Miscellanies. 183 



rain, falling in one continued tropical shower from 3.30 to 9 P. M. 

 At 10 P. M., bright moon, starlight, and perfectly calm. The elec- 

 tric fluid fell and consumed a barn on the bank of St. Lawrence, 

 about 2 miles above the city. Thermometer in shade, previous to 

 storm, indicated 85°,— fell to 77° during storm. Thermometer in 

 the Sim on garden mould indicated 112°, after exposure to storm, 

 same place, gave 77°. 



September 22 — Equinoctial gale commenced about 11P.M. of22d — continued 

 blowing, with heavy showers and without intermi.ssion, till sunset of 

 the 24th — wind varying from W. to S. W. and W. 



November 5 — Began to blow from the N. at 7 P. M. — blew hard all night, with 

 rain, till 9 A. M. of the 6th, when wind shifted suddenly to S. W. 

 and blew a gale, with snow and sleet, till 9 A. M. of 7th, when 

 wind again suddenly changed to the N., and continued blowing 

 hard all day. 



December 23 — Barometer rapidly falling all day, till 6 P. M. when lowest; 

 (29.282) — then a heavy storm commenced from the N. W. and lasted 

 16 hours, with great violence — wind did not abate till noon of the 

 24th — during the storm the Barometer rose .702, and the Thermom- 

 eter fell 39°. 



7. CJiromate of Pofassa — a reagent for distinguishing between the 

 Salts of Baryta and Strontia; by J. Lawrence Smith.* — Having had 

 occasion some months since, to examine a specimen of fibrous celestine, 

 from Niagara, I was led to suspect from its specific gravity, that baryta 

 was present. 



With this supposition, T examined for baryta in the usual way, with 

 fluo-silicic acid ; in fact, the only certain method that I was aware of. 

 The indication that this test gave of its presence, was so unsatisfactory, 

 that it led me at once to search for a more decisive, and more delicate 

 distinguishing test ; and the following was the result of my labor. 



It will be needless to detail the various reagents that I had recourse to, 

 in my experiments, but suffice it to say, chromate of potassa satisfied my 

 most sanguine wishes; for no reagent with which I am acquainted, acts 

 so promptly upon any body, as does this upon the salts of baryta; and 

 moreover, so delicate in this test, that in one of my experiments in 

 which a grain of chloride of barium was dissolved in one gallon of water, 

 it gave immediate indication of the presence of baryta, although sulphu- 

 ric acid failed to do so ; in fact, it will affect perceptibly a solution that 

 contains less than tooVoo" part of baryta. 



When a strong solution of chromate of potassa is poured upon a strong 

 solution of a salt of strontia, a precipitate (similar to that which is pro- 

 duced when a salt of baryta is used) will take place. Solutions of 

 these two salts of ordinary strength, will not affect each other. 



Lest this fact should, under any circumstance, cause erroneous conclu- 

 sions, I sought for some acid which would dissolve the one precipitate and 



* See Lond. and Ed. Phil. Mag. Jan. 1839, p. 78 



