TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION B. 603 



Feri-ic Oxide (ppt. dry at 100°) rapidl\- combines with 1 mol. Hfi, after which 

 it slowly takes up a further 3 mols. ; on exposure to the air it loses 2 mols., and in 

 the form of the trihydrate appears to be stable. The hydration of the oxides and 

 of all bodies is greatly influenced by methods of preparation. 



10. On Cellulose and Coal. By C. F. Ckoss, S.Sc, and E. J. Bevan. 



The authors have obtained, by the action of sulphuric acid upon cellulose, black 

 substances, resembling coal in appearance and percentage-composition (C and H), 

 which are convertible, by the action of chlorine, into derivatives, resembling those 

 obtained by the direct chlorination of liguefied fibres. The yield of the black 

 substance is about 35 per cent, of the original substance (dextrin), i.e. in view of 

 its higher carbon percentage (60° to 70°) about 60 per cent, of the carbon of the 

 carbohydrate takes this aromatic form, the remainder being liberated as carbonic 

 and acetic acids, &c. The passage of cellulose into these compounds suggests the 

 probability of its conversion into lignin as a result of plant-life. In support of 

 this view the authors cite their experiments on the probable existence of plant- 

 constituents intermediate between the two groups (jute) ; Meisseur's experiments 

 on the origin of the hippuric acid of the ui'ine of herbivora, which he refers to a 

 constituent of hay contaming a benzoic residue, arid which appears to be a form 

 of cellulose : the formation of astringent bodies at the expense of plant-structures, 

 as in the 'pathological' tannins and the decay of the jute-fibre ; the occun-ence of 

 tannin and carbohydrates in intimate association throughout the plant world ; 

 and, lastly, the chemistry of coal. They regard cellulose, lignin, peat, lignite, and 

 anthracite as, probably, terms of a vast series of compounds differentiated under 

 conditions which we can only very approximately imitate or even conceive. 



11. On the Neio Element, Actinium. By Dr. T. L. Phipson, F.C.8. 



The author has at last succeeded in isolating the new metallic element which he 

 has found in white zinc pigment, to which it gives the peculiar property of darkening 

 in about twenty minutes when exposed to the direct rays of the sun, but not so 

 when protected by a sheet of glass, and becoming again white in the course of a 

 few hours when placed in the dark. 



The new metal has been obtained ia the form of oxide and in the form of 

 sulphide. Its isolation is based principally upon the facts, that its oxide is only 

 slightly soluble in caustic soda, and not precipitated by ammonia from solutions 

 containing salts of ammonia ; that its sulphide is scarcely soluble in acetic acid, but 

 readily soluble in mineral acids, even when they are slightly diluted. He has 

 proved that it differs essentially from zinc, cadmium, manganese, and lanthanum, 

 with which alone it is possible, for a moment, to confuse it. He has obtained no 

 less than about fom* per cent, from some white zinc pigment as found in commerce. 

 This yield is enormous. The presence of this new metal in commercial zinc will 

 fully explain discrepancies as to the equivalent of that metal. 



After a great number of experiments he has adhered to the following simple 

 process for the extraction of actinium : — 



1. The pigment (about 12 grammes) is digested for twenty-four hours in dilute 

 acetic acid, washed and digested for another twenty-four houi'S in dilute hydro- 

 chloric acid (8 per cent.), and the residue washed. 



2. The residue is dissolved in strong hydi-ochloric acid, with occasional additions 

 of nitric acid ; the chlorides are treated with excess of caustic soda, which leaves 

 oxide of actinium and dissolves the oxide of zinc. The oxide of actinium is dis- 

 solved in hydrochloric acid, and again treated ^vith excess of caustic soda (the 

 operation is repeated two or three times) ; finally, to separate a little oxide of iron, 

 the oxide of actinium is dissolved in excess of HCl, and the solution treated with 

 excess of ammonia, which only precipitates the iron. The oxide of actinium re- 

 maining in solution is precipitated by sulphide of ammonium. 



Oxide of Actinium. — The hydrate forms a bulky white precipitate, more gelatinous 

 than oxide of zinc. Unlike the latter, it is only slightly soluble in caustic soda. It is 



