198 



On the Prussic and Prussous Acids. 

 Table I. — (Continued.) 



The effects of the sulphuric acid and of the muriate 

 barytes clearly proved the existence of sulphite of potash 

 in the liquid, while that of the oxy-sulphate of iron indi- 

 cated the presence of some other principle to which the 

 liquid was indebted for its peculiar characters ; the separa- 

 tion of this principle in a' pure state became therefore a 

 necessary preliminary operation to its examination : after 

 a few trials I succeeded in effecting this separation. The 

 following is the process I employed. 



The liquid was evaporated by a gentle heat to dryness ; 

 upon the saline residuum alcohol was poured till it ceased 

 to extract any thing : by this means the whole of the sul- 

 phite and sulphate of potash was left behind, and the alco- 

 hol when filtered held in solution that part only which had 

 the red tingeing property with solutions of iron. The alco- 

 hol was now got rid of by distillation, and the salt it left 

 in the retort was redissolved in water. This solution (B) 

 gave the following results with the different metallic so- 

 lutions. 



Table II. with Liquid B. 



Metallic Solutions. 



Effects. 



Nitro-muriate platina 



I 



Muriate gold ! 



precipitate similar to that in 

 "able I. but in a smaller quan- 

 ity, and longer in forming. 

 / Light olive precipitate, some gold 

 l educed. Ni 



(A pre( 

 Tabl 

 tity, 



