1878. ] A475 |Sadtler. 
upon them in Prof. Morton’s article above referred to. After stating that 
no solution of the problem of analysing a mixture of three members of the 
Parafiin series, or of hydrogen and two members of the same series was 
possible, Prof. Morton concludes by saying, with reference to my analyses, 
‘‘and his determinations have therefore no value whatever.”’ 
In reply to this, I would say that, while, in view of the demonstration 
made by Prof. Morton in his paper, which was by the way fully accepted 
by me before I saw it in his article, Iam unable to accomplish all that I 
first thought I could, my figures are still of some account. They pessess 
just the same value and can be used in just the same way as the figures ob- 
tained by any analyist in making an analysis of ordinary illuminating gas. 
As shown in the first part of this paper, we are able to determine from 
the combustion results, the proportions in a mixture considered as made up 
of two members of the Paraffin series or of hydrogen and one member of 
the series. That this can be done with a gas known to contain the higher 
Paraffins along with marsh-gas, is shown in Prof. Morton’s own analysis of 
a water-gas in which he had proved these Paraftins to be present (loc. cit.). 
It is shown in the analysis of Prof. Morley of the natural gas from the 
Neff. Well, Ohio, quoted in my second paper (loc. cit.). 
My results then can be reckoned in this way, and the gaseous mixture 
which is submitted to the eudiometric combustion can be figured as made 
up of hydrogen and marsh-gas, or of marsh-gas and ethyl-hydride, as is 
more reasonable in all these cases. Here, however, hydrogen is not neces- 
sarily excluded, for part of what is reckoned as marsh-gas may be a mixture 
of equal parts of hydrogen and ethyl-hydride, and what is reckoned as this 
latter may be only that amount which is in excess of the hydrogen present. 
Thus, in my first paper, I gave as present in the gas of the Burns Well 
6.10% hydrogen, 75.44% marsh-gas, and 18.12% ethyl-hydride. If I cal- 
culate the combustion results (using the carbonic acid formed) given on p. 
211 Proceedings No. 97, for marsh-gas and ethyl-hydride, I get as the aver- 
age of the two analyses 87.66% marsh-gas and 12.00% ethyl-hydride. 
Now if this latter number 12.00% be taken from the 18.12% reckoned be- 
fore, we have 6.12%, which combining with the 6.10 % of supposed hydro- 
gen would increase the 75.44% of marsh-gas to 87.66% of marsh-gas. 
In the Erie gas, where only a trace of hydrogen was assumed before to 
be present, I can reckon the combustion results, using both the carbonic 
acid formed and the contraction ensuing on the combustion, and get results 
which do not differ greatly from those already published. Thus I gave 
before .43 % hydrogen, 40.33% marsh-gas, and 58.26 ethyl-hydride. Cal- 
culated for the two latter constituents only, I get 40.53% marsh-gas and 
58.49 % ethyl-hydride. 
I do not propose, however, to give these or any results as final until I 
have finished the examination of the gases which I had absorbed with dif- 
ferent reagents and of various decomposition prcducts obtained from them. 
I hope then to be able to establish with some certainty the exact character 
of the natural gases which I have made the subject of study. 
O~ 
UNIVERSITY OF PENNA., April 5th, 1878. 
