does not show any trace of alkali? (§ 27, letter c.) What is the reason that this liquefied nitre permits its volatile acid to escape immediately, when rubbed or mixed with the vegetable acids?... If the chemists of the preceding century had thought worthy of a more particular examination, the elastic fluids resembling air which manifest themselves in so many operations, how advanced should we now be! They desired to see everything in corporeal form, and to collect everything as drops in the receiver. This is now for the first time better inquired into, and the air has begun to be carefully examined: and who is there who does not perceive the advantage which the results of such experiments carry with them?
35. Fourth Experiment.—I put an ounce of purified nitre into a glass retort for distillation and made use of a bladder, moistened and emptied of air, in place of a receiver (Fig. 3). As soon as the nitre began to glow it also began to boil, and at the same time the bladder was expanded by the air that passed over. I proceeded with the distillation until the boiling in the retort ceased, and the nitre was about to force its way through the softened retort. I obtained in the bladder the pure fire-air which occupied the space of 50 ounces of water. This is the cheapest and best method of obtaining fire-air.
38. Fifth Experiment.—I took a silver solution prepared with acid of nitre, and precipitated it with alkali of tartar; I washed the precipitate thus obtained and dried it. I then placed this calx of silver in a small glass retort on the open fire for reduction, and fastened an empty bladder to the neck. The bladder was immediately expanded by the air which passed over. After the end of the distillation I found the calx of silver half melted together in the retort, with its metallic lustre; however,
as I had effected the precipitation with alkali of tartar, and this is always united with a quantity of aerial acid which attaches itself to the calx of silver in the precipitation, so this acid was necessarily present also in the bladder. This acid was removed from it by milk of lime (§ 30, letter i.), and there remained behind one-half of pure fire-air.
39. Sixth Experiment.—I precipitated with alkali of tartar a solution of gold which was made with aqua regia; I reduced in the foregoing manner the washed and dried calx of gold. I obtained in this case the same fire-air, except that no aerial acid accompanied it. This is not to be wondered at, because the saturated solution of gold effervesces with the alkali, which does not take place with the solution of silver.
40. Seventh Experiment.—It is likewise known that the red precipitate of mercury regains its flowing condition without the addition of an inflammable substance. Since mercury, however, really loses its phlogiston as well by means of vitriolic acid as of the acid of nitre, it must necessarily assume this again as soon as it recovers its metallic property.
(a.) I added a solution of alkali of tartar, drop by drop, to a solution of corrosive sublimate. I washed the brown-red precipitate obtained, and dried it; then I placed it, for reduction, upon the open fire in a small retort, which was provided with a bladder empty of air. As soon as the calx began to glow, the bladder became expanded, and quicksilver rose into the neck. The fire-air obtained had some aerial acid mixed with it.
(b.) Mercury converted into calx by the acid of nitre, or red precipitate, treated in the same way behaved similarly. In this case I obtained a pure fire-air, without any aerial acid in it.