2^4 ®N THE COMPOSITION OF ALCOHOL. 



ed without ad- appeared to me owing in part to the lime and potash, which 



' '°"' T have found in the ashes of alcohol by other experiments. 



They are held in solution by acetic acid formed by the com- 



Thewatergrewbustion. This water, kept in a phial half filled with it, 



after some months deposited a slight mouldiness. 

 Muria'icacid At the approach of muriatic acid this fluid diffuses co- 

 elicitsammo- . . . n^i ■ n> ^ • i. -i • 



niacal vapours P'^us ammoniacal vapours. J his eftect is more striking, 



from it. when the water has been collected by Meusnier's apparatus, 



because in this process the ammonia, or rather the acetate 

 of ammonia, has less time to evaporate. That I might not 

 be mistaken with respect to the nature of these vapours; 

 and to collect a part of the ammonia, which is volatilized 

 and lost in the atmosphere in proportion as the water is pro- 

 With this acid duced ; I poured a few drops of muriatic acid into the phial, 

 riatTof ammo- ^^'^^ '" Meusnier's apparatus is employed to receive the 

 nia. liquid formed by the combustion. After having obtained 4f 



oz. of this water, which was thus mixed with muriatic acid, 

 I subjected it to spontaneous evaporation in a place where I 

 could not suspect the presence of any ammoniacal vapours, 

 and obtained a residuum containing 3| grs. of muriate of 

 ammonia, perfectly characterized by its crystallization and 

 other properties. It was at first mixed with a small quan^^ 

 tity of muriate of lime and muriate of lead*: the deliques- 

 cent salt was separated by elutriation; and the insoluble 

 metallic salt by dissolving- the residuum in distilled water. 

 Greater part of J could not judge by this result of the quantity of nitro- 

 cal gas lost. fe^" contained in alcohol, because the vapour of muriatic 

 acid formed a smoke of muriate of ammonia, the greater 

 part of which escaped out of the vessel employed to receive 

 it. 



The ammonia It is not probable, that this ammonia was owing to the 

 not produced ,. . fii-i /», ,ii-,i- 



by the azote in combination oi the hidrogen oi the alcohol with the nitro- 



tlie air. ggn of the atmospheric air, for it has been seen, sect. II, 



that the latter was not condensed in the combustion of the 



Lead dissolved ♦ The worm of my apparatus is of lead. In this case the water pro- 

 fromthe duced by the combustion of the alcohol held the metal in solution pro- 



bably by means of acetic acid. The water thus obtained gave a black 

 precipitate with hidrosulphuret of potash, even when there was no mu- 

 riatic acid in the receiver; but it did not produce this effect, when it was 

 ^collected froia, alcohol burned under a glass jar. 



^Icoho 



