Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles* 317 



one of which is soluble and the other insoluble in alcohol. They are, 

 however, so intimately mixed, that it is impossible to separate them 

 by mechanical means. Oil of turpentine, at a high temperature, dis- 

 solves fossil wax completely. 



It melts at 177° Fahr. without suffering any change. Its fusing 

 point is therefore higher than that of bee's wax, which js 144° Fahr. - 7 

 the fossil wax does not lose it3 greenish brown colour nor its peculiar 

 empyreumatic odour by melting. 



In order to explain the formation of this wax, it appeared to me 

 interesting to know if it contained any azote. 1 burnt it with oxide 

 of copper according to Liebig's method. 0"200 gr. yielded 02755 of 

 water and 06205 of carbonic acid, which show that it is composed of 



Carbon 8575 



Hydrogen 15*15 



10100 

 The excess was owing to the volatilization of a portion of the wax 

 without decomposition, which took place in spite of every precaution. 

 It contains therefore neither oxygen nor azote, and its composition 

 approaches that of olefiant gas. — Ibid. p. 218. 



CAUTION TO EXPERIMENTERS WITH THE ELECTRICAL KITE. 

 BY MR. STURGEON. 



On Friday last, about half-past two in the afternoon, clouds began 

 to form in various quarters of the heavens in rapid succession, from 

 mere specks or streaks to immense groups, with every appearance 

 of being highly electrical. 



I repaired to the Artillery Barrack grounds with an electric kite, 

 and in a very short time got it afloat, letting out string through the 

 hands from a coil or clue which was thrown on the ground. When 

 about a hundred yards of the string had been let out, a tremendous 

 discharge took place, which gave me such a blow in the chest and 

 legs that I became completely stunned, let go the string, and con- 

 sequently the kite soon fell. 



The accident was owing entirely to my own neglect, and could 

 not possibly have happened had I taken the following precaution. 



Let all the string intended to be employed be first taken off the 

 reel or coil, and stretched on the ground. Let now the insulating 

 cord, riband, glass, or whatever is used for this purpose, be attached 

 to the kite-string and fastened to a peg, tree, or anything intended 

 to hold the kite during the time it is up. Next fasten the kite to 

 the other end of the string, and let it ascend from the hand. 



This is the manner in which I usually proceed when heavy clouds 

 are hovering about, and ought always to be attended to, although I 

 neglected it on this occasion. The experimenter by this means is 

 completely out of danger; and he may easily ascertain if the string 

 be highly charged by going to the other end, because of the brushes 

 of light, and noise attending them. 



I find it convenient to have a sliding copper wire on the silken 

 cord, which can be moved, by means of a long glass rod, to any re- 



