6 ESSAYS AND OBSERVATIONS 



From thefe experiments it is evident, 

 that no fait, fimilar to the foffil alkali, is 

 contained in marie. For all natural falts 

 of an alkaline quality, are diflinguifhed 

 by their eafy folubility in water, by ef*- 

 fervefcing with acids in the fame manner 

 when diflblved, as before folution, and by 

 converting the colour of blue or purple ve^ 

 getable infulions into green. But marie, 

 neither when digefted, nor when boiled in 

 water, communicates any of its fubftance 

 to that fluid; therefore contains nothing 

 foluble by it, nor any fait of an alkaline, 

 or any other nature. Befides, none of the 

 waters, filtered from the marles in the 

 preceeding experiments, fuffered any 

 change from the inflillation of the ni- 

 trous acid, or of the fyrup of violets. 



From 



cjperiment, it never fails to communicate a tittemefs aqd 

 peculiar fmell to the water, Befides thefe properties, this 

 water, upcn the addition of any alkaline folution, acquire^ 

 a milky hue, and lets fall a fmall quantity of a white pow- 

 der. That thefe efifedls proceed folely from the hetero- 

 geneous bodies mixed with the marie, is evident from this, 

 that fhell marie, when pcrfedly pure, and freed by eva- 

 poration from moffy water, never 'communicates any per* 

 ccptible quality to water in which it is digefted. 



