RESEARCHES UPON THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF GASES. 233 



in composition between natural gas and coal gas would greatly simplify the problem 

 of origin, and the fact of such similarity would prove of great interest. In this con- 

 nection, the following analysis of gas from Westphalian coal, carried out in the lab- 

 oratory of the Westphalian Berggewerkschaftskasse in Bochnm, will be of interest. 

 I am indebted to Mr. Bergassessor E. Krablei', of Bochum, for the figures which he 

 has kindly communicated by letter. 



1. 2. 



Hydrocarbons, CxHy 5 4 



Methane > 45 35 



Hydrogen 40 50 



CO 5 5 



CO2 1 3 



Nitrogen 4 3 



The large percentage of hydrogen and the proportion of CO in this gas illustrate at 

 once the results of high temperature in the production of the coal gas, but a similarity 

 between this coal gas and natural gas can hardly be said to exist. 



When vegetable remains are buried under water, as is well known, decomposi- 

 tion occurs, yielding gas in considerable quantity. 



Tappeiner {Ber.^ 1883, p. 1734) has studied the products of this change very 

 exhaustively. 



Pm"e cellulose (filter paper) was found, under the influence of a microbe which 

 was supplied with nutritive fluids, to dissolve in water, yielding gas mixtures of two 

 different types. 



UNDER WATER OP NEUTRAL UNDER SLIGHTLY ALKA- 



REACTION. LINE WATER. 



AT BEGINNING. AT END. 



Carbon dioxide ) 



> 85.48 per cent. 76.98 per cent. 55.39 per cent. 



Hydrogen sulphide ^ 



Hydrogen 0.0 " 0.0 " 42.71 



Methane 11.86 " 23.01 " 0.0 



Nitrogen 3.73 " 0.0 " 1.90 



From these experiments it appears that, by the action of a microbe, either 

 methane and carbon dioxide (neutral fluid), or hydrogen and carbon dioxide (alka- 

 line fluid) may result. Hoppeseyler {Ber., 1883, p. 122) found that gas evolved in 

 the decay of cellulose under the influence of a microbe (marsh-gas fermentation) 

 contained : 



Carbon dioxide 50 per cent. 



Methane 45 " 



Hydrogen 4 " 



