Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
June,  1879.  J 
Chemical  Notes. 
3°7 
CHEMICAL  NOTES. 
By  Prof.  Saml.  P.  Sadtler. 
Inorganic  Chemistry. — New  Elements. — L.  F.  Nilson,  of  Upsala, 
Sweden,  in  response  to  Marignac  for  chemists  having  in  their  posses- 
sion large  amounts  of  erbia  to  examine  it  for  ytterbium,  has  treated 
some  63  grams  of  erbia  according  to  Marignac's  method.  The  mole- 
cular weight  of  the  oxide  at  starting  was  129*25,  while  the  molecular 
weight  of  ytterbia,  according  to  Marignac,  should  be  131.  At  first,  by 
modifying  Marignac's  method  in  the  application  of  heat  to  the  mass  of 
fused  nitrates,  he  succeeded  in  raising  the  molecular  weight- to  130*57, 
but  had  only  a  small  quantity  brought  to  this  degree  of  purity.  He 
then  carried  out  Marignac's  method  exactly,  and  obtained  3*5  grams  of 
a  white  earth,  with  only  the  slightest  trace  of  rose  color.  But  this  gave 
a  molecular  weight  of  127*6,  instead  of  the  131  expected,  pointing  to 
the  presence  of  an  earth  of  lower  molecular  weight.  He,  however, 
afterwards  succeeded  in  getting  a  white  earth  that  was  undoubtedly 
pure  ytterbia,  having  a  molecular  weight  of  132*17. 
From  the  white  earth  before  alluded  to,  with  the  molecular  weight 
of  127*6,  he  then  succeeded  in  separating  the  oxide  of  a  new  element 
possessing  a  molecular  weight  of  not  more  than  105*8.  This  new 
element  he  proposes  to  call  scandium,  because  of  its  occurrence  in 
gadolinite  and  euxenite,  characteristic  Scandinavian  minerals.  The 
spectroscopic  characters  of  this  element  were  studied,  at  his  request,  by 
Thalen,  the  eminent  spectroscopist.  It  is  characterized  especially  by  a 
number  of  strong  lines  in  the  yellow  and  green  of  the  spectrum.  Its 
solutions  show  no  absorption  bands  whatever.  Taking  its  oxide  as 
ScO,  with  a  molecular  weight  of  105,  its  atomic  weight  would  be  less 
than  90. — Comptes  Rendus,  88,  pp.  642-648. 
The  Iodine  Production  of  the  province  Tarapaca  (Peru)  has 
assumed  large  dimensions  within  the  last  few  years,  as  a  result  of  higher 
prices  established  by  a  combination  of  Scotch,  French  and  Peruvian 
producers.  At  present  8  chemical  factories  extract  the  iodine  from  the 
mother  liquors  left  after  the  nitre  crystallization,  producing  2800  cent- 
ner (138  tons)  of  iodine,  and  3  new  iodine  factories  are  building,  so  that 
the  production  for  1879  will  probably  be  from  3500  to  3800  centner 
(182  to  187  tons).  An  additional  factory  now  building  in  the  Bolivian 
port  Auto-Lagesta  will,  judging  from  the  richness  in  iodine  of  its 
raw  material,  put  on  the  market  some  2000  centner  (98  tons)  more. 
