CHEMISTRY. 221 



substances are so remarkable. With morphine, it yields a color 

 similar to that of the horizon at sunrise ; and with brucine, a rich 

 cherry-red. Now, brucine and strychnine, both vegetable bases 

 extracted from nux vomica, are very difficult to distinguish from 

 each other, and here perchloride of lead steps in as a useful agent ; 

 for it so happens that it does not produce red with strychnine as it 

 does with brucine, and may therefore be used to distinguish one sub- 

 stance from the other. It serves the same purpose with regard to 

 morphine and the other alkaloids of opium ; it will likewise detect 

 bicarbonate of lime in potable water by producing a j'ellow tint, 

 and help to distinguish salts of lead from those of bismuth, since 

 it precipitates the former from their solutions and not the latter. 

 It will carbonize cane-sugar and not glucose, and blacken aniline 

 without producing any effect either on fecula, starch, or dextrine. 

 Like other perchlorides, it combines with ether to form a very 

 caustic compound, which attacks both gold and platinum, beside 

 other metals. 



NEW AND RARE MINERALS. 



Partzite. Mr. Albert Arents describes, in the " American Jour- 

 nal of Science " for May, 1867, a new mineral discovered early in 

 1865, in the Blind Spring Mountains, in Mono County, California, 

 to which he gives the name of Partzite, from Dr. A. F. W. Partz, 

 who first denoted it as % silver ore. It is found in amorphous 

 masses, generally without lustre and rarely of a glistening appear- 

 ance. Its fracture varies from conchoidal to even, and its color 

 from yellowish-green to blackish-green and black, the lighter- 

 colored portions containing the most silver ; the amount of silver 

 ranges from 4 to 12 per cent. Specific gravity 3.8 ; hardness 3 to 4. 

 The following is its formula : (CuO, AgO, PbO, FeO) 3 SbO 3 -f3HO. 

 It occurs with argentiferous galena, in veins of a magnitude vary- 

 ing from 9 inches to 8 feet, and has become the object of extensive 

 mining operations. 



Ekmanite. Igelstrbm gives the name of Ekmanite to a new 

 mineral from the iron mine of Brunsjo, in Grythyttan, Sweden. 

 It occurs in veins and bands, penetrating the magnetic iron ore of 

 the mine. The general formula is 2 (2RO, SiOs) -J-3HO ; in this 

 HO represents the protoxides of iron, manganese, and magnesia. 



Alloy of Platinum and Steel. When these two metals are in a 

 state of fusion, they unite in all the proportions tried. This alloy 

 takes a fine polish, does not tarnish, and its pure color peculiarly 

 fits it for mirrors ; its density is 9.862. If two pieces, one of steel 

 and the other the alloy of steel and platinum, be placed in dilute 

 sulphuric acid, the alloy is violently attacked, while the steel re- 

 mains untarnished. This alloy is thus attacked by acids in all 

 proportions, until 90 parts of platinum with 20 of steel are 

 united. 



Ledererite identical with Gmelinite. Prof. Marsh ("American 

 Journal of Science," Nov., 1867), from several analyses, states 

 that in chemical constitution Ledererite differs from normal Gmel- 

 inite only in having a considerable part of the soda replaced by 



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