EXPERIMENTS 



ON THE 



PRODUCTION OF AIR FROM WATER, 



EXPOSED WITH VARIOUS SUBSTANCES TO THE ACTION 



OF LIGHT. 



VARIOUS opinions having been entertained with 

 respect to the origin of the air produced by expos- 

 ing healthy vegetables in water to the action of the sun's 

 rays, according to the method of Dr. Ingen-Housz, and 

 not being myself thoroughly satisfied with any of the 

 theories proposed for explaining the phenomena, I made 

 the following experiments with a view to throwing some 

 new light upon that subject. 



Having found by accident that raw silk possesses a 

 power of attracting and separating air from water in great 

 abundance when exposed in it to the action of light, it 

 occurred to me to examine the properties of this air, 

 and to consider more attentively the circumstances at- 

 tending its production, thinking that this might possibly 

 lead to some further discoveries, relative to the produc- 

 tion of the air yielded by water, under other circum- 

 stances ; and though my success in these inquiries has 

 not been equal to my wishes, yet, as in the course of my 

 researches I have discovered some facts which I take to 

 be new, and as I have confirmed others already known 

 by a variety of new experiments, I flatter myself that an 

 account of my labours upon this subject will not be 

 thought altogether uninteresting. 



