Det er af samme Grund som ovenfor klart, at denne 
Fremgangsmaadc for almindeligt Oceanvands Vedkommende 
vil føre til aldeles værdiløse Resultater, uden at det dog 
med Sikkerhed kan paastaaes, at dette i samme Udstræk- 
ning skulde være Tilfælde for det af Viertkaler undersøgte 
Vand, som har en fra almindeligt Søvand meget forskjellig 
Sammensætning. Efter de talrige og værdifulde Analyser 
af Søvand. som vi skylde Professor Forckkammer.. indehol- 
der Våndet i de store Verdenshave uden synderlig store 
Variationer i de enkelte Bestanddeles indbyrdes Forhold | 
gjennemsnitlig 
Chlor-f Brom 1.895 % 
Svovlsyre ( S0 3 ) 0.225 - 
Magnesia 0.210 - 
Kalk 0.056 - 
medens Vierthaler i Adriaterhavet har fundet 
Chlor -f Brom . 2.264 °/o 
Svovlsyre 0.262 - 
Magnesia 0.237 - 
Kalk 0.371 - 
Denne uforholdsmæssig store Forøgelse af Kalkmæng- 
den uden tilsvarende Forøgelse af Svovlsyremængden vil 
bidrage til. at det af Vierthaler undersøgte Vand vil have 
en meget større Tilbøielighed til ved Kogning at udskille 
kulsur Kalk, hvad der i ikke ringe Grad kan tænkes at 
forrykke de almindelige Phænomener. 
Hvad angaar de af Thorpe og Morton ujdførte Obser- 
vationer, da er der i en Henseende en væsentlig Forskjel 
mellem de af disse Forfattere og de af mig erholdtb Re- 
sultater. Jeg havde, alleredé før jeg blev opmærksom paa. 
den af dem offentliggjorte Aihandling, lagt Mærke til, at 
der af Søvand ved Kogning i en kulsvrefri Luftstrøm i 
Classens Apparat udfældtes et Bundfald af Magnesia, inde- 
holdende lidt fra Glasset hidrørende. Kiselsyre, men jeg 
havde aldrig deri kunnet paavise hverken Kulsyre eller Kalk 
og det, uanseet om Kogningén afbrødes paa et tidligere 
eller senere Stadium, hvadenten den neutralbundne Kulsyre 
var helt eller kun delvis bortdrevet. Rigtignok anfører 
Thorpe og Morton intetsteds udtrykkelig, at de have under- 
søgt det udskilte Bundfald paa Kalk, men det fremgaar 
indirecte med stor Bestemthed, af hvad der forresten er 
bemærket, at saa maa have været Tilfælde. 
At Vierthaler kunde faa udfældt kulsur Kalk af et 
saa abnormt sammensat Søvand som det i Adriaterhavet 
flydende, kunde ikke vække Forundring, men at det samme 
landtes at være Tilfælde med Våndet i det irske Hav, som 
ved livlige Strømme stadig optager friske Vandmængder fra 
det store \ erdenshav, og som i sin Sammensætning viser 
sig saa analogt det af den norske Nordhavsexpedition un- 
defsøgte, forekom mig meget paafaldende. Jeg har derfor 
gjentaget Thorpe og Mortons Forsøg aldeles uforandrede 
paa flere al de fra den norske Expedition hjembragte Vand- 
prøver, men erholdt altid det samme Resultat, at det i det 
udskilte Bundfald trods al anvendt Møie ikke lykkedes at 
paavise Spor hverken af Kulsyre eller Kalk. Af det for- 
hen l dviklede vil det fremgaa, at man af de ældre Angi- 
For the same reason, as explained above, the said 
process with ordinary ocean-water will give results absolutely 
worthless; this cannot however be affirmed with certainty of 
Viertlialer's observations, the water lie examined having been 
very different in composition from ordinary sea-water. Ac- 
cording to the numerous and valuable analyses of sea-water 
for which we are indebted to Professor Forchhammer, the 
water of the great oceans, the component parts of which 
vary but little in their relative proportion, is generally 
found to contain — 
Chlorine -f- Bromine 1.895 per cent. 
Sulphuric Acid (SO$) 0.225 - — 
Magnesia 0.210 - — 
Lime ; 0.056 - — 
whereas the water of the Adriatic Sea, according to Vier- 
thaler's observations, contains — 
Chlorine -j- Bromine 2.264 per cent. 
Sulphuric Acid 0.262 - — 
Magnesia 0.237 - — 
Lime . 0.37 1 - — 
This disproportionately large amount of lime without 
a corresponding increase in the amount of sulphuric acid 
will give the water examined by Vierthaler a tendency, 
when boiled, to precipitate carbonate of lime, which must 
to a considerable extent have a disturbing influence on the 
phenomena. 
With regard to the series of observations instituted 
by Thorpe and Morton, there is. in one respect, an essential 
difference between their results and mine. Previous to my 
reading their Memoir, 1 had become aware of the fact, that, 
on boiling sea-water exposed to a current of air free from 
carbonic acid in Classen’s apparatus, there results a precip- 
itate of magnesia, containing a little silicic ac*id, derived 
from the glass; but I have never succeeded in detecting 
therein the presence of carbonic acid or lime: the result 
is precisely the same whether the boiling be interrupted 
at an early or a late stage of the process, or whether all 
or part only of the carbonates be decomposed. True, 
Thorpe and Morton nowhere distinctly state their having 
examined the precipitate for lime; but from what is ob- 
served in other respects, this must obviously have been 
the case. 
That Vierthaler should* have succeeded in precipitat- 
ing carbonate of lime from water so exceptionally composed 
as is that of the Adriatic Sea, cannot surprise us; but 
that the same result should have been obtained with water 
from the Irish Sea, which by reason of rapid currents is 
continually receiving a large influx of water from the 
Atlantic Ocean, and which in its composition exhibits so 
great an analogy with that examined on the Norwegian 
North -Atlantic Expedition, does, to me, indeed appear 
slange. ^ 1 have therefore repeated the experiments insti- 
tuted by Thorpe and Morton, adopting their method with- 
out the slightest modification; hut the results obtained were 
invariably the same: even with the most delicate tests I 
failed to detect the smallest traces of carbonic acid or 
