686 



REPOET — 1892. 



A careful consideration, however, of these experiments makes it very doubtful 

 whether the pressure can he calculated in this way. It would appear that the 

 problem cannot be treated as other than a hydrodynamical one, the solution of 

 which must be left to the mathematician. There can be little doubt that the inertia 

 of the gases cannot be neglected, and that the pressure produced by the explosion 

 is less than that calculated above, namely, 20*7 atmospheres. 



The authors desire to state tliat the idea upon which their method is based was 

 suggested to them by Professor II. B. Dixon. 



14. The Determination of small Quantities of Nitrogen in Soils. 

 By Dr. F. E. Matthews. 



15. On a Vanadiferous Lignite found in the Argentine Eepublic, vrith 

 Analysis of the Ash. By John J. J. Kyle, Sc.D., Professor of Chemistry 

 in the University of Buenos Ayres, Assayer to the Argentine Mint. 



By order of the Minister of the Interior of the Argentine Republic the Director 

 of the National Board of AVorks forwarded to the author a small sample of coal, 

 taken from a seam recently discovered near the town of San Raphael, in tlie 

 province of Mendoza, with instructions to analyse the mineral and to report on its 

 value as a combustible. The coal is lustrous, black even when finely pulverised, 

 without fibrous structure, and remarkably brittle. On being heated it softens, 

 emits much gas, which bums with a smoky flame, yielding a light spongy coke, 

 which after combustion leaves a singularly small amount of a greenish coloured 

 ash. The condensed products of its distillation have an acid reaction. 

 The specific gravity of the mineral is I*173. 

 Its proximate analysis gave — 



Loss on drying at 100° C. . . . 



Volatile matters ..... 



Fixed carbon 



Ash 



205 

 49-51 

 47-81 



0-63 



100-00 



Its elementary composition, deducting hydroscopic water and ash, was found to 

 be as follows : — 



Carbon 60-59 



Hydrogen 

 Nitrogen 

 Sulphur . 

 Oxygen . 



8-63 

 1-43 

 4-23 



25-12 



10000 



The composition of the ash, after deduction of the carbon (which two separate 

 determinations bad shown to amount to 27*8 per cent, in the ash as analysed) may 

 be stated as follows : — 



/Vanadium pentoxide 

 Phosphorus pentoxide 

 Sulphuric anhyilride 

 - Calcium oxide 

 Ferric oxide . 

 Aluminium oxide . 

 \ Potassium oxide . 

 [■ Silicic anh_ydride . 

 1 Ferric oxide . 

 j Aluminium oxide . 

 i Magnesium oxide . 

 Undetermined traces of manganese, 1 

 magnesium, clilorine, and loss in ' 

 analysis 



Soluble in acid 



Insoluble in acid 



38-22 

 0-71 



12-06 

 8-44 

 4-98 

 3-32 

 1-73 



13-70 

 9-42 

 5-26 

 0-83 



1-33 



10000 



