ON ACETIC ACID AND ACETATES. 345 



the operation the quantity of pyroacetic spirit is uniformly 

 greater in proportion as the metal is less easily reducible. 

 Zinc, which does not alter its state, gives still more : and in 

 this case the heat is necessarily greater, before the acid 

 quits its base. Lastly manganese, which is not in the same 

 stale before and after the process, yields more of the 

 spirituous liquor than zinc, because the base is capable 

 of absorbing about 0*46 of oxigeu, and with this the acid 

 furnishes it. 



Some preliminary experiments, by which I found that Has less oxigeu 

 acetic acid contains a larger proportion of oxigen than the thail aceL1 ° ac "* B 

 pyroacetic spirit, prove, that this acid furnishes it for the 

 superoxidation of the oxide of manganese; and that by this 

 mean an effect is produced, which in other circumstances 

 takes place without it. 



This will be farther demonstrated by the distillation of Liquid from the 



earthy and alkaline acetates. I distilled the acetates f a!ka,ine ***** 

 J more spirituous 



potash and soda, and obtained a more spirituous and less and less acid 



acid liquor, than any of those furnished by the metallic than £ om * e 



1 ' J J metallic, 



acetates. I obtained a similar result by the distillation of 



acetate of lime; but very pure and dry acetate of barytes, From acetate 



prepared with acetic acid made by Mr. Mollerat* yielded of ba O" te * P ul » 

 r ■ 7 J spirit alone, 



me a liquid of the spec. grav. of 0*8458, which did not 



redden blue vegetable colours, and which, being treated * 

 ■with carbonate of potash to separate the pyroacetic spirit, 

 did not allow the separation of a single drop. So far from 

 this, having mixed a hundred measures of it with a hun- 

 dred measures of water, and having afterward added car- 

 bonate of potash in the usual way, more than a hundred 

 measures of pyroacetic spirit separated. The whole of the 

 liquid therefore, arising from the distillation of acetate cf 

 barytes, was pyroacetic spirit more free from water than 

 that from which carbonate of potash has taken all the 

 water it can. Its specific gravity was greater than that of 

 pure pyroacetic spirit, because it contained a yellow em. 

 pyreumatic oil. 



These results prove, that, cater is paribus, the produc- In the inverst 

 tion of pyroacetic spirit follows pretty exactly the inverse J? 1 ^. * tl } e 



composition. 



* Consequently obtained from the distillation of wood. C. 



ratio 



