2<^or T>^» Priestley's Experiments and Obfervations 

 they had been ufed to do, and continued to do fo many hours;; 

 1 even got ten ounce meafures of inflammable air from, two 

 ounces of iron filings in a coatedglafs retort. At length, how- 

 ever, the produclion of inflammable air from the gun-barrel- 

 ceafed ; but on putting water into it, the air was- produced' 

 again, and a few repetitions of the experiment fully fatisfied 

 me that I had been too precipitate in concluding that inflam- 

 mable air is pure phlogifksn, 



I then repeated the experiment with the charcoal, making 

 the receiver, the ftand on which r placed the charcoal, and the- 

 charcoal itfelf, as dry and as hot as poffible, and ufing cement 

 inftead of a wet leather to exclude the air. In thefe circum- 

 ilances I was not able, with the advantage of a good fun, and- 

 an excellent burning lens, to decompofe quite fo much as two 

 grains of the piece of charcoal, which gave me ten ounce mea- 

 fures of inflammable air; and this, I imagine, was eiFe<£led by 

 means of fo much moifture as was depofited from the air in its 

 flate of rarefa<Sl:ion, and before it could be drawn from the 

 jeceiver. To the produ<5lion of this kind of inflammable air I 

 vv^as therefore now convinced, that- water is as necefl'ary as to 

 that from iron. 



It was rn this flate of my experiments that I' received an au- 

 thentic account of thofe of M. Lavoisier, on tranfmitting water 

 through an hot iron tube and alfo throug'h a hot copper tube 

 containing charcoal, and thereby procuring large quantities of ' 

 inflammable air, M. Lavoisier hlmfelf having been fo obliging 

 as to fend me a copy of his Memoir on that fubjedl. 1 had 

 heard an account of the experiments fome months before; but 

 it was fo imperfeft a one, that I own I paid little attention to 

 them. At this time, however, I was prepared to be fuiBciently 

 f«nfible of their value. 



In 



