350 Foreign Literature and Science. 
occurs in scales, and sometimes fibrous. Their nature was 
ascertained by D. Gioacchino Azzorto, of Messina.” 
Brande’s Journal, 16th No. 
New method of preparing the Purple of Cassius.—The 
Count de Maistre says, that placing a sequin in contact with 
mercury, at one of its surfaces, and twenty-four hours after 
fusing it with an equal weight of tin, an alloy was obtained, 
which was fusible in boiling resin. Afterwards triturating 
this alloy with pure caustic magnesia in a mortar, a powder 
was obtained of a very fine purple colour.” Ibid. 
“ Fulminating Gold——Count de Maistre also describes a 
fulminating gold, obtained by pouring a small quantity of 
solution of gold into red wine, (Bordeaux,) a sediment form- 
ed, which, when dried, and placed on burning charcoal, in 
an iron capsule, exploded.” Thid. 
“© New Alkali.—M.M. Pelletier, and Caventon, have dis- 
covered a new alkali in the seeds of the Veratium Sabadilla; 
it is crystallizable, and extremely acrimonious.” Ibid. 
‘*Mr. Donovan has published in the Annals of Philos. 
asertes of experiments on the compounds of mercury. They re- 
late to the chemical constitution of these compounds, and 
the proportion of their elements ; but are concluded by an 
examination of the common mercurial ointment, and an ac- 
count of a new one.”? From his experiments, Mr. D. “con- 
ceived that by forming a chemical union between fatand oxid 
of mercury, in very small quantity, the same results might 
be obtained ; lard, and black oxid of mercury, were, there- 
fore, kept at the temperature of about 350° for two hours, 
continually stirring them. At the end of the process, it 
appeared that every ounce of lard had dissolved, and 
united with twenty-one grains of oxid. This oitment was 
tried on many persons, and found to be as active as the 
common mercurial, containing twelve times the mercury. 
One drachm could be rubbed in completely m from six to 
ten or fifteen minutes, whilst common ointment required 
thirty or forty minutes, and rarely was any eruption produ- 
