456 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



to' 



of the inferior potters' clay found in Dorsetshire. Over the 

 well were various unbroken strata of sand and gravel, which, 

 as the bank was broken down, gave proof that, except for about 

 a yard and a half below the surface of the field, it had never 

 been exposed to day-light since the strata jiad been deposited. 

 The foundations of some ancient Roman fortifications occur a 

 few yards to the west of the well, which, from the appearances, 

 must have been laid after the well was formed. The well is 

 supposed to have been the work of the ancient Britons, and to 

 be upwards of 2,000 years old, " for it is 1,741 years since the 

 Romans settled here, and the section of the foundation which 

 intersects the line of strata above the well is proof that they 

 were not aware of its existence." — Gentleman s Magazine y 1820, 

 p. 350. 



10. Test Infusion of Violets. — M. Pagenstecher says that a 

 concentrated infusion of violets may be preserved good for a 

 long time if it be exposed in a corked bottle to the action of 

 boiling water for a quarter of an hour; it is then to be taken 

 from the water, and set aside without having been uncorked. 

 This process was first proposed by M. Appert. 



11. Wodanium. — It appears that M. Stromeyer has been en- 

 gaged in analyzing the minerals in which M. Lampadius found 

 this new metal ; his object being to verify the discovery. He 

 could, however, obtain nothing but copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, 

 lead, antimony, arsenic, and sulphur. The wodanium was 

 wanting. 



12. On Iodine and its Existence in Sponge. — M. Straub of 

 Hofwyl, as early as December, 1819, appears to have shown 

 the existence of iodine in sponge, and proposed the preparation 

 of an artificial substance, containing iodine, to be used instead 

 of the spongia usta in medicine. In order to obtain the iodine 

 from sponge, the latter, after being burnt, was washed with 

 water, and the solution decomposed by sulphuric acid; and in 

 this way so much was obtained from half an ounce of sponge 



