AERATED  CHALYBEATE  WATER. 
245 
obtained  from  a  tree  called  Chelaria  saponaria.  As  there  is 
no  plant  known  by  the  name  of  Chelaria  saponaria,  I  suppose 
that  it  is  wrongly  printed  for  the  Quillaia,  treated  of  in  this 
paper.  The  soap-plants  used  for  washing  in  California,  and 
preferred  by  those  who  know  their  merits  to  the  be3t  kinds  of 
soap,  are  the  bulbs  of  Phalangium  pomaridianum.  In  the  above 
communication  it  is  stated  : — "  All  these  contain  considerable 
quantities  of  oleaginous  and  alkaline  principles  in  their  compo- 
sition, on  which  their  value  depends."  This  opinion  is  altogether 
erroneous.  None  of  the  vegetables  known  as  vegetable  soaps 
contain  oils  and  alkali ;  their  property  is  entirely  derived  from 
neutral  substances  as  above  described. 
In  Guiana,  the  bark  and  fruits  of  the  soap-wood  tree  (JSapin- 
dus  saponaria,)  called  by  the  natives  Hurawassa,  is  employed 
in  the  place  of  soap,  and  it  is  said  that  the  fruit  will  clean  six- 
teen times  more  goods  than  the  same  weight  of  common  soap. 
A  kind  of  sapindus  called  Rarak,  is  used  in  the  same  manner, 
at  the  Moluccas,  and  at  Java. 
The  study  of  vegetable  substances  for  their  application  as 
neutral  soaps,  merits  the  attention  of  modern  dyers  and  printers, 
and  certainly  they  can  be  recommended  for  delicate  colors 
which  are  liable  to  be  injured  by  the  alkaline  soaps.-— London 
Pharm.  Journ.  March,  1860,  from  The  Journal  of  the  Society 
of  Arts, 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  AX  AERATED  CHALYBEATE  WATER. 
By  M.  Sarzeau, 
When  clean  pieces  of  iron  are  placed  in  a  solution  of  carbonic 
acid  prepared  at  50°  Fahr.,  and  under  normal  pressure,  small 
bubbles  of  gas  are  seen  to  form,  which  increase  in  size  and  are 
slowly  disengaged.  If  platinum  is  rolled  round  the  pieces  of 
iron,  the  phenomenon  is  more  apparent,  and  the  experiment 
quicker  made.  By  leaving  the  iron  in  the  liquid  until  no  more 
bubbles  are  seen  to  form,  we  obtain  a  liquor  with  a  marked  inky 
flavor,  and  which  has  all  the  properties  of  a  solution  of  a  proto- 
salt  of  iron.  If  the  liquor  be  heated  it  is  at  first  turbid,  then 
becomes  milky,  afterwards  ochry,  and  at  last,  when  it  boils,  it 
