relating to u4Ir and JVater, 2S5 



containing inflammable air, confined by water, threw upon it 

 the focus of the lens, and prefently perceived the inflammable 

 air to difappear, and without thinking of any thing efcaping 

 from the calx of iron (which had been fubjeded to a greater 

 heat before) I imagined that I fhould have found the addition of 

 the weight of air in the iron, and the refult might be an iron 

 different from the common fort. But 1 found, to my furprife, 

 that the iron, which had exhibited no new appearance in tliis 

 mode of treatment, had loft weight, inftead of gaining any. 

 The piece of iron on which I made this firft experiment weighed 

 III grains, and 7! ounce meafures of inflammable air had dif- 

 appeared while the iron had loft i\ grains. 



Confidering the quantity of Inflammable air that had dlfap- 

 peared, vh. yi ounce meafures, and the dephloglfticated air 

 which had been expelled from the Iron, vk. 2| grains, which 

 is equal to about 4.1 ounce meafures, I found that they were 

 very nearly in the proper proportion to faturate each other, 

 when decompofed by the eledrical fpark, viz. two meafures of 

 inflammable air to one of dephloglfticated air. I therefore had 

 now no doubt but that the two kinds of air had united, and 

 had formed either Jixed air or water ; but which it was I could 

 not tell, having had water on the receiver in which the experi- 

 ment was made, and having neglected to examine the ftate of 

 the air that remained, except in a general way, by which I 

 found, that it was ftill, to appearance, as inflamm.able as ever. 



With a view to determine whether y£iW^/r, or ivater, would 

 be the produce of this mode of combining inflammable and 

 dephloglfticated air, I repeated the experim.ent in a veflel in 

 which the inflammable air was confined by mercury, and both 

 the veflel and the mercury had been previoufly made as dry as 

 poflible. I had no fooner begun to heat the iron, or rather/^^. 



in 



