W6 Chemical Philosophy, 



mixed with nitrous air. The discovery of this prow 

 perty of nitrous gas, and the invention founded 

 upon it, soon gave rise to many attempts to in> 

 prove on the principle, and to contrive eudiome- 

 ters of a more elegant and advantageous kind, 

 and with different materials. These attempts 

 were made, and various plans successively pro»- 

 posed by M. Landriani, Mr. Magellan, M. 

 FoNTANA, Mr. Cavallo, M. DeSaussure, Mr. 

 Cavendish, M. Morveau, and several others. 

 Of these, the contrivances of Fontana and Mor- 

 veau have been pronounced the best. The latter 

 employs- sulphiiret of pol-ash instead of nitrous 

 air, and. measures the proportion of oxygen pre- 

 sent by the quantity absorbed by the sulphureL 

 But the instrument, in its most favourable form, is 

 still liable to much uncertainty and inaccuracy in 

 its application. 



The machine for impregnating w^ater with car- 

 home acid gas, or ^/ixed air, invented a few years 

 ago by Dr. Nooth, of Great-Britain, deserves to 

 be respectfully mentioned, as a monument of in- 

 genuity, and as a very useful piece of furniture 

 for every chemist and physician. Besides this, 

 our list might be enlarged by the enumeration of 

 many other instruments and machines which have 

 been added to the chemical apparatus in modern 

 times, and which have greatly contributed to the 

 ease, elegance, and perfection of chemical experi- 

 ments. 



After mentioning the great names, and the bril- 

 liant discoveries, which have been recounted in 

 the foregoing pages, it would be unjust to omit 

 taking notice of some other philosophers who have 

 distinguished themselves by their publications or 

 experiments in this branch of science. Among a 

 great number, whose names and labours will be 

 found honourably recorded in the scientific history 



