154 Sulphurous Waters of Aix la Chapelle. 



retort with 12 parts of distilled water. The milkv mixture \vas 

 distilled until the whole of the alcohol had passed into the re- 

 ceiver. The boiling aqueous li(]Uor, which swims above the re- 

 sinous matter, was decanted from the cucurbite. The altered 

 liquor was put into earthen pots to effect the crvstallization. 

 The resinous deposit may be agaiii dissolved in three parts of 

 alcohol, and the liquor distilled as above, with a sufficient quan- 

 tity of water. The two aqueous li(juors put together are to be 

 evaporated to an eighth part of their volume. When all the acid 

 has been separated by crystallization, it jnay be purified and 

 freed from the last particle of ba'sam in the following way. 

 Dissolve it in 50 or 60 parts of boiling water in a tiii or glazed 

 earthenware vessel, and boil it a quarter of an hour with an 

 equal weight of fre^^h pulveri2( :j cliarcoal. The filtered liquid 

 crystallizes the benzoic acid upon cooling, in very fine white 

 needles. 



M. Monhelm. a German chemist, having published an analysis 

 of the sulphurous waters of Aix la Chapelle, in whicli he thought 

 he discovered sulphuretted azotic gas in great abundance; 

 M. Bcr:;elius communicated his doubts on this subject to 

 M. Monheim, ■who thereupon repeated his experiments. By 

 adopting the improved process recommended by M. Berzelius, 

 sulphur was constantly deposited; and M. Monheim admits 

 *' that in the mineral waters of Aix la Chapelle the sulphur is 

 combined with hydrogen alone ; and that if the sulphuretted hy- 

 drogen gas is not decomposed by the nitrous acid, or by the sul- 

 phurous acid, the phaenomcnon must be ascribed to the great 

 quantity of azotic gas with which it is mixed." — It results from 

 M. Monheim's last analysis, tliat the gas which is extricated from 

 the sulphurous waters of Aix la Chapelle is composed of 



Azotic gas 5 1-2.5 cubic inches. 



Carbonic acid gas 2S-2G 



Sulphuretted hydrogen gas 20'49 



100-00 



M. llildebrandt has recently made some curious experiments 

 on tiie preservation of the flesh of animals in the gases. In a 

 receiver of the capacity of three cubic inches, filled with very 

 pure sulphurous acid gas, he introduced through mercury a piece 

 of fresh beef: in a few minutes the moat had absorbed almost 

 the whole gas, and the mercury filled the capacity of the re- 

 ceiver, except some air-bells, which were probably owing to the 

 atmospheric air. The meat soon lost its natural red colour, and 

 assumed that of boiled meat : it did not undergo any other ap- 

 parent 



