CHEMISTRY. 201 



Hence it differs from the Saxon bismuth, principally by the ab- 

 sence of arsenic and sulphur. Chemical News. 



Alloy of Ammonium and Bismuth. Dr. Gallatin states that he 

 has succeeded in forming an alloy of ammonium and bismuth by 

 melting the latter, and adding sodium to form an alloy of bismuth 

 and sodium, and then covering the alloy with chloride of ammo- 

 nium. The mass swells, becomes pasty, and congeals. Under 

 water, nascent h}*drogen and ammonia gas are evolved, the Lat- 

 ter being absorbed by the water. Philosophical Magazine, July, 

 18G9, p. 58. 



Fusing Irodosmine. Moses G. Farmer, of Boston, has fused 

 the native irodosmine by placing the natural grains in a groove in 

 charcoal, and subjecting them to the action of a current of voltaic 

 electricity from 60 large Bunsen cells, using large platinum wires 

 to make contact with the ends of the groove. He obtained, in 

 this manner, bars of perfectly compact metal, brittle, and very 

 hard. The operation was any thing but pleasant, on account of the 

 intense light emitted, and the fumes of osmic acid which attacked 

 the eyes and nostrils, producing the phenomena of rose or liay 

 fever, and sunburning the face. Mr. Farmer estimates the tem- 

 perature of fusion at about 10,000 F. 



The object of the experiment was to prepare a bar of the alloy 

 for the purpose of electric illumination. On rendering it luminous 

 by an electric current, he found that when near the melting-point 

 1 square inch of surface evolved, light equal to 2,000 candles, and 

 threw shadows in broad daylight at noon and produced excellent 

 photographs. The same battery converted solid bichloride of 

 iridium into fused metal as soft and ductile as platinum. Amer. 

 Chemist, I. 27. 



Chloride of Q old. Debray, in the " Comptes Rendus," recalling 

 the fact that sesquichloride of gold is decomposed at a tempera- 

 ture of 200 into protochloride and free chlorine, and at a still 

 higher temperature into metallic gold and chlorine, states that it 

 is, however, possible to sublime the sesquichloride, and obtain it 

 in crystals by performing the operation in chlorine gas. This is 

 accomplished by passing a current of chlorine over metallic gold 

 heated in a glass tube to 300 C. Below that temperature the 

 gold is covered with a coating of chloride, but volatilization does 

 not begin until that temperature is reached. The sesquichloride 

 condenses in long needles at some distance from the heated portion 

 of the tube. 



In this connection might be mentioned a recent determination 

 of the vapor density of quinquichloride of phosphorus, a problem 

 not hitherto solved on account of the decomposition of this com- 

 pound into terchloride and free chlorine. By operating with an 

 excess of the terchloride the vapor density has been found to 

 agree with theory so that quinquichloride of phosphorus no 

 longer forms even an apparent exception to general law in regard 

 to the product volume. 



Magnesium as a Reducing Agent. Dr. Bb'ttger recommends the 

 use of magnesium powder, as it occurs in the market, for the 

 reduction of certain metallic salts, especially chlorides. At the 



