466 Memoir on Sulphuric Ether. 
Relation of Ether Vapour to Liquids. 
Gases vapourized by ether may be kept 
over dry mercury, and transferred through 
the same without loss. But they are not 
kept over water, alcohol and other liquids 
without loss of vapour, though this is va- 
riable according to the nature of the fluid 
and other circumstances. 
Alcohol absorbs ether vapour out of air 
much faster than water does.—I filled two 
similarly graduated tubes with etherized air, 
and placed them over alcohol and water res- 
pectively ; they lost vapour as under : 
Tube over Alcohol, Tube over Water. 
155 measures. 155 measures, 
116 in 5 minnules. 142 in 10 minutes. 
112 in 8 minutes. 138 in. 13 minutes. 
104 in 30 minutes. 130 in 30 minutes. 
100 washed. 100 washed. 
The non-efficiency of water in abstracting 
ether vapour, is farther manifested by the 
following experiment. . 
I took a tall graduated cylindric jar, of 
3 inches diameter, into which 20 oz. mea- 
sures.of air were passed over water. Thirty 
grain measures of ether (.73) were then 
passed up into the air, through a volume of 
