CHEMISTRY. 



CHILI. 



93 



drying at high temperature, and the decompos- 

 ing action of atmospheric oxygen, which is 

 therewith connected; and the whole of the 

 coke is weighed, and its carbon, hydrogen, 

 and mineral constituents determined. The 

 water, tar, and gas that are formed are mea- 

 sured, and their heat of combustion ascertained 

 with the aid of data that have been supplied 

 by Favre and Silbermann, and Deville. The 

 final result will, of course, exceed the true 

 combustion value of the coal by the amount 

 of heat equivalent to the work of decomposi- 

 tion into coke, tar, and gas. The decomposi- 

 tion of the coal should be done as quickly as 

 possible, and at a high temperature. 



A New Explosive. A new explosive discov- 

 ered by Professor Emerson Reynolds is com- 

 pounded of two substances, which can be kept 

 apart without risk, and can be mixed as re- 

 quired to form a blasting and explosive agent. 

 The powder is a mixture of 75 parts of chlo- 

 rate of potassium with 25 parts of sulphurea, a 

 body discovered by Professor Reynolds some 

 years ago, and which can be obtained in quan- 

 tity from the waste products of gas-manufac- 

 ture. The new explosive is a white powder, 

 which can be ignited at a lower temperature 

 than gunpowder, and leaves less solid residuum. 



Research of Berihelot on the Loss of Oxygen 

 in the Electrolysis of Water. Faraday first ob- 

 served the inferior volume of oxygen set free 

 in the electrolysis of water acidulated with 

 sulphuric acid ; and, though the fact has been 

 since noticed by every physicist who has 

 employed the voltameter, no satisfactory ex- 

 planation has hitherto been offered. But now 

 Berthelot has undertaken to measure the loss 

 of oxygen and to determine its cause. "Vye 

 give a brief account of his method and results 

 from the "American Journal of Science." 

 That it is not due to the production of hydro- 

 gen dioxide by the electrolytic ozone acting 

 on the water is shown by the fact that water 

 and ozone do not combine together directly. 

 Nor does the hypothesis that the oxygen splits 

 into ozone and antozone during electrolysis fit 

 the case, since the relation of the active oxygen 

 existing as gas is to that existing in the liquid 

 so small, only a twentieth part. In one of 

 Berth elot's experiments, there was 2-2 mgrms. 

 active oxygen in the gas collected and 44 

 mgrras. in the liquid. Moreover, Meidinger 

 has shown that when the sulphuric acid used 

 had a density of T4, the amount of oxygen 

 collected may fall to two thirds of its theoreti- 

 cal value. In Berthelot's experiment, 12'2 c. c. 

 hydrogen was collected in ten minutes, but 

 only 3 - 6 c. c. of oxygen instead of 6'14. Since 

 the oxidizing body found in the solution occurs 

 .only when this is acidulated with sulphuric 

 acid, Berthelot concludes that it is really per- 

 sulphuric acid ; a view which its reactions con- 

 firm. Further, oxygen is gradually disengaged 

 from the liquid, reaching in the course of a 

 few hours the theoretical quantity, and even 

 surpassing it. The bearing of these facts upon 



the use of sulphuric acid in a voltameter is 

 evident. 



CHILI (REPtiBLicA DE CHILE), an indepen- 

 dent state of South America, comprised be- 

 tween latitudes 24 and 56 south and longitudes 

 70 and 74 west. Its boundaries are : Bolivia 

 on the north; the Argentine Republic and 

 Patagonia on the east, from both of which it 

 is separated by the Andes; Cape Horn and 

 the South Pacific on the south ; and the same 

 ocean on the west. The southern boundary is 

 contested by the Argentine Government, and 

 the long-pending negotiations between the re- 

 publics have only resulted in interrupting their 

 diplomatic relations. The treaty agreed upon 

 by Sefior Barras Arran, the Chilian Plenipo- 

 tentiary, has been declared unauthorized by 

 the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Chilian 

 Congress has passed a vote of censure on the 

 envoy who had effected a treaty the main ob- 

 ject of which was to submit the questions at 

 issue to arbitration. Although a satisfactory 

 settlement has not been reached, and much 

 popular excitement is still apparent in Chili, 

 it is not probable that war will result ; and it 

 is yet hoped that bases may be arranged be- 

 tween the Governments for reopening negotia- 

 tions. 



The area of Chili is set down in an official 

 report of 1875 at 124,246 square miles, exclu- 

 sive of the Magellanic possessions, the extent 

 of which is estimated at 95,753 square miles. 

 The territorial division of the republic and its 

 population were as follows on the 1st of Janu- 

 ary, 1877: 



PROVINCES. Population. 



Atacama 72,716 



Coquimbo 161,145 



Aconcagua 184,512 



Valparaiso 180,324 



Santiago 372,355 



Colchagua 152.184 



Curic6 95,826 



Talca 111,775 



Linares 119,068 



Maule 119.877 



Ruble 140,214 



Concepcion 155,324 



PROVINCES. Population. 



Biobio 79,113 



Arauco 52,531 



Valdivia 31,826 



Llanquihue 49,946 



Chiloe 66,698 



Angol (Territory) . . 2 1,091 



Magellan Colony . . . 1,193 



Total 2,116,778 



Population in 1865. . 1,819,283 



Increase in 12 years . 297,545 



The President of Chili is Senor Don Anibal 

 Pinto (elected for five years, and inaugurated 

 September 18, 1876). The Cabinet has been 

 changed, and is now composed of the fol- 

 lowing ministers, who are reported in favor 

 of more satisfactory relations with the Ar- 

 gentine Republic : Interior, Dr. Belisario 

 Prats ; Foreign Affairs, Senor Don Jose Al- 

 fonso ; Finance (vacant) ; Justice, Public Wor- 

 ship, and Public Instruction, Sefior Don Do- 

 mingo Santa Maria; War and Navy, Sefior 

 Don Cornelio Saavedra. For the Council of 

 State, the courts of justice, and the Church, 

 reference may be made to the "Annual Cyclo- 

 paedia "for 1877. There being at present no 

 Chilian Minister accredited to the United States, 

 the functions of Charge d' Affaires are ex- 

 ercised by Sefior Don Eduardo Vigil. The 

 Chilian Consul at New York is C. R. Flint, 

 Esq. The Honorable Thomas Osborn is Envoy 

 Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of 



