40 DR. R. ANGUS SMITH ON THE EXAMINATION 



This process was used by Messrs. Chapman and Miles 

 Smith. I shall not attempt here to give the exact amount 

 of honour due to those gentlemen^ or to tell precisely the 

 boundaries of their labour. 



The result seems to be^ that the nitrogen may be ob- 

 tained without the trouble of the organic analysis^ although 

 it may be uncertain which process takes the longest time. 



Mr. Wanklyn considers that he can^ by his method^ 

 first remove the ammonia which exists as such, by boiling 

 with carbonate of soda; next, by decomposing the albu- 

 men with permanganate of potash and boiling in the 

 caustic potash, obtain the ammonia resulting from the 

 decomposition. This is a decided gain to us, and may 

 turn out to be the mode of separating the ammonia of the 

 putrescible and unputrescible organic bodies. 



We are rather apt, when we find a method of analysis, 

 to look at it as final. I shall endeavour to show how 

 much we obtain by Dr. Frankland^s method, and how 

 much by Prof. Wanklyn's. I shall perhaps also, as in 

 such cases, be inclined to show that my own method 

 reveals a greater amount of the peculiarities of water. 

 It makes more divisions, is more complicated therefore in 

 one respect ; but every point tells its own tale, and it is 

 the number of tales we have to tell regarding the history 

 of water that measures the fulness of our reports. I shall 

 probably adopt all the methods for a time. 



In the paper mentioned I pointed out the error of sup- 

 posing that organic matter was all equally unwholesome, 

 or that it was, in all cases, even in the slightest degree so. 

 It was the custom too much to confound the simplest 

 peaty and the most noxious putrescible matter. On this 

 subject I may here quote the paper. 



" Quality of the Organic Matter. 

 "AVater manifestly containing organized matter is to be 



