Ferrous  Citrate  and  Double  Salts.  4.1 
The  manganese  sulphate  left  was  dissolved  in  water,  and  the  same 
procedure  as  indicated  in  the  preceding  experiments  was  carried  out. 
In  a  specimen  of  tourmaline  from  New  York  the  boracic  acid  found 
by  this  method  was  9* 70  per  cent.  Another  portion  of  the  same 
material  with  Marignac's  method^  yielded  10  per  cent.  B2O3.  In 
another  tourmaline  (locality  unknown)  two  determinations  by  this 
method  gave  6'55  per  cent.  B2O3  and  6*32  per  cent.  B2O3,  while  with 
Marignac's  method  the  amount  obtained  was  6 '80  per  cent.  B2O3. 
In  some  instances  upon  evaporating  the  alcoholic  solution  prepara- 
tory to  determining  the  excess  of  manganese  sulphate,  brownish  flocks 
separated.  These  were  always  dissolved  in  a  little  sulphuric  acid  and 
then  evaporated  to  dryness. 
The  writer  is  under  many  obligations  to  Messrs.  N.  Wiley  Thomas, 
S.B.,  and  W.  H.  Jardin,  S.B.,  for  their  assistance  in  the  execution  of 
the  details  of  the  above  method. — Am.  Chem.  Jour.,  Oct.,  1882. 
FEEROUS  CITRATE  and  ITS  DOUBLE  and  SECONDARY 
SALTS. 
By  R.  Rother. 
When  two  or  more  dissimilar  elementary  molecules  unite  the  force 
which  holds  each  individual  molecule  together  is  redirected  and  dis- 
tributed in  a  coincident  aggregate  whereby  the  compound  molecule  is 
maintained.  When  the  utmost  power  of  all  the  molecules  is  exerted 
the  proportional  energy  of  each  is  termed  the  atomicity,  quantivalence 
or  simply  valence  of  the  particular  element  implied.  Since  all  forces, 
being  modes  of  motion,  are  interconvertible  there  must  be  stages  during 
the  conversion  when  the  prior  and  post-prior  states  are  no  longer  of  a 
kind.  Neither  is  the  post-prior  mode  like  the  new  condition  of  which 
it  is  the  immediate  antecedent.  These  peculiar  and  highly  interesting 
phases  may  be  termed  transition  forces.  They  are  the  dynamic  ana- 
logues of  the  states  of  aggregation  that  intervene  between  the  solid, 
liquid,  gaseous  and  ultra-gaseous  conditions  of  matter.  When  chem- 
ism  begins  to  merge  into  mere  cohesion  the  bonds  of  atomicity  suffer  a 
further  and  continuous  subdivision  no  longer  definitely  characterized 
in  terms  of  quantivalence.  This  transitory  state  may  therefore  be 
properly  distinguished  as  ultra- valence.    It  becomes  evident  in  such 
1  "  Zeitschrift  fur  analyt.  Chemie,"  1,  405. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
Jan.,  1883.  j 
