English Green.-We read that a pigment called English green is made by first colouring sulphate of baryta diffused in water by successive additions of acetate of lead and bichromate of potash, and then, after washing, adding to the yellow prussian blue suspended in water. Vogel proposes to shorten this process by using the bichromate and prussian blue at the same time, dissolved in oxalic acid. MISCELLANEOUS. Appointment of Mr. Squire as Chemist on the Household of the Prince of Wales. Our readers will be gratified to learn that Mr. Squire, the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, and who has held during the present reign the appointment of Chemist on her Majesty's establishment, has recently received a similar appointment on the household of his Royal ness the Prince of Wales. CHEMICAL NEWS, alloy, I find, is secured by a patent in England, of which the specification is now before me; it is dated 1860 (No. 278), and at the end the words are as follow:-"I claim the exclusive manufacture and use of the metal, alloy, or amalgam produced by the fusion of copper, zinc, and iron, as hereinbefore described or set forth." The patentee does not confine himself to exact proportions of the component metals; but he states that the alloy is best made of 60 lbs. by weight of copper, 38 lbs. 2 oz. of zinc, and 1 lb. 8 oz. of iron. Taking 60 lbs. of copper as the standard, the proportion of zinc may be increased, even as far as 44 lbs., and that of iron diminished to lb., or increased to 3 lbs. Now, Sir, permit me to present you with the following extract from the specification of a patent granted in 1779 (Dec. 10, No. 1240), to J. Keir, and invite you to compare it with the claim set forth in the specification of the preceding patent. The title of Keir's invention is "for a High-compound metal capable of being forged when red-hot or when cold, more fit for the making of bolts, nails, and sheathing for ships, than any metals heretofore used or applied for those purposes, and also for various other purposes where other metals have been used or applied." The alloy is made by combining together roo lbs. by weight of copper, 75 lbs. of zinc, and to lbs. of iron, and its percentage composition would be nearly 54 of copper, 40'5 of zinc, and 5.5 of iron. I think, Sir, you will be able to agree with me that at least there is a remarkable similarity between the old and the new patents, and a knowledge of this fact will, I am sure, be important to many of our artificers, who otherwise might be deterred from using the alloy in question.-Y.-Times. Soda in Coal.—We have received another communication on this alleged new discovery. We beg to assure our correspondents that there is nothing new in it. Dr. Percy has proclaimed the fact to his class during the last ten years; and soda is, moreover, mentioned in his "Metallurgy" as one of the constituents in the ashes of coal.-ED. C. N.] Royal Institution of Great Britain.-General monthly meeting, Monday, April 6, 1863. The Rev. J. Barlow, M.A., F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair. Leveson Francis Vernon Harcourt, Esq., B.A., William Harvey, Esq., F.R.C.S.L., Joseph Norman Lockyer, Esq., F.R.A.S., Paul Julius Reuter, Esq., Octavius Sturges, Esq., Frederick Thompson, Esq., and Robert Wigram, Esq., were elected members of the Royal Institution. Col. Dickens, Abraham Pope, Esq., John Rutherford Russell, M.D., and John Rivington, Esq., were admitted members of the Royal Institution. The presents received since the last meeting were laid on the table, and the thanks of the members returned for the same. (Austrian Gun Cotton.--Take cotton yarn and twist it into strands of suitable size to answer the same purpose as grains in gunpowder. (The size of these strands can only be ascertained by experiments.) It is then steeped for a few minutes in nitric acid contained in a stoneware vessel, squeezed, and thoroughly washed by water, which is permitted to fall upon it from a pipe set at a height of several feet. After this it is squeezed, and dried in a room heated to 130° Fahr., when it is ready to be treated with a mixture of nitric acid of 1.52 specific gravity, and sulphuric acid of 1.14 specific gravity. These acids, in equal quantities, are mixed together in a glass or stoneware vessel, and allowed to stand for twenty-four hours, then the prepared yarn is immersed in it for forty-eight hours, with occasional stirring; the vessels being covered; then it is squeezed, washed for several hours in running water, and dried again. After this it is soaked for a short period in dilute silicate of potash, squeezed, washed again, dried, and is fit for use. This gun cotton is manufactured by M. Reny, of Vienna. It emits but little smoke, and is not subject, like common gun cotton, to explode by percussion. Modern Inventions not always New-You are, I believe, at all times willing to give publicity to facts which may tend to promote the manufactures of this country, and, assuredly, in many cases, none will contribute more to this important result than the communication of evidence in proof of the invalidity of troublesome patents. This horrible patent incubus has become intensely oppressive and annoying; and it is a great satisfaction to be able to do anything which may, even in the least degree, abate the nuisance. An account of a peculiar alloy of brass with small quantities of tin and iron appeared in your columns some time ago; and there is reason to believe that it has not been in vain. But this, or a very similar SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. ROYAL INSTITUTION-Albemarle Street. 3 p.m. Professor 15. Wednesday. 16. Thursday. ROYAL INSTITUTION-Albemarle Street. Ansted, "On Geology." 3 p.m. Prof. CHEMICAL-Burlington House. 8 p.m. Messrs. W. H. LINNEAN-Burlington House. 8 p.m. 3 p.m. Prof. THE CHEMICAL NEWS. VOL. VII. No. 176.-April 18, 1863. SCIENTIFIC AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY. Remarks on the Proposed Application of the Soap-test to the Quantitative Analysis of Water, by B. H. PAUL. THE soap-test, in the form in which it was brought into use by Dr. Clark, is well known to be exceedingly useful in determining certain characters of water which are of importance as regards its economic applications; but Dr. Clark has not proposed to make any further application of the soap-test than the determination of these characters in water. Some years ago-about 1855-MM. Boudet and Boutron brought before the Académie des Sciences in Paris, an account of a method by which they proposed to effect, to some extent, a quantitative analysis of water, and the means by which they proposed to do this was essentially the same as that employed previously by Dr. Clark, viz., an alcoholic solution of soap. They received a prize for having brought forward this method; but neither MM. Boudet and Boutron, nor the members of the Academy who awarded to them this prize, made any mention of the fact of the soap-test having been previously in use for testing the quality of water, or of its having been introduced by Dr. Clark. This was in itself sufficiently remarkable; but it is much more remarkable to find a proposal now made before the Chemical Society to adopt the method of MM. Boudet and Boutron, in a somewhat modified form, as an improvement upon the plan introduced by Dr. Clark, and now generally used and established as a practical means of determining the relative qualities of water from different sources. The reason given for thus proposing to supersede the recognised mode of using the soap-test is," the want of a process by which surgeons and other scientific men interested in hygienic matters could easily make an analysis of water." This proposed method consists : 1. In estimating the hardness of the water in its normal condition;-the hardness thus found is considered to represent calcareous, magnesian, and iron salts, and half of the carbonic acid existing in the bicarbonates of lime, magnesia, and iron, or that existing as the solvent of the corresponding carbonates. 2. In estimating the hardness of the water, after it has been evaporated to dryness with sulphuric acid, so as to convert the bases into sulphates, then igniting the residue, and dissolving it in distilled water to the original bulk. The hardness thus found is supposed to represent the earthy salts alone, inasmuch as the iron would, by the ignition, be converted into oxide, and remain insoluble, and the carbonic acid that held the carbonates in solution would be expelled, together with that existing as part of those carbonates. The amount of carbonic acid and oxide of iron is therefore considered to be represented by the difference between. these two results, viz., the hardness of the water in its normal condition, and the hardness of the water when its salts are converted into sulphates. 3. In adding to the water a known volume of solution of nitrate of baryta of known hardness, and estimating the hardness of the mixture. This hardness is considered to afford a means of ascertaining the quantity of sulphates in the water, on the supposition that any sulphuric acid in the water will be precipitated as sulphate of baryta, and that, in this way, the hardness of the solution of baryta added to that of the water will be reduced in a degree equivalent to the amount of sulphates in the water. In the absence of sulphates, the hardness of the water mixed with baryta solution would equal the hardness of both added together; while, if sulphates were present, the reduction of that hardness would represent the quantity of sulphuric acid. There are other details in this proposed method of analysing water which it is unnecessary for me to refer to now, since those above mentioned will serve my present purpose of pointing out the fact that this method is quite untrustworthy. In the first place, it is a necessary consequence of the data on which the application of the soap-test is based by Dr. Clark, that the carbonic acid in water cannot be estimated as proposed by Mr. Nicholson. The hardness communicated to water by a given amount of earthy base or metal is the same whether it exists as carbonate, bicarbonate, sulphate, or chloride. It is true that the presence of carbonic acid in distilled water interferes with the indications of the soap-test to some extent, and it may do so in ordinary water; but carbonic acid does not act in the same manner as earthy salts do; that is to say, a quantity of carbonic acid equivalent to a grain of carbonate of lime does not, when combined with carbonate of lime as bicarbonate, produce the same amount of hardness in water as the carbonate of lime does. In the second place, there is not an equal degree of hardness produced by equivalent quantities of calcareous and magnesian salts, as has long since been shown by Mr. Campbell. This fact, which is probably due to the tendency of magnesia to form double salts, renders it impossible to estimate the amount of magnesian salts in water by means of the soap-test. In the third place, the proposed method of estimating sulphuric acid cannot give correct results, because sulphate of baryta is not formed in the presence of a large mass of water containing but minute proportions of sulphates and nitrate of baryta. This, among other conditions preventing the formation of sulphate of baryta, has long since been shown to be of importance in analysis. These facts, then, I consider to be sufficient to show that the opinion I have expressed, as to the untrustworthy nature of this proposed method, is well-founded. But I may refer also to the results given by Mr. Nicholson to represent the composition of the water supplied to Fort Pitt by the Chatham Water Company as illustrative of the defects of his method. He represents this water as containing, per gallon, 16.905 grains of carbonate of lime, besides carbonate of magnesia and oxide of iron in small amount; but, for the solution of these carbonates, he states, as the result of analysis by his method, that there is only 2.52 cubic inches, or 1169 grains of carbonic acid per gallon. This is a totally impossible case. There is much discrepancy in the statements as to the solubility of carbonate of lime in water; Mr. Graham giving it, on the authority of Bucholz, as dissolving to the extent of from 29 to 4'5 grains in the gallon; Fresenius giving it as 6.6 grains per gallon, while Lassaigne represents it as being much less soluble. Some few experiments which I have made on this subject seem to show that the maximum solubility of carbonate of lime in pure water is not more than 2 grains per gallon; but, according to Mr. Nicholson's analysis of the Chatham water, it would contain 14 grains of carbonates dissolved without carbonic acid. In order to obtain some positive evidence of the untrustworthy nature of the method represented as so unequalled in exactness for the estimation of carbonic acid in water, I made some comparative trials with water very similar to that supplied to Fort Pitt-the New River water. Its hardness, at the present time, is about 15°, according to Dr. Clark's scale, and of this 115 are due to carbonate of lime held in solution by carbonic acid, the water being softened to that extent by boiling. By evaporation to dryness with sulphuric acid, igniting and dissolving the residue in distilled water to the original bulk, the hardness was, within less than one degree, as much as that of the normal water, the reduction of hardness in this case being due to the separation of some little oxide of iron by the ignition. But if carbonic acid, holding carbonates in solution, could be estimated by this means, there should have been a difference between the hardness of the water in its normal condition and that of the water with its salts converted into sulphates, equal to more than 5°, to represent the carbonic acid holding 11.5 grains of carbonate of lime in solution. In order to meet an objection that might be raised to this result, viz., that the carbonate of lime might have been held in solution by a very small proportion of carbonic acid, I prepared an artificial water with a solution containing chloride of calcium, equivalent to 16 grains carbonate of lime per gallon, and added to it bicarbonate of soda equivalent to one-half that quantity. There was no precipitate produced; the water remained perfectly clear, and might then be regarded as containing, per gallon, chloride of calcium and bicarbonate of lime each equivalent to 8 grains of carbonate of lime. The hardness of this water was exactly the same, after the addition of the bicarbonate of soda, as it was without it; and when evaporated to dryness with sulphuric acid, as above described, the hardness was not any different. I am therefore satisfied that the calcium hardness of water is invariable, whatever may be the kind of salt present. {CHEMICAL NEWS, April 18, 1863. due to bicarbonate, remained after boiling the water, would represent the carbonate of lime dissolved in water. To obtain a precise result in this way for the solubility of carbonate of lime, of course numerous experiments would be requisite; but I consider the results I have obtained sufficient to justify the opinion that it does not exceed 2 grains per gallon. In endeavouring to ascertain the amount of sulphates in the New River water I found that the results obtained by Mr. Nicholson's method indicated the absence of sulphates, although this water is stated by Messrs. Graham, Miller, and Hofmann to contain upwards of 3 grains per gallon of sulphuric acid, and although in the ordinary way of testing it gave a marked indication of sulphuric acid. On searching for the cause of this anomaly, I found that a pint of this water, mixed with the baryta solution prescribed by Mr. Nicholson, gave no precipitate of sulphate of baryta. These simple facts are sufficient to show that whatever want there may have been of a method of analysing water easily, it is still as great as ever. Note.-I find it necessary to state, in reference to the above paper, that, since bringing this subject under the notice of the Chemical Society, I have with much surprise learnt that Mr. Dugald Campbell lays claim to the contents of it, either wholly or in part, as embodying "discoveries made by him." As Mr. Campbell has not complied with my request that he should particularise what it is which he imagines to belong to him, I am wholly at a loss to understand what can be the meaning of so extraordinary a claim, and I can only observe, in regard to the matter, that I am ignorant of any "discovery whatever being made known in the above paper, or of its containing any sort of novelty. In my estimation, it is simply a statement of self-evident conclusions from well-known facts, which it was competent for any chemist to use. So far as the experiments referred to in the paper are concerned, I may add that Mr. Campbell did not know of their being made until after they were completed, and therefore that he cannot claim whatever infinitesimal credit might be considered to attach to the making of them, or to the statement of their results.-B. H. PAUL. TECHNICAL CHEMISTRY. Aluminum. IT is a remarkable indication of the vitality of chemical science, as it is cultivated now-a-days, that the novelties and discoveries which, in such rapid succession, mark its onward progress, no sooner become currently known than they reappear in another sphere of activity, in the form of useful applications in some branch of arts, manufactures, or industry. This circumstance is evidence of a healthy appreciation on the part of those connected with the arts, of the value of results arrived at by chemical investigation conducted with a purely scientific aim. It is evidence, if not of the overthrow, at least of the decline of that monstrous fallacy, which assumes a necessary antithesis and antagonism between the scientific man and the practical man. It is evidence, on the one This artificial water also afforded a means of ascertain-hand, that practical men are beginning to recognise the ing the solubility of carbonate of lime; for if carbonate necessity of a knowledge more extensive than that of lime were absolutely insoluble in water, the boiling which can be acquired by the mere routine practice of of this water, so as to expel all the carbonic acid, should their art, whatever it may be; and, on the other hand, reduce its hardness to an extent equivalent to the it is evidence that scientific men are beginning to quantity of bicarbonate of soda added; while, on the appreciate the industrial value of the results obtained other hand, whatever part of the hardness originally by their labours to a greater extent than was formerly CHEMICAL NEWS, The Utilisation of Seaweed. 183 the case. It is true we still have the old-fashioned is like gold, without being it, but because it is nearly as practical man, at times manifesting in a most comical beautiful in itself, and combines with this character an manner his superiority to anything like a recognition of intrinsic value so much less than that of gold, that it scientific principles, and we still have scientific men may be applied to purposes for which gold could not persisting in that esoteric bigotry, which has contributed possibly be used at all. It is very strong, tenacious, to render science less esteemed than it might have been; and malleable, and remarkably hard, this character some, who unable to disentangle themselves from the being in fact so marked that it constitutes one of the mist they have gathered round them, continue to regard greatest present difficulties in the working of the alloy. the work and the results of the chemist's laboratory as The alloy of aluminum with silver seems likely to they might the contents of a Wardour Street curiosity-prove more useful as a material for articles of domestic shop. Not very long since paraffin figured in our courts use than the bronze, for notwithstanding the beauty of of law, under such patronage as this, as a "chemical the latter, the fact of its containing 90 per cent. of copper curiosity." It is now to be bought in the shape of would tend to limit its applicability more to articles of candles at a price, which, but a few years ago, would ornament than of utility. The silver alloy would not have been moderate for mutton dips. But happily the be open to this objection, but little seems yet to have practical and scientific men of this description are but been done with it. the fossil remains of a past epoch. Before the title of chemical facts and discoveries to be regarded as curiosities, can be established they must first be shown to be useless. The industry which has grown up out of the conversion of aniline into colouring substances is sufficient to show that this subject has not been treated as a "chemical curiosity." Numerous similar instances might be mentioned of the eagerness with which the new results of investigation are seized hold of and made serviceable, and one among these is the progress that has been made in the manufacture of aluminum, and its applications to useful purposes. In the hands of Messrs. Bell, of Newcastle, the results obtained by Wöhler, Deville, and others, have been brought into a practical shape, and the manufacture of the metal may now be said to be well started. Unquestionably there are difficulties still to be overcome, but with the start that has been made they are in a fair way of being met. The softness, the dull appearance, and the fragile nature of the metal are objections to its use when compared either with silver or with plated goods. But there are many applications in which these characters would be of far less importance than its cardinal merit of lightness, and, as compared with inexpensive metals, its lesser liability to discolour, tarnish, or oxidise by exposure to the atmosphere. The applications that have hitherto been made of aluminum have been most in the way of ornamental purposes; but, nevertheless, its price has been brought down to about sixty shillings the pound, whereas three or four years ago it cost as much an ounce. As regards aluminum itself, one of its most likely applications is probably as a material for statuettes and small works of art of this description, especially if a means could be found of giving to it a richer colour and appearance, either by a kind of bronzing or by the addition of some alloy. It requires a much less intense heat than silver for melting, and, when melted, it solidifies much more slowly. Consequently, it is particularly well adapted for castings that require to be executed with great delicacy. The sonorous character of aluminum is very peculiar, far exceeding that of silver as regards clearness, and this, together with its lightness, may become serviceable in the construction of musical instruments. The alloys of aluminum have been less minutely studied than they deserve to be, but the alloy of copper with 10 per cent. of aluminum is one which by its beautiful appearance and other characters will no doubt be of importance. This aluminum bronze has, like aluminum itself, been chiefly applied for ornamental purposes, and its beautiful yellow colour and lustre render it well adapted for such purposes, not because it A very interesting collection of articles manufactured in aluminum and aluminum bronze have been exhibited for some few days by Messrs. Mappin, of Regent Street, who have taken up the working of this metal and its alloys in earnest at their Sheffield works. The Utilisation of Seaweed. (Continued from page 172.) We have already remarked on the saving of weed that Mr. Stanford proposes to effect. He accomplishes this by drying and storing the plants in sheds after they have been allowed to drain in heaps or layers on suitable floors. It appears that it is easy to dry seaweed in this way, and, when dry, that there is no difficulty in keeping it. After drying, the weed may be compressed into cakes by hydraulic or other pressure, thus facilitating transport, stowage, &c., and rendering the residual charcoal denser and more suitable for burning. The dry seaweed, whether unpressed or in cakes, is now placed in retorts, arranged in a suitable furnace, and exposed to a dull red heat. By this proceeding the weed is separated into charcoal, tar, aqueous solutions, and gas. The gas (about 1200 cubic feet per ton of dry weed) may be employed for heating the rectifying stills or drying-sheds, or for lighting the factory, or it might even be employed for lighting a district, should there be one within available distance. The The retorts that Mr. Stanford recommends would be in the form of cylinders of wrought iron, placed vertically and with proper mechanical appliances for supplying the weed, conducting and collecting the products of distillation, and withdrawing the charcoal. charcoal may be allowed to fall either immediately into the lixiviating water, or into iron boxes so constructed as to protect it from the air. In the latter case, the boxes are wheeled into the drying-shed, so as to assist the operation of drying by the heat they give out. The charcoal presents a great advantage over kelp in lixiviation, as it floats on the water, so that as the water saturated with salts sinks to the bottom, the lighter portion rises, and a continual current is kept up, obviating all necessity for agitation, &c. Larger tanks are, however, required, as the charcoal is more bulky than kelp. The solution thus obtained is evaporated down, and treated by similar processes to those before described for extracting the required salts from kelp solutions. The salts obtained by the process have the advantage of being pure and colourless. After all the soluble salts have been extracted from the charcoal, and the latter has been dried in the air, it may be used for heating the retorts and evaporating the solutions. Peat may also be used as fuel, should it be abundant and easily obtained, or we may suggest seaweed itself, if thrown up in sufficient quantity, may be so employed. The charcoal may also (after the extraction of the salts) be treated with ammoniacal liquid, and, together with the insoluble ash, be used as manure. The ash is most valuable for this purpose, as it usually contains above 20 per cent. of earthy phosphates, which proportion is about the same as that in which these substances exist in Peruvian guano. The addition of crude ammoniacal salt obtained in the course of the process would form a manure worth about 10l. or 127. per ton. The residue left in the retort being thus disposed of, we will consider the "distillate," being that portion containing volatile oil, paraffin oil, naphtha, ammonia, acetic acid, and colouring matter, none of which substances have hitherto been obtained from this source. The first operation is to remove the tar by means of a syphon, and to distil it with its own bulk of water in an appropriate apparatus. The light volatile oil is thus separated, and floats on the surface of the water that has passed over. The oil is then decanted, and picoline and other oily bases are removed by the addition of sulphuric acid, which also causes the deposition of a red colouring matter. The oil is again distilled after agitation with sulphuric acid and successive washings with water and caustic soda. The tar from which the oil has been removed is redistilled at a stronger heat, by which means the paraffin oil is obtained, and is purified by sulphuric acid, caustic soda, and redistillation. The residual pitch may be either used on the spot for fuel, or, by being exposed to a red heat, still more paraffin may be extracted, the residue being a sort of coke particularly valuable on account of its freedom from sulphur. CHEMICAL NEWS, April 18, 1863. It will no doubt be found that, in practice, the process is capable of many improvements; it is also susceptible of modifications. For instance, the charcoal might be allowed to consume at a gentle heat, and the ashes conveyed inland, and treated as kelp is now. But we cannot help thinking that it will be found more advantageous to preserve the process entire, and to send into the market nothing but purified products. Doubts might have been entertained of the ultimate commercial success of a manufacture necessarily involving considerable expenditure in the first instance, did it not appear, from comparisons that have been made with a manufacture now actually carried on, that the real value of the products is such as will amply remunerate the projectors for their outlay, and soon yield them a large net profit. The manufacture to which we allude is for the extraction of various substances from peat. The two manufactures are peculiarly suitable for comparison with each other, as in each manufacture similar, and in some cases identical, products are obtained. This comparison has in both cases been based upon averages, and in the case of the seaweeds, fine varieties have been examined. In the first place, three of the most valuable products from seaweed are absent from the list of peat products. These three are iodine and the chlorides of potassium and sodium, and are of more value than any of the peat products. Secondly, from 1000 tons of seaweed are obtained about three times as much sulphate of ammonia, considerably more than twice as much paraffin oil and naphtha, and one-half as much again of acetate of lime and insoluble ash as are obtained from an equal weight of peat. When we add nearly 1 ton of iodine and 50 tons of chloride of potassium, we have a very large excess of valuable products over those obtained from peat. We must, however, make allowance, on the other hand, for nearly 14 ton of paraffin, 190 gallons of volatile oil, 70 tons of charcoal, and between 31,000 and 32,000 cubic feet of gas. To return to the liquid left in the condensers after the original distillation was followed by the removal of the tar. Distillation of this liquid with an excess of lime liberates the ammonia and naphtha, which are conducted into muriatic acid, leaving in the retort a crude The analyses from which these results have been calsolution of acetate of lime, which is evaporated to dry-culated were conducted by Mr. Stanford on a somewhat ness and purified by recrystallisation, &c. The dis- large scale, not merely as minute chemical analyses. tillate collected in muriatic acid is of course a mixture of sal-ammoniac and naphtha. As the latter of these is the most volatile, it passes over first in the next distillation (conducted by means of steam), and is purified by redistillation over quicklime. The sal-ammoniac is obtained in the usual manner from its solution left in the retort. This completes the process, which may appear somewhat complicated on paper, but is sufficiently simple in practice, and yields products so valuable as amply to compensate for the trouble and expense of extracting them. We have before dwelt upon the advantages that the charcoal produced by this process possesses over kelp, both in ease of manipulation and in purity and richness of products. We have now to notice a few other advantages offered by the process :- 1. The factory will, more or less, supply its own light and heat, both being obtained from the weed. 2. It can be erected in the immediate neighbourhood of the source of supply. 3. The manufacture will be continuous, and, of course, independent of weather, as the weed will be stored when most plentiful. 4. Other kinds of weed not containing iodine advantageously worked. may be The process has been discussed at the Society of Arts and the Pharmaceutical Society, on both of which occasions the process, as described by Mr. Stanford, met with the warm approval of the numerous scientific and commercial gentlemen present. Mr. Stanford has received the silver medal of the first-named Society for his paper, and another from the International Exhibition for his case of seaweed products exhibited in the Eastern Annex, and, since the closing of the Exhibition, removed to the Polytechnic Institution. In conclusion, we may remark that it rests with capitalists, kelp manufacturers, and the lairds of kelp districts, to avail themselves of the advantages offered by this manufacture. In due course of time this will be doubtless done, and the resulting benefits will prove that the marine alga need no longer be called weeds in the generally accepted sense of "noxious and useless plants." Nickel. THE following very interesting and useful information, respecting the metal nickel, was communicated by Mr. Lewis Thompson, M.R.C.S., to Newton's London Journal of Arts : "There is every reason to suppose that metallic nickel is an alloy of that metal with cobalt, in greater or smaller |