CHEMISTRY. 



CHILI. 



101 



it is desired to lower the flame of the lamp for 

 the time, care should be taken not to lower it 

 below the metal-work deeper than is absolute- 

 ly necessary. When the lamp is to be extin- 

 guished, the flame should be lowered till there 

 is only a flicker ; the mouth should then be 

 brought to a level with the top of the chimney, 

 and a sharp puff of breath should be projected 

 across the opening. 



Mr. A. H. Allen, of Sheffield, in the British 

 Association took notice of the fact that cases 

 of lead-poisoning do sometimes occur through 

 people drinking water conveyed in lead pipes; 

 and, though only one person in a thousand 

 might be affected from this cause, the matter 

 deserved the attention of chemists. The most 

 discordant statements are made as to the cause 

 of lead-poisoning, some saying that soft and 

 others that hard water is most likely to pro- 

 duce it ; but the author thought it might de- 

 pend not only on the presence of salt in water, 

 but on the character of the salt. Two cases 

 were mentioned in which water which had 

 previously behaved in a neutral manner had 

 begun to act on lead, and in one of them the 

 water, coming from a ferruginous spring, was 

 found to contain a free acid, which was neu- 

 tralized and the poisonous action removed by 

 filtering the water through limestone. Prof. 

 Brazier, of Aberdeen, had pointed out to the 

 author that water would act on lead, particu- 

 larly when it was mixed with snow-water; 

 and his own experience fully bore out that 

 observation. The late Dr. Angus Smith con- 

 sidered that even one fiftieth of a grain of lead 

 per gallon of water should not be allowed; 

 and it might be admitted that one tenth of a 

 grain of the metal per gallon of water was ob- 

 jectionable, and when the quantity rose to half 

 a grain it was very dangerous. Sulphate of 

 lead, which had sometimes been regarded as 

 insoluble, was soluble in water to the extent 

 of about three grains per gallon, and hence, 

 for the purpose in question, was capable of 

 producing highly poisonous effects. Carbon- 

 ate of lead was soluble in water to the extent 

 of about two grains per gallon ; but basic car- 

 bonate was highly insoluble, sixty gallons of 

 water being required for the solution of one 

 grain. The mysterious u fits" water occasion- 

 ally took in acting upon lead rendered the 

 subject one of great practical importance. 

 Prof. Frankland, speaking of nitrates and ni- 

 trites in water, said that the fact that salt was 

 present did not affect the action of water on 

 lead, as experiments had shown him that the 

 salts were absolutely inert. Two essential con- 

 ditions to the action of water on lead were the 

 presence of dissolved oxygen and the absence 

 of free carbonic acid. It was almost, if not 

 quite, impossible to get a solution of carbon- 

 ate of lead in water. The two kinds of action 

 of water on lead the deposition of salts of 

 lead and the production of dissolved salts 

 ought to be distinguished. Snow-water is 

 dangerous in lead pipes because it is rich in 

 VOL. xxv. 11 A 



dissolved oxygen and free from carbonic ncid. 

 Prof. Dewar spoke of the effect of organic 

 matter, particularly of peat, in very small 

 quantities, in preventing action upon lead. 

 Prof. Frankland said the public should be 

 warned against the use of tin-lined lead pipes, 

 unless they knew how they were manufact- 

 ured, as an alloy of lead and tin was some- 

 times produced which was more acted upon 

 by water than lead alone. 



CHILI, an independent republic of South 

 America. (For details relating to area, popu- 

 lation, etc., see "Annual Cyclopedia" for 1883 

 and 1884.) 



Government. The President of the Republic 

 is Don Domingo Santa Maria, whose term of 

 office will expire on Sept. 18, 1886. The Cab- 

 inet was composed of the following officers: 

 Minister of the Interior, Don J. M. Balmaceda 

 (April 12, 1882) ; Foreign Affairs and Coloni- 

 zation, Don A.Vergara Albano (Jan. 18, 1884); 

 Justice, Public Worship, and Public Instruc- 

 tion, Don J. I. Vergara (1888); Finance, Don 

 R. Barros Luca (Jan. 18, 1884); and War and 

 the Navy, Don C. Atunez (May 6, 1884). The 

 Chilian Minister to the United States is Don 

 Joaquin Godoy. The Chilian Consul at New 

 York is Don B. R. de Espriella ; and the Con- 

 sul- General at San Francisco, Don J. de la 

 Cruz Corda. The United States Minister to 

 Chili is Hon. William R. Roberts. The United 

 States Consuls to Chili are: D. M. Dunn, at 

 Valparaiso ; J. Grierson, at Coquimbo ; and J. 

 F. Van Ingen, at Talcaguana. 



The Political System. The Chilian President 

 serves for five years, and a presidential elec- 

 tion will be held in 1886. The Congress con- 

 sists of two houses. The Senators serve for 

 six years, and the Deputies for three. Chili 

 is not a federal republic. Its Government is 

 centralized, and the President has almost ab- 

 solute power, for he appoints the intendants 

 of provinces, governors of departments, and 

 other officials. The war has given to Chili 

 more of a military character than it had be- 

 fore. Chili thus far has been exempt from 

 those forcible overturnings that have been fre- 

 quent in other Spanish-American republics. 

 Revolutions have been attempted several times, 

 but always quickly extinguished. The Chili of 

 to-day is a strongly organized and centralized 

 oligarchy; and the fact that the country forms 

 a comparatively narrow strip of land between 

 the Pacific Ocean and the Andes does not 

 leave scope for any revolution to gather and 

 recruit its forces in the interior. 



Elections. The election for Senators and Rep- 

 resentatives took place on March 29, and re- , 

 suited, as anticipated, in the complete triumph 

 of the Liberal party. This election was not 

 considered the expression of the popular will. 

 There were wholesale intimidation and fraud 

 by both parties, and an insolent interference 

 on the part of the Government, which stifled 

 a free expression of opinion. 



Army. The strength of the army in 1885 



