546 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 118. 



for the discovery of helium and his share 

 in the investigation of argon. 



The last Proceedings of the Chemical 

 Society contain a further study in spectro- 

 graphic analysis by W. N. Hartley and H. 

 Eamage. The alums are found to contain 

 all the alkalies as well as copper, silver, 

 gallium, thallium, nickel and manganese. 

 Of these the thallium comes from the 

 pyrites, but the other elements from the 

 aluminous minerals, bauxite and shale. 

 The Stassfurt minerals were found to con- 

 tain no rubidium, cesium, gallium or 

 thallium, and only barest traces of elements 

 other than the principal ones composing the 

 minerals. Steel (from Middlesborough) 

 contained the alkali metals, calcium, cop- 

 per, silver, gallium, manganese and lead. 

 It is pointed out that this method of spec- 

 trographic analysis might lead to results of 

 practical importance in the study of railroad 

 steels, as copper, (?) silver, gallium and lead 

 have not been considered in dealing with 

 commercial irons, and their influence upon 

 the physical properties is unknown. 



The Gazzetta Chimica Italiana contains an 

 article by U. AntonyandT. Benelli ontheac- 

 tion of water of various degrees of purity on 

 lead pipes. The greatest solvent action was 

 in the case of distilled water, especially when 

 saturated with air. Aeration with carbon 

 dioxid retarded the action one- half. Water 

 containing calcium sulfate or sodium sul- 

 fate possesses about one-half the solvent 

 power of pure water, and the action here also 

 was much retarded by aeration with carbon 

 dioxid. Bicarbonate of lime had only 

 about one-fourth the solvent power of pure 

 water, but when aerated by carbon dioxid 

 its action was nearly doubled. Common 

 salt had little action except in the presence 

 of carbon dioxid, and seemed to often 

 slightly diminish the solvent powers of 

 other salts. These results are rather at 

 variance with the generally accepted ideas 



and seem to show that waters with perma- 

 nent hardness would be seriously contami- 

 nated by passage through lead pipes and 

 ordinary hard waters only somewhat less so. 

 The maximum amount of lead dissolved 

 was 130 parts per million, for five days con- 

 tact of 150 ccm. ordinary distilled water 

 with 285 sq. cm. lead ; the minimum 6.8 

 parts per million for water containing so- 

 dium chlorid and aerated with air. 



In the same number of the Gazzetta Pro- 

 fessors Antony and A. Lucchesi describe 

 the reaction of an excess of mercurous chlo- 

 rid on auric chlorid with the production 

 of the characteristic color of purple of Cas- 

 sius. Similar results are obtained with 

 cuprous chlorid and the chlorid of gold. 

 When barium sulfate and mercurous 

 chlorid are suspended in water and auric 

 chlorid added, the barium sulfate takes up 

 the gold and becomes the color of the pur- 

 ple of Cassius. From these experiments 

 the authors conclude that the true purple 

 of Cassius is not a definite compound, but 

 merely stannic acid mechanically colored 

 with metallic gold. J. L. H. 



SCIENTIFia NOTES AND NEWS. 



THE THREATENED LEGISLATION AGAINST SCI- 

 ENCE AND EDUCATION. 



The Ways and Means Committee of the 

 House, either convinced by argument or coerced 

 by the force of public opinion, has retracted 

 the duty on scientific apparatus and books im- 

 ported for institutions in cases in which the 

 apparatus and books are not manufactured in 

 the United States. It is satisfactory to find that 

 the committee is willing to reconsider its ill- 

 advised action, even though it has but partially 

 corrected its blunders. The provision imposing 

 a duty on instruments and books also manufac- 

 tured in the United States is ambiguous and will 

 cause endless confusion. If the Encj^clopfedia 

 Britannica is pirated in America will that pre- 

 vent its importation for a library ? If a micro- 

 scope is manufactured in America will that 

 prevent the importation of all instruments 



