Constituents of certain Mineral Substances and Waters. 445 



Lava from Iceland : Two specimens were examined ; in each case 

 a little carbon dioxide was obtained. 



Some specimens from the Kimberley diamond field, obtained 

 from Mr. Crookes : 



Blue clay : A considerable quantity of a mixture of hydrogen and 

 carbon monoxide was obtained. After explosion with oxygen, no 

 trace of gas remained. 



Coarse-grained gravel and so-called " carbon " gave the same 

 result. 



Examination of Specimens of Meteoric* Iron. 



Specimens of meteoric iron were kindly sent for examination by 

 Dr. Fletcher of the British Museum : 



Greenbrier County meteorite : Ten grams of metal gave a fairly 

 large quantity of gas on heating, which consisted wholly of hydrogen. 



Toluca meteorite: One gram gave 2'8 c.c, of pure hydrogen. 



Charca meteorite : One gram gave 0*28 c.c. of hydrogen. 



Bancho de la Pila meteorite (' Min. Mag.,' ix, 153) : One gram 

 gave 0*57 c.c. of gas. It consisted of hydrogen. 



Obernkirchen Meteorite, from Schaumberg-Lippe, Germany, de- 

 scribed by Wichs and Wohler (' Pogg. Ann.,' vol. 120, p. 509) : One 

 gram gave 2*6 c.c. of gas. 



The gases from these meteorites were exploded with oxygen, and 

 were found to contain no trace either of argon or helium, or of 

 nitrogen. The carbon compounds present were possibly produced 

 by the decomposition of the oil, &c., with which the shavings of 

 meteoric iron had become contaminated. 



It will be remembered that a previously examined specimen of 

 meteorite was found to contain both argon and helium. 



Examination of the Gases held in Solution "by the Waters of certain 

 Mineral Springs. 



Old Sulphur Well, Harrogate. One carboy of water gave 650 c.c. 

 of gas from which, after circulation and sparking, 45 c.c. of argon 

 were obtained. Spectroscopic examination of the gas proved that 

 it contained nothing but argon. 



Strathpeffer Wells. One carboy of water gave 1 litre of a gas 

 which, after sparking and circulation, gave 22 c.c. of pure argon. 

 The gas was separated from these waters by the method described 

 by Lord Rayleigh ('Phil. Trans.,' A, vol. 186, p. 220). 



Mineral Springs of Cauterets. The mineral springs of the Hautes 

 Pyrenees, particularly those containing sulphides, have long been 

 known to contain considerable quantities of nitrogen. Dr. H. C. 

 Bouchard, of Paris, has recently (' Compt. Rend.,' vol. 121, p. 392) pub- 

 lished an account of his examination of gases obtained from the wells 



