Our boy took a quart glass fruit jar, and bought a cork to fit it for a few cents. He could not get a solid bar of zinc, but had a piece of zinc folded which answered the purpose. Then following the rest of the directions, he placed the jar on the mantel-piece. The next day; the formations began, and are constantly changing.
L. E. K.
I send some simple experiments for the chemists' club. Put into a small chemist's mortar as much finely powdered potassium chlorate as will lie upon the point of a penknife blade, and half the quantity of sulphur; cover the mortar with a piece of paper having a hole cut in it large enough for the handle of the pestle to pass through. When the two substances are well mixed, grind heavily with the pestle, when rapid detonations will ensue; or after the powder is mixed, you can wrap it with paper into a hard pellet, and explode it on an anvil with a sharp blow of a hammer.
To make iodide of nitrogen, cover a few scales of iodine with strong aqua-ammonia. After it has stood for half an hour, pour off the liquid, and place the brown precipitate, or sediment, in small portions on bits of broken earthenware to dry. When perfectly dry, the particles may be exploded with the touch of a rod, or even of a feather.
I would like to exchange crystallized quartz or gold ore for zinc or silver ore.
John R. Glen,
Nacoochee, White County, Georgia.
We would advise our young chemists to buy some good work on the elements of chemistry, and study it well before they undertake any experiments, as handling reagents, when one is not aware of their true composition and behavior under all conditions, is a very dangerous pastime, by which absolutely nothing can be learned, and a great deal of mischief done to face, eyes, hands, and clothing, to say nothing of mamma's table-cloths and carpets.
Newport, Rhode Island.