176 
ON A NEW BORATE OF SODA. 
however, puffing up so much as borax. The crystals 
dissolve in from 5 to 6 parts of water at the ordinary tem- 
perature. This solution furnishes, even with dilute sul- 
phuric or nitric acid, white granular precipitates, consisting 
of boracic acid. This behaviour alone would prove that 
the mass was no mixture of borax with free boracic acid ; 
for in a saturated solution of borax, made at the ordinary 
temperature, an addition of acid does not eliminate any 
boracic acid ; on the contrary, the latter is more solu- 
ble in water to which some acid has.^ been added than in 
pure water. The solution of the crystals has no action 
upon tumeric or litmus paper ; whilst an ordinary solution 
of borax, as also a solution of boracic acid, turns tumeric 
paper quite brown. 
The analysis of the salt, by decomposition in a platinum 
dish with recently prepared hydrofluoric acid, addition of 
sulphuric acid, and determination of the sulphate of soda, 
gave the following results: 
Soda, 17.60 17.35 16.44 1 18.23 
Boracic acid 82.40 82.65 S3.56 4 81.77 
The amount of water which the powdered salt lost over 
sulphuric acid was 32.36, 34.0, 34.5, 34.99 per cent., which 
corresponds to 
Calculated. Found. 
1 equiv. soda, . , . 11.92 11.50 
4 equivs. boracic acid, . 53.46 53.88 
10 equivs. water . . 34.61 34.61 
The solution of the salt furnished precipitates with all 
those saline solutions with which a solution of borax yields 
precipitates ; they do not differ in colour and solubility, and 
have also that in common, that on washing the precipitates 
furnished by heavy metallic oxides, the amount of boracic 
acid diminishes very considerably. 
I shall now give my view respecting the formation of 
native boracic acid and of sassoline, which I consider to be 
very simple and in perfect conformity with nature. I ex- 
