KN()\VLi:i)(".i: 



Janhaky. 1912. 



clilorido solution, and !ins|)end>'d in the vessel before applyiii); 

 tin- Ifsl. When the air contains carbon monoxide in excess 

 of 0- 1 piT cent., the papiT will shows siKns of darkening 

 within .ibont one minute, while as little as O-Ol per cent, will 

 aflect the pa|H'r within about eleven minutes. 



COMPOSITION OK SOMK i:.\KLV M.AICIIHS.— A 

 paper has been read before the Chemical Societv by Mr. ]'.. 

 C. Clayton [l^roc. Cliciii. Soc. U)ll, XXVII, 22')) in which 

 are ^iven .some interesting; particulars of the characteristics 

 and composition of some of the earliest matches put upon the 

 market. 



The so-called " Promethean " matches, introduced in the 

 e.irly part of last century by Samuel Jones, consisted of ;i 

 mixture of potassium chlorate, sulphur and other substances, 

 which was isjTiited by contact with sulphuric acid, supplied 

 separately in a small gl.iss lube. 



Then in 1.S26-7, the first "friction lights" were invented by 

 John Walker. The main constituents in these were sulphur, 

 antimony sulphide and potassium chlorate, and they were 

 ignited by being drawn between strips of sand paper. Their 

 success led to the manufacture of similar " friction lights " by 

 Samuel Jones (the originator of " Prometheans"), and to these 

 he gave the name of " Jones' lucifers " or " Chlorate matches." 



The following analyses show the percentage composition of 

 some of these early matches in use prior to the introduction of 

 phosphorus matches : — 



* Ignited by dilute sulphuric acid coloured with indigo. 



Soon after the introduction of " Inciter " matches, the first 

 phosphorus matches were manufactined. They were sold 

 under the name of " Congreve matches," and were probably 

 so called after Sir William Congreve, who invented the war 

 rocket. 



These matches, large (piantities of which were made abroad, 

 and especially in Germany and .Austria, contained ordinarv 

 phosphorus, and also differed from the lucifers in being 

 ignited by being " struck upon the box." The composition of 

 two kinds of these matches, the first probably representing 

 the earliest phosphorus matches sold in England, is shown in 

 the following examples taken from Mr. Clayton's long table: — 



(, i;( )1.( n,\. 



By G. W. TvKRKl.i., A.K.C.Sc, F.G.S. 



PLIOCICM- FLINT IM PLI:MI-:NTS.— Momentous dis- 

 coveries of Hint implements have been recently made in 

 East Anglia — one, by Mr. J. Keid Moir, in the detritus-bed at 

 the base of the Ked Crag in Suffolk ; and another, by Mr. 

 W. G. Clarke, at the base of the Norwich Crag in Norfolk. 

 These sub-crag implements are described by Sir Ray 

 Lankester (Meeting of Royal Society, November IdthI as 



of a novel ly|)e which cannot be associated with any yet 

 known from other localities. This ty(M? is called the rostro- 

 cariiiate or " e.tgle's beak," and includes also scrapers, 

 haiiniiers. and large onesided picks. The ro.stro-carinale 

 impleiiii'iils are compressed from side to .side, and are thus 

 distinguished from the Chellian and Moiisterian typ;;s, which 

 ;ire flattened like a leaf. 1 hey were manufactured prior to 

 the period of severe glaciation, and are thus older than any 

 previously known on etpially good evidence. On accotuit of 

 the atTmities of its molluscs Sir R. Lankester is disposed to 

 believe that the Red Crag should be grouped with the 

 Pleistocene rather than the Pliocene. The race of men who 

 made the rostro-carinate implements are believed to have 

 lived near the sea in the time of the Coralline Crag. Some 

 of the implements were washed into the detritus-beds at the 

 base of the East .Anglian Crags, but others remained on the 

 land surface, and were subsequently included in glacial sands 

 and boulder-clays, in which a few have now been found. In 

 view of the importance of the annoimcement. it is to be hoped 

 that indisputable evidence will be forthcoming that the 

 implements really came from the beds named, as there are 

 so many possible sources of error attending the discovery of 

 implements in deposits earlier than the Pleistocene. 



ORIGIN OF THE DIAMOND.— The fascinating problem 

 of the genesis of diamonds receives further attention from 

 Dr. O. H. Derby {Jotirn. Geol.. Oct. -Nov., 19111. who puts 

 forward a new speculation as to the origin of the gem. As is 

 well known, diamonds occur, at least in South .Africa, in pipes 

 of volcanic origin which are filled with a peculiar ultra-basic 

 rock called " Kimberlitc." This rock is inv.ariably much 

 fragmented and altered, and contains numerous foreign 

 inclusions (xenolithsl, both of igneous and other origin. The 

 weight of evidence is in favour of the diamonds being assigned 

 to the eruptive rock proper, and not to the xenoliths included 

 in it. Dr. Derby believes that a positive, and perhaps 

 genetic, relation exists between the diamond and the fragmental 

 condition of its matrix, ba.sing his opinion on ttie experiments 

 of Gardner Williams, who crushed twenty tons of the eclogite 

 boulders or segregations from the Kimberley Mine without 

 finding a single diamond. This association of diamond with 

 fragmentation means that the origin of the diamond is to be 

 assigned to reactions between the rock constituents, made 

 possible by the explosive and disintegrating action of the agency 

 that formed the Kimberley pipes. Under this view the exten- 

 sive hydration and carbonation of the Kimberley rock is due to 

 deep-seated pneumatolytic action rather than to atmospheric 

 weathering. Kimberlitc from the deepest part of the De Beers 

 Mine (2,('40 feet), still contains (i-.Sl per cent, of combined 

 water, and it is improbable that this can be due at that depth 

 to atmospheric weathering. Dr. Derby presents a new hypo- 

 thesis of the origin of the diamond on the assumption of the 

 deep-seated origin of the alteration of the diamond matrix. 

 He believes that the Kimberlitc pipes were saturated with hot 

 (possibly superheated) gases and liquids, and constituted huge 

 crucibles in which carbon would he present at least in the 

 form of carbon dioxide, and probably in other gaseous forms. 

 Thus the material and soitie of the physical conditions for 

 unusual carbon segregation would be present, and it is pos- 

 sible that, under these conditions, diamonds would be formed. 

 The suggestion is made that the nMe of carbon in eruptive 

 phenomena generally would be an attractive subject for 

 experimental researches such as could be carried on in the 

 Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institute at 

 Washington. 



GLACIATION OF NORTH ARRAN.— The sculpture of 

 the mountains of .Arran. the most beautifid of the Clyde 

 islands, has recently been studieil in detail by Mr. F. .Mort 

 {Scottish Gcofi. Mdfi.. Dec. 1911.) These mountains consist 

 of a mass of granite with a nearly circular outcrop; and whilst 

 never reaching three thousand feet in height, constitute some of 

 the finest mountain scenery in Great Britain, in consequence 

 of their sharp spiry summits, serrated outlines, deep valleys, 

 .and great precipices. This remark applies particularly to the 

 eastern mountains grouped about Goatfell, To the west the 



