Properties of Wood ‘Ashes. 89 
ses? Ordid the intense heat of the forge decompose some of the 
constituents of ashes, drive off the gaseous elements, evaporate 
water of. composition, and volatilize any of the solids ? Regard- 
ing the known constituents of ashes, I ascertained that in one 
specimen of the scorified ashes there was a trace of caustic lime; 
I detected it in no other portion of the slag. Water in which the 
scorified ashes had digested several days, produced a very faint 
white cloud, on the addition of oxalate of ammonia. Another por- 
tion of the water boiled down, exhibited a lively effervescence on 
the addition of an acid. The slag from the crucible, though ex- 
posed to a damp atmosphere for several days, showed no disposition 
to deliquesce. The long digested and thoroughly washed scori- 
fied ashes, produced abundant effervescence with nitric acid; the 
resulting nitrate had the peculiar bitterness of that salt of lige: 
and produced a very copious white precipitate with oxalate of 
ammonia. I judge, therefore, that but a very small quantity of 
earbonic acid was driven off oan the carbonates of lime and of 
potash ; not more perhaps than would be counterbalanced by the 
oxidation of the iron contained in ashes. . The presence of sili- 
ca, iron, and a sulphate, were satisfactorily shown; an accident 
prevented me from testing the presence of a phosphate or a chlo- 
ride. It therefore remains with me a moot question, what occa- 
sioned the loss in the tenth and eleventh experiments ? 
Since the publication of my former communication on this 
subject, LI have received information of other accidents similar to 
those - reported to this Journal, where large quantities of stored 
ashes had become extensively heated, and sometimes the wooden 
repository inflamed. In several instances it was known that hot 
ashes had been thrown upon the heap, under the impression that 
there was as much safety in doing so, as in depositing them upon 
the ground remote from combustible matter. What part the 
small portion of pwlverulent coal may perform in the propagation 
of the fire, I am not prepared to say. ‘That coal in some degree 
of comminution is necessary to the passage of caloric from one 
part of the mass to another I am convinced ;. and that charcoal 
in some state of division exists in most wood ashes, is easily 
proved by the use of a coarse sieve, to say nothing of the “-. 
coals generally apparent, and especially as they float upon 
water of the leach-tub. . It may here be asked, if this combusti- 
material is thus distributed through the ashes, why does not 
‘Vol. xu, No. 1.—April-June, 1842. 12 
