in the solution so that about half its bulk rises above the fluid, the formation of ozone will immediately ensue, provided the temperature be 15° to 20° R. Part of the ozone formed, acts upon the saline solution and transforms part of its protoxyd of manganese into permanganic acids, whose presence is indicated by the beautiful deep red color which the solution assumes in the course of a few hours. The same richly colored fluid is obtained by shaking a solution of sulphate of manganese or any other manganese salts in dilute phosphoric acid with ozonized air. Having drawn up a detailed account of these and other experiments, which before long will be published in "Poggendorff's Annalen," I take the liberty to refer the readers of your periodical to that Journal. Enclosed you will find some specimens of manganese drawings and writings produced in the manner above described. By exposing them for a short time to the action of gaseous sulphurous acid, you may easily destroy the image, &c., and restore them, by ozonized air. ART. XXIV.—Ancient Sea Margins; by ROBERT CHAMBERS. TO THE EDITORS OF THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. 1 Donne Terrace, Edinburgh, July 9, 1847. Gentlemen:-I beg, through the medium of your pages, to call the attention of American geologists to a line of investigation, from which I have been led by inquiries of my own in this country, to expect some important results. It is that of natural terraces, benches of land, and other forms of the surface, which appear to indicate the former presence of the margin of the sea. Hitherto ancient beaches have been chiefly inferred from the presence of shells, but I am satisfied from my researches here, that they can be detected with equal certainty from the configuration of the ground and the presence of sand, gravel, and other materials, such as are usually found on beaches. In Scotland, I have by this means ascertained the existence of a series of ancient beaches, from 64 to 616 feet above the level of the sea at high water of ordinary tides, besides a few at inferior elevations, but too much huddled to be described with precision. And these are not marked at one place only, but many of them appear at various places all around the island. In each several place they are perfectly horizontal in the line of the ancient coast. In some places, two, three, and four, may be distinctly traced on one hill-face towards the sea, or in a valley which had formerly been the bed of an estuary. Precisely the same group seldom appears in two such places-though several of them are remarkably persistent. More generally, one of those present at place A is wanting at place B, while another is perhaps substituted. There is no difficulty, however, in seeing that those common to the two situations are the memorials of one set of pauses of the sea, as they always appear at certain elevations, with intervals which, though in some cases small, are always peculiar and characteristic. In short, there is here evidence that the process by which the relative level of sea and land has changed in our island at the era of the superficial formations, was one which did not move the land in the slightest degree off the plane which it had previously occupied. I need scarcely remark, that, in consequence of what we have heard for some years, of the unequal changes of relative level in South America and Scandinavia, every step of this investigation was attended by a battle with my prepossessions. The facts, however, are of so clear and palpable a nature, that there is no gainstanding them. And perhaps there is no necessary inconsistency between them and the observations of Messrs. Darwin and Lyell. Any how, it has appeared to me exceedingly desirable to learn how far this uniformity has prevailed, and I have therefore visited France and Ireland, in order to search for terraces and ascertain their heights. You may believe it was with no common emotions that I found in these countries terraces broadly marked and characteristically grouped as in Scotland, and at precisely the same elevations,-proving that France and Ireland stood in the same predicament as the island of Great Britain with respect to the change of the sea level, by whatever means that had been brought about. Since then I have been led to inquire after the heights of the terraces of more distant regions, particularly Scandinavia and North America; and certain it is, however startling and unexpected, that there are appearances as if the uniformity extended even thus far. I am anxious to speak on this point with caution, and with full preparation for evidence to a different effect. Yet amidst all the obscurity of observations made with no regard to this point, and which coming from different minds must needs bear some incompatibilities, there does appear enough at least to awake a strong suspicion of the uniformity in question, and to make me feel quite unjustifiable in refraining from further enquiry. For instance, a sixty feet beach is described at Fossum in Norway, and in the Mindar islands in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. The phrase might describe a geognostic feature of this island, than which I do not know any more remarkable. I find also, in a paper by the Profs. Rogers, on the tertiary formations of Eastern Virginia, (Trans. Am. Soc., 1839,) a description of what they call a bench of land (one of my own phrases) between the rivers Potomac and Rappahannock, which, besides being from sixty to seventy feet high over several miles, is in the main lithologically a perfect counterpart to many examples of the terrace at the same height on the British coasts. There are even more striking coincidences than these. The gravel plain at West Point, if it can be considered as connected with the sea margin of a former era, is in harmony with one of the greatest of the British terraces. Nay, among the elevated terraces which Mr. Roe has described as stretching along the sides of Lake Ontario, there are some which come surprisingly near to certain similar formations which others have described in this country. There may be nothing here but accidental coincidence; indeed it may be admitted that most probably there is nothing else in the case. It were well, nevertheless, to make sure. For this purpose, I now beg to suggest to the geologists of America, the propriety of examining such examples of ancient beaches as may be within reach in their several districts, with a view to settling the question one way or another. To all in America who have written on kindred subjects, I would respectfully recommend this inquiry, than which none could be more easily conducted. The first point should be, to find other instances of the sixty-four feet beach; in this country it is usually a broad terrace of sandy or gravelly materials, presented towards the sea or along the banks of tidal rivers. If really a general feature of America, as of Britain and Ireland, I should expect it to be found in many situations along the banks of the Hudson. An examination of the form and constitution of this terrace will fit the enquirer for discovering the higher beaches; to which, however, I do not think it proper to attempt affording any guide by the elevations of those found in Scotland, as obviously, if there be any correspondences these will have more force as evidence, if we can say that the two sets of facts were arrived at independently. I shall only remark that terraces between one hundred and fifty and three hundred feet are more likely to be efficient as tests than any of lower altitude excepting only the sixty-four feet beach, because in that higher range of elevations the intervals are wide and more characteristic. Accurate measurements by levelling from a certain specified datum are of course desirable, and the results should be published from time to time. I need scarcely say how much gratified I should feel by any communications to myself upon the subject. ART. XXV.-Glycocoll (Gelatine Sugar) and some of its Products of Decomposition; by Prof. E. N. HORSFORD. (Concluded from p. 70.) PRODUCTS OF DECOMPOSITION OF GLYCOCOLL. Action of Sulphuric Acid. As glycocoll contains the elements of fumarate of ammonia, C, H, NO,, HO=NH, 0, C, HỌ,, 4 4 it was conceivable that the employment of the appropriate agencies might effect a simple decomposition into these two members. Neither potash nor baryta, however, were found capable of expelling the ammonia. But upon dissolving in diluted sulphuric acid, and evaporation by heat to syrup consistence, redissolving with water, again evaporating, and repeating this process several times, at a certain stage, not definitely ascertained, the whole crystallizes in forms of great beauty;-which when washed with alcohol and pulverized, with addition of potash yield ammonia. Some of the crystals were nearly cubic, reminding one of chlorid of sodium, others were rhombic with feathered margins. They taste and react acid, and do not change upon exposure to the air. Dried over sulphuric acid and analyzed, they gave the following results. Sulph. acid, 41.85 These numbers give the formula: C, H, NO,, SO,, HO+NH ̧O, SO, HO, as the juxtaposition of the per cents. of analysis and those de rived from direct estimate will show: This result supported the view that glycocoll contained not only the elements of fumaric acid and ammonia, but contained them in such form or arrangement, as would yield to an active affinity aided by heat. It was highly probable, therefore, that galvanic action alone would be adequate to the task of decomposition. To submit this query to the test of experiment, a solution of glycocoll was exposed to the action of a galvanic battery, consisting of four of Bunsen's pairs. The solution was separated by a membrane from the water. Upon closing the circle and plunging the poles terminated with platinum plate, one into the solution of glycocoll and the other into the water without, an instantaneous evolution of gas bubbles, at each pole succeded. After the action had continued a short time the fluid about the negative pole gave an alkaline reaction, while that about the positive pole gave an acid reaction. There could then scarcely a doubt remain, that glycocoll was a salt of which the base was ammonia and the acid a body identical in constitution with fumaric acid. To obtain this acid, glycocoll was treated several hours, over a moderate heat with sulphuric acid, in the manner above described-repeatedly diluting and evaporating. The sulphuric acid for the most part was thrown down with oxyd of lead, and the last traces accurately removed with solution of baryta. filtrate was then evaporated to concentration over sulphuric acid. In a few hours rhombic prisms of unexampled beauty and perfection, of the combination, P, OP, crystallized from the solution. The Their taste was exceedingly sour. In water they dissolved with difficulty and in ether and alcohol they were absolutely insoluble. With potash, ammonia was evolved from them. Combustion with chromate of lead, gave the following results. or in per cent. : Carbon, Hydrogen, With these results it was found impossible to construct any formula, containing only the elements of glycocoll, that could have been derived from the action of sulphuric acid. The first action of the acid would be the abstraction of ammonia. C1 H, NO, - NH ̧=C, H, 0,. 4 5 4 2 If in excess it was conceivable that the remaining member would be subdivided, giving oxalic acid and an oxyd of the radical of Dumas' alcohol and ether series. |