1 56 Intelligence and Misccllajieoiis Articles. 



ON THE PRESENCE OF LEAD, COPPER, AND SILVER IN SEA- 

 WATER, AND OF THE LAST METAL IN ORGANIZED BEINGS. 

 BY MM. MALAGUTI, DUROCHER AND SARSEAU. 



The authors decided on making researches on the above subject 

 by the fact, to which two of them had already drawn the attention of 

 the Academy, that silver is widely diffused in metallic minerals. For 

 example, in blendes and pyrites its presence is very common ; its 

 absence from galenas is an exception. But as salt water by long 

 action is capable of converting these substances into chlorides, which 

 it dissolves, the author inquired whether sea- water might not contain 

 these metals, which in the form of sulphurets it either washes or 

 covers in the earth. Such were the motives for research : they were 

 not, however, undertaken till after having dispelled every kind of 

 fallacy, by a minute examination of the reagents and recipients to 

 be employed. 



The authors proved the presence of silver in the water of the 

 ocean by two different methods ; it was taken at a distance of some 

 leagues from the coast of St. Malo, and the results were compared by 

 researches as to this metal in the fucus of the same latitude. Of all 

 those which the authors examined, the F. serratus and ceramoides were 

 the richest ; their ash contained at least ,-~x, whilst the sea-water 



100,000 



contained but a little more than - '„,„ . 



If the water of the sea is argentiferous, the common salt and arti- 

 ficial products derived from it ought also to be so ; and, in fact, ex- 

 periment proved this to be the case. Common salt, common muriatic 

 acid, and artificial soda contain minute quantities of silver. Does, 

 however, the generality of the fact depend upon a constant law, or 

 on a collection of variable causes ? 



The authors sought to solve this question by examining the sal- 

 gem of Lorraine, which very probably represents the ancient seas : 

 it was fortunately found to contain silver, and hence the authors 

 conclude that the presence of this metal in the waters of the ocean 

 depends upon a constant law. 



Never losing sight of the point from which they set out, the 

 authors inquired whether terrestrial plants might not assimilate, by 

 means of their roots, the silver which in the state of solution might 

 be presented to them by subterranean waters. This water, mineral- 

 ized by many salts, and among others by chlorides, would be en- 

 riched with silver by its action on the metallic sulphurets with which 

 it would meet in its course. The examination of ashes derived from 

 a mixed heap of different kinds left no doubt of the presence of silver 

 in different vegetable tissues ; this fact indicated another, that of the 

 presence of this same metal in the animal ceconomy. This the 

 authors conceive themselves able to state, from experimenting on 

 considerable quantities of ox blood. 



Lastly, it remained to be determined whether additional evidence 

 of the extreme diffusion of silver, and its independence of every acci- 

 dental or inherent cause in the modern world, could not be obtained 



