EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
461 
The ash of these spores has, in other respects, the same appear¬ 
ance as that of pollen ; and, like the latter, they are charac¬ 
terised by an absence of lime, silica, and magnesia. 
“The presence of so large a quantity of phosphorus in 
these fluids, and those mysterious organs intermediate be¬ 
tween the life which is about to cease and that which is 
about to commence, affords material for much reflection. 
One cannot repress a feeling of profound admiration upon 
seeing this body, gifted with such energetic properties, assist 
in all those functions w r hereby the being is perpetuated or 
existence transmitted.’ 5 
“ M. Barral has made the important discovery that rain¬ 
water contains a notable quantity of phosphoric acid. He 
evaporated to dryness in a platinum vessel 1295 litres of 
rain-water collected in Paris, and 390 litres collected at 
Brunoy. The first yielded 22*6 milligrammes of dry residue 
per litre, and the second 7*8 milligrammes. The phosphoric 
acid obtained varied from 0*05 milligrammes to 009 milli¬ 
grammes per litre. From these results, M. Barral calculates 
that rain-water may bring annually about 400 grammes of 
phosphoric acid to the hectare of soil. The author supposes 
that the phosphorus exists in the atmosphere in the form of 
phosphate of lime carried by the w ind as dust; and also, 
perhaps, as phosphuretted hydrogen, the product of the 
putrefaction of animal matters. Another source may be the 
minute organized beings which MM. Bineau and Pasteur 
have shown to exist in the atmosphere. 55 
The origin of the phosphates in the animal, it has been 
stated, may be ultimately traced back to the mineral king¬ 
dom. Thus a native phosphate of lime occurs crystal¬ 
lized in the mineral called apatite, moxorite, and aspa¬ 
ragus-stone, wdiich is found in Devonshire and Cornwall, 
in the form of a six-sided prism, phosphorescent and of 
a green colour. It also occurs in volcanic products, as be¬ 
fore observed, and in those substances knowm by the 
name of coprolites —the remains of carnivorous reptiles met 
with largely in the Lias formation, and now so very commonly 
used for manure, instead of guano. 
While speaking of the evil attendant on the withdrawal 
of the phosphates, we take leave to allude to another fact, 
namely, the desirability of making the leguminous tribe of 
seeds more common constituents of our food and that of 
