462 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



was a bad conductor, and hence the electricity passed over its 

 surface to a moistened and better conducting place. 



Whilst M. M. Treschsel and Schenk were making their ob- 

 servations, a second storm arose, and they had an opportunity 

 of observing the effects on the rod ; these were not so powerful 

 as before, but were still of a very imposing kind. The crackling 

 noise of the electricity could be distinctly heard at the point, 

 which, at the same time, was surmounted by the luminous star. 

 Both these effects ceased whenever M. Schenk, by holding a 

 steel key in the air, formed a second lightning-rod, and divided 

 the effect with the one on the house. This, however, was too 

 dangerous an experiment to be long continued. — Bib. Univ. 

 XV., page 19. 



19. Sea-Salt in Vesuvius. — M. Gimbernat has observed, that 

 within a few days after the late eruption from Mount Vesuvius 

 the crater was covered with crystals of sea-salt. 



20. Meteoric Stone. — A meteoric stone fell on October 13, 

 1820, near Kostritz, in Russia, and has lately been analyzed 

 by Stromeyer, who found it to contain 



Silica 38.0574 



Magnesia 29.9306 



Alumina 3.4688 



Protoxide of iron 4.8959 



Oxide of manganese 1.1467 



Oxide of chromium 1298 



Iron 17.4896 



Nickel 1.3617 



Sulphur..., 2.6957 



99"l762 



21. On the Chromate of Iron in the Shetland Islands. 



TO THE EDITOR. 



Sir. — It is with some surprise that I perused a notice in your 

 last Journal in the following words : "It has been recently as- 

 serted that the chromate of iron was discovered in Shetland 



