THE ANALYST. 45 ---- R E V I E W S . BLEACHING, DYEING AXD CALICO PRINTING (with Formulm). London : J. and A. THIS is an addition to Nessrs. Churchill’s series of technological handbooks, and it may be at once admitted that it is a very excellent one. I t is edited by Mr. John Gardner, F.I.O.? well known in connection with his laboars on Cooley’s Encyclopoedia, and who has called to his aid Mr. T. F. Hodges, Junior, of Belfast, and Mr. T. Ohadwick, of Manchegter. While not pretending to the position of an exhaustive treatise it yet proves how much valuable information may be condensed into a handy little book of 200 pages, and for a practical busy man the advantage of being able to at once lay his hand on plenty of good receipts and short succinct descriptions without wading through a mam of scientific verbiage will be at once apparent.Churchill. THE DISCOVERY OF THE PERIODIC LAW, AND ON THE RELATIONS AMONG THE ATOMICI T H I ~ is a collection of the author’s writings on the subject dating from 1864, with the object of asserting priority of authorship of the idea over that of both D. D. Men- delejeff and Lothar Meyer. With the too great tendency on the part of English chemists to revere everything foreign and pass over in silence native efforts it is refresh- ing to see some one with the pluck to assert his rights, even at the cost of republishing in book form, A prophet is never honoured in his own country, and Mr. Newlands is no exception, and by no means the first victim. We could point to papers containiag absolutely original processes which have appeared in our columns, but have been quietly ignored in the Chemical Society’s Journal until long afterwards, when they have been abstracted from the German journals, which in turn copied from us ! Every chemist interested in the support of native research should get a copy of Mr.Newlands’ book, and having marked, learned and duly digested the same, cease to talk of the periodic lam as a foreign discovery. So as to show the exact nature of Mr. Newland’s claim we give the summary of the same in his own words :-‘‘ I claim to have been the first to publish a list of the elements in the order of their atomic weight, and also the first to describe the periodic law, showing the existence of a simple relation between them when so arranged. I have applied this periodic law to the following, among other subjects :- ‘( 1.Prediction of the atomic weights of missing elements, such as the missing element of the carbon group = 73, since termed eka-silicium by M. Mendelejeff. (I 2. Predicting the atomic weight of an element whose atomic weight was then un- known, viz., that of indium. WEIGHTS. By John, A. R. Nezukwdt3, F.I. C., etc. London : E. and F. N. Spon.46 THE ANALYST. _ _ ~~~ “ 3. Selection of Cannizzarro’s atomic weiglits instead of those of Gerhardt or the old system, which do not show a periodic law. “4. Predicting that the revision of atomic weights, or the discovery of new elements, mould not upset the harmony of the law-since illustrated by the case of vanadium. 5. Explaining the existence of numerical relations between the atomic weights.I‘ 6. Where two atomic weights were assigned to the same element, selecting that most in accordance with the periodic law : for instance, taking the atomic weight of beryllium as 9.4 instead of 14. (‘ 7. Grouping certain elements so as to conform to the periodic lam instead of adopt- ing the ordinary groups. “Thus, mercury was placed with the magnesium group, thallium with the aluminium group, and lead with the carbon group. Tellurium, on the other hand, I have always placed above iodine, from a convictiou that its atomic weight may ultimately prove to be less than that of iodine. “ 8. Relation of the periodic law to physical properties-showing that similar terms from different groups, such as oxygen and nitrogen, or sulphur and phosphorus, frequently bear more physical resemblance to each other than they do to the remaining members of the same chemical group.11 It is not denied that I was the first to publish a list of the elements in the natural order of their atomic weights, and Wurtz has written, in reference to the periodic law, that ‘ it is a circumstance worthy of remark that such varied and unexpected develop- ments arise from the simple idea of arranging bodies according to the increasing value of their atomic weights. Having thus set forth the author’s views, we leave our readers to purchase the book and judge for themselves, because we feel certain that their verdict will support Mr. Newlands in his claim for priority. NEW COMMERCIAL PLANTS AND DRUGS, No. 7.By Th08. Christy, F.L.X., F,S.C.L, etc., pries 2s. MR. T. CHRISTY’S publication is, as usual, full of interesting facts and information about tropical plants. The present number contains articles on pepper and nutmeg cultivation, and on Liberian coffee ; space is also devoted to the consideration of new drugs; these are interesting to the public analyst, as a better acquaintance with the modes of cultivation and preparation of articles of food grown in the tropics may enable him to form an opinion as to the quality of the articles as met with here, and the likelihood of their being adulterated when viewed from a commercial standpoint, thus in one case a planter acknodedges that he sends his Liberian coffee over as Java, although the treatment of the berries produced by the Coffea Liberioa, resembles that of cocoa rather than coffee.Much useful and general information will be found about fibres, and a drawing and description of Nr. H. C. Smith’s machine for extractingfibre from the Rhea and other plants. Altogether “ Commercial Plants and Drugs ’’ is a valuable publication, not so much for the detailed information a8 to processes, as for the general remarks on the properties of the plants dealt with, made by planters and others engaged directly in their production and cultivation. This simple idea was a most important one.’ ”THE ANALYST. 47 THE TESTING OF PETROLEUM IN INDIA. ABOUT eighteen months ago attention was directed to the subject of the testing of petroleum in India, in conmquence of the detention by the Calcutta authorities of several cargoes of petroleum oil which were stated to be covered by ceidificates obtained before sxpment in the United 6tates, showing the flashing point of the oil to be not below the Indian legal standard.The matter was referred by the Indian Office to Sir Frederick Abel and Hr. Boverton Redwood, and the latter proceeded to Calcutta to test the oil. Eventually the cargoes mere passed, but the detention having .shown the insufficiency of the directions for testing prescribed by the Indian Petroleum Act, an inquiry was ordered. AR iuvestigation has accordingly been conducted by Sir F. Abel, Mi-. Redwood, Surgeon-Major Lyon, of Bombay, and a committee sitting in Calcutta. The results arrived at, and the conclusions of the Governor-General in Council, are embodied in an official resolution, which has recently been published in the Gazette of India.It has been decided that an amendment of the lam shall take place, and, with a view thereto, the Board of Analysts at Calcutta, and Surgeon-bdajor Lyon, of Bombay, are fo prepare fresh instructions for the use of the Abel system of testing in India. These instructions are to be based upon the recommendations contained in the joint niemorandum of Sir F. Abel and Messrs. Redwood and Lyon, and are to include a provision for correcting the results for barometiic pressure. Moreover, a stricter definition of the length of time occupied in the application of a test-flame is to be given, the Indian Government considering the memorandum in question incomplete in this particular, since it points out the necessity for such stricter definition, but doesnot specify the manner in which it is to be provided. The Governor-General has also considered Sir F.ALel's proposal to raise the test standard from 73O to 78' Fahr: (in which Mr. Redwood did not concur), and has decided against any change. Inasmuch as it has been found that, evea with the adoption of the proposed precautions, the Abel test mill still be liable, in some cases, to show a depression of the flashing-point to the extent of 3O Fahr. in a tropical as compared with a temperate climate, it was suggested that a margin ofavariation to that extent might be allowed ia the case of oil covered by an American certificate of 7 3 O or over. The Governor-General, however, declines to accede t o the suggostion, and accordingly announces that the trade must make arrangement8 to provide for this contingency-presumably by imporbing oil of 7S0 (Abel) flashing- point. Irz regard to the testing and passing of cargoes, animportant concession is, however, made, for it is proposed to provide by law that in cases where none of the samples tested of a given parcel show a flashing-point below 7O0 Fahr. the whole parcel may be passed, provided that the numerical average of the tests of all the samples i~l not below 73'. If, however, any one of the samples flashes below 70°, then the parcel is to be rejected, notwithstanding that the average may be not below 73O. Moreover, in the testing of each individual sample the analyst is to be empowered to certify a flashing- point deduced from several experiments, by striking an average, or othermim.