396 P>'(lf- Dcebereincrs ncia l!lu:j:c)imciUs. 



feet; the distance iVom tlie snout to the end of the tail, 14 

 feet; length of the tail, four feet; width of the mouth, two 

 feet nine inches. The operation of combat and killing lasted 

 nine hours. It was an heroic achievement, and was wit- 

 nessed bv crowds of citizens on the shores of New Jersey and 

 Delaware, and by the persons on board the flotilla of vessels 

 in the bay and offing. During the scuffle, the wings, side 

 Haps, or vast alated fins of the monster lashed th.e sea with 

 such vehemence that the spray rose to the height of 30 feet, 

 and rained round to the distance of 50 feet. It was a tre- 

 mendous encounter; on shore, all was awe and expectation. 

 Mr. Patchen, whose taste and zeal in Zoology are well known, 

 has attended very much to the manners of the Vamjiire of the 

 Ocean : to the preservation of the skin and external parts ; to 

 tlie osteology and skeleton ; the internal organizations ; and, 

 in short, to every circumstance that was practicable during 

 such a hazardous business, and the tempestuous weather, which 

 distressed them almost fi'om the beginning to the end of their 

 voyage. I merely mention, before I lay down my pen, that 

 this animal is viviparous, and of course connects fishes with 

 mannniferous animals; and that the respiratory motion, gene- 

 rative and sensitive organs, present an extraordinary amount 

 of rare and interesting particulars. This is but an outline ; 

 I intend to finish this sketch ; and prepare it as well as I can 

 for the Society's formal notice. — Samuel L. Mitchjll." 



PROF. DCEBEREINER's NEW EXPERIMENTS. 



The following additional particulars on this subject are de- 

 rived from a paper by M. Doebereiner, in the Annales de Chi- 

 mie, torn. xxiv. p. 94 — 96. 



Referring to his experiments on the 27th of July, 1819, (see 

 p. 291 of our last number,) he says, " I found on that occasion, 

 that by contact with the platinum powder, the combustible 

 energy of h^'drogen is so greatly augmented, that in a few mi- 

 nutes it will combine with all the oxygen of a mixture, con- 

 taining but 1 part of that substance with 99 of nitrogen ; 

 which, as is well known, cannot be effected by the strongest 

 electric sparks. For these experiments, however, I mix the 

 platinum powder with potter's clay, and form a mixture by 

 moistening it, into balls of the size of a pea; I leave these 

 balls to dry in the air, and then heat them to a bright red with 

 an enameller's lamp. Such a ball of platinum, although not 

 weighing more than two, four, or six grains, is capable of con- 

 verting into water any volume whatever of the detonating mix- 

 ture, provided that after each experiment care be taken to dry 

 It ; and it may be employed for the same purpose above a thou- 

 sjyid times. The 



