86 An Inquiry concerning the 



be to my expectations ; and still less to feel a secret 

 wish to suppress experiments, merely because their 

 results militate against my speculative opinions. 



It is proper I should observe that the charcoal use4 

 in this last-mentioned experiment had been boiled two 

 hours in distilled water, by which means its pores had 

 been so completely filled with that fluid that the pieces 

 of it that were used were specifically heavier than water, 

 and sunk in it to the bottom of the containing vessel. 



Having been so successful in my attempts to reduce 

 the oxide of gold by means of charcoal, in the moist 

 way, I lost no time in making similar experiments with 

 the oxide of silver. 



Experiment No. n. A solution of fine silver in 

 nitrous acid was evaporated to dry ness, and the re- 

 siduum dissolved in distilled water. 



A portion of this solution (which was perfectly col- 

 ourless), diluted with twice as much distilled water, was 

 poured into a phial containing a number of small 

 pieces of charcoal ; and the phial, being well closed 

 with a new cork stopple, was exposed to the action of 

 the sun's rays. 



In less than an hour small specks of revived silver 

 began to make their appearance on the surface of the 

 charcoal ; and at the end of two hours these specks 

 became very numerous, and had increased so much in 

 size that they were distinctly visible to the naked eye 

 at the distance of more than three feet. They were 

 very white, and possessed the metallic splendour of 

 silver in so high a degree that, when enlightened by 

 the sun's beams, their lustre was nearly equal to that 

 of very small diamonds. 



The phial, which was in the form of a pear, and 



