not to the family of Alcaliz, much less to that of
Salfuginous, or that of Acid Salts. Perhaps too,
I may know a way of making a highly operative Saline
Body that shall neither change the Colour of Syrrup
of Violets, nor Precipitate the Solution of Sublimate;
And, I can likewise if I please conceal by what Liquors
I perform such changes of Colour, as I have been mentioning
to you, by quite altering the Texture of some ordinary
Chymical productions, the Exploration of which is the
main use of the fortieth Experiment, which I think
teaches not a little, if it teach us to discover the
nature of those things (in reference to Salt) that
are obtain’d by the ordinary Chymical Analysis
of mix’d Bodyes, though perhaps there may be
other Bodyes prepar’d by Chymistry which may
have the same Effects in the change of Colours; and
yet be produc’d not from what Chymists call
the Resolution of Bodies, but from their Composition.
But the discoursing of things of this nature is more
proper for another place. I shall now onely add,
what might perhaps have been more seasonably told you
before; That the Reason why the way of Exploration
of Salts hitherto deliver’d, succeeds in the
Solution of Sublimate, depends upon the particular
Texture of that Solution, as well as upon the differing
Natures of the Saline Liquors imploy’d to Precipitate
it. For Gold dissolv’d in Aqua Regia,
whether you Precipitate it with Oyl of Tartar which
is an Alcaly, or with Spirit of Urine, or Sal Armoniack
which belongs to the family of Volatile Salts, will
either way afford a Yellow substance: though
with such an Acid Liquor, as, I say not Spirit of Salt,
the Body that yields it, being upon the matter an
Ingredient of Aqua Regis, but Oyl of Vitriol
it self, I did not find that I could Precipitate the
Metall out of the Solution, or destroy the Colour
of it, though the same Oyl of Vitriol would readily
Precipitate Silver dissolv’d in Aqua-fortis.
And if you dissolve pure Silver in Aqua-fortis,
and suffer it to shoot into Crystals, the cleer Solution
of these made in fair Water, will afford a very White
Precipitate, whether it be made with an Alcaly, or
an Acid Spirit, as that of Salt, whereas, which may
seem somewhat strange, with Spirit of Sal Armoniack
(that I us’d was made of Quicklime) I could obtain
no such White Precipitate; that Volatile Spirit, nor
(as I remember) that of Urine, scarce doing any more
than striking down a very small quantity of Matter,
which was neither White nor Whitish, so that the remaining
Liquor being suffer’d to evaporate till the
superfluous Moisture was gone, the greatest part of
the Metalline Corpuscles with the Saline ones that
had imbib’d them, concoagulated into Salt, as
is usual in such Solutions, wherein the Metall has
not been Precipitated.
EXPERIMENT XLI.


