NATURAL HISTORY OF YTTRIA.

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YTTEIA.

PART LXIII.

NATURAL HISTORY OF YTTRIA.

THE discovery of this new earth in a fossil, termed by Ga-dolin Ytterby, from the place where it was found, has lately beenconfirmed by Vauquelin and Klaproth.

PROPERTIES OF YTTRIA.

Yttria is the heaviest of the earths. Its specific gravity is 4.842.It resembles glucine in several of its properties. It is smooth andinsipid. It is infusible alone, but vitrifies with supersaturated bo-rate of soda. It combines with the acids, and is precipitated fromthose solutions by ammonia and prussiate of potash. It is alsoprecipitated by tannin. The precipitate is not soluble in acetousacid. As some of its salts are coloured, and its weight nearly ap-proaches to that of metals, it is considered hs the link which con-nects the metals with the earths. It differs from glucine in notbeing soluble in fixed alcalies, nor being precipitated by the succi-nates. Its attraction for the acids is also in general stronger thanthat of glucine, and its saline compounds have not the same sac-charine taste. Its other properties have not yet been examined.

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