Co .E.rpcrhnevf made ly the 



with the atmosphere and the surrounding bodicf^. the iini- 

 riatic acid is more fecblv manifested : thi?, pcrhap.s, authft- 

 rises the supposition that no trace of it at all would be de- 

 veloped if this comniunication were totallv intercepted. The 

 Society were anxious to obtain still greater < fleets. But the 

 conductors act slowK' upon pure distilled \« ater : and in 

 order to attain in this way results of some iniponance, it 

 would be necessary lo protract the expermient a very long 

 time. 



M. Pacchiani, who first announced the fact in ques- 

 tion, made another trial with anotlier view. In v.riting to 

 !M. Comp;irini, h;s countrvman, and member of ihe Gal- 

 vanic Socictv, he thus expresses himself; — " In the ordi- 

 nary apparatus, instead of simple distilled water, I pour di- 

 stilled water in which muriate of soda is dissolved. The 

 gold wire, which enters this tube, conmiunicates with the 

 negative pole. Another gold wire, proceeding from the po- 

 sitive, touches the water of the reservoir into which the tube 

 is inserted. An abundant disenoagement of hvdrogen then 

 takes place in the tube, which communicates with the ne- 

 gative pole : sometime afterwards the neutral solution of 

 muriate of soda becomes an alkaline solution of s(jda, and 

 no trace of muriate nor of muriatic acid is fount! in it." 



The Galvanic Society has repeated this experiment, fol- 

 lowing the same process, and u[>on a small quantity of a 

 sohition of muriate of soda. The liquor of the tul)c com- 

 municating \^■i^h the negative pole was in fact reduced to 

 a solution of pure soda, changing the tincture of violets to 

 green. They neglected to try the water of the vessel on tire 

 side of the positive pole. 



The committee of the society \ycre then anxious to try, in 

 one experiment upon greater volumes, the formation of 

 the oxymuriatic acid in pure distilled watir oti the side of 

 the po-itive pole, and the separaticm of soda in a solution of 

 muriate of soda on the side of the negative pole. The fol- 

 lowing are the detads of this experiment : 



In 40t) granuues of distilled water, proved by the nitrate of 

 silver, 100 irranmiesof muriate of soda were dissolved, carefully 

 prejiared by M.Rifiaidt, one of the members of the committee. 



Fifty 



