88 Comparison of the Blowpipes of Hare and Brook. 



Lavoisier, as is well known, by directing oxigen gas upon 

 burning charcoal, succeeded in melting and volatilizing some 

 substances, which, till that time, had been considered as in- 

 fusible and fixed. (Mem. de I'Acad. 1782 et 1783). He 

 melted alumine, and many of its mixtures ; but he did not 

 succeed in melting silex, barytes, lime and magnesia. 



Mr. Hare, by means of his blowpipe, perfectly melted 

 alumine, silex and barytes, but with great difficulty, hme 

 and magnesia. He brought silver and gold to a state of 

 ebullition, and succeeded, almost instantly, in volatilizing 

 completely, globules of platina of more than a line in diame- 

 ter. (An. de Chim. XLV. 134. et LX. 82.) 



Some years afterwards, Mr. Silliman, Professor of Chem- 

 istry and Mineralogy, who had co-operated in the early ex- 

 periments of Mr. Hare, performed new ones, which were 

 published in 1813, in the first volume of the Memoirs of tlje 

 Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences ; we proceed 

 to give the principal results. 



Alumine was perfectly melted into a milk white enamel. 



Silex, into a colourless glass. 



Barytes and strontian into a greyish white enamel. 



Glucine and Zircon were perfectly melted into a white 

 enamel. 



Lime, prepared by the calcination of Carrara marble, was 

 melted into a perfectly white and brilliant enamel. 



The splendor of the light was such that the eye, when na- 

 ked, and even when protected by deeply coloured glasses, 

 could not sustain it. The lime was seen to become round- 

 ed at the angles, and gradually to sink down ; and in a feu- 

 seconds, there remained only a small globular mass. 



Magnesia was affected almost exactly as lime ; the ligbl 

 reflected was equally vivid ; the surface was melted into 

 small vitreous globules. 



Platina was not only melted, but volatilized with strong 

 ebuUition. 



A great number of minerals, such as rock crystal, chal- 

 cedony, beryl, Peruvian emerald, peridot, (chrysoberyl) 

 amphigene, (leucite) disthene, (sappar) corundum, zircon, 

 spinel-ruby, &;c. melted with the greatest facility. 



In subsequent experiments, which Mr. Silhman has com- 

 municated to us, platina, gold, silver, and many other met- 

 als were not only rapidly vaporized, but entered, at the 

 same time, into beautiful and vivid combustion. 



