10 SOLUBILITY OF EARTHS BY MEANS OF SUGAR. 



of notice, you are at liberty to publish them in your valua- 

 ble Journal. 



I am, Sir, 



Your most humble servant, 



AVILLIAM RAMSAY. 

 Wm. Nicholson, Esq. 



London. 



Quicklime BEING employed in making experiments on sugar, and 



tostetosohftion ^^PP^ning to put some quicklime into a cold solution of 

 of sugar. it, I noticed, that it had acquired an uncommon caustic 



taste. 

 Sugar dissolved Uncertain whether sugar dissolved in common lime water 

 different ^^^"^ '^ might not have the same taste, I prepared a small quantity, 

 and added sugar to it; but the taste of the solution was 

 very little different from that of sugar dissolved in water. 

 On adding diluted sulphuric atid to the former, a copious 

 precipitation of sulphate of lime took place, while the latter 

 scarcely showed any traces of the presence of lime by the 



Sugar dissolves Hence I concluded, that sugar possesses the property of 

 *""5* dissolving a certain proportion of lime ; and in order to as- 



certain its capacity in this respect, the following experi- 

 ments were made upon this earth, together with barites, 

 strontites, magnesia, &c. 

 Solution of su- One pound avoirdupois of common unrefined sugar was 

 ^'^^* dissolved in rain water, and the solution tiltered ; the speci- 



al 50°, fie gravity at the temperature of 50 degrees of Fahrenheit's 



thermometer was found to be 1040. This solution was used 

 in all the following experiments as a standard, to which the 

 earths were added at tirst at the temperature of 50 degrees, 

 dissolves lime A portion of the saccharine solution was taken, quicklime 

 was added to it in superabundance, repeatedly liltered, and 

 fresh portions of the earth given to it,- until the solution 

 was evidently saturated ; when the specific gravity was found 

 to be 



Solution of sugar 1020 



Increased sp. grav. from lime in solution • 40 



1060 

 Consequently 



in 



