ELECTRICITY. 



in Elfriroliiti*. It baa gener- 

 ally lie. !! supposed that tin- power of nitro- 

 hydroohloriO acid H* a si.Kvnt for -old and pla- 



tiiiuin i owing to the evolution of free ohlonnft. 



\v. HartleM lufi oommaaioated to the 



<d Newt tlie results of expn-i- 



in. 'lit- made l>v him in continuation of that hy- 



mi ordinary apparatus for the 



-chemical decomposition of water, hav- 

 ing platinum electrodes, a weak solution of 

 hydrochloric acid was poured. Over the anelec- 

 trode a irlass tube was placed, and in this tube 

 1 li-at'. Twelve pairs of Wollaston's 

 double coppers were employed, excited by dilute 

 sulphuric acid only. On completing the cir- 

 cuit, the penetrating odor of chlorine was very 



;>til>le, and in a few seconds the gold in 

 tin- tube over the anelectrode was completely 



vod; as also were some fragments that 

 had been put into the solution outside the tube. 

 It' chlorine ha* this power over gold, it may be 

 supposed that the chloride of either a metal or 

 nn alkali, providing that the compound is an 

 electrolyte, will exhibit, on electrolyzation, the 

 same result. Chloride of sodium was the sub- 

 stance first experimented with. A saturated 

 solution of the salt was made, and with pre- 

 cisely the same arrangement as before, the gold 

 in the tube over the anelectrode was speedily 

 dissolved. The same result was obtained on 

 electrolyzing a solution of chloride of ammo- 

 nium and chloride of barium. By a power of 

 twenty pairs of Wollaston's double coppers the 

 gold was dissolved with a rapidity equal to that 

 when a solution of chloride of sodium was the 

 liquid electrolyzed. Both times the blue color 

 of litmus was quickly discharged, but there was 

 no previous reddening of the coloring matter 

 to indicate the generation of hydrochloric acid. 

 A solution of chlorate of potassa was the liquid 

 next electrolyzed. "With the same power of 

 twenty plates the gold was very gradually dis- 

 solved, though the battery was in good action. 

 The odor of chlorine was perceptible, though 

 fainter than in the former experiments. A 

 solution of litmus was poured into the vessel, 

 and a tinge of red was then perceived at the 

 anode, owing to the action of the evolved chlo- 

 ric acid upon the coloring matter. The blue 

 color of the solution became fainter by degrees, 

 evidently proving that since chloric acid does 

 not possess bleaching properties, free chlorine 

 was evolved. Possibly this formation of chlo- 

 rine from chloric acid is a secondary result of 

 the current; but it is quite as probable, and 

 more so, that the chlorate of potassa and the 

 chloric acid were successively decomposed by 

 the current of electricity. Two strips of gold 

 leaf, one in nitric, the other in hydrochloric 

 acid, in contact through a porous division, were 

 connected by a gold wire ; the hydrochloric 

 acid was decomposed, and the gold in it imme- 

 diat.'ly dissolved. The experiments may not 

 possess the less interest because they refer to 

 a foregone conclusion, and show that by the 

 decomposition of other compounds of chlorine 



besides hydrochloric acid the precious metalf 



may !> di^olv.-d." 



'lliti/ of the El>'-trir Vpr*. M. Felix 

 Lucas concludes from original tin- tret ; < -on-id- 

 i-rations that tho distance at which the electric 

 spark is visible is greater than that of a per- 

 manent light, tho apparent intensity of which 

 would be 250,000 times more than the spark. 

 The light actually employed to illuminate the 

 new French light-houses gives a brilliancy equal 

 to 125 carcel lamps. An electric spark possess- 

 in^ the illuminating power of the 200th part 

 only of a carcel burner, is superior as to its 

 power of projecting light. Hence can be con- 

 ceived the immense effect of a- warning light 

 composed of the intermittent flashes of the 

 electric spark proceeding from a strong Leyden- 

 jar battery. M. Lucas states that in an experi- 

 ment made in a laboratory, two apparatuses 

 were established, one voltaic equal to 125 

 carcel lamps, and another spark-battery equiva- 

 lent to only the l-2000th part of a carcel wick. 

 Tho photometer showed a marked superiority 

 in favor of the spark. 



Effects of Electricity on Seeds. Experiments 

 have been made by M. Blondeau, upon the 

 effects of an induction current on fruits and 

 seeds. He reports that the electrization of 

 apples, pears, and peaches hastens their ripen- 

 ing. He has also experimented on beans, peas, 

 and cereal grains, submitting them to the action 

 of the current before they were planted. The 

 seeds were made to conduct electricity by soak- 

 ing them in water for some time, and were 

 then submitted to the action of a current for 

 several minutes. After this they were planted 

 in pots filled with good garden earth, and other 

 unelectrified seeds were planted at the same 

 time and kept under the same conditions for 

 purposes of comparison. M. Blondeau says 

 that the electrified seeds always came up first, 

 grew more rapidly, and gave much more vigor- 

 ous and fruitful plants than the unelectriiied 

 ones. One of the statements which he makes 

 is extraordinary, viz., that many of the plants 

 which had been submitted to the action of the 

 current obstinately persisted in growing upside 

 down, that is to say, the root came up into the 

 air, and tho plumule was directed downward 

 into the soil. It is not difficult for any one to 

 test the accuracy of these statements by experi- 

 ment. 



Observations of Atmospheric Electricity. 

 Dr. Everett read before tho British Association, 

 at its summer session, a paper on " Observations 

 of Atmospheric Electricity," at Kew Observa- 

 tory, and at Windsor, Nova Scotia. The Kew 

 observations extended from June, 1862, to May, 

 1864, inclusive, and were taken by Sir William 

 Thomson's self-recording apparatus. The Wind- 

 sor observations extended from October, 1862, 

 to August, 1864, and were taken by a different 

 apparatus, not self-recording, invented by Sir 

 William Thomson. Monthly averages at Kew 

 showed two maxima in the day one of them 

 between 8 and 10 A. M., and the other, which 



