2S4« Intelligence afid Miscellaneous Articles. 



CARBONATE OF STRONTIA DISCOVERED IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The following letter on this subject is contained in Silliman's 

 Journal tor October last. 



*' I embrace an early opportunity of stating, through the medium 

 of the Journal of Science, the discovery of the carbonate of strontia 

 in this country. So far as my knowledge extends, this mineral has 

 not, until the present time, been observed in the limits of the United 

 States, and it is even considered rare in Europe. This fact makes 

 it peculiarly interesting to our mineralogists. Perhaps I ought to 

 make a reserve in pronouncing it pure carbonate of strontia, as the 

 mineral may contain other elements besides carbonic acid and 

 strontia. The following are some of its most interesting characters. 



** Colour, nearly pure white; sometimes tinged yellowish on the 

 surface. Lustre, vitreous ■ fibrous varieties, pearly. Translucent. . . 

 opake. Brittle, and easily reduced to a powder. Hardness = 35, 

 of the scale of Mohs. Specific gravity, undetermined. Streak, white. 

 Cleavage, apparently parallel to the plane of a rhombic prism. The 

 crystallization is too imperfect to admit of measurement. 



" Before the blowpipe it is infusible, but with a strong heat an im- 

 perfectly friable, white mass is formed, which has an acrid alkaline 

 taste. Colour of the flame, red or reddish purple. 



" In muriatic acid it dissolves, with an active effervescence, accom- 

 panied with the disengagement of carbonic acid. Solution incom- 

 plete in cold muriatic acid. The muriatic solution, on the addition 

 of alcohol, burns with a fine carmine red flame. From this solution 

 sulphuric acid throws down a white precipitate. 



" The varieties of this substance are mostly compound. The most 

 perfect consist of stellated groups, or rather of imperfect individuals 

 diverging from several centres, forming masses of diflPerent sizes. 

 On one partially decomposed specimen, I observed a few small but 

 regular six-sided prisms. In all other cases, the crystallization is 

 too confused to permit the determination of the precise forms, or 

 their dimensions. Some pieces, which evidently contain carbonate 

 of strontia, resemble, externally, its congener, the sulphate ; that 

 is, they are tinged bluish, and present a structure both laminated 

 and fibrous. 



" I conjecture that some of the specimens are the baro-strontianite 

 of Traill. Others seem to be strontia, combined with carbonate of 

 lime. 



" The locality of this mineral, or family of minerals, is Scoharie, 

 New York, in the vicinity of Ball's Cave, which has already fur- 

 nished so many fine things for our cabinets. 



" I hope, erelong, to furnish a more particular account of the va- 

 rieties mentioned in this communication. 



*• William's College, Aug. 15, 1834. Ebenezer Emmons." 



SEPARATION OF SOME METALLIC OXIDES. 



M. Person proposes to separate the oxides of cobalt and nickel 

 ia the following manner : Paraphosphoric acid is to be added to a 



