Royal Institution. — Miscellaneous Articles. 231 



Jaune, a new French variety of the Jerusalem artichoke, which was 

 stated to possess considerable merit. 



ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



The evening meetings of the members of this Institution com- 

 menced on Friday Jan. 26th, when Mr. Faraday gave a kind of ex- 

 perimental report on the late advances in magnetism, dependent on 

 the discovery of M. Arago. This philosopher had found that when 

 metals not magnetic in the ordinary sense of the word, /. e. exerting 

 no action upon the magnetic needle when merely placed in its vici- 

 nity, were made to assume a state of motion, striking effects took 

 place, which effects, upon further examination, were found to de- 

 pend not upon the absolute motion of the metal, but upon the 

 relative change of place of the metal and the needle. Thus a plate 

 of copper made to revolve under a magnet had the power of drawing 

 it 80° or 90° from its natural position ; or if the magnet were made 

 to revolve under the plate, it produced rotation of the latter. Again, 

 if magnets and copper plates were made to vibrate, and copper plates 

 or magnets in a state of rest brought near to them, the vibrations of 

 the former were rapidly diminished, and soon ceased altogether. 

 Experiments by Messrs. Babbage, Herschel, Christie, Nobili and 

 others, were then referred to, and the general conclusion stated, that 

 the magnet had the power of inducing magnetism in the approxi- 

 mated metal, but requiring time for the purpose of producing the phae- 

 nomena in question. The powerful objections to this theory lately 

 advanced by M. Arago, were then noticed; namely, that the induction 

 which should equally take place when the body is at rest, and show 

 itself by its power in attracting the pole, is not so indicated ; and that 

 upon close examination, the power^ of whatever kind it may be, is 

 a repulsive one. 



On the tables in the Library were an ornamental lamp recently 

 constructed by Mr. Bartholomew; specimens of dried plants pre- 

 pared at Massachusetts, bj' the sect of people denominated Shaking 

 Quakers ; and numerous books, presented to the Library of the In- 

 stitution. 



XLIX. Intelligence a?id Miscellaneous Articles. 



BROMINE. 



MJUST. LIEBIG procured this substance by M. Balard's pro- 

 • cess from the mother water of the salt-works of Theororshalle 

 near Kreutznach. Thirty pounds of the water yielded nearly twenty 

 grammes (about 308 grains) of bromine. M. Liebig repeated and 

 confirmed many of M. Balard's experiments, and no phasnomena ap- 

 peared unfavourable to the opinions adopted by M. Balard as to the 

 elementary nature of bromine. The following experiments were also 

 made by M. Liebig: a spiral iron wire was heated to redness in a 

 glass tube, and the vapour of bromine, which had been well dried by 

 chloride of calcium, was passed over it. As soon as the bromine 

 came into contact with the iron it became white hot, and fused 

 without evolving any gaseous matter. The fused mass was of a 

 blight yellow colour, resembling Naplcs-ycllow ; its structure was 



lamellar 



