PHOSPHORUS.

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tolerable in the house. But before we leave theroom, we may produce, by another process, somebubbles of the same gas, which are much lessoffensive.

There is in this little glass retort a solution ofpotash in water; I add to it a small piece ofphosphorus. We must now heat the retort overthe lamp, after having engaged its neck underwater—you see it begins to boil; in a few mi-nutes bubbles will appear, which take fire anddetonate as they issue from the water.

CAROLINE.

There is one—and another. How curious itis!—But I do not understand how this is pro-duced ?

MRS. B.

It is the consequence of a display of affinitiestoo complicated, 1 fear, to be made perfectly in-telligible to you at present.

In a few words, the reciprocal action of thepotash, phosphorus, caloric, and water, are suchthat some of the water is decomposed, and thehydrogen gas thereby formed carries off someminute particles of phosphorus, with which itforms phosphorated hydrogen gas, a compoundwhich spontaneously takes fire at almost any tem-perature,