Lewis.j 114: - [Dec. 2, 



Approximate analysis of the dry separated material gave : 



Volatile matter 72.190 



Fixed carbon 21.410 



Ash 6.400 



100. 

 Subtracting the amount of ash from the first analysis, Ave have : 



C 30.971 



H 5.526 



+ X 63.503 



100. 



From this we may deduce the empirical formula CioHjjOie. This for- 

 mula would yield the calculated composition : 



30.15 



H 5.53 



+ N 64.32 



100. 



In giving the above formula, it is by no means assumed that it represents 

 a simple mineral substance. It is merely a convenient expression of its 

 composition. It is probable that the substance here described is a com- 

 plex organic acid containing water. The nitrogen may possibly exist as 

 ammonia. The small amount of carbon and the excess of hydrogen dis- 

 tinguish this substance from other organic acids. By the subtraction of 

 NH4O, and one or more parts of HjO from the formula, it may be more 

 closely allied to some of the organic acids which form Humic acid, the 

 formula of which is so variously given by different authors. The determi- 

 nation of the true formula of the acid here analyzed, can only be determined 

 after the formation of an organic salt with lead or silver. The absence of 

 any exact knowledge concerning the composition of the organic acids ex- 

 isting in humus, as recently shown by Julien,* renders it difficult to 

 express definitely the chemical relations of the substance under discussion. 



The relation which it bears to its nearest ally, Dopplerite, may best be 

 seen after a review of the facts as yet gathered about that curious 

 mineral. 



The mineral known by that name, and generallj- regarded as allied to 

 Humic acid, was first found in a peat-bog near Aussee, Austria, at a depth 

 of 6 to 8 feet below the surface. It was a black gelatinous substance, known 

 by the peat-cutters as " Moder-suhstanz," which after exposure to the air 

 became at first elastic and afterwards brittle, assuming the lustre of coal. 

 Doppler drew attention to this substance in a paper entitled "On a re- 



*Proc. A. A. A. S., 1876 p. 311. 



