﻿76 Scientific Intelligence. 



in the rain which fell during the season, amounted upon a hectare 

 to 4*4 kilograms only : scarcely one-twentieth of that in the soil. 

 The authors hence conclude that the formation of nitrates in 

 plants is an established fact and seems *to result from the special 

 action of a more general function of the cellules, the function 

 which gives rise to oxidations; that is to say, the same function 

 which produces carbonic acid and carbonates, oxalic, tartaric, 

 citric, malic and other peroxygenized acids. The further investi- 

 gation of this function is already in progress at Meudon, — Ann. 

 Chim. Phys., VI, viii, 5-128, May, 1886. g. f. b. 



5. On the earth Ya and Mosanclria. — Among the earths of 

 samarskite which accumulate in the middle fractions, Cbookes 

 has found one (or perhaps a group) giving a well denned phos- 

 phorescent spectrum in the radiant matter tube, consisting of 

 nine bands, of wave-lengths 644*6, 641*5, 618*9, 609*4, 597*0, 

 567*6, 561*3, 549*5 and 540*6. When sufficiently pure, the earth 

 giving this spectrum presents the characteristic properties of that 

 discovered by Marignac and called Ya ; as the author had proved 

 by a comparison of his own material with a sample of Ya sent to 

 him by Marignac. A sample of mosandria, prepared by Law- 

 rence Smith, sent to Crookes by Marignac gave a phosphorescent 

 spectrum showing that it is not a single substance and that it 

 contains the earth yttria. 



In the following paper, Lecoq db Boisbaudran gives the re- 

 sults of his examination of a specimen of impure mosandria from 

 the laboratory of the late Lawrence Smith, sent to him by Dr. 

 Marvin of Louisville, Ky. It contained much didymia and 

 samaria ; and on removing these by fractioning with ammonia, 

 the residue gave brilliantly the electric spectrum of Y^, so that 

 at first thought, the author considered this the purified material 

 which Smith described. Marignac however called his attention 

 to the fact that Smith described mosanclria as a highly colored 

 orange-yellow oxide, while Ya as prepared by Marignac is nearly 

 colorless, and would probably be white if pure. In fact, the 

 earth obtained from the crude mosandria is dark orange-yellow in 

 color and gives the phosphorescent bands Za and Z/?, the latter 

 predominating. Hence it appears probable to the author that the 

 mosandria of Lawrence Smith consists of a mixture of the earths 

 Ya and terbia, the latter in excess ; thus agreeing in opinion with 

 Marignac— C. B., cii, 646-648, March, 1886. g. f. b. 



6. On the Spontaneous Polymerization of volatile Hydrocar- 

 bons at ordinary temperatures. — Sir H. E. Roscoe has called 

 attention to the production of a solid crystalline hydrocarbon 

 C 10 H 12 from the most volatile fraction obtained by decomposing 

 crude phenol at a red heat. This fraction boiled between 20° and 

 40° ; and on standing several weeks was converted into a solid 

 polymer, fusing at 3 -2*9° and distilling at 160° to 170°, though 

 with decomposition. Its sp. gr. was 1*012 at 17*5° and its vapor 

 density was 4*39 and 4*57 in two experiments. It oxidizes to a 

 yellow resin in the air and yields a nitro and a brom-derivative. — 

 Liebig^s Annalen, ccxxxii, 348-352, April, 1886. g. f. b. 



