310 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



warming the volatile liquid ; after these succeeded the hydrides of propyl 

 and butyl, and finally there was evolved nearly pure hydride of butyL 

 This liquid has a spec. gr. of 0.600 at the melting poi))t of ice, and is con- 

 sequently the lightest liquid known. Its vapor density is 2.11. It is 

 colorless, and has a sweet, agreeable odor. Alcohol at 98 p. c. dissolves 

 between 11 and 12 times its volume of this vapor. It is not perceptibly 

 aifected by sulphuric or nitric acid, nor by bromine. With tvyice its volume 

 of chlorine, mixed in diffused daylight, the liquid dbloride of butyl is 

 formed. 



Allots of Silver and Zinc. 



The French Government is about to lower the standard of the silver 

 coinage, in consequence of the increasing scarcity of silver money, by an 

 addition of about seven per cent, more of copper, thus making* the per 

 cent, of copper 165. M. Peligot, cheujist to the French mint, has made 

 experiments to ascertain how the introduction of some zinc, or the complete 

 substitution of zinc for the copper, would affect the alloy. He reports to 

 the Academy of Sciences that the substitution of zinc for the copper forms 

 an alio}' remarkably malleable and perfectly homogeneous. Equal equiva- 

 lents of silver and zinc, or two equivalents of silver to one of zinc, gave 

 malleable alloys, while one equivalent of silver with two equivalents of 

 zinc, also two of silver with three of zinc, form compounds too brittle to 

 be rolled. The present price of zinc is only one-fifth that of copper, and 

 as a matter of economj the Government should use zinc. The fact that the 

 zinc alloy is less discolored by sulphuretted hydrogen than the copper com- 

 pound is in its favor. An alloy of 800 parts of silver to 200 of zinc Avill 

 keep its whiteness in a polysulphide which would rapidly blacken the legal 

 alloy of silver and copper. The absence of verdigris, under the action of 

 acid liquors, is another advantage. The French copper money contains 

 one per cent, of zinc; the small Swiss coins are alloys of zinc, silver and 

 nickel. 



Effects of Light on Honey. 



M. Scheibler has proved that sirupy honey, exposed to light, crystallizes 

 and ultimately becomes a solid mass of sugar, while that kept in the dark 

 remains perfectly liquid. This may account for the fact that bees cover 

 with wax that part of their hive made of glass, so as to exclude the liglit. 

 The existence of their young depends on the liquidity of their saccharine 

 food. 



Respiration of Fruits. 



At a late meeting of the Academy of Sciences, Paris, M. Cahours read a 

 paper on this subject, from which it appears that apples, oranges, and 

 lemons, in a state of perfect maturitj'^, when placed under bell glasses con- 

 taining either pure oxygen, or a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, or com- 

 mon air, respire by consuming a portion of the oxygen and giving off car- 

 bonic acid gas — the proportion of the latter compound being greater in 

 diffused light tlian in obscurity. He proposed to continue his investiga- 

 tions regarding changes in fruit from development to maturity. 



M. Fremy then made some remarks on the maturation of fruits, and 

 referred to experiments made by him and M. De Caisne some time ago. 



