188 
of some organic compound of nickel. The 
color of the yellow barite of Cumberland is 
caused by a hydrated ferric oxid. While some 
of the conclusions of the article may not be 
as certain as the authors believe, it is one of 
the best worked-out papers which has appeared 
on the subject. 
A CAREFUL study of the precipitated sulfids 
of antimony is given hy Otto Klenker in 
the Journal fiir praktische Chemie. The pre- 
cipitate by hydrogen sulfid from solutions of 
quinquivalent antimony varies in color from 
light or dark brown to red and orange; from 
acid or neutral solutions it is flaky, settles 
easily and when dry is electric and not hygro- 
scopic; from alkaline solutions it is fine and 
does not settle, when dry is very hygroscopic 
but not electric. Its composition is always 
variable, being a mixture of Sb.S;, Sb.S; and 
free sulfur. From a strongly alkaline solution 
no Sb,§; is precipitated, but this increases until 
a maximum of Sb.S; (over 95%) is present when 
the solution contains 12% free hydrochloric 
acid. If the acid increases above this the 
amount of Sb.S; diminishes owing to its solubility 
in strong hydrochloric acid. Ina hot acid so- 
lution no Sb.S; is formed, differing thus from 
quinquivalent arsenic solutions which are com- 
pletely precipitated as As,S, from hot acid solu- 
tions. When the mixed precipitate of antimony 
sulfids and sulfur is dissolved in caustic soda 
the reaction for trivalent antimony is not given 
with ammoniatal silver solution, as the alkaline 
solution of mixed Sb,S; and S, acts as Sb.S;. 
On the other hand, if the free sulfur is previously 
removed with carbon bisulfid the reaction is 
obtained. Sb,S; is, however, not decomposed 
appreciably under 100° by carbon bisulfid or 
any other solvent of sulfur. 
PAUL BouRCET has proposed in the Comptes 
Rendus a new method for the estimation of 
iodin in organic matter, which consists in fus- 
ing the substance with caustic potash, neutral- 
izing with sulfuric acid and freeing from other 
salts by repeated precipitations with alcohol. 
The iodin is liberated in the presence of car- 
bon bisulfid by nitrous acid vapors and esti- 
mated colorimetrically. The quantity of iodin 
in a large number of different kinds of fish was 
SCIENCE, 
[N. S. Von. X. No. 241. 
determined and found to vary from nearly two 
milligrams per kilo in clupea harengus, and 1.4 
mg. in salmo salar, down to 0.3 mg. in mer- 
langus vulgaris, scomber scombrus, esox Lucius, 0.2 
mg. in raia clavata, and 0.1 mg. in truita marina. 
In the course of investigations on the effect 
of low temperatures upon steel it has been 
found by F. Ormond that nickel steels, if non- 
magnetic to begin with, acquire magnetic prop- 
erties after five minute’s immersion in liquid 
air. If most of the nickel is replaced by man- 
ganese the same is true. Carbon steel with 
1.4 to 1.6 per cent. carbon, after being immersed 
in liquid air and then brought back to ordi- 
nary temperature, is found to be profoundly 
modified. There is an increase in magnetic 
permeability and in permanent magnetism, and 
the density is decreased from 7.798 to 7.692. 
The polish upon a surface disappears. 
Voi db, Jel 
BOTANICAL NOTES. 
SPRUCE AND PINE FORESTS OF WEST VIRGINIA. 
In an interesting bulletin (No. 56) of the 
West Virginia Experiment Station, Professor 
Hopkins reports the results of an investigation 
of the cause of the unhealthy conditions of the 
spruce and pine of that State, and incidently 
gives us a good deal of information regarding 
its spruce and pine forests. The spruce (appar- 
ently Picea rubens Sargent) is a tall, straight 
tree, two to three feet in diameter, and more 
than one hundred feet in height. It is abun- 
dant at and above 3,000 feet above sea level, and 
is seldom found below 2,300 feet, and reaches its 
highest development in the region about the 
headwaters of the Cheat, Valley, Greenbrier, 
Elk and Gauley Rivers. In this region it com- 
monly grows on a soil which is described as 
‘little else than a mass of broken stones, which 
is literally filled with water at all seasons of the 
year.’’ After studying the problem carefully, 
Professor Hopkins concludes that the area 
originally covered by spruce forests included 
all of the higher elevations of the Appalachian 
range that rise above 2,400 feet, or, in other 
words, about 2,000,000 acres, and on this area 
‘one-half of the timber was probably spruce.’ 
The author discusses the reduction of this 
original forest area, and concludes that ‘‘ the 
