ON FLUOR ACID 



33 



SECTION VIII. 



I now broke the retort, and, in the first place, separated, 

 as accurately as possible, the dry earth, both in the neck and 

 arch of the retort ; it weighed 3 drms. Then the residuum 

 in the retort was tried, and found to weigh 3 oz. 2 drms. 

 and 40 grs. Now, as the mass in the retort had originally 

 weighed 4 oz. and 4 drms., it appears, by deducting the re- 

 siduum, to have suffered, upon the whole, a loss of 1 oz. 1 

 drm. and 20 grs. 



SECTION IX. 



In order to determine the loss more accurately, I made 

 the following calculation : 



oz. drms. grs. 

 () The white earth, separated from the neck and 



arch of the retort, amounted to . . .0 3 

 (6) The gain of the receiver . . . . .1 30 

 (c) Lost in vapour 030 



Total 1 



30 



Here, to my great astonishment, the matter that had 

 come from the retort amounted to more by 5 drms. 10 grs. 

 than the mass in the retort had lost of its original weight 

 (Sec. VIIL). Now, nothing remained for the illustration of this 

 circumstance but to weigh the retort and receiver themselves. 

 The retort, or, more properly speaking, the pieces of it, which 

 had been carefully preserved, weighed 1 oz. 7 drms. and 

 50 grs. ; whereas, before the process, the weight of the retort 

 was 2 oz. 5 drms. ; and hence it was obvious that it had 

 lost 5 drms. 10 grs., the precise quantity which the products 

 3 



