72 ESSAY V. 



SECTION XXVI. 



This sufficiently shows how strong an attraction 

 dephlogisticated muriatic acid has for phlogiston. Perhaps 

 Stahl obtained such a dephlogisticated muriatic acid by 

 means of iron, and, from the yellow colour of the cork, 

 was led to suppose that the muriatic had been changed 

 into the nitrous acid. If you make a mixture of manganese, 

 muriatic acid, or diluted vitriolic acid and alcohol, and after 

 digesting it in a well-closed phial for some days, distil it 

 by a gentle fire, no effervescence ensues ; but the spirit of 

 wine goes over, and, what is very remarkable, has a strong 

 smell of nitrous ether. The remainder in the retort will 

 have lost its acidity, and be saturated with manganese. 

 If metals, sugar, linseed, or oil of turpentine be combined 

 with a mixture of pulverised manganese and muriatic acid, 

 no such dephlogisticated muriatic acid is produced ; because 

 in this case a sufficient quantity of phlogiston is present 

 for the elastic acid to unite with. It is remarkable of 

 quicksilver that a great part of it enters into the solution, 

 and may be afterwards again obtained by crystallisation 

 with all the properties of corrosive sublimate. If plates 

 of pure gold be put into a mixture of pulverised manganese 

 and pure muriatic acid, it will afterwards appear that gold 

 as well as manganese is contained in the solution. 



SECTION XXVII. 



As fluor acid yields a precipitate with manganese 

 (Sec. VIL), it is easily understood why it dissolves so little ; 

 for the salt forms a fine pellicle round the particles of 

 the manganese, and thus prevents the acid from penetrating 

 any farther. The same thing happens with the acid of 



