Miscellanies. 375 



did no serious injury. Having a fine quantity of the condensed liquid in 

 a sealed tube, but wishing to aid the generation of carbonic acid by heat, 

 he plunged one end of the tube into hot water in a tumbler, while the 

 other end was enclosed in a freezing mixture, when it burst, shattering the 

 tumbler, &c., but the water greatly abated the force of the blow. The 

 explosion was caused by the formation of crystallized sulphate of ammo- 

 nia, from the action of the sulphuric acid upon the carbonate of ammo- 

 nia, (the materials used to afford the gas,) which sublimed and choked the 

 tube, about half way up, so that the carbonic acid gas that was evolved 

 had not the benefit of the refrigerating process above, and its elasticity 

 was at least doubled by the heat, being equivalent to seventy six atmos- 

 pheres (=1140 pounds on the square inch) ; the wonder is, therefore, 

 that the courageous experimenter sustained no other inconvenience than 

 from a little acid thrown in his face. 



May 13, 1837 — Dr. Torrey forwarded to me a strong tube containing a 

 fine quantity of the liquid carbonic acid which spontaneously crystallizes 

 in beautiful snowy crystals during freezing cold weather, while a portion 

 remains fluid, and thus I have the pleasure of exhibiting to my chemical 

 class the aeriform, the liquid, and the crystallized carbonic acid, all in the 

 same tube. This day, Dec. 27, 1838, it is in that condition. 



Dr. Torrey was early successful in condensing the sulphurous acid and 

 the chloro-chromic acid. He mentions in a letter dated Nov. 9, 1835 — 



"The freezing of water by the latter, is a beautiful class experiment. 

 Some ice-cold water is placed in a large watch glass or bottom of a flask ; 

 the tube containing the acid is cooled in a freezing mixture of snow and 

 salt, (the temperature of which should be full 0° F.) — then with a small 

 fine file rub off" the extremity of the tube, so as to make the finest possible 

 orifice ; next seize the flask with a pair of forceps and invert it, or hold 

 it obliquely downward over the glass of water. A fine stream of the acid 

 will rush out, and falling on the water will congeal it into a spongy ice. 

 It is unnecessary to say, that the experiment should be conducted under a 

 hood to carry off" the off"ensive smell of the sulphurous acid." 



With respect to chloro-chromic acid he confirms Dr. Thomson's state- 

 ment, that perfectly dry phosphorus is not inflamed by it ; it may be even 

 melted in the liquid acid, but if moist in the slightest degree, it will burn 

 with a loud explosion, requiring particular precautions. — Senior Ed. 



2. Critical Interpretation ofhara and asah, in a letter from Dr. Noah 

 Webster to the Rev. William Bucldand, Oxford, England. 



Rev. Sir — I am reading your treatise on Geology with great pleasure, 

 and, I hope, not without instruction. 



In the second chapter of your treatise on Geology, a part of the Bridge- 

 water Collection, you have advanced the doctrine that the matter of this 

 globe was created long before it was reduced to its present form or state, 



