has 
come  to  our  notice.  M.  Paul  Morin,  the  accomplished  chem- 
ist in  charge  of  the  Aluminium  Bronze  Works  near  Paris,  as- 
serts that  the  melted  alloy,  when  poured  into  the  mould,  is 
transparent;  and  Mr.  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  to  whom  the  assertion 
was  made,  and  who  saw  the  operation  performed,  assures  us 
that  the  appearance  of  the  molten  stream  seemed  to  corrobo- 
rate the  statement  There  is  a  possibility  of  optical  illusion 
in  the  inspection  of  a  body  which  is  itself  intensely  luminous, 
to  discover  whether  it  is  transparent.  We  suggest  that  the 
question  may  be  easily  settled  by  the  means  employed  to 
show  the  transparency  of  ordinary  flame,  namely,  by  burning 
magnesium,  or  in  some  other  way  producing  a  more  brilliant 
light,  behind  it.  The  aluminium  bronze  is  remarkable  for 
two  things,  among  other  qualities,  which  distinguish  it  from 
ordinary  alloys.  One  is  the  intense  temperature  developed 
by  the  union  of  the  two  metals,  and  the  oiher  is  the  extreme 
fluidity  of  the  molten  compound.  Perhaps  these  qualities 
may  be  connected  with  the  alleged  phenomenon  of  transpa- 
rency. Copper  may  also  be  transparent  in  the  liquid  state  ; 
but,  in  pouring  it  into  moulds,  it  often  oxidizes  very  rapidly ; 
and  the  whole  liquid  mass  is  believed  to  be  filled  with  dis- 
Bemlnated  partides  of  the  red  oxide  of  copper,  which    is 


opaque.  Whether  from  this  cause  or  not,  we  cannot  say,  but 
the  evidence  as  to  the  transparency  of  molten  copper,  aa 
likewise  in  the  case  of  other  metals,  is  still  conflicting  and  in- 
oonduiuve. — American  Journal  of  Mining, 

CompofltUoB  and  <|iiaIUy  of  U&e  HetropoUtaa 
ITaters  In  October,  186T.— The  following  are  the  fie- 
turns  of  the  Metropolitan  Assodation  of  Medical  OfBoexs  of 
Health :— 


m 

l^t- 

HaidBMS. 

s 

Water  Companies. 

Befora 
boiling 

After 

boiling 

Tham6»  Water 

CompatiUt, 

Grand  tfuDotioa... 

WefttMlddleMx... 

Bouthwark  and 

.Vanxhall 

Ijunbeth 

Other  Companies. 
Kent. 

Oralno. 

18*50 

X9'oo 

2750 
x7'oo 
i9*ao 

8«'33 
lao'oo 
7467 

Onins. 

I'OO 

0-8S 
100 

0-75 
035 
050 

aoo 
xrsi 

800 

Gnlni. 
056 

OS9 
o'6o 

oa6 
or3i 
tf49 

0-06 
096 

Dege. 

13*5 
"•5 

13-0 
«3S 

z8*o 
xa'o 
130 

3»-o 
5oro 
36o 

Degiu 

4-S 
4>» 

4*5 
45 

7*5 
30 
45 

16*0 

Gnins. 
0*004 

0004 1 
oiooo 

New  Rlvor 

EMtJLoudon 

Swface  WdUin 

IdolLaneTChnrch) 
Leadenhall  Street. 
DunniDg^s  AUey.. 

0\»I 
O'OQI 

tfooS 

*  The  loss  \>j  Ignition  repreeento  a  variety  of  TolatUe  matten,  M 
well  aa  orfpnntc  matter,  la  ammonlacal  ealta,  moisture,  and  the  Tolati]* 
constitnento  of  nitrates  and  nitrites. 

t  The  ozldleable  organic  matter  is  determined  by  a  standard  sola* 
tion  of  permanganate  of  potash— the  available  oxygen  of  which  li  to 
the  organic  matter  as  i  is  to  8 ;  and  the  resalts  are  controlled  by  tte 
examination  of  the  colour  of  the  water  when  seen  throogh  a  gissi  tabs 
two  feet  in  length  and  two  inches  in  diameter. 

Eneonrasement  of  C1ieiiii»tiT  In  Fraii€e*-.Dr. 
Quesneville  writes  in  Le  M(mUeur  ScienHfique:  **We  hiye 
just  heard  two  pieces  of  bad  news.  The  first,  which  is  ir- 
remedial,  is  the  death  of  Millon,  that  distinguished  chemist 
whose  career  waff  cut  short  and 'health  impaired  by  beii^ 
sent  to  pass  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  Algeria,  because  bis 
liberal  opinions  were  too  advanced  to  permit  iiis  remainiiig 
in  Paris.  The  second  is  the  arrest  of  our  distinguished  col- 
league M.  A.  Naquet,  ProfiMeuar  Agregi  d  la  FaaiUe  dt  Jfs- 
dednej  which  was  doubtless  owiug  to  the  same  cause." 

The  Frescoes  In  l¥etrtnilnster  Palaee. — Mr.  Wild 
has  been  recently  engaged  in  the  reparation  of  his  pictures  in 
fresco  and  water-glass,  which  fill  panels  in  the  Oommoin 
Corridor  (theso  ha^  in  more  than  one  case,  been  affected  by 
unknown  and  variously  effective  causes))  and  has  succeeded 
to  his  satisfaction,  so  far  as  the  experiment  permitted.  After 
cleaning  the  works  with  bread,  they  were  coated  with  gela- 
tine size,  and  the^artist  repaired  the  affected  part  with  pure 
water-colour,  which  embodied  with  the  size  and  formed  dis- 
temper. The  general  appearance  of  ^the  picture  being  thus 
restored,  a  coating  of  a  new  composition,  consisting  of  benzole 
and  paraffin,  was  applied  to  some  of  the  parts  which  required 
additional  fixing,  and  had  the  effect  of  deepening  the  colours 
and  enriching  uie  tones,  as  varnish  upon  oil-painting,  with- 
out the  shining  surface.  Except  in  one  or  two  cases,  this 
latter  application  was  not  made  to  the  heads.  This  new 
mixture  has  been  extensively  employed  on  the  pictures  by 
Dyce  in  the  Queen's  Robing  Room,  which  had  suffered  from 
the  scaling  oft*  of  portions  of  their  surfaces,  and,  as  we  have 
witnessed,  with  remarkably  good  effect,  that  will  be,  we  trust, 
permanent.  The  composition  by  Dyce,  called  **  Courtesy,"  has 
been  entirely  covered  thus.  The  large  picture  called  *•  Hos- 
pitality "  has  not  yet  been  so  treated,  and  truly  looks  so  bril- 
liant and  well  in  tone,  that  it  will  be  superfluous  to  touch  it 
Tliese  pictures  are  pure  frescoes;  but  the  application  maybe 
made  to  distemper  or  size-painted  works,  aa  with  those  of 
Mr.  Ward.  The  fluid  is  warmedi,  and  used  at  a  temperature 
of  about  70°,  the  surroundings  atmosphere  being  heated  (0 
that  degree.    Mr.  Wright,  chemist  of  Kensington,  devised, 


[EngUflhEdMon,VoLXVL,No.41^pBgea257,256;  No.  4U^  page  268 ;  Na  417,  pi«e  SSL] 


Omi04i.  Nbwi,  I 


Miacellanemia. 


55 


aiid,  in  ooi^junction  with  Mr.  Cope^  R.A.,  perfected  the  com- 
position in  qaeation,  which  has  been  employed,  with  the 
nnction  of  Dr.  Percy  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  upon 
his  ovrn  pictures  at  Westminster  whenever  they  required  it 

9E«ffiiette  Cmrblde  Pllters._In  the  BHtiak  Medical 
Jottrmtl  of  last  week  the  following  paragraph  appeared :  *'  Our 
ezoelient  contemporaiy,  the  Ohemioal  Nbws,  seems  to  doubt, 
in  thoir  remarks  upon  this  Beport  on  the  Purification  of  the 
Hooghly  Water  for  the  Supply  of  Calcutta,  the  value  of  the 
method  of  filtration  by  magnetic  carbide.  We  can  assure  the 
Chimigal  News  that  experience  and  experimental  investiga- 
tion fuUy  bear  out  the  statements  of  Mr.  Spencer.  That  *8o 
little  has  been  beard  of  this  process  during  the  seven  years  in 
which  the  author  says  he  has  had  practical  experience  with  it,* 
perhaps  Mr.  Spencer  or  his  friends  can  best  explain.  And  it 
IB,  indeed,  true  that,  considering  its  importance,  it  is  little 
known;  for  *if.'  as  our  contemporary  remarks,  *the  purify- 
uig  material  possess  the  virtues  accorded  to  it  by  the  dis- 
ooverer,  it  is  especially  our  duty  to  protest  against  anjrthing 
less  than  the  universal  application  of  the  process  in  this  coun- 
try.' "  We  regret  that  the  purport  of  our  remarks  has  been 
uisunderstood,  but  at  the  same  time  we  find  no  reason  to 
qualifp^  the  opinions  we  expressed.  Our  objections  took 
ground  less  against  Mr.  Spencer's  procena^  than  his  theoriei 
explaining  the  action  of  magnetic  carbide.  Our  talented  con- 
temporary is  silent  upon  these,  and  would  possibly  hesitate, 
for  instance,  before  allowing,  with  Mr.  Spencer,  that  magnetic 
oxide  of  iron  impregnated  with  carbon,  in  virtue  of  its  mag- 
netic nature,  attracts  into  its  pores  the  oxygen  from  atmos- 
pheric air,  leaving  the  nitrogen  behind.  If  Mr.  Spencer  can 
prove  this  it  would  be  highly  interesting,  but  at  present  evi- 
dence tends  to  an  opposite  conduaion,  in  fact  the  experiments 
of  Faraday  prove  the  contrary.  Granting,  for  the  sake  of  ar- 
gument^ that  oxygen  ia  attracted  into  the  pores  of  magnetic 
carbide,  what  proof,  or  even  probability  is  there  of  it  being 
thereby  converted  into  ozone  ?  The  extracts  inserted  in  the 
article  upon  the  water  supply  of  Calcutta  (Chemical  News^ 
American  Reprint,  January,  1868,  page  4)  must,  we  think, 
have  shown  our  readera  how  much  rested  upon  Mr. 
Spencer's  ipte  diatit,  and  how  little  upon  experiment.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  if  experiment  bore  out  these  state- 
ments they  would  possess  extraordinary  interest  for  the 
scientific  world.  With  regard  to  the  process  itself  we  do  not 
deny  that  magnetic  carbide  exerts  a  purifying  action  upon 
water,  possibly  greater  than  carbon.  But  as  to  its  differing 
from  carbon  in  the  action  not  gradually  declining  after  im- 
mersion in  water,  we  can  only  say  that  experiments  such  as 
carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  scientists  are  wanting,  whilst 
the  assertion  is  opposed  to  the  existing  opinions  upon  the 
BQbjeet 

The  8tar*SIioirer  of  Noveinber  14  Hi  next.  — The 
geographical  limits  of  risibility  of  the  star-shower  of  1866, 
coincide  with  the  area  over  which  the  November  meteors 
appeared  in  1832.  The  latter  shower  was  seen  as  &r  south 
as  the  Mauritius,  as  far  east  as  Arabia  and  the  Pereian  Gulf, 
and  over  the  whole  continent  of  Europe,  with  the  British 
Isles,  but  it  was  not  visible  in  America.  It  was,  moreover, 
a  moderate  display,  but  it  was  followed,  twelve  months 
later  in  America,  by  the  great  storm  of  meteore  which  sud- 
denly appeared  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  November, 
1833.  The  recent  exhibition  may  therefore  be  regarded  as 
the  prelude  of  a  similar  meteor-rain  in  America,  perhaps  par- 
tially visible  in  Europe,  as  great  and  bright  as  the  two  star- 
storms  seen  in  America,  and  partially  visible  in  Europe,  in 
the  years  1 799  and  1833.  Unless  unforeseen  curvatures  of  the 
meteoric  current  disturb  the  geographical  boundaries  of  the  dis- 
pUiy,  the  first  symptoms  of  the  approaching  star-shower  will 
be  perceived  at  day-break  in  England,  on  the  rooming  of  the 
14th  of  November,  1867,  when  the  light  of  the  moon,  t^en 
three  days  past  the  fUU,  and  of  dawn  appearing,  will  detract 
something  from  the  numbere  and  brightness  of  the  meteore. 
But  the  same  oscillation  of  the  curves  in  an  opposite  direo- 
tioo,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  will  bring  Great  Britain  into 


full  view  of  the  centre  of  the  shower,  and  make  the  principal 
spectacle  of  the  meteore  visible  in  Europe  before  day-break, 
as  well  as  in  America. — A,  8.  HereML 

New  BefleeUns  Telescope  to  be  naed  at  Mel- 
bourne, Aastralla.-~The  Rev.  Dr.  Robinson,  F.B.8., 
gives  the  following  description  of  the  new  Reflecting  Teles- 
cope recently  made  for  the  Melbourne  Observatory,  in  a  let- 
ter to  the  President  of  the  Royal  Society.  "As  you  ex- 
press a  wish  to  know  my  recent  impressions  respecting  the 
great  telescope,  I  can  say  that  they  are  very  satisfactory. 
When  I  saw  it  six  weeks  ago  the  first  of  the  two  great 
specula  was  just  polished ;  and  though  the  essential  parts 
of  the  equatorial  were  in  position,  and  one  could  estinmte 
the  facility  with  which  it  could  be  managed,  the  optical  part 
of  the  telescope  remained  mcomplete.  Now,  I  found  the 
great  and  small  specula  in  their  places,  a  finder  of  four 
inches  aperture  attached,  the  drdes  divided,  and  the  dock 
for  driving  the  telescope  enshrined  in  the  pier.  One  thing 
was  wanting,  weather  fit  for  trying  its  power ;  and  during 
eighteen  nights  there  was  only  one  of  even  middling  good- 
ness. That,  however,  was  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  instru- 
ment was  thoroughly  up  to  its  intended  work.  I  examined 
several  nebula  and  dusters,  with  whose  appearance  in  Lord 
Rosse's  six-feet  reflector  I  am  familiar,  and  the  difference 
was  far  less  than  I  expected.  I  may  spedfy  among  them 
51  Messier,  whose  spirals  wore  seen  on  strong  aurora  and 
the  nebula  in  Aquarius,  with  its  appendages  like  the  ring 
of  Saturn.  Its  definition  of  stars  is  very  good ;  a  Lyrse  had 
as  small  and  sharp  an  image  as  I  ever  saw  on  such  a  night ; 
and  a  few  pretty  dose  double  stars  were  well  and  clearly 
sepjarated.  Part  of  this  is  probably  due  to  the  lattice-tube, 
which  permits  the  escape  of  heated  air,  but  more  to  the 
figure  of  the  speculum,  which  is  truly  parabolic.  The  pecu- 
liar nature  of  the  mounting  brings  the  drdes  completely 
within  reach  of  the  observer's  assistant ;  and  the  mechani- 
cal appliances  for  the  motions  in  right  ascension  and  polar 
distance  are  so  perfect,  thai  we  set  the  instrument  on  the 
faint  objects  which  we  were  examining  witii  great  facility 
and  rapidity.  One  man  can  reverse  the  telescope  in  a 
minute  and  a  quarter;  the  quick  motion  in  polar  distance 
is  of  course  far  easier,  and  the  slow  one  acts  more  like  the 
tangent  screw  of  a  circle  than  the  mover  of  such  a  huge 
mass.  The  dock  is  rather  gigantic,  but  does  its  work  with 
great  precision,  the  objects  which  I  examined  remaining 
steady  on  the  wire  as  long  as  1  watched  them ;  and  there 
is  an  ingenious  and  new  contrivance  for  suiting  its  speed  to 
planets  or  the  nooon.  There  remain  but  a  few  matters  to  be 
completed ;  the  second  great  speculum  is  nearly  polished, 
the  glass  small  one  is  ready ;  the  micrometer  and  observing- 
chair  are  not  commenced,  nor  the  photographic  apparatus 
and  spectroscope.  These  two  last  are  no  part  of  Mr.  GrubVs 
oontract;  but  the  committee  thought  themselves  justified 
by  the  correspondence  in  ordering  them,  as  their  cost  is 
small,  and  they  will  add  greatly  to  the  utility  of  the  tele- 
scope. In  the  fine  sky  of  Melbourne  it  will,  I  trust,  yield 
spectroscopic  results  surpassing  any  that  have  as  yet  been 
obtained.  That  it  will  realize  fully  the  expectations  of  the 
people  whose  enlightened  liberality  has  ordered  its  con- 
struction I  am  quite  certain ;  but  I  am  not  so  certain  that 
it  will  retam  its  present  perfection  veiy  long  if  exposed 
without  some  shelter.  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Cooper's  great 
achromatic  has  stood  exposed  to  the  rain  and  wuid  of  Con- 
naught  for  more  than  thurty  years,  and  is  still  serviceable ; 
but  besides  its  inferior  size  it  is  of  coaraer  workmanship, 
and  is  provided  with  fewer  of  those  beautiful  contrivances 
which  in  this  instrument  make  its  movements  so  easy.  At 
Melbourne  the  rain  of  Markree  is  not  to  bejfeared;  but  if 
one  may  judge  firom  its  position  on  the  verge  of  a  great  con- 
tinent, and  from  the  analogy  of  India  and  t^e  Cape,  another 
enemy  is  to  be  dreaded,  the  fine  dust  which  winds  from  the 
interior  will  probably  bring.  This  would  find  its  way  into 
all  the  bearings,  and  besides  clogging  their  action  would 
grind  them  out  of  truth.  The  danger  of  this  induces  me, 
after  oaieful  discussion  with  Messre.  Le  Sueur  and  the  two 


[BngUflh  BditloD,  VoL  ZVI,  No.  417,  page  281 ;  Va  43  4^  page  836 ;  Va  418,  pogM  292, 293.] 


56 


Contemporary  SdentifiG  Press. 


CSkbdoal  5iwb»  V 
Jan^  16(8.      f 


Gnibbs,  to  lay  before  you  my  views,  which  (if  you  think 
them  sound)  you  may  hold  it  advisable  to  mention  to  the 
authorities  of  Victoria.    Three  modes  occur  to  me  of  cov- 
ering the  telescope.    In  any  case  it  must  be  surrounded  by 
a  wall,  for  the  comfort  of  the  observer  and  to  prevent  in- 
trusion. ^  This  wall  may  support  a  movable  covering   of 
such  a  kind  as  to  let  the  instrument  be  pointed  to  every 
part  of  the  sky.    The  most  usual  form  of  this  covering  is  a 
dome  running  on  a  circular  railway,  and  with  an  opening  or 
chase  on  one  side  reaching  from  its  base  to  its  sumndit,  and 
closed  by  a  sliding  shutter.    The  disadvantages  of  this 
plan  are,  that  the  performance  of  the  telescope  is  somewhat 
injured  by  currents  of  warm  air  rising  through  the  chase, 
and  that  it  is  much  heavier  and  more  costly  than  either  of 
the  others.    In  this  instance  its  diameter  could  not  be  less 
than  56  feet ;  and  though  that  magnitude  is  not  beyond  the 
resources  of  an  accomplished  engineer,  yet  it  is  not  one  to 
be  encountered  without  the  prospect  of  some  adequate  ad- 
vantage    The  largest  dome  which  I  know  (Sir  James 
South'ts,  of  36  feet  diameter)  is  a  total  failure ;  but  this  does 
not  weigh  much  with  me ;  for,  though  planned  by  the  cele- 
brated Brunell,  it  transgresses  against  the  elements  of 
mechanical  science.    A  much  simpler  plan  is  the  sliding  roof 
In  this  case  the  walls  are  rectangular,  enclosing  a  space 
rather  broader  than  the  instrument  and  about  three  times 
as  long.    The  longer  sides  carry  two  rails,  on  which  runs  a 
kind  of  house  long  enough  to  cover  the  iastrument  and 
pier,  and  high  enough  to  dear  the  latter.    That  end  which 
at  Melbourne  will  be  its  north  is  closed  by  doors,  which  are 
opened  at  the  time  of  observation,  and  the  roof  is  wheeled 
away,  leaving  all  in  the  open  air.    It  will  be  the  cheapest 
and  least  bulky  of  the  three.    Its  defects  are,  that  the  open 
end  presents  some  engineering  difiBculty,  that  the  roof  will 
hide  about  1 2"  under  the  pole,  and  that  the  whole  madunery 
is  exposed  to  any  dust  that  may  be  stirring  during  the  hours 
of  observing.    That  which  appears  the  best  is  the  revolving 
loof.    Its  vertical  part  is  a  prism  of  sixteen  sides,  «ix  feet 
high,  springing  from  a  ring  of  cast  iron  which  revolves  by 
rollers  on  a  circular  rail  borne  by  the  walL    The  top  is 
nearly  flat,  with  a  chase  large  enough  to  let  the  telescope 
work  freely,  which  can  be  covered  by  sliding  shutters. 
The  tube,  when  in  use,  would  project  through  the  chase, 
and  be  essentially  in  free  air,  at  other  times  could  be  low- 
ered and  completely  sheltered;  while  the  other  parts  woiQd 
be  as  well  protected  as  under  a  dome.    In  this  case  the  in- 
ternal diameter  should  be  about  46  feet,  with  a  chase  16 
feet  wide.      These  dimensions  would  give  complete  com- 
mand of  the  heavens,  and  such  a  roof  would  give  less  hold 
to  a  high  wind  than  either  of  the  oUiers.     I  endose  a  it>ugh 
sketch  of  its  framing.    The  panels  and  the  three  girders 
at  the  top  to  be  of  angle-iron,  light  but  strong,  and  these  cov- 
ered with  tin  plate.  If  it  were  adopted,  I  suppose  the  frame 
would  be  made  here,  sent  out  in  pieces,  and  put  together 
and  covered  on  its  arrival.    The  weight  would  be  about  5 
tons.    As  to  its  cost,  no  estimate  can  be  given,  as  labour 
costs  more  at  Melbourne  than  with  us ;  but  in  Ireland  it 
would  be  about  £1,200.     I  will,  condude  this  long  letter 
by  telling  you  how  much  I  am  satisfied  with  our  selection  of 
the  astroQomer  who  is  to  work  this  glorious  instrument 
He  is  not  a  mere  mathematician ;  such  a  one  might  be  very 
helpless  when  he  came  to  the  practical  details  of  observing, 
but  he  is  thoroughly  versed  in  its  optical  and  medianioil 
requirements,  and  in  the  daily  work  of  an  observatory.    For 
tliis  last  lie  has  been  trained  by  Professor  Adams,  during  the 
past  year ;  one  of  the  Committee,  Mr.  Warren  De  la  Rue,  the 
first  of  celestial  photographers,  has  instructed  him  in  the 
mysteries  of  that  surprising  art ;  and  for  the  last  three  months 
he  has  been  constantly  in  Mr.  Gnibb's  works,  studying  all 
the  mechanism  of  the  telescope  (of  which  I  see  he  has  ao 
quired  full  command),  and  taking  an  active  part  in  the  pol- 
ishing of  the  great  specula.    He  seems  fully  to  understand 
this  most  delicate  process;  and  it  is  my  opinion  that,  if  re- 
polishing  becomes  necessary,  he  is  ful^  competent  to  do  it 
successfully.,   I  may  therefore  congratulate  you  in  fUll  hope 


on  the  inestimable  harvest  of  discovery  and  triumph  wludi 
will  soon  crown  this  magnificent  enterprise." 

ProfeMor  Naqnet.— !£.  Naquet,  the  diatingmshed  Pro- 
fessor of  CJhemistry  of  the  Paris  Universi^,.  who  was 
lately  arrested  for  political  reasons,  has  been  transferred 
from  Mazaa  to  a  maiaon  de  sante,  on  the  intervention  of  Dr. 
Wurtz,  the  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  MedicineL  The  very 
valuable  work  of  M.  Naquet  has  lately  been  translated  into 
English  and  published  by  Mr.  Cortis,  of  Guy's  Hospital 
M.  Kaquet  is  a  great  favourite  with  the  studente,  and  a  very 
accomplished  man  of  science.  Hia  arrest  for  political  rea- 
sons has  caused  a  sensation  of  deep  pain  in  the  faculty  and 
schools  of  Paris. — British  Medical  Journal, 

The  Royal  Society.— At  the  anniversaiy  meeting  on 
November  30,  1867,  the  following  elections  took  place:  Pro' 
«2eni.— Lieut-General  Edward  Sabine,  RA.,  D.CL.,  LLD. 
rr(?a5t<rcr.— William  Allen  Miller,  M.D.,  LUD.  SecreiariA 
—William  Sharpey,  M.D.,  LL.D.;  George  Gabrid  Stdces, 
Esq.,  M.A,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.  Ibreign  Secretary.— FroL  Wil- 
liam Hallows  Miller,  MJL,  LL.I).  Other  Members  of  (he  Om- 
ct2.— Frederick  Augustus  Abel,  Esq.;  William  Beiyaiinn 
Carpenter,  M.D. ;  Prof.  A.  Cayley,  LL.D. ;  J.  Lodihart  Clarke, 
Esq. ;  John  Evans,  Esq. ;  Capt  Douglas  Galton,  C.B. ;  Jolm 
Peter  Gassiot,  Esq.;  John  Hall  Gladstone,  Esq.,  Ph.D.; 
Sir  Rowland  Hill,  K.C.B.,  D.CL. ;  William  Huggins,  Esq.; 
Thomas  Henry  Huxley,  Esq.,  Ph.  D. ;  Prof.  John  Phiffipa, 
MA.,  LL.D. ;  Prof.  Andrew  Crombie  Ramsay,  LL  D. ;  Cdanel 
William  James  Smythe,  R.A;  Lieut-CoL  Alexander  Strange; 
Thomas  Thomson,  M.D. 


CONTEMPORARY  SCIENTIPIO  PRESS. 

riTnder  thl8  heiidtnf  It  b  tntendt^  to  irfTe  the  titles  of  all  Om 
chemical  papen  wbich  are  pnblifthed  in  the  prisof pal  actenUfle  pczM- 
icals  of  the  Continent  ArtideB  whieh  are  merely  reprints  or  ib- 
BtracU  of  papers  already  notiecd  will  be  omitted.  Abetracta  of  tha 
more  importaQt  papers  here  announced  will  appear  In  fotnre  nmaben 
of  the  Chemical  New&] 

Journal  fur  PrakU9eh4  Chtmi^    No.  xa.    1867.. 
A.  Mullkb:  *' CMorimeirioal  Studies  on  SuipkaU  €f  Irm.''^k, 
MuLLBK  :  '*  On  some  Chroma  He  BelationM  between  8ontUim»tfJ»- 
n(tUo^  Acetat6  cf'lron,  and  BtcAromate  qf  J^ciath.^ 

BuUttin  de  la  Socie£e  <rJCneourag«menL    May,  1867. 
Caultjxb  dk  Claitbbt:  ^Report on  Oueni&r-Lauriac^e MiAodtf 
Casting  RoUa  and  other  objtcte  tcith  a  Skin  cf  Hard  ^tnC* 

MUthMUmgon  du  Oewerbe-  Vereintfur  Hanover.    Koai  z  aad  ai 
1867. 

F.  Kjtna:  ^Onanew  Tsffstabh Mbrotu Material  imavnat  Kd- 
lenfllster, >br  HtMna  JP^tmititre:^—W.  Lxeckb:  **Som«  M^tXode  qf 
PreeerHng  CaH  /ron.»'-W.  Libckk  :  "  On  Coating  CaM  Iron  «« 
other  MeUile  in  the  Wet  Way."^li.  Gbotub  : «'  On  OeAmotmi  ^Beut 
radiaUdfrom  SUam  IHpea,  and  ontheUoet^a  Jackstfor  pretmU 
ing  euch  IiadiaHon.''—BiMitMAVN :  ^  On  the  FoUution  of  WetU  if 
CeeepooU  and  Privie»."-yf.  Liscxb  :  ^'I^otee  on  Glycerine.'* 

Ze  Teehnoloffiste,    July,  1867. 
OvDBXAHs:  ^*0n  tfte  Spee{/te  Oratity  qf  AeeHeAeid  and  efi^ 
Agueoue  SoluUons.^^'-'F.  ovniutkKn:  **  Jenprovemente  intheMenn- 
faeture  of  Beetroot  Sugar.^^-U.  BoBBBnoB :  **Ona  neu  J>U/taUm§ 
Afparaiuejifr  the  Eactraction  of  Mineral  OiU.^ 


Dingler'e  Poiytechnieekee  Journal,  July,  1867.  Nol  i. 
Blabbk  i^Ona  Means  of  EetabUahing  TeUgrapMe  1 
tion  between  Tkoo  Plaeee  feithoui  the  ueeqfa  conneeUng  Wire.'^—J. 
L.  Fbomovt  :  **  On  Ammonia  Vapour  Pnmpm.*''-4J.  Bisonov :  **■  Anal- 
yeis  of  and  Pyrometrio  MboperimenU  on  Orvnetadt  F'ire<laf.^-' 
G.  SoiDfiTEBB:  "  On  CUric  Aoid."—M.  Koblxb:  **Onthe  Mann/ac 
turecf  Indigo  Cterwiine."— H.  Dbtillb:  *0n  the  V»e  €^  Giyeerime 
f9r preventing  the  Adheeion  qf  Mercury  to  the  Qlaee  Tmbeeef  Steam 
OaugeeJ** 

Jnly.    No.  a. 
R:  Schbitlbb  :  **0n  the  Use  of  the  Thermometer  fori 
Boiler Stploeions.''-^!..  Bikmab:  ''On  the Pret 
8teel  and  Pig  Iron,  and  on  the  OtmdUion  qfi 
Siift Steel.''— k.  Waqhbb:  ''On  the Man^fireture^Bar^ia  and  Us 
Salts."— U.  RosLBB :  'On  the  Maniffiieture  of  hhraU  4^  Aon  fot 
Use  as  a  Jfordant"— CiiByAU.iBB :  "^  A  Method  ^rendering  Merfar 


Thermometer  for  jpreeenfSmg 

the  Presence  qf  SHrogen  in 

Mon  of  Carbon  in  Bard  amd 


[English  EdiHan,  ToL  ZTI,  Ka  418,  pages  803,  292 ;  Va  413,  page  234.] 


Qbkioal  FlW|»  ) 


(hnteviporary  Scientific  Press. 


57 


tawOtU  f^THMUmg  M«  AfM»A  <tf  Jiain  by  ifu  AddUion  qf  Coal 
putt  U«f«(0.**— OiBVALLUR  I  *^  Onths  (Jiu  </«  SohMoti  qf  Amber  in 
JUmUiMds  afOarbim  a«a<^Mn«nt"— £.8o»TMAirN:  "^OniheSoiuiton 
efGyptum  &y  8aooharin4  8oiuUan»."—}L  i&u»T  i'' On  the  DUcHmi- 
naUoi^  </  true  OrtomtU  and  tiU  90-caikd  Coal  Tar  OrdoooU  (Oar- 
MdoAoUy*  

Comptet  Sendue.  Aognrt  19,  s867. 
M. CnASLB :**Oniho  Paoeal  Cbrrtftpow<f«ioft"«-OMVMtUL :  **  On 
tk«  Paooal  CbTTMrpomlMeA."  —  bcHULTS  -  boHULnusTsix :  **B&- 
ttarcKf  on  Animal  JStettHcUyy^^.  Ozamam  :  '*  (M  ths  Heprsoen- 
UxUan^tho  JhaU  nf  Ike  HoaH  ana  the  P%Uo6  by  meant  qf  Fhotog- 
rapkifr—Oonrm :  •*  SuppUmmU  to  ike  Auihor**  Momoir  on  ike  Die- 
4aami^tke  Vine,pMtehedintks'OompietBendue'<^AvffU^  ix" 
a  OftAO :  ^'On  ike  Temperature  qf  ike  Rimere  RMne^  lU^  and 
JkM.'*-H.  ScBiFr:  '' On  ike  Monaminee  derived  from  the  Aide- 
Mml''— L.  CAiujnm  :**Onthe  Jnjfuence  of  Coloured  lAght  on  tke 
Peeompeettion  of  Carbonio  Add  by  FlanteJ"—  CoirLvm-OBATiui 
mo  CiAPiLAA-CoirLTMB  Gbatibk:  *^  On  tke  Shootina  Start  qf  tke 
^  loM,  and  I  itk  <^Augutit^  1867.**— Jullxuv  :  **  Letter  to  Ckeweul  on 
OapilUuy  AmfUty.''^CBmm,VL:  >*  Reply  to  JulUen'e  Letter  on 
(MiptUary  AfinUyy 

AagiiBta6. 

E.  Blaschabd:    **Reniarke  on  ike  Paecal  Correepondence,^-' 
CniiLEs:  **Remarke  on  the  Paeeal  Correepondenee,'^—tiwi}!iAUi.r? 


*^Remarte  on  the  Faecal  Oorreepondenoe.^—BxLAKD;  *^Remarke 
on  the  Faeoal  Oorreepondeinee,—Oavriam,i  ^'Remarke  on  tke 
Faeeal  Oorreepondencey—k,  W.  Hofmamr:  **Ona  new  Seriee  </ 
Momolomee  ef  liydrocyanioAcid:^—¥AJSQn,%i  *^ On  ike  Auiken- 
ticUy  €f  ike  Faecttl.  Correapondenoer—pMAT :  ^Reeearckee  on  tke 
Okemieal  Conetitution  qf  Fluorine  Compounde,  and  on  the  Jeolation 
^Fhtorine.^^A^ivrMXVL:  ^*Remarke  on  the  Forgoing  Faper."^— 
Pool  :  "  8eeond  Note  on  an  JSbplosiee  Compound  obtained  by  treat- 
ing Glue  with  ChloraU  and  NitraU  of  Fota«hr—hMo»  i '*  On  tke 
Changee  in  tke  Frenek  Monetary  Stanaarde  oecaeioned  by  tke  Jnr 
troduetlon  qf  Ike  Decimal  Sgetem  {Second  JTotey^—JArruAXM  ako 
LoMVixnrB :  ^On  tke  Syntkeeie  of  Di-Ftkyl-Tohiol.^—iL  Sihpsok  : 
"On  the  JF^rmation  of  Suooinio  Add  from  Chloride  qf  FtkyUdene.'^ 
A.  OppKHUBDf :  **  Ifew  Reeearckee  on  the  Jeomeriem  of  Frotoehloride 
of  AUyl  and  Monochlorinated  Propylene.'"— J.  CHMuvLByrroii : 
^^ Reeearckee  on  the  It^uenee  of  Deai  on  tke  Mechanical  Work  of 
the  Muiolee  qf  the  Frogr—IL  Baoau  :''Ona  Seff-regietering  Mete- 
orological Apparatue  invented  by  Magellan  in  1782,  and  on  the 
Theory  qftke  Static  or  Steel-yard  Barometer  J" 


BuUettn  ds  VAeaObnie  Royale  de  Relgique  {Claete  dee  Sdeneee). 
July  6, 1867. 

Kkxuu:  '^Report  on  T.  Stoarfe  Memoir  on  the  DeriwtUvee  by 
Jddition  of  Jtaeonic  Add  and  He  leomereJ^—KMKVhm :  **  Report  on' 
0.  Glaeer'e  Reeearohee  on  eome  Derivativee  qf  Cinnamic  Add 
{Part  a)."^— Stab  :  **■  Report  on  the  two  prtvioue  Memoire.^^^Kir 
•■» :  "•  Reeearckee  on  Yeaet  and  on  ike  Fermentation  qf  Beer.""— A, 
QnirsLrr:  *'  On  a  Meteor  obeerved  on  tke  iitk  qfJune,  1867.^— A. 
QuKTBUT :  ^^  Ona  Remarkable  Tkunderetorm  at  Ghent  on  the  2nd- 
vrd  of  June^  1867-— T.  Swabtz  .*^  On  tke  DerieaUmee  by  Addition  qf 
Itaoonic  Add  and  ite  Uomcre  {Part  3).^— (X  Glassb  :  **  Reeearckee 
on  eome  DerioaUeee  qf  Cinnamic  Add  {Part  2),"" 

SUeung^eHekte  der  XaieerUehen  Akademie  der  Wieeeneehi^flen  eu 

in«f».    {M<ithemaUeek-naiwtdeeeneekc^ftlicke  Ctaeee,) 

March,  1867. 

H.  HLASiwitn:  **0n  RydrocaJMc    and   Hydroparaeoumaric 

Adder— k.  Rollkt:    *^0n  the  fffed  tf  Contraet  on  Cdoure."— 

J.  Skkobm  :  **0nthe  Separation  qflfUrogen  from  Albuminoid  Sub- 

etancee  in  a  Dog.'"—y.  roic  Lano  i  "^  On  the  Optical  Propertiee  of 

Crydallieed  Compounde  ofAmmoniacalBaeeey  and  ofSaUeqfTkal- 

Hum,  Rubidium,  and  Ceeeium,  with  re»ped  to  Romologoue  and  leo- 

morphoue  SerieeT—A,  Rollrt:   **  On  the  Theory  of  AedderUal 

Ooloure,  ankd  qf  tke  Ckange  in  tke  Colour  qf  Aoddental  Imagee.^ 

April 
U.  Ebofuuv  \**  On  tke  Determination  qf  Ike  PHndpal  Index  of 
R^raetion  qf  Suiphate  of  Ammonia/*^-^ .  tom  Lamq  :  **  An  Im^ 
proved  Apparatue  for  Meaeuring  the  Optic  Amee  cf  Oryetaler-'Vf, 
TOW  Haiduvobb  :**OnJ.  Schmidt e  Obeervatione  on  Meteoric  Stonee, 
and  on  the  Ridgee  qf  tke  Surface  of  tke  MoonT—O.  Rntnout :  *'  On 
Quino-tannic  Addr—O,  Rkmbou)  :  **'  On  Quinova-tannic  AddT—- 
A.  Obabowbxi:  *^0n  Rhatania-tannic  Acidr—Q.  Malix:  **0n 
FUico-tannic  Aeid:'—k.  Gbabowrki  :  *"  On  FUidc  AddT—O,  Bsu. 
BOLD  I  *^  On  tke  Tannic  Aeld  of  the  Rod  Bark  of  the  Pomegramate 
J)reer  -U.  HLASiWBn  i"*  On  the  Relatione  between  tke  Tannic  Adde, 
Glucoeidee^  Phlobaphenee,  and  RedneT-^K,  Bbucxb:  ''OntheAo- 
Hon  ofBoradc  Add  on  Lidng  Mueoular  Fibre:'— ^,  Klbin  and  S. 
Tbbbov  I  **  On  tke  Importance  qf  SaU  ae  an  Article  qf  Human 
FoodT 

atbtungeberiehte  der  KonigHchrBayeriechen  Akademie  der  Wteeen- 
eckf^ften  eu  Miineken,   {Matkemattechrpkyeikaliecke  Claeee.) 

F6biiuu7  9,  1867. 
tL  TQm-VwnKBMonM,  Ain>  Yon:  **Ontke  Carbonic  Add  euhaied 


and  Ouugen  eoneumed  by  Manr—Yom  Kobbu.  :  "  On  theBehadour 
qf  Ditehene  in  tke  Stauroeeope,  and  on  the  Permanence  qf  the  Croet 
obeerved  under  e%tck  Ciroumetaneeer—k.  Vookl  '.**Onthe  Eettma- 
tion  qf  Fat  and  Albumen  by  a  Method  baeed  on  the  Prindple  qfthe 
Optical  Milk  Teetr 

Jiakrbuck  der  KaieerUch-KcnigUcken  Gedogieeken  Reicheanetalt, 
JBxmary-Febiuuy,  1867. 

V.  TOB  Zephabovioh  :  •♦  On  FluorUe  fH»m  Bi^au,  StyrioT'^V, 
Baubn  :  *'  Jfote  on  ike  Preeent  Condition  qf  tke  Ore-  Washing  Fetab- 
Uekmente  qf  Schenmiia:''—K.  tom  Uauxb:  ^Anetlyeie  qf  Brow^ 
Coal,  Lignite^  Copper,  Slag,  and  Iron  Oree." 


PoggemdorJT*  Annalen  der  Pkyeit,    No.  6,    2867. 

B.  Bcbbbb  :  ^On  the  Temperature  qf  the  Flamee  qf  Carbonic 
Oeoide  and  BydrogenT^k^TowiMi  "^  Optical  Studiee  by  the 
Auihor'e  new  Method."— B.  Bibmamm  :  *'  ContHbutione  to  Eieetro- 
dynamice:  On  the  Connedion  of  the  Lawe  qf  Fledridty  and  Mag- 
netiem  with  thoee  of  Light  and  Radiant  Heat:'—Tu.  Lobxxz  :  "*  On 
the  IdenUty  of  LumAnoue  Vibratione  and  Electric  Currente:''^0, 
Rammblbrbbo  :  '^  On  Ike  Phoepkitee.^^^.  W.  Sohbodbb  tab  dbb 
KoLX  I  *' On  the  Mechanical  Energy  qf  Chemical  Adion,"-^!,  Zut- 
BBX. :  "Ontke  Mioroeoopical  Conetitution  qf  tke  PhonoUtet.'' 


Anetalen  de  r  Cktmle  um,d  Pharmade,    Angnstf  1867. 

E.  TOB  GoBUP  B18AHBZ :  **Reeearchee  on  Rhenieh  Beeekwood  Tar 
Creoeote:*—E.  Mbbzhbb  :  *' On  the  SalU  qf  Sutphophenio  Add.''— 
Gluts:  "  On  eome  Chlorinated  Derivative  of  i%«to/."— Gluts: 
*«  AdmpU  Method  qf  PrepaHng  Chloroealylic  Add.''—T.  Mbtis: 
**  On  OaSyethylene-imaahuroue  Add^  and  on  a  new  Method  qf  Form- 
ing leathionic  Add.^—T.  Mbtis  :  **  Rteearehee  on  eome  SaUe  of 
Cyanacelic  Add:*—1L  One:  "^  On  the  Bye-Produde  obtained  dur- 
ing the  Preparation  of  Beneoleulphuroue  AddJ^—fL  Orro:  ^^qte 
on  the  Preparation  qf  Cyanurate  qf  Sulphobentidey—U.  Hvbbxb, 
J.  Oblt,  ABO  O.  Fbiufi*  '.  ^On  the  leomeriem  qf  tke  Aromatic 
Aoider 

Jbumal  fur  Praktieehe  Chemie.    No.  23.    1867. 

G.  Mbbb  :  "*  Of»  a  Method  of  Intensifying  tke  Light  gteen  out  by 
Sulphur  when  bunU  in  Otpygen."—'' An  Improved  Method  qf  JOt- 
plodittg  Miarturee  of  Hydrogen  and  Oveygen.^—^  A  Metfiod  of  ehow- 
ing  the  different  Temperaturee  at  whiM.  varioue  Gaeee  take  Fire.""— 
**  An  Inetrudive  and  Simple  Earperiment  on  DiJfueionr—^A  Method 
of  collecting  the  Produde  qf  Combuetion  qfOun  Cdton,  and  qf 
demonetraUng  the  Preeence  therein  of  Perooeide  qf  Sitrogen  and 
Carbonic  Ooeidc'^—'^A  Method  of  DemonetraUng  the  Production 
of  Carbonic  Oxide  during  the  Decompoeition  of  Carbonic  Add  by 
Incandeeeent  Chareoair--'*  On  A«  Behaviour  of  Carbonic  Add 
towards  Water  at  High  Preeeureer—"^  A  Method  of  ehMcing  the 
Variation  in  tke  Illuminating  Power  qf  Flamee  when  eeparaU  and 
when  combined  into  One  Light:*— *" On  the  OombinaUon  d  Hydrogen 
and  Chlorine  under  the  Ii^uenee  qf  the  Magnedum  Lights— ^  On 
tke  Uee  of  Glycerine  fvr  Preeerving  the  Gelatinoue  Maee  obtained 
by  treaUng  Bone  with  Dilute  Adde:'—'' Apparatue  for  Showing 
the  Igniting  Poinie  qf  Varioue  Subetancee:*—'*  A  Method  qf  Prepar- 
ing Starch  Faperefor  tke  Detection  4^  Iodine^-'' A  Method  qf 
DemonetraUng  the  Formation  qf  Chloride  of  Sodium  by  the  Adion 
qf  Sodium  on  Hydrochloric  Add.*'—*''  On  the  Property  peeeeeeed  by 
Bidhromate  qfAmtnonia  qfAeeuming^  when  heated^  an  appearance 
reeemblifig  Tea  Leavee^-*'  On  the  Chemical  Toy  known  ae  *  CM- 
neee  Graee  Paper: ''— "  On  tke  Increase  in  tke  Skplodve  Power  qf 
Gum.  Cotton  and  Gun  Paper  when  Treated  with  Bichromate  of  Pot- 
aeh.'^—''  On  the  Fluoreeoenoe  of  Cranium  Glaee  by  the  Magneeium 
Light."—**  On  a  dmpU  Method  of  PrepaHng  FerraU  of  Potae- 
Hum."—*'  On  a  rapid  Method  qf  PrepaHng  a  Sotutton  qf  a  SaU  qf 
Manganeee."—**  A  Method  qf  DieUnguitMng  the  Yellow  SublimaU 
qf  Oitide  qf  LeadA-om  that  qf  Oocide  qf  Bitmua  obtained  on  Char- 
coal before  the  Blowpipe.^—**  An  Eerperiment  ekowingthe  rapid 
Reduction  of  Heated  Ofdde  qf  Copper  to  Metallic  Copper  by  meane 
qf  AloohoL'^-"*  On  a  Method  of  eaudng  tke  Ignition  qf  Iltuminat- 
^  Gae  bv  Spongy  Plaiinum.^—^  On  tke  Fluorescence  qf  certain 
VdouredOlaeewhen  viewed  by  Reflected  SunlighV'—*A  Method  of 
Imitating  Red  Glaee:*— *'  On  a  Method  qf  ehowina  the  Diferent  ■ 
Coloure  vfSdutione  containing  email  quantitiee  qffreehly  predpi- 
tated  Gold:'— BomaMan  '*Onthe  CrydalUeation  ofSunereaturaXed 
Soluiione  of  Acetate  qf  Soda.^'—''On  a  new  and  delicate  Test  for  AU 
kaUee  and  Alkaline  Earths:^— ^  On  eome  now  Voltaic  Batteriee.''-- 
**Onihe  Occurrence  of  Teroedde  qf  Thalltum  during  the  Eleetrolyeie 
qf  Thallium  Compound e.  and  on  the  Poeeibility  qf  using  that  Body 
for  the  Manufacture  of  Matckee.''—*'  On  tke  UeeofSohUione  of  Sili- 
cate of  Soda  for  Produdng  Arboreeoent  Cryetale  qfMetaltio  Salte." 
-**  On  the  Action  qf  Lead  on  DistiUed  Water.»-J.  Dooibl:  "^  On 
the  Preeence  qf  Volatile  Fatty  Adde  in  the  GaU:''-Q.  Mbbz  :  "*  On 
the  Vdumetric  Eetimaiion  of  Acetic  Add.''—V  Gacbx:  *'/•  the 
Produd  ^  the  Action  qf  Iodide  of  PkoejOiorue  on  Aaueoue  Picric 
Add,  Iodide  qf  Pikrammoniumt  or  Triamidophendr 

No.  14. 
a  F.  BcnoxBBiB  :"Onike  Preeence  qf  Oeone  in  tke  AtmoephereJ* 
— FBinBCHB:  **Onthe  SoUd  Mydrooar^one  qf  Coal  ror."— f .  Bbil- 


(ZSiisIisaiadltioa,yoLZVL,Vo.413»FaC«a34;  ITo.  414^  pag*  M5 ;  ITo.  41fl^  IMffv  258 ;  ITa  416^  pafw  fl68, 9QP ;  Va  417,  pM*  »X*] 


58 


Pdtenta. 


CChnanOAi.  Nbwi^ 


tfnrs  AMD  0.  Kbcitslvb  :  **■  On  Para-yUroMuylic  Acid  and  4it 
J>6HtKUiive$.**~-C,  F.  Babfoid  i  *^Onthe  JtotnerUm  qf  ih4  Skmnio 
Aolday 

K0.X5. 
B.  MuLDBB :  *•  On  THmUphooarhandc  Add  Aoetonium:*^¥,  Gop- 
mssoDsit :    ^On  a  FluoreaGeiU  Substance  obtain^  from  Cuba 
Wood:'— J.  a  loELSTBOJf  I**  On  the  Analy^U  qf  somo  MtnerdUftom 
WomUandy  in  Bfcodon.^ 

JhOUUn  d9  la  JSooUU  d'SneouraoemonL  June,  1867. 
H.  Bouillr:  *'Onihe  ProdueU&n  of  Butie  and  Staime  by  iho 
Elootrotype  Proo&8»:*-~^0n  Iho  JSlMtro-depoHUon  qf  Gold  qfwiriout 
Colours:^— SfroM :  "^  Onlhs  Uiseqf  Oaoido  qf  Chromium  for  jPolishinff 
Jfetois.'*— Balabd  :  *' On  Iff.  OarrVs  Jmprovtd  Matins  for  ths 
Mani{faciurs  of  loe  by  ths  Absorption  of  Aquoous  Vapour  by  Sul- 
phuric Add  in  a  Faouww."— Dumas  :  ^  On  the  same  Sut^ed.""— 
Thbivard  '."^  On  the  PreservaUon  of  Milk  by  the  Applioaiion  of  Gold, 
d  propoe  of  the  same  Subjed^-^VmiAO&t :  '*  On  the  FleoDibuUy  qf 
<72aM.*'-~I>v  LvTNn  '."^  On  the  CoUnuring  Maitere  ttf  Ordne,  and  on 
a  Produd  derived  'ther^Ywn  analogoue  to  Oarthaminio  AoidT*— 
Ibambsbt  :  **  On  two  Improved  Magnedum  Xcrmpf."— Dumas  :  "  On 
a  Bpedmen  of  AnthracUe  or  Bkusk  Diamond  of  remarkable  Bard- 
nMs.*"— BouiB :  **OnDe  MiUy*e  Improeemente  in  the  Mawvfa^duire 
of  FalHy  Adde.^^VL,  Momibb:  **  Improved  Orystai  Oae  Bumere:"-^ 
J.  AoNBjLLBT :  **0n  the  Foundation  of  a  Prise  for  an  Improved 
Oonstant  Battery:'— Dumab:  **0n  the  Man^fadure  qf  TUrkurie 
AoidV 

VInnmvtUm.  Aiigiut,  1867. 
M .  MiLAv :  **  A  Proesss/or  saetradinff  Silver  firom  LeadT—'BiA.rm : 
"  0»  a  new  Anilins  Bladb  for  the  Manufadure  of  Printing  /w*."— 
Bcblumbbborb:  ^'' On  the  Preparation  and  Ues  of  a  Now  Qreen 
Colouring  Matter  eoBtraded  from  7b«i*id*»«."— Pibdaul  :  '''■On  ths 
Ueeof  a  SduUon  qf  Patty  Mattsre  in  a  Hydrocarbon  or  in  Bisul- 
phide of  Carbon  for  preserving  and  eqftsning  Leather.'*— "P.  Javal  : 
**Onths  Preparation  and  Uee  qf  Certain  Patty  AxUm.'"— Mallbt  : 
**Onths  Produdion  qfOaoygen  and  Chlorine  Gas,  sither  together  or 
separately,  from  Sub-chloride  qf  Cbp|Mr/'— Bchlumbbbobb  :  **  On 
the  Preparation  qf  some  Blue  and  viold  Colouring  Matterefrom 
Boedotuidine,'" 

BinglST'e  Polyteehnisohss  Journal,    Angiut,  1867. 

A.  On :  "*  Oii  Lugo'e  Apparatusjbr  Distilling  Peirol&um,'*—B.  W. 

Ixour:  **Onths  UssofJt^uee  Grape  Skinefbrmamstfadwring  Gas 

and.  Lamp  Blacky—''  On  the  Manttfadwre  qf  Plastic  Charcoal  for 

Bund  und  GewsrbebUUt.    Jnne,  1867. 
K.  Waonbb  :  '*  BepoH  on  the  Chemical  Produde  at  ths  Parte  JSto- 
Mbition:'—E.  Dibtbbiou  i'*  On  the  Preparation  qf  Indigo  Oar- 
mine."— R.  Waonbb  :  ''On  the  Detection  of  Paraffin  in  Samplse  qf 
Waaa  by  a  Comparison  qfthstr  relative  SpedftcGra/viUee,'" 

Journal  dot  Fabrieante  ds  Papier.    July  15,  S867. 
CBoubdilliat:   **  On  TeeUng  the  Chemical  Produde  used  in 
Papsr-making,    ConUnuation :  Sulphate  qf  Iron.'^ 

Bevue  UnivereeUe  dee  Mines.    HArch— Jane,  1867, 
L.  Pbbabd:    "On  the   Conservation  qf  Force.**— T.  EuprnB- 
soaLABOBB:  '*0n  eome  ModiJIcations  of  Margueritte'e  Proceas  Jbr 
the  Vdumetric  EetimaUon  qf  irMi.*"— Obijnomab  :    '^  On  the  IDs- 
composition  of  Coale  tohen  sacposed  to  the  Air:' 


PATENTS. 


OommaBloatod  by  Mr.  Yauohait,  F.O.8.,  PBtent  Agent,  54,  Ohaneeiy 

Lane,  W.  0. 

ORAirrS  Of  PB0VI8I0NAL  PROTEOnON  FOB  SIX 

MONTHS. 

3838.  A.  TioonI,  Bedford  Street,  Bedford  Squtre,  Middlesex,  **  An 
Improred  preparation  or  lotion  for  diseases  of  the  eyes.** 

2833.  J.  Player,  Olalsdale,  Tarm,  Yorkshire,  "  ImproTements  In  the 
manufitcture  and  refining  of  Iron  and  steeL"— Petition  recorded,  Octo- 
ber 8, 1867. 

3843.  T.  Blackhnrst,  Conway  Street,  Birkenhead,  Cheshire,  **  A  new 
or  improved  composition  to  be  nsed  to  prevent  the  oxidation  of  Iron, 
the  foaling  of  ships'  bottoms,  and  other  submerged  things,  and 
preserving  wood  from  decay  and  from  worms,  and  also  preserving 
Iron  and  wood  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere/'— October 
xo,  1867. 

38<3.  A.  H.  Clark,  Chancery  lAne,  **  Improvements  in  the  pre- 
paration or  treatment  of  extracts  of  madder  for  dyeing  and  printing 
purposes,  and  In  apparatus  used  In  such  treatment**— A  communication 
from  O.  A.  Schoaff  and  Qt.  K.  Lauth,  Boulevart  St  Martin,  Puis.— 
October  XI,  1867. 

3874.  E.  Leitenbeiger,  Oosmanos,  Austria,  **  Improrements  in 
treanng  madder  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  purpurine  or  alisarine 
ft-om  the  same,  and  in  apparatus  to  be  made  use  of  tnereby.**— October 
X3,  X867. 

3549.    F.  Tolhausen,  Boalevart  Magenta,  Paris,  **  An  improved  pro- 


oess  and  apparatus  for  instantaneously  disinfecting  fSeesl  and 
matters,  improving  the  same,  and  also  rendering  th^m  fit  for  feedlB| 
domesdo  animala**— A  communication  frmn  L.  J.  B.  A.  Lemoine^  and 
A.  M.  Turrel,  Paris.— Petition  recorded  September  ^  1867. 

3893.  A.  Aitohison,  Wilton  Terrace,  Peekham,  l^afrey,  *  Improve- 
ments in  the  treatment  of  hydrocarbons  for  the  prodoetion  of  gas  snf- 
flciently  permanent  to  be  stored  for  lighting  and  beating  purposes,  and 
especially  in  the  treatment  of  the  hydrocarbons  and  other  products  ob- 
tained by  distlUiBg  or  carbonising  coal,  wood,  and  other  carbonaceous 
materials,  indndlng  those  obtained  in  the  manuilSfOtare  of  gas  and  fai 
the  distillation  of  coal-tar.** 

3894.  T.  H.  Baker,  and  T.  WoodrofliB,  Tonbridge,  Kent  **  Improve* 
moots  In  treating  sewage  or  other  Uqnld  matters  so  as  to  puiUy  the 
more  fluid  pottions  thereof,  and  recover  some  of  the  contained  matters 
for  use  in  mannfkcturins  processes,  and  in  the  preparation  of  others  for 
use  as  manures.**—- Octooer  15, 1867. 

3918.  J.  Bannehr,  Exeter,  "*  Improvements  In  apparatna  for  supply, 
ing  deodorising  matter  to  dry  or  earth  doeets,  and  In  prooesMS  of  and 

aparatos  for  treating  the  liquid  portion  of  human  or  animal  exerda 
«r  removal  from  such  closets  or  ftom.  other  receptadea.**— October 
17  i86t. 

3657. '  J.  Hargreaves,  Appleton-wlthin-Wldnee,  Leneashlre,  *"  Im- 
provements in  the  manufacture  of  iron.**— Petition  recorded  September 
31, 1867. 

3953.  W.  CroBslev  and  T.  a  Hutobfaison,  Middlesboronseli-OB  Tees, 
**  Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  alumina  and  salts  of  alumina  from 
blast  ftirnace  slag,  or  from  other  silicates  of  alumina  containing  an  ex- 
cess of  lime  or  magnesia.**— -October  31,  1867. 

3976.  8.  Welton.  Grafton  Street,  Pltaroy  Sqnare,  Middleiex. 
**  Osonised  or  oxygenated  bread,  biscuits,  cakes,  and  other  sabstaneca.** 
—October  33, 1867.  ,  ^  ^ 

3984.  F.  Gerhara,  Cologne,  Rhenish  Prussia,  •*  Improrementa  fai  the 
manuacture  of  manures  and  dislnteetants.'* 

3998.  R.  Weare,  Compton.  Staffordshire,  **  Improvements  In  snd  in 
^>paratns  for  the  treatment  and  for  the  reception  of  nrine  and  teeal 
matter.**— October  34, 1867.  _  ^        .., 

3006.  W.  R.  Lake,  Southampton  Buiidfaigs,  Chancery  Lsne,  "Im- 
proved  modes   of  and  means  for  curing,   drying,  preserving,  and 

packing  meat,  ftnit,  vegetobloa,  and  other  perishable  snbetr " 

A  communication  from  D.  B.  Somes,  Washington,  U.aA.- 
a<,  1867. 

3033.  J.  Tbung,  Aspull,  Lancashire,  **  Improvements  tai  the  sppllr 
cation  of  Oannel  coal  *  slack*  to  the  manufoctnre  of  gas  and  coke.*  — 
October  38, 1867.  ..  ^     . , 

3919.  J.  Cubitt,  Claremont  Place,  Brixton,  Surrey,  "  An  ™pj™J« 
process  and  composition  for  the  preservation  l^om  decay  of  stone,  bn«, 
pissier,  meUl,  and  other  substances,  and  for  hardening  or  glaring  mett 
surfaces,  so  as  to  prevent  smoke  or  dirt  from  adhering  to  them.**— Peti- 
tion recorded  Octol>er  17, 1867.  ,    ^  ,      ^       a . 

3997.  C.  W.  Harrison,  Oberstefai  Road,  Clapham  Junction,  Soney, 
"  Improved  means  of  preventing  incrustation  in  boilers  and  other  vas* 
sels  In  which  water  is  heated.**— October  34, 1867.  ^  .    ,_ 

3051.  G.  Davies,  Serle  Street,  Uncoln's  Inn,  Middlesex.  "An Im- 
proved mode  of  preventing  incrustation  to  and  removing  it  from  eteam 
boilers.*— A  communlcaUon  from  J.  J.  Allen,  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  U^.A. 

3064.'  ^.  S^ixon,  Belllsle,  Ayrshire,  N.B., "  A  new  process  of  p«o- 
dndng  a  blue  dye  or  colouring  master.**— October  31,  1867. 

3105.  J.  Kldd,  Panl*s  Wharf,  London.  "  Improvements  to  obtatolDg 
artificial  light  and  in  the  apparatus  enoployed  therein.** 

3x08.  W.  R.  Lake,  Southampton  Bulldlnga,  Chancery  Lanfr  *A» 
improved  artificial  compound  chiefly  Resigned  for  use  as  a  "«b^™* 
for  todk-rubber  or  caoutchouc**— A  communication  fitnn  A.  G.  uay, 
Seymour,  Conn.,  U.S  A.— November  4, 1867.  ^  ,_  »u 

3137.  E.  C.  Prentice,  Stowmaritet  SafToik,  « Improvements^  to  the 
treatment  of  gun-cotton  and  chargea  or  cartiUgea  made  therefrom,  as 
also  to  the  processes  employed  to  their  manufhctore.** 

3x33.  I.  Baggs,  High  Holbom,  Middlesex. "  Improvements  to  P«P?'- 
ing  and  oxidisliig  certato  aubstances  capable  of  prodnctog  ddonne.  — 
Petition  recorded  November  6,  X867.  ^  ^  i.  - 

3x68.  B.  B.  Wilson,  Bolton,  Lancashire,  **  Improvements  m  iw- 
naoes.**^November  o.  x867.  « 

3194.  J.  C.  Baylev,  and  D.  CampbeU,  John  Street,  AddpU,  "Im- 
provements  to  flre-li^ten  and  flre-revivers.** 

3x98.  W.  a  Crispin,  Maish  Gate  Lane,  Stratford,  Essex,  •*!»• 
piovements  to  the  manufacture  of  artificial  frid.**— November  X3, 1867. 

INTENTION  PROTECTED  BY  THE  DEPOSIT  OF 

COMPLETB  SPEaFICATION. 

3973.    W.  Brookes,  Chancery  Lane,  "  An  improved  method  of  treet- 

Ing  hides  in  the  process  of  tanning,  and  for  apparatus  empkiyed  therein. 

—A  communieatton  from  M.  Mk;haoli^  J.  Hallenstein,  and  A.  Clegfiona, 

Footsomy,jYiotoria.**— Petition  recorded  October  33, 1867. 

NOTICES  TO  PROCEED. 

3606.  G.  Piddn,  Birmingham,  •*  Improvements  In  the  treatment  snd 
preparation  of  mineral  oils  and  dplrits  for  illumlDatlng  and  o^er  por- 
poaes.**— Partly  a  communication  from  H.  Ghadbnm,  St  Loula^  Mis- 
souri, U.S  A.— September  16.  1867. 

3745.  T.  Prideaux,  Sheffield,  **  Improvements  to  Wast  ftmaoes  or 
cupolas.**— September  38,  1867.  ^  . 

17x3.  H.  Fletcher,  Old  Hall  Street,  Liverpool,  -ImprovemeotB  to 
the  manufacture  of  artifldal  frieL**— Petition  recorded  Jnne  it,  1867. 

X748.  G.  McKensie,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  '*  Improvements  in  the  mann- 
ftMsture  of  illuminating  gas.**  ,    ^,__ 

X7S4.    0.  Erba,  Milan,  "  Improvementi  on  depDation  and  Icainff 


intog.**- 


'—June  X5, 1867. 


[EngltohEdittan,  VoL  X7L,  Mo.  417,  pi«M asV^Sa  ;  Mo.  413,pi«e  833;  Mo. 414,  ptgn  246;  Ma  416^  pi«t  858;  Mo.416;3pigs9a9; 

417,  pi«e888;  Ma  413,  pngia  833»  834.] 


Mo. 


Cbbocal  Nkwi,  ) 
^01^1863.      f 


Notes  and  Queries. 


59 


1767.  F.  B.  MUlerf  Sydney,  New  South  Walee,  "An  JmproTed 
mouod  of  toughening  brittle  gold  bntllon,  of  reAnlng  alloyed  gold, 
•Dd  of  leparating  therefrom  any  silver  they  may  contain."— June  17, 
1S67. 

iScra.  R.  K.  York,  Oardlli;  "  ImproToments  in  the  mannfiMsture  of 
ileeL^— Jane  ao.  1867. 

1819.  O.  Dickie,  Kfhrinning,  Ayr,  M.B.,  **  Improvoments  in  the 
naoutteuire  of  illuminating  gaa.*'— June  21, 1867. 

1S4&  T.  Crow,  West  mm,  Iteex,  **  Improvementa  In  the  manufu)- 
lare  of  lUamloatlng  gaa  from  gaa  tar,  oil,  or  from  gas  tar.*^— June  25, 
1867. 

1747.  J.  Onions,  Devon  Place,  Newport,  Monmouthshire,  **Im- 
prorements  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel."— Petition  recorded 
Jone  15, 1867. 

18S6.  C.  0.  Ueyl,  Berlin,  **  An  improved  method  of  and  apparatus  for 
making  snlphuret  of  carbon." 

1887.  G.  0.  Hey  1,  Berlin,  "  An  improved  method  of  and  apparatus  for 
extracting  fatty  matters  from  and  for  scouring  wool  and  other  fibrous 
tabetanees  and  textile  fiibrias,  bv  the  use  of  sulphuret  of  carbon,  and 
Ibr  regaining  the  sulphuret  used  in  such  operation/*— June  38, 1867. 

1897.  C  O.  Heyl,  Berlin,  **  An  improved  method  of  and  apparatus 
for  extracting  oU  or  fktty  matter  from  cotton  or  woollen  waste,  shoddy, 
mungo,  nucB,  and  analogous  sabstances,  by  means  of  sulpnnret  of 
carbon."— June  m,  1867. 

Mil.  W.  E.  Newton,  Chancery  Lane,  ** Improvements  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  and  apparatus  for  the  rectification  and  poriflcatlon  of  alco- 
hoL"— A  communication  ham  J.  G.  Beqnot,  and  H.  Champonnots,  Bue 
St  Sebastlen,  Parls.-July  9,  1867. 

2S01.  J.  Anderson,  Londonaerry,  ''Improvements  In  obtaining 
chlorine,  sodium,  potassium,  phosphorus,  and  their  compounds."— 
October  5, 1867. 

1845.   J.  Webster,  Birmingham,  **  A  new  metallic  sine  paint" 

185a  L.  Brunetti,  Bovisno  (Italy),  "  An  improved  process  of  em- 
balming and  preserving  ammal  substances  from  decay  for  anatomical 
pnrpnees."— PetlUons  recorded  Jane  25, 1867. 

19001  A.  M.  FelU  West  Calder,  Mid  XothUn,  N.B.,  **  Improvements 
In  pariiyiog  or  preservative  compounds  to  be  applied  to  the  fleeces  or 
aldns  of  sheep  and  other  animals."— June  39,  1867. 

3034*  J*  U.  Johnson,  linooln^s  Inn  Fields,  Middlesex,  ''Improve- 
menu  in  the  manufacture  of  refined  sugar."— A  communication  ttom 
B.  P.  Eastwick,  Baltimore,  Md..  U.8.A.-July  n,  1867. 

2484.  C.  Gei&tharp,  Low  Walker,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  "Improve- 
ments in  the  manufacture  of  malleable  iron,  cast  iron,  and  steel,  and 
la  tbe  construction  of  fhrnaces  to  be  employed  for  such  purposes. "-> 
September  2, 1867. 

1934-  6.  A.  F.  Fowike,  St.  James*  Street.  Westminster,  "Improve- 
ments in  compositions  for  preventing  the  fouling  of  the  bottoms  of 
mips,  floating  docks,  and  other  similar  structures,  and  in  the  mode  or 
means  of  applying  the  said  compositions."— Petition  recorded  July  a, 
i867. 

261 1,  a  Holste,  HenrietU  Street,  Govent  Garden,  Middlesex,  ''Im- 
proremenu  in  blast  ftamacea."— A  communication  fh>m  F.  Lurmann, 
Oeside,  near  Osnabmck,  Prussia.— September  17,  1867. 

333>>  J<  Toung,  AspuU,  Lancashire,  ^  Improvements  in  the  applica- 
tion of  cannel  coal  *  slack  *  to  the  manufacture  of  gas  and  coke."— Oc- 
tober 28, 18^. 

2006.  G.  OablUon,  Bue  Jaquelet,  Paris,  "A  process  to  prepare  and 
preserre  paper  and  tissues  with  a  soluUon  of  perchloride  of  iron.  In- 
tended for  stopping  the  bleeding  of  wounds."— Petition  recorded  July 
9t  1867. 

M46.  J.  Hargreaves,  Appleton-wlthln-Wldnes,  Lancashire,  "Im- 
Ofsmenta  In  the  manufacture  of  steel  and  soft  Iron  fbom  cast  iron."— 
nly  12, 1867. 

3973'  W.  Brookes,  Ohancery  Lane,  "  An  improved  method  of  treat- 
Uf  hides  In  the  process  of  tanning,  and  for  apparatus  employed  there- 
m.  —A  communication  from  M.  M.  J.  Haliensteln  and  A.  Cleghom, 
Footscray,  Victoria.— October  22,  1867. 


prot 
Jalj 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

Jl  Aas  5m»  represented  to  ita  thai  our  oolumn  of  ITotee  and  Queries 

hoe  oeoaeionaay  been  fnade  the  vehicle  for  the  eurrept4ti<me  die- 

poeal  of  trade  eeerete  by  eubordinatea  in  ehemleai  toorke,  un- 

MMtcn  to  their  principals.    This  column  has  proved  to  beentf- 

JMently  ue^ul  to  a  large  class  cf  our  readers  for  us  to  be  reluo- 

*antto  disconHnue  it  for  the  sake  qfafne  who  abuse  its  privikges. 

probably  a  more  rigid  supervision  will  enable  us  to  obviate  the 

d\fleuUif.    There  wUl  be  no  o^eeti&n  to  a  correspondent  asking 

for  information  on  trade  subjects;  but  the  answer  mttst  likewise 

be  made  pubUe,  and  in  such  eases  no  name  or  address  can  be 

gtven^  no  private  communieaUons  forwarded  through  im,  and  no 

qfer  of  payment  for  i^/brmation  can  bepublished, 

*  Petfid  Vaeuum.—l  hure  a  recollection  that  some  chemist  described 

a  nMthod  of  getting  a  p^i  feet  vacuum  some  years  ago.   Can  any  of  your 

readers  refer  me  to  the  exact  description  r—ELKCiBo*. 

Granular  ^ervesdng  OUrate  qf  Magnesia.-^lt  Is  sUted  on  good 
anthorlty  that  there  is  no  dtrate  of  magnesia  whatever  in  the  above 
Popular  medicine.  Is  this  the  case?  If  so  it  ought  to  be  widely  known. 
Obo  say  of  your  readers  give  me  a  simple  and  trustworthy  teat  for  Its 
prwence  In  an  eifervescing  mixture  ?— A  Huboion. 

Mttnufaeture  of  Epsom  Salts.-^^mis  weeks  ago  I  noticed  a  corre- 
•pondent  asking,  through  Notes  and  Queries,  at  what  towns  In  the  north 
Ifipsom  salt  is  made  on  the  plan  I  described  in  your  Journal  some  time 
*go<  I  should  liave  answered  this  before  but  have  been  prevented 
throQgfa  illness.  I  now  beg  to  stete,  if  It  Is  nut  too  late,  that  Manchester, 


Bolton,  WIgan,  St  Helens,  etc.,  are  some  of  the  places  working  on  the 
plan  described.— J.  H.  Swindblls. 

Spontaneous  Ignition  of  Charcoal.'— Ht»  this  phenomenon  ever 
been  observed  ?  A  case  has  Just  come  under  my  notice  In  which  a  con- 
siderable qnantlty  of  finely  powdered  wood  charcoal  has  been  found  in 
a  smottldenng  state.  I  have  carefully  examined  faito  the  drcumstances, 
and  can  asrign  no  reason  whatever  for  the  ignition  except  that  it  occurred 
spontaneously. — W.  Holmes. 

Action  of  Salts  on  Glass.— It  does  ^ot  seem  to  be  generally  Imown 
that  several  ammonlacal  salts  act  on  glass  at  a  high  temperature.  Thus 
fusing  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  also  a  mixture  of  idtrate  and  chloride 
of  ammonium.  In  a  state  of  fiislon  attack  glass.  An  ignorance  of  these 
facts  has  Just  led  me  astray  in  considering  flnorlne  to  be  present  where 
it  was  not.— Maotovs. 

Spontaneous  Ignition  of  Charcoal.— Ur.  Hohnes  will  find  this  sub- 
ject fUly  discussed  in  Dr.  Taylor's  "  Principles  of  Medical  Jurispra- 
dence,"  published  two  or  itaee  years  ago.— F.  B.  S. 

Spontaneous  Ignition  <f  Charcoal.— In  reply  to  •*  W.  Holmes,"  an 
occurrence  of  this  sort  Is  certainly  rare,  but  it  is  not  unrecorded  before. 
In  the  FhHosophieal  Mngaaine  for  1833  (vol.  3,  p.  1)  a  case  Is  men- 
tioned. In  the  same  volume,  p.  91,  Mr.  i)avies  attempts  to  assign  the 
cause  of  the  spontaneous  ignition  of  charcoal.  He  suggests  that  during 
its  manutecture  a  small  quantity  of  potasdom  Is  formed,  and  adduces 
several  reasons  why  this  should  be  the  case.— Scbutatob. 

Storm  Glass.— "YlVX  you  allow  me  to  ask  Mr.  TomUnson  for  an  ex- 
planation of  the  following,  which  I  have  often  remarked  in  my  storm* 
glais  r  If  it  is  left  hanging  ap  in  my  window  undisturbed  for  a  long  time 
there  gradually  collects  on  the  surface  an  olly-Iooking  hiyer  of  a  lightish 
brown  colour,  extending  downwards  faintly  until  it  is  lost  In  the  pure 
white  of  the  salhie  contents  of  the  tube.  If  the  storm  elass  be  hiverted, 
and  the  contents  mixed  ap,  the  oily -looking  liquid  and  the  colour  quite 
disappear,  and  some  weeks  elapse  before  they  again  make  their  appear- 
ance on  the  surface.— A  Gobstaut  Bbadbr. 

Bleaching  Palm  (HI.— The  want  of  success  of  your  correspondent, 
Geo.  Jolmson,  In  bleacldng  palm  oil  appears  to  be  at  least  partiy  due  to 
his  not  using  a  sufficient  quantity  of  hydrochloric  acid.  In  order  to 
complete  the  decomposition  of  one  part  of  "Bichrome,"  1*03  parts  of 
UCl  are  requisite,  the  decomposition  taking  place  aceonflng  to  the 
reaction, 

Ks020rOH-i4HCl=7HiOH-3KCl-l-aGrC]s-i-Ol6 ; 
but  as  the  strongest  Uquid  muriatic  acid  only  contains  about  40  per  cent 
of  UQ,  and  as  Qie  commercial  acid  is  frequently  much  weaker,  at  least 
4*8  or  five  parts  of  acid  should  be  used  for  one  of  *'  blchrome,"  in  order 
to  obtain  the  whole  available  bleaching  powder.  In  practice,  a  mixture 
of  sulpbnrlc  and  hydrochloric  acids  Is  frequentiy  emploved ;  about  the 
following  proportions  liave  given  good  reeulu:  x  lb.  bichrome,  4  to  s 
lbs.  yeUow  muriatic  add,  K  to  x  lb.  sulphuric  acid.  Instead  of  agitating 
by  paddles,  air  may  be  blown  through  the  mass  wltii  advantage,  as  « 
better  Intermixture  k  thereby  obtabed.  and  labour  saved;  probably 
ateo  the  idr  assists  in  oxidising  the  colounng  matter. 

Sulphuric  acid  alone  with  bichrome  has  the  advantage  of  not  causing 
deleterious  chlorine  fumes,  to  the  great  comfort  of  the  workman ;  it  Is, 
liowever,  said  to  be  less  efllcacious  for  some  kinds  of  oil  than  tbe  mix- 
tare  of  adda,  and  to  require  a  longer  thne.  The  cheapest  method 
appears  to  be  exposure  of  the  oil  In  a  layer  of  about  x>^  to  2  inches  on 
the  surface  of  water  heated  to  xoo^*  G.  by  steam  to  the  combined  influence 
of  air  and  sunlight;  It  requires,  however,  a  much  longer  time  than  the 
bichrome  plan.  By  passing  superheated  steam,  alone  or  mixed  with  sir. 
at  a  temperature  of  xio<*  to  xx2<'  0.  through  the  oil,  the  colour  Is  ahnost 
entirely  destroyed.  Your  correspondent  will  find  Azrther  information 
In  "  Bichardson  and  Watts's  Chemical  Technology,*"  vol.  L  part  2,  p.  4x0 ; 
also  in  **  Ure's  Dictionary  of  Arts."  etc,  iU.,  39a 

In  performing  the  bicnrome  bleaching  process,  the  green  liquid  left 
after  the  first  batch  of  oil  has  been  bleached  maybe  naixed  with  tnth 
bichrome,  and  a  less  quantity  of  acid  than  that  first  used  added,  and 
the  whole  used  for  a  second  batch:  any  bichrome  left  in  the  green  liquor 
Is  thus  utilised.  By  addition  of  excess  of  lime-paste  to  the  spent  chromic 
chloride,  d  predpltate  of  lime  and  chromic  hydrate  Is  obtained ;  this,  on 
diying  and  roasting  with  access  of  air,  Aimiahes  a  chromate  of  lime, 
which  may  be  used  Instead  of  fresh  bichrome,  thus  diminishing,  with 
carefnl  workmen,  the  cost  of  the  process.— C.  B.  A.  Wbiqht,  B.  8c. 

Palm  OU.—yfh^re  can  I  find  Instructions  for  Isdathig  the  colouring 
matter  of  palm-oil ;  or  hoW  can  it  be  effected  f — S. 

Perfect  Vacuum — ^'*  Electron  "  will  find  a  paper  by  Dr.  Andrews  on 
a  method  of  obtaining  a  perfect  vacuum,  in  the  PhlloaophJcal  Magaaine, 
series  4,  voL  la,  p.  X04.  I  believe  Mr.  Cetti  now  makes  vacuum  tubes  so 
perfect  that  they  wiU  not  allow  an  Induction  current  to  pass.  I  believe 
the  process  for  making  these  has  also  been  published,  but  I  cannot  say 
wbere.— W.  Thompson. 

Chloride  ofSariwn.—'Yixar  Paris  Correspondent,  In  a  recent  number 
of  your  valuable  Journal,  states  that  Messrs.  Burgoyne  and  Co.  manufao- 
ture  chloride  of  barium  In  a  pure  state,  and  thei  they  are  selling  the 
same  at  £y>  per  ton.  To  my  tUnklng  £yo  Is  a  \ery  high  price  to  ask 
for  tills  article ;  I  wish  tlierefore  to  state  that  I  have  made  larffe  quan- 
tities of  chloride  of  barium,  nearly  absolutely  pure,  disposing  of  tbe  same 
(of  course  at  a  profit)  at  £9  per  ton.— J.  H.  Swixdblls. 

Clarifying  Caustic  <Stoda^^'ould  any  of  your  correspondents  be 
good  enough  to  instruct  me  what  method  I  must  adopt  to  clarify  caustic 
soda  solution  of  the  dark-brown  substance,  and  other  Impurities,  which 
are  sometimes  associated  wltii  iU  When  I  make  the  solution  and  cansti- 
cise  with  lime,  the  carbonate  of  lime  falls  to  the  bottom,  leaving  a  solu- 
tion, deeply  coloured  red  or  brown  (instead  of  colourless  and  dear), 
which  is  exceedingly  inconvenient. — (*bobqb  Johrsoh. 

Granular  MUfervesoing  Citrate  of  Mdgriesia.— The  medicine  known 
as  **Eflbrvesdng  Citrate  of  Magneda  "  contains  no  citrate  of  magnesia 
of  the  chemist  at  aU.  It  is  nothhxg  more  than  citro-tartr&te  of  soda  of 
the  British  Fbarmacopcda  with  an  addition  of  sugar  and  four  or  five  per 


CBBCIiahBdilion|VoLXVL,No.413»pi«e234;  Vo.  414,  v^9  240^  Na 416^  page 268;  Vo.417,pi«e  288;  Vo.  4ia^pi«ea84;  Vo,41A, 

pi«e  949;  ira  41fl^  pi«e  858;  VOb  416^  ps«t  809.] 


6o 


Answers  to  Oorresjxyndeiits. 


J  CmacALNm, 


eeot.  of  salphate  of  magneflia.  The  magnesia  can  be  detected  by  adding 
to  a  solution  of  the  granules,  ammonia,  and  trlbaslc  phosphate  of  soda, 
when  a  precipitate  of  anunonia-pbospbate  of  magnesia  is  almost  Imme- 
diately formed.  The  presence  of  the  sulphuric  acid  in  combination 
with  this  base  can  be  detected  by  a  solution  of  chloride  of  barium  acid- 
ulated with  hydrochloric  add,  which  gires  an  insolable  predplUte  of 
salphate  of  baryta.— -C.  Umkbt. 

GnMiular  ^rreedng  Citrate  of  MagneHa.—'* A  Surgeon"  is 
quite  right  in  supposing  that  there  b  no  magnesia  at  all  in  the  abore 
preparation,  indeed  in  manv  instances  the  two  i)articular  substances 
which  are  conspicuous  by  then-  absence  are  ma^ntfsta,  aqd  citric  acid  (!) 
while  some  Turietles  I  have  examined  I  found  to  contain  bisulpbate  of 
sodium  in  place  of  the  vegetable  acid.  One  of  these  laut  samples  wss 
**  warranted  to  contain  no  add  besides  citric,'*  an  assertion  which  was 
of  course  in  one  sense  true.  I  have  always  believed  that  the  absence  of 
magnesia  from  the  so-called  **  citrate* "  was  '*  widely  known,"  if  not,  the 
sooner  the  facts  are  published  the  better.— WxmwoBTU  L.  Bcon. 

Bleachinff  Palm  ^.— Beferrine  to  No.  414  {Am.  Reprint  Jan.  186S, 
page  59)  of  your  valuable  loumai,  I  beg  to  acknowledge  with  grateful 
thanks  to  llr.  G.  R.  A.  Wright  his  fUll  and  clear  description  of  the 
method  of  bleaching  palm  oil  by  chromic  add.  I  have  been  greatly 
more  successful  since  applying  the  proportion  of  the  bleaching  agents 
which  he  prescribes  I  have  also  discovered  the  desirability  of  keeping 
the  materials  well  up  together  while  the  bleaching  Is  going  on ;  and  as 
be  suggests  a  method  of  agitating  superior  to  the  employment  of  pad- 
dles, viz.,  "  to  blow  air  through  the  mass,"  1  wish  Mr.  Wright  to  be 
goed  enough  to  inform  me  the  description  of  apparatus  necessary  for 
Uiis  purpose,  and  also  if  the  temperature  of  the  air  must  be  elevated  to 
correspond  with  that  of  the  oi].--GxoBGB  Johbsov. 

l^MyrUa/neoue  JgniUon  cif  Charcoal.— \  cannot  agree  with  **  Scruta- 
tor'*' that  this  phenomenon  is  certainly  new,  ss  I  have  met  with  several 
instances  of  it  during  the  preparathm  of  the  ^  Granular  Charcoal," 
recently  noticed  in  yonr  columns;  lamp-black,  after  bavins  been  care- 
fully washed  and  afterwards  dried  as^  is  very  liable  to  ignite  spon- 
taneously, and  on  this  very  scoount  is  less  used  in  pyrotechny  than 
formerly.  I  have  lat^  inspected  some  enormous  sUlls  used  for  Uie 
generation  of  sulphurous  add ;  the  charcoal  employed,  if  taken  out  for 
any  purpose,  is  almost  certain  to  undergo  'spontaneous  oombustiun, 
sooner  or  later,  unless  quickly  and  careful!^  excluded  from  the  air.— 

WkRTWOBTB  L.SOOTT. 

S^ponta/nevue  Ignition^  or  Comhu»tUm.—l  beg  to  remind  Mr.  Holmes 
that  a  great  many  porous  substances,  e.  g.  finely  divided  metals, 
BO  readily  absorb  oxygen  from  air  as  to  become  visibly  incandescent  in 
daylight:  not  onlv  powdered  wood  charcoal, but  that  article  in  bulk, 
equally  so  animal  charcoal,  and  pitcoal,  are  notonfrequently  known  to 
have  got  ignited,  the  cause  being  due  to  the  rapid  absorption  of  oxygen 
from  the  ur  aided  by  the  bad  conducting  power  for  heat  these  sub- 
stances are  endowed  with.  To  the  ssme  category  belong  the  phenom- 
ena of  the  spontaneous  ignition  of  hay,  straw,  flax,  and  saw-dust  in 
large  heaps ;  also,  and  this  is  a  frequent  cause  ot  fires,  the  extreme 
daniger  of  cotton  or  linen  rags,  tow,  and  even  some  kinds  of  paper  sstn- 
rated  with  oil  and  grease.  A  few  y^ ars  sgo  a  remarkable  Instance  of 
spontaneous  ignition  took  place  In  ships  anchored  in  the  roaos  of 
Batavla.  On  bosrd  these  vessels  among  the  careo  wss  a  quantity 
of  Turkev-red  dyed  cotton,  which,  as  is  well  known,  is  obtsined  by  the 
use  of  oil  as  mordant.  It  was  dearly  made  out  by  careful  experi- 
ments made  by  a  sdentiflc  committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
cause  of  these  fires,  which  were  st  first  taken  to  be  due  to  malice,  that 
actually  the  spontaneous  ignition  of  the  Turkey -red  dyed  cotton  wss 
the  true  cause  of  the  fire.  The  spontaneous  ignition  of  charcoal  has 
often  been  fktal  to  gunpowder  works,  while  equally,  the  spontaneous 
ignition  of  animal  charcoal  has  oaosed  fires  in  sugso-  refineries.— Dr. 
A.A.      . 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 


a  complete  treatise  on  the  sdence.  We  must  refer  jou  to  the  artlds 
"  CiTStallogrftphy  "  in  Wstts's  Dictlonaxy, 

Olympic  Comjpany.—Tht  more  complex  the  oompodtloo  of  s  i^h, 
the  more  stable  It  is  supposed  to  be.  A  simple  silicate  is  rcsdily  dertt- 
rified. 

W.  SchoJleid.—neeeiTti, 

O.  Johneon.—A  letter  is  waiting  at  oar  office.  Please  fonrsrd  sddNS 
where  it  is  to  be  sent 

F.  B.  &— The  lecture  appeared  in  frill  fai  the  CnmiCAL  Sxwft,bat 
was  not  published  teparately.    We  do  not  know  the  other  works  nssttd. 

T.  Tyrer.— We  regret  that  we  cannot  give  the  hiformatkm  re<isired 
Hunt's  Mineral  Statistics  would  probably  give  what  jiou  want. 

^  Thompeon.—TAo  other  place  <rxcept  the  one  referred  to. 

W.  B.  (?.— Wbhler's  resesrches  on  the  nitrste  of  boron  mflybefoonl 
in  the  Chemical  OaMette,  vol.  vii.,  p.  234.  We  shall  be  gladtohnr 
particulars  of  your  experiments. 

Studtnlr—lhtre  is  no  cheaper  process  for  produdng  cblwine  en  1 
large  scale  than  the  reaction  of  sulphuric  acid  and  salt,  or  of  hydxo- 
chloric  acid,  on  blnoxlde  of  manganese.  This  is  the  process  ualTcitstlf 
adopted  in  chemical  worlds. 

T.  IT.- Asks  how  to  predpltate  double  chloride  of  platinnm  uA 
aluminium  from  a  solution  ol  the  two  metals  in  aqua  regia.  Ko  isck 
compound  is  known.  It  might  posdbly  be  obtained  by  cut-ftil  ersponr 
tion  of  the  add  solution  referred  to,  but  it  could  not  be  precipUattd. 

P.  JSToUand .-Kecdved  witii  thanks ;  we  shall  be  glad  to  besr  flmbcr 
from  this  correspondent. 

J.  Johnstone.— The  article  has  been  in  type  for  several  vecks.  U 
shall  be  inserted  as  soon  as  we  have  room  for  it. 

Jamee  &.— Precipiute  the  silver  in  a  plate  of  copper. 

OUnthua.—hLT,  Campbell  has  detected  arsenic  in  the  beds  of  mm 
rivers. 

Chromo-technigl. — An  account  of  Mr.  Sorby^s  researdies  oo  sdos- 
spectroBoopic  analysis  appeared  in  our  columns  some  time  sga 

A  Subecriber.—We  have  asked  the  publisher  for  an  explsnstioai^ 
specting  the  missing  sheets  In  the  Dictionary. 

Communicatione  hate  I  .     -  -        . 

A.  H.  Church,  M.  A. :  ! 

closure) ;  H.  Seward;  „  . ^ , , 

Hoare  (witii  enclcanre) ;  J.  B.  Smllb :  M.  K.  Taylor ;  J.  Bird  (vttk  »• 
closure);  J.  Pain  ;  S.  Barnes;  M.  Willis:  B.  Newman  ;  W.  Dcktanyi; 
G.  King ;  Nicholas  Pagh :  C.  R.  A.  Wright,  B.  Be  (wiOi  endoKort);*. 

OdIiDg,  P.B.8.;  Rev.  Edwin  Smith,  M.A.: ~       '       "  ''"^" 

Jesse  Fisher ;  J.  Thompson ;  H.  Baden  1 


Cliff;  W.  Spalding  (wifli  enclosure);  F.  0.  Ward  (witii  enclofsieV,! 
E.  Sansomj  G.  GillBth ;  D.  Porbes,  P.R.8.  (with  cndonire) ;  J  B. 
Howard:  T.  Stevenson  (with  enclosure^:  R.  M.  Hands:  W.ll.Bini- 


i  sheets  In  the  Dictionary. 
I  hate  been  received  from  J.  H.  Bwinddb ;  Vnkm 
:  H.  Wallis ;  D.  Cameron ;  Walter  Hall  (with  «■ 
I ;  W.  Hill  (with  enclosure) ;  J.  H.  Dlckemw;  V. 
».     -  ^  ->   .,.     ^  ^y^,^,j.  j.Bird(wttk»- 

b:  B.  Newman  ;  W.  Dcktanyi; 
ght,  B.  6c  (with  eDdoKare);ft. 
. :  W.  M.  B}  water ;  E.  BeBsett; 
I  Prilchard;  C.  F.  BoiMr4:J. 


cations  snd  Duties  of  an  Ofllcer  of  HMJtii,''  by  Dr.  I^^J^'^T- Jflft 
X867.  "  Introductory  Lecture  to  the  opening  of  the  Bghty-iWM  ■«»• 
cal  Session  at  the  London  Hospltsl,"  by  T>t.  Letheby.  J-onfoHL'i? 
"The  Journal  of  Materia  Medica,'*.  by  Dr.  J.  A .  Bales  and  H.  A.TIMa. 
New  Lebanon,  New  York.  *•  Scientific  American."  •Anierl«Bir» 
san."  "  Journal  of  Gas  Lighting."  "  The  present  State  of  Mrtunenw 
of  Iron  In  Great  Britain,"  by  J.  Lowthian  BflL  *•  Catalogue  of  Aaieilco 
and  Foreign  Scientific  Books  for  Bale,"  by  D.  Van  Kostrsad.  ^JJ 
York.  ••Mining  and  Petroleum  Stsndard  and  American  Gtfijw 
Journal."  New  York.  "Hardwicke's  Sdence  Gofdp,"  Sornftlitt 
"A  Peep  at  the  Pyrenees,^  by  a  Pedestrian.  London:  Vhnwjr* 
Co.  "The  Microscope  in  Geology,"  bv  D.  Forbes.  F.\^  ff^ 
Hardwicke.  **  Undersokning  af  Selenmlnerallema  ft»n,S*"**'vtn-. 
A.  K.  Nordenekiold  "  American  Artisan."  -  American  Jooi^  « J»; 
Ing."  "  Pharmaceutical  Journal  ^  for  November.  **  SctentMc  MJ"! 
Preis."  "  A  Dictionary  of  Chemistry,"  Part  4a,  by  «•  .^fYvfri 
P.R.S.  London:  Longmans.  "The  Industrld  Pwtnersbips  iW«,^ 
for  November.  "  The  Sdentlfic  American.**  "  The  Worid  <«  «2*v 
"LeMoniteur  Sclentifique."  Paris.  "Mininc  and  Sdentlfic  Fw» 
"  Sdentlfic  American."  "  American  Artisan."  *•  American  JoorMi* 
Mining."  "The  Journal  of  Materia  Medica."  "The  Jonn«»*iJI: 
Lighting."  "Moniteur  Sdentifique."  -The  Colonial  Msffl.-  2 
Produce  Markets'  Review."  "  Naqnet^s  Modem  Cbemistiyv'  "pH 
by  W.  Cortis  and  revised  by  T.  Stevenson,  M J).  London :  HrtBJ" 
shaw.  "  A  Programme  of  Atomechanlcs,  or  Cbemisdy,  as  a  Mf'*^ 
of  the  Panatoms,"  by  Gustavua  Hlnricba.  ** ««  MIeioscope  »  »J^ 
ogy,"  by  David  Forbes,  P.R.S.  •The  Bible  and  Sdence,"  ^J  was«> 
AllenMttler,  M.D,  LL.D.,  Trees,  and  V.P.Ra  -  The  DarwIniaB  WJ 
Kxaratoed,"  by  a  Graduate  of  the  Unlvodty  of  Cambridge.  W«>»- 
James  Nisbet  and  Co.,  Bemeis  Street. 

[SngUah  Edition,  ToL  ZVX,  Na416»pag«969;  Va  417,  pag«  288 ;  llo^413,pa«»  834;  Va 414,  pag»  945 ;  Ho.41«^pai*  8tt;S«'^ 
pi««a09;  iro.413,pi««234;  Na  414,  ptgeSMS;  Ko.  4]i6;pi««9QPi  Ho. 413.  pa«»  834 ;  iro.414»pi«oa45;  Vo.  41^F^9A] 


NOTICE.— The   Priniing   and   Publishing    Offices   of    the 
Chbmical  News  are  Bemoved  from  Wine  Office  Court, 

[     Fleet  Streeij  I0 

BOT  COURT,   LUDGATE  HILL,  KC. 
where  dU  Communications  are  requested  to  he  addressed, 

ffilTaUet.— The  largest  rough  diamond  on  record  was  the  "Great 
Mogul  \^  originally  it  weighed  more  than  6  ounces,  but  waa  reduced  by 
cutting  to  two  ounces.    It  is  now  lost. 

lAiW. — Manufactured  on  the  lai^  scale,  oxygen  would  not  be  dear. 
It  could  be  made  for  much  less  than  aos.  per  1000  feet.  The  grest  ob- 
jection to  its  introduction  would  be  the  necessity  of  having  two  sets  of 
mains  In  all  the  thoroughfares. 

Queriet.—Muef  and  mnek  are  very  dilTerent  things :  the  former  is 
the  technical  name  given  to  the  unfermented  Jnloo  of  the  grape,  tiie 
latter  is  an  animal  perfume.  From  the  context  it  is  evident  that  your 
correspondent  has  made  a  derical  error  and  refers  to  the  former,  not 
to  musk. 

A.  P.— Write  to  Messrs.  Wells  and  Hall. 

A  Oonetani  Beader.— Ton  must  be  very  csrftftil  how  you  try  the  ex- 
periment.   The  apparatus  will  almost  certainly  explode. 

P,  0.  X. — Yon  must  use  slaked  lime.  Quick  lime  will  not  absorb  car- 
bonic acid.    This  is  a  suffldent  reason  for  your  failure. 

BtXlum.—^Vi  metal  Is  sn  alloy  of  copper  and  tin ;  the  proportions 
vary,  but  they  are  very  near  76  of  copper,  and  34  of  tin. 

J.  Barnes, — ^To  answer  your  question  it  would  be  necessary  to  write 


Wright;  D.  Day,  F.R.a  (w£h  enclosure) ;  W.  Hall;  Profe»or HetUs; 
Dr.  Letheby;  T.  Bourne;  T.  Miller;  Professor  Weltiein:  Wa; 
M.  Murphy;  T.  Fox  (with  enclosure);  Dr.  GDbcrt,  F.B.S.  (v« 
enclosure);     T.    Bournes;     T.  MiUer;     W.    Bchofield;   J.  »«» 

iwlth  enclosure);  W.  M.  By  water  (with  enclosure) ;  Rct.  Cw.Mi, 
?.  Armstrong;  W.  Lovatt;  J.  Walkden;  H.  Bussell  (with  enc"^ 
Professor  Guatavus  Hlnrichs,  Iowa  (with  enclosure);  Dr.  W.  AlksiJ 
ler,  F.R.a;  8.  Wright;  J.  A.  Brand;  J.  Samueleon:  8.  CbambmivM 
endcsure);  W.  Glllett;  Jw  Brown  (wiih  enclosure)  ;F.  Broolty;  w. 
Wingrove;  Dr.  R.  Angus  Smith,  F.R.8.;  W.  Isbister;  Dr.  A  £■»«*": 

F,  0.  Ward  (wlUi  eLcIosure) :  J.  Spiller ;  I.  Baggs ;  Profwior  G»p«, 

G.  W.  Slmpeon;  H.  KinnJrd  Yorite;  M.  Moncreiff  Pattiaoa ;  C.KU 
Tichbome;  S.  E,  Phiinps  (with  enclosure);  H.  N.  Draper;  J.  «J. 
Klngsbuiy  k  Ca  (with  endosure);  J.  Heywood;  W.  Hall;  ^^^ 
tract  of  Meat  Co. ;  Dr.  Tilbury  Fox ;  E.  W.  BartleU ;  W.  H.  Harris;  Br. 
F.  Webehns ;  W.  Hoe ;  C.  Tomllnsun. 

Booke  Bfceioed,^''  Practice  with  Science,  a  Series  of  i 
Pspers."    Vol  i.    London,  1867.    Longmans  A  Co.     '•On  t 


On  Mbno-Carhon  Compounds. 


6i 


THE     CHEMICAL     NEWS. 
Vol.  II.  No.  2.    American  Reprint 

ON  MONO-OARBON  COMPOUNDa* 

BT  DR.   ODLIKO,   F.R.S. 

Thi  prinoipal  compounds  of  carbon  with  hydrogen, 
ozjgen,  and  nitrogen,  which  contain  only  one  atom  of 
carbon  in  their  respective  molecules,  are  the  following: 
The  existence  of  methjlen  HsC,  is  very  doubtful  ^ 

H4C      Harah-gas  or  methene. 

H4CO    Wood-spirit  or  methyl  alcohol. 

H,CO    Formic  Aldehyd. 

HgOOs  Formic  Add.    GO  Garbonous  oxide. 

H,OOs  Garbonic  Acid.    GOa  Garbanhydride. 

HON"     Praflslc  or  hydrocyanic  Add. 

HGNO  Pyanic  add. 

Formic  acid  furnishes  only  one  class 'of  salts,  which 
are  consequently  monobasic,  as  exemplified  by  sodium 
formiate  NaHGOi,  for  instance.  Garbonic  add  fur- 
nishes two  classes  of  salts,  acid  and  entire,  or  mono- 
and  dibasic,  as  exemplified  by  the  two  sodium  carbon- 
ates, NaHCOs  and  Na«COs,  for  instance.  Garbonous 
oxide  and  carbanhydride  gases  may  be  regarded  as 
dehydrated  forms  of  the  formic  and  carbonic  adds  re- 
spectively. Carbonic  acid,  indeed,  HsGOs,  is  not  known 
as  an  isolated  compound,  but  only  in  the  state  of 
aqueous  or  dissolved  anhydride. 

In  addition  to  the  above  formulated  mono-carbon 
compounds,  various  derivatives  of  them  exist,  in  which 
ihe  constituent  oxygen  of  certain  of  them  is  represented 
by  salphur,  and  the  constituent  hydrogen  by  chlorine 
or  a  congener,  as  in  chloroform  ClaHG,  methyl  mercap- 
tan  H4GS,  phosgene  GlsGO,  sulphocyanie  acid  HGNS, 
etc. 

All  the  above  normal  compounds  are  susceptible  of 
mutual  metamorphosis,  especially  through  the  inter- 
vention of  their  phloro-  and  sut'pho-  derivatives,  but  the 
two  simple  oxides  are  alone  directly  procurable  firom 
elementary  carbon.  The  principal  metamorpkie  rela- 
tions of  the  several  compounds  are  as  foUows: 

Ok  Methene,  H4G,  is  procurable  from  methyl  alco- 
hol, H4C0,  indirectly,  through  the  intervention  of  va- 
rioQS  methyl-compounds,  such  as  methyl-iodide,  mer- 
cury methide,  eta,  usually  formed  from  the  alcohol  The 
hydrocarbon  and  alcohol  are  more  especially  assodated 
by  means  of  methyl-chloride,  which  is  both  produdble 
from  and  transformable  into  either  one  of  them.  Pre- 
pared from  methyl-alcohol,  for  instance,  it  furnishes 
marsh-gas  by  the  action  of  nascent  hydrogen,  thus : 
GIH.G +H,=H4G-|-H01 

Methene  is  further  procurable  firom  formic  acid  Ht 
COs,  by  its  transmisi^ion   over  ignited  baryta,  which 
serves  to  absolve  the  resultant  carbanhydride : 
4HtOO,— 2H,04-3CO,-hH40 

Also,  from  the  sulpho-derivative  of  carbanhydride, 
namely  diaulphide  of  carbon  CSi,  by  its  reaction, 
conjointly  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  upon  ignited 
metallic  copper : 

GS,+ 2H,8 + 0u8=H40+40u,S 

0.  Methyl-alcohol,  HiOO,  is  procurable  from 
marsh  gas  H«G,  indirectly,  by  decomposing  with  potash 

•  Dr.  Odllnff  hM  ktedlj  i^ennittad  w  to  pnblMh  oooastimal  ClMpt«n 
from  Part  11.  of  hk  "*  Mmnoal  of  GhemLstry,"  whioh  w«  «ra  glad  to  be 
tble  to  annoanoe  Is  now  In  the  pretf.— Ed  C.  N. 

Vol.  II.    No.  2.    Feb.,  1868.  5 


its  derivative  methyl-chloride,  a  compound  obtainable 
from  marsh-gas,  as  ahready  mentioned,  by  its  gradual 
reaction  with  chlorine : 

CaH,G-|-KH0=H4G0 + KCl 

y.  Formic  aldehyde,  IlsOO,  a  compound  of 
very  recent  discovery,  is  obtainable  by  effecting  the 
aerial  oxidation  of  methyl  alcohol  vapour,  by  means  of 
a  coil  of  ignited  platinum  wire : 

H4CO + 0=H>CO + HaO 

d.  Formic  acid,  HsGG,  is  procurable  from  marsh- 
gas  H4G,  b  v  decomposition  of  its  derivative  chloroform 
with  potash : 

Gl.HG-h4KHO=3KCl+KHGOa-f2HaO 
Also  from  methyl-alcohol  H4GO,  by  its  reaction  with 
heated  soda-lime  ;  and,  with  intermediate  production 
of  formic-aldehyd,  by  various  oxidations  of  the  alcohol, 
including  its  exposure  to  air  under  the  influence  of 
platinum  black: 

H4C04-HKaO=NaHCOa  +  2H, 

H4G0-|-0,=HaG0,-fH,0* 

Also  from  carbonous  oxide  €0,  by  its  combination 

with  heated  caustic   potash,  to   produce    potassium 

formiate : 

00+KH0=KHC0, 
Also  from  carbonic  acid  HiGOs^  by  its  reduction  with 
metallic  sodium,  to  produce  sodium  formiate : 
HaCO,+Na,=NaHGO, +NaHO 
Garbonous  oxide  GO,  is  producible  by  the  dehydra- 
tion of  formic  acid  HiGOs,  with  oil  of  vitriol,   for 
instance;    and  by  the  deoxidation  of  carbanhydride 
GOf,  with  ignited  zinc,  iron,  carbon^  etc. 

f.  Garbonic  acid,  HjGOt,  is  procurable  from 
marsh-gas  H4G,  methyl-alcohol  H4GO,  and  formic  acid 
HsGOa,  by  various  oxidations,  as  with  moist  chlorine 
fbr  instance : 

H4GO+301t+2H,O=HsCOj+6Ha  ' 
Also  fr^m  carbanhydride  GOa.  b^  its  solution  in  water, 
or  its  fixation  by  caustic  aUcah,  to  form  a  mono-  or 
dibasic  carbonate : 

COa  +  KHOrrKHGO, 

COa  +  2KH0=KaC0a  +  HaO 

Also  from  carbouQus  oxide  GO,  indirectly,  through  the 
intervention  of  phosgene,  by  decomposition  of  this 
compound  with  water  or  alkali : 

CI9OO  4-  2  Ar,0=KaGOt + 2KCI 

Garbanhydride  GOa;  is  producible  by  the  mere  de- 
siccation of  carbonic  acid  HaGOs :  and  by  the  direct 
oxidation  of  carbonous  oxide  GO,  as  with  air  and 
spongy  platinum  for  instance,  or  by  different  metallic 
oxides  at  a  red-heat. 

The  formic  and  carbonic  acids,  vdth  their  anhydrates, 
have  corresponding  relations  of  metamorphosis  to 
hydrocyanic  acid  and  cyanic  acid  respectively. 

Hydrocyanic  acid  HON,  when  heated  with  oil 
of  vitriol,  absorbs  one  atom  of  water,  with  production  of 
carbonous  oxide  and  ammonia:  ana,  when' heated  with 
potash,  absorbs  two  atoms  of  water,  with  production 
of  formic  acid  and  ammonia : 

HCN+H,0=CO+H,N 
HGN4-  2HaO=H,GO,  +  HaN 

Under  similar  treatment,  cyanic  acid  HGNO, 
absorbs  one  and  two  atoms  of  water,  with  production 
of  ammonia,  and  of  carbanhydride  and  carbonic  acid 
respectively: 

HGIf04-Ha0=00a+HaN  , 

HGNO+2H.0s:H.00. 4-HaN 


tBBf  Uflh  Bdittaii,  VoL  ZVL,  No.  418,  {«€•  283.] 


62 


On  Mono-Ca/rhon  Oonipounda. 


j  OnoocAL  Vmi 

1    nb^vm. 


The  ammonia^  formed  in  the  oil  of  yitriol  reactioD8| 
appears  of  course  as  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  the 
formic  and  carbonic  acids,  produced^  in  tne  potash 
reactions,  appear  as  potassium  salts. 

Independently  of  their  origin  from  one  another,  and 
from  cyanic  compounds,  as  above  described,  the  leading 
members  of  the  methyl-formic  families  are  obtainable 
from  liie  following  principal  sources. 

Methene  occurs  naiuraliy  as  fire-damp,  marsh  gas, 
etc.,  and  forms  an  important  constituent  of  ordinary 
coal-gas.  It  is  usually  made  from  acetic  acid,  the 
vapour  of  which  undergoes  decomposition,  at  a  red  heat^ 
into  equal  volumes  of  methene  and  carbanhydride  : 
H40,0,=H4C+CO, 

Methyl  alcohol,  or  hydrate,  which  forms  the  chief 
constituent  of  commercial  pyroligneous  spirit  or  wood- 
naphtha,  is  also  obtainable  from  the  methyl  salicate 
occurring  in  gaultheria  oil,  from  the  methyl  acetate 
found  together  with  the  hydrate  in  crude  wood- 
naphtha,  and  from  the  methyl-chloride  or  iodide  pro- 
duced by  the  action  of  hydrochloric  or  hydro-iodic 
acid  upon  narcotine. 

Formic  acid  exists  naturallv  in  the  juice  of  red  ants, 
etc.  It  can  be  procured  by  heating  starch  and  similar 
organic  sbbstances  with  dmerent  oxidising  mixtures ; 
but  it  is  usually  made  \j  the  decomposition  of  oxalic 
acid,  a  compound  also  resorted  to  as  a  source  of  car- 
bonouB  oxide : 

H,C,O4=:H,0Ot+008=HaO4-CO+(X), 

Carbonic  acid  or  anhydride  is  readily  procurable 
from  its  different  salts,  whether  found  native,  or  pro- 
duced artificially  by  the  combustion  of  organic  matter, 
coal,  etc.,  in  actual  or  virtual  presence  of  bases.  It  is 
also  a  ver^  frequent  product  of  the  oxidation  and 
decomposition  of  organic  compounds.  Many  organic 
acids,  for  instance,  as  alreadv  exemplified  by  acetic 
acid,  undergo,  when  heated  either  alone  or  with  caustic 
alkali,  a  decomposition  into  carbanhydride  and  some 
other  compound.  In  this  way  salicic  acid,  for  instance, 
yields  carbanhydride  and  phenol : 

H«0yO8=H,C«O+0Oi 

The  primarr  compounds  of  carbon  ma^  be  conve- 
niently considered  as  forming  three  distinct  groups, 
namely,  the  methylic,  typified  by  marsh-gas  H4U ;  the 
formic,  typified  by  formic  aldehvd  HsCO",  or  marsh- 
gas^  in  which  two  atoms  of  hycfrogen  are  replaced  by 
one  atom  of  diad  oxygen ;  and  the  cyanic  typified  by 
prussic  acid  HON'",  or  marsh-gas  in  which  three  atoms 
of  hydrogen  are  replaced  bv  one  atom  of  triad  nitrogen. 
The  origin  and  relationship  of  the  various  cyanic 
compounds  are  discussed  after  the  description  of  the 
individual  methylic  and  formic  compounds. 

MCTHTLIO  OOMFOUNDB. 

The  relationship  of  methyl-alcohol  to  methyl-chlo- 
ride and  methylamine  respectively,  corresponds  exactly 
with  that  of  water  to  hydrochloric  acid  and  ammonia ; 
and  the  three  bodies  may  be  regarded  as  derivatives 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  water,  and  ammonia,  by  substi- 
tution of  an  atom  of  methyl  for  an  atom  of  hydrogen : 


HGl 

H,0 
HaN 


(H,  C)C1  or 
H(H,  C)0  « 
H,{H,C)N      " 


(CI) 

(HO) 

(H.N) 


H.O 
H,C 


(01 

(HO 

(H,N 


By  a  further  substitution  of  methyl  for  the  hydrogen 
of  water,  there  is  produced  methyl-ether,  as  above 
referred  to  ;  while,  by  its  further  substitution  in  am- 
moQia,  there  are  produced  di-  and  tri-methylamine. 


H  01 
H,0 


(Ht  0)01 
H  (H,  0)  0 
H,(H.C)  N 


(Hg  0,0    " 

{H(H,0,  N(H.C)JI 
By  a  similar  sobstitotion  of  methyl  for  the  hydrogen 
of  methyl  itself,  as  existing  in  marsh-gas  and  methyl 
alcohol,  for  instance,  there  are  produced  the  homo- 
logues  of  marsh-gas  and  methyl-alcohol,  or  ethene  and 
common  alcoh<d  respectively  :— 

H4O  I  H.(H,0)0    =        HeC,    Ethene 

H4OO        I  H,(HaC)00=        H,0,OAlooh6l 

And  just  as  marsh-gas  and  methyl-alcohol  are  re- 
garded as  the  hydride  and  hydrate  of  methyl,  so  maj 
ethene  and  ethyl-alcohol  be  regarded  as  the  hydride 
and  hydrate  of  ethyl,  and  so  do  they  form  an  etiier  or 
oxide  corresponding  to  methyl-ether,  and  three  suc- 
cessive amides  or  nitrides  corresponding  to  the  three 
methylamines,  eta 

H(H,0)         I         H(H,0,) 

H  (H,  0)  0  H  (H«  0,)0  (H.COfO 

H,(H.O)N    I         H,(H.O.)N   H(H,0,).N(H^C,),H 

Moreover,  various  mixed  or  intermediate  compounds 
are  also  Known,  such  for  instance  as  methyl-ether 
(H,C)(H.CoO,  methyl-diethylamine  (H.C)  (H»(i),N, 
etc.  Thus  the  radicals  methyl  and  ethyl  which,  for 
brevity's  sake,  are  often  represented  by  tne  symbols 
"  ME,"  and^ "  IT,"  have  the  similar  property  of  replacing 
hydrogen  in  a  great  variety  of  bodies,  to  form  methyl 
and  eth^l  derivatives,  corresponding  closely  to  one 
another  m  constitution,  formation,  decomposition,  and 
general  behaviour ;  so  that  to  almost  every  methyl 
compound  there  exists  a  corresponding  ethyl  com- 
pound ;  and,  indeed,  firom  various  causes,  the  ethyl 
series  of  compounds  has  been  altogether  better  studied, 
and  is  more  complete,  than  even  the  methyl  series 
itsel£  In  addition,  however,  to  analogues  of  the  dif- 
ferent methyl  compounds,  the  ethj^l  series,  by  reason 
of  the  greater  complexity  of  its  pnmary  hydrocarhoD, 
includes  various  compounds  which  have  not^  and  cannot 
have,  true  methyl  analo^es. 

By  a  further  substitution  of  methyl  in  methyl-methyl 
or  ethene,  HsC.  HtC  or  H«(^  there  is  produced  a  new 
hydrocarbon  propene  HsCKsCHsC  or  ^  HiC.,  which 
mav  also  be  represented  as  propyl-hydride  H  (Hi(3i), 
and  of  which  propyl  alcohol,  HtCtO  or  U(E^G%)  0  is 
the  corresponding  hydrate ;  and  so  on  indefinitely.  The 
earlier  terms  of  this  homologous  series  of  hydrocarbons 
and  alcohols,  and  of  the  acids  resulting  torn  tiie 
oxidation  of  the  alcohols,  are  given,  in  the  following 
table: 


H. 

U4O 

H.O, 

H.O, 

H10O4 

HitOs 

H,40. 


Hxdfooarbon* 

Hydrogen    H«     0 
liarsh-gas    H4  0  0 


Ethene 

Propene 

Butene 

Eupione 

Oaprene 


He  0,0 
H.CO 
H,o040 
H  1,0,0 
HuOiO 


Water 

Methyl 

Ethyl 

Propyl 

Butyl 

Amyl 

Oapryl 


H,  0  0,  Formic 

H4  0,0,  Acetic 

H.  0,0,  PiropioDic 

Hb  O4O,  Butyfie 

H,iO,0,  Valeric 

HisOeO,  Gaproie 


Methene  has  some  similarity,  and  at  the  same  time 
considerable  dissimilarity,  to  another  hydrocarbon 
known  as  phenene,  or  hydride  of  phenyl  HaO*;  and 
just  as  ethene  is  produced  by  the  replacement  of  hy- 
drogen by  methyl  in  methene,  so  is  benzoene  or  toluol 
produced  bv  the  same  replacement  of  methyl  for  hy- 
drogen in  phenene.  The  resulting  methyl-methene  or 
ethene,  and  methyl-phenene  or  bencoene,  oonespood 
closely  with  one  another,  and  give  rise  to  strictiy 
analogous  compounds  and  series,  tnus: — 


[aDcUihBdMan,y<d.ZVI,  No.  418,  pMW  283^8841 


OmnoAf.  Niwi^  I 


Chntributions  to  the  History  of  MeikyUc  Aldehyde. 


63 


Hydroevbon. 
H«  Os     Ethene 
Ha  Ct     Bensoene 
Hi«Os     Xylene 
etc. 


Aleobol. 

H«  G,0     Ethyl 

Ht  GyO     Benzyl 

HioC.O     Xylyl 

etc. 


Aeid. 

HiGsO,    Acetic 

U»CtOs    Benzoic 

HtOtO,    Toluic 

etc. 


MSTHTL-HALIDIS,  BTO. 

Afl  previously  mentioned,  methyl-chloride  ClHsC,  is 
procurable  from  marsh-gas,  H4G,  oy  direct  substitution 
of  chlorine  for  hydrogen,  and  from  methyl  alcohol, 
H«CO  or  (HO)H«0,  by  substitution  of  chlorine  for 
hydro  xyl  It  also  occurs  as  a  product  of  the  decom- 
position by  heat  of  the  hydrochloride  of  kakodylic 
acid  H(HtC)»AsO«.HCl,  and  of  the  reaction  of  hydro- 
chloric acid  with  narcotine.  It  is  decomposable  by 
potash,  with  reproduction  of  methyl-alcohol  (Berthe- 

CIH.+CKHO— Ka4-H4C0 

By  the  further  action  of  chlorine  upon  methyl-chloride, 
tliere  are  produced,  in  succession,  the  higher  derivatives 
ClsHsC,  GlaHC,  and  CUO;  but  the  decomposition  of 
these  compounds  by  caustic  potash  leads  to  the  produc- 
tion, not  of  methyhc,  but  of  formic  compounds,  thus : 

Cl,H,C4-Jr,0=2KCl-f  H,  CO 

Cl,HC-h2/r,O=3K01-f-KHGO, 

Cl«0+3Jr,O=4KCl+Ka  C0» 

The  first  of  these  reactions  has  not  been  established, 
owing  propably  to  its  incomplete  examination.  By 
treatment  with  nascent  hydrogen,  perchloride  of  car- 
bon GI4C.  is  successively  reconverted  into  chloroform 
CUHC.  tkis  into  methylen-chloride  CltHsC,  this  into 
methyl-chloride  ClHsG,  and  this  last,  as  already  stated, 
into  marsh-gas  H4C.  Some  halogen  derivatives  of 
marsh-gas  appear,  but  are  not  altogether  proved,  to 
exist  in  two  or  more  isomeric  forms.  The  existence  of 
two  chlorides  of  methyl,  and  of  three  chlorides  of 
methylene,  is  easily  conceivable  on  the  assumption 
that  one  pair  of  hydrogen  atoms  in  marsh-gas  repre- 
sents the  oxygen  of  carbonous  oxide,  while  the  other 
pair  represents  the  more  loosely  combined  excess  of 
oxygen  in  carbonhydride,  as  indicated  by  the  following 
fonnuke: 

^•"«^]Cl,HaO;  CLffHClC;  and /r,Cl,C.    . 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE   HISTORY  OF 
METHYLIC  ALDEHYDE.* 

BT   A.   W.   HOFMANN,   LL.D.,   F.K.8. 

"Thi  aldehyde  of  the  methyl-series  is  not  known;" 
aU  the  chemical  manuals  say  so,  and  for  the  last  twenty 
years  my  students  have  been  duly  informed  thereof. 
It  will  scarcely  appear  strange  that  more  efforts  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  that  body  should  not  have  been 
made,  since  the  masterly  picture  which  Liebig  has 
delmeated  of  the  aldehyde  par  excellence  embraced  as 
it  were  the  history  of  the  whole  class,  and  of  course 
also  of  the  aldehyde  in  question.  Nevertheless  methylic 
aldehyde  deserves  our  consideration  for  more  than  one 
reason.  As  one  of  the  simplest  terms  of  the  mono- 
carbon  series,  occupying  a  position  intermediate  be- 
tween marsh-gas  and  carbonic  acid,  as  a  link  of 
transition  connecting  methylic  alcohol  and  formic  acid, 
as  either  aldehyde  or  acetone,  according  to  the  point  of 
view  from  which  we  look  upon  it,  the  compound  CHsO 
illustrates  a  greater  variety  of  relations  than  any  one 

^  lUad  befDrt  the  Boyml  Bodely,  KoT«mber  31, 1867. 


of  the  higher  aldehydes.  But  In  addition  to  the  in- 
terest with  which  the  methyl-compound  has  thus 
always  been  invested,  this  substance  possesses  special 
claims  upon  our  attention  at  the  present  moment. 
Our  actual  method  of  treating  organic  chemistry  for 
the  purposes  of  instruction  almost  involves  the  neces- 
sity of  starting  from  the  methyl-series.  The  simplest 
of  aldehydes  thus  acquires  quite  an  especial  importance, 
and  all  those  who,  like  the  author  of  this  note,  are 
engaged  in  teaching,  cannot  fail  to  have  sadly  missed 
a  compound  which  is  the  carrier  of  such  varied  and 
interesting  considerations. 

The  desire  which  I  have  frequently  felt  in  my  lec- 
tures of  developing  the .  idea  of  the  genus  aldehyde, 
when  speaking  of  the  methyl-compounds,  has  more 
than  once  induced  me  to  attempt  the  preparation  of 
methyl-aldehyde,  but  it  was  only  at  the  conclusion  of 
my  last  summer  course  that  I  succeeded,  to  a  certain 
extent  at  all  events,  in  attaining  the  object  of  my 
wishes. 

A  substance  possessing  the  composition  and  the 
properties  of  methylic  aldehyde  is  formed  with  sur- 
prising facility  if  a  current  of  atmospheric  air,  charged 
with  the  vapor  of  methylic  alcohol,  be  directed  upon 
an  incanddscent  platinum  spiral 

The  bottom  of  a  strong  three-necked  bottle,  of  two 
litres*  capacity,  is  covered  to  the  height  of  about  five 
centimetres  with  moderately  warm  methylic  alcohol 
The  first  neck  is  provided  with  a  tube  descending  to 
the  very  surface  of  the  liquid ;  into  the  second  is  fixed 
a  loosely-fittinff  cork,  which  carries  the  platinum  spiral: 
the  third  one,  uistly,  communicates  with  the  upper  end 
of  a  condenser,  the  lower  end  of  which  is  fastened 
into  a  two-necked  receiver.  This  receiver  is  in  its  turn 
connected  with  a  series  of  wash-bottles,  and  the  last 
of  these  communicates  with  a  water-jet  aspirator,  by 
which  a  current  of  air  can  be  sucked  through  the 
whole  system. 

The  apparatus  being  disposed  in  this  manner,  the 
platinum  spiral  is  heated  to  redness  and  introduced 
into  the  three-necked  bottle.  After  a  few  minutes  the 
flameless  combustion  of  the  methyl-alcohol  begins  to 
manifest  itself  by  the  evolution  of  a  vapour  powerfully 
affecting  nose  and  eyes.  Gradually  tne  temperature 
of  the  apparatus  rises^  and  soon  droplets  of  a  colourless 
liquid  are  condensed  m  the  receiver.  The  formation  of 
methyl  aldehyde  is  now  fairly  proceeding,  and  if  the 
current  of  air  be  appropriately  adjusted,  the  platinum 
roiral  remains  incandescent  for  hours,  and  even  for 
days.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  collecting  from  50  to 
100  grammes  of  a  liq[uid  rich  in  methyl-aldehyde. 

Instead  of  establishing  the  current  of  air  by  a 
water-jet  aspirator,  a  pair  of  bellows  may  be  conven- 
iently employed.  I  have  often  used  with  advantaffe 
the  bellows  of  an  ordinary  glass-blowing  table.  This 
mode  of  proceeding  is  more  particularly  adapted  to  the 
requirements  of  the  lecturer,  who  is  thus  enabled,  by 
simply  accelerating  the  movement  of  the  foot^  to 
enliven  the  combustion,  so  as  to  keep  the  whole  spiral 
in  a  state  of  incandescence.  By  thus  proceeding"  it 
happens,  however,  occasionally,  that  the  gaseous 
mixture  in  the  three-necked  bottle  is  fired ;  but  these 
explosions  are  perfectly  harmless,  the  whole  effect 
bem^  the  forcime  ejection  of  the  loosely-fitting  cork 
which  carries  the  platinum  spiral 

The  liquid  which  is  being  collected  in  the  receiver 
has  aU  tne  properties  which  theory  assigns  to  the 
aldehyde  of  the  methyl-series,  or,  more  ptoperly 
speaking,  to  its  methyl-alcoholic  solution.    When  re# 


Vol  Z7L,  Va  418,  iwgM  AM)  MA] 


64 


IderUUy  of  Physiodl  with  so-oaUed  Vital  Forces. 


JQnmiCALVini 

1    FA^vm. 


dered  gently  alkaline  by  a  few  drops  of  ammonia,  and 
mixed  with  nibateof  suver,  it  yields,  on  ffently  wann- 
ing, a  silver  mirror  of  unreproa^hable  perrection,  which 
is  mdeed  more  readily  and  more  certainly  produced 
than  with  the  aldehyde  of  the  ethyl-senes.  The 
reduction  in  this  case  is  the  result  of  two  consecutive 
reactions ;  in  the  first  stage  the  aldehyde  yields  formic 
acid,  which  in  the  second  stage  is  converted  into  water 
and  carbonic  acid. 

On  heating  the  methyl-alcoholic  solution  of  the 
aldehyde  with  a  few  drops  of  a  fixed  alkali,  the  liquid 
becomes  turbid  on  ebullition,  acquires  a  yellowish 
colouration,  aid  soon  deposits  droplets  of  a  brownish 
oil  possessing  in  the  highest  degree  the  peculiar  odour 
of  ethyl-aldehyde-resin. 

After  the  observation  which  I  have  mentioned,  it 
was  scarcely  doubtful  that  the  product  of  the  slow 
combustion  of  methylic  alcohol  contains  the  aldehyde 
of  this  alcohol  in  considerable  proportion.  NeverUie- 
less  it  appeared  necessary  to  fix  the  nature  of  this 
compound  by  some  numbers.  The  commencement  of 
the  vacations  bein^  at  hand,  there  was  but  little  hope 
of  preparing  tiie  liquid  in  sufficient  (][uantity  for  tne 
purpose  of  obtaining  the  aldehyde,  which  will  probably 
be  found  to  be  either  gaseous  at  the  common  tempera- 
ture, or  extremely  volatile,  in  a  state  of  purity  for 
analysis.  Under  these  circumstances  I  have  been 
compelled  to  limit  myself  to  the  preparation  of  an 
easily  accessible  derivative  of  methyl-aldehyde  possess- 
ing a  characteristic  composition,  and  the  analysis  of 
wnich  would  not  be  less  conclusive  than  that  of  the 
aldehyde  itself.  The  slight  solubility  and  the  power- 
fully crystalline  tendencies  of  the  sulphaldehyde  of  the 
ethyl-series  could  not  fail  to  indicate  the  direction  in 
which  I  had  a  ri^ht  to  hope  that  the  object  which  I 
was  aiming  at  might  be  accomplished. 

If  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  be  passed 
through  the  methyl-alcoholic  solution  of  methyl-alde- 
hyde, the  liquid  becomes  turbid  after  a  few  minutes, 
and  on  allowing  the  saturated  solution  to  stand  for 
•  gome  hours,  a  body  of  an  alliaceous  odour  begins  to  be 
separated  at  the  bottom  of  the  flask.  If  the  liquid  be 
now  mixed  with  half  its  volume  of  concentrated  hy- 
drochloric acidj  and  heated  to  ebullition,  it  becomes 
limpid,  and  sohdifies  on  cooling  into  a  mass  of  felted 
needles  of  dazzling  whiteness.  These  needles  fuse  at 
2  iS"":  they  are  volatile  without  decomposition.  Slightly 
soluble  in  water,  they  are  more  reiulily  dissolved  by 
aleohol,  and  still  more  so  by  ether.  For  the  purpose 
of  analysis  they  were  recrystallized  from  boiling  water, 
in  order  to  exclude  free  sulphur,  with  which  they 
might  have  possibly  been  contaminated.  The  numbers 
obtained  in  the  analysis  of  the  crystals  unmistakeably 
establish  their  nature.  The  white  crystals,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  have  the  composition  of  the  sul- 
phaldehyde of  the  methyl-series. 

The  analysis  of  the  sulphur-compound  fixes,  of 
course,  the  presence  of  the  correspondmg  oxygen  com- 
pound among  the  products  of  the  slow  combustion  of 
methylic  alcohol 

A  more  minute  examination  of  methylic  aldehyde 
and  its  derivatives  remain  still  to  be  made.  It  will  be 
absolutely  necessary  to  isolate  the  oxygen-term  and  to 
determine  its  vapor-denaity,  in  order  to  ascertain  its 
molecular  weight.  If  we  remember  the  facflity  with 
which  the  aldehydes  are  polimerized,  the  question  pre- 
9nt8  itself  whether  the  aldehyde  formed  by  the  slow 


combustion  of  methylic  alcohol  is  represented  by  the 
formula 

0H,0, 

or  a  multiple  thereoC  A  similar  remark  applies  to  the 
sulphur-derivative.  It  deserves,  moreover,  to  be  men- 
tioned that  a  compound  isomeric  with  methylic  alde- 
hyde, the  dioxymethylene  (CaH^Oa)  of  M.  Bontelrow, 
is  known  already ;  also  that  a  sulphur-componnd  of 
the  formula 

CH,S 

has  been  obtained  by  M.  Aim€  Qirard,  who  obserred 
that  bisulphide  of  carbon  is  reduced  by  the  action  of 
nascent  hydrogen  with  disengagement  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen. 

In  me  course  of  next  winter  I  propose  to  perform 
some  former  experiments  on  the  product  of  the  slow 
combustion  of  methylic  alcohol,  for  the  purpose,  if 
possible^  of  isolating  methylic  aldehydes  in  a  state  of 
purity,  m  order  to  complete  this  inquiry. 


ON  TBS  IDEHTITT  OF 

PHYSICAL  WITH  SO-CALLED  VITAL  FORCES. 

A  FEW  weeks  ago  we  gave  our  readers,  in  considen- 
ble  detail,  the  remarks  of  Professor  Tyndall  on  "Matter 
and  Force,"  addressed  to  the  working  men  of  Dundee. 
As  a  sort  of  sequel  to  them,  and  in  part  an  application 
of  these  (questions  to  a  special  series  of  phenomenf 
we  give  m  similar  detail  the  words  of  Dr.  Letheby 
addressed  to  the  students  of  the  London  Ho^ital,  it 
the  opening  of  the  current  medical  session.  Prof 
Letheby,  it  will  be  seen,  did  ample  justice  to  the  grat 
and  almost  limitless  powers  of  pnysical  research  vhen 
applied  to  subjects  of  biology,  before  treated  mainly 
by  powerful  imagination  and  firuitless  conjecture,  and 
which  were  so  settled  to  the  satisfaction  only  of  indi- 
vidual conjectures. 

But  Dr.  Letheby  took,  as  Professor  Tyndall  did,  i 
still  bolder  position,  as  our  readers  will  see,  and  drew 
a  sharp  line  of  separation  between  the  possibilities  and 
impossibilities  of  the  application  of  our  knowledge  of 
force  and  matter.  The  range  pf  possibility  allowed  bj  < 
Dr.  Letheby  to  science  will  be  seen  on  examination  to  I 
be  much  smaller  than  that  of  Professor  TyndalL  I 

Three  such  authorities  as  Professor  Tyndall,  Huxley,  | 
and  Letheby  .rarely  lecture  upon  the  aims  and  limits  of  \ 
science  in  such  close  succession,  and  such  lectores  wiH 
po  far  to  give  some  definition  to  the  present  crude  and 
mdefinite  popular  ideas  upon  what  pcilosophers  think 
of  the  range  of  the  various  sciences. 

Dr.  Letnebv  writes  as  follows: — "We  speak  of 
healthy  and  unhealthy  seasons,  and  in  popular  discussion 
are  satisfied  to  refer  the  pandemic  tendency  of  diseaae 
to  the  state  of  the  weather.  But  how  are  they  related? 
Tlie  circumstance  of  a  higher  or  lower  temperature 
than  usual,  a  wetter  or  dryer  season,  the  existence  of 
more  or  less  ozone  in  the  air,  the  fluctuations  of  the 
barometer,  etc.,  are,  at  present,  but  coinddences  of 
facts;  and  they  offer  no  explanation  whatever  of  the 
etiology  of  disease.  The  same  is  also  true  of  the  ob8e^ 
vations  which  have  been  made  concerning  the  local 
peculiarities  of  epidemics — as  the  altitude  of  a  place, 
the  condition  of  its  soil,  the  water  level  in  it,  and  the 
presence  of  putrid  effluvia.  All  these,  as  in  the  last 
case,  are  but  dimly  seen  to  have  an  influence  on  disease. 
We  know  nothing  of  their  real  agency,  and  yet  the 
wildest  theories  have  been  advanoed  in  respect  of  them 


[BwglMi  Wmm,  7oH;Vl^  Ha  41%  p^w  Wfi,  886.] 


OnonoAi.  Nsw8, ) 
Ftb^  i8e&     f 


IderUUy  of  Physiad  with  so-called  Vital  Fai'ces. 


65 


At  one  time  it  is  dogmaticallj  asserted  that  epidemics 
are  due  to  wet  in  the  soil;  at  another  to  the  water 
supply  of  the  place.  Now,  it  is  the  condition  of  the 
a'r  which  causes  them,  and  then  it  is  our  filthy  habits. 
Out  of  this  confusion  order  must  come,  and  the  first 
step  must  be  towards  the  investi^tion  of  the  real  na- 
ture of  specific  contagia.  When  this  is  known,  and  the 
laws  which  govern  their  action  are  determined,  the 
caprices  of  epidemics  will  be  explained. 

"  Nor  are  we  much  more  advanced  in  the  interpreta-* 
tionof  healthy  phenomena.  The  fiction  of  an  Archceus, 
and  the  mechanical  and  chemical  theories  of  life,  have 
given  place  to  the  dogma  of  a  vital  force ;  but  the  recent 
progress  of  physical  science  has  done  much  to  dissipate 
onr  illusions  concerning  fictitious  entities  and  mysteri- 
oos  forces.  The  study  of  physical  phenomena,  firom  a 
dynamical  point  of  view,  has  led  to  the  recognition  of 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  definite  correlation  or  mutual 
dependence  of  .physical  forces — *that  the  various  im- 
ponderable agencies,  or  the  affections  of  matter,  which 
constitute  the  main  objects  of  experimental  physics, 
namely,  heat,  light,  electricity,  magnetism,  cnemical 
affinity,  and  motion,  are  all  correlated,  or  have  a  reci- 
procal dependence;  that  neither  taken  abstractedly, 
can  be  said  to  be  the  essential  or  proximate  cause  of 
the  other,  but  that  either  may,  as  a  force,  produce  or 
be  convertible  into  the  other  *  thus  heat  may  mediate- 
ly, or  immediately,  produce  electricity,  electricity  may 
produce  heat,  and  so  of  the  rest.'  *  I  believe,*  says  Mr. 
Grove,  fi*om  whom  I  am  c|uoting,  '  that  the  same  prin- 
ciples and  mode  of  reasomng  might  be  applied  to  the 
organic  as  well  as  the  inorganic  world,  and  that  mus- 
cular force,  animal  and  vegetable  heat,  etc.,  might,  and 
at  some  time  will,  be  shown  to  have  similar  definite 
correlations.'  This  was  said  almost  a  qharter  of  a  cen- 
tury ago,  and  yet  we  are  only  just  beginning  to  recog- 
nise the  truthfulness  of  his  hypothesis.  A  former 
teacher  in  this  school,  Dr.  Carpenter,  whose  laree 
acquaintance  with  physiology  and  physics  especially 
qualify  him  for  a  searching  examination  of  this  subject, 
has  fully  confirmed  the  views  of  Mr.  Q-rove.  He  has 
established  the  fact  that  there  is  not  only  a  mutual 
relation  between  the  so-called  vital  forces,  which  are 
concerned  in  the  ^owth,  multiplication,  and  transfor- 
ihation  of  tissues,  m  secretion,  in  muscular  and  other 
organic  motion,  and  in  nervous  action,  but  that  there 
is  also  a  like  relation  between  vital  and  physical  forces. 
Believing  with  Mr.  Grove  that  all  these  forces  are*  but 
different  modes  of  action  of  one  and  the  same  agency, 
he  contends  that  the  differences  of  action  are  due  to 
the  material  substratum  or  medium  through  which  it 
acts ;  '  that  operating  through  inorganic  matter  it  mani- 
fests itself  in  electricity,  magnetism,  light,  heat,  chemi- 
cal affinity,  and  mechanictd  motion;  but  that  when 
directed  through  organized  structures,  it  effects  the 
operation  of  growth,  development,  chemico-vital  trans- 
formations, and  the  like ;  ana  is  further  metamorphosed 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  structures  thus 
generated,  into  nervous  energy  and  muscular  power.' 
80  that  it  is  the  speciality  of  the  material  substratum, 
thus  furnishing  the  medium  or  instrument  of  the  con- 
version or  metaraorphism  of  force,  that  marks  the  dif- 
ferences between  physical  and  vital  phenomena.  I 
believe  that  the  time  is  fast  approaching  when  all  special 
entities  for  the  explanation  of  physical  and  physiological 
phenomena  will  be  dispensed  with,  when  the  ftirl  da- 
mental  conceptions  of  matter  and  motion  will  be  found 
sufficient  for  their  explanation. 

'*  In  the  case  before  us,  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 


thkt  a  living  cell  or  primordial  germ  contains  within 
itself,  in  a  latent  form,  the  whole  organizing  force 
which  is  required  to  build  up  the  future  plant  or  ani- 
mal. Nor  is  it  necessary  to  believe  that  vital  force 
exists  in  a  dormant  conution  in  all  matter  that  is  ca- 
pable of  being  organised,  and  that  the  living  cell,  in 
growing  and  multiplying,  evokes  and  utilises  it  It  is 
enough  that  the  cell  is  the  medium  for  the  conversion 
or  metamoiphosis  of  external  physical  forces  into  what 
are  called  vital  actions. 

"  The  external  force  which  the  cell  chiefly  converts 
is  heat ;  and  Dr.  Carpenter  lays  so  much  stress  on  the 
dependence  of  the  organizing  forces  of  l^oth  plants  and 
animals,  on  the  continual  agency  of  heat^  that  he  regards 
their  vital  action  as  the  correlation  of  it.  It  mi^ht,  in- 
deed, almost  be  said  that  the  special  and  distinctive 
attribute  of  a  Uving  organisation  is  the  power  of  con- 
verting heat  into  vital  force.  In  plants  it  is  entirely 
exercised  in  the  growth  and  transformation  of  tissue ;  . 
but  in  animals  it  is  also  rendered  subservient  to  the 
production  of  nervous  and  muscular  forces ;  and  these 
manifestations  of  action  are  always  exhibited  in  tissues, 
which  retain  their  original  cellular  constitution.  It  is 
remarkable,  too,  that  no  cell  has  the  power  of  perform- 
ing two  different  operations  at  the  same  time :  thus, 
says  Dr.  Carpenter,  the  asHmHating  cellsy  whose  func- 
tion it  is  to  convert  the  raw  material  supplied  by  food 
into  organisable  plasma,  exercise  little  or  no  chemical 
transformations ;  they  do  not  undergo  change  of  form ; 
they  do  not  exert  any  mechanical  or  nervous  power, 
and  they  do  not  reproduce  their  kind.  So  again,  the 
cells  which  are  specially  endowed  with  the  powers  of 
muUipUcation,  as  well  as  those  which  are  engaged  in 
reprodudlon,  have  in  each  ca-e  no  other  vital  endow- 
ment. It  is  the  same  with  the  secreting  cells  and  with 
the  cells  that  are  concerned  in  the  production  of 
meckanical  movement,  as  the  contractile  cells  of  muscu- 
lar fibrill»,  the  ciliated  cells  of  respiratory  and  other 
passages.  Perhaps,  also,  it  is  the  same  with  the  cells, 
or  ceU-nuclei  of  the  ganglia,  and  extremities  of  nerves 
which,  in  all  probability,  are  the  agents  of  nerve-force, 
.This  faculty  of  exercising  but  one  function  at  a  time  is 
a  marked  peculiarity  of  physical  forces.  If)  for  example, 
the  force  derived  from  chemical  action  in  a  galvanic 
battery  be  made  to  act  on  a  fine  platinum  wire,  it  will  • 
show  Itself  as  heat;  or,  if  it  be  conducted  through  a 
coil  of  wire  placed  around  a  piece  of  iron,  it  wiU  ex- 
hibit itself  as  magnetism  ;  or,  it  it  be  conveyed  through 
acidulated  water,  it  will  appear  as  chemical  action  ;  but 
all  these  manifestations  of  it  cannot  be  fully  exerted  at 
the  same  time.  There  is,  consequently,  a  certain  quan- 
tivalence  of  action ;  in  fact,  the  idea  of  the  correlation 
and  mutual  dependence  of  forces,  involves  the  necessity 
of  a  certain  definite  ratio  or  equivalence  of  action ;  for, 
aa  force  cannot  be  created  or  destroyed,  it  must  ever  be 
acting  in  some  fixed  proportion.  If,  therefore,  the 
heat  and  light  force  received  by  the  plant  be  converted 
into  vital  force  during  the  growth  and  transformation 
of  tissue,  there  must  be  a  quantivalence  of  «iction,  and 
the  force  must  endure.  While  the  cell  lives  it  is  exerted 
in  the  manifestations  of  vital  phenomena,  but  when  it 
dies  and  decays  it  is  converted  into  chemical  action, 
and  then  into  heat  and  sometimes  light.  In  the  case 
of  the  plant  the  transformation  of  heat  force  is  chiefly 
concerned  in  the  production  of  tissue ;  and  so  also  in 
the  animal  during  the  processes  of  growth  and  repair ; 
but  when  the  latter  engages  in  the  main  duties  of  its 
existence — ^the  development  of  motion — ^it  resorts  to 
the  affinities  of  its  food  and  as  these  are  the  embodi« 


[Bnglkfa  Bditioii,  VoL  ZVLi  Vo.  418,  iwgM  28^  987.] 


66 


IdenUty  of  Physical  with  so  called  Vital  Forces. 


S  CinancAL  Vvn, 
1      r$b^  1M8L 


meats,  so  to  speak,  of  the  light  and  beat^  through  whose 
agency  they  were  formed,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
iimctions  of  the  animal  body  are  performed  through  the 
agency  of  cosmical  force.  The  plant  is  ibe  macmne  or 
medium  whereby  light  and  heat  are  converted  into  the 
force  which  forms  tissue,  and  the  animal  is  the  machine 
or  medium  for  changing  the  affinities  of  the  tL-sue  into 
other  mauifestations  of  force,  and  finally  into  heat  The 
one  is  accompanied  by  processes  of  deozidation,  and 
the  building  up  of  compounds ;  the  other  by  processes 
of  oxidation  and  puUine  down,  but  througnout  the 
whole  of  these  changes  there  is  the  same  force  operat- 
ing through  different  media. 

*'  It  follows  from  this,  that  there  must  be  some  defii- 
nite  relation  between  food  and  animal  force.  Hitherto 
it  has  generally  been  thought  that  the  nitrogenous  ele- 
ment of  food  is  the  exponent  of  its  value,  and  that  there 
is  a  direct  relation  between  the  waste  of  muscular  tis- 
sue and  the  amoun  t  of  w ork  performed.  Attempts  have, 
therefore,been  made  to  estimate  the  relation  by  observ- 
ing the  amount  of  nitrogen  excreted,  as  urea,  during  ex- 
ercise of  different  degrees  of  activity.  The  results,  how- 
ever, have  shown  that,  under  the  best  circumstances, 
the  actual  work  performed  exceeds  that  produced  by 
the  oxidation  of  the  nitrogenous  constituents  of  the 
food  and  worn-out  muscle  by  more  than  thirty  per  cent ; 
and  in  some  experiments  which  were  made  in  1866,  by 
Drs.  Fick  and  Wislicenus  of  Zurich,  when  they  ascend- 
ed the  Foulhom,  which  is  2,000  feet  above  the  Lake 
of  Brienz,  in  Switzerland,  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
amount  of  work  done  in  cl  mbing  the  mountain, 
exceeded  by  more  than  three-fourths  that  which  it 
would  have  been  theoretically  possible  to  realise  from 
the  oxidation  of  muscle,  as  indicated  by  the  quantity 
of  urea  in  the  urine.  Consequently,  they  conclude  that 
muscular  force  is  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  derived  from 
the  carbo-hydrogen  of  our  food,  and  that  the  muscle 
is  no  more  than  the  machine  for  the  production  of  mo  • 
tion.  Like  a  steam-engine,  it  converts  the  affinities  of 
the  oxidised  fuel  into  heat,  and  then  into  visible  motion. 
Like  it^  also,  itd  movements  must  cause  decay  and 
necessitate  repair.  The  nitrogenous  constituents  of  our 
food  are  chiefly  codcerned  in  this  last  process,  and  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  as  much  force  is  not  expended 
in  uiis  process  as  is  afterwards  produced  by  the  oxida- 
tion of  the  worn-out  tissues.  In  the  consideration  of 
this  subject,  however,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  difference  between  sustained  and 
temporary  muscular  activity.  The  herbivora,  as  the 
horse,  the  chamois,  the  stag,  etc.,  are  capable  of  great 
temporary  exertion,  but  they  are  not  equal  to  the  car- 
nivora  for  sustained  energy ;  and  with  our  own  domes- 
tic animals,  we  find  that  mey  are  capable  of  perform- 
ing most  work  when  they  are  supplied  with  vegetable 
food  containing  much  nitrogen. 

*^  Lastly,  I  will  remark,  in  illustration  of  the  general 
tendency  of  physiological  pursuits,  that  great  efforts 
are  being  made  to  determine  the  constitution  as  well 
as  the  composition  of  the  fluids  and  tissues  of  the  liv- 
ing bodv ;  for  there  has  long  been  a  desire  to  under- 
stand the  way  in  which  the  common  affinities  of  mat- 
ter are  controlled  by  the  living  cell.  Broadly,  the  chemist 
has  ascertained  that  the  chemical  functions  of- the  plant 
are  those  of  reduction  or  de-oxidation,  whereby  car- 
bonic acid  and  water  lose  oxy^n,  the  residual  elements 
with  the  nitrogen  of  ammonia  forming  tissues.  The 
functions  of  an  animal,  as  I  have  said,  are  of  an 
opposite  nature,  for  instead  of  building  up  they  pull 
down ;  and  in  using  the  tissues  of  plants  as  food  they 


oxidise  them,  and  finally  restore  them  to  nature  as 
carbonic  acid,  water,  and  ammonia.  '  The  two  extremes 
of  these  changes  are,'  to  use  "the  words  of  Gerbardt, 
'carbonic  acid,  water,  and  ammonia,  at  one  end;  albu- 
men, gelatine,  fat,  and  cerebral  matter  at  the  other;' 
but  the  transitions  I0  these  extremes  are  counties, 
and  are  as  yet  almost  beyond  the  ken  of  science.  Who 
can  tell  us  by  what  series  of  transformations  the  car- 
bonic acid  and  water,  received  by  the  plant,  are  con- 
verted into  vegetable  acids,  sugar,  and  fat?  And  still 
more  mysterious  are  the  phenomena  which  accompanj 
the  formation  of  tissues.  Why  is  it  that  a  living-edl, 
as  we  call  it  possesses  the  power  of  transrorming  cos- 
mical forces,  light  and  heat,  into  cell-force ;  and  in 
a^^egating  matter,  how  is  it  that  it  keeps  common  affi- 
nities at  bay  ?  That  -^hen  it  dies,  as  we  express  it,  the 
matter  so  aggregated  during  life,  decay f>,  and  comes 
again  within  the  reach  of  ordinary  affinities?  What 
answer  can  we  give  to  these  questions  ?  No  other  than 
that  organic  matter  is  the  designed  or  appointed  medi- 
um of  mese  changes ;  and  we  can  no  more  explain  the  ^ 
phenomena  than  we  can  say  why  it  is  that  mineral 
matters  are  the  appointed  media  of  other  manifestatioDi, 
as  light,  heat,  magnetism,  and  electricity.  Such  ques- 
tions are  beyond  the  scope  of  the  human  intellect,  and 
mark  tiie  limit  of  our  understanding. 

"  Apart  from  these  questions,  however,  the  chemist 
has  hope  that  he  will  penetrate  the  mystery  of  organic 
changes,  in  so  far  as  the  chemical  combinations  are  con- 
cerned. Abeady  he  has  found  the  clue  to  many  of  tbe 
vegetable  processes  of  reduction,  and  has  been  able  to 
produce  a  large  number  of  organic  compounds  from 
carbonic  acid,  water,  and  ammonia,  and  even  from  the 
elements  themselves :  in  fact,  of  the  three  great  ch^sea 
of  alimentary  substances,  as  Dr.  Odling  says,  the  pro- 
duction of  the  oleaginous  is  quite  within  his  reach; 
the  saccharine  is  almost  within  it :  but  the  albuminooB 
is  still  far  be;^ond  it  He  has  thus  proved  that  tbe 
dogma  of  a  vital-force,  which  has  tyrannised  so  long 
over  men's  minds,  has  no  foundation  j  for  a  host  of  or- 
ganic compounds  can  be  made  artificially. 

"  And  then  with  regard  to  the  processes  of  oxidation 
which  characterise  the  frinctions  of  animals,  he  has 
been  able  to  imitate  them  to  a  much  larger  extent;  for, 
by  subjecting  organic  compounds  to  chemical  transfor- 
mations, he  has  produced  a  multitude  of  secondaiy 
})roducts  like  those  of  the  living  world ;  recognising  the 
act  that  all  secondary  products  of  tissue-transforma- 
tion are  compounds  of  comparatively  simple  molecoks, 
from  which  the  elements  of  water  have  been  eliminat- 
ed— ^in  other  words,  that  they  are  composed  of  the  re- 
sidues of  other  molecules,  the  chemist  has  been  aUe, 
not  only  to  classify  them  into  certain  definite  gronps, 
but  he  has  also  been  able  to  construct  them  a&(r  toe 
fashion  of  organic  nature.  Stetwin  has  been  prodnced 
by  joining  the  residues  of  glycerine  and  a  fatty  add. 
Sarcosine^  which  is  a  muscle-product,  fit)m  putting  to- 
gether the  residues  of  acetic  acid  and  methylamine. 
ffippuric  iiddf  from  the  residues  of  benzoic  acid  and 
gly cosine.  Taurine,  which  is  a  constituent  of  bile,  from 
ihe  residues  of  isethionic  acid,  and  ammonia.  Urea, 
from  the  residues  of  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia,  and 
so  of  many  others. 

"  In  this  way  *  organic  chemistry  has  achieved,*  as 
Dr.  Odling  truly  observes, '  a  great  analytical  succeeSi 
The  compounds  so  elaborately  built  up  by  the  living 
organism,  it  has  pulled  to  pieces,  and  the  pieces  them- 
selves it  had  arranged  into  natural  series  and  gfoaps 
of  associated  bodies/  It  has  also  effected  aynlAeliM/  pio- 


[BDgUdi  BdMoa,  T6L  ZTL,  Vo.  416^  IMgM  987, 168.] 


On  Oda  Analyms.' 


67 


oesseiL  and  has  built  up  organic  compounds  from  min- 
eral elements ;  and  its  hopes  are  that  the  entire  pro- 
cesses of  organic  nature,  short  of  making  tissue,  will  ere 
long  be  seen  and  imitated.  Prestimptuous  man  1  it 
mar  be  thought,  are  you  not  striving  for  the  impos- 
sible? In  these  explorations  of  vital  phenomena,  are 
jou  not  trespassing  upon  holy  pound  r  Can  the  unite 
measure  the  depths  of  the  infinite  ?  Already  we  have 
done  so.  '  The  being  of  a  day  has  pierced  backwards 
into  primaoval  time,  deciphering  its  subterranean  mon- 
uments, and  inditing  its  chronicle  of  countless  ages. 
In  the  rugged  court  and  shattered  pavement  of  our 
£^obe,he  has  detected  those  gigantic  forces  by  which  our 
seas  and  continents  have  changed  places :  by  which  our 
moontain  ranges  have  emerged  from  the  bed  of  the 
ocean ;  by  which  the  gold  and  silver,  the  coal  and  the 
iroD,  and  the  lime,  have  been  thrown  into  the  hands  of 
man  as  materials  of  civilisation,  and  by  which  mighty 
cycles  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  have  been  embalmed 
and  intombed.*  '  He  has  ascended  the  Empyrean^  and 
by  steps  of  physical  research,  has  reached  the  visible 
boundaries  of  the  universe,  and  has  scanned  with  eade- 
eye  the  mighty  creations  in  the  bosom  of  space.  He 
lias  marched  intellectually  over  the  mosaics  of  the  side- 
real systems,  and  has  followed  the  adventurous  Ph»- 
ton  in  a  clua'iot  which  cannot  be  overturned.'  '  Ideas 
like  these,  when  first  presented  to  a  mind  thirsting  for 
knowledge,  are  apt,'  says  Sir  David  Brewster,  from 
whom  I  am  quoting,  ^  to  disturb  its  equilibrium  and 
unsettle  its  convicttons.  Should  this  be  the  mental 
condition  of  any  one  of  you,  be  not  alarmed  for  its  re- 
sults, for  this  species  of  scepticism  is  the  infant  condi- 
tion of  the  uncurbed  and  generous  intellect  There 
can  be  no  convictions  where  there  have  been  no  per- 
plexities and  doubts ;  and  that  faith  which  comes  in 
the  train  of  early  scepticism  will  finally  rest  upon  an 
immovable  foundation.'  - 

'*  *•  Credulity,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  disease  of  feeble 
intellects  and  iU-regulated  minds.  Believing  every- 
thing, and  investigating  nothing,  the  mind  accumulates 
errors,  till  its  overgrown  faith  o'er-masters  its  untutor- 
ed reason.  Such  a  facility  of  belief  may  in  some  cases 
claim  the  sympathy  even  of  philosophy;  but  when 
it  spurns  the  strict  demands  of  inductive  truth^  and 
planta  imagination  at  the  door  of  the  temple  of  science, 
it  cannot  be  too  severely  reprobated,  or  too  sternly 
shunned. ' " 

ON  GAS  ANALYSIS. 

BT  DBS.  OBANDBAU  AND  TBOO0T. 

(Conelttded  tnm  Amcr.  Keprint,  Jon.  1868,  pH*  tT  ) 

IT*  nixtare  of  Krdroaulplftiirlc  Aeld,  Carbonic 
Add,  and.  Nitrogen* 

HS    00,    N 

The  mixture  is  measured  into  a  graduated  tube 
standing  over  mercury.  Introduce  a  solution  of  sul- 
phate of  copper,  and  agitate.  The  diminution  of  vol- 
ume represents  the  amount  of  hydrosulphuric  acid 
present. 

Professor  Bunsen  recommends  in  preference  for  the 
absorption  of  the  hydrosulphuric  acid,  a  ball  of  binoxide 
of  manganese  impregnated  with  phosphoric  acid.  [To 
obtain  a  ball  of  binoxide  of  manganese  which  does  not 
tend  by  reason  of  its  porosity  to  absorb  other  gases 
besides  hydrosulphuric  acid,  M.  Bunsen  prepares  bv 
levigation  a  fine  powder,  which  is  formed  into  a  thick 
paste  by  a  little  water.  This  paste  is  then  pressed 
mto  a  mould  round  a  platinum  wire,  the  extremity  of 


which  is  twisted  into  a  spiral.  The  mould  is  then  dried 
at  a  gentle  heat,  when  the  ball  of  binoxide  is  readily 
detadied ;  for  greater  precaution,  the  sides  of  the  mould 
may  be  smeared  with  a  little  oil.  The  ball  is  then  mois- 
tened several  times  with  a  syrupy  solution  of  phos- 
phoric acid]. 

The  remaining  gas,  transferred  to  an  appropriate 
tube,  is  then  submitted  to  the  action  of  caustic  potash, 
which  absorbs  the  carbonic  acid.  The  residue  .is  ni- 
trogen. 

V.  mixinre  of  Kydrocltlorle  Add,  KydrcMnl- 
pltarlc  Add,  CarlK>nlc  Add,  and  BUtrosen, 

HCl  HS  CO,  N 

When  the  exact  volume  of  the  mixture  has  been  ac- 
curately-measured in  the  tube  over  the  mercury,  the 
hydrochloric  add  is  absorbed  by  means  of  a  fragment  of 
hydrated  sulphate  of  soda  fixed  to  the  extremity  of  a 
platinum  wire.  [To  obtain  these  fragments  it  is  suffi- 
cient, according  to  M.  Bunsen,  to  fuse  ordinary  sul- 
phate of  soda  in  its  water  of  crystallisation,  and  to  dip 
in  several  times  the  end  of  a  platinum  wire.  There 
attaches  to  the  wire  a  small  lump  of  the  sulphate  which 
augments  in  volume  with  each  fresh  immersion]. 

Then  remove  the  sulphate  of  soda,  and  measure  the 
volume  again.  The  diminution  observed  will  represent 
the  volume  of  hydrochloric  acid  gas. 

The  hydrosulphuric  acid  is  absorbed  by  a  ball  of 
binoxide  of  manganese  soaked  in  phosphoric  acid,  and 
the  carbonic  acid  is  afterwards  absorbed  by  potash. 
The  residue  gives  the  nitrogen. 

TT.  IHiztare  of  Snlpliarons  Add,  C!arlK>lle  Add, 
Ozysen,  and  Nttroiren* 

SO,  CO,  0  N 
(Ctai  teQlng  from  Cnit«n  of  SoKktRn). 

The  volume  of  the  mixture  being  measured  dry  in  a 
graduated  tube  over  mercury,  the  sulphurous  acid  is 
absorbed  by  a  ball  of  binoxide  of  manganese  impreg- 
nated vnth  phosphoric  acid.  After  having  removed 
this  ball  and  noted  the  diminution  of  volume  a  frag- 
ment of  potash  is  introduced  to  absorb  tlie  carbonic 
acid.  The  second  diminution  of  volume  will  give  the 
carbonic  acid. 

The  oxygen  can  then  be  absorbed  by  potash  and 
pyrogallic  acid ;  or  it  may  be  estimated  eudiometrically 
as  described  in  No.  i.  The  nitrogen  will  remain  as 
residue. 

Til*  K7dro«a1p]ftnrt«  Add,  Carbonte  Add,  Ky 
droK^n,  and  NUrocen. 

HS.  CO,  H  N 
(TamerolM  of  VoIcmkms) 

Commence  by  absorbing  the  hydrosulphuric  acid  by 
introducing  into  .the  mixture  a  ball  of  binoxide  of  man- 
ganese impregnated  with  phosphoric  acid.  The  absorp- 
tion of  the  carbonic  acid  is  then  effected  by  means  of  a 
fragment  of  moist  caustic  potash. 

The  hydrogen  is  then  estimated  as  at  No.  2,  either 
by  the  eudiometer,  or  by  passing  the  mixture  of  hydro- 
gen and  nitrogen  into  a  curved  tube  and  introducing 
compact  oxide  of  copper  into  the  upper  part  of  the 
bend.  By  heating  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  part  of 
the  tube  containing  this  oxide,  the  complete  absorption 
of  the  hydrogen  is  effected.  The  nitrogen  will  form 
the  residue. 

VIII.  CMM  firom  Blast  Furnaces  wliere  UTood  Is 
nsed* 

CO,  CO  H  N 

After  having  accurately  measured  the  volume  of  the 


[BngUifa  XkUtton,  Yd.  ZVI,  JTa  418,  i«ff«  988 ;  Vo.  41^  IMffv  80&] 


^8 


Action  of  Light  on  Chloride  of  Silver. 


t  CmifioiL  Hiwi, 


l^fr^lMB. 


mixture  over  mercury,  absorb  the  carbonic  acid  with 
a  fragment  of  caustic  potash. 

Then  estimate  the  carbonic  oxide  by  introducing  into 
the  graduated  tube  a  solution  of  subchloride  of  copper 
in  hydrochloric  add,  agitate,  and  the  absorption  will 
be  complete. 

Instead  of  introducing  the  liquid  itself  it  will  be  bet- 
ter, as  M.  Bunsen  advises,  to  introduce  a  ball  of  papier 
rnach^  impregnated  with  this  acid  solution  of  subchlo- 
ride of  copper. 

This  experiment  should  be  made  oyer  another  sep- 
arate mercurial  trough,  for  the  subchloride  of  copper 
attacks  and  fouls  the  mercury. 

In  withdrawing  the  ball  impregnated  with  chloride, 
before  reading  off  the  volume,  it  is  necessary  to  re- 
move the  hydrochloric  acid  vapours  given  off  by  the 
jcUoride. 

The  estimation  of  the  hydrogen  can  then  be  effected 
as  at  No.  2,  either  by  the  eudiometer,  or  by  absorption 
with  oxide  of  copper.  The  nitrogen  remains  as  a 
residue.  * 

IX.  Ga«  IW>ii&  ttkib  niiid  or  a  Pond.  . 

CO,  CO  H  CH4  N  ' 
Fir8t  estimate  the  carbonic  acid  by  means  of  potosh 
then  with  a  ball  of  papier  mach^  introduce  into  the 
mixture  a  concentrated  solution  of  subchloride  of  cop- 
p  r  in  hydrochloric  acid.  After  the  absorption  has 
terminated,  withdraw  the  ball  of  chloride  and  replace 
it  by  a  ball  of  potash  to  remove  the  vapours  of  hydro- 
chloric acid  given  off  by  the  acid  chloride.  If  the  mix- 
ture which  contains  carbonic  oxide  also  contains  oxy- 
gen, the  latter  gas  is  determined  first  by  pyrogaluc 
acid  and  potash.  The  estimation  of  the  hydrogen  and 
carburetted  hydrogen  is  then  effected  eudiometrically 
as  in  No.  3. 

X.  Coal  Gas* 

HS  CO,  CO  C4H4   0,04  H  N 

The  mixture  is  first  accurately  measured  in  a  grad- 
uated tube  standing  over  mercury.  The  hydrosul- 
phuric  acid  is  then  estimated  by  means  of  a  ball  of 
binoxide  of  manganese  impregnated  with  phosphoric 
acid. 

After  removing  the  binoxide  of  manganese  and 
measuring  the  remaining  volume,  introduce  a  ball  of 
caustic  potash^  which  absorbs  carbonic  acid. 

The  carbonic  oxide  is  determined  by  means  of  acid 
subchloride  of  copper. 

To  determine  the  bicarburetted  hydrogen  introduce 
into  the  residue  a  fragment  of  coke  soaked  in  a  con- 
centrated solution  of  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  in  mono- 
hydratcd  sulphuric  acid.  The  absorption  of  the  bicar- 
buret  takes  place  very  rapidly;  we  coke  is  then 
withdrawn  and  the  acid  vapours  absotbed  by  potash. 

The  estimation  of  the  hydrogen  and  proto-carouretted 
hydrogen  is  then  performed  as  at  No.  3.  The  nitrogen 
remains  as  a  residue. 

The  bicarburetted  hydrogen,  as  well  as  the  protocar- 
buret  and  the  hydrogen,  may  also  be  estimated  by  the 
eudiometer.  To  effect  this,  pass  the  mixture  of  these 
three  gases  and  the  nitrogen  into  the  eudiometer  with 
three  times  its  volume  of  oxygen,  and  pass  the  spark. 
The  free  hydrogen,  as  well  as  that  of  the  carburets, 
combine  with  oxygen  to  form  water,  whilst  the  carbon 
becomes  carbonic  acid.  Then  pass  the  residue  of  the 
combustion  into  a  gpraduated  tube,  and  estimate  the 
carbonic  acid  with  potash  and  the  excess  of  oxygen 
with  potash  and  pyrogallic  acid.  The  residue  left  after 
'^his  double  absorption  gives  the  nitrogen. 


The  volumes  of  bicarburetted  hydrogen,  protocarlra- 
retted  hydrogen,  and  hydroffen,  may  then  be  obUuned 
by  a  siipple  calculation.  The  reactions  which  take 
place  may  be  represented  by  the  formulsd 

H  -h  0  =  H0 

a  vob.    I  ToL 
C,H4    +    80     =4H0+    2C0, 


4  voIb.         8  toIb. 


4T0IA. 


4  roiB.  e  roiB.  4  tow. 

C4H4   +  12O   =4H0+     4CO, 


4  Tols.       la  voU. 


StoIb. 


These  equations  show  us : — i.  That  the  combustion 
of  bicarburetted  hydrogen  requires  thrice  its  volume  of 
oxygen,  that  of  bicarburetted  hydrogen  double  its  toI- 
ume,  and  that  of  hydrogen  half  only.  2.  That  the 
bicarburet  produces  double  its  volume  of  carbonic  add, 
and  the  protocarburet  its  own  volume  exactly. 

Therefore,  calling  sc,  y,  z  the  volumes  of  the  bicarburet, 
the  protocarburet,  and  the  free  hydrogen,  of  which  the 
sum  is  known  and  represented  by  c,  we  have — 

% 
3«-h2y+  -  =a  • 

2 
2X+  y         =6 
«+  y+«     =c 

a  and  h  are  the  volumes  of  oxygen  employed,  end 
of  the  carbonic  acid  produced,  volumes  of  which  hire 
been  determined  by  experiment. 

To  find  the  values  of  x^  v,  and  z,  subtracting  the 
first  equation  fi-om  the  sum  of  the  two  others,  we  £id— 
ft 

-  =rc+&— a,  whence,  2=2(6 +c—aX 
2 

Then  subtracting  the  last  firom  the  second  we  find— 

«— 2(6+c— «)=6— c^  whence  ap=36+c— 20, 
The  second  equation  then  gives — 
y=4a— 56^2«. 


OK  THS 

ACTION  OF  LIGHT  ON  CHLORIDE  OP  SHYER. 

BT  M.  MOBBXN,  nEAN  OF  THS  UmTEBSITT  Of 
BCIINCES  or  MAR8BILLE8. 

Takb  a  glass  tube  3  centimetres  in  diameter,  and 
from  45  to  50  centimetres  in  len^^  close  one  end  end 
introduce  two  bulbs,  one  containing  nitrate  of  silver, 
the  other  chloride  of  potassium,  in  equal  equivalents; 
fill  the  tube  with  a  concentrated  solution  of  chlorine  in 
water,  then  carefully  seal  it  before  the  blowpipe.  Break 
the  bulbs  by  agitation,  when  the  result  will  be  chloride 
of  silver  deposited  in  an  excess  of  chlorine  water.  If 
the  tube  be  exposed  for  several  days  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  the  following  facts  may  be  observed,  ist  As  long 
as  the  liq^uid  preserves  the  yellow  colour  given  toitbv 
the  chlonne,  the  chloride  of  silver  remains  white.  2ni 
When  this  yellow  colour  disappears  by  the  action  of  the 
chlorine  on  the  water  under  the  influence  of  hght^  the 
chloride  of  silver  slowly  assumes  not  the  very  deep 
violet  which  we  see  in*  the  reactions  of  photography, 
but  a  red  brown,  which  at  first  only  appears  gradually 
and  on  the  surface,  but  in  time  penetrates  the  entire 
white  mass,  provided  the  tube  is  sufficiently  agitated, 
and  submitted  to  the  action  of  a  bright  sun.  3rd.  The 
tube  being  placed,  if  not  in  obscurity,  at  least  in  the 


[Bnf Uflh  Bdtdon,  YoL  ZVL,  ira  419,  pagM  906^ 906] 


CHXIflClL  NlWB,  ) 


Benzoic  Acid — Carholic  or  PTienic  Acid. 


69 


diffused  light  of  the  laboratory,  the  brown  colour  disap- 
pears gradually,  and  the  chloride  of  silver  reassumes, 
in  all  its  intensity,  its  original  white  aspect.  Replace 
the  tube  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  colouration  takes  place 
afresh,  to  disappear  again  when  the  tube  is  returned  to 
the  shade^  and  so  on  indefinitely.  The  interesting 
questions  involved  in  these  successive  evolutions  have 
occupied  me  much,  and  I  intend  to  devote  still  more 
attention  to  them: 


ON  THE 

AETIFICIAL  PRODUCTION  OP  BENZOIC  ACID 
FROM  NAPHTHALIN.* 

BT  DR.  ADOLT  OTT. 

Bbnzoio  acid  is  a  crystallizable,  soft,  white  body,  in- 
odorous when  pure,  but  smelling  like  ^um  benzoin 
when  gently  warmed ;  it  usually  has  a  faint  aromatic 
odour,  sweetish  taste,  but  produces  a  burning  sensation 
in  the  throat,  i  Litmus  is  feebly  reddened  by  it;  it 
fiises  at  25o«>  Fahr.,  sublimes  at  300**  Fahr.,  and  boils  at 
462''  Fahr.,  yielding  a  vapour  of  the  sp.  gr.  4'27.  It 
exists  in  benzoin,  in  the  tolu  balsam,  in  the  gum  of 
XanO^rrma  hasiuia.  in  castor,  and  has  also  been  met 
with  in  the  urine  01  man  and  herbivorous  animals,  etc. 
Benzoic  acid  is  also  found  by  the  oxidation  and  decom- 
position of  oil  of  bitter  almonds,  protochloride  of  ben- 
zoil,  hippuric  acid,  etc.,  and  further  by  the  action  of  a 
solution  of  caustic  baryta  on  populin  and  other  organic 
compounda  It  has  hitherto,  nevertheless,  only  oeen 
jHvpared  from  the  gum  benzoin,  either  by  subliming 
the  same — a  process  existing  since  1703  (vide  Turquet 
•deMayeme,  "  Pharmacopoeia  in  Oper.  medio."  London) 
— or  by  a  process,  due  to  Woehler,  which  we  will  here 
not  further  describe,  as  it  can  be  found  in  nearly  any 
larger  hand-book  of  chemistry.  We  only  will  mention 
that  it  is  used  in  medicine  to  some  extent,  viz.,  against 
affections  of  the  throat ;  largely  in  the  manufacture  of 
aniline  blue ;  and  for  the  preparation  of  tobacco  sauces. 

This  interestinff  substance,  of  which  the  chemical 
formula  is  CmH804,  has  now  lately  been  produced,  at 
a  rate  allowing  the  manufacturer  large  profits,  from  a 
substance  which,  in  its  crude  state,  can  be  got  for  less 
than  one  cent  a  pound.  In  the  following  I  will  pro- 
ceed to  describe  the  process,  but  first  mention  some- 
thing about  naphthalin : — 

This  hydrocarbon  (formula  C,oH«)  was  discovered  in 
1820,  by  Garden,  in  the  coal-tar  of  the  eas  works,  and 
studied  by  Liebig,  Faraday,  Woehler,  and  others.  It  is 
a  colourless,  inflammable  solid,  of  a  burning  aromatic 
taste,  and  peculiar  smell.  Its  specific  weight  is  i'048, 
its  melting  pomt  175**,  and  its  boiling  point  428®  Fahr. 
It  sublimes  unaltered  in  laminae,  and  can  also  be  obtain- 
ed in  rhomboidal  crystals  from  its  alcoholic  solution. 
It  is  inflammable,  and  bums  with  a  very  smoky  flame. 
Its  derivates  have  principally  been  studied  by  the  cel- 
ebrated Laurent. 

The  process  now  hj  which  this  hydrocarbon  is 
transformed  into  benzoic  acid  is  the  foUowine  :— 

(I.)  By  ihe  Proee$8  of  LaurmL — The  naphthalin  is 
transformed  into  a  modification  of  the  bi-protochlo- 
ride  of  naphthalin,  CioHi  2CU. 

(2.)  The  bi-protochloride  of  naphthalin  is  converted 
by  oxidation  into  {italic  acid,  CieH40«  2HO.  and  the 
latter  into  phtalate  of  ammonia^  Cie  H4  0$  2NH«. 


(3.)  We  obtain  then  the  phtalamid,  Ca  H,  NO4, 
)ly  by  I   ' "      " 
lation. 


simply  by  subjecting  the  phtalate  of  ammonia  to  distil- 


(4.)  By  distilling  the  product  obtained  by  process 
3  with  hydrate  of  hrae,  benzoniuril,  CmHsN,  is  formed. 
C,6HsN044-2CaO=Ci4HJJ-l-2CaO,  CO,. 

(5.)  In  boiling  the  latter  with  a  solution  of  caustic 
soda,  benzoate  of  soda  is  formed,  from  which  benzoic 
acid  is  precipitated  by  hydrochloric  acid. 

This  is,  in  short,  Qie  process  as  followed  by  John 
Castelhay,  of  Paris,  and  of  which  Menier,  the  Secretary 
of  Class  44  of  the  International  Exhibition  of  Paris, 
says  that  it  is  the  most  important  discovenr  made  in 
technical  chemistry  since  the  London  Exhibition  of 
1862. 


•  A  pftper  retd  before  the  Poly  teoboio 
IiuUiute. 


CAEBOUO  OR  PHENIO  ACID  A]<fD  ITS 
PROPERTIES.* 

BT   DR.   W.   ORAOS  GALVBBT,   r.B.S.,   ETO. 

Gbntlemen, — ^I  have  readily  accepted  the  friendly  in- 
vitation of  your  illustrious  president,  M.  Dumas,  to 
submit  to  your  notice  some  facts  relative  to  carbolic  acid. 
But  before  doing  so,  allow  me  to  express  publicly  the 
feelings  of  gratitude  which  I  owe  to  France  for  having 
opened  to  me  the  way  to  the  profession  which  I  pursue 
with  such  pleasure.  In  truth,  it  is  to  the  sympathy  of 
scientific  men  of  this  country,  to  the  friendly  assistance 
of  one  of  your  scientific  celebrities,  M.  Chevreul,  and 
to  the  liberality  of  your  institutions,  that  I  owe  the 
knowledge  I  have  acquired,  the  elements  uf  which  I 
gained  at  the  Gobelins,  and  at  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  during  the  stay  I  made  there.  Ailer  these 
remarks  I  will  proceed  with  the  subject  of  my  lecture. 
No  doubt  most  persons  present  are  aware  that  when 
coals  are  submitted  to  the  action  of  a  dull  red  heat,  in 
a  retort,  products  are  obtained  which  may  be  grouped 
into  four  classes. 

1.  G-aseous  products,  commonly  called  coal  gas,  and 
which  are  now  employed  in  so  general  a  manner  as 
means  of  illumination,  sources  of  heat,  and  motive 
power. 

2.  Water,  containing  ammonia  and  ammoniacal  salts, 
substances  which  chemistry  purifies,  modifies,  and 
which  are  then  utilised  in  agriculture,  manufactures^ 
and  medicine. 

3.  There  distils  with  the  above  products  a  black, 
sticky  substance,  of  an  unpleasant  odonr,  called  tar. 

4.  There  remains  in  the  retort  a  solid,  porous  body, 
which  is  known  to  us  all  as  coke. 

When  the  above-mentioned  product  called  tar  is  sub- 
mitted to  distillation,  water  first  comes  over,  then  there 
distil  jointly  with  this  fluid  liquid  carburetted  hydro- 
gens, which,  being  lighter,  float  on  it  and  are  therefore 
called  light  oils  of  tar ;  and,  lastly,  compounds  heavier 
than  water  are  collected,  which  bear  the  name  of  heavy 
oils. 

It  is  these  heavy  oils  which  were  the  first  tar  prod- 
ucts utilised  in  manufacture.  Their  consumption  made 
such  rapid  progress  in  England,  that  special  manufacto- 
ries were  established  for  their  preparation,  and  these 
works  were,  for  a  long  period,  the  only  ones  in  which 
tar  products  were  produced.  Most  of  them  were  estab- 
lished between  1837  and  1847,  for  the  production  chiefly 
of  coal  naphtha,  used  for  many  purposes,  and  heavy 
oils,  employed  for  the  preservation  of  ra  Iway  sleepers, 


of  the  Ameiicen        e  Ledare  before  the  Sodety  for  the  Knooarftgenent  of  Natlonel  la- 
dustry  In  France. 


[SBglUh  Editifla,  Vol  ZVL,  iro.  419^  pegee  290, 297.] 


70 


Oarholic  or  Phmio  Add  and  its  Properties. 


j  GHBncALKm, 
\      IM^  1868. 


by  a  process  discovered  by  Mr.  John  Bethell,  by  means 
of  which  they  are  preserved  twelve  or  fifteen  years  j 
whilst  without  it  they  decay  after  three  or  four  years. 
I  have  much  pleasure  whilst  on  tliis  subject,  in  calling 
your  attention  to  a  very  remarkable  and  very  complete 
work  upon  the  creosoting  of  wood,  by  M.  Forestier, 
chief  endneer  of  the  department  of  La  V  end^e,  assisted* 
"by  M.  Marin.  These  eentlemen  have  made  numerous 
experiments,  the  result  of  which  is  that  wood  thus 
treated  is  preserved  from  decay  in  water  as  well  as  un- 
der ground,  and,,  what  is  important^  wood  is  no  longer 
destroyed  by  that  very  destructive  insect  the  Uredo. 

Lastly,  there  remains  in  the  still  (after  the  heavy 
oils  and  semi-solid  substances  have  distilled  off)  a  prod- 
uct which  is  fluid  at  the  high  temperature  at  which 
this  operation  is  conducted,  but  which,  when  exposed 
to  the  natural  temperature  of  the  atmosphere,  becomes 
hard  and  brittle,  and  is  known  under  the  name  of  pitch. 
This  product,  as  you  are  aware,  is  largely  employed  in 
Paris  under  the  name  of  asphalte,  bitumen,  etc.,  to 
mike  the  foot  pavements  and  public  walks,  as  well  as 
for  the  manufacture  of  a  sort  of  concrete,  called  in  Eng- 
land patent  fuel 

After  this  rapid  sketch  of  the  products  given  off  dur- 
ing the  distillation  of  coal  and  tar,  allow  me  to  call 
your  attention  to  carbolic  or  phenic  addy  also  called 
carbolic  or  phenic  alcohol;  in  fact  the  latter  is  the  most 
appropriate  name  for  this  substance,  as  its  properties 
are  not  those  of  an  acid,  but  that  of  an  alcohol 

It  is  now  twenty  years  since  Laurent,  the  eminent 
chemist,  first  pointed  out  an  easy  method  of  extracting 
carbolic  acid  nroiti  coal  tar.  It  consisted  in  submitting 
the  light  oils  to  a  fractional  distillation,  and  then  treat- 
ing with  a  concentrated  solution  of  potash  those  prod- 
ucts which  had  distilled  at  a  temperature  between 
160**  and  200^,  separating  the  alkaline  solution  from  the 
hydrocarbons  wMch  floated  on  it,  and  then  neutralis- 
ing the  alkali  by  an  acid  whidh  liberated  the  carbolic 
acid. 

Such  was  Laurent's  method  of  preparing  carbolic  or 
phenic  acid,  but  pure  carbolic  acid  was  only  there  in  a 
very  small  proportion :  it  was,  in  fact,  a  mixture  com- 
posed chiefly  of  different  liquids  similar  in  properties 
and  composition  to  carbolic  acid,  and,  though  Laurent 
succeeded  in  obtaining  solid  carbolic  acid,  still  the  pro- 
cess devided  by  him  was  too  expensive  to  answer  on  a 
manufacturing  scale ;  and.  besides,  his  method  of  oper- 
ating was  too  compUcateo. 

In  1847,  Mansfield,  and  towards  1856,  M.  Boboeuf, 
made  known  processes  which,  in  fact,  were  only  a  modi- 
fication of  Laurent^s,  for  they  consisted  principally  in 
employino^  caustic  soda  instead  of  potash,  and  in  treat- 
ing the  whole  of  the  light  oils  instead  of  a  special  portion 
of  them,  as  Laurent  had  done ;  still,  by  these  processes, 
a  very  impure  acid  was  obtained,  from  which  it  was 
very  difficult,  as  experience  has  shown  us,  to  extract 
pure  carbolic  acid ;  however,  in  a  commercial  point  of 
view,  the  process  of  these  gentlemen  was  a  step  in  the 
right  direction.  This  method  was  followed  oy  Mr. 
Glifts  in  manufacturing  some  carbolic  acid  for  me  about 
the  year  1847 ;  and  it  was  this  impure  acid  which  was 
employed  by  several  chemists  who,  like  myself,  stud- 
ied the  properties  of  this  substance,  and  who  were 
endeavouring  to  apply  it  usefully ;  and  I  succeeded  at 
about  that  time  in  applying  it  to  the  production  of 
picric  acid,  or  in  preventing  the  transformation  of  tan- 
nic acid  into  gallic  add,  in  tanning  substances,  or 
finally,  in  the  preservation  of  subjects  for  Uie  dissecting- 
room.    M.  Bobceuf  also  made  use  of  it  in  preserving 


organic  bodies  from  putrefaction,  a  property  whidi 
has  received  of  late  very  important  appUcatioDB. 

In  1859,  ^*  Marnas,  of  the  firm  of  Quinon,  Marnu, 
and  Bonnet,  of  Lyons,  came  to  Manchester,  and  asked 
me  to  furnish  him  wiUi  a  purer  carbolic  acid  than  bad 
been  as  yet  manufactured.  He  showed  me  a  white 
and  crystalline  product,  which  he  gave  as  a  specimen. 
It  was  then  necesi^ary  to  make  new  experiments,  and 
we  (F.  C.  Calvert  and  Co.)  discovered  that  the  beet 
mode  of  preparation  was  not  by  treating  lighter  heavy 
oils  or  tar  with  concentrated  alkalies,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, by  treating  the  impure  benzines  of  commerce  or 
naphthas  with  weak  alkaline  solutions.  Bj  this  means 
a  semi-fluid,  blackish  product  was  obtamed,  a  little 
heavier  tban  water,  of  a  density  of  1*06,  and  which 
contained  50  per  cent,  of  real  carbolic  acid,  which  add 
we  managed  to  separate  in  part  by  careful  distillation; 
and  it  was  this  product  which  was  employed  by  Messn. 
G-uinon,  Mamas,  and  Bonnet^  and  others,  till  i86r,  for 
the  manufacture  of  colours  derived  from  carbolic  add. 
At  this  period  the  colours  obtained  from  aniline  were 
so  fine  and  brilliant  that,  to  keep  up  a  comparison 
with  them,  it  was  necessary  to  improve  those  derived 
from  carbolic  acid.  To  effect  this  it  was  necessary  to 
improve  the  quality  of  the  carbolic  acid  then  mannfae- 
tured,  and,  after  some  trials,  we  produced  carbolic  add 
hi  white  detached  crystals,  meltin^^  at  between  26®  and 
27^ :  and  this  is  the  product  which  is  now  generaDy 
employed  in  commerce  and  industry,  as  witness  the 
specimens  which  are  to  be  seen  at  the  present 
Universal  Exhibition.  In  1863  this  relative  punty  was 
insufficient,  and  the  same  firm  which  had  reouired  the 
improvements  which  I  have  before  named  asked  as  to 
try  and  make  it  still  purer.  We  again  set  to  work  and 
produced  commercially  Laurent's  phenic  alcohol  or 
carbolic  acid ;  that  is  to  say,  a  substance  melting  at 
34^C.,  and  boiling  exactly  at  186**.  This  became  a  veiy 
important  commercial  product  for  U6,  and  we  delivered 
large  quantities  monthly. 

From  this  time  I  made  manpr  efforts  to  draw  the  atr 
tention  of  the  medical  profession  to  the  really  remark- 
able therapeutic  properties  of  carbolic  acid,  but  the 
tarry  and  sulphuretted  odour  wl^ch  it  still  possessed 
was  a  serious  obstacle  to  its  emplication.  I  soon  sne- 
ceeded  in  overcoming  this  difficulty,  and  towards  the 
end  of  the  year  1864  our  firm  was  in  a  position  to  de- 
liver in  considerable  quantities,  carbolic  acid  deprived 
of  sulphuretted  compounds,  and  therefore  fit  for  all 
medicmal  uses.  But  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  series 
of  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  pure  carbofie 
acid,  or  phenic  alcohol,  did  not  stop  there,  for  towards 
the  end  of  last  year  I  discovered  a  process  which  now 
enables  me  to  show  you  a  product  completely  deprived 
of  all  disagreeable  odour  and  tarry  flavour,  and,  in  fact, 
as  pure,  though  extracted  from  tar,  as  if  it  had  been 
produced  artificially  by  the  help  of  the  reactions  re- 
cently discovered  by  Messrs.  Wurtz  and  K^kul^  based 
upon  the  direct  transformation  of  benzine  into  carbofie 
acid,  or  by  the  well-known  changes  by  which  it  m^ 
be  obtained  from  salicylic  acid,  or  nitro-benKoia  Tha 
new  phenic  or  carbolic  acid  is  distinguished  from  I«o- 
rent's  in  being  soluble  in  20  parts  of  water,  whereas  the 
latter  requires  33.  It  is  fusible  at  41  ®.  instead  of  34^  wd 
boils  at  i82«»,  instead  of  i86«*,  but  it  give?,  like  Laurent'e, 
the  blue  colour  described  by  M.  Berthelot  when  mixed 
with  ammonia,  and  to  the  solution  is  added  a  small 
quantity  of  a  hypochlorite ;  the  same  effect  is  afco 
produced  when  you  expose  to  the  vapours  of  hydrochlo- 
ric acid  a  chip  of  deal  soaked  in  this  pure  carbolic  add. 


VoL  ZVI,  irOi  41^  fttw  V7, 8M.] 


CtanoAi.  NiWB, ) 


Carbolic  or  PJieriic  Acid  and  ite  Properties. 


71 


It  was  supposed  that^  as  Laurent's  phenic  acid  had  a 
constant  boiling  and  crystallisation  point,  it  was  a  pure 
and  definite  substance.  Now,  the  production  of  our 
new  acid  shows  it  is  nothing  of  the  kind,  the  product 
of  Laurent  beinff  only  a  combination  of  our  pure  car- 
bolic acid  and  a  liquid  homologue ;  for  when  to  the  acid 
of  Laurent  is  added  a  certain  proportion  of  water,  and 
the  mixture  is  exposed  to  a  temperature  of  4^  C,  it 
deposite  a  crystalline  substance  in  large  octahedrons; 
which  is  a  hydrate  of  carbolic  or  phenic  alcohol,  that  it 
to  say,  carbolic  acid  combined  with  an  equivalent  of 
water  of  crystallisation.  This  fact  is  important  in  a 
chemico- theoretical  point  of  view,  for  it  exhibits  the 
only  example  known  of  an  alcohol  which,  combining 
with  water,  forms  a  crystallised  hydrate.  3y  remov- 
ing from  this  hydrate  the  equivalent  of  water,  which  it 
contains,  carbolic  or  phenic  acid  is  obtained  in  its 
purest  state. 

We  will  now  rapidly  glance  at  the  applications 
which  have  been  made  of  this  remarkable  substance  for 
sanitary  purposes,  in  medicine,  agriculture,  and  manu- 
ftctures. 

The  disinfecting  or  rather  antiseptic  properties  of 
carbolic  acid  are  very  remarkable.  The  beautiful  re- 
searches and  discoveries  of  M.  Pasteur  i"  have  shown 
that  all  fermentation  and  putrefaction  is  due  to  the 
presence  of  microscopical  vegetables  or  animals,  which, 
during  their  vitality,  decompose  or  change  the  organic 
substances,  so  as  to  produce  the  effects  which  we  wit- 
ness, and  as  carbolic  acid  exercises  a  most  powerful 
destructive  action  upon  these  microscopic  and  primitive 
sources  of  life,  carbolic  acid,  therefore,  is  an  antiseptic 
and  disinfectant  much  more  active  and  much  more  ra- 
tional than  tho^e  generally  in  use. 

It  is  necessary  that  I  should  here  make  a  few  re- 
inarks,  explanatory  of  the  distinctions  between  deodo- 
ruersj  dmn/ectants.  and  antigqttics  : — 

Deodorizers. — ^All  substances  merely  acting  as  such 
are  neither  disinfectants  nor  antiseptics,  as  they  simply 
remove  the  noxious  gases  emitted  from  organic  mat- 
ters whilst  in  a  state  of  decay  or  putrefaction,  without 
having  the  property  of  arresting  decomposition  or  fer- 
mentation. For  it  has  been  proved  that  the  source  of 
infection  or  contagion  is  not  due  to  noxious  gases  or 
bad  smells  (being  merely  indicators  of  its  probable 
existence),  but,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  to  micro- 
scopic spores  floating  in  the  atmosphere,  and  which  by 
their  ulterior  development  and  propagation,  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  true  source  of  contagion. 
^  Disinfectants. — Under  this  head  mav  be  classed  bleach- 
ing powder,  or  chloride  of  lime,  sulphurous  acid,  and 
permanganate  of  potash  ,*  they  first  act  as  deodorizers, 
and  then  as  disinfectants,  but  they  must  be  employed 
in  lar^  quantities,  to  tiioroughly  oxidize  or  act  upon 
organic  matters,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  again  enter- 
ing into  decomposition ;  but  still  it  is  known  that  if  the 
organic  substances  so  acted  upon  are  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere,  they  will  again  experience  decay  and  pu- 
trefaction; they  are,  in  fact,  more  destructive  agents  than 
disinfectants,  and  they  are  never  antiseptics. 

Antiseptice. — Antis^tics^  such  as  corrosive  sublimate, 
arsenious  acids,  essential  oils,  carbolic  acid,  etc.,  act  as 
such  )t>y  destroying  all  source  of  decay  and  decomposi- 
tion, that  is  to  say,  they  destroy  or  prevent  t^e  forma- 
tion of  the  germs  of  putrefaction  and  fermentation, 
without  acting  upon  the  mineral  or  vegetable  matters 
present     The  advantage  of  their  use  is,  therefore,  that 

*  B«e  **  Comptes  Bendus  de  rAcademie  de«  Sci^no«s  ^*   fbr  aeversl 
,  aad  my  lecture  «t  the  Budety  of  Arte,  1868-66b 


they  act,  when  used  in  small  quantities,  upon  the 
primary  source  of  all  organic  matters  in  a  state  of  decay ; 
further,  they  are  deodorizers,  for  they  prevent  the  for- 
mation of  offensive  odours,  and  consequently  they  are 
antiseptics,  disinfectants,  and  deodorizers.  The  great 
advanti^es  which  carbolic  acid  possesses  over  all  other 
antiseptics  are,  that  it  cannot  be  used  for  any  illegal 
purpose,  as  arsenic  or  corrosive  subhmate. 

And  allow  me  further  to  add  that  disinfectants,  such 
as  chlorine,  permanganate  of  potash,  or  Condy-fluid 
operate  by  oxidizing  not  only  the  gaseous  products 
given  off  by  putrefaction,  but  all  organic  matters  with 
which  they  may  come  in  contact ;  whilst  carbolic  acid,  ^ 
on  the  contiury,  merely  destroys  the  causes  of  putre- 
faction, without  acting  on  the  organic  substances.  The 
great  aifference  which  therefore  distinguishes  them  is, 
that  the  former  deab  with  the  effects,  the  latter  with 
the  causes.  Again,  these  small  microscopic  ferments 
are  always  in  small  quantities  as  compared  to  the  sub- 
stances on  which  the^  act,  consequently  a  very  small 
quantitv  of  carbolic  acid  is  necessary  to  prevent  the  de- 
composition of  substances ;  therefore  its  employment  is 
both  efficacious  and  economicaL*  Moreover,  carbolic 
acid  is  volatile ;  it  meets  with  and  destroys,  as  Dr. 
Jules  Lemaire  says,t  the  germs  or  sporules  which  float 
in  the  atmosphere,  and  vitiate  it;  but  this  cannot  be 
the  case  with  Condy's  fluid,  chloride  of  zinc  or  iron, 
which  are  not  volatile,  and  which  act  only  when  in 
solution,  and  are  mere  deodorizers.  This  is  why  car- 
bolic acid  was  used  with  such  marked  success,  and 
therefore  so  largely,  in  England,  Belgium,  and  Hol- 
land durinff  the  prevalence  of  cholera  and  of  the  cattle 
plague.^  Mr.  W.  Crookes,  F.R.S.,  not  onljr  states: 
**  I  have  not  yet  met  with  a  single  instance  m  which 
the  plague  has  spread  on  a  farm  where  the  acid  has 
tbeen  freely  used ;  "  but  he  has  also  proved,  by  a  most 
interesting  series  of  experiments,  that  the  gases  exhaled 
from  the  lungs  of  the  diseased  cattle  contained  the 
germs  or  sporules  of  the  microscopic  animals  discover- 
ed by  Mr.  Beale  in  the  blood  of  such  animals;  for 
Mr.  Crookes  having  condensed  on  cotton  wood  these 
germs,  and  having  inoculated  the  blood  of  healthy 
cattle  with  them,  they  were  at  once  attacked  with 
the  disease.  As  to  the  value  of  carbolic  acid  for 
preventing  the  spread  of  cholera,  among  many  in- 
stances ¥mich  I  could  cite,  allow  me  to  mention  two 
special  instances :  First,  Dr.  Ellis,  of  Bangor,  says : — 
I  have  in  many  instances  allowed  whole  families  to 
return  to  cottages  in  which  persons  had  died  from 
cholera,  after  having  had  the  cottages  well  washed 
and  cleansed  with  carbolic  acid,  and  in  no  case  were 
any  persons  so  allowed  to  enter  such  purified  dwellings 
attacked  with  the  disease.  My  friend.  Professor  Ghan- 
delon,  of  Li€ge,  has  stated  to  me  that  out  of  135  nurses 
who  were  employed  to  attend  upon  the  cholera  patients 
— and  they  must  have  been  numerous,  for  2,000  died — 
only  one  nurse  died,  but  the  nurses  were  washed  over 
and  their  clothing  sprinkled  with  carbolic  acid.  In  fact 
the  antiseptic  properties  of  carbolic  acid  are  so  power- 
ful that  i-iooo^  even  i-5oooth  will  prevent  the  de- 
composition, fermentation,  or  putrefaction  for  months 
of  urine,  blood,  glue  solution,  flour,  paste,  fieces,  etc., 
etc.,§  and  its  vapour  alone  is  sufficient  to  preserve 
meat  in  confined  spaces  for  weeks ;  and  even  a  little 


*  See  remerkri  at  the  end  of  lecture. 

t  See  *»  Comptee  Rendne,  "  186T. 

X  Bee  the  Third  Report  of  the  Royal  CommisBioners  on  the  Cattle 
Plague,  and  especially  the  valnable  report  of  Mr.  W.  Crookes,  F.R.8. 

%  See  private  reporU  made  by  Br.  Allen  Miller,  F.  R.  B.,  and  Mr. 
Crookes,  to  Messrs.  F.  O.  Calvert  and  Co. 


[Bnglkh  Bditioa,  Vol  ann,  V«.41^  pag*  ase }  V«C  401^  |MCW  310,  3U.] 


72 


Carbolic  or  Phenic  Acid  and  its  Properties. 


J  CmnoAi  Nim, 

1     ^46..ises. 


vapour  of  thia  useful  substance  will  preserve  meat  for 
several  days  in  ordinarv  atmosphere,  and  prevent  its 
being  fly-blown ;  •  lastly,  i-io,oooth  has  been  found 
sufficient  to  keep  sewage  sweet,  for  Dr.  Letheby  states, 
in  a  letter  addressed  to  me,  that  tnrough  the  use  of  such  a 
quantity  of  carbolic  acid  in  the  sewers  of  London  dur- 
ing the  existence  of  cholera  last  year,  the  sewers  of  the 
City  were  nearly  deodorized.  And  I  am  proud  to  say, 
that  the  British  Government  have  decided  to  use  ex- 
clusively our  carbolic  acid  (hA  an  antiseptic  and  diiiin- 
fectant).  not  only  on  board  Her  Majesty's  ships,  but  in 
other  Government  departments;  and  that  no  other 
deodorant  or  disinfectant,  such  as  chlorides  of  zinc  or 
iron,  permanganate  of  potash,  or  any  disinfecting 
powder,  shall  in  future  be  used  for  such  purpose. 
Although  questions  of  public  health  are  the  province 
of  medicine,  still  permit  me  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
medicinal  properties  of  carbolic  acid.  This  question 
deserves  to  be  treated  thoroughly,  for  phenic  acid  is 
susceptible  of  so  many  applications  in  this  direction, 
its  properties  are  so  marked,  so  evident,  and  so  remark- 
able, that  they  cannot  be  made  too  public,  and  it  is 
rendering  a  service  to  mankind  to  make  known  some 
of  the  employments  of  so  valuable  a  therapeutic  agent. 
I  wish  cdl  who  are  listening  to  me  were  medical  men, 
for  I  could  show,  by  numerous  and  undeniable  facts, 
the  advantage  they  might  derive  from  pure  carbolic  or 
phenic  acid,  and  if  my  testimony  was  not  sufficient  to 
convince  them,  I  would  invoke  the  authority  of  men 
justly  esteemed  amongst  you.  I  would  recall  to  you 
the  words  of  the  good  and  learned  Gratiolet,  and  those 
of  Dr.  Lemaire,  showing  that  carbolic  acid  is  the  most 
powerful  acknowledged  means  of  contending  with  con- 
tagious and  pestilential  diseases,  such  as  cholera,  typhus 
fever,  small-pox,  etc.*  Maladies  of  this  order  are  very 
numerous,  but  in  carbolic  acid  we  find  one  of  the  most 
powerful  agents  for  their  prevention ;  for  besides  many 
mstances  which  have  been  cited  to  me,  I  may  add  that 
I  have  often  used  it  in  a  family  in  which  there  were 
eight  or  ten  children,  and  that  none  of  the  family  have 
suffered  from  those  diseases  except  those  who  were 
attacked  previously  to  the  employment  of  carbolic  acid 
about  the  dwellings  in  whi(m  such  diseases  existed. 
Besides  its  antiseptic  action,  the  caustic  properties  of 
carbolic  acid  are  found  useful ;  most  beneficial  effects 
are  obtained  from  it  in  the  treatment  of  very  dangerous 
and  sometimes  mortal  complaints,  such  as  carbuncle, 
quinsy,  diphtheria,  etc.,  as  shown  by  Dr.  T.  Turner,  of 
Manchester ;  and  also  in  less  severe  affections,  such  as 
hemorrhoids,  internal  and  external  fistulas,  and  other 
similar  complaints.  But  what  must  be  especially  men- 
tioned is  the  employment  of  carbolic  acid  m  preserving 
in  a  healthy  state  certain  fcBtid  purulent  sores,  ana 
preventing  the  repulsive  odour  which  comes  from  them, 
an  odour  which  is  the  symptom  of  a  change  in  the  tis- 
sues, and  which  often  presents  the  greatest  danger  to 
the  patient  The  services  which  carbolic  acid  renders 
to  surgery  can  be  judged  of  by  reading  several  most 
interesting  papers  on  compound  fractures,  ulcers,  etc., 
^lately  published  in  the  Lancet  hjJ  Lister,  P.R.S.  j  and 
allow  me  to  draw  your  special  attention  to  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs  which  are  to  be  found  in  his  paper  pub- 
lished in  that  journal  of  the  25th  September,  1867: — 
*'  The  material  which  I  have  employed  is  carbolic  or 
phenic  acid,  a  volatile  organic  compound,  which  appears 
to  exercise  a  peculiarly  destructive  influence  upon  low 
forms  of  life,  and  hence  is  the  most  powerful  antisep- 


*  Bee  Mr.  Lenudre's  work  on  Fbenlo  Add.    Puis  ises. 


tic  with  which  we  are  at  present  acquainted.  The 
first  class  of  cases  to  which  I  applied  it  was  that  of 
compound  fractures,  in  which  the  effects  of  dec(jmposi- 
tion  in  the  injured  part  were  especially  striking  and 
pernicious.  The  results  have  been  such  as  to  establish 
conclusively  the  great  principle  that  all  the  local  inflam- 
matory mischief  and  general  febrile  disturbance  which 
follow  severe  injuries  are  due  to  the  irritating  and 
poisoning  influence  of  decomposing  blood  or  slooghs. 
These  evils  are  entirely  avoided  by  the  antiseptic  treat- 
ment,  so  that  limbs  which  otherwise  would  be  unhesi- 
tatingly condemned  to  amputation  may  be  retained 
with  confidence  of  the  best  results.  Since  the  antisep- 
tic treatment  has  been  brought  into  full  operation,  and 
wounds  and  abscesses  no  longer  poison  the  atmosphere 
with  putrid  exhalations,  my  wards,  though  in  other 
respects  under  precisely  the  same  circumstances  as 
before,  have  completely  changed  their  character;  bo 
fhat  during  the  last  nine  months  not  a  single  instance 
of  pyaemia,  hospital  gangrene,  or  erysipelas  has  occurred 
to  them. "  My  hearers  can  also  witness  the  same  re- 
markable results  by  visiting  the  two  sick'  wands  of  Dr. 
Maisonneuve,  at  the  Hotel  Dieu.  Further,  I  must  not 
overlook  the  valuable  application  made  of  it  to  gan- 
grene in  hospitals  by  the  eminent  physician,  James 
Paget,  Esq. ;  and  lastly,  it  has  been  used  by  many  of 
the  most  eminent  medical  men  with  marked  success 
in  those  scourges  of  humanity,  phthisis  and  syphilis. 

In  agriculture  our  firm  has  stimulated  the  employ- 
ment of  the  carbolic  acid  for  the  cure  of  certain  diseases 
very  common  to  sheep — scab,  for  example.  The  method 
of  treatment  customary  in  similar  cases  was  very  hp- 
perfect  as  well  as  dangerous,  whilst  with  carbolic  add 
this  malady  is  cured,  and  without  danger  to  the  animai, 
by  dipping  it  for  a  minute,  often  only  for  soiye  seconds, 
in  water  containing  a  small  quantity  of  carbolic  acid. 
For  this  purpose  pure  acid  would  be  too  expensive,  and 
is  not  used,  nor  concentrated  acid,  which  ignorant  men 
who  have  the  care  of  sheep  would  not  know  how  to 
use,  but  by  the  help  of  soap  an  emulsion  of  carbolic  and 
cresylic  acids  is  made.  After  having  shorn  the  sheep 
it  is  dipped  in  this  mixture ;  a  single  immersion  in  a 
bath  containing  i-6oth  of  it  is  sufficient  to  effect  a 
cure.  After  scab,  the  foot-rot  is  one  of  the  worst  and 
most  frequent  complnints.  Carbolic  acid  is  also  for  that 
an  efficacious  remedy.  For  this  a  mixture  is  made  of 
the  acid  and  an  adherent  and  greasy  substance,  capable 
of  forming  a  plaster,  which  is  made  to  adhere  to  the 
animal's  foot  for  two  or  three  days,  preventing  the  con- 
tact of  the  air,  allowing  thereby  time  for  the  application 
to  have  its  effect.  But  if  the  flock  be  numerous,  it  would 
take  a  long  time  to  dress  the  four  feet  of  each  animal 
one  after  another, :  so,  to  make  it  more  easy,  a  shallow 
tray  is  made  of  stone — a  sort  of  trough ;  tiiis  is  filled 
with  the  medicated  mixture,  and  the  sheep  made  to 
pass  through  it ;  their  feet  being  thus  impregnated  with 
the  required  substance.  Permit  me  also  to  state  that 
cattle  cease  to  be  annoved  with  flies,  etc.,  if  washed  with 
this  solution,  or  a  weak  solution  of  carbolic  acid ;  and  a 
first-rate  salve  can  be  prepared  by  adding  10  per  cent 
of  carbolic  acid  to  butter,  or  any  other  fatty  matters 
u^d  for  such  purpose. 

Manufacturers  nave  not  yet  availed  themselves  of  one 
tithe  of  the  valuable  properties  of  carbolic  acid,  and  in 
this  direction  a  new  nela  is  open  to  its  use ;  still  I  may 
cite  a  few  instances.  The  preservation  of  wood  has 
been  already  referred  to,  and  thanks  to  carbolic  acid, 
the  great  trade  in  skins  and  bones  from  Australia, 
Monte  Video,  Buenos  Ayres,  eta,  will  ultimately  be 


[anUah  Bdmon,  Vol  TO,  Ho.  420,  |«g«i  311,  312.] 


CimiCAL  Kswt, ) 
Fib.,  1868.      f 


Carbolic  or  Phenio  Acid  and  its  Prcpertiea. 


73 


benefited.  Wild  animals  living  there  in  herds  are 
slaughtered  by  thousands.  Formerly  they  came  to  us 
in  a  bad  state,  half  putrid,  emitting  an  insuppMortable 
odour,  and  only  fit  fur  manure ;  in  tuis  state  their  price 
was  not  more  than  150  francs  the  1,000  kilogrammes, 
now,  with  carboUc  acid  treatment,  they  arrive  perfectly 
preserved;  they  can  be  employed  for  all  the  uses  to 
which  green  or  raw  bones  are  usually  applied,  and  the 
vflJne  of  bones  is  raised  as  much  as  firom  250  to  300  francs. 
Hides  also  often  arrive  putrid,  although  they  have  been 
dried  rapidly  in  the  sun  or  salted,  which  latter  procem, 
as  JQM  are  aware,  necessitates  long  and  costly  manipfl- 
lations;  whilst  it  is  only  necessary  to  immerse  them  for 
tweuty-four  hours  in  a  solution  of  2  per  cent,  of  carbolic 
acid,  and  dry  them  in  the  air,  to  secure  their  preservation. 
It  is  probable  that  in  a  short  time  the  blood,  intestines, 
and  other  parts  of  these  animals  will  be^  by  means  of 
carbolic  acid,  converted  into  manure,  and  imported  into 
this  country.  In  England  carbolic  acid  is  used  in  the 
preservation  of  guts  at  the  gut- works,  for  keeping  an- 
atomical preparations,  and  the  preservation  of  all  animal 
matter.  Carbolic  acid  is  also  utilized  in  preventing  the 
decomposition  of  the  various  albumen,  flour,  and  starch 
thickeners  used  in  calico  printing,  as  weU  as  gelatine  or 
bone  size,  employed  for  sizing  fustians  and  other  cotton 
goods. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  history 
of  carbolic  acid  is  certainly  that  which  relates  to  the 
production  of  colouring  materials;  they  alone  enter 
mto  comparison  with  tnose  derived  from  aniline,  and 
often  enter  into  successful  rivalry  with  them.  Anaonffst 
the  colouring  matters  derived  from  carbolic  acid,  the 
most  important  is,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  picric 
acid. 

The  discovery  of  this  acid  dates  back  to  a  distant 
period ;  i^  was  studied  by  "Welter,  and  was  called  Welt- 
er^s  bitter.  But  it  was  my  illustrious  master,  M.  Chev- 
reul,  who  in  1807  discovered  the  real  chemiciu  composi- 
tion of  picric  acid,  and  who  demonstrated  that  picric 
'  acid  was  often  produced  when  organic  matters  were 
acted  upon  by  nitric  acid.  Further,  M.  Chevreul  dis- 
covered in  the  products  of  the  oxidation  of  organic 
substances  through  nitric  acid  two  different  compounds, 
which  he  called  amer  au  minima  and  amer  au  maxima^ 
the  latter  being  picric  acid.  This  acid  was  again  ex- 
amined by  Laurent  in  1841,  when  he  demonstrated  that 
the  true  generator  of  picric  acid  was  phenic  acid ;  that 
in  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on  the  latter  it  formed  three 
nitro^nated  compounds,  mononitrophenic  acid,  binitxo- 
phenic  acid,  trinitrophenic  acid,  the  latter  being  also 
picric  acid. 

These  interesting  results  of  Laurent  would  perhaps 
have  remained  for  a  long  time  without  any  commercial 
value,  if  picric  acid  had  not  been  applied  to  dyeing,  in 
^^47 1  by  M.  Ghiinon,  sen.,  of  Lyons.  Since  then  the 
use  of  this  acid,  producing  magnificent  yellows,  has 
been  much  extended,  and  what  has  contributed  to  its 
employment  is  that,  conjointly  with  indigo,  it  eives 
ordinary  greens,  or  of  «er<  Lamiere^  with  Prussian  bhie, 
so  that  its  consumption  may  be  valued  at  from  80  to 
100,000  lb&  annually;  our  firm  alone  produces  more 
than  300  lbs.  weekly ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that 
I  lb.  of  picric  aeid  dyes  to  an  intense  shade  70  to  100  lbs. 
of  silk,  or  40  to  50  lbs.  of  wool,  the  enormous  quantity 
of  texl^e  materials  dyed  by  this  single  product  may  be 
appreciated. 

The  processes  followed  for  the  preparation  of  picric 
acid  are  still  ^ose  which  Laurent  indicated  in  184 1 ; 
but  inatead  of  using  carbolic  acid  loaded  with  the  heavy 


oils  of  tar,  as  M.  Gxunon  had  done,  I  sought  to  diminish 
the  quantity  of  nitric  acid,  employed  in  mere  waste,  on 
the  heavy  oils  of  tar^  wnich  were  then  mixed  with 
carbolic  acid,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  succeeded  in 
doing  so  in  1849  by  employing  carboUc  acid  containing 
only  some  of  its  liquid  homologues.  In  1856,  m! 
Bbbceuf  took  out  a  patent  in  France  for  making  picric 
from  carbolic  acid.  But  picric  acid  was  still  at  a  high 
price,  and  it  is  only  since  our  firm  has  manufactured 
cheap  carbolic  acid  that  picric  acid  can  be  produced 
free  of  resinous  materials  which  prevent  its  purification 
and  its  being  sold  at  a  low  price ;  in  fact,  owing  to  our 
pure  carbolic  acid,  picric  acid  is  now  obtained  chemically 
pure ;  this  product,  which  was  sold  some  years  since  at 
15s.  to  2oe.  per  lb.,  is  now  sold  at  the  rate  of  38.  Fur- 
ther, I  may  add  that  to  apply  it  in  a  quick  and 
economical  manner  it  is  desirable  to  add  to  the  dye 
bath  a  small  proportion  of  sulphuric  acid;  this  method 
of  manipulation,  which  is  not  generally  known,  is  very 
important^  for  it  is  only  in  this  way  that  the  textile 
materials  can  be  readily  dyed  and  the  baths  ex- 
hausted. 

I  shall  now  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  your  atten- 
tion to  the  production  of  two  new  colouring  substances 
derived  from  picric  acid : 

1.  Picramic  acid  was,  in  the  first  instance,  obtained 
by  Woehler ;  by  making  sulphate  of  iron  act  upon  pie* 
ric  acid,  and  neutralising  with  caustic  barytes,  when  a 
deep  brown  salt  was  produced  from  which  he  separated 
the  baryta  by  the  help  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  by  these 
reactions  Mr.  Woehler  obtained  an  acid  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  nitro-hematic  acid ;  but  it  is  to  Mf. 
Aim^  Qirard  that  we  owe  the  practical  process  by 
means  of  which  we  are  able  to  manufacture  great  quan- 
tities of  picramic  acid.  This  acid  imparts  to  silk  a 
beautiful  series  of  brown  tints  siitiilar  to  those  obtained 
from  catechu. 

2.  Isopurpurate  of  ammonia.  It  is  with  much 
pleasure  that  I  noticed,  at  the  Exhibition,  in  M.  Gas- 
thelaz's  case,  a  colourea  substance,  known  in  the  trade 
by  the  name  of  soluble  mmetw  wnich,  I  am  informed, 
is  used  especially  bv  M.  Chalamel,  of  Puteaux ;  this 
substance  is  particularly  remarkable,  as  it  is  isomeric 
with  the  purpurate  of  ammonia  or  mureande.  Although 
the  preparation  of  ^is  material  was  first  pointed  out 
by  M.  Oarey.  still  it  is  really  due  to  a  previous  obser- 
vation by  fflasiwitz,  who  caUed  attention  to  the  reac- 
tion of  cyanide  of  potassium  npon  picric  acid,  and  to 
which  chemical  reaction  we  owe  ike  knowledge  of 
manufacturing  the  isopurpurate  for  industrial  purposes. 

Before  taking  leave  of  picric  acid  it  may  not  be  with- 
out interest  that  I  should  state  a  curious  appUcation 
which  has  been  made  of  the  explosive  property  of  its 
salts.  During  these  last  few  years  the  picrate  of  po- 
tassium has  ^en  employed  in  great  quantities  by  Mr. 
J.  Whitworth,  for  charging  the  bombs  for  destroying 
the  iron  plating  of  ships.  When  the  projectiles  thus 
prepared  strike  the  iron  masses,  the  enormous  propel- 
ing  force  with  which  they  are  expelled  from  the  gun 
is  instantaneously  converted  into  heat,  and  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  ball  becomes  red-hot,  the  heat  decom- 
poses the  picrate  of  potash,  and  a  violent  explosion  en- 
sues, owing  to  the  enormous  quantities  of  vapours  and 
^ses  which  are  thus  produced  in  an  .instant  of  time. 
Whilst  the  alkaUne  picrates  are  endowed  with  such 
formidable  properties,  they  also  possess  others  which 
are  useful  for  the  alleviation  of  human  misery.  Picrio 
acid  is  an  efficacious  remedy  in  intermittent  fevera 
Persons  affected  with  such  types  of  fever,  upon  whom 


[BagUah  Bdtttoo,  Toi  ZVI,  Ho.  «M^  pag»  Slfl )  V«  481,  fi«t  aoo.] 


74 


Crystalhgrwphy  and  the  Blowpipe. 


j  Gbmical  Hivt, 


quinine  has  lost  all  its  beneficial  effects  by  continuous 
usage  of  it — and  this  is  the  case  with  some  of  our  sol- 
diers who  return  from  India — derive,  I  am  glad  to  say, 
wondejri^I  benefit  from  the  use  of  picric  acid  and 
picrates,  a^  Dr.  Aspland  has  proved  to  be  the  case  at 
the  military  hospital  at  Dukinfield.  The  knowledge  of 
this  fact  may  be  useful  in  districts  in  which  poor  popu- 
lations exist,  for  it  affords  them  a  cheap  febrifuge;  and. 
moreover,  picric  acid  is  not  dangerous,  as  arsenical 
preparations  are,  nor  does  it  derange  the  stomach  like 
quinine. 

To  return  to  the  colours  derived  from  carbolic  acid, 
allow  me  to  remind  you  that  when,  in  1834,  Runge  dis- 
covered phenic  acid  amongst  the  products  of  coal-tar, 
he  observed  the  existence  of  two  colouring  substances, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  rosolic  acid  and  brunolic 
acid. 

I  will  not  detaU  here  the  processes  hj  which  Runge 
extracted  these  HBubstances  from  the  residue  of  coal-tar 
by  means  of  lime,  nor  the  method  adopted  by  Messrs. 
Smith,  Dussart,  and  Jourdin,  for  producing  these  sub- 
8tance^  by  direct  oxidation  of  phenic  or  carbolic  acid, 
but  will  describe  rapidly  the  process  which  we  now  use 
to  manufacture  rosolic  acid,  and  which  should  not  be  at- 
tributed, as  is  generally  believed,  to  M.  Kolbe,  as  it  is 
due  to  M.  Jules  rersoz,  the  son  or  the  celebrated  profes- 
sor of  tinctorial  chemistry  in  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts 
et  Metiers.  His  pn>cess  consists  in  maki ng  oxalic  acid  act 
upon  sulphopheuic  acid  at  a  temperature  of  about  160^, 
and  the  product  which  results  frt>m  it  has  the  bronze 
green  appearance  of  cantharides.  To  render  it  suitable 
lor  employment  in  dyeing,  it  is  only  necessary  to  wash 
it  so  as  to  separate  from  it  all  the  sulphuric  acid  with 
which  it  is  contaminated.  It  is  then  sold  under  the 
name  of  yellow  coralline  or  aurine.  It  was  our  firm 
who  first,  in  1863,  discovered  that  rosolic  acid  thus  pre- 
pared could  be  employed  directly  as  a  dye,  and  intro- 
duced it  to  dyers  under  the  name  of  aurine.  This  sub- 
stance gives  to  silk  and  albumezused  cotton  magnificent 
orange  colours,  like  those  of  basic  chromate  of  lead  or  of 
turmeric.  In  i860,  M.  Persoz,  jun.,  discovered  also 
that  if  rosolic  acid  was  heated  under  pressure  with  am- 
monia it  gave  rise  to  a  red  substance,  which  he  called 
p6onine,  Messrs.  Ghiinon,  Marnas,  and  Bonnet  perfect- 
ed the  manufacture  ofp^onine,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
red  coralline.  This  colouring  substance  ^ves  to  silk 
and  worsted  a  flame-coloured  tint  and  brilliant  scarlets. 
This  firm  was  also  the  first  to  produce  and  introduce, 
towards  the  end  of  i860,  a  blue  dye,  derived  from  car- 
bolic acid,  or,  more  so,  rosoUc  acid,  which  they  called 
asoline.  Azuline  is  obtained  by  heating  for  several 
hours,  at  a  temperature  of  about  180®,  a  mixture  of 
rosolic  acid  and  aniline.  It  is  only  necessary  then  to 
treat  this  product  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  to  wash  it 
with  benzine,  to  produce  a  beautiful  blue  colouring  mat- 
ter, which  presents,  when  dry,  a  red  mass  with  gold- 
coloured  tints.  Azuline,  although  discovered  before  the 
aniline  blues,  which  have  since  become  formidable  ri- 
vals to  it,  is  still,  I  may  add,  manufactured  in  competi- 
tion with  them. 

To  Messrs.  Guinod,  Mamas,  and  Bonnet  is  also  due 
the  first  production  of  a  green  derived  from  coal-tar 
products.  It  was  manufactured  in  1863,  therefore 
some  months  before  the  appearance  of  an  aniline  green, 
known  as  vert  cP  Uzehe,  which,  however,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  iodine  greens,  is  the  only  one  now  em- 
ployed in  dyeing.  v  iridine  was  obtained  by  this 
firm  from  a  mixture  of  aniline,  benzoic,  and  resolic 
acids. 


Phenicienne,  discovered  in  1863  by  M.  Both,  is  to- 
other colouring  matter  derived  from  phenic  acid ;  it  pro- 
duces fast  colours,  from  a  deep  garnet  red  to  a.  golden 
buff.  Phenicienne  is  produced  oy  the  action  of  nitro- 
sulphuric  acid  upon  carbolic  acid. 

I  will  now,  with  your  permission,  gentlemen,  leave 
for  a  few  seconds  the  products  derived  from  phenic 
acid,  in  order  to  place  before  you  certain  dauns  to 
some  inventions  not  sufficiently  recoflpised  by  writers 
on  aniline  colours.  In  i860,  Messrs.  Glift^  Lowe,  and  I, 
t%ok  out  a  patent  for  the  direct  production  on  prints, 
of  a  green  called  emeraldine,  and  the  deep  blue  called 
azurine,  a  blue  which  resembles  indigo,  and  which 
really,  when  printed  in  a  concentrated  form,  may  be 
confounded  with  a  black.  And  although  I  do  not  de- 
sire to  deprive  Messrs.  Lightfoot,  Carlos  Eoechlin,  and 
Lauth,  of  any  of  the  merit  which  belongs  to  them  for 
the  production  of  the  beautiful  black  which  eveiy  one 
must  have  admired  in  the  Exhibition,  still  I  may  be  peN 
mitted  to  remark  that  their  process  is  based  upon  tbe 
oxidation  of  aniline  by  chlorate  of  potash,  and  is  therefore 
based  on  our  patent,  previously  secured  to  their  dis- 
coverers. The  difference  between  their  process  and 
ours  consists  in  the  addition  of  a  salt  of  copper,  which 
addition  is  so  important  that  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  it  has  decided  the  success  of  a  black  which  now 
stands  unrivalled. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  retrospective  view  without 
calling  your  attention  to  a  fact  which  seems  to  have 
escaped  my  colleagues;  it  is  that  the  majority  of  the 
beautiful  colours  obtained  from  aniline  are  due  to  the 
industrial  application  of  a  discovery  made  by  yoor  il- 
lustrious president,  M.  Dumas,  more  than  thuly  jears 
ago.  The  discovery  I  mean  is  the  principle,  so  rich 
and  fruitful,  which  he  named  the  law  of  substitntiom 
— a  law  which  has  thrown  so  bright  a  light  on  modem 
chemistry,  and  which  has  prepared  the  way  forsQch 
brilliant  achievements,  and  which.  I  say,  has  also  been 
the  foundation  of  the  production  01  the  beautiful  coloiir- 
ing  substances  which  we  all  so  much  admire.  Thna^ 
in  order  to  obtain  aniline  blues,  violets,  and  greens^ 
produced  by  the  methods  devised  by  toe  illustriooi 
chemist^  Dr.  Hofimann,  we  substitute  for  a  certain  pro- 
portion of  the  hydrogen  of  rosaniline,  an  equivalent 
quantity  of  the  alcoholic  radicals,  called  phenyl,  etbjl, 
methyl,  and  amyl.  Further,  this  celebrated  chemist 
has  also  shown  mat  the  blue  obtained  by  MessF&  Gi- 
rard  and  Delaire  is  also  due  to  the  same  law& 

I  am  far,  I  regret  to  say,  gentlemen,  from  having 
named  idl  the  remarkable  properties  and  applications 
of  carboHc  or  phenic  alcohol ;  but  I  trust  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  making  you  share  my  enthusiasm  for  this 
valuable  agent,  which,  afler  having  rendered  important 
services  to  most  of  the  world's  industries,  still  offers  to 
chemists  and  to  manufacturers  a  wide  field  for  new 
applications. 


CRYSTALLOGRAPHY  AND  THE  BLOWPIPS. 

BY  W.   A.   ROSS,   OAPTAIK,   R.A. 

I  HAVE  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  of  a  new  feature 
in  blowpipe  manipulation  lately  discovered  by  me, 
which  I  am  sanguine  enough  to  hope  may  add  an- 
other to  the  many  results  obtained  in  chemical  and 
mineralogical  analysis  by  this  invaluable  instniment 

It  struck  me  that,  as  the  decomposition  of  light  by 
inflection  or  difiraction  is  analogous  to  that  by  abswp- 
tion  and  transmission  through  a  prisniy  and  as  the  lat- 


[Bocll«liadltlim,.yoLZ7L,Vo.4ai,Fi«w9M,a21;  V«.  ^M, pag*  907.] 


CRMICAl  HSWI,  I 

iV».,  1669.      f 


GT^etaUography  and  the  Blowpipe. 


75 


ter  operatioii  has  been  applied  so  sncce^sfully  to  the  re- 
cogmtion  of  blowpipe  flames  of  metals,  as  liihiam,  ba- 
rium, etc.,  in  the  spectroscope,  small  hlddden  or  hMles 
of  borax  of  sufficient  tenuity  to  diffract  rays  of  li^ht, 
if  containing  certain  metals  or  oxides  in  solution, 
would  afford,  when  cool,  corresponding  chromatic  rays 
in  daylight.  It  is  true  that  Sir  I.  Newton  attributed 
the  different  colours  obtained  by  diffraction  solely  to 
the  relative  thickness  or  distance  between  the  reflect- 
ing surfaces,  but,  as  Sir  D.  Brewster  remarks,  he  "  in- 
ferred that  they  were  produced  by  a  singular  property 
of  the  particles  of  light,  in  virtue  of  which  they  pos- 
sess, at  different  points  of  their  paths,  fits  or  dupoaitions 
to  6e  reflected  mm,  or  transmitted  by  transparent 
bodies.  Sir  Isaac  does  not  pretend  to  explain  these  fits. 
but  terms  them  fits  of  transmission  and  fits  of  reflection. 
Now  why  shotUd  not  these  **  fits  "  be  caused  by  some 
pecaliarities  in  the  composition  of  the  reflecting  body? 
The  colours  on  a  soap  bubble  are  surely  not  solely  at- 
tributable to  its  thickness  and  thinness  in  different 
parts;  and  we  must  all  recollect  as  boys  how  not 
oqIt  the  quantity  but  quality  of  the  soap  s  wa3i  sine 
gudncn  of  success. 

The  following  table,  which  I  have  prepared  from 
actual  experiment  in  every  case,  will,  I  think,  feirlv 
show  that  a  richer  play  of  colour  is  yielded  by  metal- 
lic solutions  than  in  the  pure  vesicuta  of  borax,  and  it 
appeared  to  me  very  remarkable  that  such  a  highly 
C0K)uring  agent  of  borax  as  cobalt  should  ^ield  nearly 
transparent  vesictUa  showing  little  or  no  iridescence. 
I  remarked  also  that  a  copper  vesicle  gave  almost  the 
same  play  of  colours  as  is  seen  in  the  ore  called  ^'  pea- 
cock copper  "  in  which  a  rich  blue  is  very  predominant, 
while  in  several  vesicles  of  bismuth  whicn  I  made,  no 
blue  at  all  could  be  observed,  but  a  great  predominance 
of  pale  green. 

Carbonate  of  baryta,  very  slightly  iridescent 

Borax " 

llicrooosmiosalt....  "  "  " 

Oxide  of  copper. ...  **     highly        " 

•*        cobalt ....  nearly  dear  vesicle 

"        nickel slightly  iridescent 

"        bismuth. . .  very  highly      ** 

»'        tin highly  " 

*        manganese  very  highly      '• 

Nitrate  of  potash . . .  highly  " 

Iodide  of  potassium,  veiy  highly     " 

J  made  no  attempt  to  classify  the  colours  reflected 
by  different  metals  in  solution,  but  they  always  ap- 
peared in  prismatic  bands  of  blue,  gre^n,  yellow,  orange, 
red,  etc. 

Next  day  a  new  feature  in  these  vesicula  attracted 
my  attention,  which  I  hope  will  add  to  their  importance 
as  analytical  agents,  and  develope  besides  an  elegant  ap- 
plication of  the  science  of  crystallography  to  blowpipe 
examination  which  it  has  not  yet  received. 

Observing  that  a  cloudy  film  containing  white  spots 
had  gathered  over  the  vesicle  holding  carbonate  of  ba- 
ryta in  solution,  I  examined  the  spots  with  a  micro- 
scope, and  found  them  to  be  round  radiated  crystals 
having  a  dark  nucleus  or  centre. 

I  t£en  made  a  borax  vesicle  containing  nitrate  of 
baryta^  and  allowed  it  to  stand  for  several  hours,  after 
whidi  a  film  displaying  similar  crystals,  but  with  a 
white  nucleus  or  centre,  appeared.  A  vesicle  contain- 
ing carbonate  of  potassa  showed,  after  a  time,  a  film 
without  crystals  exactly  like  finely-ground  glass.  Car- 
bonate of  magnesia  appeared  in  beautiful  crystals,  like 
the  flowers  "of  a  convolvulus,  having  six  petals,  with 


a  double  rim  or  edge,  and  a  dark  nucleus.  Sulphate 
of  magnesia  displayed  similar  flower-like  crystals  with* 
out  the  rim  or  nucleus. 

I  now  found  to  my  surprise  and  pleasure  that  every 
one  of  thirteen  borax  vesicles  I  had  placed  on  cotton 
over  night  was  covered  more  or  less  with  similar  crys- 
tals peculiar  to  itself,  and  strongly  differing  from 
those  of  the  other  vesicles,  unless,  as  in  the  case  of 
magnesia,  they  contained  a  common  base.  Thus  ni- 
trate ofsuver  appeared  in  almost  perfect  stars,  radiating 
from  an  extremely  white  central  point,  which  again 
was  surrounded  by  a  dark  aureola.    A  silicate  cf  Uihia 

githionglimmer)  dso  appeared  in  stars,  but  of'^a  per- 
^y  d^erent  shape,  having  no  nucleus  and  laree  cups 
of  unequal  length.  Oxide  of  cobdttj  the  vesiqle  con- 
taining which  was  colourless  when  newly  made,  now 
appeared  in  a  series  or  net-work  of  transparent  crys- 
tals like  the  glass  manufacture  termed  "  imitation  ice." 
StronOanite  seemed  to  crystallise  in  octohedral  planes 
having  large  dark  nuclei,  while  bichloride  of  plaUnvm 
produced  nearly  circular  flowerets  having  an  inner 
ring  but  no  nucleus,  and  veined  like  the  wmg  of  a  fly. 
The  terozide  of  bismuth^  on  the  contrary,  appeared  m 
crystals  like  extremely  white  and  small  feathers. 

l^us  it  will  be  seen  that,  whatever  the  cause,  differ- 
ent solutions  of  metals  or  their  oxides  in  borax,  pro- 
duce, when  blown  into  vesictdce  and  allowed  to  stand 
for  a  nighty  different  and  peculiar  crystals ;  a  fact  which 
I  have  allowed  myself  to  hope,  will  enable  the  careibl 
observer  to  determine  the  composifion  of  these  sub- 
stances more  rapidly,  certainly,  and  easily,  than  by 
any  other  method,  as  this  one  is  effected  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  laws  of  nature  herself.  All  that  is  required 
seems  to  me  to  be  a  careful  representation  and  classifi- 
cation of  these  crystals  obtained  by  means  of  a  power- 
fbl  microscope,  and  as  the  vesicles,  with  the  exception 
of  the  crystals  upon  them,  are,  in  dry  weather,  gene- 
rally transparent,  these  latter  might  almost,  I  should 
think^  be  magnified  and  represented  by  means  of  the 
polanscope. 

I  have  made  sketches  of  thirteen  crystals  observed 
by  me.  but  although  they  convey  perhaps  a  general 
idea  or  the  shape,  they  are  very  far  from  showing,  in 
the  least  degree,  the  beautiful  detail  and  variety  observ- 
able in  the  structure  of  each  of  these  crystals.  I  ob- 
served also  that  these  vesicles  develop  electricity, 
some  in  a  greater  degree  than  others,  which  may  be  re- 
ferable to  uieir  different  composition.  Seeing  that  two 
of  them  adhered  together  so  fast  that  they  could  not 
be  separated  without  breaking  one  of  them,  although 
quite  dry  and  smooth  on  the  outside,  I  applied  a  piece 
of  rubbed  sealing-wax  to  several,  and  attracted  most 
of  them  vigoroumy,  but  some,  on  the  other  hand,  did 
not  show  the  least  attraction. 

Some  of  the  saliferous  vesicles— notably  the  nitrate 
of  potassa,  and  carbonate  of  soda— deli<]^uesced  so 
rapidly  that  altiiou jh  t^ey  crystallised,  I  failed  to  ob- 
serve the  shap^  of  the  crystals,*  and  indeed  in  damp 
weather,  like  the  present,  the  general  results  of  this 
system  are  bad — ^I  cannot  to-day  obtain  a  second  set 
of  crystals  of  Carbonate  of  soda,  the  vesicle  contain- 
ing it  deliquescing  into  holcQ  before  the  crystals  can 
be  even  formed. 

When  the  phenomena  of  these  vesicles  have  been  ob- 
served, they  can  be  remelted  into  beads  by  holding  the 
glatinum  wire  sustaining  them  in  the  gas  or  spirit  lamp 
ame,  in  which  process  the  thin  shell  of  the  vesicle 

•  I  obtained  and  sketched  crystal!  of  these  afterwards.— W.  ▲.  B. 


[Bngliah  Bditloii,  ToL  X7I,  Ka  420,  pages  307,  306.] 


76 


New  Class  of  Bodies  Homologous  to  Hydrocyanic  Acid,    {^^^"i^ 


effloresces  in  a  manner  apparently  peculiar  to  the  salt 
which  it  contains.  Thus  oxide  of  bismuth  has  9k  frothy ^ 
nitrate  of  silver  a  creamy^  efflorescence.  If  a  newly 
made  vesicle  be  applied  to  the  gas  flame,  no  efflores- 
cence at  all  takes  olace,  but  the  borax  melts  transpa- 
rently down  to  its  Dead. 

If  now  only  ^rnain^  for  me  to  explain  how  the  process 
of  vesiculation  is  carried  out.  I  perform  it  as  follows : 
— I  fuse  a  bead  of  borax  on  the  platinum  wire  in  usual 
way,  and  charge  it  with  the  salt  or  oxide  of  which 
the  crystals  and  diflractive  colours  are  desired.  After 
holding  it  for  some  time  in  the  reducing  flame,  I  with- 
draw both  the  bead  and  the  blowpipe  from  the  flame, 
keeping  the  latter  still  pressed  against  my  mouth  and 
blowing  through  it  ^  I  tnen  bring  the  jet  of  the  blow- 
pipe rapidly  opposite  the  ring  of  the  platinum  wire 
(which  siiould  be  of  the  size  of  a  pin's  head  and  as 
round  as  possible),  through  which  the  stream  of  air 
issuing  from  it  blows  out  a  vesicle  or  bladder  formed  of 
the  fluid  bead  of  borax  and  the  substanoes  contained 
in  it. 

Woolwich,  Dee.  a,  1867. 

ON  A  NEW  CLASS  OF  BODIES  HOMOLOGOUS 
TO  HYDROCYANIC  ACID.* 

BT  A.   W.   HOnCANK,   LL.D.,   F.B.8. 

The  typical  transformation  which  hydrocyanic  acid 
undergoes  when  submitted,  under  appropriate  cir- 
cumstances, to  the  action  of  water,  is  capable  of  as^ 
suming  two  different  forms  when  accomplished  in  its 
homologues. 

If  the  hydrocyanic  molecule  be  found  to  fix  the  ele- 
ments of  two  molecules  of  water,  yielding  ultimately 
formic  acid  and  ammonia,  it  is  obvious  that  the  atom 
group  which  in  the  homologues  of  hydrocyanic  acid 
we  assume  in  the  place  of  hydrogen,  may  be  elimi- 
nated when  these  homologues  are  decompo^d  by  water 
in  conjunction  either  with  formic  acid  or  with  ammo- 
nia. To  take  an  example : — When  acting  with  water 
upon  the  simplest  homologue  of  hydrocyanic  acid 
(upon  cyanide  of  methyl),  we  may  expect  to  see  the 
methyl-group  separating  either  in  the  form  of  methyl- 
formic,  I.e.  acetic  acid,  or  in  the  form  of  methvl-ammo- 
nia,  t.6.  of  methyl-amine.  The  difference  of  the  two 
reactions  and  their  relation  to  the  metamorphosis  of 
hydrocyanic  acid  itself  are  exhibited  by  the  following 
equations : — 

OHN    +     2H,0    «     CHaO,     -h    H,If. 


Fomilo  add. 
2H,0     r=      C»H40, 


H,N. 


Cjanlde  of 
methyl  a. 

2.0,H,N     - 


2H,0 


Methylformio 
(Metic)  add. 


CH,0,     +     CH»N. 
Formic  HethyUmine. 


Cyanide  of  Formi 

methyl  fi  add. 

The  former  one  of  these  processes  of  transformation 
is  familinr  to  chemists  from  the  study  of  the  hydrocy- 
anic ethers  or  nitriles.  The  first  member  of  this  re- 
markable group  of  bodies  (cyanide  of  ethyl)  ^as  dis- 
covered by  Pelouze ;  the  general  character  of  their  trans- 
formation was  subsequently  established  by  the  beautiful 
investigations  of  Kolbe  and  Frankland  on  the  one  hand, 
and  by  those  of  Dumas,  Malaguti,  and  Le  Blanc  on  tlie 
other. 

•  Pftper  MBt  to  the  Boyal  Sodety  dnrlog  tho  reecM. 


Researches  in  which  I  have  been  engaged  during  the 
last  few  weeks  have  proved  that  the  second  procen  of 
transformation  does  not  less  fi^uently  occur.  Indeed 
I  have  foufid  that  there  correrponds  to  each  of  the 
hydrocyanic  ethers  or  nitriles  known  hitherto  a  second 
body  of  precisely  the  same  composition  but  of  abso- 
lutely different  properties.  These  substances,  wbea 
changed  by  water,  undergo  the  transformation  which 
is  exhibited  by  the  last  one  of  the  three  above  equations. 

A  happy  experiment  has  led  me  to  the  discovety  of 
this  new  class  of  bodies.  In  a  lecture,  I  wanted  to  ex- 
hibit the  interesting  transformation  of  ammonia  into 
prussic  acid  bv  means  of  chloroform,  which  was  first 
observed  by  M.  Cloez,  and  which  illustrates  so  well 
our  present  views  on  quantivalenoe.  When  the  two 
substances  alone  are  allowed  to  act  upon  one  another, 
this  reation  can  be  rapidly  accomplished  only  at  a 
high  temperature  and  consequently  under  pressure.  In 
order  to  shorten  the  process  (in  one  word,  in  order  to 
exhibit  this  important  reaction  in  a  lecture-experiment), 
I  had  added  potash  to  the  mixture  for  the  purpose  of 
fixing  the  newly  formed  prussic  acid,  and  was  delighted 
to  find  that  a  few  seconds'  ebullition  was  sufficient  to 
yield  a  considerable  amount  of  cyanide  of  potassinm, 
so  as  to  furnish,  after  the  addition  of  the  two  salts  of 
iron,  a  large  quantity  of  Prussian  blue.  On  subse- 
quently repeating  the  experiment  with  some  of  the 
derivatives  of  ammonia,  more  especially  with  several 
primary  monamines,  I  waa  astonished  to  observe  in 
each  case  a  powerful  reacti<)n,  giving  rise  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  vapours  of  an  almost  overwhelming  odour, 
strongly  recalling  that  of  prussic  acid.  But  few  expe^ 
iments  were  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  isolating  the 
odoriferous  bodies.  The  compounds  thus  formed  an 
the  substances  isomeric  with  the  hydrocyanic  ethen  or 
nitriles  hitherto  examined. 

From  the  host  of  bodies  which  were  thus  suddenly 
thrown  into  view,  it  was  necessary  to  single  out  the 
compound  of  a  particular  series  in  order  to  determine 
by  accurate  experiments  the  nature  of  the  new  reaction. 
The  facility  of  procuring  the  necessary  material  as  well 
as  old  predilections,  suggested  the  phenyl-series  as  the 
one  to  DO  examined  in  the  first  place.  I  beff  leave  to 
submit  to  the  Royal  Society  a  bnef  account  iS  the  mode 
of  preparation,  and  of  the  principal  properties,  of  the 
new  derivative  of  aniline. 

Oyinide  of  Phenyl 

A  mixture  of  aniline,  chloroform,  and  alcoholic  pot- 
ash yields  on  distillation  a  liquid  of  a  powerfully  aro- 
matic but,  at  the  same  time,  h3rdrocyanie-acid-like 
odour.  The  vapour  of  the  liquid  gives  rise  to  a  pecu- 
liar bitter  taste,  and  causes,  moreover,  in  the  throat  the 
suffocating  sensation  so  characteristic  of  hydroeyanie 
acid.  On  redistilling  the  liquid,  alcohol  and  water  paa 
first,  and  ultimately  an  oily  body  is  procured,  which,  in 
addition  to  the  smelling  substance,  still  contains  a 
large  amount  of  aniline.  The  latter  is  separ^ed  hf 
oxalic  acid,  when  the  powerfully  smelling  compound 
remains  in  the  form  or  a  brownish  oil  Freed  &tm 
water  bv  hydrate  of  potassium,  and  purified  by  diftil- 
lation^  the  new  body  presents  itself  as  a  mobfle  liquid, 
exhibiting  a  greenish  colour  in  transmitted,  and  a  hetn- 
tifuUy  blue  colour,  in  reflected  light.  This  odour  does 
not  disappear  by  distillation  even  in^a  current  of 
hydrogen. 

The  analysis  of  the  blue  oil  has  eetabiished  tfaa 
formula 


[Bailirii  Bdilte,,  Vol  XVL,  Ho.  420,  pat*  30e.] 


doonoAL  Nswt. ) 


New  Glass  of  Bodm  Homologous  to  Hydrocyanic  Acid. 


n 


The  compound  is  thus  seen  to  be  isomeric  with  ben- 
Eonitrile,  discovered  by  Fehliiig,  from  which  it  differs, 
however,  in  all  its  properties.  In  order  to  distinguish 
the  new  compound  from  benzonitrile  I  will  call  it 
cyanide  of  phenyl^  without  intending,  however,  by 
selecting  this  name  to  express  any  particular  view  as  to 
its  constitution.  The  formation  of  cyanide  of  phenyl  is 
represented  by  the  following  equation : — 

C.HtN  +  CHOI.    =  C,H»N  +  3HCL 


Aniline. 


Ghloroform.     Cyanide  of 
phenyl. 


Cyanide  of  phenyl  cannot  be  volatilized  without 
undergoing  decomposition.  During  distillation  the 
thermometer  marKs  for  some  time  the  constant 
temperature  of  167^,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  boiling- 
point  of  cyanide  of  phenyl  Then  the  temperature 
rises  rapidly  to  from  220®  to  230^.  The  brown  liquid 
which  now  distils  is  destitute  of  odour,  and  solidifies 
on  cooling  to  a  crystalline  mass,  easily  purified  by  solu- 
tion in  alcohol,  but  not  yet  more  nimutely  examined. 
Cyanide  of  phenyl  is  remarkable  for  the  facility  with 
which  it  combines  with  other  cyanides.  The  compound 
with  cyanides  of  silver  is  particularly  beautiful  The 
behaviour  of  cyanide  of  phenyl  with  acids  is  more  es- 
pecially characteristia  Scarcely  changed  by  the  action 
of  alkalies,  it  cannot  be  left  in  contact  even  with  mo- 
derately dilute  acids  without  undergoing  alteration. 
When  submitted  to  the  action  of  concentrated  acids, 
the  liquid  bursts  into  ebullition,  and  the  solution,  afler 
cooling,  contains  only  formic  acid  and  aniline. 

CtH»N    +    2H,0  =   CH,0.    +    O.H,N 

Cyanide  of  Vbnnlo  Aniline, 

phenyl.  acid. 

Benzonitrile,  isomeric  with  cyanide  of  phenyl,  is 
known  to  be  slowly  attacked  by  acids,  but  to  be 
rapidly  transformed  by  alkalies  into  benzoic  acid  and 
ammonia. 

CHftN    +    2H,0  =  CtHsO,    +    HaN. 

Benzonttrfle  Benioic  acid. 

The  transformation  of  benzonitrile  into  benzoate  of 
ajnmonium,  as,  indeed,  the  transformation  of  the  nitriles 
into  the  ammonium-salts  of  the  respective  acids  gene- 
rally, is  not  accomplished  in  one  single  bound.  By 
fixing  only  one  molecule  of  water,  benzonitrile  is  first 
converted  into  benzamide. 

CtH»N    +   H,0  =  CtHtNO 

Benzonitrile.  Benzamide. 

Nor  ifl  the  corresponding  term  of  Uie  isomeric  series 
-wanting.  This  substance  has  long  been  known  as 
phenyl-formamide  or  formanilide. 

CHftN    +   HaO   =   CTHtNO 


Phenyl- 
formamide. 


Oyanide  of 
pbenyL 

But,  in  addition  to  phenyl-formamide,  there  figures 
in  this  series  a  second  intermediate  compound,  the 
analogue  of  which  among  the  derivatives  of  benzoni- 
trile IS  not  yet  perfectly  known.*    This  compound  is 


*  ShortlT  before  his  death,  Gerhardt  yroA  engaged  In  experiments 
on  tlie  aetH>n  of  pentachloride  of  phosphorns  on  the  amides,  a  brief 
account  of  which  was  subieqnently  published  by  M.  Cahours.  Among 
other  aobstances,  I  find  that,  by  acting  with  pendachloride  of  phos- 
pboniB  open  benzanilide,  Gerhardt  obtained  a  chloride,  CigHioNCl, 
which  yields  with  ammonia  a  crystalline  substance.  It  can  scarcely 
be  doubted  that  this  compound  is  the  deriTative  of  benzonitrile  oor- 
reaponding  to  methenyldiphenyldiamlne, 

Cx,H».NCH-H,N=:0»,H„N,-hHC1. 

Vol.  II.    No.  2.    Feb.,  1868.  6 


the  well-defined  base  which  some  time  ago  I  described 
as  methenyldiphenyldiamine,  and  which  may  be 
looked  upon  as  formed  by  the  association  of  a  mole- 
cule  of  cyanide  of  phenyl  with  a  molecule  of  aniline. 
The  successive  changes  which  cyanide  of  phenyl  un- 
dergoes when  submitted  to  the  influence  of  water 
are  thus  exhibited  by  the  following  series  of  equa- 
tions:— 

CnHioN,   4-   2H,0   =  CHaO,  +  CsH^N, 


a  mols.  cyanide 
of  phenyl. 


Formic  acid.       Methenyldi- 
phenyldiamine. 

HaO  =   C,H,NO   +   C,H,N 


Methenyldi- 
phenyldiamine. 

CtHtNO   +  H,0   =   CH,0, 


Phenyl- 
formamide. 


Phenyl- 
formamide. 


Formie 
acid. 


Aniline. 


OeH,N 


Aniline. 


A  glance  at  these  formulse  shows  that  the  meta- 
morphosis of  phenylic  cyanide  is  perfectly  analogous  to 
that  of  phenylic  cyanate,  wliich  I  have  studied  at  an 
earlier  date. 

CuHioNaOa    +    2HsO    =    CHjO,    +    CuHiaNaO 


a  mols.  cyanate 
of  phenyl. 

OitHitNsO 


Garbonio        Dlphenyl-ni 
hydrate. 

H,0    =   OtH,NO,  +  C.HrN 


Dlphenyl-orea.  AnhvdrooB  ear-    Aniline, 

bonale  of  aniline. 

OtH:NO,  -I-      HaO     =    CHaOa    -f    O.H,N 


Anhydrons  car- 
bonate of  aniline. 


Carbonie 
hydrate. 


Aniline. 


Cyanide  of  Efhyl. 

After  having  fixed  in  the  phenylic  group  the  gene- 
ral characters  of  the  reaction,  iny  attention  was  iRry 
naturally  directed  to  the  ethylic  series.  For  this  pur- 
pose, it  was  first  necessary  to  procure  ethylamine  in 
rather  considerable  quantities.  Happily  in  this  case 
the  liberal  co-operation,  so  often  experienced,  of  my 
friend  Mr.  E.  0.  Nicholson,  was  again  at  hand.  In- 
teresting himself  with  a  cordiality,  for  which  I  cannot 
sufficiently  thank  him,  in  the  continuation  of  my  re- 
searches on  the  ethylic  bases,  Mr.  Nicholson  had  placed 
at  my  disposal  the  product  of  the  action  of  ammonia 
on  iodide  of  ethyl  produced  in  a  single  operation  per- 
formed in  one  of  lus  great  autoclaves  on  20  kilogs.  of 
iodide  of  ethyl 

Thanks  to  the  happy  alliance  between  science  and 
industry,  which  characterises  our  times,  I  was  thus 
enabled  to  study  the  transformation  of  ethylamine 
under  the  influence  of  chloroform  on  a  rather  large 
scale. 

On  gradually  introducing  a  mixture  of  an  alcoholic 
solution  of  ethylamine  and  chloroform  into  a  retort 
containing  powdered  potassio  hydrate,  a  most  power- 
ful reaction  takes  place ;  the  mixture  enters  into  ebul- 
lition, and  a  liquid  distils  over,  the  penetrating  odour 
of  which  surpasses  anything  that  it  is  possible  to  con- 
ceive. Besides  the  odoriferous  body,  the  product  of  the 
distillation  contains  ethylamine,  chloroform,  alcohol, 
and  water,  and  a  considerable  number  of  rectifications 
are  required  in  order  to  isolate  the  cyanide  of  ethyl 
from  this  mixture. 

As  the  substance  is  rather  volatile,  the  frequently  re- 
peated fractional  distillations  become  a  most  painful 
operation,  and  more  than  once,  while  I  have  been  en- 
gaged in  these  experiments,  my  laboratory  has  been 


[BngUah  EdltlOD,  VoL  ZVL,  No.  480,  pi«M  308, 309.] 


78 


New  Class  of  Bodies  Homologous  to  Hydrocyanic  Add.      {^^"^^^imT" 

RiiihlA.     ThuK  with  &  temDerature  of  %o9  I    Ast&bliflhes  in  a  DositiTe  manner  the   existence  of  i 


almost  inaccessible.  Thus  with  a  temperature  of  30^  I 
have  found  it  desirable  to  interrupt  for  the  time  the 
preparation  in  the  pure  state  of  the  cyanide  of  ethyl, 
and  to  resume  it  at  a  more  favourable  season. 

I  was  nevertheless  curious  to  study,  even  now,  a 
true  homologue  of  cyanide  of  ethyl,  in  order  to  com- 
pare its  properties  yriih  those  of  cyanide  of  phenyl. 
The  boiling-points  of  the  amylic  compounds  being 
wi^n  convenient  limits,  I  was  induced  to  select 
the  amyl-series  as  presenting  the  greatest  chance  uf 
success. 

On  submitting  amylamine  to  the  action  of  chloro- 
form, the  same  phenomena  are  observed  as  in  the 
analogous  reaction  between  chloroform  and  aniline. 
One  molecule  of  amylamine  and  one  molecule  of  chloro- 
form contain  the  elements  of  one  molecule  of  cyanide 
of  amyl  and  three  of  hydrochloric  acid: — 

C»Hx,N    +   CHa,   =  C.H„N   +   3HCI 
Amylamine.     Chloroform.     Cyanide  of  amyl. 

The  cyanide  of  amyl  is  a  transparent  colourless  liquid 
lighter  than  water,  insoluble  in  water,  but  dissolved  by 
alcohol  and  ether,  of  an  oppressive  odour,  resembling 
at  the  same  time  that  of  amylic  alcohol  and  of  hydro- 
cyanic acid.  Its  vapour  possesses,  in  a  still  higher 
degree  than  that  of  the  cyanide  of  pnenyl,  the  property 
of  producing  on  the  tongue  an  msupportably  bitter 
taste,  and  of  giving  rise  in  the  throat  to  the  sensation 
of  suffocation,  so  characteristic  of  hydrocyanic  acid. 

The  cyanide  of  amyl  may  be  diEitilled  without  decom- 
position. It  boils  at  137^  C,  that  is,  at  a  temperature 
8°  lower  than  the  boiling-point  of  its  isomer,  caproni- 
trile.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  boiling-point  of 
cyanide  of  phenyl  is  lower  than  that  of  benzonitrile. 

Under  the  influence  of  alkalies  and  acids,  the  cyanide 
of  amyl  behaves  in  the  same  manner  as  the  phenylic 
cyanide.  Though  only  slightly  attacked  by  alkalies,  it 
is  decomposed  by  acids  with  a  violence  which  is  almost 
explosive ;  a  short  ebullition  with  water  is  sufficient  to 
transform  it  into  formic  acid  and  amylamine : — 
CHxiN     +     2H>0     =     CH,0,     4-     C.H„N. 


Cyanide  of  Amyl. 


Formic  Acid.        Amylamine. 


In  order  to  fix  this  equation  by  numbers,  I  have 
carried  out  the  reaction  by  means  of  dilute  sulphu- 
ric acid.  The  formic  acid  was  then  distilled  off  and 
transformed  into  a  sodium-salt^  and  analysed  as  formate 
of  silver;  the  residue  in  the  retort  furnished,  on  ad- 
dition of  an  alkali,  amylamine  in  considerable  quantities. 
It  was  identified  with  that  obtained  from  cyanate  of 
amyl,  both  by  the  determination  of  its  boiling-point 
and  by  the  analysis  of  the  platinum-salt. 

The  transformation  of  the  cyanide  of  amyl,  like  that 
of  the  cyanide  of  phenyl,  does  not  take  place  at  a  single 
step;  intermediate  combinations  corresponding  to 
methenyldiphenyldiamine  and  to  phenylformamide  are 
produced,  but  I  have  not  yet  obtained  them  in  a  state 
of  purity. 

I  have  designated  the  body  described  in  this  note  by 
the  name  of  cyanide  of  amyl ;  I  am  of  course  aware 
that  the  same  name  has  been  eiven  to  the  substance 
produced  by  the  action  of  cyanide  of  potassium  on  the 
sulphamilates ;  but  as  the  latter  compound,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  transformation  into  caproic  acid  and  am- 
moniik  has  a  right  to  the  name  capronUriU^  I  have 
thougnt  it  desirable  to  distinguish,  provisionally  at 
least,  the  new  product  by  the  name  of  cyanide  of  amyl. 

The  examination  of  the  cyanides  of  amyl  and  phenyl 


establishes  in  a  positive  manner  the  existence  of  a 
group  of  bodies  isomeric  with  the  nitiiles  derived  from 
the  ordinary  alcohols  and  phenols. 

I  haye  not  as  yet  pursued  more  minutely  the  study 
of  the  other  terms  of  these  groups ;  in  fact  the  field 
opened  by  these  new  observations  presents  questions 
much  more  attractive.  The  existence  of  the  new  ho- 
mologues  of  hydrocyanic  acid  allow  us  to  foresee  the 
formation  of  quite  another  series  of  homc^ogues  of 
cyanogen.  These  bodies  will  be  produced  by  the  ac- 
tion of  chloroform  on  the  diamines.  Ethjlene-diamine, 
for  example,  will  thus  be  transformed  mto  the  dicy»- 
nide  of  ethylene : — 

C,H.N,     +     2CHCI,     =    0|H,N,    +     6HCI 


XUiylene- 
diamine. 


Chlorofonn. 


Dlcyantde  of 
ethylene. 


The  new  cyanides  isomeric  with  the  nitrilefi  are  not 
formed  exclusively  by  the  action  of  chloroform  on  the 
primary  mon amines.  On  perusing  the  papers  deacrib- 
mg  the  examination  of  the  organic  cyanides,  we  see  at 
a  glance  that  the  chemists  who  investigated  them  have 
had  in  their  hands  at  the  same  time  ue  isomeric  cy- 
anides with  which  I  am  engaged. 

In  fact  every  one  who  has  distilled  mixtures  of  sul- 
phomethylate,  sulphethylate.  or  sulphamylate  of  po- 
tassium with  the  cyanide  or  the  same  metiJ,  wiU  re- 
member the  repulsive  odour  possessed  by  the  products 
so  obtained.  This  odour  only  disappears  in  propor- 
tion as  the  product  is  purified,  and  especially  after  its 
treatment  with  acid,  in  order  to  remove  the  ammonia, 
and  with  oxide  of  mercury  to  separate  the  hydrocyazuc 
acid. 

Dumas,  Malaguti,  and  Le  Blanc,  in  their  researches 
on  the  nitriles,  mention  the  insupportable  odours  pos- 
sessed by  the  cyanides  obtained  by  the  cyanide-o^-po- 
tassium  process;  while  the  products  obtained  by  the 
dehydration  of  the  ammoniacal  salts  by  means  of 
phosphoric  anhydride  have  a  very  agreeable  aromatic 
odour. 

In  a  research  made  by  Mr.  Buckton  and  myself  on 
the  transformations  of  the  amides  and  nitriles  under  the 
influence  of  sulphuric  acid,  we  repeatedly  had  occasion 
to  prepare  acetonitrile  (cyanite  of  methyl)  and  propioni- 
trile  (cyanide  of  ethyl)  by  the  distillation  of  a  sulpho- 
methylate  or  sulphethylate  with  cyanide  of  potassiam. 
In  our  paper  we  mention  substances  of  a  formidable 
odour  which  appeared  in  these  reactions^  and  we  de- 
scribe the  efforts  we  made  in  order  to  isolate  them. 
But  as  they  are  only  formed  in  small  quantity,  we  had 
to  give  up  the  attempt 

Mr.  E.  Meyer,*  who  has  also  been  occupied  with 
cyanide  of  ethyl,  but  who  employed  another  method 
of  preparation,  encountered  the  same  bodies.  By  act- 
ing on  cyanide  of  silver  with  iodide  of  ethyl  in  sealed 
tubes,  he  obtained,  together  with  iodide  of  silyer,  an 
unsta1}le  compound  of  cyanide  of  silver  and  cyanide  of 
ethyl ;  and  tliere  was  formed  in  the  same  reaction  a 
liquid  of  an  overwhelming  odour.  This  latter  on  dis- 
tillation, presented  the  characters  of  a  mixture  fi-om 
which  it  was  impossible  to  isolate  a  product  with  a 
constant  boiling-point.  When  treated  with  an  acid 
the  odour  disappeared,  and  the  solution  contained 
eth^rlamine  which  was  identified  by  the  analysis  of  the 
platinum-salt.  These  are  certainly  the  characters  of 
the  cyanides  formed  by  the  action  of  chloroform  on  the 
primary  monamines ;  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  }Sj. 

*  Jonmal  f&r  prtktiache  Gheniie,  toL  IzriL  p.  14T. 


[SngUah  EdMoa,  Vol  ZTL,  Vow  480,  |M«M  309,  310 ;  Na  481,  pif«  319.] 


duanoAL  NswB, ) 
]^«b^  1868.      f 


New  Class  of  bodies  Homologous  to  Hydrocyanic  Acid. 


79 


If  eyer  has  had  in  his  hands  the  ethyl  term  of  the  series 
of  cyanides  which  I  am  studying  both  in  the  combina- 
tion with  cyanide  of  silver  and  in  the  complex  Uquid 
whidi  accompanied  it 

If  such  results  did  not  particularly  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  chemists,  it  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
author  failed  in  ascertaining  tiie  complementary  pro- 
duct of  ethylamine,  namely,  formic  acid.  Mr.  Meyer, 
besides,  states  that  his  research  remained  unfinished ; 
and  thus  it  will  be  understood  how  experiments  other- 
wise so  carefuUy  carried  out  should  have  fallen  into  an 
oblivion  from  which  neither  the  author  nor  any  other 
chemist  has  endeavoured  to  recall  them  during  the 
many  years  which  have  elapsed  since  their  publication. 

In  consequence  of  the  examination  of  the  bodies 
produced  by  the  action  of  chloroform  on  the  primary 
monamines,  these  old  experiments  have  acquired  a 
new  interest'  and  it  appeared  to  me,  for  more  than 
one  reason,  tnat  it  would  be  desirable  to  repeat  them, 
making  use  of  the  experience  gained  by  my  late 
researches. 

For  this  purpose  I  have  submitted  cyanide  of  silver 
to  the  action  of  several  organic  iodides. 

The  iodides  of  methyl  and  ethyl  act  very  slowly 
on  cyanide  of  silver  at  the  ordinary  temperature  j  but 
the  reaction  takes  place  at  the  temperature  of  boiling- 
water. 

After  a  digestion  of  about  ten  hours,  the  transforma- 
■  tion  is  complete ;  a  brown  solid  matter  is  formed,  hav- 
ing the  ap^arance  of  paracyanogen,  together  with  a 
yellowish  oily  layer  possessing  in  a  marked  manner  the 
odour  of  the  isomers  of  the  nitriles. 

As  several  preliminary  experiments  gave  indications 
of  a  rather  complicated  reaction,  and  as  it  would  have 
been  difficult  for  me  readily  to  obtain  sufficient  substance 
by  operating  in  sealed  tubes,  I  performed  the  experi- 
ment in  the  amy  lie  series,  supposing  that  the  higher 
boiling-point  of  the  iodide  of  amyl  would  render  it 
more  easy  of  attack.  My  expectation  was  indeed  ful- 
filled; two  molecules  of  cyanide  of  silver  and  one 
molecule  of  iodide  of  amyl  act  on  one  another  with 
extreme  violence  at  the  boiling-point  of  the  latter.  It 
is  convenient  to  operate  on  a  moderate  scale,  so  as  to 
be  carefully  protected  from  the  escaping  gases,  which 
consist  of  equal  volumes  of  amylene  and  hydrocyanic 
acid,  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  the  cyanide  of 
amyL 

The  experiment  was  made  in  a  retort  adapted  to  the 
lower  end  of  a  condenser^  the  upper  end  of  which  was 
connected  with  a  series  of  washing-bottles.  In  the  first 
a  small  quantity  of  cyanide  of  amyl  was  condensed ; 
the  second  contained  water  intended  to  absorb  the  hy- 
drocyanic acid;  the  third  one  water  and  bromine  in 
order  to  transform  the  amvlene  into  bromide,  of  which 
I  was  thus  enabled  to  collect  a  considerable  quantity 
during  my  researches. 

After  an  hour's  digestion,  the  reaction  is  finished, 
and  the  residue  in  the  retort  consists  of  a  dark  viscous 
mass,  becoming  aknost  solid  on  cooling,*  this  is  a  mix- 
tare  of  iodide  of  silver  and  a  combination  of  cyanide  of 
silver  and  cyanide  of  amyL  The  reaction  then  takes 
place  accormng  to  the  equation: — 

0,HnI     +     2AgON     =     Agl    +     AgCN,O.H„CN. 

Iodide  of  amyl.    Cyanide  0/  silver,  Oompoand  of  cyanide  of 

silver  and  cyanide  ef  amyU 

Bat  simultaneously  a  certain  quantity  of  cyanide^  of 
amyl  splits  into  amylene  and  hydrocyanic  acid : — 


C»H„CN    =    CftHjo    +    OHN. 
Cyanide  of  amyl.       Amylene.      Hydrocvai 


inie 


This  secondary  transformation  depends  principally  on 
the  manner  in  which  the  operation  is  conducted:  it 
may  give  rise  to  very  great  loss  if  the  action  be  rather 
tumultuous. 

It  was  now  necessary  to  separate  the  cyanide  of 
amyl  from  the  residue  in  the  retort.  Up  to  the  present 
time  I  have  found  no  other  means  of  enecting  this  than 
by  submitting  the  residue  to  dry  distillation ;  in  this 
operation  a  mrther  quantity  of  hydrocyanic  acid  and 
amylene  is  disengaged,  and  a  liquid  distils  over,  which 
on  rectification  b^ifi  between  50®  and  200®.  By  sub- 
mitting it  to  fractional  distillation  it  was  found  that 
the  first  part  still  contained  a  quantity  of  amylene, 
whilst  the  latter  products  had  become  inodorous.  The 
intermediate  portion,  rectified  several  times,  finally 
exhibited  a  constant  boiling-point  between  135^  and 

137*^. 

The  liquid  which  distils  at  this  temperature  is  per- 
fectly pure  cyanide  of  amyL  It  possesses  all  the  pro- 
perties which  I  have  described  in  my  previous  com- 
munication, and  is  characterised  especially  by  its  odour 
and  by  the  facility  with  which  under  the  infiuence  of 
hydrochloric  acid,  it  splits  into  formic  acid  and  amyl- 
amine.  I  have  not  yet  completely  examined  the  prod- 
ucts boiling  at  a  higher  temper a'ture,  but  everything 
seems  to  show  that  they  consist,  partly,  at  least  of 
caponitrile. 

The  experiments  which  I  have  just  described  show, 
in  a  positive  manner,  that  the  same  bodies  can  be  ob- 
tained by  the  action  of  chloroform  on  the  primary  mo- 
namines, and  by  the  treatment  of  cyanide  of  silver  with 
the  alcohoUc  iodides.  In  the  latter  process  many  sec- 
ondary products  are  obtained ;  but  by  a  more  complete 
study  perhaps  it  may  be  modified  so  as  to  diminish 
their  quantity. 

However  this  may  be,  the  study  of  the  action  of  the 
alcoholic  iodides  upon  silver-salts  deserves  to  be  re- 
sumed ;  and  it  is  very  probable  that  in  many  cases  it 
will  be  found  that  tiie  bodies  so  produced  will  be  but 
isomeric  with  those  obtained  by  the  ordinary  processes, 

Eor  the  special  researches  in  which  I  am  engaged  at 
the  present  time,  the  observations  just  described  have 
a  particular  interest ;  they  permit  us,  in  &c1^  to  produce 
the  isomeric  cyanides  without  first  preparing  the  pri- 
mary monamines ;  they  are  especially  miportant  with 
reference  to  the  generation  of  the  polycyanides.  The 
polyamines,  in  fact,  are  little,  if  at  all,  known  up  to  the 
present,  whilst  the  iodides  of  methylene  and  ethylene 
and  iodoform  are  easy  to  procure. 

If  I  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  preparing  a  dicyanide 
of  ethylene  C4H4N8,  isomeric  with  Mr.  Maxwell  Simp- 
son's cyaaide^  it  is  because  I  have  not  had  at  my  dis- 
Eosal  a  sufficient  quantity  of  ethylene-diamine.  I  now 
ope  to  obtain  this  bod^  by  submitting  cyanide  of  sil- 
ver to  the  action  of  iodide  of  ethylene. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  be  permitted  to  announce  as 
very  probable  the  existence  of  a  series  of  bodies  iso- 
meric with  the  si^phocyanides.  Already  Mr.  Cloez 
has  shown  that  the  action  of  chloride  t)f  cyanogen  on 
ethylate  of  potassium  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  an 
ethylic  cyanate  possessing  properties  absolutely  differ- 
ent firom  those  belonging  to  the  cyanate  discovered 
by  Mr.  "Wurtz.  On  comparing,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  properties  of  the  methylic  and  ethylic  sulphocy- 
anides  with  those  of  the  sulphocyanides  of  allyl  and! 


tEngliah  Edition,  YdL  ZVI,  Ka  421,  pages  319,  320.] 


8o 


foreign  Science. 


{OmncAL  Hswi, 


phenyl,  we  can  scarcely  doubt  that  we  have  here  the 
representatives  of  two  groups  entirely  different,  and 
Uiat  the  terms  of  the  meuiylic  and  ethylic  series,  which 
correspond  to  oil  of  mustard  and  to  the  sulphoc^anide 
of  phenyl,  still  remain  to  be  discovered.  Expenments 
wifii  which  I  am  now  engaged  will  show  whether 
these  bodies  can  be  obtained  by  the  action  of  the 
iodides  of  methyl  and  ethyl  on  sulphocyanide  of  silver. 
I  must  not  conclude  this  note  without  expressing 
my  thanks  to  Messrs.  Sell  and  Pinner  for  the  hearty 
co-operation  that  they  are  giving  me  in  these  re- 
searches. 


FOKBiaN  SdBNCE. 


(FBOX  CUB  OWV  OOBaSSPONDBNT.) 

Faxss,  Doa  4,  1867. 
Chdlicea  and  Pdera  of  Aluminiam  Bronze — Alhy  of  Silver 

Mid  Aluminium^  *^tierthargenC^ — Induction  Coil  Experiments 

— Reaction  of  Iodine,  Mercury,  and  Zino^EriipHon  of 
Veeuviua. 
Thb  Bishop  of  Dreux  Brise  formerly  applied  for  chalioes 
of  aluminiam,  either  pure  or  mixed  with  other  metals,  to  be 
used  on  aooount  of  their  lightness,  beauty,  and  solidity. 
This  demand  was  not  responded  to  favourably  at  first,  but 
M.  Paul  Morln,  after  many  attempts,  sucoeeded.  Chalices 
and  patera  in  aluminium  bronze,  forbidden  by  a  decree  of 
5th  August,  1865,  have  been  accepted  on  the  condition  that 
the  cups  of  the  dialices  an^  the  patera  be  first  silvered  and 
then  gilt  in  the  portions  prescribed  by  the  rubria  We 
do  not  doubt  that  this  favour  will  be  soon  extended  to  cha- 
lioes and  other  objects  in  aluminium,  alloyed  with  a  third  of 
silver,  which  gains  ground  every  day,  and  will  become  very 
popular  in  spite  of  the  obscurity  in  which  the  Jury  of  the 
Exi)08ition  have  left  it  It  is,  as  its  name  indicates,  *'  tiers- 
argeot,*'  an  alloy  of  one-third  silver  with  two-thirds  of 
aluminium,  that  has  been  rendered  homogeneous,  at  first 
with  much  difficulty,  but  now  of  easy  fabrication.  The 
selling  price  is  90  fVancs  the  kilogramme,  and  the  old  metal 
is  re-purchased  at  75  fhmcs.  The  spoons,  forks,  and  salvers 
of  this  alloy  leave  nothing  to  be  desired;  it  possesses  a 
hardness  superior  to  that  of  silver,  and  it  can  be  more  easily 
engraved.  If  we  are  well  informed,  the  idea  of  the  "  tiers- 
argent"  belongs  to  M.  Alfred  Taloureau,  the  inventor,  along 
with  his  brother  of  bituminised  tubes  celebrity.  M.  De 
Buolz,  associated  at  a  later  period  with  this  new  industry, 
remains  the  possessor  of  it,  and  carried  on  the  business 
with  IL  Moastet,  suooeesor  of  Lebrun,  1 16,  Rue  de  Rivoli 

M.  Rondel,  of  Brive,  communicates  to  us  the  following: 
—If,  while  the  current  of  a  pile  passes  through  the  primary 
wire  of  a  coil,  one  of  the  extremities  of  the  secondary  wire 
is  brought  near  one  of  the  extremities  of  the  iron  oore, 
sparks  can  be  drawn  of  remarkable  intensity  and  brilliancy ; 
if;  at  the  same  time,  the  other  end  of  the  secondary  wire  is 
put  in  communication  with  one  of  the  poles  of  the  pile,  a 
great  increase  takes  place  in  the  brilliancy  of  the  spark. 
Then,  on  touching  witii  the  hand  the  iron  oore,  and  phcing 
the  free  end  of  the  wire  in  contact  with  the  skin,  a  redness 
takes  place,  and  a  smart  stinging  sensation  is  felt  This 
last  experiment  was  made  upon  a  coil  the  oore  of  which, 
completely  isolated  in  a  tube  of  varnished  glass,,  was  eight 
millimetres  in  diameter. 

M.  Rondel  made  the  same  experiment  with  another 
bobbin,  the  soft  iron  of  whidi  was  12  centimetres  long,  5 
oontimetres  wide,  and  8  millimetres  thick.  The  sparks 
were  produced  with  detonations.  A  single  Bunsen  element 
of  small  size  was  sufficient  to  produce  these  phenomena. 

When  two  recipients  are  charged  with  mercury  and 
water,  and  fragments  of  iodine  are  added,  we  do  not  per- 
ceive any  effect  But  If  a  small  piece  of  zino  is  allowed  to 
fall  into  the  mercury,  the  fragments  of  iodine  are  instantly 
set  in  motion,  and  are  rapidly  dissolved.    This  solution 


poured  off  dear  serves  for  many  uses.  IL  Rondel  bai 
employed  it  concentrated  for  the  supplying  of  a  pile 
mounted  in  a  dosed  flask,  also  for  the  preparation  of  a  fine 
red  iodide  of  mercury. 

Signer  Giordano  writes  to  us  from  the  Kaplee  Unifernfy, 
with  respect  to  the  present  empUon  of  Mount  Yesarius :— * 

''  There  is  a  new  conflagration  of  Yesuvius ;  I  have  made 
several  excavations  there,  and  I  have  joat  returned  at  Udt 
moment ;  and  faithful  to  my  old  habits  I  hasten  to  describa 
what  has  passed  from  the  first  instant  of  the  iimptioa  to 
the  present  time. 

"After  the  irruption  of  last  year  the  volcano  remained  in 
the  most  perfect  tranquillity.  But  on  the  15th  of  thia 
month,  at  i  o'dock  in  the  morning,  without  any  p^rerioas 
warning,  and  only  with  a  slight  noise,  the  mountain  com- 
menced to  project,  at  first  incandescent  stores,  and  afterwards 
liquid  matter  by  four  igneous  openings,  ot  cfaters  properijr 
so-called.  Neither  I  nor  any  ouer  person  could  posidfdj 
affirm  whether  these  cratem  were  opened  simnltaneoosljor 
one  after  the  other,  and  in  what  order,  as  no  person  wu  m 
the  voloano  at  that  hour,  and  the  first  visitors  only  ascanded 
at  an  early  hour  on  the  following  day.  The  first  of  theaa 
craters  is  placed  at  the  east  of  the  two  cones  of  last  year ; 
the  second  at  half  the  height  of  the  great  cone  to  the  8.E.  oa 
the  side  of  the  village  of  Boscoviale  ;  the  two  other  BmtSkt 
ones  on  the  current  of  the  lava  of  last  year.  Only  tlio 
second  of  these  craters  rejected  melted  matter,  that  is  to 
say,  a  current  of  lava  which  by  degrees  spread  and  filled  op 
the  cavities  of  the  plateau  at  ue  summit  of  the  mountaiiL 

"  If  we  judge*by  the  effects  produced,  the  oommeDcemeat 
of  the  irruption  from  the  first  instant  must  have  been  veiy 
strong,  although  neither  the  sound  nor  the  earthquake 
were  prolonged  to  a  great  distance,  beoaaae  the  whole  of 
the  surface  of  the  great  oone  presented  long  crevasses  in 
different  directions.  Thus,  it  was  feared  that  the  irroptioa 
would  be  neither  feeble  nor  of  abort  duration.  And,  ta 
reality,  in  three  days  all  the  crater  was  filled  with  lava  op 
to  the  night  of  the  i6th  and  17th,  when  it  commenced  to 
flow  over  in  the  currents  on  the  external  side  of  the  cone 
towards  the  north  and  north- west;  thus  were  three  eQ^ 
rents  flowing  at  the  same  time,  uniting  together  at  20  or  }0 
meters  distance  fh>m  the  edge.  These  currents  encnmbered 
the  passages  most  convenient  for  ascending  and  deaoendiBg 
the  mountain,  and  the  visitors  were  of  course  mon  olh 
structed  than  ever. 

"At  present  the  stream  of  lava  does  not  advanoe  aaj 
fhrther,  but  the  four  above^mentioDed  cones,  and  a  Sl^ 
which  has  just  appeared,  are  in  violent  eruption.  The 
central  cone  has  gained  mudi  in  height,  so  as  to  attain  the 
ten  meters  which  separate  its  base  from  the  edge  of  the 
g^at  crater,  so  that  it  can  be  plainly  seen  from  Naples 
towering  above  the  summit  of  the  mountain.  The  substance 
of  the  lava  is  always  the  same,  that  is  to  say,  avgitoph^ 
and  all  the  ground  in  the  environs  of  the  small  cones  is 
covered  with  the  ordinary  chlorides  of  different  ookrara." 

F.  Morom. 

Pabis,  Bxa  18,  1867. 
DemontOration  of  Fact  Ihat  EUctriciiy  wiU  not  pose  fKrougk  a 

Vaat*im — ElectnAyein  of  Sait9^^ColHery  Micphei&n'^Ooii- 

etruction  of  Roof s — Ne^D  Paint  for  Himses, 
Mlf.  Alveboniat,  Frbbes,  have  contrived  a  new  appa- 
ratus for  demonstrating  the  fact  that  the  electric  spark 
does  not  pass  through  a  perfect  vacuum.  They  oeate  a 
nearly  absolute  vacuam  by  means  of  a  mercurial  pDeamatis 
machine  in  the  tube  which  serves  for  the  experiment;  thit 
contains  two  platinum  wires,  plaoed  at  a  distance  of  two 
millimetres  one  from  the  other.  Half  an  hour  is  suffident 
to  obtain  the  neoessary  degree.  At  this  moment  they  beat 
the  tube  to  dull  redness,  either  over  charcoal  or,  ffloit 
conveniently,  by  the  spedal  lamp  employed  by  M.  Bertttelot 
for  organic  analyses  ;  when  the  tube  arrives  at  a  duU  red, 
the  vacuum  is  continued  to  be  made,  and  the  electric  spaxk 
is  passed  until  it  ceases  to  pass  through  the  interior  of  the 


[BngUah  Edition,  Vol  XTL,]r4X  481,  page  390;  No.  418,  page  289;  Ho.  420,  page  313.] 


CoKlOiX  NkWB)  i 

FA.,  1808.      f 


Chemical  Society. 


8i 


tube.  It  is  then  hermeticall/  sealed,  and  the  tabe  is  sepa* 
rated  from  the  machine. 

In  a  tube  thus  prepared,  in  roite  of  the  slight  distance 
between  the  two  platina  points  (two  millimetres)  electricity 
absolutely  ceases  to  pas& 

The  above  gentlemen  now  have  apparatus  at  the  disposi- 
tion of  professors  who  would  wish  to  show  that  electricltj 
does  not  pass  through  a  perfect  vacuum. 

ICr.  Bourgoin  has  published  a  memoir  on  the  electrolysis 
of  organic  acids  and  their  salts.  He  has  found  by  experi- 
ment that  the  action  of  the  electric  fluid  is  nothing  in 
reality  than  a  fundamental  action  on  all  acids  and  salts, 
whether  mineral  or  organic;  It  separates  the  basic  element, 
which  goes  to  the  negative  pole,  while  the  elements  of 
anhydrous  add  and  oxygen,  which  answer  to  basic  hydrogen 
or  to  metal,  fly  to  the  positive  pole.  Such  Is  the  fux^- 
mental  action  of  the  electric  current. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Abb^  Moigno's  ^^  Lectures  on 
AnalyHc  Mechania^  (statical  part)  has  just  been  published. 
They  are  based  upon  the  method  of  Augustin  Cauchy,  and 
are  extended  to  the  most  recent  operations  of  modem 
times.  This  work  is  in  8vo,  consistmg  of  767  pages,  and 
two  well-executed  copper  engravings.  Three  other  volumes 
or  parts  are  to  follow,  viz. :— Dyi^mics,  Industrial  Statics, 
and  Industrial  Mechanics. 

UhL  Sainte  Claire-Deville  and  Pasteur  have  been  named 
Professors  of  Chemistry  in  the  Faculty  of  Sdenoes  of  Paris, 
in  the  place  of  MM.  Dumas  and  Balard. 

.M  Sappey  has  been  appointed  Professor  of  Anatomy  of 
the  Faculty  of  Medicine  ot  Paris,  in  the  room  of  M.  Tarpe- 
vay.  M  Volneuil  has  been  named  Professor  of  Surgical 
Pathology  at  the  same  Faculty,  in  the  place  of  M.  Bicbet. 
M.  Moris  is  appointed  Professor  of  Anatomj  at  the  Faculfy 
of  Medicine  of  Strasburg. 

We  have  the  sad  task  of  recording  a  fearful  colliery 
explosion  in  France.  On  the  12th  instant,  at  11  a.m.,  a  fire- 
damp explosion  took  place,  accompanied  with  the  partial 
falling  in  of  the  pit  at  No.  5  shaft  in  the  Blanzy  mine 
(Soane  et  Loire).  Bighty  bo^es  have  been  recovered  from 
the  ruins.  These  melancholy  tidings  afflict  us  the  more,  as 
M.  Chagot,  the  superintendent,  and  his  co-operators  were 
continually  searching  for  the  best  means  of  avoiding  these 
dreadful  accidents.  The  first  steps  taken  by  them  were 
the  purchase  of  the  excellent  apparatus  of  M.  Ansell, 
which,  unfortunately,  was  not  placed  throughout  the  pit. 
On  this  occasion,  we  seriously  enjoui  M.  Guen,  of  Yalen- 
dennes,  to  carry  out  as  soon  as  possible  the  benevolent 
project  of  M.  Dubrunfaut,  who  has  generously  offered  a 
reward  of  ;f  4,000  and  a  series  of  graduated  premiums,  to 
be  awarded  to  the  inventor  of  a  system  which  will  resolve 
in  the  most  complete  manner  the  problem  of  security  against 
fire-damp,  or  to  those  who  give  a  partial  solution  of  this 
vital  question.  To  retard  any  longer  this  necessary  organi- 
sation, and,  on  the  part  of  coal-mining  companies,  to  defer 
any  longer  to  answer  to  the  appeal  of  M.  Dubrunfaut,  who 

§ut  down  his  name  for  /'4,ooo,  would  be  a  great  mistake, 
'not  a  crime.  Our  friend,  M.  Ansell,  whose  apparatus  is 
constructed  in  France  by  M.  Salleron,  24,  Rue  Pav^e,  Paris, 
is  prepared  to  make  all  the  experiments  and  installations  of 
his  instrument  that  may  be  required,  on  demand. 

The  materials  with  which  roofs  are  generally  covered 
should  be  pud  special  attention  to  by  insurance  companies. 
The  29th  of  last  Kovember,  at  x  p.m.,  a  violent  fire  broke  out 
in  a  hay  and  com  store.  No.  25,  Rue  du  Rocher ;  in  spite  of 
all  endeavours,  the  forage  and  the  premises  were  rapidly 
destroyed.  The  building  was  roofed  with  tHes.  The  next 
day  ano^er  Are  broke  out  on  the  Quai  St  Cloud,  in  a 
house  roofed  with  slates.  It  commenced  in  the  staircase, 
and  so  rapid  was  the  progress  of  the  flames  that  an  English 
farnUj,  inhabiting  the  house,  was  obliged  to  jump  out  of 
window.  It  seems  that  the  prindpal  cause  of  the  rapidity 
of  the  spreading  of  the  flre  in  these  cases  was  prindpally 
due  to  the  formation  of  currents  of  air  through  the  Joints  of 
the  rooC    Experiments  were  made  by  M.  Maillard,  No.  28, 


Rue  Jean  Gougon,  in  the  quarter  of  the  Champs  Elys^s, 
whid)  proved  that  his  newiBubstance,  mineral  carton,  was 
much  safer  than  either  tiles  or  slates  or  ssmc  in  case  of  fire. 
Models  on  a  large  scale  having  been  erected  in  the 
Avenue  Montaigne,  they  were  fllled  with  combustible  matter 
which  was  set  on  flre.  The  zinc  roof  fell  in  7  minutes,  the 
tile  roof  in  17  minutes,  while  that  covered  with  mineral 
carton,  after  40  minutes*  exposure  to  flame,  was  suffidently 
strong  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  man ;  the  reason  of  this  is 
that  uie  mineral  carton  prevents  any  possible  ascensional 
current  of  air,  without  which  timber  will  not  bum,  the 
efiect  being  only  the  slow  charring  of  the  beams. 

A  new  preparation  of  house  paint  has  been  invented  by 
M.  Hugoulin,  prindpal  chemist  to  the  Imperial  Navy,  by 
whidi  one  can  prepare,  m  a  few  hours,  as  much  paint  as  is 
required,  without  any  other  utensils  than  simple  small  tubs 
of  metal  or  wood  of  suffident  capadty.  The  best  paints 
usually  emplojed  in  house  painting,  and  which  preserve 
best  the  wood,  have  for  bases  white  lead,  minium,  oxides 
of  zinc,  and  lamp  black.  They  are  not,  as  in  other  paints, 
simple  mixtures  of  drying  oil  and  mineral  substances  in 
powder,  but  intimately  blended  compounds,  in  which  the 
elements  are  combined  without  chemical  double  decompo- 
sition. 

To  demonstrate  this,  the  inventor  forms,  in  any  vessel, 
a  liquid  paste,  perfectly  homogeneous,  with  water  and  a 
certain  quantity  in  powder  of  the  substanoes  indicated  in 
the  following  table : — 

For  1000  grammes  of  zinc  white  we  can 

employ.    .    300  or  350  or  even  400  grammes. 

For  1000  grm.  of  grey  oxide  of  zinc  150  to  180  " 
"  white  lead  150  to  180  *• 

•*  red  lead  50  to  60  " 

"  lamp  black  1000  (thereabouts). 

In  this  mixture  the  necessary  quantity  of  Imsoed  oil  is 
added,  in  order  to  form  a  body  colour  worked  up  by  the 
ordinary  means. 

F.  MOIQNO. 


REPORTS  OF  SOGIETIES. 


CHEMICAL  SOOIETT. 

December  $th,  1867. 

Dr.  Waxmms  di  la  Rub,  F.R.S.,  President^  in  the  Chair. 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and  con- 
flrmed,  the  donations  to  the  library  announced,  and  the 
notice  convening  a  spedal  or  general  meeting  of  members 
for  the  consideration  of  a  proposed  alteration  of  the  flrst 
by-law  was  again  read.  The  President  explained  the  na- 
ture of  the  amendments  which  it  was  contemplated  to 
make,  and,  after  taking  the  vote  by  show  of  hands,  declared 
them  to  havo  been  unanimously  agreed  to.  By  a  second 
resolution  it  was  decided  that  they  should  take  efibct  fh)m 
the  flrst  meeting  in  the  new  year.  The  by-law  as  amended 
stands  thus: 

"  Every  candidate  for  admission  into  the  Society  shall 
be  proposed  according  to  a  form  of  recommendation  (No.  I., 
Appendix)  subscribed  by  five  Fellows  of  the  Sodety,  to 
three,  at  least,  of  whom  he  should  be  personally  known, 
and  such  certificate  shall  be  read  and  suspended  in  the 
Sodety^s  rooms,  or  place  of  meeting,  for  three  ordinary 
meetings." 

A  verbal  modification  in  the  heading  of  the  form  of 
recommendation  was  likewise  acceded  to. 

The  Secretary  then  read  for  the  first  tame  the  names  of 
the  following  candidates  for  admission  into  the  Sodety, 
viz..  Captain  Alexander  Walker,  Rojral  Artillery,  Bengal 
Presidency ;  GUbert  W.  ChUd,  M.D.,  St.  Gfles,  Oxford ; 
Mr.  Edw^urd  Chapman,  Lecturer  in  Natural  Sdence  at 
Morton  College,  Oxford  (Frewen  Hall,  Oxford)  ;    M.  G. 


[BngUrii  BdMoB,  ToL  XVX,  Ko.  420,  ptigM  313^  314;  Ko.  419,  pag*  898.] 


82 


CTiemioal  Society. 


1      JV*,  — 


Mason,  Eserick,  near  York ;  and  Peter  Greiss,  Burton-on- 
Trent 

For  the  Becond  time  were  read  the  names  of  Alfred  E. 
Fletcher,  Inspector  of  Alkali  Works,  Johnston,  near  Pres- 
cot ;  and  William  Frank  Smith,  M.D.,  Lond.,  Lecturer  at 
the  Sheffield  School  of  Medicine,  QIossop  Road,  Sheffield. 

The  names  of  the  undei  mentioned  candidates  were  read 
for  the  third  time,  and  from  the  results  of  the  ballot  all 
were  declared  to  have  been  duly  elected,  viz.,  Thomas 
Hall,  B.A.,  Lond.,  Lecturer  on  Chemistry  and  Natural  Phi- 
losophy at  the  City  of  London  School;  Charles  Walter 
Maybury,  Teacher  of  Chemistry,  90,  King  Street,  Manches- 
ter; George  Lunge,  Ph.D.  (Breslau),  10,  Albert  Terrace, 
South  Shields;  Facundo  J.  R.  CaruUa,  Chemist  to  the 
Atlas  Steel  and  Iron  Works,  59,  Grell  Street,  Sheffield; 
Charles  Meymott  Tidy,  M.B.,  The  Hollies,  Cambridge 
Heath,  Hackney ;  Augustus  A.  Wood,  Cheapside  ;  Alfred 
Coleman,  Plough  Court,  Lombard  Street ;  Walter  W.  Fiddea, 
Sothemhay,  Cliflon ;  Robert  R.  Tatlock,  Kyles  of  Bute ; 
Phipson  Beale  Barrister-at-law,  Stone  Buildings  ;  and 
Alexander  Crum  Brown,  M.D.,  D.Sc.,  4,  RiUbank  Terrace, 
Edinburgh. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Perkin  read  a  paper  "  On  the  ArHficial  Produc- 
tion of  Oouinariney  and  Formation  of  its  Homologues.^  Refer- 
ring to  the  hydride  of  aceto-salityl  as  a  body  isomeric  with 
coumaric  acid,  and  to  his  failure  in  obtaining  this  body  by 
the  method  of  Cahours,  the  author  attempted  its  prepara- 
tion by  the  action  of  acetic  anhydride  upon  the  hydride  of 
Bodium-salicyl,  thus, 

(^|[o)-l^fo=(£S5oH-|o. 

Instead,  however,  of  getting  at  once  the  expected  product, 
a  substance  iwas  obtalaed  which  dififered  from  it  by  con- 
taining CsHflOj,  t.e.,  deficient  b^the  dements  of  one  atom 
of  water.  This  formula  coincides  with  that  of  coumarine, 
with  which,  indeed,  it  proves  to  be  absolutely  identicaL 
Its  odour  resembles  that  of  the  Tonquin  bean,  and  the 
fusion  and  boiling-points  are  the  same.  The  author  has 
exactly  determined  the  physical  characters  of  coumarine, 
both  from  natural  and  artificial  sources,  and  calls  in  ques- 
tion the  accuracy  of  some  of  the  recorded  observations. 

By  employing  the  anhydrides  of  other  acid-radicals,  Mr. 
Perkin  obtains  a  series  of  homologous  ooumarines,  whidi 
are  fully  described  in  the  paper ;  particularly,  he  has 
formed  a  crystalline  butyric  coumarine,  CnHioOg,  fusing  at 
72 — 73°  C,  and  submitted  it  to  the  action  of  alkalies,  bro- 
mine, etc  The  valeric  coumarine  was  likewise  prepared, 
and  an  ingenious  method  of  purification  resorted  to  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  a  sample  fit  for  aualysia.  Its  formula 
is  CiaHiaO..,  and  fusion  point  56''C. 

The  author  concludes  his  paper  with  a  survey  of  the 
probable  constitution  of  this  class  of  bodies,  and  conceives 
that  the  reaction  quoted  above  actually  expresses  the  first 
stage  of  the  interchange  involved  in  the  production  of  the 
coumarines,  since  by  very  careful  working  he  procured  in 
one  instance  some  of  the  hydride  of  acetosalicyl  which  he 
found  to  possess  the  properties  both  of  an  aldehyde  and 
acetate ;  but  he  promises  to  give  shortly  a  fuller  account  of 
this  substance. 

In  proposing  a  vgte  of  tfianks  to  Mr.  Perkin,  reference 
was  made,  both  by  the  President  and  by  Dr.  A-  W.  Hoftnann, 
to  the  original  research  conducted  in  the  laboratory  of  the 
Royal  Chemistry  by  Dr.  Blei'^treu,  who,  'n  1846,  established 
the  i  *entity  of  joumarine  ^f  the  Tor  ^uin  bean  tn^  the 
aromatic  principle  contained  in  the  German  "Maiwein,*' 
which  is  prepared  from  the  little  forest  plant  known  as 
woodruff*  (asperula  odorata). 

Professor  A.  H.  Chuech  then  made  a  statement  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  the  red  (or  crimson)  colouring  matter 
which  is  commonly  found  on  the  primary  and  secondary 
pinion  feathers  of  the  wings  of  Cape  Loiy  {Twracus  albo' 
cristaius).    The  author's  attention  was  called  to  this  matter 


by  the  editor  of  the  IHeld  newspaper,  and  he  had  since  had 
opportunities  of  studying  the  habits  and  experimentiog 
upon  the  feathers  of  some  little  birds  reared  in  this  country 
by  a  cselebrated  ornithologist  They  were  popularly  sup- 
posed to  be  stained  with  blood,  since  it  has  been  noticed 
that  some  of  the  colour  is  washed  out  by  the  rain.  The 
colouring  matter  is,  however,  only  very  slightly  soluble  in 
pure  water ;  but  if  a  trace  of  alkali  be  added,  it  then  freelf 
dissolves  out,  forming  a  magnificent  crimson  solutioiL 
Hydrochloric  or  other  mineral  acid  added  to  this  liqnid  at 
once  precipitates  the  red  substance.  [Experiment  shown.] 
The  remarkable  feature  of  the  whole  case  was  the  fact  thAt 
analysis  proved  the  existence  of  coppNer,  apparently  in  some 
organic  form  of  combination.  [This  important  observation 
was  exhibited  at  the  meeting  by  showmg  with  the  aid  of  a 
platinum  wire  the  bright  green  tinge  imparted  to  a  gas  jet 
when  a  small  quantity  of  the  substance,  moistened  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  was  held  in  the  flame  of  a  Bnnsen 
burner.]  The  web  of  the  feather  and  parts  not  coloured 
did  not  contain  a  trace  of  copper,  and  only  sixteen  feathers 
in  all  showed  this  peculiar  phenomenon.  The  total  amonnt 
of  colouring  matter  was  therefore  very  small,  only  1*6  grains 
being  procurable  from  each  bird  at  the  cost  of  half  a  guinea. 
The  author's  experiments  were,  for  the  present,  interrupted 
for  want  of  material;  but  he  was  satisfied  that  the  organic 
body  in  combination  with  the  copper  contained  nitrogen, 
with  carbon,  of  course,  and,  he  believed,  sulphur.  The 
substance  may  be  dissolved  in  concentrated  sulphuric  add, 
and  repredpitated  unaltered  upon  the  addition  of  water. 
None  of  the  copper  is  thus  separated  ;  but  if  nitric  add  be 
used  the  organic  elements  are  destroyed,  and  then  copper 
may  be  detected  even  in  the  diluted  solution.  [A  bird 
and  several  plumes  were  exhibited,  besides  a  small  quan- 
tity of  the  colouring  matter  in  a  separate  form. 

The  Pbksident  remarked  upon  the  singular  character 
and  mode  of  occurrence  of  Mr.  Church's  new  substance. 
For  his  own  part  he  was  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any 
crimson  dye  containing  copper. 

In  answer  to  Dr.  Gladstone,  the  author  stated  that  he 
had  made  an  optical  examination  of  the  substance,  and 
compared  its  absorption  spectrum  with  that  of  arterial 
blood.  There  was  a  general  similarity  so  far  as  regards  the 
fact  of  their  both  showing  two  bands  :  but  in  the  present 
instance  they  were  nearer  to  the  yeUow  end  of  the  spec- 
trum, and  the  darker  band  almost  coindded  with  the  fbced 
line  D.  Professor  Church  fUrther  stated  that  he  failed  in 
detecting  copper  in  the  red  plumage  of  hamming  birds. 

A  ''Note  on  the  Preparation  of  Urea,''  by  Mr.  JOHjr  Wa- 
UAifS,  was  next  read.  The  author  proceeds,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  prepare  cyanate  of  potassium  by  fusion  of  the 
cyanide  (best  commercial  quality,  containing  90  per  cent) 
with  red  oxide  of  lead,  keeping  the  temperature  as  low  as 
possible.  This  product  is  dissolved  in  cold  water,  mixed 
with  nitrate  of  barium  to  predpitate  the  carbonate  which  it 
usually  contains,  then  thrown  down  as  lead-salt  by  adding  a 
solution  of  the  nitrate.  The  cyanate  of  lead  is  easily  pnrified 
by  washing,  and  is  then  dried  at  a  genUe  heat  For  the 
preparation  of  artifidal  urea  equivalent  amounts  of  sulphate 
of  ammonia  and  cyanate  of  lead  are  digested  together  in 
warm  water,  the  iuFoluble  sulphate  filtered  oflf,  and  the 
solution  when  evaporated  yields  a  product  of  unusually 
good  quality,  and  of  larger  amount  than  by  the  ordinary  plan. 
Mr.  Williams  finds  that  the  process  is  applicable  to  the 
preparation  of  the  compound  ureaa,  using  the  corresponding 
S'llphate  ins^ead  of  the  ^in^ple  ammonia  salt 

Dr.  A.  "*';.  HoFKAy.^,  who  w.s  weloom.d  in  a  n*^ 
enthusiastic  manner,  then  gave  an  account  of  his  recent 
discovery  of  the  "methylic  aldehyde,"  and,  with  lli. 
M'Leod's  assistance,  performed  an  experiment  by  means  of 
which  the  method  of  production  of  this  interesting  com- 
pound was  condusively  demonstrated.  The  main  facts  of 
Dr.  Hofmann^s  research  have  been  already  communicated  to 
our  readers  in  an  artide  spedally  devoted  to  their  consid- 
eration last  week,  and  it  is  now  only  necessary  to  report 


lEngUch  EditioD,  VoL  XVL,  Ko.  419,  pages  296,  299.] 


GmPOAL  Nswv» ) 
JM^  IMS.      f 


Pharmaceutical  Society. 


83 


tiie  latest  statements  of  the  eminent  author  regarding  its 
coDstitotion. 

Dr.  HoFMANN  remarked  that  a  "  more  minute  examination 
of  methylio  aldehyde  and  its  deriyativea  remains  still  to  be 
made.  It  will  be  absolutely  necessary  to  isolate  the 
ozjTgen  term,  and  to  determine  its  vapour  density,  in  order 
to  ascertain  its  molecular  weight.  If  we  remember  the 
facility  with  which  the  aldehydes  are  polymerised,  the 
question  presents  itself  whether  the  aldehyde  formed  by 
the  slow  combustion  of  methylic  alcohol  is  represented  by 
the  formula — 

CH,0, 
or  a  multiple  thereof.  A  similar  remark  applies  to  the 
sulphur  derivatiye.  It  deserves,  moreover,  to  be  mentioned 
that  a  compound  isomeric  with  methylic  aldehyde,  the  diozy- 
methylene  (C9H4O9)  of  Boutlerow,  is  known  already;  also 
that  a  sulphur  compound  of  the  formula^ 

OH,S 
has  been  obtained  by  M.  Aim6  Girard,  who  observed  that 
bisulphide  of  carbon  is  reduced  by  the  action  of  nascent 
hydrogen  with  disengagement  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen.'* 

Br.  HonCANK  then  proceeded  to  describe  the  leading 
features  of  another  research,  which  will  be  printed  in 
esdenso  in  our  columns,  and  which  has  resulted  in  the  pro- 
duction of  "  A  New  Series  of  Bodies  Homologous  to  Hydro- 
cyanic  Acid."  The  action  of  alcoholic  ammonia  upon  chlo- 
roform, in  the  presence  of  a  fixed  alkali,  was  shown  experi- 
mentally to  g^ve  rise  to  the  formation  of  a  cyanide  (after- 
wards uidicated  by  the  Prussian  blue  test);  and  in  like 
manner  a  mixture  of  aniline,  chloroform,  and  alcoholic 
potash  furnished  an  aromatic  oil  of  powerfal  cyanic  odour 
which  the  author  believes  to  be  the  cyanide  of  phenyl 

OtH»N. 
This  compound  differs  in  every  respect  from  Fehling's 
benzooitriie,  with  which  it  is  iaomeric.  A  great  number  of 
similar  reactions  were  indicated  by  the  speaker,  and  a 
general  principle  enunciated  which  will  take  a  long  time 
folly  to  exhaust.  Already  the  author  has  made  good  pro- 
gress towards  examining  the  action  of  chloroform  upon  the 
diamines. 

Professor  A^el,  who  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings 
oompied  the  chair,  said  that  at  so  late  an  hour  it  would 
be  impossible  to  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  Dr.  Hofmann's 
interesting  results.  He  would,  however,  invite  the  members 
to  give  expression  to  the  formal  proposal  which  he  had 
now  the  pleasure  of  moving.  [The  vote  of  thanks  was 
received  with  loud  acelamation.^ 

Dr.  HoFMAiTN,  in  acknowledgmg  the  kind  welcome  with 
which  he  had  been  received,  testified  to  the  pleasure  he 
felt  in  the  circumstance  that  a  meeting  of  the  CSiemical 
Society  happened  to  coincide  with  the  period  of  his  short 
visit  to  London.  He  was  delighted  to  meet  at  once  so 
many  friends,  and  could  assure  them  that  he  felt  so  greatly 
the  want  of  similar  encouragement  in  Berlin  that  within  the 
last  few  weeks  he  and  his  colleagues  had  inaugurated  a 
Chemical  Society  in  the  Prussian  capital,  founded  on  the 
model  of  the  parent  Society  in  London— (Applause). 

The  SEOBKrABT  announced  the  title  of  a  paper  to  be 
read  at  the  next  meeting,  19th  instant,  viz. : — Analogies  m 
the  Cooling  of  Water  and  msmfOh.''  by  Mr.  Alfred  Tribe. 
The  meeting  in  January  (i6th  proximo)  would  be  devoted 
to  a  lecture  "  On  Water  Analysis,'^  by  Dr.  E5.  Frankland; 
and  Mr.  Siemens  had  promised  to  give  a  lecture,  of  which 
the  date  was  not  vet  fixed,  "  On  the  Production  of  Steel 
direct  from  (he  Or  / 

The  meeting,  at  which  there  was  a  very  full  attendance, 
both  of  Pellows  and  visitors,  was  then  a^ourned. 


Thursday,  Deosmher  19. 
Dr.  Warrxn   db  la  Rus,  F.B.S.,  etc.,  Presidenij  in  ihe 

Chair. 
Thb  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and  con- 


firmed. Messrs.  Alfred  Ooleman  and  A.  A.  Wood  were 
formally  admitted  Fellows  of  the  Society ;  and  Dr.  W.  F. 
Smith,  Qlossop  Road,  Sheffield,  and  Mr.  Alfred  E.  Fletcher, 
Inspector  of  Alkali  Works,  Johnston,  near  Prescot,  were 
duly  elected. 

The  names  of  candidates  read  for  the  first  time  were — 
Herbert  M'Leod,  Assistant  Chemist  in  the  Royal  School  of 
Mines,  61,  Bridge  Street,  South wark ;  Thomas  Charlesworth, 
Leicester;  Robert  Schenk,  10,  Hanover  Place,  Kennington ; 
and  John  Wallace  Hozier,  BA.,  Oxon,  Lieutenant  2nd 
Dragoon  Guards,  Staff  College,  Sandhurst. 

For  the  second  time  were  read  the  names  of  the  following: 
— ^Peter  Greiss,  Burton-on-Trent ;  Gilbert  W.  Child,  M.D., 
St  Giles*,  Oxford ;  Edward  Chapman,  Lecturer  in  Natural 
Science  at  Merton  College,  Oxford,  (Frewen  Hall,  Oxford); 
William  George  Mason,  Escrick,  near  York ;  and  Alexander 
Walker,  Captain  Royal  Artillery,  Bengal  Presidency,  18, 
Sussex  Place,  South  Kensington. 

Mr.  Alfred  Tribb  then  read  a  short  paper  "  On  ihe 
Freezing  of  Water  and  Bismuth,"  The  author  quoted  an 
extract  from  Professor  Tyndall's  "  Heat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion  '* 
(Page  84),  in  which  it  is  asserted  that  the  anomalous  expansion 
of  water  in  the  act  of  cooling  below  4^0.  is  by  no  means 
an  isolated  instance  of  the  kind,  but  that  other  bodies,  and 
particularly  molten  bismuth,  participate  in  this  extraordinary 
property  of  expanding  near  the  point  of  solidification. 
After  making  experiments  upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Tribe 
arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  analogy  between  water 
and  bismuth  is  imperfect,  since  in  the  case  of  the  molten 
metal  there  is  no  perceptible  range  of  temperature  through 
which  it  expands  00  cooling.  The  act  of  solidification  is 
itself  accompanied  by  an  increase  in  bulk,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  of  this  expansion  taking  place  prior  to  the  act  of 
crystallisation. 

After  a  few  words  in  support  of  Mr.  Tribe's  conclusion 
had  been  offered  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone,  the  President,  at 
an  early  hour,  moved  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting  for 
the  purpose  of  enabling  the  members  to  be  present  at  the 
delivery  of  the  Bakerian  lecture  before  the  Royal  Society. 
Dr.  Roscoe,  the  lecturer,  described  bis  recent  '^  JResearehes 
on  Vanadium.** 

At  the  next  meeting,  January  16,  Dr.  Frankland  will 
deliver  a  discourse  "  On  Water  AneUysis,"  and  on  February 
6,  Dr.  Russell,  "  On  Oas  Analysis," 


PHARMACEUTICAL  SOCIETY- 

Wednesday,  December  4,  1867. 

T.  H.  Hills,  Esq.,   Vice  President,  in  the  Chair, 

After  the  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  had  been 

read  and  confirmed,  and  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  given 

for  several  donations  to  the  library  and  museum, 

Dr.  Attfibld  referred  to  the  paper  in  the  November 
number  of  tne  Phoflrmaceaiical  Jowrual  "  On  a  New  Kind  of 
Kamda."  which  was  obliged  to  stand  over  fh)m  their  last 
meeting.  Since  then  he  had  seen  Prof.  Anderson,  the 
discoverer  of  rottlerine,  and  had  referred  to  the  great  differ- 
ence between  the  amount  of  impurity  he  had  (bund  in  the 
samples  he  had  examined  and  that  of  Foibourg,  who  had 
found  about  28  per  cent,  of  impurity,  while  tho  only  impu- 
rity Anderson  had  found  was  3^  per  cent,  of  ash.  Dr. 
Anderson  had  worked  upon  a  sample  collected  for  him  with 
great  care  by  Dr.  Cleghom,  while  it  was  possible  that 
Foibourg  had  worked  upon  a  very  impure  article. 

Mr.  D.  Hanburt,  F.R.S.,  thought  the  explanation  of  Dr. 
Anderson  scarcely  satisfactory.  He  had  TiTittcn  to  Dr. 
Anderson  asking  him  for  a  specimen  of  the  kamala,  for  he 
thought  Anderson  might  have  been  working  on  tho  new 
kind ;  but  on  examination  he  found  it  to  be  the  old  kind. 
Foibourg  had  tried  every  possible  way,  and  he  foimd  it  was 
not  highly  crystalline,  and  only  in  small  quantities. 

Dr.  Attfield  said  that  Dr.  Anderson  had  found  vegetable 
as  weU  as  mineral  impurities. 


[BngUah  Editloii,  YoL  ZVX,  Ho.  419^  page*  SM,  300;  Ka  421,  page  321 ;  No.419,pag*  300.] 


84 


Manchester  Litera/ry  amd  PhUaaophical  Society. 


CCtannoAi.  Kiwi, 


Mr.  Hanbuby  bad  found  no  Tegetable  subetances,  ex- 
cepting remnants  of  tbe  capsule,  or  portions  of  tbe  leaf. 
The  impurities  were  ferruginous  earth  and  sQioeous  parti- 
cles. 

Mr.  HowDBN  then  read  an  interesting  paper  "  0»  <A« 
Norwegian  {Lojbden)  Cod  Fitheries."  Tbe  author  commenced 
by  referring  to  the  oodflsh  migratihg  at  certain  periods  of 
the  year,  which  be  thought  was  due  to  the  Instinct  of  pro- 
pagation, lie  then  described  the  way  in  which  the  fish 
were  caught,  and  the  livers  preserved  till  the  oil  could  be 
separated,  giving  tall  particulars  respecting  the  di£ferent 
modes  adopted  by  the  fishermen  and  others. 

Hr.  HowDBN  also  exhibited  four  samples  of  oil,  the  finest 
being  the  genuine  Lofodon  oil  imported  by  Mr.  Moller,  and 
the  fourth  sample  a  very  dark  brown  oil  with  a  strong 
disagreeable  odour.  The  livers  from  which  this  sample 
was  obtained  had  been  boiled  over  an  open  fire  for  12 
hours,  showing  the  pernicious  influence  of  a  strong  heat  in 
the  separation  of  the  oil 

The  Qhaibman  thanked  Mr.  Howden  for  the  valuable 
paper,  and  referred  to  the  oil  obtained  in  England.  He 
knew  some  very  fine  oil  was  obtained,  and  in  considerable 
quantities,  from  livers  weighing  ilb.  and  2lbs.  each. 

A  Meubeb  enquired  how  it  was  that  the  Norwegian 
Pharmacopoeia  allowed  the  use  of  several  spedee. 

Mr.  HowDBN  said  that  at  the  present  time  a  new  edition 
of  the  Norwegian  Pharmacopoeia  was  being  prepared,  which 
would  be  similar  to  the  British  Pharmacopoeia. 

Mr.  Incs  alluded  to  the  various  statements  which  have 
been  made  with  reference  to  the  cod  fisheries.  No  two 
authors  were  at  all  agreed.  He  thought  the  paper  read 
by  Mr.  Howden  very  valuable,  as  it  gave  the  opinions  of 
gentlemen  direct  from  the  spot.  He  then  referred  to  the 
geographical  position  of  Lofoden,  and  the  diffbrent  ways 
of  spelling  the  word  Lofoden.  Only  a  few  days  since  he 
was  reading  two  pamphlets,  both  written  by  persons  firom 
the  spot,  and  yet  there  was  a  great  difference  between 
them  ;  and  there  had,  he  believed,  been  four  dififerent 
articles  in  the  Fharmaceuiieal  J<mmalt  all  expressing  differ- 
ent opinions. 

Professor  Redwood,  In  thanking  Mr.  Howden  for  his 
very  practical  paper,  said  he  believed  there  were  great 
advantages  attaching  to  the  preparations  of  the  oil  in 
Norway,  arising  from  the  fact  that  they  had  greater  facili- 
ties for  obtaining  the  livers  f^esh  and  exposing  them  to  a 
low  temperature  for  the  separation  of  the  stearine  from 
the  oleine  ;  but  in  England  we  could  obtain  very  good  oil, 
its  intrinsic  qualities  being  equal  to  Newfoundland  oU. 
MoUer's  oil  was  of  excellent  quality  ;  but  there  were 
different  opinions  as  to  which  of  tbe  three  kinds  of  oil 
were  therapeutically  the  best.  On  exposure  to  the  air  it 
absorbed  o^gen,  and  the  diff'erenoe  between  the  light  and 
the  dark  showed  the  degree  of  oxidation  whidi  had  taken 
place.  It  probably  underg^s  a  process  of  oxidation  in  the 
system,  for  persons  in  the  habit  of  taking  ood-Hver  oil  often 
acquire  an  odour  which  the  pure  oil  possesses  after  long 
exposure  to  the  air. 

Mr.  H.  B.  Bbadt  had  prepared  a  paper  entitled  "  Svp- 
pUmentary  Remarka  on  (he  FrepojxUion  of  Medicated  Peaaaaiea 
and  SupposUories ;"  but  as  the  time  had  expired,  he  post- 
poned the  readmg  of  the  paper,  and  only  made  a  few 
observations  on  some  specimens  of  moulds  and  supposi- 
tories, eta,  which  he  had  laid  on  the  table.  In  speaking  of 
pessaries,  Mr.  Brady  said  there  was  an  objection  to  &eir 
being  too  large.  He  thought  one  dram  would  be  found  a 
much  hotter  size  than  two  drams. 

The  Craibman  stated  that  as  the  ist  of  January  would 
be  the  first  Wednesday  in  the  month,  there  would  be  no 
Pharmaceutical  meeting  till  the  5th  of  February.  He  con- 
cluded by  wishing  them  all  a  merry  Christmas  and  a  pros- 
perous New  Year. 


MANCHESTER  LITERARY  AND  PHILOSOPHIGAL 
SOCIETY. 
moBofloonoAL  jlsd  hatural  hibiobt  SBonov. 
November  4th,  1867. 
J.  SmBBOTBAX,  Esq.,  in  ihe  Chair, 
Thb  Rev.  J.  E.  ViZE  showed  and  presented  to  the  sectioQ 
four  specimens  of  insects  beautifully  mounted  in  balsam  by 
himself. 

Mr.  SiDKBOTHAir  read  ihe  foDowing  **  NoU  on  Hu  Sd^ 
bamacU?*: — 

On  the  28th  of  September  I  was  at  Lytham  with  mj 
family.  The  day  was  very  stormy,  and  the  previous  n^;ht 
there  had  been  a  strong  south-west  wind,  and  evidences  of 
a  very  stormy  sea  outside  the  banks.  Two  of  my  cfaDdrea 
came  running  to  toll  me  of  a  very  strange  creature  that  had 
been  washed  up  on  the  shore.  They  had  seen  it  from  the 
pier  and  pointed  it  out  toa  sailor,  thinking  it  was  a  laige  dog 
with  long  hair.  On  reaching  the  shore  I  found  a  fine  mus 
of  barnacles,  Pentalasimu  anaiifera,  attached  to  some  8ta?ei 
of  a  cask,  the  whole  being  between  four  and  five  feet  long. 
Several  sulors  bad  secured  the  prize,  and  were  getting  it 
on  a  truGk  to  carry  ic  away.  The  ^pearanoe  was  most 
remarkable,  the  hundreds  of  long  tubes  with  their  cozioas 
shells  looking  like  what  one  could  fancy  the  fibbled  Gorgois 
head  with  its  snaky  locks. 

The  curiosity  was  carried  to  a  yard  where  it  was  to  be 
exhibited,  and  the  bellman  went  round  to  announce  it  nnkr 
the  name  of  the  sea-lioness,  or  the  great  sea-serpent. 

I  arranged  with  the  iMX)prietor  for  a  private  view,  took 
my  camera  and  a  coUodio-albumen  plate,  and  obtained  the 
photograph  I  now  exhibit  The  afterDoon  was  Tcry  do]], 
and  the  plate  would  have  done  with  a  little  longer  exposure^ 
but  this,  along  with  the  specimens  I  show,  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  strange  appearance  of  this  mass  of  creatures. 

The  bamade  is  of  interest  as  befaig  the  one  figured  hj 
(Gerard  as  the  young  of  the  bamade  goose.  As  some  of 
our  members  may  not  have  seen  the  book  and  read  the 
quunt  description,  I  have  brought  my  eopj  of  Gerard^ 
Herbal  for  their  amusement 

I  may  just  mention  that  another  mass  of  bamades  wsb 
washed  up  at  Lytham.  and  also  one  at  Blackpool,  tbe  same 
day  or  the  day  following.  I  did  not  see  either,  but^  from 
description,  I  have  brought  n^  copy  of  Gerard's  Herbal  for 
their  amusement. 

This  mass  of  bamades  was  evidentiiy  Just  such  a  one  as 
that  seen  by  Gerard  at  the  Pile  of  Foulders.  It  is  rare  to 
have  such  a  specimen  on  our  coasts.  The  sailors  at  Lytfaam 
liad  never  seen  anything  like  it,  althongb  some  of  then 
were  old  men  who  had  spent  all  thdr  lives  on  the  coast 


FHTSIOAL  Am)  XATHBKATIOAL  SBOfK»r. 

November  7th,  1867. 

KOBEBT  WOETHIHGTOV,  F.R.A.3.,  Presideni  of  iheSeeiink, 
in  Ihe  Chair, 

"Note  on  (he  Colour  of  the  Moon  diuring  Edipae»,"  by 
A.  BbothbbS)  F.RJL&,  eta 

On  the  night  of  October  4th,  1865,  tiiere  was  a  partial 
eclipse  of  the  moon,  when  about  one-third  of  the  disc  wis 
obscured.  My  time  and  attention  on  this  occasion  were 
chiefiy  directed  to  some  photographic  experiments,  and  il 
will  be  remembered  I  then  obtained  pictures  of  the 
eclipse  at  short  intervals,  from  the  commencement  to  the 
end.  At  about  the  greatest  phase  I  looked  at  the  mooa 
through  the  telescope  with  an  eye-piece  of  low  power,  for 
the  purpose  of  notidng  whether  the  edipsed  portioB 
showed  colour,  and  at  once  saw  that  ti^e  part  of  the  moon 
most  deeply  within  the  shadow  was  of  a  dedded  cofiper 
colour,  such  as  I  had  seen  some  years  previoofily  dnriDg  * 
total  eclipse  of  the  moon. 


[English  Edition,  Vd.  ZVX,  No. 419,  p8g«  300;  Ko.  41B,pagt  888;  Va  419^  page  301.] 


QnuoAL  Nsws, ) 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


85 


The  eclipse  which  occurred  on  the  night  of  the  13th 
September  last,  was  rather  more  favourable  for  detecting 
the  presence  of  odour,  as  seven-tenths  of  the  moon  were 
covered  by  the  earth's  shadow ;  the  weather  being  dear, 
msDj  persons  have  recorded  their  observations,  and  as  the 
cdour  of  the  moon  is  one  of  the  chief  features  of  a  lunar 
eclipse,  this  pomt  attracted  considerable  attention. 

Mr.  Browning  says,  in  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
"  Astronomical  Register"—"  I  looked  most  carefully  for 
colour  both  with  the  10^  silvered  glass  reflector  furnished 
with  an  achromatic  eye-piece  of  very  low  power,  and  also 
with  a  flve-feet  refractor;  with  neither  could  I  detect  a 
trace." 

Mr.  Slack,  who  was  also  observing  with  a  silvered  glass 
reflector,  and  in  the  same  locality  as  Mr.  Browning,  says: 
— "  After  twelve,  the  eclipsed  limb  grow  notioeably  redder, 
the  red  coppery  tint  chiefly  affected  the  lower  parts  of  the 
obscured  limb,  but  was  visible  further  in,  gradually  blend- 
ing with  the  inky  tints  presented  by  the  umbra  at  its 
advancing  edge."--(/n<.  Ohs.,  October.) 

Mr.  Weston,  observing  at  Landsdown,  near  Bath,  says, 
— •"  The  prevailing  colours  were  red-bluish  and  grey,  and 
grey :  the  redness  increased  towards  the  darkened  edge  of 
the  mooTL^'^Monthly  Not,,  9,  xxvii.) 

Many  other  observers  speak  of  the  presence  of  colour, 
but  on  the  other  hand  a  few  say  they  (fid  not  notice  any, 
the  eclipsed  portion  of  the  moon  merely  having  a  darkened 
appearance. 

On  this  occasion  T  did  not  make  any  photographs,  as  I 
could  not  expect  results  materially  differing  from  the  last, 
and  I  gave  my  whole  attention  to  observing  the  prog^ss  of 
the  eclipse  through  the  telescope,  which  is  a  refractor  of 
five  inches  aperture.  As  to  the  question  of  the  presence  of 
colour,  I  can  most  distinctly  say  that  colour  gave  the  moon 
»  very  beantiful  appearance,  and  it  seemed  to  me  the  most 
interesting  feature  of  the  eclipse.  The  beauty  of  the  moon's 
surface  appeared  to  increase  as  the  penumbral  shadows 
stole  over  its  surface;  and  until  the  shadow  itself  was 
considerably  advanced,  all  the  details  of  the  lunar  surface 
could  be  distinctly  made  out,  and  during  the  whole  period 
of  the  eclipse  some  of  the  brighter  points  of  light  withfai 
the  shadow  continued  visible,  as  did  also  the  entire  disc 
with  many  of  the  details  of  light  and  shade.  The  colour  of 
the  eclipsed  limb  was  of  a  coppery  hue,  much  brighter 
towards  the  par  most  deeply  within  the  shadow.  The 
part  of  the  moon  not  edlpsed  was  of  a  beautifUl  bluish-grey 
colour. 

That  the  appearance  of  colour  cannot  be  caused  by  the 
telescope  or  by  peculiarities  in  the  eyes  of  the  observers  is, 
I  think,  proved  by  the  fact,  that  the  same  colours  are  seen 
whether  refractors  or  reflectors,  either  of  metal  or  silvered 
glass,  be  used ;  and,  as  the  majority  of  observers  see  colour, 
the  eyes  of  those  who  remark  the  absence  of  it  are  perhaps 
temporarily  afflicted  with  colour  blindness;— the  bright  light 
from  the  unedipsed  portion  of  the  moon  may  be  suffldent  to 
produce  this  in  some  persons.  If  an  observer,  ailer  looking 
at  the  moon  through  the  telescope,  attempts  to  look  at  ob- 
jects while  the  other  eye  remains  closed,  it  will  be  found  that 
until  the  retina  has  recovered  from  the  exoess  of  light  every- 
thing will  appear  misty— in  fact  the  eye  is  partially  blinded, 
and  it  may  be  that  some  eyes  are  suffidenUy  sensitive  to  be 
affected  by  the  diminished  lustre  of  the  moon,  and  may  thus 
be  prevented  seeing  colour,  which  there  noa  be  no  doubt  the 
lunar  surface  presents  during  an  eclipse. 

Some  observers  have  remarked  on  the  difficulty  of  detect- 
ing^ the  first  appearance  of  the  shadow,  and  although  the  ex- 
act time  is  known,  the  real  shadow  is  not  seen  until  many 
seconds  or  perhaps  minutes  after  the  predicted  time.  In  the 
present  instance,  I  watched  very  carefully  for  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  the  shadow,  and  having  previouriy  ascertained 
the  error  of  my  watch,  I  took  my  position  at  the  telescope, 
at  the  same  time  I  requested  a  friend  to  take  particular  notice 
of  the  time  at  the  moment  I  saw  the  shadow.  The  result 
thus  obtained  was  within  twenty  seconds  of  the  time  given 
in  the   "Nautical  Ahnanac,"  dearly  showing  that  under 


favourable  conditions,  and  if  the  attention  be  given  carefiilly 
to  the  subject,  the  real  shadow  may  be  detected  very  near 
the  predicted  time. 


Ordinary  Meeting  Novemher^  26^  1867. 

Edward  Schunck,  F.R.S.,  etc.,  JPresidefii,  in  Hw  Chair. 

"  On  a  TJiermmneter  unaffected  ly  Radiatim"  by 

Dr.  J.  P.  JouLB,  F.R.&,  etc. 

In  the  annexed  figure  a  is  a  copper 
tube  about  one  foot  long,  and  has  a 
tube  open  at  both  ends  in  the  centre. 
Water  is  poured  into  the  space  be- 
tween the  two  tubes.  In  the  centre 
tube  there  is  a  spiral  of  fine  wire  sus- 
pended by  a  filament  of  silk,  and 
having  a  mirror  at  m.  There  is  a  lid" 
at  p  which  can  be  removed  at  pleasure 
from  the  lower  end  of  the  tube.  When 
p  is  situated  as  in  the  figure,  there  can 
be  no  draught,  and  consequently  the 
spiral  with  its  mirror  Is  at  zero  of  the 
scale.  But  when  p  is  removed,  there 
is  a  current  of  air  wihch  turns  the  spi- 
ral, if  the  air  in  the  tube  has  a  differ- 
ent temperature  from  that  of  the  out- 
side atmosphere.  In  my  apparatus,  one 
degree  F.  produces  an  entire  twist  of 
the  filament.  I  find  that  the  tempera- 
ture in  the  tube  is  generally  warmer 
than  in  the  outside  atmosphere  of  a 
room,  which  must  be  owing  to  the  con- 
version of  light  and  otiier  radiat»on8 
into  heat  on  coming  into  contact  with 
the  copper  tube.  I  have  tried  the  ap- 
paratus in  the  open  air  on  a  still  day, 
with  the  same  result.  Of  course  when 
there  is  wind  the  effect  is  masked,  but  I  feel  confident  that 
by  increasing  the  length  of  the  tube,  making  it  thirty  feet  for 
instance,  and  using  certain  precautions,  this  difficulty  may 
be  overcome. 


ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCES. 

DKOBirBEB  9,  1867. 

StetUvr  Spectra-^  Ozonomeiry—Dialyne  of  Induction  Ourrenia 

— Electrolysis  of  Organic  Salts. 
This  day's  meeting  of  the  Academy  was  opened  with  the 
announcement  of  the  death  of  M.  Flourens,  the  perpetual 
secretary. 

Father  Seochi  contributed  a  note  on  the  spectra  of  stars 
and  meteors. 

An  interesting  memoir  was  brought  forward  by  MM.  Be- 
rigny  and  Salleron,  in  the  form  of  a  reply  to  a  note  recentiy 
addressed  to  the  Academy  by  M.  Pcey.  on  the  ozonoscopic 
colourations  produced  in  iodide  of  potassium  and  starch,  and 
on  the  ozonometrio  scale  of  M.  Berig^y. 

M.  Poey's  note  treated  of  two  distinct  questions— (i)  The 
various  odouT»tions  Uken  by  the  test-paper  under  different 
atmospheric  conditions;  (2)  the  insutfidency  of  M.  Berigny's 
scale. 

Without  affirming  the  reaction  to  be  irreproachable,  they 
consider  some  of  the  sources  of  error  to  proceed  from  the 
mode  of  experimentation  which  has  been  in  use  up  to  the 
present  time.  When  the  test-paper  is  exposed  for  twelve 
hours  in  an  Atmosphere  charg^  with  ozone,  the  reagents 
undergo  complicated  decompositfons.  MM.  Berigny  and  Sal- 
leron believe  it  would  be  otherwise  if  the  method  of  makmg 
the  experiment  were  modified ;  ihey  describe  at  some  length 
a  process  by  which  they  hope  to  eliminate  souroee  of  error. 

One  point  to  which  attention  is  drawn,  is  the  immersion  of 


[BnglldiBdtlioD,yoLZ7I.,]ro.419,pag«301;  No.  420,  page  312.] 


86 


Dvhlin  Chemiodl  and  PhUasopTiiGal  Club. 


\      F0b^  IStt. 


the  test-paper  in  distilled  water  immediately  a  definite  tint  is 
reached.  When  the  paper  is  exposed  m  an  atmosphere  contain- 
ing  much  ozone  the  reagent  mixture  is  rapidly  decomposed, 
and  if  not  plunged  into  water  until  some  hours  afterward  the 
iodide  of  starch  possibly  undergoes  alteration,  and  does  not 
then  produce  normal  tints ;  this  is  especially  the  case  when 
the  air  is  very  moist  This  perturbing  cause,  however,  is 
inherent  and  is  recognised. 

With  regard  to  the  ozonometric  scale,  they  propose  some 
changes — instead  of  determining  the  amount  of  ozone  from 
the  colour  the  test-paper  acquires  during  twelve  hours,  they 
prefer  to  measure  the  time  necessary  for  the  paper  to  be 
exposed  to  produce  a  determinate  shade  of  colour.  Suppose 
on  a  certain  day  it  requires  an  hour's  exposure  to  obtain  the 
tint,  and  the  next  day  two  hours^  exposure  is  necessary,  evi- 
dently only  half  as  much  ozone  is  present  on  the  second  day 
as  there  was  the  first  day.  Thus  the  quantity  of  ozone  may  be 
said  to  be  inversely  proportional  to  the  duration  of  ex- 
posure. 

By  a  mechanical  contrivance  a  band  of  test  paper,  twelve 
centimetres  in  length,  is  moved  at  a  definite  rate  from  pro- 
tection to  exposure  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere.  Uow 
the  test  paper  is  protected  from  the  action  of  the  atmosphere 
for  some  hours  in  the  instrument  was  not  explained,  and  this 
to  your  correspondent  seems  the  most  difficult  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  essential  point  to  secure.  However,  if  the  band 
be  made  to  move  at  the  rate  of  one  centimetre  per  hour,  at 
the  end  of  twelve  hours  a  band  of  paper  twelve  centimetres 
in  length  will  have  passed ;  at  one  end  of  it  a  centimetre  will 
have  been  exposed  for  twelve  hours,  the  next  for  eleven,  and 
80  on  down  to  one.  The  band  of  paper  having  thus  passed 
the  instrument,  it  is  plunged  into  distilled  water,  and  colours 
varying  between  white  and  violet  are  displayed.  It  is  uow 
only  necessary  to  compare  this  with  the  standard  colour,  and 
to  measure  the  position  on  the  band  where  the  tints  are 
identical.  It  is  then  known  how  many  hours  it  has  been 
exposed. 

They  choose  a  faint  tint  as  the  standard,  as  this  will  be 
applicable  in  all  latitudes,  the  fourth  tone  of  the  first  violet  in 
M.  Chevreurs  chromatic  circles. 

A.  physical  paper  on  the  dialysis  of  induction  currents  by 
M.  Bouchotte  was  presented  by  M.  Becquerel.  At  the  same 
meeting  there  was  also  a  paper  on  the  electrolysis  of  acetic 
acid  by  M.  Bourgoin.  In  a  former  paper  the  author  ad- 
vanced a  theory  referring  to  the  eleotrolyais  of  organic  adds 
and  salts  generally.  In  this  be  applies  it  to  acetic  acid,  and 
gives  the  detail  of  experiments. 

The  apparatus  he  arranged  was  the  following: — A  tube 
closed  at  the  upper  extremity  with  a  caoutchouc  cap,  and  at 
the  lower  extremity  closed  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small 
hole.  Through  the  cap  passes  a  small  syphon  tube  almost 
capillary,  as  well  as  a  platinum  wire,  which  terminating  inside 
the  tube  in  a  plate  of  that  metal,  forms  one  electrode.  This 
tube  is  encircled  by  a  larger  one  of  such  capacity,  that  when 
the  disengaged  gas  in  the  interior  exerts  a  pressure  of  4 
centimetres,  the  volume  of  solution  in  each  tube  shall  be  the 
same.  In  the  annular  space  formed  by  these  tubes  the  other 
electrode  is  plungred.  Experiments  were  made  with  a  neutral 
solution  of  acetate  of  potash  which  had  been  analysed :  after 
submittiog  it  for  six  hours  to  the  electrolysing  action  of  four 
elements,  a  portion  of  the  liquid  was  drawn  off  flrom  the 
neighbourhood  of  each  pole  and  analysed.  The  conclusions 
arrived  at  are  that  the  decomposition  into  carbonic  acid  and 
carburetted  hydrogen  is  almost  niZ,  and  that  the  greatest  loss 
is  at  the  positive  pole.  Daniell  and  Miller,  M.  Bourgoin  re- 
marked in  his  paper,  found  in  the  electrolysis  of  inorganic 
compounds  the  negative  pole  to  be  that  at  which  the  greatest 
loss  occurred.  In  organic  chemistry  the  only  fact  known  dpropos 
of  the  subject  is  the  observation  due  to  M.  Hittorf,  who  found 
in  the  electrolysis  of  acetate  of  silver  the  greatest  loss  to 
proceed  from  the  positive  pole. 

His  observation  is  therefore  confirmed  by  these  more  recent 
Axperiments. 

The  author  sums  up  the  result  of  his  experimeDts  as  fol- 
lows;— 


1.  The  current  acts  on  acetate  of  potaasiam  as  on  a  mineral 
substance. 

2.  In  a  moderately  alkaline  solution  the  oxygen  reacts  on 
the  elements  of  the  anhydrous  add,  and  gives  rise  to  a  nor- 
mal oxidation,  whence  results  carbonic  add  and  hydride  of 
etbylen: — 

C.H,0,-hO,=2C,04+0«H«. 

3.  A  certain  quantity  of  add  is  totally  oonsnmed  under  the 
induence  of  oxygen  famished  dther  by  the  salt  or  by  the 
alkaline  water. 

4.  The  two  poles  suffer  unequal  losses.  Almost  the  whole 
of  the  salt  which  disappears  belongs  to  the  poeitive  pole. 

5.  The  current  acta  on  the  free  acetic  add  in  the  same 
manner  as  sulphuric  add ;  it  concentrates  the  acid  at  the  pes* 
itive  pole.  ^ 

The  gas  evolved  during  the  electrolysis  was  found  to  be 
chiefly  composed  of  oxygen,  with  some  carbonic  add,  and 
a  little  carbonic  oxide.  Acetate  of  potassium  and  an  alkali 
in  equivalent  proportions  evolved  at  the  positive  pole  only 
oxygen.  When  the  amount  of  alkali  was  increased,  the  same 
result  was  obtained,  but  a  concentrated  solution  of  2  equiva- 
lents of  acetate  of  potassium  and  i  of  alkali  yielded  oxygen, 
carbonic  acid,  carbonic  oxide,  and  carburetted  hydrogen. 

M.  Kolb  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  acetic  ether  and 
possibly  also  a  small  quantity  of  methylic  ether  might  be 
formed.  H.  Bourgoin  observed  no  formation  of  these  prod- 
ucts. 


DUBLIN  OHBflilOAL  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL  CLUB. 
Dec  12,  1867. 

"  7he  Action  of  Ozone  on  SenHlive  Photographie  Flata," 
Dr.  Emerson  Reynolds  stated  that  he  had  been  performing 
some  experiments  upon  the  above  subject,  and  that  he  bad 
found  that  when  the  latent  image  (i.e..  the  image  before  it 
is  developed)  was  submitted  to  the  action  of  ozone,  it  was 
completely  obliterated — not  only  was  it  impossible  to  develop 
the  image,  but  a  second  image  might  be  retaken  in  the 
camera  upon  the  same  plate.  The  author  remarked  that  this 
was  against  the  theory  which  might  be  called  the  mecfaanicsl 
theory  of  photographic  images,  and  proved  condusively  that 
it  was  due  to  chemical  change  in  the  sensitive  film.  He  also 
thought  that  many  of  the  disputes  in  connection  with  the 
length  of  time  dry  plates  might  remam  sensitive,  was  prob- 
ably owing  more  or  less  to  the  quantity  of  ozone  present 
in  the  air. 

The  ozone  used  in  these  experiments  was  in  some  cases 
procured  by  passing  atmospheric  air  over  phosphorus,  and  in 
others  by  the  silent  discharge,  viz.,  by  attaching  one  of  the 
platinum  wires  of  the  reservoir  to  the  prime  conductor  of  a 
machine,  and  turning  it  slowly,  the  other  wire  being  in  cosb- 
munication  with  the  ground. 

''NUrUe  of  AmyV'-Ur.  Tichbome  brought  before  the 
notice  of  the  meeting  a  statement  by  Mr.  Chapman,  whicb 
appeared  in  the  Laboratory  of  August  31,  namely,  that 
nitrite  of  aroyl  was  not  decomposed  by  heat,  as  stated  by 
Mr.  Tichbome.  The  speaker  had  not  considered  the  matter 
of  sufficient  importance  to  enter  into  a  written  dispute  with 
that  gentleman,  but  felt  that  it  was  due  to  the  members  of 
the  society  to  prove  that  Mr.  Chapman  was  in  error,  more 
particularly  from  the  fact  that  the  observations,  to  which 
Mr.  Chapman  took  objection,  were  first  brought  forward  at 
one  of  their  meetings  of  the  previous  session.  Mr.  Tidibome 
said  his  note  was  merely  published  with  a  view  to  oomet 
some  erroneous  descriptions  of  nitrite  of  amyl  whidi  were 
given  in  the  manuals  of  chemistry-  The  speaker  found  that 
the  redness  of  the  vapour  (described  as  a  spedfic  propertr  of 
nitrite  of  amyl)  was  due  to  a  partial  dis-aasodation  of  the 
elements  and  the  consequent  elimination  of  binoxide  of 
nitrogen. 

Mr.  Chapman,  on  the  contrary,  "was  of  opinion  tliift 
nitrite  of  amyl  was  an  ether  of  great  stability."*  *'  That  when 
once  obtained  tolerably  pure  it  would  bear  distillation  with- 
out undergoing   any  appreciable    deoomposition."     KoTi 


[BngUdiBdition,Vol.XVI,Na420^patoa312^3ia;  Na  481,  pages  331, 322.] 


GmnoAL  KswS)  Y 
JM.,  180a       f 


CJiemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sov/rcea. 


87 


although  Mr.  Tichborne  had  do  doubt  that  Mr.  Chapman's 
general  obeervations  Id  coDnection  with  this  substance  were 
very  exact,  be  was  oonipelled  to  take  exception  to  this  point. 
He  found  that  the  perfectly  neutral  nitrite  became  instantly 
add  on  ebullition,  and  gave  off  biiioxide  of  nitrogen ;  that 
this  decomposition,  which  was  however  comparatively  partial, 
continued  during  the  whole  of  the  distillation,  and  was  as 
decided  at  the  conclusion  of  the  operation  as  at  the  commence- 
ment. Also  that  pure  nitrite  of  amyl  by  spontaneous  de- 
composition became  add  and  charged  with  oxides  of  nitrogen. 
Mr.  Tichborne  then  jhowed  an  experiment  which  illustrated 
and  conclusively  confirmed  his  remarks. 

A  sample  of  nitrite  of  amyl  was  taken  which  had  been 
made  after  the  plan  recommended  by  Mr.  Chapman,  viz.,  by 
passing  nitrous  acid  through  amylic  alcohol,  the  latter  having 
been  previously  purified  by  fractional  distillation ;  it  had 
been  treated  with  dry  carbonate  of  sodium,  and  was  there- 
fore quite  free  f^om  the  acid  products  of  decomposition. 
Half  of  the  specimen  was  poured  into  a  solution  of  starch 
and  iodide  of  potassium ;  no  change  was  manifested,  show- 
ing that  the  specimen  was  free  from  any  absorbed  binoxide 
of  nitrogen.*  The  other  half  of  the  specimen  was  then 
placed  in  a  small  retort,  the  vapour  from  which  was  passed 
through  the  same  mixture  of  iodide  of  potassium  and  starch. 
Heat  having  been  then  applied  to  the  nitrite  of  amyl  in  the 
retort  the  first  puff  of  gas  that  escaped  through  the  mixture 
instantly  determined  a  ooptoos  deposition  of  blue  iodide  of 
starch. 

Dr.  Frazer,  in  showing  some  interesting  minerals,  remarked 
that  glycorine  would  be  found  to  be  a  very  useful  material 
for  preserving  lanmonite  (efflorescing  aeolite)  and  such  like 
minerals  that  lose  their  water  of  hydration.  Thus  he  had 
kept  specimens  for  years  by  smearing  them  with  a  little 
glycerine,  and  what  would  naturally  be  destroyed  in  a  short 
time  when  placed  dry  in  a  cabinet,  were  by  this  means  kept 
perfectly  safe. 

CHEBAICAIi  NOnCBS  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 


Sn1pli€»c1ilorbeDZolle  Aefd.  and  DerlTatlTes  of.— 

R.  Otto  and  L.  Bnimmer.  Cfalormated  or  brominated  sub- 
stitation  compounds  of  benzol  or  toluolsulphurous  acid 
cannot  be  obtained  by  the  direct  action  of  chlorine  or 
bromine,  but  may  be  prepared  by  treating  chlorinated  sul- 
phobenzoUc  (or  tuluollo)  chloride  with  sodium-amalgam. 
The  reaction  takes  place  according  to  the  equation: 

e.H4Cise, )  e,H4ase ) 

+  2Na=  Ve+NaCl 

Na) 

Bnlphochlorbenzolic  acid  is  obtained  by  dissolving  chloro- 
benzol  in  sulphuric  acid,  neutralising  with  plumbic  carbon- 
ate, and  decomposing  the  plumbic  sulphochlorbenzolate 
with  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  The  aqueous  solution  of  the 
acid  is  evaporated  on  the  water-bath,  and  the  syrupy  mass 
thus  obtained  becomes  crystalline  on  cooling.  It  is  readily 
soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  ether  and  benzoL  Its 
fonnula  is: 

H     ) 
On  acting  upon  the  sodic  salt  with  phosphoric  pentachlo- 
ri  ^e,  sulphoc^lorbenzolir  chloride, 


SO,    \ 
CI     ) 


is  formed ;  it  crystallises  well,  fuses  at  50 — 51^  0.,  is  insol- 

•  HHrlCe  of  amyl  absorbs  binoxide  of  nHrogen  roiy  roadfly,  and 
vhen  llrvt  prepared  U  more  or  lest  charged  wHh  this  gas.  **  Probably 
ibeae  eircamstances  Induced  Mr.  Tichborne  to  regard  tbe  ether  ss 
deeompoaable  on  boiling.^  Yid^  Mr.  Chapman's  note  in  Laboratory^ 
A«ga«l  3s,  2867. 


nble  in  water,  soluble  in  ether  and  benzol ;  it  dissolves  in 
alcohol  with  formation  of  its  ether.  Fuming  nitric  acid 
converts  the  chloride  into  nitrosulphochlorbenzolic  acid; 
alcoholic  anmionia  into  the  amide 


e.H4016e, 


:!■' 


I  H. 

— ^nascent  hydrogen  into  chlorphenylic  sulphhydrate,  acoord- 
ing  to  the  equation : 

e«H4Cl )  6.H.C1 } 

SOs       }-+6H=  }.6+HCl  +  2Hae 

CI         )  H        i 

The  sulphhydrate  forms  beautiful  large  crystals  which  are 
soluble  in  ether,  benzol,  and  hot  alcohol,  insoluble  iu  water, 
and  fuse  at  53 — 54''.    It  is  converted  into  chlorphenylic 
disulphide  on  being  gentiy  heated  with  nitric  acid : 
(  e.H401 )  €.H401 ) 

(      H        )  eeH4Cl) 

This  sulphide  crystallises  well,  is  insoluble  in  water,  soluble 
in  ether  and  hot  alcohol,  and  ftises  at  71";  it  may  be 
reconverted  into  the  sulphhydrate  by  nascent  hydrogen. 
Chlorbenzolsulphurous  acid  is  converted  into  sulphoclilor^ 
bonzolio  chloride  on  being  treated  with  chlorine,  and  into 
chlorbenzylsulphhydrate  (identical  with  the  mercaptan  from 
sulphochlorbenzoUc  chloride)  when  subjected  to  the  action 
of  nascent  hydrogen. — [Ann,  Chem.  Pharm.  cxUil  100.) 

Oxyethylendlsiilplioiile  Aeld  and  New  Formation 
of  leetbloulc  Acld«~Th.  Meves.  The  author  prepares 
isethionio  acid  by  the  following  method : — Equal  weights  of 
dehydrated  baric  sulphovinate  and  sulphuric  anhydride  are 
mixed  together,  and  the  mixture  is  heated  on  the  water- 
bath  after  the  first  violent  reaction  is  over.  The  black 
mass  thus  obtained  is  dissolved  in  water,  the  solution  boiled 
for  several  hours,  and,  after  dilution,  neutralised  vrith  baric 
carbonate,  filtered,  and  the  filtrate  precipitated  with  potassic 
bicarbonate.  The  filtrate  thereof  is  evaporated  to  dryness, 
and  extracted  with  alcohol,  which  dissolves  potassic  iaethio- 
nate.  Oxyethylendiaulphonic  add  is  obtained  by  the  action  of 
sulphuric  add  on  isetiiionic  add  according  to  the  equation : — 

(04H»0,)  [8,04]O.HO  +  SaO.=(04H40y  |^g*^0..2H0 

It  is  prepared  by  heating  one  part  of  potassic  isothionate 
with  three  parts  of  fUming  sulphuric  add,  dissolving  in 
much  water,  and  neutralising  with  baric  carbonate.  The 
baric  salt  is  converted  into  the  potassic  salt,  and  the  latter 
crystallised  out.  The  free  add  obtained  from  this  by 
decomposition  with  sulphuric  acid  forms  a  syrupy  liquid  of 
strong  reaction  which  does  not  crystallise. — {Ann.  Chem, 
Pharm,  cxliii.  196.) 

Plaenylle  Aeld,  and  DerlTattTea  of.^-GlutE.  Phenylio 
chloride  is  obtained  by  heating  together  in  equivalent  propor- 
tions carbolic  acid  and  phosphoric  pentachloride.  The 
pheuylic  chloride  is  distilled  off  and  freed  from  phenol  by 
shaking  tbe  mixture  with  a  solution  of  sodic  hydrate.  The 
residue,  after  distillation,  cousists  chiefly  of  neutral  phenylic 
phosphate.  The  boiling-point  of  the  chloride  afler  purification 
is  110°  0.  When  heatod  with  an  excess  of  sulphuric  acid  to 
TOO  for  several  hours,  chlorphenyl  sulphuric  add  is  formed, 
which  is  purified  by  being  converted  into  lead  salt,  separated 
again  from  the  metal  by  means  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen. 
It  is  A  syrupy  liquid  which  slowy  crystallises  under  the 
desiccator.  It  is  moderately  soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in 
ether.  The  composition  of  the  lead  salt,  which  crystallizes 
well,  as  do  most  salts  of  this  acid,  is 


(0..  j  ^•)  [S.OJO.PbO 


Chlorphenylsulphurio  add  is  converted  into  phenylsulphurio 
add  by  the  action  of  sodium-amalgam.    The  lead  salt,  treated 


[English  Edition,  Vol  ZVL,  Na  421,  page  382;  NailB^  pages  291, 202;  VoLZTZL,  No.  422,  page  10.1 


88 


Ghemiml  Notioeafrom  Foreign  Sources. 


with  strong  nitric  acid,  is  partly  converted  into  nitroclilor- 
phenylsulpliate,  parti/  into  nitrochlorphenji, 


(NO4 


The  latter  may  also  be  obtained  from  phenylic  chloride. 

PhenjUc  pho^bate  (GiiHbO)3  POt  is  insoluble  in  water, 
readily  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  and  hot  sulphuric  acid ;  it  is 
converted  into  diphenolphosphoric  acid  when  acted  upon  by 
strong  bases.  When  heated  with  bromine  in  sealed  tub^ 
to  I  So*'  the  neutral  ether  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  a 
white  crystaUine  body  of  the  compositon  (Cia(H4Br)0)t.P0», 
the  reaction  being  represented  by  the  following  equation, 

(0.,H,0)..P0.+6Br=^C|,  |  b^  [  0  )..P0,+3HBr 

Ann.  Chem.  Pharm,  cxfiii.  181. 

Toluol,  SulMtitatton  Componnd*  of*~F.  Beilstein 
and  A.  Kuhlberg.    Of  the  four  possible  isomeric  tricblortoluols, 

€HaCi,(eR,),  e.tt,(ecu),  eeH.ci,  (eHaCi).  and  eeH^ci 

(OHOI9),  the  first  (trichlox  toluol)  and  second  (benzoterchloride) 
are  already  known.  The  third,  dichlorbenzylic  chloride,  is 
formed  by  passing  a  current  of  chlorine  through  benzylic 
chloride  cootainine  iodine,  or  through  boiling  dichlortoluol. 
It  boils  at  24 1  °C.,  loses  one  atom  of  chlorine  on  being  treated 
with  alcoholic  potassio  hydrate.  The  fourth,  chlorbenzylalic 
chloride,  is  obtained  by  passing  chlorine  through  benzylalio 
chloride  (chloride  of  oil  of  bitter  almonds)  charged  with  iodine, 
through  boiling  chlortoluoL  It  boils  at  about  221'',  and  con- 
tains only  one  atom  of  chlorine  firmly  attached.  The  boiling 
points  of  the  4  isomers  are  respectively — 235^241  **,  221",  2 18*. 
Bensylalic  chloride  dissolves  in  concentrated  nitric  acid  with 
formation  of  a  nitro  compound,  which  on  being  treated  with 
chromic  add  is  converted  into  niiro-benzoic  add,  while  the 
analogous  chlorbenzylalic  chloride  under  simiUir  conditions 
forms  j^ara  chlorbenzoie  acid.— (Zn^seAr.  Cft.  N.  F.  iii.  513.) 

Cyanmeetle  Aeld*-Th.  Moves.  Pure  cy&naoetio  acid 
was  prepared  in  the  following  manner  :-^250  grm.  of  raooo- 
chloraoetio  ethide,  300  grm.  of  potassic  cyanide,  and  1,200 
grm.  of  water  were  neated  on  the  oil  bath  in  a  retort  con- 
nected with  a  reversed  Uebig's  condenser  until  the  smell  of 
prussic  acid  had  disappeared ;  an  excess  of  the  ether  was  then 
distilled  oS.  The  dark  brown  liquid  thus  obtained  was  then 
neutralized,  evaporated  to  half  its  original  volume  and  filtered, 
the  filtrate  further  concentrated,  and  after  addition  of  an  excess 
of  sulphuric  acid,  extracted  with  ether.  The  etherial  solu- 
tion on  evaporation  leaves  the  crude  acid,  which  is  purified 
by  being  converted  into  the  lead  salt,  and  the  latter  decom- 
posed by  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  The  salts  of  this  acid,  of 
which  the  potassic,  baric,  zincic,  cupric,  argentic,  mercuric, 
and  plumbic,  are  described,  are  very  soluble  in  water,  with 
the  exception  of  the  two  last  named.  They  are  obtained 
either  by  saturating  the  free  add  with  the  oxides  or  by  mu- 
tnal  decomposition  of  ammonic  cyanacetate  with  the  neutral 
metallic  salt  of  the  desired  radical — (Ann,  Chan,  Pharm. 
cxviiL  201). 

Clftlorsalyllc  Add,  Preparation  of.^Glutz.  Gaul- 
theriaoU  and  phosphoric  perchloride  in  the  equivalent  propor- 
tion of  1  to  2  are  mixed  together  in  a  large  well-cooled  flask. 
The  reaction,  a(  first  very  violent,  is  completed  by  heating 
on  the  water-bath  for  several  hours.  The  fiask  is  then  oun- 
nected  with  a  reversed  Liebig^s  condenser,  and  the  boiling 
continued  for  a  day.  After  this  treatment  the  (now  liquid) 
products  of  the  reaction  are  distilled,  and  the  fraction  going 
over  above  220"  C,  poured  into  a  large  quantity  of  boiling 
water.  This  dissolves,  under  evolution  of  chlorhydric  acid, 
all,  except  chlorsalylic  trichloride,  which  remains  as  a  heavy 
brown  oil  (a  solid  cake  when  cold)  at  the  bottom  of  the 
vessel  On  cooling  the  chlorsalylic  acid  crystallizes  out  from 
the  aqueous  solution  in  white  needles^— (./inn.  Ohem,  Pharm. 
cxlil  194). 


niansianese,  Newr  Compounds  of.— TNiklds.  Fluor- 
manganous  acid  is  formed  by  adding  fluorhydric  acid  to  an 
etherial  solution  of  manganic  perchloride,  or  by  dissolving  in 
the  concentrated  add  manganic  dioxide.  The  reactions  of 
fluormanganous  acid  are  similar  to  those  of  perchlortdee. 
Alkalic  fluorides  produce  rose-coloured  precipitates  of  double 
fluorides.  It  likewise  combines  with  organic  bases.  AH 
these  compounds  are  of  comparatively  unstable  nature,  most 
of  them  being  gradually  decomposed  when  iu  contact  with 
much  water.  On  adding  manganic  perchloride  to  a  boiling 
solution  of  potassic  or  ammonic  fluoride,  predpitatu  are 
formed  which  may  be  considered  as  salts  of  oxyfluorman- 
ganous  acid,  Ua{0^).—{Compies  R.  Ixv.  107.) 

fflUmetealt,  ArOilclal  PreparaUon  or.— By  folbw- 
ing  the  general  method  adopted  by  Beville  and  Caron  ibr  the 
preparation  of  crystallised  chlorophosphates,  G.  I^chaitier 
has  succeeded  in  obtaining  corresponding  chlorarseDistes. 
The  arseniate  and  chloride  of  the  same  base  are  fused  to- 
gether, and  after  cooling  the  excess  of  chloride  is  dissolved 
out  by  water,  which  leaves  the  crystallised  chlorarseniate 
behind.  Miroetesit,  3(AsO^  3Pba)PbCl  amongst  other  com- 
pounds, has  thus  been  obtained.— (Om^/tf  K  Ixv.  172.) 

Pluenolanlpliiine  Acid,  Salta  of*— E.  Meazaer. 
Phenolsulphuric  add  was  prepared  by  heating  equal  equiva- 
lents of  phenyl  and  sulphuric  add  on  the  water-bath,  dihitiog; 
24  hours  later,  with  Water,  neatraliatng  with  plumbic  carbo- 
nate,  decomposing  the  lead-salt  with  sulphuretted  bydrogeB, 
and  concentrating  the  dilate  solation  first  by  applying  heat 
and  finally  in  the  dedccator  over  sulphuric  add.  The  salts 
are  obtained  by  neutralising  the  free  add  with  oxides  or 
carbonates.  They  are  all  soluble  m  water,  mostly  weB  crys- 
tallized, contain,  with  the  exception  of  the  ammonic  salt, 
water  of  crystallization,  which  they  lose  at  140**  C  The 
plumbic  and  cupric  salts  decompose  when  heated  to  that 
temperature.  The  stability  of  the  add,  which  in  aqueous 
solution  bears  contmued  boiling,  and  that  of  its  saki^  support 
the  supposition  that  its  coostitotkm  is  difierent  from  that  of 
the  normal  sulphovinic  acids.^^nn.  Chem,  Phtmt.  ctHiL 
«75) 

ColonrlBiff  Hatter  of  flaffiron.— B.  Weiss  has  re-ex- 
amined the  colouring  matter  of  saffron  (polychroite)  and  finch 
that  the  discrepancies  in  the  statements  of  former  invesii- 
gators  are  due  to  the  ease  with  which  the  dye  deoomposci 
during  the  processes  of  puriflcation.  The  dye  seems  to  be  a 
glucoside ;  on  bdng  treated  with  sulphuric  add  it  splits  up 
into  a  secondary  colouring  matter,  named  by  the  aatbor 
orcein,  sugar,  and  an  essential  di  The  composition  of  crodm 
is  CtiHieO,,,  that  Of  the  oil  0t9TIiAOt,^Joum^ pr.  daiL 
CL  65.) 


Naplfttalene^  Action  of  Oxidising   A^eMttm 

F.  Lossen.  Naphtalene  when  treated  with  a  boiling  solutka 
of  potassic  pernuiDganate  is  oxidised  to  carbonic  anhydride 
and  phtalic  acid.  Phtalic  add  is  also  formed,  besides  a  red 
resinous  body,  by  the  action  of  potassic  bichromate  and  snl- 
phuric  acid,  or  manganic  peroxide  and  sulphuric  add ;  in  the 
latter  case  one  of  the  products  of  oxidation  Is  dinapbtyl, 
formed  according  to  the  following  equation: — 

(H  J  e,.Uy) 

Dinaphtyl  is  a  white,  crystalline  body,  which  dissolves 
readily  in  ether  or  carbonic  disulphide,  less  in  alcohd  or 
benzol,  fuses  at  ISO^O.  It  has  been  converted  into  i.  IK* 
bromdiuaphty],  OioHisBrt,  soluble  in  benzol,  from  wbieb  it 
crystallises  well,  very  readily  soluble  in  a  mixture  of  alootioi 
ether,  and  carbonic  disulphide,  and  fudog  at  115^.  2.  fiezs> 
bromdinaphtyl,  ^loHsBrc,  a  yellowish  resinoos  mass,  solobls 
in  ether ;  sodium  amalgam  re-substitmes  hydrogen  with  fix^ 
mation    of  dinaphtyl. .    3.  Bexachlordinaphtyl  €t«BiCUi 


[BnglUhEdftlOD,  Vd.  ZTtLylTo.  422,  pagw  10, 9;  Vd.  ZVL,  Va  420,  pafe  3141 


CfeBOOAL  NSW%  } 


Notices  of  BooJcs. 


89 


reeembles  closely  the  correspondiDg  bromo-oompound.  4. 
TBtraDitrodinaphtjl  €t8Hio(]NO,)4,  an  orange-coloured,  resi- 
vxm  substance,  soluble  in  alcohol.  This  body,  when  treated 
with  tin  and  chlorhydric  add,  yields  small  quantities  of  a 
base  of  very  unstable  character. 

The  resinous  matter  which  is  obtained  by  oxidising  naph- 
taleoe  with  potassic  bichromate  and  sulphuric  acid,  or  more 
readily  with  manganic  peroxide  and  sulphuric  acid,  contains 
an  amorphous  acid  of  the  composition  ^t^Q-x^^A'-^ZeiUckr. 
Ohm.  N.  F.  iii.,  419.) 


SBtatftsted  AlcolMHi  mmd  AlAalny^M.  F.  Beilstein 
and  A.  Kuhlberg.  The  following  compounds  were 
prepared:  Paranitrobensylic  acetate^  <^TH«(N09).0tHt 
Ot,  by  adding  benzylic  acetate  to  weU^xx>led,  strongest 
nttrio  acid,  and  precipitating  with  iced  water;  yellowish 
needles,  fusing  at  78^0.  readily  soluble  in  hot  alcohol  Pa- 
ranitrobenzylio  alcohol,  OtHt(NOs)0,  by  heating  the  former 
compound  with  aqueous  ammonia  in  sealed  tubes  to  ioo9 ; 
white  crystals^  fusing  at  93®,  soluble  in  hot  water  and  am- 
monia. Paranitrobenzylic  oxalate  [OtH«(NO,)],.€«04,  by 
dissolving  benzylic  oxalate  in  strong  nitric  acid.  Like  the 
acetate  it  gives  the  aloohol  on  being  heated  with  ammonia, 
fieozylic  oxalate,  (0,Ht)Oi.O«,  by  the  action  of  chlorbenzyl 
upon  argentic  oxalate ;  crystallises  like  naphtalene,  fteaes  at 
80*5°,  insoluble  in  water,  soluble  in  hoi  alcohol.  Oxidising 
agents  convert  the  alcohol  and  all  ito  ethers  into  paranitro- 
benzoic  acid.  Parachlorbenzylic  alcohol,  €^7HtGIO,  by  heat- 
ing ciilorbenzylic  acetate  with  ammonia  to  160'';  scarcely 
floloble  in  boiling  watar,  Aising  at  66^,  is  converted  into 
parechlortoluytic  add,  -GtH^GIOs,  on  being  treated  with 
oxidising  agents.  Dichlorbenzylio  alcohol,  ^THeCltO,  by 
heatmg  in  a  sealed  tube  dichlorbenzylio  acetate  (obtained  by 
the  action  of  alcoholic  potassic  acetate  on  dichlorbenzylic 
chkMide,  6«tisCl«(OH«01)  with  ammonia.  Paraohlorbenzoic 
aldehyde,  OiHiClO.H,  by  boiling  chlorbenzylic  chloride,  65 
H4G^GU«01)  with  an  aqueous  solution  of  plumbic  nitrate, 
combining  the  insolable  oil  with  sodic  bisulphite,  and  boilinjg 
with  sodic  hydrate.  The  aldehyde  absorbs  oxygen  and  is 
converted  into  parachlorbenzok)  acid. — SSeiUchr,  Chem., 
N.  P.  iii.,  467. 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY. 
L  Rep&ri   of  same  Experiments  in  Agrietdtwdl  CfherrMry 
carried  out  in  the  Laboratory  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
College,    By   Abthob  H.  Churoh,   M.A.   Oxon,   F.C.S. 
(Practice  with  Science,  vol.  I,  series  ii..  No.  6). 
II.  Heport  of  E3iy>eriments  on  the  Solubility  of  PTiospTiaies. 
Bv  R.  W  ABHWOTON,  jun.,  F.C.S.,  Assistant  to  the  Professor 
of  Chemistry,    Royfd  Ag^cultural  College,   Cirencester, 
(Practice  with  Science,  vol  I.,  series  ii..  No.  4). 
in.  Notes  on  tome  of  the  Oircumetancee  which  determine  the 
AgriculiuraX  Value  of  the  NdiurcU  Phoephatee,  with  a  brief 
account  of  the  present  Method  of  Analysing  them.     By  H. 
Wab&inoton,  jun.  (Practice  with  Science,  vol  i.,  aeries 
I,  No.  7). 
lY.  On  the  Capillary  Actum  of  Soils.  By  JoHV  Wbightson, 
F.C.S.,  Profoasor  of  Agriculture  hi  the  Royal  Agricultural 
0<dlege,  Cirenoeeter  (Practice  with  Science,  vol.  L,  series 
iL,  No.  3). 
"Wb  have  given,  nearly  in  order  of  importance,  the  headings 
of  the  various  papers  which  g^ve  a  summary  of  the  researches 
that  have  been  carried  on,  during  the  last  few  years,  by  the 
different  chemista  connected  with    the  Cirencester    Agri- 
cultural  College.    The  papers  will  be  found  in  fhtl  in  the 
first  volume  of  "  Practice  with  Science  "  ♦ — a  work  capitally 
printed,  indexed,  and  arranged,  as  fit  to  be  placed  on  the 


*  PncUce  with  BeleoM— •  series  of  •grionltoral  psper»— vol  L, 
London :  LoDgmans,  Oreen,  Reader  sod  Dyer.    i867. 


drawing-room  table  as  on  the  shelf  of  the  chemist's  or  agri- 
culturist's library.  The  first  volume  contains,  besides  these 
papers,  much  valuable  matter  of  a  more  technical  kind. 
We  hope,  however,  on  an  early  opportunity,  to  do  ourselves 
the  pleasure  of  noticing  separately  Professor  Church's  wheat 
experiments,  by  which  it  is  shown  how  to  estimate  tolerably, 
by  a  cursory  inspection  and  examination,  the  various  ratios 
of  starchy  to  nitrogenous  matter  contained  in  wheat 
grain. 

The  highly  ammonical  Peruvian  guano  was  examined  by 
Professor  Church  in  the  three  following  ways:^-i  was  a 
specimen  quite  fresh ;  2  was  dried  at  100°,  when  more  than 
50  per  cent  by  weight  was  lost ;  3  was  examined  after  being 
kept  for  a  few  month&  The  ammonia  from  the  ist  experi^ 
ment  was  ascertained  to  be  90*55  per  cent,  corresponding  to 
16*92  per  cent  of  nitrogen  calcium ;  and  magnesium  phoe- 
phatee>  16-98,  with  a  quantity  of  PsOi,  in  the  alkiJine  estima* 
Uon,  equivident  to  79  per  cent.  The  ammonia  lost  by  ex* 
periment  No.  2  amounted  to  10*46  per  cent,  leaving  thus  a 
percentage  of  nitrogen  of  772,  as  compared  with  16*95  gi^^n 
by  the  ist  experiment  After  12  months'  keeping  the  nitro- 
gen amomted  to  only  9*08  per  cent,  as  compared  with  the 
nitrogeii  contained  in  the  ist  sample;  this  shows  a  loss  of 
7*87  of  nitrogen  by  12  months*  keeping.  Professor  Church 
remarks  that  this  fiiet  pointa  strongly  to  the  probable  ad- 
vantage to  be  derived  from  fixation  by  thesulphating  prooesB 
of  such  guanos. 

In  an  analysis  of  acorns,  upon  which  Professor  Church 
informs  us  horses  and  sheep  will  feed  readily,  the  kernels, 
husks,  and  entire  aooms  were  examined.  The  kernels  con* 
tain  3*08  per  cent  of  albuminoids,  compared  with  183  in  the 
husks,  starch,  cellulose,  and  sugar;  47*17  in  the  kernels,  as 
opposed  to  44*33  in  the  husks ;  while  the  husks  gave  26*59 
per  cent  of  intioluble  fibre,  the  kernels  2*58  only.  This  large 
proportion  of  calorifocient  food  is  sufficient,  we  think,  to 
justify  Mr.  Churoh  in  a  series  of  determinations  of  their 
comparative  economic  use,  and  also  for  settling  to  whet  cause 
the  harsh  flavour  of  the  kernel  is  to  be  assigned,  and  whether 
this  drawback  could  be  removed  by  any  simple  process. 
Acorns  and  horse-chestnuto  may  yet,  by  judicious  chemical 
treatment,  be  sources  of  profitable  nutriment 

As  regards  the  allegewl  value  of  spentgalls  firom  chemical 
works  as  a  manura  for  market  garden  crops,  lh>m  a  sample 
supphed  by  Messrs.  Hopkin  and  Williams,  Pirof  Church  does 
not  give  much  hope.  "  At  present  it  would  be  premature 
to  affirm  that  they  are  worth  purohasing  at  all.*'  The 
value  seems  to  be  either  mechanical  upon  certain  soils,  or 
chemi(»d  merely  from  the  carbolio  acid  evolved  during 
putrefiiotive  decay. 

Sugar  boilen*  scum,  on  the  other  hand,  aflbrds  much  cal- 
cium phosphate  and  an  appreckible  quantity  of  nitrogen. 
This  scum  may  be  obtained  in  large  quantities  and  at  a 
cheap  rate. 

Apropos  of  Famham,  of  workhouse  celebrity,  our  readere 
will  doubtless  recollect  that  before  the  current  month,  the 
place  was  celelmited  for  ita  interesting  formations  of  green- 
sand  and  gault,  and  the  commercial  working  of  the  copro* 
lites  there  into  phoephatic  manurea  The  question  of  the 
applicability  of  these  fossil  excreta  to  manure  has  gained 
much  attention,  and  thus  Professor  Churoh  was  induced  to 
examine  for  them  the  junction  of  the  greensand  with  the 
upper  chalk  in  Wiltehire,  near  Calne.  They  were  found  to 
contain  very  much  calcium  carbonate,  a  larger  quantity  of 
sulphuric  acid  being  thus  required  for  their  manufacture  into 
manure.  It  is  estimated,  in  the  paper  under  notice,  that  these 
Calne  coprolites  are  worth  about  28s.  per  ton ;  referred  to  the 
standard  of  those  of  Cambridgeshire,  the  latter  show  a  value 
of  408.  per  ton ;  the  phosphates  here  are  equal  to  about  55 
per  cent  of  tricalcic  phosphate. 

In  the  succeeding  paper  Professor  Chureh  finds  that  from 
the  improved  method  of  extraction  of  the  oil  from  hard  ker- 
nels, only  about  20  per  cent  of  oil  remains  in  palmnut-kemel 
meal  (in  one  case  17  only),  as  compared  with  26  and  upwards 
found  some  time  ago  by  Dr.  Voelcker. 


[BnglkhEditka,  VoLXTL,  Na  420^  page  314;  No.  4X8,  pagss.SOO^ 8M.] 


90 


Notices  of  Books. 


1       feb^  18fl& 


The  last  of  this  interosting  series  of  chemical  research  is 
in  some  respects  the  most  interesting  of  all.  The  injurious 
effects  of  mangold  leaves  in  feeding  young  animals  induced 
Professor  Church  to  try  and  find  the  cause  of  this.  The 
method  of  conducting  the  experiment  is  given  in  detail,  and 
further  researches  we  hope  will  be  instituted ;  from  the  value 
already  gained  Mr.  Church  arrives  at  the  determination,  that 
100  lbs.  of  fresh  mangold  leaves  contained  rather  more  tlian 
4  ounces  of  the  soluble  acid  oxalate  of  potassium  \  with  the 
remark  that  in  dry  seasons  this  amount  may  be  possibly  in- 
creased. This  must  conclude  the  ist  part  of  our  notice  of 
these  interesting  chemical  papers.  They  only  require  an  at- 
tentive perusal  for  their  great  and  full  value  to  be  immediately 
recognized. 

MicrihChemisiry  of  Poitoru,  ineUtding  (heir  Phynological, 

Pathological  and  Legal  Belationa :  Adapted  to  the  tue  of  the 

Medical  Jurist^  Physician,  and  General  Chemist.    By  THsa 

G.  WORMLBT,  M.D.,  Prolessor  of  Chemistry  and  Toxicology 

in  Starling  Medical  College,  and  of  Natural  Sciences  in 

Capital  CJniversity,  Columbus,  Ohio.    With  Seventy-eight 

Illustrations  upon   SteeL     New  York:    1867.    B^illidre 

Bros. 

Tbe  chief  objects  of  Professor  Wormley's  book  are  stated  by 

the  author  to  be  *' to  indicate  the  limit  of  the  reactions  of  the 

different  tests  which  have  heretofore  been  proposedf  as  also 

of  those  now  added,  for  the  detection  of  the  principal  poisons, 

and  to  point  out  the  fallacies  attending  the  reaction  of  each ; 

and,  also,  to  apply  the  microscope,  whenever  practicable,  in 

determining  tbe  nature  of  the  different  precipitates,  subli- 

mates,  etc.,   and  to  illustrate  these,  whenever  of  practical 

utility,  by  drawings.'* 

Tbe  plan  of  the  book  is  therefore  pecnliar.  It  does  not 
affect  to  be  a  complete  treatise  on  toxicology,  for  the  poisons 
described  are  few  in  number  and  are  principally  those  which 
can  be  readily  detected  by  chemical  methods.  The  list  is 
indeed  so  circumscribed  that  we  look  in  vain  for  many  highly 
important  poisous.  There  is  no  mention  of  colchicum,  can- 
tharides,  or  croton  oil:  the  poisonous  gases  are  entirelv 
omitted,  and  this  is  even  the  case  with  some  substances,  such 
as  nitrobenzol,*  coccnlns  indicus  and  the  salts  of  barium, 
which  can  be  detected  by  purely  chemical  methods.  We 
cannot  but  regard  these  omissions  as  an  abridgement  of  the 
utility  of  a  work  which  is  evidently  intended  rather  for  the 
professional  man  Ihan  the  student 

Within  its  own  limits,  however,  the  book  is  exc§11ent,  and 
we  fully  admit  that  for  common  purposes  the  limits  are  quite 
wide  enough.  It  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first  devoted 
to  inorganic,  and  the  second  to  vegetable,  poisons.  The  first 
part  includes  the  alkalies,  the  mineral  adds,  oxalic  and  hy- 
drocyanic acids  (placed  here  for  convenience),  phosphorus, 
antimony,  arsenic,  mercury,  lead,  copper,  and  zinc.  The  second 
pert  is  entirely  confined  to  the  poisonous  alkaloids  and  the 
substances  fVom  which  they  are  obtained.  The  following  is 
the  order  of  the  chapters  in  which  they  are  treated,  i.  The 
volatile  alkaloids  of  tobacco  and  hemlock.  2.  The  constituents 
of  opium.  3.  Nux  vomica.  4.  MonkVhood,  deadly  night- 
shade, and  stramonium  (aconitine,  atropine,  and  daturine,  the 
latter  of  which  is  justly  regarded  as  identical  with  atropine). 
5.  Hellebore  and  the  different  species  of  solanus  (veretrine, 
solanine).  It  will  perhaps  give  the  best  idea  of  the  mode  in 
which  each  poison  is  descrifaKed  if  we  select  a  single  case,  that 
of  arsenic.  First  we  find  an  account  of  the  leading  properties 
of  arsenic  and  its  principal  compounda  Then  follows  a 
detailed  account  of  arsenious  add,  the  symptoms  produced  by 
it,  the  quantity  required  to  cause  death,  and  the  mode  of 
treatment  proper  in  cases  of  poisoning  by  it  Under  this  last 
head  some  curious  experiments  are  quoted  on  the  action  of 
ferric  hydrate  as  an  antidote.  The  author  of  these  experi- 
ments, Dr.  Wm.  Watt,  found  that  dogs  of  average  size  were 

*  A  alight  allaslon  to  nltrobenzol  ocoura  In  paee  561,  where  the 
aothor  refers  to  YoL  y.  of  the  Chsmioai.  Nswa,  In  which  Dr.  Letheby's 
obMrvatioDt  are  recorded. 


invariably  killed  by  doses  of  from  3  to  6  grains  of  the  add. 
He  then  treated  twelve  more  dogs  with  doses  varying  from 
3  to  8  grains,  and  followed  them  up~>in  some  instances  im- 
mediately, in  others  when  symptoms  of  poisoning  commenced 
— ^with  doses  consisting  of  two  tablespoonfuls  of  the  moist 
hydrate.  In  every  case  the  dog  recovered  without  exhibiting 
severe  symptoms.  *'  In  another  case  six  grains  of  the  poisoa 
in  solution  were  mixed  with  about  fifteen  parts  by  weight  of 
the  antidote,  and  the  mixture,  after  standing  twenty  minutef, 
given  to  a  dog;  no  appreciable  effect  whatever  was  ob- 
served, although  the  anixoal  was  doaely  watched  for  many 
hours." 

Next  we  come  to  the  chemical  properties  of  tbe  add. 
Original  experiments  are  given  on  the  solubility  of  theredd 
in  water,  which  appear  to  indk»te  that  the  solubility  both  of 
the  opaque  and  crystalline  variety  depends  greatly  upon  tbe 
conditions  under  which  the  experiment  has  been  made.  A 
long  and  elaborate  account  of  tbe  special  tests  for  the  add 
next  follows,  and  here  we  notice  one  of  the  most  valuable 
characteristics  of  tlie  work.  After  the  description  of  each 
important  test,  original  experiments  are  given,  showing  the 
reaction  obtainable  with  definite  quantities  erf*  the  material^ 
and  thus  affording  a  good  and  rdiable  measure  of  tbe  deliea<7 
of  the  test  We  will  give  as  an  instance  the  experiments 
upon  that  form  of  Marsh's  test  in  whidi  the  gas  is  deoom* 
posed  in  a  tube  by  heat 

'*  I.  I -2, 500th  grain  of  arsenious  add  in  one  hundred  gnins 
of  liquid,  or  one  part  of  the  acid  m  the  presence  of  250,000 
parts  of  fiuid,  yields  in  a  very  little  time  a  very  fine  depositi 
the  inner  portion  of  which  has  a  brown  colour,  while  the  outier 
part  has  a  bright  metallic  lustre. 

*'  2.  I •5,000th  grain,  under  a  dilution  of  500^000  parts  of 
liquid,  yields  much  the  same  results  as  i. 

''3.  i-io,oooth  grain,  under  a  dUution  of  1,000,000^  yields 
a  quite  good  deposit 

**4.  z-25,oooth  grain,  under  a  dilution  of  2,500,000^  Jidda 
after  some  minutes,  a  very  satisfactory  deposit 

"  5>  i-5o,oooth  grain,  in  the  presence  of  5,000,000  parts  of 
liquid,  yields,  after  several  minutes,  a  veiy  distinct  stain,  tbe 
outer  part  of  which  has  a  dark  metallic  appearance,  and  tbe 
inner  a  brownish  colour.** 

The  author  remarks  that  althongh  Marsh's  test  will  reveal 
the  presence  of  arsenic  in  a  greater  state  of  dilution,  Reinach^s 
test  is  really  more  delicate,  because  so  much  smaller  a  quan- 
tity can  be  employed.  Used  with  the  nicest  care  the  kotef 
test  is  capable  of  giving  distinct  evidence  of  the  presence  of 
i-ioo,oooth  of  a  grain  of  the  poison. 

It  is  right  to  remark,  in  connection  with  Marsh's  test,  that 
the  author  has  omitted  to  point  out  one  of  the  chief  diffioaltiea 
attendant  upon  its  use,  namely,  the  frothing  which,  bs  every 
chemist  knows,  is  generally  produced  in  the  presence  of 
organic  matter.  He  even  directs  us  to  estimate  "  the  quantity 
of  arsenious  acid  present  in  an  organic  liquid,"  .  .  •*  by 
introducing  the  solution  into  an  active  Marshes  apparatitf^ 
containing  just  sufficient  sulphuric  add  to  evolve  a  very  aiam 
stream  of  gas,"  and  to  conduct  the  evolved  gas  into  dilute 
nitrate  of  silver.  The  usual  methods  for  the  separation  of  Che 
poison  from  organic  matter  are  given,  but  they  do  not  seem 
to  present  any  points  of  novelty.  Lastly,  there  is  a  usefol 
paragraph  entitled  **  Failure  to  Detect  the  Poison,'*  in  wiiM^ 
the  time  required  for  its  dimination  is  considered. 

The  other  poisons  are  discussed  in  a  manner  similar  to  the 
above,  and  a  good  many  useful  and  perhaps  a  few  usdcss 
tests  are  added  to  those  already  employed ;  but  our  limits 
prevent  us  from  giving  further  extracts.  The  account  of  tbe 
strychnine  tests,  their  fallacies,  and  the  substances  wfa^ 
interfere  with  them,  is  particularly  good.  The  suhstanoe  mosK 
likely  to  be  mistaken  for  strychnine  appeara  to  be  wooran, 
the  sulphuric  add  solution  of  which  gives  a  violet  o(^our  wiili 
potassic  bichromate ;  but  it  may  be  distinguished  by  tbe  at* 
cumstance  that  it  gives  a  red  or  purple  colour  with  sulpbune 
add  alone,  whereas  strychnine  remains  colourless. 

We  have  not  yej;  alluded  to  the  chief  characteristic  oftiie 
work — ^the  characteristic  by  which  its  name  is  justified.    It  is 


[BigHahBaHton,Vd.  ZVL,ira418,  pageSPl;  N0.41P,  page^tn.] 


Ccrreapcmdmce. 


91 


aocompaniod  bj  an  atlas  of  microscopio  plates  m  illostration 
of  the  forms  assumed  by  the  priocipal  precipitates  and  subli- 
mates obtained  in  toxicologioal  analysis.  Not  only  have  we 
the  crystalline  forms  of  the  alkaloids  and  their  compounds 
preseDted  to  us,  but  also  those  of  many  crystalline  mineral 
precipitates,  such  as  the  potassic  and  sodic  platino-chlorides, 
sod  even  of  some  which,  like  baric  and  plumbic  sulphates, 
aod  argentic  arsenite  and  cyanide,  are  not  generally  rec- 
ogaiaed  as  having  a  crystalline  character.  These  illustrations 
are  executed  on  steel,  and  are  marvellously  beautiful,  and,  as 
fiir  as  we  are  able  to  judge,  equally  accurate.  It  is  pleasant 
to  learn  from  the  preface  that  sqjence  owes  them  to  the  skilful 
band  of  a  lady.  Professor  "Wormley  may  well  dedicate  the 
book  to  his  wife,  for  it  owes  a  very  large  portion  of  its  use- 
fulness and  importance  to  her  work. 

It  would  be  hardly  fair  to  the  publishers  to  conclude 
without  remarking  that  the  style  in  which  the  book  is  got 
up  is  exceedingly  good,  that  type,  paper,  and  binding  are  all 
flrst-rale,  and  might  almost  have  excused  the  publication  of 
a  bad  book. 


Tht  Bil>k  and  Science,    An  Address  delivered  at  the  Church 

Congrese,    Wolverhampton,    Oct,   3,    1867.    By  William 

Alles  Miller,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Treas.  and  V.P.R.S.,  Professor 

of  Chemistry  in  King's  College,  London. 

Thb  old  prejudice  which  existed  in  the  minds  of  many  good 

persons  against  the  cultivation  of  science^  that  it  tends  to 

promote  scepticism  in  religion,  has  not  yet  died  out,  and  we 

are  bound  to  admit  that  the  published  opinions  of  some 

scientific  men  have  given  it  new  life.     Of  course  this  is  very 

unreasonable,  for  it  would  be  as  unwise  to  denounce  language 

because  it  may  be  perverfed,  or  money  because  it  may  be 

spent  on  unworthy  objects,  as  to  denounce  science  because 

some  of  its  professors  are  sceptics. 

Religion  has  become  so  much  a  matter  of  dogma,  of  sect, 
of  party,  of  astagonistic  opinions  on  comparatively  unimportant 
matters,  of  literal  interpretation,  and  so  forth,  that  Christianity 
is  liable  to  be  lost  under  the  multitude  of  its  coverings. 

Those  who  regard  religion  as  too  sacred  for  every-day  use, 
look  with  a  kind  of  horror  on  the  proposition  that  science  is 
as  much  the  work  of  revelation,  as  the  religion  of  faith.  The 
same  power  that  permitted  or  inspired  the  Prophets  and 
Apostles  of  old  to  reveal  the  Divine  will  to  man,  has  per- 
mitted and  permits  man  to  discover  some  of  the  hidden 
mysteries  of  the  universe.  It  is  indisputable  that  the  laws 
by  which  material  things  are  govered  have  the  same  Lawgiver 
as  those  which  regulate  the  spintoal  world.  The  law  of 
inverse  squares  is  not  more  wonderful  or  more  easy  to  grasp 
in  its  origin,  permanence,  and  constancy,  than  the  scheue  of 
man's  redemption  and  future  happiness:  only  in  the  one  case 
men  can  see  and  appreciate  the  induction  which  led  to  the 
discovery  of  the  law,  while  in  the  other  the  faith  which  con- 
verts the  doctrine  of  his  redemption  mto  a  bving  vital  truth 
is  not  so  easily  commanded. 

From  time  to  time  we  get  such  evidence  as  is  afforded  by 
the  pamphlet  before  us,  that  a  man  may  oocupy  a  high 
positioa  in  the  scientific  world,  and  yet  be  a  good  Christian. 
Such  evidence  as  this  is  all  the  more  valuable  as  coming  from 
a  layman ;  and  although  the  essay  was  read  at  a  Church  oon- 
gressy  and  the  author  belongs  to  a  College  which  requires  all 
her  officers  to  be  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  yet 
there  is  nothing  churchy  or  sectarian  about  it  This  will 
make  it  acceptable  to  a  large  body  of  cultivated  men,  who, 
disgusted  at  the  wranglings  and  contentions,  strifes,  and 
heart-burnings  of  sects,  and  the  present  disorganised  state  of 
opinion  in  the  Church  of  England,  turn  away  from  every 
church,  and  are  disposed  to  cultivate  rationalism  rather  than 
religion. 

We  attach  the  g^atest  importance  to  the  non-sectarian  tone 
of  this  essay ;  because  it  helps  forward  the  grand  idea  that  a 
churchman,  or  the  member  of  any  sect,  is  not  necessarily  a 
Christian,  and  that  a  Christian  is  not  necessarily  a  sec- 
tarian. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


EUotions  at  (he  Chemical  Society. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chekioal  News. 
Sir, — ^As  a  member  of  the  Committee  whose  report  to  the 
Council  of  the  Chemical  Society  you  published  last  week 
(American  Reprint^  January,  1868,  page  44),  and  which 
has  not  been  signed  nor  agreed  to  by  me,  I  feel  my- 
self called  on  to  enter  a  protest  against  Uie  concluding  sen- 
tence of  that  report  I  was  present  at  earlier  meetings  of  the 
Committee,  but  not  at  the  last  meeting,  nor  at  the  meeting  of 
Council  which  received  the  report  I  have  privately  ex- 
pressed to  members  of  the  Committee  my  disapproval  of  the 
last  sentence  of  the  report 

Having  voted  against  the  candidates  whose  rejection  raised 
the  question  of  the  abrogation  of  the  by-law,  and  being  still 
of  opinion  that  I  and  those  gentlemen  who  voted  with  me 
were  in  the  right  in  the  course  we  took,  I  cannot  submit  to 
having  the  occasion  used  as  an  opportunity  for  tendering  ad- 
vice as  to  the  line  of  action  to  be  followed  by  the  Socien^  in 
the  event  of  members  making  an  improper  use  of  the  ballot- 
box.  More  than  that,  I  could  not  recommend  such  an  alter- 
ation of  the  by-law  as  is  mentioned  in  the  report,  even  in  the 
event  of  a  section  of  the  Fellows  bandmg  themselves  together 
to  exclude  a  desirable  candidate. 

It  appears  to  me,  moreover,  that  the  Society  is  m  far  more 
danger  of  falling  helplessly  into  the  hands  of  an  official  clique 
than  of  being  deprived  of  the  fellowship  of  valuable  candi- 
dates through  the  combined  action  of  private  members.  For 
my  own  part,  I  look  rather  upon  a  radical  change  in  the 
manner  of  appointing  the  Council  of  the  Chemical  Society  as 
the  desideratum. 

It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  the  annual  meeting  for  the  eleo- 
tion  of  offieers  and  Council  is,  as  a  rule,  poorly  attended,  and 
that  the  new  Council  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  elected  by  the 
votes  of  Uie  retiring  Council,  whose  individual  members  vote 
for  that  purpose  in  the  capacity  of  private  Fellowa 

This  state  of  matters,  which  is  partly  indicative  of  apathy 
on  the  part  of  the  Society  at  large,  and  partly  a  consequence 
of  the  scattered  state  of  the  500  members,  is  styled  in  official 
language  a  proof  of  the  great  confidence  of  the  Society  in  its 
officers. 

I  regard  it  as  a  sign  that  election  by  vote  does  not  answer 
as  a  mode  of  appointing  the  Council  In  truth,  at  the  present 
moment,  the  Council  is  not  really  delegated  by  the  Society  at 
large,  but  owes  its  present  composition  to  a  kmd  of  apostol* 
ical  succession. 

Two  courses  present  themselves  to  my  mind  as  calculated 
to  remedy  this  evil.  The  one  is  to  deprive  the  Council  of  its 
votes  in  the  election  of  its  successor.  Believed  of  this  de- 
pressing drcurostanoo,  the  Society  at  large  might  perhaps  be 
induced  to  take  part  in  the  election  of  a  CouncU.  The  other 
course  is  to  have  the  Council  chosen  by  lot  out  of  the  whole 
500  Fellows  of  the  Society.  Unpromising  though  this  latter 
plan  appears  at  first  sight,  I  am  indioed  to  think  it  would  not 
work  badly,  and  it  would  certainly  deliver  the  Society  from 
the  kind  of  apostolic  rule  which  I  regard  as  one  of  the  worst 
evils  with  which  a  Society  can  be  alOicted. 
I  am,  etc., 

J.  Alfbsd  Wahklth. 

London  Institution,  December  a,  1867. 


Lecture  Experimenie, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sib, — I  should  be  glad  to  know  if  you  would  spare  a  column 
occasionally  in  your  journal  for  an  exchange  of  notes  con- 
cerning lecture  experiments.  I  am  sure  that  to  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  now  numerous  body  of  science  teachers  such  a 
column  would  be  highly  usefhl  As  a  rule  the  conditions  of 
success  are  not  stated  in  our  text-books  when  an  experiment 
is  described,  and  much  time  is  lost  in  seeking  them.    Thus  I 


[English  Bdition,  VoL  XTL,  No.  419,  pagM  300,  303,  304.] 


92 


Miacdlcmecnis. 


{CnonoALVcwti 


have  spent  a  oonsiderable  time  in  finding  a  neat  and  ready 
method  of  demonstrating  the  combustion  of  oxygen  in  hydro- 
gen. No  doubt  all  who  have  made  the  experiment  have  met 
with  similar  difficulties;  but  if  there  were  a  oolumu  such  as 
I  venture  to  suggest,  the  labours  of  one  person  would  serve  for 
all.  As  a  oontribution  to  such  a  column  I  would  ask  you  to 
insert^- 

FLOATIKa  SOAP  BUBBLES  IK  OARBOKlO  ACID. 

A  vessel  in  which  to  hold  the  carbonic  add  may  conven- 
iently and  cheaply  be  made  by  getting  five  square  pieces  of 
glass — they  should  be  at  least  30  or  40  c.  square, — ^tben 
joining  their  edges  by  bibulous  paper  soaked  in  glue,  so  as  to 
form  a  cubic  shaped  vesseL  When  the  glue  is  dry  a  strip  of 
cloth  about  two  centimetres  wide  should  be  glued  in  the 
inside  of  the  vessel,  and  lap  over  the  edges,  not  only  for  pro- 
tecting the  ragged  edges  of  the  glass,  but  to  prevent  the 
bubbles  from  bursting.  The  carbonic  acid  used  should  be 
passed  through  a  wash-bottle  containing  potassic  carbonate, 
so  as  to  free  it  from  the  vapour  of  hydrochloric  add,  and  then 
conducted  into  the  cubic  vessel  until  it  is  quite  fulL  If  a 
bubble  now  be  blown  with  the  glycerine  and  soap  aolotion  it 
may  be  floated  easily  on  the  carbonic  acid.  Should  a 
draught  cany  it  to  the  side  of  the  vessel,  the.  strip  of  cloth 
will  cause  it  to  rebound  again  to  the  centre,  and  thus  the 
bubble  may  float  for  many  seconds,  or  even  for  a  minute  or 
two. 

I  am,  etc.,  0.  J.  Woodwabd. 

Middlesex  Institute,  Birmingliam,  Dec.  zx,  1867. 


The  Decline  of  English  3fanufaeture8, 
To  the  Eklitor  of  the  Ghemioal  News. 
Sir, — The  relative  decline  of  the  industrial  arts  in  Bngland 
has  been  ascribed,  with  more  or  less  probability,  to  a  variety 
of  causes.  As  far  as  chemical  manufactures  are  oonoemed, 
*^  strikes  "  and  trades'  unions  can  have  had  no  injurious  in- 
fluenca  Neither  can  excessive  wages,  since  at  a  chemical 
works  labour  bears  a  lower  proportion  to  the  gross  returns 
than  probably  in  any  other  branch. 

As  far  as  opportunity  has  enabled  me  to  judge,  the  main 
root  of  the  evil  is  the  defective  eduoatton  both  of  managers 
and  foremen,  and  of  common  workmen.  Thar  the  Englishman 
is  naturally  inferior  in  intellect  to  the  German  or  the  French- 
man I  deny,  but  his  faculties  are  not  systematically  developed, 
and  the  school  system  of  this  country  leaves  him  in  such  a 
state  of  ignorance,  that  if  you  speak  to  him  of  "  sdenoe,"  he 
actually  thinks  you  mean  pugilism.  To  expect  men  thus 
dragged  up  to  compete  with  such  as  have  been  trained  in 
the  schools  of  the  leading  continental  nations,  is  as  rational 
as  to  pit  a  regiment  armed  with  the  old  flint-lock  musket 
against  one  equipped  with  the  needle-gun  or  the  Ohassepot 
A  fact  mentioned  some  time  back  in  the  Ghemioal  News 
throws  a  strong  light  on  the  inferiority  of  this  country. 
The  inspectorship  of  high  schools  in  France  was  held  till 
lately  by  the  celebrated  chemist  Dumas.  Any  similar  office 
in  England  would  be  committed  not  to  a  man  of  sdenee, 
but  to  a  dergyman,  a  briefless  barrister,  or  a  half-pay 
officer. 

Men  whose  powers  of  observation  have  never  been  culti- 
vated cannot  execute  the  most  simple  process  without  mis- 
takes. In  proof  of  this  I  cite  two  facts  which  have  lately 
come  under  my  own  observation.  A  man  employed  at  a 
large  d^  e-works  was  sent  to  the  warehouse  for  a  bucket  of 
extract  of  quercitron-bark.  He  returned  with  his  pail  full 
of  methylated  alcohol  I — a  clear,  colourless,  transparent  fluid, 
in  place  of  one  deep,  brown,  turbid,  and  opaque.  Another, 
sent  for  archil  paste,  brought  a  cargo  of  grease  used  along 
with  soda  for  cleansing  the  goods  previous  to  being  dyed. 
Both  the  men  had  worked  for  years  at  the  establishment,  and 
had  had  every  opportunity  of  becoming  familiar  with  the 
articles  in  question.  Such  men  necessarily  occasion  their 
employer  waste  and  loss  incalculable.  They  are  a  perpetual 
stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  inventor,  who  is  frequenUy 


told 
hands, 


by  practical  men:  "The  process  is  ail  right  in  yoor 
— J,  but  how  am  I  to  get  my  careless  men  to  work  it?  * 
We  can  maintain  supremacy  in  manufactures  only  on  oon- 
dition  of  supremacy  in  sdenee  ,*  and  if  we  are  unable  or 
nawilling  to  arrange  our  national  system  jof  education  ic- 
cordingly,  we  must  be  content  to  fall  into  the  rear.— 
I  am,  4a,  W.  ^ 


A  hcktre  EKperimenL 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghemical  News. 
The  preaenoe  of  earthy  or  alkaline  carbonates  in  spring  or 
river  water,  etc,  may  readily  be  shown  by  adding  a  small 
quantity  of  a  freshly  prepared  decoction  of  logwood,  wbea 
a  more  or  less  deep  puiplish-red  cfAoxxr  is  produced.  Tfitfa 
distilled  water  only  a  slight  reddish-yellow  colour  is  ohaervei 
The  experiment  may  conveniently  be  performed  by  addiog 
an  equal  quantity  of  the  logwood  solution  to  the  water  or 
waters  to  be  tested,  contained  in  glass  jars  or  beakefB,  placed 
on  white  paper,  a  similar  jar  of  distilled  water  being  used  for 
comparison.  The  solubility  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  pure  water, 
may  be  shown  by  pladng  some  pulverised  calc^ipar  on  t 
properly  purified  filter  and  allowing  distilled  water  to  paai 
through  it ;  on  adding  a  few  drops  of  the  log^vood  solution  to 
the  filtrate  a  deep  purplish  red  colour  is  immediately  produc- 
ed. An  alcoholic  solution  of  alizarine  may  be  used  instead  of 
the  logwood  decoction ;  with  distilled  water  a  yellowish  cokmr 
is  produced,  but  if  any  alkali  or  alkaline  earth  be  present  a 
violet  colour  is  develojled,  espedally  on  application  (irageoUe 
heat  Of  course  in  using  the  above  tests  to  show  earthy 
carbonates  in  water,  care  must  be  taken  that  no  alkali  is 
present  J.  W.  T. 


MISCEUjANEOUS. 


lioyal  InatUntlon  of  Great  Britatn«--At  tihe  Ooh* 
eral  monthly  meeting,  IConday,  December  2,  1867.  Sr 
Henry  Holland,  Bart.,  M.D-,  D.C.L.,  F.R.a,  President^  ia 
the  chair.  George  Willoughby,  Esq.,  M.LG.E,  F.R.0^ 
William  Daniel  Mitchell,  Esq.,  and  Morgan  Bromsby  Wit 
Hams,  Esq.,  M.I.C.E.,  were  elected  memberB  of  the  Boyal 
Institution. 

Obitnary.— We  have  to  record  the  death  of  Dr.  Tfaooai 
Glark,  late  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Maiischal  College^ 
Aberdeen:  his  decease  occurred  on  the  27U1  November, 
at  Clydeview.  Dr.  Glark^s  method  of  testing  and  porifyiag 
water  are  well  known.  The  soap  test  devised  by  him  has 
been  used  by  chemists  for  twenty-five  years  without  leoeiv- 
ing  modification  or  improvement  in  their  hands.  This  ibo> 
cess  for  softening  water  on  a  large  scale  ia  also  modi  ineMi  it 
the  present  tune,  and  was  indeed  mentioned  by  several  failofn 
in  a  discussion  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Ohemical  Sodety. 
The  subject  of  waiter  seems  to  have  been  the  one  to  whidi  1>r. 
Glark  specially  devoted  himself,  and  to  which  almost  aD  hii 
papers  in  scientific  jonmals  refer :  his  writings  have  a  pecn- 
liar  charm  in  them  from  the  modesty  with  whidi  he  ex- 
presses himself.  Though  not  a  Fellow  of  the  Boyal  So- 
dety, Dr  Clark,  had  he  lived,  probably  would  have  bees 
made  one  at  the  next  election,  since  his  friends  were  ciiai- 
kting  a  certificate  for  signatures. 

UtUiaatlon  of  Uie  Grey  Barlu.— Mr.  BroaghtoD,tiM 
quinologist,  or  quinine  chemist,  employed  by  Govenmiat 
at  the  Neilgherry  plantations,  has  produced  pure  sulphate 
of  quinine  £om  the  Orispa  variety  of  the  Omchona  Ofoh 
alis.  From  his  analysis  it  appears  that,  although  the  grey 
barks  do  not  contain  quinine,  they  are  among  the  richest  in 
their  yield  of  alkaloids.  Mr.  Broughton  is  conducting  ex- 
periments for  the  determination  of  the  best  season  for  erop- 
ping  the  bark  on  a  large  scale,  the  various  noethods  of  dry- 
ing the  bark  for  exportation,  the  influence  of  soil,  the  plqf^ 
Biology  of  the  alkaloids,  and  the  effects   of  mossing  the 


[BngUflh  Edition,  Vd.  ZVL,  Na 410^  peg* 304;  Vo.  420,  page 315;  ITa  421, page 322;  Ho. 418,  pagw 292, 293.] 


Cbsmoal  Nawi,  I 


MiaceUaneou^. 


93 


barks.  The  question  of  a  readj  means  of  utilising  the 
barks  in  the  form  of  some  simple  preparation  for  therapeu- 
tical purposes  in  India,is  also  reoeiying  his  best  attention. 
—Bniiah  Medical  JoumdL 

Tl&e  Ukim  ProAssor  JXE^Ganley.— We  are  requested  to 
draw  attention  to  the  M'Gauley  memorial  fbnd  (offices,  21 
Gockspur  Street,  Charing  Cross),  which  is  now  being  raised 
on  behalf  of  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  Professor 
M'Gauley,  Editor  of  the  Scientific  Review^ — a  man  whose 
literary  and  scientific  attainments  made  him  much  respected 
by  all  who  knew  him.  As  he  had  no  opportunity  of  real- 
ising more  than  a  bare  sufficiency  for  his  immediate  wants, 
his  wife  and  four  children  are  unfortunately  left  utterly  un- 
provided for,  and  a  fund  is  now  being  raised  for  their  relief. 

•  Stnirvlar  BxplMlon.^Under  this  head  the  SVmes  gives 
the  following  aooount  of  the  circumstances,  as  elicited  at  the 
inquest,  under  wliich  a  fatal  accident  took  place  during  the 
preparation  of  hydrogen :— "  Mr.  Laurence,  9,  Little  George- 
street,  Greenwich,  said  that  he  was  a  house  painter  and 
decorator,  and  that  he  was  employed  to  make  the  lime-light 
to  be  used  during  the  performance  at  the  Greenwich  theatre. 
On  Saturday  morning,  the   i6th  ult,   he  went  into  the 
workshop  at  the  bade  of  his  house,  and  while  he  was  in  the 
act  of  making  it  an  explosion  of  hydrogen  gas  took  place. 
He  had  placed  some  old  nails  and  some  scraps  of  iron  in  a 
lai^  glass  vessel,  and  he  then  poured  three  pints  of  water 
into  the  vessel    After  that  he  poured  some  sulphuric  add 
into  the  jar.    There  were  three  pints  of  water  in  the  vessel, 
and  when  he  had  poured  three  to  six  ounces  of  the  add 
into  it  an  explosion  took  place,  and  he  was  covered  from 
head  to  foot     He  then  heard  loud  shrieks,  and  upon  rush- 
ing out  of  the  workshop  he  found  that  two  of  his  daughters 
had  been  injured.    The  deceased  had  her  throat  cut,  and 
blood  was  rushing  from  the  wound.    He  placed  her  in  a 
cab,  and  she  was  taken  to  Guy^s  Hospital    Witness  made 
the  hydrogen  gas  every  other  day  in  a  bag  of  three  feet 
nine  cubic  mches.   That  lasted  two  nights.    He  had  studied 
chemistry  for  twenty-five  years,  and  he  believed  that  the 
cause  of  the  explosion  was  the  coldness  of  the  preceding 
nig^t  acting  upon  an  old   solution  of  water,   iron,   and 
sulphuric  add  that  was  in  the  glass  jar  at  the  time  that  he 
poured  the  fresh  solution  into  it  through  a  funnel    The 
old  solution  was  crystallised.    He  was  not  injured.'*    The 
explosion  is  peculiarly  "  singfular,"  since  as  far  as  we  can 
understand  the  drcnmstanoes  as  described  by  our  contem- 
porary, the  explosion  took  place   in  one  room  while  its 
effects  were  chiefly  fdt  in  another;   and,   moreover,   no 
mention  is  made  of  any  flame  by  which  ignition  could  have 
been  caused    If  the  vessel  burst  simply  from  an  enormoua 
pressure  of  gas,  this  could  only  have  happened  by  the 
apertures  being  purposely  tightly  dosed.    We  can  scarcely 
nnagine  a  roan  having  "  studied  diemistry  for  twenty-five 
jears"  making  hydrogen  without  using  an  add  fMnnel 
If  anything  were  wanted  to  complete  the  mystification,  the 
explanation  of  the  cause  of  the  explosion,  given  by  the 
student  of  twenty-five  years'  standing,  is  suffident    The 
jury  returned  a  verdict  of  **  Acddental  death,"  reconmiend- 
iog  with  naivete  that  there  should  be  more  caution  used 
in  future  whfle  hydrogen  gas  was  being  made;    and  the 
coroner  finished  by  saying  that  "  he  did  not  think  such  a 
dangerous  oompound  (/)  ought  to  be  made  except  in  places 
properly   allotted   to    it"    This    remarkable  commentary 
shows  that    '*Crowner's"  Chemistry  is   as  profound   as 
•*  Crowner's"  Law. 

Bd^'ards  ▼.  NoiTls.~In  Cliancery.— This  case  re- 
lates to  the  diemical  works  of  the  defendants  at  3owerby< 
bridge,  in  the  West  Riding  of  Torkshira  The  bUl  prays 
"  That  the  defendants,  their  agents,  and  workmen,  may  be 
restrained  from  discharging,  or  causing,  or  permitting  to  be 
discharged  from  their  works  at  Sowcrby-bridge,  any  vapour, 
or  sulphuric  add,  or  sulphurous  acid,  or  any  other  noxious 
or  offensive  gas,  vapour,  or  substance,  so  as  to  occasion 


any  nuisance  or  injury  to  the  plaintiflTs  property  called  Pye 
Nest,  or  the  property  belonging  to  the  plaintiff  and  his 
brother  Joseph  Priestly  Edwards  as  tenants  in  common,  or 
to  the  timber,  or  other  shrubs  or  herbage  on  the  same 
respectively."  The  second  clause  asks  for  an  inquuT-  as  to 
damage.  Lord  Bomilly,  in  delivering  judgment  in  tho 
Rolls  Court  on  December  4th,  said :— "  A  vast  amount  of 
evidence  has  been  gone  into  on  both  sides  to  prove  and 
disprove  the  case  of  the  plaintiff.  The  burden  of  proof  lies 
on  the  plaintiff,  and  after  a  very  long  and  detailed  examina- 
tion of  the  evidence  on  both  sides,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
plaintiff  has  failed  in  giving  the  proof  which  is  necessary  to 
induce  me  to  give  him  a  decree.  The  evidence  is  so  volu- 
minous and  so  varying,  that  I  should  only  become  obscure, 
and  fail  in  showing  the  true  grounds  of  my  decision,  if  I 
were  to  attempt  to  state  in  detail  what,  in  my  opinion, 
each  witness  establishes,  and  in  what  parts  his  evidence 
falls  short  of  the  required  proof.  But  I  will  state,  generally, 
what  I  consider  to  be  proved  by  the  evidence,  and  the 
points  in  which  I  think  the  evidence  is  detective.  I  think 
il  is  clearly  proved  that  vegetation  and  trees  in  the  plaintiff's 
park  are  seriously  injured  by  noxious  vapours.  It  is  also, 
in  my  opinion,  proved  that  the  presence  of  sulphuric  acid, 
or  sulphurous  add,  is  prevalent  on  the  leaves  and  grass  in 
various  places  in  the  plaintiff's  park.  It  is  also  proved  that 
a  very  considerable  amount  of  sulphurous  acid  escapes  from 
the  works  of  the  defendants — as  much  as  14  ounces  per 
minute  from  the  cupola  chimney,  and  1 1  ounces  per  minute 
from  the  lofty  diimney,  and  that  this  occurs  although  they 
are  so  conscructcd  as  to  consume  their  own  smoke,  and  this 
on  the  most  approved  method,  and  although  no  dense 
vapour  escapes  from  either  chimney.  This  goes  a  g^at 
way  in  the  plaintiff's  favour,  but  I  think  the  evidence  fails 
in  showing  that  the  injury  to  the  trees  and  vegetation  is 
attributable  exdusively,  or  indeed  mainly,  to  the  defendants' 
works.  The  escape  of  sulphur  from  the  other  chimneys  at 
Sowerby-bridge,  according  to  the  evidence  before  me, 
amounts  to  six  times  as  much  as  that  which  escapes  from 
the  defendants'  works  ;  besides  which,  there  are  bleaching 
works  where  sulphur  is  burnt,  and  where,  consequently,  a 
considerable  escape  of  sulphurous  acid  must  take  place; 
and  allhough  the  evidence  does  not  enable  me  to  estimate 
accurately  the  amount  which  does  so  escape,  it  must,  I 
think,  be  considerable.  The  defendants'  works  are  aJso 
close  to  the  gas  works,  from  whence  it  appears  that  some 
escape  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  takes  pkce,  and  although 
the  amount  of  it  is  not  proved,  yet  some  of  it  must  occur. 
This  evidence  might  be  neutralised  if  it  were  established 
that  the  injury  to  the  trees  and  vegetation  look  place  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  defendants'  diemical  works 
and  where  the  vapour  from  these  works  alone  could  extend. 
But  this  is  not  so.  The  injury  to  the  trees  is  very  capri- 
dous,  and  some  which  stand  very  near  the  works  are  not 
affected  at  all,  while  others,  more  distant,  are  very  seriously 
injured.  The  attempt  to  establish  that  this  is  occasioned  by 
accidental  shelter  is  very  far  from  producing  conviction  in 
my  mind  as  to  the  truth  of  the  cause  alleged.  That  tho 
defendants'  works  do  contribute  their  quota  of  injury  to  the 
plaintiff  I  do  not  doubt,  but  I  am  by  no  means  clear  that  if 
their  works  were  put  an  end  to  to-morrow  the  plaintiff's 
park  would  benefit  by  it,  or  that  it  would  not  appear  to  be 
m  a  position  just  as  injurious  the  next  year  as  if  their 
works  had  been  carried  on.  I  have  in  vain  endeavoured  to 
recondle  the  evidence  with  any  particular  theory  as  to  the 
place  from  whence  the  noxious  vapour  flows,  and  I  believe 
it  to  be  impossible  to  do  so.  I  think  the  most  probable 
solution  of  the  case  is  that  the  whole  atmosphere  around  is 
impregnated  with  substances  more  or  less  injurious  to 
vegetable  life,  and  that  these  substances  affect  some  trees, 
and  some  places,  more  than  others — ^not  merely  because  the 
wind  is  prindpally  in  that  direction,  as  is  the  case  on  the 
west  side  of  the  trees,  of  which  some  striking  instances  are 
shown,  but  also  arising,  in  some  measure,  from  the  accidents 
of  the  soil,  and  other  natural  accidents,  which  render  some 


Vol.  IL    No.  2. 


Feb.,  1868.  7 

[English  EdttSon,  Vol  ZVL,  Now  418,  page  203;  Vo.  419,  pagw  304^  305.] 


94 


MisceUaTie&ua. 


\ 


Qbbwoal  Ssvtk 
r^^  1868. 


trees  more  susceptible  of  this  peculiar  injury  than  others. 
At  all  events,  after  trying  very  much,  I  have  failed  in 
being  able  to  trace  distinctly  the  injury  proceeding  from 
the  defendants'  works  as  to  justify  me  In  granting  any 
injunction,  In  addition  to  this  failure  on  the  part  of  the 
plaintiff,  there  is  another  circumstance  which,  in  my 
opinion,  tells  much  in  support  of  the  view  that  I  have  taken 
of  the  case  on  the  question  of  the  relief  sought  by  this  bill. 
The  works  of  the  defendants  were  established  upwards  of 
forty  years  ago— I  think  in  1819,  Since  then  they  have 
much  increased,  and  particularly  since  1857.  But  simulta- 
neously with  the  increase,  or  nearly  so,  improvements  have 
been  made  which,  according  to  all  the  evidence,  which  on 
this  part  of  the  subject  is  all  one  way,  have  materially 
diminished  the  escape  of  noxious  vapours.  And  this  was 
particularly  accomplished  by  alterations  and  improvements 
made  in  &e  year  1859.  I  have  found  it  impossible  to 
arrive,  on  the  evidence,  even  at  a  distant  approximation  as 
to  the  amount  of  noxious  vapours  which  escape  from  the 
defendants'  works  now  as  compared  with  those  which 
escaped  from  them  prior  to  the  year  1859.  For  anything 
that  appears,  it  may  have  been  worse  then  than  it  is  now ; 
and  if  so,  the  question  arises — ^When  did  the  vapours  first 
begin  to  be  injurious  to  the  neighbouring  vegetation  ?  I  do 
not  believe  that  it  has  ever  been  decided  that  prescription 
to  foul  a  running  stream,  or  to  impregnate  the  air  with 
noisome  or  noxious  vapours,  can  be  established  against  the 
public ;  but,  unquestionably,  it  can  be  established  against  a 
particular  individual  who  has  seen  it  going  on  for  upwards 
of  twenty  years,  and  has  taken  no  steps  to  prevent  it  It 
is  incumbent,  in  such  a  case,  that  the  suffering  proprietor 
should  seek  the  assistance  of  this  court  as  soon  as  the 
nuisance  is  really  perceptible,  according  to  the  doctrine  laid 
down  in  many  cases,  and  which  I  followed  lately  in  the 
case  of  Groldsmid  v.  the  Tunbridge  Wells  Commissioners. 
On  this  subject,  in  the  present  case,  I  am  left  in  the  dark. 
My  surmise,  dr^wn  from  the  evidence,  is — that  if  the 
present  injury  proceed  from  these  works,  as  is  alleged  by 
this  bill,  this  injury  must  have  been  perceptible  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  and  as  it  is  from  the  cupola  chimney, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  main  cause  of  the  ii^ury, 
and  as  this  has  been  in  the  same  situation  since  1859, 
when  it  was  made  much  less  hurtful  than  it  was  before, 
the  present  state  of  the  vegetation  is  more  attributable 
to  the  general  increase  of  tlie  neighbouring  manufactures 
than  to  these  works  themselves ;  and  in  my  opinion, 
I  am  unable,  as  I  am  invited  to  do,  to  draw  any 
safe  conclusion  or  analogy  from  the  effects  produced  by 
London  smoke,  or  by  that  of  our  other  large  towns,  even  if 
I  had,  which  I  have  not,  any  trustworthy  evidence  on  the 
subject  as  applied  to  the  effects  of  a  mass  of  manufactures 
with  smoking  chimneys,  contracted  in  a  narrow  valley,  and 
as  to  which  the  vapours  must  be  for  the  most  part  confined. 
I  have  therefore  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  plaintiff 
has  not  made  out  his  case ;  and  as  the  burden  of  proof 
rests  on  him,  his  bill  must  be  dismissed.  I  had  thought  at 
one  time  of  offering  to  him  an  issue  1  but,  having  regard  to 
the  lapse  of  time,  which  cannot  be  tried  by  an  issue,  and 
also  considering  that  according  to  my  experience  in  this 
court  an  issue  entails  great  expense,  and  ultimately,  for  the 
most  part,  leaves  the  parties  very  much  as  they  were 
before,  I  have  determined  not  to  adopt  this  course,  but  to 
dismiss  the  biU  simpUciter ;  and  therefore  I  dismiss  the 
bill  with  costs." 

ObUaarjr.— Mr.  "Wabington,  F.R.S.,  the  distinguished 
chemist,  died  on  November  12th,  at  Budleigh,  Salterton, 
Devon.  So  many  benefits  have  been  conferred  upon  chemists 
by  Mr.  Waringtou's  zeal,  that  his  decease  will  be  a  matter  of 
general  regret  in  the  profession.  His  life  seems  to  have  been 
pre-eminently  a  life  of  public  activity.  He  may  be  said  to 
have  founded  the  Chemical  Society;  upon  its  establishment 
he  became  secretary,  a  post  he  retained  for  many  years.  He 
also  obtained  the  same  responsible  position  in  the  Society 


which  has  rendered  so  much  service  to  chemists  in  publishing 
a  translation  of  Gmelin'a  Handbook— the  Cavendish  Society. 
These  are  not  the  only  public  positions  in  which  he  has  figur- 
ed ;  he  was  a  juror  of  the  Chemical  Section  of  the  Interna- 
tional Exhibition  of  1862,  00-editor  (Dr.  Redwood  being  the 
other)  of  the  British  Pharroaoopoeia,  1867,  beudes  having  a 
hand  in  the  production  of  some  other  works  on  pharmacy 
and  allied  matters.  Mr.  Warington  has  undertaken  many  re» 
searches.  A  vast  number  of  papers  were  published  by  him 
on  various  subjects  in  chemistry  and  pharmacy ;  some  of  these 
are  to  be  found  in  the  PhilotopMcal  Magadnt,  but  the  major- 
ity in  the  ChemxcaX  Gcaetie.  "We  append  a  list  of  some  of  the 
more  important.  On  improvementa  in  the  operation  of  tan- 
ning; on  refining  gold;  on  the  formation  of  Prussian  blue  oq 
the  surface  of  gravel;  on  the  action  of  weak  adds  on  veasela 
plated  by  the  electrotype  process;  on  the  action  of  alkaliea  00 
wax;  on  chemical  symbols ;  on  a  curious  change  in  the  mole- 
cular structure  of  silver ;  on  molecular  changes  in  solid  bodies; 
on  the  green  glass  of  commerce ;  on  some  properties  of  animal 
charcoal ;  on  the  preservation  of  animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances; on  chromic  acid;  a  process  for  estimating  the  value 
of  the  materials  used  in  tanning ;  on  the  prodnciion  of  coloor- 
ed  films  by  electro-chemical  influence  and  by  beat;  on  a  new 
yellow  dyeing  agent ;  on  the  production  of  boradc  add  and 
ammonia  by  volcanic  action ;  on  biniodide  of  mercury ;  on  the 
determination  of  phosphoric  acid  by  magneda.  Mr.  War- 
ington held  the  office  of  chemical  operator  at  the  Sodetj  of 
Apothecaries  for  upwards  of  twenty  years.  He  retired  firom 
the  profession  last  year. 

Dr.  Daubeny.— With  deep  regret  we  annoonoe  the  death 
of  Dr.  Daubeny,  Professor  of  Botany,  Oxford,  whose  contri- 
butfons  to  the  cause  of  sdence  have  often  appeared  in  our 
columns.  He  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  James  Daubeny,  Rector  of 
Stratton,  and  was  bom  in  1795.  He  was  educated  at  Mag- 
dalen College,  Oxford,  where,  in  1814,  he  took  the  degree  of 
B.A,  when  he  was  second  class  in  classics.  In  the  foOoving 
year  he  gained  the  Chancellor's  prize  for  an  essay.  He  after- 
wards obtained  a  lay  fellowship  at  Magdalen,  and  a|^Iied 
himself  to  the  study  of  medidne,  taking  the  degree  of  M.D. 
In  1822  he  was  elected  to  the  Professorship  of  Chemistry,  snd 
in  March  of  the  same  year  be  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society.  In  1829  he  entirely  relirtquished  Uie  practice 
of  his  profession ;  and  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
physical  sdences.  During  the  year  1834  he  was  elected  to 
the  Professorship  of  BoUny,  and  lie  was  also  curator  of  the 
Botanical  Gardens  at  Oxford.  In  1841  Dr.  Daubeny  became 
a  fellow  of  the  Chemical  Sodety,  of  which  at  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  Vice-President,  having  previously  filled  the  office 
of  President.  Dr.  Daubeny  has  written  several  works, 
among  them  may  be  noticed  "A  Description  of  Active  and 
Extinct  Volcanoes ;"  "  An  Introduction  to  the  Atomic  Theo- 
ry;" "Lectures  on  Roman  Agriculture,"  etc  Amoiigat  hli 
contributions  to  the  Chemical  Sodety  may  be  mentioned  a 
paper  on  the  power  possessed  by  the  roots  of  plants  of  r^ec^ 
ing  poisons,  and  also  one  on  "  Ozone,"  which  embodied  the 
results  of  an  extensive  series  of  experiments  and  meteoco]<^ 
ical  observations  made  at  Torquay  and  Oxford.  He  died  at 
the  BoUnical  Gardens,  Oxford,  on  December  12. 

Paraffin  Ijainps. — We  learn  fVom  the  NbrfM  (I7.S.A.) 
Journal  that  it  has  been  found  that  the  light  of  coal-oil  lamps 
is  greatly  improved  by  adding  to  the  oil  one-fourth  its  weight 
of  common  salt  It  makes  the  light  much  more  brilliant  and 
clear,  keeps  the  wick  dean,  and  prevents  smoking. 

A  Well-deaerred  Honour.-The  "  International  So- 
deties  for  Aid  to  the  Wounded  in  Time  of  War**  have  awarded 
to  Mr.  Condy,  of  Battersea,  thdr  medal,  in  recognition  of 
the  importance  to  military  surgery  of  his  disooveiy  of  the 
disinfecting  properties  of  the  alkaline  permanganates,  and 
the  great  sanitary  value  of  Condy'a  fluid,  as  proved  by  the 
experience  of  the  Prussian  army  surgeons  during  the  late 
Bohemian  war. — LaitceL 

Faraday  aa  a  I»tocoTerer.— Under  this  title  Measra. 
Longnoan  &  Ca  announoe  a  memoir  of  the  late  PtoCeaaor 


[EngUflh  Edition,  VoL  ZVL,  No.  410,  page  306;  Va  420,  pagM  316,  3U ;  ITa  419,  pagaa  300,  SOa] 


CmmncAL  Niwa,! 


MiaceUaneoua. 


95 


Fftraday,  by  Dr.  Tyndall.    It  is  to  be  in  one  yolume,  crown, 
8to^  and  will  be  publlahed  in  January. 

9t»Tmm^  of  NUroslyeerine. ^Another  diisastrous  acci- 
dent has  happened  with  this  recently  introduced  blasting  oil 
Unless  means  are  taken  by  the  manuracturers  to  prevent 
explosions  causing  such  lamentable  results  as  that  which  oo- 
eurred  at  Newcastle  on  Tuesday,  a  valuable  blasting  agent 
will  be  lost  to  miners  and  quarriers.  If  this  be  the  case,  how- 
ever, the  manufacturers  of  it  will  have  themselves  to  blame, 
Cmt  explosions  of  nitroglycerine  during  transport  or  storage 
ought  to  be  unknown.  Nitroglycerine  dissolved  in  two  or 
three  times  its  bulk  of  methylated  spirit  is  quite  inexploeive, 
and  when  required  for  use,  the  addition  of  water  will  precipi- 
tate the  oil,  the  layer  of  water  and  spirit  merely  requiring  de- 
canting offi  The  nitroglycerine  separated  in  this  way  pos- 
sesses explosive  properties  quite  as  active  as  the  original  oil, 
which  indeed  is  fluently  rather  improved  than  otherwise  by 
the  treatment  The  process  we  have  described  is  sometimes 
used.  At  Newcastle  a  part  of  one  canister  was  found  after 
the  explosion  marked  **  safety  solution  of  nitroglycerine  in 
wood  napht^ia.*'  It  is,  however,  quite  certain  that  there  must 
have  been  a  quantity  of  oil  present  either  entirely  untreated, 
or  treated  with  an  insufficient  quantity  of  the  protecting  fluid. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  nitroglycerine  dissolved  in  a 
small  quantity  of  methylated  spirit  or  of  wood  naphtha  in  warm 
weather  might  crystallise  out  in  winter  when  the  temperature 
approadies  the  freezing  point  of  water.  Probably  this  is 
what  occurred.  Shipping  agents  and  railway  companies  should 
refuse  to  receive  nitroglycerine  unless  protected  in  the  man- 
ner already  indicated. 

IHimer  of  tlie  flcleattlle  and  nannlkeCiirlBiff 
enemlats  of  ©Im^ow— On  lliursday  evening,  about  flRy 
gentlemen  connected  with  this  large  and  important  branch  of 
industry  in  G-lasgow  and  neighbourhood,  met  at  dinner  in  the 
Victoria  Hotel  The  meeting  was  intended  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  formation  of  a  Chemical  Society  in  that  city.  Mr.  £. 
C.  C.  Stanfbrd,  F.C.S.,  presided,  and  Mr.  Whitelaw  discharg- 
ed  the  duties  of  croupier.  Among  the  company  we  notic^ 
Professor  Anderson,  P.R.S.,  Dr.  Wallace,  F.O.S.,  Mr.  Leisler, 
Mr.  Townsend,  Mr.  J.  J.  Tumbull,  Mr.  J.  N.  Cuthbertson,  Mr. 
Qalbraith,  Mr.  Middleton,  and  othera.  Mr.  Stanford  read  a 
note  from  Professor  Penny,  stating  that  he  had  shortly  before 
received  a  telegram  calling  him  to  Edinburgh,  to  visit  a 
flrieod  seriously  ill,  and  expressing  great  regret  at  his  unavoid- 
able absence.  After  the  usual  loyal  and  patriotic  toasts,  the 
Chairman,  afltor  some  introductory  remarks,  said — The  tend- 
ency of  chemistry  appears  to  be  synthetical.  The  chemist 
used  to  be  described  as  a  man  who  could  pull  anything  to 
pieoes  and  put  nothing  together — ^who  was  troubled  with  a 
large  bump  of  destructiveuess  and  a  small  one  of  constructive- 
nees.  Now  the  time  appears  less  distant  when  we  shall  build 
up  our  organic  compounds  from  their  inorganic  oonstituents; 
manufacturing  chemistry  is  following — we  are  turning  to  the 
earth  already  for  many  materials  which  were  formerly  organic. 
Some  of  these  changes  will  at  once  occur  to  you.  Our  sources 
of  potash  have  been  suddenly  and  enormously  aided  by  the 
discovery  of  a  large  evaporated  bed  at  Strasfurt ;  and  t&at 
mine,  so  admirably  worked  by  Mr.  Townsend,  has  reduced 
the  price  of  potash  to  a  third  its  former  value.  Liebig  accus- 
ed us  in  passionate  language  of  *^  turning  up  the  battlefields 
of  Leipeic,  Waterloo,  and  the  Crimea  for  bones ;  from  the  cata- 
combs of  Susily  we  carried  away  the  skeletons  of  many  gene- 
rations.'* Speaking  of  England  in  1863,  he  says — "  Annually 
flbe  removes  from  the  shores  of  other  countries  to  her  own  the 
manurial  equivalent  of  3I  millions  of  men,  which  she  squan- 
ders down  her  sewers  to  the  sea.  Like  a  vampire  she  hangs 
upon  the  neck  of  Europe,  and  sucks  the  heart  blood  from  na- 
tiona"  Almost  while  he  was  writing  this  we  discovered  cop- 
Tolites  in  England,  and  exported  phosphates  to  Germany ;  and 
now  most  of  our  phosphates  are  mineral.  Guano  will  doubt- 
lees  also  give  way  to  salts  of  ammonia  and  nitrate  of  soda 
from  the  earth.  The  time  is  probably  not  far  distant  when 
oar  large  Cinchona  plantations  will  be  rendered  useless  by 


the  introduction  of  artificial  quinine.  And  a  change  may  ooma 
over  our  Turkey-red  makers  by  the  production  of  artificial 
guarancin.  Does  any  one  think  this  visionary  ?  Let  me  re- 
mind him  that  not  long  ago  we  imported  nearly  all  our  dycS| 
and  now  we  are  the  largest  colour  exporters.  Our  dyes  are 
dug  fh)m  the  earth.  Can  anything  be  more  wonderful  than 
extracting  from  coal  the  sun's  light  of  a  bygone  age,  and  split- 
ting it  up  into  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  ?  or,  as  in  Mr. 
Young's  discovery,  using  it  in  the  form  of  paraffin  once  more 
to  light  our  rooms?  What  would  have  been  said  of  any  one 
ten  years  ago  who  spoke  of  analysing  the  atmosphere  of  the 
sun?  We  must  be  prepared  for  startling  discoveries  in  this 
glorious  science.  Whatever  I  have  said  generally  of  manu- 
fiicturers  applies  more  particularly  to  Glasgow.  This  dty  has 
great  reason  to  be  proud  of  its  chemical  factories — nearly 
every  known  branch  is  here  represented.  Long  before  the 
stranger  who  approaches  Glasgow  sees  the  flames  of  her  forges, 
or  hears  the  sound  of  her  hammers,  his  attention  must  be  ar- 
rested  by  her  tall  chimney  shafts;  the  masts  to  which  her 
chemical  flag  is  nailed,  and  her  manufacturers'  challenge  held 
high  before  the  world.  If  a  factory  can  be  measured  by  its 
height,  one  of  these  stands  distinguished  and  pre-emuient. 
Humboldt  called  chemistry  *<  the  %yptian  art,"  and  unless 
it  should  return  to  that  country,  and  one  of  the  pyramids  be 
converted  so  that  it  "draws"  even  better  than  at  present 
our  friend  Mr.  Townsend  will  still  reign  without  a  rival,  and 
never  be  able  to  compete  with  any  one  his  own  size.  Glas- 
gow is  no  leas  distinguished  for  its  scientific  chemists— Thomp- 
son, Ure,  and  a  long  list  of  names  form  a  brilliant  scroU, 
Here,  then,  of  all  cities,  the  scientific  stranger  will  expect  to 
find  one  of  the  best  chemical  societies  in  the  kingdom.  Gen- 
tlemen,  you  and  I  know  how  much  he  would  be  disappointed. 
We  are  all  to  blame,  but  let  us  now  make  a  move.  This  is 
an  opportune  time.  The  Government  is  at  last  awakened  to 
the  necessity  of  scientific  education.  The  British  Association, 
the  Society  of  Arts,  the  Paris  Exhibition,  have  all  joined  in 
one  cry,  which  must  be  heard — scientific  education  for  our 
people.  Let  us  commence  by  forming  a  section  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  where  chemical  subjects  can  be  brought  for- 
ward in  a  crude  state  and  discussed.  Scientific  chemists  and 
manufacturers  are  both  required  to  work  out  some  purely 
scientific  subjects  fh)m  which  they  would  derive  mutual  profit. 
Let  it  not  be  said  that  the  birth-place  of  Thompson,  Graham, 
and  Stenhouse  cannot  keep  up  a  chemical  society.  If  we  do 
not  make  an  efibrt  now,  the  chemical  world  will  move  on,  and 
we  shall  be  left  behind."  The  following  toasts  were  also 
given  : — "Scientific  Chemists,"  by  the  croupier,  responded  to 
by  Professor  Anderson;  "Manufacturing  Chemists,"  by  Dr. 
Wallace,  responded  to  by  Mr.  Galbraith ;  "  Foreign  Chemists," 
by  Mr.  Sutheriand,  responded  to  by  Dr.  Mertz ;  "  Chemical 
Brokers,"  by  Mr.  Tumbull,  responded  to  by  Mr.  Leisler. 
Several  other  toasts  followed,  and  a  very  agreeable  evening 
was  spent 

Science  mm  a  part  of  Bdneatlon. — The  following  is 
the  concluding  passage  of  the  last  of  a  course  of  chemical  lec- 
tures recently  delivered  at  Baton  College  by  Mr.  G.  F.  Rod- 
well  : — *'  In  conclusion,  let  us  consider  the  nature  of  the  vari- 
ous processes  which  we  have  studied.  Let  us  enquire  by  what 
means  we  have  been  enabled  to  produce  the  different  chemical 
changes  which  have  been  brought  before  us.  These  changes 
have  been  effected  by  inducing  in  matter  unnatural  and  forced 
conditions;  by  influencing  substances  either  externally 
or  internally  by  superadded  actions ;  or  by  the  removal  of  a 
prevailing  force  which  prevented  the  prominent  assertion  of 
chemical  affinity.  "  Occulta  naturcB^*^  says  Francis  Bacon, 
'*  magia  se  produniper  vexaiionea  artiuni^  qttam  cum  cursa  suo 
TneanV^  ¥Tom  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  this  course  we 
have  extracted  our  knowledge  by  thus  harassing  and  vexing 
nature.  The  tearing  asunder  of  combined  atoms;  the  sepa- 
ration of  atoms  from  one  form  of  combination,  and  the  com- 
pelling them  to  unite  otherwise ;  the  addition  or  subtraction 
of  vibrating  motion.  These  are  the  actions  which  have  en- 
abled us  to  gain  some  insight  into  the  working  of  the  force 
called  chemical  affinity.    Of  the  actual  nature  of  chemical 


[BiiffUdiBdSlton,yflLZVX,ira4]%page908;  Ha  480,  pegM  31d,  316 ;  JTo.  421,  page  321.] 


96 


Miscellaneous. 


\     F^^  18i8. 


a£Bnit7  we  know  nothing ;  we  can  only  regard  it  as  an  at- 
tractive Toree  exerted  between  dissimilar  atoms,  acting 
through  an  insensible  space,  and  varying  in  intensity  as  the 
atoms  vary  in  composition.  Chemical  affinity  can  only  be 
studied  through  its  actions,  and  the  greater  number  of  the 
processes  which  we  have  employed  have  been  for  the  pur- 
pose of  eliminating  the  action  of  certain  forces  so  as  to  cause 
chemical  affinity  to  be  the  dominant  force  during  the  contin- 
uance of  the  experiment  These  studies  are  to  be  viewed  as 
a  means  to  an  end.  The  primary  object  of  science  teaching 
is  not  to  make  yon  acquainted  with  its  applications  to  the 
useful  purposes  of  life,  but  to  induce  in  you  that  exact  and 
discriminative  mode  of  thought  whidi  is  inseparable  from 
the  right  study  of  physical  phenomena.  Why  I  say  that  to 
thoroughly  master  the  vibratory  motion  theory — theory 
though  it  be— as  applied  to  the  explanation  of  chemical  phe- 
nomena, is  better  as  a  mental  exercise,  than  the  knowledge  of 
fifty  of  the  applications  of  chemistry.  Do  not  let  your  science 
be  of  too  practical  a  character.  Remember  that  science  ap- 
plied to  the  useful  arts — to  the  making  of  dyes,  the  extrac- 
tion of  metals,  the  manufacture  of  coal-gas — has  ceased  to  be 
pure  science.  It  is  not  such  science  i%  this  that  I  would  have 
you  study.  True  science  must  have  as  its  primary  objects 
the  search  for  truth,  the  investigation  of  causes,  the  enlarge- 
ment of  our  knowledge  of  the  various  agencies  which  are  at 
work  around  us.  It  is  to  be  built  up  mainly  of  well-verified 
experimental  facta  and  of  theories  readily  deducible  from 
them.  The  former  are  to  be  received  as  absolute ;  the  latter 
as  liable  to  change.  That  such  change  is  inevitable  will  be 
obvious  when  we  remember  that  in  the  present  state  of 
science  we  are  all— both  those  who  theorise  and  those  who 
work  out  the  facts  upon  which  theory  is  supported — all  alike 
are  boys  and  listeners,  and  learners  in  the  school  of  nature. 

Connterl^lt  Creosote. — A  large  proportion  of  ordinary 
creosote  is  simply  carbolic  acid.  But  the  pure  creosote, 
which  constitutes  the  lachrymosal  property  and  peculiar 
smell  of  smoke,  is  quite  a  different  substance,  and  may  be 
distinguished  from  the  false,  as  shown  by  Rust,  by  its  behav- 
iour with  collodion.  A  mixture  with  this  latter  and  carbolic 
acid  gives  a  gelatinous  precipitate,  while  with  true  creosote 
the  collodion  remains  clear.  Dr.  Hager  gives  another  test. 
To  a  weak  solution  of  iron,  a  few  drops  of  ammonia  are 
added  until  the  precipitate,  which  originally  forms,  is  dissolv- 
ed. Carbolic  acid  communicates  a  blue  or  violet  tinge  to  the 
solution,  while  genuine  creosote  gives  a  green  colour,  after- 
ward turning  to  brown. — Scientific  American, 

Oeslccated  Ess— -Mr.  Charles  Lament  has  discovered 
and  patented  a  very  ingenious  process  for  preparing  eggs  so 
that  they  may  be  kept  for  years  without  change  or  decay. 
The  process  consists  in  emptying  the  fresh  eggs  frpm  the 
shell  into  a  long  covered  trough ;  a  shaft,  armed  with  a 
scries  of  metallic  discs  about  15  or  20  inches  in  diameter,  is 
made  to  descend  into  this  trough  while  revolving,  which 
beats  the  eggs  into  homogeneousness,  and  covers  the  surfaces 
of  the  discs  with  a  thin  covering  of  egg.  The  discs  still  re- 
▼olving  are  elevated  from  the  trough,  and  a  current  of  hot 
air  passed  through  the  covered  box,  which  quickly  dries  the 
cggf  when  a  series  of  scrapers  are  brought  into  action  so  as  to 
scrape  off  the  egg  in  the  form  of  fine  thin  scales  or  granules, 
which  have  the  appearance  of  being  crystallised.  This  pro- 
cess may  be  repeated  ad  Ubiium.  The  preparation  thus  ob- 
tained retains,  perfectly,  all  the  properties  and  flavour  of  the 
fresh  egg,  and  may  be  used  for  the  various  purposes  where 
broken  egg  is  needed,  and  for  cooking,  by  dissolving  a  little 
m  water  and  beating  it  as  usual  One  pound  is  equal  to  44 
eggs;  100  doz.  eggs,  when  crystallised  or  desiccated,  occupy 
one  cubic  foot.  We  are  glad  that  this  very  useful  article  of 
diet  has  been  added  to  the  now  long  list  of  preserved  arti- 
cles of  food.  An  enterprising  company  in  New  York  have, 
we  understand,  purchased  the  invention,  and  it  is  now  being 
successfully  introduced  into  the  market 

Iodine  and  Carbolic  Acid. — Dr.  Percy  Boulton,  to 
remedy  tbe  inconvenience  attending  the  external  application 


of  iodine  and  its  preparations,  has  adopted  the  method  of 
adding  a  few  drops  of  carbolic  add  to  the  iodine  aolntioD  to 
be  employed.  The  formula  is  as  follows :  Compound  tincture 
of  iodine,  3  gnns. ;  pure  liquid  carbolic  acid,  6  drops ;  glycerin^ 
30  grms. ;  distilled  water,  150  grms.  This  carboiate  of  iodine 
18  not  perfectly  colourless,  so  that  it  may  be  applied  with 
impunity ;  and  it  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  powerful  anti- 
septics we  possess,  but  is  intrinsically  a  more  efficacious  agent 
than  iodine  alone.  In  the  form  of  injections,  gargles,'  and 
lotions,  for  sore-throat,  ozoena,  abscess  in  the  ear,  etc.,  this 
preparation  is  a  sovereign  remedy. — EzircLct  from  a  letter  ui 
the  Journal  des  GonnaU$ance  Medicates. 
Royal  Poljrtecluilc  Inotltatlon*— The  Christinas  enter- 
tainments at  this  Institute  were  inaugurated  on  Saturday 
evening  last  with  a  grand  dinner,  followed  by  a  conversazione. 
The  company  at  dinner,  included  the  following  noblemen  and 
gentlemen: — His  Highness  Prince  ti)e  Maharajah  Duleep 
Singh ;  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  E.G. ;  Viscount 
Strangford;  the  Rt  Hon.  Lord  Ernest  Bruce;  CapL  the  Hon. 
F.  Maude ;  Hon.  A.  Kinnaird,  M.P. ;  Professor  Wbeatsitone, 
F.R.S.;  Professor  Abel,  F.RiL;  Erasmus  Wilson,  F.R.&; 
Professor  Pepper ;  Dr.  Letheby ;  Wm.  Crookes,  F.R.& ;  Robert 
Hunt,  F.R.S.,  Rev.J.B.  Owen,M.  A. ;  Professor  Graham, F.R.S.; 
J.Glai8her,£8q.,  J.Spiller,£sq.,eUx  The  conversazione  was  very 
numerously  attended,  and  the  varied  entertainments  for  the 
holiday  season  were  rehearsed.  Professor  Pepper  delivered 
a  lecture  on  "  Faraday's  discoveries  and  their  results,  being 
real  science  as  contrasted  with  unreal  science  called  sptritaal 
manifestations."  Commencing  with  the  discovery  of  bicarbide 
of  hydrogen,  the  lecturer  spoke  of  Dr.  Hofmann^s  researches 
on  benzol,  which  had  been  the  means  of  producing  tbe  colonrB 
mauve  and  magenta  since  manufiictared  on  a  very  large  aeale 
by  the  firm  of  Nicholson  and  Maule.  He  then  dwelt  upon 
Faraday's  discoveries  in  electricity,  explaining  the  ooostroo- 
Uon  of  Wheatatone's  bridge,  etc.  tAr.  Apps  also  exhibited 
his  new  induction  coil,  with  which  a  spark  about  (bur  inches 
in  length  was  obtained  and  other  brilliant  experiments  per- 
formed. The  lecture  was  closed  with  some  extracts  end 
observations  on  spiritualism,  when  Professor  Pepper  stated 
that  Dr.  Bence  Jones  had  lent  him  a  manuscript,  whidi  he 
had  received  from  some  one  who  professed  to  have  held  com- 
munication with  Faraday's  spirit,  and  that  the  latter  was  now 
a  firm  believer  in  spiritual  manifestations,  and  regretted  be 
had  not  taught  the  truth  when  be  was  alive.  During  the 
eveninp^  the  Polytechnic  was  placed  in  telegraphic  oommuni- 
cation  with  the  United  Stales,  Paris,  Manclieeter,  etc,  and 
the  visitors  were  amused  by  receiving  the  following  mesaage 
from  Newfoundland  two  or  three  minutes  after  its  transmis- 
sion:— "Temperature  19^  Fahr.,  wind.  N.E.,  snow  drifts  in 
some  places  nearly  20  ft  deep."  Mr.  Ladd*s  dynamo-elecCrie 
machine,  machine- made  jewellery,  and  various  other  ingenious 
novelties  are  introduced  into  the  programme.  We  hare  00 
doubt  the  Institution  will  be  well  attended  during  the  holi- 
days ;  the  programme  is  a  very  long  one,  and  many  other 
novelties  are  promised. 

To  Cement  Brans  on  Glass. — Puscher  uses  a  cement 
particularly  adapted  for  fastening  brass  on  glass  lamps,  which 
consists  of  a  resin  soap^made  by  boiling  three  parts  of  resin 
with  one  part  of  caustic  soda  and  five  parts  of  water — which 
is  mixed  with  one-half  its  weight  of  plaster-of-Paris.  This 
cement  has  great  adhesive  power  and  is  not  permeable  by 
petroleum  ;  it  sets  firmly  in  less  than  an  hour,  and  is  a  veiy 
slow  conductor  of  heat  Zinc-white,  white-lead,  or  predpi- 
tated  chalk  may  be  substituted  for  plaster-of-Paris,  but  tbs 
material  will  be  longer  in  hardening. — American  ArtitasL 

MlcroBcople  Crjretalloiri^pliy* — Mr.  H.  S.  Wadding- 
ton,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Pharmaceutical  Society,  and 
published  in  the  Jottmaly  says  that  the  formation  of  perfect 
crystals  depends  upon  the  rapidity  with-  which  they  are  de- 
posited. He  has  obtained  better  results  by  allowing  tbe 
crystals  to  deposit  from  a  hot  and  concentrated  solution,  thao 
placing  a  few  drops  of  a  cold  saturated  solution  on  a  deaa 
slide,  and  allowing  it  to  evaporate  spontaneously.     Wlm 


[Englidi  BdMoD,  VoL  XVI^  No.  421,  pagM  389^  W,  3M.] 


F€k^  1666L      r 


Misce^aneatM. 


97 


CTTsdiis  are  prettj  solable  in  water,  the  way  of  procedure  is 
as  follows:— A  solution  is  made  in  hot  distilled  water,  the 
liquid  filtered,  and  a  few  drops  poured  on  to  a  clean  slide,- 
just  before  the  crystals  begin  to  ibrm  in  the  solution  itself^ 
and  immediately  poured  off,  sufficient  will  remain  behind  for 
the  production  of  crystals,  which  will  form  at  once.  When  of 
a  sufficient  size,  the  remaining  liquor,  if  any,  should  be  drain- 
ed from  them  and  the  slide  allowed  to  dry.  The  result  will 
generally  be  a  slide,  CTcnly  covered  with  crystals,  having 
well-defined  edges^  and  but  few  of  which  are  agglomerated. 
This  prooeas  answers  well  for  alum,  chlorate  of  potassium, 
nitrates  of  barium  and  strontium,  potassio-tartrate  of  anti- 
mony, sulphate  of  copper,  sulphate,  acid  tartrate,  binoxalate, 
and  quadroxalace  of  potassium,  the  strength  being  regulated 
by  experience.  If  crystals  are  not  very  soluble  in  cold  wa- 
ter, they  may  be  allowed  to  separate  in  the  bulk  of  the  solu- 
tion itself  as  it  cools,  then  remove  a  small  quantity  of  liquid 
and  crystals  to  a  slide  by  means  of  a  glass  tube.  The  slide 
must  be  kept  moving  to  prevent  the  aggregation  of  the  crys- 
tals, and  the  superfluous  liquid  removed  by  applying  blotting 
paper  to  the  edges  of  the  slide.  To  obtain  perfect  crystals 
from  substances  generally  met  with  in  long  prisms,  Mr.  Wad- 
dington  finds  the  best  method  is  to  make  a  hot  solution,  con- 
taining rather  more  of  the  salt  than  would  saturate  it  at  ordi- 
nary temperatures.  Having  filtered  and  allowed  it  to  become 
nearly  cold,  place  a  few  drops  on  a  slide  and  draw  a  very 
fine  glass  rod  across  it.  This  method  overcomes  the  diffi- 
culty of  producing  typical  crystals.  For  hippuric  acid,  the 
solution,  when  on  the  point  of  crystallising,  should  be  pour- 
ed on  to  a  cold  slide,  and  when  the  crystals  have  formed,  the 
remaining  liquid  should  be  poured  off  and  the  slide  allowed 
to  dry.  Sugar,  citric  and  tartaric  acids,  and  all  substances 
Tery  soluble  in  water,  may  be  obtained  in  crystals  by  making 
a  concentrated  solution,  filtering  it,  and  then  pouring  it  on  to 
H  slide,  taking  care  that  only  a  thin  layer  of  liquid  remains, 
which  should  be  allowed  to  dry  in  the  air.  To  obtain  crys- 
tals from  sulphate  of  iodo-quinine  or  "  Herapathite,"  the 
author  mixes  3  drachms  of  spirit  of  wine  and  i  drachm  of 
acetic  acid  in  which  he  dissolves  10  grains  of  bisulphate  of 
quinine.  He  then  pours  10  or  15  drops  on  to  a  slide  and 
adds  a  drop  of  tincture  of  iodine.  When  clear  he  poura  it 
from  slide  to  slide  as  long  as  the  liquid  holds  out  The  best 
method  of  obtaining  uric  acid  in  ciystals  is  to  allow  8  or  10 
oz.  of  urine  to  stand  some  houre  ailer  the  addition  of  2  or  3 
drachms  of  acetic  acid.  In  a  day  or  two  the  crystals  will 
have  g^wn  larger,  when  the  bottle  should  be  shaken  to 
detach  them  from  the  sides,  and  then  wash  them  with  distill- 
ed water,  acidulated  with  acetic  acid.  To  obtain  the  rarer 
forma  it  is  requisite  to  allow  the  crystals  to  deposit  quickly, 
which  may  be  done  by  making  a  solutton  of  urate  of  sodium 
by  boiling  uric  acid  with  solution  of  caustic  soda  until  no 
more  is  taken  up.  If  i  or  2  drachms  of  this  is  put  into  8  oz. 
of  urine  and  a  small  quantity  of  acetic  acid  added,  not 
more  than  suffidenf  to  neutralize  the  soda,  very  perfect  crys- 
tals will  be  obtained.  Another  deposit  found  in  urine  is  the 
phosphate  of  ammonium  and  magnesium,  or  triple-phosphate, 
which  may  be  prepared  in  prisms  by  dropping  about  2j  or 
30  grs.  of  carbonate  of  ammonium  into  8  or  10  oz.  of  unne, 
and  allowing  it  to  remain  quiet  for  some  hours.  When  the 
crystals  are  of  sufficient  size  the  bottle  may  be  gently  shaken 
and  the  urine  poured  off  This  deposit  may  also  be  obtained 
in  stellate  crystals  by  adding  i^  to  2 'drachms  of  carbonate 
of  ammonium  to  urine,  and  allowing  it  to  stand.  The  cry»- 
tals  should  be  washed  with  distilled  water,  to  whldi  a  little 
liquor  ammonis  has  been  added.  Calcic  oxalate  may  be  ob- 
tained by  dropping  a  single  small  crystal  of  oxalic  acid  into  8 
or  .10  oz.  of  urine,  and  leaving  it  at  perfect  rest  for  some  hours. 
"Mr.  Waddington  has  also  obtained  good  results  from  salicin 
by  pouring  a  saturated  solution  in  cold  water  on  to  a  slide, 
holding  it  over  a  flame  until  it  is  at  the  boiling  point ;  then 
pouring  off  the  slide,  when  only  a  viscid  film  will  remain. 
This  must  become  quite  cold,  and  the  under  surface  held  dose 
to  the  fiame  of  a  lamp  or  gas  jet  The  moment  it  begins  to 
crystallise  it  must  be  removed  a  few  inches  fk-om  the  flame, 
or  else  it  will  fuse. 


CryataUlaatlons  Produced  by  Means  of  the  Blow- 
pipe*— It  sometimes  happens  in  experiments  with  the  blow- 
pipe, when  borax,  phosphorus,  salt  or  soda  is  used,  that  the 
beiad,  at  first  limpid^  becomes  suddenly  opaque.  M.  6.  Rose 
finds  that  this  is  due  to  the  development  of  crystallised  bodies  in 
the  interior  of  the  mass.  The  crystallisation  is  often  confused, 
although  sometimes  it  is  very  regular,  and  on  operating  with 
titanium  under  sufficiently  varying  circumstances,  M.  Rose 
has  been  able  to  obuin  anatase,  and  to  effect  the  crystallisa- 
tion of  the  two  allotropic  states  of  the  titanic  acid.  With 
felspar  and  phosphorus  salt  (by  the  aid  of  which,  as  is  well 
known,  silicates  are  reduced  to  silica  and  phosphates)  he  ob» 
tained  crystallised  quartz,  confused,  but  insoluble  in  alkalies. 
In  order  to  recognise  the  crystals  obtained  under  these  con- 
ditions, flatten  the  yet  warm  bead  and  observe  it  under  a 
microscope,  or  it  may  be  attacked  by  water  or  an  acid,  in 
which  case  the  residual  crystals  may  be  collected  on  a  glass 
plate. 

New  Test  fbr  niolybdeniuii. — In  a  former  paper  I  stated 
that  under  certain  circumstances  sulphocyauide  of  potassium 
produced  a  magnificent  red  colour  with  molybdic  acid.  I 
have  since  thought  to  use  this  reaction  as  a  test  for  the  pres- 
ence of  molybdenum,  and  I  find  it  extremely  delicate,  far 
more  so  than  any  other  test  yet  employed. 

Thus,  molybdic  add  dissolved  in  hydrochloric  acid,  and 
treated  with  sulphocyanide  of  potassium,  gave  the  following 
results,  when  progressively  diluted  and  shaken  up  with  scraps 
of  zinc. 


DegTM  of  Dilation. 
One  part  molybdic  acid  in 


D«gT«e  of  ColoraUoB. 
50,000    Dark. 
"      "  *•  ••        ..     150,000    Pale.  i 

"      *•  "  "        ..     300.000    Very  pale. 

**      "  **  «        ..     600,000    Faint. 

..  1,000,000-      inamallbulk. 

it      u         a  If  2  «fto  noo :  ^lonr  perceptible 

. .  2,000,000  -J  ^^jy  .jj  ^^  ^^^ 

The  presence  of  sesquioxide  of  iron  does  not  interfere  with 
this  test  if  time  is  allowed  for  its  deoxidation. 

Tungstic  acid  similariy  treated  also  gave  a  magnificent  red 
or  yellow  colour,  which  however  is  not  superior  as  a  colour 
test  to  that  at  present  used.—  WtOiam  Skey^  New  Zealand. 

Siilplioeyaiilde  of  Cbromlniii.— When  a  mixture  of 
bichromate  of  potash^  and  sulphocyanide  of  potassium  is 
treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  the  liquid  acquires  a  reddish 
purple  colour,  and  on  agitating  it  with  ether,  a  red  sulpho- 
cyanide of  chromium  is  dissolved  thereby,  while  the  aqueous 
solution  acquires  a  pure  green  colour.  If  the  action  of  the 
sulphocyanide  is  further  prolonged,  the  original  purple  red 
colour  passes  into  green,  and  ether  refuses  to  extract  any 
of  the  chromium.  It  has  since  been  found  that  by  using  a 
limited  quantity  of  the  sulphocyanide  only  the  red  colour 
is  produced,  and  ether  then  extracts  the  whole  of  the  chro- 
mium salt  From  these  cireumstances  it  appeara  likely  that 
the  pleodiroiam  exhibited  by  the  solutions  of  various  chro- 
mium salts  is  due  to  the  presence  of  two  different  oxides  of 
chromium,  the  green  sesquioxide  and  a  higher  oxide.  A 
double  sulphocyanide  of  potassium  and  chromium  appeara  to 
form  when  a  solution  of  bichromate  of  potash  is  evaporated 
at  a  very  gentle  heat,  with  a  small  quantity  of  a  sulpho- 
cyanide in  hydrochloric  acid.  It  falls  in  granular  ruby 
coloured  crystals. — William  Skey^  New  Zealand. 


NOTICE. 
With  fhis  manber  (he  present  volume  eloeea,  and  we  Jiave  pleas- 
ure in  informing  our  readers  ikat  in  our  next  number,  com' 
mencing  volume  XVII.,  fvill  be  published  a  verbatim  report 
of  (he  first  of  Professor  TyndaJCs  Christmas  Lectures  at  ihs 
Royal  InttUution,  "  On  Seat  and  Cold:'  Other  new  features 
wiil  also  be  gradually  introduced  into  our  pages  during  th« 
ensuing  year. 


[BngHShThHtl<m,VcI.rVl.,iro^4ttl,patw3a3^3a4;  Vo.  419^  page  ffiL] 


98 


Contemporary  Soientific  Preea — PaterU-s. 


OONTEMPOBARY  SCIENTIFIC  PRESS. 

render  this  heading  It  ^  Intended  to  give  the  tiUes  of  all  the 
chemical  papers  which  are  pablished  in  the  principal  scientifiR  period- 
ioals  of  the  Continent  Articles  which  are  merel/  repiiots  or  ab- 
Btracts  of  papers  already  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  of  the 
more  important  papers  here  annoanced  will  appear  in  Aitare  nombers 
of  the  Ghuiioal  Imbws.] 

ComptM  Bendv9.    September  a,  1867. 

Dumas:  "  Obituary  yoUes  of  Prqfe^wr  Faradayy^Cnxraxui*: 
«*  OHtuary  Notice  <^  Prqfewor  Faraday .^''-^HkSLwa:  '*  Answer  to 
Faugere^s  R&marks  on  the  AtUhMUicity  of  ihe  Pa9oal  Corrupond' 
cmce.'*— Sboohi  :  ^  On  a  Se^f-recording  Meteoroloffieai  Apparatus 
in  the  Champ  Marg:''—**  On  th4  ShoopCng  Stars  obaeroed  on  the  loth 
of  Augiut,  1867."-."  On  a  SUUar  Speetro»copfi:'—A,  W.  Hofmann  : 
*^Ona  nsto  Clast  qf  Adds  homologous  vnih  Hydrocyanic  Acid.^ — 
Buaoiir :  "' On  the  Use  qf  Ifot  Air  intiead  of  Sieam  as  a  MoUvs 
Jfotoor.^ — P.  Dbsaims  :  *'  Hessarchet  on  the  AhsorpUon  of  Obscure 
Beat.^^A.  Ofpuihsxji  :  **  New  Researches  on  the  fsom^rimn  qf  Pro- 
ioehl&ride  cfAUyl  and  Jfonochlorinated  Propyl&ne?^—k.  OADTtaa  : 
**  On  Chloride  oflTydrocyanic  Acid.*^—iL  Simpson  avd  A.  OAimxa : 
**  Onthe  direct  Combination  of  Aldehyde  and  Hydrocyanic  Aeid.^^ 
—J.  Y.  BucBANAK :  *'  On  some  Derivatives  of  Jsethion4o  Add.""— 
Phipsok:  **  On  the  Presence  qf  Columbite  in  Wolfram:^^K.  Baudbi- 
MOMT : "  Oa  <Ae  Chsimioal  Composition  qfthevarious  Kinds  of  Guano 
imported  to  JBordeaua  during  the  last  Twelve  Years.^* 
September  9. 

Gbaslbb  !  **  Answer  to  some  further  remarks  by  Faugere  on  the 
Authentiotty  qf  the  Pascal  OorrespondeneeJ^—k.  Sbochi  :  **0n  the 
History  ^  the  Static  Barometer,  "~A.  W.  Horn avn  :  "^On  a  now 
Series  of  Hom^ogues  qf  Hydrocyanic  Aeid.'^^Y^vunMi  **Sonu 
further  lUmarks  on  the  Authenticity  of  <Ae  Pcucal  OorrespondenoA  *^ 
•^.  M.  Gauoaib  i*^  On  the  Polarisation  of  the  BUctrodes  qflhc  ^o^ 
taic  lottery .*'~Bbbthblot  :  '*  On  some  Hydrocarbons  contained  in 
Coal  Tar,  Styrolene^  Cymene^  Hydride  qf  Naphthaline^  etc.'^—h. 
Oadtibb  :  ^Ona  amp  Series  qf  Isomers  qf  the  Fatty  Hydrocyanic 
Xthorsy—**^  On  a  new  Base  derived  from  Hydrocyanic  Acid:* 

MonaUbericht  der  HdnigUeh-Preussischen  Akademie  dor  Wiseen- 
schqf ten  ou  Berlin.      Jane,  1867. 
PoooBBDORn :  '^  On  the  motion  of  Quicksilver  in  Glass  Tubes  un- 
der the  Jnjiuence  of  the  Electric  Current.^ 

Siteungsberiehte  der  HaiserUchen  Akademie  der  Wissenschqften  su 
Wien.  {MathemtUische-naturwissensohaJtliche  Ctaese)  Marohi  1867. 
G.  TsoHBBMA :  **  On  Glaueodcte  and  Hanaite,'* 

Bulletin  de  la  Soeiitk  CMmique  de  Paris.  ^Uy,  1867. 
J.  Klob  x  *^Onthe  Theory  qf  the  Manufacture  of  Soda  by  Leblanc^s 
Process."" — ^Louquininb  abd  Lippmanm  :^*  On  the  PreDaration  of  Gy- 
tnene  by  treating  Camphor  with  Perchloride  of  Pnosphonts.^ — ^P. 
ALBZBTBrv :  "  On  OrystalUoed  Nitrotciuoiy^'R.  Qkimavx  \  ^Onthe 
Constitution  qf  Bensoine,  Hydrobenooine^  and  some  Allied  Sub- 
stances,^ 

Jane. 
.  E.  MoKiBB :  *<  An  Improved  Hair  HyaroscopeJ^^Prnnov :  *^Ona 
Method  qf  Detecting  the  Presence  o/Iod(Me  a^nd  Bromine  in  the 
9ameSolution,^'-^htuxtq  db  BouBAnDBAN  :  ^*  ^  new  Method  qf  Ssti- 
mating  Copper.'*— 0.  Fbibdbl  abb  A.  Ladbbbuko:  "^On  a  SiUoic 
Mercaptan.^—1&.  Gbimaxtz  :  **  On  theBrominated  Derivatives  qf  Gal- 
lic Addy^J.  J.  CHTDBBim :  *'  On  HeaBylene-Pseudo-Urea,'*—¥,  Sbs- 
TIKI :  **•  On  Wait  of  coccus  caricos.^— Mallbt  :  "  t>n  M4  Manufacture 
of  Chlorine  and  Oxygen  from  SubcUoride  of  Copper.** — Abthoinb 
AKD  Gbnoud  :  **An  improved  Iridescent  Glasefbr  Porcelain.*'—*'  A 
method  qf  Producing  Designs  on  Agate."— F ah Ar-jArxh :  ^Onthe 
7yanq/i>rmation  qf  Liquid  into  Solid  Fatty  Acids.**— WnMOD :  *^A 
Method  nf  treating  Garandn:* 

Journal  des  Fabricants  de  Papier.     Angast  x,  1867. 

F.  BouBDiLLiAT :  "  On  Testing  the  Chemical  Products  used  in 
Paper  Making.  (Continuation,)  Prussian  Blue.**  Z.  Obioli  a^iid 
Hbbbt  :  "*  An  Agitator  fbr  Preparing  Solutions  qf  Chloride  qflAme. 
C  Obtb-Tandrbbbboebn  :  **  A  Process  for  Rendering  Canvas^iiseues^ 
Paper ^  Pasteboard^  etc.,  waterpro^.*'—A  Swam  :  *♦  An  Improved 
Apparatus  fbr  BvaporaHng  and  Recovering  Spent  Lyes:*—B.  O. 
TxLOMAB :  "  An  Improved  Method  of  TreaUng  Vegetable  Subetances 
for  (he  Manufacture  of  Paper  Pulp.** 
Aogost  15. 

E.  Bovbdilliat:  **  On  Testing  the  Chemical  Products  used  in 
Paper  MaHtig.  (OrnHnuation.)  Acetate  qf  Iron,  Sulphate  of  Cop- 
per, Acetate  qf  Copper.*'— ^.  L.  Bbbbant  : '' On  the  Use  qf  Wade  Fab- 
rics fbr  the  Mamtfhcture  qf  Pasteboard,*" 

Archives  des  Sciences,     Aagtist  35,  1867. 
C  Habtokao:  **Onthe  Separation  qfNiobic  Addfirom  Titanic 
Acid,  and  on  an  Analysis  of  JBechywite.** 

Hunst  und  Gewerbebkttt.    July,  1867. 

f.  MoTOKO :  **0n  an  Animal  Charcoal  Filter  on  H.  DanchetPs 

principle,  manttfatiured  by  the  London  Water  Purifying  Com- 

pamy.^—T.  Wbolbb  :  *'  On  Disinfection.*'—''  On  the  Manufacture  of 

Plastic  Charcoal.**'— Raumb:  '*Onthe  ImpurUies  qf  the  Coals  of 


Bavaria.**— B..  Waowbb:  *'0n  the  Dtieetion  qf  Cotton  in 
,  Yam  an''  Fabrics.**—''  On  Mandarin  Yellow,  a  new  Colouring 
Matter  prepared  from  the  Recuse  of  Cider  Making.'*— E.  Diktbicb: 
**  Note  on  the  Preparation  of  Indigo  Carmine.** 

rinveniion.    September,  1867. 
J.CtBBBN:  *'0n  the  DisinfeeUon  of  Petrdeum.^'-^i.m:  *'0b 
Brianchon*s  Pearl  Glaeefor  Glass  and  Porcelain.'" 

Journal ft^  Praktlsche  Chemie.    Angost,  1867. 
O.  Mabiobao:   '^On  R.  Hermann*s  Researches  on  the  Atomia 
Weight  qf  TantaUum,  Niobium,  and  HmatiumJ^^A.  Kkmhuott: 
**Onthe  AlkaUne  Reaction  qfsome  Minerals,** 

Bulletin  de  la  SociHi  d^Bnoouragement.  ivOtj,  1867. 
P.  0.  Caltbbt  :  -  On  Phenio  Acid  and  its  Propertieer—Tmm 
Dw  Moth  AT :  "^  Method  of  Preparing  Oagygen  and  (hone  from  the 
Alkaline  Pemumganates.**—"  On  the  Preparation  of  Otygeniesd 
Water.**— ».  Hunt  :  "  On  some  now  methods  qf  SmeUing  Ore*  qf  Use 
in  New  England.-"— "Raia^ss*  i**  On  the  Use  of  SiHdo  Add  for  Ae 
Mawufacture  <tf  Soap,  and  fbr  other  Purposes.""— Patzk  i  "  On  the 
Manufixdure  qf  German  Yeast.^—T>vuAB:  *"  On  the  SOtworm  Die- 
ease/*— Pastbub:  "On  the  Silkworm  Dieeaee.**—lJanoin:  '^Antm-' 
proved  Writing  Telegraph.'"— T^noA  :,*0n1ha  Advantages  o/Arm^ 
etronffs  Aooumulatorfbr  Hydraulic  Apparatus.^ 

Comptes  Rendue.     B^tember  33, 1867. 
F.  LooAS  :*'Onthe  Limits  of  VietbilUy  </  the  BlodHc  m4  ether 
Light.**— J.  L.  SoBVT  :"0n^  IntensUy  qf  Solar  RadiattonT-i . 
Kolb:  *^  Researches  on  Chloride  qf  lAm^ 

BulleUn  de  la  Sodhti  ChinUque  de  Porie.   Joly,  1867. 

LsooqdbBoi8Baui>bat7:  '''SomeSaperimenisonaupereaturaiiom:* 

C.  Lauth  ahd  a.  Oppbhbbim  .  **0»  the  Action  <^  the  CMorideeqf  Tore- 

benthine  on  AniUne  and  RosaniUnc^—V.  P.  DsBBmAur :  **  {M  As 

Uee  <tf  Potash  Salts  as  Manure."^ 

Angost 
Lbooq  db  BoiSBAiTDBAir :  «*  (M  tts  SupersaturaOon  qfSaUne  Sciu- 
iione.**—Q.  Lbmoikb :  "On  the  TYanqformation qf  Red  Phoepkorut 
into  Common  Phosphoru9.'"—BovBaoix :  "  On  Organic  BadiaeUs.*^ 
P.  P.  Dbhkbaxn  :  "Onthe  Useqf  Potash  Salts  as  Manure.'" 


PATENTS. 


Commonieated  by  Mr.  Yauqhab,  F.O.8.,  Fateot  Agent,  54, 
Lane,  W.  a 

GRANTS  OP  PBOVISIONAL  PROTEOnON  FOR  SHj 
MONTHS. 


3x39.  H.  A.  BotmeylUe,  Rue  du  Mont  Thabor,  Paris, 
ments  in  the  method  or  means  for  preserving  pasty  matto*  and  sA- 
stances,  and  apparatus  therefor." — A  communication  flrom  B.  (aMxtoo, 
Bue  Lepic,  Paris.— Petition  recorded  November  6,  i^. 

3308.  A.  r.  Gaidan,  Nime^  Gard,  France,  ^*  Improvements  in  eoBB> 
pressed  or  artificial  fuel" — Partly  a  oommnnicatlon  from  L.  Ttcsget^ 
Nimes,  Gard,  Prance. 

3319.  K.  Madge,  Swansea,  **  Improvements  in  the  mode  of  and  sp- 
paraius  for  (he  reduction  of  sulphate  of  iron  crsrstals.'* — Partly  a  coas- 
munication  from  O.  Madge,  Oaiiisal  Bajo,  ChilL— November  i^  1867. 

3336.  W.  H.  Richardson,  Glasgow,  N.Ek,  ** Certain  improvements  la 
the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel,  and  in  the  means  or  apparatas  tat 
eflbcting  the  same." 

3333.  J.  Clark,  Pb.D.,  and  A.  Ksilman,  Otaagow,  NB.,  **Impnrrs> 
ments  in  decomposing  the  sulphides  of  copper,  silver,  nickel,  cobaltt 
lead,  barium,  strontiam.  and  oalcium,  and  In  obtaining  copper,  solflaKr, 
and  other  products." — November  24,  1867. 

3333.  R.  G.  Harcourt,  Birmingham,  **  Improvements  in  the  mannfac- 
tore  and  composition  of  fire  lighting  material.'* 

3343.  A.  M.  Clark,  Chancery  Lane,  "  Inmrovements  in  refining  es»- 
perT*— -A  communication  from  F.  Le  Olerc,  M.D.,  Boulevail,  St^  MaiUB, 

J.  Templeman,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  **  Improvements  In  the 
"oable 


3*44-  , 

ture  of  fire-lighters,  applicabl 


aJso  for  temporarr  fires  or  iMaters,  and 

-Nov. 

^-^  ...  »,"Impn 

process  of,  and  in  apparatus  employed  in  tnrating  and  separating  ] 


.    --  .  »PMyl 

in  the  means  or  apparatus  employed  therein.^''— November  x8,  1867. 
334B.    J.  Swindells,  Kegworth,  Ldceetershlre,  **  Improvements  la  lbs 


erais,  earths,  and  other  substances  when  eround  or  polrerised.* 

3369.  J.  G.  Tongue,  Southampton  BuUdinss,  Chanceiy  Lanc«'*Iab* 
provements  in  the  process  and  apparatus  employed  for  ageing  siod  re- 
fining winM,  slcohola,  spirits,  and  other  Hquors.** — A  commnnlrs tfaw 
from  R.  D,  Turner,  New  York,  U.8. A.— November  x6,  1867. 

3364.  C.  E.  Brooman,  Fleet  Street,  London,  "^  A  new  or  Imprvrsd 
process  o(;  and  apparatus  or  fUxnaces  for  the  manaflactare  of  metsl 
direct  from  the  ore." — A  communication  from  P.  £.  Martin,  Paris. 

3370.  G.  FItt,  Umohoose.  Middlesex,  **  Improvements  In  the  maaa- 
fsctore  of  artificial  manure."— November  xS,  1867. 

3383.  W.  H.  Rtcliardson,  Gla^ow,  N.B.,  *' Certain  ImprovemeoCs  la 
the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel." — ^November  so,  1867. 

3191.    F.  L.  de  Gkrbeth,  Haggerstone,  Middlesex,  "  ImprovemPBts  ts 
treaunar  oils  and  spirits,  and  in  apparatas  to  be  used  te  this  ] 
^Petition  recorded  November  11, 1867. 

3375.    W.  J.  Coleman,  Bury  St.  Edmonds,  Suflblk,  and  A  < 
Lombard  Street,  London,  **  IntproTeBMnts  la  tlie  comblnatioa  aad  mads 


[EngUab  Edition  ToLZVI^ira  418,  pagaSM  I  NadaO,pi«^  310^  317  ;iro.  418,  paffBfl^    Ha  420,  pago  31&] 


OtenoAL  Kswi, ) 
iW^  1868L      f 


Notea  and  Qv^riea. 


99 


of  treating  and  employing  certain  lyrepantlona  from  Tuions  articlea  of 
fcoA"— NoTember  19, 1867. 

3j8&  BeroneM  C,  de  LftTenent,  Brixton  Road,  Surrey,  **  Improre- 
mentB  in  coatiDg  motals  and  metallic  artloles  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting or  preserring  the  same  from  oxidation  and  decay ;  also  In  the 
materials,  machinery,  and  apparatus  to  be  employed  therein.''— No- 
Tember  ao,  1867. 

3395.  J.  Townaend,  aiasgow,  N.B.,  **  Improrements  In  the  mannfko- 
tare  of  soda  and  potash ''— Norember  at,  1867. 

1907.  T.  BorcheU.  Oharlmonte  Avenae,  Kingston,  County  of  Dublin, 
Ireland,**  A  nevand  Improved  process  and  machinery  for  the  mann- 
fccture  of  soda-water,  and  other  aerated  liquids."— November  aa,  1867. 

334«x  J.  P.  Smith,  eiasgow,  N.B.,  "  An  Improved  mode  of  coating 
and  uniting  metals  with  meUls.'*— November  a6,  1867. 

336a  H.  F.  Gardner,  Boston,  U.S.A.,  *'  ImproTements  In  the  means 
n,  and  apparatus  for,  treating  metals  and  minerals,  in  order  to  pro- 
duce their  oxides  or  other  chemical  or  mechanical  combinations,  and 
to  separate  meUls  from  their  ores,  or  from  their  alloys.*'— A  communi- 
^tlon  fromO.  A.  Willard,  Boston,  U.S.  A.,  and  W.  Q.  Adams,  PrankUn, 
Mass.,  U.S.A.— November  27,  1867. 

N0TI0E8  TO  PBOCKED. 
2114.    J.  Hargreayes,    AppIeton-witMn-Widnea,  Lancashire,  "Im- 
provements in  utilizing  certain  materials  or  products  obtained  during 
the  manufkctare  of  steel  and  iron.**— Petition  recorded  July  19,  1867. 

ai3a.  T.  A.  Breithaupt,  Passage  dea  Petltes  Bcurles,  Paris,  **  CerUln 
processea  of  manufkcturing  extract  and  essence  of  hop  to  be  substituted 
ibr  the  plant  itself  In  the  making  of  beer.'*— July  aa,  1867. 

2166.  0.  B.  Brooman,  Fleet  Street,  London,  **  Improvements  In  the 
manufkcture  of  cast-steel  and  its  derlvatlres."— A  communication  from 
£.  MarUn,  and  P.  K.  Martin,  Parts,  July  2^,  li&j. 
.2553.  J.  Elchhom,  Delahay  Street,  Westminster.  **  Improvements  In 
nimaces,  for  melting  Iron  and  other  metals,  and  lor  smelting  ores."— 
Partly  a  commnuicatton  from  H.  Krigar,  Hanover,  Prussia.— September 
9^x867. 

26  X  8.  T.  Ben,  Hampstead,  Middlesex,  **  Improvements  In  treating  the 
oxide  of  iron  residues  of  gas  purifying  in  order  principally  to  extract 
sulphur  therefrom.*'— September  17,  1867. 

214a.  H.  A.  Dufr«n^  Rne  de  la  Fid^6,  Paris,  **  Improvements  in 
preserving  Iron  from  oxidation."— A  communication  from  A.  Delceiter, 
Bo,  Prance. 

21  j6.  S.  Bonsall,  Philadelphia,  U.8A.,  **  Improvements  In  tanning, 
and  in  the  machinery  and  apparatus  to  be  employed  therein."— Pett- 
tions  recorded  July  23,  1867. 

3208.  A.  f.  Galdan,  Nimes,  Gard,  France,  **  Improvements  In  com> 
pressed  or  artificial  ftiel.'*— Partly  a  communication  from  L.  Tresgot, 
NUnea,  Gard,  Franoe.— November  x»,  1867. 

3J3X  J.  Clark,  Ph.I>.,  and  A.  :&ilman,  Glasgow,  N3.,  **  Improve- 
ments in  decomposing  the  sulphides  of  copper,  silver,  nickel,  cobalt, 
lesfl,  barium,  strontium  and  calcium,  and  obtaining  copper,  sulphur, 
and  otherproducts.**— November  xa,  X867. 

3275.  w.  J.  Coleman,  Bury  St.  Edmonds,  Suffolk,  and  A.  Coleman. 
of  I«ombard  Street,  London,  ^Improvements  In  the  combination  and 
mode  of  treating  and  employing  certain  preparations  for  various  arU- 
eles  of  food."— November  19, 1867. 

3295.  J.  Townsend.  Glasgow,  N.B.,  '*  Improvements  In  the  manu- 
facture of  soda  and  potash."— November  ax,  X867. 

2x80.  P.  A.  Eohart,  Bue  du  Oanteleux,  Doual,  France.  **Improve- 
menta  in  the  manufacture  of  gases  for  the  production  of  light,  heat, 
and  motive  po^****  *"**  *°  apparatus  for  that  purpose.**— July  a7,  1867. 

ax98L    A.  Watt,  Putney,  Surrey,  **  An  improved  fertilizing  compost.^' 

3aoa  J.  Jones,  Little  Bolton,  Lancashire,  "  An  improved  chemical 
mixture  or  (^mpound  for  extinguishing  fires  and  destroying  explosive 
fire-damp  In  coal  mkiea.*'— ^uly  30,  X867. 

2313.  G.  Gordon,  San  Francisco,  Callfomia,  U.S.  A.,  **  Improved  pro- 
cesses snd  apparatus  to  be  used  In  the  manufacture  of  sngi^.  and  In 
sawing,  cutting,  or  fbrming  the  lame  into  cubes  for  use.'*— July  31, 
1867. 

2239.  £.  A.  Kirby,  Gordon  Square,  Middlesex,  **An  improved  sys- 
tem of  dbpensing  medicines  and  preparing  drugs  therefor,  together 
with  an  improved  portable  miniature  dispensary  and  instrument  case 
applicable  to  such  system."— August  a,  1867. 

2264.  J.  Beaton,  Langley  Mil^  DerbysUre,  **  Improvements  in  blsst 
ftmiaces."— August  5,  X867. 

a27a    T.  Lnthringer,  ' 
— August  6,  X867. 

2288.  A.  M.  Clark,  Ohancery  Lane, "  An  improved  metallic  alloy 
and  in  the  applications  of  the  same.** — A  communication  from  G.  A, 
Schmitte,  and  H.  A.  Levallois,  Boulevart  St.  Martin,  Paris.— August  8. 
Z867. 

2294.  H.  A.  Avery,  and  G.  Penabert,  Paris,  **Tbe  application  of  a 
eertain  vegetable  powder  for  removing  and  preventing  iDcrostatlons  In 
boners."- August  9,  X867. 

2337-  J«  A.  Jones,  B.  Howson,  and  J.  Gjexs,  **  Improvements  In 
puddling  and  other  furnaces  employed  for  melting,  boiling,  or  heating 
Iron."— August  X4,  1867. 

2685.  A.  Olegele,  Mlndng  Lane,  London,  **  Improvements  In  the 
manufacture  of  Bpsom  salts."— A  communication  from  Mesarai  Vorster 
and  Gruneberg,  Cologne,  Prussia.— September  23,  X867. 


,  Lyons,  FMnee,  **  A  new  red  colouring  matter.** 


NOTES  AND  QUEBIES. 

/I  ha§  bssn  rtpTiMnUd  to  us  ikat  our  oohumn  of  ITotst  and  Quoriet 
hM  oooaHojMily  heon  made  ths  wM4sU  /or  tht  turroptiiious  dU- 
pomU  qf  Irads  •sertis  by  wubordinaUs  in  chmUeai  wort»^  «f»- 


known  to  thMr  principah.  ThU  eohunn  hot  proved  to  Is  mtf- 
Jhiently  useful  to  a  large  does  of  our  readers  for  us  to  be  reluo- 
tant  to  discontinue  it  for  the  sake  qf  a  few  who  abuse  its  pHtUtges. 
ProbaUy  a  more  rigid  supervision  will  enahU  us  to  obviate  the 
difficulty.  There  wiU  he  no  objection  to  a  correspondent  asking 
for  if\fi>rmation  on  trade  subjects;  h%U  the  answer  muH  likswiHS 
oe  made  puhUo^  and  in  such  oases  no  name  or  address  can  be 
given^  no  private  communications  forwarded  through  us,  and  no 
offer  of  paymsnUfor  injbrmation  can  be  published. 

MicMoride  of  JfsAvfenA^WIll  yon  be  good  enough  to  let  me  know 
the  best  process  fbr  making  bichloride  of  methylene,  also  any  teste  for  Its 
purity  ^-^.  MnLLKB.  [iiome  commercial  samples  of  bichloride  of 
methylene  have  proved  on  analysis  to  be  little  more  than  a  mixture  of 
diloroform  and  ether.— Ed.  O.  N.] 

Water  for  Stoam  Boilers.— Csn  any  one  refer  me  to  a  work  vrhlcb 
gives  reliable  Information  upon  **  Waters"  with  respect  to  their  suit- 
ability  Ibr  supplying  steam  boilers,  or  can  you  tell  me  what  is  the  phys- 
ical charaeter  of  the  deporits  when  the  water  contains  much  sulphate 
of  lime  or  carbonate  of  lime?— E.  8.  T. 

Watts^s  Didtonary  of  C^emMry.— In  reply  to  a  qiueiy  addressed  to 
us  by  a  Subscriber,  we  are  informed  by  the  Pnbllshera  of  Watts*s  Dic- 
tionary of  Chemistry  that  there  is  only  one  sheet  now  due  to  the  sub- 
scribers to  that  work,  as  the  thirteenth  part  conUlned  two  aheets 
more  than  the  proper  quantity.  The  missing  sheet  wlU  be  given  in  a 
fbturepart 

The  Bichromate  Battery.^Qsn  say  of  your  resders  refer  me  to  a 
description  of  the  mode  of  using  the  bichromate  battery  T  Is  it  ss  weU 
suited  asGrove*s,  for  use  with  BuhmkolTs  induction  ooilt  Is  it  ss  in- 
tense and  as  constant  as  that  battery  ?  Should  the  sine  plate  of  it  be 
amalgamated?  In  what  proooriton  should  the  saturated  solution  of  bi- 
chromate ofpotash  be  mixed  with  strong  sulphuric  acid  ?— Olksiocs. 

Atomic  Weight  Queries.^i.)  In  p.  2  of  Frankland's  **  Lecture 
Notes  '*  we  read  that  the  atomic  weight  of  an  element  is  made  to  rep- 
resent as  fkr  as  possible  ''the  weight  of  the  element  In  the  soUd  condi- 
tion, which,  at  any  given  temperature,  contains  the  same  amount  of 
heat  ss  seven  parts  by  weight  of  soHd  Utblum,  at  the  same  tempera- 
ture." A  reference  to  Kopp's  researches  is,  1  presume,  here  made. 
Where  can  I  find  Information  elucidating  the  above  statement?  (a.) 
On  comparing  the  titles  of  atomic  welghte  In  Watts's  *'  Dictionary  of 
Chemistry,"  vol  1.,  p.  46<.  published  in  1863,  and  In  Prankland  s  **  Lec- 
ture Notes,"  pasre  6,  published  in  1866,  I  find  a  Inrge  number  of  the 
atomic  weights  doubled  in  the  latter.  The  doubling  Is  I  believe  due  to 
the  researches  of  Cannlczaro.  Where  can  I  find  an  account  of  these 
researches?    Dr.  Odllng,  In  hb  article  on  *"  Atomic  Weights,"  Just  re- 


ferred to,  speaks  of  the  objections  to  Cannlssaro's  proposal  of  doubling 
the  atomic  weights  as  being  '*  too  great  to  admit  of  Its  adoption  ?**  " 


How 


then  has  It  become  so  rapidly  adopted  ?— Buericos. 

Lime  5oa7>.— Can  any  or  your  friends  tell  me  how  to  decompose 
lime  soap,  completely  and  quickly  ?  The  hydrochk>ric  and  sulphuric 
acid  methods  require  too  much  boiling  to  pay. — A.  B.  K. 

Bone  Boiling.— Year  correspondent,  **Oss,**  making  Inqufary  as  to 
means  to  abate  the  nuisance  or  smell  of  bone  boiling,  or  rendering  fats, 
as  well  as  other  kindred  points,  can  receive  the  desired  information  by 
addressing  H.  &  B.,  Box  4968,  P.  O.,  New  York  City.— H.  B.  BaA»- 
roKD. 

The  Bichromate  Battery.— In  reply  to  **Clericus,**  I  fk«quently 
use  the  bichromate  battery  with  a  Buhmkoff's  cofl.  Ito  sotlon  is  con- 
sidered as  '^hitense'*  as  a  ''Grove's,"  but  it  is  less  cnnstant  This 
defect  is  to  a  great  extent  remedied  by  the  usual  form  In  which  it  Is 
constructed,  vu.,  v(lth  a  means  of  raising  the  sine  out  of  the  solution 
whenever  it  is  required  to  stop  the  current,  thus  economfadng  its  power. 
The  sine  should  be  amalgamated,  and  the  cold  saturated  bichromate 
solution  mixed  with  a  twelfth  part  by  measure  of  sulphuric  acid.  One 
great  advantage  of  thia  batteiy  is  that  it  gives  off  no  fhmes.— F.  BAnnr 
Bkxokb. 

JButraetion  of  (HL— Dyeing  Turkey  Red.—OsMx  any  of  your  readen 
give  me  Information  relating  to  the  use  of  bisulphide  of  carbon  in  ex- 
tracting ofi  from  liquors  with  which  it  is  mixed,  such  as  a  solution  of 
olive  oil,  pearl-ash  ley, and  water,  and  if  an  apparatus  for  tbis  purpose 
would  be  expensive?  Also,  I  should  Uke  to  know  If  hyposalphite  of 
alumina  is  at  present  In  use  as  a  mordant  for  Turkey-red  dyeing,  and 
If  any  of  your  numerous  correspondents  can  supply  me  with  a  good 
practical  process  for  dyeing  Turkey-reds,  both  in  cloths  and  ysras, 
similar  to  what  is  at  present  pursued  in  some  of  the  large  establish- 
ments in  Lanoashire,— B> 

China  Clay.— I  deal  largely  in  China  cl«y,  snd  find  curious  dif- 
ferences in  the  purity  of  certsin  lots— for  instance,  three  months  ago 
I  delivered  a  maker  of  sulphate  of  alumina  iifty  tons,  sbout  which  no 
feuU  was  found ;  but  six  weeks  after,  when  the  remainder  of  the  carso 
came  to  be  delivered,  it  was  found  to  give  out  sulphurous  acid  largely 
during  caldnatloo,  and  to  yield,  moreover,  a  bad  colour  in  the  manu- 
factured article.  Now  the  question  arises,  can  this  clay,  lying  as  It  did 
in  sheds  at  Euncom,  absorb  sulphurous  acid  from  the  atmosphere, 
which  may  escape  from  some  of  the  large  chemical  woriu  in  im- 
mediate neighbourhood  ?  I  can  give  no  other  resson  for  the  impurity. 
— EMQiriaaa. 

Beeeiptfor  Preparing  Biue-blact  Writing  Jnkf  «oMo4  also  serves 
well  far  Ospyimg  Ink.—Tskt  of  blue  Aleppo  galls  five  ouaoes  and  a 
half;  powderod  clovea,  quarter  of  an  ounce;  purified  sulphate  of  iron, 
an  ounce  and  a  half;  sulphste  of  Indigo  (In  the  form  of  a  thin  pasteX 
an  ounce  and  a  half ;  pure  sulphuric  acid,  tbirty-flve  minims ;  cold  rain 


water  forty  onaoea. 


]Dlgest  tiie  gidls  when  bruised  with  the  cloves  In 
of  the  water  for  one  week,  then  pour  off  the  liquor  into 


another  bottle  and  cork  it    Then  pour  ten  ounces  mora  of  the  water  oo 
the  gaUs  and  digest  four  daya    Then  poor  Bquor  ss  before  into  bottle. 


[Eiig]idi]SdilknyyoLZVX,Nad20»pago31B;  Ho.4l8|pago2M;  Na  480,  page  317.] 


ICX5 


Anawers  to  Correspondents. 


j  ObsmcAL  Hswii 


Pour  theo  the  rema1nlii|(  ten  oanees  of  the  water  on  the  galls,  and  digest 
four  days.  Then  poar  off  liquor  into  bottle,  and  filter  through  French 
filtering  paper,  wringing  out  hard  the  refuse  of  the  galls  in  a  strong  clean 
linen  or  cloth  into  Uie  fflter,  so  that  nothing  be  lost  Add  now  the  iron, 
and  dissolve  and  filter  through  paper.  Then  the  acid,  and  shake. 
Then  the  indigo,  and  tboroaghiy  mix  M.  and  pass  the  whole  through 
filtering-paper.  Care  must  be  obsenred  tnai  the  indigo  be  mild,  and  not 
contain  too  much  fk«e  acid.— J.  H. 

BUaching  Palm  Oil.— Tom  correspondent,  Mr.  George  Johnson, 
has  failt^  to  bleach  palm  oil  from  three  causes.  He  has,  first,  the 
water  condensed  from  the  steam,  a.  The  dreg  is  left  In  the  oil  *,  and 
3.  He  is  too  sparing  of  hb  materials.  Let  him  tiy  the  following :  **  Boil 
the  palm  oil,  dther  with  steam,  or  tf  in  a  nan  with  a  fire  under  it,  add 
half  a  hundred-weight  of  water  to  the  oil  In  the  pan  before  the  lirt  is 
put  to  it,  allow  the  whole  to  settle  till  next  day,  draw  off  the  pure  clear 
oil  only  into  a  clean  dry  palm-oil  cask  standing  00  end  with  the  head 
out  F<ir  ten  hundred-weight,  fourteen  pounds  blchrome,  to  which  add 
as  much  boiling  hot  water  as  will  dIssolTe  two-thirds  of  the  chrome; 
after  a  little  stirring  add  to  this  thirty-five  pounds  of  muriatic  add 
which  will  dissolre  the  rest,  making  a  strong  solution ;  have  ready 
fifteen  or  twenty  pounds  of  concentrated  sulphuric  add,  add  the  acid 
chrome  soiuUon  to  the  oil,  and  stir  for  a  few  seconds ;  while  sdrrtng 
begin  pouring  the  solpbnric  add,  not  t<)0  slow,  until  a  strong  dark  green 
appears,  then  stop  pourinsr  the  add,  stir  for  a  second  or  two.  and  add 
ao  gallons  boiling  water,  a  little  more  stirring  and  the  process  Is  flnlabed. 
AI>out  7  er  8  lbs.  of  sulphuric  add  should  bring  out  the  green.  With 
all  the  materials  ready  at  hand,  the  process  should  l>e  finished  in 
3  minutes.  These  proportions,  especially  the  adds,  are  In  excess,  but  a 
Bttle  practice  will  enable  O.  J.  to  rednee  the  quantities.  The  agitation 
ahnulo  be  rigorous,  not  round  about  but  from  the  bottom  to  the  top,  so 
M  to  always  bring  up  the  chemieab  through  the  oiL  P.&~Don't  bother 
much  about  the  temperature.— O.  H.  W. 

WaUr  far  SUafn-boUert.—ln  reply  to  B.  8.  L.  I  beg  to  give  the 
following  infonnation: — ^Tour  correspondent  will  nardly  meet  with  a 
book  on  the  subject  alluded  to,  since  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to 
meet  every  q^edal  case.  There  exists  a  German  work,  the  title  of 
which  to  "*  Der  Fuhrer  das  Machinisten,'*  bd  0.  F.  BchoU,  avU  Inge- 
nieur,  pubUshed  at  Brunswick  by  Tleweg  and  Sons,  6th  ediUon,  1864. 
This  thoroQchly  practical  book  contains  a  large  amount  of  information 
which  woula  be  vainly  looked  for  in  books  on  steam  engines.  As  re- 
gards the  incrustations  in  boilers.  It  b  not  only  the  greater  or  less 
amount  of  mineral  matters  kept  in  solution  by  the  water  supplied  to 
the  steam-boilers  which  b  to  be  considered,  but  abo  the  presence  of 
the  steam,  consequently  the  temperature  to  which  the  water  b  heated. 


the  mode  of  suppWing  water  to  the  boilers,  and  the  place  at  wiiich  the 
1  pipes  enter  the  same.    As  a  general  rule,  a  hard  strongly  adhesive 


feed  I 


Incrustation  b  more  due  to  the  sulphate  of  lime  than  to  the  carbonate 
of  lime.  The  latter,  when  no  sulphate  at  all  b  also  at  the  same  thne 
met  with  in  the  fet'd  water,  leaves  a  muddy  slime  rather  than  incrus- 
tation, provided,  however,  no  alkaline  salts  be  present  at  the  same 
time,  as,  for  instance,  common  salt;  and  provided  abo  the  pressure  of 
the  steam  be  kept  comparatively  low,  at  any  rate  below  45  pounds  per 
square  Inch.  There  have  been  various  means  proposed  to  obviate  the 
incrustation  in  steam-boilers.  Some  of  these  ore  really  useless,  or 
even  iiUurioua  in  manv  ways.  A  very  usefkil  mixture,  which  effectually 
answers  the  purpose.  Is  the  following :— i  hundred-weight  of  catechu ; 
i  ditto  of  common  salt,  are  dissolved  in  aa6  gallons  of  water  (best  rain 
water  if  it  is  to  be  had,  or  soft  dear  river  water).  10  lbs.  of  this  mix- 
ture are  daily  sutBcient  to  keep  a  boiler,  which  has  to  convert  into 
steam,  in  la  honn'  time,  400  cubic  feftt  of  hard  water,  tnt  fh»m  incrus- 
tation. The  mixture  b  best  pumped  in  along  with  the  feed  water.  If 
£.  J.  T.  will  send  hb  address  I  will  give  him  a  diagram  and  descrip- 
tion of  an  apparatus  never  met  with  in  connection  with  steam-boilers 
In  tbb  country,  but  very  frequently  found  abroad,  where  no  steam- 
bdlers  can  be  used,  without  being  under  the  supervidon  of  properly 
<[ualiflcd  officers,  and  where  no  water  is  dlowed  to  be  used  for  steam- 
boilers  bat  after  taking  every  care  with  it  so  as  to  prevent  explodoos 
and  acddents.— Dr.  A.  A. 


ANSWERS  TO  CX)RRESPONDENTS. 

jr07T0R—Th4  AfH&riean  PubUsh*r$  o/Tm  CmMiOAL  News  ^foe 
notlcs  that  in  aocordanee  with  a  tugqetUon  of  Ma.  CBOoxn.  th4 
JSditor  and  Proprisior  of  the  Bngtidh  pubUeation,  they  wUl  he 
pUawd  to  receive  and  fw-ward  to  Mm  in  London  any  eeientijio 
publtcatione  ieeued  in  America^  for  revi^v^—and  aleo  any  Xotee 
and  Queriee,  Articlee,  Corretpondenoe^  etc,  for  pubUoaiion  or 
rtpty.  Their  faeilitiee  of  eommvnioation  wiih  Mr.  Caooxxs  ren- 
der  thie  tery  deeirahle  to  all  pereone  in  the  United  Statee  toho 
wieh  to  eonnr  %oith  him.    Addreee, 

w.A,  TowmEvrj)  a  adams, 

434  Broome  Street^  ITew  York, 

S.  E.  PMUpe.'^'We  are  by  no  means  so  materialtatic  as  our  oorre- 

•pendent  suppesea.  and  shall  be  veir  glad  to  peruse  the  artlde  named. 

/>.  ^. — **  Pantonine  *"  was  a  mbpimt  for  ^  Saponine.'* 

J.  J>.  JBcirry.— Thompson's  Dictionary  of  Chemistry  b  In  one  volume. 

Watts's  Dlctlonaiy  b  the  most  suitable,  but  It  b  In  four  or  five  toI- 


JiveUoue.^i  and  a.  See  **  Notes  and  Queries.'*  3.  The  best  eluct- 
dation  will  be  found  in  Wurts's  **  Introduction  to  Chemical  Philosophy,"* 
publidied  at  our  office.  1.  Not  generally  adopted.  5.  There  b  no 
oeet  method,  strictly  speaking.  Either  mode  of  formuUtion  meets 
with  supporters,  and  at  present  there  are  not  soffldent  data  to  enable 
one  to  decide  between  tbem. 


An  Old  Subecriber. —Ih  thanked  for  hb  oommunlcatkin :  we  will 
endeavour  to  attend  to  his  wbhes.  There  b  sometimes  dSlBcnlty  la 
getUnff  the  requidte  permission ;  we  thiLk  however,  that  we  may  pro- 
mbe  tEe  lectures  this,  year. 

ff.  JBoyes.— The  cause  of  the  eflbrvescenoe  ef  aerated  Uaoids  vim 
a  foreign  body  b  introduced  int^  tliem  (i.e^  bread  into  diam|Mcn^ 
was  ftally  expbined  in  a  paper  by  Mr.  Tomlinson,  P.B.&,  vUA 
H>peared  a  few  moiiths  ago  In  thk  Ciismical  Nbwb. 

Jr.  Keman.—The  Moniieur  SoienU^que  b  a  rery  good  sdeotifls 
JoamaL  lite  pnblbher  can  supply  you  fh>m  our  office.  Lee  Mbmdee 
can  abo  be  sent  from  our  office.  The  subset  tption,  post  tne,  b  j(ia  a 
per  annum.  In  advance. 

W.  Schq^Md^-The  matter  is  under  coodderation.  We  will  oqm- 
municate  again  on  the  subject. 

Prqfeeeor  Welteein.-^Yow  letter  arrived  some  time  ago,  but  net  ihs 
book. 

■/I  Soumee.—OvLT  publisher  has  answered  your  first  questloo.  a 
Galloway's  chemical  Ubles  are  sufficiently  brge  for  class  teaching,  hot 
we  believe  they  have  not  yet  been  printed  with  new  atomic  welglito 
and  most  recent  formnls. 

X  Y.  Z.—ln  examining  white  lead  mixed  with  ofl,  it  is  beet  to  extraet 
the  oil  with  ether  or  chloroform,  and  then  examine  the  residue  with 
adda,  etc,  in  the  ordinary  way.  If  you  Ignite  to  drive  off  the  oil  jgi 
will  in  all  probability  alter  the  composition  of  the  lead  oompound. 

J9i7.— There  b  no  particular  physical  reason  why  the  other  pUaeto 
should  not  be  inhabited.  Venus  would,  however,  be  preferable  t« 
Mercury  to  human  beings  constituted  like  ooraelves,  for  on  the  formci 
planet  a  bod  V  weighing  ilb.  on  the  earth  would  weigh  098  lb.,  and  the 
light  and  heat  received  would  be  1-91  times  that  recdved  by  the  esrtlk 
On  Mercury  a  pound  weight  would  wdgh  1106  lbs.,  whiisft  the  proper 
tion  of  light  and  heat  would  be  6*68  times  that  recdved  by  the  eaidi. 
This  excessive  radiation  may,  however,  be  In  a  great  m«aaare  inter- 
cepted by  a  dense  atmosphere. 

Jamee  Y,—The  copies  cannot  be  sent,  as  you  ne^ecied  to  give  sa 
addr<'es. 

J.  a.  P.— O^Nelirs  "DicUonaryof  Dveing"  wUl  probably  glveysusll 
you  want  to  know.  L'/noentian  b  a  rrench  periodical ;  it  can  be  ok^ 
dered  through  any  foreign  bookseller. 

J,  Q.  ruMera— Many  organic  ethereal  bodies  which  contain  nlphv, 
and  some  which  are  free  from  that  element,  hawe  an  offcndve  odoor 
resembling  garlia  ^  ^ 

.i.Jl— We  can  give  no  idea  of  the  prices.  Tour  best  plan  win  be  i» 
advertise  for  what  you  want. 

CommunieaUone  have  been  received  from  Dr.  Robrig ;  Dr.  Attfldd ; 
Dr.  Odling,  F.ILS^  W.  Spalding;  Dr.  B.  Angus  Smith,  FJtA  (with 
enclosure) ;  F.  0.  Ward :  L  Baggs:  H.  K.  York ;  Herr  Seneolmer  (with 
endosure) ;  W.White ;  H.  Morris ;  T.  Reader ;  S. Muspiatt ;  M.  Muiiihy ; 
0.  David;  J.  McDoagall;  J.  SbUr;a  Tomlinson,  F.K.a;  H«*rH. 
Kunde ;  J.  Grieveson ;  J.  Walker  (with  endosure) ;  J.  Maloome ;  H.  John- 
son:  J.  Williams:  J.  0.  M.  Wdlace;  K  Riley:  J.  D.  B.  Eraser;  Rev. 
Edwin  Smith;  A.  Warner ;  T.  Loveridge ;  Dr.  Davy ;  Dr.  a  Mwpwti; 
(with  enclosure) ;  Carroll  and  Co. ;  W.  Molyneux ;  T.  Smith  (with  endo- 
sore) ;  0.  Dussace ;  G.  Maurice ;  H.  Hayman ;  J.  Thompei.n ;  W.  Udd ; 
Prufeasur  Morton;  Dr.  Quesneville;  Professor  Heat»n;  C  GrevUle  Wit 
Hams,  F.R&  ;  W.  Jameson  (with  enclosure) ;  Rev.  C  W.  Kett ;  J^bm 
and  Sons ;  Dr.  Pattbon ;  Dr.  Wllhelms;  J.  Imray,  C.K ;  6.  H.  Jca^ 
nings  (with  enclosure);  J.  Gra.  Tatters:  W.  A.  JackaMi;  a  Seott 
(with  endosure) ;  H.  E.  Roscoe,  F.EA  (with  endosnra) ;  J.  Bax^eU, 
F.B.8.,  (with  endesureh  H.  Simklnson;  Dr.  F.  C.  Calvert,  FAS. 
(with  endosure);  Dr.  Sansom  (wUh  enclosure):  J.  Maatennan;  ri9- 
fessor  Tyndall,  F.1L&.;  J.  Ellison  (with  enclosure);  H.  Speaee: 
M.  Williamson;  Jabea  Hughes;  W.  Scoit;  G.  P.  Bod^ell;  J.  A. 
WanUyn  (with  enclosure);  Rev.  P.  Sonley  J«ihnstone ;  T.  W^^- 
burn;  G.  P.  Barker,  M.D.  (with  enclosure):  Dr.  A.  Wi  HotaMn, 
P.R.8;  Youngman,  Brothers;  Professor  J.  U.  Pepper;  H.K.i«k; 
H.  8.  Bradford  (New  York) ;  G.  Maurice ;  B.  Beading ;  Young's  Pte- 
affin  Light  and  Mineral  OU  Company;  Nicholson,  Taylor  and  Co.; 
H.  E.  Marsden ;  M'Dongall  Bros. :  D.  Knight;  W.  Smith  and  Oa.; 
H.  Bailliftre;  E.  Riley;  R.  Le  Neve  Foster:  G.  W.  Ecdee;  Dt 
Quesneville  (with  enclosure) ;  J.  Lonsdale ;  W.  B.  Brennon;  D.Pcrtrti 
P.R.S.;  W.  Dennison  (with  enclosure);  F.  a  Samneb;  Dr.  HL  Dobd  , 
B.  Boyd;  G.  J.  Symons;  &  MerriU;  H.  K.  Bamber;  W.  WW™" 
(with  endosure) ;  Dr.  Bohrig ;  J.  Ford  (with  enclosure) ;  D.  Wilhdm; 
kOately;  P.  Bc«e;  0.  P.  Bshin;  P.  Cooke  (with  enelosaze);  H. 
Jackson;  Gustav  Trouv*;  F.  Schutsenboier ;  T.  Jones;  £•*••*«*■• 
M.  Morris;  J.  Grimwood;  A-  B.  Sanaom ;  a  J.  Mackle;  W.  Adams; 
F.  Sutton;  P.  B.  Benger ;  T.  Blair;  J.Sutherland;  W.  A.  Koes;  P.  i. 
Cdvertand  Co.;   £.  Meldrum;  Piesse  and  LnUn;  F.  Hod^oa;IX 


Knight ;  W.  Faterson ;  J.  Walker ;  H.  B.  C*'ndv ;  P.  Sqnlra ;  J.  F»nl 
and  Co. ;  G.  W.  Eccles;  J.  Sbter;  D  8wan,7unior;  J.  Hoodenon;B. 
Warington;  J.  Young;  Dr.  Attfield;  liebig  Extract  Meat  Cempaay, 

E.  Wood  (with  enclosure).  „  ,^     _   .  . 

Booke  Jeeoeiwd.-*-  OasseU's  PopuUur  tEducator."  «  Tbe  R^.uc«? 
Manual  and  Gold  and  SUver  Worker's  Guide,*'  \y  Ylclor  O.  WweJ^ 
London:  Tri  bner  and  Co.  "*  American  Artban.*^  -Joam^  rf  ess 
UffhUng."  "Bulletin  Mensuel  de  la  Soddt^  Chimlqae  de  P», 
"Sdenflflo  American."  ^* Proceedings  of  the  Brittoh  *•»»«»■««" 
Conference,"  Dundee  Meeting,  1867.    ♦'A  Catalogue  o'„K><»t°*'3SK 


Philoeophlcal  Msgaxine*'  for  December.     -American  Jomwar 
Mining.'^    »'  A  Manual  of  Pharmacy,  for  the  Student   of  Vetefiasiy 
Medidne.*"    By  W.  J.  T.  Morton.    London:  Longmana.    ••Amenesa 
Artisan.'*    Bulletin  de  I'Encouragemenk"    Journal  of  Gaa  ligt'f', 

"Chembt  and  Drugg^.**    ^'SdentiAc  American." * —  '^'""^ 

of  Mining."    »  American  Gas-IJght  JoamaL*' 


[EnCliah  EdItiOD,  V6L  ZVX,  V a  480,  pa«a  317 ;  Na  418,  page  2M :  Ka  419,  pe«t  aO&] 


.'M'V/, 


OnsmoAL  Niiwt,  I 
Jfof^l868.     f 


Glas^for  Vessels  in  Ohemical  liesearcheS'-^Cai^onic  Acid. 


THE    c^i^gMr^^^^^^  S. 

Vol.  H.^'()f5^^"i"AfKi^fi^ 

MANTJFACTCriM  tifc^^ASi  FOR;.  VESSELS 
CHEMIC^t  raJSEARCHBS. 

BT  PROFBSSOB  J.  S.  8TA9. 

Ix  my  researches  "  on  the  Redproeal  Relations  of  Atomic 
Weights  "  I  have  stated  that  the  ordmary  gla^s  of  which 
retorts,  flasks,  etc.,  are  made,  gives  up  to  nitric  and 
hydrochloric  acids  at  the  ordinary  temperature  traces 
of  the  metals  it  contains.  In  such  vessels  it  is  impos- 
sible to  evaporate  the  purest  acid  to  dryness  without 
leaving  a  saline  residue. .  Hard  Bohemian  glass,  known 
as  refractory^  and  in  general  all  glasses  having  no 
alumina,  and  containing  an  excess  of  siUca,  resist  for 
an  almost  indefinite  time  the  action  of  hot  concentrated 
acids;  but  the  manufacture  of  balloons,  flasks,  and 
retorts  in  refiractory  glass  presents  great  difficulties,  the 
most  skilful  workmen  not  being  idways  able  to  work 
in  it  when  articles  are  required  of  an  extra  large  size. 
I  have  had  this  difficulty  frequently  brought  before  me. 
Wishing  to  ascertain  what  should  be  the  composition 
of  glass  which  would  be  at  the  same  time  unaffected  by 
acids  and  sufficiently  fusible  to  be  manipulated  with  no 
great  difficulty,  I  decid'd  to  carry  out  some  experiments 
on  this  manufacture  in  an  actual  glass-house.  These 
researches  showed  me  that  a  ^lass  having  for  basej 
sodium  and  calcium,  if  it  contains  a  sufficient  excess 
of  silica,  resists  acids  almost  as  well  as  refractory  Bo- 
hemian glass,  having  for  bases  potassium  and  calcium. 
But  it  is  known  that  a  mixture  of  equal  molecular 
weights  of  the  carbonates  of  sodium  and  potassium  is 
much  more  fusible  than  the  most  fusible  of  either  car- 
bonate by  itself;  starting  firom  this  fact,  I  have  been 
led  to  the  endeavour  to  replace,  in  the  composition  of 
refractory  glass  unattacked  by  acids,  a  portion  of  the 
potassiu  u  by  an  equivalent  quantity  of  sodium.  The 
result  has  completely  verified  my  anticipations. 

I  started  from  this  fact,  that  to  obtain  a  glass  very 
refractory  and  unattacked  by  acids,  having  for  bases 
potassium  and  calcium,  it  should  contain  about — 

Silica 7S'oo 

Oxide  of  potAssium i5'oo 

Oxide  of  calcium 10*00 


Upon  replacing  in  such  a  glass  half  of  the  potassium 
by  its  equivalent  of  sodium,  we  have — 

Silica 77*00 

Oxide  of  potassium 7-70 

Oxide  of  sodmm 5-00 

Oxide  of  calcium 10*30 


In  this  glass  the  bases  are  in  the  proportion  of  one 
atom  of  calcium  (Ca  "=40)  to  one  ato:u  of  potassium 
and  one  atom  of  sodium. 

With  these  data  I  made  some  trials  on  a  manuHac- 
turing  scale ;  using  for  this  purpose  fine,  pure  sand 
employed  in  ihe  manufacture  of  crystal  glass,  mono- 
carbonate  of  potassium  as  pure  as  it  comes  from  the 
English  works,  purified  bicarbonate  of  sodium,  and 
carbonate  of  calcium  in  the  form  of  white  marble,  finely 

Vol.  II.    No.  3.    March,  1868.  8 

[SngUih  Edition,  VoL  ZVIL,  Na  422,  pages  1, 2.] 


pulverised  and  passed  through  a  silk  sieve.  Thei 
materials,  in  appropriate  quantities,  were  intimately 
mixed  with  ten  or  twelve  per  cent,  of  their  weight  of 
arsenious  anhydride,  and  were  then  submitted  in  very 
refractory  crucibles  to  a  heat  strong  enough  to  bring 
them  to  a  sufficient  state  of  fusion  to  enable  the  glass 
to  be  worked.  The  addition  of  this  enormous  quantity 
of  arsenious  anhydride  was  made  by  the  superintendent 
of  the  glass  works,  with  the  object  of  more  readily  de- 
termining the  liquefaction  of  the  mass.  I  confess  I 
cannot  understand  the  action  of  this :  it  produced,  how- 
ever, no  other  inconvenience  than  nlling  the  air  with 
torrents  of  poisonous  matter,  and  analysis  has  satisfied 
me  that  no  trace  of  the  arsenic  employed  remains  in  the 
glass  produced.  - 

Operating  with  the  proper  proportion',  two  meltings 
were  effected  upon  tolerably  large  quantities.  With 
the  glass  obtained  I  had  balloons  with  long  necks,  mat- 
rasses, small  flasks,  cylinders,  etc.,  blown.  The  largest 
balloon  which  an  excellent  workman  succeeded  in 
making,  held  about  four  litres :  the  capacity  of  the  other 
balloons  varied  from  one  to  three  litres.  The  sides  of 
the  sphere  were  kept  thick  enough  to  be  able  to  resist 
the  traction  to  which  the  glass  would  be  exposed  by 
the  shrinking  experienced  by  nitrates  when  solidifying 
after  fusion. 

This  glass  had  a  yellowish  reflection ;  it  was  exces- 
sively hard,  but  httle  elastic,  and  as  free  from  hvgro- 
metric  properties  as  the  best  refractory  glass  of  Bo- 
hemia. 

I  took  the  trouble  to  submit  to  analysis  some  frag- 
ments of  two  balloons  from  different  batches ;  these 
balloons  were  broken  after  having  been  used  for  my 
experiments.    They  contained — 

Silica h76-4  77-3 

Oxide  of  potassium 7-1  62 

Oxide  of  sodium 5*9  6*5 

Oxide  of  calcium lo'o  lo'o 

loo'o  1000 

In  these  analyses  I  determined  directly  the  silica, 
and  the  oxides  of  potassium  and  calcium.  The  oxide  of 
sodium  was  estimated  by  difference.  The  glass  also 
contained  a  little  alumina  derived  from  the  crucible ;  1 
did  not  weigh  it;  the  numbers  for  the  sodium  are  there- 
fore that  much  in  excess. 


ON   THE  ESTIMATION   OF  CARBONIC  ACID 
IN  MINERAL  WATERS. 

BT  PROFESSOR  FRE8ENIUS. 

When  ammoniacal  solution  of  chloride  of  calcium  or 
barium  is  mixed  with  carbonic  acid,  the  metals  are  not 
precipitated  immediately  in  the  state  of  carbonates. 
The  author  formerly  stated  that  this  was  due  to  the 
previous  formation  of  carbamate  of  ammonia,  whilst  M. 
Carius  attributed  it  to  the  solubility  of  the  precipitated 
carbonates  in  sal-ammoniac.  The  author  has  repeated 
several  experiments  in  support  of  his  view  of  the  case ; 
when  chloride  of  calcium  is  added  to  a  frc-^hly  prepared 
solution  of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  th'3  liquid  is  at  first 
clear,  but  gradually  becomes  turbid.  If  the  solution  has 
been  made  about  half  an  hour,  the  precipitate  forms 
immediately. 

To  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  chloride  of  calcium, 
add  twice  it^  volume  of  water  charged  with  carbonic 
aci'l,  and  it  remains  clear  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour;  after 
twenty  hours  the  precipitation  was  not  complete  and 


202 


Elementary  Organic  Analyds — Lead — Nitroglycerine.  \  ^^'S^ isS^ 


the  filtered  fluid  immediately  precipitated  with  a 
diluted  solution  of  carbonate  of  ammonia.  A  diluted 
ammoniacal  solution  of  chloride  of  calcium  was  treated 
by  a  current  of  carbonic  acid  for  five  minutea ;  it  did 
not  become  turbid  at  once.  When  two  drops  of  a  solu- 
tion of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  in  20  parts  of  water, 
were  added,  the  first  precipitate  dissolved  when  ag^itat- 
ed,  but  a  third  drop  rendered  it  permanent 

Dr.  Fresenius  concludes  from  these  experiments  that 
there  is  at  first  a  formation  of  ammoniacal  carbonate, 
?7hich  only  changes  slowly  into  carbonate ;  this  trans- 
formation is  rendered  very  rapid  by  heat.  The  pres- 
ence of  chloride  of  ammomum  has  no  influence  in  these 
phenomena. 


ON  A  NEW  PROCESS  OF 

ELEMENTARY  ORaANIC  ANALYSIS, 

FOUNDED  ON  THE  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  GASEOUS  PRODCGTS. 
BY  M.  F.  SCHULZK.* 

Burn  the  substance  to  be  analysed  with  chlorate  of 
potash  in  a  tube,  having  previously  scaled  and  ex- 
hausted it ;  then  submit  to  analvsis  the  gaseous  mixture 
produced.  The  advantage  of  this  method  is  the  small 
amount  of  material  neces>ary ;  the  analyses  cited  as 
examples  were  performed  with  from  5  to  13  milligr.  of 
matter.  M.  Schulze  introduces  the  mixture,  together 
with  rather  more  than  enough  chlorate  for  complete 
combustion  into  a  combustion  tube,  sealing  it  at  one 
end,  and  drawing  it  out  of  the  other  j  after  having  ex- 
hausted and  measured  the  pressure  of  the  remaining 
air,  he  '^eab  the  tube,  shuts  it  up  in  a  gun  barrel,  and 
heats  it  to  a  dull  red  heat  for  twenty  minutes.  When 
cold,  he  breaks  the  point  of  the  tube  under  mercury 
and  collects  the  gas  in  a  eudiometer.  By  measuring 
the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  formed,  and  absorbing  it 
by  potash,  are  to  be  found  all  the  elements  necessary 
for  the  calculation  of  the  composition  of  an  organic 
matter  containing  only  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen. 
If  the  carbon  absorbs  its  proper  amount  of  oxycen,  and 
the  compound  is  a  body  corresponding  to  a  hydrate 
of  carbon,  such  as  starch,  the  gaseous  material  ob- 
tained is  exactly  equal  to  the  amount  of  oxygen  sup- 
plied by  the  chlorate  of  potash  used.  If  more  gas  be 
foundj  it  is  because  the  body  contains  more  oxygen 
than  IS  needed  to  bum  all  its  hydrogen ;  if,  on  the 
contrary,  there  is  le-s  gas,  it  is  because  the  body  con- 
tained an  excess  of  hydrogen  with  respect  to  its  oxygen 
in  the  constitution  of  water.  5.5  milligr.  of  choles- 
terine,  burned  with  60  milUgr.  of  chlorate,  gave  (after 
allowing  for  the  air  remaining  in  the  tube)  9*6667  cc. 
of  gas  (at  o^  under  one  metre  pressure).  The  60  miUigr. 
of  chlorate  furnished  12*483  cc.  of  oxygen ;  the  differ- 
ence, 2*8177  cc,  is  the  quantity  of  oxygen  correspond- 
ing to  the  quantity  of  hydrogen  which  was  not  burnt 
by  the  oxygen  belonging  to  the  cholesterine.  Again, 
2*8177  cc.  of  oxygen  bums  0*6664  milligr.  of  hydrogen 
(say  12*1  per  cent.).  The  amount  of  gas  absorbable  by 
potash  is  16*566  milligr.  of  carbonic  acid,  corresponding 
to  4*518  milligr.  of  carbon,  say  82*145  P^r  cent.  The 
complement,  that  is  to  say 

ioo-(i2*i  +  82*145)  =  577Si 
corresponds  to  the  water  formed  by  the  oxygen  in  the 
cholesterine,  and  a  part  of  iJs  hydrogen,  say  5*133  per 
cent,  of  oxygen  and  0*639  of  hydrogen ;  on  adding  this 

•Zpltsohrirt  f'r  AnalytUche  Chemie,  t.  v.,  p.  339.— Zeitschrlft  f&r 
Chemix ,  noav.  8«r.,  t  liL,  p.  391. 


last  number  to  12*1,  there  remains  12*74  P<^r  cent  ot 
hydrogen.  [These  yumbera,  compared  with  those  calcu- 
lated from  the  cq^position  of  cMtst^rine^ 

(0=838;  Hern -8;  0=4-3)  * 
do  not  appear  satisfactory.]  In  the  combustion  of 
azotised  matters,  nitrogen  inaj  be  obtained  (after  an 
estimation  of  the  cvbonic  acid)  by  rf)sorbing  the  oxy- 
gen with  a  stick  of  phoe(>bonif(,"but  the  results  are  not 
very  correct.  As  to  chlorinated  matters,  the  author 
effects  their  combustion  with  oxide  of  mercury ;  the 
chlorine  remains  in  the  comlition  of  a  mercurial  chloride, 
in  which  it  may  be  estimated  by  decomposing  the 
chloride  by  potash. 


ON  THE  ESTIMATION  OF  LEAD  BY  PRECIPI. 
TATION  IN  A  METALLIC  STATE. 

BY  M.  F.  8T0LBA. 

To  estimate  lead  by  this  method,  the  author  treats 
both  solui3le  and  insoluble  lead  combinations  with  zinc 
in  the  presence  of  water  acidulated  from  time  to  time 
with  hydrochloric  acid;  the  reduction  is  effected  at 
the  temperature  of  the  water-bath  in  a  platinum  cap- 
sule ;  the  lead  is  deposited  partly  on  the  side?  of  the 
capsule  and  partly  on  the  zinc,  whence  it  is  easily  dis- 
lodged. When  the  reduction  is  C(*mplete,  which  is- 
easily  discerned  by  a  clean  surface  of  the  zinc  remaining 
brilliant  in  the  liquid,  decant  and  wash  tlie  spongy  de- 
posit of  lead  witii  water.  As  pure  water  might  dis- 
solve small  quantities  of  lead,  the  author  reconm^ends 
an  addition  of  a  drop  of  sulphuric  acid.  After  washing, 
dry  the  lead  first  in  a  water-bath,  then  at  about  200  C. 
Even  then  its  exact  weight  cannot  be  ascertained,  be- 
cause it  has  undergone  a  partial  oxidation.  After 
weighing  it,  the  oxygen  absorbed  must  be  ascertained, 
which  may  be  done  by  Mohr*s  volumetric  method— 
namely,  by  treating  the  lead  with  a  weak  standard 
solution  of  nitric  acid.  Wash  the  dissolved  oxide  of 
lead,  and  add  a  standard  alkaline  solution  until  it  be- 
gins to  produce  turbidity.  The  quantity  of  oxide  of 
lead  is  given  by  the  difference  in  the  standard  of  the 
nitric  acid  before  and  after  its  action  on  the  lead. 


NITROGLYCERINE  OR  GLONOINE. 

The  awftil  accident  which  lately  took  place  at  New- 
castie-on-Tyne,  caused  by  the  sudden  explosion  of 
nitroglycerine,  or  Nobel's  patent  blaBtin|^  oil,  has  in- 
duced me  to  collect  together,  from  various  sourca, 
chiefly  puWished  abroad,  the  following  particularB  in 
respect  of  this  substance,  and  as  many  of  the  leading 
daily  London  papers  have  in  various  ways  given  ac- 
counts about  iiitrofrlycerine  which  are  incorrect^  I 
venture  to  hope  this  paper  will  not  be  found  by  your- 
self, Mr.  Editor,  and  your  many  readers  quite  uncalkd 
for. 

Nitroglycerine  was  discovered  by  the  well-known 
Dr.  Sobrero,  now  Professor  of  the  Technical  Institute 
at  Turin,  somewhere  about  20  years  ago.  The  sub- 
stance was  studied  simply  in  a  scientific  interest  by  Dr. 
J.  E.  de  Vrij,  the  chemist  of  the  Netiierlands  Indian 
Government  well  known  for  the  analysis  of  this  and 
testing  of  the  Cinchona  bark,  and  also  by  Dr.  Glad- 
stone, and  of  late  by  Dr.  Kopp.  Up  to  the  end  of 
i864nitrogh'cerine  was  not  onty  not  familiarly  known, 
nor  to  be  had  in  quantity  in  commerce,  but  con- 
tinued to  belong  entirely  to  the  doni^n  of  science. 
This    may  easily  be  accounted  for  by  the  feet  that 


[EngUih  EditioD,  YoLZVIL,  Na  422,  pageB2, 11.] 


CtamoAL  Nsira, ) 
March,  IMS.     f 


Nitivglyoerine  or  Ohnoine. 


103 


riycerine  itself  is  only  in  use  and  to  be  had  on  the 
large  scale  since  the  last  8  or  10  years.  When 
pure,  nitroglycerine  is  a  liquid  of  from  1-525  to  i"6 
specific  gravity,*  it  has  no  odour,  is  often  colourless 
or  yellowish,  has  a  sweet,  pungent,  aromatic  taste, 
and  is  powerfully  poisonous.  It  is  only  very  slight- 
ly soluble  in  water,  readily  so  in  ether,  alcohol,  and 
methylated  spirits;  it  does  not  inflame  when  touch- 
ed with  the  light,  nor  does  it  explode  by  being  so 
touched,  but  concussion,  touching  with  a  red-hot  iron, 
or  the  concussion  due  to  the  explosion  of  gunpowder, 
and,  better  yet,  detonating  mixtures,  and  fulminates, 
sets  oflF  the  nitroglycerine.  According  to  Dr.  Johann 
Rudolf  Wagner,  the  well-known  technologist  to  the 
Bavarian  Government^  nitroglycerine  may  be  cooled 
down  to  4*  Fahr.  without  becoming  solid;  but  it  ap- 
pears after  all  that  the  nitroglycerine  of  commerce,  if 
exposed  for  a  continued  period  to  46*4®  Fahr.,  becomes 
solid,  crystallising  in  long  needles,  which  are  most 
dangerous  to  handle,  since  they  explode,  even  on  being 
gently  broken,  with  a  frightful  violence.  '  At  320^* 
Fahr.  the  nitroglycerine  begins  to  decompose,  giving 
off  red  vapours,  and  if  the  heat  be  suddenly  applied,  or 
slightly  raised  above  this  "point,  the  substance  explodes 
instantaneously  and  with  great  violence,  shattering 
even  open  vessels  to  atoms.  Nitroglycerine  may  be 
assumed  to  consist  of  anhydrous  glycerine,  in  which  3 
atoms  of  hydrogen  have  been  rejuaced  by  3  atom^J  of 
NO4.  The  products  of  the  complete  combustion  of  100 
parts  of  pure  nitroglycerine  are  the  following ; — 

Water 20 

Carbonic  acid 58 

Oxygen 3-5 

185 


Nitrogen  , 


1000 


Since  the  specific  gravity  of  nitroglycerine  is  v6,  one 
volume,  say  i  cubic  inch  of  the  material,  yields  on  com- 
bustion or  explosion — 

Aqaeous  vapour 554  volumes,  or  bulk. 

Carbonic  acid .* . .  469        " 

Oxygen 39        «* 

Nitrogen 236        " 

1298        " 

According  to  Nobel,  these  ^ases  expand  on  explosion 
to  8  times  their  bulk,  i  cubic  measure  volume  of  ni- 
troglycerine will,  therefore,  give  10,384  cubic  measures 
of  gases;  while  i  cubic  measure  of  gunpowder  will 
only  yield  800  cubic  measures  of  gases.  Hence  it  fol- 
lows that  for  equal  bulks  nitroglycerine  is  13  times 
stronger  than  gunpowder,  while  by  equal  weights  the 
former  ia  8  times  stronger  than  the  latter. 

The  danger  of  the  use  of  nitroglycerine  is  greatly  en- 
hanced by  the  instability  of  this  compound ;  even  when 
pure  it  is  affected  by  increase  of  temperature,  and  at 
fro'm  68°  to  75°  Fahr.  it  is  prone  to  incipient  spon- 
taneous decomposition,  accompanied  by  a  slow  but 
sufficiently  strong  escape  of  gaseous  compounds,  which 
while  exerting  a  slight  pressure  on  the  vessels  the 
liquid  is  contained  in,  also  can  cause  the  fluid  to  ex- 
plode on  the  slightest  concussion.  During  the  slow 
and  spontaneous  decomposition  of  the  ^lonoine  there 
are  formed  divers  products,  among  t£eso  glyceric, 
oxalic  and  hydrocyanic  acids,  and  ammonia,  and  others 
unknown.  NobeFs  patent  nitroglycerine,  or  blasting 
oil,  is  made  in  the  following  manner: — To  13*5  parts 
by  weight  of  strong  sulphuric  acid  is  added  i  part  by 


weight  of  nitrate  of  potash  of  best  quality,  and  this 
mixture  cooled  down  to  32''  Fahr.,  the  result  of  which 
is  the  crystallising  out  of  a  salt  which  contains  i  equi- 
valent of  potash,  4  equivalents  of  sulphuric  aci^,  and  6 
equivalents  of  water ;  the  strongly  acid  liquid  is  de- 
canted firom  the  crystals,  and  to  the  liquid,  commercial 
glycerine  is  added,  taking  care  to  keep  the  liquid  cold ; 
the  ensuing  nitroglycerine  is  separated  from  the  acid  by 
water,  once  washed  with  fresh  water,  and  is  fit  and 
ready  for  use, 

I  may  here  observe  that  the  manufacture  of  the  sub- 
stance which  has  already  given  rise  to  so  much  mis- 
chief is  carried  on  in  the  free  City  of  Hamburgh,  which 
is  not  subject  to  any  of  the  laws  which  in  other  closely 
adjacent  countries  would  render  the  manufacture  of 
the  nitroglycerine,  if  not  entirely  illegal,  at  least  subject 
to  very  stringent  but  equally  justifiable  police  super- 
vision. In  France,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  and  the 
Netherlands,  where  the  French  law  of  1810,  r^^t^n-^ 
Us  metiers  insalvhres  et  dungeretix  is  yet  in  force,  the 
manufacture  of  this  article  can  be  prohibited.  The  best 
mode  of  manufacturing  nitroglycerine  where  it  is  de- 
sirable to  use  it,  and  that  is  the  case  in  open  quarries 
where  one  has  to  deal  with  tough  hard  rock,  is  to 
make  it  extempore  on  the  spot  where  it  i^^to  be  ap- 
plied. Take  a  sufficient  quantity  of  strong  nitric  acid, 
density  from  1*4758  to  1*4902,  mix  therewith  the  double 
of  its  weight  of  strong  sulphuric  acid,  weigh  off  3300 
grammes  of  the  acid  mixture  when  quite  cool ;  take 
500  grammes  of  glycerine  which  must  be  free  from 
either  lime  or  lead  salts,  and  mix  the  same  cautiously 
with  the  acid  while  keeping  the  mixture  very  cool  by 
constantly  stirring.  Let  the  mixture  stand  quietly  for 
about  10  minutes,  and  then  pour  it  out  in  from  5  to  6 
times  its  bulk  of  cold  water,  taking  care  well  to  stir 
the  same  all  the  while.  The  nitroglycerine  will  sink 
to  the  bottom ;  the  dilute  acid  is  removed  by  decants- 
tion,  the  nitroglycerine  once  more  washed  with  water, 
when  it  would  be  fit  for  use  after  removal  of  the  latter. 
The  glycerine  to  be  used  should  have  a  specific  gravity 
of  from  I  2459  to  1*2562,  i.e.j  contains  from  94  to  96 
per  cent,  real  glycerine.  Dr.  Gladstone  has  found 
while  engaged  with  his  researches  on  nitroglycerine, 
that  the  perfectly  anhydrous  glycerine  did  not  yield, 
when  treated  with  the  mixture  of  nitric  and  sulphuric 
acids,  an  explosive  compound,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
one  which  when  touched  with  a  flame,  or  red  hot 
metal,  burns  off  pretty  quietly.  Impure  nitroglycerine 
is  dangerously  self-explosive,  even  while  standing 
quietly. 

From  the  evidence  brought  forward  at  the  coroner's 
inquest  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  it  appears  that  the  ' 
nitroglycerine  which  had  been  brought  to  that  town 
certainly  contained  some  methyl-alcohol,  or  methylat- 
ed spirits  of  wine,  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to  render 
the  nitroglycerine  safe ;  in  fact  it  is  not  in  the  interest 
of  the  makers  of  the  article  to  render  it  so,  as  this 
would  evidently  occasion  the  trouble  of  having  to 
separate  the  nitroglycerine  from  its  solution  by  the 
addition  of  water,  previous  to  being  fit  for  use,  and 
this  trouble  would  be  undoubtedly  disliked  at  the 
mines  and  quarries,  and  the  use  of  the  article  therefore 
discarded. 

From  the  evidence,  given  at  the  inquest  just  alluded 
to  by  L  L.  Bell,  Esq.,  the  well-known  proprietor  of 
large  chemical  works,  coliieries,  and  iron  mines,  in  the 
county  of  Durham,  it  appears  that  the  printed  instruc- 
tions issued  by  M.  Nobel,  of  Hamburgh,  the  manufac- 
turer of  the  nitroglycerine,  contain  statements  which 


LBn^Uflfa  Edition,  VoL  XVXL,  Vo.  402,  pages  11, 12.] 


I04 


Chemical  Constitution  of  Fluorine  Compounds.  { 


CunnoiL  Ksvi, 
MarcKVm. 


are  very  contrary  to  fact,  and  apt  to  mislead,  and 
hence  give  rise  to  serious  mischief  and  grave  danger, 
while  ihe  instructions  omit  lo  mention  how  to  deal 
safely  with  the  article  when  congealed.  The  quantity 
of  nitroglycerine,  30  canisters,  originally  brought  to 
Newcastle  in  May  last,  and  stored  in  a  public-house 
under  the  semblance  of  dirty  grease,  was  equal  to  4*5 
tons  of  powder,  and  would,  according  to  the  pamphlet 
of  M.  Nobel,  have  sufficed  to  blow  down  115,000  tons 
of  solid  rock.  Mr.  Bell  stated  that  he  had  caused  the 
use  of  nitroglycerine  to  be  d  scarded  in  his  mines  on 
account  of  the  injury  to  the  health  of  the  workmen. 
The  inducement  to  the  use  of  this  substance  is  that,  as 
compared  with  gunpowder,  its  effect  in  blasting  is  far 
greater,  with  less  previous  labour,  and  that  its  use 
loosens  large  blocks  of  rock  or  stone  without  crum- 
bling, thus  enabling  miners  and  quarry  men  to  extr 'ct 
large  masses  of  stone  easily  and  without  damage.  The 
Messrs.  Webb  and  Co.,  of  Carnarvon,  Wales,  are  the 
sole  agents  and  consignees  of  Kobel's  patent  blasting 
oil  in  this  country.  They  also  have  on  nand  an  article 
made  by  Nobel  and  sold  under  the  name  of  dynamite, 
or  patent  safety  blasting  powder,  7  times  stronger  than 
ordinary  gunpowder.  It  is  stated  that  dynamite  will 
not  explode  either  from  a  spark  or  concussion  alone, 
but  requires  the  combined  effect  of  both.  In  a  com- 
pre-^sed  stiite  it  may  be  fired  under  water  equally  well 
as  nitroglycerine.  What  that  dynamite  is  made  or  com- 
posed of  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  ,•  I  never  saw 
a  sample  of  it,  nor  find  it  mentioned  otherwise  than  in 
advertisements.  A.  Adriani. 


Mr.  Nobel  has  writen  to  defend  his  blasting  oil 
against  mnny  of  the  accidents  which  have  been  laid 
to  its  charge,  he  also  denies  that  it  possesses  some  of 
the  properties  that  have  been  ascribed  to  it. 

The  following  almost  ludicrous  examples,  tending 
to  show  that  the  accidents  have  chiefly  arisen  from 
ignorance,  are  detailed  with  several  others  in  a  list 
of  minor  disasters  which  have  resulted  from  its 
use:  — 

"In  five  cases  congealed  nitroglycerine  has  been 
melted  purposely  over  fire. 

"  In  three  cases  a  red-hot  poker  has  been  inserted  into 
the  oil  in  order  to  melt  it 

"In  one  case  a  man  took  to  greasing  the  wheels  of 
hio  waggon  with  nitroglycerine,  knowing  what  it  was, 
and  it  went  all  right  until  it  struck  hard  against  some- 
thing, and  the  wheels  went  to  pieces. 

^'  In  one  case  it  was  burnt  in  a  lamp  as  an  improve- 
ment on  petroleum. 

"  In  these  days,  every  mischief  is  charged  to  nitro- 
glycerine. Thus,  we  read  in  the  Norlhem  Evening 
JSxpresa  that  recently  a  box  with  nitroglycerine  ex- 
ploded at  a  railway  station  in  the  city  of  Berlin,  *  and 
that  the  simple  act  of  placing  it  in  the  van  caused  it  to 
explode.'  It  is  a  proved  and  confirmed  fact,  that  it  was 
fulminate  of  mercury  that  exploded." 

Nitroglycerine,  Mr.  Nobel  says,  has  been  accused  of 
spontaneous  combustion,  but  tiie  truth  is  ttiat  unless 
properly  purified,  it  emits  a  nitrous  odour  and  will 
gradually  decompose  during  some  years.  The  nitro- 
glycerine, however,  now  made  by  him  is  always  pure, 
he  writes  "  chemically  pure ; "  it  is  obtained  by  crystal- 
lisation from  wood  naphtha. 

"  Nitroglycerine  is  also  charged,  and  all  the  world 
believes  it,  with  being  extremely  dangerous,  even  from 
the  scratch  of  a  needle,  when  congealed.  It  is  a  mere 
fable.    It  is  the  nature  of  every  explosive  to  be  more 


sensible  to  concussion  in  its  liquid  than  solid  state, 
since  bodies,  as  a  rule,  are  possessed  of  greater  stability 
at  a  lower  temperature.  As  regards  nitroglycerine, 
the  congealed  crystals,  to  be  exploded,  require  a  far 
more  potent  blow  than  the  liquid  oil,  and  it  was  prob- 
ably owing  to  adhering  drops  of  the  latter  that  the 
Newcastle  explosion  took  place.  A  crystal  thrown 
with  great  violence  against  a  stone  or  iron  plate  is 
crushed  without  exploding,  and  a  strong  percussion  cap, 
when  inserted  into  it,  produces  the  same  effect  In 
the  mines  of  Konigsgrube  (Silesia)  a  large  lump  (rf"  con- 
gealed oil  was  hurled  by  an  explosion  against  the  rock, 
and  dropped  harmlessly  to  the  ground." 

Another  accusation  cited,  and  refuted,  Is  that  of 
nitroglycerine  exploding  by  contact  with  oil  of  turpen- 
tine. Mr.  Nobel  maintains  that  nitroglycerine  is  a 
substance  of  uniform  composition  and  very  reliable. 

There  is  unquestionably  much  truth  in  many  of  the 
remarks  made  in  this  let rer,  and  we  thoroughly  acquiesce 
in  the  following  statement 

"  Whenever  an  article  can  be  regularly  manufac- 
tured it  may  be  regularly  u.^ed,  and  aocidents  are 
only  the  result  of  inexperience — ^the  want  or  neglect 
of  instruction." 


ON  THE  CHEMICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF 
FLUORINE  COMPOUTtDS,  AND  ON  THE 
ISOLATION  OF  FLUORINE. 

BY  M.    PRAT. 

The  following  is  a  full  abstract  of  M.  Prat's  memoir 
on  this  subject,  recently  communicated'  to  the  Frendi 
Academy.  The  complete  paper  wiU  not  be  published 
until  the  chemical  referees  of  the  Academy  have  re- 
ported on  it 

M.  Prat  considers  that  chemists  have  hitherto  been 
mistaken  as  to  the  composition  of  fluorides  and  the 
theory  of  fluorine.  He  regards  the  fluorides  as  in 
reality  oxy-fluorides,  and  the  equivalent  of  fluorine  as 
consequently  much  higher  than  is  usnally  sappofied. 
He  represents  fluoride  of  calcium  by — 

2  equivalents  of  calcium 40*0 

I  "  oxygen So 

I  "  the  new  fluorine 29-6 

77-6 
This  accords  with  the  known  analyses  of  fluor  spar, 
since  it  contains  51*5  per  cent  of  calcium. 

By  doubling  the  old  equivalent  of  fluorine  (19),  we 
get  38,  that  is  to  say  nearly  the  sum  of  the  equivdents 
of  oxygen  (8),  and  of  the  new  fluorine  (29*6) =37*6; 

According  to  M.  Prat,  in  order  to  obtain  true  fluorine 
it  suffices  to  heat  fluoride  of  calcium  with  chlorate,  or 
rat^her  with  perchlorate  of  potash,  since  it  is  only  after 
the  formation  of  this  latter  salt  that  the  reaction  takes 
place.  Oxygen  is  disengaged,  and  also  a  product  which 
silver  absorbi.  The  compound  so  formed  is  fluoride  of 
silver,  insoluble  in  water,  soluble  in  ammonia,  from 
which  it  is  precipitated  by  nitric  acid,  and  more  rapidly 
altered  in  the  light  than  chloride  of  silver.  Neither 
chlorine  nor  oxygen  attick  it  even  at  the  fusing  point 
of  the  fluoride.  It  is,  however,  decomposed  by  potash 
at  a  dull  red  heat,  and  this  reaction*pemiits  its  analysis : 
it  contains — 

Silver 0785 ....  108 X)=  i  equivalent 

Fluorine 0-215....  29*6"  •* 

Fluoride  of  silver. . .  .ixxx>. . .  .137*6 


[EngUflh  Edition,  Vol ZVII,Na 422, pi««  13;  ITo. 4a3^pi«« 20.] 


rarch,  1368.     f 


Mamifacture  of  Steel  from  Coat  Iron. 


W5 


This  fluoride  of  silver,  insoluble  and  very  s'able,  and 
having  great  Analogy  with  the  chloride  and  the  other 
compounds  of  this  family,  differs  essentially  from  the 
soluble  fluoride  of  silver  of  chemists,  which  according  to 
M.  Prat  is  a  compound  of— 

AgFI,  AgO,  HO,  in  the  hydraied  state; 
AgFJ,  AgO,  in  the  anhydrous  state. 

Fluorine  combines  with  chlorine.  To  obtain  this 
compound  it  is  suflScient  to  pour  a  weak  solution  of  the 
hydrofluoric  acid  of  the  chemist»  into  a  solution  of 
hypochlorous  acid :  there  form 

FIH,  HO  H-  CIO  =  2HO  H-  FlCl. 

Fluoride  of  chlorine  is  gaseous,  of  a  more  intense 
colour  than  chlorine.  It  converts  silver  into  a  mixture 
of  chloride  and  fluoride. 

Fluorine  may  be  isolated,  according  to  M.  Prat,  by 
heating  fluoride  of  le^  of  chemists  (i  part)  either  with 
nitre  (5  parts)  or  with  binoxide  of  manganese  (2  parts)  ; 
oxygen  and  fluorine  are  evolved.  A  platinum  alembic 
must  be  used.  The  oxygen  is  removed  from  the  mix- 
ture by  passing  over  fragments  of  heated  baryta. 

Fluorine  is  gaseous,  fdmost  colourless,  of  a  chlorous 
odour,  visibly  fuming  in  the  air,  incombustible,  and 
heavier  than  air. .  It  bleaches  indigo,  and  reddens  and 
bleaches  litmus.  Ammonia  produces  fumes  with 
fluorine,  and  will  thus  detect  traces  of  it.  It  im- 
mediately decomposes  water  at  the  ordinary  tempera- 
ture. It  combines  with  hydrogen  iu  diffused  liglit. 
Fluorine  decomposes  hydrochloric  acid  gas,  and  elimi- 
nates bromine  and  iodine  from  their  compounds.  It 
unites  with  boron  and  silicium,  and  with  sdl  metals  of 
t|ie  first  five  groups. 


ON  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  STEEL  FROM 
CAST  IRON,  BY  THE  USE  OF  NITRATES 
AND  OTHER  OXIDISING  SALTS.* 

BY  i.  HAROBEAVSS. 

Thb  object  of  this  invention  is  to  effect  the  aciera- 
tion  of  cast  iron  by  a  direct  process,  and  thus  dis- 
pense with  the  many  permutations  which  it  is  at 
present  made  to  undergo  before  the  condition  of  steel 
IS  attained.  I  effect  this  by  the  agency  of  oxidising 
salts  and  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese.  The  oxidising 
salts  which  are  most  suitable  for  the  purpose  are  the 
nitrates,  and  especially  the  nitrate  of  soda,  on  account 
of  its  lower  cost,  higher  percentage  of  oxygen,  and  the 
highly  electi'o-positive  character  of  its  base,  which 
renders  it  a  most  effective  agent  in  removing  the 
metalloids,  silicium,  sulphur,  and  phosphorus,  and  the 
semi-metal  arsenic  from  iron,  by  forming  with  them 
compounds  of  sodium,  thus  enabling  inferior  quali- 
ties of  cast  iron  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
steel,  and  also  to  improve  the  qualities  of  malleable 
iron  by  depriving  it  of  those  objectiouRble  substances. 
This  i£  effected  by  placing  the  converting  materials 
below  the  fused  cast  iron,  and  allowing  the  products 
of  their  decomposition  to  rise  through  the  fluid  metal, 
exerting  while  passing  through  it  their  chemical  energies 
in  separating  from  the  cast  iron  the  excess  of  carbon 
above  that  which  is  required  to  constitute  steel,  and  in 
removing  the  metalloids  which,  even  in  the  smallest 
proportions,  deteriorate  the  value  of  the  product 

The  necessary  use  of  fossil  coal  in  Gteat  Britain,  in 
consequence  of  the  scarcity  of  wood  from  which  char- 


*  Atetrsot  of  ft  papor  read  befofe  th«  Liverpool  Polyteohnla  Society. 


coal  can  be  obtained,  tends,  while  lowering  the  cost  of  , 
production,  also  to  deteriorate  the  value  of  tlie  iron 
produced,  by  communicating  to  it  some  of  its  own  im- 
purities, which,   added  to  those  existing  in  the  ore, 
render  the  iron  very  impure. 

A  great  proportion  of  silicium  and  sulphur  are 
separated  by  the  lime  u^:ed  as  a  flux  in  the  form  of 
sW.  But  the  last  traces  of  these  elements  are  very 
difficult  to  remove  under  the  circumstances:  while, 
with  the  exception  of  a  slight  trace,  the  whole  of  the 
phosphorus  originally  present  in  the  ore  remains  in 
combination  with  the  metal. 

In  1 86 1  my  attention  was  first  seriously  attracted  to 
the  subject  of  the  acieration  of  iron  by  the  communica- 
tions of  the  researches  of  MM.  Caron  and  Fremy  to  the 
French  Ac  idemy  of  Sciences,  and  which  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Compfes  Rendtis^  an  English  translation  of 
which  first  appeared  in'  the  Chemical  News.  These 
communications  show  thaf,  to  form  steel  with  such 
qualities  as  will  compete  with  that  produced  from 
Swedish  and  Russian  iron,  by  cementation;  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  iron  should  be  pure  or  approxmiatoly  so ; 
and  that  to  effect  cementation,  nitrogen  must  be  pre- 
sent in  combination  with  carbon,  or  in  contact  with 
some  gaseous  compound  of  carbon.  M.  Caron  dis- 
putes the  hypothesis  that  nitrogen  is  an  essential 
element  in  steel;  but  he  admits  that  it  acts  as  an  inter- 
porter  or  carrier  of  carbon  between  the  charcoal  in  the 
cementing  pots  and  the  iron,  acting  in  fact  as  a  kind  of 
chemical  shuttle,  carrying  carbon  to  the  iron,  and 
depositing  it  within  the  substance  of  the  metal ;  and 
after  delivering  the  carbon  to  the  iron,  it  return?,  and 
again  picks  up  another  charge  or  load  of  carbon,  which 
it  again  delivers  to  the  iron.  A  very  small  quantity  of 
nitrogen  is  by  this  means  made  the  agent  for  carrying 
a  comparatively  large  quantity  of  carbon;  and  he  pro- 
poses cyanide  of  ammonium  as  a  gaseims  cementing 
agent.  M.  Fremy,  on  the  contrary,  asserts  that  nitro- 
gen is  absolutely  essential  to  acieration,  and  that  in  the 
absence  of  this  element  cast  iron  and  not  steel  is  the 
result  of  operating  upon  iron  with  pure  carbon,  unless 
the  iron  itself  contains  nitrogen.  That  iron  can  be 
made  to  combine  with  nitrogen  has  been  placed  beyond 
doubt  by  M.  Despretz,  whom  M.  Fremy  quotes  and 
whose  experiments  he  repeats,  a  ferammonium  (NFe^ 
having  in  fact  been  produced ;  i.e.,  a  compound  anal- 
ogous to  the  quasi-metal  ammonium  in  which  the 
hydrogen  is  rej^laced  by  iron.  M.  Fremy  proposes  to 
effect  the  cementation  of  iron  by  the  use  of  ammoniacal 
and  hydrocarbon  gases,  to  supply  nitrogen  and  carbon. 
I  was  then,  and  am  still,  disposed  to  take  the  view^  of 
M,  Fremy  as  the  correct  on«*.  But  tlie  thought  sug- 
gested to  me  by  the  discussion  between  these  eminent 
savants,  was — ^'  Why  not  ol^tain  and  use  some  material 
which  shall  effect  the  removal  of  the  excess  of  carbon, 
with  all  other  objectionable  elements,  and  at  the  same 
time  add  nitrogen,  which  being  chemically  very  inert, 
must  be  in  the  nascent  state  to  effect  its  combination 
with  iron,  instead  of  removing  the  whole  of  the  carbon, 
and  then  by  a  very  expensive,  laborious,  and  inconstant 
process,  restore  a  portion  of  the  carbon  extracted  and  a 
very  small  portion  of  nitrogen  ?  " 

The  great  difi&culty  was  to  find  an  agent  capable  of 
fulfilling  the  requisite  conditions,  which  are :  — 

1.  That  it  shall  remove  any  desired  quantity  of  car- 
bon, this  being  varied  with  the  varying  proportion  of 
carbon  contained  in  the  cast  iron,  and  leave  in  it  just 
suflBcient  carbon  to  effect  its  acieration. 

2.  That  it  shall  remove  all  the  silicium,  sulphur,  and 


[BnsUib  Bditiflo,  Vol  ZVU,  Na  423)  {«g«fl  20, 21.] 


io6 


Manufacture  of  Sled  from  Ca^t  Iron. 


1     JforcA,  1801 


'phosphorus,  or  at  least-  leave  only  traces  of  these 
elements. 

3.  That  it  shall  supply  nitrogen  in  the  nascent  state. 

I  occasionally  took  up  and  studied  the  subject,  but 
with  no  satisfactory  result — as  I  could  not  see  clearly 
how  to  have  a  practical  process,  which  could  compete 
with  those  then  in  operation — till  in  1864,  when  con- 
sidering the  theory  of  the  action  of  the  alkfuine  nitrates 
upon  the  elements  composing  cast  iron,  I  found  that 
these  salts  possessed  all  the  properties  necessary  to  ac- 
complish the  object  I  then  had  m  view. 

1.  The  quantity  of  carbon  to  be  removed  could  be 
regulated  at  will  by  the  quantity  of  nitrate  used. 

2.  The  alkaU  would  in  all  cases  be  in  excess  of  the 
quantity  required  to  form  chemical  compounds  with 
silicium,  sulphur,  and  phosphorus,  and  give  ri^e  to  the 
formation  of  silicate  of  soda,  sulphide  of  sodium,  and 
phosphide  of  sodium. 

3.  Nascent  nirogen  would  be  formed  in  the  presence 
of  iron,  in  consequence  of  the  formation  of  cyanides,  by 
the  reaction  of  the  sodium  or  potassium  and  nitroifen 
of  the  nitrate  upon  the  carbon  in  the  cast  iron,  and 
would  also  be  liberated  upon  the  decomposition  of  the 
oxides  of  nitrogen. 

4.  The  reaction  of  the  nitrate  upon  fused  iron  could 
be  easily  effected  by  placing  the  nitrate  at  the  bottom 
of  a  suitable  vessel,  and  aUowing  the  products  of  its 
decomposition  to  rise  through  the  metal. 

Before  describing  the  details  involved  in  treating 
iron  by  this  process,  I  beg  to  point  out  the  general 
principles  upon  which  it  is  based.  You  wiU  have 
before  observed,  that  to  effect  the  removal  of  a  given 
quantity  of  carbon  from  cast  iron,  a  given  quantity  of 
oxygen  must  be  supplied,  to  convert  this  carbon  into 
carbonic  acid,  or  carbonic  oxide.  To  convert  six  parts 
of  carbon  into  carbonic  acid,  sixteen  parts  of  oxygen 
are  required,  and  to  form  carbonic  oxide,  eight  parts  of 
oxygen  combine  with  six  parts  of  carbon,  and  in  one 
or  both  of  these  forms  the  carbon  is  eliminated  from 
the  iron.  The  weight  of  oxygen  contained  in  the  acid 
of  the  nitrate  of  soda,  and  which  will  be  eliminated 
from  it,  is  equal  to  47  per  cent. :  binoxideof  mangan'-se 
yields  about  36^  per  cent,  ana  sesquioxide  of  iron  30 
per  cent.  It  thus  becomes  tolerably  easy  to  ascertain, 
especially  after  a  few  practical  trials,  the  proportion  of 
oxidising  materials  necessary  to  remove  a  given 
quantity  of  carbon.  This  is,  however,  complicated  by 
some  conditions,  each  of  which  requires  a  trial  or  two 
to  obtain  exact  results.  For  instance,  when  the  opera- 
tion is  carrird  on  in  a  deep  vessel,  the  oxidising  mate- 
rials act  more  effectively  tiian  when  a  shallow  vess'l  is 
used,  because  the  products  of  their  decomposition  have 
more  time  to  become  saturated  with  the  impurities 
which  it  is  desirable  to  remove  from  the  iron.  The 
rate  of  evolution  of  the  gases  from  the  oxidising  mate- 
rial is  regulated  by  the  proportion  of  oxide  of  iron,  of 
oxide  of  manganese,  mixed  with  the  nitrat«  s.  These 
oxides,  though  themselves  evolving  oxygen,  especially 
in  the  presence  of  carbon,  do  so  tardily:  and  they 
restrain  the  otherwise  uncontrollable  rapid  action  of  the 
nitrates  alone.  By  this  means  the  action  of  the  nitrate 
can  be  so  retarded  as  to  cause  only  a  comparatively 
slight  ebullition.  The  nitrate  of  soda  is  mixed  with 
a  proportion  of  oxide  of  iron,  the  most  suitable  form  of 
which  is  haematite,  and  when  in  a  slightly  moist  con- 
dition, passed  or  tamped  into  the  bottom  of  a  vessel 
lined  with  fire-brick;  the  whole  is  then  dried  into  a 
solid  block.  If  the  vessel  has  been  used  immediately 
before,  its  heat  will  be  sufficient  to  dry  the  mass,  but 


if  not  heated  by  a  previous  operation,  i^is  heated  by 
other  suitable  means.  The  nitrate  of  soda  of  commerce 
is  generally  sufficiently  moist,  without  the  addition  of 
more  water.  When  the  mass  is  dry,  the  fused  iron  is 
poured  upon  it ;  successive  layers  bein^  then  removed, 
the  materials  by  l^eir  levity  are  earned  through  the 
body  of  the  metal,  and  the  reactions  occur,  to  wnich  I 
have  before  referred :  and  as  each  layer  is  removed,  tlM^ 
part  immediately  below  is  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the 
melted  metal.  A  boiling  appearance  accompanies  this 
action,  and  a  frothy  slag  containing  some  oxide  of  iron, 
and  compounds  of  soda,  with  the  impurities  extracted 
from  the  iron,  rises  to  the  top.  After  the  action  has 
ceased,  in  consequence  of  the  converting  materials 
being  expended,  the  steel  ia  tapped  out,  and  made  use 
of  in  any  suitable  way. 

Refined  iron,  for  the  manufacture  of  maDeable  iron 
in  the  puddling  furnace,  may  be  made  by  the  uf«  cf 
about  3  per  cent,  of  nitrate  and  6  per  cent,  of  peroxide 
of  iron.  Steel,  by  8  to  10  per  cent  of  nitrate  and  equal 
weight  of  binoxide  of  manganese.  Malleable  iron  by  8 
per  cent  of  nitrate  and  20  per  cent  of  peroxide  of 
iron.  In  each  case  iron  with  5  per  cent,  of  carbon 
being  used. 

But  it  was  often  suggested  to  me  that  the  use  of 
separate  and  special  apparatus  is  objectionable,  on  ac- 
count of  its  expense,  as  manufacturers  are  generally 
averse  to  any  large  outlay  upon  new  processes ;  and 
that  some  mode  of  applying  it  to  the  ordinary  puddling 
furnace  would  be  very  usefuL  But  there  was  this 
difficulty  to  contend  with,  the  puddling  furnace  is  too 
hot  for  the  introduction  of  the  converting  materials, 
and  fixing  them  at  the  bottom,  and  could  this  be  done 
they  would  be  decomposed  before  the  fusion  of  the 
iron  could  be  commenced,  to  say  nothing  of  their  re- 
maining till  it  could  be  melted,  so  as  to  allow  the  gases 
evolved  to  rise  and  act  through  the  fluid  metal  I  pet 
over  this  difficulty  as  follows : — I  make  the  converting 
materials  into  blocks  or  balls,  and  fix  them  on  the  ends 
of  iron  rods.  These  bslls  being  made  hard  by  diying, 
are  ready  for  use.  When  the  iron  is  fused  in  the 
puddUng  furnace,  and  the  boil  has  commenced,  one  of 
these  balls  i<«  pushed  to  the  bottom  of  the  metal  in  the 
furnace — the  products  of  its  decomposition  rise  through 
the  metal,  causing  rapid  agitation,  which  is  much  more 
effectual  than  that  produced  by  the  puddler  with  his 
tools.  After  the  ebuUition  has  ceased,  the  rod  is  with- 
drawn and  another  put  in  its  place.  The  time  occupied 
in  puddling  is  thus  very  much  shortened,  the  laboor 
very  much  reduced^  and  fuel  saved,  and  a  better  yield 
of  metal  obtained,  in  consequence  of  the  soda  forming 
a  base  which  readily  combines  with  the  silicic  and 
phosphoric  acids  eliminated  firom  the  iron.  In  the 
ordinary  puddling  operations  the  siUdum  and  phos- 
phorus are  extracted  by  the  previous  formation  of  oxide 
of  iron,  with  which  those  acids,  which  are  also  jnoducts 
of  oxidation,  combine.  But  when  silicium  and 
phosphorus  are  reduced  to  a  somewhat  small  proportion 
of  the  whole,  the  last  traces  of  them  are  removed  with 
difficulty,  still  the  powerfully  basic  character  of  the 
soda  intensifies  the  disposition  of  these  sobstanoes  to 
separate  from  the  iron,  and  to  enter  into  combination 
with  itself. 

The  malleable  iron  produced  from  cast  iron  which 
has  been  treated  with  nitrates  is  of  a  very  superior 
quality,  having  great  range  of  temper.  The  same 
metal  which  by  gradual  cooling  is  fit  for  purposes  r^ 
quiring  great  toughness  and  powers  of  euduranoe  of 
bending  and  torsion,  may  by  rapid  cooling  be  made 


[English  Bditton,  ToL  X71L,  Vo.  499,  pages  21, 92.] 


I 


GmncAL  Nkws,  ) 
Mare\  19168.     $ 


Chemical  Geology  of  Mr.  David  Forles. 


107 


sufficiently  hard  for  wood-cutting  tools ;  and  its  free- 
dom from  impurities  is  shown  by  the  remarkable  thin 
scale  formed  when  the  iron  is  worked  by  the  smith, 
and  the  consequently  small  amount  of  loss  in  working. 
In  this  resp«'Ct  it  very  much  resembles  the  best  char- 
coal iron,  and  contrasts  very  remarkably  with  the  iron 
mad^  from  the  same  "pig,"  but  which  has  not  been 
previously  treated  with  nitrates.  The  presence  of 
silicium  causes  a  large  amount  of  waste  when  malleable 
iron  is  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  at  high  temperatures, 
causing  a  thick,  heavy  scale,  which  must  contain  at 
least  70  per  cent,  of  iron. 


OK  THE 

CHEMICAL  GEOLOGY  OF  MR.  DAVID  FORBES. 

BT  T.   8TERBT   HUNT,  r.R.8. 

In  the  Chemical  News  of  October  4th,  1867  {Am, 
Reprint,  Dec  1867,  page  281),  there  appears  a  pa- 
per purporting  to  be  a  critici-^m  of  some  views  on  the 
chemistry  of  the  primeval  earth,  put  forward  by  me 
in  a  le<:ture  delivered  before  the  Royal  Institution  of 
Great  Britain,  on  the  3i8t  of  May  last,  and  published 
in  the  Proceedings  of  that  Institution,  as  well  as  in  the 
CHEiaoAL  News  of  June  2i8t  {Am.  JReprinij  Aug.  1867, 
page  82),  and  the  Revue  dea  Coura  Scientifiquea.  of 
October  I9bh,  and  .ilso  in  LeaMandea  and  Coamoa,  The 
object  of  my  present  communication  will  be  to  notice 
briefly  some  of  the  criticisms  of  Mr.  Forbes.  The 
readers  of  my  lecture  are  aware  that  I  assumed  as  my 
starting-point  the  hypothesis,  now  generally  accepted, 
of  the  origin  of  our  earth,  and  of  all  planetary  and  stel- 
lar worlds,  by  a  process  of  condensation  and  cooling 
from  a  nebukiusor  a  g«iseous  matter,  so  intensely  heated 
as  to  be  luminous,  and  to  contain,  at  the  same  time,  in 
a  free  or  dissociated  condition,  the  various  chemical 
elements.  The  first  objection  of  Mr.  Forbes,  is  that  I 
do  not  explain  the  origin  of  this  intensely  heated  con- 
dition :  a  consideration  entirely  beyond  the  scope  of 
my  lecture,  but  established  by  the  spectroscope,  and  to 
be  accepted  as  an  ultimate  fact,  the  secret  of  which, 
like  that  of  the  origin  of  matter  itself,  rests  with  the 
Great  First  Cause. 

In  discussing  the  laws  which  presidi^d  over  the  cool- 
ing «f  our  own  globe^  I  gave  several  reasons  which 
have  led  modern  investigators  to  reject  tlie  old  theory 
of  a  liquid  centre  covered  by  a  thin  crust  of  congealed 
rock.  I  alluded  briefly  to  the  mathematical  deductions 
of  the  late  Wm.  Hopkins  from  the  phenomena  of  pre- 
cession and  nutation, — thoo  of  Archdeacon  Pratt  on 
the  feeble  resistance  which  would  be  offered  by  a  crust 
of  tlie  thickness  generally  admitted  by  the  old  school, 
to  the  crushing  weight  of  masses  like  the  Hiramalayah 
Mountains, — and  the  conclusions  of  Thompson  as  to  the 
rii^dijy  of  the  earth,  deduced  from  the  theory  of  the 
tides,  as  so  many  concurrent  arguments  in  favour  of  a 
crust  at  least  many  hundred  miles  in  thickness,  if  not 
of  a  globe  entirely  solid.  Proceeding,  thence,  to  con- 
sider the  conditions  of  cooling  presented  by  the  fhsed 
and  oxiiised  mass  of  the  globe,  I  asserted  that  the 
analogies  offered  by  most  of  the  bodies  forming  the 
earth*8  crust,  which  yield  compounds  considerably 
denser  when  solidified  than  when  in  their  fused  condi- 
tion, lead  us  to  conclude  that  the  solidification  of  the 
gl  »be  must  have  begun  from  the  centre.  In  fact,  the 
numerous  and  detailed  experiments  of  Charles  Deville 
(Campiea  Rendua.  xx.,  1453),  and  those  of  Delesse 
{BuU,  Sfic.  Oeol  de  Fr.  [2]  iv.,  1380),  not  to  mention 
the  earlier  ones  of  Bischof,  unite  to  show  that  the 


density  of  fused  rocks  is  much  less  than  that  of  the 
crystalline  products  result-ng  from  their  slow  coolinpr, 
so  that,  a^  Saemann  has  justly  observed,  we  are  forced 
to  conclude  that  the  crystalline  stony  masses  formed 
at  the  surface  of  a  liquid  globe  must  sink  towards  thg 
centre  (iWd.,  Feb.  4^  1861).  To  this  conclusion  Mr. 
Forbes  objects  that,  m  the  cooling  of  suljihur  or  metals 
from  fusion,  a  crust  forms  at  the  suiface  before  the  in- 
terior is  solidified ;  he  should  consider  that  the  condi- 
tions in  a  small  crucible,  placed  in  a  cold  atmosphere, 
where  cooling  is  rapid,  and  the  crust  is  supported  by 
adhesion  at  the  edges,  are  vastly  different  from  what 
would  obtain  in  a  world-wide  bath,  cooling  with  great 
slowness  beneath  an  intensely  heated  atmosphere.  In 
such  a  case,  as  the  crystalline  siUcates  known  to  us,  are, 
according  to  numerous  experiments,  from  one-seventh 
to  one-sixteenth  denser  than  the  same  materials  in  a 
fused  condition,  it  would  require  a  suspension  of  the 
laws  of  gravity  to  counteract  the  inevitable  tendency 
of  the  heavier  solids  formed  at  the  surface  to  sink  in 
the  fused  mass,  in  which  they  would  subside  as  natu- 
rally as  the  crystals  which  form  at  the  surface  of  an 
evaporating  basin  of  brine.  The  analogy  holds  good 
since  the  crystals  formed  at  the  surface,  whether  by 
evaporation  or  by  cooling,  obey  the  laws  of  gravity. 
The  freezing  over  of  the  surface  of  such  a  mass  would 
be  as  unnatural  as  the  freezing  of  a  lake  of  water  from 
the  bottom. 

Mr.  Forbes  next  comments  upon  my  allusion  to  the 
experiments  of  Hopkins  on  the  effect  of  pressure  in 
elevating  the  melting  points  of  such  bodies  as  contract 
in  cooling,  and  says  that  I  appeal  to  these  as  conclusive 
proof  that  the  melting  points  of  bodies  do  become  (ad 
ir^nUum)  elevated  in  proportion  to  the  pressure.  In 
fact  I  said  nothing  of  the  sort,  but  insisted  that  the  re- 
searches of  Hopkins  "  are  to  be  considered  in  this  con- 
nection." If  Mr.  Forbes  had  taken  some  pams  to  in- 
quire into  the  question,  he  would  lea^n  that  these 
experiments  of  Hopkins,  and  othei  s  (by  W.  Thompson 
on  the  effect  of  pressure  in  reducing  the  melting  point 
of  ice)  were  suggested  by  a  remarkable  essay  by  James 
Thompson  (Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  Edin.  xvi.,  part  5).  In 
this  it  was  shown  that  the  fusing  point  of  ice,  which 
contracts  in  melting,  must  necessai  ily  be  reduced  by 
pressure;  while,  as  Sir  Wm.  Thomivson  showed,  the 
reverse  effect  was  to  be  exnected  for  all  so' ids  which 
expand  in  melting  (L.  E.  and  D.  Phil.  Mag.  [3]  xxxvi'. 
125).  The  results  of  Hopkins  tlius  come  under  a  gen- 
eral physical  law.  Mr.  Forbes  will  find  a  j^imple  and 
intelligible  statement  of  the  principle  laid  down  by 
Thompson,  and  Hopkins's  argument  therefrom,  for  the 
solidity  of  the  interior  of  the  globe,  in  the  fourth  of  Dr. 
Tyndall's  admirable  lectures  on  Heat,  delivered  before 
the  Royal  Institution.  See  also  Mr.  Sorby's  Bakerian 
Lecture  for  1863.  As  to  Mr.  Forbcs's  suggestion  of 
denser  matters  towards  the  earth's  centre,  I  have  said 
the  same  thing  in  my  lecture. 

Mr.  Forbes  next  proceeds,  in  his  own  words,  to  sub- 
mit my  views  of  the  chemical  changes  which  took 
place  at  the  surface  of  the  globe,  to  "careful  scrutiny," 
in  order  to  determine  whether  "  they  are  sound  and 
likely  to  meet  with  acceptance  in  the  chemical  world.'* 
Of  the  critic's  fitness  for  his  self-imposed  tr.sk  the 
reader  shall  judge.  The  first  thing  to  be  determined 
in  the  cooling  of  an  intensely  heated  vaporous  mass  is 
the  nature  of  the  chemical  compounds  which  would  be 
formed  among  the  dissociated  elements.  As  I  have 
stated  in  my  lecture,  the  combinations  stable  at  the 
elevated  temperature  then  prevailing,  would  be  first 


[EnglWiBdWan,VoLrVIL,No.423»page22j  Na  424,  page  27.] 


io8 


Chemical  Geology  of  Mr.  David  Forbes. 


CCtaKTciL  Rom, 
1     jrar(A,16«. 


formed.  The  affinities  of  oxygen  are  such,  that  under 
such  condition3,  an  excess  of  this  element  being  present, 
instead  of  i-ulphides  of  the  heavy  metals,  as  imagined 
by  Mr.  Forbes,  oxides  and  sulphurous  acid  would  be 
produced  in  virtue  of  affinities  known  to  every  chemi>:t 
and  metallurgist.  So  with  regard  to  chlorine,  tbe  pro- 
duction of  alkaline  chlorides  m  such  conditions  is  in- 
conceivable, since  in  the  conjoined  presence  of  oxygen, 
hydrogen,  and  sHica,  an  alkaline  silicate  and  hydro- 
chloric acid  would  necessarijy  result.  Even  ifj  as  Mr. 
Forbes  supposes,  chloride  of  sodium  were  to  be  formed 
in  the  heated  atmosphere,  it  would  be  precipitated  into 
an  intensely  heated  bath  of  fused  silicates,  covered  by 
an  atmosphere  charged  witli  aqueous  vapour,  or  with 
mingled  hydro;>en  and  oxygen,  and  would  immediately 
undergo  the  same  decomposition  that  takes  place  when 
the  vapoui's  of  common  salt  are  diffused  through  the 
heated  atmosphere  of  a  potter's  kUn,  or^  as  in  Mr.  Gk>s- 
sage's  new  soda-process,  are  passed  with  steam  over 
red-hot  flints.  In  both  cases  silicates  of  soda  are 
formed,  with  separation  of  hydrochloric  acid.  These 
considerations  It^ad  to  the  conclusion  that,  after  all  the 
more  fixed  elements  were  precipitated,  the  whole  of 
the  chlorine  would  remain  as  hydrochloric  acid,  and 
the  whole  of  the  sulphur  as  sulphurous  acid,  together 
with  a  large  proportion  of  oxygen,  since  we  find  sul- 
phates and  not  sulphites  in  the  sea-waters.  To  this 
constitution  of  the  still  intensely  heated  atmosphere, 
Mr.  Forbes  objects,  and  inquires  whether  it  is  "  at  all 
probable,  even  if  possible,  that  an  exces-"?  of  oxygen 
could  exist  along  with  the  vast  amount  of  sulphurous 
acid."  lie  farther  adds  that  "  the  improbability  of  such 
an  atmosphere  containing  a  mixture  of  hydrochloric 
and  sulphurous  acids,  may  be  inferred  from  Dumas's 
researches;  that  chemist  having  long  ago  shown  that 
tliese  two  gases,  when  mixed  together,  react  and  mutu- 
ally decompose  each  other,  with  the  formation  of 
water,  chlorine,  and  sulphur."  Mr.  Forbes  thinks  he 
has  hit  upon  two  objections  to  the  existence  of  a  heated 
atmosphere  holding,  as  I  have  endeavoured  to  show, 
besides  nitrogen,  oxygen  and  watery  vapour,  sulphur- 
ous and  hydrochloric  acids.  He  has  evidently  a  vague 
notion  that  sulihurous  acid  and  oxygen  have  an  affin- 
ity i:>T  each  other,  and  ought  to  form  together  sulphu- 
ric acid.  So  they  do  unite  plowly  at  proper  tempera^ 
tures,  in  the  presence  of  water,  being  converted  into 
oil  of  vitriol,  and  it  was  doubtless  in  this  way,  as  I  have 
elsewhere  shown,  that  the  sulphur  was  eventually 
brought  down  from  the  atmosphere,  and  formed  the 
sulphates  of  the  sea.  But  every  chemist  is  aware  that 
at  higher  temperatures  oil  of  vitriol  is  resolved  into 
water,  sulphurous  acid  and  oxygen  gases,  and  that  this 
reaction  is  made  use  of  as  an  economical  process  for 
the  preparation  of  oxygen  on  a  large  scale,  the  sulphur- 
ous acid  being  removed  by  absorption  from  the  cooled 
gases.  As  regards  his  second  pointy  Mr.  Forbes,  who 
cites  Dumas  (Traits,  i,  146)  has  been  misled  by  quoting 
at  second-hand,  apparently  firom  the  English  edition  of 
Graelin  (ii.  321).  Dumas'  states  that  in  solution  sul 
phurous  acid  and  hydrochloric  acid  undergo  no  change; 
but,  "  in  a  dry  state,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  rapidlv 
decomposed,  at  least  in  operating  over  mercury."  It 
may  be  true  that  as  Gmelin  states,  water,  chlorine,  and 
sulphur  result,  but  such  is  not  the  assertion  of  Dumas. 
The  poiut,  however,  is  immaterial,  since  as  Dumas  and 
Gmelin  8^at»*,  and  as  every  chemist  knows,  the  two 
gases  remain  unaltered  in  the  presence  of  water,  even 
if  in  the  form  of  vapour.  Indeed,  it  happens,  ui 'fortu- 
nately for  both  of  Mr.  Forbes's  objections,  that  large 


quantities  of  precisely  such  an  atmosphere  as  he  sup- 
poses to  be  impossible,  are  disengaged  from  numerous 
volcanic  vents,  as  he  will  find  by  referring  to  the  re- 
searches of  Charles  Deville  and  Leblanc.  (Ann.  de  Gfa. 
et  Phys.  [3]  lii.  pp.  5 — 63).  Among  other  examples 
described  by  these  chemists,  a  fumeroUe  of  Vesu?iu8 
vrelded  in  June,  1856,  a  mixture  of  highly  heated  steam, 
nydrochloric  acid  and  air,  the  latter  containing  in  100 
parts,  oxygen  18  7,  sulphurous  acid  2*6^  the  remainder 
being  nitrogen ;  while  the  acids  of  the  steam  and  air 
together  yielded,  for  one  part  of  sulphurous  acid,  about 
five  parts  of  hydrochloric  acid.  Traces  of  sulphurie 
acid,  due  to  the  slow  union  of  the  sulphurous  acid  aod 
oxygen,  were  found  in  the  water  condensed  from  this 
fumerolle.  Volcanoes,  as  I  have  elsewhere  stated,  re- 
produce, on  a  limited  scale,  the  conditions  of  the 
primeval  earth,  not  only  in  their  solid  but  in  their 
gaseous  products. 

Mr.  Forbes  proceeds  to  comment  upon  my  illustra- 
tion of  the  condition  of  the  primitive  globe  firom  a  sup- 
posed reaction  of  the  present  air,  sea  and  land  under 
the  influence  of  intense  heat.  He  suggests  that  the 
carbonaceous  matters  would  convert  into  sulphides  the 
mineral  sulphates.  Here,  as  before,  he  ignores  the  in- 
tervention of  water  and  siliceous  matters,  which  would 
cause  the  sulphur  to  escape  in  the  form  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  (which  is  doubtless  evolved  from  modern 
volcanoes  by  a  similar  reaction),  and  this  at  an  elevated 
temperature,  would  at  once  be  burned  to  solphuoas 
acid  and  water.  He  descends  to  trifling  when  he  ob- 
jects that  by  the  efiect  of  heat  upon  the  present  suriace 
of  the  globe,  the  water  qf  the  sea  would  be  first  evapo- 
rated, and  then  the  chloride  of  sodium  subl.med  in 
its  turn.  It  was  made  clear  to  every  reader,  th  it  I 
never  intended  by  this  illustration  to  represent  the 
process  of  nature ;  moreover,  I  said,  "  if  ike  ^emtMU 
were  made  to  react  upon  each  other"  which  would  not 
be  the  case  if  they  were  successively  removed  by 
evaporation  beyond  the  sphere  of  reactions. 

Here  I  cannot  resist  uie  temptation  of  giving  my 
readers  a  choice  specimen  of  Mr.  Forbes^s  chemistiy, 
which  he  has  embodied,  with  many  other  surprising 
things,  in  a  fiirther  criticism  of  mv  lecture,  which  ap- 
pears m  the  Geohgioal  Magazine  for  October,  but  has 
been,  for  some  unknown  reason,  withheld  from  the 
readers  of  the  Chemical  News.  Proceeding  to  gi^e 
his  own  notions  of  the  chemistry  of  the  primitive  globe, 
Mr.  F.  supposes  that  immediately  above  the  "  solidified 
crust,"  there  existed  a  zone  composed  chiefly  of  chloride 
of  sodium ;  "  above  this,  a  stratum  of  carbonic  acid, 
and  then  of  water  in  the  form  of  steam,  whilst  the 
oxygen  and  nitrogen  would  be  elevated  still  higher;" 
and,  probably,  also,  in  Mr.  F.^s  imagination,  separated 
according  to  their  densities.  In  explanation  of  this 
order,  he  teUs  us,  in  a  note,  that  the  zone  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  would  be  heavier  than  that  of  steam,  and 
should  therefore  come  btlow  it;  he  even  gives  their 
respective  weights,  but  he  forgets  that  oxygen  and 
nitrogen  are  also  both  heavier  than  steam,  and  should 
be  found  below,  and  not  above,  this  sone  of  watery 
vapour.  In  fact,  as  is  well  known,  the  specific  gravity 
of  oxygen  being  1*109,  and  nitrogen  0^70,  fiiat  oi 
atmospheric  air  is  I'ooo;  while  carbonic  acid  gas  is 
r525,  and  that  of  watery  vapour  0*624.  But^  apart 
from  this  absurd  mistake,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  man 
who  displays  an  utter  ignorance  of  the  laws  which 
govern  the  diflFusion  of  gases  and  vapours  ?  Will  Mr. 
Forbes  explain  why  it  happens  that  in  our  present 
atmosphere,  these  same  elements,  namely,  oxygen, 


[BnglJflh  Edltioii,  Vol  ZTU,  No.  42^  pagw  87,  2B.} 


March,  lfs«^ 


} 


Chemical  OeoLogy  of  Mr.  Damd  Forbes. 


109 


nitrogen,  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  watery  vapour,  are 
commingled,  instead  of  being,  aa  he  would  have  tnem, 
arranged  in  separate  sones? 

Mr.  F/s  mode  of  explaining  the  saltness  of  the  sea 
must  fall  to  the  grount^  unless  he  succeeds  in  showing 
how,  despite  well  known  chemical  affinities,  the  requi- 
site amount  of  chloride  of  sodium  could  be  formed  and 
preserved  under 'the  conditions  which  I  have  discussed 
above,  so  that,  as  he  supposes,  it  was  ready  to  be  dis- 
solved by  the  first  waters  precipitated  on  the  surface. 
When  be  has  satisfactorily  established  this  part  of  his 
theory,  he  will,  perhaps,  tell  us  how  sulphates  found 
their  way  into  the  sea,  if,  as  he  asserts,  all  the  sulphur 
was  at  first  separated  in  the  form  of  dense  metallic 
sulphides,  which  sank  at  once,  '^  and  remained  in  the 
interior  of  the  earth,  protected  from  oxidising  action?  " 
Mr.  F  may  have  data  unknown  to  t!ie  world,  for  esti- 
mating the  total  amount  of  sulphur  in  the  globe;  but 
when  ne  tells  us  that  it  ^vould  be  sufficient  to  convert 
all  the  soda  of  the  sea  to  sulphate,  he  reasons  as  if  the 
amount  of  bases  in  nature  were  limited,  forgetting  that 
the  earth^s  crust  contained  more  than  enough  of  alka- 
lies, Hme,  and  magnesia,  to  saturate  the  acids  of  the 
primeval  atmosphere,  and,  moreover,  that  the  whole  of 
the  8ulphur,  sulphates,  and  sulphides  of  the  earth's 
crust,  have,  to  judge  from  all  analogy,  been  derived 
from  the  soluble  sulphates  of  the  ocean. 

Mr.  F.  next  proceeds  to  enquire  why  the  sea  con- 
tains so  much  sodium,  and  so  little  potassium  ?  If  he 
will  study  the  question,  as  he  may  do  in  my  ContrtbU'- 
Uons  to  the  Chemistry  of  Natural  Waters  (Amer.  Jour. 
ScL  [2j  xxxix.,  176 ;  xl.  43,  193),  he  will  learn  that  at 
an  early  period  the  salts  of  calcium  and  magnesium 
greatly  predominated  over  those  of  the  alkalies  in  the 
ocean  waters,  precisely  as  they  must  have  dcJtie  in  the 
crust  of  the  primitive  earth.  It  is  by  subsequent 
subaerial  decomposition  that  have  been  liberated  the 
alkalies,  which,  in  the  form  of  carbonates,  have  decom- 
posed the  salts  of  the  primitive  sea,  and  substituted 
sodium  for  calcium,  for  it  is  well  known  that  natural 
alkaline  waters  convey  to  the  sea  chiefly  soda,  and 
comparatively  little  potash,  which  is  retained  by  argil- 
laceous sediments.  Moreover,  the  potash  which  does 
find  its  way  to  the  sea,  is  constantly  withdrawn  in  the 
form  of  glauconite,  and  also  by  the  agency  of  fucoids, 
which  as  Forchammer  has  shown,  fix  great  amounts  of 
potash,  and,  subsequently,  by  their  decay  in  the  ooze, 
restore  it  to  the  earth. 

Mr.  Forbes  next  expresses  surprise  that  I  find  the 
origin  of  all  carbonate  of  lime  (except  that  from  the 
subaerial  decomposition  of  primitive  calcareous  silicates) 
in  the  reaction  of  carbonate  of  soda  on  the  lime-salts  of 
sea-water,  since,  according  to  him,  the  results  of  the 
careful  study  or  limestone  rocks  by  geologists,  palse- 
ontologists,  and  microscopists  have  shown  these  rocks 
to  be  ** the  result  of  organic  action"  And,  moreover, 
that  neither  chemists  nor  zoologists  will  accept  my 
assertion  that  animals  can  only  appropriate  the  carbo- 
nate of  hme  which  they  find  ready  formed,  but  "  will 
cons'd'T  these  animals  capable  of  utilising  the  other 
fimc-salts  in  the  sea."  If  we  admit  the  power  of 
the  lower  animals  to  decompose  chloride  of  calcium  or 
sulphate  of  lime,  as  would  appear  from  the  acid  liquid 
said  to  be  found  in  some  of  them,  will  Mr.  Forbes  tell 
US  what  becomes  of  this  at  the  death  of  these  animals, 
and  how  the  acid  is  to  be  disposed  of?  If  the  thou- 
sands of  feet  of  limestone  strata,  cons'sting  in  large  part 
of  organic  remains,  have  been  derived  from  the  decom- 
position of  the  sulphate  or  chloride  of  calcium  of  the 


sea  by  any  other  process  than  by  that  which  I  have 
indicated,  namely,  the  intervention  of  alkaline  carbo- 
nates, will  Mr.  Forbes  kindly  inform  us  what  has 
become  of  the  vast  amount  of  hydrochloric  acid 
equivalent  to  all  this  carbonate  of  lime? 

As  to  the  origin  of  dolomites,  Mr.  Forbes  will  do 
well  to  read  my  paper  in  the  Amer,  Jour,  SdeneCj  for 
July,  1866  ([2]  xlii.  49).  In  this,  at  §  1 12,  he  will  see 
that  apart  from  the  formation  of  stratified  sedimentary 
dolomites,  I  insist  upon  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
dolomite  as  a  minercd  of  secondary  deposition,  lining 
drusy  cavities,  fiUing  veins,  and  even  the  moulds  of 
fossil  shells.  To  su(m  oases,  the  observations  of  Sorby 
and  of  Harkness  may  probably  be  referred;  the  micro- 
scopical investigations  of  the  former,  as  eiven  by  him 
in  the  British  Association  Report  for  1856,  are,  like  all 
the  pther  works  of  that  excellent  observer,  doubtless 
entitled  to  the  highest  credit.  No  one,  however,  who 
has  carefully  studied,  as  I  have  done,  the  distribution 
and  association  of  the  great  beds  or  dolomite  which 
occur  in  the  Lower  Silurian  rocks  of  Canada  and  New 
England,  can  for  a  moment  admit  that  they  are  the 
products  of  subsequent  alteration.  Repealed  alterna- 
tions of  pure  blue  lime-stones  with  reddish  ferruginous 
dolomites,  interrupted  beds  and  patches  of  these  en- 
closed in  the  former,  the  line  of  demarcation  sharply 
drawn,  and  finally  conglomerates  in  which  pure  lime- 
stone pebbles  are  enclosed  in  beds  of  dolomite,  all  of 
which  may  be  studied  near  Quebec,  are  evidences 
incontrovertible  against  the  theory  of  dolomitization  of 
pure  lime-stones,  and  in  favour  of  the  deposition  of 
dolomites  as  magnesian  sediments. 

Mr.  Forbes  insinuates  that  I  am  unaware  of  the 
various  speculations  and  theories  which  have  been  put 
forward  to  explain  the  supposed  origin  of  dolomites  by 
alteration.  Although  the  strati  graphical  relations  of 
dolomites,  as  described  above,  set  aside  entirely  this 
hypothesis  of  its  formation,  at  least  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases,  Mr.  Forbes  will  find  that  the  obser- 
vations and  speculations  of  Haidinger,  Von  Morlot, 
Marignac,  and  others  on  this  subject,  have  been  dis- 
cussed and  made  the  subject  of  multiplied  experiments 
by  me  in  a  memoir  pubUshed  in  1859  (Amer,  Jour,  Sci. 
[2]  xxviii.  170,  365),  and  farther  in  the  paper  quoted 
above;  and  that  I  have  shown  that  the  reaction  of  the 
sulphate  of  magnesia  on  carbonate  of  lime,  to  which 
he  refers,  does  not  give  rise  to  dulomite,  but  to  an 
admixture  of  the  carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia. 

Some  of  the  results  of  my  prolonged  study  of  certain 
salts  of  lime  and  magnesia,  which  are  for  the  most  part 
set  forth  in  the  papers  just  referred  to^  were,  says  Mr. 
Forbes,  by  me  considered  worthy  of  being  presented  to 
the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  (Comptes  BcTidus, 
April  22,  1867),  although  he  declares  the  reactions  there 
described  to  have  been  for  twenty-five  years  in  general 
application  on  a  large  scale  in  Great  Britain,  for  the 
manufacture  of  magnesian  salts.  Here  it  becomes  diffi- 
cult to  admit  the  plea  of  ignorance  which  suggests 
itself  for  most  of  Mr.  Forbes  s  previous  statements.  I 
have,  in  the  note  to  the  French  Academy  above  referred 
to,  pointed  out  the  following  as  facts  discovered  by  my 
invest igations  of  the  salts  of  lime  and  magnesia:  ist. 
That  bi-carbonate  of  lime,  at  ordinary  temperatures, 
decomposes  solutions  of  sulphate  of  soda  and  sulphate 
of  magnesia,  with  formation  of  sulphate  of  lime  and 
bi-carbonates.  2nd.  That  from  mingled  solutions  of 
sulphate  of  magnesia  and  bi-carbonate  of  lime,  there 
separates,  by  evaporation,  crystalline  gypsum,  and 
subsequently  a  hydrous  carbonate  of  magnesia;    the 


pani(Hrti»micia,  VoL  ZVIL,  Ha  494,  pagw  S8,  V.] 


no 


Ozo7ie^—On  eonie  Points  in  OJwmical  Oeology. 


{ GanacKL  KmqL 
1     March,  1861 


bi-carbonate  of  this  base  being,  as  is  well  known,  very 
much  more  soluble  than  the  sulphate  or  the  bi-carbo- 
nate of  lime.  3rd.  That  this  separation  of  gypsum  is 
favoured  and  rendered  more  complete  by  an  atmo'- 

§here  impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas;  and  4th. 
'hat  mixtures,  in  due  proportions,  of  precipitated  car- 
bonate of  lime  and  hydrous  carbonate  of  magnesia^  when 
gently  heated  under  pressure,  and  in  the  presence  of 
water,  unite  to  form  the  anhydrous  double  carbonate, 
dolomite.  These  are  the  reactions  which  I  described  to 
the  French  Academy  a«;  newy  and  I  demand  Air.  Forbes 
to  make  good  his  assertion  to  the  contrary,  or  to  show 
that  any  one  of  them  has  been  employed  for  the  last 
twenty-five  years  in  the  manufacture  of  magnesian 
saltA. 
Montreal,  Beoember,  1867. 


ON   THB   IDBNTITT   OF  THE 

BODY  IN  THE  ATMOSPHERE  WHICH  DECOM- 
POSES IODIDE  OF  POTASSIUM,  WITH  OZONE. 

BT  THOMAS  ANDREWS,  M.D.,  F.R.8. 

It  was  assumed  for  many  years,  chieflv  on  the 
authority  of  Schoenbein,  that  the  body  in  the  atmos- 
phere which  colours  iodide  of  potassium  paper  is 
identical  with  ozone ;  but  this  identity  has  of  fate  been 
called  in  question,  and  as  the  subject  is  one  of  consid- 
erable importance,  I  submitted  it  lately  to  a  careful 
investigation,  the  results  of  which  I  beg  to  lay  briefly 
before  the  Society.  The  only  property  of  ozone, 
hitherto  recognised  as  belonging  to  the  body  in  the 
atmosphere,  is  that  of  setting  free  the  iodine  in  iodide  of 
potassium ;  but  as  other  substances,  such  as  nitric  acid 
and  chlorine,  which  may  possibly  exist  in  the  atmos- 
phere, have  the  same  property,  no  certain  conclusion 
could  be  drawn  from  this  tact  alone 

One  of  the  most  striking  properties  of  ozone  is  its 
power  of  oxidising  mercury,  and  few  experiments  are 
more  stiiking  than  that  of  allowing  some  bubbles  of 
electrolytic  oxygen  to  play  over  the  surface  of  one  or 
two  pounds  of  mercury.  The  metal  instantly  loses  its 
lustre,  its  mobility,  and  its  convexity  of  surface,  and 
when  moved  about  it  adheres  in  thin  mirror-like  films 
to  the  sides  of  the  containing  glass  vessel.  The  body 
in  the  atmosphere  acts  in  uie  same  way  upon  pure 
mercury ;  but  from  the  very  minute  quantity  of  it  which 
is  at  any  time  present^  the  experiment  rc^quires  some 
care  in  order  that  the  effect  may  be  observed.  On 
passing  a  stream  of  atmospheric  air,  which  gave  the 
usual  reaction  with  test-paper,  for  8ome  hours  over  the 
surface  of  mercury  in  a  U-tube,  the  metal  was  dis- 
tinctly oxidised  at  the  end  at  which  the  air  first  came 
into  contact  with  it 

This  experiment,  however,  cannot  be  considered  con- 
clusive, as  mercury  will  tarnish  and  lose  its  mobility 
under  the  influence  of  many  bodies  besides  ozone. 

It  is  weU  known  that  all  ozone  reactions  disappear 
when  ozone  is  pas-ed  through  a  tube  containing  pellets 
of  dry  peroxide  of  manganese,  or  other  body  of  the 
same  class.  The  same  thinar  occurs  with  the  substance 
supposed  to  be  ozone  in  the  atmosphere.  About  eighty 
litres  of  atmospheric  air  were  drawn,  at  a  uniform 
rate,  through  a  tube  containing  peroxide  of  manganese, 
and  afterwards  made  to  play  upon  very  delicate  test- 
paper.  Not  the  slightest  coloration  occurred,  although 
the  same  paper  was  distinctly  affected  when  ten  litres 
of  the  same  air,  without  th*^  interposition  of  the  man- 
ganese tube,  were  passed  over  it 


But  the  action  of  boat  furnishes  the  most  unequi- 
vocal proof  of  the  identity  of  the  body  in  the  atmoa- 
phere  with  ozone.  In  a  former  communication  {PhU, 
Trans,  for  1856,  p.  12),  I  showed  that  ozone,  whether 
obtained  by  electrolysis  or  by  the  action  of  the  electri- 
cal brush  upon  oxygen,  is  quickly  destroyed  at  the 
temperature  of  237**  C.  An  apparatus  was  fitted  up, 
by  means  of  which  a  stream  of  atmoq>heric  air  could 
be  heated  to  260^*  C.  in  a  globular  gliss  vessel  of  the 
capacity  of  five  litres.  On  leaving  this  vessel,  the  air 
was  passed  through  a  U-tube,  one  metre  in  length, 
whose  side^  were  moistened  internally  with  water, 
while  the  tube  itself  was  cooled  by  being  immersed  in 
a  vessel  of  cold  water.  On  passing  atmospheric  air  in 
a  favourable  state  through  tnis  apparatus,  at  the  rate 
of  three  litres  per  minute,  the  test-paper  was  distinctly 
tinged  in  two  or  three  minutes,  provided  no  heat  was 
applied  to  the  ^lass  globe.  But  when  the  temperature 
of  the  air,  as  it  passed  through  tlie  globe,  was  main- 
tained at  260°  C,  not  the  slightest  action  occurred  upon 
the  test-paper,  however  long  the  current  continued  to 
pass.  Similar  experiments,  with  an  artificial  atmos- 
phere of  ozone,  that  is,  with  the  air  of  a  large  chamber 
containing  a  small  quantity  of  electrolytic  ozone,  gave 
precisely  the  same  results.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
small  quantities  of  chlorine  or  nitric  acid  vapour,  largdy 
diluted  with  air,  were  drawn  through  the  same  appa- 
ratus, the  test-paper  was  equally  affected,  whether  the 
glass  globe  was  heated  or  not 

From  these  experiments  I  consider  my  self  justified  in 
concluding  that  the  body  in  the  atmosphere,  which  de- 
composes iodide  of  potassium,  is  identical  with  ozone.— 
Ptoceedings  o/ihe  Royal  Society, 


ON  SOME  POINTS  IN  CHEMICAL  GEOLOOY. 

BY   nAVID   FORBES,  F.R.S.,  ETC. 

No.  IT. — Dr.  Stebby  Hdkt's  Gboloqioal  Chrmtstrt. 

In  the  Chemical  News  of  October  4,  1867  {Amtr. 
Repr,^  Dec,  1867,  p.  281),  I  commenced  some  remarks 
under  this  title,  for  the  express  purpo.^  of  exciting 
more  interest  in  the  application  of  chemistry  to  geology, 
and  with  the  hope  of  starting  a  discussion,  which  might 
at  the  same  time  enliven  as  well  as  elucidate  the  sub- 
ject Accepting  Dr  Hunt*s  invitation,  his  views,  being 
the  most  rocen^  were  first  selected  for  consideration ; 
and,  although  that  gentleman  now  appears  greatly 
astounded  at  my  presuming  to  differ  from  his  opiniouB, 
it  is  still  highly  gratifying  to  find  that  he  has  at  last 
condeecended  to  reply. 

As  this  reply,  however,  contains  absolutely  nothing 
which  can  in  any  way  affect  or  modify  the  opinions 
which  I  have  already  expressed  on  the  views  of  Dr. 
Hunt,  or  even  require  a  reconsideration  of  the  arga- 
ments  upon  which  those  opinions  were  based,  I  am 
enabled  to  reply  tout  de  suite. 

Dr.  Hunt  adopts  a  line  of  argument  which  is  an 
elaborate  attempt  to  convince  his  readers  of  the  utt^ 
incompetency  and  ignorance  of  his  reviewer ;  yet  at 
the  same  time,  it  is  amusing  to  observe  that  the  char- 
acter and  tone  of  his  remarks,  in  conjunction  with  his 
studious  avoidance  of  some  of  the  knotty  points,  and 
more  important  arguments  brought  forward  in  opposi- 
tion to  his  views,  are  strikingly  snggostive  of  his  being 
in  reality  ill  at  ease,  and  possibly  afflicted  with  a  pre- 
sentiment that  there  may,  after  all,  be  some  rickeiy 
points  in  his  theoretical  views. 

Men  who  live  in  glass  houses  should  not  throw 


[English  Edition,  YoL  ZTU,  No.  4^  pages  29,  32;  Na  425,  page  30.] 


March,  1M8.     f 


On  some  Points  in  Chsmicat  Geology. 


Ill 


stoiiv^s ;  Dr.  Hunt's  accusations  of  ignorance  will  appear 
strange  to  those  who  have  paid  attention  to  some  of 
his  sweeping  assertions ;  amongst  others,  for  example, 
when  he  emphaticnlly  declares  that  quartz  "  can  only 
be  generated  by  aqueous  agencies,''  geologists  will  infer 
that  Dr.  Hunt  m-ist  be  ignorant  of  the  most  important 
fact  that  quartz  is  found  in  abundance  in  volcanic  lavas 
in  many  parts  of  the  world,  although  not  in  Canada. 

Had  Dr.  Hunt  remainea  content  with  his  Canadian 
laurels,  he  would  probably  have  enjoyed  them  in  peace 
without  having  h's  opinions  disputed,  but  when  he 
now  aspires  to  be  recogn-sed  in  Europe,  he  cannot  com- 
plain if  his  views  be  criticised  by  any,  or  all,  of  those 
interested  in  the  subject;  an  ordeal  which  must  be 
undergone  before  he  can  expect  them  to  receive  gen- 
eral acceptance,  for  surely  he  does  not  issue  them  as 
axioms  or  oracles. 

Europe  differs  greatly  from  Canada,  and,  amongst 
other  things,  in  close  competition  being  the  order  of  the 
day.  No  man  in  Europe  can  expect  to  retain  any  por- 
tion of  the  field  of  science  exclusively  for  himself,  or  to 
travel  alone  on  any  of  the  many  difi^erent  roads  which 
lead  to  one  and  the  same  scientific  truth. 

If  real  progress  is  to  be  made  in  science,  the  student 
must  reason  for  himself  and  not  be  content  with  accept- 
ing, merely  on  authority,  opinions  which  are  inconsist- 
ent with  his  own  deductions  or  experiments;  nor 
should  he  be  deterred  by  the  opposition  to  be  expected 
from  those  already  in  ofl&ce  or  authority,  who  are  sure 
to  be  jealous  of  intruders  on  what  they  imagine  to  be 
their  own  domain,  and,  doubiess,  also  dislike  havtng 
their  peace  of  mind  disturbed  by  innovations. 

A  discussion  of  this  nature  may  be  carried  on  in  two 
■ways;  either  by  considering  the  main  points  of  the 
argument  first,  before  engaging  the  minor  details,  or 
the  reverse.  Dr.  Hunt  prefers  the  latter  course,  which 
no  doubt  is  best  suited  to  the  defence  of  a  weak  cause, 
but  which,  as  his  rather  rambling  remarks  in  last  week's 
Chemical  News*  (Aw«r.  Repr,^  March,  1868,  page  107) 
Tvill  show*,  is  not  calculated  to  convey  to  his  readers 
any  very  clear  idea  of  the  exact  points  at  issue,  and 
likely  to  confuse  by  the  number  of  minor  details  having 
little  or  no  bearing  on  the  main  questions. 

It  is  therefore  most  important  to  me  that  no  misun- 
derstanding should  arise  as  to  the  exact  points  on  which 
I  have  presumed  to  diflPer  from  the  principles  of  chemi- 
cal geology  which  Dr.  Hunt  has  recently  brought  before 
the  scientific  public  in  Europe. 

Expressed  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  I  object  to 
the  following  of  Dr.  Hunt's  assumptions  or  assertions : 

1.  That  the  earth  is  solid  to  the  core. 

2.  That  the  surface  of  the  earth  immediately  previous 
to  its  entire  solidification  was  "  a  liquid  bath  of  no 
great  depth  surrounding  the  solid  nucleus," 

3.  That  the  original  atmosphere  contained  "the 
•whole  of  the  chlorine  in  the  form  of  hydrochloric  acid 
— the  sulphur  as  sulphurous  acid." 

4.  Tliat  the  saltness  of  the  sea  is  due  to  a  rain  of  hy- 
drochloric acid  *' flooding  the  half-cooled  crust"  with  a 
highly  heated  acid  deluge. 

5.  That  the  whole  of  "  the  calcareous  strata — ^the 
marbles  and  various  limestones  wliich  we  find  on  the 

*  It  \s>  necessary  to  explain  here  that  many  of  Dr.  Hunt's  obaerratlons 
refer  tn  a  prevluas  commnnlcatton  in  the  October  nnniborof  the  Geolo- 
gical Jffifffi»in€^  and  not  to  the  subseqaentone  In  the  Cukmioal  Nrwv 
of  October  4th  {Am&r.  Repr.y  Tec.,  i^.  n.  aSi^which.Asls  distinctly 
stated  therein,  1^  only  supplementary  to  the  former,  and  to  be  read  In 
eonjanction  with  the  same.  Yet  Dr.  Hunt  InduTges  in  the  absurd 
Accusation  that  the  contents  of  that  communication  "hnve  for  some 
nnlcnown  reason  been  withheld  teom  the  readers  of  the  Chiuiioal 
Mews." 


earth's  surface  " — ^have  been  precipitateTl  from  the  sea 
by  carbonate  of  soda. 

6.  That  all  the  magnesian  limestones  and  gypseous 
beds  were  formed  in  a  dense  atmosphere  of  carbonic 
acid. 

7.  That  quartz  "  can  only  be  generated  by  aqueous 
agencies." 

8.  "  That  granite  is  in  every  case  a  rock  of  sediment- 
ary origin." 

9.  That  volcanic  rocks  are  merely  ordinary  sedi- 
mentary beds  melted  by  being  "  depressed  so  that  they 
come  within  the  action  of  the  earth's  central  heat" 

Any  minor  differences  fall  naturally  under  these 
heads,  and  I  may  add  that  the  perusal  of  Dr.  Hunt's 
defence  has  confiirmed  me  more  t^an  ever  in  the  belief 
that  the  above  premises  are  unsound ;  and  I  shall  now 
endeavour  a^  concisely  as  possible  to  examine  the  argu- 
ments pro  et  contra. 

1.  That  the  earth  is  solid  to  the  core. 

Dr.  Hunt  seems  to  imagine  that  if  the  earth  is  not 
solid  to  the  core,  it  can  only  consist  of  an  immense 
central  sphere  of  molten  matter  covered  by  a  thin  ex- 
ternal crust  or  shell :  for  he  wastes  all  his  arguments 
in  attempting  to  upset  this  theory,  to  which  I  had 
never  given  my  adhesion.  I  have  preferred  adopting 
in  the  main  the  hypothesis  of  Bunsen,  no  mean  author- 
ity, and  when  opposing  Dr.  Hunt's  view,  simply  asserted 
my  opinion,  that  the  earth  still  encloses  "  a  vast  res- 
ervoir or  reservoirs  of  still  fluid  igneous  matter  in  its 
interior,"  and  the  main  argument  with  which  I  support 
this  opinion  is,  that  I  consider  that  the  molten  lava  eject- 
ed from  volcanoes  must  be  derived  from  some  such 
source.  This  is  a  very  simple  but  common  sense  view 
of  the  case,  which  I  imagine  Dr.  Hunt  will  find  some 
difficulty  in  refiiting. 

2.  That  the  earth's  surface  immediately  previous  to 

it^  entire  solidification  was  "  a  liquid  bath  of  no 
great  depth  surrounding  the  solid  nucleus." 
Hopkins  has  taken  into  favourable  consideration,  the 
supposition  that  the  earth  actually  was  solid,  botn  in 
its  centre  and  crust,  and  yet  might  retain  fluid  igceoua 
matter  in  the  intermediate  space,  and  taking  a  some- 
what similar  view  of  the  case,  I  believe  that,  even 
allowing  that  the  solidification  actually  did  commence 
at  the  centre,  that  it  still  could  not  have  reached  the 
exterior  before,  on  the  other  hand,  the  surface  itself  had 
also  solidified  and  formed  a  crust  commencing  from  the 
exterior,  due  to  the  external  cooling  action.  In  oppo- 
sition to  this,  Dr.  Hunt  states  that  siUcates  when  cold, 
are  from  one-seventh  to  one-sixteenth  part  more  dense 
than  when  molten,  and  would  at  once  sink  down  into 
the  fluid  mass  below,  and  further  adds  that  no  crust 
could  be  formed  unless  the  laws  of  gravity  were  sus- 

E ended.  I  do  not  know  what  Dr.  Hunt's  ideas  of  the 
ivra  of  gravity  may  be :  but  would  again  ask  how  far 
he  imagines  a  crust  of  sp.  gr.  2*6  could  sink  down  into 
a  molten  sphere  of  a  mean  sp.  gr.  5*3  ? 

I  will  not,  however,  repeat  the  other  arguments 
which  I  have  used  in  the  Oeologkai  Magazine,  but  con- 
tent myself  by  bringing  forward  one  not  before  em- 
ployed by  me  in  support  of  iny  opinion. 

oome  experiments  which  I  am  now  engaged  in,  on 
the  efi^ect  of  heat  upon  bodies  which  contract  in  cooling, 
».  c,  which  are  more  dense  when  cold  than  when  molt- 
en, show  in  the  cases  tried,  that  a  body  upon  the  first 
application  of  heat  expands  and  continues  to  do  so  up 
to  near  its  melting  point,  when  it  contracts  at  the  in- 
stant of  fusion ;  in  other  words,  although  the  substance 
when  cold  was  heavier  than  when  molten,  yet  the  same 


[EngUah  Edition,  ToL  XTXL,  Na  435^  ptigw  30, 40.] 


112 


On  some  Points  in  OTvemiodl  Geology. 


J  CmMiCAL  VtmL 
1     Marck^vm. 


substance  expanded  by  heat  was  lighter  than  when 
molten.  Thus  some  metals  were  found  to  float  about, 
(like  ice  upon  water)  upon  the  surface  of  a  molten  bath 
of  the  same  metal,  into  which  they  were  placed  in  a 
heated  condition.*  It  appears  probable  that  the  same 
phenomena  would  account  for  snch  a  crust  as  Dr.  Hunt 
disputes,  not  sinking,  but  floating  on  the  molten  bath 
below. 

That  the  earth  may  possibly  have  solidified  at  the 
centre  first,  is  not  disputed  by  me,  nor  does  its  so  doing 
in  any  way  affect  my  theoretical  views.  The  object 
of  my  observations  on  this  head  were  to  show  that 
we  are  altogether  too  ignorant  of  the  character  of  the 
central  mass  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  effect  likely  to  be 
produced  by  such  enormous  pressures,  to  be  enabled  to 
reason  on  such  insufficient  data  with  any  confidence  in 
the  result. 

3.  That  the  original  atmosphere  contained  "the 
whole  of  the  chlorine  in  the  form  of  hydrodiloric 
acid — ^the  sulphur  as  sulphuric  acid." 

The  perusal  of  Dr.  Hunt's  remarks  does  not  in  any 
wajr  tend  to  modify  the  conclusions  I  had  previously 
arnvedaton  thishead;  I  still  believe  that  chemists 
will  not  be  disposed  to  regard  an  atmosphere  contain- 
ing enormous  volumes  of  sulphurous  acid,  steam,  and 
oxygen  in  excess,  or  in  other  word?,  which  resembles 
a  great  sulphuric  acid  chamber,  as  probable,  and  as  Dr. 
Hunt  does  admit  that  they  would  slowly  unite  to  form 
sulphuric  acid,  it  merely  becomes  a  question  of  time  as 
to  whether  they  united  slowly  or  quickly. 

The  arguments  I  advance  against  supposing  that 
such  an  atmosphere  ever  did  exist,  are  that  I  consider 
that  the  sulphur  would  unite  mainly  with  the  heavier 
metals,  and  the  chlorine  mainly  with  the  alkaline  metals, 
and  I  consequently  infer,  that  these  elements  never 
went  into  the  atmosphere  in  any  such  quantity  as  Dr. 
Hunt  imagines. 

Dr.  Hunt  in  opposition  states  that  sulphides  could 
not  be  formed,  since  oxygen  was  in  excess.  Metallur- 
gists know  that  sulphides  are  far  less  easily  oxidi^able 
than  are  generally  imagined,  and  that  they  are  produced 
in  both  blast  and  air  furnaces,  where  the  waste  gases 
still  contain  unconsumed  oxygen ;  and  that  time  is  an 
important  element  in  this  consideration. 

But  we  have  no  proof  whatever  of  any  great  excess 
of  oxygen  in  the  primeval  atmosphere ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  know  that  a  vast  amount  of  the  oxygen  now  pres- 
ent in  the  air,  must  have  been  derived  from  the  decom- 
position of  the  carbonic,  acid,  when  the  immense  sup- 
plies of  carbon,  /afterwards  buried  in  the  various  sedi- 
mentary formations,  were  extracted  from  the  atmos- 
phere by  the  action  of  vegetable  life.  The  slight  excess 
of  oxygen  which  no  doubt  was  present  would  further 
be  sp  diffused  through  the  enormous  volume  of  carbonic 
acid,  nitrogen,  and  aqueous  vapour,  that  it  cannot  be 
imagined  to  have  exercised  other  than  a  most  feeble 
oxidising  action. 

The  carbonic  acid,  also,  being  so  infinitely  more 
dense,  and  present  in  so  overwhelming  quantity,  would 
further  act  as  a  powerful  shield  against  the  very  oxidis- 
ing action  which  Dr.  Hunt  lays  so  much  stress  upon. 

That  the  chlorine,  aho,  did  not  go  into  the  atmos- 
phere as  Dr.  Hunt  imagines  ^combined  with  hydrogen 


•  As  a  metellargist  I  have  fl^aently  obsorved  snch  cases,  but  for  a 
Jong  time  did  not  nndentand  the  explanation ;  I  have  to  thank  my 
friend  Mr.  Hackney  for  directing?  my  attention  to  the  behaviour  of 
Bessemer  steel  under  Uiese  clrcurnetanoes,  as  It  elves  maoli  trouble  to 
the  workmen  by  persistingrJy  flotttln?  hi^h  on  the  surface  of  the  melted 
steel  (even  when  In  pieces  of  40  pounds  and  more)  as  long  as  Its  tem- 
perature is  belovr  Its  fhsing  point 


as  hydrochloric  acid),  I  infer,  from  the  well  known 
greater  affinity  which  it  has  for  sodium  than  for  hydro- 
gen, and  the  volatility  of  sodium  would  be  far  more 
likely  to  bring  it  in  contact  with  the  chlorine  than  with 
the  silica. 

The  idea  that  the  action  of  the  feeble  excess  of  oxy- 
gen above  alluded  to,  in  connection  with  silica  and 
steam,  would  prevent  the  formation  of  chloride  of  so- 
dium, is  not  of  much  weight;  since  the  chloride  of 
sodium  would  be  formed  as  a  vapour  in  the  atmos- 
phere, whilst  the  silica  remained  below  in  the  earth's 
mass,  in  the  solid  form. 

But  Dr.  Hunt  next  writes,  "Even  if,  as  Mr.  ForheB 
supposes,  the  chloride  of  sodium  were  to  be  formed  in 
the  heated  athmosphere,  it  would  be  precipitated  into 
the  intensely  heated  bath,"  &c. ;  precipitated/  when  it 
would  be  in  the  state  of  vapour  at  this  temperature. 

Metallurgists  know  how  indifferent  chloride  of  so- 
dium is  when  fused  with  silicates,  and  to  this  property 
is  due  the  employment  of  what  is  termed  a  salt  cover  in 
assays;  however  well  the  salt  may  be  intermixed, 
once  the  mass  is  fused,  it  rises  and  swims  on  the  top, 
and  (if  the  heat  be  not  too  elevated,  or  protracted,  as 
to  volatilize  it  entirely)  presents,  upon  oooling,  a  well- 
defined  crystalline  crust  of  salt,  below  which  is  found 
the  unaltered  silicate  slag,  and  below  this  a^rain  the 
button  of  metal,  pure,  or  more  or  less  in  combination 
with  sulphur,  arsenic,  antimony,  <Src.,  as  the  case  may 
be ;  thus  presenting,  on  the  small  scale,  an  illustration 
of  what  I  have  supposed  may  have  occurred  in  nature, 
in  which  case,  also,  the  cover,  or  crust  of  salt,  woald 
act  as  a  shield  against  oxidation. 

In  a  potter's  kiln,  the  vapour  of  salt  under  confine- 
ment, merely  glazes  the  surface  of  the  ware  to  a  minute 
depth,  and  thw  very  gla2se  protects  the  silicates  from 
further  action ;  but  both  the  potter's  kihi  uid  (xossage's 
soda  process  are  worked  under  forced  circumstances, 
not  applicable  in  this  argument :  and  when  Dr.  Hunt 
explains  that  in  his  illustration  or  this  subject,  he  mere- 
ly used  the  words  ^^  if  the  eletnente  w&re  made  to  rwd 
upon  one  another"  is  it  not  rather  he  who  is  trifling 
with  the  subject  when  he  supposes  conditions  whi(^ 
never  could  occur  in  nature  in  tiie  case  referred  to. 

4.  That  the  saltness  of  the  sea  is  due  to  a  rain  of 

hydrochloric  acid,  "flooding  the  half-cooled 
crust "  with  a  highly  heated  acid  deluge. 
This  assumption  requires  no  further  comments  than 
those  included  under  the  preceding  head,  where  I  have 
endeavoured  to  sliow  that  the  whole  of  the  chlorine 
did  not  ascend  into  the  atmosphere  as  hydrochloric  add, 
and,  consequently,  could  not  flood  the  earth  with  the 
hot  acid  deluge  insirted  on  by  Dr.  Hunt. 

5.  That  the  whole  of  "  the  calcareous  strata,  the 

marbles,  and  various  limestones  which  we  find 
on  the  earth's  surface "  have  been  precipitated 
from  the  sea  by  carbonate  of  soda. 
Geologists  have  long  agreed  that  sedimentary  liine- 
stones  are  the  products  of  the  action  of  organic  life, 
and  microscopists,  in  confirming  this,have  fiirther  proved 
that  they  do  not  possess  the  character  of  precipiUteei 
Dr.  Hunt  evades  any  reply  to  these  objection::^  but 
asks  a  question  in  return ;  requesting  to  know  what 
becomes  of  the  acid  in  case,  as  I  contend,  animals  cm 
utilise  the  salts  of  lime  contained  in  the  sea.  As  is 
weU  known,  sulphur  plays  a  very  important  part  in 
vital  economy,  entering  both  into  the  composition  of 
organism,  and  being  also  given  off  as  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen in  the  gaseous  form,  I  see,  tlierefore,  many 
reasons  for  believing  that  animals  do  assimilate  the  sol- 


iBni^iah  Bdilian,  Vol  Z7IL,  No.  486,  pagM  40^  41.] 


GnmoAL  ITiwi,  I 


Th£  Intenaity  of  the  Oohur  of  Stars. 


"3 


pbftte  of  lime,  which  we  know  ie  contained  in  such^an 
enormous  quantity  in  the  ocean. 

6.  That  all  the  magnesian  limestone  and  gypseoys 
strata  -were  formed  in  a  dense  atmosphere  of 
carbonic  acid. 

In  1846,  when  in  Birmingham,  I  was  informed  that 
for  some  years  the  manufacture  of  magnesian  prepara- 
tions was  based  upon  the  reactions  of  the  compounds 
of  magnesia  with  carbonic  acid  in  a  compressed  atmos- 
phere of  carbonic  acid.  In  1849,  ^r.  Osborne,  a  gen- 
tleman connected  with  a  similar  manufactory  in  Ireland, 
^Uy  confirmed  these  stntements,  and  shortly  aft(T  the 
publication  of  Dr.  Hunt's  paper  in  the  Comptes  Mendw, 
Dr.  Lawson,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  expressed 
his  surprise  at  Dr.  Hunt  being  unaware  of  this,  since 
he  knew  that  the  principle  had  long  been  in  use  in  a 
manufactory  at  Cork. 

Dr.  Hunt  has  fui  ther  applied  this  principle,*  and  ob- 
tained very  interesting  results,  which  he  considered  to 
be  the  counterparts  of  nature's  operations ;  and  remem- 
bering that  there  are  dolomite  beds  in  the  lower  Silurian 
strata  of  Canada,  at  once  asks  geologists  to  belieye  the 
rather  hasty  generalisation  that  all  the  magnesian  lime- 
stones and  gypseous  beds  were  formed  in  a  dense  at- 
mosphere of  carbonic  acid. 

Geologists,  however,  well  knowing  that  the  grand 
development  of  magnesian  limestones  and  gypseous 
strata  occurred  in  peiiods  when  dr- breathing  animals 
existed  on  the,  surface  of  the  globe,  could  not  believe 
that  these  animals  actually  lived  in  a'  dense  atmosphere 
of  carbonic  acid;  and  had  some  of  the  more  modern 
great  gypseous  formations  occurred  in  Canada,  Dr. 
Hunt  would  probably  not  have  brought  forward  this 
theory. 

7.  That  quartz  "  can  only  be  generated  by  aqueous 

agencies." 

Dr.  Hunt  wisely,  no  doubt,  does  not  take  any  notice 
of  my  arguments  against  this  assertion,  since  they  are 
facts,  not  opinions ;  and  consist  merely  in  pointing  out 
that  the  volcanic  lavas  of  Italy,  Hungary,  Peru,  Bolivia, 
Chili,  &c.,  contain  abundance  of  quartz,  often  in  well- 
defined  crystals.  In  connection  with  this,  I  may  here 
extract  a  passage  from  a  letter  received  from  Mr.  Sorby, 
who  writes:  *"l  have  splendid  cases  of  recent  lavas 
with  quartz,  both  in  the  shape  of  small  crystals  and  as 
rounded  masses,  like  those  seen  in  some  older  rocks, 
and  this  quartz,  in  both  cases  (crystals  and  rounded 
masses),  contains  splendid  glass  cavities  just  like  those 
in  the  felspars,  the  Arran  pitchstone,  and  the  various 
lavas ;  thus  we  have  complete  proof,  according  to  my 
views,  that  quartz  both  can  and  has  crystallised  out 
fi-om  a  melted  mass  of  rock." 

Now,  in  face  of  such  facts,  what  importance,  may  I 
ask,  can  be  attached  to  such  of  Dr.  Hunt's  dogmatic 
assertions  as  "  that  the  composition  of  the  primitive 
crust  would  have  excluded  free  silica ; "  that  quartz  is 
"  only  the  result  of  a  secondary  process,"  Sec.  ? 

8.  "  That  granite  is  in  every  case  a  rock  of  sediment- 

ary origin." 

Dr.  Hunt  makes  this  a5tsertion  in  opposition  to  the 
opinion  of  many  able  men  who  have  well  studied  the 
subject.  If  he.  however,  only  founds  this  opinion  on 
the  presence  of  quartz  in  granite,  the  value  to  be  at- 
tached to  it  may  be  inferred  from  the  remarks  con- 
tained in  the  preceding  paragraph. 

If  he  speaks  as  a  geologist,  it  may  fairly  be  inquired 
whether  he  considers  his  Canadian  experience  sufiicient 

•  Vide  Chbmioal  Nkws,  Sept  13, 1867,  p.  148  {Amer,  JRfpr^  Not., 
X867,  p.  aT^j)-   . 


to  enable  him  to  arrive  at  sach  sweeping  generalisa- 
tions. 

Sir  Charles  Lyell  has  stated  that  three  things  were 
essential  to  a  geologist,  namely,  "  to  travel,  to  travel, 
and  to  travel ;  "  and  such  advice  may  be  recommended 
to  Dr.  Sterry  Hunt  before  he  ventures  a^ain  to  gen- 
eralise for  the  world  on  the  strength  of  a  local  knowl- 
edge of  a  very  minute  part  of  the  same. 

9.  That  volcanic  rocks  are  ordinary  sedimentary  beds 
melted  by  being  "  depressed  so  that  they  come 
within  the  action  of  the  earth's  central  heat" 

In  the  Geological  Magazine  I  ventured  to  inquire  of 
1^  the  author  of  this  ingenious  theory,  by  what  mechan- 
ical arrangement  he  supposes  strata  on  tibe  surface  of 
the  earth  to  be  lowered  down  into  a  globe  soli<r  to  the 
core;"  and  again,  "How  are  we,  according  to  this 
theory,  to  account  for  the  fact,  that  volcanic  rocks, 
taken  from  any  quarter  of  the  world,  no  matter  how 
far  distant  from  one  another — from  Iceland  or  Terra 
del  Fuego,  from  the  islands  of  the  West  Indies,  or  from 
those  of  Polynesia, — that  in  all  cases  such  rocks  pos- 
sess an  absolute  identity  in  chemical  and  mineralogical 
composition,  in  physical  and  opticid  propertiesr  Can 
any  geologist  be  expected  to  believe  that  such^rocte 
have  been  termed  by  the  melting  up  of  a  mere  mechan- 
ical aggregate  of  rock  debris,  possessing  no  analog 
whatsoever,  and  whose  chemical  composition,  &c.,  is 
known  to  vary  to  the  widest  imaginable  extremes  ?  " 
Questions  as  yet  unanswered. 

Before  concluding  these  remarks,  I  would  here  ac- 
knowledge that  Dr.  Hunt  has  discovered  an  inaccm^acy 
which  occurs  in  my  communication  to  the  Geological 
Magazine^  where  the  position  of  steam  in  the  imaginary 
original  atmosphere  is  by  accident  placed  below  that 
of  air,  although  steam  is  in  reality  lighter,  as  a  moment's 
reflection  would  have  shown.  This  error  has  not  the 
mobt  minute  influence  on  any  of  my  generalisations, 
as  it  is  perfectly  immaterial  whether  this  stratum  be 
above  or  below  that  of  air. 

I  shall  always  be  ready  to  admit  at  once  any  error 
which  may  be  found  in  my  communications  ,*  still  Dr. 
Hunt  is  quite  entitled  to  make  the  most  of  such  a  blun- 
der if  he  thinks  it  will  support  his  views ;  at  the  same 
time  I  trust  that  he  will  also  be  equally  candid  in  cases 
where  he  may  be  found  tripping. 

Dr.  Hunt  alludes  to  a  rough  sketch  of  some  of  my 
views  contained  in  the  Geological  Magazine;  but^  as  I 
have  already  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Council  of 
the  Chemical  Society  to  give  a  lecture  on  chemical 
geology  (20th  February  next),  Dr.  Hunt  will  thus  be 
enabled  to  take  my  views  into  full  consideration,  and 
after  comparing  them  with  his  own,  I  trust  wi'l  give  us 
the  benefit  of  his  scrutiny;  for,  as  I  regard  the  ultimate 
object  of  all  my  labours  as  being  ttie  attainment  of 
scientific  truth,  I  am  as  fully  prepared  to  be  corrected 
in  points  where  I  may  be  proved  to  be  wrong,  as  to 
defend  those  which  I  hold  to  be  right. 

London,  January  20,  1868. 


ON  THE  INFLUINOE  OF 

APERTURE    IN    DIMINISHINa  THE    INTEN- 
SITY OF  THE  COLOUR  OF  STARS.* 

BY  JOHN  BROWNINO,    ESQ.,    F.R.A.S. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society  some  remarks  were 
made  on  the  subject  of  the  amount  of  colour  vijciible  on 
the  moon  during  the  late  lunar  eclipse. 

*  ProeeedtegB  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society. 


[EngUah  EdMon,  Td. ZTIl,  Nto.  425,  pa9»4l;  V<i.lM,  page  650.] 


114 


Native  Hydrates  of  Iron. 


i     Marck,  IMS. 


J 


I  had  preyiouslj  stated  that  I  had  failed  to  detect 
either  the  coppery  or  the  blue  tints  generally  seen 
during  the  occurrence  of  this  phenomenon.  As  my 
observation  did  not  agree  with  those  of  several  well- 
known  observers,  I  have  given  the  matter  some  atten- 
tion, and  endeavoured  to  ascertain  from  what  cause 
the  discrepancy  proceeded. 

Mr.  Slack  suggested  that  probably  my  having  used 
a  telescope  of  larger  diameter  than  those  employed  by 
most  of  the  observers  would  prove  the  explanation  de- 
sired, and  since  then  I  have  heard  that  our  able  Secre- 
tary, Mr.  Huggins,  is  of  the  same  opinion.  The  result 
of  my  inquiries  completely  confirms  this  suggestion. 
I  find  that  while  mosi  observers  who  use  telescopes  of 
only  three  or  four  inches  aperture  speak  of  the  colour 
as  being  less  than  usual,  yet  very  noticeable,  observers 
who  use  telescopes  of  seven  or  eight  inches  aperture 
saw  very  little  colour.  Neither  Mr.  Barnes  nor  myself, 
observiog  with  a  lo^aperture,  nor  Mr.  With  or  his 
nephew,  employing  a  I2i-inch  silvered-gLiSS  speculum, 
could  detect  any  colour  at  alL 

It  is  true  that  I  failed  equally  in  detecting  colour 
with  *a  4-inch  object-glass,  but  I  account  for  this  by 
suppling  that  the  sensitiveness  of  mv  eye  to  faint- 
coloured  ight  had  been  injured  by  the  glare  of  the 
moon  in  the  large  aperture.  Experimenting  in  con- 
nection with  this  subject,  I  have  noticed  that  the  cho- 
colate colour  of  the  so-called  belts  of  Jupiter  is  much 
more  perceptible  with  6-inches  aperture  than  with  12 
inches.  Again,  a  small  star  in  the  cluster  in  Perseus 
appears  of  an  indigo-blue  with  8^  inches,  Prussian-blue 
wiih  loi-  inches,  and  royal-blue  with  12^  inches  of 
aperture.  It  follows  fi^m  this  that  colours  estimated 
by  comparison  with  the  ingenious  chromatic  scale  of 
Admiral  Smyth,  in  which  each  colour  is  represented  of 
four  different  degrees  of  intensity,  will  not  possess  any 
relative  value  unless  taken  in  connection  with  the 
aperture  employed  when  the  colour  was  estimated. 
Were  due  allowance  made  for  this  disturbing  influence 
of  variation  of  aperture,  I  think  many  discrepancies 
between  the  colours  attributed  to  double  stars  by  dif- 
ferent observers  might  probably  be  reconciled. 

Note.-^An  enlarged  diagram  of  Smyth's  chromatic 
scale,  and  another  showing  the  apparent  difference  in 
the  colour  of  a  star  when  seen  with  apertures  of  4 
inches  and  12  inches,  was  exhibited  and  described  at 
the  time  the  paper  was  read. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON   THE 

NATIVE  HYDRATES  OF  IRON, 

BT   GEORGE  J.   BRUSH. 

WITH  ANALYSIS  OF  TUROITE, 

BT  CHARLES  8.  RODMAN. 

The  well  known  iron  mines  of  Salisbury,  Conn.,  have 
long  enjoyed  a  reputation  among  mineralogists  as  fur- 
nishing superior  specimens  of  limoniiey  and  hitherto 
this  has  been  thought  to  be  the  only  ferric  hydrate 
occurring  in  quantity  at  this  locality.  Minute  crystals 
of  supposed  Gothite  have  occasionally  been  found,  but 
not  in  quantity  sufficient  to  render  certain  their  min- 
eralogical  determination. 

On  a  recent  visit  to  these  mines  Mr.  Rodman  obtain- 
ed a  considerable  number  of  specimens,  Uniug  pockets 
in  the  ore,  which  had  the  usual  brilUant  metallic  lustre 
on  the  interior  surface,  and  showed  on  the  fracture  a 
fibrous  structure,  but  differed  from  brown  haematite  in 
having  a  decidedly  red  colour,  and  in  affording  when 


pulverised  a  red  powder,  closely  resembling  that  of 
ordinary  red  haematite.  This  red  layer  was  in  some 
cases  an  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  and  was  deposited 
on  a  bed  of  limonite  (brown  hsematite)  ;-the  line  of  de- 
marcation between  the  brown  and  the  red  ore  was  so 
perfect,  in  most  instances,  as  to  readily  admit  of  a 
complete  separation  of  the  two  minerals. 

An  examination  of  this  red  ore  showed  it  to  be  an 
oxide  of  iron,  containing  not  far  from  5  per  cent  of 
water,  a  number  of  specimens  yielding  very  uniform 
results ;  and  a  complete  analysis  proved  the  mineral  to 
be  a  ferric  hydrate  with  the  formula  Fe»0»2H0,  iden- 
tical with  the  Targite  of  Hermann,*  and  with  Breit- 
haupt's  hydro-hcematUej  as  analysed  by  FritEschct  The 
physical  characters  are  so  nearly  those  of  ordinary 
anhydrous  haematite  that  it  is  difficult  to  di^tingui^ 
the  spi'cies  without  having  recourse  to  an  estimadon 
of  the  loss  on  ignition.  The  turgite  yields  an  abun- 
dance of  water  when  heated  in  the  closed  tube,  and  it 
decrepitates  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Hardness,  about 
5-5.  G. =4'  1 4.  For  analysis  the  mineral  was  carefolly 
dried  over  sulphuric  acid  until  of  constant  weight,  and 
this  desiccated  mineral  was  then  heated  for  several 
hours  in  an  air  bath  at  100°  C.  without  showing  any 
further  diminution  of  weight  The  amount  of  hygro- 
scopic moisture  abstracted  from  the  air-dried  mineral  by 
treatment  in  the  desiccator  was  1*40  per  cent  The 
iron  in  one  instance  was  determined  by  titration  with 
permanganate  of  potash;  in  the  second  case  it  was 
thrown  down  by  ammonia,  the  precipitate  washed, 
dried  and  weighed,  and  then  the  iron  was  separated 
from  the  silica  and  alumina  by  Deville*8  method  by 
first  reducing  with  hydrogen,  and  subsequently  vola- 
tilising the  iron  by  heating  in  a  current  of  dry  hydro- 
chluric  acid  gas.  The  analytical  results  were  aU  ob- 
tained Jby  Mr.  Rodman.    Composition : 


Ferric  oxide 9^*45 

Manganic  oxide o'67 

Alumloa. 075 

Silica 0-22 

Phosphoric  acid,  sulphuric ) 

acid,  and  cobaltic  oxide  ) 

Insoluble  in  acid 1*83 

Water.... 5*20 


traces 


9129 

o'SS 

0-24 


521 


91-36 
■61 
75 
•23 


183 
5«> 

99^ 


Other  determinations  of  water  on  different  spedmeos 
gave  5 '02  and  5*09  per  cent 

Five  grammes  of  the  mineral  yielded  only  minute       I 
traces  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  three  grammes  showed        I 
but  an  unweighable  trace  of  phosphoric  acid.    A  veiy 
perceptible  trace  of  cobalt  was  found  even  on  examina- 
tion of  one  ^amme  of  the  mineral    The  portion  m-       \ 
soluble  in  acid  proved  on  analysis  to  consist  entirely  of 
silica,  and  excluding  this,  with  the  small  amouut  of 
silica  and  alumina  found  in  the  soluble  portion,  the 
result  of  the  analysis  is 

FesOi  94-00  MusOs  0-63  HO  5-35=99-98 

Oxygen,       28-20  0*19  475 

»  y  / 

2839 

giving  the  oxygen  ratio  6  :  i  or  FesOs^HO. 

This  result  confirms  the  conclusions  of  Hermann  and 
Breithaupt,  that  there  is  a  native  ferric-hydrate  with 
one-half  an  equivalent  of  water.  Several  years  ance 
the  attention  of  the  writer  was  called  to  una  subject 


*  Joamal  fQr  praktfiche  ChemK  zxxllL.  97. 

t  BreitUupt,  VoUstCndlges  Uandbach  der  Mlaenlogie,  BL,  8«au 


[Bnf  Uih  Editf on,  VoL  XTH,  Vo.  4S^  j«g»  Mw) 


March,  1668.     f 


Notea  on  Lecture  Mcperiments. 


115 


by  Pro£  W.  T.  Roepper  of  Bethlehem,  who  stated  that 
he  had  found  Breithaupt's  hydrohsematite  to  be  of  fre- 
qpent  occurrence  with  the  limonite  ores  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley.  A  water  determination  on  the  Lehigh  mineral 
made  by  Prof.  Roepper,  and  kindly  communicated  for 
this  article,  gave  5*34  per  cent,  and  Proi  Roepper  calls 
especial  attention  to  the  chai  acteristic  decrepitation  of 
this  mineral  when  heated.  On  examination  of  the  spe- 
cimens of  limonite  in  the  Tide  College  collecMon,  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  red  hydrate  was  found  occurring  with 
the  limonite  of  Dusseldorf  in  Prussia.  This  yielded  on 
examination  by  Mr.  Rodman  475  per  cent  water. 
Another  specimen  was  found  from  loditz  in  Bavaria, 
besides  numerous  specimens  from  Salisbury  in  Con- 
necticut A  mineral  of  like  composition  has  also  been 
found  by  Bergemann  *  at  the  Louisa  Mine  near  Hor- 
hausen  in  Prussia.  From  these  numerous  localities  it 
would  appear  that  the  mineral  is  of  common  occur- 
rence. It  has  heretofore  been  confounded  by  most 
mineralojg;ists  with  haematite,  which  it  so  strongly  re- 
sembles in  physical  characters.  It  may  be  readily  dis- 
tinguished from  hffimatite  by  simply  heating  a  fragment 
in  the  closed  tube,  when  it  decrepitates  violently  and 
gives  off  a  large  amount  of  water. 

Hermann  does  not  give  the  pyrognostic  characters 
oiturgite,  but  Breiihaupt,  in  his  description  of  hydro- 
hamatitej  makes  particular  mention  of  its  characteristic 
decrepitation  when  heated.  The  turgite  is  described 
by  Hermann  as  being  associated  with  copper  ores  ,*  its 
chemical  composition  is,  however,  identical  with  hydro- 
hsmatite,  and  as  it  has  priority  of  publication,  the  spe- 
cies must  bear  the  name  of  turgite,  and  hydrohnmatite 
be  used  only  as  a  synonym. 

We  have^  therefore,  three  well-defined  hydrates  of 
iron  occorrmg  native  and  forming  three  distinct  and 
well-established  mineral  species,  differing  from  each 
other  in  physical  characters  and  in  their  relative  con- 
tent of  water. 

Targito     Fe,0,   +  jHO 

Gothiie     FeaOs    H-     HO 

Limonite FejOs   +  i^HO 

Two  other  hydrates  have  been  described  containing 
respectively  two  and  three  atoms  of  water.    Murray  * 
found  in  a  brown  iron  ore  from  Huttenrode  in  the 
Hartz — 
Fe,0«  81-41,  HO  17-96,  SiO»,  0-17.  Carbon  0-46=100, 

giving  the  formula  FciOa  +  2HO 
A  compound  of  similar  composition  from  Kilbride  in 
Ireland,  having  a  pitchy  colour,  analysed  by  Haughton, 
gave  Fe,Oi77*i5,  HO  2043,  SiCo'SO,  Al.Os  tr.,  PO. 
I  •60=99*48, 

Xantnosiderite  also  appears  to  be  a  mineral  of  like 
composition,  but  its  mixture  with  a  silicate  of  unknown 
composition  renders  it  difficult  to  conclude  positively 
that  it  belongs  here. 

A,  H.  Church  t  has  analysed  a  stalactite  of  a  rust- 
coloured  ferric-hyd.'  ate  from  Botallack  mine  in  Corn- 
wall, which  gave : — 

Fe«Oa737o,  HO  24-40,  loss,  POi,  and  organic  matter 
1-76=100,  giving  the  formula  FcuOi  +3HO=Fea08 
7477,  HO  25-33. 

Other  analyses  of  ferric-hydrates  by  many  different 
analysts,  and  from  a  great  range  of  localities,  give  an 
amount  of  water  which  corresponds  to  one  or  the  other 
of  these  last  two  hydrates ;  but  as  these  contain  also 
either  organic  matter,  phosphoric  acid,  or  silica  in  the 


*  lUrainelsberg,  Handbaeh  fur  Mineralchemle,  98S. 
t  Jonro.  Chtxa.  Society,  11.  111.  214. 


combined  state,  it  is  impossible,  without  further  inves- 
tigation, to  know  to  what  hydrate  to  refer  them. 

The  ^artificial  ferric-hydrate  precipitated  by  ammo- 
nia from  ferric-chloride  varies  in  composition  according 
to  the  method  of  treatment  Schaffner  obtained  a  hv- 
drat«  with  one  atom,  Gmelin  with  two  atoms,  and 
Wittetem  with  three  atoms  of  water;  this  last  kept 
for  some  time  under  water,  became  crystalline,  and 
was  converted  into  a  hydrate  with  one  and  a  half 
atoms  of  water.  Ricent  investigations  by  E.  Davies* 
show  that  the  ordinary  precipitated  ferric-hydrate 
loses  water  on  being  boil^^  in  wkter;  in  one  cise  the 
amount  of  water  was  reduced  to  352  per  cent  Simi- 
^  experiments  conducted  in  tiiis  laboratory  by  Mr 
Rodman  showed  that  by  continued  boiling  in  water 
the  wnount  of  water  remaining  in  the  hydrate  could 
be  reduced  even  to  two  per  cent.  These  facts,  as  Mr 
Davies  suggests,  explain  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner 
the  association  of  the  different  ferric-hydrates  in  na- 
ture, and  do  not  necessarily  demand  the  supposition  of 
great  heat  to  account  lor  the  large  beds  of  anhydrous 
haematite  found  in  different  parts  of  the  world. 

NOTES  ON  LECTURE  EXPERIMENTS. 
Preparlns:  CoUs  of  Wire.— I  have  found  the  foUow- 
ing  simple  apparatus  extremely  serviceable  in  preparing 
coils  of  steel  wire  for  combustion  in  oxygen,  and  for 
coiling  wires  for  battery  connections,  the  apparatus 
was  devised  by  Mr.  Waite,  of  this  town. 


A  B  is  a  rod  of  iron  of  the  diameter  it  is  desired  the 
coils  shall  be  made.  The  extremity  a  is  flattened  and 
a  hole  drilled  through,  while  the  other  end  is  bent 
twice  at  nght  angles  to  form  a  winch,  c  is  a  piece  of 
sheet  iron  bent  so  as  to  fit  loosely  round  the  bar,  and 
when  the  lower  part  is  fastened  in  a  vice,  serves  as  a 
support  for  the  rod  a  b.  To  prepare  a  coil  of  wire,  the 
lower  part  of  the  support  0  is  clamped  in  a  vice  •  a 
long  piece  of  this  wire  is  then  threaded  through  the 
hole  at  the  extremity  a,  and  the  two  ends  held  while 
an  assistant  turns  the  winch.  The  wire  when  twisted 
IS  held  against  the  bar  with  the  left  hand,  while  the 
winch  is  turned  with  the  right,  and  the  wire  is  thus 
wound  on  the  rod.  On  cm  ting  the  wire  at  a,  the  coil 
may  be  removed,  and  is  ready  for  use. 

vi^i   ^  T   ^x_     «.    .    .  ^-  J-  Woodward. 

Midland  Instltiile,  Blrmingbaxn,  January  6,  i86«. 

Sncelnlc  Acid  f^om    Kthylidenle    Chloride.— M. 

Simpson.  The  action  of  potassic  hydrate  upon  ethylic  cyanide 
resulting  in  the  formaiion  of  succinic  acid  led  the  autlior  to 
expect  that  an  isomeric  acid  would  be  obtained  if  instead  of 
ethylenic,  ethylidenic  cyanide  were  taken.  No  isomer,  how- 
ever, but  ordinary  succinic  acid  is  formed,  and  this  appa- 
rent anomaly  is  explained  by  the  supposition  that  during  the 
process  of  heating  ethylidenic  chloride  with  potassic  cyanide 
(180  0.  being  the  temperature  required)  the  former  is 
partially  converted  into  ethylenic  chloride  by  an  exchange  of 
places  between  hydrogen  and  chlorine : 

j€H,H_j€H.Cl 

}  eiia,- }  eHaCi 

-^Chmptes  R  Ixv,  351.) 


•  Juorn.  Cbem.  Society,  II.  Iv.  69. 


[Ei^Uah  edition,  VdL  XTTLy  No.426,  pagea  65,  56;  Na  425,  page  47j  Ko.  «4,  paf«  34] 


ii6 


Hmt  and  Gold. 


(  CimfiCAL  Kkw% 


i.ectd;res. 


ON  HEAT  AND  COLD ;  A  COURSB  OP  SIX  LEOTIJRBS* 
(ADAPTED  TO  A  JUVENILB  AUDITORY),  DE- 
LIVERED AT  THE  ROYAL  INSTITUTION  OF 
GREAT  BRITAIN  (CHRISTMAS,  1867-8). 

BY  JOHN  TYNDALL,  ESQ.,   LL.D.,   F.R.a 

Lkctorb  I. 

Tht  nature  of  heai,  and  the  vamms  modes  of  generating  it. 

^-Friction  and  combustion,-^  Changes  of  volume  produced  by 

heat. 
I  WISHED  Tery  much  indeed  to  be  able  to  write  out  notes 
of  these  lectures,  in  order  that  you  miglit  take  those  notes 
home  with  you,  and  that  they  might  help  you  to  remember 
what  I  spake  here.  But  I  have  been  8«)  very,  very  busy 
with  other  matters— so  very  hard  at  work — that  I  have 
found  it  perfectly  impossible  to  writ©  out  and  to  get  printed 
those  notes  which  I  now  refer  to.  In  fact,  I  wished  very 
much  indeed  to  avoid  giving  this  course  of  lectures  altogether, 
in  consequence  of  the  heavy  labours  of  another  kind  that  I 
have  be«n  engaged  in ;  but,  however,  some  friends  of  mine 
said  that  the  boys  and  girls  here  present  would  take  it  very 
unkindly  of  me,  and  would  think  Uiat  1  was  neglectirig  them 
if  I  did  not  come  forward  and  give  this  course ;  and  inasmuch 
as  this  was  a  thing  I  did  not  wish  you  to  think  of  me,  I 
thought  it  best  to  come  forward  and  to  do  the  best  that  1 
can  under  the  circumstances.  Of  course  your  not  having 
those  notes  to  bring  things  back  to  your  minds  will  render  it 
all  the  more  necessary  on  your  part  to  give  me  the  utmost 
possible  attention,  to  endeavour  to  uudersUnd  all  I  say, — 
and  indeed  at  the  very  starting  I  shall  have  to  bring  some 
very  diflficult  matters  before  you  that  will  require  a  concen- 
tration  of  attention  on  your  part  But  I  calculate—and  I 
know  I  can  calculate  with  confidence — upon  your  attention  ; 
and  if  you  give  me  that  attention,  as  I  am  sure  you  will,  I 
have  no  doubt  we  shall  get  on,  on  the  whole,  exceedingly 
well  together.     (Applause.) 

Now,  I  suppose  all  of  us  twenty  times  a  day— perhaps 
mor«— make  use  of  the  word  **  /."  Every  boy  here  present 
gays,  "  I  eat,"  "  I  drink,"  *•  I  sleep,"  "  I  feel ;"  but  perhaps  very 
few  boys  or  girhs  eitlier  ever  ask  themselves,  "  VVho  is  this  I 
that  does  all  these  things?"  and  if  you  went  to  the  biggest 
man  in  the  world,  or  the  greatest  philosopher,  you  would 
puzzle  him  exceedingly  if  you  asked  him,  '*  Who  is  this/thm 
sleeps,  and  drinks,  and  eats,  and  feels?*  In  fact,  philoso- 
phers, great  as  they  may  be— and  great  they  are— lind  that 
there  are  things  altogether  beyond  their  knowledge  and  be- 
yond their  power  to  understand,  and  this  wonderful  human 
/  is  one  of  those  things.  Hence,  I  do  not  want  you  to  be 
able  to  answer  me  if  1  ask,  Who  is  this  /—what  is  this  A— 
that  sleeps,  and  drinks,  and  eats,  and  feels,  and  makes  use  of 
its  senses  ?  In  fact,  as  I  have  said,  the  best  of  ud  know  very 
little  about  it;  but  we  know  a  great  deal  of  that  peculiar  in- 
strument by  which  the  /  operates  upon  the  world,  and  by 
which  it  understands  the  things  that  are  going  on  in  the 
world,  and  that  instrument  is  the  wonderful  human  body. 
When  we  examine  that  body,  looking  into  its  interior  parts, 
we  find  bones  and  blood  and  muscles  and  tissues  of  various 
kinds ;  and  pafsing  through  these  muscles  we  find  strings 
of  whitish  matter— strings  going  from  the  spinal  marrow, 
and  going  from  a  mass  of  matter  that  rests  in  this  wonderlul 
cavity  called  the  head.  I  say  those  strings  of  white  matter 
go  through  the  body,  and  they  are  called  the  nerves  ;  and  it  is 
by  the  intervention  of  these  nerves  and  this  wonderful  brain 
that  we  human  beings  are  able,  so  to  say,  to  hold  converse 
with  the  world  round  about  us.  Now,  these  nerves  transmit 
the  impressions  from  without.  If  I  prick  my  finger  a  nerve 
is  affected  :  it  is  Ucerated  by  the  prickmg  of  the  pin  or  the 
penknifo,  and  that  nerve  thus  lacerated  sends  intelligence 

•  Reported  verbatim,  by  permission  of  the  Aathor,  fur  this  Joarnal. 


through  itself  up  along  the  arm  to  the  brain;  and  until  it 
arrives  at  the  brain  you  do  not  feel  anjthmg.  It  travels  up 
to  the  brain  at  the  rate  of  about  i8o  feet  in  a  second.  This 
is  one  of  these  wonderful  things  that  have  been  measured  by 
able  men.  You  do  not  feel  the  exact  moment  your  fi«  ger  is 
pricked. 

Now,  what  the  nerves  in  all  these  cases  convey  to  the 
brain  is  something  in  the  nature  of  motion ;  and  in  order  to 
enable  you  to  form  an  idea  of  this  motron  I  have  arranged  a 
little  experiment  And  here  1  must  call  upon  that  power 
which  every  boy  and  girl  here  possesses— that  wonderful 
power  which  is  sometimes  called  "  imagination '' — the  power 
of  picturing  things  before  the  mind.  I  wonld  a«k  yoa  to 
picture  one  of  these  nerves  going  through  the  body  to  the 
brain ;  and  I  would  ask  you  to  figure  that  nerve  burned,  we 
will  say.  Now,  how  are  you  to  conceive  of  this  nerve? 
The  nerve  is  made  up  of  very  minute  partidea  to  which  w© 
give  the  name  of  "  molecules  "  or  *'  stoma*'  They  are  some- 
times called  atoms.  In  fact  a  molecule  is  an  aggregate  of 
atoms.  But  what  I  want  you  to  clearly  realize,  and  which 
is  perfectly  in  your  power  to  realize,  is  that  these  nerves  are 
composed  of  little  particles— (I  do  not  care  about  the  name, 
whether  -atoms"  or  "molecules");  and  if  you  disturb  Uie 
end  of  any  nerve — ^if  you  burn  it — if  you  prick  it— wliat  yoo 
do  there  is  that  you  impart  motion  to  the  body.  This  motion 
runs  along  the  nerve,  and  when  it  reaches  the  brain  it 
deckrea  itself  in  some  form— of  pain,  or,  it  may  be,  of  plea- 
sure. Now,  how  is  this  done  ?  You  may.  in  fact,  consider 
those  nerves  to  be  like  the  telegraphic  wires  that  go  U>rougb 
the  streets.  You  have  seen  them  passing  through  the  air  ot 
London  ;  and  these  telegraphic  wires  carry  messages  to  and 
fro  through  various  parts  of  London.  I  say,  you  may  con- 
sider the  nerves  as  being  represented  by  those  telegraphic 
wires,  and  you  may  consider  the  brain  a  great  central  sutMHi, 
so  to  say,  with  which  the  nerves  communicate— to  which 
they  communicate  their  messages,  and  from  which  they  re- 
ceive their  messages.  In  order  to  make  this  plain  I  have 
here  arranged  a  little  experiment — ^very  simple  indeed.  Ton 
con  make  it  yourselves  with  tiie  glass  balls  used  in  the  game 
of  solitaire.  You  see  I  have  there  a  series  of  these  balls,  aud 
I  want  to  enable  you  by  these  balls  to  conceive  how  rootkra 
is  propagated  through  the  nervea  There  is  nothing  shot 
through  the  nerves  :  the  motion  is  communicated  firoai 
particle  to  particle.  Observe,  here.  If  I  take  hold  of  U^ 
ball  and  strike  it  against  the  first  ball  of  this  aeries,  you  wffl 
observe  what  occurs.  The  motion  will  be  tranamii4«d 
through  all  the  series  of  balls.  Kach  ball  will  take  up  the 
motion  given  to  it  by  the  precedii:g  one,  and  pass  it  on  to  its 
neighboqr,  and  thus  the  motion  will  go  througli  tlie  entne 
series,  so  that  the  last  ball  of  the  series  will  be  the  only  one 
aflfected.  Observe  tiow  the  last  ball  is  detached.  There  it 
goes  away.  The  moment  I  hit  this  first  ball  the  terminal 
ball  flies  ott  Now,  in  some  such  way— in  a  way  somewhat 
analogous  to  this — ^is  motion  propagated  to  the  brain.  Allow 
this  bell  to  represent  the  brain.  Now,  if  we  take  oar  aeries 
of  balls  thus,  and  strike,  as  I  have  said,  the  first  ball,  the 
blow  will  be  communicated  to  the  terminal  ball,  and  that, 
liberated,  will  strike  against  the  bell.  The  sound  of  that  beU 
is  something  like  a  signal  given  in  the  brain.  [The  bell  was 
sounded  in  the  manner  indicated.]  Here  you  have  the 
motion  transmitted  from  the  first  ball,  and  finally  the  bell  « 
thus  aflfected.  In  the  way  somewhat  rudely  and  roughly  re- 
presented bv  this  experiment  the  motion  is  tr«insm;tted  totlw 
brain,  and  when  it  reaches  the  brain  it  evideDcea  itself  as  I 
have  said,  as  pleasure  or  pain,  as  the  case  may  bo.       "  . , 

Now,  having  exercised  your  imagination  upon  those  particlw 
which  I  have  called  atoms  or  molecules,  I  think  we  may  go 
on  to  consider  the  character  of  this  power  that  we  have  to 
deal  with  in  this  course  of  lectures;  that  is,  this  thing  that  we 
call  "  heau"  Long  reflection  and  many  experiments  on  tb» 
important  subject  have  caused  men  of  science— learned  men 
who  investigate  such  things — ^to  the  notion  tliat  this  Ihinj 
that  we  call  heat  is  a  kind  of  motion.  And  now  I  *oow 
like  every,  even  my  youngest  hearer — (and  that  is  a  largo 


[BngUah  Edttkn,  VoL  ZTH*!  Vo.  402,  pagw  3,  4.] 


CtoionoAL  Hurt,) 
Jfore*,186&     f 


Heai  and  Gold. 


117 


demand)— to  flgarOi  by  this  power  of  imaghiatioD,  what  I 
describe.  Take  any  BubstaDce^^or  instance,  thia  bodj 
which  I  hold  in  my  hand.  Thia,  like  our  nervee,  ia  com- 
posed of  little  partidea  or  atoms.  It  ia  not  abaolutely  cold 
at  the  present  time.  Ofoourae  it  maj  feel  cold  to  my  hand, 
bat  it  ia  really  not  cold.  Thone  particles  that  I  have  been 
speaking  of  are  in  a  state  of  motion.  Although  they  are  loo 
small  to  be  seen,  and  although  the  motion  is  entirely  too 
small  to  be  seen  e^en  by  our  best  microscopes,  still  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe— the  very  strongest  reason  to  believe 
— that  the  partidea  of  that  body  at  the  present  time  are 
vibrating.  The  little  particles,  remember— (picture  them  to 
▼our  mind) — are  vibrating  to  and  fro ;  and  the  warmer  the 
body  ia,  the  more  intense  is  this  motion ;  and,  in  point  of 
ftct,  it  is  this  motion  of  the  smallest  particles  of  the  body  to 
which,  when  communicated  to  the  nerves,  and  through  the 
nerves  to  the  brain,  we  give  the  name  of  heat  Now 
although  I  am  dealing  with  some  of  the  deepest  things  in 
science,  still  I  expect  all  the  boys  and  girls  here  to  clearly 
figure  to  their  own  minds  this  substance  as  an  assemblage  of 
small  partidea,  and  those  partidea  oscillating — vibrating; 
and  the  warmth  that  I  feel  when  I  take  thia  in  my  hand  ia 
due  to  the  multitude  of  theee  small  motiona  that 
are  going  on  within  the  body. 

Well,  now,  this  motion  of  the  particles  of  a 
body  can  be  excited  in  various  ways,  and  one 
of  the  moat  ordinary  ways  of  exciting  it  ia  by 
friction.  If  you  take,  say  a  flat  brass  button, 
in  your  hand,  and  if  you  rub  thia  button  upon  a 
suraoe  of  wood,  as  I  am  doing  this  which  I 
hold  in  my  hand,  very  soon  by  rubbing  tliis  body 
[a  short  rod  of  metal]  I  make  it  so  hot  that  I 
don*t  hke  to  bear  it  against  the  skin  of  my 
fiioe.  In  point  of  fact,  the  friction  exerted 
against  this  substance  produoes  the  motion  we 
call  heat,  and  I  very  nearly  bum  myself.  The 
rubbing  throws  the  particles  into  this  fhrious  motion.  If 
I  place  this  body,  before  rubbing  it,  upon  a  flat  piece  of 
white  wax,  there  it  stands;  but  let  me  rub  the  end  of 
the  piece  of  metal  for  a  time,  thus,  and  then  place  it  upon 
the  wax,  you  observe  it  runs  away ;  it  melts  the  wax  un- 
derneath it,  and  slides  down  in  this  way.  This  body  [a 
similar  short  rod  of  metal]  which  has  not  been  rubbed,  will 
never  melt  the  wax,  and  there  it  reats.  The  sliding  of  the 
other  piece  of  metal  ia  due  to  the  heat  produced  by  the 
friction.  And  in  various  other  ways  heat  is  produced  by 
friction.  For  instance,  if  you  take  a  saw,  and  pass  that  saw 
through  wood,  if  you  are  careless  and  do  not  put  grease  upon 
the  saw,  then  there  is  so  much  friction  that  the  amount  of 
beat  developed  in  the  aaw  becomes  very  great  indeed.  The 
saw  becomes  quite  hot.  And  that  ia  the  theory  and  that  is 
the  reaaon  why  carpentera  grease  their  saws  when  they  use 
them.  TUey  do  not  want  to  make  heat,  for  when  thia  fric- 
tion is  overcome  you  actually  create  heat  Now,  the  carpen- 
ter is  not  anxMua  to  make  heat ;  he  wants  to  get  through 
the  wood,  and  he  wants  to  get  through  it  with  the  least 
posribie  trouble ;  and,  in  oonsequence,  he  lessens  the  heat 
by  putting  grease  upon  the  saw;  he  makes  it  aa  smooth  as 
possible. 

In  thia  way,  then,  tfiat  ia,  by  meana  of  friction,  we  can 
actually  generate,  proauoe,  create,  thia  thing  we  call  heat — 
thia  motion ;  and  that  is  a  very  importi^t  point  It  waa 
thought  for  a  long  time  impossible  that  beat  could  be 
generated.  It  was  auppoeed  that  there  waa  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  heat  in  the  universe,  and  that  this  was  perfectly  con- 
stant, no  change  occurring  in  it;  but  you  see  we  have  simply 
to  produce  this  motion  of  the  particles,  and  then  that  motion 
we  call  heat  ia  aet  up.  I  have  here  an  experiment  that  will 
still  farther  illustrate  this.  When  I  waa  a  boy— and  I  aup- 
poae  i  waa  like  the  average  of  boys — I  was  very  fond  of 
savagea,  and  people  of  that  kind.  Now,  I  should  like  im- 
'  menwly  to  be  able  to  tranaform  myself  into  a  New  Zealand 
savage  for  the  next  five  minutea  If  I  could  do  ao  I  should 
be  able  to  make  a  very  beautiful  experiment  which  it  ia  not 

Vol.  II.  No.  3.    March,  1868.        9 


now  in  my  power  to  do,  for  I  am  not  so  clever  aa  thoae 
savages,  ky  friend,  Sir  John  Lubbock,  who  is  a  very  great 
man  on  aavagea,  has  given  me  these  two  sticks.  These  are 
the  genuine  articles,  brought  from  Australia.  Tliis  stick  ia 
made  of  a  particular  kind  of  wood,  pithy,  and  rather  sof^; 
and  you  see  there  are  holea  in  one  of  the  pieces  of  wood. 
Thia  second  stick  is  made  of  a  harder  material.  Now,  one  of 
theee  native  savages  takea  one  stick  and  places  the  end  of 
it  in  one  of  the  holes  of  the  other  stick.  He  then  clasps  it, 
thus,  and  by  the  friction  he  uses  he  causes  a  little  dust,  first 
of  all  at  the  end.  He  works  on  until  that  dust  takes  fire ; 
and  then  he  managea  by  blowing,  and  by  operating  with  far 
more  skill  than  I  can  bring  to  bear  upon  the  experiment,  to 
actually  produce  flame.  Theae  are  the  very  articles  used  by 
these  New  Zealand  savagea  when  they  wish  to  produce  fire 
by  friction. 

Well,  I  can  illustrate  still  farther  thia  mode  of  produdng 
heat  I  have  here,  you  see,  a  hollow  tube,  &,  and  I  will 
place  in  this  tube  a  quantity  of  a  certain  liquid  which  boils  a 
little  more  readily  than  water.  I  might  take  water,  but  I 
will  make  use  of  ether  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  ex- 
periment more  rapidly.  Now  I  will  try  whether  I  can  not 
Fig.  l 


boil  that  liquid  by  friction.    You  see  after  putting  the  ether 
into  the  tube  I  cork  it  up,  thus,  and  then  fix  the  lube  on  tliis 
instrument  which  is  calleil  a  whirling  table,  and  by  means  of 
which  I  can  cause  the  tube  of  liquid  to  spin  round  with  great 
rapidity.    The  tube  is  now  fixed  firmly  upon  the  whirling 
table,  and  we  will  there  spin  it  rapidly  round  and  round.     I 
could  boil  that  ether  by  simply  clasping  the  tube  in  my 
naked  hand.     I  have  done  so  over  and  over  again.    The 
finction  of  my  hand  against  this  tube  has  been  sufficient  to 
boil  this  ether,  but  I  have  found  it  very  hot  and  very  un- 
pleasant ;  and  in  order  to  protect  my  hand  I. will  take  a  piece 
of  flannel,  and  grasp  the  tube  tightly  with  the  flannel  round 
it    Now,  I  want  you  to  observe  that  if  the  experiment  suc- 
ceeds—(and  experiments  are  always  liable  to  fail)— the  friction 
of  the  flannel  against  the  tube  which  goes  round  and  round 
will  cause  the  ether  to  boil,  and  when  that  happens  the 
steam  of  the  ether  underneath  the  cork  will  project  the  cork 
into  the  air.     I  want  you  now  to  observe  the  cork  while  I 
clasp  the  tube  in  the  flannel.    [In  the  course  of  a  few  seconds 
the  cork  flew  from  the  moutii  oT  the  tube.]    There  it  is,  you 
see.    Look  at  that  1— boiled  in  half  a  minute,— boiled  by  the 
friction  of  that  piece  of  flannel  against  the  tube.    Well  now, 
I  have  here  another  tube,  and  I  have  here  a  quantity  of 
metal.    Look  at  it,— hard  metal    There  it  is.    Now,  I  break 
that  metal  into  bits  thus ;  and  I  purposely  avoided  putting 
it  into  this  tube  until  now  so  that  you  might  actually  see 
the  metal  going  in,  and  see  that  there  is  no  delusion  or  mis- 
take about  the  matter.    Now,  I  will  pUice  some  of  this 
broken  metal  in  this  tube.    We  can  put  a  little  more  in  after- 
wards.   I  have  put  in  as  much  as  will  go  in  now.    I  expect 
to  be  able  to  melt  that  metal  by  friction.    I  will  cork  the 
tube  up  tightly  as  in  the  former  case,  and  when  the  metal  is 
melted  I  will  pour  It  out  on  this  plate.     [The  rotation  was 
commenoed.]    I  am  beginning  to  feel  the  heat  now,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  very  soon  we  shall  have  the  metal  in  the 
tube  molten.    [Examines  the  contents  of  the  tube.]    Tea*. 
I  will  put  in  more,  so  as  to  get  a  greater  quantity  melted.    I 
will  pour  it  out  presently,  but  you  must  first  exercise  your 


ToL  ZVZL,  ITa  489^  pafM  4^  tf.] 


ii8 


Heal  <mid  Gold. 


J  CviMiou.  Hnii 


patienoe  until  we  get  it  all  melted.  I  put  in  as  much  aa  the 
cavity  would  hold  in  the  first  instance.  Now,  we  will  work 
the  whirling  table  once  more,  and  I  will  clasp  it  as  before. 
[After  a  further  interval] — ^Now  the  tube  is  so  hot  that  I 
nave  no  doubt  the  metal  inside  is  melted.  Yes,  it  is  melted. 
Let  us  put  in  a  last  bit,  and  thus  we  shall  get  back  the  whole 
of  that  cake  after  it  has  been  liquefied  by  the  friction.  I 
cork  up  the  tube  in  order  to  keep  the  molten  metal  from 
splashing  about  [The  tube  was  caused  to  revolve  again  for 
a  short  time,  and  then  detached  from  the  whirling  labia 
The  metal  was  poured  out,  and  found  to  be  completely 
Aised.] 

Well,  there  are  yarious  other  ways  by  which  this  motion 
that  we  call  heat  can  be  generated.  It  can  be  generated  by 
percussion — by  hitting  with  anything  hard.  For  instance^I 
have  here  a  piece  of  lead — ^a  lead  bullet :  if  I  place  this  bullet 
upon  an  anvil,  and  strike  it  in  this  way,  when  I  take  it  up  after- 
wards it  is  too  hot  to  bold,  and  bums  me.  I  have  actually 
created  that  heat.  I  have  called  that  heat  into  existence. 
By  hitting  this  bullet  I  have  thrown  its  particles  into  this 
peculiar  vibratory  motion  to  which  we  give  the  name  of  heat. 

Now,  how  do  we  know  the  precise  amount  of  beat  pro- 
duced by  a  stroke  of  this  kind  ?  I  had  intended  to  make  an 
experiment  before  you  in  connection  with  this  point;  but  you 
will  understand  the  experiment  without  my  taking  up  your 
time  to  perform  it  in  your  presence.  Hero  is  a  piece  of  lead, 
and  there  I  have  upon  the  floor  a  thick  plate  of  iren.  I  in- 
tended to  send  one  of  my  assistants  to  the  top  of  the  bonse, 
and  1  intended  him  to  drop  this  pieoe  of  lead  down,  and  let  it 
fall  upon  this  plate  of  iron.  Now,  it  so  happens  that  the 
height  of  this  room  is  such  that  this  piece  of  lead*  having  a 
certain  amount  of  temperature  on  leaving  the  hand,  would 
have  that  warmth  augmented  by  one  degree  of  temperature. 
I  must  here  make  use  of  the  term  "  degree,"  although  I  can- 
not explain  it  till  the  second  lecture;  but  you  will  re- 
member that  by  the  falling  of  this  piece  of  lead  from  the 
ceiling,  upon  this  plate  of  metal,  we  should  raise  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  lead  one  degree  Fahrenheit.  In  like  manner,  if  I 
sent  up  this  liquid  metal,  which  is  called  mercury,  and  had  it 
poured  out  from  the  ceiling,  and  let  it  come  down  upon  this 
plate,  the  mercury  in  falling  from  the  top  of  the  house  to  the 
bottom  would  have  its  temperature  raised  one  degree.  But 
if  I  took  water  it  would  be  totally  difTerent  In  this  case  I 
should  have  to  go  not  to  a  height  of  30  feet^  but  to  a  height 
of  770  feet  and  a  little  more,  in  order  that  the  water  should 
have  its  temperature  raised  one  degree.  You  will  understand 
this  difference  between  water  and  mercury  and  between 
water  and  lead,  'by-and-by.  I  now  wish  you  to  understand 
that  we  can  tell  the  exact  amount  of  heat  which  a  shot  fall- 
ing from  a  certain  height  can  generate  or  produce ;  and  we 
should  find  an  increase  of  heat  produced  in  all  such  cases,  if 
we  had  instruments  of  sufficient  delicacy.  No  doubt  many  of 
you  will  see  when  you  grow  up  that  fine  waterfall  in 
Switzerland  where  the  river  Aar  jumps  or  tumbles  down  a 

SBrpendicular  predpice.  I  suppose  it  lumps  from  a  vertical 
eight  of  400  feet  Well,  if  you  could  place  a  thermometer 
at  the  top  of  that  &11  and  another  at  the  bottom,  the  water  at 
the  bottom,  if  the  thermometer  were  delicate  enough,  would 
be  found  warmer  than  the  water  at  the  top ;'  and  knowing  the 
height  fh>m  which  the  cataract  plunges,  we  can  tell  the  exact 
amount  of  heat  generated  by  its  tiX\  downwards,  through  its 
power  of  percussion  in  developing  heat 

When  I  was  a  boy  instead  of  using  percussion  cape,  which 
are  now  so  common  for  firing  g^ns,  they  used  to  employ  an 
instrument  of  this  kind  in  guns — [exhibiting  an  old-fashioned 
gun-lock.]  Here  is  a  piece  of  steel,  and  this  other  substance 
is  a  piece  of  ordinary  tiint  whieh  you  see  moves  forward  in 
this  way.  Now  I  can  cock  that  gun-lock,  and  then  by  press- 
ing on  the  trigger  I  release  the  hold,  and  the  flint  fulls 
against  the  steel,  and  you  notic^  the  sparks  produced. 
This  is  a  very  old  lock,  and  a  very  bad  one ;  but  still  you  see 
there  are  sparks  produced  when  I  liberate  the  flint  and  it 
strikes  against  this  steel  If  we  put  a  little  powder  in  the 
pan  beneath  the  flint,  we  imitate  what  used  to  be  the  method 


of  firing  guns  in  former  days.  [The  lock  was  then  primed.] 
Now,  you  see  when  I  let  the  flint  strike  the  steel  &e  gun- 
powder is  exploded  by  the  sparks  produced.  In  the  ame 
wsy  tobacco  smokers  and  others  used  to  get  a  light  bj  ignit- 
ing tinder  by  means  of  the  sparks  produced  from  a  flint  when 
struck  on  a  piece  of  steeL 

Now,  what  is  the  meaning  of  this  experiment?  What  is  the 
theoiy  of  that  gun-lock  7  It  is  this.  You  have  seen  that 
when  I  struck  the  lead  I  raised  its  temperature  A  t«7 
great  man  who  used  to  lecture  in  this  room  many  years  ago 
— Sir  Humphry  Dsvy—  caused  a  lock  of  tliis  kind  to  go  dT 
where  there  was  no  air,  and  when  he  examined  the  ioek 
afterwards  he  found  that  the  flint  had  struck  away  little  bits 
of  the  steel  from  the  part  of  the  lode  against  which  it  etnick; 
and  when  he  examined  those  little  bits  of  ste«l  he  found  that 
they  had  been  fused;  so  that  really  the  percusaioD  of  ihiB 
flint  against  the  steel  sur&ce  is  so  strong  that  it  raises  those 
partides  of  steel  which  it  breaks  off  almost  to  a  white  best 
When  steel  or  iron  is  thus  raised  to  a  high  temperature  it  is 
affected  by  a  certain  substance  which  is  round  about  it  iu  the  air. 
You  must  remember  the  name  of  that  substance,  it  issoTtry 
important  It  is  called  ooBygen ;  and  when  iron  or  steel  ii 
raised  to  a  snffldent  temperature,  this  oxygen  instsntly  sfc- 
tadcs  it — plunges  against  it  As  before,  I  must  ask  you  to 
exercise  your  imsgination  with  regard  to  this  oxygen.  Too 
must  flgure  in  your  minds  this  oxygen  as  very  snudl  partides 
difRued  throughout  the  air.  Then,  I  say,  when  the  yon  or 
steel  is  raised  to  a  high  temperature,  the  oxygen  diffused throii|^ 
the  air  plunges  against  it,  and  hits  it  so  hard  that  there  is  s 
kind  of  percussion.  The  oxygen  hits  the  iron  or  steel  sohsid 
as  to  produce  this  thing  that  we  call  heat,  and  produce  it  ia 
such  a  degree  as  actually  to  render  the  body  white  hot 
Now,  I  want  to  show  you  that  this  is  the  case.  I  bsTebsre 
the  means  of  produdng  a  flame  of  considerable  siie;  sad 
downstairs  we  have  a  pair  of  bellows.  A  man  has  jort  tfsk 
ted  the  room  to  work  those  bellows.  A  current  of  air  wiH 
pass  through  this  tube,  and  we  shall  obtain  here  a  flame  of 
considerable  power.  Now,  what  I  want  you  to  nnderrtssd 
is  this,— >that  if  by  means  of  this  flame  1  heat  paiticks  of 
iron  or  steel,  you  will  flnd  that  those  particles  of  iron  or  steel 
will  shoot  out  like  stars,  because  of  the  plunging  upon  thssi 
of  the  oxygen  of  the  air.  Here  I  have  a  veswl  oootaining 
these  iron  filingSi  and  as  I  throw  them  on  the  flame  yon  ses 
the  sparks  produced  are  very  brilliant  indeed.  (Af^on.) 
The  iron  is  burned  in  this  way.  I  have  thrown  in  sufBcieot 
of  it  to  illustrate  what  I  have  been  ^ying.  First  of  sll  thess 
partides  of  iron  were  heated  exactly  as  in  the  case  of  the 
gun-lock ;  and  when  they  were  heated  the  oxygen  of  die 
atmosphere  plunged  against  them  so  violently  as  to  prodiwi 
these  star-like  forms  which  you  have  seen.  Some  call  thii 
force  attraction  or  chemical  affinity ;  but  what  I  want  yon  tt 
see  is  this — that  these  partides  of  iron  when  heated  to  Uas 
temperature  are  showered  down  upon  by  the  oxj^psn  of  ths 
air.  This  wonderful  substance  of  the  air,  called  ozygea, 
forms  but  a  small  portion  of  the  atmosphere— about  0De> 
flfth'  of  it  by  weight  Hence,  if  we  had  the  whole  atmoqiben 
oompoaed  of  oxygen  those  effects  of  combustion  would  te 
very  much  greater  indeed  than  they  are  at  present  I  bsi* 
here  some  pure  oxygen  obtained  by  proper  methods,  and  I  wiD 
just  ask  you  to  observe  how  much  noore  powerfully  this  ^ 
mosphere  of  pure  oxygen  acts  upon  a  body  than  does  ike 
oxygen  in  the  ordinary  air,  where  it  is  diluted,  m  I  hsvesud, 
to  a  considerable  extent  Iihave  here  a  piece  of  wood  which 
I  sQt  fire  to.  I  blow  the  flame  out  then,  leaving  the  end  red. 
You  see  the  air  has  no  power  to  make  it  ignite  again.  If  I  j 
bring  it  into  the  oxygen  see  what  occurs.  JThe  incsudeeccat  { 
end  of  the  stick  was  introduced  into  a  jar  of^  oxygen  gaa^  ssd 
immediately  burst  into  a  brilliant  flame.]  The  oxygen  when  it  | 
is  not  diluted  has  this  wonderful  effect  And  so  1  might  tsb  | 
paper  or  other  combustible  bodies  instead  of  this  wood,  la 
&ct  I  might  use  iron.  I  will  produce  here  a  flame  ftom  a 
mixture  of  oxygen  and  another  gas  called  hydrogen,  snd  I 
will  cause  the  o:qrgen  to  bum,  not  a  pieoe  of  paper  or  woo^ 
but  actually  a  piece  of  steel    I  hold  a  pieoe  of  steel  bsfs  is 


[BBfUi^  SdUiso.  ToL  ZTZX^  Vo.  «U^p«CSS  «^0.] 


Seat  and  Cbld. 


119 


my  band.  It  is  the  flpring  of  a  watch.  A  man  has  now 
gODO  down  to  start  the  apparatus.  I  shall  very  soon  have  a 
jet  of  gas  passing  through  here.  I  will  ignite  that  jet  of  gas, 
and  then  joa  will  see  the  flame  of  the  hydrogen, — ^not  a  bril- 
liant flame  by  any  means.  [A.  jet  of  hydrogen  was  then 
ignited.]  I  will  presently  mix  with  the  hydrogen  flame 
which  you  see  a  quantity  of  this  oxygen,  but  I  want  first  to 
raise  this  steel  to  a  very  high  temperature,  and  then  to  allow 
the  oxygen  gas  to  act  upon  it.  I  will  now  throw  into  this  jet 
of  hydr^n  a  quantity  of  this  wonderful  oxygen.  You  wiU 
flee  that  the  flame  becomes  very  much  smaller ;  and  now  it  is 
enormously  hot  Observe  what  it  can  do  with  that  piece  of 
flteeL  Observe  how  it  can  bum  it  away.  This  substance 
called  oxygen  is  playing  upon  that  spring.*  If  I  take  away  the 
hydrogen  you  see  no  flame  whatever,  but  we  have  only  the 
pore,  cold  oxygen ;  but  when  once  the  temperature  of  the 
'  steel  has  been  raised  sufficiently,  the  force  with  which  the 
oxygen  particles,  or  atoms  as  I  called  them,  plunge  down 
upon  the  steel  is  sufficient  to  produce  this  wonder&l  e£feot. 
[The  watch-spring  continued  to  burn  in  the  jet  of  oxygen.] 

Well,  now,  we  have  the  generation  of  heat  exemplified  in 
this  way.  I  showed  you  first  of  all  that  it  could  be  generated 
by  friction  to  auch  an  extent  that  you  were  able  to  melt  metal 
with  it  I  then  showed  you  that  it  was  generated  by  ordinary 
mechanical  percussion,  as  in  the  striking  of  two  pieces  of  lead 
bj  the  hammer.  And  now  I  ask  your  power  of  imagina- 
Don  to  help  me  here  in  the  case  of  the  oxygen  uniting  with 
the  iron  or  the  steel,  which  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a 
case  of  percussion.  It  is,  however,  a  case  of  percussion  of 
atoms,  instead  of  the  percussion  of  a  hammer  descending 
apon  a  weight  Now,  I  tbmk  that  if  you  have  followed  me 
I  have  not  uttered  a  word  that  you  can  not  perfectly  under- 
stand. You  can  picture  before  your  mind  these  little  oxygen 
atoms  showering  down  with  this  tremendous  force  upon  the 
mr&oe  of  the  iron ;  and  the  object  I  have  in  lecturing  to  you 
boys  and  girls  is  that  you  may  see  with  the  eyes  of  your 
mind  those  things  which  are  too  small  to  be  seen  with  the  eyes 
of  your  body,  and  that  is  the  power  I  referred  to  in  the  first 
instance — the  power  of  imagination. 

I  have  here  a  variety  of  jars  of  this  oxygen  gas.    I  do  not 
want  to  spend  too  much  time  in  operating  with  them,  but  one 
experiment  I  must  make  because  it  is  of  auch  importance  and 
snob  historic  interest  in  science.   The  great  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
regarding  whom  a  great  deal  of  nonsense  and  a  great  deal 
of  wrong  has  been  uttered  lately  in  the  newspapers  and  else- 
where, operated  with  a  diamond  in  the  course  of  his  experi- 
ments  on  optics ;  and  he  concluded  fhom  his  experiments  on 
the  diamond  that  that  beaatiful  gem,  the  hardest  of  all  sub- 
stances, waa  an  unctuousi  peculiar  substance  like  wax  or 
grease.    Long  before  the  experiment  was  ever  made,  this 
Newton  by  that  very  power  which  exists  in  eveiy  boy  and 
girl  here  present,  and  which  I  called  upon  in  the  beginning 
of  the  lecture,  saw  that  this  beautiful  gem  was  a  combustible 
sabatance ;  and  now  I  want  to  show  you  that  Newton  was 
true  in  hia  prediction.    I  have  here  a  small  diamond — (for 
diamonds  are  very  precious,  as  you  know,  and  it  would  be  a 
wasteful  expendituie,  of  course,  to  use  a  large  one) ;  and  I 
will  first  of  all  heat  it  by  means  of  this  very  hot  flame  that 
we  possess  here.    I  have  here  some  oxygen  gas,  and  after 
heating  the  diamond  I  will  plunge  it  into  the  oxygen  gas, 
and  I  think  you  will  find  it  will  there  glow  like  a  little  star. 
Perhaps  the  hydrogen  can  not  heat  it  strongly  enough,  but 
we  will  try  it.     [The  heated  diamond  was  lowered  into  a  jar 
<^  oxygen.]     Yes,  there  is  the  diamond  burning  before  you. 
And  now  how  are  you  to  figure  that  diamond?    How  are 
you  to  Imagine  the  state  of  things  going  on  there  ?    At  the 
present  time  it  is  surrounded  by  oxygen ;  and  the  oxygen 
atoms,  aa  I  have  called  them,  are  showering  down  upon  the 
diamond,  and  showering  down  upon  it  with  such  peroussive 
force  as  to  render  it  that  bright  and  brilliant  star.    Now,  I 
think  every  boy  and  girl  here  present,  can  picture  before  his 
and  her  mind  what  is  going  on.    Imagine  these  atoms  of 
oxygen  showering  down  upon  the  diamond,  and  the  force 
with  wtaaeb  they  do  so  raises  the  diamond  to  that  temperature. 


In  all  these  cases  heat  is  actually  generated.  There  is 
called  into  existence  heat  which  did  not  exist  before.  It  is, 
as  I  have  said,  a  kind  of  motion  which  can  be  generated  in 
the  way  which  1  have  indieated. 

Having  now  obtained  a  general  notion  as  to  the  methods  in 
which  heat  is  generated,  we  may  pass  on  for  a  moment  or 
two  to  investigate  what  it  can  do-^ow' bodies  are  affected 
by  it 

1  have  arranged  an  experiment  here,  in  fh>nt  of  the  table, 
which  will  enable  you  to  see  what  heat  can  do ;  and  here 
again  I  would  call  upon  that  wonderful  poWerof  imagination. 
Imagine  the  particles  of  a  body  getting  gradually  warmer, 
vibrating  with  greater  and  greater  intensity.  What  is  the 
natural  consequence?  That  these  particles  should  force  them-  * 
selves  asunder,  that  the  body  should  become  bigger  by  being 
heated,  that  the  volume  of  the  body  should  be  augmented  by 
the  augmentation  of  its  temperature.  Here  I  have  a  plati* 
num  wire  stretched  from  this  stand  to  this.  You  ob- 
serve that  at  the  end  I  have  attached  a  straw  with 
a  piece  of  paper  &stened  on  it  Here  you  observe 
a  little  wheel,  and  from  that  wheel  you  observe  a  weight 
descending.  Bound  the  axis  of  the  wheel  a  platinum  wire  is 
coiled.  Now  the  platinum  wire  is  pulling  in  one  direction, 
and  the  weight  is  pulling  in  the  other  direction,  but  if  you 
relax  the  platinum  wire  the  weight  will  instantl^y  predomi- 
nate and  the  index  will  rise  up.  Observe  that  index  rises 
if  I  relax  the  wire  by  simply  pressing  this  rod  to  whwh  one 
end  of  it  is  fixed ;  and  when  I  take  my  hand  away  the  wire 
remains  no  longer  relaxed,  and  the  index  falls  back  again. 
(A  great  portion  of  what  we  call  "  experimental  science  "  con- 
sists of  devices  of  this  kind.  This  was  devised  by  my  assist- 
ant Mr.  Gottrell.)  But  how  shall  I  heat  that  wire?  .  By  a 
power  which  is  far  away  from  here,  which  I  hope  to  be  able  to 
talk  to  you  about  at  sope  future  time.  Coming  up  from  the 
yard  beneath  there  is  ^  power  which  heats  the  wire ;  it  is 
called  an  electric  current  When  the  current  comes  the 
platinum  wire  will  be  heated  and  elongated,  and  the  elonga- 
tion of  the  wire  will  manifest  itself  on  tlie  index  You  see 
this  piece  of  paper  smoking  with  the  heat  of  the  wire.  If  I 
stop  the  current,  the  source  of  heat  is  detached,  and  the  wire 
cools.  When  the  wire  cools  it  contracts,  and  when  it  con- 
tracts the  index  falls  in  this  peculiar  way. 

I  have  another  experiment  here  to  show  how  heat  operates 
in  causing  bodies  to  expand.  I  have  here  two  bars — one  of 
iron  and  the  other  of  brass ;  and  at  the  present  time  you  see 
here  in  firont  of  the  Uble  a  little  piece  of  apparatus  the 
meaning  of  which  you  will  understand  immediately.  I  will 
show  you  that  this  wire  which  you  see  here  in  front  is  a  little 
coil  of  jplatinum  wire.  But  before  I  show  you  this  wire  I 
should  first  like  to  show  you  what  a  power  we  possess  for  heat- 
ing the  platinum  wire  when  we  augment  our  current  This  cur- 
rent comes  from  a  battery  downstoire,  which  I  trust  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  explaining  to  you,  not  this  year,  but  perhaps 
in  some  future  year.  Now  the  assistant  will  give  me  a 
powerful  current,  and  I  think  you  will  see  that  this  wire 
will  be  raised  to  redness  throughout  its  entire  length.  [The 
electric  current  was  then  passed  through  the  wire].  The 
platinum  wire  is  now  red  hot,  and  the  index  goes  up  in  this 
prompt  way.  You  will  see  the  glow  of  the  red-hot  wire  now 
the  light  is  lowered.  Now  if  I  shorten  the  length  of  wire 
less  and  less  resistance  is  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  current, 
and  a  greater  amount  of  electricity  passes  through,  and  you 
have  the  wire  raised  to  this  much  greater  temperature.  There 
is  one  thing  to  be  observed  here.  You  must  not  allow  your- 
selves to  suppose  that  this  apparent  thickening  of  the  wire 
on  being  heated  is  due  to  a  real  thickening.  The  red  hot 
wire  looks  as  thick  as  a  quill.  This  appearance,  which  I  have 
no  doubt  is  visible  to  you,  h  not  due  to  a  real  thickening.  It 
is  an  effect  produced  by  a  bright  light  on  the  eye.  A  bright 
body  is  always  seen  larger  than  it  ought  to  be,  and  this 
partk:ular  wire  now  before  you  is  seen  thicker  by  those  in 
more  distant  parts  of  the  theatre  than  it  is  by  those  near  at 
hand.  This  proves  that  it  is  a  deception  of  the  eye— a  kind 
of  Ulttsion  called  "  irradiation.*'    It  is  not  a  real  thickening 


CBagUSh  Bdttloii,  VaL  Z7XL,  ITo.  439,  pageff  ^  7.] 


I20 


Heai  and  CcHcL 


\  Obbikal  Kiwb, 
1    Jrareh,18e8. 


[The  platinum  wire  was  Btill  further  shortened  and  then 
parted  asunder.]  There,  the  wire  is  now  fused  bjr  this  electric 
current. 

Fio.  2. 


r\ 


Kow,  I  will  call  back  your  attention  to  this  spiral  o  which 
you  see  here.  Here  on  one  of  these  supports  a  b  is  a  piece 
of  brass  p,  and  here  is  another  p'  \  and  stretching  across  from 
support  to  support  are  two  bars,  one  of  brass  and  one  of  iron. 
At  present  they  are  not  long  enough  to  span  the  distance 
fh)m  one  support  to  the  other :  but  I  will  heat  them,  and  then 
they  will  expand,  and  you  will  find  that  when  they  expand 
sufficiently  to  bridge  this  chasm  from  one  support  to  another 
an  electric  current  will  pass,  and  then  that  spiral  o  will  be 
like  a  voice  telling  us  that  the  bars  have  expanded  from  one 
support  to  the  other.  We  will  now  liglit  the  jets  of  gas 
underneath  these  bars,  which  at  present  are  too  short  to  span 
the  distance  between  the  supports.  [After  an  interval] — 
Olraerve  now  that  what  I  predicted  a  moment  ago  has  oc- 
curred. The  spiral  is  now  ignited.  If  I  remove  this  brass 
bar  the  spiral  sinka  What  I  want  to  show  you  by  this  ex- 
periment is  that  the  brass  expands  more  than  the  iron.  It 
was  the  expansion  of  the  brass  which  bridged  the  chasm 
across. 

I  have  told  you  that  a  great  portion  of  experimental  sci- 
ence is  taken  up  by  devices  of  this  kind  to  render  these  small 
expansions  evident.    I  think  there  is  before  you  on  the  floor 


In  front  of  the  table  a  piece  of  apparatus  more  delicate  than 
any  that  has  ever  yet  been  made.  It  is  an  apparatus  in- 
tended to  show,  among  other  things,  the  expansk>n  of  volume 
by  heat  Tou  will  understand  this  apparatus  immediately 
by  reference  to  this  small  dcetch  that  I  have  drawn  upon  the 


black-board.  I  have  taken  sunply  the  essential  parts  of  the 
apparatus,  and  you  will  understand  them,  I  am  sure,  perfecUj 
welL 

The  bottom  part  b  of  the  sketch  repreeentB 
the  upper  end  of  that  l^>right  bar  of  meul  which 
you  see  between  those  two  brass  pillars  in  the 
apparatus  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  On  the 
top  of  this  bar  rests  a  little  brass  stem  8-,  and 
the  top  of  that  stem  is  pointed  and  presses  upon 
a  very  hard  flat  stone— a  plate  of  agate  a. 
Now,  conceive  the  top  of  this  bar  to  be  lifted, 
and  to  push  this  stem  up  against  the  plate  of 
agate.  .  What  will  occur?  Tou  see  the  am  c 
above  the  piece  of  agate.  That  arm  moves 
upon  a  pivot  which  you  see  marked  by  a  dot; 
a  very  little  pushing  of  this  arm  causes  it  to 
move  through  a  greater  space  than  the  body 
which  pushes  it  Now,  attached  to  this  ana 
IS  a  piece  of  the  hairspring  of  a  watdi,  and  that 
is  carried  round  an  axis  x,  attached  to  which 
axis  is  a  piece  of  looking-glass — that  is  a  mirror 
M.  Upon  that  mirror  a  beam  of  light  s  is  csit 
The  figure  at  the  left  of  the  sketch  ,1  snppoes 
to  be  the  front  part  of  a  lamp  from  which  the 
light  will  issue.  The  beam  of  light  will  fidl 
upon  that  mirror,  and  will  be  reflected  upwirds 
BB,  and  will  mark  itself  as  a  spot  of  light  opoo 
the  screen  B.  Now,  if  you  conceive  the  eod 
of  the  bar  to  be  lifted,  and  to  push  the  ana 
upwards,  it  wUl  cause  the  axis  of  the  mirror  to  turn  nmad, 
and  cause  the  mirror  to  take  another  poeitton ;  and  when  the 
mirror  taices  another  position,  this  beam  of  reflected  light  wiH 
travel  with  the  mirror,  and  wQl  travel  with  twice  the  velodlj 
of  the  mirror.  Tlius,  in  this  experiment,  instead  of  having  s 
straw  for  an  index,  I  use  a  beam  of  light  Tou  will  under- 
stand the  apparatus  when  I  make  the  experiment  I  think, 
as  1  have  said,  it  is  the  most  delicate  instrument  of  the  kind 
that  has  ever  yet  been  made.  Now  I  will  try  and  get  the 
apparatus  in  proper  order  for  showing  the  experiment  I 
throw  a  beam  of  light  upon  the  mirror,  and  there  you  see  it 
reflected  and  quickening  on  the  wall.  I  will  bring  it  down  so 
as  to  get  it  on  the  screen.  Tou  see  it  is  exceedingly  sena- 
tive.  That  constitutes  our  index.  And  now  I  will  ask  yoa 
to  observe  what  I  am  going  to  da  I  will  not  touch  that 
heavy  bar  of  lead;  I  will  not  heat  it  with  a  flame;  I  will 
simply  breathe  against  itj  and  I  believe  that  this  apparitas 
is  so  exceedingly  delicate  that  the  mere  breathing  against 
this  mass  of  lead  (and  it  is  very  large)  will  cause  the  lead  to 
expand  upwards,  and  will  bring  down  that  spot  of  light  fhm 
the  top  of  the  screen  to  the  bottonu  [Tbe  lecturer  then 
breathed  on  the  bar  of  lead,  and  the  image  of  the  beam  of 
light  gradually  travelled  down  the  screen.]  The  mere 
warmth  of  the  breath  is  sufficient  to  produce  this  effect  Now 
I  will  pour  upou  the  bar  a  little  liquid  that  will  chill  it- 
make  it  cold;  and  I  think  you  will  ttn<^  that  as  the  bar  eoob 
it  will  contract,  and  that  the  beam  of  light  will  go  back  to 
the  top  of  the  screen.  [The  spot  of  light  was  successfully 
brought  back  to  the  upper  part  of  the  screen  in  tbe  manner 
described.  I 

So  mudi  for  these  actions  which  this  wonderful  thing 
called  heat  produces.  In  our  next  lecture  we  shall  endeav- 
our to  understand  how  this  wonderftil  thing  can  be  measured. 
We  shall  deal  with  the  construction  of  thermometers  and 
things  of.  that  kind,  and  I  trust  we  shall  get  to  know  t 
great  deal  about  them, 

Lbctubb  II. 
Change  of  volume  (ccnHnuedy-TTte  force  of  heai-^ffow  fo 

measure  heai — Boiling  water. 
I  WANT  you  in  the  first  place  to  pay  attention  to  what  Mr. 
Oottrell  will  do  here  in  firont  of  the  uUe.      There  isaveiy 
thick  bombshell,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  tbe  great  kisd- 
ness  of  my  fhend  Professor  Abel  of  Woolwich.    It  is  bo« 


[BngUA  fidtdoB,  Vol  XVIL,  «a  42^  pagea  7,  8 ;  Vo.  da^  page  lA.] 


CtamcAL  News, ) 
Mmrek,  IMS.    f 


Seat  and  Odd. 


121 


filled  with  water,  and  the  hole  of  the- bomb  is  plugged.  Mr. 
Cottrell  will  now  place  the  bomb  in  this  bucket,  which  cod- 
tains  a  mixture  of  pounded  ice  and  salt ;  and  I  want,  if  I 
can,  to  explode  that  bomb.  Do  not  feel  in  the  least  alarmed 
about  it  The  explosion  will  not^e  such  as  to  injure  any 
one.  I  will  ask  him  now  to  cover  the  bomb  carefully  with 
this  flreezing  mixture  of  pounded  ice  and  salt,  and  we  will 
leave  It  there  for  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  flrst  put- 
ting a  blanket  over  it  in  order  to  keep  the  warm  air  of  this 
room  from  acting  upon  it  And  now  on  the  top  of  this  I  will 
mi  these  iron  bottles  and  this  leaden  bottle,  which  also  all 
contain  water.  Having  placed  them  in  the  freezing  mixture 
we  will  examine  what  occurs  when  the  water  within  these 
bottles  and  this  bombshell  freezes.  It  will  require,  no  doubt, 
half  an  hour  or  more  to  produce  any  action  upon  the  bomb, 
because  it  contains  a  very  considerable  amount  of  water. 
We  may  possibly  obtain  an  action  more  rapidly  upon  the  iroq 
bottles,  though  they  are  exceedingly  thick.  We  made  a 
similar  experiment  with  a  bombshell  in  the  yard  of  the  Insti- 
tution, and  there  it  occupied  only  half  an  hour  to  Rreeze  the 
water  and  burst  the  bomb.  The  result  is  here  in  these  fivg- 
ments  which  are  on  the  table.  Look  at  the  thickness  of  these 
pieces.  I  hope  the  bombshell  now  in  the  bucket  will  be 
pleasant  and  courteous  and  agreeable  enough  to  burst  before 
thb  lecture  is  ended,  but  in  case  it  does  not  burst,  these  frag- 
ments must  represent  the  effect  I  intended  to  produce.  [At 
a  subsequent  stage  of  the  lecture  the  success  of  the  experi- 
ment was  indicated  by  the  bursting  of  the  bomb.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  lecture  the  bottles  were  also  found  to  have 
been  burst  by  the  freezing  of  the  water.] 

Aad  now  let  me  recur  for  a  moment  to  our  last  lecture. 
I  then  attempted  something  very  daring  indeed.  I  dare  say 
many  of  my  elder  hearers  will  have  imagined  that,  in 
(act,  I  aimed  too  high, — ^that  I  endeavoured  perhaps  to 
make  you  understand  too  much ;  but  I  do  not  think  that 
that  was  the  case.  I  think  it  is  possible  for  your  minds  to 
aee  the  operations  of  this  thing  that  we  call  heat  almost — 
not  quite,  I  think,  but  ahiott — as  clearly  as  I  see  these  opera- 
tions myself  and  for  this  reason  I  wish,  as  far  as  in  me  lies, 
to  make  you  see  what  I  see,  when  I  think  and  talk  of  this 
thing  that  we  call  heat  It  was  for  that  reason  that  I  en- 
deavoured to  cause  you  to  picture  to  your  minds  first  of  all 
the  motion  of  the  particles  produced  by  striking  a  piece  of 
lead.  Tou  remember  I  put  a  piece  of  lead  upon  the  anvil 
and  struck  it  forcibly  with  the  hammer,  and  in  that  way  I 
produced  beat  I  then  went  on  from  that  to  what  we  call 
combustion ;  and  I  asked  you  to  consider  this  combustion  as 
something  almost  identical  wilh  the  action  of  the  hammer 
upon  the  lead, — that  the  combustion  of  bodies  is  due  to  the 
fiMCt'  that  oar  atmosphere  contains  what  is  called  oxygen  gas 
— ^the  vital  gas, — and  that  when  certain  bodies  are  raised  in 
temperature  this  oxygen  hits  them  with  such  force  as  to  pro- 
duce the  effects  that  we  call  combustion.  This,  in  point  of 
lack,  IS  the  theory  of  combustion.  If  we  remove  the  oxygen 
(jrom  a  place  where  a  body  is  burning,  you  will  find  at  once 
that  it  can  no  longer  bum.  In  order  to  make  that  evident  to 
you,  I  have  here  a  candle  which  I  intend  to  place  under  what 
is  called  the  "  receiver  *^  of  an  air-pump.  Now  you  have  the 
candle  burning  within  the  receiver  of  the  air-pump.  If  I 
allowed  it  to  continue  burning,  the  oxygen  enclosed  in  that 
receiver  would  by  and  by  be  exhaust^  by  the  burning  of 
the  candle,  aud  the  flame  of  the  candle  would  die  out  as  soon 
88  the  exhaustion  of  the  oxygen  took  place.  I  will  hasten 
that  exhaustion  by  working  the  pump,  and  rendering  the 
atmosphere  around  the  candle  rare ;  and  you  will  find  that 
preeenlly  the  flame  will  become  rather  feeble.  [The  air- 
pump  was  then  set  in  action.]  You  see  the  flame  is  already 
banning  to  become  dim.  Sfow  it  is  very  dim.  As  I  work 
on  it  becomes  still  dimmer,  but  if  I  let  a  little  oxygen  into 
that  receiver  I  at  ones  restore  the  brightness  of  the  flame. 
[Some  oxygen  was  caused  to  enter  the  receiver.]  Now  the 
flame  is  brighter  than  it  was  before.  If  I  exhaust  again  you 
will  find  that  as  we  have  taken  the  oxygen  away  we  remove  the 
atoms  that  are  now,  as  it  were,  showering  down  against  the 


combustible  matter  of  that  candle.  If  we  take  those  atoms 
away  you  see  the  flame  becomes  more  aud  more  feeble ;  and 
finally  if  I  proceed  farther  I  should  be  able,  of  course,  to  en- 
tirely extinguish  the  flame,  for  when  these  little  oxygon 
atoms  are  no  longer  able  to  rain  down  upon  that  flame,  then 
the  flame  inevitably  goes  out  I  will  readmit  the  air  before 
the  flame  is  quite  extinguished,  [At  this  moment  the  candle 
ceased  to  buru.]  Ah  1  I  am  too  late,  aud  the  flame  has  gone 
out  Now,  you  saw  that  just  before  that  flame  went  out  it 
was  exceedingly  feeble.  It  was  exactly  similar  to  the  flame 
that  you  obtain  at  very  high  elevations  upon  the  earth's  sur- 
face. Many  years  ago  Dr.  Frankland  and  myself  spent  a 
whole  night  upon  the  top  of  Mont  Blanc.  We  slept  upon  the 
top,  and  we  there  burned  a  number  of  composite  candles 
such  as  we  have  here,  and  we'-also  burned  a  number  of  them 
at  Cliamounix.  The  air  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain  was 
very  rare  and  very  thin,  and  it  was  most  wonderful  to  see 
the  effect  of  this  rarefied  air  upon  the  flames  of  the  candles. 
They  were  exactly  like  the  flame  you  saw  here  immediately 
before  it  went  out  Strange  to  say,  however,  the  quantity  of 
stearine  (the  stuff  of  which  these  candles  were  made)  consumed 
above  in  one  hour  was  exactly  equal  to  that  consumed  below. 
There  was  no  sensible  difference,  in  fact,  between  them,  not- 
withstanding the  enormous  difference  in  the  characters  of  the 
flames.    So  much  for  these  flames. 

We  must  now  say  one  or  two  words  with  regard  to  the 
structure  of  this  wonderful  and  beautifUl  thing — flame.  If 
you  look  at  the  flame  of  a  candle  you  will  observe  a  particu- 
lar portion  of  it  to  be  much  more  luminous  than  the  rest  At 
that  particular  part  the  flame  gives  out  its  greatest  light ; 
and  if  you  light  two  candles,  such  as  I  have  here,  and  look 
at  the  flame  of  one  of  thbse  caudles  through  the  flame  of  the 
other,  you  will  find  that  you  can,  with  the  greatest  ease,  see 
one  through  the  other  for  a  Considerable  distance  upwards ; 
but  then  you  come  to  a  very  bright  portion  of  the  candle 
fiame,  and  that  bright  portion  almost  wholly  cuts  off  the 
vision  of  the  other  candle.  Thus,  through  the  part  of  the 
most  intense  brightness  the  light  of  the  other  canjdle  cannot 
pass.  There  is  something  going  on  which  intercepts  the 
light  of  the  other  candle.  Now,  what  is  this  something  ? 
This  will  lead  us  to  a  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  this  beau- 
tiful flame.  The  flame  here  is  produced  in  this  way.  We 
have  a  wick  in  the  centre  of  this  column  of  greasy  combusti- 
ble matter.  We  ignite  the  wick.  The  heat  first  of  all  lique- 
fies the  grea^  matter,  and  not  only  liquefies  it  but  reduces 
it  to  a  state  of  vapour,  or  gas.  The  candle  actually  makes  its 
own  gas.  This  vapour  comes  from  the  candle  straight  up- 
wards ;  and  being  heated  and  surrounded  by  the  oxygen  of 
the  air,  this  heated  vapour  is  immediately  attacked  by  the 
oxygen ;  the  atoms  of  oxygen  plunge  against  the  vapour,  and 
what  we  see  as  light  and  heat  is  the  result  of  this  collision. 
But,  let  me  say  a  word  or  two  more  with  regard  to  flame. 
I  have  spoken  of  the  vapour  of  the  greasy  matter  of  the 
candle.  That  vapour  is  composed  mainly  of  two  distinct 
substances.  It  is  called  a  "  hydrocarbon.**  We  have  there 
hydrogen,  which  is  a  gas,  and  we  have  carbon,  which  is  also, 
under  certain  circumstances,  a  gas.  These  bodies  are  united 
together  in  the  grease  of  this  candle.  Now  follow  me,  please; 
and  you  will  understand  the  structure  of  this  candle-flame 
immediately.  The  vapour  is  attacked  by  oxygen ;  but  the 
oxygen  loves  the  hydrogen  better  than  the  carbon.  It  takes 
the  hydrogen  flrst  and  liberates  little  solid  particles  of  carbon 
in  the  flame.  These- carbon  partides  are  the  soot  which  you 
see  sometimes  in  a  smoky  flame.  You  see  the  smoke  here, 
in  point  of  fact  If  the  combustion  were  perfect  all  that 
smoke  would  be  burned,  and  it  would  be  raised  to  a  white 
heat  in  the  flame.  In  that  particular  portion  of  the  flame 
which  g^ves  out  the  maximum  amount  of  light  you  have  a 
crowd  of  these  solid  carbon  particles  raised  to  a  white 
heat  by  the  intense  temperature  of  the  flame.  And  then, 
finally,  these  carbon  particles  also  become  burned,  and  the 
products  of  combustion  pass  away  into  the  air  as  gas.  This 
is  the  structure  of  all  flames — first  of  all,  an  inner  core  of  un- 
bumed  gas  or  vapour;  and  then  round  about  that  the  oxygen 


[BngUah  Bditioii,  VoLTTIL,  ira  4S3,  pagM  la^  10.] 


122 


Heai  and  Gold. 


1    Jrare*.l«8. 


of  the  air  plunging,  as  it  were,  against  the  heated  Tapour, 

*  and  forming  a  kind  of  luminous  shell  round  about  the  interior 
ball. 

If,  when  the  carbon  particles  were  heated  and  liberated 
from  the  hydrogen  in  the  manner  I  have  described,  oxygen 
were  at  once  to  seize  upon  thero,  you  could  not  have  this  in- 
tense luminosity  that  you  find  in  the  candle-flame.  Here 
is  a  lamp,  constructed  by  a  particular  fHend  of  mine — Pro- 
fessor Bunsen,  of  Heidelberg — and  you  see  it  bui-ns  with  a 
very  small  amount 'of  light  The  reason  of  that  Is  that,  by 
means  of  these  apertures  which  he  has  made  round  about  the 
central  tube,  he  mixes  the  oxygen  of  the  air  with  the  gas  be- 
fore the  gas  is  ignited,  and  the  presence  of  this  oxygen  en- 
tirely destroys  the^  existence  of  these  carbon  particles,  to 
which  the  light  of  the  flame  is  mainly  due.  If  I  cut  off  the 
air  the  gas  alone  will  come  out,  and  you  see  then  at  once 
that  the  light  greatly  increases.  In  the  former  case  you  have 
the  carbon  particles  halting  for  a  moment  in  the  flame,  and 
raised  to  a  white  heat  before  the  oxygen  seizes  them ;  and 
thus  you  have  a  far  greater  amount  of  light  than  when  you 
allow  the  oxygen  to  get  in  amongst  them  and  seize  them  ihe 
moment  they  are  liberated.  ' 

The  combustion  which  I  have  just  shown  you  is  of  a  very 
vivid  kind.  There  are  also  slow  kinds  of  combustion  going 
on.  For  instance,  when  the  oxygen  of  the  air  attacks  iron, 
it  produces  that  red  iron  rust  with  which  you  are  all  very 
well  acquainted.  This  is  just  as  much  a  case  of  combustion 
as  the  oombustion  exhibited  in  the  candle-flame.  It  is  a  case 
of  slow  combustion.  When  the  earlier  of  the  Atlantic  cables 
was  made  it  was  surrounded  by  iron  sheathing  to  protect  it ; 
and  it  was  found  in  one  case  that  the  temperature  of  a  great 
coil  of  this  cable  became  very  high  indeed — so  high  as  to  im- 
peril the  gutta-percha  and  other  substances  that  were  employed 
to  insulate  the  wire.  This  was  found  to  be  due  entirely  to 
the  slow  combustion^-to  the  runting,  or  *'  oxidation,"  as  it  is 
called,  because  oxygen  is  concerned  in  it— of  the  iron.  The 
iron  was  slowly  burned,  and  the  heat  could  not  get  away 
because  the  coil  was  do  large,  and  the  consequence  was  that 
its  temperature  became  dangerously  high.  Mr.  Siemens  has 
invented  an  exc«fedingly  beautiful  instrument  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  cables  for  this  heat.  And  so  in  the  case  of 
our  own  bodies  there  is  going  on  as  true  a  oombustion  as  in 
the  case  of  the  burning  candle.  We  take  in  food,  it  is  con- 
veyed into  the  blood,  we  breathe  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  that 
oxygen  comes  into  contact  with  the  food  in  the  blood,  and 
the  food  is  there  slowly  burned,  and  consequently  we  are 
rendered  warm.  The  heat  of  our  bodies  is  derived  entirely 
from  this  slow  combustion. 

*  Towards  the  close  of  the  last  lecture  I  passed  on  to  a  con- 
aideration  of  what  heat  does.  The  usual  result,  as  I  told  you, 
is  that  bodies  are  made  to  expand  with  heat  I  made  seve- 
ral experiments  in  proof  of  this, — one  with  a  yerj  beautiful 
piece  of  apparatus  made  for  me  by  Mr.  Becker,  by  which  we 
multiplied  the  action  more  than  a  thousandfold  in  order  to 
enable  \ou  to  see  the  expansion  which  occurred  when  I 
breathed  against  a  pillar  of  lead.  I  now  want  to  make  dear 
to,  you  the  wonderful  strength  of  this  force  with  which  bodies 
expand,  and  the  wonderful  strength  of  the  force  with  which 
they  contract  The  forces  which  pull  the  atoms  or  molecules 
of  a  body  together  on  its  cooling  are  perfectly  enormous.  I 
will  illustrate  this  by  an  experiment  which  you  will  under- 
stand by  reference  to  this  model.  I  place  in  a  hole  at  the  end 
of  this  iron  bar  a  little  piece  of  wood ;  you  see  the  two  ends 
of  this  piece  of  wood  rest  against  these  two  edges ;  and  if  I 
pull  the  bar  I  break  the  piece  of  wood.  You  will  observe 
that  it  first  of  all  bends  and  then  breaks  Now,  what  I  am 
going  to  do  is  this:  for  this  piece  of  wood  I  am  going  to  sub- 
stitute a  piece  of  steel,  and  then  I  shall  put  a  red-hot  bar  of 
iron  across,  and  screw  it  on  between  these  two  points.  It 
will  cool,  and  the  contraction  will,  I  think,  be  so  great  as  to 
break  the  bar  of  steel  in  the  way  in  which  I  have  broken  this 
bar  of  wood.  Tou  see  the  construction  of  this  iron  apparatus 
is  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  model.  [A  red-hot  bar  of 
iron  WPS  screwed  to  the  apparatus  as  described  by  the 


lecturer.]  I  will  hasten  the  cooling  by  pouring  a  little  water 
on  the  iron  bar.  [In  the  course  of  a  few  seconds  the  steel 
bar  snapped.]  There  it  is.  The  bar  of  steel  is,  in  point  of 
fact,  smashed  by  the  force  with  which  the  parUdes  of  the 
iron  bar  pull  each  other  together  when  the  motion  of  beat  h 
taken  away  from  them  by  cooling.  That  force  is,  as  I  luiTe 
said,  perfectly  enormous. 

Before  we  pass  on  to  consider  the  expansion  by  beat  of 
other  bodies  besides  solid  bodies,  I  should  like  to  explain  for 
the  sake  of  the  elder  boys  (not  for  the  sake  of  the  younger 
ones,  because  they  wiU;^  perhaps,  find  it  a  little  too  diflicuh 
for  them)  the  use  of  one  term  that  is  in  common  use  in  books 
that  are  written  on  the  subject  of  heat.  Suppose  you  hare  i 
pieceof  lead  3,510  inches  in  length,  and  suppose  you  aa^ 
ment  the  temperature  of  that  lead  one  degree,  yon  wonIA 
find  that  its  length  would  extend  fh>m  5,510  inches  to  3^11 
-inchea  That  is,  it  would  extend  Wrrths  of  its  length.  Ibis 
is  the  firaction  of  its  own  length  which  the  lead  expands  on 
having  its  temperature  augmented  one  degree.  Now,  that 
fraction  is  what  is  called  the  co-efident  of  expantiiM  of  the 
lead.  This  co-effident  of  expansion  is  much  less  in  many 
bodies  than  it  is  in  the  case  of  lead.  For  iron  this  co-effident 
of  expansion  is  not  half  what  it  is  for  lead.  This  difference  ren- 
ders it  needful  for  engineers  to  be  very  careful  not  to  unite  di( 
fereut  metals  which  have  different  co-efiBdents  of  expansion  in 
such  a  way  that  on  their  expansion  they  would  produce  dis- 
tortion and  disruption,  and,  perhaps,  fracture.  Here,  for 
instance,  is  a  ruler  which  has  one  side  of  brass  and  one  of 
iron ;  and  when  it  is  heated,  in  consequence  of  the  brass  ex- 
panding more  than  the  iron,  the  ruler  beconaes  curved  or 
buckled  up.  Now,  hi  an  architectural  structure  different 
metals  might  be  associated  in  such  a  way  that  on  a  dnnge 
of  temperature  the  edifice  would  be  endangerred  in  ooose- 
quenoe  of  the  metals  expanding  or  contracting  in  difl^rat 
proportions.  That  fact  is  a  very  important  one  for  architects 
to  remember. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  a  consideration  of  the  expansion 
of  liquids  by  heat  j  Here  is  a  bottle  containing  water,  anodwr 


containing  alcohol,  and  a  third  containing  the  Cquid  Ddsl 
mercury.  Here  also  is  a  bulb  containing  mercury.  K  I  laj 
hold  of  this  bulb  the  mercury  within  it  expander  and  this  Il^ 
tie  column  above  the  bulb  is  forced  upwaida.      Now  I  want 


[Bnglkb  Bdltion,  VoL.XVIL,  Ko.  423,  pagw  16,17.] 


ChranoAL  Niwi, ) 


Seat  and  Cold. 


123 


to  show  you,  if  T  can,  the  motion  of  the  mercury  when  the 
bulb  is  heated,  and  for  that  purpose  I  will  throw  an  image  of 
the  column  upon  the  screen.  Now  you  hav^e  on  the  screen 
an  inverted  image  i'  of  the  mercury  .column  1 1,  turned  upside 
down  by  the  lens  L  which  you  see  in  front  of  the  lamp  b,  and 
I  think  you  will  see  that  when  I  heat  the  bulb,  the.  column 
i  t  will  go  towards  the  lower  part  of  the  screen,  owing  to  the 
expansion  of  the  metal    It  really  goes  upwnrds,  but  it  ap- 

rNirs  to  go  downwards,  owing  to  the  image  being  inverted, 
will  now  place  the  bulb  in  lK>t  water, — observe  the  motion 
which  I  indicated.  I  will  now  take  a  bulb  containing  the 
liquid  alcohol,  which  is  much  more  expansible  than  mercury. 
Mr.  (Jbttrell  has  coloured  it  blue,  that  you  may  see  it  better 
than  you  would  if  it  were  not  coloured.  The  colour  indicates 
the  column  of  liquid.  At  the  first  moment  of  the  bulb  being 
heated  the  column  of  liquid  will  appear  as  if  it  contracted 
instead  of  expanded.  This  apparent  contraction  is  due  to 
the  &ct  that  when  we  first  plunge  the  glass  vessel  containing 
the  alcohol  into  warm  water  that  vessel  itself  expands,  and 
becomes  in  fact,  of  larger  capacity,  and  thus  the  column  of 
liquid  sinks  In  it.  This  sinking,  however,  will  immediate- 
ly disappear,  and  then  the  blue  liquid  will  go  up  in  the 
tube  far  more  rapidly  than  the  mercury  rose.  I  might 
take  other  liquids  and  show  you  the  same  effects,  but  we 
must  now  pass  on  to  the  question  of  the  expansion  of 
gaaesL 

You  will  understand  in  a  moment  that  gases  are  capable  of 
expansion  by  heat  For  instance,  I  have  here  (Fig.  4)  an 
empty  bottle  f,  to  which  is  attached  a  tube ;  and  Mr.  Oottrell 
is  now  placing  the  end  of  that  tube  underneath  this  column 
of  liquid  i  t.  The  column  of  liquid  is  supported  by  what  the 
elder  boys  know  as  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  upon  the 
liquid  outride.  Now,  if  I  heat  this  bottle  I  cause  the  air  in 
it  to  expand:  it  will  ascend  with  fbrce  into  the  tube  t  ^  the 
water  will  descend,  and  in  that  way  I  think  I  shall  be  able 
to  transfer  the  air  from  the  bottle  into  the  tube  now  oontain- 

Fio   4. 


ing  the  column  of  water.  Observe  now  the  bubbles  of  air 
going  up,  and  pressing  down  the  liquid  column.  This  pres- 
sare  is  du6  to  the  expansion  by  heat  of  the  air  in  the  flask. 
I  might  oonliouo  this  process  until  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
air  of  the  fiask  was  transferred  to  the  other  vessel. 

In  reference  to  this  subject  I  might  refer  to  this  instru- 
ment, which  is  a  thermometer  made  for  the  purpose  of 
measuring  heat  by  means  of  the  expansion  of  air.  Here 
at  the  top  is  a  bulb  filled  with  air.  The  liquid  column  now 
stands  at  a  certain  point.  If  I  put  my  hand  upon  it  the 
column  descends.  The  warmth  of  my  hand  is  causing  the 
air  to  expand,  and  in  doing  that  it  drives  down  the  fiquid 
column. 


Before  proceeding  farther,  I  must  say  one  or  two  words 
with  regard  to  a  term  I  have  just  employed.  I  have  used 
the  term  "thermometer."  That  is,  a  heai  measurer,  I 
have  made  use  of  this  bulb  of  mercury,  and  the  tube 
atteched  to  it,  purely  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  you  to 
understand  the  common  thermometer.  If  you  take  this 
bulb  of  mercury  and  plunge  it  into  melting  ice,  or  into 
water  just  flrozen,  at  any  part  of  the  earth's  surface,  you 
will  always  find  that  the  column  of  mercury  stands  at 
precisely  the  same  height,  so  that  this  temperature  of 
frozen  water  or  melting  ice  is  the  same  thing  all  the  world 
over.  Here,  then,  we  have,  so  to  say,  a  standard  of  tem- 
perature. First,  suppose  that  our  bulb  of  mercury  is 
plunged  into  melting  ice:  that  will  give  the  freezing 
point  of  water.  Then  plunge  it  into  boiling  water  under 
the  same  barometric  pressure,  and  the  height  to  which  the 
colunm  will  rise  under  such  conditions  will  be  the  same 
all  the  world  over ;  and  that  point  will  indicate  the  boiling 
point  of  water. 

We  have  three  different  kinds  of  thermometers.  Furst 
of  all  there  is  the  thermometer  of  Fahrenheit.  In  con- 
structing his  thermometer  Fahrenheit  made  use  of  a  mixture 
of  ice  and  salt,  and  he  found  that  this  mixture  gave  him  a 
far  greater  cold  than  that  of  ice  itself.  He  thought  this 
was  the  greatest  cold  possible,  and  he  therefore  marked 
that  temperature  as  the  zero  of  his  scale^  and  began  to 
number  his  degree  from  this  zero  which  represented  the 
temperature  of  pounded  ice  and  salt  He  then  went  up- 
wards to  the  freezing  point  of  water,  which  was  32  degrees 
above  his  zero.  He  then  obtained  the  boiling  point  of 
water,  and  divided  the  distance  between  the  feezing  point 
and  the  boiling  point  of  water  into  180  equal  parts  or  de- 
grees. The  180  added  to  the  32  makes  Fahrenheit's  boiling 
point  212  deg^rees  above  his  zero.  The  second  thermome- 
ter is  one  which  is  in  general  use  amongst  scientific  men, 
and  I  wish  it  was  employed  in  all  parte  of  the  community. 
It  id  known  as  the  Centigrade  thermometer.  This  was 
invented  by  OelsiuB,  and  is  sometimes  called  Celsius's  ther- 
mometer. Here  we  have  the  distance  between  the  freezing 
point  of  water  and  the  boiling  point  divided  into  100  equal 
parte  or  degrees.  We  have  a  'third  sort  of  thermometer 
which  is  known  as  Reaumur's.  It  is  a  very  awkward  one, 
but  it  is  nevertheless  used  a  great  deal  in  Russia.  In  this 
instrument  the  distance  between  the  boiling  and  freezing 
points  is  divided  into  only  80  different  parts.  The  degrees 
in  these  three  different  thermometers— Reaumur's,  the 
Centigrade,  and  Fahrenheit's — are  m  the  respective  propor- 
tions of  4,  5,  and  9.  So  much  then  for  the  terms  "degree  " 
and  "thermometer ".which  have  been  used  in  these  lec- 
turea. 

Now,  if  possible,  I  should  like  to  show  you  heated  air. 
You  cannot  detect  it  by  looking  at  it  directly  in  the  atmo- 
sphere, but  it  can  be  made  evident  by  a  device  which  I 
intend  now  to  employ.  I  can  show  you  tliis  heated  air 
rising  up  in  streams  from  a  heated  body.  Here  is  a  hot 
spatula.  If  you  look  directly  at  this  hot  body  you  can  see 
no  emanation  whatever  from  it ;  but  now  my  assistent  will 
throw  a  beam  of  electric  light  upon  this  spatula,  and  we 
will  observe  the  shadow  of  it  upon  the  white  screen.  You 
now  see  above  the  image  of  the  spatula  a  stream  of  heated 
air  rising  from  the  hot  surface.  This  effect  is  quite  invisible 
when  you  look  at  the  spatula  in  the  ordinary  way. 

I  want  now  to  show  you  another  stream  of  air.  I  have 
here  the  means  of  g^vhig  you  a  stiU  greater  stream  pf 
heated  aur;  and  I  want  to  make  you  acquainted  with  the 
celebrated  invention  of  that  eminent  man,  Mongolfier.  He 
conceived  the  idea  of  catchmg  these  streams  of  heated  air 
in  a  bag^  and  in  this  way  the  bag  was  carried  up.  From 
the  chimney  of  this  stove  we  get  a  stream  of  heated  air. 
You  observe  by  the  ^effect  on  the  screen  how  powerftilly 
that  stream  is  rising. '  I  have  here  a  paper  balloon,  and  in 
this  balloon  I  will  catch  the  column  of  heated  air.  If  I  am 
succossfril  we  shall  by-and-by  get  the  balloon  filled  with  the 
hot  air,  and  then  we  shall  make  Mongolfier's  celebrated  ex* 


[BngUdi  Bdltk»,  y  oL  Z7II,  Va  4S3,  pagM  17,  lai 


124 


Heat  and  Gold. 


j  GBBIlCALRtM 

1     Jrarelk,18l8. 


periment  You  see  the  sides  are  swelling  by  this  heated 
air  being  aocoranlated  inside  the  balloon.  I  will  now  let  it 
go  out  of  our  hand?,  and  I  venture  to  say  it  will  sail  up- 
wards. There  it  goes.  It  has  not  gone  so  high  as  it  ought 
to  have  gone,  but  still  it  will  answer  for  philosophers  as  an 
illustration  of  the  balloon  of  Mougolfier. 

It  is  found  that  in  the  case  of  solids  and  liquids  the  ex- 
p«nsion  is  exceedingly  irreg^ular.  The  co-efficient  of  expan- 
sion varies  very  much.  But  strange  to  say — (and  I  wish  I 
could  go  into  the  reason  and  tell  you  why)— in  the  case  of 
really  perfect  gases  it  is  essentially  the  same  for  all  If 
von  take  490  cubic  inches  of  air  and  heat  it  one  degree  it 
becomes  491  cubic  ipches,  so  that  the  fhKstion  T^Tith  is  the 
co-efficient  of  expansion  of  air ;  and  this  co-efficient,  as  I 
have  said,  is  ahnost  exactly  the  same  for  all  gaseous  bodies 
whatever. 

Now  I  have  to  direct  your  attention  to  some  experiments 
with  regard  to  the  action  of  heat  upon  liquids ;  and  with 
this  view  I  have  provided  an  apparatus  (Fig.  5)  which  1  will 

Fig.  5. 


plao 
[Thi 


^    r 


now  ask  Mr.  Cottrell,  the  assistant,  to  place  upon  the  end 
of  the  table.  1  will  now  cause  the  water  in  this  flask  r  to 
boil,  and  1  want  to  show  you  now  what  is  meant  by  the 
vapour  of  water.  We  will  apply  heat  to  the  flask,  in  which 
is  a  quantity  of  water,  and  ailer  a  little  time  the  water  will 
boil  and  bubble  up.  I  want  you  to  understand  accurately 
the  meaning  of  this  bubbling  up.  What  is  going  on  at  Uie 
presenl  time  in  that  flask  of  water  is  this.  The  water  is 
heated.  As  the  heat  becomes  more  and  more  intense  this 
shivering,  quivering,  vibratory  motion  becomes  more  and 
more  intense,  and  £en  particles  of  water  are  jerked  away 
ft-om  the  upper  surface,  and  carried  away  into  the  space 
here  above.  After  a  time  the  water  begins  to  bubble. 
Here  you  have  the  bubbles  of  steam  rising  to  the  top. 
Now,  tlie  surface  of  the  liquid  is  in  communication  wiUi 
the  air.  Every  square  inch  of  the  surface  of  that  flask  of 
water  bears  a  pressure  of  about  15  lbs.,  and  every  little 
bubble  there  bears  a  pressure  of  several  pounds.  Why  is 
it  that  the  bubbles  are  not  crushed  ?  Simply  because  the 
pressure  of  the  vapour  within  them  is  exactly  equal  to  the 

gressure  of  the  atmosphere  without,  so  that  the  fllm  of 
quid  is  squeezed  between  the  air  on  the  upper  side  and 


the  vapour  on  the  lower  side.  If  you  lessen  the  preesnn 
of  the  vapour  within,  you  will  have  the  bubble  crushed  by 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  The  boiling  poiut  of  a 
liquid  is  precisely  that  temperature  at  which  tiie  presiiire 
of  the  vapour  of  a  Uquid  equals  the  pressure  of  the  atmo- 
sphere. Now,  by  turning  this  tap  y,  I  have  endoeed  in  the 
fliisk  some  heated  water;  and  you  see  that  at  the  preBe&t 
time  it  is  quite  quiescent  The  vapour  in  the  flask  is  press- 
ing upon  the  surface  of  the  liquid.  But  if  1  take  that 
pressure  away,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  wnter  will  agiin 
boiL  How  can  I  do  this?  I  have  in  connection  with  thii 
flask  of  water  another  globular  glass  vessel  o  from  wbkh 
the  air  has  been  drawn  by  means  of  an  air-pump.  Henoe 
the  inside  of  this  globe  is  a  vacuum.  Now.  if  I  torn  the 
cock  e,  which  is  between  the  flask  and  the  other  vessel,  I 
open  a  way  for  the  vapour  in  the  flask  to  go  fhim  the  ■n^ 
face  of  the  liquid  into  the  vacuum.  Observe  what  occotb. 
The  liquid  is  relieved  of  the  pressure  which  was  upon  it, 
the  water  begins  to  boil,  and  the  flask  immediately  beoomei 
filled  with  the  vapour  of  the  water.  The  sides 
are  now  quite  clouded.  We  can  actually  boQ 
that  water  by  cooling  it  If  the  water  in  the 
flask  were  near  its  boDing-point,  and  we  phmst 
cold  water  upon  the  upper  part  of  the  fiiak, 
we  should  condense  Uie  vapour  above  the 
liquid,  and  bv  thus  relieving  the  water  of  tht 

rressure  w  it  we  should  cause  it  to  IxnL  Here 
have  a  tin  vessel  containing  steam,  and  the 
air  fh>m  which  has  been  chaaed  away  by  the 
steam.  Mr.  Ckyttrell  will  place  it  in  fhnt  of  the 
table.  I  will  withdraw  it  from  the  flame,  tod 
I  will  in  fact  cause  the  water  in  it  to  boil  by 
~  idng  a  piece  of  ice  on  the  top  of  the  veeseL 
This  was  done.]  The  water  is  now  boOing 
away,  as  the  boys  near  at  hand  can  see. 
Why?  Because  the  vapour  above  the  watef 
has  been  condensed,  and  when  the  pressure 
is  then  removed  flrom  the  surfaoe  of  the  liquid, 
ebullition  takes  place.  If  more  ice  is  placed 
on  the  top  the  water  will  boil  still  more,  but 
the  atmospheric  pressure  will,  perhaps,  crush 
the  vessel  entirely  in.  This  effect  will  be  due 
to  the  leduction  of  the  pressure  of  the  ▼^P^^ 
on  the  inner  sides  of  the  tin  vessel  [The 
effect  anticipated  was  not  produced,  but  the 
experiment  was  repeated  at  the  beginning  of 
the  next  lecture,  aLd  the  sides  of  the  tin  csn 
were  then  successfully  crushed.  The  lecturer 
informed  the  audience  that  it  had  been  found 
that  the  failure  in  the  present  instance  was 
due  to  an  accidentiJ  air  hole  in  the  sida  of 
the  tin  vessel] 
I  have  now  to  pass  on  to  a  consideration  of  the  vapoor 
of  water.  I  have  here  the  two  gases  or  substances  of 
which  water  is  composed.  I  will  show  yon  first  of  all  that 
one  of  these  is  a  certain  gas  which  is  inflammable,  and  this 
gas  we  call  hydrogen.  }Ai.  Cottrell  is  now  getting  me  some 
hydrogen  whkh  has  been  actually  produced  by  the  decom- 
position [to  use  a  learned  term]  of  water.  He  will  now 
give  me  this  gas.  We  hold  downwards  the  mouth  of  ^ 
vessel  containing  it,  as  it  is  excessively  Ught  and  would 
escape  if  the  vessel  were  held  upwards.  I  will  ignite  this 
hydrogen,  and  you  see  what  occurs.  It  is  an  inflammable 
gas.  There  it  is  burning  with  a  flame  at  the  top  of  the 
tube.  Now  the  assistant  will  give  me  some  of  the  other 
gas  which  is  a  constituent  of  water,  and  here  we  shall  find 
our  fiEimiliar  friend  oxygen—that  gas  which  causes  bodies 
to  bum  so  brightly  when  they  are  placed  in  it  I  will  in- 
troduce into  the  oxygen  a  small  bit  of  wood  with  an  ember 
at  the  end ;  and  what  is  the  consequence  ?  [The  glowing 
wood  immediately  burst  into  a  bright  flame.]  This  gas  is 
the  other  of  the  substances  of  which  water  is  composed. 

Now  I  will  take  the  two  gases  mixed  together,  instead  of 
having  them  in  separate  tubes.    I  have  here  a  wouderibl 


BdMMvTal.  XTIL,  «Ob4a3,  pagM  18, 19.] 


Heai  and  Gold. 


"5 


Instroment  [a  galTanic  bttttery]  which  enaMefl  me  to  tew 
asunder  the  particlea  of  water.  Mr.  CJottrell  wiU  now  con- 
nect the  yesael  ^of  water  with  the  battery,  and  we  will  let 
the  decomposing  gases  escape  into  soap-suds.  [The  mixed 
gases  ihMn  the  decomposed  water  were  caused  to  form  bub- 
bles  with  the  soap  lather.  The  lecturer  then  placed  a 
dnster  of  the  bubbles  on  the  pahn  of  his  open  hand,  and 
exploded  them  by  the  application  of  a  light]  How  must 
you  figure  this  act  of  the  combination  of  hydrogen  and 
oxygen  ?  I  suppose  you  must  figure  it  In  this  way.  You 
most  figure  them  rushmg  together  with  a  great  dash,  and 
then  quivering  and  recoiling  in  Tirtue  of  their  resflienoe— 
their  elasticity.  As  fiekr  as  I  can  follow  the  thing  in  my 
mind  the  flash  is  due  to  the  collision  between  the  paitioles 
of  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen.  It  is  due  mainly  to  the 
enormous  heat  produced  by  the  collision;  and  the  heat 
produced  by  this  collision  is  so  great  that  for  a  time  the 
■x>lecule6  of  water  produced  are  so  hot  tiiat  they  are  pre- 
seryed  in  a  state  of  invisible  gas.  Water  is  composed  of 
oi^gen  and  hydrogen  hi  the  proportion  of  two  atoms  of 
hydrogen  to  one  of  oxygen ;  and  two  atoms  of  hydrogen 
and  one  of  oxygen  constitute  what  is  called  a  "  mdeoule  of 
water."  MokaiU  is  the  term  employed  to  express  that  com- 
bination, and  you  must  remember  the  term. 

I  want  to  show  you  the  difl^rence  between  vapour  and 
invisible  gas.  This  room  is  filled  with  invisible  vapour;  but 
here,  early  in  the  lecture,  I  placed,  this  vessel  containing 
something  very  cold— a  freesing  mixture;  and  this  fl-ost 
which  you  see  upon  the  outside  of  the  vessel  is  due  to  the 
eondonsation  of  the  aqueous  vapour  which  has  come  from 
the  gas-lights  snd  from  the  lungs  of  the  peraons  here  present 
Thai  vapour  has  been  condensed  on  the  cold  surface  of  the 
vessel  containing  the  freezing  mixture,  and  then  frozen  into 
hoar  fitMt  The  fog  through  which  you  were  kind  enough 
to  come  on  Thursday  last  to  this  place  was  not  a  true  vapour. 
It  ooosistAd  of  particles  of  water.  '  Here  you  see  the  same 
thing.  The  steam  which  you  see  rushing  from  this  vessel  is 
not  a  true  vapour.  It  is  due  to  the  vapour  cooling  and  being 
precipitated.  If  I  allow  the  steam  to  pass  through  this 
flame  it  is  converted  into  a  true  vapour.  The  steam  is  now 
water—now  vapour.  [Passing  the  steam*jet  through  the 
flame,  and  thus  rendering  the  steam  invisible.] 

After  a  time  we  shaU  have  that  vapour  cooling  and  falling 
Into  the  sute  of  water,  and  then  if  we  cooled  that  water 
still  more  the  panicles  would  bring  other  forces  and  powers 
into  play ;  and  those  are  the  forces  and  powers  that  I  now 
want  to  illustrate  before  you.  I  want  to  exhibit  to  you  the 
onarvellous  force  of  eiys(«llisatioo.  When  we  cool  water 
sufladently  it  becomes,  as  every  boy  knows,  reduced  to  ice. 
That  ice  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  things  on  the  &ce  of 
the  earth,  and  in  another  lecture  I  shall  dissect  a  piece  of  ice, 
and  show  you  how  wonderful  it  is.  I  want  to  show  you 
aomethiog  similar  to  what  occurs  on  your  chamber  windows 
when  thqy  become  frosted  during  the  cold  nights  and  covered 
with  forms  as  beautiful  as  vegetablt  forms.  I  show  you 
that  hi  this  way.  If  I  took  this  piece  of  glass  and  poured 
a  solution  of  common  table  salt  upon  it,  and  allowed  it  to 
remain,  the  water  only  woukl  evaporate.  The  salt  would  be 
left  behind  incrusted  on  the  surface  of  the  glasa  You  can 
make  the  experiment  at  home  with  the  greatest  ease  if  you 
drop  a  little  solution  of  sugar  upon  glass  and  allow  it  to 
stand.  You  get  the  water  evaporated  and  the  sugar  remains 
behind.  Now  I  want  to  do  the  same  with  a  solution  of 
another  substance.  First  of  all  I  must  clean  the  glass  plate 
perfectly,  and  this  I  do  with  potash ;  and  then  I  shall  put  on 
it  a  film  of  a  solution  of  something — not  sugar,  nor  salt,  but 
something  which  will  give  me  crystals  more  beautiful  than 
either  of  them.  We  will  take  a  liquid  containing  a  certain 
kind  of  salt  in  solution,  and  I  will  pour  this  liquid  upon  the 
glass  plate.  I  want  to  evaporate  this  film  of  liquid  before 
you,  and  show  you  the  crystallisation  of  the  substance.  [An 
Image  of  the  moistened  glass  plate  was  projected  on  the 
screen.  Crystals  began  to  appear  in  the  course  of  a  few 
seconds,  and  gradually  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  plate.] 


See  how  splendidly  these  crystals  form.  See  them  building 
themselves  together  in  this  wonderful  way  as  if  they  were 
forming  vegetable  growths  before  your  eyes.  This  salt  is 
ferrocyanide  of  potassium.  We  will  take  another  plate,  and 
cover  it  in  the  same  way  with  a  solution  of  chloride  of  am- 
monium. I  will  warm  the  plate  in  order  to  hasten  matters. 
[This  plate  also  was  represented  on  the  screen,  and  a  similar 
result  was  obtained  as  in  the  last  case.]  How  besutifuUy 
these  crystals  run  together.  There  they  are,  darting  out  like 
spears.  This  is  an  experiment  which  one  makes  hundreds 
of  times,  but  still  it  is  sufficient  to  strike  one  with  wonder. 
How  beautifully   the   crystals   assume   their   determinate 


One  minute  more.  I  want  to  tell  you  that  in  passing  fVom 
the  liquid  to  the  solid  state— in  falling  together  so  as  to  form 
those  beautiful  crystals— certain  bodies,  comparatively  few 
in  number,  become  larger.  Water  is  one  of  these  bodies, 
and  that  is  the  resson  why  ice  floats  upon  the  water.  When 
water  fteeses  it  expands  with  powerful  force.  The  bomb- 
shell which  I  placed  in  the  bucket  before  you  was,  as  you 
see,  burst  by  the  expansion  of  the  water  in  the  act  of 
freezing. 


LEGTUBE  IIL 
VHnSs  and  Breeses^Ice^  mow,  and  glaciers, 
Iv  the  last  lecture  I  showed  you  the  change  which  takes 
plsce  in  water  when  it  is  gradually  cooled;  and  I  showed 
you  in  a  very  striking  manner  that  water  when  it  ft^ezes 
and  becomes  ice,  expands,  and  that  the  force  of  the  expan- 
sion is  so  great  as  to  burst  the  bombshell  which  was  placed 
before  you  in  the  last  lecture.  Now  follow  me  for  a 
moment,  please.  Conceive  water  at  the  ordinary  tempera- 
ture; conceive  it  growing  gradually  colder  and  colder, 
like  almost  aU  other  bodies  it  becomes  smaller  and  smaller; 
it  shrinks  as  it  becomes  colder;  but  at  a  certain  point,  and 
some  time  before  it  turns  mto  ice,  it  leaves  off  contracting^. 
Suppose  the  water  to  go  down  from  a  temperature  of  60  : 
it  continues  contracting  until  it  reaches  the  temperature  of 
39"  Fahr.,  or  4°  Centi^de;  and  then  the  water  instantly 
ceases  to  contract,  and  7°  F.  before  it  becomes  solid  it  begins 
to  expand  as  it  becomes  colder.  What  is  the  consequence 
of  this  expansion?  The  water  from  39''  Fahr.  downwards, 
becomes  lighter,  and  it  swims  like  oil  over  the  surface  of  the 
water  underneath,  and  there  it  is  frozen;  and  when  it 
freezes — when  it  passes  from  the  liquid  state  to  the  solid 
state— a  sudden  and  very  great  expansion  occurs,  so  that 
eight  volumes  of  water  weigh  about  as  much  as  nine  volumes 
of  ice,  the  ice  being  the  %hter  of  the  two,  and  therefore 
swimming  upon  the  water. 

I  must  ask  you  now  to  accompany  me  for  a  moment  to 
some  of  the  things  that  occur  in  nature  in  connection  with 
this  subject  of  heat  You  know  that  at  certain  parts  of  the 
earth^s  surface  the  heat  is  very  much  more  powerful  than  it 
is  here  in  England ;  and  you  know  that  the  reason  of  this 
is  that  at  certain  parts  of  the  earth's  surface  the  sun  is 
overhead,  and  its  rays  come  vertically  downwards,  and  thus 
heat  very  much  the  surfieice  of  the  earth  directly  under- 
neath the  sun.  In  the  region  of  what  is  called  the  Equator 
we  know  that  the  sun  is  directiv  above  the  heads  of  the 
people  living  there  at  a  certain  distance  on  each  side  of  it 
Now,  imaghie  this  sun  pouring  down  its  heat  through  the 
atmosphere  upon  the  sea.  The  surface  of  the  sea  is  there- 
by wanned,  a  quantity  of  vapour  is  produced,  and  that 
vapour  ascends  with  the  air  *  mto  the  higher  regions. 
When  the  surface  of  the  earth  at  the  equator  is  heated,  the 
air  also  at  that  point  becomes  heated,  and  rises,  as  the  air 
of  this  room  rose  frrom  the  surface  of  that  heated  spatula, 
in  the  last  lecture.  When  the  air  at  the  Equator  is  heated 
by  the  sun,  part  of  it  goes  towards  the  North  Pole  and  part 
towards  the  South  Pole,  while  underneath  the  air  rushes  in 
from  the  other  direction  to  supply  the  place  of  the  air 
whkh  goes  to  the  north  and  south.    If  you  could  see  the 


[BDffUSh,  Edittoa,  TeL,  rriL,  iro.  tfd,  pact  19 ;  Wo.  4M»  ragw  29^  aa] 


126 


Heat  cmd  Ocld. 


j  Ohvwoal  Vnri, 
1     ifardk,lM6L 


air  jon  would  see  it  going  one  way  and  coming  back 
AnoUier.  A  continnoue  drcalation  is  thna  going  on,  and 
the  winds  that  are  produced  in  this  way  have  a  particular 
name,  given  them.  They  are  called  the  *' trade  winds." 
The  current  above  is  called  the  "  upper  trade  wind,"  and 
the  current  beneath  is  called  the  "lower  trade  wind." 
Now,  as  I  have  said,  when  the  sun's  rays  act  upon  the  ocean 
they  convert  its  water  into  vapour,  and  this  vapour  Is 
carried  up  into  the  air.  What  is  the  consequence  ?  I  want 
to  show  you  one  or  two  facts  that  will  enable  you  to  under- 
stand what  must  occur. 

The  first  fact  that  I  wish  to  show  you  is  that  if  we  com- 
press air  suddenly  we  develope  heat;  and  I  do  this 
by  means  of  the  syringe  that  I  have  here.  This  in  a  small 
(Fig.  6.)  glass  tube  bored  very  careftilly,  and  ftimished  with 
a  piston  that  fits  air-tight  into  that  glass  tube:  so 
that  if  I  squeeze  this  piston  down  I  compress  the 
air  underneath  it  Now,  here  I  have  a  piece  of 
(German  tinder  which  I  place  in  a  Uttle  cavity 
made  at  the  bottom  of  the  piston ;  and  I  think  I 
shall  be  able  to  ignite  that  German  tinder  by 
forcing  down  the  piston  and  thus  compressing  the 
air.  [The  tinder  was  ignited  as  described.]  Now, 
what  we  have  done  here  is,  indeed,  nothing  more 
than  simply  throwing  the  atoms  (as  we  have 
agreed  to  call  them)  of  the  air  into  this  intense 
state  of  vibration  to  which  we  give  the  name  of 
heat,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we  take  a  body 
having  a  certain  amount  of  heat,  and.  Instead  of 
compressing  the  air,  allow  it  to  expand,  then  the 
expansion  of  the  air  produces  cold-  I  will  show 
you  one  effect  of  this  expansion  of  air.  I  have 
here  condensed  in  this  vessel-  forced  in  by  a  kind  of 
syringe— a  great  deal  more  air  than  the  vessel  would  con- 
tain naturally ;  and  if  I  were  simply  to  turn  this  cock  and 
allow  the  air  to  issue  ttom  the  vessel  against  an  air  ther- 
mometer, I  should  produce  an  effect  which  would,  perhaps, 
be  visible  to  my  young  friends  immediately^  before  me. 
K  cold  is  produced  in  this  way  the  column  will  rise  a  little. 
I  will  now  turn  this  air  out  against  the  thermometer. 
The  column  has  risen -a  little,  which  proves  that  the  air 
which  has  come  out  of  this  Tessel,  and  become  expanded, 
has  become  chilled.  A  great  man  who  used  to  lecture  in 
this  room  many  years  ago — Sir  Humphry  Davy^-described 
a  machine  which  he  saw  at  Schemnitz  in  Hungary,  formed 
80  as  to  allow  a  very  strong  current  of  compressed  air  to 
issue  from  it,  and  the  amount  of  cold  prcnduced  by  the 
expansion  of  the  air  was  such  as  to  cause  the  vapour  of 
the  atmosphere  to  condense  and  congeal  and  form  icicles. 
Now,  I  want  you  to  remember  that  when  air  is  condensed 
in  the  way  I  have  described  heat  is  developed,  and  that 
when  an  expansion  of  the  air  takes  place  an  opposite  effect 
is  produced.  Mr.  Cottrell  has  here  arranged  a  little  ex- 
periment, but  as  I  do  not  know  whether  it  will  be  visible 
or  not  to  jou  all,  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is.  This  glass 
receiver  contains  air,  and  within  is  a  small  elastic  balloon 
which  also  contains  air.  The  air  which  the  balloon  has 
within  it  has  a  certain  amount  of  heat,  and  in  virtue  of 
that  heat  it  has  a  certahi  power  of  squeezing  out  the  sides 
of  the  balloon.  If  we  now  pump  the  air  out  of  the  outer 
vessel,  and  so  remove  the  air  from  the  outside  of  the  bal- 
loon, we  take  away  the  force  which  counteracts  the  force 
inside  this  balloon.  It  wlU  then  expand  and  almost  fill 
the  entire  TesseL  [The  air  was  then  exhausted  by  means 
of  an  air  pump.]  You  see .  the  balloon  becomes  larger  and 
larger.  You  see  it  growing  visibly  before  you,  and  the  air 
within  this  balloon  at  the  present  time  is  being  chilled 
because  of  its  expansion.  The  assistant  will  go  on  pump- 
ing out  the  air  from  the  glass  receiver,  and  after  a  time 
the  balloon  wUl  almost  fill  the  receiver.  It  thus  goes  on 
swelling  and  swelUng,  the  air  within  it  expanding,  and 
this  air,  by  the  act  of  expansion,  becomes  chilled.  We 
win  now  allow  the  air  to  enter  by  tummg  this  cock,  and 
then  the  balloon  .wHl  shrink  to  its  ftrst  dimensions.    See 


how  small  it  becomes,  because  we  get  a  pressure  on  the 
outside  of  the  balloon  squeezing  it  inwards,  until  now  it 
is  finally  reduced  to  the  same  size  that  it  had  at  the  com- 
mencement. Mr.  Cottrell  will  now  remove  that  balloon 
altogether,  as  I  want  to  show  you  what  takes  place  within 
that  receiver  when  the  air  is  thus  taken  out  of  it  I  wint 
to  show  you  the  effect  of  the  chilling  produced  by  the 
rarefaction  or  expansion  of  the  air  in  nature.  But  first  I 
will  tell  you  the  effect  produced  on  a  body  of  air  rising, 
we  will  say,  from  the  surface  of  the  sea  to  a  certain  heig& 
above  it  We  will  take  a  definite  hei^t.  such  as  we  often 
find  in  the  Alps — i  i,ooo  feet,  the  height  of  one  of  the 
higher  Alpine  passes.  Conceive,  then,  a  body  of  air  rush- 
ing up  the  mountain,  and  going  to  tiie  top  of  that  pass. 
In  climbing  up  this  ii,ooo  feet  the  air  ^ts  into  a  [daoe 
where  it  is  not  so  much  pressed  upon  as  it  was  below.  A 
portion  of  the  atmosphere  has  been  removed  from  abore 
it,  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  rising  air  expands,  and 
the  expansion  is  followed  by  a  lowering  of  its  temperatnre. 
The  air  becomes  colder,  and  if  it  had  in  it  as  much  moisture 
as  it  could  hold,  it  would,  in  rising  ii,ooo  feet,  faUverj 
nearly  40''  Fahrenheit  in  temperature. 

Now  you  must  remember  that  in  order  to  preserve  the 
vapour  of  this  room  in  an  invisible  state,  a  certun  teoh 
perature  is  necessary.  If  you  could  at  this  moment  in- 
troduce into  this  room  the  temperature  of  the  polar 
regions,  what  would  you  obtain?  First,  the  air  of  the 
room  would  thicken  so  as  to  form  a  fog,  and  then  that  fog 
would  be  chilled  and  fall  as  snow.  This  has  occurred  over 
and  over  again  in  Russia  and  elsewhere.  So  if  you  could 
only  get  the  temperature  of  thl^  room  low  enough  700 
would  see  the  now  invisible  aqueous  vapour  fa^ng  u 
snow.  Sven  in  London  ball-rooms  this  may  sometimes  be 
observed.  When  the  windows  have  been  opened  in  the 
intervals  of  the  dances  the  air  has  immediately  beoome 
oooled,  and  a  condensation  of  the  vapour  has  taken  place 
sufficient  to  make  the  atmosphere  dim.  Now  imagine  air 
charged  with  invisible  vapour  being  carried  up  one  of 
these  high  Alpine  passes.  If  in  this  way  it  gets  its  tem- 
perature reduced  to  32'' ,  the  air  can  no  longer  hold  its 
vapour,  that  vapour  then  falls  as  snow,  and  that  snow  is 
deposited  on  the  tope  of  the  mountains. 

I  want  now  to  show  you  how  clottds  are  formed  by  the 
oondensation  of  vapour.    Here  we  have  the  receiver  of 

Fra.  7. 


our  air-pump,  enclosing  a  quanity  of  air  which  is  diaxged 
with  invisible  aqueous  vapour.  Mr.  Chapman  will  now 
place  a  lamp  behind  this  glass  receiver.  I  will  send  a  beam 
of  light  through  the  receiver,  and  let  it  fall  on  the  screen. 
At  first  you  will  not  see  any  appearance  of  anything  in- 


[BngUA  Bditton,  Y6L  XTIL,  Vo.  4M,  page  3a] 


OmnocAL  Nbwb,  ) 


Jleat  and  Gdd. 


127 


side  the  receiver.  I  will  then  ask  Mr.  CottreD  to  work  the 
air-pump,  and  exhaust  some  of  the  air,  and  thus  cause  the 
remammg  air  to  expand.  This  will  reduce  its  temperature, 
and  then  you  will  see  that  the  vapour  within  the  receiver 
will  hecome  a  fog.  You  now  see  no  sign  of  anything 
within  the  receiver;  but  we  wUl  now  exhaust  the  air. 
[The  air-pump  was  then  put  in  action,  and  a  condensation 
of  the  vapour  became  immediately  manifest.] 

You  see  a  doud  has  now  formed  in  the  receiver,  and 
when  the  air  is  allowed  to  re-enter,  it  causes  the  cloud  to 
go  entirely  away,  although  the  vapour  itself  is  still  there. 
We  win  work  the  pump  again,  and  yo\i  will  seo  that  the 
doud  is  agaiu  formed,  and  will  be  again  illuminated  by  the 
light  from  the  lamp.  There  it  is.  That  is  a  true  cloud 
which  is  formed  in  this  way  fVom  the  air  of  the  room,  and 
it  is  in  this  way  that  douds  are  formed  in  the  atmosphere 
by  the  expansion  and  consequent  cooling  of  the  air  which 
rises  from  the  surface  of  the  sea. 

These  douds  may  fall  as  rain,  but  as  I  have  said,  they 
may  also  fall  as  snow.  I  suppose  that  snow  is  such  a 
familiar  thing  to  every  boy  and  girl  here  present,  tibat  it 
may  seem  to  be  hardly  worth  thinking  about ;  bnt  still  this 
substance  is  one  of  the  most  wonderfiil  and  beautiful  things 
in  the  whole  world:  and  when  snow  is  formed  in  a  very 
still  atmosphere,  as  I  have  often  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
it  formed  in  the  .Alps,  it  takes  the  form  of  those  beautiful 
figures  which  are  represented  in   the   diagram   yonder. 


ice.  On  standing  for  the  first  time  beside  one  of  these  rivers 
of  ice  you  would  imagine  that  it  was  perfectly  motionless,  afid 
that  a  body  so  rigid  as  ice  conld  not  move  at  aU ;  but  when 
you  make  proper  observations,  you  find  that  the  ice  is  per- 
petually moving  down,  and  thus  we  have  these  gladers  of 
the  Alps.  I  have  no  doubt  that  every  boy  here  wUl  one  day 
visit  those  gladers  for  himself.  I  have  here  a  sketch  of 
one  of  the  most  famous  of  those  gladers.  It  is  called 
the  **  Mer  de  Glaoe,"  and  is  situated  near  Ohamounix.  This 
Mer  de  Glace  has  its  great  feeders  from  the  snows  that  fall 
upon  Mont  Blanc  and  the  series  of  mountains  which  are 
rudely  sketched  in  this  diagram.  Here  is  a  great  cascade 
where  the  snow,  after  being  half  consolidated— squeezed 
together  so  as  to  form  ice — actually  moves  down,  forming  a 
cascade  of  ice  which  comes  along  this  valley.  Here  is  an- 
other basin  where  the  snows  collect,  9nd  where  its  partides 
are  squeezed  into  ice,  and  yon  have  this  ice  also  always  in 
a  state  of  motion. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  lines  which  I  have  drawn  on  the 
diagram.  The  mountains  beside  the  gladers  are  always 
sending  down  stones  and  dirt,  and  consequently  you  always 
have  lines  of  dirt  carried  down ;  and  you  see  that  where 
two  glaciers  have  their  sides  turning  and  uniting  as  here 
shown,  they  form  a  line  along  the  middle  of  the  trunk  of 
the  glader.  Now,  these  lines  whidi  I  have  mentioned 
are  <»lled  moraines.  Those  at  the  side  are  called  lateral 
moraines^  and  those  in  the  middle  are  called  medial  moraines. 
We  have  in  the  Mer  de  Glaoe  these  three  moraines.    If  we 


Fia.  8. 


It  forms  as  small  six-rayed  stars.  This  is  the  form  of 
the  snow  which  goes  on  loading  the  Alpine  mountains  year 
after  year ;  and  when  we  look  at  these  mountains  and  at 
the  valleys  connected  with  them,  we  find  that  the  most 
wonderful  series  of  appearances  presents  itselfl  On  very 
closely  observing  the  snow  upon  the  Alpine  slopes  we  find 
tiiat  it  is  in  a  state  of  motion.  We  find  that  the  snow  has 
been  incessantly  moving  down  the  Alpine  slopes  into  the 
Talleys ;  and  hence  we  have  the  valleys  filled  with  rivers  of 


examine  this  glader  we  find  that  notwithstanding  the 
rigidity  of  ioe,  it  moves  down  like  a  river.  Eminent  men 
have  worked  at  this  subject;  Saussure  worked  at  it  a  little 
^nat  much,  and  was  followed  by  Bordier,  who  observed 
that  ioe  behaved  almost  like  a  visoous  body.  He  was  the 
first  to  propound  the  fact  that  ice  was  of  this  character. 
He  was  followed  by  Rendu,  who  also  took  up  the  idea  that 
ice  behaved  like  a  visoous  body  such  as  honey,  or  treade, 
or  tar,  or  paste.    Then  he  was  followed  by  Mr.  Agassiz  and 


[Engliih  Bditloo,  ToL  rTIL  ira  484,  pages  30, 31, 32.] 


128 


Heat  and  CkM. 


(  GfeBMICAX.  WlWI, 


another,  and  they  determined  the  velocity  with  which  this 
ioe  falls.  Then  came  Principal  Forbes,  an  eminent  Scotch- 
man, and  hifl  measurements  pushed  the  question  far  beyond 
its  former  stage.  And  then  came  Mr.  Huxley  and  myself; 
and  we  pushed  the  matter  a  little  forward ;  and  afterwards 
I  did  a  little  on  my  own  account  in  reference  to  this  question. 
It  is  in  this  way  that  sdentiflc  knowledge  is  accumulated. 
It  goes  rolling  and  becoming  bigger  like  a  suow-ball,  and 
thus  it  is  that  science  grows  and  has  grown  to  what  it  is 
at  the  present  day. 

I  want  to  show  you  now  how  it  is  that  ice  can  behave  like 
treacle,  or  honey,  or  tar— how  it  is  that  it  behaves  like  lava, 
or  paste,  or  a  viscous  body.  In  order  to  make  this  plain  I 
have  asked  Mr.  Cottrell  to  bring  me  in  a  mass  of  ice ;  and  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  show  you  by  experiments  in  this  room  that 
we  can  make  ioe  behave  almost  like  a  piece  of  paste — that 
we  can  mould  it  into  any  form  we  please.  Here  is  our  ice, 
and  we  will  place  it  on  the  table  in  this  blanket  It  is  cling- 
ing to  the  blanket,  being,  in  fact,  fh)zen  to  it.  I  will  show 
you  how,  from  an  apparently  little  thing,  we  can  get  an  ex- 
planation of  a  fact  observed  in  the  glaciers.  This  explana- 
tion is  due  to  a  little  finct  first  observed  by  the  greatest  exper- 
imental pliilosopher  that  this  world  ever  produced — a  man 
who  is  to  my  feeling  almost  living  here  amongst  us  at  the 
present  moment— a  man  who  lectured  to  the  boys  here,  and 
who  himself  had  all  the  tenderness,  and  all  the  brightness, 
and  all  the  joyousness  of  a  boy.  I  say  it  is  by  a  little  obser- 
vation of  this  great  man  that  we  are  able  to  explain  those 
facts  observed  in  connection  with  the  glaciers,  and  to  show 
how  it  is  that  a  body  so  brittle  as  ice  can  behave  almost  like 
lava.  I  will  show  you  the  brittleness  of  ice.  I  have  here  a 
pointed  instrument,  a  small  awl,  and  if  I  prick  this  into  the 
ioe  you  see  that  it  chips  off  Uttle  pieces,  and  that  the  ioe 
breaks  as  clearly  as  any  crystal  would  break.  Now  just  ob- 
serve what  occurs  among  these  glaciers.  If  we  make  accu- 
rate measurements  upon  this  mer  de  glace  we  ascertain  a  very 
striking  &ct.  Tou  see  in  the  diagram  a  great  white  gla- 
cier. Here  you  see  another,  and  you  see  another  there.  I 
measured  the  width  of  the  first  glacier,  and  it  was  1,134 
yards.  The  second  glacier  is  825  yards ;  and  the  third  638 
yards.  If  you  add  these  together,  the  sum  of  the  widths  of« 
these  three  tributaries  of  the  Mer  de  Glace  is  2,597  yards. 
Now,  all  these  three  tributaries  of  the  Mer  de  dlace  are 
sqneesed  into  a  space,  which  measures  only  893  yards,— a 
channel  only  one-third  of  the  width  of  the  sum  of  the  three 
tributaries.  Now  it  is  one  of  the  wonderftil  properties  of 
this  ice  that  it  can  be  thus  squeezed  into  a  narrow  bed.  If 
we  take  a  number  of  stakes  and  set  them  in  a  perfectly 
straight  line  across  this  channel,  and  allow  them  to  remain 
there  for  a  day,  and  observe  their  position  on  the  following 
day,  we  shall  find  that  they  are  no  longer  in  a  straight  line. 
In  the  observation  that  was  made  there  were  no  fewer  than 
16  stakes  fixed  in  the  ice  in  a  straight  line.  The  stakes 
nearest  one  side  of  the  glacier  moved  at  the  rate  of  7  inches 
in  a  day ;  the  next  stake  moved  at  the  rate  of  8  inches — the 
next  13  inches— the  next  15  inches — the  next  19  inches,  and 
the  next  20  inches;  and  then  the  speed  began  to  fall  off,  and 
fell  back  to  1 5  inches  at  the  other  side  of  the  glacier.  These 
numbers  prove  a  fact  which  is  also  observed  in  the  case  of 
rivers— that  the  middle  of  the  line  moves  more  quickly  than 
the  sides.  In  the  same  way,  as  was  proved  by  Principal 
Forbes,  the  top  of  the  glacier  moves  more  quickly  than  the 
bottom,  or  the  part  nearest  its  bed,  which  is  held  back  by 
the  friction  of  the  bed.  When  I  visited  the  Mer  de  Glace  in 
1857  there  was  a  precipice  of  ice,  and  I  measured  the  motion 
of  that  precipice  at  the  top  and  at  the  bottom.  The  top  stake 
moved  6  inches,  while  the  middle  stake  moved  4^  inches,  and 
the  bottom  stake  moved  2^  inches.  This  shows  that  the  top 
of  the  glacier  moved  more  quickly  than  its  foot  Further- 
more—and this  is  a  point  of  great  importance — if  you  had  a 
river  fiowing  through  a  straight  valley,  the  middle  of  the 
river  would  be  its  point  of  quickest  motion ;  but  if  you  had 
a  river  flowing  through  a  valley  of  this  kind  (Fig.  9)  the  point 
of  quickest  motion  would  be  always  that  point  where  it  is 


curved.  It  is  exactly  the  same  with  a  glacier.  This  on  a 
large  scale  will  represent  the  bed  of  the  Mer  de  Glace  from 
actual  measurement  At  the  parts  A  a  the  point  of  swiftest 
motion  is  really  the  centre  of  the  glacier.  Here,  again,  at 
a  and  e,  the  point  of  swiftest  motion  is  on  one  side  of  the 


Fig.  9. 


centre.  Here,  again,  at  &,  it  crosses 
to  the  other  side  of  the  centre.  The 
dotted  line  is  the  centre,  and  the  con- 
tinuous line  marks  the  points  of  the 
qukskest  motion  on  the  Mer  de  Glace. 
Now,  how  is  it  that  a  glacier  is 
thus  able  to  behave  as  a  river?  We 
will  see.  I  will  now  cut  two  pieces  ^ 
from  this  block  of  ice.  We  see  that 
the  ice  is  now  melting  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  this  room,  and  there  is  no 
surplus  cold  in  it  to  enable  it  to 
freeze  again;  and  still,  strange  to 
say— (and  this  was  the  observation 
that  Mr.  Faraday  made) — if  we  place 
those  pieces  of  ioe  together,  though 
the  surfaces  are  now  melting,  thev 
instantly  freeze  together.  Although 
there  is  no  surplus  cold  in  the  ice, 
the  mere  bringing  them  together  ^ 
causes  the  film  of  water,  which  a 
moment  ago  was  moisture,  to  be- 
come ioe.  This  curious  freezing  to- 
gether has  received  the  name  of 
^^regelation,"  a  term  for  which  those 
who  first  worked  at  the  subject  were  indebted  to  Dr.  Hooksr. 
In  consequence  of  this  freezing  together  you  can  actually 
convert  snow  into  ice.  Every  boy  knows  the  state  of  snow 
whk^  is  fit  for  a  snowball.  It  ought  to  be  soft,  and  yet  by 
proper  pressure  you  can  make  it  perfectly  hard  if  yon  ars 
wickedly  inclined.  Now,  I  have  no  snow  here,  -  but  I  wUi 
try  and  obtain  snow  by  scraping  the  surface  of  the  ice.  In 
this  way  I  g^t  a  kind  of  snov,  and  here  is  a  fiannel  in  which 
to  receive  it  I  will  take  this  snow  and  put  it  into  a  proper 
mould  0  B,  and  squeeze  it  together.    In  the  absence  of  nsl 

Fio.  la 


snow  I  make  the  snow  required  for  the  experiment  by  crum- 
bling the  ioe  in  this  way.  I  will  now  make  a  snowball,  and 
I  am  enabled  to  do  this  by  the  power  which  the  small  par- 
ticles of  ice  have  of  freezing  together  in  the  manner  I  have 
just  indicated.  I  cannot  by  my  hand  squeeze  strongly  enough 
the  mould  containing  these  particles  of  scraped  ice;  and 
therefore  I  will  place  the  mould  under  the  hydraulic  press,  as 
this  machine  is  called.  In  this  way  I  hope  to  obtain  a  snow- 
ball. [The  operation  described  was  then  performed,  and  the 
mould,  on  being  withdrawn  from  the  press,  was  found  to 
contain  a  ball  of  solid  ice  ]  Now,  here  we  have  a  snowball 
(B),  such  as  you  have  never  seen  before,  and  this  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  on  bringing  the  surfiioes  of  the  little  particles  d 
ice  in  contact  they  freeze  together.  This  is  not  an  ordinary 
snowball  at  all,  and  it  is  one  which  no  boy  would  like  to  be 
hit  with.  It  is  a  ball  of  solid  ice,  produced  from  the  smaD 
particles  which  have  frozen  together  in  virtue  of  ihn  won- 
derAil  property  called  regelation ;  and  it  is  in  virtue  of  this 
property  that  ice  on  the  surface  of  water,  thoxigb  shattered 
into  pieces,  will  mend  itself;  and  all  the  tearings  and  rup- 
tures of  the  glaciers  are  mended  by  means  of  this  quality  of 
regelation  which  was  discovered  by  Mr.  Faraday.  I  have 
here  several  experiments  arranged  to  illustrate  this  sulgect 


[Biiff]|difidttl0B,yoLX7IL,iro.4Hpaca3a;  Ka  425»  pagw  42^  43.] 


jrafo4,186&     f 


Heat  and  Gold. 


129 


[Partidee  of  scraped  ice  were  then  moulded  into  the  form  of 
rings  and  hemispherical  cups,  by  the  same  means  as  had  been 
employed  in  the  production  of  the  solid  ball  Two  hemi- 
spherical cups  were  afterwards  placed  with  their  edges  in  con- 
Flo,  n. 


act  when  thej  flroase  together  and  formed  a  hollow  sphere  of 
ce.j  These  experiments  will  show  you  on  a  small  scale  how 
poasible  it  is-  for  partides  of  a  substance  perfectly  brittle  to 
n-eese  together  wherever  they  touch,  on  account  of  the  sub- 
stance possessing  the  power  of  regelation.  You  see  that  a 
mibetance  of  this  character  behaves  as  if  it  were  not  brittle 
at  all,  and  acts  like  a  paste.  In  this  way  we  might  make 
statuettes,  or,  in  fact,  mould  the  ice  into  any  form  we  pleased. 
You  might  drink  out  of  these  cups,  and  the  ice  of  which 
they  are  made  would  cool  the  water  for  you.  I  am  sorry  I 
have  not  a  little  cooled  wine  to  offer  you  fW>m  a  cup  of  this 
kind.  (Laughter.)  I  have  made  champagne  glasses  and  all 
manner  of  things  by  thus  compressing  ice.    In  this  way  by 


Fig.  12. 


these  small  experiments  we  illustrate  and  make  plain  to  our- 
selves those  wonderful  things  that  go  on  among  the  glaciers 
of  the  Alps ;  and  we  entirely  dear  up  the  difficulty  as  to 
how  it  is  that  a  body  so  brittle  as  ice  can  behave  as  a  vis* 
oous  body.  I  must  now  leave  this  subject  of  ice  and  its  prop- 
ertiesL 

There  is  in  operation  before  you  an  apparatus  for  illustrat* 
ing  the  action  ot  the  pfeysers  in  Iceland ;  and  in  the  other 
room  is  a  beautiful  painting  of  the  geysers,  presented  by  our 
president,  Sir  Henry  Holland,  who  was  there  in  18 10  with 
Sir  George  Mackenzie.  In  a  short  time  this  tube  will  throw 
out  a  column  of  water,  but  I  do  not  think  I  shall  be  able  to 
make  the  operation  plain  to  you  in  this  lecture.  When  Sir 
Henry  Holland  and  Sir  Gteorge  Mackenzie  visited  the  great 
geyser,  Sir  G^rge  Mackenzie  supposed  that  the  geyser  had 
underneath  it  a  great  cavern,  and  that  this  was  partly  filled 
with  water,  the  geyser  itself  being  a  tube.  He  supposed  the 
water  to  become  heated  beneath,  and  the  steam  to  force  the 
water  up  into  the  tube.  This  is  the  theory  given  by  Sir 
Greorge  Mackenzie ;  but  it  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  suppose 
the  existence  of  this  cavern.  The  spring  itself  has  built  its 
own  tube,  abd  the  tube  is  a  sufficient  apparatus  to  produce 
these  wonderful  eruptions  that  astonish  everybody  who  has 
ever  seen  them.  The  geyser  tube  is  represented  here  in  sec- 
tion (see  Fig.  13).  It  is  seventy-four  feet  deep,  and  is  lined 
with  a  most  beautiful  plaster.  It  opens  out  at  the  top  into  a 
basin  iitiy-two  feet  wide  in  one  direction,  and  sixty  feet  wide 
in  the  other.  [The  apparatus  for  illustrating  the  geyser  was 
then  put  in  action,  and  a  thick  stream  of  boiling  water  was 
presently  ejected  upwards.  (See  Fig.  11)].  Now  I  must 
make  another  eruption  for  you.  I  want  to  produce  an  imi- 
tation of  the  spring  called  the 
strokkur  (shown  in  section  at  Fig. 
12).  This  is  a  very  celebrated  spring 
wnich  you  will  see  in  bir  Henry 
Holland's  painting  beside  the  real 
geyser.  (I  must  explam  in  the  next 
lecture  how  it  is  that  we  have  two 
fires  in  this  apparatus.)  It  is  usual 
for  the  natives  of  Iceland  to  stop 
tne  mouth  of  the  strokkur  by 
throwing  in  dods.  I  will  now  imi- 
tate that  practice  by  puttiug  in  a 
cork  at  %he  end  of  the  tube.  In  a 
short  time  the  cork  will  be  ejected, 
and  I  should  not  be  at  aii  sur- 
prised if  the  water  reached  the 
ceiling.  I  think  the  last  experi- 
ment made  at  the  strokkur  was 
made  by  Commander  Forbes.  He 
wrapped  a  leg  of  mutton  in  a  towel 
and  stopped  the  mouth  of  the 
strokkur  bv  means  of  that  leg  of 
mutton.  The  leg  of  mutton  came 
out  well  cooked,  and  was  pro- 
jected to  a  great  height  in  the  air. 
Various  people  have  estimated  the 
height  of  these  eruptions  in  Ice- 
land Sir  Henry  HoUaod  tells  me 
that  he  saw  one  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet;  and  Sir 
George  Mackenzie  gives  ninety  feet  as  the  height  of  the  erup- 
tion. The  earlier  observers  made  the  height  very  much 
more.  Two  Danes,  named  Aulafsen  and  Paulson,  who  were 
the  first  to  observe  the  hdght,  state  that  the  geyser  pitched 
its  water  to  a  height  of  360  feet.  Two  observations,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  perfectly  trustworthy,  were  made  by 
Bunsen,  of  Heidelburg,  and  the  height  was  measured  by  a 
theodolite.  In  the  last  of  these  observations,  which  wa  s 
made  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1 841,  the  height  was  estimated  at 
162  feet,  and  we  may  rely  upon  this  observation  as  being 
accurate.  Now,  as  I  have  said,  the  tube  of  the  geyser  is  th  e 
cause  of  the  eruption ;  and  when  we  see  an  eruption  pro  - 
duoed  by  a  smaU  tube,  as  in  this  model,  we  may  regard  it  a  s 
proved  that  it  aioBe  is  a  sufficient  cause,  and  that  there  is  no 
need  for  the  supposition  that  there  is  a  cavern  underneath. 


[BntUdiBdition,  VoL  ZVXL,  Vo.  4a5»  pagM  43^  44.] ; 


I30 


Heta  and  Cdd. 


j  Gboiical  Himi 
1     Martk^Vm, 


Banaea  sospeoded  thennometera  at  yarioos  depths  below  the 
basiu  of  the  gejser  to  aacertaiu  the  temperature  of  the  water. 
I  have  marked  on  this  diag^ram  the  various  temperatures 

Fio.  13. 

A 

{ 
I 


85.5- 


ll(f- 


f2f.8 


I24' 


i26'- 


10  FiEET- 

1 
1 


} 


lie* 


120.8 

123!  s 


130' 


i36* 


r^ 


'^ 


which  he  found  at  different  depths.  At  the  top  the  temper- 
ature was  8*45''  0.,  and  extended  to  \2(i'^  C.  as  the  depth 
increased.  Now,  how  is  it -that  the  water  does  not  boik  In 
the  geyser  when  the  temperature  is  over  100*  C.  ?  Every  boy 
here  will  be  able  to  tell  me  that  it  is  because  the  waler  at 
that  depth  has  to  bear  not  only  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere,  but  also  of  the  mass -of  water  which  is  above  it  in  the 
tube.  Fbr  this  reason  it  cannot  boil  at  the  temperature  which 
Bnnsen  ascertained.  At  the  depth  at  which  the  water  in  the 
geyser  was  found  to  have  a  temperature  of  126-5**,  ^^  ^''' 
Ing  temperature  would  be  136*".  At  no  point  does  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water  reach  the  boiling  point  for  the  pressure 
to  which  it  Is  subjected. 

[At  this  stage  of  the  lecture  the  cork  flew  from  the  month 
of  the  model  of  the  strokkur,  and  a  oopious  stream  of  boiUag 
water  was  projected  to  the  ceiling  of  the  theatre.] 

I  must  defer  the  explanation  of  the  action  of  geysers  until 
the  next  lecture. 


Lecture  IV. 
flu  Oeysers  of  Iceland  {continued)* — 2he  mechanical  eguith 

alerU  of  keat, — Consumption  of  heat 
In  our  last  lecture  I  iutendedi  if  time  permitted,  to  explain 
the  action  of  the  geyser  of  Iceland,  but  at  the  end  of  the 
lecture  I  found  that  the  time  was  insufficient  for  the 
purpose;  and  I  promised  then  to  explain  this  wonderlUi 
spring  in  the  lecture  of  to-day ;  but  when  I  came  to  look  at 
the  other  matter  before  me  I  found  that  it  was  so  abundant 
that  T  really  could  not  get  the  subject  of  the  geyser  into  lU 
In  order  to  help  myself^  therefore,  1  printed  500  copies  of  an 
account  of  the  geyser  which  I  gave  in  this  room  14  or  15 
years  ago;  and  I  trust  each  young  philosopher -.present  has 
furnished  himself  with  a  copy,  of  this  deaoripitkKi  of  the  gey- 
ser, from  which  Z  have  no  doubt  you  will  understand  its 


philosophy — ^particularly  by  the  help  of  your  fnendfr— when 
you  read  this  paper  at  home,  just  as  well  as  if  I  had  tri<^  to 
explain  it  to  you  here. 

**  The  surface  of  Iceland  slopes  gradually  fh>m  the  ooaBt 
towards  the  centre,  where  the  general  level  is  about  2,000 
feet  above  the  surface  of  ^e  sea.  On  tbis^  as  a  pedcsUil, 
are  planted  the  JokuU  or  icy  mountains  of  the  regioii, 
which  extend  both  ways  in  a  north-easterly  dirsotion. 
Along  this  chain  the  active  volcanoes  of  the  island  are  en- 
countered, and  in  the  same  general  direction  the  thermal 
springs  occur,  thus  suggesting  a  common  origin  for  them  and 
the  vulcanoes.  From  the  ridges  and  chasms  which  diverge 
from  the  mountnins  mighty  masses  of  steam  are  observed  to 
issue  at  intervals,  and  where  the  escape  takes  place  at  the 
mouth  of  a  cavern  and  the  resonance  of  the  cave  lends  its 
aid,  the  sound  of  the  steam  is  like  that  of  thunder.  Lower 
down  in  the  more  porous  strata  we  have  smoking  mud  pools, 
where  a  repuldive  blue-black  aluminous  paste  is  boiled,  rising 
at  times  into  huge  bladders,  which  on  burstmg  scatter  their 
slimy  spray  to  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  From  the 
base'  of  the  hills  upwards  extend  the  glaciers,  and  on 
their  shoulders  are  placed  the  immense  snow-fields  which 
crown  the  summits.  From  the  arches  and  fissures  of  the 
glaciers  vast  masses  of  water  issue,  falling  at  times  in  ob»> 
cades  over  walls  of  ice,  and  spreading  for  miles  and 
miles  over  the  country  before  they  find  definite  oatkt 
Extensive  morasses  are  thus  formed,  which  add  to  the  mo- 
notony of  the  dismal  landscape.  Intercepted  by  the  encks 
and  fissures  of  the  land,  a  portion  of  these  waters  is  con- 
ducted to  the  hot  rocks  underpeath ;  here  meeting  with  the 
volcanic  gases  which  traverse  these  underground  regions, 
both  travel  together,  to  issue  at  the  first  convenient  (^por- 
tunity  either  as  an  eruption  of  steam  or  as  a  boiling  spring. 
«  '*  In  the  Great  Geyser  we  have  a  tube  ten  feet  wide  aind 
seventy  feet  deep;  it  expands  at  its  summit  into  a  basin, 
which  from  north  to  south  measures  fifly-tvro  feet  across,  and 
in  the  perpendicular  direction  sixty  feet  The  interior  of  the 
tube  and  basin  is  coated  with  a  beautiful  snaooth  plaster,  so 
hard  ns  to  resist  the  blows  of  a  hammer.  The  first  ques^oa 
that  presents  itself  is,  how  was  this  wonderful  tube  qon- 
structed?  How  was  this  perfect  plaster  hiid  on  ?  A  glaiios 
at  the  constitution  of  the  Geyser  water  will  perhaps  mniisfa 
the  first  surmise.  In  1,000  parts  of  the  water  the  following 
constituents  are  found: — 

Silica 0*5097 

Carbonate  of  Soda o'f939 

Carbonate  of  Ammonia o'cx^j 

Sulphate  of  Soda 0*1070 

Sulphate  of  Potash 0*0475 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia 0*0042 

Chloride  of  Sodium 0*2521 

Sulphide  of  Sodium 00088 

Carbonic  Acid 0*0557 

"  The  lining  of  the  tnbe  la  silica,  evidently  derived  from 
the  water ;  and  'hence  the  conjecture  may  arise  that  the 
water  deposited  the  substance  againat  the  sides  of  the  tote 
and  basin.  But  the  water  d^iorfts  no  sediment,  even  when 
cooled  down  to  the  freezing  point  It  may  be  bottled  up 
and  kept  Ibr  years  as  dear  as  crystal,  and  witboat  the  sHgbt- 
est  precipitate.  A  specimen  brought  firom  Iceland  and 
analysed  fn  this  Institution  was  found  perfectly  free  fima 
sediment  Further,  an  attempt  to  answer  the  qiieetion  in 
this  way  would  imply  that  we  took  it  for  granted  that  the 
shaft  was  made  by  some  foreign  agency*  and  that  the 
spring  merely  lined  it.  A  painting  of  the  Geyser,  the  proper- 
ty of  Sir  Henry  Holland— himself  an  eye-witness  of  these 
wonderful  phenomena, — was  exhibited.  The  painting,  from 
a  sketch  taken  on  the  spot,  might  be  relied  on.  We  find 
here  that  the  basin  rests  upon  the  summit  of  a  mound; 
this  mound  is  about  forty  leet  in  height,  and  a  glanos 
at  it  is  sufficient  to  show  that  it  has  been  deposited  by  the 
Geyser.  But  in  building  the  mound,  the  eprmg  nuue  abs 
Aavf  f^irmed  Ike  ivbe  which perforaUe  (h/e  mound:  and  thus 


[Biiff]ldiBdltlMi,y6LX?n.,iro.  4fl^i«ge44;  Vo. 4M; page 51.] 


GtamoAL  Nvwa,  t 


Heat  and  Odd. 


131 


we  letrn  that  the  Geyser  is  the  acchitect  of  its  own  tube. 
If  we  place  a  quaotity  of  the  Qeyiier  water  in  an  evaporat- 
iog  basin,  the  following  takes  place;  in  the  oentre  the  fluid 
deposits  nothing,  but  at  the  edges  where  it  is  drawn  up  the 
sides  of  the  basin  by  capUIary  attraction,  and  thus  subjected 
to  a  quick  evaporation,  we  find  silica  deposited ;  round  the 
edge  we  find  a  ring  of  silica  thus  laid  on,  and  not  until  the 
evaporation  has  continued  for  a  considerable  time  do  we 
find  the  slightest  turbidity  in  the  central  portions  of  the 
water.  This  experiment  is  the  microsoopio  representant,  if 
the  term  be  permitted,  of  Nature's  operations  in  Iceland. 
Imagine  the  case  of  a  simple  thermal  spring  whose  waters 
trickle  over  its  side  down  a  gentle  incline ;  the  water  thus 
exposed  evaporates  speedily,  and  silica  is  deposited.  This 
deposit  gradually  elevates  the  side  over  which  the  water 
passes  until  finally  the  stream  hfts  to  choose  another  course  *, 
here  the  ground  becomes  elevated  by  the  deposit  as  before, 
and  the  stream  has  to  move  forward — thus  it  is  compelled  to 
travel  round  and  round,  discharging  its  silica  and  deepening 
the  shaft  in  which  it  dwells,  until  finally,  in  the  course  of 
centuries,  the  simple  spring  has  produced  that  wonderful  ap* 
peratus  which  has  so  long  puzzled  and  astonished  both  the 
traveller  and  the  philosopher. 

"  Beibre  -  an  eruption,  the  water  fills  both  the  tube  and 
basin,  detonations  are  heard  at  intervals,  and  after  the 
detonation  a  violent  ebullition  in  the  basin  is  observed; 
the  column  of  water  in  the  pipe  appears  to  be  lifted  up, 
thos  forming  an  eminence  in  the  centre  of  the  basin  and 
causing  the  water  to  flow  over  its  rim.  The  detonations 
are  evidently  due  to  the  production  of  steam  in  the  sub- 
terranean depths,  which  rising  into  the  cooler  water  of 
the  tube,  becomes  suddenly  condensed  and  produces  ex- 
plosions. Between  the  interval  of  two  eruptions,  the  tem- 
perature of  the  water  in  the  tube  gradually  increases,  but 
even  immediately  before  an  eruption,  at  no  part  of  the 
tube  is  the  water  at  its  boiling  tetnperature.  How  then 
is  an  eruption  possible?  Bunsen  succeeded  in  determin* 
ing  the  temperature  of  the  water  a  few  minutes  before 
a  great  eruption;  and  his  observations  Airnish  the  key  of 
the  entire  enigma.  A  little  below  the  centre  ho  found  the 
water  within  two  degrees  of  its  boiling-point,  that  is, 
within  two  degrees  of  the  point  at  which  water  boils  under 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  plvs  (he  ffredmre  of  the  super- 
inambeni  cofumn  of  voaier.  The  actual  temperature  at  thirty 
feet  above  the  bottom  of  the  Geyser  was  122''  Centigrade, 
ite  boiling-point  bemg  124**.  We  have  just  alluded  to  the 
detonations  and  the  lifting  of  the  Geyser  column  by  the 
entranoe  of  steam  from  beneath.  These  detonations  and 
the  accompanying  elevation  of  the  column  are,  as  before 
stated,  heard  and  observed  at  various  intervals  before  an 
eruption.  Imagine,  then,  the  section  of  water  at  thirty 
feet  al>ove  the  bottom  to  be  raised  six  feet  by  the  entrance 
of  a  mass  of  vapour  below.  The  liquid  spreads  out  in  the 
basin,  overflows  its  rim,  and  thus  the  elevated  section  has 
six  feet  less  of  water  pressure  upon  it;  its  boiling-point 
under  this  diminished  pressure  it  121";  hence  in  its  new 
position  its  actual  temperature  (122'')  is  a  degree  above  the 
boiling-point  This  excess  is  at  once  applied  to  the  gener- 
ation of  steam;  the  column  is  lifVed  higher,  and  its  press- 
ure further  lessened ;  more  steam  is  developed  underneath ; 
and  thus,  after  a  few  convulsive  efforts,  the  upper  part  of 
the  column  of  water,  throogh  the  sudden  boilia^  up  from 
the  middle  downwards,  is  ejected  with  immense  velocity, 
and  we  have  the  Geyser  eruption  in  all  its  grandeur.  By 
its  contact  with  the  atmosphere  the  water  is  oooled,  falls 
back  into  the  basin,  sinks  into  the  tube  through  which  it 
gradually  rises  again,  and  flnaliy  fills  the  basin.  The  deto- 
nations are  heard  at  intervals,  and  ebullitions  observed ; 
bnt  not  until  the  temperature  of  the  water  in  the  tube  has 
once  more  neairVy  attained  its  boiling-point  is  the  lifting  of 
the  ccdumn  able  to  produce  an  emption. 

"In  the  regularly  formed  tube  the  water  nowhere  quite 
attains  the  boilmg-point  In  the  canals  which  feed  the 
tube,  the  steam  which  causes  the  detonation  and  Uf ting  of 


the  column  must  therefore  be  formed.  Theae  canals  are  in 
fact  nothing  more  than  the  irregular  continuation  of  the 
tube  Itself.  The  tube  is  therefore  the  sole  and  sufficient 
cause  of  the  eruptions.  Its  sniBdency  was  experimentally 
shown  during  the  lecture.  A  tube  of  galvanised  iron  six 
feet  long  was  surrounded  by  a  basin;  a  fire  was  placed 
underneath  and  one  near  its  oentre  to  imitate  the  lateral 
heating  of  the  Geyser  tube.  At  intervals  of  five  or  six 
minutes  throughout  the  lecture  eruptions  took  place ;  the 
water  was  discharged  into  the  atmosphere,  fell  back  into 
the  basin,  filled  the  tube,  became  heated  again,  and  was 
discharged  as  before. 

"  Sir  Geo.  Mackenzie,  it  is  well  known,  was  the  first  to 
introduce  the  idea  of  a  subterranean  cavern  to  account  for 
the  phenomena  of  the  Geyser.  His  hypothesis  met  with 
general  acceptance,  and  was  even  adopted  undoubtingly  by 
some  of  those  who  accompanied  Bunsen  to  Iceland.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  introduce  the  solid  objections  which  might 
be  urged  against  this  hypothesis,  for  the  tube  being  proved 
sufBoieiit,  the  hypothetical  cavern  disappears  wiUi  the 
necessity  which  gave  it  birth. 

''A  moment's  reflection  will  suggest  to  us  tha^  there 
must  be  a  limit  to  the  operations  of  the  Geyser.  When 
the  tube  has  reached  such  an  altitude  that  the  water  in  the 
depths  below,  owing  to  the  increased  pressure,  cannot  at- 
tain its  boiling-poin^  the  eruptions  of  necessity  cease.  The 
spring,  however,  oontinues  to  deposit  its  silica,  and  forms  a 
laug  or  dstem.  8onie  of  these  m  Iceland  are  of  a  depth 
of  thirty  or  forty  feet  Their  beauty  is  indescribable;  over 
the  surface  a  light  vapour  enrls,  in  the  depths  the  water  is 
of  the  purest  ainre,  and  tints  with  its  own  hue  the  fantas- 
tic incrustations  on  the  cistern  walls;  while  at  the  bottom 
is  observed  the  mouth  of  the  once  mighty  Geyser.  There 
are  in  Iceland  traces  of  vast,  but  now  extinct, -Geyser  oper- 
ations. Mounds  are  observed  whose  shafts  are  filled  with 
rubbish,  the  water  having  foroed  a  way  underneath  and 
retired  to  other  scenes  of  action.  We  have  in  fact  the 
Geyser  in  its  youth,  manhood,  old  age,  and  death,  here  pre* 
sented  to  us:^-in  its  youth,  as  a  simfde  thermal  spring; 
in  its  manhood,  as  the  eruptive  spring;  in  its  old  age,  as 
the  tranquil  laug ;  while  its  deaUi  is  recorded  by  the  m^ed 
shaft  and  mound  which  testify  the  fact  of  its  once  aoUve 
existence. 

*'Next  to  the  Great  Geyser  the  Strokkuris  the  most 
famous  eruptive  spring  of  Iceland.  The  depth  of  its  tube  is 
forty-four  feet  It  is  not,  however,  cylindrical  like .  that  of 
the  Geyser,  but  funnel-shaped.  At  the  mouth  it  is  eight 
feet  in  diameter,  but  it  diminishes  gradually,  until  near  the 
oenixA  the  diameter  is  only  ten  inches.  Bv  casting  stones 
and  peat  into  the  tube  and  thus  stopphig  it,  eruptions  can 
be  forced  whioh  in  point  of  height  often  exceed  those  of  the 
Great  Geyser.  Its  action  was  illustrated  ezperimentally  in 
the  lecture,  by  stopping  the  galvanised  iron  tube  before  al- 
luded to  loosely  with  a  cork.  After  some  time  the  cork  was 
forced  up,  and  the  pent-up  heat  oonverting  itself  suddenly 
into  steam,  the  water  was  ejected  to  a  considerable  height ; 
thus  demonstrating  that  in  this  case  the  tube  alone  is  the 
snfBdent  cause  of  the  phenomenon.'' 

Throughout  the  lectures  that  have  been  hitherto  given 
I  have  had  occasion  to  admire  the  attention  and  patienoe 
of  my  younger  hearers.  My  hearers  are  of  differeot  ages, 
but  although  I  have  been  obliged  to  mention  certain  things 
that  could  not  poesibly  be  understood  by  the  very  young  boys, 
and  to  mention  some  elementary  facts  whieh  were,  perhaps, 
very  well  understood  by  the  older  boys,  yet  the  young  bovs 
have  been  patient  when  I  spoke  to  the  elder  ones,  and  the 
elder  ones  nave  been  patient  when  I  sprite  to  the  yoonger 
boys ;  and  for  this  I  feel  very  thankAiL  With  reference  to 
the  present  lecture  I  have  to  address  all  the  b^ys,  eapemally 
the  eUer  ones,  for  I  have  to  explain  a  term  or  two  very 
muoh  used  at  the  present  tSme  in  connection  with  the  sub- 
ject of  heat 

If  yott  carry  a  pound  of  any  substance  whatever  to  a 
height  of  77a  feet  above  ihe.  earth's  surfaoe,  and  allow  it  to 


liPfi^i^  BdMo^  TeL  X7XL,  No.  4ad^  pac«i  61,  «.] 


132 


Heat  and  Gold. 


j  Obimioil  Kivl 


drop  down  upon  fhe  earth  finom  that  height^  jou  always  get 
the  same  amount  of  heat  generated,  and  that  amount  of 
heat  would  be  just  sufficient— I  mean  neither  more  nor  less 
than  sufficient— to  raise  the  temperature  of  one  pound  of 
water  one  degree  Fahrenheit  Thus,  if  jou  oonceive  a 
pound  weight  falling  (h>m  this  great  height,  772  feet,  and 
conceive  all  the  heat  generated  bjits  collision  with  the 
earth  collected  together  and  put  into  a  pound  of  water,  that 
pound  of  water  would  have  its  temperature  elevated  one 
degree.  Now,  bj  proper  means  we  can  reverse  this  pro- 
cess, and  bj  means  of  heat  we  can  lift  the  pound  weight 
It*  we  liit  ^e  pound  weight  to  a  height  of  772  feet,  of  course 
we  should  then  be  pulling  it,  as  it  were,  away  from  the 
earth  which  attracts  it;  and  in  order  to  lift  this  pound 
weight  to  that  height  we  should  consume— in  fact,  annihi- 
late, destroy — an  amount  of  heat  equal  to  that  which  would 
raise  a  pound  of  water  one  degree  in  temperature ;  so  that 
the  amount  of  heat  consumed  in  lifting  the  weight  772  feet 
is  exactly  equal  to  what  is  generated  when  the  weight  falls 
firom  a  height  of  772  feet  Now,  if  we  lift  one  pound  of 
matter  one  foot  from  the  ground,  a  certain  term  is  em- 
ployed. It  is  called  **<A«  foot-pomd;^^  and  if  you  lift  a 
pound  weight  to  772  feet  it  is  772  foot-pounds ;  or  if  you 
lift  772  pounds  to  the  height  of  a  foot  you  have  772  foot- 
pounds. Now,  this  quantity  of  772  foot-pounds,  which 
would  raise  the  temperature  of  a  pound  of  water  one  de- 
gree, is  termed  *'  the  mechaniccd  equUnUent  of  A«at" 

In  Ufting  a  weight  fh)m  the  earth  we  are  overcoming 
attraction  of  the  eiurth,  and  in  doing  this  we  consume  heat, 
if  heat  be  the  agent  which  lifts  the  weight  Now,  I  have 
asked  you  over  and  over  again  to  figure  the  atoms  of  solid 
bodies  such  as  this  I  hold  in  my  hand.  As  a  general  rule, 
when  heat  is  communicated  to  a  body  the  atoms  are  forced 
asunder.  You  know  the  enormous  power  and  foroo  with 
which  these  atoms  may  attract  each  other,  for  1  showed 
you  that  when  an  iron  bar  was  cooled  the  oontractible 
force  pulling  together  its  atoms — the  mutual^  attraction  of 
its  atoms  on  cooling — was  sufficient  to  smash  the  steel  bar 
which  you  saw  broken  in  front  of  the  table.  Now,  we 
have  amongst  the  atoms  of  bodies  pulling  each  other 
together  an  action  substantially  the  same  as  that  whicdi 
occurs  when  we  separate  the  weight  firom  the  earth.  To 
this  action  we  may  give  a  name.  Let  us  call  this  work 
which  occurs  in  a  body  **  atomic  work  "  if  you  like— work 
done  on  the  atoms.  This  work  necessitaies  a  consumption 
of  heat  Heat  is  consumed  in  this  way;  and  what  I  want 
you  now  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  the  amount  of  heat 
consumed  is  very  difibrent  indeed  in  different  bodies;  md 
consequently  some  bodies,  in  order  to  raise  them  ofie  de- 
gree hi  temperature,  require  more  heat  than  others.  In 
order  to  raise  one  pound  of  the  liquid  metal  mercury  one 
degree  in  temperature  a  certain  amount  of  heat  must  be 
imparted  to  it  It  would  require  ikwiy  Hmoi  that  amount 
of  heat  to  raise  a  pound  of  water  one  degree  in  tempera- 
ture. Water  requires  thirty  times  the  quantity  of  heat 
required  by  mercury,  simply  because  the  work  to  be  done 
is  a  great  deal  more  than  that  necessitated  in  the  case  of 
mercury.  Now  I  want  to  show  you  what  follows  from  this ' 
action.  It  would  appear,  in  consequence  of  this  atomic 
work  which  I  have  been  speaking  of;  as  if  the  water  had 
a  power  of  storing  up  heat  thirty  times  greater  than  the 
power  possessed  by  mercury ;  and,  indeed,  formerly  people 
thought  that  heat  uk»  someildng  stored  up,  and  they  called 
the  amount  of  heat  which  it  was  needfUi  to  impart  to  a 
body  to  raise  its  temperature  <ae  degree  its  **  capacity  for 
heat"  They  looked  at  a  body  as  a  kind  of  vessel  for  heat, 
and  hence  they  used  this  term  *'  ci^city  for  heat"  It  was 
found  by  experiment  that  the  capacity  for  heat  (as  the  term 
went)  was  very  different  in  different  bodies ;  and  tkie  amount 
of  heat  which  a  body  had  stored  up  was  determined  by 
what  the  body  could  do-— by  the  amount  of  ice  or  wax  which 
it  could  melt 

I  Imve  here  a  vessel  of  hot  oil,  and  in  it  I  have  spheres  of 
metal  of  different  kinds.    They  are  all  equally  hot  at  the  pres- 


ent •time ;  but  you  will  find  that  these  spheres  of  metal 
have  very  diflfbrent  pi>wer8  in  melting  bodies.  They  will  be 
placed  on  a  flat  piece  of  wax,  d  (Fig.  14),  and  their  best  will 

Fici.  14. 


act  upon  that  piece  of  wax.  Some  will  force  their  way 
through,  and  others  will  not  This  ball  of  copper  will  go 
through  the  wax  first  The  tin  will  go  partly  through.  The 
bismuth  certainly  will  not  go  through,  although  it  is  j\nt  as 
hot  as  the  copper.  Here,  too,  we  have  a  ball  of  lead  which 
is  not  competent  to  melt  its  way  through  the  wax.  The  ball 
of  iron  will  go  through,  ^ere  is  a  ball  of  zinc;  I  think  that 
will  go  through ;  but  I  am  sure  that  the  lead  and  tin  and 
bismuth  will  not  do  so.  [The  balls  of  copper,  iron,  and  xhic 
melted  their  passage  through  the  slab  of  wax,  and  fell  to  the 
ground  one  after  the  other.  The  three  other  balla  did  not 
perforate  the  wax.]  This  illustrates  the  different  amoaati  of 
heat  posseesed  by  these  bodies,  although  they  are  all  at  the 
same  temperature. 

We  must  now  go  on  considering  the  heat  consumed ;  and 
I  must  rapidly  make  a  few  experiments  illustrative  of  the 
consumption  of  heat  in  this  work  of  forcing  the  particki  of 
bodies  asunder  or  changing  their  position.  One  of  the  mo»t 
remarkable  causes  of  the  consumption  of  heat  occurs  when  a 
body  is  cau<*ed  to  pass  from  the  solid  sute  to  the  liquid. 
Here,  ▲  B(Fig.  15X I  have  a  beautiful  instrument)  the  thenno- 
PiCK  15. 


f 

f. 

i 

w 

-^ 


electric  pile),  which  has  been  introduced  to  your  atteotiOB 
before.  It  is  a  kind  of  thermometer,  and  I  want  to  diow  joa 
how  we  can  make  use  of  this  instrument  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  whether  we  have  cold  or  heat  I  cannot  go  into 
the  fUll  explanation  of  the  thing ;  but  if  you  obeenre  the 
needle  m  n  of  the  galvanometer  o,  to  which  it  is  connected 
by  the  wires  v)  u;,  you  will  see  how  wonderfully  delicate  the 
instrument  ia  It  is  more  delicate  than  any  thermooeMr 
whatever.    I  will  turn  the  £aoe  of  that  instrument  towiidi 


[BBffllrii  Bdttka^  Vol.  ZVn.,  Vs.  4£«^  pafii^  ao,  53.] 


OmnciL  Niws, ) 


Heat  amd  Cold. 


133 


me,  or  I  will  breathe  against  it,  or  I  might  allow  i^ny  young 
pbiloflopher  present  to  breathe  against  it  The  warmth  of 
his  breath  would  at  once  make  itself  evident  by  causing  that 
magnetic  needle  to  move.  Now,  as  I  breathe  against  this 
pile^  jou  observe  that  the  red  end  of  the  needle  comes  towards 
me.  When  the  needle  returns  to  its  former  position  and 
oomes  to  rest,  I  will  try  the  effect  of  cold  upon  the  instru- 
ment; which,  you  will  remember,  Is  called  a  thermo-electric 
pile.  (Tou  see  I  can  stop  the  needle  by  means  of  this  other 
needle  in  a  moment)  I  will  now  put  a  piece  of  this  ice  in  a 
spoon,  and  on  the  cold  spoon  coming  in  contact  with  the  face 
of  the  pile  you  will  see  that  the  red  end  of  the  needle  will 
move  towards  you,  and  away  from  me.  Thus,  in  this  instru- 
ment we  have  the  means  of  telling  whether  heat  or  cold  has 
been  imparted.  We  now  again  bring  the  needle  to  rest. 
And  now  we  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  this  beautiful 
instrument)  I  will  proceed  to  experiment  with  it  Here  is  a 
Fia.  16. 


little  flat  basin,  b,  which  I  place  upon  the  face  of  the  pile 
thus;  and  you  observe  that  although  that  dish  has  been  up 
to  the  present  time  resting  upon  the  table  it  has  become  a 
litUe  warm,  and  causes  the  red  end  of  the  needle  to  move 
towards  me.  But  when  I  pour  a  little  cold 
water  into  this  dish  you  see  the  suddenness  of 
the  movement  of  the  red  end  of  the  needle  to- 
wards you.  I  will  now  warm  this  water  by 
dipping  my  finger  into  it,  and  after  a  time  you 
will  see  that  the  needle  will  come  down  in 
consequence  of  the  warmth  imparted  to  it  by 
my  hand,  and  come  back  on  the  other  side  of 
the  middle  line.  [After  a  pause.]  You  see 
that  the  needle  now  comes  to  my  side,  showing 
that  the  water  is  warmed  by  my  linger.  And 
now  I  might  take  sugar,  or  salt,  or  saltpetre, 
which  would  be  still  better,  and  put  a  little  of 
the  powder  of  that  saltpetre  into  the  water.  That  powder 
would  become  liquefied,  and  on  its  melting  the  warmth  of 
the  water  is  consumed — is  used  up,  and  the  water  is  there- 
by chilled.  Now,  in  making  this  experiment  I  will  confine 
myself  to  a  particular  sub- 


stance caUed  sulphate  of 
soda.  You  see  that  there  is 
DOW  a  very  great  deal  of  heat 
imparted  to  the  water  by  my 
finger,  and  that  the  needle 
comes  very  much  on^my  side 
of  the  middle  line.  I  will 
now  pour  into  the  water 
some  powdered  sulphate  of 
soda,  and  you  find  that  the 
water  immediately  becomes 
chilled  by  melting  that  sul-j 
phate  of  soda.  This,  then,  is 
a  consumption  of  heat  by 
the  act  of  liquefyhig  or 
melting  the  sulphate  of  soda. 
I  want  now  to  make  another 
experiment  It  is  a  very 
instructive  one.  I  want  to 
show  you  the  reverse  of  the 
iast  experiment  When  dis- 
solved  sulphaie  of  soda 


PiO.  17. 


soda.  It  was  carefully  melted  last  night,  and  has  been 
carefiilly  kept  apart  from  anything  which  could  dis- 
turb it  We  will  allow  the  face  of  the  pile  to  rest 
against  the  bottle;  and  now  I  want  to  cause  that 
body  to  solidify  before  your  eyes.  I  can  cause  it  to  be- 
come crystallised  sulphate  of  soda,  like  that  which  was  dis- 
solved in  that  dish  a  momeut  ago.  You  will  see  the 
liquid  in  the  flask  become  more  and  more  opaque,  and  when 
it  begins  to  solidify  opposite  the  face  of  the  pile  it  will 
give  out  heat — the  heat  that  was  expended  in  melting 
it,  and  you  will  then  see  the  red  end  of  the  needle  come 
towards  ma  I  will  now  open  the  neck  of  the  flask,  and  throw 
a  crystal  of  sulphate  of  soda  mto  the  solution.  [This  was 
dene,  and  the  contents  of  the  flask  began  to  solidify  from  the 
top  downwards.]  You  now  see  the  compound  crystallising ; 
and  the  moment  that  portion  opposite  the  face  of  the  pile 
becomes  solid,  heat  will  be  communicated  to  the  face  of  the 
pile,  and  we  shall  get  a  deflection  (as  it  is  called)  of  the  red 
end  of  the  needle  in  the  direction  in  which  I  stand.  [After 
a  pause] — What  I  predicted  was  quite  right  There  we  get 
out  of  tne  sulphate  of  soda  the  heat  that  was  expended  in 
melting  it  There  is  the  movement  of  the  needle  caused  by 
the  heat 

I  might  go  on  in  this  way,  and  show  you  that  when  a  body 
is  evaporated  you  also  g^et  a  very  large  amount  of  heat  con- 
sumed— used  up — in  order  to  evaporate  it  In  order  to  con- 
vert a  potmd  of  water  at  212*  Fahrenheit  into  steam  at  212^ 
Fahrenheit,  an  enormous  amount  of  heat  is  required.  It  re- 
quires as  much  heat  as  would  raise  967  pounds  of  water  i** 
Fahrenheit ;  and  this  heat  is  insensible  to  the  thermometer, 
although  it  is  so  great    The  reason  that  I  employed  a  mix. 

Fia.  18. 


permitted  to  solidity — become  solid^you  get  out  of  it  the 
heat  that  was  expended  in  rendering  it  liquid.  I  have 
in    this    flask,  b   (Fig.   17),    some    dissolved  sulphate  of 

Vol.  II.    No.  3.    March,  1868.        10 

[BagUih  Bdttioii,  VoL  Z¥XL,  Na  496,  pages  53,  5i.] 


ture  of  ice  and  salt  as  a  freezing  mixture  in  a  former  experi- 
ment, was  that  the  action  of  the  salt  produces  a  liquefaction 
of  the  ice,  and  on  that  liquefaction  taking  place  a  large  quau- 
tt^y  of  heat  is  consumed— so  much  that  the  temperature  of 
the  liquid  is  reduced  far  below  the  temperature  of  the  ice 
itself.  1  am  going  to  illustrate  this  point  by  the  develop- 
ment of  cold  by  vapourisation ;  and  if  things  go  fairly  I  should 
not  wonder  if  I  could  freeze  water  before  your  eyes  by  means 
of  its  own  evaporation.  An  experiment  has.  been  arranged 
there  for  the  purpose.  Here  are  two  bulbs,  a  and  b,  in  this 
apparatus  (Fig.  18),  and  the  water  which  was  in  one  of  them' 
has  been  frozen  in  this  room  since  the  lecture  began.  One 
end  of  this  has  been  placed  in  a  freezing  mixture  far  away 
from  the  bulb  where  the  water  is  frozen.  This  instrument  is 
called  a  *' cryophorus,"  or  ice  carrier.  Water  was  placed  in 
one  bulb,  and  the  air  was  taken  from  the  interior  of  the 
instrument  The  other  bulb  was  placed  in  a  freezing  mix- 
.|  ture,  and  as  the  vapour  came  up  from  the  water  it  was  con- 
densed by  the  freezing  mixture,  and  the  vapourisation  which 
took  place  has  been  sufficient  to  freeze  the  water. 

So  much,  then,  for  the  heat  consumed  in  causing  a  body  to , 
pass  from  the  liquid  state  to  the  state  of  vapour.  I  have  on 
the  table  various  substances  which  would  enable  me  to  illus- , 
trate  this  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner.  For  instance  I  will 
take  a  Uttle  alcohol,  and  warm  it  by  placing  my  finger  into 
it,  thus.  I  see  there  is  a  great  amount  of  heat  in  the  face  of 
the  pile.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  evaporation  of  the  alcohol 
will  very  soon  cause  the  end  of  the  needle  to  come  down ;  or 
if  I  take  a  substance  that  can  vapourise  more  rapidly  than 
alcohol — this  substance,  ether — it  would  nut  take  an  instant 


134 


Dr.  LetTieby  on  Food. 


f  OmHiCAX.  9c«^ 


in  order  to  oFeroome  the  heat  which  is  the  cause  of  that  de> 
flection.  I  will  cause  evaporatioD  to  go  on  a  little  more 
quickly,  and  if  the  needle  be  not  held  fast  by  aome  accident 
we  shall  soon  find  the  heat  which  causes  the  present  large 
amount  of  deflection  entirely  abolished,  and  the  needle  will 
move  down.  Now  you  see  the  needle  comes  back.  We  get 
an  enormous  amount  of  cold  by  the  evaporation  of  ether,  so 
much  that  we  can  easily  freeze  water  by  it. 
(To  b«  continued.) 


DR.  LETHEBY  ON  FOOD. 
Lkctubb  I. 


(from  our  owk  bepostkb.) 
Ok  Monday  evening,  the  20th  January,  Dr.  Letheby,  at 
the  rooms  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  John  Street,  Adelphi,  de- 
livered the  first  of  a  series  of  four  lectures  **  On  Food."  The 
Chairman — W.  Hawes,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Society— hav- 
ing briefly  introduced  the  lecturer  as  **  our  best  authority  on 
the  subject  about  to  be  illustrated,"  Dr.  Letheby  commenced 
his  lecture  by  observing  that  the  economy  of  food  was  a  sub- 
ject of  national  importance;  that  muscular  strength  was 
co-equal  with  the  amount  and  quality  of  food  taken  into  the 
body ;  and  that  calamity  and  actual  want,  the  absence  of 
proper  diet,  the  neglect  of  protection  against  weather,  and 
disordered  sanitary  appliances,  fell  heaviest  upon  those  least 
able  to  bear  the  burden.  Bad,  however,  as  the  mimediate 
consequences  are,  they  are  nothing  to  the  sickly,  race  which 
comes  afterwards.  We  must  not  overlook  the  nutritive  value 
of  our  raw  materials  of  foods,  and  we  must  therefore  endeavour 
to  erect  a  standard  of  comparison  between  different  articles. 
The  ereciing  this  standard  is  a  subject  of  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty. First,  where  some  article  may  be  considered  without 
any  other — milk  or  bread  for  example.  Then  the  difficulty  is 
that  the  proportions  of  these  several  constituencies  differ  in  a 
groat  degree  from  the  constituents  of  most  other'artides  by 
certain  different  proportions  of  the  several  constituents. 
Again,  as  nitrogenous  matter  in  food  is  the  most  important 
object,  chemists  ask  how  much  nitrogenous  matter  is  there 
in  any  given  article  of  food  ?  But  even  this  test  was  not 
correct,  even  though  it  bore  the  support  of  Liebig,  for  upon 
his  principle  that  an  adult  must  take  into  his  frame  per  diem 
i.'200  grains  of  nitrogenous  matter ;  provided  that  he  lived 
solely  on  beer  or  porter,  he  would  have  to  drink  180  pounds 
of  the  said  liquid  to  make  up  the  required  number  of  gnins. 
The  question  now  comes,  what  is  the  exact  relative  proper^ 
tion  of  nitrogen  and  carbon  necessary  to  sustain  man  without 
■  much  labour.  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair  has  sought  in  our  work- 
houses. Dr.  Edward  Smith  amongst  the  Lancashire  weavers, 
to  see  the  minimum  a  person  can  exist  upon.  Dr.  Lyon 
Playfair  says  4. 100  grains  of  carbon  to  190  grains  of  nitrogen ; 
and  Dr.  Edward  Smith  (who  observed  the  Lancashire  weav- 
ers just  at  the  point  when  the  food  was  failing  to  support  life), 
that  the  proportion  an  adult  woman  required  was  3,900 
grains  of  carbon  and  180  g^ins  of  nitrogen;  whilst  for  an 
adult  man  4,^00  grains  of  carbon  and  200  grains  of  nitrogen 
were  required ;  the  average  of  which  is  4, 100  grains  of  car- 
bon and  190  grains  of  nitrogen  (thus  agreeing  with  the  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair),  contained  in  two  pounds  three 
ounces  of  bread.  This  statement  almost  agrees  with  another 
set  of  observations  taken  on  a  different  principle ;  but  as  re- 
•  gards  the  chemical  properties  of  ihe  nutritive  value  of  food, 
it  may  be  convenient  to  observe  that  the  relative  proportions 
of  tlie  two  in  any  article  must  be  as  x 00  of  carbon  to  5^  of 
I  nitrogen. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  take  a  glance  at  the  various  kinds 
of  food,  first  of  all  remarking  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
animal  food,  but  that  all  food,  directly  or  indirectly,  belongs 
to  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Animals  have  no  power  to  con- 
struct food;  tbeir  functions,  instead  of  building  up,  pulldown 
food,  and  although  therefore  whilst  we  are  eating  meat  we 
may  say  we  are  eating  animal,  yet  indirectly  we  are  eating 
animal  food ;  and  it  is  with  this  primary  idea  that  all  food 


belongs  to  the  vegetable  kingdom  that  I  commence  my  re- 
view of  the  raw  materials  of  food. 

Wheat  is  the  first  and  the  most  important  There  are  two 
kinds,  the  summer  and  the  winter  wheat  Seasons,  soils  and 
climates  affect  the  quality  of  the  crop;  the  warmer  the 
weather,  the  richer  the  grain.  Here  (pointing  to  the  wall) 
is  a  diagram  siiowing  the  construction  of  wheat  A  com^ 
the  outer  covering  of  whk^  is  composed  of  fibrous  and  woody 
matter,  in  the  interior  of  which  a  farina  peculiar  in  its  form  is 
to  be  observed.  There  are  various  kinds  of  wheat,  the  best 
white  tails,  fine  polUrds^  coarse  pollards,  and  bran;  aid 
although  taken  per  bushel  the  bran  is  the  cheapest,  yet  ukea 
as  per  20  lbs.  it  is  found  to  be  dearer  than  many  shadei 
superior  quality.  Dr.  Letheby  then  went  into  the  details  of 
the  chemical  composition  of  wheat,  showing  that  it  was  con- 
posed  upon  a  principle  which  made  it  a  most  wbofesoaie 
food,  stating  that  the  relative  proportions  of  nitrogen  and 
carbon  were  as  i  of  the  former  to  6i^ths  of  the  latter.  He 
also  observed  that  whilst  the  best  wheat  was  made  into  floor, 
he  thought  there  was  a  fact  which  proved  that  the  coarser 
kinds  were  rather  too  much  neglected,  for,  in  proportuio  st 
we  went  lower  down  the  scale  in  coarseness  it  was  found 
at  the  same  time  that  the  quantity  of  nitre genous  matter  in- 
creased in  a  large  degree.  Dr.  Letheby  Uien  succenively 
went  through  the  various  kinds  of  grains,  barley,  oata  tj% 
maize,  rice,  showing  in  each  case  the  chemical  compositioa 
which  indicated  their  respective  nutritive  values ;  idiowing 
the  reasons  that  they  either  possessed  no  gluten,  or  else  too 
much  fat — why  it  was  impossible  to  make  tliem  into  bread; 
showing  also,  as  in  the  case  of  rice,  that  a  combination  with 
some  substance  containing  a  great  amount  of  nitrogenout 
matter  was  required  to  mal^e  them  palatable ;  passing  to  a 
consideration  of  succulent  vegetHbles,  devot  ng  some  spaee 
to  the  consideration  of  the  potato,  stating  what  an  eflTei-tosl 
remedy  it  was  against  scurvy,  and  saying  a  few  words  re- 
specting the  other  woll  known  vegetables;  then  proceeding 
to  a  brief  considemtion  of  fish  food ;  and  turning  his  atten- 
tion lastly  to  animal  food,  referred  to  the  preference  given  by 
the  poorer  classes  to  bacon  instead  of  butcher's  meat,  for  the 
reason  that  it  was  cheaper  to  bny,  easier  to  keep,  was  eamr 
to  cook,  and  less  of  it  wasted  away  during  this  operstion, 
and  possessed  a  greater  relish ;  concluding  by  observing  thit 
whilst  the  Isrge  amount  of  provisions  that  were  required  to 
feed  near  upon  three  millions  of  souls,  were  brought  almost 
to  our  very  doors  with  the  regularity  of  clock-work,  tliat  this 
regularity  was  effected  not  by  Gkivern mental  help  nor  muni- 
cipal interference,  but  by  the  mighty  influence  of  free  trade. 

Loud  and  prolonged  applause  greeted  Dr.  Letheby  at  the 
close  of  his  lecture,  and  he  informed  his  audience  that  the 
very  perfect  specimens  by  which  he  had  illustrated  his  lecture 
had  been  kindly  lent  him  for  the  occasion  by  Mr.  Twiuing 
from  his  Economical  Museum  at  Twickenham. 


Lecture  It. 
Dr.  Lrthkbt  delivered  this,  his  second  lecture  ''on  Food," 
at  th6  rooms  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  John  street,  Adelphi,  oa 
Monday  evening,  the  27 ih  instant,  in  the  presence  of  a  numer- 
ous audience.  Dr.  Letheby  comm«-nced  by  stating  Uiat  the 
relative  properties  and  digestive  functions  of  food  were 
purely  physical  and  cliemical  in  their  character.  There  was, 
he  remarked,  a  grenter  number  of  aolventa  in  the  alimeiitsry 
canal  than  one  would  suppose.  The  saline  and  gastric  juices 
acted  with  irreat  force,  and  the  quantity  of  thoee  foods  poured 
in  for  the  purposes  of  digestion  amounted  to  rather  moretlHB 
3  gallons  in  the  twenty -four  houra  The  amount  of  saline 
was  3^  lbs.,  in  which  there  was  231  grains  of  solid  matier; 
14-)^  lbs.  was  made  up  of  the  gastrc  juices  contatning  3,000 
grains  of  solid  matter,  and  316  grains  of  peps^ine ;  tlte  pea- 
creatic  acid  8*82  lbs»  in  which  was  6,000  grains  of  polid  DSir 
ter.  and  784  of  a  peculiar  principle  of  tat  and  atarcfay  mauar; 
bile  3^  Iba  ;  and  the  intestinal  mucus  \  lb.  Food  in  the  a&- 
mentary  canal  is  not  only  submitted  to  the  action  of  eolvHiti 
but  also  tiiat  of  water,  drenching  the  food  rather  than  dtfsoiv- 


[SagUah  Edition,  V0LZ7II.,  Ha  430;  paga  54;  Vo.  42fi,  pages  44, 46 ;  Va  496,  page  68.] 


Obbvioal  Nbwb, 
Jfcirak,  1868. 


} 


Dr.  LeOieby  on  Food. 


135 


ing  it  SaliD«  matter  is  eecreted  by  many  of  the  glands,  and 
is  composed  of  foods  all  slightly  alkaline  at  the  time  of  di- 
gestion ;  though  at  this  time  the  potato  is  strongly  acid  in  the 
interval  of  passing  fh>m  the  stomach  to  the  alimentary  canal. 
The  potato  is  composed  of  liquid  and  solid  matter,  half  of 
which  is  inulinf  which  is  something  like  the  peculiar  principle 
found  round  the  germ  of  all  seeds,  and  which  is  of  such  a 
character  that  it  will  not  pass  through  the  membranes  of  the 
body,  but 'is  discharged  through  the  alimentary  canal.  There 
were  some  articles  which  served  artificially  to  promote  diges- 
tion, such  as  Liebig's  extract  of  malt,  which  proved  to  be  a 
powerful  solvent.  The  gastric  juice  which  is  secreted  from 
the  glands*  is  a  thin  transparent  fluid,  and  from  posseraing  a 
large  proportion  of  organic  matter  called  pepsine  this  fluid 
has  the  power  of  changing  albumen,  wliich  is  known  as 
pepsine  or  albuminous  peptone,  and  which  differs  from  ordi- 
nary albumen  in  this  respect  that  it  is  not  coagulated  by 
heat  This  ordinary  albumen  will  n9t,  however,  pass  through 
the  membranes  till  acted  upon  by  pepsine.  The  digestive 
power  of  the  gastric  juice  is  destroyed  if  the  temperature  gets 
above  120*"  Fahrenheit  or  below  100°  Fahrenheit.  At  the 
latter  point  the  digestion  does  not  take  place  very  rapidly. 
Dr.  Lethoby  then  described  how  this  gastric  juice  was  ob- 
tained from  the  stomachs  of  pigs  and  sheep,  stating  that  it 
was  when  the  animal  had  been  kept  unfed  for  some  time,  and 
when  his  whole  nervous  system  was  excited  by  the  smell  of 
some  savoury  dish,  that  it  was  killed,  and  that  the  quantity 
of  the  pepsine  produced  (torn  the  stomach  of  the-pig  was  bet- 
ter than  that  obtained  from  the  sheep.  He  then  proceeded 
to  say,  after  a  few  words  respecting  pancreatic  acid,  observ- 
ing* that  it  was  a  clear  colourless  fluid,  possessing  the  power 
of  being  either  alkaline  or  acid  whose  functions  wero  not 
well  known.  Twenty  years  ago  Bernard  had  thought  it 
possessed  the  power  of  making  soap,  but  lately  Mr.  Schweit- 
zer, of  Brighton,  had  carefully  gone  into  the  subject,  and 
found  that  it  made  fat.  It  possessed  a  powerful  solutive 
action ;  and  it  may— though  this  is  generally  denied— act  on 
nitrogenous  raattera  Dr.  Letbeby  then  proceeded  to  devote 
bis  attention  to  what  he  said  was  a  very  complex  subject, 
•nd  on  which  he  should  say  but  little— the  bile. .  It  was^f  a 
jellow  colour,  and  slightly  alkaline,  which  came  into  the 
tx>dy  daily  to  the  quantity  of  3^  lbs.,  of  which  about  14  per 
cent,  was  solid  matter,  of  which  12  are  organta  Several 
hypotheses  were  presented  to  the  meeting,  and  the  lecturer, 
whilst  not  being  able  to  pronounce  positively  upon  the  mat- 
ter, soemed  inclined  to  believe  it  to  be  a  residuum  from  the 
liver  in  making  blood  to  ciroulate  through  the  body.  After  a 
lew  words  bestowed  upon  the  intestinal  mucus,  Dr.  Letheby 
proceeded  to  apply  the  facts  already  gathered  to  an  explana- 
tion of  the  phenomena  of  digestion,  first  taking  protinaoeous 
or  nitrogenous  matters  digoited  by  the  gastric  juices,  of 
which  there  are  several  divisions,  their  order  of  easiness  in 
digestion  being  as  follows,  viz. : — Liquid  and  soft  albumen,  then 
hard  albumen,  followed  by  fibnne,  gelatine,  carti!  ages,  andap- 
peadaices  of  the  skin,  in  the  order  just  named,  showing,  as 
regards  the  latter  division,  that  all  appendages,  such  as  hair, 
feathers,  and  wool,  were  thoroughly  insoluble ;  citing  as  an  ex- 
ample, the  case  of  the  boa  at  the  Zoological  Gai^ens.  who 
floroe  years  ago  swallowed  his  blanket,  which  a  few  days 
afterwards  was  cast  out  of  the  alimentary  canal  uninjured  ; 
that  stareh  was  converted  into  the  low  form  of  sugar,  known 
as  glucose;  that  gums  and  all  bodies  of  a  similar  character 
were  indigestible,  and  were  therefore  not  only  worthless  but 
did  harm,  causing  other  food  to  be  hurried  in  its  passage 
through  the  body,  and  that  saline  matters  were  digested  by 
the  acid  of  the  stomach.  Dr.  I>theby  then  proceeded  to 
state  wha^  were  the  most  digestible  kinds  of  food,  quoting 
Dr.  Bowman's  observations  made  under  highly  advantageous 
circumstances.  Dr.  Bowman  had  a  patient  whose  wound 
affected  the  stomach,  and  which  required  to  be  kept  open. 
By  the^  means  Dr.  Bowman  was  enabled  to  see  the  pro- 
c^'sees  the  food  swallowed  by  the  man  underwent  during  the 
time  of  digestion ;  and  also  to  learn  the  time  required  for  the 
digestion  of  the  food  taken  into  the  body.    The  result  of  his 


observations  was  that  soused  tripe  was  the  most  digestible 
of  all  foods,  taking  but  one  hour  to  digest;  that  venison 
ranked  next,  taking  one  hour  and  a  half;  then  raw  eggs  or 
raw  oysters,  taking  one  hour  and  three-quarters ;  ox  liver, 
two  hours;  poultry,  lamb,  and  hard  boiled  eggs,  two  hours 
and  a  half;  beef  and  mutton  two  hours  and  three-quarters  to 
three  hours  and  a  quarter;  pork,  three  hours  and  a  quarter; 
and  lastly,  salt  beef,  four  hours. 

The  question.  How  digestion  may  be  helped  on  ?  possesses 
the  following  answer.  There  must  be  a  proper  selection  of 
foods  as  regards  tenderness  and  flavour;  a  proper  variation 
of  the  food  from  day  to  dny,  and  by  carefully  watching  how 
this  food  is  cooked ;  and  by  the  maintenance  of  a  proper  tem- 
perature of  the  body  and  of  a  cheerful  temper. 

The  chief  constituent  of  food  is  water,  and  the  liquid  makes 
its  appearance  in  all  parts  of  the  body  to  the  extent  of  75  per 
cent  Thirty  pounds  per  diem  is  wanted  to  properly  carry 
on  the  process  of  digestion,  and  its  importanoe  may  be  fully 
appreciated  when  we  see  that  i£  dissolves  tissues^  and  carries 
the  blood  into  circulation ;  that  it  carries  out  of  the  body 
waste ;  that  it  cools  the  body  when  unduly  heated ;  and  that 
it  lubricates  the  whole  system.  Like  everything  else,  how- 
ever, it  must  be  taken  in  a  proper  manner;  least  in  the 
moiniiig,  more  at  noon,  and  most  at  night,  when  it  is  greatly 
required  to  carry  off  the  accumulated  waste  tissues,  and  leave 
the  body  dear  for  the  next  day's  operation.  Dr.  Letheby 
then  pawed  on  to  nitrogenous  or  plastic  matter,  and  showed 
how  gradually,  from  the  belief  that  the  nitrogen  within  us 
supplied  our  muscular  force,  it  had  come  to  be  disputed, 
questioned,  experimented  upon ;  and  that  finally  in  the  year 
1866  two  prolessore  of  Zurich,  Fick  and  Wislecenus,  had 
taken  the  trouble  to  put  the  matter  to  a  practical  test  by 
asctfnding  the  Faulhorn,  one  of  the  Bernese  Alps,  and  at  an 
altitude  of  6,417  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Lake  of  Brienz. 
During  the  day  before,  the  time  whilst  they  were  at  their 
work,  and  for  a  few  hours  after,  they  religiously  abstained 
from  eating  any  thing  containing  nitrogenous  matter.  The 
ascent  of  the  mountain  took  six  hours,  and  during  that 
period,  and  for  some  time  afterwards,  they  collected  all  the 
seoi-eted  nitrogenous  matter,  which  by  the  most  liberal  com- 
putation but  provided  for  half  the  strength  requisite  for  these 
two  gentlemen  to  reach  the  top  of  the  mountain;  and  to 
prove  that  more  nitrogen  was  evolved  before  and  after  the 
work  was  done,  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  sensibly  increased 
after  a  meat  meal.  Dr.  Letheby  then  proceeded  to  give 
some  interesting  statistics  to  prove  the  muscular  force  these 
quantities  of  nitrogen  represented ;  showing  that  calculation 
should  be  made  for  the  beating  of  the  heart,  respiration,  and 
so  forth,  all  of  which  went  to  prove  the  fallacy  of  the  asser- 
rion  that  the  burning  of  nitrogenous  linatter  gave  us  our  mus- 
cular force.  Nothing  of  the  sort  could  occur  till  the  hydro- 
carbons in  the  blood  were  burnt  and  then  the  nitrogenous 
matter  could  ignite ;  but  it  would  be  even  then  the  hydro- 
carbons which  were  creating  the  muscular  power ;  and  if  a 
test  was  required  to  prove  that  it  was  the  carbon  that  was 
thrown  ofT  by  exertion,  there  was  one  at  hand.  Take  a  man : 
during  sleep  he  will  but  exhale  293  grains  of  carbon  in  the 
hour;  let  him  be  lying  down  in  a  state  approaching  sleep, 
and  the  rate  increases  to  355;  let  him  sit  up,  to  448; 
let  him  walk  two  miles  an  hour,  x,o88;  let  him  walk  three 
miles  an  hour  1,552  ;  and  if  you  let  \i\m  work  at  he 
treadmill  at  the  rate  of  2865  feet  per  minute,  2,926. 
What  better  proof  can  be  afibrded  than  this,  for  here  we 
have,  speaking  in  round  numbers,  when  all  is  calm  and  at 
rest,  the  man  but  breathes  300  grains  of  carbon  per  hour, 
whilst  when  he  is  working  hard  at  the  treadmill,  3,00a  The 
result  of  th«  calculations  must  be,  that  the  chief  agent  of  heat 
and  force  is  hydrocarbon,  and  that  nitrogenous  matter  goes  to 
replace  muscles :  that  muscles  do  not  decay  or  oxidise  during 
working,  but  afterwards ;  and  that  nitrogenous  matter  comes 
from  f(X)d,  and  not  from  worn-out  muscle.  The  nitrogen 
must  be  present,  there  can  be  little  doubt;  our  habits  neces- 
sitate our  eatinor  meat,  and  the  beet  example  of  this  fiact  is, 
that  a  party  oi*  Hindoos  who  commenced  to  make  a  line  of 


[EngUdlBdltlon,yoLZVIL,Na  4aQ,p^     «afl9«l 


136 


F(n'eign  Science. 


/Obbocal  Vtci 
1    MmnSk^Vm. 


rail  were  obliged  to  dispense  with  the  laws  of  their  caste^  and 
live  like  English  navigators  to  enable  them  to  complete  the 
work.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  to6  rich  nitrogenous 
food  produces  force,  and  that  a  nation  of  meat-eaters  are  more 
pugnacious  than  one  of  vegetable  or  carbon  eaters.  A  brief 
review  was  then  taken  of  the  functions  of  fat,  starchy  and 
saccharine  matters,  saline  substances,  and  those  beverages  we 
are  accnstomed  to  indulge  in  at  meal  times,  the  lecture  being 
concluded  with  a  consideration  of  the  question,  what  amount 
of  work  an  average  man  can  do  in  a  day  ?  The  answer, 
based  upon  a  comparison  of  the  previous  calculations  under- 
taken to  show  the  work  done  by  the  two  professors  whilst 
ascending  the  mountain,  being  that  the  average  work  a  man 
is  capable  of  performing,  provided  he  is  properly  fed,  is 
10,000  lbs.  lifted  X  foot  high.  In  the  inquiry,  however,  we 
learn  this,  that  a  man*s  external  force  is  but  the  ^th  portion  of 
tlie  whole  foi^  he  possesses,  and  that  an  ordinary  lo-horse 
steam  engine  will  do  the  sajme  amount  of  work  at  a  cost  of 
5d.  per  hour,  whereas  the  expense  incurred  by  using  a  man 
would  be  £2  sterling. 

FOREIGN   SCIENCE. 


Paris,  Jan.  i,  1868. 
Ntw  mineraU  aeoompanying  cryoUU, — FluosdUt  of  antimony 

and  arsenic, — Freparaiion  of  indium. — Electrical  jeweU, — 

EsHnuUion  of  nicotine  in  tobcuxo. 
Ahonq  the  many  valuable  and  very  interesting  researches 
that  have  recently  been  made  in  organic  chemistry  in  this 
portion  of  the  scientific  world,  there  are  some  interesting 
fiicts  in  mineral  chemistry  for  your  correspondent  to  mention. 
M.  Hagemann  has  discovered  two  minerals  accompanying 
cryolite,  they  have  been  named  by  him  dimetric  pachnoliie 
and  arksuUte.  The  fir^t  resembles  the  pachnolite  described 
by  M.  Knofs :  it  occurs  in  prisms  or  in  quadrangular  pyra- 
mids, cleavable  iu  the  direction  of  the  base,  of  a  pinkish  white 
colour  and  very  brilliant.  Its  density  is  from  2  74  to  276, 
and  its  hardness  the  same  as  cryolite.  Sulphuric  acid  easily 
attacks  it.  The  specimen  analysed  contained  2  per  cent,  of 
silica,  which  M.  Hagemann  considers  foreign  to  the  composi- 
tion of  the  mineral,  to  which  he  assigns  the  formula, 

Al,Fl|+2(|Ca+iNa)Fl+2H0 

ArkmHte  is  granular,  white,  and  crystalline,  and,  like  the 
other  mineral,  very  brilliant.  Its  density  is  from  3*03  to  j^'iy ; 
its  hardness  is  equal  to  cryolite.  At  a  dull  red  heat  it  mses, 
without  loss  of  water.  Analysis  gave  numbers  correspond- 
ing to  the  formula  2(Ga,Na)Fl+Al9Flt.  These  two  minerals 
occur  at  Arksut-Fiord  in  South  Greenland,  and  are  probably 
the  result  of  the  decomposition  of  cryolite. 

M.  Marignac  has  made  an  elaborate  research  upon  the 
fluosalts  of  antimony  and  arsenic;  some  of  his  results  will 
be  mentioned  in  a  future  letter. 

M.  Richter  has  published  a  method  of  extracting  indium 
from  sine ;  the  rare  element  occurs  in  blende.  The  zinc  is 
dissolved  in  sulphuric  or  hydrochloric  acid,  and  the  residue, 
which  is  composed  of  zinc,  indium,  and  other  metals,  is 
treated  with  nitric  acid.  The  solution  is  evaporated  with 
sulphurid  acid,  diluted,  and  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen gas  passed  through.  The  indium  is  almost  completely 
precipitated  with  the  cadmium  and  copper.  The  precipitate 
is  dissolved  in  hydrochloric  acid,  and  precipitated  by  ammo- 
nia. By  repeating  the  process  several  times  the  whole  of  the 
zinc  and  cadmium  is  separated.  Finally,  the  small  quantity 
of  iron  still  mixed  with  the  indium  is  removed  by  a  partial 
precipitation  with  ammonia  and  carbonate  of  soda.  Indium 
is  obtained  by  reducing  the  oxide ;  this  may  be  effected  by 
heating  in  a  current  of  hydrogen  gas,  or  by  the  power  of  a 
voltaic  battery. 

A  curious  application  of  electricity  has  been  made  by  a 
jeweller  in  the  Rue  Ther^  M.  Trouv^  He  makes  scarf- 
pins,  eta,  with  heads  upon  them  which  at  the  will  of  the 


wearer  move  their  eyes.  They  are  delighting  fiehioDable 
Paris.  The  electro-motor  is  usually  carried  in  the  waistooit 
pocket  It  is  formed  of  one  couple,  either  zinc  and  caitoo  or 
zinc  a)id  platinum.  The  carbon  is  fixed  in  the  vessel  which 
holds  the  exciting  liquid — a  saturated  solution  of  solpbtte  of 
mercury*— there  being  an  outer  case  in  which  this  vessel  ii 
placed.  The  zinc  is  fixed  to  the  lid  of  the  case,  and  does  not 
plunge  into  the  liquid,  which  only  fills  the  lower  half  of  the 
vessel.  So  long  therefore  as  the  apparatus  is  in  an  erect 
position,  there  is  no  action,  but  when  placed  horizontally  the 
current  is  formed.  The  whole  apparatus  makes  a  little  cm 
of  the  most  trifling  size.  A  scarf-pin  with  electro-motor  ml 
connections,  tests  from  60  francs  upwards. 

A  process  for  the  estimation  of  the  nicotine  oontaiDed  in 
tobacco  has  been  devised  by  M.  Liecke.  He  exhausts  the 
dry  tobacco  leaves  with  water  acidulated  with  sulphuric  add, 
renewing  the  water  three  times,  and  evaporates  the  solution 
just  to  the  consistence  of  an  extract  This  extract  is  treated 
with  an  equal  volume  of  alcohol,  the  alcoholic  solution  fil- 
tered, and  the  residue  washed  with  alcohoL  The  alooholie 
solution  contains  all  the  nicotine  as  sulphate.  The  solution 
is  evaporated,  and  the  residue  obtained  from  it  decompoeed 
by  caustic  potash  in  a  retort  heated  by  oil  to  260'  C,  the 
nicotine  being  received  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid. 


Pabib,  Jax.  8, 1S6S. 
FtwfsaHa  of  anUmony  and  anmie-^Ldection  of  taikm  » 

qymint'^New  reaction  for  aikaUee  and  aUuluie  earOn^ 

Method  of  eatamaUng  euipJutr  in  iron. 
So  many  contradictory  conclusions  have  been  arrived  it 
by  different  investigators  with  regard  to  the  flnorine  con- 
pounds,  that  English  chemists  will  have  noticed  with  pieae- 
ure  the  mention  made  in  my  last  letter  of  M.  Marignae^  re- 
search. The  former  researches  of  this  diemist  on  the 
fluorides  of  niobium  and  tantalum  led  to  the  condusiontittt 
they  contained  five  atoms  of  fluorine.  It  appeared  to  him 
interesting  to  study  the  analogous  combinations  wfaicfa  anti* 
meny  and  arsenic  seemed  capable  of  forming;  The  hops  of 
meeting  in  these  compounds  relations  isomorphoos  with  the 
fluoniobates  and  fluotantalates  has  not  been  realised:  the 
question,  however,  still  remains  somewhat  unoertaiB,  hj 
reason  of  the  very  restricted  number  of  flnantinxniitea 
and  fluarseniates  which  it  is  possible  to  obtain  well  oyital* 
Used. 

The  antimonic  fluoride  M.  Karignac  has  sot  been  this  to 
obtain  crystaUised ;  its  solution,  evaporated  qaickly  in  ttt 
cold,  becomes  syrupy.  If  heated,  it  deoompoees,  fbmiDgi 
white  insoluble  deposit,  which  is  probably  an  ozyflaoridB. 
By  adding  potash,  soda,  or  ammonia  to  ^e  acid  solutioQ  of 
this  fluoride  and  concentrating,  crystals  may  be  obtained. 
These  fluantimoniates  are  deliquescent  Neither  adds  nor 
alkalies  precipitate  their  solutions.  The  •nraMnA  cuboniles, 
after  a  considerable  time,  cause  a  precipitate  in  tiie  ooU- 
speedily  upon  boiling.  The  crystaUised  salts  dissdEved  ia 
water  exhale  the  odour  of  hydrofluoric  aoid ;  by  dissdvhic 
and  evaporating  repeatedly,  several  of  these  salts  psss  into 
the  state  of  fluoxyantimoniates.  IC.  ICar^inac  has  mij 
studied  the  alkaline  fluantimoniates,  nothsving  beenaUeto 
obtain  the  others  crystallised.  The  fbUowing  is  the  analTtieal 
process  adopted  :•— The  water  is*  determined  by  caldnatioa 
with  pure  anhydrous  protoxide  of  lead.  For  the  estimaliQB 
of  the  antimony  and  alkaline  metal  sulphuric  add  is  addad 
in  excess,  and  heat  appHed  until  the  whole  of  the  hTdn- 
fluoric  add  is  expeUed.  Flouride  of  antimony  is  not  disefr 
gaged  under  these  drcumstances.  The  reridue  is  ssspended 
in  water,  and  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hy^xigen  passed 
through  the  mUky  fluid.  It  is  Jiecessarj  to  digest  A  find 
with  the  reagent  for  a  long  time  before  filtering.  Hie  ass- 
mony  is  determined  in  the  sulphide  coUected,  and  tbefittMvd 
solution  is  evaporated,  ignitec^  and  the  alkatineBalpbato  oh- 
tabled,  weighed. 

The  fluorine  in  these  compounds  must  be  estimslied,  il 


[BiigUdiBdttkin,y6LZVIL,iro.4a((,pag«59;  Ho.  dSS,  page  8 ;  Ntf.  423^  page  2S.] 


Foreign  Science. 


137 


least  approximatelj,  to  disttnguish  the  fluantimoniates  firom 
the  fli^ozjantiinoniates.  The  following  is  the  method  which 
K.  Marignac  employs  to  effect  this ;  he  is  aware  the  results 
it  gives  are  not  quite  satisfactory : — A  solutioD  of  pure  sulp- 
hjdrate  of  sulphide  of  calcium  is  prepared  hj  passing  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  gas  into  pure  milk  of  lime.  For  the 
analysis  of  i  gramme  of  fluoealt  the  lime  required  is  ob- 
tained by  the  ignition  of  2  grammes  of  pure  carbonate  of 
lime.  ThQ  filtered  solution  of  the  calcium  sulphide  is  mixed 
with  the  solution  of  the  fluantimoniatCf  and  i  gramme  of 
pure  carbonate  of  potash  is  added.  A  precipitate  of  fluoride 
of  calcium  and  carbonate  of  lime  results,  the  alkaline  sulph- 
antimoniate  remaining  in  solution.  The  precipitate  is 
treated  by  the  method  of  H.  Rose  for  the  determination  of 
the  weight  of  the  fluoride  of  calcium.  The  solution  can  be 
precipitated  by  dilute  add,  and  the  antimony  determined 
again. 

Monopotassic  flnantimoniate  is  obtained  by  dissolving  an- 
timonlate  of  potash  in  hydrofluoric  acid,  and  concentratmg 
the  solution.  It  is  anhydrous,  and  possesses  the  composi- 
tion SbFl»,  EFL 

Bipotassic  flnantimoniate  is  produced  when  a  solution  of 
the  preceding  salt  is  added  to  an  excoss  of  fluoride  of  potas- 
mum.  It  forms  shining  crystals;  heated  to  90**,  they  (Use 
in  their  water  of  crystallisation ;  becoming  dry .  they  lose 
water  and  hydrofluoric  acid.  The  residue  is  not  entirely 
soluble  in  water,  a  gummy  substance  romaining  which  re- 
tains fluorine.    Analysis  leads  to  the  formula 

SbFle,  2EFl+2HsO. 

Monosodic  fluoxyantimoniate  is  obtained  on  adding  car- 
bonate of  soda  to  a  solution  of  antimonic  fluoride  containing 
excess  of  hydrofluoric  acid.  By  concentration,  the  solution 
yields  little  crystals  which  are  regular  hexahedral  prisms, 
terminated  sometimes  by  a  very  acute  rhombohedron,  some- 
times by  a  six-sided  pyramid.  The  salt  is  very  deliquescent 
The  determination  of  the  antimony,  sodium,  fluorine,  and 
water  yielded  numbers  closely  agreeing  with  the  formula 
8bOFl,+NaFl+H,0. 

Monosodic  flnantimoniate  results  from  the  solution  of  the 
preceding  salt-in  hydrofluoric  acid.  Crystals  are  deposited 
iiI>on  concentrating,  which  at  flrst  sight  would  appear  to 
be  cubes.  They  possess  the  property  of  double  refVaction. 
The  composition  of  the  salt  is  expressed  by  the  formula 
SbFle,  NaFL 

Monammonio  fluantimoniate  forms  slightly  deliquescent 
acicular  crystals — ^hexagonal  prisms  terminated  by  rhombo- 
hedrons.  Analysis  showed  this  salt  to  contain  no  water  of 
crystallisation ;  the  numbers  obtained  agree  with  the  formula 
SbFl»,  NH4FI  By  adding  to  a  solution  of  this  compound 
ammonic  fluoride  in  excess,  and  evaporating,  rectangular 
plates  are  obtained  which  are  the  biammonio  fluantimoniate. 
Analysis  leads  to  the  formula 

,  2(SbPl.,  2NH4Fl)-hHaO. 

M.  Marignac  finds  the  floarseniates  to  be  even  more  soluble 
than  the  fluantimoniates,  and  more  difficult  to  obtain  in  the 
crystalline  state.  The  ammoniacal  salts  are  only  obtainable 
as  gum-like  masses.  Sulphuretted  hydrogen  decomposes 
the  floarseniates,  but  only  slowly.  At  the  end  of  two  days 
the  precipitation  is  not  complete.  They  may  be  analysed  by 
a  method  similar  to  that  indicated  for  the  fluantimoniates. 
No  loss  of  arsenic  is  sustained  in  heating  with  sulphuric 
add  under  redness.  These  salts  are  capable  of  preserva- 
tion in  the  dry  state,  but  their  solutions  evolve  hydrofluoric 
acid,  and  then  furnish  by  concentration  fluoxyarseniates. 
Konopotassiofluarseniate  is  obtained  by  dissolving  arseniate 
of  potash  in  hydrofluoric  add.  It  crystallises  out  upon  oon- 
oentrsting  the  solution.  Analytical  results  correspond  with 
iheform^ 

2(AsFlk,  KFl)  +  H,0. 

Upoif  heating,  water  and  hydrofluoric  add  are  disengaged. 


When  arseniate  of  potash  is  dissolved  in  an  insuffident 
quautity  of  hydrofluoric  add,  the  corresponding  fluoxyarse- 
niate  is  formed ;  it  may  also  be  obtained  by  acting  repeatedly 
upon  the  preceding  compound  with  water.  The  (x>mposition 
is  expressed  by  the  formula  AsOFlt,  ElFl  +  H9O.  Heated 
in  a  tube  it  melts. easily,  evolving  hydrofluoric  add  vapours 
abundantiy.  Bipotassic  fluarseniate  results  when  excess  of 
fluoride  of  potassium  and  hydrofluoric  acid  are  added  to  a 
solution  of  tiie  monopotassic  fluoxyarseniata  Analysis  yield- 
ed numbers  agreeing  with  the  formula  AsFl^,  2KFI  +  H9O. 
Bipotassic  fluoxyarseniate  is  produced  when  the  preceding 
salt  is  submitted  to  repeated  solution  and  evaporation  ,•  it  is 
also  formed  when  neutral  fluoride  of  potassium  is  added  to 
a  solution  of  monopotassic  fluoxyarseniate.  Analy£s  leads 
to  the  formula  AssOFl8,4KFl  +  sHaO. 

Mr.  Boettger  has  discovered  a  reaction  of  great  sensitive- 
ness for  alkalies  and  alkaline  earths.  He  flnds  an  alcoholic 
extract  of  the  leaves  of  the  ornamental  plant  known  as 
Coleus  VerachaffelU,  possesses  the  property  of  becoming 
green  under  the  influence  of  alkalies.  To  prepare  this  re- 
agent, the  IVesh  leaves  are  agitated  with  absolute  alcohol 
mixed  with  a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  add,  and  left  digesting 
for  24  hours;  paper  soaked  in  the  tincture  becomes  red,  and 
strips  of  this  paper  are  the  media  of  applying  the  test  This 
reagent  is  not  influenced  by  carbonic  add,  so  that  the  earthy 
carbonates  contained  in  water  may  be  detected  with  it.  The 
sensitiveness  of  the  reagent  is  so  great  that  a  strip  of  the 
test-paper  presented  to  a  jet  of  coal  gas  speedily  becomes 
green  &om  the  presence  of  ammonia. , 

M.  Parrot  has  indicated  a  method  of  detecting  the  pres- 
ence of  salidne  in  the  sulphate  of  quinine.  In  effecting 
^this  he  takes  advantage  of  the  action  of  chromic  acid  on 
salicine ;  by  his  process  a  quantity  as  small  as  i  per  cent,  is 
discovered.  To  make  the  examination,  the  quinine  salt  is 
introduced  with  a  little  water  into  a  flask,  2  ac.  of  sulphuric 
acid,  diluted  with  4  parts  of  water,  are  added,  and  4  c.c.  of  a 
concentrated  solution  of  bichromate  of  potash.  To  the  flask 
is  fltted  a  curved  tube  which  dips  into  a  few  grammes  of 
distilled  water  contained  in  the  littie  flask  serving  as  re- 
ceiver. Heat  is  applied;  at  the  end  of  three  or  four 
minutes^  hydride  of  salicyle  is  produced  which  distils.  By 
adding  to  the  water  in  the  flask  a  few  drops  of  solution  of 
perchloride  of  iron,  a  more  or  less  deep  violet  colour  is  de- 
veloped. 

M.  Eggertz  has  published  a  paper  on  a  method  of  esti- 
mating sulphur  in  Iron  and  its  ores.  This  paper  is  one  of 
great  practical  value,  and  your  correspondent  is  engaged  in 
making  a  fkill  translation  which  you  will  receive  shortly ;  it 
is,  therefore,  unnecessary  to  outline  the  process  in  this 
place.  M.  Kopp  prefaced  it  by  a  few  sentences  eulogising 
M.  Eggertz's  services  in  the  improvement  of  the  quantita- 
tive methods  of  analysing  iron. 


Pabis,  Jan.  14,  1868. 
Voubte  Suiphooyanide  of  Ghronwum-^Osone  and  Antaione^ 

Bjcpaimeniai  demomtraUotk 
An  extended  series  of  compounds,  which  may  be  termed 
chromo-snlphocyanides,  has  been  obtained  by  M.  Boesler. 
This  chemist  flnds,  in  the  flrst  place,  that  when  concen- 
trated solutions  of  6  parts  of  sulphocyanide  of  potassium 
and  5  parts  of  chrome  alum  are  mixed,  the  violet  colour 
gradually  passes  to  a  wine  red;  heat  quidrens  the  reaction. 
The  solution  filtered  from  the  sulphates  which  have  been 
predpitated  by  alcohol,  and  evaporated  just  to  crystallisa- 
tion, yields  sulphocyanide  of  chromium  and  potassium. 
It  may  be  purified  by  recrystalllsation  from  alcohol  The 
salt  crystallises  in  deep  coloured  quadrilateral  prisms, 
almost  black ;  seen  by  transparent  light,  they  are  of  a  ruby- 
red  colour.  They  are  not  altered  by  the  air ;  submitted  to 
heat  they  become  very  dark  coloured,  but  during  cooling 
take  a  fine  red  tint.  At  1 10*  the  water  of  crystaUisation  is 
driven  off,  the  salt  becoming  opaque :  at  a  more  elevated 


[Bnglidi  Edition,  VdLZVIL,  No.  423,  pagM  22,  23;  Vo.  ^^4,  pafo  32.] 


138 


Foreign  Soimce. 


( CmancAL  ITicwl 
1     Marek^tM. 


temperature  it  is  decomposed.    This  salt  dissolyes  in  72 
parts  of  water  and  '49  parts  of  alcohoL 

Sulphopyanide  of  chromium  and  potassium  is  not  affected 
\>j  sulphide  of  ammonium  nor  carbonated  alkalies,  eyen 
upon  boiling.  A  dilute  solution  does  not  change  in  the 
cold,  but  sesquioxide  of  chromium  is  deposited  upon  beat- 
ing. Ammonia  only  destroys  the  combination  after  ebul- 
lition. Weak  hydrochloric  acid  has  no  action  in  the  cold, 
but  upon  heating  there  is  decomposition.  When  to  a 
concentrated  solution  of  the  sidt,  concentrated  hydrochlo- 
ric acid  is  added,  chloride  of  potassium  is  separated,  a 
yellow  powder  adhering  which  contains  much  sulphur ; 
this  pulverulent  matter  appears  to  be  persulphocyanic 
acid.  When  the  potassium  salt  is  evaporated  T^dth  hydro- 
chloric acid,  there  is  coitfplete  decomposition,  with  formation 
of  chlorides  of  chromium  and  potassium. 

Sulphocyanide  of  diromium  and  potassium  does  not  pre- 
cipitate the  solutions  of  the  alkaline  earths,  nor  those  of 
cadmium,  cobalt,  nickel  zinc,  maganese,  and  iron.  With 
sulphate  of  copper  the  red  colour  passes  into  violet  blue. 
After  the  lapse  of  some  time,  oxide  of  copper  is  deposited. 
If  heated,  it  is  formed  more  rapidly. 

Mercuric  salts  cause  a  voluminous  red  precipitate  which 
collects  upon  ebullition;  it  dissolves  but  little  in  nitric 
add.  Mercurous  salts  give  a  yellow  precipitate,  changing 
.  into  greenish  brown ;  nitric  acid  oxidises  tills  compound  to 
the  red  one  described  above.  The  salts  of  tin  slowly  give 
rise  to  a  white  precipitate.  The  sulphocyanide  of  chromium 
and  ammonium  has  been  formed.  It  resembles  the  preceding 
compound  crystallographically  and  chemically.  It  is  pre- 
pared in  a  similar  manner.  Sulphocyanide  of  chromium 
and  sodium  is  obtained  by  dissolving  oxide  of  chromium  in 
sulphuric  acid  and  adding  sulphocyanide  of  sodium.  The 
mixture  is  boiled  for  some  time,  and  on  cooling,  tiie  sulphates 
are  deposited.  Alcohol  is  added,  which  dissolves  the  double 
sulphoc7anide.  The  salt  crystallises  in  small  plates;  it  is 
deliquescent  In  an  atmosphere  dried  by  sulphuric  acid  it 
loses  water  and  falls  to  a  powder  of  a  dear  red  colour.  At 
1 1 00  the  water  of  crystallisation  is  driven  off,  no  further  al- 
teration being  induced  at  this  temperature.  With  reagents 
it  manifests  less  stability  than  the  salts  already  described. 
Sulphocyanide  of  chromium  and  barium  is  obtained  by  dis- 
solving oxide  of  chromium  in  hydrochloric  add,  removing 
the  excess  of  hydrochloric  add  by  evaporation,  and  decom- 
posing with  sulphocyanide  of  barium.  It  is  separated 
from  chloride  of  barium  by  crystallisation.  This  salt  crys- 
tallises in  short  four-sided  prisms ;  it  is  deliquescent. 

The  barium  salt  furnishes  double  sulphocyauides  by  de- 
composition with  the  sulphates.  A  number  of  other  metal- 
lic sulphocyauides  have  also  been  combined  with  sulpho- 
cyanide of  chromium.  The  sulphocyauides  of  silver,  lead, 
and  zinc  have  been  combined  in  this  way. 

All  attempts  to  separate  chromo-sulphocyanic  add  failed ; 
but  M.  BoBsler  has  found  that  in  the  decomposition  of  a 
solution  of  the  lead  or  silver  salt  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
an  add  liquid  of  a  deep  red  colour  is  obtained,  which  he 
thinks  undoubtedly  contains  the  acid. 

An  exi>eriment  of  M.  Schdnbein's,  illustrating  the  simul- 
taneous formation  of  ozone  and  antozone,*is  said  to  be  the 
following: — Into  a  flask  of  500  c.  c.  capadty,  and  3  or  4 
centimetres  in  diameter  across  the  nedc,  a  little  ether  is 
poured,  just  enough  to  cover  the  bottom,  and  a  spiral  of  red 
hot  platinum  is  plunged  into  the  vapours.  It  is  necessary 
to  avoid  heating  the  flask  too  strongly.  The  platinum  glows 
until  all  the  ethor  has  been  destroyed.  The  experiment  is 
repeated  two  or  three  times,  and  now  the  question  is  to  de- 
monstrate that  both  ozone  and  antozone  are  formed  in  this 
slow  oxidation  of  the  ether.  The  first  is,  of  course,  easily 
shown  to  be  present  by  means  of  the  iodide  of  potassium  and 
starch  paper.  To  show  the  presence  of  antozone,  the  flask 
is  rinsed  with  a  small  quantity  of  ether,  which  wiU  then  be 
auffidently  charged  with  peroxide  of  hydrogen,  to  give 
dearly  the  perchromio  add  reaction.  Some  solution  of 
bichromate  of  potash  is  placed  in  a  test  tube,  and  a  drop  of 


sulphuric  add  added,  the  ether  with  whidi  the  flask  has 
been  rinsed  is  then  poured  in,  when  the  etherial  layer  be- 
comes coloured  a  beautifVil  violet  blue.  The  condusion  to 
be  arrived  at  from  this  experiment  is,  that  during  the  fonni- 
tion  of  ozone,  antozone  is  also  formed — ^this  in  the  presenoo 
of  water,  being  converted  into  proxide  of  hydrogen. 


PAsn,  Jiir.  28, 186S. 
Science  in  the  prisons. — The  gaUic  fermentatiofi. — Spectra  0/ 
flames  isming  from  furnaces, — Action  of  fks  AlkaHne  Sili- 
cates on  ^molecular  (heory. 
As  showing  an  advantage,  unrecognised,  perbapsi,  by  manj, 
of  living  under  enlightened  rulers  in  a  country  where 
chemical  science  is  appredated,  the  mention  of  a  straDge 
fact  related  in  one  of  the  scientific  journals  may  find  place 
here.  .  1  he  narrator  visiting  a  prison  asked  his  guide,  are  the 
prisoners  well  nourished?  **  Mon  Dieu,  Monsieur,*^  the  maa 
replied,  *'  the  bill  of  fare  for  each  day  has  been  prepared  bj 
a  spedal  commission,  33  per  cent  nitrogenous  matter,  27 
albuminoid,  15  of  gelatin,  18  of  fibrin,  7  of  hydrated  mat- 
ter." The  guide  also  informed  him  that  each  prisoner  bad, 
besides,  the  right  to  10  cubic  metres  of  respirable  air,  10,000 
litres  1 

Some  account  of  M.  Van  Tieghem's  memoir  on  the  gallic         | 
fermentation,  presented  to  the  Academy  of  SdeoceB,ba8         | 
been  promised  for  these  columns.     M.  Van  Tieghem  bai         j 
treated  the  subject  elaborately.    At  the  outset  he  ailades  to         { 
the  diverse  opinions  which  have  been  expreased  with  regiid 
to  the  causes,  besides  the  oxygen  of  the  atmoBpbene,  wbicb 
lead  to  the  transformation  of  tannin  into  gallic  add.    One 
opinion  attributes  this  result  to  a  slow  oxidation,  and  to  tbe 
pre-existence  of  a  soluable  ferment;  and  some  have  admitted, 
while  othera  have  denied,  the  presence  of  sugar  in  the  pro- 
ducts. 

1.  Tannin  does  not  undergo  tbe  metamorphosis  wben 
protected  from  the  atmosphere.  If  a  series  of  flaaks  be  | 
fllled  entirely  with  a  solution  of  tannin  or  a  filtered  in- 
fusion of  nut-galls,  and  placed  in  vacuo  for  24  boun,  then 
saturated  with  carbonic  add,  carefully  corked  and  betted, 
and  finally  sealed  while  hot,  the  solution  will  remain  un- 
changed for  any  length  of  time.  The  transformation  of  tan- 
nin into  gallic  add  is  not,  then,  due  to  the  pre-ezisteBoe  of  a 
soluble  ferment . 

2.  Tannin  does  not  undergo  metamorphosis  by  sio^pleooa- 
tact  with  tbe  air. 

A  solution  of  tannin  introduced  into  a  seriaof  flasks  drawn 
out  at  the  neck  and  curved,  boiled  for  some  minutes,  aad  left 
in  a  quiet  place  at  a  temperature  of  about  25**  C,  will  remain 
unchanged  for  any  length  of  time. 

3.  For  tannin  to  undergo  the  metamorphosis  tbe  devdop* 
ment  of  a  species  of  fungus  in  the  solution  ia  essential  aad 
sufficient.  The  gases  composing  the  atmosphere  alone  eifoci 
no  change,  but  the  atmosphere  carries  to  the  solution  spores 
and  these  require  for  their  germination  oxygen.  Under 
these  influences  the  tannin  splits  up  into  gallic  add  and  g^ 
dose,  the  elements  of  water  becoming  fixed.  When  the 
transformation  is  complete,  the  whole  of  the  galic  add  indi- 
cated by' theory  is  found,  but  the  gloooae  is  always  in  ksi 
and  somewhat  variable  proportion ;  tbe  vegetation  aasimihteB 
a  part  of  it  Thus  the  sugar  from  from  tbe  tannin  fumialMB 
tbe  hydrocarbon  aliments  necessary  to  vegetable  life,  for 
the  reaction  described  to  take  place,  tbe  plant  mnat  be  de- 
veloped in  tbe  interior  of  the  solution ;  if  only  developed  oa 
the  surface,  the  amount  of  vegetation  germinated  is  iauMDae^ 
greater,  but  the  reaction  then  ukes  quite  a  difierent  fonn.  Laife 
quantities  of  carbonic  add  are  exhaled,  and  from  a  concea- 
trated  solution  only  a  amall  quantity  of  gallio  add  and  tnea 
of  sugar  remain  after  a  few  days'  exposuieu  It  reaaaiBS  to 
be  shown  that  the  fungus,  during  development  and  life^spliia 
up  the  tannin,  and  that  the  change  is  not  tlie  result  of  soh^ 
principle  secreted  by  the  latter,  capable  of  acting  withoat 
the  organism.    To  establish  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  ioim- 


[English  Edition,  Vol  ZVIL,ira  424^  pages  32,  33;  No.  496;  page  fi&] 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


139 


dnoe  into  a  solutioD  of  tannin  some  of  the  vegetation  fVom 
an  active  fermentation,  and  exclude  the  air  as  in  the  first  ex- 
periment The  fang:us  developed  is  that  known  as  the  Pent- 
cittmmglauct4M  or  the  Aspergilltu  niger» 

The  Austrian  Professor,  M.  Liele^,  has  tnade  pome  obser- 
vations with  the  flames  coming  from  furnaces  in  which  iron 
is  worked  solely  bj  the  Bessemer  process.  This  flame  is  car- 
bonic oxide  in  a  state  of  incandescence.  The  appearance 
and  disappearance  of  spectral  lines  mark  the  progress  of  the 
matallurgical  oprations.  At  the  moment  when  the  decarbu- 
riaation  of  the  iron  commences,  and  when  it  has  reached  the 
propper  limits  these  lines  seem  essential  modifications.  The 
appearance  of  a  group  of  lines  and  of  one  distinct  line  at  the 
violet  end,  marks  an  important  stage  during  the  formation 
of  malleable  iron ;  these  lines  disappear  sooner  than  any  of 
the  others,  this  effect  taking  place  within  the  last  five  min- 
ntss  of  the  operation,  so  that  thej  serve  to  denote  the  ter- 
mination. 

The  action  of  the  alkaline  silicates  on  the  animal  economy 
has  been  studied  by  M.  Husson.  His  experiments  were  made 
upon  dogs.  Solutions  of  silicate  of  sodium  were  administered 
to  them ;  they  were  aflerwards  killed,  and  the  organs  sub- 
mitted to  chemical  examination.  These  are  some  of  the  re- 
sults M.  I^usson  has  arrived  at  The  alkaline  silicates  given 
in  quantity  so  minute,  that  the  contents  of  the  stomach  re- 
main acid  are  completely  decomposed,  the  same  is  the  case 
when  they  are  in  very  dilute  solution :  the  intestinal  juices  are 
unable  to  redissolve  the  silica.  It  follows  that  the  alkaline 
silicates  can  only  enter  into  the  blood  when  administered  in 
iufflcient  quantity  to  be  alkaline  in  the  small  intestine. 
Traces  only  are  found  in  the  blood.  "So  deposit  forms  in  the 
brain,  the  liver,  tiie  bile,  or  the  bones ;  but  the  muscles  con- 
tain appreciable  quantities  of  precipitated  silica,  as  does  the 
spleen.  By  (hr,  however,  the  largest  quantity  of  silica  is 
precipitated  in  the  urine  as  silicic  acid  and  silicate  of  lime.  M. 
Husson  explains  the  precipttatton  in  the  muscles  as  being  due 
to  the  acid  developed  during  exertion,  biphosphate  of  sodium 
playing  the  same  part  in  causing  the  urinary  deposit  The 
symptoms  produced  are^turbidity  in  the  urine,  difficulty  in 
passing  the  same,  and  congestion  of  the  kidneys. 


REPORTS  OF  SOOIETIBS. 


ACADEMY  OF  SOIENCEa 

DlOEMBER   16,  1867. 
(FrOH  our  own  Ck)RRBSPOin>ENT  ) 

CapiBary  Aeium—'Solar  SpoU — Synthesis  of  nevrine — Adion 
of  kypochlorous  add  on  essence  of  turpentine  and  ceamohor 
—  Volumetric  estimation  of  nitrogen —  Gallie  fermeniatton— 
AmalgaanaMon  of  voltaic  pile*. 
At  the  meeting  held  on  the  i6th  December,  besides  the  me- 
moirs, of  which  abstracts  are  given  in  this  letter,  there  was  a 
note  relating  to  a  particular  effect  of  capillary  action,  from  M. 
Definia;  and  from  M.  Kirchhoff  a  communication  on  solar 
spots.  M.  Wuriz  presented  a  memoir  entitled,  SyntJiesis  of 
Nevrine^*  this  will  doubtless  possess  great  interest  for  scien- 
tific chemists.  If.  Adolph  Wurtz  has  in  fact  succeeded  in  the 
synthesis  of  one  of  the  proximate  principles  of  the  brain. 
M.  Uebrich  in  1865  obtained  from  the  brain  a  crystallisable 
definite  compound  containing  phosphorus  anjl  nitrogen,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  protagon.  By  acting  upon  this 
body  with  strong  baryta  water,  phosphoglycerio  acid,  and  a 
powerful  base  which  he  named  nevrine,  were  obtained.  M. 
Bayer  has  recently  demonstrated  that  nevrine  is  an  oxethy- 
lenic  base,  being  in  fact  hydrate  of  oxethyl-ammonium  in 
which  three  atoms  of  hydrogen  are  replaced  by  three  groups 
of  methyl ;  it  is  tiierefore  hydrate  of  oxethyl-trimethyl-am- 
moniufD. 
This  fact  led  M.  Wurts  to  suppose  that  the  synthesis  of 


*  M.  Worts  propoaaa  tha  word  Mvrlne  as  the  oorreot  translation  of 
tho  Oorman  neurina. 


nevrine  might  be  effected  by  treating  hydrate  of  oxethyl-am- 
monium (formed  by  acting  upon  ammonia  with  oxide  of 
ethylen)  with  iodide  of  methyl.  This  reaction  was  only 
partially  successful,  since' it  yielded  only  small  quantities  of 
the  base  in  a  state  of  purity.  M.  Wurtz  succeeded,  however, 
in  performing  a  beautiful  synthesis  by  another  process,  which 
he  has  indicated  for  the  preparation  of  oxethylenic  bases-- 
the  treatment  of  monochlorhydride  of  glycol  by  ammonia. 
The  chloride  of  the  base  nervine,  i.c,  the  chloride  of  oxe- 
thyl-tr\methyl-ammonium,  is  formed  by  the  direct  addition  of 
the  elements,  of  monc-chlorhydride  of  glycol  and  trimethyl- 
amine. 

CH    )  ^^*     1 

^"»  ^  0,H4iOH)  J 

5  grammes  of  trimethylamine  are  heated  in  a  sealefd  tube,  bv 
a  water  bath,  with  10  grammes  of  chlorhydride  of  glycol. 
At  tho  end  of  24  hours  the  tube  is  allowed  to  cool,  when 
beautiful  prismatk)  crystals,  perfectly  colourless,  make  their 
appearance.  The  crystals  dissolve  easily  in  boiling  absolute 
alcohol,  and  they  are  partially  deposited  on  cooling  from  con- 
centrated solutions.  £tber  predpitates  this  solution,  but  if 
the  liquid  contains  a  trace  of  water,  a  heavy  thwk  liquid  pre- 
cipitates instead.  The  crystals  are  chloride  of  oxethyl-trime* 
thyl-ammonium,  which  is  a  very  deliquescent  compound. 
When  to  a  solution  of  this  chloride  a  moderately  concentrated 
solution  of  chloride  of  gold  is  added,  a  precipitate  ^f  a  pure 
yellow  colour  is  formed,— the  double  chloride.  This  precipi- 
tate* baa  been  shown  by  M.  Bayer  to  be  chai^cteristic  of 
nevrine.  It  is  soluble  in  boiling  water,  tlie  solution  deposit^ 
ing  little  yellow  needles.  M.  Wurtz  has  compared  his  auro- 
chloride  prepared  from  the  artificial  nevrine  witb  the  com- 
pound obtained  fW>m  the  brain  substance.  The  crystals  of 
the  two  salts  under  the  microscope  exhibit  rhoroboidal  plates ; 
they  are  identical  save  in  the  size  of  the  crystals. 

A  solution  of  chloride  of  platinum  added  to  a  concentrated 
solution  of  chloride  of  oxethyl-trimethyl-ammonium,  causes 
no  precipitate,  and  no  crystals  are  deposited  upon  concentra- 
tion to  a  syrupy  consistence,  but  addition  of  alcohol  causes  a 
precipitate  which  by  analysis  gives  31-8  per  cent  of  platinum. 
The  formula, 

(CH,)i,(C,H40H)N,Cl  -H  PtOl, 

contains  31 '8  per  cent.  Pt 

Chloride  of  oxethyl-trimethyl-ammonmm  by  the  action  of 
moist  oxide  of  silver,  is  decomposed,  hydrate  of  oxethyl*. 
trimethyl-ammonium  being  set  free.  By  evaporating  the 
solution,  a  syrupy  liquid  is  obuiiied,  which  upon  heating 
evolves  a  strong  odour  of  ammonia. 

M.  Wurtz  thinks  that  the  mode  of  "formation,  and  the  ana- 
lyses he  has  made,  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  compound  being 
really  nevrine. 

The  eminent  author  of  the  preceding  paper  presented  a 
note,  by  M.  0.  G.  Wheeler,  on  the  action  of  aqueous  hypo-  , 
chlorous  acid  on  the  essence  of  turpentine  and  on  camphor. 

Essence  of  turpentine,  by  the  action  of  aqueous  hypochlo- 
rous  acid,  is  converted  into  a  yellow  viscous  liquid,  probably  • 
a  mixture  of  the  bi-  and  trichlorinated  compounds ;  at  the  same 
time  another  product  is  formed  which  is  retained  by  the 
water.  This  can  be  completely  separated  by  agitating  the 
aqueous  solution  with  ether,  in  which  it  is  very  soluble,  and 
separating  the  etherial  solution  and  distilling.  The  residue  is 
a  yellow  syrupy  substance,  neutral,  very  soluble  in  ether  and 
alcohol,  and  slightly  soluble  in  water.  Analysis  shows  this 
compound  to  be  Oi.H,»CI»0,.  This  chlorhydride  cannot  be 
distilled  without  decomposition,  hydrochloric  acid  is  lost  in  the 
operation.  Nitric  acid  oxidises  it,  producing  a  resinous  sub- 
stance. The  whole  of  the  chlorine  is  removed  with  great 
difficulty,  the  author  failed  when  acting  upon  it  with  sodium 
during  several  hours.  He  obtained  in  this  way  an  acid  which, 
appeared  to  have  the  composition  CioH,eO.,  but  the  quantity 
was  too  small  to  admit  of  a  decisive  examination. 

Camphor  added  little  by  little  to  hypochlorous  add  is  lique- 


(BiiSlialiBditiflii,yoLZVXL,]ra4a6^pacea5«,«7;  No.  422,  pagaa  8, ».] 


I40 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


fied  and  falls  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  Aller  a  time,  es- 
pecially if  agitated,  it  forms  a  solid  mass  presenting  the  ap- 
pearance ot  camphor  itself.  Bj  two  or  three  crystallisations 
From  alcohol,  this  product  may  be  obtained  pure.  It  is  mono- 
chlorinated  camphor  CioHisGlO,  and  is  formed  accordmg  to 
the  following  quotation : — 

CioHieO  +  ClHO=Ci«Hi.C10-fH,0. 

Mono  chlorinated  camphor  is  a  white  body,  indistinctly 
crystalline,  soluble  in  ether  and  in  alcohol,  and  nearly  inso- 
luble in  water ;  it  crystallises  much  better  from  aloohbl  con- 
taining' a  little  water,  than  fVom  absolute  alcohol. 

It  melts  at  95",  and  is  decomposed  at  a  temperature  ap- 
proaching 200**,  emitting  vapours  of  hydrochloric  acid. 

By  treating  mono-chlorinated«camphor  with  a  solution  of 
alcoholic  potash  at  a  temperature  approaching  80°  during  six 
or  eight  hours,  the  author  obtain^  products  containing  no 
chlorine ;  one  of  them  he  has  been  able  to  separate  with  cer- 
tainty, its  composition  is  OioHieOg.  It  is  isomorphous  with 
the  camphinic  add  of  M.  Berthelot  The  author  gives  to 
this  compound  the  name  Ozycamphor ;  it  crystallises  in  white 
needles,  soluble  in  alcohol,  and  insoluble  in  water;  it  fuses  at 
137**,  and  sublimes  without  decomposition,  yielding  fine 
crystals.    The  odour  resembles  that  of  camphor. 

M.  Prat,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Academy  on  the  25tb,  ad- 
dressed a  memoir  on  a  general  method  for  the  volumetric 
estin|ation  of  nitrogen  in  its  various  combinations,  and  on  a 
new  process  for  the  preparation  of  this  gas  in  a  state  of  purity 
in  laboratories.  M.  Van  Tieghem  sent  a  communication  upon 
the  Gallic  fermentation.  Your  correspondent  promisee  some 
account  of  these  in  a  future  letter.  There  was  also  a  note 
on  the  amalgamation  of  voltaic  piles  by  M.  Demance.  If  M. 
Demance  says  his  process  is  new,  one  might  justly  add,  query. 
The  process  is  simply,  the  placing  of  metallic  mercury  in  the 
cell,  when,  by  the  galvanic  current,  the  zinc  becomes  amal- 
gamated. The  explanation  of  the  manner  in  which  this  is 
effected,  as  given  by  him,  is  certainly  not  without  interest 
He  has  found  that  there  is  no  previous  conversion  of  the 
mercury  into  a  salt,  that  in  fact  the  action  is  nothing  else 
than  a  transference  of  metallic  mercury.  Furthermore,  the 
amalgamation  only  takes  place  under  the  influence  of  the 
current 


December  30,  1867. 

Th*  Mineral  WoodwardiU — Electrolyna  of  Tartaric  Acid^ 
Passage  of  Electric  Current*  Through  Incandescent  Gases — 
He-establishment  of  the  Voltaic  Arc 
The  memoirs  relating  to  chemistry  and  physics  brought 
before  tlie  Academy  of  Sciences  on  the  30ih  of  December, 
were  the  following : — **  On  the  Woodwardite  of  Cornwall,"  by 
M.  Pisani;  "Electrolysis  of  Tartaric  Acid,"  by  M.  Bourgoin; 
"  On  the  Passage  of  Electric  Currents  through  Incandescent 
Gases,"  by  U,  Becquerel ;  and  "  The  Spontaneous  re-£stabr 
liahment  of  the  Voltaic  Arc  after  an  Extinction  of  Short 
Duration,*'  by  M.  Le  Roux.  M.  Pisanilfcommeuced  by  refer- 
ring to  the  description  given  by  Mr.  Church  of  1  his  mineral, 
and  compared  an  analysis  by  this  chemist  with  his  own  ;  the 
numbers  only  differed  in  one  constituent,  viz^,  the  alumina, 
which  in  his  specimen  was  less  and  which  contained  silica; 
this  latter,  however,  was  in  sufficient  quantity  to  constitute  a 
silicate  with  the  alumina. 

He  also  gave  an  analysis  of  a  Cornish  mineral  resembling 
Woodwardite.  These  are  the  percentage  results: — Oxide  of 
copper,  17-4;  sulphuric  acid,  47;  alumina,  338;  silica,  67; 
water,  387,  The  greatest  difference,  as  shown  by  the 
analysis  between  this  mineral  and  Woodwardite,  is  in  the 
alumina.  M.  Pisani  observed  that  the  mineral  might  be  con- 
sidered as  a  mixture  of  Langite  with  a  very  basic  silicate  of 
alumina  analogous  to  Scarbroite  or  to  Schroetterite,  or  as  a 
mixture  of  LaQgite  with  a  hydrate  of  alumina  and  mixed 
wit  h  a  silicate  of  the  allophane  species.  He  does  not  imagine 
Woodwardite  to  be  a  new  species  of  mineral,  it  may  be  con- 


sidered as  composed  of  a  mixture  similar  to  the  new  mineial 
just  described. 

M.  Bourgoin's  memoir  is  a  continuation  of  his  reseandi  on 
the  electrolysis  of  organic  adds.  He  has  studied  the  aclioo 
of  the  current  upon  neutral  tartrate,  on  a  mixture  of  tartrate 
and  alkali,  lastly,  on  free  tartaric  acid.  To  examine  tbe 
fundamental  action  of  the  current  on  tartaric  acid,  a  coDoe&- 
trated  solution  of  the  neutral  tartrate  of  potash  is  oonvenimtlj 
operated  upon.  As  soon  as  the  current  paasea,  the  solntioo 
becomes  alkaline  at  the  negative  pole ;  only  a  moderate  dis- 
engagement of  gas  is  produced  at  the  two  poles.  The  prin- 
cipal result  is  the  formation  of  a  white  predpitatno,  which  ii 
slowly  but  continuously  deposited  from  the  positive  electrode. 
Analysis  shows  this  subsUnce  to  be  wholly  cream  of  tartar. 
The  solution  at  tbe  positive  pole  remains  neutral  during  the 
experiment  The  gas  evolved  at  the  positive  pole  was  com- 
poeed  of  carbonic  acid,  oxygen,  carbonic  oxide,  and  nitrogeo. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  loss  takes  place  at  the  poeitiTe  poki 
M.  Bourgoin  gives  the  following  equation  as  expressing  tbe 
flmdamental  action — 

CHAO,,  =  (O.H4O1.  +  0,)  4-  K,; 
this  seoondary  reaction  follows— 

C8H4O10  +  HaOa  =  C.H,0„. 

The  tartaric  acid  thus  regenerated  at  the  positive  pds 
forms  with  tbe  neutral  tartrate,  cream  of  tartar;  there  ia, 
however,  some  tartaric  acid  destroyed  by  oxidation.  The 
action  of  the  current  on  a  mixture  of  neutral  tartrate  and 
alkali  produces  quite  different  resulta  to  those  obtained  with 
neutral  tartrate  only,  notwithstanding  that  the  fundamental 
action  is  the  same.  At  the  positiTe  pole  a  mixture  of  car- 
bonic acid,  carbonic  oxide,  oxygen  and  hydride  of  ethylenis 
'  evolved.  M.  Berthelot  discovered  acetylen  also  in  the  sample 
of  the  gas  sent  him  by  M.  Bourgoin.  The  decompositioa  of 
free  tartaric  acid  yielded  the  same  producta  as  the  neutnl 
tartrate,  though  m  different  proportiona  The  carbonic  add 
is  the  dominant  product  from  the  first:  the  carbonic  oxide 
diminishes  as  the  experiment  proceeds ;  the  same  is  the  case 
with  the  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  though  to  a  less  extent 
Acetic  acid  is  formed  at  the  positive  pole.  After  the  fifth  dij 
the  experiment  had  been  in  progress,  the  solution  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  positive  pole  contains  a  large  quantity 
of  acetic  acid,  which  was  isolated  as  acetate  of  baryu.  The 
following  equations  explain  the  action  of  the  current  open 
free  tartaric  acid :  the  fundamental  reaction  taken  place  ti 
C6HaOia=(C.H40,.-*-0,)  +  H„  followed  hy  the  seoondtfy 
reaction— 

O.H40i.  +  0,  =  2Ca04-*-04H404. 

If.  Beoquerers  paper  referred  to  one  recently  contritated 
by  M.  Bouchotte,  who  has  observed  that  by  the  introdnctioB 
of  a  voltameter  of  acidulated  water  in  the  circuit  developed 
by  a  magneto-electric  apparatus,  producing  two  eeries  of 
alternating  currents,  these  may  be  made  to  give  place  to  ooe 
series,  or  to  currento  of  only  one  kind.  M.  Becquerel  devoted 
himself  chiefly  to  the  explanation  of  the  phenomenon. 

M.  Le  Roux  finds  that  resulta  in  regard  to  the  estabbab- 
ment  of  the  voltaic  arc,  similar  to  those  given  by  indoctioo 
currents,  may  be  obtained  with  the  ordinary  currents  from 
voltaic  piles.  With  a  nitric  acid  battery  of  50  elements,  the 
current  may  be  interrupted  for  a  time  which  may  extend  to 
about  i^^th  of  a  second,  and  then  leap  from  one  carbon  to  tbe 
other,  although  they  be  three  millimetres  apart 


Javuabt  6,  1868. 

On  the  molecular  theory  of  bodies. — JEhnployment  cf  the  Ekt- 
trie  light. — EstinuUion  of  small  quantities  of  peroxide  «/ 
hydrogen. — Action^  of  chloride  of  cyanogen  on  zinc  ttkyl— 
Sitting  of  Jan.  i^Ui — jEtectro-capillary  actions. — Btneo^ 
ing  matter  of  certain  dead  woods* — Sitting  of  Jan.  20A— 
TUUs  of  papers. 
M.  GuLDEBBRO  sent  a  very  mathematical  paper  on  tiie 
molecular  tbooty  of  bodies.    K.  Becquerel  prc»euted  a  sots 


[BngliahEdMoii,yoLXVIL,Ho.4aa,page9;  Ho.  i^  pagea  33^  34 :  Ho.  486,  page  67.] 


GknaoAL  News,  1 


Chemical  Society. 


141 


by  11.  Le  Ronx  on  experiments  relating  to  the  employment 
of  the  electric  light  IL  Honseau  made  known  a  method  of 
eetimatiAg  small  quantities  of  peroxide  of  hydrogen. 

In  the  presence  of  an  add  poroxide  of  hydrogen  deoom- 
poses  either  in  the  cold,  or  when  heated,  «  solution  of  neu- 
tral iodide  of  potassium ;  iodine  is  set  at  liberty,  and  potash 
formed,  which  combines  with  the  acid  according  to  the 
equation— 

HO,  +  KI  +  acid  =r  HO  -I-  KO,  add  +  I. 

As  a  consequence  of  this  it  is  evident  that  by  simply  es- 
timatiog  the  potash  formed,  the  amount  of  peroxide  of 
hydrogen  is  arriyed  at  The  process  is  conducted  as  foDows. 
Titiated  add  is  ^t  added  to  the  neutral  oxygenated  so- 
lution, and  then  a  slight  excess,  usually  a  few  drops,  of 
neutral  iodide  of  potassium.  The  mixture  is  heated  to  aid 
the  reaction,  and  the  iodine  completely  expelled  by  ebullition, 
finally  a  titration  is  performed  with  an  alkaline  solution. 
Thus  the  amount ^of  residual  add  is  estimated.  The  solution 
of  iodide  of  potassium  is  made  by  dissolving  three  gnunmes 
of  the  salt  in  100  granmies  of  water.  When  the  sulphuric 
add  and  neutral  iodide  of  potassium  are  sufficiently  diluted, 
they  do  not  react  upon  each  other,  either  in  the  cokl  or 
upon  heating.  <Contrary  to  what  has  been  observed  with 
regard  to  osone,  oxygenated  water  does  not  seem  to  react 
with  iodide  of  potassium  when  the  solutions  are  neutral 
Bat  the  vapour  of  peroxide  of  hydrogen  blues,  notwithstand- 
ing at  the  same  time  that  OKone  does  the  iodide  and  starch- 
paper.  Neutral  iodide  of  potassium  can  equally  serve  to 
detect  oxygenated  water  when  this  has  been  previously 
addulated.  In  most  cases  the  yellow  or  pinkish  cc^our 
given  to  the  solution  maj  be  considered  characteristic  of 
peroxide  of  hydrogen ;  but  the  sensitiveness  of  the  reaction 
is  augmented  by  Uie  employment  of  diloroform,  which  is 
rendered  violet  or  rose<coloured  by  traces  of  iodine  invisible 
in  water.  Nitrites,  hypochlorites,  and  other  analogous  salts 
react  on  iodide  of  potassium  in  the  same  manner  as  oxy- 
genated water.  This  source  of  error  may  be  removed  by 
operating  as  follows : — 3  or  4  ca  of  liquor  is  rendered  acid, 
if  neutral  or  alkaline,  by  a  snffident  quantity  of  very  dilute 
sulphuric  add.  The  addition  of  a  few  drops  of  iodide 
of  potassium  is  the  next  step.  A  yellow  or  red  colour- 
ation produced  indicates  the  presence  of  oxygeuttted 
water,  or  nitrites  and  analogous  salts.  The  experiment  is 
then  repeated  after  previously  boiling  the  addulated  solu- 
tion for  a  few  minutes  to  expel  nitrons  add,  eta  If  upon 
the  addition  of  the  iodide  it  still  produces  a  colouration, 
this  indicates  the  presence  of  peroxide  of  hydrogen.  If  in 
tile  cold  there  is  no  colouration,  the  solution  is  heated ;  if 
the  reaction  takes  place,  oxygenated  water  is  present  If 
no  colouration  is  produced  under  this  treatment,  a  drop  of 
diloroform  is  added,  and  the  mixture  agitated  for  a  few 
minutes  about  40*"  G. ;  a  rose  tint  indicates  the  presence  of 
oxygenated  water ;  if  no  tint  is  produced,  it  mvj  be  con- 
duded  that  the  solution  does  not  contain  oxygenated  water, 
or  that  quantity  is  too  minute  to  be  detected.  A  solution 
nay  be  concentrated  dther  in  vacuo  or  over  qnidc-lime. 
Concentration  may  also  be  eilbcted  by  heat.  A  very  dilute 
solution  of  oxygenated  water  containing  sulphuric  add  may 
be  boiled  for  some  minutes  without  sufTering  an  appredable 
decomposition. 

A  paper  entitied  *'  Beseardies  on  the  action  of  chloride  of 
cyanogen  on  sine  ethyl,  **  by  M.  Gal,  was  presented  by  M. 
Yr^imj,  M.  Gal  recounted  the  experiments  he  had  made. 
He  finds  by  acting  upon  zinc  ethyl  by  gaseous  chloride  of 
cyanogen,  a  liquid  is  obtained,  boiling  at  98*",  identical  with 
hydrocyanic  ether ;  the  reaction  is  the  following — 

OaNOl  +  C4H,Zn  =  CiH.CN  +  ZnOL 
The  author  undertook  the  research  in  order  to  throw  light 
upon  the  constitution  of  hydrocyanic  add,  and  to  determine 
which  of  the  two  isomeric  ethers  of  this  add  should  be  con- 
sidered as  its  homologue:  he  hsa  not  been  able  £0  dedde. 
One  of  the  ethers  boils  at  about  82°,  the  other  at  98°  C.  On 
the  13th  of  January,  K  Beoqueiel  made  known  the  results 


of  ftirther  experiments  upon  electro-capillary  actions ;  this 
is  the  fourth  memoir  upon  the  subject  In  decomposing 
mixed  metallic  sdutions,  he  h^  observed  that  the  metals 
are  deposited  separately :  fhnn  a  solution  containing  nitrate 
of  silver  and  nitrate  of  copper,  the  metallic  silver  is  alone 
deposited.  IL  Th^nard  presented  a  paper,  by  M.  Homier, 
on  the  blue  colouring  matter  of  certain  dead  woods.  If. 
Bomier  thought  of  the  matter  being  anplicable  to  dyeing 
purposes,  and  specimens  of  silk  owing  their  tints  to  it  were 
exunined  by  the  Academy.  At  the  meeting  on  the  20th  of 
January,  Father  Secchi  contributed  a  second  note  on  stellar 
spectra.  There  was  also  a  note  on  the  colouration  effectB 
which  are  produced  when  the  sparks  from  an  induction  coll 
pass  between  the  surface  of  a  liquid  and  a  platinum  pole, 
from  M.  BecquereL  M.  thiprd  presented  a  memoir  on  mole- 
cular attractions  and  chemical  operations.  M.  Miergnes  ad* 
dressed  a  communication  describing  a  new  pile  composed  of 
sine  and  carbon.  Having  already  covered  the  space  accorded 
to  him  in  these  columns,  your  correspondent  must  content 
himself  at  present  with  simply  announcing  these  interesting 
papers. 


CHEMICAL  sociBrr. 

7*hvinday,  January  16. 

Db.  Wabbsh  di  la   Bub,  F.R.S.,  ifec,  Pruidtnif  in  1h$ 

Chair. 
Ths  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and  con- 
firmed.     Messrs.  G.  W.  Child,  Edward  Chapman,  W.   G. 
Mason,  P.  Griess,  and  Captain  Alexander  Walker  were  duly 
elected. 

Mr.  Martin  Murphy,  of  the  College  of  Chemistry,  Liver- 
pool, was  proposed  JTor  election,  and  the  certificate  read  for 
tiie  first  time.  The  names  of  the  candidates  read  for  the 
second  time  were— Herbert  M*Leod,  Thomas  Charlesworth, 
Robert  Scheok,  and  John  Wallace  Hozier. 

A  paper  on  the  "  Jtomerie  F&rma  of  Valeric  Acidf"  by  Mr. 
AxxxAHDCB  PsDLxs,  was  read  by  the  Secretary. 

The  author  separated  the  two  varieties  of  amylio  alcohol 
known  as  active  and  inactive,  by  conversion  into  baric  sulph- 
amylates,  and  fractionally  crystallising.  The  amylic  alco* 
hoi  was  then  separated  from  these  salts.  By  oxidation, 
valeric  add  was  obtained  from  the  two  varieties.  The  valeric 
add  yielded  by  the  inactive  variety  (ie.,  that  resulting  from 
the  further  treatment  of  the  less  soluble  sulphamylate)  boiled 
at  175°  C,  and  had  no  action  on  a  polarised  ray.  The  valeric 
add  yielded  by  the  rotating  alcohol  (separated  from  the  solu- 
ble sulphamvlate)  boiled  at  about  170**  C.  It  rotated  the  ray 
43"  to  the  nght 

Db.  Dbbub  advanced  some  hypothetical  views  concerning 
thioformio  add— >the  add  which  is  obtained  in  combination 
with  lead,  when  formiato  of  lead  is  treated  with  sulphuretted 
hydrogen.  It  contains  the  elemento  earbon,  hydrogen,  sul* 
phur,  and  oxygen.  Dr.  Debus  referred  to  the  inability  of 
Professor  Limpricht  and  Mr.  Herat,  who  have  analysed  this 
substance,  to  obtain  concordant  results.  He  showed  that  a 
relation  might  be  traced  in  the  analytical  resulto  between  the 
carbon  and  the  hydrogen,  while  in  the  case  of  the  sulphur 
and  oxygen  there  was  an  utter  absence  of  this.  But  if  the 
numbers  of  the  sulphur  and  oxygen  were  added  together 
they  then  gave  figures  bearing  constant  relation  to  the  car- 
bon and  hydrogen.  Dr.  Debus  gave  the  following  formulli 
as  the  expression  of  the  analytical  resulto  obtained  for  two 
specimens :-— 

(I.)  CH,0+2(CH,S). 
(2.)  CH,0-+-3(CH,S). 

Dr.  Frankland's  lecture  **  On  Waier  Analytia''  followed. 

Dr.  FBANKULirD  said — "Having  for  some  time  past  been 
engaged,  in  conjunction  with  my  lata  pupil,  Mr.  Armstrong, 
in  endeavours  to  place  some  of  the  determinations  of  water 
analysis  upon  a  souuder  basis,  I  proposed  to  give  the  resulta 
of  our  experimenta  to  the  Bodety  in  the  usual  form  of  » 


[BDgUA 


yol.ZV1Z,V«.49^page57|  HOb  490^  pafe  46.] 


p«per,  when  our  indefatigable  seDior  Secretary  suggested  that 
the  paper  should  be  elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  lecture.  To 
this  suggestion  I  was  at  first  much  opposed,  considering  that 
the  Soeiety  had  ah-eady,  and  even  quite  recently,  received 
several  important  communications  on  this  branch  of  chemical 
analysis.  At  last,  however,  I  yielded  to  Dr.  Odling's  per- 
Buasiou,  but,  in  doing  so,  distinctly  cast  upon  his  shoulders 
the  responsibility  of  summoniog  the  Fellows  to  hear,  under 
the  title  of  a  lecture  on  water  analysis,  what  I  fear  will  merely 
prove  a  dry  communication  on  a  few  points  only  connected 
with  this  large  subject ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  I  have  no  in- 
tentioQ  of  discussing  the  whole  subject,  but  only  that  portion 
of  it  which  deals  with  those  determinations  compreheoded 
under  the  term  '  partial  analysis  of  a  water ; '  and  secondly, 
even  in  reference  to  this  ooroer  of  th^subject,  I  have,  except  in 
one  department  of  it^  Utile  that  is  novel  to  bring  forward.  So 
many  difficulties  surroanded  the  subject  at  the  time  this  in- 
vestigation was  undertaken,  that  it  was  perhaps  considered 
the  least  satisfactory  of  analytical  proceasea  The  difficulty 
chiefly  experienced  by  water  analysts  was  the  determination 
of  the  organic  matters  and  the  mineral  products  derived  from 
these,  viz.,  nitrous  and  nitric  acids  and  ammonia."  The 
lecturer  mentioned  the  names  of  Hofmann  and  Blythe,'Welt- 
zien.  Dr.  Miller,  and  Dr.  Angus  Smith,  and  the  ways  in  which 
they  had  severally  contributed  to  the  improvemeats  of  the 
•ntdytical  processes  regarding  water.  The  determinations 
usually  made  in  the  partial  analysis  of  a  water  are :  a.  The 
total  solid  constltuenta  b.  The  organic  and  other  volatile 
matters,  c  The  oxygen  required  to  oxidise  organic  matter, 
d  The  nitrous  and  nitric  acids,    e.  The  ammonia. 

These  processes  were  considered  teriatim. 

(a.)  In  the  method  usually  adopted  for  the  determination 
of  the  total  solid  constituents — the  evaporation  of  the  water 
with  addition  of  sodic  carbonate  and  drying  at  120°  to  130'' 
G. — there  are  two  prominent  sources  of  error ;  flratly,  the  salts 
of  ammonia  are  converted  into  carbonate,  which  volatilises 
during  t^e  operation ;  secondly,  urea  when  present  is  decom> 
posed,  and  some  of  the  products  are  volatilised.  In  an  ex- 
periment made  to  test  this  point  44  per  cent  of  urea  was  lost. 
These  defects  are  lessened  by  not  adding  the  alkaline  car- 
bonate, and  by  drying  at  100''  instead  of  at  120'— 130''.  A 
residue  dried  at  loo**  sometimes  retains  the  elements  of  water, 
but  these  are  chemically  combined,  and  the  amount  obtained 
can  therefore  be  fiiirly  considered  as  representing  only  the 
solid  constituents.  With  the  exception  of  water  containing 
much  calcic  and  magnesic  chlorides  and  sulphates,  the  differ- 
ence made  by  drying  at  the  one  temperature  or  the  other  is 
not  great  A  water  analysed  (Thames  water)  gave  as  the 
total  amount  of  solid  matter  in  100,000  parts,  27*02  parta  when 
dried  at  ioo°0. ;  and  26*54  Sparta  at  120° — i30°C. 

Dr.  Frankland  did  not,  however,  consider  the  information 
ftfforded  by  this  determination  as  great.  In  estimating  the 
loss  upon  ignition,  suffered  by  this  residue,  it  must  be  pre- 
viously heated  to  the  higher  temperature. 

{b.)  In  the  determination  of  the  volatile  matter  by  the  loss 
upon  ignition,  the  magnesic  ^nd  calcic  carbonates  are  causti- 
oised,  and  have  then  to  be  recarbonated.  In  this  operation 
all  the  organic  matter  cannot  be  expelled,— notably  the  case 
with  water  containing  urea.  Experimente  were  made  with 
water  containing  known  weighte  of  urea  and  sodic  carbonate. 
In  three  experimenta  only  14*6,  28-2,  and  42  i  per  cent  re- 
spectively became  expelled;  85*4,  71 '8,  and  57*9  percent 
remaining  in  the  residue  in  these  cases.  Dr.  Frankland  sug- 
gested the  possibility  of  some  of  the  elementa  of  the  area 
being  fixed  in  the  condition  of  cyanate  and  cy^nurato.  A 
remarkable  error  is  introduced  in  the  case  of  some  watere  in 
recarbonatiag  the  alkaline  earths,  even  with  a  pure  solution 
of  carbonic  anhydride,  the  apparent  amount  of  earthy  carbon- 
ates being  greatly  in  excess  of  the  real  amount  In  such  a 
case  of  course  the  process  cannot  be  used. 

(«.)  Estimating  the  amount  of  oxygen  required  to  oxidise 
organic  matter.  Potassic  permanganate  has  been  commonly 
used  in  making  this  determination.  A  close  examination  of 
the  process,  however,  has  led  to  ita  indications  being  found 


unreliable.  In  experimente  made  upon  nine  kinds  ofprganie 
matter,  only  one,  oxalic  acid,  was  completely  oxidised  in  nz 
hours.  In  the  case  of  urea,  hippuric  acid,  and  creaiin,  the 
oxygen,  abstracted  from  the  permanganate,  only  represented 
^th  of  that  required  by  theory. 

(d.)  Estimation  of  the  nitrous  and  nitric  acids.  In  this 
determination,  Pew*s  process  has  been  much  used.  It  tumi 
upon  the  convereion  of  stannous  chloride  into  stannic  chloride 
in  the  presence  of  nitric  acid.  Messrs.  Chapman  and 
Schenk  have  pointed  out  that  this  change  is  effect^  by  man/ 
organic  substances. 

The  lecturer  recorded  experimenta  upon  this  subject,  which 
showed  that  the  indications  obtained  in  treating  stardi  and 
sugar  by  this  process  were  incorrect,  i  gnn.  starch  digested 
for  20  minutes  in  a  sealed  tube  with  3  cc.  of  a  solution  of 
tannous  chloride  produced  an  oxidation  equivalent  to 
'00375  grm.  nitric  anhydride;  'i  g^rm.  sugar  at  150°  GL 
produced  an  oxidation  equivalent  to  '007  (pm.  nitric  anhy- 
dride. 

(«.)  Estimation  of  the  ammonia.  This  is  usually  effected 
by  distilling  with  baryta  water  or  sqdic  carbonate,  and  de- 
termining the  ammonia  either  by  neutralisation  or  by  NeealerVi 
test  It  is  liable  to  give  inaccurate  resulta  in  the  case  of 
watere  recently  contaminated  with  sewage,  owing  to  the 
gpradual  decomposition  of  urea.  Dr.  Frankland,  in  describing 
the  processes  and  modifications  he  proposed  to  subetitate^ 
divided  the  water  analysis  into  four,  viz.,  the  following  de- 
terminations: 

1.  The  total  solid  consUtuenta. 

2.  The  organic  carbon  and  nitrogen. 

3.  The  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  nitrates  and  nitrites. 

4.  The  ammonia. 

(i.)  Estimation  of  the  total  solid  eofuaUaenU^^lixr  thii 
purpose  i  litre  of  water  is  evaporated  as  rapidly  as  posBibki, 
and  the  residue  dried  at  100*  C. 

(2.)  Eatimation  of  the  organic  carbon  and  nitrogefu—Thn 
lecturer  had  no  process  to  offer  for  the  direct  detorminatioa 
of  the  organic  matter,  but  he  was  able  to  estimate  the  caiboa 
and  nitrogen,  which  were  ita  most  important  elements,  with 
accuracy.  It  is  necessary  in  the  firat  place  to  expel  the  00- 
bonic  anhydride.  Sulphuric  add  has  been  found  to  effeet 
this  easily,  and  for  many  reasons  it  has  been  found  the  mo^ 
convenient  acid.  The  solution  is  boiled  for  a  couple  « 
minutes  with  a  small  quantity  of  sulphuric  add  and  then 
evaporated ;  for  this  purpose  hemispherical  glass  dishes  ban 
been  found  far  more  convenient  than  platinum.  The  evapon* 
Uon  is  conducted  in  vacuo,  and  the  residue  dried  at  a  stctm 
heat  The  heat  is  applied  at  the  top  of  the  bell,  by  means  d 
a  current  of  hot  air;  applied  in  this  way  the  water  Be?er 
boils.  Fiye  samples  of  water  could  be  evaporated  at  the  aun 
time  in  the  apparatus  shown  to  the  Society. 

The  residue  is  mixed  with  plumbic  cbromato  and  trans- 
ferred  to  a  combustion  tube,  the  dish  being  rinsed  with  the 
chromato ;  a  layer  of  pure  cubric  oxide  is  also  added.  The 
tube  is  sealed  at*one  end  and  drawn  out  at  the  other  to  about 
the  same  size  as  the  tube  of  the  SprengeVs  pump  which  it  bai 
to  join.  The  anterior  portion  of  the  tube  (the  position  of  the 
layer  of  pure  cupric  oxide)  is  heated,  and  the  tube  then  ex- 
hausted for  5  or  10  mi^utea  The  combustion  is  now  mad^ 
and  the  tube  again  exhausted,  and  the  resulting  gases  ool-  | 
lected  over  mercury. 

A  gaseous  mixture  is  obtained,  containing  free  oxygen. 
After  absorbing  the  oxygen  by  pyrogallic  acid,  the  volume  of 
the  gaseous  mixture  is  accurately  measured.  The  whole  of 
the  carbon  is  obtained  in  the  form  of  carbonic  add,  the  nitro- 
gen partly  as  such,  with  nitric  add  and  nitric  oxide.  The 
amount  of  nitrogen  found  is  made  up  of  the  nitrogen  of  the 
ammonia  and  the  organic  nitrogen ;  the  formw  must  tberefon 
be  subtracted. 

Cupric  oxide  made  fh>m  nitrate  is  not  adroissible.     It  11 
best  obtained  by  oxidising  sheeto  of  copper.      It  may  be  ob- 
tained tolerably  pure  from  blue-vitriol  makers.    In  expeiv        j 
mente  made  upon  solutions  of  known  weights  of  sugar  mated 
by  the  whole  process,  these  resulta  were  obtained : — 


[BDfflkhBdllioii,  YoLXVIL,  Ho.  42S,  pagea  46^  «&] 


Voimd. 

CalonlAtod. 

•01306 

•01460 

•00440 

•00480 

•00530 

•00510 

Carbon 


A  aolution  of  a.  known  weight  of  sngar  and  chloride  of 
ammonium  gare-^ 

Voond.  CUeolated. 

Carbon  ^00434  '00484 

Nitrogen  '00254  '00246 

Dr.  Frankland  had  examined  Messrs.  Wanklyn,  Chapman, 
and  Smith's  method  of  estimating  the  albttminoid  nitrogen  in 
water.  Numerous  experiments  were  made  side  by  side  with 
the  combustion  process  now  brought  forward.  These  are 
some  of  the  results  obtained  in  samples  of  water  artiflciaUy 
made,  representing  water  of  ayerage  quality  :— 

PermBiuranato 

Method.  Oombnstloa. 

•006  •OiO 

•002  •OIO 

•016  -068 

•016  -042 

•022  -076 
Where  the  quantity  was  small  they  agreed  better. 

'001  *ooi 

'004  '009 

•003  004 

*OI2  '012 

The  permanganate  method  in  seyeral  oases  gave  nitrogen 
Inhere  the  combustion  process  showed  none. 

(3.)  Estimating  the  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  nitrates  and 
nitrites,  Dr.  Frankland  has  found  a  process,  devised  many 
years  ago  by  Mr.  Walter  Crura,  to  give  very  good  results. 

A  concentrated  solution  of  the  nitrate  or  nitrite  is  mixed 
with  rather  more  than  an  equal  volume  of  sulphuric  acid  and 
agitated  with  mercury  in  as  finely  divided  a  state  as  possible. 
It  is  convenient  in  tliis  operation  to  use  the  residue  obtained 
in  the  determination  of  the  total  solid  constiiuents.  Chlo- 
rides must  not  be  present.  To  remove  chlorine,  argentic 
•ulpliate  is  added  to  the  residue  dissoTted  in  15  or  20  c.a  of 
water,  the  solution  filtered,  and  evaporated  to  a  small  bulk. 
It  is  then  transferred  to  a  vessel  standing  over  mercury.  The 
vessel  may  be  described  as  a  narrow. eproiivette  drawn  out 
at  the  top  into  a  narrow  tube  with  a  stopcock,  carrying  above 
a  cup-shaped  pieca  The  last  portions  of  the  fluid  are  washed 
in  with  the  acid  itself.  The  tube  has  been  filled  up  to  the 
tap  completely  with  mercury,  and  care  is  necessary  in  allow- 
ing the  descent  of  the  fluid  from  the  cup  to  the  lower  vessel 
to  allow  no  air  to  enter  the  latter.  The  tap  being  carefully 
closed,  the  thumb  is  slipped  under  the  end  of  the  tube,  which 
is  then  withdrawn  and  shaken.  In  this  operation  a  short 
column  of  mercury  must  always  remain  between  the  thumb 
and  the  solutions.  A  strong  pressure  is  produced,  and  the 
tube  is  occasionally  returned  to  the  trough,  and  the  egress  of 
some  of  the  mercury  permitted.  The  pressure  is  due  to  the 
formation  of  gaseous  oxides  of  nitrogen.  The  nitrogen  is 
determined  in  the  resulting  gas.  The  reduction  of  the  nitrates 
and  nitrites  by  this  means  was  shown  to  the  Society,  the 
process  described  being  performed  experimentally,  and  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  gas  was  obtained. 

This  process  has  been  tried  with  known  quantities  of  nitre, 
also  with  uric  and  hippuric  acids,  and  found  to  give  satisfac- 
tory results. 

(4.)  Determination  of  the  ammonia.  Dr.  Frankland  con- 
sidered it  advisable  to  decolorise  the  water  before  using  Ness- 
lei^s  colour  test,  using  for  this  purpose  calcic  chloride,  sodic 
carbonate,  and  a  few  drops  of  potassic  hydrate.  The  distillate 
from  this  gave  accurate  indications. 

The  Prbsidcnt,  in  returning  the  customary  vote  of  thanks, 
took  occasion  to  inquire  whether  the  reduction  of  the  nitrates 
was  carried  to  nitrogen. 

The  subject  being  evidently  a  fertile  one  for  discussion,  the 
speakers  were  limited  to  a  few  minutes  each. 


Mr.  WAincLTN  wished  to  know  whether  the  comparative 
experiments  with  the  process  devised  by  himself  and  col- 
leagues were  made  with  natural  or  artificial  waters.    He 
maintained  that  their  process  gave  constant  results  with  i^om  . 
I  to  6  parts  of  albumen  in  100,000  of  water. 

Professor  Abbl  had  thought  the  process  alluded  to  by  the 
last  speaker  might  have  been  serviceable  to  him.  and  had  in- 
stituted experiments  to  check  their  results.  He  had  been 
totally  unable  to  obtain  concordant  results. 

Mr.  DuOALD  Ca](1»bell'8  experience  with  the  process  was 
similar  to  Professor  Abel's. 

Mr.  Chapman  attributed  the  different  results  obtained  by 
Dr.  Frankland  by  the  combustion  process  and  their  process, 
to  sources  of  error  in  the  former. 

Mr.  TuOBPB,  calculating  the  nitrogen  as  albumen,  obtained 
results  agreeing  with  other  determinations,  and  found  the 
process  valuable  as  a  method  of  controlling  his  results. 

Dr.  YcBLCKBR  remarked  that  M.  Nessler  had  told  him  of* 
simple  method  of  separating  the  ammonia  when  present  in 
moderately  large  quantity.  The  Nessler  test,  shaken  in  a 
bottle  with  the  water,  gave  a  precipitate  which  conteined 
all  the  ammonia.  By  separating  this  by  deposition,  and 
treating  it  with  sulphide  of  potassium,  and  distilling,  all  the 
ammonia  will  be  separated,  and  may  be  collected  in  a  solu- 
tion  of  standard  acid. 

Mr.  Smeb^  and  Mr.  Hawkslbt,  the  engineer,  also  took  part 
in  the  discussion. 

The  lecturer  replied  to  the  many  remarks  that  had  been 
made.  The  question  put  by  the  President  was  one  of  great 
interest,  but  he  was  unable  to  say  definitely  whether  the 
reduction  was  carried  to  nitrogen.  He  should  act  upon  the 
point  suggested  by  Dr.  Voelcker.  At  a  late  hour  the  Society 
adjourned.  Mr.  Wanklyn  wished  to  continue  the  discuewon, 
and  he  therefore  possesses  the  right  to  speak  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  next  meeting. 


MANCHESTER  LITERARY  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY. 
Ordinary  Meeting^  December  24^^  1867. 
B.  W.  Bivwr,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.,  Vice-Preiident,  in  Ihe  Chair. 
''On  the  Examination  of  Water  for  Organic  Matkrs,''  by 
Dr.  R.  Angus  Smith,  F.R.S. 
Thb  author  repeated  his  opinion  that  the  mere  expression 
organic  matter  bad  no  such  meaning  as  would  allow  chem- 
ists to  measure  the  impurity  of  water  by  its  amount.  He 
went  more  fully  into  the  division  of  the  organic  matter  into 
various  portions,  some  acting  as  unwholesome  agents,  others 
being  entirely  innocent  He  said  he  was  glad  to  find  that 
other  chemists  were  also  attending  to  the  quality  as  well  as 
the  quantity  of  the  organic  matter,  and  he  insisted  also  on 
the  condition  of  the  matter  being  observed.  He  discussed 
the  methods  of  Professors  Frankland  and  Wanklyn,  con- 
sidered, however,  that  they  did  not  supersede  his  own 
methods,  which  made  a  greater  number  of  subdivisions.  He 
explained  the  mode  in  which  the  organic  matter  is  entirely 
removed  from  water,  leaving  frequently  none  of  its  elements 
behind,  unless  we  include  amongst  them  the  inorganic  bodies 
with  which  they  were  combined.  The  body  which  remains 
is  chiefly  common  salt,  which  cannot  be  removed,  and  by 
which  more  than  any  other  substance  animal  matter  is  to  be 
detected  in  water  under  certain  precautions.  He  also  showed 
the  importance  of  finding  the  amount  of  atmospheric  oxygen 
in  water,  and  its  meaning ;  but  as  the  paper  was  not  con- 
cluded the  notice  is  here  left  Incomplete. 


HI.  R.  Rftdftv  has  just  published  a  most  interesting  work 
on  Acoustics  (Paris,  Hachette)  with  114  wood-cuts;  it  con- 
tains the  new  experiments  by  M.  Regoault  on  sound  and 
ksenigon  vowels. 


[BngUsh  BdMon,  VoL  XTIL,  No.  4a&,  pagMi40^  47;  Ho.  433,  page  88;  Vol.  ZYI^  He-  4H  F«l*  M8.] 


CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGH 
SOURCES. 


Cemeat-— Sorel  describea  a  new  oement  wbich  he  pra- 
parefl  by  ruixiag^  magueaic  oxide  with,  a  more  or  Ifim  concen- 
trated oolmloii  of  magnetic  chloride*  The  hardness  of  tlie 
cement  iticreasea  wkh  ilie  streDgth  of  the  solutiorj ;  20  to  30" 
Baumt^  18  fi>aad  moat  stiitable.  lt$  blindlDg  power  U  ^eater 
than  that  of  any  other  ceaaeat,  it  being  capable  of  producing 
hard  bJo^ka  with  more  thau  twenty  times  iU  wt^ij^ht  of  saud 
or  other  inactive  material — {CompUj  R.  Ixv.  102), 

OIj-cogen.^Tho  amyloidical  matter  found  in  molluski  ii, 
flccorditip  to  Biiio,  p:lycogen.  If  the  latter^  afler  precipitation 
with  alcohol,  ia  allowed  to  dry  gradually,  it  cohcrea  to^thor 
in  lumpa.  Rapid  desiccation  leaves  It  a»  a  Qne  powder,  in 
which  condition  glycogen  has  commonly  been  obserTed.  In 
contact  with  white  of  egg  or  caaein,  lactic  add  fermoniatioti 
bIo  w ly  sets  m.  D ried  at  i  cx>*'  C.^  its  com positi on  ia  6 1 H 1  bO ». 
— {Ci>mpti!s  It  liv.  175). 

IIIoiiK£nlne«  derived  from  AldeliydOK,— IL  Schift 
Prolonged  action  of  alcoholic  ammonia  upon  acetic  aldehydoj 
at  ordinary  temperature,  gives  rise  to  tho  formation  of  two 
bases— €,H,N  or  eiH^N  (Picolin),  diatilling  at  60"— 70'  C, 
■oluble  in  wat«r,  and  Na(*3,U4)a  remaining  in  the  residue 
after  distillation.  The  latter  (which  ha.'?  not  been  obtained 
pure)  m  decomposed  by  water  and  actda  with  formation  of 
another  Boluble  base— e^UuNO.  The  derivation  of  this 
third,  a  tertiary  mon amine  from  aldehjdeammoma,  is  ex- 
plained by  the  following  equation : — 

When  aldehyde  is  treated  with  ammonia  at  icro'^,  two  other 
bases  are  obtained— 61^1,  iNO,  aiid  e^H,jN"9,  of  which  tho 
latter  haa  already  been  noticed  by  Heint^  and  by  Wialicenus. 
Hydro -cetiantbamide  N  (6|H|t),  ia  decomposed  by  boUiog 
water,  and  the  compound 

N(eTH„),(eTHM,eH) 

formed,  which  shows  no  bnsic  properties. 

Related  to  these  are  Taleral-ammonia  and  ErdmacLti^B  tri- 
oiyamylidene,  to  which  the  formulta 


^  1       H, 


,eH 


ind  N{e»Hi„,  OH),  ar^  given. 

The  reaction  between  Acrolein  atid  ammonia  is  somewhat 
different,  inasmuch  aa  first  a  combination  of  the  two  in 
equivalent  proportions  takes  place,  which  then  acta  on  an 
excess  of  acrolein^  thus : — 

This  base  Tesembles  closely  those  derived  from  acetic 
aldehyde.  Ammotiie  solphhydrate  converta  acrcjlctn  and 
omanthol  into  acfothialdin  GB^uNSa,  and  ajnanthothialdin 

From  the  reactions  of  these  bodies  the  author  concludes 
that  the  thialdiuea  likewise  are  tertiary  amines,  in  which 
three  typical  hydrogena  are  replaced  by  three  radicals  con- 
tain in  g  the  sulphur,  as  sulphydril  (SH),  just  as  the  basea 
•ibove  men  ironed  contain  ojtbydril  (0E)* — {Comptiit  R.,  liv. 
320.) 

Inliaence  of  Coloured  U^tit  on  the  D«com|>o«l- 
Uon  of  €«rboiiIc  jinbydrlde  by  FJahiii.— L  OiUetct. 
The  red  and  yellow  rays  of  light  are  the  moat  favourable  in 
promoting  the  dooompoHition  of  carbon ic  a nhj'd ride  by  planta. 
Light  which  passed  through  a  solution  of  iodine  in  carbonic 
diaulphide  prevents  decomposition  altogether.  Under  the 
influence  of  green  light,  not  only  does  no  decomposition  take 
place,  but  new  quantities  of  carbonic  anhydride  are  formed* 
A  fresh  leaf  exposed  to  sunlight,  under  «  bell*jar  of  green 


glass,  exhales  nearly  as  much  carbonic  anhydride  aa  it  would 
in  tho  davk.^[C0^mpks  R.  liv,  322.^ 

Syut1ie«I«  of  I»let1iylated  TolnoK— Lippmann  acd 
Longuiniue*  With  a  view  of  arriving  at  a  clearer  conceptkiu 
of  the  constitution  of  the  radical  amyl,  and- of  finding  a  new 
method  for  the  synthesis  of  aromatic  hydroou^bona,  Uw 
authors  investigated  the  action  of  zineic  ethide  upoa  diloro- 
benzol  (chloride  of  OH  of  bitter  almonda)i  The  reaction  that 
takes  place  is  the  following^ 

e,Ht,6noi,  4-  zn(e,H.),  =eiH^ 
eH(eje»)i  +  Znci, 

The  hydrocarbon  6ijHu  must  be  considered  aa  toluol  lu 
which  2  atoms  of  hydrogen  of  methyle  aJO  replaced  bf  3  of 
ethyl  Its  density  was  found  =  5*1 107,  calculated  ~  SJ245- 
Its  boiling  point  when  pure,  is  at  about  I  So'  C*  or  15°  lowei 
than  that  of  Fitii|^'a  amyl benzol,  which  Ima  the  same  eom- 
position.  It  fikjlowt  from  this  that  the  two  are  differeatlj 
constituted,  and  that  tke  formula  of  amyl  la  not  conectlj 
repreaented  ft&<- 

( Compks  K.  Ixv.  349.) 

Aldeliydfi  atid  Cj anil t^ tic  Acid.— 1£.  SimpsoB  and 
A,  Qautier.  Equal  mol.  of  acetic  aldehyde,  and  dry  cy*i»- 
hydric  acid  unite  by  direct  addition,  when  exposed  for  ten  ta 
twelve  Jays  to  a  temperature  of  20^  to  30*  C.  The  body 
thus  formed  has  the  oomp^jsition  €SH,e,H,0.  It  is  a 
Bdlbyriesa^  oily  liquid,  boiling  at  about  183*,  but  rapidly  re- 
solving itijelf  into  its  constituents  at  that  temperature.  It  il 
soluble  in  water  and  in  alcohol,  absorbs  ammonia  peadily^ 
and  when  heated  with  it  to  loo"^,  ia  converted  into  a  syrupy- 
ma  as  of  basic  properties.  The  action  of  cblorhydric  acidaEtd 
water  upon  cyanhydnc  aldehyde  givea  rise  to  the  fortoatwa 
of  Jactk  acid  according  to  the  folio wiog equation: — 

eNii,e,n;e  -h  hci  +  2H,o  =  nh*ci  +  e,H,e, 

[Complex  B.  Ixv.  4 [4.) 

CftnTerflton  of  OkIIIc  Acid  Into  T&nnlfi. — T.  U^»e 
finds  that  gallic  acid  in  aqueous  solution  ia  converted  ialo 
tannic  acid  by  the  oxidising  iri^fluence  of  argentic  nitrate.  Tbt 
oxidation  is  more  complete  if  a  salt  of  gallic  addia  employed. 
^Joum.  iV.  Ghe7?i.  ciL  ill,) 

AeetrIeii«*<_R,  RIeth.  The  imperfect  corabu*tioo  of 
coal  gas  whiv^h  takes  place  when  the  flatne  of  a  Buoaen'i 
burner  has  gone  down,  so  as  to  burn  within  the  lubet  ba 
been  found  to  be  a  Hch  aouroe  of  acetylene.  The  escapiDf 
gases  are  collected  by  means  of  a  funnel  placed  over  the 
burner^  and  connected  wtth  an  aspirator.  The  qmtntily  of 
the  silv*r  compound  of  acetyl  cue  obtained  from  one  boraef 
in  twelve  hours  amounted  to  loo  gtumrnHM^^ZnUehr.  J. 
Chfin.  N  R  iii.  59SJ. 

Oxidation  of  Potatfltum  ftnd  Sodlnnu — ^Tha  ox^ 
Idation  of  potassium  and  sodium^  when  exposed  with  adeaa 
surface  to  tlie  air,  is  aceompamed.  according:  to  R  B«uta- 
hauer.  with  evolution  of  light. — ^t/liurit.  Pr.  Chem.  dL  123X 

Tirldlitlc  Add — 0.  CechL  This  acid  may  be  obtained 
direct  from  coBTee  by  pulverising  the  beans,  extracting  theifl 
with  ether  alcohol,  to  remove  fat,  and  exposing  them  in  mcFta 
condition  to  the  air.  After  a  few  days  the  masa^  wliieh  hu 
aa.'iuniGd  a  green  colour,  is  exhausted  with  acetie  acid  aad 
alcohol,  which  takes  up  the  viridinic  acid  fi^rmed,— (ji«i. 
Cftcni.  Fharm.  cxHiL  366,) 

Preparation  of  I odliy a r|«  A etd,^-0.  Winliier.  In- 
stead of  preparing  this  acid  by  passing  a  current  of  sulp^a^ 
retted  hydrogen  through  water^  containing  iodine  in  auspfi^ 
sion,  tho  author  proposes  the  following  plan  of  working*  Io- 
dine is  dissolved  in  carhnnic  diaulphide,  water  placed  on  ibt 
top  of  this,  and  the  sulphurretted  hydrogeu  piaisad  to  ihi 
bottom  of  the  vessel  into  the  iodine  solutiocL  The  dark 
colour  of  the  latter  gradually  becomea  ligbter^  wbiie  the  lodbj^ 


[Snsllih-Edid^m,  ¥oL  XVH,  Nq.  433,  pagv  9 ;  No.  424,  page  34 ;  N<».  430,  pagfl  59.\ 


CMxnoAL  Nbwi,  ) 
March,  latS,     f 


Notices  of  Books. 


145 


drio  acid  formed  is  completely  absorbed  bj  the  water.  The 
aalpbur  whidi  separates  remains  dissolved  in  the  carbonic 
disoJphide.  -{Jbw.  Fr,  Chtm,  cii.  33.) 

IlerlTmtlTMi  ,of  Xylol  and  ]Mmetbylb«iiBOl_R. 

Fittig.  A  careful  comparison  of  methyltoluol,  or  dimethyl- 
benxol  6eH»{€Ha)s  (obtained  by  replacing  in  toluol  one  atom 
of  hydrogen  by  one  of  methyl)  with  xylol  from  coal-tar,  has 
shown  that  these  hydrocarbons  are  not  indentical.  Both, 
however,  are  converted  by  oxidation  with  diluted  nitric  or 
chromic  acid  into  the  same  derivatives,  t*.  e.,  toluylic  and  t^re- 
phtalic  acid.  Amongst  the  compounds  prepared  and 'ex- 
amined were  nitroamidoxylol,  nitroamidometbyltoluol,  di|i- 
midoxylol,  dlbromxylol,  dibrommethyltoluol,  parabromtoluy- 
lic  add,  nitroparabromtolnylic  add,  paradibromtoluylic  acid, 
monobromnitroxylol,  dixylyle.— (Z5i<»cAr.  Chom.  N.  F.  iiL 
523.) 

DerlTfttlTea  of  Snlpbnronii  Cltlorlde.^Fr.  Qrauhe. 
Solpburous  chloride  is  prepared  by  passing  a  current  of  sul- 
phurous acid  into  phosphoric  perchloride,  and  subjecting  the 
products  of  ^  reaction  to  fractional  distillation.  The  pure 
chloride  boill  between  78°  and  79°  G.  Argentic  cyanide 
con  verts  it  into  sulphurous  cyanide  SaOs(CsN)s,  which  is  in- 
soluble in  water,  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether.  From  the 
latter  it  crystallises  in  long  needles.  Zinzic  ethide  decom- 
poses sulphurous  chloride  with  formation  of  ethylic  sulphide 
according  to  the  equation— 

8,0,a>+3ZnC4H,=S,  |  ^*2*+2Zna-hZnOH-C4H»0 

An  experiment  in  which  sulphurous  chloride  and  benzol 
were  made  to  act  upon  each  other  with  a  view  of  obtaining 
phenylsulphurous  add,  was  unsuccessful.  •— (jlnn.  Ghem, 
Fharm,  cxliii.  263.) 

l^ouble-cblorldesof  Plfttlnniii.^K:.  Birnbaum.  Plum- 
bio  chloride  dissolves  readily  in  a  concentrated  neutral  solu- 
tion of  platinic  chloride.  On  evaporation  crystals  of  plumbo- 
platmic  chloride  Pb  Pt  Cle-f  4HsO  separate.  An  ammonia- 
cal  solution  of  argentic  chloride  added  to  ammoniaoal  platmic 
chloride,  causes  the  formation  of  a  yellow  crystalline  precipi- 
tate, which  after  desiccation  over  sulphuric  acid  had  the 
oompodtion — 

2NH,-+-2Ag0l  +  PtOU  -+-  H,^. 

No  definite  compound  could  be  obtained  with  mercuric  chlo- 
nda— (ZsitocAr.  /.  C%effk  N.  F.  iil  520). 

Cymol  Crom.  €ftmpbor«_Longninin  and ,  Lippmacn. 
Bqual  molecules  of  camphor  and  phosphoric  perchloride  are 
intimately  mixed,  and  the  mixture  very  dowly  distilled 
from  a  retort  The  distillate  is  washed  with  water,  dried, 
and  rectified  over  sodium.  It  is  then  quite  pure,  having  its 
boiUng  point  between  175*  and  178'  0.— (A«^  Boc  Chiin. 
TiL  374.) 

^•oxjloi^  PreHmlnmry  iiotiee«~.B.  Fittig.  Hedty- 
lonio  add,  the  product  of  the  reaction  of  diluted  nitric  acid 
upon  mesitylene,  is  decomposed  by  being  heated  with  caustic 
lime  according  to  the  equation — 

The  new  hydrocarbon  isoxylol  resembles  its  isomer  xylcl 
very  dosely  in  many  points,  out  widely  differs  from  it  m  its 
behaviour  towards  oxidising  agents.  Chromic  add,  for  in- 
Btance,  inverts  xylol  into  terephtalic  acid,  while  isoxylol  is 
oxidised  to  isophulic  acid,  isomeric  with  the  former.  This 
new  add  is  readilj^  soluble  in  alcohol,  almost  insoluble  in  cold, 
sparingly  scduble  in  hot  water.  From  the  latter  it  crysUllises 
In  lonp;  needkeS)  which  fiise  above  300^0.  A  dibasic  bomologue 
of  isopiitalie  of  ^e  composition  e^HgO*  has  been  obtained 
by  slow  oxidation  of  mesitylenio  acid,  besides  tribasic  trims- 
■inic  add,  described  on  a  former  occadon.— (Z»tocAr.  Chem, 
N.  F.  iii.  526.) 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


lirst  PrincipUa  cf  Modem  ChemMry.  A  Mcmual  of  Jhor- 
ganic  Chemigiryfor  Skidewtt  and  for  Uu  in  Science  Clatses, 
By  U.  J.  Kat  Shuttlbwortb.  London:  John  Churchill 
k  Sons.  1867.  (Pp.  V.  and  214.) 
This  little  book  is  mainly  founded  on  Dr.  Williamson^s  leo- 
tures  at  Univerdty  College  in  the  seadon  1864-5,  and  oh 
those  delivered  by  Dr.  fVankland  at  the  Royal  College  of 
Chemistry  in  the  following  winter.  It  was  originally  in- 
tended to  supply  the  want  of  a  strictly  elementary  manual 
for  the  use  of  science  dasses — a  waut^  however,  which,  in 
our  opinion,  has  had  no  real  existence  dnoe  the  appearance 
of  Professor  Roscoe's  excellent  "Lessons  in  Elementary 
Chemistry.'^  Th»  great  and  rapidly-increasing  popularity 
attained  by  Dr.  Rosooe's  book  is  no  lees  an  indication  of  the 
reality  of  the  want  of  a  manual  of  this  character,  than  a 
measure  of  the  success  with  which  that  want  has.  been  met. 
Already  the  book  has  been  translated  and  favourably  received 
in  Qermany,  and  we  understand  that  Professor  Beilstein  is 
about  to  prepare  a  Russian  edition  for  the  use  of  his  students 
at  St.  Petersburg.  Without  laying  claim  to  any  great  degree 
of  originality,  the  author  of  the  book  before  us  has  attempted 
to  indicate  bow  the  study  of  the  non-metallic  elements  may 
be  fadlitated  by  the  aid  of  modem  theories,  and  thus  the 
student's  early  steps  rendered  less  tedious  and  more  sugges- 
tive than  they  commonly  are.  Dr.  Frankland's  system  of 
notation  is  employed  throughout  the  work,  together  witii 
pr.  Cram  Brown's  method  €£  gpraphic  forroulsB ;  the  author 
conddering  that  the  advantages  of  the  former  ought  to  insure 
its  universal  adoption,  whilst  what  is  sometimes  urged  as  a 
fundamental  objection  against  the  use  of  the  latter,  namely, 
that  students  are  prone  to  regard  graphic  formuln  as  physi- 
cal arrangements  of  the  atoms,  he  believes  not  to  be  war- 
ranted by  the  experience  of  those  who  have  given  the  method 
an  impartial  trial. 

No  detailed  directions  for  manipulation  are  given,  the 
author  justly  considering  that  duch  directions  are  seldom 
very  intelligible,  except  when  given  orally  in  presence  of  the 
objects  used.  Practical  study  in  a  laboratory  should  invaria- 
bly accompany  a  course  of  reading  in  chemistry,  although  the 
manifest  advantages  of  such  method  of  study  have  hitherto, 
in  tlie  system  of  cram  so  much  in  vogue,  been  too  frequently 
lost  dght  of.  In  the  few  instances  in  which  they  have  been 
attempted,  the  detailed  descriptions  of  apparatus  are  fairly 
given.  The  author,  however,  has  erred  with  other  compilers 
of  chemical  manuals,  when  describing  the  method  of  deter- 
mining the  composition  of  water  by  volume  (p.  83)  in  ascrib- 
ing the  invention  of  the  pear-shaped  vessel  with  its  elaborate 
system  of  screws,  glass  stoppers,  brass  and  glass  stopcocks,  . 
eta,  to  Cavendish.  Trae  the  apparatus  here  referred  to  is 
the  one  selected  by  the  Cavendish  Society  as  thdr  emblem, 
and  appears  on  the  title-pages  of  its  publications,  but  withal 
Cavendish  nerer  employ^  sudi  an  instrument 

The  apparatus,  as  described  by  ^im  in  his  memoir  in  the 
Fhilosophical  l^anaacHons,  condsted  simply  of  a  glass  globe 
provided  with  a  stopcock,  wires  for  the  passi^^e  of  the  spark, 
and  an  arrangement  for  suspending  it  to  the  beam  of  the 
balance.  The  eudiometer  figured  in  the  pages  of  its  publica- 
tions (and  in  Mr.  Shuttlewortb's  book)  represents  the  instra- 
ment  as  constructed  at  the  period  of  the  formation  of  the 
Sodety,  and  not  as  it  was  actually  employed  by  Cavendish. 

Before  entering  on  the  more  special  part  of  the  subject  two 
chapters  are  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  such  of  the  princi- 
ples of  physics  as  may  be  deemed  indispensably  necessary  to 
the  student  The  author  believes  these  chapters  to  contdn 
nearly  all  the  knowledge  of  heat  required  by  the  Univerdty 
of  London  for  its  matriculation  examination,  and  moreover 
the  subject  is  treated  very  much  in  the  order  laid  down  in 
the  University  Calendar.  In  the  description  of  the  different 
thermometric  scales  in  use,  the  commonly  received  opinion  is 
that  Fahrenheit  fixed  his  zero-point  at  the  temperature  of  a 
mixture  of  snow  and  salt  or  sal-ammoniac,  on  the  supposition 


(BiigliihBditlon^ToLXTIX.,  He. 490^  paf«f59,  00,267,  54;  Va  429,  pages  1^  13.] 


that  in  such  a  mixture  no  heat  remained.  It  is,  however, 
the  opinion  of  at  least  one  well-known  Professor  of  Natural 
Philosophy  (moreover  a  London  University  Examiner)  that 
Fahrenheit  had  other  and  far  more  philosophical  reasons  for 
thus  defining  his  zero,  but  what  those  were  it  is  impossible 
St  this  distance  of  time  to  determine,  since  the  Dutch  physi- 
cist left  scarcely  any  papers  at  his  death. 

The  study  of  the  laws  relating  chemical  affinity  i^  de- 
ferred until  the  student  has  gained  a  preliminary  knowledge 
of  the  principal  facts  concerning  hydrogen,  chlonne,  and  their 
*  compound  hydrochloric  acid.  This  method  of  procedure  has 
unquefllionably  the  merit  of  simplicity  over  the  more  usual 
plan,  and  materially  facilitates  the  subsequent  consideni- 
tion  of  the  laws  of  combining  proportions,  atonijc  volumes, 
etc. 

Considerable  space  is  justly  afforded  to  a  oonsideraUon  of 
the  properties  of  water,  and  their  influenc-e  in  the  economy 
of  nature;  of  the  peculiarities  or  ths  fteyeral  kinda  of  niturat 
waters,  together  with  the  methods  for  their  purification  from 
natural  impurities  and  artificial  contaminationfl.  The  author 
very  properly  insists  upon  the  Hijiirioui)  eETc^ct  of  nllowiug  ibe 
gases,  which  enter  through  thtj  waiiie-pipus  descendinjj  ioto 
drains  and  sewers,  to  pollute  the  wattjr  in  our  cisterns, 
**The  arrangement  to  which  this  aboniiiyable  nuit^iico  ia 
due  is  brietiy  this;  cisterns  are  lllit?ii  liwily  by  mcHiiR  of  a  Up, 
to  which  is  fitted  a  ball-cock  U*  arrest  tUe  supply  of  wat^r  so 
soon  as  the  cistern  is  nearly  full ;  just  above  tlie  Icvd  where 
th«  riae  of  water  in  the  cistern  in  t!ius  arrested  ia  tiie  openiug 
of  a  pipe  which  leads  straight  Mo  a  drain  communic-atinja: 
with  the  sewer ;  lest  the  atmosphere  of  I  he  house  glioutd, 
through  this  pip**,  be  placed  in  direct  coiuimiiiy  \^  itli  that  of 
the  drain  and  sewer,  it  is  usual  to  niake  tl»e  pipe  that  eoter^ 
the  drain  curved  at  its  lower  eiid^  in  lUeflliupe  of  the  letter  J; 
it  is  imagined  that  this  bent  extremity  of  the  tube  will  al- 
ways be  kept  filled  by  water  IlowiuK  down  from  the  waate- 
pipes,  and  will  act  as  a  tolerably  efllxitiial  valve  ^  as  to  ex- 
clude the  sewer  gases.  But  whiit  iK  really  the  fact  ?  Oti  ac- 
count of  tlie  very  ingenious  reguliition  of  the  b>*ll-cockt  no 
water  can  ever  pass  into  the  wflflie-pi|>e  at  all,  nor  evau  rise 
to  the  Ifvel  of  its  orifice ;  the  consequence  is  that  if  there  ever 
was  any  water  in  the  bend  of  the  ivtuite-pipe  it  cannot  have 
remained  there  long,  nor  can  it  ever  be  runewtid ;  hence  no 
valve  is  interposed  between  the  atmosphere  of  the  house  and 
that  of  the  drain,  and  flres^  and  clMiuueyH — urea  ling  the 
draught  which  enters  the  houw  at  every  chitik  and  opening 
—suck  into  it  the  foul  gases  of  Lhw  draju  ttnd  sewers  to  jiollute 
the  air  we  breathe,  and  not  only  so,  but  also-^s^^einff  ihiit  it 
is  across  the  surface  of  our  cisterns  Unit  all  these  gases  (many 
of  them  highly  soluble  in  water)  are  draggt^—to  render  the 
water  which  we  drink,  and  wliidi  we  asstHziate  with  the  idea 
of  purity  and  cleanliness,  uncK-an  and  deletehyus.  The  only 
cure  practically  applicable  and  fsiirly  rtliable  for  water  thna 
clumsily  co •  i tarn iua ted,  atler  it  has.  periiaps,  for  the  sake  of  a 
pure  supply,  been  brought  from  a  grewt  distance  and  filtered 
with  extraordinary  care,  is  flUraiion  ihrough  animal  eharcMni, 
renewed  regularly  at  short  interval*,  But  since  prevention 
is  better  than  cure,  and  (so  far  as  I  know)  the  only  ^re  way 
of  avoiding  these  dangers  of  contaminaiion  ui  lownw  ia  to 
allow  watei  to  be  drawn  straight  fronj  the  mnius^,  without  the 
intervention  of  any  apparatus  nf  cislopuh  and  waste-pipes,  and 
to  have  a  constant  instead  of  an  intertaiitenl  sys(tt?m  of  de- 
Jivery,  this  p|an.  already  .follow  ml  in  Mnnchesier  and  some 
other  towna,  and  at  the  public  drink  inpr  roLiLLLuina  in  London, 
should  be  universallv  adopted/'  (pp.  98 — 99.) 
A  Jarffe  portion  of  the  chapter  im  Oie  atinoaphere  is  iivow- 
^^^^^*'VP'^i*d  from  D,.^  Roacoe'a  article  in  "  Watts's  Dictionary 
/>vi?  i»^>^'*' >' '  t'^*  ^''®  author  yrrs  in  ascribing  the  gr^vime- 
or£/a&  ^g^  ^  for  th^  deteririiDation  of  die  principal  conaiituenia 
.''^^/^'Oo,^  ^^^""'«8  «„rf  Pelig«>t  Dnm^iss  ct^tlaborateur  in 
J^.^;:!^^^;:Tj7''^^'  ^-1  %  ev.ry  eyro  .s>uld  t.li  not  Teligot 
^r^'^i/fJt  ih^  ,  Oti^  I  ^y  *^*^  ^^^  ri^pented  the  «catement 
t  ^^^/^/j0/'&  i^^  **^^}P^^  quantity  of  piirbou  contained  in 
O/'j^/j  ///o  ^^/^ihi  ^f^^jy    ^^^^  amounts  to  more  than  the 


brown  coal  existing  on  the  earth.    A  mementos    calcalatioa 
will  suffice  to  show  the  incorrectness  of  this  statements     The 
relative  volume  of  carbonic  acid  contained  in  the  atmospher* 
is  usually  stated  at  four  volumes  in  10,000  of  air,  eqtiivaleiit 
to  *o6i2  per  cent,  by  weight.     It  certainly  caanot  exceed  this 
amount,  indeed  the  recent  researches  of  Angoa  Smith    00   the 
air  of  mountains,  and  of  Thorpe  on  sea  air,  render   it  bigfalj 
probable  that  this  number  as  an  average  is    somewhat  too 
high.    From  the  barometnc  pressure  of  30  inches  of  mercarj, 
and  the  known  area  of  the  globe,  the  weight  of  the  aunosphera 
is  found  approximately  to  be  5,260,000,000,000,000  tons,  and 
hence  the  weight  of  carbonic  acid  would  be    3, 220,000,000^- 
000  tons.     Now  Mr.  Hull,  in  his    "Coal  fields    of   Great 
Britain/^  estimatefl  the  amount  of  available  coal    in    the  Kug* 
li^h  and  Webb  coal  fields  at  60,000,000  tons  A>r    1,000  jeans^ 
and  states  the  American  cool  flelda  to  be  72     titne^  grieater 
than  our  own.    Asauming  it  to  contain  So  per  i^eat,  of  csu-Lh:^ 
thL*!  coal  by  its  combuMiion  would  produce  12,345,000^000^000 
tons  of  oarboniu  acid— a  quantity  nearly  four  times   &«  UQudi 
as  that  set u ally  picLstiDg  in  the  atmosphere  at   prese-cj^      Ba- 
ch of  has  a  I  BO  demonstrated  the  fa  laity  of  tbifi    state  inetjt  o/" 
Lfebig,  by  c^aleulaiLug  the  probablii  amount    of  carbon   con- 
Caint^d  aim  ply  in  the  thick  atrutji,  occnrring  both  In    tfao  t^nj 
iilate  and  in  the  ntore  recent  schisitoae  formutiotia.      AjSBumjnig 
the  average  quantity  of  cjirbuu  contained  in  th«^ae  strata  to  be 
0*1  per  cent.— a  quantiLy  without  doubt  far  »hort  of  llioa(;<tiaJ 
amount — and  aenumhig  also  the  thickness  of  the  eiuire  mdi- 
tnt^nury  formation  to  bo  eight  mile^  it  may  easUj  be  shovik 
fnmi  thef^e  data  thai  the  carbrm  contained   id    t1iew»  strata 
would  amount  to  nenrly  seven  times  aa  much  as  tiie  abaoiuis 
weight  of  cflTboo  in  tlie  atmospherei 

But  enouKf'  baa  been  written  to  Bhow  the   getier&l  chara^ 
ter  of  this  book.     On  the  whole,  it  fairly  repreiseuta  such  of 
the  leading  features  of  iJie  science  as  may  be  (cleaned  from 
the  study  of  the  n  on -metal  He  elements.    W©  cantjot,  howerw, 
anticipate  for  it  a  permanent  pliice  amonireatablrsbed  maDuaii, 
ThebiMjk  is  doubtless  adapted  10  the  requiremeiita  of  ^tude^ili 
preparing  for  the  nrntrieuJation  eininiaftiion  of  the  Ucive/si:/ 
of  Londnu,  and  intending  to  proceed   to  aa  Arta   degree*  aj- 
thuugli  we  Are  »!ow  to  believe  that  this  conatiiutea  the  miia 
idea  of  the  autiior,  aince  any  book^  ho  we  v^  or   ablj  onmpjJerf 
and   arranged,  professing  merely  to  facilitate   tb©  proceed  of 
cramming,  ia  unworthy  of  much  respect  or  tolGrttti«>tL 


^J, 


'Hi^yQff^^^  *jf  fill  tl*e  atrata  of  mineral  and 


C0RHI3SF0NDENCX!. 


Or^jioXiiA^wm  produced  b^  the  Motopipe^ 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chmiical  Nxwsl 

glR^ — With    reference    to   the    miicellaneoui  memer^nddn, 
under  the  above  head  in  your  journal  of  the  27th  Ite,  iS6;, 
iAmfT.   Biprini,  February,    iti6S,  page  74X   in  whicb  it  il 
fliaied  that  tlie  sudden  opacity  of  beadk,  of  borax,  P.  wlt^  8' 
Boda,  ia  fonnd  by  M.  G.  Rowe  to  be  due  to  crvfit^Wssthn  of 
contained  pub^tinees,  allow  me  to  state  that  thefadh&g  bt^Ei 
long  known,  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  Bergeliu^  Pint' 
netf  and  other  r^rliable  writers  on  the  blowpipe,  fcr^Afni » rJ 
(page  64)  1 — "  Titanic  acid  com bi nee  wiih  sod*  with  effmes^ 
Genoe,and  forms  a  clear  dark  grt'en  glnes,     Thi^  glass  has  tha 
property  of  cry stfilli sing  exactly  at  the  moment  ihdt  it  ceMm 
to  be  Ignited."    .     .     .     This  prtjperiy  ia  coram  on  to  ail  ^>^i« 
which  crystalliae  at  a  very  high  temperature,  ae>  fcr  itf^tuM:* 
phoBphate  of  toad."     Agaiti,  of  apatite,  BenS'lm  stp  (P^ 
2  [4):—"  It  is  dissolved  in  Urge  quantity  by  tht  *4lt  of  pli* 
pboruft  to  a  transparent  glaea,  which,  when  neirly  atuTswl, 
becomes  opaque  on  cooling,  and  aocjuirea  a  crrstsUfne 'P- 
penrancQ,  ieaa  diatinct,  however,  than  that  of  jihospbatt  « 
lead:' 
Plattner  alludes  to  the  aame  fact  in  more  tb*fl  oat  p« 
J  am,  Aa, 

Woolwich,  D»e,  ja»  1S&7. 


[EnfliAli  BdJtion,  ToL  TTU.^  No.  422,  pages  13^  14,  ID.] 


Ifeu!  Vohanetric  Assay  of  Iran. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghbmioal  Nbws. 
Sir,— The  two  methodsjat  present  knowo,  viz.,  that  hy  the 
bichromate  of  potash,  known  as  Dr.  Pennj^s  process,  and 
that  by  the  permanganate  of  potash,  which  are  both  based 
upon  the  same  principled  of  the  oxidation  of  a  ferrous  solution 
■ud  its  consequent  conversion  into  a  ferric  one — involve  the 
necessity  (to  the  travelling  chemist)  of  carrying  about  a  large 
quantity  of  expensive  and  unstable  standard  solutions,  or  the 
trouble  and  inconvenience  of  dissolving  fresh  portions  of  the 
crystallized  reagent,  whenever  require^  upon  the  spot. 

A  little  circumstance  which  occurred  at  Cawnpore,  in  1862, 
snggested  to  me  another  and  apparently  more  simple  method, 
which  I  beg  to  recommend  to  chemists  and  assayers,  especial- 
ly tho^e  travelling  in  out-of-the-way  countries.  You  are 
aware  that  rooms  in  India  are  floored  with  a  substance  called 
"  chunam,"  which  is  a  kind  of  hydrate  of  lime.  In  a  room  of 
this  kind,  without  a  carpet,  I  was  amusing  my  children  by 
showing  them  the  beautiful  deep  red  colour  which  a  drop  of 
the  solution  of  sulpbo-cyanide  of  potassium  bestows  upon  one 
of  peroxide  of  iron,  and  which  I  told  them  (in  fun)  was  •'  the 
blood  of  the  theatres."  A  few  drops  of  the  red  sulphooyanide 
of  iron  happening  to  fall  upon  the  lime  floor,  I  observed  that 
they  were  immediately  decolourised,  and  this  naturally  led 
mo  to  make  an  experiment  similar  to  that  upon  which  Parkes' 
Tolumetrio  assay  of  copper  is  based. 

I  dissolved  some  sulphate  of  iron,  '*  green  vitriol,  in  distill- 
ed water,  and  added  a  few  drops  of  nitric  acid  to  peroxidise 
the  solution,  to  which  a  single  drop  of  the  sulphooyanide 
solution  was  then  sufficient  to  impart  a  deep  red  colour.  This 
colour  I  removed  eflectually  by  the  addition  of  about  half  the 
quantity  of  common  lime-water,  leaving  a  perfectly  clear  solu- 
tion. I  have  not  had  time  or  opportunity  since  to  carry 
out  the  experiment  to  a  practical  result  by  standardising 
a  eolution  of  lime  with  one  of  sulphocyanide  of  pure  iron 
(piano  wire);  but  I  hope  shortly  to  do  so,  and,  in  the 
meantime,  would  feel  much  obliged  by  the  opinion  of  better 
chemists  than  myself  if  there  is  any  difficulty  or  serious  ob- 
jection in  the  way  of  such  a  process?  If  not,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  it  would  form  the  most  simple  and  econom- 
ical method  of  assaying  iron  ores,  as  lime-water  is  procurable 
in  almost  any  part  of  the  world,  and  the  quantity  of  sulpho- 
csyanide  of  potassium  required  is  extremely  small.— I  am,  Ac., 
W.  A  R068»  Captain,  B.A. 

Woolwich,  38th  December,  1867. 


Friction  in  Vacuo, 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sib, — ^In  the  very  interesting  lectures  by  Dr.  Tyndall,  now 
appearing  in  your  columns,  an  experiment  is  attributed  to  Sir 
H.  Davy  which  was  made  long  before  his  time.  I  allude  to 
the  friction  of  flint  and  steel  in  vacuo.  We  owe  this  remark- 
able experiment,  not  to  Sir  H.  Davy,  as  stated  in  the  lee- 
tare,  but  to  Hauksbee,  who  communicated  it  to  the  Royal 
Society  in  1705,  as  I  have  ahown  in  my  work  on  "Phospho- 
rescence," p.  204.  In  Hauksbee's  experiments,  as  described  in 
the  Philowphrcal  Transaction^^  when  the  receiver  was  well 
exhausted  of  air,  tlien,  although  a  more  violent  motion  was 
friven  to  the  steel  than  before,  yet  not  the  least  spark  ap- 
peared to  be  struck  from  it,  **  but  a  small  continued  light  was 
visible  on  the  edge  of  the  flint  that  was  rubbed  by  the  steel.^* 
On  admitting  the  air  the  sparks  re-appeared. — I  am,  &c, 

T.  L.  Phipson,  Ph.D. 
The  Cedara,  Putney,  8.W.,  Jan.  4,  x868. 


Is  Healthiness  dependent  on  Strata  f 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  New& 
Sir, — In  the  report  of  the  meeting  of  the  Local  Board  of 
Health  of  this  town  the  following  paragraph  appears :  ~''  The 
surveyor  said  that  Dr.  Buchanan,  from  the  office  of  the  Privy 
Council,  waited  upon  him  to  make  inquiries  respecting  the 
nature  of  the  soil  at  Bbeerness.    By  permission  of  Messrs. 


Ward  and  Brightman  he  had  shown  that  gentleman  the  dif- 
ferent strata  forming  the  soil  of  Sheemess.  Dr.  Buchanan 
has  now  stated  that  after  a  carefhl  examination  he  is  con- 
vinced that  in  Sheorness  there  are  fewer  cases  of  consumption 
than  in  any  town  in  England,  and  as  a  whole  that  Sheemess 
is  one  of  the  most  healthy  places  in  the  kingdom."  If  I 
read  correctly,  it  seems  that  the  healthiness  of  a  place  is 
dependent  somewhat  on  the  strata  of  the  locality.  Can  you, 
or  any  of  your  readers,  give  me  any  information  or  the  name 
of  any  work  in  which  the  subject  is  treated  on  ?  Ague  is 
very  prevalent  here,  and  two  medical  gentlemen  inform  me 
that  they  always  endeavour  to  remove,  as  soon  as  possible, 
all  consumptive  persons  from  Sheemess,  which  perhaps  to  a 
certain  extent  may  account  for  the  few  cases  of  consumption 
mentioned  by  the  authority  in  question  as  found  in  Sheer- 
ness. — ^I  am,  &c., 

John  Brat. 
Mile  Town,  SheernesB,  Deo.  ax,  1867.  . 


Crystallography  and  the  Blowpipe. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nswa 
Sir, — Below  I  have  the  pleasure  to  send  you  the  translation 
of  a  letter  I  have  just  received  from  Professor  Richter,  head 
of  the  University  of  Freiberg,  where  he  succeeded  the  late 
celebrated  I^attner.  It  is  indeed  gratifying  to  me  to  think 
that  my  trifling  endeavours  should  engage  the  attention  of 
such  a  man. 

His  want  of  success  in  making  the  vesicles  at  first,  may  be 
explained  by  the  fact  of  my  not  having  mentioned  (as  I 
ought  to  have  done)  that,  in  blowing  the  vesicles,  the  bead 
should  not  be  operated  on  until  it  has  partially  cooled  down 
to  a  red  heat,  as  at  a  high  temperature  the  current  of  air  is 
too  strong  for  the  small  density  of  the  fluid  borax,  which  it 
soon  bursts. 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  mentioning  two  facts  in  addition 
to  those  stated  in  my  paper  on  this  subject,  published  in  the 
Chemical  News  of  the  20th  December  {Amer.  Repr.^  Feb, 
1868,  page  74).  One,  that  the  smallest  imaginable  particle 
of  reduced  metal,  as  for  instance  copper,  may  be  clearly  ob- 
served in  one  of  these  vesicles  by  a  microscope,  whereas  in 
a  bead  it  might  be  buried  in  the  centre  and  escape  observa- 
tion. The  other,  that  eight  or  ten  vesicles  kept  by  me  for 
three  weeks  at  Christmas,  became  first  black  and  then  clear 
after  efflorescing,  on  being  re-melted  by  a  blowpipe  flame 
projected  from  a  spirit  lamp,^ showing  the  presence  of  free 
carbon,  or  organic  matter,  which  could  not  have  been  there 
when  the  vesicles  were  formed.  I  will,  with  your  permission, 
continue  this  subject  shortly.—I  am,  etc. 

W.  A.  Ross. 


(Copy.) 


Frelb«x|;,  x8t  Jannaiy,  1868. 
Dear  Sir, — If  I  have  not  answered  your  letter  of  the  9ih 
December  before  to-day,  I  trust  you  will  kindly  excnse  the 
delay,  which  is  owing  to  my  having  been  so  busy.  The  ob- 
servation that  various  earths  and  metallic  oxides  may^be 
dissolved  in  borax  and  phosphor  salt,  and  preserved  crystal- 
lised under  certain  circumstances,  was  made  and.  defcribed 
some  years  ago  by  George  Emerson,*  an  American,  and  pub- 
li«»hed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  (Sciences,  March,  1865,  vol  vi.,  where  drawings  of  the 
beads  may  be  found.  Also,  G.  Rose,  of  Berlin,  has  lately 
described  the  production  of  crystallized  bodies  by  means  of 
the  blowpipe  in  borax  and  phosphor  salt  The  article  is 
found  in  the  monthly  report  of  t]ie  Proceedings  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Sciences  in  Berlin,  for  March  and  July,  1867, 
with  drawings.  I  have  verified  by  my  experiments  the 
statements  of  Messieurs  Emerson  and  Rose,  and  suspect  that 

*  This,  iB  stated  by  me  In  the  Ciikmioal  Kkwb  of  Jsn.  3  {.Amsrioan 
R^priiU^  Mar^  iUA,page  146),  Is  a  mleiipprebeMlon,  the  orystals  hav- 
ing been  formerly  poutcfd  out  by  Benellus  and  others. 


[BBg]ishBditioii,y6Lr7II,  Na  483,  pages  83,  M ;  Va  4M,  P«fe  36.] 


148 


Chrre^ipondmoe, 


the  interesting  diaooreries  made  by  you  are  iDtimatelj  con* 
neoted  with  t^oee  phenomena.* 

I  have  also  attempted  to  make  borax  vesioles  from  jour 
description,  but  have  not  realised  a  satisfactory  result,  proba- 
bly ft'om  unskilfulness  in  manipulation. 

It  would  certainly  prove  a  grateful  task  to  study  more 
closely  this  relatiop  of  bodies  to  each  other,  in  order  Co  be 
able  to  use  it  at  the  same  time  as  a  means  of  their  rooo^i- 
tion.  I  recommend  to  you  the  perusal  of  the  aboTe-meo- 
tioned  experiments  of  Messieurs  Emerson  and  Hose,  and  I 
shall  be  glad  if  you  will  inform  me  of  the  result  of  your  fur- 
ther labours. — With  great  esteem,  I  remain,  youra,  etc: 

(Signed)  Tqeodokb  BtcHTfia, 

i  JTo  Captain  W.  A.  Boss,  R.A.,  Woolwich. 


Volumetric  Deierminaiion  of  Iron, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohsmioal  Nswa. 
Sir, — The  method  proposed  in  the  last  week's  CasincAJ. 
News,  by  Captain  Ross,  for  the  volumetric  assay  of  imn  by 
the  decolorisation  of  the  iron  solution  oolored  red  by  sulpho- 
cyanide  by  means  of  a  standard  solution  of  lirno  water,  ap^ 
pears  to  be  inapplicable,  inasmuch  as  the  amount  of  Ume 
requisite  depends,  not  on  the  quantity  of  iron  present,  but  on 
that  of  the  acid  in  the  solution  to  be  tested.  The  bleach- 
ing efifect  of  the  lime  is  caused  by  the  decompoflitioTi  of  the 
ferric  sulphocyanide,  whereby  ferric  hydrate  is  precipitated, 
and  calcium  sulphocyanides  produced;  but  this  eB'ect  doea 
not  take  place  until  not  only  the  whole  of  the  free  add  pr^- 
ent  is  neutralised,  but  also  almost  the  whole  of  the  iruti  pre- 
cipitated as  hydrate.  In  practical  analysis  a  solution  of  Iron 
without  free  acid  is  never  obtained;  nor  could  the  Bolution 
be  neutralised  by  addition  of  alkali,  because  the  point  wtien 
the  free  acid  is  just  saturated  cannot  be  observed  either  bj 
test-papers  (as  ferric  sales  have  an  acid  reactioa)  or  by  the 
commencement  of  a  precipitate,  as  ferric  hydrate  ia  soluble  in 
solutions  of  ferric  salts. 

I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  examine  acid  liquids 
containing  metals  in  solution  with  a  view  to  the  detej-miiiiL- 
tion,  firstly,  of  the  free  acid,  and  secondly,  of  the  total  acid  free 
and  combined  (as,  for  example,  in  the  waste  man  panose 
chloride  of  the  bleaching  powder  works).  This  second  quan- 
tity is  readily  ascertainable  by  adding  a  standard  alkaliue 
solution  to  the  acid  liquid  examined  until  an  alkaline  reaction 
is  observed;  but  whenever  ferric  salts  were  present^  the 
exact  determination  of  the  first  quantity  was  found  impoaal- 
ble  from  the  solubility  of  the  ferric  hydrate ;  even  K^efer's 
very  convenient  process  for  estimating  free  acid  in  solutions 
containing  heavy  metals  by  means  of  an  ammoniacal  solti- 
tion  of  a  cuprio  salt  always  indicated  a  larger  amount  of  free 
acid  than  was  really  present,  from  the  circumstance  that  as 
soon  as  a  turbidity  was  produced  by  the  precipitation  of 
cuprio  hydrate  from  the  neutralisation  of  the  ammoaia  (the 
terminal  reaction),  it  disappeared  on  agritation,  the  cuprio  hy- 
drate apparently  decomposing  the  ferric  salt,  and  thereby 
being  dissolved,  whilst  the  newly-precipitated  ferric  hydrate 
also  dissolved  in  the  remaining  ferric  salt 

The  destruction  of  the  red  ferric  sulphocyanide  by  alkalies 
might  be  used  as  a  terminal  reaction  in  acidim^try ;  but  on 
trial  the  sulphocyanide  appears  to  be  inferior  to  the  ferrot^y- 
anide  (Prussian  blue)  as  an  indicator ;  and  this  latter  is  not 
BO  convenient  as  litmus  or  cochineal  tincture  aa  usually  em- 
ployed.— I  am,  etc, 

Charles  R.  A.  Wright,  B,Scl 
OJicmloal  Laboratory,  St*  Mary's  Hoq>itid,  W.,  Jan.  13^  186a, 


Water  Analysis.  \ 
£b^-^uA^  '    ^*^^®  Editor  of  the  OHmaoALNBwa 
^&  Z&se   /^i^'^^^^^d  in  your  report  of  the  proceedings  at 
meemn^j^f  ^^^  Chemical  Society  {Am.   li^rmt, 


*  ^rrbmrp 


"^n^ttt^ 


relation  to  caeh  other  tlut  puues  ef  le« 


March,  iS63,  p.  143),  I  asked  Dr.  Prankland  whetJier  the 
comparative  experiments  on  our  method  of  water  analysii 
aa  eontrasted  with  his  own  method  had  been  carried  ont  on 
natural  or  on  artifldal  waters.  Tom  report,  however,  omits 
to  give  his  reply* 

It  was,  that  n^dnral — cot  artifida!  wftters^  havip  been  ^m^ 
Inasmuch^  therefore,  as  the  amount  of  nitrogvtionp  orgajiic 
matter  present  in  these  natural  waters  is  an  uDknown  quan- 
tity, the  fact  that  Dr^  Fratikland's  numbers  ate  not  paraHei 
with  our  own,  leaves  the  question  of  correctesa  entirely  uo- 
touched. 

Had  artificial  waters  (t,*.,  waters  into  which  known  quan- 
tities of  organic  matter  had  been  put)  been  taketii  the  con- 
trast would  have  borne  a  difFeretit  construction  — I  am,  Ac, 

London  InJtltotion,  JanOHy  15^  iBaS. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Nbwe 
Sm, — In  reference  to  the  report  of  the  iast  meeting  of  the 
Chemical  Society,  which  appeared  in  the  Chemical  News  of 
the  24th  instjuit  {Am.  Eepi-int^  March,  1  i^S^  p.  J  4  JX  ^  heg 
to  state  that  I  did  not  say  that  in  employing  Messrs,  WaiJt- 
lyn,  Chapman,  and  Smith's  method,  1  calculated  the  nitrogen 
aa  albumen,  or  uiied  their  process  aa  a  meana  of  oontroL 

What  1  did  say  was  in  effect  that  the  prooeas  wM  fonnd 
to  ^¥0  valuable  infonnation  as  to  the  character  of  waters*  - 
and  that  the  reaults  were  in  nocordanoe  with  their  kaown 
hi3tot7,— I  am,  Ac, 


The  laiA  iM-aar  Eclipse. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  CHEMiCiL  Npwa 
Sm,— lu  a  recent  nnmber  of  your  valuable  journal  yoa  m- 
Berted  a  notice  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Manchesteir  Philo- 
Bophical  Society,  Among  other  mutters,  this  containe^J  a 
p^per  by  Mr*  A.  Brothers,  on  the  kte  lunar  echp^e.  In  hit 
paper  Mr,  Erothorft  expreasea  kis  surprise  that  1  had  itatt^ 
in  a  letter  I  aeut  to  the  Asironomical  Regmler  thai  I  saw 
DO  colour  on  the  darkened  part  of  ll^ie  limb  of  the  moan, 
while  he  hmcuieli'  di^tmctly  saw  odour  with  a  rej^^Kctiog 
telcflcope- 

In  a  paper  I  have  read  at  the  Royal  Ajitfononiical  Society 
I  have  iurniahed  an  explanation  of  these  apparently  coaua- 
dictory  observations. 

As  this  explanation  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  of  intoreat  tD 
many  of  your  readera,  I  should  feel  greatly  obliged  by  your 
inaerting  the  paper  in  your  jouroaL* — I  am,  ±a, 

John  BEOW5t3fo. 

Upper  BoUoway,  JanuMj  i^  1I6S. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cheieicai«  NeW3. 
Stb,— The  following  is  an  amount  of  th^j  developotent  of 
atmfcspberic  ozone  in  October,  November,  and  December: — 

In  October  there  were  large  amounts  of  oaone  on  the  md, 
atU  of  t6th,  and  morn,  of  17th:  conBiderable  amounU  on 
agth  and  30th;  very  little  on  5th,  9th,  nth.  morn,  of  utlw 
I9tb,  and  mom.  of  28th  ;  no  os&one  on  aft  of  1st,  aft  of  loti^ 
alt  of  1:2th,  J  jth,  aft.  of  15th,  aft  of  iSth,  20th,  32nd,  mora, 
of  23rd,  and  aft.  of  2.^th, 

In  November,  Lir^  amounts  on  t6th,  17th,  and  iSthi 
couaiderablo  quantitioa  on  13th  and  J  4th;  very  litlla  0^ 
alX  of  ifit,  morn,  of  9th,  nth,  15^1,  21  si,  23rd,  24th,  j6th, 
and  37tk  Ko  ozone  on  a(t  and,  3rd,  afL  of  7th,  5th,  aft  of 
gtli,  igth^  20tli^  22  nd,  25  th,  and  2^ih. 

In  Dowmbor,  large  quantities  on  I5tb  and  17th;  eoa- 
siderablo  amounts  on  3rd  and  9th ;  very  little  on  5th,  6ih, 
nth,  ijth  14th,  ajd,  25tb,  30th,  and3iBt^  No  mauM  on 
4th,  3th,  loth,  20th,  26lh— 2^th, 

*  fi«  p«iw  55.— (^m.  M&priiU^  Mar^  tB6S,J)^  tijV 


[BngUah  BdMott,  VoL  XTIL,  Ko.  4M,  pigfl  3*j  No,  426,  paE«  60-1 


^. 


During  November  and  December  the  derelopment  of 
oioae  has  been  very  scanty. 

During  the  past  year  the  greate«t  development  of  ocone 
in  January  oocurred  on  the  5th,  6ih,  Tth,  20th,  22iid,  jjrd, 
and  29th;  in  Febmaiy,  on  the  5th,  6tk,  16th,  and  26th;  in 
Karob,  on  the  25ih,  mom.  of  27th,  and  aft  of  3oih ;  in 
April,  on  the  4th,  aft  of  ^th,  room,  of  9th,  aft  of  lotfa,  and 
mora,  of  I  ith ;  in  May,  on  the  mom.  of  i4tb,  15th,  aft  of 
2i8t  and  25th;  in  June,  on  5th,  6th,  7th,  aft  of  Sth,  24th, 
aft  of  25th,  26th,  aft  of  27th,  and  aft  of  28th;  in  July,  on 
aft  of  3rd,  14th,  15th,  and  mom.  of  i6th;  in  Angoat)  on 
aft  of  5th,  mom.  of  6ch,  mora  of  7th,  i2th,  15th,  i7tti,mom. 
of  18th,  and  aft  of  20th ;  in  September,  on  aft  of  2nd,  4th, 
jth,  6th,  mom.  of  7th,  aft  of  14^1,  aft  of  17th  and  i8th; 
m  October,  on  2nd,  aft.  of  7th,  aft.  of  i6th,  mom.  of  17th, 
and  29th ;  in  Noyember,  on  the  13th,  14th,  16th,  i7tfa,  and 
i8th ;  in  December,  on  3rd,  9th,  I5tb,  and  17th. 

I  should  state,  that  in  almost  every  inwtanoe  the  leet> 
papers  were  fleshly  prepared  immediately  before  exposing 
them  to  the  atmosphere.— I  am,  ete., 

R.G.  CLlJPRWOon. 

Booniamoiith. 


view  to  deteitalne  hdw  flur  it  might  be  used  as  a  tmst- 
wortby  test  for  ascertaining  the  presence  or  abienoe  of 


Whenever  the  ordinary  test  (potassic  iodide  and  starch) 
indicated  that  osone  was  present,  some  port  of  the  silver- 
leaf  vnis  oxidised,  and  the  greater  the  amount  of  ozone,  the 
qnidker  was  the  oxidation  of  the  silver  effected. 

The  silver-leaf  was  exposed  f^^ely  to  the  atmosphere, 
and  was  kept  moistened  by  causing  distilled  water  to  pass 
over  it,  the  water  being  conducted  ftom  an  adjacent  vessel 
by  two  or  three  threadi  of  common  darning  cotton. 

By  observing  the  time  which  elapses  before  the  silver- 
leaf  is  oxidised,  an  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  relative 
amount  of  ossone  present  on  any  given  day. — I  am,  eta 

R   0.  0.  LiPPINOOTT. 
Boamemontfa,  J91L  13. 

MISCEUiANEOUS. 


'  To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbhical  Nvws. 

Sib,— I  have  for  some  time  been  a  reader  of  your  journal, 
and  frequently  find  therein  articles  which  interest  me  as  a 
manulacturer.  There  is  one  subject  upon  which  I  am 
anxious  to  obtain  practical  information,  in  which  I  am 
directly  interested,  and  which  is  seldom  spoken  of  in  works 
relating  to  organic  chemistry,  at  least  in  any  works  which 
it  has  been  my  fortune  to  consult  I  allude  to  the  subject 
of  antiseptics.  Can  you  point,  for  instance,  to  any  rule,  by 
an  aclmowledged  authority,  which  defines  the  quantity  of 
any  chloride,  say  of  mercury,  zinc,  etc.,  whidi,  when  in 
solution,  will,  with  certainty,  protect  from  mould  or  other 
change,  whether  produced  by  a  change  of  dimate,  a  moist 
atmosphere,  warmth  or  cold,  another  given  quantity  of 
material  which  contains  a  large  proportion  of  nitrogenous 
matter,  such  as  mucilage,  eta ;  and  is  there  any  other 
antiseptic  more  active  or  certain  in  its  preservative  proper- 
ties tban  the  substance  named,  which  is  equally  eoonomioJ, 
end  which  can  -be  used  advantageously  in  an  extensive 
business  where  considerable  quantities  would  be  required  ? 
If  you  can  afford  me  practical  information  on  this  subject 
or  direct  me  where  to  find  it,  you  will  oonfbr  a  favour,  and 
much  oblige,  A  Oonsiant  Skadsr. 

PblUdelphia,  Penn.,  U.S.,  Deo.  aS,  1867. 

[Carbolic  acid  or  (if  the  odour  be  an  objection)  oil  of 
doves  will  produce  the  desired  effect  About  one  part  in 
1,000  will,  in  ordinary  cases,  be  sufficient — Ed.  C.  K.] 


Iileblg'a  Extract  of  Meat.— The  Gk)vemment  have  con- 
tracted with  Llebig's  Extract  of  Meat  Company  (Limited) 
for  the  supply  of  the  Company's  extract  to  the  troops  of  the 
Abyssinian  expedition.  The  extract  is  packed  in  small  jars 
wl^ch  a  soldier  can  easily  carry  with  him,  being  onabled 
thereby  to  dispense  with  i^sh  meat  for  a  number  of  days, 
and  to  cook  a  palatable  soup  in  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  at 
any  halting  place  where  hot  water  can  be  procured.  The 
Govemment  were  no  doubt  guided  in  this  decision  by  the 
experience  gained  in  the  last' German  war,  it  having  been 
acknowledged  by  many  officers  and  men  that  they  owed  to 
the  nee  of  tiiie  extract  of  meat  the  preservation  of  excel- 
lent health,  in  many  oases,  fre^Ji  meat  distributed  to  the 
troops  in  the  morning  was  spoiled  by  the  effect  of  heat  at 
the  time  it  was  wanted;  the  extract  in  all  such  cases  proved 
an  efficient  substitute  for  meat 

Avemce  Compoattlon  and  Quality  of  tlie  intetfo* 
politaii  'Watcni  dnHoi:  tlie  Tear  1867.— The  follow- 
ing are  the  Returns  of  the  Metropolitan  Association  of 
Medical  Officers  of  Health  :— 


Hydrotu,  not  EffdroM. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chxmioal  Nswa 
&B,~Most  writers  on  modem  chemistry  regard  hydratel 
as  altogether  distinct  from  what  they  caJl  hydrated  sttl>- 
stances,  yet  retain  the  respective  names,  to  the  g^eat  risk  of 
confusion ;  a  hydrate  is  stated  to  be  a  body  containing 
hydroxyl  (HO),  a  hydrated  substance  one  containing  water 
(UsO).  Why  not  let  the  word  *'  hydrated ''  follow  its  parent, 
and  relate  to  hydrates  only  ?  Salts  without  water  are  appro- 
priately spoken  of  as  anhydrous,  salts  with  water  may  surely 
be  termed  hydrous.  I  should,  for  instance,  consider  the 
body  havmg  the  formula  MgiHO  as  a  hydrate,  that 
having  the  lormula  MgOOs,  3H<0  as  a  hydrous  carbonate, 
not  a  hydrated  carbonate. — 1  am,  eta,      John  Attfimld. 

Detection  of  Ozone, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Obbmioal  Nbws. 
Sn, — ^During  the  past  year  I  have  on  floveral  occasions 
opoaed  moistened  tilvcr-leaf  to  the  atmosphere^  with  a 

Vol.  II.    No.  3.    March,  18681  11 

[Biigliaha4llte,fUiZVa.,Me.  tSflvpaftM^  JK^.4M, 


ir«Bei«r 

in 

• 

•*-, 

H 

Hardnen. 

% 

W«ter 
CooapuiieB. 

Before 
Bulling. 

After 
Boiling. 

i 

l%am€$W'tt€r 

Graiid  Junction 

West  Middlesex 

Soutbwtrk  and 

YMzfaftlL... 

CbelMA. 

lAinbetb 

Kent  

erains. 

joa9 
«9'34 

•19^47 
ao'ao 
19-93  ' 

ao-15 

GntBi. 

X07 

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or99 

1*06 

GniuB. 

0-700 
0747 

0*816 

0794 
0*817 

0-184 
0-403 
0*624 

Deg.. 

130 
"Si 

ia-9 
xa-7 
xa-9 

x6-6 
xa'5 
xa-7 

Deg^ 

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4» 

4'» 
4*1 
40 

■7-7 
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4*4 

GnOna. 

0*003 
0*003 

0-003 
0-003 
0003 

New  Bl^er.... 
KMt  London... 

0-003 
0*003 

The  fluctuation  in  the  amounts  of  the  several  constituents 
have  not  been  considerable,  but  the  proportions  are  always 
a  little  above  the  average  during  the  early  months  of  th» 
year  when  there  is  much  rain,  and  they  are  below  the  aver^ 
age  in  the  dry  summer  months.  The  Kent  water  is  always 
remarkable  for  its  beautiM  blue  colour  when  seen  in  large 
volume,  on  account  of  the  nearly  total  absence  of  organic 
matter,  it  being  derived  Arom  deep  chalk  wells. 


*  The  loaa  by  IgntUmi  repreientf  a  yarlety  of  volatile  mattera.  aa  well 
aa  organie  maiteu  as  nmmonlacal  aatta,  moiatore,  and  tbe  volatile  eoo- 
vUtneiitB  uf  nltmtca  and  nliritea. 

t  The  oxidlaable  orgaoie  matter  la  determined  bj  a  standard  eolation 
of  permanganate  of  potaab— tbe  available  oxygen  of  which  is  to  the 
organlo  matter  aa  x  is  to  8;  and  the  reeolta  are  controlled  by  the  es- 
aiiiination  of  the  colonr  of  tbe  water  when  seen  through  a  glaaa  tube  two 
feet  in  length  and  two  loehee  la  diameter. 


«y,4t|Ve.4a%pageal9^M.] 


ISO 


Miscellaneoua. 


QaalltF  of  tbe  Gas  snpplled  to  tbe  City  of  lion- 

don.— Dr.  Lethcby  reports  that  in  the  course  of  the  quarter 
which  expired  on  the  30th  November  last,  669  examinations 
were  made  of  the  illuminating  power  of  the  gas  supplied  to 
the  city ;  each  of  the  examinations  was  the  me&n  of  ten 
observations,  and  they  were  made  in  accordance  with  the 
instructions  of  the  Act  of  Parliament  The  following  are 
the  results : — 

IiktmincUing  Power  in  Standard  Sperm  OandleB: 

Great  Central  Gaa.    Chartered  Qas.    Cltj  Comp.  Gm. 

Maximum. 16*52  16*36  15^ 

Minimum I2'02  12-57  12-00 

Average....*. 1396  14  31  1375 

It  thus  appears  that  the  illuminating  power  has  been  con- 
stantly above  the  requirements  of  the  Act  of  Parliament, 
and  to  the  extent  of  about  two  candles.  In  the  correspond- 
ing quarter  of  last  year,  the  average  illuminating  power  of 
the  Great  Central  Gas  was  13*89  candles;  of  the  Chartered 
Gas,  14*19  candles;  and  of  the  City  Company's  Gas,  14-17 
candles,  all  of  which  numbers  are  close  to  the  averages  of 
the  present  quaiter.  The  chemical  quality  of  the  g^s,  as 
regards  the  amount  of  sulphur  contained  in  it,  has  not  been 
80  satisfactory,  for,  excepting  the  Chartered  Gas,  the  quan- 
tify of  sulphur  has  genersdly  been  excessive.  This  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  table : — 

Grains  of  Sulphur  per  100  cubic  feet  of  Oas, 

Great  Central  Gaa.    Chartered  Giw.    Citj  Comp.  Gas. 

Maximum 34*61  26*30  30*58 

Minimum 12*74  »i*3S  M'i9 

Average -.21*87  ii73  22*97 

In  fact,  of  the  61  observations  made  during  the  quarter  of 
the  City  Company's  Gas,  42  were  found  to  be  in  excess  of 
the  quantity  sanctioned  by  Parliament.  Of  the  60  observa- 
tions of  the  Great  Central  Gas,  41  were  in  excess;  and  of 
the  61  of  the  Chartered  Gas,  only  21  were  in  excess.  The 
gas  of  each  of  the  Companies  has  boen  at  all  times  fk'ee 
n'om  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Chartered  Gas,  it  has  also  been  fVee  from  ammonia.  The 
pressure  at  which  the  gas  has  been  delivered  to  the  labora- 
tory has  been  rarely  under  an  inch  of  water. 

Tlie  Value  of  Milk  as  an  Article  of  Food.— Mr. 

Horsley,  analyst  to  the  county  of  Gloucester,  in  a  paper  on 
this  subject,  says  that  a  milk  may  be  of  high  density  and 
yet  give  but  comparatively  little  animal  matter,  such  as 
cream  and  casein,  whilst  the  amount  of  lactine  retained  in 
solution  in  the  whey  may  be  greater  than  usual ;  on  the 
other  hand,  a  sample  of  milk  may  be  of  lower  density  and 
yet  yield  far  more  animal  matter  than  ordinary,  though  each 
may  be  perfectly  genuine;  the  difference  in  the  relative  value 
of  the  constituents  depending  much  on  the  time  of  year,  the 
mode  of  keeping  and  feeding  the  cow,  etc.  He  found  only 
one  degree  of  difference  between  a  sample  pnrchased  at 
Cheltenham  and  a  sample  supplied  to  the  workhouse,  but 
an  analysis  of  the  two  specimens  shows  not  only  a  vast 
difference  in  the  amount  of  solid  matter,  but  also  that  very 
little  reliance  can  be  placed  in  any  of  the  instruments  usually 
employed  in  determining  the  value  of  milk ;  for  the  fatty 
matter  of  the  milk,  unlike  any  other  aqueous  solution,  helps 
to  keep  up  the  instrument,  and  gives  no  idea  of  the  actual 
density  of  the  sample,  nor  of  Its  value. 

Xlio  Telocity  of  l.l«;lit,  according  to  a  calculation  re- 
cently published  by  Professor  Chase,  of  Boston,  is  nearly  the 
B»me  aa  would  be  acquired  in  one  year  by  a  falling  body  un- 
/b^of  '"""f "c©  of  an  accelerating  force  equivalent  to  the 
^S^S^-^c^^)i^^^^^  a*  ^*'®  earh's  surface,  viz..  32  1-6  x  86,400 

£Z"^^/^  ^£W  e^^^  ^^^While  the  explosive  nature  of  this  cora- 

^'"'tej^^^^*^^  u^^h  • '  ^  attention,  it  will  be  interesting  to  give 

"^^^f^^^  ^^^     ^-^rd  to  ^he  cause  of  an  explosion  in  the 

*^^ej^^/v^^|^^   in  fatal  consequences,  deposed  to  by 

^hf^^ ^l  '^®  ^^^  diatinguislied  of  American 


chemists.  The  circumstanoes  under  which  the  accident  took 
place  are  briefly  these.  The  Central  Railroad  Company  tre 
making  a  deep  cutting  near  South  Bergen,  N.  J.,  and  in  effecti&K 
this  they  use  nitroglycerins.  A  can  containing  about  surty 
pounds  of  this  oil,  liaving  partially  sohditied,  was  carried  by  t 
workman  to  the  blacksmith's  shed,  where  it  was  placed  in 
water,  red-hot  bars  of  iron  being  plunged  into  the  latter.  Sud- 
denly an  explosion  occurred,  killing  nine  men.  At  the  inquest 
Professor  Doremus  said : — "  On  Dec.  2 1  received  from  the  cor- 
oner two  bottles  of  nitroglycerine,  with  a  request  to  report  upon 
its  properties ;  1  have  subjected  it  to  ultimate  chemical  analy 
sis,  and  find  it  is  well-made  nitroglycprine ;  the  pubstawa 
freezes  at  about  46** ;  it  is  made  to  decompoee  in  a  very  p** 
culiar  way ;  on  moistening  paper  with  it,  it  burns  with  rapid- 
ity ;  it  does  not  explode  when  red-hot  cupper  is  piaoed  in.it; 
we  tried  it  with  the  most  intense  heat  we  can  produce  wiih 
a  galvanic  batteiy,  with  two  hundred  cells  holding  a  gaIlo« 
and  a-half  each ;  some  nitroglycerine  was  placed  in  a  cup 
and  connected  with  one  of  the  poles  of  the  battery  ;  througb 
a  pencil  of  gas-carbon  the  other  poles  of  the  battery  weft 
connected  with  the  glycerine;  no  explosion  ensiied;  but 
when  the  point  touched  the  Britannia  vessel  the  niirogiyce* 
rine  took  fire,  a  portion  burning  and  the  rest  scattering  about; 
this  is  as  severe  a  test  as  we  can  submit  it  to  in  the  way  of 
heat  under  the  pressure  of  the  air ;  we,  therefore,  would  con- 
clude that  nitroglycerine  carried  about  exposed  cannot  ex- 
plode, oven  if  you  drop  a  coal  of  fire  into  it ;  if  the  liquid  is 
confined,  or  is  under  pressure,  then  an  explosion  will  ensue; 
if  paper  be  moistened  with  it  and  put  on  an  anvil  and  a  smart 
blow  given  with  a  hammer,  a  sharp  detonation  ensues;  if 
gunpowder  or  the  fulminates  of  mercury,  silver,  or  grun-cottoo 
be  ignited  iu  a  vacuum  by  a  galvanic  battery,  none  of  ibem 
will  explode;  if  any  gas  be  introduced  so  as  to  produce  1 
gentle  pressure  during  the  decomposition,  then  a  rapid  cto- 
lution  of  gases  will  nsult;  the  lesults  of  decompositioii  in  a 
vacuum  differ  tVom  those  under  atmospheric  pressure  or  whea 
they  are  burnt  in  a  pistol,  musket,  a  cannon,  or  in  a  mine; 
where  we  have  little  or  no  pressure  it  is  difficult  to  get  these 
substances  to  bum  rapidly ;  nitroglycerine  is  more  difficult  to 
explode  than  powder;  in  many  respects  it  resembles  gun- 
cotton,  which  is  made  in  a  similar  way.  If  gun-oottou  be 
immersed  in  protochloride  of  iron  it  turns  into  common  col- 
ton  ;  the  same  experiment  was  tried  with  nitroglycerine  by 
mixing  it  with  protochloride  of  iron,  and  it  reverted  into 
common  glycerine.  There  are  four  well-known  varieties  of 
gun-cotton  made  by  employing  acids  of  differeut  sireogths; 
Uiey  differ  in  chemical  compoHition  and  properties,  as  well  as 
in  their  explosive  qualities;  the  late  Minister  of  War  in 
Austria,  in  1862,  stated  to  me  that  he  had  ordered  400  can- 
non for  gun-cotton,  and  six  months  after  he  stated  that  he 
had  ordered  all  the  cannon  to  be  changed  and  adapted  to 
powder  in  consequence  of  spontaneous  combustion;  much 
less  is  known  of  nitroglycerine  than  of  gun-cotton,  and  pixib- 
ably  several  varieties  of  this  article  may  be  formed,  as  ol  gun- 
cotton  ;  this  would  explain  cases  of  spontaneous  explosioa; 
if  the  nitroglycerine  is  not  carefully  washed  to  get  rid  of  the 
acid,  a  gradual  decomposition  will  ensue,  producing  gases 
which,  if  the  vessel  be  closed,  will  explode.  My  opmioo  is 
that  nitroglycerine  should  be  used  in  the  most  caretul  hands; 
1  do  not  think  I  would  put  it  in  the  hands  of  a  oomoxm  la- 
bourer for  blasting  purposes ;  it  is  less  dangerous  in  a  froaeo 
than  a  liquid  stale ;  I  think  concussion  would  explode  froiea 

nitroglycerine Since  leaving  i  have  learued  thai 

the  can  of  nitroglycerine,  the  explosion  of  which  proved  so 
fatal,  was  full  of  frozen  or  soUd  nitroglycerine.  Now,  al- 
though the  cork  might  have  been  removed,  ii  is  possible  ibai 
the  i^-hot  irons  melted  and  decomposed  the  material  at  the 
bottom  of  the  can,  leaving  a  quantity  of  solid  niiroglyoeniie 
above,  which,  by  preventing  the  escape  of  the  gases,  pro- 
duced the  pressure  required  for  an  explosion.  A  red-bos 
iron,  or  the  more  intense  heat  of  a  powen'ul  galvanic  balteiy, 
will  not  explode  the  nitroglycerine  unless  it  is  under  pnfii- 
ure.  This  stopper  of  frozen  nitroglycerine  might  have  ckwd 
the  orifice  of  the  cau  aufficieuUy  to  produce  the  required 


ptecIiBhB4i1iflB,yoLXVlL,Va4a3^pacaa4;  Va  424,  pagas  H  >^  3&] 


Miscdlan&ma. 


151 


pmsure/'  Amoont  other  eyidenoe  w«8  the  following:  :~Otto 
Buretenbinden  said :  I  am  now  in  the  blasting  business,  and 
reside  in  the  City  of  New  York ;  nitroglyoerine  is  composed 
of  nitric  acid,  sulphuric  acid,  and  glycerine  oil ;  it  is  a  liquid 
of  light  yellow  oolor,  and  about  six-tenths  heavier  than 
irater ;  in  exploding  it  expands  10.400  times,  and  powder 
expands  about  800  times;  this  compound  called  nitrogly- 
cerine will  not  explode  by  simple  contact  with  fire ;  it  re- 
quires about  360  degrees  of  heat  to  make  it  explode;  it  will 
not  easily  explode  by  concussion  or  friction  when  fluid,  but 
it  obaoges  its  qualities  entirely  when  Trozen ;  if  frozen  it  will 
explode  very  easily  by  a  stroke  or  slight  concussion.—Wm. 
U.  White  said :  I  reside  in  Syracuse,  and  for  the  past  two 

fears  have  turned  my  attention  to  the  use  of  nitroglycerine ; 
know  that  it  is  no  more  explosive  when  frosen  than  when 
in  a  liquid  state ;  fh>zen,  it  is  leas  liable  to  explode  ;  it  is 
▼ery  hard  to  explode  a  cartridge  when  frozen ;  a  very  heavy 
weight  coming  on  nitroglycerine  either  in  a  frozen  or  liquid 
Slate  would  explode ;  I  have  seen  a  man  let  a  can  of  frozen 
nitroglycerine  fall  from  his  shoulder  on  a  rock  without  ex- 
ploding it;  I  consider  nitroglycerine  twenty-flve  times  safer 
than  powder  for  blasting  purposes;  I  have  seen  a  chunk  of 
nitroglycerine  as  big  as  my  hat  cut  open  with  an  axe. — 
The  jury  brought  in  the  following  verdict: — "We  find  that 
tbe  deceased  came  to  their  deaths  on  the  25th  day  of  Novem- 
ber last  by  the  explosion  of  a  can  of  nitroglycerine,  conse- 
quent upon  the  careless  handling  of  the  same  by  Thomas 
Bums,  one  of  the  deceased,  and  we  censure  tbe  contractor. 
Colonel  Schafner,  for  not  being  more  careful  in  the  selection 
of  a  man  to  use  the  article  of  nitroglyoerine,  and  recommend 
that  in  future  men  should  be  employed  in  its  use  who  under- 
stand its  explosive  qualities,  and  we  request  the  Council  of 
the  town  of  Bergen  to  order  that  there  shall  not  be  any  more 
than  100  pounds  of  nitroglycerine  stored  up  or  kept  in  the 
town  of  Bergen,  the  same  to  be  stored  in  a  fire-proof  vault 
when  not  required  for  use." 

IMetetle  Salt.— One  of  the  great  evils  that  owes  its  origin 
to  the  scientific  enterprise  of  the  present  age  is  that  any 
promising  scientific  scheme,  after  being  brought  into  promi- 
nent notice,  becomes  for  the  time  being  quite  the  fashion,  and 
is  then  entirely  forgotten,  ofVen,  too,  from  mere  caprice.  We 
hope  that  this  fate  may  still  be  averted  from  Dr.  Lankester's 
ingenious  scheme  of  supplying  necessary  but  frequently  over- 
looked articles  of  diet,  by  means  of  his  dietetic  salt  This 
compound  is  a  proposed  substitute  for  ordinary  table  salt, 
chloride  of  sodium  being  a  notable  constituent ;  but,  in  ad* 
dition  to  this,  which  is  far  from  being  the  sole  or  even  most 
Important  inorganic  constituent  of  our  food,  we  have  phos- 
phate of  lime,  chloride  of  potassium,  sulphates  of  potash  and 
soda,  with  smaller  quantities  of  magnesium  and  iron  salts. 
The  argument  for  their  use  is  very  strong.  Leaving  out  the 
large  proportion  of  epidemics,  almost  all  the  common  diseases 
are  directly  traceable  by  modern  phjrsicians  to  dietetic  errors  ; 
and  those  that  certainly  are  due  in  part  to  deficiency  of  inor- 
ganic food  form  by  no  means  a  contemptible  list  Scurvy  is 
known  to  arise  from  a  deficiency  of  the  salts  of  potasb. 
Scrofula  and  consumption,  rickets,  and  softening  of  the  bones, 
occur  when  the  phosphates  of  lime  and  other  bases  are  defi- 
cient Auflsmia,  chlorosis,  and  a  variety  of  nervous  disorders, 
are  the  result  of  an  absence  of  iron,  and  are  at  once  cured  by 

•  the,  use  of  this  agent  as  a  remedy.  In  such  cases,  the  med- 
ical man  is  in  the  habit  of  prescribing  medicines  containing 
these  agents;  and  there  can,  therefore,  be  no  doubt  that  the 

I  habitual  use  of  these  substances  in  the  food,  in  tbe  same  way 
as  oommon  salt  is  employed,  would  be  a  means  of  preventing 
the  occurrence  of  a  large  number  of  diseases.  The  quanti- 
ties of  the  saline  ingredients  employed,  in  addition  to  com- 

*  mon  salt,  are  so  calculated  that  they  shall  be  supplied  in  the 
same  proportion  by  its  use,  as  they  exist  in  the  human  blood, 
and  are  eot  rid  of  in  the  body.  Dietetic  salt  is  one  of  those 
simple  but  useful  applications  of  science  of  which  the  value 
is  at  once  perceived  ;  it  deserves  to  hold  a  prominent  place  in 
the  rank  of  articles  of  food,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will 
not  be  lost  in  the  crowd  of  similar  inventions. 


Wew  fleientfil^  Clttb— .^^  have  received  information 
of  the  establishment  of  a  scientific  dub  in  Dublin.  This 
dub  is  not  intended  as  a  channel  for  the  promulgation  of 
original  matter,  but  is  simply  designed  to  ^ve  to  the  mem- 
bers that  early  information  of  advances  made  by  others  in 
sdence,  which  in  London  springs  f^om  the  unorganised  con- 
versation of  the  learned  societies.  It  is  proposed  to  deal 
with  one  group  of  sdences — ^tho  group  of  physical  sdences, 
induding  physios,  chemistry  and  the  applications  of  mathe- 
matics to  physics  as  in  astronomy,  mechanics,  electricity,  etc; 
but  exdoding  pure  mathematics  on  the  one  hand,  and  phy- 
siology, geology,  and  the  other  natural  sdences  on  the 
other.  The  number  of  ordinary  members  is  limited  to  twen- 
ty-five, but  visitors  aro  to  be  freely  admitted  by  members'  in- 
troduction The  annual  payment  for  an  ordinary  member 
VA  £1.  The  sdentific  men  in  our  provindal  towns  may  take 
a  hint  ttom  this  Dublin  Sdentific  Club.  It  will  be  remem* 
bered  that  a  meeting  in  Glasgow  was  recently  convened  to 
forward  the  formation  of  a  similar  institution  there. 

Amber.— Recently  the  local  correspondent  of  a  Qeelong 
journal  announced  the  discovery  of  a  supposed  amber  mine 
at  Rokewood.  The  Age  pooh-poohed  the  matter,  and  sug- 
gested that  the  substance  was  simply  a  description  of  gum 
found  in  lignite  deposits.  The  author  of  the  statement,  as 
to  the  substance  being  amber,  has  replied,  and  says : — *^  I, 
for  one,  will  confess  that  I  never  heard  of  this  sort  of  gum 
referred  to,  except  dose  to  the  surface  of  the  roots  of  trees, 
and  certainly  not  at  a  depth  of  70  feet ;  but  for  the  benefit  of 
the  curious  I  will  give  you  a  verbaHm  copy  of  the  written 
opinion  of  a  professional  mineralogist,  who  resides  at  Baila- 
rat,  and  whose  ability  and  experience  in  such  matters  is, 
I  am  told,  well  known  there  and  elsewhere.  *  The  resinous 
substance  left  with  me  for  examination  is  undoubtedly  am- 
ber, and  has  not  previously,  to  my  knowledge,  been  found 
in  this  colony;  making  therefore  another  addition  to  our 
colonial  minerals.  The  colour  of  thQ  said  substance  is 
brown,  streaked  yellowish  white,  transparent,  conchoidal 
firacture,  lustre  waxy.  Spedflc  gravity  i*i.  Acquires  re- 
sinous electridty  by  fHction;  contains  empyreumatic  oil  and 
sucdnic  add,  and  corresponds  in  all  other  respects  with  the 
brown  amber  of  Europe.  (Signed)  A.  T.  Abol.'  I  have  also 
been  shown  the  substance  obtained  from  tbe  mme  by 
Messrs.  M'Keeman,  draper,  Ballarat,  and  Blair,  miner, 
Break  o'  Day,  either  of  which  gentlemen  I  have  no  doubt 
would  be  most  happy  to  show  it  to  any  gentleman  interested 
in  the  development  of  our  mineral  resources.  1  his  mine, 
at  which  men  are  now  employed,  is  situated  at  Grassy  Gully, 
about  eight  miles  fh}m  Rokewood,  in  the  direction  of  tha 
Msunt  Misery  Banges."'^jEfei22ara4  Evening  Fosi,  July  4, 
1867.     . 

Petroleum  for  Steamalilp  Botleni  In  tbe  Vnlled 
States  NaT]r._Alter  careful  and  long-oontinued  trials,  the 
Secretary  of  the  United  States  Navy  finally  reports  against 
the  employment  of  petroleum  as  a  fuel  in  steamships.  He 
says— "The  act  approved  April  17,  1866,  appropriated  five 
thousand  dollars  for  testing  the  use  of  petroleum  as  a  fUel 
for  marine  boilers.  An  elaborate  series  of  experiments  has 
been  made  at  the  New  York  and  Boston  Navy  Yards.  The 
condusion  arrived  at  is  that  convenience,  comfort,  health, 
and  safety  are  against  the  use  of  petroleum  in  steam  ves- 
sels, and  that  the  only  advantage  thus  far  shown  is  a  not 
very  unportant  reduction  in  bulk  and  weight  of  fuel  car- 
ried." 

Mmple  MetMod  Iter  «li«  Kxtraettoia  •<'*?*5»»^S?re 

Aei^fromtklmm From. a  oonsidcTation  of  the  lawjire 

of  either  the  basic  or  acid  »  materUls  used  In  the  ^^^^ 
ture  of  glass,  the  presence  of  P^<«g^^J^^  ^^  fa"a«^taow, 
stance  would  naturally  be  «^»^^^i, ^.J  oA^e  «^^T- 
this  add  does  not  enter  for  cortaintyjnw  »  ^ 


ywa 


ses  of  glass  hitherto  puYAiaho^ 

*  See  in  a  former  paper  «nl\t\e^  ie^^v  ' 
Tnngstio  Aoida  to  retain  Plioa\>boT\g  ,^  ^f^ 
p.  187  QiuMT.  i8«j>r.,  I>so^  x^fyj^^it^ar 


[aaclkiia<IMoii,yoLXVIL,]le.«MkPaie30;  Sa.  48fl^  pflW««  4A^  ^<^ 


152 


Contempori^ry  Scieniific  Press. 


)     MareK  IMS. 


deecribe  the  following  simple  prooeM  for  Its  extraction. 
Pound  the  glass  to  be  ezamlDed  extremely  fine,  and  shake 
it  up  with  twice  its  volume  of  weak  ammonia,  and  allow  it 
to  rest  until  the  supernatant  liquid  is  dear,  whidi  will  be 
in  about  24  hours  aA;erwards ;  the  dear  liquid  is  then  ready 
for  the  molybdenum  test.  By  this  process  I  have  already 
detected  phosphoric  add  in  Grerraan  glass  test  tubes,  in 
Bohemian  combustion  tubes,  aod  in  several  other  glasses, 
into  the  manufacture  of  which.lead  does  not  enter. —  WUUaan 
Skey^  New  Zealand. 

Iicad  Float! nff  on  IVIolten  Iron.-^Some  experiments 
have  been  made  in  Gormany  which  seem  to  show  that  molt- 
en lead  when  dropped  upon  liquid  iron  remains  floating  on 
the  surface  of  the  latter.  As  the  spedflc  gravity  of  lead 
(ii'5)  is  more  than  one-half  greater  than  that  of  oast-iron 
(1 ),  there  arose  some  discussion  on  this  subject,  whioh  has 
been  recently  closed  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner  by  the 
reaeardies  of  Professor  Karmarsoh,  of  Hanover.  An  iron- 
master in  the  vidnity  of  that  town  had  sent  to  the  Professor 
some  samples  of  such  diapn  of  lead  lying  imbedded  in  the 
surface  of  a  cast-iron  block,  and  which  had  been  produced 
in  the  manner  above  described.  Professor  Karmarsch  found, 
upon  dose  examination,  that  these  drops  of  lead,  instead  of 
being  solid  globules,  as  was  supposed  at  first  sigbt,  were  all 
found  to  be  hollow,  forming  bubbles  composed  of  metallic 
skin,  and  apparently  emp^  in  the  centre,  so  far  as  his  ob- 
servation was  carried.  He  explains  the  whde  bv  suppos- 
ing that  the  molten  lead,  at  the  temperature  to  which  it  is 
raised  by  the  contact  with  the  liquid  iron,  forms  an  indp- 
ient  vapour  of  lead,  which  is  prevented  from  escaping  by 
the  skin  of  solidifying  metal  which  forms  on  the  top.  The 
lead  vapour,  according  to  this  explanation,  keeps  ^e  lead 
resting  upon  the  surface  of  the  iron.  It  seems  that  in  large 
quantities  the  result  is  differeut,  sinoe  it  is  known  that  lead 
U  occasionally  tapped  from  the  bottom  of  the  blast  furnaces 
which  smelt  certain  classes  of  ores  containing  load,  and  in 
these  cases  the  lead  is  i'ound  below  the  Uquid  iron  acoord- 
ing  to  its  greater  specific  gravity. 

Tyrlan  Pnrple. — ^The  Tyrians  were  probably  the  only 
people  of  antiquity  who  made  dyeing  their  chief  occupation, 
and  the  staple  of  their  commerce.  The  opulence  of  Tyre 
seems  to  have  proceeded,  in  a  great  measure,  from  the  sale 
of  its  rich  and  durable  purple.  It  is  unanimously  asserted 
by  all  writers  that  a  Tynan  was  the  invenCor  of  the  purple 
dye,  about  i,'5oo  years  b.g.,  and  that  the  King  of  Phcenida 
was  so  captivated  with  the  colour,  that  he  made  purple  one 
of  his  principal  ornaments,  and  that,  for  many  oenturies 
after,  Tynan  purple  became  a  badge  of  royalty.  So  highly 
priaed  was  this  colour,  that  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  a 
pound  of  wool  dyed  with  it,  cost  at  Rome  a  sum  nearly 
equal  to  thirty  pounds  sterling.  The  Tyrian  purple  is  now 
generally  believed  to  have  been  derived  from  two  different 
kinds  of  shell-fish,  described  by  Pliny  under  ^e  names 
purpwa  and  buccinum,  and  was  extracted  from  a  small  ves- 
sel or  sac  in  their  throats  to  the  amount  of  one  drop  from 
each  animal;  but  an  inferior  substance  was  obtained*  by 
crushing  the  whole  substance  of  the  buccinum.  At  first  it 
is  a  colourless  liquid,  but  by  exposure  to  aur  and  light  it  as- 
sumes successively  a  dtron  yellow,  green,  az'ire,  red,  and, 
in  the  course  of  forty-eight  hours,  a  brilliant  purple  hue.  If 
the  liquid  be  evaporated  to  dryness  soon  afler  being  col- 
lected, the  residue  does  not  become  tinged  in  this  manner. 
These  drcumstances  correspond  with  the  minute  descrip- 
tion of  the  manner  of  catching  the  purple  dye.fiah  given  hi 
the  work  of  an  eye-witness,  'Eudoda  Macrembolitisea, 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  Gonstantlne  the  Eighth,  who  lived 
in  the  eleventh  century.  The  colour  is  remarkable  for  its 
durability  Plutarch  observes,  in  his  Ufb  of  Alexander,  that, 
at  tlie  taking  of  Susa,  the  Greeks  found,  in  the  Boyal  trea- 
sury of  Danus,  a  quantity  of  purple  doth,  of  the  value  of 
five  thousand  talents,  w^di  stUl  retained  its  beauty, 
though  it  had  lain  there  one  hundred  and  ninety  years. 
This  colour  resists  the  action  even  of  alkalies^  and  moajt 


adds.  Pliny  stales  that  the  Ty^oans  gave  the  first  grwmd 
of  their  purple  dye  by  the  unprepared  liquor  of  thepterpKro, 
and  then  improved  or  hdghtened  it  \]f  the  liquor  of  Uw 
buccinMm.  In  this  manner  they  prepared  their  double-dyed 
purj[de— pufTwra  dibapha — whioh  was  so  called,  either  be- 
•cause  it  was  immersed  hi  two  difl'erent  liquors,  or  beeanse 
it  was  first  dyed  in  the  wool  and  then  in  the  yam.— Prof. 
Du&8aiue«, 

ExploalTe    Powdor   fbr  Blaatlnc  Boeka,  eU.-- 

Experiments  have  recently  been  made,  in  cutting  for  a  tunnel 
at  Milford,  between  Nobel*s  nitroglycerine  and  the  explo«Te 
powder  which  is  manufactured,  without  danger  of  decompo- 
sition or  spontaneous  explosion,  by  Mr.  Horsley.  The  prefer- 
ence was  given  to  the  powder,  not  only  for  its  power  when 
exploded  in  a  particular  kind  of  cylinder,  but  also  for  its 
economy,  and  its  greater  safety  in  use  and  storage.  It  re* 
quires  a  temperature  of  475''  to  ignite.  It  has  been  tried  and 
approved  by  the  Admiralty,  and  is  much  liked  by  minera, 
who  say  they  are  afraid  of  blasting  oil,  and  think  gunoottoa 
usdess. 


OONTBiSPORART  SOISiNTIFIO  PBBSa 

[UndAf  this  heading  it  is  Inteaded  to  give  the  titlee  of  eO  thp 
chemical  papers  which  are  pabllahed  In  the  prinriiMil  eclendflc  pnJod- 
icals  of  the  Continent  Artldee  which  are  merely  rcprtnia  or  1^ 
■tneta  of  papers  alraady  noticed  wtU  be  omitted.  Abstrseis  of  tt« 
more  Important  MPen  here  anaounoed  wiU  appear  In  fbtoie  uzqlMi 
of  the  Chuuoai.  Nsws.J  


Product9  QfSoOa  Jfa*«#v."— ULm^wDor :  -  .a  ««w  i3Mo«»  Gi^  fif 
PotUry  Wur^'^-i.  FucBi* : "  On  Preparing  Afeials  in  Ftne  Povitt 

i3«m^r^»«e."-W.  FvLLnn:  *"  A  Method  qT  Separating  OMe^ 
SOesr  fnm,  their  Oret  by  meane  of  Lead:'-EJB*vnwM  ajto  Goto. 
-  On  aMtthod  o/ReoiviMng  Percooide  qfMangan^r-Tuma^ 
"  A  ProceM  for  Manv^eturtng  Paper  Pulp  from  f^^" -* 
RouasKAT :  "  An  Improvement  in  the  Mamnfatiure  Pf^^^ 
Smrar:'^^uvKiHimH,  Dv  Kibux,  akd  BorrGKB:  ''  On  ifu  VH  ^ 
Strontia  in  the  Manufinture  qf  Sugar.''— Du  Rj^.aJTO  Bpmu^ 
•*  ^  new  Method  of  TreaUng  Seet^root  Pulp  and  «^»«  f<*  «^„ 
-BouaNB :  "  A  Method  ofDeodorimina  Via<ufnimed  India  *$*•»•• 
^-Voatna  i'*Ona  ProomM  rendering  Fabrics  Waterpro^. 

AfmahadeOMmteetdePhpeique.  Augnst,i867. 
A.  OotHir:  *' Betwrvhee  on  OnMUne  R^fUetionr-V.JnTUX 
**  Onthe  MetaUio  Phoephidetr-^'.  D.  KnAinKor  aw»  V.  LorBTh 
iriNB:  **/8cwi^  Siperimental  Ruearchet  on  Uenry  and  D^»o^ 
Theory  of  the  AbwrpHon  of  Oae€9  by  Liquide  at  a  Cendant  nmM- 
ratureandwmder  wariabU  Prmmretr-J.  BoraawoACLt :  "^atts 
Fermentation  qf  Stone  lyuiUr—Y.  LoNouixuie  •  T  ^  ***  Z*^ 
and  DiUttaiion  qf  Beneene,  Tottune,  JTyj^nf  «H  ^^^Sf"  mS 
EWr-iVWeon  t&  Uee of  Pyritet  ineteadqfSulphwintksMemf 
faehirs  t^Mphnuric  AotdT      

MtteUn  do  la  SeoiiU  InduetrieUe  de  Muihauee,  Jnlf,  l86^ 
M.  ZinaLin:  ""  On  the  Prteenee  qf  AniUne  in  ths  CeloefdnM 
^tcted  by  the  Sea  Bnrs  Aplyeia  depikine  "— O.  ScHAum:  J»- 
poH  on  Pemod'a  New  JBaetract  qf  Garanciner—^jjuvr  :^  Rfperttn 
3rown'9  Photographic  ReprodwMone  ^  Sketchet  and  CaHeon«>' 
c^cmKuumrKwnnmn:  '"Report  on  A,  Ri9iire'9  MemoU'omatl^ 
paraOon  qf  CauHic  Baryta,'^— I.  Boiilumbbobb  :  '  2?  ^  ^*T!S 
Product  <jr  the  OalcinaUon  of  Papers— Scutum  Kmn:  on 
the  PreeeHee  of  Chloride  ofOMumin  oeHain  FbMe  found  w  •» 
Lekm  near  i5Wm«r.«-A.  Brauh  :  '•  On  eome  Oarbon  A^ -J 
HoK«-GaosJKAH  '."On  the  SubetiMion  of  Cadmium  for  ftm^ 
in  Stereotype  MetalT—k,  Bhaum  I'^On  an  Improument  in  « 
Carbon  ProoeeeJ* 

DingUr'e  IhOyteohnieohee  Jdumal.  Aognst^  1867. 
H.  GsvircBiR«  :**Onthe  Occurrence  of  Phoejthoriie  ^J^^\ 
—A.  Waonbr  I  ^  On  the  Chemietry  qfthe  *««^»^«<»**«!L<<^*,' 
Iran  ae  ueed  by  R.  Laming  f^r  the  PurMoation  of  Ooaj^^ 
BonqER:  '*  Onlhe  ColauHng  Matter  qf  the  ^'««//<^?«S.^ 
eoh^ffeUi  ae  a  deUoate  Teetfor  Alkaliee  and  AltaUne  ^"^^ 
A.  Anecm:  -  (MOe  Action  of  ilommcn  Saltan  ^?»^SST 
o/««c."-Miru)«E:  ^OnaMMkadofDeeolowidngthyingO^- 
'^On  the  Uec  qfCreoeoted  Lime  for  k*fpi^  ^^^J^Z^S^' 
^AnewMarHnglnt,''-^.  Lwam :  ^^  On  the  Dep^  qfthe  Sea.'' 

September.  ^  ^  . 

0.  Aitbrl:  «  if  nete  Method  ofEIHmating  Dioaride qf  Qnf^ 
Refined  Copper.''— A»  S.  NoaBuiauoLD :  *•  On  SOmlem  and  »* 


[BngUah  BdittoiH  yeLZTIX.,  Voidfld^VBiw41,d8»d»{  ira48aiPBfaafllXi|  M^  4fl^  pagaSA-l 


JVarcA,  1908.      ) 


•\^\^9*v\^iwvau 


^•,^^^wj^m^vvjv\y     ^      #   t/VVJ« 


'  J«7 


Umm  Orm  (OrookMiU,  EucaMU,  and  BendicmiUOfrwn  Uis  Skrik^- 
nm  Mine"-'*'  Oh  ths  Um  of  Creo§oUJifr protecting  Timb&r  against 

€bmpt98  Smdm,     Beptembw  16, 1867. 

A.  ▼.  HomAiTK:  **  On  a  nmo  Serist  of  Momologust  ofEydroey' 
tnio  Jtfid.*'— NiEPCB  Ds  Saimt-Victoe  :  **  On  toms  netdp  disotufered 
OUmieal  JSfectn  of  UgkiT^^wnwtun  i  ''Ontkt  IfydroearbonM  ^ 
Odal  Tar :  Aeenaphihens  and  jl4MArao«n«."— Pbat  :^' On  the  ChonU- 
cal  OmtmuHon  qf  Fluorine  Compounds," 
September  30. 

A.  W.  Honf^mr :  "*  On  ike  Prstxiraiioi^qflfsmfHo  Aldehjfd,  hy 
passSmg  Atmospheric  Air  eharaed  with  the  Vapofsr  ofMsthvlie  aV 
eohol  over  Incandescent  P/alJii«im.**— Sboobi:  **  A  Reewmi  '</  the 
Autior's  Resenrohss  on  StsUar  Speetra.'^—MMUKM :  *^  Onthe  Pus- 
sage^fpr^eoUlfs  through  resisting  Mei4ar-^Uwa :  *"  Rsmartes  on 
the  preoeding  Memoir.'^—OmsYSMxrL :  "  Remarks  apropos  of  Met- 
ssmP  Pinper.  an  MarMte's  JBbpeHmsnis  showing  that  Rain  Drops 
<md  othsr/aUling  Bodies  oarrv  toUh  them  a  eeriain  QuanHty  of 
Air,  and  on  Ms  Explanation  cfthe  Mode  qf  Action  qf  the  lyompe/* 
-«A.  licMB :  •*  Researohee  on  the  BgpoMorites,  and  on  the  OhloHdes 
imdforRlsachingy 

Oelober7. 

A.  DoHKB :  **Onthe  Production  €f  OraasUssd  Bodies  during  the 
i^Ur^/betion  of  Eggs.'^—FotnxjfBKi:  "  On  the  Use  qf  Bydrooyanio 
£0M  ae  a  Remedy  for  Cholera  and  other  Diseases^  —  Faa  di 
Btpiro :  ^  On  a  Portable  Mercurial  AMWiMler.*'— Baxaamo  ;  "  A 
Method  of  Depositing  Designs  in  Reliqfhy  VoUaie  Electricity  toith^ 
out  the  Dee  of  St^pping-out  Va/mMir 

BMSMn  de  V Academic  Royale  de  Belgique  (Cktsse  dee  Solences,) 
^  August  3,  ia6f. 

tanoav :  **  Report  on  JT.  Busson^s  Ohomicat  and  P^yslotogioal 
Researohee  respeisUng  the  Action  «/  AlkaUne  BIHcates  on  the  Ani- 
mal Economy:^— Q\Max :  *«  RepoH  on  the  same  AfiMMtfr.''— Mbl- 
8n»:  "^  Report  on  the  eame  M^moiir.'^—'lLasvuLi  **  Report  on  W. 
Earner's  Paper  on  the  Synthesis  qf  Anisic  Acid,  i^  Mcthylcofyhen' 
ssie  Add,  of  a  new  Oresylio  Acid,  and  on  Paraiodobsnsoie  AcMLr 
-^Rsport  on  Olaser  and  Radaimetesby''s  Memoir  on  some  7Vcm«- 
firmaMone  ofFormobensoie  Aoid.^—STAB :  **  Report  on  ^ke  same  Me- 
Motfr.'*-~KBxuLB :  "  Report  on  Eomsi^s  OontrOutions  to  the  Deter' 
m^ation  of  ChmMcaf  I^^sUion  in  the  Aromatic  Seriee,''—9TM: 
**  Repmri  on  the  above  JTem^fr."— Kbkvlb:  **  Repori  on  H,  Ronday*s 
Memoir  on  Homotariarie  il<5<d."— 8ta»  :  **  Report  on  H.  Rondajfs 
Memoir  en  JUimalie  Acidr—h.  Kikvlb:  *^  On  the  Sulphophenic 
40<da"~fi.  HuMOM  :  '*  Reeearches  on  ths  Action  of  AlkaUne  SiU- 
eates  on  the  Animal  Economyy—^.  K5bmcs:  ^*-  Note  on  the  Syn- 
thesis (^Anisic  Acid,  of  McthyLoBybensoic  Acid,  qf-a  now  OrtsyUo 
A^idt  and  on  Paruiodobense4c  ulcid  "—OLAsm  and  RADnszBwsKr : 
*  On  some  Tran^rmatione  of  Formeibensoic  Aoid."^W.  Kobitkk: 
**  Contributions  to  the  Determination  of  Chemical  Position  in  the 
Aromatie  Seriesr^n.  Rondat  :  "*  Kote  on  eome  Salte  ^RamaUo 
AgULT^"-  PreUminary  Note  on  Bomotartaric  Aoid.** 

Journal fUr  PrakHeehe  Ohemie,  Beptembef  a^,  1867. 
7.  0SOLBA:  '*  On  SiUeailnorids  ef  R%tU4imm.'»'^On  OrystaOised 
SUicq/luoride  of  Coppery— ?.  Hoohlbdbr  :  "  On  Aescigsnine  and 
on  two  aUied  SubsUinces^Oaineine  and  Ckinocine/'—A.  Claus  and 
a  BsMc :  -  On  KeuHne  and  Sinealine.*'—JL  Otto  and  H.  Ombap  : 
**0n  the  Action  of  Chlorine  on  Sulphobenside.'*-n.  Tobl:  »  On 
mme  Adtherto  unknown  Properties  ofpure  Eaphthalin,^  ''On  the 
Detection  of  Nuphthalin:*^^  On  the  Preparation  ^  Sulphide  qf 
Omer  and  Ammoniumr—C.  Winklbb:  ^A  Method  of  Preparing 
JWriodie  Acidr —  K.  HAUSHonB:  *^  On  some  Maiacoiile  from 
Gqfireee,  Bavaria.^—'*  On  eotne  Olaucontte  from  the  Cenomanien  at 
Jktorc^'—F.  Rbiwdel:  *' On  Prussian  Blwe.*^—'*  On  eome  Com- 
pounds  ofFerroeyanides  and  of  FerrioyamMes.'^^h.  Fbokhds: 
*\{M  the  Part  tohtch  NitriU  <^  Ammonia  plays  in  Nature.^ 

BuUeOn  de  la  SocUte  dT  Encouragement  Aqgnit,  1867. 
O.  xn  CiAUBRT :  "*  Report  on  P.  ffawes*e  Improved  Arrangement 
9fLiaHs>iating  Apparatus  in  which  a  Single  DidribuUng  Cock  is 
employedr—BjiLyrTAT :  '*  Report  on  Srianchon's  Pearl  Olase  for 
Glass  and  Porcelain:  — Ahbmcs;  "^  On  the  Man^aoture  of  Cora- 
meir-^.  Stikdb:  ''  On  the  Manvfaeture  of  Formic  Ether:'— 3. 
FSTTQiriBRn :  On  the  ElectrolyUc  Deposition  qflHnon  Lead  which 
«0itf  bear  RoUing:*  -*  On  the  E/ectrolMc  Deposition  ^Iron  qf  Great 
Mirdness:' -TKoovt:  "  On  Obtait^  Steel  from  Cast  Iron  by  the 
Action  qf  a  Current  of  OvygonT 

Journal  doe  Fabricants  de  Papier,    BspisaAn  1, 18(7. 
E.  Bovbdilllat:  "*  On  TBsUng  the  Ghemioal  Prodmets  ueed  in 
Paper-making.   (ConHnuation.^  BtckrmnaUqf Potash.    Acetate^ 
lead.    Litharge.    Chioridee  of  Tin.**    "*  On  tho  ITm  qf  Sulphite  ^ 
UmoacanAnUchlore. 

No.  18.    fliKoMber  15. 

B.  Boitbdilliat:  **  On  Testing  the  Chomioai  and  other  Products 
need  in  Paper-making.  {Continuation.)  Animal  and  Vegetable 
Fibres/* 

Buaotin  de  la  Sooieti  InduetrieUe  dc  MulhouMS.   AocQst.  1867. 
Ju  Thomas  :*^  On  a  nets  Oaiouring  MaMer  dtirimedffom  Btniso' 


Oomptss  Rsndus.  October  14,  1867. 
Ohablrs:  "^Answer  to  J^sugirs's  LstterontheAuthentioityqfihc 
Nomton  and  Paecal  Oorresplondonee.*^-^^€aaiK :  '*  ObeermaMons  on 
some  ObrreepondoHce  between  Jamee  IL  and  Louie  EIV.,  recenttft 
broughtunderthenoticeqf  the  Academy,  apropoe  (f^he  NtwtonamA 
Pascal  Oonirooof^:*—lM  Ybmiibb:  ^  On  the  Authenticity  qf  the 
MesDton  and  Paeoal  Correspondence:^— %xn  D.  Bbbwbtbb:  *^On^ 


other  Organiemsin  BmamaHsns^^om  ths  Oisnan  Jfody."— Faitobkii  : 
'- Letter  on  the  Authenticity  of  the  Newton  and  Paecal  Correspond^ 
♦»icfl."-0.  Kf BonMvr:  *"  Oi»  A0  Theory  of  Sun  A>0<e.*'— FoBroe  end 
Oklm  :  "  Remarke  on  Riche's  and  Eolb*s  Memoirs  on  the  Nature  of 
the  Chlorides  med  for  Bleaching. 

October,  at. 
Sir  D.  Bbbwvrb  :  ''Additional  Letter  to  Chevreul  on  the  Nbture 
qf  the  Relations  vthleh  emisted  between  Newton  and  Poseal**-- 
Cbablbb  :  **  Reply  to  U  Verrier's  Note  ropecHng  the  Authencitu  ^ 
the  Paecal  and  Newton  Correspondencey  "  OhsereaHons  on  Fau- 
gh-e*s  last  Letter.^  **  Rsply  to  Sir  David  Brewster^s  Letter  to  Ohsv- 
reul.^—BAMiUKt :  "^  Note  on  the  Precise  Date  qf  the  EgtabUOment  by 
Sir  leaac  Newton  qfthe  Laws  qfAttraetiqn.''—9kn :  "  Remarks  on 
Kirchhic^s  Letter.j>ubUshsd  in  the  Comptee  Rendue  for  October  Uf 
on  the  Theory  of  Sun  A»ote»*— 0.  Dbvillk  and  Jansbbn  :  "  0»  JAe 
StdmMrtneErnpkoneOiiichteokpktcebetween^ie  IslnndsqfTsresira 
and  Graeioea,  Aeores,  on  the  ist  ^  Jnne,  1867.''— CmnrBBirL :  "^On 
the  eame  3uli4eeL^^Vmc[un:  '^  On  Sks  Gases  disengaged  during  the 
Suhmarine  Eruption  at  the  Asoree  on  the  iSt  ef  Jtme.  1867.'^- A. 
Dbomss:  **NoU  on  lU  I^rmatton  of  Crystals  qf  GypmrnnT^ 
D*Abomiao  :  "  Remarks  on  ths  Foregoing  Papsr."^ 

Siteungsberichte  der  EaleerMehen  Akademie  der  Wissensehqftm  9m 

Wien.    {MuPksmaUseh  natarwissenschafSiche  Olasse.) 

April— May,  1867. 

JLOcatwAM-m:  **OntheUesqf  Picric  Acid  and  other Substaneee/sr 

preparini/ Microscopic  ObjseU  in  Two  or  more  Cbloure:*    *"  Report 

%i,&e  Price  <tfxoaoFlorine  for  an  Essay  on  the  Progreetqf  Minted 

alogy  during  the  Tears  l86a-6^'* 

Poggondcrpe  Annoien  der  Physik.  Avgnrt  7, 1967. 
C  KuLimn :  **  On  the  Property  possessed  by  a  Voltaic  Current  of 
causing  Sniids  to  eaepand  independently  qfthe  Beat  produced  by  OS 
Passage  of  such  OurrenL'^^C.  Rammkubrro  :**Onlhe  Phosphttes.'* 
E.  Schonr:  *'Onthe  Compounds  qf  Stdphur  with  the  Metale  qfthe 
AlkaUee.''—n.  W.  Soheodbr  vaw  dbb  Kolk:  **0n  the  Mechanical 
Bnermt  of  Chemical  Combination:  Combustion.^  ''^^¥  ^ ?' 
DseOe's  Rsnsarksen  the  A^ither's  Papsr  on  the  Theory qflHeeocta^ 
tion.^  f.  Mbldb ;  ""On  a  peculiar  Mode  of  Formation  of  Sound 
Pulses,  and  on  a  Method  ofCountinq  the  spme:*-^.  Wbbeb  :  "  J» 
someOompounds  of  Chloride  of  PkiHnum  and  of  Chloride  qfGM'* 
— F.  Ooppblsrodbb:  ^  On  a  Fluorescent  Substance  obtained  from 
r«e«o.''— K.  L.  Bavbb:  ""  On  the  Refraction  of  Light,  and  en  the 
Angle  of  Minimum  Deoiation  in  Prieme,''-n.  Gbblacb:  "  Cb««K- 
buUons  to  the  Mechanical  Theory  <f  the  Voltaic  OurrenV-^AoBl 
"  On  some  RemarkahU  l^ts  qf  Lightning.'*-^.  C.  FoQQMSVOSlwi 
^  On  ths  Mutual  Reaction  qf  Two  Induction  Maehinesr 

Annalen  der  Ohemie  undPharmaoie.  September,  1867. 
O.LoBw:  ^'On  Sulphonaphthalio  Add.^'—Q.  WiBCnni!  •  Oia 
Phenylenediethylacetone  and  Ethylenediethylaceione''-^.  Oaubb: 
"  OnSulphuroue  Cyanide  and  other  Decomposition  Products  0^ 
Sulphurous  Chloride.'"'^.  Bsmbold:  "Or»  Quino4annic  an^^^i^ 
noea^annie  Acidn'^^h.  Gba«> w»i :  **  On  Rhatama^tanmic  AM."^ 
— G.  Mamk  :  **  On  FUkMhtunnic  ile<d.'*— A.  Obaboiwki  :  **  On  FiH* 
cic  -AoW."— O.  Rbmbold:  ''  On  the  Tannic  Acid  qfthe  Root  Bark  of 
the  Pomegramite  7»^."— H.  Hlabwbw:  *"  On  the  Mittens  ho' 
tween  the  lUnnlc  Acids,  Giucosides,  Phlobaphenes  and  RsHns.''-' 
L.  CABxns:  **  (M  Chlorous  Anhydride  and  AneoJ"— G  Glabbb: 
**  Researches  on  wmenew  Derieatieee  qf  Cinnamic  ^oW.''— It  Lni- 
XBMANic  :'*0n  the  Tranefifrmation  of  the  Bromides  of  ^^Mfidro' 
carbons  belonging  to  the  SeHes  OnHm into Acetotusqf  the  FaUy 
Acids  containing  ths  same  Quantity  ofCarbonr—'^.  Hbiwij:  "  On 
Phosphate  qf  Zinc  and  Phosphate  of  Unc  and  Anunonia.'^-G.  O. 
Cwjn :  "  On  a  new  Method  qf  forming  Viridic  Aoid.^'—T.  Bbiubtxib  : 
""^  On  the  Behaviour  ^  TUuoftOioards  Brominc^'^h,  Obbohxb;  *  On 
Sulphide  qf  Copper  and  Ammonium.^ 

Bulletin  de  la  SooUtkChimi^uede  Paris.  September,  1867. 
E.  JuNOPLRiacQ :  **  On  some  Mutual  Belations  between  theMeU- 
ing  PointCy  BoUin^i  Pointe,  DeneUies,  and  Specific  Volumes  of  some 
Chlorinated  DeHcatioes  qf  Bensene.*'—C.  Fbirdkl  and  A.  Ladbk- 
bubo  :  "*  Ona  Bromide  qf  Propylene  derived  from  Acetone.**—!!, 
Grritbz  :  •*  Reswmi  efths  Author's  Investigations  on  Supsrsaturatsd 
Soluttonsr—C.  MARioir AC ;  "  On  an  Analysis  qf  .AcAyn^**''— "  On 
the  Separation  <^Niobic  from  TUanic  Acid.'' 

M^mufireeds  la  SoeUUdesJngmUeursCittUds  Paris, 

Jaaoaiy— March,  1867. 

Loi«v  I  "  Analysis  of  a  0psoimen  <^  Boiler  scale.''y$>esm :  "  On 

the  Coal FieldsSnd  Mineral  Vsine  of  the  OU  and  New  mtrH.''-^ 

E.  Fx-mwat:  ^Ouih^  same  md4eet.<^^  Fulobai:  "^  On  tie  Sptfitf^ 


4fla^fai»M;  »k4a4^v«»9ri  SK.4«ibfw^l 


mm  of  Boiler  Soale  teMbUed  5y  Z<m«<;*— Faboot,  Lnivr,  Trksca  : 
**OntAs  9ams  wW«rf."-RiBiiL :  **  On  the  Uw  cf  Cauetic  Soda/or 
preeiMno  the  I^rmation  of  Boiler  Scale  in  LocomoUve%r—¥QV- 
oov :  "  Kote  on  the  Depoeite  of  and  Mbdet  afobtaininff  Petroleum  in 
Ifcrik  America^  together  toUh  some  Acctnmi  of  the  Theories  tchiah 
home  bsen  propoeed  to aeeowU  for  iie  Ortffin»—W.  Claub:  **  On 
the  Modea  qf  obtaining  PetroUwn  in  Ameriear—h.  Moru  :  •^  Be- 
port  on  Technical  JSUuoafion."— DBLOwoHAirr':  ^'Onihe  Uee  ofPlaiee 
ofMiea  fbr  indicating  the  varioue  Planea  in  Models  f9r  teaching 
P—criptiee  Gtofnetryr^h,M90v  \  **Anaiyel9  of  a  Bepoeii  frcm  a 
Feed-water  J7«a<«r."— Flaohat:  ^  Kote  on  gome  Spherical  Conere-' 
Hone  found  in  the  Bottere  of  the  TraneaUaniie  Steamer  "  VUle  de 

FarieT  

MUtheOungen  dee  Gewerbe-  Verelne  fihr  Maiwno9ert 
No.  y     i967, 

BuRKScn :  ""Onthe  SngliOi  AUrdU  Act,  1863."— G.  E,  LAinMBno : 
**SomeJSoDperimente  on  the  OomparaHee  CaUriJlc  Power  qf  Piee- 
Mrg  and  Ibbenbwen  Cbai."— Hbeebi  -.  "^  On  the  eame  ««W*jt"— 
Ba6iM4Nir:  "^  On  the  (Mcial  Analysis  qf  JWfifc."— C.  SownAHif : 
•'On  the  Use  qf  Paraffin  for  checking  the  violent  JBbulUUon  qf 
Syrup  in  Evaporating  and  Vacuum  Pane.^^**  On  the  JUanufae- 
tnre  of  Albummr'^H.  Nicool:  "^  On  the  Presence  qf  Mioroeoopie 
Insects  in  Raw  Sugar.'^  —  Gamsbom  Bnd  Hasbal  :  "  On  the  same 
eta>fe€ir—l^  Elsmbb:  **  On  the  SubUmaHon  qf  certain  Bodies  at  a 
White  JOeaty 

'  No.  4. 

BuBLMAwir :  •^  Improved  Processes  for  the  Man^cture  of  Oafmeal 
and  qf  OiT'^F.  Lbobabd  :  "  J«  imj^roted  Iron  Barrel  for  holding 
AptfWte.''— H.  Violkttb:  "*  On  the  Preparatien  of  Copal  and  other 
JSeHne  for  the  Manufiteiiure  of  Varnish.''— "L.  Bibmav  i  ''  On  the 
Presence  qfmtrogen  in  Steel  and  Pig  Iron,  and  on  the  Condition 
of  Carbon  in  Bard  and  Sqft  SteeL'' 

Bulletin  de  la  Sociiti  Ihdustrielle  ds  Mulhouse,    September,  1867. 

J.  RoLB  '.""Onthe  Absorption  of  Carbonic  Add  bu  some  Omides.^ 
T ..»._.^       « r.'i  .       ^'-yPhotc 

'On 

Use  of 

Ondmium  as  a  Substitute  for  Bismuth  in  the  Metal  Plates  /or 
printina  Fabricsr^^.  Scbafpbb  :  "  Report  on  Pemod's  new  ito- 
iract  of  OarandneJ^'^KmihUAVt :  ^  On  some  Methods  of  FiaAng 
the  Oases  of  Stables^  and  qf  using  them  as  JTanw^."— 8aco  :  '*  On 
-x.rr„_^fa._, ..     ^.       .       --    "   ,  of  Qaran- 

'     the  Man- 
_ j  »«  0f^  ffgf^ 

Action  of  Water  on  Lead.^ 

Ginie  Industriel.    September,  1867. 
jyvpxrr  and  Turpin  :  »'  An  Improved  Retort  for  IHeUHing  Resins, 
and  for  Preparing  the  Oil  so  obtained  for  Lubricating  Purposes.'^ 
October. 
B.  Satallb  and  Co.  :  "  Apparatus fo>r  DistUHng  and  Reet^ng 
Alcohol.'"— 1>.  Lapparbrt:  ^Note  on  a  Jfew  Process  for  Charring 
TYm&er.'^—WRiNBBRGER  and  LirpovBCADB  :  "^  Portable  Apparatue 
for  the  Manti/acture  of  Alcohol  foom  Refuse  Grapes.'"— A.  K.  Rud- 
BBBO.  ^'An  Improved  Method  of  Mant^aduri»g  Nitroglycerine 
andofEseplodingthesamein  BlaeUng  OperattonsJ^-^OaoLaxi  '*A 
Wderfor  Aluminium  Bronee.*'' 

Comptes  Rendus.  October  38, 1867. 
PATBif :  ^'  Onffu  Useqf  Osmose  in  the  Mant^fodure  efSugar.'^-' 
E.  Chbtbbiti.:  ^^A  Comparative  Examination  into  the  relative  Fa- 
duty  with  which  French  and  Japanese  StUss  take  the  Byey—h. 
PoBT :  *'  Remarks  on  the  Osonoscopic  CoUntratione  obtained  with 
the  Jame  Teet^  and  on  Berigny's  Osonometrtc  Scale."— h*  Ybbbibb 
on  the  eame  subt^ect—CnvrHnrL :  "*  Observations  on  the  Discri- 
mination qf  Colour  apropos  qfPoiy^s  Paper." 

SUeungalberieh/e  der  Kaiaerlichen  Akademee  der  Wisseneehf^ten  m» 

Wien.  {Mathematisch-NalurwissetieohqfUiche  Olaese,) 

May,  1867. 

A.  F.  Rbibrnsohuh:  **  On  Crystallised  Ankerite  from  Ereberg^ 
Upper  SPyria.»—F.  IJllik  :  "*  Reitearches  on  Molybdic  Add  and 
its  SdUs."—QorTiAKa :  "  Analysis  of  the  Emma  Spring  at  Oleichen- 
hsrg,  Slyria.''—W.  F.  Qimtl  :  '*  On  the  Vdumetric  EsHmation  of 
Soluble  Ferrocyanides  and  Ferricyanides  by  Means  of  Chameeleon 
Mineral.»'-JL  Brio  :  "  Researches  on  the.Optioal  Properties  of  0(ea- 
late  of  Ammonia,  Bitartrate  of  Soda^  and  qfFormiate  ^Copper 
and  Strontia."'—E.  Bruckb:  '' On  the  Behaviour  i^someAltwniitoid 
Substances  towards  Boracic  Add." 

Jane-Jolj. 

A-  Liblbm:  **Onthe  Spectrum  qf  the  Flame  o/Bessemer  Oon- 
««fj«r«/'— P.  BocHLBDBB '.  "  On  jBsdgenine.  and  on  some  Allied 
SubsUinces-Catneine  and  CMnodnc'^-K.  Allbmamic  :  «  Chemical 
Anakfsie  qfihe  Waters  qf  the  Mineral  Spring  at  Ebriach,  CaHn- 
^*f^r~^J^^^^^ '  "  C'A«»iioai  AnalysU  qf  the  Mineral  SIpring  at 
Betdka,  Traneylvania."^}A.  EaopUBrr:  **  Researches  on  the  OpU- 
wU  Properties  0/ Sulphate  ofIron."S.  Konta  :  •*  Chemical  Analysis 
of  the  Spring  atMden,  near  Vienna."  -R  Bbuokb  :**Onthe  Struc- 
ture qfihe  Bed  Corpuscles  of  the  Blood."— T.  Rochlbdbb  : ''  On  Sa- 
ponine,"-S.  Matbb:  "  On  the  OuantUy  ofFlbrine  separated  from 
Bk)od  during  Ooaaulation."—L.  Ppavrdlbb:  **  On  the  Capadtu 
for  Heat  qf  the  Hydrates  <^  Sulphuric  Add.''*—F.  Ullib  :  **  On 
iome  Compounds  of  Tungdie  Add.^'-'B.  Allbmanv:   **  On  tj^ 


Chemical  Composition  qfMaiee  Oil"-^.  Baxt:  **  On  the  FMe- 
logical  Aetion,qf  some  Alkaloids  contained  in  OpiunL^^it.  Lvb- 
wxo :  **  Onthe  Presence  qf  Triethylamine  in  Wine." 


PATENTS. 


OommQBlealcd  bj  Mr.  Yau«haw,  F.G.S.,  Patent  Agent,  54,  (%BBoary 

Lane.  W.C. 

GRANTS  OF  PROTIBIONAL  PBOTEGTION  FOE  SIX 

MONTHS. 

1359.    S.  Belknap,  Mortimer  SlWet,  OaTendiflh  Sqaare,  MiddlewB, 

**  ImproTementa  fa  tne  treaanent  of  the  solation  of  malt  for  brcvlBf.'* 

— PetiUon  reo<Mrded  November  27,  1867. 

3384.  J.  BayliB,  Durdham  Down,  Bristol,  **  An  tanprored  ebemleil 
preparation  or  oompound  to  be  nsed  in  preparing  mixed  textile  fUKia 
for  dyeing  or  colonring." — November  28,  1867. 

3388.  T.  Boee,  Oxtoa,  Gheehfa^  and  B.  IS.  Gtbeon,  New  BrifAtoa, 
Chethire,  "  An  improved  mode  of  treating  cotton  aeed  to  obialn  oB 
therefirom,  and  in  maebtnerr  employed  therein." 

3389.  0.  Alblfser,  MlnelBg  Lane,  London.  **  Improvemente  bi  tke 
preparation  of  lulphate  of  magnesia,  applicable  to  the  treatment  of  tbe 
crude  potash,  salts  of  Btsasftirt,  snd  the  reAise  from  the  manafaclBn 
of  chloride  of  pota8siam."--A  communication  from  J.  Yorster,  and  JL 
Grunebeiv,  Oologne,  Pnissla.^Noveml>er  29, 1867. 

3405.  W.  B.  Lake,  Southampton  Bnfidings,  Chancery  Lanei  "Ab 
improved  mode  of  and  means  fur  clarifying  safccharine  solatiooa."— A» 
communication  from  J.  E.  Freund,  New  York,  UJ9.A. — fiivvciiibci  30^ 
Z867. 

344a  J.  GJers,  Middlesbrough,  Yorksliire,  "  Certain  tzuprovsmeali 
in  the  mannfactare  oi  cast  steel  and  homogeneous  Iron." — ^DeoeadMr  j^ 
1867. 

3463.  B.  Perkins,  and  W.  SmeUle,  Cknton,  near  Manchester,  "w- 
provements  bi  the  manufacture  of  malleable  metal  of  a  steely  qusl^t 
partly  from  Bessemer  *■  scrap '  or  other  Bessemer  metal.'* 

3469.  P.  G.  L.  G.  DeeignoUe,  Roe  de  la  Seine,  and  J.  Cmthetas,  Bas 
Ste.  Croix  de  la  Bretonnerie,  France,  **  improvements  In  the  ntsaote* 
ture  of  explosive  and  ftilminating  powders." — December  5.  1867. 

3473.  J.  Dorrans,  Thnrlatone,  near  PenistoDe,  Yorkshire,  '^  An  Ibip 
proved  material  or  composition  to  be  employed  for  covering  or  eoadag 
the  interior  surfoces  of  moulds,  crucibles,  or  ducts*  previous  to  tibdr 
receiving  the  molten  metal  in  the  process  of  casting,  and  tot  o<ber 
purposes." — December  6,  1867. 

3483.  R.  B.  Jones,  Nelson  Terrace,  City  Road,  Mlddleeex,  snd  w. 
Poweu,  Circus  Place,  nnsbnry,  Middlesex,  **  improrements  fcr  tte 
prevention  of  inorustatioR  In  steam  boilora."— December  7, 1867. 

3499.    L.  Eose,  Leith,  Scotland,  **■  An  Improved  mode  of  ] 
vegetable  Juices. " 

3502.  0.  MartiA,  Chancery  Lane,  W.  Barrett,  and  T.  8.  Webb,  Scr* 
ton,  Durham,  **  Improvements  in  the  treatment  and  reduction  of  titu* 
iferous  iron  ores,  vad  fa  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  fa  the  unuUbo- 
tion  of  ftimaces  to  be  employed  therein.^ — December  9.  1^67. 

3517.  A.  M.  Clark,  Chancery  Lane,  ''An  improved  process  fcr  the 
reduction  of  tfa,  so  as  to  render  it  applicable  for  0f*atfag  metols  sndte 
other  purposes."— A  commnnioatlon  from  E.  Cornelia,  BonlevaitSt. 
Martin,  Paris.  •     , 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

B  has  been  represented  to  ue  that  our  column  qf  Kates  and  ^uertm 
has  occasionally  been  made  the  vehicle  for  the  emrreptiUous  dte- 
posal  qf  trade  secrets  by  subordinates  in  chemieal  werite,  «•- 
known  to  thdr  pHndpals.    This  cdumn  has  proved  to  bs  s^ 


Jlciently  ueqful  u>  a  large  class  of  own  readers  for  u»  to  be  \ 
tant  to  discontinue  it  for  the  eake  of  a  few  who  abuee  iU  nrimUges. 
Probably  a  more  rigid  supervision  will  enable  ue  to  obviate  the 
diMcuUy.  There  will  be  no  objection  to  a  corre*pondeut  aakimg 
for  information  on  trade  eubjects;  but  the  anewer  must  likmiss 
be  made  public,  and  in  such  oases  no  name  or  address  can  be 
given,  no  private  communications  forwarded  through  us,  and  ve 
qffer  of  payment  for  information  can  be  pubUehed. 

Beodoridng  Petroleum.— l  have  been  Informed  that  a  sohittoB  «C 
"  plumbate  of  soda "  will  deodorize  i>etroleum.  Can  any  of  your  ear> 
respondents  courteously  give  me  instructions  fa  the  mode  of  prqtailsg 
and  usfag  this  agent.— O.  P.  A.    . 

Cleandng  Fire-arms,— 'Cen.  any  of  your  readers  klndlv  Inftmn  at 
as  to  the  composition  of  the  *' spirit"  sold  for  cleansing  llre-anna  I 
imagfae  turpentfae  is  one  of  the  prfadpal  ingredienl&— TbohaI 
Blaib. 

Water  fbr  Steam  BoHers.—^  S.  T.,  in  »  Notes  and  Qaerlea.'*  will  IM 
aU  he  requires  in  "*  Engineering,"  (published  at  37  B«H)ford  Stmt,  Ce- 
vent  Garden.)  fbr  March  22d,  1867,  page  280;  for  March  aq/Ok,  1867, 


phideof  carbon  is  inapplicable  l_ 

aqueous  solution  of  carbonate  of  potash,  as  bisulphide  ^of  <«rtM«Ji 
decomposed  in  alkaline  solutions  formina  sulpho-carbonate  of  the  snaB, 
which  still  keeps  the  oil  fa  solution.  •  The  process  carried  out  tew 
key-red  works  for  the  recovery  of  oil  Is  to  neutralise  the  enBulilon  ™ 
sulphuric  aold  when  the  oil  separates.  Hy posulpblce  of  alomias  fas 
been  tried  as  a  mordant  fa  Turkey-red  dyefag,  bat  does  not  dcom 
colours  so  brilliant  as  the  mordanta  fa  use.    To  devcilbe  tha  TttiBil- 


£Bngli«hadltloii,yoLZVZI,  Ma  dM,  pa«t 4ft ;  Va«W,  pagaOI;  So. 4M,  pcfa 50 ;  Va d22»  page  14.3 


JforeA,  1868L     f 


j5.nswer9  to  L/orresporiaems. 


155 


led  proMSB,  as  carried  on  in  Lancashire,  Would  ooeapy  more  than  the 
■Moe  set  apart  for  '*  Notes  and  Qaerles ; "  bat  I  may  state  here  that  the 
Turkey-red  dyers  of  England  are  three  in  number.  Two  of  them 
adopt  a  process  similar  to  that  iuTellted  and  carried  on  by  f .  SteiDer, 
JB^^  of  Aocrington,  who  is  the  third.  This  method  cannot  be  applied 
to  tae  dyeing  or  yams.  The  process  for  yarn  dyeing  fa  a  modification 
of  the  Scotch  pructfss  for  dotb.— F.  F.  F. 

Mordant  fir  Oresn  on  Ootton.^QouM  yon  kindly  inform  me 
fhroDgh  your  Chuiica.l  Msws  what  is  the  beat  mordant  f«r  dyeing  the 
new  greens  on  cotton  yarns?— W.  T.  0. 

BhaaKing  CalioOi—i^n  any  one  inform  me,  how  tm  In  bleaching 
ealioou  the  bleaching  powder  solutions  are  ezhanstedf  Can  they  be 
refres&ed  with  new  powder  ctd  irifinUwa/^  or  mast  they  be  thrown 
aw«y  when  a  certain  ouantlty  of  fabrics  has  passad  throogh  them? 
Ifaoylrtbere  any  practical  rule  for  guiding  the  maflufacturer,  such  as 
tkv  observation  of  the  specific  gravity  of  the  sulntion  f  It  appears  some 
bleadiers  exhaust  their  solutlouji  much  more  than  others. — G.  JL 

IhodorMng  Petroleum.— Your  correspondent  O.  P.  A.  deelres  to 
reeelre  information  on  the  preparation  of  **  plmnbate  of  soda,*'  its  use 
and  application  in  deodorising  petroleum ;  irhen  oxide  of  lead  or 
litharge  is  added  to  a  pretty  concentrated  solution  of  caustic  soda,  the 
oxide  of  lead  Is  dissolved  therein,  and  may  be  considered  to  play  towards 
the  soda  the  part  of  aa  acid ;  the  clear  soUltion  may  be  used  with  ad- 
vantage to  deprive  petroleum  of  souie  foil!  smelling  oompounds  It  may 
happen  to  contain,  especially  as  soTnetimes  occur  organic  sulphur  com- 
pounds, by  thoroughly  ahaiciug  and  mixing  the  petroleum  with  the 
plnmbtite  of  soda,  and  afterwards  gitf  ng  sufiiclent  time  for  the  liquids 
to  separate  in  two  layers;  the  uppar  layer  being  the  petroleum,  the 
latter  will  bare  to  be  washed  with  water  to  remove  the  adhering  soda, 
and  should  then  be  deprived  of  moisture  by  applying  lumpe  of  caustic 
Ihne.— Or.  A.  A. 

Anilins  /^e«.— Could  you  kindly  Inform  me  aa  to  the  best  method - 
of  stripping  off  the  antltne  dyes  of  g<KMla,  and  if  any  book -is  published  on 
the  manufitctnre  and  method  of  dyeing  these  colours f—W.  P.  B. 

Mordant  for  Grem  on  (Jotton.—lt  W.  T.  O.  will  send  his  address, 
T.  Chorleswurtb,  Jun.,  Leicester,  will  send  htm  the  required  mordant. 

Mordant  for  Or^en  on  Ootton.-^e  yiens  de  lire  dans  votre  dernier 
nnero,  qu'un  de  vue  corre:ipondanta  cberche  k  avoir  le  proc6dd  d'ap- 
ptteatlon  du  nouveau  vert  sur  coton.  Comme  je  suis  aussl  bien  tein- 
tttrter  que  fabricant  de  produita  chimiques,  TeulUei  dire  &* votre  client 
d«  uj*envoyer  quvlques  livres  de  coton,  que  Je  telndral  par  mon  proc^d^ 
en  nouveau  vert.  Ci-inclus  un  6c  tantillon  de  colon  teint  par  mon  pro- 
eM^  Daus  Tattente  de  vos  nouvelles;  veullles  rej^voir.  Monsieur  le 
Directeur,  Ac — Pixkbk  Clavxl.  Jiale,  le  13  Janv.,  x86&  [The  speci- 
men of  dyed  cotton  menlinnod  bv  M.  Olavel,  can  be  seen  at  our  office.] 
..  IHphtnyUifnine. — Ouuld  you  inform  me  how  I  mlffht  make  diphenyl- 
amino  f  Tnere  is  a  process  mentioned  in  **  Watts'a  Unem.  Diet  ,*^  but  so 
•xpensiTe  that  it  is  impossible  to  use  it.  There  must  be  another  plan 
of  making  it,  I  believe,  fur  1  find  a  process  which  speaks  of  commerdal 
dlphenylainine. — ^io  NuaAM  its. 

BtaLracUon  of  OU.—J>uein(f  Turkey  Bed^—Wtll  you  kindly  inform 
▼our  correspondent  **  E,'^  of  Notes  and  Queries  of  aoth  of  December 
last  {Am.  Jtepr.^  Feb.^  1868,  page  99),  that  if  he  will  correspond  with  me 
on  the  subject  on  which  he  inquires,  I  shall  be  happy  to  give  htm  all 
Infbrmation  necetisary.— &i/oolph  ScHOiiBOie,  Ueele,  Belgium,  a  Jan., 
1868. 

Ounetant  Galvanie  Current.— Tho  following  obaervattons  may  have 
occurred  to  others,  but  not  having  met  with  them  published,  they 
may  be  of  yalue  us  tending  to  the  perfection  of  our  scientifio  insu'tt- 
toeots,  by  .providing  the  source  of  a  constant  galvaiiio  current,  of  large 
Maatity  and  very  greitt  intensity.  The  bichromate  of  potash  battery 
luralahea  a  current  of  great  force,  and  its  simplicity,  economy,  and 
convenience  of  management  would  make  it  preferable  to  the  double 
fluid  batteries,  but  for  ita  want  of  constancy  when  a  eurrent  of  large 
qoantigr  is  required,  isxperimenting  with  it  lately,  I  became  satisfied 
of  the  cause  x*f  thb  defect.  Although  there  may  be  a  large  reservoir  of 
liquid,  only  the  stratum  between  the  plates  la  active,  and  as  no  gas  bcdng 

gven  off  there  is  no  cii-culatiun;  this  soon  becomes  exhausted,  and,  as 
Is  renewed  merely  by  diffusion,  can  only  maintain  a  current  equiva- 
lent to  the  fresh  supply  of  liquid  thus  obtaine<l.  1  therefore  used  a  thin 
beaker  abtue  cuniaiuing  vessel  and  placed  it  over  a  Bunsen*s  burner 
capable  of  maiuialnlng  a  moderate  circnlatlon  of  the  liquid,  and,  as  I 
exiMCted,  the  battery  now  gave  its  fullest  forco  with  absolute  constancy 
until  the  cumpiete  exhaustion  of  the  ezcitiug  fluid.  Mechanical  stirring 
of  the  Uquitl  or  motiou  of  the  plates  will  produce  a  similar  result;  and 
tuoB  by  any  uf  tne  various  modes  which  may  be  empluyed,  this  bat- 
tery can  be  made  to  yield  a  current  more,  powerlu  than  any  other 
known  form,  without  giving  off  any  noxious  gases,  and  as  absolutely 
constant  as  can  be  desired.— John  T.  SfKAOira. 

J>eterminacion  of  free  Hulphitric  Aoid. — I  want  to  determine  the 
fkve  sulphuric  acid  in  superphosphates,  and  do  not  quite  know  how  to 
do  Ik  la  ic  p'leiible  to  do  it  by  shaking  the  soiution  with  oxide  of  lead 
and  to  deCermlue  afterwards  tlie  sulphate  of  lead  formed  ?  Can  any  of 
your  correspondents  tell  me  if  this  plan  would  do,  or  can  they  tell  me 
of  another  way.— V.  C. 

2b  J*reoe7U  Water  Freeeing.—Caax  any  of  your  readen  oblige  by 
answering  the  following  questions :  i.  What  proportion  of  salt  must 
be  added  to  water  to  prevent  it  froeaing.  when  exposed  to  the  coldest 
weather  known  in  this  cuuutry  ?  2.  What  percentaige  of  alcohol  should 
Water  ountain  for  the  duiue  purpuae  ?  3.  Is  there  any  other  cheap  sub- 
atunce  whkh  would  effect  the  same  object,  and  which  would  not  attack 
boa  ?— VoLTA. 

•  MleacMng  Oalico^^Ywa  oprreapondent  O.  L.  desires  to  receive  In- 
formation  relaiing  to  "  iileachlug  Powder  ttolutluns."  It  is  not  abso- 
lutely neceasury  to  throw  away  the  aolntiona  after  tou  have  passed  a 
certain  quantity  of  fabrlca  through  them,  unless  m  the  case  of  very 
fine  gooda,  or  where  there  are  any  coloured  ornaments  in  the  doth  to 


preserve;  the  Mlutlon,  If  It  has  been  kept  too  long,  Is  apt  to  injure  the 
fabric  or  decolorise  the  ornaments.  The  usual  metnod  for  testing 
solutions  of  bleaching  powder  is  by  means  of  the  sulphate  of  indigo 
test.  The  hydrometer  being  a  very  fitllaclous  test,  I  would  recommend 
your  correqMndent  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  chlorimeter 
test  introduced  by  the  late  Mr.  Walter  Grum,  and  which  is  so  easily 
manipulated  that  a  workman  of  ordinary  intelligence  can  eaaily  un- 
derstand it.  The  chlorimeter  test  can,  if  I  mistake  not,  be  procured 
IVom  Oriffin,  who  I  have  no  doubt  will  give  every  information  regard- 
ing it.— A.  G.  S.     ' 

2>eteoMon  of  MagneHa  in  the  preeenoe  qf  Manffaneee.—Wli«a  a 
compound  Is  perfectly  f^e  ttom  magnesia,  but  contains  manganese, 
together  with  phosphates  insoluble  in  water,  on  adding  ammonia  and 
hydrlc  dlsodlc  phoqphate  (Na3HP04)  a  precipitate  is  almost  invariably 
obtained;  this  precipitate  has  verV  mudi  the  appearance  of  triple 
phosphate,  and  might  be  readily  mistaken  for  It ;  but  analysis  shows 
that  It  does  not  contain  any  magnesia.  Its  formation  is  due  to  MnO 
being  carried  down  with  FeaOs  on  boiling  with  potash ;  by  boiling  with 
chloride  of  ammonium  the  MnO  is  dissolred  out;  now  on  treating  with 
Na2lIF04  and  ammonia,  the  precipitate  in  question  is  obtained,  which 
adheres  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel  where  it  has  been  rubbed  by  the  rod, 
in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  the  magnesia  precipitate.  This  reaction 
does  not  take  place  if  the  precipitate  containing  BlnO  be  exposed  to  the 
air  for  some  time,  for  then  it  absorbs  oxygen,  and  forms  MnOa, 
which  is  insoluble  In  chloride  of  ammonium.  Mg  may  be  readily 
detected  in  the  presence  of  Mn  by  dissolving  the  precipitate  In  HCL 
neutralUng  with  ammonliL  and  precipitating  the  Mn  by  means  of 
ammonic  sulphide  and  again  adding  Naa  HP04and  ammonia,  when 
the  Mg  will  be  precipitated,  and  this  may  be  known  to  be  firee  irom  Mn 
by  its  not  colouring  a  borax  bead. — ^A.  Livsasioox. 

Dyeing  Black.— CouiA  you  kindly  inform  me  of  the  best  method  for 
dyeing  a  good  black  for  polishing,  and  the  best  means  to  dye  the  yarn 
tbrouKh.— K.  B.  i;. 

Yeuoie  Chromate  of  Zeod.— Can  any  of  your  correspondents  give 
me  a  process  for  preserving,  with  its  original  lemon  tint,  yellow  chro- 
mate of  lead  in  paste.  The  method  of  precipitating  with  excess  of  sul- 
phate of  lead  is  unsatlHfactory. — ^A,  C.  B. 

Ou^yahloride  of  Magneeia.-!  am  engaged  In  a  business  connected 
with  the  use  and  preparation  of  cements  in  the  building  trade,  and 
would  thank  aiiv  of  your  numerous  scientific  fHends  to  inform  me 
where  I  might  find  cheaply  a  crude  carboi  ate  of  nuignesia  suitable  for 
making  oxy  chloride  of  magneshi  for  siliceous  cementation,  and  a  few 
hints  as  to  the  best  mode  of  its  preparation  and  use.— J.  E.  Hamilton. 

Free  SulphtiHo  Add. — A  correspondent  in  your  hiAt  issue  {Am, 
R^rinty  Mareh^  1868,  pagei$s)  desires  a  iirocess  for  the  estimation  cf 
*'  Free  Sulphuric  Acid  in  Superphuaphatea.^^  I  have  much  pleasure  in 
assisting  him.  The  following  is  a  method  which  I  have  frequently 
tried,  and  Is  satisfactory  for  the  purpoc»e.  A  water  solution  of  the 
manure  being  made,  evaporate  slowly  until  a  small  quantity  only  Is 
left :  add  about  seven  volumes  of  concentrated  alcohol,  and  allow  to 
settle  in  the  cold  for  some  hours.  This  precipitates  all  sulphates,  and 
leavea  In  solution,  besides  phosphates,  the  free  sulphuric  acid.  Jnlter.  . 
wash  with  alcohol,  add  a  laige  amount  of  water  to  the  solution,  ana 
carefully  evaporate  off  the  spirit,  and  estimate  the  add  by  baric  chloride, 
etc.  The  soluble  phosphates  do  not  lU  any  Way  hiterfere.— B.  Oabtsb 
MorrAT.  Ph.  D^  Ofasgow. 

Weighte  and  Measure*. — ^Now  that  foreign  weights  and  measures 
are  so  much  used  in  scientific  b<N}lu.  it  would  be  a  great  advantage  to 
those  who  like  myself  are  (lOt  verv  converaant  with  the  value  of  these 
figures,  it  one  of  your  clever  mathematical  correspondents  would  cal- 
culate and  publish  in  your  columns  some  simple  factors  whereby  kilo> 
grammes  could  be  converted  hito  cwts.  and  tons,  francs  into  shilllnga 
and  pounds  sterling,  grammes  into  ounce*,  metres  into  feet  and  yards, 
etc,  etc,  by  a  dmpie  process  of  muliiplicaUou.— Igmobamds. 

ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

irOTIOK.—The  American  PvJbUshere  of  Thv  Cbbmioal  Nswb  give 
notice  thai  in  accordance  toUh  a  euggeetion  of  Mr.  Obookm.  the 
Mditor  and  Proprietor  (tf  the  SnglUk  publication^  they  toiU  be 
pleased  to  receive  and  fortoard  to  him  in  London  any  eoien$iJto 
pubUoaUone  issued  in  America^  fsr  retfiew—and  also  any  Hotes 
and  Queries^  Articles,  Correspondence^  eic^  for  publication  or 
reply.  Their  facilities  of  communication  with  Mb.  Cbookcs  ren-' 
der  this  very  desirable  to  all  persons  in  the  Uhiied.iStates  who 
wish  to  confer  tcith  Mm.    Address^ 

W.  A,  TO  WHSE^D  db  ADAMS, 

434  Brooms  Street,  New  Torb, 

W.—1.  The  oU-nut  has  been  submitted  to  a  high  botanical  authority 
for  report  upon.  2,  We  belicTe  no  one  bought  the  business  yon  apeak 
of.    You  can  get  everything  you  require  in  the  way  of  apparatus  at 


Griffin  A  Sons,  Oarrick  Street. 

W.  jB.— Will  our  correspond! 
of  the  dvelng  procesa  which  he  thinks  would  be   too  long  for  our 


ondent  fovour  us  with  the  tall  description 


columns  f 

X.^The  explanation  is  rery  simple.  Each  add  wUl  separate  a  por- 
tion of  the  other  trom  its  combinations.  Otir  Publisher  says  that  be 
can  sapphr  the  periodicato  if  you  will  send  particulars. 

W.D.  vbdrey.—Vfe  are  obliged  for  our  correspondents  calling  at- 
tention to  the  artlole,  and  will  endeaTonr  to  meet  his  wiahes.  it  Is  yery 
gratifying  to  find  that  the  American  Keprlnt  of  the  Chbmioal  Nbws 
Is  so  Ugbly  appreciated  In  all  parts  of  the  United  Btatee. 

J,  W.  ypiM^.— BecelTed  with  thanks. 

D.  fTaMic— The  remarks  referred  to  In  the  Qnarterly  Journal  wtte 


Bdttioii,VoLZ7II.,iro.d29^F«g*l«;  Vo.4a3,pa«efl5;  VA494»F«g*37;  Hc^  42^  page  4ft;  Ha  40^  PN^  61;  Va  422»  (i^;^  U.} 


Sp€dtrtun  will  find  eome  excellent  uHcles  on  the  application  of  ipeo- 
teum  analysis  to  the  mierosoope,  by  Mr.  dorby,  In  recent  Tolomes  of  the 
Chbmioal  JNkws. 

SnquArer.—'Vhe  French  metre  It  the  fbrty-nlUtonth  Dart  of  the 
length  oi  the  earth's  meridian,  or  the  ten-millionth  part  uf  the  distance 
from  the  equator  to  the  pole. 

S  Iiy9tery,^A.  correspondent  fbnrards  the  foliowlnff  catting  from  a 
oontemporary,  and  asks  for  an  explanation  :  **  bnccimc  Add.— M.  J. 
Uooper,  In  aoommnnioatlon  to  the  Chemical  News,  pohits  oat  that 
the  presence  of  active  acid  or  a  soluble  acetate,  partially  or  entirely 
suspends  the  ordinary  reaction  of  succinic  add  In  solutions  of  fbrrfc 


M  Ann5er.— Coat  the  polished  steel  wHh  a  mlxtare  of  Ihne  and 
■weet  oil  before  putdng  It  away.    This  will  prerent  it  pitting  rasty. 

AneUyst—A  mixture  of  fluetr  graaulated  zinc  andiron  nUngis  put 
Into  an  alkaline  solnclon  of  a  nitrate,  will  cause  ail  the  nitrogen  to  be 
evolted  In  the  form  of  ammonia.  Uarooart*S  pioeess  for  estimating 
nitrates  is  based  on  this  principle. 

J^MCt.— Vou  can  Alter  the  »irong  nitric  aeid  solatlon  thirmgll  a  taft 
of  can  T^otton  luosely  pushed  Into  the  neck  of  a  ftinneL 

M.  JSC.  i^.— We  strongly  advise  you  not  to  attempt  to  prepare  driortde 
of  nitrogen.    Nitroglycerine  b  innocence  Itself  In  comparison  to  It 

7!  Sterry  HwiU  {Monireat^.—Kniye^  too  lata  for  inaeitlon  in  this 
iHunber.    It  shall  appear  next  week,  a 
^.  Maldon.— Yon  must  use  the  best  charcoal  iron.     »Pig'*  is  too 

ftSnieUL'^'nt  exact  ecpiivalent  of  heat  Is  77a  foot-poondi,  aecord- 
Ing  to  Joule's  most  recont  reeearotoes.  The  prooable  error  Is  consider^ 
ablv  less  than  i  lb. 

W.  Murruf.—iyr.  Phipson  has  detected  the  pteseoce  of  xanthic  oxide 
In  ffoanos  which  conUln  no  uric  acid. 

QusrUt— The  colour  of  green  pioklea  may  be  greatly  Improved  by 
previously  bulUng  the  vegetables  In  water  containing  a  quarter  of  an 
ounce  of  liquid  auomonla  to  the  quart.  .  u,       • 

Oarbo  — i*ermanganlc  acid  Is  volatile  bot  rery  anstable.  Ton  will 
not  be  able  to  make  use  of  Uiis  property  In  separating  manganese 

^"StoASitT— Ihritot  of.  inry  awards  In  claas  a,  section  A,  was  given  in 
the  OHamoAi-  N  kws,  voL  vL,  p.  6 a,  et  aeq.  {Enq.  Bd.)  ^,  ^    . 

J>r.  WiLketmi.—i\ie  price  ot  the  German  edition  of  '^Oeaehlclite  der 
<%emle.''  by  Dr.  T.  Geroing,  is  9s. 

W  Sadies  —The  best  pructlcal  information  which  we  know  of  on  the 
nblect  of  irrlndlng  lenses  Is  given  in  a  little  work  pub!lshcd  by  decristan, 
ofFaris,  enUiled  *'  Ue  U  distance  Foeale  des  eJyst^mes  Opdques  Con- 
▼encente."    The  price  is  about  as.,  6d.,  or  3s.  ..  ,.    ^ 

W.  Bird  //er</i>aW. —Itecoivcd  with  thanks.    A  proof  shall  be  tor- 

^  Jtoo»«to««.~Amongst  mhieraloglBta  the  name  moonstone  b  applied 
to  one  or  the  varieties  of  felspar.  Fine  specfanens  possess  a  certain 
Talue,  but  they  cannot  legitfanately  be  caUed  gems.  Adularia  is  another 
name  for  the  same  stone.  ,     ^        «v  v^ui- 

jSJLsio.— Trbt  the  deposiu  for  orate  of  soda.     They  are  probobiy 

"  O^^^^l^^ro  "•  '><>  ^?"  tJj^n  Sa  •«P«»te  prodncto  of  the 
dMtructlve  dlstillallon  of  coaL  It  would  occupy  nearly  the  whole  of 
Sta  coluimi  to  give  tbe  list.  Dr.  Franklantfs  Lecturas  on  Goal  Gm 
Seporied  in  thli  Journal  In  the  spring  of  hot  year)  wlU  give  yx^  fUU 
information  on  this  p^V^ _^  ^^^^  ^  «„,w-iH«n  that  the 

. ofcarbon, 

•TooDtri^ted  wlththe  fixed  nature  of  the  ulUclura  and  boron  oxides, 
•jidUie  olfference  between  the  hydrogen  compoonda  of  one  and  the 
*  o^ers.  are  much  against  the  view  which  some  chemists  have  adopted. 
At  the  same  time  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  number  of  prgauio 
eumpounds  containing  sUlclum  is  hicreaslng  dally. 


irforngtlonon^Ujls polnV^^ ^^^  ^^  ^ .apposltton  that- 
ehemktrv  of  sllldum  and  of  boron  would  be  as  extend ve  as  that  of  c 
r°-T^.1«  invMilaated.   Tbe  giiae«>us  character  of  the  oxides  of  oarb 


ir<|/'u.— The  existence 

^^  ^ordUaiJta  —Tour  communication  has  been  forwarded  to  the 
required  address.*  ^ou  will  must  Ukely  hear  direct  by  post.  If  any 
SbAsolty  ocoura  about  sending  letters  we  will  communicate  through 


y  HooDtarL-yfriUi  to  the  Secretary,  Burlington  House,  W. 
Snquirw  aska  for  the  best  work  treating  on  the  oombosUon  of  coal  in 

^mwiML-^e  Dr.  Miller's  lectures  on  spectrum  analysis,  reported 
two  vean  flRo  hi  this  jourmiL  No  special  book  on  tnis  subject  has  yet 
been  pubhshed  In  Kngtond.  A  very  Kood  one  in  Dutch  was  wntien 
fl^M  veais  ago  by  M.  Dlbblta,  and  reviewed  In  the  Obkmioal  News. 

jr  7t— Mix  u»e  crude  puratlin  with  pansfiln  oil,  bensnl,  or  coal  naphtha. 

Jgtiirff rr^  — '  We  believe  Dr.  Oram  Brown  nrst  brought  his  system 
c^naohlc  notation  tHsfore  the  Koyal  fiocleiy  of  iCdhibargh.  a.  The 
nu^es  are  given  In  the  Jdurual  of  the  Chemical  Society.  They 
uTiMX  thought  much  of  by  chemists.    3.  Not  except  througu  a  mem- 

^jf^  p,  JL— A  letter  Is  waiting  for  you  at  our  oAoe.    Please  forward 

^^  D  ^wtoid  5MJ»crl»er. -Toluldlne  Is  a  regular  article  of  oom- 
*  I  Som\  ftl"^***^  any  aniline  maker,  or  dealer  in  coal  tar  produota 


F.B.H. ;  M.  Peterson  ;  J.  Hallett  vwith  enclosure) ;  Gontantine,  CoaM, 
Zabielo;  L.  Lloyd;  F.  O.  Ward;  Dr.  Quartach;  F.  H.  UiU  (widica- 
closure);  Dr.  Bohrig  (with  eBcloaUre);  J.  Kussell;  W.  Holvoek;  f. 
Koberta:  Dr.  Letheby  (wUh  enclosure);  A.  Lavenant;  Dr.  k  Ains 
Smith,  F.R.8.;  Captain  W.  A  Bees  (with  enckwuie);  T.  BmW 
(with  encloture);  f.  C.  Samuels;  G.  V.  Symons;  Dr.  WUhelais;  GL 
P.  Bahln;  K.  J.  Quarles;  W.  Sutton  (with  enclosure);  T.  BhIr;  B. 
Waldie  (with  endosuie);  J.  Wallace  Tonng  (with  enclgsiirc);ik 
Smith ;  Vodrey  and  Bro. ;  J.  Bny ;  Bl.  A.  Whichelo ;  W.  Kudier  (vtft 
enclosure) ;  w.  H.  Dear ;  W.  baiter  (with  endoeure) ;  J  .E.Thorpe; 
W.  £.  Walker;  P.  Jessop;  G.  Farm;  L.  Iloner;  W.  Wll»m  (wllk 
enclosure);  W.  Kelso;  W.  H.  Hoadley  (with  endoeure);  J.  H.Jote- 
son  (with  enclosure);  Longmana and  Ca ;  spotUswoode  and  Co.;  Ik 
W.  J^es;  J.  Bobarts  Penrose;  Dr.  Adriani  ;  A.  C.  Bowdler;  Dr. 
Day  ;  Mawson  and  bwan;  H.  Baatrick;  J.  Chalmers  ;  A.  GleDdniifaii; 


J.  A.  Parkes;  L.  Wundt;  C.  E.  Gorman;  P.  Darcy;  Bev.  A.  Uq; 
Llebtg  Extract  Meat  Oompanv;  Dr.  Muspratt;  J.  G.Lee;  U.  B. 
Manden;   D.   Dawson;   Dr.  Quesneville;   b.  Bowlaod;  U  Wan*; 


.iunrwtcu,     u,     A/awawu,     xme.    >|ueBiH9vuiti ,     o.  Auwiauu,    n.   n  him*, 

Bev.  J.  T.  Burt;  J.  L.  Tgelstrdm;  Bunconi  Soap  aiid  Alkali  Ooa> 
pany ;  F.  0.  Cli^n ;  T.  Onarlesworth.  Jan.;  Captain  W.  A.  Ba«; 
J.  K.  Spragne;  J.  How;  J.  Walker  (with  eackwure);  Dr.  hai^mg 
(with  enclosure):  V.  Cruse;  Dr.  Uerapath;  F.K.a.;  Dr.  W.  Kelfaiar; 
J.  Butterfleld;  B.  Nicholson;  F.  C.  Calvert  &  Co.;  Bev.  A.  Jtim^ 
Dr.  Letheby  (with  enclosure):  W.  H.  Exall  (with  enckMQre):liC 
Murphy  (with  enclosure) ;  L.  Benxdn ;  J.  G.  Bell ;  J.  bpragne  (vllk 
enclosure):  £.  M.  Delf:  J.  SpiUer;  w.  J.  Day;  Profeceor  Beam; 
G.  B.  G.  Tlchbome  (with  encloeure);  F.  C.  Calvert  A  Go.  M* 
endoanre):  W.  Sugg;  B.  G.  Tosh  (with  endosorr);  Magneeiam  Mstil 
Co^  B.  Cetti;  TTH.  Bowney  (with  enclosnr^);  Dr.  B.  OxIsbA; 
J.  Bey  wood  ;|Dr.  A.  Wuth  (with  endoeure);  J.  Alesaor  (with  eadosere); 
B.  Tailing;  B.  Buouiey  (with  enclosure);  K.  D.  Day;  W.  ViiklBMB 
(with  endoeure);  J.  H.  Kiel;  W.  bmlth;  W.  iiaUey  and  boo  (vHh 
enclosure);  J.  UIIl  (with  eod«sore);  K.  W.  BarUett;  J.  ba1veBer;H. 
Hankey  (with  endoeure);  Professor  Heaton ;  J.  How;  W.  Oorte; 
B.  M.  Delf;  J.  Bprugue  (with  eudosure)  ;  B.  GoodchiM  (wtU  co- 
closure)  ;  J.  Emerson  Beynohis  (with  endosuree) ;  J.  Browning  (wtth 
eoelusure);  D.  ForbeiL  F.B.S.  (with  encloaure) ;  Bev.  fi.  W  ttlfacoas 
(with  enclosure);  W.  Wood  (with  endoeure);  Arcbd.  Llversedge (vhh 
enclosure);  C.  J.  Woodward  (with  enclosure);  Dr.  Day;  Dr.  B. 
Debus;  Dr.  Attfield  (with  endoeure);  Dr.  Fraakland,  F.BJBl  («lih 
enclosure);  J.  Hordey  (with  endoeure);  M.  Jannaon;  Dr.  K  Bohrig 
(with  endosure) ;  Messrs.  Townsend  ds  Adams,  New  York  (with  «• 
closures);  W.  Ercot  Smith;  F.  A.  Aramayo;  O.  Cuke;  J.  Dahnelra;  B. 
P.  Dobson  (with  enclosure);  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Matthey;  J.  K 
UamUton;  A.  Hochstetter:  K  Jones;  J.  ClUT:  T.  B.  Frasfr,  M.D.;  Da 
Sansom ;  T.  W.  Lovibond:  H.  Lowe  ;  Dr.  H.  SpreoKel ;  K.  Boabal 
(with  endoeure) :  Karl  UoAnan:  W.  Wyatt  (with  enclosure);  Osptala 


1t,)L,^\  J.  £.  Thorpe;  H.  Bower;  Dr.  B.  C.  Mofht;  G.  Oor«,y.Ka. 
(with  endoeure) ;  Bev.  B.  W.  Gibeono,  M.  A.  (witn  enelasare);  J.  B«r 


wood;  A.  Stark;  L  Power;  F.  C.  Calvert  A  Co.  (with  < 
Townsend  M  Adams:  E.  A.  Pamdl;  Prior  of  the  Monastery  of  SL 
Joseph ;  G.  Lunge ;  Kincsbniy  M  Co. ;  Dr.  Adriani ;  O.  J.  Woodwvd 
(with  encloeure);  P.  J.  Worsley ;  Bunoom  >Soap  and  Alkali  Go.  Ubl; 
S.  Bowland  (with  eadosuro) ;  M.  A.  Gage  (with  endoeure) ;  \J»L  W.  A. 
Boss,  B.A.  (with  endosure) ;  A.  W.  WQson ;  A.  M.  ttcoU  (wilE  c 

nre);  W.  Briggs  (with  endosure);  Dr.  QueanevUie;  S.  800U;  ii 

Bros,  (with  enclosure) ;  Montgomerie  A  Greenhorne ;  T.  HUl  (vith 
enclosure) ;  H.  B.  Marsden  (with  endosure) ;  B.  &  C.  LIppincott ;  F.  U 
^Clayton  (with  enclosure) ;  T.  Fisher  (with  endoeure) ;  Professor  H'taok- 
hmd,  F.iCS.;  Professor  W.  A.  Miller,  V.P.B.b.  (with  endoaort);  J. 
Stubbins;  Asher  A  Go.;  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  F.K.S.  (with  endoauxe);  J. 
Walker ;  W.  H.  Exall;  G.  B.  A.  Wright;  W.  Kxmore  ;  C  Bichtcr ; Pie- 
fbssor  Weltaeln  (with  endoeure);  Davenport  A  Gu  ;  h^.  C.  Hon  with 
endosure) ;  K.  P.  H.  Vaughan :  M«ttenhead  A  Co. ;  J.  a  BeM  (with  sb- 
dosure) ;  Budolf  Schomberg  (with  endoeure). 

Sookit  Jiso&iaed^'^  Phllosophicd  iuagazine''  for  Jan.  186S;  **  P^P*- 
br  Science  Bevlewj*"  '*  Uardwicke*s  Science  Goedp  ;**  *-  ^Int  Prin- 
dples  of  Modern  Chemistry/  by  U.  J.  Kay  fi^uUleworth,  Londea, 
Churchill;  **  Bralth waiters  Ketroepect  of  Medicine,"  London,  Sfaau- 
kln  A  Co. ;  **  American  Journal  of  Mining;*'  **  bdeotiflc  Aaerieaa;* 
•*  American  Gaslight  Journal;''  *' Pharmaceutical  Journal;'^  "1 
DictloaaiT  of  Chemistry,"  by  Henry  ^  alts,  B.A^  F.K.S.,  part  xflB, 
London,  Longmans  and  Co. ;  *'  The  Journal  of  the  Qoekett  Mlar»> 
scopical  Club,  London,"  Bobert  Hardwlcke;  ""btretst  Tnmwaya  bt 
London,*'  by  Charles  Maokay,  LL.D.  Loudon:  f.  &  King;  **lSz* 
Step  in  Chemistry,"  by  B.  Galloway,  F.C.b^  fourth  ediUoo.  Los- 
don:  Churchill  dB  Sons;  **  Inorganic  Chemistry,"  by  Onrlea  W.  Bfist 
and  Frank  U.  otorer.  Second  edition,  revised.  London :  John  Van 
Yooret;  *' Le  Moniteor  Sdentffiqne ; '^  '^  Journal  of  Maioila  Medicap 
^*  American  Gas  Light  Journal; "  **  Sdenttdc  American  ;**  **  iktads 
Descriptive,  Thtorique  et  Expenmentde  eur  les  M^teorlUta."  Fisr  M. 
Stanislas  Meunler.  Paris :  Aux  Bureaux  du  Gosmoa,  7  Boo  PenoiNt 
pr&»  U  rue  des  S'llntA-p^res  j**  '^  A  Treatise  00  Frlcdoxial  Electridcr 
m  Theory  aud  Practice,"  by  Sh*  William  Snow  Uanis,  VJLa 
Edited  by  Charies  Tomlluson,  F.ILS.  London:  Virtae  *  Oow,  1S67. 
''Boiler  Deposits,**  by  Dr.  T.  L  Phipson,  F.C.S.:  ^BollellB  dc  i* 
8oci«t6d*£ucouragement;*'  **  American  ArUsan;* ''The  UrioiialMd 
and  War  Office  Gaaette]**  **  American  Joumd  of  Mhiloi^  ;**  **  Action  «f 
Sunlight  on  GlasSi*'  by  Thomas  Galldd;  **  bdentUlo  AaMdoaa.'* 


37}  iro.4a^ 


▼oLZ7IL,ira42i^parU;ira«M»piiii96;irtt.dHl»f*372H^4a0^p«gotfl;  Vo.  422,  page  14 ;  Ho.  49^ p^P 
'^-  ir»4aa,piC*Ai  Vadaa^pscoaS;  Mo.4a^pic*ld;  Va4a4»p«go37;  iro.425^p«go49;  ira423»pi«iBl] 


4ir«,  19m.    I 


"^f- 


-y-  -TT'-tf 


rr-x'^ 


»0/ 


THE     CHEMICAL  ^  NEWS. 
Vol.  II.  No.  4.     American  Reprint 

ORYSTALLOaBAPHY  AND  THE  BLOWPIPE. 
IL 

BT  OAPTAIN  W.  A.  ROSS,   B.A. 
[For  L,  M6  Anur.  Bepr.  Chim.  Nawa,  Feb.  '68»  piige  74.] 

As  Professor  Richter  and  several  other  operators  have 
found  some  difficulty  at  first  in  blowing  the  vesicles 
described  bj  me,  I  ask  your  permission  to  commence 
this  paper  with  an  explanation  of  their  formation. 

Method  of  Blowing  Vesidea  of  Borax,  Soda,  or 
Pho9phonu  Bait 

*  Borax,— This  being  the  most  cohesive  and  least 
deliquescent  of  the  three  fluxes,  requires  no  addition  to 
enable  a  stron?  vesicle  to  be  blown,  which  will  last  for 
weeks  or  mon&s.    The  platinum  wire  should  be  twisted 
into  a  ring  over  one  of  the  legs  of  a  pair  of  the  round 
pliers  used  by  bird-cage  makers ;  the  nng  is  then  nearly 
perfect^  and  should  have  the  diameter  of  a  largish  pin*s 
head.    The  other  end  is  then  placed  in  a  holder,  the 
wire  heated,  and  a  bead  of  borax  taken  up,  which 
should  be  per/BcUy  clear  on  cooling.    This  bead  is  then 
heated  again,  and  charged  with  the  substance.    If  a 
silicate,  the  bead  will  be  observed  to  become  much 
less  fluid,  and  to  move  heavily  round  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  O.F.*  like  a  thick  ielly.    After  a  little  prac- 
tice the  Operator  will  find  it  the  best  way  to  hold  the 
ring  of  the  platinum  wire  nearly  horizontid  to  the  table, 
so  that  the  greater  part  of  the  fluid  bead  hangs  down- 
ward, because  by  blowing  upward  through  this  there 
is  not  only  less  chance  of  bursting  the  vesicle,  but  the 
colouring  matter  (if  any)  will  accumulate  better  round 
the  ring,  where  the  borax  is  generally  thickest    I  al- 
ways now  use  the  ^eMoM,  or  caoutchouc  bellow8,t  with 
the  aid  pf  which,  in  heating  the  beads,  I  can  easily 
blow  thirty  vesicles  in  a  couple  of  hours,  and  could 
make  them  in  one  if  the  minerals  or  oxides  were 
ready  and  powdered.    The  bead  should  be  held  in  a 
strong  o.F.  or  r.f.,  according  to  the  condition  in  which 
the  substance  is  required.    Itishould  be  allowed  to  cOol 
down  to  red  beat,  and  then  the  jet  of  the  blowpipe  ap- 
plied close  to,  but  not  touching  it,  and  square  to  the 
'  ring  of  the  wire.    Siliceous  vesicles  i^which  are,  in  fact, 
glas-^)  are  easily  made,  but  they  require  to  be  anneal- 
ed b^  being  held  near  the  flame  for  a  short  time  after, 
for   if  suddenly  withdrawn,  large   pieces  will  crack 
out  of  them.    As  the  strength  of    the  blast  from  a 
mouth  blowpipe  does  not  vary  much,  the  8ize  of  the 
vesicle  is  not  under  the  operator's  control,  and  can  only 
be  partially  regulated  by  the  quantity  and  density  of 
matter  in  the  bead.    Two  beads  of  apparently  the  same 
size  and  density  will,  however,  sometimes  give  vesicles 
of  difiTerent  dimensions,  in  which  case  the  smaller  will 
always  be  found  to  have  a  greater  quantity  of  the  flux 
round  the  ring  of  the  wire. 

The  bead  may  be  charged  with  the  substance  until 
perfectly  opaque;  for  however  saturated  it  may  be,  the 
vesicle  will  always  be  blown  out  clear.  Even  cobalt 
and  maoganese  only  give  faint  coloured  lines  of  blue 
and  pink  over  the  vetiSe,  however  much  the  bead  may 


^  Oiddatlng  flame. — InhUls  will  be  Qfed  to  aaye  ifkace. 

t  Thb  inaealow  and  porUble  bellom  i>  the  l&veiitlon  of  ao  American 
student  at  Freiberg  It  Is  described  and  figured  In  Rlchter^s  last  edition 
of  Plattner**  work.— I^cdCi  1865. 

Vol.  II.  No.  4.    April,  1868.        12 


have  been  charged,  but  the  exposition  of  undissolved 
matter  is  so  delicate  in  the  former  that  what  may  have 
seemed  merely  a  thick  opaque  solut^  in  the  latter, 
appears  in  the  vesicle  as  a  number  of  %ot9  or  particles 
of  extraneous  matter,  some  of  which  look  formidably 
large  under  the  microscope.  The  merest  particle  of 
reduced  metal  is  so  discernible  in  this  way,  that  I  have 
amused  myself  by  holding  a  green  bead  of  the  oxide 
of  copper  in  the  R.r.  until  it  was  apparently  quite  clear, 
and  then,  blowing  it  into  a  vesicle,  I  invariably  found, 
with  a  microscope,  a  particle  of  metaUic  copper.  I 
have  now  a  vesicle  of  chromate  of  iron  two  inches 
long  by  one  wide,  made  from  an  '* opaque"  bead, 
covered  in  this  way  with  spots  of  the  undissolved  ore. 

The  vesicles,  as  made,  should  be  placed  ^n  a  tray  on 
cotton,  and  a  record  immediatfUf  written  of  each  of  them; 
numbering  from  the  ngbt.  If  this  is  omitted,  or  a  ve- 
sicle is  misplaced,  its  contents  are  forgotten,  and  the 
onlv  resource  is  to  shake  off  the  re-heated  bead,  and 
make  a*hew  vesicle. 

h,  «•*•  aiid  PkospMoni*  Salt  vesicles  are  made 
in  exactly  the  same  way  as  those  of  borax;  but  a 
small  proportion  of  silicic  acid  must  be  added,  without 
which  the  soda  vesicle  cannot  be  blown  at  idl,  and, 
even  then,  both  of  them  deliquescing,  will  not  last 
more  than  a  short  time. 

I  now  proceed  to  record  a  few  observations  on  the 
borax  vesicles,  which,  I  think,  will  be  found  to  be  based 
on  certain  fiaced  principles. 

1.  A  vesicle  clouding  over  with  an  unctuous-looking 
white  film  within  an  hour  or  so  of  being  made,  and 
showing  ^unrder  the  microscope)  small  deliquescent 
drops  outside,  mny  be  set  dovm  as  containing  an  alkali 
in  considerable  proportion,  combined  with  little  or  no 
silicic  acid.  (N.  B.  I  hope  to  be  able  soon  to  dis- 
tinguish between  soda  ana  potash,  the  former  appear- 
ing to  crystallise  in  flowers  or  leaflets,  the  latter  in 
stars.) 

2.  A  vesicle  clouding  over  with  a  dry  white  film 
after  a  few  hours,  and  not  deliquescing  at  all,  or  not 
for  several  days,  contains  one  of  the  alkaline  earths. 
Of  these  baryta  may  be  at  once  recognised  by  the 
peculiar  blue- white  appearance  of  the  new  film,  which 
has  much  the  colour  of  a  solution  of  sulphate  of 
quinine. 

3.  These  films,  however  slight  they  may  appear  at 
first,  are  evidently  due  to  the  aggregation  of  minute 
crystals,  which  are,  in  the  first  instance,  not  distin- 
guishable by  the  most  powerful  pocket  lens. 

4.  After  the  first  day  or  two,  an  immense  number  of 
similar  crystals  generally  cover  the  surface  of  the  ves- 
icle, those  apparently  containing  metallic  acid  salts, 
having  a  curious  resemblance  to  the  annular  rings  of  a 
section  of  exogenous  wood,  but  in  no  two  differing  ve- 
sicles are  these  crystals  exactly  alike.  Over  these,  af- 
ter the  lapse  of  another  day  or  two.  a  firesh  kind  of 
crystal  sometimes  appears,  smaller  ana  much  fewer  in 
number  than  the  first  If  I  might  venture  a  surmise 
regarding  this  phenomenon,  it  would  be  that  the  firgt 
are  crystals  of  the  double  borates  of  the  metallic  oxides, 
the  second,  some  combination  of  the  latter  with  COt 
derived  fi-om  the  atmorohere. 

5.  A  vesicle  of  boro^icaie  of  soda  remains  quite  clear 
for  several  days,  and  as  far  as  I  know  vet  does  not 
crystallise.*    It  is  therefore  the  best  vehicle  I  know 


*  This  Tetlole,  made  of  a  mlzfeore  of  borax  with  ooe^hlrd  of  stilef o 
add,  eventaaUy  orr>t«lUMd  after  a  period  of  three  weeke.  The  crysul* 
Ibatlon  Ib  interesting  as  a  type  of  6iO«.  I  apply  the  term  fframmaie  to 
it  from  Its  similarity  to  a  series  of  lines  or  letters. 


i5» 


(jrydtauograpny  ana  me  JSwwptpe. 


for  the  vesicular  exhibition  of  crystals  of  substances 
CDUtained  in  it. 

6.  Vesicles  of  tUicate  of  toda  deliquesce  a  few  min- 
utes after  formation,  and  those  of  p.  salt  in  a  litrle  long- 
er time,  but  the  most  curious  phenomena  are  those  ex- 
hibited under  the  magnifying  glass  by  vesicles  of 
silicate  of  potash,  which  cloud  over  and  deliquesce  as 
soon  as  formed,  the  crystals,  scarcely  discernible,  ap- 
pearing like  small  white  rings  with  a  black  centre ;  the 
aehquescent  moisture  at  the  edges  shiivelling  up  the 
vesicle,  and  advancing  on  all  sides  towards  the  centre  of 
gravity  like  a  miniature  wave.  The  crystals  of  soda 
silicate  appear  formed  like  small  white  flowers  with  four 
petals. 

The  above  may,  I  think,  be  depended  on  as  a  ground- 
work for  careful  examination,  but  when  I  Ciime  to  at- 
tempt to  reduce  my  observation  to  svstem,  making 
sketches  of  the  crystals  as  I  proceeded,  I  found,  that 
independently  of  requiring  the  pencil  of  a  Redgrave  or 
Millais  to  copy  the  beautiful  forms  examined,  I  &ight  as 
well  begin  to  write  a  perfectly  new  work  on  crystal- 
lography, every  second  page  of  which  would  require  to 
contain  elaborate  illustrations  I  The  field  is  .immense, 
and  requires  many  and  careful  observers,  for  although 
the  whole  effects  are  evidently  due  to  the  operation  of 
definite  laws — 

**  A  mighty  maze,  but  not  without  a  plan,'^ 

the  clues  cannot  be  followed  successfully  by  one  or  even 
by  few  observers.  Every  metal  with  its  salts  appears 
like  a  kind  of  mineralogical  kaleidoscope,  throwmg  its 
crystallisations  apparently  at  random  into  the  most 
elegant  shapes,  each  of  which  must  be  made  to  yield 
its  atom  of  information  as  to  the  source  of  all  But 
when  I  proceeded  to  examine  crystallised  vesicles  of 
the  alkaline  and  earthy  silicates,  as  aJbiie,  adularj  cal- 
cite,  heavy  spar,  etc.,  I  could  really,  with  little  imagina- 
tive aid,  fancv  myself  beholdinti:  scenes  in  fairy  land. 
The  beautiful  snow  crystals  pictured  in  the  Cubmioal 
Nbws  in  illustration  of  Professor  Tyndall's  lecture,  are 
tame  compared  to  these.  Given  a  candle,  a  powerful 
pocket  lens,  and  these  vesicles,  and  you  have  objects 
of  exquisite  oeaut^,  before  which  the  most  brilliant  gems 
in  the  fairest  setting  of  silver  or  gold  must  "pale  their 
ineffectual  fires."  Taking  the  platinum  wire  carefully 
in  a  pair  of  fixing  pliers  and  holding  the  vesicle  be- 
tween your  eye  (applied  to  the  magnifying  glass)  and 
the  light,  you  behold  the  most  delicate  tracery  of  fi*ond8, 
flowers,  ferns,  or  winter  trees,  standing  out  in  firosted 
silver  against  a  flood  of  golden  light  Sometimes  the 
appearance  is  that  of  a  Cashmere  shawl  elaborately 
worked  in  silver  (caleite),  but  the  mineral  eeriie  seems 
to  afford  forms  even  more  exquisitely  beautiful  than 
these.  I  cannot  attempt  to  describe  the  appearance  of 
the  cerite  crystals,  unless  sprigs  of  the  maiden  hair 
fern,  elegantly  posed  together  and  covered  with  frosted 
silver  on  a  ground  of  clear  glass,  ean  afford  some  idea 
of  them. 

It  may  be  said  these  crystals  are  possibly  pretty,  bat 
what  is  the  use  of  them  ?  I  answer,  that  if  friendly 
collahorateurs  will  assist  me,  I  hope  to  turn  them  to  a 
very  distinct  ufrC.  Already  I  can  distinguish  by  means 
of  them  with  tolerable  certainty,  an  alkali  or  alkaline 
earth,  isolating  one^baryta — and  this  you  will  recol- 
lect is  at  present  the  weakest  part  of  blowpipe  analysis. 
If  I  had  space,  I  should  much  like  to  inform  you  of 
some  remarkable  vesicular  reactions  afforded  by  moiyh- 
denite,  which,  with  the  result  of  ulterior  experiments, 
would  appear  to  place  that  metal  in  close  relation  to 


the  ''  earths,'*  but  I  must  reserve  such  remarks  for  an- 
other paper.  In  the  meantime,  why  should  not  balk 
of  fluid  glass,  containing  substances  in  solution,  be  blown 
into  globes  of  sufficient  tenuity  to  favour  crystallisation, 
and  thus  form  permanent  and  beautifhl  models  in  il- 
lustration of  one  of  «the  queens  of  earthly  Bcienoe— 
crystallography  ? 

Some  new  and  apparently  incontrovertible  fiKsts  de- 
dudble  from  the  vesicular  reaction  observed  and  re- 
corded by  me,  would  seem  to  be : — 

1.  Every  inorganic  substance,  chemical  or  min- 
eralogical, crystfdUses  inevitably  from  its  solution  in 
borax. 

2.  These  crystallisations  are  not  isomorphous. 

3.  Those  substances  which  crystallise  soonest  are 
most  deliquesc^'Ut. 

4.  CrvstalUsation  aHways  precedes  deliquescence. 

5.  Alkaline  are  more  crystallisaUe  and  more  deli- 
quescent than  acid  salts. 

6.  There  seems  to  be  two  distinct  kinds  of  crysiaffi- 
sation  in  nature,  having  widely  differing  forms.  One, 
the  primary  kind,  in  which  every  element  and  eve^ 
combination  of  elements  has  a  crystalline  form  jMcaliar 
to  itself;  the  other,  or  secondary,  the  aggregate  of  many 
primary  forms,  in  which  the  crystals  are  lor  the  most 
part  isomorphous,  as  recorded  by  Mitscheilich.  Sup- 
posing this  hypothesis  correct,  snow  and  ice  are  fami- 
liar examples  in  which  the  difference  of  the  snow  crys- 
tals would  correspond  to  some  difference  in  the  com- 
position of  drops  of  water  of  which  tht* y  are  formed. 
Whatever  may  oe  the  value  of  these  deductions,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  in  order  to  describe  vesicdar 
crystallisations,  a  very  different  nomenclature  must  be 
employed  from  that  used  in  crystallographical  worka. 

1  soon  found  also,  from  the  extraordinary  resem- 
blance of  most  of  these  new  crystalline  forms  to 
those  of  the  vegetable  world,  that  the  only  gloest^ogy 
applicable  to  them  would  be  one  derived  fit>m  Uiit 
used  in  botany.  I  therefore  propose,  with  greatdefo^ 
ence,  the  adoption  of  the  following  terms  to  enable  ob- 
servers to  record  their  observations  until  some  more 
complete  or  better  system  may  be  enunciated : — 

A.  Wiih  r^erence  to  the  Veside. 

1.  Diaphanous,  quite  transparent  (D.) 

2.  DkiphanelnA)uSf  alighUy  douded,  but  partial^  tnnt- 
parent;  (D.N.) 

3.  Dtaphachromous,  dear  but  coloured;  (D.G.) 

4.  Diaphanunctuous,  dear,  but  having  a  moist  or  dStj 
look;  (D.U.) 

5.  Nebulous,  douded  over  thidcly,  crystals  not  distingiiiali- 
abfe;  (N.) 

6.  Kebulunetuous,  douded,  and  having  a  moiok  or  oi^ 
look;  (N.U.) 

7.  Lumenehulous,  douded,  but  crystals  distingmabaUe  hf 
transmitted  light;  (L.N.) 

8.  ChromoMbulous,  in  whidi  the  veside  is  at  first  ZNs- 
pJuMous,  but  colouring  matter  appears  in  the  crystals  afke^ 
wards;  (aN.) 

B.  With  reference  to  the  crystdle. 

1.  Zonale,  having  rings,  like  exogenous  wood ;  (Z.)  &. 
Some  of  the  metals  of  Group  3  in  chemistry. 

2.  AreokUe,  an  aggregation  of  2Sonate  orystala,  like  a  tai> 
selated  pavement ;  (A.)  ^  MagnesiuoL 

3.  Acragenate,  fenH-shaped;  (Ac)  Ex,  Oerite,  eta 

4.  AckMlaiet  like  needles;  (AcL)  Sc  Antimony. 

5.  Oampenuiate,  like  the  flower  convotvuhu ;   (G.)  Sl 

6.  OiUate,  having  Ibie  hairs  or  fHnge  at  the  margins;  (GL) 
Ex,  Lead. 


[BngUahBaMoB,  Vd.  X72L,  Wo. 487,  pagMi 08^ 64 1  Va. MB^pagt 87.] 


JprU^UK.     i 


\y  I  ucwwwv^w'  ^Jifjf'vv    \i¥nnjv   vww   ^^v\^wmjvj^\j% 


^oy 


7.  Diseoidaii,  like  a  diaoof  polished  steel ;  p.)  Ex.  Tang- 
gtic  acid— in  Wolfram. 

&  DefubvidaU,  like  winter  trees;  (De.)  £b.  Silicates  of 
fbe  alkalies. 

9.  IHacoistdlaief  discs  haying  star  in  the  centre ;  (D.&)  Sat, 
Potash. 

10.  DiQUakj  fingered ;  (BL)  Ex.  Apophjlllte. 

11.  niifbrrnaiey  thread-like;  (F.)  Ex.  Silidc  add. 

12.  EoratCf  flower-like;  (Fi.) 

13.  ChUiaie^  small  irregular  rings;  (G-.)  Ex,  Chloride  of 
platinum. 

r4.  OrammaU,  like  hleroglyphical  letters ;  (Or.)  Ex.  Ar^ 
senia 

ic.  ffypocrcUe^  salver-shaped;  (H) 

10.  MacadaUf  large  irregular  rings ;  (IC) 

17.  Palmate^  like  the  leaves  of  a  palm  tree ;  (P.) 
.   18.  Plumosate,  feather-like;  (PI.) 

I9L  ReiicukUey  a  net  work  of  veins ;  (B.) 

20.  Siellaie,  like  a  star;  (^)  Ex.  SUver. 

It  will  be  seen  that  among  the  examples  given  I  have 
left  some  deficient  This  has  occurred  precisely  from 
the  want  I  am  now  endeavouring  to  supply — a  tyaiem-' 
oHc  arrangement  of  observation  and  record.  I  wrote 
every  one  of  the  above  terms  (taken  chiefly  from 
"  Lindley's  Botany  ")  with  reference  to  some  particular 
vesicle,  but  in  some  cases  I  did  not  apply  my  new  ar- 
rangement to  the  vesicle  described,  and  have  now 
therefore  forgotten  to  which  vesicle  the  example  re 
fers ;  in  others  the  crystals  were  not  sufficiently  de- 
veloped, and  have  altered  slightly,  as  in  the  case  of 
silica,  or  I  have  now  placed  the  dnrstal  under  another 
denomination  found  aditerwards,  which  I  consider  more 
expressive  of  its  appearance.  Silica  at  first  appeared 
like  a  number  of  short  marks  or  hieroglyphics  scatter- 
ed over  the  vesicle  at  haasard,  these  shortly  after  grew 
into  elegantly  grouped  filaments  or  threads,  having 
something  like  the  appearance  of  minute  branches  or 
twigs  of  a  tree,  and  1  am  therefore  half  inclined  to 
change  the  term  for  silica  again  to  "  dendroidate." 

It  is  obvious  therefore  tiiat  it  is  only  by  the  agree- 
ment of  different  observers,  pursuing  the  $ame  system 
tf  observation  and  using  a  similar  glossology^  that  the 
real  value  of  these  crystallisatiotis  as  Analytical  agents 
will  be  obtainable.  I  am  all  but  convinced  now,  not 
only  that  these  primary  crystallisations  are  isomer- 
phous,  but  that  the  slightest  change  in  any  of  the  con- 
stituents of  a  salt  will  exhibit  a  corresponding  differ- 
ence in  some  part  of  the  primary  crystaUisation. 
Thus  caustic  potash  combined  with  silica  only,  clouds 
over  (t.  e.,  ciystallises),  deliquesces,  and  indeed  van- 
ishes almost  immediately  after  it  is  formed.  In  borax 
it  clouds  over  unctuously,  and  shows  discoistellate 
crystals.  Carbonate  of  potash  clouds  over,  and  deli- 
quesces in  a  very  considerably  longer  time,  and  the 
crystals  are  also  distinctly  referable  to  the  term  discois- 
te&Ue.  Chloride  of  potassium  clouds  over  very  shortly 
also,  but  Ihere  is  apparently  no  deliquescence,  and  no 
crystals  are  distinguishable.  The  nrst^  second,  and 
third  of  these  vesicles  I  therefore  call  nebulunetuousj 
the  foarth  nebulous.  Again,  the  only  substance  the 
formation  of  whose  crystels  I  have  yet  found  to  colour 
the  previously  diaphanous  vesicle  is  ferrocyanide  of  po- 
tassium. A  chemical  gentleman  and  myself  imagining 
that  the  cyanogen  could  not  possibly  have  been  re- 
tained under  the  heat  of  the  blowpipe  flame  in  charg- 
ing the  borax  bead,  I  blew  a  vesicle  containing  carbo- 
nate of  potash,  and  a  saturation  of  oxide  of  iron,  but 
the  result  was  a  diaphachromouM  instead  of  a  chrome- 
nebulous  vesicle^  and  the  crystals  were  different,  al- 
thongh  both  exhibited  the  discoistellate  forms  of  potash. 


Thus,  if  these  crystals,  as  I  believe,  respond  to  the 
very  slightest  change  made  in  the  composition  of  their 
component  parts,  but  remain  isomorphous  as  long  as 
these  component  parts  are  inviolahly  maMained,  it  is 
evident  that  nothing  could  be  more  invaluable  to  the 
chemical  analyst  than  reactions  so  delicate  as  these, 
made  by  the  hand  of  nature  herselC 

I  have  now  to  record  a  circumstance  so  remarkable 
that  I  almost  hesitate  to  put  it  on  paper,  and  yet  I  be- 
lieve it  to  be  a  fact,  namely,  that  most,  if  not  all  the 
metals  under  Group  III.  of  the  chemical  arrangement, 
not  only  produce,  as  I  stated  in  my  last  paper,  zonate 
discs  like  sections  of  exogenous  Wood,  but  that  these 
rings  actually  grow,  each  in  a  certain  timCy  exactly  as 
they  do  in  wood,  substituting  weeks  or  days  for  years,  so 
that  the  age  of  one  of  these  crystals  can  be  ascertained  like 
that  of  a  tree. 

I  will  now,  with  tour  permission,  make  a  few  re- 
marks regarding  Tnolybdenwn,  The  powdered  ore  mo- 
lybdenite  yielding  on  several  occasions  a  nei^fow  vesicle 
in  as  shorty  if  not  a  shorter  time  than  the  alkaline 
earths  I  was  led  to  examine  this  metal  more  closely 
than  1  would  otherwise  have  done.  Professor  Blox- 
am  says  in  his  valuable  work  on  chemistry  (page  393), 
**The  bisulphide  of  molybdenum  (molybdenite)  is 
roasted  in  air  at  a  duU  red  heat,  when  sulphurous  acid 
is  evolved,  ana  molybdic  acid  (MoOi)  mixed  with  ox- 
ide of  iron  is  left"  but  both  myself  and  Mr.  Charles, 
chemical  assistant  at  the  R.  A.  Institution  at  Wool- 
wich, fa'led  to  drive  off  completely  the  SOt  firom  this 
ore  after  ten  minutes  or  quarter  of  an  hour  of  the 
strongest  roasting  in  a  fierce  blowpipe  flame.  I  how-^ 
ever  obtained  in  a  pipe-clay  crucible,  from  this  proeessj. 
crystals  of  the  so-called  "  molybdic  acid.''  On  ruobing 
these  crystals  with  moistened  test-papers,  they  gava 
neither  an  acid  nor  alkaline  reaction.  I  found  a  simi- 
lar account  of  molybdic  acid  in  Miller's  Chemistry  to 
that  above  given,  and  going  further  back  (to^Brande), 
that  Scheele,  the  discoverer  of  the  metal,  had  employ- 
•ed  the  bisulphide  (molybdenite)  in  his  experiments. 
It  then  struck  me  that  the  S0$ — supposed  to  be  elimi- 
nated—had' perhaps  combined  with  ammonia  and  ox- 
ide of  molybdenum  to  form  the  "  molybdenate  "^  of 
that  alkali,  and  Mr.  Charles  and  I  tested  the  sidt  so 
called  in  the  laboratory  here,  which  we  found  to  give 
a  strong  sulphur  reaction  on  silver  foil,,  and  with  bari- 
um. I  think  therefore  it  would  be  worth  while  to  re- 
investigate the  properties  of  this  metal. 

The  following  vesicles  last  made  by  me,  I  have  laid 
in  a  tray  according  to  their  chemical  arrangement^  re- 
corded m  the  following  manner  after  my  system,  and 
I  quote  ihem  here  that  they  may  serve  as  a  guide  to 
intending  observers,  the  results  of  whose  labours  I 
should  be  gkd  to  see  published  in  the  Ghemioal 
NswB. 

Vesicles  made  Feb,  8,  1868,  in  Boraaa. 
GboupL 

1.  Ammmium,  ChL,  9th,*  L.N.  (0.  2nd  a)  f  The  two 
fbrms  appeared  almost  simultaneously. 

2.  Fotassium,  oaustio,  8th,  N.XJ.  (D.8.) 

3.  Sodium,  carb.,  8th,  N  U.  (G ) 

Gboup  II. 

4.  Barium,  d.,  9th,  D.N.  (  ).  Crystals  not  yet  dis- 
tinguishable by  pobket  lens. 

^  Date  of  erjetolUaatlon. 

t  When  th«*r«  are  two  disUnet  forms  of  oiyBtalliMtlon,  the  Mcond 
in  time  will  be  iihown  by  a  *'  and  **  pre  fixed.  Whtui  the  form  grada- 
ally  aasomee  a  aeeood  ahape,  the  ulterior  will  be  placed  und^  the 
flfbt  aa  In  mereory. 


▼oL  XVlXi  Vo.  480^  pagM  87, 88.] 


i6o 


The  Microscope  in  Oeclogy. 


j  OnonoAi  Him 
1     JjirO^im 


5.  CalduTn,  oxalate,  oth,  N.  (        ).  Cryatato  not  yet  dia- 
tlnguishable  by  pocket  lens.  * 

6.  Magnesium,  carb.    Vesicle  not  blown  till  i5tlL 

7.  Stroniia^  carb.    Vesicle  not  blown  till  15th. 

GboupIIL 
S.  Alumiwiy  oorundium.    Vesicle  not  blown  till  15th. 
9.  Ohromitm^  oxide,  12th,  D.  i&FI.) 
la  Cobalt,  oxide,  xoth,  D.G.,  (D.  FL)    Ozystala  not  dia- 
tingoisbable  by  iranamiUcd  light 

11.  Iron,  oxide,    loth,  (D,Z.  2nd  S.)    A  peculiar  blue 
colour  by  reflected  light 

12.  Manganese^  oxide,  loth,  B.C.  (D.Z.)    A  peculiar  blue 
colour  by  reflected  light 

13.  Nickel,  oxide,  loth,  L.N.  (D.)  Appears  to  deliquesce 
■lightly. 

14.  Zimc,  carb.,  D.  (D.a) 

Group  IV. 

15.  Arsenic,  oxide,  i2tb,  D.  (Gr.)  Appear  to  deliquesce 
slightly. 

16.  Antimony,  oxide.    Vesicle  not  blown  till  15th. 

17.  Bismuth,  oxide,  .loth,  LJfl".  (D.  FL,  2nd  S.) 

18.  Cadmium,  oxide,  nth,  D.  (FL) 

19.  Copper,  oxide,  loth,  L.  N".  (PI.,  2nd  D.  Z.  0,).*    The 
first  form  of  crystals  transparent^n  yery  unusual  thing. 

20.  Gold.    Ko  vesicle  formed. 

21.  Lead,  oxide,  loth,  D.  (D.Z.CI)  • 


22.  Mercury,  oxide,  loth,  D.      /?j?' 


23.  Platinum,  chlo.,  loth,  D.     /^\ 

24.  iSfitver,  oxide,  12th,  D.N.  (S.)  The  crystals  in  myri- 
4tds  a  little  larger  than  thoae  of  barium,  arc  distinguishable 
.as  the  small  stars  of  astronomical  nebuls.  The  colouring 
matter  round  the  wire  ring  is  opaline  with  pink  transmitted 
like  the  noble  opaL 

25.  Tin,  oxide,  12th,  D.  (S.)  Crystal  stars  very  few  and 
far  between  up  to  date. 

Non-Meiala. 

26.  £^'^10091,  SiOa,  crystai:i8ed  after  three  weeks,  D.  (De.) 

27.  Sonm,  sassotine,  D.XJ.    /^'\    Both  forms  of  crystals, 

ttransparent. 

28.  Sulphur.    Vesicle  not  blown  till  15th. 

Although  the  crystallisation  of  these  vesicle^  .has 
naturally  first  and  most  occupied  my  attention,  I  have 
not  by  any  means  given  up  the  idea .  (of  examining 
iiheir  optical  peculiariUes)  with  which  they  were  ori- 
ginally made.  Although  I  have  not  an  apparatus  for 
•ebeervin^  them  in  polarised  lieht,  without  which  it  is 
impesaible  to  draw  many  valuable  conclusions  from 
their  diffractive  phenomena,  I  could  easily  see  in  form- 
ing ^he  vesicles  enumerated  above,  that  the  light  was 
renracted  much  more  by  some  than  by  others',  and  in- 
tdeed  Dollond's  discovery  of  achromatism  was  based 
mpou  this  principle.  I  found  that  tin  and  silver  were 
almost  the  only  two  oxides  which  yielded  a  perfectly 
'diaphanous  non-refiracting  glass.  Lead,  arsenic,  and 
biamuth  were  highly  refractive,  and  etUphur  even  more 
:S0  than  these.  Uhromium  also  appeared  to  give  a 
dear  glass  where  blown  out,  but  its  colouring  qualities 
would  of  course  prevent  any  useful  application  of  it  to 
glass  in  this' way. 

Wishing  to  ascertain,  as  I  had  before  observed  the 
•development  of  electricity  in  vesicles,  if  metals  in  this 
•condition  assume  the  electro-positive  or  negative  state, 
.and  if  this  state  affects  their  crystallisation,  I  blew  a 
vesicle  ef  xi/ic  at  one  end  of  a  piece  of  platinum  wire, 

*  DUcoiMoeiUaU,  Compound  terms  of  this  kind  cu  b«  used  oonye- 
aiently. 


and  one  of  copper  at  the  other.  To  the  ends  of  an- 
other piece  of  wire  I  affixed  similarly  a  vesicle  of  vren 
and  one  of  Hn.  In  the  first,  the  zinc  crystals  appeared 
within  a  few  hours  of  the  campanulate  order,  very  pe^ 
feet,  and  very  considerably  larger  than  those  of  the 
single  zinc  vesicle ;  while  the  connected  copper  veade 
had  comparatively  few  crystals,  and  so  small  that  I 
cannot  distin^ish  their  shape.  Similu'ly.  in  the  Un 
and  iron  series,  the  tin  crystals  appeared  dispropor- 
tionately enlarged  at  the  expense  of  the  iron  one^ 
and  neither  of  them  bore  much  resemblance  to  the 
typical  crystals  of  single  vesicles.  If,  then,  the  voltak 
current  is  actually  induced  between  couples  of  vesidea 
under  crystallisation,  it  would  appear  to  be  in  the  re- 
verse direction  to  that  passing  bietween  the  electrified 
metals,  so  that  copper  in  tms  case  becomes  electro- 
positive to  zina    Iron  to  tin. 

I  have  omitted  to  mention  that  different  metals 
produce  primary  crystals  of  different  magnitudes,  to 
express  which  the  Greek  letters  a,  /3,  etc,  might  be 
used. 

Woolwtch,  15th  FebniATy,  1868. 

[Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  received  (on  tha 
17th  Februarv)  what  I  cannot  but  consider  as  a  confir- 
mation of  the  hypothesis  here  advanced.  I  argued 
that  crystallisation  formed  from  liqiudSf  as  acid  sola- 
tions,  etc.,  are  of  the  isomorphous  (or  secondary)  form, 
because  wey  occupy  more  time  in  formation,  i.e.,  ag- 
gregation of  the  primary  forms,  whereas  the  germs  of 
crystals  formed  from  ^fusion  by  fire,  must  be  produced 
almost  instantaneously  on  cooling,  their  growth  after- 
wards being  the  only  matter  in  which  time  is  concern- 
ed. To  prove  this,  therefore,  I  plunged  a  hot  borax 
vesicle  (in  which  unfortunately  I  had  t^en  up  some 
oxide  of  anUmony)  into  a  tumbler  of  cold  water. 
There  was  no  apparent  change  at  firsti,  and  I  laid  tbe 
vesicle  on  cotton  in  the  usual  way.  The  same  even- 
ing, I  was  delighted  to  find,  on  examining  it  with  the 
microscope,  inoubitable  forms  of  isomorphous  crysUla 
— tetrahedra  with  bevelled  edges,  hexagonal  planes, 
and  a  most  remarkable  combination  of  the  two  crya- 
tallographical  systems  in  the  shape  of  a  flower  lilre  a 
convolvulus,  whose  petals  were  formed  of  the  enda  of 
prisms.  The  rationale  of  the  experiment  seems  to  be 
as  follows : — The  pyrogenous  crystallisation  is  (diecked 
by  the  plunge  into  cold  water,  and  the  borax  being 
soluble,  a  liquid  crystallisation  is  commenced.  Snow 
crystals  being  (although  formed  from  a  liquid)  of  the 
primary  form,  would  appear  to  be  due  to  the  rapidity 
with  which  they  are  frozen.] 


THE  MICROSCOPE   IN  GEOLOGY. 

BT   DAVID  FORBES,   F.B.S. 

An  interesting  paper  on  this  subject,  by  Mr.  David 
Forbes,  F.R£,  appeared  in  the  Popular  Scienes  iS»- 
view  for  October  last ;  from  it  we  condense  tlie  foilov- 
ing»  The  original  article  is  illustrated  with  numerous 
coloured  diagrams  of  ruck  sections,  as  seen  under  tbe 
microscope. 

The  more  searching  and  exact  method  of  investiga- 
tion now  demanded  by  the  advancing  state  of  geolo- 
gical inquiry,  necessitates  that  the  stuilent  of  that 
science  shall  in  his  researches  avail  himself  of  aU  peer 
sible  means  which  the  collateral  sciences  place  at  ha 
disposal*  and,  amongst  others,  of  those  which  can 
enable  him  to  extend  his  powers  of  observation  beyond 
the  limits  to  which  his  unassisted  eyesight  can  caanj 
him. 


[BiigUdiBdftloB,VoLXYII.,No.429,pa(M88,80;  Vo.  4S7,  pap  641 


fecial  points  of  inquiry,  literally  nothing  has  as  yet 
been  made  publio  which  could  even  serve  as  an  intro- 
ductory guide  to  the  geologist  who  might  wish  to  odm- 
menoe  the  study  of  the  subject 

In  the  present  communication  it  is  intended,  as  far 
as  the  space  at  disposal  will  allow,  to  attempt  a  short 
sketch  of  some  of  tne  results  already  obtained,  in  order 
thereby  to  illustrate  the  use  of  the  microscope  in  sim- 
ilar inquiries. 

When  applying  the  microscope  to  the  examination 
of  rock  structure  and  composition,  it  is  necessary  to 
prepare  the  specimens  previously,  m  order  to  be  en- 
abled to  make  full  use  of  transmitted  light  in  their  in- 
vestigation. 

When  in  sufficiently  thin  splinters  or  laminae,  by  far 
the  larger  proportion  of  mineral  compounds  allow  light 
to  pass  through  them  with  more  or  less  facility,  and 
amongst  these,  most  silicates,  chlorides,  fluorides,  car- 
bonates, sulphates,  borates,, and  other  salts:  as  well  as 
many  oxides,  and  some  few  sulphides,  sulpn-arsenides, 
etc.  On  the  other  h&nd,  all  native  metals,  alloys,  and 
most  of  their  combinations  with  sulphur,  arsenic,  an- 
timony, etc.,  along  with  some  few  oxides,  and  other 
compounds,  are  opaque,  even  when  in  the  thinnest 
laminfis,  and  consequently  when  present,  as  they  often 
are,  in  minute  quantity  in  rocks,  although  sometimes 
recognisable*  by  their  external  crystalline  form,  are  not 
to  be  distinguished  by  their  optical  properties^  as  in  the 
case  of  those  bodies  which,  as  before-mentioned,  are 
translucent. 
^  When  a  mineral  or  rook  under  examination  is  en- 
tirely in  the  vitreous  state,  as,  for  example,  obsidian, 
it  appears  when  viewed  under  the  microscope,  merely 
as  a  more  or  less  transparent  or  coloured  glass,  pre- 
senting, if  perfectly  in  tne  vitreous  condition,  no  evi- 
dence of  crystalline  or  other  structure,  except,  perhaps, 
traces  of  the  striae  of  viscid  fusion.  It  is  usually  found 
on  inspection,  however,  that  some  part  of  the  mass 
is  sufficiently  devitrified  to  allow  of  its,  structure  and 
mineral  composition  being  recognised.  In  some  cases, 
■when  the  glassy  appearance  presented  to  the  eye 
would  discourage  any  hopes  of  structure  being  dis- 
covered, the  microscope  proved  the  reverse  most  con- 
clusively. 

In  many  cases,  however,  where  the  specimens  are  so 
perfectly  in  the  vitreous  state  as  to  show  no  trace  of 
structure  whatsoever,  this  may  be  developed  by  care^ 
fhlly  acting  upon  the  surface  by  gaseous  or  liquid  hy- 
drofluoric acid. 

The  rock  sections  may  be  prepared  for  the  micro- 
scope as  follows : — ^A  fiigment  from  one-quarter  to 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  square,  and  of  convenient 
thickness,  is  chipped  ofl^  the  rock  specimen  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  required  section,  and  ground  down  upon 
an  iron  or  pewter  plate  in  a  lapidary's  lathe  with*  emery 
until  a  perfectly  flat  surface  is  obtained.  This  surface 
is  then  worked  down  still  finer  by  hand  on  a  slab  of 
l>Iack  marble,  with  less  coarse  emery,  then  upon  a 
"Water  of  Ayr  stone  with  water  alone,  and,  lastly,  fin- 
ished by  hand  with  water  on  a  slab  of  black  marble. 
^This  side  jof  the  rock  is  now  cemented  by  Canada  bal- 
aam  on  to  a  small  piece  of  plate  dass  about  li  inch 
square  and  f  thick,  which  serves  as  a  naiidle  when  grind- 
ing the  other  side  on  the  emery  plate  as  before.  This 
grinding  is  continued  until  the  section  is  so  thin  as  to 
136  in  danger  of  breaking  up  from  the  roughness  of  the 


black  marble,  as  before  desrribeu.  The  section  is  now 
removed  from  the  plate-glass,  and  mounted  in  Canada 
balsam  on  a  slide,  covering  its  upper  surface  with  a  thin 
glass  as  usual 

The  thickness  to  which  such  sections  need  be  reduced 
is.  of  course,  entirely  dependent  upon  the  transparency 
or  the  rock  constituents,  and  is  commonly  from  i-ioo 
to  1-1,000  of  an  inch. 

Thin  splinters  of  rocks  and  powdered  fragments, 
mounted  in  Canada  balsam,  may  also  be  examined 
with  advantage,  but  cannot  replace  the  above-de- 
scribed sectiona 

The  examination  of  such  a  rock  section  enables  .a 
mineralogical  analysis  to  be  made,  even  of  the  most 
compact  and  apparently  homogeneous  rock,  and  gener- 
ally leads  to  the  discovery  of  other  mineral  constituents 
previously  unsuspected,  from  their  being  invisible  to 
the  eye,  and  also,  as  Sorby  has  observed,  allows  those 
minerals,  formed  at  the  time  of  solidification  of  the  rock, 
to  be  distinguished  fi:t>m  such  as  are  the  products  of 
subsequent  alteration. 

Arranging  rock  species  according  to  their  structure, 
it  will  be  ftrand  that  most  rocks  fall  naturally  into  one 
or  other  of  two  great  classee — 

I.   PRIMART  OR  ERtrPTTVB  ROCKS, 
n.   SEOOKUART  OR  SEniMENTART  ROOKS. 

And  it  will  be  seen  that  the  microscope  is  of  special 
value  when  applied  in  cases  where  the  external  appear- 
ance renders  it  doubtful  as  to  which  of  these  classes  a 
rock  may  pertain. 

The  terms  primary  and  secondary  are  here  used  quite 
independently  of  geological  chronology. 

I.  PRIMARY  OR  BRUPTIYB  ROOKS. 

This  class  includes  rocks  which  have  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  many,  if  not  in  all  epochs,  from  the  most 
ancient  to  the  most  recent,  from  the  old  granitic  out- 
bursts to  the  eruptions  of  the  now  active  volcanoes ; 
and  if,  as  is  now  generally  admitted,  the  earth  be  re- 
garded as  having  been  once  a  molten  sphere,  the  con- 
solidated original  crust  of  the  globe  would  pertain  to 
this  class  of  rocks. 

Mineralogically  they  consist  of  crystallised  silicates, 
with  or  without  free  quartz,  and  usually  containing 
many  other  minerals  in  minor  quantities,  especially 
metallic  compound*,  as  magnetite,  titanoferrite,  iron 
pyrites,  etc.,  which  last  are  frequently  present  in  so 
minute  a  quantity  as  only  to  be  detected  by  the  mi- 
croscope. 

Whatever  be  their  geological  affe,  or  from  whatever 
part  of  the  earth*s  surface  they  be  taken,  the  micro- 
scopical inspection  of  such  rocks  shows  immediately 
that  they  possess  certain  general  and  definite  structural 
characters,  distinguishing  them  at  once  from  all  other 
rooks. 

The  mineral  constituents  of  such  rocks  are  seen  to  be 
developed  as  more  or  less  perfect  orystal?,  at  all  angles 
to  one  another,  thereby  indicating  that  the  entire  mass 
must  have  been  at  one  time  in  a  state  of  liquidity  or 
solution  (aqueous  or  igneous),  sufficient  to  allow  of  that 
fireedom  of  motion  absolutely  essential  to  such  an  ar- 
rangement of  the  particles. 

Glie  microscopic  examination  already  made  of  many 
hundred  sections  of  eruptive  rocks,  differing  widely 
in  geological  age  and  geographical  distribution,  shows 
that  in  fdl  rocks  of  this  class,  whether  of  the  most  com- 


[Bii|lMiBdllloii,Vol.XVZL,  Vo.  487,  psgw  64»  6&} 


pact  hard,  and  homogeneous  appearance,  or  occurring 
m  tne  softest  and  finest  powder,  liko  Uie  ashes  and 
dust  frequently  thrown  out  by  volcanoes;  a  similar 
crystallised  arrangement  and  structure  is  present  and 
common  to  them  aU.  Layas,  trachytes,  dolerites, 
diorites,  porphyrites,  syenites,  granites,  etc.,  all  pos- 
sess the  same  general  structursd  features,  serving  to 
distinguish  the  eruptive  rocks  as  a  class  firom  all 
others. 

In  the  examination  and  discrimination  of  the  min- 
erals which  compose  these  rocks,  especially  when  dose- 
grained,  the  microscope  is  quite  mdispensable,  since 
without  it  no  such  inquiry  could  be  attempted.  la 
these  examinations  the  assistance  of  polarised  liffht  is 
most  valuable ;  but  the  space,  unfortunately,  only  al- 
lows of  a  mere  mention  of  its  application.  In  distin- 
guishing dolerites  fi*om  diorites,  when  fine-grained,  as  is 
often  of  considerable  geological  importance,  the  fibrous 
structure  of  the  hornblende  of  the  latter  is  generally  so 
well  developed,  even  when  present  in  very  minute 
quantity,  as  to  distinguish  it  readily  firom  the  augite  of 
the  former,  which  possesses  no  such  structure.  Even 
in  the  case  of  Uralite,  a  mineral  characteristic  of  certain 
porphyritic  rocks,  which  has  tbe  external  form  of  augite, 
although  its  chemical  composition  is  that  of  hornblende, 
the  fibrous  structure  characteristic  of  hornblende  is  dis- 
tinctly visible.  The  microscopic  structure  of  some 
minerals,  however,  varies  with  their  origin.  Thus  Sorby 
has  shown  that  the  structure  of  augite,  and  some  other 
minerals  in  meteorites,  is  quite  distinct  fi'om  that  of 
the  same  minerals  occurring  in  eruptive  rocks,  and  dem- 
onstrates, in  a  very  striking  manner,  how  the  study  of 
such  peculiarities  is  likely  to  clear  up  the  mystery  in 
which  the  origin  of  these  bodies  is  involved. 

When,  as  is  often  the  case,  especially  with  translu- 
cent, colourless  minerals  like  quartz,  leucite,  calcite^  fel- 
spar, etc.,  the  appearance  presented  under  the  micro- 
scope is  alike,  toeir  optical  properties  and  the  use  of 
polarised  light  afford  the  means  of  distinguishing  be- 
tween them  with  certainty;  as,  also,  in  the  event  of  one 
substance  being  present  under  two  forms,  as  calcite 
from  aragonite,  monoclinic  from  triclinic  felspars,  etc. 
In  a  similar  manner,  the  structure,  whether  crystalline 
or  vitreous,  is  determined  and  valuable  information  ob- 
tained, elucidating  the  mode  of  formation  and  origin  of 
the  rocks. themselves. 

The  alterations  produced  in  eruptive  rocks,  subse- 
quent to  their  solidification,  by  the  action  of  water, 
atmospheric,  or  other  agencies,  are  studied  with  ad- 
vantage under  the  micro^ope. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  next  class  of  rocbs,  the  dis- 
covery by  Sorby  of  the  numerous  minute  fluid  cavities 
in  the  quartz  of  granites  should  be  alluded  to,  as  prov- 
ing the  great  value  of  the  microscope  in  the  study  of 
these  rocks.  The  result  of  this  genUeman*s  researches'*' 
proves  that  granites  have  solidified  at  a  heat  far  below 
the  fUsing  points  of  their  constituent  minerals,  and  at 
such  a  pressure  as  to  enable  it  to  entangle  and  retain  a 
small  amount  (i  to  i  per  cent)  of  aqueous  vapour, 
which  naturally  must  have  been  present  during  its 
liquefaction.  The  presence  of  these  fluid  cavities  in 
the  quartz  of  granite  was  immediately  blazoned  forth 
as  proof  positive  of  the  non-igneous  oiigin  of  granite; 
whereas  if  Mr.  Sorby*s  memoir  had  actuSly  b^en  read, 
it  would  have  been  seen  that  he  had  found  fluid  cav- 
ities, perfectly  identical  with  those  in  granite,  not  only 
in  the  quartz  of  volcanic  rocks,  but  also  in  tiie  felspar 

•  Quart,  JoQT.  Qeol  Soc  toL  xIt.  pp.  AiiSP^ 


and  nepheline  ejected  fh>m  the  crater  of  Yesavios ;  and 
that  the  presence  of  fluid,  vapour,  gas,  and  stone  cav- 
ities, are  common  both  to  the  volcanic  quartz-trachytte 
and  to  the  oldest  granif^e ;  and  the  inference  drawn  hy 
Mr.  Sorby  £rom  the  results  of  his  reeeardies  is  that  both 
these  rocks  were  formed  by  identical  agencies.  He, 
therefore,  classes  them  together  under  one  head  as 
rocks  of  similar  origin.* 

II.  SEOONDART  OB  SEniKEFTART  ROCKS. 

The  rocks  pertaining  to  this  class  are  all,  directly  or 
indirectiy,  formed  firom  the  breaking  up  or  d^ris,  of 
previously  existing  rocks.  When  found  in  the  normal 
state  of  sedimentitfy  deposition,  they  may  be  conveni- 
entiy  subdivided  into : — 

1.  Rocks  formed  of  the  immediate  products  of  tbe 
breaking-up  of  eruptive  rocks. 

2.  Rocks  built  up  of  the  more  or  less  rounded  or 
angular  d^ris  of  previously  existing  sedimentary  or 
eruptive  rocks. 

3.  Rocks  composed  of  mineral  substances  extr:)Cted 
from  aqueous  solution  by  crystallisation,  precipitation, 
or  the  action  of  organic  life. 

I.  Rocki  composed  of  the  immediate  products  of  fh$ 
breaking  up  of  eruptive  rocks. — The  little  attention  paid 
by  geologists  in  general  to  the  study  of  Rocks  of  this 
class  has  introduced  the  elements  of  confusion  into 
many  of  their  inquiries,  and  fi^quently  has  led  to  very 
erroneous  opinions  being  formed  as  to  the  nature  and 
origin  of  certain  rocks,  which  could  never -have  been 
entertained  had  microscopic  investigation  gone  hand  in 
hand  with  field  observation. 

Rocks  of  this  class  may  either  be  of  subsrial  or 
subaqueous  origin;  in  the  former  case  for  example, 
volcanic  ashes  may  have  been  deposited  as  beds  on  the 
suiface  of  the  land,  and  afterwards  been  covered  by 
lava  streams  pourea  out  over  them ;  or,  from  harinff 
been  depressed  below  the  sea  level,  may  have  had 
sedimentary  beds  of  aqueous -origin  subsequently  su- 
perposed on  them. 

When  of  subaqueous  origin,  as  is  by  far  the  most 
common  case,  subterial  or  subaqueous  outbursts  may 
force  into  the  sea  eruptive  rocks,  whicli,  being  at  once 
broken  up  into  a  state  of  division,  more  or  less  fine, 
in  proportion  to  the  greater  or  lesser  cooling  power 
of  the  water  mass  in  immediate  contact,  may  be  spread 
out  into  beds  by  the  action  of  the  waves ;  the  texture 
of  these  rocks  mav  vary  from  that  of  the  coarsest  brec- 
cia down  to  the  finest  mud,  and,  as  is  usually  the  case, 
such  deposits  may  present  tiiemselves  as  alternating 
beds  of  coarse  and  fine  character.  Upon  the  con- 
solidation of  such  formations,  rocks  are  formed,  iden- 
tical in  chemical  and  mineralogical  composition  with 
the  original  eruptive  rock  fi'om  which  they  were  de- 
rived, and  which,  particularly  when  close-grained,  often 
present  an  external  appearance  so  like  the  original 
rocks  as  to  be  fi-equently  undistin^ishable  from  them 
by  the  snaked  eye;  in  such  deposits  it  is  oll^u  easy  to 
pick  out  specimens  having  all  gradations  in  appearacoe 
n*om  the  above  described  down  to  such  as  would 

*  These  reeearchee  tend  to  confinn  the  theory  of  the  iimeoas  orifli 
of  granite  and  eruptlTe  rocks  In  geaeraL  It  most  not  be  forfottra  iM 
by  ign^out  action,  as  Ohed  by  the  PlutonSsl,  was  always  anderrto.«d  tts 
acUan  o/hMt  <u  anpsloped  in  wleano^  (the  study  of  which  vs>  tM 
basis  of  the  theory  itself),  i^ which  the  agency  of  water  was  always  rs- 
cognised.  Nearly  half  a  centory  ago,  Sorope  not  only  Insisted  on  tbe  » 
portant  part  played  by  water  in  volcanic  action,  but  specially  poioted 
out  the  aifference  between  snch  roloanlc  ftaslon  and  ordinary  imI'^ 
The  term  hydro-igneoos  action  might  not  be  Inappropriate  for  sack,  Ml 
hydro^ermalism  does  not  at  all  express  what  Is  intend«kL  The  idsa  «f 
a  true*)lry  flasiun  in  nature  exists  only  In  the  brain  uf  tbe  attxa-Kcf* 
toiiist  or  lukewarm  hydrothermallsi.  • 


[Eiigliah  Bdltioia,  Vot  XVn,  iro,^^?,  page  flS  j  Ko.  <fl«,  pagM  7fi,  76.] 


M.^M      VT  vtjiuc;*  . 


VUCIVIVIC 


VU17     Moau 


himfielf  bewildered  under  such  circumstanoes^  and 
inclined  to  setde  down  in  the  comfortable  belief  of 
the  transmutation  or  transition  of  sedimentary  rocks 
into  eruptive,  etc,  and  even  the  chemist  feels  puzzled, 
when  he  finds  that  a  rock  taken  out  of  apparently 
normal  stratified  deposits  has  the  same  chemical  com- 
position with  one  of  undoubtedly  intrusive  nature. 
The  microscopic  examination,  however,  soon  shows 
that^  however  simflar  the  external  appearance  of  two 
such  rocks  might  bc^  their  internal  structure  is  totally 
different;  (lowing  m  the  primary  rock  the  crystallised 
structure  and  arrangement  previously  described,  whilst 
the  secondary  rock  is  resolved  into  a  mere  agglomera^ 
tion  of  more  or  less  broken  firagments  of  the  same  min- 
erals constituting  the  former.  In  b^ds  formed  from  the 
consolidation  of  volcanic  a^es,  the  microscopic,  exam- 
ination occasionally  affords  evidence  as  to  whether 
such  ashes  had  been  deposited  on  land  or  had  fallen 
into  water. 

2.  Bocks  binll  ftp  of  the  more  or  kis  rounded  or  an- 
gular debris  ofpreviouAy  eoeisHiig  sedimentary  or  erup- 
tive rocks. — ^Where  sufficiently  coarse-grained,  these 
rocks  constitute  ordinary  conglomerates,  breccias, 
grits,  sandstones,  etc,  and  are  easily  analysed  by  the 
eye ;  but  if  fine,  as  shales,  slates,  etc,  the  microscope 
must  be  appealed  to,  in  order  to  resolve  them  into 
their  consntueot  mineral  or  rock  particles,  and  by  this 
means  it  will  be  seen  that  even  the  most  compact  and 
homogeneous  specimens  are  a  mere  aggregate  of  more 
or  less  rounded  and  water-worn  grains  of  quai-tz; 
weathered  felspar,  mica,  chlorite^  son  and  hard  days, 
clay  slate,  oxide  of  iron,  iron  pyrites,  carbonate  of  lime, 
firagments  of  fossil  organisms,  etc.,  arranged  without 
any  trace  of  decided  structure  or  crystalluation,  even 
Mrhen  the  highest  powers  of  the  microscope  are  em- 
ployed in  their  examination.  The  physical  structure 
and  optical  properties  of  the  mineral  components  enable 
them,  however,  to  be  recognised  with  great  certainty, 
even  when  in  grains  of  less  than  ^-loooth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter. 

3.  Bocks  composed  of  mineral  substances  extracted 
from  aqueous  soluiion  by  crystallisation,  precipitation, 
or  the  action  of  organic  life. — Under  this  clas-*  are  in- 
cluded most  beds  of  gypsum,  rock  salt,  and  other  sa- 
line bodies,  as  well  as  travertine,  siliceous  sinter,  flinty 
infusorial  slates  and  earths, .  limestones,  etc,  many 
of  which  have  been  as  yet  but  very  superficially  ex- 
amined. 

In  the  microscopic  investigation  of  such  rocks  as  owe 
their*  origin  to  the  development  of  organic  life,  very 
eonsiderfU)le  progress  has  been  made,  with  correspond- 
ing important  and  interesting  results. 

As  early  as  1836,  Ehrenberg  proved  that  large  rock 
masses  were  built  up  of  the  carapaces  of  minute  sili- 
ceous infusorin;  and,  more  lately,  Sorby  has  done 
good  service  by  his  investigation  of  limestones ;  these 
he  has  proved  not  to  have  originally  possessed  any 
crystalline  structure  whatsoever,  but  to  have  been 
deposited  as  mere  mechanical  aggregates  (aptly  termed 
by  him,  organic  sands  or  clays)  formed  of  the  d^ris 
of  calcareous  organisms,  which  admit  firequently,  not 
only  of  being  recognised,  but  of  having  their  relative 
proportions  determined.  The  comparison  of  the  mi- 
croscopic structure  of  the  organisms  in  chalk,  with 
those  now  forming  in  the  depths  of  the  Northern  At- 
lantic Ocean,  indicates  that  Uiere  is  an  immense  de- 


»   BUVWU 


that  the  reason  which  certain  calcareous  organisms  are 
found  so  well  preserved,  whilst  others  had  disappeared 
or  become  entirely  disintegrated,  was  firom  the  carbon- 
ate of  lime  in  the  first  being  in  the  form  of  the  stable 
calcite,  whilst  in  the  latter  it  was  present  as  instable 
Arragonite. 

When  a  calcareous  rock  has  undergone  cleavage,  the 
microscope  shows  a  distortion  of  its  particles  and  or- 
ganisms, just  as  in  a  cleaved  slate,  though  in  much  less 
degree ;  the  measurement  of  such  distortion  servto  as 
a  basis  for  estimating  the  amount  of  compression  un- 
dergone. 

With  the  exception  of  having  briefly  referred  to  the 
alterations  in  igneous  rocks,  subsequent  to  their  solidi- 
fication, and  the  cleavage  of  sedimentary  beds,  all  the 
classes  of  rocks  treated  of  have  been  considered  in 
their  normal  or  unaltered  tsondition  ,*  it  remains  now 
to  direct  attention  to  the  use  of  the  microscope  in  the 
study  of  subsequent  alteration  or  metamorphism  of 
rocks.  ♦ 

Many  sedimentary  beds  become  more  or  less  indu- 
rated, at  points  where  they  are  cut  through  by  eruptive 
dykes ;  thus  the  coal-shales  and  clays  of  StaffcMrdshire 
are  found  altered  into  a  hard  rock  with  conchoidal  fi-ac- 
ture,  or  even  into  porcellanite,  when  in  immediate  con- 
tact with  basaltic  dykes.  An  examination  shows  no 
chanee  in  mineral  or  chemical  composition  beyond  the 
expulsion  of  the  water  always  contained  in  such  beds, 
and  Sections  of  such  rocks  are  often  seen  to  be  quite 
identical  in  structui^  with  those  of  common  stoneware 
made  from  the  same  clays,  the  only,  difference  being 
that  the  latter  is  usually  more  porous  firom  not  having 
been  submitted  to  the  pressure  wliich  rocks  baked  in 
situ  would  experience. 

The  alteration  of  rocks  produced  by  infiltration  may 
or  ma^  not  be  accompanied  by  chemical  changes ;  thus 
a  section  of  calcareous  grit  often  shows  that  me  calcite 
filling  up  the  interstices  between  the  grains  of  sand 
has  been  merely  deposited  from  a  solution  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  which  has  percolated  through  it,  and 
in  otherwise  unaltered  limestones  it  is  common  to  find 
microscopic  veins  of  calcspar.  due  to  minute  cracks  or 
fissures,  filled  up  in  a  similar  manner.  Frequently, 
however,  such  infiltration  is  accompanied  by  an  entire 
change  in  the  chemical  composition  of  the  rock  itself* 
thus  the  beds  of  Cleveland  ironstone  have  been  proved 
by  Borby's  microscopical  researches  to  have  been 
originally  shell  limestones  converted  into  carbonate  of 
iron  by  the  action  of  ferruginous  solutions,  the  frag- 
ments of  the  original  shells  being  still  distinguishable 
in  all  stages  of  conversion.  In  the  same  manner  he 
has  proved  the  ma^nesian  limestones  of  the  Carbon- 
iferous and  Devonian  ages,  as  well  as  the  Permian 
dolomite.^,  to  have  been  originally  common  limestones, 
or  aggregations  of  organic  debris,  the  particles  of  which, 
by  Uie  use  of  the  microscope,  can  be  traced  back  to 
tibeir  original  unaltered  state  fi-om  which  they  have 
been  changed  by  the  action  of  magnesian  solutions. 

The  metamorphism  of  rocks  produced  by  gasolytic 
action,  as,  for  example,  carbonate  into  sulphate  of  lune, 
etc,  has,  as  yet,  not  been  made  the  subject  of  micro- 
scopical enq))iry. 

The  foliated  schists,  quartzites.  etc ,  form  by  them- 
selves a  distinct  and  well-definea  class  of  metamorphic 
rocks^  characterised  by  structural  peculiarities  differing 
fi-om  all  previously  treated  of. 


[Bttgltah  BdMon,  ToL  X7XL,  ir<fc  488,  pM*  ^1 


1 64 


Detection  of  Ootseaua  ImpwriUes  in  Oil  of  Vihiol. 


j  OnnwAi  lli«& 

1    jpHi,vm. 


I 

L 


Thi«  appears  to  be  dae  to  their  cryetalline  develop- 
ment haying  originated  in  a  solid  body,  and  not  from 
liquefaction;  the  minerals  oomposing  them  differ 
greatly  in  structure  from  the  same  minerals  when 
found  in  eruptive  rocks.  Instead  of,  as  in  the  latter 
case,  presenting  themselves  in  more  or  less  defined 
crystals,  occurring  in  all  positions  and  at  all  angles 
to  one  another,  in  the  foliated  rocks  they  are  devel- 
oped only  in  one  general  direction,  not  characterised 
by  well-defined  bounding  planes,  but  forming  a  string 
of  drawn-out  and  irregularly  bounded  crystalline,  ag- 
gregations. 

The  microscopic  examination  of  these  rocks  proves 
their  original  sedimentary  origin,  oflen  showing  the 
contours  of  the  originals  and  grains,  and,  as  Sorby  has 
pointed  out,  the  existence  of  ripple-drifl  and  wave 
structure,  peculiar  to  sedimentary  rocks  sJone.  These 
rocks  appear  to  have  been  micaceous  and  argillaceous 
sandstones,  the  constituents  of  which  have  beeu  re- 
cry  .r<tallisea  in  ntAf  owing  to  molecular  action  develop- 
ed in  the  solid  rock. 

The  quartz  of  these,  schists  frequently  contains  nu- 
merous fluid  cavities,  yidicating  that  they  have  been 
exposed  to  a  pressure  under  which  the  water,  always 
present  in  more  or  less  quantity  in  ^edimentary  rocks, 
'  has  been  entangled  and  retained  during  the  recrystalli- 
sation  of  the  quartz. 

The  direction  of  the  lines  of  foliation  or  crystalline 
developnient  is  that  of  the  lines  of  least  resistance  in 
the  rock,  which  commonly  will  be  the  lines  of  strat- 
ification, but  in  cleaved  rocks  will  doubtless  be  those 
of  cleavage.  Sorby  has  alluded  to  this  fact  by  the 
names  of  "  stratification  foliation  "  Und  *^  cleavage  folia- 
tion." 

In  conclusion,  the  author  hopes  that  it  may  be  the 
means  of  attracting  Attention  to  the  subject,  and  there- 
by of  causing  a  hitherto  almost  unexplored  field  of 
microscopic  enquiry  to  be  more  cultivated;  and  leaves 
it  to  his  readers  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  just- 
ness of  the  sneering  assertion  that  "mountains  should 
nut  be  looked  at  through  microscopes." 

NOTE  ON  THE 

DETECTION  OF  GASEOUS  IMPURITIES  IN 
OIL  OF  VITRIOL. 

•  BY    ROBERT    WARINGTON. 

It  is  essential  for  some  purposes  that  oil  of  vitriol 
should  contain  neither  sulphurous  acid  nor  an^  of  the 
lower  oxides  of  nitrogen ;  both  of  these  impurities  are 
met  with  in  some  commercial  samples  of  oil  of  vitriol. 
After  trying  several  metJiods  for  the  detection  of  sul- 
phurous acid,  when  present  in  very  small  quantity,  I  at 
last  resorted  to  the  following  plan,  which  also  admits 
of  testing  at  the  same  time  for  the  presence  of  the  nitric 
oxides. 

About  two  pounds  of  the  oil  of  vitriol  are  placed  in 
a  bottle,  which  the  liquid  half  fills;  the  buttle  is  then 
stoppered,  and  violently  shaken  for  a  minute  or  two. 
The  gases  contained  in  the  oil  of  vitriol  are  thus  washed 
out  by  the  atmospheric  air  contained  in  the  bottle. 
Sulphurous  acid  is  then  tested  for  by  introducing  into 
the  air  space  of  the  bottle  a  slip  of  paper  coloured  blue 
.by  iodine  and  starch ;  the  paper  is  conveniently  held  in 
the  bottle  by  means  of  a  wire  and  a  cork.  The  bleaching 
of  the  paper  gives  evidence  of  the  presence  of  sulphur- 
ous acid. 

The  test-paper  is  best  prepared  from  Swedish  filter 


paper ;  this  is  first  passed  through  a  weD-made  solution 
of  starch,  and  then  dried.  A  slip  of  this  paper  is  next 
placed  in  a  weak  aqueous  solution  of  iodine,  where  it 
remains  till  it  has  acquired  a  distinct  blue  colour.  It  is 
then  removed,  pressed  between  blotting-paper,  and  is 
now  ready  for  use. 

The  paper  thus  prepared  gradually  loses  its  eokrar 
by  exposure  to  air;  it  should  therefore  be  used  as  soon 
as  made.  For  the  same  reason  its  exporare  to  Ihe  gas 
in  the  bottle  should  not  exceed  two  or  three  minutes; 
no  perceptible  change  of  colour  wiU  oecur  in  this 
time  if  no  sulphurous  add  be  present  The  colour  of 
the  paper  is  also  at  once  destroyed  by  heat;  it  cannet 
therefore  be  used  for  testing  the  gases  given  off  by  hot 
liquids. 

The  nitric  oxides  are  detected  by  substHuting  for 
the  first  test-paper  one  imbued  with  iodide  of  potas- 
sium and  starch.  As  NO  forms  NO.  on  contact  wi& 
air,  and  N«Oi  produces  the  same  compound  on  eon- 
tact  with  air  and  moisture,  thp  presence  of  either  of 
the-e  three  oxides  will  suffice  to  uberate  iodine  on  the 
moist  test-paper,  and  colour  the  starch.  Since  solr 
phurous  acids  destroys  the  blue  iodide  of  starch,  the 
presence  of  an  excess  of  this  gas  will  prevent  the  de- 
tection of  the  nitric  oxides.  The  nitric  oxides  are,  on 
the  other  hand,  without  effect  on  the  test  paper  em- 
ployed for  the  sulphurous  acid.  If  therefore  the  sul- 
phurous acid  is  not  in  excess,  it  is  quite  possible  to 
obtain  the  reactions  of  both  gases  fiK>m  the  same 
sample  of  oil  of  vitriol,  and  this  is  no  uncommon  oo- 
currence  with  oil  of  vitriol  which  has  been  imperiectljr 
boiled. 

After  employing  for  some  time  the  method  above 
described  for  detecting  sulphurous  aoid,  I  made  expe- 
riments with  the  reaction  adopted  by  the  chemists  who 
lately  examined  the  atmosphere  of  the  Metropolitan 
Railway  tunnels.*  They  employed  a  test-paper  con- 
taining iodic  acid  and  starch,  on  which  sulphurous  scmI 
produces  a  blue  colour  by  the  reduction  of  the  iodic 
acid.  This  test  they  mention  as  capable  of  detecting 
in  air  the  presence  of  i-ioo,oooih  pari  of  sulphoroos 
acid ;  a  smaller  quan^ty  than  this  was  perceptible  bj 
its  smell,  but  had  no  effect  upon  the  paper.  On  ex- 
amining by  this  test  several  samples  of  ou  of  vitriol.  I 
found  that  I  could  obtain  no  reaction;  although  toe 
same  samples,  when  treated  as  above  described,  had 
distinctly  bleached  the  blue  paper  previously  employ- 
ed. On  proceeding  to  other  samples,  in  which  the 
smeU  of  sulphurous  acid  was  quite  perceptible,  the 
iodio-acid-paper  gave  a  distinct  reaction.  Thus  the 
blue  iodine  paper  was  bleached  when  sulpfaiffois 
acid  could  not  be  recognised  by  its  smell  rt*  the  iodic 
acid  produced  a  reaction  only  when  the  odour  of  sol- 
phurous  aoid  was  distinct  The  following  equations, 
representing  the  reactions  of  these  two  tests,  will  throw 
some  farther  light  on  their  relative  delicacy — 
SO,  +  I,  4-  2(H,0)  =  H,S04  +  2(H]) 
5(80,)  +  2(H10,)  -t-  4{H,0)  =  s(H.S04)  +  It 

From  these  equations  it  appears  that  to  deoxid«e 
iodic  acids  so  as  to  liberate  a  molecule  of  iodine,  re- 
quires the  presence  of  five  times  as  much  sulplinrous 
acid  as  is  needed  for  the  conversion  of  a  molecule  of 
iodine  into  hydriodic  acid:  or,  in  other  words,  the 
bleaching  of  the  blue  iodme  paper  will  be  effected 

•  ChiemioilNiwb,  November  8, 1867,  p.  239.  (Jm.  JPfpr.,  •fea,'* 
pp.  a  10). 

t  The  pnrett  oil  of  rltrlol  I  have  mot  wtth,  glvee  eone  •Hfbt  odaw 
to  the  air  with  which  H  la  shaken ;  but  this  odour  U  not  reoosnbiue  m         ^ 
sulphnroiu  add. 


rEnsmh  BdttkB,  7oL  ZYIL,  Vo.  488^  p^w  70^  77, 76.] 


second. 

In  using  either  of  the  reactions  here  described  for  the 
purposes  of  general  testing,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  produces  with  each  the 
effect  as  sulphurous  acid. 


ON  THE 

ESTIMATION  OF.SULPHUR  IN  COAL  GAS. 

BT  WIC.  YALBNTIH,  BSQ., 
AaavtAMT  zx  nn  botal  oolumb  or  anBiasnT. 
ScLPHUR  is  known  to  exist  in  ooal  gas  in  Reveral  forms 
of  combination,  the  principal  of  which  is  bisulphide  of 
carbon  (CS«).  By  the  combustion  of  gas  for  domestic 
purposes  a  certain  amount  of  sulphurous  acid  is  formed, 
which  difiuses  itself  into  the  atmosphere  of  our  rooms, 
together  with  the  steam  which  is  simultaneously  gen- 
erated, and  becomes  rapidly  converted  into  sulphuric 
add  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  from  the  air. 

Advantage  has  been  taken  of  this  oxidation  of  sulphur 
into  sulphur  acids  by  combustion,  and  methods  of 
quantitative  analysis  nave  been  based  upon  it  The 
best  known,  and  I  believe  the  most  generally  employed 
method  for  the  quantitative  estimatipn  of  sulphur  in 
coal  ^as  is  that  devised  by  Dr.  Letheby,  and  which  was 
described  in  the  Chemical  News  of  j'eb.  14,  1863. — 
(Eng.Ed,) 

In  my  capacity  of  gas  examiner  to  one  of  the  Lon- 
don gas  compnnies  I  have  had  frequent  occasion  to 
observe  that  this  method  of  Dr.  Letheby*8,  which  rec- 
ommends itself,  at  first  sight,  by  its  great  simplicity 
and  facility  of  execution,  does  not  comply  with  the 
requirements  of  a  quawHtathe  test  for  sulphur  in  coal 
gas,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  never  tells,  even 
approximately,  how  much  sulphur  there  really  is  in 
gM.  . 

This  arises  fi-om  two  causes — ^viz.,  imperfect  combus- 
tion, and  consequently  imperfect  oxidation  of  the 
sulphur  compounds  contained  in  ooal  gas ;  and,  secondly, 
imperfect  condensation  of  the  sulphur  products  of  eom- 
bustioD. 

Whilst  endeavouring  to  overeome  these  defects  in 
Dr.  Letheby's  sulphur  test^  I  first  tried  various  burners 
that  promised  to  consume  the  gas  and  to  oxidise  the 
sulphur  compounds  more  perfectly ;  but  I  found  that  I 
made  but  Uttle  progress,  and  sometimes  obtained  even 
a  lesser  percentage  of  sulphur  than  that  given  by  Dr. 
I«theby*8  apparatus.  I  was  more  successiul  in  prevent- 
ing a  loss  of  sulphur  arising  firom  incomplete  condensa*- 
tion.  This  loss  was,  however,  not  so  great  as  to 
aooount  for  the  deficiency  in  the  sulphur  indicated  by 
Dr.  Letheby's  test  and  that  given  by  more  perfect 
methods,  such  as  the  sodsr-lime  process. 

Professor  Anderson,  of  Birmingham,  who  bestowed 
much  attention  upon  the  method  now  generally  em- 
ployed for  estimating  sulphur  in  coal  gas,"**  and  who,  it 
would  appear,  directed  his  efforts  principally  towards  a 
more  complete  oxidation  and  absorption  of  the  sulphu- 
rous products  that  pass  off  with  me  large  amount  of 
Don-condensable  gaseous  products  of  combustion,  sums 
up  his  results  as  follows : — 

"  I.  That  a  single  (fishtail)  burner,  consuming  the 
gas  at  the  rate  of  2i  cubic  feet  in  five  to  six  hours, 

*  **  On  Defects  In  the  Apparatns  genenilly  n«^d  for  the  Detenninatlon 
of  Blittlphtde  of  Carbon  In  Coal  Gaa.**    A  reprint  flrom  the  Jbumal  0/ 


"  3.  That  in  no  case  can  the  sulphurous  products  of 
the  combustion  be  whoHy  recovered  where  condensing 
receivers  open  to  the  external  atmosphere  are  employed. 
The  best  arrangement  of  apparatus  set  up  on  this  prin- 
ciple loses  40  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  and  the  arrangement 
given  by  Dr.  Letheby,  I  find,  from  the  same  cause, 
always  entails  a  loss  varying  fiK>m  three-fourths  to  four- 
fifths  of  the  bisulphide  sulphur  in  the  gas." 

At  page  49,  referring  to  the  corroborative  quantitative 
results  obtained  by  M.  EUisen,"'  of  the  Paris  Gas-Works, 
and  by  Mr.  Evans^  the  engineer  of  the  Chartered  Qafr- 
Works,  Professor  Anderson  again  states  ''that  by  the 
employment  of  the  'Leslie '  jet  and  open  receivers  not 
more  thaoi  from  (ne*fourth  to  one-fifth  of  the  bisulphide 
sulphur  of  ooal  gas  can  be  estimated." 

After  failing  in  vadous  attempts  to  convert  the  sulphur 
compounds  entirely  into  sulplmretted  hydrogen,  by  ' 
passing  the  gas  together  with  steam  over  heated  cop- 
per, etc.,  my  endeavours  were  mainly  directed  to  secure 
oomplete  combustion  of  the  gas,  so  as  to  obtain  all  the 
sulphur  impurities  in  .the  form  of  sulphuric  add,, and 
not  as  sulphurous  acid,  as  I  had  observed  how  difficult, 
or  rather  now  impossible,  it  is  completely  to  oxidise  a 
small  quantity  of  sulphurous  acid  diffused  throughout  a 
large  amount  of  gaseous  products  of  combustion,  and  to 
absorb  it  by  passing  these  products  through  various 
oxidising  solutions. 

There  is,  as  is  well  understood,  a  definite  amount  of 
air  required  to  completely  bum  coal  gas,  and  to  convert 
it  into  its  two  principal  ultimate  products  of  combustion 
—carbonic  acid  and  water  (steam).  Sulphur  compounds 
are  oxidised  readily  into  sulphurous  acid;  complete 
oxidation  to  sulphuric  acid,  however,  is  effected  with 
much  difficulty  only,  as  will  appear  hereafter.  It  ap- 
peared to  me,  then,  that  a  moae'of  combustion  which 
suppUed  to  the.  gas  that  amount  of  atmospheric  oxygen 
which  is  requisite  to  cause  complete  oombusU<m  (or  a 
slight  excess  of  atmospheric  air  even),  and  which 
brought  the  gaseous  particles  iixto  the  most  intimate 
contact  with  me  oxygen  of  th^  air,  at  a  high  tempera- 
ture, during  their  passage  over  a  highly  parous  material, 
such  as  spongy  platinum,  known  to  possess  that  power 
in  the  highest  degree,  would  most  effectually  accomplish 
the  olDJect  in  ?iew. 

On  testing  this  theory  by  experiment,  I  found  that 
complete  combustion  was  effected  by  causing  the.  gas 
to  pass,  together  with  an  adequate  amount  of  air, 
through  a  porcelain  tube  strongly  heated  in  a  small 
Hofmann's  gas  combustion  fiimaoe.  Gkis  and  air  are 
mixed  iust  before  they  enter  the  tube,  and  are  made  to 
pass  flJowly  over  ignited  spongy  platinum,  loosely 
packed  in  a  platinum  cage  made  of^  a  sheet  of  fine 
platinum  gauze,  whidi  completely  fills  the  tube.  Witli 
an  insufficient  amount  of  air — ^about  three  parts  of  air 
to  one  of  gas — carbonic  oxide  is  mainly  formed,  and 
the  sulphur  in  the  gas  is  converted  chiefly  into  sulphu* 
rous  acid,  part  of  which  resolves  itself  into  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen  on  passing  alcwg  with  the  steam  over 
the  ignited  spongy  platinum — 

SO.  +  OH,=SH,+0« 

yielding,  in  fact,  oxygen  to  aid  in  the  combustion  of  the 
carbon  compounds  of  the  gas. 

•  •*  Snlphnr  In  Goal  Gaa.''  Beport  by  Thomas  G.  Barlow,  C.E.,  and 
Albert  EUisen,  Chief  of  the  Experimental  Works  of  the  Paris  Gaa 
Company. 


[ElifUiihSdMMi,VoLXVZL,iro.«8,pag«76;  No.  480,  page  89.] 


i66 


Estimation  of  Sulphur  in  Codl  Gas. 


j  CnoncAi  KkwIi 
1     ApHl,\m. 


A  vivid  combustion  takes  place  in  the  anterior  por- 
tion of  the  tube,  just  where  the  mixture  of  ^as  and  air 
first  comes  into  contact  with  the  spongy  platmufn.  On 
passing  the  gaseous  products  of  combustion  through 
several  Woolfe's  bottles  and  towers  containing  powernil 
oxidising  solutions,  such  as  chlorate  of  potash  and 
bydrocfaloric  acid,  and  lastly  through  a  solution  of  pure 
soda  and  through  d  stilled  water,  I  satisfied  myself  that 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  completely  oxidise  and  absorb 
the  sulphur  product  of  the  combustion,  since  I  almost 
invariably  found  traces  of  sulphurous  acid  in  the  last 
tower  containiog  distilled  water  only.  It  was  evident 
that  no  reliance  could  be  placed  upon  the  oxidising  and 
absorbing  power  of  the  various  solutions.  Gaseous 
sulphurous  acid  is  not  oxidised  nor  retained  so  readily, 
when  mixed  and  diffused  throughout  an  overwhelming 
amount  of  other  gases,  as  is  generally  supposed,  and 
it  became,  therefore,  necessary  to  modify  the  mode  of 
analysis  at  first  adopted.  This  is  a  fact  of  great  im- 
portance, since  it  throws  light  upon  the  discrepancies 
observed  by  various  chemists  in  the  results  obtainable 
by  Dr.  Letheby's  apparatus. 

After  various  alterations  I  fixed  at  last  upon  the  ap- 
paratus represented  in  the  following  figure. 

Pig. 


of  acetate  of  lead,  contained  in  a  small  two-oecked 
Woolfe*s  bottle,  2,  to  deprive  it  of  any  trace  of  sulpho- 
retted  hydrogen  before  it  enters  the  meter.  GompreiBion 
cocks,  c  c',  regulate  the  flow  of  the  gas  and  air. 

Over  the  posterior  end  of  the  porcelain  tube  is  fitted 
an  adapter-tube,  d,  drawn  out  and  joined  on  to  a  nar- 
row glass  tube,  e.  The  narrow  end  of  the  tube  is  bent 
at  right  angles,  and  fits  tightly  into  a  perforated  cork, 
so  as  to  deUver  the  gaseous  products  of  the  combustion 
into  a  solution  of  pure  caustic  soda,  made  entirely  free 
from  sulphuric  acid,  by  burning  sodium  under  water, 
such  as  is  obtained  now  in  conftnerce  from  the  Mag- 
nesium Company,  Manchester.  From  lo  to  15  grammes 
are  a  convenient  quantity  to  be  employed.  This  solu- 
tion of  caustic  soda  may  be  placed  into  a  two-necked 
Woolfe's  bottle,  or,  as  shown  in  the  drawing,  into  a 
small  flask,  B,  capable  of  holding  about  a  pint  of  liquid, 
fitted  with  a  doubly  perforated  cork.  If  sufficient 
caustic  soda  is  present  in  the  flask,  the  whole  of  the 
sulphuric  acid — ^for  such  only  is  obtained  when  the 
combustion  is  properly  conducted — ^is  retuned  in  the 
first  liquid.  The  greater  portion  of  the  sulphuric  acid 
is  even  found  to  condense  in  the  adapter-tube,  d^  and 
may  be  washed  out,  and  estimated  separately. 


A  is  a  small  gas  combustion  furnace,  containing  three 
perforated  clay  burners  in  a  row  or  line.  Eight  or  ten 
rows  of  such  burners  suffice.  On  the  low  burners  of 
the  middle  row  rests  a  Berlin-ware  porcelain  tube,  |>, 
capable  of  resisting  a  hig^  degree  of  heat  and  rapid 
changes  of  temperature.  This  porcelain  tube,  c,  is  12 
inches  long,  and  has  a  diameter  of  half  an  inch.  It  is 
best  embedded  in  thin  layers  of  asbestos,  spread  out  in 
a  tinned  iron  trough,  to  prevent  the  direct  action  of  the 
gas-flames  upou  it  A  platinum  tube,  made  of  fine 
platinum  gauze,  is  made  to  fit  tightly  into  the  porcelain 
tube.  It  need  not  be  longer  than  firom  5  to  6  inches. 
One  end  is  closed  by  causing  the  platinum  gauze  to 
overlap,  and  the  tube  can  ^en  be  mled  with  spongy 
platinum,  and  when  closed  at  the  other  end  and  fastened 
together  at  short  distances  with  thin  platinum  wire,  is 
ready  to  be  introduced  into  the  porcelain  tube.  A 
tight  fitting  cork  fixes  a  narrow  glass  tube,  a,  drawn 
out  to  a  pomty  into  the  anterior  part  of  the  porcelain 
tube.  The  latter  reaches  far  enough  out  of  the  furnace, 
and  the  flow  of  cold  gas  and  air  mixed  keeps  this  part 
of  the  tube  sufficiently  cool  to  render  slight  explosione 
in  the  anterior  part  of  the  porcelain  tube  and  in  the 
glass  tube  of  rare  occurrence.  Although  harmless 
enough  in  themselves,  they  may  be  entirely  avoided 
by  admitting  a  slight  excess  of  air  over  that  required 
to  completely  bum  the  gas.  The  gas  is  supplied 
through  one  leg  of  the  short  bifurcated  tube,  and  the 
air  through  the  other.  Both  gas  and  atmospheric  air 
are  measured  by  being  passed  through  meters  of  suffi- 
cient capacitv  to  register  fi-om  5  to  10  cubic  feet  of  ^as 
per  h  ur.    The  air  may  be  passed  through  a  solution 


From  the  flask  containing  the  caustic  soda  the  easeous 
products  may  be  passed  through  a  second  flask  or 
through  a  two-necked  Woolfe's  bottle,  containing  a  few 
grammes  of  chlorate  of  potash,  and  moderately  dilate 
hydrochloric  acid ;  and  from  this  into  a  third,  contam- 
ing  a  little  pure  carbonate  or  caustic  soda.  Any  tnoe 
of  sulphurous  acid  is  thus  oxidised  into  sulphuric  add, 
and  is  retained  in  the  various  solutions.  And,  laetlj, 
the  gases  are  passed  through  a  tubulated  cylinder  con- 
taining a  column  of  a  few  inches  of  distilled  water,  and 
in  its  upper  part  large  pieces  of  broken  glass,  offering  a 
large  moist  surface  to  the  gases,  and  from  the  top  cork, 
through  a  bent  tube,  towards  the  aspirator  M. 

I  find,  however,  that  when  the  mixture  of  gas  and 
air  is  properly  adjusted,  the  whole  of  the  stdphurie  add 
%8  retained  in  the  first  fia^^  B,  and  that  the  Woolfe's 
bottles  containing  the  oxidismg  solutions  and  theaUofi 
may  be  entirely  dispensed  with,  retaining  for  precan- 
tion's  sake  merely  one  Woolfe*s  bottle,  C,  containing  a 
few  grammes  of  pure  soda  solution,  and  the  condensing- 
tower,  T,  as  shown  in  the  drawing. 

It  is,  of  course,  out  of  the  question  to  drive  gaseg 
through  a  series  of  solutions  offering  a  r^  sistanoe  of  a 
couple  of  inches  of  water  pressure,  without  the  aid  of 
an  aspirator.  When  a  plentiful  water  supply  can  be 
obtained,  an  aspirator  may  be  uj»ed,  constructed  on  t^ 
principle  of  the  Catalonian  water-blast,  with  a  M  of 
water  of  from  8  to  10  feet.  Another  convenient  as^pirator, 
which,  moreover,  strongly  recommends  itself  on  account 
of  its  economical  use  of  water  (bulk  for  bulk  of  air,  or 
nearly  so),  was  devised,  some  short  time  ago,  by^ 
colleague,  Mr.  M^Leod,  and  is  described  in  the  Jiwraa 


[BBgildi  BdMoa,  Vol  ZVIL,  No.  490,  p^M  89, 90.] 


QnoncAL  ITavi,  I 


Eeiiryujiiion  of  Svlphv/r  in  Goal  Gaa. 


167 


of  the  Chemical  iSbcMy,  March  number,  1867,  page 
164. 

Perhapa  the  most  simple  and  oonTement  means  of 
aspiratiDg  air  consists  in  using  a  5  or  10  cubic  feet  gas- 
holder, employed  exbaustively.  When  full  the  com- 
bustion may  be  temporarily  interrupted,  till  the  pro- 
ducts of  combustion  have  been  discharged  firom  it. 
Such  gasF-holders  are  generally  found  in  large  gas-works, 
and  are  used  for  testing  gas  meters.  Thus  any  loss  of 
water  will  be  altogether  obviated. 

The  flow  of  the  gases  is  best  regulated  by  means  of 
a  gas-tap,  connected  with  the  india-rubber  tube  leading 
to  the  aspirator  from  the  condensing-tower. 

The  combustion  must  at  all  times  be  so  regulated  as 
to  cause  the  products  of  combustion  to  pass  off  without 
^  showing  a  peculiar  white  smoke  or  cloudiness  within 
the  oondensing-flaaks.  This  is  effected  by  having  about 
ten  times  as  much  air  as  coal  gas.  It  is  quite  possible 
to  bum  from  0*5  to  0-6  of  a  cubic  foot  of  gas  per  hour, 
and,  as  only  2  or  3  cubic  feet  of  gas  have  to  be  burnt 
to  obtain  a  sufficient  amount  of  sulphuric  add  for  a  cor- 
rect estimation,  one  is  enabled  to  conduct  and  finish  an 
estimation  during  a  time  of  tiie  day  when  the  chief 
consumption  of  gas  takes  place— -viz.,  in  the  evening. 

The  following  tables  contain  the  results  of  a  series  of 
experiments,  conducted  at  the  Laboratory  of  the  College, 
upon  ordinary  coal  gas  supplied  by  the  Chartered  Oas 
Company : — 


lhhleNo.L 

CnMcFeetef     Amoont 

Solphldeof 

BQlDlmrMr 

Dftteof 

Om  burned 

ofOaa 

Barium 

100 

Cublo  Feet 

Experiment. 

durini?  the 

bnraedper    obtained,  faa 

of  Gaa. 

Experiment. 

Huor. 

Grammea. 

inOndob. 

April 

16 

••     2-3 

0*48 

•2822 

25-98 

17 

••     33 

073 

•4240 

27-21 

^  18 

..     3*2 

071 

•4680 

30-95 

20 

••    3-2 

o'8o 

•418 

27-92 

23 

•    5* 

I'lO 

•627 

26-55 

24 

••    3*  J 

0*96 

•430 

2845 
30-58 

27 

..    5-8 

093 
078 

•8375 

30 

••     39 

•632 
•4623 

34*33 

May 

»S 

••     37 

0-85 

U'sl 

17 

..     4- 

0-89 

7283 

38-56 

20 

•     5- 

079 

'•'& 

25-27 

• 

21. 

••  J' 

094 

24-59 

..  VS 

i-oo 

•260 

1223 

22 

::  4' 

0-9S 

•5595 

24-Oj; 
1378 
2607 

0*90 

•3902 

«3 

;:f 

►  ^ , 

i-i8 

•628s 

0-93 

s; 

16*32 

«4 

..    6-5 

1-24 

24-19 

..  ♦775 

0-97 

•6545 

i7;9i 

U 

••    I'l 

ro7 

•875 

2348 

..     8*8 

1-34 

•975 

..  *6'S 

o*93 

•543 

•5385 

•280 

1770 

June 

29 

27 

..    41 

..     275 

075 
042 

2873 
21-60 

July 

I 

••    35 

0-64 

•5778 

3487 

2 

••    35 

0-58 
0-66 

•347 

20-98 

3 

..     4'5 

•462 

21-62 

4 

•.     325 
..  V25 

0-65 
070 

•382 
•2741 

24-89 
13-6 

•  This   mark  liidl<»taB  the  analyds  made  almaltMieoiislj  by  the 
Letheby  ^paretoi. 

ihbu  No.  n. 

July 

5 

..  275 

O'lCI 

•2705 

., 

2000 

..  t2;85 

•3814 

, , 

2835 

6 

!.  t302 

1-64 
100 

Wb 

•  • 

2350 
26-79 

8 

..    3-5 

0-56 

•4525 

•  • 

2737 

Onble  Feet  of 

Amount  of 

Sulphate  of 
Barlam 

Solphorln 

Date  of 

Oaa  honied 

Oae  bnmed 

100  Cable 

Experiment      ^.J^^ 

per  hour. 

obtained  In 
Grammea. 

ft.ofOaa 
InOralna. 

9 

■:.ti 

0-07 
0-84 

•6971   .': 

3256 
3214 

10 

••  .3* 

0*60 

'^^  :: 

24-05 

..  t4-8 

0-91 

II 

•  J 

0-50 

•3457    .. 

24-32 

..  t5i 

098 

7770    . . 

3225 

12 

••  .3' 

0-53 

•3585    .. 

25-32 

"  *r 

100 

•7057    .. 

3000 

13 

..  ♦2-65 
..  +5^ 

0*52 

-2203    . . 

3109 

Bepi    18 

003 
0-83 

•4252    .. 

7422    . . 

33*95 
31-46 

20 

..    2-55 

or^o 

7167    .. 

29'34 

.•  t4-5 

0-90 

3374 
29-58 

21 

..    13 

0-40 

•181 5    .. 

t  Thia  mark  Indleatea  the  analyiia  made  abnultaaeonaly  by  tiM 
•oda-Ume  proceaa. 

On  hfdf-a-dosen  occasions  an  experiment  was  carried 
on  simultaneously  with  the  apparatus  devised  by  Dr. 
LethebTy  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  results  are  con- 
siderably below  those  which  were  obtained  at  the  same 
time  by  the  new  method ;  by  far  not  so  low,  however, 
as  Professor  Anderson  states  the  loss  to  be. 

There  can  be  httle  doubt  that  the  so-called  lime  pro- 
oesf  is  b^  far  the  most  perfect  method  of  estimating 
sulphur  m  coal  gas  which  can  be  found.  It  consists  in 
pasiaing  the  gas  over  lime  (best  soda-lime)  loosely 
packed  in  a  combustioo  tube  of  hard  glass,  and  heated 
strongly  from  the  outside  in  a  gas  combustion  furnace. 

Unless,  however,  pure  lime  and  pure  soda  (free  from 
sulphuric  acid)  are  used,  little  reliance  can  be  placed 
upon  the  process.  The  ^lass,  moreover,  is  acted  upon 
to  a  disagreeable  extent,  silica  being  dissolved  out;  and 
unless  the  gas  be  sent  through  the  tube  at  a  very  slow 
rate,  much  carbon  is  deposited.  The  sulphur  products 
also  require  oxidation  after  being  dissolved  out,  and  it 
needs  no  Httle  experience  in  chemical  manipulation  to* 
steer  clear  of  all  these  drawbacks  to  an  otherwise  ex- 
cellent method. 

In  order  to  check  the  above  results  by  those  obtain- 
ed with  the  soda  lime  process^  I  prepared  some  per- 
fectly pure  soda-hme  by  calcining  marble,  and  slaking 
the  pure  caustic  Ume  so  obtained  with  a  solution 
of  pure  caustic  soda,  and  I  thus  succeeded  in  getting 
a  soda-lime,  whidi  was  perfectly  free  from  sulphuric 
acid.  In  order  to  avoid  the  action  of  the  alkalies  upon 
the  glass,  1  used  a  narrow-bore  gun-barrel,  coated 
over  with  fire-clay  made  into  a  stiff  paste  by  means 
of  starch  solution,  or  solution  of  British  gum,  and 
dried,  previous  to  being  placed  on  the  furnace.  In 
this  manner  I  succeeds  in  getting,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent over  the  above-describ^  shortcomings  of  the 
metnod. 

It  will  be  seen  from  Table  11.  that  the  results  ob- 
tained by  the  soda-lime  process  were  invariably  some- 
what higher  than  those  obtained  by  combustion  of 
the  gas  over  spongy  platinum.  I  convinced  myself 
that  this  arose  from  a  slight  loss  of  sulphuric  acid,  on 
account  of  its  being  retained  by  the  spongy  platinum, 
and  condensed  on  the  inside  of  that  part  of^the  por- 
celiun  tube  nearest  to  the  adapter-tube.  It  is,  there- 
fore, advisable  to  invariably  wash  out  with  distilled 
water  both  the  porcelain  tube  and  the  cage  of  spongy 
platinum.  The  latter  appears  to  retain  the  sulphuric 
acid  with  great  pertinacity,  and  it  requires  repeated 
digestion  with  hot  distilled  water,  slightly  acidulated 
with  hydrochloric  acid,  before  the  sulphuric  acid  can  be 
dissolved  out  entirely.    The  cage  of  spongy  platinum 


[BngUflh  BdMon,  ToL  ZVn,  ira  489,  pi«it  M^  n.] 


i68 


Volumetric  Estimation  of  PTiospharic  Acid. 


j  Omnoii  V««it 

1    Apli^^m. 


must  be  dried  and  ignited  before  it  is  put  again  into  the 
dry  porcelain  tube. 

If  it  were  not  for  the  difficulty  and  extreme  tedioua- 
ne»  with  which  the.  soda-lime  process  is  attended, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  would  deserve  the 
preference  over  any  process  known  at  present  for  es- 
timating sulphur  in  coal  gas."' 

It  has  been  my  endeavour  to  provide  the  practical 
gas  engineer  with  an  apparatus  for  estimating  the  sul- 
phur in  gas  which  is  easily  manageable,  and  which  re- 
quires but  little  supervision  when  once  set  going ;  idso 
to  obtidn  the  sulphur  at  once  in  Uie  i^ape  of  sulphuric 
acid  without  the  aid  of  oxidising  agents,  such  as  nitric 
acid,  bromine  or  chlorine  water,  chlorate  of  potash, 
and  hydrochlbric  acid,  solution  of  hypochlorites,  etc. 
The  soda  solution  contained  in  tiie  nasks  is  simply 
rinsed  out  into  a  beaker.  The  adapter-ttube,  as  well  as 
the  porcelain  tube  and  spongy  platinum,  are  carefully 
rinsed  out  with  distilled  water ;  the  liquid  is  acidulated 
with  hydrochloric  acid,  the  whole  heated  to  ebullition, 
and  the  sulphuric  acid  precipitated  by  means  of  chlo- 
ride of  barium  as  sulphate  of  barium,  the  precipitate  is 
filtered  off,  washed,  dried,  and  weighed  m  the  usual 
manner. 

Since  writing  these  lines  for  publication  in  the  Jbur- 
wd  of  Qiu  LighUng^f  1  have  made  further  experi- 
ments with  a  view  of  combining  the  advantages  of  the 
combustion  method  by  means  of  spongy  platinum 
vith  those  of  the  soda-lime  process.  By  introducing 
a  few  grammes  of  pure  sodar-lime  into  a  short  platinum 
tube,  about  4  inches  in  leilgth,  made  of  Uiin  sheet  plat- 
inum, and  placing  the  tubd  so  charged  into  the  por- 
oelain  tub«  so  as  to  cause  the  gas  and  ur  first  to  pass 
over  the  spongy  platinum,  and  then  over  the  ignited 
soda^lime,  1  succeeded  in  fixing  the  principal  amount 
of  the  sulphuric  acid  produced  by  the  combustion  of 
the  gas  as  sulphate  of  sodium  and  calcium.  I  have,  as 
yet^  not  been  able  to  fix  and  retain  the  whole  of  the 
sulphuric  acid,  within  the  porcelain  tube,  so  as  to  dis- 
pense entirely  with  the  solution  of  pure  caustic  soda 
in  flask  B.,  but  have  little  doubt  that  by  substituting  a 
platinum  tube  for  the  porcelain  tube,  and  by  employ- 
ing a  somewhat  larger  amount  of  soda-lime  packed 
directiy  into  the  platinum  tube,  so  as  not  to  give  to 
the  gaseous  products  of  the  combustion  a  chance  of 
passing  off  between  the  porcelain '  tube  and  the  small 
platinum  tube,  by  means  of  which  I  now  introduce 
the  soda-lime  into  the  porcelain  tube,  without  being 
brought  into  contact  witii  the  alkaline  absorbents,  I 
shall  succeed  in  retaining  every  traoe  of  the  sulphuric 
aoid  formed, 

I  subjoin  a  few  results  obtained  by  this  modified 
process  of  combustion. 

Cabl«  feet  of      Amount 

Mtoof         Ottbarned  oTQm 

Bsyorlmdnt.     during  the  *    bnrned  per 

Experiment         Hour. 

January  28th    ...      2    ...    36    ...     '352  ...  3710 

29th    ...      J    ...    -52    ...     -474  ...  35-42 

3"^    . .  •  20    . . .    -50    . . .     -503  . . .  3805 

February  3rd    ...  33    ...    -55    ...     -522  . . .  33*52 

In  the  last  experiment  the  sulphuric  acid  was  esti- 
mated separately  in  the  portion  or  liquid  derived  from 


Bnlphftte  of  Balphnr  In 

Bariam  xoo  Cable 

obtained  in  ft  of  One  in 

Onunmee.  Onina. 


the  sodsr-lime,  and  the  washinjis  of  the  spongy  plati- 
num ;  it  amounts  to  29*39  grains,  whilst  the  odpbulie 
acid  ooUected  in  flask  B.,  by  means  of  solution  or  pore 
caustio  soda,  amounted  to  4-128  grains  or  14  per  cent 
of  the  total  sulphuric  acid  forme£ 

The  advantage  of  merely  having  to  dissolve  oot  the 
alkali  with  dilute  hydrocuorio  acid  without  having  to 
remove  the  cage  of  spongy  platinum,  is  quite  obrioas, 
and  as  the  soda-lime  is  obtained  perfectiy  fi^ee  fitnn 
carbon-particles  or  fix>m  sulphide  of  calcium  or  sodimn, 
the  solution  can  without  any  previous  oxidation  or 
filtration  be  preci[utated-  directiy  with  solution  of  chk>- 
rlde  of  barium. 

I  hope  in  a  future  oommunioation  to  be  able  to  grre 
^ou  the  results  of  saoh  modified  combustion  in  a  ^t- 
mum  tube. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  process  of  oombustion  ovff 
spongy  platinum  is  applicable .  to  other  gaseous  mix* 
tures  containing  sulphur  compounds,  such  as  the  vol- 
atile products,  whicn  escape  during  the  process  of  in* 
cineratk>n  of  various  vegetable  or  animal  matter,  ooo- 
tainin^' sulphur  aud  phosphorus  in  combination  with 
albummoids,  as  well  as  in  ttiat  of  metallic  sulphates  and 
phosphates.  There  is,  at  present^  no  process  known 
by  which  the  vo/a^  sulphur  and  phosphorus  in  slba- 
minoid  substances,  oan  be  ascertained  with  anything 
like  satisfaction,  indepmdeiUly  ftonx  the  sulphur  and 
phosphorus,  which  is  determined  in  the  a^  I  haye, 
before  this,  tried  slow  combustion  of  such  organic  bod- 
ies, ex  gr.j  wheat,  flour,  coal,  etc.,  etc.,  in  a  current  of  j 
air  or  oxygen,  passing  the  products  of  combustion  into  | 
bromine  water  and  pure  alkali,  and  obtained  results 
which  lead  me  to  think  that  our  knowledge^  of  the 
amounts  of  sulphur  which  is  present  in  grains,  for  in- 
stance, is  very  imperfect,  and  that  a  reliable  process  for 
the  estimation  of  the  albuminoid  sulphur  and  phospho- 
rus, in  contradistinction  to  the  sulphur  and  phosphons 
present  as  sulphates  and  phosphates,  would  be  a  grett 
desideratum. 

I  hope  shortiy  to  be  able  to  throw  some  light  upon 
this  important  subject 


.V  35?  «X*»^o^*^«*  by  the  lime  proeeM  by  H  Albert  ElllMen;  of 
the  Puis  OftB- Works,  and  glToii  on  page  16  of  the  reporU  on  tiie  salplinr 
compounds  preaent  in  ooal  gas,  by  Mr.  Thomas  O.  Barlow,  C.B.  and 
M.  A-  EUIssen,  differ  so  wldefy  one  from  another  that  I  am  Inclined 
to  think  there  mnst  be  some  error.  I  have  always  fonni  the  amooat 
of  sulphar  obtainable  by  the  soda-Ume  nroceas,  as  well  as  by  the  com- 
onstlon  procen  described,  to  vary  bat  little  from  day  to  dar. 
t  Janoniy  7th,  1868. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  VOLUMETRIC  ESTIMATION 
OF  PHOSPHORIC  AOID. 

BT  0HARLE8  F.   BUBNARD,   F.O.8. 

Hatiko  been  for  a  considerable  j^riod  engaged  in  the 
analysis  of  phosphatic  substances,  raw  and  manufao- 
tured,  I  send  for  insertion  in  the  pages  of  the  C^ixioai 
NiwBy  some  of  my  ojsperiences  in  the  pursuit  oi  the 
Yolumetric.  process.  I  have  confined  mjrself  ahnost 
entirely  to  tne  ura  of  nitrate  of  uranium  in  the  well 
known  manner,  which  need  not  here  be  described;  bat 
in  the  foUowing  of  which,  according  to  the  pnbluhed 
methods,  several  precautions  are  necessary ;  while  often 
with  the  greatest  care  as  to  uniformity  of  volume  in 
samples  tested,  it  is  frequently  doubtful  when  the 
point  of  colouration  is  obtained.  For  (say)  in  two 
determinations  of  the  same  sample  made  side  by  side, 
it  is  seldom  that  complete  uniformity  of  results  is  ob- 
tained. Much  depends  on  the  size  of  the  drop  Ming 
into  the  little  pool  of  ferrocyanide,  something  in  the 
manner  in  which  the  said  drop  falls,  while  in  all  caM 
lime  is  an  essential  element  in  the  question.  If  testing 
be  continued,  as  is  usually  directeid,  until  the  brows 
colouration  is  evident,  the  result  will  be  far  too  high. 
To  prove  this,  let  the  operator  in  reaching  the  desired 
indication,  cover  over  his  slab  (to  prevent  drying)  and 


[BncUdiBdltiQa,yoLXVZL,Va  480,  p^M  91,08;  Vo.  490,  i«go  d9L] 


DeterminoAion  of  SHUxm  in  Iron  amd  Sted. 


169 


leave  it  so  some  hoars,  say  until  next  morning^  when 
he  will  find  the  point  to  be  five  or  six  nnits  below  that 
indicated  over  ni^t  But  even  now  ttiere  is  much 
anoertainty,  for  say  he  has  (as  he  should  always  hare) 
tried  two  side  by  side,  he  will  frequently  be  perplexed 
in  making  his  decision.  I  am  happy,  however,  in  be- 
ing able  to  record  a  method  by  which  all  doubt  is  dis- 
sipated, and  much  greater  accuracy  obtained. 

If  the  composition  of  the  substance  (say  a  manure) 
be  quite  unknown  to  me,  then  I  make  a  preliminary 
examination,  which  soon  shows  the  probable  range  of 
the  per  cent  of  its  phosphoric  acid.  But  in  general 
this  is  unnecessary.  I  use  a  plain  porcelain  slab,  pits 
or  indentations  K>r  the  pools  being  objectionable,  as 
hindering  du^  access  of  light  to  the  body  of  the  pool 
To  prevent  flowing  about,  a  ring  of  cork,  giving  a  clear 
roaoe  of  }  of  an  inch,  pressed  on  some  hard  taUow  and 
then  on  the  slab,  leaves  a  faint  but  effectual  wall  of 
grease. 

My  method  may  be  best  explained  as  follows,  nving 
an  actual  determination  by  way  of  illustration.  Three 
portions  of  the  same  solution,  being  each  100  septems, 
were  taken  and  tried  side  by  side  on  the  same  slab. 

No.  I. — 26        28        30        32        34    Septems.* 

No.  2. — 25        27        29        31        33  " 

.  No.  3. — 24        25        20        27        28  '* 

Now,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  actual  testing,  not  one 
exhibited  the  slightest  trace  of  brown  colouration  j  they 
all  appeared  precisely  alike.  They  were  then  covered 
over  and  left  until  the  morning,  when  one  only,  viz.  34, 
showed  the  red  brown  colour,  and  that  as  an  intense 
bright  eye  in  the  centre  of  the  pooL 

Now.  following  out  my  new  plan,  the  slab  wa*  care- 
;  fhlly  put  on  a  levelled  stand  before  a  fire,  and  the  spots 
dried  by  radiant  heat  falling  on  their  surfaces.  Gkntly 
drying  in  this  way  being  preferable  to  any  other,  for 
rising  from  below  the  heat  disturbs  the  settlement  of 
the  precipitate.  When  dry,  and  the  slab  just  warm, 
water  was  carefully  dropped  on  each  spot,  so  aa  to  dis- 
solve the  dried-up  ferrocyanide,  when  as  if  by  magic, 
although  on  the  dried  slab  there  was  not  a  trace  of 
brown  visible,  the  truth  was  revealed,  and  the  reading 
became — 

No.  I. — 30  stood  as  the  .number. 
No.  2. — 29  do.  do. 

No.  3. — 29  do.  do. 

At  the  time  of  testing  there  was  no  exhibition  of 
oolour  ;  next  morning  34  stood  revealed ;  but  on  dry- 
ing aii<l  redi?8olving,  as  explained,  29  was  unquestion- 
ably the  number.  It  is  obvious  that  while  a  precipitate 
may  be  so  flight  as  to  render  the  colouration  of  a  small 
pool  difficult)  yet  by  its  settling  down  on  the  white 
slab  it  is  immediately  revealed  on  dissolving  away  the 
oruat  covering  it. 

Side  by  side  with  the  above,  has  been  tried  another 
volumetric  process,  of  my  ovm  devising,  at  leaf^t  new. 
so  fiur  as  I  am  aware  of.  It  is  exceedingly  simple,  ana 
has  afforded  satisfactory  results.  Of  course  it  is  not 
suitable  in  all  cases,  but  may  be  applied  to  the  deter- 
mination of  the  phoBphoric  acid,  in  the  great  majority 
of  the  so-called  superphosphates;  its  value  being  in- 
creased, moreover,  by  the  fact  that  it  necessarily  in- 
volves the  estimation  of  the  free  acid  in  the  manure. 
Suppose  a  superphosphate  made  in  the  usual  manner : 
la  such  a  manure  the  bone  phosphate  may  be  measurea 

*  In  the  ftbove  Moh  number  ts  Intended  to  roprMent  •  Ihln  pool  of 
terrocvAn^ie  of  potaMlnm,  of  about  f  Ineb  diameter ;  Mid  alto  la  oaeh 
case  tn«  nomberoi  aepiems  of  nitrate  of  oianlaxn  employed. 


by  the  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  employed  in  its  solu- 
tion, t  extract  all  that  is  soluble  in  water  from  100 
grains  of  the  manure,  and  divide  it  into  two  equal  \ol- 
umes  of  one  thousand  septems  each,  in  beakers  of  the 
same  dimensions.  Into  one  I  drop  a  standard  solution 
of  soda  from  a  burette,  when,  as  is  well  known,  a  pre- 
cipitation of  bone  phosphate  occurs;  this,  however,  on 
gently  moving  with  a  stirrer  is  re-dissolved ;  and  I 
continue  to  drop  in  until  there  is^a  faint  trace  of  a  per- 
manent precipitate,  which  may  l>e  the  better  detected 
by  comparison  with  the  other  volume  in  the  second 
beaker.  When  sufficient  soda  has  been  added,  then 
after  duly  noting  the  number  of  septems  employed,  an 
additional  septem  may  be  dropped  in,  when  a  decided 
milkiness  and  agitation  will  be  manifest.  The  number 
of  septems  thus  employed -is  the  measure  of  the  free 
acid  existing  in  the  manure.  A  little  practice  will 
enable  the  operator  to  very  nicely  determme  the  point 
of  incipient  precipitation.  I  now  throw  in  a  piece  of 
litmus  paper,  if  blue  it  instantly  becomes  red,  and  then 
continue  the  soda  dropping  until  the  red  litmus  be- 
comes nearly  blue.  A  few  minutes'  repose  will  allow 
sufficient  tim^  for  the  precipitate  to  somewhat  settle 
down,  leaving  a  clear  space  above  ,*  into  this  a  drop  of 
soda  solution  may  be  carefully  let  down,  when,  if  fur- 
ther precipitation  occurs,  more  soda  may  be  added,  the 
whole  stirred,  and  allowed  again  to  subside.  In  prac- 
tice it  is  found  that  the  litmus  should  be  brought  to  a 
decided  but  not  to  a  deep  blue.  Now,  the  further 
volume  of  the  standard  soda  solution  employed,  is  the 
measure  of  the  sulphuric  acid  economically  employed 
in  the  manure,  and  is  therefore  the  measure  of  the 
amount  of  the  phosphoric  acid  in  solution.  In  my  own 
practice  I  have  worked  out  a  number,  by  which,  on 
multiplying  the  number  of  septems  or  the  stanaard 
solution  of  soda  used,  there  is  at  once  obtained  the 
equivalent  of  the  phosphoric  acid  i^  the  shape  of  tribasic 
phosphate  of  lime.  In  comparative  determinations, 
this  process  has  given  me  results  nearly  constantly  one 
half  per  cent  too  low. 
Compton  GUIbrd,  Febraary  24th,  186S. 


METHOn   FOB  THE 

DETERMINATION  OF  SILICON  IN  lEON  AND 
STEEL.* 

BY  V.  EOOERTZ, 

PBOmSOR  AT  THB  SCHOOL  OF  MUrXA,  riHLEIir,  8WKDBK. 

Eybbtbodt  who  has  been  engaged  in  the  analysis  of 
iron  and  steel  is  well  aware  how  very  uncertain  the 
determination  of  silicon  becomes  when  the  method 
hitherto  used  for  its  separation  in  the  form  of  silica  is 
followed,  because  not  only  cast  iron,  but  also  bar  iron 
and  steel,  is  never  found  absolutely  free  from  slag 
intermingled  with  it  This  slag  is  decomposed  by  the 
ordinary  method  of  dissolving  the  iron  in  aeids,  and 
its  ailioa  then  augments  the  amount  of  silica  formed 
from  the  silicon  contained  in  the  iron  or  steel ;  accord- 
ingly, too  much  silicon  is  obtained  when  the  ordinary 
meihod  has  been  employed,  as  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
silica  remains  unacted  upon,  a'  very  small  portion  only 
going  into  solution. 

The  same  thing  cannot  be  said  of  certain  sorts  of 
cast  iron,  but  these  sometimes  contain  blast-fumaoe 
slag.  In  the  collections  of  the  Mining  Institution  at 
Fahlein  are  some  specimens  of  spiegeleisen  which  evi- 

•  From  JgngiiiMrinfft  Jnly  2^  1868.    Traiuilated  by  0.  P.  BaaWm.  ' 


[Btoi^liiiBMIoB,Tol.XVlX.,ira  430,  pagM  9»,  100^1 


170 


DeterminoHon  of  Silicon  in  Iron  and  Sled. 


\  CkmncALlTiwi, 

1    4iira,iM8. 


denily  contain  particles  of  slag ;  at  the  same  time,  pig 
iron  containing  slasr  may  be  consiclered  as  rare. 

It.ought  also  to  be  mentioned  here,  that,  according 
to 'the  Berg-  vnd  Huttmmanniach  JaArbuch.  yoL  xi., 
page  2891  crystallised  silicon  has  been  found  in  crys- 
tamsed  cast  iron  from  Erain,  in  the  form  of  small 
silvery  plates,  which  were  neither  acted  upon  by  boiling 
aqua  regia  nor  by  ignition  in  oxygen  ^as ;  but  they 
were  converted  into  silica  by  fusmg  with  carbonates 
of  potash  and  soda.   * 

Crystallised  silicon  is  insoluble  in  hot  solutions  of 
carbonate  of  soda,  but  soluble,  with  development  of 
hydrogen,  in  hot  solutions  of  caustic  potash,  and  also 
in  hot  hydrofluoric  acid.  In  working  at  the  determi- 
nation of  silicon  in  cast  iron  at  the  Mining  Institution, 
there  has  never  been  occasion  to  suspect  the  presence 
of  crystallised  silicon.  Cast  iron  which  had  a  thin 
white  pulverulent  coating  of  silica  on  its  surface,  has 
been  sometimes  observed. 

After  fruitlei«  efforts  to  dissolve  iron  in  highly 
diluted  organic  or  inorganic  acids,  which  should  have  no 
effect  on  the  refinery  slaff,  such  a  solvent  was  finally  dis- 
covered in  bromine,  which,  when  mixed  with  water, 
dissolves  the  iron  without  the  slightest  action  on  the 
accompanying  slag. 

But  as  experimenting  with  bromine  in  large  quan- 
tities is  very  disagreeable,  trials  were  made  to  use 
iodine  instead;  and  this,  like  bromine,  has  been  proved 
to  have  no  effect  on  the  slag,  nor  on  the  oxide  or 
proto-sesquioxide  of  iron,  or  proto-sesquioxide  of  man- 
ganese. 

At  the  same  time  bromine  dissolves  iron  quicker 
than  iodine,  and  is,  perhaps,  more  easily  obtainable  in 
the  requisite  state  or  purity. 

Neutral  chloride  of  copper  may  also  be  used  as  a 
means-of  solution,  if  copper  is  not  precipitated. 

Moreover,  as  continued  experiments  have  shown 
that  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda  can  separate  finery 
slag  from  the  silica,  which  has  been  formed  by  the  use 
ofiodine  or  bromine  on  the  silicon  contained  in  the 
iron,  the  following  method  for  the  determination  of 
silicon  and  slag  in  bar  iron  or  steel  has  been  used  and 
considered  successful :  the  same  method  may  be  em- 
ployed for  cast  iron,  oecause  blasts-furnace  slag,  when 
such  is  found,  is  not  perceptibly  changed  by  iodine  or 
bromine,  nor  by  solutions  of  carbonate  of  soda. 

Three  grammes  of  bar  iron  or  steel  which  has  passed 
through  a  sieve  of  0*2  of  a  line  at  the  most  (the  filing 
or  boring  must  be  made  with  great  precaution,  so  that 
no  scale  nor  the  least  trace  of  the  file  may  get  into  the 
sample,  and  so  affect  the  results) ;  1 5  grammes  of  iodine 
are  added  in  small  portions  at  a  time  to  15  c.c.  of  water 
in  a  beaker  of  100  c.c.  capacity.  The  water  must  be 
previously  boiled  to  expel  the  air,  which  would  other- 
wise oxidise  the  iron.  The  iodine  is  stirred  in  the 
water  with  a  glass  rod,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  air 
which  has  accompanied  it,  and  the  floating  iodine  and 
iron  particles  are  allowed  to  sink. 

The  beaker  with  the  iodine  ♦  and  water,  which  is 
kept  covered  with  a  watch-glass,  is  cooled  in  ice  water 
beibre  the  iron  is  put  in,  and  during  the  solution  it  is 
kept  at  the  temperature  of  o''  0,    For  the  first  few 

•  The  lodiM  ihoold  not  leave  any  resldoe  wbMi  eipoeed  to  a  hlch 
temperatare.  Impure  iodine  mi^  Se  pnrifled  br  eublimation  in  tne 
following  manner :  It  Is  plaoed  on  a  large  watoh-guaa  reeiing  on  a  plain 
gWMM  plate,  and  heated  on  a  mumI-AnuIi  to  107®  (the  melting  point  of 
Ldinek  a  plainly  polished  beaker  la  inverted  over  the  watch-giaaa,  and 
on  this  the  Iodine  is  oondensed.  The  nnrltf  of  the  Iodine  may 
be  tested  by  disaolTing  in  It  3  gfammes  of  iron  eo<|Uining  a  bbmiII  but 
•ooniately  determined  amount  of  slag;  if  these  reBalttagT«e,Uie  iodtoe 
jOMj  be  oonaidered  lit  for  use. 


hours  it  must  be  well  stirred  every  hour,  or  oftener, 
with  a  glass  rod,  but  afterwards  not  so  frequently. 

By  means^  of  the  low  temperature  and  the  CBrefbl 
admixture  o'f  the  iron  (by  which  heat  is  prevented), 
the  solution  may  be  performed  without  the  least  de- 
velopment of  gas,  and  the  iron  has  less  incUnation  to 
become  oxidised  by  the  air  at  this  low  temperitoie. 

By  pressure,  and  by  a^tating  with  the  guss  rod,  tibe 
solution  of  the  iron  particles  vvhich  collect  at  ^e  bot- 
tom of  the  beaker  is  much  facilitated ;  but  if  no  iron  is 
visible,  the  beaker  may  be  kept  at  an  ordinary  tem- 
perature, or,  preferaUy  in  ice  water.  If  some  of  tlie 
solution  has  risen,  and  dried  up  on  the  sides  of  the 
beaker  or  on  the  glass  rod,  it  must  be  well  moistened 
with  the  same  solution  before  the  water  is  added. 

About  30  C.C.  of  water,  which  should  be  very  cold 
in  order  to  prevent  the  formation  of  basic  salts,  are 
added  to  the  solution ;  it  is  tlien  well  stirred,  left  to 
settle,  and  the  fluid  with  the  lighter  partides  of 
ffraphite  is  poured  into  a  filter  of  2  in.  diiuneter;  the 
filtration  is  kept  up  without  interruption  until  there 
remains  only  a  somewhat  heavy  dark  powder  of  dag, 
etc. ;  at  the  bottom  of  the  beaker  about  5  c.c.  of  water, 
with  a  few  drops  of  hydr  ochloric  acid,  are  now  poured 
in  and  stirred  with  the  glass  rod ;  if  hydrogen  gas  is 
given  off,  it  is  an  indication  that  there  is  still  some 
metallic  iron  undissolved. 

The  acidified  water  is  quickly  poured  on  the  filter  in 
order  not  to  act  on  the  slag.  If  a  development  of  gas 
is  perceived,  a  little  iodine,  with  carbonate  of  soda  and 
waer.  is  added  for  the  complete  solution  of  the  iron, 
and  tne  residue  is  thrown  on  the  filter  and  washed 
with  cold  water,  until  a  drop  of  the  filtrate  gives  no 
reaction  with  a  solution  of  0*2  per  cent  of  ferrocyaoide 
of  potassium  contained  in  a  small  porcelain  cradble. 
Iron  solutions  containing  0*00001  gramme  of  oxide  of 
iron  per  c.c  show  in  this  way  very  distinct  reactions, 
particularly  if  a  drop  of  nitric  or  hydrochloric  a<ad  be 
added.  The  filtrate  is  evi^orated  to  dryness,  in  which 
operation  some  of  the  iodine  is  sublimed  away.  Thirty 
cc.  of  hydrochloric  acid,  i'i2  sp.  gr.,  are  then  added, 
an^  it  is  again  evaporated  in  order  to  obtain  the  silica 
which  may  be  dissolved  in  it.  When  intending  to 
estimate  the  amount  of  graphite,  it  must  be  washed 
onlf  with  water,  because  hydrochloric  acid  would  dis- 
solve the  slag. 

The  filter,  previously  dried  and  weighed,  is  ^ain 
dried  and  weig-hed  when  containing  tJhe  pn^pitaie. 
It  is  then  ignit4*d,  and  thfe  residue  weighed  After 
ignition,  the  residue  h  boiled  in  a  ^ution  of  sod&,  ni 
(mler  to  extract  the  silica,  and  weighed.  It  ihould  b« 
observed  that  some  part  of  the  aihca  which  hae  been 
formed  fix>m  the  silicon  in  the  iron  may  poei^iblj  nmt€ 
with  the  alaj^  during  the  drying  and  ignition.  In  ooii- 
sequence  of  t^liis^  it  is  difficult  to  extract  it  by  meini 
of  a  soda  solution,  whence  this  melJiod  ia  not  to  be 
recommended  in  exact  detenninfttions  of  ailicon. 

When  usmg  bromine  an  a^Lvent,  there  must  be  takhi 
6  c.a  to  3  grammes  of  finely  powdered  iron  or  bU^] 
with  60  ae.  of  water^  which  has  been  previoualj  boiled, 
and  oooled  too^C,  j  and  this  tempefa'ure  pf^e?erred 
by  placing  the  beaker  in  ice  water  until  the  solution  is 
complete,  which  rwually  takes  place  in  two  or  thm 
hours;  it  is  cautiously  stirred  once  or  twice  with  * 
glass  rod ;  if  stirred  hastily^  the  solution  proceedi  too 
violently.  The  solution  is  placed  on  a  table  or  m  iw 
water,  and  stirred  with  the  glaaa  rod  now  and  tbeii 
The  nirther  operations  are  conducted  in  ihe  Bame 
manner  aa  when  Uf^ing  iodin^.    Bromine  is  pre^ened 


(Biifflkli  BdidMi,  ToL  ZTIL,  Ha  490,  p^Bw  iQmoi.] 


Mr.  RodweU  on  PhlogieUm. 


171 


under  water,  and  is  taken  up  by  a  pipette,  which  is 
introduced  into  the  bottle,  the  upper  end  being  kept 
ok>8ed  by  the  finger. 

When  it  is  preferred  to  dissolye  iron  or  steel  in 
pieces,  instead  of  in  powder,  it  may  be  done ;  but  in 
this  case  it  is  not  necessary  to  place  the  beaker  in  ice 
water,  as  the  metal  is  lees  yiolently  acted  upon  in  this 
form.  Several  days  are  required  for  the  solution;  the 
iron,  and  particularly  the  steel  pieces,  must  be  kept 
dear  from  the  graphite  which  adheres  to  their  surface. 

In  experiments  using  the  solution  at  the  temperature 
of  40''  a  for  iodine,  and  25*  C.  or  30'  C.  for  bromine, 
it  occasionally  happens  that  yellowish-brown  basic  salts 
have  formed;  therefore  this  temperature  must  not  be 
used,  but  the  solution  of  .iron  ought  to  be  operated  upon 
at  a  temperature  of  o". 

In  order  to  determine  the  silica  (formed  from  the 
alicon  in  the  iron)  and  riag^  the  filter,  which  contains 
graphite  (in  combination  with  iodine  or  bromine  and 
wat^r),  silica,  and  slag,  is  unfolded,  whilst  it  is  still 
wet,  on  a  watch-ghiss.    The  contents  are  washed  away 
from  the  filter  (which  ought  to  rest  only  upon  one- 
half  of  the  filter  whilst  m  the  funnel)  with  a  very  fine 
jet  from  a  wash-bottle  (so  as  not  to  obtain  too  much 
water)  into  a  platinum  or  silver  crucible  of  the  capacity 
of  30  c.a    The  loosening  of  the  mass  may  be  faciUtated 
by  a  fine  paint-brash.    The  water  in  the  crucible  is 
evaporated  to  about  6  ac,  3  c.c  saturated  solution  of 
carbonate  of  soda,  firee  from  silica,  are  added,  and  the 
crucible  put  in  the  copper  rinff  in  a  water  bath,  the  hole 
being  large  enough  to-  allow  tne  crucible  to  project  i  in. 
above  it    It  is  kept  in  the  boiUng  water  i  hour,  during 
which  time  the  liquid  is  stirred  two  or  three  times,  and 
the  insoluble  mass  crushed  with  a  platinum  spatula. 
Hie  liquid  is  carefully  poured  from  the  insoluble  mass 
on  to  a  small  filter,  and  to  the  mass  in  the  crucible  is 
added  i  c.c.  of  saturated  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda 
and  2  C.C  of  water.  When  this  has  been  boiled  i  hour  ♦ 
the  whole  contents  of  the  crucible  are  thrown  on  the 
filter  and  washed.    The  solution  of  silica  in  soda  is 
acidified  by  hydrochloric  acid,  and  mixed  with  the  iron 
aolution,  and  toe  whole  evaporated  to  dryness  on  a  water 
bath.    When  the  solution  attains  the  thickness  of  ordi- 
nary qrrup,  it  is  stirred  very  often  with  the  glass  rod. 
until  tne  mass  becomes  a  dry  powder,  and  heated  until 
the  smell  of  hydrochloric  acid  has  nearly  gone  ofl^;  the 
beaker  is  then  plaoed  in  boiling  water  for  6  hours,  1 5  c.c. 
of  hydrochloric  acid  of  i'i2  sp.  gr.  are  then  added,  and 
tJbe  beaker  left  on  the  water  bath  i  hour.  When  the  red 
powder  is  entirely  dissolved,  50  c.a  water  are  added; 
and  when  no  crystals  of  chloride  of  iron  are  visible. 
tbe  solution  is  thrown  on  a  filter  and  washed  with  cola 
irater,   warm  water  >forming  basic  iron  salts,  which 
xnake  the  silica  appear  red.    The  filter  containing  the 
silioa  is  dried  and  ignited  in  a  porcelain  crucible,  grsr- 
dually  increasing  the  temperature  to  a  full  red  heat,  and 
weighed;  t  if  siuca  is  coloured  red  by  oxide  of  iron,  a 

•  0*1  gniiime  of  Ignlttd  tftd  pure  dllM  obtaf ned  fr«>in  aiudyBls  Is  dla- 
■olred  in  the  above  nuuiBer  In  6  ae.  of  ft  nalonted  sodft  lolntlon  and 
S3  e.0.  of  water.  If  aaj  residue  is  obeerved  after  the  second  boiling, 
this  arises  fh>m  some  Imparity  which  has  anited  in  small  anantltles 
wltli  the  siUea,  lenderinf  it  Insolnble.  When  strong  bvdrochlorio  acid 
IssoiQble  sIHea,  It  maj  afterwards  be  dissolTed. 


little  hydrochloric  acid,  119  sp.gr. 
into  the  crucible. 

(To  be  oontlnned.) 


must  be  poured 


is  boiled  wfth  this  \ 


^ jlQble  sIHea,  It  maar  afterwL 

When  the  solatlon  from  tbe  1  gramme  of  silica  is  diluted  with  water  to 
the  Tolnme  of  (o  0.0  at  the  ordinary  temperature,  it  has  no  tendency  to 
)  into  tbe  form  of  jelly.    Quarta  powder  is  dinolved  by  tbe  pre- 


«,^™  method,  but  very  slightly,  but  kuited  titanic  aoid  and  finery 
ftlag  tte  not  acted  upon,  and  the  t«r«IUeate  slag  from  blast  fomaoes 
h«t  Tery  Utile.  '    ^  ^ 

t  When  the  silica  is  quickly  exposed  to  a  high  temperature,  a  con-- 
ttdsrable  loss  may  arise  from  the  spirUng  of  the  water  combined  with 
the  itiloa.    ftUica  dried  at  ioo<>  0.  has  been  proTed  to  obtain  z  equlva- 


MR.  RODWELL  ON  PHLOGISTON.* 
Thb  theory  of  Phlogiston  is  invariably  regarded  as  a 
distinct  development,  unconnected  with  any  previous 
theory,  and  uninfluenced  by  any  prior  mode  of  scientific 
thought  The  object  of  Mr.  Rodwell  in  the  paper,  of 
which  we  here  give  a  short  abstract,  is  to  prove  tnat 
"  the  theory  of  phlogiston  was  not  the  result  of  a  sudden 
development;  it  did  not  owe  its  existence  to  an  in- 
tellectual exploit,  but  it  arose  by  a  process  of  evolu- 
tion, and  by  a  gradual  modus  of  development. 

In  Section  i.  ("  Of  the  subUUs  ignis  of  the  Andents*^ 
the  author  shows  that  from  the  earliest  times  philoso- 
phers recognised  a  subtle  fire  innate  in  matter,  and  dis- 
tinct from  ordkiary  fire.  The  opinions  of  Zeno, 
Chrysippus,  Lucretius,  and  others,  are  quoted  to  this 
efifect  In  the  four  element  theory  ^rc  v"  under  which 
term  was  included  light,  the  heat  mherent  in  all  bodies, 
flame,  incandescent  bodies,  together  with  lightning, 
and  all  visible  manifestations  of  electricity  ")  was  re- 
garded as  the  animaj  while  air,  water,  and  earth 
together  constituted  the  corpus.  Passing  on  to  the 
Middle  Ages  (Section  2.  "  0/  old  Chemical  literature 
and  of  the  siffnificance  of  the  terms  sal,  svlphur,  mereu- 
rinSj  as  employ^  by  medieevdl  chemists ")  we  find  the 
four  element  theory  existing  nearly  the  same  in  form, 
but  somewhat  modified  in  name^  in  the  three  chemical 
principles,  Sal,  Sulphur,  Mercunus.  These  are  princi- 
pia,  not  (as  is  too  often  imagined)  corpora;  "they  are 
avaxoya — ^representative  bodies^  types  of  classes,  type  of 
qualities."  The  fire  of  the  four  element  theory  was 
included  in  sulphur,  the  principle  of  combustibility. 
Into  this  section  an  account  of  some  old  typical  diem- 
ic^  works  is  introduced,  together  with  some  remarks 
upon  the  rise  and  growth  of  the  system  of  chemicd 
symbolization. 

Section  3  treats  ^^  Of  the  supposed  nature  of  fire  prior 
to  the  rise  of  the  theory  of  phlogiston;  specially  of  Des» 
cartes'  *  Materia  CaslegHs,  and  of  Hooht^s  Theory  of  Com-^ 
hustiony  It  is  here  shown  that  fi:om  early  times  the 
idea  of  intestine  material  motion  has  been  connected 
with  heat  The  Cartesian  philosophy  is  discussed, 
and  a  connection  traced  between  the  Materia  CaslesHs, 
and  the  suhtiHs  ignis  of  earlier  writers.  The  extend- 
ed Cartesianism  of  Lemery  is  touched  upon,  and 
the  following  passage  (which  bears  upon  the  history  of 
thermo-dynamics)  is  quoted  from  his  Cours  de  Chimie, 
published  in  1675  • — "  ^^^  because  there  may  be  some 
difficulty  in  conceiving  what  is  meant  by  Uttie  igneous 
particles  ("  corpuscules  ignees  '*),  I  do  understand  by 
them  a  subtle  matter,  which,  having  been  thrown  into 
a  very  rapid  motion,  still  retains  the  aptitude  of  mov- 
ing with  impetuosity,  even  when  it  is  inclosed  in  gross- 
er matters ;  and  when  it  finds  some  bodies  which  by 
their  texture  or  figure  are  ant  to  be  put  into  motion^  it 
drives  them  about  so  strongly  that  their  parts  rubbmff 
violently  against  each  oti  er,  heat  is  thereby  produced." 
Section  4  treats  "  Of  the  ideas  regarding  the  edlcina^ 
Hon  of  metals  which  prevailed  prior  to  t\e  rise  of  the 
theory  of  phlogiston,^*  •  From  this  we  learn  that  G-lauber 
suggested  that  the  increase  of  weight  observed  in  some 
metals  aiter  calcination  might  arise  firom  the  coagulation 


leat  of  water  to  3  equiTaleata  of  tilktL,  that  is,  about  6  per  cent  of 
water,  whiob  to  loet  by  a » trong  ignition.    ' 

*  "^  On  tbe  Theory  of  Phlogtaton."— /'M2oMi|>Aioa;  Jfag^Bins  /or 
•ToiHMry,  1868. 


(ftigUili  SmiiQn,  ToL  ZVIL,  Vo.  4M^  pSfw  101,  lOB.] 


guuhedflamey"  or,  as  he  otherwise  expresses  it  of  "iy- 
n^u«  particles ;"  and  Lemeiy,  to  the  assimilation  of 
^^  carpusctdet  de  fnt,''  These  views  were  in  all  cases 
published  before  Stahl  wrote  on  phlogiston. 

In  Section  5  we  have  an  account  "  0/  Becker  and 
SifMj  and  of  the  riee  and  development  of  the  theory  of 
phlogiston,"  The  writings  of  Becher  are  here  discussed, 
and  it  is  shown  that  he  has  used  the  word  pMv^utov 
solely  in  its  original  adjective  sense ;  while  "  Stahl  con- 
verted Becher's  ^^kvytetw  into  a  substantive,  and  applied 
it  to  designate  the  materia  is/nia,  so  often  spoken  of  in 
the  works  of  former  writers  on  chemistry ;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  endued  it  with  certain  extended  func- 
tions, many  borrowed  from  Descartes,  some  added  by 
himsel£ 

Phlogiston  was  defined  by  Stahl  as  "  materia  aut 
prindpiwm  ignie,  non  ipee  ignia"  and  was  conceived 
to  be  ''  a  very  subtle  matter,  capable^  of  penetrating 
the  most  dense  substances ;  it  neither  burns,  nor  glows, 
nor  is  visible ;  it  is  agitated  by  an  igneous  motion 
(igneo  motu),  and  it  is  capable  of  communicating  its 
motion  to  material  particles  apt  to  receive  it  The 
particles  when  endued  with  this  rapid  motion  consti- 
tute visible  fire The  igneous  motion  is  ^gyra- 

tortus  seu  vorticiUaris.'  ....  Heat  is  an  intestine  mo- 
tion of  the  particles  of  matter."  As  an  almost  invari- 
able rule  the  expression  *Zm«  of  pMogieton^  which  so 
frequentiy  occurs  in  the  works  of  the  Phlogistians, 
means  in  our  language,  combination  with  oxygen  ;  while 
''gain  of  pMogiaton,"  or  ' aeeimikUion  of  phlogiston* 
signifies  dwxidation. 

The  sixth  and  last  Section  treats  "  Of  the  Syncretistic 
nature  of  the  theory  of  phlogiston"  and  in  this  the  au- 
thor summarises  the  matter  of  the  preceding  sections, 
portions  of  which  summary  we^ve  below  verbatim. 

"  Phlogiston  was  a  new  name  for  an  old  principle.  We 
have  seen  tiiat  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  a  subtle  fire 
innate  in  matter  has  pervaded  physical  philosophy 
froiQ  the  earliest  times.  Phlogiston  was  another  name  for 
the  **our«^r«"  of  Zoroaster;  thea^«xw»wrtvpofZeno: 
the  "  subtilis  ignis  "  of  Lucretius;  the  " demental  fire,'^ 
«  astral  fire,"  •*  sulphur  "  or  "  sulphureous  principle  "  of 
the  chemists;  the  ** cahr  aelestis"  of  Cardanus:  the 
^'sideric  sulphur"  of  Paracelsus;  the  "matej-iacoRlestis'' 
of  Descartes ;  the  "  terra  inflammabilis  "  of  Becher.  The 
functions  of  this  entity  had  been  varied  by  different 
thinkers,  almost  as  much  as  its  name,  until  Des- 
cartes gave  them  accurate  definition.  The  theory 
of  pUogiston  was  the  theory  of  the  "  Materia  Coelestis  '* 
extended  in  a  chemical  direction.  Phlogistic  chemistrjr 
was  Cartesian  chemistry.  Descartes  defined  ihe  physi- 
cal functions  of  the  IfUeria  Ccelestis^  Becher  and  Stahl 
defined  its  chemical  functions,  and  applied  them  to  the 
explanation  of  diverse  chemical  phenomena.  Through- 
out the  writings  of  Becher  and  Stahl  we  find  a  spnn- 
kling  of  Cartesianism ;  ihey  did  not,  however,  adopt  the 
system  in  its  entirety ;  they  appear  to  have  discarded 
the  second  and  third  elements,  and  adopted  the  first 
as  the  parent  of  their  own  system.  Enough,  I  think, 
has  been  said  in  the  preceding  section  to  show  clearly 
that  the  dominant  functions  of  the  Materia  Ccdeslis 
were  conferred  upon  its  synonym  "  Phlogiston." 

"  The  theory  of  Phlogiston  was  essentially  and  com- 
pletely a  syncretistio  theory.  It  was  built  up  of  idola 
theairi,  collected  from  .various  sources,  and  these  were 
cemented  together  by  the  particular  idola  specus  of 
Becher  and  StahL    In  this  process  of  syncretism,  ^  ' 


was  inevitable ;  indeed  all  theories  are  more  or  lest 
tinctured  by  it^  with  the  exception  of  thoee  wluch« 
emanate  from  a  new  mode  of  experimenting,  such,  for 
example,  as  Kirchhoff's  theory  of  the  con^titation  of 

the  sun A  theory  proceeds  by  slow  erote- 

tion  until  it  dominates,  or  is  destroyed.  It  was  thoi 
with  the  theory  of  phlogiston ;  arising  under  the  meet 
favourable  oonditions,  it  attained  full  development,  be- 
came most  cardinal,  most  sovereign,  and  fell  For 
twenty-eight  years  it  was  looming  a  half-formed  thing 
through  the  mists  6f  chemistry ;  for  thirty-fonr  years 
it  was  growing  in  strength  and  proclaiming  its  dynasty; 
for  fifty-four  years  it  was  dominant,  ftnd  it  was  Mj 
ten  years  yielding  up  the  ghost  There  are  men 
amongst  us  now  who  have  listened  to  the  echoes  of  its  de- 
parting steps.  Becher  and  Stahl  were  the  prophets  oft 
new  mode  of  chemical  thought,  essentially  classificstoiy, 
systematic,  and  syncretistic.  In  their  day  chenustiy 
was  at  the  commencement  of  a  period 'Of  transitiOQ, 
and  they  bridged  the  gap  which  existed  between  empi- 
rical chemistry  and  modem  chemistry.  They  did  not 
collect  the  materials  for  tiie  starncture,  they  did  not 
altogether  construct  it^  but  they  designed  it^  and  helped 
in  the  work  of  building.  Albeit  a  bad  bridge,  and  bnilt 
upon  shifting  sands,  yet  it  was  a  channel  of  escape  from 
mystic  science,  and  many  passed  over  to  take  refuge  on 
the  other  side."    The  author  concludes  as  follows:— 

"  Of  the  influence  of  the  theory  of  phlogiston,  I  need 
say  but  littie.  It  was  not  the  first  chemical  theory;  it 
did  not  give  the  first  explanation  of  combustion,  and  it 
was  established  in  the  face-  of  facte  which  carriel  with 
them  its  refutation.  When  the  first  stage  of  its  devdop- 
ment  was  passed,  fitcts  were  adapted  to  the  theory,  and 
phenomena  Were  tortured  and  garbled  so  as  to  fit  ia 
with  it,  by  whidi  means  the  progress  of  chemical  ecienoe 
was  somewhat  retarded.  Even  when  Lavoisier  had 
conclusively  proved  the  fallacy  of  the  theory,  this  blind 
adherence  shut  the  eyes  of  the  phlogistians  to  tiiemeritB 
of  the  new  system,  and  to  the  utter  falsity  of  their  own. 
Nevertheless,  the  theory  exercised  influence  for  p>od; 
for  by  its  means  a  certain  amount  of  order  was  mtro* 
duced  among  a  vast  diaotic  mass  of  chemical  facts,  and 
phenomena  were  classed  together,  and  reasoned  npon 
together,  and  toother  submitted  to  similar  prooeeeei 
of  mental  analysis,  after  the  manner  bo  strongly  advo^ 
cated  by  Francis  Bacon.'* 

"  When  Mde.  Lavoisier,  habited  as  a  Greek  priestesi, 
burnt  the  writings' of  Stahl  upon  an  altar  dedicated  (e 
the  new  science,  the  downfall  of  the  theory  of  phlogis- 
ton was  not  alone  typified ;  for  in  that  holocaust  periab- 
ed  the  vast  system  of  empiricism  which  had  pervaded 
chemistry  from  the  time  of  its  origin  until  then— refies 
of  Egyptian  and  OhaldeMm  lore,  of  an  age  of  fitnatimD, 
of  intellect  perverted  by  a  fWae  enthusiasm.  Phlogistie 
chemistry  had  arisen  on  the  ruins  of  the  older  structore 
of  medieval  chemistry,  and  from  it  arose  moden 
chemistry.  Let  us  be  fain  toremember  that  the  moUwr 
died  in  giving  birth  to  the  child.  The  new  science  was, 
as  Dionysius,  bom  of  the  dying  Semele ;  and  while  wa 
worship  the  son,  like  the  Ancients  we  have  not  forgot^ 
ten  to  raise  a  statue  10  the  mother." 


^ira.4M^|iaf«a0aa 


OnnroiL  Kiwi,  ) 


Heat  and  Gold. 


173 


USCTURBS. 


ON  HBAT  AND  OOLD;  A  COURSE  OF  SIX  LBOTURBS* 
(ADAPTKD    TO    A    JUVBNILB    ATTDrTORY),    DB- 
LIVERED   AT    THE    ROYAL    INSTITUTION    OF 
GBBAT  BRITAIN  (CHRISTMAS,  1867-8). 
BT  Munr  mrDALL,  esq.,  ll.d.,  r.&s. 

LSOTURB  IV. 
(Oonttntied  firom  Am,  Rtpr.,  Mar^  1868,  page  134.) 
I^'OpagaUon  of  HeaJL 
I  BAYi  DOW  to  say  a  few  words  apon  auother  subject — the 
propftgatioQ  of  tliis  thing  we  call  heat — this  curious  quiver- 
ing motioa  of  the  atoms  of  bodies ;  and  ia  order  to  make  this 
evideat  to  you,  I  will,  first  of  all,  make  an  ezperimeDt  or 
two  OD  liquid  bodies,  or  on  gases.    I  want  you  to  under- 
stand the  manner  in  which  heat  distributes  itself  in  gases, 
and,  for  that  purpose,  I  have  here  placed  a  little  piece  of 
platinum  wire— that  metal  which  we  raised  to  a  bright  white 
heat  in  our  first  lecture.    It  i3  a  refractory  metal,  and  bears 
a  very  laige  amount  of  heat.    Now,  we  will  have  the  xoom 
made  dark,  and  Mr.  Oliapman  will  excite  our  electric  lamp, 
and  I  will  ask  you  to  look  at  the  shadow  caused  by  t)iia  little 
platinum  wire  on  the  screen.    I  tniat  that  even  the  most 
distant  young  philosopher  now  sees  that  shadow.    We  will 
beat  the  platinum  wire  by  an  electric  current,  and  you  will 
observe  two  things.    You  see,  first  of  all,  that  the  platinum 
wire  gets  longer — swags,  sinks  down— when  I  heat  it.    Ob- 
serve also  the  air  rising  up  from  the  sur&oe  of  the  heated 
wire.    That  wave-like  motion  is  due  to  currents  of  heated  air 
rifling  from  the  wire.  The  air  when  heated,  rises  in  that  way. 
The  same  is  true  of  Ik^uids:  I  have  here  a  glass  cell  contaiu- 
log  cold  water,  which  will  enable  you  to  see  this.    X  will 
place  it  In  fhmt  of  the  lamp,  and  cast  an  image  of  It  upon 
the  screen.    There  is  a  means  of  warming  this  spiral  of 
platinum  wire  within  the  water,  and  I  want  you  to  observe 
that  the  same  thingigDccure  in  water  as  you  saw  taking  place 
with  the  air  just  now.     Mr.  CottreU  will  now  make  the  cir- 
salt  for  the  electric  current  to  pass ;  and  then  the  moment  the 
nrcuit  is  made  you  will  find  that  the  water  will  be  heated  by 
ilia  apiral  of  platinum  wire,  and. the  heated  particles  of  water 
iriil  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  liquid.    There,  on  the  screen, 
lou  see  the  acUon  of  \h»  hot  wire  upon  the  water,  causing 
he  water  to  rise  in  these  atritB.    The  water  goes  up  from  the 
leated  sur&oe,  and  in  time  the  heated  particles  will  distri- 
^ate  themselves  through  the  entire  mass  of  the  water.    I 
(lake  this  experiment  in  order  to  fix  upon  your  minds  the 
iflVrence  between  this  action  and  anotlier  which  resembles 
\  wk\  fkr%\  sight     The  action  whwh  I  have  shown  you  re- 
EiCK  19. 


ives  the  name  oXconveciiony  which  I  should  like  the  elder 
ym  to  remember,  and  I  want  you  to  distinguish  between 
i9  and  another  process,  which  is  a  veiy  different  one,  and 
tiicb  ia  called  eonduetum.  In  order  to  i&ustrate  this  sul^cct 
oonduction,  I  have  placed  here  before  you  an  iron  bar,  and 
x>pper  bar  (Fig.  19),  and  I  want  tc^  ask  them  which  con- 
ota  beat  best  Mr.  CottreU  will  now  light  a  lamp,  and 
use  it  underneath  the  bars,  so  as  to  heat  the  ends  of  them 


^  Megartad  v«rbttti%  by  peiWteloa  of  tbe  Aattior,  for  ttli JoaniaL 

Voi^  IL  No.  4.    April,  1868.       *  13 


at  the  same  time;  and  as  they  become  hot  they  will  liberate 
these  little  balls,  which  are  fixed  on  with  wax ;  and  I  think 
you  will  find  that  the  heat  will  travel  along  the  copper  better 
than  along  the  iron.  Here  is  a  similar  apparatus,  with  bits  ' 
of  tallow  candle  fixed  to  it  The  greater  the  number  of  these 
pieces  of  candle  that  drop  away  from  either  bar,  the  farther 
and  better  the  heat  has  travelled  through  that  body.  This  is 
almost  a  better  experiment  than  the  more  elaborate  one,  and 
it  is  one  which  you  can  make  at  home  for  yourselves.  The 
copper  will  be  able  to  melt  away  all  its  candles,  while  the 
iron  will  not  be  able  to  do  so.  The  whole  philosophy  of  the 
clothes  you  wear  is,  that  they  are  bad  conductors  of  heat 
Your  bodies  are  sources  of  heat  Through  the  burning  up  of 
the  food  you  eat,  within  your  bodies,  warmth  is  prcjduoed ; 
and  tile  object  of  the  woollen  clothes  which  you  wear  at  the 
present  cold  season  of  the  year,  is  simply  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  heat  from  the  body  to  the  air.  For  this  reason  we 
clothe  the  body  with  woollen  cloth,  that  being  one  of  Uie 
worst  conductors  of  heat  in  nature.  But  the  cloth  has  no 
warmth  in  itself.  If  I  want  to  keep  ice  cool,  as  I  did  in  a 
former  lecture,  I  wrap  my  ice  in  flannel,  which  prevents  the 
heat  from  without  coming  to  the  ice.  Thus  the  woollen  doth 
simply  prevents  the  transfer  of  beat  in  eith«>r  direction,  and 
hence  the  value  of  these  non-conductors  as  articles  of  clothing. 
The  experiment  with  the  pieces  of  candle  sufficiently  illus- 
trates the  &ot  that  different  materials  differ  in  their  power 
of  oonduotiog  heat  I  might  also  show  you  this  in  another 
way.  If  I  warm  this  piece  of  iron  by  putting  it  into 
warm  water,  and  then  place  it  upon  a  cylinder  of  glass 
which  stands  on  the  face  of  the  thermo-electric  pile,  that  glass 
does  not  allow  the  heat  to  paas  through  to  the  pile,  and  the 
needle  still  remains  on  the  side  of  cold.  It  would  be  a 
long  time  before  the  heat  of  this  iron  passed  through  the  glass 
and  reached  the  face  of  the  pile.  .  I  will  now  remove  the 
glass  and  plaoe  a  cylinder  of  copper  on  the  &ce  of  the  pile, 
and  then  put  the  warm  iron  on  the  copper.  I  suppose  that 
not  more  than  two  or  three  seoonds  will  elapse  before  the 
heat  will  pass  by  the  conduction  of  the  copper  to  the  face  of 
the  pile,  and  the  moment  it  does  so  you  will  see  that  the 
needle  will  come  to  the  other  side  of  the  middle  line,  shuwing 
beat  Now,  in  this  case,  instead  of  having  the  heat  trans- 
ferred, as  in  liquids  or  gases,  by  the  passage  of  hot  masses 
through  the  remaining  bulk,  we  have  a  transmission  of  heat 
from  atom  to  atom  of  the  copper;  and  this  process,  as  I  have 
said,  is  called  conduction  of  heat,  in  contrtulistinction  to  the 
other  process,  which  is  called  cmwecUofL 

And  now  I  have  to  go  on  to  another  subject  of  a  somewhat 
different  character ;  but  in  passing  I  must  say  a  word  upon  a 
very  useful  piece  of  apparatus,  the  safety  lamp,  which,  un- 
fortunately, is  not  always  wisely  used.  I  will  state  the 
problem  whkih  the  inventor  of  this  simple,  but  very  wonder- 
ful apparatus,  placed  before  him.  You  must  know  that  in 
our  coal  mines  the  miners  are  prevented  from  using  a  candle 
to  light  them  while  at  their  work,  in  consequence  of  the 
quantity  of  gas  which  is  in  ihe  air  of  the  mines.  In  former 
times  they  lued  to  employ  a  flint  and  steel,  and  work  by  the 
feeble  light  of  the  sparks  The  prc>blem  which  Sir  Humphry 
Davy,  the  inventor  of  the  safety  lamp,  set  before  him  was 
this': — '*  How  can  1  give  the  miner  light  and  still  preserve 
him  from  this  explosive  gas?  '*  and  he  thought,  '*Can  I  put 
a  light  in  any  way  within  an  apparatus,  so  that,  although  the 
light  shall  shine  through  the  apparatus  the  gas  outside  will 
be  prevented  from  ex]^oding?  "  He  found  out  that  a  flame 
could  not  pass  through  a  piece  of  ordinary  iron  gauze.  In 
£ict,  the  flame  is  so  much  cooled  by  the  wire  gauze,  in  con- 
sequenoa  of  iron  being  a  good  conductor  of  heat  and  currying 
the  heat  away  from  the  flame,  that  the  flame  cannot  get 
through.  You  see  that  when  this  iron  gauze  (Fig.  20)  is 
placed  over  the  flame,  the  flame  is  entirely  cut  oS;  and  can- 
not pass  through;  and  if  we  light  the  gas  above  the  gauae  it 
will  burn  tliere,  but  the  flame  is  prevented  from  reaching  the 
gas  below  the  gauze.  (8ss  Fig.  21.)'  Now,  Sir  Humphry 
Davy,  when  he  made  the  miner*s  safety  lamp^.  surrounded 
the  candle  wick  or  the  oil  wick  with  a  wire  gauze;  and,  al- 


y«kZTZL,]|o4fl7, 


«^«T.) 


174 


Heat  and  Ocid. 


JjrOilMl 


though  the  light  can  paaa  through  the  moBhes  of  the  gauze, 
jou  might  have  an  ezploBive  mixture  within  and  without 
the-iamp^  but  the  flame  iaaide  oould  not  propagate  itaelf  to 
the  gas  outside^  being  unable  to  pass  through  the  gauae. 


Era.  2a 


FlO.  21. 


fi 


1  come  now  to  another  subject,  and  a  yerj  faitereeting  one. 
I  will  ask  Mr.  Gottrell  to  heat  a  sHrer  crucible,  or  dish,  al- 
most to  redness;  and  supposing  I  then  pour  water  into  it 
what  do  you  think  will  occur?  Tou  might  at  first  saj, 
**  Well,  the  water  will  be  conyerted  into  steam.**  That  is  not 
quite  the  case.  You  will  find  when  I  pour  the  water  into 
the  Teesel  that  the  heat  of  the  vessel  produces  such  an 
amount  of  vapour  fh>m  the  water,  that  the  water  is  supported 
upon  a  spring  or  elastic  cushion  of  its  own  vapour,  and  is 
thrown  into  the  form  of  a  sphere,  and  the  water  rolls  about 
in  its  own  vapour.  In  order  to  show  jou  this  eflfhct,  we  will 
cause  a  beam  of  light  to  fall  right  into  the  silver  basin,  and 
that  beam  of  Hght  will  illuminate  the  drop  of  water  which  we 
pour  into  the  basin.  The  image  of  the  interior  will  be  then 
thrown  upon  the  screen.    We  now  blow  in  a  little  water. 

Now  JOU  see  represented  on  the  screen  the  globules  of 
water  rolling  about— rolling  about  upon  a  cushion  of  their 
own  vapour.  Sometimes  in  this  experiment  we  get  a  most 
beautifhl  figure  produced  by  the  water.  We  get  a  rosette 
form  of  globule.  The  vapour  breaks  away  from  the  water 
in  a  kind  of  musical  way.  We  will  see  if  we  cannot  get  the 
rosette  form — a  crimping  of  the  edge  of  the  drop  of  water. 
[After  a  few  seconds  the  rosette  form  occurred.    See  Fig.  22]. 

s 

FlO.  22. 


When  the  bashi  is  not  very  hot,  at  first  these  little  crimpings 
anae,  and  then,  when  the  vapour  is  not  sufficiently  strong  to 
lift  the  water  out  of  contact  with  the  basin,  the  water  will 
come  into  contact  with  the  bashi,  and  will  suddenly  boil 
There  it  is.  [At  this  moment  the  spherical  form  ceased,  and 
the  water  boiled  up  and  immediately  disappeared  with  a  hiss- 
ing sound.] 

I  must  now  send  Mr.  CkittreU  liown  stairs  to  prepare  some- 
thing of  very  great  interest  and  beauty;  but  as  I  do  not  know 
whether  the  experiment  will  succeed  or  noi,  I  do  not  wiah  to 


raise  your  expectation.    I(  howeiTer,  It  succeeds,  the  ezperi- 
meut  will  be  a  very  useful  and  a  very  unportant  ona 

In  the  meantime  I  want  to  show  you  what  may  oocor  ia 
coDsequeDoe  of  this  spheroidal  condition  of  watar  on  a  hot 
sur&oe.    I  have  here  a  little  ooj^er  boiler  (Fig.  23).   I  wiU 


Fio.  25. 


cork  this  boUer  up,  but  I  intend  first  of  all  to  heat  it  vary 
highly  indeed,  and  then  I  will  place  a  little  drop  of  water 
into  the  boiler.  I  now  heat  the  boiler,  and  Mr.  Chapman 
vrill  hand  me  some  hot  water,  and  when  ^e  boiler  is  heated 
I  will  pour  a  little  into  it,  and  that  water  will  roll  about  as  a 
spheroid..  Vapour  will  be  given  ofl;  but  bemg  small  in 
amount,  while  the  water  is  rolling  about  it  wOl  escape 
through  a  small  hole  in  the  cork.  I  will  then  withdraw  the 
boiler  fh>m  the  source  of  heat,  and  the  drop  of  water  will 
then  come  into  contact  frith  the  hot  boiler;  steam  will  be 
generated,  and  I  think  thfit  that  steam  will  be  sufficient  to 
expel  the  cork  into  the  atmosphere.  [The  experiment  was 
performed  with  t!be  result  anticipated.]  There  yoQ  see  the 
steam  drives  out  the  cork  the  moment  the  vrater  becooea 
changed  into  vapour  by  contact  with  the  hot  surfeoe  of  the 
boiler.  In  this  way  we  may  have  very  serious  exploiiom^ 
but  that  is  a  subject  into  which  I  cannot^  at  present 

I  want  now  to  knake  an  experiment  or  two  which  riiall 
illustrate  the  character  of  a  certain  subatance  with  which  I 
am  now  going  to  operate.  I  have  had  occasion  to  mention 
gases  several  times  in  these  lectures.  Now,  gases,  and,  in 
net,  the  very  air  we  breathe,  are  nothing  more  than  the 
vapours  of  substances  possessing  tery  low  boiling  pointa. 
For  instance,  Mr.  Faraday,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  »r  tiie 
very  finest  hivestigations  upon  thia  subject,  succeeded  in 
squeezing  together  the  particles  of  the  gas  which  is  contained 
io  this  vessel,  and  forming  it  into  a  liquid ;  and  there  an 
other  gases  wnich  have  been  liquefied  by  Mr.  Faraday.  One 
of  them  is  a  gas  called  carbonic  acid,  which  we  breathe  ant 
of  our  lungs.  I  want  to  genarate  a  quantity  of  earbooic  acid 
gas  in  this  large  round  glass  vessel  We  have  at  the  botttn 
of  the  vessel  some  bicarbonate  of  soda,  and  I  have  here  an 
acid.  If  I  pour  the  acid  into  the  veasel  it  attacks  the  bkv 
bonate  of  soda,  and  we  get  this  carbonic  acid  gas  hbsrated. 
I  dare  say  we  shall  preaenUy  have  acraimnUitiid  enough  ftf 
our  purpose.  [After  an  interval]— Now  let  me  see  whether 
the  gas  which  has  been  liberated  has  not  the  povrer  of  poctiBg 
out  a  candle.  This  will  show  whether  the  gas  exists  in  tfaii 
vessel  or  not  [JL  lighted  taper  was-  lower^  into  the  fenel, 
and  was  immediately  extinguiabed  by  the  carbonic  acid  gii 
therem  contained.]  Tea;  there  \£  the  gaa.  You  see  it  s 
incompetent  to  support  the  combustion  of  the  caad]&  Tbf 
vessel  is  very  nearly  full.  Now  I  will  show  you  that  thiagtf 
is  very  much  heavier  than  ordinarv  air.  I  might  huile  it  oot 
or  dip  it  out  in  a  bucket,  and  if  I  did  ao  in  fh>nt  of  theacrNa 
you  would  see  it  fall  like  water  fit>m  a  vessel,  although  undtf 
ordinary  circumstances  it  is  quite  invisible.  But  I  want  » 
show  you  its  heaviness  by  means  of  a  soap  bubUei  I  viS 
blow  a  bubble  fixxm  this  day  pipe^  and  allow  that  bubble  to 
&11  upon  this  invisible  gas.  You  will  find  that  the  bobil^ 
will  float  about,  upon  the  suifaoe  of  the  gaa  at  if  it  ware  A»<' 


[■agllA  MitfflB,  Vel.  XTZL,  ire^  dttf,  p^«i  «T, «.] 


r  Odemoal  Nbws,  I 
"t  4pra.  186&      f 


J3!^  anJ  ^2(£ 


175 


log  apon  the  surface  of  a  visible  liquid.  [SuooeaaiYe  soap 
bobbles  were  thea  produced,  and  on  being  detached  from  the 
tobacco  pipe,  were  gently  dropped  on  the  eurfaoe  of  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  and,  while  floating  there,  were  illuminated 
with  electric  light] 

Let  me  now  tell  you  what  I  have  sent  ICr.  Gottr^  to  do. 
Down  stairs  in  the  laboratory  we  have  two  very  strong  iron 
botUee^  and  these  two  bottles  are  filled  with  this  carbonic 
acid.  The  gas  in  those  bottles  has  been  liquefied,  and  at  the 
present  moment  be  is  turning  a  cook  and  aUowiog  the  liquid 
carbonic  acid  to  turn  into  gas.  What  I  want  you  to  under- 
stand is  that  when  the  liquid  carbonic  acid  turns  into  vapour 
it  generates  enormous  cold,  just  as  our  vapour  of  water  did 
on  its  production,  only  the  cold  generated  by  the  carbonic 
add  is  far  greater  The  consequence  is,  that  when  this 
liquid  is  turned  into  a  gas  and  generates  this  cold,  a  por- 
tion of  the  vapour  is  turned  into  snow,  and  we  tiins 
obtain  carbonic  acid  snow.  I  am  almost  aft«id  to  speak 
to  you  about  this  matter,  lest  we  should  fidl  to  get  this 
wonderftil  substance.  If  I  do  get  it  I  intend  to  put  it 
into  this  vessel  and  make  a  few  experiments  with  it  which 
will  both  delight  and  surprise  you.  ^  we  get  the  solid  car- 
booic  acid  we  shall  be  Me  to  freeze  water  and  produce  ice 
in  a  crucible  when  it  is  actu^ly  heated  to  redness.  First  of 
all  the  carbonic  acid  snow  is  itself  very  cold,  but  in  order  to 
make  it  still  colder  I  pour  a  little  ether  upon  it  Tliis  turns 
it  into  a  paste;  and  this  mixture  of  carbonic  acid  and  ether 
gives  us  nearly  the  greatest  cold  which  has  ever  yet  been 
produced.  If  we  put  that  paste  of  carbonic  acid  and  ether 
into  the  hot  crucible,  what  occurs?  The  carbonic  acid  and 
the  ether  evaporate,  and  they  so  evaporate  as  to  produce  a 
protecting  coating  of  vapour  of  carbonic  acid  between  the 
red  hot  crucible  and  the  pasty  mass  within  it  In  point  of 
fiiet,  the  pasty  mass  does  not  touch  the  crucible  at  all.  It 
remains  Intensely  cold  within  the  crucible.  If  we  are  suo- 
oessfUl  in  getting  the  solid  oarlx>nic  acid,  I  shall  dip  this 
small  brass  sphere  containing  water  into  the  mixture  of  ether 
and  carbonic  acid  in  the  hot  crucible ;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  water  will  freese  and  will. burst  the  brass  sphere, 
and  we  shall  then  be  able  to  take  from  the  red  hot  crucible 
a  sphere  of  solid  ice.  Mr.  Gottrell  is  a  long  time  bringing  tiie 
solid  carbonic  acid.  I  am  afraid  he  is  not  sucoessftd.  iUlow 
me  simply  to  walk  down  stairs  and  see  that  the  matter  is 
going  on  rightly.  [The  lecturer  then  went  in  quest  of  the 
carbonic  acid.  On  retumingi  to  the  theatre  be  resumed  as 
follows]— -I  am  sorry  to  say  that  my  worst  anticipations  have 
been  realised.  The  experiment  below  has  not  succeeded. 
Uere,  however,  is  a  little  of  this  wonderfVU  oarbonto  acid 
snow — solid  carbonic  acid.  I  will  put  a  little  in  my  mouth, 
and  breathe  against  a  candle.  If  I  inhaled  it  I  should  kill 
myself;  but  I  do  not  intend  to  inhale  it  I  intend  simply  to 
exhale,  [The  candle  flame  was  then  extinguished  by  the  gas 
exhaled  from  the  lecturer's  mouth.] 

Radiani  HeaL-^Refleetum  and  AbeorpHon  of  Hadiani  Heat. 
You  know  that  towards  the  end  of  the  last  lecture  I  fiUled 
in  the  experiment  of  ft^esing  water  in  a  red  hot  crucible  -by 
means  of  carbonio  add  snow.  As  I  do  not  like  fkilures  in 
experiments,  I  will  try  to  make  that  good.  I  have  here 
some  of  this  beautiful  carbonic  add  snow,  which  I  will  now 
put  in  this  red  hot  crucible.  I  will  pour  nptn  that  a  quan- 
tity of  ether,  and  then  I  bring  down  into  the  middle  of  the 
mixture  this  hollow  brass  ball  containing  water.  The  ether 
is  now  boiling.  I  will  put  in  some  more  of  this  carbonic 
add  snow.  It  bums  my  hand, — it  is  so  enorn^usly  cold. 
This  ball  is  very  cold,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  already 
we  have  produced  ice  in  it  The  quantities  of  the  sub- 
stances are  much  smaller  than  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
work  with,  but  I  dare  say  we  shall  succeed  notwithstanding 
all  our  difficulties.  [After  a  short  interval  the  water  was 
found  to  be  fh»ea]  Inhere:  look  at  that  The  water  in 
this  spheroid  is  converted  into  ice,  even  In  this  red  hot  crudble ! 


I  have  here  some  mercury,  and  I  will  pour  some  of  it  hito 
this  basin.  I  dare  say  we  shall  be  able  to  solidify  ttus  mer« 
cury  by  means  of  this  beautiful  carbonio  add  snow.  Now 
observe  here  what  I  think  you  have  never  seen  before. 
You  know  the  liquid  metal  mercury.  You  have  it  here 
made  solid^finozen  by  the  cold  add.  This  requires  a  far 
greater  cold  than  will  flreese  water.  I  might  beat  this  sub* 
stance  upon  an  anvil  or  cut  it  with  a  knife.  It  becomes 
liquid  again  in  a  moment  If  I  hold  this  solid  fh)zen  mer- 
cury in  a  vessel  of  water,  the  mercury  will  become  liquid  and 
fall,  and  each  little  drop  of  mercury  which  falls  will  produce 
a  staUctite  of  tee.  See,  the  frozen  mercury  is  being  melted 
by  that  water.  This  is  really  cold  water,  but  it  is  hot  to  the 
frozen  mercury,  and  a  mass  of  ice  is  produced  round  about 
the  mercury  which  has  been  cold  enough  to  do  that 

The  best  of  men  and  the  beet  of  boys  in  the  world,  &11  and 
ikil ;  but  when  one  fidls  the  great  question  with  him  should 
be,  ''How  long  am  I  to  remain  down?"  Every  boy  falls, 
but  if  he  &lls.  and  fails,  he  ought  to  be  np  again  and  at  it, 
doing  his  duty.  And  so,  as  we  &iled  at  the  end  of  the  last 
lecture  in  this  experiment,  five  minutes  had  not  elapsed  be- 
Ibre  my  assistant  was  down  in  the  laboratory  working  the 
pump,  determined  to  make  good  our  failure,  which  we  have 
here  done. 

We  have  now  to  pass  on  to  another  and  very  different  por- 
tion of  our  subject  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  you  a  kind 
of  image,  more  or  less  perfect,  of  this'thing  that  we  call  heat 
I  have  endeavoured  to  ^ve  you  a  picture^  as  it  were,  which 
your  minds  should  realise. 

If  you  take  a  hot  body  and  place  it  in  the  air,  you  find 
that  it  gradually  cools.  It  it  be  red  hot  the  glow  first  of  all 
sinks,  and  by  and  by  you  see  nothing  of  it  The  thing  gets 
cooler  and  cooler,  and  at  the  end  becomes  as  cool  as  the  sur- 
rounding air.  Now,  this  heat,  in  the  first  instance,  was  ^ 
motion  of  the  particles  of  the  hot  body.  When  the  body 
cools  it  is  simply  giving  up  its  motion.  Now,  to  what  does 
it  give  up  this  motk>n  when  you  place  it  hi  the  air?  Well, 
you  might  say,  to  the  air.  True:  and  when  I  held  the 
heated  piece  of  iron  .in  front  of  the  screen  you  saw  the  hot 
partides  of  air  streaming  up  into  the  ait  above;  so  no  doubt  ■ 
the  motion  which  the  hot  body  gives  up  is  given  up  to  the 
air.  But  if  you  put  the  hot  body  in  the  middle  of  a  pUice 
where  air  did  not  exist  it  would  still  cooL  Now,  I  want  you 
to  exercise  your  imagination  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this 
motion  is  disposed  o^  lost,  or  given  out,  when  a  body  cools. 
I  believe  most  of  you  understand  how  it  is  tliat  sound  travels 
through  the  air, — at  least,  how  it  is  that  the  sound  of  my 
voice  propagates  itself  through  the  air  and  makes  every  word 
I  say  audible,  I  trust,  to  you  alL  I  have  often  looked  into 
persons'  throats  when  they  were  speaking,  and  observed 
cords  and  tendons  there  which  are  thrown  into  a  state  of 
vibration  when  we  speak  or  sing.  They  cause  the  air  to 
shiver,  and  those  tremors  are  propagated  through  it,  just  as 
motion  is  propagated  b^  ripples  over  the  surface  of  water 
when  a  stone  is  thrown  mto  it  So  if  I  draw  this  violin  bow 
across  a  timing^fork,  you  have  this  beautiful  sound  produced. 
I  can  actually  see  the  fork  vibrating,  being  thus  near  it,  and 
ytu  can  hear  it  tapping  against  this  card.  The  whole  funo- 
tion  of  a  tuning-fork  is  to  throw  the  air  into  tremors,  and 
these  tremors,  communicated  to  the  air,  are  the  cauise  of 
sound.  The  tuning-fork  communicates  its  motion  to  the 
mass  of  air  which  surrounds  it  The  vibrations  of  this 
tuning-fork  gradually  become  less  intense,  and  the  sound 
which  it  makes  gets  lower.  Now,  tliat  is  exactly  analogous 
to  the  cooling  of  a  hot  body.  It  communicatee  its  motion  to 
what  is  called  the  **  ether,*'  by  means  of  which  bodies  which 
are  hot  communicate  their  motion  to  the  universe  arpund. 
You  all  heiir  my  voice.  The  human  ear  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderfbl  organs  in  the  universe.  I  often  think  that  the 
humau  ear  Is  still  more  wonderful  than  the  human  eye.  It 
is  by  virtue  of  this  wonderful  organ  that  you  hear  with  per- 
fect distinctness  every  word  I  am  uttering ;  but  it  does  not 
tell  that  this  communication  of  motion  is  going  on.  I  want 
to  show  you  something  that  will    Instead  of  the  ear,  I  will 


[BngllA  BdtdSB,  TsL  Z7ZI,  His  «7,  y^^  68 ',  «o>  ^aB,  pais  77.1 


&^«<w   \mwwnM    \yvfv%Mm 


\      April,  18f& 


take  a  flame,  which  I  dare  say  will  give  me  a  very  good  re- 
sult Perhaps  one  of  the  boys  wiU  chirrup  to  that  flame. 
Eveiy  vibration  produced  by  the  lips  by  the  act  of  chirrup- 
ing is  oommuDicated'  to  that  flame,  and  makes  it  dance  in 
that  peculiar  way.  The  action  of  this  flame  is  an  illustration 
of  the  motion  produced  in  the  air  by  sound.  This  action  of 
flames  was  discovered  by  Professor  Leconte,  in  the  United 
States ;  and  it  has  been  worked  at  in  this  country  by  Mr. 
Barret  and  myselC  Something  passes  through  the  air  and 
knocks  the  flame  down  when  you  chirrup.  The  vibrations 
oommunicated  to  the  air  make  the  flame  behave  in  this  pecu- 
liar way. 

We  now  come  to  consider  the  cooling  of  a  body.  I  say 
that  the  act  of  cooling  must  be  flgured  in  a  similar  way  to 
the  action  of  a  body  producing  sound.  The  cooling  body  is 
communicating  its  motion,  not  to  the  air,  but  to  this  wonder- 
ful thing  called  the  ether.  The  radiation  passing  through  the 
air  might  be  called  the  radiation  of  sound ;  but  when  motion 
is  communicated  to  this  wonderful  ether  it  is  called  the  radi- 
ation of  heat.  To  fUuatrate  this  we  must  employ  this  beau- 
tiful instrument  with  which  you  are  already  acquainted — ^the 
thermo-electric  pile.  I  shall  now  unite  the  ends  of  these 
wires  with  the  pile,  and  we  shall  observe  by  means  of  our 
magnetic  needle  whether  the  pile  is  heated  or  chilled.  I 
wish  I  could  have  a  warm  cheek  here,  for  every  one  of  you 
here  present  is  a  radiating  body,  not  luminous,  but  radiating. 
[The  lecturer  then  selected  a  boy  fh>m  the  audience,  and  i^ 
him  to  the  lecture  table.]  I  want  to  make  my  youn^  friend 
here  my  radiating  body.  I  will  flrst  chill  the  pile  by  turning 
it  to  the  cool  side  of  the  room,  and  then  bring  the  needle  to 
rest  by  means  of  this  magnet.  The  pile  itself  is  now  a  radi- 
ating body,  and  hence  you  see  the  needle  coming  down.  I 
will  now  try  and  extract  heat  from  the  cheek  of  my  excellent 
friend  here.  Ke  does  not  touch  the  pile.  I  will  depend 
purely  on  the  radiatton  of  heat  from  his  cheek,  and  I  will 
venture  to  say  that  if  his  cheek  is  not  chilled  by  the  very 
cold  weather,  the  needle  will  move  up  through  an  arc  of  oo 
degrees.  Observe^  now,  the  needle  goes  up  in  virtue  of  the 
heat  extracted  fW>m  his  cheek.  We  will  now  direct  the  face 
of  the  pile  against  this  comparatively  polar  region  of  the 
room  and  allow  it  to  waste  its  heat  once  more.  Now  the 
beat  which  has  produced  this  effect  on  the  pile  is  the  radiant 
heat  which  I  want  to  examine  during  the  rest  of  the  lec- 
ture. 

I  want  to  show  you  that  various  bodies  possess  the  power 
of  emitting  this  radiant  heat  in  very  different  degrees.  My 
friend's  dieek  was  an  admirable  radiator  of  heat.  There  are 
various  other  bodies,  however,  much  less  admirable  as  radia- 
tors.   To  show  this  fact,  I  will  take  this  cube.  (Fig.  24).   It 


FiQ.  24. 


IS  covered  on  three  sides  with  velvet  One  side  has  white 
velvet,  one  has  scarlet  velvet  and  the  other  has  black  velvet, 
and  this  fourth  side  is  a  naked  face  of  metal.  I  should  like 
•to  make  clear  to  you  that  these  four  sides  of  this  cube  pos- 
^wss  the  power  of  radiating  heat  in  very  diflbrent  degrees ; 
;and  for  the  purpose  of  showing  you  this  I  will  till  the  cube 


with  boilhig  water.  The  sides  of  the  cube  will  become 
equally  heated  by  the  hot  water  poured  into  the  cube,  and 
then  1  will  allow  them  in  succession  to  radiate  against  our 
thermo-electric  pile.  I  dare  say  you  will  then  see  the  dis- 
tinction. I  first  bring  the  needle  to  zero  by  turning  the  face 
of  the  pile  away  from  the  audience ;  and  now  I  place  the 
cube  of  hot  water  on  this  little  stand  near  the  pile.  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  the  outside  of  the  metal  side  of 
the  cube  must  be  hotter  than  the  velvet  surfaces.  You  could 
feel  tills  difference  by  placing  your  hand  upon  them.  Bat 
still,  I  think  the  velvet  will  be  able  to  produce  a  greater 
effect  upon  the  pile  than  the  metal  surface.  The  metal  side, 
you  see,  does  not  produce  much  effect  upon  the  pile.  Now 
I  turn  the  velvet  to  the  fkce  of  the  pile,  and  you  see  that  the 
needle  goes  up  beyond  the  position  it  occupied  whea  the 
metal  side  was  there.  I  now  ttim  the  metal  side  bad[ 
again,  and  the  needle  will  go  down.  Now  you  see  it  going 
down ;  and  when  it  has  gone  down  a  little  more,  I  will  torn 
the  blade  velvet  surface  towards  it,  and  yon  will  see  that  the 
needle  will  go  up  again.  Thus  you  see  that  the  h*«t  radiat- 
ing from  this  velvet  surface  is  mudi  greater  4han  the  heat 
radiating  from  the  metal ;  and  we  have  from  this  fact  a  beau- 
tiful consequence  which  many  boys  would  not  think  would 
occur.  The  consequence  is  this.  If  we  filled  with  boiling 
water  these  two  vessels,  one  of  tfhich  is  covered  with  a 
thick  coating  of  flannel,  and  the  other  of  which  has  naked 
sides  of  metal,  and  allowed  them  to  rest  here  until  the  end 
of  the  lecture,  and  then  put  a  thermometer  in  eadi  to  find 
out  the  temperature  of  the  water,  which  vessel  do  yon  think 
would  coDtahi  the  coolest  water? 

Boys  of  the  A^dtence :  The  metal  one. 

The  LMurer :  You  have  not  philosophised  wwrecUy  upon 
the  experiment  I  made  with  the  cube.  Your  conclusion  is 
the  most  natural  one,  but  you  saw  that  the  quantity  of  heat 
sent  away  from  the  covered  surface  of  the  cube  was  greater 
than  the  quantity  sent  away  from  the  Uncovered  surfacei 
In  the  same  way  the  quantity  of  heat  fh>m  the  radiating  ves- 
sel coated  with  flannel  would  be  greater  than  that  radiating 
from  the  uncovered  metal  vessel,  and  therefore  at  the  end  of 
the  lecture  the  water  m  the  covered  vessel  would  be  three  or 
four  degrees  cooler  than  the  water  in  the  other.  In  order 
that  this  difference  shookl  exist  in  favbur  of  the  covered  ves- 
sel, it  must  be  covered  very  ck)sely ;  that  is  to  say,  the  heat 
must  communicate  itself  very  freely  fh)m  the  auriaoe  of  the 
metal  to  the  flannel  covering.  If  it  were  not  covered  dosely 
the  result  would  be  different,  and  the  heat  would  be  pre- 
served. This  is  the  reaaon  why  ladies  who  wish  to  keep 
their  tea-pots  warm,  put  over  them  a  kind  of  night-cap, 
which  they  call  a  **  ooaey.'*  This  oosey  must,  however,  be 
loose  about  the  tea-pot  If  it  were  to  fit  very  dosely  it  wouki 
do  more  harm  than  good.  However,  if  it  does  not  fit  tightly 
the  heat  radiates  against  the  coMy,  and  the  oozey  prevents  it 
firom  being  radiated  into  sjNice. 

I  have  said  that  we  find  very  great  differences  amons 
substances  in  their  power  of  radiating  heat  Some  are  good 
radiators:  some  are  bad  radiators.  The  metals  are  all  bad 
radiators.  I  now  want  to  make  plain  to  you  another  fiict 
whkh  goes  band  in  hand  with  this  radiation  I  think  you 
will  understand  the  experiment  by  which  1  want  to  iilnstrata 
this  point  ■  Here  you  see  I  have  a  metal  surface  which  is  a 
bad  radiator.  If  that  metal  surfaoe  formed  the  side  of  a  ves- 
sel containing  hot  water,  it  would  radiate  far  less  beat  away 
than  this  surface  which  is  coated  with  kmp-black. '  A  vessel 
coated  as  this  surface  is  would  cool  tho  hot  water  in  it  &r 
more  rapidly  than  a  vessel  composed  of  naked  tan..  Now, 
observe  that  bodies  have  also  different  powers  of  absorbing  or 
drinking  i^  radiant  heat,  and  as  a  universal  rale  the  body 
that  is  a  good  radiator  is  a  good  absorber.  Both  actions  are 
perfectly  redprocal  the  one  to  the  other.  I  want  to  make 
this  evident  to  you  by  mtens  of  a  device ;  for  in  working  in 
physical  sdenoe  we  have  incessantly  to  address  queaUona^  as 
it  were,  to  nature,  and  we  do  that  by  means  of  experimental 
devices.  And  now  I  am  going,  in  your  presence,  to  ssk 
nature  the  question  which  of  these  two  surfaces,  jf  s  or  0  p 


[Bb^IA  EdMoo,  Vol.  ZVn.,  Ha  42%  pagw  n,  78.] 


device  that  I  want  to  employ  in  this  ezperimeot  will  be  evi- 
dent to  you  after  a  little  attention  on  y^ur  part  Nothing  is 
learned  or  nothing  is  understood  without  an  act  of  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  student ;  and  if  you  do  not  think  of  these 
lectures  afterwarda,  and  read  about  the  subject  afterwards— if 
you  do  not  dwell  upon  whiit  we  say  here,  and  work  at  the 
subject,  and  reflect  upon  it— these  lectures  will  pass  away 
from  your  memories,  and  make  very  little  impression.  In 
fact,  these  lectures  are  very  little  good  except  for  the  pur- 
pose of  stirring  you  up,  and  giving  you,  as  it  were,  the  first 
taste  of  science.  I  really  do  not  care  much  about  lectures. 
I  would  rather  have  ten  or  a  dozen  boys  working  away  with 
me  in  a  room  than  be  preaching  to  them  as  I  ^  doing  now. 
However,  there  is  good  to  be  done  in  this  way  if  you  will 
only  think  about  tlie  subject,  and  bring  your  own  minds  to 
bear  upon  it  afterwards. 

Ton  see  I  have  here  two  sheets  of  tin,  M  x  and  o  P,  one 
covered  with  lamp-black,  and  the  other  uncovered.  I  place 
them  facing  each  other,  and  i  put  this  stand  eicactly  midway 
between  them.  Now,  I  have  a  litte  devkse  here— a  tell-tale— 
which  will  inform  me  whksh  of  these  plates  is  heated.  Sup- 
pose I  heat  this  plate.  Observe  what  occurs  at  the  magnetic 
needle.  I  simply  warm  that  plate  by  putting  my  finger  upon 
iL  The  red  end  of  the  needle  moves  towards  me.  1  cannot 
explain  the  wonderful  power  which  moves  the  needle.  It  is 
what  we  call  an  electric  current,  and  is  produced  by  the 
union  of  the  two  metals  of  the  thermo-electric  pile.  When 
the  plate  is  heated  you  see  that  a  deflection  of  the  needle  is 

•  PiQ.  25. 


sufficient  to  prevent  the  absorption  of  radiant  heat.  I  have 
here  an  exceedingly  instructive  substance.  It  Is  a  piece  of 
paint  given  me  by  Mr.  Hills,  of  the  firm  of  Bell  and  Co.    A 

Fig  26. 


produced.  The  needle  will  return  to  zero  when  I  withdraw 
my  hand.  I  want  you  now  to  judge  which  of  these  two  sur- 
&oes  absorbs  radiant  heat  most  freely.  The  needle  will  not 
rest  at  zero  unless  these  two  plates  are  exactly  at  the  same 
temperature.  If  one  becomes  warmer  than  the  other  the 
needle  will  deviate  from  zero.  Thus  we  have  it  in  our  power 
to  determine  which  plate  absorbs  heat  most  greedily.  Now 
Mr.  Cottrell  will  give  me  a  ball  of  copper  which  is  heated  to 
redness.  You  observe  it  is  radiating  its  heat  as  a  luminous 
body  radiates  light  [The  red  hot  copper  ball  was  placed 
equidistant  between  the  two  plates  of  tin,  one  of  which  was 
coated  with  lamp-black.  In  a  few  seconds  the  needle  of  the 
pole  began  to  travel  from  the  zero.]  Thus  we  prove  that 
this  surface  coated  with  lamp-black,  which  is  the  best  radia- 
tor, is  also  the  best  absorber.    We  might  experiment  with  s 


portion  of  this  paint  is  coated  with  gold  leaf,  and  though  the 
gold  leaf  is  infinitesimally  thin,  it  has  been  competent  to  pro- 
tect the  surface  of  the  paint  from  the  action  of  radiant  heat 
to  which  the  whole  thing  was  exposed,  while  the  other  part 
of  the  surface,  which  was  not  covererd  with  gold  leaf,  has 
become  blistered.  Where  the  gold  leaf  was  present  it  pre- 
vented the  rapid  absorption  of  the  heat 

I  have  here  a  sheet  of  paper  covered  on  one  side  with 
iodide  of  mercury,  a  substance  which  has  its  colour  discharged 
l:^  heat  On  the  other  side  of  the  paper  there  are  certain 
figures  represented  by  a  thin  coating  of  metal.  I  place  the 
paper  with  the  iodide  of  mercury  side  downward ;  and  over 
the  other  side  I  will  hold  a  hot  spatula  which  will  radiate 
heat  to  the  surface  of  the  paper.  Where  the  thin  coating  of 
metal  is,  the  heat  will  be  rejected,  but  where  the  paper  is 
not  coated  the  heat  will  be  absorbed,  and  then  it  will  reach 
the  iodide  of  mercury  on  the  other  side  and  destroy  its 
colour.  You  will  find  that  in  this  way  we  shall  produce  on 
the  underside  of  the  paper  a  perfect  picture  of  the  figures  on 
the  upper  side,  for  you  will  find  that  the  red  colour  of  the 
iodide  of  mercery  will  remain  underneath  the  metal  coating, 
for  that  coating  has  the  power  of  rejecting  the  heat  as  the 
gold  leaf  rejected  the  heat  in  the  other  case,  and  so  protected 
the  paint  and  prevented  its  blistering.  [The  experiment 
was  performed  with  a  successful  result  J 

Fio.  27. 


The  radiation  of  heat  obeys  the  same  laws  as  the  radiation 
of  light,  and  it  obeys  the  law  of  reflection  due  to  light  This 
we  can  illustrate  by  means  of  our  beautiful  thermo-electric 
pile ;  but  I  will  first  of  all  make  a  single  experiment  that 
shall  impress  upon  our  minds  the  law  according  to  which 


[EngUih  Bditton, ToL, Z7IL  Mo. 428, pegia 7^ i^^*  Vo. 4M, pagw 92, 93.] 


178 


Heai  and  Gold. 


IObimtcai  Vkvil 


light  is  refltcted.  It  is  a  very  simple  experimeDt,  but  I  trust 
it  will  be  verj  effective  as  far  as  regards  the  proof  of  the  law. 
Mr.  Cottrell,  whb  knows  my  requirements  vtry  well,  is  now 
placing  there  in  front  a  little  looking-glass,  G  Q.  I  intend  to 
send  a  bea(n  of  light,  a  6,  from  the  electric  lamp,  /,  towards 
the  mirror  .G  g.  llie  beam  will  strike  upon  the  mirror,  and 
be  reflected.  How?  So  that  the  reflected  beam  will  lie  as 
much  on  the  left  of  this  index,  a  6,  which  is  perpendicular  to 
the  mirror,  as  the  direct  beam  lies  upon  the  right  side  of  it 
There  are  two  terms  employed  in  connection  with  this  sub- 
ject which  the  elder  boys  ought  to  remember.  This  angle,  g^ 
mnde  between  the  perpendicular,  a  b  (Fig.  28),  and  the  line. 


Fig.  2a. 
a 

/- 

\ 

a 

e  a,  along  which  the  direct  ray  ffoes  to  the  mirror,  is  caUed 
the  angU  of  incidence.  The  angle,  h,  between  the  perpen- 
dicular a  6,  and  the  reflected  ray,  a  /,  is  called  the  angle  of 
reflection ;  and  the  law  as  regards  both  light  and  heat  is  this 
— that  "  the  angle  of  incidence  is  equal  to  the  angle  of  re- 
flection." If  I  am  right  in  what  I  have  stated  you  will  find 
the  reflected  beam  as  hr  from  the  perpendicular  on  one  side 
as  the  direct  beam  is  from  the  perpendicular  on  the  other 
side.  I  want  now  to  prove  the  same  with  regard  to  the  ra- 
diant heat  by  a  very  rough  experiment,  and  show  you  that 
it  obeys  the  same  law  as  light    I  take  this  piece  of  tin, 


pile,  and  cause  the  needle  to  move  towards  me.  We  thus 
see  that  heat  exhibits  the  same  law  in  this  respeci  u 
light 

I  wanted  to  make  one  or  two  experiments  more,  and  I 
wished  to  do  so,  as  before,  by  means  of  our  thermo-electric  pile; 
but  I  find  that  the  needle  does  not  act  freely  although  the 
pile  does  its  duty.  Hence  I  think  I  must  tell  you  by  my 
tongue  what  that  needle,  if  it  were  in  a  proper  conditioD, 
would  have  told  you  by  its  motion.  I  intended  to  make  Uie 
needle  my  voice,  but  it  has  become  dumb.  I  wanted  to 
show  .you  that  this  thing  we  call  radiant  heat  passed  in  very 
different  degrees  through  diflbrent  bodies.  I  wanted  flrtt  to 
compare  the  passage  of  heat  through  glass  with  its  pasnge 
through  other  bodies.  I  have  here  a  piece  of  rough  g^ 
and  I  have  also  a  beautiful  substance— a  very  common  one^ 
but  to  me  more  precious  than  the  diamond,  though  the 
diamond  is  a  beautiful  thing.  This  substance  is  rock  ask. 
This  would  allow  heat  to  pass  through  it  with  perfect  free- 
dom, while  the  glass  would  cut  it  off.  80  with  different 
liquids.  I  have  here  a  liquid  called  bisulphide  of  carbon, 
and  here  I  have  some  of  the  well-known  liquid  called  water. 
If  I  filled  one  cell  with  water  and  another  with  bisulphide  of 
carbon,  I  should  find  that  the  bisulphide  of  carbon  would 
transmit  heat  with  great  fk'eedom,  wlifle  the  water  would  not 
transmit  it  at  alL  Water  is,  indeed,  as  regards  beat  one  of 
the  most  opaque  bodies  in  nature  to  all  but  uacandescent  or 
luminous  heat  It  is  a  perfectly  opaque  body  to  all  rays 
emitted,  say  from  the  surface  of  a  boiling  kettle,  or  from  the 
heated  cube,  or  fix)m  the  cheek  of  the  young  philosopher  who 
helped  me  in  an  experiment  in  the  early  part  of  this  lecture. 
During  the  bummg  of  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  the  beat  stradt 
upon  the  windows  of  a  dub  house  oj)posite,  and  as  the  glaas 
would  not  allow  the  heat  to  pass  through,  the  windows  be- 
came hot,  and  thus  the  glaas  was  broken.  Had  those  win- 
dows been  composed  of  rock  salt  the  heat  would  have  paased 


which  will  reflect  heat,  and  hold  it  96  that  the  radiant  heat 
from  this  flre  will  fall  upon  it,  and  then  be  reflected,  according 
to  the  law  I  have  just  mentioned,  on  to  the  face  of  the  pile. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  reflected  heat  will  warm  the  fsM  of  the 


through  them,  and  they  would  have  remained  perfectly  cool, 
although  there  might  have  been  an  efflux  of  the  moat  pow- 
eifbl  radiant  heat  If  time  allows,  I  will  show  you  in  tbe 
next  lecture  that  we  can  boil  water  by  radiant  beat  paasog 


[Englidi  fdttkin,  Vol  Z7IL,  Mo.  486^  pagw  03^  04.] 


AprO^tltm. 


Seat  and  Cold. 


179 


tfanngh  bisulphide  of  oaitKm,  though  tbo  Mine  heat  doee  not 
boQ  the  Usalphkle  of  eurboa  through  whiob  it  is  transmitted, 
notwithsbttiding  that  bisulphtde  of  oarboa  boUs  at  a  lower 
teinperatiire  than  water. 

I  here  told  7011  that  diflbrent  bodies,  both  soHd  and  Hqnid, 
posMSB  the  power  of  transmitting  beat  in  different  degrees. 
Kow,  the  body  which  absorbs  the  radiant  heat,  hiatead  of 
transmitting  it,  becomes  warm  by  the  absorption.  Ice  is  a 
body  which  is  SKoeedingly  opaque  to  the  rays  of  heat,  but 
allows  light  to  pass  through  with  freedom.  I  intend  to  place 
a  pleee  of  ice  m  the  path  of  a  beam  from  the  eleotrio  lamp, 
and  which  will  be  a  mixed  ray  of  heat  and  light  The  ice 
will  stop  by  Ihr  the  greater  portion  of  the  radiant  heat,  and 
the  hsatwiU  be  lodged  within  the  Ice.  But  the  temperature 
of  ioe  cannot  be  raised  beyond  32"^  Fihrenheit  without  the 
ice  beginnhig  to  melt,  so  that  the  portion  of  the  •earn  arrested 
by  the  ice  wiU  ocenpy  itself  in  hqueQ^ing  the  hiterior  of  the 
ice.  It  will  liqnefy  the  ice  internally,  and  I  want  you  to  see 
tiie  wonder  and  the  beao^  ioTolv^  in  this  beaotiAil  sub- 
stance which  yo«  skate  over  erery  winter,  but^  perhaps,  never 
think  ol  This  beam  of  light  and  heat  passhig  into  the  ice 
will  dissect  the  ice  and  separate  the  crystals^  and  you  will 
see  the  beautiftil  figures  into  which  the  ioe  reaolves  itselC 
The  ice  will  break  up  intemaUy  into  the  most  beautiftil  flow- 
ers consisting  of  six  petals.  In  order  to  enable  you  to  see 
these  figures  I  must  magnify  them  very  much,  and  for  that 
purpose  I  shall  cause  an  image  of  them  to  be  thrown  on  this 
kige  white  screen.  The  lamp  is  placed  in  the  gallery  to  in- 
crease the  distance  tnm  the  screen,  and  so  make  the  figures 
appear  larger.  Mr.  Oottrell  has  a  lens  there,  and  he  will 
now  take  a  piece  of  ioe,  and  make  the  sufrace  smooth  by  put- 
ting it  on  a  warm  body,  and  then  place  it  in  the  path  of  the 
beun.  TIm  ice  has  been  cutparallel  to  the  phme  of  freezing 
from  a  blodc  of  the  so-called  Wenham  Lake  icei  It  has  been 
cut,  I  say,  parallel  to  the  surface  ak>ng  which  the  ice  grows. 
[After  a  abort  time  the  image  of  the  ice-flowera  began  to  ap- 

Cir  on  the  screen.]  I  do  not  know  any  experiment  that  I 
▼e  ever  made  whksh  is  more  delicate  and  beaatifol  than 
this.  The  flojrera  are  growing  Uurger  and  larger.  First  of 
all  you  see  these  leaves,  and  within  you  see  a  orimping. 
Those  spaces  which  you  see  are  qpaces  entirely  devoid  of  air, 
for  you  know  that  the  water  occupies  less  space  than  the  ice. 
The  ice  is  laiger  thaii  the  water  which  formed  it,  and  as  the 
inner  ponions  of  this  piece  of  ice  melt,  the  water  occupies 
len  ipaoe  than  the  ice,  and  a  small  vacuum  is  produced  at 
that  spot  This  screen  presents  a  glorious  surface  of  ice- 
flowers.  Bveiy  partide  of  ice  is  bnUt  up  in  this  beautiAil 
way.  The  ioe  has  now  become  disintegrated,  but  I  do  not 
think  your  patience  has  been  ill  rewarded. 


Lmrruja  VL 
R^leeUon,  refraeUan,  and  abtorjctiion  of  radiant  heal — The 

heal  0/  ike  eun^^Vinffie  and  tnvitihk  raye, — Extraction  of 

Vightf^om  the  raye  ofheaL 
Is  our  last  lecture  I  endeavoured* to  explain  to  you  the  law 
according  to  which  radiant  heat  is  reflected.  I  then  made 
use  of  some  terms  which  were,  perhaps,  rather  difficult  to  re- 
member. I  explained  to  you  that  the  an^le  of  incidence  was 
equal  to  the  angle  of  reflection,  so  that  if  you  suppose  the 


» 

Fig 

A 

\ 

i/ 

\ 

/ 

\* 

mrfiwe  of  this  table,  ed;  to  be  a  reflectfaig  surfhoe,  and  this 
rod  a  i^  a  perpenrtkinlar  to  the  surihoe,  when  a  ray  of  light, 


e  a,  fiills  upon  the  surface,  striking  the  bottom  of  that  perpen* 
dionkr,  the  ray  is  reflected  so  as  to  lie  as  far  to  the  left  of 
the  perpendicular  as  the  direct  ray  lies  upon  the  opposite  side 
of  it  That  is  to  say,  the  angle  of  incidence,  ^f,  on  the  one 
side  is  equal  to  the  angle  of  reflection,  h,  which  is  on,  the 
other. 

And  now  I  have  to  draw  your  attention  for  a  moment,  not 
to  the  reflection  of  light  or  radiant  heat  fix>m  planes  or  flat 
surfaces,  but  to  the  reflection  of  radiant  heat  from  curved  sur* 
faces.  I  have  such  a  surfhce  here.  It  is  a  large  concave 
mirror,  as  it  is  called.  It  forms  part  of  a  large  sphere  of 
glass :  it  is.  as  it  were,  a  slice  cut  fWmi  a  large  sphere  of 
glass.  Now,  suppose  a  sunbeam  to  come  in  this  direction, 
and  fiiU  plumb  upon  the  mirror :  you  see  that  the  edges  of 
the  mirror  are  bevelled  or  slanted  ofl^  and  the  consequence  is 
that  that  sunbeam  striking  on  it  would  be  reflected  in  such  a 
way  that  the  reflected  rays  would  converge  and  f(Mrm  a  cone 
of  convergent  rays.  I  want  to  show  you  that  when  light  is 
thus  reflated  fW>m  a  concave  mirror  it  is  gathered  up  to  a 
point  whidi  is  called  a  fbcus.  We  will  now  throw  a  beam  of 
tight  upon  it  You  cannot  see  light  itseU;  but  you  can  see 
bodies  illuminated  by  the  light;  and  in  this  room,  and  espe- 
cially in  London  air,  and,  indeed,  in  all  air,  there  is  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  common  dirt  floating  in  the  air,  and  these 
dirt  particles  will  be  illuminated  by  the  beam  of  light ;  and  I 
think  this  will  enable  you  to  see  that  aiW  retiedioii  the 
beam  of  light  will  be  gathered  up  and  brought  to  a  focus. 
You  see  the  beam  is  now  reflected  from  the  concave  mirror 
and  is  gathered  up  in  this  wonderfhl  way  into  that  conver- 
gent oooe.  If  we  had  time,  we  might  prove  that  this  must 
be  the  manner  in  which  the  raye  would  bebave  after  re- 
flection in  accordance  with  the  law  that  the  angle  of  inci- 
deooe  is  equal  to  the  angle  of  reflection. 

Now,  having  shown  you  this  convergence  of  the  rays  of 
light,  I  want  to  show  you  the  reflectton  of  the  rays  of  heat ; 
and  fbr  that  purpose  I  have  not  a  single  mirror,  but  two  mir- 
rora  They  are  called  ''conjugate  mirroTB,"  and  one  is  sus- 
pended over  the  other.  I  have  here  the  means  of  obtaining 
the  beautifhl  electric  light  fhom  a  battery  of  flfly  cells :  if  I 
now  place  this  light  in  the  fbcus  of  this  mirror  the  rays  will 
be  reflected  upwards,  and  if  the  mirror  were  perfbctly  true 
they  would  be  reflected  upwards  in  a  parallel  beam,  or,  so  to 
say,  a  solid  ojlinder  of  light  Now  remember  what  occurs. 
The  rays  of  light  will  flill  upon  this  lower  mirror;  they  will 
be  reflected  upwards  by  it  in  a  straight  cylinder;  that  cylin- 
der of  light  will  strike  upon  the  upper  mirror,  and  will  be 
converged,  and  reflected  again  A^om  the  upper  mirror,  and 
brought  to  a  point  in  what  Is  called  the  focus  of  the  upp|»r 
mirror.  You  will  see  these  rays  of  light  going  upward 
through  the  dost  of  the  room  when  the  room  is  darkened.  I 
intended  to  have  a  silver  bead  in  the  upper  mirror;  and  if  it 
were  there  you  would  see  it  shining  with  the  brilliancy  of  the. 
sun,  owing  to  the  convergence  of  these  rays  of  light  in  the 
upper  mirror.  If  I  put  the  light  in  the  upper  mirror  instead 
of  th^  lower  one,  the  rays  would  be  brought  to  a  focus  in  the 
lower  mirror.  I  want  to  show  you  this  with  heat;  and  for 
that  purpose  I  will  take  some  boiling  water.  I  lower  the 
upper  mirror  and  hang  in  its  focus  a  &sk  of  hot  water ;  and 
now  we  will  examine  what  oiDCurs  with  the  rays  of  heat 
Having  placed  the  flask  in  position,  I  draw  the  mirror  up  in- 
to its  former  place  near  the  top  of  the  house;  and  now  the 
rays  of  heat  are  coming  down  fW>m  that  hot  water.  Although 
you  cannot  see  them,  they  are  coming  down  as  the  rays  of 
light  which  were  given  off  from  the  electric  light  just  now. 
The  rays  of  heat  are  striking  upon  the  surfhce  ^f  this  mirror, 
and  they  are  collected  and  brought  to  a  fbcus  here.  I  think 
that  by  means  of  our  beautifiil  thermo-electric  pile  I  shall  be 
able  to  show  that  this  is  really  the  case.  I  now  bring  the 
face  of  the  pile  under  the  mirror,  turning  it  downwards— not 
upwards,  towards  the  hot  water.  You  observe  that  the 
needle  very  aoon  moves,  hi  virtue  of  the  heat  which  is  re- 
flected by  the  lower  mirror  and  collected  to  a  focus  in  this 
way.  I  will  now  turn  tiie  ihoe  of  the  pile  towards  the  cool 
region  of  the  room,  and  allow  its  heat  to  waste  itself;  and 


[aB^IAadllla^yflLXVXL,ir«.dflOvpateM;  ■ia.4M^ page  103.] 


lOU 


JOLtOk  iM/iWf  \jiKiJb. 


\     Af^VmL 


DOW  for  the  flask  of  hot  water  I  will  sulMtitate  a  totally  dif- 
ferent body — a  very  cold  one.  I  will,  in  fact,  place  a  freez- 
ing mixture  in  the  foeua  of  the  npper  mirror,  and  then  ope- 
rate with  the  pile  ezactlj  as  I  did  when  the  flaak  of  hot 
water  was  therei  Yon  will  now  obeerre  that  the  needle 
will  move  in  the  opposite  direction.  It  will  first  come  down 
to  zero,  and  then  move- up  on  the  opposite  side.  There  will 
be  a  very  sensible  deflection,  indeed,  if  I  hit  the  right  point 
[The  deflection  took  place  as  indicated  ]  Now,  I  dare  say 
many  boys  here  present  think  that,  aa  rays  of  heat  issued 
from  the  reesel  cootaming  the  hot  water,  so  rays  of  cold 
istine  flrom  the  vessel  containing  the  freezing  mixture.  That^ 
however,  is  not  the  case.  In  the  case  of  ihe  freezing  mix- 
ture our  thermo-electric  pile  is  the  warm  body.  It  is  hot 
compared  with  the  freezing  mixture,  and  that  pile  radiates 
its  beat  against  this  lower  mirror;  the  heat  is  reflected 
above,  is  re*reflected  against  that  mirror,  and  is  then  ab- 
sorbed and  drunk  up  utterly  by  the  freezing  mixture,  so  that 
the  pile  in  this  way  wastes  or  loses  its  heat,  and  therefore 
gives  that  deflection  of  the  needle  due  to  cold.  Instead  of 
this  freezing  mixture  or  the  bottle  of  hot  water,  I  will  now 
place  in  the  focus  of  the  mirror  a  body  which  I  hope  will  be 
given  to  me  in  a  bright  cherry-red  hot  state.  A  copper  baU 
has  been  placed  in  tlie  fire  in  the  next  room  ;  we  will  sus- 
pend that  copper  ball  when  it  is  red  hot  in  the  place  which 
was  occupied  by  the  freezing  mixture^  and  see  whether  we 
cannot  get  very  visible  evidence  of  its  radiation.  I  do  not 
like  to  use  the  thermo  electric  pile  in  this  experiment ;  but  I 
have  here  some  black  paper,  and  sometimes  we  are  able  to 
make  paper  smoke  in  the  lower  focus.  I  plaoe  this  paper  be- 
low in  the  focus,  but  I  see  the  ball  is  not  hot  enough  to  bum 
it ;  thera  is  no  apparent  action ;  but  I  can  feel  the  heat  very 
strongly  indeed,  through  the  reflection  of  the  ray^  so  that  my 
hand  can  not  rest  there.  Some  of  this  paper  smoked  freely 
yesterday  when  brought  within  the  focus.  If  I  plaoe  the 
£Bice  of  the  thermo-electric  pile  there  for  a  single  nioment»  you 
will  find  what  I  said  to  be  true.  The  action  of  the  needle 
proves  that  you  have  there  the  focus  heat  I  have  been  en- 
deavouring to  describe. 

Now  we  have  to  pass  on  to  the  still  further  consideration 
of  these  rays  of  heat :  and  I  will  first  of  all  try  to  make  plain 
to  you  wherein  oonsisis  this  wonderful  light  that  we  have 
been  operating  with  so  often.  I  will  take  a  thin  slice  of  this 
light  and  try  to  unravel  it  before  you.  The  screen  will  be 
lowered  in  order  to  enable  me  to  do  this,  and  we  will  lower 
the  roof  so  as  to  darken  the  room.  You  will  see  the  beam 
of  electric  light  making  itself  evident  in  the  dust  of  the  room ; 
and  this  lens  enables  me  to  obtain  a  beauUfhl  image  on  the 
screen.  Now  I  want  to  twist  that  beam  aside.  That  white 
mass  of  light  which  yod  see^  is  due  to  a  mixture  of  lights  of 
various  coloura  I  will  twist  this  beam  aside  by  meam*  of  a 
.  prism,  and  separate  these  colours  one  from  the  other.  First 
of  all  I  will  send  the  liprht  through  a  single  prism,  thus, 
which  gives  this  wonderful,  rich  display  of  colours  upon  the 
screen.  Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  this— 40  rich 
and  lovely.  And  now  I  will  trv  and  make  the  band  still 
biSl^r* — D^t  richer :  it  is  impossible  to  have  it  richer  or  more 
beautiful  than  that  For  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  size 
of  this  band  of  colours  I  will  send  the  beam  through  another 
of  these  prisms,  which  will  pull  it  aside  still  fiirther,  and 
spread  these  colours  still  more.  You  now  have  the  beam 
pASsing  through  a  seoood  prism,  and  when  I  bring  the  beam 
into  the  field  you  have  this  splendid  band  thrown  on  the 
screen.  This  is  called  a  speotrum.  This  was  the  great  dis- 
covery of  Sir  Isaac  Nekton.  He  found  that  white  light  was 
composed  of  aU  these  colours;  and  if  it  were  consistent  with 
our  present  course  of  lectures,  we  could  make  these  colours 
combine  again  and  form  white  light  We  will  now  turn  up 
the  gas,  and  you  see  liow  dead  the  spectrum  becomes  when 
the  light  falls  upon  it  I  asked  for  the  gas  light  in  order  to 
choose  a  boy  V  ruddy,  and  of  a  fair  countenance."  [The  lec- 
turer then  selected  a  boy  answering  to  this  description,  and 
led  him  to  the.  screen.  The  room  was  then  again  darkened.] 
You  will  find  what  happens  to  the  ot^ur  of  his  lace  when  I 


lift  him  into  thte  midst  of  this  spectrum.     Here  [boUiag  the 
boy's  face  in  the  red  light]  he  is  blooming  like  a  rose.     Sow 

S transferring  him  to  the  yellow]  he  is  like  something  veiy 
iififerent  from  a  rose. 

Now  I  want*  to  say  a  few  words  upon  this  wonieribl 
spectrum.  You  see  a  great  mass  of  light  here,  uid  70a 
might  suppose  that  that  is  all  which  comes  out  of  that  won- 
derful electric  lamp ;  but  that  is,  in  reality,  not  at  ill  dw 
case.  You  have  here  a  certain  distance  whwh  is  ren- 
dered visible  to  the  eye  by  these  splendid  colonra,  but 
there  are  rays  extending  about  as  far  on  'the  outride  of 
the  extreme  red,  as  the  green  colour  is  on  the  other  ride  of 
it  The  most  powerful  radiation  emitted  by  the  electric 
light  does  not  fall  on  any  part  of  the  visible  spectrum,  bat 
it  falls  as  far  on  one  side  of  the  red  as  the  green  is  fhxn 
the  other.  And  so  also  at  the  other  end  of  the  spectram 
we  have  a  vast  body  of  rays  stretching  out  beyond  ibe 
visible  portion ;  but  all  these  ultra-violet  rays  and  the  oltn- 
red  rays  are  perfectly  incompelent  to  produce  virion,  al- 
though a  great  number  of  them  reach  the  retina.  1  now 
want  to  make  evident  to  you  the  prolongation  of  the 
spectrum  in  the  direction  of  the  viole^  and  for  that  piv- 
pose  I  must  make  use  of  a  less  expansive  speotrum.  We 
have  produced  this  by  means  of  prisms  of  liquid,  but  I 
must  now  make  use  of  a  prism  of  glass,  or  else  have  oolj 
one  of  the  liquid  prisms  instead  of  twa  I  want  to  giTe 
you  an  idea  of  the  comparative  power  of  the  lumiiiooi 
rays  and  those  dark  rays  I  have  spoken  oC  I  have  now  pro- 
duced this  present  spectrum  by  means  of  one  of  the  bqrii 
prisms.  We  might,  as  Sir  William  Herschel  dkl  wbea  he 
first  discovered  the  dark  rays  of  the  sun,  plaoe  a  thermo- 
meter in  this  dark  part  beyond  the  red,  and  we  should  fiod 
tliat  it  would  show  an  augmented  temperature  because  of  the 
heat  falliug  on  it  from  the  electric  light  Then  if  we  travdSed 
from  this  red  end  of  the  spectrum  towards  the  other,  we 
should  find  that  the  thermometer  would  gradually  risk,  vA 
if  we  went  back  again  it  would  rise  gradually  through  the 
violet,  through  the  blue,  through  the  green,  and  the  yellow, 
and  the  orange  to  the  red,  the  red  being  the  hottest  part  of 
the  visible  spectrum.  But  Sir  William  HersAel  did  not  ilop 
here,  but  made  a  further  discovery.  Far  beyond  the  red  be 
found  very  powerful  rays  falling  upon  the  thermometer,  and 
be  represented  tiie  rise  of  the  temperature  by  lines  of  oertaia 
length.  He  represented  the  least  heated  part  by  a  short  hne^ 
and  the  next  by  a  longer  one ;  the  line  repreaentmg  the  best 
of  the  green  is  of  a  certain  length ;  and  the  heat  of  ti>e  yellow 
was  marked  by  a  longer  Hue  stilL  The  whole  visible  radia- 
tion ftom  the  sun  was  determined  in  this  way  by  Sir  William 
Herschel ;  but  we  have  now  far  finer  methods,  and  with  the 
electric  liimp  which  you  now  see  before  you,  we  went  orer 
these  colours  with  a  thermo-electric  pile.  The  whole  radia- 
tion of  a  visible  portion  of  the  spectrum  is  represented  b^  tfaii 
small  coloured  area  that  you  see  represented  on  the  diagnun; 
but  over  and  above  that,  and  beyond  the  red  end  of  the 
spectrum,  you  have  an  'amount  of  heat  which  is  represeoled 
by  this  great  mountainous  peak.  The  invisible  radiatnn  ii 
nearly  eight  times  the  visible ;  that  is  to  say,  only  one-eigfath 
part  of  the  rays  emitted  by  the  electric  light  is  competent  to 
excite  vision,  all  the  rest  are  rays  of  heat,  and  n^  rajfs  of 
light 

And  now  I  want  to  show  you  the  prolongatioa  of  tbo 
spectrum  in  the  other  direction ;  and  for  this  purpoee  I  will 
make  use  of  a  prism  of  flint-glass  instead  of  this  prism  of 
bisulphide  of  oarbon|  I  plaoe  the  prism  exactly  as  in  the 
former  case ;  the  display  of  colours  is  not  now  quite  so  bril- 
liant, but  the  glass  is  more  transprent  to  the  rays  that  I 
want  to  show  you  than  the  bisulphide  of  carbon  is.  I  baie 
here  a  certain  substance  called  sulphate  of  quinine;  sod  I  ^ 
have  here  also  a  screen  of  white  paper  which  was  wetted ' 
with  this  substance  before  the  lecture.  It  was  found  by 
Professor  Stokes  that  this  substance  has  the  extraordioaiy 
power  of  rendering  visible  these  invisible  rays  of  light  beyoi^ 
the  violet  Now,  observe  this  band  of  light  whidi  beoomm 
visible  beyond  the  violet,  when  I  introduce  the  paper  1 


[BngUdiSdllio^  7eL  Z7XL,  Ho.  430^ 


IM^IOC] 


CamoAL  Niwa,  > 


Foreign  Science. 


i8i 


vbiefa  baa  been  spread  with  the  sulphate  of  quinine.  There 
is  darkness  when  the  screen  is  not  tiiere,  but  when  it  is  held 
up  yoQ  see  this  lovely  band  of  colour  produced.  If  I  take 
the  liquid  itself  and  daub  it  upon  a  piece  of  paper^  it  will 
render  tlie  iDYisible  rays  visible.  I  have  here  also  the  means 
of  cbsoging  the  colour  of  rays  by  means  of  this  beautiful 
Tiolet  glass,  and  rendering  rays  visible  which  were  hardly 
visible  before.  Here  is  a  piece  of  paper,  on  which  are  printed 
the  words  •*  A  happy  new  year."  As  you  look  at  it  you  see 
nothing  upon  it,  by  the  ordinary  light,  but  if  we  put  up  the 
violet  glass  observe  how  beautifully  the  letters  come  out. 

So  much,  then,  for  the  existence  of  rays  beyond  the  red 
end  of  the  spectrum,  and  also  beyond  the  violet  end,  which 
are  incompetent  lo  excite  vision.  These  are  what  are  called 
invisible  ray&  Before  I  proceed  farther  I  should  like  to  show 
yoa  an  experiment  by  mfans  of  tlnese  powders.  Professor 
Stokea  has  called  that  action  which  makes  the  sulphate  of 

auioine  visible,  ''fluorescence."     The   phenomenon  called 
uoreaoeuoe  has  been  known  to  philosophers  a  long  time.    It 
W88  observed  that  certain  subs' ances  had  the  power,  so  to 
speak,  of  drinking  in  lights  and  then  giving  it  out  gradually. 
11  Edmond  Beoquerel,  of  Paris,  has  rendered  himself  exceed- 
ingly fiimotts  by  his  investigations  on  this  subject^  and  the 
powders  I  have  here  were  selected  by  him.    I  am  indebted 
to  Sir  Charles  Wheatstone  for  them.    I  will  show  you  t^at 
if  these  powders  are  shone  upon  by  the  electric  light,  and 
then  the  lamp  is  extinguished,  the  powders  will  still  retain 
their  luminosity;  they  will  still  have  the  power  of  giving  out 
light    They,  as  it  were,  drink  in  the  light  and  then  give  it 
out  slowly  and  by  degrees.     [The  powders  were  exposed  to 
^e  electric  light  for  a  short  time,  and  the  light  was  then  ex- 
tinguished ]    There  you  see  the  powders  are  self-luminous, 
and  emit  this  beautiful  light      I  have   here  a  beautiful 
butterfly  formed  of  these  powders.      It  is  painted  upon 
glass.    You  see  the  surface  of  the  glass  is  now  perfectly 
dark.    It  emits  no  light;  but  if  I  allow  the  light  of  the 
sun  or  the  light  of  the  electric  lamp  to  shine  upon  it  for  a 
short  time,  yon  will  nee  that  it  has  the  power  of  drinking  in 
that  light,  and  emitting  it  gradually.    The  surface  of  glass 
on  which  the  butterfly  was  painted  with  the  fluorescent 
powders  was  exposed  to  the  electric  light    The  light  was 
then  withdrawn  and  the  butterfly  was  seen  to  have  become 
luminous.!    This  beautiful  butterfly  is  produced  by  meaus 
of  these  fluorescent  powders  selected  by  H.  Edmond  Beo- 
querel. 

(To  be  ooBttnoed.) 


FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 

Pabib»  Fbb.  4,  186& 
Ozo7h6  and  the  cholera,--The  nature  of  the  tr&aOe.— Method  of 
disHnguUthing  (he  protosulpMde  of  iron  from  (he  magnelic 
sulphide. — A  new  material  for  liata, — Ulmie  and  humic  acids. 
— Bea^ion  by  which  phenic  acid  may  be  dtatingvished  from 
oreaeoie, — Important  products  extracted  from  the  olive,  and 
/ram  the  Australian  myrtle, 

>iTBiNa  the  autumu  of  last  year,  when  the  cholera  was 
sit  severely  in  Turin,  Father  Denza  studied  the  meteoro- 
9gioal  oondition  of  the  atmosphere ;  he  studied  especially 
he  ooxmectlon  between  the  prevalence  of  the  disease  and 
he  absenoe  of  oaone.  His  observations  were  made  at 
ionoalieTL,  rather  more  than  half  a  mile  flrom  the  town: 
he  electricity  was  measured  as  well  as  the  ozone.  During 
le  days  in  August  and  September,  when  the  cholera  was  at 
bout  its  heiight,  the  amount  of  ozone  present  was  variable^ 
at  oonsiderable^-perhaps  about  the  average.  The  elec- 
ricityy  however,  during  these  days  almost  entirely  disap- 
aared ;  it  is  an  interesting  observation. 
M.  Sw  Heunier  has  recently  published  some  facts  ooncem- 
iK  certain  compounds  ooonrrmg  in  meteorites,  pyrrhotine 
erStf,  flmd  trollite.  TKnOdte  has  been  considered  by  several 
ineralogists  as  a  protosulphide  of  iron;  the  results  H. 


Meunler  has  obtained  in  analysing  many  samples  of  troilite, 
separated  from  meteoric  iron,  lead  him  to  believe  that  the 
composition  is  much  nearer  that  of  magnetic  pyrites.  He  in- 
dicates also  a  method  of  distinguishing  these  two  substances 
so  nearly  alike  in  constitution,  troilite  and  pyrrhotine.  The 
reaction  consists  hi  the  precipitation  of  copper  f^om  its  solu- 
tions by  the  one  and  not  by  the  other.  A  number  of  exper- 
iments were  made  with  artificial  protosulphide  and  pyrrho- 
tine ;  it  was  found  that  the  protosulphide  precipitated  a  so- 
lution of  copper  exactly  like  iron  itself,  while  the  magnetic 
sulphide  gave  place  to  no  such  reduction.  The  protosul- 
phide obtained  in  the  dry  way  exhibits  the  reaction  even 
better  than  that  obtained  in  the  wet  way,  since  the  copper 
is  not  deposited  in  such  fine  particles.  By  meltmg  iron  and 
sulphur  together,  sulphides  containing  a  little  more  sulphur 
than  the  protosulphide  are  obtained.  In  experimenting  '^ 
with  these  compounds  as  soon  as  the  proportion  of  sulphur 
approached  that  of  the  msguetic  sulphide,  the  precipitation 
ceased  to  be  possible.  Certain  phosphides  of  iron,  like  the  ^ 
protosulphide,  give  rise  to  a  precipitate.  We  may  hope 
for  further  detaUs. 

Tour  correspondent  hears,  on  good  authority,  that  an  en- 
tirely new  kind  of  hat  will  be  hitroduced  in  the  sunmier. 
It  win  be  made  of  paper  in  imitation  of  straw.  The  process 
of  manufacture  is  curious,  and  probably  quite  new.  A  straw 
hat  of  the  required  size  is  covered  with  plumbago  and  eleo* 
trotyped,  the  straw  is  burnt  out  of  the  mould,  and  manilla 
paper  pulp  pressed  in.  The  hivention  is  said  to  be  that  of 
an  American.  Many  advantages,  such,  as  being  waterproof 
and  Ught,  are  dauned  ibr  the  materisL 

M.  Lefort  has  separated  from  am<mg  other  substances 
contained  in  the  trunks  of  old  trees,  an  acid  to  which  he 
gives  the  name  xylic  add.  This  add  possesses  tlie  formula  . 
C,4Hi40,.-4-HO;  it  presents  itself  in  the  form  of  a  vitreous 
black  hard  substance.  Apparently  this  compound  is  the 
basis  of  all  the  compounds  studied  up  to  the  present  tune, 
under  the  names  of  ulmic  and  humic  adds. 

M.  Bust  has  made  known  a  reaction  by  whidi  phenic 
alcohol  may  be  distinguished  from  the  creoQote  separated  from 
beech- wood  tar.  A  mixture  of  10  parts  of  coUodion  and  I  ft 
parts  of  phenic  add,  forms  a  gelatinous  mass,  while  the 
creosote  from  beech-wood  tar  mixed  with  collodion  gives  a 
dear  solution. 

BL  de  Luca,  professor  of  chemistry  to  the  Faculty  of  Sd- 
ence  in  the  University  of  Najdes,  contributed  at  one  of  the 
meetings  of  the  Sod^te  d*£ncouragement,  a  memoir  on  some  , 
important  products  extracted  from  the  olive  and  from  the 
Australian  myrtle.  When  the  leaves  of  the  olive  are  kept 
in  strong  alcohol  they  lose  water,  and  at  several  points  upon 
their  surface  radifited  silky  needle-shaped  crystals  make 
their  appearance.  If  the  leaves  are  treated  with  boiling 
alcohol,  the  liquid  on  cooling  deposits  the  same  crystalline 
matter;  in  this  case,  however,  contaminated  of  course  with 
all  the  other  prindples  soluble  in  hot  alcohol  The  crystals 
have  a  faint  sweet  'taste.  The  substance  is  not  veir  soluble 
in  alcohol,  and  its  point  of  fusion  is  164^  to  165^  0.  Its 
composition  is  expressed  by  the  formula  CeHTOe;  the  phys- 
iGsX  properties  resemble  those  of  mannite  extracted  Grom 
manna.  The  prindple  is  present  in  the  leaves  during  devel- 
opment, in  small  quantity,  increasing  with  their  growth;  the 
amount  diminishes  at  the  flowering  and  when  the  leaves  be- 
gin to  lose  their  green  tint  The  process  of  extraction  is 
easy;  the  leaves  are  macerated  in  water,  and  the  liquid 
evaporated.  The  mannite  does  not  undergo  fermentation 
under  the  conditions,  and  is  found  in  the  residue.  The 
flowers  of  tiie  oUve  contain  abundance  of  mannite:  taken 
in  the  month  of  Juno  and  placed  in  alcohol,  a  solution  is 
obtained,  which,  when  the  winter  arrives  (by  the  faU  of  10 
or  15  degtees)  deposits  mannite.  The  juice  obtained  from 
the  fruit  of  the  Australian  myrUe,  by  simple  expression,  is 
of  a  fine  violet  red  colour,  its  taste  Is  slightiy  add  and  very 
agreeable.  This  juice,  which  contains  glucose,  cream  of 
tartar,  and  free  tartaric  add,  undergoes  fermentation  at  the 
ordinary  temperature  with  disengagement  of  carbonic  add 


[BngUflh  Bdilion,VaLZVIL,iro.490,paceal(M»lM;  Vo.  427,  p^e  7a] 


lS2 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


and  productioiL  of  alcohol  The  wine  of  the  myrtle,  that  is 
to  say,  the  fenoented  jnioe,  aoquires  in  time  a  particular  ethe- 
real odour,  very  agreeable,  and  whioh  coostituteB  to  some 
czteut  a  bouquet.  By  a  further  exposure  to  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  aid  of  porous  bodies,  vinegar  is  easily  obtaiued. 
^ere  are  many  analogies  between  the  juice  of  the  myrtle 
fruit  and  that  of  the  grape.  The  myrtle  flourishes  admira- 
bly in  Australia  in  tba  open  air. 

Paris,  Fbr  i8,  1868* 
BnayMffn-  (he  PiriMof  ikt  SocUU  de  Fharmacie.'^2>etecUon 

of  KreaUmme  m  Orine.—Manufacture  of  PyrogoUic  Acid, 
EvBBT  year  the  Society  de  Pharmaoie  offers  a  prize  for  the 
best  essay  upon  some  subjeet  oonnected  with  pfaarmapy. 
lYiis  year  the  annouDoement  of  the  examiners'  decision  was 
enhanced  in  interest  by  a  speech  from  IC  Ooulier  (reporter  of 
the  examining  commission),  in  which  he  reyiewed  the  work  of 
the  candidates.  The  detection  of  arsenic  in  cases  of  poison- 
ing was  <^e  subject  of  an  essay  by  one  of  the  competitors,  M. 
Aly.Read.  The  author  had  made  experiments  to  determine 
exactly  the  temperature  at  which  sulphide  of  arsenic  is  de- 
composed by  sulphuric  add.  Another  competitor,  M.  Barret, 
ohoee  for  his  subject  a  study  of  the  preparations  of  opium  de- 
scribed m  the  €k>dex  of  1866.  He  sought  to  determine  the 
t»uses  which  influence  the  proportions  of  morphine  contained 
in  difforent  varieties  of  opium.  Methods  were  given  by 
which  the  amounts  of  morphine  and  narootine  might  be 
estimated.  The  study  of  amnio  formed  the  basts  of  an  essay 
from  M.  Dupuy.  The  first  part  related  to  the  history  of  this 
element,  taken  first  in  a  purely  chemical  aspect^  then  as  a 
toxic  agent  The  second  part  contained  the  results  of  ex- 
periments upon  the  absorption  and  elimination  of  arsenical 
compounds.  IL  Dupuy  states  that  an  ordinary  bath  contain- 
ing an  amount  of  arseniate  of  soda  up  to  20  grammes  will 
not  aflS^  a  man.  IL  Bberlin  sent  an  essay  devoted  to 
the  chemical  study  of  glycerine  and  its  pharmaoeatk»d  ap- 
pUoatioo«> 

OiBoinal  cantbaridee  was  the  title  of  an  essay  hi  four  chap- 
ters, by  M.  Fumouaa,  (i)  Natural  history  of  oantharides; 
(2)  Chemraal  history  of  oantharides;  (3)  Causes  which  can 
alter  or  enfeeble  its  properties;  (4)  Iiasects  and  acarides  met 
with  in  cantharides. 

The  resins  employed  in  pharmacy  was  the  subject  of  an 
essay  by  M.  Guelliot  Finally,  M.  Guichard,  a  competitor, 
sent  an  essay  on  the  alkaloids  of  the  cinchonas.  A  resum^ 
of  the  actual  state  of  soieooo  regarding  the  constitution  of 
artificial  alkaloida,  and  of  the  genus  of  natural  alkaloids,  opens 
the  sul^ect  Then  there  is  a  chapter  in  whksh  the  question 
is  treated  historically,  followed  by  six  others  upon  those  al- 
kakkids  whioh  are  obtained  ftxMn '  the  cinchonas  besides  qui- 
nine^ and  the  chlorinated,  brominated,  iodinated  derivatives. 
These  chapters  contain  a  complete  history  of  the  chemical 
propertiee  of  these  substances.  The  salts  of  quinine,  cin- 
ehonine,  and  quinidine  are  treated  separately.  After  these 
the  extraction  of  the  alkaloids,  and  their  oommercial  prepara" 
>tion,  ibrm  the  subject  of  consideration,  and  then  the  adultera- 
tions of  quinine  are  taken.  M.  Guiobard  devotes  a  chapter 
•to  the  special  study  of  the  red  colouring  matter  which  forms 
when  cinofaonine,  quinine,  and  especially  quinidine,  are  sub- 
mitted to  distillatiou ;  pure  quinine  be  finds  does  not  furnish 
these  purple  vapours,  Uie  presenoe  of  a  gluooside  is  neces- 
sary. The  commission  unanimously  awarded  the  prize  to  IC. 
Chuohard. 

IC.  Boossin  has  propowd  the  use  of  bkshloride  of  mercury 
for  the  detection  of  kreatinine  in  urine;  kreatinine  is  precipi- 
tated from  its  solutions  by  the  mercurial  salt 

KM.  de  Luynes  and  fi^perandieu  have  published  a  research 
on  the  preparation  and  some  properties  of  pyrogallic  acid. 
They  remark  m  oommencing,  that  the  processes  actually  in 
use  yield  only  about  2^  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  gallic  add 
employed.  Bj  the  action  of  water  at  200-— 210  degrees  they 
are  enabled  to  transform  gallic  add  into  pyrogallic  add  and 
carbonic  add.    The  process  is  conducted  as  foUows :— Into  a* 


brass  cauldron  with  a  tightly  fitting  cover,  the  nllic  acid  is 
introduced  with  two  or  three  Umes  its  weight  of  water;  the 
cauldron  is  heated  to  200 — 210  degrees,  and  maintained  it 
this  temperature  for  an  hour  and  a  half  to  two  hours.*  At 
the  end  of  this  time  the  veasd  oontains  a  slightly  ooknued 
solution  of  pyrogallic  add.  By  boiling  with  animal  YhA. 
the  colour  is  removed ;  the  solution  is  filtered,  and  the  mter 
removed  by  evaporation.  Upon  ooofing  the  pyrogallic  add 
solidifies  in  the  form  of  a  hard  crystalline  mass,  al^t^  am- 
ber, and  somethnes  'rose  coloured.  To  obtain  the  prodnet 
white,  it  suiBces  to  distil  in  vacuo ;  an  operation  which  goes 
on  very  rapidlyr  almost  instantaneously.  The  yield  of  pyro- 
gallic add  obtained  by  this  process  is  equal  to  the  amouat 
theoretically  obtainable.  These  are  tiie  properties  of  pyrogat- 
lio  acid  described.  A  solution  of  pyrogallic  add  added  to 
lime-water,  gives  rise  to  a  magnificent  violent  oolonrttlQO. 
Etbylamine  causes  the  same  colouration.  A  concentmted 
slightly  add  solution  of  quinine,  added  to  a  eoncentntfld 
aqueous  solution  of  pyrogallic  add,  produces  a  yellowiA 
crystalline  deposit,  wl^ieh  contains  the  elements  of  snlphsie 
of  quinine  and  pyrogallic  add.  If  perfectly  pnre  filtered 
solutions  are  mixed,  no  predpitate  is  formed  untU  a  Ktde 
crystal  of  sulphate  of  quinine  is  added ;  in  which  esse  the 
solution  becomes  immediately  a  solid  maa&  Ordne  nd 
reyrdne  react  just  in  the  same  way  with  sulphate  of  qui- 
nine, whence  this  reaction  with  solphate  of  qtiinine  wedd 
appear  to  be  common  to  those  substances  dedgnated  « 
phenols. 


REPORTS  OF  SOCIETI£S. 


ACADEMT  OF  SCIENCKa 
Januabt  27,  1868. 

Retpiration  of  caHk.^^Study  of  a  disease  wAceft  oikuda  m- 
ftUnanis, — Prodnustiion  of  nitrous  ffoe  during  the  ferment 
Uon  of  beet^'uiee,-^Niobium  and  Umiahmi.'^  On  dtssetiatiUL 
— Phenomena  intmateiy  connected  with  mMseuiar  etmtn> 
tion. 
At  the  meeting  on  the  27th 'January,  M.  Dumas  thanked 
the  Academy  for  the  honour  it  had  conferred  upon  him  ia 
making  him  perpetual  secretary.  The  President  announced 
the  loss  by  death  of  M.  Serrea  M.  Reiset  communietted 
three  memoirs,  entitled — (1.)  Chemical  researches  on  the  res- 
piration of  farm  cattle,  and  the  influence  of  dieting.  (2.) 
Study  of  the  gas  produced  during  the  meteoriaation  of  ru- 
minants; application  to  veterinary  therapentica.  (3)  Note 
on  the  production  of  nitrous  gas  during  the  progress  of  Ib^ 
mentations  in  distilleries.  Estimation  of  the  proportions  of 
ammonia  contained  in  beet-root  juice.  M.  Marignac  comniu- 
nicated  a  research  upon  the  reduction  of  niobium  and  tanti- 
lum.  M.  Debray  oontributed  a  memoir  on  "  Researches  on 
Dissodation.'*  M.  Des  Cloizeaox  sent  a  note  "  on  the  din- 
orhombic  form,  to  which  harmotome  and  Wcehlerite  ought 
to  be  referred,  after  the  late  researches  on  the  disperdon  of 
the  value  of  their  optic  axes."  M.  Marey  addressed  a  note 
on  phenomena  intimatdy  connected  with  mnscolar  oontrsO' 
tion.  M.  Reiset  used  in  making  the  experiments  wfaidi  fons 
the  subject  of  bis  flrst  memoir,  apparatus  of  such  dimeoskm 
as  to  enable  him  to  submit  the  exhalaUons  of  calyea,  fbO- 
grown  sheep,  Ac.,  to  examination.  During  the  respiration  ef 
calves  and  sheep,  he  found  a  oondderable  qoantity  of  prdo* 
carburetted  hydrogen  in  the  gaseous  mixture.  This,  too^  it 
under  the  normal  conditions.  Calves  in  some  escperinesis 
were  fed  upon  miUc  only;  deprived  thus  of  vegetable  food, 
the  gaseous  mixture  exhaled  resembled  more  nearer  in  Us 
composition  that  exhaled  by  the  camivori.  The  prododioB 
of  carburetted  hydrogen  became  absolutely  nil.  M.  Rdnt 
oondders  the  formation  of  carburetted  hydrogen  in  the  smb- 
achs  of  rummants,  when  upon  their  natural  food,  to  he  1 
phenomenon  of  incomplete  combustion.  He  deduces  fins 
these  and  former  researefaes,  the  general  oondnsion,  that  tte 


[BagUahBdlllaa,VoLZVn.,ir«.4a7,iiege70;  Mo.  489,  pagwi  90^  96 1  Ma  07,  | 


170.] 


4pra,1868.     r 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


183 


reepiratoiy  products  depend  much  more  apon  the  oature  of 
the  food  than  upon  the  qieoies  of  the  animal. 

M.  Beiset^B  second  memoir  referred  to  a  disease  whksfa 
sttaoks  cattle  feeding  on  pasturage.  The  effects  are  rapid 
swelliDg,  and,  finally,  suffocation.  He  analysed  the  oas  pro- 
duced, that  which  in  fact  causes  the  swelling.  He  found  it 
to  be  almost  wholly,  74  per  cent  carbonic  add.  Alkalies 
are  therefore  proposed  as  remedial  agents.  The  third  memoir 
relates  to  beet-root  juice  fermentation^  As  the  maoufaoture 
of  beet-root  sugar  is  not  an  English  industry,  an  abstract 
of  this  memoir  would  probably  pcissesa  little  interest  for 
joar  readers. 

IC.  Marignac  communicated  to  the  Academy  the  account 
of  a  number  of  experiments  upon  the  reduction  of  niobium 
aod  tantalum.  Fluoniobate  of  potash  is  reduced  by  heating 
with  sodium  in  a  wrought  iron  crucible ;  the  product  is,  h9w- 
ever,  nioburet  of  sodium,  which  remains  as  a  black  powder 
disseminated  'm  the  fbsed  mass.  Water  destroys  the  oom- 
bioatioQ,  nioburet  of  hydrogen  being  produced  with  some 
disengagement  of  hydrogen.  Nioburet  of  hydrogen  contains 
aboQt  I  per  cent,  of  hydrogen,  agreeing,  therefore,  with  the 
formula  NbH.  It  is  a  fine  black  powder,  having  a  density 
▼aiying  from  6  to  6*6.  By  roasting  it  is  promptly  conrerted 
into  niobic  add,  entering  into  ignition,  though  the  increase 
in  weight  reaches  only  37  or  38  per  cent,  while  theory  re- 
quires 4 1 .  This  hydride  is  not  attacked  by  hydrochloric  add ; 
it  is  very  stable ;  heated  to  fUll  redness  for  an  hour  in  a  cui^ 
rent  of  hydrogen,  it  only  loses  'i  per  cenU  An  attempt  was 
Blade  to  reduce  fluoniobate  of  potash  by  magnesium ;  a  vio- 
lent detonation  resulted.  Similar  treatment  With  aluminium 
in  a  black-lead  crudble  gives  place  to  a  compound  of  that 
metal  and  niobium,  having  for  its  formula  NbAla,  which  ia 
obtained  upon  treating  the  button  of  aluminium  with  hydro- 
chloric acid.  This  is  a  lustrous  crystalline  compound.  It  is 
only  oxidised  very  incompletely  by  roasting.  M.  Marignac 
bss  obtained  an  analogous  compound  of  tantalum,  TaAla,  bv 
beating  the  fluotantalate  of  potash  with  aluminium.  It  in 
ftlao  a  lustrous  crystalline  powder  scarcely  attackable  by  hy- 
irocfaloric  acid,  and  only  oxidised  slightly  by  roasting.  The 
general  result  of  his  researohes  M.  Marignac  considers  to  be 
I  oonflrmation  of  the  analogy  that  has  ^n  already  observed 
wtween  the  metals  niobium,  tantalum,  and  sUiciun.  He 
^hiks  these  three  metals,  with  zirconium  and  titanium,  should 
w  grouped  together.  The  atomidty  of  these  metals,  he  re- 
narks,  is  not,  however,  the  same;  niobium  and  tantalum  are 
lentatomic,  while  the  others  are  tetratomia 
M.  Marey's  memoir  upon  phenomena,  intimately  connected 
rith  muscular  contraction,  was  purely  physiological. 
M.  Debray  states  in  his  memour  that  a  hydrat^  salt  has  for 
ach  temperature  a  tension  of  dissociation  which  is  measured 
y  the  elastic  force  of  the  aqueous  vapour  which  it  emits  at 
bis  temperature.  Admitting  this,  the  phenomena  of  efflo- 
escence  and  hydration  are  easily  explained.  A  salt  effio- 
Bsoes  when  the  tenston  of  its  water  vapour  is  greater  than 
bat  of  the  aqueous  vapour  existmg  in  the  atmosphere.  A 
Tj  salt  becomes  hydrated  when  the  tension  of  the  aqueous 
apour  contained  in  the  atmosphere  is  greater  than  that  which 
le  salt  emits  at  the  same  temperature.  Hydrous  salts  which 
0  not  efQoreace  owe,  then,  this  property  to  the  &ot  that  the 
fusion  of  the  aqueous  vapour  emiUed  by  them  at  ordinary 
unperaturea  is  always  inferior  to  that  commonly  possessed 
f  Uie  atmospheric  aqueous  vapour.  These  same  salts  efflo- 
Mce  when  placed  in  an  atmosphere  where  the  elastic  force 
r  the  aqueous  vapour  contained  in  the  air  ia  less  than  that 
hu^  they  emit 


Fbbbuart  3,  1868. 

Propagation  of  Waves  through  GaeeoM  Media.-^Manufadure 
of  Charcoal  and  MdaUwrgy  of  Irofu^DialytU  of  InducHon 
Cuirr€fU8.^BeeUroot  IhrfnefUaUons. 
as  memoirs  brought  before  the  Academy  of  Sciencea  on 
le  3rd,  of  chemical  interest^  were  the  following.^  On  the  ra- 
dity  of  the  propagation  of  waves  through  gaseous  media, 


by  M.  Begnault  On  the  carbonisation  of  wood,  and  the 
metaUnigy  of  iron  by  M.  Oillot  On  the  decomposition  of 
nitrates  during  fermentation  by  M.  Scblcesing. 

M.  Bouchotte  sent  a  third  note  on  the  dialysis  of  induo^ 
tioD  currents. 

M.  Oillot  states  in  the  first  part  of  his  memoir,- that  the 
only  condition  necessary  for  a  good  carbonisation  of  wood  to 
take  place,  is  that  the  operation  be  ma<to  to  proceed  slowly* 
The  4eooiDpontioo  of  the  wood- commences  at  about  100% 
wherefore  oinalyses  of  samples  of  wood  dried  at  i  jo*',  do  not 
give  the  true  composition.  During  the  decothposition  of  the 
wood,  resulting  in  production  of  carbonic  add,  and  hydrooar- 
bcms,  heat  is  developed  in  the  interior  vessel,  whidi  is  thus 
raised  to  a  temperature  in  excess  of  that  of  the  oven.  This 
result  is  produced  when  the  temperature  of  the  oven  approach* 
ee  300^,  and  it  must  continue  to  the  end  of  the  operatioo. 
Too  rapid  an  increase  of  this  internal  heat  gives  rise  to  the 
formation  of  tar  and  gaseous  products  in  unnecessarily  large 
quantity,  diminishing  in  a  corresponding  degree  the  useftil  ao» 
oessory  products,  as  well  as  the  yidd  of  charcoal  The  con* 
densed  products  are  richest  in  acetic  add  when  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  oven  is  218** ;  at  this  heat  they  contain  48  per  cent. 
Wood,  when  the  operation  of  carbonising  is  well  carried  out, 
may  be  made  to  yield  7  or  8  per  cent  of  monohydrated  acetio 
add;  finally,  the  resulting  volume  of  carbon  is  two-thirds  of 
that  of  the  wood  employed.  The  second  part  of  this  memoir 
relates  to  the  empfoyment  oC  fuel  in  the  ^maces  used  in  the 
metallurgy  of  iron.  M.  Gillot  says  that  it  has  been  demon- 
strated that  in  operating  in  the  ordinary  wav,  with  the  blast 
flimace  in  general  use,  the  calorific  power  of  the  combustible 
gases,  escaping  at  the  mouth,  represents,  with  but  slight  va- 
riations, two-thirds  of  all  the  combustible  matter  employed. 
It  has  also  been  demonstrated  that  to  convert  the  pig  bon 
produced  into  steel  or  iron,  the  heat  required  is  much  less  than 
the  total  heat  which  the  combustible  gases,  lost  at  the  furnace 
mouth,  would  produce  by  combustion.  M.  Gillot  collects 
these  gases  by  means  of  an  exhauster,  in  a  gasometer;  he 
afterwards  liberates  them  according  to  the  requirements  of 
the  operation. 

M.  SchloBsing's  note  on  the  deoompodUon  of  nitrates  duricg 
fermentation,  referred  to  M.  Beiset*s  memoir  on  beet-root 
juice  fermentations.  In  answer  to  the  request  of  the  subscri- 
ber whose  letter  was  forwarded  to  me,  intimating  that  ths 
subject  of  beet-root  fermentation  was  one  with  regard  to 
which  details  would  be  acceptable  in  Bngland,  an  account  of 
M.  Beiset's  research  is  introduced  into  this  letter.  The  pro- 
duction of  nitrous  gas  during  the  fermentation  of  the  saccha- 
rine juice  is  regarded  by  the  manufiMSturera  as  a  serious  acot 
dent.  This  result  is,  however,  nearly  always  observed  if  the 
Juice  does  not  oontain  a  suffident  quantity  of  f^  add.  Un* 
der  these  drcumstancee  the  fermentation  is  arrested,  and 
usually  it  cannot  be  made  to  proceed  again,  no  matter  how 
much  yeast  is  added.  The  lactic  fermentation  is  developed, 
it  predominates,  and  the  sugar  is  rapidly  converted  hito  lactic 
add.  Juice  which  contains  before  the  fermentatkm  only 
two  grammes  of  free  add,  rapidly  i&eresses  to  eight  or  tea 
grammes  the  litre  without  any  fiuther  addition  of  add  being 
made.  M.  Beiset  has  established  by  numerous  experiments, 
that  in  a  general  way  the  juice  resulting  from  the  macersticii 
ought  to  pontain  an  amount  of  free  add  equivalent  to  three 
grammes  of  monohydrated  sulphuric  add  in  the  litre.  In 
well  conducted  distilleries  it  is  customary  to  regulate  method* 
ically  the  proportions  of  sulphuric  add,  too  often  used  as  a 
remedy  for  all  acddents.  The  ammonia  present  in  the  beet- 
root Juice,  combined  with  feeble  add^  is  almost  sulBdent  to 
completely  saturate'  the  sulphuric  add  added  during  the  op* 
orations.  M.  Beiset  employs  the  method  proposMi  byM. 
Bonssingault  to  estimate  the  amount  of  ammonia:  30— 500A 
of  saccharine  juice  are  distilled  with  a  litre  of  pure  distilled 
water,  and  5  c.a  of  solution  of  potash  of  40  degrees,  two  fka^ 
tions  of  200  ac.  each  are  collected,  and  the  ammonia  deduoed 
from  the  amount  required  to  saturate  a  known  volume  of  tl' 
trated  sulphuric  add.  The  production  of  nitrous  gas  during 
fermentations  has  oftm  been  explained  as  due  to  a  reduction 


[BagliikSditSoii,  VeL  XTtLf  Ma  487,  paffwTO^  Tli  Va  4flB^  pagw  96^  97.] 


1 84 


Manchester  Literary  and  PhtloeqpJiical  Society. 


IGhbhical  Hb«% 


of  the  nitrates  foand  in  the  juioe,  bat  how  then  admit  with 
the  manafiicturerB  that  treatment  with  aulpburio  add  prevenia 
it  ?  M.  Reiaet»  thinking,  on  the  contraiy,  the  formation  of 
nitrous  gas  to  be  attributable  rather  to  oxidation  of  the  am- 
monia when  this  alkali  is  not  saturated  by  a  powerful  acid 
suob  as  sulphuric  acid,  always  keeps  carefUl  account  of  the 
amount  of  ammonia*  present  in  the  beet-root,  and  rebates 
tbe  employment  of  add  by  the  amount  of  this  alkali.  The 
idea  has  l»een  put  in  pmotioe  in  a  distillery  and  htts  been  at 
work  three  years;  excellent  results  have  been  obtained,  ai- 
trous  fermentations  have  happened  only  very  rarely. 

M.  SchlcBsing  takes  quite  an  opposite  view  with  regard  to 
the  formation  of  nitrous  gas  in  fermentations,  and  he  ad- 
ranees  experiments  to  prove  that  it  is  really  a  phenomenon  of 
redvetion.  Kxperimenting  with  tobaooo  Juice  (naturally  add) 
to  wiiich  he  had  added  nitrates,  he  found  that  these  latter 
remained  intact  until,  owing  to  decomposition  of  the  orgaoib 
matter,  the  solution  became  alkaline,  Uien  they  gradually  di- 
minished in  amount  M.  Schloesing  explains  the  nitrous  gas 
as  the  effect  of  putrefying  organic  matters  upon  nitrates ;  he 
asks  what  there  is  astonishing  in  tlie  bodies  which  are  able 
to  reduce  sulphates  to  sulphides,  being  enabled  to  reduce  ni- 
trates to  nitrites.  The  neutral  or  alkaline  state  he  considers 
particularly  favourable  to  the  production  of  redudng  matters, 
and  therefore  applies  the  fact  observed  by  the  alcohol  ma- 
kers, that  addition  of  sulphuric  add  prevents  nitrous  gas 
being  formed,  as  a  conflrmation  of  his  view. 


MANCHESTER    LITERARY    AND    PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY. 

Ordinary  MeeUn^t  January  7,  1868, 
Edward  Sohuitck,  F.R.S.,  &a,  Freiidmif  in  the  Chair. 

^^  Variable  Spot  on  the  Mom's   Surfdce^^  by  W.  R.  BiRT, 

F.R.A.S.,  communicated  by  J.  Baxenoell,  F.R.A.S. 
Trb  interest  attaching  to  the  phenomena  presented  by  the 
lunar  spot  Lino^  is  my  apology  for  communicating  a  few  ob- 
servations on  another  spot  which  exhibits  similar  phenomena. 
It  will  be  seen  that  both  spots  manifest  phenomena  which 
appear  to  be  referable  to  the  presenoe  of  a  covering  by  which 
the  craters  are  at  times  coneeakd.  We  are  not  cognisant  of 
any  agency  such  as  libration,  angle  of  illumination,  or  varia- 
tion of  distance  which  aifecis  the  forms  and  appearances  of 
lunar  objects,  being  capable  of  rendering  a  crater  invisible 
while  its  place  is  oooupied  by  a  white  doyd-Uke  spot  of  light; 
nor  are  any  of  these  agencies  capable  of  rendering  an  object 
on  tbe  moon's  suriace  indiMUnct  while  others  in  its  immediate 
neighbourhood  are  exceedingly  sharp  and  well  defined.  With 
the  hope  of  directing  the  attention  of  astronomers  to  this 
curious  class  of  lunar  objects,  may  I  be  permitted  to  lay  the 
foUowiog  observations  before  the  Society  ?  Tliey  have  been 
made  prindpaUy  by  the  Rev.  W.  O.  WiUiams,  of  Pwllheli, 
who  has  undertaken  the  examination  of  a  sone  on  the  moon^s 
surfaoe  of  2""  of  latitude,  viz.,  fh>m  4°  to  6**  south. 

The  spot  in  question  is  marked  lY  Aa  17,  IV  A(  39  on  the 
areas  of  the  British  Assodation  Lunar  Map  lY  Aa  and  lY 
A(,  and  is  situated  in  2^  W.  long.,  and  5"*  a  lat  It  is  also 
situated  on  the  S.W.  side  of  the  ridge  forming  the  N.B.  bound- 
ary of  Hipparchus,  and  has  been  described  as  a  bright  spot 
S.aW.  of  lY  Aa  7  (Beer  and  Madler's  Hipparchus  F).  Its 
diameter  is  $"-^4  and  magnitude  o''*37,  the  diameter  of  Dio- 
nysius  being  regarded  as  unity.  On  De  La  Rue's  photograph 
1858^  February  22,  it  appears  as  a  spot  of  about  4"*  of  bright- 
ness. It  is  not  BO  bright  as  Linn^  which  is  about  6**.  In 
this  photograph  it  is  seen  to  stand  upon  the  east  edge  of  a 
large  depression  running  nearly  S.  by  W. — ^N.  by  E.  This 
edge,  which  forms  a  low  ridge,  connects  the  mountainous 
boundary  of  Hipparchus  with  the  mountain  lY  A(  37.  lY 
Aa  7,  a  bright  spot  smaller  than  lY  Aa  17,  lY  A<  39,  stands 
upon  the  west  edge  of  this  depression,  which  also  meets  tbe 
mountain  lY  A(  37. 
.  On  Rutherford's  photograph  1865,  March  6,  this  spot  ap- 


pean  brighter  that  in  De  Ia  Roe's,  viz.  5**.  Linn^  in  thii 
photograph  is  6°.  The  observations  that  have  been  made  of 
this  spot  are  as  under — 


1858 
186s 
1867 
X867 
1867 
1867 
X867 

X867 


1867 
1867 


X867 
1867 

X867 


Dftte. 


Fab.  aa 

Mar.  6  .  ... 
May  11  8*... 
OfiL    7  8^  to  10 

'    17  ... 

'    1713* 

'    17  13  to  15 

^    x8  17  to  X9 


Nov. 


5  9  to  10 

6  8  to  to 


Deo. 


15  18  to  ao 

5  6to    '^ 

6  9  to  xo 


AvUiori^. 


Cbanflter. 


Bri|ll> 


De  La  Roe,  Ph. 
Rntheilbrd,  Pb. 
Btrt,  ObiL 

WillluM,      •• 
Ingall, 
Ingall, 
WUllanu,     •• 

WilUama,    •* 


WllHami,    «" 
Williams,    *• 


Williami, 
WnUama, 

WUttaBi, 


Abrigbtspot. 
A  bright  ipot 
A  shallow  ertUr. 
A  voir  britrht  spot. 
A  Ikint  shallow  crater. 
Drawn  as  a  crater. 
A   very   oonspleDoiiB 

crater.* 
Orator  yerr  eoDB|iic«> 

oos,  with  a   Biiall 

oeatral  coae  casting 

a  shadow. 
Yorr  bright*  a  streak 

or  Interior  shadow 

on  tbe  west. 
A  bright  patch  orn^t, 

streak    of    shallow 

scarcely  diaeeridble. 
VeryT»rlght.* 
A    whitish    spot,    no 

trace  of  a  crater. 
A    widtish  spo^   ns 


f 


•  On  these  oceasions  Mr.  wmUms  saw  a  small  bxight  point  to  the  K, 
which  hs  ooosidered  to  be  the  MfrAee^  polat  of  the  rid^ 


Mr.  Baxikdbll  stated  that  on  tbe  night  of  the  3rd  in 
he  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  the  spot  referred  to  by 
Mr.  Birt  with  Mr.  Gladstone's  equatoriaUy  mounted  acbn»> 
matic  of  7i  inches  aperatnre,  osing  powers  from  60  to  25a 

It  was  then  a  well-marked  though  shallow  crater,  having  a 
diameter  about  three-fonrths  of  that  of  Beer  and  MHUei'i 
Hipparchus  F.  The  shadow  of  the  western  wall  was  Jfsj 
conspicuous  on  tbe  floor  of  the  crater. 

Mr.  Bazbkdell  also  read  the  following  extract  of  a  \Mm 
dated  November  27tb,  1867,  which  be  had  received  from  Mr. 
0.  Ragoonatha  Ghaiy,  the  flnt  native  aaastant  at  tbe  Royal 
Observatory,  Madras : 

^  I  have  prepared  the  necessary  calenlations  oooneded  will 
the  total  solar  eclipse  to  take  place  in  the  Indian  Peoinssls 
on  the  1 8th  of  August,  i$6S.  and  these,  with  appropriati 
description  and  remarks  on  the  eclipse  by  N.  R.  Pogsoo,  Esq., 
are  now  in  the  press  and  will  be  publiflhed  in  tbe  leading 
Madras  Almanaa  In  these  calculations  I  find  that  a  ifide- 
rule  constructed  for  trigonometrical  purposes  may  most  advan- 
tageously be  used  even  in  such  intricate  oases  as  tbe  soltf 
eclipse.  It  saves  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  tioM  and 
labour;  and  having  calculated  independently  with  thesfidS' 
rule  aa  well  as  by  means  of  logarithms  for  seToral  plaoes,  I 
found  the  difference  rarely  to  amount  to  half  a  minote  is 
time,  which  is  no  great  matter  in  predicting  for  amatean,8Bd 
even  for  intending  observeri.  Mr.  Woolhooae's  method  ii 
followed,  I  believe,  jn  the  Nautical  Almanaa  The  akekm 
forms  of  this  method,  which  are  printed  m  great  detail  fcr 
logarithmic  calculations,  may  be  greatly  airaplifled  and  fiuaS- 
tated  by  the  ose  of  a  slide-rule  accurately  divided.  Tbefloi 
I  used  was  not  very  accurately  divided,  and  was  only  t«s 
feet  in  length." 

*'  On  the  Examination  of  Water  fsfr  Organic  MaUer,"  FM 
IL,  by  Dr  R.  Anqub  Smith,  P.R,8. 

At  present  tbe  conclusion  only  is  given,  as  no  abstract  w 
prepared. 

The  following  may  be  considered  as  a  sommary  of  tbe  i*' 
suits  required  for  sanitaiy  purposes. 

I.  Quality  of  the  organic  matter,  i<.  what  is  produeed  bf 
standing  under  fhvourable  ciroumstanoes  for  developing  m^ 
etable  or  other  life? 

2  and  3.  Condition  of  the  organic  matter.  Prodools  d 
deoomposition.  Easily  deoompMcd  oiganie  matter.  Th« 
two  can  be  estimated  for  sanitary  purposes  sof&ciantly  If 
permanganate  of  potash. 

4.  Nitrates  as  remnants  of  organic  matter. 
Nitrites  as  remnants  of  organic  matter. 
Chlorides  as  indicating  animal  sources. 


k 


[anfUdiSdfti«i,VoLXVII,iro.4aP^pait97;  Ho.  487,  pagw  08^ «.] 


CnonoAL  Niwa,  I 


FJuirnuicefatiCOi  SocHstt/ — Chemical  Society. 


185 


7.  Oxygen  as  indicating  actiyity  of  deoompoaition  or  de- 
atructioD. 

S.  Total  organic  matter  and  ammonia,  by  weighing  and 
other  metboda 


PHAEMACEUTICAL  SOCIETY. 
Wedneaday  Evening,  Ftbrvary  5,  1868. 
0.  W.  Sandtord,  Esq.,  Prtddent^  in  the  Chair. 
Thje  minutea  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  read  and  con- 
firmed.    The  thanks  of  the  meeting  were  given  for  several 
doDatioDS  to  the  library,  and  the  President  directed  attention 
to  a*fine  collection  of  drqgs  from  North  America,  which  had 
been  presented  to  the  Society  by  Mr.  William  Procter,  jun., 
of  Philadelphia,  who  ia  an  honorary  member  of  the  Society. 
Profeaaor  Bbntlet  said  the  collection  was  a  very  interest- 
log  one,  e^>ecially  as  American  remediea  had  lately  been 
brought  ao  prominently  under  our  notice.    The  specimens 
would  bc^  placed  m  the  museum  for  examination. 

Mr.  H.  Sw  Waddingtok  read  a  valuable  paper  on  *'Jficro- 
£kMt9natiofi/*  io  which  he  gave  the  results  of  his  experiments 
with  a  number  of  the  alkaloids,  such  as  aantonine,  salidne, 
naroeine,  papaverine,  cinchonine,  narcotine,  strychnine, 
iodine,  eta  iSome  very  interesting  slides  were  on  the  table 
iUastraUng  the  results  of  Mr.  Waddington's  researches,  which 
were  examined  under  the  microscope  by  the  members  before 
and  after  the  meeting. 

The  Prbsii^ent,  in  thanking  Mr.  Waddington  for  hia  ex- 
cellent paper,  expressed  his  pleasure  at  seeing  Dr.  Guy  pres- 
ent, who  had  devoted  so  much  time  and  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  sublimation. 

Dr.  Guy  said  the  Society  was  under  great  obligations  to 
Mr.  Waddington  for  his  paper,  and  referred  to  the  beautifhl 
ipedoaena  which  he  had  seen  before  the  commencement  of  the 
tteeting.  He  had  obtained  some  very  fine  ones  himself,  but 
ooly  after  thousands  of  experiments.  He  attached  the  great- 
est importance  to  the  subject,  and  believed  that  greater  results 
would  be  obtained  by  pursuing  it  still  further. 

Dr.  Attfixld  made  some  remarks  on  the  subject,  and  said 
that  their  warmest  thanks  were  due  to  Dr.  Guy  and  Mr.  Wad- 
dington, for  the  fresh  facta  they  had  brought  before  them ; 
several  bodies  which  were  believed  to  be  fixed  were  now 
finmd  to  be  volatile. 

Professor  Bentlbt  read  a  paper  contributed  by  Mr.  Brougb- 
ton,  B.  Sa,  F.C.a,  on  a  "  Fake  Cinchona  Bark  of  IndMcfwX 
the  conclusion  of  which 

Dr.  Attfisld  read  a  paper  on  the  "  Preservation  of  Syrup 
of  Iodide  of  Iron,''  by  Mr.  T.  B.  Groves,  P.C.&,  who  has  for 
some  time  been  engaged  in  devising  means  for  preserving  the 
ayrup.  He  had  found  that  it  kept  better  when  made  with 
iron  filings  instead  of  pure  iron  in  the  form  of  wire,  which  he 
attributed  to  the  presence  of  impurities  iu  the  filings.  He  bad 
added  dilute  sulphuric  and  phosphoric  acids  as  preservative 
agents,  and  had  obtained  successful  results  with  them.  Mr. 
Groves  prepared  a  number  of  specimens  of  the  syrup,  and  to 
one  he  added  i  minim  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid  to  the  oz. ;  to 
another,  2  minims  of  dilute  phosphoric  acid  to  the  oz. ;  to  a 
third  2  minims  of  dilute  phosphoric  and  i  miuim  of  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid  to  the  oz. ;  and  to  another  specimen  8  drops  of 
phosphoric  acid.  He  had  found  that  phosphoric  acid  was  the 
only  acid  to  be  relied  on,  and  it  was  very  necessary  not  to  add 
the  acid  before  the  syrup  had  cooled. 
-  The  Pkesidsnt  said  that  aa  Dr.  Redwood  had  assisted  in 
compiling  the  present  Pharmacopoeia, .  he  would,  perlrape, 
Ifive  them  hia  opinion  rcKpeoting  the  method  proposed  by  Mr. 
Urovea. 

Br.  Redwood  said  that  he  was  not  at  all  prepared  to  admit 
there  was  any  occasion  to  make  the  alteration ;  the  syrup  of 
the  British  Pharmacopoeia  would  keep  for  any  reaaonable 
lime  if  properly  prepared. 

Mr.  Incb  greatly  disapproved  of  such  an  addition,  and 
•bought  it  quite  unnecessary.  He  had  for  a  long  time,  before 
She  Pbarmaoopoeia  was  issued,  made  it  according  to  that  form 


with  the  most  aatisfaoiory  reaulta.  The  Pharmaoopoeia  form 
waa  the  same  aa  that  of  the  Frewsh  Codex,  which  had  always 
given  good  resulta. 

Mr.  Galb  had  adopted  the  form  given  in  the  present  Phar- 
maoopcaia  for  ten.yeara,  and  he  had  alw^s  ibond  it  suooeea* 
All ;  the  syrup  would  keep  well  for  aix  months. 

Mr.  Wood,  of  New  York,  coukl  not  agree  with  all  the  re- 
marks he  had  heard  fhnn  Mr.  Ince  and  Mr.  Gale;  he  bad  found 
that  if  the  vyrup  of  iodide  of  iron  waa  kept  longer  than  three 
months,  a  layer  waa  formed  on  the  aurfoce. 

Mr.  Umnkt  had  alao  found  a  layer  on  the  surfiMse  jifter 
three  months;  the  syrup  would  keep  very  well  for  that  time 
by  putting  it  into  bottles  while  hot. 

Dr.  Attfibld  then  exi^ned  a  simple  mould  for  supposi- 
tories which  had  been  tbrwarded  by  Mr.  Laird  of  X)undee» 
The  idea '  auggeeted  itself  to  him  when  witnessing  Uie 
preparation  of  gelatine  paatiUes  at  KeiUer'a  marmalade  manu- 
factory. 

The  PuSEDSMT  aaid  that»  as  the  hour  was  late,  the  reading 
of  the  other  papers  muat  be  deferred  till  the  next  meeting, 
which  would  be  held  on  the  4th  of  March. 


CHEMICAL    SOCIETY. 
Thurddetff,  Ikbruary  6lkf  1868, 

Dr.  Wabren  db  la  Rub,  F.R.S.,  etc.,  Prendent^  in  ih$ 

Chair. 
Thb  minutea  of  the  imvious  meeting  were  read  and  con* 
firmed,  and  the  donationa  to  ih,e  library  announced.  The 
candidatea  for  admiseion  into  the  Society  were  B.  H.  Paul, 
Ph.D.,  8,  Gkay's  Inn  iSquare;  Edward  Dowson,  M.D.,  117, 
Park  Street.  London;  Thomas  William  White,  Ifleld,  near 
Crawley,  Suaaez ;  and  for  the  aecond  time  was  read  the  name 
of  Mr.  Martin  Murphy,  Royal  College  of  Chemistry,  Liver- 
pool. 

Mr.  Reinhold  Richter,  of  the  Rothamated  Laboratory,  was 
proposed  by  the  Coancil  to  become  an  Aasociate.  The  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  were  balloted' for,  and  duly  elected  Fel- 
lowa  of  the  Society,  iriz. :  John  Wallace  Hozier,  B.A.,  Oxon, 
Lieutenant  2nd  Dragoon  Guarda,  Staff  College,  Fambcvough ; 
Herbert  McLeod,  Aaaistant  Cbemwt  in  the  Royal  School  of 
Mines,  61,  Bridge  Street,  troutbwark;  Robert  Schenk,  10, 
Hanover  Plaoe^  Kenuington ;  and  Thomaa  Charleaworth, 
Leiceater. 

The  acQouned  diacussion  upon  Dr.  Frankland's  new  method 
of  *^Waler  AneUyM^'  waa  resumed,  and  occupied  the  firat 
hour  of  this  evening'a  proceedings.  From  the  press  of  other 
buainese-^Dr.  Russell's  lecture^  and  two  papers  to  be  read 
— the  discussion  of  this  important  subject  was  unduly  cur- 
tailed. 

Professor  J.  A.  Wavkltk  commenced  by  replying  to  Mr. 
Dugald  Campbell,  end  controverting  the  accm-acy  of  hia 
statement  relative  to  the  evolutk>n  of  ammonia  when  albu- 
men was  boiled  with  carbonate  of  soda.  W^th  respect  to 
Mr.  Abel's  objectios,  the  speaker  atated  that  the  peculiar 
feature  of  hia  propoaed  method  of  diatillatioo  with  an  alka- 
line permanganate,  waa  that  under  ita  mfluence  the  organic 
nitrogenona  matters  preflent  in  the  water  were  meaaured  by 
the  amuunt  of  '*  albuminoid  ammonia  "  formed,  and  ao  long  aa 
the  ratio  remaina  oonatam  and  known,  it  matters  not  what  ia 
that  proportKML  Dr.  Fiankland'a  atatement  of  the  amount  of 
organic  nitrogen  present  in  a  water  waa  unsatislactory ;  he 
did  not  aay  in  what  form  it  occurred,  whether,  for  instance, 
aa  uric  acid  or  kreatine.  In  aome  of  the  waters  lately  re- 
ported upon,  it  might,  on  the  other  hand,  be  said  that  nitro- 
genoua  mattera  oecurred  in  quantitiea  equivalent  to  23  milli- 
grammes of  albumen.  Granimg  that  I>r.  Fraoklaud  could 
t^l  the  amount  of  organic  nitrogen  existing  in  any  given 
sample  of  water,  what  more  could  he  tell  ?  The  nitrogen 
waa  probably  distributed  in  varioua  forms  of  organic  combi- 
nation, and  some  of  these  might  be  more  hurtful  than  others^ 
but  the  apeaker  had  examined  a  great  number  of  such  00m- 
pounda,  and  none  failed  to  give  '*£buminoid  ammonia"  upon 


[EBglidLBditloa,VeLX7IL,  90.407,  page  OP;  Ve.  488,  page  70.] 


i86 


Chemiooil  Society. 


jGanciL  NsvaL 
1      AprU^Vm, 


distOktion,  and  be  therefore  oUdmed  the  credit  of  eaggesting 
that  a  new  fundamental  datnm  should  be  employed.  Mr. 
Philip  Holland  had  sinoe  propoeed,  in  the  Obsmioal  Niw8| 
the  adoption  of  a  new  mode  of  stating  the  results,  according 
to  whidi  the  amount  of  organic  impnri^  in  a  water  would 
be  repreeected  in  degrees.  There  was  also  the  testimony  of 
Professor  Way  to  the  effect  that  *'  these  ammonia  values  are 
a  sure  index  of  the  quality  of  a  water."  The  speaker  chai^ 
acterised  the  new  method  of  analysts  as  unsound,  requiring 
a  great  length  of  time  for  its  performance^  and  a  high  degree 
of  manipulative  skill;  a  litre  of  water  took  five  days  to 
evaporate  in  vacuo,  or  ten  hours  over  a  water-bath,  and  then 
the  examination  of  the  residue,  gave  an  inaccurate  estimate 
of  the  amount  of  organic  nitrogen  originally  present  m  the 
water,  whereas  the  method  he  and  Mr.  Chapman  described 
was  applicable  to  the  water  itself  and  could  be  carried  out  in 
an  hour  and  a  halC 

Mr.  E.  T.  Chapman  considered  that  the  adoption  of  Dr. 
Fruikland*«  new  process  of  analysis  depended  upon  the 
establishment  of  ttie  following  propositions— 

1.  That  nitrates  and  nitrites  are  completely  deoompoaed 
by  sulphurous  acid. 

2.  That  none  of  the  organic  matter  suffers  decomposi- 
tion. 

3.  That  the  ammonia  is  perfectly  retained. 

4.  The  determination  of  organic  carbon  demands  its  non- 
volatility  hi  ooutact  with  sulphurous  add  and  sulphites. 

In  examining  these  points  aeriafim  the  speaker  found  that 
the  decomposition  of  the  nitrates  was  incomplete  or  uncei^' 
tain ;  for  on  subjecting  the  fixed  residue  of  the  water  to  the 
subsequent  action  of  aluminium  and  pure  hydrate  of  soda 
(obtained  from  sodium),  there  was  ammonia  formed  in  small 
quantity  from  that  portion  of  the  nitrate  which  escaped  pre- 
vious destruction.  Results  obtained  in  the  examluation  of 
the  pump  waters  of  Portland  Street  and  Bartholomew  Lane 
were  quoted,  as  also  an  artilidal  sample  of  South  Essex 
water.  In  all  these  cases  some  ammonia  was  indicated  by 
the  Nessler^  test ;  but  inasmuch  as  the  alkaline  sulphites 
interfered,  a  preliminary  distillation  with  caustic  alkali  was 
always  resorted  to.  From  Mr.  Wanklyn^s  experiments  it 
appears  that  the  ammonia  is  not  perfectly  retained  during 
the  preliminary  evaporation  of  the  water,  but  that  a  loss 
even  of  one-third  may  be  experienced.  Notwithstandhiff  this 
loss,  however,  the  discrepancjr  between  their  own  and  Dr. 
Frankland's  results  was  always  on  the  side  of  excess,  not  in 
defect,  and  the  error  was  often  larger  than  the  total  amount 
of  organic  nitrogen  said  to  be  present  in  the  water.  In  some 
cases  organic  nitrogen  had  been  indteated  by  the  ammonia 
process  when  none  was  obtained  by  the  '*  gaseous  method." 
-  Mr.  DuGALD  Campbell  would  not  occupy  the  time  of  the 
Society  by  any  remarks  upon  Dr.  Frankland's  procesNS, 
which  he  thought  required  more  study,  consideration,  and 
experiments  than  appeared  to  have  been  bestowed  upon 
them  by  the  gentlemen  who  have  just  spoken,  but  would 
confine  himself  to  making  a  few  remarks  upon  his  own  ex- 
periments upon  water  containing  known  quantities  of  urea 
and  albumen,*  referred  to  by  these  gentlemea  The  Society 
will  not  fail  to  remember  that  Mr.  Wanklyn,  on  behalf  of 
himself,  Mr.  Chapman,  and  Mr.  Smith,  read  a  paper  before  it 
in  June  last,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  solutions  containing 
urea  and  albumen  when  distilled  with  the  addition  of  sodic 
carbonate,  two  grammes  of  carbonate  to  a  litre  of  water, 
yielded  up  all  the  nitrogen  of  the  urea  as  ammonia,  leaving 
untouched  the  nitrogen  of  the  albumen  to  be  afterwards  acted 
upon  by  caustic  potash,  and  ulthnately  by  permanganate  of 
potash,  in  order  to  obtain  all  the  nitrogen  as  ammonia  from 
the  albumen ;  and  in  the  paper  it  is  distinctly  stated  that 
tbeae  raeuif^  firere  arrived  at  by  '*  direct  experiments  in 
which  a  Icnonrii  quantity  of  urea,  gelathi,  and  albumen  were 
1^^  &D00  *^i**  occasion  he  (Mr.  Campbell)  had  re- 
-~— ^--f^^t  Ihi^  ^"®  ^^^  **^  experience,  and  that  he  had 


^'^J^Mil^*^^m2'^'^^2^  the  British  Aawelallon  at  Dudea.    8ae  Oasia- 


%*j' 


never,  when  operating  upon  solutions  of  urea  in  any  quantity 
with  sodic  carbonate,  been  able  to  deoompoee  the  urea  thor- 
oughly in  the  way  they  said  they  did,  and  likewise,  that  be 
never  had  distilled  albumen  with  sodic  carbonate  without  ol>-> 
tammg  ammonia  from  it ;  both  these  atatemants  were  000- 
tradicted  at  the  time  b^  Mr.  Wanklyn  and  Mr.  Chapman,  the 
hitter  gentleman  detailing  an  experiment  wherein  he  had 
acted  upon  a  known  quantity  of  urea  with  aodic  caibooaifee, 
and  had  obtamed  from  it  all  the  nitrogen  as  ammonia :  h(»w 
this  agrees  with  what  is  afterwards  stated  by  these  gentle- 
men win  be  seea    These  results  being  so  diametrieJoiy  op- 
poaed  to  his<(Mr.  Campbell's)  own  experience,  he  was  indnoed 
to  make  some  ftuther  experiments,  but  before  doing  ao  he 
thought  it  advisable,  as  he  had  been  operating  upon  rather 
strong  Bcdntions,  to  write  to  Mr.  Wanklyn  and  ascertain  frosa 
him  what  strength  of  solutions  of  urea  and  albumen  he  ahoald 
employ  in  order  to  obtain  results  such  as  it  was  stated  had 
been  obtained  by  himself  and  colleagues ;  to  this  he  got  11a 
reidy,  but  Mr.  Wanklyn  called  upon  him  in  a  few  daya»  and 
after  discussing  the  question,  he  (Mr.  Wanklyn)  waa  of 
opinkm  that  their  process  would  be  feiriy  tried  if  aohitions 
were  made  with  flresh  white  of  egg  containing  not  more 
than  i-ioth  of  a  grain  of  dry  albumen  in  a  gallon  of  water, 
aad  also  with  not  more  than  the  i-20th  part  of  a  gram  of 
urea  hi  a  gallon  of  water;  and  these  proportions  were  at  iha 
time  written  down  on  a  slip  of  paper  by  Mr.  Wanklyn,  which 
was  in  the  possession  of  his  (Mr.  Campbeirs)  assistant  ontil 
recently,  but  cannot  now  be  found.    From  his  (Mr.  Oamp- 
beirs)  experiments  above  referred  to,  he  proved  that  aolutians 
of  urea  generally  wera  not  perfectiy  decomposed  by  sodic 
carbonate,  aa  stated  by  Messra  Wanklyn,  Chapman,  snd 
Smith,  and  also  that  all  solutions  of  albumen  when  d'sti^W 
with  the  quantity  of  sodic  carbonate  stated  by  them  give 
off  some  nitrogen  as  ammonia.    To  meet  the  first  case,  Mr. 
Wanklyn  now  states  that  pure  urea  in  water  does  not  give 
off  ammonia  to  any  great  extent  when  boiled  with  aodie  car- 
bonate  and  caustic  potash,  and  that  albumen  wheu  boiled 
with  half  the  quantity  of  sodic  carbonate  they  originally  pro- 
posed, only  gives  off  a  small  percentHge  of  the  nitrogen  a 
the  albumen.    This  proves  exactly  what  be  (Mr.  Oaupbell) 
had  stated  on  hearing  their  paper  read,  namely,  that  s«& 
carbonate  did  not  entirely  decompose  urea,  and  that  when  be 
distilled  albumen  with  aodic  carbonate  with  the  quantity  of 
that  reagent  used  by  these  gentlemen,  he  never  (ailed  to  get 
ammonia  evdved.    It  is  rather  a  remarkable  drcomsUBce 
that  Mr.  Wanklyn,  commenting  upon  his  (Mr.  Oampbdr^ 
paper  when  read  at  the  British  Associstion  at  Dundee,  should 
then  have  ''questioned  the  purity  of  the  urea  employed  bj 
Mr.  Campbell,"  and  should  now  write  "that  the  ureaoecor- 
ring  in  watera  contaminated  with  sewage  Is  not  pure  urns 
and  that  the  circumstance  that  extreme  puritv  imparls  to 
urea  a  power  of  resistanoe  which  impure  urea  does  not  pos- 
sess does  not  in  the  least  degree  impair  the  api^cabOicjrflf 
our  method  to  natural  waters,*  tUs  proposiUon  he  (Mt 
Campb^)  ventures  to  think  may  be  quite  satisbctory  to  Ifr. 
Wanklyn  and  his  colleagues,  but  would  not  after  a  oaicAd 
consideration  of  all  the  dreumstances  of  this  caae,  fimn  ft« 
to  last,  be  acceptable  to  many  members  of  this  Socieiy  w^- 
out  proper  ezperimeuU  and  data  fblly  detailed,  and  in  mA 
a  manner  aa  to  be  capable  of  berog  checked  by  indepeodtf 
operators.    In  his  (Mr.  Campbeirs)  experimenta  befive  » 
ferred  to,  every  endeavour  was  made  to  arrive  at  the  trai 
and  if  tiiev  were  inaccurate  to  any  great  degree,  wbidi  be 
can  scareely  believe  they  were,  it  most  be  owing  to  the  & 
tilled  water  with  which  the  standard  solutiooa  were  mode  sot 
having  been  perfectly  free  frum  ammonia,  alT  hough  themtf 
he  u.Med  was  tested  carefully  for  ammonia  and  abowed  mw; 
but  since  be  had  made  these  experiments  he  had  beaf^ 
paring  some  others,  but  had   been  prevented  cooplenf 
them  from  finding  It  difficult  to  obtain  water  on  s  fau^  tjk 
which,  when  more  rigorously  tested,  and  in  a  manner ii^  I 


•  The^Joonua  of  thaObemlMl  Sodetjr.'*  vaL  v., 
594. 


(Baglhli  SdMon,  ToL  Z^riL,  Ma  42n^  pag«  79^  80.] 


Ghemical  Society. 


187 


anUy  lo  what  w«s  done  at  the  time  he  made  hia  experimenta, 
waa  perieoUy  free  from  ammonia.  Without  thia  he  waa  dia- 
bdioed  to  proceed,  but  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  do  bo  soon, 
wheni  he  would  be  in  a  position  to  lay  these  experiments 
before  the  Society. 

Dr.  Fraitkulhd  oould  not  presume  to  reply  to  all  the  ob- 
jections raised  by  Messrs.  Wanklyn  and  Chapman,  but  would 
appeal  to  experiment  and  not  to  argument  Since  the  last 
meeting  he  Inid,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Armstrong,  made 
Airther  experiments  in  certain  directions  which  were  confess- 
edly imperfect.  His  results  were  suspected  of  being  errone- 
ooa  on  the  side  of  exoess,  because  the  permanganate  method 
furnished  lower  numbers  in  all  instances,  but  the  speaker 
thought  he  should  be  able  to  show  proof  to  the  contrary  by 
an  appeal  to  figures.  Here  were  some  experimental  reaulta 
with  artificial  watera: — 

In  100,000  pairtB  of  Water. 

Ezpt  V.lf  Orgmale  N.  «8  Nltrttet 

Perminfinale.    Nrarogen.  and  Nltrlt«t. 

I.  •0x6  'oSS  "oij 

11,  '016  "042  "ooo 

IIL  '022  '076  niL 

IV.  -308  1-015  nil 

Na  3  was  a  peaty  water,  made  by  infusion  of  the  peat  cui 
five  feet  deep  at  PreatoQ^  in  Lancaahire,  and  the  laat  was  a 
much  stronger  decoction  of  peat  prepared  with  the  aid  of  an 
alkalL  The  figures  In  the  aeooud  column  were  obtained  after 
treatment  with  sulphurous  acid,  and  evaporation  in  vacuo. 
Some  of  this  solution  waa  then  precipitated  by  sulphurous 
add,  and  the  resultant  aolid  peaty  matter  was  examined  both 
by  the  permanganate  and  by  the  combustion  method,  when 
exactly  twice  as  much  nitrogen  was  indicated  by  the  latter. 
The  residual  filtrate  (torn  the  last  product  was  likewise  treated 
oomparatiyely,  and  gave  nearly  three  times  as  much  nitrogen 
gaa  as  that  furnished  by  distillation  in  the  form  of  ammonia. 
A  Btill  stronger  infusion  of  ueat  evaporated  over  a  steam-bath 
gave  the  numbers  '422  and  1-175  I'espectively. 

Proceeding  now  to  natural  waters,  Dr.  Frankland  stated 
that  the  Thames  showed  abnormal  results  during  the  last 
month  (JanuaryX  due  to  the  circumstance  of  the  river  over- 
flowing its  banka,  and  becoming  not  only  very  muddy,  but 
highly  charged  with  organic  matters.  As  before,  comparative 
experimenta  were  made  on  identical  samples. 

Water  Sappir*  ihnUtj.  N.bjMn.  Oig.  N. 

Chelsea Kud<i^  <oii  -058 

West  Middlesex  Clear  *oi8  -027 

Sonthwark  ....  Very  turbid       "024  061 

Grand  Junction,  dear  '006  '031 

Lambeth Turbid  '030  'o6a 

Kext,  with  reference  to  the  destruction  of  nitrates  and  ni- 
trites by  sulphurous  acid,  the  speaker  was  to  some  extent  pre* 
pared  to  admit  the  force  of  Mr.  Chapman's  objection ;  for  on 
treating  a  mixture  of  nitre  and  salt  with  sulphurous  add 
only,  one-third  of  the  nitric  add  waa  expelled,  but  if  phos- 
phoric acid,  or  ferric  chloride  were  at  the  same  time* present, 
all  the  nitrogen  of  the  nitrates  would  be  expelled.  The 
action  of  phosphoric  add  hi  this  case  was  not  easily  explained. 
Dr.  Frankland  oondnded  with  a  description  of  the  behaviour 
of  nitrogenous  alkaloids  under  both  circumstances,  thus  :— 

k  obtaiaad. 


Bj  pennangsintffc  B7  oombastloa 

Strychnme '00032  'ooioi 

Karootine -00031  '00068 

Sulphate  of  Quinine '00073  *ooi  28 

Such  were  Uje  series  of  numbers  afforded  by  the  two 
methods  of  analysia ;  for  his  own  part  the  speaker  waa  not 
at  all  surprised  at  the  want  of  accordance  manifested  in  the 
several  instances  brought  fbrward.  He  knew  of  no  prece- 
dent in  organic  diemtttry  whfcfa  wtrald  lead  him  to  believe 
that  Dftrogenout  matters  should  8(dtt  upin  a  deOnite  manner, 


and  fturnish  always  the  aame  proporlkm  of  ammonia  whmi 
attacked  by  oxidising  agenta.  Mr.  Wanklyn  and  himaelf 
had  both  enoounteied  the  same  diiBculty  in  attempting  to  fix 
the  nature  of  the  organic  mattera  oeourring  in  samples  of 
water ;  but  at  any  rate  we  were  not  sure  of  its  existenee  as 
albumen,  and,  until  something  more  definite  were  proposed, 
be  should  not  be  inclined  to  abandon  the  oombustkm  pro- 


Dr.  Ds  LA  Rux  said  that  this  discusskm  furnished  evidence 
of  the  importance  to  be  attached  to  a  right  appreciation  of 
the  resnlta  of  water  analysis^  and  no  method  was  now 
brought-forward  but  it  was  immediately  sifted  and  discussed, 
and  the  truth  ultisuitely  elidted.  Thia  waa  a  oonfessedly  dif* 
flcult  branch  of  analytical  chemiiAiy,  and  there  seemed  to  be 
opportokiitlea  of  farther  research. 

Dr.  AsTnUD  had  placed  upoB  the  table  a  sample  of  water 
from  Jafloaioa,  the  oonstitntion  of  which  was  very  remark* 
able^  and  the  flavohr  peouliar«    It  contained  :— 


Chloride  of  caldum  ... 
Chloride  of  sodium  . . , 
Clilonde  of  ammonium 


Orilni  per  gtlko. 

,1500 

1000 

The  PBBBiPiKNX  also  referred  to  a  small  but  poweH\il  vol* 
taio  battery  of  ten  ceU%  constructed  by  Dr.  Hugo  Miiller  and 
himself,  upon  a  new  prindple^  The  negative  element  was 
chloride  of  ailver  fused  around  a  central  ailver  wire,  which 
aerved  as  conductor ;  thia  waa  beat  over  and  connected  by 
means  of  a.small  caoutchouc  band  or  collar,  to  a  rod  of  ainc^ 
which  need  not  be  amalgamated.  The  exdting  liquid  was 
salt  water,  which  m  course  of  time  became  charged  with 
chloride  of  sinc^  and  only  required  to  be  renewed  when 
metallic  ainc  oommenoed  to  depoait  on  the  negative  plate. 
Ten  of  theae  little  couples,  three  inches  or  less  in  hdght, 
were  mounted  on  a  wooden  frame  supported  and  aliding  upon 
glaea  iqurigbts,  so  that  the  battery  was  very  easily  put  in 
action ;  and  its  tension  was  so  great  that  a  cubic  inch  of  the 
mixed  gases  was  given  off  fhun  water  in  about  twenty 
minutes.  Mr.  Qassiot  thought  somewhat  highly  of  this  ar* 
rangement,  and  the  President  waa  now  having  made  for 
further  trial  a  battery  of  two  hundred  cella. 

Dr.  W.  J.  RuasRUi  then  proceeded  to  deliver  a  lecture  "On 
Gaa  ^najyiw,**  the  report  of  which  muat  stand  over  until 
next  week. 

An  important  paper,  which  Dr.  Frankland  characterised  aa 
describing  *'one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  of  modem  synthet- 
ical chemiatiy,*'  waa  next  read  by  the  Secretary.  It  was 
communicated  by  Professor  H.  Kolbe^  and  entitled  '*  deduction 
of  Carbonic  Add  to  Oxaiio  Add,*"  by  Dr.  E.  DreohseL  A 
miztijre  of  pure  sodium  and  diy  sand  waa  heated  in  a  fiaak 
to  the  boiling  point  of  mercury,  and  a  rapid  stream  of  dry 
carbonic  add  passed.  After  a  few  hours  the  silverv  aspect  of 
the  metal  changed  to  a  red  mass,  and  ultimately  became 
nearly  black ;  towarda  the  end  the  heat  should  be  moder* 
ated  to  avoid  reduction  to  carbon,  and  the  whole  alowly 
co<4ed.  Left  in  the  air  lor  the  sodium  to  oxidise  and  then 
exhausted  with  water,  it  furnished  a  solutM>n  containing  oxa* 
late  of  aodium.  From  ten  parts  of  sodium  one  part  of  calcic 
oxalate  was  obtained.  Potassium  amalgam  containing  2  per 
cent,  of  the  alkali  metal  acta  in  the  same  waj. 

A  paper  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Pxbkik,  FJL&,  "  On  some  nets 
Betayiic  Derwaiivea  of  ihe  SaUeyl  SericSt"*  waa  then  read. 
[An  abstract  of  thia  communication  will  appear  next  week.] 

The  meeting  waa  at  a  late  hour  a^youmed  until  the  aoth 
hist.,  when  Mr.  David  Forbes,  F.R.S.,  will  deliver  a  lecture 
''  On  Mm  FoinU  of  Chemical  Oeolopy,*" 

Thunday^  HBbruaryM. 
Dr.  Wabbut  db  la  Bub^F.&S.,  Ac,  Pruidmt,in1he  Chair. 
IH  oontinuatkm  of  our  report  of  this  meeting  we  have  now 
to  give  an  account  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Russell's  lecture,  "  On  Oae 
iiiuilysiv.'*  The  apparatua  in  its  modified  form  as  now  em- 
ployed by  Dn.  WilliaBaeoa  and  BunaU,  waa  exhibited  in  the 


[SBgltakBdllkn,roLXm.,ir«.4M^pageiM^81|  ir«.4i^  Wt^M.] 


1 88 


Chemical  Society. 


Q9r«.18tt. 


meeting  roooL  It  oooaisted  of  a  wooden  table  on  which  was 
moaated  a  cast-iron  mercurial  trough  of  simpler  form  than 
that  formerly  described  by  Dr.  Russell,  and  figured  in  the 
Chemical  Nicw4,  toI.  iz.  p.  282  {Em,  Ed.),  The  ''laborato- 
ry ,tube,'*  or  vessel  0,  is  dispensed  with,  and  all  the  ab- 
sorptions are  conducted  in  the  same  tube  as  that  in  which 
the  gases  are  afterwards  measured  The  pressure  tube  A, 
containing  a  standard  yolume  of  air,  is  retained,  and  all  meas- 
urements are  observed  at  uniform  temperatures  and  at  the 
same  level.  Dr.  Russell  described  a  handy  little  contrivance 
winch  enabled  him  to  introduce  potash  and  other  reagents 
into  the  gas  tube  without  admitting  air  or  interfering  with 
the  volume  of  gas.  This  little  instrument  consists  of  an  iron 
or  steel  wire,  No.  9  or  10,  passed  through  a  croolced  piece  of 
glass  tube  and  having  one  extremity  roughened  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enabling  it  to  hold  firmly  a  tuft  of  moistened  cotton 
wool  The  glass  tube  \  inch  in  diameter  being  used  as  a 
director,  the  wire  is  poshed  forward,  underneath  the  mercury, 
until  the  cotton  tuft  rises  above  the  level  of  the  quicksilver 
in  the  absojfption  tube.  By  kneading  the  c6tton  wool  in 
water,  every  trace  of  air  could  be  ezp^ed,  and  then  the  wa- 
ter could  be  displaced  by  potash  or  other  solution ;  a  little 
grease  applied  lubricated  the  passage  of  the  wire  through  the 
glass  tube.  A  number  of  analytical  details  were  then  given 
in  proof  of  the  accuracy  with  which  a  number  of  operations 
of  this  kind  could  be  conducted  without  sensible  alteration 
of  the  volume  of  gas.  Carbonic  acid  introduced  and  then  ab- 
sorbed by  potash  (one  ]^rt  of  saturated  aqueous  solution  of 
hydrate  of  potassium  mixed  with  two  parts  of  water),  caus- 
ed no  error,  and  five  parts  of  such  solution  absorbed  about  80 
of  carbonic  acid.  Oxygen  could  be  easily  removed  by  the 
same  alkali,  into  which  a  few  drops  of  pyrogallic  acid  was 
passed  up.  Oleflant  gas  and  other  hydrocarbons  must  be  at- 
tacked by  Bunsen^s  coke-balls,  since  the  strong  sulphuric  add 
would  destroy  the  cotCbn;  the  lecturer  thought,  however, 
that  gun-cotton  \night  be  used.  In  coal  gas  analysis  this  ap- 
paratus worked  exceedingly  well,  and  for  hydrogen  and 
other  eudlometrical  purposes  the  method  of  explosion  was 
resorted  to  in  a  supplementary  wooden  trough,  to  which  the 
eudiometer  was  transferred  in  a  suitable  transfer-spoon. 
The  spiudles  and  catgut  adjustments  of  the  old  apparatus 
were  retained,  and  likewise  the  mode  of  illumination  and  the 
sliding  support  for  the  teieaoope.  Alterations  of  the  level  of 
mercury  could  either  be  effected  by  pouring  in  the  liquid 
metal,  or  a  stout  glass  tube  sliding  through  a  caoutchouc  col- 
lar could  be  depressed  into  the  cistern. 

The  President,  in  moving  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Dr.  Russell, 
took  occasion  to  notice  the  ingenious  character  of  the  contri- 
yances  made  use  of  in  several  parts  of  the  apparatus. 

Dr.  Frankland  spoke  in  approval  of  the  whole  apparatus, 
and  inquired  whether  the  lecturer  has  constructed  and  used 
a  reduced  model. 

Professor  Wankltn  found  that  a  piece  of  india-rubber  tube 
used  as  a  casing,  overcame  the  objection  of  fragility  usually 
ascribed  to  Frankland  and  Ward's  apparatus. 

Mr.  Maxwell  Lttb  asked  whether  the  use  of  soda  instead 
of  potassa  was  admissible  ? 

Dr.  Russell  said  that  the  efflorescent  character  of  this  al- 
kali and  all  its  salts  was  objectionable,  as  tending  to  soil  the 
tubes.  In  reply  to  Dr.  Frankland,  he  would  simply  affirm 
that  very  small  volumes  of  gas  could  be  manipulated  in  the 

f present  apparatus,  since  by  raising  the  tubes  high  above  the 
evel  of  the  mercury  in  the  cistern  the  volume  of  gas  might 
be  read  off  when  greatly  expanded. 

A  paper  "  On  some  New  Benzylic  Derivatives  of  the  Salicyl 
Series,"  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Perkin,  F.R  a,  was  then  read  by  the 
Secretary.  The  author  had  ezaoiined  the  actions  of  chloride 
of  benzyl  upon  the  hydride  of  sodium-salicyl  and  gaultherate 
of  sodium  (sodium  salicylate  of  methyl),  ^respeciively,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  bodies  representing  the  salicylic  alde- 
hyde and  acid,  in  which  the  phenolic  hydrogen  is  replaced  by 
benzyl.  These  new  products  have  been  named  the  hydride 
of  benzyl- salieyl,  and  the  true  benxyUsaiieyHc  etcid.  Combus- 
tions ol  these  substances  were  made,  and  the  ammonium,  sil- 


ver, mercury,  lead,  and  copper  salts  of  the  latter  w««  pre* 
pared  and  analysed.     Their  formation  was  thus  explained— 


f  co,H      1  rco,H      1 

[C.H.J,J.C,H.C1=[C.H.[,J 


+  Kaa 


Hydride  of 
•odiam-ealkyl. 


Hydride  of 
benzyl-ialleyL 


The  hydride  of  beoByl-salicyl  is  a  colourless  viacid  oil  hav- 
ing an  odour  like  that  of  cloves,  and  boiling  at  a  point  above 
the  mnge  of  the  mercurial  thermometer.  It  is  poaseawd  of 
aldehydic  properties,  although  combining  slowly  with  alka- 
line bisulphites. 

+  C,H,01  =       ^  ' 


M 


Bodlam-MUcylAte 
of  methyl. 


C.H.  Iq       + 
I  C,H,  r  J 
Beiayl-M]fevlat« 
of  metbyL 


KaGL 


The  benzyl-salicylate  of  methyl  was  then  decomposed  \3f 
boiling  with  alcoholic  hydrate  of  potassium,  when  woodapint 
was  evolved ;  and  the  potassium-salt  in  aqueous  solutioo, 
then  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  furnished  the  new  aod 
in  the  form  of  an  oil  which  Slowly  sol  difled  to  a  mass  of  mi* 
Dute  plates.  Its  fbsion  point  is  75*"  0. 
Benzyl-salicylic  acid  has  the  following  compositio 


C.H, 


O 


CuH|,0,  = 

c'SIf' 

A  vote  of  thanks  having  been  passed  to  Dr.  Russel  and  to 
Mr.  Perkin,  the  meeting  was  adjourned  as  already  reported. 

Thwrsday^  fiitruMry  2oQl 

Db.    a.  W.  Wiluaxbok,  F.R.S.,   Tke  -  FrtMend^   m  At 

^  Chair. 

At  this  meeting  there  was  an  unusuaHy  full  attendance  of 
Fellows,  and  several  guests,  amongst  whom  were  Sir  Rod- 
erick Murchiso^,  Professor  John  Morris,  and  other  distiD- 
guished  members  of  the  Geological  Society.  The  limited 
accommodation  avaihble  In  the  meeting  room  was  altogether 
insufficient  to  provide  for  the  large  audience  that  attended 
on  Thursday  evening.  This  inconvenience  has  been  sore^ 
felt  on  several  recent  occasions,  and  particularly  when 
special  evenings  have  been  appcrtnited  for  leetoresL  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  the  new  apartments,  about  to  be  oonstnieted 
for  the  Society  in  Burlington  House,  wUl  meet  not  only 
present  requirements,  but  provide  for  future  oontiiigencies. 

Mr.  Martin  Murphy,  of  the  College  of  Chemistry,  Iive^ 
pool,  was  duly  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Society.  The  names 
of  candidates  read  for  the  first  time  were— Mr  R.  Calvert 
Clapham,  Walker  Alkali  Company^s  Works,  Newcastle-upooii- 
Tyne;  Rustomjee  Byramjee,  M.D.,  Assistant-Surgeon  in 
Her  Miyesty's  Bombay  Army;  and  Edward  Mensel,  Fb.D., 
recommended  by  the  Council  as  Associate.  For  the  second 
time  were  read  the  names  of  Benjamin  H.  F^nl,  Fh.D.,  S^ 
Oray^s  Inn  Square ;  Edward  Dowson,  M.D.,  117  Park  Street, 
London ;  Mr.  Thomas  William  White,  Ifield,  near  Ormwtoy, 
Sussex;  and  Mr.  Reinhold  Richter,  of  the  Rothamstoui  La- 
boratory, proposed  as  Associate. 

Mr.  Dayib  Fobbes,  F.R  S.,*ftc.,  then  delivered  a  disoooise 
'*  On  Chemical  GfeologyV  The  lecturer  oouffaied  htmsdf 
mainly  to  the  consideration  of  those  parts  of  the  snb^ 
which  comprehended  the  period  ooinoident  with  and  subse- 
quent to  that  stage  in  the  worid's  history  known  as  the  oos- 
mogenetic  era.  Confessing  at  the  outset  that  he  was  neither 
absolutely  Plutonic  nor  Neptunlc  in  his  opinions  reganhiv 
the  origin  of  the  oldest  rooks,  the  lecturer  argued  that  oon- 
binations  of  the  views  held  by  these  rival  schools  of  geologr 
best  BUJIed  the  requirements  of  modem  research.  It  wis 
neither  fire  alone,  nor  aqueoob  agenoy  alone,  that  1 


[Bag]J«hBditten,7eLZyn.,ir<».tt9,pa|t96;  Vo.  480^  page  106.] 


C^nncAi.  Niwi,  > 
April,  1866.     f 


Chemical  Society. 


189 


for  all  the  natural  phenomena  obflerredf  but  to  these  forces 
conjointly  must  be  added  t^e  effects  of  heat,  electricity, 
light,  and  mechanical  pressure,  as  greatly  influencing  the 
consideration  of  the  matter  in  hand.    Referring  to  specimens 
on  the  toble^  Mr.  Forbes  showed  that  silica  occurred  in 
nature  as  an  igneous  prodnct  in  recent  volcanic  lavas;  as  an 
aquoous  product  in  different  forms  deposited  from  solution; 
and  as  a  gasoljtic  product  in  tubes  flrom  the  decomposicion 
of  the  fluoride  of  silicon.    Similar  modifications  were  observ- 
ed in  the  case  of  sulphur,  copper,  and  many  other  substances. 
The  conditions  under  which  the  artificial  formation  of  felspar 
and  aeoUtes  was  possible  were  then  alluded  to,  and  stress 
was  laid  upon  the  fact  that  the  production  of  the  hitter 
(hydrous  silicates)  by  fire  was  consistent  with  the  observa- 
tion that  vast  volumes  of  aqueous  vapour  escape  together 
with  solid  and  partially  liquefied  matters  during  volcanic 
eruptions.    Igneous  action  in  nature  was  defined  to  be  vol- 
canic action  in  which  tho  results  were  much  modified  by  the 
presence  of  steam  and  gases.    Aqueous  action  also  was  de- 
fined to  indude  the  action  of  dissolved  saline  matter,  gases, 
air,  Ao^  with  or  without  heat  and  pressure.    Qoing  back  to 
the  earliest  forms  of  created  matter,  the  chemist  assumes 
that  the  elements  and  their  aflQnities  were  then  the  same  as 
now,  subject,  however,  to  the  disturbing  causes  due  to  ex- 
cessive heat,  or  relative  bulk;  thus,  whilst  sodium  wiU  at 
comparatively  low  temperatures  decompose  carbonic  acid, 
carbon  will,  on  the  other  hand,  take  the  oxygen  from  aoda 
if  the  heat  applied  be  sufficiently  intense.    So  also  with  iron, 
which  at  a  red  heat  decomposes  water,  whilst  hydrogen  at 
the  saine  temperature  effects  the  reduction  of  oxide  of  iron. 
Claiming  a  certain  amount  of  ktitnde  in  the  discussion  of 
the  states  of  combination  or  balance  between  the  affinities 
of  the  earth's  contending  elements,  it  was  conceived  that  the 
first  opera/;ion  of  the  newly  created  matters  would  be  to 
obey  the  law  of  gravity,  and  arrange  themselves  in  sones  or 
Strata  in  and  upon  the  earth  according  to  their  respective 
densities,  although  modified  to  some  extent  by  dilAision. 
Deflnmg  the  relative  position  of  the  silicates,  those  more 
basic  in  character  and  of  greater  density  underlying  the  acid 
silicates,  oontainmg  probably  free  quarts,  the  chlonde  of 
sodium  and  other  volatile  compounds  may  be  conceive^  to 
form  a  dense  vapour  or  atmosphere  immediately  surround- 
ing the  earth,  whilst  carbonic  acid,  and,  next,  the  gaseous 
constituents  of  ab  with  aqueous  vapour  in  the  upper  regions, 
were  the  outer  zones.    Later,  when  by  the  abstraction  of 
heat  the  chloride  of  sodium  was  oondensed,  it  formed  a  solid 
crust  of  salt  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  by  a  ftirther 
reduction  in  temperature  the  liquefied  water  would  dissolve 
the  salt  to  form  the  ocean.    Reasons  are  g^ven  for  the  hypo* 
thesis  adopted  by  the  author,  which  asserts  that  the  central 
nucleus  of  the  earth  must  contain  an  accumulation  of  the 
denser  metals  and  their  compounds;  these  considerations 
are  founded  upon  the  knowledge  of  the  mean  specific 
gravity  of  the  earth,  about  5*4,  and  the  density  of  the  ex- 
terior crust,  assumed  to  be  275 

By  this  sofidification  of  the  exterior  crust,  and  Its  becom- 
ing subject  to  volcanic  and  other  forces  irregularly  exerted, 
the  physical  features  of  the  globe  were  changed  from  a  true 
sphere  to  mountains  and  valleys,  some  of  which  have  after- 
wards been  covered  by  the  ocean ;  and  then  by  the  disin- 
tegrating action  of  water,  the  ingredients  composing  the 
first  formed  rocks  may  have  been  sorted  into  sandstones, 
derived  chiefly  from  the  quartz,  and  the  earthy  silicates  go  to 
form  under  great  pressure  and  metamorphic  action  the  numer- 
ous class  of  slaty  or  argillacious  stratified  rocks.  Metallic 
sulphides  occurring  in  the  silicates  would  by  oxidation  fbmish 
sulphates,  which  would  also  be  formed  firom  volcanic  emana- 
tions, and  paas  mto  the  sea.  Organic  life  at  this  stage  came 
upon  the  scene,  and  was  instrumental  in  separating  the  lime 
as.  carbonate  fh>m  dissolved  calcareous  salts,  thus  forming 
limestones ;  whilst  vegetation  proceeded  apace,  and  gradually 
stored  up  carbon  from  supplies  of  carbonic  add  abounding 
in  the  earth's  atmosphere,  and  fitted  the  ahr  for  the  respira- 
tion  of  animate. 


The  arguments  deduced  ft-om  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
quartz  contained  in  granite  as  pointing  to  its  aqueous  origin, 
are  shown  to  be  fallacious,  and  the  author  finds  that  recent 
lavas  contain  quartz  of  specific  gravity  2-6,  which  exactly 
accords  with  that  of  the  common  hexagonal  variety  known 
as  rock-crystal 

After  duly  weighing  the  conflicting  opinions  which  have 
divided  geologists'as  to  the  origin  of  granites,  the  lecturer 
was  satisfied  from  his  experience  in  the  field,  assisted  by 
the  microscope  and  laboratory,  that  many  of  the  so-called 
granites  and  gneisses  are  really  sedimentary  products  of  the 
breaking  up  of  true  igneous  eruptive  rocks,  stratified  b^^ 
aqueous  agency,  and  8ubsequ3iitly  re-consolidated.  True 
eruptive  granites  of  igneous  or  volcanic  origin  also  undoubt- 
edly exist,  and  the  lecturer  replied  to  the  arguments  put  for- 
ward by  those  who  dispute  such  an  origin.  The  objections 
were  taken  wna«wi— ist,  That  the  granite  contains  free. 
quartz ;  2nd,  That  the  specific  gravity  of  the  quartz  is  2*6 ; 
3rd,  That  the  quartz  contains  water ;  4th,  That  in  granite  the 
more  fusible  minerals  have  sometimes  becon»  solidified 
and  crystallised  before  the  less  fusible  ingredients;  and  stli, 
That  granite  frequently  contains  hydrated  minerals  Refer- 
ence was  here  made  to  Bunsen'a  experiments  on  the  reten- 
tion of  water  by  hydrous  sillicates,  and  Laurent's  observa- 
tions to  the  same  effect  in  the  case  of  the  fused  borates.  A 
specunen  of  crystaUized  stilbite,  'found  in  tfie  lava  current 
from  Etna,  in  March  1865,  was  exhibited;  and  tho  quarte 
from  the  volcanic  lavas  of  Peru,  and  rocks  of  Ponza,  in  the 
Bay  of  Naples,  were  said  to  contain  water.  In  the  lava  from 
Vesuvius  crystals  of  refractory  leucite  were  frequently  found 
sitting  upon  the  easily  ftisible  angite.  From  the  general 
uniformity  in  composition  and  physical  characters  of  volcanic 
products  thrown  up  in  such  widely  distant  localities  as  loe- 
Und  and  Terra  del  Puego,  the  lecturer  argues  that  there 
must  still  exist  a  vast  reservoir  or  reservoirs  of  fluid  igneous 
inatter  in  the  interior  of  the  earth,  and  that  volcanic  erup- 
tions must  have  some  intimate  connection  with  one  another. 
Volcanic  action  does  not  seem  to  be  confined  to  mere  local 
outbursts,  for  in  the  Pacific  enormous  energy  is  shown  in 
the  numerous  volcanic  islands  lying  between  80"  and  130* 
west  longitude,  which  includes  a  range  or  nearly  one-seventh 
of  the  total  circumference  of  the  globe.  By  way  of  conclusion 
to  his  discourse  the  lecturer  divided  the  forces  determming 
metamorphic  action  into  six  principal  classes,  considered 
under  the  following  headings: — 
I  St.  Pressure  alone. 
2nd.  Heat  alone. 

3rd.  Heat  in  conjunclion  with  chemical  action  and  crjstal- 
Usation. 
4th-  Aqueous  action,  assisted  by  heat  and  pressure. 
5th.  Gasolytic  action. 

6th-  Combinations  of  two  or  more  of  the  above  agencies. 
I'he  author's  aim  was  neither  the  introduction  of  novelty, 
nor  the  rehearsal  of  published  opinions  with  a  statement  of 
authorities;  but  to  bring  together  a  mass  of  "dissociated 
data,^  examine  the  soundness  of  the  separate  parts,  and  if 
possible,  build  up  a  structure  upon  wliich  the  criticism  of 
both  chemists  and  geologists  could  be  centred. 

The  Chaibman  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  David 
Forbes  for  his  highly  interesting  communication,  which  bore 
evidence  of  much  study  and  thought,  and  iuvited  an  expres- 
sion of  opinion  from  Sir  Roderick  Murchiaon  and  the  other 
geologists  whom  he  saw  in  the  room. 

Sir  RoDBttiCK  MTJROHisoif  Said  he  had  listened  with  great 
pleasure  to  the  able  discourse  just  now  delivered  by  Mr. 
Forbes,  but  felt  as  yet  incompetent  to  offer  any  opinion  upoii 
the  great  chemical  questions  treated  of  m  tho  paper,  partic- 
ularly those  referring  to  the  primitive  constitution  of  our 
globe,  in  which  the  lecturer  had  grappled  so  manfully  and 
so  sncceesfVilly  with  the  advocates  of  the  water  hypothesis. 
The  facta  stated,  and  inferences  deduced  from  the  structure 
of  rocks,  go  far  towards  invalidating  the  opinion  of  those 
who  assert  that  the  older  granites  are  really  sedimentary 
formatrans.    The  igneous  origin  of  at  least  some  of  the 


Vol.  II.  No.  4.    April,  1868.        14  "^ 

[BngUdi  Bdltloa,  VoL  Z7IL,  Ma.  43(0,  p^^  105, 100.] 


I  go 


Cliemical  Society, 


j  CramoAL  Kcii, 
1      AprU^Mm. 


granitic  rocks  seemed  all  but  proved,  but  gneiss  may  be 
difficult  to  determine.  With  regard  to  intrusions  several 
interesting  examples  had  been  mentioned.  When  grand 
ranges  of  limestone  became  suddenly  changed  into  gypsum 
and  dolomite,  the  true  explanation  could  only  be  furnished  by 
chemical  investigation ;  Daubreo  had  already  done  much,  and 
Forbes  showed  himself  ready  and  willing  to  go  into  the 
arcana  of  these  mysterious  regions  of  speculation,  and  seek 
the  truth  for  our  science  of  Geology. 

Prof.  McDoKALD  acknowledged  himself  to  be  a  believer 
in  the  Neptunian  system,  and  conceived  that  ibere  was 
no  dear  line  of  demarcation  between  the  granite  proper 
and  mica  slate;  he  saw  no  reason  to  apply  the  term 
"  metamorphic "  to  the  latter,  since  the  same  ingredients 
were  present  in  both,  and  the  difference  between  adjoin- 
ing portions  of  rock  were  often  difficult  of  recognition. 
If  the  cavities  in  the  quartz  of  true  granite  were  care< 
fully  examined,  they  would  be  found  lined  with  crystals 
or  bounded  by  plates,  and  totally  difierent  from  the  hollow 
amygdaloid  spaces  occurring  in  volcanic  lavas,  and  that 
the  fluid  contained  in  them  was  of  an  explosive  nature. 

Professor  Morris  disputed  the  accuracyr  of  the  inferences 
drawn  from  the  occurrence  of  zeolites,  which  had  in  the 
speaker's  opinion  been  crystallised  from  water.  This  class 
of  minerals  never  occurred  in  modem  lavas,  but  were  gen- 
erally found  in  the  older  rocks.  Stilbite,  chabasite,  &a, 
may  be  regarded  simply  as  niodiflcations  of  ordinary  felspar. 
The  subject  of  metamorphism  required  elucidation  from  the 
chemist,  and  some  interesting  facts  had  been  brought  for- 
ward in  the  paper.  Aemarkable  examples  of  alteration  at 
the  junction  of  rocks  were  to  be  seen  in  the  passage  of 
granite  amongst  limestone  Where  grey  granite  intruded 
into  mountain  limestone,  the  lime  felspar  was  produced, 
which  segregated  out  in  different  forms  of  metamorphism. 

Dr.  Hugo  Muller  said,  "  I  have  listened  with  great 
pleasure  to  the  very  interesting  discourse  of  my  friend  Mr. 
Forbes,  and  in  pronouncing  my  concurrence  with  most  of 
the  views  put  forth,  I  cannot  help  expressing  some  doubt 
with  regard  to  the  validity  of  his  arguments  in  Ceivour  of  the 
igneous  origin  of  the  quartz  in  some  of  the  granite  and 
similar  rocks.  Mr.  Forbes  regards  the  separation  of  graphite 
IVom  pig  iron,  as  shown  in  the  beautiful  specimen  placed 
before  us,  as  analogous  to  the  separation  of  quartz  in  granite, 
inasmuch  as  both  substances  previous  to  their  separation 
were  in  the  state  of  igneous  solution.  Now  it  appears  to 
me  that  this  analogy  is  only  very  superficial,  for  in  the  case 
of  pig  iron  we  see  the  more  infusible  graphite  separate  In  a 
solid  and  crystalline  form  as  soon  as  the  affinity  to  the  iron 
ceases,  whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  the  granite 
we  have  the  undisputed  fact  that  the  more  fusible  felspar 
has  separated  and  crystallised  first ;  for  the  quartz  surrounds, 
and,  in  fact,  to  a  great  extent  fills  up  the  space  between  the 
crystals  or  particles  of  felspar.  On  the  other  hand,  the  well 
defined  sur&co  of  the  felspar  and  the  absence  of  all  indication 
of  partial  interfiision  on  the  faces  of  contact  between  the 
two  minerals,  excludes  all  probability  that  these  felspar  par- 
ticles could  ever  have  been  in  contact  with  Aised  quartz, 
leaving  untouched  the  question  whether  the  once  fused 
quartz  is  capable  of  passing  again  into  the  crystalline  state 
when  solidifying.  Mr.  Forbes,  in  support  of  his  views, 
quotes  the  highly  interesting  and  important  researches  of 
Mr.  Borby  on  the  structure  of  water  cavities  in  quartz  and 
other  minerals.  If  I  recollect  rightly,  the  highest  tempera- 
ture deduced  from  their  experiments  for  the  formation  of 
these  cavities,  is  about  400**  0.,  or  about  the  melting  point 
of  lead.  But  surely  this  is  not  a  temperature  which  we  can 
call '  igneous,'  or  associate  with  plutonic  action ;  it  is  in  fact 
a  temperature  which  we.  if  the  present  theory  on  the  subject 
is  correct,  may  find  anywhere  at  a  depth  of  about  20,000 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  to  which  in  the 
course  of  time  any  of  the  sedimentary  formations  may  have 
been  subjected.  The  trachytes  of  Ponza  and  Pahuarola,  a 
rock  of  decided  volcanic  origin  contains  crystalline  quarts, 
the  water  oavlties  of  which  are,  according  to  Mr.  Sorby, 


,  formed  at  a  temperature  of  about  360''  C.  This  fact  in  itaelf 
I  consider  a  proof  that  their  quartz  is  a  secondary  {rodoct, 
and  could  not  have  crystallised  at  the  time  of  the  eniption 
of  their  lava,  for  it  is  inconceivable  that  quartz  could  remain 
liquid  at  the  temperature  of  melting  lead.  It  is  hardlj 
necessary  to  mention  that  the  eruption  of  these  trachyta  has 
taken  place  in  pre-historic  times.  The  fact  that  quartz 
and  zeolites  have  been  taken  from  the  still  flowing  Uya  is 
not  more  conclusive,  for  it  seems  more  than  prob^Ue  that 
these  minerals,  along  with  many  others  generally  named 
amongst  the  Vesuvian  ejections,  are  nothing  more  than 
particles  of  the  ancient  Monte  Somma  formation,  nnderlTiDg 
the  present  volcano,  which  during  the  eruption  of  VesuTina 
come  occasionally  within  reach  of  the  lava,  and  are  then 
ejected  from  the  crater.  I  have  arrived  at  this  condnsioa 
after  a  personal  inspection  of  Uie  Monte  Somma  foimatioo, 
which  ui  reality  consist  of  the  lavas,  ashes,  or  tufa,  and 
debris  of  the  ancient  volcano  mixed  up  with  occasional  frag- 
ments and  blocks  of  limestone.  In  the  course  of  time  a 
metamorphic  or  chemical  action  has  set  up  in  this  mineral 
chaos,  the  result  of  which  are  those  numerous  well  crystal- 
lised minerals  which  are  found  in  such  positions  as  to  quite 
exclude  the  idea  of  their  formation  having  taken  place 
simultaneously  with  the  Monte  Somma  itself.  If  we  find 
these  very  same  minerals,  sometimes  even  in  the  very  game 
kind  of  geodes  and  association  in  which  they  occur  at  the 
Somma,  ejected  from  the  crater  of  Vesuvius,  I  think  we  maj 
safely  conclude  that  they  are  not  the  products  of  the  active 
volcano." 

Dr.  B.  H.  Paul  considered  that  an  effort  should  be  made 
towards  establishing  the  broad  principles  vpon  which  diem^ 
ists  were  required  to  investigate  geological  phenomena. 
Schistose  rocks  were  found  underlying,  or  formerly  did  so^ 
other  sedimentary  strata.  This  being  the  case,  the  exami? 
nation  of  the  chemic  features  of  difference  was  a  matter  of 
importance,  particularly  in  the  event  of  their  becoming 
crystalline.  The  speaker  could  not  agree  with  Mr.  FtxUi 
in  considering  that  the  uniformity  was  not  so  great  in  sedi- 
mentary as  in  crystalline  rocks.  The  former  dass  were  re- 
markable for  tlieir  uniformity;  thus  mica  schist,  chloritic> 
sc-hist,  and  hornblende  exhibited  differences  only  of  small  de- 
gree. For  his  own  part,  whilst  he  abandoned  both  the 
plutonic  and  aqueous  theories,  he  could  not  adopt  Mr.  FoiM 
reasoning  in  respect  to  the  quartz  in  granite. 

Dr.  A.  W.  Williamson  agreed  with  the  lecturer  in  most 
of  his  arguments,  but  there  was  one  point  in  his  "  chapter 
of  Genesis  "  which  seemed  to  require  further  exphnatiOD. 
It  had  been  stated  that  in  the  primeval  atmosphere  the  gases 
would  arrange  themselves,  or  be  stratified,  in  the  order  oC 
their  density,  but  for  his  own  part  he  should  not  have  ex- 
pected to  find  them  in  this  order,  but  rather  obeying  the  hw 
of  diffusion.  'Some  time  since,  when  visiting  die  blasl 
furnaces  of  the  Cleveland  district  he  was  much  strack  by 
seeing  a  block  of  slag,  weighing  perhaps  2  tons,  standing 
upon  an  iron  truck,  having  l^en  just  run  fh>m  the  funnce, 
and  whilst  cooling  a  workman  perforated  the  upper  crai^ 
when  a  stream,  as  of  lava,  flowed  from  the  aperture,  bdng 
forced  out  by  the  contraction  on  all  sides  of  the  naass. 

Mr.  F0RBR6,  in  reply,  reminded  Professor  McDonald  thai 
he  did  not  pin  his  faith  to  any  school  of  geology,  and,  with 
respect  to  the  cavities  in  quartz,  had  always  found  tbea 
very  irregukr,  and  certainly  not,  as  a  rule,  bounded  bj 
plates  or  lined  with  crystals.  Although  admitting  diat  oo- 
lites were  usually  so  formed,  he  could  not  agree  with  Pro- 
fessor Morris  in  considering  that  they  were,  in  every  instinoe^ 
formed  from  solution  by  subsequent  aqueous  infiltratioii; 
although  he  was  indebted  to  that  gentleman  for  an  admira- 
ble illustration  in  the  specimen  from  the  aqueduct  of  Fhia- 
bi^res  now  upon  the  table.  He  once  had  occasion  to  send  a 
mass  of  volcanic  lava  containing  zeolites  to  »  lapidaiy  to  he 
cut  across ;  during  the  process  of  cutting,  water  hii  bees 
used,  and  so  great  an  action  did  it  exert  upon  the  mess  of 
the  rock  itself,  that  it  appeared  Incredible  that  the  aeofitee 
in  its  interior  had  been  last  foriped  by  aqueous  infiltntioB. 


[English  Editiao,  ToL  ZVH,  Va  430,  pagos  ICM^  107.] 


CknnoiL  Ncwi, ) 
April,  IS9S.     f 


Chemical  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


191 


Mr.  Forbes  {\illy  agreed  with  Dr.  Mu])er  that  many,  if  not 
most,  of  the  Somma  minerals  could  not  be  regarded  as  true 
TolcBnic  products,  but  it  was  &r  diiferent  with  many  of  the 
great  eruptioDB  of  quartose  laras  of  enormous  extent  occur- 
ring  in  other  parts  of  the  g^obe.  For  some  600  miles  along 
the  Folcanic  range  of  the  Andes  of  Chili  and  Pern,  quartz  in 
hexagonal  crystals  occurred  in  the  volcanic  rocks,  and  the 
microfloopic  examination  of  the  quarts  of  recent  lavas  by 
Mr.  Sorby,  showed  abundance  of  "  glass  cavities  "  which 
ooald  only  be  the  result  of  fusion.  The  conjoint  influence 
of  heat,  water,  and  great  pressure,  might  bring  about  re- 
sults which  were  impossible  with  heat  alone ;  and  this  was 
in  harmony  with  the  known  prevalence  of  aqueous  emana- 
^tioDS  (steam)  fVom  volcanoes.  Mr.  Forbes  fully  admitted 
that  under  such  influences,  the  chemical  reactions  in  such 
voksinic  and  granitic  eruptive  rocks  may  have  taken  place 
at  temperatures  even  below  a  red  heat ;  yet  considers  this 
as  no  reason  for  not  considering  them  as  igneous,  since  It 
must  be  remembered  that  iu  geology  the  terms  igneous  and 
volcanic  are  synonymous.  In  answer  to  Dr.  Williamson, 
the  speaker  stated  that  the  element,  time,  must  be  taken 
into  account  in  estimating  the  effects  of  diffusion ;  he  relied 
upon  the  instantaneous  production  of  the  gases  permitting 
them  to  obey  the  laws  of  gravity,  in  the  first  instance,  al- 
though he  admitted  that  any  such  arrangement  in  the  at* 
mosphere  would  ultimately  be  obliterated  by  diflfhsion. 

The  meeting  was  then  adjourned  until  Thursday,  5th 
March,  when  the  following  papers  will  be  read,  viz. — "  On 
Ihe  Action  of  Oxidising  Agents  on  Organic  Compounds  in  the 
presence  of  an  excess  of  Alkali^^ — Pati  I,  "Ammonia  evolved 
by  Alkaline  Permanganate  acting  on  Organic  Kitro^ompounds^^^ 
By  Messrs.  J.  A.  Wanklyn  and  E.  T.  Ohapman ;  "  Note  on 
Dr.  IhtnklanePs  Process  of  Water  Analysts,"  by  Mr.  B.  T. 
Ohapman;  *'  On  ChloranH,"  by  Dr.  J.  Stenhouse,  F.R.S.; 
"  Action  of  Nitric  Add  on  Picramic  Aad,'^  by  Dr.  J.  Sten- 
house,  P.R.8. ;  "  Onthe  Bydnde  of  Aeeto-saiieyl,'*  by  Mr.  W. 
H.  Parkin,  F.R.S. ;  "  On  Vie  Crystalline  form  of  Arsenimu 
Oxids,''  by  Mr.  F.  A.  Claudet;  "  On  the  Detection  and  Ekti- 
motion  of  Nitrates  in  Potable  Waters,^  by  Mr.  B.  T.  Chap- 
man ;  "  Action  of  Zinc  Ethyl  on  Nitrous  and  Nitric  Ethers,"  by 
Messrs.  E.  T.  Chapman  and  Miles  H.  Smith; 

On  Thursday,  March  19th,  Mr.  Henry  Chance,  M.A.,  wiH 
deliver  a  lecture  "  On  (he  Manufacture  of  Glass." 


CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 


Snlplioplitalle  Add.— O.  Loew.  This  compound  is  ob- 
tained by  heating  phtalic  acid  with  sulphuric  anhydride  to 
100''  or  105°  O.  in  a  sealed  vessel  The  products  of  the  reaction 
are  dissolved  in  water,  neutralised  with  plumbic  carbonate 
and  the  plumbic  sulphophtalate, which  remains  in  solution, 
tB  deoomposed  with  hydric  sulphide.  The  oomposition  of 
the  baric  sulphophtalate  corresponds  to  the  formular— 

HO  \  c^*'^')  V  S.04    ;"• 

— (Ann.  Chem.  Pharm,  cxliil  257.) 

Plienylen«dletliylJieetoiie  and  Ethylenedletliyl- 
»eetone  have  been  obtained  by  G.  Wischin,  by  actmg 
upon  phtalic  and  succinic  chloride  with  zindc  ethtde. 
/nenylenediethylacetone 


(O4H.).    \C^O,J 


p  flolublo  in  ether  and  alcohol,  insoluble  in  water.  An 
itbereal  solution  yields  large  crystals  on  slow  evapofatioo. 
Hhjlenediethylacetone 


0. 

(a 


)4H4       /COA 

I4H.).  vco.; 


is  a  pale  yellow  liquid.  Neither  of  the  two  acetones  com- 
bine with  alkalic  disulphite. — (Ann.  Chem,  Pharm.  czUiL 

Action  or  Gtliylene  on  Snl^linrlc  Oxyclilorlde.— 

F.  Baumstark.  Sulphuric  oxychlonde  absorbs  ethylene  with 
disengagement  of  chlorhydric  add.  A  thick  brown  oil  is 
formed  which  presently  solidifies,  and  on  being  treated  with 
water,  yields  anhydride  and  add  of  iaethionic,  and  a  new 
add  of  the  composition  €iHsSe«.  The  latter  is  obtained 
as  a  syrup  which  gradually  assumes  crystalline  condition. 
Its  salts  mostly  crystallise  well  If  sulphuric  oxychloride  is 
treated  with  an  excess  of  ethylene,  it  takes  up  2  moL  of  the 
latter,  and  a  yeUow  oil  is  formed,  the  smell  of  which  resem- 
bles that  of  oil  of  mustard.  It  boils  at  X54^C. ;  its  composi- 
tion is  €«HftSOaCl  It  decomposes  on  exposure  to  air, 
separating  at  the  same  time  into  two  layers,  the  upper  of 
which  being  an  oil  of  the  composition  0«H|o60ft.  The  ac- 
tion of  dry  ammonia  upon  €aHftSO|Cl  gives  rise  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  well  crystallising  body  of  the  composition  6iHt 
Se,.— (2et(»c^r.  Chem.,  N.F.  iii.  566.) 

Conversion    of  Hydrocarbon*   Into   Ketona.— 

B.  Linnemann  has^coutinued  his  experiments  on  the  conver- 
sion of  monobromated  hydrocarbons  of  the  ^nHgu  series 
into  ketons  of  fatty  acids  of  the  same  number  of  carbon 
atoms,  and  extended  them  to  ethylene,  propylene  and  amy- 
lene.  The  Reaction  the  author  makes  use  of  consists  of  an 
oxidation  by  means  of  mercuric  acetate.  In  the  case  of 
ethylene  only  traces  of  aldehyde  could  be  detected.  The 
proportions  of  ketone  obtained  fVom  propylene  and  amylene 
were  likewise  very  small,  acetic  add  being  the  prindpal 
product  of  the  reaction  in  all  cases.— {-Jnn.  Chem.  Pharm. 
cxliiL  347.) 

Iodides  or  Orcanle  Baaea.— S**  M.  Jorgensen  has  pre- 
pared and  examined  the  soperiodldes  of  a  great  number 
of  organic  bases,  more  especially  those  of  strychnine  and 
brudne,  and  also  such  of  their  derivatives  as  contain 
besides  iodine  an  alcohol  radical  The  former  were  gen- 
rally  prepared  by  precipitating  a  salt  of  the  base  with  a 
solution  of  iodine  in  potassic  iodide,  the  latter  by  mixing 
alcoholic  sdntions  of  the  base,  and  iodide  of  alcohol  radical. 
AU  these  compounds  are  obtained  in  brilliant  crystals 
lYom  their  alcoholic  solutions.  For  detail  the  reader  must 
be  referred  to  the  original  paper.-^Ana.  Chim.  Phys,  [4} 
XL  114.) 

Determination  of  NltHe  Aeld..C.  Nollner.  In  the 
manufacture  of  potassic  nitrate  from  Chili  saltpetre  liquors 
are  obtained  in  ^bich  from  the  presence  of  large  quantities 
of  foreign  salts  the  estimation  of  nitric  acid  by  any  of  tlie 
methods  commonly  employed  is  almost  impossible.  The 
author  therefore  proposes  the  following  new  method.  About 
one  gramme  of  the  solution  or  salt  to  be  tested  is  gently 
heat^  with  a  concentrated  solution  of  ammonic  sulphates 
absolute  alcohol  is  added,  knd  thus  all  salts  are  precipitated 
with  the  exception  of  amroonk:  nitrate.  The  latter  after  fll. 
tration  is  precipitated  with  an  alcoholic  solution  of  potassic 
hydrate  (fVee  from  silicic  acid),  and  the  potassic  nitrate  wash- 
ed  with  alcohol,  dried  and  weighed.— (2eitfcAr.  Analyt.  Chem. 

▼»•  375) 
Doieetton  of  Aniline  In  presence  of  Tolnldlne.- 

A.  Koseustiebl.  Chloride  of  hnie  produces  a  blue  colour 
with  aniline,  and  a  brown  one  with  toluidine,  but  a  mixture 
of  the  two  only  shows  the  latter  reaction.  If,  however, 
ether  is  added  the  brown  substance  is  taken  up  by  the  latter, 
and  the  blue  colour  of  the  aqueous  solution  becomes  visibla 
The  test  as  proposed  by  the  author  therefore  is:  Dissolve 
the  base  in  ether,  add  an  equal  volume  of  water,  then, 
drop  by  drop,  a  solution  of  chloride  of  lime,  shake,  and  ob- 
serve the  colour  of  the  aqueous  layer.— (^In^ir.  Analyt. 
Chem.  vL  357.) 

Annljrala  of  8Ulea«aa..R.  Hoftnann.  Silicates  in 
which  the  alkaline  metals  are  to  be  determined  and  which 
are  boI  dsooiDposed  by  adds,  may  be  brought  into  aohitioii 


[BngUdi  Bd|tkn^  ToL  ZVII,  We.  Mr  inge  lOT;  Va.  4^  ^ 


SA,  Ho. 480^  vagit 93,94] 


192 


Notices  of  Boohs. 


(  ChiMICAL  NlUBr  ' 
1      AprUAm. 


hj  the  combined  action  of  aroiDonic  fluoride  and  sulphuric 
acid.  The  finely  powdered  mineral  is  mixed  with  three 
or  four  times  its  weight  of  the  fluoride,  mointened  with  sul- 
phuric acid,  and  the  whole  gentij  heated  on  the  water-bath, 
finally  over  a  flame  to  expel  excess  of  sulphuric  acid.  The 
dry  residue  is  dissoWed  in  chlorhydric  acid,  and  proceeded 
with  as  usual. — {ZeiUchr,  AnalyU  Chem.^  vi.  366.) 


NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 


Principles  of  Chemistry  Fbunded  on  Modem  Theories,  By 
M.  Naqijbt,  Professor  Agr^gr^  i  la  Facult6«de  M6decine 
de  Paris.  Translated  from  the  second  Edition  by 
WiLLUAK  G0BTI8,  Student,  Ouy's  HospitaL  Bevised 
by  Thou  AS  Stbtbnson,  M.D.,  Demonstrator  of  Practical 
Chemistry,  Guy's  HospitaL  London :  Henry  Renshaw, 
356,  Strand. 

OKI  of  the  best  marked  features  of  a  tmly  original  mind, 
universally  denoting  genius  in  its  possessor,  is  the  power 
of  showing  its  Individuality  at  once,  and  stamping  with  a 
personal  authority  all  that  is  produced  by  it  Kvery  one 
acquainted  with  modem  scientific  literature  must  have  con- 
vinced himself  by  negative  evidence  of  this  truth ;  but  the 
chemist,  with  ample  materials  of  this  kind  in  the  ordinaiy 
run  of  works  on  chemistry,  has  more  opportunities  of  esti- 
mating positively  the  value  of  originality  in  a  text  book 
than  most  scientific  teachers  or  students.  M.  Naquet 
shows  his  originality,  clearness  of  expressioil,  and  facUity 
of  explanation  in  his  very  first  sentences,  and  by  his  power 
of  blending  new  facts  and  ideas  with  old  facts  and  ideas  ex- 
pressed in  a  clear  and  definite  manner,  he  manages  to  sus- 
tain the  interest  of  the  reader  from  the  very  first  words  to 
the  lasL  This  foroe  of  language,  with  no  disparagement  to 
the  translator  (for  the  work  is  translated  as  well  and  ac- 
curately as  could  be),  is  more  noticeably,  of  course,  in  the 
original  language. 

There  is  a  style  In  the  language  of  the  opening  seotences 
that  reminds  us  of  Ijunartine,  Guisot,  or  Victor  Hugo — 
dear,  precise,  forcible.  Interest  is  at  once  excited,  and,  as 
in  a  weU-written  tate,  never  fiaga. 

"  Si  noos  jetona  lea  yeux  sur  oe  qui  nous  environne,  nous 
tommes  frappea  par  la  vue  d*une  multitude  d'objets  d'une 
diversity  inflnie.  Tons  *ces  dbj^ta,  quels  qu'ils  soient^  ont 
re9U  le  nom  gen6rique  de  corps. 

*'Ce  qui  constitue  les  corps  s*appelle  mati^re  on  sub- 
stance. D*une  manidre  g^nerale  on  pent  dire,  que  la 
matidre  est  tout  ce  qui  firappe  nos  sens,  et  d^une  mani^re 
plus  sclentifique,  que  la  matitsre  est  tout  ce  qui  obeit  aux 
tois  de  la  gravitation." 

The  original  is  quoted  here  to  show  the  easy  way  in 
which  the  Frendi  language  adapts  itself  to  the  expression 
of  scientific  thought;  and  it  will  be  easily  seen  from  this 
one  specimen  (space  forbids  more)  how  much  grace  and 
ease  is  lost  in  translation.  A  translation  (we  are  sorry  to 
say)  was  necessary,  and  the  work  could  not  have  been 
more  ably  done  than  it  has  been  by  Mr.  Cortis,  In  consid- 
ering M.  Kaquet's  book  as  a  chemical  work,  and  not  a  trans- 
lation only,  a  <due  to  its  character  is  at  once  given  by  the 
opening  sentence  just  quoted.  It  must  bo  dossed,  then, 
as  the  production  of  a  chemical  physicist,  rather  than  that 
of  a  chemical  mathematician  or  chemical  naturalist  Matter 
and  its  properties  open  the  chapter,  and  so  throughout  the 
work.  To  a  physicist  a  definite  law  is  all  supreme;  for 
him  there  are  no  exceptions,  everything  has  definition,  and 
must  suit  that  definition;  his  teaching  is  absolutely  ma- 
terial; and  granting  that  elementary  mathematics  formed 
the  basis  of  physics,  he,  nevertheless,  will  not  allow  the 
abstract  deductions  of  mathematics  to  hold  an  equal  value 
with  material  facts.  The  mi^rity  of  English  diemists  be- 
long to  neither  of  the  above-schools,  but  belong  rather  to  a  > 
naturalist  class,  which  reoogniaes  gradation  with  no  sudden 
aharply  drawn  boundaiy  line.    "With  them  a  sum  of  ahafv 


acters  defines  a  position.  To  illustrate  by  an  example  of 
what  is  a  metal  and  what  a  non-metallic  body,  or,  as  M.  Ka> 
quet  calls  it,  a  metalloid.  One  person  will  argue  that 
hydrogen  is  similar  to  silver,  and  that  if  silver  is  a  metal 
hydrogen  is  a  metal  also  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  The 
naturalist  will  say  that  from  the  sum  of  characters  the 
extreme  members  of  the  series  are  undoubtedly  the  one  or 
the  other;  but  that  when  we  reach  the  mean  members,  we 
may  as  justly  say  silicon  as  silidum,  arsenicum  as  anvma 
M.  Naquet,  as  a  physidst  with  his  definite  rules,  gives  sx 
characterB  as  foUowa  for  an  absolute  deteimmation:^- 

XBTALLOIDS. 

L  Several  metalloids  are  gaseous. 
II.  Metalloids  liave  not  the  lustre  called  metallic 
IIL  Metalloids  are  bad  conductors  of  heat  and  electridty. 
lY.  Metalloids  have  a  densi^  relatively  low. 
y.  Oxides  of  metalloids,  on  combining  with  water,  ordi- 
narily produce  adds,  seldom  bases. 
YL  Metalloids  are  always  electro-negative  in  the  compounds 
which  they  form  on  uniting  with  metals. 

MBTAIA 

L  There  is  no  gaseous  metaL 
II.  Metals  possess  metallic  lustre, 
in.  Metals  are  good  conductors  of  electridty  and  heat 
IV.  Metals  have  a  density  relatively  high. 
y.  Oxide  of  metals,  on  combining  with  water,  produos 

bases,  seldom  adds. 
YL  Metals  are  always  eleotrio-positive  in  the  compounds 
which  they  form  on  uniting  with  metalloids. 

Tlius  the  first  and  the  sixth  characters  are  given  as  abso- 
Inte.  It  will  be  seen  at  once,  however,  that  there  is  a  veiy 
considerable  element  of  reUtiveness  in  these  absolute 
characters.  If  the  gaseous  state  be  a  standard,  mercury  ii 
more  accurately  a  metalloid  than  carbon  is;  and  eledro- 
positive  and  electro-negative  are  susely  relative  terms,  and, 
in  a  chemical  dassification  as  auch,  should  not  have  uodua 
weight  As  the  result  of  this  arbitraiy  classification  to  the 
neglect  of  a  sum  of  characters,  tin,  titanium,  thorium,  anti- 
mony, bismutli,  uranium,  tantalium,  and  niobium  figure  as 
metalloids.  I  arbon  is  not  to  be  found  in  either  list^  we 
suppose  from  inadvertence;  nevertheless,  it  might  afioid 
difficulties  to  the  theoretical  dasfifier.  Ii  surely  would  be 
better,  in  the  face  of  these  facts,  to  abolish  the  meaningiesa 
expressions,  metals  and  metalloids,  altogether,  than  do  viiv 
lenoe  to  our  preconceived  ideas  with  no  satisfactory  result 

The  above  is  only  an  instance  of  a  plan  generally  fol- 
lowed of  harmonizing  andent  witii  modem  ideas  Thua^  in 
nomenclature  when  the  old  chemistry  is  done  violenoe  to^ 
in  aooordance  with  modom  ideas,  for  a  given  rule  of  four 
lines,  we  find  four  exceptions  that  require  for  a  tene  ex- 
planation as  many  pages  of  the  volume.  The  consistancj 
of  the  reijultmg  nomendatare  will  at  once  be  seen  by  glai» 
ing  at  the  following  list:— Mercnric  nitrate,  merearous  ni^ 
trate ;  mercuric  chloride,  protochloride  of  mercury  (calonel); 
biniodide  of  mercury,  protoiodide  of  mercury ;  proto-sol- 
phide  of  mercury,  subsulphide  of  mercury,  mercuric  sulpha^ 
subsulphate  of  mercuiy,  for  the  two  sets  of  salts  respefr 
tively. 

We  venture  to  say  that  the  "  safe  middle  course "  of 
difierent  systems  of  nomendature  will  satisfy  no  Kng^iab 
chemist,  and  tliat  many  modem  English  text  books  are  in 
this  respect  decidedly  superior  to  that  of  M.  Naquet,  bolii 
in  consistency  and  simplidty. 

But  not  to  prolong  oar  critidsm  further,  we  will  frsdf 
accord  to  M.  Naquet  what  iB  claimed  for  him  by  his  tms- 
lator — ^that  he  "expkiins  and  gives  with  great  ability  the 
aiguments  for  and  against  his  theories  and  thoee  of  otbar 
ehemiits."  M.  Naquet  designed  it  for  the  dasaic  textbook 
of  the  French  student  of  medicine ;  *'  the  work  only  jn- 
tends  to  be  a  point  of  departure."  "In  our  opinion  8tfr> 
dents  enter  upon  a  falao  path  when  they  neglect  a  knowie^go 
of  laws  to  gain  simpiy  an .  aoquaintaince  with  a  number  of 


Vd.  XTn,  W«  «B^  fafa  M :  iro.  4M^  psios  Tl,  m] 


CknnoAL  Newt, ) 
April,  18d&      f 


Notices  of  Books. 


193 


facta, with  which  they  useless^  overload  the  memory."  Now, 
we  Dittgt  do  the  English  medical  student  the  justioe  to  say 
that  in  very  exceptional  instances  does  ho  overtoad  his 
memory  with  chemical  facts ;  whether  usefully  or  not  we 
wiU  not  pretend  to  decide.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  work 
is  adapted  for  those  who  h^ye  a  sound  knowledge  of  chem- 
istry, whether  it  be  ancient  or  modern.  In  this  caae  any 
bias  will  be  avoided.  In  fine,  the  book  before  us  is  not 
solid  enough  for  a  foundation ;  but  the  thoughts  suggested 
by  every  page  are  necessary  for  a  completion  of  a  chemical 
education.  To  go  further,  ift  one  Bense,  this  text  book  of 
chemistry  is  more  than  any  other  suited  for  the  medical  or 
chemical  student^s  trainmg;  for  its  mastery  he  must  use 
his  brains  and  enlarge  his  ideas ;  but  it  should  not  be  used 
too  early  in  his  career.  We  will  add  that»  if  the  French 
medical  student  is  accustomed  to  express  himself  as  follows: 
"The  coefficients  representing  the  quantities  of  salts  de- 
composed in  two  saline  coupleis  oontaining  the  same  radicles 
grouped  in  inverse  order,  are  complementary;"  he  is  infi- 
Litely  superior  to  his  ordinary  British  representative,  who 
has  not  yet  mastered  the  law  of  Volkmann,  who  stated  that 
the  frequency  of  the  pulse  in  man,  as  connected  with  his 
stature,  was  in  the  ratio  of  the  ninth  root  of  the  fifth  power 
of  the  height. 

This  translation  of  IC.  Naqaers  book  has  been  consci- 
entiously and  accurately  done.  A  great  need  felt  for  it 
among  certain  students  will  be  amply  satisfied;  and  as  a 
farther  recommeudation  to  a  very  well  printed  and  got- up 
bopk,  the  casts  of  the  original  plates  of  M.  Kekul^'s  dia- 
grams have  been  used. 

A  Manual  of  Inorganic  Ohemiatry,  aumxnged  to  facaHate  Ae 
Experimental  Demowlration  of  the  Facts  and  Principles  of 
the   Scitnce.     By  Ohableb  W.  Eliot  and  Frank  H. 
Storer.    Seoond  Editioa    London:    John  Tan  Voorst 
(Pp.  xiv.  and  605). 
Thh  favourable  reception  awarded  to  this  work  in  America 
is  doubtless  the  immediate  cause  of  its  re-publioation  in 
England.    Its  plan,  moreover,  differs  in  several  essential 
points  from  that   usually  adopted   by  the  oompilers   of 
elementary  chemical  manuals  m  this  country,  since  it  is 
primarily  designed  directly  to  accompany  a  course  of  prac- 
tical study  in  the  laboratory.     In  some  respects  it  resembles 
the  ouoe  popular  manual  of  Stoeckhardt;  indeed  to  this 
book  the  authors  avow  their  obligations  for  many  experi- 
mental details.    The  work  is  not  written  in  support  of  any 
particular  theory,  or  in  the  hiterest  of  any  one  system  of 
notation,  the  fundamental  idea  of  its  authors  having  been  to 
facilitate  the  acquisition  of  a  knowleci^  of  inorgank;  chem- 
istry as  far  as  possible  by,  as  they  say,  the  experimental 
and  inductile  method.    To  this  end  they  give  a  large  num- 
ber of  experiments  simple  and  inexpensive  to  perform, 
although  perfectly  adequate  to  demonstrate  the  leading  facts 
and  gonoralisati<wi8  of  the  inorganic  portion  of  the  science, 
for  the  authors  plainly  indicate  that  much  of  the  complicated 
paraphernalia  with  whioh  o«r  modem  leoture-rooms  are 
equipped  is  by  no  means  absolutely  necessary  to  elucidate 
the  radical  laws  and  principles  of  chemistry.    These  experi- 
ments are  intended  to  be  made  by  the  student  himsdf;  and 
in  general  sufficiently  minute  instructions  are  given  to  in- 
sure their  successful  performance.    We  cannot,  however, 
always  compliment  the  authors  oii  the  elegance  or  clearness 
of  the  style  in  which  these  instruotiouB  are  conveyed;  but 
as  an  example  of  the  character  of  the  experiments  we  quote 
the  following  method  of  demonstrating  that  ammonia  is 
actually  produced  from   materials  wMch  are  proved  to 
generate  a  mixture  of  hydrogen  and  nitrogen,  since  a  more 
direct  synthesis  is  still  a  desideratum  (p.  79). 

"  fiixp.  45.  Place  hi  an  ignition-tube  an  intimate  mixture 
of  3  gprammes  of  fine  iron  ffiings  with  0*2  grammes  of  caus- 
tic potash;  adapt  a  delivery-tube  to  the  ignition-tnbe,  heat 
the  boatents  of  the  tube  over  the  gas-lamp,  and  collect  the 
gas  which  escapes  in  a  test-tube  over  the  water-pan.    Ex- 


amine this  gas,  which  will  prove  to  be  the  inflammable  hydro- 
gen. Caustic  potaah,  as  we  have  already  learned  (p  74), 
oenststs  of  potassium,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen ;  at  a  high 
temperature,  metallic  iron  is  able  to  seiie  upon  a  portion  of 
the  oxygen  in  this  compound,  setting  f^ree  hydrogen,  which 
finds  no  place  in  the  new  combinations. 

^'  Exp.  46.  Heat  in  a  seoond  ignition-tube,  similarly  dis- 
posed, a  mixture  of  3  gfammes  of  fine  iron  fUings  and  0*2 
grammes  of  nitrate  of  potasehmi,  and  collect  the  gas,  as 
before,  over  water.  This  gas  has  neither  taste  noc  smell, 
and  when  tested  with  a  lighted  splinter  it  is  found  to  be 
uninflammable,  and  in  fact  to  extinguish  the  taper.  It  is 
nitrogen.  Nitrate  of  potassium  contidns,  as  has  been  already 
stated  (p.  75X  potassium,  nitrogen,  and  oxygen ;  at  the  high 
temperature  employed,  the  salt  is  partially  decomposed,  the 
metallic  iron  combines  wHh  the  oxygen  of  the  nitrous  va- 
pours formed,  and  thetr  nitrogen  is  set  free. 

'*  Exp.  47.  In  a  third  ignition-tnbe,  heat  the  same  quan- 
tities of  the  same  materials  which  have  been  used  in  the 
last  two  experiments,  at  once  and  together.  A  delivery 
tqbe  is  not  neoessary  In  this  case;  the  tube  may  be  held  by 
the  wooden  nipper  by  the  open  end.  Neither  hydrogen 
nor  nitrogen  will  be  evolved  as  before,  but  instead  of  them 
we  have  ammonia,  whose  presence  may  be  manifested  by 
holding  a  bit  of  reddened  litmus  paper  at  the  mouth  of  the 
tube.  The  intense  alkaline  reaction  of  the  gas,  and  its 
odonr,  sufficiently  distinguish  it  from  both  hydrogen  and 
nitrogen.*^ 

The  anthers,  however,  clearly  discriminate  between  chem- 
istry and  chemical  manipulation,  and  give^  in  the  fbrm  of 
an  appendix,  very  jiractiaal  instmotions  on  the  latter  sub- 
ject 

Many  arguments  may  be  adduced  in  support  of  such  a 
method  of  instruction— arguments,  too,  which  would  prob- 
ably have  greater  weight  now  than  formerly,  when  the 
practical  study  of  physical  science  was  ignored  and  ban- 
ished fVom  the  ordinary  curricula  of  our  schools.  Not  the 
least  weighty  of  these  arguments  will  be  found  in  the  hicon- 
testable  fact  that  this  method  necessarily  tends  to  discipline 
and  develope  the  student's  perceptive  faeulties—one  of  the 
capital  results  of  a  well-devised  method  of  teaching  physical 
science.  The  student  is  enabled  directly  to  examine  for 
himself— to  see,  smell,  and  handle  for  himself— and  he 
thus  becomes  acquainted  with  the  main  facts  of  the 
science  by  a  process  similar  to  that  by  which  the  facts 
themselves  were  originally  per6eived  and  established. 
Every  one  will  readily  grant  to  the  authors  that  scien- 
tific study  fails  of  its  true  end  if  it  become  a  mere  ex- 
ercise of  the  memory.  Moreover,  such  a  method,  above  all, 
materially  facilitates  the  attainment  of  a  definiteuess  and 
exactitude  in  the  knowledge  of  the  subject,  without  which, 
as  an  authority  on  this  matter  has  recently  declared,  the 
hitroduction  of  physical  sdence  into  our  school  system  is  , 
worse  than  useless ;  and  although  chemical  lecture  illustra- 
tion has  never  been  carried  to  such  a  degree  of  perfbction 
as  at  this  time,  when  our  professors  appear  almost  to  base 
their  reputation,  in  the  lecture  theatre,  on  the  brilliancy  and 
effectiveness  of  their  demonstrations,  we  venture  to  assert 
that  under  the  present  system  of  science  tuition  this  exacti- 
tude iq  by  no  means  so  generally  acquired  as  it  ought  to  be. 
The  result  to  the  student  is  not  commensurate  with  the 
labour  of  the  teacher.  Doubtless,  the  evil  to  aome  extent 
is  inherent  in  the  system,  but  much  of  the  ill-success,  it 
seems  to  us,  is  to  be  directly  ascribed  to  the  student  The 
ahnost  universal  complaint  of  teachers,  even  in  this  age  of 
the  multiplication  of  mannala,  is  that  students,  as  a  rule, 
will  not  sufficiently  study  their  text-books.  An  undue 
prominence  is  given  to  the  teaching  in  the  lecture-room ;  by 
some  it  is  invested  with  a  value  which  it  cannot  in  strict 
reason  intrinsically  possess.  There  is  a  proneness  to  regard 
the  text-book  as  merely  supplementary  to  the  lecture.  Even 
the  most  conscientious  students  err  in  considering  they  gain 
their  objoct  merely  by  a  regular  attendance  in  the  cUss- 
rooms,  uxireis^UNs  attention  to  the  lecturer,  and  a  carefU 


[BBKUflhEditiOD,yoLX7IL,  We.  4a7,pat*7^^  t|o.4a^THW«l^*^l 


194 


Correfipmdeme, 


j  CireincAL  Km. 
1      ^prO,  1M& 


transcript  of  their  voluminous  notes  at  leisure.  But  how  is 
it  possible  for  the  student  mentnlly  to  digest  the  lecture 
when  his  sole  aim  is  apparently  to  get  a  verbatim  report  of 
it?  How  frequently  in  the  hurry  of  mechanicaUy  noting 
the  definition  of  a  princl{rfe,  or  the  description  of  a  property, 
does  the  student  miss  the  point  of  the  experiment  by  which 
the  one  or  the  other  is  intended  to  be  illustrated?  That  ex 
abvau  ncm  arguiiur  ad  usum  everybody  knom-s ;  but  the  prac- 
tice of  note-taking  is  often  carried  to  an  iigudicious  excess, 
and  operates  iiguriously  against  both  the  teacher  and  the 
taught. 

Hence  it  appears  to  us  that  the  method  employed  in  this 
book  will  go  far  to  obviate  this  tendency,  and  we  venture  to 
predict  that  manuals  based  on  this  or  a  similar  plan  will 
multiply  with  the  more  general  introduction  of  the  praotioal 
study  of  ph3r8ical  science  into  our  school  system. 

The  authors  presuppose  the  students  of  their  manual  to 
be  already  acquainted  with  the  rudiments  of  physics,  and, 
therefore,  contrary  to  the  practice  whidi  obtains  in  England, 
they  plunge  at  the  very  outset  in  mediaa  ret.  Btill,  as  they 
have  thought  fit  to  recapitulate  at  length  many  of  Uie  phys- 
ical properties  of  bodies,  it  would,  we  take  it,  have  been 
well  to  have  directed  the  student's  attention  to  the  natural 
efiects  of  many  of  these  properties— to  the  beneficial  conse- 
quences resulting  from  the  singular  anomaly  of  water 
possessing  a  condition  of  maximum  density,  for  example. 
And,  as  the  question  at  issue  between  Tyndall  and  Magnus 
is  apparently  settled  at  laEt,  we  also  regret  that  all  mention 
of  the  effect  of  atmospheric  moisture  in  retarding  and  modi- 
fying the  intensity  of  solar  radiation  is  omitted.  Every  true 
student  of  physical  science  knows  the  quiet  innate  sense  of 
enjoyment  to  be  derived  from  the  knowledge  and  contem- 
plation of  such  phenomena* 

We  observe  that  the  statements  of  the  older  manuals 
with  respect  to  the  existence  of  definite  hydrates  of  the  so- 
ccdled  "mineral '*  adds  are  repeated,  although  Boscoe  and 
Dittmar  showed  some  years  ago  that  the  uniformity  of  the 
composition  of  these  bodies  was  only  apparent,  and  in  reality 
an  accidental  circumstance  depending  simply  on  the  press: 
ure  under  which  their  distillation  had  been  effected;  they 
proved  that  for  every  pressure  an  aqeous  solution  exists 
which,  when  di|tilled  under  that  pressure,  possesses  a  con- 
stant boiling  point,  and  fixed  composition. 

The  chapter  on  antozone  is  mainly  made  up  of  the  vague 
and  unsatisfactory  statements  of  Meissner  and  Houseau. 
The  authors,  however,  plead  in  extenuation  for  thus  setting 
forth  whatever  is  known  respecting  antoeone,  *'  the  impossi- 
bility with  so  obscure  a  subject  of  making  such  a  just  dis- 
crimination between  salient  and  unimportant  points  as  with 
a  well  studied  subject  is  both  easy  and  desirable."  In  our 
opinion,  there  is  but  little  satisfaction  to  Uie  unfortunate 
student  who  is  thus  shown  "how  vague  and  uncertain  the 
prospect  is  when  once  the  narrow  limits  of  established 
knowledge  are  past,  and  the  inquirer  ventures  out  into  the 
.  obscurity  which  perpetually  eeparates  the  knowledge  of  to- 
day from  that  which  shall  be  knowledge  to-morrow "  (p. 
154). 

*  In  taking  leave  of  a  work  to  which  it  gives  us  pleasure 
to  direct  attention,  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  the  fol- 
io vring  just  discrimination  of  the  relative  position  and  value 
of  fact  and  theory: — "In  the  midst  of  the  doubts  and  dis- 
cussions which  to-day  envelope  chemical  theories,  the  stu- 
dent will  do  well  to  remember  that  all  these  questions  lie 
without  the  sphere  of  fact  They  do  not  affect  the  actual 
composition  of  properties  of  a  single  element  or  compound ; 
they  are  questions  of  ioterpretation,  classification  and  defini- 
tion. The  existence  of  atoms  is  itself  an  hypothesis,  and 
not  a  probable  one;  all  speculations  based  on  this  hypo- 
thesis, all  names  which  have  grown  up  with  it,  all  ideas 
which  would  be  dead  without  it,  should  be  accepted  by  the 
student  provisionally  and  cautiously,  as  being  matter  for 
belief  but  not  for  knowledge.  All  dogmatic  assertion  upon 
such  points  is  to  be  regarded  with  distrust  The  gpreat 
minority  of  chemists,  devoted  to  the  applicationB  of  dbem' 


istry  in  mineralogy,  metallurgy,  dyeing,  printing,  and  the 
manufacture  of  chemicals,  remain  completely  indifferent  to 
discussion  of  chemical  theories.  Hence  the  student  wiH 
find  that  in  technical  chemical  literature  the  older  notatioa 
and  the  corresponding  smaller  atomic  weights  are  almoat 
invariably  employed.  Theories,  however,  are  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  progress  of  the  science  and  to  the  dear  or- 
dering of  the  ground  already  won.  It  is  on  this  acoonnt 
very  much  to  be  wished  that  the  great  attention  now  de- 
voted to  the  discussion  of  the  best  methods  of  representing 
symbolically  the  constitution  of  chemical  substances  and  the 
changes  to  which  they  are  subject  may  result  in  the  elabo- 
ration of  a  system  good  enough  to  command  general  accept- 
ance." 

CORRESPONDENCE. 


Water  Analyns. 
'  To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmioal  Kbw& 

Sir, — ^WiU  you  allow  me  to  state,  that  after  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  points  in  my  report  of  the  Chemical  Sodetj, 
alluded  to  in  the  letters  which  appeared  in  last  week's 
Chemioal  News  (American  Repr.,  March^  1 868,  page  1 4S).  I 
am  convinced  that  the  report  was  substantially  accurate. 
With  regard  to  the  point  raised  by  Mr.  Thorpe,  discussion 
upon  an  error  (g^nting  such  to  be  the  case)  affecting  him- 
self only,  is  now  fritile.  since  he  has  corrected  what  he  con- 
siders 'to  have  been  misinterpreted. — ^1  am,  etc., 

ThsBbfobib. 


JmpuriUea  t»  Glyeerin, 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohkhioal  Nkw& 
Sir, — ^The  writer  of  the  article  on  Grlycerin  in  Kvnst  md 
GewAerblaU  is  correct  in  attributing  the  acrid,  irritating 
properties  of  some  glycerin  to  the  mode  of  preparation;  but 
t  have  seen  distilled  glycerin  which  was  quite  as  unsnitaUe 
foE  medicinal  or  surgical  purposes  as  any  spoken  oC  Tbe 
volatile  fatty  adds,  and  ethers,  which  exist  in  crude  glycerin, 
are  sometimes  condensed  with  the  glycerin,  and  these  han 
very  irritating  properties. 

In  the  glycerin  which  is  made  without  distQlaticm,  tha 
volatile  acids  and  ethera  exist,  but  not  in  the  same  state  as 
after  distillation,  the  high  heat  requited  for  this  prooeas 
decomposing  them  into  some  modification  of  their  origiaal 
state. 

The  great  cause  of  irritation  In  glycerin  which  has  sot 
been  properly  prepared,  is  the  presence  of  oxalic  add  and 
of  formic  add;  these  are  produced  by  the  action  of  sulphuric 
add  upon  the  glycerin,  forming  the  first-mentioned  add, 
and  this  in  its  turn  acts  upon  the  glycerin,  giviug  xiae 
to  formic  add,  the  irritating  properties  ^f  which  are  wdl 
known. 

The  nitrate  of  silver  test  I  have  alwajt  considered  tha 
most  reliable.    Glycerin  whidi  shovrs  no  reaction  with  this        ' 
salt  may  be  considered  suitable  for  all  uses,- as  it  indicates        ' 
not  only  the  presence  of  chlorine  or  chlorides,  but  ii^  aa 
well,  reduced  by  adds,  which  may  exist  in  the  glycerin.—J 
am,  etc.,  \ 

HSITBT  BOWWL 
FbUadtlphia,  January  I6tt^  x868.  | 


Beei'Roet  Sugar, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohrmioal  Xbws. 
Six, — Your  foreign  correspondent  in  yesterday's  number  re* 
marks,  '*  as  the  manufiicture  of  beet-root  sugar  is  not  an  Bng^ 
lish  industry,  an  a'bstract  of  this  aaemdr  would  probaUy  pos- 
sess little  interest  for  your  readers.*'  (Anu  R^trmt,  Ap^ 
1868,  page  — .)    As  the  manufacture  of  beet-root  sugar  viH 


[Engliah  Edition,  Yd.  ZVILyira  408,  paga  82;  Vo.  487,  paga  78 ;  Vo.  488,  paga  83.] 


Correepondence. 


195 


probably  be  commenoed  this  year,  in  more  than  one  locality  in 
England,  all  information  respecting  it  will  be  peculiarly  yahi- 
able  at  a  time  when  the  Yyeat  prooefisea  should  be  at  once 
adopted.  Tour  correspondent  in  Paris,  by  communicating 
the  earliest  information,  will  probably  be  conferring  great 
benefit  on  an  industry  which  will  in  all  probability  soon  be- 
come of  national  importance. 

If  you  can  obtain  for  me  the  title  of  the  best  and  most 
pscent  French  works  on  the  growth  of  tiio  sugar  beet,  and 
the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  It,  you  will  greatly  oblige.— 
I  am,  eta,  o     -v       o 

BOBBST  OXLAHD. 

Compton  Oifford,  Plymouth,  February  Sth,  1868. 


The  Beeeni  Discussion  at  the  Chemical  Society. 

To  the  Bditor  of  tho  Ghbmioal  Nbwb. 

Sir,— Having  only  renewed— not  commenced — ^the.  discus- 
sion at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society,  I  believe 
that  I  had  no  right  of  reply  at  the  end  of  the  discussion. 

Mr.  Campbell's  remarks,  however,  demand  an  answer. 
Mr.  Campbell  stated  that  I  had  not  published  a  single  ex- 
periment  in  which  I  took  white  of  egg,  and  failed  to  get 
ammonia  from  it  on  boiling  with  dilute  solution  of  carbonate 
of  soda. 

I  quote  a  passage  from  my  paper  {LaJboratory,  28th 
September,  1867,  page  442),  and  nuike  the  remark  that  Mr. 
Campbell  had  read  that  paper. 

"IIL  A  litre  of  spring  water,  1-864  grm.  of  carbonate  of 
soda,  and  3-5  milligrm.  of  fresh  white  of  egg  (weighed  on 
a  bit  of  platinum  foilX  were  introduced  into  a  retort  and 
distilled:— 

1st  distilUite,  100  c.a  =  0*000  millignn.  NHt 
2nd      "         100  ac.  =  0000        "  " 

3rd       "        100  cc.  =  0000        "  " 


This  extract  speaks  for  itself,  and  is  surely  sufficient  to 
justify  my  interruption  of  Mr  Campbell's  speech. 

Equally  contrary  to  the  fact,  is  Mr.  Campbell's  represen- 
tation that  the  dispute  between  us  was  whether  traces 
of  white  of  egg  (not  a  considerable  proportion)  were  de- 
composed. 

If  your  readers  will  turn  to  Mr.  Campbell's  paper  {Lab,^ 
September  2i8t,  1867X  tl^ey  will  find  that  according  to  Mr. 
Campbell,  he  got  off  about  33  per  cent  of  the  total  nitro- 
gen in  the  form  of  ammonia,  when  he  boiled  0*093  grain  of 
(moist)  w^ite  of  e^^  with  dilute  carbonate  of  soda,  and  that 
on  taking  still  more  dilute  solutions  of  albumen  aU  the  nitro- 
gen came  off  as  ammonia: 

In  my  reply  {Ixjib.^  28th  September,  1867),  your  readers 
will  find  the  following:— 

"  I  have  thus  taken  5*00,  0*40,  and  about  0*04  milligrm. 
of  albuminoid  ammonia  in  the  shape  of  white  of  egg,  and 
In  no  case  got  over  two  and  a  half  per  cent  of  the  albumi- 
noid ammonia  evolved  by  carbonate  of  soda." 

Mr.  Campbell's  paper  is  of  a  piece  with  his  speech.  Ac- 
cording to  him  he  took  a  quantity  of  urea,  contidning  nitro- 
gen equivalent  to  '0062  grain  of  ammonia,  and  havmg  boiled 
it  with  dilute  carbonate  of  soda,  then  with  potash,  and 
finally  with  permanganate  of  potash,  got  altogether  -0061 
grain  of  ammonia,  '0015  grain  of  this  ammonia  l^ing  evolved 
by  permanganate.  In  a  second  experiment,  he  describes 
himself  as  having  taken  the  same  quantity  of  urea,  and  ob- 
tained accurately  '0062  grain  of  ammonia,  this  time  '0025 
grain  by  the  permanganate.  When  I  add,  that  since  the 
publication  of  Mr.  Campbell's  paper,  the  observation  has  been 
recorded,  that  boiling  with  alkaline  permanganate  actually 
oxidises  urea,  and  evolves  its  nitrogen,  in  great  part,  as 
nitrogen  gas,  or  as  nitric  acid,  the  character  of  these  experi- 
ments of  Mr.  Campbell's  will  became  intelligibl&    Notwith- 


standing this  oxidation,  Mr.  Campbell  finds  accurately  all 
his  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia. — I  am,  eta, 

J.  Alfred  Wankltk. 
London  lostltation,  Febraary  8, 1868. 


J%e  Recent  Disctusion  at  the  Chemical  Society, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir, — In  the  report  of  the  meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society, 
given  in  your  last  jiumber,  we  observe  that  our  speeches  are 
rather  inadequately  given,  and  that  inaccuracies  have  crept 
in.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  inasmuch  as  both  of  us 
read  them  rapidly  from  manuscript,  which  was  afterwards 
(at  the  request  of  the  President)  handed  to  the  Secretary  for 
publication  by  the  Chemical  Society. 

Our  speeches  contained  matter  which  might  have  been  ap- 
propriately given  in  answer  to  Dr.  Frankland,  who  spoke 
later  in  the  evening. 

We  wish  now  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  Dr.  Frankland*s 
speech  as  reported  in  your  last  number.  We  notice  four  ex- 
amples of  results  obtained  by  taking  what  are  there  termed 
"artificial"  waters,  and  operating  on  them  by  Dr.  Frank- 
land's  method,  and  by  our  method.  These  "artificial  waters" 
were  prepared  by  treating  water  with  peat,  and  were,  there- 
fore, waters  containing  unknown  quantities  of  organic  impuri- 
ties, and  consequently  the  want  of  coincidence  between  results 
got  from  them  by  the  employment  of  the  rival  methods  of 
analysis  is  in  itself  evidence  of  nothing  beyond  the  fact  that 
the  methods  give  different  results. 

In  Dr.^  Frankland's  recent  lecture,  he  gave  four  instances 
of  the  employment  of  his  own  method  on  anotlier  sort  of 
"artificial''  water,  viz.,  on  water  of  known  composition.  In 
these  instances  he  dissolved  known  quantities  of  sugar,  and 
in  one  case  known  qaantities  of  sugar  and  chloride  of  ammo- 
nium in  water,  and  so  prepared  waters  containing  known 
quantities  of  organic  carbon  and  organic  nitrogen. 

In  these  cases— and  these  are  the  only  published  instances 
of  a  testing  of  Dr.  Frankland's  process — ^he  had  errors  of 
about  3  cubic  centimeters,  08  c.c  and  0*4  aa  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  in  the  nitrogenous  instance  he  observed  about  0*07 
c  c  of  nitrogen  more  than  he  had  put  into  the  water,  and 
probably  had  committed  an  error  of  much  greater  magni- 
tude. 

As  was  said  by  one  of  us  during  the  debate  in  the  Society, 
errors  of  this  magnitude  are  a  satire  on  the  daim  to  work  to 
the  i-iooth  of  a  cubic  centimeter,  and  hardly  any  severer 
censure  could  be  passed  on  our  method,  which  really  does 
work' to  the  i-iooth  of  a  cubic  centimeter,  than  for  such  a 
process  as  this  of  Dr.  Frankland's  to  furnish  results  coinci- 
dent or  parallel  with  those  given  by  it 

In  reference  to  Dr.  Frankland's  experiments  on  the  action 
of  alkaline  permanganate  on  some  alkaloids,  we  have  to  re- 
mark that  earlier  in  the  evening  one  of  us  handed  to  the 
Secretary  a  short  account  of  the  action  of  this  reagent  on  cer- 
tain alkaloids,  and  on  a  variety  of  organic  nitrogenous  sub- 
stances, and  since  the  last  meeting  we  have  much  extend- 
ed these  reeoArcbee. 

In  ^our  report,  in  giving  Dr.  Frankland's  alkaloidal  results, 
you  give  "  Ammonia  obtained."  "  By  permanganates."  "  By 
oombustion."  In  place  of  "by  combustion/'  it  should  be 
"  ammonia  calculated  fh>m  the  formula."  In  point  of  fact. 
Dr.  Frankland  compared  the  ammonia  equivalent  to  the  total 
nitrogen  of  the  alkaloid  with  the  ammonia  got  from  it  by  our 
process. 

Dr.  Frankland  was  unfortunate  in  his  selection  of  strych- 
nine, narcoUne,  and  sulphate  of  quinine  to  exhibit  want  of 
paraUelism  between  the  ammonia  given  by  our  process,  and 
the  ammonia  equivalent  to  the  total  nitrogen  of  the  substance. 
Dr.  Frankland's  numbers  are  :— 

"  Albnminoid  "  KH  3  Total  NH3 

Strychnine '00032  'ooioi 

Narcotine '00031  '00068 

Sulphate  of  Quinine '00073  *ooi  28 


[BiifliahBdltkB,ToLXVlI,Vo.428,paC«ia3,  ^.  lla  «3a,  paft  07.] 


J  96 


Correyfxmdence. 


i     April,  Vm. 


The  real  nunobera,  however,  exhibit  the  "  albuminoid  "  am- 
monia as  exactly  one-half  of  the  ammonia  which  the  total 
nitrogen  could  furnish.  In  place  of  '00032  for  strychnine, 
Dr.  Prankland  fehould  have  jriven  '00051. 

At  any  rate,  we  have  obtained  from  strychnine  exactly 
one-half  of  it«  total  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia. 

The  total  nitrogen  got  from  strychnine,  narcotine,  and  sul- 
phate of  quinine,  and  the  "albuminoid^'  ammonia  which 
tht'ir  alkaloids  yield,  are  quantities  parallel  to  one  another. 

In  conclusion,  we  have  to  remark  that  we  do  not  remem- 
ber to  have  heard  Mr.  Campbell  make  the  admission  of  the 
possibility  of  error  (owing  to  the  possibility  of  there  being 
ammonia  in  the  distilled  water  used  in  his  former  experi- 
ments), which  we  find  at  the  end  of  his  speech  as  reported 
by  you.— I  am,  eta, 

.    J.  Alfred  Wakkl-sn. 
Erkbst  T.  Chapmak. 
London  Instltatloii,  Pebaary  x7th,  1868. 


OrystaUogrophy  and  the  Bhwpipe.^  Law  of  Earizontal  Cry^- 
iallisaiion. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohmiical  News. 
Sir:— May  I  ask  you  to  allow  me  to  add  to  the  paper t>ub- 
llshed  in  last  Friday's  Chemical  News  {Amer.  Bepr.,  April, 
*68,  page  — ),  that  having  by  the  kindness  of  the  Secretaiy 
to  the  R.  A.  Institution  been  allowed  the  use  of  their  splen- 
did compound  microscope,  by  Smith  and  Beck,  I  liave  been 
able,  since  that  paper  was  written,  to  examine  the  diaphaneb- 
ulous  vesicles  whose  crystals,  appearing  at  first  like  a  slight 
cloud,  were  far  too  minute  to  be  distinguished  by  my  pocket 

Under  an  object  glass,  magnifying  1000  diameters,  the 
primary  crystals  of  baryta  had  that  peculiar  hieroglyphical 
appearance  which  I  have  termed  gramraat^.  Those  of  silver 
were  like  small  flowerets,  with  three  petals,  and  sulphur 
(whose  vesicle  was  nebulous)  appeared  in  myriads  of  tripe- 
dal  marks  like  **  crowfeet"  Under  the  same  glass  the  zones 
of  the  mngnesian  disc  I  found  to  consist  of  innumerable  dark, 
if  not  black  spots,  too  small  for  their  shape  to  be  distinguished, 
even  by  this  powerful  lens. 

It  is  now,  I  think,  evident,  and  I  think  I  may  fairly  claim 
the  discovery  of  the  fact,  that— '•When  the  process  of  crys- 
tallisation in  nature  is  confined  to  the  plane  of  the  superficies 
of  the  crystal,  and  not  allowed  to  proceed  in  a  direction  either 
above  or  below  it,  as  is  the  case  in  the  thin  '  walls '  of  the 
borax  vesicles  made  by  me,  a  distinct  system  of  crystallisa- 
tion is  followed,  producing  forms  widely  diflfering  from*  those 
generated  under  other  conditions,— never  geometrical,  gener- 
ally in  the  shape  of  flowers,  ferns,  trees,  or  stars,  and  not 
iaomorphous." 

I  have  the  pleasure  also  to  inform  you  that  pieces  of  the 
crystalline  vesicle  can  be  fastened  on  clean  smooth  glass 
merely  by  tlie  pressure  of  a  finger,  so  firmly  that  they  can- 
not be  easily  rubbed  off;  and  may  be  carried  about,  forming 
excellent  slides  for  the  microscope;  when  no  longer  re- 
quired, they  can  be  washed  off  with  soap  and  water.  I 
tried  electrifying  the  glass  previously,  but  the  vesicles  being 
attracted  electrically,  they  were  of  course  soon  repelled. 

The  truth  of  the  above  law  may  be  easily  demonstrated  by 
an  experiment  which  I  have  made  since  the  above  was  writ- 
ten. I  placed  a  solution  of  common  salt  in  oo'd  distilled  wa- 
ter between  two  plates  of  glass,  under  a  pressure  of  3f  lbs. ; 
next  morning  a  reticulate  crystallisation  was  observable  on 
the  inner  side  of  both  plates,  while  some  drops  of  the  solu- 
tion, left  on  the  platinum  spatula,  with  which  I  had  mixed  it, 
had  crystallised  in  a  modification  of  the  cube. 

Nitre  treated  in  the  same  way  produced  a  kind  of  floral 
net-work,  while  outside  it  assumed  the  usual  prismatic 
needles.  Carbonate  of  soda  crystallised  in  a  very  distinct 
dendroidate  form. 

It  is  necessary  to  use  cold  water,  because  if  warmed  with 
some  substances,  as  nitre,  the  secondary  or  iaomorphous 


crystallisation  is  set  up  so  rapidly  that  the  primary  kind  hu 
not  space  to  form. 

It  would  appear  from  this  that  alUiough  the  law  of  plani- 
form  crystallisation,  as  above  demonstrated,  holds  good, 
primary  crystals  from  solution  by  fire  are  different  from  those 
produced  by  a  solution  in  liquids.— I  am,  eta 

W.  A.  Boe& 

Woolwich,  2^ib  Fabmaiy,  x868. 


Phonphoreacence  of  Potaatium  and  Sodium, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  C^buical  News. 
Sir  :— In  your  issue  of  January  31,  1868  {Amer.  Jtepr^ 
March,  *68,  page  144),  is  an  extract  from  the  JamrMl  fiir 
Prukiitche  Chenxie  relative  to  the  oxidation  of  potassium  tod 
sodium.  It  is  there  stated  that  "  the  oxidation  of  potaannm 
and  sodium,  when  exposed  with  a  clean  surface  to  the  air,  is 
accompafiied,  aooording  to  H.  Baumhanr,  with  evolution  oC 
light" 

Mr.  H.  Baumhaur  thinks,  doubtless,  that  he  is  die  author 
of  this  discovery,  but  his  observation  is,  in  reality,  about  17 
years  old.  In  the  year  1851  M.  P^irie  discovered  that  the 
metal  potassium  is  phosphorescent  when  exposed  to  the  air, 
like  phosphorus.  He  covered  the  potassium  with  be*- s'-wix 
and  then  cut  it  into  twa  Each  segment  remained  lumbous 
for  about  half  an  hour,  the  light  being  one-tenth  the  intensity 
of  that  produced  by  a  piece  of  phosphorus  of  the  same  nze. 

In  1850  Herr  Linnemann,  ignorant  of  M.  Peirie^s  obeem- 
tion,  published  another  note  (m  the  Juwnuil  fvLr  Praktitck 
Chemie,  Ixxv.)  upon  the  same  subject.  He  showed  tbit 
both  potassium  and  sodium  are  luminous  upon  their  freshly 
cut  surfaces.  The  light  emitted  by  potassium  is  of  a  reddish 
tint,  that  of  sodium  greenish,  accordin^r  to  this  author.  At 
60°  or  70"  0,  the  light  of  sodium  is  quite  as  intense  as  that 
of  phosphorus  at  the  ordinary  temperature. 

In  1859 1  also  had  occasion  to  examine  the  same  phenom- 
enon,  and  recorded  it  in  1862  in  a  w^ork  which  has  been 
more  than  once  quoted  in  your  valuable  journal.  I  foaad 
the  light  of  sodium  to  be  very  feeble  at  the  ordinary  tcmpen- 
ture  of  the  atmosphere,  and  that  it  ceased  when  the  nevly 
exposed  surfaces  are -covered  with  a  layer  of  soda.  The  lu- 
minosity lasts  for  a  few  minutea,  and  increases  in  brilliancy 
as  the  temperature  rises.  Potassium  also  becomes  viTidly 
phosphorescent  in  the  preparation  of  boron. — ^I  am.  eta, 

T.  L.  Phipson,  PhJD. 

The  Cedan,  Pntnay,  S.V.,  Tebu  xa,  186S. 


The  Royal  BchooL  of  Minu, 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Niwa 
Sir  : — Now  that  the  subject  of  technical  education  is  under 
discussion,  I  think  that  perhaps  it  might  not  be  amiss  to  say 
a  few  words  about  the  Royal  School  of  Mines. 

One,  and  the  principal  reason  why  our  Royal  School  of 
Mines  turns  out  so  few  scientific  men,  in  comparison  wttb 
the  corresponding  French  and  German  Institutions^  is  be- 
cause it  is  so  little  known,  and  many  who  are  aware  of  the 
existence  of  it  know  little  or  nothing  of  its  mode  of  working. 
The  School  is  itself  well  worthy  of  a  higher  reputation  than 
is  at  present  accorded  to  it ;  the  Professors  are  among  the 
most  eminent  men  in  their  several  departments;  and  the 
course  of  study  prescribed  for  the  students,  extending  over  a 
period  of  three  years,  and  embracing  several  distinct  brandiei 
of  science,  seems  to  demand  more  general  recognition  as  an 
efiQcient  and  thoroughly  practical  scientific  education,  the 
School  at  present  is  merely  an  appendage  of  the  Geological 
Museum,  instead  of  being  an  mstitution  distinct  from  eveiy- 
thing  else,  as  is  the  case  with  the  French  School  of  Mine& 

In  1854  the  Kcole  des  Mines  had  600  associates^  whereas 
oure  at  the  present  day  has  only  40 ;  and  as  it  has  been  es- 
tablished 17  years,  this  shows  an  increase  of  only  2\  per 
annum. 


[EngUflh  Edition,  ToL  ZVn.,^o.J  499,  page  97 ;  Va  430^  pafas  107,  lO&j 


GiitiiiCAL  Nxwa,  > 
Jpra,  1868.      f 


Ca/re^ondefrice. 


197 


I  have  no  doubt  that  were  the  Institution  broufrht  more 
prominently  before  the  public  the  number  of  students  would 
be  gr^tlj  increa»ed.  and  this  might  be  done  in  several  ways. 

ist.  Tlie  chemical  and  metallurgical  laboratories,  lecture 
theatres,  etc.,  should  be  all  in  one  building.  The  present  ar- 
rangement involves  considerable  loss  of  time  and  iuconveni- 
eooe. 

2Dd.  There  should  be  a  public  opening  of  the  school  at  the 
comrnencemeril  of  each  session,  and  addresses  should  be 
given,  the  same  as  in  all  our  medical  schools. 

3rd.  The  diplomas  of  associateship,  scholarships,  prizes, 
certificates,  etc.,  should  be  awarded  publicly  at  the  end  of  the 
term ;  this  is  done,  1  believe,  at  every  other  educational  es- 
tablishment of  any  standing. 

4tb.  The  **  prospectus  "  and  calendar  (if  it  be  worthy  the 
name)  should  be  piinted  and  kept  in  a  separate  form,  instead 
of,  as  now,  being  printed  on  some  of  the  spare  pages  of  a 
pamphlet  belonging  to  the  Geological  Museum. — lam,  etc., 

AL.B.    ' 

Tht  Royal  School  of  Mines. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sm, — ^Will  70U  kindly  allow  me  to  make  a  few  remarks  on 
some  of  the  statements  made  by  A.  L.  E.  on  the  School  of 
Mines,  which  appeared  in  the  CHEiUOAL  News  of  last  week? 
^Anu  Repr.y  April,  *68,  page  196.) 

A.  Ii.  £.  says  the  School  of  Mines  is-  an  appendage  to  the 
Geological  Museum ;  this  is  quite  a  nustake, — ^if  the  School 
had  200  to  300  students,  tlie  Museum  would  seem  just  as 
much  an  appendage  to  the  Sdiool,  as  the  School  now  seems 
to  be  to  the  Museum. 

"  The  prospectus  or  calendar,  if  it  be  worthy  of  the  name," 
writes  A.  L.  £. ;  now,  no  one  dreams  of  calling  the  pro- 
spectus a  calendar,  or  wishes  to  do  so  (always  excepting 
A.  Ii.  £.):  88  to  its  being  prAted  ''  on  the  spare  pages  of  a 
pamphlet  belonging  to  the  Geologioal  Museum,"  this  is  not 
correct.  If  A.  L.  E.  will  look  at  the  prospectus  of  the  pres- 
ent session,  he  will  find  that  it  consists  of  42  pages :  the 
first  poge  is  the  title-page;  the  next  contains  a  table  of 
contents  ;  pp.  3,  4,  and  5  contain  a  short  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  School  of  Mines;  pp.  6,  7,  and  8 'give  an  ac- 
count of  the  Geological  Survey  Mining  Record  OflQce  and 
Library ;  the  rest  of  the  pYospectus,  pp.  o  to  42  (ind.),  ic, 
34  pages,  are  devoted  to^the  School  of  Mines;  ergo,  the 
prospectus  is  printed  on  34  pages,  being  spare  pages  of  a 
pamphlet,  consisting  of  three  pages,  belonging  to  the 
Geological  Museum. 

It  would  be  better,  no  doubt,  if  the  chemical  laboratory 
was  nr.der  the  same  roof  as  the  Geological  Museum :  but 
this  has  very  little  influence  on  the  number  of  students,  its 
prcaent  position  really  producing  but  little  practical  incon- 
yenience.  The  real  reason  of  the  small  number  of  students 
ig,  in  my  opinion,  chat  it  is  so  little  known  to  the  general 
publia  I  am  sure  the  names  of  the  lecturers  are  far  more 
widely  known  than  the  Boyal  School  of  Mines  with  which 
they  are  connected.  If,  as  A.  L.  £.  suggests,  the  session 
was  opeued  publicly,  and  the  reports  of  the  examiners,  al  the 
9Qd  of  the  session,  were  read  out  publicly  to  the  council,  an 
account  of  the  proceedings  would  appear  in  the  papers,  and 
thus  the  public  would  be  informed  of  the  existence  of  an 
BngUsh  Sdiool  of  Mines  far  more  effectually  than  in  any 
other  way. 

If  the  council  would  adopt  this  plan  for  two  or  three  years, 
lOng  enough  to  give  it  a  fair  trial  (and  there  is  a  theatre 
luxuriant  in  cushions  ready  built  for  the  purpose),  I  cannot 
>ut  think  the  number  of  students  would  be  considerably  in- 
areaeed. — I  am,  etc., 

A  Student  at  the  Botal  School  of  Mines. 

Jeranyn  Street.  March  3rd,  x868. 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Ohxmioal  News. 
Sou — I  notice  with  pleasure  a  letter  in  your  last  week^s 
lumber  calling  attention  to  the  present  condition  of  the  Boyal 


School  of  Mines  (Arfi.  Repr.,  April,  '6S,  page^l  It  is  indeed 
to  be  regretted,  that  this,  which  should  rank  foremost 
amongst  our  scientific  training  institutions,  and  which  has 
abundantly  proved  its  utility,  should  be  compelled  to  exist 
under  so  many  disadvantageous  circumstances.  In  a  silent 
and  unobtrusive  manner  it  has  already  done  much;  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  by  a  more  judicious  arrangement 
of  details,  and  by  the  infiision  of  more  energy  and  spirit  into 
its  management  and  maintenance,  its  sphere  of  usefplnesB 
might  be  considerably  enlarged.  Undoubtedly,  bringmg 
the  School  before  the  notice  of  the  public,  will  have  the 
effect  of  inducing  a  greater  number  of  students  to  avail 
themselves  of  l£e  excellent  opportunities  it  affords  for 
obtaming  scientific  instruction ;  but  this  is  not  all : 
publicity  will  render  more  important  service  by  con- 
tributing to  give  the  Associates,  who  must  necessarily 
share  the  obscurity  of  the  School,  a  better  status  in 
scientific  circles  than,  by  virtue  of  their  title,  they  have 
hitherto  possessed.  The  course  of  study  which  must  be 
pursued  in  order  to  obtain  the  distinction  of  "Associate," 
is  sufficiently  arduous  to  make  the  title,  were  the  School 
better  known,  one  of  considerable  merit.  Candidates  are 
obliged  to  have  a  knowledge,  not  superficial,  but  some- 
what extensive  and  practical,  of  chemistry,  physics, 
geology,  and  mineralogy.  These  studies  occupy  the  first 
two  years,  after  which  the  student  may  confine  himself 
to  that  division  in  which  he  desires  to  take  his  Associate- 
ship  ;  thus,  if  he  wishes  to  pass  in  the  mining  divii»ion, 
the  third  year's  subjects  are  mining,  assaying,  and  applied 
mechanics  ;  if  in  the  metallurgical  division,  metallurgy, 
(theoretical  and  practical),  and  applied  roeclianics;  if  in 
the  geological  division,  natural  history  and  palieoutology.  It 
appears  tiiat  about  one-third  of  the  Associates  have  taken  up 
all  three  divisions ;  and  I  should  mention  that  it  is  necessary 
to  pass  in  the  first  class  in  the  third  year's  siibjecls.  After 
having  completed  this  course,  which  it  must  be  acknowledged 
represents  a  fair  acquaintance  with  the  principal  branches  of 
science,  the  students  are  sent  out  into  the  world  with  a  title 
which  is  both  little  known  and  recognised,  for  it  is  not  very 
flattering  to  be  superciliously  asked,  "  Where  is  the  Boyal 
School  of  Mines?**  "What  is  the  meaning  of  an  Asso- 
ciate?" and  whether  it  is  an  honorary  title.  In  Dublin  what 
used  to  be  the  Mining  School  is  now  called  the  Dublin  Col- 
lege of  Science,  and  perhaps  if  the  School  of  Mines  were  called 
the  London  College  of  Science,  it  would  be  more  appro- 
priate, as  comparatively  few  of  th«  students  ever  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  mines.  But,  apart  from  that,  it  is  really 
desirable  that  the  title  should  at  least  rank  equal  to  the  As- 
sociateship of  Kmg's  College,  and  that  the  Assfxiiates  should 
be  allowed  to  make  use  of  the  initials  A.B.S.M.,  or  L.C.3a 
(Licentiate,  College  of  Science),  as  mdicative  that  the  title  is 
by  no  means  an  honorary  one. 

The  state  of  things  which  renders  some  such  public  explan- 
ation as  this  necessary  is  probably  attributable  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  school  has  allowed  itself  to  be  Ucitly  ig- 
nored; it  has  no  outward  sign  of  existence,  because  there  is 
no  building. which  bears  its  name;  it  has  never,  in  fact, 
assumed  that  position  amongst  educational  institutions 
which,  aa  a  SUte  school,  it  is  entitled  and  privileged  to 
occupy. 

It  is  reported  that  the  School  does  not  pay  its  own  ex- 
penses ;  if  this  be  so,  the  authorities  must  have  been  strangely 
blinded  to  their  own  interests  to  have  omitted  such  simple 
remedial  measures  as  those  suggested  by  your  correspondent, 
for  I  f^-el  convinced  that  were  its  existence  and  benefits  more 
universally  known,  and  if  the  title  it  confers  carried  with  it 
any  adequate  amount  of  social  standing,  there  would  be  an 
increase  in  the  number  of  students,  and  consequently  the 
School  would  no  longer  prove  unprofitable,  either  in  a  pecuni- 
ary sense  to  the  Crovemment,  or,  in  an  intellectual  sense,  to 
the  people.  Apologising  for  mtruding  so  much  upon  your 
space.— -I  am,  etc.  Delta. 

Maroh  3rd,  186& 


[SasUdi  EditioQy  ToL  XTIL,  No.  430,  page  108 ;  No.  431,  pagwi  UO,  121.] 


198 


Miscellaneous. 


j  Cbbmical  HKn, 
1     Apni,\m. 


MISGEULANEOUS. 

Faraday* — Several  letters  have  recently  appeared  in  the 
daily  papers  urging  the  propriety  of  continuing  Faraday's 
pension  to  his  widow.  It  has  heen  thought,  however,  by 
many,  and  especially  by  those  best  able  to  judge,  that  our 
great  philosopher,  had  he  been  alive,  would  have  regarded 
anything  of  the  kind  with  repugnance.  This  is  borne  out  by 
the  letter  written  by  Dr.  Bence  Jones  to  the  Times  of  the  30th 
Hit  Dr.  Benoe  Jones  says  that  he  has  been  requested  by 
Mrs.  Faraday  to  express  her  thanks  for  the  interest  the 
public  are  disposed  to  take  in  her  behalf.  The  whole 
ooarse  oi  her  husband's  life  was  so  marked  by  his  love  of 
retirement  that  she  feels  most  keenly  the  intrusion  of  his 
name  even,  while  she  cannot  but  be  grateftil  for  the  kind- 
ness which  causes  her  so  much  pain.  She  wishes  him  to 
assure  all  those  who  value  Mr.  Faraday  that  the  recognition 
that  has  already  been  made  of  his  merits  has  given  her 
more  than  she  either  requires  or  desired;  and  she  is  most 
anxious  that  his  name  should  not  be  used  in  a  way  which 
he  never  would  have  approved. 

Coimtry  Well*.— Dr.  Attfleld  has  written  a  letter  to 
the  Times  on  this  subject.  After  alluding  to  the  fact  that 
wells  are  generally  sunk  where  most  liable  to  contamina- 
tion, and  often  receive  the  contribution  of  sewers,  he  says 
that  mineral  matter  dissolved  from  the  soil  is  com- 
paratively harmless ;  animal  and  vegetable  matter  may  be 
kept  out  by  every  precaution.  Good  soil  is  here  our  best 
friend,  Nature's  own  purifier,  entirely  destroying  the  sub- 
stances last  mentioned,  if  only  allowed  to  have  fair  play ; 
but  its  power  for  good  is  limited,  its  power  for  harm 
terrible,  when  saturated  by  drainage  from  adjacent  accu- 
mulations of  filth.  Polluted  water  does  not  generally 
betmy  its  condition  till  possessed  of  a  strong  odour; 
earlier  intimation  may,  however,  be  obtained  by  the 
following  tests:— Half  fill  a  common  water-bottle,  cover 
its  mouth  with  the  hand,  violently  shake  for  a  minute, 
and  quickly  apply  the  nose.  If  nothing  unpleasant  is  de- 
tected, tightly  cork  the  bottle,  set  it  aside  in  a  warm  place 
at  about  the  temperature  of  one's  body  for  a  couple  or 
three  days,  and  repeat  the  shaking,  etc  Water  of  very 
bad  quality  may  thus  be  recognised  without  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  analysis. 

Famine  in  Baatom  Frnisaia.— The  BerUn  NaUonal 
Zoihmg  writes  as  follows :  The  government  district  physi- 
cian. Dr.  Pinkua,  of  Insterburg,  which  town  is  in  the  centre 
of  the  country  suffering  fh>m  famine,  appealed  to  the  public 
to  send,  among  the  many  gifts  of  food,  above  all  Liebig 
Company's  extract  of  meat.  He  says :  Already  in  sever^ 
districts  typhus  appeared ;  great  misery  exists,  and  greater 
misery  must  be  expected.  Even  were  money  always  at  hand, 
it  would  not  be  possible  in  many  cases  in  distant  villages 
and  cottages  to  procure  fresh  meat  for  the  patient,  and  still 
less  good  strong  beef  tea,  the  best  and  most  indispensable 
of  all  medical  eomforts  in  such  cases.  Medical  men  in  Ger- 
many who  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  poor,  find  it  very 
usefVil  to  carry  with  them  a  small  jar  of  extract,  so  as  to 
dispense  beef  tea  at  once  where  they  find  it  necessary. 

Glycerin. — ^The  value  of  glycerin  as  a  remedy  for  various 
akin  affections  is  now  generally  known  and  admitted ;  it  was 
therefore  both  natural  and  desirable  that  it  should  be  pre- 
sented to  us  in  the  solidified  and  therefore  most  convenient 
form  of  a  soap.  So  numerous  are  the  uses  and  purposes  to 
which  glycerin  may  be  applied,  especially  in  combination 
with  other  remedial  substances,  that  glycerin  compounds 
abound.  Unfortunately,  many  of  these  so-called  mixtur^of 
glyoerin  are  so  in  little  more  than  name:  they  are  either 
destitute  of  that  substance,  contain  it  only  in  minute  quan- 
tities, or,  when  even  present  in  larger  amount,  the  quality  is 
often  by  no  means  good.  This  observation  applies  with  more 
or  less  foroe  to  many  of  the  so-called  glycerine  soaps,  per- 


fumes, and  cosmetics.  In  Price's  solidified  glycerin,  how- 
ever, we  possess  an  article  of  really  definite  oompoaitioA 
and  of  superior  quality,  and  one  on  which  we  believe  that 
the  profession  and  the  public  may  fully  rely.  It  is  stated  of 
this  glycerin  compound  that  it  wears  well,  gives  a  rich  lather, 
and  that  it  contains  over  half  its  weight  of  Price's  diatiM 
glycerin,  the  accuracy  of  which  statement  we  verified  by  the 
following  percentage  analysis : — 

Water 21-5 

Fatty  acids 29*5 

Soda 37 

Glycerin 45-3 

lOOX) 

TheLaMd. 

Amido-acida  flrom  Clilordmoylle  and  ChUf 
•alylic  Add— .H.  Hubner  and  R.  Biedermann.  Ghkr- 
dracylic^acid  is  converted  into  nitro-compound,  and  reduced 
by  means  of  tin  and  chlorhydric  acid  to  chloramidodracylic 
acid  e7HsGi(NH,)e(eH).  The  latter  is  treated  with  eodi- 
um  amalgam,  which  removes  the  whole  of  the  dilorine^ 
being  thus  converted  into  amido-acid  isomeric  with  amido- 
dracylic  acid.  Similar  experiments  made  with  cblorsalTfie 
acid  have  shown  that  chloramidosalylic  acid  is  distinguiziied 
fh>m  chloramidodracylic  add,  although  they  both  have  Oe 
same  f\ising  point,  i  d,  212°, --^ZeUschr.  Chem^  N.F.  iii  567.) 

HIannAictare  ofSncar.—The  following  modlflcatioD  ia 
the  process  of  refining  sugar  has  been  invented  (and  pat- 
ented) by  L.  'Pierre  and  B.  Maasey.  The  saccharine  jidoe, 
after  being  clarified  in  the  usual  way  by  means  of  lime  and 
carbonic  add,  is  predpitated  at  boiling  temperature  with 
caustic  barsrta  (60  parts  of  the  latter  for  every  100  of  8ugir\ 
the  predpitate  suspended  in  water  and  decomposed  with 
carlK>nic  add.  A  pure  solnfion  of  sugar  is  tbos  obtained 
which  only  requires  to  be  evaporated. — (Zeitackr,  RSben^ 
Ind,  Zoav.  1867,  85,  and  ZeOackr.  Chem.  N.F.  iii  667.) 

Blowpipe  Veaicnlar  Reactions,  —  Captain  Bosi 
desires  us  to  state  that  the  colouration  of  borax  and  p.  sail 
by  certain  substances,  is  so  eostremdy  ddioaie  when  it  is  blewi 
into  a  vecide,  that  he  believes  many  reactions  of  metale 
will  soon  be  made  under  this  head.  In  the  meantime,  the 
two  following  additions  may  be  confidently  made  to  the 
blowpipe  tables  of  Plattner  and  others: — 

SUver  (oxide  of )— in  Borax* — Opaline  by  reflected  and 
a  beautifully  delicate  pink  colour  by  transmidsd  light  (No 
other  substance  can  he  mistaken  for  this.) 

ISingstic  Acid  (in  Wolfram) — m  Borax* — A  peculiar 
amber-yeOow,  which  cannot  possibly  be  mistaken  for  the 
yellow  given  by  oxide  of  iron. 

Obituary —We  have  this  week  to  record  the  decease 
of  another  of  our  greatest  phOosophers — Sir  David  Biev* 
ster, — who  died  on  Konday  evening,  at  Allesley  Uoosn, 
near  Melrose.  To  Sir  David  we  owe  many  of  the  va^  re- 
searches made  in  physical  sdence.  Commencing  his  scsea* 
tiflc  career  at  the  University  of  Edinbur^  he  very  qoicklf 
had  the  honorary  degree  of  M.A.  conferred  on  him,  and  s 
few  years  afterwards  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royil 
Sodety  of  Edinburgh.  In  1 8 1 5  he  gained  the  Copley  medal 
of  the  Royal  Sodety,  for  a  valuable  paper  on  the  "  Polari» 
tion  of  Light  by  Reflection,"  and  was  also  elected  a  Fdlov. 
He  afterwards  gained  the  Rumford  medal  for  ftirtber  dis> 
coveries  relating  to  the  polarization  of  light,  and  the  Kdth 
priae  from  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  for  his  disooTwy 
of  two  new  fluids  in  minerals,  and  his  analysis  of  sdar  light 
lie  was  also  a  member  of  most  of  the  foreign  academiea 
In  1 83 1  Sir  David  proposed  the  sdentific  meeting  at  Toffc, 
which  resulted  in  the  estabUshment  of  the  British  Assodi- 
tion  for  the  Advancement  of  Sdence.  During  the  same 
year  he  received  the  honour  of  the  Hanoverian  GudpBe 
Order,  and  in  1832  he  was  knighted  by  William  IT.  We 
here  cannot  but  express  our  surprise  that  no  greater  hoonr 


[BngUSh 


ToL  Z7IL,  Ka  487,  pages  73, 0fl^  71 ;  No.  408,  pagai  88, 64.] 


OmnoAL  Nrirs, ) 


Mi&ceUaneotf^. 


199 


than  knighthood  can  bo  conferred  on  each  men  as  Sir  Dayid 
Brewster  and  Sir  Charles  Wheataone,  whose  disooyeries 
have  added  so  much  to  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  our 
conntry.  Sir  David  Brewster  retained  his  love  for  science 
to  the  last,  almost  weel^y  contributing  papers  to  the  aden- 
tiflc  journals. 

Improved  Speetroaeop««~professor  Osbom,  of  La- 
fiiyette  College,  Easton,  Pa.,  has  made  improyements  in  the 
spectroscope,  by  which  it  may  be  readily  applied  to  a  variety 
of  practical  purposes,  especially  in  metellurgical  operations. 
In  a  letter  to  the  Scientific  American^  he  says : — "  The  in- 
strument complete  is  so  arranged  that  the  observer  reads 
the  degree  on  tiie  scale  by  the  actual  light  which  he  is 
analysing.    The  very  light,  which  comprises,  in  its  flame^ 
the  vaporized  metal,  aa  lime,  iron,  chromium,   titanium, 
sodium,  eta,  discloses  to  the  observer  in  the  spectral  form 
its  own  nature,  not  only,  but  often  to  a  great  degree,  the 
approximate  quantities  found  in  the  original  ore  or  even  in 
the  coal  used  or  from  the  wasting  brick  of  the  f\imaoe. 
IT^othing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  the  spectral  forms  which 
sttddeuly  appear  and  diaappear  in  the  otherwise  darkened 
tube,  as  the  observer  stands  at  the  '  tunnel  head '  of  the 
furnace,  watching,  as  it  were,  the  spectral  secrets  of  that 
terrible  flame  which  pours  forth  from  the  stack,  especially 
when,  after  the  '  cast  *  and  consequent  cessation  of  the  blast, 
that  blast  is  again  turned  on.    The  bright  yellow  bar  of 
sodium  is  almost  always  present  during  examination  of  all 
flames  resulting  from  the  use  of  any  and  all  forms  of  anthra- 
cite in  the  furnace  and  forge,  or  from  decomposing  soda 
feldspars.    But  one  of  the  most  striking  facts  in  my  exam- 
inations occurred  at  our  last  analysis  of  a  flame  fh)m  a  re 
heating  furnace  on  the  Lehigh,  at  the  wire  works  of  Stuart 
A  Co.    The  workmen  held  pertly  out  a  bar  of  intensely 
heated  iron  on  the  hearth  of  the  fVimace,  when,  at  rapid 
intervals,  the  dark  lines  which  are  seen  in  the  solar  spec- 
trum appeared  faintly,  but  certainly  flitting  over  the  spec- 
trum of  the  fierce  flame  by  which  the  intensely  heated  iron 
was  enveloped.     An  instrument,  of  a  circular  form,  is  in 
course  of  construction,  under  my  direction,  for  the  easy 
examination  of  these  flames,  and  which  may  be  used  at  any 
time  and  at  conRiderable  distances,  and  I  am  hoping  that 
such  shall  be  its  sensitiveness  that  the  f\imaoe  master  may 
sit  in  his  room  and  know  much  of  the  efficiency  and  value 
of  the   operations  proceeding  at  the  flimaoe  by  its  use. 
I  am  situated  on  a  hill,  and  l^*  means  of  my  instrument, 
placed  upon  my  dinner  table,  I  can  get  a  beautiful  spec- 
trum from  a  reheating  ftimaee  situat^  not  much  less  than 
a  half  mile  from  my  instrument,  and  am  able  to  detect  the 
sodium  in  the  coal,  or  from  the  decomposed  flre  brick,  and 
also  any  lime,  potash,  etc.,  which  proceeds  from  the  fhmace 
month.     I  have  no  doubt  that  some  exceedingly  important 
nsea  may  be  made  of  this  discovery  of  the  spectroscope  in 
the  fine  of  metallurgical  operations.'* 

Nltrofflyceriue  and  Greek  Fire y^e  have  been  re- 
quested to  publish  the  following  memorandum,  which  has 
been  prepared  under  authority,  and  has  been  Issued  by 
Iiieutenant-Ck)lonel  C.  B.  Ewart,  R.E.,  by  order  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department: — *|Nitro- 
g^Ijoorine  is  not  applied  as  an  incendiary  agent,  and,  if  used 
as  an  explosive,  it  will  not  be  scattered  loosely  about,  but 
mil  be  employed  in  cans  or  other  dosed  vessels.  If  such 
should  be  discovered,  they  should  be  carefully  removed, 
some  heavy  body  should  be  attached  to  them,  and  they 
should  be  thrown  into  deep  water,  without  any  attempt 
being  made  to  open  them.  True  Greek  flre  is  simply  a  solid 
highly  combustible  composition,  very  similar  to  'Carcass 
Ck>mpo8ition.'  What  is  now  commonly  called  Greek  flre 
consists  of  a  solution  of  phosphorus  or  of  sulphur  and 
phosphorus  in  a  very  volatile  liquid,  the  bisulphide  of  car- 
yoJL,  to  which  occasionally  some  mineral  oil  is  added  with 
iie  Tiew  of  increasing  its  incendiary  powers.  When  this 
iquid  is  thrown  on  to  any  surface  exposed  to  the  air,  the 
lolvent  evaporates,  leaving  a  film  of  the  phosphorus  or 


sulphide  of  phosphorus,  which  will  then  inflame  spontane- 
ously, but  will  not  very  readUy  set  flre  to  wood  or  com- 
bustible materials.  The  proper  mode  of  extinguishing  the 
flame  produced  by  such  an  incendiary  agent  is  to  throw 
upon  the  burning  surface  a  quantity  of  wet  or  damp  sand, 
ashes,  sawdust,  lime,  or  any  other  powder,  or  wet  sacking 
or  carpeting,  any  material,  in  short,  by  which  the  flame  can 
be  stifled  by  exclusion  of  air.  No  attempt  should  be  made  to 
remove  the  covering  for  some  time  after  the  flame  has  been 
extinguished.  The  place  should  afterwards  be  thoroughly 
scoured  by  playing  upon  it  for  some  time  with  a  powerfhl 
jet  of  waier.  'Should  any  scattered  liquid  be  discovered 
which  has  not  become  inflamed,  it  should  be  washed  away, 
as  above  directed,  as  qufckly  as  possible ;  and  if  a  jet  of 
water  is  not  immediately  at  hand,  it  should  in  the  meantime 
be  covered  in  fh>m  the  air  by  application  of  any  of  the  ma- 
terials named  abova" 

Obituary. — Mr.  W.  Herapath,  sen.,  who  was  well  known 
as  an  analytical  chemist,  died  on  the  13th  Feb^  at  his  resi- 
dence, the  Manor  House,  Old  Park,  Bristol.  For  some  time 
he  had  suiTered  from  diabetes,  but  till  a  few  days  previous  to 
his  decease  he  persevered  in  his  professional  pursuits.  He 
was  professor  of  chemistry  and  toxicology  at  the  Bristol 
School  of  Medicine,  of  which  institution  he  was  one  of  the 
founders.  The  subject  of  this  notice  was  the  father  of  the 
well  known  analytical  and  toxicological  chemist,  Dr.  W. 
Bird  Herapaih,  F.R.S, 

On  some  sources  of  Coal  In  the  Eastern  HemI* 
spliere.-By  Outhbert  Collingwood,  M.B..  F.L.a  i.  Keltm§ 
Ibrmoatk—The  coal  is  found  in  depressions  in  red  sand- 
stone, and  is  ef  comparaUvely  recent  origin.  It  is  light, 
bums  very  rapidly,  gives  out  great  heat,  produces  50  per 
cent  of  ash,  and  forms  considerable  quantities  of  clinker. 
2.  Ldbuan,  A>m«>.— Several  seams  of  coal  crop,  out  conspic- 
uously near  the  coast,  the  lowest  being  1 1  feet  4  inches  in 
thickness.  It  is  heavy,  close-grained,  fast-burning,  and 
gives  out  considerable  heat;  it  is  of  veiy  recent  date, 
dammara  resin  and  leaves  of  recent  trees  being  found  asso- 
ciated with  it  3.  Diu  ^Saghalicn.—Cosl  excellent,  bums 
quickly,  with  little  ash.  Presents  a  fracture  similar  to 
Welsh  coal.  4.  Japan.— The  author  describes  coal  (torn 
several  localities  hi  Japan  as  bright,  dean,  and  resembling 
Sydney  coal,  but  having  a  tendency  to  form  clinker.  He 
concludes  with  a  description  of  some  coal  from  Ivania, 
Niphon,  which  is  very  clean,  highly  bituminous,  bums 
with  a  flame  in  the  flame  of  a  candle,  and  would  probably 
be  valuable  as  a  gas  producing  material. — Abstract  of  a 
paper  read  before  the  Geological  Society. 

Dr.  Jelf, — In  consequence  of  the  meditated  retirement 
of  Rev,  Dr.  Jelf  from  the  Principalship  of  King's  College, 
London,  a  subscription  is  being  organised  by  his  admirers, 
induding  past  and  present  students  of  all  departments  of 
ihe  College,  for  the. purpose  of  presenting  him  with  a  testi- 
monial, which  we  hope  will  be  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  this 
vast  mstitution  in  Its  extent  and  aims.  It  is  computed  that 
between  10,000  and  20,000  living  men,  mostly  engaged  in 
professions,  have  here  received  their  education.  Subscrip- 
tions will  be  received  by  the  Hon.  Treasurer,  Henry 
Worms,  Esq.,  Captain  of  the  King's  College  Rifle  Volunteer 
Corps,  15,  St  George's  Place,  aW.;  or  at  the  Lcmdon  and 
Westmuister  Bank. 

The  Influence  of  Cliemleal  Knowledge  on  Snnr 
Mannfactnre.— I^  Produce  Markets  Keview  says: — Of 
all  countries,  England  is  the  most  interested  in  sugar,  not 
only  as  the  greatest  consumer,  but  as  owner  of  some  of  the 
richest  produdng  countries  in  the  world,  yet  no  nation  dis- 
plays greater  ignorance  or  apathy  with  regard  to  this 
subject.  Like  the  Lotos  eaters,  we  are  content  to  listen  to 
the  distant  waves  of  progress,  confident  that  the  protective 
system  of  sugar  duties  will  keep  the  boundaries  of  bur 
fooFs  paradise  inviolate.  But  the  old  proverb,  "Where 
ignorance  ia  bUss  'tis  foUy  to  be  wise,"  has  certainly  no 


[BngUdi  Edltkni,  ToL  ZVIL,  No.  428^  page  84 ;  Na  439,  page  97 ;  M  o.  49^  pagM  59, 60.] 


«oo 


Contemporary  Scientific  Press. 


j  CmmnAL  Hcvi, 
{      Aprils  \m. 


.  application  to  oommercial  mattevB,  for  the  oonutrj  that 
remains  in  ignorance,  whether  it  be  from  choice  or  from 
indifference,  is  sure  to  fall  into  the  rear.  In  no  part  of  the 
world  is  soientifla  knowledge  on  mechanical  subjects  turned 
to  such  practical  account  as  in  England,  andv  many  of  our 
greatest  men  have  made  science  the  handmaid  of  commerce 
by  applying  scientific  diseoveriee  to  the  purposes  of  every- 
day life.  The  telegraph,  and  more  recently  the  aniline 
dyes,  and  Bessemer's  iron-working  process,  are  a  few 
instances  among  many ;  but  sugar,  of  which  the  manutao- 
Jure  is  completely  a  chemical  process,  is  entirely  overlooked 
by  our  *ai;ow— and  yet  there  is  a  wide  and  almost  unlimited 
field  for  chemical  soienoe  in  perfecting  sugar  manufacture, 
which  has  hardly  advanced  from  its  barbarous  infancy  of 
crushing  mills,  windmills,  and  ,open  pans;  The  problem  of 
sugar-making,  which  has  yet  to  be  solved,  is  this:— .To 
extract  all  the  saccharine  matter,  as  it  exists  in  the  cells 
— that  is,  in  a  pure  condition,  and  white  in  colour— without 
extracting  the  injurious  salts  or  acids,  which  co-exist  side 
by  side  with  the  sugar,  and  to  do  this  at  as  small  an 
expensft  as  possible.  A  problem  scarcely  lesA  important  is 
the  power  of  detecting  by  chemical  analysis  the  exact 
.  proportion  of  extractable  saccharine  matter  in  any  sample 
of  sugar,  for  it  must  be  observed  that  the  percentage 
of  extractable  saccharine  matter  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  the  saccharine  strength  shown  by  the  polarising 
•saccharometer.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  sav,  that  any 
chemist  who  would  solve  these  two  problems  would 
Tender  a  service  to  the  sugar  world  of  similar  importance  to 
that  rendered  to  the  worid  at  large  by  the  discovery  of  the 
steam  engine.  While  our  English  chemists  are  mute  upon 
flie  subject,  the  ablest  chemists  of  Fmnoe  and  Germany 
have  for  the  last  eighty  years  been  employed  in  solving 
the  dehcate  problem  of  the  crystaUiaation  of  sugar,  and  the 
lesnlt  of  iheir  labours,  so  far,  may  be  seen  in  the  vast 
continental  beet-sugar  crops,  whidi  are  entirely  due  to  the 
labours  of  a  generation  of  chemists  which  has  hardlv  vet 
passed  away."  ^  ^ 

College  of  Cliemi«tr3r.»AU  ahemists  who  have  studied 
at  the  Royal  College  of  Chemistry,  as  well  as  preseut  stu- 
dents, wUl  be  sorry  to  hear  of  the  death  of  Richard  Coppins, 
who  has  acted  as  porter  in  that  Institution  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  He  was  particularly  obliging  and  ready  in 
attendmg  to  the  wants  of  the  students.    Apart  from  his  otlier 

u''^  /^®  ^^^  «>n»e  bttsittess  'in  chemicals  and  apparatus, 
which  he  was  always  ready  to  buy  or  sell;  and  most  who 
have  passed  a  session  at  the  College  have  felt  the  conveni- 
ence of  having  Richard's  varied  stock  to  select  from  in  an 
emergency.     He  died  last  week  from  apoplexy. 

I.ectare«  at  the  School  of  Gauiierr._Mr.  E.  0. 
Brown  is  now  delivering  a  course  of  lectures  "  On  Gunpowder, 
and  Its  substitutes,"  including  gun-cotton  and  nitro-glvcerina 
The  modes  of  firing  by  electricity  and  special  fuzes  will  also 
be  described.  A  similar  course  of  siiC  lectures  "  On  the 
Chemical jHistory  and  Military  Applications  of  the  MeUlR," 
was  delivered  before  Christmas,  at  Shoeburyness,  by  Mr  J 
SpiUer. 

Sei^ntlon  of  Miobic  and  TItmnle  Aeld.^0..  Mar- 
ignaa  The  great  difficulties  attending  the  eetimatioo  of  ti- 
tamo  in  presence  of  niobic  add  have  been  overcome  by  the 
invention  of  the  following  method :  0*5  grm.  of  the  mixed 
^ide  are  fused  with  1-5  grm.  of  potassic  fluorhydridQ.  The 
mixture  after  cooling  is  dissolved  in  about  250  c.c.  chlorhy- 
dric  acid  of  1015  sp.  gr.,  and  reduced  by  plunging  a  rod 
of  «mc  into  the  solution,  precautions  being  taken  to  prevent 
.access  of  air.  Under  these  conditions  niobic  acid  remains 
unchanged,  and  only  titonic  acid  is  reduced  to  sesquioxide. 
After  24  hours  the  zinc  is  removed,  and  a  standard  solution 
of  poUssu;  permanganate  added.— (^  Arch,  ph.  not  August 
.1867.)  "^    -' 

Fr«»paratioiiofBromid«a..A.  l^aust 'describes  the 
foUowiug  method  for  the  preparation  of  bromides:  Bromic 


sulphide  is  first  prepared  by  mixing  together  2  parts  of  sul- 
phur (flower)  and  24  of  bromine;  this  is  added  to  calcic  hy- 
drate, suspended  in  water,  when  the  following  reaction  takes 
place: 

2S  fir,  H-  86a  e  =  6 Oa  Br,  +  2ea  S  O, 

The  filtrate  is  saturated  with  carbonic  anhydride,  cooeeo- 
trated,  and  mixed  with  twice  its  bulk  of  alcohol.  After  a 
few  days  the  solution  containing  pure  calcic  bromide  is  filtoed 
off  from  the  calcic  sulphate,  and  evaporated.  From  this  salt 
any  other  bromide  may  be  obtained  by  mutual  deoompoai- 
tion. —{ArcA.  Pharm.,  clzxzl,  216.) 

Moek  Seoteh  Soda  Crystals*— These  are  properly 
sulphate  of  soda.  It  is,  however,  difficult  to  tell  them  from 
Scotch  soda  (washing  soda  of  the  shops)  by  the  eye  alone. 
They  are  prepared  in  the  following  manner: — A  qaaattcj of 
the  ordinary  "  salt  cake  "  is  dissolved  in  a  pan  to  40  or  4 $• 
Twaddell ;  the  liquor,  if  it  f hows  acid,  is  neutralispd  with 
milk  of  lime,  and  12  lbs  of  soda  ash  to  every  100  lbs  of  the 
sulphate  of  soda  is  added  in  solution.  The  liquid  is  allows 
ed  to  settle  and  then  drawn  off  into  coolers  to  crrstalliza. 
The  resulting  crystals  are  large  and  hard ;  they  are  dried  m 
the  air  for  a  short  time,  and  then  packed  in  casks.  To  main 
the  crystals  larger  and  more  firm  a  greater  quantity  of  soda 
ash  is  used.  One  ton  of  roasted  cake  will  make  aboat  40 
cwt  of  these  crystals.  They  are  firequently  sold  for  the  best 
Scotch  soda.—/,  a  SwindcOa, 

Dimiatou, — Some  very  elegant  and  simple  method*)  of 
exhibiting  the  phenomena  of  diffusion  are  given  by  Hot 
Merz,  in  a  recent  number  of  the  J<mmal  fdr  Praitudit 
Chemie,  A  portion  of  the  shell  of  an  egg  having  been  re- 
moved by  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid,  leaving  the  mem- 
brane exposed,  the  egg  is  to  be  suspended  in  water  from  the 
arm  of  a  balance,  a  counterpoise  being  placed  in  the  opposiie 
scale.  In  about  half  an  hour  the  weight  of  the  egg  has  aea- 
sibly  increased,  as  the  position  of  the  balance-beam  will  shov, 
in  consequence  of  the  passage  of  water  tli rough  the  OMm- 
brane.  If,  now,  alcohol  be  substituted  for  the  water,  and 
the  weights  readjusted  so  as  to  bring  the  beam  horizontal,  it 
will  soon  commence  to  move  in  the  opposite  direction,  shov- 
ing that  the  egg  has  become  lighter  by  the  diffusion  of  waier 
into  the  alcohol.  The  diffusion  of  vapour  may  be  exhibited 
by  tying  a  diaphragm  of  india-rubber — a  portion  of  a  small 
toy  balloon  will  answer  the  purpose— over  the  mouth  of  a  foa- 
nel,  the  other  end  being  in  communication,  by  means  of  aa 
elastic  tube,  with  a  vessel  of  water.  The  funnel  being  inverted 
over  a  dish  containing  ether,  which,  however,  the  diaphragm 
is  not  to  touch,  the  vapour  of  this  fluid  will  paiis  rapidly  into 
tiie  ffinnel,  the  air  being  observed  to  escape  in  bubbles  in  the 
water  at  the  small  end.  Remove  now  the  vessel  of  ether, 
and  the  operation  will  be  reversed,  the  vapour  passing 
through  the  diaphragm  into  the  atmosphere.  In  order  to  fiU 
the  vacuum  thus  created  the  water  will  rise  in  the  tube,  the 
lower  part  of  which  should  be  of  glass  to  render  tliis  appa* 
rent,  and  the  diaphragm  will  be  curved  inwards.  Th«e  ex- 
periments are  particularly  mstructive,  and  are  within  rea^h 
of  every  one.  The  balance  may  be  extemporized  by  mean 
of  a  light  bar  of  wood. 


OONTBBiPORA&T  SGHINTZFIO  PRBSa 

(Vndn  this  beading  it  is  intended  to  gire  the  titles  of  al  tti 
ehemical  papers  which  are  pabUshed  in  the  principal  scieniiflft  period- 
Icals  of  the  Continent  Articles  which  are  merelj  reprints  or  A- 
stracts  of  papers  already  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  et  cbt 
more  Important  papers  here  announced  will  appear  In  fbtvre  maabaa 
of  the  CoaMiOAL  Kawa.] 

Jfonatsb^ticht  d€ir  K^iffWsh  PretmMhen  Atad^mU  dm'  Wimm- 
aohaften  wu  ArUn.  July,  1867. 
p.  Rosa :  "  ^  Oe  Preparation  of  CnftdaJUmfd  BodUm  6*^bre  Ai 
JUovjptper  "  0«  ttM  B^Jiaviour  itf  TliaMc  Add  toitngrdi  Borm^ 
and  on  Pte  Proparation  qfRmiilo  and  Amorpkom  TUandc  AfH* 
^  On  (As  Bohaviour  qf  OHd^  of  Iron  towards  Borax^  <tn4  «»  ttt 
PreparaUon  qf  Cryataatwd  jfcnnaUto  and  Maifmiic  Iron  OnT 


[Bagllah  BdiHon,VoLXVU,Ho.4a^p.ga.«^«X;  Ho. 430,  page  108 ;  Na431,  pagaa ISO,  1X7 j  No. 413, page 227 ;  Vo,4ai,^m; 

Vo.  427,  page  74.] 


CiinncAL  TVetts,  ) 
April,  1866.      f 


Contemporary  Soienti^  Preae^ 


20I 


^'OniksSekaviowtifTWxniflmnu  Iron  Ors  towards  Boram^and 
I  tJU  Prfparationqf  CryMaUiMd  TUaniferoM  Iron  Ore,  and  Ti- 
miferoui  Magnetic  Oakdt  qfjronr     "  On  the  Preparation  of  Ru- 


tilt  Iv  Fviing  Titanic  Add  and  TUaniferoue  Iron  Ore  ^th  Phoe- 
fiaUofSottaand  Ammonia.''— A,  oppcnhmm:  '^ITeie  Besearehet 
on  tht  tiomeritn  <tf  Chloride  qfAll^  and  Chlorinated  Propylene," 

Poggendorg'e  AnnaUn,    October,  1867. 
A.  WAifawiif  x*^  On  the  Thmrff  t^f  JTmrton't  Rinif."    If^  W»n.' 
'*  On  Tetramereuramnumium  and  Ue  Oompounde,"" 
No.  9.    October. 
R.  RoiriMANH :  **  Beeearchee  on  the  Effect  qf  Temperature  on  the 
Vtlocity  of  Light  in  Wattrr^^,  Q.  Po«oBNDORf»  i'' On  the  J>e9elop' 
ment  (tfUtaX  In  the  Path  qf  the  Electric  Sparky 

AnnalM  4m  Sdmcee  imtitreUee  {Zootogie),    Noe.  5-«.    Vaj^jmb, 
1867. 
RABcneAir :  •  lBoop€rifnvnt8  on  the  Ph^Hologieal  AeHon  of  Ihuh 
ride*  and  qf  MetaUio  Compounds  in  general    {Beoiew,) 

Annalee  de  ChimU  et  de  Physique.  September,  1867. 
Bmnuw:  **  On  the  f^ormeM&n  <^ Pyrogenoue  Bodies.''  **  On 
the  Reciprocal  Action  of  Uydrocarbonsr  "  Synthesis  qf  Styro- 
Une>,  Ntiphthatene,  and  Awthrnesne."  ^^  On  the  Polymors  qfAeety- 
lens,  and  on  the  Synthesis  0/  denstne,'^  '"  On  the  Theory  <^  Poty 
mers,  and  on  the  AromaHo  Series."  ^^  On  the  Formation  tf  ^V*- 
genous  BofHes^OonUnuatian."  ••  On  the  Synthesis  of  Tolnsne, 
and  on  the  different  Principles  contained  in  Coal  Tar."  On  the 
same  guiytct.  "*  On  some  Thermo-chemical  Conditions  which  de* 
iermine  the  mutual  Action  qf  aydroearbons."—^ .  db  XoYii«  and 
G.  E«PFiiANDiKU  '.^  On  the  J*reparation  and  Ptoperties  cf  Pyro- 
gaUie  iloiA"— B«bthem)t:  "*  On  the  Foi-maUon  ef  Pvfogeno^ 
Bodies-OoHtinuaU^n."  *"  On  the  Action  cf  Beat  on  the  Homo- 
logues  qf  Beneine." 

Oetober. 
Bekth^lot:  *^  On  the  Formation  qf  Pyrogenous  Bodiss-^Ofn- 
Unwition:  On  the  Action  of  HeaX  on  Retene."  *  On  the  simut^ 
ianrous  Formution  of  Homologous  Bodies  in  Pyrogenous  ReaC' 
Uons"  '•  On  the  Oaoulising  Properties  of  the  Homologues  qf  Ben- 
mine:'  "  On  th^  Action  ofPotasnum  on  l/ydrocarbotis."  **  On  the 
Jwmerlc  OondUions  qf  StyroUne."  '' On  the  Churacterietics  qf 
Bcndne  and  Styrolene  as  compared  with  those  qf  other  Hydrooar- 
lan^r  ••  On  Ute  Combinations  qf  IHc*  io  Acid  with  Hydrocarbons, 
and  on  thtir  Une  in  Analysis."  *"  On  the  MeUlng  Point  of  Wu^y 
and  Refdmms  Bodies.''  "  On  the  different  Carbides  of  Hydrogen 
cmtaiuedin  Cwd  Tar."— A.  db  la  Kivb;  '' On  a  Phoiomtter  jor 
Measuring  the  Brightness  of  Distant  Objects^  and  on  the  increased 
Transparency  of  the  Atm/niphere  due  to  the  Presence  qf  Moisiur^" 
-Vaillant:  "  On  tlu  Ttansparency  of  the  Atmo^pihere  and  Us 
Signification.'^ 

JHngler's  Polytechnieohes  Jovmai,  October,  1867. 
T.  Geklach  :  **  On  the  Specific  Cfraviiy  qf  Aqueous  SohOionsof 
OrystalUMtd  Acetate  ofLead."--K.  swawb  :  •'  A  Method  ofSeparat- 
€na  Magnesia  from  Lime."  *^  On  the  Afanufbcture  qf  Carbonic 
jlctd  and  Magnesia  frmn  Magnesite."  "  On  the  Detection  of  Metal- 
iie  Copper  in  Acentwrine  Glass."  **  On  a  Process  Jbr  SmeUing 
Tellurium  Ores."  "  On  sftme  Ptdnts  in  the  Preparation  qfChre- 
nsie  Acid  by  Acting  on  Bichromate  qf  Potash  by  Sulpf^ric  Acid." 
— M.  KosLCK -  "-On  the  Mansi^facture  of  Baits  tf  Tin.^—y  Waix- 
BorF :  "  On  HubrunfauCs  Process  for  Freeing  Molasses  from  Balls 
Iw  IMalysis," 

Oeteber. 

G.  T.  Obrlach  :  ••  On  CrystaUised  Chloride  qf  Wn."— H.  Vohl  : 
•*  On  yaphVutlin  and  its  Applications."-^^.  Ott:  **  A  Method  qf 
'Testing  Commercial  Phenic  Acidr—yf.  A.  UBiB:**Onthe  JOMma- 
tion  of  Vinegar^  v4th  special  r^erence  to  an  improved  Apparatus 
/br  ueing  FUclCs  Volumetric  Method,'* 

Jonmal  des  Fa^ricants  de  Papier.  October  i,  1867. 
E.  Boubdilliat  :  **  On  Testing  the  Materials  and  Chemical  Pro- 
awststieed  in  Paper  MaHng."  {Continuation.)  ^' Detection  qf  the 
varitme  Fibres  used  in  the  Mini^acture  qf  Paper."  "  A  Method  qf 
accerttiining  whet/ier  a  paper  has  been  Sieed  with  Gelatine  or 
JicHn.'^  

Jinumal  fOtr  PrakHsche  Chemie.  October,  1867. 
Oamtan^vk:  "  On  ThaUtwm  and  iU  Compounds."— J.  Low»:  "  On 
t»s  Trannformation  of  OaiUcAcid  into  Tannic  Acid."-- fi.  Bavii- 
baitkr:  **  On  the  Production  of  Light  during  the  OoeidaHon  cf 
i»ott%*ot*wn  and  Sodium  when  eamosed  to  the  Air."—K.  f  rwch  :  *•  On 
tAs  Oontpo^Uion  ^  the  WhiU  Aoemal  Opting,  and  qf  the  Black 
Inner  Mcute  ofe^^FUntfrom  the  Island  qfRHgen.'* 

Oomptes  Rendue.  Norember  4, 1867. 
Bim  B.  BmswncM:  ""  Letter  to  Ohecrmd  ontheHiOitre  of  the  Rda- 
\ii>mm  ^tfhlth  etsisted  between  Newton  and  Paeeal."'-4ymi,%u»'.  "On 
'As  sams  JhtMect:'^hKvaMtmL :  "  Third  Memoir  on  some  newly  die^ 
iovsr-ed  JSUdro-Chemical  F^ffetHs  of  OaptUtiry  A<j«<wk"— E.  Pblioot  : 
'  {^  ths  IHctriJbuMon  of  Potash  and  Soda  in  PlonlB.**— S.  BovcHonB? 


*^  On  the  Dialysis  of  JhducHon  Currents."-^.  Blpmdsau  :  **  On  the 
AMcn  qflmaumon  Omrressts  en  Piamte," 
November  zi. 
Sir  D.  Bhkwbtbb  :  "  Letter  to  Le  Verrier  on  the  Kature  qf  the  Re- 
lations wMck  eohsted  betseeen  Newton  and  Jacques  Cassini."  **  Let- 
ter to  Checreul  on  the  Authenticity  of  the  Newton  and  Pascal  Oor^ 
respftndence."'-BAh^ja>'.  '*  On  the  same  Subject."— Cba%lb»:  '^  Answer 
to  Sir  David  Brewster's  two  Letters  on  the  Nature  of  the  Relatione 
which  eatieted  between  Neuion  and  Pascal."— iimA»r :  **  Letter  to 
Le  Verrier  on  the  Astronomical  Observations  of  which  Ne^tton  and 
PoMcal  may  hace  made  use."—F.  Lakoqub  :  **(Mthe  Penetration  qf 
Air  Bubbles  into  a  Liquid  on  the  Passage  qf  a  PrqJedUe  into  the 
same."—\tht¥M'.  ^'Onthe  Value  qf  Sea-Salt  as  Manure  by  reason  qf 
Us  lyxm^brmation  into  Carbonate  qfSoda^  and  Anally  into  Nitrate 
of  Soda.'^-^h\  Bbllamy  :  ''On  the  Use  of  Svbsulphate  qf  Alumina  for 
f*etecting  and  estimating  certain  Organic  Matters  tn  Water."— H, 
ScBirr:  "^OnCondeneed  l7rea«.*'-A.B..BiK]uiB:  "^  On  the  Man/ttfac 
tare  eg  Chlonde  qf  Lime^  and  on  Chlorimeiry,"—G.  Sicxx:  **An 
Analysis  qfsome  Aimples  qf  Coalfrom  Prussia." 

November  18, 1867. 
""Bre  D.  BRKWsnit:  '^Letter  to  Chewsul  on  the  Authenticity  </  the 
Newton  and  Pascal  Correspondence."— Ge-avlsm:  ^Answer  Jo  R, 
Grant's  further  OonuMmieaHon  on  the  Newton  and  Pascal  dorrs' 
spondence:'^h,  Oautibr  :  "  On  some  new  Nitrilen  of  the  Fatty 
Series."— Dm  Komillt  :*^  On  the  Preparatiot^  qf  Cyanides." 

Poggendofff's  Annalen.  Oetober,  1867. 
K.  SiTBLM AVH  :  **  Researches  on  the  ^eet  of  Temperature  on  the 
Velocity  qf  Light  in  Water.*'-^.  QtrincrK:  •*  Optical  Researches."  o. 
*•  On  Jamin's  Oompeneater,  and  on  a  new  Method  of  Determining  the 
Bq^actine  Index  of  Glass  PUdesfor  different  Lines  of  the  Spectrum.'* 
C.  Frkbhb  '.**Onthe  ComMnations  cf  Iron  with  Phosphorus."— h. 
SoHMCKK :  *'  On  the  influence  qf  the  Motion  of  a  Source  qf  Light  on 
the  Reaction  qfthe  Ught  emitted,  being  some  Critical  Remarks  on 
Prqfsssor  Mlintsrfues'  Recent  Disiowery," 

BuUetin  de  la  Soditt  Chimique  de  Paris.  October,  1867. 
BRBTUBLOTt  **  Anev)er  to  Fritesche's  Remarks  published  in  the 
BuUeHn  de  la  SociiU  Chimique  f^  Septemlter,  1867,  on  the  Author's 
Paper  on  Anthracene"— iizvnuMLVt :  **Onihe  Hydrocarbons  qfCoal 
Anthracene.  Fluorsns.  Aeenapkthene  or  Tar;  Styrolene;  Cymeme, 
Hydrides  qf  Naphthalene.  Aoeiylonaphthalene."—yf  ixi}BBavi.i> :  ^A 
new  Green,  derived  from  Linseed  Oil  and  Osaide  of  Copper."— 
Bkrmakd,  ScHBtTRKB,  RDd  Tbmpb  :  **  A  ncw  Process  for  the  BaotracHon 
qf  Indigo  ft-om  Dyed  Woollen  and  Cotton  Rags."—BiaMA.KD:  **"^ 
new  Process  for  Dyeing  Stt^  Turkey  Bed." 

Journal  fUr  Prakiieche  Chemie.  November,  1867. 
Gabstajvjkk:  "<?n  ThaUium  and  its  Compounds."— C.  F.  ScboH'  , 
won  i"*  On  the  l^nsferqfthe  Ovygen  absorbed  Jivm  the  Atmosphere 
by  Turpentine  and  similar  Organic  Substances  to  Water."  "  On 
the  Presence  of  Active  Oooygen  in  Organic  Substances :  i^  On  the 
Quantity  qf  Osone  contained  in  Blue  Guaiacum  Wood.  2.  On  the 
Ifree^Actice  OoBygen  qf  Quinone.  x.  On  the  ComMnation  of  Cyanine 
wWi  Oeone.  4,  On  the  Combination  of  Ote/Uint  Gas  with  Osone." 
*' Researches  on  Guaiacum  Restn.**  **  On  Brasilin  and  on  its 
Fluorescent  Properties."— J.  Wovrr:  "  On  Ttoo  new  Dericatives  qf 
AniUne."—W.  Btkiw  :  "  Contributions  to  the  A'nowledaeqf  Orellin,  a 
Yellow  Colouring  Matter  derived  from  Biwa  orellana."— Otto  : 
*'  On  the  Characters  qf  Thallium^  and  on  the  Metallic  Group  to 
which  it  belongs,"— ii.  Vobbrjmobe  :  '*  A  Method  of  producing  a 
Bladk  Pharaoh  Serpent," 

Dingler's  Polytechnieohes  Journal.  November,  1867. 
O.  Zabbl:  ^  An  Electro-Magnetic  Apparatus  for  regulating  the 
Temperature  at  which  Subfitanees  are  dried  in  Chemical  Opera- 
tions."—*i.  LnM«x:  ^^  On  the  Anatyeie  qf  the  Materials  used  in  and 
QftheBye-Produt'te  of  the  Man/i/^tcture  of  Soda."—E.  Brrbcivsc 
•^^  On  the  8isnul*ition  <^  Arsenic  by  Chloride  qf  Zinc  in  Marsh's 
Test,  and  on  the  Detection  qf  Arsenic  and  Antisnony  in  Hydnfi- 
chloric  Acid."  

Bulletin  de  la  SoeUti  Induetrielle  de  Mulhouse.    October,  ^867. 
F.  Kopp :"  Onihe  Preparation  qfJBBOtraets  qf  Garancine/br  Oal" 
ice  PHwting," 


BoeBVBTiBHL :  *'  RepoHonthe  Methods  used  in  Disuse frr  CNMi» 
ing  Chlorine  Residues  and  Soda  Waste." 

Journal  des  Fabrieants  de  Papier,   October  z  j,  1867. 

S.  BonRDTLUAT :  *'  On  Testing  the  Materials  and  Chemical  Prod- 
ucts used  in  Paper  Making."  {Continuation.)  **  Researches  on 
the  Mineral  Substances  contained  in  Paper.'^  "^  On  the  Detection 
qf  some  Colouring  Materials  used  in  Paper  Making."  '^  On  the 
Determination  of  the  TmaeMyef  Paper.'* 
November  1. 

B.  Boobooxiat:  **  On  Testing  the  Materials  and  Chemical  Prod' 
wets  used  in  Papsr  Making:'  {OontinnaUos^)  ''  On  some  Changes 
which  take  place  in  Paper,* 


[Bng^B4hla%Vol.anni,H«k4a7,piig»74;  n9,4M,f9mUtVa,4a9^^p9W^M,} 


202 


Contemporary  Scientific  Preae — Patenie. 


{ CHsmcAL  Hsvi, 


Z'/fHwnMom   OelQber. 
P.  ALra4nB:  *'  On  JtaddUmm^t  new  iVuMW/w*  M«  ifomt^fieliifw 
qfAnUiM  Coloun.'^ 

Norember. 
a  Saix  :  "  On  the  JTaiural  FormaUan  and  Ari^fUUa  ProdmeUan 
iff  J}iamonda,*' 

Kunst  wnd  GewerbMatL  Augosi— September. 
H.  La  Plat:  '*  Onihe  Use  qfUms/or  KwtracUng  CtytatmdbU 
Sugar  from  Haecharine  t/uioM,  Uprupe^  and  /torn  the  jMoUjmmi  qf 
hett  atul  Cane  Hugar.'^—O.  !>»▲«▲ :  **(//*  tAe  Une  qf  an  It^aeioni^ 
(iuuMcam  Wood /or  Toting  KirachwanMery—C  iL  Voai  UaOkk: 
**  un  an  AlU/y  qf  BUanuth^  Leady  Tim^  and  CadnUutn  /ueiLU  at  a 
9ery  L<no  Temperature,^* 

Bulletin  de  la  SoeidiAd'JPncouragemenL    Beptember. 
E.  FmiAiMft :  **  On  aome  Prooeeeee  now  in  Veefor  Sngraving  on 
'  Olaee  by  mtane  oj  Uydrnftuonc  AddJ'^—Dm  Lutmm  :  *'  (/m  a  Meihod 
qf  OMaiiung  Lotouftng  Jdutter/rvm  Oroine»" 


OomptM  Rmdne.    Kowmber  as. 
B.  BouKQOiK  i"^  On  the  SUdtrolyete  ofOrganie  Aotdt  and  q^  their 
Salte.'^ — A.  scuKUKKit'KaHTMCK :  "  Honte  JHufperimentu  on  the  Manu- 
jueture  qf  iJidoride  qf  JArne.'^-'h^  Maviuul  i  "  On  the  leomere  qf  the 
Jfitrilee  o/tue  Jfauy  iieriee.'' 

December  a,  1867. 
Bn  Datid  Buwbtbb  :  **  Letter  to  Chevreul  en  the  AvdhenUettjf  qf 
the  jCiewton  and  i'a*out  Corret^ondemceT — Ouablim:  **  Remarte  on 
the  preceding  Lett^y  ana  on  one/rom  if.  Govt  on  the  eame  SuUjeet:^ 
—1^  Laukomuc:  **  On  a  OoUeaiton  ^  ifeologiocU  dpeounene  j^y^m 
ChiUJ"-^.  uoVi :  "  liemarke  on  the  Leuete  alleged  to  haee  been 
written  oy  OaUieo,  which  hone  been  putdiehed  uitn  r^erence  to  the 
Aeukon  and  Faeoat  Uorreepondence.^ — 'f .  e)OHL<»ib>i.NU :  **  Oie  tne 
Himultaneoue  JCatimation  tg  Carbon,  Hydrogen  and  Mitrogen  in 
the  elementary  Analyeie  t^fUrganic  .6(«6«M/iice«.*'— MuisoULUb  :  "  On 
the  Myaratee  i^Htannio  ^c-Mf ."— Altjuwaiat  :  **  An  Apparaiuejor 
ehounttg  ttMt  ihe  JSlectrio  Spark  cannot  paee  througn  a  Per/ect 
yaeuufn.^—LAtnitJOM :  "On  the  ^b0-maiMm  qf  Vya/ude  </  ^m- 
mvtUwn  tyy  paeaing  the  Vupour  qf  Ammonia  over  Jnoandeeoent 
tlharooaL'*  i.«i^ 

BuUeUn  de  PAeademie  Royale  de  Belgigue  (jC^atee  dee  Soienee$)» 
October  12. 

**  Obituary  Notice  qf  Michael  /VircM/ay.^*— -Haiducou  i  ^^  On  the 
Obllectivn  qf  Meteor %t«9  at  the  j>^ueeum  qf  Ktenna." 

Anndlen  dtr  Chemie  und  Pharmaeie^  October. 
A.  BuTLBHOW  :  **  Onthe  I>erivaUve$  qf  Vrimethyloarbinol {Ter^ 
Uary  Pteudobutylio  Aico/u/t. ";  -On  the  /eomeriem  qf  the  /Saturated 
JUyarocarOone  C4//10  atul  of  the  Butylenee  C^U^i.'^  **  On  leobutylve 
Alcohol  {Pritnary  Fetudooutylio  Alcohol  cm*  Peeudopropylcar- 
binol).^  **  on  the  Action  qf  Water  on  the  Chloridee  qf  eome  Alcohol 
Bud*clea.''*  *•  Onthe  Occurrence  qf  Tertiary  J^eudoOutylic  Alcohol 
amongt*  the  Froducte  of  Fermentation.^  *"  Onihe  Actum  qfUydri- 
odio  Acid  Oa$  on  the  lodidee  qf  the  Alcohol  Badiolee.''  -*  On 
the  UryetaUine  Form  qf  Heaoaniethylenatniite.'^  '*  On  the  Hon- 
poieonoue  Fropertiee  of  iUno  Jtet/tyi:^  '^  On  the  Freparatutn 
qf  ChlorhyUrin  qf  Glycol  oy  Uariue'  Frocee$,'^—JL.  Bctl^mow  aud 
M  OiMuKUf :  '*  On  JoOnydHn  of  Glycol  and  on  a  new  Method  qf 
Forming  Aleohole  Oy  6yntheeier—kl.  Hcuurw :  ^'Onthe  Anvinoniacai 
j}eriivatt«e9qfIeaHn/'—(SonwAaMUM»A0n:  **  On  the  Mutual  Jtela-^ 
tt<me  betvoeen  the  Bqpivalente  of  Albuminoid  jSubetanoee,^*  —  P. 
Lkmkm  :  "  On  eome  Osndatum  Froducte  qf  ^aphthaliHe:^^yf. 
Ukuis  :  "  Note  on  the  Freparation  qf  inglycolaU  qflMne .  '*  ''On 
the  AatUrtt  qf  Ory  Carbonate  qf  boOa  o/«  Monochlorucetio  Bther,^* 
^On  J/tglycoUc  Ether  and  lHglycoldiamuie,^'-~A.  HmrtunDOun: 
^  On  the  AUotropio  CondiUane  qfAreenic** 

Annalee  de  Ohimie  et  de  Phyeigue.  KoTember. 
J  KoLB :  "  Beeearchee  on  Chloride  ofldme,  being  an  Introdue- 
torv  Keeay  on  the  Uee  of  thai  Hubetance  fi/r  Jtlea^hmg  Fabrice.*"— 
K.  u  Lambskt  :  **  Analytical  Beeearohee  on  the  NaVure  qf  the 
Fotable  and  Mineral  Wa^ere  qf  Orieaba,  i^ueretaro,  and  Monterey, 
Jiemoo,"^  _ 

Journal  f^r  PrakUeeke  Chemis.  Norember. 
p  HuniNOA :  ^  Onthe  Detection  t^Oeone,  amd  on  the  Preeence  qf 
tJtiM'  Suibetanee  in  the  Atmoephere.''^lf.  Kbuimu.  :  ''  On  Baeio  Out- 
^katee  qf  Copper.''  ^  On  tne  Froduetion  qf  Frueeie  Add  from 
y^Z>t^eyaniUe  qf  Potaeeiwn  and  Hulphurto  Add.""  ~  Buoumbk  : 
f.Chemiottl  Analyeie  qf  the  Mineral  i^'atere  qf  Nenmarkt,  Upper 
PalaUnate:'—li,  Gbumba  :  *'  Oontributione  to  the  Knowledye  qf 
MnUropheny'*^  Acid.''-'^.  Kubbl:  '' On  the  BMmativn  i^Ni- 
Z^uMAdd  by  meane  qf  PermamganaU  qf  Potaeh."—it.  Wawitbb: 
'^On  the  JSdubiUty  qf  eome  JBarthy  and  Metadie  Oarbonatee  in 
wSeTimpregnated  wUh  Carbonic  Add  tmder  Preeeure."^h\ 
iJSSdbl:  ^OnHdubUFruedoinBhte,^ 


PATENTS. 


ConnnnnliMtdd  hy  Mr.  TAUOHAir,  F.O.a,  PBtest  Agent,  54,  Ohaateetf 
'         W.O. 


ORAISTS  OF  PBOTIfllONAL  PBOTEGTION  FOB  SIX 
MaNXHa 

351&  A.  T.  Otrr,  Wlnklelgh,  DevuMliliii»  *"  An  ImproTtd  nenM." 
— i/ecember  xx.  1867. 

3544.  J.  H.  Johnis«)n,  IincolD*e  Inn  Fields,  **  ImproTemente  in  the 
maiuiiBCmre  of  Brtidcial  fUeL^' — ^A  oommunicatlun  from  A.  F.  P.  A.  <}. 
Decmmpe,  T.  de  Jo^,  and  F.  F.  Oboiimc,  Paris.— December  13,  1867. 

3559*  ^*  UargreaveB,  Appleton- within- \^  idnt«,  LanraBnim,  'bn- 
pruvttmenlB  in  uie  mannbcture  uf  sodn  and  pouusa. 

35661  A.  M.  Clark,  4Jliaocerjr  Lnoe,  **  Improremtrnte  in  the  extractlni 
of  ammunia  flrum  fermented  and  uiber  liquids,  and  in  tke  r^psnentiea 
of  the  agenu  used  in  Bueb  «xtraotion."->A  couimuuicatiuo  fhn  A. 
CoBte,  ana  I*  T.  de  Bean^,  Boiuevart  x>t  MarOn,  Paris.— Deoembcr 
14, 1867. 

3573.  W.  HoBkLMon,  Bwlaton  Biroet^  Oray's  Inn  Boad,  Mtddleecz, 
"  iiuprovt)m«nta  in  the  manufacture  of  suda  and  oUier  menXiid  waten^ 
and  m  the  maunracture  of  Aerated  bread.** 

3574.  J.  Drnraon,  (ireeniook,  Iteni'rewahire,  N.  B.,  ^  ImproTaaieBU  In 
troiiung  sugar  ajrup." 

3586.  W.  i&oB*,  (ihroYe  btreet,  Walworth,  and  A.  Long,  Aylcsbaqr 
Terrace,  W  a: worth,  ttoirey,  **  improvemenca  in  meana  for  prcTeathiis 
and  removing  Incrustatlou  in  steam  boUera.'  — i>eoeuit)er  17,  1867. 

3614.  W.  11.  Bkhardsun,  Ulaaguw,  A.  Ji.,  *"  An  impruTea  npptfatas 
to  be  employed  in  tae  maiinfaciure  of  iivu  and  Ateei."*— Deeemher  19^ 
1867. 

NOTICES  TO  PBOGEiO). 

aaQB.  W.  B.  DawBon,  Oreat  Saint  Alelen^B,  lAodon,  **  ImproreaMBiB 
in  Une  pveparaliuo  uf  utaniferoue  Lrun  bands  lor  meiuog. ' — ^Petition  ne- 
corded  August  9, 1867. 

2305.  iL  Uiruwood,  Edinburgh,  MU  Lothian,  N.  B.,  "*  Improved 
compijBition  tu  be  applied  to  abevp  and  oth«r  animala,  fur  tlie  parpoeci 
of  aesiro^ing  vermin,  aod  pantoiti^i  life,  thereon,  and  for  proiaxliug 
them  therefrom." — Augu>t  10, 1867. 

•3308.  iX  D.  Aoel,  bouthampton  BnildlngB,  Chancer/  L&oe,  **  An  im- 
proved method  ur  process  for  removing  bui^^hur,  pnuspburos,  nsd  othar 
impurities  brum  iruu.  bteel,  and  other  meu&ls." — A  cummawcadun 
fiom  J.  F.  Bebnett,  Pittsburgh,  Penn.,  U.b.A. 

33x4.  A.  McDougall,  Mancuester,  **  Improvementa  in  the  eztnwtieB 
and  separation  of  the  sulphur  oootalned  w  pmducui  rvsuituig  imaa  me 
alternate  exposure  of  oet'tain  meiaiUc  oxiues  to  gases  roniaining  wi- 
pharetted  hydrogen,  and  to  oj^'geu." — August  12, 1867. 

3344.  J.  T.  Way,  KuHSell  Baiui,  Kenbm^jtou,  Miudiesex,  **  Improve- 
meuis  in  treating  phosphate  ot  lime  for  tne  manulbciure  off  manuzv,  and 
for  otuer  purposes.*' — August  14,  X867. 

3377.  J.  iiooker,  Uberbiein  i^oad.  New  Wandsworth,  Surrey,  and  F. 
Brauy,  Kustou  icoad,  Middievex,  *'  improvemenu  in  Hre  iightcrs,  bIm 
applicable  fur  ftael  generally." — Augu»t  19,  1867. 

a4xa  J.  a.  Marshall,  i^eeds,  **  Improremenis  m  aolTeat  or  detCBsni 
processes.*^— August  aa,  1867. 

2436W  K.  Sonstadc,  Maoghold,  Isle  of  Man,  **  Improrements  in  the 
treatment  of  sea-weed  for  obtaining  Taluable  produota  irom  it.*^— Ab* 
gust  ab,  1867. 

asaa.  F.  Verunann,  FIlD.,  High  Street,  Stratford,  Easex,  **  Impnm- 
raenis  in  the  mahnfaoiure  of  vnrnishea.**— September  5,  i8i67. 

a54i.  J.  Whitham,  jarksUtl  Boad,  LeedBi^'impiOYeuienuiiiiDadUar 
ery  lor  paddling,  and  in  puddUng  and  other  lurnaoea.*^— oeptfember  7, 
1867.    > 

3546.  W.  £.  Gedge,  Wellington  Street,  Strand,  MldAeeMc,  *^Fn>- 
oesBes  of  extraction  of  the  ooiourmg  aaatter  01  indigo  frum  the  wasie 
ittxiile  fabrics  which  contain  it"— a  communicaiiou  flrom  M.  itanmrd, 
P.  Scheurer,  and  J.  B.  'iemp^  Colmar  (Uaut  i:hln),  Frano& 

3549'  ^''  i'oUiausen,  BouieTart  Aiagcnta,  Pans,  -*  An  improTcd  pco- 
cess  and  ajiparalus  for  instantaneously  dlsmleciing  ftrcal  and  manwiBg 
matters,  improving  the  same,  and  also  rendering  tbem  fit  lor  leeomg 
domestic  ammals."- A  communication  lh>m  L.  J.  B.  A.  IjenioiDa,  aaii 
A*.  M.  iurreil,  Paria— beptember  9,  X867. 

3a4&  <l.  bwindeiiB,  Kegworth,  liCcesterBhire,  **  ImpiOTeBDentB  In 
tha  proceas  o^  and  m  apparatus  employed  in  treating  and  aepa rating 
mlneralB,  eaitns,  and  other  snkMtances,  when  groaud  or  pulrvrmea."— 
November  x(»,  X867. 

3384.  J.  Baylis,  Dnrdham  Down.  Bristol,  **  An  improved  ehcmlcBi 

J>reparatlon  or  compound  to  be  used  In  preparing  mixed  tescttW  tebna 
or  dyeing  or  oolouxlng.**— Novemt>er  a8, 1807. 

3389.  u  Alblser,  Mincing  Lane,  London,  **  Improrements  In  the 
preparation  of  sulpliate  of  magne«ia  appiicnble  to  xtm  treetmont  ot  ths 
crude  potash  salts  of  etasBluri,  and  the  refuBu  fh^m  tne  msniifartws  el 
chloride  of  potassium."— A  commuulcatlun  Irom  J.  \  otaiar,  and  B. 
Unineberg,  uolugue,  rmBsia.*^ — ^diovember  39, 1807. 

344a  J.  ojers,  jilddlesbroogh,  York»blre,  **  l>;r«sin  ImproTenmnto  1ft 
the  iiiaimihcture  of  east  steel  and  homugeneoua  iron. ' — ixiciOQiber  3, 
1867. 

3469.  P.  Q.  L  O.  Dealgnolle,  Bne  de  la  Steine,  and  L  CaBthelv.  Sw 
Sie.  Croix  de  la  Bretuuuerle.  France,  **  improTeuieute  in  ibms  mami 
factore  ofexploBtye  and  fuluilnating  powders ''—December  5,  ijibj. 

3473.  J.  Lurrana,  'ihorlstone,  near  Peniston,  iurkBhire»  **  An  te> 
proved  material  or  compoaiUon  to  be  employed  0or  coTeringnr  cuanm 
the  Interior  aurihoea  uf  moulds,  erueiblea,  or  dnota,  prenuoa  to  t^dr 
recelTlng  the  molten  metal  in  the  proeeea  of  oaating,  and  hjr  iithcr  ptf- 
poaea.*'— I>MBmber  6,  x8b7. 


[BngUdtBdHtapToLXVXL,  Vai«»,pagtM;  ITo.  480,  pi«w  109^  UO.] 


GnnoAi.  Nbwb,  ) 


Notes  and  Queries. 


203 


•  NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

3  k<x4  (m»  raprewnUd  to  %m  thai  <mr  eolwnn  qf  JTotes  and  Querist 
I  hoi  ocea&ionaUy  betn  nuMds  the  vsMeU  for  Ihe  turroptiUouM  dU- 
petal  qf  Uradt  oeoreto  by  w^kborddnaiet  in  chemical  worktt  tm- 
tnown  to  thtir  prinetpaU.  TM»  cohunn  hat  proved  to  be  t^- 
/oientif  M^/W  to  a  large  elaet  qf  ow  readert  for  ^tttobe  re^uc- 
tamA  to  diteontinve  itforthetakeqfafefowhoabuteiitprivikffet. 
Frobablff  a  more  rigid  tuporviaUm  toiU  enable  im  to  obviate  the 
d^ficuUy.  There  will  be  no  objection  to  a  eorreepondent  atking 
for  information  on  trade  tubjeett;  but  M«  anewer  mmet  likewiee 
be  made  pubUo^  and  in  eu^h  oatet  no  name  or  addreet  can  be 
given,  no  private  eommvnieationt  fortoarded  through  ut^  and  no 
qjfer  nf  payment  for  ii^fn'mation  can  be  pubUthed. 

Waterproof  Patte."!  understand  that  calico  printers  ose  a  paste 
oaBed  "*  resist  paste,'^  which  is  waterproof  of  ihe  following  proporiioos : 
1  lb.  of  binaeetate  of  copper  or  distilled  Terdegrls ;  3  lbs.  of  salphate 
of  copper,  dissolved  in  one  gallon  of  water ;  this  solution  to  be  thick- 
ened with  a  1  *s.  gnm  Senegal;  x  lb.  British  gum ;  4  lbs.  pipe  clay ;  3  os. 
nitrate  of  oopp«r,  as  a  deliquescent.  Gao  any  of  yonr  readers  kindly 
Inform  md  if  1  can  ose  it  tn  stick  Uthoj^phic  bills  on  cards  without 
detriment  to  the  colours  or  the  paper  on  wlilch  they  are  printed? — 
0.  £• 

Sprengel  Air-Pump.—Oinld  any  one  gire  me  about  the  dimensions 
for  a  t^preogel  sir-pump,  and  the  quantity  of  mejrcury  required.  I  wii^h 
to  use  it  for  exluustlng  vacuum  tubes  for  a  4riaoh  bpark  induction  coiL 
<— EiN  EjiOLAjinBa. 

Hulphur  in  I'yritet^'-CtLn  any  of  your  readers  kindly  Infurm  me  of 
the  method  usually  adopted  for  aacertaiiilng  tUe  amount  of  sulphur  in 
Iron  or  copper  pyrites,  to  determine  Its  value  for  sulphuric  acid  mak- 
ing?   Is  there  not  a  practical  method  of  assaying  it  ?>  T.  W.  W. 

Atimatton  qf  Tannin  in  OaUnute^  Sumao,  dtc—ien  any  of 
your  correspondents  favor  me  with  a  good  method  for  eetimatlng  the 
amount  of  tannin  in  either  of  the  above,  and  also  the  percentage 
•mount  of  tannin  In  the  d.ffereot  qualities  of  sumac  in  the  market? 

— -AtTRINOBST. 

ifulpMie  and  Sypoeulphite  of  Soda^'-CtJi  any  of  your  correspond- 
ents enable  me  to  discover  the  consumption  of  sulphite  and  hyposul- 
phite of  soda  In  England,  and  also  Its  uses.~G.  W.  K.,  Liverpool. 

Chiorimetry.—\e  It  possible  to  devise  a  ready  way  ot  estimating  the 
chlorine  in  a  solution  of  hleaohing  powder  oontainlug  a  large  proportion 
of  nitrate  of  Itme  ?— s). 

uPrice^^^/)AtiHc^o{d.^Perhapa  some  read'er  of  the  Cdvmioal 
If  sws  can  Iniorm  me  what  price  I  ought  to  pay  for  sulphuric  add  of 
116  speclAo  gravity,  euppodng  I  pay  £4  per  ton  specific  gravity,  1*72. 

Stoedieh  OooJbtng  Apparatue^-l  see  you  ssk  the  address  of  the  in- 
reotor  of  the  Swedish,  or  rather  Norwegian,  Cooking  Apparatus.  It  is 
Mi.  Sorensen,  13  Duke  Street,  &roevenor  Square,  W.  I  can  vouch. 
from  my  own  use,  for  the  praetloal  efficiency  of  thhi  simple  oonverst*  or 
*  reMgerator.— Marshall  Hall,  3  Cleveland  Terrace,  Hyde  Park,  W. 

J*orlable  Coobtng  Apparatue.—ln  the  Cbxjiical  Nxwa,  *'To  Cor- 
respondents," 1  note  '*  Swedish  portable  0(K>klng  apparatus,*'  and  It 
ooeors  to  ms  that  a  knowledge  of  a  lamp  1  fortunately  came  across  in 
Scotland,  and  took  with  me  to  loeUtnd.  might  prove  interesting  to 
trarellers,  though  I  may  be  describing  what  you  have  seen.  The  lamp 
is  €tt  copper,  and  Is  iiartly  filled  through  the  cock  with  methylated 
spirit,  the  tu>  dosed,  and  a  little  spirit  poured  Into  open  centre  and 
{lighted — the  flame  soon  warms  the  sides  and  top  of  the  lamp,  and  the 
BODSeqaent  expansion  of  the  vapour  Inside  presses  the  spirit  in  a  strong 
et  from  a  bent  tube  connected  with  bottom  of  spirit  chamber,  which 
Itffhts,  and  increases  the  heat  of  the  lamp,  thus  getting  a  stronger  flame. 
lUne  would  boll  a  pint  of  water  in  five  minutes,  and  use  from  one  to 
>iie  and  a  half  ounce  spirit— John  Cun. 

The  Sprengel  Atr-awnp^*  Sin  Knglander'*  will  find  a  paper 
^titled  **  Sprensers  Itesearches  on  the  Vacuum,"  wherein  his  mer- 
luiiat  air-pamp  is  described,  in  the  January  number,  1865,  of  the  four- 
uU  qf  the  Chemioal  Society.  With  an  instrument  of  total  height  of 
iMHit  6  feet,  and  fh>m  10  to  15  lbs.  of  mercury,  a  receiver  of  half  a  litre 
apAcity  may  be  exhansted  In  from  so  to  30  mlnates  :  the  fall  tube  must 
tot  be  of  greater  calibre  than  8  millimetres,  and  had  better  be  of  4^ 
-aH  millimetres  only.-^C.  R.  A.  Wsigiit,  B.  Sc. 

Staiphur  in  Pyritee.—Jn  answer  to  T.  W.  W.  I  beg  to  point  out  that 
r  It  is  not  required  to  obtain  the  absolute  auantity  of  sulphur  met  with 
1  pyrites^  a  pretty  near  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  mlueral  for  use  in 
tie  manalSaotare  of  ralphario  add  may  be  obtained  by  taking  a  fair 
rem^  eaoiple  of  the  pyrites  ground  to  an  impalpable  powder,  weigh 
IT  as  to  to  snins,  and  expose  these  on  a  flat  platinum  dish,  best  in  a 
loroagbly  Aeated  muffle  to  pretty  strone  incandescence  J  or  two  or 
dree  lionrs;  if  no  muffle  Is  st  hand  a  gooa  gas  flame  will  answer,  and 
fter  eooling  the  loss  In  weight  may  be  taken  ;  but  this  method  Is  not 
9  b«  aaed  but  as  an  approximative  estimation ;  the  analysis  of  pyrites 
>r  Biaphar  requires  many  precautions  to  yield  Kood  and  reliable  ro- 
ilta  ;  of  oourae  the  sulphur  is  oxidised  to  sulphuric  add,  and  the  latter 
ttlxnated,  and  from  this  rssult  the  amount  of  sulphur  is  calculated.— 
B.  A.  A. 

Oao^cAioride  ofIfagnetia,—U  J.  X.  Hamilton  will  apply  to  J.  B. 
Ilea,  at  this  address,  he  may  hear  of  a  crude  carbonate  of  magnesia 
blob  would  doubtless  answer  his  purpose.— Borax  Works,  Okl  Swan, 
t^erpool. 


SoU>ent  for  Bttmiial  Oils  —Can  anv  of  your  able  correspondents 
Inform  me  of  a  solvent  for  the  essential  oils  or  the  resinous  essences 
such  as  cinnamon  or  bergamote,  so  as  to  enable  me  to  mix  them  with 
water  without  creating  a  muddiness  ?  Information  upon  the  above  will 
oblige  a  SuBSCKiBBK. 

darkest  Procettfor  Softening  Wafer.— What  quantity  of  lime,  or 
lime  water  (assuming  that  i  lb.  of  lime  would  dissolve  in  90  gallons 
of  water)  would  be  required  to  predpltate  the  calcareous  matter  in 
q>rinff  water  (by  Clarke*s  process),  the  analysis  of  spring  watfr  being 
as  follows:  Per  gallon  In  grains— carbonate  of  lime,  12*8,  sulphate  of 
lime,  1*5.  chloride  of  sodium,  3*8,  organic  matter  (vegetable),  a,  hard- 
ness o^  ditto  after  boiling,  4°  ?— Aqi7AUUS. 

Determination  qf  Free  Sulphuric  Acid  in  Superphotphatee.-^ 
The  following  is  a  simple  and  yet  effident  plan :  l£stluiate  ihe  sul- 
phuric add  in  the  orij^hial  sample  by  dissolving  a  weighed  portion  of 
the  superphosphate  in  hydntchloric  add,  not  contaminated  of  coutse 
with  any  sulphuric  add,  separate  t)ie  insoluble  matter  by  filtrsAlon,  and 
after  thorough  washing  with  boiling  distilled  water,  predpltate  with 
chloride  of  barium,  and  let  stand  for  some  hours,  separate  the  sulphate 
of  baryta,  and  calculate  the  sulphuric  add  from  Its  weight.  Now  take 
another  weighed  portion  of  the  superphosphate,  ignite  It  gently,  and 
proceed  as  Just  described ;  the  difference  of  the  two  residts  as  regards 
sulphuric  acid  obtulned  represents  the  free  sulphuric  add  (n  the  sample. 

To  Prevent  Water  Freeeing.-^Yonr  correspondent  **  Volta  ^  desires 
to  know  (i.).what  proportion  of  salt  has  to  be  added  to  water  to  prevent 
it  freezing  when  exposed  to  the  coldest  weather  known  in  this  country. 
I  wonld  advise  '*  Volta  "  not  to  use  salt,  espedaliv  not  when  in  contact 
with  iron,  but  rather  apply  caustic  soda,  which  dfsftolved  in  water  does 
not  affect  iron,  and  at  the  same  time,  If  the  solution  is  made  strong 
enough,  will  not  freeie,  while,  as  h»  well  known,  a  solution  of  salt 
flreeaes,  partly  leaving  a  more  ooueentrated  saline  mixture  unfrozen, 
ao  puTts  by  weight  of  caustic  soda  upon  100  jMurts  of  water  are  sufficient 
to  keep  water  fluid  even  at  as  low  a  temperature  as  10°  F.  As  regards 
the  use  of  alcohol,  I  think  methylated  spirits  might  do,  a  mixture  of 
water  and  spirits  of  the  specific  eravitv  of  o'976o,  i.s.,  containing  ao  per 
cent,  by  volume  of  absolute  alcohol  will  not  congeal  even  at  8^  F.  A 
btnmg  siilution  of  commercial  glycerine  Is  very  much  used  in  the  colder 
climes  of  Europe,  e.g.^  Russia,  Poland,  Sweden,  to  substitute  water  in 
wet  gasroeters.  as  such  a  solution  of  glycerine  does  not  freeie  even  in 
the  cold  weather,  which  Is  usually  very  severe  In  these  comitrles 
in  winter.  During  the  winter  from  1847  ^  1848  at  Btockholm,  the 
temperature  for  seversl  days  was  below  the  ft«ezing  point  of  mercurv, 
that  is— 40^  F.  Daring  these  dsys  the  late  celebrated  Beiselius  made 
some  experiments  with  fiosen,  i.e.,  solid  mercury,  which  could  then  be 
obtained  readily  In  large  quantity ;  this,  in  passing,  snd  without  reference 
to  the  non-freezing  of  the  mixtures  above  alluded  to  at  so  low  a  tem- 
perature. — L)k.  a.  a. 

Solvent  for  £e»eniial  Oile.—'The  only  available  solvent  for  your  cor- 
respondent's purpose  is  perhaps  water  Itself,  in  which  the  oils  may  be 
dissolved,  or  at  least  mixed  In  a  way  which  will  be  equivalent  to  solu- 


tion, by  the  process  used  by  manv  druggists  for  making  their  '*aqu».** 
For  every  ^  os.  of  di  put  a  good  handfhrof  MgCOs  into  a  mortar  and 
triturate  it  well  with  the  oil  until  the  latter  is  thoroughly  divided,  then 


. ;  SI) mac.  from  iz  to  x8  per  cent.;  dividivl,  from  35  to  18 
lut-galls  (Aleppo  galls),  from  58  to  66  per  cent  valonia, 
5  per  cent :  catechu,  Gambia,  flrom  40  to  50  per  cent,  of  a 
nlc  acid ;  kino  contains  from  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  same 


add  water  pauUtim,  triturating  diligentlv  all  the  time,  and  filter.  The 
^vision  of  the  oil  Is  fadlUated  by  previously  diluting  It  with  Its  own 
bulk  of  strong  spirit  of  wine.  In  which  case  add  the  water  only  a  few 
drops  at  a  time  at  first,  but  this  Is  not  Indispensable.— Volta. 

Eetimation  of  TVmntfn..— The  most  reliable  and  undoubtedly  best 
mode  to  estimate  tannin  is  the  process  devised  by  Dr.  U.  Fleck,  but  a 
ta\\  and  complete  account  of  this  mode  of  esUmation  cannot  be  given 
in  N.  and  Q.,  since  the  »pace  cannot  be  spared.  If  **  Astringent^'  would 
give  his  address  I  shall  be  happy  to  give  him  a  fhll  account  of  this 
mode,  and  also  of  Aiijller's  mode  for  estimating  tanniiL  As  regards 
the  percentage  of  tannin  In  tanning  and  dyeing  materials,  the  follow- 
ing InformaUon  may  perhaps  serve  the  purpose :  oak  bark  varies  from 
io'86  per  cent,  to  X5'83  per  cenU,  Polygomum  bietortayeiiee from  17  to 
ai  per  cent. ;  sqmacj  from  iz  to  x8  j>er  cent.;  dlvidlvi,  from  35  to  18 
per  cent ;  nut-( 
from  40  to  45  I 
peculiar  tannu 
prindule  as  catechu.  -  Da.  A.  A. 

Hofinann''t  Modem  ChemlMry.-^  Lecture  JSmperimentt.  —  'Yoja 
**  Notes  and  Queries"  often  have  been  most  valuable  to  many  who 
seek  for  information,  and  cannot  find  It  in  books  which  they  consult ;  for 
it  is  a  well  known  saving,  that  yon  may  have  many  books  and  yet  never 
find  what  you  require.  The  reason  I  think  is,  that  authors  do  not 
trouble  themselves  about  minor  points  of  a  subject  whieh  periiaps  they 
think  only  trifles,  forgetting  all  the  while  that  trifles  make  perfectlun, 
and  perfectlun  is  no  trifle.  As  an  Illustration  of  this  point  I  have  been 
reading  and  closely  studying  that  admirable  work  "  Hofhiana^s  Modem 
Oherolstry,^*  and  to  make  myself  master  of  Its  contents,  1  performed 
nearlv  all  the  experiments,  having  apparatus  made  especially  for  the 
occasion ;  It  certainly  Is  one  thing  to  r«'ad  a  book  of  experiments,  and 
another  to  work  them  out  te  I  found  when  I  commenced  operation. 
The  first  difficulty  I  encountered  was  the  examination  of  BCl  gas  by 
sodium  amalgam.  The  question  1  should  like  answered  is,  what  per- 
centage of  sodium  ought  yon  to  use  to  form  the  amalsiun  for  this  pur- 
pose? I  have  consulted  several  worics,  but  cannot  obtain  the  deured 
information.  When  yon  have  finished  the  experiment,  and  emptied  the 
U-tttbe  of  sodium  amalgam,  what  Is  the  best  method  of  recovering  the 
pure  mercury  ?  I  poured  warm  N  tUCI  upon  the  verv  weak  ama^am, 
and  let  it  stand  for  some  days,  is  tnat  the  best  metnod  ?  My  second 
stumbling-block  was  in  decomposing  HOI  by  the  electric  current  What 
ouffht  to  be  the  sp.  gr.  of  the  acid  f  The  book  says,  i  *x.  That  is  very  in- 
definite, because  there  are  about  a  dozen  beginning  with  x'l.  Does  it 
mean  the  HQ  of  oommeroe,  sp.  gr.  i*x6f  In  using  this  said  add  I  was  not 


[BiiSUdiBdttioii,yoLXV2L|Vo4a7,page73;  Vow4a8,p8geM;   ITo.  430,  page  109 ;  No.  429, yife 06 ;  Vo. 430,  page  109.] 


204 


Answers  to  Correspondents. 


( dnonoAL  5i««, 
\      AprU,  16«. 


•Qoc«fltAil  in  performing  th«  experiment,  beenose  the  liquid  became  ao 
hot  by  the  action  that  HCl  gas  vat  evolred  along  with  the  gases  U  and 
01.  1  certainly  must  admit  that  these  are  trtflinK  pirlnts,  but  then  they 
are  §•>  neci-ssary  for  the  saccess  or  an  experiment,  aod  In  performing 
new  experiments  one  desires  to  know  all  the  little  dlffioultles  wbich  may 
beset  tQem.    If  some  of  your  eorrespondents  will  help  me,  I  shall  feel 

abliged.~AMATK1TB. 

UofnumfC*  Modem  OhemUtry—Lteiurs  JRrperfmaiUls.— Having 
repeatedly  perfunned  all  the  experlmenta  described  In  this  book,  I  m^ 
be  able  to  remove  some  of  the  dlflicultles  which  your  correspondent 
**  Amateur*  has  enconntered.  Flrst^  with  regard  to  the  percentage  of 
■odium  in  the  soiUum  amalgam  to  be  used  for  the  decomposition  of 
hydroohloric  acid  gas.  lliis  is  quite  Immaterial,  provided  that  BuflBcient 
aodinm  is  contidned  in  the  amalgam  to  decompose  all  the  hydrochloric 
add  In  the  y  tube,  and  not  so  much  as  to  render  the  amalgam  solid. 
The  tl'tube  Is  not  likely  to  contain  more  than  xooc  o.  of  gas,  which 
would  weigh  o'i6335  grm.,  and  would  require  abouto'105  grm.  of  sodium 
to  decompose  them,  so  that  if  your  correspondent  dissolves  about  one 
gramme  of  sodium  in  the  quantity  of  mercury  necessary  to  fill  up  the 
U-tube,  he  will  ppobitbly  haveasumeient  excess  of  sodium  to  ensure  the 
decomjto^ltlon  of  the  gas :  but  as  the  exiierlment,  as  Cur  as  I  am  awiire, 
h:i8  never  been  p** rformed  with  an  amalgam  of  a  known  composition.  It 
would  be  advisiible  to  tiy  It  in  tbb  manner  before  positively  afflroiing 
tliat  the  quantiilei*  iibove  given  would  pn>duce  the  de.<dred  result  Next. 
as  t«i  recovering  the  mercury  from  the  amalgam.  If  **  Amateur^  had 
reflected,  he  would  probably  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  as  he 
was  udng  sodium  amalgam  to  decompose  hydrochloric  acid,  so  hydro- 
chlorio  acid  would  be  the  best  reagent  for  decomtH>^lng  soolnm  amal- 
gam ;  and  he  will  find  that  if  he  places  the  amalgam  into  dilute  hvdro- 
chloric  add,  the  sodium  will  be  removed  In  a  few  minuter,  and  quite  aa 
efllciently  as  by  the  clrcnlcous  process  of  d^estlng  with  a  wlution  of 
ammonic  cliluride.  "Amateur"  complains  tiiat  the  dhrection  to  use 
hydrochloric  add,  of  the  speclflc  gr&vity  I'l,  is  indefinite;  perhatia 
I'loooo  will  convey  a  more  distinct  Impression  to  his  mind—for  tlds  Is 
what  is  menut.  llie  obiect  of  employing  acid  of  this  strength  is  to  avoid 
the  mcouveDlenceofwhIch  your  correspondent  speaks;  the  liquid  n<»t 
fomiog  in  the  uir,  and  not  evolving  bydroohoric  add  when  heated. — 
U.  M. 

AUmation  qf  FrM  SulphuHo  Acid  in  Sup^rphoephate^.-^Perwh 
me  to  express  my  astonishment  at  the  Chemistry  of  ''Dr.  A.  A.'*  as  dis- 
played in  his  replies  to  "*  V.  0.*"  on  the  KKtlmatlon  of  Fne  Sulphuric 
Acid  in  Superphosphates;  and  to  "F.  W^.  W.,*'  on  the  Determination  of 
Bulphur  in  Pyrites.  •*  Dr.  A.  A."  informs  "  V.  0."  that  by  first  aM)er- 
tatniiig  the  entire  amoimt  of  sulphuric  add  in  a  hydrochloric  add  soln* 
lion  of  the  superphosphates,  and  then  the  quantity  of  biilphnric  aeld 
left,  after  igniting  another  portion  of  the  sample,  the  difference  will  be 
free  acid.  This  looks  remarkably  simple,  and  straightforward  on  the  face 
of  1l  But  '^  Dr.  A.  A."  ignores  the  tact  that  most  superphospatee  oon> 
tain  sulphate  of  ammonia,  and  no  ineomiderable  proiiortion  of  ornnlo 
matter.  It  is  not  difficult,  then,  to  conceive  how  these  would  militate 
against  the  accuracy  of  the  results  by  **  Dr.  A.  A^.*'  process.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  entire  volatilisation  of  the  sulphate  of  ammonia,  or  bow 
the  sulphate  of  lime  would  stand  nffected  by  ignition  in  the  presence  of 
carbonaceous  mntters,  a  considerable  quanUty  of  the  free  acid  would  In 
all  probability,  under  this  excitlnff  oondition,  combhie  with  the  lime  of 
■onie  of  the  undecompoeed  pho»pnatea.  Should  '*  V.  C."*  require  a  ipore 
ready,  thouicb  not  nearly  so  accurate  process  aa  the  admirable  one 
volunteere<i  by  Dr.  Moffat,  Glasgow,  I  mav  say  that  an  aqueous  solu- 
tlon  of  the  manure,  treated  with  a  very  dilute  normal  solution  of  am* 
monia,  gives  tol'-rably  fair  results.  Again,  as  reganis  **  Dr.  A.  A*s"  ex- 
peditious mode  for  determining  the  sulphur  In  pyrites— that  is  a  more 
extraordinary  outrage  on  chemical  science  than  the  former  one,  on 
whi?h  I  have  Just  commenced.  However  he  gets  even  **  an  approximate 
rstimation  **  by  submitting  a  sample  of  pyrites  (Fe  83)  to  "*  strong  in- 
candescence fbr  two  or  three  hours  in  an  open  capsule ;"  producing,  of 
course,  an  iiuletinlte  mixture  of  sesquioxide  and  protoxide  of  iron 
(Fea03  +  F^),  und  afterwards  reckoniug  the  loss  of  Weight  as  sulphur, 
is  best  known  to  hlntself ;  but  to  me  is  au  Inexphcable  enigma.  I  nave 
already,  I  appr^nd.  trespassed  too  much  on  your  space,  and  will  only 
therefore  refer  "*  h\  W.  W.'*  to  almoat  any  handbook  on  analysis  for  a 
^>eedy  way  of  arriving  at  the  value  of  pyrites. — S.  A.  B. 

ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

SOTICK.—The  Afii«Hoan  FubUshsrt  i^Tmt  Cn»MiCAL  Niwa  ffiv6 
noUcs  ik*U  in  aceordanes  %oUh  a  9Uffff€$tion  qf  .Mb.  Cbookm^  tht 
Editor  and  Ptoprislor  </  tiU  JPnffUMh  pubUcaUon,  iKey  taiU  b€ 
pUattd  io  rto^lv  and  fonoard  to  him  in  London  an/y  soienf (/to 
publications  umud  in  Amsrica^for  rooimo-^and  aUo  any  JS'oUs 
and  QntHta^  Article,  OorrtspondmcSy  eto.,  for  puUiaation  or 
reply.    T/uir /aeiUtles  qf  communieaUon  with  Mb.  Crookrb  ron^ 

'  dor  iJ*i«  tory  detirablo  to  ail  portono  in  Iho  ITniUd  Utatoi  who 
wi*h  to  amftr  with  him.    Addrem^ 

W.  A.  TO  WNSKKD  «fc  ADAMS^ 

434  Brooms  Streett  Iftw  York, 

^j^i</o».—Xot  yet  published. 

J.  i/iw--*;*^:— deceived  with  thanklb 

G.  J.  De  Winion.—^e  below. 

^»/rt»ff€»<'#  letter  shall  be  attended  to.    ^  ^      ^ 

John  C\  Te^r*.— Will  our  correspondent  forward  a  few  Bpedmens 


with  particulars  as  to  cost  of  production,  et&  f  We  shall  then  be  en- 
abled to  form  an  opinion. 

J.  r.— The  odour  is  one  of  the  properties  of  naphtha  Inaepaiable 
from  it. 

.MTsc/MA  PortabU  Cooking  Jp/>ara/tM.— Will  the  maker  of  thli  sp- 
paratuB  please  communicate  address  to  our  office  ? 

{7Aefn««tM.->  We  have  been  quite  unable  to  find  oat  the  naiae  of  ths 
flrm.  The  announcement  was  made  on  the  anthoilty  of  the  lata  lie 
Klchardson. 

R.  B.  0.— A  commnnlcatlon  Is  waiting  for  you  at  oor  office.  Plcasi 
forwaid  your  address. 

Sin  EnoUiHder.—h  snlntlon  of  isinglass  In  weak  spirit  Is  the  bNt 
cement  with  which  to  ta»ten  on  the  sides  of  a  hollow  nriim  br 
btfinlphide  of  carbon.  Chloroform  will  be  the  best  8<ilvent  for  todla- 
rubber  to  be  used  fur  coating  a  bladder.  Ztne  may  be  qnlckly  anal- 
gamated  by  dipping  it  into  mercury  containing  a  little  KMitaua  amai^B 


dlvsolved  in  iu    A|>ply  to  AsherVforeign  bookseller. 

//.  P.  Jf.—The  piece  has  a  slmiLir  com|io9ltiou  to  a  Roman  mbnr, 
which  iiccfirding  to  an  ana)y»i8  by  Professor  Church,  euotslned  7o'a9 
per  cent.,  of  copper,  and  29.91  jier  cenL  of  tin.  The  dmliariiy,bowcnr, 
is  not  likely  to  be  more  than  a  ooincldenoe. 

W.  Kirk.— in  a  short  time. 

J.  LeaMon,  Oli8ffoto.—y^e  expect  to  receive  tfie  report  fax  a  few 
weeks. 

W.  A— We  will  refer  to  the  paper,  and  commanleate  partfcolan  if 
they  appear  likely  to  be  usefhL 

/>.  .S.— >o  oe  1  echnologlcal  Dictionary  would  probablr  give  yoa  tks 
required  information.  See  **  Ure's,'*  *•  Brande's,'^  Cooley's,"  or 
»•  WatU's'*  Dictionaries. 

Juror^  Report  ofVu  Paris  EtBhibition^  1867.— We  have  had  tombj 
applications  for  this  report  On  Inouiry  we  find  that  no  report  of  tbs 
Jurors  is  likely  to  be  published  in  this  country,  and  It  la  not  known  If 
such  will  tie  published  hi  Paris 

MurfthaU  Hail— lit.  Koscoe  has  made  the  discovery  of  an  orssf 
vanadium  in  the  Alderly  Edge  copper  ore,  In  Cheshire.  This  dlsoovoy 
fbrmed  the  basis  of  the  Bakenan  Lecture,  delivered  before  the  KoyA 
Bodety,  by  Dr.  Uoscoe.    A  report  will  shortly  appear  In  our  coloaiaa 

F.  Mair.— The  extract  from  the  Panama  JStar  and  Herald  b  re- 
ceived with  thanks.  Professor  Detlsse^s  theory  of  the  caose  of  <«rth- 
quukes,  however  improbable  it  seems,  appears  to  have  been  borne  oot 
by  the  accurate  ftillllment  of  the  predlotlons  founded  upon  It.  lire- 
quires  careful  attention  before  we  could  say  whether  thb  appeared  a 
ouinddence  or  not. 

Communications  have  been  received  firom  O.  W.  ^sAv  (with  «d- 
clo!.nro) ;  i^ev.  B.  W.  Oibsone,  M.A.  (with  endoeure);  J.  ClUr:  £.  Drtac 
(with  enclosure) ;  Professor  Tyndall,  F  R.S. j  W.  Scott ;  K.  Ilopwood 
(with  encloMxre);  The  Abb^  Y.  Molgno;  F.  Montgomery;  B.  Oela- 
vlns;'J.  iiorsley  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  Valentin:  G.  J.  l>e  Wlntoa; 
Mr.  Sutton;  B.  Qoogan ;  W.  Ackland  (with  enclosure);  W.  Ishtatrr 
(with  enciusare);  J.  hmerson;  H.  Hodgkinson;  W.  Bicbardson ;  J. 
Murray  (with  enclosure) ;  T.  Cobley ;  Alfred  Payne ;  W.  Miller  aid 
Sons  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  O.  Dryedale  (with  eodoearv) ;  Bev.  EL 
Smith,  M.A.;  0.  A.  Keyworh;  Dr.  Alotn  Pflaghaa|it ;  IL  MeAil^; 
Bev.  M.  Kieman;  J.  Wilkinson  and  Co. ;  W.  Smith ;  F.  Button:  Dc 
B.  Angus  Smith,  F.B.S. ;  Muttershead  and  Co.;  W.  Poole  Ballbn; 
Bev.  li.  Klrwan ;  D.  Shaw  and  Suns ;  Nicholson,  Manle  and  Co.;  6.  ▼. 
Kccle« ;  T.  W.  Tobln  (with  encli>eure);  J.  £.  Thorpe  (with  endosore); 
Bear  Admiral  Sir  F.  Nlcoison  ;  O.  Grimet ;  Dr.  Adrlanl  (with  enclosarr); 
Johan  >orensen ;  ).  Cliff;  O.  Hopkin^on ;  J.  Bageley ;  F.  L.  6%^  (wm 
enclosure);  A  Chorlton;  E.  Wfttlngham;  Professoi  WankJyn;  K.  P. 
Jones  (with  enclosure);  B.  Oxiaud:  Dagald  Campbell;  U.  Bird;  W. 
Ellis ;  T.  E.  Thorpe  ;  H.  Stephenson  (with  encloeura)  ;  J.  Dempsey ;  W. 
Scbofleld;  F.  Sari  (with  endosuro);  W.  Harding;  W.  Valentin  (vilh 
enclosure) ;  M.  PhflUps;  E.  Smith ;  E.  B.  Marten  (with  encluaure);  W. 
Hofman  ;  O.  Kerl ;  U.  J.  Helm ;  Marshall  Hall ;  U.  B.  Williams  *  Co.; 
W.  Bird  Hereiiarh,  M.D.,  F.B  S. ;  J.  Tuylor ;  Lord  SackvOle  Cecil;  A. 
H.  Allen ;  J.  Mjirples ;  J.  0.  Lee ;  F.  Shaw ;  D.  Forbea,  F.li.&  (with  en- 
clusure);  .Motter»head  &  Co.;  Marshall  Hall;  G.  Marriaon,  Tasmania: 
F.  blair:  W.  Thompson  (with  enckisure);  G.  Haln;  W.  Kirk;  F. 
Foord,  Victoria,  Ausiraiia;  W.  Kellner;  CapUln  W.  A.  Roes  (wlik 
endosure);  A.  L.  K. :  T.  G.  Barlow:  Dr.  T.  L.  Ptii|«oB  (with 
enclosure) ;  C.  B.  G.  TIchbome ;  T.  Hill ;  W.  Vennblet  (with  endonfeK 
J.  Samut-Isim;  Dr.  Adriunl;  J,  Stephens;  Ur.  W.  Bird  Uerapallk 
F.B.S.  (whh  enclosures);  8.  Dowdl ;  J.  Taylor;  M.  VAbMXoIgM; 
Philip  Holland  (with  enclosure);  Phillips  aod  Co.;  J.  U.  Athcrton;  T. 
M.  Drown ;  F.  Miispratt;  Prol'essor  P^vesI;  Negrettl  and  Zambia:  B. 
Leedtt  (with  endosure);  M.  Leonl  and  Co.;  F.  Suckling;  W.  Snttk; 
J.  B.  Giles  (with  end(«ure);  B.  hjiton;  MarshaD  lialL 

Books  received.— *'' VA  Correo  H ispano- Americano  j**  **On  the  Mag- 
netic Attracilon  of  Citsmical  Bodies,'  by  John  A.  B.  Newl&nda,  F.Ca.; 
♦*  Scientific  American ;"  ••  American  Artisan  ;*  •*  Pbarawceutlc&l  Jc«r- 
nal;''  **  Hard  wickers  Sdence  Gossip;'*  **  Journal  iX  Gas  Ughdag; 
'*'  Chemical  Notes  lor  the  Lecture  Boom.    On  Heat,  Iaws  of  C^nieri 


Oorablnation,  and  Chemistry  of  the  Non-Metallic  Elements.'*  by  Ih 
Wood,  Ph.D.,  F.C.&,  2d  edition.  London:  Longmans  k  Go.;  "The 
Transierenoe  of  the  Telegraphs  to  the  State,  *  by  John  Stepben.  Lm> 
don :  Longmans  A  Co. ;  **  Brief  Extracts  of  Beporta  and  Boiler  Expls- 
alons  In  1867,''  by  Edwanl  B.  Marten ;  **  Minutes  of  Proceedings  at  the 
Lxtraordlnary  Meeting  of  Shareholders  of  the  Atlantic  Telegnph  Com- 
pany ;"  "  Befirm  Sdentlftque ; '  **  Beporta  of  the  United  Statea  Fatuft 
Office,  4  vols,  for  1863  and  1864,^'  ttxim  the  Hon.  the  ConuaiarioBss 
of  Patents.  Stevens  Bros.,  Agents  for  Europe;  **Th«  Hairovgaks 
Herald;'  **  Bristol  Times  anil  Mirror;"  *' Western  DaUy  Pms;" 
**  BolUstm  and  Sons'  Catalosue  of  Florlcultural  and  CuBnaxj  Seeds;* 
**  Journal  of  Gas  Lighting ;  ^  *•  Darlington  and  Stockton  Times ; "  *  A 
Correo  Hkpano-Americano  ;"  **  Sdentlflc  American;*^ 
Gas  Light  Journal ;  "^  ""Zeltachrift  fur  Chemie,*'  4  paita. 


rfingUah  Edition,  VoL,  ZVU, Ka  430,  page  109 ;  Ka  431,pi««isa;  No.  437,  pi«« 93 ;  Vo.  429,  pagaSS;  Vo.4a7,  p«g«73|  Wadflb 
pageMi  110.409,  page 06;  No.  427,  page 73;  Na49B,  pa«t85;  Na  489^  pago 98.] 


Jfoy,  1868.      ; 


On  fsonie  Points  in  CliemiGal  Geology. 


205 


THE     CHEMICAL     NEWS. 
Vol.  II.  No.  5.     American  Reprint. 

ON  SOME  POINTS  IN  CHEMICAL   GEOLOGY. 

BT  DAVID  F0BBE8,   F.B.S.,  Eta 

No.  IIL  Db.  Stesrt  Hunt's  Geoloqioal  Chemistbt. 

Is  considering  the  mutual  relations  of  the  sciences  of 
chemistry  ana  geology,  the  student  must  always  bear 
in  mind  which  of  these  two  sciences  is  to  form  the  basis 
or  starting-point  for.  his  inqjuiries,  since  this  cannot  fail 
to  exercise  an  important  mfluence  on  his  reasonings 
mnd  deduct'ons. 

In  what  Dr.  Hunt  calls  my  chemical  geology,  I  have 
taken  geology  as  my  basi^  and  then  endeavoured  to 
apply  chemistry,  especially  experimental  chemistry,  to 
the  explanation  of  known  geological  phenomena.* 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  Dr.  Hunt,  in  what  may 
be  termed  his  geological  chemistry,  starts  from  data 
purely  chemical,  and  tli6n  looks  round  for  geological 
instances  to  which  these  may  be  applied;  thus,  for 
example,  starting  from  the  fact  well  known  to  chem- 
ists, that  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda  will  precipi- 
tate carbonate  of  lime  from  a  solution  of  chloride  of 
calcium,  he  at  once  asserts  that — 

"  The  whole  of  '  the  calcareous  strata,  the  marble 
and  various  limestones  which  we  find  on  the 
earth's  surface  *  have  been  precipitated  from  the 
ocean  by  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda." 

Again,  observing  that  in  the  laboratory  the  reactions 
of  the  compounds  of  magnesia  with  carbonic  acid  un- 
der a  dense  atmosphere  of  that  acid,  might  be  used  in 
facilitating  the  separation  of  the  sulphate  of  lime 
(gypsum),  or  of  the  double  carbonates  of  lime  and 
magnesia  (dolomites),  he  at  once  jumps  at  the  con- 
clusion— 

"  Tliat  all  the  magnesian  h'mestones  and  gypseous 
strata  from  t!ie  most  ancient  up  to  those  of  the 
tertiary  period,  were  formed  in  a  dense  atmosphere 
of  carbonic  acid." 

In  the  face  of  these  assumptions,  I  contend  and  feel 
confident  the  geological  world  will  support  me  in  be- 
litfving,  that  no  geologist  whosoever  ii  applying  the 
study  of  chemistry  to  the  explanation  of  the  phenomena 
of  his  science  could  by  any  possibility  ever  have  ar- 
rived at  such  sweeping  generalisations. 

When  the  safety  of  Kome  was  endangered  by  the 
victories  of  Hannibal,  the  advice  of  Scipio  to  the  Ro- 
mans was  to  save  Rome  by  attacking  Carthage ;  and 
the  communications  of  Dr.  Hunt  contained  in  the 
Chemical  News  of  January  17th  {Am.  Bepr.  Afar.  *68, 
jMje  107)  and  the  Geological  2fag  izine  of  February  ist, 
evidently  prove  that  he  is  determined  to  pursue  a 
similar  course,  yet  I  trust  with  a  very  different  result, 
since  in  the  present  case  I  imagine  that  the  forces  at 

*  IT«re  It  should  be  explained  thai  Dr.  Hunt,  bv  his  having  some 
time  b:ick  published,  btith  In  France  as  well  as  in  England,  an  outline 
of  hts  prlncii»les  of  chemical  geology,  hiw  fnlrly  laid  hiimelf  ofien  to 
bavlag  his  views  both  critioiaed  and  UiKpated.  whilst  on  the  contrary, 
Dr.  Ilant's  kno^iMedgt^  of  mv  views  on  this  subject  appears  to  hsve 
b«en  derived  f/om  sketchy  aifusloos  to  my  oplni<»n8  scattered  throoch- 
oat  the  two  p^iien  in  cooneetto.i  with  this  dtoooasion  coatalned  re- 
»peetiTe1.*  in  the  OtologUal  Maoiwine  of  Oct.  i,  and  the  Cukmical 
Kkws  of  0'!t.  4.  !a9t  yt«r  {Am.  K«pr.  Dec  %?.  puffe  a$t).  Atth«»n^h 
Us  vlraknit  onelaugJit  misrbt  for  this  reason  be  considered  hardly  as 
alti>g<'ther  fair,  I  so  for  from  oljeoting  to  it,  am  on  the  contrary  tnilr 
thankful  to  Dt.  Hunt  for  thus  enabling  me  to  str«>n-<then  any  weak 

'  '  '     '      '  '  ig  me  with  more  eonfldence  than  b4*f«»re  in  the 

>lQig7  ainoe  brought  lurward  by  me  and  now  la 


pninta,  and  for  inspiring  me  with  more  eonfldence  than  b4*f«»re  in  the 
Tiews  on  chemical  geolt 
the  press. 


Vol.  II.  No.  5.    May,  1868.        15 


command  will  be  found  quite  adequate  for  offence  as 
well  as  defence. 

In  this  discussion,  however,  much  more  trouble  is 
likely  to  be  caused  to  me  by  the  method  in  which  Dr. 
Hunt  carries  on  his  scientific  warfare,  and  which  seems 
to  partake  of  the  character  of  the  country  in  which  he 
resides,  where  the  Indian  system  used  to  be  to  worry 
ont  the  enemy  by  skirmishing,  but  never  to  attack 
strong  points ;  and  the  history  both  of  scientific  dis- 
cussion as  well  as  of  nations,  shows  how  very  effective 
such  a  plan  of  operations  may  prove  even  in  the  de- 
fence of  a  very  weak  cause. 

For  this  reason,  therefore,  I  have  considered  it  pru- 
dent to  keep  the  main  points  under  consideration  as 
prominently  in  view  as  possible,  and  not  to  allow  the 
discussion  to  become  so  diffuse  as  to  risk  losing  sigl^t 
of  them,  which  I  fear  the  reader  of  Dr.  Hunt's  com- 
munications may  be  likely  to  do ;  ncting  on  this  de- 
termination, therefore,  I  have  in  my  reply  to  Dr. 
Hunt's  paper  in  the  Ghemioal  Nkws,  given  a  plain  and 
concise  stitement  of  the  points  (numbered  i  to  9)  in 
which  I  have  presumed  to  differ  from  Dr.  Hunt's 
opinions,  and  as  I  now  find  nothing  in  his  subsequent 
communication  to  the  Otohgical  Magazine  of  February 
1st,  which  could  in  any  way  tend  to  shake  my  previous 
conviction  as  to  the  unsoundness  of  these  points,  I 
must  bi»  content  to  wait  until. Dr.  Hunt  may  conde- 
scend to  bring  forward  further  evidence  in  their 
defence. 

If  now,  however,  after  a  perusal  of  Dr.  Hunt's  paper 
in  the  February  number  of  the  Oeological  Magazme^  it 
is  compared  with  the  text  of  his  previous  communica- 
tion in  the  Chemical  News  of  January  17th  {Am, 
Repr.  Mar,  '68,  po/ge  107),  it  will  be  perceived,  as  the 
editor  of  the  Chological  Magazine  has  already  observed, 
to  be  to  a  great  extent  the  same,  and  in  many  parts 
even  verbatim;  and  remembering  tlie  puerile  a^.'cusa- 
tion  brought  against  me  by  Dr.  Hunt,  that  I  **  for 
some  unknown  renson  withheld  from  the  readers  of 
the  Chemical  Nkws  "  matter  which  I  published  in  the 
pages  of  the  Oeological  Mngazinej  it  really  is  amusing 
to  observe  that  Dr.  Hunt  in  like  manner  has  reservea 
for  the  readers  of  the  Chologieal  Mfgaziiv  several  most 
interesting  observations  which  probably  he  may  have 
considered  (and  with  some  reason  also)  as  beyond  the 
capacity  of  the  chemists  who  patronise  the  Chemical 
News;  as,  for  example,  the  following  lucid ' exposi- 
tions:— 

''  As  for  the  noble  metals,  whose  compounds  with 
oxygen  are  decomposed  at  elevated  temperatures, 
their  great  volatility  as  compared  with  eartliy 
and  metallic  oxides  would  keep  them  in  the 
gaseous  form  till  the  last  stage  of  precipitation  of 
earthy  oxidised  matters,  when  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  globe  was  probably  solidified.  Hence 
we  now  find  them  in  the  earth's  superficial 
crust" 
And  a  little  iurthf*r  on,  he  adds : 

**  We  cannot  conceive  anything  else  than  the  pro- 
duction of  a  homogeneous    oxidised    silicated 
mass,  upon  which  at  a  late  period  would  be  pre- 
cipitated the  noble  metals." 
Chemists  will  not  require  any  comments  upon  the 
above,  but  as  they  have  been  accustomed  to  regard 
some  of  the  noble  metals,  platinum  for  example,  as 
amongst  the  most  refractory  bodies  known,  they  will 
bi^  interested  in  Dr.  Hunt's  discovery  of  their  great 
volatility  at  heats  below  which  silicates  solidify  at,  as 
well  as  the  information  that  the  extreme  refractory 


[Sngllth  Edition,  ToL  ZVH,  Va  431,  past  Ul.] 


2o6 


On  aoine  Points  in  Chemical  Geology. 


\      May,  VM. 


nature  of  the  other  metallic  oxides  had  been  so  com- 
pletely demonstrated,  since  some  of  them  at  least,  as 
lead,  bismuth,  antimony,  molybdenum,  &c.,  have  not 
been  hitherto  so  considered. 

Geologists,  however,  will  not  all  feel  convinced  by 
Dr.  Hunt's  mere  assertion,  that  the  noble  metals  have 
from  the  beginning  been  in  the  earth's  superficial  crust, 
precipitated  on  to  it  from  the  skies  hke  Jupiter's 
golden  rain,  but  may  also  be  incUned  to  believe  that 
they  may  possibly  have  been  carried  up  from  be- 
low. 

By  a  curious  coincidence  mv  answer  to  the  criticisms 
of  Dr.  Hunt,  which  appeared  in  the  following  week's 
Chemical  News,  is  also  to  be  found  in  the  Geological 
Magcusine  of  Feb.  i,  in  which  Dr.  Hunt's  second  com- 
munication appeared,  and  I  was  glad  to  find  that  had 
I  even  been  previously  acquainted  with  the  contents 
of  this  latter  paper,  I  would  not  materially  have  al- 
tered my  remarks,  although  I  should  have  added  a 
f  .'W  more  words  in  reply  to  some  minor  points  brought 
forward  by  Dr.  Hunt,  which  did  not  appear  in  his  pre- 
vious one  in  the  Chkmioal  News. 

The  only  important  one  now  advanced  is  set  forth 
in  Dr.  Hunt's  courteous  request  for  Mr.  Forbes  to  ex- 
plain ^'  the  intervention  of  water  in  all  igneous  rocks, 
which,  as  he  declares,  are  outbursts  from  the  still  fluid 
interi<  r  of  our  globe.'' 

The  above  words  do  not  exactly  express  m^  views, 
since  I  maintain  that  igneous  rocks  iiave  their  source 
in  some  reservoir  or  reservoirs  of  still  fluid  matter  in  the 
earth's  inter  or :  and  I  see  no  difficulty  in  explaining, 
by  the  action  of  capillarity  and  heat,  the  infiltration  of 
the  requisite  amount  of  water  for  the  supply  of  such  a 
source. 

Not  wishing,  however,  to  accuse  Dr.  Hunt  of  "  un- 
familiarity  with  geological  literature,"  to  use  his  own 
words,  I  could  not  suppose  him  ignorant  of  the  writ- 
ings of  Daubr^,  whose  labours  in  the  field  of  experi- 
mental geology  are  well  known,  and  it  seemed  strange 
that  Dr.  Hunt  should  have  oveiiooked  the  fact  that  this 
question  had  been  fully  answered  by  this  gentleman, 
whose  words  are — ^*En  r^um^  sans  exclure  I'eau 
originaire  et  en  quelque  sorte  de  constitution  initiale, 
que  Ton  suppose  gdn^ralement  inoorpor^e  aux  masses 
int^rieures  et  fondues,  M.  Daubr^  est  port^  ^  cpnclure 
de  I'exp^rience  ci  dessus  relat^e,  que  I'eau  de  la  surface 
pourrait,  sous  Taction  combing  de  la  capillarity  et  de 
la  chaleur  desoendre  jusque  dans  1^  parties  profoudes 
du  globe." 

Always  preferring,  when  possible,  a  reference  to  faCct 
or  experiment  th^n  to  authority,  I  would  advise  Dr. 
Hunt,  in  order  to  form  a  conception  of  such  strange 
action,  to  examine  a  common  Q-inord  or  other  injeotor 
used  to  supply  feed  water  to  a  high  pressure  boiler,  and 
he  will  soon  perceive  how  it  is  possible  that  the  very 
forces  which  otherwise  would  prevent  the  entrance  of 
the  water  into  the  boiler  can  become  the  very  means 
of  forcing  it  in. 

Dr.  Hunt  next  asks  me  to  remember  "  that  the  oldest 
known  series  of  rocks,  the  Laurentian,  consists  of 
quartzites,  lime-stones,  and  gneias,  evidently  of  sedi- 
mentary origin,  and  derived  from  still  older  sedimen- 
tary rooks."  When  I  was  in  Canada,  what  little  I  did 
see  of  the  Laurentian  rocks,  did  not  at  all  prove  to  me 
that  they  had  been  derived  from  still  older  sedimentary 
r  jck*^  but  on  the  contrary,  whilst  believing  that  the 
Laurentian  and  quartzites  were  of  metamorphic  sedi- 
mentary origin,  and  that  the  Ume-stones  were  of  met- 
amorpbac  organic  origin,  I  inclined  to  tbe  conclusion 


that  the  materials  out  of  which  they  had  been  recoo- 
structed  had  most  probably  been  the  d^ris  of  still  older 
igneous  rooks,  a  view  which  I  have  maintained  since 
1854,  with  regard  to  some  of  the  analogous  Norwe- 
gian rocks,  which  I  understand  Dr.  Hunt  claims  as 
Laurentian. 

To  refresh  my  memory,  however,  I  have  read  otct 
the  description'  of  the  mioerid  characters  of  these  rocb 
contained  in  the  report  of  the  geological  survey  ot 
Canada,  pp.  24-29,  but  can  find  therein  no  evidence 
whatsoever  to  the  contrary,  and  therefore  without  dis- 
puting the  correctness  of  Dr.  Hunt's  assertions  as  to 
points  where  he  ought  at  least  to  be  at  home,  I  would 
ask  whether  this  statement  is  founded  on  facts  or  hy- 
potheses. 

Dr.  Hunt  then  devotes  a  whole  page  to  what  appears 
to  be  an  inquiry  as  to  who  first  showed  that  water 
played  a  part  in  igneous  action,  a  subject  which  may 
be  of  personal  or  historical  interest,  but  which  is  quite 
unconnected  with  the  questions  at  issue,  for  in  the  con- 
sideration of  nature  all  geologists  will  persist,  notwith- 
standing whatever  Dr.  Ilunt  opines  to  the  contrary,  in 
regarding  igneous  action  as  volcanic  action,  and  volca- 
nic action  as  igneous  action,  nor  can  they  imagine  for  a 
moment  that  any  person  except  one  who  never  had 
seen  a  volcano  in  eruption  could  be  blind  to  the  evi- 
dence of  his  senses,  and  deny  the  co-operation  of  va- 
pours and  gases  in  volcanic  action. 

That  the  results  of  Mr.  Scrope*s  admirable  researches 
should  have  been  discredited,  ridiculed,  and  declared 
unchemical,  should  be  a  warning  to  chemists  in  futoie 
not  to  hazard  such  opinions  without  having  studied 
them  in  the  field  as  well  as  in  the  laboratory. 

As  Dr.  Hunt  now  brings  forward  the  question  of  the 
density  of  quartz,  it  may  be  as  well  to  remind  him  that 
all  arguments  based  upon  such  data  must  necessarily 
be  invalidated  by  the  fact  that  the  specific  gravity  of 
quartz  crystals  out  of  true  volcanic  lavas  is  found  to  be 
2'6,  or  the  same  as  the  quartz  in  granite,  whilst  ICr. 
Sorby's  microscopical  examination  of  the  quartz  found 
in  recent  lavas  conclusively  proves  that  it  can  have 
crystallised  out  of  the  molten  mass,  and  not  necessarily, 
as  Dr.  Hunt  would  have  us  infer,  merely  been  entangled 
from  the  debris  of  onginally  sedimentary  strata. 
,  Having  long  occupied  myself  with  the  application  of 
the  microscope  to  geology,  and  having  repeated  many 
of  Mr.  Sorby's  experiments  relating  to  this  subject,  I 
do  not  even  think  it  necessary  to  contradict  Dr.  Hunt 
when  he  accuses  me  of  not  understanding  Mr.  Sorby*8 
views,  being  quite  content  with  that  genUeman  having 
expressed  himself  most  decidedly  to  the  contrary. 
Whilst  I  now  recommend  Dr.  Hunt  to  commence  the 
study  of  microscopic  geology,  I  can  at  the  same  time 
well  imagine  his  being  disconcerted  when  on  opening 
the  February  number  of  the  Geological  Magaxine,  m 
which  his  own  paper  appeared,  he  at  the  same  time 
found  a  few  lines  firom  Mr.  Sorby  quite  sufficient  to  an- 
nihilate the  deductions  he  had  so  elaborately  arrived  at 
from  a  study  of  that  observer's  memoirs  with  a  view  to 
make  them  serve  his  own  purposes. 

All  the  other  points  have  already  been  oois'deredin 
my  paper  in  the  Cuemioal  News,  and  I  would  only  re- 
mark with  regard  to  Dr.  Hunt's  criticisms  upon  my 
chemical  geology,  that  it  is  probable  that  some  of  them 
would  not  even  have  been  brought  forward  by  Dr. 
Hunt,  had  he  waited  until  an  outline  of  these  views,  now 
in  the  press,  had  appeared,  instead  of  selecting  for  attack 
disjointed  fragments  or  sentences  apart  firom  their  con- 
text; thus  for  example,  in  the  case  where  he  accufts 


[Bnglkli  Bditioa,  Vol.  ZTTZX.,  Ka  432,  pagw  111,  lUL] 


Gbbiioal  Nsws,  ) 
May,  18<8.      f 


On  some  Points  in  Chemical  Geology. 


207 


me  of  being  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  diffusion :  he  would 
have  ibimd  my  opinion  expressed  as  follows : — 

"  Whilst  on  the  one  hand  the  zones  formed  in  the 
earth  are  considered  to  have  possessed  a  somewhat 
stable  or  permanent  character,  those  present  in  the  at- 
mosphere would  on  the  contrary  be  the  reverse,  for  no 
sooner  had  the  ga«form  products  forming  them,  by 
in  the  first  instance  obeying  the  impulse  of  gravity, 
and  flo  overcoming  the  counteracting  tendency  of  the 
laws  of  the  diffusion  of  gases,  than  these  latter  would 
assert  themselves,  and  in  process  of  time  entirely  oblit- 
erate this  arrangement" 

And  agiiin: — 

"  As  bt'f  jre  stated,  this  arrangement  would  gradunlly 
be  obliterated  by  diffu5«ion,  but  as  the  element  of  time 
is  one  of  vital  importance  in  consider' ng  the  effects  of 
diffusion,  it  is  imagined  that  before  being  obliteratod, 
this  arrangement  may  still  have  had  considerable  influ- 
ence in  modifying  the  chemical  reactions  which  took 
place  at  this  period  in  the  earth' -»  history."* 

Dr.  Hunt,  whose  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  difiusion 
does  not  seem  to  include  any  appreciation  of  tite  im- 
portance of  the  element  of  time  in  their  consideration, 
might  just  as  well  maintain  that  a  lufnp  of  sugar  could 
not  reach  the  bottom  of  a  tumbler  of  water  because  sugar 
will  dissolve  in  water. 

As  Dr.  Hunt  seems  to  have  great  respect  for  author- 
ities on  each  subject,  I  will  have  great  plea^^ure  in  sub- 
mitting the  question  as  whether  my  proposition  is  in- 
Talidated  under  these  circumstances  by  the  action  of 
laws  of  <'ifiusion  to  Mr.  Graham,  the  great  expounder 
of  these  laws,  and  abide  by  his  verdict. 

In  the  discussion  of  new  views,  more,  however,  is  re- 
quired than  mere  quotations  from  old  anthorities,  what 
is  specially  required  are  facts  and  experimental  evi- 
dence ;  it  mu'^t  also  be  remembered  that  much  depends 
upon  the  mode  in  which  authorities  are  made  use  of  in 
such  discussions,  since  it  is  often  an  easy  matter  to  se- 
lect passages  or  disjointed  fragments  from  the  publish- 
ed works  of  authorities  which  may  appear  to  support 
Almost  any  view  which  may  be  taken  of  a  subject  un- 
der consideration. 

Dr.  Hunt^  whose  papers  consist  in  greater  part  of  a 
compilation  of  references  to  numerous  authorities,  from 
the  time  of  Thomas  &  Kempis  down  to  that  of  S terry 
Hunt,  seems  to  be  quite  aware  of  this  fact,  as  an  in- 
stance or  two  will  testify. 

Thus,  when  Dr.  Hunt  quotes  Hopkins  in  support  of 
his  views  as  to  the  consolidation  of  the  molten  sphere, 
be  takes  good  care  not  to  inform  his  readers  that  Hop- 
kins distinctly  declares  his  opinion  that  the  exterior  was 
not  the  last  to  solidi^,  but  would  have  consolidated 
and  formed  a  crust  beu>re  the  interior  had  become  en- 
tirely solid,  a  view  which  I  have  adopted  on  his 
authority,  and  which  is  diametrically  opposed  to  Dr. 
Hunt's  opinion,  that — 

''  The  surface  of  the  earth  immediately  previous  to 
its  entire  solidification  was  a  '  a  liquid  bath  of 
no  ereat  depth  surrounding  the  solid  nucleus.'  " 

Again,  although  he  finds  it  convenient  to  quote  For- 
cbammer  in  reference  to  some  minor  points  quite  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  present  discussion,  he  seems  to 
be  quite  unaware  of  the  fact  that  the  idea  of  the  saline 
crust  of  chlorides,  &c ,  which  he  ridicules  mv  having 
adopted,  was  long  before  propounded  by  Forchammer, 
who  first  made  the  calculation  that  the  quantity  of 


*  It  mast  be  remembered  that  these  greet  bridles  of  fast's  and  vaptmrs 
^re  supposed  to  be  the  rtttolts  of  a  general  and  alDinltaieoas  act  of 
cbemicai  oomblmttion  in  HtHy  and  not  to  hare  been  slowl/  gathered  to- 
gether from  the  realms  of  siMusew 


chloride  of  sodium  in  such  a  crust  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  have  clothed  the  entire  sphere  with  a  coat- 
ing of  salt  some  10  feet  in  thickness. 

And  yet,  again,  when  he  refers  to  Sorby's  experi- 
ments as  corroborating  his  views,  as  for  example  that 
quartz  cannot  be  a  volcanic  product,  «.  0.,  a  product  of 
igneous  fusion  in  Uature,  his  deductions  are  at  once  put 
to  rout  by  the  few  lines  from  Sorby  himself  brought 
forward  in  my  last  communication  to  the  Chsmical 
News. 

On  the  other  hand,  after  a  full  consideration  of  the 
various  memoirs  of  Hopkins,  Forchammer,  and  Sorby, 
along  with  a  careful  repetition  of  many  of  their  experi- 
ments, I  have  failed  to  discover  any  point  inconsistent 
with  the  views  I  have  advanced,  and  I  am  further 
enabled  to  find  much  evidence  in  their  favour  in  the 
writings  of  Daubr^,  Durocher.  Bunsen,  Phillips^  and 
other  eminent  scientific  men  wnose  opinion  Dr.  Hunt 
evidently  considers  as  quite  beneath  his  consideration. 

To  prove  that  it  is  better  to  stay  at  home  in  one's 
laboratory  than  to  travel  wide  and  far  in  order  to  study 
nature's  operations  in  the  field,  as  is  considered  neces- 
sarv  to  the  geologist  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  and  other 
eminent  men,  J9t.  Hunt  quotes,  firom  Ttiomas  4  Kem- 
pis, "the  wise  saying  passed  into  a  proverb  among 
churchmen" — that  *^1iiose  who  make  many  pilgrim- 
ages rarely  become  saints." 

In  this  we  are  quite  of  accord,  since  it  is  well  known 
that  a  knowledge  of  the  world  acquired  by  travel  is 
the  best  antidote  to  bip;otry  or  one-sided  opinions. 
What  we  require  are  geologists,  not  saints,  and  al- 
though it  may  be  that  in  Canada  geologists  are  es- 
teemed in  proportion  to  their  saintly  pretensions,  expe- 
rience on  tnis  side  the  Atlantic  does  not  tend  to  prove 
that  any  of  the*  natural  sciences  have  been  as  jet  much 
advanced  by  the  labours  of  the  would-be-saintly  por- 
tion of  the  community. 

As  I  have  previously  explained,  I  was  induced  to 
enter  into  ^is  discussion  (which  I  am  still  confident 
will  do  good  to  science  by  energetically  ventilating 
some  obscure  points)  by  the  special  invitation  conveyed 
in  writing  from  Dr.  Hunt  "  to  have  a  friendlv  fight ;  '* 
but  I  now  find,  if  I  may  judge  from  the  style  of  that 
gentleman's  communications  to  the  Chemical  Nxws 
and  Geological  Magazine^  that  his  idea  of  scientific  war- 
fare consists  in  an  attempt  to  overwhelm  and  crush  his 
opponent  with  sneers  and  countless  accusations  of  in- 
competency and  ignorance  :*  ignorance  of  chemistry, 
of  geology,  of  petrology,  mineralogy,  microscopy,  liter- 
ature of  the  subject,  drc,  drc,  &c.,  whilst  at  the  same 
time  he  does  not  fail  to  herald  in  his  own  views  as  what 
might  be  termed  the  quintessence  of  the  combined 
"  results  of  modem  investigations  in  phvsics,  chemis- 
try, mathematics  and  astronomy."  Would  it  not  have 
been  more  prudent,  as  well  as  more  becoming,  to  have 
left  to  our  readers  the  task  of  forming  their  own  judg- 
ment upon  the  evidence  on  both  sides  brought  before 
them  in  the  course  of  this  discussion  ? 

*  Dr.  Hant  dues  not  content  himself  with  mere  aecnsatlons  of  Igno- 
rance, for  when  dlspnting  my  statement  that  the  renoUons  of  the  com- 
pounds of  magnesia  with  carbonic  acid  In  an  artificially  compressed 
atmosphere  of  Uiat  add,  had  long  been  employed  In  mannfactnres,— he 
Qses  the  word^  *-  here  It  becomes  dltflcnlt  to  admit  the  plea  of  Ignorance 
which  snnests  Itself  for  most  of  Mr.  Forbes's  errors  and  misstate- 
ments." 1  may  merely  add.  that  since  the  appearance  of  T)r.  Hunt's 
paper  In  the  CnBJfiCAL  Nbwb  of  Jan.  17th  {Am.  Rtpr.^  Mare\  *68. 
page  107),  1  have  reeelred  Tarli»us  communlcaUons  from  chemists  and 
others  connected  or  scqnainted  with  this  manufacture,  not  only  offering 
to  supply  facts  In  ftill  corroboration  of  the  truth  of  nty  assertion,  but 
also  directing  my  attention  to  a  long  expired  patent  (No.  910X  1841) 
of  the  late  Mr.  Pattlnson,  of  liewoasae,  In  which  these  rery  reaeUons 
are  dlsttn^y  embodied. 


[EngUdi  Bdition,  Vol.  ZVXL,  Ka  431,  pages  112, 113.] 


208 


Spectroscope  and  Microapectroscope. 


(  CnSVICAL  T?IVL 

}       May,  laeB. 


Haviijff  no  pretensions,  either  to  being  a  saint,  nor 
like  Dr.  Huiit,  to  be  versed  in  saintly  l(»re,  I  cannot 
quote  Thomas  £t  Kempis,  yet  I  can  nevertheless  follow 
his  example  and  wind  up  with  an  old  quotation ;  for 
even  at  the  risk  of  appearing  still  more  uiicourteous,  I 
really  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  remind  him  of 
the  old  saying, 
that  "curses, 


:,  passed  into  a  proverb  amongst  laymen, 
like  chickens,  come  home  to  roost. 


ON  THE  USE  OF  THE 

SPECTROSCOPE  AKD  MICROSPECTROSCOPE 

IK  THE   DISCOVERT   OF 

BLOOD  STAINS  AND  DISSOLVED  BLOOD,  AND 
IN  PATHOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES. 

BT  W.   BKBD  HEBAPATH,  1I.D.,   F.R.S. 

The  discovery  of  and  recognition  of  blood  stains,  and 
more  espec  ially  of  human  blood,  has  been  a  problem 
which  has  long  baffled  the  skill  of  the  chemist  and  the 
more  highly -trained  medico-legal  eye  of  the  micrpsco- 
pist,  and  any  means  by  which  our  medical  jurists  can 
lessen  the  diMculties,  and  facilitate  'jhe  inquiry,  must 
be  hailed  as  a  boon  bjr  all  scientific  ob^^ervers.  Hitherto 
the  chemical  difficulties  of  the  question  have  b  en  the 
greater  in  the  inverse  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
stain,  and  many  minute  and  perfectly  evident  spots 
would  even  evade  recognition  by  the  test  tube  in  con- 
sequence of  the  smallness  of  their  size,  or  the  disad- 
vantages of  their  position.  Whilst  the  microscope 
would  also  fail  in  their  detection  if  from  any  peculiar 
circum -stances  the  globules  could  not  be  safely  and  se- 
curely removed  from  the  tissues  which  w^ere  under 
careful  examination:  independently  of  which  the 
chemical  and  physical  changes  induced  in  the  characters 
of  the  blood  globules  by  the  various  menstrua  em- 
ployed in  their  removal,  rendered  recognition  by  mi- 
crometric^il  admeasurement  a  very  doubtful  and  uncer- 
tain operation. 

When  blood  globules  are  to  be  discovered  floating  in 
a  saline  fluid,  such  as  urine,  saliva,  or  the  generality  of 
mucous  discharges,  the  microscope  will  readily  detect 
their  presence ;  and  should  the  density  of  the  fluid  be 
very  closely  equal  to  the  specific  gravity  of  the  serum 
•of  the  blood,  scarcely  any  change  in  tijeir  physical 
•characters  would  occur,  and  it  would  then  be  possible 
to  determine  their  exact  form  and  size,  and  render  their 
probable  source  a  question  of  easy  solution :  but  when 
the  blood  has .  been  dried  and  long  exposed  to  the  air, 
it  is  no  longer  easy  to  reproduce  the  blood  globules  in 
their  pristine  form  and  optical  characters,  as  the  various 
media  employed  to  dissolve  the  clots  act  on  the  globules 
^ith  more  or  less  celerity.  It  is  usual  to  employ  either 
; solutions  of  cane  or  grape  sugar,  or  mixtures  of  glyce- 
rine and  distilled  water  having  a  density  of  1*030**. 
.'Some  observers  have  employed  saline  solutions  for  this 
purpose,  others  have  used  a  strong  solution  of  arseni- 
ous  acid  in  distilled  water ;  the  objects  which  each  have 
dn  view  being  the  removal  of  the  blood  d  scs,  and  the 
.non-alteration  of  their  physical  characters.  If  the  ac- 
tion of  the  solvent  or  medium,  from  its  deficient  den- 
.sity  or  peculiar  chemical  properties,  has  resulted  in  a 
destruodon  of  the  blood  globules  and  a  solution  of  tlie 
colouring  matter,  the  m»cro8eop€  would  no  longer  either 
recogrnise  its  in^immalian  character  or  even  assure  us  of 
^J^^f^noe  Of  Mood. 
'^^  th/^j^J^7^^(tit>^^^  ^i  *^®  enquiry  the  chemist  alone, 
^^  Zjt^^J'm^^^  ^^  ^®**»  ^^"^^  decide  the  question 

-^    '^^>  ^^     of  dissolved  ha&matine,  and  would 


^0^ 


chiefly  rely  on  the  action  of  heat  in  coagulating  Ae 
albumen  and  destruction  of  the  colour ;  whilst  upon 
another  portion  of  the  fluid  he  would  assure  himself 
that  ammonia  would  not  produce  any  great  change  of 
colour,  thus  deciding  the  non-vegetable  character  of 
the  colouring  matter.  But  during  the  past  two  or 
three  years  an  addition  has  been  made  to  our  opticil 
instruments  in  the  aid  which  we  have  obtained  in  the 
recognition  of  various  substances  by  the  effects  which 
they  have  on  the  absorption  of  dSferent  portions  of 
the  spectrum,  and  we  have  various  forms  of  spectro- 
scope according  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
intended. 

The  first  invented  t«pectroscope  was  a  very  efficient 
but  cumbrous  instrument,  and  astonished  the  world  by 
the  discovery  of  four  new  metals  in  consequence  of  the 
remarkable  peculiarities  of  their  coloured  flames,  and 
thallium,  caesium,  rubidium,  and  indium  have  been  thos 
isolated  from  other  bodies,  and  added  to  the  list  of  ele- 
mentary bodies.  Shortly  afterwards  Professor  Stokes 
introduced  a  modification  of  this  instrument,  which 
enabled  hquids  and  coloured  fluids  to  be  submifted  to' 
the  same  mode  of  testing  them  by  their  absorptite 
"spectra,  and  on  the  table  is  one  which  I  have  long  em- 
ployed for  this  purpose,  a  more  powerful  and  efficient 
instrument  than  that  recommended  by  him  for  these 
expeiiment«».  In  ftiis  instrument,  essentially  a  direct 
vision  or  Hofmann's  spectr. 'scope,  the  liquid  to  be 
examined  is  placed  in  a  small  test-tube,  and  that  is  held 
in  a  clipped  spring,  which  supporfs  it  during  the  exam- 
ination, whilst  a  bright  light  is  transmitted  through  the 
liquid  previous  to  its  anafysis  in  the  spectroscope, — &e 
spectrum  showing  various  bands  of  absorption  in  well- 
marked  optical  liquids,  some  of  the  mo>t  beautifbl  of 
which  are  certainly  weak  solutions  of  permanganate  of 
potassa,  and  dilute  solutions  of  cruoiine  and  hiematine. 
In  the  first  case  five  dark  bands  are  seen  in  the  green 
part  of  the  spectrum,  and  in  that  of  blood  two  sharply 
defined  black  bands  are  seen,  one  in  the  green,  and 
another  on  the  border  of  the  orange  ray.  The  inten- 
sities and  positions  of  these  bands  vary  according  to 
the  age  of  the  blood  stain,  and  result  fi*om  the  altera- 
tion in  the  colouring  matter  of  the  blood,  from  the  rf- 
fects  of  drjring,  and  from  exposure  to  air. 

The  stains  w.hen  old  have  a  much  less  decided  or 
evident  absorption,  the  bands  are  weaker,  and  an  ad- 
ditional band  of  a  diffuse  character  is  found  in  die  red 
ray.  But  it  does  not  appear  to  be  possible  to  form  any 
positive,  or  accurate,  opinion  on  the  age  of  blood; 
from  various  observations  it  has  been  ascertained  thai 
these  changes  take  place  with  more  rapidity  under 
some  circumstances  than  in  other  apparently  simibr 
cases.  i 

In  all  optical  experiments  on  blood,  it  is  necessary'to 
use  excessivdy  dilute  solutions  of  the  colounng  matter;  j 
otherwise  the  fluid  is  absolutely  opaque  to  light — or  ii  ' 
it  transmit  any  light  at  all,  nothing  but  the  extreme 
red  rays  are  observed.  When  stul  more  dilute,  the 
blue  end  of  the  spectrum  is  auite  absorbed,  and  so  ire 
two  bands  in  the  green,  and  occasionally,  abo,  one  ia 
the  re'l.  These  opti  al  properties  of  blood  were  fint 
pointed  out  by  Hoppe  {Virehow's  Areh.^  1862,  vol 
xxiii.  p.  446),  and  subsequently  by  Professor  Stoka 
{Proceedings  0/ the  Royal  Society^  1S64),  and  Mr.  Sorbj 
{Quarterly  Journal  of  Science,  1865). 

Professor  Stokes  has  invesigated  the  eflTects  of  dif- 
ferent chemieal  reagents  upon  the  colouring  matter  of 
blood  {Proceedings  of  the  Koyal  Society,  1864,  p.  355, 
ti  seq.)  and  he  has  arrived  at  m  very  inteuigible  solation 


[Englkfa  Editton,  ToL  ZTXX.,  Na  431,  p^w  113»  114.] 


\ 


contains  a  substance  called  cmorine)  which  like  indigo 
18  capable  of  existing  in  two  different  states  of  oxida- 
tion and  colour.  That  in  arterial  blood,  scarlet  cruorine 
is  the  form  in  which  it  is  found,  and  in  this  condition 
▼erj  dilute  solutions  produce  two  very  sharply  defined 
black  bands  of  absi>rption,  one  close  to  and  parallel 
with  the  sodium  line  I),  and  is  the  more  intense  of  the 
two;  whilst  the  second  is  found  in  the  green  ray 
about  the  breadth  of  the  previous  band  distant  from 
it. 

On  submitting  the  scarlet  cruorine  to  deoxidising 
agents  to  a  moderate  extent^  the  cruorine  becomes  the 
deoxidisfd  or  purple  cruorine,  and  then  the  solution  is 
light  or  deep  purple  according  to  its  degree  of  concen- 
tration. 

Examined  by  the  spectroscope  in  this  condition,  only 
one  deep  broad  band  gf  absorption  is  found,  wliich 
Qommences  about  the  solar  or  sodium  line  D,  and  then 
passes  onwards  to  the  green,  absorbing  the  whole  of 
the  yellow  and  part  of  the  green  band  of  the  spectrum. 
It  is  remarkable  that  upon  shaking  up  a  dilute  solution 
of  scarlet  cruorine  with  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid 
the  fluid  does  not  exhibit  the  appearance,  or  spectrum 
of  venous  blood.  It  is  evident  therefore  that  the  blue 
colour  of  venous  blood  is  not  produced  by  the  presence 
of  carbonic  acid  in  solution,  but  to  a  reducing  action  in 
the  capillaries  analogous  to  that  of  other  reagents, 
whilst  the  influence  of  sulphide  of  ammonia,  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen,  or  the  hydrated  protoxide  of  iron,  or 
the  proiochloride  of  tin,  or  the  peculi^  deoxidation  of 
arterial  blood  due  to  the  changes  going. on  in  the  sys- 
temic circulation,  are  all  instances  m  which  such  a  de- 
oxidation  or  reduction  has  been  in  action.  A  dilute 
solution  of  scarlet  cruorine  set  aside  in  a  full  closely 
corked  phial,  or  with  very  little  air,  will  shortly  pass  by 
spontaneous  deoxidation  to  the  purple  cruorine,  and 
\rill  tlien  exhibit  all  the  optical  phenomena  of  this  pe- 
culiar substance,  but  resumes  its  scarlet  colour  by  ag*- 
tation  with  air.  Pr>»fes8or  Stokes  says  that  of  all  re- 
ducing agents,  fm  ammoniacal  solution  of  protochloride 
of  tin  (previously  treated  with  sufficient  tartaric  acid 
to  prevent  the  precipitation  of  oxide  of  tin),  is  the 
most  efficient  reducing  agent,  and  as  it  is  colourless  it 
does  not  interfere  with  the  spectroscopic  appearances. 
He  says  that  when  a  few  drops  of  this  solution  are 
added  to  a  solution  of  scarlet  cruorine,  the  latter  is 
presently  reduced  and  we  have  the  spectrum  of  purple 
cruorine.  If  the  solution  be  now  shaken  up  with  air, 
-the  cruorine  is  reoxidised  to  the  scarlet  form.  On 
standing  a  few  minutes  it  again  becomes  reduced,  and 
the  solution  may  be  made  to  go. through  these  changes 
repeatedly  until  all  the  tin  has  passed  to  that  of  com- 
plete oxidation. 

But  when  blood  or  scarlet  cruorine  is  treated  with  an 
excess  of  deoxidising  material,  or  has  become  changed 
by  long  exposure  to  air  or  by  drying,  or  by  the  effect 
of  sulphurous  and  some  other  acids,  the  colouring  mat- 
ter becomes  brown  and  jnore  insoluble  in  water.  It  is 
in  fact  then  changed  into  brown  hcemaUne^  which  has 
very  different  optical  properties  from  that  of  either 
scarlet  or  purple  cruonne.  The  two  dark  bands  of 
absorption  are  still  found,  but  have  become  very  faint, 
and  much  less  sharp  in  outline,  whilst  a  third  dark  band 
is  seen  in  the  red  ray ;  of  course,  on  the  less  refran<nble 
side  of  the  solar  or  sodium  line  D.  This  change,  when 
produced  by  age  and  exposure,  is  sometimes  months  in 


j.^ow  jus<*  His  cruorine  cau  exisb  m  two  uuiireni 
forms,  so  can  hsematine ;  and  we  have  either  the  brown 
or  the  red  hsemaine,  the  latter  being  produced  by 
deoxidising  the  brown  luematine  hj  some  reducing 
agents,  as  hydrated  protoxide  of  iroai  Then  two 
bands  of  absorption  occur,  as  in  scarlet  cruorine,  but 
capable  of  being  readily  distinguished  from  those  by 
their  position  and  different  degrees  of  intensity. 

In  red  hsBmatine  an  interval  exists  between  the 
sodium  or  solar  line  D  and  the  margin  of  the  first  band 
of  absorption,  which  in  red  hcematine  is  less  distinct  or 
«Aarp.  than  that  in  the  scarlet  cruorine,  or  than  its  fel- 
low in  the  same  spectrum ;  both  of  which  therefore  are 
in  red  hsematine  found  in  the  green  rays.  Most  chemical 
reagents  convert  scarlet  cruorine  into  brown  hasmatino 
wi^out  any  previous  passage  through  the  stage  and 
properties  of  purple  cruorine.  The  ^ects  of  reduc- 
tion on  brown  hsematine  are  evanedcent^  and  the  solu- 
tion rapidly  becomes  deficient  in  optical  power ;  it  does 
not  assume  the  former  properties  of  brown  hsmatine. 
The  absorption  bands  fade  away  and  disappear,  the  one 
nearer  to  the  sodium  line  D  being  the  more  per^istent^ 
and  remaining  sharp  during  several  days;  this  takes 
place  even  if  the  bottle  be  air-tight.  Re-  treatment 
wiUi  protoxide  of  iron  will  again  reproduce  the  two 
absorption  bands  as  before.  It  is  brown  hsematine 
which  is  usually  discovered  in  old  blood  stains,  but  red 
hsematine  in  dry  and  more  recent  blood  clots.  A  spe- 
cimen on  the  table  six  months  old  still  shows  the  two 
bands  of  red  hsematine,  whilst  one  of  two  years  old 
shows  the  spectrum  of  brown  hsematine. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  state,  that  these  specimens  of 
dried  blood  had  been  kept  in  a  moderately  dry  room, 
powdered,  and  in  a  paper  pill-box  for  some  portion  of 
the  time,  but  during  tne  major  part  of  the  period  on 
cloths  exposed  to  the  air  without  any  care,  and  in  the 
ordinary  atmosphere  of  an  inhabited  room,  with  gas 
burning  nightly.  Solutions  of  these  specimens  of  blood 
in  distilled  water,  after  having  been  kept  closely  corked 
for  some  days,  underwent  a  peculiar  change.  Both 
the  brown  and  red  hsematine  were  spantaneoudy  changed 
in*o  purple  cruorine,  and  now  show  only  the  one  broad 
band  of  absorption  due  to  that  colouring  matter.  This 
effect  is  probably  due  to  reduction  by  sulphuretted 
hydrogen.  In  no  specimen  would  it  be  possible  to  de- 
tect any  globules  by  the  microscope^  as  the  colouring 
matters  have  been  all  dissolved  in  distilled  water,  and 
tlie  globules  destroyed.  The  microscope  would  tnere- 
fore  fail  in  detecting  blood  in  all  of  them,  whilst  the 
chemist  might  probably  recognise  it  in  most  of  the 
fluids,  and  so  wiU  the  spectroscope.  When  an  old 
blood  stain  has  been  so  changed  by  exposure  to  air 
that  the  hsematine  gives  but  very  faint  and  indistinct 
absorptive  bands,  it  is  possible  by  deoxidising  the  solu- 
tion of  hsen^atine  by  means  of  a  little  recently  preciiw 
itated  hydrated  protoxide  of  iron  to  reproduce  the 
bands  in  nearly  the  same  intensity,  though  slightly  dif- 
fering in  position,  than  they  were  in  blood  stains  of  a 
very  recent  period  of  their  formation,  when  scarlet 
cruorine  would  of  course  be  the  colouring  material 

This  experiment  is  readily  made  by  adding  a  few 
drops  of  a  weak  solution  of  proto-sulphate  or  proto- 
chloride of  iron,  and  then  a  few  drops  of  liquor  am- 
moniae ;  the  green  hydrated  protoxide  of  inn  result- 
ing has  a  great  affinity  for  oxygen,  and  at  once 
reduces  the  hiematine  and  restores  its  colour  and  optical 
propertied 


[EngUah  Bdttton,  ToL  Z7IL,  Wo.  431,  |Wgw  114, 115  j  Ko.  432,  page  IM.] 


i 


2IO 


Spectroscope  and  Microspectvoacope. 


\ 


CnmcAL  17] 
May,  W 


It  ifl  essential  that  putrefaction  should  not  have 
actually  destroyed  the  haematine.  The  spectroscope 
which  has  been  mounted  upon  this  stand  is  so  perfect 
in  its  action  that  it  readily  exhibits  Fraunhofer's  lines 
in  solar  or  lunar  light,  and  it  divides  the  bright  yellow 
sodium  line  D  into  two  when  properly  adjusted.  It 
therefore  gives  great  accuracy  of  observation,  and  the 
stronger  dark  hues  of  the  solar  spectrum  become  so 
many  fixed  points  for  the  comparison  of  the  position  of 
the  dark  absorptive  band  of  various  coloured  solutions 
when  they  are  observed  by  daylight. 

One  disadvantage  attendant  upon  the  employment 
of  this  form  of  spectroscope  is  the  quantity  of  material 
necessary  to  be  employed.  Several  drops  of  blood 
must  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  operator  to  got  a  suffi- 

,  cient  coloured  solution  to  fill  the  little  test-tubes  used 
in  the  optical  examination.  By  modifying  the  instru- 
ment, and  introducing  a  larger  tube  for  containing  the 
liquid  to  be  examined ;  say  a  column  of  six  or  eight 
inches  in  length,  it  would  be  possible  to  discover  one 
drop  of  scarlet  cruorine  in  a  pint  of  distilled  water 
without  much  diflGiculty,  a  quantity  so  minute  that  no 
perceptible  colour  could  be  visible  to  the  unaided  eye, 
and  no  other  method  of  analysis  would  be  capable  of 
detecting  it  Quantities  like  these  are  not  always  to 
be  had,  and  a  recent  well-known  case  in  which  I  had 
the  opportunity  of  first  using  the  micro-spectroscope  in 
a  medico-legal  inquiry  would  have  altogether  failed  if 
I  had  depended  alone  upon  this  "  fluid  spectroscope," 
as  nearly  all  traces  of  blood  stains  had  disappeared  from 
the  weapon  employed  by  the  murderer  in  consequence 
of  tlie  hatchet  having  been  left  exposed  in  the  woods 
near  Mountain  Ash  for  several  weeks  after  the  deed 
was  accomplished  (case  Reg.  v.  Robert  Coe,  Swansea 
Spring  Assizes,  1866).  It  was  only  on  the  removal  of 
the  head  of  the  hatchet  that  any  appearances  of  blood 
were  .to  be  obtained  from  the  surface  of  the  handle, 
which  had  been  protected  by  the  iron  ring,  and  on 
carefully  making  thin  sections  of  these  stained  portions 
of  wood,  and  treating  them  with  distilled  water,  a  few 
drops  only  of  a  brownish  coloured  fluid  were  obtained, 
which  coagulated  and  became  discoloured  on  boiling; 
also  another  drop  when  placed  in  a  very  minute  tube, 
about  half  an  inch  long,  and  the  \fix  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  the  total  contents  of  which  tube  were  one 
grain  and  Jrd  of  distilled  water,  gave  the  optical 
absorptive  bands  due  to  old  blood. 

This  Utile  di:op  of  bloody-coloured  fluid  was  placed 
on  the  stage  of  the  microscope,  and  examined  with  an 
inch  Ross  objective,  illuminated  by  an  achromatic  con- 
denser, and  the  microspectroscope  was  inserted  into 
one  of  the  tubes  of  a  binocular  microscope  as  an  ocular 
lens  would  be  employed.  This  form  of  instrument  is 
that  known  as  the  Sorby-Browning  spectrpficope,  and 
it  admits  of  great  precision,  as  it  has  a  lateral  spectro- 
scope as  well  as  a  terminal  one.  These  two  spectra 
appear  side  by  side  in  the  field  of  view,  and  being  per- 
fectly parallel,  admit  of  examining  substances  by  two 
sources  of  light  at  the  same  time,  or  enable  us  to  mnke 

^'^^risoDs  between  two  different  or  similar  substances 
—A     ^*™®  ^^^^  ^^^  ^7  ^^«  8*™®  ^»^^  o^  illumination 

^^^c7^^^^  ^^  hJo'od]  and  it  would  be  perfectly  easy  to 


1% 


^^^is  f^^  -spectra  being  both  visible  with  the  same  eye. 

^»»-  >«r/i2  of  instrument  is  very  sensitive  to  small 
**  bfood  ;  and  it  would  be  perfectly  easy  to 
^^l^fly  examine  the  blood  contaiikd  in  the 
^'^^ally  **flea,'*  and  even  dilute  il  with  a 
F*  .^^ifcter  without  losing  its  properties ; 
^  -^^d  made  anything  like  a  decent  forage 
^ -.  /^r^,  euus  individual.  But  otheV  forms  of 


^^A^rt/Ul         ^^i^AiiJ     nea, .  ana  even  auuie  iL  wim  a 
^^i^^Jk//y^  y^  A^    W^^^  without  losing  its  properties  ; 
^^^y5c»o  ^^"^o  ^^^  made  anything  like  a  decent  forage 


spectroscope  have  been  adapted  to  the  microscope  by 
diJSerent  opticians  or  inventors.  One  great  objection 
to  the  other  forms  consists  in  the  greater  complexity 
of  the  arrangements  and  the  variety  of  adaptations  to 
be  made,  rendering  the  observations  both  difficult  and 
troublesome,  involving  great  loss  of  time,  and,  of  conrsc, 
greatly  multiplying  the  chance  of  failure.  But  to  sho^vr 
how  small  a  quantity  of  blood  is  really  necessary  for 
recognition  with  thijB  instrument,  Mr.  Sorby  bas 
distinctly  obtained  the  absorptive  bands  in  a  single  half 
globule  of  dried  blood ;  in  order  to  obtain  this  result 
the  object  was  illuminated  by  a  powerfid  achromade 
condenser,  and  one  of  Smith  and  Beck's  new  ^V  objeo^ 
tives  was  employed. 

However,  without  having  gone  as  far  as  this,  my 
own  observations  have  proved  that  it  is  possible  to  ob- 
tain very  evident  results  from  less  than  one-thousandth 
of  a  gram  of  dried  blood,  the  colouring  matter  of  inrhich 
had  been  dissolved  out  by  one  drop  and  a  half  of  dis- 
tilled water.  In  fact,  comparative  experiments  proTcd 
that  in  the  Mountain  Ash  case  the  quantity  of  blood 
experimented  on,  and  productive  of  conclusive  results. 
did  not  exceed  one-tliousandth  part  of  a  grain  ;  and 
the  justness  of  the  sentence  was  afterwards  proTed  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  parties  by  the  confession  of  the 
prisoner  previous  to  his  execution. 

However,  this  optical  or  microspectroscoplc  result 
was  in  this  case  also  confirmed  by  the  microsoopic 
examination  and  detection  of  the  blood  globules,  as 
well  as  by  the  chemical  testing  of  the  solution  of  bema- 
tine,  or  rather  red  hsematine,  tor  it  had  n6t  passed  to 
the  extreme  state  of  change  visible  in  old  dried  blood. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  though  varioos  other 
bodies  have,  to  the  eye,  all  the  appearance  and  coioar 
of  blood,  yet  none  of  those  usually  met  with  have  any 
spectra  to  be  mistaken  for  those  of  the  various  forms  of 
blood  colouring  matters  herein  described.  The  gener- 
ality of  soluble  red  colouring  matter  absorbs  more  or 
less  of  the  violet,  blue,  green,  or  yellow,  and  even 
orange,  rays  of  the  spcft^trum  continuoudy.  Some 
wholly  absorb  the  spectrum  w^i  the  exception  of  the 
red  ray  which  they  transmit 

The  well-known  sulphocyanide  of  iron  often  called 
(and  used  by  conjurors  and  by  chemists)  artificial  blood, 
is  strikingly  wianting  in  those  optical  absorpti vepowen 
or  bands  so  indicative  of  cruorine  or  haematine  m  their 
various  forms.  Spectrum  analysis  is  capable  of  render- 
ing great  service  in  chemic^  and  pathological  enqafria^ 
as  by  means  of  the  optical  spectra  blood  may  be  easilr 
recognised  in  urine,  and  detected  in  some  forms  of 
albuminuria,  even  if  it  be  also  charged  with  the  colour- 
ing matter  of  bile.  Highly  jaundiced  urine  absorbs  ifl 
the  blue  end  of  the  spectmm,  but  as  the  green,  orsM^ 
and  red  rays  are  unaltered,  the  two  bands  of  fcanrt 
cruorine  are  readily  seen..  The  recent  menstrual  fluid, 
when  dissolved  and  properly  diluted,  gives  the  spectrm 
of  scarlet  cruorine ;  so  does  urine  mixed  with  menstniil 
fluid  even  if  highly  bilious.  Two  substances  only  hite 
been  found  comparable  in  their  optical  effects  to  tlws 
of  hsmatine, — ^a  dilute  ammoniacal  solution  ofcannioe, 
and  a  similar  solution  of  cochineal  in  ammonia^  which 
colouring  matters  are  very  unstable  and  fade  qoicklf. 
In  both  these  liquids  the  same  colouring  matter  exists 
as  carmine  is  produced  fi-om  cochineaL  The  two  ih* 
sorptive  bands  are  much  broader  and  more  diffuse  this 
any  of  the  optical  appearances  due  to  the  coioniiog 
matter  of  blood,  though  most  like  those  of  )«on 
hsematine,  and  only  a  novice  in  spectrum  analysis  c«w 
possibly  mistake  the  one  for  the  other,  whilst  the  leirt 


[EngUdi  Edition,  ToL  ZVIL,  Ka  43^  p^w  1^  1^5.] 


CnwiCAL  T^Kwa,  | 
May,  195S.      f 


Determinatioa  of  Silicon  in  Iron  and  Steel. 


211 


atte.mpt  at  chemical  investigation  would  pronounce 
them  different,  the  action  of  heat  alone  being  sufficient 
to  coagulate  the  colouring  matter  of  blood,  whilst  the 
cochineal  and  carmine  would  remain  unchanged.  Re- 
ducing agents  would  also  settle  the  question  definitely. 

Acids  immediately  change  the  colour  of  cochineal 
solutions  to  a  reddish  orange,  deficient  in  absorptive, 
and  even  a  spontaneous  coloration  will  take  place  in 
the  ammoniacal  solution  of  cochineal.  Solutions  of 
carmine  are  more  permanent  Acetic  acid  produces  no 
change  at  first,  but  eventually  the  colouring  matter  is 
precipitated.  Sulphide  ammonium  does  not  alter  it 
in  the  least,  nor  does*  the  alkaline  solution  of  proto- 
chloride  of  tin.  On  adding  protochloride  of  iron  and 
ammonia  to  any  solution  of  carmine,  the  colouring 
matter  is  immediately  precipitated  in  combination  with 
the  oxide  of  iron  as  a  brown  or  maroon  coloured  com- 
pound. 

But  one  great  safeguard  in  medico-legal  enquiries 
will  be  the  absence  of  cochineal  or  carmine  from  those 


positions  in  which  blood  may  by  any  possibility  be 
found,  some  cloth  fabrics  alone  being  dyed  by  a  mor- 
danted cochineal  Some  scarlet  clothes  also  are  of  this 
character,  and  the  carmine  colour  being  fixed  by 
alumina,  would  be  insoluble  in  cold  water:  whereas 
the  cruorine  or  hsematine  would  dissolve  witn  more  or 
less  facility  according  to  its  age.  It  is  evident,  there- 
fore, that  all  these  considerations  render  the  detection 
of  blood  stain  by  spectrum  analysis  a  matter  of  but 
little  doubt  or  difficulty,  even  when  in  minute  quanti- 
ties; and,  in  conclusion,  although  spectrum  analysis 
does  not  go  one  step  farther  than  we  were  before  in 
our  powers  of  discriminating  human  blood  from  that  ot 
other  mammalian,  or  rei^blooded  creatures,  yet  it 
gives  us  greater  facilities  of  demonstrating  the  presence 
of  the  colouring  matter  of  blood,  even  in  inconceivably 
minute  and  almost  invisible  proportions,  whilst  the 
facility  with  which  the  observations  are  made  is  a 
great,  if  not  the  greatest  recommendation  to  the  em- 
ployment of  this  method  whenever  practicable. 


Chairi  UluaftraHve  of 

Dr.  Berapath't  Paper 

on  the 

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t                    ""                  "^                      P 

P 

In  thia  Gkart  eight  tpectr*  are  exhibited,  two  being  the  ordinary  solar  spt^tra,  with  Bonan  of  the  more  i trongly  mariced  lolar  linea  drawn  per- 
pendlcalftrly  throogfa  all  the  other  spectra  as  indic«M  for  the  real  position  of  the  rarioas  absorption  bandv.  The  stron/?  black  bands  towards  the 
violet  ends  of  the  r|)ectrum  (which  are  also  absorbed)  show  the  amount  of  the  nsaal  absorption  of  red  fluids  of  that  end  of  the  spectrum ;  bat  all 
the  other  bands  are  Indicatire  of  the  fluids  ezamineo. 


METHOD    FOR   THX 

DETERMINATION  OP  SILICON  IN  IRON  AND 
STEEL.* 

BY  V.  EGOERTZ, 
PKOnSSOB  OF  Tm  SCUOOL  or  mikes,  FAHI.KXN,  SWXDXir. 

(Concluded  teom  p.  171,  Am.  Bepr.,  April,  z86&) 

TfTE  oxide  of  iron  is  easily  dissolved  in  the  heat  of  a 
water-bath.  The  silica  is  again  thrown  on  a  filter,' 
washed,  dried,  ignited,  and  weighed.  0*016  gramme 
of  silica  answers  to  each  o'ooi  gramme  of  silica  when 

*  From  £itffine&rinff,  July  34,  x868.    Translated  by  C.  P.  Bandberg. 


3  grammes  of  iron  have  been  used  in  the  analysis.  To 
ensure  the  purity  of  the  silica,  it  may  be  mixed  in  a 
platinum  crucible  with  ten  times  its  weight  of  pure 
fluoride  of  ammoniuth,  diluted  with  water  to  the  thick- 
ness of  syrup.  The  water  must  be  evaporated  on  a 
water-bath,  and  the  crucible  heated,  with  a  cover  on  it, 
by  a  gradually  increasing  heat  over  a  spirit-lamp  to  a 
full  red.  If  nothing  is  lefl  in  the  crucible,  the  silica 
was  pure,  and  has  passed  off  as  silicon  fluoride ;  but, 
if  any  thing  remains,  the 'operation  with  fluoride  of 
ammonium  mnst  be  repeated  nntil  a  constant  weight 
is  obtained.  When  iron  contama  tungsten,  for  instance. 


[ExigUah  EdMon,  VoL  XYIL,  No.  430,  psge  125  •  ,No.  431,  Vm^  US-l 


1 


212 


Determination  of  Silicon  in  Iron  and  Steel. 


some  tungstic  acid  is  formed,  and  tin's  accompanies  the 
silica  for  the  most  part,  being  dissoWed  by  the  soda 
solution,  but  not  volatilised  by  Urc  use  of  fluoride  of 
ammonium.  Vanadic  acid  also  accompanies  the  silica, 
behavi^}?  as  tungstic  acid.  Instead  of  using  fluoride  of 
ammonium,  it  is  preferable  to  use  hydrofluoric  ccid, 
with  which  the  silica  is  moistened,  and  the  evaporation 
is  conducted  on  a  water-bath,  ci  gramme  of  pure 
silica  obtained  from  analysis  is  easily  dissolved  by  2  c.c. 
of  hydrofluoric  acid  (of  the  strength  that  2  c.c.  of  it 
are  neutralised  by  1*5  c.c.  of  a  saturated  solution  of 
ammonia  0*95  sp.  gr.).  When  using  hydrofluoric  acid, 
getting  it  on  the  hands  or  exposure  to  the  evaporating 
ffas  must  be  carefully  avoided.  The  mass  lell  on  the 
tilter  from  the  soda  solution  may  be  composed  of— be- 
sides graphite — slag,  oxide  of  iron,  oxide  of  titanium, 
etc.  (but  not  copper,  at  least  when  the  iron  does  not 
contain  more  than  1  per  cent.) ;  this  is  dried,  ignited, 
and  weighed.  The  method  of  separating  oxide  of  iron 
and  slag,  when  the  iron  or  steel  contains  both  these,  is 
not  yet  known.  If  the  composition  of  slag  were  al- 
ways ahke  (which  it  is  not),  it  would  be  easy  to  calcu- 
late its  amount  from  either  the  silica  or  oxide  of  iron 
obtained  in  the  analysis.  In  a  piece  of  Bessemer  iron 
very  red  short  (that  is,  it  could  not  be  bent  at  a  white 
or  yellow  heat  without  being  broken),  which  contained 
no  sulphur,  by  several  experiments  0-3  per  cent,  of 
oxide  of  iron  has  been  obtained,  and  only  traces  of 
silicon.  After  ignition,  the  oxide  of  iron  may  possibly 
be  found  as  sesqui oxide.  The  amount  of  oxygen,  in 
case  that  the  red  shortness  is  due  to  this,  as  it  probably 
is,  amounts  to  less  than  0*1  per  cent. 

When  the  iron  or  stei  1  for  analysis  contains  titanium, 
a  part  of  this  substance  follows  the  slag  in  the  form  of 
titatiic  acid.  If  such  is  the  case,  this  must  b«  melted 
with  ten  times  its  weight  of  acid  sulphate  of  potash, 
by  which  it  is  dissolved ;  the  mass  is  dissolved  m  cold 
water,  and  the  solution  precipitated  by  boiling;  the 
weight  is  determined,  and  subtracted  from  that  of  the 
slag.  This  ingredient  has  not,  however,  been  found  in 
bar  iron  or  steel  in  such  a  quantity  as  to  merit  special 
attention. 

Regarding  the  determination  of  silicon  in  cast  steel 
where  only  a  trace  of  slag  is  found,  the  method  given 
below  for  cast  iron  may  be  employed ;  but  3  grammes 
at  least  ought  to  be  taken  for  each  experiment,  and  Uie 
acids  for  solution  in  proportion. 

In  experiments  conducted  at  the  Mining  Institution 

for  the  determination  of  silicon  and  slag  in  bar  iron 

aud  8' eel,  the  amount  of  silicon  has  generally  vaiied 

between  o'oi  per  cent,  and  o*i  per  cent. ;  but  in  two 

Boris  of  good  cast  steel  from  Krupp's  it  has  amounted 

to  about  o*3  per  cent  Slag  in  cast  steel  has  been  found 

only  in  traces,  but  in  anouier  case  it  amounted  to  0*2 

per  cent. ;  in  good  iron  wire,  prepared  from  bar  iron, 

converted  in  a  refinery  hearth,  from  charcoal  pig  iron, 

o*33  per  cent ;  in  puddled  iron  (armour  plate),  from 

o'75  to  3  per  cent ;  and  in  an  English  iron  rail,  to  4  or 

S  per  cent 

^or   the  determination   of  silicon  in  cast  iron,  in 

^^hich  no  finery  slajj^  is  found,  and  only  exceptionally 

^^^^•'^'-''^fice  slag,  the  following  method  has  proved 

^^'^ith^t^'i   ^  ^''anrimes  of  iron,  which  has  pas-ed  a  sieve 

■«^«  "^  i^    f  ^r  a  diameter  of  /o  in.  at  the  most  is  put 

'^^jyy  ^  J^^^^Gr  q/  ioo  C.C  Capacity,  containing  30  c.c.  of 

^i^t/^!^F^^  a^id,  sp.  gr.  I -1 2.     The  beaker  is. covered 


^>^- 


% 


J'  ^^^flXf^g  watch-glass,  heated  without  delay, 
}copt  at  a  gentle  boiling  for  half  an 


All  the  carbon  chemically  combined  with  the  iron  is 
separated  from  the  liquid  in  the  form  of  an  iU-smelliDg 
hydrocarbon  gas,  by  which  operation  a  disadvantageons 
formation  of  humus  and  oxide  of  iron  is  |  revented  (in 
case  that  the  solution  should  be  required  for  further 
researches). 

If  the  carbon  formed  in  the  solution  is  left  in  contact 
with  the  air  some  minutes  before  the  boiling  is  began, 
it  undergoes  such  a  change  that  it  cannot  afterwards  U 
decomposed  into  gas  and  evaporated ;    if  necessary, 
some  hydrochloric  acid  is  added,  and  the  solation  evap- 
orated on  a  water-bath,  until  the  smell  from  hydro- 
carbon gas  has  ceased.    If  the  graphite  in  the  iron  is 
to  be  determined  at  the  same  time,  it  is  placed,  as  well 
as  the  silica,  on  a  filter  previously  dried  at  95''  or  100^, 
and  weighed ;  well  washed  with  hot  water  containing 
5  per  cent,  nitric  acid,  again  dried,  weighed,  and  ignit- 
ed in  a  porcelain  crucible.  By  deduction  of  the  weight 
of  silica  and  of  the  filter  ash,  the  amount  of  graphite 
is  determined.     (It  must  be  observed  that  the  silica 
dried  on  a  filler  contains  6  per  cent.  wat«r,  or  only  94 
per  cent  silica.)    If,  for  instance,  the  filter  weighs  0*125 
gramme,  and  its  ash,  cooi  (the  combustible  substance 
be  ng  0*124  gramme)  and  the  filter  -I-  graphite  +  silica 
0*182   gramme,  and  the  residue  after  ignition  0*025 
gramme  (o*ooi  gramme  of  this  is  filter  ash),  the  weight 
of  the  silica  (0*024  gramme)  is,  after  the  diying,  0*0255 
gramme,  and  thus  the  weight  of  the  graphite  becomes 
0182— (0-124  +  o'ooi    +   00255)  =  00315   gramme. 
To  the  solution,  after  the  separation  of  graphite  and 
insoluble  silica,  is  added  4  c.c.  nitric  acid,  1*2  sp.  gr., 
and  evaporated  to  dryness.    The  further  proceedings 
are  the  same  as  previously  described  for  the  determina- 
tion of  silicon.    If  it  is  intended  to  determine  only  the 
silica,  the  whole  solution  is  evaporated  to  diyness  im- 
mediately after  boiling.    When  the  silica  is  red,  strong 
hydrochloric  acid  is  added,  as  previously  described. 
If  the  silica  is  contaminated  with  titanic  acid,  vanadic 
acid,  ar  tungstic  acid,  it  is  operated  upon  with  fluoride 
of  ammonium  or  hydrofluoric  acid,  as  previously  men- 
tioned, whereby  the  silica  i^j  evaporated  and  calculated 
by  loss.    By  the  above  method  of  dissolving  iron  in 
hydrochloric  acid,  the  silicon  changes,  without  evapora- 
tion, for  the  most  part,  to  insoluble  silica,  which  may 
be  filtered  and  determined.     Sometimes  a  very  unim- 
portant part  is  dissolved,  especially  if  the  boiUng  has 
been  short. 

When  iron  is  dissolved  in  hydrochloric  add  withont 
heating  (white  cast  iron  is  very  difficult  to  dissolve  in 
this  way),  a  still  less  portion  is  dissolved,  and  generally 
so  little  that  it  may  be  neglected  for  practical  purposes. 
The  washing  is  performed  with  hot  water  containing 
nitric  acid,  as  previously  described. 

When  tne  iron  is  dissolved  in  nitric  add,  a  great  deal 
of  silica  enters  into  solution. 

The  diflerent  sorts  of  cast  iron  appear  to  be  slightlv 
diflerent  in  this  respect  In  dissolving  cast  iron  wiu 
heat,  in  very  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  a  great  deal  of 
silica  is  dissolved,  but  very  little  wh*^n  the  'water  b  the 
least  possible :  as  the  water  evaporates,  the  silica  settki 
and  becomes  insoluble.  The  method  given  below  re^ 
upon  these  circumstances,  and  hag  proved  very  satii- 
factory,  and  by  this  the  taking  away  of  ^e  acid  a 
avoided,  which  is  both  necessary  and  troublesome  when 
using  hydrochloric  acid  with  heat  The  amoont  of 
silicon  has,  according  to  both  methods,  turned  out 
alike.  Traces  of  silica  are  always  found  left  in  the 
solution  and  wash-water.  Regarding  the  determiw- 
tion  of  silicon  in  iron,  it  should  be  observed  that  <sJj 


[English  Edition,  VoL  XVH.,  No.  431,  pagw  U5, 116.] 


ClRMTOAL  NkWS,  ) 

May,  1868.      f 


K^timation  of  Nitrites  in  Watei\ 


213 


8uch  vessels  may  be  employed  as  are  unacted  upon  by 
the  reagents  used  in  the  analysis,  as  otherwise  an  undue 
proportion  of  silicon  may  be  obtained. 

Two  grammes  of  cast  iron  which  have  passed  a  sieve 
of  0-2  of  a  line,  are  shaken  by  small  portions  at  a  time 
into  a  beaker  of  100  ac.  capacity.  In  this  beaker  has 
been  previously  put  18  c.c.  of  water  with  3  c.c.  pure 
sulphuric  acid  of  1*83,  or  15  c.c.  sulphuric  acid  of  1*23 
sp.  gr.  with  6  c.c.  of  water. 

The  beaker  is  covered  with  a  watch-glass,  and  placed 
on  a  water-bath ;  if  the  graphite  rises  on  the  side  of 
the  beaker,  it  is  pushed  down  into  the  liquid  by  a  glass 
rod.  When  the  iron  is  dissolved,  the  watch-glass  is 
changed,  aftt-r  being^washed,  for  a  paper  cover,  and  the 
solution  evaporated  on  a  water-bath  until  no  condensa- 
tion occurs  on  a  watch-glass  held  over  the  beaker ;  30 
c.a  of  water  are  then  added,  and  it  is  frequently  stirred 
with  a  glass  rod,  whilst  on  ihe  water-bath,  uutil  the 
white  iron  salt  has  completely  dissolved.  The  insoluble 
mass  is  then  thrown  on  a  filter,  washed  with  hot 
water  containing  5  per  cent  nitric  acid,  i'2  sp.  gr.  (in 
order  to  dissolve  iXi  compounds  of  iron)  as  long  as  an 
iron  reaciion  is  given  with  ferrocyanide  of  potassium. 
The  filter,  with  its  contents,  is  placed  in  a  carefully 
tarred  porcelain  crucible:  it  is  then  cautiously  dried, 
ignited,  and  weighed.  The  silica  contains  48  per  cent, 
of  silicon,  and  its  purity  is  examined  by  the  method 
previously  mentioned,  when  such  is  conside;  ed  neces- 
sary. If  the  cast  iron  contains  vanadium,  this  is  obtained 
for  the  most  part  as  a  yellow-brown  vanadic  acid  witli 
the  silica,  from  which  it  may  be  extracted  by  warm 
hydrochloric  acid  or  ammonia. 

When  intending  to  determine  at  the  same  time  the 
amount  of  graphite  in  the  cast  iron,  the  solution  is 
treated,  after  the  separation  of  the  chemically  combin- 
ed carbon,  by  boiling,  as  previously  described  when 
dissolving  the  iron  in  hydrochloric  acid.  In  determina- 
tion of  graphite  the  use  of  hydrochloric  acid  is  preferable. 
The  greatest  amount  of  silicon  which  has  been  found 
here  in  grey  charcoal  pig  iron  ^^  27  per  cent,  and  in 
white  (spiegeleisen)  0*8  per  cent  The  amount  of  silicon 
in  pig  from  coke  blast-furnaces  is  rarely  more  than  4 
per  cent  The  least  quantity  of  silicon  in  grey  cast 
iron  has  been  o'2  per  cent.,  and  in  white  (spiegeleisen) 
it  has  not  been  less  than  0*01  per  cent  The  amount 
has  usually  been  from  i  to  2  per  cent  in  cast  iron  suit- 
able for  the  Bessemer  process,  about  i  per  cent  in  good 
Franche  Comt^,  and  in  pig  iron  for  puddling  about  0*5 
per  cent 

From  many  iron  works  has  been  obtained  pig  iron 
suitable  for  refining  on  the  charcoal  hearth,  which  con- 
tained about  0*2  per  cent  silicon ;  but  from  others  a 
greater  amount  of  silicon  has  been  found  in  the  same 
sort  of  pig  iron,  and  it  is  generally  presumed  that 
different  quantities  of  silicon  require  a  di£ferent  con- 
struction of  the  furnace,  and  a  difiereni  method  of 
•working  the  refinery.  It  has  been  clearly  proved  by 
numerous  experiments  what  a  great  influence  the 
amount  of  silicon  has  upon  the  nature  of  cast  iron,  in 
being  more  or  less  easily  refined,  ere,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  great  importance  of  paying  more  attention 
to  its  manufacture  than  has  hitherto  been  done,  in 
order  to  obtain  cast  iron,  which,  with  regard  to  its  sili- 
con, may  be  suitable  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  to 
be  employed. 

The  amount  of  siUcon  in  iron  of  different  degrees  of 
hardness  from  the  same  charge  of  the  blast-furnace 
ought  to  be  pretty  well  valued  by  the  fracfure,  after 
some  determinations  have  been  made  by  analysis. 


ESTIMATION  OF  NITRITES  IN  WATERS. 

BT   PHILIP   HOLLAND. 

Dr.  Millkr,  in  his  paper,  "On  some  Points  in  the 
Analysis  of  Potable  Waters,"*  alludes  to  a  reaction  for 
the  detection  of  nitrites,  viz.,  the  property  these  salts 
have  of  liberating  iodine  from  an  acidified  solution  of 
iodide  of  potassium. 

Dr.  An-us  Smitht  asserts  than  an  amount  of  nitrous 
acid  so  small  as  i  in  3i  millions  of  water,  mny  easily  I  e 
discovered  in  this  manner.  In  spite  of  its  .extreme 
delicacy,  I  am  not  aware  than  any  process  for  the 
quantitative  estimation  of  nitrous  acid  has  been  founded 
on  the  reaction.  Most,  if  not  all  water  analysts,  unless 
they  be  recent  converts,  are  inclined  to  be  satisfied 
with  permanj-anate  indications,  the  presence  or  absence 
of  nitrous  acid  being  assumed  according  as  the  per- 
manganate is  quickly  or  slowly  decolourised. 

The  process  I  am  about  to  describe  is  one  in  which 
the  .colouration- imparted  by  the  free  iodine  is  taken  as 
the  measure  of  the  nitrous  acid  present  For  a  **  colori- 
metric "  standard,  I  know  of  nothing  better  than  a 
solution  of  iodine  in  iodide  of  potassium ;  about  4  gims. 
is  dissolved  in  excess  of  iodide,  and  made  up  to  the 
volume  of  a  litre. 

In  the  next  place  it  is  necessary  to  prepare  a  pure 
salt  of  nitrous  acid  j  for  this  purpose,  commercial  nitrite 
of  potassium  is  precipitated  with  AgNOi,  the  resultant 
silver  salt  washed  by  decantation,  re-crystallized,  and 
dried  in  vacuo. 

To  -3276  grm  of  the  silver  salt,  dissolved  by  heat 
in  water,  is  added  a  slight  excess  or  pure  NaCl,  and  the 
Uquid,  when  cold,  made  up  to  the  volume  of  1000  c.c. 
10  C.C.  =  I  mlgrm.  HNOa. 
The  iodine  solution  is  "  titrated  "  as  foUows :— A  per- 
manganate burette  divided  in  ,\ths  of  a  cc,  and  fitted 
with  a  float,  is  filled  with  it  Two  narrow  white  glass 
jars  are  placed  on  a  white  slab ;  on  each  is  marked  the 
point  at  which  a  volume  of  200  c.c.  of  water  s  ands. 
Into  one,  A,  is  put  an  amount  of  the  standard  nitrite 
equal  to  i  nilgrm.  of  HNO»,  together  with  6  c.c  of  iodide 
of  potassium  (i  to  10  of  water),  then  distilled  water 
nearly  to  tlse  mark,  and  lastly  dilute  HvSO*.  The  whole  . 
is  to  be  mixed  and  allowed  to  stand  until  the  colour  is 
fully  developed;  when  that  point  itv reached  the  second 
jar,  containing  an  amount  of  iodide  of  potassium  and  acid 
equal  to  that  in  A,  is  filled  to  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  volun)e  mark  with  water,  and  placed  under  the 
burette ;  the  iodine  solution  is  then  cautiously  deUvered 
into  it,  until  the  depth  of  colour  is  judged  to  be  «»qual  ia 
intensity  to  that  in  A.  The  iodine  solution  should  be  of 
such  a  strength  that  10  c.c.  have  a  colouring  power 
equal  to  that  possessed  by  i  mlgrm.  of  HNO«  in  the 
presence  of  iodide  of  poUssium  in  a  volume  of  200  cc. 
of  water.  It  is  unadvisable,  when  making  the  com- 
parison,  to  add  the  standard  nitrite  from  a  burette,  to 
an  acidified  solution  of  iodide  of  potas.«ium,  for  an  ob- 
vious reason.  It  may,  however,  be  suggested  that  a 
definite  quantity  of  nitrite  should  be  added  together 
with  iodide  to  the  water  in  the  jar,  and  lastly  Uie  acid. 
Such  a  method  is  tedious,  in  that  it  would  be  neces^ai  y 
to  make  several  assays  before  attaining  the  desired 
shade. 

The  following  determinations  of  nitrous  acid  were 
made ;— An  amount  equal  to  i  mlgrm.  was  evaporate* 

t  *•  KBtlmntioD  of  Onconic  Matter  tn  Watwi,  wltb  referenpe  eepedaHy 
to  Banitory  pttrpo«e^''  page  30. 


[EngUflh  BdWon,  V6L  XVIl,  Wo.  431,  page  U«;  Wo.  432,  pago  123.] 


added,  then  distilled  water  to  within  i  inch  of  the 
mark,  and  lastly  dilute  HsS04.  After  thoroughly 
mixing,  the  contents  of  the  cylinder  were  left  undis- 
turbed, for  the  colour  to  become  fully  developed ;  when 
that  stage  arrived  it  was  found  that  1 1  '5  was  the  num- 
ber of  c.c.  of  iodine  requisite  to  impart  the  same  colour 
to  an  equal  volume  of  water.  lo  c.c.  should  only  have 
been  required;  the  excess,  therefore,  of  1*5  c.c.  is  the 
measure  of  the  HNOs  in  the  water  employed.  In  order 
to  justify  this  assumption  I  evaporated  two  separate 
quantities  of  a  litre. 

Iodine  0.0. 

No  I ' 1-2 

"  2 1-4 

These  figureagive  "12  mlgrm.  per  litre  as  the  amount 
of  HNO«  in  the  spring  water.  Artificial  waters  were 
made  by  adding  known  amounts  of  HNOs  to  common 
•water ;  the  quantity  of  HNOi  already  existent  therein 
being  deducted. 
Amount  HNOt  added 

in  nUgmis.  Iodine  reqirired  In  e.  0.     Mlgmu.  HNOj  foand. 

•43 4*5 -45 

•86 84 -84 

1*52 148 148 

The  following  natural  waters  were  examined : — 

A.  A  well  water. 

B.  A  well  water,  in  which  nitrates  were  found  in 
some  quantity. 

0.  A  brook  water  containing  some  sewage  matter. 

A.  -23  mlgrm.  BOJOj  per  litre. 

B.  -27  " 
0.    -6^           " 

The  process  is  not  suitable  when  the  quantity  of  ni- 
trous acid  is  large ;  whilst  it  ranges  below  and  up  to  i 
•  mlgrm,  corresponding  results  can  be  obtained. 

Some  precautions  are  necessary  in  certain  cases.  H»S 
and  sulphides  if  present  must  be  removed  ;  the  former 
escapes  during  the  evaporation  of  the  water ;  the  latter 
may  be  decomposed  by  a  metallic  oxide. 

Organic  colouring  matter  can  be  precipitated  by 
means  of  chloride  of  calcium,  carbonate  of  sodium,  and 
a  few  drops  of  hydrate  of  potassium,  as  suggested  by 
Dr.  Frankland.  Kaolin  could  perhaps  be  employed 
for  the  purpose. 

Gborlej,  March  4,  z868. 


ON  THE  DETERMINATION  OF  TARTARIC  ACID. 

BT  aEOBOE  H.   MANN, 
POLTTioHina  DftniruTK,  raoTf  mw  toek,  uhttsd  iTAna. 

Ten  grammes  of  the  crude  tartar  are  mixed  with  a 

sufficient  quantity  of  pure  hydrate  of  potassa,  free  from 

carbonate,  in  order  to  neutralise  the  free  tartaric  acid 

present;  the  mixture  is  evaporated  to  dryness  in  a 

^^'^^^^h&th^  *ind  heated  to  redness  in  a  closed  porcelain 

^^alc      •  •  ^"^^^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^8  decomposed  in  to  car- 

jt^^  .      ^'^>  w-hich  is  determined  in  the  following  man- 

^^a^ij^f^J^*?^^  ^e  Warm  mixture  of  the  carbonates  and 

^^S^^^r°  ^'i^  ^^^he  various  forms  of  the  apparatus  de- 

,w^^A^J^^.S^'^  Pl^j'pos^y  and  illustrated  in  Fresenius' 


►    ^K^  /^^^    tiM^^  '^h^  apparatus  on  the  balance,  admit 

^  Vs^^    -^^c?^    f^  ^®^  P*""*^  ^^®^  carbonic  acid  will 

^^  /oj^j^  c^^  /i  l^  ^^ount  present  may  be  estimated 

\J^^      y^  t.     Then  we  shall  have  the  pro- 


pressed  in  numbers,  22  :  1 50  : :  a  grammes  of  carbonic 
acid  :  x  grammes  of  crystallisable  tartaric  acid. 


ON  THE  VENTILATION  OF  SEWERS.* 

BT  DB.  W.  ALLEN   MIXJ.ER,  y.P.B.S. 

Determination  whether  the  charcoal  injuriouehf  tw- 
pedes  the  ventilation. 

This  could  be  determined  by  two  methods,  viz. — a., 
by  ascertaining  the  ordinary  draught  of  air  in  the  sew- 
er when  there  was  no  charcoal,  and  then  ascertaining 
the  amount  of  draught  after  the  charcoal  had  been  in- 
troduced ;  or  6.,  by  -analysing  the  air  before  and  after 
the  introduction  of  the  charcoal,  and  ascertMuing 
whether  any  serious  diminution  of  oxygen  or  increase 
of  carbonic  acid  had  occurred. 

a.  The  variation  of  the  draught  of  air  in  the  sewer 
was  examined,  as  follows: — A  puff  of  smoke  was  pro- 
duced by  firing  a  little  gunpowder,  and  ascertaining  the 
time  occupied  by  the  smoke  in  travelling  up  or  down 
the  sewer  for  a  known  distance.  This  method  answer- 
ed its  object  sufficiently  well,  but  it  was  found  that 
such  slight  causes  interfered  with  the  strength  of  the 
draught,  tiiat  much  less  information  of  value  was  ob- 
tained than  had  been  anticipated,  since  it  was  found 
that  the  direction  of  the  draught  and  its  amount  were 
liable  to  be  interfered  with  by  local  accidents,  such  as 
the  imperfect  closure  of  a  trap,  the  variable  force  of  the 
wind,  and  the  opening  or  shutting  of  a  side  entrance : 
so  that  the  act  of  entering  or  leaving  the  sewer  for  the 
purposes  of  experiment,  was  more  tlian  once  found  to 
reverse  the  direction  of  the  current  of  air  in  the  body 
of  the  sewer  during  the  observations. 

So  far  as  the  observations  go  they,  however,  show 
that  the  introduction  of  the  charcoal  into  the  boxes 
produces  a  sensible  retardation  of  the  current  of  air. 
Indeed  any  other  result  would  be  impossible. 

Three  sets  of  experiments  were  made  upon  this 
plan ;  one  set  before  the  charcoal  was  introduced,  and 
two  other  sets  after  the  boxes  had  been  charged  with 
charcoal. 

The  average  rate  deduced  from  six  experiments  wifc- 
ovi  the  charcoal  showed  a  current  moving  at  the  rate  of 
4,254  feet  per  hour. 

The  first  set  of  trials,  consisting  of  three  experiments, 
after  the  introduction  of  the  charcoal^  gave  a  current 
moving  at  the  average  rate  of  3,263  feet  per  hour,  and 
the  second  set  of  trials,  also,  an  average  of  three  experi- 
ments, showed  a  current  of  2,005  feet  per  hour,  in  the 
same  part  of  the  sewer. 

b.  Effect  of  the  charcoal  on  the  chemical  eompontion  of 
the  air. 

It  was  ascertained  by  direct  trial  that  air  passed  firee- 
ly  through  the  charcoal  in  the  trays,  but  no  sewer 
odour  was  ever  perceived  in  the  escaping  air ;  though 
if  the  box- of  charcoal  were  purposely  removed  from 
the  ventilating  shaft,  an  immediate  and  powerfril  odoor 
of  sewage  was  perceived.  The  charcoal,  therefore,  did 
its  work  in  absorbing  the  offensive  products.  It  had, 
however,  no  direct  action  upon  the  atmosphere  in  the 
body  of  the  sewer ;  but,  indirectly  it  might  be  expect- 
ed to  impair  its  quality  by  detaining  it  for  a  longer 
period  within  the  sewer,  thereby  causing  it  to  lose  a 
larger  portion  of  its  oxygen  than  if  a  freer  current  d 

•  Abstract  from  the  Report  to  the  Metropolitaa  Board  of  Wotks. 


[English  Bditioa,  VoL  rTIL,  Ho.  432,  p^M  123, 120.] 


CHimOAL  NbW8,  ) 
May,  IM^       f 


Ventilation  of  Sewers. 


air  was  maintaiiied.  The  oxygen  during  its  detention 
would  combine  with  part  of  the  decomposing  refuse, 
whilst  an  increased  amount  of  carbonic  acid  was  to  be 
looked  for  as  one  of  the  products  of  decomposition ;  be- 
sides which  a  small  quantity  of  carburetted,  and  occa- 
sionallj  of  sulphuretted,  hydrogen  might  occur  in  the 
more  stagnant  parts. 

Samples  of  air  were  therefore  collected  for  analysis 
both  before  and  after  the  introduction  of  the  charcoal 

From  an  average  of  eighteen  experimeuts  upon  the 
quantity  of  carbonic  acid,  made  during  the  month  of 
May,  before  the  charcoal  was  introduced,  and  before 
the  lateral  sewers  had  been  provided  with  flaps,  the 
average  quantity  amounted  to  0'io6  parts  percent, 
while  in  the  open  air,  the  average  may  be  taken  at 
0*040  part&  The  mean  temperature  of  the  air  within 
the  sewer  durinor  this  period  was  50° *8,  ranging  be- 
tween 48**  as  a  minimum  and  56"  as  a  maximum. 

The  mean  amount  of  oxygen  in  the  air  of  the 'sewer 
was  for  the  same  interval,  from  an  average  of  six  ex- 
periments, 2071  per  cent,  the  proportion  in  the  open 
air  being  20*96. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  charcoal,  the  quantity 
of  carbonic  acid  was  found  to  have  risen  to  0*132  parts 
per  100  of  air,  the  mean  temperature  in  the  sewer 
having  risen  to  56° '2,  with  a  minimum  of  52°,  and  a 
maximum  of  61° '5. 

The  average  amount  of  oxygen  was  20*79.  ^^  ^^l" 
phuretted  hydrogen  was  present. 

As  a  general  rule  it  was  found  that  the  quantity  of 
carbonic  acid  in  the  air  within  the  sewer  increased  in 
proportion  as  the  temperature  rose  in  the  sewer,  and  it 
declined  again  as  the  temperature  felL 

No  connection  between  the  fluctuation  in  the  amount 
of  carbonic  acid  and  the  variation  of  the  barometer 
could  be  traced. 

On  the  whole,  the  air  of  this  sewer  was  not  seriously 
altered  by  the  obstruction  occasioned  by  the  charcoal 
But  though  this  sewer  in  the  Avenue  Road  offered 
great  mechanical  facilities  for  carrying  out  experiments 
of  this  nature,  there  were  circumstances  which  detract- 
ed from  the  value  of  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from 
the  results  obtained  there.  The  flow  of  water  was 
rapid  (four  feet  per  second),  the  sewer  itself  a  dean  one, 
and  the  openings  for  ventilation  numerous ;  so  that, 
though  it  was  quite  certain  the  use  of  charcoal  in  such 
a  case  would  occasion  no  difficulty,  it  did  not  indicate 
whether,  in  a  fouler  sewer  with  fewer  air  outlets,  it 
would  still  be  proper  to  use  the  charcoal  ventilators. 

It  was  therefore  arranged  in  July  that  a  second 
sewer  should  be  placed  under  experiment ;  and  for  this 

Surpose  the  Great  Smith  Street  sewer  was  judged  by 
[r.  Lovick  to  be  particularly  suitable. 
The  register  thermometers  were  suspended  in  this 
sewer  in  the  Brompton  Road  on  the  3rd  of  October, 
and  samples  of  the  air  in  its  ordinary  condition  were 
taken  on  the  4th  and  5th  of  the  month.  On  the  6th 
of  October  charcoal  was  placed  in  all  the  boxes  in  the 
ventilating  openings,  and  samples  of  the  air  of  the* 
sewer  collected  as  before,  for  analysis.^ 

An  average  of  six  samples  of  air  before  the  charcoal 
was  introduced  showed  tnat  the  air  in  its  normal  state 
contained  the  large  "proportion  of  0*307  per  cent,  of  car- 
bonic acid,  with  a  temperature  ranging  in  the  sewer 
between  57°  and  60",  with  a  mean  of  58''*2. 

During  the  months  of  October  and  November, 
twenty-four  samples  of  the  air  were  examined  after 
the  introduction  of  the  charcoal,  giving  a  mean  of  0*251 
per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid,  with  a  mean  temperature  of 


53° '2,  ranging  betweei  , 
as  a  maximum.  The  i 
carbonic  acid  is  in  no  ' 
use  of  charcoal,  but  is  1 
in  temperature  which  t 
shorter. 

So  far,  therefore,  as  I 
this  tide-locked  and  i  1 
serious  obstruction  to  . 
ventilators  was  produ<  : 

5p  added,  that  the  pro]  : 
uction  of  the  cliarcot 
four  experiments,  to  a  1 
sewer  was  free  from  su  : 

The  introduction  of  < 
require  a  large  outlay,   : 
the  safety  of  the  men    1 
results  appear  to  me  t  1 
atic  trial  of  the  methoc 

The  second  point  for  : 
which  the  charcoal  tviU  ' 
tilating  boxes. 

As  yet  the  charcoal 
Avenue  Road  sewer  c(  i 
condition.     I  examinee 
been  in  the  Park  Stree  . 
the  sewer  from  the  Ave  1 
It  contained  nearly  one 
but  appeared  as  though 
ture  had  been  condense  1 
and  had  not  penetrate : 
parts  of  the  damp  char(  1 
parts  of  water,  and  a  sn 
moniacal  liquid.     Nitri 
quantity  in  the  product  i 

The  charcoal  in  the 
been  in  use  only  about  I 
sewer,  but  the  results  c ! 
is  still  efficient,  althougl  1 
the  traffic  is  considerab!  * 
the  covering,  and  gainc  • 
charcoal.  The  lower  p^  1 
case,  clean,  and  though  ! 
ture,  it  still  effectually  ]i 
which,  as  direct  trial  11 
the  layer  of  charcoal. 

I  examined  a  portion 
exposure  in  the  ventilati 
abi-orbed  372  per  cen 
which  was  distilled  off  I 
odour  of  the  sewage  gae 

The  charcoal  appeal  e<; 
had  condensed  so  largci 
important  practical  conci 
thus  saturated  with  m<; 
escape  of  air,  which  it  sit 

3.  The  mechanical  ar 
employment  of  charcoal  ci 

In  the  earlier  trials, 
about  two  inches  thick, 
was  broken  into  fragme 
ordinary  wood  charcoal 
charcoal  weighed  islbs. 
of  the  charcoal  in  the  th 

Experience  showed  tl 
cessary  to  prevent  the  r< 
in  the  Q-reat  Smith  Stn 
coal,  6  inches  in  depth, 
shaUower  trays  with  go< 


[Bngliah  BditloB,  ToL  ZYH.,  Ifa  432,  pagw  ias»  127.] 


OF  ELEMENTS' 

nt    nENBT    Z.    ROSCOE,    B,A.j    P.R.^ 

Tns  metal  Yftnftdiutn  fao-called  frf^m  Vnnadia^  a  co^o- 
men  of  the  Scandinavian  goddew  Fi-i^ia)  was  discovered 
in  1830  by  Sefstr^ini  in  the  celebrated  Swedish  bar-in  id 
iDftde  from  tlie  Taberg  or&.  From  this  source^  even 
when  using  manj  pounds  of  the  iron^  Syfutrijm  obtained 
only  minutje  q  si  an  titles  of  the  new  subFtanoe,  but  he 
found  it  in  somewhat  larger  amount  in  the  alag  or 
cinder  produced  in  tho  reduction  of  the  iron  or  a  Sitf- 
etriam  aacertjiineii  aorae  of  the  most  peculiar  chiiractera 
of  the  substance^  proved  it  to  be  a  uew  element,  and 
prepared  a^^me  of  its  compounda  in  the  pure  state.  The 
reactions  bj  which  vanadium  can  be  aeparated  and 
diatinTuished  from  all  the  other  elementa  arer  (t)  The 
formati  jn  of  a  soluble  aodium  vaaadate  when  the  vana^ 
dium  compounds  are  fused  with  sodium  carbonate ; 
(2)  the  formation  of  an  insoluble  ammonhim  vanadate 
when  aal-ammoniao  is  added  to  theaoluiion  of  a  soluble 
vanadate ;  {3)  the  production  of  a  splendid  blue  solu- 
tion when  tbie  amnionium  salt,  dissolved  in  hydrocblo- 
He  &cid^  is  warmed  with  reducing  agentA  auch  ai  oxalic 
acid. 

Sefatri>m  not  having  leisuTo  to  prosecute  the  full  ex- 
amination of  the  properties  of  tlie  new  metal^  hauded 
over  bia  preparations  to  Berzelius  j  and  it  is  to  the  in- 
Tostigations  of  the  great  Swede  (183O  that  we  owe 
almost  all  our  oequaint&ncu  with  the  chemistry  of  vana- 
dium. 

Since  Berzelius's  time  vanadium  has  been  discovered 
in  man  J  minerals^  of  wbicK  a  lead  ore  containing  lead 
vanadate,  and  called  by  the  mineralogists  vanadmitef 
i&  the  most  important.  It  iias  a 'so  been  found  in  many 
iTon  oreSr  in  clay,  bricks,  and  even  in  caustic  soda. 
Still  the  quantity  of  the  substance  found  in  all  these 
various  sources  has  been  extremely  small;  so  rnur^h 
BO,  that  the  vanadium  compounds  must  l>e  reckoned 
amongst  the  chemical  rarjt'es,  and  we  find  them  qnot^id 
in  the  price  list  of  deali^rs  in  cliemieals  at  Li,  6iL  per 
grain,  or  £35  per  ounce!  ll  is  clear  that  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  chemical  properties  of  a  aulistjince  bo  phto 
must  necess[irily  be  but  iucompleiei  as  the  di£&cult:es 
of  obtain!  og  exact  or  satisfacUjry  results  with  small 
quantities  of  material  are  evident;  and,  in  fact,  tlic 
ftatements  of  the  only  persons  who  have  worked  upon 
the  subject  recently  (ib^chafarik  Czudnowicz),  instead 
of  giving  us  any  more  reliable  information  respecting 
the  cbaracier  of  vanadium^  have  only  served  it}  throw 
doubt  upon  some  of  the  conclusions  of  Ber^lius,  and 
tlius  to  render  our  knowledge  even  less  complete  than 
it  appeared  to  be. 

Hence  it  waa  with  much  satisfaction  that,  in  Feb- 
ruary,  1 865^  the  speaker  came  into  possession  of  a  plen- 
tiful source  of  vanadium  in  a  by-product  obtained  in 
the  preparation  of  cobah.  from  the  copper-bearing  beds 
of  the  lower  Keuper*santlstone  of  tl\e  Trias  at  Alderley 
Edge,  in  Cheshire,  The  m imager  of  the  works  waa 
puiszied  t<>  knofr  why  a  blue  solution,  supposed  hy  lum 
to  contain  copp^f^  did  not  deposit  the  red  metal  upon 
M  Strip  of  ziQQ-  f^i^Q  speaker  recognised  tbie  reaction 
as  due  to  tl}e  k  ^^ence  of  vanmliuin,  and  secured  tlie 
^at^^   ^^  hplprod\iiii,  which  he  found  to  contain 


deposit  are,  however,  well  known,  and  exhibit  pointa 
of  great  interest;  they  have  been  well  de3cril>ed  by 
Mr,  Hull  as  follows: — 

" The  'edge *  or  escarpntcnt  of  Alderley  rises  from 
the  eastern  side  of  the  plain  of  Cheshire  grmluallj  tow- 
ards the  east  J  but  witli  a  steep  and  abri*pt  ridge  tow- 
ards tbe  north.  Thi«  northern  bank  is  richly  wctoded^ 
and  has  a  very  beautiful  aspect  when  viewed  from  a 
distance,  as  it  contrasts  etrongiy  with  the  almost  level 
plain  which  sweeps  away  to  the  nortJiward  and  west- 
ward from  its  base.  The  ridge  has  here  been  upheaved 
along  the  line  of  a  large  fault,  bearing  e^^st  at^J  we*t, 
throwing  down  at  its  base  tlie  Red  Marl ;  and  on  iho 
other  side  bringing  up  the  soft  sandstone  of  itie  Eun- 
ter,  capped  by  a  mural  cliff  of  Lower  Keuper  coc 3 glom- 
erate^ which  often  breaks  out  in  conisuiciious  niasset 
through  the  foliage.  Tbe  beds  rise  from  the  plain  tow- 
ards tiie  east  at  an  angle  of  about  from  5  to  10  ,  and 
the  escarpment  is  continued  southward  for  some  dis- 
tance facing  the  ea;it*'' 

SuocEBaioK  OF  Bina  t^  Debokndino  Orper. — (iTuJl) 

R<?d  J  gr^j  lamiiiftted 
DOfirlfl. 

flugPT 
and 

brown 


Red  Marl. 


Wa tendon  es. . , , 
Freestones , , , » , 
Copper-bearing 
^udfttone.^  ^  ^ 
Conglouieruie  , , 


Ufper  red  and 
muUled  satid- 
sioue .  . ,  w  i . . .  * 


Lower  KenjKjr 
^udsEonLr, 
500  feet 


veHoi 


Btinter. 


Brownish 
EuinliiloneQ 
niftrlR, 

White     and 
freestone. 

Soft     white, 

and  Tariegsrted 

s^indsione. 

Hard  tjtianzDse  ^n* 
glomerafp,  under- 
lain hy  builds  of 
Mart,  fomjjnsr  tlie 
biise  of  the  KeujfCf 
saiiiii<ton& 
^Soft  £lcie-j:riirnf*d  rel 
low  and  r*-d  sdnd- 
Btoii^  betTi|r  thf 
upi)**rm<3at  racml^ier 
of  the  Budtef  9an4- 
situne. 


t 


arjhejwadf^^t  of 


-^"Zi-%i^, 


^^t'^  i'  £,hc  rare  metaL     The  exact  pogit  on 
F/k  ^    ;  riBr&l  In  the  sandstone  beda  cannot 


Xiitiitntlan  at  Great  Briuin,  fdd^,  Fcl>- 


The  beds  in  the  above  series  which  claim  the  greatest 
share  of  our  attention  are  those  at  the  base  oi  tlie  Keti- 
per  series^  for  in  thecte  itccur  tbe  copper  and  other 
minerals.  The  copper,  m  both  blue  and  green  carb<>a- 
ate,  oeeura  f3iss(*njitiated  throughout  the  sand,  llie  ore 
coating  the  outi^ide  of  the  grains  of  sand  and  the  ('elihl^f 
of  quartz.  In  adilition  to  copper,  bands  eonU^iniag 
lead  boih  as  carbonate  and  sulphide  (galena)  occur, 
also  bands  and  Tcins  of  cobalt  ochre,  oxide  of  maiiga- 
ueflCj  and  iron  ochre  in  workable  quantity.  The  copptr 
is  eiiracted  from  the  ore  by  Bolution  in  hydrochlorki 
acid  and  precipitation  as  metal  by  scrap  iro:^.  The 
lord i nary  copper  hquor,  as  well  as  the  oxide  of  hoo 
precipitated  by  lime  from  tlie  solution  of  the  cldoridej 
does  not  cont^iin  any  trace  of  vanadium,  nor  was  tiift 
speaker  able  to  detect  any  of  this  metal  in  the  ott  tf 
at  present  worked. 

Following,  in  the  main,  the  process  of  preparation 
adopted  by  Sefstr-im,  tlie  speaker  obtained  from  the 
above-mvntioned  Lime  precij>itate  SL*veral  pound/  of 
pure  ammonium  Tanadate,  from  which  all  the  otk* 
compouJids  uf  vanadium  can  be  prepared. 

What  now  were  the  conclugioni  to  whldi  Bectwliai 


[Eacliih  Edition,  Vol,  XVU,  No,  433,  poet  135  J 


CmncioAi  Nws, ) 
May,  ia68w       f 


Vcmaditim^  one  of  the  Trivalent  Oroup  of  J 


urived  from  his  experiments  concerning  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  vanadium  compounds  ?  He  corroborated 
Se&tr6m*8  statement,  that  the  most  characteristic 
feature  of  the  substance  is  the  existence  of  an  acid- 
forming  oxide,  termed  vanadic  acid,  produced  when- 
ever any  of  the  oxides  are  heated  in  the  air.  Berzelius 
also  discovered  two  other  oxides  of  vanadium,  of  which 
he  ascertuined  the  composition ;  and  likewise  a  volatile 
chloride.  To  the  highest  oxide  he  gave  the  formula 
YOi,  to  the  second  V  Oa,  and  to  the  lowest  (or  sub- 
oxMe)  VO;  whilst  the  chloride  was  represented  by 
YCls.  The  atomic  weight  of  the  metal  he  ascertained 
to  be  y  =  68*5.  Berzelius  came  to  this  conclusion 
from  the  following  experimentally  ascertained  facts: 
(i)  That  on  parsing  hydrogen  over  heated  vanadic  acid 
a  constiint  loss  of  weight  occurred,  and  the  suboxide 
was  formed ;  (2)  that  when  dry  chlorine  b  passed  over 
the  suboxide  thus  prepared  t!  re  volatile  chloride  was 
formed,  and  a  residue  of  vanadic  acid  remained,  which 
was  exactly  equal  in  weight  to  one-th.rd  of  the  acid 
originally  taken  for  reduction.  Hence  as9uming  that 
the  lowest  oxide  contains  one  atom  of  oxygen  (an 
a<€umption  borne  out  by  the  analysis  of  the  chloride), 
the  acid  must  contain  three  atoms  of  oxygen,*  and  the 
following  fornmlfB  represent  the  composition  of  these 
compounds  according  to  Berzelius : — 

VO  VO,  VO,  VCl,  (V=68-5). 
The  interest  attaching  to  the  conclusions  which  Ber- 
zelius fairly  drew  from  his  experiments  was  much 
heightened  by  an  observation  made  by  Rammelsberg 
in  1856,  as  to  the  exact  crystalline  form  of  the  mineral 
vanadiiiite,  a  double  salt  of  lead  vanadate  and  lead 
chioride. 

So  long  ago  as  1780  Werner  had  observed  the  iden- 
tity of  crystalline  form  of  two  minerals,  viz.,  apatite,  a 
phosphato-fluoride  of  calcium,  and  pyromorphite,  a 
phosphato-chloiide  of  lead ;  to  which  may  be  added, 
mimetesite,  an  arsenato-chloride  of  lead.  These  min- 
erals all  have  an  analogous  composition,  being  repre- 
sented by  the  formuUe : — 

Apatite 3  (Ca,P90*)-hCaFl, 

Pyromorphite 3  (Pb,P,08)-f  PbCl, 

t  Miiueteaile ;3  (Pb.As,  08)-|-PbCl,. 

They  are  truly  isomorphoua,  crystallising  in  hexagonal 
prism.-t,  terminated  with  hexagonal  pyramids,  having 
the  same  angles  and  the  same  length  of  axes.  Ram- 
melsberg added  to  this  list  the  mineral  vanadinite,  which 
he  ascertained  by  measurement  to  be  strictly  isomor- 
phoua with  the  foregoing,  and  to  be  as  follows.  The 
angle  P  on  P  was  in 

1.  Vanadinite i42*'3o' 

2.  Apatite i42°2o' 

3.  Pyromorphite 142*15' 

4.  Mimeteaite I42*'7' 

and  the  relation  of  the  length  of  the  axis: — 

1.  I  :    0727  I  Z'    I  I    0736. 

2.  1  :    0732  I  4.    X  :    0739. 

So  far,  indeed,  has  the  identity  of  crystalline  form 
been  traced,  that  crystals  have  been  found  which  at 

*  BerzelioB  ooncladss  that  the  acid  does  not  contain  two  atoms  of 
metal,  inasmuch  as  no  alum  ooiild  be  formed  with  potatwiam  sulphate 
Gorreh])ondirig  to  those  formed  by  well-known  sesquloxidM. 

t  Tnf « ifntap  of  mlnemls  may  be  considered  aa  oaleium  trlpboapbo- 
fluoHiydrine,  etc.,  thus: — 

F  01 

Apatite.  ryratuorphit*.  (ir«Hli.) 


one  end  consisted  of 
pyromorphite  (Heddle 
lallographic  analogies 
the  formula  of  vanadin 
3(Ph. 
the  oxide  of  vanadium 
a  formula  VaO*,  agreeii 
of  phosphorus  and  t 
making  this  assump:ioi 
fronted  with  the  unyiel 
according  to  which  the 
presented  by  the  form 
not  five,  atoms  of  oxyg 

It  is,  then,  evident  t 
witl\  an  exception  to  1 
Berzelius's  views  are  e 
been  proved  to  be  thi 
only  been  Justified  in  a 
to  be  the  correct  expla 

The  speaker  stated  tl 
up  this  question,  he  hs 
zelius's  experiments,  ai 
in  every  particular;  b 
further  than  Berzelius, 
sions  concerning  the  co 
pounds  totally  different 
dish  chemist,  and  had 
to  the  eni^a  pres>'nte* 
tall  'graphic  relations. 

The  sp  'aker  has  proi 
by  Berzelius  to  be  vana( 
but  an  oxide,  and  that 
metal  is  68*5  -  16  =  5 
speaker's  exact  determ 
67-3 -16  =  5f3).t  TI 
acid,  VO,,  of  Berzeliu 
V,0»,  corresponding  tc 
morphism  of  vanadmit 
of  minerals  is  fully  exj 
zelius  is  a  trioxide,  VaO 
of  Berzelius  is  an  ox; 
VOCl,,  and  coiTespond 
rus,  POCl,.  The  oxide 
the  metal  contains  51*3 
16  parts  by  weight  of 
of  Berzelius  also  exist  e 
metal  to  32  parts  of  ox 
pirical  formulae  VaO,  a 
we  have  the  following 
position  of  these  vanadi 

Dioxide.   Trioxide 
V  =  5r3    V,0,    V,Oa 

Each  of  the  four  oxidi 
drous  state ;  the  dioxid 
powder,  bv  passing  the 
mixed  with  hvdrojfen  c 


*  Or  lead  triranadochlorbydi 

t  In  bts  pflper  on  T.-madlnm, 
z867)f  the  author  ventured  tu 
number  he  obtained  (67*3)  and 
ably  owing  l<»  the  fkct  that  t) 
IWneliua  contained  traces  of 
reducUim  of  the  vanadic  add 
natt'ly  this  aap|M»sition  baa  be 
Franklaml  has  kindly  plac«-d  In 
«»f  vaiwdlaitr  of  ammonia  foam 
**Seiii  to  me  by  Beneilusk  iS; 
fiHind  to  ouncnin  considerable  > 
lug  ihe  speaker's  previously  ex 


[Englidk  Bdltloii,  Vol  XVIL,  Wa  433,  pa|«i  136, 136.] 


2l8 


Vanadium^  one  of  the  Trivalent  €h*oup  of  Elements. 


(  Chcmical  Kkvl 
1       May,  1668. 


oxide  is  obtained  by  the  reduction  of  vanadic  acid  in  a 
current  of  hydrogen,  and  the  tetroxide  is  formed  by 
the  slow  oxidation  of  the  trioxide. 

The  lowest  or  dioxide  of  vanadium  (VaOa)  is  obtain- 
ed in  solution  by  the  reducing  action  of  nascent  hydro- 
gen evolved  from  zinc,  cadmium,  or  sodium  amalgam 
u^on  the  sulphuric  acid  solution  of  vanadic  acid,  which, 
passing  through  all  stages  of  blue  and  green  colour,  ul- 
timately assumes  a  permanent  lavender  tint.  This  solu- 
tion of  VaOa  in  sulphuric  acid  acts  as  a  most  powerful 
reducing  ageut,  bleaching  indigo  solution  and  other 
vegetable  colouring  matters  as  rapidly  as  chlorine ;  it 
also  absorbs  oxygen  with  avidiiy  from  the  air,  forming 
a  deep  brown  solution.  The  other  oxides  of  vanadium 
may  be  obtained  in  solution  by  the  actic^n  of  various 
reducing  agents  on  the  sulphuric  solution  of  vanadic 
acid.  Thus,  by  the  action  of  nascent  hydrogen  evolved 
irom  magnesium  a  permanent  green  tint  is  obtained, 
and  the  vanadium  is  contained  in  solution  as  the  tri- 
oxide, V«Ot ;  whilst  if  moderate  reducing  agents,  such 
as  sulphurous  acid,  sulpliuretted  hydrogen,  or  oxalic 
acid  are  employed,  the  colour  of  the  liquid  does  not  pass 
beyond  tlie  hltie  stage,  and  the  vanadium  is  contained 
in  solution  as  te  roxide,  VaO*.*  The  different  colours 
of  solutions  containing  these  oxides  were  exhibited  by 
means  of  the  magnesium  light. 

The  fact  that  the  lemon-coJoured  chloride  (the  ter- 
chloride  of  Berzelius)  contains  oxygen  was  clearly 
demonstrated  during  the  discourse  by  passing  the  va- 
pour from  a  few  grammes  of  the  substance,  together 
with  perfectly  pure  hydrogen  gas,  over  red-hot  carbon. 
A  portion  of  the  oxygen  of  the  oxychloride  unites 
with  the  carbon  to  form  carbonic  acid,  and  the 
presence  of  this  gas  was  shown  by  the  precipitation  of 
barium  carbonate  in  clear  baryta  water  contained  in 
two  test-tubes  placed  one  before  the  other.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  experiment,  the  carbonic  acid 
was  entirely  absorbed  by  the  small  quantity  of  baryta 
water  contained  in  the  first  test-tube ;  but  afler  some 
time  the  hydrochloric  acid  gas  simultaneously  produced 
by  the  decomposition  of  the  chloride  saturated  this 
liquid,  expelling  the  carbonic  acid  gas,  which  being 
carried  forward  into  the  second  test-tube,  threw  down 
a  bulky  precipitate  of  barium  carbonate,  thus  showing 
that  the  turbidity  cannot  possibly  be  due  to  the  pres- 
ence of  any  vanadium  compound.  It  was  found  quite 
unnecessary  to  place  a  tube  containing  heated  copper 
oxide  after  the  red-hot  carbon,  for  the  purpose  of  oxi- 
dising any  carbonic  oxide  gas  which  might  be  formed, 
inasmuch  as  carbonic  acid  was  always  left  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  give  a  considerable  precipitate.  No  method 
has  been  found  for  separating  the  whole  of  the  oxygen 
from  the  oxychloride,  and  hence  it  has  been  impossible 
to  make  the  above  experiment  quantitatively.  Sulid 
oxychlorides  are  obtained  by  the  action  of  hydrogen 
upon  the  oxy  trichloride,  one  of  which  resembles  mcsaio 
gold,  possessing  a  bright  metallic  bronze-like  lustre,  and 
having  been  taken  for  the  metal  by  Schafarik. 

The  atomic  weight  of  vanadium  was  determined  (i) 
by  reducing  the  pentoxide  to  trioxide  in  a  current  of 
hydrogen.     (2)  By  the  analysis  of  the  oxytrichloride. 

*  In  his  oommanieation  to  the  Ro7al  Society  (BakerUn  T^eoture, 
Proc  Royal  8'»c,  xvL  220).  the  anthor  Bare  the  ennf4r1cal  ftimiula 
TO  and  YOi  to  the  1st  and  drd  oxides  of  ranadium,  an  the  mnlecalar 
weifrhts  of  these  oxides  have  not  been  determined,  and  it  is  nneertaln 
whether  they  obey  the  law  of  even  atomicities,  or,  like  the  onir  corre* 
spondlnff  cornfH>aDd9,  the  nitroffcn  oxides,  are  exceptions  to  this  law. 
On  eonsiderarioQ,  the  author  hns.  howerer,  thought  it  best  to  adopt  the 
doubled  formala  aa  lurg^  by  Sir  Beojamln  Brodie  on  the  ooeasion 
fcbove  referred  tot 


The  atomic  weight  obtained  as  the  mean  of  a  large 
number  of  well-agreeing  experiments  is  51 '3. 

The  metal  itself  has  not  yet  been  obtained,  but  a 
compound  of  vanadium  and  nitrogen  has  been  prepared, 
shown  by  direct  analysis  to  contain  14  parts  by  weight 
of  nitrogen  to  51*3  parts  byweight  of  vanadium,  cor- 
responding to  the  formula  vN.  The  existence  of  this 
compound  is  proof  positive  of  the  true  atomic  weight 
of  the  metal,  and  the  nitride  serves  as  the  point  of  de- 
parture from  which  to  seek  for  the  metal  and  the  trae 
chlorides  of  vanadium,  one  of  which,  YCls,  has  already 
been  prepared  by  the  action  of  chlorine  upon  the  nitride. 
It  is  a  dark  brown  liquid,  which  decomposes  when 
thrown  into  water,  forming  a  green  solution  contaioiDg 
YsOi.  The  speaker  demonstrated  the  faet  that  the 
oxychloride,  vOCli,  when  thrown  into  water  decom- 
poses with  formation  of  a  yellow  solution  of  vanadiam 
pentoxide,  VsO»,  whilst  the  trichloride,  VCl,,  on  being 
similarly  treated  yields  a  green  solution  containing  the 
metal  in  solution  as  trioxide,  VsOs.  He  then  compared 
these  reactions  with  the  decomposition  of  the  corre- 
sponding phosphorus  compounds.  POOls  and  PGL, 
forming  PaO»  and  PsOt,  and  renaered  these  reaction! 
visible  by  obtaining  a  precipitate  of  yellow  silver  ph^pr 
phate  in  the  first  case,  and  of  black  metallic  silver  in 
the  second. 

The  characters  of  the  vanadates  themselves  bear  ont 
the  analogy  of  the  highest  oxide  with  the  correspond- 
ing oxides  of  phosphorus  and  arsenic.  In  the  first 
place,  all  the  naturally  occurring  vanadates  are  tribasic; 
secondly,  the  true  character  of  vanadic  add  is  shown 
to  be  tribasic,  by  the  fact  that,  when  the  pentoxide  is 
fused  with  sodium  carbonate,  three  atoms  of  C0«  a-e 
liberated,  and  the  normal  or  orthovanadate,  NajV»Oi 
(corresponding  to  NaaPtOe),  is  formed ;  thirdly,  the  so- 
called  monovanadates  are  monobasic  salts,  correspond- 
ing to  the  monobasic  phosphates,  and  may  be  termed 
metavanadateSj  thus,  Na  V  Oi  and  Ba  2  V  0»,  whilst 
the  so-caUed  bi-vanadats  are  anhydro-salts. 

All  the  reactions  by  which  Berzelius  explained  the 
facts  he  discovered,  can  equally  well  be  represented 
according  to  the  new  atomic  weight  and  constitution; 
thus; — 

Berzelius^  Fobkuljs. 

Y^e&s    0  =  8 

i)  VO,  +  H,  =  VO  +  H,0, 

2)  3  (VO)  -h  CU  =  VO,  +  2  (VCl.) 

New  Formula 
T  =  51-3    O  =  16 

3  (v,Oi)  -h  6  a  =  T,o*  -H  4  <voa,> 

The  speaker  f titled  that  the  foregoins^  farts  dearfj 
pointed  out  that  vanadium,  hitherto  standing  in  na 
definite  relation  to  otlicr  elemcnta,  must  h^  regsxJ^ 
as  a  member  of  the  well-known  trivalent  or  tiisd 
class  of  elementary  substances,  comprising  nitrogifo. 
phosphorus,  boron,  arsenide,  antimony ^  and  bis- 
muth. 

It  is  true  that  we  are  still  but  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  many  of  thy  characters  of  vanadium,  but  tie 
moru  its  nature  is  studied,  I  lie  more  poinss  of  lanvLlj 
reseiiiblance  will  be  dLscovered,  and  thf?  ini>|pe  <.4os^ 
will  the  ties  ha  found,  which  bind  it  to  the  grt-at  trsd 
family. 

The  following  tabular  etateraent  of  the  cotnpoundi  of 
the  most  important  memt>ers  of  this  group  dearij 
shows  their  common  relations : — 


[Bngliah  Bditioa,  ToL  ZVH,  V9.  433,  p«c«*  130, 137.] 


CBniTOAI.  ISVWB^  I 

Jfof,  1868.       f 


Contributions  to  our  knowledge  of  TJia 


Tkivalent  Group  op  Elembnt& 
.  Kitrogen.  Fho«phoru8.  Tanadiam.  Anenle.  Antimony* 
N  =14  P  =  31    V  =  51*3  As  =  75  Sb  =  122 


Trihydride8...NH, 

PH. 

-. 

AsH, 

SbH, 

Trichlorides  .  .NQ,  (?) 

pa, 

va, 

AsCli 

SbCl, 

Pentachlorides  — 

Pil, 

-~ 

-~ 

SbCU 

Ozjchlorides     — 

POCl, 

YOG, 

-. 

— 

Honoxides....NaO 

— 

— 

-~ 

— 

Dioxides NaOj 

-« 

T,0, 

.^ 

-. 

Trioxides N,0, 

P.0, 

v,o. 

A8,0, 

SbaO, 

Tetroxide8....N:,04 

T.O4 

Sba04 

PentozideB....N90ft 

P.O. 

v,o. 

Ab.0. 

Sb*0» 

In  conclusion,  the  speaker  remarked  that  Tanadium 
was  the  fourth  substance,  supposed  by  its  discoverer  to 
be  a  metal,  which  had  in  recent  years  been  shown  to 
be  a  compound  body. 

Titaniunk  Uranlam. 

Wollaston,  1823.        Klaproth,  1789. 
'Wobler,  1849.  Pehgot,  1849. 


Nlobinm. 
(Hatchetti  1801. 
( Rose,  1842-64. 
Marignac,  1865. 


Tanadimn. 
Befbtrom  and  Berzelius,  1831. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  OUR  KNOWLEDGE  OF 
THALLIUM.* 

BT  PROF.   DR,   J.   W.   GUNNINO. 

OiTS  of  my  former  pupils, 'M.-  Serrurier,  now  managing 
director  of  the  Amsterdam  s-oda  manufactory,  had  the 
kindness  to  make  me  a  present  of  the  flue  dust  obtained 
at  the  works  where  the  pyrites  used  for  making  sul- 
phuric acid  is  derived  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Suh- 
rort.     I  found  this  flue  dust  to  yield  about  i  per  cent,  of 
chloride  of  thallium ;  the  bulk  of  the  dust  is  made  up 
of  arsenious  and  arsenic  acids,  some  iron  and  lead,  but 
hardly  any  sulphuric  acid.     It  is  usual  in  order  to 
obtain  thallium  from  this  dust  to  boil  it  (the  dust)  with 
dilute  sulphuiic  acid,  to  strain,  and  to  precipitate  the 
thallium  by  m^ans  of  hydrochloric  acid ;  tlie  chloride 
of  thaUium  so  obtained  is  washed,  and  afterwards 
dissolved  in  strong  sulphuric  acid,  yielding  the  well 
crystallising  sulphate  of  thallium.     Another  plan  is  to 
digest  the  flue  dust  with  a  solution  of  carbonate  of 
soda,  and  to  precipitate  the  thallium  by  means  of  h^- 
dro-sulphuret  of  ammonium.    It  has  struck  me  while 
eng&ge^  ^ith  this  matter  that  neither  of  these  methods 
answrer  the  purpose  well;  the  sulphate  and  carbonate 
of  thallium  are  not  very  readily  soluble,  and  unless 
therefore  one  is  prepared  to  lose  a  portion  of  thaUium, 
there  is  no  end  of  boiling  the  flue  dust  with  solvents. 
One  must,  moreover,  bear  in  mind  tihat  the  flue  dust 
contains  a  portion  of  the  thallium  as  peroxide,  insoluble 
in  soda,  and  indifferently  soluble  only  in  dilute  sulphu- 
ric acid.     The  presence  of  TUOa  in  flue  dust  is  proved 
in  this  way:  after  long  treatment  with  soda  solution 
there  is  a  brownish  muddy  mass  left,  which,  when 
acted  upon  by  sulphurous  acid  dissolved  in  water,  be- 
comes partly  discoloured  and  yields  a  large  proportion 
of  sulphate  of  thallium. 

I  have  applied  phosphoric  acid  to  extract  thaUium 
from  the  flue  dust,  and  I  find  it  answer  admirably  well 
The  phosphates  of  thallium,  and  especially  so  the  acid 
phosphate,  are  among  the  most  soluble  of  the  salts  of 
thallium.  Since  phosphoric  acid  itself  is  rather  too 
expensive  to  be  thus  applied,  I  have  substituted  there- 
for a  mixture  of  bone  ash  and  sulphuric  acid,  which 
answ^ered  the  purpose  splendidly ;  it  is  only  required 

'  •  Tnntlated  by  A.  Adriani,  M.D.,  Pb.D.,  et«. 


to  digest  and  heat  tl 
ash  with  sulphuric  at 
long  time,  to  render 
efficient  to  remove  ft 
all  the  thallium  it  con 
cent,  of  the  whole  i 
treated  with  hydroch 
the  chloride  of  thalliu 
tion.  contained,  how( 
of  tnaUium  dissolved, 
non-thorough  insolubi 
also  as  thalHc  salts  i 
acid:  in  order  to  obtc 
is  added  to  the  acid 
are  reduced  to  thallo 
nearly  neutralised  wi 
thalliyra  compounds  ai 
of  potassium  as  insolu 

The  best  and  easies 
of  thallium  into  pure 
after  washing  with  wi 
chloric  acid  (since  pu 
portion  of  the  chloric 
This  I  perform  in  the 
porcelain  basin  a  mod< 
carbonate  of  soda,  paa 
gas  through  it,  and  sti 
thallium  by  small  quan 
sition  is  instantaneou£ 
soon   quite  converted 
quantity  of  chloride  of 
acted  upon  is  somewha 
fresh  quantity  of  soda  8 
solution  must  not  becoi 
that  there  is  no  loss  of 
tion  is  finished  the  liqu: 
free  chlorine  (hypochlor 
should  be  first  washed 
a  filter,  it  is  next  difiut 
water,  through  which  a 
is  passed,  whereby  it  ( 
comes  dissolved  as  sulpl 
is  most  readily  obtain< 
allowing  its  solution  spc 
under  a  desiccator.    Th 
ferable  to  that  of  decon 
strong  sulphuric  acid,  v 
ence  of  acid  vapours,  als< 
in  consequence  of  the 
cultly  attainable  comple 
found  that  crude  chloric) 
arsenic,  even  when  the 
tate  that  salt  from  a  dilu 
I  think  this  is  due  to  1 
chloride  of  thallium,  can 
ate  of  thallium  mechanic 
tains  arsenic  acid  as  well 
of  these  is  the  cause  wl 
dissolved  in  sulphuric  aci 

It  is  a  known  fact  that 
in  the  presence  of  chloric 
formed  AsCh,  which,  h 
with  arsenic  acid.  The 
submitted  to  Marsh's  te 
well-known  reaction  for 
hand,  on  being  treated 
brownish-red,  very  flocct 
be  taken  to  indicate  antii 
verified  the  absence  of  1 


[SngUih  Bdltlon,  VoL  Z7IL,  Va  433^  p,^^  x37, 138*1 


l\   -■ 


220 


Contrihutions  to  our  Knowledge  of  Thallium. 


j  CBKMirAL  Km 


has  been  asserted  by  some  chemists  that  there  exists  a 
reddish,  or  brown-reddish  coloured  higher  sulphuret  of 
thallium  insoluble  in  dilute  acids,  but  a  rather  instable 
compound.  The  substance  just  alluded  to  is  no  doubt 
that  sulphured  of  the  existence  of  which  one  may 
easily  satisfy  one's  self  by  treating  dry  sulphate  of 
thallium  with  aqua  regia,  or  by  boiling  the  sulphate  of 
thallium  with  sulphuric  acid  and  peroxide  of  lead,  or  of 
manganese^  the  solution  of  the  thus  partly-oxidised 
sulphate  yields,  on  being  submitted  to  a  current  of 
HtS,  in  the  first  instance,  a  brownish-red  precipitate, 
which,  however,  gets  soon  after  dissolved,  while  sul- 
phur is  deposited ;  HaS  reduces  also  the  thallic  salts  to 
thallous  sfldts.  I  have  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  this 
sulphuret  under  conditions  of  greater  stability. 

Bottger,  Ann,  der  Chem.  tk  Pharm,^  cxxviii.,  p.  249, 
speaks  of  this  sulphuret^  which,  according  to  his  re- 
searches, -should  be  a  nigher  sulphuret  of  thallium 
mixed  wiUi  sulphide  of  arsenic  and  free  sulphur '  he 
also  mentions  that  the  said  compound  may  be  obtained 
in  pure  siate  by  treating  an  acid  thallic  salt  with  a 
rather  small  quantity  of  hyposulphite  of  soda.  I  con- 
sider this  last  assertion  to  be  highly  improbable,  since 
even  sulphurous  acid  so  readily  reduces  thallic  salts  to 
thallous  salts.  On  rt^peating  the  experiment  with  a 
solution  of  the  chloride  or  sulphate  of  thallium,  an^l 
addition  of  some  hyposulphite  of  soda.  I  have  seen 
nothing  but  a  separation  of  sulphur.  I  cannot,  how- 
ever, consent  to  agree  to  the  opiuion  that  the  sulphuret 
in  question  should  just  be  a  higher  sulphuret,  for  the 
following  reason : — I  found  that  the  solution  of  the 
crude  cbloride  of  thalUum  in  sulphuric  acid,  after  hav- 
ing been  treated  with  a  current  of  sulphurous  acid  in 
excels,  and  afterwards  with  HiS,  Just  again  yields  the 
same  reddish-brown  precipitate.  The  following  reac- 
tions justify  the  opinion  that  the  brownish-red  precipi- 
tate is  a  peculiar  sulphide  of  thallium;  strong  bases 
readily  convert  it  into  black  sulphide  of  ^halUum  TlSj, 
while  sulphuret  of  arsenic  becomes  dissolved  in  tlie  al- 
kaline lye,  and  is  re-precipitated  therefrom  on  addition 
of  an  acid,  as  yellow  AsiSi,  without  simultaneous  pre- 
cipitation of  sulphur,  and  also  without  disengagement 
of  HaS,  which  latter  occurrence  could  not  have  failed 
to  take  place  if  one  had  had  to  deal  in  this  instance 
with  a  higher  degree  of  sulphuration  than  AssSs,  or 
TI3S ;  its  behaviour  on  being  heated,  whereby  a  sub- 
limate is  obtained  partly  of  AssSa,  partly  of  AsaOa, 
while  at  the  same  tune  black  sulphuret  of  thallium  re- 
mains as  a  molten  mass ;  it  is  easy  to  obtain  at  will  the 
very  self-same  precipitate  from  every  thallous  solution 
by  simply  adding  to  it,  'first,  some  arsonious  acid,  then 
to  piiss  through  a  current  of  HaS,  wliile  it  doe.s  not  in 
the  least  matter  whether  the  fluid  is  acid  or  has  been 
rendered  alkaline  by  ammonia;  the  said  precipitate 
also  occurs  when  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  As,Sa  is 
precipitated  with  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  a  thaUous 
salt;  from  these  results  I  draw  tlie  inference  that  I 
had  simply  to  deal  in  this  case  with  a  mixture  of  Ae^Si 
and  TLiS.  Analysis  has  proved  this  to  be  quite  correct ; 
the  substance  does  not  contain  anything  else  than 
'  arsenic,  thallium,  and  sulphur,  while  the  latter  is  pres- 
ent in  the  proportion  requin^d  to  form  TUS  and  AsaSi. 
My  assistant,  Mr.  A<lriaanz,  performed  the  analysis  in 
different  ways:  ist  The  substance  weighed  in  a  small 
flask  was  treated  with  a  solution  of  pure  caustic  po- 
tass quite  free  from  any  sulphuric  acid  [sulphate], 
chlorine  gas  was  passed  througli,  and  afler  a  while  the 
matter  was  entirely  dissolved ;  from  this  solution  pure 
carbonate  of  potassa  free  from  sulphate,  precipitated 


TlaOs,  this,  afler  having  been  well  washed  upon  a  filtcry 
was  dissolved  in  sulphurous  acid,  next  evaporated  to 
dryness,  again  re-dissolved  and  precipitated  with  iodide 
of  potassium  as  insoluble  iodiJe  of  thallium,  then  dried 
and  weighed.  In  the  filtrate  from  Tl«Oa  the  sulphoiic 
acid  was  determined  in  the  usual  way,  and  the  arsenic 
AsiOs  as  ammonio-magnesian  arseniate.  This  mode  of 
proceeding  always  gave  the  arsenic  too  low.  2nd  The 
same  method  was  applied,  with  this  difiVrence :  that  in 
order  to  prevent  loss  of  arsenic,  iodine  was  used  instead 
of  chlorine  to  cflfect  the  oxidation ;  the  excess  of  iodine 
was  eliminated  by  evaporation  along  with  alcohol;  bj 
this  process,  however,  it  was  found  that  a  portion  of 
the  sulphide  of  thallium  was  not  properly  oxidised,  in 
consequence  whereof  the  result  for  S  was  found  too 
low.  3rd.  The  substance  was  oxi  lised  with  pure  nitric 
acid,  or  pure  aqua  regia  ;  the  sulphur  which  partly  es- 
caped oxidation,  was  weighed  in  that  state,  afler  hwr- 
ing  eliminated  the  excess  of  acid  by  evaporation;  the 
thallic  s  lit  was,  after  addition  of  some  p  )tassa,  precipi- 
tated by  means  of  iodide  of  potassium;  the  iodine 
which  hereby  separated  was  eliminated  by  evaporation 
along  wita  alcohol,  the  iodide  of  thallium  separated  bj 
filtra'ion,  and  As  and  S  estimited  as  just  described. 
While  execuing  these  operations,  my  assistant  experi- 
enced great  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  complete  reduction 
of  the  thallic  salt,  in  consequence  whereof  the  iodide  of 
thallium  did  not  present  its  usually  bright,  splendid 
yellow  colour,  but  was  always  somewhat  blackish;  it 
was,  moreover,  very  difficult  to  remove  from  the  filter, 
whereupon  the  sulphur  had  been  coilected,  some  thaflic 
salt  ten£^;iouslv  adhering  to  both  sulphur  and  filter.  Ai 
a  sequel  of  these  difficulties,  the  estimation  of  the  dif- 
ferent compounds  did  not  take  place  from  one  and  the 
same  weighed  quantity,  but  care  was  taken  to  estimate 
all  compounds  in  samples  obtained  by  one  and  the  same 
preparati*  m.  After  it  had  been  duly  ascertained  that 
on  being  heated  above  ioo®0.,  the  substance  did  not 
lose  any  more  water,  the  samples  submitted  to  analyst 
were  dried  at  100  0.  Dried  at  that  temperature  the 
sub!^tance  is  found  to  be  a  readily  mobile  very  hgU 
powder  "which,  on  being  rubbed,  becomes  electrified. 
The  following  are  the  results  obtained  on  analysis:— 
Tl  =  204. 

No.  X.  No.  a.  No.  3.  No.  4.  Noi.  5.  K«i  (^ 

Sulphur...  1 8-82  19-56  21-27  2675  i^'iA  24"^ 

Arsenic.  ..21-40  21-56  20*08        —  —  26*oJ 

ThaUium.'.6o-57  5707  5865  41-52  6733  A^'^ 

96^3 


100-79      98'i9    100*00 

Noa.  1-3  have  been  prepared  by  passing  a  cnrrcntof 
HsS  through  a  solution  of  arson  ions  acid  and  sulpiiite 
of  thallium  in  excess,  acidified  with  sulphuric  acid. 
The  wa>h  water  ought  to  be  mixed  with  an  aqueooi 
solution  of  HjS,  since  otherwise  the  filtrate  becoBM 
somewhat  colored. 

No.  4,  prepared  by  mixing  an  ammoniacal  sohitiofi 
of  As. S3  with  excess  of  an  ammoniacal  solufioo  d 
sulphate  of  thallium,  and  afterwards  addition  of  sul- 
phuric acid  until  acid  reaction  ensues. 

No.  5,  prepared  by  adding  to  an  excess  of  an  ant- 
moniacal  solution  of  AsaS*  an  amimoniacal  fiolntion  of 
sulphate  of  thallium. 

No.  6,  prepared  as  No.  5,  but  in  reversed  o'ticr,  ia, 
thallium  in  excess.  I  am  quite  aware  that  these  tok- 
lyses  exhibit  some  imperfections  due  eapeciaOy  to  tbd 
difficulty  quite  correctly  to. estimate  As,  but  more  ao 
yet  Tl ;  this,  however,  is  demonstrated  that  from  aod 


tEngHgh  Edition,  VoL  ZVIL,  No.  433,  pagM  138, 130.] 


CnwTOAL  Nicwa,  I 


Organic  Mattef*  in  Potable  Waters 


solutions  conUining  tballium  in  excess,  is  obtained  a 
combination  made  up  of  equivalent  proportions  of  sul- 
phide of  arsenic  and  sulphide  of  thallium.  The  cnlculat- 
ed  result  of  this  compound  AsiSs,  TU  S,  is  the  follow- 
ing: 

Sulphur 187 

Arsenic 21*9 

Thallium 59-4 

Ammoniacal  solutions  do  not  yield  a  compound  of 
constant  composition ;  even  while  being  prepared  the 
washings  run  off  coloured,  while  the  precipitate  itself  is 
evident'y  decomposed  by  ammonia.  When  a  current 
of  HaS  is  passed  through  a  solution  containing  equi- 
valent proportions  of  i^aOs  and  TlaSo*,  only  a  small 
proportion  of  thallium  is  thrown  down  along  with  an 
excess  of  As^Ss.  If  the  quantity  of  As  jOs  is  increased 
above  that  of  TI11SO4,  yet  thallium  remains  in  the  solu- 
tion, even  a  large  excess  of  arsenic  is  incapable  of  as- 
sisting in  throwing  down  the  whole  of  the  thallium : 
this,  notwithstanding  all  these  different  precipitates,  ex- 
hibits the  same  bright  reddish-brown  colour.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  somewhat  singular  behaviour,  I,  for  a 
momenr,  suspected  that  some  peculiar  variety  of  the 
thallium  salt  might  perhaps  exi^tt.  I  soon  found,  how- 
ever, that  if  a  solution  of  a  salt  of  thallium  is  treated 
with  AsqOs  and  H3S,  and  this  operation  is  repeated 
with  the  same  solurion  of  thallium,  a  second  time  a  loss 
of  metal  is  experienced,  and  that  by  repeating  the  same 
operation  with  the  same  sample  over  and  over  again,  at 
last  all  the  thallium  is  eliminated.  I  do  not  think  it  is 
possible  to  assign  to  this  red  substance  a  place  among 
the  well  defined  compounds.  I  do  not  know  of  another 
instance  of  similar  composition  and  origin.  It  appears 
to  me  that  the  most  probable  explanation  may  be  the 
following:  To  assume  that  beside  the  black  sulphuret 
of  thallium  there  exists  another  sulphuret  of  the  same 
composition,  but  of  different  colour  (akin  to  what  is 
well  known  to  be  the  case  for  mercury  and  antimony), 
and  that  this  modification  of  the  sulphuret  of  thallium 
is  perhaps  crystalline,  and  hence  more  apt  to  resist  the 
action  of  acids,  and  that,  furthermore,  this  compound 
formed  as  has  been  explained,  can  unite  with  sulphuret 
of  arsenic,  and  form  a  molecular  compound  therewith. 
But  even  this  explanation  leaves  unanswered  the  ques- 
tion whfch  can  be  asked,  How  is  it  that  the  sulphuret 
of  arsenic,  the  presence  of  which,  and  aptitude  to  com- 
bine with  this  red  sulphide  of  tiiallium,  is  the  cause  of 
the  origin  of  the  latter,  does  not  act  in  proportion  of 
its  quantity  present  in  a  given  solution,  but  only  trans- 
forms a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  the  diallium 
present  into  that  compound  ? 

Tiie  chemical  history  of  this  red  substance  teaches  us 
that  thallium  cannot  be  separated  from  arsenic  by  means 
of  HiS,  a  point  of  some  importance  in  quantitative 
analysis,  as  well  ts  while  operating  on  (he  flue  dust  from 
sulphuric  acid  works.  It  also  deserves  notice  that  the 
orange-yellow  colour  oflen  exhibited  by  sulphur  dbtain- 
ed  from  pyrites,  and  which  is  usually  accounted  for.  by 
ascribing  that  colour  to  the  presence  of  selenium,  may 
be  equally  well  due  to  such  sulphur  containing  thallium 
I  beg  leave  to  state  in  connection  herewith,  that  Mr. 
Wm.  Crookes,  the  discoverer  of  thallium,  found  in  crude 
sulphur  obtained  from  Spanish  pyrites  0*29  per  cent  of 
thallium.  Mr.  Crookes,  however,  did  not  record  what 
.  culour  this  sulphur  exhibited* 


NATURE  AND  m      \ 
GANIC  MATTEB      ! 

BT   GBARLES   R.    G        I 

Ths  importance  of  m^  i 
bringing  before  you  tl 
remarks  and  notes  u  1 
Matter  in  Water.  Di  1 
year,  I  made  some  c 
water-analyses,  the  ci  1 
bodied  in  my  paper. 

It  must  be  palpable 
point  in  the  analyses  <     ; 
tion  as  regards  their      1 
purposes.     But  it  is       i 
danger  (where  there 
chemiats  term  the  orgi 
times  when  that  organ 
dangerous  state.    The 
nation  of  potable  wat<     , 
tive  determination  as      1 
a  water  rich  in  organ 
water  containing  but 
but  organic  matter  of    1 
our  ideas  of  the  most    i 
the  horrible  results  tha    1 
complish.     Weight  foi    i 
far  behind  in  virulence 
acid,  strychnine,  or  thi    \ 
fangs. 

I  may  say,  our  opini    1 
rather  the  state  of  the 
ing  it  contains  any), 
gone,  only  .to  be  arrive 
many  examinations,     i    > 
upon  the  state  of  the  c   ; 
examination. 

Ibtal  EiU^naiion  of  \ 
present  in  abnormal  (  ) 
plained  by  its  origin,  1 
condemned. 

jLiAfmrnia,, — ^Thisaga  1 
which  the  water  was  1 
good  test  for  ammonia. 
have  pointed  out  some  1 
the  examination  of  w  I 
that  contains  urea  (a  ]  ' 
water),  it  is  converted  : 
proximate  estimation  1 
resembling  urea  may  b< 
aace  for  the  ammonia  0  > 
ments  of  Messrs.  Wan  ; 
with  the  nitrogenous  m  1 
fill  consideration,  altho\  | 
entirely. 

A  ready  and  quick  i  t 
matter  in  solution  has  \  • 
matioH  yx^  a  volumctri ; 
potassinm  being  worthl  s 

The  micTotoo^io  exam\  1 
be  any  present^  is  of  tl  e 
an  accidental  and  reei 
evidence  of  the  inroad  < 

Taste,  odour,  hardnec ! 
dients,  sulphuretted  hy  I 


*  Read  in  the  Physiological 
the  British  Medical  AsMcieUoii 


*  The  oolonr  rurles  between  orange,  red,  and  dark  grey,  according 
to  the  qtuDtiiy  of  thalliam  present— w.  C 

Vol.  II.  No.  5.    May,  1868.         16 

lEngUsh  BdMen,  Vol  XVn.,  Ha  433,  pt«aa  13^,110;  ir<».434,T4 


■I 


the  gases  dissolved  in  the  water,  are  all  points  con- 
nected with  the  state  of  the  organic  matters,  but  call 
for  no  particular  renjarks  upon  my  part. 

AnoUier  very  important  point  in  connection  with 
water  intended  for  drinking  purposes,  is  the  colour. 
Every  kind  of  water,  whether  from  a  spring,  river,  or 
reservoir,  possesses  a  certain  tinge,  however  faint  that 
tinge  may  be.  An  instrument,  which  I  will  call  the 
chromiometer,  is  particularly  suited  to  this  purpose. 
In  a  paper,  which  I  wrote  some  years  ago,  "  On  the 
Urinary  Pigment"  (Chemical  News,  March,  1862,  Etiq, 
Ed.\  I  described  this  instrument,  and  suggested  its  use 
for  the  determination  of  the  relative  amount  of  pigment 
voided.  A  similar  instrument  is  now  used  by  Dr. 
Letheby  for  the  examination  of  water.  I  shall  describe 
my  own  arrangement  of  this  instrument.  To  observe 
the  colour,  a  pencil  of  light  passing  through  a  consid- 
erable body  of  the  water  is  viewed  by  means  of  a  tube. 
The  apparatus  consists  of  this  tube,  a  yard  in  length, 
well  closed  at  one  end  by  a  stopper.  The  stopper  is 
preferable  to  a  permanently  fixed  end,  as  it  enables  the 
operator  to  clean  the  tube  perfectly — a  matter  of  some 
importance.  On  the  bottom  is  fixed  a  piece  of  white 
porcelain — a  sight,  if  I  may  use  the  term.  Tlie  tube 
18  graduated  into  convenient  divisions  for  the  relative 
examination  of  different  samples.  By  filling  the  tube 
with  the  water  to  be  examined,  and  looking  through 
the  water  at  the  white  disc  at  the  bottom,  a  faint  col- 
ouration is  at  once  perceived.  Thus  an  experienced 
eye  will,  afler  a  chromatic  examination,  prognosticate 
the  character  of  his  microscopic  examination.  The 
green  chlorophyll  tinge  is  almost  invariably  produced 
by  the  presence  of  desmidiaceao  and  other  algse,  or 
similar  bodies.  A 'white  opacity  is  fi^quently  indica- 
tive of  fungoid  growths.  The  finely  suspended  basic 
persalts  of  iron  frequently  found  in  waters  rich  in 
organic  matter,  which  pass  through  iron-pipes,  etc., 
are  instantly  recognised  by  a  peculiar  ochrey  colour. 
True  chalybeate  springs  also  deposit  a  similar  precipi- 
tate when  exposed  to  atmospheric  oxygen..  Another 
important  application  of  this  tube  is  the  determination 
of  the  state  of  oxidation  of  the  iron-salts  in  the  water, 
if  present.  This  is  a  matter  of  some  importance,  par- 
ticularly in  connection  with  the  organic  matter;  and 
I  shall  perhaps  be  excused  if  I  dwell  a  little  upon  this 
point. 

Iron  is  almost  always  present  in  well-waters,  and 
frequently  so  in  river  or  reservoir  water.  If  present 
in  very  minute  quantities,  the  primitive  state  of  oxida- 
tion can  only  be  recognised  with  the  aid  of  ^e  chro- 
miometer. 

As  the  microscope  magnifies  the  form,  so  does  the 
chromiometer  magnify  the  colour  so  as  to  be  recognis- 
able by  the  eye.  We  are  enabled  to  extend  the  range 
of  our  ordinary  chromatic  tests,  and  to  recognise  minute 
quantities  of  the  proto-  and  per-salts  of  iron.  Any 
attempt  to  concentrate  the  water  for  examination 
would  alter  the  state  of  oxidation,  and  the  results* 
would  be  fallacious.  Thus,  on  adding  to  separate 
portions  of  the  water  in  the  tube  a  few  drops  of  the 
ordinary  reagents,  the  following  results  are  obtained. 
Sulphocyanide  of  ammonium  developea  a  pink  tinge, 
indicative  of  the  per-salts  of  iron.  A  lew  drops  of  nitric 
acid  are  added  to  another  specimen,  and  tested  wiUi 
sulphocyanide  of  ammonium.  A  darker  shade  is  pro- 
duced than  in  the  first  experiment.  This  is  indicative 
of  the  presence  both  of  per-  and  proto-salts  of  iron. 
Colouration,  only  produced  after  the  addition  of  nitric 
acid  and  sulphocyanide,  indicates  that  the  iron  is  pres- 


ent as  a  proto-salt.  When  the  iron  bears  a  consider- 
able proportion  to  the  organic  matter  in  the  water, 
little  or  no  organic  matter^  if  we  except  ammonia,  will 
be  found  in  solution,  providing  the  iron  is  in  the  state 
of  a  per-salt.  If,  however,  the  iron  be  present  as  a 
proto-salt,  it  will  exert  very  little  influence  on  the 
organic  matter,  and  frequently  such  waters  (except 
deep  chalybeate  springs)  will  be  found  to  contain  large 
quantities  of  soluble  organic  matter.  Thus  it  is,  that 
a  water  containing  proto-salts  of  iron  and  organic 
matter  will  fi'equently,  although  quite  clear  on  (Raw- 
ing firom  the  welL  become  cloudy  and  deposit  a  mass 
of  red  flakes.  They  consist  of  a  basic  salt  of  iron, 
which  retains  the  whole,  or  nearly  the  whole,  of  the 
organic  matter.  The  trace  left  in  solution  ia  of  an 
unfermentable  nature. 

The  estimation  of  nitrites  is  one  of  importance.  It 
is  easily  and  readily  performed  in  the  following  man- 
ner. I  am  induced  to  insert  it  here,  as  it  differs  from 
all  the  methods  in  use.  It  might  at  first  sight  appear 
strange  that  I  should  advocate  the  use  of  a  volumetric 
solution  of  permanganate  of  potassium,  when,  in  an- 
other part  of  my  paper,'  I  heartily  condemn  that  re- 
agent; but  it  will  be  also  seen  that  there  are  two  ex- 
ceptions to  the  uncertainty  of  the  action  of  perman- 
g-anate  of  potassium ;  viz.,  oxalic  acid  and  the  nitrites. 
There  are  many  operations  in  vogue  for  estimating 
nitrates*  two  oi  which  the  author  proposed  some  yean 
affo.  C^On  the  Estimation  of  Nitrites  in  the  presenoe 
of  Nitrates,"  ProceedmgM  0/  the  PharmaeeuMcai  Confer^ 
enecj  Birmingham,  1865.)  All  of  these  methods  require 
more  or  less  care,  combined  with  a  cojisiderable  amount 
of  manipulation.  The  following  process  is  particalariy 
applicable  to  potable  waters  a«  the  nitrites  therein  are 
in  a  very  diluted  state.  The  method  is  based  upon  the 
reaction  that  nitrite  of  ammonium  i?  on  heating  split  up 
into  nitrogen  gas  and  water  (N0sNH4  =  2K  +  2HsO). 
Eight  ounces  of  the  water  to  be  examined  are  boiled, 
and.  aller  cooling,  are  made  up  to  the  original  buflc 
witn  pure  water.  The  readily  oxidisable  matter  in  thii 
measured  portion  is  then  estimated  with  volumetric  so- 
lution of  permanganate  of  potassium  according  to  the 
directions  eiven  by  Dr.  Miller  Q^  Observations  on  some 
Points  in  the  Analysis  of  Potable  Waters,"  by  Profes- 
sor Miller — Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society^  voL  3,  new 
series,  p.  1 19),  i.e.,  the  volumetric  solution  is  added  a 
few  degrees  at  a  time,  at  short  intervals,  until  a  per- 
manent pink  tinge  remains.  We  will  suppose  that  the 
sample  of  water  under  examination  used  up  30^  of  the 
permanganate  solution.  The  thirty  degrees  were  con- 
sumed in  the  oxidation  of  aU  the  nitrites,  pUu  some  of 
the  more  readily  oxidisable  products.  To  a  separate 
eight  ounces  of  the  water  is  added  a  few  drops  of  a 
solution  of  pure  sulphate  of  ammonium,  and  the  whole 
is  evaporated  to  dryness  at  a  temperature  below  loo'^O. 
The  residue  is  again  dissolved  in  8  oz.  of  pure  water, 
and  estimated  under  exactly  similar  circumstuioes  with 
the  volumetric  solution  of  permanganate  of  potassium. 
I  will  suppose  that  only  10°  are  now  decomposed. 
Tliese  10"  represent  readily  oxidisable  matter — ^the 
difference  in  the  two  estimations— t.e.,  the  20"  repre- 
sent the  nitrous  acid  present,  which  has  been  enttrelj 
destroyed  and  dissipated  as  nitrogen  and  water. 

It  must  be  self-evident  to  chemists,  that  to  look  for  a 
specific  test  for  miasma  in  water  is  absurd;  that  there 
are  certain  subtle  substances  of  intense  power  whidi 
are  physically  unrecognisable — substances  that^  so  &r 
as  we  have  gone,  no  balance  can  weigh,  no  microscope 
can  see.    Some  time  ago,  there  appeared  an  elaborate 


[BasUih  BdttiM,  VoL  ZVIL,  V«  484,  pi^M  1^7, 14B>] 


CknnoAL  Nswi, ) 
Moiify  1808.      f 


Organic  Matter  in  Potable  Waters 


pap 
for 


aper  from  M.  Stas.  M.  Stas  has  made  a  great  name 
{or  himself;  he  is  deservedly  looked  upon  as  one  of  our 
best  chemists,  and  he  has  made  his  name  hj  the  ex- 
quisite care  with  which  he  conducts  his  experimenta 
He  found  out  what  most  chemists  have  found  out — how 
Tery  difficult  it  is  to  get  pare  water.  Simple  distillation 
will  not  do  it.  He  therefore  proposed  to  digest  the 
water  upon  manganate  of  potassium — to  destroy  the 
organic  matter.  jBut  I  have  here  a  water  which  has 
been  treated  as  he  directs ;  and  I  have  even  gone  fur- 
ther with  these  experiments,  for  one  of  these  specimens 
is  now  standing  upon  manganic  acid  itself ~ the  most 
powerful  oxidiser  we  have.  One  is  water  which  had 
originally  been  distilled  from  a  few  grains  of  musk,  and 
the  other  from  fusel  oil  It  will  be  seen  from  the 
odours  that  one  of  these  substances  has  escaped  the 
oxidation  entirely,  and  that  the  other  has  merely  ab- 
sorbed oxygen  to  be  converted  into  another  substance 
even  more  disagreeable  than  that  originally  contained 
therein,  namely,  valerianic  acid.  The  late  resi*arches 
upon  limited  oxidation  by  Messrs.  Wanklyn  and  Chap- 
man show  that  the  results  of  the  action  of  oxidisers 
upon  organic  matter  in  solution  are  complicated,  and 
entirely  differ  in  their  character  from  a  perfect  com- 
bustion. Therefore  M.  Stas's  assumption,  that  nothing 
is  present  in  water  distilled  from  manganate  of  potas- 
sium, must  be  fallacious.  This  naturuly  brings  me  to 
the  consideration  of  the  utility  of  permanganate  of  po- 
tassium, which  has  been  fashionable  until  lately  for 
determining  the  amount  of  organic  matter  in  water. 
It  has  been  the  opinion  of  most  practical  chemists  who 
have  had  much  experience  with  water,  tliat  that  test 
was  worthless  as  a  measure  of  organic  matter.  A 
chemical  friend  of  mine  remarked  to  me,  ''  It  is  the 
colour  that  does  it  If  it  were  not  for  its  beautiful  colour 
and  the  prettiness  of  the  reaction,  no  one  would  use  it.'* 
And  I  really  think  there  is  something  in  the  remark. 

Dr.  Frankland  was,  I  believe,  the  first  to  enter  his 
protest  (in  type)  against  the  use  of  this  reagent  as  a 
measure  of  orgamc  matrer  '^ Lectures  on  Water" 
(Royal  Institution,  1867) ;  although,  as  far  back  as  1866, 
I,  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Mapother,  practically  illus- 
trated its  worthlessness  at  a  pubUo  meeting  in  this  city, 
when  the  experiments  were  entered  upon  the  minutes 
of  the  meeting.  I  merely  mention  this  fact  in  case  the 
experiments  which  I  give  below  might  be  considered 
as  a  babbling  echo  of  what  has,  perhaps,  been  so  much 
better  put  to  the  public ;  but  I  insert  them  here  from  two 
reasons.  The  first  of  these  is,  that  many  of  the  sub- 
stances upon  which  I  have  experimented,  tdthoueh  they 
are  not  given  by  Dt.  Frankland,  are  yet  typical  of  the 
organic  matter  likely  to  be  met  with  in  potable  waters; 
secondly,  that  so:iie  curious  points  are  illustrated  by 
my  experiments,  which  would  not  be  foreseen  by  the 
scientific  man. 

A  large  number  of  experiments  were  instituted  un- 
der exactly  similar  circumstances,  for  the  purpose  of 
observing  what  class  of  organic  substances  were  readily 
oxidised,  and  how  far  their  state  of  combination  might 
affect  the  change.  To  effect  this,  the  process  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  Miller  was  fixed  upon  as  the  most  suit* 
able  for  watching  the  relative  action.  A  volumetric 
solution  of  permanganate  of  potassium  was  used,  which 
corresponded  to  *22  oxalic  acid.  The  different  solutions 
^were  made  by  dissolving  in  each  case  '2  of  a  gramm$ 
of  the  organic  matter  in  (568  cc.)  an  imperial  pint 
of  pure  water.  A  degree  of  the  permaneanate  solu- 
tion was  added  at  intervals  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  as 
lon^  Bs  any  decolouration  took  place,  half  an  hour 


being  the  crucial  test 
in  each  case  60''  Fahr., 
conduct  the  experimei 
was  eight  ounces.  S 
case  for  acidulating  tl 
them  alkaline.  From 
the  following  are  selec 


No. 

Snbst&nce. 

X 

Ozallo  acid 

a 

Mltnte  of  potaMlnm 

^ 

Nitrate  of  amtnnnlnin 

4 

s 

Ammonia 

6 

Trimethy  lamina 

I 

Nlooilna 

Conium 

9 

Aniline 

xo 

Urea 

XI 

Uric  adA 

13 

Urinary  pigment 

«3 
«4 

Hydroeyanle  add 
Siiyehnlne 

15 

Sugar 

x6 

Albumen    fpartlally    d< 
eompnaed) 

:i 

Albumen  ^coamilated) 
Onllc  and  urea 

19 

Laeinte  of  lime  = 

(framms  '2  LacUo  ad 

ao 

Butyrate  of  lime  = 

gramtM  'a  Butyric  ad 

In  most  cases,  the  pr  i 

accordingly  as  their  ch  i 
or  not     This  is  illustrat 

where  its  marked  basic  ( 
oxidising  influence.   Un 
naturally  expect  to  be 

action  under  these  circui  I 

potaa<ium.    The  action  i 

ous ;  but  it  is  probable  t  i 

quired  in  an  aUcaline  sol  i 
version  of  a  cyanide  inl 
was  tried  to  find  if  th 

posing  influence  of  one  i  : 
from  one  substance  to  tl 

ceptions,  this  was  not  foi)  : 
required  were  simply  wh 

ingredient.   It  must  be  b  : 
influences  the  activity  c 

sium ;  that  many  substai  ; 
the  above  experiments  a 

vated  temperature.    Th  i 

opinion,  useful,  from  tl  1 

enable  us  to  watch    cl  i 

are  carried  on  from  atn  i 

which  are  too    slow  ai  . 

practical   examination  i 
by  such  experiments  a 

therefore,  worthy  of  a  : 

found  that  waters  conti  i 
stances,  when  allowed  t 
to  the  same  microscopi< 

substances  seem    condw  1 

would,  however,  extend  . 

into  the  microscopic  exai  . 

I  am(  of  opinion  that  p  i 

stance  which  ultimately  i 

for  the  purification  of  drin  i 


▼oL  ZVa,  V«^  «34^  paftMi.] 


^H 


Organic  Matter  in  Potable  Watera. — New  Aspirator. 


j  Gbbcical  Kkwi, 
1      Ma%  1M& 


ed  as  water  supereaturated  with  oxygen,  the  extra 
equivalent  of  oxygen  being  held  by  the  faintest  phase 
of  attachment  coming  within  the  term  of  chemical  at- 
traction ;  so  that  the  least  disturbing  agency  imagin- 
able would  decompose  it  into  oxygen,  ozone,  and  wa- 
ter. Peroxide  of  hydrogen  oxidises  organic  matter, 
and  stops  fermentation :  therefore,  providing  that  we 
had  a  pure  article,  we  could  oxidise  the  organic  mat- 
ter, without  introducing  anything  but  pure  water. 
But  at  present  peroxide  of  hydrogen  is  very  dear,  and. 
as  found  in  commerce,  is  much  too  impure  to  be  used 
in  drinking  water.  Another  doubtM  point  is,  that 
this  curious  substance  sometimes  seems  to  play  the 
part  of  a  reducing  agent,  as  well  as  an  oxidiser.  If  so, 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  might  be  generated  by  its  action 
upon  sulpho-compounds,  such  as  albumen. 

It  had  been  lately  stated  that  charcoal  will  not,  afler 
a  little  time,  purify  drinking  water ;  and  that,  so  far 
from  taking  from  the  water  organic  matter,  it  gives  up 
n^.iin  a  certain  amount  Thus :  that  water,  on  analysis 
before  and  after  passing  through  charcoal  which  had 
been  some  time  in  use,  was  more  contaminated  with 
organic  matter  ader  having  been  passed  through  the 
said  filtering  medium.  If  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that 
the  paper  containing  the  above  statement  had  received 
a  considerable  amount  of  commendation,  and,  ergo^ 
publicity,  I  should  have  passed  it  by.  But  the  author 
of  that  paper  evidently  misunderstood  the  position. 
The  modus  operandi  by  which  charcoal  acts  on  oxidisa- 
ble  organic  substances  is  not  so  much  by  virtue  of  any 
attra^jtive  or  selective  power  that  it  possesses;  but,  as 
a  carrier  of  oxygen  in  a  concentrated  form,  it  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  oxidisers  we  possess.  The  oxygen 
condensed  within  the  charcoal  acting  more  energeti- 
cally than  the  available  oxygen,  we  can  apply  in  the 
form  of  permanganate  of  potassium.  The  original  ex- 
periments of  Dr.  Stenhouse  in  connection  with  the  ac- 
tion of  charcoal  h  ive  received  ample  confirmation  from 
the  late  investigation  of  Professor  Calvert  (Journal  of 
the  Chemical  Society ,  June,  1867). 

It  is  true  that  charcoal,  afler  a  certain  time,  becomes 
effete — ^its  activity  destroyed ;  but  it  is  equally  wonder- 
ful to  observe  the  length  of  time  a  charcoaUfilter  with 
the  following  provisions  will  retain  its  vitality,  if  I  may 
use  the  expression,  i.  That  the  water  passed  through 
it  does  not  contain  a  very  large  percentage  of  organic 
matter;  2.  That  it  is  drained  from  the  water  the  better 
part  of  eftch  day,  so  that  the  atmospheric  oxygen  (with 
as  little  of  the  dust  as  possible)  may  have  access  to  it 
Charcoal,  under  these  circumstances,  will  be  ^ound  to 
do  its  work  well.  You  must  give  it  its  food  quietly,  so 
that  it  can  digest  it 

I  can  hardly  believe  the  statement  made,  that  char- 
coal will,  after  a  certain  period,  transfer  again  organic 
matter  to  water.  I  have  examined  water  before  and 
after  p'lssing  through  a  charcoal  filter  which  had  been 
in  daily  use  in  nty  own  house  over  a  month.  There 
was  not  much  difference,  it  is  true;  but  the  water 
which  had  passed  through  the  filter  had  most  decidedly 
the  advantage.  I  can  well  imagine  that,  as  the  char- 
coal acts  as  a  mechanical  recipient  to  the  insoluble  or- 
ganic matter,  that  substance  may  at  last  accumulate  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  enter  itsell  into  a  state  of  fermen- 
tative change.  The  activity  of  the  charcoal,  being  by 
this  time  exhausted,  or  at  least  only  sufficient  to  supply 
•a  minimum  of  oxygen,  would  only  assist  such  a  decom- 
position. This  state  of  the  case  would  be  simply  the 
putrefaction  of  a  mass  of  solid  organic  matter  independ- 
ent of  the  charcoal — ^not  the  rendering  back  from  the 


charcoal  of  something  it  had  absorbed  from  the  water. 
I  would  suggest  that  a  well-constructed  water-filter 
should  have  an  arrangement  by  which  ^e  insoluble 
organic  matter  should  be  separated  before  the  water 
comes  into  contact  with  the  niter.  In  such  a  filter,  the 
organic  matter  could  never  accumulate. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  point  out  tinit  the  most  vain- 
able  method  of  examining  water  is  that  Wtiich  I  believe 
was  first  used  by  Dr.  Frankland — that  is  to  say,  to  ex- 
amine the  relative  amount  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen 
found  in  water.  In  absorbing  atmospheric  air,  the  oxy- 
gen is  dissolved  with  a  little  greater  avidity,  so  that 
that  gas  is  found  in  water  in  a  larger  relative  propor- 
tion than  in  atmospheric  air;  viz.,  the  relative  propoi^ 
tion  of  oxygen  to  nitrogen  is  about  21  to  79;  but  si 
found  in  watt^r  it  is  about  32  to  68.  Now,  if  the  en- 
closed air  is  found  to  contain  less  oxygen,  it  shows  that 
that  element  is  being  consumed  by  chemical  changes 
going  on  within  the  water ;  or,  in  other  words,  such  a 
water  is  not  in  its  normal  state,  and  therefore  is  unfit 
for  general  use. 

The  aqueducts  of  antiquity  show  how  import- 
ant the  blessings  of  pure  water  were  considered  from 
time  immemorial,  and  how  necci^ary  to  the  welfare  of 
all  oommunitit  s.  But,  I  cannot  see  that  we  have  im- 
proved upon  our  forefathers;  for,  whilst  they  spent 
enormous  sums  to  produce  stupendous  supplies,  we 
seem  to  roe  to  spend  our  money  in  merely  bu  Iding 
immense  reservoirs.  Anything  is,  however,  better 
than  that  ^*  like  a  dog  we  should  return  to  our  own 
vomit" 

**•  Moit  bleeeed  water,  neither  tonirne  can  tell 
The  ble{«edne>B  thereef ;  no  heart  can  think. 
Bare  only  those  to  whom  it  has  t>een  giren. 
To  tatfte  of  that  divinest  ^ft  of  heaven.'* 


A  NEW  ASPIRATOR. 

BT  jr.   LANDAUER. 

Though  a  number  of  aspirators  of  different  confstroction 
are  proposed  and  used  in  chemical  analysis,  the  follow- 
ing may  be  added  to  th<;  number  as  being  distinguished 
by  great  simplicity.  This  new  aspirator  is  based  od  Um 
principle  of  the  siphon.  A  capacious  flask  in  herm«'ti- 
caUy  closed  by  a  cork  provided  with  two  holes.  One 
df  the  latter  receives  the  siphon,  and  tlie  atUer  a  gla« 
tube  for  connecting  the  apparatus,  through  which  the 
passing  of  a  current  of  air  is  desired.  Afier  having 
made  the  connections  and  filled  the  flask  with  water, 
the  latter  is  made  to  run  out  of  the  flask  by  sucking 
the  outer  leg  of  the  siphon,  the  end  of  which  mu^t,  of 
course,  be  lower  tlian  the  level  of  the  water.  The  cur- 
rent of  air  is  thus  effected. 

The  efflux  of  water  is  regulated  by  joining  more  or 
less  width  to  the  tubes  between  apparatus  and  a.-pirator. 
Two  aspirators  are  connected  with  the  i^paratus,  and 
used  alternately,  in  order  to  enable  a  refilling  of  the 
flasks  without  interruption  of  the  process.  For  Uiis 
purpose  an  intermediate  appai  af  us,  consisting  of  a  ^aa 
tube  about  two  inches  long,  and  one  inch  wide,  is  ir^ 
quired,  which  is  connected  on  one  dde,  with  the  ap- 
paratus intended  for  receiving  the  current  of  air,  and 
on  the  other  side  witli  the  two  aspirators.  The  latter 
connection  may  be  effected  by  india-rubber  tubes,  eadi 
provided  with  Mohr's  pinclicock.  Such  arrangement 
will  enable  the  alternate  working  of  the  two  aspirators. 
It  is  of  course  understood  tliat  aU  the  connections  most 
be  effected  hermetically.    One  of  the  advantages  of  tbii 


[Eaf Hah  miliM^  y oL  TTXL,  V«.  434»  I 


il4fl(.M%] 


ON   THB  FORMATION   OF 

A   SERIES    OF    DOUBLE    SULPHOCTANIDES 
OF   CERTAIN    OF    THE    ALKALOIDS 

WITH  THX   METALS 

ZINC,  TIN,  MERCURY,  AND  MOLYBDENUM. 

BT  WILLIAM  8CET, 
AMALTOT  TO  TBI  OBOUOOIOAL  8UJIVRT  OW  HXW  ZXALAHD. 

While  engaged  in  tes:ing  some  of  the  chemical  proper- 
ties of  the  alkaloids,  in  relation  to  those  of  the  inor- 
ganic bases,  a  new  set  of  reactions  have  just  discovered 
themselveS)  which  I  will  briefly  note  preparatory  to  a 
further  communication  thereon.  The>'e  reactions  con- 
sist in  the  formation  of  precipitates,  when  an  acid  so- 
lution of  certain  of  the  alkaloids  is  brought  in  contact 
with  a  solution  of  a  salt  of  zinc,  tin,  mercuiy,  or  molyb- 
denum, in  presence  of  hydro-sulphocyanic  acid. 

To  avoid  tlie  formation  of  single  sulphocyanides,  it  is 
best  to  employ  solutions  of  the  metals  and  alkaloids  of 
such  strength  that  a  sulphocyanide  makes  no  precipi- 
tate in  eitber  solution  s<>parately. 

The  precipitate  formed  by  nicotina,  mercury,  and 
sulphoeyanogen,  in  presence  of  each  other,  by  quina, 
sulphocyanogen,  and  zinc,  or  mercury,  and  by  strychnia, 
zinc,  and  sulphoeyanogen,  was  found  to  yield  these 
several  substances  t-especdvely ;  the  remaining  precipi- 
tates I  have  not  yet  had  time  to  examine,  but  pending 
this  and  the  quantitative  analysis  of  some,  I  will  for  the 
present  suppose  all  these  precipitates  to  be  compound 
sulphocyanides. 

Generally  these  compound  sulphocyanides  are  very 
insoluble  in  cold  water,  more  soluble  in  hot  water,  and 
freely  soluble  in  alcohol ;  they  are  but  little  affected  by 
hydrochloric  or  sulphuric  acids, — ^bnt  are  decomposed 
by  alkalies, — while  their  physical  properties  are  in  some 
instances  very  characteristic. 

The  following  are  details  respecting  the  more  inter- 
eetinsc  of  them : — 

'Sulphocyanide  of  Strychnia  and  Zinc  separates  as  a 
gelatinous  mass,  but  gradually  a^uraes  the  rorm  of  long 
acicular  crystals.  Sulphocyanide  of  strychnia  and  mer- 
cury is  crystailioe  (it  is  soluble  in  sulphocyanide  of 
potassium). 

Sulphocyanide  of  Quina  and  Zinc  is  solid  ax^d  brittle  at 
70°,  soft  and  plastic  at  90%  and  changing  to  a  fluid,  or 
semi-fluid  substance  at  about  200"*,  wliich  anpears  to 
crystallise  on  cooling. 

Sulphocyanide  of  Nicotina  and  Zinc  is  crystalline, 
while  the  tin,  mercury,  and  molybdenum  salts  are  oils 

,  at  common  temperatures;  they  are  nearly  colourless, 
with  the  exception  of  tliat  of  molybdenum,  which  is  of 
a  rich  purplish  red  colour. 

The  Sulphocyanide  of  Atropia  and  Tin  is  a  semi- 

j  solid  fat  at  60**,  while  the  zinCj  mercury,  and  molybdena 
Saks  are  oils ;  the  last  is  of  a  dark  red  colour. 

Sulphocyanide  of  Morphia  and  Zinc  or  Tin  was  ob- 
tained in  amorphous  forms :  they  fuse  at  a  very  slight 
elevation  of  temperature ;  the  mercury  compound  is  an 
oiL 

^  S'dphocyanide  of  Narcotine  and  Mercury  is  crystalline, 

*        and  easily  fusible. 

^  SuIpJwcyanide  of  Veratria  and  ZinCy  TVtt,  Mercury, 


talline  substance. 

The  remaining  natural  alkaloids  have  not  yet  been 
tested,  but  sufficient  is  shown  to  make  it  probable  that 
this  property  of  forming  double  sulphocyanides  with 
certain  of  the  metals,  is  possessed  by  all 

With  regard  to  the  mttals  thus  connected  together 
by  these  reactions,  I  would  observe,  the  only  character 
common,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  some  extent,  pecu- 
liar to  all,  is  that  of  the  ready  fusibility  and  volatility 
of  their  chlorides.  I  may  state  that  aniline  does  not 
give  any  precipitate  when  substituted  for  the  alkaloids. 

The  ieebly  basic  nitrogenous  substances,  gelatine  and 
isinglass,  behave  like  veratria. 

For  the  detection,  separation,  and  determination  of 
certain  of  these  alkaloids,  it  is  possible  these  reactions 
may  be  advantageously  employed. 


ON  THE  USE  OP  METHYLATED   SPIRIT  IN 
PHARMACY. 

Thx  following  paper  is  a  condensed  translation  of 
a  report  made  to  the  Medical  Oouncil  of  the  province 
of  North  Holland,  by  six  of  its  members,  among 
whom  was  Prof.  Dr.  f.  Grunning.  In  accordance  with 
the  excellent  laws  which,  since  January,  1866,  regu- 
late in  the  Netherlands  all  matters  relating  to  medicine 
in  its  more  extended  sense,  there  is  in  every  province 
[county]  of  the  kingdom  a  medical  council  composed 
of  medical  men,  pharmaceutists,  and  lawyers.  As 
regards  the  free  use  of  methylated  spirit  by  pharma- 
ceutists, the  committee  just  alluded  to  is  of  opinion 
that  it  would  be  manifestly  unfair  to  pharmaceutical 
chemists  who  are  in  the  habit  of  preparing,  or  manu- 
facturing, for  instance,  such  substances  as  quinine  and 
other  alkaloids,  to  require  that  such  articles  should,  a« 
far  as  such  is  required,  be  made  by  them  with 
alcohol,  whereas  the  wholesale  maker  would  use,  and 
quite  justly  so,  methylated  spirit  The  committee, 
however,  d^tinctly  desire  it  to  be  understood  that  the 
use  of  methylated  spirit  cannot  be  allowed  in  the 
preparation  of  medicinal  tinctures,  for  although  it  is 
true  that  the  methyl-alcohol,  as  it  is  met  with  in  ordi- 
nary wood-spirit,  bears  the  ^eatest  analogy  to  ethyl- 
alcohol,  there  occur  beside  in  wood-spirit,  acetate  of 
methyl  and  ^eton,  both  of  which,  in  their  solvent 
power,  more  resemble  ether,  and,  consequently,  influ- 
ence and  alter  the  real  constituents  of  tinctures  to  be 
prepared  with  alcohol:  the  same,  of  course,  applies  to 
alcoholic  extracts.  The  committee  also  disapproves 
of  the  manufacture  of  ether  and  chloroform  for  medi- 
cinal use  from  methylated  spirit.  Since  the  inspection 
of  chemists'  shops  in  the  Netherlands,  and  the  testing 
of  the  divers  pharmaceutical  preparations  is  a  duty  of 
the  Medical  Council's,  it  was  necessary  to  find  ready 
tests  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  methylated  spirits 
have  been  unlawfully  applied.  The  following  are  the 
results  of  some  experiments  instituted  on  purpose  by 
the  members  of  the  above-named  Committee.  It  is 
quite  possible  to  recognise  even  in  tinctures  which 
contain  strongly-scented  substances,  the  wood-spirit^ 
if  methylated  spirit  was  used  in  the  preparation 
thereof;  the  smell  is  even  detected  three  months  after 
the  tinctures  have  been  made,  but  if  a  doubt  arises,  it 
is  best  to  mix  the  tincture  in  question  with  double  its 
bulk  of  boiling  water.      Tinctures  containing   free 


[BngUah  Edltioai,  VoL  ZVU,  JXc  434,  ptgw  149, 150.1 


^^\j\Ay    jjj.x^%,HA/\JU   \JJ       W   \JVK^tllfZtVl  t\j    JCXIVUAj 


yorwr. 


1      May,  18tt. 


ammonia  beside  must  be  first  rendered  neutral. 
Another  test  is  the  following :— The  alcholic  fluid  in 
question  is  mixed  with  twice  its  bulk  of  strong 
ammonia. 

Next  there  is  added,  while  the  fluid  under  examina- 
tion is  well  stirred  up,  a  few  drop  of  a  solution  of 
lo  grs.  of  iodine  and  20  grs.  of  iodide  of  potassium,  in 
half  a  fluid  ounce  of  distilled  water.  In  case  the  fluid 
under  examination  does  not  contain  methylated  spirit, 
there  will  soon  be  observed  a  finely-divided  precipi- 
tate of  a  black  substance  (iodine?),  giving  to  the  fluid 
a  dark  bluish  appearance;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  wood- 
spirit  or  methylated  spirit  is  present,  the  fluid  remains 
clear,  assumes  a  brownish  yellow,  but  rapidly  again 
vanishing  hue;  after  the  fluid  has  become  quite 
colourless  again,  there  will  distinctly  be  perceived, 
on  smelling  it,  an  odour  of  saffron,  while  shortly 
after,  also  very  frequently,  crystals  of  iodoform 
are  deposited.  This  test  and  reaction  are  dis- 
covered by  Mr.  J.  Polak.  Tincture  of  iodine 
made  with  methylated  spirit  may  be  detected, 
since  on  addition  of  liquid  ammonia  it  becomes 
readily  and  without  application  of  heat,  dis- 
coloured, the  saffronaceous  odour  will  be  smelt,  and 
crystals  of  iodoform  deposited.  The  above-named  test 
is  not  disturbed  by  the  presence  of  essential  oils, 
camphor,  compound  ethers,  &c.  It  is  best,  however, 
that,  as  regards  the  application  of  this  test  to 
tinctures,  the  latter  should  be  submitted  to  distillation, 
and  the  distillate  tried  by  the  reagent  From  a  series 
of  interesting  experiments  instituted  by  the  commit- 
tee, in  order  to  test  in  how  far  methylated  spirits 
might  change  the  constitution  of  alcoholic  extracts 
made  with  methylated  spirit  instead  of  with  pure 
alcohol,  it  appears  that  methylated  spirit  dissolves  out 
from  2  to  7  per  cent,  more  from  vegetables  than 
alcohol  does,  while  in  the  case  of  extracts  of  cicuta 
and  belladonna  the  amount  was  from  13  to  14  per 
cent  more  if  methylated  spirit  instead  of  pure  alcohol 
was  applied.  The  following  are  the  results  of  experi- 
ments instituted  with  ether,  aether  muriaticus  alcoholi- 
cus,  BBther  aceticus,  aether  nitricus,  alcoholicus,  and 
chloroform  made  with  pure  alcohol  and  methylated 
spirit 

Ether  from  methylated  spir!t  cannot  be  detected  by 
the  sm»*ll,  but  easily  by  the  following  test :— Pour  can^- 
fully  some  strong  sulphuric  acid  in  a  test  tube,  hobt  it 
then  as  slantingly  as  possible,  and  then  pour  in  as  care- 
fiiliy  as  possible  some  of  the  ether;  if  the  latter  is  ob- 
tained from  methylated  spirit,  it  will  be  seen  ttiat  at 
the  place  of  contact  of  the  two  fluids,  a  dark  brownish 
yellow  colouration  ensues,  which,  if  the  ether  were 
obtained  fi-om  pure  alcohol,  and  submitted  to  a  eimilir 
experiment,  will  be  found  absent,  or  at  least  fiardlj 
perceptible,  -fither  muriaticus,  alcoholicus,  and  tetlicr 
nitricus  alcoholicus  can  at  once  be  detected  by  the 
iodine  test  spoken  of  before  if  they  have  been  prepared 
with  methylated  spirit 

-^ther  aceticus,  prepared  either  with  pure  alcohol  or 
with  methylated  spirit,  is  not  recognised  by  the  smeDj 
but  the  iodine  test  detects  the  origin  from  methylated 
spirit  at  once,  and  it  hence  follows  that  acetic' ether 
obtained  fix)m  methylated  spirit  contains  acetate  of 
methvland  also  aceton. 

Chloroform,  if  prepared  with  methylated  spirit,  may 
be  recognised  by  the  smell,  which  is  different  fi-om  that 
of  chloroform  obtained  firom  pure  alcohol ;  beside  this, 
the  discolouration  with  sulphuric  acid  takes  place  with 
chloroform  as  with  ether  made  from  methylated  spirit 


ON  ▲ 

NEW  GENEKAL   METHOD   OP  VOLUMETRIC 
ANALYSIS. 

BT  WOLCOTT   GIBBS,    M.D^ 
STrmOED  FEOrBeBOS  in  nAETASO  uvmsnTT. 

In  a  memoir  on  the  quantitative  determination  of 
nitric  acid,  H.  Rose*  suggested  that  in  particular  cases 
the  metal  in  the  nitrate  might  be  precipitated  by  means 
of  sulphydric  acid,  and  the  nitric  acid  set  free  deter- 
mined in  the  filtrate  by  volumetric  methods.  80  far  as 
this  application  of  the  volumetric  analysis  is  concerned. 
Hose's  method  appears  not  to  have  been  carried  out  in 
practice  or  even  supported  by  actual  experin^ent  It 
occurred  to  me  that  the  method  might  be  generalised 
so  as  to  form  the  basis  of  a  new  application  of  the  pro- 
cesses of  acidimetry,  and  the  following  analyses  will 
serve  to  show  the  degree  of  accuracy  which  may  be 
attained.  When  the  salt  to  be  analysed  contains  a 
fixed  acid  which  does  not  act  upon  sulphydric  acid  gas, 
a  weighed  portion  is  to  be  dissolved  in  water,  the  solu- 
tion brought  to  a  boiling  heat,  and  a  current  of  ri1- 
phydric  acid  gas  passed  through  until  the  metal  is  com- 
pletely precipitated.  When  quantities  of  about  5 
grammes  are  employed  the  precipitation  is  usually  com- 
plete in  half  an  hour.  The  precipitate  may  then  be 
allowed  to  settle,  and  a  drop  of  the  supernatant  liquid 
taken  out  with  a  glass  rod,  and  tested  upon  a  white 
porcelain  plate,  with  a  drop  of  a  saturated  solution  of 
sulphydric  acid  in  water,  or  with  any  other  reagent 
which  may  be  specially  adapted  to  the  metal  in  the  salt 
examined.  The  precipitation  being  complete  the  liquid 
is  filtered  upon  a  ribbed  filter,  the  filtrate  and  the  wash- 
ings allowed  to  flow  into  a  half  litre  or  litre  measure, 
and  the  washing  with  hot  water  continued  until  a  drop 
of  the  filtrate  no  longer  exhibits  an  acid  reaction.  Tli^ 
liquid  is  then  allowed  to  cool,  and  the  volume  made  np 
to  exactly  a  half  litre  or  litre  by  the  addition  of  water. 
After  thoroughly  mixing  the  contents  of  the  measure, 
fifty  or  one  hundred  cubic  centimeters  are  to  be  taken 
out,  a  few  drops  of  a  solution  of  cochineal  or  logwood 
added,  and  the  free  acid  determined  by  means  of  one- 
tenth  normal  ammonia  in  the  usual  manner.  The  first 
determination  is  to  be  us*'d  simply  as  a  guide.  Two  or 
more  Bucf^eBSive  portions  of  the  ueid  liquid  may  then  be 
taken  out  and  determined  su(?ce8aiyelY,  and  the  mean 
of  several  determination'!  obtJiined*  With  very  little 
\  practice  the  results  will  be  found  to  corre^ipond  to  on*- 
tenth  c.c,  when  a  burette  with  Erdraann*s  swimmtT  is 
I  employed.  From  the  quantity  of  ammonia  required  to 
I  neutralise  the  aeid^  the  quantity  of  acid,  and  ii>  xs\m^ 
I  CftBes  alsg  of  base^  in  the  salt  'may  be  rtadily  calcu- 
lated. 

With  crystallised  sulphate  of  copper  the  foUowiD| 
resale  were  obtained. 


On.  Biitpbatfi. 
1-8435... 


Y^t  cvoL  Add. 
.gave.... 31  Kg... 

*  ** 3^M.-. 

-." 33'*o... 


(Sharpies) 
(Tower) 
The  formula  OuSB*  +  Snq»  requires  (€hi  =  65"5o), 


Fpr  wnt.  b 

...3>"93*^ 
...3<'S9-' 


€ue,. 


^3207, 


-3170* 
.31  "89. 


U.  lit 

-3193 3*^ 

•  3='M 3=  <« 


The  fi.rst  analysis  was  made  with  a  commercial  sul- 
phate, the  othcrj  with  a  pure  Bait  pn  pared  from  eko" 


[English  EditloUf  Vol.  XTII,  TTa  434,  paesa  ISQ,  151.] 


OnnnciL  NKirs,f 


New  Method  of  Volumetric  Amdyi 


trotype  copper.  In  crystallised  sulphate  of  copper  and 
pota'^ium,  (0u9O4  +  K2SO4  +  6aq.)  2*6601  gr.  gave 
i8'23  per  cent,  acid  and  i8*ii  per  cent  of  oxide  of 
copper.    The  formula  requires 

Found. 

OuO, 1800 181 1 

6e„ i8-i2 18-23 

In  the  memoir  already  referred  to,  Rose  points  out 
the  necessity  of  diluting  the  solutions  or  metallic 
nitrates  to  such  a  degree  that  the  nitric  acid  set  free 
shall  not  act  sensibly  upon  the  sulphydric  acid. 

In  the  experiments  made  in  my  laboratory  to  test 
the  method  tois  precaution  was  not  found  to  be  siiffi- 
cient.  Thus  with  crystallised  nitrate  of  lead,  Mr. 
Sharpies  obtained  the  following  results. 

I.  2' 1 47  grammes  of  salt  were  dissolved  in  200  c.c. 
water,  and  the  lead  precipitated  from  the  boiling  solu- 
tion by  sulphydric  acid  gas.  The  filtrate  was  made  up 
to  500  ac.,  of  which  three  portions  containing  each  75 
c.c.  were  taken  for  titration,  and  each  required  18*2  c.c. 
of  ammonia.  This  gives  30*51  per  cent  of  nitric  acid, 
while  the  formula  Pb(NO»)s  requires  32*61  per  cent 

IL  2*4992  of  the  nitrate  were  dissolved  in  500  c.c.  of 
water  and  treated  as  above,  only  the  lead  was  thrown 
down  in  the  cold  by  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  excess  of 
the  latter  expelled  from  the  filtrate  by  boiling.  The 
acid  found  corresponded  to  32-12  per  cent  in  place  of 
32*61.  From  this  it  is  clear  that  even  dilute  nitric  acid 
acta  too  powerfully  upon  sulphydric  acid  to  permit  a 
very  accurate  determination  of  the  former  under  the 
circumstances  of  the  experiment  Precipitation  from 
a  boiling  solution  is  necessary  because  the  filtrate  is 
then  at  once  free  from  sulphydric  acid. 

To  obviate  the  difficulty  arising  in  the  case  of  nitric 
acid  it  occurred  to  me  to  add  to  the  solution  of  the 
nitrate  a  portion  of  a  neutral  salt  containing  a  fixed 
organic  acid,  an  equivalent  quantity  of  which  would  be 
set  free  by  tiie  combination  of  the  free  nitric  acid  with 
the  base  contained  in  the  salt  This  method  was  found 
to  give  perfectly  satis&ctory  results,  as  the  following 
analyses  by  Mr.  S.  P.  Sharpies  will  show. 

4*409  gims.  of  nitrate  of  lead  were  dissolved  in  200 
c.  c.  of  water,  five  or  six  grammes  of  pure  Rochelle 
salt  added,  and  the  lead  precipitated  as  above.  The 
quantity  of  acid  found  corresponded  to  32*58  per  cent 
The  formuLk  Pb(NOi)s  requires 

Fonnd, 


Pbe 


32-63 
67-37 


32-58 
67-27 


0^380  gnn.  of  nitrate  of  bismuth  were  treated  as 
above,  Rochelle  salt  being  added.  The  nitric  acid 
found,  corresponded  to  3340  per  cent  and  the  equiva- 
lent quantity  of  oxide  of  bismuth  to  47*82  per  cent 
The  formula  Bi(N9i)s  + 10  aq.  requires 

Foand. 

N,e»     3347     33*40 

Bi,e 47*94     4782 

5*6553  gr.  of  chloride  of  mercury  were  treated  as 
above,  6  or  8  grm.  of  Rochelle  salt  being  added  to  the 
solution.    The  free  acid  corresponded  to 


CI, 
Hg 


0«le.  Found. 

26*20 26-10 

7380     7390 


When  chlorine  is  separated  in  the  form  of  chlorhy- 
dric  acid  the  volatilisation  of  the  acid  in  the  process  of 
boiling  is  completely  avoided  by  the  addition  of  the 
organic  salt    The  same  remark  applies  to  nitric  acid, 


though  it  is  probabl 
in  this  case  is  the  ac    ' 
upon  the  gas  passed    i 
tation  of  a  metal  bj    ! 
slower  when  boiling    1 

The  analyses  givei   1 
ble  circumstances,  tl 
giving  satisfactory  r<   1 
applies  in  the  case  • 
all  those  metals  whi   ; 
cipitated  from  boilir 
dric  acid  gas.    Whei 
contains  an  excess  oi  I 
oxide  of  the  metal  t<  I 
separated  by  evapo  1 
manner.     The  preset 
is  of  course  without 
the  other  baud,  eve 
alumina,   and   varioi 
impossible  to  detern  1 
precision,    these    ox  i 
cochineal  and  logwc  ■ 
distinguished  from  tl  ; 
excess.     For  this  re  i 
when  oxides  of  this  < 
precisely    that    whic  1 
practice.     The  methc  I 
cases  if  hereafter  a     1 
covered  sensitive  onl 
not  producing  specifi< 
neutr«al  in  con^titutioi  , 
remarkable  propertie 
by  Schonbem,  or  th 
may  fulfil  the  conditi 
opportunity  of  experi  i 

The  metliod  of  pn  ; 
be  used  with  advant;  | 
acid  for  titration.  Pi  : 
is  to  be  powdered  ai  i 
placed  within  a  Hes 
the  temperature  be  i 
allowed  to  exceed  a  ! 
sulphate  is  then,  whil  \ 
perfectly  dry  glass  tu  : 
good  cork  covered  v : 
tube  is  weighed,  the  <  • 
salt  dissolved  in  wate 
a  boiling  heat  as  above , 
then  to  be  made  up  : 
weight  of  the  anhy : 
quantity  of  sulphuric  1 
known.  In  experimci 
Mr.  R.  Chauvenet,  thii 
accurate  and  exped 
Science  and  Art 


Determination  of .  I 

where  amnionic  saltA  ha 
albuminoids,  the  author 
liberation  of  amtronia  in 
cic  hydrate,  which  wouli 
franic  matters.  He  mixeii 
magnesic  oxide,  and  plaoi 
tity  of  sulphuric  acid  of 
Afier  about  4  days  all  ami 
Is  then  determined  as  us; 
1867,  100.) 

•  Ball,  de  la  Sod^ 


[English  Edition,  VoL  XVIL,  Na  434,  pages  151, 152 ;  Ro-  430,  pi 


ON  HEAT  AND  COLD ;  A  COURSE  OF  SIX  LECTURES 
(ADAPTED  TO  A  JUVENILE  AUDITORY),  DE- 
LIVERED AT  TUP  ROYAL  INSTITUTION  OF 
GREAT  BklTAIN  (CHRISTAIaS,  1867-8.) 

BY  JOHN  TYKDALL,   ESQ.,   LL.D^   F.RA 

Lecture  VI. 

(Conelnd6d  from  Am.  Repr.,  Aprfl,  1868,  ]Mfe  181.) 

Bejleclicnj  refraction,  cmd  absorption  of  radiant  heat — The 
heai  of  Ihe  stm. —  Visible  and  invisible  rays.^ Extraction  of 
Ughtfrom  Ihe  rays  of  heai. 

I  HAVE  had  occasion  to  say  to  you  once  or  twice  in  these 
lectures  that  no  body  in  nature  is  absolutely  cold.  All 
bodies  are  more  or  less  hot.  Even  ice  itself  is  a  hot  body 
compared  with  solid  carbonic  acid.  In  fact,  ice  would  be 
quite  competent  to  make  a  mixture  of  solid  carbonic  acid 
and  ether  boil,  it  beinfi:  hot  in  comparison.  All  bodies  are 
warm,  and  all  bodies  are  emitting  rays  of  heat  Here  is  a 
platinum  wire  iu  front  of  the  table,  such  as  we  have  already 
operated  upon.  At  the  present  time  that  platinum  wire  is 
emitting  rays  of  boat  of  a  perfectly  definite  character.  If  1 
connect  this  wire  with  our  battery  you  will  observe  our  old 
experiment.  You  see  i\ie  wire  is  heated  to  redness ;  it  emits 
rays  of  heat,  and  also  to  some  extent  rays  of  light.  Before 
the  electric  current  passes  the  wire  emits  rays  of  heat  which 
are  incompetent  to  excite  vision ;  but  when  I  raise  the  tem- 
perature of  the  wire  thus,  by  sending  the  electric  current 
through  it,  what  becomes  of  its  old  rays  of  heat  which  it 
emitted  in  this  invisible  state  ?  They  still  maintain  them- 
selves, and  they  become  much  stronger,  but  they  are  still 
obscure.  We  mix,  with  the  luminous  rays  of  that  wire,  tlie 
obscure  radiation  that  issued  from  it  before  the  current  made 
it  incandescent  If  I  go  on  shortening  the  wire,  as  in  an 
experiment  we  made  in  an  early  portion  of  these  lectures, 
we  find  it  gets  brighter  and  brighter,  but  the  rays  it  emitted 
before  it  became  rod  hot  at  a&  are  still  mingled  with  the 
visible  radiation.  They  exist,  but  ihey  exist  greatly  inten- 
sified ;  so  thut  the  rays  which  issued  from  that  wire  before 
it  became  incandescent,  are  present,  as  well  as  the  visible 
rays,  but  they  are  raised  to  a  thousand  times  the  intensity 
which  they  ftr^?t  possessed.  Tli^y  are  stiU  obscure,  and  have 
no  power  to  excite  vision,  but  they  are,  nevertheless,  there 
with  a  thousand-fold  their  first  intensity.  Now  I  must  try 
to  separate  before  you  these  luminous  rays  from  the  ob- 
scure rays  ;  and  I  must  endeavour  to  operate  upon  the  ob- 
scure rays  so  as  to  show  you  some  eflects  that  they  can 
produce.  I  think  you  will  understand  the  process  by  whicli 
this  can  be  done.  I  have  here  a  small  concave  mirror,  and 
this  I  will  place  behind  the  electric  lamp.  We  shall  have  an 
image  of  the  carbon  poiuti»  of  the  lamp  produced  in  that 
way,  and  I  will  throw  that  image  upoa  the  screen.  We  have 
now  thrown  upon  the  screen  au  image  of  the  carbon  points, 
•  whence  issues  the  electric  light.  If  I  take  another  mirror, 
and  converge  the  rays  by  it,  I  can  give  you  a  larger  image, 
which,  perhaps,  will  be  better  seen.  Here  is  now  a  larger 
image  of  the  carbon  points  produced  in  that  way.  The 
image  is  inverted.  You  see  a  considerable  amount  of  Ught 
there,  but  Mr.  Cottrell  will  npw  fill  a  vessel  with  an  opaque 
liquid  The  liquid  which  we  use  to  obtain  the  opaque  solu- 
tion is  called  bisulphide  of  carbon :  it  is  perfectly  transpa- 
rent; and  here  is  the  substance  called  iodine— very  well 
knoAMi  to  many  people.  This  bisulphide  of  carbon  dissolves 
the  iodine  with  great  freedom,  and  tlie  consequence  is  the 
production  of  this  dark  liquid,  which  is  so  wonderfully 
opaque  that  it  would  cut  off  the  hght  of  the  sun  at  noon- 
day. Strange  to  say,  it  is  the  quab'ty  and  property  of  this 
wonderful  substance  Co  entirely  cut  away  the  luminous  or 
visible  rays  upon  which  depend  the  colours  you  saw  on  the 
screen,  whereas  it  allows  all  the  rays  of  heat  to  pass  through. 


beam  or  cone  of  light  tracking  its  way  through  the  dust  of 
the  room  towards  the  thermo-electric  pile.  Mr.  Chapman 
will,  when  I  tell  him,  place  the  cell  containing  this  opaqae 
liquid  in  front  of  the  electric  light  That  will  cut  off  bodily 
all  the  light  but  still  the  spot  where  the  pile  will  be  placed 
will  remain  very  hot  [The  cell  and  pile  were  then  placed 
in  position.]  You  see  that  all  the  light  is  cot  away;  but 
you  observe  that  the  needle  at  onoe  marches  away,  tboB 
proving  that  although  the  li^t  is  cut  off,  the  beat  laysare 
left  behind. 

I  ¥mnt  now  to  try  and  make  these  heat  rays  more  evident 
to  you  still,  and  for  that  purpose  I  have  placed  wi^in  this 
camera  an  electric  lamp  similar  to  what  I  have  just  need; 
and  behind  the  electric  lamp  I  have  placed  a  silvered  mirror. 
This  mirror  will  reflect  the  rays  of  light  from  the  electric 
lamp,  and  will  cause  them  to  issue  through  this  window 
which  you  see  in  front    This  window  is  formed  of  rock 
salt    Rock  salt  is  exceedingly  transparent  to  the  rays  of 
heat,  and  also  to  the  rays  of  light ;  and  it  is  for  that  ressoa 
that  I  use  that  substance.    I  now  obtain  a  convergent  beam 
from  the  electric  lamp.    You  see  a  brilliant  cone  of  rays. 
Mr.  Cottrell  will  now  place  the  opaque  solution  in  front 
There  it  is,  cutting  off  all  the  light,  so  that  yon  see  nothing. 
But  now  I  bring  this  piece  of  platinum  opposite  the  dark 
liquid ;  and  observe  what  occurs.    The  platinum  is  raised 
to  a  red  heat,  in  perfectly  daric  air.    U,  instead  of  platinun, 
I  tata?  some  dry  paper,  and  hold  it  in  »be  focus  of  the  dark 
rays,  you  see  I  can  ignite  that  paper.     The  paper  is  set  on 
fire.    This  ignition  is  caused  by  the  invisible  rays  of  heat 
issuing  from  the  electric  lamp.    I  now  take  a  thick  i»ece  of 
metal,  and  hold  it  in  the  dark  rays  of  heat :  you  see  it  is 
melted  by  the  radiant  heat,  and  drops  down  m  a  liquid  state. 
I  will  now  burn  a  piece  of  zinc  here.     There,  yon  see  the 
zinc  is  actually  set  on  fire  in  a  place  where  there  was  per- 
fect darkness.    The  air  where  this  zinc  is  set  on  fire  is  per- 
fectly unwarmed.    Nothing  would  be  easier  than  to  ignite 
a  cigar  in  this  way  in  perfect  darkness.    For  inskanoe,  here 
is  one  which  I  will  ignite.  You  see  it  is  instantly  set  alight 
in  a  place  where  there  is  absolutely  no  light     You  might 
put  your  eye  where  that  platinum  was  raised  to  red  heat  I 
have  cautiously  approached  my  eye  to  that  burning  focus 
that  you  saw  there,  and  allowed  the  rays  bodily  to  enter 
the  eye,  and  could  neither  see  light  nor  feel  heat    The  retina 
was  perfectly  dead  to  those  very  powerful  rays.  Sometimes 
we  obtain  the  combustion  of  magnesium  by  these  rays. 
Here  you  see  we  have  that  beautiful  metal  set  on  fire  in  a 
place  where  there  was'  no  light  whatever— a  space  of  utter 
darkness.    I  might  set  London  on  firo  by  means  of  these 
dark  rays     I  have  here  a  glass  jar  containing  oxygen  gsB, 
and  into  this  jar  I  dip  a  piece  of  charooaL    I  now  bring  the 
charcoal  into  the  focus  of  the  invisible  rays  of  heat,  and  you 
see  the  charcoal  is  ignited  by  these  dark  w^s,  awi  burns 
brilliantly  in  this  gas. 

I  want  now  to  make  one  or  two  more  experiments  in  con- 
nection with  this  subject  For  this  purpose  I  will  take  the 
same  mirror  which  1  have  just  used,  and  employ  anotiier 
camera  which  is  at  the  end  of  the  table.  The  mirror  wiH 
be  placed  behind  the  light,  and  will  refliect  a  beam  of  light 
along  the  table.  Instead  of  allowing  this  beam  to  fall  upon 
the  audience  and  annoying  you,  I  will  catch  it  upon  another 
mirror  just  as  I  caught  the  ray  of  light  by  the  mirror  near 
the  ceiling  in  an  experiment  early  in  the  lecture.  I  dare  say 
many  of  you  see  the  intense  reflection  here.  There  is  a  'b- 
CU9  which  would  bum  your  flngers  most  fearfully  if  you  p^ 
them  there.  I  dare  say  we  shall  be  able  to  inflame  paper 
at  that  focus.  There  you  see  the  paper  instantly  set  in  a 
blaze ;  and  this  blaze  is  produced  not  by  the  Inmiuous  rays, 
but  by  the  dark  ones.  You  might  put  a  sensitive  ther- 
mometer there,  and  have  no  result  It  is  only  when  the 
heat  falls  upon  this  paper  that  the  heat  is  produced.  We 
can  bum  zinc  here  as  I  did  in  the  dark  rays.    Y^ou  see  the 


tCngikk  Edition,  Yol  XVll^  No.  431,  pagw  116^  UT.] 


Gbsmioal  Nsws, 
May,  1868. 


' }  Foreign  aS 


snc  is  set  ob  fire,  and  blazes  up  almost  like  a  piece  of  paper. 
Here  is  a  small  ressel  containing  vrater,  and  I  will  place 
that  in  the  focus  of  the  rajs.  I  now  place  another  vesdel 
of  water  in  such  a  way  that  the  light  has  to  pass  through 
it  This  will  intercept  the  dark  rays  which  give  the  heat, 
though  it  does  not  sensibly  interrupt  the  rays  ctf  light.  At 
the  present  time  the  focus  of  rays  falls  upon  the  former 
vessel  of  water,  without  any  effect  whatever  being  pro-, 
dnoed  upon  it.  I  will  now  withdraw  the  vessel  of  water 
through  which  the  beam  passes  before  it  reaches  the  mirror, 
and  so  allow  the  heat  rays  to  pass,  and  you  see  the  water 
in  the  vessel  as  the  focus  of  the  rays  immediately  begins  to 
boiL  After  a  time  this  water  will  be  thrown  into  a  state  of 
violent  ebullition.  It  is  already  boiling.  This  action  is  due 
not  to  the  rays  of  light,  but  entirely  to  the  dark  invisible 
,    rays  of  heat  of  which  1  have  been  speaking. 

I  make  these  experiments  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
home  to  your  minds  the  fact  that  we  owe  all  our  rivers,  all 
our  glaciers,  And  all  our  snow,  entirely,  or  almost  entirely, 
to  these  dark  rays.  The  luminous  or  bright  rays  of  the 
sun  fall  upon  the  tropical  ocean,  and  pierce  it  to. great 
depths:  they  are  not  absorbed;  but  the  non-luminous  rays 
— the  heat  rays  of  the  sun— strike  upon  the  tropical  ocean, 
and  they  are  absorbed  very  near  its  surface.  It  was  by  the 
absorption  of  the  dark  rays  that  the  water  was  boiled  in 
the  last  experiment.  These  jdark  rays  of  the  sun  which 
strike  upon  the  tropical  ocean,  and  are  then  absorbed,  heat 
the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  thus  it  is  that  all  the  moisture 
or  evaporation  is  produced. 

And,  now,  I  am  sorry  to  s^,  we  have  come  to  the  end  of 
our  task.  I  told  you  in  the  beginning  that  1  wished  very 
much  to  transfer  tne  task  of  giving  these  lectures  to  some- 
body else,  as  I  was  so  occupied  that  I  could  not  make  them 
what  I  wished  to  make  them,  and  still  I  am  not  sorry  that 
I  undertook  them.  I  am  glad  that  I  have  come  here,  for  it 
has  given  me  great  pleasure  to  meet  you  from  day  to  day. 
You  have  made  up  by  your  attention  for  my  defects  in  lec- 
turing; and  I  have  only  to  add  that  I  thank  you  for  that 
attention,  and  wish  you  from  my  heart  a  happy  new  year. 


FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 


Paris,  March  3,  1868. 
Eiiimaiion  of  Utaw'e  and  Nidbic  Adds. — Proce8»for  hleaching 

pcUm  OU  by  Chronvic  Add, — Salvbilily  of  Eiktr  insoliUioni 

of  S^ar. — AkohokUe  of  Baryla. 
Ths  processes  proposed  up  to  the  present  time  for  the  esti- 
mation of  titanic  and  niobic  acids  in  mixtures  have  not  suc- 
ceeded very  perfectly.  M.  Marignao,  after  testing  the  capa- 
bilities of  the  processes  already  known,  has  adopted  the 
following.  He  takes  5  grammes  of  the  metallic  acid,  and 
fuses  it  with  1-5  gramme  of  hydrofluorate  of  fluoride  of  po- 
tassium, first  heating  this  salt  gently  until  it  is  in  a  state  of 
fusion  (this  fusion  might  almost  be  called  aqueotis),  and  then 
adding  the  niobic  and  titanic  acids.  By  allowing  the  salt  to 
fose  first,  loss  by  decrepitatioa  is  avoided;  afterwards  a 
powerful  heat  is  applied,  and  in  a  minute  there  is  complete 
fusion,  and  the  metallic  acid  is  completely  dissolved.  It  is 
not  well  to  prcdong  the  operation,  as  the  mass  has  a  ten- 
dency to  creep  up  the  sides  of  the  crucible ;  for  this  reason 
a  deep  crucible  should  be  chosen.  The  cooled  mass  is  dis- 
solved out  by  digesting  with  warm  dilute  hydrochloric  acid, 
employing  for  this  purpose  20  c.  c.  of  pure  concentrated  hy- 
drochloric acid  and  280  a  c.  of  water,  and  the  solution  col- 
lected in  a  flask.  When  it  is  quite  cold,  a  bar  of  distilled 
Bino  is  introduced,  sufficiently  long  to  reach  the  bottom  of 
the  flask,  and  then  to  protrude  at  the  neck.  The  flask  is 
closed  by  a  cork  carr^g  a  bent  glass  tube,  by  which  the 
hydrogen  is  disengaged  under  water;  the  temperature  of 
the  solution  must  never  be  allowed  to  rise  sensibly.  At  the 
end  of  twenty-four  hours  the  reduction  is  terminated,  and  it 
is  only  necessary  to  remove  the  cork,  aud  withdraw  the  bar 
of  zinc^  and  then  to  piooeed  immediately  to  determine  the 


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[BagUdi  Edttton,  VoL  X7II,  No.  431,  pagM  11 


230 


Foi'eign  Science. 


f  CmanrAL  Nnri, 
(      Mat,  ISO. 


lion  to  the  Soci^t^  d^Enoouragement,  byM.  Schtltzenberger* 
This  comnnication  has  led  the  way  to  results  of  great  in- 
terest, whether  taken  in  a  scientific  aspect,  or  a  pecuniary 
one.  The  existence  of  fire  pigments  in  this  colouring  matter, 
he  had  remarked,  may  be  recognised — they  are  alizarine, 
purpurine,  orange  madder,  pseudo-purpurine,  and  xantho- 
purpurine.  These  bodies  are  distinguished  by  their  com- 
position, their  physical  and  chemical  properties,  and  espe- 
dally  by  their  comportment  in  dyeing  operations.  Different 
samples  of  madder  give,  then,  different  results  in  dyeing, 
according  to  the  predominance  of  one  or  other  of  the 
principles,  and,  as  is  well  known,  different  tints  according 
to  the  mordants  used.  Pseudo-purpurine  is  distinguished 
by  its  fugitiveness  under  the  influence  of  soap;  and  the 
want  of  stability  in  the  tinctures  made  ft-om  the  madder 
of  Alsace,  is  due  to  the  presence  of  this  principle  in  largo 
proportion.  M.  Martin,  observing  these  points  in  M. 
Schutzenberger's  investigation,  and  knowing  alizarine  to 
be  the  only  one  of  the  five  colouring  matters  yielding  an 
unalterable  dyeing  material,  essayed  the  transformation  of 
the  other  principles  into  alizarine.  The  result  has  been 
that  VL  Martin  has  discovered  a  process  by  which  purpurine, 
pseudo-purpurine,  xantho-purpurine  (yellow),  and  the  orange- 
colouring  matter  can  be  transformed  into  alizarine:  the 
process  he  has  patented.  This  transformation  is  easily 
effected  by  the  combined  action  of  dehydrating  and 
reducing  agents.  The  colouring  matters,  either  separately 
or  mixed,  are  dissolyed  in  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  and 
when  dissolyed,  zinc  is  added.  Elevation  of  temperature 
and  a  finely  divided  condition  of  the  metal  facilitate  the 
reaction.  As  soon  as  the  transformation  is  considered 
complete,  the  mass  is  diluted  with  wat^r,  which  gives 
rise  to  an  abundant  precipitate  of  alizarine ;  washing  with 
water  will  render  the  matter  ready  for  dyeing  purposes.  Tt 
will  be  interesting  to  compare  the  composition  of  the  five 
principles  occurring  in  madder,  as  given  by  M.  Schiitzen- 
berger  :— 

Alizarine C4oHi90i« 

Purpurine CioHiaOM 

Orange  madder G4oHiaOis 

Pseudo-purpurine (^ioHiaOi« 

Xantho-purpurine OiaHiaOn 

The  process  of  M.  Martin  would  seem  to  be  one  of  g^eat 
importance. 

Dr.  Lowe  has  indicated  the  following  method  of  pre- 
paring large  quantities  of  jiric  acid  from  Peruvian  guano. 
The  guano  is  pulverised  land  dried  at  loo^C;  i  part  by 
weight  is  added  in  small  quantities  at  a  time  to  i  part  of 
sulphuric  acid  contained  in  a  capsule,  heated  by  a  water 
bath,  and  stirred  with  a  glass  rod.  The  mixture  is  allowed 
to  remain  on  the  water  bath  as  long  as  hydrochloric  acid 
continues  to  be  evolved  When  the  odor  of  hydrochloric 
acid  is  only  slight,  and  the  mixture  seems  homogeneous, 
12  or  15  volumes  of  distilled  water  are  added;  this  dilution 
causes  a  yellow  precipitate,  for  the  subsidence  of  which 
time  is  allowed.  Afterwards  the  supernatant  fluid  is 
decanted  off,  the  precipitate  is  washed  with  firesh  quantities 
of  water,  thrown  upon  a  filter,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
sulphuric  acid  washed  out  Small  portions  of  this  precipi- 
tate are  now  boiled  in  a  weak  solution  of  an  alkali,  the 
solution  filtered  and  acidified  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid 
to  precipitate  the  uric  add,  which  appears  as  a  yellow 
cloud.  "WTien  cold,  the  predpitate  is  thrown  on  to  a 
filter,  washed,  and  dried.  The  yellow  colour  may  be  removed 
by  heating  with  sulphuric  add  at  the  temperature  of  a 
water  bath,  and  repeating  the  process  described:  it  is 
necessary  to  avoid  adding  more  water  in  predpitating  than 
is  absolutely  necessary,  since  the  product  is  always  yellow 
when  excess  of  water,  has  been  used 

The  extraction  of  oils  by  means  of  bisulphide  of  carbon 
is  now  carried  on  at  Moabit,  near  Berlin,  upon  a  very 
great  scale.  In  the  manufactory  of  M.  Heyl,  2,570  kilog. 
of  oil,  of  sufiBdently  good  quality  to   be    employed    in 


lubricating  machinery,  are  manufactured  daOy.  Oda 
and  linseed  are  the  materials  chiefly  operated  upon: 
the  renidues  serve  very  well  to  feed  cattle  with.  The 
seeds  are  first  crushed  and  dried  by  headng.  For  (be 
daily  fabrication  of  2,570  kflog.  of  oil,  only  six  men 
are  required.  Analysis  has  shown  the  residues  to  contam 
only  2  per  cent  of  oil  and  7  per  cent  of  water,  while  the 
•residues  of  the  ordinary  pressure  process  contain  9  per 
cent,  of  oil  and  15  per  cent,  of  water.  In  the  extraction  of 
the  oil,  7,000  kilog  of  bisulphide  of  carbon  are  used  dailj, 
and  the  amount  lost  is  28  kUog. 

M.  Nickles  has  published  a  paper  on  the  sesqni- 
fluoferrates.  The  sesquifluoride  of  iron  forms  oombhiar 
tions  with  fiuoride  of  sodium  and  anmionium;  tbey  are 
obtained  in  two  ways,  either  by  direct  unicHi  of  the 
sesquifluoride  of  iron  with  the  alkaline  fluoride^  or  by 
deoompo^ing  the  latter  with  sesquichloride  of  iron.  The 
alkaloids  also  unite  with  this  fluoride:  combinations  have 
been  prepared  with  quinine  and  bructne.*  When  the 
solutions  of  the  ammonic  and  potassic  fluo-aalts  are 
boiled,  they  are  decomposed,  depositing  yellow  flakes 
charged  with  iron.  Ammonia  separates  seaquioxide  of 
iron  from  these  solutions;  ferrocyanide  of  potassium 
causes  a  blue  colouration,  unless  the  solution  contain  in 
excess  of  alkaline  fiuoride.  The  oolouration  whidi  is 
usually  manifested  is  of  a  fine  ^olet  tint  quite  di£EereDt 
from  the  blue  precipitate  of  prussian  blue ;  it  is  capaUa 
of  utilisation,  M.  Nickles  thinks,  in  the  preparation  of 
colours. 

PAsm,  Mabcb  24,  186S. 

Metallurgy  of  Iron. — SianwOe  of  Sodium. — OxidaHim  tf 
Butyric  Acid.—Pr€Bervatiion  of  MeaJL^Oommon  Salt  om  e 
Manwnal  Agent, 
M.  GiLLOT'S  experiments  on  the  metallurgy  of  iron  have 
placed  in  evidence  a  certain  number  of  points : — 1.  Tbe 
theory  of  the  reduction  of  silica,  and  the  oombinaticm  of  the 
silidum  with  iron  in  the  blast  fumaoe;  (2)  a  maziminii 
limit  which  does  not  attain  looo**  C,  for  the  deoompoeiiMn 
of  the  carbonate  of  lime;  (3)  the  oonditioD  neoessaiy  fer 
the  progress  of  the  furnace  operations,  viz.,  that  eaoh 
charge  should  furnish  alone  the  total  amount  of  heit 
required  in  its  treatment;  (4)  the  maximum  and  minimom 
h'mits;  a,  the  temperature  of  complete  oombostion  of 
the  carbon  at  the  tuyere ;  ft,  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
escaping  products  which  result  from  l^iis ;  c,  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  body  of  the  gaseous  column,  aocming  to  a 
charge  after  the  conversion  of  the  carbonic  add  into  car- 
bonic oxide;  finally,  the  temperatures  and  the  modifi- 
cations of  the  charge,  and  of  the  gaseous  column  at  dl 
stages.  (5)  The  general  cause  of  the  transfomiatkin  of 
bodies,  of  which  cause  cementation,  oxidation,  aid 
reduction  are  only  particular  effects.  (6)  The  piindples 
which  regulate  the  employment  of  one  or  of  aeveial 
tuyeres;  (7)  the  theory  of  the  employment  of  warm  air 
in  the  blast  fumaoe ;  the  fact  of  a  greater  conanmption  of 
fuel  with  warm  air  than  with  cold;  (8)  the  reapective 
consumptions  of  heat  by  the  pig-iron,  and  by  the  slag  ia 
blast  fumaoea,  and  in  reverfoeratory  f^iniaoes ;  (9)  the  in- 
suffidency  of  analysis  of  an  aliquot  part  of  the  gaeeooi 
column,  to  determine  either  the  oomposition  it  this 
gaseous  column,  or  the  reaotiona  which  take  place  in  ihs 
furnace.  Fbially,  M.  Gillot  compares  the  losses  sostalDed 
in  working  the  old  process  and  the  new,  thus: — ^Tbe  kMses 
in  the  carbonisation  of  the  wood,  and  in  the  smelting  of 
the  ores,  taken  together,  entail  in  the  old  prooeas  a 
minimum  loss  of  90  per  cent,  of  the  combustible  empioyed 
and  a  oonsumption  of  779  kilos,  for  every  100  kiloa.  of 
iron  or  steel  manufactured.  In  the  new  processes,  tbeie 
are  only  those  losses  of  combustible,  common  to  aD 
systems — ^loss  by  radiation,  and  by  the  absoiption  of 
sensible  heat  by  the  products. 
MM.  Moberg  and  Rammelsbeig  have  shown  that  -mba 


[Englldi  Ediflon,  ToL  ZVIL,  Va  433,  page  141, 143;  Na  434,  pages  153, 154.] 


TrC»U\7&       «»A«7     VI^M»UX«;U« 


II  Haefiely,  in  re-dissoWing  these  crystals  in  their  mother 
liquor,  has  obtained  crystals  containing  8  molecules ; 
others  containing  lo  molecules  of  water  nave  more  lately 
been  obtained  hy  M.  Seheurer  Kestner,  by  submitting  a 
weak  solution  of  pure  stannate  of  sodium  to  a  low 
temperature.  The  presence  of  foreign  salts,  and  especially 
of  an  excess  of  hydrate  of  sodium,  prevents  the  crystallisa- 
tion. 

Ml  Berthelot  has  made  some  experiments  upon  the 
oxidation  of  butyric  acid.  He  performed  the  oxidation  in 
an  alkaline  solutioi^  so  as  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  destruction  of  the  bibasic  acids.  For  this  purpose  he 
dissolved  lo  parts  of  butyric  acid  in  1200  parts  of  water, 
in  the  presence  of  60  parts  of  potassa.  This  liquor 
gradually  decolorised  permanganate  either  in  the  cold, 
or  better  at  100".  Ar  experiment  was  made  at  loo*", 
the  temperature  being  maintained  during  several  days, 
until  t^e  butyric  acid  had  destroyed  a  little  more  than  its 
own  weight  of  permanganate.  The  liquor  then  contained 
a  considerable  quantity  of  carbonate,  oxalate,  and  a 
small  quantity  of  succinate,  not  to  mention  acetate  and 
propionate.  To  isolate  the  various  acids,  this  process 
was  adopted.  First  of  all,  the  liquor  was  rendered  acid 
with  hydrochloric  acid;  it  was  then  boiled  a  moment,  a 
drop  of  ammonia  added,  and  precipitated  by  chloride  of 
caldum.  The  precipitate  contained  oxalate  of  lime,  and 
a  small  quantity  of  an  analogous  salt  more  carbonated, 
probably  malooate.  The  filtrate  was  evaporated  on  the 
water-bath,  and  the  chloride  of  potassium  eliminated 
by  repeated  crystallisations.'  The  last  residue  was 
rendered  strongly  acid  by  hydrochloric  add,  and  agitated 
at  several  intervals  with  a  considerable  volume  of  purified 
ether.  Evaporated  to  diynoss,  the  ether  left  a  crystalline 
acid,  possei^sing  the  properties  of,  and  reacting  like,  suc- 
cinic add.  This  fact  has  been  verified  by  the  solubility  of 
the  lime-salt  in  water,  and  by  the  precipitate  occasioned 
upon  the  addition  of  alcohol ;  the  properties  of  the  mag- 
nesian  salt,  the  predpitation  of  the  neutral  perchloride  of 
iron  by  the  solution  of  sucdnate  of  magnesia,  etc.,  havo 
also  lent  confirmation.  Tiie  amount  of  succinic  add 
formed  is  very  inconsiderable.   . 

M.  Martin  has  made  some  experiments  upon  the 
preservation  of  meat  by  means  of  ether.  He  placed  in 
six  tin  boxes  uncooked  beef,  surrounded  by  little  tufts  of 
cotton  wool  soaked  in  sulphuric  ether;  the  boxes  were 
then 'soldered  tight,  and  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
Every  three  months  a  box  was  opened.  Each  piece 
of  meat  weighed  a  kOogramme.  At  the  end  of  three 
months  there  was  no  alteration  either  in  weight  or  form. 
-  The  meat  thus  preserved  does  not  undergo  the  putrid 
fermentation ;  it  is  strongly  impregnated  with  ether,  and 
the  odour  remains  after  numerous  washings  with  cold 
water.  When  cooked  the  meat  possesses  a  peculiar 
savour,  probably  due,  M.  Martin  says,  to  the  formation 
of  a  new  ether;  the  fibre  is  disintegrated.  The  process 
is  not  applicable  to  the  preservation  of  food,  but  other 
animal  matters  might  perhaps  be  advantageously  treated 
by  it. 

M.  Jean  has   proposed  the  following  as  the  mode  of 
action  of  common  salt  employed    as   a   manurial  agent 
,        (considering  all  the  salts  likely  to  be  present  in  the  soil). 
The  carbonate  of  lime  decomposes  the  ammoniacal  salts, 
transforming   them   into    carbonate    of    ammonia;    this 
carbonate   meets  in  the  subterraneous  atmosphere  with 
carbonic   add    gas   produced    by  the   decomposition    of 
organic  matters,  and  forms  bicarbonate;  then  if  this  salt 
I        finds  chloride  of  sodium  in  the  soQ,  a  double  decompo- 
sition is  established,  giving  rise  to  chloride  of  ammonium, 
'        and  carbonate  of  soda.    The  chloride  of  ammonium,  in  its 
'        turn,  is  decomposed  by  carbonate  of  lime,  yielding  chloride 
*       of  caldum,  which  passes  into  the  snb*soil,  and  carbonate 
of  ammonia.      The   carbonate  of    soda    thus   produced 


ACaVUtMSUVO         JLUVAMXV^ 


of  chloride  of  sodium  into  carbonate  of  soda  takes  place 
so  readily  that  MM.  Truck  and  Schloesing  have  applied 
this  reaction  in  the  manufacture  of  carbonate  of  soda. 


REPORTS  OF  SOCIETIES. 


MANCHESTER  LITEEARY  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL 

SOCIETY. 

Ordinary  MeetinQi  Jaaiuary  zist,  x868. 

Edwabd  Sohuhgk,  Ph.D.,  F-RS.,  Ac.,  Preaidemi^  in  (Ae 
Chaii/r. 

"  Stme  Bemarka  <m  Crystals  containing  Fluid,"  by  J.  B. 
Dai^okb,  F.R.Aa 
Thx  author  gave  a  brief  history  of  the  discovery  of  fluids  in 
ciystals,  induding  Sir  H.  Davy's  chemical  experiments  on 
the  fluids  and  gases  obtained  from  the  cavities  in  quarts 
crystals;  Sir  David  Brewster^  discovery  of  the  pressure 
cavities  in  the  diamond,  ruby,  emerald,  amethyst,  chryso- 
beryl,  kc ;  the  existence  of  minute  crystals  in  these  cavities 
and  the  two  new  and  remarkable  fluids,  which  are  immisd- 
ble,  but  sometimes  found  together  in  the  same  cavity— one 
a  liquid  hydrocarbon,  named  Brewstoline,  the  other  Crypto 
line ;  his  experiments  and  examination  of  artificial  crystals 
deposited  from  aqueous  solutions ;  his  examination  of  the 
Koh-i-noor  diamond  and  others  in  the  East  India  Company's 
museum;  and  the  geological  speculations  to  which  these 
discoveries  gave  rise.  Mr.  Dancer  mentioned  the  experi- 
ments of  his  late  father  and  others  in  producing  artificial 
gems  by  intense  heat,  and  stated  that  his  own  attention  was 
drawn  to  this  subject  some  twenty-four  years  since,  by  Sir 
David  Brewster  presenting  him  with  a  specimen  of  topas 
containing  fluid.  Since  tb<tt  time  he  had  examined  a  large 
number  of  crystals  of  various  kinds,  fVom  the  collections  of 
ft-ieuds ;  and  had  found  fluid  in  quartz  from  South  America, 
Norway,  the  Alps,  Ireland,  Snowdon,  and  the  Isle  of  Man ; 
and  in  fluor  spar  from  Derbyshire ;  this  latter  spedmen  con- 
tained a  considerable  quantiWof  fluid,  which  burst  the  crys- 
tal at  I  So*'  temperature.*  £[e  suggested  the  employment  of 
the  microscope  as  a  valuable  assistanco  in  detecting  spurious 
fh>m  real  gems ;  very  few  of  the  latter  are  perfect,  and  the 
flaws  and  cavities  are  so  distinct  in  character  from  those 
which  are  so  abundant  generally  in  artificial  gems  that  very 
little  experience  is  suffident  for  the  purpose.  This  mode  of 
testing  of  course  is  limited  to  transparent  crystals,  but  might 
be  employed  when  the  usual  methods  are  not  practicable. 
He  also  mentioned  Mr.  Sorby's  (F.R.S.)  discovery  of  fluid 
cavities  in  the  quartz  of  g^nite,  in  the  quariz  of  volcanio 
rocks,  and  also  in  the  feldspar  ejected  from  the  crater  of 
Vesuvius,  and  Mr.  Sorby's  method  of  determining  the  tem- 
perature at  which  various  rodcs  and  minerals  are  formed. 
At  the  condusion  of  the  meeting,  crystals  containing  fluid 
were  exhibited  under  the  microscope,  and  the  expansion  of 
the  fluid  by  elevating  the  temperature  of  the  crystal  whilst 
under  examination. 


Ordinary  HeeUng,  Ikbruasy  4^  1868. 

Edward  Sohunok,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.,  &a,  President^  in  the 

Chair, 
Among  the  donations  aimounced  were  several  botties  of 
chemical  products  for  the  Sodely's  collection,  from  Dr.  F. 
Crace  Calvert,  F.R.S.,  Ac. 

The  thanks  of  the  Society  were  voted  to  Dr.  Calvert  for 
his  valuable  donation. 

•Afkar  this  Pftpor  wu  written,  BIr  DftTid  Browster  Informed  th* 
aathor  that  the  fluid  contained  In  oryBtala  of  fluor  spar  wu  water,  and 
that  the  cayltiea  burst  at  a  temperature  of  150^. 


[EiifliflhEdmon,ToLZra.,ira4Hl«C«l«4;  Vo.  431,  PM«  ^^*1 


232 


Manchester  Literary  Cmd  Phihsopldcdl  Society. 


]        May,  Vm. 


"  On  some  Constituents  of  Cotton  Fibre,"^  bj  E.  ScHUKCK, 

Ph.D.,  F.R.&,  &C.,  President 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  cotton,  when  quite  pure,  con- 
sists entirely  of  woodj  fibre  or  cellnlose,  and  that  its  com- 
position is  consequently  represented  by  the  formula  Cu  Hio 
Oi(>.  It  is  oertaiUf  however,  that  in  the  raw  state,  as  fur- 
nished by  commeree,  it  contains  a  number  of  other  ingredi- 
ents, some  of  which  occur  so  oonstantly  that  they  may  be 
considered  essential  constituents  of  cotton,  viewed  as  a  vege- 
table product.  The  object  of  the  bleaching  process  to  which 
most  cotton  fabrics  are  subjected  is  to  deprive  the  fibre  of 
these  other  ingredients  and  leave  the  cellulose  behind  in  a 
state  of  purity.  Notwithstanding  the  importauoe  of  an  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  everything  relating  Lo  cotton  from  an 
industrial  point  of  view,  the  substances  contained  iu  It  along 
with  cellulose  have  never  been  subjected  to  a  special  chemi- 
cal examination,  and  very  little  is  consequently  known 
about  them.  Persoz,  in  his  TraiU  de  F Impression  (Us  Itssus, 
says  that  the  woody  fibre  constituting  the  tissues  of  cotton, 
hemp,  linen,  kc',^  is  not  pure;  it  contams — ist,  a  certain 
quantity  of  colouring  matter,  which  is  more  or  less  shielded 
from  the  action  of  decolourising  agents  by  the  bodies  which 
ftoeompany  It,  naturally  or  accidentally;  2ndly,  a  peculiar 
fesin,  natural  to  the  fibre,  insoluble  in  water  and  soluble 
with  difficulty  in  alkalies,  which  plays  the  part  of  a  reserve 
And  protects  the  colouring  matters  inherent  in  the  fibre  from 
the  action  of  the  agents  which  ought  to  destroy  and  remove 
them ;  3rdly,  a  certain  quantity  of  fiatty  matter,  of  which  a 
rery  small  portion  is  peculiar  to  the  fibre,  the  greatest  part 
being  derived  from  the  operations  of  spinning  and  weaving ; 
4thly,  a  neutral  substance,  either  flour,  starch,  or  glue, 
which  has  been  introduced  by  the  ireaver  in  sizing  his 
warp ;  Sthly,  inorganic  saline  matters,  some  of  which  belong 
to  the  fibre,  while  the  others  are  derived  from  the  water 
and  the  matters  employed  in  the  dressing  of  the  warp.  In 
the  excellent  article  on  Bleaching  in  the  new  edition  of  lire's 
Pictionary  of  Arts,  there  is  a  full  account  of  these  and  other 
impurities  of  cotton  fabrics,  comprising  all  that  was  known 
at  the  time  when  the  author  commenced  his  examination. 

The  object  which  the  author  had  in  view  in  undertaking 
his  investigation  was  to  endeavour  to  throw  a  little  more 
light  on  the  nature  of  those  substances  which  are  contained 
in  or  attached  to  the  framework  of  ceUulose,  of  which  cotton 
fibre  mainly  consists,  and  which  are.  together  with  the  lat- 
ter, produced  by  the  plant  All  foreign  and  extranepus 
matter  introduced  during  the  process  of  manufacture  was 
therefore  left  entirely  out  of  consideration.  The  author  has 
farther  confined  his  attention  to  those  constituents  of  the 
fibre  which  are  insoluble  in  water  but  soluble  in  alkaline 
ley,  and  are  afterwards  precipitated  by  acid  from  the  alka- 
line solution.  Whether  cotton  contains  naturally  any  sub- 
stance soluble  in  water,  or  which  being  originally  insoluble 
18  rendered  soluble  therein  by  the  prolonged  action  of  alka- 
lies, is  a  question  on  which  the  author  pronounces  no  de- 
dded  opinion. 

For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  substances  which  he 
proposed  to  examine,  the  author  employed  cotton  yam, 
which  he  preferred  to  unspun  cotton  for  several  reasons, 
tJie  principal  being  that  yam  is  comparatively  free  from  me- 
chanical impurities,  such  as  fVag^ents  of  seed-vessels,  ftc, 
while  on  the  other  hand,  if  proper  care  be  taken,  no  impur- 
ity is  added  to  those  previously  existing  during  the  process 
of  spinning.  The  yam  was  boiled  in  an  ordinary  bleacher^s 
kier  for  several  hours  with  a  dilute  solution  of  soda  ash. 
The  resulting  dark  brown  liquor,  after  the  yam  had  been 
taken  out,  drained,  and  slightly  washed,  was  removed  from 
the  kier  into  appropriate  vessels,  and  mixed  with  an  excess 
of  sulphuric  acid,  which  produced  a  copious,  light  brown, 
fiocculent  precipitate,  whUe  the  liquid  became  colourless. 
This  precipjtate  ^^b  allowed  to  settle,  the  liquid  was  poured 
o^  and  after  bein^  washed  with  cold  water  to  remove  the 
anlphate  of  so^^  ^-jd  excess  of  acid  it  was  put  on  calico 


eitirr  washed  with  cold  water  to  remove  the 
fA  T-xid  excess  of  acid  it  was  put  on  calico 


He^ 


brown,  brittle,  hom-like  substance,  translucent  at  the  edges. 
In  one  experiment  450  lbs.  of  yam,  made  from  East  Indian 
cotton,  of  the  variety  called  " Dhollerah,"  yielded  033  per 
cent,  of  the  dried  precipitate.  In  another  experiment  made 
with  500  lbs.  of  yarn,  spun  from  American  cotton,  of  the 
kind  called  in  commerce  **  middling  Orleans,"  0*48  per  oeoL 
was  obtained.  The  total  Iombs  sustained  by  yam  daring  the 
bleacliing  process  amounts  to  about  5  per  cent  of  its 
weight.  Only  a  small  portion  of  the  matter  lost  is  there- 
fore recovered  by  precipitation  of  the  alkaline  extract  wiUi 
add. 

This  precipitate  formed  more  especially  the  subject  of  the 
author's  investigation.  It  was  found  to  oonsist  almost  en- 
tirely of  organic  substances,  and  of  these  the  following  were 
distinctly  recognised:-^ 

1.  A  spedes  of  vegetable  wax. 

2.  A  fatty  add. 

3.  4.    Colouring  matters. 

5.  Pectic  acid. 

6.  A  trace  of  albuminous  matter. 

The  author  described  the  method  employed  by  him  for 
separating  these  substances  from  one  another  and  obtaining 
them  in  a  state  of  purity ;  and  he  then  gave  an  acoount  of 
their  properties  and  oomposition. 

The  waxy  matter  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  of  these 
substances.  It  is  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  alcohol 
and  etlier.  If  a  concentrated  solution  in  b<Mling  alcobd  be 
allowed  to  cool,  the  greatest  part  is  deposited,  causing  the 
liquid  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  thick  white  jelly,  oon* 
sisting  of  microscopic  needles  or  scales.  When  this  jelly  is 
filtered  off  and  dried  it  shrinks  very  much,  and  is  converted 
into  a  coherent  cake,  which  has  a  waxy  lustre  and  is  trans- 
lucent, friable,  and  lighter  than  water.  Its  melting  point  is 
between  ^-^  and  84**  0.  At  a  higher  temperature  it  is 
volatilised.  When  heated  on  platinum  it  bums  with  a  very 
bright  flame.  The  author  thinks  it  probable  that  this  sab> 
stance  covers  the  ootton  fibres  with  a  thin  waxy  film,  and 
thus  imparts  to  them  their  well-known  property  of  resisting 
water.  In  its  properties  and  composition  it  ap|Mt)acbea 
very  nearly  the  better  known  vegetable  waxes,  such  as  that 
obtained  by  Avequin  from  the  loaves  of  the  sugar-cane,  and 
that  which  is  found  on  the  leaves  of  the  Camauba  palDL 
The  author  thinks  that  the  name  osAU>n  toox  is  suffident  to 
distinguish  it  from  these  and  other  nearly  allied  bodies. 

The  fatty  acid  has  the  properties  and  composition  of  mar- 
garic  add.  It  is  white  and  orystalline,  fusos  at  53°  C ,  and 
gives  with  alkalies  compounds  soluble  in  water,  which  are 
true  soaps.  It  is,  however,  probably  not  a  natural  oonstita- 
ent  of  cotton  fibre,  but  rather  an  impurity  derived  from  the 
oil  of  the  seed  which  escapes  and  dLifuses  itself  among  tiie 
ootton  before  or  during  the  prooess  of  ginning.  It  might 
also  have  had  its  souroe  in  the  oil  and  fat  used  for  greasog 
t^e  cotton  spinning  machinery,,  since  the  author  employed 
yarn  in  all  his  experiments.  Persons  practically  conversant 
with  cotton  spinning  affirm,  however,  that  if  ordinary  care 
be  taken,  it  is  impossible  that  the  cotton  can  become  con- 
taminated with  anything  of  a  latty  nature  during  its  con- 
version into  yam. 

The  colouring  matters  obtained  in  these  experiments  are 
without  doubt  the  substances  to  which  raw  cotton  owes  its 
yellowish  or  brownish  colour.  The  author  was  abk>  to  dis- 
tinguish two  bodies  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  which  occurred 
in  all  kinds  of  ootton  examined  by  him.  Of  these  one  is 
easily  soluble  in  cold  alcohol,  and  is  left,  on  evaporation  of 
the  solution,  as  a  dark  brown,  shining,  brittle,  amorpboos 
resin,  which  is  transparent  in  thin  layers.  In  boiling  water 
it  softens  and  melts  to  a  pasty  mass,  which  becomes  hard 
and  brittle  again  on  cooling.  .  When  heated  on  phitinum  fal 
it  bums  wiih  a  bright  fiame,  leaving  a  very  voluminous  coal 
It  is  nearly  insoluble  in  ether.  It  dissolves  easily  in  con- 
centrated sulphuric  add  and  glacial  acetic  add,  with  a  brovs 
colour.  It  also  dissolves  with  ease  in  caustic  and  carboo- 
ated  alkalies,  giving  dark,  yollowish-brown  solutions,  Itoqb 


^BngUdii  Bditton,  Vd.  ZVn^  ITo.  431,  pagas  118, 119.] 


Cold  alcohol,  indeed,  dissolves  onlj  a  trace,  but  in  boiling 
alcohol  it  dissolves  with  tolerable  facilitj,  being  re-deposited, 
on  the  solution  cooling,  in  the  form  of  a  brown  powder. 
This  powder,  when  Altered  off  and  dried,  forms  coherent 
masses  of  a  colour  varying  from  light  to  dark  brown,  which 
are  easily  broken,  showing  a  dull  earthy  fracture.  Both 
colouring  matters  contain  nitrogen,  and  they  differ  therefore 
in  constitution  from  true  resins,  which  they  resemble  in 
many  of  their  properties.  The  peculiar  colour  of  the  so- 
called  *' Nankin  cotton  "  is  probably  due  to  a  great  excess 
of  these  colouring  matters  existing  In  the  fibre.  It  is  cer- 
tainly not  caused  by  oxide  of  iron. 

The  purification  of  the  pectic  acid  contained  In  the  brown 
precipitate  produced  by  sulphuric  add  was  not  effected 
without  difficulty.  The  best  method,  according  to  the  au- 
thor, consists  in  submitting  it  to  a  simple  process  of  bleach- 
ing with  chloride  of  lime,  by  which  means  the  impurity, 
consisting  of  brown  colouring  matter,  Avhioh  adheres  to  it 
with  great  pertinacity,  is  destroyed.  When  pure  it  has  the 
properties  and  composition  ascribed  to  pectic  acid  by  Fremy. 
The  cotton  itself  probably  contains  pectose  or  pectine,  which 
is  converted  into  pectic  acid  by  the  action  of  the  alkaline 
ley.  About  three-fifths  of  the  brown  precipitate  consists  of 
pectic  acid.  Of  the  remaining  two-fifths  the  colouring  mat- 
ters constitute  by  far  the  largest  part,  the  wax  and  fatty 
add  being  present  in  very  minute  quantities.  The  albumi- 
nous matter  was  not  isolated,  but  its  presence  was  indicated 
by  the  formation  of  a  small  quantity  of  leudne,  which  took 
place  when  the  brown  precipitate  was  submitted  to  the  ac- 
tion of  hydrate  of  soda.  A  large  quantity  of  oxalic  add  was 
formed  at  the  same  time,  no  doubt  from  the  pectic  acid. 

In  conclusion,  the  author  makes  son-e  remarks  in  regard 
to  the  part  which  these  bodies  may  be  supposed  to  play 
during  the  process  of  manufacturing  gun-cotton.  It  has 
been  asserted  that  the  instability  occasionally  observed  in 
gun-cotton  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  impurities  in  the  raw 
fibre,  forming,  by  the  action  of  nitro-sulphuric  acid,  bodies 
which  decompose  spontaneously  at  the  ordinary  or  a  slightly 
elevated  temperature.  The  author *s  experiments  do  not 
support  this  view,  since  the  substances  described  by  him, 
when  submitted  to  the  action  of  the  mixed  nitric  and  sul- 
phuric add  of  the  strength  employed  for  making  gun-cotton, 
do  not  yield  explosive  compounds. 


ACADEMY  OF  SCI£NCE;& 

February  id,  1868. 

On  the  heai  set  in  motion  during  chemical  oomhinatitma,^^ 
new  body  anghgom  to  diastdan, — NUroua  fennenkUions* — 
li{fiueme  of  light  on  vegetcUion-^JEieciro-capillary  actions. 
—  On  tfts  part  piaged  by  ckLlridtig  in  imucuUxr  contraction. 

At  the  meeting  held  on  the  lotb  of  February,  K.  Favre 
contributed  a  memoir  on  researches  on  the  heat  set  in  mo- 
tion during  chemical  combinations  and  decompositions. 

Three  memoiis  were  sent  by  M.  Dubrunfaut ;  the  first 
related  to  a  new  body  analogous  to  diastase ;  nitrous  fer- 
mentations, lately  the  subject  of  examination  by  M.  Reiset, 
formed  the  subject  of  the  second,  and  the  influence  of  light 
upon  vegetation  the  third. 

IL  Becquerel  communicated  a  further  account  of  his  re- 
searches in  capillary  chemistry,  and  M.  Marey  brought  be- 
fore the  Academy  his  researches  on  the  part  played  by  elec- 
tricity in  muscular  contraction. 

M.  Favre  has  studied  the  compounds  formed  by  the  union 
of  sulphuric  acid,  oousidered  as  a  hydrogen  salt,  with  zinc, 
iron,  copper,  and  cadmium.  He  measured  first  the  heat 
produced  by  the  oxidation  of  the  metal,  then  that  produced 
by  the  combination  of  the  acid. with  the  oxide,  and  finally 
that  caused  by  the  hydration  of  the  salt    lie  found  that 


a  result  already  announced  by  him, — ^thatthe  heat  produced 
by  the  combustion  of  a  body,  or  absorbed  during  reduction, 
does  not  represent  the  whole  of  the  heat  put  in  motion.  A 
certain  amount  of  heat  is  neoessary  to  prepare  the  body  for 
combination  or  decomposition,  ^e  general  result  of  M. 
Favre's  work  is  that  in  the  case  of  the  salts  with  which  he 
has  experimented,  these  are  more  correctly  represented  as  di- 
rect combinations  of  &O4  with  the  metal,  than  as  sulphates 
of  oxides. 

The  matter  analogous  to  diastase,  described  by  M.  Du- 
brunfaut in  his  firFt  memoir,  possesses  the  same  property  as 
diastase,  but  it  is  distinguished  from  it  in  having  less  sac- 
charifying power,  and  by  the  property  of  rendering  fluid 
1,000  or  2,000  times  more  starch.  The  second  memoir  was 
chiefly  a  criticism  of  M.  Reiset's  recent  communication  on 
nitrous  fermentations.  M.  Dubrunfaut  has  obtained  in  re- 
cent experiments  confirmation  of  the  theory  formerly  pro- 
posed by  him  to  expbiin  these  phenomena  The  following 
is  the  theory  referred  to  * — Lactic  add  is  developed,  and 
this  decomposes  the  nitrate  of  potash  of  the  saccharine 
juice,  liberating  a  certain  quantity  of  free  nitric  acid,  which, 
by  contact  with  organic  matters,  is  reduced  to  the  state  of 
binoxide  of  nitrogen;  then  the  binoxide  of  nitrofsien,  by 
contact  with  the  atmosphere,  becomes  nitrous  add.  In  M. 
Bubnmfaut's  last  memoir,  a  study  of  the  influence  of  light 
on  vegetation,  he  indicates  a  method  of  valuing  the  mechan- 
ical work  performed  by  the  light  in  the  decomposition  of 
carbonic  acid. 


Paris,  Maboh  10^  1868. 

Death  of  J£.  FbucauU.-^  Products  of  the  diatiUaiion  of  beetroot 
— Oxygenated  water,  not  the  cause  of  colouration  in  oaone 
test-papers. — Emptoymeni  of  sails  of  potash  in  agriaUture. 
"^Exofinivaiion  of  flour. 

On  the  17th  of  February  the  Academy  was  informed,  by 
the  President,  of  the  loss  it  had  sustained  in  the  deatii  of 
two  distinguished  savans,  Sir  David  Brewster  and  M.  Leon 
Foucault 

M.  Pabteur  presented  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "A  Study  of 
Vinegar:  its  fabrication,  acddents,  and  the  means  of  pre- 
venting them.  New  observations  upon  the  preservation  of 
wines  by  subjecting  them  to  heat'' 

MM.  Pierre  and  Puchot  presented  a  memoir,  entitled 
'*  Experimental  researehes  on  the  products  of  the  distilUition 
of  beet  root" 

M.  Chacomac  addressed  a  note  concerning  the  intimate 
constitution  of  light  and  the  formation  of  nebulae. 

M.  Phipson  sent  a  note  on  some  luminous  phenomena 
which  accompany  meteoric  showers. 

M.  Houzeau  sent  a  note  on  oxygenated  water  considered 
as  not  being  the  cause  of  the  alterations  induced  by  the  at- 
mosphere in  litmus,  and  iodide  of  potassium  and  starch  paper 
as  ozone  tests. 

Experimental  researches  on  the  employment  of  salts  of 
potash  in  agriculture  was  the  subject  of  a  note  by  M.  Dehe- 
rain ;  and  there  was  a  note  on  the  qualitative  and  quantita- 
tive examination  of  rye  flour;  aud  of  alcoholic  liquids  by 
means  of  chloroform,  from  IL  Rakowitsch.  These  are  ail 
the  communications  relating*  to  chemistry  brought  before 
the  Academy  at  this  stance  ;  there  were  several  physiolo- 
gical papers,  among  others  one  upon  the  nature  of  vaccine 
virus,  which  elicited  oonsiderabki  disoussion. 

Ihe  memoir  of  MM.  Pierre  and  Puohot,  oommunicated  by 
M.  Wartz,  is  an  account  of  a  research  wliich  has  oocupied 
them  more  than  three  years.  It  relates,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  to  the  producta  of  the  distiUation  of  beet  root. 
When  the  ordinary  rectification  of  the  fermented  liquor  is 
observed  with  attention,  a  disagreeable  penetrating  odour  is 
perceived  in  the  first  portions  which  oome  over.    These 


[EnglJdi  EdIllMi,  ToL  Z7II,  ITa  431,  pacw  lig^  ^.  no.  43ft, paf* ^3^1 


^34 


jLcaaemy  oj  cicieTwes. 


\      Maw,  IM^ 


products  often  cause  liqaldA  with  which  thej  are  mixed  to 
colour  spontaneouslj.  The  disagreeable  odour  of  the  products 
manifests  itself  a  considerable  time,  to  the  annoyance  of  the 
distillers,  since  they  are  obliged  to  keep  the  portion  contami- 
nated separate  from  the  alcohol  of  good  flavour  which  fol- 
lows, and  sell  it  at  a  reduced  price.  MM.  Pierre  and  Puchot 
have  observed  the  presence  of  avinic  aldehyd,  of  which  they 
have  separated,  though  not  without  considerable  trouble, 
several  litres.  The  aldehyd  thus  separated,  boils  a  little 
below  22° ;  a  specimen  made  three  months  ago  is  still  per- 
fectly clear. 

If,  towards  the  end  of  the  distillation,  a  sample  be  col- 
lected and  examined,  the  odour  of  amylic  alcohol  Tvill  be 
perceived ;  at  the  end  of  the  operation,  this  alcohol  distils 
over  almost  free  from  other  alcoholic  products.  Examined 
more  closely  at  this  stage,  the  distillate  is  found  to  contain 
other  definite  substances,  such  as  butylic  and  propylic  alco- 
hols. To  tost  the  nature  and  purity  of  these  two  alcohols, 
MM.  Pierre  and  Puchot  have  prepared  the  corresponding 
iodides  and  acetates.  The  butylic  aloohol  boiled  at  107*5^, 
its  iodide  at  1 22'5%  its  acetate  (isomeric  with  ethylic  butyrate) 
at  about  1 16^.  The  propylic  aloohol  boiled  at  about  98*50,  its 
iodide  about  104*50,  and  its  acetate  (isomeric  with  methylic 
butyrate)  about  105^.  In  conclusion,  they  remark  upon  the 
deceitful  nature  of  the  appearances  manifested  when  investi- 
gations of  bodies  such  as  they  have  been  working  upon  are 
made  with  restricted  quantities  of  material  It  is  not  easy, 
they  say,  to  distinguish  always  mixtures  possessed  of  a  rela- 
tive stability  from  definite  and  true  compounds.  Elementary 
analysis,  too,  cannot  always  solve  the  point,  and  many  ex- 
amples are  cited  to  show  how  mixtures  of  two  alcohols 
may  yield  the  same  percentage  results  as  a  third  pure  alco- 
hol 

Some  of  the  other  memoirs  deserve  more  than  a  passing 
notice,  and  your  correspondent  will  introduce  accounts  of 
them  hereaiter. 

M.  Deh^rain  has  arrived  at  a  certain  number  of  condosions 
regardmg  the  employment  of  salts  of  potash  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  wheat,  potatoes,  and  beet-root  He  finds  the  salts 
of  potash  have  generally  augmented  the  wheat  crops,  which 
have  been  augmented  still  more  when  ammoniacal  salts  and 
phosphatic  manure  have  been  also  added.  Pure  potash 
manures  have  not  increased  potato  crops ;  when  ammoniacal 
■alts  and  phosphates  have  been  added  as  well,  a  slightly 
greater  yield  has  been  obtained,  but  not  sufficiently  to  make 
tiie  employment  of  these  manurial  agents  profitable.  In  the 
cultivation  of  the  beet-root  the  facts  are  precisely  the  sanie. 
The  experiments  upon  which  these  conclusions  are  based 
were  naade  upon  a  large  scale  in  a  part  of  the  domain  of 
TEcole  de  Grignon. 

M.  Rakowitsch  proposes  a  method  of  examining  flour  by 
means  of  chloroform.  The  follow! ug  are  the  results  which 
he  says  may  be  gathered  from  an  experiment  capable  of  being 
made  in  a  few  minutes: — ^The  amounts  of  bran,  the  moisture 
between  10  and  25  per  cent,  the  damaged  flour,  the  mineral 
matters,  the  ergot  of  rye,  and  other  impurities.  The  whole 
of  these  are  determined  by  the  relative  specific  gravities  of 
the  different  substances  in  chloroform.  The  flour  is  simply 
placed  in  a  tube  and  mixed  with  chloroform ;  the  chloroform 
is  enabled  to  hold,  in  very  thorough  suspension,  the  pure 
flour,  while  the  other  matei  ials  are  not  thus  suspended.  By 
adding  spirits  of  wiue  of  95°,  the  flour  is  precipitated  to  the 
bottom  of  the  tube.  The  more  humid  the  flour,  the  more 
spirits  of  wine  must  be  added,  and  thus  the  amount  of  hu- 
midity in  the  flour  is  arrived  at 

Febhuabt  24,  1868. 

JVodueium  of  Cfd&rxM  and  Oxygen,^ ProducU  of  Ihe  dow 

Omdaiion  of  pfuMphorm. — IHfuxUm   and  Eadosmoae.^ 

^^  ^  ^ciion  of  Ocnnmon  Salt  cu  a  Manurial  Agent — 

-^'^/'u^egceff^  ^^^^^ertie8  of  Sulphurie  Ether, 

^^^J^fi.  ^e/h  rrs   brought  before  the  Academy  at  the 

^^  ^-^i!Ao  ^^    af  February,  were  the  following  :-A 


memoir  on  the  production  of  chlorine  and  oxygen,  by  M. 
Mallett;  on  opsone  and  phosphoric  acid,  the  result  of  the 
slow  oxidation  of  phosphorus,  from  M.  Hlondlot ;  a  memoir 
relating  to  diffusion,  endosmose,  molecular  moveroeut  ^ 
from  M.  Dubrunfaut ;  on  the  mode  of  action  of  common  salt 
employed  as  a  manure,  by  M.  Jean ;  a  note  on  the  ami- 
putrescent  properties  of  sulphuric  ether,  from  M.  Martin ; 
analyses  of  some  waters  from  the  thermal  springs  of  iscfaia, 
near  Naples,  by  MM.  M^ne  and  Rocca  Tagliato.  The  section 
of  rural  economy  has  presented  the  following  list  of  candidates 
for  the  place  vacant  in  it  from  the  death  of  M.  Rayer:^i) 
M.  Reiset ;  (2)  MM.  Bouley,  Dubrunfaut,  and  Uerve  Mangon ; 
(3)  M.  Richard. 

M.  Mallett*s  memoir  was  an  explanation  of  a  process  to 
which  he  called  the  attention  of  the  Academy  last  year. 
He  remarked  that  the  fixation  of  the  atmospheric  oxygen 
upon  protochloride  of  copper,  permitted  either  of  making  the 
latter  yield  the  oxygen,  or  yield  chlorine  upon  addition  of 
hydrochloric  acid.  The  absorption  of  oxygen  by  proto- 
chloride of  copper  is  spontaneous ;  the  air  l^ing  ordinarily 
moiit,  it  will  be  complete  in  a  few  hours,  if  fresh  surfeces  be 
renewed  But  elevation  of  temperature,  and  this  is  a  main 
point,  induces  a  much  more  rapid  absorption ;  at  tempera- 
tures between  100°  and  200",  as  well  as  at  higher  tempera- 
tures in  the  presence  of  water,  this  absorption  may  be  con- 
sidered as  almost  instautaneous.  By  this  process  100  kilog. 
of  chloride  of  copper  (cuprous  chloride),  usually  mixed  with 
inert  matter  for  oouvenience,  will  yield  3  to  3^  cubic  metres 
of  oxygen,  or  6  to  7  cubic  metres  of  .clilorine,  and  as  four  or 
five  operations  may  be  made  in  four  and-twenty  hours,  this 
quantity,  100  kilog.,  would  yield  15  to  18  cubic  metres  of 
oxygen,  or  200  to  300  kilog.  of  chloride  of  lime,  during  the 
same  time :  the  price  of  the  chloride  of  copper  does  not  ex- 
ceed I  franc  the  kilogramme. 

When  phosphorus  undergoes  slow  combustion  in  air.  It 
is  generally  considered,  M.  Blondlot  says,  that  ozone  and 
phosphorous  acid  are  produced ;  these  two  bodies  being  in- 
compatible, he  thought  the  matter  worthy  of  investigation. 
For  this  purpose,  he  took  a  flask  of  several  litres  capadty, 
closed  with  a  cork  carrying  two  tubes..  One  descending  to 
the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  communicatod  at  the  upper  extrem- 
ity, by  means  of  a  caoutchouc  tube,  with  a  reservoir  of  water 
furnished  with  a  tap ;  the  other  was  simply  a  curved  tube 
for  the  delivery  of  the  gas.  In  the  ascending  portion  of  this 
tube  he  placed  a  thin  cylinder  of  phosphorus  about  15  cen- 
timetres in  length.  This  arrangement  made,  a  fine  jet  of 
water  was  made  to  issue  into  the  flask,  when  the  air  was 
expelled,  bubble  by  bubble,  between  the  phciq»honis  and 
the  sides  of  the  tube.  The  resulting  gas,  collected  in  the 
usual  way,  was  washed  at  several  intervals  with  water, 
until  white  vapours  had  completely  disappeared.  Two  im- 
portant facts  have  been  demonstrated  by  the  experiment 
The  first  is,  that  if  the  ambient  air  should  not  attain  vig- 
orously 12**,  when  it  leaves  the  apparatus,  it  wiU  have 
acquired  distinctly  the  characteristic  odour  of  ozone,  but  it 
will  not  affect  iodide  of  potassium  and  starch  paper;  while 
if  the  air  of  the  apparatus  is  at  12"  to  13'*,  these  same  papers^ 
suspended  in  the  receiving  flasks,  become  as  distinctly  blue 
as  if  the  temperature  had  been  much  higher.  The  second 
is  that,  whatever  temperature  one  operates  at,  the  white  va- 
pours which  escape  flrom  the  apparatus  are  composed  exclu- 
sively of  phosphoric  acid,  without  admixture  of  phosphorous 
acid.  There  is  no  difference  in  the  product  after  the  greater 
part  of  the  oxygen  has  been  withdrawn  from  the  air,  U)is 
condition  being  attained  by  collecting  the  escaping  gaws  in 
a  flask  over  water,  and  then  making  the  phosphorus  nndei^ 
stow  combustion  in  these  collected  gases.  To  be  enabled  to 
prove  that  phosphoric  acid  is  the  only  product  of  oombustioo, 
it  suffices  to  pass  the  escaping  gases  into  distilled  water. 
The  solution,  very  distinctly  acid,  being  exactly  neutralised 
with  potash,  causes  in  nitrate  of  silver  a  yellow  preeipitote; 
it  does  not  decolourize  permanganate  of  potash,  and  intro- 
duced into  a  Marsh's  apparatus,  produces  no  green  fiaraei 
This  being  so,  it  would  seem  curious  why,  in  ihe  daas  ex- 


Bdltion,VdLX7ZL,No.432,Iiaffesl30,131;  JTo.  433,  pag«  14ft.] 


phosphoric  acidf  to  which  a  few  pieces  of  phosphorus  have 
been  added,  and  corked,  a  portion  of  the  phosphoric  acid  is 
speedily  converted  into  phosphorous  acid  according  to  the 
equation  3P0»  +  2P  =  sPOj.  From  this  it  follows  that  when 
small  sticks  of  phosphorus  are  exposed  in  narrow  tubes,  to 
the  action  of  moist  air,  the  phosphorous  acid  produced  is  the 
result  of  a  deoxidation  of  the  higher  oxide  first  produced. 
In  conclusion,  M.  Blondlot  states  that,  whatever  be  the 
rapidity  of  the  combustion,  when  phosphonis  undergoes 
combustion  in  air,  phosphoric  acid  is  the  only  product. 

M.  Dubrunfaut  placed  before  the  Academy  a  number  of 
theorems  relating  to  diflVision  and  endoemoee.  Among  others, 
these: — Diffusion  is  always  a  molecular  property,  whether 
manifested  with  or  without  diaphragpins  (the  first  condition 
being  considered  endosmose,  the  second,  diffusion).  It  is 
always'  accompanied  by  the  double  current,  observed  by 
Priestley  and  Dut rochet,  and  it  is  the  result  of  an  attractive 
force  which  is  developed  by  the  juxtaposition  of  molecules  of 
matter  of  different  kinds,  or  of  molecules  of  matter  in  a  dif- 
ferent physical  state.  The  effects  of  diffusion  and  endosmose 
are  referable  to  one  force — difibsion,  which,  though  exerted 
at  insensible  distances,  cannot  be  said  to  result  from  contact, 
since  these  distances  are  really  great,  and  depend  upon  the 
finite  dimensions  of  the  molecules  of  the  matter  operated 
npon.  The  force  of  diffusion  is  always  exerted  in  one  direc- 
tion, which  is  normal  at  the  surface  of  contact  of  the  fiuids. 
It  varies  in  intensity  with  different  fluids,  and  with  fluids  of 
different  densities,  wherefore,  also,  with  the  temperature  and 
pressure.  Mechanical  work  in  commensurable  degree  is  per- 
formed. In  fact,  fiulds  which  mix  with  great  perfection  offer 
with  the  displacement  of  their  centres  of  gravity  useful  data 
wherewith  to  calculate  the  work  performed  in  producing  the 
mixtures. 


Mabgh  2,  1S68. 

Meeiion  of  Jf  Bovley, — M,  Le  Verrier^s  Aanstanta. — PhyHeal 
Properties  and  (Morijic  Power  of  Petroleum, — Analysis  of 
Vegetable  TLssuea.-^Corresponding  Term  to  Bemoic  Acid  in 
the  KcfphtMUc  Series, — IHastase, 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  held  on  the 
2nd  of  March,  the  election  of  a  member  in  the  place  vacant  in 
the  section  of  rural  economy,  was  proceeded  with.  M. 
Bouley  was  the  successful  candidate.  The  meeting  was 
essentially  stormy.  M.  Deville  had  at  the  previous  meeting 
defended  in  very  energetic  terms  M.  Foucault  against  some 
imputations  M.  Le  Terrier  had  cast  upon  his  memory.  M. 
Le  Verrier  denied  at  this  meeting  that  he  had  any  other  pur- 
pose than  to  do  the  amplest  justice  to,  and  exalt  the  fame  of, 
the  illustrious  deceased.  Afterwards  another  question  be- 
came involved.  The  president,  M.  Delaunay,  considered  it 
right  that  the  name  of  the  assistant  who  discovered  the  96th 
little  planet  should  be  made  known ;  he  said :  "  I  have  the 
honour  to  inform  the  Academy  that  the  young  man  to 
whom  the  discovery  of  the  96th  little  planet  is  due,  is  M. 
Goggia."  M.  Le  Verrier  replied  that  only  one  result  could 
follow  from  M.  Delaunay^s  remarks — disorder  in  the  observa- 
tory of  Marseilles.  He  said  that  the  young  gentlemen  who 
discovered  planets  at  Marseilles  did  not  deserve  to  be  cited ; 
the  work  they  did  was  simply  manual,  and  required  no  know- 
ledge of  astronomy.  They  were  very  well  satisfied,  he  also 
said,  with  their  condition ;  they  received  for  every  planet 
discovered  an  increase  in  salary  of  250  fr.,  and  a  gold  medal. 
A  general  protest  from  the  members  followed  this  state- 
ment 

M.  Deville  brought  before  the  Academy  at  the  stance  of 
the  9th  March  a  memoir  on  the  physical  properties  and  the 
calorific  power  of  petroleum  and  mineral  oils.  A  large  num- 
ber of  samples  were  experimented  with.  The  mineral  oil 
wa«  Bubmitied  to  distillation  in  a  copper  alembic  furnished 


below  140°.  The  same  experimental  fact  represents  as  well 
the  loss  ^  hich  must  be  sustained  to  remove  the  explosive 
property  of  the  oil.  Another  danger  is  encountered  when 
the  oils  are  enclosed  in  air-tight  vessels— explosion  by  dila- 
tion. The  amount  of  space  necessary  to  be  left  above  a 
mineral  oil  is  calculated  from  the  coefficient  of  dilation.  The 
data  M.  Deville  has  obtained  from  each  sample  are  drawn 
generally  from  the  following  determinations.  Loss  by  heat- 
ing to  100°,  to  120**,  and  so  on,  by  intervals  of  20**  up  to 
200" ;  this  is  expressed  in  percentages  Composition  of  the 
oil,  i.«.,  percentages  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  ob- 
tained by  combustion.  Density  at  zero,  and  at  50",  and 
coefficient  of  dilation.  Composition  and  density  of  the  oil 
obtained  by  distillation,  and  density  of  the  residue.  In 
some  cases  the  specific  heat  has  been  determined,  and  the 
latent  heat  at  the  mean  temperature.  M.  Deville's  memoir 
contained  tables  giving  an  immense  number  of  experimental 
results ;  it  is,  however,  only  a  first  memoir ;  more  upon  the 
subject  will  be  brought  before  the  Academy  shortly.  Per- 
haps it  will  not  be  without  interest  to  tell  your  readers  that 
M.  Deville  has  undertaken  this  research  by  command  of  the 
Emperor,  to  report  upon  the  most  advantageous  arrange- 
ments to  adopt  for  the  economic  and  safe  employment  of 
mineral  oils,  with  especial  reference  to  its  use  in  trausporta 
M.  Elie  de  Beaumont  drew  M  Deville's  attention  to  a 
blackish  schist  which  occurs  at  Vassy,  near  Availon,  as  a 
source  of  oily  matter ;  this  schistous  substance  extends  over 
a  very  large  area. 

MM.  £.  Fremy  and  Terrell  contributed,  at  the  same  meet- 
ing, a  memoir  upon  a  general  method  for  the  immediate 
analysis  of  vegetable  tissues.    In  wood  they  recognise  th9 
existence  of  three  principles.    The  first  component  cannot 
be  easily  mistaken  ;  it  is  insoluble  in  sulphuric  acid,  contain- 
ing two  equivalents  of  water ;  it  is  further  transformed  by 
chlorine  water  into  a  yellow  substance,  and  afterwards  dis- 
solved, nitric  acts  in  the  same  way  as  chlorine;  it  is  not 
soluble  in  potash  solution,  either  dilute  or  concentrated.  The 
substance  is  distinguished  by  the  name  of  the  ligneous 
cuticle;  it  has  also  been  designated  by  M.  Hartig  by  the 
name  of  enstaihe^  in  consequence  of  its  g^eat  stability.    The 
second  component  of  ligneous  tissue  has  been  studied  by  M. 
Payen,  under  the  name  odncrusting  substance:  qualitatively, 
they  recognise  its  existence  by  its  solubility  in  sulphurio 
acid,  which  becomes  blackened,  and  afterwards  by  its  insolu- 
bility in  alkaline  solutions  and  in  chlorine  water.    The  third 
component  is  cellulose.     When  pure,  cellulose   dissolves 
without  giving  rise  to  colouration  in  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid,  and  water  does  not  precipitate  it  from  the  solution ;  it 
is  difficultly  attackable  by  chlorine  water,  and  by  nitric  acid. 
They  detail  in  their  memoir  the  actual  process,     i  grm.  of 
the  sawdust  dried  at  130"  is  introduced  into  a  fiask,  with 
about  a  litre  of  chlorine  water,  and  allowed  to  remain  here 
for  thirty-six  hours.    The  chlorine  water  dissolves  the  ligne- 
ous cuticle  and  certain  parts  of  the  incrustiug  matter ;  it 
leaves  in  an  insoluble  state,  cellulose  mixed  with  a  part  r 
the  incrusting  matter,  which  has  been  transformed  into 
acid  completely  soluble  in  potash.    This  residue  left  by 
chlorine  water  is,  therefore,  treated  with  an  alkaline 
tion,  afterwards  washed  with  acid,  then  with  waf- 
finally  dried  at  130*".    Cellulose  is  thus  obtained  ir 
of  absolute  purity.    Determinations  gave  40  per  oe*- 
substance  for  oaK  Wood  and  39  per  cent,  for  the  w 
ash.    For  the  determination  of  the  ligneous  r 
take  again  i  grm.  of  sawdust,  and  submit  it  to 
sulphuric  acid,  containing  4  equivalents  of  we' 
six  hours;  the  portion  which  it  is  required  t' 
remains  insoluble;  in  some  cases  they  re^ 
other  containing  only  2  equivalents  of  w 
is  washed  with  water  and  with  an  alkali 
washings  are  no  longer  coloured}  it 


[BngUah  XhUtiMi,  VoL  Z7IL,  V«.  433^  PHW 1^  143 ;  Ko.  4H  VH««  ^^ 


mined  oy  airrerence.  ±>ut  una  part  oi  tne  wooa  i8  coraposea  oi 
several  substances,  and  they  separate  them  thus  :  (a)  maJLter 
soluble  in  boiling  water ;  (b)  bodies,  probably  of  the  nature 
of  pectose,  which  dissolve  in  dilute  solutions  of  alkali;  (c) 
matter  rendered  soluble  in  alkaline  solutions,  by  treatment 
with  moist  chlorine.  For  instance,  in  the  ligneous  tissue  of 
oak  wood,  they  estimated  the  incrusting  matter  by  differ- 
ence, at  40  per  cent. ;  then  they  found  a  10  per  cent  ,615 
per  cent.,  and  c  15  per  cent. 

Dr.  A.  W.  Eofmann  contributed  a  memoir  on  the  corre- 
sponding term  to  benzoic  acid  in  the  naphthalic  series,  M. 
Payen,  a  memoir  entitled  **  extraction  and  properties  ot  dias- 
tase ;  "  there  were  also  several  other  very  interesting  papers, 
accounts  of  which  will  probably  be  introduced  in  your  cor- 
respondent's next  letter. 


OHJBMICAL  SOCIETY. 

Thuraday,  March  5,  1868. 

Db.  Wabbut  dm  ul  Bcjs,  PB.S.,  Ac,  President,  in  the 

Chair. 
Thb  minutes  of  the  two  previous  meetings  were  read  and 
confirmed,  and  a  long  list  of  donations  to  the  library 
announced.  Dr.  Schenk,  Mr.  Vospor,  and  Mr.  Gilbert 
W.  Child,  were  formally  admitted  as  Fellows  of  the  Society, 
and  the  following  gentlemen  were  duly  elected,  viz.,  Dr. 
Benjamin  H.  Paul,  8,  Gray's  Tnn  Square;  Mr.  Thomas  W. 
"White,  Ifleld,  near  Crawley,  Sussex ;  Edward  Dowson,  M  D., 
117,  Park  Street,  London.  Mr.  Eleinhold  Bichtcr,  of  the 
Rotharastead  Laboratory,  was  also  elected  as  an  Associate. 
The  candidates  proposed  for  adml^^sion  were  John  Tyndall, 
LL.D.,  F.BS.,  Fullerian  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Royal 
Institution  of  Great  Britain ;  Frederick  Guthrie,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S. 
Edin.,  Lecturer  on  Chemistry  in  the  College  of  Mauritius ; 
William  Brantiugham  Giles,  Chemist  at  the  Borax  Works, 
Old  Swan,  Liverpool  For  the  second  timo  were  read  the 
names  of  Mr.  R.  Calvert  Clapham,  Walker  Alkali  Company's 
Works,  Newcaatle-upon-Tyue ;  Rustomjee  Byramjee,  M.D., 
Assistant-Sur^n  in  Her  Majesty's  Bombay  Army;  and 
Edward  Menzel,  Ph.D.,  recommended  by  the  Council  to  be- 
come an  Associate. 

The  names  of  officers  and  other  members  of  Councfl  pro- 
posed for  election  at  the  anniversary  meeting  on  the  30th 
of  March  were  announced.  For  President,  Dr.  Warren  de 
la  Rue,  F.RS.,  F.R.A.S,  &c  For  Vioe-l*residents.  Dr.  E. 
Prankland,  P.R.S.,  and  Dr.  J.  H.  Gilbert,  F.R.&  For  For- 
eign Secretary,  Prof.  F.  A.  Abel,  P.R.Sw  New  Members  of 
Council:— Dr.  E.  Atkinson,  Dr.  E.  J.  Mills,  Mr.  W.  H,  Per- 
kin,  F.R.S ,  and  Mr.  John  Williams. 

Professor  J.  A.  Wanklyn  read  a  paper  '^  On  (he  AcHon 
of  Oxidising  Agents  on  Organic  Compounds  in  Presence  of 
Excesa  of  AlkcUi,"  of  which  Mr.  E.  T.  Chapman  and  himself 
were  joint  authors.  Part  I.  "  Ammonia  evolved  by  Alkaline 
Permanganates  acting  on  Organic  Nitrogenous  Compounds." 
It  has  already  been  shown  in  previous  communications  that 
albumen  evolves  ammonia  when  submitted  to  the  action  of 
alkaline  permanganates,  and,  further,  it  is  asserted  that  this 
ammonia  is  perfectly  constant  in  quantity,  and  always  pro- 
portional to  the  amount  of  albumen  employed,  although  the 
whole  of  the  nitrogen  does  not  take  this  form.  The  authors 
have  now  extended  this  inquiry  to  organic  nitrogenous  sub- 
stances ic  general,  and  find  the  action  to  be  definite,  yielding 
proportions  of  ammonia  varying  with  the  nature  of  the  body 
acted  upon,  and  sometimes  the  entire  quantity  was  obtained. 
A  number  of  typical  substances  were  selected  for  examina- 
tion with  the  following  results:— 

Class  I.  Bodies  furnishing  the  toJiole  of  the  nitrogen  in 
the  form  of  ammonia:  amylamine,  di-amylamine,  aspara- 
gine,  piperine,  piperidine  (sulphate),  narootine,  diphenyl- 
tetramide,  and  hippuric  acid. 


(suipnate),  cmcnoume  (suipnatej,  uicotme,  napntnylamiae^ 
toluidine,  and  rosaniline  (acetate). 

Class  IIL  Creatine,  which  gives  off  one-third  of  its  con- 
tained nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia  upon  distiUatioa 
with  the  alkaline  permanganate,  is  conceived  to  contain  the 
remaining  two-thirds  in  the  form  of  urea,  which  by  previous 
experiment  was  found  to  give  only  nitrogen  and  nitric  add. 
It  is,  therefore,  concluded  that  sarcosine,  which,  together 
with  the  elements  of  urea,  make  up  the  original  creatine, 
wiU  furnish  the  whole  of  its  nitrogen  as  ammonia, — ^a  sup- 
position which  awaits  the  confirmation  of  direct  triaL 

Class  IV.   Theine,  gives  off  one-fourth  of  the  nitrogen. 

Class  y.  includes  bodies  which  evolve  various  proporUoni 
of  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia.  100  parts  pf  uric  add 
give  about  7  parts  of  ammonia;  caseine  76  parts,  dry  alba- 
men  about  10  parts,  and  gelatine  127  parts  of  ammonia 
Picric  acid,  as  the  type  of  a  nitro-compound.  gives  do  am- 
monia on  treatment  with  alkaline  permanganate. 

The  authors  ^ally  conclude  that  nitro-nitrogen  does 
not  give  ammonia;  that  amidogen,  imidogen,  and  perhaps 
nitrogen,  are  evolved  in  the  form  of  ammonia  from  organic 
bodies  derived  from  marsh  gas  and  its  homologuea.  Com- 
pounds derived  fix)m  hydrocarbons  below  marsh  gas  do  not 
give  up  the  whole  of  the  nitrogen  as  anunonia.  The  anoma- 
lous results  obtained  in  the  case  of  urea  are  explained  by 
the  circumstance,  that  no  oxidation  of  this  substance  is  pos- 
sible without  destruction  of  the  amidogen.  The  authon 
reserve  the  full  consideration  of  the  residual  nitrogen  {vk 
cases  where  there  is  any),  and  of  other  complementary 
products  of  the  oxidation. 

A  short  discussion  then  took  plaoe,  having  reference  to 
the  means  of  purification  of  distilled  water  and  the  applici- 
tion  of  the  Nessler  test,  in  which  Messrs.  Dugald  CampbeD, 
Wanklyn,  Chapman,  and  Thorp  took  part 

The  President  exhibited  some  interesting  examples  of 
phosphorescent  salts,  arranged  in  series  so  as  to  iroUiite 
the  colours  in  the  solar  spectrum.  A  butterfly  al90,  wi& 
gorgeous  wings  extended,  was  constructed  by  pladng  the 
various  salts  in  patches  against  a  glass  plate.  These  illus- 
trations were  the  work  of  M.  Gaiffe,  and  were  said  to  have 
been  prepared  from  the  sulphates  of  barium,  calcium,  &c^ 
reduced  by  heating  with  carbon  to  the  state  of  sulphides. 
To  start  the  phosphorescent  activity  of  these  salts  Ihd  frames 
were  exposed  to  the  intense  light  given  out  during  the  com- 
bustion of  about  six  inches  of  magnesium  ribbon.  [Ths 
phenomenon  was  exliibited  with  good  effect  in  the  meeting- 
room  after  the  gas-lights  had  been  lowered.] 

A  "Nfie  on  Dr.  FranklandCs  Process  of  Water  Anal^"* 
was  read  by  Mr.  E.  T.  Chapman.  The  author  calls  in  qaes- 
tion  the  accuracy  of  the  method  lately  proposed  for  the  de- 
struction of  nitrates  in  natural  watery  by  evaporating  with 
aqueous  sulphurous  acid,  even  when  perchloride  of  iron  or 
phosphoric  acid  is  added  to  the  portion  of  liquid  under  treat- 
ment. The  objections  raised  were,  firstly,  that  the  decompo* 
sition  was  incomplete ;  and,  eecondly,  that  the  sulphuric  aod 
formed,  or  other  free  acids  present  in  solution,  would  decom- 
pose a  portion  of  the  organic  matter  and  entail  a  loss  of  car- 
bon. ' 

Mr.  CHAPMA.N  then  proceeded  to  read  a  ^Ifote  on  the  Edir 
motion  of  Nitric  Acid  in  Potable  Waters  "  This  analytical 
method  depends  upon  the  reduction  of  the  nitric  a<^  to 
ammonia  by  the  action  of  nascent  hydrogen — a  conditioo 
practically  ensured  by  distilling  the  water  with  pure  caostie 
soda,  to  expel,  in  the  first  instance,  any  ready-formed  ammo- 
nia, then  cooling  the  contents  of  the  retort  and  intnidudi^ 
aluminium  foil,  wliicli,  during  solution,  effects  the  redoctioo 
of  the  nitrates  to  ammonia.  Alter  standing  for  several  boon 
heat  is  again  applied,  and  the  distillation  proceeded  with 
until  no  more  ammonia  comes  over.  The  amount  of  the 
latter  is  ascertained  cither  by  the  Nessler  test,  or  by  tbt 
method  of  titration  with  standard  add.    The  pos^ble  occa^ 


[EqgUaIi  Edlttsjn,  ToL  3^711  ^  Ifo,  43<  pagB  :55 ;  Wp.  42%,  pa^M  127, 138.J 


Jfoy,  1808.    *f 


{jnemKm  oociety. 


237 


rence  of  nitrates  in  the  caustic  soda  employed  is  to  be  guarded 
against,  and  some  special  precautions  are  taken  for  the  pur- 
pose of  avoiding  loss  of  ammonia  bj  diffusion  of  air  into  the 
apparatus 

Dr.  WiLUAMSON  inquired  whether,  in  proceeding  to  effect 
the  destruction  of  nitrates  bj  sulphurous  acid  in  the  presence 
of  proto-salts  of  iron,  Mr.  Chapman  had  exactly  adhered  to 
the  proportions  of  these  re-agents  prescribed  by  Dr.  Frank- 
land? 

Mr.  Chapman  said  he  had  used  even  double  the  quantity 
of  sulphurous  add  without  completely  decomposing  the  ni- 
tric aod. 

Dr.  OoLiNo,  in  rising,  said  that  he  was  not  about  to  offer 
any  testimony  as  to  the  truth  or  inaccuracy  of  either  of  the 
proposed  methods  of  determining  nitric  acid;  that  point  would 
be  ascertained,  not  by  discussion,  but  by  patient  in  vestigia  tion. 
It  appeared  to  him  possible  that  both  methods  of  operating 
would  give  successful  results  if  all  the  prescribed  conditions 
were  fulfilled.  On  referring  to  Br.  Frankland's  published  pa- 
per, which  he  held  in  his  hand,  he  found  nrecorded  a  specific 
experiment  iu  which  a  water  containing  nitrate  was  treated 
with  sulphurous  acid,  evaporated  to  dryness  in  vacuo,  and 
the  residue  afterwards  burnt  As  the  result  of  the  combus- 
tion, no  trace  of  nitrogen  was  obtained,  and  this  evidence 
seemed  to  be  perfectly  conclusive.  He  admitted  that  appa- 
rently trifling  modifications  in  the  mode  of  conducting  an 
experiment  might  sometimes  influence  the  result,  and  this 
showed  the  necessity  of  thoroughly  working  out  a  process 
before  submitting  it  to  public  criticism.  For  his  own  part  he 
could  not  help  saying  that  the  new  methods  lately  proposed 
by  Messrs.  Wanklyn  and  Chapman  would  have  met  with  a 
more  welcome  reception  at  the  hands  of  chemists,  if  the  re- 
sults, instead  of  being  published  piecemeal,  .had  been  kept 
back  until  a  complete  and  thoroughly  verified  system  of  an- 
alysis had  been  worked  out 

Professor  Wankltn  repudiated  the  accusation  of  having 
brought  forward  his  method  of  analysis  prematurely,  by 
asserting  that  all  the  details  published  in  June  last  had 
been  confirmed  by  evidence  since  obtained.  He  used 
now,  instead  of  a  litre  of  water,  only-  half  a  litre  for  the 
distillation,  and  in  other  trifling  respects  had  improved 
the  process.  He  would,  however,  insist  upon  the  truth  of 
the  leading  axiom,  that  the  amount  of  ammonia  obtained 
was  always  proportional  to  the  "  badness  "  of  the  water, 
and  the  method  was,  therefore,  in  all  cases,  applicable. 

Professor  Abel  said  that,  upon  the  first  appearance  of 
Messrs.  Wanklyn  and  Chapman^s  method  of  analysis, 
he  had  felt  it  his  duty  to  inquire  into  the  applicability  of 
the  new  process;  but  he  soon  found  that  modifications 
were  to  be  introduced,  and  that  statements  made  in  one 
paper  were  contradicted  in  the  next  He  had  failed  in 
arriving  at  such  definite  results  as  would  enable  him  to 
adopt  the  process  in  its  present  form,  and  he  entirely 
agreed  with  Dr.  Odling  in  considering  that  the  authors 
had  laid  themselves  open  to  the  accusation  of  having 
published  their  paper  somewhat  prematurely. 

After  a  few  words  from  Mr.  Chaphait,  the  President 
invited  Mr.  W.  H.  Peskin  to  read  his  paper  '^  On  the 
Hydflridt  of  Aeet(hSaUcyV^  In  the  present  communica- 
tion, the  author  gives  a  fuller  account  of  the  hydride  of 
aoeto-salicyl,  the  formation  of  which  was  mentioned  in  a 
previous  paper  when  treating  of  the  artificial  production 
-  of  counuirine.  The  body  in  question  was  prepared  by 
acting  with  acetic  anhydride  upon  the  hydride  of  sodium- 
aalicyl  in  the  state  of  ftne  powder  suspended  in  pure  ether.. 
After  twenty-four  hours'  contact  the  etherSal  fluid  was 
evaporated,  and  fximished  a  white  satin-like  crystalline 
mass  upon  cooling.  It  is  possessed  of  aldehydio  properties, 
and  has  the  following  composition: — 


fOOH  1 


B7  digesting  this  product  with  more  of  the  acetic  anhydride, 
Vol.  II.  No.  5.    May,  1868.  17 


another  crystalline  body  is  formed,  which  fuses  at  100' 
— loi^'C,  and  contains  the  elements  of  tiie  two  sub- 
stances which  give  rise  to  its  production.  Its  formula  is 
then — 

Cx,H,40.=C,H80a,  O^HeO^ 

The  rest  of  Mr.  Perkin's  paper  is  devoted  to  an  account 
of  the  formation  of  ooumafine,  from  which  it  appears 
that  this  body  is  only  formed  when  acetate  of  sodium  is* 
present,  together  with  the  other  ingredients  used  in  its 
production ;  this  apparent  anomaly  is  explained  by 
assuming  the  formatk>n,  in  the  first  instance,  of  the 
sodium-salt  corresponding  to  Gerhardt'a  **  anhydrous 
biacetate  of  potassium." 

A  paper  ^'  On  the  Absorption  of  Vapours  hy  Charcoal,^ 
by  John  Hiinter,  M.A.,  of  Queen's  College,  Belfast,  was 
read  by  the  Secretary.  This  communication  resumes  the 
subject  of  a  previous  experimental  inquiry,  and  describes 
the  amount  of  mixed  vapours,  as  well  as  of  a  number  of 
new  substances  in  a  state  of  vapour  absorbed  by  a  known 
volume  of  cocoa-nut  charcoal,  under  varying  circumstances 
of  temperature  and  pressure.  Among  the  substances 
examined  were  the  following  : — fithylamine,  iodide  of 
ethyl,  acetate  of  methyl,  oxalic  ether,  hydride  of  sallcyl, 
salicylic  acid,  iodide  of  amy],  naphthaline,  camphor, 
nitro-benxol,  bisulphide  of  carhop,  alcohol,  acetone,  and 
methylio  alcohol. 

The  next  pa^r  read  was  *<  On  t?ie  Occurrence  of 
Prismatie  Arsenww  Add^^  by  Mr.  Fbedbbiok  Claudbt. 
The  dimorphism  of  arsenious  acid  was  discovered  by 
Wohler,  who  found  in  the  flue  of  a  reverberatory  flirnaco 
crystals  of  this  substance,  produced  by  sublimation,  which 
were  not  octohedraL  The  author  exhibited  a  fine  sample 
of  a  product  naturally  formed  in  fissures  of  an  arsenical 
pyrites'  ore,  occurring  in  the  San  Domingos  mines, 
Portugal  This  proved  on. analysis  to  be  pure  arsenious 
acid  in  the  form  of  thin  plates,  similar  iu  appearance  and 
structure  to  the  mineral  selenite,  and  having  a  beautiful 
pearly  lustre.  The  spedflc  gravity  was  found  to  be  3*85, 
and  hardness  2*5.  An  analysis  of  the  ore  is  given,  from 
which  it  appears  that  araenic  occurs  to  the  extent  of  0-47 
per  cent,  and  copper  about  3  per  cent,  with  a  host  of 
other  metals  in  smaller  quantity,  including  a  trace  of 
thallium.  There  are  indications  in  the  mine  of  a  slow 
process  of  oxidation  having  been  going  on  for  many  years, 
and  the  mineral  t^'om  which  the  areenious  acid  was  taken 
remained  quite  hot  to  the  touch  after  it  had  been  raised 
fh>m  the  workings.  The  substance  in  question  is  believed 
to  be  the  result  of  a  very  slow  process  of  sublimation,  and 
the  form  is  probably  modified  by  the  sulphurous  atmos- 
phere pervading  those  parts  of  the  mine. 

Professor  Warington  Sutth,  having  been  invited  to 
speak,  said  he  was  not  converaant  with  the  locality  where 
these  crystals  were  found,  but  from  the  fuU  description 
given  by  the  author  he  thought  it  probable  that  his  specula- 
tions regarding  the  origin  of  the  substance,  were  correct 
It  was  interesting  as  furnishing  evidence  of  the  dimorphism 
of  arsenious  acid,  since  two  kinds  of  oxide  of  antimony 
were  previously  known. 

The  next  paper  was  by  Dr.  Stenhouse,  on  the  "  Action  of 
Nitric  Acid  on  Picramic  Acid."  The  author  reconciles  the 
conflicting  statements  regarding  the  nature  of  tiie  products 
of  this  action  by  showing  that,  according  to  the  degrees^of 
concentration  of  the  acid  employed  and  temperature  reached, 
the  products  are  a  mixture  in  variable  proportions  of  picric 
acid,  and  the  diazodinitrophenol  of  Greiss.  When  mudi 
nitrous  fume  is  evolved  the  latter  substance  is  the  principal 
product 

An  important  communication  <'  On  Chloranil — ^Part  L,'' 
by  the  same  author,  was  then  read.  In  following  the  best 
method  described  for  the  preparation  of  chloranil  f^om  phe- 
nol, that  of  A.  W.  Hofhiann, — ^the  substance  is  never  pro- 
duced in  the  theoretical  proportion,  but  by  superadding  a 
treatment  with  chloride  of  ic^e,  the  red  oil  and  terohlor> 


[BngUsh  Bdltloii,  VoL  ZTII.,  No.  43a,  (Mes  13^  ^^^ 


-^^« 


\J  ii^UVf/^UfV   KJl/iyf^UU* 


1      jray,186B. 


quinone  become  almost  completely  converted  into  chloranil, 
which  can  then  b3  purified  by  solution  and  crystallisation 
from  warm  benzol  The  action  of  hydrochloric  acid  and 
chlorate  of  potassium  upon  picric  acid  gave  but  a  small  pro- 
portion,— one-eighth  of  the  theoretical  quantity— of  chloranil, 
the  chief  product  being  chloropicrin.  For  tlie  preparation 
of  Stadeler's  chlorhydranU  Dr.  Stenhouse  directs  that  the 
chloranil  should  be  treated  with  moderately  strong  hydrio- 
dic  acid,  and  about  one-tenth  by  weight  of  ordinary  phos- 
phorus for  about  half  an  hour,  the  product  being  washed 
with  cold  water,  and  crystaliisod  from  boiling  alcohol.  By 
the  action  of  9ulphuroi«s  acid  on  chloranil  suspended  in 
boiling  water,  the  author  remarked  that  other  products  be- 
sides chlorhydranil  were  formed.  Free  acids  (sulphuric  and 
hydrochloric)  remained  In  solution,  wliich  were  separated  or 
neutralised  with  carbonate  of  lead,  and  sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen passed  through  the  liquid  precipitated  the  heavy  metal, 
^nd  left  still  in  solution  an  organic  compound,  which  was 
recovered  by  evaporation  to  dr3me8S  and  sublimation  from 
a  paraffin  bath  heated  to  1 20''  0.  Lustrous  crystals  were 
thus  obtained  which  proved  on  analysis  to  be  terchlorhydro- 
quiuone  C«ClaHaOa.  This  treated  with  nitric  acid  furnished 
terchlorquinone  GsClaHOa.  A  modification  of  this  process 
will,  it  is  expected  give  the  bichlor-  and  chlor-quinone  in  a 
state  of  purity.  The  author  concludes  with  some  observa- 
tions on  terchlorquinone  and  the  bromo-derivative,  which, 
not  yet  analysed,  is  believed  to  be  OsCUBrOa. 

Time  did  not  permit  of  the  reading  of  the  next  paper,  but 
Hr.  Chapman  made  a  short  verbal  statement  of  its  contents. 
It  is  entitled,  "  Action  of  Zinc  Ethyl  on  Nitrous  and  Nitric 
.  IXhen,^  by  E.  T.  Chapman  and  Miles  H.  Smith.  The  authors 
compared  the  action  of  zinc  ethyl  to  that  of  metals,  and 
show  that  when  operating  upon  nitrites  the  residual  pro- 
ducts are  nitrogen,  nitric  oxide,  or  the  intermediate  oxide 
NaO.  When  acting  with  sodium  upon  nitrite  of  amyl  a 
black  substance  is  formed,  which  nas  but  a  transitory 
existence,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  nitride  of  sodium,  NNa^. 
Undiluted  zinc-ethyl  attacks  nitrite  of  amyl  with  great  vio- 
lence, bursting  into  fiamo  when  placed  in  contact  with  it, 
but  if  previously  diluted  with  ether  its  action  may  be  con- 
trolled, and  gives  ri^e  to  the  production  of  idtric  oxide  gas 
and  a  honey-like  solid  mass  believed  to  have  the  following 
composition :— 

This  decomi)08ed  by  water  gives  hydrated  oxide  of  zioc, 
hydride  of  ethyl,  and  amylic  alcohol.  If  the  zinc  etliyl  be 
used  In  excess,  there  is  formation  of  Frankland's  dinitro- 
ethylate  of  zinc.  In  proof  of  this  the  barium,  and  subse- 
quently the  copper  salt,  were  prepared  and  analysed.  When 
only  a  small  proportion  of  ether  was  employed  to  moderate 
the  action,  the  following  change  occurred : — 

ZnO 

+  N  (C,H,),. 
The  triethylamine  was  recognised  by  its  power  of  neutralis- 
ing acids,  and  of  giving  by  limited  oxidation  only  acetic 
acid,  with  consumption  of  the  proper  amonnt  of  oxygen. 
The  reaction  between  pure  zinc  ethyl  and  nitrite  of  amyl 
was  characterised  as  giving  a  mixture,  which,  when  heated 
only  to  ^o'^C,  suddenly  exploded  with  a  degree  of  violence 
unsurpassed  by  any  fulminating  compound  of  which  the 
authors  had  previous  experience. 

The  Secretary  gave  notice  that  on  the  next  occasion,  19th 
instant,  Mr.  Chance  will  deliver  a  lecture  ^^  On  the  Manufac 
ture  of  Glass ; ''  and  that  Professor  Kolbe,  who  will  then  be 
in  London,  will  give  a  short  account  of  "  T?w  Direct  Trans- 
formation of  Garbona;te  of  Ammonia  into  Urea," 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  authors  of  the  seve- 
ral communications  read,  and  at  an  unusually  late  hour  the 
meeting  was  adjourned. 


Thursday^  March  19^ 

Db.  WiLRREsr  DB  LA  B(7E,   F.R3.,  Ac,  PresidaU,  in  the 

Chair, 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and  00a- 
firmed,  and  the  donations  to  the  library  were  announced. 

The  following  gentlemen  signed  the  statute  book,  and 
were  formally  admitted  as  Fellows  of  the  Society,  viz^, 
Professor  Hermann  Kolbe,  of  Leipsig;  Dr.  B.  H.  Paul, 
Messnt.  Herbert  M'Leod,  J.  R.  Carulla,  and  Peter  Griesa. 

Lieutenant  FranciaC.  H.  Clarke.  Royal  Artillery,  Staff  Col- 
lege. Faniborougli,  was  proposed  for  election,  and  the  names 
of  the  following  gentlemen  were  read  for  the  second  time : 
-^John  Tyndall,  LL.D.,  F.R.S..  <fca,  Royal  Institution  of 
Oreat  Britain ;  Frederick  Guthrie,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.K.,  Lecturer 
on  Chemistry  at  the  Royal  College  of  Mauritius ;  William 
Brantingham  Giles,  Old  Swan  £)nix  Works,  Liverpool 
Tlie  ballot  was  taken  for  the  following  gentlemen,  all  of 
whom  were  declared  unanimously  elected:  Mr.  R.  Calvert 
Ciapham,  Walker  Alkali  Company's  Works,  Newcastie-upon- 
Tyiie;  Dr.  Rustomjee  Byramjee,  Assistant-Surgeon  in  Her 
Majesty's  Bombay  Army ;  and  Dr.  Meuzel,  who  was  elected 
au  associate. 

The  names  of  officers  and  members  of  Council  proposed 
for  election  at  the  anniversary  meeting  on  Monday,  30th  in.sL, 
were  suspended  in  the  meeting-room. 

Professor  Kolbe  was  then  invited  by  the  President  to 
favour  the  Society  by  giving  an  account  of  his  experi- 
ments on  the  *'  Conversion  of  Carbonate  of  Ammonia  into 
Urea,*'  The  statement  made  by  Professor  Kolbe  bad  refer- 
ence to  the  production  of  artificial  urea  by  heating  in  sealed 
tubes  dry  carbonate  of  ammonia  to  a  degree  of  temperature  a 
little  lower  than  that  at  which  the  urea  formed  would  be 
again  destroyed.  The  speaker  likewise  referred  to  the  elee- 
trolysis  of  acetic  acid  which  furnished  a  new  add  isomeric 
with  glycolic  acid,  but  of  which  tlie  properties  were  as  yet 
but  imperfectly  known. 

Dr.  Frankland  briefly  interpreted  Professor  Kolbe^sxe- 
marks,  and  alluded  to  the  interest  attaching  to  the  investiga- 
tiou  of  the  new  isomer  of  glycolic  acid,  which  miglit  possi- 
bly throw  light  upon  the  question  of  the  equaUty  of  the 
value  of  the  four  bonds  of  carbon  in  these  bodies. 

Mr.  Henbt  Chance,  M.A.,  then  delivered  a  moat  intereit- 
ing  lecmre  *'  On  tlu  Manufacture  of  Glats^*^  an  acooantof 
which  is  unavoidably  postponed  until  next  wedK.  The 
author  briefly  sketched  the  history  of  this  manufactore^  aad 
quoted  several  analyses  of  various  kinds  of  glass.  The  ac- 
tion of  heat  in  causing  devitrification,  and  of  sunlight  as 
affecting  the  colour,  besides  other  considerations  having  re- 
ference to  permanence,  were  discussed.  Mr.  Qianoe  append- 
ed to  his  remarks  upon  glass  a  statement  of  bis  oaode  of 
treating  the  Rowley  Rag  basaltic  rock  of  South  Stafibrdshire. 
This  material  gives  by  fusion  a  black  obsidiau-like  gtaas, 
which  again  devitrified  furnishes  a  material  suitable  fix* 
building  purposes,  and  capable  of  ornamental  application. 
The  formation  of  soluble  silicate  of  soda  by  Gonage's  pnoess 
was  described,  and  some  of  the  corroded  flints  exhibited. 
An  excellent  series  of  samples  illustrative  of  the  mano&o- 
ture  of  glass,  and  of  the  two  materials  prodadble  from  Bow* 
ley  Rag,  were  laid  on  the  table  for  inspection. 

A  short  discussion  followed,  in  which  Dr&  Franktand, 
Williamson,  Miller,  Hugo  MuUer,  and  Mei«ra.  Dallmajrer. 
Church,  and  David  Forbes,  took  part.  The  aocommodatin 
afforded  by  the  meeting-room  was  as  usual  on  this  lectora 
evening  taxed  to  the  utmost  After  votes  of  thanks  had 
been  passed  both  to  Professor  Kolbe  and  Mr.  Chance,  and 
Messrs.  Duppa  and  Mills  had  been  appointed  auditorai  the 
meeting  was  adjourned  until  the  anniversary  on  Monday,  50U1 
inst.,  when  the  President  and  Treasurer  would  preaeat  tbdr 
reports. 

At  the  next  ordinary  meeting,  on  Thursday,  April  2Dd. 
Professor  Church  will  read  a  paper  entitled,  **  Chanktd  Bs- 
searches  on  some  New  and  Bare  OynUsh  Minerals  ;  "  and  there 
will  be  other  papers,  by  Messra  Perkin  and  Doppa,  '*  Om^ 


[BngUdiaditi«i,yoLZTIL,Na.43%pagal20;  No.  434»  pagM  Ifl^  153.] . 


^'^  iSf^SS^ }     Royal  Society  of  Edinhwrgh. — Pharmaceutical  Society. 


239 


OonUiiuHim  of  Glyoxylic  Acid,"*  and  by  Dr.  Odiing,  "  On 
GMiooBjfUc  Amide'^  On  the  second  ordinary  meeting  in  April, 
Professor  Guthrie  will  read  a  paper  '*  On  Gr(^>hic  For- 
mulct,'* 


ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

BelaHoi^  of  (he    Chemical   OonstUuiion   and   Physiologieal 
^  Actum  of  Medicine. — AddUion  of  Iodide  of  Methyl  to  Vege- 
tabU  AlkaUoida. 

At  one  of  the  recent  meetings  of  the  Royal  Sodety  of  Edin- 
burgh, a  very  interesting  paper  was  read  by  Drs.  Crum 
Brown  and  T.  R.  Fraser,  upon  the  influenoe  of  direct  chemi- 
cal addition  upon  the  physiological  action  of  substances. 
This  paper  is  the  first  of  a  series  which  may  be  expected  to 
throw  great  light  upon  one  of  the  most  interesting  questions 
which  can  suggest  themselves;  viz.,  the  relation  ezistmg 
between  the  chemical  constitution  and  the  physiological 
action  of  medicinal  and  poisonous  substances,  lliat  such  a 
relation  must  exist,  we  can  haye  no  doubt;  and,  indeed, 
attempts  have  been  made  by  some  to  establish  the  relation 
in  certain  cases.  Hitherto,  however,  the  subject  has  not 
received  that  systematic  investigation  which  it  is  now  receiv- 
ixig  at  the  hands  of  the  authors  of  the  paper. 

In  order  to  arrive  at  any  accurate  knowledge  as  to  the 
influenoe  which  diemical  constitution  exerts  upon  physio- 
logical action,  it  would  appear  to  be  desirable  to  take  sub- 
stances having  a  very  detloite  and  energetic  physiological 
action,  and  then  to  perform  upon  them  a  cheml<»l  operation, 
having  for  its  object  the  promotion  of  a  definite  change  in 
the  constitution,  and  to  examine  the  modification  which  the 
phy9iological  action  has  undergone.  Such  has  been  the  plan 
which  the  authors  have  pursued;  the  bodies  which  they 
have  chosen  for  examination  are  the  more  active  of  the 
vegetable  alkaloids,  and  the  chemical  operations,  of  which 
they  have  studied  the  effect,  has  been  the  direct  addition  of 
iodide  of  methyL  It  was  shown  by  How  that,  when  iodide 
of  methyl  acts  upon  strychnia,  brucia,  morphia,  and  other 
alkaloids,  it  adds  itself  to  them,  and  beautiful  crystalline 
bodies  are  produced  which  dlfibr  considerably  in  diaracter 
from  the  salts  of  the  alkaloids.  The  authors  have  already 
examined  the  physiological  action  of  the  bodies  produced 
by  the  addition  of  iodide  of  methyl  to  strychnia,  brucia, 
morphia,  thebaia,  codeia,  and  nlcotia. 

The  iodide  of  methyl-strychnium  is  prepared  by  first  treat- 
ing finely  pulverised  strychnia  with  a  solution  of  carbonate 
of  potash  in  dilute  alcohol,  and  then  adding  an  excess  of 
iodide  of  methyl  mixed  with  about  its  own  volume  of  rec- 
tified spirit,  and  digesting  In  a  flask  for  twenty-four  hours. 
The  spirit  is  thereafter  distilled  off,  the  residue  dissolved  in 
water,  and*  crystallised.  It  is  well  known  that  doses  of 
strychnia,  varying  from  one-twentieth  to  one-thirtieth  of  a 
grain,  rapidly  pr^uoe  in  rabbits  most  violent  convulsions, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  kill  the  animal;  the  phenomena  pro- 
duced being  due  to  a  localisation  of  its  action  on  the  cord. 
It  was  found  that  twelve  grains  of  iodide  of  methyl-strych- 
nium, when  administered  (by  subcutaneous  injection)  to  rab- 
bits weighing  three  pounds,  produced  no  effect  whatever. 
Fifteen  grains  produced  symptoms,  and  twenty  kUled;  bat 
the  animal  died  with  symptoms  altogether  different  from 
those  produced  by  strychnia.  In  place  of  violent  and  spas- 
modic convulsions  and  muscular  rigidity,  the  appearances 
were  those  of  paralysis  with  complete  general  flaccidity. 
The  spinal  motor  nerves  were  either  paralysed,  or  speedily 
became  so;  and,  instead  of  the  speedy  occurrence  of  mus- 
cular rigidity,  the  muscles  remained  flaccid,  contractile,  and 
alkaline  for  several  hours.  In  short,  by  the  addition  of 
iodido  of  methyl  to  strychnia,  the  toxic  properties  of  the 
latter  are  diminished  about  140  times ;  and  the  body  produced 
poesesses  the  physiological  action  of  curare;  viz.,  paralysis 
of  the  end-organs  of  the  motor  nerves. 

Similarly,  Brown  and  Fraser  have  discovered  that  the 
toxic  properties  of  bruda,  thebaia,  and  codeia  are  immensely 


diminished  by  the  addition  of  methyl ;  and  that  the  bodies 
produced,  instead  of  being,  aj  all  three  of  these  alkaloids 
are,  strongly  oonvulsent  possess,  on  the  contrary,  the  phys- 
iological action  of  curare.  Morphia,  as  is  well  known,  pos- 
sesses both  soporific  and  oonvulsent  properties;  its  toxic 
action  is  much  diminished  by  the  addition  of  iodide  of  me-- 
thyl;  its  oonvulsent  action  is  destroyed,  but  its  soporific 
action  remains.  The  above  are  amongst  the  chief  results 
wluch  have  been  obtained  by  the  authors,  and  appeared  to 
possess  such  interest  as  to  warrant  my  drawing  the  atten- 
tion of  your  readers  to  them. — BriUah  Medical  Journal 


PHARMACEUTICAL  SOCIETY. 
Wednesday^  March  4th. 
H.  Sttgden  Evans,  Esq.,  Vice-Preaideni,  in  the  Chair. 
Thb  minutes  of  the  preceding  meeting  were  read  and  con- 
firmed. 

Specimens  of  crab  oil,  cayenne  pepper  in  oUve  oil,  and 
other  interesting  drugs  from  British  Guiana  and  New-  South 
Wales^  were  presented  to  the  musenm  by  P.  L.  Simmouda, 
Esq. 

The  Chairman  directed  attention  to  a  spurious  jalap,  fbom 
New  York,  16  bales  of  which  had  been  offered  at  a  public 
sale, but  was  not  purchased.  He  thought  it  was  the  rose-scented 
jalap,  and  previous  to  the  meeting  he  had  shown  it  to  Pro- 
fessor Bentley,  who  thought  it  bore  a  great  resemblance  to 
the  specimen  of  rose-aceoted  jalap  in  the  museum. 

Mr.  D.  Hanbury,  F.R.9.,  who  read  a  paper  a  short  time 
since  "  On  the  Cultivation  of  Medicinal  PlaniA^^^  mentioned 
that  he  very  recently  dug  up  a  root  of  jalap  from  hl^father's 
garden,  at  Clapham,  which  was  planted  last  June  twelve- 
month. It  had  remained  in  the  open  ground  during  the 
winters  of  1866  and  1867.  One  tuber  had  product  six 
large  tubers  and  twent^v-four  small  ones.  He  thought  it  g^rew 
better  in  the  open  air  than  under  glass.  Unfortunat^y  the 
fiowering  was  too  late  tor  the  seeds  to  ripen.  This  circum* 
stance  goes  far  to  prove  that  jalap  might  be  cultivated  in 
Europe  with  ordinary  attention. 

In  reply  to  the  Chairman  and  Mr.  Morson,  Mr.  Hanbury 
said  that  he  was  not  prepared  to  speak  of  the  properties  of 
the  jalap,  not  having  tested  it  sufficiently. 

Mr.  IFmnet  had  examined  the  specimen  of  jalap  firom 
New  York,  on  the  table,  and  thought  it  differed  from  the 
rose-scented  jalap  in  the  museum :  it  possessed  a  peaty  odour 
which  the  other  did  not  « 

Professor  Attfibld  then  read  a  paper  "On^  Analyeif^  of 
the  Water  of  a  Bemarhabk  Medieval  Spring  m  Jomateo,'' 
which  he  had  received  for  analysis  in  May,  1867.  It  hadi 
been  sent  from  Jamaica  with  the  statement  that  thousands'  of 
the  negroes  had  for  weeks  flocked  to  the  spriag,  thinking  it 
was  a  cure  for  all  diseases.  It  was  dear,  inodorous,  and* 
strongly  alkaline  to  the  taste,  itsspedflc  gravity  being  i026<'6t 
An  imperial  gallon  contained  2493^  eTQ&  of  aolkl  nuitter, 
which  is  about  the  average  amount  of  saline  oompounds  in* 
sea  water,  but  tlie  author  thought  that  spring  water  contain- 
ing so  much  mineral  matter  had  never  been  known.  The 
constituents  in  one  gallon  were  :— 

Chloride  of  calcium 151000 grs.  ^ 

Chloride  of  sodium 981*00    " 

Chloride  of  ammonium » . .  2*43    ^* 

Water 6936857    « 

So  that  a  gallon  contained  about  3^  oz.  of  eliloride  of  cal* 
cium,  2  02.  of  salt,  and  2^  grs.  of  chloride  of  ammonium. 
Dr.  Attfield  had  tested  it  for  sulphates,  nitrates,  carbonates, 
potassium  and  magnesium  salts,  bromides,  iodides,  fluorides, 
sulphides,  phosphates,  nitrites,  silicates,  borates,  and  a  mim- 
ber  of  other  salts,  but  found  none^  and  animal  and  vegetable 
matter  were  also  absent.  The  proportion  of  chloride  of 
calcium  he  believed  to  be  unpreoedented.  There  was 
another  spring  in  Jamaica  of  a  thermal  character,  which 
contains  105  grs.  of  chloride  of  calcium  to  the  gallon ;  the 


(Baglldi  Bdltioa,  VoL  T7JL,JKo.  434,  page  153;  Wa  43^  p^Msl90^^^*  "^  ^33^PMl*  ^^-1 


240 


Glasgow  GTiemiGal  Society. 


)       May,  1868. 


saline  and  chalybeate  water  of  Harrowgate  contains  between 
120  and  130  gra.  of  chloride  of  calcium ;  and  the  water  of  the 
Dead  Sea,  25  per  cent  of  which  was  stated  to  be  solid 
matter,  also  contained  a  little  chloride  of  calcium.  The  gases 
dissolved  in  the  water  were  small  in  amount— one  gallou 
contained  3*33  cubic  inches  of  nitrogen,  1*55  of  oxygen,  and 
-50  of  carbonic  acid  In  sending  the  result' of  the  analysis 
to  Jamaica,  Dr.  Attfleld  asked  the  proprietors  of  the  estate 
to  send  him  some  information  on  the  history  of  the  spring 
and  topography  of  the  district,  thinking  it  would  be  of  geo- 
logical as  well  as  chemical  and  physiological  interest  From 
the  report  he  had  received  it  would  appear  that  the  water 
had  been  used  for  medicinal  purposes  upwards  of  forty  years. 
The  negroes  believed  it  a  cure  for  every  disorder,  but  it  was 
chiefly  used  for  scrofulous  affections,  glandular  swellings,  &a 
The  author  quoted  from  Pereira's  statement  of  the  thera- 
peuUc  action  of  chloride  of  calcium,  which  ahows  that  it  is 
most  useful  in  those  diseases  for  which  the  negroes  have 
recourse  to  the  medicinal  water.  The  spring  is  68  ft.  above 
the  Bed  level,  and  76  chains  from  it;  temperature,  82"*^; 
and  it  makes  its  appearance  in  the  diluvial  gravel  that  nearly 
tills  a  small  brook  known  as  the  Saint  Ann's  Great  River. 
Dr.  Attfleld  presumed  it  was  of  volcanic  origin. 

The  Chairman  said  they  were  very  much  obliged  to  Dr. 
Attfleld  for  his  paper,  which  contained  a  number  S[  points  of 
great  interest 

Mr.  0.  H.  Wood  suggested  that  it  might  be  used  to  water 
the  road,  as  an  artificial  water  was  manufactured  for  that 
purpose. 

Mr.  G.  H.  Wood  read  a  paper  '^  On  the  Syrup  of  Bypo- 
phosphite  of  Iron/*  in  which  he  referred  to  the  disadvan- 
tages of  the  processes  given  in  the  PharvnacetUieal  Jowmal 
voL  vii.  p.  440)  and  *  ParrUKs  American,  Pharmacy,  He 
had  made  a  good  syrup,  containing  2  grs.  of  hypophos- 
phite  of  iron  in  i  dram,  by  dissolving  480  grs.  of  granulated 
sulphate  of  iron  in  i  ounce  of  dilute  phosphoric  acid  and  i.i 
ounce  of  distilled  water,  then  reducing  326  grs.  of  pure  hypo- 
phosphite  of  lime  to  fine  powder,  adding  to  it  the  solution  of 
sulphate  of  iron,  and  triturating  before  transferring  to  calico. 
The  liquid  was  then  pressed  out,  filtered,  and  mixed  with 
seven  times  its  volume  of  simple  syrup, 
.  The  OuAiKMAN  thanked  Mr.  Wood  for  his  practical  paper, 
and 

Mr.  UuNET  referred  to  a  process  for  the  preparation  of 
the  syrup  which  contained  i  gr.  of  hypophosphite  of  iron  to 
the  dram,  but  he  thought  Mr.  Wood's  process  was  an  im- 
iprovement 

Dr.  Attfebld  asked  Mr.  Wood  if  he  had  experienced  any 
•danger  in  preparing  the  hypophosphite  of  lime.  He  had 
heani  of  an  explosion  occurring,  even  when  it  was  dried  at  a 
low  temperature,  130  to  140^ 

Mr.  Wood  had  not  attempted  to  make  any  quantity,  on 
.account  of  phosphoretted  hydrogen  being  evolved,  which 
would  prove  an  annoyance  to  the  neighbourhood. 

Professor  Redwood  had  never  heard  of  an  explosion  tak- 
ilng  place  in  the  preparation  of  hypophosphite  of  lime,  but 
.in  preparing  hypophosphite  of  soda,  it  was  necessary  to  dry 
at  a  very  low  temperature,  to  prevent  an  explosion. 

Professor  Attfield  described  a  laboratory  experiment 
relating  to  ^^  Magnetic  Hydrate  of  Iron,^  He  had  added 
:an  alkali  to  a  solution  of  ferrous  and  ferric  sulphate,  in 
molecular  proportions,  and  obtained  the  usual  black  hydrate 
•of  iron  having  the  well-known  property  of  being  attracted 
by  a  magnet,  even  when  the  latter  was  simply  immersed  in 
itbe  mixture.  He  then  precipitated  appropriate  quantities  of 
ferric  hydrate  and  ferrous  hydrate  in  separate  vessels ; 
neither  of  the  precipitates  was  attracted  by  a  magnet  The 
•contents  of  the  vessels  were  then  well  mixed,  when  a  hy- 
•drate  resulted,  which  at  first  was  not  at  all  magnetic,  feebly  at- 
itracted  a/ter  ten  mhiutes,  its  attraotability  slowly  increasing 
.until,  after  twenty -(out  hours,  it  appeared  to  be  more  strongly 
.attracted  than  n^^  black  hydrate  made  in  the  usual  way. 

^^ ^^P^Hmeni  showed,  first,  that  in  making  magnetic 
.oiido  of  iron  fQ^  0se  in  medicine,  fuel  need  not  be  wasted  in 


obtaining  ferric  sulphate  entirely  free  from  the  nitric  acid  used 
in  its  preparation,  for  the  ferric  solution  could  be  poured  into 
the  alkali  before  the  ferrous,  any  nitric  acid  thus  becoming 
neutralised  and  prevented  fW>m  oxidising  the  ferrous  salt; 
second,  it  afford^  confirmation,  were  any  needed,  of  the 
view  that  magnetic  hydrate  was  a  compound  and  not  a  mere 
mixture  of  ferrous  and  ferric  hydrates ;  third,  it  was  a  good 
illustration  of  the  influence  of  time  in  chemical  changeu 

Dr.  Redwood  thought  that  by  boiling  the  solution,  one 
would  obtain  a  more  certain  and  definite  preparation. 

The  Chairman,  after  thanking  Dr.  Attfield  for  his  com- 
municatioD,  announced  that  the  next  meeting  would  be  held 
on  the  1st  of  April,  when  a  paper  would  be  read  by  Mr.  0. 
H.  Wood,  and  several  laboratory  experiments  would  be 
described. 

The  meeting  was  adjourned  at  an  eariy  hour. 


GLASGOW  CHEMICAL  SOCIBTY. 
Ov  Monday  evening  last,  a  meeting,  embracing  a  lat^  re- 
presentation of  the  chemists  of  Glasgow,  was  held  in  the 
Philosophical  Society's  hall,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  lo- 
cal Chemical  Society.  In  the  absence,  from  illness,  of  Dr. 
Anderson,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  University,  * 

Wu.  MoAdam,  Esq.,  of  Hyde  Park  Pottery  and  Bottle 
Works,  occupied  the  chair,  and  briefly  stated  the  object  of  ibe 
meeting,  and  then  called  upon 

Mr.  E.  C.  C.  Stanford,  F.C.S.,  manager  of  the  British 
Seaweed  Company,  who  explained  at  some  length  the  diar- 
acter  of  the  proposed  Chemical  Society.  He  stated  that  the 
want  of  such  a  Society  had  long  been  felt  among  the  chemists 
of  Glasgow,  and  that  as  the.Philoeophical  Society  embraced 
in  its  naembership  many  chemists,  it  had  been  suggested  that 
a  chemical  section  should  be  formed  in  the  Society  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Society's  rules.  To  this  proposal  the  council 
of  the  Philosophical  Society  had  readily  agreed,  and  in  order 
that  the  meetings  and  other  privileges  of  the  members  might 
be  open  to  other  persons  pursuing  chemical  studies,  or  en- 
gaged in  chemical  manufactures,  they  had  resolved  that  asso- 
ciates should  be  admitted  on  payment  of  an  annual  subscrip- 
tion of  five  shillings,  and  that  they  should  thereby  be  entitled  to 
consult  the  Society's  valuable  reference  library.  Mr.  Sun- 
ford  also  mentioned  that  he  had  received  replies  from  about 
eighty  members  of  the  Philosophical  Society,  expressing  ap- 
proval of  the  projected  chemical  section.  It  was  then  r^olv- 
ed  that  such  an  organisation  of  the  chemists  of  Glasgow 
should  be  fonhed,  and  a  batch  of  eighteen  associates  were 
formally  proposed  and  admitted,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  James 
Mactear,  F.C.S.,  of  St  Bollox  Chemical  Works. 

The  night  of  meeting  having  been  resolved  upon,  and 
Monday,  the  6th  of  April,  being  fixed  for  the  first  formal 
meeting  of  the  Society, 

Mr.  John  Matbb,  F.C.S.,  Government  Science  Teacher, 
proposed,  and  Mr.  St  John  Vincent  Dat,  C.E.,  seconded,  a 
motion — "That  a  council  of  eighteen  members  be  elected  to 
conduct  the  business  of  the  Scwiety,  and  that  the  council  000- 
sist  of  a  president,  two  vice  presidents,  a  secretary,  and  a 
treasurer,  and  thirteen  ordinary  members."  The  motioa  was 
unanimously  agreed  to,  and  in  accordance  with  it  the  elecckm 
was  then  proceeded  with.  The  following  are  the  naoaea  of 
the  office-bearers: — 

President :  Dr.  Thomas  Anderson,  F.R  &E.,  Professor  of 
Chemistry.  Vice-Preeidentt,  Dr.  Wallace,  F.R.aE.,  Anal^ 
cal  Chemist;  Mr.  E.  0.  C.  Stanford,  F.C.S.,  Manager  Britisb 
Seaweed  Company.  Dreamrer:  Mr.  Alexander  Wfaitelaw, 
F.C.8.,  Soap  Manufacturer.  Secretary:  Mr.  R.  Tatlodc, 
F.C.S.,  Analytical  Chemist  Some  of  the  other  Member*  ef 
Council:  Messrs.  Ex.  Bailie  Harvey,  Govanhaugb  Dye- 
works;  James  Napier,  F.C.S.,  Chemical  Manufacturer;  Wil- 
liara  McAdam,  Hyde  Park  Pottefy;  James  Mactear,  F.CLS^ 
Alkali  Department;  St  Rollox  Chemical  Works;  St  Joha 
Vincent  Day,  UE. ;  John  Mayer,  F.aS.,  Government  Scieoibe 
Teacher:  John  Jex.  Long,  Lucifer  Match  Mana&ctaTer; 
John  B.  Poynter.  Chemksal  Manufacturer. 


[Bngliah  EdMoD,  ToL  ZVH,  Na  433»  psffM  140, 141;  Wo.  434,  page  163.] 


OmncAL  Nbws,  I 
May,  186i.       f 


(Jheiinioal  Notices  from  Foreign  Sources. 


241 


We  have  eveiy  reason  to  expect  that  this  new  Chemical 
Society  will  be  of  much  service  in  extending  a  knowledge  of 
theoretical  and  practical  chemistry.  It  would  indeed  be 
strange  were  it  to  prove  otherwise,  considering  the  chemical 
antecedents  of  the  Gitj  of  Glasgow,  and  the  manufacturing 
district  of  which  it  is  the  centre.  The  class-rooms  and  the 
laboratories  of  Glasgow  are  indissolubly  associated  with  the 
names  of  Drs.  Joseph  Black,  Thomas  and  Dundas  Thomson, 
Thomas  Ciark,  Birlcbeck,  Ure,  Anderson,  Pennj,  Professor  Gra- 
ham, Ljon  Play&ir,  James  Young,  Greville Williams  and  many 
others ;  and  the  chemical  manufecturers  of  the  Glasgow  dis- 
trict furnish  names  not  less  famous  in  the  history  of  chemis- 
try. As  evidence,  there  are  the  late  Walter  Crum ;  J.  B. 
Neilson,  of  the  hot-blast:  Charles  Tennant,  the  first  manu- 
facturer of  bleaching-powder ;  Mushet,  of  the  blaok-band 
ironstone;  Macintosh,  of  waterproofing  fiime,  kti. 

We  shall  keep  our  readers  apprised  of  anything  that  is 
novel,  interesting,  and  important  in  the  communications  that 
may  be  made  from  time  to  time  to  the  members  of  the  Socie- 
ty, whose  birth  we  have  now  put  on  record. 


CHEMICAL  NOTICES  FROM  FOREIGN 
S0X7RCES. 


Carbonic  OxyanlpMde* — 0.  Tran.  .  This  gaseous 
compound  is  foiined;  i.  By  direct  union  of  carbonic  oxide 
with  sulphur,  at  a  low  red  heat ;  2.  By  the  action  of  dilute 
acids  upon  sulphocyanhydric  acid : 

esNH  4- H,e  =  NH,  4- ese. 

By  making  use  of  the  latter  reaction  large  quantities  of 
the  new  compound  may  easily  be  prepared.  Powdered 
potassic  sulphocyanide  is  added  to  a  mixture,  by  volume, 
of  5  sulphuric  add  and  4  of  water  (in  such  proportions 
that  the  mass  remains  liquid),  and  the  eyolution  of  gas 
which  sets  in  at  once  kept  constant  bv  alternately  heat- 
ing and  cooling.  The  gas  is  purified  from  traces  cf 
cyanhydric  add  (and  formic  add),  carbonic  disulphide, 
and  aqueous  vapour,  by  lettmg  it  pass  successively  over 
mercuric  oxide,  non-vulcanised  india-rubber,  and  caldc 
chloride.  It  may  be  collected  over  mercury  when  dry, 
without  suffering  change ;  water  dissolves  an  equal  volume, 
and  gradually  decomposes  it.  Its  temperature  of  ignition 
is  very  low;  it  burns  with  blue  flame;  the  products  of 
combustion  being  carbonic  anhydride,  and  sulphurous  add. 
Alkalic  hydrates  absorb  it  with  formation  of  carbonate  and 
sulphide.  Its  sp.  gr.  was  found  =  2*10. — {Ann,  Chem. 
JPJiarm.  5  suppL  236.) 

laomertc  Compounds  derlTed  from  Bensoie  Acid. 

•^H.  Hubner  and  F.  Meeker.  The  bromnitrobenzoic  acids 
obtained  from  brombenzoio  add  by  the  action  of  very 
strong  nitric  add,  at  a  moderate  temperature,  are  best 
separated  by  extracting  the 'mixture  of  adds  repeatedly 
with  insufficient  quantities  of  boiling  water,  untU  the 
residue  has  become  insoluble  and  infusible  under  water. 
(Those  acids,  derived  fh>m  the  insoluble  portion,  fusing 
at  248''0.,  are  named  a;  those  from  the  soluble,  iUsing  at 
140''  0  compounds.)    0  bromamidobenzoio  add, 

eTH4Br(NH,)e„ 

obtained  by  reduction  of  the  corresponding  nitro-oompound 
with  tin  and  chlorhydrio  acid  in  the  proportions  shown  in 
the  foUowing equation: — 

6TH4Br(Ne,)e,+6Sn4-6Ha=6SnC51+2H,e 
+^,H4Br<NH,)e, 

crystallises  in  small  needles,  and  ftises  at  17 1**  to  172**.  0 
bromamidobenzoio  acid,  eTHiBr(NHa)0(eHX  crystallises 
in  long  needles,  which  are  sparingly  soluble,  and  fhse  at 
202°  to  204".  a  and  0  amidobenzoic  add,  6iH»(NH9)Oa  and 
^7H4(NH))e(OH)^  which  are  obtained  from  their  respeo- 


tive  bromnitro-compounds  by  employing  the  following  pro- 
portions : — 

e7H4Br(Ne,)e,  +  SSn  +  7aH=e,H,(NH,)e,-*-7Sna 
H-SnBr+2Ha0 

have  been  found  identical  so  far  as  experiments  at  present 
went,  but  isomeric  with  ordinary  amidobenzoic  add.— 
{ZeOachr.  Chem,  N.  F.  iiL  564.) 

CUorl&ydrate  of  Cyanl&ydrte  Add. — Arm.  Gautier. 
Dry  cyanhydric  add  is  saturated  with  chlorhydric  acid 
gas  at  —  lo*"  C,  and  then  heated  in  a  dosed  vessel  to 
35'' — 40**.  On  again  cooling  the  liquid  solidifies  to  a 
wnite  crystalline  mass  which  is  cyanhydric  chlorhydrate 
^NH+OIH.  This  compound  decomposes  very  readily, 
is  soluble  in  water,  alcohol,  and  glacial  acetic  add, 
insoluble  in  ether.  Sulphuric  add  expels  chlorhydrio 
add  with  formation  of  sulphate.  When  heated  with 
glacial  acetic  acid  to  150''  or  160°  complete  decomposition 
takes  place,  amongst  the  products  of  which  formylamide 
and  acetamide  were  found.  When  decomposing  in  pres- 
ence of  alcohol  the  chlorhydrate  of  a  new  base  is  formed 
together  with  ethylic  diloride  and  formic  ethide. 

2N  ]h  4-2^«^»  I  o=eH.N,ci+e,H»a+ 

The  base  cannot  be  isolated  with  potassic  hydrate,  on  ao- 
count  of  its  splitting  up  into  ammonia  and  formic  acid  the  mo- 
ment it  is  set  free.  The  chloroplatinate  has  the  formula 
2(6HftNaCl)PtCl4.  This  chlorhydrate  is  isomeric  or  perhaps 
identical  with  the  compound  obtained  by  Uie  addition  of 
chlorhydric  acid  to  amroonic  cyanide,  and  its  oonstitution  is 
represented  by  the  formula — 

( (6NH4)  (  OH 

N  ^  H  or     N  -^  NH« 

(a  (Cl 

preference  being  given  to  the  lattar.--(C<7mpfo9  R  Ixr.  410 
and  472). 

DlcUonnlpl^obenaEld. — R.  Otto  has  not  been  able  to 
confirm  Gerike's  statements  as  to  the  formation  of  dicblorsul- 
phobenzid,  by  the  action  of  chlorine'  or  phosphoric  chloride 
upon  sulphobenzid,  the  products  of  tliis  reaction  being,  accord- 
ing to  the  author,  chlorbenzol  and  sulphobenzolic  chloride. 
He,  however,  succeeded  by  acting  upon  monochlorbenzol 
with  sulphuric  anhydride  at  a  low  temperature.  DichlorsuU 
phobenzid  is  formed  according  to  the  following  equation  :^ 


3^.H. )    .  ,«^  _e.H4ClSO, ) 
-        01^+^^'-       €.H4Cir 


'^sMfClSOs 


[e+H, 


:«e 


This  compound  crystallises  in  white  needles,  fusing  at  140° — 
141°  Q.,  insoluble  in  water,  readily  soluble  in  hot  alcohol  or 
ether.  It  is  not  decomposed  by  an  alcoholic  solution  of  po- 
tassic hydrate.  Sodium-amalgam  reduces  it  principally  to 
benzol  and  sulphobenzolic  add. — {Zeitschr.  Chem,  N.  F.  iii., 
609.) 

Vrlmotl^ylamine  In  DTlne.^White  Austrian  wine, 
according  to  E.  Ludwig,  contains  trimethylamine,  which  the 
author  isolated  in  the  following  way: — The  wine  was  freed 
from  alcohol  by  distillation,  then  again  distUled  with  a  solu« 
tion  of  sodic  hydrate,  the  alkaline  distillate  neutralised  with 
sulphuric  add,  and  evaporated.  The  residual  salts,  contain- 
ing much  ammonic  sulphate  were  extracted  with  absolute  al- 
cohol,  the  alcoholic  solution  evaporated,  and  the  residue 
again  distilled  with  sodic  hydrate.  From  this  distillate,  the 
platino-chloride  was  prepared  and  identified  as  that  of  trime- 
thylamine.—<-4*ad.  z.  Wien,,  56,  1857.) 

BerlTatlTea  of  Tlnyl-Componnda— .Olinsky  has  stu- 
died the  reaction  between  vinylic  bromide  and  mercuric  ox- 
ide, or  hypochlorous  add  (suggested  by  an  analogous  investi- 


[EnglidiEdltloa,VoLZVIL,No.434,pagelfi3;  Va  433,  iP><M  ^^^  ^^''v  ^^1 


242 


Notices  of  Books. 


t      Mof,  18081 


cation  by  Linnennann,  vide  Chemical  Nbws,  No.  428,  p.  83 
[Am^.  Hepr,  April,  *68,  page  191]  and  obtained  aldehyde,  and 
a  white  amorphous  body,  which  was  found  to  be  a  compound 
of  aldehyde  and  mercurous  bromide  of  the  formula 

C:H6.t+*Hg,Br. 

-^Zeitschr.  Chem.,  N.  P.  iil,  675.) 

Tolnolsnlpl^arons  Actd.^R  Otto  (second  communica- 
tion). The  action  of  phosphoric  perchloride  upon  toluolsul- 
pburous  acid  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of  sulphotoluolic 
chloride,  fusing  at  68—69°  C-  *°<i  ^^  ^^^7  ^>^7  J^o^  obtained 
in  sufficient  quantity  for  examination.  Nascent  hydrogen 
forms  metabenzylic  sulphydrate : 

e.H^ J  e  +  4H  =  2H,e  +  ^jf ^  [s 

identical  with  that  of  Marker  {Ann.  Chem.  Pkamu,  cxxxri., 
75).  When  heated  with  water  to  120-130°  toluolsulphuric 
acid  and  oxybenzoldisulphide,  ^MH^SaOa  is  obtained. 
Potassic  hydrate  at  2^0-300°  causes  it  to  split  into  sulphite 
and  toluol.  Fuming  nitric  acid  forms  the  compound  691  Hg, 
NtfisOo,  which  maj^  be  lucked  upon  as  diazotrisulphotoluolic 
hydride,  and  besides  this,  nitrosulphotoluolic  acid.---(Zsttec^r. 
Chenu,  N.F.  ill,  600). 

Oxidation  of  BeiuEol,~L.  Garius.  Benzol  is  readily 
oxidised  by  a  mixture  of  manganic  dioxide  and  sulphuric 
acid  (5  acid,  i  water).  Amongst  the  products  of  the  oxida- 
tion were  found  benzoic  acid,  and  a  new  diabasic  acid  of  the 
composition  60H40a — oxybenzenic  acid,  t.«;,  benzenic  acid 
+  I  atom  of  oxygen.  Oxybenzenic  acid  is  «paringly  solu- 
ble in  water,  fuses  at  175°  C,  and  distils  undecom posed  at 
250°.  The  author  considers  it  extremely  probable  that  this 
acid  is  identical  with  phtalic  acid,  their  composition,  as  found 
by  analysis,  differing  but  little,  and  fusion-point  (phtalic  acid, 
according  to  C,  fuses  at  175°,  not  120'')  and  solubility  being 
the  same  with  both.  The  formation  of  benzoic  acid  in  this 
ease  is  of  interest  as  being  the  first  in  which,  by  simple  oxi- 
dation of  a  hydrocarbon,  an  acid  richer  in  carbon  is  obtained ; 
this  is  due  evidently  to  the  presence  of  formic  acid,  which  is 
formed  during  a  certain  stage  of  the  reaction : 

■GO,H,0H  -\r  ^«H(H  ^  00,  0«Hc  0H  -\r  OHj. 

— (/&ui,  N.F.  lit,  629.) 

BerlTaUves  of  Rfesltjlene,  cootatntng  Sulplinr* 

*-A.  Holtmeyer.  Mesitylensulphuric  chloride,  €«H,iSOs. 
CI,  is  formed  by  the  action  of  phosphoric  perchloride  on  so- 
dic  mesitylensulphate.  It  dissolves  in  ether  and  alcohol,  is  in- 
soluble in  water,  fuses  at  57°  C.  Sodium  araalgain  converts  it 
into  mesetylin  sulphurous  acid,  OsHnSOa-H.  soluble  in  al- 
cohol and  hot  water,  sparingly  so  in  cold  water,  fuses  at  98 
— 99^  Mesitylensulphydrate  6«HiiSlI  is  obtained  by  add- 
ing the  chloride  to  a  heated  mixture  of  zinc  and  sulphuric 
acid ;  it  is  a  liquid  boiling  at  228 — 229°,  soluble  in  alcohol, 
ether,  or  benzol,  insoluble  in  water.  The  sulphydrate  may  be 
converted  into  mesitylendisulphide  by  adding  to  its  alcoholic 
solution  aqueous  sodic  hydrate.  The  disulphide  fuses  at 
125%  its  solubility  in  alcohol,  &c.,  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
sulphydrate.— (/did,  N.F.  iii.,  686.) 

Reactions  of  Anisic  Aldebyde. — Saytzeff  and  Samo- 
sadsky.  If  anisic  aldehyde  in  alcoholic  solution  is  digested 
with  sodium  amalgam  two  crystalline  bodies  are  obtained. 
The  one  fuses  at  172°  C,  is  little  soluble  in  cold,  readily  in 
hot  alcohol  or  ether.  Its  composition  is  OioHibO*,  being 
itterroediate  between  anisic  aldehyde  and  alcohol;  it  seems 
to  be  the  doubled  aldehyde  combined  with  2  H— analogous  to 
the  compound  obtained  by  Hermann  from  benzoic  acid  with 
sodium  amalgam.  The  second  compound  fuses  at  125°,  but 
otherwise  resembles  tire  first  closely,  and  Is  supposed  to  be 
*Vio  doubled  aldehyde — analogous  to  benzoin. — Ihid.^  N.  F., 
iii.,  678.) 


NOTICES  OF  BOOKS. 


Boiltr  DeposiU:  On  the  Chemical  Nature  0/  the 
kinds  ofBoUer  InerusieUionSf  and  on  totne  of  the  m€thoda 
which  have  been  proposed  io  remedy  Ihem.  By  Dr.  T.  Ik 
Phipsov. 

In  the  form  of  a  small  pamphlet,  the  author  reprodnoefl  the 
text  of  a  paper  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  Inventors'  Institate 
in  December  last.  The  chemical  nature  and  circumstanoea 
of  formation  of  boiler  deposits  are  &irly  discussed,  aeyeral 
proposed  means  of  prevention  described,  and  a  few  practical 
remarks  appended  which  are  likely  to  prove  useful  to  engi- 
neers. In  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Lancashire  and  of  the 
midland  counties  many  disasters  must  have  been  presented 
by  the  system  of  periodical  inspection  carried  out  during  the 
last  few  years  by  the  so-called  Boiler  Associations ;  but  much 
yet  remains  to  be  done  towards  extending  their  operation  in 
new  localities,  and  particularly  in  order  to  guarantee  the  sale 
working  of  boilers  attached  to  portable  engines,  which  are 
now  80  oomrooniy  placed  in  the  bands  of  agriculturistSL 
The  greatly  extended  use  of  small  steam  lifls  and  cranes, 
and  of  boilers  constructed  around  the  tlues  of  forges  and  re- 
heating Airnaces,  appears  likewise  to  increase  the  risk  of  dan- 
ger from  explosion — and  many  sad  calamities  have  been 
reported  during  the  past  year.  Apart  from  the  questkm  of 
personal  safety,  there  is  a  wide  margin  for  the  exercise  of 
economy  in  the  working  of  a  steam  boiler,  and  Dr.  Pbipeon 
assures  us  that  the  loss  of  heat,  or  of  combustible,  in  a  thickly* 
incrusted  marine  boiler,  may  amount  to  as  much  as  40  per 
cent.  I  In  all  cases  where  an  adherent  mineral  scale  is  per- 
mitted to  form,  the  consumption  of  fuel  for  all  constructions 
of  boilers  must  necessarily  be  somewhat  augmented,  and  the 
operation  of  chipping  tends  certainly  to  loosen  the  rivets  and 
weaken  the  plates. 

The  composition  of  boiler  deposits  is  considered  under 
three  heads,  viz. :  Fresh  water  deposits  consisting  chiefly  of 
carbonate  of  lime ;  salt  water  deposits  invariably  compoiBed 
of  a  mixture  of  sulphate  of  lime  and  hydrate  of  magueaa ; 
and  abnormal  deposits  containing  incrusting  matters  derived 
from  mine  waters,  canals,  or  streams  contaminated  with 
metallic  salts  and  other  kinds  of  refuse  from  chemical  works. 
Impure  waters  of  this  class  are  known  to  be  especially  liable 
to  induce  corrosion  of  the  boiler-plates,  and  a  red  deposic 
analysed  by  Dr.  Phipson  contained  more  than  nine  per  cent, 
of  peroxide  of  iron,  due  to  the  rusting  of  the  metallic  sor&cea 
of  the  boiler.  Two  years  ago  Dr.  Voelcker*  gave  an  account 
of  marine-boiler  incrustation,  and  called  attention  to  the 
large  amount  of  magnesia  contained  in  it  Dr.  Phip^wn  now 
appends  a  further  analysis  which,  from  its  interest^  is  here 
subjoined : 

Marine  BoHer  Ineruetaiion, 

Sulphate  of  lime 65*00 

]£agnesia 19*00 

*     Water 13-50 

Oxide  of  Iron  and  Alumina 0*85 

Chloride  of  Sodium 070 

Sand 0*45 

99-50 
The  author  proceeds  to  remark--^"  This  analysis  shows  that 
marine  incrustation  consists  chemically  of  an  atom  of  sul- 
phate of  lime  united  to  two  atoms  of  hydrate  of  magnesia; 
and  that  the  stflphate  of  lime  is  combined  here  with  one  atom 
of  water,  instead  of  two  as  in  ordinary  gypeum.*^  TUi 
statement  is  not,  however,  in  harmony  with  his  own  results 
(quoted  aboveX  which  demand,  on  the  contrary,  the  follow- 
ing formula:— 

2(Mg0,H0)H-H0,2Ca0S0,. 

It  win  be  perceived  that  dihydroied  sulphate  of  hme— e 

*  Beport  of  the  British  AModatien,  1865 ;  p.  39. 


[Englidi  Edition,  ToLZVXr.,  No.  433,  paga  141;  No.  434»  paga  155 ;  Ne.  432^  pegs  13L] 


CsmiCAL  Nvfrg, ) 
Jfuy,  1868.       f 


Correspondence., 


243 


compound  described  by  the  late  Professor  Johnston  under 
the  name  of  "  boiler  sulphate,"— is  really  deposited,  together 
with, the  hydrate  of  magnesia,  at  the  increased  temperature 
of  water  boiling  under  considerable  pressure. 

Dr.  Phipson  then  enumerates  seyeral  of  the  ingredients 
which  have  been  proposed  as  means  of  prevention.  Of 
boiler  (Compositions  which  act  only  mechanically,  the  author 
mentions  scrap-iron,  day,  starch,  and  potato-parings.  A 
varnish  for  coating  the  interior  of  boilers,  is  compound  of 
equal  parts  of  black -lead  and  suet,  with  small  quantities  of 
charcoal-dust  and  coal-tar  oil.  As  an  objection  to  this  Uc- 
quer,  it  is  said  to  require  frequent  renewal  Professor 
Ghandelon,  of  Lidge,  recommends  a  mixture  of-v 

Bullodc's  blood 5  parts. 

Starch 2     " 

Carbonate  of  soda 2  ^ 

The  use  of  sal-ammoniac  is  condemned  on  account  of  its 
rusting  the  plates.  The  most  efficacious  remedies  are  the 
carbonate  and  hydrate  of  soda,  and  the  author  proposes  to 
feed  the  boiler  with  water  from  which  the  lime  and  magnesia 
salts  have  been  previously  precipitated  by  addition  of  alkali 
to  the  contents  of  the  supply  tapk.  Dr.  Phipson  calculates 
that  24  grs.  of  the  carbonate  of  soda,  or  14  grs.  of  the 
hydrate,  should  be  allowed  for  every  gallon  of  water,  and 
now  that  a  sufficiently  pure  quality  of  the  hydrate  can  be 
procured  for  3d.  per  lb.  (misprinted  3s.)  the  use  of  soda  is 
recommended  as  being  both  efTectual  and  economical  with 
all  kinds  of  fresh  water ;  but  for  marine  boilers  so  large  a 
quantity  would  be  required,  that  the  author  prefers  to  com- 
bine this  alkaline  treatment  with  the  system  of  frequent 
'^  blowing  ofL,^  whereby  much  of  the  calcareous  refrise  can 
be  ejected  in  a  sandy  or  granular  fonn. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 


Ne8sler'9  Test 
To  the  Editor  of  the  diisifiOAL  Nbw& 
Sir, — ^I  have  used  the  following  modification  of  Nessler^s 
process  for  the  estimation  of  small  quantities  of  ammonia,  by 
which  considerable  expedition  is  gained  without,  as  far  as  1 
am  aware,  sacrificing  accuracy.  It  is  based  on  the  feet  that 
a  solution  of  iodine,  dissolved  in  iodide  of  potassium,  im- 
parts to  water  a  colouration  very  similar  to  that  produced  by 
iho  Nessler  test  with  ammonia.  Where  the  quantity  of  am- 
monia was  small,  say  *4  mlgrm.  in  200  c.a  of  water,  I  could 
perceive  no  difference  in  looking  down  the  two  cylinders 
standing  on  a  white  surface ;  the  real  difference,  however, 
becomea  quite  apparent  if  viewed  laterally.  I  conduct  the 
process  an  follow:^: — A  permanganate  burette, divided  into  *i 
of  c  c,  and  fitted  with  a  float,  is  filled  with  a  solution  of 
iodine  dissolved  in  excess  of  iodide  of  potassium;  the 
strength  is  beet  determined  by  experiment 

Inio  one  of  the  cylinders  is  put  an  amount  equal  to  *4 
mlgrm.  of  NHt,  together  with  200  c.a  of  water,  and  the 
NcMsler  test,  taking  care  to  mix  thoroughly.  As  soon  as 
sufficient  time  has  dapeed  to  allow  of  the  colouration  attain- 
ing its  darkest  shade,  a  second  cylinder,  containing  a  volume 
of  water  equal  to  that  in  the  first,  and  to  which  has  been 
added  a  little  solution  of  iodide  of  potassium  (i  to  10  of 
water)  is  placed  under  the  burette,  from  which  is  delivered 
the  solution  of  iodine,  until  a  point  occurs  when,  on  looking 
down  the  cylinders,  the  shades  of  colour  in  each  are  judged 
to  be  alike.  From  th's  it  follows  that,  provided  the  "  tinc- 
torial "  power,  and  consequently  "  litre  "  of  the  ammonia 
standard  be  correctly  ascerttiined  in  terms  of  the  iodine 
solution,  the  former  may  be  dispensed  with. 

This  modification,  it  will  be  observed,  obviates  the  numer- 
ous assays  it  is  necessary  to  make  when  the  ammonia  stand- 
ard is  retained,  besides  saving  fio  inconsiderable  time  in  the 
execution  of  an  analysis. — I  am,  &g,, 

Philip  Holland. 
CborUf, 


Water  Analysin  at  the  Chemical  Society, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Ghehioal  Kbwb. 

Sir, — During  the  discussion  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Chemical  Society,  Mr.  Abel,  the  chemist  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, took  occasion  to  remark,  in  reference  to  our  method  of 
water  analysis,  that  our  paper  descr.bing  it  contained  many 
things  that  were  incorrect,  and  on  my  asking  liim  to  be  kind 
enough  to  name  some  of  those  things  that  were  incorrect,  I 
could  get  no  answer  fVom  him. 

I  have  made  an  examination  of  our  paper,  and  find  abso- 
lutely nothing  which  I  can  say  is  incorrect ;  the  most  thf^t  I 
find  is  a  single  expression  in  a  parenthesis,  which  appears  to 
be  doubtful.  We  have  used  the  word  "  usually  "  instead  of 
^*  sometimes  ^  in  this  parenthesis.  The  paper  is  distin- 
guished by  extreme  accuracy  and  fidelity  to  the  facts,  but  is 
in  parts  unartistic,  and  gives  an  undue  degree  of  prominence 
to  certain  results.  Owing  to  this  circumstance,  notwithstand- 
ing its  accuracy,  it  is  calculated  to  lead  those  persons  into 
error  who  glance  at  a  paper  without  reading  it 

There  is  much  misconception  jcurrent  respecting  our 
method — far  greater  misconception  than  couid  possibly  have 
arisen  from  this  cause.  Indeed,  it  seems  as  if  the  current 
notions  about  it  have  been  derived,  not  from  our  paper  de- 
scribing it,  but  second-hand  firom  the  writings  of  our  detrac- 
tors. A  bon-moty  by  a  Fellow  of  the  Chemical  Society  when 
our  method  was  brought  out,  will  serve  to  characterise  much 
of  the  causes  which  have  produced  these  misconceptions:— 
"  The  worst  fault  of  your  water-analysis,"  said  this  gentle- 
man, "  is  that  it  proceeds  from  you." 

One  of  the  most  curious  of  these  misconceptions  is  that 
we  direct  people  to  determine  the  urea  in  a  water  by  taking 
a  litre  of  it,  adding  carbonate  of  soda  and  distilling  off  300 
CO ,  and  then  measuring  the  ammonia  in  the  300  aa  of  dis- 
tillate. 

Our  directions  given  last  Jun*  were,  ^go  on  distilling 
until  no  more  ammonia  can  be  detected  in  the  distillate." 
So  far  from,  in  any  way,  leading  people  to  believe  that  the 
first  300  clc.  will  contain  all  tlie  amnionia  proceeding  fiom  the 
urea,  we  warn  people  against  expecting  to  find  it  all  there ; 
we  talk  about  the  necessity  arising  for  the  addition  of  am- 
monia-fi'ee  water,  so  as  to  fill  up  the  retort,  and  finally  we 
give  examples  where  the  urea-distillate  reaches  600  && 

I  understand  our  detractors  to  say  that  our  process  for  the 
estimation  of  urea  does  not  give  the  whole  of  the  ammonia 
derived  from  it,  but  only  a  fraction  of  it  Such  a  notion  is 
intelligible  enough  in  conjunction  with  the  belief  that  our 
meth(^  consists  in  seeking  for  urea-ammonia  only  in  the  first 
300  cc.  of  distillate.  I  understand  that  some  of  them  are 
anxious  to  construe  the  remark  made  in  my  paper  on  "  the 
verification,  Jtc.,'*  that  the  estimation  of  urea  is  not  so  sharp 
as  the  estimation  of  albumen,  into  a  round-about  way  of  say- 
ing that  the  decomposition  of  urea  into  ammonia  is  incom- 
plete. Let  them  be  undeceived.  There  is  no  failure  of  the 
reaction.  The  want  of  sharpness  in  the  estimation  is  due 
only  to  a  manipulatory  difficulty,  which  might  be  got  over  if 
necessary.  It  arises  from  the  division  of  the  ammonia  into 
too  many  portions,  and  the  consequent  accumulation  of  ex- 
periment^al  errors. 

Those  gentlemen  to  whom  the  honrtnot  is  applicable,  are 
jubilant  over  ihe  fate  of  the  determination  of  albumen.  Say 
they,  vou  promised  us  a  complete  conversion  of  the  nitro- 
gen of  albumen  into  ammonia,  and  you  give  us  some  kind  of 
an  incomplete  transformation.  We  have' given  them  every- 
thing we  promised,  and  much  more  too.  If  our  detractors 
will  not  merely  glance  at  our  paper,  but  read  it  carefully, 
they  will  find  a  warning  that  the  first  third  of  the  ammonia 
derived  firom  albumen  is  only  to  be  got  when  the  potash  treat- 
ment is  pushed  to  dryness,  and  after  getting  that  first  third  in 
that  manner,  the  remaining  two-thirds  «re  to  be  had  on  using 
the  permanganate.  It  was  in  that  manner  that  the  total  am- 
monia was  got  fh>m  albumen. 

In  our  paper,  however,  we  say  In  effect,  if  you  have  to 


[EngUah  Edition,  VoL  XVH,  Vo.  43a,  p^ges  X3l}  ^^1 


244 


C(yfr6epondenc€. 


I  GtanncAi.  Nsw% 


make  a  water  aoal jsis  do  not  distil  to  drjDOss.  When  we 
wrote  our  paper  last  June,  it  was  for  us  an  undecided  point 
whether  or  not  the  neglect  to  erolTe  the  first  third  of  am- 
monia by  means  of  potash  would  inToIre  the  ultimate  loss  of 
it — whether,  in  fact,  there  would  be  more  ammonia  on  the 
employment  of  the  permanganate  to  make  up  for  absence  of 
ammonia  during  an  imperfect  potash  treatment. 

Thisr  question,  although  interesting  on  scientific  grounds, 
and  the  answer  to  which  will  go  a  long  way  towards  the 
disclosure  of  the  rational  constitution  of  albumen,  was  in 
my  opinion  of  comparatively  little  consequence  in  reference 
to  water  analysis^  and  we  adjourned  the  consideration  of  it 
to  a  more  convenient  season.  In  our  opinion  it  did  not  mat- 
ter at  all  whether  the  modification  we  recommended  on  the 
score  of  practicability  involved  the  representation  of  albumen 
by  a  fraction  instead  of  the  whole  of  its  ammonia.  The 
essentials  for  water  analysis  were  that  the  method  should 
really  cope  with  the  iufiuitesimal  quantities  of  organic  mat- 
ter existing  in  water,  and  that  its  indications  should  be 
reasonably  parallel  wiih  the  degree  of  badness  of  the  water, 
and  that  it  sliould  be  practicable.  The  possession  of  these 
qualities  is  characteristic  of  our  method,  and  will,  we  be-' 
lieve,  secure  its  general  acceptance.  The  absence  of  these 
qualities  is  one  of  the  moat  prominent  features  of  the 
method  which  at  the  present  moment  is  the  rival  of  our  own. 
—I  am,  &c.,  J.  Alfred  Wanklyk. 

London  Institatioii,  ICareh  9,  1868. 


Drecbsel  the  same  research  which  had  led  ua,  six  months 
ago,  quite  independently,  without  any  impulse,  to  the  above- 
mentioned  experiments 

We  are,  Ac,  J.  Wischik  and  Th.  Whji. 

Berlia,  March  8th,  x868L 


On  (he  Bedudion  of  Oarbonie  Acid  to  OxfUie  Acid, 

:    To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sib, — It  is  due  to  ourselves,  as  well  as  to  the  chemical 
public,  to  throw  some  light  on  our  relations  to  a  discovery 
which  is  claimed  by  a  chemist  who  worked  with  us  in  the 
same  laboratory.  It  is  the  synthesis  of  oxalic  acid  from 
carbonic  acid  and  potaouum,  a  fact  which  is  decidedly  of 
great  interest,  as  it  shown  the  direct  transformation  of  car- 
bonic into  oxalic  acid,  and  is  a  new  proof  of  the  truth  of  the 
views  which  reign  at  present  on  the  constitution  of  the  latter 
body. 

Occupied  during  the  course  of  last  summer  with  similar 
synthetical  experiments,  we  were,  by  a  very  simple  reflection, 
led  to  the  idea  of  preparing  directly  oxalic  acid  from  carbonic 
acid,  an  idea  the  execution  of  which  was  dearly  pointed  out 
by  the  successful  experiments  of  Mr.  Wanklyn  on  the  forma- 
tion of  propionic  acid. 

The  reflection  that  the  group  CO,HO,  common  to  all  organic 
adds,  and  already  prepared  synthetically  in  combination  with 
alcohol  radicals,  could  exist  independently  as  a  molecule, 
only  doubled,  that  is  to  say,  as  oxalate  of  potassium,  leads, 
consequently,  to  the  synthesis  of  the  add. 

We  began  our  experiments  in  the  Leipsic  Laboratory,  in 
presence  of  a  considerable  number  of  chemists,  who  took  a 
Uvely  interest  in  the  proceedings  of  our  research.  Amongst 
them  we  observed  Dr.  DrechseL 

The  first  we  tried  was  the  action  of  liquid  cari)onic  acid  on 
potassium.  We  were  not  disturbed  by  the  observation  made 
by  Dr.  Drechsel  on  this  occasion,  that  an  English  chemist 
had  tried  already  the  same  experiment  (executed  only  in 
order  to  state  the  solubility  of  potassium  in  liquid  carbonic 
acid),  without  mentioning  the  formation  of  oxalic  acid,  for 
which  he  evidently  was  not  looking. 

The  experimental  difficulties,  namely,  the  execution  of  the 
.  reaction  in  a  Faraday  tube,  as  well  as  the  ctlose  of  the  labora- 
tory by  the  holidays,  obliged  us  to  interrupt  our  research,  the 
continuation  of  which  was  dearly  indicated  at  the  occasion 
of  the  lecture  experiments  on  liquid  carbonic  acid  with 
Katterer*s  apparatus  in  the  course  of  the  following  winter. 

It  ia  easily  explained  that  our  experiments  in  that  direc- 
tion escaped  t^^  nnemory  of  our  highly  esteemed  teacher, 
Pro/feasor^o/b^  ^ho  at  this  time  was  fully  occupied  by  the 
ne»r  building  Of.' j^jg  laboratory,  and  by  other  offidal  oocupa- 
tjon^  so  tiit^^  .  ^   ijalf  a  year  afterwards,  proposed  to  Dr. 


TTke  jRoyal  School  o/J^nes, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir.—**  a  Student  at  the  Royal  School  of  Mines  ^  states  in 
the  Chemwal  New8  of  last  week  (American  Bepr^  Ma^, 
i^6&,page  igj)  that  I  am  in  error  when  I  look  upon  the 
Royal  School  of  Mines  as  an  appendage  of  the  Geological 
Museum  (when  I  say  the  Geological  Museom,  I  incdude  the 
Geological  survey).  Notwithstandmg  what  he  has  said.  I 
stUl  think  that  I  am  right  in  so  regarding  it.  To  support 
me  in  ihis  opmk>n  I  wiU  for  a  moment  refer  to  the  ^  pam- 
phleL"  On  page  3,  paragraph  i,  we  are  told  that  the  Museom 
and  the  School  have  arisen  from  the  wants  of  the  Geological 
Survey;  this  is  substantially  repeated  in  paragraph  5;  and 
in  the  following  paragraph  we  are  distinctly  told  that  the 
School  '^  has  grown  out  of^  or  engrailed  itself  upon,  the  Geo- 
logical Survey."  So  that  the  Geological  Survey  is  the  tnink, 
and  the  School  is  one  of  its  branches,  and  therefore  an  ap- 
pendage. 

I  perhaps  made  use  of  too  strong  an  expression  when  I 
said  that  the  prospectus  was  printed  on  the  spare  pages  of  a 
pamphlet  belonging  to  the  Geological  Museum;  what  I 
meant  was  that  the  School  does  not  occupy  the  poeftun  of 
primary  importance  in  it  which  it  should ;  the  accounts  of  the 
Geological  Survey,  of  the  Museum,  and  of  the  Mining  Record 
Office,  all  take  precedence  of  it ;  and  this  may  be  seen  from  a 
glance  at  the  title-page,--thus,  "  Gedogical  Survey  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  Museum  of  Practical  Geo]<^j,  and  Rojal 
School  of  Mines,"  whereas  those  departments,  being  quite 
distinct  from  the  School,  should  have  a  proepectua  of  their 
own,  while  the  School  should  have  its  calendar  printed  in  a 
separate  form.  The  pamphlet  is  neither  wholly  a  praspecius 
nor  a  calendar,  it  is  nothing  but  an  economical  makeshili, 
attempting  to  perform  the  functions  of  both ;  advertisements 
of  maps  occupy  one  cover,  whilst  the  "  Arrangement  of  lec- 
tures," as  if  of  no  importance,  is  ignominioodly  consigiied  to 
the  inside  of  the  other.  I  am  rather  surprised  that  a  student 
of  the  Royal  School  of  Mines  should  have  raised  a  discosEioa 
about  such  a  triviality  as  this  is  when  compared  with  the 
general  welfare  and  position  of  the  School 

I  cordially  agree  with  "Delta"  in  his  remarks  respectiiig 
the  Associates,  although  I  must  say  that  the  term  **AaH>- 
ciate  "  is  often  used  as  an  honorary  one,  and  is  generally  re- 
garded as  such.  I  think  that  the  excellent  courae  of  stady 
now  marked  out  might  be  somewhat  improved  by  adding 
mathematics  to  the  list  of  subjects;  and  it  would  be  a  great 
help  to  the  students  in  the  Geological  department  were  the 
course  to  include  bptany;  both  these  subjects  are  taught  in 
the  Dublin  School  I  may  perhaps  suggest  that  the  certifi- 
cates of  proficiency  would  derive  an  additional  value  wera 
they  to  be  signed  by  the  Director,  Sir  Roderick  Mwchisoa, 
as  well  as  by  the  Professor.— I  am,  ^     '  A.  K  K 


Electrical  Sensktncea. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  Kews. 

Sir.— The  following  table  of  diameters  and  resistances  of 
pure  copper  wires  may  not,  perhaps,  be  unaeoeptahte  to 
electrical  students  and  others. 

The  capadty  of  pure  copper  is  taken  at  100,  and  the  unit 
of  resistance  used  is  the  ohmad  adopted  by  the  Eleotricil 
Committee  appointed  by  the  British  Asaodanon,  one  vol 
being  equal  to  1760  yards,  or  1609*31  metres  of  copper  vim 
'2302  inch  diameter. 


[EngUah  Edition,  VoL  ZTH.,  Va  4132,  pagw  132, 133 ;  No.  433,  page  143.] 


Ma^,  186SL       f 


Correapondence. 


245 


The  value  of  the  table  consists  maiDlj  in  its  being  a 
standard  bj  which  the  student  is  enabled  to  ascertain  the 
conducting  power  of  any  wire  he  may  have  under  test,  and 
also  of  its  giving  relative  lengths  of  pound  and  kilogrammes, 
and  proportionate  diameters  in  decimals  of  inch  and  milli- 
metres. 

It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  say  that  there  is  no  better 
apparatus  for  obtaining  tests  than  the  electric  balance  man- 
u&ctured  by  Mr.  Becker,  of  Messrs.  Elliott  Brothers  :— 


•g-S^^*^  Diameter 
gB  ^  of  m.m. 
g^       II       (=  d  X  25-4) 


•2302 . 

.  5-847  .. 

•226   . 

.     S740     .. 

it: 

:  l?:i  :: 

•175       . 

.     4*445     .• 

•160       . 

.     .4*064     . . 

?3f      • 

.     3*454     .. 

•128       . 

.     3*251     .. 

•107       . 

.     2717     .. 

•10 

.     2*54      .. 

^  : 

.  2336  .. 
.     2-032     . . 

•07      . 

.     1778     .. 

•065    . 

.     1-651     . . 

.     1-587     .. 

•0625  . 

•06      . 

.     1-521     . . 

"058    . 

•     1*473     .. 

•056    . 

.     1-422     .. 

•054    . 

.     1-371     .• 

•052    . 

.     1*32       .. 

'""K  • 

-     1-274     .. 

•048  . 
•046  . 

.       I-2IO      .. 

.     I-I68     .. 

•044  . 

.     1-117     .. 

•042  . 

.     1-066    .. 

•04    . 

.     1-016     .. 

•038  . 

•       965     -. 

•036  , 

:  yu\  :: 

•034  . 

■032  . 

.  -813  .. 

•03    . 

762  . . 

•028  . 

7"     .. 

•026  . 

.       -660     .. 

•024  . 

.       609    .. 

•022  . 

•       -558     .. 

•02    . 

.       -508     .. 

•018  . 

•       '457     .. 

•016  . 

.       406     .. 

•014  . 

•      '355    .. 

•012  . 

•      -305    .. 

•01 

•       254    .. 

•0095  • 

.     -241   ;. 

•0085  '- 

.     -228   .. 

.        -216      .. 

•008  . 

.    -203  .. 

•0675  . 

.     -190  .. 

•007  . 

.      '177     .. 

'0065 . 

.      -165     .. 

•006  . 

.       -152     .. 

10055  • 

•      -139    .. 

•005  . 

.      -127     .. 

•0045 . 

.       -114     .. 

•004  . 

.       -106    .. 

•003s  • 

.       -088     .. 

•003  . 

•076     . 

•C025 . 

.      *o63     .. 

Namber  of 

BllH 

yards  per  lb. 

Nnmberof  S^eeB 
metres  in     gv5'^- 

(=lxa-oi6)|g||| 

2095   .. 

4.223. 

i-oo 

2-175  .. 

4*384. 

1*038 

2-834  .. 

5713. 

1*352 
1*583 

3628  .. 
4*350  •• 

6*68o. 

7*314. 
875 . 

:    r^ 

6-007  .. 

I2-II    . 

2-867 

.       6781  .. 

13-671. 

3-237 

9705  .. 

19-555. 
22-398. 

4623 

irii     .. 

:    l^ 

13-125  .. 

26*46    . 

17*36    .. 
22-67     . . 

3500    . 

8-288 

45.71    • 

.      ia82 

2629    . . 

5300    . 

12*25 

28-472  .. 

57*46    . 

•       13-59 

30864  .. 

62-223. 
66-588. 

i  *  1576 

3303     •• 

35-432  .. 
38*104  .. 

71*431. 

•      '^*9i 

76-818. 

.      18-18 

41*091  ,. 

82839. 

19-61 

44-444  .. 

89-60    . 

21*21 

48-225  .. 

97*222. 

23*02 

52*51     •• 

105-86    . 

25-06 

U  :: 

126-96    . 

.       27*3? 
30-06 

69444  .. 

14000    . 

.      33*14 

v^^..  •• 

155-50    . 

.       36*72 

85766 .. 

.  I72-9I  . 

•      40*92 

9529  •• 

29270  . 

.      45-48 

io8'5 

218-74  . 

.       5179 

123*46    .. 

248-90  . 

.       58*93 

14172     .. 

28571   . 

.      67*65 

164-36    •• 
192*9^  ... 

380-26  . 

•       78*46 
.      92-08 

229-56    .. 

462  80  . 

.     10958 

27778     ... 
342*94    .. 

560*01   . 
691*36  • 

.'     163-69 

434-03     .. 

875-00  . 
1 148-10  . 

.     207-17 

569-51     .. 

.     27058 

771*60    .. 

1555*50  . 

2229-80    . 

2481*90  . 

.     36830 

iiii-ii     .. 

:  m 

.  65475 

1231/10    .. 

1371*7      .. 

2765.30  . 

1537*8      .. 

3100-20  . 

•.   734*05 

1736-1       .. 

350000  . 

.     828-67 

22670 

3982-20  . 

.    942*84 

4571*00  . 

.  1082-4 

2629*9 

530000  . 

.   1225-3 

3086-4      .. 

6222-30  . 

.   1473*1 

3673-1      •• 

7404*90  . 

•   1753-2 

4444-4       .. 

8960-00  . 

.  21214 

5487-0       . . 

11062-00  . 

.  2619*0 

69444       .. 

14000*00  • 

.  33147 

9070-3       . . 

18285*00  . 

.  4329;4 

123460       .. 

24890-00  . 

17777*0       .. 

35838*00  . 

The  foregoing  table 
bradng  every  sice  of 


is  sufficiently  comprehensive,  em- 
wire  likely  to  be  used;  but  should 


the  student  have  an  intermediate  size,  he  oan  obtain  the 
diameter  for  himself  as  follows:-* 

d  (diameter)  =s  V  _,  2  being  the  length  in  yards  of 

I 


=  V: 


=-0625,  corresponding  to  one  of 


lb.,  or  d 

28-472 

the  diameters  in  table.  The  value  of  0  is  i-9th,  or  -i  1 1 1 11 . 
An  easy  method  of  obtaining  the  conducting  power  (P) 
of  copper  wire,  assuming  the  experimental'ist  to  have  ascer- 
tained the  accurate  diameter  by  the  above  formula,  is  to  test 
for  reeistanoe  (r)  by  means  of  the  balance  above  referred  to, 

R 
and  the  conducting  power,  P  =  — r  x  loa 

r 
As  a  &miliar  example,  one  mile  of  -0625  copper  wire 
has»  say,  a  resistance,  r,  =  16*5  ohms;  the  value  of  R  in 
R  13*59 

table  =  13-59;  hence  P  =  —  x  100  =  < =  82*36  per 

r  165 

cent  of  pure  copper. — ^I  am,  Ac., 

Walter  Hall. 

Telegraph  Works,  Mansfield  Street,  Boroagh  Road,  S.E. 


Arunicnu  Acid. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 

Sir,— Seeing  a  notice  in  the  Chemical  News  of  last  week 
{American  Reprini,  May,  1868,  paffe  237),  on"  the  occurrence 
of  prismatic  arseoious  add,  I  beg  to  communicate  a  few  ob- 
servations made  by  myself  in  September  last,  on  some 
peculiar  crystals  which  I  found  m  a  flue  from  a  calciner  in 
which  copper  ores  containing  arsenic  and  sulphur  are  cal- 
cined. 

The  crystals  were  spear-shaped,  not  unlike  marcasite  in 
form ;  the  lustre  was  pearly.  They  were  deposited  on  small 
crystals  (octohedral)  of  arsenious  acid,  and  on  taking  them 
into  the  air  I  found  that  they  began  instantly  to  deliquesce. 

They  were  readily  soluble  in  a  little  hot  water,  with  the 
exception  of  a  trace  of  coal  dust,  mechanloally  mixed.  On 
analysis,  they  were  found  to  consist  of— 

Arsenious  acid 75*'o 

Sulphuric  acid 23  00 

Sosquioxide  of  iron    1-25 

Coal  dust    trace 

I  imagine  the  iron  to  exist  as  a  basic  sulphate  of  sosqui- 
oxide. 

Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  would  inform  me  whether 
such  a  compound  as  I  have  described  has  ever  come  under 
their  notice.    It  is  certainly  quite  new  to  me. — ^I  am,  fta, 

Richard  Pbarcx. 

Horfa  Works,  Swansea,  ICarch  17,  1868. 


On  the  JReacUati  of  Nitriies  u/iih  Iodide  of  Potasaium. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  ITswa 

Sir, — ^In  the  last  number  of  the  Chemical  News  {Ameri' 
can  Reprint,  May,  1868,  page  213),  Mr.  Holland  propc^  to 
make  use  of  the  well-known  reaction  between  nitrites,  iodide 
of  potassium,  and  sulphuric  acid,  to  determine  the  amount 
of  nitrous  acid  present  in  a  water.  The  reaction  referred 
to  is  certainly  at  first  sight  a  most  inviting  one,  and  some 
time  ago  I  made  a  few  experiments  to  ascertain  if  a  quantita- 
tive process  could  be  procured  from  it ;  the  results  I  then 
obtained* convinced  me  that  no  accurate  determination  of 
nitrous  add  could  be  founded  upon  it.  The  difficulty  is  that 
the  reaction  is  a  repeating  one:  that  a  minute  amount  of 


[BagUsh  Bdltioo,  VoL  XVIL,  Vo  4^  j^gai 


143,144.1 


246 


Correspondence. 


{       Map,  18«a. 


nitrite  is  capable  (theoretically)  of  decomposing  any  quan- 
tity of  hydriodic  acid.  I  was  led  to  this  condasion  by  the 
following  experiments: — 

To  a  weak  solution  of  nitrite  of  sodium  was  added  ten 
times  as  mnch  iodide  of  potassium  ns  there  was  nitrite  pre- 
sent, and  sulphuric  acid  exactly  sufficient  to  decompose  the 
iodide  of  potassium.  After  the  addition  of  some  starch 
paste,  the  iodine  liberated  was  determined  by  a  standard 
solution  of  hyposulphite  of  sodium.  Tliia  determination  of 
the  iodine  evolved,  it  was  conceived,  would  afford  the  ne- 
cessary datum  for  the  estimation  of  the  nitrous  acid  present 
After  decolourising  the  solution  with  the  hyposulphite,  the 
blue  colour  reappeared  almost  as  strong  as  ever  after  a 
minute*s  standing.  The  solution  was  again  decolourised,  but 
the  colour  reappeared  as  before.  I  olMerved  that  the  blue 
colour  always  commenced  to  show  itself  on  the  «ur/ace  of  the 
liquid,  and  thinking  that  the  oxygen  of  the  air  was  taking 
part  in  the  reaction,  I  filled  a  test-tube  to  the  brim  with 
some  of  the  decolourised  liquid,  and  inserted  a  tightly-fitting 
cork,  thus  excluding  air  from  a  portion  of  the  solution.  Thus 
circumstanced,  the  blue  colour  did  not  reappear,  while  in 
the  remainder  of  the  liquid  in  the  open  beaker  it  was  soon 
as  dark  as  ever. 

What  is  then  the  nature  of  the  reaction  of  nitrites  with 
hydriodic  acid?    Fresenius  tells  us*  that  nitrites,  acted  on 
by  an  acid,  split  up  into  nitrates  and  nitric  oxide. 
3  (NaNO,)  +  H,S04  =  NaNO,  +  Na^SO*  +  H,0  +  2  (NO). 

Nitric  oxide  is  without  effect  on  hydriodic  acid,  but  on 
contact  with  air  it  is  at  once  converted  into  hyponitric  acid 
(NO9),  and  this  decomposes  hydriodic  acid,  nUric  oxide 
being  rtprodueed. 

NO,  -f-  2(HI)  =  NO  +  H,0  +  I,. 

If,  therefore,  the  nitric  oxide  were  not  slowly  lost  by 
diffusion  into  the  atmosphere,  a  minute  quantity  of  it  would 
be  sufficient  to  liberate  an  infinite  amount  of  iodine.  Here, 
I  believe,  is  the  reason  of  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the  reac- 
tion :  the  minutest  trace  of  nitrous  acid  in  a  water  is  tuffl- 
cient,  in  time,  to  liberate  a  very  distinct  amount  of  iodina. 

Mr.  Holland  says  the  solution  is  to  be  "allowed  to  stand 
until  the  colour  is  fully  developed.''  Supposing  the  operator 
to  wait  till  the  greatest  depth  of  colour  is  arrived  at,  the 
tint  will  depend  (if  an  excess  of  hydriodic  acid  has  been 
present)  on  the  rate  of  diffusion  of  the  nitric  oxide  into  the 
atmosphere ;  this  will  be  regulated  by  the  temperature  of 
the  solution,  the  surface  it  exposes  to  the  air,  and  by  its  state 
of  concentration,  as  the  gas  will  escape  more  rapidly  firom  a 
strong  solution  than  from  a  weak. 

It  appears  then,  I  think,  that  the  reaction  in  question  does 
not  afford  the  means  for  a  satisfactory  determination  of 
nitrous  acid. — I  am,  Ac, 

R.  Waeington. 


Ooniractum  an  Bolid^fieation. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chkhioal  News. 

81B, — During  the  discussion  on  "  devitrification,**  at  the  dose 
of  Mr.  Chance's  interesting  lecture  at  the  Chemical  Society, 
Mr.  Forbes  mentioned  that  Mr.  Chance,  at  his  suggestion, 
compared  the  measurements  of  the  wooden  fhimee  used  for 
making  the  moulds  for  casting  certain  blocks  of  basalt,  with 
the  blocks  so  prepared  when  ooid,  and  it  was  ascertained 
that  the  frames  and  blocks  corresponded  in  size,  from  which 
it  was  inferred  that  molten  basalt  suffers  neither  contraction 
nor  expansion  on  solidification. 

A  short  time  since,  I  made  a  few  observations  on  the  cool- 
ing, after  fusion,  of  some  six  or  seven  crystalline  substances, 
and  I  noticed  that,  with  the  exception  of  bismuth,  they  con- 
tracted  on  solidification.  The  contraction,  however,  did  not 
manifest  itself,  generally,  by  making  the  solidified  masses 
smaller  than  the  interior  of  the  vessels  in  which  the  sub- 


stances cooled ;  but  by  the  formation  of  cavities,  sometimefl 
of  considerable  size. 

The  experiments  referred  to,  were  made  with  comparative- 
ly very  small  quantities  of  the  various  substances,  the  fuaing 
points  of  all  being  far  lower  than  that  of  basalt;  still,  as 
there  was  a  considerable  difference  in  their  fusing  points  as 
well  as  in  the  amounts  employed,  I 'think  it  extremely  prob- 
able, were  the  blocks  in  question  carefully  examined,  cavities 
would  also  be  found  in  them,  or  on  their  sorfaoea,  which,  in 
conjunction  with  the  facts  already  elicited,  would,  I  believe, 
settle  the  interesting  question  whether  or  not  contractioa 
takes  place  during  the  solidification  and  devitrification  of  ba- 
salt.— ^I  am,  fta, 

AiiFBED  Tbibb. 

X49,  Gt.  Portland  Street,  March  33,  x868. 


EfUimation  of  Photphatea. 

To  the  Editor  of  t&e  Chemioal  Nbws. 

Sib, — As  this  is  the  season  when  so  many  persons  are  inter- 
ested in  the  manufacture  and  composition  of  artificial  ma- 
nures, perhaps  the  following  popular  explanation  of  Mr.  Bur- 
nard's  process  will  serve  as  an  answer  to  several  of  your  cor- 
respondents and  readers,  and  will  be  of  use  to  any  intelligent 
chemist  and  druggist,  aS  an  extremely' simple  mode  of  esti- 
mating their  phosphatic  value. 

I  take  for  granted  that  phosphate  of  lime  consists  of  3 
equivalents  of  lime  (jCaO)  and  i  equivalent  of  phosphoric 
acid  (POftX  and  is  converted  into  biphosphate  by  the  addi- 
tion of  2  equivalents  of  sulphuric  acid  (2S0a).  The  follow- 
ing diagram  will  exhibit  this  interesting  reaction : — 


Neutral    (  i  eq.  phoeph.  acid 

2  eq.  sulph.  acid        2SOi=8o 


PO»=72 
CaO=28 


*  "  QnaUtaUve  AnalTiis,'*  sixth  edition,  p.  8a. 


BiphosphateL 

Sulphate  of 
lima. 

fifere  we  see  2  eq.  of  sulphuric  acid  combine  with  2  eq.  of 
lime  to  form  sulphate  of  lime,  while  the  remaining  equiyaleot 
of  lime  combines  with  the  phosphoric  acid  to  form  biphos- 
phate  of  lime. 

Mr.  Burnard,  in  his  ingenious  process,  recommends  100  gr. 
of  the  manure  to  be  tested  to  be  added  to  2  pints  of  water; 
and  this  large  quantity  of  water  is  employed  that  sufficient 
of  the  sulphate  of  lime  may  be  taken  up  by  the  water,  to  aA 
ford  lime  by  its  decomposition  with  soda  for  combination  with 
the  biphosphate,  which  is  also  in  solution.  The  following  is 
the  exact  method  I  have  adopted  in  working  out  Mr.  Bar- 
nard's process: — I  have  a  measure  holding  looogr.  of  water;  it 
is,  in  fact,  a  piece  of  glass  tube,  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter, 
stopped  at  one  end,  and  divided  into  100  equal  parts; 
consequently  each  division  represents  10  gr.  of  water.  I 
then  dissolve  10  g^.  of  neutral  carbonate  of  soda  in  rain-wa- 
ter, and  make  it  up  to  1 000  gr.  This  constitutes  my  test 
solution  of  soda ;  every  ten  divisions  of  the  measure  repre- 
sents exactly  i  gr.  of  soda.  I  then  take  another  glass  tube, 
about  I  ft  long  and  ith  of  an  inch  diameter,  stopped  at  one 
end  with  a  plug  of  gutta  percha,  which  is  perforated  with  a 
pin ;  the  object  of  this  tube  is  to  add  the  test  solution  of  soda, 
drop  by  drop,  at  the  termination  of  the  operation,  when  great 
nicety  is  requisite ;  this  may  be  effected  by  applying  the  fin- 
ger at  the  other  end  of  the  tube. 

I  now  proceed  to  test,  agreeably  to  the  recommendatkn 
of  Mr.  Burnard,  one  half  of  the  solution,  or  one  pint^  with 
my  small  tube,  graduated  into  four  divisions,  so  that  eaA 
division  represents  7^^  ^^  ^  grain  of  soda.  It  may  require 
soda  solution  equal  to  about  ton  divisions  of  the  small  drop 
tube  (or  i  gr.  of  soda)  to  neutralise  the  free  sulphuric  add 
that  may  be  present  in  the  solution  operated  upon ;  bat  tioM 
is  readily  ascertained  by  adding  the  test  solution  gradually, 
and  so  long  atf  the  liquor  remains  quite  clear  when  wril 
agitated  by  stirring;  directly  the  liquor  assumes  a  slifiiht 
milky  appearance,  tbe  free  sulphuric  add  is  neutralised,  m 


[BafflbliBdMoii,VoLXVn.,ira433ypagsalHl^;  Vo,  431,  ]pag9 106,} 


the  conversion  of  the  blphosphate  in  solution  into  neutral 
phosphate  is  beginning,  the  milklness  being  oocasioned  bj 
the  precipitation  of  phosphate  of  lime  through  the  decom- 
position by  the  soda  of  the  sulphate  of  lime  in  solution. 

At  this  time  a  piece  of  blue  litmus  paper,  fastened  to  a 
piece  of  cork,  must  be  put  into  the  liquor,  when  it  instantly 
becomes  red.  Haying  noted  the  exact  quantity  of  soda 
solution  employed  to  neutralise  the  free  add,  more  of  it 
may  now  be  added  gradually,  until  the  liquor  begins  to  show 
an  alkaline  reaction,  constantly  stirring  the  whole  time; 
this  will  be  readily  seen  by  the  litmus  paper  assuming  a 
bluish  colour.  We  will  now  suppose  that  i  gr.  of  soda  has 
been  employed  in  neutralising  any  free  add  that  may  be 
present,  and  12  gr.  have  been  employed  in  decomposing  the 
sulphate  of  lime  for  the  predpitation  of  all  the  biphosphate 
as  neutral  phosphate;  it  now  remains  to  estimate  the  quan- 
tity of  biphosphate  in  the  100  gr.  of  manure. 

Now,  I  equivalent  of  carbonate  of  soda  (53)  combines 
with  I  equivalent  of  anhydrous  sulphuric  add  (40)  to  form 
sulphate  of  soda.  Consequently,  we  have  this  proportion 
*-as  ^3  is  to  40,  so  is  the  12  gr.  or  soda  to  the  quantity  of 
anhydrous  sulphuric  add  employed  in  the  conversion  of  the 
neutral  phosphate  of  lime  into  biphosphate,  which  is  905 ; 
bat  as  we  have  only  tested  half  the  liquor,  the  whole  will 
show  1 8' I  gr.  as  the  quantity  of  anhydrous  sulphuric  add 
employed  in  the  100  gr.  of  manure. 

Again,  our  diagram  shows  that  80  parts  of  anhydrous 
Bulphuric  acid  are  necessary  to  form  100  parts  of  biphos- 
phate; consequently,  we  have  this  Airther  proportion  to 
show  the  percentage  of  biphosphate  contained  in  the 
100  gr. 

As  80  :  100  : :  i8'i  :  to  the  percentage  of  biphosphate 
formed  by  the  i8'i  gr.  of  anhydrous  sulphuric  add,  which 
shows  the  manure  to  contain  about  22^  per  cent  of  soluble 
or  biphosphate  of  lime. 

As  this  is  not  intended  for  your  professional  readers,  I 
hope  it  may  not  be  considered  too  tedious  for  the  pages  of 
your  valuable  publication. — ^I  am,  Ac. 

W.  LrPTLB. 

Hecklngton  Hall,  Linoolnshlre. 


liECTURE    EXPERIMENTS. 


MELTING  METAL  IN  A  HANDKERCHIEF. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  experiment  of  wrapping  a  hand- 
kerchief tightly  round  the  bowl  of  a  spoon,  and  holding  the 
part  of  the  handkerchief  thus  stretched  over  a  spirit  lamp,  as 
an  illustration  of  the  conducting  power  of  the  metal  of  the 
spoon  for  heat.  A  more  sensational  form  of  the  same  experi- 
ment is  to  be  found  in  such  books  as  "  The  Young  Man's 
Book  of  Amusement,"  "  Endless  Amusement,*'  Ac.,  in  which 
a  bullet  is  to  be  melted  in  a  handkerchief  by  wrapping  it 
round  the  bullet,  and  then  (lolding  the  enclosed  bullet  over  a 
candle  until  melted.  On  trying  this  experiment  I  have  failed 
owing  to  the  difficulty  of  preventing  creases.  Tlie  following 
modification  of  the  experiment,  however,  is  easily  managed, 
and  is  very  telling: — Two  or  three  pounds  of  fasible  alloy 
are  melted,  and  run  into  an  evaporating  dish ;  when  cold,  a 
handkerchief  is  stretched  over  the  smooth  convex  form  thus 
obtained,  and  the  mass  may  then  be  melted  over  a  Bunsen's 
burner  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes;  on  piercing  the  hand- 
kerchief the  melted  metal  runs  out,  and  may  be  received  in 
a  mould. 

C.  J.  Woodward,  RSc. 
Midland  Institute,  Birmingham,  March  iitb,  1868. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


Teat  A»r  ttte  Preaene«  of  a  Free  Add. — Dissolve 
chloride  of  silver  in  just  sufficient  ammonia  to  make  a  clear 
solution.    If  a  little  of  the  test  be  added  to  ordinary  spring 


water,  the  carboi 
the  ammonia  anc 
a  good  lecture  ei 
— Edwin  Smith 

Tlie  Soiree  o 

day  evening  the 
an  entertainment 
most  successful  e 
The  rooms  were  1 
ratus,  and  the  w 
Turner,  Gainsbo 
graphs  by  Hanh 
General  Lefroy,  '. 
Rotunda  collecti< 
trative  series  of  < 
used  by  the  sei 
Cranboume,  Aus 
show  the  structui 
tion  of  blisters,  < 
the  load  coHting  ( 
work  cut  with  ih 
Department,  Wo 
shell,  whole  and  i 
powder ;  and  an 
coal,  used  ou  boi 
struction  of  the  b 
tured  by  the  Ame 
F.R.S.,  Chemist  o 
F.R.&,  and  Dr. 
hundred  cells  of  I 
exhibited  the  elec 
posing  water.     ^ 
Russell's  apparatu 
freezing  apparatus 
metallurgical  prep 
platinum,  gold,  si 
and  Matthey ;  son 
salta  by  Messrs  I 
rometer,  by  C.  W. 
J.  Huggins  ;  a  co 
ments,  by  Mr.  W. 
visitors  were  pres€ 
till  a  late  hour. 

Spectral  Ana 

The  application  < 
charges  in  the  B 
reality.     Professor 
researches  with  th 
of  the  Southern  B 
recently  given  an 
sufficiency  of  marl 
the  managers  of  t\ 
charges  with  the  a 
to  the  routine  prev 
which,  as  a  matte 
isting  in  the  Bes^c 
aid  of  the  specin 
steel,  in  the  Gratz 
proved  with  regai 
which  formerly  waj 
stances.    The  grea 
of  complete  decarb 
has  reacted  upon 
keeping  the  perce 
uniform  or  at  least 
gulating  the  quanti 
tion.    The  accider 
ness  between  the  d 
ed  to  a  very  consid 
has  by  these  mea 
Some  other  Austria 
ment  works  of  Neu 
to  Qratz  in  order  th 


[EngUih  Bditloo,  VoL  ZVU,  Na  434,  page  166;  No.  433^  page  ^16  *  Ho.  439 


248 


Miscellaneous. 


j  OnincAi.  Kb«8^ 


their  own  respective  establishmeutSi  and  an  account  of  Profes- 
sor Liell6gg^s  discoveries  has  been  published  in  the  Auatrian 
Gazette  for  Mining  and  MetdOurgy.  The  spectrum  pointed  out 
by  Professor  Liellegg,  belongs  to  the  flame  of  carbonic  oxide. 
It  can  be  seen  in  the  flame  escaping  from  the  mouth  of  the 
conTerter  during  the  preliminary- operation  of  heating  this 
▼easel  with  coke  only ;  and  in  that  case  the  lines  referred  to 
are  very  faint,  and  it  requires  some  practice  or  knowledge  of 
the  precise  spots  in  the  spectrum  where  these  bright  lines 
should  be  looked  for,  to  discover  them.  During  the  first 
period  of  the  Bessemer  process  the  spectrum  is  very  faint. 
The  yellow  portion  is  almost  invisible,  and  even  the  sodium 
line  18  missing ;  the  blue  and  purple  portions  are  extremely 
fitinL  The  absence  of  the  sodium  line  can  be  accounted 
for  only  by  the  oonsideraUon  that  there  is  no  real  flame 
formed  by  incandescent  gases  escaping  from  the  converter 
at  that  early  stage,  but  only  a  mass  of  sparks  carried  by 
the  nitrogen  from  the  blast,  the  oxygen  of  which  remains 

.  in  the  converter,  combining  with  silicium.  As  the  flame 
gradually  appears  in  the  centre  of  the  volley  of  sparks,  the 
spectrum  widens  and  shows  yellow  light,  until  suddenly, 
the  sodium  line  in  the  yellow  fleld  becomes  yisible,  flrst 
only  for  moments  as  a  flashing  bright  streak,  and  after 
less  than  one  minute  as  a  constant  and  clearly  defined 
line.  The  appearance  of  the  sodium  line  marks  the  com- 
mencement  of  the  decarburisation,  although  this  line  does 
not  belong  to  the  charge  of  iron  at  all,  but  rather  to  the 
accidental  presence  of  sodium  compounds  in  very  minute 
quantitiea  It  is  therefore  only  indirectly  connected  with  the 
combustion  of  carbon;  Le^  the  appearance  of  the  sodium 
line  is  a  signal  of  the  completion  of  the  continuous  spectrum, 
and  this  continuous  spectrum  belongs  to  the  combustion  of 

.  carbon.  As  soon  as  the  sodium  line  has  taken  a  steady  and 
permanent  appearance,  the  characteristic  lines  of  the  carbonic 
oxide  may  be  looked  for  in  the  greenish-yellow,  in  the  green, 
and  in  the  purple  field.  In  each  of  these  three  fields  one 
bright  line  becomes  clearly  visible  at  that  time.  As  the 
flame  increases  in  size  and  brilliancy,  the  spectrum  comes 
out  more  and  more  clearly.  Bright  lines  increase  in  number 
in  each  of  the  first-named  three  fields,  and  ultimately,  at  the 
height  of  the  process,  some  bright  lines  show;  themselves  in 
the  red  and,  occasionally,  also  in  the  blue  field.  The  g^een 
field  in  the  spectrum,  however,  is  the  real  point  of  observa- 
tion in  practice,  as  in  this  the  lines  are  most  clearly  visible, 
and  in  it  they  appear  first  and  disappear  last  The  spectrum, 
as  a  whole,  is  by  no  means  steady  or  oonatant,  but  its  fluc- 
tuations do  not  displace  any  of  the  bright  lines;  they  only 
alter  the  background  or  the  oontinuous  spectrum  upon 
which  they  appear.  After  the  "  boil,"  the  maximum  inten- 
sity is  reached ;  and  at  that  stage,  and  only  with  very  hot 
charges,  a  bundle  of  bright  lines  appear  in  the  bluish-purple 
portion  of  the  spectrum.  About  four  or  five  minutes  before 
the  end  of  the  charge  of  three  tons,  Uie  lines  begin  to  dis- 
appear in  rapid  succession,  and  in  the  invented  order  of  their 
appearance — ^flrst,  the  bluish-purple,  then  the  blue  line^ 
after  these  the  red,  Ac.  When  the  last  green  line  disappears, 
the  reesel  is  turned,  and  the  charge  completed  by  the  addi- 
tion of  spiegeleisen.  The  yellow  sodium  line  does  not  dis- 
appear to  the  end  of  the  operation.  Sometimes  the  vessel  is 
turned  when  all  lines  in  the  green  field  with  the  exception  of 
two  have  disappeared.  This  depends  upon  the  special  expe- 
rience of  the  case,  and  it  is  clear  that  it  is^of  less  importance 
whether  the  one  or  the  other  mark  be  taken,  if  it  is  only 
regularly  adhered  to,  and  the  charge  of  spiegeleisen  regu- 
lated accordingly.  The  practical  results  are  highly  satis- 
factory, since  they  make  the  regularity  of  the  "  temper  "  of 
Bessemer  steel  practically  independent  of  the  skill  and 
experience  of  the  charge-manager,  the  changes  of  the 
spectrum  being  made  more  marked  and  unmistakable  than 
those  of  the  appearance  of  the  fiame  itael£  Hitherto,  no 
experience  with  British  hnmatite  irons  has  been  gained,  and 
the  use  of  the  spectroscope  in  this  country  must  be  preceded 

^^«>me caref^J  trials  and  observations  in  order  to  fix  the 

^^^^^  «f  t^^  ciiAnges.    It  is  highly  probable  that  ihey 


will  prove  Tery  similar,  if  not  absolutely  the  same  as  thoes 
observed  with  Styrian  charcoal  iron,  but  mere  probabilities 
are  not  sufficient  in  the  case  like  this.  If  the  Benemer  steel 
makers  should  gain  no  more  by  the  use  of  the  spectroscope 
than  the  possibility  to  show  to  the  noisy  disbeUevers  in  the 
uniformity  of  Bessemer  steel  that  a  child  may  conduct  the 
charge  without  the  least  chance  of  error,  just  the  same  as  a 
boy  can  now  work  the  whole  mechanical  apparatus  of  the  ood- 
verters,  the  gain  would  be  yciry  great  But  there  is  a 
greater  gain  immediately  to  be  realised  by  the  uae  of  the 
spectroscope.  The  steel-masters  will  become  leas  dep^ideot 
upon  the  skill  and  attention  of  their  charge-managers  or 
foremen,  and  the  percentage  of  waste  or  unsuitable  material 
produced  by  carelessness  or  mistakes  will  be  leaaaned  in  the 
general  run  of  practice. — Engineering. 

An  AU«c«4  PreMrrmtlve  acainst  tMe  Cmttla 
Pla^rne — Chloride  of  copper  is  now  extensively  nsed  m 
Germany  against  the  cattle  plague,  or  rather  as  a  jweserva- 
tive.  The  modw  operandi  is  as  follows: — ^Take  green 
crystallised  chloride  of  copper,  8  grm. ;  spirits  of  wine,  t 
kilog.,  and  dissolre.  With  this  solution  impr^;nate  a  pad 
of  cotton,  lay  it  on  a  plate,  and  set  fire  to  it  in  the  oentre 
of  the  stable,  turning  the  anim^'  heads  towards  the  flams^ 
so  as  to  make  them  breathe  the  ftimes.  This  operatkm 
is  performed  morning  and  evening,  burning  one  pad  for 
every  three  heads  of  cattla  At  night,  a  spirit  lamp,  filled 
with  the  solution,  is  lighted  in  &e  stable.  To  prevent 
aoddetits,  the  flame  is  surrounded  with  wire  gauze.  The 
liquid  is  also  administered  internally,  with  the  additkn 
of  15  grm.  of  chloroform  for  the  aboye  quantity.  A  tea^ 
spoonful  of  this  is  put  into  the  animal's  drink  three  tim» 
a  day.  Ab  a  further  precaution  the  litters  are  wateied 
with  the  same  solution. 

BarmleM  *^  Pluiimolk's  Serpents." — A  new  meOiod 
of  making  the  carious  chemkaQ  toys  called  '*F1iaraoh*B 
Serpents''  has  been  suggested  by  Yorbringer.  The  Uadc 
liquor  which  results  as  a  useless  product  when  coal  oil  is 
purified  with  sulphuric  acid,  is  to  be  treated  with  filming 
nitric  acid.  The  dark  coloured  resinous  matter  whidi 
swims  on  the  surface  is  then  collected,  washed  and  dried, 
when  it  forms  a  yellowish-brown  mass  having  about  the 
consistency  of  sulphur  which  has  been  melted  and  poured 
into  water.  When  this  mass  is  ignited  it  undergoes  sudi 
a  wonderfiil  increase  in  bulk  that  a  cylinder  one  inch  long 
will  give  a  snake  about  four  feet  in  length.  The  brielhess 
of  the  popularity  enjoyed  by  the  "original"  serpents  wis 
due  to  the  unhealthy  vapours  given  off  in  the  prooeas  of 
huming. — Scientific  American, 

Absorption  of  ArMnIc,  Tnncatie,  and  Araenioos 
Aetds  front  Solution  by  Cbarcoal* — In  a  fonner 
number  of  the  Obbxioal  News,  I  stated  that  bharooal 
absorbed  nitric  acid  from  sulphuric  acid;  T  have  since 
found  that  it  also  absorbs  the  substances  here  spedfiad, 
under  the  following  circumstances.  If  a  lew  drops  of  a 
solution  of  a  salt  of  arsenic,  or  arsenious  acid,  is  pot 
into  a  few  ounces  of  dilute  sulphuric  add  and  the  mixed 
solution  agitated  at  mtervals  with  recently  ignited  diar- 
coal  for  an  hour  or  two,  the  dear  liquid  •  obtained  I7 
filtration  doos  not- manifest  any  reaction  of  arsenic  when 
tested  by  Marsh's  process.  Lignite  1)^  not  the  same  effect 
as  diarooal,  though  absorbent  of  weak  adds  and  bases 
generally,  as  I  have  before  shown.  Tungstic  add  also 
from  add  solutions  is  removed  by  charcoal  applied  in  like 
mumer,  and  is  given  up  to  a  solution  of  causUc  aOcafi.— 
W.  Skbt. 

Uae  of  tbe  lilme-I^lffbt  in  Bnrracka* — On  Monday 
evening  a  series  of  experiments  with  the  lime-light  were 
conducted  m  the  Queen's  Barracks,  Perth,  with  tiie  view 
of  testing  the  practicability  of  its  introduction  instead  of 
gas,  the  Horse  Guards  having  resolved  to  disoontinne  tie 
use  of  gas  in  the  Perth  barracks,  owing  to  its  recent  rise 
to  6«.  8d  per  i,oco  feet    The  experiments  were  made  is 


[BagUah  EdiliOD,  VoL  ZVZL,  ITo.  433,  pages  Ufi,  146 ;  ITo.  434,  pages  140, 16&,  IS?.] 


the  open  air,  in  one  of  the  lobbies  extending  the  whole 
length  of  one  of  the  wings  of  the  barradcs,  and  in  one  of  the 
oirdinary  barrack-rooms.  An  apparatus,  about  20  feet 
high,  was  erected  in  the  sqnaref  having  at  the  top  an  ap- 
pliance for  showing  off  the  light,  and  a  reflector  above. 
When  the  flame  was  applied  and  the  light  regulated,  the 
entire  square  was  lighted  up  almost  as  clear  as  noonday, 
it  being  quite  easy  to  read  the  smallest  print  at  a  distance 
of  100  yards.  In  the  lobby  a  light  of  small  size  was  used, 
opvered  with  a  glass  globe,  and  the  flame  burned  so  bright- 
ly  that  a  pin  might  hare  been  seen  on  the  floor  at  the 
extreme  end  of  the  lobby,  a  distance  of  fullv  30  yards. 
The  company  then  adjourned  to  one  of  the  ordinary 
barrack-rooms,  where  a  very  small  apparatus  was  fitted 
up;  and,  on  the  Ught  being  applied,  the  room  was  lighted 
np  much  more  brilliantly  than  it  would  have  been  by  gas. 
In  fiact,  if  there  was  any  fault,  it  was  that  the  light  was  too 
briUiaDt  for  the  size  of  the  room. '  The  experiments  were 
witnessed  by  a  scientific  gentleman  from  London  sent  by 
the  War  Office,  and  by  the  colonel  commanding  the  Boyal 
Engineers  in  Scotland,  both  of  whom  expressed  themselves 
highly  satisfied.  We  understand  that  contracts  have  been 
entered  into  for  usmg  it  in  the  camp  at  Aldershot,  and 
Government  intend  shortly  to  introduce  it  into  all  the 
barracks  in  the  country. — EkHnburgh  OourarU. — Journal  of 
Gas-Lighting. 

Select   Committee    oa    Selentlfle    Bdneatlon.— 

In  the  Mouse  of  Commons  on  Friday  last,  on  the  motion 
of  Mr.  Semuelson,  it  was  agreed  that  the  Select  Committee 
on  Scientific  Instruction  do  consist  of  18  members:— Ur. 
Adand,  Mr.  Akroyd,  Mr.  Bagnall,  Mr.  Bazley,  Mr.  Henry 
Austin  Bruce,  Mr.  Berecroft,  Lord  FrederidE  Cavendish, 
Mr.  Dixon,  Mr.  Gkaves,  Mr.  Gregory,  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes, 
Sir  Charles  Lanyon,  Mr.  M'Lagan,  Lord  Bobert  Montagu, 
Mr.  Edmund  Potter,  Mr.  Powell,  Mr.  Bead,  and  Mr.  Samuel- 
Bon. — TiTnes, 

modem  Physleal  Science. — ^The  following  forms  the 
conclusion  to  a  course  of  lectures  on  "Hea^**  recently 
delivered  at  Eton  College  by  Mr.  G.  F.  BodwelL  ''I 
have  said  much  in  the  foregoing  lectures  concerning  the 
motions  possible  to  particles  of  matter,  because  I  have 
wished  to  impress  upon  you  the  (act  that  physical  science 
is  daily  becoming  more  and  more  a  science  of  kinetics, — 
a  science  which  resolves  the  direct  acting  causes  of  pheno- 
mena into  motions  of  particles,  variety  of  form  being 
induced  by  variety  of  motion.  We  have  done  with  im- 
ponderable fiuids,  their  media,  subtie  essences,  and  with 
all  the  meaningless  terms  which  have  from  time  to  time 
boen  proposed  to  designate  the  so-called 'Physical  Forces. 
We  now  regard  them  as  attributes  of  matter,  inseparable 
from  matter;  as  actions  possible  to  small  particles, 
whether  they  be  extremely  extended  as  in  the  ether  which 
pervades  space,  or  comparatively  close  together  as  in  the 
metals.  Forces  differ  from  eadbi  other  either  because  the 
Telocity  of  the  motion  which  constitutes  them  varies,  or 
because  the  motions  themselves  differ  in  form.  All 
matter  possesses  motion.  We  have  seen  that  if  we 
Incrtose  one  kind  of  motion  to  a  certain  extent  the 
substance  possessing  it  becomes  what  we  caU  hot,  while 
if  that  motion  be  further  increased  Ught  appears;  hence 
the  inference  that  the  motion  called  light  Is  an  intensified 
form  of  the  motion  called  heat,  that  is  that  the  difference 
is  one  of  velodty,  not  of  form  or  character.  Again  we 
have  seen  that  the  motion  of  heat  interferes  with  the 
propagation  of  the  motion  called  electricity;  hence  the 
inference  that  the  one  motion  differs  in  form  and  character 
from  the  other,  and  not  simply  (as  in  the  case  of  heat 
and  light)  in  velocity  unaooompanled  by  change  of  form. 
We  can  readily  comprehend  this  if  we  bear  in  mind  that 
the  particles  of  a  mass  of  matter  moving^  with  a  certain 
kind  of  motion,  cannot  so  readily  assimilate  a  motion 
of  a  different  kind  as  if  they  were  at  rest  at  the  time 
of  its  inception,  or  as  if  the  new  motion  were  similar  in 


form,  and  diffei   1 
physical  science    < 
the  movements 
meats  of  unseei   | 
invisible  actions    1 
it  is  thus  alone  1  ; 
of  the  motions 
matter.    This  is  I 
connection  with  1 
constrained  to  n 
the   present   da 
capability  and  al  1 
to  guide  his  int 
make  it  acourati 
calm  in  its  immei  i 
tation,    to   exact 
observation  of  1  1 
sound  in  his  ju<  ; 
truth,  by  a    dei 
between  mind  ai  I 
ing  almost  to  ti 
Universe.    I  spe  ! 
first  comprehens  ' 
physical  philoso;  I 
which  we  are  11  I 
sophy  may  alm<  i 
dusion,  I  will  as 
forces  of  Natun 
is  in  all  cases    1 
know  that  if  we  1  1 
definite  velocity,   ' 
appear  in  a  mat  i 
precisely  equal  y  ! 
with  a  certain  ve  : 
represented  by    1 
velocity,  or  by  a 
It  is  thus  with  ti  i 
a  force,  A,  if  it    : 
one  definite  amc . 
to  assume  the  foi 
into  other  forces 
many  different  ac  ; 
— the  diverse  fc 
into  the  original  1 
spring,  it  is  in  a  ( 
be  acting  or  at  re  ! 
it  differs  only  1b 
individuality  of  f( : 
its  individuality 
phenomena  of  1 1 
never  broken.    1 1 
force  altered  in 
in  inducing  natu 
kind,  sometimes : . 
ena  of  the  TJni' 
force." 

SolnbUlty  of 

:dilica  wliich  has 
allowed  contact  v 
a  short  time,  |s  a : 
by  the  gelatinous 
of  ammonium,  in^i 
the  silica  is  redu( 
ignition,  it  is  still 
experiment  a  glai 
been  in  contact 
allow  it  contact  ^ 
for  the  purpose  o:: 
the  surface  of  the 

Torpedo  Bs]! 
made  on  board  1: 
sence  of  some  of 
Committee,  of  Caj: 


[BngUah  Bdition,  ToL  Z7ZL,  No.  434,  page  157;  Na  435,  p 


250 


juisceoianeous. 


i       May,  1668. 


great  satisfaction.  As  a  distinct  private  experiment,  a  small 
torpedo,  charged  witli  20  lbs.  of  a  highly  explosive  agent 
(equal  to  about  100  lbs.  of  gunpowder),  the  invention  of  Mr. 
Horslej,  scientific  chemist,  of  Cheltenham,  but  formerly  of 
Portsmouth,  was  brought  in  contact  with  a  vessel,  which 
was  instantly  and  totally  destroyed  with  a  grand  effect,  the 
report  of  the  explosion  being  heard  for  miles  round  Pem- 
broke. There  is  no  doubt  about  its  being  one  of  the  most 
destructive  engines  of  war  yet  invented,  and  will  make  short 
work  of  an  enemy. — HanU  Telegraph  and  Sussex  Chronicle, 

ApplfUm  Cbarcoal  to  Seiver  VentUatom.— In  a 

recent  number  we  gave  an  abstract  of  the  report  to  the 
Metr(^litan  Board  of  Works  "On  the  Ventilation  of 
Sewers,"  by  Dr.  Miller.  Our  attention  has  since  been  called 
to  the  fact  that  so  early  as  1862,  the  proposal  of  Dr.  Miller 
had  already  been  successfully  carried  out  in  the  City  of  Lon- 
don by  Dr.  Letheby  and  Mr.  Haywood.  The  district  experi- 
mented upon  was  in  the  Eastern  portion  of  the  City  of  Lon- 
don, comprising  a  spaco  of  about  fitty-nine  acres,  with  1,700 
houses,  and  about  14,000  inliabiiauts.  Wood  charcoal  was 
employed,  broken  intu  pieces  of  the  size  of  a  filbert.  It  was 
packed  closely,  but  without  compression,  upon  the  various 
trays ;  and  each  tray  held  about  i-fV  lbs.  of  charcoal*  making 
altogether  6^  lbs.,  distributed  over  the  six  trays  of  each  air 
filter.  The  experiment  was  commenced  on  the  14th  of  July, 
i860,  and  continued  for  a  period  of  rather  more  than  eight- 
een months.  The  general  conclusions  from  these  experi- 
ments, ai.d  from  the  consideration  of  collateral  evidence, 
are : — that  dry  charcoal  in  the  presence  of  atmospheric  air  ia 
a  powerful  means  of  destroying  the  mepiiitic  gases  and 
vapours  of  sewers  and  house  drain?;  that  the  charcoal  filters 
may  be  used  with  efficacy  in  the  course  of  the  air  channels 
from  the  drains  and  closets  of  houses,  as  well  as  in  the  ven- 
tilation of  the  public  sewers ;  that  in  applying  the  charcoal, 
those  contrivances  should  be  used  which  offer  the  least  resist- 
ance to  the  free  passage  of  the  air;  that  the  situation  of  the 
filters  ^is  best,  when  the  charcoal  is  protected  from  wet  and 
from  dirt,  and  is  easily  accessible ;  that  from  the  ascertained 
efficacy  of  charcoal  in  destroying  the  dangerous  emanations 
from  sewers,  the  system  may  be  generally  applied  with  great 
advantage ;  and  that  from  the  experience  derived  fh)m  this 
extensive  practical  inquiry,  they  are  satisfied  that  the  expense 
of  the  system  might  be  considerably  reduced  below  that  indi- 
cated by  the  cost  of  the  experiment 

Prol^Mior  Gamgee's  Sletliod  of  PreserTtng  Heat.— 

The  necessity  of  some  plan  for  preserving  meat  has  long  been 
felt.     Hence  it  is  that  every  plan,  as  soon  as  announoed,  is 
seized  by  the  anxious  public.    If  we  may  beliove  late  re- 
ports from  liondon,  this  desire  is  at  last  soon  to  be  gratified, 
and  in  a  manner  which  will  leave  nothing  desirable  unao- 
complished.    It  seems  that  Professor  Gamgee,  President  of 
the  Albert  Veterinary  College  of  London,  author  of  several 
works  on  the  cattle  plague,  and  a  recognised  authority  in  such 
matters,  discovered    a   new  process  for  preserving  meats, 
which   he  has    patented    in    Europe  and   America.     The 
process  is  simple  and  quite  inexpensive.    The  animal,  when 
practicable,  is  caused  to  inhale  carbonic  oxide  gas.    Before  it 
is  quite  insensible  it  is  bled  in  the  usual  way.    When  dressed 
the  carcass  is  suspended  in  an  air-tight  receiver,  the  air  ex- 
hausted, and  the  receiver  filled  with  carbonic  oxide  gas ;  a 
small  quantity  of  sulphurous  acid  gas  is  also  added.    After 
remaining  here  from  24  to  48  hours,  meat  may  be  removed, 
and  hung  in  a  dry  atmosphere ;  it  will  keep  for  one,  two,  or 
three  months,  or  longer,  with  no  perceptible  change  in  taste 
or  appearance.    The  tests  of  the  method  thus  ar  applied 
have  been  attended  with  success.    Beef  killed  in  London  in 
March  iast  was  sent  to  New  York  in  June,  and  as  late  as  the 
middle  of  July  was  shown  to  a  prominent  butcher  in  Fulton 
market^  who  did  not  discover  that  it  was  other  than  ordinary 
jcinek^^^  ®^P«»sed  the  opinion  that  it  had  probably  been 
And   Sft^*^'^'  *^o  days-    Mutton  killed  in  London  last  July, 
€?^G   1^*'^  ^  ^^^  ^^'y  *^**  *^''»  is- now  perfectly  fresh,  and 
-^  ^ce  of  beef  kept  for  ten  days  in  a  can  surrounded  by 


water  at  a  temperature  of  90  to  100  degrees,  came  oat  per* 
fectly  fresh.  The  process,  in  the  opinion  of  eminent  chem- 
ists, does  not  injure  the  meat  in  the  least,  which  is  an  advao* 
tage  very  difficult  of  attainment,  even  in  the  case  of  trans- 
portation of  live  stock,  which  is  liable  to  the  bad  effects  of 
confinement  and  the  length  of  the  journey.  Among  the 
beneficial  results  of  the  adoption  of  this  scheme  would  be  a 
better  supply  in  our  markets  of  wholesome  meat,  and  at  a 
desirably  cheaper  rate.  It  is  expected  that  Profeesor  Oamgee 
will  soon  visit  this  country  for  the  purpose  of  inaugurating 
his  project. — American  Journal  of  Joining. 

Production  of  a  Fragrant  Substanee  fW»iii  Reaia 

(probably  an  essential  oil). — Common  resin,  lac,  or  kauri  gum, 
in  a  state  of  powder,  is  generally  heated  with  somewhat 
dilute  nitric  acid  for  a  few  hours;  the  mixture  or  the  solution, 
as  the  case  may  be,  is  then  evaporated  to  dryness,  or  ueariy 
so,  and  treated  with  an  excess  of  a  strong  solution  of  common 
soda,  caustic  potash,  or  lime  in  water ;  the  resulting  liquid  is 
then  transferred  to  a  retort,  and  distilled ;  at  first  the  distillate 
has  an  odour  of  garlic,  but  this  gradually  gives  way  to  an 
odour  decidedly  fragrant.  On  redistilling  the  portion  last 
drawn  over  from  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  a  strong 
aqueous  solution  of  this  odourous  substance  is  obtained,  the 
solution  itself  has  a  warm  aromatic  fiavour,  and  the  odour 
assimilates  to  that  of  peppermint  mixed  with  lavender. 
Bichromate  of  potash  with  sulphuric  acid,  also,  may  be  used 
for  the  oxidation  of  the  resin  employed. — W.  Sexy. 

d^ampacna  f^ona  Petrolenm*— It  is  no  longer  a 
secret  of  the  chemist's  laboratory  that  dear  golden  syrapa 
can  be  made  from  starch  and  sulphuric  acid;  that  delickms 
wines  and  brandies  can  be  made  fWim  beet-root ;  that  a  bar* 
rel  of  peanuts  can  be  transformed  into  excellent  coffee;  that 
lard  can  absorb  an  enormous  quantity  of  water  in  certain 
oonditions;  that  in  fiict  there  seems  no  limit  to  the  adultera- 
tions that  an  intelligent  and  dishonest  chemist  can  practise 
upon  his  fellow-men.  AH  these  marvels  of  chemical  acienoB 
have  in  these  latter  days  become  degraded  into  mere  tricks 
of  trade,  and  their  chief  beauty  is  in  their  capacity  to  enable 
unscrupulous  dealers  to  lighten  the  pockets  and  destroy  the 
stomachs  of  the  confiding  and  consuming  public.  CoDcera- 
ing  the  article  of  champagne,  a  writer  in  the  Portland,  Mei, 
Star  tells  us  that  it  is  mtule  from  a  thousand  different  sub- 
stances^even  fi-om  refined  petrolennL  Yes,  from  the  fiery 
benzoles  a  sparkling,  bubbling,  foaming  champagne  can  be 
produced  which  will  delight  the  eye,  tickle  the  palate,  glad- 
den the  heart  momentarily — but  quicken  our  paces  toward 
the  graveyard.  This  is  a  new  use  for  petroleum,  which  those 
who  have  been  experimenting  with  it  as  an  agency  for  gener- 
ating steam  have  little  dreamed  of.  Who  can  say  that  the 
Pennsylvania  oil  territory,  now  considered  mostly  worthless, 
may  not  some  day  be  regenerated  into  the  great  champagne- 
producing  country  of  the  world. — dncinnaU  Jbwrnai  of 
Commerce. 


PATENTS. 


3537.  A.  y.  Newton,  Oianeery  lane,  **  An  Improved  method  of  wum- 
flActuring  cMt  steel  and  malleable  Iroo.*' — A  oommunkaiioa  firom  K. 
L.  Seymour,  New  Tott,  U.S.A.— PetltioD  recorded  December  11, 1867. 

369c  J.  Jowett,  Parkhead,  Lanark,  N.  B.,  **  Improremente  la  tew 

ices?^— December  aS,  1867. 


*Tbem 


M.  A.  F.  MennoDS,  BoutbampUm  Bntldlnga,  Cbmaoerj  Laae, 
manufaoiure  of  a  vegetable  tabatitute  for  animal  hair  ttom  a  pi«- 
duet  not  hitherto  josed  for  tliat  purpose.  **~A  oommuiiicatloQ  tnm  V. 
Stanfen,  Hue  Anber.  Parla 

3714.  U.  Beesemer,  Cannon  Street.  London,  **  Improremeiils  in  Ibe 
treatment  of  crude  or  cast  iron,  and  in  the  mannCuctm  of  — I'^^f 
iron  and  steeL^— December  ii,  1867. 

aS.  J.  T.  Emmereon  and  J.  Mnrgatrojd,  Heaton  Nonls,  !■»  in  ■■»!?. 
'*  Improvements  h>  the  mann&ctnre  of  iron,  and  In  the  appoeatiaB  tb««> 
of  to  certain  useful  pnrpuBei.'* 

33.  W.  H.  Atkinson,  Aldersgata  Street,  London,  **  Improvemcflts  la 
the  preparation  and  use  of  compositions  for  cleansing  and  sweeteali« 
casks  and  other  vessels,  such  oomporitlon  bdag  also  applicable  to  other 
purposes.'^— January  4, 1868. 


[E]ifiiflhEdiltoii,yoLZVIL,Ko.43«,pag«109;  Ka  432^  page  134.} 


—MM.     VWtUUlU 


1^ 

■i 


jui|iuriwas  iruiu  iruu,  awcvij  buu  uuicr  uivmnb. 

J.  T.  Bennett,  Pittsburgh,  Penn..  U.8.^ 

50.  O.  David,  Serle  dtreet,  Lincoln's  Inn,  Middlesex,  **  Improyements 
Is  me  mode  of  combining  wrought  and  cast  iron  or  other  metals  for 
Tarious  usefU  purposes.**— A  commnnleation  from  W.  M.  Arnold,  New 
York,  U.».A. 

64.  P.  Spence,  Newton  Heath,  Manchester,  **  Improvements  appD- 
eable  to  roasting  or  calcining  copper  and  other  ori  s  containing  sul- 
phur and  also  regains,  and  In  apparatus  connected  therewith."— ^ana- 
ttai7  7.  z868. 

78.  w.  K  Kenworthy,  Crown  Point  Road,  Leeds,  **An  improved 
method  of  purifying  drains  and  seweis."— January  8,  186& 

85.  0.  J.  B.  Ki^,  Great  i'ortland  Street,  Middlesex.  *^  An  Improved 
process  to  be  employed  in  the  tanning  o.  skins  or  hides." 

86k  C.  U.  JS'owmiin,  Brentford  Knd,  Middlesex,  *'  Improvements  in  the 
manufacture  of  onfermented  and  unlntoxicating  malt  liquors."— Jann- 
•re  9, 1868. 

95.  «l.  Fawpett,  Kirton  In  Lindsay,  Lincolnshire,  *'  An  hnproved 
mannfacture  of  catUe  food/' 

96.  J.  M.  Kuwan,  Glasgow,  N.B.,  **  Improvements  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  artificial  fuel**— A  communication  firom  J.  A.  Y.  S.  Traunfela, 
Vienna. — January  10,  1S68. 

105.  J.  bomervell,  Kendal,  Westmoreland,  **  An  hnproved  method  of 
obtaining  and  preserving  alimentary  subsiauces  In  a  hlghly-concentrat- 
td  form.*  ^ 

112.  T.  WMtwell,  Btockton-on-Tees,  Durliain,  **  Improvements  In 
furnaces."— January  iz,  1868. 

iti.  G.  Mlmmu,  Jersey,  New  Jersey,  n.S.A.,  "An  Improved  com- 
poeUion  for  furnace  linings,  Are  bricks^  pou,  crucibles,  and  othei* 
articles." 

i^  J.  Kidd,  St  Paul's  Wharf,  London,  "  Improvements  In  obtaining 
arimdal  light,  and  in  apparatus  employed  therein.*' 

139.  J.  Head,  ^'ewport  Mills,  near  Middlesborougfa,  Yorkshire,  **  Im- 
provements in  fbmaces  for  puddling,  bulling,  melting,  or  heating  iron 
or  steeL"— January  ic  1868. 

Z49.  J.  A.  Jones,  Middlesborongh,  Yorkshire,  **  Improvements  In  the 
manufacture  of  eteeL"—JaDnary  z6,  z868. 

164.  U.  Altkeo,  Falkhrk,  Stirling,  N.B.,  **  Improvements  in  treating 
Iron  ores  or  iron  stones  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  ecozMmy  in  the 
obtalnmentof  iron  and  otlier  products  ihereArom. "-January  Z7,  z868. 


NOT£S  AND  QUERIES. 

H  ha§  (sen  r^pretenMl  to  ua  that  our  column  qf  ITotet  and  Qmriet 
Aoe  oeoanonailff  &€•»  made  the  veMcU  Jbr  the  twreptUioue  die- 
poeal  <ff  trade  eeorete  bf  tubordinaUe  <i»  chemical  toorte,  «*«- 
Jbnown  to  their  prineipale.  TMe  column  has  proved  to  be  «i|^- 
JlcUnUy  ue^ul  to  a  large  daee  </  our  readere  for  uetobe  reluc- 
tamt  to  dieooKtinueit/ifrthceaJbeqfa/ewfoho  dbueeite  prwoiUgee, 
J*robably  a  more  rigid  eupertieton  toitt  enable  ue  to  obviate  the 
difficulty.  There  will  be  no  otifeetion  to  a  corrtepondent  aeking 
for  if^fbrmatian  on  trade  eubjeete;  but  the  anewer  muet  iikewU^ 
be  made  public^  and  in  euch  eaeee  no  name  or  addreea  can  be 
given,  no  private  communicaiione  /orwarded4hrough  ««,  and  no 
<^^  of  payment  for  ir\/brmation  can  be  pubUehed, 

Sulphur  in  Pyritee.—Jn  answer  to  the  query  of  yoor  eorrespondent 
F.  W.  W.,  I  b.g  to  offer  the  fuUvwing  remarks.  The  method  of  analysis 
of  sulphur  ores  usually  adopted  for  commercial  purposes  Is  in  subsumoe 
Ibis :  a  known  weight  of  the  ore  reduced  to  nne  powder  is  oxidised 
^best  in  a  email  flask  with  a  luimel  placed  in  the  mouth  to  avoid  loss 
by  spirting,  and  heated  on  a  saad-buth)  either  by  strong  nitric  acid  or 
Bitn»-hydrochlorlc  add  (aqua  regis),  perfectly  free  ftvm  sulphnrle 
add;  after  the  oxidation  is  complete,  the  liquid  is  evaporsteddown 
as  Ikr  as  possible  to  expel  the  majority  of  the  reznaining  nitric  or 
hydrochloric  acid ;  the  residue  is  boiled  with  a  little  water,  and  almost 
but  not  quite  Deutrallzed  by  ammonia;  a  solution  of  barium  chloride 
of  known  strength  Is  then  added  until  no  further  precipitate  is  produced, 
the  exact  point  being  found  by  filtering  off  a  UtUe  of  the  liquid  alter 
6a6h  addition  of  barium  chloride  and  adding  to  it  a  few  mure  drops  of 
the  stazulard  solution,  care  being  always  taken,  in  ease  of  a  furiher 
precipitate  being  thus  produced,  to  add  this  flltrate  to  the  original  kolu- 
tion,  and  mix  weU  before  fllieriug  a  secozid  time.  In  case  of  over- 
■tapping  the  mark,  it  Is  convenient  to  have  at  liand  a  solution  of 
audhun  sulphate  of  strength  precisely  equal  to.  that  of  the  barium 
ehlorkie ;  ihis  solullon  may  then  be  oautluusly  added  with  repeated  fil- 
tration and  examination  of  the  filtrate  with  tlie  sulphate  solution,  until 
the  point  Is  Juitt  reached,  when  addition  of  sulphate  solution  produces 
no  further  prediilute :  by  subtracting  the  volume  of  sulphate  solution 
thus  used  from  the  total  volume  of  burium  solution  added,  the  exact 
quantity  of  this  latter  consumed  is  known.  If  z  gramme  of  sulphur  ore 
be  taken,  and  3a*5  grammes  of  pure  anhydrous  Uaiium  chloride  be  dis- 
solved to  a  htre  oi  duld,  each  cable  oeniiizietre  of  barium  solution  Ubcd 
ivili  represent  i  per  cent,  of  sulphur  iu  the  ore  examined ;  aa'z9  grammes 
of  anhydrous  sodium  solpuate  bvlug  dissolved  to  a  htre  of  the  second 
■oluUon.    in  ease  of  lead  being  contained  la  the  ore,  an  error  Is  Intro- 


vr    UlM»ti^    suu     W     <*V4||U      MIV    W«riUlU    •UI|FUMW7    ptV%M*MSKU.        AOBiCBU  vt 

oxidising  by  adds,  the  powdered  ore  may  be  suspended  in  caustic  pot- 
ash (free  from  sulphateX  and  oxidised  by  passing  waitht  d  chlorine  mco 
the  liquid;  lead  being  converted  into  dioxide,  lb  thus  rendered  non-ln- 
JnriouB ;  the  alkaline  llqald  obtained  Is  acidified  and  precipitated  by 
barium  chloride  as  before.  Ihe  finely  powdered  ore  m  ly  be  mixed  with 
7  or  8  times  Its  weight  of  a  mixture  of  equal  psrts  of  sodium  carbonate 
and  poiaAsium  nitrate,  and  heated  cautiously  in  a  capadous  crucible ; 
the  mass  being  finally  boiled  with  water,  and  the  sulphate  estimated  in 
the  filtrate ;  in  practice,  however,  it  ^s  somewhat  ditUcult  thus  to  avoid 
loss  by  a  deflagration,  especially  with  rich  sulphur  ores,  in  the  volu- 
metric determination  usually  pursued,  a  curious  clrcumstanoe  is  occa- 
sionally observable  when  much  free  add  exists  In  the  soJutiou,  viz., 
that  a  point  may  be  reached  when  the  filtered  liquid  Is  dear,  and  re- 
mains so  even  on  standlug  for  a  short  time,  but  yields  a  doud,  or  even  a 
predpltate,  on  the  addition  either  of  barium  solution  or  sulphate  solu- 
tion ;  this  source  of  error  Is  moetly  avoidable  by  nearly  neutralising  the 
free  add  with  ammonia.  Another  convenient  process  consists  m  fus- 
ing the  weighed  ore  with  s  weighed  quantity  of  azihydrous  sodium  car- 
bonate, twice  as  much  potassium  chlorate  as  ore,  and  za— 30  times  as 
mnch  sodium  chlurlde  (added  to  moderate  the  action) ;  CDs  Is  expelled, 
KOl  formed,  and  ail  the  sulphur  converted  into  NaaSi04 ;  by  dissolving 
the  residue  in  water  and  estlznating  alkalimetrically  the  unaiteved 
sodium  carbonate  by  a  standard  kcid  solution,  the  portion  converted 
into  sulphate,  and  hence  the  sulphur  in  the  ore  is  known.  Boddes  the 
difficulty  of  preventizig  loss  by  deflagration,  this  method  is  open  to  the 
small  errors  caused  by  the  reckoning  all  arsenic  present  to  be  sulphur 
— Ubually,  however,  of  no  moment  for  commercial  purposes;  any  cal- 
cium narbonate  in  the  ore  may,  if  required,  be  prcvi6usl>  dissolved  out 
by  dilute  hydrochloric  acid.— O.  B.  A.  Wmiout,  BSc. 

Carbonic  Add. — Can  either  of  your  correspondents  suggest  sny 
crude,  native,  earthy,  or  me^illo  carbonate  wnlch  parts  with  its  car- 
bonic acid,  pure  and  imdecomposed,  at  a  moderate  red  heat? — G. 

J*rueeian  Mue  J^atOc—yii  ouJd  any  of  your  kind  correspondents  In- 
fesai  me  how  the  bronze  is  brought  out  on  this  article  ?— J.  ii.  J. 

Jtieroecopic  detection  0/ Flour.-AjovilA  you  oblige  by  informing  me 
if  there  Is  any,  and  what,  method  for  detecting  pea  or  bean  flour  when 
mixed  with  common  wheat  flour,  except  from  the  appeaianoe  of  the 
starch  granules  under  the  mlcroecope  7 — Q. 

JSetimattvnqf  J*hoephorio  Acid.— Yi ilk  yon  oblige  a  subscriber  to 
your  journal,  by  informing  him  where  he  wlil  find  the  best  and  sluiplest 
meaiu  for  ascertaining  the  quantity  of  phosphate  in  artificial  manure  { 
Woold  it  be  too  much  to  sak  you  to  give  the  best  method  in  your  Jour- 
zutl  r  I  observe  In  your  number  for  J<ebmary  28th  {Amer.  hepr.  Aprily 
z868,  page  z68),  a  valuable  contribution  from  Mr.  Buraard,  but  It  is  not 
Bufllcleutiy  explicit.  Uur  manure  dealers  tell  us  that  we  cannot  Judge 
of  the  quadty  of  thdr  manures  by  the  soluble  phosphate  alone,  as  they 
contain  ah>o  a  oonsiaerable  quxmtity  of  insoluble,  or  neutral  phosphate. 
1  do  not  care  to  know  what  other  matters  their  manures  contain,  buch 
as  ammonia,  soda,  potash,  Ac.,  kc ;  I  simply  want  to  know  their  phos- 
pliatio  valuer— AoaiCuLA. 

EnHmMHon  <ff  Phoephoric  ^oid.— Readh>g  In  your  last  week's  paper 
an  artiole  **On  the  Volumetric  ibstlmation  of  Jt*ho^phoIlc  Add,"  by  C 
F.  Burnard,  h\K).ti.  {Amer.  Hepr.  April  z868,  page  z68>,  1  venture  a 
few  remarks  upon  tlus  sutdecU  The  author  uses  the  process  of  predpi- 
tating  the  phosphoric  acid  as  phosphate  of  uranium  by  a  solutlou  of  ni- 
trate of  uranium,  and  applies  It  prmclpally  to  the  analysis  of  phospliatio 
naanurea.  bevend  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  the  above- 
mentioned  process,  but  they  liave  Ikiled  until  now,  and  prlndpaily  be- 
cause of  the  presence  of  Iroh  in  very  nearly  all  manm-ea  To  determine 
the  phospherlo  add  In  noanures,  a  quantity  of  acetate  of  soda  has  to  be 
added,  nuee  a  precipitate  of  phosphate  of  uranium  will  odj^  appear 
when  the  solution  has  been  made  acid  by  acetic  add.  '1  he  iron  present 
is  precipitated  as  phosphate  of  iron.  Had  this  predpltate  the  same 
compoaidon  In  every  case,  the  phosphoric  add  in  it  could  easily  be  de- 
termined :  but  this  not  being  so,  a  more  complicated  method  has  to  be 
adopted.  1  have  tried  to  substitute  dtrio  or  taitaiio  add,  to  prevent  ths 
precipUation  of  phoAphaie  of  iron,  but  they  unfortunately  ninder  also 
ttie  precipitation  of  phosphate  of  uranium.  Perhaps  Mr.  Burnard  has 
found  some  more  sunpie  way  to  overcome  this  difllculty,  and  if  so,  I 
am  sure  that  all  chemists  would  t>e  very  gbid  to  hear  an  account  of  it— 
V.O. 

Atimation  </  Phoephorie  Aoid.-^EMvixkg  seen  some  remarks  in 
your  last  ibsue  on  tize  above  subject  by  Mr.  Charles  F.  Burnsrd 
(Amer.  Hepr.  AprU,  z868,  page  z68),  X  should  feel  greaUy  obliged  If  he 
will  inform  me  what  is  the  reaction  of  the  soluble  phosphates  witu 
caustic  soda,  also  the  strength  of  the  standard  solution.  On  reading  his 
article,  it  occurred  to  me  tbat  it  might  answer  for  the  determination  of 
3Lau.i*U5  In  bone-ash  and  other  commercial  phosphates.  I  therefore 
prepared  a  normal  solution  of  caustlo  soda.  1  then  dissolved  zo 
grammes  of  bone-ash,  which  1  knew  to  contain  75  per  cent,  of  30aO.FU5, 
in  UCl,  neutralised  the  free  Ud,  made  up  to  400  cc,  and  proceetied 
with'  tne  standard  solution  of  &aO,  of  which  50  cc  were  required  to 
make  the  solution  alkaline.  How  50  c.c  =s  50  x  'ojz  =  z'55  grammes 
of  £iaO  requhed  lor  375  grammes  3Ca0.i*Us,  or  a  equlv.  MaU  are  equal 
to  z  equlv. of  3CaO.PU5,  and  not  3  equivalents  HaO  to  oorreapond  with 
the  same  numner  of  equivaienu  01'  CaU  in  3CaO.I\>3.  -  J.  J.  EL 

lYeating  Mineral  (Hie. — Can  ahy  of  your  correapondents  give  me  a 
process  for  treating  heavy  mhieral  oils  so  as  to  free  them  from  smell,  and 
make  them  of  a  bright  colour  on  a  izianufacturmg  scale.— A  O.  K. 

.  Sugar  JteJtning.—y/lU  you  kliMily  inform  me  in  your  **  Answers  to 
CorrespoiMtenis  "  what  becomes  of  the  aoedc  add  which  Is  set  free  by 


[BngUahBditioiiyVoLZVIL,  jro.43a,pi4^134;  Xoi  433,  pug*  149 ;  Ko.  43I,  P«C*  ^^ !  Ho.  432,  pH«  ^34 ;  Ho.  433,  p«gs  140.] 


252 


j\7i8W€TS  w  ijorresponaerics. 


\      Ma^^lSm. 


the  mlphuroM  add  In  "  Scoffern's  ProceBs  '*  for  the  refining  of  sugar  t 
At  nearly  all  the  acetates  are  soluble,'  and  free  acid  In  contact  with  the 
dissolred  sugar  would  oouTert  some  of  the  cane  sugar  into  grape  sugar. 
--J.  Davih,  Bath. 

8ulphiU  and  UypotulphiU  qfSoda,--Jn  reply  to  **  O.  W.  S.,  LlTer- 
pool  "^(Amer.  Repr.  Aprils  1868,  pcige  aoi),  I  beg  to  vny  that  there  is  a 
krge  demand  for  hyposulphite  of  soda  by  paper  makera  as  so-called 


atUichlore  ;  about  aoo  tons  per  annum  are  yearly  consumed  In  photo- 
graphic operations  alone,  while  a  far  larger  amount  is  used  by  paper 
makers ;  hyposulphite  of  soda  is  also  used  by  bleachers  of  calico  fabrics. 


Hulphite  of  soda  is  of  a  more  limited  use,  and  somewhat  superseded  by 
the  hyposulphite.— Dr.  A.  A. 

SignB  qf  Bain.—KUt  the  many  prophets  that  appear  In  the  present 
day,  certainly  the  weather*eTed  ones  predominate.  Of  their  prophecies, 
I  may  dub  myself  sceptical,  as  nearly  99*999  per  cent,  of  the  human 
world  do;  for  the  timple  reason  that  their  statements  are  always  the 
reverse  w  facts.  But  there  is  a  sign  of  rain  that  is  known  as  true  to 
every  obeenring  obsenrer,  without  the  studv  of  the  stars,  or  anything 
else.  I  allude  to  a  red  suorise,  which  Invanably  denotes  rain  within  a 
few  hours.  I  wish  to  ask  if  any  resder  of  the  Cmxmioal  Niwb  can  ex- 
plain why  the  sun  should  rise  apparently  bo  red  when  the  atmosphere  is 
in,  I  suppose,  a  dense  state  previuus  to  rain.  I  remember  reading  a  very 
interesting  paper  or  lecture  in  the  Chbmioal  Nkws,  giving  the  reason 
for  red  sunsets.  I  read  the  papers  at  the  time  with  great  relish :  but  I 
have  been  subsequently  occuiiivd  with  other  mattent,  incompatible  with 
the  reteDtion  of  theoreuc  knowledge,  and  I  have  not  my  volumes  of  the 
21sv8  at  hand  to  refresh  my  memory.  However,  I  think  my  memory 
Is  correct  eoongh  to  be  able  to  assert  that  the  luots,  as  represented  In  the 
papers  refenxKi  to,  do  cot  give  any  reasons  for  this  atmoepherio  pheno- 
menon, or  any  basis  for  establishing  a  theory  of  its  cauae.— Am  Obsbsvsk 
or  Natitrb. 

8Q0loic€r. — ^Wonld  any  of  your  correspondents  be  good  enough  to  en- 
lighten me  how  to  extract  the  colouring  matter  irom  safllower  for  dyeing 
pink  ?— O.  JoHjfBON. 

JHtttiUation  qf  0r«u6.-~l^  there  any  Treatise  published  on  the 
distillation  of  greases  and  animal  and  vegetable  ollaf— David  Shaw 

OarpdU</ride<^MaffMHa,—JtUr.  J.  E.  Hamilton  is  stUI  looking  for 
a  supply  of  this  article,  he  may  hear  of  a  cheap  source  by  applying  to 
the  Publisher. 

Production  qf  Carbonic  Add,— In  reply  to  "  O,*"  In  the  Chkhioai. 
Nbws  of  the  13th  Inst.  (Atnsr.  Repr,  May,  1868,  page  351),  I  beg  to  In- 
form him  that  he  may  obtain  carbonic  add  very  readily  frum  limeetone, 
marble,  or  chalk,  at  a  low  red  heat,  by  passfaig  a  current  of  steam  over 
them  at  that  temperature.— W.  U.  Fottbb. 

PreaerfxiUon  ^Jfeat— Several  sheep,  killed  in  England,  and  pre- 
lerved  by  I'rofeMor  Ganigee's  process,  have  been  exhibited  in  Mew 
York  last  week  in  an  excellent  state  of  preaervatiun.  Would  you  please 
to  give,  through  your  Chemical  Naws,  or  otherwise,  a  descriptiun  of 
Prof.  Gamgee's  process,  and  the  mode  in  which  it  is  carried  into  effect? 
—A.  O.  UuNTXfL,  Fair  Uaven,  Connecticut,  U.  S. 

Laboratory  Stove.— /*restrvinff  InsecU,— Can  any  of  your  corre- 
q>ondeDts  teU  me— ist.  What  do  they  consider  the  best  laboratory 
stove?  My  present  fireplace,  besides  being  useless  for  heating  a 
crudble,  raises  such  a  dally  dust  as  senonsly  to  Interfere  with  analysis 
(chiefly  agricultural  analyses),  ad,  I  have  some  eastern  insects  pre- 
served In  spirits  in  small  glass  bottles,  but  the  spirit  has  softened  the 
sealini^wax,  and  evaporated,  leaving  the  Insects  dry  and  very  brittle. 
WhatamItodo?-C.D.  U. 

BoBplanaUon  to  Mr.  &  A,  5.— In  the  Chbmioal  Nbws,  of  March  6 
{Anur.  Rtpr.  Apr.^  1868,  page  ao4X  you  very  severely  take  me  to  task, 
and  criticise,  ist,  the  short  hint  I  gave  in  **  Notes  and  Queries  "  (Orbmi- 
'  OAL  Nxws,  Na  4^9 ;  Amer.  Repr.  Aprils  1868,  i*age  J03) ;  and  jd,  the 
equidly  very  brief  note  uf  mine  **On  the  Approximative  i>etenninatlon 


Queries ^  only  to  be  Intended  for  short  and  brief  hints;  moreover|One 
might  offend  querists  by  snppodng  them  not  to  be  sumclently  well  up 
in  analysis  to  enable  them  to  think  and  judge  for  themselves.  Certainly, 
I  think  it  would  be  quite  out  of  place  to  expect  '*  Notes  and  Queries** 
to  contain  full  directions  in  every  respect.  As  regards  analysis  of 
superphosphates,  I  am  as  well  aware  as  the  most  prominent  analyst  In 
such  matters,  that,  without  full  aiid  thoroughly  complete  analysis,  what 
1  wrote  about  the  estimation  of  IVee  sulphuric  acid  would  bo  leading  to 
gross  errors.  As  regards  your  objection  to  the  approximative  valuation 
of  sulphur  in  pyrites,  permit  me  to  say  that  1  thought  It  unnecessary  to 
add,  that  1  always  and  invariably,  after  having  for  some  time  ignited 
the  previously  weighed  pyrites,  allow  it  to  cool,  then  moisten  ll  with 
pure  nitric  actd,  expose  a^n  to  heat  with  due  precautlonsi  and  repeat 
this  process  at  least  txotn.  three  to  four  times,  when  nothing  but  peroxide 
of  Irou  will  remain.  My  only  reason  for  nut  mentioning  tills  is,  that  I 
considered  any  one  might  think  of  Ik— Pa.  A.  Adbiabi. 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

KOTICK.—The  American  PubUeksrt  qf  Tm  CnmiCAL  Nbitb  gioe 
nqiice  that  in  accordance  fciik  a  euggetUon  qf  Ma.  Cbookbs,  the 
Editor  and  Proprietor  </  the  JBngUeh  jmbUcaUon,  Mey  wiU  be 
pleaeed  to  receive  and  fonjoard  to  Mm  in  London  a^y  eeienti/lo 
pubUcaUona  issued  in  America^ for  review— -and  also  any  Notes 
and  Queries,  Articles,  Oorrespondenee^  sic,  for  publioaUon  or 
reply.    Their  fticiUties  af  communication  with  Mb.  Cbookbs  ren- 


der tMs  very  desirable  to  aU  persons  in  tts  United  States  «dW 
wieh  to  coiner  with  him.    Address, 

jr.  A,  TOWIISEXTD  A  ADAMS, 

434  Broome  Street^  JTeto  York, 

R.  E.  J?.— "Llebig's  Agrionltnrsl  Chemistiy;"  •'Johnstone'sGhaB- 
Ijtiy  of  Soils." 

P.  BbUand.—Kee^red  with  thanks ;  too  late  for  Insertion  this  veck. 

R. .  Broadhurst.—\Jt)b  hydrofluoric  acid  gas  to  obscure  the  gissi 
globes.  Those  parts  which  are  required  bright  most  be  coated  with  wax. 

W.  Sehofleld.— The  letter  has  been  forwarded. 

&.— Why  wiU  not  chalk  answer?    It  will  eatisfy  your  conditions. 

A.  G.  &— The  Bulletin  de  la  SociiU  Chimiqus  de  Paris  Is  pabllslied 
monthly.    It  can  be  procured  by  order  through  any  foreign  bookselltr. 

Soluius,/— The  normal  sulphate  of  cerium  is  much  more  soluble  in  eold 
than  In  hot  water,  and  is  precipitated  when  a  eold  sstnrated  aolntlaa  is 
boiled. 

O.  KtUogg.—^o  report  hss  yet  been  made  on  the  aHeged  dlseoveiy. 
It  is  not  generally  credited.    Our  nelglil>ours  do  not  hnrry  themselves. 

Librum.—\>T.  Marcefs  Is  the  most  suitable  of  the  books  joa  Bane; 
then  Dr.  HassaU's. 

II.  Pisher.—Knxr  publisher  wfll  write  to  yon  on  the  snhlect 

Amateur.— The  method  of  cleaning  and  drying  U-tnbcs  is  too  Umpls 
to  need  description  In  our  columns. 

i>rt.  Wieohin  and  WUm^s  telegram  fh>m  BerltD,  asking  os  not  to 
pnbUsh  theh-  letter  *'  On  the  UeducOon  of  Caihonic  Add  to  OxaUe 
Add,*^  arrived  on  Monday  morning— three  days  too  late. 

Enquirer. — Liebig's  process  for  silvering  j^ass  Is  well  known,  sad 
been  more  than  once  described  in  these  psgea.  Hume  Improve- 
ts  hsve  been  lately  introduced,  which  we  will  fAfe  in  a  few  woA& 

Iforth. — We  are  not  aware  that  such  a  work  easts.  Consult  the  si^ 
tides  hi  **  Wattes  Dictlonaiy,''  and  fai  the  text-books. 

OaskM^  Deacon  and  (^.— We  will  communicate  with  ov  Fttdii 
correspondent,  and  endeavour  td  ascertain  farther  psrtienlaxa. 

DryeaUer.See  answer  to  **  North. "^ 

A.  O.  Hunter,  U.  &— Permanganate  of  soda  will  do,  bat  we  tUnk  sal- 
phate  of  magnesia  should  also  be  employed. 

OommunuMtions  have  been  received  from  Dt:  Wood ;  Miss  Osp- 
man;  J.  fi.  Giles:  J.  Davies;  K.  Eaton  (with  endosure) :  J.  T.  Brown, 
"f.K^A.',  Boltman  Ck>ndy  k  Ca;  W.  Field;  Dr.  W.  YStA  Herapath, 
F.E.6. ;  O.  F.  Buruard,  F.OS. ;  F.  C.  Calvert  *  Co.;  Jones  *  Co. ;  P. 
Dora;  Oapt.  W.  A.  Koss,  R.A. ;  H.  B.  Ingram ;  Ker.  Richard  Etwaa; 
J.  Muspratt  A  Sons ;  A.  Payne:  B.  Wheeler  &  Co. ;  W.  Kellner ;  T.  U 
Patterson ;  Dr.  B.  W.  Dsvy  (with  endosure) ;  Dunn  A  Co. ;  0.  M.  King; 
a  Mltebdl  k  Co. ;  Bsron  von  8eckendorff  (with  onolosore);  Dr.  Foibsi 
Watson  ;  John  Knight  A  Ga ;  Kingsbury  k  Ca ;  Fleteher  k  Ca ;  Jetas 
Davies,  M.D. ;  K.  Brooke  k  Co.  (with  eodoeare) ;  L.  Demath  (wtth  ca- 
closure) ;  J.  R.  Irvine ;  Ueginald  Petre ;  B.  Broadhuist ;  C.  Steer ;  Philip 
Holland  (with  endosore);  F.  J.  M.  Page;  Dr.  B.  Muiier,  F.iL<lw;  W. 
Schofleki  (with  enclosure):  U.  Merivale;  F.  Bcott;  W.  Skoy,  Sew 
Zealfmd  (with  enclosure);  W.  Cortis,jon.;  T.  A.RendwIn;  J.SfriUer; 
D.  Forbes,  F.K.ti.  (with  endosure);  l>r.  OdIIng,  F.R.&;  PreTesser 
Ueaton ;  U.  BailUere:  Dr.  F.  B.  Gourteney ;  G.  U.  Mann,  Troy,  Cniled 
States ;  F.  Sutton ;  W.  Bywater;  Dr.  AdrlanI  (with  enclosure);  Tletor 
erase;  J.  Landauer  (with endosure);  B.  Beesley;  Rev.  Edwin  flaritfc 
(with  endosure);.  H.  Neale;  W.  Lea:  Eniest  Usrt  (with  tndeswe); 
Dr.  Odttng.  F.K.8.;  6.  KeUogg;  O.  Wlschin  and  Th.  Wilm  (with  sn- 
closure) ;  W .  Little  (wtth  endosure) ;  H.  Sugg  ;C.  Collins ;  A.  Uvei^dge ; 
H.  McLeod  (with  endosure);  Dr.  U.  £.  Boeeoe,  F.R.S.  (withenelosiirrt; 
H.  FIshsr;  F.  O.  Ward;  J.  flamudson:  P.  Spence ;  Msssis. Townsend A 
Adama,  New  York;  Stephen  Do  well;  Ou»L  W.  A.  Boas  <with  CB- 
closurt- ) ;  J.  Blackburn  (with  enclosure) ;  J.  Apjohn ;  Foot  k  Co^  A. 
Payne;  ProC  Wanklyn;  Alex.  S.  Macrae;  T.  R.  Frsser,  M.D^  Nova 
Scotia;  Dr.  Watts;  S.  Mdlor;  NIel  Mathleson;  T.  ttrowa;  Di:  W. 
Bird  Herapath,  F.li.S.;  C.  J.  Woodward:  J.  Dobson  (wtth  endosore); 
Oaskell,  Deacon  A  Co. ;  W.  H.  Wdenn ;  Dr.  Adrianl  (with  endosnres): 
M.  Scott ;  A.  a  Hunter ;  F.  a  Correy  (with  endosure) ;  Nonnaa  MacLss^ 
(with  enclosures);  F.  Sutton;  G.Johnson;  W.  H.  Potter;  O  Hasaer 
(with  endosure);  Drs.  Wlschin  and  Wilm  (with  andosare);  W.  M. 
Watts  (with  enclosure);  T.  K.  Fraser,  M.D.;  W.  Chapman  (with  en- 
closure); Mr.  Margreaves  (with  endosure);  Dr.  Sheridan  Muspratt;  A. 
Sari;  T.  Reader);  W.  Smyth  (with  endosure);  J.  Outer  Bell  (wtth  «d> 
dosure);  O.  Foord,  Victoria;  J.  Burton;  J.  Mayer  (with  fnnlasme); 
Dr.  Letheby  (with  endosure) ;  F.  U.  Hobler ;  B.  Lvle ;  David  Sbaw  k 
Co.;  W.  Uttle  (with  enclosure) ;  Baxter,  Bose,  Novtoo  k  Col;  Joss 
Piodeht;  A.  Tribe  (with  enclobure);  A.  Ooppins;  J.  Browning;  T.A. 
Readwin  (whh  endosnres) ;  B.  fetailford;  T.  Dom  (wHh  eneiasare);  J. 
Tan  Vooist;  Mohtdson  k  Biaule;  J.  a  Wilson;  G.  M.  Kiiv;  A.  a 
Herschd;  Dr.  W.  B.  Herapath,  F.R.S.  (with  ondosare);  Dr.  ApfohB; 
C.  M.  King;  W.  &  Giles ;  Captain  W.  A.  Ross,  B.A. 

BookM  rMsfMd.— ^  The  lltnstrated  Photographer;**  •^DlcHooaxy  sf 
Ohemistiy,*'  by  Heniy  Watu,  B.A.,  F.B.S.,  F.C.A.  Part  XUV.  Tj^m, 
Water.  London:  Longmans,  Green  k  Oo.\  ** Hardwicice^  Bduaw 
Gossip  :"*  •*  Pharmaceutical  Journal ;"  **  Americsa  Joomal  of  Phsmacy,^ 
November,  January ;  **  llie  Sdentiflc  Review  ;^  **  la  Maraviclle  fidh 
Sdenza ;''  **  Zeksehrtfi  l&r  Ohemle ;""  **  Faraday  sa  a  DlsooTer«r,^by  Jsha 
TyndaU.  London :  Longmans  k,  Qo.\  *  List  of  Ohemleals  sad  Dry- 
salteries," fhim  Messrs.  E.  Brooke  and  Ca,  MMichastcr,  fl' 
Bradfbrd,  sod  Hudilersildd ;  *•  On  Tsnadinm,*'  hy  Henry  K. 
BJL,  F.B.S.:  •*  On  Faraday,  as  a  INsooversr^  by  Frofessa 
LL.D.,  F.R.S. ;  ^  Report  of  Medlcd  Offloer  of  Haalth  for  tha  I 
District;  '*  The  AcMllan  Reporter;''  **  The  Mining  GMetta,**  UdHbx, 
N.  S. ;  "^  Le  Monlteur  Sdentlflqne  ;**  "  A  Sketch  of  a  PhBosephy,  Part 
XL— Matter  and  Molecular  Morphek»gy;'  London,  WIUIaoM  asMi  l&et- 
gate;  rZdtschrift  fur  Uhemie;"  **  Le  Maravi^lo  DeUn 
*'  RecollectloBa  of  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1867,^  bj  I 
London:  Chapman  k  HalL 


fBncliah  Edition,  Vol.  ZyU.,Xa  433^ page  146;  Xa4Hpa««1^7;  Na  431, page  122 ;  Va  432,  page  134;  Xa«33,  pacali6;  m^€llh 
I**S«^7;  Hoi  431,  page  122 ;Va 432,  page  134;  Ha 434,  page  167;  Ha  431,  pagt  122 ;  Ho. 432,  paga  134 ;  Ha 434,  pagt  UT.] 


Vol.  II.  No.  6.     American  Reprint 


ON    THE    SPECTRUM    OF    THE    BESSEMER 

FLAME. 
In  our  number  for  March  20th  (Am,  Repr.j  May,  -68, 
page  247),  we  quoted  an  article  from  Engineering^  giv- 
ing the  results  of  Professor  Lielegg's  observationj^  on 
the  spectrum  of  the^  Bessemer-flame. '  As  these  results 
were  published  in  JEhtgineering  as  entirely  new,  and 
no  mention  was  nuide  of  any  prior  observations,  it  is 
only  right  that  attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact 
that  as  long  ago  as  1862  the  same  results  had  been  ob- 
tained by  Professor  Roscoe.  and  were  published  in 
the  form  of  a  short  prelimmary  notice  in  the  Pro- 
eeedings  of  the  Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  for  February  24th,  1863.  As  the  note  is 
extremely  short,  we  transcribe  it  in  full 

"  Professor  Roscoe  stated  that  he  had  been  for  some 
little  time,  and  is  still,  engaged  in  an  interesting  exami- 
nation of  the  spectrum  proauced  by  the  flame  evolved 
in  the  manufacture  of  cast  steel  by  the  Bessemer  pro- 
cess, on  the  works  of  Messrs.  John  Brown  and  Co.,  of 
Sheffield.  The  spectrum  of  this  highly  luminous  and 
peculiar  flame  exhibits  during  a  certain  phase  of  its  ex- 
istence a  complicated  but  most  characteristic  series  of 
bright  lines  and  dark  absorption-bands.  Amongst  the 
former  the  sodium,  lithium,  and  potassium  lines  are 
most  con^icuous;  but  these  are  accompanied  by  a 
number  of  other,  and  as  yet  undetermined,  bright 
lines ;  whilst  among  the  absorption-bands,  those  formed 
b^  sodium  vapour  and  carbonic  oxide  can  be  readily 
distinguished.  Professor  Roscoe  expressed  his  belief 
that  this  first  practical  application  of  the  spectanim  an- 
alysis will  prove  of  the  highest  importance  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cast  steel  by  the  Bessemer  process,  and  he 
hoped  on  a  future  occasion  to  be  in  a  position  to  bring 
the  subject  before  the  Society  in  a  more  extended  form 
than  he  was  at  present  able  to  do." 

In  a  lecture  deUvered  before  the  Royal  Institution 
(May  6,  1864),  a  year  later  than  the  communication 
quoted  above,  Dr.  Roscoe  described  the  Bessemer- 
spectrum  more  fuUy,  and  pointed  out  the  existence  of 
lines  produced  by  carbon,  iron,  sodium,  lithium,  potas- 
sium, hydrogen,  and  nitrogen. 

An  important  practical  result  of  the  observations  on 
which  these  communications  were  based,  was  the  dis- 
covery that  the  exact  point  of  decarbonisation  could  be 
determined  by  means  of  the  spectroscope  with  much 
greater  exactitude  than  from  the  appearance  of  the  flame 
itself,  the  change  in  which  indicating  the  completion  of 
the  process  is  minute,  and  requires  a  lengthened  ex- 
perience to  detect  with  certainty.  This  method  of  de- 
termining the  point  at  which  it  is  necessary  to  stop  the 
blast  was,  indeed,  at  that  time  (1863)  in  constant  use 
at  Messrs.  Brown's  works,  at  Sheffield,  and  has-  since 
been  introduced  with  equal  success  by  Mr.  Ramsbottom 
(at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Roscoe)  at  the  London  and 
North  Western  Railway  Company's  steel  works,  at 
Crewe. 

Dr.  W.  M.  Watts  now  draws  our  attention  to  a  paper 
"  On  the  Spectrum  of  the  Bessemer-flame,"  which  he 
pubhshed  in  the  Philosophical  Magazine  for  December 
last.  In  it  he  states  that  he  was  at  that  time  acting  as 
assistant  to  Prof.  Roscoe,  and  in  that  capacity  conducted 
a  lengthened  examination  of  the  Bessemer-spectrum  at 
the  works  at  Crewe.    The  results  of  that  investigation 

Vol.  II.  No.  6.    June,  1868.        18 


completeness ; 
Glasgow  the  s 
itself  into  an 
spectra  produc< 
periments  are  i 
stances  of  the  ] 
he  has  put  t 
results  obtaine 
spectrum. 

The  changes 
the  commencer 
extremely  intei 
nothing  is  seen 
four  minutes  tl 
the  spectrum,  a 
and  gradually  f 
ble ;  some  as  fi 
bands;  and  th 
elusion  of  the  c 
of  carbon  from 
disappearance  < 
the  bright  ones 

The  spectruD 
lines  in  the  mor 
beyond  the  soL 

The  occurrer 
spectrum  is  in  i 
is  the  case  ap 
tensity  of  som< 
was  with  this 
menced,  with  t 
prove  to  be  a 
iron,  carbon,  or 
as  bright  line 
bands.  To  a  c 
verified:  but 
the  brigntest  ir 
been  identified. 

In  dealing  w 
the  Bessemer-i 
trum  should  b« 
spectrum  of  th 
actually  pursue 
that  the  spectrv 
upper  half  of  tl 
which  it  was  t 
below.  In  n< 
elusion  be  obta 
cidence  of  the  1 

The  spectrwn 
pared  with  the 

(i)  Spectrun 
oxide  vacuum. 

(2)  Speotnii] 
in  air. 

(3)  SpectruB 
air. 

(4)  Spectrun 
hydrogen. 

(5)  Solar  spe 

(6)  Carbon 
plied  with  olefi 

The  coincide; 
few,  and  totall 
Bessemer-spect 
carbon-spectruj 
lines  or  as  s 
cidence  observe 


[Engliih  Bditian,  ToL  ZVIL,  STo.  435,  pag« 


254 


rtsuvjjtvav'iwn  uj    xjiAjby, — jr  rojiyciavvirrL  uj   Kji/jjjjvr, 


\     juM,r&ai. 


spectrum  and  those  of  the  carboiiio-K>zide  vacuum 
tube. 

The  lines  of  lithium,  sodium,  and  potassium  are 
always  seen,  and  are  unmistakeable. 

The  three  fine  bright  lines  737,  768,  and 82  are  due 
to  iron.  The  red  band  of  hydrogen  is  seen  as  a  black 
band,  more  prominent  in  wet  weather. 

After  the  charge  of  iron  has  been  blown,  it  is  run 
into  the  ladle,  and  a  certain  quantity  of  the  highly- 
carbonized  spiegdeisen  is  run  into  it.  The  effect  of  the 
addition  of  the  spiegeleisen  is  the  production  of  a  flame 
which  is  larger  and  stronger  when  the  blow  has  been 
carried  rather  far.  This  flame  occasionally  gives  the 
same  spectrum  as  the  ordinary  Bessemer-flame ;  but 
more  commonly  a  quite  different  spectrum  is  seen, 
which  reminds  one  at  first  of  the  ordinary  carbon- 
spectrum,  but  differs  from  it  very  remarkably. 

In  the  carbon-spectrum,  each  group  of  lines  has  its 
strongest  member  on  the  left  (i.e.  less  refrangible),  and 
fades  gradually  away  towards  the  right  hand ;  in  the 
spectrum  of  the  spie^el-flame  the  reverse  is  the  case : 
each  group  has  its  brightest  line  most  refrangible,  and 
fades  away  into  darkness  on  the  least-refracted  side. 
A  comparison  of  the  drawing  of  the  spectrum  of  the 
spiegel-flame  with  that  of  uie  Bessemer-flame  will 
snow  that  they  really  contain  the  same  lines;  but  the 
general  appearance  of  the  spectrum  is  completely 
changed  by  alteration  of  the  relative  brightness 
of  the  lines.  This  was  shown  by  direct  comparison 
of  the  actual  spectra. 

Dr.  Watts  concludes  his  paper  in  the  Pkilogophieal 
Magazine  by  saying — "  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
principal  Unes  of  the  Bessemer-spectrum  are  due  to 
carbon  in  some  form  or  other.  My  own  belief  is  that 
they  are  due  to  incandescent  carbon-vapour.  The  ex- 
periments in  which  I  am  at  present  engaged  have 
already  shown  the  existence  of  two  totally  different 
spectra,  each  capable  of  considerable  modification  (con- 
sisting in  the  addition  of  new  Hues)  corresponding  to 
alterations  in  the  temperature  or  mode  of  producing 
the  spectrum,  and  each  due  to  incandescent  carbon. 
It  is  possible  that  the  Bessemer-spectrum  may  prove  to 
be  a  third  spectrum  of  carbon,  produced  under  differ- 
ent circumstances  from  those  under  which  the  ordi- 
nary carbon-spectrum  is  obtained ;  and  the  intensity  of 
the  dark  bands  is  more-  probably  due  to  contrast  with 
the  extreme  brilliancy  of  the  brignt  Hues,  than  to  their 
actual  formation  by  absorption." 


COAaULATION  AND  PRECIPITATION  OF 
CLAY  BY  NEUTRAL  SALTS  GENERALLY. 

BY  VTILLIAM  BKET, 
'analyst  to  THC  OaOLOOIOAL  8USTBT  Or  vmw  ZEALAND. 

A  GREAT  many  substances  are  recommended  as  sub- 
stitutes for  filtration  in  the  clarifying  of  water  turbid 
from  the  presence  of  clayey  matter,  but  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  they  all  depend  for  their  individual  effects  upon 
some  chemical  interchange  between  themselves  and  a 
portion  of  the  clayey  matter  in  suspension,  or  upon 
the  formation  of  a  new  compound  out  of  the  elements 
of  the  agent  emnloyed  j  in  either  case  the  clay,  or  the 
residue  of  the  clay,  bemg  carried  down  mechanically, 
entangled  in  the  newly  formed  substance.  The  object 
of  this  communication  therefore  is  to  bring  under  notice 
that  several  neutral  salts,  having  their  component  parts 
so  strongly  combined  among  themselves  as  to  render 
their  decomposition  by  clay  apparently  impossible,  are 


individually  capable  of  producing  the  same  effect  upon 
clay  in  suspension  ;  thus  a  strong  solution  of  chloride 
of  sodium,  chloride  of  ammonium,  chloride  of  calcium, 
chloride  of  magnesium,  or  chloride  of  barium,  or  sul- 
phate of  soda,  applied  to  a  small  quantity  of  clayey 
water,  causes  an  immediate  aggregation  of  the  par- 
ticles, and  their  complete  precipitation  shortly  after- 
wards. 

When  the  solutions  are  applied  to  a  rather  large 
proportion  of  clay  water,  the  precipitation  is  not  com- 
plete for  several  hours.  The  volume  of  clayey  water 
clarified  by  one  grain  of  certain  of  the  above-named 
salts  in  24  hours  is  approximately  as  foUows-^i  grain 
of  common  salt  clarifies  5  ounces ,  i  grain  of  chloride  of 
barium  or  calcium,  clarifies  10  ounces :  i  grain  of  sul- 
phate of  soda  clarifies  5  ounces  of  clayey  water;  in 
addition  to  these  it  was  found,  i  grain  of  lime  clarifies 
15  ounces,  and  i  grain  of  sulphuric  acid  darifies  50 
ounces  of  clay  water  in  the  same  time.  Magnesia  also 
when  intermittently  agitated  with  clay  water  has  the 
same  effects.  Upon  washing  these  clay  precipitates 
repeatedly  with  pure  water,  the*  clay  re-acquires  its 
tendency  of  permanent  diffusion.  The  quantity  of 
clayey  matters  present  appears  of  secondary  impor- 
tance, complete  precipitation  having  nearer  relation  to 
the  degree  of  dilution  allowed  to  the  salt  employed. 
From  these  considerations,  taken  along  with  the  fact  of 
the  existence  of  powerful  affinities  between  the  com- 
ponent parts  of  most  of  the  substances  here  specified, 
it  seems  certain  that  these  results  of  coagulation  and 
precipitation  are  not  due  to  their  decomposition ;  the 
alternative  is  therefore,  that  they  must  thus  act  solely 
from  their  affinities  for  water  ;  and  if  this  is  so,  then 
from  inference  it  would  appear  that  the  well-known 
quality  of  clay  to  remain  m  permanent  suspension  in 
rain  or  sprinf^  water  in  spite  of  its  relative  superior 
gravity  is  entirely  due  to  tiie  effect  of  a  true  chemical 
affinity  existing  between  them ;  possessing  in  common 
with  soluble  bodies  an  insatiable  quantitatiTe  affinity 
for  water.  Cla^  differs  therefrom  in  the  low  intensity 
of  this  affinity  (if  I  may  use  the  term),  a  circumstance 
of  course  predicable  m>m  its  insolubility;  clay  thus 
deports  itself  Uke  certain  other  substances,  which, 
though  soluble  in  pure  water,  are  precipitated  there- 
from by  others  possessed  of  a  superior  affinity  for  the 
solvent, — ^for  instance,  ferrocyanide  of  iron  by  salts 
generally,  silica  in  ammonia  by  chloride  of  amm'oniam, 
nitrate  of  baryta  by  nitric  acid. 

In  conclusion  I  would  desire  to  suggest  that  the 
transparency  of  the  sea,  into  which  are .  continually 
pouring  such  enormous  quantities  of  turbid  water,  may 
be  entirely  due  to  the  presence  of  so  much  saline  mat- 
ter.  

ON  THE  PRECIPITATION  OP  COPPER  BY 
HYPOPHOSPHOROUS  ACID. 

BY  WOLCOTT  GIBBS,  ILD., 
RUMFOBO  PKOmSOB  JM  EAH7ARO  UVITKBSTTT. 

In  a  memoir  on  the  hypophosphites,  A.  Wurts*  has 
shown  that  when  solutions  of  coppeir  are  heated  to  70* 
C.  with  hypophosphorous  acid,  a  hydruret  of  copper 
is  precipitated,  which  on  boiling  is  reduced  to  metaiuic 
copper  with  evolution  of  hydrogen.  On  repeating  this 
experiment,  I  found  that  the  precipitation  of  copper  is 
complete,  and  as  the  alkaline  hypophosphites  are  now 
to  be  had  in  commerce,  it  appeared  probable  that  the 
process  might  be  applied  to  quantitative  estimation. 

•  Ann.  de  Chlmi«  et  de  Pliyakiae,  3rd  seri«s,  voL  tL,  p.  K99. 


[English  Edition,  VoL  XVa,  Ho.  436»  iMgM  150, 160.] 


liquid  containing  a  little  free  acid.  The  precipitation 
from  the  nitrate  is  always  incomplete.  When  chlor- 
bydric  acid  or  chlorides  are  present  the  method  fails  en- 
tirely, the  copper  being  reduced  to  subchloride  and  re- 
maining in  solution.  The  solution  must  not  be  too 
dilute ;  the  precipitation  is  complete  if  the  saturated 
solution  of  sulphate  be  diluted  with  not  more  than  ten 
times  its  bulk  of  water,  before  the  addition  of  the  hy- 
pophosphites.  In  order  to  avoid  the  sudden  evolution 
of  hydrogen  gas,  and  also  to  obtain  the  precipitate  in  a 
spongy  coherent  form,  it  is  best  not  to  allow  the  liquid 
to  boiL  The  solution  of  hypophosphite  having  been 
added  in  the  cold,  and  in  excess,  the  temperature  is  to 
be  gradually  raised  until,  after  standing  for  some  min- 
utes between  80°  C.  and  90°  C,  the  hydniret  of  copper 
bas  entirely  separated  in  coherent  masses.  It  is  easy 
to  determine  when  the  precipitation  is*  complete,  by 
taking  out  a  drop  of  the  clear  liquid  with  a  rod,  and 
testing  upon  a  porcelain  plate  with  a  drop  of  sulphy- 
dric  acid  solution.  No  filter  need  be  used  if  the  pre- 
cipitation be  effected  in  an  assay  flask ;  the  copper  is 
easily  washed  by  decantation,  and  may  then  be  trans- 
ferred to  a  porcelain  crucible  by  the  well-known  method 
of  inversion,  dried  and  gently  ignited  in  a  current  of 
hydrogen.  The  following  analyses  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate me  accuracy  of  this  method.  In  all  of  them  hy- 
pophosphite of  magnesium  was  employed  as  the  pre- 
cipitant 


Or.  pare  aulphato 


Gr.  of 
copper. 


Per 

eeut. 


of  copper. 
1 1-1050    gave    o''2'965    =    25*45  (Chauvenet) 


.1-5590       "      0-3970    =    25-45 
.1-4255       "       0-3625    =    25*43  " 

0-3327     =     25-42  (R.  B.  Carman) 


5   0-8208       '*       0-2087     =     25-42    (B.  F.  Gale) 

In  (4)  and  (5)  a  large  excess  of  sulphate  of  nickel  was 
present 

The  formula  6USO4  +  5a<j.  gives  25-42  per  cent  of 
copper.  In  the  third  analysis,  sulphates  of  iron,  man- 
ganese, nickel,  and  zinc,  m  very  large  excess,  were 
added  to  the  solution  of  copper. 

I.  In  a  very  pure  subsulphide  of  copper  from  Arizona, 
Mr.  Chauvenet  found,  in  four  analyses,  74*24,  74:37, 
74-36,  and  74*41  per  cent  copper. 

IL  In  an  alloy  of  copper  and  nickel 


..(Ohaavenet) 


«  Or.  Or.  of  copper.  Per  cent 

6. .  .0-4245 gave 0-3605  =  84-92. . , 

7... 0-3615 "    0-3070  =  84-92... 

8... 0-1380 "    0-1170  =  84-85 " 

9. ..0-1980 »*    0-1680  =  84-84 " 

III.  In  brass  wire 

Or.  Or.  of  copper.  Per  cent  ] 

10. .  1-6300 gave 1-0705  =  65-67 (Chauvenet) 

XI..  18655 "    1-2240  =  65-61 " 

12..  1-6770 ••    11010=^65-65.....         " 

In  the  last  seven  analyses  the  alloy  was  dissolved  in 
sulphuric  acid,  nitric  acid  being  added  from  time  to  t^'me 
to  assist  in  solution.  The  solution  was  then  evaporated 
until  the  last  traces  of  nitric  acid  were  expelled.  The 
presence  of  iron  in  the  form  of  sulphate  does  not  in  any 
way  interfere  with  the  complete  precipitation  of  cop- 
per by  hypophosphite  of  ma^esium.  When  sesqui- 
ehloride  of  iron  is  present,  nowever,  the  copper  is 
always  reduced  to  subchloride,  and  is  not  precipitated 
as  metal  or  hydruret    A  solution  of  a  hypophosphite 


chlorhydric  acid.  I  have  endeavoured  to  base  upon 
this  reduction  a  method  for  determining  iron  volumet- 
rically,  but  all  the  experiments  failed,  in  consequence 
of  the  difficulty  of  determining  the  exact  point  at  which 
the  reduction  of  the  iron  is  complete.  Sulphocyanide 
of  potassium,  proposed  for  this  purpose  by  Winkler,* 
in  his  process,  witn  subchloride  of  copper  as  a  reducing 
agent,  was  not  found  to  give  sharp  indications.  When 
copper  and  iron  are  present  together,  as  chlorides,  the 
addition  of  hypophosphite  of  magnesium  simply  reduces 
the  copper  to  subchloride,  as  above  stated,  if  in  this 
case  we  add  an  alkaline  chloride  to  keep  the  subchlo- 
ride of  copper  dissolved,  the  copper  may  be  easily  pre- 
cipitated as  subsulphide  by  sulphydrio  acid  gas.  When 
arsenic  or  antimony  are  present  with  copper,  these 
must  first  be  separated  before  precipitating  tne  copper 
as  hydruret,  as  careful  experiments  by  Mr.  G.  Lilly 
have  shown  that  both  arsenic  and  antimony  are  pre- 
cipitated with  the  copper.  Mr.  Lilly  obtained  the  fol- 
lowing analytical  results  when  arsenious  acid  was 
present. 

Or.  of  Bolphate  Or.  roeUllio       Per  cent 

of  copper.  copper.  copper. 

1*2690 gave 03279    =    2583 

i*5<27 "    0-3905     =    25-77 

0-9638 "    0-2509     =    26-03 

The  formula  gives  25*42  of  metallic  copper.    In  pres- 
ence of  antimonious  acid— 0-7100  gr.  sulpnate  of  copper 
gave  0-2454  gr.  of  copper  =  34*56  per  cent    After  ad- 
dition of  SbaOs  and  Kochelle  salt,  0*9875  gr.  sulphate 
of  copper  gave  0-2426  gr.  copper  =  24-56  per  cent 
Repeated  analyses  by  Mr.  Lilly  also  showed  that  cop- 
per could  not  be  determined  accurately  in  Schweinfurt 
green  by  hypophosphite  of  magnesium,  and  that  th< 
presence  of  Kochelle  salt  did  not  completely  prevei 
the  precipitation  of  arsenic  with  the  copper  wh 
arsenious  or  arsenic  acid  were  mixed  with  sulphatf 
copper. 

In  assaying  copper  ores,  it  is  usually  desirab 
bring  the  metal  at  once  into  the  form  of  sulphate, 
merous  experiments  made  in  this  laboratory  fill 
tify  me  in  reconmiending  the  following  methoc^ 
finely  pulverised  ore  (sulphides  of  copper  an(T 
to  be  mixed  in  a  porcelain  crucible  with  thr' 
times  its  weight  of  a  mixture  of  i  molecul 
phate  and  i  of  nitrate  of  potassium.  The  mix 
to  be  slowly  heated  to  low  redness,  whio' 
complished  in  a  muffle.     The  metallic  r 
completely  oxidised  without  the  least  f 
heated  mixture.    Enough  strong  sulphu 
vert  all  the  sulphate  of  potassium  into  bi* 
added,  and  the  crucible  is  to  be  again 
until  the  contents  run  to  a  clear  fuser' 
ing  the  mass  usually  separates  read 
ble,  which  is  not  attacked,  and  on  S' 
copper  are  found  completely  convr 
This  process  has  been  tried  sucr 
variety  of  ores.  •  The  whole  op4 
an  hour.    In  the  case  of  ores  f 
phide  of  iron,  it  is  best  to  hea' 
as  lon^  as  sulphur  is  given  0 
the  oxidising  mixture  and  hei> 
of  lead,  zinc,  and  antimony  - 
the  same  process. — Amer. »' 

•  Zditsebrlft  fur  Analyt' 


[Encliih  Edition,  ToL  ZVIL,  Ha  435)  pasw  VSO,  X61.1 


256 


Contaminating  Coal  Gas.— Blow-Pipe  Coal  Assay. ^ 


{ CHonciL  Ksira, 
\      JtMt«,186a. 


COAL  GAS  AS  A  POSSIBLE  SOURCE  OF  CON- 
TAMINATING SUBSTANCES  TO  BE  TESTED 
FOB  AMMONIA. 

In  a  paper  on  analysis  of  water,  publisbed  at  the  latter 
end  of  last  year  in  the  Scheikundige  Bijdragen  uit  het 
Laboratorium  van  het  Athenoeum  Illitstre,  at  Amsterdam, 
Dr.  Gunning  calls  attention  to  the  fact,  that  coal-gas 
however  well  purified  is  by  no  means  free  from  ammo- 
nia; he  felt  induced  to  institute  some  experiments  on 
this  subject,  the  result  of  which  is,  that  last  summer  the 
gas  used  in  the  Laboratory  at  Amsterdam  contained 
0*00075  gramme  of  ammonia,  or  ammoniacal  substances 
in  I  litre  of  illuminating  gas,  amounts  in  bulk  to  a  Uttle 
over  one  cubic  foot  thereof  in  one  thousand  cubic  feet 
of  gas.  Attention  is  called  to  the  fact,  that  where  wet 
gas  meters  are  in  use,  the  water  of  which  is  never  re- 
plenished unless  by  some  accident,  this  water  must  be- 
come pretty  fairly  saturated  with  ammonia ;  on  empty- 
ing the  water  from  one  of  the  meters  at  the  laboratory 
at  Amsterdam  its  bulk  was  found  to  amount  to  219 
litres,  ♦.«.,  48 '66  gallons.  10  cubic  centimeters  of  this 
fluid  yielded  192  mlgrm.  of  ammonia,  or  bases  of  a  sim- 
ilar nature.  The  whole  quantity  of  water  contained, 
therefore,  no  less  than  4*2  kilogs.  of  these  bases ;  the 
meter  had  been  in  use  for  only  two  years.  Since  coal- 
gas,  moreover,  always  contains  sulphur  compounds, 
there  is  formed  sulphate  of  ammonia,  which,  on  be- 
coming converted  by  the  intense  heat  into  bisulphate 
of  ammonia,  attacks  the  glass  cylinders,  or  chimneys, 
placed  on  the '  Argand  gas  burners.  Dr.  Gunning  has 
found  from  expressly  instituted  experiments  tliat  no 
combustion  of  the  ammonia  takes  place,  not  even  in 
Bunsen  burners,  and  ndentions  that  a  platinum  basin 
filled  with  perfectly  pure  water,  and  placed  for  even 
less  than  an  hour  over  a  Bunsen  burner,  had  got  con- 
taminated with  a  perceptible  quantity  of  ammonia  in 
the  form  of  sulphate.  There  are  two  gas  companies 
supplying  Amsterdam,  and  there  is  a  strong  competi- 
tion, but  also  a  good  surveillance  to  secure  the  gas  to 
be  as  pure  as  possible.  The  experiment  above  alluded 
to  was  made  with  gas  taken  directly  from  the  street 
main. 


BLOW-PIPE  COAL  ASSAY.* 

BY  BENJAMIN  SMITH  LTMAN. 


Many  young  assayers  are  perhaps  hardly  aware  how 
well  adapted  the  blow-pipe  apparatus  is  to  the  assaying 
of  coal  Not  only  does  the  portableness  of  the  appara- 
tus make  it  very  convenient  for  use  away  from  nome, 
wherever  the  scales  can  be  set  up ;  but  its  use  at  home 
is  quite  as  satisfactory  on  the  score  of  exactness  as  the 
assay  with  the  muffle  or  retort,  or  large  platinum  cru- 
cible and  large  scales. 

Besides  the  ordinary  pieces  of  the  blow-pipe  appa- 
ratus, as  made  at  Freiberg,  aU  that  needs  to  be  made 
expressly  for  the  coal  assay  is  a  small  covered  platinum 
crac/ble  of  the  same  size  and  shape  as  the  clay  cruci- 
blea  or  that  apparatus ;  and  there  must  be  a  little  ring 
th^e^^'  ?^^^We  to  stand  on,  of  German  silver,  about 
Si^ci^  "^^^At^s  of  an  inch  across  and  half  that  in  height. 
^^'^^^^>y^^  ^'"'^ible    cover  and  ring  weigh  about  two 
S'^^^^  X^^^  ^f^  *  half  more  than  the  ordinary  metallic 
^.f^f^f^  ^^  the  pan  of  the  scales ;  the  crucible  and 
'^''^       tt^  cover  weigh  less  than  two  grammes 

'^  j^merlCftnJoQrnal  of  Mining. 


t^'/j2CHXt, 


more  than  the  cup^^-  If  it  be  desired  to  determine  the 
amount  of  hygroscopic  moisture  in  the  coal,  a  email 
drying  bath  must  be  made  too ;  but  W.  R.  Johnson's 
coal  assays  have  shown  that  the  hygroscopic  water  in 
ordinarily  well  dried  coals  (not  brown  coals)  is  of  little 
importance. 

The  size  of  the  crucible  allows  the  coking  of  200  to 
600  or  more  milligrammes  of  coal,  accordmg  to  the 
dryness  of  the  coal  and  the  extent  of  its  swelling  up 
when  heated ;  and  as  the  blow-pipe  scales  (of  Lingke's 
make)  weigh  within  a  tenth  of  a  milligramme,  it  is 
easy  to  weigh  within  much  less  than  a  tenth  of  one 
per  cent,  of  the  amount  of  coal  assayed,  much  nearer, 
in  fact,  than  the  exactness  of  the  coke  assay  in  other 
respects.  In  this  point,  indeed,  the  blow-pipe  assay  is 
quite  as  good  as  the  assay  with  the  larger  scales, 
especially  the  muffle  assay,  where  the  coal  must  be 
brushed  into  a  clay  receptacle  after  weighing,  and  the 
coke  or  ashes  brushed  ofif  from  it  before  weighing; 
while  here  the  crucible  is  weighed  each  time  without 
removal  of  its  contents,  and  without  danger,  therefore, 
of  losing  anything  or  adding  any  dust.  It  may  be  ob- 
jected that  Uie  smallness  of  the  amount  of  coal  that  can 
be  assayed  with  the  blow-pipe  makes  it  a  less  trust- 
worthy indicator  of  the  general  composition  of  the  coal 
than  a  larger  assay ;  but  the  size  of  the  lumps  or  pow- 
der assayed  may  be  made  finer  accordingly,  so  that 
when  mixed  up,  an  equally  just  sample  of  the  whole 
mass  would  be  got  for  the  small  assay  as  for  the  large. 

Any  one  who  has  a  little  experience,  both  in  the  use 
of  the  blow-pipe  and  in  the  ordinary  muffle  assay  of 
coal,  would  scarcely  need  any  fiirther  teaching  for  the 
coal  assay  with  the  blow-pipe.  For  others,  it  is  worth 
while  to  say  that  the  coal  may  be  assayed  either  in  a 
fine  powder  or  in  HtUe  lumps,  and  either  with  a  slowly 
increasing  or  with  a  quickly  increasing  heat.  A  quick 
heat  will  give  less  coke  by  several  per  cent,  but  will 
often  make'  a  dry  coal  calce  together  that  would  not 
cake  with  a  slow  heat.  The  cover  of  the  crucible 
should  be  left  open  a  htUe  crack,  for  the  easy  escape  of 
the  gas,  but  covered  enough  to  prevent  any  flying  oflf 
of  solid  material  The  heat  should  increase  to  redness, 
and  as  soon  as  the  escaping  gas  stops  burning  the  heat 
should  be  stopped.  As  some  coals  part  with  their  gas 
more  quickly  than  others,  of  course  no  definite  time 
can  be  fixed  for  heating  all  coals  j  but  the  burning  of 
the  gas  is  a  good  enough  sign.  Care  should  be  takoi 
not  to  let  the  coke  take  up  moisture  from  the  air  before 
weighing,  as  it  will  quickly  do  if  it  has  a  chance.  Of 
course,  owing  to  the  different  effect  of  quick  or  slo'v^ 
heat,  a  certain  uniformity  of  result,  even  with  perfectly 
uniform  samples  of  coal,  can  only  be  got,  without  error, 
by  practice  and  by  mechanical  skill,  by  reproducing 
with  nicety  the  same  conditions  in  successive  assays. 

Aft^r  the  coke  has  been  weighed,  it  can  be  heated 
again  with  very  free  access  of  air,  say,  with  the  cruci- 
ble tilted  to  one  side,  with  the  cover  ofi*,  until  every- 
thing is  thoroughly  burnt  to  ashes ;  and  these  should  be 
re-heated  until  no  change  for  the  less  is  made  in  the 
weight.  With  free  burning  soft  (semi-bituminous) 
coals  this  burning  to  ashes  is  very  slow,  so  that  it  is 
very  fatiguing  or  even  impossible  to  carry  it  out  with 
the  blow-pipe ;  but  in  that  case  the  crucible  may  be 
heated  over  a  Bunsen  gas-burner  or  an  alcohol  lamp, 
and  left  to  glow  forliour  aft«r  hour.  For  the  matter 
of  that  the  coking  is  far  more  conveniently  done  in  the 
same  way  than  by  blowing  with  the  mouth. 

Here  is  a  pair  of  blow-pipe  assays,  made  five  years 
ago,  of  some  West  Virginia  asphaltiim,  that  seemed  it- 


[English  Edition,  V6L  ZVU,  Na  435,  pages  161, 162.] 


no,  I 
No.  2 


47*29  per  oenu 
4693      '* 


5271  percent, 
53*07      " 


Mean      47*11 


52-89 


1*05  percent. 
rSi      " 


173 


SWEET  PRINCIPLE  OP  FROZEN  POTATOES. 

BY  DR,  A.  OTT. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Polytechnic  Branch  of  the 
American  Institute,  January  i6th,  Dr  Adolph  Ott, 
well  known  aa  the  author  of  a  useful  and  interesting 
work  on  soap  and  candles,  detailed  the  results  of  his 
recent  investigations  and  experiments  with  potatoes, 
his  object  being  to  determine  the  sweet  principle  of 
frozen  potatoes. 

With  a  view  to  determine  this  question,  he  exposed 
I  lb.  of  this  vegetable  to  a  very  low  temperature,  and 
when  thoroughly  frozen,  he  first  reduced  a  i  of  a  lb.  of 
it  to  a  pulp,  by  rasping,  and  expressed  the  sap,  to  100 
centimetres  of  which- (33*8  fluid  ounces)  he  added  10 
cubic  centimetares  of  basic  acetate  of  lead ;  and  this, 
filtered,  and  transferred  to  the  glass  tube  of  Mitscher- 
lich's  polarimeter,  and  placed  between  Nichols'  prisms, 
gave  no  rotation  of  the  plane  of  polarisation,  thus  estab- 
lishing the  &ct  that  no  sugar  is  present  in  raw,  frozen 
potatoes.  To  decide  whetlier  sugar  is  formed  in  the 
process  of  cooking,  he  steamed  250  grm.  (nearly  9  oz.) 
of  the  vegetable  for  one  hour,  and  mashed  them  with 
200  cubic  centimetres  of  tepid  water.  The  solution 
thus  obtained  was  divided  into  two  portions,  from  one 
of  which  was  precipitated  the  gummy  and  protein  mat- 
ters with  sub-acetate  of  lead,  fuso  discolouring  the  red- 
dish brown  liquid  with  a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid. 
This,  placed  as  before  in  the  tube  of  the  polarimeter, 
gave  a  change  of  colour,  indicating  the  presence  of  un- 
crystallisable  sugar.  No  calculation,  however,  was 
made  from  this,  as  the  rotation  of  t^e  grape  sugar  to 
the  left  is  partly  compensated  by  the  dextrine  and  other 
substances ;  which  are  right-handed  in  respect  to  polar- 
ised light,  and  which  are  generally  the  product  of  heat 
upon  albuminous  starchy  matter.  He  tnerefore  had  re- 
course to  Fehling's  test,  by  using  the  infusion  of  the 
boiled  potato  which  had  been  set  aside,  by  which  the 
following  elements  were  determined : — 

1st.  The  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  infusion, 

2nd.  The  amount  of  water  in  the  boiled  potato. 

Thus  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  latter  was  calcu- 
lated, and  found  to  be  i'45  per  cent.  What,  then,  is 
the  cause  of  the  sweet  principle  ?  He  would  answer 
by  saying  that  in  freezing  and  thawing,  the  sap  of  the 
potato  bursts  the  cells,  and  thus  destroys  vitsdity ;  at 
the  same  time,  decomposition  is  setting  in,  which, 
though  retarded  by  the  cold,  is  not  entirely  arrested  : 
the  more  so  as,  at  the  season  most  likely  to  freeze,  and 
especially  during  a  snow-storm,  there  abounds  that 
powerful  oxidising  agent,  ozone. 

No  doubt  the  outer  portions  of  the  starch  grains  are 
first  attacked  by  it,  and  may  thus  be  transformed  into 
diastasej  a  body  which,  as  we  know,  possesses  the  same 
power  as  dilute  acids  of  converting  a  comparatively 
large  quantity  of  starch,  first  into  dextrine,  and  then 
into  sugar,  at  a  temperature  of  140°  to  170',  as  in  the 
process  of  cooking.  Wheat  contains  enough  diastase, 
as  does  every  seed  when  sprouting,  to  convert  eR  its 


buminous  bodies. 


cuuo  \A/uiKaui.  ituv  ^ 


ON  NAPHTHA  AND  itLUMINATENa  OIL  FROM 

HEAVY  CALIFORNIA  TAR,  AND  ON  THE 

PROBABLE  ORIGIN  OP  PETROLEUM. 

BT  PB07.  B.  «ZLLIMAN. 

Having  lately  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  a  speci- 
men of  "  surface  oil,"  so  called,  from  Santa  Barbara 
county,  in  California,  I  present  the  following  experi- 
mental results  in  the  hope  that  they  may  not  be  with- 
out interest,  as  an  addition  to  our.  knowledge  of  one 
extreme  of  that  class  of  hydrocarbons,  which  occur  in 
nature  in  the  flUid  form,  and  of  every  density,  from 
those  which  are  but  little  lighter  than  water,  down  to 
the  Ughtest  naphtha  found  in  a  natural  state.* 

It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  chemical  examination  of 
this  sample  had  chiefly  a  technical  object,  to  prove 
whether  or  not  illuminating  oil  of  good  quality  could  be 
obtained  from  the  distillation  of  so  dense  a  body.  The 
experiments  were  conducted  on  quantities  of  from  five 
to  ten  gallons  each.  The  crude  oil  was  very  dark,  al- 
most black,  transmitting  yellow  brown  light  in  thin 
films.  At  ordinary  temperatures  (60**  F.)  it  is  a  thick 
viscid  liquid  resembling  cojJ  tar,  but  with  only  a  very 
slight  odour. 

Its  density  at  60"  F.  is  0*980,  or  I3i°  Baumd.  It 
retains,  mechanically  entangled,  a  considerable  quantity 
of  water,  which  is  neutral  in  its  reaction.  The  odour 
of  sulphydric  acid,  which  is  very  decided  in  this  pro- 
duct, as  I  have  noted  in  its  locality,  had  entirely  disap- 
peared in  the  specimen  under  consideration. 

The  tar  froths  at  the  commencement  of  distillation, 
from  the  escape  of  watery  vapour.  It  yields  by  a  pri- 
mary distillation  no  product  having  a  less  density  than 
0844  or  3f  B.  at  52°  F, 

Distillation  to  dryness  produced  in  two  trials  an  av- 
erage result  as  follows : — 

Oil  having  a  density  of  0-890  to  0*900 69-82 

Coke,  water,  and  loss 30*18 

lOO'OO 

In  one  of  these  trials  the  product  was  divided  r 
follows : — 

Oilof  density  29*  B.  at  52**  (885  sp.  gr.) 

Oil  of  density  24*75  B.  at  58°  (908  sp.  gr.) 

Coke,  water,  loss,  &c 


The  coke  is  very  large  in  quantity,  stronf 
good  fuel,  resemblmg  gas-house  coke.    Tb 
ammonia  is  given  off  towards  the  close  of 
tion.    It  is  well  known  to  distillers  of  pf 
by  the  process  called  **  cracking,"  heavy 
illumination  are  broken  up  into  bodies 
from  light  naphtha  to  the  heavier  illu 
bricating  oils.    This  process  is  simp^ 


*  I  am  indebted  to  A.  J.  Corning,  formerlr 
for  conductlDfr  thts  research  nnder  my  direct 
and  Merrill,  of  the  kerosene  works  in  8ouit 
oblif^tioDa  for  the  permUaion  to  employ  f 
condacting  this  research.    For  the  crude 
debted  to  the  OaUfornl*  Petroleum  Coir 
derlved. 


[SngUflh  SdltioD,  VoL  T7IL,  ITo.  i35»  paget  102, 163 ;  Ho.  436,  pagt  r 


258        Precipitation  of  Copper  and  Nickel  hy  Alkaline  Carbonates. 


j  ChKXIOAL  17ft.VB,    * 

1      J%m€,  1896.        4 


of  a  carefully  regulated  heat  producing  a  slow  distilla- 
tion. By  this  treatment  the  molecules  apparently  re- 
arrange themselves  into  groups  of  diflferent  density, 
which  by  a  subsequent  distillation  are  divided  into 
fractions  (or  "heaps^"  as  Mr.  Warren  calls  them)  of 
tolerably  constant  boiling  points. 

The  nrst  distillate,  having  a  density  of  about  '890  at 
6°  F.,  treated  in  this  manner,  yielded  a  product  having 
a  density  of  about  885  at  60  .  or  only  i**  Baum^  lower 
than  before  distillation.  After  treatment  with  sul- 
phuric acid  and  soda  and  redistilling  from  soda,  it  had 
a  density  of  '880  at  60°  F.  Upon  distilling,  100  meas- 
ures of  this  last  distillate  yielded : — 

Light  oil  having  a  density  of  about  '835  at  60°  F. . . .  21*58 
Heavy  oil  having  a  density  of  about  -880  at  66°  F. . .  37*41 
Heavy  oil  having  a  density  of  about  *9i6  at  64**  F. . .  34*53 
CJoke,  Ac 6-48 


100*00 

In  another  experiment  undertaken  with  a  view  to 
"  cracking,"  &c.,  treating  and  re-distilling  with  soda, 
the  products  were  as  foUows,  stated  in  percentages  of 
the  whole  quantity  operated  on,  the  several  steps  being 
as  before : — 

Naphtha,*  sp.  gr.  about  760  at  60*  F i '  '33 

Oil^fsp.  gi.  about  836  at  60°  F 6622 

Oil;  sp.  gr.  about  '893  at  60°  F 12-67 

Oil,  sp.  gr.  about  -921  a^  60**  F 3*56 

Loss 6*22 


lOO'OO 

The  illuminating  oil  from  both  these  experiments, 
after  treatment  with  sulphuric  acid  and  soda  in  the 
usual  manner,  acquired  an  agreeable  odour,  a  light 
straw-yellow  colour,  and  burned  as  well  in  a  lamp  as 
good  commercial  oil. 

With  a  view  to  test  the  effect  of  heat  aided  by  pres- 
sure in  breaking  up  the  heavy  hydrocarbons — a  method 
of  treating  heavy  hydrocarbon  oils  patented  in  1866  by 
James  Young,  of  Glasgow — a  portion  of  the  first  distil- 
late from  the  crude  oil  was  subjected  during  distillation 
to  a  pressure  of  10  to  15  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  in 
an  apparatus  adapted  to  the  purpose,  the  distillate  thus 
obtained  being  about  the  same  density  as  in  the  first* 
named  experiment,  -890  at  60**  F. 

From  this  distillate  were  obtained,  after  the  ordinary 
treatment  with  sulphuric  acid  and  soda,  the  folio  wing 
products : — 

Light  oil,  sp.  gr.  -825  at  60"  F 19*2  per  cent 

Heavy  oil,  sp.  gr.  '885  at  60"  F 2586      ** 

Heavy  oil,  sp.  gr.  '918  at  60''  F 38*  14      " 

I     Coke,  loss,  £0 i6-8o      *' 


The  illuminating  oil  from  the  last  experiment  ilashcd 
at  80''  F.,  and  lighted  on  the  surface  at  85**  F.^  showing 
the  presence  of  naphtha  or  some  very  light  hodj^  the 
quantity  of  which  cannot  be  very  considerable.  The 
light  oil  could,  with  care,  be  taken  off  in  practice  with- 
out materiaUy  diminishing  the  yield  of  illuminating  oil. 
It  would  be  rash  to  conclude  that  there  may  not  be  rm 
important  economical  advantage  in  employing  in  the 
large  way,  Mr.  Young*s  method  of  treatment,  under 
pressure,  over  that  of  "cracking"  by  a  regulated  heat 

•  TMs  naphtha  CAiight  Are  from  %  match  at  an  atmospheHo  temMtn- 
tore  of  56°  P.  ^ 

t  TbiB  oU  flashed  at  113^  F.,  and  Ignited  at  124O  F. 


alone.  It  is  highly  probable  that  there  would  be  found 
an  important  saving  of  time,  a%under  a  regulated  pres- 
sure, and  a  corresponding  increase  of  temperature,  the 
transformation  of  the  heavy  oils  into  a  mixture  of  less 
density  will  occur  more  speedily.  The  experiments 
herein  mentioned  gave  nearly  the  sam<B  result,  whether 
pressure  was  used  or  not ;  a  certain  loss,  all  falling  upon 
the  Hghter  portions,  was  found  to  result  from  leakage 
of  the  apparatus  under  pressure,  whidi  in  liie  larger 
way  of  operating  commercially  could  be  avoided. 

^o  paraffine  could  be  detected  by  refrigerating  the 
heavy  oils  obtained  in  these  distillations  in  a  mixture 
of  salt  and  ice.  It  is,  no  doubt,  the  absenoe  of  this 
body  from  the  series  of  products  obtained  from  the 
California  oils  generally,  that  accounts  for  the  illumina- 
ting oil  burning  well  at  a  density  considerably  below 
the  commercial  standard  for  oil  obtained  from  Penn- 
sylvania petroleum— a  difference  enhanced  also  by  the 
absence  of  any  considerable  quantity  of  light  naphtha. 
The  lubricating  oils  of  this  series,  likewise  free  from 
paraffine,  retain  on  this  account  their  fluidity  at  low 
temperatures. 

The  hght  oils  obtained  in  this  series  of  experiments 
correspond  respectively  to  12*96,  I4'56,  and  18*96  per 
cent,  of  the  crude  oiL  The  total  commercial  products 
are  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  crude  body,  which  likewise 
yields  sufficient  coke  to  supply  the  fuel  required  in  the 
distillations. 

In  the  large  way  of  returning  the  lightest  oils  to  the 
heavier  portions  in  the  successive  distiflations,  and  em- 
ploying Mr.  Young's  method  by  pressure,  it  is  probable 
the  product  of  light  or  illuminating  oils  may  be  raised 
in  these  very  heavy  natural  products  to  30  per  cent, 
and  for  those  of  less  density  the  proportion  -vnll  be  cor- 
respondingly greater. 

It  is  evident  from  these  experiments  that  heavy  hy- 
drocarbon oils  containing  no  naphtha  are  convertible 
into  oils  of  the  naphtha  series  under  the  action  of  heat 
by  molecular  transformations,  the  excess  of  carbon  be- 
ing left  behind  as  coke;  each  successive  distillation 
eliminating  a  new,  but  always  diminished,  portion  of 
carbon.  It  may,  therefore,  be  confidently  affirmed, 
that  even  the  heaviest  of  the  California  hydrocarbons 
belong  to,  and  are  derivatives  from,  the  petroleum 
perios.  The  Trans^foimatiou  of  light  oib  into  denser 
products  ending  with  tar,  like  that  which  is  the  subject 
of  tlxie  researL'H,  results  not^  as  has  been  asftumed  by 
^mej  from  the  addition  of  oxygen  pruducing  an  oxi- 
dised bodj^  but  on  the  contrary,  oy  the  removal  of  ?ue- 
c^tiisivo  atoms  of  hydrogen  in  tlie  form  of  water,  thus 
leaving  the  carbon  in  excels,  that  excess  being  left  be- 
hind in  the  form  of  coke  when  the  crude  prioduct  is 
dis  tilled.  ^ — From  tht  San  Franeisca  BulUHn^^ 


ON  THE  PRECIPITATION  OF  COFFEE  AKD 
NICKEL  BY  ALKALINE  CARBONATES. 

BT    WOLCOTT    fllEBfij    M^O., 

The  precipitation  of  copper  by  zinc,  or  by  the  electro- 
lytic method,  requires  that  the  metjl  should  be  present 
in  the  form  of  sulphate  or  chloride,  and  does  not  suc- 
ceed with  tlie  nitrate.  As  stated  before,  the  employ- 
ment of  the  hypophosphiti's  is  limited  to  the  cai?e  m 
which  Uie  metal  exists  a^  siilphate.  The  old  mode  of 
precipitating  copper  as  oicide  hy  cau^lic  pot&fh  has 
disadvantages  which  are  familiar  to  all  chemists,  but  on 
llie  other  hand,  is  independent  of  the  nature  of  the  soisi- 


[BnglWi  S(UtJoi%  7oL  XVIL,  Ho,  430,  p«gM  XIX,  X1Z.\ 


tion  of  copper  employed,  so  long  at  least  as  no  organic 
matter  is  present  According  to  Rose,*  the  alkaline 
carbonates  precipitate  copper  less  completely  than 
caustic  alkalies.  This  statement,  however,  is  not  accu- 
rate for  aU  the  conditions  under  which  the  experiment 
may  be  perfoi^ned ;  and  I  have  found  that  copper  may 
be  completely  precipitated  from  the  sulphate,  nitratp, 
or  chloride  when  the  solutions  are  boiled  together  for 
a  sufiElcient  time  and  are  sufficiently  dilute.  Mr.  E.  R. 
Taylor,  who  has  made  a  careful  study  of  this  method  of 
determining  copper,  has  arrived  at  the  following  as  the 
best  method  of  conducting  the  process.  The  solution 
of  copper  is  to  be  diluted  with  water  until  the  Uquid 
contains  i^ot  more  than  about  i  grm.  of  the  metal  in  one 
litre.  A  solution  of  carbonate  of  potash  or  soda  is  then 
to  be  added  in  small  excess,  and  the  whole  boiled  for 
about  half  an  hour.  The  boiling  proceeds  quietly,  and 
without  succussions ;  the  blue  green  carbonate  soon  be- 
comes dark  brown,  and  has  a  fine  granular  character 
which  renders  it  extremely  easy  to  wash.  After  wash- 
ing it  is  to.  be  ignited  in  an  atmosphere  of  hydrogen, 
and  the  copper  weighed  as  metal ;  it  will  be  found  to 
be  free  fi*om  alkali  In  this  manner  Mr.  Taylor  obtain- 
ed, in  five  analyses,  the  following  results : — 

1*8384  gr.  pure  sulphate  of  copper  gave  0*4688  gr.'metallic 
copper  =  25-44  per  cent 

1 7 144  gr.  pure  metallio  copper  dissolved  In  aqua  regia 
gave  1 7 16 1  gr.  copper  =  100*09  per  cent 
.     1*3860  gr.  pure  metallic  copper  dissolved  in  aqua  regia 
gave  1-3853  gr.  copper  =  99-93  per  cent 

1*4657  gr.  pure  metallic  copper  dissolved  in  nitric  add 
gave  1*4670  gr.  copper  =  100*09  P®^  cent 

1*4685  gr.  pure  metallio  copper  dissolved  in  nitric  add 
gave  1*4634  gr.  copper  =  99*65  per  cent 

The  filtrate  is  perfectly  firee  from  copper  if  the  process 
has  been  well  conducted. 

The  ignited  oxide  is  in  a  state  of  great  subdivision, 
and  the  ignition  must  therefore  be  conducted  with  much 
care  to  avoid  loss.  A  small  portion  of  the  oxide  or 
basic  carbonate  usually  adheres  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel 
in  which  the  boiling  takes  place.  This  is  to  be  re-dis- 
solved, and  again  precipitated,  but  great  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  add  a  large  excess  of  the  alkaline  carbonate, 
which  gives  a  solution  from  which  the  copper  is  not 
precipitated  by  boiling. 

Nickel  may  be  completely  precipitated  from  its  solu- 
tions by  precisely  the  same  process.  The  green  basic 
carbonate  may  be  washed  much  more  readity  than  the 
oxide  precipitated  by  caustic  alkali;  it  is  to  be  ignited 
and  weighed  as  oxide.  .In  two  analyses  Mr.  Taylor 
obtained  the  following  results: — 

1*9808  gr.  anhydrous  sulphate  of  nickel  gave  0*9551  gr. 
NiO  =  37*79  per  cent 

1*4601  gr.  anhydrous  sulphate  of  nickel  gave  0*7008  gr. 
NiO  =  37  64  per  cent 

The  formula  JftSO*  requires  37*69  ^i  =  58).  Dr. 
F.  A.  Gknth  informs  me  that  he  has  also  used  the 
alkaline  carbonates  in  precipitating  nickel,  and  with 
most  satisfactory  results. 

The  precipitation  of  cobalt  by  an  alkaline  carbonate 
can  only,  with  much  difficulty  and  by  long  boiling,  be 
made  complete.  As  a  means  of  determining  cobalt  it 
is  not  to  be  recommended.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr. 
F.  W.  Clarke  has  found  that  cobalt  is  completely  and 
easily  precipitated  by  the  process  of  oxidation,  first 
given  by  Popp,t  wmch  consists  in  neutralising  the 
solution  with  carbonate  of  sodium,  adding  acetate  of 


*  HftDdbnoh  der  Aii«ljtt«eh«n  Chemie,  iL  175.    8«dhBte  Aoflage. 
t  Zeitschrlft  fiir  AiuUjtisclM  Ohemle. 


sodiuni,  and  th  ! 
hypochlorite,  t 

The  hydrate  . 
may  be  readily 
the  metal  is  foi  1 
as  Popp  has  al  < 
manner,  but  t 
preferable. 

In  this  conn<  1 
the  method  of  1 
of  peroxide  ol 
edition  of  R  1 
Chemie,*'  and  1 
never  even  pro  i 

Cobalt  and  n  1 
solutions  of  th 
adding  first  an  : 
solution,  and  1  ; 
After  standing  1 
from   metal.    '  ' 
This  method  is, 
purposes,  since  1 
or  of  the  alkahi  • 
also  in  such  a  1 
impossible  to  i^  1 
of  copper,  cadn  i 
are  also  complc  ; 
oxalic  acid  and 
salts.     The  sam  ! 
nitrates.    In  tl 
precipitation  "^  i 
probably  be  be  i 
oxalate  by  hyp  1 

In  a  former  {  ! 
cobalt  and  nick  ! 
by  a  boiling;  s< '. 
washed  withou  : 
culty  of  prepari : 
ever,  been  an  ol  j 
may  easily  be  1 
tetrahedral  sul] 
cent  filtering,  i  1 
After  two  or  1  : 
may  be  dried  i 
white  effloresce  ; 
bottle.  The  s  1 
Joum,  of  Sciem  : 

ON  CRY  : 


THisremarkabl ! 
of  a  vitreous  lu  i 
sodium  and  alui  ; 


It  is  found  in 
Iviktout,  at  the 
well    The  first 
sionaries,  who  <  1 
hagen.    Its  tru  1 

auelin.    There  1 
le  above  ment  1 

*  8«ohBte  Anflag'  , 
t  Z«lt8chrlft  fur  I  1 
1  American  Joan  1 
Zdtsehrlfb  fiir  Anal 


[EngUab  BdmoD,  Tol  ZTJI.,  ITo.  430,  pag^  3 ' 


26o 


A  New  Precipitant  for  Potaah^  die. 


{  Obbmical  9b«B| 


It  is  frequently  a&sociated  with  the  salts  of  metals, 
and  beautilul  crystals^  of  galena,  or  sulphide  of  lead, 
chalybite,  or  brown  spathic  carbonate  of  iron,  resem- 
bling spar  in  lustre ;  copper  pyrites  with  silver,  iron 
pyrites,  &c.,  are  found  therein,  arranged  in  masses 
segregated  from  the  white,  transparent,  ice-like  cryolite. 

It  remained  for  the  Pennsylvania  Salt  Company  to 
introduce  to  our  country  this  valuable  material.  This 
energetic  Company,  whose  works  are  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, has  secured  the  privilege  of  using  a  large  part 
of  all  that  is  mined,  and  has,  within  two  years  past,  im- 
ported into  Philadelphia  thirteen  cargoes,  or  9,000  tons, 
which  have  been  sent  to  their  works  for  manufacture.* 
The  greater  portion  of  this  has  been  used  for  their 
patent  saponifier.  They  are  now  devoting  their  atten- 
tion to  the  preparation  of  caustic  soda,  carbonates,  and 
other  salts  of  soda,  sulphate  of  alumina,  &c. 

Soda  is  obtained  from  cryolite  by  simply  mixing 
with  lime,  and  subjecting  to  heat.  The  fluorine  com- 
bines with  the  calcium,  forming  fluoride  of  calcium ; 
while  the  remaining  metals  absorb  oxygen  from  the  air, 
and  become  alumina  and  soda.  Carbonic  acid  is  then 
passed  through  the  solution,  forming,  with  the  sodium, 
a  carbonate  of  soda,  which  remains  suspended,  while  the 
alumina,  being  insoluble,  is  deposited  at  the  bottom  of 
the  vessel  The  carbonate  of  soda  m  deprived  of  its  acid 
by  means  of  Ume  in  the  usual  manner,  and  thus  rendered 
caustic,  and  fitted  for  the  use  of  the  soap-maker. 

One  hundred  pounds  of  cryolite  yield — 

44    lbs.  dry  caustic  soda, 
or    75      "      "    caib.         " 
or  203      "    crystal  carb.    " 
or  ii9|-    "    bicarb.  " 

and    24      "    alumina. 

The  sulphate  of  alumina  contains  2*82  of  sulphuric  acid 
to  I  equivalent  of  alumina,  therefore  this  is  more  than  a 
neutral  salt  (3"  being  neutral),  which  is  very  desirable 
for  manufacturers  of  paper,  calico  printers,  &c.  It  is 
also  entirely  free  from  iron,  another  very  important 
characteristic. 

There  is  another  very  important  use  to  which  cryolite 
can  be  applied.  By  a  frision  of  i  part  of  cryolite  with 
from  2  to  4  of  pure  silez,  a  beautiful  glass  is  formed, 
susceptible  of  mould  and  polish,  and  capable  of  being 
manufactured  into  an  endless  variety  of  useful  and 
ornamental  articles,  and  probably  many  utensils  for 
chemical  and  pharmaceutical  use  will  be  made  of  it  A 
company  has  been  operating  in  Philadelphia  for  some 
time  past,  on  an  experimental  scale,  entitled  the  "Hot 
Cast  Porcelain  Company."  The  results  have  been  so 
satisfactory  that  they  have  now  taken  a  large  estab- 
lishment, and  will  be  prepared  to  carry  on  &e  man- 
ufacture quite  extensively.  The  cost  i§,  at  present, 
from  10  to  20  per  cent  higher  than  ordinary  flint  glass. 
The  ware  seems  to  be  stronger  tiian  glass. — Proc.  Am, 
Pharm,  Association, 


A  NEW  PRECIPITANT  EOR  POTASH,  &o. 

RESEARCHES    ON   THE  COHBINATIONS   OF 

MOLYBDIC  ACID  WITH  PHOSPHORIC  ACID.t 

BY  M.  H.  DEBBAY. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  century,  after  BerzeUus  had 
determined  by  numerous  and  delicate  analyses  the  com- 

•  Tbey  Imported  last  year  (1867)  eight  thoamid  tons. 

t  This  memoir,  recently  read  before  tbe  French  Academy,  appears  so 
Important  that  we  hare  decided  to  give  It  uncondensed,  notwithstand- 
ing its  length  and  the  nameroas  demands  apon  oar  space  at  this  season. 


position  of  most  of  the  then  known  mineral  substanoes, 
chemists  were  struck  with  the  simplicity  with  which 
their  composition  could  be  expressed  by  means  of  the 
proportional  numbers  given  bjr  his  researches.  This 
character  of  remarkable  simpUcity  to  which  we  have 
now  been  long  habituated,  appealed  to  distinguish 
Mineral  from  Organic  Chemistry,  in  which  complicat«d 
formulae  consequent  upon  the  infinite  variety  of  bodies 
formed  from  a' small  number  of  elements  are  the  genenl 
rule. 

The  distinction  is  disputed  by  most  of  the  eminent 
chemists  of  the  present  day.  There  is  indeed  noessen- 
tial  difference  between  the  reactions  of  organic  and 
those  of  inorganic  chemistry,  neither^have  the  com- 
pounds in  the  latter  that  degree  of  sfinplicity  whadi 
some  like  to  attribute  to  them. 

The  discovery  of  the  silico-tungstic  acids  and  their 
salts,  by  M.  Marignac,  has  recently  famished  a  very 
remarkable  illustration  of  a  series  of  bodies  of  very  com- 
plex composition,  and  yet  possessing  a  sharpness  of  re- 
actions and  a  beauty  of  crystalline  form  at  least  as 
great  as  the  simple  products  of  our  laboratories.  Tte 
study  of  the  combinations  of  phosphoric  and  molybdic 
acids  has  led  me  to  the  discovery  of  bodies  of  the  same 
order,  of  a  still  more  complicated  composition,  but  as 
well  denned  and  as  perfectly  crystallised  as  the  com- 
pounds of  silico-tungstic  acid. 

I.  It  is  known  that  the  solution  of  molybdate  of 
ammonia  in  nitric  acid  possesses  the  property  of  pre- 
cipitating ordinary  phosphoric  acid,  nving  a  yellow 
body  almost  insoluble  in  all  acids.  This  precipitate 
contains  about  89  per  cent,  of  molybdic  acid,  a  ht^e 
over  4  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid,  the  rest  being 
ammonia  and  water.  Upon  boihng  this  in  an  exc&A 
of  a^a  reffia,  the  ammonia  is  destroyed,  and  a  yellow 
hquid  obtained  which  yields  by  spontaneous  evapora- 
tion beautiful  doubly  oblic[Ue  prisms  of  a  yellow  colour, 
which  consist  of  a  combination  of  one  equivalent  of 
anhydrous  phosphoric  add  with  twenty  equivalents  of 
anhydrous  molybdic  acid,  and  a  certain  quantity  of 
water,  corresponding  to  13*3  per  cent,  of  the  wei^t  at 
the  hydrate.* 

These  crystals,  very  soluble  in  water,  can  form  two 
other  hydrates;  the  one  containing  234  per  cent,  of 
water,  that  is  to  say,  double  that  contained  in  the  first 
for  the  same  quantity  of  anhydrous  acid ;  the  othn' 
only  19*6  per  cent  The  hydrate  with  23-4  per  cent  is 
obtained  by  the  spontaneous  evaporation  of  aqueous 
solutions  of  phospbo-molybdic  add  in  larg^  regular 
octohedra ;  the  hydrate  with  19-6  per  cent,  is  deposited 
from  concentrated  solutions  strongly  charged  with 
nitric  acid;  these  crystals,  less  beautifal  and  stable 
than  the  preceding,  belong  to  the  rhombohedral  sysr- 
tem. 

The  small  quantity,  of  phosphoric  acid  which  unites 
in  these  compounds  with  molybdic  acid  (37  to  4-1  p« 
cent.)  suffices  to  modify  profoundly  its  properties.  Tine 
molybdic  acid  may  cive  a  soluble  hydrate  which  wm 
first  isolated  by  Mr.  T.  Graham  in  the  dialysis  of  add 
solutions  of  molybdates,  and  more  recently  by  if.  Ul- 
lik  from  molybdate  of  baryta  and  sulphuric  add,t  but 
this  hydrate  gives  colourless  solutions  and  is  uncrystal- 
lisable.  while  the  hydrates  of  phosphomolybdie*  add 
are  yellow  and  easily  crystallisable.    Moreover,  the  re- 


•  I  have  already  pointed  ont  this  reaction  in  a  foroaer  p«per  «■ 
Molyhdenam  {C<»nptM  M&ndus,  xlvl,  1098),  hat  1  did  not  c 


study   of  these   bodies,  not  having '  then'  a  convenleDt  nkethed  ef 
inalysla. 
t  Ann.  d.  Ghem.  n.  Phann.,  czUy^  904. 


[BngUrti  EditioD,  Vol  XVXI.,  Vo,  436,  page  173 ;  Ho.  437,  pugv  IBS.] 


OnifiCAL  Nkwb,) 
June,  186Sw      f 


A  New  Precipitant  for  Potaah^  <&€. 


261 


actions  of  this  acid  differ  essentiidly  from  those  of 
molybdic  and  phosphoric  acid.  Thus  whilst  all 
molybdates  are  soluble  in  acids,  we  find  that  phospho- 
moljbdic  acid  precipitates  from  their  strongly  acid 
solutions,  potash,  the  oxides  of  rubidium,  coesium  and 
thallium,  ammonia  and  the  nitrogenous  organic  alka- 
bids.  Soda  and  lithia,  which  giye  no  precipitate  under 
these  conditions,  separate  themselves  by  this  reaction, 
as  by  man^  others,  from  potash  and  its  congeners, 
whilst  thalhum  approaches  it  in  a  decided  manner. 

The  metallic  oxides  are  not  precipitated  by  phospho- 
molybdic  acid  in  a  sufficiently  acid  solution.*  Oxide  of 
bismuth  is  not  an  exception,  although  it  forms  with 
phosphoric  acid  a  compound  almost  insoluble  in  nitric 
acid,  as  M.  Chancel  has  shown ;  moreover,  the  mixture 
evaporated  deposits  crystals  of  phosphomolybdic  acid 
in  the  acid  solution  of  bismuth. 

If  it  is  demonstrated  that  a  well-defined  body  can 
result  from  the  combination  of  one  equivalent  of  one 
substance  with  twenty  of  another,  there  is  no  reason 
why  there  ma^  not  some  day  be  discovered  still  more 
complex  combmations.  It  will,  therefore,  be  important 
to  examine  if  the  substances  which  we  constantly  find, 
in  minute  quantity  it  is  true,  in  a  great  number  of 
minerals,  do  not  form  an  integral  part  of  those  minerals, 
the  same  as  more  abundant  substances,  and  do  not 
communicate  to  them  special  characters.  This  fact^ 
demonstrated  as  far  as  the  association  of  fluorine  and 
chlorine  with  phosphates,  may  extend  to  many  other 
combinations.  I  may  be  permitted  to  remark  that  if 
there  exist  definite  combinations  of  iron  and  carbon,  it 
will  not  be  necessary  to  imagine  a  relation  very  differ- 
ent to  that  governing  the  combination  of  molybdic  acid 
with  phosphoric  acid,  to  obtain  bodies  having  nearly 
the  composition  of  iron  and  steeL  Thus  the  compound 
CFeso  would  contain  only  072  per  cent,  of  carbon  (Fe 
=28,0=6) 

II.  The  composition  of  the  yellow  phosphdmolybdates 
of  potash,  thallium,  and  ammonium,  obtained  by  pre- 
cipitating these  bases  in  acid  solutions,  may  be  repre- 
sented by  the  general  formula, 

3RO,  PO.,  2oMO« ; 
the  salts  of  potash  and  ammonia  also  contain  3  equiva- 
lents of  water  of  hydration. 

These  are  well-defined  compounds,  and  not  mixtures, 
for  it  is  easy  to  obtain  them  crystallised.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  fuse,  at  a  dull  red  heat,  the  salts  of  potassium 
and  thaUiimi,  to  obtain  an  oily  liquid,  solidifying  on 
cooling  to  a  mass  of  crystals ;  in  the  thallium  salt  tnese 
crystal  are  sufficiently  distinct  and  brilhant  to  admit 
of  the  hexagonal  pyramid  which  terminates  them  being 
distin^ished  with  the  niiked  eye.  A  few  grammes  of 
material  are  sufficient  for  these  experiments. 

The  ammoniacal  salt  is  obtaioed  in  small  yellow  bril- 
liant crystals  by  mixing  two  solutions  of  pyrophosphate 
of  soda  and  acid  molybdate  of  ammonia ;  the  precipitate 
is  produced  slowly  in  consequence  of  the  transformation 
of  the  pyrophosphoric  acid  into  ordinary  phosphoric 
acid  under  the  influence  of  the  acid  liquid. 

A  solution  of  phosphomolybdic  acid  precipitates 
neutral  nitrate  of  silver.    The  precipitate  gradually 

•  I  hare  alreadj  ahown  this  property  of  phosphomolybdic  add  to  the 
Chemical  Society  of  Paris  (BttU.  de  la  80c  CMm.,  2,  t  ,  405)  bat  with- 
out stadykig  the  ooinpoands  so  formed.  Long  before  my  researches  M. 
fionnenachein  had  pointed  oat  for  the  precipitation  of  organic  alkaloids, 
a  reag«nt  obtained  by  ireating  whh  an  excess  of  soda  the  precipitate  of 
phosphomolybdate  of  ammonia,  to  driye  off  the  ammonia,  and  diBsolriug 
the  residue  In  nitric  acid ;  it  b  now  clear  that  this  reagent  is  nothing 
more  ttian  »  nit  of  photphomolybdie  aeid,  which  behaves  like  the  aeid 
liaelt 


changes  to  microscopic  crystals,  the  composition  of 
which  may  be  represented  by  the  formula  f — 
7AgO,  PC  2oM0«  +  24H0. 

This  salt  dissolves  in  dilute  nitric  acid,  and  the  liquid 
on  evaporation  furnishes  small  yellow  brilliant  crystals 
of  a  salt  containing  two  equivalents  of  base, 
2AgO,  PO5,  2oM0«-H7HO. 

m.  Phosphomolybdic  acid  and  its  salts  are  only 
stable  in  the  presence  of  acids ;  alkahes  generally  change 
them  into  ordinary  molybdates  and  into  phosphomo- 
lybdates,  in  which  the  two  acids  are  united  in  the  more 
simple  proportion  of  i  to  5, 

(PO.,  2oM0,)4:Aq=P0»,  5MO,,  Aq+isMO,. 

These  phosphomolybdates  are  colourless  or  nearly  so, 
and  have  a  pearly  appeahmce ;  they  are  soluble  in  war 
ter  and  easily  crystaUisable ;  an  excess  of  acid  recon- 
verts them  to  the  state  of  yellow  phosphomolybdates, 
setting  phosphoric  acid  free, 

4(P0»,  sM0,)  +  Aq=3(P0„  3H0)+P0^  2oM0,-|-Aq. 

I  give  below  the  formulae  of  some  of  the  beautiful 
salts  of  this  new  class  of  phosphomolybdates : — 

Ammonia  salt  6(NH40X  2PO6,  loMO.  +  14HO, 
Potash  *'  6K0,  2PO.,  loMO,  +  14HO, 
Soda  "    6NaO,       2PO.,  loMO,  -+-  28nO, 

fiUver  "   6AgO,      2P0»,  loMO,  +  14HO. 

It  would  appear  that  these  formulae  could  be  simpli- 
fied by  dividing  all  the  terms  by  two,  but  as  the  action 
of  acids  furnishes  a  fresh  type  of  salts  equally  well 
crystallised,  represented  by  the  general  formula, 

5RO,  2PO.,  xoMOs  +  Aq, 
it  is  preferable  to  retain  for  the  first  salts  the  formulas 
assigned  to  them. 

Some  of  these  salts  may  also  form  double  salts  with 
nitrates :  I  give  one  of  these  compounds : — 

[6(K0,  NO.)  +  6K0,  2P0i^,  loMOJ  +  18HO. 

The  facility  with  which  the  phosphomolybdic  acid 
giving  white  salts  changes  into  yellow  phosphomolybdic 
acid  and  phosphoric  acid,  has  prevented  me  hitherto 
isolating  it. 

IV.  The  analysis  of  the  preceding  compounds  pre- 
sents very  great  difficulties  when  recourse  is  had  to  the 
hitherto  known  methods  of  separating  the  bodies  com- 
posing them.  I  have  used  to  effect  this  object  two  new 
processes  which  deserve  notice,  as  they  are  susceptible 
of  generalisation. 

Separate  the  phosphoric  acid  from  the  molybdic  acid 
by  passing  over  a  mixture  of  phosphomolybdic  acid  and 
lime,  heated  to  incipient  redness  in  a  porcelain  boat, 
first  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  then  of  hydro- 
chloric acid.  There  are  formed  chloride  of  calcium, 
sulphide  of  molybdenum  crystallised  hke  the  native 
sulphide,  and  chlorophosphate  of  lime,  or  apatite,  also 
crystallised.  The  chloride  of  calcium  is  removed  by 
water,  and  the  apatite  by  hydrochloric  acid,  which  does 
not  attack  the  sulphide  of  molybdenum ;  the  latter  being 
easy  to  wash  and  collect,  is  carefully  weighed.  The 
phosphoric  acid  is  easily  estimated  in  the  hydrochloric 
solution. 

When  alkaline  phosphomolybdates  are  under  exami- 
nation, a  portion  of  the  alkali  transformed  into  chloxide 
volatilises  at  the  high  temperature  of  the  operation  in 
the  gaseous  current;  to  estimate  the  alkah  recourse 
must  be  had  to  the  following  process :— Dissolve  the 
phosphomolybdate  in  excess  of  ammonia,  and  add  to 
the  solution  ammoniacal  nitrate  of  silver ;  on  ebullition 
crystallised  tribasic  phosphate  of  silver  is  first  obtained, 


[BngUsh  BdMoii,  Vol.  XVII,  No  437,  i«tw  183^  1840 


262 


Dovhle  Svlphocyanides. — Chemical  Reactions. 


( OiiraaoAi.  Ninra, 
)      JuM,  1608. 


and  then  colourless  molybdate  of  silver  equally  crystal- 
lised; the  alkali  remains  in  the  liquid,  where  it  is  easy 
to  determine  it 


ON  THE 

FORMATION  OF  DOUBLE  SULPHOCYANIDES 
OF  CERTAIN  OF  THE  ALKALOIDS,  &o. 

(GontlDnatlon.) 

BT  WILLIAM  8KET, 

AN^LTSnr  TO  TBS  OIOLOAIOAL  BUBTST  Or  WW  ZSALAXD. 

Since  my  last  communication  I  have  found  that  plati- 
num, gold,  iron,  tungsten,  and  chromium  should  be  added 
to  the  list  of  metals  capable  of  forming  insoluble  double 
sulphocyanides  with  the  alkaloids  generally  and  sulpho- 
cyanogen,  and  others  no  doubt  remain  to  be  added 
especially  from  the  platinum  group. 

Annexed  are  short  descriptions  of  some  of  the  more 
characteristic  of  these  salts — 

Snlplioeranlde  of  Platlmun  and  Morplila  pre- 
cipitates as  a  red  oily  looking  transparent  substance, 
wnen  a  solution  of  ammonio-bichloride  of  platinum  is 
brought  in  contact  with  a  mixed  solution  of  a  salt  of 
morpnia,  and  a  soluble  sulphocyanide :  it  does  not  give 
any  reaction  of  sulphocyanogen  with  the  perchloride 
of  iron,  except  it  is  first  decomposed  by  an  alkali.  If 
quina  is  substituted  for  morphia  a  yellow  crystalline 
precipitate  falls,  which  melts  at  a  temperature  under 
200°  F.  to  a  yellow  oil.  The  nicotina  salt  with  plat- 
inum is  a  dark  red  crystalline  substance,  which  as  in  the 
case  of  the  morphia  salt  has  to  be  decomposed  by  an 
alkali  before  the  sulphocyanogen  reveids  its  presence  by 
the  iron  test. 

Salphocyanlde  of  Gold  and  Atropla,  obtained  by 
adding  an  atropia  salt  to  a  solution  of  sulphocyanide  of 
gold  in  sulphocyanide  of  potassium,  forms  semi-spherical 
red  oily  looking  drops,  adherent  to  the  vessers  sides ; 
at  a  temperature  under  212^  they  agglomerate  to  a  viscid 
substance. 

The  <^atna  Salt  with  Gold  appears  as  granular 
crystals,  adherent  to  enclosing  vessel.  A  morphia  salt 
gives  no  precipitate  with  this  solution  of  gold. 

Salphocyanlde  of  Iron  and  Nlootlna  is  an  oil  at 
common  temperatures,  blood  red  by  transmitted,  and 
green  by  reflected  light;  its  lustre  ismetallia 

The  morphia  and  quina  compounds  with  iron  are 
plastic  and "  adhesive  at  common  temperature,  while 
veratria  yields  pale  red  crystids,  readily  soluble  in 
water,  the  other  salts  of  iron  mentioned  being  but 
slightly  soluble. 

Snlplioeyanlde  of  Tungsten  and  <^alna  falls  as  a 
gelatinous  yellowish  precipitate  when  an  alkaline  tung- 
state  with  excess  of  a  soluble  sulphocyanide  is  acidified 
and  brought  in  contact  with  a  solution  of  this  alkaloid ; 
it  fuses  at  a  low  temperature,  gradually  acquiring  a 
green  colour. 

The  other  alkaloids  generally  furnish  gelatinous  pre- 
cipitates with  this  solution  of  tungsten.' 

A  solution  of  the  red  sulphocyanide  of  chromium  also 
furnishes  flaky  or  gelatinous  precipitates  with  the  alka- 
loids generally;  with  nicotina,  however,  a  semi-solid 
translucent  substance  forms,  adherent  and  continuous, 
of  a  purplish  colour,  insoluble  in  alcohol  or  ether ;  heated 
with  solution  of  potash  it  fuses,  turns  to  a  pink  colour 
and  evolves  nicotina;  it  also  gives  the  reaction  of 
chromium  and  sulphocyanogen. 

Certain  of  the  alkaline  bases  also  appear  to  form  double 
sulphocyanide  salts  with  certain  metals  and  sulpho- 


cyanogen, for  when  mixed  with  a  soluble  sulpho- 
cy&nide  and  shaken  up  with  ether,  the  ether  is  but 
slightly  coloured,  but  on  the  addition  of  a  salt  of  zinc 
or  tin  file  whole  of  the  colouring  matter  can  be  removed 
to  the  ether  by  further  agitation ;  the  etherial  solution 
fi*om  the  tin  when  removed  on  to  water  and  boiled, 
furnished  oily  looking  blue  globules  which  sank  through 
the  water  I  when  long  heated  it  becomes  solid,  it  gave 
abundant  mdications  of  tin  and  sulphocyanogen.  The 
presence  of  water  or  ether  has  not  been  tested  for. 

As  before  stated,  these  double  sulphocyanides  are 
generally  characterised  by  their  comparative  insolubility 
in  water;  the  degree  of  this,  however,  has  only  beea 
determined  in  the  case  of  the  strychnia  compounds  with 
zinc,  which  requires  about  30,000  parts  of  water  to 
eveiy  part  of  strychnia  present-;  it  is  therefore  as  in- 
soluble in  water  as  tannate  of  strychnia. 

The  behaviour  of  veratria  with  iron  leads  to  the  sup- 
position that  in  those  cases  where  solutions  of  metal  £ul 
to  afford  precipitates  when  mixed  with  the  alkaloids  in 
presence  of  hydrosulphocyanic  acid,  double  sulpho- 
cyanides may  still  be  formed. 

As  being  connected  with  the  subject  in  hand  the  fol- 
lowing particulars  relative  to  the  formation  of  other 
double  salts  are  noted  here. 

A  doable  sulphocyanide  of  mercury  and  sdnc  falls  as 
a  crystalline  precipitate  when  a  salt  of  zinc  is  mixed 
with  a  solution  of  sulphocyanide  of  mercury ;  it  is  al- 
most insoluble  in  water ;  no  precipitate  is  formed  with 
cadmium  or  tin  in  place  of  the  zinc.  Possibly  a  good 
process  for  the  separation  of  zinc,  cadmium,  and  tin 
from  each  other  could  be  based  upon  their  respective 
deportments  with  mercury  or  the  alkaloids  in  presence 
of  sulphocvanogen. 

Double  iodides  of  mercury  or  platinum  with  the  al- 
kaloids also  form  when  the  proper  solutions  for  the 
same  are  mixed  together ;  the  sulphocyanides  of  mer- 
cury with  the  alkaloids  are  light  coloured,  and  insolu- 
ble in  excess  of  iodide  of  potassium.  The  double  sul- 
phocyanide of  platinum  and  strychnia  is  a  dark  bluish 
red  crystalline  substance,  feebly  soluble  in  water,  more 
soluble  in  sulphocyanide  of  potassium.  The  other  sul- 
phocyanides are  generally  still  more  insoluble  in  water 
or  sulphocyanide  of  potassium;  their  colour  is  also 
bluish  red. 
Jaimaiy  17,  z868. 


ON  THE  CHEMICAL  REACTIONS  IN  THE 
ROASTma  OF  PYRITES.* 

BT  J.  H.  TIEIfANN,  JXTN. 

EvEB  since  pyrites  has  been  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
sulphuric  acid,  it  has  been  frequenUy  noticed  that  in- 
stead of  the  roasting  chamber  being  filled  with  an  invis- 
ible mixture  of  atmospheric  air  and  sulphurous  add, 
visible  white  fumes  arise  from  the  glowing  pyrite& 
This  has  been  noticed  more  particularly  in  mume  fiir- 
naces  (where  the  pyrites  is  roasted  in  a  chamber  heated 
from  the  outside),  and  especially  in  Spencer's  muffles, 
which  are  fifteen  metres  long.  It  is  hardly  pos^ble 
that  this  occurs  only  in  muffle  fiimaces ;  its  occurrence 
here  is  more  readily  perceived  than  in  other  furnaces — 
**  kilns,"  for  instance.  These  white  vapours,  as  is 
known,  are  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid.  The  condensa- 
tion of  liquid  sulphuric  acid  in  the  flues  connecting  with 
the  leaden  chambers,  is  undoubtedly  owing  to  thk 
cause.     The  fact  that  these  fumes  are  frequentiy,  if  not 


*  Dlngler's  Polyteohnlo  Jooinal,  vol.  187,  part  a. 


[BngUihBditton,  Vol  Z7IL,  No.  437,  pogM  18«»  18i.] 


Obxmical  News,  ) 
June,  186&       f 


Detection  of  Methylated  Spirits  hy  Cffiemical  Reactions. 


263 


always  formed,  induced  Mr.  Fortman,  at  the  laboratory 
of  the  Collegium  Carolinum,  in  Brunswick,  to  institute 
a  number  of  experiments  on  the  subject. 
^  The  material  used  was  a  piece  of  nearly  pure  iron  py- 
rites, with  well-defined  crystals,  interspersed  with 
quartz;  analysed  in  the  ordinary  way,  it  yielded  50*21 
per  cent  of  sulphur.  The  pure  pyrites  FeSa  requires 
53*3  P^]^  cent  sulphur.  For  sJl  the  experiments,  the 
pyrites  was  reduced  to  a  very  fine  soft  powder. 

The  powder  was  placed  in  a  hard  glass  tube  i  inch 
wide,  which  was  placed  in  a  Liebig's  combustion  fur- 
nace (the  same  as  for  an  organic  analysis),  and  brought 
to  a  red  heat^  while  air  was  drawn  throuen  the  tube  by 
an  aspirator.  With  careful  and  gradual  heating,  the 
point  at  which  the  pyrites  ignites  may  easily  be  seen 
at  the  same  moment  with  the  first  evolution  of  sul- 
phurous acid ;  the  white  fumes  make  their  appearance, 
and  continue  without  interruption  during  the  whole 
time  of  roasting.  In  the  first  experiment,  the  tube  was 
connected  with  a  flask  containing  a  solution  of  caustic 
soda,  and  a  tube  with  dry  caustic  soda  between  it  and 
the  aspirator.  It  was  at  once  apparent  Uiat  the  white 
fumes  passed  through  both  absorbents  into  the  aspira- 
tor; the  absorption  was,  therefore,  very' incomplete^  al- 
though all  the  sulphurous  acid  was  absorbed.  It  is 
known  that  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  mixed  with  air  or 
other  gas,  is  very  difficult  to  condense.  It  is,  therefore, 
not  surprising  that  in  this  case  the  white  fumes  were 
imperfectly  retained ;  the  quantity  of  the  uncondensed 
portion  (principally  anhydrous  acid)  was  remarkably 
large,  as  shown  by  analysis,  i  "5  grammes  of  powdered 
pyrites  were  roasted ;  the  dry  caustic  soda  was  dissolv- 
ed in  the  solution  of  soda  in  the  flask ;  this  was  oxi- 
dised with  chlorine,  and  precipitated  with  chloride  of 
barium,  which  gave  3'657  grammes  sulphate  baryta — 
corresponding  to  33*49  per  cent  sulphur.  According 
to  which,  1672  per  cent  of  the  sulphur  in  the  pyrites 
■was  lost — as  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  [50*21 — 33*49= 
1672.]  The  roasted  pyrites  retained  a  small  portion  of 
sulphur  at  those  points  where  it  was  in  direct  contact 
-with  the  combustion  tube.  This  evil  was  corrected  by 
frequently  turning  the  tube  during  the  roasting,  and  the 
mass  wa?  heated  gradually  from  the  front  of  the  tube 
towards  the  rear ;  in  this  way  a  residue  was  obtained 
entirely  fi-ee  from  sulphur,  and  of  a  bright  red  colour. 

In  the  above  experiment,  it  was  found  that  the  dry 
caustic  soda  absorbed  more  rapidly  than  the  solution; 
the  soda  tube  was  therefore  changed  for  one  three 
times  larger,  and  the  experiment  again  made,  giving 
the  following  results : — Roasted  pyrites,  i  '366  grammes. 
The  gases,  as  before,  first  passed  through  soda  in  solu- 
tion, and  then  through  the  tube  with  dry  soda.  At 
the  end  of  tlie  operation^  the  soda  in  both  was  neutral- 
ised j  the  solution  divided  into  two  portions;  one 
portion  was  immediately  precipitated  with  chloride  of 
barium ;  the  other  half  was  first  oxidised  witJi  chlorine 
and  then  precipitated.  The  first  gave  2*485  grammes, 
the  latter  1*986  grammes,  of  sulphate  of  baryta,  so 
that  in  100  parts  pyrites — 
8u]phur,  absorbed  as  sulphurous  and  anhydrous  sul- 
phuric acid. 48*39  pts- 

8ulphur,   absorbed  as   anhydrous  sulphuric  acid 

alone. 38*31    " 

Sulphur,  absorbed  as  sulphurous  acid xo*o8  '* 

So  that  from  50*21  per  cent  sulphur  in  the  pyrites, 
1*82  parts  were  lost  by  incomplete  absorption  (50*2 1 — 
48*39=1*82).  Accordmg  to  which,  the  amount  of 
Bulphur  eliminated  as  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid,  was 


almost  four  times  as  great  as  that  which  passed  off  as 
sulphurous  acid.  An  apparently  unlikely  result,  es- 
pecially when  we  consider  that  the  insolubility  or  the 
sulphate  of  baryta  in  a  concentrated  solution,  or  an 
imperfect  roasting  of  the  precipitate,  may  have  easily 
caused  an  error. 

A  more  perfect  result  was  expected  by  determining  • 
the  sulphurous  acid  with  iodine  solution  by  the  bu- 
rette. In  so  far  as  the  roasted  pjrrites  retains  more  of 
the  sulphur,  and  the  sulphurous  acid  is  entirely  ab- 
sorbed, this  method  must  give  a  perfect  way  of  deter- 
mining the  relation  between  the  two  acids.  The 
anhyc&ous  acid  can  easily  be  determined  by  the  differ- 
ence between  the  sulphur  in  the  pyrites  and  in  the 
sulphurous  acid  formeo. 

1*549  grammes  pyrites  was  roasted  as  before:  a^ 
the  caustic  soda  was  united  in  one  solution,  ana  the 
solution  was  diluted  to  exactly  i  000  cubic  centimeters. 
10  c.  c.  treated  by  the  well-known  method,  required 
1*75  c.  c.  iodine  solution  (i  c.  c.  iodine  solution=:o*ooo32 
sulphurous  acid) ;  so  that  again,  according  to  this  ex- 
periment)  the  amount  of  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  is 
much  greater  than  the  amount  of  sulphurous  acid. 

These  preliminary  experiments,  which  will  be  con- 
tinued, show  that  the  amount  of  anhydrous  sulphuric 
acid,  formed  in  roasting  pyrites,  ia  very  important,  and 
much  greater  than  has  been  supposed.  They  show 
further,  that  the  amount  varies,  depending  upon  the 
temperature  and  other  circumstances  which  are  still  to 
be  investigated. 


ON    THE   DETECTION   OP  METHYLATED 
SPIRITS  BY  CHEMICAL  REACTIONS.* 

BY  DR,   J,   W.   OUNNINO, 

PBOraSOB  or  CEKMUTBT  it  THV  ATBBN  JCUM  klXtTBTRX  AT  AMSTVRDAIC, 
▲in>  BCIXNTIFIO  ADTISBUB  to  THB  MBTHBELAITDB  MINISTBT  <  F  FINAHOB. 

In  consequence  of  the  passing  of  an  Act  by  the 
Netherlands  SUtes  General  in  July,  1865,  changing 
and  greatly  enhancing  the  excise  duty  on  smrits,  it 
became  necessary  to  provide  the  industry  of  Holland 
with  an  alcohol  denaturised  in  such  manner  as  to  be 
unfit  for  drinking  purposes,  and  for  the  manufacture  of 
liqueurs,  such  as  Cura9oa,  &c.  The  excellent  success 
obtained  with  methylated  spirits  in  Great  Britain 
induced  the  Netherlands  administration  to  allow  in  a 
similar  manner  the  use  of  methylated  spirits  in  the 
Netherlands.  The  wood  spirit,  or  methyl  alcohol  of 
commerce,  is  a  mixture  of  various  substances  which 
may  be  met  with  therein  in  larger  or  smaller  quantity 
according  to  differences  in  the  manufacture,  and  divers 
methods  of  purification.  English  made  wood  spirit 
may,  and  often  does,  contain  ammonia  in  consequence 
of  the  method  which  obtains  here  of  saturating  the 
rough  pyroligneous  liquor  with  chalk  previous  to  dis- 
tillation. The  methyl-idcohol  which  is  supposed  to  be 
chiefiy  present  in  wood  spirit  is  very  often  only  met 
with  in  really  subordinate  quantity,  beside  this,  wood 
spirit  contains  aceton,  acetate  of  methyl,  and  probably 
also  formiate  of  methyl  The  presence  of  compound 
ethers  in  wood  spirit  is  easily  proved  by  treating  it 
with  caustic  potassa,  or,  better  yet,  by  heating  it  in  a 
sealed  glass-tube  with  ammonia,  and  subsequent  dis- 
tillation, when  there  will  be  left  behind  in  the  retort 
salts  of  the  acids  of  the  previously  existin|^  compound 
ethers,  Aceton  can  be  proved  to  exist,  smce  if  wood 
spirit  is  treated  with  ihming  nitrous-nitric  acid  and  a 

*  "Tr^ikilataA  from  the  DnUh  by  A.  Asbiaiii,  M  J>,  rh.D « ^ 


.  [BngUdi  BdMoo,  T oL  ZVZI^  ITo.  437,  m$««  ^®^*  ^^^ 


264 


Detection  of  Methylated  Spirits  hy  Chemical  Reactions.    { ^.^iSST^ 


salt  of  silver,  fulminate  of  silyer  is  formed.  The  pe- 
culiar odour  which  wood  spirit  emits,  and  which  is 
rather  pungent,  is  not  owing  to  the  substances  just  al- 
luded to,  but  to  peculiar  volatile  empyreumatic  oilj 
substances  present  in  very  small  quantity^  and  not 
separately  known  in  consequence  of  the  difficulty  of 
.separating  them.  It  is  clear  from  what  has  been  just 
stated  in  reference  to  wood  spirit,  that  it  would  be 
utterly  futile  and  impossible  to  find  for  such  a  com- 
pound as  a  whole  a  ready  and  perfect  chemical  test. 
One  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  moreover,  that  the 
compounds  met  with  in  wood  spirit  are  neither  of  them 
such  as  are  prominent  by  some  or  other  conclusive 
and  strictly  characteristic  test,  or  yield  products  of  de- 
composition which  are  highly  characteristic ;  while  in 
methylated  spirits,  moreover,  wood  spirit  is  mixed 
with  ethyl-alcohol,  which  latter  both  in  chemical  and 
in  physical  properties  bears  a  great  likeness  to  the  for- 
mer. We  are  Uierefore  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  em- 
Eirical  reagents  for  detecting  wood  spirit  in  alcoholic 
quid&  Although  it  is  true  that  methyl-alcohol  yields 
on  oxidation  formic  acid  and  ethyl-alcohol,  on  the  con- 
trary acetic  acid,  and  both  these  acids,  admit  of  being 
readily  distinguished  from  each  other^  the  plan  to  apply 
this  property  as  a  test  and  reagent  is  a  too  cumbrous 
mode  of  working  to  be  adopted  with  ease  and  economy 
of  time. 

The  application  of  the  reagents  known  as  Fuch's,  to 
wit,  a  solution  of  iodide  of  potassium,  and  iodide  of 
mercury  in  caustic  potassa,  and  that  of  Reynolds',  viz., 
chloride  of  mercury  in  caustic  potassa,  for  the  detection 
of  wood  spirit,  owe  tiieir  efficacy  to  the  property 
possessed  by  the  compounds  met  with  m  wood 
spirit  to  dissolve  and  keep  in  solution  certain  com- 
pounds of  mercury  which  are  insoluble  in  pure  alcohol 
and  in  water.  I  have  laboured  in  vain  to  obtain 
the  precise  composition  of  the  precipitate  which 
Fuch  s  reagent  yields  with  pure  alcohol,  since  I  have 
not  been  able  to  obtain  that  precipitate  in  a  suf- 
ficiently pure  state.  As  regards  the  composition  of 
Reynolds'  precipitate,  it  is  undoubtedly  the  yellow 
oxide  of  mercury ;  the  following  simple  experiment 
proves  this :  add  to  a  very  weak  solution  of  chloride 
of  mercury  (corrosive  sublimate),  a  few  drops  of  a  so- 
lution of  caustic  potassa^  and  add  afterwards  wood 
spirit,  when,  on  bemg  c^aken,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
precipitate  rormed  at  first  is  entirely  dissolved.  While 
studying  these  reagents  I  have  in  the  first  place  tried 
to  determine  whether  this  solvent  action  is  due  to  all 
or  only  to  some  of  the  compounds  met  with  in  the 
wood  spirit  of  commerce ;  it  was  of  course  also  ne- 
cessary to  determine  what  influence  is  exerted  by  such 
substances  as  essential  oils,  fusel  oil,  and  compound 
ethers,  which  in  larger  or  smaller  quantity  may  and 
often  do  occur  in  such  alcoholic  fluids  wherein  it  is  de- 
sired to  detect  the  presence  of  wood  spirit,  and  to  de- 
termine whether  or  not  they  also  exercised  a  solvent 
action.  As  regards  the  first  point  I  have  clearly  made 
out  that  the  reaction  just  alluded  to  is  not  caused  by 
the  pure  methyl-alcohol,  but  is  owing  to  other  sub- 
stances met  wifii  in  commercial  wood  spirit,  and  espe- 
cially to  aceton.  I  have  purposely  prepared  pure 
methyl-alcohoL  both  by  decomposing  pure  crystallised 
oxalate  of  metnyl,  and  by  the  well-known  chloride  of 
calcium  plan,  and  on  experimenting  with  this  pure  sub- 
stance I  have  found  it  to  behave  towards  the  reagents 
above  alluded  to  as  pure  ethyl-alcohol  j  but  the  pre- 
cipitate which  obtains  is  immediately  dissolved  on  ad- 
dition even  of  the  slightest  quantity  of  aceton.    As  re- 


gards the  other  point,*  I  have  found  that  many  essen- 
tial oils,  fusel  oil,  and  compound  ethers  exert  a  disturb- 
ing influence  on  the  reaction  of  the  above-mentioned 
tests,  so  that  as  many  of  these  substances  cannot  be, 
either  at  all,  or  even  only  partly  eliminated  from  fluids 
in  whidi  it  is  desirable  to  test  for  the  presence  or  ab- 
sence of  wood  spirit,  the  use  of  the  test  and  reagents 
becomes  either  doubtful,  or  in  many  cases  even  impos- 
sible. I  have  tl^refore  found  it  preferable  to  modify 
the  composition  and  application  of  the  reagents  in  some 
points,  keeping,  however,  the  main  principle  the  same^ 
Fuch's  reagent  is,  as  will  be  easily  perceived,  Nessler's 
ammonia  test,  but  in  this  instance  its  use  is  not  exactly 
to  detect  ammonia :  if  it  so  happens,  however,  that  a  . 
fluid  wherein  one  desires  to  test  for  wood  spirit  with 
Fuch's  reagent  does  at  the  same  time  contain  ammonia, 
phenomena  will  be  observed  indicating  the  presence 
thereof,  but  it  wiU  be  readily  perceived  also  that  then 
the  reactions  are  more  clearly  defined  and  more  strongly 
marked  just  for  the  very  category  of  substances  where- 
with in  this  case  one  may  have  to  deal ;  as  a  conse- 
quence hereof  in  the  majority  of  instances  there  need 
not  be  the  least  uncertainty  concerning  the  presence  or 
absence  of  wood  spirit.  '  I  give  herewith  the  prescrip- 
tion for  makinff  and  describe  the  use  of  the  modified 
reagent  as  fit  tot  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  here  de- 
sired. Dissolve  i.6'66  grammes  of  iodide  of  potassium 
and  23-08  iodide  of  mercury  in  the  smallest  possible 
quantity  of  pure  distilled  water,  this  solution  is  then 
diluted  with  500  cubic  centimetres  of  alcohol,  contain- 
ing at  least  92  per  cent,  of  pure  alcohol  Also  prepare 
a  solution  of  ammonia,  and  one  of  caustic  potassa  in 
alcohol  of  the  same  strength  ,*  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
say  that  the  solution  of  caustic  potassa  in  alcohol 
should  be  made  extempore,  i.e.,  just  when  wanted. 
The  alcohol  to  be  applied  for  this  purpose  ought  to  be 
of  the  very  purest  quality ;  the  purity  may  be  recog- 
nised by  applying  the  reagent  just  described  as  a  test 
in  the  following  manner:  after  the  solution  of  the 
iodide  of  potassium  and  iodide  of  mercury  has  been 
diluted  with  alcohol,  a  few  drops  of  the  alcoholic 
ammonia  solution  should  be  added  to  a  small  portioa 
of  the  alcoholic  solution  of  iodides,  and  after  that  a 
few  drops  of  the  alchoUc  solution  of  caustic  potassa 
should  be  added;  there  should  then  ensue  a  beauti- 
fully brown  coloured  precipitate,  similar  in  pigment  to 
the  well-known  kermes  mineral^  without  even  the 
slightest  yellow  tinge.  It  is  very  seldom  tjhe  case  that 
alcohols  met  with  in  commerce  are  so  pure,  in  fact  I 
have  found  that  and  the  presence  of  compound  etheis 
and  of  fusel  oil  to  some  extent  so  alters  the  reaction 
of  the  test  just  described,  that  the  precipitate  obtained 
is  always  more  or  less  divergent  from  the  trae  colour  it 
should  exhibit;  in  order  to  obtain  alcohol  fit  to  be 
used  as  above  directed,  the  alcohol  of  commerce 
should  be  treated  with  animal  charcoal,  and  repeatedly 
distilled  after  addition  of  some  caustic  potassa.  My 
reason  for  applying  alcohol  as  solvent  [menstnram 
rather]  is  that,  by  its  use,  one  ia  not  disturbed  in  test- 
ing scents,  e,g,,  £au  de  Cologne  for  wood  spirit^  by  the 
essential  oils  and  resinous  substances  met  with  therein, 
which,  if  water  was  appUed  as  solvent  for  the  rtfagenti^ 
would  become  precipitated.  If  the  reagent  just  befiare 
alluded  to  be  applied  to  methylated  spirit^  no  precipitate 
is  formed  at  all,  and  the  fluid  remams  perfectly  dear. 
It  is  also  the  aceton  present  in  wood  spirit  which  pre- 
vents the  formation  of  a  precipitate  with  the  mod^Gled 
test ;  but  it  is  clear  that  uie  solvent  power  of  this  sub- 
stance has  its  limits,  and  that  thus  by  adding  excess  of 


[BngUah  fidtttoo,  Vol.  ZVXX^  XTa  437,  pasw  180;  137.] 


June,  1868.      J 


Detection  of  MethylMed  Spirits  hy  Chemical  JReactions. 


265 


the  reagent  to  the  fluid  to  be  tested,  one  might  be  brought 
to  erroneous  conclusions.  It  is  best  to  take  about 
10  cubic  centimetres  of  the  fluid  to  be  examined,  to 
add  thereto,  first,  one  or  two  drops  ol  the  mercurial  so- 
lution, next,  as  much  of  the  ammoniacal  solution ;  and, 
finally,  from  six  to  ten  drops  of  the  solution  of  caustic 
potassa ;  if  no  precipitate  ensues,  then  a  fresh  portion 
of  lo  c.  c.  should  be  taken,  and  the  experiment  repeated 
with  a  somewhat  larger  quantity  of  tne  mercurial  solu- 
tion. If  so  it  happens  that  the  quantity  of  wood  spirit 
be  very  small,  t.e.,  if,  for  instance,  it  is  less  than  i  per 
cent,  the  fluid  imder  examination  will  then,  after  the 
addition  of  the  caustic  potassa,  not  remain  clear,  but 
exhibit  either  an  opalescence,  and  with  some  kinds  of 
■wood  spirit,  even  become  somewhat  yellow,  and  at  the 
same  time  turbid.  I  have  good  reasons  to  ascribe  tliis 
phenomenon  to  a  difference  in  the  quantity  of  the  ace- 
ton,  or  of  the  acetate  of  methyl  usually  met  with  in 
commercial  wood  spirit,  since,  as  I  will  explain  more 
fully  presently,  compound  ethers  have  the  tendency  to 
render  the  precipitate  yellow.  I  have  found  it  quite 
possible  and  easy  to  estmiate  even  quantitatively  with- 
in pretty  fair  range  the  quantity  of  wood  spirit  present 
in  a  given  sample  of  an  lucoholic  fluid.  It  is  therefore, 
however,  best  to  modify  the  order  of  adding  the  re- 
quired reagents  in  this  manner  that  one  first  adds  the 
alcoholic  ammonia  solution,  next  the  alcoholic  potassa 
solution,  wid  then  drop  by  drop,  and  cautiously,  and 
at  intervals  of  time,  the  jdcohoUc  mercurial  solution, 
until  a  permanent  turbidity  sets  in ;  experiments  made 
by  me  with  mixtures  of  pure  alcohol  and  i,  2,  4,  5,  and 
10  volumes  per  cent  of  wood  spirit,  have  proved  to 
me  that  the  number  of  drops  of  the  mercurial  solution 
applied  is  pretty  fairly  proportional  to  the  quantity  of 
wood  spirit  present  in  the  mixture  under  examination. 

Inasmuch  as  there  might  be  present  in  an  alcoholic 
fluid  which  one  should  desire  to  test  in  the  manner  de- 
scribed, non-volatile  organic  substances  which  would 
interfere  with  the  proper  action  of  the  reagents,  it  is  clear 
that  the  non-volatile  should  be  removed  by  previous 
careful  distillation,  while,  as  regards  the  volatile  organic 
substances,  their  disturbing  influence  may  be  judged 
from  the  following  experiments,  made  by  adding  to  5  c. 
c.  of  pure  alcohol  a  few  drops  of  the  under-mentioned 
substances,  and  after  having  well  mixed  these  with  the 
alcohol,  the  reagents  have  been  added  in  the  usual 
manner,  viz.,  mercurial  solution,  ammonia,  and  caustic 
potassa. 

Amyl  alcohol — ^With  3  drops,  no  sensible  difference, 
<«.,  the  reddish-brown  precipitate  ensues  as  with  pure 
alcohol ;  with  10  drops  the  precipitate  gets  a  decidedly 
yellow  tinge. 

AceHc  Mfier, — ^With  3  drops  [let  it  be  understood,  3 
drops  of  the  ether  added  to  5  c.c.  of  pure  alcohol],  but 
with  addition  of  half  the  bulk  of  the  pure  alcohol  of 
ether,  a  reaction  elisues,  as  if  a  very  small  amount  of 
wood  spirit  were  present,  viz.,  a  faint  yellowish  opales- 
cence. 

Valerianate  of  Amyl — (A  dilute  solution  in  pure 
alcohol  was  applied.)  With  10  drops  thereof  added  to 
5  c.a  of  pure  alcohol  a  reaction  ensued,  as  if  a  very 
small  amount  of  wood  spirit  was  present 

Pine  Apple  Essence, — Reaction  as  the  last  foregoing, 
but  less  strongly  marked. 

Essential  Oils. — Eau  de  Cologne,  i.e.,  the  same  made 
with  non-methylated  spirits,  yields  the  same  reaction  as 

5ure  alcohol,  but  the  precipitate  is  more  yellow-coloured, 
f  to  5  C.C.  of  eau  de  Cologne,  2  drops  of  wood  spirit 
[not  methylated  spirit,  of  course]  are  added,  there 


ensues  no  precipitate  at  all^  and  at  the  utmost^  a  faint 
opalescence.  Larger  quantities  of  essential  oils  than 
are  met  with  in  scented  waters  disturb  the  action  of 
the  reagents  in  a  far  higher  degree.  Alcohol  mixed 
with  from  4  to  6  per  cent  of  the  oils  of  lavender,  rose- 
mary, entirely  prevent  the  formation  of  any  precipitate, 
and  act  therefore  as  wood  spirit  does.  Oil  of  turpen- 
tine exerts  the  same  action  but  in  a  somewhat  less  de- 
gree. 

Sidphuric  Ether, — The  same  reaction  as  if  a  small 
quantity  of  wood  spirit  were  present. 

Aldehyde^  t.e.,  in  tnis  case  the  crude  distillate  obtained 
on  treating  alcohol  with  bichromate  of  potassa  and 
sulphuric  acid,  acts  as  wood  spirit^  i.e.,  no  precipitate 
ensues. 

Spiritus  Nitri  dtdcis, — "No  precipitate. 
Muriatic  Ether, — ^The  same  reaction  as  wood  spirit. 
Chloroform  exercises  no  influence ;  t.«.,  the  reddish- 
brown  precipitate  is  formed. 

Benzol  exercises  a  slight  influence ;  the  precipitate 
is  somewhat  yellow. 

Amylen  exercises  a  very  marked  influence ;  the  reac- 
tion is  the  same  as  if  a  small  quantity  of  wood  spirit 
was  present. 

These  experiments  prove  that  there  are  some  sub- 
stances which  interfere  with  and  more  or  less  disturb 
the  reaction  for  wood  spirit ;  some  of  these  substances 
act  indeed  as  if  wood  spirit  itself  were  present,  while 
others  again  hinder  the  reaction,  and  modify  the  colour 
of  the  precipitate  due  to  pure  alcohol  only. 

As  regards  the  first  batch  of  these  disturbing  sub- 
tances,  there  is  no  real  difl&cuUy  to  detect  them,  neither 
is  there  the  least  difficulty  to  eliminate  them,  fi-om  a 
fluid  which  it  is  desirable  to  test ;  for  distillation  with 
caustic  potassa,  followed  by  treating  the  distillate,  pre- 
viously diluted  with  water,  with  animal  charcoal,  will 
have  the  desired  effect,  while  if  aldehyde  is  present,  as 
for  instance  in  the  case  of  spiritus  nitri  dulcis,  a  sepa- 
rate distillation  with  ammonia  is  required  to  fix  the 
aldehyde. 

As  regards  the  second  batch,  viz.,  the  essential  oils, 
if  present  in  rather  larger  quantity  in  an  alcoholic 
fluid  which  one  should  desire  to  test  for  wood  spirit^ 
they  may  be  reduced  to  small  traces  by  the  appli- 
cation of  the  following  expedient  manipulation.  Mix 
the  alcoholic  fluid  in  question  with  as  much  magnesia 
alba,  the  ordinary  magnesia  of  the  chemists'  shops,  as 
win  yield  a  thick  magma,  next  add  twice  the  bulk  of 
the  alcohol  of  a  thoroughly  saturated  aqueous  solution 
of  common  salt,  and  then  bring  this  whole  mixture  on 
a  filter  previously  filled  with  magnesia ;  the  perfectly 
clear  filtrate  is  next  submitted  to  distillation,  the  first 
small  portion  of  the  distillate,  which  yet  will  show 
turbidity  on  becoming  mixed  with  water,  is  set  aside, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  distillate  can  then  be  applied 
to  be  tested  for  wood  spirit.  I  ought  to  observe  here, 
that  if  an  alcoholic  fluid  which  contains  wood  spirit  is 
submitted  to  fractional  distillation,  all  portions  of  the 
distillate  will  yield  pretty  fairly  an  equal  amount  of 
wood  spirit 

The  experience  I  have  acquired  by  the  opportunity 
offered  to  me,  especially  of  testing  on  a  large  and 
ample  scale  divers  alcoholic  fluids^  enables  me  to  state 
that  chemists  will  find  the  test  described  by  me  quite 
rehable  to  speak  o^  or  discern  with  certainty  the 
presence  or  absence  of  wood  spirit  in  an  alcoholic* 
liquid  submitted  to  examination.  But  I  must  express- 
ly say  that  in  the  strictest  sense  the  reagent  only 
applies  to  aceton,  and  it  is,  therefore,  only  then  per- 


[SnglUh  Editfon,  ToL  ZTTIL,  No.  437,  page  1S7;  Na  438,  pagM  196, 197.] 


266 


On  Gun- Cotton  Transport. 


( CHtiacAL  17x««i 
\      JH9U,  1863L 


mitted  to  draw  the  conclusion  that  wood  spirit  is  really 
present  when  also  the  smell  and  other  concomitant 
phenomena  justify  this  conclusion.  The  administra- 
tion of  the  excise  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands, 
vxdgo  Holland,  does  not  allow  wood  spirit  to  be  used 
for  making  methylated  spirit,  t.e.,  mixing  with  alcohol, 
unless  the  wood  spirit  has  been  previously  submitted 
to  the  following  test :  i  part  by  volume  of  wood  spirit 
mixed  with  99  parts  by  volume  of  pure  and  absolute, 
tic,  anhydrous  alcohol,  must  be  very  plainly  and 
readily  recognised  by  the  reagents  above  described. 
If  there  might  be  a  doubt,  or  also  in  cases  where  it 
might  be  of  great  importance,  I  think  the  experiment 
by  oxidation  ought  not  to  be  omitted ;  for  this  reason  I 
will  briefly  allude  to  it  yet  I  proceed  in  the  following 
manner :  97*5  fframmea  of  bichromate  of  potassa  are 
mixed  with  I46'25  grammes  of  sulphuric  acia  previous- 
ly diluted  with  775*35  grammes  of  water ;  35  c.  c.  of 
this  fluid  is  mixed  with  4  c.  c.  of  the  alcoholic  fluid  to 
be  submitted  to  experiment,  and  placed  in  a  small 
retort ;  the  mixture  while  in  the  retort  is  left  to  itself 
for  24  hours,  and  then  about  4-5 ihs  of  the  contents  of 
the  retorts  (several  experiments  of  this  kind  are  con- 
ducted at  the  same  time,  and  also  with  mixtures  oT 
known  purity)  is  distilled  off,  care  being  taken  to 
keep  all  under  the  same  conditions.  The  distillate  is 
mixed  with  magnesia  and  evaporated.  The  reason 
why  I  prefer  magnesia  to  carbonate  of  soda  is,  that  the 
latter  acts  upon  the  aldehyde  of  the  distillate ;  in  conse- 
quence whereof  the  residue  of  the  evaporation  is 
rather  strongly  colored,  and  consequently  apt  to  re- 
duce more  of  the  alkaline  solution  of  permanganate  of 
potassa  than  can  be  accounted  for  by  the  quantity  of 
formiate  of  soda  which  is  formed.  When  magnesia  is 
applied  the  residue  of  the  evaporation  remains  colour- 
less even  when  the  process  of  heating  upon  a  water 
baih  is  very  greatly  prolonged,  which  is  always  re- 
quired when  essential  oils  are  to  be  entirely  eliminated. 
The  residue,  of  the  evaporation  is  next  taken  up  with 
distilled  water,  and  then  mixed  with  excess  of  an  alka- 
line solution  of  permanganate  of  potassa  of  precisely 
known  strength,  t.«.,  oxidising  power,  and  left  for  at 
least  two  days  quietly  standing ;  the  solution  of  per- 
manganate is,  after  that  time,  tested  by  the  well  known 
method.  I  found  it  necessary  to  have  two  days*  rest 
as  .by  experiments  purposely  instituted  with  a  small 
quantity  of  pure  formiate  of  soda,  I  found  out  that 
even  up  to  48  hours  after  the  beginning  of  the  exper- 
iment the  titre  of  the  permanganate  had  only  become 
constant. 

The  following  are  results  obtained  with  the  described 
mode  of  proceeding : — 

FiTit  SerieB, 

Quantity  of  ozjgen 
requtred  to  oxidise  the 
formic  add  formed. 

Pure  alcohol % i  '2  milligrammes 

1-6 

"  4-1  per  cent  wood  spirit  2*6  " 

+  3  "  5-2 

+  5  **  M 

Second  Series, 

Eau  de  Cologne 27  " 

24 

'*  -f  2  per  cent  wood  spirit  6*9  *^ 

"  another  variety....  6*2  *' 

6-4 

"  +  I  per  cent  wood  spirit  0-2  " 


TMrd  Series, 

Pure  alcohol 07  milligrai 

n 

Methylated  spirit 17-0  " 

I2t> 

Eau  de  Ck>logne 4-4  " 

40 

"         made  with  methylated  spirit  26*0  " 

The  above-mentioned  results  of  experiments  by 
oxidation  may  be  left  to  tell  their  own  tale,  but  it  wul 
be  seen  that  as  regards  the  disturbing  influence  of  es- 
sential oils  especially,  the  checking  of  the  experiments 
by  simultaneously  making  the  experiment  with  alcohol 
of  known  purity,  is  desirable. 


ON  GUN-COTTON  TRANSPORT. 

The  accidents  which  occurred  at  Newcastle  and  else- 
where, in  consequence  of  the  disregard  of  precautions 
in  the  transport  and  handling  of  nitro?lycerine,  have 
created  a  feeling  of  distrust  in  the  minds  of  the  traffic 
managers  of  railway  companies  in  connection  with  all 
explosive  substances  other  than  gunpowder.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Pall  Mall  Oazette^  this  distrust  has  now  in- 
creased to  such  a  degree  that  permission  is  frequently 
withheld  for  the  transmission  by  railway  even  of  the 
compressed  gun-cotton  charges  used  for  blasting  pur- 
poses, although  the  regulations  which  apply  to  the 
transport  of  gunpowder  more  than  suffice  to  goard 
against  the  possibility  of  serious  accident  with  gun- 
cotton. 

With  the  object  of  investigating  the  risks  incurred 
in  conveyance  of  compressed  gun-cotton  charges  by 
railway,  Mr.  Wilson,  of  the  goods  manager's  office, 
North  Eastern  Railway,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Pren- 
tice, the  managing  director  of  the  Qun-ootton  Com- 
pany, has  tried  a  series  of  experiments,  of  which  the 
following  is  an  abstract : — 

A  small  box  of  cotton  containing  125  chargea»  said 
to  be  equal  in  effects  as  a  blasting  agent  to  a  quarter 
cask  of  gunpowder,  was  taken  into  the  cricket  field. 
A  fuse  was  inserted  and  lighted.  When  the  flame 
reached  the  gun-cotton  there  was  a  great  blaze  like  the 
burning  of  a  heap  of  loose  straw,  but  no  explosion ;  in 
less  than  half  a  minute  there  was  no  flame  except  from 
the  burning  of  the  brown  paper  in  which  the  gun- 
cotton  had  been  packed  inside  tne  box.  The  box  was 
of  wood  about  a  half-inch  thick,  and  was  nailed,  bat  not 
bound  with  iron  at  the  comers;  it  was  one  of  the 
ordinary  packages  used  for  sending  the  cotton  out 

Several  charges  were  then  laid  on  the  rails  near  the 
coal  depots,  and  coal  waggons  were  run  over  them: 
some  of  them  were  ignited,  others  were  not^  Some  of 
them  were  placed  so  that  an  engine  should  pass  over 
them  ;  they  were  all  ignited.  Mr.  Prentice  took  an 
axe  and  chopped  one  charge  into  several  pieces ;  then 
was  no  explosion  or  ignition.  Small  pieces  of  gun- 
cotton  placed  on  the  iron  rim  of  a  wheel  and  sharply 
struck  with  a  hammer  exploded,  or  rather  detonated. 

In  all  the  cases  where  ignition  was  produced  by  con- 
cussion, whether  of  a  hammer  on  iron,  or  of  the  whe^ 
of  an  engine  or  waggon  on  the  rails,  it  was  Tery  evi- 
dent that  only  so  much  as  was  actually  struck  exploded 
or  detonated,  the  part  not  struck  firing  from  the  ex- 
plosion, and  burning  like  so  much  straw  or  flax. 

To  make  sure  that  they  were  dealing  with.  tJie  articfe 
which. produces  such  an  effect  when  exploded  indoie 
confinement^  a  hole  was  bored  into  a  large  block  cf 


[BngUah  EditJoa,  VoL  XVIL,  No.  438,  pagM  1P7, 195.] 


jES^i^^^r  OoUoid Suica. —  WeigMof  Minerdle. — Eehmatwn  of  Manganese.  267 


hard  tough  wood,  in  which  Mr.  Prentice  placed  a 
charge  of  gun-cotton  with  a  fuse  attached  to  it:  he 
then  fiUed  up  the  hole  with  broken  slate  tigntlj 
rammed,  and  fired  the  fuse.  When  the  gun-cotton 
exploded  the  block  of  wood  was  shivered  to  pieces, 
each  piece  being  blown  several  yards  away. 

Mr.  Wilson  says  that  the  results  of  these  experi- 
ments convince  him  that  they  may  safely  carry  gun- 
cotton  along  with  other  goods  in  ordinary  waggons, 
adopting  the  same  rules  as  now  apply  to  die  convey- 
ance of  cartridges. 

OEGANIC  APPEARANCES  EST  COLLOID  SILICA 
OBTAlKEl).  BY  DIALYSIS. 

In  the  report  of  the  meeting  of  the  Chemical  Societr 
held  on  April  2nd,  given  in  our  number  for  April  loth 
(Am,  Reprint,  June,  *68,  page  274),  we  gave  a  brief  ac- 
count of  some  observations  on  "  Organic  appearances  in 
Colloid  Silica  obtained  by  Dialysis.''  The  author  of 
the  paper,  Mr.  W.  Chandler  Roberto,  has  kindly  for- 
warded the  accompanying  drawing  of  these  remarkable 
appearances,  togeUier  wiSi  some  mrther  details. 


The  dendritic  forms  in  the  air-dried  gelatinous  silica, 
vary  in  size  from  0*2  to  0*5  millimetre. 

When  magnified  90  times  they  appear  as  radiating 
fibres;  and  when  magnified  700  times  each  fibre  re- 
solves itself  into  one  or  other  of  the  following  forms, 
as  shown  in  the  figure : 

1.  The  most  common  form. 

2.  The  end  of  each  fibre  surrounded  by  an  apparent- 
ly vacuous  space  indicating  its  growth  in  the  partially 
solidified  jelly  bv  abstracting  water  fi*om  the  mass. 

3.  Apparent  fructification  of  the  organic  forms. 


specific  gravity,  and  multiplying  with  62^  pounds,  the 
exact  weight  of  one  cubic  foot  is  obtained. 


TABLE 

rOR  ASCERTAnnNO  THE  WEIGHT  OF  A  OUBIO  FOOT  OF  AKT 
MINERAL  ORE,  METAL,  EARTH,  OB  ANT  OTHER  SUBSTANCE, 
EITHER  NATIVE  OR  ARTIFICIAL,  FROM  ITS  SPECIFIC 
GRAVITT.* 

BT  DR.  LEWIS  FECTCHTWANOER. 

1728  inches  comprise  one  cubic  foot,  and  one  cubic 
foot  of  water  weighs  at  a  temperature  of  60^  Fahren- 
heit)  62^  pounds  avoirdupois.      By  ascertaining  the 

*  Condensed  from  the  American  Joarnal  of  Mining. 


Sp.  Or. 

Anthracite  coal , 1-5 

Antimonial   copper,  tetrahedrite,  or  grey 

copper 5*0 

Antimonial  silver 9*5 

Antimony  ore,  g^y  sulphuret 4-5 

Antimony  metal 65 

Apatite,  or  phosphate  of  lime 3*0 

Arsenical  iron  pyrites,  mispickel 60 

Asbestos 3*0 

Asphaltum,  mineral  pitch I'o 

Baryta  sulphate 4*5 

Baryta  carbonate,  Witherhite 4*0 

Bismuth 97 

Bituminous  coal 1*5 

Black  lead,  graphite .  2'0 

Black  jack  blende,  sulphuret  of  zinc 4*0 

Bog  iron  ore 4-0 

Brown  heematite 4*0 

Building  stones,  comprising  granite,  gneiss, 

syenite,  &e 3*0 

Calamine 3-3 

Chromic  iron 4*5 

Copper  pyrites 40 

Derbyshire  spar,  fluor  spar 3*0 

Feldspar 30 

Flint 2*5 

Loose  sand — 

Franklinite 5*0 

Qalena 7-5 

Grold  (20  carats) ^S'7\ 

"    (pure) 19*2  ) 

Gypsum 2*3 

Iron — cast  iron — 

"      magnetic  ore 50 

"      spathic  ore 3*0 

"      pyrites..,. 5-0 

"      pyrrhotine,  or  magnetic  pyrites 45 

"      specular  iron  ore 4*5 

**      wrought — 

Limestone,  hydraulic 27 

"         magnesian 2'q 

Manganese,  binoxide  of. 4-5 

Malachite 4*0 

Mica 2-8 

Novaculite,  or  whetstone 3-0 

Ochre 3*5 

Platinum,  metal  and  ores.. 16  to  19 

Porcelain  clay 2-0 

Pyrites,  iron 4*5 

Quartz,  pure,  compact 26 

"     looee^  angular,  and  round  sand. ...  — 

Trap 30 

Vitreous  copper,  copper  glance 5*5 

Wood  tin,  stream  tin 7*0 

Zinc,  sulphide  or  blende 4*0 

Zincite,  red  zinc  ore 5*5 

Zinc  carbonate 4*4 

Zinc  silicate. . . • 3*4 


Pounds 

Avolrdapols. 

Coble  foot 

weighB. 


94 

300 
600 
279 
40O 
186 

186 
62 
310 
248 
600 
90 

125 

250 
250 
250 

186 

190 
260 
260 

186 
190 

no 

95 
310 
465 
1000 
to  1200 
130 
450 
310 
200 
310 
280 
290 
487 
150 

130 
294 

248 
160 
186 
217 
1116 
140 
280 

155 
100 
186 
341 

434 
248 

II 

200 


l^ 


ON  THE  ESTIMATION  OF  MANGANESE  AS 
PYROPHOSPHATE. 

BT     WOLCOTT     0IBB8,     K.D. 
aUVlOVD  PBOnSSOK  IS  HAXVABO  TTKlYVMSm, 

Thb  existence  of  an  orthopbosphate  of  manganese  and 
wnmoiiixiin   corresponding  to  the  ■well-known  salt  of 


[BncUihfiditioa,yoLZVIL,ira.438,iiag«ld5;  H^  ^^^  ^.gt  l«Pf  •,  Wo.  43B,  wt*  l»».l 


268 


Foreign  Science. 


j  ClRMTCAL  HSW^ 
1       Jwu,  IMSL 


magnesium,  wm  long  since  ascertained  by  Otto.* 
The  subject  has  more  recently  been  studied  by  De- 
bray,t  who  has  described  a  series  of  analogous  phos- 
phates, all  of  which  are  remarkable  for  their  insolubili- 
ty. Otto's  saltj  PaOsMnaCNH*).  +  2H»e,  from  its  highljr 
crystalline  structure,  the  facility  with  which  it  is 
formed;  and  its  insolubility,  appeared  well  adapted  to 
the  quantitative  estimation  oi  manganese,  and  the  fol- 
lowing analyses  show  that  this  metal,  like  magnesium, 
may  be  advantageously  precipitated  as  ammonio- phos- 
phate and  weighed  as  pyrophosphate. 

To  the  solution  of  manganese,  which  may  contain  salts 
of  ammonium  or  of  the  alkaline  metals,  disodic  ortho- 
phosphate  is  to  be  added  in  large  excess  above  the  quan- 
tity required  to  precipitate  the  manganese  as  orthophos- 
phate.  The  white  precipitate  is  then  to  be  redissolved 
m  excess  of  sulphuric  or  chlorhydric  acid,  heated  to 
the  boiling  point,  and  ammonia  added  in  excess.  A 
white  or  semi-gelatinous  precipitate  is  produced,  which 
on  boiling  or  standing  for  some  time,  even  in  the  cold, 
gradually  becomes  crystalline,  and  finally  is  completely 
converted  into  beautiful  talcose  scales  which  have  a 
pearly  lustre  and  a  pale  rose  colour.  It  is  best  to  pre- 
cipitate each  time  m  a  platinum  vessel,  in  which  the 
ammonio-phosphate  may  be  boiled  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  and  to  allow  the  sail  to  remain  at  a  tempera- 
ture near  the  boiling-point  of  the  liquid  for  an  hour  after 
it  has  become  crystalline.  The  ammonio-phosphate 
may  then  be  filtered  off  and  washed  with  not  water. 
The  washing  takes  place  with  extraordinary  facility  on 
account  of  the  crystalline  character  of  the  salt.  The 
orthophosphate,  after  drying  and  ignition,  yields  pyro- 
phosphate of  manganese  as  a  nearly  white  powder.  In 
this  manner — 

Grm.  6rm. 

I-  o'95SS  MnSOi gave  08985  Pa07Mn,=46 -68 p.  c.  MnO 

2.  1*1400      **  "    1*0717       *'        =46*67    **      *' 

3.  0*8145      "  "    0*7646       "        =46-63    **     " 

4.  09464      "  "    0*8886       **       =46*66    "      " 

5.  1*3181      *'  "    1*2390       "        =4668    "      " 

6.  1*0565      "  ".0-9950       "        =46*76    "      " 

The  formula  requires  46*67  per  cent.  (Mn=54).  The 
sulphate  employed  was  pure  and  perfectly  anhydrous. 
In  two  analyses  of  crystallised  chloride  of  manganese, 
not  quite  free  from  mechanically  mixed  water,  Mr.  F. 
W.  Clarke  obtained  27*08  and  27*07  per  cent  of  man- 
ganese. In  the  same  salt  t^e  percentage  of  chlorine 
was  found  to  be  35'68,  which  corresponds  to  27*14 
per  cent,  of  manganese. 

The  advantage  of  this  method  over  that  commonly 
employed  for  the  estimation  of  manganese,  is  that  the 
process  permits  us  to  weigh  the  metal  in  the  form  of  a 
perfectly  definite  compound,  and  not  as  an  oxide  which 
cannot  be  safely  assumed  to  consist  wholly  of  Mni04. 
When  manganese  is  associated  with  the  alkaline  earths, 
it  is  of  course  first  to  be  separated  as  sulphide,  or  by 
Schiel's  method,  as  a  hydrate  of  the  sesquioxide.  The 
ammonio-phospnate  is  almost  absolutely  insoluble  in 
boiling  water,  in  ammonia,  and  in  solutions  of  salts  of 
ammonium.  The  salt  is  nearly  white,  but  sometimes  be- 
comes a  little  more  red  upon  the  filter.  If  it  assumes  a 
rather  deep  dull  red  colour,  the  whole  of  the  phos- 
phate of  manganese  has  not  been  converted  into  am- 
mohio-phosphate.  The  precipitate  is  then  to  be  redis- 
Boived  into  dilute  chlorhydric  acid,  more  phosphate  of 
sodium  added,  and  then  ammonia  in  excess,  after  which 

*  BnU.  de  1ft  Sod6t6  Ghlmlqiie.    KooTelle  86rie  11.,  p.  ix. 
t  Ann.  der  Cbemle  and  PbannaAle,  tIU.,  173. 


the  boiling  is  to  be  repeated.  This  repetition  is  very 
rarely  necessary,  a  little  practice  enabung  the  analyst 
to  judge  when  the  conversion  from  the  flocky-gelatinons 
to  the  crystalline  condition  is  complete.  The  filtrate  from 
the  crystalline  salt  is  perfectly  free  from  manganese. 
Phosphoric  acid  cannot  be  determined  by  precipitation, 
as  ammonio-phosphate  of  manganese,  because  the  crys- 
talline character  of  the  salt  upon  which  the  access  of 
the  process  depends  is  only  produced  by  digestion  with 
an  excess  of  phosphate,  ^ette  *  has  described  an  am- 
monio-phosphate of  zinc  which,  like  the  corresponding 
manganese  salt^  is  almost  absolutely  insoluble  in  water. 
Debray  f  has  analysed  similar  salts  of  nickel  and  cobalt; 
and  Otto  X  l^&s  ^Iso  described  the  analogous  ammonio- 
phosphate  of  iron.  I  have  myself  prepared  an  ammonio- 
phosphate  of  cadmium  which,  lixe  the  other  salts  of - 
this  group,  is  extremely  insoluble  in  water.  All  of  these 
saltfij  however,  are  more  or  less  readily  soluble  in  am- 
moma  and  in  salts  of  ammonium,  and  aftier  repeated 
trials  I  have  not  succeeded  in  rendering  any  of  them 
available  for  analytical  purpose8.^^m.  Jourr^.  Sdenee^ 


FOREIGN  SCIENCE. 


PabiS)  Mabch  31,  186SL 

MeOi/ad  of  estimaUng  the  proximate  oonsUtwents  of  meieorie 
iron. 

Rbferehoe  has  already  been  made  to  the  researches  of 
M.  Meunier,  on  meteoric  iron,  iu  one  of  my  former  letters; 
the  same  investigator  has,  more  recently,  proposed  a 
general  method  for  the  proximate  analysis  of  meteoric 
irons.  According  to  his  experiments,  iron  of  meteoric 
origin  is  composed  of  mixtures  of  iron  and  nidcel,  ear- 
bide  of  iron,  sulphide  of  iron,  phosphide  of  iron,  and 
graphite.  Certain  spedee  of  minerals  are  never  found  inter- 
mingled, wherefore  it  is  often  unnecessary  to  consider  the 
separation  of  some  of  the  usual  constituents.  Freqaentfy 
the  carbide  of  iron  disappears,  or  dees  not  exist  iu  estimable 
amount ;  such,  for  example,  is  the  case  in  the  meteoric  iron 
discovered  in  1784  at  XiquipOco,  in  the  Talley  of  Toluo, 
Mexico.  M.  Meunier  exammed  the  various  components 
given  above  separately.  Nickeliferous  iron  obtained  frtna 
various  specimens  of  meteoric  iron,  differed  oonsiderebtj 
in  composition,  but  the  properties  were  sufficiently  analogous 
to  allow  of  its  being  considered  as  a  single  substance  m  the 
processes  of  separation.  The  substance  is  soluble  in  most 
acids,  yielding  a  nickel  salt  and  an  iron  salt;  sometamee, 
although  rarely,  the  solution  is  accompanied  by  the  deposit 
of  a  little  .carbon :  cold  fuming  nitric  acid  is  without  a<dvait 
action  on  it.  Solutions  of  potash  and  soda,  even  at  ebnlB- 
tion,  are  without  actwn.  Pused  caustic  alkalies  do  nol 
dissolve,  to  any  sensible  extent,  the  nickel-iron  miztoreeL 
Sometimes  nickeliferous  iron  does  not  precipitate  salts  of 
copper,  such  as  nitrate  and  sulphate,  in  the  oold,  but  upon 
heating  to  ebullition,  the  precipitation  is  always  effected. 
Chlorine  attacks  nickeliferous  iron  pretty  rapidly,  espedallj 
in  the  presence  of  water ;  bromine  and  iodine  exert  a  aanHar 
but  less  powerful  action.  Carbide  of  iron  partakes,  for  the 
most  part,  of  the  properties  of  nickeliferous  Iron.  The 
sulphide  of  iron,  termed  troiUte,  dissolves  in  hydrocUone 
acid  with  disengagement  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen ;  fundsg 
nitric  add  has  no  action  upon  it ;  concentrated  sotntkn  of 
sulphate  of  copper  is  not  decomposed,  even  upon  boOii^ 
by  troilite ;  alkaline  solutions  are  almost  without  action  in 
the  cold,  but  they  exert  action,  though  sluggishly,  upen 
boiling;  the  ftised  alkalies  dissolve  it  instantaneous] j.    Tbi 


*  Ann.  der  Cbemle  and  Pharmade,  xt.,  130. 

t  Loc.  dt. 

^  Ann  der  Chemle  nnd  Fharzn.,  zri.,  199. 


[Bn^Udi  Editimi,yoL  Z7TL,  Vo,  438,  pagMl95, 196;  Na  436^  pagM  163, 164.C 


JuHS,  186S.     f 


Foreign  Science. 


269 


name  of  phosphide  of  iron  M.  Mennier  gi^es  provistonally 
to  the  compound  better  known  as  Mch/rdbersiU,  and  which 
exists  in  most  metallic  meteorites.  The  composition  of  the 
mineral  has  not  yet  been  defined ;  at  the  same  time,  the  ex- 
istence of  phosphorus,  iron,  and  nickel,  is  recognised.  Mag- 
nesium possibly  enters  into  the  composition  of  schreiborsite 
also.  The  mineral  is  not  acted  upon  by  boiling  hydrochloric 
acid ;  alkaline  solutionis  only  attack  it  when  uded  by  heat ; 
fused  potash  and  soda  dissolve  it  instantly ;  graphite  resists 
the  majority  of  reagents. 

By  means  of  the  various  reactions  indicated  above,  M. 
Memiier  was  enabled  to  separate  the  iron  of  Toluca  into  its 
four  proximate  constituents.  The  analytical  process  is  con- 
ducted as  foUows:— (i.)  Estimation  of  the  nickeliferous 
iron — I  gramme  of  iron-filings,  obtained  by  means  of  a  very 
hard  file,  is  projected  into  some  grammes  of  pure  potash  in 
tranquO  fusion,  contained  in  a  silver  crucible.  Care  must 
be  taken  to  throw  the  metal  quite  into  the  middle  of  the 
fused  mass,  and  not  on  to  the  sides  of  the  crucible,  where 
it  would  undergo  oxidation.  Schretbersite  and  troilite  are 
decomposed,  and  nickeliferous  iron  and  g^phite  alone  re- 
main in  the  solid  state.  After  cooling  the  fused  mass  is 
placed  in  strong  alcohol,  and  allowed  to  remain  there  for 
about  forty-eight  hours.  At  the  end  of  this  time  the  whole 
of  the  potash  is  dissolved,  aod  the  lixivium,  at  the  bottom 
of  which  the  mixture  of  graphite  and  iron  is  found,  is  filled 
with  brown  fiocks  of  oxide  of  iron.  Decantation  easily  re- 
moves the  light  oxide ;  the  residue  is  well  washed  with  al- 
cohol, and  then  dried.  This  residue  is  then  treated  with 
slightly  warm  ftiming  nitric  acid :  all  the  graphite  disappears. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  wash  the  nickeliferous  iron,  and  dry. 
M.  MeuDier  obtained  about  96  per  cent,  of  nickeliferous  iron. 

(2.)  Estimation  of  the  graphite. — 3  grammes  of  iron-filings 
are  projected,  as  before,  into  fused  potash,  and  a  mixture  of 
graphite  and  nickeliferous  iron  obtained.  This  mixture  is 
treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  which  dissolves  the  iron 
and  leaves  the  graphite.  The  graphite,  might  contain  a 
little  carbon  resulting  from  the  decomposition  of  carbide  of 
iron,  but  carbon  due  to  this  source  can  always  be  estimated. 
Another  method  of  separating  the  iron  and  graphite  would 
be  lixiviation.  It  is,  however,  indispensab'e  that  the  physi- 
cal separation  be  controlled,  to  some  extent,  by  a  chemical 
process.    The  Toluca  iron  gave  1*176  per  cent,  graphite. 

(3.)  Estimation  of  the  troilite. — ^To  estimate  this,  3 
grammes  of  filings  are  boiled  for  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  with  a  solution  of  oxide  of  copper.  AU  the  nickelif- 
erous iron  is  dissolved,  and  by  decanting  and  washing,  a 
residue  is  obtained,  composed  of  troilite,  schreibersite, 
graphite,  and  metallic  copper.  This  mixture  is  treated  with 
fuming  nitric  acid ;  the  copper  and  graphite  are  removed, 
and  troilite  and  schreibersite  are  thus  obtained  in  a  state  of 
purity.  No  reaction  has  been  discovered  permitting  the 
isolation  of  the  troilite ;  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  lixiviation,  and  to  separate  the  schreibersite 
and  troilite  by  their  difi'erent  spedflc  gravities.  The  specific 
g^vity  of  troilite  is  never  more  than  47,  while  that  of 
schreibersite  is  7*01  to  7*22.  Toluca  iron  gave  by  the 
process  described  1-482  per  cent  <^  troilite. 

Estimation  of  the  schreibersite. — ^The  preceding  operation 
evidentiy  gives  a  first  determination  of  the  schreibersite,  in 
the  lixiviation.  The  number  thus  found  can  be  controlled 
by  a  chemical  process.  Having  obtained  the  mixture  of 
«chreibersite  and  troilite,  treatment  with  hydrochloric  add 
will  dissolve  all  the  sulphide,  leaving  consequently  the 
phosphide  in  a  state  of  purity.  Toluca  iron  gave  1*232  per 
cent  of  schreibersite.  The  numbers  found  for  each  of  the 
proximate  constituents  added  together  will  be  found  to  give 
100-191. 

Pabu,  Apbil  6,  1868. 
Volvmeiric  method  of  estimoHng  carbonic  add  in  wUural 

ioaten, — Aniline  marking  ink. — Glage  for  cryetaUising  pans. 

— Preservation  of  saccharine  juice. 
If.  Babthklbmy,  Professor  of  Physics  at  the  LycAe  de  Pau, 

Vol.  II.  No.  6.    June,  1868.  19  • 


has  published  a  volumetric  method  of  estimating  carbonic 
acid  in  natural  waters.  His  process  depends  upon  the  re- 
action of  the  protonitrate  of  mercury  upon  the  alkaline  and 
earthy  carbonates;  by  means  of  tiie  same  reagent  he  is 
enabled  to  estimate  small  quantities  of  acid — ^for  example, 
the  nitric  acid  present  in  rain  water  after  a  storm.  The 
crystals  of  neutral  protonitrate  of  mercury  are  soluble  in 
water,  which  at  the  san^e  time  decomposes  the  compound 
into  insoluble  sub-nitrate,  and  acid  nitrate  which  remains  . 
in  solution.  The  supernatant  liquid,  in  the  presence  of 
mercury,  may  be  kept  a  long  time  without  undergoing  any 
decomposition.  The  reagent  is  prepared  by  treating  mercury 
with  cold  dilute  nitric  add.  Upon  adding  to  a  dilute  solu- 
tion of  an  alkaline  or  earthy  bicarbonate,  protonitrate  of 
mercury,  a  precipitate  formSf  which  is  at  first  white,  after- 
wards orange,  and  often  greenish :  this  precipitate  is  soluble 
in  excess  of  the  reagent ;  also  in  sulphuric  and  nitric  acids, 
in  urine,  and  other  organic  matters. 

In  a  solution  of  neutral  carbonate  the  same  reagent  pro- 
duces a  brown  precipitate  which,  when  the  alkaline  carbo- 
nate is  mixed  with  bicarbonate,  takes  a  more  or  less  deep 
green  tint ;  this  brown  predpitate  is  insoluble  in  excess. 
By  passing  carbonic  add  into  the  solution  (it  is  sufficient 
to  breathe  through  a  tube),  the  reaction  indicated  for  the 
bicarbonate  is  produced.  The  amount  of  add  nitrate  which 
it  is  necessary  to  add  for  complete  precipitation  and  resolu- 
tion, is  proportional  (1)  to  the  quantity  of  carbonate,-  (2)  to 
the  degree  of  concentration  of  the  reagent,  (3)  to  the  quan- 
tity of  carbonic  add  engaged  in  the  solution.  M.  Barthelemy 
prepares  his  normal  sdution  by  dissolving  '5  grm.  of  bicar- 
bonate of  potash  (equal  to  '241  of  carbonic  acid),  previously 
heated  in  a  current  of  dry  carbonic  acid,  in  a  litre  of  distilled 
water.  It  is  necessary  before  pouring  out  the  solution  of 
nitrate  of  merciuy  from  the  burette  to  agitate  well,  since 
the  mercurial  solution  is  very  dense.  When  waters  con- 
tain chlorine,  the  determination  of  the  carbonic  add  cannot 
be  made  exactly.  Approximate  results  may,  however,  be 
obtained  by  addulating  100  ac.  of  the  water  with  nitric 
add,  decomposing  thus  the  carbonates,  and  then  noticing 
the  number  of  divisions  required  to  predpitate  the  chlorides 
and  produce  a  definite  grey  tint;  afterwards  the  same  given 
volume  of  water  is  treated  with  the  solution  of  nitrate  of 
mercury,  until  the  yellowish  orange  first  produced  has  dis- 
appeared, and  the  tint  of  the  chloride  alone  remains.  The 
first  experiment  serves  as  a  standard  of  colour,  and  the 
addition  of  fluid  from  the  burette  is  arrested,  when  the 
tints  appear  identical 

The  process  also  admits  of  the  separate  determination 
of  earthy  and  alkaline  carbonates.  By  boiling  100  c.c  of 
water,  maintaining  the  volume  by  adding  distilled  water, 
leaving  to  deposit,  filtering,  and  passing  a  current  of  car- 
bonic acid,  matters  are  arranged  for  the  volumetric  deter- 
mination of  the  carbonic  acid  combined  with  the  alkalies; 
knowing  already  the  amount  combined  with  alkalies  and 
alkaline  earths  conjointiy,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  finding 
that  due  to  carbonic  acid  combined  with  alkaline  earths 
only.  Here  is  another  method,  and  one  to  which  M.  Barthe- 
lemy gives  the  preference : — ^A  solution  of  potash  (containing 
'5  grm.  of  potash  in  a  litre  of  water)  is  added  in  definite 
volume  to  100°  aa  of  the  water;  tiie  simple  carbonates 
are  deposited  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel  At  the  end  of  a 
few  days  the  solution  is  decanted  and  saturated  with  carbon- 
ic add.  The  carbonic  add  in  solution  'is  then  determined, 
and  that  in  the  same  volume  of  potash  solution  saturated 
with  carbonic  add  also ;  the  difference  between  the  amounts 
of  solution  poured  from  the  burette,  in  the  first  experiment 
and  the  second,  is-  the  amount  required  by  the  alkaline  car- 
bonates in  100  C.C  of  the  water. 

An  indelible  marking  ink  is  prepared  from  aniline  by 
mixing  the  two  following  solutions:  a,  cupreous  solution — 
852  gnn.  of  crystallised  chloride-  of  copper,  10*65  8"°* 
chlorate  of  soda,  and  5*35  grm.  of  diloride  of  ammonium 
are  dissolved  in  60  grm.  of  distilled  water ;  &,  aniline  solu- 
tion— 20  g^nn.  of  hydrocblorate  of  anOine  are  dissolved  in 


[BBgiMi  BdWon,  Vol  ZYIL,  Va  436^  p^^  ^^ .  ir<4436,  t^e*  ^"VM 


270 


Foreign  Science. 


30  grm.  of  distilled  wator,  and  20  grm.  of  a  solution  of  gum 
arable  (i  of  gum  to  2  of  water)  with  10  grm.  of  glyoerioe 
are  added.  Bj  mixing  in  the  cold  four  parts  of  the  aniline 
flolutioa  with  one  part  of  the  cupreous  solution,  a  green 
liquid  is  obtained  which  can  be  used  immediately  for  tracing 
duiracters  upon  linen ;  the  marks,  howeyer,  alter  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  days.  It  is  necessary  to  keep  the  solutions 
separate  until  required  for  use.  If  the  fluid  does  not  flow 
easily  from  the  pen,  it  may  be  diluted  without  fear  of  dimin- 
ishing the  intensity  of  the  tint,  which  at  first  green,  gradu- 
ally darkens  and  becomes  black.  Heat  causes  the  diange 
to  take  place  instantaneously;  a  steam  heat  is  suffident, 
and  is  better  for  the. fabric  than  a  hot  iron.  Afterwards  the 
linen  is  washed  in  warm  soap  and  water.  This  ink  resists 
acids  and  alkalies,  and  is  remarkably  permanent. 

Some  remarks  upon  the  glaze  of  yessels  used  for  crystal- 
lising in  chemical  works,  have  been  published  by  M.  8tinde. 
By  his  experience,  the  majority  of  glazes  proposed  for  iron 
yessels  do  not  Ailfll  their  purpose  well;  either  they  become 
detached,  or  trayersed  by  rust  when  the  yessel  remains 
empty  for  a  few  days.  The  mixture  of  oxide  of  zinc  and 
soluble  glass  adheres  to  the  iron  well  enough,  but  it  does 
not  prevent  rust.  Of  all  materials  proposed,  that  of  a 
mixture  of  oil  and  minium  of  iron  (peroxide  of  iron  mixed 
with  alumina)  is  unquestionably  entitled  to  preference. 

After  haying  thoroughly  pulverised  the  minium,  it  is 
mixed  with  linseed  oil,  rendered  pasty  with  manganese. 
This  mixture  is  applied  to  the  iron  surfaces  carefully  deaned, 
and  deprived  of  rust  by  means  of  pumice-stone. 

MM.  P^rier,  Possoz,  OaQ  &  Go.  have  patented  a  process 
for  the  preservation  of  saccharine  juices.  lime,  it  would 
appear,  has  been  long  known  as  a  preservatiye  substance ; 
in  applying  it  directly  to  the  saccharine  juices  of  plants, 
saccharate  of  lime  is  formed,  and  this  can  be '  preserved 
unaltered  for  a  great  length  of  time.  Upon  decomposing 
the  compound,  however,  for  the  recovery  of  the  sugar,  it 
is  found  that  the  foreign  nuitters  existing  in  the  juice  have 
undergone  such  changes  as  to  impede  the  extraction  and 
crystallisation  of  the  sugar.  The  patentees  of  the  present 
process  propose  therefore  to  apply  the  lime  no  longer  to 
the  juice  of  the  plant,  but  to  the  juice  after  removal  of  the 
foreign  matters.  They  consider  also  that  the  lime  ought  to 
be  employed  in  larger  proportion  than  it  has  been  heretofore. 
While  M.  Cuhlmann,  in  1833,  indicated  as  sufficient  for  tlie 
raw  juice,  -3  to  -c  per  cent  they  consider  i  per  cent  neces- 
sary for  the  purified  juice,  and  when  required  to  be  preserved 
during  some  months,  2  per  cent  the  density  of  the  juice 
being  '1040. 


Paris,  April  13,  1868. 

Uxaminaium  of  faity  moUtera, — Manu/achtre  of  poratu  car- 
bon^—-New  method  0/  preparing  magrunum.-'Induttrial 
preparation  of  oxygtn. 

An  ingenious  method  of  testing  fatty  matters,  founded  upon 
•the  solubility  of  roeaniline  in  certain  fatty  acids,  has  been 
rflevised  by  M.  Jaoobeen ;  it  is  applicable,  among  other  things, 
.to  the  examination  of  cod-liver  oil  A  Utile  piece  of  dry  ro- 
«uiiline  placed  in  a  sample  of  perfectly  neutral  oil,  agitated 
aiKi  heated  upon  the  water  bath,  remains  undissolved,  but  if 
placed  in  a  rancid  oil,  a  red  tint  is  rapidly  developed.  Oleic 
acid  and  the  other  fatty  acids  dissolve  rosaniline  in  large 
.quantity,  and  become  opaque  from  the  depth  of  the  tint,  be- 
.cause  oleate  of  rosaniline  is  soluble,  in  all  proportions,  in  oils 
:and. other  fatty  substances.  This  property  enables  the  pres- 
^nce^iatty  acids  in  oils  to  be  detected.  For  instance,  in 
commerce  we  have  had  for  some  years  pretended  white  ood- 
Hver  oils  whieh  are  only  fatty  fluids  from  very  young  animals, 
or  veritable  cod-liver  oil,  but  which  has  been  agitated  with 
potash,  allowed  to  repose  and  filtered.  Since  the  therapeutic 
effects  of  cod  Uyer  oil  depend  essentially  upon  the  amount  of 
free  fatty  acids  which  it  conteins,  neither  of  these  white  oils 
can  be  valuable.    Genuine  cod-liver  oil  agitated  with  a  little 


rosaniline  is  promptly  coloured  red,  in  the  cold,  and  if  heated 
upon  the  sand  bath,  the  colour  is  very  deep,  while  the  bad 
specimens  already  referred  to  remain  perfectly  uncoloored. 

When  an  oil  which  is  only  slightly  rancid,  contains  but  a 
small  amount  of  fatty  adds,  the  colouration  often  does  not ' 
become  sensible  at  first.  In  this  case  it  is  better  to  prepare 
a  solution  of  rosaniline  in  abaolute  alcohol,  and  add  a  few 
drops  of  this  to  the  oil  to  be  examined,  and  heat  on  the  water 
bath  until  all  the  alcohol  has  been  evaporated.  If  no  fiitty 
acid  exi^t,  the  rosaniline  soon  separates  and  rises  to  the  sur- 
face, or  when  the  oil  is  too  thick,  rests  in  suspension  aa  a 
brown  powdlir.  Samples  of  ordinary  oil  occurring  in  00m- 
meroe,  have  given  the  following  results : — Olive  oil  and  that 
of  sweet  almonds  remained  uncoloured  by  rosaniline ;  poppy 
oil  became  slightly  red ;  Huseed  oil  became  strongly  coloured, 
its  natural  colour  rendering  the  tint  brownish  ;  palm  oil  gave 
a  colouration  still  more  intense.  One  more  experiment  it 
has  sufficed  to  mix  the  olive  oil  with  5  per  cent  of  oleic  add, 
to  obuin  with  rosaniline  a  tint  equal  to  that  of  raspberry 
juice.  It  is  not  proposed  to  h«at  to  more  than  100"  C.,  oth- 
erwise errors  might  occur. 

The  fabrication  of  porous  carbon,  in  various  shapes,  en- 
gages the  attention  of  no  inconsiderable  number  of  persons  in 
the  present  day ;  this  kind  of  carbon  is  made  most  advanta- 
geously, your  correspondent  is  informed,  by  the  following 
process: — A  mixture  of  woocT charcoal  and  animal  charooal  is 
ground  to  a  coarse  powder,  mixed  with  aiwdust  and  dried 
at  a  steam  heat;  as  soon  as  the  material  is  dried,  and  while 
etill  warm,  20  per  cent  of  tar  is  added.  When  cold  a  certain 
amount  of  asphaltum  is  added,  and  the  mass  pressed  into 
moulds.  The  proportions  \h  which  the  ingredients  are  used 
vary  according  to  drcurostanees.  The  moulded  objects  are 
placed,  in  boxes  of  sheet  iron,  and  covered  all  over  with  a 
mixture  of  sand  and  charcoal ;  afterwards  they  are  heated  on 
the  sole  of  a  furnace.  Gases  which  are  disengaged  during 
the  operation  are  burnt  in  the  furnaca  The  entire  operation 
lasts  about  twenty -four  hours.  Careful  attention  is  required 
during  the  calcination;  the  properties  of  the  carbon  depend, 
in  a  great  measure^  upon  the  management  of  this  part  of  Ute 
process. 

M.  Reichert  has  devised  a  new  method  of  preparing  mag- 
nesium. He  takes  1,000  grammes  of  the  anhydrous  double 
chloride  of  magnesium  and  potassium,  pulverises  it  and  mixes 
it  with  100  grammes  of  finely  powdered  fluor  spar;  this 
mixture  is  fused  with  100  grammes  of  sodium.  'Ihe  oora- 
pound  proposed  for  use  occurs  in  the  mineral  kingdom  in  tol- 
erable abundance  as  camallite.  W  hite  pieces  of  this  mineral 
are  available  and  require  no  previous  treatment ;  coloured 
fhigments  must  be  dissolved  in  water,  the  impurities  allowed 
to  settle^  and  the  lixivium  evaporated. 

M.  Gondolo  has  made  some  improvements  in  M.  Bo 
gault's  process  of  extracting  oxygen  from  the  air  by  1 
of  baryta.  M.  Boussingault  in  1852,  found  that  in  pi 
a  current  of  air  over  baryta,  heated  to  dull  redness,  oxygea 
was  subtracted  from  the  air,  and  binoxide  of  barium  fonned, 
and  that  upon  then  raining  the  heat  to  bright  redness  the 
oxygen  was  set  at  liberty  so  easily  that  the  oxygen  might 
be  first  absorbed  and  then  evolved  ad  infinitum,  M.  Goo- 
dolo  has  made,  in  carrying  out  the  details  of  the  process 
certain  changes  which  admit  of  oxygen  being  prepared  upoa 
a  manufacturing  scale.  For  the  porcelain  tubes  he  sobstitutet 
iron  ones,  which  maybe  made  either  of  wrought  or  cast  iron. 
Internally  a  coating  of  magnesia  is  applied,  and  external^ 
asbestos,  so  as  to  diminish  the  porosity  of  the  tube  and  the 
consumption  of  fuel  These  tubes  are  arranged  in  a  brick 
furnace  having  dampers,  by  means  of  which  the  temperature 
may  be  changed  at  will,  and  dull  redness  and  bright  lednea 
easily  obtained.  To  the  baryta  a  mixture  of  lime,  magnesia, 
and  a  small  quantity  of  manganate  of  potash  is  added ;  tfaii 
prevents  fritting  of  the  material.  M.  Gondok>  aava  that  be 
has  made  122  alternate  operations,  and  that  tlie  atmoapberic 
oxygen  and  nitrogen  are  easily  separated  upon  an  indudtrial 
scale ;  the  apparatus  has  been  at  work  during  six  mootfai, 
and  fulfilled  its  purpose  thoroughly    The  process  is  patenled. 


[Bagltah  Edition,  Vol  XVII,  Wo.  436,  pag«  178, 179;  No:437,pafi8lfiq,19L] 


ConnoAL  NiwiL  I 
J%n^  186S.      f 


GliemiccH  Society. 


271 


Paris,  April  21,  i$68. 
FisrmenU  present  in  ccmmercial  bicarbonate  of  soda. — Action 

0/  saline  solutions  on  mineralM. — Detection  of  arsenic  in 

cases  of  poisoning. 
BI.^.Lb  Ricqub  de  Moncht  has  published  a  note  on  or^nised 
ferments  which  oocur  in  commercial  bicarbonate  of  soda.  Ho 
has  obaenred  in  all  unfiltered,  concentrated  solution  of  tliis 
substance,  that  he  has  yet  examined  with  the  microscope, 
very  small  moving  corpuscles,  commonly  designated  molecu- 
lar  granulations;  these  vegetable  cells  or  their  germs  can 
only  come  from  the  atmosphere,  where  they  were  in  suspen- 
sion, since  it  is  not  conceivable  that  organised  matter  should 
withstand  the  high  temperature  to  which  soda  in  manufac- 
ture is  submitted.  The  corpuscles  only  appear  after  tlie 
manufiictare,  and  their  presence  explains  the  production  of 
vegetable  matter  in  media,  where  one  is  surprised  to  meet 
with  it;  they  are  ferments,  the  action  of  which  varies  with 
the  surrounding  matter ;  in  certain  cases  they  are  producers 
of  alcohol 

M.  Terreil  has  studied  for  a  considerable  time  the  action  of 
different  saline  solutions  on  minerals  with  a  view  of  discov- 
ering methods  of  proximate  analysis.  At  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Academy,  he  made  known  the  results  already  ob- 
tained in  this  direction ;  the  note  had  reference  chiefly  to  the 
action  of  ammoniacal  salts  upon  the  natural  carbonates.  The 
carbonates  of  baryta,  strontia,  and  lime  are  easily  decomposed 
by  solutions  of  ammoniacal  salts,  with  the  exception  of  car- 
bonate of  ammonia,  which  leaves  them  in  the  state  of  car- 
bonates. When  the  acid  of  the  salt,  with  the  base  of  the 
carbonate,  gives  rise  to  a  soluble  compound,  the  decomposi- 
tion is  more  rapid.  Carbonate  of  baryta  is  more  easily  at- 
tacked than  carbonate  of  stronlia,  and  the  latter  more  easily 
than  carbonate  of  lime.  Baryta  and  strontia  are  separated 
in  treating  the  two  carbonates  with  a  mixture  of  ehlorby- 
drate  and  cbrcmate  of  ammonia ;  the  strontia  is  dissolved, 
and  the  bar^'ta  remains  insoluble  in  the  form  of  chromate. 
The  separation  of  lime  from  baryta  and  strontia  is  effected 
with  sulphate  of  ammonia,  which  transforms  the  three  car- 
bonates into  sulphates;  the  sulphate  of  lime,  which  is  more 
soluble  in  the  solution  of  ammoniacal  salt  than  in  water,  is 
dissolved,  while  the  sulphates  of  baryta  and  strontia  remain 
insoluble.  Carbonate  of  magnesia  is  rapidly  attacked  by  am- 
moniacal salts,  as  well  as  by  carbonate  of  ammonia,  which 
dissolves  it,  although  slowly :  this  property  enables  the  sepa 
ration  of  magnesia  from  the  preceding  bases  to  be  effected, 
by  treating  the  mixture  of  these  carbonates  by  chlorhydrate 
and  carbonate  of  ammonia,  renewing  the  latter  salt  as  fast  as 
it  is  volatilised.  •  The  carbonate  of  manganese  comports  itself 
with  ammoniacal  salts-  like  the  carbonate  of  magnesia,  ren- 
dering the  separation  by  more  solvents  a  difficult  matter,  but 
by  adding  a  few  drops  of  sulphydrate  of  ammonia  to  the 
boiling  solution  of  the  carbonates  in  chlorhydrate  of  ammo- 
nia, the  sulphide  of  manganese  is  precipitated  almost  com- 
pletely. }L  Terreil  draws  attention  to  the  fact  that  when 
sulphydrate  of  ammonia  is  added  to  a  solution  containing 
besides  manganese,  a  considerable  quantity  of  ammoniacal 
salts,  the  sulphide  of  manganese  is  only  precipitated  after 
prolonged  ebullition;  his  experiments  have  shown  that  of  all 
ammoniacal  salts,  the  oxalate  is  the  one  which  oiost  impedes 
the  precipitation  of  the  sulphide  of  manganesei 

The  natural  carbonate  of  iron,  under  the  influence  of  am- 
moniacal salts,  is  converted  into  a  salt  of  iron ;  the  decom- 
position is  slower  than  in  the  case  of  the  carbonates  already 
referred  to.  Under  these  circumstances^  the  iron  salt  pro- 
duced is  in  the  lowest  state  of  oxidation ;  for  example,  spa- 
thic iron  ore  in  fine  powder,  boiled  in  a  solution  of  chloriiy- 
drate  of  ammonia,  yields  a  colourless  solution,  which  gives, 
with  ferrocyanide  of  potassium,  a  white  precipitate.  Car* 
bouate  of  zinc  is  soluble  in  all  ammoniacal  salts,  excepting 
the  sulphydrate,  which  does  not  dissolve  this  carbonate  even 
in  the  presence  of  free  ammonia  or  carbonate  of  ammonia ; 
this  character  enables  zinc  to  be  detected  and  separated  from 
the  earths.  The  separation  of  zinc  from  magnesia  and  man- 
ganese can  only  be  effected  when  phosphate  of  ammonia  and 


fVee  ammonia  are  present  Carbonate  of  lead  is*  easily  de- 
composed by  ammoniacal  salts ;  chlorhydrate  of  ammonia 
transforms  it  into  chloride,  which  crystallises  out  upon  cool- 
ing. Lead  can  be  separated  in  this  way  from  the  earths,  and 
from  magnesia  by  sulphydrate  of  ammonia ;  it  is  separated 
from  manganese,  iron,  zinc,  and  copper  by  sulphate  of  ammo- 
nia. The  green  carbonate  of  copper,  tnalaehitSj  and  the  blue 
carbonate,  azur^ite,  are  dissolved  by  solutions  of  ammoniacal 
salts,  equally  in  the  presence  of  free  ammonia  or  carbonate; 
azurite  is  attacked  more  rapidly  than  malachite. 

The  action  of  ammoniacal  salts  on  natural  carbonates  may 
be  summed  up  as  follows:  All  ammoniacal  salts  in  solution 
decompose  the  natural  carbonates,  by  reason  of  the  volatility 
of  the  carbonate  of  ammonia,  which  is  produced  by  double 
decomposition ;  the  acid  of  the  ammoniacal  salt  unites  itself 
to  the  base  of  the  carbonate,  even  when  this  acid  forms  with 
the  base  an  insoluble  compound.  From  the  foregoing,  one 
sees  that  by  treating  the  natural  carbonates  in  fine  powder  * 
with  warm  solutions  of  ammoniacal  salts,  chosen  and  mixed 
so  that  the  acids  can  form,  with  the  bases  of  the  carbonate^ 
soluble  and  insoluble  compounds,  these  bases  may  be  sepa- 
rated, and  an  analysis  of  the  natural  carbonates  be  made. 
M.  Terreil  promises  in  a  future  communication  to  treat  of 
the  analysis  of  oxides,  sulphides,  arsenides,  and  silicates  by 
neutral  saline  solutions. 

M.  Buehner  has  published  some  facts  in  connection  with 
the  detection  of  arsenic  in  cases  of  poisoning.  M.  Buehner 
has  several  times  recognised  the  presence  of  sulphide  of  ar- 
senks  in  the  bodies  of  persons  poisoned  by  arse.nious  acid. 
Certainly  this  fact  has  never  been  observed  except  where 
the  corpse  has  been  in  a  more  or  less  advanced  state  6f 
putrefaction;  the  sulphurisation  would  appear  to  be  due 
to  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  a  constant  product  of  putrefac- 
tive decomposition.  The  last  observation  upon  this  point 
M.  Buehner  has  made,  was  upon  the  remains  of  a  woman 
who  had  been  poisoned  eleven  mouths  previously.  The  large 
intestine  was  in  full  decomposition,  and  there  were  yellow 
marks  upon  the  mucous  membrane,  caused  by  a  fine  pow- 
der which  could  be  removed  by  washing.  This  powder 
resembled  the  yellow  deposit  which  is  produced  in  arseni- 
cal solutions  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen;  further,  it  gave 
the  characteristic  reactions  of  sulphide  of  arsenic  Exam- 
ining now  whether  the  arsenic  had  been  administered  as 
sulphide,  he  concluded  in  the  negative,  for  the  following 
reasons:  The  contents  of  the  stomach  and  small  intestine 
being  boi'ed  with  hydrochloric,  and  the  vapours  from  the 
distillation  of  the  acid  collected  in  water,  in  a  few  minutes 
a  quantity  of  chloride  of  arsenic  was  obtained ;  such  would 
not  have  been  the  case  with  sulphide  of  arsenic,  notwith- 
standing that  this  sulphide  is  not  absolutely  unacted  upon 
by  boiling  concentrated  hydrochloric  acid.  The  Sulphide 
of  arsenic  being  insoluble  in  pure  water  and  in  acidulated 
water,  it  would  not  bo  carried  into  the  circulation,  also  it 
would  not  be  found  in  the  liver  and  spleen,  both  of  which 
in  this  particular  case  were  saturated  with  arsenic.  A  part 
of  the  stomach  and  small  intestine  cut  up  and  placed  in  the 
dialyser  with  water  acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  gave 
at  the  end  of  twenty- four  hours  a  solution  containing  arse- 
nious  acid  in  sensible  proportion,  a  fact  proving  that  all  the 
arsenic  had  not  passed  into  the  state  of  sulphide. 

REPORTS  OF  SOCIETIES, 


CHEMICAL  SOdETT. 
Anniversary  Meeting^  Monday,  March  30/^ 

Db.  Wa^vkm  db  ul  Bui,  F.B.a,  fta,  President,  in   the 
Chair. 

At  this  meeting  there  was  a  good  attendance  of  mem- 
bers,  and   the    officers  of  the    Society  were    nearly  all 
present 
Tho  business  of  the  eyemng  commenced  with  the  reading 


[EngUdi  Bditioo,  ToL  JYH,  Ko.  43^  Pft^Mv  '^^  ^^  ^***  ^^^^ 


272 


Gliemical  Society. 


j  Ghbmicai.  Kbv^ 


of  the  President's  report,  whidi  gave  a  very  satisfactory 
account  of  the  past  year's  proceedings,  but  the  obituary 
notices  were,  unfortunately,  more  numerous  than  usual 
The  list  of  members,  in  comparison  with  that  of  last  year, 
stands  thus: — 

1867.  x868.) 

Number  of  Fellows.... 499    ....    510 

Foreign  Members 40     ....     39 

Associates o     ....       2 

The  number  of  papers  read  during  the  session  amounted 
to  forty-eight ;  and  four  lectures  were  delivered. 

Five  members  have  voluntarily  retired  during  the  year, 
viz. : — Dr.  F.  V.  Paxton,  and  Messrs.  Anselim  (Wling,  0.  N. 
.   Ellis,  Edward  Rea,  and  W.  Y.  Russeli    Eight  names  were 
struck  ofif  the  list  of  members,  by  reason  of  arrears  of  sub- 
scription. 

The  losses  by  death  included  several  distinguished 
Fellows,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Society.  They 
"were  Professor  Michael  Faraday,  Dr.  0.  G.  B.  Daubeny, 
Dr.  Thomas  Clark,  Dr.  Wm.  Herapath,  Mr.  Robert  Waring- 
ton,  F.R.S.,  Messrs.  J.  Tennant,  Walter  Crum,  W.  H. 
Gossage,  Alfred  Noble,  and  Wm.  Winsor,  besides  an  eminent 
foreign  member,  Professor  Jules  Pelouze. 

The  President  indicated  some  of  the  leading  researches 
publiphed  during  the  year  in  the  several  departments  of 
the  scieuce,  and  referred  to  the  progress  made  towards 
establishing  the  new  Chemical  Theory.  The  investigations 
of  Graham,  Hofinann,  Kolbe,  Abel,  Fittig,  Frankland  and 
Duppa,  Perkin,  and  Pettenkoffer  and  Yoigt,  were  specially 
mentioned.  The  discussions  upon  water  analysis  had 
^icited  facts  which  would  ultimately  prove  useful  in  esta- 
blishing a  new  method ;  and  the  review  of  geological  phe- 
nomena, from  a  chemist's  wide  sphere  of  observation,  could 
not  fail  to  be  productive  6f  great  results. 

The  Treasurer  presented  the  balance-sheet  for  the  year, 
which  had  been  audited  by  Mr.  Stephen  Darby.  The  amount 
received  from  subscriptions  was  £540^  and  some  of  the 
disbursements  were  the  following : — 

Printing  the  Journal £223 

Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society 50 

Books  and  Magazines 43 

The  assets  at  the  present  time  are  a  balance  at  the 
bankers  of  £637  is,  iid,  and  £2347  i8«.  lod.  invested  in 
Government  consols.  The  outstanding  subscriptions  due 
to  the  Society  are  stated  at  £186  165.  od 

The  election  of  officers  was  then  proceeded  with,  Dr. 
Hugo  Miiller  and  Dr.  T.  Stevenson  being  appomted  scruta- 
tors. The  result  was  declared  to  be  in  accordance  with 
the  printed  list,  or  that  proposed  by  the  retiring  Council. 
The  President  was  re-electec^  and  the  names  of  tiie  remain- 
ing officers  are  appended: — 

Vic^PresidefniSf  who  have  fiUed  (hs  qjfice  of  Prendent: 
Sir  B.  C.  Brodie,  F.R.S. ;  Thomas  Graham,  F.R.S.  ; 
A.  W.  Hofmann,  LL.D.,  F.R.a  ;  W.  A.  Miller.  M.D.,  F.R.S.; 
Lyon  Playfair,  Ph  D.,  C.B.,  F.R.S. ;  A.  W.  Williamson,  Ph. 
D.,  F.R.S.;  Colonel  Philip  Yorke,  F.R.a  Vice-President: 
E.  Frankland,  Ph.D.,  F.RS.;  J.  H.  Gilbert,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.; 
J.  H.  Gladstone,  Ph.D.,  f'.R.S.;  John  Stenhouse,  LL.D., 
F.RS.  Secretaries:  William  Odling,  M.B.,  F.RS.;  A.  Ver- 
non Harcourt,  M.A.  Foreign  Secretary:  F.  A.  Abel,  F.R.S. 
Treasurer:  Theophiius  Redwood,  Ph.D.  Other  Members  of 
Council:  E.  Atkmson,  Ph.D.;  F.  Craoe  Calvert,  F.R.S.; 
J.  Lothian  Bell ;  Dugald  Campbell ;  W.  Crookes,  F.R.S. ; 
David  Forbes,  F.R.S.;  G.  C.  Foster;  A.  Matthiessen,  Ph. 
D.,  F.R.8. ;  E.  J.  Mills,  D.Sc  ;  H.  M.  N'oad,  Ph.D.,  F.RS. : 
W.  H.  Perkin,  F.RS. ;  J.  Williams. 

Mr.  E.  T.  Chapman  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Pres- 
ident for  his  services  during  the  past  year,  which  was  seo- 
ended  by  Mr.  Tennant,  who  took  occasion  to  advise  the 
printing  in  a  separate  form,  and  issue  of  duplicate  copies  to 
each  member,  of  the  annual  report  and  address  just  now 
delivered  by  Dr.  De  la  Rue.  Such  a  course  had  been  adopted 
with  advantage  in  other  learned  Societies,  and  tended  both 


to  diffuse  information  respecting  the  aims  of  their  body, 
and  to  do  honour  to  the  memory  of  the  great  chemistB  de- 
parted. 

The  vote  of  thanks  was  carried  by  acclamation. 
Mr.  Tennant 's   suggestion    was    afterwards    made   a 
substantive  proposition,  and   warmly  supported    by  Mr. 
Brayley;   it  was  then  put  to  the  meeting,  and  carried 
unanimously. 

Dr.  *Db  la  Rub  returned  thanks,  and  in  aHusioD  to  his 
wandering  for  a  time  ftom  the  paths  of  chemistry  into  the 
green  fields  of  astronomy,  humorooaly  illustrated  tiie 
feeling  of  amazement  which  overcame  him  on  returning  to 
a  chemical  career,  by  comparing  his  experience  to  the  dream 
of  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  retiring  members  of  CoamtSi 
and  a  special  acknowledgment  of  Mr.  Watts'  servioea, 
were  moved  and  carried  with  acclamation.  The  meeting 
was  then  adjourned  until  the  2nd  of  April,  the  pi^rs  to  be 
then  read  having  already  been  announced. 

Thursday,  April  2,  1868. 

Dr.  Warren  db  la  Rue,   F.Ra,  fta,  Presideni,  in  the 
Chair. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  ordinary  meeting  were  read  and  ooo- 
firmed,  and  the  library  donations  were  acknowledged.  The 
foJlowing  gentlemen  were  balloted  for  and  duly  elected  Fel- 
lows of  tlie  Society,  viz. :  John  Tyndall,  LL.D.,  F.RS.,  Lec- 
turer on  Natural  Philosophy  in  the  Royal  Institution  of  Great 
Britain;  Frederic  Guthrie,  Ph.D.,  F.RaR,  Lecturer  on 
Chemistry  in  the  Royal  College  of  Mauritius ;  William  Bran- 
tingham  Giles,  Old  Swan,  Liverpool.  For  the  first  time  was 
read  the  name  of  Mr.  Thomas  Bournes,  Teadier  of  Chemis- 
try, 47,  Rigby  street,  St  Helen's,  Lancashire ;  and  for  the 
second  time,  Francis  C.  H.  Clarke,  Lieutenant  Royal  Artil- 
lery, Staff  College,  Famborough  Station. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Perkin  read  a  paper  *'  On  (he  Oimsiikiiian  of 
Olyoxylic  Aeid^^  of  which  Mr.  Duppa  and  himself  were  joint 
authors.  The  starting-point  in  the  formation  of  this  body 
was  dibromacetic  acid,  aud  this  converted  into  the  silver  salt 
and  heated  under  water,  furnished  a  product  described  in  the 
original  research  (1859)  >>  "&  new  add  having  the  fonnuia 
C3H404."  *  This  body  has  since  been  regarded  as  giyoxrlic 
acid.  The  authors  now  resume  the  description  of  this  acid, 
and  quote  analysis  in  proof  of  the  oorrectoesa  of  its  formula. 
They  have  fufther  ascertained  by  comparative  examinatkiii 
of  the  calcium  and  silver  salts  that  this  add  is  in  all  peqgects 
identical  with  the  glyozylic  add  obtained  by  Dr.  Debus  as  a 
product  of  the  oxidation  of  alcohol.  .  The  method  followed  in 
the  purification  of  the  dibromacetic  acid  is  fully  described  in 
the  paper,  and  consists  in  the  etherification  of  the  crude  add, 
conversion  into  amide,  aud  repeated  crystallizauon  of  tbe  lat^ 
ter,  when  all  the  mono-bromacetamide  is  left  in  aolutioiL 
The  purified  amide  is  then  decomposed  by  hydrate  of  pdaa- 
sium,  added  by  small  portions  at  a  time,  and  io  a  vessel  snr- 
rounded  by  ice-water.  The  ammonia  liberated  is  neuiraliaed 
by  dilute  nitric  acid,  and  the  solution  mixed  with  nltrBte  of 
silver,  when  the  dibromacetate  of  that  metal  is  precipitated. 
This  is  said  to  be  not  affected  by  light,  although  Dr.  Debus 
asserts  the  contrary.  The  silver  salt  is  difiined  through  a 
considerable  quantity  of  water,  and  exposed  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  loo**  C.  until  no  more  yellow  bromide  of  silver  is 
formed,  which  filtered  off  leaves  bromoglyoolic  acid  in  sohi- 
tion.  This,  in  turn,  is  again  converted  into  its  silver  salt, 
and  decomposed  in  a  similar  manner,  yielding  broraide  of  tbe 
metal  and  pure  glyoxylic  acid  in  solution.  The  authors  ban 
discovered  a  very  characteristic  test  for  this  add  dependent 
upon  the  ease  and  rapidity  with  which  tbe  aniline  eait  is  de- 
composed. This  combination,  at  first  colourle^  lets  &U  a 
bright  orange-coloured  predpitate,  either  on  standing  at  rest 
for  some  time,  or  immediately  upon  heating.  It  is  impoe^Ue 
within  the  limited  space  at  our  disposal  to  do  justioe  to  Uie 


*  Joarn.  Chem.  Bool,  vol.  slL  p.  6w 


[Ita«]id&Edittoa,yoLZVIL,iro.486,paftl63;  No.  430^  pagw  179^  174.] 


CimncAX.  News,) 
^«««,  186a      f 


Olvemical  Societif. 


273 


authors*  arg^iDeots  in  support  of  their  views  respecting  the 
constitution  of  glyozylic  acid,  which  occupy  more  thaa  half 
the  length  of  their  paper. 

Dr.  Odlino  read  a  paper  "  On  a  Glyoxaiie  Amide.^  In 
the  course  of  an  examination  into  the  properties  of  the  re- 
markable compound  NOOI9,  obtained  by  Gay-Lussac  as  the 
chief  product  of  the  reaction  of  nitric  and  hydrocliloric  acids, 
he  had  made  preliminary  experiments  on  the  action  of  this 
substance  upon  a  variety  of  compounds,  with  the  view  of  in- 
troducing the  group  NO  in  exchange  for  hydrogen ;  or  of 
otherwise  obtaining  some  evidence  from  the  react- ons  of  the 
substance  in  &vour  or  disfavour  of  Gay>Lussac*s  formula, 
which  he  did  not  consider  as  being  at  present  satisfactorily 
established.  From  the  result  of  a  preliminary  experiment, 
bo  had  been  induced  to  study  the  reaction  of  Gay^Lussac's 
body  with  alcohol  more  in  detail.  His  results  were  at  pres- 
ent in  an  incomplete  state,  and  he  would  not  have  ventured 
to  bring  them  before  the  Society  just  yet,  but  for  the  bearing 
they  had  upon  the  experiments  of  Messrs.  Perkin  and  Duppa, 
with  whom  he  had  been  in  communication. 

Absolute  alcohol  absorbed  Gay-Lussac's  body  abundantly 
in  the  cold,  apparently  without  decomposition;  but  after  a 
time  the  temperature  rose  rapidly,  and  an  unmanageably 
violent  reaction  set  in.  At  the  temperature  of  40°  or  50°,' 
however,  there  was  no  mere  absorption  of  the  chloro-nitric 
vapour,  but  it  acted  continuously  upon  the  alcohol,  with  co- 
pious evolution  of  hydrochloric  acid.  The  product  of  the 
.  reaction  was  heated  on  a  water>bath,  whereby  the  excess  of 
alcohol  containing  apparently  some  chloral,  was  distilled  off, 
and  a  syrupy  liquid  was  left,  which  was  further  heated  for 
some  time  on  a  water-bath,  while  being  treated  with  a  cur- 
rent of  dry  carbonic  acid  gas. 

^  On  mcderate  dilution  this  syrup  yielded  a  watery  solu- 
tion and  an  oily  deposit  The  latter  was  first  examined,  but 
he  would  now  refer,  first,  to  the  solution.  Being  extremely 
acid,  it  was  neutralised  with  chalk,  and  the  solution  of  the 
resulting  lime  salts  evaporated,  whereby  what  appeared  to 
be  a  magnificent  crop  of  crystals  was  obtained,  but  the  ap- 
parent crystals  were  in  reality  masses  of  crystalliform  jelly. 
The  jelly  was  dissolved  in  water,  the  solution  precipitated  by 
alcohol,  the  precipitate  redissolved  in  water,  and  reprecipita- 
ted  by  alcohol  once  or  twice  until  obtained  free  firom  chlorine. 
From  the  aqueous  solution  of  the  final  precipitate,  crystals 
were  obtained,  which  an  ultimate  analysis  and  examination 
of  their  properties  showed  to  be  glyoxalate  of  calcium.  In 
particular,  they  gave  the  interesting  aniline  reaction  which 
MeasrsL  Perkin  and  Duppa  had  just  described.  Dr.  Odliog 
was  of  opinion  that  the  treatment  of  alcohol  with  Gray- 
Lussac^s  body  constituted  the  most  productive  process  yet 
described  for  the  prnparation  of  glyoxalic  acid.  He  had  not 
ascertained  whether  the  jelly  he  bad  referred  to  was  or  was 
not  a  definite  compound  of  glyoxalate  and  chloride  of  calcium. 
The  results  of  his  analysts  of  the  pure  glyoxalate  corresponded 
with  those  of  Dr.  Debus  and  of  Messrs  Perkin  and  Duppa, 
and  accordingly  the  salt  might  be  represented  by  either  of 
the  formula:, 

Ga  Ca 

— HCO,.HaO  or — H,C04. 

2  2 

The  oil  having  been  washed  with  dilute  potash  and  water, 
was  dried  over  chloride  of  calcium,  and  distilled.  A  portion 
boiled  between  100"  and  160°,  without  giving  an  indication 
of  any  fixed  point ;  by  far  the  larger  portion  boiled  between 
iSo"*  and  200*^;  and  another  portion  boiled  between  240** 
aud  250°.  The  portion  boiling  between  180"  and  200**  had 
alone  been  submitted  to  examination.  -  Its  rectification  was 
yrery  troublesome,  owing  to  the  principal  constituent  being 
inixed  with  one  or  more  substances  decomposible  by  distilla- 
tion. At  length  a  liquid  was  obtained,  boiling  at  189", 
which  was  thought  to  be  pure.  Analysis,  however,  proved 
that  it  was  veipr  far  from  pure.  Its  behaviour  with  potash 
having  shown  it  to  be  an  ether,  it  was  accordingly  treated 
yith  ammonia,  in  the  first  instance  with  alcoholic  ammonia 
in  sealed  tubes^  afterwards  with  strong  aqueous  ammonia 


and  sufficient  alcohol  to  cause  the  two  liquids  to  dissolve  in 
or  mix  with  each  other.  On  spontaneous  evaporation,  a 
beautiful  crystalline  substance  was  obtained,  having  much 
the  appearance  of  chlorate  of  potassium  or  nitrate  of  silver, 
the  perfect  crystals  occurring  as  rectangular  plates.  It  melted 
at  about  77°,  and  was  capable  of  being  boiled  and  distilled  ;- 
but  on  attempting  to  take  its  vapour  density  it  underwent 
decomposition.  It  was  very  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,, 
forming  neutral  solutions,  which  did  not  evolve  ammonia 
when  treated  with  potash  in  the  cold.  The  numbers  ob- 
tained by  its  analysis  were  in  accordance  with  the  formula 
0«HjsNOs.  From  a  consideration  of  its  properties  and  mode 
of  formation,  it  might  be  regarded  as  an  amide  of  Messrs. 
Perkin  and  Duppa*s  acid,  in  which  the  two  alcoholic  hydro- 
gens were  replaced  by  ethyl,  thus: — 

H4C9O4  Glyoxalic  acid. 

HftOaOsK        Ita  unknown  amide. 

EtjHaCaOsN         The  diethylamide. 

Et3Ha02O4  The  unknown  corresponding  acid. 

EtaH  Ca04  Its  ether. 

The  further  examination  of  the  ether  from  which  the  amide 
had  been  prepared  was  not  complete,  but  enough  had  been 
done  to  show  that  in  all  probability  it  was  the  compound 
Bt,HGa04. 

It  would  thus  be  seen  that  Dr.  Odling^s  experimental  re- 
sults were  in  perfect  harmony  with  those  of  Messrs.  Perkin 
aud  Duppa.  The  interpretation  of  both  sets  of  results,  how- 
ever, he  considered  still  an  open  question — and  a  most  impor- 
tant one^wbich  further  experiment  alone  could  positively 
solve.  But  with  the  imperfect  materials  at  present  available, 
he  would  state  what  he  considered  to  be  the  arguments  for 
and  against  each  view  of  the  constitution  of  glyoxalic  acid. 
Starting  from  aldehyd  and  alcohol,  he  believed  that  all  chem- 
ists entertained  the  s*ime  notion  as  to  the  constitution  of 
those  compounds,  although  some  chemists  expressed  their 
notion  by  means  of  reasonable,  and  others  by  means  of  un- 
reasonable formul»  (Laughter).  Aldehyd  contained  two 
marsh-gas  residues,  one  of  which  was  in  its  primitive  state, 
while  the  other  had  undergone  the  aldehydic  modification, 
or  had  lost  two  atoms  of  hydrogen  in  exchange  for  one  atom  ' 
of  oxygen,  thus: — 

HOaCH,. 

Similarly,  alcohol  was  composed  of  two  marsh-gas  residues ; 
one  of  which  was  in  its  prunitive  state,  while  the  other  had 
undergone  the  alcoholic  modification,  or  had  lost  a  single 
atom  of  hydrogen  in  exchange  for  an  atom  of  oxygen,  the 
excessive  equivalency  of  which  was  supplemented  by  addi- 
tion of  an  atom  of  hydrogen,  thus : — 
(HO)H,0.0H,. 

According  to  Debus,  glyoxalic  acid  was  composed  of  two- 
marsh-gas  residues,  one  of  which  had  undergone  the  acid 
modification,  or  had  lost  three  atoms  of  hydrogen  in  ex- 
change for  two  of  oxygen,  the  excessive  equivalency  of  which 
was  counterbalanced  by  addition  of  an  atom  of  hydrogen, 
while  the  other  marsh-gas  rosidua  had  undergone  the  above- 
described  aldehydic  mcSification,  thus : — 
HOO.OO.H. 

But  according  to  Perkin  and  Duppa,  glyoxalic  acid  was 
composed  of  two  marsh-gas  residues,  one  of  which  had 
undergone  the  add  modifictition,  while  the  other  had  under- 
gone a  sort  of  glycol  modification,  or  had  lost  two  atoms  of 
hydrogen  in  exchange  for  two  atoms  of  oxygen,  the  exces- 
sive equivalency  of  each  of  which  was  supplemented  by  an 
added  atom  of  hydrogen,  thus : — 

(HO),H0.0OaH. 

In  favour  of  Perkin  and  Duppa^s  view  might  be  urged,  ist, 
the  complete  accordance  of  their  formula  with  the  ascer- 
tained composition  of  glyoxalate  of  calcium,  of  diethy- 
lated  glyoxcdio  amide  and  ether,  and  of  most  trlyoxalates ; 


[BngUili  BdWoii,yoL  XVIL,  Va  43Q,  pages  174^  175.^ 


274 


CTiemiodl  Society. 


\ 


Chbmtcal  Kvwi, 


2d,  its  aocordanoe  with  the  ingenious  traosformations  and 
re-transformations  which  Messrs.  Perkin  and  Duppa  had 
just  described.  Against  it  might  be  urged,  ist,  its  a  priori 
improbability,  on  the  ground  that  two  atoms  of  hydrogen 
cannot  be  replaced  by  hydroxyl  in  marsh-gas  itself,  and 
are  not  known  to  be  so  replaced  in  any  constituent  marsh- 
gas  residue,  although  subjected  to  processes  similar  to 
those  by  which  glyoxalic  add  is  produced ;  2nd,  its  want 
of  accordance  with  the  remarkable  aldehydic  characters  of 
glyoxalic  add  j  3rd,  its  want  of  accordance  with  the  com- 
position of  crystalline  glyoxalate  of  ammonia. 

In  favour  of  Dr.  Debuses  view  might  be  urged,  ist,  the 
necessary  existence  of  the  body  represented  by  his  formula, 
and  its  necessary  possession  of  the  joint  aldehydic  and  acid 
characters  exhibited  by  glyoxalic  add : — 

HOCtJOH GlyoxaL 

HOO.CO2H Glyoxalic  add. 

;  HOaC.OOaH Oxalic  add. 

2nd.  Its  complete  accordance  with  the  aldehydic  diaracters 
of  glyoxalic  add,  as  shown  by  its  power  of  reducing  oxide 
of  silver,  of  combining  with  the  acid  sulphites,  and  of 
breaking  up  under  the  influence  of  alkalies  into  alcohol  and 
add,  just  as  does  aldehyd  itself: 

2HOO.OH,  -H  HaO=(HO)HaO.OH,+H08C.OH, 
2H00.0OaH+ HaO=(HO)H,0.0OaH + HO,aCO,H. 

3rd.  Its  accordance  with  the  composition  of  glyoxalate  of 
ammonia,  a  salt  made  by  decomposing  glyoxalate  of  calcium 
with  oxalate  of  ammonia.  Against  Dr.  Debus's  view  might 
t>e  urged,  ist,  its  necessitating  the  representation  of  glyox-' 
'  alate  of  calcium  as  containing  an  atom  of  water  not  remov- 
able at  160°,  a  very  suspicious  drcumstance,  and  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  speaker's  amide  as  containing  an  atom  of 
ether^  2d,  its  less  direct  accordance,  but  by  no  means  posi- 
tive discordance  with  the  metamorphoses  described  by 
Messrs.  Perkin  and  Duppa. 

It  must  be  rememl:«red,  however,  that  the  aldehydic 
marsh-gas  residue  in  aldehyd  itself,  and  in  benzoic  aldehyd, 
&c.,  has  the  property  of  uniting  with  chloride  of  ethyl  and 
chloride  of  acetyl,  with  oxide  of  ethyl  and  oxide  of  acetyl, 
and  that  in  aldehyd  with  ammonia  also.  Hence  It  is  not 
altogether  surprising  that  the  aldehydic  residue  of  Debus*8 
glyoxalic  add,  combined  as  it  is  with  a  saline  instead  of  a 
hydrocarbon  residue,  should  have  the  property  of  uniting 
with  an  atom  of  oxide  of  hydrogen.  Viewed  in  this  way, 
the  speaker's  ether  would  be  a  sort  of  aoetal,  and  be  formed 
under  the  same  circumstances  as  acetal,  namely,  by  the 
oxidation  of  alcohol 

EtaO-HOC-COaEt 

EtjO.HOCOH,. 

Assuming  that  the  ether  of  acetal  has  reacted  with  thd 
aldehydic  marsh-gas  residue  to  form  an  unstable  di-ethylated 
glycol  residue  (£tO)aHG,  of  eourse  the  question  at  issue 
between  Dr.  Debus  and  Messrs.  Perkin  and  Duppa  would 
become,  in  great  measure,  a  verbal  one. 

Dr.  A.  W  WiLUAMSOir,  who  at  this  period  of  the  evening 
occupied  the  chair,  referred  to  the  anomalous  constitution 
of  the  glyoxylate  of  ammonia,  which  did  not  appear  to  con- 
tain the  additional  atom  of  water ;  but  the  view  advanced 
by  Messrs.  Perkin  and  Duppa  received  support  from  the  fact 
that  the  silver  salt,  like  the  add  itself,  contained  four  atoms 
of  oxygen. 

The  Chairmav  moved  a  vote  of  thanks  both  to  Dr.  Odllng 
and  the  ^ntlemen  already  named,  for  the  interesting  theo- 
retical considerations  elidted  in  the  previous  discussion. 

Mr.  W.  Chandler  Roberts  read  a  note  **  On  the  Occur- 


rmoe  of  Organic  Appearances  in  Colloid  Silica  obtained  by 
Dialysis.^  The  interesting  observations  which  formed  the 
subject  of  this  paper  were  elucidated  by  a  series  of  sped- 
mens,  both  of  artificial  and.natural  origin,  the  structures  of 
which  were  demonstrated  by  the  aid  of  a  microscope  and 
illustrative  drawings.  In  experimenting  upon  somewhat 
large  quantities  of  soluble  sflidc  add  prepared  in  Graham's 
dialyser,  a  portion  of  the  liquid  product  was  evaporated 
slowly  in  air  to  compare  with  the  forms  of  hydrous  silica 
left  by  a  more  rapid  operation  conducted  in  vacuo.  AH  the 
spedmens  of  jelly  dried  in  air  exhibited  dendritic  forma, 
varying  in  size  from  0-2  to  0*5  m.m. ;  these  were  at  first 
supposed  to  affbrd  indications  of  the  passage  of  ooUoId  into 
crystalloid  silica,  but  when  magnified  90  linear  tbey  ap- 
peared as  radiating  fibres,  and  upon  being  further  magnified 
700  times  each  fibre  resolved  itself  into  a  collection  of  elon- 
gated beaded  cells  with  clusters  of  drcular  cells  at  intervalSL 
Such  a  stnicture  would  indicate  a  vegetable  growth,  and  Uie 
author  condudes  that  the  markings,  which  are  similar  to 
those  seen  in  moss  agates  and  Mod^  stones,  are  due  to  the 
growth  of  fungi  or  mildew  in  the  partially  solidiflsd  jrfly.^ 
The  spores  of  organic  life  were  probably  derived  from  the' 
air,  since  no  evidence  of  similar  structure  was  visible  in  the 
specimens  of  hydrous  silica  obtained  in  the  desiccator. 
These  last-named  products  were  very  like  the  opal  from 
Zimapan,  but  contained  21*4  per  cent  of  water. 

A  short  note  ''  Onihe  SolvbaUy  of  Xanihin  {uric  oxide)  in 
dilute  Hydrochloric  Add,""  by  Dr.  H.  Bence  Jones,  was  next 
read.  Xanthin  is  usually  stated  to  be  insoluble  in  hydro- 
chloric acid,  but  the  author  finds  it  to  be  soluble,  and  had 
no  difficulty  in  obtaining  "  six-sided  crystals"  upon  evapora- 
tion of  the  acid*  By  microscopic  examination  alone  xanthin 
would  be  mistaken  for  uric  add. 

In  .continuation  of  his  recent  '^Researches  on  Nob  amd 
Rare  Cornish  Minerals,'^  Professor  A.  H.  Church  describee 
the  mineral  Oomtoallitej  and  gives  several  analyses  by  whidk 
it  is  shewn  to  consist  of  araeniate  'and  hydrate  of  copper 
with  a  small  proportion  of  phosphate.  Neglecting  the  latter 
its  formula  may  be  written  thus  : —  * 

Gus2As04,2GuH30s,  aq. 
Previous  analyses  make  this  mineral  appear  to  have  in  all 
five  atoms  of  combined  water,  but  the  author  believes  that 
the  error  in  excess  is  accounted  for  by  want  of  core  in 
drying  the  samples  previously  to  their  chemical  examina- 
tion. 

The  formula  of  Ooruwallite,  thus  amended,  makes  it  stand 
in  nearly  the  same  relation  to  Erinite  amongst  the  araeni- 
ates,  as  Ehlite  stands  to  Dihydrite  among^st  tiie  phosphates. 
This  will  appear  by  the  following  comparison : — 

Oomwallite Gus2  ASO4     2GiiHiO,  aq. 

Erinite 0ut2  AbO«    2CuH,0a 

Ehlite Cu,2P04      20uH,0,  aq. 

Dihydrite Cu,2PG4        CuH,0, 

A  vote  of  thanks  having  been  passed  to  the  authors, 
the  meeting  was  adjourned  until  Thursday,  16th  instant, 
when  the  following  papera  will  be  read  : — "  On  Graphic 
Formul(e,'*  by  Dr.  Guthrie;  *'  On  the  tkira-phosphoric 
Amides,"  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone :  '' A  New  Reaction  for  iht 
FarmaUon  of  Isomeric  Oyanides^^  by  Messrs.  E.  T.  Gbap- 
man  and  Hues  H.  Smith;  and,  if  time  permits,  one  or  two 
other  papers. 

Jhursday^  April   16^  186& 

Da.   Warren  de  la. Rue,   F.R.S.,  d^o,  PresidetUt  in  As 
Chair. 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and  confirmed. 
Amongst  the  donations  to  the  library  was  the  new  eaUiopie 
of  scientific  works  recently  prepared  by  order  of  the  Royal 
Society. 

Dr.  F.  Guthrie  was  formally  admitted  as  a  FeDow,  after 
having  signed  tlie  statute  book.  No  new  candidatea  were 
proposed^  but  the  name  of  Mr.  Thomas  Bournes,  Teecherof 


[EngUah  SOitton,  ToL  ZYIL,  Ka  430,  pagw  17^  17« ;  Na  438,  pagt  197.] 


Ormical  Niira,  1 
Juns,  lSft3.      I 


Gliemical  Sockty. 


275 


OhemUtry,  47,  Riijby  Street,  St.  Helen's,  Lancashire,  was 
read  for  the  secoud  time.  The  ballot  was  taken  on  behalf  of 
Lieutenant  Francis  0.  H.  Clarke,  Royal  Artillery,  Staff  Col- 
lege, FarnboroQgh  Station,  who  was  declared  to  have  been 
duly  elected  as  a  Fellow  of  the  Society. 

Pbofkssor  Gutqbik  described  and  exhibited  an  Improved 
'  Voiiaaiat^  by  which  the  current  of  a  galvanic  battery  may  be 
maintained  perfectly  constant  and  regular  by  a  self-actug 
arrangement,  which  will  become  intelligible  by  the  following 
description : — A  vertical  glass  cylinder  of  about  the  size  of 
a  test  tube  is  cliaiged  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  with  a  layer 
of  mercury  below  occupying  about  one-third  of  its  total  con- 
tents. Partly  immersed  in  the  acid  liquid  is  a  pair  of  plati- 
num electrodes  insulated  by  glass  fused  upon  the  wires  at 
that  portion  which  passes  through  the  cork  stopper  of  the  jar, 
and  a  comparatively  wide  glass  tube  open  at  both  ends  is 
fixed  in  the  same  cork,  with  its  lower  extremity  dipping  be- 
low the  level  of  the  mercury,  whilst  another  delivery  tube 
with  bulb  and  capillary  orifice  proviQes  for  the  slow  escape  of 
the  mixed  gases  resulting  from  the  electro-decomposition  of 
the  water.  This  apparatus  having  been  placed  in  the  battery 
circnit,  say  of  three  Buusia  cells,  evolves  the  oxyhydrogen 
gas  with  a  rapidity  which  may  be  easily  regulated  by  the  size  of 
the  aperture;  if|  then,  the  activity  of  the  battery  is  increased, 
the  larger  volume  of  gas,  unable  to  escape,  exerts  a  greater 
degree  of  pressure  upon  the  liquid  contents  of  the  cylinder, 
aod  the  mercury  is  forced  up  the  open  tube,  whereby  the 
column  of  liquid  descends  and  ^smaller  surfaces  of  the  plati- 
num plated  are  left  immersed,  and  the  power  of  conduction  is 
to  a  corresponding  extent  lessened.  In  this  manner  the 
author  states  that  he  found  no  difficulty  in  maintaining  a 
perfectly  uniform  current  for  a  period  of  six  or  seven  hours, 
and  any  required  adjustment  could  be  made  either  by  alter- 
ing the  size  of  the  apparatus  or  of  its  component  parts.  By 
oollecting  the  gases  evolved  this  little  arrangement  could  also 
be  made  to  serve  as  a  voltam«ter. 

The  Prbsidbnt,  in  remarking  upon  the  ingenuity  displayed 
in  the  construction  of  the  apparatus,  suggested  that,  whilst  it 
would  be  found  serviceable  in  electro-plating  and  other  appli- 
cations where  a  somewhat  intense  current  was  employed,  he 
doubted  its  use  in  the  ordinary  electrotype  process  for  the 
deposition  of  copper,  where  weak  currents  only  were  re- 
quired. 

Professor  Guthrie  then  proceeded  to  read  his  paper  '*  Oa 
OrapMc  IbrmtUcB,^^  wliich  at  the  outset  he  stated  to  be 
founded  on  the  same  general  principle  as  that  of  Dr.  W. 
Crum  Brown,  but  would,  he  conceived,  "  serve  to  illustrate 
the  molecular  constitution  oC  compound  bodies  fh)m  a  some- 
what different  perspective."  The  author  adopts  a  new  set  of 
pictorial  symbols  by  which  to  represent  the  elements  them- 
selves, and  arranges  them  in  a  geometrical  fashion  to  con- 
atruct  the  compounds  formed  by  their  union.  Thus  hydi-ogen 
in  combination  is  expressed  by  a  single  dot,  the  gas  itself  by 
two  dots;  chlorine,  by  a  pot-hook;  iodine,  by  a  small  tri- 
angle; bromine,  by  a  cross  like  the  sign  of  multiplication; 
fluorine,  by  a  couple  of  commas.  Bivalent  elements,  thus: 
oxygen,  a  horizontal  dash ;  sulphur,  a  waved  line ;  selenium, 
like  sulphur,  but  more  angular.  Trivalent  elements:  nitro- 
gen, a  large  triangle;  phosphorus,  similar,  but  with  lines 
curved  inwards.  Carbon  is  designated  by  a  square  or  four- 
aided  figure.  If,  then,  marsh  gas  has  to  be  represented,  the 
carbon  atom  is  shown  to  be  saturated  by  placing  a  dot,  for 
hydrogen,  outside  each  face  of  the  square.  In  a  similar  man- 
ner, with  ammonia,  the  tnangle  of  nitrogen  has  a  dot  stand* 
ing  off  each  face.  Water  la  a  dash  with  dots,  for  hydrogen, 
above  and  below ;  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  a  waved  line  with 
two  dots  similarly  placed ;  hydrobromic  acid,  a  dot  and  a 
cross ;  nitrous  oxide,  two  triangles  with  a  horizontal  dash 
placed  between  them,  the  whole  figure  being  placed  in  a 
symmetrical  (vertical)  form;  i^itric  oxide,  a  single  triangle 
with  dash  below ;  and  nitric  anhydride,  two  triangles  separa- 
ted by  a  dash,  and  having  all  disengaged  faces  closed  m  by 
the  oxygen  dash.  As  yet  no  specific  symbols  are  proposed 
(or  the  metallic  elements ;  but  the  author,  later  in  the  even- 


ing, adopted  for  mercury  the  present  crossed  sign  for  that 
metal.  By  way  of  conclusion,  Professor  Guthrie  drew  the 
figure  representing  trietiiylamine,  which  was  shown  with 
nitrogen  (a  triangle)  for  the  nucleus,  with  a  couple  of  out- 
standing carbon  squares,  appropriately  dotted,  opposed  to 
each  face  of  the  triangle.  The  author  claims  for  his  system 
an  increased  facility  in  representing  the  satisfied  and  unsatis- 
fied polarities  of  compound  bodies. 

Drs.  Atkinson,  Russell,  and  Stevenson  spoke  briefly, 
and,  in  a  getferal  sense,  adversely,  as  to  the  desirability  of 
introducing  the  system  to  the  notice  of  the  student  The 
last-named  gentleman  considered  that  the  new  symbols  would 
affurd  liUle  or  no  help  in  elucidating  the  constitution  of  bodies 
beyond  the  methods  at  present  in  use,  and  they  would  only 
be  to  the  student  something  more  to  learn. 

Dr.  Odlinq  regretted  the  absence  of  Dr.  Frankland,  who 
was  so  warm  an  advocate  of  the  policy  of  introducing  these 
pictorial  methods  of  representation.  For  his  own  part,  he 
looked  upon  them  much  in  the  light  of  "  picture  alphabets," 
and  applicable  only  to  those  who,  like  the  juveniles,  could 
not  be  brought  to  book  without  such  fascinating  aid.  His 
objection,  both  to  this  and  to  the  system  of  Dr.  Orum  Brown, 
was  that  it  required  the  eye  of  an  artist  to  show  the  figures 
to  advantage,  and  even  then  they  might  not  be  arranged 
properly.  There  were  two  ways,  for  instance,  of  representing 
the  constitution  of  white  predpikUe,  HgCl,  NHs.  According 
to  one  view,  the  mercury  was  made  the  central  atom  around 
which  the  affinities  were  severally  disposed ;  but  if  nitrogen 
was  placed  as  the  nucleus  of  the  system,  then  we  arrived  at 
the  anomalous  result  that  chlorine  was  directly  united 
with  it,  and  mercury  even  with  a  double  bond ;  whereas  the 
known  properties  of  the  elements  would  rather  point  to  hy- 
drogen and  mercury  as  those  for  which  the  chlorine  had  the 
strongest  affinity.  Dr.  Odiing  humorously  remarked  that 
this  difficulty  could  be  met  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  of  a 
'*  diplomatic  student "  at  one  of  the  Cambridge  examinations, 
who,  when  asked  whether  the  sun  moved  round  the  earth, 
or  otherwise,  answered  by  saying  that  "  sometimes  it  went 
one  way  and  sometimes  another." 

At  the  request  of  the  President,  Dr.  Guthrie  sketched 
upon  the  board  his  mode  of  representing  the  constitution  of 
white  predpUate ;  but  two  efforts  were  required  before  an 
expression  was  arrived  at  which  met  with  general  approval 

Dr.  J.  H.  Gladstone  then  read  a  paper  "  On  the  Tttra^ 
phosphoric  Amides,^*  These  compounds  are  produced  by  the 
action  of  water  upon  the  amidated  oxychlorides  of  phospho- 
rus, and  contain,  as  their  name  implies,  four  atoms  of  phos- 
phorus united  with  the  other  elements  in  what  at  first  sight 
appeared  extremely  complex  relations.  Their  physical  con- 
dition renders  them  somewhat  difficult  of  purification — most 
of  them  being  "sticky  flocculont  precipitates," — and  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  analytical  results  are  not  so  sharp 
and  satisfactory  as  with  bodies  which  can  be  purified  by  crys- 
tallisation. Amongst  the  substances  described  by  Dr. 
Gladstone,  are  the  terammoniated  tetraphospnodiamus  acid, 
P4NftHi70ii,  viewed  thus; — 

P4(JfH,),(lSrH4),H0M 
and  a  solid  acid,  to  which  the  undermentioned  name  and 
formula  apply, 

Tetraphospbo-tetramic  acid,  P4N4H10O9,  viewed  as 
P4(NH,)4HaO.. 

Two  silver  salts  of  this  acid  were  prepared,  in  one  of  which 
six  atoms  of  the  hydrogen  were  replaced  by  the  metal. 

The  Pbesipent,  in  reference  to  the  highly  complex  charac- 
ter of  the  bodies  described  by  Dr.  Gladstone,  ventured  to 
suggest  that  some  of  those  now  considered  to  be  individual 
substances  might  ultimately  prove  to  be  mixtures  of  simpler 
and  more  definite  compounds. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Perkin  saw  no  inconsistency  in  the  formulas 
proposed  bv  Dr.  Gladstone;  these  bodies  were  constituted  on 
the  type  of  Professor  Wurtz*s  polyethylic  alcohols  in  which 
the  ethylene  was  replaced  by  phosphorus  compounds. 

A  paper  by  Mr.  J.  Oabteb  Bell  was  next  read.    It  was 


[Bnglirti  Bdition,  Vol.  XTH^  jjo.  43B,  ?•««  W|  W-l 


2^6 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


■  jCnvicAL  Nswiy 


entitled,  **  On  Vie  Solubility  and  Oryalallisatioti  of  Plumbic 
Chloride  in  Water,  and  in  Water  containing  various  propor- 
tions of  Hydrochloric  Acid."  The  author  indn  the  degree  of 
solubility  in  pure  water  to  be  somewhat  greater  than  hitherto 
represented ;  the  mean  experimental  result  gave  i  part  in 
121  parts  of  water,  instead  of  135.  By  boiling  with  water 
there  is  evidence  of  decomposition  resulting  in  the  formation 
of  free  hydrochloric  acid  with  oxide  of  lead,  or  a  basic  salt, 
left  in  solution.  The  solubility  of  the  chloride  in  hydrochlo- 
ric acid  decieases  until  the  amount  of  acid  reaches  1 5  per 
cenL,  when  the  curve  again  ascends  to  a  maximum  with  the 
pure  acid  The  author  concludes  with  some  observations 
upon  the  different  forms  of  crystals  obtained  by  the  evapora- 
tion of  aqueous  and  hydrochloric  solutions 

A  vote  of  thanks  having  been  passed  to  the  authors  of  the 
above  communications,  the  meeting  was  adjourned  until 
Thursday,  May  7th,  when  Mr.  Siemens  will  deliver  a  dis- 
course "  On  the  Regenerating  Furnace  as  applied  to  the 
Froduction  0/  Steel." 


ACADEMY  OF  SGI^INOES. 
Pabis,  Maboh  9l  1868. 

On  ihe  Corresponding  Terms  to  Benzoic  Acid  in  (he  NdphOialic 

Series,  DelerminaUon  of  the  Equivalent  of  Ahrniinium, 
Tns  following  is  an  abstract  of  Dr  Hofmann^s  com- 
munication  to  the  Academy  on  the  corresponding  term  to 
benzoic  acid  in  the  naphthalic  aeries.  When  a  mixture  of 
four  parts  of  naphthaline  of  commerce,  and  five  parts  of 
crystallised  oxalic  acid  is  submitted  to  distillation  in  an  iron 
pot  the  cover  of  which  is  furnished  with  a  tube  (the  kind 
of  vessel  used  in  the  manufacture  of  cyanide  of  potassium), 
water  and  naphthaline  come  over  at  the  commencement ; 
floon  also,  an  oily  substance  which  is  not  slow  to  soUdify 
makes  its  appearance.  This  oily  substance  Is  composed  of 
naphthylformamide,  naphthyloxamide,  oxalate  of  naphthy- 
lamine,  naphthylamine,  and  water.  A  current  of  steam 
removes  from  the  oily  product  notable  quantities  of  an 
opaque  brown  oil,  having  a  greater  density  than  that  of 
water.  The  analysis  of  this  body  leads  M.  Hofmann  to 
call  it  cyanide  of  naphthyl,  and  proves  to  him  that  the 
saocession  of  transformations  undergone  by  naphthylamine 
when  acted  upon  by  oxalic  acid  is  quite  analogous  to  that 
already  shown  in  tiiie  case  of  aniline  and  toluldine.  The 
purification  of  the  crude  mixture  presents  no  difficulty. 
Solution  of  the  oil  in  ether  excludes  tiie  water ;  the  otherial 
liquid  is  evaporated,  and  the  residue  distilled.  It  is  only 
jBt  218°  or  220^  that  the  thermometer  becomes  stationary; 
^he  portion  distilling  at  this  temperature  soon  solidifies. 
This  portion  is  shown  by  many  properties  to  be  naphthaline, 
mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  a  substance  possessing  a 
peculiar  aromatic  odour,  and  boiling  at  a  higher  temperature. 
Th^  point  of  ebullition  soon  rises  to  290^  and  300'' ;  the 
remaipder  of  the  liquid  distils  in  the  form  of  a  clear  yellow 
liquid,  whioh  becomes  a  white  crystalline  mass  when  left  a 
considerable  time  in  a  cold  place,  or  .when  immeraed  in  a 
freezing  mi^tpro,  Onoe  solidified  it  does  not  become 
fluid  again  at  (he  ordinary  temperature.  Crystallisation 
lh)m  alcohol  will  render  the  \fody  pure.  The  alcoholic 
solution  mixed  with  water  depoBits  the  oil  again.  The 
crystals  melt  at  33*5°;  ftnd  the  pubstanpe  boUs  at  290*". 
This  new  nrystallipe  compound  corresponds  in  the  naph- 
tb&Ho  0enes  to  the  benxonitrilo  of  the  benssoic  0enes. 
The  formula  is  O11H7N.  For  this  body  to  be  plaoed  among 
the  nitriles,  it  ought  ander  the  action  of  powerful  metallic 
hydrates,  to  Ax  a  molecule  of  water  becoming  an  amide, 
which  by  absorbing  another  molecule  of  water  should  give 
rise  to  a  salt  of  ammonia}  experiments  upon  these  point* 
have  confirmed  its  position.  If  the  nitrile  {s  dissolved  in 
alcoboUc  soda,  onl^  traces  of  ammonia  are  di^ngaged,  but 
upon  adding  water  one  reocgnisen  the  formation  of  a  new 
oompoundr 
The  crystals  deposited  wre  little  soluble  iu  ajcoholi  and 


only  melted  with  diiSculty.  Purified  by  repeated  crystal- 
lisations from  boiling  aloohol,  the  compound  presents  itself 
in  the  form  of  white  needles  Analysis  has  given  Ae 
formula  CnH»NO.  The  product  is  thus  derived  from  the 
nitrile  by  the  assimilation  of  a  molecule  of  water,  and  is 
the  amide.  In  making  this  last  substance,  by  the  action  of 
soda,  ammonia  is  evolved.  It  is  only  necessary  to  add 
hydrochloric  acid  to  the  alkaline  sedation  to  precipitate  a 
crystalline  add  resembling  in  its  properties,  vividly,  bensoie 
acid.  This  pk«cipitate  can  be  obtained  quite  as  readily  from 
the  crude  nitrile,  by  treating  the  latter  with  an  alooholie 
solution  of  soda  untfl  amnxmia  ceases  to  be  evolved,  evapo- 
rating the  alcohol,  aod  decomposing  the  alkaline  liquid  by 
hydrochloric  add.  The  add  is  purified  by  OTStallising  from 
alcohol,  or  better  firom  bofiing-water.  The  pure  add 
crystallises  in  white  needles,  wliidi  melt  at  i6o\  At  a 
higher  temperature  the  add  sublimes ;  its  boiling  point  is 
300°.  The  add  has  scarcely  any  odour  or  tasto;  gently 
heated,  it  exhales  an  odour  analogous  to  that  of  naphtha- 
line :  the  vapoun  exdte  coughing.  Solutions  of  &e  sub- 
stance possess  a  slightly  add  reaction;  they  decompose 
alkaUne  carbonates  with  facility.  M.  Hofimmn  proposes 
the  names  menapthoxylib  acid  and  naphthaline-carboxylic 
->the  amide  and  nitrile  would  then  be  menapbthoxyl-an^de 
and  menaphthenylnitrile.  Several  salts  of  the  add  have 
been  made ;  the  composition  of  the  silver  salt  is  represented 
by  the  formula  CiiH7AgOt.  The  oopper  salt  is  a  green 
predpitate,  the  lead  salt  white.  When  the  add  is  distilled 
with  caustic  baryta^  naphthaline  and  carbonic  a&d  are  ob- 
tained—dH^Oa  =  C„H»+0O,.  If  4  parts  of  fused 
menaphthoxylic  acid  are  ground  with  5  parts  of  percfalorido 
of  phosphorus,  the.  two  bodies  act  upon  each  other  at  once. 
The  mixture  is  liquefied  at  the  ordinary  temperatore; 
heated  moderately,  hydrodiloric  add  and  oxyc^oride  of 
phosphorus  aro  produced.  The  boiling  point  rapidly  rises 
to  300° ;  the  fraction  distDling  between  296^  and  298*'  is 
pure  menaphthoxylic  chlorida  Its  oompositioa  is  Ci  1 II7OCI ; 
it  comports  itself  like  most  chlorides  of  the  aromatic  adds. 
Exposed  to  the  air,  it  absorbs  moisture,  and  is  gradually 
transformed  into  menaph Aoxylic  add ;  addition  of  water 
causes  the  reaction  to  take  place  instantaneonely.  Treated 
with  ammonia,  the  diloride  fVunishes  menaphthoxybmido, 
possessing  all  the  properties  of  the  body  obtained  by  the 
action  of  an  alcoholic  sdution  of  potash  on  the  nitrile. 
When  the  chloride  is  placed  in  contact  with  an  alcoholic 
solution  of  aniline,  a  white' crystalline  mass  results.  This 
compound  is  CnHisNO.  The  solution  of  aniline,  replaced 
by  naphthylamine,  yields  a  .coropoand  of  the  formula 
C,iHi»NO.  In  treating  the  diloride  with  abs<dute  akohol, 
a  compound  of  the  fcNrmula  CisHisOs  is  obtained. 

M.  Isnard  addressed  a  note  on  tiie  determination  of  the 
equivalent  of  aluminium.  The  process  employed  ccMunsted 
in  attacking  the  metal  by  hydrochloric  add.  He  found 
that  9  grammes  of  aluminium  attadced  by  pure  hydrodiloric 
add  gave  invariably,  after  oaldnation,  17  grm.  of  alumina, 
whence  he  condudes  that  9  should  represent  the  equivalent 
of  aluminium,  hydrogen  being  unity. 

Parib»  Mabch  16^  186& 
Skeletons  of  CdtHlose.—New  Mode  of  forming  Organic  Smipk- 

Acids. — I^annformaiion  of  Uric  Add  into  Olycocol. — (h^ 

chloride  of  SiUciunL 
The  memoirs  relating  to  chemistry,,  brought  before  the  Aca- 
demy of  Sciences  at  the  meeting  on  the  16th  of  March,  were 
the  following : — "  On  a  tissue  or  skeleton  of  celluloee,  direcUy 
extracted  from  an  epidermis,'*  by  M.  Payen.  **  On  a  mete- 
orite which  fell  on  the  9th  June,  1867,  in  Algeria,''  by  H. 
Daubr^e.  **  On  a  new  mode  of  formation  of  organic  sulph- 
acidfi,  and  on  the  transformation  of  uric  acid  into  glycoeol,* 
by  M.  Strecker.  "  On  an  oxychloride  of  silidum.**  "  The 
reduction  of  nitrates  and  sulphates  in  certain  fermentatioDa," 
by  Bl  B^hamp.  **  On  the  cultivation  of  beet-root  for  sugar," 
by  M,  Mehais.  M.  Maumen^  addressed  some  obeervatioos 
on  the  aubjept  of  potash  extracted  finom  snint 


[S&e;UiliB«iU0P,  VoLXVU^  No. 488,  pa«f«  199,  W;  iEr<^  436^  pag^  104, 100;  He.  430,  page  179.] 


OklMIOAL  NiCWS,  ) 


Academy  of  Sciences. 


277 


M.  Payen  referred,  in  oomroeDcing,  to  the  numerous  exam- 
ples of  vegetable  substances  he  had  made  known,  in  former 
researches,  where  the  skeletons  of  cellulose  at  first  are  easily 
obtaified,  and  where  the  celluloRic  substance  is  possessed  of 
the  properties  as  well  the  oofhposition  of  cellulose,  and  yet 
afterwards,  during  growth,  foreign  flnatters  mask  these  pro- 
pertiea  When  nitrogenous  matters,  fatty  and  saline,  have 
thoroughly  penetrated  the  cells,  the  difficulty  experienced  in 
separating  them  is  so  great  that  some  have  considered  the 
mixture  of  substances  free  from  cellulose,  and  have  in  fact 
believed  in  the  presence  of  an  entirely  new  proximate  prin- 
dple.  M.  Payen  in  very  cold  weather  submitted  several 
tubercles  of  potato  to  refrigeration.  After  thawing,  the  epi- 
dermis was  easily  removed.  By  careful  treatment  with  va- 
rious acids  and  potash  solution,  during  many  days,  as- well  as 
by  washing  with  water,  alcohol,  and  ether,  the  membranous 
substance  was  obtained  in  a  supple  condition  and  white: 
Bpecimens  were  exhibited  to  the  Academy.  The  substance 
thus  purified  gave  tlto  reaction — the  blue  tint  with  a  very 
weak  solution  of  iodine  when  acidified  with  sulphuric  acid — 
due  to  cellulose. 

Bl  Strecker's  method  of  forming  organic  sulphacids  con- 
sists in  reacting  upon  the  chlorides  of  the  radicals  with  sul- 
phitesL  Several  compounds  of  the  sulphacids  have  been  ob- 
tained in  M.  Strecker's  laboratory.  Iodide  gf  methyl  heated 
to  150°  with  a  solution  of  sulphite  of  soda,  yielded  methyl- 
sulphite  of  sodium  (methyl-cRthionate),  according  to  the  equa- 
Uon  '^ 

€n,I+NaaSe,=eH,SO,Na+NaI. 
Bromide  of  ethylene  and  sulphite  of  potash  gave  disulph- 
ethylenate  of  soda  an  i  bromide  of  potassium.    A  new  acid, 
which  may  be  called  trisulphoglycerilic  acid,  is  produced 
when  trichlorhydrine  is  reacted  upon  by  sulphite  of  potash 

e,H5Cl,+3KaSe,=0,H.(9e,K)3  +  3Ka 
The  chlorinated  acids  comport  themselves  in  an  analogous 
manner;  monochloracetic  acid  is  transformed  by  ebullition 
with  a  solution  of  an  alkaline  sulphite  into  alkaline  sulph- 
acetate.  The  chlorhydrale  of  oxide  of  ethylen  furnishes, 
under  the  same  conditions,  isethionic  acid.  M.  Strecker 
states  that  all  the  chlorine,  bromine,  and  iodine,  directly 
united  to  the  carbon,  is  usually  replaced  by  an  equivalent 
quantity  of  the  radical  (SOsR).  At  the  same  time  it  often 
happens  that  only  a  portion  is  replaced,  while  the  Test  re- 
mains unattacked.  In  heating  chloroform  with  a  solution  of 
sulphite  of  potash,  the  potash  salt  of  sulphodichloromethylic 
acid- was  obtained,  according  to  the  equation,  -GHOU+K, 
Se,=.eHCl,Se,K  +  KCI.  M.  strecker  remarked  that  his 
experiments  showed  that  the  sulphacids  contained  the  resi- 
due SO,H  united  directly  to  the  carbon  by  the  sulphur;  he 
thongbt  it  probable  that  the  isomeric  ethyl-sulphurous  acids 
contained  likewise  this  group,  but  united  to  the  carbon  by 
the  interposition  of  oxygen. 

M.  Wurtz  presented  the  foregoing,  as  well  as  another  note 
by  M.  Strecker,  "on  the  transformation  of  uric  acid  into  gly- 
col** When  uric  acid  is  heated  with  a  oonoentrated  solution 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  or  hydriodic  aoid,  preferably  the  latter, 
in  a  sealed  tube,  to  a  temperature  of  160-170**,  it  is  com- 
pletely transformed  into  glycol,  carbonic  acid,  and  ammonia. 
Upon  opening  the  cold  tube,  a  continuous  current  of  carbonic 
acid 'is  seen  to  be  disengaged.  The  solution,  treated  with 
hydrated  oxide  of  lead,  evolves  abundance  of  ammonia,  and 
after  removal  of  the  load  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  yields, 
upon  evaporat.ion,  a  crystalline  residue  of  glycol  Analysis 
showed  the  subutance  to  be  identical  with  that  obtained  from 
hippuric  acid  ;  the  crystalline  form  and  the  chemical  proper- 
ties were  also  in  perfect  accordanoe.  If,  then,  hippuric  acid 
be  considered  as  a  glycol  joined  to  benzoic  acid,  uric  acid 
may»  in  the  same  way,  be  figured  as  a  combination  of  glycol 
with  cyan  uric  acid ;  these  two  acids,  characteristic  of  the 
urinary  secretions  of  herbivorous  and  carnivorous  animals, 
are  now  seen  to  present  more  resemblance  than  could  have 
been  supposed. 

MM.  Friedel  and  Ladenburg  have  observed  that  in  passing 
chloride  of  silicium  through  an  empty  porcelain  tube,  or  one 


filled  with  fragments  of  felspar,  heated  to  a  temperature  ap- 
proaching the  point  of  fusion  for  this  mineral,  and  distilling, 
the  product  condensed  at  the  extremity  ^  the  apparatus,  is  a 
liquid  less  volatile  than  the  chloride.  By  repeating  the  ope- 
ration a  great  number  of  times  with  the  more  volatile  por- 
tions, a  notable  amount  of  a  liquid  boiling  above  70**  is  ob- 
tained. This  product  submitted  to  fractional  distillation  is 
easily  separated  into  chloride  of  silicium  and  a  liquid  chiefly 
boiling  between  136*^  and  139°.  Limpid  and  fuming  in  the 
air,  this  liquid  bears  great  resemblance  to  chloride  of  sili- 
cium; it  is  likewise  decomposed  by  water  energetically. 
Analyses  were  made  by  introducing  weighed  bulbs,  full  of 
the  liquid,  into  flasks  containing  a  certain  quantity  of  water; 
breaking  the  bulbs  afterwards^  almost  the  whole  of  the  silica, 
when  sufficient  water  was  present,  remained  in  solution.  The 
acid  liquid,  saturated  with  ammonia,  was  evaporated  on  the 
water-bath ;  the  residue  dissolved  in  water  and  filtered  gave 
on  the  one  side  silica  mixed  with  the  glass  of  the  bulb,  on 
the  other  a  solutioi^  in  which  the  chlorine  was  determined. 
The  numbers  obtamed  lead  to  the  formula  SisOCla,  from 
which  the  new  body  is  seen  to  be  an  oxychlorido  of  sili- 
cium. 

Pabis,  March,  30,  1868. 

Meteorites.^New  Compound  of  Platinum, — Eruption  of  Vesu' 
viua, 

Thebb  were  few  memoirs  relating  to  chemistry  at  the 
s^ince  of-  the  30th  Mareh.  M.  Daubr^  gave  sonife  further 
account  of  various  meteorites.  M.  Balard  presented  a  note 
by  M.  Schutzenberger  on  a  new  compound  of  platinum.  M. 
Fr^my.  presented  a  note  by  M.  Terrell,  **  On  the  action  of  sa- 
line solutions  on  minerals."  Besides  these  there  was  a  geolo- 
gical paper  entitled,  "On  the  actual  eruption  of  Vesuvius," 
from  M.  SUvestri.  The  first  meteorite  M.  Daubr^e  referred 
to  was  one  found  in  the  Philippine  Isles,  not  ffir  from  the 
villfige  of  Mexico,  province  of  Pampanga,  said  to  have  fallen 
in  1859.  It  appears  to  be  of  the  common  type ;  it  consists 
of  a  confused,  stony,  crystalline  ma^s,  chiefly  composed  /of 
magnesian  silicates,  in  which  are  disseminated  bright  parti- 
cles, having  a  metallic  lustre ;  some  are  grey,  and  are  paKi- 
cles  of  nickeliferous  iron,  the  others,  black,  are  composed  of 
chrome  iron ;  the  latter  are  very  numerous.  The  meteorite 
is  traversed  by  black  vems,  which  give  it  a  marble-like  ap- 
pearance ;  it  presents  great  resemblance,  both  in  the  pale 
portions  and  in  the  dark  veins,  to  the  meteoric  stone  which 
fell  on  the  5th  August,  181 2,  at  Chantonnay.  The  density 
of  the  meteorite  from  the  Philippines  is  3*61,  that  of  the 
meteorite  from  Chantonnay  3*67.  Treated  by  boihng  hydro- 
chloric,  the  meteorite  now  studied  by  M  Daubr^e  leaves 
28*5  per  cent  of  a  residue  not  at  present  examined ;  the  so- 
lution contains  magnesia,  protoxide  of  iron,  a  little  oxide  of 
nickel,  and  a.  very  small  quantity  of  alumina.  Another 
meteorite,  which  fell  at  Muroie,  in  Spain,  on  the  24th  Decem- 
ber, 1858,  formed  the  subject  of  a  memoir  bjc  MM.  Daubr^ 
and  S.  Meunier.  This  meteroite  is  a  very  remarkable  one, 
and  was  exhibited  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  of  1867.  Its 
density  is  3*546,  and  it  weighs  about  iix  kilogrammes. 
The  mass  is  neariy  entire,  that  is  to  say,  the  crust  is  almost 
everywhere  apparent  This  crust  does  not  present  the  aspect 
ordinarily  presente<i  by  stony  meteorites;  it  has  evidently 
sufiered  profound  alteration  since  its  formation.  Particles 
having  a  metallic  lustre  are  rare,  but  there  are  some— they 
consist  of  nickeliferous  iron.  In  other  places  bronze  yellow 
particles  are  seen,  which  have  the  characters  of  troll  ite. 
There  exist,  also,  in  this  meteorite  very  brilliant  partkiles 
possessed  of  a  kind  of  metallic  lustre.  These  particles  also 
form  veinsL'  A  careful  examination  has  shown  them  to  be 
crystals  of  hyaline.  By  the  blowpipe  flame  they  are  melted 
to  a  greyish  enamel,  and  give  the  reactions  of  silica  and 
alumina.  The  black  portion  of  the  meteorite  which  was 
considered  least  altered,  was  analysed  by  M.  Meunier.  The 
magnet  separated  14-99  per  bent  of  magnetic  matter  formed 
of  nickeli&rous  iron  and  a  trace  of  phosphide.    Foremost 


[Bsf U4i  BdMom  VoL  XVH;  iro>  43«,  ptf 0 179  i  Vo.  437,  pafs  19V1 


278 


Academy  of  Sciences. — Glasgow  Chemical  Society.     \ 


GniacAL  Nbwi, 


among  the  analytical  results,  sulphide  of  iron  is  observed  as 
making  20*52  per  cent;  this  is  doubtless  the  cause  of  the  dark 
colour.  A  silicate  at*ckable  by  hydrochloric  acid,  of  the  na- 
ture of  peridote,  gives  38*69  per  cent,  and  a  silicate  resisting 
this  acid,  of  the  nature  of  pyroxene,  24*64  per  cent 

M.  Schiitzenberger,  in  endeavouring  to  effect  the  synthesis 
of  ozychloride  of  carbon  without  the  intervention  of  light, 
made  a  mixture  of  dry  carbouic  oxide  and  chlorine  pass  over 
platinum  sponge  heated  to  400**.  Under  these  conditions, 
the  formation  of  sensible  quantities  of  oxychloride  of  carbon 
lAked  place,  but  the  platinum  does  more  than  exert  catalytic 
action;  A  solid  and  volatile  compound  of  platinum  is  pro- 
duced, which  passes  away,  with  the  current  of  gas,  and  may 
be  collected  in  the  form  of  a  clear  yellow  flaky  powder  in  the 
cold  part  of  the  tube.  As  the  platinic  compound  is  destroyed 
at  a  temperature  little  above  that  at  which  it  is  formed,  to 
succeed,  the  current  should  be  rapid.  The  new  substance 
melts  at  about  150**,  yielding  a  transparent  yellow  liquid, 
which  on  cooling  solidifies  to  a  cryRtalligje  yellow  mass :  in 
other  experiments  an  analogous  product  nas  been  obtained, 
melting  at  125"*,  whence  the  substance  would  not  se^m  to  be 
homogeneous.  Ac  a  temperature  of  350  to  400°  it  boils  and 
distils,  but  decomposes  in  great  part  into  metallic  platinum 
and  'chloroxycarbonic  acid.  The  substance  is  decomposed  bj 
water  immediately  in  the  cold,  an  efTervesceuce  of  carbonic 
acid  being  produced,  at  the  same  time  that  a  fine  black  pow- 
der is  separated,  and  the  filtered  liquid,  quite  colourless  and 
free  from  platinum,  gives  the  reactions  of  a  solution  of  hydro- 
chloric acid.  The  black  powder  is  pure  platinum  (represent- 
ing the  whole  amount  of  platinum  in  the  body)  possessed  of 
great  catalytic  power,  and  below  redness,  it  is  converted, 
sometimes  with  incandescence,  into  very  coherent  metallic 
platinum.  Tiie  mode  of  formation,  and  the  decomposition  of 
this  body,  under  the  infiuence  of  heat,  and  with  water,  leave 
DO  doubt  as  to  its  constitution.  It  is  a  compound  of  platinum, 
chlorine,  and  carbonic  oxide.  The  most  simple  formula  would 
be  (eO)'',  Pt""Cl,,  in  which  Pt  =  66  55,  CI  =  23*9,  and  C  = 
4*05.  Analysis  has  not  confirmed  this  formula.  A  specimen 
crystallised  from  tetrachloride  of  carbon,  and  very  pure  in  ap- 
pearance, was  analysed ;  it  gave  Ft,  63? ;  01.  22*9;  C,  5*35. 
These  numbers  lead  to  the  formula  (60)3  PtaCU,  in  which 
Pt=63'5,  01=22*9,  0=5-8.  The  product  first  obtained  was, 
as  has  already  been  mentioned,  purified  by  chloride  of  car- 
bon;  the  crystals  obtained  after  several  purifications  con- 
tained less  platinum,  and  gave  60*87  per  cent,  upon  analysis, 
afterwards  a  minimum  of  58  per  cent  of  platinum.  M. 
Schiitzeuberger  proposes  to  examine  this  point  further. 

U.  Terrell's  note  will  be  referred  to  again. 

M.  Silvestri  has  examined  the  phenomena  connected  with 
the  eruption  of  Tesuvius  closely,  and  analysed  many  of  the 
volcanic  products.  The  lava  is  dark  grey  coloured,  sometimes 
greenish  or  reddish  on  the  surface.  The  substance  possesses 
a  crystalline  structure ;  it  exerts  an  energetic  action  on  the 
magnetic  needle.  M.  Silvestri  distinguishes  four  kinds  of  lava ; 
tlie  density  of  these  varied  between  2  46  and  2*81 ;  in  a  com- 
plete analysis  recorded  of  one,  compact  lava,  water  was  found 
to  be  present  to  the  extent  of  2  per  cent  Three  distinct 
kinds  of  sublimates  were  notioedf  viz.,  white,  greyish  brown, 
and  green.  The  white  sublimate  contained  chloride  of  sodium 
and  chloride  of  potassium,  besides  minute  traces  of  chloride 
of  copper.  Oxide  of  copper  is  present  in  the  greenish  brown 
sublimate,  of  which  it  forms  5*85  per  cent  The  green  subli- 
mate contained  '61  per  cent  of  oxychloride  of  copper ;  all 
these  sublimates  are  mainly  composed  of  chlorides  of  sodium 
and  potassium.  A  large  quantity  of  the  sublimates  was  dis- 
solved in  water  and  a  series  of  crystallisations  made,  in  the 
mother-liquor  reduced  to  a  small  volume,  iodine  and  bromine 
were  sought  for  :  neither  were  detected.  A  spectral  exami- 
nation of  the  mother-liquor  revealed  nothing  but  sodium,  po- 
tassium, and  copper.  M.  Silvestri  made  his  observations  at 
the  end  of  December,  about  the  time  of  the  maximum  activ* 
U7. 


Paru,  Afiul  6,  1868. 
A  new  BoLuk  Paper. — Reaction  of  Sidphuric  Add  upon  Iodide 
of  Fotassium. — Mode  of  DeveU^merU  of  Heai  and  Cold. 

The  following  memoirs  were,  communicated  to  the  Acad- 
emy on  the  6th  inst  "  Researches  on  the  combinations  of 
molybdic  acid,"  by  M.  Debray;  *'Note  on  the  manner  in 
which  sulphuric  acid  and  iodide  of  potassium  act  when  in 
contact,"  by  M.  Houzeau. 

M.  Durand  read  a  memoir  having  for  its  litlo,  "Ontj^e 
mode  of  development  of  heat  and  cold  fh>m  a  physical  point 
of  view ;  "  this  memoir  was  sent  to  the  physical  section. 

M  Armand  submitted  to  the  Academy  a  new  bank  paper 
which  he  considered  inimitable ;  it  was  sent  to  the  chemical 
section.  K.  Debray's  memoir  was  one  of  great  interest ;  the 
translation  has  already  been  published  in  jonr  columns. 

All  chemists  know  that  iodide  of  potassium  is  immediate- 
ly decomposed  with  liberation  of  iodine  bj  ordinary  sol- 
phuric  add,  but  M.  Houzeau  has  shown  that  an  extreme 
degree  of  dilution  paralyses  the  chemical  affinities  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  dilute  solutions  may  be  boiled  together 
without  any  change  occurring  either  in  the  iodide  or  add. 
It  was  not  therefore  without  surprise,  M.  Houzeau  says, 
that  he  read  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Oompte9  Bendu8  a 
note  on  the  pretended  reaction  which  sulphuric  add  always 
exerts,  even  in  the  cold,  upon  iodide  of  potassium.  Even 
supposing  that  the  author  of  this  note  had  used  extremely 
dilute  solutions,  and  that  he  had  operated  on  neutral  iodide 
and  on  sulphuric  add  deprived  of  nitrous  compounds,  his 
result  is  easily  explained.  The  ether  which  served  to  char- 
acterise the  reaction  of  the  iodide  on  the  add,  is  predsely 
the  reagent  which  should  not  have  been  employed,  for  tiiU 
it  is  that  provokes  the  reaction.  M.  Houzeau  remarked 
that  the  confusion  here  between  cause  and  effect  was  the 
less  inexplicable  when  M.  Schonbein  had,  several  years  ago, 
pointed  out  ether  to  be  both  a  producer  and  a  Tehide  of 
oxygenated  water.  Thus  the  peroxide  of  hydrogen  whidi 
determined  the  oxidation  of  the  alkali  metal  of  the  iodide 
and  set  the  iodine  at  liberty,  in  the  disputed  experiment 
was  carried  by  the  ether.  Far  horn  contradicting  the  exac- 
titude of  his  method  of  determining  oxygenated  water,  this 
experiment,  II.  Houzeau  says,  confirms  it,  and  shows  the 
great  degree  of  sensibility  of  the  iodide  for  traces  of  oxy- 
genated water.  He  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  this  per- 
turbing cause,  and  to  avoid  it  be  proposed  the  emp-oymoit 
of  pure  chloroform,  which,  besides  being  more  sensitive  to 
colouration  by  iodine,  never  provokes  the  mutual  reaction 
of  iodide  of  potassium  and  sulphuric  acid.  In  oondusion, 
M.  Houzeau  maintains  the  fact  to  be  incontestible,  that  a 
mixture  of  neutral  iodide  of  potassium  and  pure  sulphurio 
add  remains  unaltered  in  sufficiently  dilute  solution,  and  in 
^e  conditions  indicated  in  his  worics  on  ozone  and  oxygen- 
ated water. 

M.  Brouzet  addressed  a  note  referring  to  a  process  for 
separating  good  silk-worms*  eg^  ft'om  bad  ones,  llie  pro- 
cess consists  in  treating  first  with  nitrate  of  silver,  and  th&i 
submitting  the  eggs  to  4  kind  of  sorting,  by  meana  of  their 
very  different  densities  in  water. 


GLASGOW  CHEMICAL  SOOIKTY. 

Tech  inaugural  meeting  of  the  Glasgow  Chemical  Society 
was  held  on  Monday  evening  last,  in  the  Hall  of  the  Phik>- 
Bophical  Society.    There  was  a  very  large  attendanoe. 

The  President,  Professor  Thomas  Anderson,  BID., 
F.B.S.B1.,  occupied  the  chair. 

After  the  minutes  of  the  former  meeting  were  read  and 
approved  of,  and  nine  new  assodates  proposed  and  admit- 
ted into  the  Society, 

Dr.  Andkbson,  in  a  few  introductory  remarks,  thanked 
the  members  for  having  appointed  him  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent of  a  Society  of  whose  fViture  sucoess  he  felt  great 
confidence.  He  felt  assured  that  the  new  Sodety  would 
have  a  long  career  of  useMneas,  and  that  its  members  wen 


[BD|lidiEditi(»,yol.Z7n^Na437,pafel91,19a)  No.  498,  pa^M  ^0^  ^' ;  Na  43«,  psfo  170.] 


CnsMirAL  News, ) 
VufM,  1868.        f 


Royal  Institution  of  Cheat  Britain. 


279 


▼ery  fortunate  in  having,  as  the  first  communication  to  the 
Societj,  the  paper  to  be  submitted  to  their  notice  that  even- 
ii^St  ^7  ^-  Ludwig  Mondf  on  his  remarkable  process  for 
the  recovery  of  sulphur  fVom  the  black-ash  waste  of  the 
alkali  works.    The  President  then  called  upon 

M.  MoKD,  who  is  at  present  practically  putting  his  pro- 
cess in  operation  in  the  alkali  department  of  Messrs.  Charles 
Tennant  and  Company's  Chemical  Works,  St.  BoUoz.  The 
paper  of  M.  Mond  gave,  in  clear  and  intelligible  English,  an 
elaborate  account  of  his  recovery  process  from  the  com- 
mencement of  his  labours.  It  also  referred  to  the  other 
processes  which  have  been  brought  under  the  notice  of 
alkali  manufacturers  from  time  to  time,  to  efibct  the  same 
object,  and  showed  wherein  they  had  failed  to  meet  with 
the  success  which  had  in  such  a  marked  degree  attended 
the  application  of  his  process.  In  the  outset  M.  Mond 
referred  to  ihe  vast  importance  of  the  alkali  trade,  and 
characterized  the  St  Aolloz  Alkali  Works  as  the  most 
important  and  interesting  of  their  kind  in  the  world,  not 
only  on  account  of  their  vastness,  but  because  a  very  con- 
siderable number  of  the  most  valuable  improvements  in 
the  manufacture  of  alkali  and  its  cognate  industries  have 
origiDate.d  or  been  first  adopted  in  th^m.  The  manufacture 
of  bleaching  powder,  which  has  become  so  extensive  that 
it  can  hardly  be  now  called  a  secondary  product,  was 
invented  by  the  founder  of  the  firm,  Mr.  Charles  Tennant, 
and  is  still  carried  oat  in  the  St  RoUoz  Works  on  a  larger 
scale  than  in  any  other  similar  establishment  in  the  world. 
Among  the  many  other  improvements  which  have  first  been 
applied  in  Messrs.  Tennant's  Works,  M.  Mond  instanced 
the  now  famous  apparatus  for  the  llziviation  of  black-ash, 
on  which  the  final  success  of  his  process  altogether  depends, 
and  regarded  it  as  remarkable  that  the  first  apparatus  ever 
put  up  for  this  purpose  is  at  present  employed  for  his  sul- 
phur-recovery process.  He  then  mentioned  some  rather 
astonishing  details  illustrating  the  great  development  of  the 
alkali  trade  in  G^reat  Britain  within  the  last  four  years.  In 
the  year  1864  the  quantity  of  common  salt  decomposed  in 
this  country  was  about  288,000  tons,  and  it  rose  to  about 
400,000  tons  in  the  year  1867,  or  about  40  per  cent  This 
quantity  of  salt  requires  about  320,000  tons  of  oil  of  vitriol 
for  its  decomposition,  and  this  amount  contains  nearly 
itDO,ooo  tons  of  sulphur.  At  present  the  sulphur  is  nearly 
all  obtained  from  iron  and  copper  pyrites,  which  are  sup- 
plied at  a  much  cheaper  rate  than  brimstone,  owing  to  the 
successful  working  of  one  of  the  largest  mines  in  Spain,  by 
the  Tharsis  Mining  Company,  which  has  been  principally 
formed  amongst  Glasgow  gentlemen,  and  especially  by  the 
intelligence  and  perseverance  of  Mr.  William  Henderson, 
who  has  brought  his  process  of  copper  extraction  from  the 
residual  burned  ore  to  an  unprecedented  pitch  of  perfection. 
Notwithstanding  the  extensive  use  of  pyrites  in  the  vitriol 
manufacture,  Sicily  still  enjoys  a  sulphur  monopoly,  and 
exports  annually  a  very  large  quantity  of  that  substance — 
a  quantity  which  last  year  amounted  to  upwards  of  200,000 
tons,  of  which  about  50^000  tons  was  consumed  in  Great 
Britain.  M.tMond  considered  that  by  his  recovery-process 
British  alkali  manufacturers  might  make  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  Sicily  as  the  source  of  theb  sulphur  supply, 
inasmuch  as  they  hare  a  material  which  has  hitherto  been 
a  source  of  inconvenience  and  outlay  to  those  manufacturers 
in  whose  operations  it  is  unaivoidably  produced,  and  from 
which  the  sulphur  can  be  obtained  at  a  much  cheaper  rate 
than  that  at  which  it  can  be  imported.  He  then,  in  a  dear 
and  intelligent  manner,  described  the  apparatus  in  which 
the  process  is  conducted,  the  modua  operandi  of  the  process, 
and  the  chemical  tshanges  which  are  involved  in  it  He 
also  practically  Illustrated  the  process  in  the  presence  of  the 
members,  and  produced  a  very  decided  quantity  of  sulphur. 
A  variety  of  specimens,  illustrating  the  various  stages  of 
the  process,  were  shown  to  the  members.  (The  details  are 
essentiaUy  the  same  as  those  contained  in  the  paper  by  M. 
Mond,  which  appeared  in  the  Chbmical  News  for  19th  and 
26th  of  July  of  last  year  [Am.  Repr.f  Sept,  1867,  pp.  117- 


120].  To  this  paper  our  readers  are  referred.)  M.  Mond 
regretted  very  much  that  the  chemistry  of  the  polythlonic 
acids  so-intimately  connected  with  his  process,  had  hitherto 
received  so  little  attention  from  chemists. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  paper  the  President  congratulated 
the  author  on  the  great  success  and  simplicity  of  the  process 
which  he  had  given  to  the  alkali  manuracturers,  and  on  the 
interesting  manner  in  which  he  had  brought  it  under  the  n&- 
tice  of  the  Society,  aod  then  at  some  length  gave  an  account 
of  a  sulphur-recovery  process  whicsli  he  had  seen  in  operation 
at  Dieuze. 

Mr:  E.  C.  C.  Stanford  and  one  or  two  other  gentlemen 
spoke,  but  as  the  time.was  far  advanced  there  was  very  little 
opportunity  for  discussing  M.  Mond's  interesting  and  valuable 
paper.    The  author  was  awarded  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks. 

ROYAL  INSTITUTION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 
Weekly  Evening  Meeting^  Friday ^  March  20^  1868. 

His  Royal  Highness  thb  Princb  of  Walbs,  K.G.,  in  the 

Chair, 
"  On  AUoye  and  their  Uaes,^'  by  Profeflsor  Augustus  Mat- 

thiessen,  F.RS. 
Thb  object  of  this  discourse  was  to  show  experimentally  why 
alloys  are  used  in  preference  to  their  component  metals. 

Alloys  may  be,  chemically  considered,  divided  into  three 
classes: 

1.  Chemical  combinations. 

2.  Mechanical  mixtures. 

3.  Solutions  of  the  one  metal  in  the  other  which  have  be- 
come polid ;  or,  for  shortness  sake,  solidified  solutions  of  the 
one  metal  in  the  other. 

Under  the  term  chemical  combination  such  alloys  may  be 
considered  which  are  the  result  of  the  combination  of  two 
metals  when  these  unite  together  with  great  ener^  and  evo- 
lution of  heat-,  producing  an  alloy  the  physical  and  chemical 
properties  of  which  we  cannot  foresee.  As  an  example  of 
such  alloys  those  of  gold,  with  tin,  lead,  or  zinc  may  be 
quoted;  for  if  to  melted  tin,  lead,  or  zinc,  gold  be  added, 
the  two  metals  unite  together  with  great  energy  and  pro- 
duce an  alloy  which  is  exceedingly  brittle  and  totally  unfit 
for  practical  purposes. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  more  expensive  metals,  silver 
and  copper,  are  tised  for  alloying  gold  for  the  purposes  of 
coinage,  ^. 

With  regard  to  such  alloys  which  may  be  looked  upon  as 
mechanical  mixtures,  like  oil  and  water,  or  rather  as  ether 
and  water,  for  no  two  metals  are  known  which,  like  oil  and 
water,  do  not  dissolve  at  all  in  one  another,  but  a  few  metals 
are  known  which,  like  ether  and  water,  dissolve  slightly  in 
one  another,  for  ether  will  dissolve  a  certain  amount  of  ^'a- 
ter,  and  water  a  certain  amount  of  ether.  If  eflier  and  water 
be  mixed  together,  say  in  equal  parts,  two  layers  will  be 
formed,  the  iop  one  being  ether  containing  a  little  water,  the 
lower  one  water  containing  a  little  ether.  Two  metals,  for 
instance,  which  behave  in  exactly  a  similar  manner  to  ether 
and  water  are  lead  and  zinc,  for  lead  when  f\ised  with  zino 
will  dissolve  1-6  per  cent,  zinc,  and  zinc  in  its  turn  will  take 
up  I '2  percent,  lead. 

If  these  two  metals  bemused  together,  say  in  equal  parts, 
they  will  separate  into  two  layers,  like  ether  and  water,  the 
top  one,  being  the  speoifically  lighter,  zinc,  with  a  small* per- 
centage of  lead,  the  lower  one  lead,  with  a  small  percentage 
of  zinc.  U  such  an  alloy  be  made  and  cast  in  a  mould,  the 
difference  in  the  behaviour  of  the  two  ends  may  be  easily 
shown ;  for  the  top  one  is  so  brittle  that  it  cannot  be  bent 
without  breaking,  whereas  the  lower  one  may  be  bent  with 
ease. 

Such  chemical  combinations  and  meohanioal  mixtures  are» 
however,  comparatively  rare ;  and  for  alloys  in  common  use, 
practice  has  almost  invariably  chosen  such  alloys  as  may  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  third  class,  rejecting  those  of 
the  first  and  second  as  worthless  for  practical  purposes^ 


[EngUab  EdWon,  Vol  XVX^^  ^^  43O,  v«<M  ^''^  l""-! 


28o 


Manchester  Literary  and  PhiloeoplviccA  Society. 


j  Chemical  Nswb, 


Under  the  tenn  solldifled  solutions  of  the  one  metal  in  the 
other,  such  alloys  may  be  considered^  which,  like  the  chlo- 
rides of  potassium  and  sodium  when  fased  together,  produce 
a  mass  havinff  some  of  the  physical  properties  totally  differ- 
ent from  those  of  the  component  salts.  It  cannot  be  as- 
sumed that  the  chloride  of  sodium  enters  into  chemical  com- 
bination with  the  chloride  of  potassium.  One  important  pro- 
perty of  a  solidified  solution  is,  that  the  components  are  ho- 
mogeneously diffused  in  one  another,  so  that  even  under  the 
most  poweHul  microscope  they  can  no  longer  be  distinguished 
from  one  another. 

Alloys  are  used  because  they  possess  certain  physical  pro- 
perties to  a  far  greater  extent  than  their  component  metals. 
The  physical  properties  may  be  divided  into  two  classes. 

1.  Those  which  in  all  cases  are  imparted  to  the  alloy,  ap- 
proximately in  the  ratio  in  which  they  are  possessed  by  the 
component  metals. 

2.  Those  which  in  some  cases  are,  and  in  others  are  not, 
imparted  to  the  aUoy  in  the  ratio  in  which  they  are  possessed 
by  the  component  metala. 

To  the  first  belong  Specific  Gravity,  Specific  Heat,  and 
Expansion  due  to  heat.  It  is  easy  to  show  this  experimen- 
tally ;  the  specific  gravity  of  an  alloy  may  be  shown  to  be 
equal  to  the  means  of  those  of  its  component  metals,  by 
hanging  on  the  one  side  of  a  balance  the  alloy  and  on  the 
other  side  the  metals  composing  it  unalloyed,  and  then  plac- 
ing them  both  in  water. 

The  specific  heat  of  an  alloy  may  be  proved  equal  to  that 
of  its  components  by  placing  the  alloy  and  its  components  in 
boiling  water,  and  then  in  equal  volumes  of  cold  water ;  when 
the  rise  of  temperature  in  the  two  cases  will  be  found  the  same, 
as  may  be  shown  by  a  differential  air  thermometer. 

A  brass  bar  placed  in  any  apparatus  for  showing  expan- 
sion by  heat  is  seen  to  expand  exactly  as  mu(^  as  a  compo- 
eito  bar,  of  which  one  portion  is  of  oopper,  the  other  of  zina 
The  length  of  the  zinc  portion  being  proportional  to  the 
amount*  of  zinc  in  brass. 

To  the  second  class  of  physical  properties  belong,  Ck>nduc- 
tion  for  Heat  and  Electricity,  Hardness,  Tenacity,  io. 

As  a  basis  for  the  conclusion  which  will  be  drawn,  the 
electric  conducting  power  for  alloys  may  be  taken.  Re- 
searches into  this  subject  have  shown  that  when  tin,  lead, 
zinc,  or  cadmium  are  alloyed  together,  such  alloys  conduct 
electricity  in  the  ratio  of  the  relative  volumes  of  the  compo- 
nent metals,  whilst  in  all  other  cases  no  such  simple  relation 
exists  between  the  conducting  power  of  the  metals  and  their 
alloya  If,  for  instance,  gold  bo  alloyed  with  silver,  say  in 
equal  volumes,  the  conducting  power  of  an  alloy  will  be  15, 
that  of  silver  being  100,  and  that  of  gold  80. 

^  If  curves  be  drawn  to  represent  the  conducting  power  of 
different  series  of  alloys,  three  typical  forms  will  be  observed  : 
the  first  repre^nted  by  nearly  a  straight  Hoe,  the  second  by 
the  lettor  JD,  and  the  third  by  the  letter  U. 

Wiedemann  and  Franz  have  proved  experimentally  that 
the  values  obtained  for  the  conducting  power  of.  metals  and 
alloys,  for  heat  and  electricity,  are  identically  the  same ;  and 
the  truth  of  this  statement  may  be  shown  by  the  following 
experiment :  If  bars  of  gold  and  silver  and  some  gold-silver 
alloys  be  fixed  so  that  one  end  of  all  of  them  is  in  a  hot-, 
water  box  and  the  other  end  in  the  bulb  of  a  small  air-ther- 
roometer,  the  depression  in  the  columns  of  the  liquid  in  the 
tubes  of  the  air-thermometers  will  indicate  the  relative  con- 
ductng  powers  (approximately)  of  the  several  bars ;  and  if 
through  the  tope  of  the  columns  of  liquid  a  line  be  drawn, 
such  line  will  form  a  curve  similar  to  that  referred  to  as  ob- 
tained for  the  electric  conducting  power. 

That  this  is  true  is  thus  shown : 

By  the  side  of  this  apparatus  is  placed  another  of  this  con- 
struction: Into  the  bulbs  of  several  air^thermometers  are 
fixed  wires  of  the  same  size  and  length,  and  of  the  same 
materials  as  were  used  in  the  heat-conducting  experiment. 
One  end  of  each  wire  is  soldered  to  one  thick  copper  wire, 
and  the  other  end  to  another  similar  wire.  These  two  wires 
are  connected  to  the  poles  of  a  battery.    The  current  will 


then  divide  itself,  and  a  portion  will  pass  Ihroogh  every  wire 
proportional  to  the  conducting  power  of  that  wire.  Tliis  cur- 
rent will  heat  the  wire  and  cause  the  liquid  in  the  tubes  con- 
nected with  the  air-thermometers  to  descend,  and  the  line 
drawn  through  the  top  of  the  columns  will  be  nearly  simi- 
lar to  the  curve  already  mentioned,  which  is  formed  by  the 
bulbs  in  which  the  hea^conducting  bars  are  fixed. 

The  analogy  between  the  relation  existing  in  this  case  and 
in  some  others  may  be  shown  experimentally  as  follows : 

Sonatity.  When  bars  of  alloys  and  their  component  me- 
tals are  struck,  a  great  difference  will  be  found  in  the  note 
produced ;  and  in  almost  every  case  where  the  experiment 
has  been  made,  the  most  sonorous  alloy  was  found  to  cor- 
respond in  composition  approximately  with  that  at  the  turn- 
ing point  of  the  electric  conducting  power  curve. 

jinacity:  When  wires  of  the  same  diameter  of  metals  and 
alloys  are  broken  by  traction,  those  of  the  alloys  will  require 
a  much  greater  force  than  their  component  metals;  and  it 
may  be  deduced  from  what  is  known,  that  those  alloya,  the 
composition  of  which  corresponds  to  the  turning  point  of  the 
conducting  power  curve,  are  more  tenacious  than  any  other 
alloy  composed  of  the  same  metals. 

Elasticity.  When  spirals  of  wires  of  metals  and*  their  alloys 
are  weighted  to  an  equal  extent,  the  alloys  will  be  found  on 
removing  the  weights  to  possess  the  property  of  resuming 
their  original  form  in  a  muoh  higher  degree  than  their  com- 
ponent metals.  Here  again  the  alloys  corresponding  in  com- 
position to  those  of  the  turning  point  of  the  conducting  pow- 
er curves  are  the  most  elastia 

From  what  has  been  said,  and  from  the  experiments  de- 
scribed, the  conclusion  mav  be  drawn  that  the  oheroical 
composition  of  the  practically-used  two-metal  alloys  corre- 
spond to  those  situated  at  the  turning  points  of  the  heat  and 
electric  conducting  power  curves,  and  that  if  a  two-metal  al- 
loy of  a  special  physical  property  be  required,  it  would  be  as 
well  to  try  that  alloy,  the  composition  of  which  would  cor- 
respond to  the  turning  point  of  the  curve  representing  the 
electric  conducting  power  of  the  alloys  of  the  two  metaU. 


MANCHESTER    LITERARY    AND    PHILOSOPHICAL 
SOCIETY. 

Ordinary  Meeting^  March  31*^  1868. 
Edward  Sohunck,  Ph.D.,  F.R.S.,  <fec,   President,  in  the 
Chair, 

"  Description  of  a  Dolerite  ai  Gleaston,  in  Low  f\imesSy" 
by  E,  W.  BiNNTflT,  F.R.S.,  F.GS. 

During  the  last  thirty  years  the  tract  of  land  known  as  the 
Hundred  of  Low  Fumess  has  been  investigated  and  described 
by  several  geologists.  It  was  one  of  the  earliest  fields  inves- 
tigated by  the  venerable  Sedgwick,  who  has  left  us  a  most 
valuable  memoir  of  his  labours  in  that  district  Since  then, 
Mr.  Jopling,  myself,  and  Sir  R.  L  Murchison,  and  Professor 
Harknesa,  liave  published  descriptions  of  the  siliirian  moan- 
tain  limestone  and  permian  formations  of  the  country.  ^  Miss 
E.  Hodgson  has  also  given  us  information  as  to  the  drift  de- 
posits overlying  the  palieuzoic  strata.  Slill,  notwithstanding 
what  has  been  done,  it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that  the 
peninsula  comprising  the  southern  part  of  the  Hundred  of 
Low  Fumess  has  yet  to  be  carefully  examined  before  its 
geology  can  be  said  to  be  thoroughly  known. 

None  of  the  above-named  persons  appear  to  have  been 
aware  of  the  occurrence  of  any  trap  dykes  in  this  district, 
judging  from  their  published  writings,  with  the  exception  U 
Mr.  Jopling,  who,  in  his  sketch  of  tho  geology'  of  Low  For- 
ness  and  Cartmel,  comprehending  the  Hundred  of  Lonsdale 
north  of  the  sands,  published  in  1843,  when  speaking  of  the 
geology  of  Gleaston,  says :  —  "  Carboniferous  lio^estoDe 
abounds,  and  in  the  quarries  near  the  oastlts  are  many  fossils 
beautifully  preserved  in  the  shale  beds  between  those  of  the 
limestone ;  there  is  also  a  vein  of  trap.*V    At  page  72  the 


[Siig]isfafidft1oo,yoLZ7IL,ira  436,  pages  177|  178;  XTo.  497,  page  188.] 


Obkmioal  News, ) 
JUM,  1898.     f 


Mancheste?*  Idterary  and  PhUoaopMcal  Society. 


281 


same  aathor  flays  "  there  are  also  appearances  of  trap  near 
Gleasfon,  associated  with  limestone  breccia." 

In  the  month  of  October  last,  Miss  E.  Hodgson  was  so  kind 
as  to  send  roe  some  specimens  of  rocks  from  Gleaston,  which 
puzzled  her  a  good  deal.  Some  of  the  parties  to  whom  she 
bad  sent  them  called  them  dolomites,  whilst  others  named 
tbem  traps  and  greenstones.  To  the  latter  opinion  Miss 
Hodgson,  I  believe,  was  inclined  to  add  the.  weight  of  her 
sanction.  Not  having  previously  seen,  or  even  heard  ot, 
the  occurrence  of  any  such  rocks-  in  the  district  where  they 
were  said  to  be  met  with,  I  went  over  to  examine  them,  and 
having  been  famished  with  information  by  Miss  Hodgson, 
easily  found  the  place  where  they  are  exposed  at  Gleaslon 
Green.  At  that  time  Mr.  Jopling's  book  had  not  been  seen 
by  me.  The  space  occupied  by  these  singular  rocks,  at  least 
80  far  as  at  present  expoised,  is  so  limited  that  all  that  can  be 
seen  is  very  soon  ascertained.  Specimens  were .  collected, 
and  a  few  observations  made.  The  former,  by  the  kindness 
of  my  friend  Professor  Roscoe,  F.R.S.,  were  analysed  for  me 
in  the  laboratory  of  Owens  College.  It  ia  only  by  the  la- 
bours of  the  chemist  that  geologists  can  with  any  certainty 
decide  upon  the  age  and  origin  of  such  rocks  as  those  which 
are  met  with  at  Gleaston. 

On  approaching  Gleaston  Green  from  Scales,  the  mountain 
limestone  appears  to  oocopy  the  country  so  far  as  it  can  be 
seen.  In  a  quarry  below  the  old  castle  on  the  roadside,  this 
rock  in  the'  northern  p-art  is  very  hard,  and  dips  to  the  west 
at  an  angle  of  25**,  whilst  in  the  southern  part,  where  it  is 
softer,  it  dips  in  the  same  direction  at  an  angle  of  id'*.  Owing 
to  the  covering  of  drift,  the  limestone  is  not  seen  nearer  to 
the  mill,  but  it  probably  extends  further  in  that  direction. 
At  a  short  distance  below  the  mill,  dark-coloured  Uminated 
shales  are  seen  in  the  bank  on  the  roadside,  dipping  appar- 
ently at  an  angle  to  the  N.N.W.  Wathen  come  to  the  rocks 
at  the  end  of  the  Green.  They  appear  to  ran  in  an  east  and 
west  direction,  and  are  not  now  exposed  for  more  than 
twenty  yards.  From  north  to  south  they  may  probably 
extend  about  forty  yards,  but  certainly  for  more  than  half  of 
that  distance,  towards  the  beck,  they  are  not  now  seen  until 
the  land  rises  on  the  bluff  south  of  the  beck,  where  they 
reappear  as  a  reddish  and  bedded  trap  ash,  having  an  east 
and  west  direction,  and  dipping  N.N.W.  at  angle  of  about 
6q!*,  This  ash  is  succeeded  by  a  coarse  breccia  of  a  few 
yards  in  thickness,  so  far  as  exposed,  which  dips  slightly 
north  of  west,  at  an  angle  of  25**,  and  then  is  covered  up  by 
grass  so  as  not  to  be  seen,  but  no  doubt,  from  sections  in  the 
adjoining  lane  and  borings  made  on  the  rise  of  tiie  strata, 
dark-coloured  shales  occur  again,  and  the  dyke  most  probably 
intrudes  through  these  shales,  which  are  in  every  respect  like 
limestone  shales,  but  no  organic  remains  were  observed  in 
them  so  as  to  make  us  certain  of  their  geological- age. 

Returning  to  the  north  side  of  the  beck,  nothmg  is  exposed 
of  the  district  west  of  the  hard  rocks  seen  on  the  Green, 
owing  to  the  thick  covering  of  drift  in  that  direction ;  but 
Mr.  Hodgson  has  proved  by  a  series  of  bore-holes,  the  occur- 
rence of  upper  permian  sandstone,  red  shale  and  limestone 
shale— the  first  to  the  S.W.,  the  second  to  the  west,  and  the 
third  to  the  N.W.  of  Gleaston ;  and  Mr.  Ashbumer  has 
proved  limestone  shale  and  limestone  in  bores  to  the  E.  and 
N.E.  of  the  locality  where  the  rook  is  found.    , 

In  the  bluff  on  the  south  side  of  the  stream,  as  previously 
stated,  the  rock  appears  more  like  a  trap  ash  of  a  reddish 
brown  colour  and  exhibits  traces  of  bedding  and  white  lines 
like  carbonate  of  lime.  Immediately  adjoining  trap  ash,  and 
on  its  rise,  occurs  the  coarse  breccia  composed  of  fine-grained 
silioeous  rudss,  cemented  together  with  quartz,  and  like  a 
permian  breccia ;  but  although  the  beds  are  near  together, 
there  Was  not  evidence  to  show  whether  the  trap  ash  grad- 
ually passed  into  the  breccia  or  intruded  through  it,  still  the 
breccia  appeared  to  dip  in  the  same  direction,  but  at  a  much 
less  angle,  namely,  25°  to  a  little  west  of  north.  This  is  a 
▼ery  interesting  fact  to  prove ;  for  if  the  rock  graduates  into 
the  breccia,  it  would  appe^ar  to  be  of  permian  age,  and  most 
probably  a  melaphyr,  but  U  it  is  intrusive,  as  tlie  evidence  on 


the  whole  appears  to  prove,  all  we  can  say  is  that  it  is  of 
later  date. 

Thisjbreccia  is  composed  of  angular  pieces  of  a  fine  siliceous 
stone,  of  a  pink  colour,  more  resembling  quartzite  than  any- 
thing else,  cemented  together  by  small  quartz  crystals,  and 
containing  minute  quantities  of  protoxide  of  manganese. 
The  form  of  the  fragments  is  very  like  that  of  the  rocks  in 
the  permian  breccia  of  Rougham  Point,  near  the  mountain 
limestone  of  Humfray  Head,  and  there  consisting  for  the  moiX 
part  of  the  neighbouring  mountain  limestone,  but  no  lime- 
stone has  yet  been  met  with  in  the  Gleaston  breccia  as  might 
have  been  reasonably  expected;  and  the  pink  quartzite  ia  a 
rock  hitherto  unknown  in  the  district.  The  permian  breccia, 
so  &r  as  my  experience  goes,  although  sometimes  oontaining 
volcanic  ash,  are  composed  of  the  rocks  now  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  where  they  occur,  and  nearly  always  vary 
with  the  older  geological  rocks  of  the  district  The  compo- 
sition of  the  Gleaston  breccia  makes  me  hesitate  in  desig- 
nating it  as  permian,  as  it  may  be  some  rook  altered  by  the 
dyke. 

The  rock  in  its  best  state  of  preservation  is  remarkably 
hard,  of  a  reddish  brown  colour,  has  a  moderat€%  straight 
fracture,  and  a  pinkish  white  streak,  and  its  specific  gravity 
is  292. 

Three  average  samples  of  the  rock  were  taken,  two  from 
the  north  and  one  from  the  south  side  of  the  beck.  All  of 
them  were  more  or  less  decomposed  by  exposure  to  air  and 
moisture,  but  No.  26  much  less  than  Nos.  23  and  24.  Pro- 
fessor Roscoe,  on  analysis,  found  their  present  chemical  com- 
position to  be  as  follows : — 

South  of  North  of  North  of 

Stream,  Stream,  Stream, 

No.  aj.  No  34.  No.  26. 

Silica 45*54  50-96  5110 

Peroxide  of  iron 2476  24*20.  "2r58 

Alumina 770  i4'48  9-40 

I^ime 1384  732  6-24 

Magnesia 0-57  055    •  1-33 

Carbonic  add. 278  i  '90  270 

Alkalies,   water  (by  differ- 
ence)   4-82  0-59  7-65 

100*00  100 '00  100 '00 

The  only  rock  which  I  know  of  a  similar  composition,  is 
a  probable  variety  of  green  earth,  resembling  a  decomposed 
pyroxene,  described  by  Macfarlane  in  the  Canadian  Natvr 
raiisty  New  Series,  voL  iii^  No.  i,  page  5,  in  a  paper  on  t^e 
cupriferous  bed  of  Portage,  Lake  Michigan,  which  consists 
of— 

Silica , 46-48 

Alumina 1771 

Protoxide  of  iron 2i*i7 

*    Lime g'S^ 

Magnesia  trace — 

Alkalies  (by  difference). i»q7 

Water  -. 278 

Mr.  David  Forbes,  RRSl,  to  whom  were  forwarded  small 
specimens  of  the  rocks  and  the  above  analyses,  kindly 
informed  me  that  the  rocks  were  so  much  decomposed  that 
it  was  difficult  to  pronounce  with  certainty  as  to  what  they 
were,  but  he  was  inclined  to  think  that  they  were  an  in- 
tmsive  dolerlte  of  carboniferous  age  rather  than  a  mela- 
phyr. The  iron  had  been  changed  fh>m  a  protoxide  into  a 
peroxide,  and  the  lime  had  resulted  from  the  decomposition 
of  a  lime  felspar.  As  Mr.  Forbes  had  found  the  preaenpe 
of  titanium  united  with  iron  in  all  the  carboniferous  dolerites 
he  had  examined,  I  took  several  ounces  of  the  three  samples 
above  given,  and  having  heated  them  in  a  cnidble  so  as  to 
convert  the  iron  firom  a  per-  into  a  piotoxide,  extracted  it  by 
a  magnet  About  half  an  ounce  of  this  iron  was  very  care- 
ftilly  examined  by  Mr.  Thorpe  in  Dr.  Rosooe's  laboratory, 
tepedally  for  titanic  add,  and  no  trace  of  that  substance 
was  found.  He  used  the  test  with  microoosmio  salt,  having 
separated  iron  and  silioa.    The  absence  of  titanium  in  the 


[BoffUA  BdWon,  ToL  TTll,  Ho.  437,  pagts  IBS,  180.] 


282 


Maificheater  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society. 


I  CmxioiL  Nkvb, 
\      JtHU,  186& 


rock  would  lead  us  to  belieye  that  it  was  of  later  origin 
than  the  carboniferous  age,  birt  if  traces  of  that  metal  bad 
been  fouud,  it  would  not  only  have  settled  the  question  as 
to  the  age,  but  it  would  have  shown  a  oonnection  with  the 
h£ematite  iron  ores  of  Whitehaven  and  Ulverston,  all  of 
which  contain  more  or  less  of  titanium  as  proved  by  the 
deposits  of  that  metal  found  on  the  sides  of  old  furnaces 
where  lisdmatite  has  been  smelted.  Is  the  rock  of  permian 
age?  It  is  certainly  not  much  unlike  the  melaphyr  of 
the  German  geologists,  and  the  brecda  near  the  dolente  is 
not  greatly  different  from  that  of  Ballochmyle,  described  by 
Mr.  A.  Geikie,  F.E.S.,  in  the  Geological  Magazine  for  De- 
cember, 1866,  but  we.  could  not  obtain  direct  evidence  that 
the  breccia  gradually  passed  into  the  trap,  the  latter 
appeared  to  protrude  through  it,  but  certainly  the  trap  and 
the  breccia  dipped  in  the  ssme  direction,  the  one  at  about 
60°  and  the  other  at  25**  a  little  West  of  North.  This 
point  can  only  be  satisfactorily  determined  by  cutting  a 
trench  and  showing  the  contact  of  the  breccia  with  the 
trap.  The  extent  of  the  dyke  can  only  be  traced  for  a  few 
yards  east  and  west,  as  previously  stated,  and  none  of  the 
bffima^it^iron  deposits,  so  far  as  known,  have  been  found 
south  of  it  Its  age  also  appears  to  be  more  recent,  even 
supposing  it  to  be  permian,  than  those  deposits  which  for 
the  most  part  must  be  considered  of  c&rboniferous  age. 
The  occurrei  ce  of  this  trap  might  have  been  considered  to 
have  some  connection  with  the  deposition  of  the  iron  had 
it  been  of  carboniferous  age,  but  it  is  evidently  more  recent, 
and  therefore  could  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  it  Airther 
than  disturb  or  displace  it 

"J.  Search  for  Solid  Bodies  in  the  AtmoapJiere,"  by  R. 
Angus  Smith,  Ph.D.,  P.Ra,  Aa 

I  have  so  frequently  for  many  years  attempted  to  find, 
and  have  found  organic  substances  which  have  passed  from 
the  air  into  liquids  in  which  they  were  collected,  that 
perhaps  the  Society  will  scarcely  attend  to  another  attempt, 
although  it  indicates,  I  think,  some  progress.  It  was  in 
the  year  1847  that  I  first  collected  what  I  believe  was 
matter  from  the  respiration  and  perspiration,  and  found  .that 
as  it  was  kept  it  grew  into  distinct  confirmed  forms. 

Whilst  examining  some  matters  relating  to  the  cattle 
plague  I  found  one  or  two  remarkable  points.  I  had  before 
that  time  used  aspirators  to  pass  the  air  through  liquids, 
except  in  the  oxidation  experiments.  At  that  time  I  used 
simply  a  bottle  which  contained  a  little  water.  The  bottle 
was  filled  with  the  air  of  the  place,  and  the  water  shaken  in 
it.  The  difference  of  air  was  remarkable.  A  very  few 
repetitions  would  cause  the  liquid  to  be  muddy,  and  the 
particles  found  in  many  places  were  distinctly  organic. 

It  may,  however,  interest  the  Society  to  hear  of  a  few  of 
these  previous  attempts,  the  latest  made  till  recently.  I  shall 
therefore  read  from  a  report  to  be  found  in  the  appendix  to 
that  on  the  cattle  plague. 

''  Mr.  Crookes  also  brought  me  some  cotton  through 
which  air  from  an  infected  place  had  passed.  It  was  exam- 
ined at  the  same  time.  Taking  cotton  in  the  mass  nothing 
decided  was  seen ;  but  when  it  was  washed  some  of  the 
separate  films  were  coated  over  with  small  nearly  round 
bodies,  presenting  no  structure,  or  at  least  only  feeble 
traces  of  it^  and  perhaps  to  be  called  cells.  I  had  not  sent 
gun-cotton,  as  I  intended,  to  Mr.  Crookes,  fearing  the  rules 
of  the  post;  otherwise  there  would  have  been  more  cer- 
tainty that  the  bodies  spoken  of  did  not  exist  previously  on 
the  cotton.  However,  Mr.  Dancer,  who  has  examined 
c6tton  with  the  microscope  oftener  than  most  persons, 
even  of  those  experienced  in  the  subject,  had  never 
observed  a  similar  appearance. 

"  The  liquid  had  also  a  number  of  similar  bodies  floating 
in  it 

"  It  wafl  then  that  Mr.  Crookes  sent  a  liquid  which  he 
had  condensed  from  the  air  of  an  Infected  cowshed  at  a  space 
a  little  above  the  head  of  a  diseased  oow.  It  was  also 
examined,   and  it  presented  similar  indications  of  very 


numerous  small  bodies.  Not  being  a  professed  mtcroscopist 
I  shall  not  attempt  a  description,  but  add  that  they  <deBri7 
belonged  to  the  organic  world,  and  were  not  in  all  ca^es 
mere  debris.  We  found  also  one  body  a  good  deal  larger 
than  the  rest;  it  resembled  somewhat  a  paramectam, 
although  clearly  not  one. 

"We  found  no  motion  whatever,  and  only  this  latter 
substance  could  be  adduced  as  an  absolute  proof  of  any- 
thing organized  being  present  Next  day  I  exaouned  the 
same  liquid ;  and,  whether  from  the  fact  of  time  being  given 
for  development  or  from  other  causes,  there  was  a  very 
abundant  motion.  There  were  at  least  six  specimens  in  the 
field  at  a  time,  of  a  body  resembling  the  euglena,  although 
smaller  than  I  have  seen  it  When  these  minute  bodies 
occur  it  is  dear  that  more  may  exist,  and  germs  in  this 
early  stage  are  too  indefinite  to  be  described.  The  exist- 
ence of  vital  sparks  in  the  organic  substances  in  the  air 
alluded  to  is  all  I  wish  to  assert,  confirming  by  a  difibrent 
method  the  observations  of  others.  It  might,  of  course,  be 
said  that  since  the  bottle  was  opened  at  Mr.  Dancer's,  the 
air  at  that  place  may  have  communicated  thenL  I  answer 
that,  before  it  was  opened,  a  g^ood  glass  could  detect  float- 
ing matter,  some  of  it,  however,  as  in  the  microscope 
proved,  indefinite  enough. 

*^  Finding  this,  and  fearing  that  the  long  time  needful  to 
collect  liquid  from  the  atmosphere  might  expose  it  also  to 
much  dust,  I  used  a  bottle  of  about  100  cubic  inches  dimen- 
sions, and  putting  with  it  a  very  little  water,  not  above  five 
cubic  centimetres,  I  pumped  out  the  air  of  the  bottle^ 
allowing  the  air  of  the  place  to  enter.  This  was  done  six 
times  for  each  sample,  the  water  shaken  each  time,  and  the 
result  examined.  This  was  done  with  the  same  bottle  that 
was  used  in  my  early  experiments  with  permanganate, 
and  by  the  same  method,  except  that  water  instead  of  that 
salt  was  used.  At  first  considerable  numbers  of  moving 
particles  were  found ;  but  it  was  needful  to  examine  the 
water  used,  and  here  occurred  a  difficulty.  It  was  not 
until  we  had  carefully  treated  with  chemicals  and  Uien  dis- 
tilled the  water  again  and  again  that  we  could  trust  it 
Particles  seemed  to  rise  with  the  vapour,  and  if  so,  why  not 
with  the  evaporating  water  of  impure  places. 

"  Having  kept  an  assistant  at  the  work  for  a  weekj  and 
having  myself  examined  the  air  of  three  cow-huuses,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  air  of  oow*houses  and  stables 
is  to  be  recognised  as  containing  more  particles  than  the  air 
of  the  street  in  which  my  laboratory  is,  and  of  the  room  in 
which  I  sit,  and  that  it  contains  minute  bodies,  which  some- 
times move,  if  not  at  first,  yet  after  a  time,  even  if  the  bottle 
has  not  been  opened  in  the  interval.  There  is  fouod  in 
reality  a  considerable  mass  of  debris  with  hairs  or  fine  fibres, 
which  even  the  eye,  or  at  least  a  good  pocket  lens,  can  de- 
tect AA«r  making  about  two  dozen  trials,  we  have  not  been 
able  to  obtain  it  otherwise.  Even  in  the  quiet  office  at  the 
laboratory  there  seemed  some  indications. 

"  I  found  similar  indications  in  a  cow-house  with  healthy 
cows ;  so  I  do  not  pretend  to  have  distinguished  the  poison 
of  Cattle  Plague  in  these  forms ;  but  it  is  clear  that  where 
these  exist  there  may  be  room  for  any  ferment  or  fomites  of 
disease ;  and  I  do  not  duubt  that  one  class  is  the  poison  itself 
in  its  earliest  stage.  It  would  be  interesting  to  deve]<^  it 
farther. 

**  I  have  recorded  elsewhere  that  I  condensed  the  liquid 
from  the  air  of  a  flower  garden,  and  found  in  it,  or  iooagined 
I  found,  the  smell  of  flowers.  I  do  not  remember  that  I  k>ok- 
ed  much  to  the  solid  or  floating  particles,  thinking  them  to 
be  blown  from  the  ground,  but  it  does  not  affect  the  result, 
whether  they  be  found  constantly  in  the  air  or  are  raised  by 
the  action  of  currents," 

Lately  I  tried  the  same  plan  on  a  larger  scale.  A  bottle 
of  the  capacity  of  4990  o.a  was  flUed  with  air  and  shaken 
with  water.  .  The  bottle  was  again  filled  and  shaken  with 
the  same  water.-  and  this  was  repeated  500  times,  nearij 
equal  to  2^  million  c.a,  or  2,495  litres.  As  this  could  not  be 
done  in  a  short  time,   there  was  considerable  variety  of 


\ 


[EngUah  EdUoni  VoL  Z71L,  No.  437,  pagM  189^  190-] 


Cbsmtoal  ITiws, ) 


JRoydl  Geological  Society  of  Ireland. 


283 


weather,  but  chieflj  diy,  with  a  westerly  wind.  The  operation 
was  conducted  behind  my  laboratory,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  places  not  yery  dear,  it  is  true,  but  from  which  the  wind 
was  blowing  to  all  parts  of  the  town.  I  did  not  observe  any 
dust  blowing,  but  if  there  were  dust,  it  was  such  as  we  may 
be  called  on  to  breathe.  The  liquid  was  clouded,  and  the 
unaided  eye  could  perceive  that  particles,  very  light,  were 
floating.  When  examined  by  a  microscope  the  scene  was 
varied  in  a  very  high  deg^ree— there  was  evidently  organic 
life.  I  thought  it  letter  to  carry  the  whole  to  Mr.  Dancer, 
and  to  leave  him  to  do  the  rest,  as  my  knowledge  of  micro- 
acopic  forms  is  so  trifling  compared  to  his. 

Ordinary  Meeting^  Ma/reh  31,  1868. 

Edward  Sohuhok,  Ph.D^,  F.E.a,  Ac,  Fresidentf  in  (he 
Chair. 

"  Mkroscopic  Examinalion  of  the  Solid  ParUdes  from  the 
Air  of  Manchester,''  by  J.  B.  Dancbb,  F.R.A.a 
The  air  bad  been  washed  in  distilled  water,  and  the  solid 
matter  which  subsided  was  collected  in  a  small  stoppered 
bottle,  and  on  the  13th  of  this  month  Dr.  Smith  requested 
me  to  examine  the  matter  contained  in  this  water.  An  ill- 
ness prevented  me  from  giving  it  so  much  attention  as  I 
oould  have  wished. 

The  water  containing  this  air  washing  was  first  examined 
with  a  power  of  50  diameters  only,  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting a  general  knowledge  of  its  contents;  aflerwards  mag- 
nifying powers  varjring  from  120  to  1,600  diameters  were 
employed. 

During  the  first  observations,  few  living  organisms  were 
noticed;  but,  as  it  afterwards  proved,  the  germs  of  plant 
and  animal  life  (probably  in  a  dormant  condition)  wdre 
present. 

I  will  now  endeavour  to  describe  the  objects  found  in  this 
matter,  and  begin  in  the  order  in  which  they  appeared  most 
abundant 

I  St.  Fungoid  MaUer, — Spores  or  sporidia  appeared  in 
numbers,  and,  to  ascertain  as  nearly  as  possible  Uie  numeri- 
cal proportion  of  these  minute  bodies  in  a  single  drop  of  the 
fluid,  the  contents  of  the  bottle  were  well  shaken,  and  then 
one  drop  was  taken  up  with  a  pipette ;  this  was  spread  out 
by  compression  to  a  curde  \  an  inch  in  diameter.  A  magni- 
fying power  was  then  employed,  which  gave  a  field  of  view 
of  an  area  exactly  looth  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  it  was 
found  that  more  than  100  spores  were  contained  in  this 
space;  consequently  the  average  number  of  spores  in  a 
single  drop  would  be  250,000.  These  spores  varied  lh>m 
1 0,000th  to  50,000th  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  peculiar 
molecular  motion  in  the  spores  was  observable  for  a  short 
time,  until  they  settled  on  to  the  bottom  of  the  glass  plate ; 
they  tlien  became  motionless. 

The  Mycelium  of  these  minute  IVingl  were  similar  to  that 
of  rust  or  mildew  (as  it  is  coounonly  named),  such  as  is 
found  on  straw  or  decaying  vegetation. 

When  the  bottle  had  remained  for  36  hours  in  a  room  at 
a  temperature  of  60°  the  quantity  of  fungi  had  visibly  in- 
creased, and  the  delicate  mycelial  thread-like  roots  had  com- 
pletely entangled  .the  fibrous  objects  contained  in  the  bottle 
and  formed  them  into  a  mass. 

On  the  third  day  a  number  of  ciliated  zoospores  were 
observed  moving  freely  amongst  the  sporidi».  I  could  not 
*  detect  any  great  variety  of  fungi  in  the  contents  of  the  bot- 
tle, but  I  cannot  presume  to  say  that  all  the  visible  spores 
belonged  to  one  species,  and  as  there  are  more  Uian  2,000 
different  kinds  of  fungi  it  is  possible  that  scores  of  other 
species  might  be  present,  but  not  under  conditions  favour- 
able for  their  development.  Some  very  pretty  chain-like 
threads  of  oonidia  were  visible  in  some  of  the  examinations. 
The  next  in  quantity  is  vegetable  tissue.  Some  of  this 
formed  a  very  interesting  object,  with  a  high  power,  and  the 
greater  portion  exhibited  what  is  called  pitted  structure.  The 
larger  particles  of  this  had  evidently  been  partially  burnt  and 
quite  brown  in  colour,  and  were  from  coniierous  plants,  show- 


ing with  g^reat  distinctness  the  broad  marginal  bands  sur- 
rounding the  pits ;  otliers  had  reticulations  small  in  diameter. 
They  reminded  me  of  perforated  particles  so  abundant  in  some 
kinds  of  coal 

The  brown  or  charred  objects  were  probably  particles  of 
partially  burnt  wood  used  in  lighting  fires. 

Along  with  these  reticulated  objects  were  fragments  of 
vegetation,  resembling  in  structure  hay  and  straw  and  hay 
seeds,  and  some  extremely  thin  and  transparent  tissue  show- 
ing no  structure.  These  were  doubtless  some  portions  of 
weather-worn  vegetation.  A  few  hairs  of  leaves  of  plants 
and  fibres,  similar  in  appearance  to  flax,  were  seen,  and,  as  « 
might  have  been  expected  in  this  city,  cotton  filaments,  some 
white,  others  coloured,  were  numerous ;  red  and  blue  being 
the  predominant  colours.  A  few  granules  of  starch,  seen  by 
the  aid  of  the  polariscope,  and  several  long  elliptical  bodies, 
similar  to  the  pollen  of  the  lily,  were  noticed.  After  this 
dust  from  the  atmosphere  had  been  kept  quiet  for  three  or 
four  days,  animalcules  made  their  appearance  in  considerable 
numbers,  the  monads  being  the  most  numerous.  Amongst 
these  were  noticed  some  comparatively  large  specimens  of 
Paramecium  aurelia,  in  company  with  some  very  active  roti- 
fersB ;  but  after  a  few  days  the  animal  life  rapidly  decreased^ 
and  in  twelve  days  no  animalcule  could  bo  detected. 

Hairs  of  Animals. — Very  few  of  these  were  noticed,  with 
the  exception  of  wool ;  of  this  both  white  and  coloured  speci- 
mens were  mixed  up  along  with  the  filaments  of  cotton. 

After  each  examination  as  much  of  the  drop  of  water  as 
could  be  collected  by  the  pipette  was  returned  to  the  bottle, 
in  order  to  ascertain  if  any  new  development  of  animal  or 
vegetable  life  would  take  place,  and  the  stopper  of  the  bottle 
was  replaced  as  quickly  as  possible  to  prevent  the  admission 
of  the  particles  from  the  air  in  the  room  ;  and  I  am  tolerably 
certain  that  the  objects  named  in  this  paper  are  those  which 
the  bottle  contained  when  Dn  Smith  brought  it  to  me. 

The  particles  floating  in  the  atmosphere  will  difler  in  cha- 
racter according  to  the  season  of  the  year,  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  and  the  locality  in  which  they  are  collected,  and,  as 
might  be  expected,  are  much  less  in  quanliiy  after  rain. 

The  small  amount  of  fluid  now  remaining  in  the  bottle  emits 
the  peculiar  odour  of  mildew,  and  at  present  the  fungoid  mat- 
ter appears  inactive. 

For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  rough  approximation  of  the 
number  of  spores,  or  germs  of  organic  matter  contained  in  the 
fluid  reoeived  from  Dr.  Smith,-  I  measured  a  quantity  by  the 
pipette,  and  found  it  contained  1 50  drops  of  the  size  used  in 
each  examination.  Now,  I  have  previously  stated  that  in 
eadfdrop  there  were  about  250,000  of  these  spores,  ^nd  as 
there  were  150  dropo,  the  sum  total  reaches  the  startling 
number  of  37^  millions,  and  these,  exclusive  of  other  sul^ 
stances,  were  collected  from  2495  litres  of  the  air  of  this 
city*— ^  quantity  which  would  be  respired  in  about  10  hours 
by  a  man  of  ordinary  size  when  actively  employed.  I  have 
to  add  that  there  was  a  marked  absence  of  particles  of  carbon 
amongst  the  collected  matter. 


ROYAL  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF  IRELAND. 
April  8,  1868. 
Dr.  Emerson  Retkolds  read  a  paper  "  On  the  Formation 
of  Dendrites  "  He  had  some  years  since  noticed  that  when 
solutions  of  salts,  Ac,  were  placed  upon  a  plate  of  clean  glass, 
and  the  glass  placed  between  the  poles  of  a  Ruhmkorff's  ooil, 
the  salts  gradually  work  over  the  surface  of  the  ghiss  in 
beautiful  moss  like  forms,  which  in  many  cases  were  char- 
acteristic of  the  compound  contained  in  solution.  The  state 
of  dilution  at  the  same  time  having  some  considerable  in- 
fluence. The  authors  proposed  to  call  them  "  electric  cohe- 
sion figures."  To  produce  them  we  will  say  that  a  drop  of  a 
solution  of  cyanide  of  potassium  is  put  in  the  centre  of  a  plate 
of  glass,  which  is  then  placed  upon  a  sheet  of  tin-foil.  One 
pole  of  the  coil  is  then  brought  into  contact  with  the  foil  (it  is 

*  B«hlnd  Dr.  S.  Angw  8mUh*s  laboratory.  ^ 


[BiiglldiBditioB,TdLZ7ZL,Vo.437,pag»190;  Va438^p«goa01;  No.  437,  pago  190.] 


284 


PMosopMcal  Society  of  Glasgow. 


j  GBmiCAi.  Ksvi^ 


immaterial  which),  and  ihe  other  pole  is  placed  ia  the  centre 
of  the  drop;  immediately  on  paas'mg  the  curreDt  the  solution 
begins  to  creep  oyer  the  surface  of  the  glass  in  moss-like  oon- 
volutiona. 

The  dendritic  markings  on  minerals  the  author  believed 
were  formed  under  k  similar  condition.  He  exhibited  a 
beautiful  manganous  dendrite  taken  out  of  the  museum.  It 
was  a  slab  of  concoidal  limestone,  and  in  Dr.  Reynolds'  opin- 
ion illustrated  his  electrical  explanation  conclusively.  There 
was  originally  a  flaw  in  the  limestone  which  was  exactly  at 
right  angles  wiih  the  plane  of  cleavage.  Through  these 
flaws,  as  ^iras  evident  by  tlie  marks,  the  manganous  solution 
had  percolated,  and  had  perhaps  ultimately  been  the  means  of 
making  the  stone  part  in  two,  not,  however,  in  the  direction 
of  the  flaws,  but  in  tlie  plane  of  cleavage.  The  dendrites 
which  wore  formed  upon  the  surface  in  this  case  were  pro- 
duced from  the  well-known  fact  that  the  two  surfaces 
At  the  instant  of  their  separation  are  in  opposite  electrical 
conditions. 

This  phenomenon  may  be  illustrated  to  a  certain  extent  by 
inserting  a  drup  of  the  fluid  into  the  interstice  of  a  phite  of 
mica,  and  then  on  suddenly  parting  the  plate  the  dendritic 
forms  are  shown.  To  flx  the.u  the  author  dusts  some  finely 
dried  pigment  over  the  surface  of  the  still  moist  plate/ and 
then  Axes  this  by  some  transparent  varnish. 

The  other  paper  read  was  by  J.  Scott  Moorb,  Esq., 
J.P.DS.,  ''On  Man  and  the  OlacicU  EixtchJ*  A  modified 
spectroscope  for  examining  minerals  was  also  showx 


PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY  OF  GLASGOW. 

CnElflCAL  SEcnov. 

The  usual  fortnightly  meeting  of  this  section  was  held  in 
the  Philosophical  Society's  Hpll,  on  Monday  evening  last; 
Alexauder  Whitelaw,  Esq.,  Treasurer,  in  the  chair.  Afler 
the  election  and  admission  of  a  number  of  new  associates,  a 
paper  on  *'  The  Estimation  of  Potash,^  bv  Messrs.  James 
Chalmers,  chemist  to  the  Kames  Gunpowder  Company,  and 
Robert  R.  Tatlock,  F.O.S.,  analytical  chemist,  Glasgow,  was 
read  to  the  Section.  The  authors  urged  that  the  subject  was 
of  much  greater  importance  than  the  title  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate. Glasgow  and  its  vicinity  form  the  chief  seat  of  the 
manufacture  of  potash  salts  from  kelp,  and  form  the  destina- 
tion of  almost  all  the  muriate  of  potash  now  manufactured 
from  the  interesting  deposit  tn  the  vicinity  of  StassTurth,  as 
well  as  of  the  potash  salts  largely  made  from  French  beet  root ; 
and  as  the  value  of  these  salts  is  fixed  by  the  amount  of  potash 
they  contain  as  determined  by  chemical  analysis,  it  is  obvious 
that  in  Glasgow,  at  least,  an  accurate  and  uniform  method  of 
estimating  that  base  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  an  indis- 
pensable adjunct  to  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  potash  salts. 
1'bat  such  a  desideratum  had  long  since  been  supplied  might 
well  be  supposed  from  the  various  methods  of  analysis  de- 
scribed by  eminent  authorities,  and  from  the  results  of  the 
experience  of  many  able  chemists  who  have  necessarily  been 
much  engaged  in  the  analysis  of  potash  salts.  But  unpardon- 
able discrepancies  constantly  occur  with  regard  to  the  results 
obtained  by  chemists  of  standing  and  experience,  even  when 
operating  on  the  same  carefully  mixed  and  uniform  sample ; 
and  these  point  to  the  conclusion  that  either  the  instructions 
given  by  those  who  may  almost  be  regarded  as  infallible 
authorities  have  been  misunderstood,  and  but  imperfectly 
carried  out,  or,  that  in  many  instances  the  details  of  the 
methods  as  laid  down  are  so  imperfect  as  to  be  useless,  if  not 
even  misleading. 

The  experience  of  the  authors  of  the  memoir,  in  the  analysis 
of  potash  salts,  has  extended  over  a  period  of  many  years, 
during  which  they  have  conjointly  made  thousands  of 
potash  estimations,  and  hence  they  urge  that  they  may 
be  &irly  entitled  to  claim  some  acquaintance  with  the 
subject. 

By  long  and  careful  attention  to  the  results  obtained  by 
other  chemists,   confirmed    by  th&ir  own  experience,   the 


authors  have  invariably  found  that  the  general  teDdeacy  is 
to  report  potash  too  high,  and  the  object  of  the  paper  was 
not  only  to  trace  the  cause  of  this  seemingly  constant  error, 
but  also  to  furnish  from  the  results  of  a  laborious  and  protracted 
course  of  experiments,  the  true  means  of  obviating  that  ten- 
dency, and  obtaining  not  only  constant,  but,  so  to  speak, 
absolutely  correct  results.  In  the  analysis  of  salts  not  par- 
ticularly rich  in  potash  compounds,  a  too  high  result  is  moat 
frequently  obtained,  but  escapes  detection  under  cover  of  lbs 
extraneous  salts  present, — the  blame  of  the  excess  of  potash 
reported  being  thrown  upon  the  soda  salts,  which  are  not 
directly  estimated.  This  error  is  usually  discoTered  only 
when  approximately  pure  salt^are  under  investigation,  when 
the  analysis  comes  out  impossibly  high.  It  is  almost  super- 
fluous to  remark  that  any  process  which  does  not  give  from 
99*9  to  100*15  per  cent,  with  pure  salt,  is  totally  inadmissiUe. 
The  authors  have  both  a  conviction  and  a  positive  assurance 
that  the  methods  adopted  by  chemists — at  least  such  methods 
as  have  come  under  their  observation — do  not  give  results  so 
close  to  the  truth  as  those  just  quoted ;  and  it  is  firom  this 
reason  that  they  were  induced  to  investigate  the  whole  sob- 
ject>  and  bring  the  results  of  the  investigation  under  the  noiioe 
of  the  Section. 

They  admit  that  such  remarks  may  seem  to  involve  rather 
strong  and  severe  strictures  on  experienced  analysts,  and  that 
such  strictures  should  not  be  hastily  made  when'the  aocoracy 
and  definite  nature  of  modem  chemical  analysis  are  considered ; 
but  on  finding  difierences  of  from  i  to  2  per  cent,  by  different 
analysts,  and  results  giving  a  total  of  100  per  cent  in  a  muriate 
of  potash  from  the  ix>tassic  chloride  and  water  alone,  while 
soda  salts,  insoluble  matter,  and  sulphate  of 'potash— a  salt 
having  a  higher  equivalent  than  potassic  chloride— were 
ignored,  they  felt  warranted  in  saying  that  serious  errors  were 
made.  They  claim  no  superior  sagacity  in  chemical  mattery 
but  simply  affirpi  that  their  positions  and  other  circamstapces 
directed  their  attention  to  the  subject,  and  conipelled  them  to 
investigate  it  The  errors  and  conflicting  results  are  not 
necessarily  the  consequence  of  careless  analysis  or  manipula- 
tion, but  are  chiefly  due  to  an  unsuspected  source  of  error  in 
the  reagent  employed.  That  these  defects  in  "potash 
analyses  "  have  so  long  escaped  investigation,  and  even  gen- 
eral observation,  is  perhaps  owing  to  an  unaccountable  and 
mistaken  reliance  in  what  is  generally  called  a  '*  full  analysis'* 
of  a  muriate  or  other  potash  salt  In  many  cases  of  foil 
analyses  of  compounds,  when  the  sum  of  the  various  deter- 
minations amounts  to  100  per  cent,  or  very  nearly,  the 
analysis  is  generally  accepted  as  trustworthy,  and  desenred'y 
so  if  each  of  the  ingredients  or  elements  is  estimated  separately, 
and  not  calculated  from  the  amount  of  another  element ;  yet 
still,  in  the  analysis  of  a  commercial  potash  salt  results  ap- 
proaching a  total  of  100  per  cent  give  no  reliable  check  00 
the  accuracy  of  a  potash  determination,  as  there  »  no  practical 
method  of  determining  soda,  even  indirectlv,  in  presence  of 
potash.  After  enlarging  on  the  methods  of  estimaiting  soda 
in  presence  of  potash,  the  authors  considered  the  general  sub- 
ject under  the  following  heads: — 

I.  The  chemical  principles  involved  m  the  methods  em- 
ployed. 

II.  The  manipulation  of  the  process. 
IIL  The  calculation  of  result& 

I.  The  authors  regard  the  familiar  method  of  determining 
potash  in  presence  of  soda— the  one  now  almost  exdusirely 
practised,  namely,  that  of  precipitating  potash  as  potassio- 
platinic  chloride— as  being  superior  to  all  others;  but  the 
details  of  it,  as  laid  down  in  some  analytical  works,  appear  to 
the  authors  too  meagre  for  guidance  to  correct  results ;  and, 
indeed,  with  the  exception  of  the  writers  of  a  few  scattered 
notes,  they  know  of  no  chemical  authors,  except  Fresenjini^ 
who  habitually  nubjoct  analytical  processes  to  a  searching 
examination.  The  directions  generally  given  are— to  evap- 
orate the  potash  solution  to  dryness  with  excess  of  platinic 
chloride,  and  to  digest  the  residue  in  alcohol  before  filtering. 
As  this  treatment  is  inapplicable  to  salts  containing  an  ap- 
preciable amount  of  soda,  most  practised  analysts  avoid  this 


[BBfUah  BdMon,  VoL  XTH,  No. 437,  page  IM;  No.  438, page  109.] 


CBKstmkL  News,  ) 


Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow. 


285 


source  of  error,  by  stopping  the  evaporation  somewhat  short, 
of  dryness,  and  digesting  the  residue  in  strong  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  platinic  chloride^  which  dissolves  sodium  compounds, 
but  practically  leaves  the  potassium  precipitate  intact  This 
process  is  capable  of  giving  very  correct  results,  if  all  the 
other  essential  points  are  attended  to.  Of  the  other  condi- 
tions requisite  to  ensure  accuracy,  the  most  important  is  the 
purity  of  the  platinic  chloride  solution;  indeed, 'the  authors 
regard  this  as  the  key-stone  of  the  entire  process — impure 
platinum  and  false  results  being  as  inseparably  associated  as 
crime  and  punishment  As  pure  platinic  chloride  solution  is 
not  tlie  rule,  but  the  rare  exception,  false  results  must  be 
alarmingly  numerous ;  and  as  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  methods 
usually  followed  in  recovering  platinum  from  spent  solutions 
and  precipitates  are  the  means  of  introducing  impurities  that 
are  not  easily  removed,  the  authors  first  briefly  noticed  those 
methods,  and  the  objections  to  them,  as  founded  on  numerous 
trials  made  by  themselves.  The  usual  methods  are  four  in 
number: — 

I  St  Reduction  by  nascent  hydrogen  produced  by  the  ac- 
tion of  zinc  on  dilute  hydric  sulphate. 

2d.  Reduction  by  alcohol  in  presence  of  ezoess  of  sodic 
hjdrate. 

3d.  Reduction  by  cane  sugar,  or  by  glucose,  in  a  solution 
strongly  alkaline  by  sodic  carbonatp. 

4th.  Reduction  by  ignition  of  the  precipitated  and  evapo- 
rated fluid  washings  in  a  Hessian  or  other  crucible,  as  recom- 
mended by  Miller,  Abel,  and  Williams. 

The  authors  tried  all  these  methods  most  extensively, 
testing  the  platinic  solution  in  the  most  rigorous  way  by 
making  repeated  estimations  with  perfectly  pure  potassic 
chloride.  They  used  the  compound  sold  by  Griffin  as  chem- 
ically pure,  but  further  purified  it  by  successive  crystallisa- 
tions from  distilled  water.  It  contained  the  normal  amount 
of  chlorine ;  fluorine  was  sought  for  but  not  found.  Solution 
of  platinic  chloride  was  prepared  from  Johnson  and  Matthey's 
spongy  platinum,  boiled  in  nitric  acid,  and  washed  before  dis- 
solving. This  solution  gave  with  pure  potassic  chloride  re- 
sults bordering  on  102  per  cent,  using  the  equivalents  accept- 
ed by  certain  practical  authorities ;  nor  could  these  results  be 
brought  much  nearer  the  truth.  This  was  certainly  an  alarm- 
ing state  of  things,  and  showed  that  ordinary  spongy  platinum 
is  not  in  a  fit  state  for  preparing  pure  pin  tin  ic  chloride. 

Using  the  first  method  of  recovering  platinum,  the  authors 
found  that  if  commercial  zinc  was  employed,  pure  potassic 
chloride  gave  with  the  platinic  chloride  results  far  too  high. 
They  average  from  101-67  ^  102*05  per  cent  Using  purified 
zinc,  Griffiu's  best,  sold  as  being  free  from  arsenic  and  for  use 
in  Marsh's  teat,  but  giving  distinct  indications  of  the  presence 
of  cobalt,  the  results  were  nearer  the  truth,  but  still  too  high, 
being  from  101*37  to  ioi'58  per  cent.  The  chief  objection 
to  this  method  is  the  great  difficulty  of  procuring  zinc  free 
from  lead.  On  one  occasion  one  of  the  authors  obtained  a 
crop  of  chloride  of  lead  crystals,  weighing  upwards  of  00 
grains,  from  the  accumulated  insoluble  matters  left  on  the 
niters  during  the  filtration  of  platinic  chloride  solution  pre- 
pared from  the  metal  recovered  by  the  zinc  method. 

It  is  the  second  method,  or  rather  a  modification  of  it, 
which  the  authors  have  used  for  some  time  in  the  recovery 
of  platinum  to  be  used  in  the  analysis  of  commercial  potash 
samples.  They  render  the  solution  of  platinum  waste 
strongly  alkaline  by  sodic  hydrate,  and  boil  with  alcohol 
The  resulting  platinum  black  is  further  purified  by  boiling  in 
dilute  nitric  acid  and  soda  solution,  with  intermediate  and 
final  washings  with  water.  Thus  prepared,  the  platinum 
invariably  gave  high  results.  The  following  are  examples, 
puro  potassic  chloride  and  recognised  factors  being  used  : — 
10177  to  101-95  percent,  and  101-12  to  ioi'24  per  cent, 
according  to  the  degree  of  purification  by  the  acids. 

The  t  hird  method,  as  recommended  by  Bottger,*  did  not 
give  pure  platinum.  The  authors  used  both  glucose  and 
common  white  cane  sugar.    One  set  of  analyses  gave,  with 

*  Chemical  Kxws,  vol.  xl.,  p.  i68.    {Eng.  Ed.) 

Vol.  II.  No.  6.    June,  1868.         20 


pure  potassic  chloride,  from  101*3  to  ioi*6  per  cent  In  a 
second  set — the  purifying  being  carried  to  a  prolonged  de- 
gree— the  results  were  from  10076  to  100*94  per  cent  To 
a  certain  extent,  the  authors  deemed  these  results  to  be 
satisfactory;  but  if  calculated  by  Stas's  equivalents,  they 
gave  from  101-22  to  101*4  per  cent  In  this  series  of  trials, 
carefully  made — the  manipulation  being  unchallengeable, — 
there  were  only  four  cases  in  which  fair  results  were  obtain- 
ed with  pure  salts,  by  using  platinic  chloride  prepared  from 
platinum  which  had  not  been  previously  ignited  to  remove 
organic  matter. 

The  authors  deem  the  fourth  method  to  be  imperfect 
from  the  great  difficulty  of  completely  decomposing  the 
potassio-platinic  chloride.  Simple  ignition  being  insufficient, 
Ignition  idong  with  nitre  was  tried.  In  some  of  the  experi- 
ments with  platinum  thus  obtained  the  following  percent- 
ages were  given  : — 100*03,  lo^'Hi  100*16,  and  100-22;  but 
the  results  were  always  high  when  using  less  than  four 
drachms  of  water  to  dissolve  the  precipitated  muriate. 

Many  experiments — some  detailed  by  the  authors — were 
performed  in  duplicate  in  order  to  determine  the  best 
method  of  reduction  and  purification  of  the  platinum.  But 
very  early  in  their  inquiry  they  were  led  to  suspect  other 
sources  of  error ;  these  they  also  investigated,  and  ulti- 
mately obtained  results  varying  from  10008  to  looooi, 
wliich  are  certainly  satisfactory  alike  to  science  and  com- 
merce. 

II.  In  respect  of  the  manipulation  of  the  process  the 
authors  object  to  the  method  of  operating  on  such  a  small 
quantity  as  10  grs.,  as  it  gives  inconstant  and  unreliable 
results,  (i.)  Any  error  of  the  balance  is  greatly  multiplied 
in  calculating  to  per  cent  (2.)  The  whole  of  the  insoluble 
matter  is  necessarily  included  in  the  weight  of  the  potassio- 
platinic  chloride,  or,  worse  still,  the  small  quantity  must  be 
dissolved  and  filtered,  and  the  solution  evaporated—a  most 
tedious  and  unsatisfactory  mode  of  procedure.  (3.)  Electri- 
cal repulsion  in  dry  and  freshly  wiped  watch-glasses  used 
in  weighing,  frequently  causes  a  loss  of  the  dried  powder, 
and  such  powder  is  always  hygrometric,  and  thus  errors  may 
occur  in  two  ways.  (4.)  The  amount  dried  from  which  the 
sample  is  taken  is  too  smalL  The  authors  prefer  to  follow 
the  advice  of  Fresenius  and  other  authorities,  and  take, 
8^71  500  grs- J  which  they  dissolve  in  a  small  quantity  of 
water.  They  filter  the  solution  into  a  5,000  gr.  flask  which 
they  fill  up  to  the  proper  level  with  the  washings  and  water 
at  60®  I^h.,  and  by  means  of  a  graduated  pipette  they 
remove  for  precipitation  an  aliquot  part  of  the  whole  solu- 
tion. In  their  paper  the  authors  detailed  the  mode  of  per- 
forming the  volumetric  operations,  and  replied  to  the  objec- 
tions raised  to  the  use  of  the  pipette,  and  gave  some 
details  regardmg  actual  pipette  measurements.  One  of 
these  was  9997  volumes  of  water  delivering  100  volumes 
of  muriate  solution. 

III.  It  is  not  enough  to  master  the  methods  of  obtaining 
pure  platinic  chloride,  and  to  manipulate  the  analysis  of  a 
potash  salt  correctly,  as  error  would  still  result  if  wrong 
equivalents  or  incorrect  factors  be  used  for  calculating  the 
results.  The  authors  have  found  that  some  chemists  of 
high  standing  and  experience  in  practical  analysis  use 
factors  which  are  not  only  not  based  upon  exact  experi- 
ments, but  give  results  from  *$  to  '75  per  cent,  too  high, 
when  using  pure  potassic  chloride,  and  when  every  other 
step  in  the  process  is  rigidly  correct  They  then  give  the 
equivalents  of  platinum,  potassium,  and  chlorine,  as  used 
by  various  authorities,  and  regard  as  most  trustworthy 
those  given  by  Stas,  at  the  mention  of  whose  name  in  con- 
nection with  combining  numbers,  they  suggest  that  every 
good  chemist  should  cross  himself  and  look  devout  They 
said  they  would  like  to  know  where  the  factors  '194  and* 
1*585,  as  used  by  some  analysts,  were  obtain^.  Those- 
used  by  the  authors  are  *  192  5  and  1*584,  and  are  based  on< 
Stasis  numbers.  No  others,  in  their  opinion,  will  give  cor- 
rect results,  seeing  that  they  have  been  determined  with 
every  refinement  of  which  modem  science  is  capable. 


[EngUah  Edition,  Vol.  XVIL,  No.  438,  pages  199,  200.] 


286 


CJiemical  Notioeafrom  Foreign  Sources. 


{ 


Cbkmioai.  Hbwb, 


The  final  condusioas  arrived  at  by  the  authors  are : — 

1.  That  the  methods  of  analysis  taught  and  practised  in 
some  laboratories  are  very  imperfect 

2.  That  the  use  of  the  factor  '194,  or  any  others  than 
those  founded  on  Stas's  equivalents,  is  erroneous,  and  not 
based  on  reliable  experiments. 

3.  That  it  is  necessary  to  check  the  process  used,  and  to 
be  satisfied  of  the  purity  of  reagents  and  other  disturbing 
causes,  by  experiments  with  pure  potassic  (diloride  or  other 
potassium  salt ;  and  that  in  no  case  should  results  be  re- 
ported unless  controlled  by  such  experiments. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  the  reading  of  the  paper, 
several  members  having  much  experience  in  potash  analy- 
sis, supported  the  views  of  the  authors,  and  lughly  compli- 
mented them  upon  the  extraordinary  industry  displayed  in 
the  elaborate  series  of  experiments  referred  to  in  the  paper, 
and  on  the  rigid  care  talcen  to  avoid  all  sources  of  error. 
Messrs.  Chalmers  and  Tatlock  were  heartily  thanked  for 
their  interesting  and  valuable  communication. 


CHEMICAIi  NOTIGBS  FROM  FOREIGN 
SOURCES. 


Nenrln  and  Sinealln — Glaus  and  Kees6  have  made 
some  experiments  on  sincalin  with  a  view  ot  elucidating  the 
nature  of  its  relation  to  neurin.  After  a  careful  comparison 
of  the  various  derivatives  of  the  two,  particalariy  of  the  chlo- 
ro-platinate  and  aurate,  the  authors  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  are  identical.--{t/(7ttr/i.  pr.  Chem,^  cii.  24.) 

NapliLtliial«n«*_H.  Vohl.  Perfecdy  pure  naphthalene 
has  the  epeciflc  gravity  at  19**  C.= 1*15 173;  it  fuses  at  79* 
'25,  and  boils  at  217*"  to  218°.  The  fused  material  absorbs 
large  quantities  of  air, — that  is  to  Bay,  a  mixture  of  nitrogen 
and  oxygen  containing  nearly  50  per  cent  of  oxygen, — which 
escapes  again  on  cooling  just  before  solidification  takes  place. 
Fused  or  boiling  naphthalene  is  a  powerful  solvent  and  me- 
dium for  crystallisation  for  a  variety  of  substances,  as  sulphur, 
phosphorus,  sulphides,  iodine^  indigo,  &c.  As  regards  the 
detection  of  naphthalene  the  author  makes  use  of  the  follow- 
ing reaction:  to  naphthalene  is  added  nitric  monobydrate, 
the  mixture  diluted  with  much  water,  the  precipitate  washed 
with  water,  finally  with  diluted  alcohol  (i  alcohol  of  90  per 
cent,  3  water),  the  residue  mixed  with  a  few  drops  of  aque- 
ous potassic  hydrate  and  sulphide,  and  evaporated  to  dryness ; 
this  residue  on  addition  of  alcohol  gives  a  brilliant  violet  tinc- 
ture.— (IbicL  cii.  29.) 

Double  Olilorlde  of  Thalllain  and  Iron.— Wohler. 
When  freshly  precipitated  and  still  moist  thallic  chloride  is 
added  to  a  concentrated  solution  of  ferric  chloride  containing 
much  stroDg  chlorhydric  acid  in  excess,  a  red  precipitate  is 
formed,  the  composition  of  which  is  3  TlCl-hFcaCU.  Another 
way  for  preparing  this  compound  consists  in  fusing  thallic 
chloride  in  the  vapour  of  ferric  chloride.  The  double  chloride 
dissolves  in  hot  strong  chlorhydric  acid,  and  separates-  on 
cooling  in  red  prismatic  crystals.  Water  decomposes  it  im- 
mediately, throwing  down  white  thallic  chloride. — (Ann. 
Chem.  Pkarm.f  cxliv.  250.) 

€erliimi. — Wohler.  On  fusing  the  chlorides  of  the  cerite 
metals  with  sodium,  globules  of  reduced  metal  are  obtaiued, 
which  seem  to  consist  principally  of  cerium ;  the  colour  of 
the  metal  is  between  that  of  iron  and  lead,  and  it  is  nearly  as 
soft  as  lead ;  its  specific  gravity  is  about  55.  If  a  globule  is 
heated  suddenly  to  a  high  temperature  in  a  blow-pipe  flame, 
•combustion  takes  place,  accompanied  with  an  explosion,  and 
sparks  of  most  intense  luminosity  are  thrown  out.  From  the 
.portion  of  the  fiux  in  which  the  metal  is- found  imbedded,  a 
;glittering  dark  purple  crystalline  powder  may  be  isolated  by 
-digestion  with  water;  this  compound  is  an  oxychloride  of 
cerium,  its  composition  being  represented  by  the  formula,  Ce 
Cl-l-2  CeO,'-{Ibid.  cxliv.  251.) 


DeterminaUon  of  ▲mmonUu — 0.  Meister  shows  that 
ammonia  or  its  salts,  when  in  a  greatly  diluted  state,  as  in 
waters  for  example,  may  be  successfully  determined  bj  eva- 
porating one  or  two  litres  of  the  solution  in  question  with  the 
addition  of  about  5  grammes  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  distilling 
the  residue  with  a  solution  of  sodic  hydrate,  previously  boiled, 
into  sulphuric  or  chlorhydric  acid  of  known  8trength.^^a- 
turf.  QeseUscfk  Zurich,  1867,  172.) 

IMsttIIatlon*_P.  Pellogio  describes  a  contrivance  by 
means  of  which  the  troublesome  *'  bumping  "  peculiar  to  cer- 
tain liquids  when  under  distillation  may  be  entirely  prevented. 
It  consists  of  a  glass  tube  as  wide  as  practicable,  inserted 
through  the  tubudus,  and  reaching  nearly  to  the  bottom  of 
the  retort,  and  having  the  upper  end  bent  at  a  right  angle, 
and  drawn  out  to  nearly  capillary  dimensions,  thus  establish* 
ing  a  communication  between  the  outer  air  and  the  interior 
of  the  retort.  With  the  help  of  this  arrangement  such  liquids 
as  methylic  alcohol,  sulphuric  acid,  petroleum  residues,  ika, 
distil  as  smoothly  as  alcohol  or  water. — {ZeUschr.  Anal^ 
Chem.,  vi.  396.) 

Acrolein* — A.  Glaus.  If  a  solution  of  potassic  hydrate, 
alcoholic  or  aqueous,  is  saturated  with  acrolein,  and  sulphuric 
acid  be  added,  a  precipitate  of  hexacrolic  acid  is  t>btained, 
and  f^om  the  mother-liquor  acrylic  acid  may  be  distilled  o£ 
--{Natmf.  GeseUscK  Freib,,  I  Br.  1867.) 

Oxidation  of  Amylle  Aleoliol...A.  Glaus.  In  a 
cylinder  were  placed,  without  mixing,  nitric  acid  (specific  gra- 
^^^7  ^'5%  w^ater,  and  amylic  alcohol  After  about  four  months 
the  smell  of  the  alcohol  had  di8ap}>eared,  that  of  amylic  vale- 
rianate having  taken  its  place.  The  mixture  was  then  diluted 
with  water  and  half  of  it  distilled  o£f ;  the  distillate  consisted 
chiefiy  of  the  ether,  and  the  residue  on  further  concentration 
gave  off  much  nitric  acid  vapour,  and  on  oooling  separated 
crystals  of  oxalic  acid.— ^/6ui  1867.) 

laomerlam  of  the  Hydrocarbons  -GsHio  and  OtHg. 
— A.  Butlerow.  There  can  be  only  two  isomers  of  the  com- 
position 64H10 ;  the  one  is  ethyle 

\  eH,(eH,) 

the  other  trimethylformene  6(6Hs)sH,  obtained  by  the 
author  from  trimethylcarbinol  (tertiary  pseudo-butylic  alco- 
hol) by  the  action  of  zinc  on  trimethylcarbinylic  iodide.  The 
reactions  of  the  two  compounds  prove  them  to  be  isomeric; 
not  identical.  The  action  of  chlorine,  for  instance,  gives  rise 
to  the  formation  of  early  products,  of  which  that  derived 
fi'om  trimethylformene  is  lighter  than  water,  that  from  ethyle 
heavier ;  and  on  heating  those  chloro-derivatives  with  water 
to  100°  G.  trimethylcarbinol  is  formed  in  the  one  case,  and 
scarcely  any  action  is  observed  in  the  other. 

The  number  of  isomeric  butylenes  aoourding  to  the  author 
is  nine ;  that  derived  from  trimethylcarbinol  by  the  actioD 
upon  it  (its  iodide)  of  alcoholic  potassic  hydrate,  has  the 
formula, 

and  is  converted  into  pseudopropylcarbinol  (primary  pseodo- 
butylic  alcohol),  on  oxidation  with  hypochloroos  add.— 
{Ann.  Chenu  Pha/rm.  cxliv.  i.) 

Synthesis  of  Alcohols* — K  Linemann.  The  syntfaem 
of  latty  alcohols  from  the  lower  members  of  the  series  by 
way  of  successive  conversions  of  the  alcohol  (methylic)  into 
cyanide,  amide  of  next  higher  alcohol,  and  alcohol,  is  of  little 
practical  value  on  account  of  the  great  loss  experienced  ia 
the  last  stage  of  the  process.  The  conversion  of  the  amide 
into  alcohol  by  means  of  an  excess  of  nitrous  acid  (HofmanQ^ 
whereby  nitrite  of  alcohol  is  produced,  is  aocompanied  by  a 
rapid  evolution  of  nitrogen  which  carries  off  most  of  the  vob- 
tiie  alcoholic  nitrit»  The  author  has  discovered  a  proces 
by  which  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  amide  is  obtained  as 


[EngUali  Edition,  VoL  XVU.,  No.  438,  pages  200,  201 ;  No.  436,  pages  165, 166;  Na  436;  page  181.] 


OBignoi.L  KnrB,  I 
JuM,  1868.       r 


Notices  of  BooTca. 


287 


alcohol  It  consists  in  boiling  the  nitrite  of  the  amide  with 
slightly  acidulated  water,  whereby  it  Bplits  up  into  nitrogen 
and  alcohol,  the  alcohol  being  prevented  from  evaporation 
by  the  water  present.  The  conversion  of  the  amide  into 
nitrite  is  effected  by  decomposing  its  chlorhydrate  with  argen- 
tic nitrite.  A.  Siersch  by  means  of  this  method  converted 
eihylic  alcohol  into  isopropylic  alcohol. — Ibid,   cxliv.   129, 

Stannie  Dletlirl-dliiietliyle. — ^N.  Morgunoff.  Methyl- 
caproyl  and  acetyl-amyle,  ^tHmO,  according  to  Popoff's 
experiments  are  identical,  which  fact  proves  the  equality  of 
die  four  carbon  affinities.  Morgunoff  has  from  the  same 
point  of  view  examined  the  two  stannic  diethyl-dimethyle 


Sn 


i  OH,), 


as  obtained  either  by  acting  upon  stanndiethylic  diiodide 
with  zincic  methide  or  upon  stanndiethylic  diiodide  with  zincic 
el  hide,  and  he  has  found  that  both  methods  lead  to  the  same 
result,  and  that  therefore  the  four  affinities  of  the  tetratomic 
tin,  like  those  of  carbon,  are  of  equal  value. — Ihid.  cxliv., 
«57. 


NOTICES  OP  BOOKS. 


Chemical  Notes  for  the  Ledwre-roam  On  ffeoL    By  Thomas 
Wood,  PhJ).,  F.C.S.    London:  Longmans  &  Co. 

It  is  a  pleasure  for  us  to  record  that  this  text-book  has  met 
with  the  success  that  we  predicted  for  iL  As  a  consequence 
a  second  edition  has  been  published  in  a  comparatively  short 
space  of  time,  and  Dr.  Wood  has  by  careful  revision  consider- 
ably improved  it.  As  we  could  never  attach  any  very  clear 
or  definite  meaning  to  the  word  ^'  oram^'**  as  applied  to  tuition, 
we  forbear  to  discuss  in  what  way  such  an  expression  could 
attach  itself  to  a  work  like  that  under  our  notice.  It  is,  how- 
ever, within  the  experience  of  every  observer  that  cramming, 
in  teaching,  not  unfrequently  is  used  as  synonymous  with 
method,  conciseness,  and  want  of  verbiage,  by  persons  who 
wo  presume  have  never  followed  such  a  highly  reprehensible 
course.  ' 

An  expression  which  is  definite  may  convey  clearly  the 
avowed  object  of  this  book,  which  is  one  that  we  may  boldly 
say  is  a  legitimate — even  more,  a  desirable  one — and  that  is 
driU.  Many  minds  require  the  same  fact  to  be  placed  before 
them  over  and  over  again  in  the  same  light  and  in  the  same 
words ;  but  this  is  not  equivalent  to  saying  that  such  a  drill- 
ing  is  applicable  to  leading  and  superior  minds  in  which 
originality  is  to  be  hoped  for.  Dr.  Wood  certainly  can  with 
justice  claim  to  have  carried  out  thoroughly  a  plan  that  he 
has  clearly  sketched  out  for  himself,  and  this  we  take  to  bo 
no  small  merit  in  a  writer  of  science.  The  majority  of  our 
readers  will,  we  think,  acknowledge  the  justice  and  truth  of 
what  Dr.  Wood  asserts  in  his  preface. 

"  Many  years*  experience  in  teaching  has  convinced  me 
that  the  average  boy  can  only  be  provided  with  a  very  limit- 
ed amount  of  producible  information  on  any  subject  for  au 
examination.  A  small  book,  therefore,  with  which  he  may 
become  so  familiar  as  to  be  able  to  refer  to  it  with  ease  and 
rapidity,  and  which  he  can  almost  get  by  heart,  is  the  thing 
required,  and  the  present  edition  is  offered  as  such.'^ 

In  the  next  edition  we  would  suggest  that  the  author 
should  properly  punctuate  the  title  of  his  book.  Many  who 
have  not  had  the  advantage  of  Dr.  Wood's  explanatfon  might 
be  puzzled  to  know  the  meaning  of  a  '^  Lecture-room  On 
Heat." 

Scientific  Blue  Books,    No,  i,  AhridgmenJts  of  Specificatums 
ofFaietUs, 

It  may  be  urged  with  justice,  we  are  afraid,  that  scientifio 
men  in  general,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  authors,  are 


totally  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  there  exist  scientific  blue 
books,  the  value  of  which  is  very  g^eat,  as  by  consulting  such 
we  invariably  get  evidence  the  accuracy  of  which  no  one  can 
fau-Iy  dispute.  Thousands  of  valuable  scientific  blue  books 
are  destroyed  as  waste-paper,  owing  mainly  to  the  want  of 
appreciation  by  the  scientific  public 

The  original  books  of  specifications  of  patents  are  far  too 
costly  and  cumbersome  for  any  but  a  large  public  library ; 
thus  the  specification  of  patents  filed  during  the  operation 
of  the  Patent  Law  Amendment  Act,  from  October  i,  1852, 
to  June  30,  1866,  are  comprised  in  43,955  blue  books,  or 
1,428  thick  volumes  imperial  octavo,  to  be  obtained  at  a  price 
of  £  129a 

The  very  first  idea  that  is  impresi?ed  upon  the  mind  by  this 
really  impressive,  not  to  say  oppressive,  fact,  is  that  some  of 
all  this  mass  of  matter  must  be  of  value ;  and  if  this  value, 
exists,  the  papers  would  be  well  worth  wading  through  once 
and  for  ever  by  competent  authorities,  with  the  view  of  sift- 
ing the  grain  from  the  chaff  in  the  fii*st  place,  and  in  the 
second  of  converting  that  grain  into  material  that  may  be 
easily  digested.  Tlie  second  of  these  processes  is  continually 
being  carried  on  by  authors  of  technological  works  in  every 
department  of  science ;  but  the  shoirt  digest  of  cumbersome 
works  is  not  so  well  adapted  to  the  needs  of  these,  as  to  the 
students  of  such  works  who  may  desire  to  have  authentic 
records  of  any  technological  process  which  may  in  turn  serve 
as  a  reference  to  a  still  more  detailed  description  if  such  be 
necessary.  This  work  is  now  being  conscientiously  and 
thoroughly  done  in  a  systematic  manner,  and  we  are  only 
discharging  an  obvious  duty  in  doing  the  utmost  in  our  pow- 
er to  prevent  a  premature  close  to  a  good  project 

The  abridgments  of  specifications  of  patented  inventions 
carefully  classified  are  miniature  blue  books,  of  duodecimo 
size ;  each  affords  at  once  a  chronological,  alphabetical,  sub- 
ject-matter, and  reference  index  to  each  class,  the  work  being 
done  by  ^ell  qualified  compilers ;  omissions  that  are  wholly 
unavoidable  from  the  mass  of  the  material  will  be  supplied  in 
second  edition:).  In  addition  we  find  an  introduction  to  each 
volume,  which  further  gives  a  short  digest  of  the  various  dis- 
coveries made  from  time  to  time  in  each  branch.  The  prices 
of  these  works  are  extremely  moderate,  and  a  copy  of  the 
more  important  ones  should  be  possessed  by  all  practical 
chemists  who  devote  themselves  to  the  various  branches  of 
technology  At  present  twenty-nine  classes  have  been  pub- 
lished, and  among  those  of  more  immediate  interest  are  those 
of  "  Preservation  of  Food,"  "  Manufacture  of  Iron  and  Steel" 
"  Bleaching,  Dyeing,  and  Printing,"  "  Electricity  and  Magne- 
tism ;  their  Generation  and  Applications,"  "  Production  and 
Applications  of  Gas,"  "Metals  and  Alloys,"  "Photography," 
"  Plating  and  Coating  of  Metals,"  "  Oils,  Animals,  Vegetable, 
and  Mineral."  The  following  we  learn,  with  numerous  others, 
are  in  course  of  preparation  :  *'  Preparation  and  Combustion 
of  Fuel,"  "'Steam  Engines,"  "Stone,  Marble,  and  Cements," 
"Acids,  Alkalies,  Oxides,  and  Salts." 

If  due  appreciation  attend  these  efforts,  doubtless  others 
will  appear  in  course  of  time.  Valuable  as  these  abridg- 
ments.are  to  all  scientific  men,  they  will  prove  to  be  invalu- 
able to  those  who  desire  to  know  what  processes  really 
are  patented  and  what  are  not  We  would  urge  upon  the 
authorities,  however,  that  as  these  volumes  bear  evidence  of 
great  industry,  considerable  powers  of  accuracy,  and  require 
the  rather  rara  quality  of  condensation  with  judgment,  and 
without  important  omissions  on  the  part  of  the  compiler,  it 
would  only  be  a  matter  of  justice  to  give  the  credit  due  to 
the  author,  in  every  case,  by  appending  his  name  as  such. 
The  practice  of  working  by  deputy  is  only  to  be  encouraged 
when  the  said  deputy  is  exposed  tQ  a  just  criticism  of  his 
own  share  in  the  work,  which  criticism  should  be  limited  to 
such  personal  work.  By  a  subdivision  of  labour,  again,  it  so 
frequently  happens  that  any  responsibility  is  easily  lost  sight 
of,  and  inaccuracy  is  a  frequent  result 

We  are  told  by  Mr.  Woodcrofl  that  the  most  recent  chemi- 
cal names  of  substances  ar€f  placed  in  italics  after  the  names 
that  have  been  obtained  from  the  respective  specifications ,' 


[BngUih  Edition,  VoL  ZVII,  No.  436,  paffes  181, 179, 180.] 


288 


Correspondence. 


*•  this  addition  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  universal  adop- 
tion of  the  nawr  chemical  nomenclature." 

We  hope  that  this  addition  will  not  at  present  be  made  to 
the  substance  of  the  specifications  themselves ;  even  the  most 
ardent  radical  in  chemistry  would  not  care  to  have  a  string 
of  synonyms  after  every  mention  of  such  a  substance  as.  say, 
calomel,  which,  if  burdened  with  aliases,  after  the  manner  of 
legal  definitions,  would,  we  are  afraid,  present  a  very  crimi- 
nal appearance  indeed. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 


Preservation  of  Meat, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmioal  Nswa 
Siij^ — ^Having  worked  in  conjunction  with  Prof.  Gamgoe  at 
the  development  of  the  meat  preserving  process,  I  can 
answer  for  him  the  inquiries  of  your  correspondent.  The 
sheep  sent  over  from  England  were  preserved  in  substantially 
the  same  way  as  the  meat  mentioned  in  th^  Chemical  News, 
vol.  XV.,  p.  135  {Etiq.  Ed.\  viz.,  by  treatment  with  carbonic 
oxide  and  sulphurous  acid.  The  carcases  were  whole,  and 
merely  packed  in  wooden  boxes,  containing  soft  material  to 
prevent  bniising.  The  details  of  the  process  are  of  course 
given  in  the  English,  United  States,  and  other  patent  speci- 
fications, to  which  I  must  refer  all  seeking  information. — I 
am,  &c., 

Walteb  Noel  Hartley. 

March  30,  1868. 


Roycd  School  of  Mvms. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemioal  News. 
Sir,— In  his  last  letter,  "A.  L.  E."  proposes,  en  passant^  a 
change  in  the  curriculum  of  this  School,  to  which,  it  appears 
to  mo,  much  greater  prominence  is  duo.  I  refer  to  the 
passage  in  which  he  mentions  the  desirability  of  increasing 
the  present  staff  of  professors  by  two,  viz.,  on  botany  and 
mathematics. 

When  the  late  Professor  Forbes  was  alive,  the  lectures 
of  general  natural  history  were  rightly  named,  inasmuch  as 
they  included  both  zoology  and  botany ;  but  Professor  Hux- 
ley, his  successor,  does  not  include  botany  in  his  course. 
Now,  1  suppose  none  would  blame  the  Council  for  prefer- 
ring such  a  man  as  Professor  Huxley  to  another  of  inferior 
talents  who  would  include  both  subjects;  and  had  the 
Council  supplemented  their  election  of  Professor  Huxley  to 
the  chair  of  zoology  by  another  election  to  the  botanical 
chair,  all  would  have  been  satisfied.  As  it  is,  however,  the 
whole  of  the  botany  taught  in  this  School  is  limited  to  the 
lectures  on  palaeontology,  where  it  is,  ca;  necessitate^  only 
briefly  treated. 

Such  a  step  would  be  a  boon,  not  only  to  the  students  of 
tbis  school  (for  then  I  should  have  little  excuse  for  thus 
trespassing  on  your  columns),  but  to  the  whole  mass  of 
London  students.  For  as  the  present  course  on  zoology, 
yearly  delivered  by  Professor  Huxley,  is  unequalled,  I  think 
I  may  with  safety  say,  in  the  British  Islands,  so,  I  suppose, 
would  it  be  the  case  with  the  botanical  lectures.  The  diffi- 
culty of  obtaining,  at  the  present  time,  any  course  of 
lectures  on  this  subject,  which  goes  into  the  science  {ft  all 
deeply,  is  too  well  known  to  those  who  have  tried  to  find 
such  lectures,  to  need  comment  from  me. 

I  find  that  tiie  length  of  my  letter  forbids  me  entering 
into  detail  on  the  subject  of  the  mathematical  course ;  I 
therefore  leave  it,  and  with  less  regret,  since  the  relations 
of  mathematics  to  physics  and  mechanics  are  so  very 
apparent. 

X  will  not  waste  your  space  by  apologies  for  trespassing 
thereon;  and  thanking  "A.  L.  E."  for  raising  the  discus- 
sion, and  yourselves  for  so  kindly  opening  your  columns 
thereto, — I  am,  &a, 

An  Exhibitioner,  B.aM. 


The  Permanganate  Water- Test 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemioal  Nbw& 

Sir, — ^Will  you  permit  me  to  make  a  few  obaervations  on 
the  paper  which  appeared  in  your  number  of  the  27th  of 
March  (ArrL  Reipr,,  May,  '68,  page  221),  on  the  nature  and  ex- 
amination of  the  organic  matter  in  potable  waters  ?  It  ia 
from  the  sanitary  point  of  view  that  I  propose  to  consider 
the  subject,  because,  as  was  remarked  by  the  anthor  of 
that  paper,  it  is  the  fitness  or  unfitness  of  water  for  drink- 
ing purposes,  and  the  quality  and  effects  on  the  health  of 
the  organic  matter  oontainod  in  water,  rather  than  its 
quantity,  which  are  the  points  that  give  importance  to  the 
subject 

Some  seventeen  years  ago,  Professor  Forchhammer,  of 
Copenhagen,  proposed  to  estimate  the  quantity  of  soluble 
organic  matter  in  water  by  permanganate  of  potash.  After 
a  considerable  lapse  of  time  his  proposal  was  extensively 
adopted  and  relied  upon  by  some  chemists,  as  a  means  of 
volumotrically  determining  the  amount  of  organic  impuri- 
ties present  in  water.  Subsequent  observations  have,  how- 
ever, demonstrated  that  for  the  purpose  of  estimating  the 
quantity  of  organic  matter  contained  in  water,  permanga- 
nate of  potash  cannot  be  relied  upon. 

In  the  meantime  (some  twelve  years  ago)  Mr.  Condy,  of 
Bnttersea,  having  discovered  the  disinfecting  properties  of  the 
alkaline  permanganates,  proposed  to  apply  his  solution  of 
those  salts  (Condy's  Fluid)  to  the  determination  of  the  quahty 
of  the  soluble  organic  impurities  of  potable  waters,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  satisfactorily  demonstrating  that  his  method  was 
not  only  a  quick  and  ready,  but  likewise  a  reliable  sanitary 
test  for  soluble  organic  matter  in  water.  Having  been 
adopted  in  several  of  the  public  services,  and  used  extensively 
among  medical  men  during  a  period  of  many  years,  his  pro- 
cess must  be  considered  firmly  established.  I  could  myself 
detail  many  striking  proofe  of  the  sanitary  value  of  this  test 
which  have  come  under  my  notice  in  the  course  of  my  ex- 
perience as  a  lecturer  on  hygienic  subjects  at  various  institu- 
tions throughout  Great  Britain,  but  will  confine  myself  to  a 
recent  instance.  Having  been  supplied,  through  the  kindness 
of  Dr.  Gimson,  with  specimens  of  water  from  all  the  wells  of 
Terling,  I  easily  detected  the  infected  waters  bv  this  t&M, 
aloue,  and  on  handing  him  my  results  they  were  found  to  be 
exactly  borne  out  by  his  experience  of  the  course  taken  by 
the  serious  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  which  has  been  preva- 
lent there  during  the  last  three  or  four  months. 

While,  therefore,  permanganate  of  potash  has  been  found 
comparatively  worthless  for  estimating  the  quantity  of  organic 
matter  in  water,  its  value  as  a  quick  and  ready  sanitary  test 
for  the  quality  of  the  organic  impurities  of  potable  waters  has 
been  placed  beyond  doubt 

It  would,  consequently,  seem  to  me  that  the  way  in  which 
the  question  of  the  utility  of  the  permanganate  test  has  been 
dismissed,  in  the  paper  under  oonsideration,  is  calculated  to 
propagate  error  and  to  discredit  one  most  useful  and  reliable 
application  of  it,  for  showing  inadequate  reason  that  another 
and  totally  different  application  has  proved  to  be  faulty  and 
comparatively  worthless. 

The  study  of  the  effects  of  permanganate  on  organic  matter 
shows  that,  as  a  rule,  it  acts  with  great  rapidity  on  such  mat- 
ter when  in  a  putrescent  or  offensive  state,  but  slowly  on 
sound  or  harmless  organic  substances.  Thus  its  complete 
action  upon  water  mixed  with  pure  organic  matter  would 
be  a  matter  of  days;  whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the 
sample  be  allowed  to  stand  till  decomposition  sets  in,  the 
permanganate  would  act  with  g^eat  rapidity  on  the  decom- 
posed portion.  Dr.  Angus  Smith,  in  a  pamphlet  on  this  sub- 
ject privately  printed  and  circulated  (but  not  published,  90  :ar 
as  I  am  aware),  says :  "  The  organic  matter  which  decomposes 
the  chameleon  in  a  minute  or  two,  must  be  carefully  noted; 
but  generally  there  is  a  grreater  quantity  which  decompoees 
very  slowly :  the  result  obtained  for  the  latter  is,  I  believe,  of 
less  value.  Generally  considerable  permanency  is  obtained 
in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes;  then  the  slow  decomposition  begins 


[English  Editioo,  VoL  ZVH.,  No.  43^  pagd  ISO ;  No.  435^  pages  166^  167.] 


CirinffiCAL  Nbws,  I 


Cb?T€spo7idence. 


289 


of  quite  aootber  quantity  of  orfi^Dic  matter,  requiriug  hours 
or  even  day&  The  amount  decomposed  instantly  is  a  true 
measure  of  the  putridity."  It  1%  a  most  important  matter, 
therefore,  in  considering  the  action  of  permanganate  on  water, 
to  keep  clearly  in  view  these  several  actions  which  actually 
give  the  real  practical  value  to  that  substance  as  a  test  for, 
and  destroyer  of,  dangerous  organic  matter.  It  affords  the 
most  rapid  and  ready  mode  of  detecting  the  offensive  and 
dangerous  substances,  while  it  leaves  the  inofifensive  and 
harmless  matters  comparatively  untouched.  It  is  evident  that 
when  a  speedy  test  for  the  existence  in  water  of  impurities  to 
which  the  origin  of  disease  in  a  household  may  bo  due,  a  re- 
agent is  not  wanted  which  would  expend  its  chemical  force 
on  such  harmless  matters  as  sugar,  gum,  starch,  and  the  like, 
but  one  which  can  seek  out  and  reveal  offensive  organic  sub- 
stances, which,  in  the  words  of  the  paper  in  question,  are 
often  of  "  such  deleterious  nature,  that  our  ideas  of  the  most 
virulent  matter  fall  short  of  the  horrible  results  that  these 
invisible  poisons  can  accomplish." 

By  turning  to  the  Chemical  News  of  the  7th  of  February 
last  (Am.  Bepr.j  April,  1868,  page  184),  it  will  be  seen  that, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Manchester  Literary  and  Philosophical 
Society,  Dr.  Angus  Smith  confirmed  his  above-stated  views, 
by  declaring  \hat  "  the  condition  of  organic  matter  in  water 
can  be  estimated  for  sanitary  purposes  sufficiently  by  perman- 
ganate of  potash,"  which  is  precisely  the  proposition  first  ad- 
vanced by  Mr.  Oondy  ten  years  ago. 

Some  little  time  since  Professor  Attfield  published  through 
the  medium  of  the  Times^  a  somewhat  ingenious  extemporary 
method  of  recognising  pollution  in  water,  by  means  of  the 
sense  of  smell.  But  the  time  required  by  this  method  is 
sometimes  so  great,  and  the  nose,  especially  among  persons 
who  have  not  been  used  to  discriminate  fiaiut  odoura  by  the 
olfactory  organ,  is  so  inferior  to  the  eye,  that  were  it  even 
more  accurate  and  reliable  than  it  is,  Professor  Attfield's  test, 
though  well  worth  knowing  as  an  excellent  make-shift  in 
certain  exceptional  cases,  may  be  set  aside  as  having  nothing 
to  recommend  it  for  ordinary  occasions. — I  am,  &&, 

John  Muter, 
Aathor  of  **The  AlkaHoe  PermuigaQatefl 
and  their  Medicinal  Uses." 

Richmond  Terrace,  March  30th,  1868. 


Detection  of  AduUerated  Flour, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  CnEinoAL  News. 

Sir,— Tour  querist,  "  Q,"  asks  for  a  method  of  detecting  the 
adulteration  of  wheaten  flour  with  the  flour  of  the  seeds  of 
the  leguminosfiB,  i.e.,  beans,  lentils,  peas,  Ac.,  other  than  the 
detection  of  the  difference  of  the  starch  globules  of  the  latter 
meals  by  means  of  the  microscope.  The  wheaten  flour  sus- 
pected to  be  thus  adulterated  is  made  into  a  paste  with  water, 
the  paste  is  placed  in  a  clean  linen  cloth  and  is  kneaded  under 
a  constant  stream  of  fresh  water,  until  the  water  runs  off  quite 
limpid ;  in  other  words,  all  the  starch  and  matters  soluble  in 
water  are  washed  out,  and  the  gluten  is  retained  in  the  cloth. 
The  following  points  deserve  to  be  noticed : — 

(a)  Whether  the  paste  does  not  emit  a  peculiar  smell  not 
met  with  in  paste  made  with  unadulterated  flour. 

(b)  Whether  it  exhibits  a  peculiar  fatty  appearance. 

(c)  Whether  the  water  does  not  exhibit  a  soapy  appear- 
ance. 

(d)  Whether  the  gluten  which  remains  on  the  cloth  ex- 
hibits the  proper  degree  of  toughness  and  elasticity,  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  gluten  from  pure,  sound  wheaten  flour. 

The  water  which  has  served  for  washing,  is  collected,  and 
after  having  been  well  and  vigorously  stirred  up,  is  divided 
into  two  equal  portions.  One  of  these  is  left  standing  ex- 
posed to  a  temperature  of  from  70**  to  86°  P.,  in  order  to  try 
whether  foul  fermentation  does  not  set  in ;  this  does  not  take 
place  at  all,  in  case  the  flour  under  examination,  and  treated 
as  described,  were  sound  wheaten  flour,  since  in  that  case 


only  lactic  acid  is  formed  under  the  conditions  just  alluded 
to ;  the  other  portion  of  the  water  is  first  diluted  with  some 
distilled  water,  rendered  alkaline  by  the  addition  of  some 
liquid  ammonia.  The  fluid  is  then  left  quietly  standing, 
uutil  aH  the  starch  is  settled  down,  is  next  flltered,  is  then 
submitted  to  evaporation  on  a  water-bath,  until  a  kind  of  pel- 
licle, or  skin,  is  observed  to  be  formed  on  its  surface ;  it  is 
then  cooled  down,  filtered,  in  order  to  separate  coagulated 
albumen,  while  to  the  clear  filtrate  next  acetic  acid,  in  slight 
excess,  is  added.  If  the  addition  of  this  acid  causes  a  preci- 
pitate, it  is  possible  that  such  might  be  due  to  the  presence 
of  legumin,  owing  to  the  adulteration  of  the  wheaten  flour  by 
means  of  the  ground-up  seeds  of  leguminosffi ;  but  since  the 
precipitate  might  be  due  to  immixtures  in  the  wheaten  flour 
of  buck-wheat  meal,  colza-cake  meal,  indian-corn  meal,  or 
even  accidental  presence  of  chloride  of  sodium,  it  is  requisite 
to  collect  the  precipitate  ou  a  fllter,  to  wash  it  with  warm 
distilled  water,  and  to  submit  it  to  the  following  tests : — 

(a)  To  observe  whether  it  is  colourless,  and  deVt)id  of  smell 
and  taste. 

(&)  Whether  on  drying  it  becomes  homy,  hard,  and  trans- 
lucent. 

(c)  Whether  it  is  tinged  blue  by  iodine. 

(d)  Whether  it  is,  or  is  not,  soluble  in  hot  or  cold  water. 

(e)  Also,  insoluble  in  alcohol  (pure  alcohol,  not  methylated 
spirit). 

(/)  Soluble  in  a  weak  solution  of  caustic  potassa  in  am- 
monia, and  precipitable  therefrom  by  means  of  hydro- 
chloric, nitric^  and  acetic  acids,  all  of  which  reactions  refer  to 
legumin. 

The  precipitate  or  sediment  of  the  washings  of  the  flour 
under  examination  is  next  divided  into  two  portions;  the 
smaller  of  the  two  portions  is  again  divided  into  two  parts, 
and  to  one  of  these  is  added  a  solution  of  caustic  potassa, 
containing  10  per  cent,  of  solid  alkali,  while  to  the  other  is 
added  some  dilute  hydrochloric  acid ;  in  both  instances  the 
staich  is  by  these  means  dissolved,  and  if  some  of  the  fluid  is 
placed,  under  proper  conditions,  under  a  microscope  with  a 
magnifying  power  of  300,  there  will,  in  case  any  meal  of 
peas,  beans,  lentils  had  been  present  be  seen  the  remnants  of 
the  broken-up  cellular  tissue  peculiar  to  these  seeds,  and  ex- 
hibiting a  peculiar  net-like  texture.  The  larger  portion  of 
the  sediment  may  be  carefully  washed  out  with  water,  so  as 
to  obtain  six  different  wash-waters,  all  depositing  sediments 
of  starch,  the  last,  or  sixth  of  which  will  contain  the  peculiar 
starch  of  the  seeds  just  alluded  to.  Fresenius  has  called  at- 
tention ^to  a  peculiar  difference  in  the  ash  of  the  wheaten 
meal,  or  flour  suspected  to  be  adulterated  with  leguminoess 
seeds.  Such  ash  is — ist,  deliquescent,*  2d,  its  aqueous  solu- 
tion tinges  turmeric  paper  brown ;  3d,  there  will  appear,  on 
addition  of  nitrate  of  silver  solution  to  such  ash,  a  precipitate  of 
chloride  of  silver,  which,  on  exposure  to  daylight,  becomes 
discoloured.  Pure  and  sound  wheaten  flour  does  not  contain 
any  chlorides  at  all;  and  though  the  solution  of  its  ash  yields 
a  precipitate  with  nitrate  of  silver,  that  precipitate  remains 
unchanged  by  exposure  to  daylight.  Reddened  litmus  paper 
is  rendered  blue  when  brought  into  coiitact  with  the^lution 
of  the  ash  of  pure,  sound  wheaten  flour,  but  turmeric  paper 
remains  unchanged.  Louyet  further  observes  that  the  quan- 
tity, also,  of  the  ash  may  serve  as  a  criterion;  dried  old 
whoateu  flour  only  yields  I  per  cent  of  ash,  rye  meal  about 
thejsame ;  but  the  meal  of  peas  and  beans  yields  never  less 
than  3  per  cent. ;  the  addition  therefore  of  even  10  per  cent., 
by  weight,  of  meal  of  peas  or  beans  to  wheaten  flour  will 
sensibly  alter  the  quantity  of  ash  the  latter  ought  to  leave 
behind  on  incineration  executed  with  proper  care. 

It  may  therefore  be  assumed  that,  if  wheaten  flour  yields 
more  than  one,  but  below  two  per  cent,  of  ash,  it  is  adulterat- 
ed with  meal  of  peas,  &c.,  since  an  intentional  adulteration 
with  metallic  or  earthy  matter  will  almost  always  be  so 
carried  out  as  to  bring  the  ash  far  above  i  per  cent. 

Donny  states  that  if  wheaten  flour  is  adulterated  with  the 
meal  of  white  beans  (haricot  beans),  or  with  that  of  lentils, 
provided,  however,  the  quantity  thereof  be  not  below  5  per 


[Bagliab  BdMon,  VeL  T7IL,  Ha  435^  pages  167, 108.] 


290 


Oorrespondence. 


1       ,Am«.1868L 


cent,  and  such  meal  is  so  placed  in  a  deep  porcelain  basin  aa 
to  cover  with  a  slight  thin  layer  the  sides  of  such  yessel, 
whUe  the  bottom  is  left  uncovered,  that  then  when  first  a 
few  drops  of  strong  nitric  acid  are  allowed  to  evaporate  from 
the  bottom,  and  immediatelj  after  some  ammonia,  reddish 
specks  will  make  their  appearance  in  the  flour  along  the  sides 
of  the  vessel,  which  red  specks  indicate  the  presence  of  the 
meal  of  these  two  substances.  A  better  test  is  to  exhaust 
the  suspected  flour  with  pure  warm  alcohol,  to  evaporate 
the  latter,  to  treat  the  alcoholic  extract  with  ether,  and  to 
expose  the  residue  thereof,  while  air  has  free  access  to  the 
vapours  first  of  nitric  acid,  next  of  ammonia,  the  residue  will, 
if  either  the  meal  of  white  beans  or  lentils  had  been  present, 
exhibit  a  beautiful  amaranth  pink  oolouratk)n. — ^I  am,  ^o., 

Dr.  a.  Adrianl 


To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sib, — ^Your  correspondent,  Mr.  J.  Muter,  gives  me  the  credit 
of  having  published,  through  the  medium  of  the  JKinea^  an 
extemporary  method  of  recognising  pollution  in  water  by  the 
sense  of  smell  Mr.  Muter  has  misread  the  letter  to  whidi  be 
alludes.  I  merely  reminded  the  country  householder  that  he 
usually  contented  himself  with  a  glance  and  a  sniff  at  his 
water-bottle,  and  suggested  that  eyes  and  nose  would  be  bet- 
ter detectives  if  he  previously  weU  shook  the  water  or  even 
placed  it  in  a  warm  place  for  a  few  hours.  Mr.  Mater's  letter 
to  you  is  similar  to  one  he  sent  the  previous  week  to  the 
Medical  Times  afid  ChzeUe;  the  sentences  in  which  I  am 
mentioned  are  word  for  word  the  same.  In  answer  to  that 
letter  a  kind  friend  has  replied,  this  week,  as  follows. — I  am, 
&a,  John  ATxrisLD. 

Testing  Waierfor  Organic  Impurities, 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chsmioal  NEwa 
Sir, — In  connection  with  remarks  on  "  country  wells,"  Pro- 
fessor Attfleld  simply  stated,  in  his  letter  to  the  Tirties^  that 
*'  polluted  water  does  not  generally  betray  its  coudiiion  till 
possessed  of  a  strong  odour;  earlier  intimation  may,  however, 
be  obtained  by  the  following  tests  : — Half  fill  a  common  wa- 
ter-bottle, cover  its  mouth  with  the  hand,  violently  shake  for 
a  minute,  and  quickly  apply  the  nose.  If  nothing  unpleasant 
is  detected,  tightly  cork  the  bottle,  set  it  aside  in  a  warm 
place  at  about  the  temperature  of  one's  body  for  a  cotiple  or 
three  days,  and  repeat  the  shaking,  Jbc.  Water  of  very  bad 
quality  may  thus  be  recognised  without  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  analysis. ''  Of  course  householders  would  get  still 
earlier  intimation,  or  else  the  comforting  assurance  that  the 
water  contained  no  organic  impurity,  by  seeking  professional 
assistance ;  but  such  a  statement  by  an  analyst  in  a  leading 
newspaper  would  have  been  scarcely  ethical,  I  have  found 
Professor  Attfield's  hints  of  very  great  use,  and  am  convinced 
that  few  persons  besides  your  correspondent,  Mr.  J.  B.  Muter, 
could  possibly  have  received  from  them  the  impression  tliat 
any  water  free  from  odour  is  fit  to  drink. — I  am,  &a, 

Sanitas. 

Boyal  SdbooL  ef  Mines. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Chemical  News. 
Sir, — ^Will  you  kindly  allow  me  to  draw  attention  to  one 
question   which    appears  to  have    escaped    notice,   via. — 
What  is  the  meaning  of  the  designation  Royal  School  of 
Mines  ? 

The  terra  K.  Mining  School,  or  School  for  Miners,  I  could 
underFtand ;  but  this  one  I  cannot.  I  know  what  a  school 
of  boys  is,  and  I  have  heard  of  a  school  of  whales,  but  what 
is  a  School  of  Mines  ?  It  is  true  that  there  exists  an  Ecole 
des  Mines,  but  I  do  not  know  why  our  corresponding  institu- 
tion  should  bear  a  &ame  which  is  a  literal  translation  of  the 
above  titl^. 


Now  that  the  School  is  just  beginning  to  be  known,  it 
seems  almost  a  pity  to  propose  any  alteration,  still  I  really 
believe  that  it  would  be  preferable  to  call  it  the  *'  College  of 
Science,"  as  suggested  by  "t)elta,"  than  to  let  it  still  retain 
its  present  inappropriate  and  absurd  name,  more  especially 
as  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  students  ever  have  anything 
to  do  with  mines  or  mining  in  after  life. 

My  apology  for  again  encroaching  upon  your  valnable 
space  must  he  the  deep  interest  which  I  take  in  the  Institu- 
tion and  everything  connected  with  it — I  am,  Ac., 

A.  L.  E. 


Permanganate  of  Potash  af^  Organic  Maikr  in  Water. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Cbeuical  News. 
Sir, — I  have  just  read  a  letter  in  your  number  of  the  week 
before  last  {American  Reprint,  June,  1868,  page  288),  i& 
which,  afler  all  that  has  been  saki  to  the  contrary,  the  above- 
named  substance  is  still  spoken  of  in  terms  of  approval  as 
affording  a  means  of  estimating  organic  matter  in  water.  As 
my  opinion  on  the  point  differs  in  all  respects  from  that  ex- 
pressed by  the  writer,  and  finding,  more  especially,  that  he 
has  left  untouched  a  main  element  in  the  question  (if  it  be 
ono),  I  shall  be  obliged  if  you  will  permit  me  to  say  a  few 
words  thereupon  in  thia  week's  number  of  the  Chemical 
NEwa 

Soon  afVer  this  method  was  proposed  by  the  Danish  professor, 
I  made  a  series  of  experiments  with  it  on  a  variety  of  natur- 
ally impure  waters,  but  on  finding  the  results  so  utterly  irre- 
concilable with  those  arrived  at  by  careful  incineration  of 
other  portions  of  the  same  samples,  I  gave  it  up  :  though  I 
must  add  that  I  did  not  then  arrive  at  the  source  of  its  lead- 
ing fallacy. 

After  these  experiments,  happening  to  meet  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Clark,  of  Aberdeen,  who  took  considerable  interest  in 
most  matters  connected  with  water  analysis,  and  mentioning 
my  results  to  him,  I  soon  found  that  he  also  had  arrived  at  a 
similar  opinion  as  to  the  fiBllacious  character  of  this  mode  of 
estimation. 

Though  I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  express  my  un- 
willingness to  be  bound  in  any  way  by  results  obtained  by 
the  method,  yet  continuing  to  hear  of  its  being  mudi  in  aae,  I 
began  to  think  that,  with  all  my  care,  I  bad  possibly  mistaken 
some  important  points  ;  and  hence  I  was  led  to  make  another 
series  of  experiments  a  few  years  after. 

Meanwhile,  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  never  found  per- 
manganate in  much  favour  amongst  the  hard  working  **  labor- 
atory men,"  but  chiefly  amongst  ofiScers  of  health,  public  lec- 
turers, and  others,  too  glad  to  find  this  ready  though  empiri- 
cal mode  of  operation  to  be  easily  induced  to  give  it  up^  or  at 
any  time  question  its  accuracy  too  closely. 

On  several  occasions  where  I  have  found  results  put  for- 
ward in  evidence  as  to  organic  matter,  greatly  disagreeing 
with  those  of  others,  it  usually  came  out,  on  cross-exami- 
nation, that  they  were  obtained  by  permanganate;  but  on  find- 
ing its  accuracy  doubted,  I  have  heard  some  of  the  fiimer 
men  add — that  they  had  estimated  by  incineration  as  well 
and  that  the  two  processes  substantially  agreed — ^a  result.  I 
may  add,  which  I  have  never  been  able  to  realise^  However, 
discrepant  statements  of  this  class  have  greatly  tended  to 
shake  the  faith  of  legal  functionaries,  as  well  as  the  public^ 
in  chemists'  condusions. 

Some  years  ago,  and  since  the  introduction  of  the  perman- 
ganate mode,  a  chemist  of  some  public  stasding,  but  who 
had  a  good  deal  of  public  lecturing  to  attend  to^  gave  evideDce 
to  a  government  committee,  on  which  I  was  engaged,  n  to 
the  quality  of  a  certain  water.  He  stated  that  it  contained 
seven  grains  of  organic  matter  in  a  gallon^  whilst  I  on  the 
other  hand,  had  been  unable  to  find  more  than  one  grain. 
Both  of  our  samples  were  taken  at  the  same  plaeo,  and  on 
the  same  day,  all  of  which  I  had  to  state  subsequently  in  my 
evidence  to  the  same  committee.  This  led  to  the  water  bdng 
analysed  by  other  chemists,  none  of  whom  I  may  mentioa 


[BngUah  Edition,  VoL  XVU.,  Ko.  434,  pa^e  168  j  No.  436,  pag«i  UO,  181;  ITo.  437,  page  IW.] 


Chsmical  Nkitl  ) 


Cbrrespandence. 


29  I 


found  the  seven  grains  of  organic  matter  at  first  stated.  Though 
I  strongly  believed  that  the  doubtful  results  in  this  instance 
had  been  arrived  at  by  the  use  of  permanganate,  yet  from  the 
absence  of  counsel  on  government  committees  I  was  unable 
to  have  the  question  put  This  and  some  other  circumstan- 
ces of  a  like  nature,Jnduoed  me  to  enter  on  the  second  series 
of  experiments  on  permanganate  to  which  I  have  already 
referred. 

On  this,  the  second  occasion,  the  samples  of  water  were  syn- 
thelised  for  the  experiments,  that  is  to  say,  given  portions  of 
the  usual  earthy  saltB  were  dissolved  in  doubly  distilled  water, 
to  which  were  added  measured  portions  of  various  impure  as 
well  as  pure  organic  decoctions,  so  as  to  accurately  represent 
varieties  of  impure  water.  In  some  of  the  experiments,  the 
organic  matter  was  represented  by  soakings  of  putrescent 
manure,  but  in  all  considerable  care  was  taken  that  the  precise 
quality  of  the  water  used  in  each  should  be  accurately  known, 
irreape-:-'tively  of  either  of  the  modes  of  analytical  examination 
employed. 

At  this  moment  I  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  hunt 
up,  or  put  into  shape,  my  notes  of  those  experiments,  but 
which  will,  T  am  sure,  be  deemed  of  less  consequence  when 
I  have  cited  one  example  of  the  fallacious  action  of  this  very 
beautiful  salt  of  potash,  and  which  it  will  be  seen  must  neces- 
sarily apply  to  most  if  not  all  waters. 

1  need  hardly  say,  in  this  journal,  that  all  potable  water  in 
this  and  in  most  countries,  contains  some  iron,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  traces  of  manganese — though  the  latter,  being  so 
small,  is  often  estimated  as  iron.  At  the  same  time,  with  the 
exception  of  so-called  chalybeate  waters,  either  of  these  met- 
als are  usually  found  so  very  sparingly  as  to  render  their  pres- 
ence inappreciable  to  all  but  the  analyst  Notwithstanding 
which,  a  third  or  a  quarter  of  a  grain  of  iron  in  a  gallon  is  far 
from  an  unusual  quantity ;  whilst  in  chalk  waters,  which  are 
the  freest  from  iron,  may  be  found  a  tenth  of  a  grain,  though 
this  quantity  is  often  set  down  as  "  a  trace."  It  is  also  to  be 
remembered  that  iron  in  water  is  usually  estimated  as  "  oxide," 
but  in  which  state,  I  need  not  say,  it  never  exists  in  the  water, 
but  usually  as  a  colourless  super-protocarbonate ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  iron  found  in  the  residuum  .of  our  evaporation  in  the 
state  of  oxide,  af^er  incineration,  existed  in  the  water  as  white 
proto<5arbonate,  and  which  is  held  in  solution  as  chalk  is,  by 
an  extra  atom  of  carbonic  acid.  Grains  of  the  white  proto- 
carbonate  pervade  sand  and  soils  to  a  much  greater  extent 
than  is  supposed,  and,  while  in  this  state,  is  readily  taken  up 
by  the  water. 

Permit  me  now  to  recapitulate  the  action  of  the  permanga- 
nate, which  I  need  hardly  repeat  here  is  briefly  this  ; — It  acts 
in  water  by  readily  imparting  a  portion  of  its  oxygen  to  bodies 
requiring  the  same.  As  soon,  however,  as  this  oxygen  is  given 
out,  the  permanganate  loses  its  splendid  colour,  and  hence, 
obviously,  arose  its  employment  as  a  test  Now,  as  organic 
matter  when  dissolved  in  water  has  an  affinity,  or,  let  us  say, 
an  appetite  for  oxygen,  so  that  when  permanganate  is  added 
to  a  water  in  which  this  impurity  exists,  this  manganic  salt 
loses  its  colour,  and  the  quantity  of  it  thus  decolourised  is  said 
to  stamp  the  quantity  of  the  organic  matter  present  in  the 
water.  .  In  a  word,  the  presence  of  the  one  is  said  to  be  in  a 
direct  ratio  with  the  loss  sustained  by  the  other. 

Now,  this  might  be  all  very  well  if  it  were  true  that  impure 
organic  matter  was  the  only  class  of  substance  incident  to 
water,  and  to  which  the  permanganate  is  disposed  to  give  out 
its  oxygen,  and  thus  deprive  itself  of  its  beauty.  Such,  how- 
ever, is  very  far  from  being  so,  for,  as  we  shall  see,  the  salt  in 
question  is  far  more  disposed  to  give  out  its  oxygen  to  a  really 
salubrious  body  which  is  as  much  incident  to  water  as  organic 
matter.  Indeed,  much  more  bo  if  we  take  organic  matter  of 
the  worst  class. 

As  I  have  already  stated— and  it  is  only  repeating  what 
all  admit-^every  potable  water  may  be  said  to  contain  some 
iron,  and  this  usually  as  a  proto-salt  Now,  as  a  tenth  of  a  grain 
of  a  proto-salt  of  iron  or  manganese,  dissolved  in  water,  will  ra- 
pidly decolourise  as  much  permanganate  as  three  or  four  grains 
of  even  putrescible  oiig9uic  matter,  I  leave  it  to  your  correspon- 


dent and  those  who  so  tenaciously  hold  to  this  mode  of  estima- 
tion, to  say  whether  the  decolourisation  of  permanganate  which 
takes  place  in  a  given  sample  of  water,  is  due  to  noxious  or- 
ganic matter  or  to  really  salubrious  iron,  either  of  which  it  may 
obviously  contain?  But  surely  all  this  most  be  already  iamiliair 
to  the  readers  of  your  journal. 

However,  should  the  author  of  the  letter  in  question  (Mr. 
Muter)  entertain  any  doubt  on  the  matter,  he  may  easily  im- 
provise an  experiment 

Let  him  take  a  grain  of  proto-sulphate  of  iron— being  the 
easiest  come-atable  proto-salt — and  dissolve  it  in  a  gallon  of 
any  water,  hard  or  soft,  though  distilled  will  be  the  most  re- 
liable, and  then  let  him  add  his  permanganate.  I  venture  to 
say  that  if  he  were  operating  on  water  with  the  quality  of 
which  he  was  unacquainted,  he  would  set  this  distilled  water 
down  as  unfit  for  human  use,  as  being  greatly  contaminated 
with  putrescible  organic  matter.  I  may  remark  that  a  grain 
of  protosulphate  of  iron  with  its  seven  atoms  of  water,  and 
its  acid,  will  very  nearly  represent  the  tenth  of  a  grain  of 
oxide,  so  oflen  found  in  most  waters.  In  some  of  my  experi- 
ments I  used,  for  the  sake  of  accuracy,  mineral  proto  carbonate 
dissolved  in  carbouic  acid  under  pressure,  but  I  find  any  proto- 
salt  is  affected  similarly  by  the  permanganate.  But  above  all, 
I  find  that  this  very  salt  is  used  by  the  volumetric  men,  as  a 
mode  of  estimating  iron  ;  but  how,  in  the  face  of  this,  it  ever 
could  have  been  used  for  separating  another  body  in  which 
the  first  was  so  likely  to  be  present,  and  for  which  it  has  an 
equal  affinity,  is  I  confess.a  puzzle  to  me,  unless,  indeed,  there 
is  some  mode  of  masking  the  one,  whilst  the  other  performs 
the  required  duty. 

Let  me  add  in  conclusion,  that  this  objection  to  the  use  of 
permanganate  is  far  from  being  the  only  one,  though  it  forms 
a  most  striking  one. — I  am,  ftc., 

Thos.  Spenceb. 

33,  Saston  Square,  London,  April  isih,  1868. 

P.  S. — I  omitted  to  state  that  the  water  said  to  oontaia 
seven  g^ins  of  organic  matter  came  from  highly  ferruginous 
gravel,  and  contained  a  considerable  amount  of  iron.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  if  tested  by  permanganate,  this  iron 
would  figure  in  the  analysis  as  the  organic  matter  in  quesUon. 


Royal  School  of  Mines. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Cebxioal  Nbw& 

Sir, — We  hear  much  about  the  School  of  Mines  in  Jermrn 
Street.  Can  any  one  give  me  a  comparative  sketch  of  the  ad- 
vantages and  cost  of  entrance  of  the  Ecole  dea  Mines  in  Paris  t 
I  have  never  seen  it,  but  I  hear  rumour  of  supplies  of  oxygefi, 
of  economy  for  students,  and  of  the  greatest  courtesy  to  stran- 
gers, of  which  I  would  fain  learn  more. 

A  great  want  in  London  for  students  and  experimentalists 
who  have  advanced  beyond  a  certain  point,  is  an  upper  class- 
room, so  to  speak,  where  they  can  work  at  peace,  uninterrupted 
by  very  young  students,  and  be  supplied  with  reliable  reagents, 
so  avoiding  the  worry  and  loss  of  time  involved  in  having  to 
test  everything  used,  and  possibly  make  it  for  themselves  after 
all,  and  a  comfortable  room  for  weighing  both  on  the  balance 
and  in  their  mind. 

I  hear  reports  of  a  new  laboratory  in  King's  College,  and 
of  one  at  the  Royal  College  of  Chemistry.  The  daas  of  men 
interested  in  investigations,  but  not  prepared  to  set  up  their 
own  laboratories,  must  be  large,  judging  from  the  number  I 
have  met  Surely  if  their  requirements  were  met,  a  large 
cLass  would  be  formed  who  would  make  such  a  laboratory  by 
no  means  a  losing  concern,  especially  with  attendants  who 
would  do  some  of  the  **  dog-work,'^  and  an  assistant  whose 
timewBS  entirely  deyoted  to  the  interesta  of  the  olass.-^!  am, 

Ac.,  Air  A0PIBAKT. 


FiUre9Cible  Maiter  tn  Water;  Sanitary  Water  Tksts, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chshioal  Nxws. 

Sib, — ^I  have  on  my  premises  two  suppUes  of  water,  namelft 


(SngUsh  Bdttton,  Vol  XTIl^  Ha  437,  pagw  19a»  103 ;  9a  438^  page  MS.] 


292 


Correspondence. 


j  Cbcmicai.  Ns«1| 
\      June,  160& 


one  from  the  Southwark  "Waterworks,  the  other  from  a  surface 
well.  The  pipe  water,  when  shaken  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle, 
partially  filled,  has  no  appreciably  unpleasant  smell.  When 
the  bottle  containing  it  is  set  aside  in  a  warm  place  for  three 
days  and  then  shaken,  the  contents  give  out  a  very  faint  offen- 
sive odour,  which  is  proof  that  organic  matter  held  in  solu- 
tion by  it  has  become  putrescent.  When  the  freshly  drawn 
pipe  water  is  slightly  tinged  with  a  permanganate  solution,  it 
gradually  loses  the  colour  imparted  by  that  substance,  which 
generally  is  an  indication  that  it  contains  organic  matter  in  a  non- 
putrescent  condition.  Being  treated  with  a  further  quantity  of 
permanganate  and  allowed  to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours,  this 
water,  when  then  set  aside  in  a  warm  place  for  three  days,  is 
found  to  be  no  longer  capable  of  undergoing  putrescence.  On 
being  shaken  up  in  the  bottle  it  now  possesses  not  the  slightest 
trace  of  offensive  odour. 

The  well  water,  when  shaken  In  a  partially  filled,  wide- 
mouthed  bottle,  is  also  free  from  any  appreciably  offensive 
smelL  When  the  bottle  containing  it  is  set  aside  in  a  warm 
place  for  three  days,  the  contents  give  out  a  strong  odour  of 
putrescence.  In  this  condition  it  decolounaes  permanganate 
rapidly,  and  in  considerable  quantities. 

The  freshly  drawn  well  water,  on  being  treated  with  per- 
manganate, decomposes  that  substance  with  rapidity,  show- 
ing that  it  may  be  considered  to  be  largely  polluted  with  or- 
ganic matter  of  a  putrescible  nature.  When  permanganate 
is  added  until  permanence  of  colour  is  obtained,  and  the  water 
at  the  end  of  four-and-twenty  hours  is  allowed  to  stand  suffi- 
ciently long  to  cause  the  disappearance  of  the  colour  produced 
by  the  testing  solution,  it  is  found  to  be  no  longer  susceptible 
of  undergoing  putrescence.  On  being  now  shaken  up  in  the 
bottle  the  well-water  possesses  quite  as  little  trace  of  offensive 
odour  as  the  pipe-water  after  treatment  by  permanganate. 
After  treatment  with  the  testing  solution,  neither  the  pipe- 
water  nor  the  well-water  is  capable  of  decolourising  perman- 
ganate except  by  prolonged  contact :  the  less  stable  organic 
matters  contained  in  them  having  been  burnt  up.  These  ex- 
periments show  that  both  of  the  above  methods  of  testing 
exhibit  the  presence  in  water  of  putrescible  organic  matter — 
the  one,  after  a  considerable  lapse  of  time^  to  the  nose,  the 
other,  immediately,  to  the  eye.  If  it  were  necessary  to  choose 
between  the  two,  several  considerations,  such  as  those  alluded 
to  by  Mr.  Muter,  would  seem  to  incline  the  choice  in  favour  of  the 
latter  as  a  popular  water  test.  But  so  far  from  this  being 
neoessaiy,  these  two  methods  will  be  found  in  practice  to 
supplement  each  other  most  usefully,  and  when  employed  to- 
gether to  furnish  results  which  are  sufficiently  exact  for  most 
sanitary  purposes,  and  as  regards  the  detection  of  putrescible 
matter  perhaps  more  to  be  relied  on  than  some  of  the  refined 
analytioBd  processes  of  modern  chemistry.— I  am,  Ac., 

H.  B.  CONDT. 
Battersea,  April  za,  x868. 


Science  Teaching, 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chekical  NEwa 

Sib, — Some  months  ago  you  published  the  conclusion  to  lee 
tures  on  chemistry  delivered  at  Eton  College,  and  again  in 
No.  435  (American  Reprint^  Uay^  1868,  pages  228-9)  7^^  P"^" 
lish  the  conclusion  to  lectures  on  **  Heat  ^  delivered  in  the 
same  place. 

If  we  may  judge  of  the  lectures  themselves  from  these  ex- 
tracts, I  would  say  that  such  lectures  are  not  adapted  to  at- 
tract boys  to  science.  I  think  that  most  of  your  readers  will 
agree  with  me  here. 

At  the  present  time,  when  science  is  so  much  talked  about 
as  an  item  of  school  education,  I  feel  constrained  to  enter 
my  humble  protest  against  a  system  of  teaching  it  in  high 
places,  which  I  consider  to  be  calculated  to  bring  it  into  dis- 
favour. 

The  current  of  modern  thought  tends  to  the  popularisation 
of  science,  and  the  teacher  who  envelopes  science  in  too 


learned  language  is  looking  back  towards  the  Sodom  of  the 
middle  ages. — I  am,  &e., 


Ih-.  Guihri^s  Graphic  Formula. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chbmioal  Newsl 

Sir, — ^I  conceive  the  following  objections  may  be  uiiged 
against  the  adoption  of  Professor  Gruthrie's  system  of 
Graphic  Formula : — 

The  dot  (for  hydrogen)  is  already  engaged  in  Berzelius* 
scheme  to  represent  oxygen.  6utbrie*s  symbol  for  oxygen, 
a  horizontal  dash,  might  be  easily  mistaken  for  the  alge- 
braical sign  of  minus ;  the  cross,  bromine,  for  the  sign  of  mul- 
tiplication ;  the  dash  and  two  dots,  representing  water,  ara 
exactly  like  the  sign  of  division ;  and  the  commas  for  fluorine 
are  likely  to  be  confounded  with  the  double  dash  now  used 
to  indicate  the  diatomicity  of  an  element.  The  distinction 
made  between  nitrogen  and  iodine  is  only  a  variation  in  the 
size  of  the  triangle;  and  the  modified  form  of  the  larger 
triangle  (with  lines  curved  inwards  instead  of  straight), 
mteuded  to  represent  phosphorus,  would  often  be  confounded 
with  nitrogen  in  roughly  executed  manuscript;  and  the 
same  remark  applies  to  the  proposed  distinction  between 
sulphur  and  selenium. 

Again,  the  scheme  is  incomplete,  for  we  ought  at  least  to 
have  been  supplied  with  symbols  to  represent  arsenic,  anti- 
mony, boron,  and  silicon,  even  if  the .  author  had  not  yet 
decided  upon  the  proper  oourse  to  be  taken  with  the  remain- 
ing metallic  elements.  Much  might  also  be  said  on  the  score 
of  want  of  originality,  for  the  early  chemical  and'  alchemic 
works  teem  with  graphic  illuatrations  and  codes  of  symbols, 
based  upon  the  same  general  principle ;  thus  in  '*  Nicholson's 
Dictionary  of  Chemistry,"  dated  1795,  there  are  at  the  end  of 
the  second  volume  two  large  folio  plates  showing  "the 
characters  to  be  made  use  of  m  chemistry,"  as  proposed  by 
Haffenfratz  and  Adet;  and  *' Table  vii.— The  chemical  sagna 
as  they  occur  in  the  writings  of  Bergman."  Curiously  enough, 
the  first  of  these  authorities  adopted  the  horizontal  dash  as 
the  symbol  for  oxygen ;  they  used  triangles,  circles,  and 
squares  in  every  conceivable  manner,  and  actually  provided 
a  series  of  "characters  to  express  such  new  and  simple  sub- 
stances as  may  hereafter  be  discovered." — I  am,  &c., 

F.G.S. 

April  x8,  z868. 


Ozone. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Chekical  News. 

Sir, — ^The  following  are  the  more  salient  points  in  the  devd* 
opment  of  ozone  during  the  first  three  months  of  the  present 
year : — 

January  ist  to  morn,  of  12th.  Small  amounts,  except  on 
the  nights  of  the  3rd  and  6th,  when  there  was  a  tendency 
to  an  increasing  development.  Aft.  of  12th — 22nd,  period 
with  large  amounts  during  the  nights  (9.30  p.m. — 9.30  a.m.) 
and  small  amounts  during  the  days  (9.30  a.m. — 9.30  p.m.). 
The  maximum  was  found  on  the  night  of  i8th,  and  large 
amounts  on  the  nights  of  13th,  14th,  17th,  and  19th;  23rd — 
29th  small  amounts,  except  on  afL  of  24th  when  a  large 
amount  was  present,  and  on  aft.  of  27th  when  there  was  a 
tendency  to  an  increasing  development  No  ozo'je  on  23Fd, 
aft.  of  26th,  and  morn,  of  27th.  30th — Feb.  3rd,  large 
amount&  3rd— 1 6th,  a  variable  period:  the  periods  of  in- 
creased and  decreased  development  were  short  and  unsettled. 
Large  amounts  on  5th  and  7th,  and  on  the  nights  of  the 
8th  and  1 5th.  No  ozone  aft  of  8th,  mom.  of  9tb,  through- 
out the  1 2th,  mom.  of  i3tli,  aft.  of  15th,  and  mom.  of  i&l 
17th — 23rd,  large  amounts,  especially  during  the  nights. 

23rd^-28th,  small  amounts.  No  ozone  on  aft  of  23rd  to 
f 8th— March  17th,  large  amounts,  except  on  aft  of  2nd, 
when  no  ozone  was  found,  and  throughout  the  3id  when 


[SngUah  BdMoa,  Vol.  Z7XL,  Vo  438,  pagea  203, 904.] 


GnnaCAL  Niiwt, ) 
JwM,  1868.      f 


MisceUaneoiis. 


293 


about  the  average  quantity  was  present.  From  the  4th — 
14th  there  was  a  very  well  marked  and  settled  period  of 
ozone.  iSth — mom.  of  22nd,  small  amounts ;  aft.  of  22nd — 
mom.  of  23rd,  large  amounts;  aft.  of  23rd — 2Sth,  small 
amounta  No  ozone  aft.  of  24th  and  morn,  of  25th.  Night 
of  26th;  large  amounts,  aft  of  26th— 3 ist,  a  variable  period 
with  no  O7one  on  aft.  of  28tli,  throughout  the  29th  and  on 
the  mom.  of  30th,  and  considerable  amounts  on  alls,  of  30th 
and  3i8t.  Speaking  generally,  from  the  i8th — 3i8t  the  de- 
velopment of  ozone  was  variable. 

The  ozone  period  from  the  4th — 14th  of  March  was  very 
well  marked :  it  occurred  towards  the  close  of  a  long  period 
of  equatorial  wind,  which  shortly  afterwards  passed  hi  to  the 
polar  current. 

During  the  whole  of  the  three  months  the  amount  of  ozone 
developed  during  the  night  (9.30  p.m.— 9.30  a.m.)  very  con- 
siderably exceeded  that  developed  during  the  day  (9.30  a.m. 
— 9  30  p.m.).  This  excess  in  the  amount  developed  by  night 
over  that  developed  by  day  was  greatest  in  January  and 
least  in  March. — I  am,  kc 

R.  0.  C.  LiPPINCOTT. 

Eastbonrne,  April  4,  1868. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

Patents  by  Scientific  IHen. — "  Wollaston  was  fond  of 
amassing  money.  There  have  not,  indeed,  been  wanting 
accusations  to  the  effect  that  if  he  had  sought  less  after 
wealth,  he  would  have  done  more  for  science.  How  far 
these  charges  are  true,  we  have  no  means  of  judging,  as  it 
does  not  appear  from  the  published  accounts  in  what  exact 
way  he  made  his  money.  That  it  was  chiefly  by  the  platina 
process  is  certain ;  but  whether  he  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture himself,  or  only  superintended  it,  we  do  not  know.  On 
this  point  we  would  only  remark,  that  there  is  something, 
to  say  the  least  of  it,  very  partial  and  unfair  in  the  way  m 
which  obloquy  is  oast  upon  men  of  science,  if  they  appro- 
priate to  themselves  some  of  the  wealth  which  their  discov- 
eries procure  for  others.  If  a  successful  naval  or  military 
hero  is  lavishly  pensioned  out  of  the  public  purse,  no  one 
complains.  It  is  not  thought  strange  that  a  great  painter 
or  sculptor,  while  he  justly  declares  his  productions  are 
worth  untold  gold,  should,  nevertheless,  demand  a  modicum 
of  coin  from  his  admirers.  Neither  is  the  poet  or  musician 
blamed  who  sells  his  works  to  the  highest  bidder.  But  if 
a  chemist,  for  whom  there  are  few  pensions  and  no  peerages, 
thinks  to  help  out  a  scanty  or  msuffloicnt  income,  by  manu- 
facturing gunpowder,  like  Davy,  or  magnesia,  like  Henry,  or 
malleable  platina,  like  Wollaston,  or  guano,  like  Liebig, 
the  detractors  assail  him  at  once.  He  has  lowered  the 
dignity  of  his  science,  and,  it  would  seem,  should  starve 
rather  than  degrade  his  vocation-  That  vocation,  so  far  at 
least  as  the  practical  fhiits  of  his  own  labours  are  con- 
cerned, is  to  be  a  kind  of  jackal  to  start  game  which  others 
are  to  follow— a  beagle  to  hunt  down  prey  which  others 
may  devour.  Surely  there  is  but  scanty  justice  here,  and 
some  forgetftilness  of  a  sacred  text : — *  Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn, 
&C.'  "— /VoTTi  Vie  Briiish  Quarterly  Review^  No.  vil  {August^ 
1846),  Ariide  3,  p.  104- 

Sir  DaTld  Brewster's  I^ast  ITords— Sir  J.  Sunpson 
says  : — "  It  seems  to  me  that  I  carry  almost  a  mission  from 
him  to  us— from  the  dead  to  the  living ;  for  when  I  last 
visited  him  at  AUerly,  when  he  was  within  a  few  hours  of 
death,  when  he  was  already  pulseless,  his  mind  was  per- 
fectly entire,  and  perfectly  composed ;  and  on  asking  him, 
among  other  matters,  if  he  wished  any  particular  scientific 
friend  to  take  charge  of  his  remaining  scientific  papers  and 
notes,  he  answered  me, '  No ;  I  have  done  what  every  scien- 
tific man  should  do— viz.,  published  almost  all  my  observa- 
tions, of  any  value,  just  as  tliey  have  occurred." 

A  Model  Scientific  ITrlter. — Professor  Fraser  says 
with  regard  to  Sir  David  Brewster's  great  precision,  energy. 


and  determination  of  thought^-that  during  the  seven  years 
that  he  (Professor  Praser)  was  editor  of  the  Norlh  Briiish 
Review^  Sir  David  Brewster  contributed  an  article  to  every 
number ;  and  that  he  did  far  more — that  he  stated  the  day 
when  his  first  slip  of  paper  would  come,  and  the  day 
when  it  would  be  finished.  His  manuscripts  came  as  they 
were  written — day  after  day,  and  sheet  after  sheet — and 
without  the  necessity  of  the  revisal  of  those  preceding. 
He  thus  worked  with  the  precision  and  regularity  of  a 
mechanical  rather  than  a  mental  machine. — Scientific  Review. 

M.  Panlzzl  and  Men  of  Science. — In  a  letter  to  the 
Times^  defending  a  statement  made  in  Parliament  that  Mr. 
Panizzi,  principal  librarian  of  the  British  Museum,  "had 
not  scrupled  to  express  his  contempt  for  men  of  science," 
Mr.  "W.  H.  Gregory,  M.P.,  writes: — "Three  short  passages 
from  Mr.  Panizzi's  evidence  before  the  select  committee  on 
the  British  Museum  in  1836  will  prove  the  correctness  of 
my  expressions.  In  answer  4,929  Mr.  Panizzi  gives  his 
opinion  of  scientific  mea  in  these  words : — *  Scientific  men 
are  jealous  of  their  authority ;  they  are  dogmatical  and  nar- 
row-minded, and  as  they  thmk  themselves  infallible  they 
would  never  consult  an  officer.  I  speak  from  what  I  have 
known  of  them.'  '4,930.  The  scientific  men  would  spoil 
the  men  of  rank  or  drive  them  away  from  the  Board.  I 
speak  seriously,  and  from  experience.  An  officer  would 
have  no  chance  against  a  scientific  man  who  should  take  a 
crotchet,  and  they  are  all  crotchety.'  *  4,933.  ^  never  saw 
scientific  men  go  right  or  view  things  as  other  people  do.  I 
think  the  trustees  would  be  much  better  without  them.' " 

Clien&lcal  If  omendatnre. — M.  Dumas,  the  new  secre- 
tary of  the  Academic  des  Sciences,  observes — **  If  every  one 
of  us  took  the  fancy  of  combining  with  his  name  that  of  his 
great-grandfather,  of  his  grandfather,  of  his  father,  and  his 
mother,  a  singular  complication  would  be  found  in  our  regis- 
ters of  births.  A  lifetime  would  be  passed  in  learning  the 
names  of  the  persons  with  whom  we  were  acquainted  in  our 
own  neighbourhood.  As  to  knowing  the  names  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  a  town,  that  would  be.  an  utter  impossibility.  This 
is,  however,  what  our  savants  who  pursue  organic  chemistry 
have  to  accomplish,  so  that  their  language  has  now  arrived 
at  a  point  of  barbarism  that  cannot  be  surpassed.  Now, 
would  it  not  be  desirable,  in  all  points  of  view,  to  adopt  a 
generic  word,  and  to  group  around  such  word  the  names  of 
species  in  proportion  as  scienoe  extends  her  conquests  ?  I 
am  particularly  interested  in  organic  chemistry,  but  I  declare 
that  time  is  entirely  wanting  to  me  to  peruse,  while  compre- 
hending them,  the  various  memoirs  on  the  science  which 
come  under  my  notice.  The  comphcation  and  insupporta- 
ble length  of  the  names  employed  are  the  sole  causes  of 
this." — Medical  Times  and  Gazette^  March  21st. 

Poisoning  wltli  Oxalic  Add.— The  case  of  poisoning 
at  Bristol,  here  recorded,  is  remarkable  in  many  respects: — 

xst  The  patient  took  f  of  an  ounce  avoirdupois. 

2nd.  She  died  ten  minutea  afterwards,  or  very  shortly 
after. 

3rd.  She  vomited  almost  all  the  poisoning  material,  as  the 
coats  of  the  stomach  retained  by  absorption  only  2  gr.  of  the 
oxalic  acid. 

4th.  There  was  nothing  to  be  found  in  the  contents  of  the 
stomach,  which  were  merely  efi'used  blood.  The  stomach 
was  intennely  red,  inflamed  in  that  short  period. 

5th.  She  tested  the  contents  of  her  own  stomach  by  having 
vomited  into  a  bucket  of  water  holding  a  great  quantity  of 
lime  in  solution.  "  The  vomited  matter  was  like  milk/'  when 
seen  on  the  floor;  and  when  she  vomited  into  the  bucket  "it 
appeared  to  turn  the  water  into  milk." 

This  did  not  come  out  in  the  evidence,  as  the  girl  vomited 
into  the  pail  in  which  they  were  in  the  habit  of  washing 
the  glasses  and  cups  used  in  the  bar,  and  of  course  the 
landlord  did  not  want  to  damage  his  business  by  givmg  such 
evidence. 

The  floor  was  wooden,  not  of  stone,  and  the  oxalic  acid 


[English  Edition,  VoLXVn.,  No.  438,  pac«  204;  Va435kpBgM  100,170;  No.  436^  pagw  181, 182 ;  Na  438^ pag» 204.] 


294 


Miscellaneous. 


i    OBOflOAL  KbVI, 

\       Jun^  166a 


waB  diaaolved  in  hot  water,  highly  charged  with  lime ;  and 
it  acted  as  an  instantaneous  emetic,  and  came  up  almost  as 
it  was  swallowed,  a  milky-looking  fluid,  capable  of  precipita- 
ting a  large  quantity  of  lime.  At  the  inquest,  the  following 
evidence  was  taken : — 

William  James  Pester  deposed:  The  deceased,  Sarah 
Salmon,  was  in  my  employ  as  barmaid  and  housekeeper  for 
nearly  twelve  months.  On  Saturday  evening  she  died.  J 
saw  her  at  20  minutes  to  seven  o'clock,  and  she  then  appear- 
ed to  be  quite  well.  Shortly  afterwards  she  became  very 
sick,  and  continued  so  until  her  death.  I  went  out  shortly 
after  half-past  six  o'clock,  and  came  back  about  seven  o'clock, 
and  I  then  found  her  very  sick,  but  still  sensible.  I  asked 
what  was  the  matter  with  her,  but  she  did  not  reply.  She 
was  assisted  upstairs  by  the  servant,  and  lay  down  on  the 
bed.  She  died  shortly  afterwards,  within  ten  minutes  of  her 
going  upstaira 

I  sent  her  up  a  glass  of  brandy  and  water.  I  sent  for  Mr. 
Fardon,  and  aflerwards  for  Dr.  Uerapath.  She  seemed 
rather  peculiar  and  excited  during  the  whole  of  Saturday, 
especially  in  the  afternoon.  Her  conduct  was  very  different 
to  her  ordinary  demeanour,  and  attracted  my  attention,  she 
being  generally  very  reserved  in  her  manner.  She  scarcely 
spoke  half  a  dozen  words  to  me  during  the  day,  and  then 
only  when  I  asked  her  a  question.  She  stood  in  the  bar 
leaning  against  the  counter  dunng  the  afternoon  with  her 
arms  folded.  She  would  not  wait  upon  the  parlour  custom-, 
ers,  and  she  would  not  move  out  of  the  way  when  I  wished 
to  enter  the  bar  until  I  asked  her  to  do  so.  No  one  saw  her 
take  anything. 

Emma  Thomas  stated :  I  am  in  the  service  of  Mr.  Pester 
as  general  servant  On  Saturday,  about  seven  o*clock  in  the 
evening,  I  noticed  that  slie  was  very  sick  in  the  bar.  I  help- 
ed her  upstairs,  and  she  lay  on  the  bed,  the  sickness  still 
continuing.  She  died  in  about  10  or  15  minutes  after  I  got 
her  upstairs.  When  I  first  saw  her  there  was  a  half-pint 
cup  turned  upside  down  in  a  tray  in  the  bar.  It  had  been 
recently  washed  in  cold  water.  No  one  else  could  have 
washed  it  but  the  deceased. 

Dr.  Herapath  asked  if  there  was  anything  peculiar  in  the 
vomited  matter.  Mr.  Pester  stated  that  it  presented  a  white, 
milky  appearance — just  like  lime  water. 

William  Brass:  About  half-past  six  o'clock  I  met  Mr. 
Fester's  servant,  Kmma  Thomas,  in  Castle  Street.  She  asked 
me  if  I  would  get  three  peuuy  worth  of  oxalic  acid  for  her  at 
the  druggist's  shop.  I  complied  with  her  request.  I  gave 
it  to  the  girl  Thomas,  and  she  delivered  it,  in  my  presence, 
to  Miss  ^Imon. 

Dr.  Herapath,  F.R  S. :  I  was  called  In  to  the  deceased  a 
little  after  seven  o'clock.  I  arrived  about  half-past  seven 
o'dock,  and  she  was  then  dead,  and  had  been  dead  some 
fifteen  mlnutea  I  was  told  that  she  had  been  vomiting, 
and  Yomited  matter  was  shown  me.  The  vomit  was  a  very 
remarkable  one— mucus,  with  curdled,  dark  stuff— which  led 
me  to  suspect  altered  blood.  There  did  not  appear  to  be 
any  particles  of  food  in  the  vomit  I  have  since  examined 
the  vomit,  and  I  have  found  oxalic  acid  in  small  quantities 
in  it  I  have  obtained  crystals  from  the  vomit,  so  small, 
however,  that  it  required  the  microscope  to  discover  them. 
I  have  examined  the  stomach.  It  presented  an  intensely 
blood-red  appearanoei,  and  the  fluid  contained  in  it  was 
blackened,  curdled,  dtered  blood.  There  were  some  very 
small  white  patches  existing  on  the  stomach,  and  the  ves- 
sels were  braced  out  and  darkened  as  if  by  hardened  blood. 
The  blood  was  so  altered  in  character  tbat  it  was  in  fact 
insoluble.  If  the  oxalic  acid  had  been  taken  in  water 
strongly  impregnated  with  lime  salts,  the  white  appearance 
presented  by  the  vomit  would  be  accounted  for,  as  the  lime 
would  be  precipitated  aa  oxalate  of  lime.  I  have  never 
seen  an  instance  of  poisoning  by  oxalic  acid  before,  but  I 
have  experimented  upon  animals.  It  is  a  very  rapid  case  of 
poisoning— -one  of  the  most  rapid  on  record.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  she  was  poisoned  by  oxalic  acid.  The  deep  col- 
our of  the  stomach  was  caused  by  the  intense  irritetion,  and 


nextl)y  the  exudation  of  blood.  The  precipitation,  daricen- 
ing,  and  curdling  of  the  blood  are  the  first  symptoms  pro- 
duced by  this  poison.  One-sixth  of  the  quantity  taken  in 
this  case  is  recorded  as  having  killed  a  person,  and  the 
shortest  time  on  record  is  eight  minutes.  The  time  in  this 
case  I  should  think  was  about  15  or  20  minutes. 

Mr.  Pester:  No,  I  don't  think  it  was  so  long  as  that ;  not 
more  than  ten  minutes.  Mr.  Pester  also  stated  that  the 
water  drawn  from  his  well  and  used  hi  his  house  contained 
lime  in  large  quantities. 

Dr.  Herapath:  I  have  not  analysed  the  contents  of  the 
stomach.  She  died  unquestionably  from  collapse,  which 
would  be  produced  by  oxalic  add. 

Dr.  Herapath  remarked  that  the  deceased,  in  his  opinion, 
suffered  from  impulsive  insanity. 

The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  *'  Temporary  insanity." 

Stopper  Cord.—fitopper  cord  conaiste  of  conical  rolla 
of  very  elastic  rubber,  about  4  feet  in  length,  and  varying 
in  diameter  from  ono-half  an  inch  at  one  end  to  an  inch  and 
a  lialf  at  the  other.  Stoppers  of  any  diameter  between  these 
limits  may  be  cut  fh>m  the  roll  and  bored  with  a  oommoa 
brass  cock  borer,  which  must  be  moistened  with  water  to 
prevent  adhesion  to  the  rubber.  The  stoppers  are  found  to 
be  air-tight  under  the  pressure  of  15  lbs.  to  the  inch,  pro- 
vided the  contect  between  fhe  tube  and  stopper  is  at  least 
half  an  inch  in  length. 


CONTBMPORART  SOIENTIFIO  PRESa 

fUnder  this  heading  It  is  Intended  to  giro  the  UUes  of  all  the 
ehvmlcal  papers  which  are  published  in  the.  prineipal  seientifle  period- 
icals uf  the  Continent  Articles  which  are  merely  reprints  or  ab- 
stracts of  papers  already  noticed  will  be  omitted.  Abstracts  of  the 
more  imitortant  papers  here  announced  will  appear  in  Aitore  numbers 
uf  the  Gjxcmxcax.  Nxir8.J 

ArchAoM  dM  ScUnoet.    NoTember  35, 1867. 
M.  DiLAroMTAiNK :  ^'  On  wme  nmo  and  UUU  ktuncn  ItolybdaUt^ 
and  on  Oie  principal  Fluoopymolubdtites.^^—J.  L.  PKavoer:  **£&- 
9tardU9  on  tM  FuUonovs  Action  qf  VeriUrint,"^ 

Journal  de9  FabricanU  dt  Papier.    December,  1867. 
E.  BouBpiLLiAT :  "^On  Tetiting  the  CJumical  ProducU  meed  in 
Paper  Making.    {Continuation')     Vegetable  Colowrinn  Mattera,"^ 
MAMrA :  "  A  new  CompoeUionJwr  rendering  Cunvut  waterproof:* 

Qmtptee  Bendue.     December  9, 1867. 
A.  Sbccbi:   *'' On  Stellar  Spectra,  and  on  Shooting  StartJ^^B, 
BouKGoui :  "On  the  EleotrolyeU  qf  Acetic  AcUL^^ 


MonaMericht  der  Koniglick  Preueeiechen  Akademie  der  IRssca- 
echq/ten  »»  Berlin, 
O.  A.  Maktivs  :  '*  OnBimtronaphihoL^ 

SOeungiberichte  der  KaieerUchen  Akademie  der  Wltaenedio^lem  an 

Wien.    {MathemaUech-Naturwuieenochafiliehe  Chuee,) 

June,  1867. 

C  BoBiOKT :  **A  OontribuHon  to  the  Bistory  of  the  FormaOan  of 

the  Pkoephatee  qf  Iron :  iHtfrenite.Berautiite,  and  Kakojoene  from 

the  Hrbek  Mine  near  St.  Benigna,  Bohemia.'^  -  V.  ton  Zcpbaboticb: 

"  Mineralogical  Notee.    Part  II. :  x .  BarrandUefrotn  Oerkonc  and 

Sphixrite  from  Zajecoe.     a.  Boulangerite  ana  Jamemmite  from 

Pribram,    3.  MiepicteL    4.  LoUingite  and  Leuoopyrite:' 

Bulletin  de  la  SodSti  Chimique  de  Parte.    Norember,  1867. 
BuTBBLOT :  ^On  the  SimuUaneoue  Formation  of  Bomologoue 
Bodiee  in  Pyrogtnoue  BeactioHe.^*—E.  Pftuticr:   **0n  B^nimg 
Crude  Oamphorr 

AwMlen  der  Ohemie  und  Pharmacie.  Novcnber,  1867. 
E.  Li2fHKifA.NM :  *'  On  the  Transformation  of  Amine  Baeee  into  ike 
oorreeponding  Monatomic  AlcofioU.*^—A.  Siuisou :  **  Onthe  7>an»' 
formation  of  t'ihyl'Alcohol  into  Propyt-AlooholJ^—A.  Baytzkfw  :  *•  On 
the  Action  qf  Iodide  of  Methyl  on  sulphide  of  Amyl-  SthuL^  *•  On 
the  Action  itf  Nitric  Add  on  Sulphide  of  Methyl  and  Sulptkide  if 
BthyL''—S.  Mob«umofp:  *^0n  SUwnidimethuldietkyi:*^!?.  Bul- 
BTEiiN  and  U.  Kricublkb  :  **  On  Para-nitrotoluyiic  Acid  and  He  Der 
rU>ati06e.*'—C.  iycuoKLtMuna, :  ^  Contributlone  to  the  Knowledge  of 
the  Bydrooarbone.*'^ii.  Fliuobbb:  **  On  rAioiussuiL**— L.Sohbllbb: 
'*  On  eome  Double  Salte  of  Sulphate  of  £7puis<«m.*'— f  .Wohubb  :  *^  On 
a  Comiiound  tjf  Chloride  ^f  JTuiliium  udth  Perchloride  of  JronT" 
'*  Oontributivne  to  the  Knowledge  <tf  Cerium." 

Supplement. 
L.  Mbtbb:  '^  On  the  Molecular  Volume  qf  Chemical  Oompommde:* 


[BagllBh  Edition,  Y6L  ZTH.,  Na  438,  pbcm204,.206;  Ho.  436,  pafB  182;  Vo.  436,  pago  170.] 


CHianoAL  Nsws, ) 


Contemporary  Scientific  Press. 


295 


— H.  Bohitp:  *^B9a4archM  on  tks  Boraeie  Etk»n,"-^.  Brdmahh  : 
^  On  the  OompoHHon  <tf  tAs  Wood  qf  Pinus  a^M8.''~H.  L.  Buff  :  **  On 
the  TranH/ormaUun  (UT  MonooMorhydrin  into  PropyMyool  and 
Zaoiio  Aoidf  and  </  Bichtorhydrin  into  Jkopropylio  Moohol  and 
Acetone,^ 

Jbnmalfkr  PrakUtohs  OhomU.   December,  1867. 
0.  O.  Grabs  :  **  Beeearofut  on  the  Analyaie  qf  It^ftammahle  Oiuee^ 
vHth  upeoial  R^fervnce  to  thai  of  ULumiiuiting  Oa$."—V.  Wivklu: 
**  ObntribuUone  to  the  Knovciedge  ^  IndivrnT—O.  Baxvokd:  ''  On 
QaUateqf  saver,'* 

Annalee  du  Oinie  CivO.  December,  1867. 
LABOAira :  '*  An  Improvement  in  the  Mant^facture  qf  Sulphnrio 
Aeid."—hcBux»ii :  **  An  Improvement  in  JSUi^  Fumaeee.'"' — CKmtk 
aod  Taupiv  jdb  Uomat:  **^  Method  qf  Obtaining  Ammonia  from 
SeMoge  and  from  Uis  Watte  Waters  0/  Mani{fa<Uorieey  —  Pjuujcb 
aad  Puaaoz  i*^  On  the  Uee  qf  lAmefor  Freeerving  Seet  Juiee,^^ 

Bttttetin  de  la  SooiitS  d'JPneouragement    October,  1867. 
GiTBRAXD  Dhslaukhbs:  **  On  the  Uee  of  Bieulphide  qf  Oarbonfor 
^ttimaUngJhe  QwuUUy  of  Tar^  Fitch,  and  Resin  contained  in 


Artificial  F-ueL'"—^.  dbLuoa:  "*  On  eome  Important  Products  ob- 
tais^ed  from  the  Olive  and  from  the  AttstraUan  Jfyrtle.^^ 

Oomptes  Rendus.    December  x6, 1867. 

A.  WuBW  i^'Onthe  SynthesU  qf  Newrine:''-0.  G.  Whbklm  :  "  On 
the  Action  qfAqueoue  fiypochhrous  Add  on  JSaeence  qf  TurpenUne 
and  on  Camphor." 

Na  a6. 

E.  Dbm ANCB :  **Onthe  Amalgamaiionqf  Zinc  Plates  for  Voltaic 
Batteries.*'— If.  Yait  Tieohbm  :  **  On  the  Transformation  of  Tannic 
Acid  into  OalHo  Add  by  Fermentation.** 

SiteungebeHchte  der  koniglteh  Bayerischen  AJcademie  der  Wlesen- 
sehqften  au  Mitnchen.    (IlathematischphysiJbaUeche  Classe.) 
March  a,  1867. 
YoTT  :**-Onthe  Relations  of  Creatine  and  Creatinine  to  Urea  in  the 
Animal  JSodyy  and  on  the  Mature  of  UrtBfnia." 

Friscomakh  :   **  On  Tudn  Cryetals  of  Chrysoberyl.**—A.  Toqbl  : 
**  Observatiofis  on  the  Sdubility  <;/eome  Silicates.** 
J0I76. 

Bridbl:  **A  Contribution  to  the  Knowledge  of  the  Limits  qfAoou- 
racy  qf  Chemical  Balances.**—^  Voir:  "*  On  the  JJeposiUon  of  Ui-ic 
Actd/rom  Urine." 

Oomptes  Rendus.    December  30,  1867. 

F.  PiSANi :  "'  On  Woodtoardite  from  OormeaU.**-^^.  Bouboooi  : 
•^Onthe  ISlectrdysis  of  Tartaric  Add.** 

Poggendof:fs  Annalen  der  Physik,    December,  1867. 

B.  Wkber  :  "*  On  some  Oompownde  qf  Bichloride  qf  Titanium.** 

Journal  fkr  Praktische  Chemie.  December,  1867. 
K  Salxoski  :  ^Onthe  JBstimation  ofBippurieAoid  as  Htptmrate 
qfIron:*—il.  Laspkyrks  :  ^  On  the  Composition  qf  Prehnitc'—T.  8. 
UuMT  .^OnJ.  D.  Whelpley  and  J.  J.  iOorer's  New  Method  of  Treat- 
ing Ores.*"— J.  H.  Gladstokb:  **  On  Pyrophosphoric  Aoid —E.  Knr- 
RAVSRif :  "^  On  the  Use  of  a  Solution  <tf  Sulphate  qf  Copper  and  Pot- 
aeh  ae  a  Test  for  Protein  Compounds.**— C.  Biuon  and  B.  Fittjo  : 
*^  On  the  Synthesis  of  some  Jfeut  IFydrocarbone.'* 

AnncUes  de  Chisnie  et  de  Physique.    December,  1867. 
BouBSiNGAULT '.  *^  On  thc  Bsoomposttion  of  certain  Sulphates  at  a 
High  Temperature.** 


R  BBAMI9  :  "* 

ami  Molasses.** 


Le  Techndogiste.    October,  1867. 
On  the  Use  qf  Osone  fn-  Whitening  Sugar,  Syntp^ 


Oomptes  Rendue.    JanoRrjr  6,  x863. 
A.  HocBBAu :  **  Onthe  Estimation  of  Minute  QuantUieeqfPeroQside 
^ Bydtogen:*-^}!.  Gal  i**  On  the  Action  <^  Chloride  qf  Cyanogen  on 

January  13,  z868. 
A.  Bommikr:  **  On  XyUndeine^  a  Ifew  Colouring  Matter  JOrtracted 
J^m  Decayed  Wood.*^ 

Jexmary  ao,  1868. 
A.  W.  HomiAnr :  **Onthe  Compounds  Isomeric  tdth  the  Sulpho- 
cyanic  Ethere :  i.  Oil  qf  Mustard  of  the  Ethylio  Seriee.** 

Monatsbericht  der  Koniglich  Preussischon  Atademie  dsr  Wiesen- 
eohaften  eu  Berlin,    September  and  October,  1867. 


HoFMAMir :  **  On  a  ntno^Series  of  Isomers  qf  the  mtriles.**—^  Oon^ 
tributions  to  the  Knou>Udge  qf  Melhyl-aldehyde:* 

I  PoggendorJTs  Annalen  der  Physit,   J>eeember,  1867. 
0.  BAXMJEUDXRa :  "^Onthe  Phosphites.**    * 

Annalen  der  Chemie  und  Pharmade.    December,  1867. 

P.  Beilstrin  :  '*  On  Xyld  and  its  Derivativee.**—H.  Y.  dx  Schbp- 
PRB :  "  On  Sulphydrate  qf  Xylil  {Sulphosoenol).**—A.  VoLLRiLTfi : 
*'  On  Chloride  qf  Xylols  Chloride  qf  folyly  and  their  Derivatives.**^ 
W.  UOLLRMAX  :  *'  On  Dichloride  of  Xylol  and  Trichloride  qf  Xylol** 
W.  BxiLSTxiM :  "  On  Mtrooeylol  and  ite  Dtrtoatii>es."—ii.  Drcxb- 
lamot:  ^On  Xylidine  and  its  Derivatives.**— E.  Ldbmajih  :  **  On 
Dinitrosyylol  and  TrinitroBDyloL*'^U.  Firrxo  and  J.  Komiu  :  '*  On 
BthylbenMd  and  Diethylbetbed.''*—Q.  Stadruik  :  **Onthe  Constitu- 
tion  <^  Fhenyl'Sulphunc  Acid.^-H.  Limpriout  :  **  On  t/ie  Amines  qf 
Beruyl  Alcohol." — U.  Wioueluaus:  **  On  the  Constitution  (^Organic 
Adde  containing  Three  Atoms  of  Carbon.** 
January,  x868. 

A.  Grabowbci :  **On  the  Tannic  Add  of  Oak  Bark**—R.  Orro 
and  O.  voic  Grubbb:  ^  On  loluol-Sultthurous  Add."  ^  On  the 
Estimation  qfStdphur  in  Organic  Substatices  by  means  qfChromate 
of  Copper."— VL  Otto  :  **  On  Bictilorvulphobenmide."—K  Limkrhanx  ; 
'-On  the  Preparation  qfthe  FaUy  AlcohoUfrom  their  Primary  Mem- 
hers."  "  On  Artificial  Methyl  Alcohol."— h.  Sirkbcu  :  ^' On  the  Pre- 
paration of  the  Fatty  Alcohols  from  thdr  Primary  Metnbers.** 
"  On  the  Tran^ormation  of  Methyl  Alcohd  into  Ethyl  Aloohol.*'^*N. 
UxiNTS  :  '*  On  the  mo«t  Simple  Pi  ocess/or  Preparing  Glycolamidic 
Adds  from  Monochloracetio  Acid."—L.  ticanrrKM  :  -  On  Obtaining 
a  Double  Phosphate  of  Zinc  and  Soda  by  Fusion."— h.  tom  Plrm- 
MiMo:  ^*  Note  on  Sidphochloride  of  Phosphorus.*'— U.  boiiwBiKERT: 
**  Note  on  Phosphate  qfSoda  and  Amanonia,  and  on  the  Separation 
qf  Phosphoric  Add  fronh  Oxide  of  Zmc*^ — ^K.  Birkbaum  :  **  Otithv 
Combinitions  of  Ethylene  and  its  Jlomologuee  Wit/i  Bichloride  of 
Platinum."— A.  Gkibel  und  H.  L.  Buff:  *'Ona  Hydrocarbon  anaUh 
goue  to  Ethylene^  obtained  from  Chloride  of  Besaylidene.** 

Annates  des  Mines.    1867. 
W.  Eqgerts:  **  Xoie  on  the  Estimation  qf  Sulphur  in  Iron  and 
Iron  Ores.** 

Oomptes  Rendus.    January  37,  x868. 
J.  BxiMT :  "  Chetnical  Researches  on  the  Respiration  qf  Cattle.** 


Hoove  in  Cattle^  and  on  a  Remedy  for  the  same."  **  Note  on  the 
Production  qf  Aitric  Oxhide  during  t^ie  Fermentation  qf  Beet  Juice.** 
**  On  Uts  Estimation  of  Ammonia  in  Beet  Juice."— h.  Marion ag  : 
^^  On  the  Reduction  &f  Xiobiam  and  Tantalum  Compounds." — H. 
Dbtillr:  *^On  the  EastracUon  qf  Niobium."— }L  Drbray  :  '"Re- 
searches on  DissodaUon." 

February  3, 1868. 

T.  BcHLOKiMo:  **0n  the  Decomposition  <^ Nitrates  during  For* 
mentatiotK" 

February  xo,  x868. 

E.  Bboqubrbl  : "  Fourth  Jfemoir  on  some  newly  discovered  Elec- 
trO'Chemical  Ejects  of  Capillary  ^cfunu'^— Dubrdnfaut  :  *'  Memoir 
on  a  Nitrogenoue  Substance  possesdng  greater  Actidty  than  Dias- 
tase  cotitained  in  Malty  and  on  the  l*repar%tion  and  Application  qf 
the  same  in  Manufactures."— **  On  the  Distillation  qf  Beetroot,  and 
on  the  Formation  qf  Nitric  Ootids  during  the  Fermentation  qf  the 
same."— A.  Cuauvrav  :*^  On  the  Nature  of  yacdtu  Virus ^Baeperi' 
menttU  Determination  of  the  Elements  which  cotiMlute  the  Adlive 
Prindple  qfthe  Virus  q/ SmaU  Pox." 

Annalen  der  Chemie  und  Pharmade.  Supplement 
J.  YoH  LiRBio :  **  On  some  Methods  qf  Slivering  Glass."— ^.  ron 
SonRBDRR :  ^  A  MeUiod  of  Obtaining  Pure  Platinum  and  Iridium.** 
— U.  Kofi-  :  **  On  the  Boiling  Points  qf  the  Hydrocarbons." ^H, 
SouiFF :  **  On  Aldehyde  Baees.**—K.  Krlrrmkter  :  "  Onthe  relative 
Constitution  of  the  Jtutylic  and  Amylic  Akoholqf  Fermentation.** 

Bulletin  de  la  Sodeti  Ohtmique  de  Paris.  December,  1867. 
Berthelot  :  ^  Ona  new  Thermometer  for  Measuring  Bigh  Tem^ 
peraturee."—\.  SouEURBK-KBfiT>-ER  -.  *"  Otia  Crystallised  Stannate 
of  iSodtum."— Brrtuelot  :  *•  On  Alcoholfde  of  Baryta."— *"  On  the 
OoDidaiion  of  Organic  Adde.*— J.  B.  Qrakob  :**  Onthe  Quantity 
of  Urea  contained  in  the  Urine  of  Pertions  Suffering  from  ChUn'o- 
sis.**— Q0VUO1.0  :  "  A  Modiflctition  of  Boussifigault's  Process  for 
Manu/ltduring  Oxygen  and  Nitrogen  byjxxssing  a  Current  of  AU 
mospneric  Air  oter  Caustic  Baryta."— Bkittus  :  ^  On  Teesie  du 
Mothay  and  O.  Marechafs  Process  for  the  Manvfacture  of  Oxy^ 
gen.**— J  Aoqv  KM  Avt:""  A  new  Process  for  the  Manv/adure  qf  Sul- 
phite qfAlumin4i.*'—A.  Oirard  :  '•  A  I*rocessfi>r  the  Matiufaeture  of 
White  Lead."—JvKrrB  andoa  Pomtrvxs  :  *•  A  Process  for  the  Manu- 
fkicture  of  Tartaric  Acid  from  R^use  Grape  AS'ifci««."— Dubart  :  ♦*  A 
Method  qf  Preparing  Eneence  of  Bitter  Almonds  for  Use  in  Per- 
fumery."—!^. bcuuTZRKBRROKR :  '*  A  Method  of  Re-making  Waste 
Paper."— VzHiMU^  Poeaoz,  Oail,  and  Go. :  "  An  Improved  Method  of 
Udng  Lime  for  the  PreeervatUm  of  Saccharine." 


[Engliflh  Bditlon,  YoL  ZYIL,  No.  436^  pace  170 :  No.  437,  page  194 ;  ITo.  438,  pages  203^  900.] 


296 


Notes  and  Queries. — Answers  to  Correspondents. 


( CmsncAL  KvwB,' 
\      June,  18«aL 


NOTES  AND  QUERIES. 

StUmation  0/ Chlorine. — Cananv  one  Inform  zne  of  any  more  ready 
and  reliable  mo<le  of  estimating  the  feebly  combined  chlorine  in  bleach- 
ins  powder,  than  the  old^rotoBulphate  of  iron  test?— 8.  Duns. 

2*alm  Oil  for  SofUnTng  Dyed  ya/fw.— Would  any  of  oar  kind 
friends  inform  mo  if  there  is  any  method  to  make  palm  oil  mix  with 
water,  without  the  use  of  alkalies ;  if  not,  the  best  means  to  mix  the 
above,  so  that  it  will  not  be  i^JuKotis  to  colours? — NasDruL. 

Electro-deposition  of  Iron.  —  Having  occasion  to  electro-deposit 
Iron  on  to  a  metallic  surface  of  copper,  and  ha^ng  at  hand  a  solution 
of  ferrous  sulphate,  slightly  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  con- 
sloting  of  I  part  of  the  crystalline  salt  to  5  parts  of  water,  I  desired  to 
ascertain,  before  making  a  stronger  and,  perhaps,  more  suitable  so- 
lution for  the  purpose,  whether  the  deposit  from  this  solution  would 
be  regullne.  On  applying  the  galvanic  current  trom  three  of  Smee's 
battery  cells  (arranged  in  seiii's)  to  this  sidution  in  the  cold.  I  found 
that  a  reguliuM  deposit  of  white,  silyery -looking  iron  was  obtained,  but 
with  the  evolution  of  hydrogen  gas  in  considerable  quantity.  Although 
certain  alkaline  solutions  are  known  that  will  readily  give  up  their 
metal  in  a  regullne  form  during  the  rapid  evolution,  of  hydrogen,  thus 
forming  exceptluns  to  "Law  I.*'  in  *' 8me«'s  Electro-Metallurgy,*' 
(3rd  ed.',  p.  150)  this  is  the  first  instance  that  has  been  met  wiUi,  to  my 
knowledge,  of  a  solution  similar  to  the  above,  and  containing  no  alkali 
or  other  metal  than  the  one  to  be  thrown  down,  giving,  by  electrolysis, 
a  regullne  metallic  deposit  during  the  evolution  ofLydrogen.  Each 
8mee*s  cell  had  18  square  inches  effective  area  of  positive  surface ;  but 
the  area  of  the  anode  and  cathode,  respectively,  was  a  square  inches. 
The  battery  exciting  liquid  was  i  part  of  oil  of  vitriol  to  ao  parts  of 
water.  As  evidenced  by  a  galvanometer  in  the  circuit,  the  addition  of 
a  solution  of  sulphate  of  ammonium  to  the  solution  increased  Its  con- 
ducting power;  with  this  latter  solution  a  very  serviceable  coating  was 
obtained,  but  still  with  the  evolution  of  hydrogen  gas.  I  give  these  de- 
tails in  order  that  others  may  try  the  experiment.  If  they  feel  so  in- 
clined.—W.  H.  Walbss,  F.C.d.,  ZQ,  Talbot  Koad,  Tufnell  Park 
■West,  N. 

Safflower.—TYM  material  contains  in  its  natural  condition,  two 
colouring  substances,  one  insoluble  in  water,  known  as  carthamin,  the 
pink  dye;  the  other,  soluble  in  water,  a  yellow  colouring  matter.  In 
order  to  obtain  the  pink  dye,  it  is  In  the  first  place  requisite  that  the 
safilower  should  be  as  n-oe  as  possible  from  immixtures,  as,  for  instance, 
seeds,  the  leaves  of  the  plant,  or  other  flower^  hay.  straw,  and  similar 
substances.  The  carthamin  U  obtained  in  the  following  manner  : — 
Satfiower  in  exbansted  with  a  very  weak  solutitm  of  carbonate  of  soda ; 
in  this  solution  pieces  of  cotton  wool  are  placed,  and  the  alkali  Is  next 
neutralised  by  dilute  acetic,  or  sulphuric  acid ;  the  cotton  wool  thus 
becomes  pink  dyed,  and  the  dye  is  removed  from  it  again  by  means  of 
weak  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda,  which  solution,  after  the  removal, 
of  course,  of  the  cotton,  which  has  given  up  its  colour,  is  neutralised  by 
means  of  a  dilute  acid ;  a  precipitate  thus  ensues  which  is  the  cartha- 
min ;  this  may  be  purified  by  repeating  the  last  treatment.  The  pink 
dye  thus  obtained  1^  very  beauti/til,  and  especially  applied  to  silk ; 
only  the  dye  is  one  of  the  most  fnslUve  known.  Repeatedly  purified 
carthamin.  mixed  with  French  chalk.  Is  often  used  by  women  to  colour 
their  cheeks. 

PnMSian  JSlite  Pa^e.—Fnre  blue,  even  in  paste,  provided  It  be  not 
too  thin,  will  always,  when  prepared  with  care,  exhibit  that  particular- 
ly'coppery  gloss  which  is  also  possessed  by  some  kinds  or  Indigo  of 
good  quality.  This  property  is  caused  by  a  peculiar  reflection  of  tho 
light,  and  appears  to  have  Its  origin  in  the  peculiar  state  of  aggregation 
of  the  particles  of  these  substances,  both  of  which,  as  is  well  known, 
are  very  difficult  to  ground  to  an  impalpable  powder.  As  a  rule,  the 
Prussian  blue  of  c«>mmerce  is,  in  chemical  parlance,  a  mixture  of  neu- 
tral and  ba^ic  Prussian  blue.  The  coppery  gloss  is  a  peculiar  property 
of  well  made  blue,  and  cannot  be  brought  on  by  artificial  means. 

Ejrtraetion  of  Grease  by  Bisulphide  of  Carbon. — Can  any  of  your 
correspondents  furnish  me  with  any  int'ormation  upon  thb  subject  or 
with  the  name  and  address  of  any  firm,  in  this  country  or  elsewhere, 
who  make  the  apnaratus  employed  for  the  purpose?— C.  L.  W. 

Production  of  Carbonic  Acid. — I  should  recommend  your  corre- 
spondent, "G.,'^k>  use  raagnesite.  a  natural  carbonate  of  magnesia,  for 
obtidning  carbonic  acid  required.  The  gas  obtained  by  subjecting  this 
mineral  in  a  retort  to  a  red  heat.  Is  pure  and  odourless,  and  the  result- 
ing magnesia  will  be  found  more  valuable  than  the  original  material 
But  the  supply  of  magneslte  is  not  large.— 7J.  A.  X. 

EaUract  of  Madder.— y:Kn  any  of  your  readers  inform  me  how  the 
extract  of  madder  which  is  now  being  used,  is  made  ? — W.  B. 

Estimation  of  the  Sulphur  Acids. — Can  any  reader  suggest  a 
method  by  which  NaS,  MaO,^Oa  and  NaO,S20a.  can  be  detected  and 
estimated  separately  in  ordinary  commercial  *'  seda-ash  ?''— W.  Ulaok- 

Unit  of  Momentum.— \  will  bo  much  obliged  If  any  one  will  inform 
me  what  the  value  of  the  unit  of  "  momentum  "  Is  in  avoirdupois 
weight.  Our  books  on  Mechanics  tell  us  that  momentum,  or  **  quantity 
of  motion,"  is  equal  to  the  product  of  the  quantity  of  matter  into  the 
velocity,  thus,  M— QV.  Now,  suppose  i  lb.  of  matter  moves  x  foot  per 
sec,  what  is  its  moving  force  or  "  momentum  ^  In  avoirdupois  ounces? 
— .T.  R.  B>,  Davidson  College,  N.  C. 

Infomnition  Wanted.— A  correspondent  at  llali&x.  Nova  Scotia, 
wishes  to  be  pot  in  communication  with  parties  who  would  give  relia- 
able  information  i.  On  the  best  wavs  or  utilising  the  waste  In  iron- 
works, arising  from  the  operations  of  planing,  turning,  boring,  Ac.  2. 
On  the  best  way  of  manufacturing  chloride  of  lime.  3.  On  tbebest  way 
<f  manufacturing  paper  pulp  from  wood. 

Palm  Oil  for  Softening  Dyeti  ram«.— Palm  oil  and  other  oils  may 
be  made  to  mix  with  water  without  the  use  of  alkalies,  by  subjugating, 

[English  Edition,  VoL  TTU^  Na  435,  pace  170 ;  No.  436, 


or  incorporating  with  the  oil  albuminous  sabstences,  best  yolk  of  eggs 
along  with  a  small  quantity  of  glycerine,  and  sometimeB  a  solution  of 
gum  may  be  useful ;  In  this  way  a  magma  to  obUlned  which  may  be 
gradually  mixed  with  water,  acd  will  form  what  to  called  an  emulsion, 
in  fact  a  mixture  of  water  and  oil,  or  better  and  more  correctly,  oU 
minutely  divided  through  water  by  the  aid  of  albumen.  It  to  a  well 
known  fact  that  the  yolk  of  eggs  contains  a  large  quantity  of  oil  in  its 
natural  state,  to  ik  hich  its  oolour  to  due,  and  which  oil  undoubtedly  also 
asstots  the  forming  of  an  emulsion.-^I>r.  A.  A. 

Eiftmation  qf  Chlorine —Mr.  Dunn  will  nndoubtedly  find  in  the 
manifold  published  works  on  Analytical  Chemistry,  Gay-Luaeac'a 
method,  as  also  those  of  Mohr  and  Wagner,  and  perhaps  he  may  try  if 
he  likes  Rouge's  method,  which  is  not  so  generally  known,  and  la 
executed  In  the  following  manner : — Two  graounes  of  the  bleaching 
powder  to  be  tested  are  well  mixed  with  water,  and  the  flnid  so  obtein- 
ed  mixed  with  a  solution  of  protochloride  of  iron  frrahly  made  by  dis- 
solving 0*6  grra.  of  pure  iron  wire  in  pure  hydrochloric  add,  next  nure 
hydrochloric  acid  in  excess  is  added,  and  the  fluid  boiled  In  a  flask, 
after  previous  addition  of  a  piece  of  rather  thick,  perfectly  clean,  and 
brightly  polished  sheet  copper,  of  a  weight  of  about  4  grammes :  th« 
boiling  Is  continued  until  the  at  first  darkish  colour  of  the  fluid  baa 
become  bright  green ;  the  copper  to  then  removed  from  tho  flask,  wash- 
ed with  dtotilled  water,  dried,  and  weighed.  A  loss  in  the  weight  of 
copper  of  63-A— aCu,  to  equal  to  35-5  chlorine  in  the  bleaching  powder. 
Thto  method  to  based  on  the  fact,  that  under  the  oonditions  deecribed, 
the  chlorine  of  the  bleaching  powder  flrat  changes  the  protochloride  of 
iron  into  perohlorlde,  which  in  Its  turn  to  ngtin  reduc^ed  to  proto- 
chloride by  the  metallic  copper,  whereby  some  of  the  latter  becomes 
dissolved;  for  every  a  equivalents  of  copper  dissolved  in  thto  way  thera 
is  I  equivalent  of  chlorine  in  the  bleaching  powder.— Dr.  A.  A. 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 


Belta.-^XJw  ammonia  in  preference  to  potash  for  precipitating  tha 
earths.  You  can  always  get  rid  of  ammonlacal  salts  by  Ignition  to- 
wards the  close  of  an  analysis, 

John  S.  M.  -The  Chemical  8ocIety*s  Jouraal  to  no  longer  pnbltohed 
by  Bailli^e.  bat  by  Van  Voorst 

Aeeayer.—QermAu  silver  cannot  be  assayed  In  the  dry  way,  owing  to 
the  difficulty  of  removing  the  nickeL  In  assaying  brass  and  gun-metal 
the  oxides  of  zinc  and  tin  are  so  difficultly  fnslble  that  the  dry  proceas 
to  also  inapplicable  to  these  alloys.  An  alloy  of  copper  ai^  silver,  or 
copper  and  gold,  may  be  assayed  by  cupelling  with  lead,  and  determin- 
ingjthe  copper  by  the  loss. 

WalUr  A— A  private  letter  will  be  sent  If  yon  forward  your  addrasi. 

Mineral.— The  ore  contains  copper  in  considtrable  quantity,  and 
also  some  silver.  If  you  wish  to  have  a  quantitative  analysis  of  it,  will 
you  be  good  enough  to  communicate  with  the  Editor? 

A.  L.  Steaf!en9on.—We  shall  be  pleased  to  hear  fhrtber  horn  thto 
correspondent  on  the  subject  mentioned  towards  the  concludnn  of  hto 
letter.  8uch  practical  experience  as  he  can  furnish  will  be  vexy  valu- 
able. 

jr.— 1.  GrifBn  and  Sons.  3.  Only  the  firm  yon  have  named.  3.  Pre- 
cipitate nitrite  of  silver  by  mixing  nitrite  of  potash  wltis  nitrato  of  sil- 
ver ;  wash  and  re^rvstolllse.  4.  Consult  the  index,  c  We  do  not  re- 
member positively,  but  in  some  cases  there  was  a  slight  oolour. 

W.  S.  S.  IT':— Use  gun-cotton  Instead  of  powder  for  blasting  the  rock ; 
that  will  enable  you  to  get  over  the  difficulties. 

O.  George.— ThiB  correspondent,  who  wrote  respecting  a  trade  pro- 
cess, to  informed  that  the  information  can  be  tent  If  he  will  give  hto 
private  address.    We  cannot  publish  it. 

Qiteriet.—lt  to  a  mattor  for  a  towyer,  rather  than  an  editor,  to  advise 
about 

7yro.— The  mineral  to  iron  pyrites. 

Communications  have  been  received  from  I.  a  Mater;  Dr.  Adolph 
Ott;  W.  Angell;  W.  F.  Barrett;  11.  Henderson  (wlUi  enclosure);  U. 
W.  Lloyd  Tanner;  W.  N.  IlarUey ;  M.  Stanilas  Mennler  (with  enclo- 
sures) ;  J.  ilargreaves  (with  enclosures  and  newspapers) ;  T.  F.  Ulg^ 
gioson;  John  Horsley  (with  enclosure);  Charles  Cochrane:  W.  N. 
bmythe  ;  Nicholson,  Maule  <b  Co. ;  Dr.  Adriani  (with  endosnns)  ;  A. 
P.  Hurlstone;  W.  Selton;  W.  Skey  (with  enclosures);  J.  Wflliuns; 
J.  Stevenson;  W.  Bockhart  Smith;  Messra.  Longmans  A  Co.;  Nell 
Matthieson ;  A.  C^oppins ;  J.  Bobertson  &  Co. ;  J.  J.  Lundy  &  Ca ;  W. 
Mall ;  Kev.  R.  Kirwan ;  J.  C.  BurrelL  Svdney,  N.  S.  Wales  (with  enclo- 
sure) ;  Bfagneslum  Metal  Go. ;  Dr.  Watu ;  Dr.  Dnpr6 ;  C.  M.  King ; 
Bev.  B.  W.  Gibsone,  M.  A.;  J.  H.  Atherton;  W.  A.  Simpson  (with 
enclosure);  F.  A.  Abel,  F.B.8.;  A.  Bird  (wltii  enclosure;  W.  Lant 
Carpenter  (with  enclosure);  A.  A.  Fesquet ;  Dr.  A.  Adriani;  B.  (X  CL 
Llpphicott  (with  enclosure);  Professor  Ileaton;  W.  Blackril;  J.  M. 
Bold,  Halifax,  N.  a ;  J.  Mayer  (with  enclosure) ;  W.  W.  Beeves  (wiUi 
enchisure);  A.  L.  Steavenson  (with  enclosure);  W.  H.  Harrison; 
Howard  Grubb ;  A.  Le  Sueur  ;  T.  Spencer  (with  enolosaros):  W.  Bay- 
llffe;  J.  Witaon;  A.  Wykes;  Dr.  Bolmsnn  ;  G.  Bird,  M.D. :  J.Samuel- 
son  ;  H.  Williams ;  T.  Beader ;  J.  G.  Mi^or ;  W.  A.  Smith ;  B.  K.  Mn^ 
pratt ;  W.  J.  Morgan ;  J.  E.  Taylor ;  W.  Blackle;  Ernest  Lo  Barbler ; 
T.  B.  Fraser,  M.D.,  Halifax  (with  newspapers) ;  A.  Vaeher;  T  Preattoe 
and  Co.  ;  W.  Bailey  and  Son ;  Harvey  and  Beynolds;  D.  W.  EdwaHb: 
W.  G.  Deane. 

Books  received  ;— "  Official  Beoord  of  the  Intercolonial  KxhlUlktt 
of  Australasia."  Melbourne :  BInndell  &  Co. ;  **  A  Treatise  ontbe  Met^ 
Inrgy  of  Iron,'^  by  H.  Bauerman.  F.O.a  London :  Virtue  A  Co.;  Po- 
pular Science  Bevlew;"  "Pharmaceutical  Journal:"  "Scientific 
American ;  "  ^*  American  Journal  of  Mining ;  "  ^  Ameiican  Artisan." 


,sr.Brs2iisrp^{Tk^/4!^r^j^ss'4isrpSJMi*«'"**^«'^"="*«'- 


AMERICAN  DRUGGISTS^  PRICE-CURRENT, 

NEW   YORK,   JUNE   1,   1868. 


JOBBERS'  PRICES. 

Ace^on per  vz 

Acid,  Acetic,  No.  8. per  lb 

^p.  i:T.  1,047  U.S.? per  lb 

Chemically  Pure i)er  lb 

Glacial per  lb 

Benzoic,  German per  oz 

Boi-acic,  pore per  lb 

Citric per  lb 

Fluoric,  1  lb  bottles iK*r  lb 

Formic per  lb 

Gallic per  lb 

Hydniphosphorous per  lb 

Lactic per  lb 

Muriatic,  18  degrees per  lb 

chemical  pure per  lb 

Nitric,  88  degrees per  lb 

chemical  pure per  lb 

Oxalic,  patent. per  lb 

Phosphoric,  glacial per  lb 

Prussic per  os 

Sulphuric per  lb 

chemical  pure per  lb 

Valerian per  ok 

Tartaric,  gold per  lb 

Aconite  Leaves per  lb 

Aconiiia per  dr 

Agaric  Alba per  lb 

Alcohol,  06  per  ct per  gal 

Aloes,  Cope per  gal 

Bocotrine per  gal 

Alcm,  Koman per  gal 

lump per  gal 

Ambergris,  gray per  oa 

Ammonia  Cartionate,  bulk per  lb 

in  Jars per  lb 

Mnrlate per  lb 

Ammonia  Aqua,  20  degrees per  lb 

26  degrees per  lb 

Hypophosphite per  lb 

Oxalate per  lb 

Phosphate per  lb 

Sulphate per  lb 

Ammonium  Valerian.  Crystals per  oz 

Ammonium  Bromide per  oz 

HydroBolphoret per  lb 

Iodide per  lb 

Amygdalin per  oz 

Antimony  and  Potass per  lb 

Butter. per  lb 

Arnica  Leaves per  lb 

Arrow  Root,  Bermuda per  lb 

St.  Vincent per  lb 

Arsenic,  white  powdered per  lb 

red  pulv per  lb 

red,  Inmp per  lb 

Arsenic  Solution,  Fowler's per  lb 

Iodide per  lb 

SoL,  Donovan's per  lb 

Asbestos •. per  lb 

Asparagin per  oz 

Atropla perdr 

Sulphate per  dr 

Valerian per  dr 

Balsam  Fir per  nl 

Copaiva i per  lb 

PeruTian per  lb 

Tolu,  true per  lb 

Barbadoes  Tar per  lb 

Bark,  Elm per  lb 

Bark,  CaUsaya.  quill per  lb 

Red,  qullI per  lb 

Pitayo per  lb 

CascariUa per  lb 

Mesereon per  lb 

Sassafras per  lb 

Baryta  Muriate per  lb 

Nitrate per  lb 

Bay  Rum per  gal 

Bebeerln,  pnre per  oz 

Sulphate per  oz 

Belladonna  Leaves per  lb 

Bicarbonate  Soda per  lb 

Bichromate  Potash per  lb 

Bismuth  Metallio per  lb 

and  Ammonia  Citrate  soluble per  oz 

and  Ammonia  Citrate  Solution . . .  .per  lb 

Oxychloride per  lb 

Snbcarbon per  lb 

Sub-Nitrate per  lb 

Tannate per  oz 

Valerianate peroz 

Black  Drops per  ib 

Blue  Uass per  lb 

Bole,  Armenia,  true per  lb 

Borax,  refined per  lb 

Brimstone,  roll per  lb 

Bromine per  lb 

Bmcla per  os 

Bacha  Leaves,  long jier  lb 

short per  lb 


to 

86 

22    to 

80 

to 

80 

to 

60 

to 

1  60 

to 

86 

to 

86 

to 

1  16 

to 

2  20 

to 

8  60 

to 

4  26 

to 

4  26 

to 

4  26 

Xo 

6 

tu 

40 

to 

14 

to 

40 

to 

87 

to 

8  00 

to 

14 

4    to 

6 

to 

60 

to 

1  40 

to 

78 

to 

28 

to 

6  26 

to 

80 

to 

4  00 

to 

28 

90    to 

1  20 

to 

11 

to 

4.?^ 

to  16  60 

to 

23 

to 

iiXi 

to 

14 

to 

12 

to 

22 

to 

4  26 

to 

2  25 

to 

2  00 

to 

10 

to 

160 

to 

4  26 

to 

75 

to  10  60 

to 

8  76 

to 

1  16 

to 

88 

to 

20 

60    to 

66 

20    to 

22 

to 

10 

to 

85 

to 

20 

to 

18 

to  16  00 

to 

85 

to 

16 

to 

860 

to 

8  75 

.    to 

8  75 

to 

500 

to 

7  00 

to 

1  00 

to 

400 

to 

1  60 

to 

80 

to 

20 

to 

1  60 

to 

200 

to 

80 

to 

J    12 

to 

80 

to 

16 

to 

80 

to 

40 

to 

400 

to 

550 

to 

850 

S2    to 

26 

to 

8 

to 

22 

to 

800 

to 

90 

to 

1  15 

to 

6  00 

to 

6  75 

to 

685 

to 

1  50 

to 

260 

to 

4  76 

to 

65 

8    to 

10 

86    to 

88 

4    to 

4>tf 

to 

460 

to 

8  75 

to 

60 

to 

86 

Biirpiindy  Pitch,  true per  lb 

CaUmium,  Bromide per  oz 

Iodide per  oz 

Metallic per  lb 

Sulphate per  lb 

CafTelne per  az 

Calcium  Chloride per  lb 

Iodide per  lb 

C.ilomel,  Hydrosub per  lb 

Camphor,  Refined per  lb 

Cannella  Alba per  lb 

Canthfiuddi-8 per  lb 

Carbon  Bi-Sulphuret per  lb 

CascariUa  Bark per  lb 

Cassia  Buds per  lb 

Castor  Oil per  gal 

Caustic  Soda per  lb 

Centaury  Minor per  lb 

Cerium,  Oxalate per  oz 

Nitrate peroz 

Chalk.  Precip.,  English per  lb 

Cherry  iLaurel  Water per  lb 

Chlorate  Potass,  English per  lb 

Chloride  Lime per  lb 

Chloroform ; per  lb 

Cinnamon,  Ceylon,  true per  lb 

Citrine  Ointment per  lb 

Civet per  oz 

Cobalt per  lb 

Cocculus  Indlcus. per. lb 

Cocoa  Butter per  lb 

Codeine per  dr 

Cod  Liver  Oil per  gal 

Cod  Liver  Oil,  C*  fcrhore  Oil'*) per  gal 

Cod  Liver  Oil,  J.  C.  Baker  &  Co.'s per  aoz 

"  **  **         per  gross 

**  "  "        ..  .6  gross,  per  gr 

Cod  Live  rOIl,  Hazard  &  Caswell's per  doz 

pcrgr 

Collodion per  Ib 

Cantharidal per  doz 

Colocynth per  lb 

Confeclio  Rosee per  lb 

Sennas per  lb 

Conium  Leaves per  lb 

Coniin per  oz 

Copper  Ammoniated. per  lb 

Black  Oxide per  lb 

Carbonate per  lb 

Sulphur,  pare per  lb 

Copperas per  lb 

Corrosive  Sublimate per  lb 

Cream  Tartar,  Oyst. per  lb 

Cubebs per  lb 

Cubebln per  dr 

CutUefish  Bone per  lb 

Digitalis  Herb per  lb 

DlgitaUne per  dr 

Dover's  Powder per  lb 

Dragon^s  Blood,  mass per  lb 

reeds per  lb 

Dulcamara  Stems per  lb 

Emetine .  .^ per  oz 

Emery  Com per  lb 

Flour per  lb 

Epsom  Salts per  lb 

Ergot,  new per  lb 

Erffotine per  oz 

Ether,  Acetic per  lb 

Butyric,  concentrated per  lb 

Butyraceous per  lb 

Chloric per  lb 

ooncentrated. per  lb 

Formic per  lb 

Snlphuric per  lb 

washed per  lb 

concentrated per  lb 

Extr.  Jockey  Club,  Chlrls per  lb 

Extr.  Ess.  Bouquet,  Chirb per  Ib 

Extr.  Banana,  superior per  lb 

Extr.  Orange,  superior per  lb 

Fluor  Spar per  lb 

Flowers  ,Altbea per  lb 

Arnica per  lb 

Borrage per  lb 

Flowers,  Chamomile4  German per  lb 

Chamomile,  Roman,  1667 perlb 

Lavender per  lb 

[,MalTa,  large per  lb 

small per  lb 

Rosemary. per  lb 

Tlliae perlb 

Violet per  lb 

Fusel  Oil.  purified per  lb 

Ferro  -  Phosphorated  Elixir  of    Calisaya  jper  doz 
Bark,  Hazard  A  Oasweirs,  j  per  grs 

Gamboge per  grs 

Gelatine,  French  Pink per  Tb 

,  White  French per  lb 

Cox's per  grs 


Ginger,  Jamaica,  bleached. 


14    to 

15 

to 

60 

to 

,75 

to 

4  60 

to 

)  00 

to 

9  50 

to 

HO 

to 

8  50 

1  00    to 

1  06 

1  16    to 

1  25 

to 

16 

to 

1  80 

to 

8S 

to 

12 

to 

1  10 

2  20    to 

2  26 

8.!<to 

9 

to 

88 

to 

1  60 

to 

1  75 

to 

28 

to 

68 

to 

67 

to 

6 

to 

1  90 

to 

1  65 

to 

68 

to 

660 

to 

26 

to 

86 

to 

1  C6 

.    to 

260 

to 

2  00 

to 

1  90 

to 

8  00 

to  90  00 

to  87  00 

to 

760 

to  90  00 

to 

1  80 

to 

4  75 

to 

70 

to 

48 

to 

48 

to 

25 

to 

760 

lo 

1  20 

l-to 

2  20 

to 

2  20 

to 

88 

2    to 

8 

to 

96 

to 

46 

to 

85 

to 

225 

to 

28 

to 

18 

to 

865 

to 

2  80 

to 

90 

to 

1  15 

to 

IS 

to 

8  65 

to 

11 

to 

8i. 

to 

A'-i 

to 

1  16 

to 

116 

to 

1  05 

to 

4  26 

to 

1  80 

to 

1  05 

to 

1  65 

to 

425 

to 

1  05 

to 

1  15 

to 

1  25 

to 

8  66 

to 

8  76 

to 

1  50 

to 

1  60 

to 

16 

r     to 

42 

to 

22 

to 

95 

29    to 

28 

65    to 

60 

9    to 

11 

85    to 

40 

to 

45 

to 

70 

to 

70 

to 

68 

to 

260 

to  12  00 

tol44  00 

to 

2  76 

to 

1  66 

80    to 

110 

to  88  60 

to 

tt 

298 


Anierican  Dniggists*  Price'CuTvent. 


OinBcng per  lb 

Glauber  Salts per  lb 

Glycerine,  common per  lb 

concentrated per  lb 

"  Bowerv  *' per  lb 

«  Price'*  " per  lb 

Glycerole  Hypopbosphite per  lb 

Grains  D'Ambrette per  lb 

Paradise per  lb 

Gnm  Acroides per  lb 

Amber per -lb 

Ammoniac per  lb 

Arabic,  Tarker,  sorts per  lb 

Ifit  picked,  Trieste per  lb 

2d       "  "      per  lb 

8d       "  "      per  lb 

Barbary per  lb 

Assnfoetida per  lb 

Benzoin,  common. per  lb 

prime per  lb 

white  marbled per  lb 

Copal,  Accra per  lb 

Bengnela. per  lb 

Kowrie per  lb 

Tamar,  Batavia per  lb 

Singapore per  lb 

Elemi,  Aromatic per  lb 

Kaphorblam per  lb 

Oaibabum per  lb 

strained per  lb 

Gedda  (gold) per  lb 

Onatacam per  lb 

strained per  lb 

Kino per  lb 

Mastic. .  .< per  lb 

Myrrh,  Turkey per  lb 

Ollbanum p^lb 

tears per  lb  * 

Sandarac per  lb 

Shellac,  Campbeirs  D.  U per  lb 

Garnet per  lb 

No.  2 per  lb 

Native per  lb 

Senegal per  lb 

Tragocanth,  common per  lb 

flake per  lb 

flaky  sorts per  lb 

Harlem.  Oil,  Dutch , per  grs 

Huffman's  Anodyne per  lb 

Hydriodate  Potasti,  A  and  B per  lb 

Conrad's  (gold) per  lb 

Hyoscyaml  Leaves per  lb 

Ily  pophosphite  Ammon per  lb 

Iron per  lb 

Lime per  lb 

Manganese per  lb 

Potash per  lb 

Soda per  lb 

Iceland  Moss per  lb 

Indian  Hemp,  true per  lb 

Insect  Powder,  true per  lb 

Iodine,  Resublimed per  lb 

Crude,  in  bulk per  lb 

Irish  Moss per  lb 

Iron,  Alum per  lb 

by  Hydrogen per  lb 

Carb.  Proto per  lb 

Preclp per  lb 

Citrate  and  Ammonia per  lb 

Magnesia per  lb 

Quriilse per  lb 

Strychnine per  lb 

Ilypophosphlte per  lb 

Iodide  per  lb 

Syrup per  lb 

Lrc'ate per  lb 

Phosphate,  l*reclpitate per  lb 

Pyrophosphate per  lb 

Syrup per  lb 

Sesquichloride per  lb 

Sol per  lb 

Se^quinitrate per  lb 

Subsulphale per  lb 

Sulphate,  pure per  lb 

Exaiccat per  lb 

Sulphnret per  lb 

Superphosphate  Syrup per  lb 

Tannale per  lb 

India  Ink per  lb 

Isinglass,  American per  lb 

tCuscian,  true per  lb 

Juniper  Berries per  lb 

Juniper  Tar  Soap,  Hasard  St  Caswell's i>er  doz 

Kreosote,  white per  lb 

Lactucarium per  lb 

Lead  Acetate,  pure per  lb 

Licorice  Paste,  solid pfr  lb 

Sicily per  lb 

Calabria per  lb 

imitation per  lb 

Barracco per  lb 

P.8 porib 

Lime,  Carbonate,  Precipitate per  lb 


80    to 

I  00 

to 

8 

to 

85 

to 

fiO 

to 

TO 

to 

[  20 

to 

L  76 

to 

60 

to 

85 

to 

24 

to 

50 

40    to 

76 

to 

40 

to 

90 

to 

66 

to 

60 

to 

85 

to 

45 

80    to 

90 

1  00    to 

1  10 

1  10    to 

1  15 

to 

to 

85 

to 

45 

to 

60 

to 

46 

to 

60 

to 

25 

to 

95 

to 

1  00 

to 

28 

to 

44 

to 

47 

to 

1  20 

to 

4  26 

to 

60 

to 

80 

to 

40 

to 

60 

60    to 

63 

to 

55 

to 

45 

to 

45 

to 

50 

to 

85 

1  00    to 

1  50 

to 

60 

to 

6  50 

to 

84 

to 

600 

to 

6  75 

to 

24 

to 

425 

to 

860 

to 

460 

to  14  00 

to 

440 

to 

440 

10    to 

12 

to 

1  60 

to 

1  00 

to 

660 

to 

625 

8    to 

10 

to 

1  60 

to 

2  80 

to 

45 

to 

25 

to 

1  60 

to 

1  85 

to  12  60 

to  12  50 

8  iO    to 

850 

to 

8  25 

10 

8) 

to 

8  25 

to 

67 

to 

1  60 

to 

65 

to 

1  45 

to 

^^ 

to 

44 

to 

1  TO 

.  to 

9 

to 

IT 

to 

^Wx 

to 

65 

to 

6  60 

to 

1  75 

to 

1  T5 

to 

6  50 

7        to 

4.V 

to 

8  50 

to 

1  20 

to  12  00 

to 

1  00 

to 

42 

to 

80 

to 

42 

to 

87 

to 

42 

to 

46 

to 

24 

♦rt 

A  9Jl 

Lime,  Phosphate,  Precipitate per  lb 

Sulphite per  lb 

Lime  Juice per  gal 

Unt,  Taylor's per  lb 

Lapis  Calaminaris per  lb 

Laurel  Berries per  lb 

Leaves per  lb 

Liquid  Styrax per  lb 

Leng  Pepper per  lb 

Lunar  Caustic,  pure per  os 

o7  per  cent.,  N.  8 per  oz 

Ljrcopodlnin per  lb 

Magneaia  Carbonate per  lb 

Calcined per  lb 

ponderous. per  lb 

Citrate per  lb 

.  Sulphite .per  lb 

B£«ngan«8e,  powdered .per  lb 

daxony per  lb 

Manna,  small  flake,  *66 .^rlb 

large  flake,  '66 per  lb 

shorts,  new per  lb 

Matico  Leaves,  true per  lb 

Mercury per  lb 

com  Creta per  lb 

Magnesia .per  lb 

Cyanuret per  lb 

Sulphnret per  lb 

Mercurial  dintment  (l^M) per  lb 

(>»M) per  lb 

Morphia  Sulphate per  os 

A  cetate per  oi 

Muriate per  oz 

Valerianate per  ot 

Musk,  trae per  os 

In  ffraln  true per  os 

Nux  Vomica per  lb 

Oil,  Amber,  Crude per  lb 

Almonds  (Expressed)  Allen's per  lb 

Essential,  Allen's per  lb 

Anise per  lb 

Bergamot per  lb 

FP,  new  crop per  lb 

Bergamot,  Donncr^s per  lb 

Bergamot,— Sanderson's per  lb 

Cade per  lb 

C^oput per  lb 

Camphor per  lb 

Caraway per  lb 

Seed per  lb 

Cassia per  lb 

Cimamon,  true per  os 

Cltronella,  prime per  lb 

Winter's per  lb 

Copaiva per  lb 

Croton per  lb 

Cubebs per  lb 

Cnramln per  lb 

Fennel per  lb 

Geraniam per  lb 

Chiria per  lb 

Prepared per  lb 

Turkish per  lb 

Jessamine per  lb 

Juniper per  lb 

Berries,  true per  lb 

Lavender,  Garden,  forte per  lb 

flne per  lb 

Flowers,  Cbirls,  No.  1 per  lb 

Lavender  Spike per  lb 

Lanrel,  Expressed per  lb 

Lemon,  Donner's  per  lb 

Lemon,— G.  R.  &  Co's per  lb 

—Sanderson's  (new) per  lb 

Lemongrass,— Winter's per  lb 

Mace,  Expressed per  lb 

Marjoram per  lb 

Myrrbane per  lb 

NeroU  Blgarade per  oz 

Chirls .per  oz 

Petit  Grain : per  lb 

Olive,  pure,  casks per  sal 

Marseilles,  quarts per  box 

pints per  box 

Orange per  lb 

Origanum per  lb 

Patchouly per  oz 

Pennyroyal per  lb 

Peppermint,  pure l>er  lb 

Rhodium per  lb 

Rose,  Klasanllck per  oz 

Rosemary,  French per  lb 

Trieste per  lb 

Chiris per  lb 

Sabine,  pure per  lb 

Siissafras,  cans per  lb 

Scflsamo,  Salad,  fine per  lb 

Spearmint,  Hotchkiss pet  lb 

Spike per  lb 

Succinum,  crude per  lb 

rectified per  lb 

Tanzy,— "  Eastman's" per  lb 

Thyme,  white,  pure per  lb 


95 


40 

(8 

80 

1  80 

8 

10 

10 

60 

50 

181 

98 

65 

40 

1  M 

1  80 

1  75 

180 

8 


to 

1  40 

to 

190 

to 

100 

to 

44 

t'> 

83 

to 

68 

to 

1  » 

to 

6  80 

to 

M 

to 

TO 

to 

60 

lo 

7  85 

to 

7  85 

to 

7  85 

to 

9  60 

to  16  00 

to  82  00 

to 

IS 

to 

60 

to 

1  00 

to  17  50 

to 

450 

9  60    to  10  25 

7  60    to 

850 

8  50    to 

9  75 

9  76    to  10  95 

to 

100 

to 

200 

to 

1  75 

to 

2  76 

to 

550 

4  00    to 

425 

to 

1  60 

to 

280 

to 

850 

to 

800 

to 

4  15 

to 

450 

to  10  CO 

to 

800 

12  00    to  22  00 

to  26  00 

to  2500 

14  00    to  18  00 

to 

850 

to 

125 

to 

860 

to 

1  66 

to 

185 

to 

8  75 

to 

100 

to 

90 

to 

4S5 

to 

485 

to 

425 

to 

700 

to 

2  60 

to 

173 

to 

200 

to 

4» 

to 

475 

to  28  00 

to 

809 

to 

625 

to 

775 

to 

4  10 

75    to 

1  90 

to 

400 

450    to 

800 

to 

600 

to  10  00 

to 

11  60 

to 

175 

to 

1  15 

to 

226 

to 

200 

to 

1  80 

to 

995 

tc 

850 

to 

tfl 

60 

to       65 

to    560 

to    279 

Amei-ican  DruggUte^  Price- Owrent. 


299 


Oil  Wintergreen,  Van  Deusec  Bro'a per  lb 

Wormwood per  lb 

Wormseed,  Western '.  .per  lb 

Baltimore per  lb 

Black  Pepper per  lb 

Cognac. . .  # per  oz 

Ergot per  oz 

Opium  (gold) per  lb 

Orange  Buds  or  Applea I>er  lb 

Coraooa  Bios per  lb 

Otto  Rose,  pnre per  oz 

commercial per  oz 

Peppers,  Zanzibar per  lb 

Fhoftphoras per  lb 

Amorphous per  lb 

Piperin per  oz" 

PoidopbyUin per  oz 

Poppy  Heads per  lb 

Potassa  Acetate per  lb 

Bicarbonate per  lb 

Carbonate per  lb 

•Canstlc,  common per  lb 

white per  lb 

<:itrate per  lb 

cam  Calce,  powdered per  lb 

Uypophoapblte per  lb 

Permanganate,  ordinary per  lb 

Phosphate per  lb 

Prnssiate per  lb 

Sulphate per  lb 

Tartrate per  lb 

Potassium per  oz 

Bromide per  lb 

Cyanide,  fbs per  lb 

gran ^. per  lb 

Iodide per  lb 

Sulphuret per  lb 

-Quioine  Citrate,  with  Iron per  oz 

Sulphate,  American per  oz 

French per  oz 

Quassia,  rasped per  lb 

•  Ked  Chalk  Ffagers per  lb 

Bed  Precipitate per  lb 

Resin  of  Jalap,  pure per  lb 

Rochelle  Salt per  lb 

Jtoots,  Aconite per  lb 

Alkanet per  lb 

Althea per  lb 

Angelica per  lb 

Calamus per  lb 

Colchicum per  lb 

Colombo per  lb 

Culveris per  lb 

Dandelion per  lb 

Galangal ; per  lb 

Gentian per  lb 

Ginger,  Race,  African per  lb 

Jamaica,  Bleached por  lb 

Golden  Seal l;er  lb 

Hellebore  black per  lb 

white per  lb 

IpecacnanhsB per  lb 

powdered per  lb 

Jalap per  lb 

powdered per  lb 

Licorice per  lb 

Mandrake per  lb 

Orris,  Florentine per  lb 

Verona per  lb 

Pink ; per  lb 

Rhatany per  lb 

Rhubarb,  E.  I per  lb 

Turkey per  lb 

Sarsaparilla,  Honduras per  lb 

Mexican per  lb 

Turbeth per  lb 

Valerian,  English per  lb 

Dutch per  lb 

German per  lb 

Vermont per  lb 

Snake,  Virginia per  lb 

Seneca per  lb 

Eo?e  Leaves per  lb 

Rosemary  Leaves per  lb 

Bubigo  Ferri per  lb 

Saffiron,  American,  now per  lb 

Spanish,  true per  lb 

Saffo.  Pearl per  lb 

Saiicln per  oz 

Sal  Acetoscella per  lb 

Ammoniac per  lb 

Boda,  Newcastle per  lb 

Santonlne per  lb 

Sassaf^  Bark per  lb 

Scammony,  virg.,  true per  lb 

Seeds,  Anise per  lb 

star per  lb 

Canary,  Datch per  bush 

Smyrna per  bush 

Cardamom,  Malabar per  lb 

Carui per  lb 

Celery pfer  lb 

Clover per  lb 

Colchicum per  lb 


to 

4  50 

8  00  to  10  00 

to 

2  75 

to 

425 

tola  00 

to 

850 

to 

25 

toll  00 

to 

18 

to 

28 

toll  60 

to 

7  50 

to 

88 

to 

1  25 

to 

825 

to 

1  75 

to 

96 

to 

25 

to 

90 

to 

42 

to 

25 

to 

70 

to 

1  00 

to 

1  00 

to 

Ih 

to 

425 

to 

80 

to 

8  00 

to 

40 

to 

16 

to 

1  05 

•    to 

8  75 

to 

2  50 

to 

85 

to 

1  80 

to 

5  40 

to 

85 

to 

85 

to 

2  20 

to 

2  15 

to 

6 

6Xto 

7 

to 

1  25 

to  28  00 

48    to 

50 

to 

24 

17    to 

18 

22    to 

80 

to 

85 

20    to 

60 

to 

20 

to 

22 

to 

24 

to 

80 

to 

12 

to 

10 

to 

20 

to 

85 

to 

80 

to 

16 

to 

80 

to 

850 

to 

8  75 

to 

2  50 

to 

240 

to 

18 

to 

15 

to 

15 

to 

14 

to 

82 

to 

80 

2  75  to 

400 

to  24  00 

to 

54 

to 

2S 

to 

60 

to 

65 

to 

40 

to 

24 

to 

46 

to 

t6 

to 

42 

to 

2  25 

to 

12 

to 

10 

to 

95 

to  18  00 

to 

10 

to 

60 

to 

65 

to 

15 

to 

4 

to  21  00 

to 

15 

to  20  00 

to 

2S 

to 

55 

6  00  to 

6  25 

to 

625 

to 

450 

to 

23 

to 

65 

to 

16 

to 

24 

Seeds,  Coriander '. per  lb 

Cummin per  lb 

Fennel per  lb 

Fcenugreek per  lb 

Hemp per  bush 

Linseed,  American  clean per  tierce 

rough per  bush 

Bombay  (gold) per  bush 

Calcutta  (gold) per  bush 

MoBtard,  brown , . .  .per  lb 

white per  lb 

Rape per  bush 

Timothy per  bush 

Worm per  lb 

SeldStz  Mixture per  lb 

Senna,  fflnnevelly per  lb 

Alexandria. per  lb 

B.  I per  lb 

Smalts,  Blue per  lb 

Snuif,  Lorrillard's  Maccaboy per  lb 

Coarse  Rappee per  lb 

Irish  High  Toast per  lb 

Fresh  Scotch per  lb 

Soap,  Castile,  Mottled. . . .' per  lb 

White per  lb 

floating ^. per  lb 

Low's  Brown  Windsor per  grs 

Soda  Acetate per  lb 

ClUorate per  lb 

Chloride,  Liquor per  gal 

Citrate per  lb 

Hydrosulphate per  lb 

Hypophosphlte. per  lb 

Hvposulphlte per  lb 

Nitrate,  pure per  lb 

Phosphate per  lb 

Pyrophosphate per  lb 

Sulphite per  lb 

Ash per  lb 

Sodium per  lb 

Iodide per  lb 

Spirit  Ammonia per  lb 

Aromatic per  lb 

Lavender. per  lb 

Nitre  Dulc per  lb 

Rosemary per  lb 

Sponges,  Bahama per  lb 

Bathing.  Formes per  lb 

Coarse  Brown per  lb 

Fine,  medium per  lb 

Surgeon's. per  lb 

Zlmoca per  lb 

Cup,  Turkey per  lb 

Trieste per  lb 

Fine  Toilet,  bleached. per  lb 

Fine  Trieste,  small per  lb 

Glove per  lb 

Grass per  lb 

Sheep's  wool per  lb 

Sur  Choiz per  lb 

Squills per  lb 

St.  John's  Bread per  lb 

Strontia  Muriate per  lb 

Nitrate per  lb 

Oxalate per  lb 

Strychnia  Acetate per  oz 

Citrate per  oz 

Nitrate per  oz 

Pure,  ciystalllzed per  oz 

powdered per  oz 

Sulphate per  oz 

Valerianate per  oz 

Styrax  Calamita per  lb 

Sugar  of  Lead per  lb 

Sugar  of  Milk per  lb 

Sulphur  Sublime* per  lb 

Tamarinds .' per  lb 

Tannin per  lb 

Tapioca,  East  India,  white per  lb 

Pearl per  lb 

Tartar  Emetic,  powdered « per  lb 

crystallized per  lb 

Tin  Foil,  thin per  lb 

French,  No.  15 per  lb 

Tobacco per  lb 

Tonqua  Be&ns,  Para per  lb 

Augustora per  lb 

Uva  XJrsl,  American per  lb 

French per  lb 

Yanilla  Beans,  Bourbon per  lb 

Mexican per  lb 

Venicfe  Turpentine per  lb 

Veratria per  oz 

Vitriol  Blue per  lb 

Green per  lb 

White per  lb 

Wax,  White,— J.  I.  Elkecs per  lb 

No.  2 per  lb 

Phillip's per  lb 

Tellow per  lb 

Wlilte  Wax,— Leonhardt's per  lb 

Ockmid per  lb 

Sun-bleached per  lb 

White  Precipitate r«r  ^^ 

White  Pepper per  lb 


to 

16 

to 

20 

to 

20 

to 

12 

to 

850 

to 

to 

825 

to 

2  65 

to 

265 

to 

18 

to 

18 

to 

6  00 

to 

600 

to 

23 

to 

48 

to 

28 

to 

88 

to 

28 

to 

22 

to 

78 

to 

100 

to 

85 

to 

85 

to 

20 

to 

26 

to 

25 

to  16  00 

to 

85 

to 

215 

to 

46 

to 

1  00 

to 

1  06 

to 

4  10 

to 

10 

to 

22 

to 

81 

to 

1  25 

^  to 

82 

to 

4)<f 

to  11  00" 

to 

800 

to 

70 

to 

76 

to 

70 

to 

60 

to 

70 

to 

90 

to 

400 

to 

60 

6  00  to 

700 

400  to 

700 

2  00  to 

800 

20  00  to  80  00 

4  60  to  18  00 

12  00  to  16  00 

400  to 

460 

1  75  to 

200 

20  to 

26 

1  25  to 

1  40 

to 

6  60 

to 

12 

to 

8 

to 

88 

to 

88 

to 

180 

to 

425 

to 

80 

to 

426 

to 

181 

to 

8^ 

to 

425 

to 

660 

to 

56 

to 

40 

to 

68 

to 

0 

to 

10 

to 

860 

to 

12 

to 

14 

to 

100 

to 

1  20 

■        to 

45 

to 

70 

to 

40 

to 

SS 

to 

1  90 

to 

12 

J   .      to 

13 

to  11  00 

to  14  00 

to 

27 

to 

625 

lOXto 

11 

to 

2 

to 

9 

to 

75 

to 

72 

to 

90 

to 

62 

to 

82 

to 

73 

to 

67 

to 

1  60 

to 

68 

300 


American  DrxujgisUi  Price-OurrenL 


1  15 
1  25 

1  80 


1  00 


to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

28    to 

to 

to 

2  75    to 

2  50    to 

2  00    to 

1  50    to 

1  00    to 

to 

to 

to 


1  6S 
1  43 


Wine,  Colchlcum^cedfl per  lb  to    1  50 

WoodNaphtha per  lb  to       95 

■Wormwood  Herb per  lb  to       25 

YellowBark perlb  to       80 

Dock perlb  to 

Zaffre per  lb  to 

Zinc,  Acetate per  lb  to 

Chloride per  lb  to 

BYES  ANB  BYESTIJFFS. 

Aniline  Blue per  lb 

Red per  lb 

Violet per  lb 

Annatto per  lb 

Coddneal,  Honduras per  lb 

Mexican per  lb 

Cudbear,  pure per  lb 

Cutch,  Pegae per  lb 

Gambler per  lb 

Indigo,  Bengal,  flne per  lb 

good per  lb 

middling. per  lb 

Madras,  fine per  lb 

ordinary per  lb 

Kurpah ^ per  lb 

Guatemala perlb 

Caraccas per  lb 

Lac  Dye.  good  to  flne per  lb 

Logwood,  Campeacby per  ton 

Honduras per  ton 

Jamaica per  ton 

Laguna per  ton 

St  Domingo per  ton   19  00 

Chip per  lb  2 

Extract per  lb  10)tf  to 

"      Inbulk perlb  lO^to 

Lima  Wood  (gold) per  bbl  70  00    to 

Madder,  Dutch per  lb 

French per  lb 

Kutgalls,  Blue,  Ateppo per  lb 

Orchille per  lb 

Persian  Berrlca per  lb  50    to 

Bafflower per  lb  60    to 

Sapanwood perlb  12    to 

Turmeric perlb  28    to 

Ultramarine per  lb         I'i^^to 

Woad  per  lb  to 

BRUGGISTS'  GLASSHTARE. 

[PACKAQS  PRICKS.] 

Green  Bottles  and  vlala 50  percentage  dit»connt. 

German  Flint  Bottles  and  yials 80 

Flint  Bottles  and  vials 25 

Furniture  Ware 10 

Perfumer's  Ware 25 

Chemical  Ware net 

Syringes 10 

Homceopathlc  vials 10  ' 

NAVAIi  STORES. 

Pitch,  City per  bbl 

Bosin,  Extra  Pale per  280  lbs 

Palo 

No.l " 

Ko.2 " 

Strained »* 

Common •* 

Spirits,  Turpentine  (North  Carolina) per  enl 

Turpentine,  Soft. per  280  iba 


50  to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 


to 
m   to 


40 
80 


8  00 

7  00 

8  00 
1  80 
1  50 

1  46 
45 
18 

8 
8  00 

2  60 
2  10 
1  55 
1  25 

1  75 

1  65 

60 

24  00 

28  00 

20  00 

20  00 

12>tf 

71  00 
21 
22 
42 
85 
55 
65 
15 
45 
15 


OILS. 

Linseed  Oil,  American per  gal 

English per  gal 

PalmOU per  gal 

ParafBne  LubrlcaUng  Oil per  gal 

Bperm,  Crude per  gal 

Sperm,  Winter,  unbleached per  gal 

Lard  Oil  Prime,  City per  gal 

Bed  Oil,  City  distilled per  gal 

Red  Oil,  Saponified.... per  gal 

Whale,  Crude per  gal 

Whale,  Bleached,  Winter per  gal 

PAINTS  (BRT). 

Asphaltum,  opt per  lb 

Barytes,  Foreign per  ton 

Baiytes,  American per  lb 

Black  Lead .per  lb 

Black  Ivory,  drop,  £alr per  lb 

good ....perlb 

best perlb 

Blae  Celestial,  good perlb 

Chinese per  lb 

Prussian,  fair  to  best per  lb 

Ultranuulne,  fair  to  best. per  lb 

Chalk,  Lump per  ton 

China  Clay per  ton 

Cbalk per  bbl 

Green  Paris,  fair  to  best per  lb 

Green  Chrome,  fair  to  best per  lb 

Lamp  Black— Coach  Painter's— L.  Martin  \  _^_  ,^ 
ACo.'s }perlb 


8  75    to  4  00 

8  00    to  9  00 

7  00    to  8  00 

5  00    to  6  00 

4  00    to  5  25 

4  00    to  5  00 

to  8  75 

to  60 

to  8  00 

to  1  20 

to  1  25 

to  14 

to  40 

to  2  20 

to  2  80 

to  1  60 

to  70 

to  78 

to  85 

to  90 


Lamp  Black,  ordinary per  papt  r 

Litharge,  powdered,  American  &  English. .  .per  lb 

Ochre.  Yellow,  French,  dry per  lb 

;  Red  Venetian per  lb 

Red  Indian,  fair  to  be&t per  lb 

Red  Lead,  American per  lb 

English per  lb 

Rose  Pink per  lb 

tflonna,  American per  lb 

lUllan,  B'nt per  lb 

Raw per  lb 

Umber,  Crude,  Turkey per  lb 

burnt perlb 

Tiemau*s  Calif.  Vermilion per  lb 

Pure  C-armine per  lb 

Soluble  Bine per  lb 

Vermilion,  English,  pale per  lb 

deep per  lb 

American per  lb 

Chinese per  lb 

Trieste per  lb 

White,  China per  lb 

Cremnitz per  lb 

Lead,  pure per  lb 

good per  lb 

Paris per  lb 

Zinc,  American per  lb 

Zinc,  French per  lb 

Whiting per  lb 

PAINTS  (IN  OIL). 

Black  conch per  lb 

Blue,  Chinese per  lb 

'  Prussian,  fair  to  best per  lb 

Brown,  Van  Dyke,  fair  to  best ^ per  lb 

Dryer,  Patent,  American per  lb 

English per  lb 

Green,  Chrome per  lb 

Imperial per  lb 

Poris per  lb 

Venllgris per  lb 

Putty,  in  bladders per  lb 

In  bulk per  lb 

Red  Venetian,  fair  to  be.«.t per  lb 

Sienna,  burnt,  fair  to  best per  lb 

White  Lead,  English,  B.  B per  lb 

American,  pure. per  lb 

good perlb 

fair perlb 

White  Zinc,  American 4 per  lb 

French per  lb 

Yellow  O^hre per  lb 

Chrome,  fair  to  best per  lb 

SPICES. 

Cassia,  In  mats  (gold) per  lb 

Cassia,  (gold— In  bond) per  lb 

Cloves,  (gold) per  lb 

Ginger,  Race,  Afriean  (gold) per  lb 

Mace,  (gold) per  lb 

Nutmegs,  No.  1,  (gold) per  lb 

Pepper,  (gold) per  lb 

Pepper,  (gold— in  bond) per  lb 

Pimento,  Jamaica,  (trold)  per  lb 

Pimento,  (gold— in  bond) per  lb 

UriNDOTir    GLASS. 

American  Window — 1st,  2d,  3d  and  4th  qaalitici, 

by     8    to     8    by    10 Per  fifty  fotft  $  6  25  to    8  75 

"       "  ...  ••  6  T5  to    4  75 


to 

to 

to 

8    to 

10    to 

18    to 

M    to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

85    to 

88    to 


80 


T 
45  00 

2 
10 
IS 
90 

ss 

14 
1  00 
1  00 

60 

27  eo 

88  00 

4  00 

60 

42 


28    to        85 


8    to 

12 

11     to 

11V 

2'«to 

8U 

8>..to 

4  * 

11    to 

11 

11    to 

12 

14    to 

15 

IS    to 

SO 

7    to 

9 

18    to 

Si 

15    to 

20 

5    to 

7 

0    to 

HI 

to 

1  20 

to  IS  00 

to 

1  2^ 

to 

1  40 

to 

185 

to 

85 

to 

185 

to 

1  20 

to 

23 

to 

80 

18    to 

14 

18    to 

12.^ 

83«to 

4 

10    to 

13 

U    to 

16 

2>ito 

8 

23    to 

80 

JH)    to 

1  (« 

85    to 

60 

20    to 

23 

12;^to 

14 

12)4  to 

15 

13    to 

27 

15    to 

13 

88    to 

42 

25    to 

m 

5Vto 

6 

5i^to 

tH 

8    to 

16 

22    to 

85 

to 

16 

18)ito 

14 

11    to 

12>i 

9    to 

10 

10    to 

18 

15    to 

15H' 

9    to 

10 

16    to 

82 

5C    to 

59 

80    to 

82 

to 

23 

11    to 

12 

95    to 

1  00 

92    to 

96 

26    to 

27 

9    to 

10 

21    to 

22 

4^10 

5 

to 
by    11    to    10    by    15. 

11    by    14    to    12    by    18 "  7  50  to    5  59 

18  by    16    to    16    by    24 *»  8  60  to    6  00 

19  by    22    to    18    by    80 •*  10  00  to    7  00 

20  by    80    to    24    by    80 *•  12  50  to    8  00 

24  by    81    to    24    by    86 ^*  14  00  to    9  00 

25  by    86    to    26    by    40 -  16  00  to  10  00 

23  by    40    to    80    by    48 ^  18  00  to  14  00 

24  by    54    to    82    by    66 ^  20  60  to  16  00 

82    by    58    to    84    by    60 '  **  24  00  to  13  06 

84    by    62    to    40    by    60 "  26  00  to  81  OO 

The  above  is  subject  to  a  discount  of  25  per  cent 

French  Window— 1st,  .2d,  8d  and  4th  qualitiea.    (SiDeTe 
thick.) 

8    to     8    by    10 Per  fifty  feet  f  6  85  to    4  75 


6  by 

8  by 

11  by 

18  by 

18  by 

20  by 

24  by 

25  by 
28  by 
84  by 
82  by 


11    to  10    by 

14    to  12    by 

18    to  16    - 

22    to  18 

80    to  24 

to  24 


81 

86  to 

40  to 

54  to 

66  to 


by  48  (8  < 

by  66(8  <; 

by  60(8  (L 

84    by    62    to    40    by  60(8qlts)... 

Subject  to  a  discount  of  20  per  cent, 
per  cent  discount  off  the  above  rates. 


6  75  to  5  00 

7  60  to  5  50 

8  60  to  600 
90  00  to  TOO 

14  0et«W0 
16  00  tHfOO 
18  00  9ll  00 
20  60  to  16  «»^ 
24  00  to  18  «9 
86  00  to  81  M 

English  seUa  at  10 


3  _2g44  04877^608