Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 75 



have appeared in the Friend of Africa, published by the African Ci- 

 vilization Society ; but the greater mass, comprising a description of 

 the manners and customs of the inhabitants, as well as his personal 

 adventures, he is, I understand, now engaged in preparing for the 

 press. 



" It may be added, that he has collected vocabularies of thirteen 

 languages and dialects spoken in Abyssinia and the countries to the 

 south*, and he has made numerous drawings illustrative of the 

 country and its inhabitants." 



XIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



ON THE COMPOUNDS OF BORACIC ACID WITH JETHEIt. 

 BY MM. EBELMEN AND BOUQUET. 



T)ROTOBORATE of either Boracic JEther.— Chloride of boron 



-"■ was obtained by passing a current of chlorine gas over a mix- 

 ture of boracic acid and charcoal heated to redness in a porcelain tube; 

 by this operation, as shown by M. Dumas, there are obtained chloride 

 of boron and oxide of carbon which are liberated together ; this mix- 

 ture of gases was passed into a bottle two-thirds filled with alcohol, 

 which absorbs a large quantity of chloride of boron ; the liquor be- 

 comes hot, and the bottle in which it is absorbed should be immersed 

 in cold water. After a certain time, dependent upon the quantity 

 of alcohol and the rapidity of the current of gases, the liquor sepa- 

 rates into two portions, the upper of which alone contains the new 

 product ; the lower portion is of a yellow colour, and is strongly 

 impregnated with hydrochloric acid. As soon as the separation of 

 the liquid into two portions occurs, the gases which are continued 

 to be passed contain a large quantity of hydrochloric acid. The 

 operation is to be stopped when the presence of chlorine is suspected 

 in the gaseous products. 



When the upper portion of liquid is poured off, and distilled with 

 a few drops of absolute alcohol, a small quantity of very acid alcohol 

 passes over, and then the boiling-point rapidly rises. At 239°Fahr. 

 the receiver is to be changed, and a very abundant product, nearly 

 equal to the whole of the liquid, is to be separately received, between 

 239° and 248° Fahr. There remains in the retort a product of a 

 vitreous appearance, presently to be noticed. 



By rectifying the distilled liquid between 239° and 248°, a neu- 

 tral product is obtained, the boiling-point of which remains fixed at 

 246° Fahr. 



This new compound is a very moveable liquid, perfectly colour- 

 less, with a peculiar and rather agreeable smell, and a burning bitter 

 taete. Its density, taken at 32 with M. Regnault's apparatus, is 

 08849. It dissolves immediately in water, but in a short time bo- 

 racic acid is deposited. It combines with alcohol in all proportions. 

 Moist air converts it into hydrated boracic acid. It burns with a 



* Since published in the Transactions of the Philological Society, vol. ii. 

 pp. 89-107. 



