200 On some zoological Facts 



7th, That all these salts have an astringent and highly 

 saccharine taste. 



8th, That a good process for separating the iron of ce- 

 rium is, to precipitate the latter from its nitric or muriatic 

 solution by oxalate of ammonia or tartrite of potash, put- 

 ting into the liquor a slight excess of acid ; or, what is 

 belter, is, to calcuie the muriate of cerium, to redissolve its 

 residuum in the muriatic acid, to calcine again, and to re- 

 peat this three times, in order to sublime entirely the mu- 

 riate of iron ; which succeeds very well. 



9th, That cerium does not unite with sulphurated hydro- 

 gen, like the other metallic oxides. 



]Olh, That it appears irreducible by those means which 

 generally succeed with the most refractory oxides, but that 

 it is volatile, and that it is probably at this moment that its 

 reduction is effected. 



11th, That if, contrary to every appearance, cerium is 

 not a metal, it has, at any rate, much more analogy and 

 relation with that class of bodies than with any otlier j and 

 for these reasons we shall place it, with Messrs. Hisenger 

 and Berzelius, in that class, till it has been proved that it is 

 better fitted to any other kind of matters. 



12th, In the last place, that by some lucky chance, or 

 means better combined than those hitherto employed, we 

 shall obtain it in the metallic state ; and 1 do not despair 

 myself of meeting with this success. 



XXX. Memoir on some zoological Facts appUcalle to the 

 Theory of the Earth. Read in the Physical and Mathe- 

 matical Class of the French. National Institute on the 22d 

 (f October 1804. By M. Peron, Naturalist to the Ex- 

 pedition for making Discoveries in Australasia. 



[Concluded from p. 166.] 



X HAVE now terminated the general history of petrified and 

 living zoophytes : we have seen them cantoned, as wc say, 

 in that zone of the globe comprehended between the 34th 

 degree of north and south latitude, where they fill the sea 

 with dangerous reefs, form new islands, enlarge the old 

 ones, and every where increase the domain of the land at 

 the expense of the ocean which nourishes them in its bo- 

 som : we have seen their anticnt labours rising over the sur- 

 face of the waves, and appearing again at great heights above 

 thtir present level. The last phccnomenon deserves our at- 

 tention 



