93 
whatever the consequences, some people will build houses 
near them, preferring the contiguity of the church to any 
fear of the evils of a crowded cemetery. 
On the Effect of Acid on the Interior of Iron Wire,’’ by 
Professor Osboene Reynolds, M.A. 
It will be remembered that at a previous meeting of this 
Society Mr. Johnson exhibited some iron and steel wire in 
which he had observed some very singular effects produced 
by tlie action of sulphuric acid. In the first place the 
nature of the wire was changed in a mai'ked manner, for 
although it was soft charcoal wire it had become short and 
brittle; the weight of the wire was increased; and what 
was the most remarkable effect of all was that when the 
wire was broken and the face of the fracture wetted with 
the mouth it frothed up as if the water acted as a powerful 
acid. These effects, however, all passed off if the wire were 
allowed to remain exposed to the air for some days, and if 
it were warmed before the fire thay passed off in a few 
hours. 
By Mr. Johnson’s permission I took possession of one of 
these pieces of wire and subjected it to a farther examina- 
tion, and from the result of that examination I was led to 
what appears to me to be a complete explanation of the 
phenomena. 
I observed that when I broke a short piece from the end 
of the wire the two faces of the fracture behaved very dif- 
ferently — that on the long piece frothed when wetted and 
continued to do so for some seconds, while that on the short 
piece would hardly show any signs of froth at all. This 
seemed to imply that the gas which caused the froth came 
from a considerable depth below the surface of the wire, 
and was not generated on the freshly exposed face. This 
view was confirmed when on substituting oil for water I 
found the froth just the same. 
