Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1803-03-29


contains comfortable Quantities OF the car,
oonic acia gas; and being fpeclteallJ
heavier than common air, j, riies or,y b
means Of heat, which defsrts II before II
stlaias any comfortable heigh'. hns
cities are over lhssiowsd with vaii 20
lpmes Of fmnke, which being freqaea'ly
pfeilsd down by the iasunben5 asmoi.
phe,e; the 0ree,s are daTkeRed, and tn
air iasura:ed with the carbon,c acid gas.
This, how.vcr, is an evil without re-
msdy. like the foregoing yes We lhouli
rejoice thai the cafe is osheiwile with re-
fpeti to the following. Patrsfatslvc ter
inensa,ion and i3geate wafer peheis great
COMMUNICATING inGarnce. Many yege,a-
bic and all aninal fuai'anccs are con?oied
Of oSat, with hydrogen, oxygen and car
hon, and little pholphoric matter. 10
the pusrelaaive process, the hydrogen ar
is difngagei and RITES in The atmosphere !;
par. Of the oxygen combines with the azot
and forms volatile anmoaIac, ana The fe-
naming part uni,es with ths carbon ana
produces carbonic ae.d, or fixed air
which a!fo iatermix with the common ar
A certain portion of The hydrogen coms
bines with the phofphoric fabitance, anc
make the phofphorated hydrogen gas
Now all the airs, thus produced by pa
tretaetion, have been proved TO be de
lrutaive 10 animal life. In the expert
mcnss made by Dr.. Pretty, carefully and
frequently repeated by other philosophers,
lmail animals inaaa,ly died when immerl
ed in thofe CAFES. The able Fontana
infoired fnall quantity of the hydrogen,
and at the third infplra,ion fell on bis
knee. through pain and weakness. MI
ners have frequently met with lnitantane-
Gus death by expofure to two OF the above
airs, the hydrogen ard carbonic acid
The famous grotto del Caal, in haly,
where travellers amufe themfelves with
cruel experiments on animal lite, IS IN.
deb,ed for IFS fatal powers to tie above,
msntioned air.
The products Of dsgnate water are
nearly thelame with puirefattion. For ~
addition to tire rutrid particles 0. animal
and vegetable fubRances, which iuch wd-
ter contains /; the ulual evaporation which
is continually going or, is attended with
an additional Enlargement OF hydsogcn,
one Of the conftisuent elements Ct wafer.
Il was obieryed BY an eminent philoiopheI
tha, bird was thrown into great dittrsis,
by being held over bowl of water. Mr..
Caryello actually obtained conilaerabie
quantities of this dsGruttive air from the
pools near London.
The foregoing principles will enable US
20 give an eafy folution 10 the remarkable
obfsrvaticn made by DIR. Potter OF Mar,-
land. lie remarked that during the pre-
yalence Of the fever in the city Of Ralti
mere, the lime walls of dwelling houies
grew yellow, crun.bled and pealed Of in
fakes. In houfes uninhabited, this effect
is not perceived in 70 eminent degree.
On examining this crumbling wall, he
found il yielded laA 9ttse. Hence ne We
ry iufly inferred, tha, there NUT be fome-
thing in the air, during thoie peifilential
feafons, which combined with the lime
aad formed niue. The caufe of this phe.
nomenon is evident. Nitre is competed
OF fixed alkaline falt and an acid
This lalt exits in lime, which having
ifrong affinity with the carbonic acid gas,
attracts that principle from the air; and
combing together they formed the nitre
obierved by the Dotforf. Salt petre may
be ealily formed by this union. As foon
as the combination takes place, cryfalliz-
alton nccei1arily enfue, which 'canies the
pcaiing off in fakes, as DIR. Potter re-
marked. 1t is evident that this effect
cannot be produced in 70 great degree in
uninhabited houfes, bccapie the carbonic
acid gas is lefs plentiful infach places !;
and il the houie be very cloie, we are not
TO expect any fuch appearance, agreeable