1864. ] Chemistry. 115 
IV. CHEMISTRY. 
In commencing the Chronicles of the progress of Science for the 
last few months, it becomes necessary to exercise considerable care 
in the choice of subjects to be mentioned, so as to avoid on the one 
hand the omission of anything likely to interest a large section of 
our readers, and on the other hand to keep our pages from being 
overburdened with a mass of facts, important, no doubt, to the student 
of one special science, but of no interest to those outside the circle. 
This precaution is especially necessary in a science like Chemistry, 
in which not only does every month bring forth new discoveries, but 
every week—nay, every day is marked by some valuable fact. Our 
readers must not therefore expect to find every fact, even those most 
important, recorded in these chapters, but it will at the same time be 
our endeavour so to select our topics as to constitute these pages a 
truthful mirror of the general progress of Science. 
There have been few periods more fruitful in important chemical 
discoveries than that comprised within the last few months. Two new 
metals have been announced as belonging to the already numerous 
family of elementary bodies, one of which has been literally brought 
to light by spectrum analysis—that powerful analytical process which 
has already given us cesium, rubidium, and thallium. The new arrival 
is due to the labours of two German chemists, F. Reich and T. W. 
Richter.* They were examining some impure chloride of zinc obtained 
from two Freyberg ores, in the expectation of finding thallium present. 
In the spectroscope no green line was seen, but the authors remarked 
an indigo blue line, which was till then unknown. Upon isolating 
the conjectural substance in the form of chloride, they found that 
it gave this blue line, so brilliantly sharp and persistent, that they 
at once came to the conclusion that it belonged to a hitherto unrecog- 
nized metal, to which they accordingly gave the name indium. In 
their memoir the authors give the characteristic properties of the new 
metal, which appears somewhat to resemble zinc, and describe several 
of its compounds. The discovery has been confirmed by other chemists 
of eminence, and there now appears to be no doubt whatever as to its 
accuracy. The same cannot be said respecting the new metal claimed 
by M. J. F. Bahr.t In the analysis of a highly complicated mineral, 
from the island of Réusholn, containing nearly all the metals of the 
aluminium group, the author obtained about 1 per cent. of what he 
supposed was a new addition to this numerous family. He pro- 
poses for it the name of wasiuwm. The existence of wasium as a 
simple body has been since disputed by M. Nicklés, ¢ who asserts it to 
be a mixture of the known bodies yttrium, didymium, and terbium. 
* ¢ Journal fiir praktische Chemie,’ bd. Ixxxix. p. 441. 
+ ‘Annalen der Physik und Chemie,’ vol. exix. p. 572. 
t ‘Comptes Rendus,’ Novy. 2. ; 
I 
