Linen and Cotton Cloth. 199 



•hat, in «hort, with this powerful " if" we shall accom- 

 plish every desideratum, and solve every problem in che* 

 mistry. 



Professor Davy having stated that bits of linen cloth 

 steeped even for a few hours in strong solutions of muriate 

 of lime were rotted, and having upon this supposed Jact 

 grounded his proposal of rejectinff the oxyniuriate of lime 

 from bleachinii, — i shall conclude this letter by stating the 

 result of two txperimcnts out of a great number which I 

 made in consequence, all of which gave similar results. 



Exptriment\. — Dec. 16, 1811. Steeped a cuttmg of 

 full bleached and perfectly sound linen, previousiv rnacerated 

 in hot water to retnove anv dressing, in a solution of 

 neutral muriate of lime made in the proportion of two 

 ounces of the salt to eight ounces of water. 



Note. — Tlie yellovush brown ins<jluble matter which 

 rose to the surface was removed by filtration, before the 

 immersion of the linen. 



17th. Linen taken out of the solution, washed, com- 

 pared with an unsteeped piece of the same cloth, found 

 periectiv sound, and not perceptibly reduced in its texture. 

 Repeated the steepmg in a tresh solution somewhat in- 

 creased in strength. 



Sote — Aftfr twelve hours immer-'-ion of the lime, tested 

 the solution with litmus, and did not discover any disen- 

 gaged acid. 



18ib. — Linen examined as before, no chance, washed, 

 dried, and repeated the steep in a fresh solution of the same 

 streutith. 



19:h — Linen perfectly sound, repeated the steeping. 



2()th — No peiceptible change ; the linen resisted equal 

 efforts to tear it, as the unsteeped piece. 



Ei-periment 2. — Dec. 2?. — Steeped another cutting of 

 full bleached smwd Imen in a solution cou.posed of two 

 ounces of muriate of lime to four ounces oi' water. 



eQth. — Linen taken out of the solution, va?hed, examined, 

 and found unaltered. Repeated the steeping in a fresh 

 soliuiou sinnlar to the last. 



30ili. — No change in the texture of the linen, steeped as 

 bef(jre. 



3 1 St. — Linen not perceptibly reduced, or weakened, in 

 comparing it with some w hich had not been in the solution. 



The solutions used in these experiments were at least 

 500 times the strength that they ever occur in the couimon 

 process of steeping in the oxyniuriate of lime, and the 

 luicn used had undergone the full process of bleaching : by 



N 4 whiih 



