408 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 33. 



nesium, or aluminum. It does not resemble the 

 spectrum of carbon, boron, or silicon; but it is more 

 closely allied to that of lithium. The author therefore 

 concludes that it is the first member of a dyad series 

 of elements homologous to calcium, strontium, and 

 barium. — [Journ. chem. soc, June, 1883.) c. r. m. 



[243 



Decomposition of -water by the metalloids. — 

 When distilled water is boiled with sulphur, C. Z. 

 Cross and A. F. Higgin find that it is decomposed 

 according to the equation 2 HaO+S S = 2 HjS+SOj. 

 They also noted that sulphur distilled witli steam or 

 with the vapor of dilute alcohol. On boiling arsenic 

 with water, it was converted into arsenious acid and 

 hydric arsenide. Arsenious sulphide was changed 

 into a sulfoxy-compound. — {Berichte deutsch. chem. 

 gesellsch., xvi. 1195.) c. r. M. [244 



Pyronome. — This is the name given by M. Sandoy 

 to a new explosive, consisting of sixty-nine parts of 

 saltpetre, nine of sulphur, ten of charcoal, eight of 

 metallic antimony, five of potassium chlorate, four 

 of rye-flour, and a very small quantity of potassium 

 chromate. The materials are mixed with an equal 

 quantity of boiling water, and the mass is evaporated 

 to a paste, dried, and powdered as wanted. This 

 mixture is said to be much cheaper than dynamite, 

 but its manufacture and use must be attended with 

 considerable danger. — (Chem. techn. rep,, 1883, 154.) 

 c. E. M. [245 



METALLURGY. 



Gaseous fuel in iron manufacture. — Mr. W. 



S. Sutherland read a paper before the British iron 

 and steel institute, on the production and utiliza- 

 tion of gaseous fuel in iron manufacture, in which 

 he claims that the seams of boilers can be welded in- 

 stead of riveted, if the heat can be applied uniformly, 

 and of sufficiently high temperature, without excess of 

 air or admission of dirt. This kind of heat he has ob- 

 tained only by the use of coal-gas, Siemens-producer 

 gas, or water-gas, the preference being given to the 

 latter. To secure the requisite air in constant pro- 

 portion, the gas being in excess, gas and air are mixed 

 before comliustion; probably the first instance of such 

 a utilization of the principles of a Buusen burner on 

 a large scale. Explosions are prevented by having an 

 outlet lightly covered by india-rubber, at some corner 

 of the main; and when the wave, or disk of flame, 

 which does not readily turn a corner, reaches this 

 cover, it breaks the rubber just as a blow would. The 

 method has been worked some ten years without acci- 

 dent. From all his expei'ience, Mr. Sutherland con- 

 cludes, that to produce a good, true, wrought iron, 

 Siemens gas with varying proportion of air, Instead of 

 air alone, should be blown into the iron in the Bes- 

 semer converter. — (Eng. min. journ., July 14, 21.) 

 B. n. B. [246 



Nickel extraction. — Prat and Laroche of Bor- 

 deaux add powdered nickel ore to a bath of sul- 

 phuric acid 515° to 66° Baum^: on stirring the mass it 

 becomes heated, and in half an hour it is nearly solid. 

 The soluble salts of the metals, thus formed, are 

 leached out with boiling water. From this solution. 



oxalate of nickel Is formed by boiling with oxalic 

 acid ; the precipitated oxalate of nickel is boiled with 

 caustic soda, yielding oxide of nickel and oxalate of 

 soda. The oxalic acid is recovered from the latter 

 salt. — {Enfj. min. journ., June 2.) E. ii. R. [247 

 The Doetsh copper extraction process. — This 

 process has been in use by the Rio Tinto mine for 

 some years. The ore is crushed to .4 inch in size, and 

 piled in heaps forty-five feet wide, with suitable chan- 

 nels at the bottom, and vertical draught-holes. About 

 two per cent of salt is sprinkled over the top. A 

 basin thirty feet square is made on the top of the 

 heap, and the regenerated liquors from the last oper- 

 ation are run into it. The dissolved and leached 

 copper is precipitated by scrap iron, the iron liquors 

 remaining are regenerated by sprinkling them down 

 through a coke tower, while mixed chlorine and hy- 

 drochloric acid are forced upward. — (Eny. min. 

 journ., July 14.) K. H. R. [248 



MINERALOGY. 



Picro-epidote. — MM. Damourand Des Cloizeaux 

 have investigated a gray crystalline mineral from 

 Lake Baikal, and found it closely related to epidole 

 in crystalline form and optical properties. A com- 

 plete chemical analysis was not made; but qualita- 

 tive tests proved it to be a silicate of alumina and 

 magnesia, with only a trace of calcium. It is sup- 

 posed to be a magnesium epidote, and the name 

 'picro-epidote' is proposed for it. — {Bull. soc. min., 

 vi. 23.) s. L. P. [249 



Jeremeieffite. — A new mineral from the Soktoui, 

 south-east of Adun-Tschilon in western Siberia, has 

 been described by M. Damour. It occurs in nearly 

 colorless, transparent, hexagonal prisms, thus resem- 

 bling some varieties of beryl and apatite. Hardness, 

 6.5; specific gravity, 3 28. Qualitative analysis proved 

 it to be essentially a borate of alumina. Before the 

 blowpipe it is infusible, loses its transparency, and 

 colors the flame green (boron); with cobalt solution, 

 it assumes a blue color. It is insoluble in acids, 

 except after strong ignition, when sulphuric acid dis- 

 solves it. Chemical analysis yielded BjO^, by dif- 

 ference (40.19) . AI.2O, (55.03) . FeoO, (4.08) . K, O 

 (0.70) = 100%, from which the formula (Al, Fe)., BjOfi 

 is derived. It is named after the Russian mining 

 engineer, Mr. Jeremejew. — {Bull. soc. min., vi. 20.) 

 s. L. p. [250 



METEOROLOGY. 



Bavarian meteorology. — The quarterly publica- 

 tions of the meteorological stations in Bavaria deserve 

 special mention for the model way in which the ob- 

 servations are recorded, and for the excellent dis- 

 cussions which accompany them. The concluding 

 number of the series for 1882 contains a monograph 

 by Dr. Lang upon the observations at Munich for 

 sixty-seven years. Among the results reached is that 

 the mean pressure for any day can be better obtained 

 by taking the mean of the observations at six a.m., 

 two and ten p.m., than by any otliei- of the eight dif- 

 ferent combinations tested. The mean of the maxi- 

 mum and minimum for the day gives in general 

 nearly as good a result. Similarly of the tempera- 



