Water loses its fluidity and is made solid or congealed, upon losing the imponderable oxygenating element. Priestley through his experiments made the discovery, that, "air, purer than atmospheric, is given out by water at the instant of congelation,"--which must be oxygen air. From which we learn, that oxygen is the natural hinderance against the waters of the globe being solid; with which experimental practice and experience agree, it being well known that oxygen added to a freezing solution, retards congelation; and that, to facilitate the freezing of water, a smart tap is given to the side of the vessel, hitherto unknown why, but seems as if to shake out the oxygen. The following observed circumstances exhibit the congelation of water throughout all its stages. The air in a chamber being favourable for the reception of oxygen from water, the water in a cylindrical earthen pitcher became frozen; a plate of ice was formed, which equalled the area of the vessel, and firmly fixed to the sides one full inch higher than the water had been at first. The bottom of the vessel was blown out, the sides remained whole, and the ice not broken or moved. The circumstances of the case admits of the following illustration. Medium of space, by its pressure, forced out the oxygen; additional increments of the same medium entered, collapsed the elements of the deoxydated stratum of water, and so forcibly expanded the rest of the water as to make it explode the bottom of the vessel, all at the same instant. As all excess of medium of space retired from the water, the latter sunk to the original height; and had not the water escaped, it would have been an inch separate from the plate of ice. A river thus frozen, flows freely beneath the ice from the same circumstances. The bomb-shell at Hudson Bay was exploded by the expanded water, not by the newly-formed ice; or else the sides, not the bottom of the earthen vessel, would have been exploded. Ice is deoxygenated water, and abounds with electric matter, hence it floats; and ice-water is at the minimum of density from being deficient of oxygen. Ice, in a Florence flask, hung over a lamp, yields abundance of electric matter, towards the formation of lamp-black on the outside of the bottom of the flask, which, to the miniature painter may be preferable, from being the freest of grit. In all cases of combustion, the elements of lamp-black are present; so that, in combustion of the diamond, the same kind of soot being formed, affords no information of the constituents of this highly-prized crystal. With more reason than that of pure carbon, (which is but another name for the electric matter which is the principal constituent of ice, and lamp-black) being the base of diamond, it may be assumed, that, diamond is a crystalized oxyde of water. The electrician's opposite characteristics of the two, diamond and ice, accord with the suggestion. SOLVENCY.