152 Van Mons. 



fessor Maiahcili concludes from these experiments, that the cal- 

 , cuius was formed entirely of adipocire modified by a resinous 

 principle, and the cortical part of adipocire very pm'e, and of an 

 animal substance." 



We have been favoured with a continuation of the valuable 

 correspondence of our scientific friend M. V.nn Mons, of Brus- 

 sels, from which we present tlie follov,ing extracts: 



" M. Dobereiner of Jena, the same gentleman who meuUized 

 carbon, has succeeded in seizing upon hydrogen in the metallic 

 form. •■ He galvanizes water put in contact with mercury, and 

 obtains at the positive pole oxygen ; and at the negative pole 

 where the mercury i? p!r4ccd, instead of hydrogen he obtains an 

 amalgam consisting- of tliis metal. We may knead tliis amal- 

 gam and make it take different forms without its being decom- 

 posed; but when exposed to heat it gives off ihe hydrogen, and 

 the mercury once more becomes fluid. M. Dobereiner thinks 

 that hydrogen gas is a metal dissolved in caloric. His experi- 

 ment is very curious, and deserves to be repeated. 



" M. Doi)creiner has also had indications of metallization in 

 phosphorus. He burns it under a bell-glass, and directs over it 

 ■A ray of light direct from the sun. The j^hosphorus is formed 

 in j)ellets of a gold colour, and witii great metallic lustre. .Sub- 

 hydrogenated i-ulphur cxliibited a blue substance siuiilar to ultra- 

 marine. M. Dobereiner considers all the substances hitherto 

 undecomposcd, as metals. 



*' Since my last, I have obtained hydrargyrio-chlore at two dif- 

 ferent degrees of saturation, and even the one with the double of 

 metal of the other. The most saturated is black, the least satu- 

 rated is red. These are true oxidule and oxide of mercury by the 

 dry muriatic acid, instead of being so by oxygen. Sweet mercury 

 furnished me the first compound, and corrosive sublimate the se- 

 cond. I increased the fire during the sublimation of the mixture 

 of corrosive suldimate and quicksilver in one phial, and sweet mer- 

 cury ready prepared, but incompletely sublimed, in the other 

 phial. The latter gave the black powder, and the other the 

 red. Some reduced mercury was separated in the first phial, 

 and oxygen nuist have been extricated from both, because me- 

 tallic mercury was combined with the dry acid. When heated 

 in oxygen gas, the one compound was converted into sweet 

 mercury, and the other into corrosive sublimate. Chlorine 

 neither acts upon the one nor the other when it is dry; but 

 with the addition of water it takes the mercury from them, 

 the dry acid combining with water ; unless we mean to say that 

 the oxygen of the chlorine passes to tlie metal, and that its dry 

 acid is taken up by the water under the pile, and in the actual 



decom- 



