240 THE AMERICAN CHEMIST. 



kind. As far back before this as 1709 a paper was read before the 

 Americau Philosophical Society, aud published in the first volume of 

 the Transactions, entitled "An analysis of the chalyt)eate waters of 

 Bristol, iu Pennsylvania," l)y one Dr. DeNorniandie, This being, 1 

 think, the first chemical analysis made in this country, an account of it 

 in the author's words will not be inappropriate. It runs as follows: 

 Exp. (i) "A small portion of white oak bark infused in the waters 

 induced an immediate change from transparency to a dark purple color, 

 which it retained twenty-four hours without dei)ositing any sediment. 

 (it) Some of the same water after being made hot, or exposed for a 

 few hours to the open air, in a great measure lost its irony taste, and 

 received no other color than that of a common tincture fiom the white 

 oak bark, (iii) One drop of strong oil of vitriol in li ounces of the 

 water produced no sensible alteration, and the water after standing- 

 some time continued transparent, without depositing any okerish or 

 other sediment to the sides, (iv) Ol. Tart. pr. deliq. dropped in some 

 of the same water induced a change of color, rendering it somewhat 

 yellow, and in time precipitated to the bottom of the cup a fine gold- 

 colored oker. (V) Sixteen ounces avoirdujiois carefully evaporated to 

 dryness in a china bowl in B. M. {baui marie, i. e., sand bath) left one 

 grain of a yellowish brown powder of the taste of tart, tartariz. (vi) 

 Linen moistened with the scum floating on the top of the spring is 

 tinged with a strong iron mold, (vii) This water in weight is exactly 

 the same as rain water. From these experiments it is sufficiently evi- 

 dent that this water in its natural state contains a large portion of iron 

 dissolved in pure water by means of an acid, which acid is extremely 

 volatile and of the vitriolic kind." 



In another paper the author goes on to describe nine other exi>eri- 

 ments of the same sort, from which he concludes that liis first dedu(;- 

 tion IS confirmed that the water contains considerable iron, that the acid 

 must be either vitriolic or nitrous, that there is a small portion of neu- 

 tral salts in these waters, that they contain sulphur, and that they are 

 slightly alkaline. The author then discusses the medical properties of 

 the water, comparing it with the German Si)a. 



Nothing else appears till 3 703, Avhen there is published an account of 

 an earthy substance found near Niagara Falls, and vulgarly called 

 " spray of the falls." 



We turn from such crude work as this, even though probably the best 

 possible at the time and place, to that of Priestly and his opponents, 

 with a sense that we have hold of something of far greater importance, 

 even if the main writer was all wrong in his theory. Plis first paper 

 printed in this country appeared, I think, in 1796, in the same Transac- 

 tions on " p]xperiments and observations relating to analysis of atmos- 

 pheric air;" also, further experiments relating to " Generation of air 

 from water," the conclusion from which is that water is convertible into 

 phlogisticated air. From this year on to the end of the century he pub- 



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