Chemistry and Physics. 373 



oxidize nitrogen under these circumstances.— Bull. Soc. Ch., II. 

 xxvii, 160, Feb. 187V. g. f. b. 



3. On the Equirah nn ,,/ Mtror/e-H.—VicroK Meter has replied 

 to the paper of Ladenburg and Struve, noticed in the April num- 

 ber of this Journal, and states that he has carefully repeated their 

 experiments, but with an entirely different result." So tar as the 

 question of the decomposition ot triethvlbenzvlammonium iodide 

 and the non-decomposition of benzvhricihvlamnionium iodide on 

 evaporating their solutions, is concerned. Meyer finds that neither 

 hody yields a trace of benzyl iodide on evaporation ; and hence 

 that the "pragnante Unterschied" Let ween these bodies, upon 

 which the assertion of the non-e<;uivalence of the honds of nitrogen 

 rests, has no existence. The author supposes that the salt used l>v 

 Ladenburg and Struve contained some diben/.vldietbvlammonium 

 iodide, a body which gives benzyl iodide on di-tdlation.— Bm 

 Iterl. c/tem. Ges., x, 30V, March, 1877. . g. f. b. 



4. A new metal!''- eh n,e,<t. X< ptuitimn . — II ;:km ass has made an 



he not only claims to have established the existence of his element 



this group, which ! ,-aIU A v /*./.,. Tin mineral worked on 

 ^"as labelled tantalite from Haddam, Connecticut; but proved on 

 examination to be columbite and ferroilmenite in equal parts. 

 The metallic oxides separated from the mineral consisted of Ta„ 

 O g 32-39, Cb 4 7 36-79, I1 4 0, 24"52, N» 4 G, 6 -30. To obtain the 

 neptunium, the pulverized mini - ! was ! i>ed .\ th hydro-potassium 



flu, 



fluoride, and the forty parts boiling water to 



one of fluoride. On cooling, tantalum-potassium fluoride crystal- 

 lized in delicate prisms. On evaporation, columbium-potassium 

 fluoride and ilmen j i i •■■■• — i un : ! io i le crystallized out, leaving 

 an acid mother-liquid. ' This wa- dilut. d wi'th twenty parts water, 

 *~ J x "> boiling and sodium hydrate added in excess. An ainor- 



and boiled with twenty-five parts ot water. 

 The columbate dissol ved. • ; The latter was 



fused with hydro-p. ta«* m i snij h it, . ti ru-d u was treated with 

 boding wa ter ami the undis* > td residue of m ptumc acid washed 

 and dried over sulphuric acid. Xeptunie acid resembles in gen- 

 eral the other acids of the group, but is distinguished lrom eolum- 

 bic and ilmenic acids by tl -odium double 



fluoride and from tantalic acid by the ready solubility of its 

 Potassium double flu ride. Septum, acid gives with ph sphorus 

 salt in the inner blow-pipe flame a wine-yellow bead, the sodium 

 salt a gold-yell.™ ' i,] -' h es 1] " color - colum " 



we acid gives blue and ilm. " ith tincture 



°f galls, the so, I i . ' rochlonc acid a 



sulphur-yellow precipitate with tantalic, orange with columbic, 



