a Jtmple or a compound Body. 22^ 



wtiic'n condiidl to the fame refults. I ihall here give a fliort 

 view of them, which he was fo kind as to communicate to 

 me. 



He did not obtain azotic gas by boiling di Rilled water 

 alone, or with argil or alumine, in a glafs retort, having 

 adapted to it a glafs or porcelain tube. 



He had no difengagement of azotic gas when he made 

 the fame experiment with filex obtained from the fluoric 

 acid. 



Having placed lime obtained from white marble in a 

 fimilar tube, he caufed the fteam of water to pafs through 

 the tube, the other end of which was immerfed in lime- 

 water. There was ftill difengaged a little carbonic acidy 

 which formed carbonat of lime, but there was no a2otic gas. 

 If, inftead of lime, argil be ufed with the fame apparatus, 

 there is formed a little carbonat of lime, but there is lio dif- 

 engacrcmcnt of azotic o;as. 



If water be made to pafs through a porcelain tube into 

 which lead has been put, this metal pafl'es partly to the ftate 

 of a yellow oxyd and becomes vitrified, but no azotic gas is" 

 difengaged. ^ 



If, inftead of lead, you put tin into the tube, that metaV 

 becomes oxvdatcd, and you obtain hydrogen gas. Zinc gives' 

 tlie fame refult. 



To afcertain whether this hydi'ogen gas contained azotic 

 gas, C. Bouillon-Lagrange made it pafs over fulphur in ar 

 Hate of fufion, and obtained fulphurated hydrogen gas, but 

 no azot. He flill fubjefted it to another trial. 



He mixed the hydregen gas he had obtained by the means 

 of zinc with oxygen gaS; and, having inflamed the mixture 

 bv an ele6lric fpark, water vvas formed, but there was no 

 azotic gas. 



Girtanncr's opinion is connciSled with that of Humboldt 

 on the abforption of oxygen by the fimple earths, and par- 

 ticularly by alumin. There is this difference, however: 

 Humboldt confiders the fuppofed phenomenon as a fimple 

 feparation of the oxvgen, which becomes fixed, from the 

 azot which remains in a gafeous ftate : but, accortling to 

 Cirtanner, " the azot obtained by the experiments being 

 8 always 



