Foreign Literature and Science. 189 



42. Observations upon some properties of sulphur ; by 

 M. Dumas. — It is known that melted sulphur becomes thick- 

 er, the higher the temperature is raised, that just before boil- 

 ing, it becomes more fluid, and that its color constantly advan- 

 ces to a reddish brown ; that, finally, being suddenly cooled, 

 when it has been strongly heated, it is soft and transparent, 

 until the moment when it crystallizes. The only remark 

 which M. Dumas appears to make, is, that it is not necessa- 

 ry to keep the sulphur hot a long time, but only to raise it to 

 the necessary temperature, and to cool it suddenly, by divi- 

 ding it, to reduce it to a soft state. — Ibid. 



(Communicated by Dr. William Meade.) 



43. Death of the Hon. George Knox. — We are concerned 

 to have to announce in this Journal the death of the Right 

 Honorable George Knox, F. R. S. and president of the 

 Kirwanian Society of Dublin, who in making a scientific 

 tour in the Tyrol last summer, was unfortunately overturned 

 in his carriage, by which accident, he was deprived of his 

 life, to the great regret of his numerous friends and ac- 

 quaintance, by whom he was sincerely esteemed for his ma- 

 ny amiable qualities. But by the friends of science in par- 

 ticular, his premature decease will be severely felt ; few 

 gentlemen of his high rank, have cultivated the sciences of 

 Chemistry and Mineralogy, in all their branches with more 

 zeal and ardor than Mr. Knox. The Transactions of the 

 Royal Society of London, contain many of his papers on 

 Analytical Chemistry. In one of their late journals, in partic- 

 ular, we have observed an ingenious essay of his, on the anal- 

 ysis of certain minerals, proving the existence of bitumen 

 in several of those where it had not been previously suspect- 

 ed, and pointing out, from this circumstance, the probable 

 cause of those discordant results, which have appeared in 

 the Analytical enquiries of different Chemists on the same 

 substances. 



44. Portable Gas. — The lamps for portable gas are of 

 all shapes and sizes ; they are all of malleable iron, and, 

 when placed in a room, are put into bronze or other cases, 

 which combine the useful with the ornamental ; the price is 

 three farthings a cubic foot ; and, we should suppose that a 

 lamp, containing twenty cubic feet, would give light equal 

 to that of two candles for a week, and burn five or six hours 



