Page:Transactions of the Geological Society, 1st series, vol. 1.djvu/253

 urged by heat, so as to decompose it partially, and form the sulphat of soda obtained by the process just described; so that muriat of soda might perhaps in fact be the only alkaline salt contained in the water.

5. In order to ascertain this, another portion of the chalybeate having been treated in the way just described with succinat of ammonia, the residue was gradually desiccated, and then heated to redness in a platina crucible, which was at first kept closed, in order to retard the escape of the sulphat of ammonia, and thus promote its action on the muriat of soda. The remaining mass being dissolved and very slowly crystallized, assumed the form of clusters of regular prismatic efflorescent crystals of sulphat of soda, amongst which scarcely any vestige of muriat of soda could be discovered.

6. The decomposition of muriat of soda by the above process being thus well established, it became necessary to determine the proportions of sulphat and muriat of soda by some less direct method; and the expedient which appeared the most appropriate was that of inferring the point in question from a reference to the quantities of acids as estimated in the preceding section. Thus as it was obvious that, whatever the case might be with regard to sulphat of soda, the presence of muriat of soda in the water was unquestionable; and as the whole quantity of muriatic acid discovered in the water (§ XIII. 2), corresponded to a quantity of muriat of soda which fell far short of the sum total of alkaline salts, I naturally inferred that the whole of the muriatic acid was united with soda, and that the water must also contain a quantity of sulphat of soda sufficient to complete the 20 grains of alkaline salts which the experiments just related had shewn to exist in each pint of the water.