152 Miscellanies. 



No. 2. Bottle — Solution of nitrate of silver : tube — fused chlo- 

 ride of sodium. Water passed to the salt, but no chloride of silver 

 in either. 



No. 3. Bottle — Solution of muriate of hme : tube — crystal^ of 

 oxalic acid. Water remained with the hme. Slight sublimation of 

 oxalic acid in the tube, but rising no higher than the highest part of 

 the original mass. A drop or two of pure ammonia produced, in the 

 solution, a slight precipitate of oxalate of ammonia. Hence oxalic 

 acid is volatile at common temperatures. 



No. 6. Bottle — Solution of potash : tube — white arsenic in pieces 

 and powder. Arsenic unchanged. Solution of potash had acted 

 powerfully on the glass, dissolving the silica, and becoming a soft 

 solid. It contained no arsenic. Hence this substance, though vola- 

 tile at 600°, had not risen in vapor. 



No. 8. Bottle — Half sulphuric acid, half water : tube — pieces of 

 muriate of ammonia. No change or transference whatever. 



No. 9. Bottle — Solution of persulphate of iron : /MSe— crystals of 

 ferro-prussiate of potash. Both unchanged. 



No. 10. Bottle — Solution of potash: tube — fragments of calo- 

 mel ; potash acted on the glass. No trace of volatility in the cal- 

 omel. 



No. 11. Same as the last, except corrosive sublimate in Heu of 

 calomel. The corrosive sublimate had sublimed, and formed crys- 

 tals under the stopper. 



No. 14. Bottle — Solution of iodide of potash: tube — chloride of 

 lead. Both unaltered. 



No. 15. Bottle — Solution of muriate of lime: tube — crystals of 

 carbonate of soda. Part of the water passed to carbonate of soda : 

 neither of the salts volatilized or chansied. 



O 



No. 16. Bottle — Dilute sulphuric acid: tube — nitrate of ammo- 

 nia in fragments. Nitrate became slightly moist, acid found to con- 

 tain nitric acid. 



No. 17. Bottle — Solution of persulphate of copper: tube — crys- 

 tals of ferro-prussiate of potash. Crystals had attracted most of the 

 water from the cupreous salt. Neither salt had been volatilized. 



From these experiments it would appear that there is no reason to 

 believe that water, or its vapors confer volatility in the slightest de- 

 gree, upon those substances that alone have their limits of vaporiza- 

 tion at temperatures above ordinary occurrence, and consequently 

 that natural evaporation can produce no effect of that kind on the 

 atmosphere. 



