FARMERS' REGISTER— MOTH WEEVIL. 



463 



at some distance from the laboratory. One half of 

 the marl I have reserved for anotlier examination, 

 which 1 shall begin to-morrow. Thinking-, that 

 should you be desirous of inserting the analysis, I 

 have already performed, together with the results, 

 in the forthcoming number of the Register, no 

 time was to be lost in transmitting them to your 

 hands, I have determined, without waiting for 

 another, to furnish you a brief sketch of that which 

 has just been completed. 



1. After drying the powder at the temperature 

 of 212°, 60 grains were transferred to a flask, and 

 dissolved in an excess of liydro-Chloric Acid, 

 (Muriatic) chemically pure. The solution was 

 boiled for some minutes, that all the soluble mat- 

 ter might be taken up, and then thrown upon a iil- 

 tar of Papier Joseph. I'he filter being repeatedly 

 Avashed with distilled water, to remove any adhe- 

 ring portion of the solution, was dried. The mat- 

 ter collected upon it, proved to be Silica, and a- 

 mounfed to 7 grains. 



2. Pure Caustic xlmmonia v.'as now added to the 

 solution in considerable excess, and a fiocculent 

 precipitate subsided to the bottom of the vessel. 

 The whole was transferi'ed to the filter, and the 

 procipit."te v,'-'.=]ied, dried aiid weighed. It was 

 Alumina, and amounted to 3 grains. 



3. The solution which had passed the filter, con- 

 tained a large portion of Muriate of Ammonia, 

 with some Ammonia in excess, and was therefore 

 in a suitable state for the separation of the lime and 

 magnesia, which it was presumed to contain. A 

 strong solution of Oxalic Acid, in distilled water, 

 was then cautiously added, until no further precip- 

 itate was produced. As the Oxalate thus formed 

 precipitates slowly, the liquid was suffered to rest 

 lor 18 hours — then heated and carefully filtered. 

 The filter being washed with distilled water, the 

 precipitate was dried and weighed. It amounted 

 to 44 grains Oxalate of Lime. This was after- 

 wards ignited in a Platinua> Crucible and convert- 

 ed into Carbonate, of which there resulted 31 

 grains. 



4. To the remaining solution, a solution of pure 

 Carbonate of Potash was added. The mixture 

 was transferred to a large flask, and boiled until 

 the odor of Ammonia ceased to be exhaled. More 

 Carbonate of Potash was added, and the boiling 

 renewed; the odor of Ammonia soon ceased, and 

 a further addition of the Carbonate produced no 

 smell of Ammonia. The liquid was filtered while 

 hot, and the white precipitate of Carbonate of Mag- 

 nesia, collected on the filter, when dried and weigh- 

 ed, amounted to 18 grains. 



The results, though not accurate to a small frac- 

 tion of a grain, may be summed up as fblloAvs : 

 Carbonate of Lime, - - 31 grains. 

 Carbonate of Magnesia, - 18 " 



Silica, - _ _ - 7 'c 



Alumina, - - - - 3 " 



— 59 grains. 

 Loss, - - - - 1 " 



— 60* grs. 



* similar proportions of lUU grams, (inste.ul of 60,) 

 would stand as follows : 



Carbonate of Lime, - - - - 51 § 

 Carbonate of Magnesia, - - - 30 



Silica and Alumina, - - - - 16| 



Loss, -.-.... ij 



—100 

 [Ed. F. R. 



Should the above account of this analysis be 

 thought likely to subserve the objects of your Re- 

 gister, you are at liberty to assign it a corner in 

 the next or succeeding number. I think, howe- 

 ver, that the details would probably have but little 

 interest lor general readers, and therefore the sum- 

 mary may be sufficient. The processes I have 

 pursued are the most accurate that have yet been 

 devised for that difficult operation in analysis — the 

 separation of Lime from Magnesia. May I ask 

 you for a further supply of the marl, and for a 

 more particular account of its locality, &c. Geo- 

 logically as well as economically, it is a depositeof 

 great interest. I am just now particularly anxious 

 to procure all the information which can be obtain- 

 ed with respect to the marl deposiles of this State. 

 All organic remains, of whatever character — from 

 the bones of the Mastodon to the lancet tooth of 

 the Squalus — would be received by me from any 

 of your correspondents, w ith the most grateful ac- 

 knowledgments. May I ask you to give me such 

 information as you may possess at present, or as 

 may hereafter fall in your way, respecting fossils 

 recently disinterred in Virginia. 

 Respectfully, your friend, 



WM. B, ROGERS. 



For the Farmers' Register. 

 EXPERIMENT ON MOTH WEEVIL. 



( Continued.') 



Since the publication of my observations on 

 moth weevil, (No. 6, p. 325,) an additional fact 

 has served lo make one of my experiments more 

 complete, and to furnish more proof that my views 

 of the propagation of this insect were correct. By 

 reference to the experiments reported, it will be 

 seen that a particular ear of corn (C) which had 

 been carefully secured from the approach of wing- 

 ed weevil, from the 10th of June to the 16th of 

 Sejdember, remained perfectly free from any ap- 

 pearance of young weevil during all that time. 

 On the 16th of September this ear was put into 

 another drawer with other corn well stocked with 

 weevil. On October 19th,ihree weevil in the mag- 

 got state were observed in grains in this ear, 

 enough advanced in size to make their cells visible 

 through the transparent skin of the grain : and on 

 December 7th. there were 18 grains, showing 

 cells either containing maggots, or from which the 

 mature insects had already escaped. A fire hav- 

 ing been generally kept in the room, had maintain- 

 ed enougli heat to continue the hatchuiglong after 

 it had ended in corn cribs and barns. 



The former report of the experiment made with 

 this ear, proved that there was no hatching of wee- 

 vil as long as no parent insects were permitted to 

 have access : and the continuation shows, that the 

 same ear became productive of weevil even at that 

 advanced season, as soon as other mature insects 

 were put with it. Thus, besiiles all the other 

 fiicts offered before, this experiment serves to 

 prove, both directly and indirectly, that the moth 

 weevil continues to propagate its kind by succes- 

 sive and rapidly produced generations, as long as 

 the weather is warm enough — and that all the re- 

 ceived opinions of its origin are entirely unfound- 

 ed. 



E. R. 



