510 ^^ '^^^ VATURE or 0:iIMURIATIC GAS. 



XII. 



On the Nature of Oximuriatic and Muriatic Add G<is, in 

 Reply to Mr. Murray. In a Letter from John Davt» 



To W. NICHOLSON, Esq, 

 SIR, 



Two papers by ^INCE I last had the honour of addressing you, two pa« 

 Mr. Murray g^g ^^ iyj^^ Murray, in opposition to the theory of my bro« 

 onoximuriattc \ -««• tx " • • • • i j 



gas, thcr, Mr. Davy, respecting' oxirtmriatic gas, haveappearea 



WUv the first '^ y^"*" Journal. — I did not immediately reply to the tirst, i« 



was not an* which I wQs more particularly concerned, because nothing 



^^"^ * in that paper required very serious attention : it contained 



no new facts or arguments in support of the old hypothesis, 



it consisted merely of observations on a former communica<r 



tion of mine concerning a new gas. — For this reason, and 



moreover because Mi". Murrgy promised, that an account 



should shortly appear of an experimental investigation he 



had been engaged in, I have hitherto patiently refrained. — • 



Answer to The promised communication is new made, and it is now 



both. my intention to answer both his papers at the same time. 



To the first ^ ^hoW be brief in my remarks on Mr. Murray's former 



paper. To his incorrect statements I shall oppose merely 



the results of my experiments. His criticisms on me, \ shall, 



in a great measure, leave to the judgment of the public. 



Grounds of the That the reader may form some idea of the present state 



controTersy. of the controversy, \ shall quickly run over its grounds, 



principallj'^ directing the attention to facts. 

 Mr Murr \ ^^' ^^"•"''^.V having exposed a mixture of carbonic oxide, 

 exiieriment. hidrogen, and oximuriatic gas, to light; and having found, 

 that no carbonic oxide remained, after the addition of am- 

 moniacal gas, and that the ammoniacal salt formed efFer-^ 

 vesced with nitric acid; concluded, that the salt was a 

 mixture of carbonate and muriate of amraonia-^that the 

 oximuriatic gas had been decomposed, and consequently 

 that Mr. Davy's theory, in which it was considered as a sim- 

 ple substance, was erroneous. 



Jlepeftting 



