^;o EXPERIMENTS and OBSERVATIONS 



myfelf on this point I made feveral trials on the loth 

 and 17th of June laft. On the loth I performed them at 

 9 o'clock A. M. at 12, and at 6 o'clock P. M. On the 

 I 7th at 9 A. M. and at i 2 o'clock. The refult of all the 

 experiments ot the fume day was exaftly fimilar, at lead 

 not perceptihly different. 



Whether or not fea air might be rendered more pure 

 by agitation with water, appeared to me to be a queliioa 

 worthy of being afcertained. Particularly as fome cele- 

 brated men reafon that it has this effeft, and muft hence 

 be looked upon as one of the greateii refources which 

 we have fpr purifying the atmofphere. t>ir John Prin- 

 gle and Dr. Ingenhoufz are of this opinion. But fome 

 of Dr. Prieftley's experiments feem to contradift it ; and 

 fo does the following ail'ertion of the celebrated Scheele, 

 who fos ; " L'aiv ne s'unit pas avec Teau commune." 

 Traite de Pair and du feu, p. 5 i. 



My experiments on this head are as follow : On the 

 2:6th and 28th of June, the 2d and 5th of July, equal 

 bulks of fea water and air were agitated for half an hour 

 in my eudiometer tube; but I never difcovered any ab- 

 forption to have taken place ; neither was the air rendered 

 purer, as was evident from a mixture with nitrous air. 



It U'jw appeared probable to me that fea water was 

 already faturated with all the gafeous particles it could 

 abforb ; and that frefli water when agitated with fea air 

 might diminiih its bulk or alter its purity. In confe- 

 quence of this fuppohiion, equal bulks of fea air and 

 frelh water were agitated as above ; but it was not in the 

 leaft altered. Not entirely fatished of the fallacy of my 

 conjedure, I boiled fea water a fufficient time to purge 

 it of the air it might contain. J then agitated fea air with 

 this boiled water as above mentioned and found no dif- 

 ference in refult from the other experiments. Thefe re-= 

 fults tend to ccniirm me in my belief that if fea water 

 I purifies 



