and the feeming Conversion of Water into Air. 401 
on tne calx of lead alone, in the fame circumftances, would 
be a much eafer experiment, and might bring me nearer to 
my object ; and on making the experiment it immediately an- 
Iwered far beyond my expectation. 
F01 tins pm pole, I put upon a piece of a broken crucible 
(which could yield no air) a quantity of minium, out of which 
all air had been extracted; and placing it upon a convenient 
hand, introduced it into a large receiver, filled with inflamma- 
ble air, confined by water. As foon as the minium was dry, 
by means of the heat thrown upon it, I obferved that it became 
black, and then ran in the form of perfeCt lead, at the fame 
time that the air diminifhed at a great rate, the water afcending 
within the receiver. I viewed this procels with the moft ea^er 
and pleafing expectation of the refult, having at that time no 
fixed opinion on the lubjeCt ; and therefore I could not tell, 
except by aCtual trial, whether the air was decompofing in the 
procels, lo that fome other kind of air would be left, or whe- 
ther it would be abforbed in toto. The former I thought the 
more probable, as if there was any fuch thing as phlogifton, 
inflammable air, I imagined, coniifted of it, and iomethmg 
elle. However, I was then fitisfied that it would be in my 
power to determine, in a very fat is faCtory manner, whether the 
phlogifton in inflammable air had any bafe or not, and if it had, 
what that bafe was. For feeing the metal to be actually re- 
vived, and that in a confiderable quantity, at the fame time 
that the air was diminifhed, I could not doubt but that the 
calx was actually imbibing fomething from the air ; and from 
its effects in making the calx into metal, it could be no other 
than that to which chemifts had unanimoufly given the name 
of phhgjhn. 
G g g 2 Before 
