69 
“ You will remember that Fouque (Cow/pi. Mend . 67,1054) 
analysed five of these natural gases from widely different 
localities and found them to be mixtures of the lower mem- 
bers of the paraffin series. 
“I find free Hydrogen, Marsh Gas CH 4 , Ethyl Hydride 
C 2 H g , and a trace of Butyl Hydride C 4 H 10 , with some little 
Carbonic Acid, in the two that I have already analysed. The 
hydrides of ethyl and butyl I collected qualitatively at the 
wells by passing the gas through absolute alcohol. 
“ The occurence of free hydrogen was an unexpected result, 
as F ouque found none in any of the gases analysed by him ; 
but its presence is proved by his own equations given for a 
mixture of the paraffin series.” 
Professor Schorlemmer added, that Dr. E. Donalds, of Edin- 
burgh, examined, in 1865 ( Journ . Chem. Soc . 18, 54) the 
most volatile constituents of crude American petroleum, and 
found them to consist of homologues of marsh gas. Marsh 
gas itself was not present ; but in conclusion he says : there 
appears to be little doubt that marsh gas and, perhaps, even 
free hydrogen will be found among the gases which are 
evolved with the oil at the springs. 
Cf Notice of a recent discovery of a prehistoric burial place 
near Colombier in Switzerland,” by William E. A. Axon, 
M.R.S.L., &c. 
The Journal des Debats of Feb. 1st, 1876, cites from a 
Swiss paper a notice of an interesting archseological disco- 
very in Switzerland. In sinking the foundations for a 
building now in course of construction on the border of the 
lake between Colombier and Auvernier, the workmen came 
upon some large pieces of stone each about one metre broad 
and one metre 50 centimetres long. These covered a series 
of cavities formed of flagstones surrounding the opening, 
which was fdled with earth, pebbles, and gravel. The stones 
are blocks of various sorts of Alpine granite, evidently 
