Morey on Heat and Light. _~ 128 
hours, when I retired, leaving it burning ; but the coal was 
nearly consumed. The next day I added more coal, and 
kept it burning from three to four hours more. ‘The wood 
had lost in the whole time only about six or seven ounces, 
and gave on an average, as appeared to me, about the light 
of two candles. It was lighted again the next night at sev- 
en: I had put in three ounces of coal, and seven of wood, 
filling it up with dry ashes. It burnt till nine o’clock, giv- . 
ing, 1 should think at least the light of six candles, but not 
without smoke : the wood lost five ounces. The next night 
at half past six it was lighted again, having eight ounces of 
wood and three of coal. It burnt with a most beautiful blue 
and white flame the first hour, inclining to a greater propor- 
tion of white towards the close. At the end of another half 
hour, it had become almost wholly white, and even intense- 
ly so, and so continued to half past eight, giving about the 
light of a candle: the coa! had lost only one ounce, and the 
wood two. The next night, at half past six, I put in three 
ounces of coal : it burnt well, as the night before, two hours. 
The next morning I again filled it with coal, and it burnt 
with a small but intensely white flame about one hour and 
a half: the whole time without smoke. The wood had 
then lost three-fourths of its weight, or six ounces ; and had 
burnt in the whole about six and a half hours. 
It is said, that the water, if decomposed, can give out no 
more caloric than it receives. ‘That is possibly correct, 
when applied solely to the combustibles, which decompose 
it. But the process here is very different, as I understand 
it. ‘The water is decomposed by the combustible. If the 
oxygen were again to unite with the same hydrogen, there 
is perhaps nothing gained. [If it unite to an equal quantity 
of hydrogen or carbon, disengaged from the combustible, 
still, so far there is perhaps neither gain nor loss. But if the 
hydrogen of the water find an abundant resupply of oxy- 
gen from the atmospheric air, with which it is so intimately 
mixed and blended, the heat evolved during the recomposi- 
tion of the water, would be equal to the whole received 
during the decomposition: [plus what proceeds from the at-_ 
mospherical oxigen employed to burn the hydrogen ? Ed.} 
thereby doubling the quantity received from the combusti- 
ble in its decomposition. ‘This would certainly follow, (as 
it appears to me,) if the vapors of-water and oil were te. 
Vor. II.....Ne. 1. 17 
