PRODUCED BY DISTILLATION OF TAK AND WATER. 245 



production of ammonia from the hydrogen and nitrogen of 

 decomposing organic matters. Hydrogen and nitrogen, 

 when fully formed, will never unite to form ammonia; 

 when once the gaseous condition has been attained, there 

 is no known means of making them combine. The same 

 is the case with regard to carbon and hydrogen. Meeting 

 in the nascent state, that is, being eliminated together, they 

 combine and form various carburets of hydrogen, provided no 

 stronger affinities, such as those of oxygen for hydrogen and 

 carbon, are brought into play at the same time ; for the stronger 

 affinities will always be satisfied. But, notwithstanding the 

 numerous experiments that have been made on the subject by 

 able chemists, gaseous hydrogen has never been brought to 

 unite with carbon. The analysis of the gases eliminated in the 

 decomposition of water by red-hot coke, is a forcible illustra- 

 tion of this. In this case hydrogen is in contact with carbon 

 under the most favourable conditions for combination, not 

 only in the gaseous state, but in a nascent state, at the 

 moment of its separation from the water, and yet no car- 

 buretted hydrogen is formed. Now, in Mr. White's process, 

 the hydrogen is never brought in the nascent state in con- 

 tact with the resin gas ; but, after being fully formed in one 

 retort, is brought in full gaseous condition into the retort 

 for resin, and there expected to combine with carbon. 

 But no such combination takes place; not a particle of 

 hydrogen enters into union with the carbon. 



The tendency of hydrogen to unite with carbon seems 

 to diminish with elevation of temperature, whilst the reverse 

 is the case as regards oxygen and carbon. Carbonic acid, 

 CO2, being passed over red-hot charcoal, takes up an atom 

 of carbon, becoming 2 CO. But the higher carburets of 

 hydrogen, under the same circumstances, deposit carbon. 

 Benzole, C,2 He, being conducted over red-hot quartz, de- 

 posits carbon, giving off olefiant gas, light carburetted hydro- 

 gen, and flee hydrogen. Olefiant gas, again, deposits car- 



