New-York tribune., 1867-08-14
NATIONAL ACADEMY or SCIENCES.
THE MEETING IN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. PAPER
by PROF. W6LCOTT GIBBs-REMARKs BY
PROF. GGAssH AND fRoE, Q. NJ ROOD


by PROF. WQLCOTT GIBBs-REMARks BY
PROF. AGAssn AND fROE 9: NJ ROOD -
sr IILa6Sifs 70 IN rArbtsf -. = .--'
Hartford, Aug 13.-The eighth stated ses-
sion OF the National Academy Of Sciences was conb
In the Representatives, Chamber IN Hartford at
this morning. Prof Joseph Henry Of the Smithsonian
Institution IN the chair. The attendance was un-
satisfactory only Of the 20 members TO which the act
OF Congress limits the academy being In the hall These
were Prof Louis Randolph AgassH OF Harvard Unit
versity, Prof Alexis Casweu OF Providence Prof Vol
colt Gibbs Professor OF Chemistry OF Harvard University
dem Bache J. T.. HgHrd Assistant superintendent OF
OF Mathematics at Yale College, Commodore Johp Rogers
United States Navy o. y Rood Professor qf PHYSICS al
Columbia College, New.Nork Proi ND Whellhs OF lAle
College and Prof ]. II. C. Coffin United States Navy
editor Of The Nautical Almanac. I'D.
At the openiuR OF the session the President, without
formal address introduced Prof Louis X Agassi1 ana
the sayan addressed the Academy 1rcny, protesting
against the modern bnomina n0mehcatnfeb OF L9oIogy
or more precisely against the attempt which the Brsh
Academy Of Science made 80 years ago. 70 5uDstuuIc
modern specific names for the generic terms when weIs
applied by Lnngus 10 the various species oi animal ana
plant creation. The attempted change mas wrought con
loss identity " & 9 works tns lpih'o e. OF RiantS
the British Academy nomenclature Prof AgassiZ holds
that this subject, though seemingly trivial Is never
theless important inasmuch 10 Is desirable that the
student natural history should nave the advantage OF
other students researches build upOn and this e
mol have under the British Academy confusion Of terms
1 PrS Sa have natural s scence Tn
as simply as write physical geography, so that the
naturalist may become the historian oi science rather
than lis bOOkkeeper Briefly, he would preserve the LIN
mean nomenclature and make changes, II changes must
be made, IN the future but not IN the past ,, .
prof ogden ~ Rood followed Prof Agassiz with re-
marks which illustrated by charts, upon two nyes-
tgatlon in electricity Wheatstones experiments
i've years ago yielded results from which he calculated
the duration Of the electric spark TO be less IMAM inc
fifteen years later estimated It's duration AZ less thah the
twenty-five mlonth OF see0nd o tes ooS IN H ssnnpd
and with other agents with totally dssimlar results.
Therefore prof Rood subscribeS 10 what Wheatstone
wrote since 10 is clear that he wrote only OF ehd ne saC
The Professor remarked It as curious physlooglcal act
that he could better 0 than when II presented
itsef TO the eye horizontally. ~, n.
prof Agassz took occasion remark upon Won Bene-
dens declaration OF the falslty OF the wSe % ao
and heterOcerca theory as advanced Dy te IrOIes5O
aaarams showing the Academy that Won Benedens ex-
periments not exhaustive ana therefore not CON-
tgasz pursued his Investigations through the yeTebra
column II, said Pref A., Won Beheaeh h io,loHea d h
voung be ght have reached the conclusion Wch was
reached by Prof Agassz This supect also might seem
Thought IL highly important since the verteDrae IN he
fish Is only the beginning OF that VereDra ySIo which
prof Gibbs next read paper entitled "Contributlons
TO Chemistry, from the Laooraog a versd @ Wn
perments showing that when solutions OF COPPER are
Heated to ZOE with m hG,o1 reduced ta
metallic copper with evolution OF hydrogen anu as the
alkaline hypOphOsphites are now 10 DO hhd III commerce.
a. 10 fhe Professor probable that the process may
be applied to qantitatye estimation Ihe copper should
be m solution ~ suphae, the liquid containing little
free acid The precipitation from the nitrate Is
always incomplete. When ohlorhydric acid or
chlorids are present the method falls entirely,
ta conner beine reduced to subchlorld and remain
ing I'm solution The solution must not be too dilute the
s complete II the saturated solution Of sui
phats be diluted with not more than ten times ts bulk OF
water before the addition OF the hypophosphites To
avoid the sudden evolution OF hydrogen gas and also to
attain the precpitate in spongy, coherent form II s
best not to allow the liquid 70 boil The solution Of
bynonhosphte having been added IN the cold and In
exees the temperature is to be gradually raised until
1,er standing some minutes between 81 g. and 0Oo c.,
e hvdret OF copper has entirely separated In coherent
IN is easy To determine when the precipitation IL
nDnIee by taking out drop OF the clear liquid with n
LII nd testing upon porcelain plate with drop Of SUI.
%adric acid solution. II the precipitation be Effected
puy sssay flask no filter need be used The copper Is
~ ~ t, shed by decantatlon. and may then he trans
% a proce orucibe by the well known method
Ierio iarsion dried and gently ignited In current OF
"a The pre OF iron In the form Of sulphate
, IN any way interfere with the complete precpi
T,In of sopper by hypophosphte OF magnesium when
crd OF iron is present, however, the copper rs
avn reduced subchlOrd anu Is NOT pieeiptated as
, 81 bvdrret solution OF hypophosphite reduces
sas,,cbnyd of iron 20 proechl0Hd the teuueuoh Is
"a MD and complete when salt OF copper Is
eo rrant and the liquid contains free ohlorhyhic acd
aso % nerimcnts have proved that IN assayirg
conner re n IA desirable 10 bring the metal al once INTO
The form OF suphao. thus; The finely puyerLed ore u
10 he mixed lI PORCELAIN crucD!e WIh three VI fous