Hare’s Blowpipe. 285 
quantities as might enable them fully to saturate each other. 
To me it would seem, where the highest heat is desired, 
evidently absurd to employ them in any other way, because 
if either gas were present in too great quantity to be acted 
upon, the excess would be worse than useless. Is it not 
universally an object with chemists to use ingredients in the 
proportions in which they saturate each other, especially 
when within a given space and time the most intense reac- 
tion is to be induced? ‘The author of this professedly can- 
did publication would wish to convey the idea of my con- 
trivance being so inferior in power to that adopted by him, 
that in a history of the invention, he does not deem it neces- 
sary to quote my experiments, but satisfies himself with ob- 
scure allusions to them, rather in a manner to derogate than 
to do justice. This procedure would be unjustifiable were 
the heat which he has produced decidedly greater than that 
produced by me. But the fact is otherwise. He fuses 
with difficulty Oolite, Iceland crystal, and pure native mag- 
nesia. The fusion of the best magnesia of the shops, and 
of quick lime from pure lime stone was among my first ef- 
forts, and was mentioned im a preface, omitted in republish- 
ing my memoir. Lately I have fused a picce of oyster- 
shell lime, which is perhaps as pure as any to be obtained 
by artificial purification. 
Dr. C. has employed platina in some cases to secure re- 
fractory earths while exposed to the action of his instrument, 
although this metal, is dissipated by the heat of mine. 
That in his inferences in respect to the decomposition of, 
the earths, he did not anticipate Professor Silliman or my- 
self, must be evident from the passages in our memoirs, 
which I shall presently quote. I doubt if time will shew 
that Dr. Clark has gone much beyond the extent of our ob- 
servations on this subject. 
But while the superiority of the temperature attained by 
mixing the gases before emission is thus questionable, there 
are great and undeniable advantages in having them pro- 
pelled from different reservoirs. First, a degree of security 
trom explosion, which cannot be attained with one common 
recipient.* 2d. The possibility of operating on a large 
* Where the gases are kept unmixed in separate reservoirs, and meet only 
near the point of efilux in an orifice sufficiently large, as was the case with 
the original compound blowpipe, explosion is obviously impossible. If the 
Vion Is....No. 2. 37 
