50 Dr. Kane on Pyroxylic Spirit. 



perties : it appears to be nearly as dense as sulphuric acid, tastes 

 sour, reddens litmus-paper, probably IVom adhering muriatic 

 acid, and had a very high boiling-point; with water it came 

 over very readily, but alone it generally left a dark-coloured 

 residue in the retort, and muriatic acid was set free. 



Its composition was determined in the following manner : 

 analysed with oxide of copper, 



(No. 1.) 1-113 gramme material gave 



Water = 0-185 



Carbonic acid = 0890 ; 

 (No. 2.) 0*992 grannne material gave 



Water ..= 0*162 



Carbonic acid = 0*787 : 

 from whence results per cent. 



No. 1. No. 2. 



Carbon = 21-75 21-94- 



Hydrogen... = 1*73 I'Sl. 



In these two analyses there came over with the current of 

 carbonic acid gas and watery vapour a small quantity of sub- 

 chloride of copper, which depositing itself with the water, ren- 

 ders the hydrogen estimate much too high. As in analyses of 

 this kind this source of error is almost unavoidable, two ana- 

 lyses were made with oxide of lead, which, though producing 

 but an imperfect combustion of the carbon, gave a result for 

 hydrogen which I consider as nearly true. Thus with oxide 

 of lead, 



(No. 3.) 1*430 material gave 0*172 water, whence results 

 rs^ of hydrogen per cent ; 



(No. 4.) 1*136 material gave 0*143 water, whence results 

 1*39 of hydrogen per cent. 



To determine the chlorine, the vapour of the body was de- 

 composed by ignited lime ; the mass of lime dissolved in di- 

 luted nitric acid, and the chlorine precipitated by nitrate of 

 silver : in this way, 



(No. 5.) 0-892'^of material gave 2*416 chloride of silver, or 

 66*82 of chlorine per cent. ; 



(No. 6.) 0-544 of material gave 1*452 chloride of silver, or 

 66*0 per cent, of chlorine. 



These results are representetl with tolerable accuracy by the 

 formula, 



6 atoms carbon = 458*622 2280 



6 chlorine = 1327*950 66*17 



4 hydrogen = 24959 1*24 



2 oxygen = 200' 000 9*89 



2011*531 100*10. 



