1824.] Scientific Notices — Chemistry. 69 



One-half of each portion was treated with nitrate of silver. The 

 first had no effect on litmus paper, and scarcely gave the slight- 

 est cloud with the test. The second became slightly cloudy by 

 the test, but was equally without any action on the blue paper. 

 The third portion reddened the paper strongly, and produced an 

 abundant dense cloud, when I dropped into it the nitrate of 

 silver, and a pretty copious precipitate collected at the bottom 

 of the tube. The remaining half of the third portion was evapo- 

 rated by a gentle heat to about half a fluid drachm. The preci- 

 pitate which a drop of it, placed on a slip of glass, occasioned 

 with a drop of nitrate of silver, was insoluble in nitric acid, and 

 perfectly soluble in ammonia. Another drop, similarly treated 

 with muriate of barytes, gave no precipitate, nor cloud. The 

 remainder was neutralized with pure ammonia, further evapo- 

 rated, and poured on a slip of glass ; when it afforded a multi- 

 tude of well-defined crystals of muriate of ammonia. 



The precipitate from the first half of the same portion by 

 nitrate of silver, being collected, washed, and dried, fused on a 

 slip of platina foil before the blowpipe into horn silver. 



The presence of free muriatic acid in the ejected fluid, and 

 consequently the accuracy of Dr. Prout's conclusions, seem to 

 be fully confirmed by the preceding experiments. J. G. C. 



2. Pyroxylic and Pyroacetic Spirits. 



In a paper read before the Society of Physics and Natural 

 History of Geneva, on the 16th Oct. 1823, MM. Macaire and 

 Marcet have given a description and analysis of two fluids, ana- 

 logous in many of their properties to alcohol, particularly in 

 being capable, like it, of forming ethers when acted upon by 

 acids. Pyroxylic spirit, the first of these, is obtained during the 

 rectification of pyrolignous acid; the second was described long 

 ago by M. Chenevix under the name of pyroacetic spirit, and 

 may be prepared by subjecting the greater number of the ace- 

 tates to distillation. 



Pyroxylic spirit is colourless and transparent. Its smell is 

 strong, pungent, and ethereal, and has a strong resemblance to 

 that of ants. Its taste is strong, hot, and slightly pungent, 

 leaving a distinct impression of the flavour of oil of peppermint. 

 Its specific gravity, after having been distilled off dry muriate of 

 lime, is 0828. It boils at 150°. It reddens litmus paper very 

 slightly ; but this effect is probably produced by a minute resi- 

 due of acetic acid ; for when the spirit is distilled off" litharge, a 

 small portion of the oxide is rendered soluble in water. The 

 dissolved salt is not precipitated by barytes, nor by nitrate of 

 silver, and it contains no nitric acid : it appears, therefore, fco be 

 an acetate. When healed, the spirit burns with a Hue blue 

 flame, without leaving any residue. Alcohol dissolves it in 



