carbon and hydrogen, &c. 44 ^ 
portable vessels. It is in the receiver that the condensation 
principally takes place ; and it is from that vessel that the 
liquid I have worked with has been taken. The fluid is 
• drawn off at the bottom by opening a conical valve : at first 
a portion of water generally comes out, and then the liquid. 
It effervesces as it issues forth ; and by the difference of re- 
fractive power it may be seen, that a dense transparent 
vapour is descending through the air from the aperture. 
The effervescence immediately ceases ; and the liquid may 
be readily retained in ordinary stoppered, or even corked 
bottles ; a thin phial being sufficiently strong to confine it. I 
understand that looo cubical feet of good gas yield nearly 
one gallon of the fluid. 
The substance appears as a thin light fluid ; sometimes 
transparent and colourless, at others opalescent, being yellow 
or brown by transmitted, and green by reflected Ifght. It 
has the odour of oil gas. When the bottle containing it is 
opened, evaporation takes place from the surface of the 
liquid ; and it may be seen by the striae in the air that 
vapour is passing off from it. Sometimes in such circum- 
stances it will boil, if the bottle and its contents have had 
their temperature raised a few degrees. After a short time 
this abundant evolution of vapour ceases, and the remaining 
portion is comparatively fixed. 
The specific gravity of this substance is 0.821. It does 
not solidify at a temperature of 0° F. It is insoluble, or 
nearly so, in water ; very soluble in alcohol, ether, and vola- 
tile and fixed oils. It is neutral to test colours , It is not 
more soluble in alkaline solutions than in water ; and only a 
small portion is acted upon by them. Muriatic acid has no 
