SUB-ORDER-MIMOSE.E. The products of the mimose are chiefly gums and astringent materials for tanning. Acacia cetechu yields those extracts which, under the name of cutch, terra japonica, gambier, and catechu, are so largely imported from India for tanning purposes. They are made by boiling the wood of the tree, reduced to chips, and evaporating the decoction to dryness. The bark of Acacia Melanoxylon is used for tanning in Australia, and has been occasionally brought to this country for the same purpose. The pods of Acacia nilotica (Delile), under the name of Neb-neb or both in tanning and dyeing. abstergens possesses saponaceous qualities in its bark, which is beaten out and used by the ladies of Manilla and other parts, for cleaning their hair under the name of Go-go. The seeds of Entada pursætha and Acacia concinna possess similar qualities and are extensively used in India. Bablah, have been imported, and used Many yield valuable timber, and one of the Acacias yields, by distillation from its flowers, one of the most exquisite perfumes in existence, it is the Acacia farnesiana (Wild.), a native of St. Domingo, but now very extensively diffused. It was introduced as an ornamental plant to the Farnese gardens in 1616, whence its specific name. In Cochin-China the oakum used for caulking seams of boats and houses is made by beating out the fibrous bark of Acacia pinnata. It would be impossible to give even a list of all the useful products of the Leguminosae without far exceeding the limits of a paper to be read on one evening, and I have therefore confined myself to a selection of the principal ones, and more especially, although not entirely, to those which form a part of our commercial imports. Many are to be seen in the new Museum, and before long, it is hoped nearly all will be there. The Rev. H. H. HIGGINS remarked upon the red colour of the lentile seeds when decorticated. That was the way in which they were used in Egypt for making soup; and it was interesting, in illustration of what was probably the real plant that formed the basis of the pottage which was called red pottage. He had always looked upon that colour of the lentile as affording presumptive evidence that the mess of pottage was made from that plant. K SEVENTH ORDINARY MEETING, Held at the ROYAL INSTITUTION, on the 26th January, 1857, THOMAS INMAN, Esq., M.D., PRESIDENT, in the Chair. The following were elected Ordinary Members : WILLIAM CLAY, DAVID HUTTON, DADABHAI NEOROJI. The CHAIRMAN communicated, that in accordance with the unanimous vote of the Society, to convey, in the form of an address, to WILLIAM BROWN, Esq., M.P., its strong sense of his noble liberality, in offering, at his own cost, to erect a Public Library and Museum worthy of Liverpool, he had conveyed the Society's wish to Mr. Brown, and begged to know when he would be pleased to receive the deputation from the Council. Mr. Brown fixed Saturday, the 24th, and with his wonted politeness, invited the deputation to dine with him on that day. The deputation consisted of Dr. Inman, president, Dr. Ihne, Mr. T. C. Archer, Rev. H. H. Higgins, M.A., vice-presidents; Mr. Byerley, treasurer, (absent on the occasion,) and Dr. D. P. Thomson, honorary secretary. Shortly after their arrival at Richmond Hill, the following address was presented: TO WILLIAM BROWN, Esq., M.P. Sin, The Literary and Philosophical Society have watched with great interest the steps taken, during the last few years, towards the formation of a Public Library and Museum in Liverpool. They have been gratified to see the spirit with which the proposal for the establishment of such an useful institution was conceived by a number of enlightened friends of the diffusion of knowledge, adopted by the Town Council, and supported by the hearty approval of the whole community. But all that has hitherto been done, either by the zeal, activity, and liberality of individuals, or by the public spirit of the municipal authorities, has been so completely thrown into the shade by the act of princely munificence which you, sir, have had the wisdom to conceive, and the magnanimity to undertake, that benceforth your name will pre-eminently be associated with that most useful institution, and will be stamped upon the noble building which you have undertaken to erect for the adornment and benefit of our town. You have thus secured an indefeasible claim to the admiration and gratitude of all your fellow-citizens; and we, the members of the Literary and Philosophical Society, should be wanting in our duty to the cause of learning which we endeavour to promote, if we failed to acknowledge your generous sentiments and noble motives, and to express our appreciation of an act of munificence surpassing all that the most sanguine could expect to be done by any one of our fellowcitizens single-handed. We doubt not that your noble example will stimulate others to imitate you in furnishing the material helps for the cultivation of learning in Liverpool, and that these once supplied, the men of science will not be slow to avail themselves of them for the intellectual and moral improvement of society. We hope and pray that you may long live to enjoy the pleasure which the gradual development and increasing usefulness of the Public Library and Museum of Liverpool will not fail to give to its noble-minded patron. THOMAS INMAN, M.D., PRESIDENT. Royal Institution, Liverpool, 12th Jan., 1857. Mr. Brown replied at considerable length, observing that it was a pleasure which he had not expected, but which he most highly appreciated. It had long been with him a most earnest wish to help that latent or struggling talent which he was persuaded always existed in the working classes, by putting within their reach, the collections of science, and the accumulated researches of past generations of learned men. But he assured the deputation he had not even hoped that the men of science, who did honour to the town by their laborious investigations and useful works, would think his efforts worthy of notice. It was, therefore, peculiarly gratifying to him to find that the members of the Literary and Philosophical Society had so highly valued his offer, and had in so handsome, and to him agreeable manner, testified their feelings upon the subject. He earnestly hoped he was doing good to posterity by erecting for all classes a great library and museum; and he felt that with the cordial co-operation of such a society as the Literary and Philosophical, that hope was sure to be realised. Again he thanked the Society for the honour they had done him, and hoped with such encouragement, his example would be extensively followed by his wealthy townsmen. Mr. Brown then called the attention of the deputation to the plans of the new Library and Museum, which were explained to them by Mr. Picton, the Chairman of the Library and Museum Committee, who had been invited to meet them. These were carefully inspected, and afforded much pleasure, promising as they did very fairly to meet the wants of a very large public library (150,000 volumes, with power of enlargement), museum, and gallery of art. The paper of the evening, of which the following is an abstract, was then read : ON THE PRODUCTION OF COPPER FROM ITS ORES. BY NEWTON SAMUELSON, Esq., F.C.S. The Author treated the subject in great fulness, and minutely described the several modes of assaying, as well in the dry way, as by humid analysis. Referring to Swansea as the great emporium for copper ores in this country, he described the following operations for the reduction of the metal, as there practised : 1st.-Calcination of the ore to expel the greater amount of sulphur. 2nd.-Melting the ore obtained from No. 1 to obtain a coarse metal, and to which a quantity of unroasted ore is added, rich in copper. 3rd. Calcination from the product No. 2. 4th.-Melting the calcined coarse metal along with minerals of the fourth class, in order to produce what is termed white metal. 5th.-Melting this last product with roasted minerals rich in copper, in order to produce blue metal. 6th. Remelting the slags obtained from the various former operations. 7th.-Roasting the metal obtained from No. 5. 8th.-Roasting again to obtain a regulus or crude copper. 9th.-Preparation of crude copper by roasting and fusing the white metal and regulus. 10th.-Refining the crude copper, and producing the pure malleable metal. Having gone through these processes minutely, and explained that for obtaining the Copper in absolute purity for scientific purposes, he described the various salts, chemical compounds, and alloys of the metal. Brass and bronze being the most important of these alloys, he enumerated their varieties. Those of brass, he described as being five in number-1st, that which is used for turning, composed of from 30 to 35 per cent. of zinc, from 60 to 65 per cent. of copper, about 2 per cent. of lead, and a trace of tin. 2d, brass for gilding, containing 61 per cent. of copper, 33 per cent. of zinc, 2.5 per cent. of lead, and a trace of tin. 3d, brass wire; 66 per cent. of copper, 33.1 of zinc, lead, 0.5. 4th, for hammering; copper 70 per cent. and zinc 30 per cent. 5th, for castings; copper 91.7, zinc 5, lead 2.3 per cent., and tin 1 per cent. The proportion of zinc added generally varies from 30 to 38 per cent. When an alloy of great tenacity is required, there should only be about 25 per cent. added; whilst on the other hand, when an alloy of little resistance is wanted, 50 per cent. of zinc may be used. Copper also united with nickel, forming the well known alloy called German silver, as well as the pakfong of the Chinese. That which is employed in Europe for the manufacture of forks and spoons, is composed of 50 per cent. of copper, 25 per cent. of Nickel, and 25 per cent. of zinc. The Chinese pakfong varies to a slight extent from the German silver, as it contains less copper and more nickel. Composition: copper, 40.4; nickel, 31.6; zinc, 25.4; iron, 2.6. There are also several varieties of bronze - 1st, that which is employed in making coins generally contains from 89 to 93 per cent. of copper, and 7 to 11 per cent. of tin. The same alloy is employed in the manufacture of statuary and large castings. 2d, the alloy for gun metal, whose composition is very closely allied to the one just described. 3d, the alloy employed for making gongs and cymbals, being composed of 78 per cent. of copper, 22 per cent. of tin. 4th, bell metal, containing 77 per cent. of copper, 21 per cent. of tin, and 2 per cent. of antimony. 5th, telescope and speculum metal; this is an alloy which possesses a steel white colour, is exceedingly hard and brittle, may be very highly polished, and contains 66.6 per cent. of copper and 33.4 per cent. of tin. On the subject of liquid tests and assaying its ores, the following observations were made: With hydrosulphuric acid and sulphide of ammonium solutions of copper produce a black precipitate of sulphide of copper; with the caustic alkalies, they produce a blue precipitate of hydrated oxide of copper, which loses its water on boiling, and becomes black. Ammonia produces at first a blue precipitate of oxide; but on the addition of an excess, this precipitate is dissolved, forming a liquid of a beautiful azure blue colour. Cyanide of potassium produces a yellowish green precipitate of cyanide of copper, which dissolves in excess of cyanide of potassium. Ferrocyanide of potassium produces, in exceedingly dilute solutions of copper, a purple red precipitate of ferrocyanide of copper. Salts of copper may also be detected by heating them on charcoal, with carbonate of soda, before the blowpipe, when the smallest traces of this metal may be detected with the greatest facility. In order to determine the per centage of copper in the dry way, in an ore composed of iron and copper pyrites, the following process is usually adopted: 200 grains are placed in an earthen crucible, in the fire of an ordinary assay furnace, and roasted until all the sulphur has passed off in the form of sulphurous acid. This requires about two hours, the mass being constantly stirred in order to prevent the ore from sticking to the sides of the crucible, and to obtain an uniform amount of heat. After no more vapours are preceptible, the crucible may be removed from the fire and allowed to cool; a small piece of carbonate of ammonia (about 20 grains) is added and the crucible is replaced in the fire, covered by a smaller one inverted. The addition of this salt is for the purpose of driving off the last traces of sulphurous |