Proceedings of the America7i Philosophical Society. 29 



Lately he had resorted with success to a much simpler process, by 

 which the evolution of silicon or boron might be made easy to any person 

 possessing a sufficiently large mercurial reservoir. 



A bell glass, over mercury, was filled with fluo-silicic acid, and by 

 means of a bent wire, a cage of wire gauze, containing a suitable quan- 

 tity of potassium, was introduced through the mercury into the cavity of 

 the bell, and supported in a position nearly in the centre of it. A knob 

 of iron was made at the end of the rod, so recurved as to reach the cage 

 with ease. The knob, having been heated nearly white hot, was passed 

 through the mercury so as to touch the cage, and cause the combustion 

 of the potassium and evolution of the silicon. Of this, much remains 

 attached to the cage, in combination with the fluoride of potassium, from 

 which the silicon may be separated by washing in cold water and diges- 

 tion in nitric acid. 



Mr. S. C. Walker communicated an extract from a letter received from 

 Mr. Edmund Blunt, detailing his observations of the Solar Eclipses of 

 May 14th, 1836, and September 18th, 1838. 



These were made at his private observatory, Brooklyn, New York. 

 Latitude 40° 42' 0". Longitude 4h. 56m. Os. nearly, west of Greenwich, 

 being 4.36s. east of the City Hall, New York. They are given in mean 

 time of the place of observation. 



Begin. Solar Eclipse, May 14th, 1836, 19 10 1.30 E. Blunt. 



End 



Begin. " Sept. 18th, 1838, 



Formation of Ring, " 



End of Eclipse 



T. L Page. 



Mr. Blunt used a five feet Dollond's achromatic belonging to the Coast 

 Survey. Mr. Page saw the end of the eclipse of 1836 with another tele- 

 scope, within half a second of the time stated by Mr. Blunt. In the 

 eclipse of 1838, the time noted for the formation of the ring was when 

 the cusps were separated only by a few dark intervening spaces. Of 

 these Mr. Blunt counted six in number. The instant of rupture of the 

 ring was not noted. Mr. Blunt thinks that the luminous points connect- 

 ing the cusps, continued twelve or fifteen seconds. Mr. Blunt did not 

 see the dark lines described by Francis Baily, Esq. though favorably cir- 

 cumstanced for such an observation. Mr. Walker had found for the lon- 

 gitude of Mr. Blunt's observatory, from the beginning of the eclipse of 

 1836, 4h. 55m. 52.95s. and 4h. 56m. 2.07s. from the end : — Mean result, 

 4h. 55m. 57.51s. Mr. E. O. Kendall had found from the eclipse of 1838, 

 a mean result of 4h. 56m. 1.16s. The mean, by the two eclipses, was 

 4h. 55m. 59.34s. ; which makes the longitude of the City Hall, New 



