186 ON THE WATER IN MURIATE OF, AMMONIA. 



have been made to the experiment in my last communica- 

 tion proving the existence of water in muriatic acid gas. 

 This I have little reason to regret, as the deficiency has been 

 amply supplied by the candid communication from Dr. 



confirmed by Bostock and Dr. Traill in the supplement to youp last vo- 



Dis Bostock , ,■ _ , . . , . , \ . . J 



and Trail. lume. r rom the care with which their experiment appears 



to have been conducted, it must be regarded us nearly deci- 

 sive of the question at issue ; and the result coinciding so 

 exactly with that which 1 had stated to be obtained, while it 

 is at variance with that affirmed by Messrs. Davies, I might 

 probably spare myself the task of taking any notice of the 

 observations of my opponent. As 1 have executed some ex- 

 periments however, which occurred to me on this subject, a 

 brief account of the results may not be unacceptable to your 

 chemical reader-. 

 Admissions of It has been admitted, that the experiment which I have 

 PP n ' • brought forward, if accurate, is conclusive on the subject of 

 this discussion. It has also been admitted, that when the 

 experiment is performed in the manner I described, the rtS- 

 suit is that which 1 stated to be obtained — a sensible and. 

 even a considerable portion of water being produced, when 

 the salt formed by the combination of muriatic acid and am- 

 Attempttoob- moniacal gasses is exposed to heat. But to obviate the con- 

 nate re con- c l us j on f rom this it has been asserted, that the salt, while it 

 dusjonfromit. . '.,' . « ,v ,.,..„ 



is transferring irom the vessel in which it is formed to that 



in which it is heated, absorbs water from the atmosphere, and 

 that this is- the source of the water it affords. This explan- 

 ation has been given on the authority of Mr. Davy, who, it 

 it stated, performed the experiment without obtaining water 

 when this source of fallacy was avoided. And Mr. J. Davy, 

 ivho it seems was disposed to doubt of the accuracy of my 

 experiment before he knew of this mode of accounting for 

 its result, states, that he was informed of it by his brother ; 

 who farther told him, that, if he heated the salt without ex- 

 posure to the air, he would obtain no water. He accordingly 

 made the experiment us it is described in your Journal (vol. 

 XXXI, p. 314), and found no water to be produced ; but 

 when the experiment was made in the manner I had performed 

 it, " water in no inconsiderable quantity was evolved :" and 

 thus, it is added, " we have a demonstration, that the water 



librated 



