[ 2 + 2 3 
more was abforbed. The remainder was inflammable, 
and burned with a blue flame. 
Nowithftanding the affinity which this vapour of 
fpirit of fait appears to have with phlogifton, it is not 
capable of depriving all bodies of it. I found that 
dry wood, crufts of bread, and raw flefh, very 
readily imbibed this acid vapour, but did not part 
with any of their phlogifton to it. All thefe fub- 
ftances turned very brown, after they had been fome 
time expofed to this vapour, and tailed very ftrongly 
of the acid when they were taken out ; but the flelh, 
when wafhed in water, became very white, and the 
fibres eafily feparated from one another, even more 
than they would have done if it had been boiled or 
roafted. 
When I put a piece of faltpetre to this vapour, it 
was prefentiy furrounded with a white fume, which 
foon filled the whole vefiel, exadlly like the fume 
which burfts from the bubbles of nitrous air, when 
it is generated by a vigorous fermentation, and luch 
as is feen when nitrous air is mixed with this vapour 
of fpirit of fait. In about a minute, the whole quan- 
tity of vapour was abforbed, except a very fmall quan- 
tity, which might be the common air that had, 
lodged upon the furface of the fpirit of fait within 
the phial. 
A piece of alum expofed to this vapour turned yel - 
low, abforbed it as fall as the faltpetre had done, and 
was reduced by it to the form of a powder. The 
furface both of the nitre and alum was, I doubt not, 
changed into common fait, by this procefs. Common 
fait, as might be expected, had no effedfc whatever on 
this vapour. 
From 
