relating to Phlogijlon , & c. 'Part III. 1 1 
K. ' 
Thefe obfervations might, I fhould think, fatisfy any rea- 
sonable perfon, that the acid liquor which I procured by the 
explofion of dephlogifticated and inflammable air in clofe veflels 
did not come from the phlogifticated air which could not be 
excluded, whether it was that which remained in the vefiel 
after exhaufting it by the air pump, or that with which the 
dephlogifticated air was more or lefs contaminated. 
But befides thefe experiments, in which I procured the 
green acid liquor by the explofion of dephlogifticated and in- 
flammable air in clofe veffels, I made another, to which I 
thought the fame objection could not have been made, becaufe 
no air pump was ufed in it, and nothing but the pureft dephlo- 
gifticated air was employed, being feparated in the procefs from 
precipitate per fe in con tail with the pureft inflammable air in a 
glafs veflel which had been previoufly filled with mercury. 
Accordingly, the only objection made to this experiment was, 
that the preparation I made ufe of might be impure, contain- 
ing fomething which might yield phlogifticated air. This 
appeared to me highly improbable, as the precipitate had been 
made by M. Cadet, and for the purpofe of philofophical 
experiments. Befides, if the heat of a burning lens fhould 
diflodge phlogifticated air from any unperceived impurity in 
this preparation, mere heat will not decompofe this air. Let 
any perfon try the effefl: of a lens on fuch air, or any fub- 
ftance containing it, and produce an acid if he can. 
M. BerthodLet, however, thinking that this might be 
the cafe, defired that I would fend him a fpecimen of my pre- 
cipitate per fe. Accordingly, I fent him all that remained of 
it ; and, in return, he fent me a quantity on the goodnefs of 
which I might depend. With this preparation I repeated my 
former experiment; and, by giving more attention to the 
. C 2 procefs^ 
