Chemistry and Physves. 457 
M. Dehérain with porous vessels, to which the academy accorded 
one of its highest rewards. In a word the cuticular respiration 
a decomposing power greater than that of the lower surface 
covered with these minute apertures.— Comptus Rendus, 1xxvii, 
427, August, 1873. ° B. 0; P. 
8. Relation between the atomic weight, the specific gravity and 
the hardiness of the metallic elements.—M. 8. Bortone was led on 
theoretical grounds to admit that the natural measure of the hard- 
ness of any metallic element was the s ecifie gravity divided by 
the atomic weight ; and this conclusion seems verified by experl- 
ment. Taking as a measure of the hardness, the time required by 
a steel plunger with a uniform rotary motio 
metal to a certain depth, he found numbers, as the following table 
shows, which differ from theory only by amounts comparable with 
the errors of observation: 
Spec. Grav. Atomic Wt. Cale. Expt. 
Manganese - - - ---- 8°01 55:0 1457 1456 
obalti: hi 5 aS 58'8 "1446 "1450 
Niekel 8°28 58°8 ‘1408 1410 
teh Se Sa 56'0 1375 1375 
Chinger 20. co 2, 8°66 63°4 1364 1360 
Palladium __-.---- 11°8 106°6 1107 1200 
Platinum _...---- 21°5 197°4 -1090 1107 
MMe 4g So ee 0 65°2 1077 1077 
Pada oss Coe Ea 72°8 74°0 09838 “0984 
Bes pte ce ep 19°3 197°0 “0980 0979 
Rilwer oe oe 10°4 108°0 0963 0990 
Aluminum .-.-. --- 2°25 274 0821 0821 
Cadmiom oo 30 ioe 6 112°0 “0768 0760 
Magnesium .-. ---- 1°74 24°0 0726 0726 
Ma 118°0 0619 0651 
Thalliaia oc 68 11°86 204°2 0574 0565 
ee Para Pape 11°38 207°0 0550 0570 
oa ee 328 0°93 23°3 “0401 0400 
Caliitin 6 1°58 4 0394 0405 
Potassium ..----- 0°86 39°1 0221 0230 
Diamonds 6c 42. 12-0 2917 3010 
20. Cc. Pe 
of Cyclones and Rain fall in connection with 
e recent meeting of the British 
1847 to 1873, 237 such storms are 
showa marked preponderance during t 
