Anahjfis of the Air. 19 j 



the neck of the retort : And which upon 

 raifing the receiver, flowed down into the 

 bottom of the retort, and there made a frefh 

 ebullition, which had ceafed, when all the 

 Mercury was diftilled from the bottom of 

 the retort. When all was cool, I found about 

 two drams of Mercury in- the retort, and loft 

 in the whole 43 grains, but there was not 

 the leaft moifture in the receiver. 



Whence it is to be fufpe&cd that Mr. Boyle 

 and others were deceived by feme unheeded 

 circumftance, when they thought they ob- 

 tained a water from Mercury in the dlftilla- 

 tibn of it 5 which he fays he did once, but 

 could not make the Hke Experiment after- 

 terwards fuceeed. Boyle Vol. Ill, p. 416. 



I remember that about 20 years fince I 

 was concerned with feveral others, m mak- 

 ing this Experiment at the elaboratory in 

 Trinity College Cambridge ', when imagining 

 there would be a very great cxpanfion , we 

 luted a German earthen retort, to 3 or 4 

 large Alodais, and a capacious receiver 5 as 

 Mr. Wilfon did in his courfe of Chymifuy, 

 Four pounds of Mercury was poured by lit- 

 tle and little into the red hod retort, thro' 

 a tobacco-pipe purpofely affixed to it, The 

 O a event 



