SALTS. 66. Borax. 211 



66, BORAX. Of a flightly cauftic tafle; rather 

 ponderous, femltranfparent, fhining, inodorous, 

 fixed: requiring a large quantity of water to 

 diffolve it, and the folution not rendered turbid 

 by a mixture of foda: frothing in the fire, and 

 at lad melting into a tranl parent glafs flill foluble 

 in water. 



stdati'va, Ra'hcr pure, not combined with foda. 



Sale f^'dativo naturale. Hoe/er Flor, 1778, 8. 



Found in Tufcahy^ partly diiTolvcd in water, partly in the form 

 of white or dirty-coloured fmall rounded pieces, or adhering 

 to the mud at the bottom of fome lake: of C^ina: combined 

 with (odi it forms a perfectly neutral fait CiWcd fedaii've f/^ilf, 

 which is compofed of light filvery flakes a little greafy to the 

 touch, but hardly forming genuine cryllals : it is foluble in 

 fpirits uf wine, to which it communicates a green colour. 



'lineal. Combined with a large proportion of foda, moijldering in 



the air. 



Borax nudus. Syft, nat. xii. 5. p. 94 «. i. 



Borax crudus. ffalLfyit. 2. p.Sz. 85. ». i, 2, 



Poun. ■ ^4:7, Stockh^ 54. />• 317. 319. 



Phi!o/\Tratjf. 1787. p. 298. 1789. p. 96. 



Borax Tincal, Kirnvan miner. 2. p 37. 



Borax Tinkal. SchmeiJJir mineral. I. />, 281. 



Sub-bort of foda. Thomfon chem. 2. p. 341 . 



Found in India and Japan^ in the kingdoms of 'Tibet and Peru, 

 fomciimes in the form of folid grains and fmall roundifh 

 lumps forming in their folution minute femitranfparent cryf- 

 tah, fometimcs held in folution and found in vail mafies 

 mixed with the mud at the botrom of the lakes after the water 

 his been dried up: it is foluble in 12 times its weight of 

 water at a temperature of 60°, but of boiling water it requires 

 .only 6: wl^cn diil'^lved and flowly evaporated it fhoots into 

 hard tranfpa rent very finely tranfverfely flriate cryftals, which, 

 are 6 or 4 fided, terminated both ways by a 3-fided pyramid; 

 when heated it iwclLs and is at firft converted into a white 

 opakc frothy mafs, but in a ilronger heat becomes a tranf- 

 parent glafs : when two pieces areftruck together in the dark, 

 a fiafh of light is emitted : fpecific gravity 1,740. contains 

 acid 39. foda 17. water 44. Bergman^ 



Dd 2 



