Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Feb.,  1879.  J 
Chemical  Notes. 
79 
earth  which  could  in  this  case  raise  the  equivalent  of  the  erbia.  Pro- 
bably the  equivalent  of  this  latter  earth  has  hitherto  been  placed  too 
high.  Taking  the  molecular  weight  of  the  Ytterbia  as  131,  the  atomic 
weight  would  be  1 15  or  172*5, according  as  the  oxide  is  YbO  or  Yb203. 
—a  r.,  87,  578. 
On  the  New  Element  Mosandrum, — J.  Lawrence  Smith,  of  Louisville, 
Ky.,  has  sent  a  sealed  note  to  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  where 
it  was  read  November  25th,  1878,  in  which  he  claims  priority  for  his 
metal  mosandrum  over  Delafontaine's  announcement  of  philippium. 
Delafontaine  published  a  rejoinder  (C.  R.,  87.  400)  in  which  he  asserts 
that  Smith's  characterization  of  mosandrum  was  so  vague  that  it  might 
have  applied  to  any  mixture  of  the  earths  of  this  group  occurring  in 
samarskite,  and  that  September  22d,  1877,  Smith  had  no  suspicion 
even  of  the  existence  of  Philippium. 
On  the  Probable  Composite  Character  of  Didymium. — Since  the  time  of 
Mosander,  didymium  has  been  regarded  as  a  single  element.  Delafon- 
taine, however,  after  examining  the  spectrum  of  didymium  solutions 
prepared  from  cerite  and  the  spectrum  of  didymium  solutions  prepared 
from  samarskite,  finds  the  latter  much  simpler,  containing  fewer  lines 
than  the  former.  After  comparing  this  didymium  spectrum  (from 
cerite)  with  the  spectra  of  terbium  and  decipium,  he  regards  it  as  very 
probable  that  cerite  contains  at  least  one  new  element,  not  as  yet 
isolated,  which  would  explain  the  lines  not  found  in  the  spectrum  of 
didymium  from  samarskite. — C.  R.,  87.  634. 
Miscellaneous. — Chemical  Notes  from  the  Paris  Exhibition. — Alum- 
inium^ prepared  from  bauxite,  was  displayed  in  large  bars.  The  price 
was  50  francs  per  kilogram.  Thallium  was  also  shown  in  large 
blocks,  preserved  under  water,  and  constituted  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting objects  shown  in  the  chemical  line.  Iodine  preparations,  derived 
from  the  iodine  of  sea-weeds,  were  shown  in  abundance.  A  note 
accompanying  them  gave  the  cost  of  iodine  as  follows  :  extraction  of 
one  kilogram  of  iodine,  2  francs  ;  purifying  the  same,  2  francs;  total 
cost  of  one  kilogram  purified  iodine  4  francs.  A  number  of  French 
chemical  establishments  make  a  speciality  of  working  up  the  beet-root 
molasses  for  potash  salts.    According  to  reliable  information,  18  facto- 
