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been compared to a practice used in the laundry, of spitting 

 upon a hot smoothing-iron to ascertain whether it was 

 sufficiently hot. Mr. West having brought to a red heat 

 a small platina dish, let fall upon it a few drops of water, 

 which did not pass of as steam, but continued to roll about 

 the vessel like large globules of quicksilver, although heated 

 much beyond the boiling point of water. Immediately, how- 

 ever, on allowing the platina cup to cool a little, the whole 

 of the water passed off in a state of steam. Mr. West 

 proposed to call these the adherent and the non-adherent 

 states, in place of the terms spheroidal, used by M. Bou- 

 tigny. Another experiment was in a boiler, with a cork 

 placed in it, instead of a safety valve. The boiler was 

 first made red hot, and water was poured into it, which 

 remained without apparent change ; but immediately on 

 taking the boiler from the fire, and allowing it to cool, the 

 whole of the water was converted into steam, driving out 

 the cork with a violent explosion, and causing an escape 

 of the whole of the steam contained in it. The third ex- 

 periment was the conversion of water into ice in a red 

 hot vessel. Liquid sulphurious acid, and water, were 

 poured at the same time into the red hot capsule ; the 

 water, prevented from contact with the vessel by the great 

 heat, was cooled by the evaporation of the acid, and im- 

 mediately converted into ice. These experiments by Mr. 

 West excited a high degree of interest, and were performed 

 with great skill and adroitness. 



The Rev. Dr. Scoresby rose to mention a circumstance 

 in illustration of the paper and experiments of Mr. West. 

 It was an eruption of Mount Etna^ from which an immense 

 quantity of liquid lava flowed down towards a lake, in the 

 presence of a number of spectators. When the lava came 

 very near the lake, the people all fled, expecting an explosion ; 

 but, to the surprise of all, it went in quietly, and produced 



