332 C H E M 
attra&s humidity from the air, particularly when impure. 
It becomes brown by expofure to light. Heat volatilizes 
it. By expoflng it to the blow-pipe, this acid emits the 
fmell of the febacic acid. When very pure, an ounce of 
water dill'olves only four grains of fuberic acid. Boiling 
water diflolves nearly half its own weight, which it de- 
polites again by cooling. The other acids have little 
aftion on this acid. A kind of ether may be obtained 
from it by diddling it with alcohol. It decompofes the 
acetit and nitrat of lead, and gives a green colour to the 
nitrat of copper. It decompofes alfo the nitrats of mer¬ 
cury and filver, together with the lulphats of copper, 
iron, and zink. A few' drops of fuberic acid poured into 
a folution of indigo by fulphuric acid, gives a green co¬ 
lour. The fuberic acid unites very well with earths and 
alkalis, and feveral metallic oxyds. Thefe combinations 
are called fuberats. 
Suberat of Potash. —For this preparation it is ne- 
ceffary to ufe carbonat of potafli in cryftals; for, with 
the potafli of commerce, or caultic potafh, the refuits 
would not be the fame, becaufe the one is not pure, and 
the other afts upon the acid, and begets a very dark co¬ 
lour. In the fame manner, for the fuberats of foda and 
ammoniac, it will be necefiary to ufe the cryftallized car- 
bonats. When at the point of faturation-, evaporate the 
liquor, in a gentle heat, to the confidence of a clear fy- 
rup; and by cooling it forms prifms w'ith four unequal 
fides. It has a bitter faltifli tade, and reddens blue ve¬ 
getable colours a little. It fwells with heat, and parts 
readily with its acid. It is very foluble in w'ater. Su- 
berat of potafli is decompofed by barytes, and by the 
mineral acids. All the metallic dilutions are decompofed 
by this fait. It decompofes alfo the fulphat of alumine, 
the muriatsof alumine and lime, the nitrats of lime and 
of alumine, and the pholphat of alumine. 
Suberat of Soda is not obtained in a crydallized 
date : it has a flightly bitter tade, reddens tindture of 
turnfole, and attradls humidity from the air. It is folu¬ 
ble in alcohol, and is decompofed by the fire, by barytes, 
and by potalh. Mineral acids precipitate the fuberic 
acid. Suberat of foda decompofes calcareous, magnefian, 
and aluminous falts. 
Suberat of Ammoniac has a faltilh tade, w'hich at 
lad becomes bitter. It attracts humidity from the air, 
and reddens blue vegetable colours. It is volatilized 
without any remainder by an intenfe heat; water diflolves 
it readily. Barytes, the fixed alkalis, and lime, decom- 
pofe it, as do alfo the mineral and oxalic acids. It de¬ 
compofes the aluminous and magnefian falts. 
Suberat ofBarytes is not crydallizable. It fwells 
and melts by the adlion of heat, and is foluble in water, 
with an excefs of acid. It is not decompofed by alkalis, 
but the mineral and oxalic acids take from it its bafis. 
It decompofes all the falts, except the fluat oT lime and 
barytic falts. 
Suberat of Lime does not cryftallize. It has a white 
colour, a flightly faltifli tafte, and does not redden the 
tinfture of turnfole. It fwells on burning charcoal, 
while its acid is difengaged. Suberat of lime is more 
foluble in warm than in cold water. Barytes, potafli, and 
foda, precipitate the lime. It is decompofed by the mi¬ 
neral and by the oxalic acids. It decompofes the carbo¬ 
nat of potafli and foda, the fluat of magnefia, the pliof- 
phat of alumine and foda, together with the borat of 
potafli. 
Suberat of Magnesia reddens tindlure of turnfole, 
has a bitter talle, is foluble in water, and attracts humi¬ 
dity from the air. It exilts in a pulverulent form. It 
fwells and melts by heat. Its acid is decompofed by the 
blow-pipe. Barytes, alkalis, and lime, decompofe this 
fait, as do alfo the mineral and oxalic acid. It decom¬ 
pofes the muriat of alumine, the nitrats oflime and alu¬ 
mine, the borat of potafli, the fluat of foda, the borat 
of ioda, and the phofpliat of alumine. 
Suberat of Alumine reddens tindlure of turnfole. 
z 
I S T R Y. 
It attracts humidity .from the air, and is decompofed by 
an intenfe heat. The other earths, the alkalis, and mi¬ 
neral acids, decompofe it. It decompofes the fulphat and 
muriat of iron, the nitrats of filver, mercury, and lead. 
The fuberic acid has no adtion on platina, gold, and 
nickel, but it forms metallic fuberats with oxyds of fil¬ 
ver, mercury, lead, copper, tin, iron, bifinuth, arfenic, 
cobalt, antimony, manganefe, and molybdena. In ge¬ 
neral, thefe falts do not cryftallize, and have all an excefs 
of acid. 
CICERIC ACID. 
Prouft firft mentioned the exiftence of an acid liquor 
on the ltalks; leaves, and pods, of the pea vetch, or the 
cicer arietinum of Linnseus. When wafhed and bruifed, 
this plant did not exhibit any mark of acidity. Prouft 
conceived that it was merely an acidifiable bafe which 
exuded from the plant, and which was afterwards con¬ 
verted into an acid by combining with the oxygen of the 
atmofphere. Deyeux, who colledted this acid liquor, 
feems inclined to think that the hairs which cover this 
plant aretheexcretcry organs, in which this acid is formed. 
From fome experiments which he made with a view to dif- 
cover the nature of the acid, he concludes it to be the 
fame with the oxalic, and confiders this plant as the only 
inftance in which pure uncombined oxalic acid is pro¬ 
duced. Dif’pan, however, who had made a great variety 
of experiments on this acid, is of opinion, that it differs 
not only from the oxalic, but from every known acid. 
He colledled the acid liquor by wiping the plant with a 
clean linen cloth, and by wafhing the cloth in diftilled 
water, to which it imparts the acid. When the water 
has acquired a tafte fufliciently acidulous, it is to be fil¬ 
tered, and evaporated with a gentle heat to the degree of 
concentration required. This liquor, according to Dif- 
pan, acquires by evaporation a colour which pafles gra¬ 
dually from a citron yellow to the colour of Malaga wine. 
The following are the properties which this chemift 
afcribes to the ciceric acid. i. It has a fliarp and pene¬ 
trating tafte. 2. It reddens the blue vegetable colours 
which are fenfible to acids. 3. It effervefces with akaiine 
and calcareous carbonats. 4. It does not form any de- 
pofite or mouldinefs by age. 5. It preferves its colour 
and tranfparency, but lofes fomewhat of its ftrength and 
acidity. 6. It gives a beautiful red carmine colour. 
7. It is precipitated by the gallic acid, and gives a beau¬ 
tiful green colour. 8. It forms a kind of fyrup by eva¬ 
poration, and does not cryftallize. 9. It becomes brown 
and brittle like a gum by drying. 
Ciceric acid forms with potafh a fait which cryftallizes 
in bundles of Alining needles, turned fpirally and parallel 
to each other. The tafte of this fait is cooling, like that 
of nitrat of potafh ; but it leaves behind it a laline fliarp 
tafte. It dill’olves readily in water. It melts on burning 
charcoal; boils and fwells up confiderably. The carbo¬ 
naceous matter which it forms, leaves behind it fpongy 
afhes, of a grey colour. With foda this acid forms a fait 
which does not cryftallize, and which has an auftere tafte. 
Its combination with ammoniac affords, by fpontaneous 
evaporation, tranfparent filming cryftals, of which the 
form has not yet been determined. A gentle heat de¬ 
compofes this fait by volatilizing the ammoniac. Lime 
produces with this acid a foluble fait, which by a cauti- 
oufly conduced evaporation, cryftallizes in very large 
folid polyhedrons that have fome analogy with thofe of 
fugar. At firlt this lalt feems to have little tafte, but at 
the end of fome time it produces a faline tafte. It is re¬ 
duced to a dry and friable mafs by the heat of lighted char¬ 
coal. Carbonat of potafli and the oxalic acid decompofe it. 
Magnefia f orms with this acid a fait, which cryftallizes in 
white grains, the figure of which has not been determined. 
It has a laline tafte, burns readily, and leaves behind it 
a greyifh refidue. 
The ciceric acid diflolves iron filings with effervefcence. 
This combination, which has a ftyptic tafte, does not 
cryftallize. 
