MURIATS. 
Care ought to be taken not to use it in too great quan 
tities, as, like all other barytic salts, it is poisonous. 
In chemistry it is much employed as a reactive to de 
tect the presence of sulphuric acid. When dropt into 
a liquid holding that acid in solution, an insoluble 
precipitate of sulphat of barytes immediately appears. 
Bergman informs us that this precipitate is exceedingly 
visible, even when the acid amounts only to 0.0002 of 
the liquid. Even when only 0.00oo9 of sulphuric acid 
is present, a slight cloud appears in a few minutes after 
dropping in the muriat *. 
Sp. 2. Muriat of Potass. 
THIS salt was formerly called febrifuge or digestive 
salt of Sylvius, and regenerated sea salt. 
It is usually prepared by dissolving soda in muriatic 
acid, and evaporing the solution till the salt crystallizes. 
Its crystals are cubes, but often rather irregular. 
It has a disagreeable bitter taste. Its specific gravity 
is 1.836 f. 
It is soluble in three times its weight of water at the 
temperature of 60°. It is rather more soluble in boil 
ing water ; but the difference is not sufficient to obtain 
crystals by allowing a saturated boiling solution of this 
salt to cool. Regular crystals can only be obtained by 
abandoning the solution to spontaneous evaporation. 
It suffers little alteration from exposure to the air, 
When exposed to heat, it decrepitates, melts when 
heated to redness, and at last is volatalized in a white 
smoke, but without decomposition. 
t Kirwan. 
* Bergman, i. 100. 
315 
Chap. III. 
Properties,