It is impossible to trust to one’s judgment with regard to the washing of precipitates; the washings from !each precipitate! of a series simultaneously treated must be tested, since the rate of washing will often differ materially under apparently similar conditions, !No exception can ever be made to this rule!.

The habit of placing a clean common filter paper under the receiving beaker during filtration is one to be commended.  On this paper a record of the number of washings can very well be made as the portions of wash-water are added.

It is an excellent practice, when possible, to retain filtrates and precipitates until the completion of an analysis, in order that, in case of question, they may be examined to discover sources of error.

For the complete removal of precipitates from containing vessels, it is often necessary to rub the sides of these vessels to loosen the adhering particles.  This can best be done by slipping over the end of a stirring rod a soft rubber device sometimes called a “policeman.”

DESICCATORS

Desiccators should be filled with fused, anhydrous calcium chloride, over which is placed a clay triangle, or an iron triangle covered with silica tubes, to support the crucible or other utensils.  The cover of the desiccator should be made air-tight by the use of a thin coating of vaseline.

Pumice moistened with concentrated sulphuric acid may be used in place of the calcium chloride, and is essential in special cases; but for most purposes the calcium chloride, if renewed occasionally and not allowed to cake together, is practically efficient and does not slop about when the desiccator is moved.

Desiccators should never remain uncovered for any length of time.  The dehydrating agents rapidly lose their efficiency on exposure to the air.

CRUCIBLES

It is often necessary in quantitative analysis to employ fluxes to bring into solution substances which are not dissolved by acids.  The fluxes in most common use are sodium carbonate and sodium or potassium acid sulphate.  In gravimetric analysis it is usually necessary to ignite the separated substance after filtration and washing, in order to remove moisture, or to convert it through physical or chemical changes into some definite and stable form for weighing.  Crucibles to be used in fusion processes must be made of materials which will withstand the action of the fluxes employed, and crucibles to be used for ignitions must be made of material which will not undergo any permanent change during the ignition, since the initial weight of the crucible must be deducted from the final weight of the crucible and product to obtain the weight of the ignited substance.  The three materials which satisfy these conditions, in general, are platinum, porcelain, and silica.