^$ WATER OF THE RIVER JORDAN, 



General result. It may therefore be stated in generalterms, that the Dead 

 Sea water contains about one fourth of its weight of salts 

 supposed in a state of perfect desiccation ; while, as I ob- 

 served before, if these salts be only desiccated at the tem- 

 perature of 180'^, they will amount to 41 per cent of the wa- 

 . ter. This great difference between the two states of desic- 

 cation depends on the great affinity which muriates, particu- 

 larly that of magnesia, have for water. Muriate of soda is 

 scarcely at all concerned in this difference: for T found, not 

 without surprise, that 100 grains of artificial cubic crystals 

 of muriate of soda, being fused and heated to redness in a 

 platina crucible, lost at most half a grain. 

 Proportiojis of In the analysis of Macquer and Lavoisier,, the solid con- 

 Macquer and tents of the Dead Sea are estimated at about 45 per cent of 

 the water, and in the proportions of nearly 1 part of com- 

 mon salt to 4 of muriate of magnesia, and 3 of muriate of 

 lime ; proportions widely different from those which I had, 

 obtained. But their mode of operating, which they can- 

 didly relate, was so evidently inaccurate with regard to the 

 separation and desiccation of the salts, and in general sp 

 deficient in the estimation of quantities and proportions, 

 that these eminent chemists cannot be considered as having 

 aimed, in this instance, at any thing like an exact analysis. 

 Jt may be observed also, that these gentlemen found the 

 specific gravity of the water 1-240 instead of r2ll, as I 

 have stated it to be; but it appears, that their specimen had 

 suffered some evaporation previous to their experiments, 

 since they found crystals of common salt in one of their bot- 

 tles, which could not have happened without evaporation, 

 Theproporti- Besides, the specimen which I examined was, I understand, 

 fcapLathertoo brought from a paxt of the lake not more than two miles 

 Bmall. distant from the mouth of the Jordan, a circumstance which 



may perhaps account for its being somewhat more diluted, 

 than it might be found in other parts. 



Sect. VI, 



Anali/sis of the Water of the River Jordan. 



Waferof the As I had scarcely two ounces of this water, and as it con'=» 

 Jordan. tained but a very small projiortion of saline ingredients, it 



would 



