328 EARTHS PROPER. 



riate of lime. Heat was applied and continued 

 till the retort began to soften. By this process 

 the water was driven off and united to the muriate 

 of lime, the weight of which it had increased by 

 12-82 parts. The yttria, thus freed from water, 

 was heated to redness in a platinum crucible, in 

 order to drive off the carbonic acid : by this 

 process its weight was reduced to 57*7 parts. 

 From this analysis, it appears that carbonate of 

 yttria is composed of 



Carbonic acid 29-48 or 2-?5 

 Yttria . 57-?0 - 5-3825 



Water . 12-82 - 1-1959 



100-00* 



This analysis gives us 5'3825 for the atomic 

 weight of yttria. But the water in the salt, 

 which obviously ought to amount to 1 atom, is a 

 little too high. The probability is, that the wa- 

 ter absorbed by the muriate of lime would retain 

 a little carbonic acid. If we divide the 42'3 

 parts which make up the carbonic acid and wa- 

 ter in the ratio of 2*75 : 1-125 which must have 

 been the true proportion of those bodies, on the 

 supposition that the salt was a chemical com- 

 pound, we shall have the constituents of this 

 carbonate as follows : 



* Annals of Philosophy, III 359. 



