Decembeb 14, 1900. ] 



SCIENCE. 



931 



bility so to do, I then ask for a modicum of such 

 proofs, and failing in this, and, in view of the 

 fact that I am just completing the proof sheets 

 for the second edition (since March) of my book, 

 I should deem it in the light of a personal kind- 

 ness as well if he would favor me with the 

 evidence of one or more such errors, naming 

 paragraph and page. 



As to any further animadversion upon my 

 work, I am willing to leave its merits to the 

 just judgment of the reading public and my 

 colaborers in the field of practical penology 

 rather than to the dictum of the study and the 

 essay of theorists at long range. 



August Dkahms. 



San Quentin, Cal. 



At Mr. Drahms's request I have rapidly 

 turned over the pages of his book and noted 

 down a few of the liberties taken with the 

 names of authors quoted or referred to : — Tay- 

 lor (for Tylor), passim; Gait (for Gall) p. 22; 

 Von Homel (for Van Hamel) p. 23 ; Ferrer, 

 (for Ferrero)/)assi?n; Tamborini (for Tamburini) 

 p. 46, Tyndale (for Tyndall) p. 51 ; Masso (for 

 Mosso) p. 69 ; Gradinger (for Gradenigo) p. 78 ; 

 Berdier (for Bordier) p. 87 ; Herman Schaaf- 

 hausen (for Hermann SchaafFhausen) p. 95 ; Le- 

 lart (for L61ert) p. 105 ; Weissmann (for Weis- 

 mann) passim/ Thompson (for Thomson) p. 138 ; 

 Delboef (forDelboeuf) p. 319 ; Frey (for Fry) p_ 

 334. It would be easy, but is probably unnec- 

 essary, to enlarge this list very considerably. 

 Some of the names are so changed that it is 

 hazardous to identify them, more especially since 

 Mr. Drahms seldom supplies definite references. 

 When he does they are sometimes remarkable. 

 Thus I find (p. 95) a reference to Ecker given 

 as 'Crania Germanice,' Merid. Occid., Freib. 

 i. p.'; it may interest Mr. Drahms to know that 

 this being interpreted, means ' Crania Germanise 

 meridionalis occidentalis, Freiburg, i/Br.' 



Mr. Drahms will, I hope, believe me when I 

 say that the other statements in my review may 

 be as fully proved as that to which he takes 

 special exception. He is mistaken in thinking 

 that I wish to ' attack ' his book ; I have no 

 desire whatever to judge him hastily. But he 

 has chosen to challenge examination of his book 

 as a 'scientific study,' and he must not feel 



aggrieved when it is submitted to very elemen- 

 tary tests of scientific precision. 



Havelock Ellis. 

 Lblant, Coenwall. 



NOTES ON INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 



The use of acetylene in the blast lamp has 

 been tested by many experimenters, and it has 

 been found possible to obtain easily a heat at 

 which gold can be readily fused. In the Oc- 

 tober Moniteur Scientifique, G. L. Bourgerel has 

 described experiments in replacing air in the 

 acetylene blast lamp with oxygen. When 

 pure oxygen is used the flame becomes highly 

 luminous and deposits carbon in very compact 

 form, much resembling gas carbon. When, 

 however, a mixture of air and oxygen is used 

 with acetylene, the gas is completely burned, 

 and it was found possible to obtain a temper- 

 ature high enough to fuse platinum. There 

 would seem to be no particular practical ad- 

 vantage in the use of this flame over the com- 

 monly used oxygen-coal-gas blast lamp. 



Hydrogen tellurid was discovered by Davy, 

 in 1810, by the action of hydrochloric acid on 

 sodium tellurid, but the gas has never been 

 obtained pure, and beyond its odor and its 

 instability comparatively little has been known 

 of its properties. The problem has been taken 

 up by Dr. Edmund Ernyei, of Budapest, and 

 his results are described in the last number 

 ■of the Zeitschrift fiir anorganische Chemie. After 

 testing several methods, the best was found to 

 be the electrolysis of 50 per cent, sulfuric acid 

 by a 220 volt current with a tellurium kathode. 

 The apparatus was kept at a temperature of 

 — -15° to — 20° and the evolved gas dried imme- 

 diately over calcium chlorid and phosphorus 

 pentoxid. It was then condensed by the use 

 of liquid carbon dioxid, and formed orange- 

 yellow crystals which melt at — 54° to a green- 

 ish yellow liquid. This hydrogen tellurid 

 proved to be practically pure. Its boiling 

 point is slightly above 0°, but it decomposes 

 quite rapidly below this temperature into tel- 

 lurium and hydrogen. It is quite soluble in 

 water, but its solution decomposes on contact 

 with the air. In caustic alkalies it dissolves, 

 forming alkaline tellurids, which decompose 

 readily, and on standing these become dark 



