Miscellanie 393 
DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 
1. On the use of Carbon in Grove’s Battery.—Some. months since, 
being engaged in experiments with Grove’s flat-celled battery, some of 
the prominent defects of form, construction and expense seemed to me to 
be remediable, by another mode of construction, and the use of a cheap- 
er negative element. About the same time, I learned that Berzelius had, 
in a letter to Dr. Hare, given an account of a battery where coke was 
at once the negative element and the containing vessel for the nitric acid, 
Ihave since made many experiments, and now give the result which 
seems most promising. Natural plumbago, or the mixture of it with sand, 
such as is used in the manufacture of crucibles, gives the form of carbon 
which is at once the most effective, cheap and manageable. A battery 
was constructed of six cylindrical members of native plumbago, each ele- 
ment one inch in diameter and two inches high, placed in nitric acid of 
the commercial strength, contained ina cylindrical cup of porous queen’s 
ware, and opposed by a circular zinc element amalgamated. The con- 
nection was formed by a wire dipping from each zinc into a mercury 
cup excavated in the top of the plumbago cylinders. This battery of six 
members gave results which were highly satisfactory. In decomposing 
power, it accomplishes more than 100 pairs of zinc and copper of 6 
inches square each. It gave 5 cubic inches of the mixed gases of wa- 
ter in less than 50 seconds, or 1 cubic inch in 12 seconds, It also main- 
tained for nearly an hour, at full incandescence, 14 inches of ENP. i 
platina wire, coiled into a spiral. In all other modes of exhibition 
shows a proportionate power. 
Iam now constructing a battery of large series on this plan, and 
when the results are obtained will publish them more at dength. I would 
remark to those who may be interested in constructing similar batteries, 
that — is easily obtained from Sturbridge, Mass., of a compactness 
very. suitable for batteries; and moreover, that (as before remarked) 
the mixed plumbago* of the manufacturers of “ black lead” ware, an- 
swers very well. The ree cells used in my experiments have been 
made at Jersey City, N. J ~ B. Strimman, Jr. 
Yale College Laboratory, Sept. 12, 1842. 
2. Ehrenberg’s Notices of American Infusoria—On the 25th of 
March, 1841, M. Ehrenberg made a communication to the Royal Acad- 
emy at Berlin, i in which he referred to specimens of American fossil 
'o be obtained of J. W. Ingall, — Mass, 
Vol. xum, ie. 2.—July-Sept. 1842. 
