Muriat of Potash. 231 
matter was deposited, which being carefully collect- 
ed and dried, weighed one grain, and appeared to be 
manganese; for, a little of it being put into the mu- 
riatic acid, so far oxygenated it, that it would de- 
stroy the blue colour of a diluted solution of indigo 
in the sulphuric acid. The precipitate before men- 
tioned, that was first produced in the alkali employ- 
ed, did not appear to have this effect. The quanti- 
ty of this sediment that I had an opportunity of col- 
lecting was so small that I could not try many 
other experiments with it; indeed, I did not always 
succeed in procuring it, for I found that unless the 
disengagement of the gas was very rapid, but little 
of it could be obtained. . 
EXPERIMENT X. 
On two drams of the salt in a glass retort, I 
poured an equal weight of sulphuric acid diluted 
with a little water, and adapted the retort to Woulfe’s 
apparatus, The heat of a lamp was applied, and pre- 
sently the gas began to escape, and was absorbed by 
the water in a considerable quantity; to which it 
communicated a yellowish colour, and a liquid 
began to trickle down the neck of the retort into 
the receiver. This had continued but a short time 
before a violent explosion took place, which broke 
the retort and two of the receivers to pieces, toge- 
ther with several other glasses which were on the ta- 
ble. This was several times repeated, but with 
