PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 567 



also removes the oxj'gen often present in petroleum (as it is in 

 water). Sulphuric acid, by its strong affinity to water, compelling- 

 all the oxygen in the petroleum to combine with part of its hydro- 

 gen, by which action water is formed and some carbon is sepa- 

 rated; in fact this acid decomposes part of the hydro-carbons, as 

 destructive distillation does, by robbing some carbon of its hydro- 

 gen, setting it free and coloring the oil black. 



In regard to the relative quantities of carbon and hydrogen, I 

 found the lightest kinds of the so-called gasoline of 96° specific 

 gravity, to contain eighty-three per cent of carbon to seventeen 

 per cent of hydrogen. 



The liquid I discovered last year and called chymogene (cold 

 generator), obtained by condensing by pressure and cold the gases 

 escaping in vacuo, at the common temperature, consists of eighty- 

 two per cent of carbon and eighteen per cent of hydrogen. The 

 gases collected from the top of barrels coming fresh from the wells, 

 are found to contain eighty to eighty-one of carbon and twenty to 

 nineteen of hydrogen. Benzine contains about eighty-three and a 

 half carbon to sixteen and a half hydrogen. Kerosene about 

 eighty-four carbon to sixteen hydrogen; andparaffine, found long 

 ago by others, a little over eighty-five carbon to a little less than 

 fifteen hydrogen. Let us recapitulate these, and add the two 

 extremes of the series, marsh gas Cg H4 and olefiant gas C^ H4, 



Carbon. Uydrogen. 



Marsh gas contains in 100 parts 75 25 



Vapor from top of barrels, do 30 20 



Vapor from top of barrels, do 81 19 



Chymogene gas contains do 82 18 



Ehigolene do do 83 17 



Gasoline do do 83 16.5 



Benzine do do 84 16 



Kerosene do do 84.7 15,3 



Kerosene do do 84 _ 5 15.5 



Parafiine do do — 85 15 



Olefiant do do 86 14 



It is further found that the pure gasoline possesses all the pro- 

 perties of the so called hydride of ])utyle, of which the formula is 

 Cg Hj Q, and thus consists of forty-eight of carbon to ten of hydro- 

 gen, very near the relative quantities found above; that the gasc« 

 taken from the empty spaces in the barrels are very nuich like the 

 so-called hydride of ethyle and propyle, as well in their chem- 



