Nature of the so-called Elements. 97 
Following out these views, I some time since communicated 
a paper to the Society on the spectrum of calcium, to which I 
shall refer more expressly in the sequel. 
Differentiation of the Phenomena to be observed on the two 
Hypotheses. 
When the reductions of the observations made on metallic 
mentary, had landed me in the state of utter confusion to 
which I have already referred, I at once made up my mind to 
Spectroscopic result ? : 
A in both cases will have a spectrum of its own ; 
as an impurity will add its lines according to the amount 
_ of impurity, as I have shown in previous paper 
4 an element will add its lines according to the amount 
ular groupings, then the longest lines at one temperature will 
not be the longest at another, the whole fabric of “impurity 
elimination,” based upon the assumed single molecular group- 
ng, falls to pieces, and the origin of the basic lines is at once 
evident, 
This may be rendered clearer by some general considerations 
of another order. 
General Considerations. 
Let us assume a series of furnaces A 
A is the hottest. : 
Let us further assume that in A there exists a substance a 
D, of which 
