gg^ ACTION OF MURIATIC ACID ON SUGAR. 



Proof that the 4th. Ten grains of the original muriatic acid gave a pre? 



acid in part c ipJtate with sul.mate of silver, which weighed exactly 7 £''3 

 disappears by ' a , - ' *■* 



comparing the after having been dried perfectly on the vapour bath at 170 

 we.gi iinu- or j 80 decrees. After this rate 100 grs, the quantity used 



ria'e oi silver . ° . ijii • . i 



yielded oy the in the experiment above, should yield exactly 70 grains dried 

 original acid at the same heat. lOgrsofthe liquid (3d) gave with the 

 yielded by the same solution of sulphate of silver 4*937 grs dried the same 

 same quantity exactly; therefore 428 would have given 63*194 nearly, 

 having decorn- w "* c h> added to the quantity of muriate of silver yielded by 

 posed sugar, the 550 grs of liquid (3d), makes the whole amount of mu- 

 riate of sjlver 64-569 ; which, subtracted from 70 grs, the 

 weight that would have been obtained had we operated 011 

 the original acid, leaves for deficiency 5*43 1. According 

 to Dr. Marcet 100 grs of dry muriate of silver contain 

 19*05 of acid: taking this datum, 5:43 I wi!| contain 1*034, 

 which is obviously the loss of real acid. ! am at a loss to 

 know, what objections may be brought against this experi- 

 ment: for my part I can at present see none. The greatest 

 care was taken, that no acid vapour might be lost in the 

 various openings of T£he apparatus; and I have reason to 

 believe, that not the least escaped, for the weight of the 

 distilled prodqct, which was 128 grs, compared with the 

 few drops of liquid, that remained in the retort, made up 

 along with the carbon the weight of the substances intro- 

 duced. The muriate of silver in both cases was I think 

 equally dried: both specimens were brought to the greatest 

 state of dryness, by being exposed to exactly the same heat, 

 and particular precaution was taken to bring each to the 

 same state directly before being weighed. It gave me not a 

 little uneasiness to obtain results, that would in any respect 

 militate against the prevailing theory of sir Humphrey Davy. 

 The last experiment I repeated several times with the great- 

 est care, (and I always obtained results little differing from 

 the above. From their constant uniformity I cannot con- 

 clude less, than that a pt*rt of the acid disappears. To ex- 

 plain the rationale of the above fact I had first recourse to 

 the present prevailing theory proposed by sir H. Davy, 

 which supposes the muriatic acid to be compounded of 

 hidrogen and chlorine gas; but from facts directly to be de- 

 tailed I found it incapable, at least without bordering top 

 much upon hypothesis. 



