Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 149 



a compound which remains in solution when diluted with 30 times its 

 weight of water, whilst a solution of the bichloride of the same strength 

 soon becomes troubled and precipitates. This non-precipitation of al- 

 bumen will not only serve to distinguish the bibromide from the bi- 

 chloride, but if bichloride of mercury is mixed with from -'-th to -rVth of 

 its weight of the bromide, it will detect the adulteration. — Jour, de 

 Chim. Med., April. 



FLUORINE. 

 M. Baudriniont states that he succeeded in isolating fluorine two 

 years since ; but he did not announce this discovery because he 

 could riot obtain it without a large admixture of oxygen gas. The 

 process by which he first obtained fluorine was by passing fluoride 

 of boron over minium heated to redness, and receiving the gas in a 

 dry vessel. His present method is to treat a mixture of fluoride of 

 calcium and binoxide of manganese with sulphuric acid in a glass 

 tube ; but the gas thus obtained is mixed with the vapour ot hy- 

 drofluoric acid and fluosilicic acid gas ; this mixture however does 

 not interfere with the observation of the principal properties of fluo- 

 rine, which is a gas of a yellowish brown colour, and possesses an 

 odour resembling chlorine and burnt sugar: indigo is bleached by- 

 it; it does not act upon glass, but combines directly with gold 



VInstitut, 27th April, 1836. (See Messrs. Knox's paper in the 



present Number.) ■ 



ANTIMONIAL COPPER (eCLATAXt). 

 Henry Rose analysed this mineral after separating the quartz 

 with which it was mixed, and found its composition to be 



Sulphur 26-34; 



Antimony 46 81 



Iron 1-39 



Copper , 24-46 



Lead 0-56 



which gives the formula Cu -f S 6, analogous to the composition, 

 of zinkenite and miargyrite. — L'lnstititt, May 18, 1836. 



ON THE ACTION OF BROJIINE UPON ^THER. 

 M. Ltiwig added bromine to aether in successive small portions 

 until it would not take up any more, and set the mixture aside 

 for about a fortnight, when the aither was completely decomposed, 

 giving rise to the following products, viz. : 



1st, Formic acid. 



2nd, Hydrobromic acid. 



3rd, Hydrobromic aether. 



Ith, Dense bromic aether (scliwerbromaether). 



5tl), Bromal 

 To separate these substances the decomposed liquor is to be di- 

 stilled. The four first come over ; and if the operation is not pushed 

 too far, the bromal remains in the retort mixed with a little dense 

 bromic aether and hydrobromic aether. By treating this residue with 



