69 



TAB. CXXXVII. 



HYDROGEN Bitumen. 

 Elastic Bitumen, or Fossil Caout-chou. 



Class 1. Combustibles. Order 1. Homogeneous. 

 Gen. l. Hydrogen*. Spec. 1. Bitumen. 



Gen. Char. Inflammable, easily converted into gas 

 by calor. Forms water by combustion with 



°gyg en g as * 



Spec. Char. Nearly pure, foetid, not easily volatile. 

 Syn. Elastic Bitumen. Hatchett in Linn. Trans, 

 v. 4. 146. 



Bitume elastique. Hauy, v. 3. 313. 



Elastic Bitumen. Schmeisser, v. 1. 290. 



Mineral Cahoutchou. Kirwaii, v. 2. 48. 



Elastisches erdpech. Karsten, 42. 



Cahoutchou fossile. Lametherie, v. 2. 540. 



The Elastic Bitumens were first noticed at Castleton, in 

 Derbyshire, about the year 1786. Perhaps their general 

 resemblance to the Caout-chou, or Indian rubber, dis- 

 covered about half a century ago, might in a great measure 

 be the cause of their being noticed j for we are often struck 

 with the comparative resemblance of a thing which other- 



* Unknown in its pure state, unless as the softest and purest Bitumen. 

 VOL. II. H 



