*34 
Mr. Davy’s Researches on the 
heated it to redness, out of the contact of air by a spirit lamp : 
but found, to my great surprise, that it was not at all volatile 
nor decomposable at this degree of heat, and that it gave off 
no gaseous matter. 
The circumstance that a substance composed principally of 
oxymuriatic acid, and ammonia, should resist decomposition or 
change at so high a temperature, induced me to pay particular 
attention to the properties of this new body. 
It had no taste nor smell ; it did not seem to be soluble, nor 
did it undergo any perceptible change when digested in 
boiling water : it did not appear to be acted upon by sul- 
phuric, muriatic, or nitric acids, nor by a strong lixivium of 
potash. The only processes by which it seemed susceptible 
of decomposition were by combustion, or the action of ignited 
hydrat of potash. When brought into the flame of a spirit lamp 
and made red-hot, it gave feeble indications of inflammation, 
and tinged the flame of a yellow colour, and left a fixed acid, 
having the properties of phosphoric acid. When acted on by 
red-hot hydrat of potash, it emitted a smell of ammonia, burnt 
where it was in contact with air, and appeared to dissolve in the 
alkali. The potash which had been so acted upon gave muriatic 
acid, by the addition of sulphuric acid. 
I heated some of the powder to whiteness, in a tube of 
platina ; but it did not appear to alter ; and after ignition gave 
ammonia by the action of fused hydrat of potash. 
I caused ammonia, made as dry as possible, to act on the 
phosphuretted liquor of M.M.Gay Lussac and Thenard; and 
on the sulphuretted muriatic liquor of Dr. Thomson ; but no 
decomposition took place ; nor was any muriate of ammonia 
formed when proper precautions were taken to exclude mois^ 
