148 Dr Uischof's Examination of Three Inflammable Gases 



electric spark, an absorption of 1.9041, and that there is formed 

 1.1131 volume of carbonic acid gas. 



Hence, it follows that this gas is .composed of — 



Carburetted hydrogen gas, . . . 0.79 JO 



defiant gas, 0.1G11 



Foreign gas, 0.0479 



1.0000 



It is very probable that this foreign gas is nothing else but 

 nitrogen. 



The previous analyses shew that the inflammable pit-gases 

 are by no means of the same composition. 



My analyses agree so far with those of the English chemists, 

 that the gases examined by me contained carbonic acid gas 

 and nitrogen in variable proportions, but no carbonic oxide gas. 

 My analyses differed from them in this respect, that the pre- 

 sence of defiant gas is proved as well by chlorine as by deto- 

 nation with oxygen. 



The question arises, Do the pit-gases analyzed by the Eng- 

 lish chemists contain no olefiant gas whatever, or did it escape 

 their investigations ? Without in the least wishing to throw 

 doubt on the accuracy of these chemists, I must at the same time 

 bear in remembrance that, since these investigations were car- 

 ried on (a period of about twenty-five years), analytical che- 

 mistry, and more especially the analysis of gaseous substances, 

 has made great pi-ogress. Sir H. Davy says that pit-gas does 

 not act on chlorine in the cold ; but he does not say that he 

 remarked no change whatever of the volume. A volume of 

 gas requires, according to him, about two volumes of oxygen 

 for detonation by the electric spark, and about one volume of 

 carbonic acid gas is produced ; therefore, neither the quantity 

 of oxygen employed, nor the quantity of carbonic acid gas pro- 

 duced, was accurately determined. It can, therefore, well 

 have been more than double the volume of oxygen gas which 

 was emploved, and more than an equal volume of carbonic acid 

 gas which was produced ; therefore, the pit-gas analyzed by 

 Davy may also have contained some olefiant gas. 



I have already remarked above, in the analysis of the WeU 



