47 
and almost forgotten child of his genius. His first incentive, no 
doubt, was the natural and just desire to claim his right as the real 
discoverer of what Deville, in his ignorance of foreign scientific 
work, quite honestly thought he had been the first to find 
out. This priority dispute came to a very satisfactory issue. 
Deville, after a little pardonable hesitation, bravely acknowledged 
Wohlers priority, and the two henceforth were friends and worked 
together. 
The first fruit of this happy union was a memorable joint re- 
search (published in 1856 and 1857), which led to their discovery 
of an adamantine and of a graphitoidal — in addition to the long 
known amorphous — modification of boron. This graphitoidal species 
subsequently (in their own hands) proved a mistake ; but the 
adamantine . modification lives to this day as a true analogue of 
ordinary (carbon) diamond. 
From boron to silicon is an easy transition, so we need not 
wonder at finding Wohler, in 1857, engaged (conjointly with the 
physicist Buff) in a research on new compounds of silicon. On 
electrolysing a solution of common salt with silicon — containing 
aluminium, as a positive electrode, they obtained a self-inflammable 
gas which they recognised as hydrogen contaminated with the pre- 
viously unknown hydride of silicon SiH 4 , which body Wohler 
subsequently (with the co-operation of Martius) obtained in a state 
of greater purity. Wohler and Buff also obtained, though in an 
impure state, what were subsequently recognised by Friedel and 
Ladenburg as silicon-chloroform and as silicon-formic anhydride. 
Within the limits of this notice we could not reasonably attempt 
anything like a complete account of Wohler’s numerous researches on 
inorganic subjects ; but we must not omit to at least allude to his 
researches on metallic or semi-metallic nitrides. What we know of 
this as yet little understood class of bodies, with barely an exception, 
came out of his laboratory, if it was not done by himself in the 
strict sense of the word. 
We also Can only refer to the numerous processes which Wohler i 
in the course of his long laboratory practice, has worked out for the 
preparation of pure chemicals, and for the execution of exact 
analytical separations. Wohler had better things to do than to take 
up analytical problems for their own sake ; but what he did in this 
