Miscellanies, 7 
did no serious injury. Having a fine quantity of the condensed liquid in 
asealed tube, but wishing to aid the generation of carbonic. acid by heat, 
he plunged one end of the tube into hot water-in a tumbler, while the 
other end was enclosed in-a freezing mixture, when it burst, shattering the 
tumbler, &c., but the water greatly abated the force of the blow. The 
explosion ps caused by the formation of crystallized sulphate of ammo- 
nia, from the action of the sulphuric acid upon the carbonate of ammo- 
‘Nia, (the. materials used to afford the gas,) which sublimed and choked the 
tube, about half way up, so that the carbonic acid gas that was evolved 
had not the benefit of the refrigerating process~above, and its elasticity 
was at least doubled by the heat,. being equivalent to seventy six-atmos- — 
pheres (=1140 pounds on the square inch); the wonder is, therefore, 
that the courageous experimenter sustained no other inconvenience than. 
from a little acid thrown in his face. 
May 13, 1837—Dr. Torrey forwarded to me a strong tube containing a 
fine quantity of the liquid carbonic acid which spontaneously crystallizes 
in beautiful snowy ois during freezing cold weather, while a portion 
remains fluid, and thus I have the pleasure of ‘exhibiting to my chemical 
class the aeriform, the liquid, and the crystallized carbonic acid, alli in the 
same tube. ‘This day, Dec. 27, 1838, it is m that condition. 
Dr. Torrey was early successful in condensing the sulphurous acid md. 
the chloro-chromic acid. He mentions ina letter dated Nov. 9, 1835— 
“The freezing of water by the latter, is a beautiful class experiment. 
Some ice-cold water is placed in a large watch glass or bottom of a flask ; 
the tube containing the acid is cooled in a freezing mixture of snow sak 
salt, (the temperature of which should be full 0°F, )—then with a small 
fine file rub off the extremity of the tube, so as to make the finest possible 
orifice ;, next seize the flask with a pair of forceps and invert it, or hold 
it obliquely downward over the glass of water. <A fine stream of ‘the acid 
will rush out, and falling on the water will congeal it into a spongy icer 
{ti is. unnecessary to say, that the experiment should be conducted under a 
to carry off the offensive smell of the sulphurous acid.” 
_ With respect to chloro-chromic acid he confirms Dr. Thomson’s state- 
ment, that perfectly dry phosphorus is not inflamed by it> it may be even 
lied; in the liquid acid, but if moist in the slightest degree, it will burn . 
with a loud exploant, requiring particular precautions —Senior Ep. — 
2. Tay Interpretation of bara and asah, in a letter from Dr. Noau 
Wensrer to the Rev. Wilkiam Buckland, Oxford, England. 
Rev. Sir—I am reading your treatise on Geology with great pleasure, 
and, I hope, not without instruction. 
Th the second chapter of your treatise on Geology, a part of the Bridge- 
_ Water Collection, you have advanced the doctrine that the matter of this 
globe was created long before it was reduced to its present form or state, 
