Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 85 
small drops of tellurium are deposited in the neck of the retort, which, 
however, do not appear to increase, although the red heat be con- 
tinued for several hours. In the distiliation of tellurium in hydrogen, 
already mentioned, there are formed at the place where the cold gas is 
in contact with the vapour of tellurium, long, flat, crystalline needles ; 
they are not sufficiently wide and thick to allow of the determination 
of any angle. These crystals are also found, but in smaller quantity, 
in the places at which the gaseous mixture goes out from the hottest 
parts of the tube. If tellurium be strongly heated in a covered cru- 
cible, it gives out when uncovered a peculiar disagreeable odour, 
different from and much weaker than that of the oxide of selenium. 
M. Magnus has already noticed this fact. On cooling, tellurium con- 
tracts very much; and if the surface solidifies faster than the interior, 
so that it can support atmospheric pressure, cavities containing air 
are formed in the interior, which are discovered when the regulus is 
broken. ‘These cavities often communicate with the surface. This 
property of tellurium also belongs to selenium; it influences the den- 
sity of the metal; Miiller of Reichenstein found it to be 6343, Klap- 
roth 6115, and Magnus 6:1379. Berzelius found great difficulty in 
determining the density ; the metal, which sublimed in drops in di- 
stillation with hydrogen gas, had a density of 6°1305, which is less 
than above stated, and proves that these drops also had cavities. 
Several fragments taken from a regulus which had a cavity, and from 
near it, gave the following numbers : 6°2324, 6:2516, 6:2445, 6°2578. 
The meau is 6°2455, but it is proper to take the greatest as the true 
density, since the cause of the discordant results tends to render them 
too light. 
ACTION OF OXACIDS ON PYROXYLIC SPIRIT—NITRATE OF 
CARBOHYDROGEN. 
[Continued from vol. vii. p 539. ] 
Justice to Dr. Thomson induces me to copy the following from the 
Records of Science : 
«© Dumas has unnecessarily coined a new name to distinguish this 
base, viz. Méthyléne (from pe@u, wine, and in, wood). What advan- 
tage is gained by this innovation it is difficult even to guess at. The 
disadvantages of designating simple compounds by arbitrary names 
(since this compound turns out to be one of the simplest organic com- 
pounds with which we are acquainted) are sufficiently obvious, and we 
trust that this name will not be adopted by British chemists. 
“« The existence of this simple compound of hydrogen and carbon 
in pyroxylic spirit was demonstrated in 1326 by Dr. Thomson. (Edin. 
Trans., xi. 15. Inorganic Chemistry, i. 194; ii. 294.) It is difficult 
to allow ourselves to suspect that Dumas should have been ignorant 
of this fact, which has been published for nine years; but, in conse- 
quence of the absence of any allusion to it, it is impossible in charity 
to avoid drawing such a conclusion.” 
To the above I will only add that MM. Dumas and Peligot have 
committed a most useless innovation in calling the nitric acid azotic 
