ON ETHER 227 



but is not near so volatile as nitrous or vitriolic ether ; it 

 burns with a blue flame like spirit of wine. The union of 

 the component parts of the acetous ether is much easier 

 destroyed than that of the other kinds, as the following 

 experiments will prove : (g) I dissolved one part of acetous 

 ether in as much water as was necessary for the solution, 

 and afterwards added two parts of caustic fixed alkali. On 

 distilling it by a gentle fire, I hardly obtained the eighth 

 part of the ether dissolved. The acetous ether, thus 

 depurated, did not indeed any longer affect tincture of 

 lacmus as it did before ; but on pouring some drops of it 

 upon blue paper, it immediately turned it red. I dissolved 

 this ether anew in a weak alkaline ley, and distilled the 

 solution again. Here it disappeared entirely ; the first liquor 

 that went over retained only a faint smell of ether. I 

 saturated the remainder in the retort with vitriolic acid, 

 and obtained by distillation acetous acid. 



SECTION VII. 



Some phosphoric acid which was prepared by burning 

 phosphorus was mixed with two parts of spirit of wine. I 

 distilled the mixture in the common way, till there was 

 nothing remaining in the retort but the acid. The spirit 

 which came over into the receiver had a disagreeable smell. 

 I rectified it, in order to get the ether, by a more gentle 

 degree of heat, but I obtained not a vestige of it. On mixing 

 water with this spirit it grew white like milk, and some days 

 afterwards I found a white powder precipitated, which was 

 pure phosphorus. Should the phosphoric acid perhaps con- 

 tain always a small quantity of phosphorus undecomposed, 

 the spirit of wine would be a good medium to separate it. 

 The disagreeable smell, as it would seem, arose from the 



