colour. We used water and arsenic acid nearly a year before I saw Delaire and Girard's patent. We have often sold dry arsenic acid to Dr. Medlock. I had no knowledge of Heilman's patent until I saw it in print. When arsenic acid is made anhydrous, the atmosphere has scarcely any effect on it. The description of the anhydrous acid given by Kopp (Annales de Chimie et de Physique, T. xlviii., p. 109), is quite correct. "The different acids, raised to a dull, red heat, furnish the anhydrous acid. This is no longer an acid, but is an inert body, having no action on litmus, insoluble in water, ammonia, &c. It may remain exposed to moist air for days without becoming wet." When books speak of the acid being deliquescent, they mean the dry acid, not the anhydrous. The part of Dr. Medlock's specification relating to the application of heat is not accurately expressed; but no practical man would be misled by the description. He would see that the heating was essential, and must be resorted to.

(To be continued.)

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

CHEMICAL SOCIETY. December 18, 1862.

Professor A. W. HOFMANN, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.

THE minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, the following gentlemen were balloted for, and unanimously elected fellows of the Society:-Mr. Edmund J. Mills, Assistant in the Chemical Laboratory of the University of Glasgow; Mr. Alexander T. McChattie,

Mr. John Hooker, and Mr. William A. Dixon.

Dr. FRANKLAND made an interesting verbal communication to the Society in reference to the subject-matter of a letter addressed to him by Mr. Wanklyn, in which were described the results of experiments recently made by that gentleman, in conjunction with M. Erdmeyer, upon "Mannite, and some of its Derivatives." By treating mannite with hydriodic acid, the iodide of the hexy! radical was directly formed, with production of water and liberation of free iodine, the change being expressed by the following equation :—

The action of oxide of silver upon this iodide then furnished the corresponding alcohol, which had, however, a lower boiling point, 136° C., than the hexylic alcohol previously described by M. Faucher, which boiled at 151° C. It was, therefore, isomeric, and would probably bear the same relation to the body last-named that the new amylic alcohol of M. Wurtz, which boils at 105° C., bore to the ordinary fousel oil of twenty-seven degrees higher. The substance prepared by Mr. Wanklyn is described as being readily decomposed into hexyline and hexylic acid, and incapable of forming a sulpho-acid. In reviewing the constitution of hexylic alcohol, Dr. Frankland sketched upon the board a series of possible formulæ, by the first of which he preferred to represent the atomic arrangement of this body. They were as follows:

I.

ᎻᎾ The PRESIDENT inquired whether the action of ammonia upon this body had yet been made the subject of experiment?

Dr. FRANKLAND stated that no information had been given him on this point.

Dr. ODLING thought it was premature to be engaged already with theoretical considerations regarding the possible constitution of a body about which so little

7

appeared to be known. With the progress of experiment, certain reactions might, in due time, be discovered, by which the atomic arrangement would be indicated with a greater degree of certainty; but even with the aid of such further information it was often difficult to arrive at an ultimate decision in regard to the real nature or constitution of organic bodies, since, by varying the conditions, widely different radicals or combinations were in turn eliminated, and the inquirer was perplexed as much as ever in attempting to select that reaction or series of changes which would best explain the true constitution of the substance under investigation. He was himself almost tempted to believe that the simple expression of the kind and number of elementary atoms in a compound body would be generally the most appropriate formula by which a body could be described.

Dr. FRANKLAND remarked, that the provisional announcement of a series of possible formulæ appeared to incite to further investigation, and sometimes these hypotheses were corroborated by the results of more extended research. He begged to instance the theory of the ammonium type, originally proposed by the President, which had been fully substantiated by later experiment, and had done so much good service in classification and discovery.

The PRESIDENT then gave a most interesting account of some experiments he had lately been making upon a colouring matter shown in the French Department of the International Exhibition. The substance was in the form metallic reflection; and, by the kindness of M. Ménier, of beautiful crystals of a rosanilic character, with a green he was put in possession of a sufficient quantity to enable him to undertake their chemical examination. He soon identified them as being the chinoline blue of Mr. Greville Williams; they were called, however, "cyaniline," or to an erroneous conception regarding their nature, since "cyanine"-a commercial name, which would lead one they were not basic in their character, nor did they contain aniline. The solution in water or alcohol had a magnificent blue colour, being, however, more fugitive than beautiful; and, as evidence of the commercial importance of rendering this dye permanent, it might be stated, that the Société de Mulhouse had offered a premium of 10,000 francs to any one who should succeed in accomplishing this object. He would candidly admit, however, that the result of his own experiments had not been practically successful, and that he was not yet in a position to claim the prize. To return to the chemical question, the crystals were found to contain iodine, and, on more minute examination, were shown to consist of two bodies in intimate admixture, and very difficult to separate. He proceeded to decompose the iodide by the action of oxide of silver upon the alcoholic solution, and the base, or bases, so obtained were converted into chlorides, and treated with bichloride of platinum in such a way as to effect partial precipitation; and by comparing the first product with the last there was evidence of a separation into distinct bodies having been effected. The platinum salts respectively were decomposed by sulphuretted hydrogen, and yielded products from which the original composition of the crystals could be deduced. The two iodides were represented by formulæ as follows:

8

If now the first-mentioned component of the crystals be viewed as an ammonia, it becomes related to the iodide of amyl-lepidine ammonium, and the second compound to the iodide of amyl-chinoline ammonium, thus

I. 2(CHN) + 2(C2H1,I) =C30H, N.I2. II. 2(C,H,N) + 2(C2H11I)=C2H6N2I2. It will be seen that the union of two equivalents of iodide of amyl furnishes, in each instance, compounds differing only from those present in the crystals by the elements of hydriodic acid; and Von Babo, who analysed some of these products in 1856, obtained this splendid colouring matter by the action of potash upon the first of these iodides. Only half of the iodine is removed, the reaction being as

CHEMICAL NEWS, Jan. 3, 1863.

solubility of the chromate of lead. The iodide of lead dissolved freely in hyposulphite of soda, forming a colourless solution. The suboxide of copper and the hydrated protoxide were very soluble. On heating such solutions, black sulphide of copper was precipitated. The scarlet iodide of mercury was likewise very soluble, and, on boiling this solution, the sulphide of mercury was thrown down in the red modification. Sulphate of lime was soluble to a considerable extent in hyposulphite of soda, and not re-precipitated on boiling-a circumstance which led the author to believe that this salt might be used with advantage in steam boilers to prevent incrustations of sulphate of lime. The sulphates of baryta and strontia were, on the other hand, perfectly insoluble.

The PRESIDENT, after coinciding with Mr. Field in the opinion, that the method of fusion with bisulphate of potash was unsatisfactory in the analysis of chrome ores, stated that he preferred to employ a mixture of borax and caustic potash, which, according to his experience, acted more energetically upon these refractory minerals than any kind of flux in common use.

The meeting was then adjourned until Thursday,

2(C15H20NI).

The corresponding chloride forms double compounds by uniting with two equivalents either of bichloride of platinum or terchloride of gold. It became interesting to study the action of heat upon the iodide, in order to ascertain whether it would split up in a similar manner to the iodide of tetrethyl-ammonium. Under these circumstances, it was anticipated that it would be resolved again into iodide of amyl and two equivalents of lepidine, with formation of amylene as the residual product. A tube surrounded with ice was adapted to the apparatus in which the distillation was conducted, and the expected product was duly collected, which had the boiling point, and all the characters of ordinary amylene. The following equa. tion correctly represented this charge:

=

C30H39N2I CH1I+2(C10H,N) + CH10. In conclusion, he was happy to remark that the theory of ammonias which he propounded in 1852 proved true also of the tinctorial ammonias.

Mr. CHURCH stated that he had been for some time past engaged, in conjunction with Mr. Greville Williams, with the chemical examination of these same products. They had, however, been working upon the dye obtained from pure chinoline, which crystallised in the form of square prisms. The results were generally the same, although higher in the series, than those announced by Dr. Hofmann. The blue dye was of so changeable a nature, and faded so rapidly on exposure to sunlight, that Mr. W. H. Perkin had no difficulty in taking a photograph upon a surface prepared with the dye.

Mr. FREDERICK FIELD read a paper on "Some Reactions of the Hyposulphites." The author referred to the use of hyposulphite of soda as a solvent for the chloride and iodide of silver in photography, and to certain facts in reference to these bodies, which formed the subject of a communication to the CHEMICAL NEWS.† Besides those already named, there were many other substances, ordinarily insoluble, which could be readily dissolved in the same manner. Sulphate of lead was very soluble, even the natural crystals of this substance being rapidly attacked. The chromate of lead was almost insoluble, and the author was induced to attempt the separation of chromate and sulphate of lead in this way, which would have served a useful purpose in the analysis of chrome iron ore, when, after fusing with bisulphate of potash, the soluble chromate, together with a large amount of sulphate, were present in the same solution. It was found, however, that the accuracy of the process was impaired by the slight

+ Vide CHEMICAL NEWS, vol. iii, p. 17.

SOCIETY OF ARTS. November 26, 1862.

Dr. A. W. WILLIAMSON, F.R.S., in the Chair. Mr. B. H. PAUL, Ph.D., read a paper on the "Utilisation of Peat, with reference more particularly to the Manufacture of Hydrocarbon Oils."

The application of peat to some useful purpose is a subject which has at various times attracted considerable attention; a vast amount of inventive ingenuity has been bestowed upon it; it has given rise to very sanguine, and I may say, in some cases, very exaggerated expectations, and, as a natural consequence, it has been a source of proportionate disappointment. Notwithstanding the numerous attempts and proposals that have been made for utilising peat, very little has been done as to inquiring into and elucidating what are really its capabilities and disabilities as a material for use in the arts. But a know

ledge of these circumstances is an essential preliminary to any successful application of it, and I hope to be able, in some degree, to contribute to the acquisition of such a knowledge by bringing before this Society the results of several years' practical experience in the prosecution of this subject.

Taking it for granted that the existence of enormous deposits of peat in various parts of the kingdom is sufficiently well known, and having regard more especially to its technical value, it will be unnecessary for me to enter into any consideration of the origin and formation of peat, or of the different views entertained on that subject. It will be sufficient for my purpose to consider peat as it exists now; and with regard to this point there are two modes in which it occurs, which I believe to be of importance as regards its application to useful purposes. In one case we find peat deposits in the form of what are called peat-bogs, masses of peat of considerable superficial extent, and generally of great depth, 20 ft., 30 ft., and sometimes upwards of 100 ft. deep, where the uppermost layers are of a loose, fibrous, or grassy texture, and saturated with water to such an extent, in some instances, as to be inWhen the capable of affording any support to the foot. water is drawn off from these bogs by drainage, the peat is generally found to vary in character according to the depth at which it is situated, gradually becoming darker in colour, more compact, and having less evident indications of vegetable structure. At the bottom of such bogs the peat is generally a black pasty mass of a clayey consistency.

In the other case we find, situated on the slopes of

mountainous country, peat deposits, which are never of very great depth, generally from 12 ft. to 2 ft., and where the peat is sufficiently solid to be walked upon with ease. In these deposits the peat is of a more uniform texture and character throughout than in bogs, although there is always a greater or less difference between the peat at the surface and that at the bottom. These deposits of mountain peat are very common in the Highlands of Scotland and in some parts of Ireland.

Mountain peat offers very much greater facilities for cutting than bog peat, and it is generally of much better quality. Bog peat, when dried, has very much the appearance of pressed hay; it rarely has a density of more than 300 or 400-water being 1000,-and the cubic foot weighs only from 15 lb. to 30 lb.; it would, perhaps, be useful to distinguish it by the term "turf," from the true mountain peat, which when dried is dark brown or quite black, with little or no remains of plants in it; capable of taking a high polish when rubbed, and of a density greater than that of water, the cubic foot weighing from 53 lb. to 78 lb.

The method of cutting peat in the Highlands of Scotland is very different from that adopted for cutting peat from bogs. In the first place, trenches are opened at distances of about ten yards apart; and, according to the nature of the ground, these trenches are made from 50 to 400 or 500 yards long. After removing the surface sod at the places where the trenches are to be cut, for a width of three feet, along the whole line of the trench, the peat cutter digs out the peat with a peculiar-shaped tool, in slices of about a foot square, and three or four inches thick. As fast as these slices are cut, another man takes them off the peat iron, and throws them on the surface, so as to spread them out as much as possible. In this way prisms of peat, measuring three feet in width and depth, are cut out at intervals of ten yards, and the number of slices cut in each trench are just as many as a man can throw on both sides of the trench, without shifting his position, except from one end of the trench to the other, as the cutting advances.

In succeeding years the peat is cut from the two banks thus formed in each trench, to a width of only eighteen inches, and a depth of three feet. The advantage of this system of cutting is, that there is no necessity for removing the peat by barrows to the spreading ground, a proceeding which is attended with considerable expense for labour. When the peat is cut in this way from a bank 150 yards long, it will give 75 cubic yards of wet peat, and the number of slices into which this is divided will be about 8000. Then, as the banks are ten yards apart, there are five yards' width of drying-ground to each bank, or a superficial area of 6750 square feet to each bank of 150 yards long. Cutting it in this way every year, it would take ten years to remove the whole of the peat to a depth of three feet. As the banks are cut away in successive years the area of spreading ground on the surface is reduced, and some of the peat has to be spread at the bottom of the trench, the area of which increases as that of the banks' surface is reduced by the cutting.

The peat cut to a width of eighteen inches, and a depth of three feet, from a bank of 150 yards long, is what is called an iron's work, and the 75 yards of peat so cut yields about ten tons of dry peat, so that to cut 7000 or 8000 tons of dry peat would require 750 irons' work, or banks about 64 miles in length, and extending over an area of about one-fifth of a square mile. This area of ground would supply 7000 or 80co tons every year for ten years.

The cutting and spreading of peat in this way forms but a proportion of the cost of the dry peat. A far more considerable portion of its cost results from the labour of collecting the dry peat and bringing it to the place where it is to be used. Herein lies one of the greatest difficulties of employing peat on any very extensive scale. What

9

ever mode may be adopted for collecting the dried peat to one spot for use, the cost of carriage will increase in proportion to the increase in the quantity of peat consumed at that spot. Thus, for instance, in the case of a factory consuming 7000 tons annually, it would be requisite to carry the peat, on the average, a distance of one-tenth of a mile; if the quantity consumed were 70,000 tons, it would be requisite to carry it an average distance of half a mile; and if the quantity consumed were 300,000 tons a year, it would have to be carried an average distance of two miles, or a mile and a-half, inasmuch as the cutting ground would extend over an area of eight square miles. The extent to which this disadvantage affects any particular instance of the use of peat will depend very much on the skill exercised in laying out the ground for cutting the peat, and in disposing the banks and tram-roads, or other means for conveying the peat to the place where it is to be used; but it is a disadvantage which can only be reduced by such means within the smallest possible limits, and which is quite inseparable from the use of peat on a large scale.

Another prominent difficulty attending the use of peat consists in obtaining it in a dry state, fit for use as fuel or otherwise. Mountain peat, as it occurs naturally, contains as much as 80 per cent. of water, even when it has been well drained, and bog peat often contains very much more. Consequently, to obtain one ton of dry peat, five tons of material have to be dug and spread, and four tons of water have to be got rid of by evaporation. When mountain peat is cut in slices, as I have described, and spread out on the ground during dry weather, the drying goes on rapidly, the surface of the pieces acquire a kind of skin, which is not wetted again by rain, and the peat, in the course of a week, is sufficiently hardened to be handled. The pieces are then set up on edge, so that the air may play on both sides, and, in the course of six weeks or two months, they are dry enough to be stacked or heaped up. But, unfortunately, peat districts are generally remarkable for a very moist atmosphere and for a great frequency of rain. In the Highlands of Scotland, and in the Hebrides, on an average, there is rain four days out of six, and it is only during the months of May, June, and July that you can expect to have any continuance of weather favourable for drying peat. It is necessary, therefore, to obtain the utmost advantage of that period for the drying of the peat; and to do so, the peat must all be cut before the end of May at latest. On the other hand, if the peat is cut during frosty weather, and becomes frozen, it crumbles to powder when the thaw comes, and for this reason it is not safe to commence the cutting at all before April, or even May. As a rule, it might be said that the month of May is the only time available for cutting peat in the Highlands of Scotland, and more espe cially in the Hebrides, so as, on the one hand, to avoid the destruction of the peat by frost, and, on the other hand, to insure the best possible chance of getting it well dried.

Notwithstanding the general moist condition of the air in those places, the boisterous winds which prevail are very efficacious in drying the peat; and if, during the months of May and early part of June, the peat has got a certain amount of drying, and a skin has formed on the surface of the pieces, it may be considered safe, whatever kind of weather there may be afterwards. It may then remain on the ground, set up in little heaps, till the autumn, and will get the advantage of whatever dry weather there may be. Of course, even in this case, the quality of the peat will depend on the weather; but if the cutting is not finished by the end of May, there is always less probability of getting the peat in good condition.

It will be evident, from these circumstances, that the cutting of peat, to supply a factory consuming any large quantity, must be an affair requiring considerable management, so as to get the work done in the short space of time available for it, and the difficulty of effecting this increases

ΙΟ

in proportion to the quantity of peat required to be procured.

Two men working together, one cutting and the other casting the peat, will, in good weather, get through about one iron's work in a day, equivalent to ten tons of dry peat; so that, if they were able to work every day during May, they would cut from 200 to 300 tons of peat; and to get 10,000 tons cut and spread, 100 men would be required for the whole month; and to get 300,000 tons cut and spread, would require 3000 men to be employed for the whole month. It is unnecessary to dilate upon the difficulty of getting such a large number of men together for the work, and of organising a system for measuring the work done, and carrying on the general supervision of the peat cutting on such a large scale; but I may mention, that there are circumstances connected with the habits of the people in those districts which are in some degree favourable to the carrying out of such an operation. The people are almost all fishermen, and the fishing season does not commence until the end of May or June; so that it would be possible to obtain many of these men before they go to the fishing, and thus the inconvenience of employing a large number of men for a short period would not be so great there as it would in most other instances. Moreover, these people are accustomed to hutting themselves, with no small degree of comfort, in huts or bothies built of the surface sods of the peat, and they live in these as a rule throughout the Hebrides; so that a squad of 200 or 300 men find, on the ground where they are going to work, the materials for their encampment, and it is interesting to see the dexterity and quickness with which they construct

these bothies.

(To be continued.)

NOTICES OF PATENTS.

2474. Treating Oils obtained by the Distillation of Bones. J. STUART, Poplar, London. Dated October 4, 1861. (Not proceeded with.)

THIS process consists in digesting crude bone-oil with hydrochloric or diluted sulphuric acid; then to separate the highly coloured acid, and add thereto a sufficient quantity of alkali to precipitate a brown colouring matter, which may be used as a pigment. The oil, after this treatment, is mixed with carbonate of potash and oxide of iron, introduced into an iron retort, and subjected to distillation, when a refined bone-oil passes over, the residual product in the retort serving for the preparation of ferrocyanide of potassium. For each gallon of oil, one pound of hydrochloric acid, half a pound of carbonate of potash, and six ounces of oxide of iron may be used, but the inventor does not restrict himself to these proportions.

2525. Artificial Manure. T. TIDMARSH, Dorking. Dated October 9, 1861.

FOR the manufacture of a manure of special excellence the inventor collects any available refuse matters, whether of animal or vegetable origin, such as peat, turf, stubble, bones, hide, &c., and reduces them to an alkaline ash by burning. With this he further mixes a variety of nitrogenous materials, such as farmyard manure of different kinds, and to every ton weight of the mixture adds four bushels of quicklime and twenty-five pounds of oil of vitriol !!

2527. Charging Illuminating Gas with the Vapour of Hydrocarbons. W. J. WILLIAMS, Warnford Court, London. Dated October 10, 1861. (Not proceeded with.) THIS invention consists in causing illuminating gas, in its passage from the meter to the burners, to pass through a series of perpendicular rows of threads or cords saturated with the liquid hydrocarbon, by which it becomes charged

(CHEMICAL NEWS, Jan. 3, 1863.

2550. The Application of a New Material in the Manufacture of Paper and Cardboard. V. PIRSON and A. DEYESER, Brussels. Dated October 12, 1861. (Not proceeded

with.) THE inventors propose to use the Spanish trefoil or lucerne for the manufacture of paper pulp, treating it in the same times be used with advantage. The plant is picked over manner as linen and cotton rags, with which it may someby hand, boiled with caustic alkali, washed, bleached and macerated, until the fibre is uniform in colour and quality.

gases.

in generating certain gases for lighting and heating, and 3093. Jacques Arbos, Barcelona, Spain, "Improvements in apparatus employed therein."

3117. George William Oldham, Moll Spring, Honley, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, "Improvements in preparing and dyeing silk waste, flax, hemp, Indian or China grass, or other similar fibrous substances."

3157. John Moule, Seabright Place, Hackney Road, Middlesex, "An improved method of deodorising mineral oils and hydrocarbons."

3159. Albert Louis Woolf, Birmingham, "A new or improved metallic alloy."

3167. Thomas Marwood Elton, St. Luke's Soap Works, Golden Lane, Barbican, London, "Improvements in the manufacture of soap, and in the machinery employed therein."-Petitions recorded November 25, 1862.

3172. Joseph Francis Foveaux, Strand, London, “Iminto spray."-A communication from Amatus Luer, Paris. provements in apparatus for pulverising or dividing liquids

3175. Alfred Vincent Newton, Chancery Lane, London, "An improved mode of preparing oxide of zinc as a pigment."-A communication from George Lewis, Philadelphia, U.S.-Petitions recorded November 26, 1862.

3252. James Braddock, Droylesden, Lancashire, "Certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for effecting

CHEMICAL NEWS,

Jan. 3, 1863.

the separation of impurities from the water employed in steam boilers, and also for effecting the circulation of the said water."

Notices to Proceed.

2134. William Maugham, Prospect Place, Wandsworth Road, Surrey, "Improvements in the manufacture of effervescent beverages."-Petition recorded July 28, 1862. 2170. Elijah Freeman Prentiss, Birkenhead, Cheshire, and Robert Adam Robertson, Liverpool, "Improvements in obtaining products from rock oil, coal, coal tar, and other like mineral substances, in a more or less pure and deodorised state, and in the apparatus to be used therefor, and which is also applicable to distillation in general.”. Petition recorded July 31, 1862.

2235. Thomas De la Rue, Westbourne Terrace, Middlesex, "Improvements in the manufacture of pigments and writing inks."-Petition recorded August 9, 1862.

CORRESPONDENCE.

Black Dye from Aniline.

To the Editor of the CHEMICAL NEWS.

SIR,-In reply to a notice in the CHEMICAL NEWS of December 20, 1862, and signed by Mr. W. Cort Wright, I beg to say that I have seen a black from aniline, dyed and printed in July, 1860, which was discovered by Mr. John Lightfoot, jun., Broad Oak Print Works, Accrington, a swatch of which I beg to enclose.-I am, &c. J. C. DERBYSHIRE.

Church, near Accrington.

Red Chalk.

To the Editor of the CHEMICAL NEWS. SIR,-I have made analyses of several varieties of red chalk. On my return to town I will look over my notes, and will endeavour to send you, for insertion in the CHEMICAL NEWS, an abstract of my results. One of the specimens, in very hard nodules, contained at least four times the amount of sesquioxide of iron found by Mr. Clapham. I can confirm his remark as to the almost complete absence of sulphate of lime from the red chalk, an observation almost sufficient to negative the hypothesis, that the ferric oxide of this formation is derived from iron pyrites, especially as no separate crystallisations of gypsum have been as yet detected in the stratum in question. I am, &c. A. H. CHURCH.

Double Equivalents.

To the Editor of the CHEMICAL NEWS.

SIR,-I was much surprised on observing the onslaught made on Gerhardt's notation by parties signing themselves "F.R.S.," and "F.C.S."

Their attack abounds in strong expressions, which should be avoided in all calm reasoning. Their proofs are not to the point, and, therefore, whether "facts" or not, are valueless in this case.

They take water as an example. Why single out this compound? Why not take peroxide of hydrogen? It is composed of H and O in the ratio of 1 to 16; therefore, by reasoning analogous to theirs, these "must naturally be the equivalents for these bodies," viz., the numbers 1 and 16.

They admit that their equivalent for H occupies two volumes, whilst that for O occupies only one volume. Distinctions are never drawn without reason. What reason is there for one here? The equivalents of the chlorine group compared with the equivalent for H are synonymous with volumes of the bodies in the gaseous state. What reason have we for saying that such is not the case with the oxygen group? If there be no differ

ence, then the formula for water is clearly H2, or 2 equivalents of H to 1 equivalent of 0.

=

The formula G,H,N, when 12 is just the same practically as the formula C12H,N, where C: = 6. The one serves as well as the other for calculating the composition of aniline. Surely 6 times 12 = 12 times 6. The remainder of their article consists of strong statements, for which they give no proof.

Practically, it matters not which system be chosen. See CHEMICAL NEWS, vol. i., p. 105. "The Radical Theory in Chemistry." Theoretically, I think that Gerhardt's notation is more systematic, and develops analogies better than any other. See CHEMICAL NEWS, vol. i., p. 220, "On Acids and Salts." In conclusion, I am prepared to prove my statements at greater length, either in your columns or privately. I undertake, without fear, to show that organic chemistry is anything but "a chaos." I am, &c. T. FAIRLEY.

To the Editor of the CHEMICAL NEWS. SIR,-Your correspondents, "F.R.S." and "F.C.S.," will render great service to rational chemistry, by continuing to show up, in the trenchant style which characterises their last letter, the wretched absurdities involved in the so-called polyatomic views, which now jostle us at every turn, and even threaten to "push us from our stools."

But I could wish they had proceeded further in their attacks upon unnecessarily multiple equivalents, and had striven to explode the older fallacy of making carbon 6 instead of 3.

To adopt their own happy language, I defy any chemist to show the slightest advantage to be gained by this doubling, or to refute the following simple facts, which are directly opposed to it:

The equivalent of hydrogen being taken 1, we observe that when hydrogen and carbon unite to form marsh gas, 1 lb. of H unites with 3 lbs. of C; and, therefore being the equivalent of H, 3 must naturally be the equivalent of C. If we take volumes, we find 2 vols. of H combine with equivalent, or 3 parts, of C; here, also, the 2 vols. of H weigh 1 lb., whilst the C with which it is combined weighs 3 lbs. The marsh gas thus formed equals 1 vol.; and if (to establish a similarity between this gas and organic vapours) we make this 1 vol. equal to 4 vols., we have evidently in these 4 vols. equivalents of C = 12, and 4 equivalents of H 4. If, therefore, we double the equivalent of carbon, we must also double that of hydrogen, and, consequently, the equiva lents of all the elements, without exception. It is evidently more simple to double nothing at all! If we wish to represent 4 vols. of marsh gas, can it not be done by writing C.H?

=

We have hitherto allowed our doubling friends too much their own way in these matters, ever letting them obtrude their nonsensical views without contradiction. But to quash this growing heresy, a very different plan must be pursued. For my part I would gladly join with "F.R.S." and "F.C.S." in a determined effort to extinguish utterly all new doctrines, which we do not comprehend, and cannot, for the lives of us, appreciate. I am, &c. NOT AN EPHESIAN.

London, December 24.

Estimation of the Soluble Sulphides in Crude Sodas.

To the Editor of the CHEMICAL NEWS.

SIR,-I have seen in your journal a process given by M. Lestelle for the estimation of sulphide of sodium in soda ashes and in "vat liquors " by means of nitrate of silver in ammoniacal solution, and, with your permission, I wish to point out to your readers its total inapplicability for the purpose. All crude sodas in which sulphide of sodium is present contain, also, sulphite of soda; and the liquors, besides these salts, often contain hyposulphite of soda