114 Progress in Science. [January, 
Some beautiful bronzes from China and Japan, remarkable for their fine dark 
patina, contrasting strikingly with the silver work with which they were inlaid, 
have been examined by M. Henri Morin, of the Conservatoire des Arts et 
Métiers. His results have been laid before the Academy of Sciences of Paris, 
and are reproduced in the ‘Annales de Chimie et de Physique.” M. Morin 
finds that all these bronzes contain lead, the amount in some cases rising to 
upwards of 20 per cent. As the proportion increases with the intensity of the 
patina, it is inferred that this patina is due to the actual composition of the 
alloy, and not to any external application. All the specimens contain zinc, 
and in one group the proportion of this metal rose to 6 per cent of the alloy. 
From some synthetic researches M. Morin is enabled to give the following 
recipe for the production of a bronze strongly resembling the finest productions 
of China and Japan :—Copper, 83; lead, 10; tin, 5; zinc, 2. 
Nickel-plating has of late been very popular in this country, the metal being 
generally deposited, we believe, from a double sulphate of nickel and an 
alkali. Messrs. Baker and Unwin, of Sheffield, have recently patented an 
invention for the eleGro-deposition of nickel, their improved solution con- 
sisting of nickel oxide, and an alkali or mixture of alkalies, dissolved in 
tartaric acid. The following proportions are found convenient :—100 lbs. of 
nickel, and 67 of cream of tartar; or 100 lbs. of sulphate of nickel, 53 lbs. of 
tartaric acid, and 14 lbs. of caustic soda. 
Under the name of Galenite M. J. David, of Paris, has patented a compound 
of lead, prepared from galena, to be used as a substitute for white-lead and 
red-lead. The powdered galena is roasted, at a low red heat, in open retorts, 
and the sulphide is thus oxidised into sulphate of lead: this product, having 
been ground in water, is dried, and introduced into commerce as galenite. 
The name appears to be very badly chosen, as some mineralogists are in the 
habit of applying it to the native sulphide, in order to bring the word “‘ galena,”’ 
into harmony with most other mineral names. 
It is worth recording that Dr. Reichardt, of Jena, has been led to conclude 
that the presence of even a very small proportion of silicon in platinum may 
confer considerable brittleness upon this metal. A platinum vessel used in 
distilling oil of vitriol was found to be extremely crystalline and brittle, 
although new, and on analysis the following composition of the metal was 
obtained :—Platinum, 99°43; copper, 0°473; iron, o’or; silicon, 003. The 
brittleness is referred not to the copper in the iron, but to the small proportion 
of silica. 
MINERALOGY. 
At Spring Creek, near the town of Beechworth, in Victoria, there are found 
—and, so far as we know, found there only—certain mineral structures known 
popularly as “‘ water-stones,”’ and scientifically as Enhydros. These peculiar 
bodies are irregular polyhedra, of chalcedony, having a hardness equal to that 
of topaz; in some cases dark brownish-yellow and nearly opaque, and in 
others colourless and transparent. They are generally hollow, and enclose a 
liquid with a movable bubble, like the air-bubble in a spirit-level. The en- 
closing shell is usually thin, and either smooth on the inside or encrusted 
with quartz. In the recently-published part of the ‘‘ Transactions of the 
Royal Society of Victoria’? will be found two papers descriptive of these 
enigmatical bodies. One of these papers, by Mr. J. E. Dunn, describes the 
geological occurrence of the Enhydros in granite and Silurian sandstone, at 
Spring Creek; whilst the other paper, by Mr. G. Foord, discusses the physical 
structure of the stones and the chemical nature of the enclosed liquid. This 
liquid appears to be a weak saline solution, consisting of water with a small 
proportion of the chlorides and sulphates of sodium, magnesium, and cal- 
cium; and it is believed that a soluble form of silica is also present. 
In compliment to Prof. Dawson, Principal of McGill College, Montreal, the 
name Dawsonite has been bestowed upon a new mineral species, found in the 
joints of a trachytic dyke, near the western end of the College. This mineral 
has been studied by Dr. Harrington, the chemist and mineralogist to the 
