tvith Observatiovs on the Analysis of Sall-hnnes. 1 1 

 Acconling to Lavoisier, it contains muriate of soda, muriate 

 of maLniesia, and muriate of lime, sulphate of soda, sulp irate ot 

 masnesia, sulphate and carbonate of lime. The proport-ons he 

 assigns are, in a pound of water, (French weights) 120 grams 

 of muriate of soda, 14| grains muriate of magnesia, __2 J grams 

 .nuriate of lime mixed with muriate of magnesia, / grains oi 

 sulphate of soda and suli)hate of magnesia, and b grains ot sul- 

 phate and carbonate of lime*. 



Bergman gives a very ditfereut statement. He found only 

 muriate of soda, muriaie of magnesia, and sulphate o lime; 

 the proportions in a Swedish kamie, which is equal to about b^ 

 English pints, are 2 ounces 433 grains of muriate ot soda obU 

 grains of muriate of magnesia, and 45 grains ot sulphate ot 

 lime t. Reducing them to English weights, th.ey are equal, m a 

 pint of water, to, muriate of soda 241 grains, muriate of mag- 

 nesia 65-5, sulphate of lime 8. This, however, is with regard 

 to water from the Canaries, containing 1 part ot sahne matter 

 in about 23i of water. Reducing it to the proportion of the 

 water of our shores, that of about 1 to 30, the proportions wil 

 be, muriate of soda l«6-5, muriate of magnesia j1, sulphate ot 

 lime 6 = 243-5 grains. _ • • , ^f 



Bergman's analysis is evidently incorrect m the omission ot 

 sulnhate of magnesia, which every other chemist has obtained, 

 and which is known to be extracted even on a large scale. And, 

 what is singular, this did not arise from his not being aware that 

 it might be present. On the contrary, he made an experwuent 

 to discover it ; and even now, in reviewing his method, it is not 

 apparent how he had been deceived. He evaporated to dryness 

 a'ld treated the dry residuum with alcohol, by which he tound 

 muriate of magnesia to be dissolved ; be then washed the resi- 

 dual matter, consisting chiefly of muriate of soda, with a small 

 quantity of warm water, by which, as he remarked, it any sul- 

 phale of magnesia were present, it ought to have been dissolved. 

 But this water showed no signs of the presence of this salt, either 

 ill taste or by precipitation, and contained nothing but a small 

 i)ortion of common salt. Now unquestionably, in this way, sul- 

 phate of magnesia ouiiht to have been discovered ; or it it should 

 be supiiosed that it does not originally exist, but that sulphate 

 of soda is the primary ingredient, still the method employed was 

 cciuallv proper to discover this latter salt. The only supposition 

 that can be made is, that, in the first step of the analysis, a very 

 weak alcohol had been used in large (luantity, by which a por 

 tion of these sulphates would be dissolved, though still it is 

 difficult to imagine that in this way they would be entirely abs- 

 tracted. . _^, 

 • Manoirc.f dc VAcndimie des Sciences, 1 / /-. 

 f Bergman's Essays, vol. i. p. 2.'30. Lavoisier's 



