380 Notices respecting New Books. 



I. II. III. IV. V. VI. 



Water . . 4072 3-109 ... ... ... ... 3-5905 



Chlorine 12-822 13-515 ... ... 131685 



Lead 72-058 72-851 72-4545 



Oxygen. . l in-ySf?-^ 



Boracicacid/ - 1« 7865 



The formula that agrees best with these numbers is PbO, 

 BO^ +Pb, Cl-f HO; supposing this to be its composition, 

 it ought to contain — 



Water 1 9 or 3 '04)0 per cent. 



Chlorine .... 1 36 ... 12-162. ... 



Lead 2 208 ... 70-030 



Oxygen 1 8 ... 2'703 



Boracic acid ... 1 35 ... 12*065 

 The excess of chlorine and lead shown by the analysis was 

 doubtlessly owing to the difficulty of entirely removing the 

 excess of chloride of lead, which was carried down by the 

 salt, without producing a decomposition of the salt itself. 



All subsequent attempts to reproduce this compound having 

 failed, I have been unable to verify the above results by a re- 

 petition of my analysis. 

 Mansion House, Old Park, 

 Bristol, March 4, 1849. 



LVI. Notices respecting New Books. 



Statistics of Coal. The Geographical and Geological distribution of 

 Fossil Fuel or Mineral Combustibles employed in the Arts and Ma- 

 nufactures : their production, consumption, commercial distribution, 

 prices, duties, and international regulations, in all parts of the tvorld ; 

 including four hundred statistical tables and eleven hundred analyses 

 of mineral bituminous substances. With incidental statements of the 

 statistics of Iron Manufactures, S[C., derived from official reports 

 and accredited authorities. Illustrated ivith Coloured Maps and 

 Diagrams. 5y Richard Cowling Taylor, i^.G.S. London: John 

 Chapman, 142 Strand. Philadelphia: J. W. Moore. 1848. 



COMPREHENSIVE as the title of this work appears, it does not, 

 yet, convey a just idea of its scope, or of the extent of its sub- 

 ject-matter. Did its title stand, " Coal, the civilizer ; its natural 

 history, production and applications," it would perhaps convey to 

 the casual reader a more just idea of the object and contents of the 

 work. We confess thait we ourselves closed the book with very 

 different feelings from those with which we opened it. We have no 

 hesitation in saying that we have long ceased to entertain that ex- 

 traordinary respect for mere statistics which it has been very much 

 the habit of late years to inculcate. We have seen too many in- 

 stances, and too many instances are daily occurring, in which sta- 

 tistics are made the mere instrument of the partizan and the theorist. 



