350 Foreign Literature and Science. 
occurs in scales, and sometimes fibrous. Their nature was 
ascertained by D. Gioacchino Azzorto, of Messina.” 
Brande’s Journal, 16th No. 
“ New method of preparing the Purple of Cassius.—The 
Count de Maistre says, that placing a sequin in contact with 
mercury, at one of its surfaces, and twenty-four hours after 
fusing it with an equal weight of tin, an alloy was obtained, 
which was fusible in boiling resin. Afterwards triturating 
this alloy with pure caustic magnesia in a mortar, a powder 
was obtained of a very fine purple colour.” Ibid. 
“ Fulminating Gold.—Count de Maistre also describes @ 
fulminating gold, obtained by pouring a small quantity of 
solution of gold into red wine, (Bordeaux,) a sediment form- 
ed, which, when dried, and placed on burning charcoal, in 
an iron capsule, exploded.” Ibid. 
“ New Alkali—M.M. Pelletier, and Caventon, have dis- 
covered a new alkali in the seeds of the Veratium sae a 
it is erystallizable, and extremely acrimonious.” I 
‘“Mr. Donovan ;has published in the Annan of Philos. 
by: D al ae a 3 L h e re- 
pati peazutenee~ gies 6 oe dw 4 mecer be cecal 
late to the chemical constitution of these compounds, and 
the proportion of their elements ; but are concluded by an 
examination of the common mercurial ointment, and an ac- 
ten or fifteen minutes, whilst common ointment required 
thirty or forty minutes, and rarely was any eruption produ- 
