186 Miscellanies. 
began to boil at 28° cent. and continued at that point till it was all 
evaporated. Its specific gravity was 1.455. It is decomposed in con- 
tact with water, into nitric acid, and oxide of azote; in a word, 
it presents all the properties of the compound of nitrous acid with ni- 
tric acid discovered by Dulong. On the contrary, the heavy fluid be- 
ing heated, its boiling point rose continually from 28° to more than 
26° progressively as the distillation was continued. 
is liquid is of an intense red color like common fuming nitric 
acid. It becomes colorless when about one half is distilled off. The 
product is about one half of the light and one half of the heavy liquid. 
The specific gravity of the latter is 1.589. Common fuming nitric 
acid acts in the same manner. 
It results from these experiments that fuming nitric acid is a solu 
tion of hypo-nitrie acid in nitric acid, which however can dissolve 
only a certain quantity, about half of its weight, so that in distilling 
common fuming nitric acid, we obtain a heavy liquid, (viz. a saturated 
solution of nitrous acid in nitric acid,) and a lighter fluid, viz. hypo 
- nitric aeid.—Idem. 
5. On the decomposition of Water, by C. Despretz.—tt has heen 
long known that red hot iron decomposes water and disengases hy- 
drogen gas, and that a current of this gas, removes entirely the oxy 
gen from the oxide formed. Gay-Lussac has shewn that the decom 
position and recomposition of water takes place at the same tempera 
ture. I find that zinc, nickel, cobalt and tin act like iron. The 0X- — 
ide of manganese is not completely reduced by hydrogen. Some 
pure peroxide of that metal, exposed to a current of the dry gas: in 
the highest heat of a good forge, left a portion of melted protoxide, 
of a very fine green color.—Idem. 
6. Decomposition of Carbonic Acid, by C. Despretz—Carbonie 
acid presents the same phenomena as water ; it is brought to the com 
dition of oxide of carbon by iron, zinc, and tin, and the oxides of 
these metals are reduced by the second gas. 
The oxide of carbon was prepared by a mixture of oxalate of pot- 
ash and sulphuric acid, and deprived of any acid which it might e 
tangle by an alkaline solution.—Idem. 
7. On crystallizable Acetic Acid, by C. Despretz.—The process by 
which crystallized acetic acid is prepared, is kept a secret. After 
many trials I succeeded in obtaining very fine specimens by heating 
a mixture in atomic proportions of melted and dried acetate of lead 
and boiled sulphuric acid, (203.4 parts of the former, and 61.4 of the 
