201 
CHEMISTRY. 
in a gas, irt which pholphorus, at the temperature of 50°, 
melts without light, and on which nitrous gas works' no 
alteration. 4. That phofphorus dilTolves equally in azo¬ 
tic gas and in oxygen gas, forming oxyds with double 
bales of phofphorus and azote, oxydated azotic phof- 
phures, which the nitrous gas decompofes but in part. 
If the experiment be made with the pneumatic appa¬ 
ratus before-defcribed, the refult of the combuftion is 
always phofphoric acid. It is concrete, if water be not 
palled under the jar ; to obtain it liquid, water is put in, 
and alfo upon the partitions; then the phofphoric acid 
is dilfolved with eafe. Pelletier has pointed out another 
method : his apparatus is a lengthened cylinder, in which 
the phofphorus is put with water. This cylinder is put 
into a velfel, containing boiling water, to keep the phof¬ 
phorus in a liquefied ft ate ; then there is a bent tube, 
one of whofe apertures is plunged into the phofphorus, 
and the other is adapted upon a large jar, which has a 
fecond neck or aperture, by means of which a funnel is 
mounted, furnilhed with a ltop-ccck, as delineated in the 
lame plate, at fig. 17. Things being thus prepared, pour 
water into the funnel; then, by turning the cock, the 
water runs into the jar and' drives the air into the tube: 
the water, palling through the phofphorus, combines 
with, and produces combuftion in, the phofphorus, which 
is thereby changed into phofphoric acid. When the jar 
is full of water, it is drawn out by a cock in the lower 
part, and adapted for that purpofe. 
Pholpboeus dilfolves in all oils, and renders them lu¬ 
minous. Spielman has difcovered that it dilfolves in al¬ 
cohol, and that this folution emits fparks when it is 
poured into water: part of the phofphorus is precipi¬ 
tated in a white powder during this operation. Phof¬ 
phorus is as yet very little ufed either in medicine or in 
the arts. Menzies, Morgenftern, Hartman, &c. affirm, 
that they have experienced very happy effects in malig¬ 
nant and bilious fevers, when the ftrength has been ex- 
haufled, and in the biliary fever; others have recom¬ 
mended it in tdie fcarlet fever, the peripneumony, rheu¬ 
matic pains, epilepfy. &c. but thoughfeveral difiertations 
have appeared in Germany on the medicinal virtues of 
phofphorus employed internally, nothing can yet be elta- 
blillied concerning it, till experience has afeertained its 
virtues with greater certainty. 
The moll authentic information relative to the medi¬ 
cal properties of phofphorus, feems to be that of M. Le- 
roi, profeflor of the Medical School in Paris, publiffied 
in 1798. His obfervations are as follow : r. Phofphorus 
adminillered internally in confumptive difeafes appears 
to give a certain degree of activity to life, and to revive 
the patients, without railing their pulfe in the fame pro¬ 
portion. The author relates feveral inllances that oc¬ 
curred to him in the courfe of his praftice, one of which 
is as follows: Being called to attend a woman, at the 
point of death, who was quite worn out by a confumptive 
diforder, with which Ihe had been afflidted for three years, 
in compliance with the earned defire of her hulband, who 
requelled him to give her fome medicine, he compofed 
one of a portion of fyrup diluted with water in which a 
few flicks of phofphorus had been kept. Next day the 
woman found herfelf much better. She was revived for a 
few days; and did not die for about a fortnight after. 
2. He himfelf, as he acknowledges, was fo imprudent 
as to take two or three grains of folid phofphorus com¬ 
bined only with treacle, and experienced the mofl dread¬ 
ful fymptoms. At firft he felt a burning heat in the 
whole region of the flomach. That organ feemed to be 
filled with gas which efcaped by the mouth. Being dread¬ 
fully tormented, he tried to vomit, but in vain, and found 
relief only by drinking cold water from time to time. 
His uneafy fenfations were at length allayed; but next 
morning he feemed to be endowed with an afloniffiing 
mufcular force, and to be urged with an a] moll irrefif- 
tible impulfe to try its energy. The effect of this medi- 
Voi.. IV. No, 189. 
cine at length ceafed, adds the author, a In fuite d'un 
priapifitie <violent. 
3; In many cafes the author employed, and fhli em¬ 
ploys, phofphorus internally, with great benefit, to re- 
(tore and revive young perfons exhaufted by excefies. 
He divides the phofphorus into very finall particles, by 
fnaking it in a glafs filled with boiling water. He con¬ 
tinues to fliake the bottle, plunging it into cold water, 
and thus obtains a kind of precipitate of phofphorus, 
exceedingly fine, which he bruifes (lowly with a little oil 
and fugar, or afterwards employs as liquid eleftuary, by 
diluting the whole in the yolk of an egg. By means of 
this medicine he has effected altonilhing cures, and re- 
flored the ftrength of his patients in a very fliort time. 
4. In malignant fevers the ufe of phofphorus internally, 
to check the progrefs of gangrene, has fucceeded-beyond 
expedlation. The author relates feveral inftances. 
5. Pelletier told him, that having left, through negli¬ 
gence, fome phofphorus in a copper bafon, that metal 
was oxydated, and remained fufpended in the water. 
Having thoughtlefsly thrown out the water in a fmall 
court in which ducks were kept, tliefe animals-drank of 
it, and all died. Mats le male, fays the author, couvrit 
toutes fes femelles jufqu'au dernier injlant de fa ‘vie. An 
obfervation which accords with the effedt experienoed by 
the author. 
6. The author relates a fa£l which proves the aflonilh- 
ing divifibility of phofphorus. Having adminillered to 
a patient fome pills, in the compofition of which there 
was not more than a quarter of a grain of phofphorus, 
and having had occafion afterwards to open the body, he 
found all the internal parts luminous ; and even the hands 
of the perfon who had performed the operation, though 
waffied and well dried, retained a phofphoric fplendor 
for a long time after. 
7. The phofphoric acid, employed, as lemonade, has 
been ferviceable to the author in the cure of a great 
number of difeafes. 
8. Leroi allures us that he oxydated iron with phof¬ 
phorus, and obtained, by the common means, a white 
oxyd, almoft irreducible, which he thinks may be em¬ 
ployed with advantage in the arts, and particularly in 
painting with oil, and in enamel, inflead of the white 
oxyd of lead. This white oxyd of iron occafioned vio¬ 
lent retchings to the author, who ventured to place a 
very fmall particle of it on his tongue. He does not he- 
fitate, therefore, to confider this oxyd as a terrible poi- 
fon. He was not able to reduce it, but by fixed alkali 
and the glafs of phofphorus. 
9. The author aflerts, that by means of phofphorus he 
decompofed and feparated from their bafes the fulphuric 
muriatic and nitric acids; that, by help of the phof¬ 
phoric acid, he tranfmuted earths ; and that, with calca¬ 
reous earth, he can make, at pleafure, confiderable quan ¬ 
tities of magnefia. He declares that to his labours on 
phofphorus he is indebted for procefles by which he ef¬ 
fects the diffipation (opere la fritej of rubies, the fufion 
of emeralds, and the vitrification of mercury. 
Phosphorated hydrogen gas.— There are various 
modes of producing this gas, of which we ffiall only mention 
the principal. Fill a bell-glafs or inverted jar with pure 
hydrogen gas; place it over mercury, and introduce the 
phofphorus at the bottom of the veflel; bring the fun’s 
rays, by means of a burning lens, in contadl with the 
middle of the jar, as (hewn in the Chemiflry Piate III. 
fig. 1. The hydrogen gas will be prefently changed 
into phofphoric hydrogen gas, which exhales ah in- 
fupportable finell of (linking fifh. It takes flame as loon 
as it comes in contadl with the air: the inflammation 
gives birth to water and phofphoric acid, and circular 
crowns of fmoke are formed from its bubbles. When 
the hydrogen gas has burned, the bubble of water which 
encompaffed it is combined with the phofphoric acid 
which is produced ; and hence the fmoke riles in a cir~. 
3 F ^ culm 
