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CHEMICAL NEWS, The D-Lines Spectra Flame Examined by the Blowpipe.

Dec. 1, 1876.

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POKORNY, FIELDER, and Co.

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2,890,680 44 marks. | who says "that most of the anthracene at present in the
689,989 28
market is of a very doubtful character." From the com-
plaints of our alizarine friends (as brokers in this article)
2,200,691 16
we think the Doctor is quite justified in his scientific con-
clusions; we, of course, can only speak from a business
point of view. We find that the best way to get over the
difficulty is for the consumers to try a ton or so of each
producer's make, by which means they become acquainted
with the kind of anthracene that suits their working into
alizarine. Both parties obtain mutual benefit. The ali-
zarine manufacturer can calculate with certainty, and so
avoid heavy losses; the producers, also, can obtain better
prices by giving satisfaction. Apologising for troubling
you,-We are, &c.,
JOSEPH BENNETT BROS.

[The name and address of Dr. Versmann was affixed to the article in question, and bearing in mind that he is an authority on the subject of anthracene, and indeed on any branch of the art and science of dyeing; that he is, moreover, a German, and was therefore in a position to satisfy himself that the sources from which he obtained his information were trustworthy, we did not hesitate to publish his paper. On receiving the above letter we communicated with Dr. Versmann, and we insert his reply. We have examined the copy of the balance-sheet, but we do not find it stated that the £40,000 is the loss during the past three years. We gladly, however, give publicity to the fact as stated by Messrs. Pokorny, Fielder, and Co. -Ed. C. N.]

To the Editor of the Chemical News. SIR, I am obliged to you for communicating to me Messrs. Pokorny, Fielder, and Co.'s letter to you before its publication, and thereby affording me the opportunity of at once replying to it.

These gentlemen, on behalf of the "Chemische Industrie Actien Gesellschaft," at Elberfeld, call my figures in reference to this Company inaccurate, and my observations unjustifiable. They point out two errors in the figures in my article, and to these I will confine myself. I stated the loss of the last twelve months' working at £40,000. This information I took from the balance-sheet published by the Company in the Cologne Gazette of the roth inst., which document is identical with the true copy sent to you by Messrs. Pokorny, Fielder, and Co. We are now told that £40,000 loss has been incurred during three years; but I submit the balance-sheet itself allows of but one reading. It is headed, translated, "Balance-sheet, June 30th, 1876, for the period from July 1st, 1875, to June 30th, 1876," and one of the items of this twelve months' working is put down as £40,000 loss. I really cannot be held responsible for any incorrectness in the official published balance-sheet.

The second point refers to the amount of capital, which I stated at some £180,000, taking the share capital of £150,000 and debts of £30,000 together in one sum; and if the adding up of these two items, instead of specifying them, should have given any cause for complaint, I truly regret my short way of expression.

As to my observations generally, I need scarcely assure you that I have not been influenced by any unfriendly or personal feeling, as I am ignorant of the very names of any proprietors. But I shall be delighted to learn that I have drawn too gloomy a picture of the prospects of the company under the impression that the £40,000 had been lost during one year. However, as I am now informed that this adverse result has to be spread over three years, I most sincerely trust that this company will not only soon recover the heavy losses hitherto made, but will in no distant time become a concern very profitable to the shareholders.-I am, &c.,

FREDERICK VERSMANN.

35, Whitecross Place, Wilson Street, Finsbury, E.C.

ON ANTHRACENE PRODUCTION.

To the Editor of the Chemical News.

SIR'-Our attention has been drawn to the remarks of Dr.

22 and 23, Great Tower Street, London, E.C., November 27, 1876.

DISTILLATION OF SEAWEED.

To the Editor of the Chemical News. SIR,-In Dr. Hofmann's report on iodine (see CHEMICAL NEWS, vol. xxxiv., p. 215) he speaks of my process having "evidently failed in practice," and that "nothing further has been heard of the distillation of seaweed, and the production of iodine from the residual charcoal." I beg to state that ever since 1863 the process has been worked with great success in the Island of Tyree and other parts of the West Highlands. The produce of iodine in that island has been increased nearly ten-fold, and I need only refer to the evidence of His Grace the Duke of Argyll before the Privy Council last year to show the remarkable benefit to the people of that island. It has not been largely extended, because all proprietors of shores are not so enlightened as His Grace.

Dr. Hofmann quotes a letter from me, written some time ago (p. 197), in which the price of iodine is quoted at Is. 3d. per ounce; it is now only 53d. per ounce. In a short paper read before the British Association at their meeting here there are some interesting statistics about iodine, which I shall shortly send you for publication. Meantime, if Dr. Hofmann disbelieves in the existence of seaweed charcoal, I shall be glad to supply him with a thousand tons at a very low rate, and if he can make the order ten times as large it will afford me a proportional pleasure to execute it.-I am, &c., E. C. C. STANFORD. The North British Chemical Company (Limited), 149, Hope Street, Glasgow, Nov. 26, 1876.

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To the Editor of the Chemical News. SIR, I feel so much indebted to your correspondent "NaHO" for calling attention to this important subject in the CHEMICAL NEWS, Vol. xxxiv., p. 226, that I will waive the obvious advantage he takes by entering upon such a controversy under the shelter of an anonymous signature, and shall only remark, with reference to the personalities in his letter, that his opinion regarding my writings generally can only be of value in the eyes of the public when his real name, honestly and courageously appended to them, shows how much we may attach to it. If we are to judge of this value from the contents of the anonymous letter, our estimate will not be oppressively great.

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Let us now weigh the facts adduced by your correspondent, and see if they can stand against my tentative 'series, which," he rather ungrammatically observes, are a fair specimen of the experimental method as followed by chemists."

(1.) He tells us that "at a white heat the sodium sal Frederick Versmann (CHEMICALNews, vol. xxxiv. p. 211), | adherent to platinum wire is volatilised, while at a lowe

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Chemical Notices from Foreign Sources.

temperature the spectrum is more permanent." Now, considering that, in the experiment to which this remark refers, the same platinum wire was used, though inserted in different parts of the blowpipe "flame," the assertion here made by your correspondent is that the trace of sodium, having been first volatilised, is reproduced permanently by the use of a lower temperature!

(2.) The argument as to the production of the " D-lines" by the combustion of sodium in a vacuum tube, has been previously well considered by me. No one knows better than the distinguished editor of the CHEMICAL NEWS, who has succeeded more nearly than, perhaps, any man in Europe in the attempt to obtain it, that the artificial production of a perfect vacuum is almost, if not quite, an impossibility, and, where there is a particle of air, sodium will, in combustion, derive water. Has your correspondent tried the experiment himself? If not, let him do so, and he will find that soda is produced by the combustion, in spite of his "vacuum."

(3.) The opalescence caused in pure boric acid by the impingement upon it of the orange flame emitted from platinum is "positive evidence of the absence of sodium in (from ?) that flame" when taken in conjunction with the other fact mentioned by me, that the orange flame from a sodium salt removes that opalescence.

(4). The onus probandi of showing that the "D-lines" are produced by sodium only evidently rests with the sodiumite. The supporter of the water hypothesis has only to show (as I consider I have fairly shown) that they are not. I am, &c.,

London, November 27, 1876.

W. A. Ross.

CHEMICAL NOTICES FROM FOREIGN
SOURCES.

NOTE. All degrees of temperature are Centigrade, unless otherwise expressed.

Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances, de l'Acadenie des Sciences. No. 20, November 13, 1876. Mineralogical and Geological Researches on the Lavas of the Dykes of Thera.-M. Foqué.-Tne present paper is a report by MM. Chasles, Sainte-Claire Deville, Des Cloiseaux, and Daubrée. It appears that in all the lavas of Théra there are at least two, and often three, triclinar felspars. The predominant felspar (among the microlithes) is albite, but among the larger crystals it is sometimes labradorite, and sometimes anorthite. The labradoric lavas free from olivine and rich in tridymite contain a ferruginous pyroxene, and have a proportion of silica intermediate between those of the acid and the basic lavas. The anorthitic lavas in which olivine is abundant and tridymite rare contain very little silica, and may be regarded as basic rocks.

Influence of Temperature upon Magnetisation.M. J. M. Gaugain.-In operating upon a bar of steel capable of undergoing a considerable transient variation the magnetism is much weaker at 300° than at the ordinary temperature. When, on the contrary, the transient variation of the bar is very small, the magnetisation is more powerful at 300° than at a lower temperature.

Hydrates of Copper Sulphate.-M. L. Magnier de la Source.-Copper sulphate presents several distinct degrees of affinity for water corresponding to the hydrates

CuSO4, H2O (constitutional water).
CuSO4H2O+ H2O.
CuSO H2O+4H2O.
CuSO H2O+5H2O.

CuSO H2O+6H2O.

{CHEMICAL NEWS,

Dec. 1876.

CuSO4, H2O+2H2O, which is formed when crystals of blue vitriol are exposed to dry air at 25° to 30°. This new hydrate is stable enough to resist a dry vacuum, whilst under the same circumstances the original hydrate loses its 4 molecules of crystalline water.

Margaric Chloride and its Derivatives.-A. Villiers. -This compound, C32H34CIO2, was obtained by the action of phosphoric perchloride upon the margarate of soda.

Researches on Quercite.-L. Prunier.-The author considers that quercite is a compound forming the transition between the fatty and the aromatic series.

On Angelic Acid.-E. Demarcay.-Not suitable for abstraction.

Existence of Asparagin in Sweet Almonds.-L. Portes. Having established the presence of asparagin, the author thinks it evident that in almonds-on account of their oily nature-the products of transformation due to the germinative process appear at an earlier period than in other seeds.

A Meteoric Iron, very rich in Nickel, found in the G. Ozorio de Almeida. The specimen contains 36 per cent Province of Santa Catarina (Brazil).-E. Guignet and of nickel, and is free from chrome, cobalt, manganese, and copper; neither is it mixed with any earthy gangue.

Chemical Composition of the Water of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro.-E. Guignet and A. Teller.-Silica and alumina are constantly found in considerable amount, even in samples carefully filtered. The water has a decided alkaline reaction, due neither to ammonia nor to carbonate of ammonia, but to soda and potassa, present as silicates and aluminates.

Bulletin de la Société d'Encouragement pour l'Industrie
Nationale. No. 34, October, 1876.

Methods employed to Determine the Nature of the
Colouring Matters Introduced into Wines.--A re-
port by MM. Balard, Pasteur, and Wurtz.-To detect
indigo, which is often used in the shape of sulphate, the
authors add little sulphate of potassa, and precipitate
with chloride of barium.
filtration and washing, appears white if the wine is free
The sulphate of baryta, after
from indigo, but if that dye is present it has a decided blue
tint. Magenta is probably never employed alone in the
fraudulent coloration of wines, but along with indigo it can
be made to produce vinous reds. To detect this dangerous
impurity the authors agitate the suspected wine with a
small quantity of amylic alcohol. This withdraws the
dye, and collects upon the surface of the wine, where it
forms a bright red stratum. If this rose-coloured liquor
is treated with a small piece of clean white silk, not mor-
danted, the latter takes the well known shade of magenta,
which turns yellow if the silk is touched with a drop of
hydrochloric acid. An appendix by Dr. Stierlin gives a
tabular view of the behaviour of different reagents with
wines coloured with dyes as compared with pure red wine

MISCELLANEOUS.

Organisation among Chemists.-The committee appointed to take this matter in hand met for the first time on Saturday, November 25, at Burlington House. There were twenty-eight members present. The following gentlemen were elected Officers of the Committee:-Dr. Frankland, Chairman; Dr. Williamson, Prof. Abel, and Dr. Voelcker, Vice-Chairmen; Dr. C. R. A. Wright, Treasurer; Mr. W. N. Hartley, Secretary. The names of Prof. Dittmar, of Glasgow, and of Dr. Graham, of University College, London, were added to the Committee, but it was decided that for the present no further additions should be made. A sub-committee of seven Members was appointed to prepare a draft scheme for the consideration

o complete this series must be added the hydrate, of the General Committee upon which the constitution and

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LIQUOR AMMONIÆ,
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CHLORIDE OF SULPHUR,
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Other Members of the Council-Major-General John T.
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CHEMICAL NEWS,
Dec. 8, 1876.

Repulsion Resulting from Radiation.

THE CHEMICAL

VOL. XXXIV. No. 889.

NEWS.

ON REPULSION RESULTING FROM

RADIATION.-PART II.*

By WILLIAM CROOKES, F.R.S., &c.
(Continued from p. 230).

106. IT was found that when a source of light and heat is suddenly allowed to shine on the pith surface and not removed, a deflection rapidly takes place, attaining its maximum in about 11 seconds; the spot of light now returns a few degrees, and then proceeds in the first direction to a greater extent than at first. So it goes on, by alternate steps, advancing a little each oscillation,

241

zero, where the spot of light normally rests. The vertical figures represent the seconds during which the experiment lasted. The zigzag line represents the oscillations of the spot of light, and shows the movement of the pith surface under the influence of a uniform source of radiation. The time was recorded by a chronograph. Starting from zero the spot of light is seen to have travelled to 97° in 115 seconds; at the end of 11 more seconds, or 225 seconds altogether, it had come back to 50°; at the end of 34 seconds the light had advanced again to 109°, and so on. The movements are tolerably uniform as to time, taking about 115 seconds for the half oscillation, but the amplitude of vibration is continually diminishing

107. If, however, the light is only allowed to shine on the pith surface for 115 seconds (or for as long as the spot of light takes to perform its first half oscillation), and if it is then instantly cut off, the spot of light almost invariably returns to zero and stops there, instead of swinging to the opposite side and only returning to rest after ten or a dozen oscillations, as is the case when the beam is set vibrating by mechanical means. This behaviour FIG. 9.

Degrees on scale, representing repulsion.

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until, if the light be feeble, the index takes up a nearly fixed position; if, however, the light be strong, the beam is driven against the side of the tube. In illustration of this I select the following series of observations from a large number recorded in my note-book. The horizontal figures represent the degrees on the scale, starting from

A Paper communicated to the Royal Society, March 20, 1875. From the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vi clxv., pt. 2.

points to the return movement taking place under the influence of a force which remains active after the original radiation is cut off, and which is only gradually dissipated. This force is most probably from the heat which the pith has absorbed raising its temperature; and the steady return to zero seems to be due to the movement being controlled by the radiation of heat by the pith.

108. A series of observations taken with another apparatus, with the object of ascertaining the times o

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