120 Notice of some Recent [Feb. 



and is now employed at the Royal Berlin Porcelain Manu- 

 factory for painting the superior kinds of ware. 



Separation of Lead and Bismuth.* — Stromeyer dissolves 

 both oxides in nitric acid, and boils the solution with an ex- 

 cess of caustic potash. The oxide of bismuth loses its water 

 and remains in the form of a yellow powder, while the 

 oxide of lead dissolves in the potash. The solution is 

 saturated with acid, and precipitated with an alkaline 

 oxalate. 



To detect Copper in Lead by the Blowpipe. f — Plattner 

 recommends the following plan for this purpose : The lead 

 containing the copper is reduced upon charcoal to a small 

 melted globule. Twice its weight of boracic acid is added ; 

 and the globule being so placed as half of it to touch the 

 acid and half the charcoal, it is melted into a glass. The 

 lead oxidizes and dissolves in the acid. In this way the 

 lead is so oxidized that the small residual globule will 

 readily afford with the salt of phosphorus and tin the 

 peculiar characters of copper. 



ACIDS. 



Distillation of Nitric and Muriatic Acids. — According to 

 Wittstock, if a quantity of saltpetre be distilled with a 

 third of its weight of dilute sulphuric acid, sufficient to 

 form a bisulphate of potash, a sudden and rapid extrica- 

 tion of nitric acid takes place at the time, when the clear 

 mixture becomes milky, by which the liquid from gently 

 boiling, is forced into violent ebullition, and a great quan- 

 tity of salts is deposited in the retort. A similar occurrence 

 takes place when common salt is distilled with sulphuric 

 acid in sufficient quantity, to produce bisulphate of soda. 

 A strong ebullition being observed on the deposition of this 

 salt. (Poggendorffs Ann. xxxi. 31. ) 



Crenic and Apocrenic Acids. — In subjecting to analysis 

 the water of the well at Porla in Oerebro, Berzelius dis- 

 covered two new acids.J (Poggendorffs Ann. xxix. 1.) 

 When the water is exposed to the access of air, a yellow 



* Poggendorff, xxvi. 553. Berzelius Jahresbericht, 1834, 151. 



t Pharm. Centrall. iii. 859. 



X Porla well lies in the country of Oerebro, on the boundary of the parishes of 

 Skagerhult, Viby, and Bodarne, on the edge of a great moor, which extends to 

 no great depth (3 ellen) covered with sphagnum palustre, and resting on a hard 

 bottom of sand and gravel. 



