56 Dr. Austin’s Experiments on 
cient quantity of dephlogifticated air; on the contrary, if the 
inflammable air were increafed in proportion in the mixture, 
the combuftion would be more complete, and the refidues 
lefs. 
Having obferved, that fulphur readily combines with light 
inflammable air, if prefented to each other at the inftant that 
the inflammable air is detached from other bodies, before its 
particles have receded from each other, and that hepatic air is 
generally formed in this manner, I introduced fome fulphur 
and heavy inflammable air into a glafs retort, firft filled with, 
and inverted in quickfilver, and applied a fufficient heat to 
melt it. The heat was continued till the fulphur was fublimed. 
The melted fulphur footi acquired a dark reddifh colour ; as 
it fublimed, it became quite black, and every part of the 
retort was covered with a black cruft. On the depending part 
of the retort, where the melted fulphur lodged, and where 
the heat was ftrongeft, there remained a black mark, which 
could not be removed by a much greater heat than that 
by which the fulphur was fublimed. The bulk of the 
air was not materially altered by this operation. A little 
blue paper being thrown up to the air after the opera- 
tion, became green. Water abforbed about one-third of it, and 
acquired a ftrongly hepatic fmell. The inflammable air was 
carefully wafhed, fo as to feparate from it all the hepatic air. 
I then mixed this inflammable air with depblogifticated air, 
and inflamed them, expecting to find a greater quantity of 
phlogifticated air in the refidue, than when the inflammable air 
was burnt, which had not been fubjedted to this procefs. But 
the difference of the refidue does not exceed T X T the quantity 
of air decompofed in this manner, if we may judge from the 
following experiment. 
