420 MAYOW^S DISCOVERIES. 



" maxim^ intense contiiiuetur, spiritus tamen acidus usque in 



" receptaculum prodibit : verum eniravero vix credendum 



" est, spiiitum quemvis acidum adeo fixum, et pondcrosurri 



** esse, qui tarn di)i in igne quam violentissimo permanere pos- 



" sit: sed potius putandum est, particulas ignis nitro-aereasin 



" longa ilia distillatioiie vitrioli cum sulphure congredi et ef- 



" fervescere." — Ibid. p. 36. 



That vegetable His opinions concerning the formation of the vegetable acids 

 empyreumdtic , -i ^ -n ^ • . . . ,, 



acids are form- ^^^ ^hus expressed : rrseterea nescio, an uon spiritus aculi e 



ed during distil- " Ugnis ponderosis, veluti ligno guaiaco, idque genus aliis dis- 



" tillati, simili ratione per ignis operalionem inter distillan- 



*' dum fiant : quippe lignum guaiaci ante distillationem neuti- 



" quam sale acido, sed potius sale fixo donari videtur. Hue 



" etiam facit, quod particulae nitro-aereze ignis cum particulis 



" ligni sulphureis inter distillandum congresscB ad fiuorempu- 



" ducant. Illud etiam obiter annotamus, quod spiritus acjdi 



" e saccharo, et melle distillati, baud multum absimili ritu 



" per actionem spiritus nitro-aerci ignis fieri videantur."-— 



Ibid. p. 38. 



Spontaneous ^g to the spontaneous formation of vitriolic acid, he says, 



formation ot .,,.,* i • i i i i ■ , • • i i 



sulphuric acid, that if vitriol, from which the whole acid spirit has been ex- 

 pelled by calcination, be exposed again for some time to a 

 moist air, it will be impregnated anew with the acid spirit. — 

 Ibid. p. 38. Vitriols, he adds, are formed out of a saline sul- 

 phureous earth, which, when committed to the fire, will yield 

 flowers of sulphur, and when exposed a due time to air and 

 moisture, spontaneously ferments, and becomes richly impreg- 

 nated with vitriol. " Nirairum spiritus nitro-aercus cum sul- 

 *' phure metalUco marchasitarum istarum effervescens, partem 

 " carum fjxiorem in liquorem acidum convertit." — Ibid. 

 p. 39. He further considers rust of iron to be produced by 

 the action of these same nitro-aerial particles, which, com- 

 bining with the metallic sulphur of the iron, form an acid 

 that corrodes the metallic particles, — Ibid. p. 40. And, al- 

 luding to all these opinions in another part of his tract, he 

 has these words : " Quanquam enim spiritus nitro-aereus 

 " acidus non sit, q-b podeni tamen ferrum corroditur, vitri- 

 ^' ola conficiuntur, s^lia fixs- ad fluorem pcrducuntur, re- 

 ^' rumque compages tanquam ab universali menstruo solvuu- 

 " tur." — Tractat. quinq. p. 55. 



huchy 



