' SCIENTIFIC. NEWS. g\ \ 



and he conceives it not impossible, that the particles carried 

 up from our furnaces may contribute in some degree to their 

 formation. 



Messrs. Descotils and Hassenfratz too have been examin- Sparry iron 

 ing the sparry iron ores ; and the former ascribes the infu- ° res ' 

 sibility of some of them to magnesia, which the latter de- 

 nies. Mr. Lelievre has described a mineral, that has been A carbonate of 



hitherto confounded with the iron spars, which he finds to ™ an § a " ese co "' 



• j. r iL ! in .-, . founded with 



consist of more than half oxide of manganese, near one them. 



third carbonic acid, only eight per -cent of iron, and two 

 and half per cent of lime. He has likewise described a 

 .^tone, which he found in the island of Elba. This con- 

 tains more than half oxide of iron, a little oxide of man- 

 ganese*, and the rest is silex and lime. Its crystalline nu- 

 cleus is a prism with a rhombic base, its colour black and 

 ©pake, its hardness a little inferior to that of feldtspar, its ' 

 specific gravity 4. Mr. L. has named ityenite, from one of Yenite. 

 the most memorable events of this century. [From the 

 battle of Jena we presume ; a mode of composing new names, 

 in which we trust he will be followed by few of the real 

 friends of science.] 



Mr. Baraillon having discovered some ancient pewter Ancient pewter, 

 vessels in digging among the ruins of the Roman town of 

 Neris, near Montlucon, they were analysed by Mr. An f rye, 

 inspector general of assays at the mint, and found to con- 

 tain thirty-five per cent of lead. 



To the different modes of freeing alum from iron Mr. Se- Method of fYee- 

 guin has added another, founded on its difference of solu-! n S alum from 

 bility when contaminated with iron, and when pure. By" **" 

 dissolving sixteen parts of common alum in twenty-four of 

 Water, and crystallizing, he obtains fourteen parts of alum 

 as pure as the Roman, and two nearly the same with that 

 of Liege. This process might be adopted in the first in. 

 81 mce in manufacturing alum, so as to enhance its value 

 one third. 



1^ is known, that count Rumford adheres to the old the- Heat a ▼ibratory 

 ory of heat being simply a vibratory motion of the particles mot i°»- 

 of bodies. As a strong objection to this has been adduced 

 the production of heat by condensation, as if some sub- 

 5 stancft 



