MOTHER-WATER

is the name of the liquid which remains after all the salts that will regularly crystallize have been extracted, by evaporation and cooling, from any saline solution. MOUNTAIN SOAP ( Savon de montagne , Fr.; Bergseife , Germ.); is a tender mineral, soft to the touch, which a umes a greasy lustre when rubbed, and falls to pieces in water. It consists of silica 44, alumina 26·5, water 20·5, oxide of iron 8, lime 0·5. It occurs in beds, alternating with different sorts of clay, in the Isle of Skye, at Billin in Bohemia, . It has been often, but improperly, confounded with steatite . MUCIC ACID ( Acid mucique , Fr.; Schleimsaüre , Germ.); is the same as the saclactic acid of Scheele, and may be obtained by digesting one part of gum arabic, sugar of milk, or pectic acid, with twice or thrice their weight of nitric acid. It forms white granular crystals, and has not been applied to any use in the arts.