284 Dr. Priestley’s 'Experiments and Obfervatlons 
to diiperfe in a thou fa nd directions, exhibiting the appearance of 
a moil beautiful fire-work, fome of the particles flying to the 
diftance of half a yard from the place of fufion ; and the whole 
was attended with a confiderable hifiing noife. Some of the 
larged pieces which had been difperfed in this manner 1 was 
able to collect, and having fubjedted them to the heat of the 
lens, they exhibited the fame appearance as the larger mafs from 
which they had been fcattered. 
When I melted this caft iron in the bottom of a deep glafs 
receiver, in order to coiled all the particles that were difperfed, 
they firmly adhered to the glafs, melting it fuperficially, 
though without making it crack, fo that it was {till impoffible 
to collect and weigh the particles. However, I generally 
found that, notwithflanding the copious difperfion, what re- 
mained after the experiment rather exceeded than fell fhort of 
the original weight of the irpn. Sometimes a piece of com- 
mon iron, and efpeciaily fleel, would make a little hiding in 
the fufion, and a particle or two would fly off; but this was 
never confiderable 
Having now procured what I thought to be a new calx of 
iron, or a calx faturated with pure air, 1 endeavoured to revive 
it by making it imbibe inflammable air, in the fame manner 
that I had before made iron, and various other metals, by melt- 
ing them in a veffel containing inflammable air. In this I fuc- 
ceeded ; but in the courfe of the experiment a new and very 
unexpe&ed appearance occurred. I took a piece of iron which 
I had faturated with pure air, and putting it into a glafs veffel 
& On being informed of the above-mentioned phenomena, M-r. Watt con- 
cluded, that the balls of the dephlogifticated air united to the phlogifton of the iron, 
and formed, zvaier, which was attracted by, and remained fo firmly united to the 
calx of iron, as to refill the effeds of heat to Separate them. 
containing 
