June 7, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



449 



— The Political Science Quarterly for June, 1889, opens with a 

 study of " Municipal Government in Great Britain," by Albert Shaw 

 of the Minneapolis Tribimc. The article is based on prolonged 

 and direct investigation, and goes behind the legal institutions to 

 show their actual working. J. Hampden Dougherty describes the 

 movements of the last forty years for amendment of the New York 

 State Constitution, discussing especially the various projects for 

 the reform of our city government. Frederick W. Whitridge 

 writes on " Rotation in Office," advocating a repeal of the four 

 years' law, which he regards as the basis of the spoils system. E. 

 P. Cheyney of Pennsylvania University criticises from a social and 

 economic point of view the decisions of the American courts on 

 conspiracy and boycott cases. Professor J. W. Jenks of Knox 

 College, Illinois, gives a history of the whiskey trust, and its effect 

 on prices. The number contains the usual reviews, by specialists, 

 of recent economic and political literature, and a record of political 

 events continued from the last record published in the New Prince- 

 ton Review. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



A New Chemical Experiment 



(which it would not be well to repeat very often). 



Lately, in my lecture to my class on phosphorus and its com- 

 pounds, I made hydric phosphide in the usual way, by boiling 

 phosphorus in a strong solution of potassic hydrate. That the 

 class might see that phosphorus melted in an alkaline solution 

 would remain in a liquid state after the solution had cooled, I left 

 the pint flask containing the solution in stain quo until the next 

 recitation. I had done the same repeatedly, but never before 

 leaving it for so long a time as on this occasion, — from Friday 

 until Monday. On entering the lecture-room on Monday morn- 

 ing, I observed the flask, and remarked, " All right, the phos- 

 phorus is still in a liquid condition ; " and, mechanically taking 

 up the flask, I gave it a slight shake, when it immediately exploded 

 with a loud report, shattering the flask into minute fragments, 

 and scattering its contents in every direction ; the phosphorus, 

 fortunately, instantly solidifying. So, save a slight cut on the 

 wrist, I escaped without injury. It would be interesting to know 

 if any one else ever experienced a like explosion, and the probable 

 explanation of the explosion. A possible explanation is, that the 

 gas had by adhesion become condensed around the phosphorus as 

 the solution cooled, and that, the slight shake overcoming the 

 adhesion, there was a rapid evolution of the gas. It would not be 

 advisable to repeat the experiment without the face and hands and 

 clothing were well protected. In this connection I would urge 

 that it would be well if chemists, on noticing any like dangerous 

 phenomena not laid down in the text-books, would publish the fact 

 for the benefit of the brotherhood, to prevent serious accidents. 



I well remember how near I came meeting with a serious acci- 

 dent from the explosion of a large piece of sodium thrown upon 

 water ; the old text-books, written when the price of sodium was as 

 great as for potassium, thus rendering the former too expensive to 

 use except in very small quantities, stating that sodium would not 

 take fire like potassium. The explosion of sodium has resulted in 

 the devising of that most brilliant of all chemical experiments, 

 the ice-volcano. 



It is not, perhaps, generally known that iodide of nitrogen, if left 

 standing in aqua ammonia for twenty-four hours, will explode while 

 wet ; and even when freshly prepared, if partially dried and then 

 scattered over the surface of a tank of water, it will for hours after 



repeatedly explode on slightly agitating the water. Many years 

 ago I devised a method of exploding with safety a mixture of phos- 

 phorus and potassic chlorate, which I give for the benefit of the 

 young experimenter. Place powdered potassic chlorate (no more 

 than will cover a nickel, if exploded within doors) upon a board, 

 and wet it with a solution of phosphorus in carbon disulphide (an 

 inch of phosphorus will dissolve in an ounce and a half of carbon 

 disulphide in a few minutes). In. from five to ten minutes, or as 

 soon as the mixture is dry, touch it with a long pole, or even stamp 

 heavily on the floor, and a loud explosion will result. 



A quantity sufficient to cover a dollar out in the air will shatter a 

 thick plank, and make considerable of a hole in the ground. I 

 have never experimented with large Quantities, but presume that 

 rocks might be thus shattered. J. R. Eaton. 



Liberty, Mo., June i. 



Relative Frequency of Letters and Combinations. 



In a recent number of the Phonographic World a correspond- 

 ent asks, " In English composition, (i) what is the relative fre- 

 quency of the occurrence of the various letters of the alphabet ; (2) 

 in what proportion does each letter precede and follow each other 

 letter of the alphabet ; and (3) what syllables occur the most.'" 



In answer to the first question, it may be stated that in a font of 

 type for printer's use, as supplied by type-founders, the different 

 letters are usually supplied in about the following proportion : e, 

 1,200; /, 900; z', 865; a, 850; «, o, and s, 800 each ; h, 640; r, 

 620 ; f, 450 ; d, 440 ; /, 400 ; Ji, 340 ; c and in, 300 each ; w and/, 

 200 each ; g and /, 170 each ; b, 160 ; v, 120 ; k,%o; g, 50 ; j and 

 X, 40 each ; 3, 20. 



Some years ago I undertook to analyze 10,000 words of every- 

 day English, from the editorial columns of twenty leading dailies, 

 500 words from each, selected from articles in which no undue 

 prominence appeared to be given to any particular word. My ob- 

 ject was to ascertain what combinations of two or more letters 

 occurred with greatest frequency. My eyesight failed before my 

 task was half completed ; but the result of my labors, as far as 

 they went, may be of interest in connection with the foregoing 

 questions. In 3,500 words, as far as my analysis extended, I 

 found that two-letter combinations occurred as follows : — 



Times. Times. Times. Times, 

 th 60s IS 175 as Ill me 89 



94 be- 

 93 1<= • 



This, of course, does not answer the questions asked, but the 

 material furnished may be of some assistance to the inquirer, should 

 he wish to pursue the subject further. 



It may be added, that, in the number of words mentioned, the 

 word the occurred 250 times; of, 180 times; and, 144 times ; to, 

 79 times; and in, 74 times. 918 words occurred only once each, 

 163 twice, and 65 three times. The three-letter combination the 

 (in there, them, etc., as well as alone) occurred 400 times ; and, 

 172 times; ing, 114 times. 



A very suggestive point to type-writer manufacturers and in- 

 ventors is the fact that in all these words the letter z occurred but 

 8 times, while th occurred 605 times, and the, 400 times. 



H. J. T. 



N ew York, June 4. 



INDUSTRIAL NOTES. 



A New Photographic Lens. 



The Messrs. Beck have just turned out of their factory, and 

 Morris Earle & Co., 1016 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, have re- 

 ceived from them, a new combination of their excellent lenses 

 whereby one Iris diaphragm tube is adapted to carry three differ- 

 ent sets of lenses, so that a photographer can take 4x 5, 4I x6+, 

 and 5x8 views by means of adapting the three sets of lenses. 

 Messrs. Earle & Co. have also recently received a new four-inch 



rectilinear, with Iris diaphragm, from the same firm, — the smallest 

 lens they have ever turned out for photographers' purposes. This 

 is meant to take lantern-slide negatives particularly, and is one of 

 the finest lenses ever received from them. 



A Beautiful Portfolio of Paintings in Water Colors. 

 The manufacturers of the well-known Scott's emulsion of cod- 

 liver-oil are issuing the most beautiful portfolio of eight artistic 

 studies (birds and flowers) that has ever come under our notice. 

 This work is worth at least two dollars, but iSIessrs. Scott & 

 Bowne, with their usual enterprise, have made arrangements 



