Page:Transactions of the Geological Society, 1st series, vol. 2.djvu/115

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Mr. Horner on the Brine Springs at Droitwich.
105

d. This residuum was dissolved in distilled water, and as it was unnecessary to attempt to ascertain the proportions of muriate of lime and muriate of magnesia in so small a quantity, supposing them both to be contained, all I could do was to determine the existence of each.

e. To one portion of this solution I added oxalate of ammonia, which produced no change.

f. To another portion I added pure ammonia, which immediately occasioned a flocculent precipitate.

g. To a third portion I added neutral carbonate of ammonia and phosphate of soda; a precipitate was produced, and a rod drawn along the glass left white streaks.

The whole therefore of this residuum was muriate of magnesia, with perhaps a minute quantity of muriate of soda.

C. To estimate the Amount and Nature of the Sulphates.

a. To three ounce measures of brine, weighing 1628.4 grs. I added nitrate of barytes in excess. The precipitate was well washed, dried over a lamp, and afterwards heated to redness in a platina crucible. It weighed 22. grs. which is equal to 7.37 grs. of acid, or 2.46 grs. in an ounce; according to the proportions of Berthollet,[1] of 33.5 acid and 66.5 base in 100 parts of sulphate of barytes.

This acid might either be combined with lime, magnesia, or soda, or with all the three. To determine what it was combined with, I dissolved the salt which had been freed from the earthy muriates by the process B. b. in distilled water.

  1. Memoires d'Arcueil, vol. ii.

Vol. II.O