J 50 Scientific Intelligence. [Aug. 



XI. Lake Ourmia, or XJrumea, in Persia. 



This small inland sea ? or lake (called likewise the lake of 

 Shahee by some authors), is situated in the province of Azerbijan, 

 in Persia, south-west of Tabreez, and at no great distance from 

 the volcanic region of Mount Ararat. This lake is thus described 

 by Kinneir, in his Geographical Memoirs of the Persian Empire: 

 " The lake Urumea, generally believed to be the Spanto of 

 Strabo and Marcianus of Ptolemy, is 80 fursungs, or, according 

 to my computation, 300 miles in circumference. The water is 

 more salt than that of the sea, no fish can live in it, and it emits 

 a disagreeable sulphureous smell. The surface is not, however, 

 as has been stated, incrusted with salt ; at least it was not so in 

 the month of July when I saw it ; on the contrary, the water was 

 as pellucid as that of the clearest rivulet." 



A small quantity of the water of this lake was sent by the 

 unfortunate traveller Brown, a short time before his death, to 

 the late Mr. Tennant, which has recently been submitted to 

 analysis by Dr. Marcet. The following are the results : 



Its specific gravity was 1165 - 07 ; 500 gr. yielded the following 

 quantities of precipitates by the different reagents mentioned. 



Grains. 



"Nitrate of silver 237-5 of muriate of silver. 



Nitrate of barytes 66*0 of sulp. of barytes. 



Oxalate of ammonia . .. 00*0 of oxalate of lime. 



Phosphate of soda and \ ■, ^. r f of triple phosphate of magnesia 



carbonate of ammonia J \ and ammonia. 



Muriate of platina indicated a trace of potash. 



Hence this quantity contained, 



Grains. 



Chlorine 58-56 



Sulphuric acid 22-37 



Lime 0-00 



Magnesia 4-2, or magnesium 2-52 



Sodium (by estimation) saturating the chlorine 34-00 



Soda (by estimation) saturating the sulph. acid 17-89 



135-34 



Or supposing these ingredients to exist in the state of binary 

 compounds : 



Chloride of sodium 85-00 



Chloride of magnesium 10*08 



Sulphate of soda 40-26 



135-34 



Hence this water contains upwards of one fourth of its weight 

 of saline contents, a quantity greater than that of any other 



