ANALYTICAL EXPERIMENTS ON SULPHUR. 327 



engaged, which was sulphuretted hidrogen. The compound 

 was exposed in a mercurial apparatus to the aotion of liquid 

 muriatic acid; when a cubical inch and a quarter of aeri- 

 form matter was produced, which proved to be pure sul- 

 . phuretted hidrogen. 



The same experiment was repeated,, except that four 

 grains of sulphur were employed instead of one. In this 

 case, a quarter of a cubical inch of gas was disengaged 

 during the process of combination ; and when the com- 

 pound was acted upon by muriatic acid, only three quarters . 

 of a cubical inch of sulphuretted hidrogen were obtained. 



Now, sulphuret of potash produces sulphuretted hidro- 

 gen by the action of an acid ; and jf the sulphur had not 

 contained oxigen, the hidrogen evolved by the action of 

 the potassium in both these experiments ought to have 

 equalled at least two cubical inches, and the whole quantity 

 of sulphuretted hidrogen ought to have been more : ancl 

 that so much less sulphuretted hidrogen was evolved in the 

 second experiment, can only be ascribed to the larger 

 quantity of oxigen furnished to the potassium by the larger 

 quantity of the sulphur. 



I have made several experiments of this kind with similar Several expert- 

 results. Whenever equal quantities of potassium were *\ e £ ts . m * d ® 

 combined with unequal quantities of sulphur, and exposed results, 

 afterward to the action of muriatic acid, the largest 

 quantity of sulphuretted hidrogen was furnished by the 

 product containing the smallest proportion of 'sulphur; and 

 in no case was the quantity of gas equal in volume to the 

 quantity of hidrogen, which would have been produced by 

 the mere action of potassium upon water. 



From the general tcnour of these various facts, it will Composition of 

 not be, I trust, unreasonable to assume, that sulphur, i n suI P hur * 

 its common state, is a compound of small quantities of 

 oxigen and hidrogen with a large quantity of a basis, that 

 produces the acids of sulphur in* combustion, and which, 

 on account of its strong attractions for other bodies, it will 

 probably be very difficult to obtain in its pure form. 



In metallic combinations even, it still probably retains 

 Jts oxigen and part of its hidrogen. Metallic sulphurets 

 can only be partially decomposed by heat, and the smajl 



quantity 



