52 On Saltwaters of Alleghany and Kesheminetas Valleys. 



3. The rest of the dfied precipitate (6. h.) was treated with muriatic 

 acid in excess, in which it was dissolved, all but a small quantity of in- 

 soluble substance ; the unfiltered solution was then evaporated to dry- 

 ness and soaked in water adding to the liquid obtained some drops of 

 nitric acid. The solution was tittered from the separated silica, wbicli 

 contained eome alumina ; the solution obtained was tried with reagents. 



Caustic ammonia produced a dirty white precipitate. 



Alkaline carbonate produced a permanent dirty white precipitate. 



To the liquid filtered from the precipitate last obtained caustic ara- 

 monia and phosphate of soda were added; by stirring this mixture with 

 a glass rod, a crystalline precipitate was soon produced. Caustic potassa 

 produced a dirty white precipitate, which partly disappeared by heating; 

 by adding a solution of salammoniac to the filtered liquid, light white 



nixed with 



settling 

 to a precipitate became by degrees clear. This precipitate collected upon 

 a filter was well washed with water and dried, then melted in a silver 

 crucible with carbonate of potassa, then soaked in water and washed iip 

 on a filter until a solution of chlorid of barium did not produce any 

 change of the liquid which came from the filter. By treating the contents 

 of the filter with diluted muriatic acid, and by adding some fluosilicic acid 

 to the solution, the characteristic crystals of baryta were produced. The 

 solution from which the crystals were obtained was evaporated to dryness. 

 In testing the dry muss by the blowpipe the presence of strontia was 

 easily and surely detected by the purple-red tint of the flame. 



Sulphocyanid of potassium colored the liquid red. 



Ferrocyanate of potassa produced a deep dark blue tint, and soon after 



A clear filtered, concentrated solution of chlorid of lime, of the strength 

 of 36 p. c. produced a small quantity of voluminous brown flakes. 



Molybdate of ammmonia did not produce the slightest change ia 

 color.'-^Absence of phosphoric acid. 



The greater part of the solutiou {hb, 3.) was subjected to an examina- 

 tion in order to ascertain if the brine contained a combination of liihion 

 which would be insoluble in water, but all experiments proved that such 



The presence of litliium was indicated in experiment a a, 12; if ^'^^ 

 deceptive, seemed to render it probable that it might be found in larger 

 quantities as chlorid of hthium in the mother-lye of our Salinas. 



Several experiments were therefore made on a larger scale with the 

 mother-lye, in order if possible to arrive at an approximate result for the 



Three pounds of mother-lye, (from Peterson's works,) of a specific 

 gravity = 1-335, were mixed with a suflBcient quantity of dried carbon' 

 ate of'soda, and evaporated ; the desiccated mass heated, redissolved in 

 water and filtered, aud then treated according to a a, \1. This experi- 

 ment was repeated six times with the greatest care and exactness. 



By evaporating the last filtrate of each experiment a very small quan- 

 tity of a residuum was obtained each time. 



