-S66 ACRICirLTURAL MUSErM 



The remaining fluid must be bailed for a quarter of as 

 hour, wh'^n the maccn.sia, if any exist, wil! be precipi- 

 lat'Ml from it combinod with caiboni'' acid, and i(s quan- 

 ity to be ascer<aincd in the same manner as that of 

 the carbonate of lime. 



If any minute proportion of alurr.ine should, from pe. 

 C!)l ar circum^tanci s, he dissolved by the aci(I, it will 

 be found in the precipitate with the carbonate of lime, 

 antJ i' may he separated from it by boiling- for a fow 

 JPhinutes with soap lye, sufficient to cover the solid matter. 

 This substance dissolves alumine without acting upon 

 carbonate of lime. 



Should the fi ifdy divided soil be sufficiently calcare- 

 O'?"^ to effervesce ver}' strongly with acids, a very sim- 

 pit" method may be adopted for ascerlainiisg the quantity 

 or carbonate of lime, and one sufficiciitly accurate in ail 

 common cases. 



Carbonate of lime, in a1! its states, contains a deter- 

 minate proportion of carbonic acid, i.e. about 45 per 

 cent, so that when the quantity of this elastic tbhd, given 

 out by any soil du'ing the solution of its calcareous mat- 

 ter in an acid, is known, either tn weight or measure, rhc 

 quantity of carbonate of lime may be easily disco* 

 Vi'jt d. 



When the process by diminution of^e'ght is employ- 

 ed, two parts of the ac'd and one part of the matter 

 of the soil must be weighed in two separate bott'es, and 

 vc; y slowly mixed together till the eirervesccnce ceas- 

 es ; the difference between their weight before and af- 

 te the experiinent, denotes the quantity of carbonic 

 acid lost ; for every four grains and a half of 

 which, ten grains of carbonate of lime must be estima 

 ted. 



The best m'thod of collecting the carbonic acid, so as 

 to discover its volume, is b} pneumatic apparatus. The 

 estimation is, for every ounce measure of carborjiQ acid, 

 two grains of carbunate of lime. 



