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bodies can be successfully assailed by any chemical process 
“ pure simple,” that is, by bringing it into reaction with 
any agent calculated to abstract from it some one of its 
unknown constituents, setting another (or others) at liberty. 
Probably an intense temperature would be the most likely 
means of approaching the conditions existing in the sun. 
A practical difficulty is here to be encountered or evaded. 
It is perfectly possible that at extreme temperatures some 
element might be dissociated,— -the result may have been 
obtained already, — but that on cooling re-combination has 
taken place, the apparent result being nil. Mitscherlich 
and Plticker have observed, some years ago, that in the hy- 
drogen flame iodine showed broad bands, whilst in the far 
higher temperature produced by the eledtric spark it dis- 
played merely bright lines. Hence, if it be correct that 
bright lines are charadteristic of elementary bodies, whilst 
bands are produced only by compounds, it may be inferred 
that iodine when heated in the spark becomes dissociated, 
and resolves itself *into some elements not yet detedted. 
But the substance whose elementary character has been 
of late most strongly called in question is calcium. Some 
time ago Mr. Lockyer declared his convidtion that it is not 
a simple substance, but that the H lines in its spedtrum are 
due to two elementary bodies of which it is composed. In 
the photographs of the spedtrum of a Lyras taken by Dr. 
Huggins only one of these H lines is present — a fadt which 
leads to the inference that only one of the constituents of 
the metal calcium can be present in the star a Lyras. This 
point, therefore, requires a most careful examination. It is 
interesting to find that researches of a totally different cha- 
racter have led an eminent chemist of the present day to 
entertain grave doubts concerning the homogeneous nature 
of this same metal. Whether the phenomena observed in- 
dicate that calcium is really a compound which under 
certain circumstances suffers a partial decomposition, or 
whether they merely prove that under the name of calcium 
we confound two — or perhaps more — metals, identical in 
their atomic weights, and closely approximating in their 
respedtive properties, as is the case with cobalt and nickel, 
it would be premature to decide. Nor can we anticipate 
the gentleman concerned by indicating the class of readtions 
which he is now submitting to a rigorous examination. 
Should these suspicions be confirmed the result will be in 
either case interesting, and may probably throw an unex- 
pected light upon certain questions in geology, mineralogy, 
and physiology. Still, in the second alternative, instead of 
