' 
1800.] Sixty Articles of Literary and Philofophical Intelligence. 
with the cauttic alkalies, before they expel 
the carbonic acid, as we fee by experience 
in preparing the terra foliata tartari (ace- 
tate of potafs), where no effervefcence is 
perceived in the beginning, and which has 
been falfely afcribed to the abforption of 
the carbonic acid by the water in the vine- 
gar. In preparing terra foliata tartari, 
the carbonic alkali may be got at the fame 
time. Diffolve purified common alkali in 
‘double the quantity of water ; filter the 
{olution, and add to it vinegar in fmall 
portions, ftirring it continually til] an ef- 
fervefcence commences: filtrate now the 
fluid, and evaporate it by a gentle fire, till 
a pellicle appears on the furface of it: fe- 
parate. now the carbonic alkali, which 
fhews itfelf in. {mall irregular cryftals, by 
putting it into a linen bag: or ftrainer ; 
“After having repeated this once or twice, 
purify ail the falt, which is got in this 
way, ,by another folution and ceryftalliza- 
tion, whereby it will become quite free 
from the acetous acid, and from the alkali 
not faturated with carbonic acid. Sul- 
phuric acid may likewife be u(ed for this 
operation, but then the fulphat of potafh 
fhoots firft into cryftals, and the carbo- 
nate of potath afterwards. The former 
methgd feems to be preterable, becaufe 
there is Jefs occafion for fo many evapora- 
tions. (Vid. Crell's Chem. Annal. No. I. 
1800.) rae 
In the digging of a canal, a peafant 
lately fourid near Vienna an urn, contain- 
ing 298 gold pieces, of the value of-one 
guinea each, and of the fize of a ducat, 
but rather thicker; 224 of them have been 
colle&ted for the Imperial Mufeum at Vi- 
enna. 
feryed, and amongft them 76 Nerva’s, 95 
Velpafians, 42 Trajans, and21 Adrians. 
. OF Profeflor Heyne’s Homer two vo- 
lumes are printed, and were to be publifh- 
ed at the la@ Leipzig fair. They contain 
only the firft fix books of the Iliad, and 
accordingly teveral volumes are {till to fol- 
low. 
'. The celebrated SCHILLER has tranflated 
the tragedy of Macbeth into German, in a 
iambic metne, and it is to be reprefented 
upon the German ftage. His tragedy of 
Maria Stuart is not yet finifhed. 
GoeTue has written a new play, called 
Mahomet, and KorzeBus another, en- 
titled Guftavus Vafa ; both have been per- 
formed with great applaufe upon the Ger- 
man ftage. 
The celebrated M. HumBoLprT is at 
prefent travelling in New Andalufia, a 
Spanifh province in South America, ac- 
companied by M, Bonpiand,a French na- 
vo? 
They are in general very well pre~ 
." 
535 
turalitt. He has made already feveral very 
interefting difcoveries in geology and geo- 
graphy, for which purpoles he had provided 
him(elf with =the neceflary inftruments. 
he plants he has found there amount to 
1100, of which 600 are quite new. “The 
country is full of volcanoes, and interefling 
in every refpect.. cimong other curiofi- 
ties, he faw a man who had fuchan abun- 
dance of milk in his breafts, that-he fup- 
ported his children withit..* 
Some very interefting experiments have 
lately been made by Guyton DE Mor- 
vsau which have led to a dilcovery of the 
colouring principle of Japis lazult. Being 
engaged in the analyfis of a gypfum loaded 
with iron, which is found at Montalier, he 
obferved, after deoxygenating the fulphat 
of lime. by charcoal, and fuling the re- 
mainder with potath, that the mais aflumed 
a deep blue colour, which it communicated 
to its folution in water. Having afcer- 
tained, by various reagents, that this co- 
lour was. owing to fulphurat of iron 
flightly oxygenated, the next flep was to 
add, if poffible, the proof from fynthefis ; 
for this purpofe, an artificial fulphurat of 
iron was prepared, which exhibited the 
fame phenomena with that obtained from 
the gypfum of Montalier. “Finally, the 
correfpondence in chemical properties be- 
tween thefe fubfances and the colouring 
matter of lapis lazuli, renders it to the 
higheft degree probable, that the beautiful 
colour of this rare mineral is entirely ow- 
ing to a blue fulphuret of iron. The com- 
ponent parts of lapis lazuli, according to 
Klaproth, are 46 filex, 28 carbonate of 
lime, 14. 5 alumine, 6. 5 fulphat of lime, 
3 oxyd of iron, and 2 water. 
Dr. Gir TANNER has publifhed, in the 
Annales de Chimie, a Memoir on the com- 
pofition of Azote; which he fuppofes, to 
confift of the fame principles as water, 
differing only in proportion: roo parts of 
water contain %5.66 oxygen, and 14.34 of 
hydrogen. Azote, according to Girtan- 
ner, contains per cent. 79 oxygen and 21 
hydrogen. The proofs upon which this 
doétrine is founded are the following : 
1. It was obferved by M. Von Haycu, 
that if a porcelain tube be heated red hot, 
and fteam pafied through it, the aqueous 
vapour undergoes. no alteration ; but that 
if it be filled with tin filings previoufly to ' 
pafling the fteam through, the tin becomes 
oxydated, and oxygen and azote pafs into 
the receiver. The ‘ame effects take place, 
if lead be made ufe of inftead of zinc. 
2. M. Von Hauch filled a porcelain tube 
with black oxyd oftmanganefe, and heated 
it flrongly til! no more oxygen came over ; 
he 

