i'f()l. ON THE PRODUCTION OF BARlLlA. ' 21^ 



To thi Editor of the Bee. 



Sir, Stockport May'i€ih 179. 



I OBSERVED what was faid in the 14th Number of the 

 Bee with refpe£l to fome experiments, which were 

 thought to prove, that vegetables uniiormlj produce 

 pot-a(h. It was there fuggefled, that the foda which 

 is obtained from the allies of marine plants, is owing; 

 to the vegetable alkali which they contain, evolving 

 t'.ie mineral alkali, by decompofing the fea fait with 

 which the marine plants are impregnated. 



To form as juft an opinion as I could of this curious 

 fubjedV, I procured fome barilla, and made a flrong 

 lye of it. I faturated the folntion with vitriolic acid, 

 in order to fee if it would produce vitriolated tartar ; 

 and if it did, what proportion it bore to the glauber's 

 fait. I ccnduifled the experiment with a confiderable 

 degree of attention, and 1 obtained fomewhat more than 

 five ounces and a half of the fulphat of Soda, a few 

 chryflals which feemed to be Epfom fait, and fotie other 

 impurities ; but not one certain veftige of the fulphat 

 of potafh. I did not depend altogether upon the form 

 of the chryftals ; but I expofed them to the air, and they 

 efflorefced, which vitriolated tarar w\\\ not do ; and hav- 

 ing laid fome of the moft doubtful fhape upon burn- 

 ing coals, they did not crackle nor fly to pieces, as do 

 the cryftals of the fulphat of potafh. 



Thus, Sir, I have fet before you the re- 

 fult of an experiment, in making which I endea- 

 voured to be correft ; and if you plcafe, you may lay it 

 before the public. But I would be underflood as fpeak- 

 ing with that diffidence, which fubje£ts of this kind 

 require. Moreover, barilla and kelp may be found very 

 impure, provided they have been adulterated with the 

 afhes of extraneous plants. 



Vol. lU. f E e 



