4 €>4 Mr. Davy's new analytical Researches 
intend to try tubes of porcelain, in a further investigation of 
the subject. 
It is evident that the sulphur and phosphorus, separated 
in these processes, are not in their common state ; and the 
phenomena would certainly incline one to believe that they 
ar less oxygenated. It may, I know, be said, that it is pos- 
sible that they are merely combined with more hydrogene, 
and that the sulphur in this state is analogous to the hydro- 
genated sulphur of Berthollet, and to the alcohol of sulphur 
of Lampadius. 
But when I decompounded dry sulphuretof potash by muri- 
atic acid, of the same kind as had been used for decompounding 
the sulphuret of potassium, the substance produced seemed to 
be merely in that form, in which, according to the able re- 
searches of Dr. Thomson, it is combined with water ; and not- 
withstanding the ingenious experiments of M. A. Berthollet 
and M. Robiquet,* the nature of the substance produced dur- 
ing the passage of sulphur over ignited charcoal is far from 
being fully ascertained. In a series of experiments, which my 
brother, Mr. John Davy, had the goodness to undertake, at 
my request, in the laboratory of the Royal Institution, on the 
action of sulphur on charcoal, the products were found to be 
very different, according as the charcoal employed differed in 
its nature. In an instance, in which imperfectly made charcoal 
was employed, the liquor that passed over left by combustion 
a residuum that had all the properties of carbonaceous matter, 
which agrees with the observations of M. M. Desormes and 
Clement ; but when the charcoal had been well burnt, there 
was no such residuum produced. It was found, that the same 
* Annates de Chimie , 1807, page 144, 148. 
