ON MURIATIC ETHEA. 177 



fiHed with water at 20® or 25° [66^ or 72** F.]. THe tube 

 must be immersed in the water to the depth of 7 or 8 cent. 

 [2f or 3 in.]; a strai^^ht tube of safety must be introduced 

 into the central tubulure; and from the third a curved tube 

 must proceed, opening under inverted phials filled with wa- 

 ter at the same temperature in an earthen bowl. 



The apparatus being thus arranged, the retort is to be Process, 

 heated gradually ; and twenty or five and twenty minutes 

 after the fire is kindled bubbles will be seen to rise from the 

 lower part of the fluid, particularly from the surface of the 

 grains of sand. These bubbles presently become more nu- 

 merous, and abundance of ethereous gas is soon obtamed. 

 Acid, alcohol, and water, at the same time pass ovor, but 

 remain in the first phial. From 500 gr. [7722| grs.] of acid, Proportion of 

 and an equal bulk of alcohol, jupward of 20 litres [wiiue g'^s obtained, 

 -quarts], or even as far as 30, of ethereous gas, perfectly pure, 

 may be obtained. Much more will be obtained, if, as soon 

 as the extrication of gas begins to slacken, fresh alcohol be 

 added to the residuum ; that is, to the strongly acid resi^ 

 duum, which remains in the retort, and will then be about 



two fifths of the bulk of the original mixture. I even think, „ , , , ... 

 . P , ' Probably still - 



that, rf hot alcohol were occasionally poured into the retort more by parti- 

 through a tube 6 or 7 decim. [24 or 27 in.] long reaching '"^"^^ manage- 

 to its bottom, the formation of etherized gas would be still 

 more abundant ; for it is obvious, that more alcohol than 

 muriatic acid rises every instant, thus therefore we should 

 reestablish their original proportions, which are best adapted 

 to the success of the process. In all cases the management Great atten- 



<*f thte fire is of the highest importance : if it be too weak *'°" ^^ the fire 



... , 1 "• 1 . , . requisite. 



It wjil produce no etherjzed gas ; li it be too strong, it will 



produce but little. Neither will the alcohol be etherified in If the acid, or 



«:ny sensible degree by loading it with muriatic acid g-as, or ^«'^'^- '" ^!^^ 

 1 • 1 I 1 1 I • -I < , r* ' state of gas, lit- 



by causing tiie alcohol and acid both to meet in vapour in tie or no ether 

 a tube about 80^ [I74f ° F.]. It is only therefore by main- ^ili Reformed, 

 taining a due medium in the application of the fire, that we 

 can 6u<^ci?€d completely. The cauae of this is, that too 

 great or too little elasticity in the alcohol and in the muriatic 

 acid is injurious to their mutual action on each other. Ano- The water dis- 

 ther precaution to be taken is, to use the same water for col- solves a certaia 

 Vol. XyiU— Nov. I807. N lectino- quantity. 



