'231 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 



All these products resist the action of boiling alkalies, whether dilute or 

 concentrated. Ammonia and the concentrated acids have no action on 

 them. Neither water, alcohol, ether, sulphuret of carbon, or the oils, appear 

 to alter or dissolve them. 



At the temperature of 300 Full, they remain solid and unaltered. A few 

 degrees above this point they begin to melt into a brown liquid, and emit 

 whitish acid vapors. We have not had time to determine the composition 

 of these substances. After long boiling in alkaline solutions, reiterated 

 washings with dilute acid and boiling water, they still contain sulphur and 

 chlorine in considerable quantities. In this state, the slightest shaking com- 

 municates to them a peculiar vermicular motion, which continues for some 

 time. 



Action of Chloride of Sulphur on Oils, or Vulcanization of Oils By M. Perra. 

 - The chloride of sulphur combines at ordinary temperatures with flaxseed 

 oil, as well as with other oils. 



If we take 100 parts of flaxseed oil and about 25 parts of chloride of sul- 

 phur, we obtain a compound which has the maximum hardness. 



100 parts of the oil, and from 15 to 20 of the chloride, give a flexible com- 

 pound. 



From 5 to 10 parts of the chloride will thicken 100 parts of the oil very 

 strongly, without hardening it. In this state it is soluble in all the solvents 

 of common oils. This is not the case with the other combinations, which 

 swell somewhat, and lose a little sulphur without dissolving in solvents. 



If we dilute a given weight of flaxseed oil with 30 or forty times its weight 

 of sulphuret of carbon, and introduce one-fourth of the weight of the oil of 

 chloride of sulphur, we have a product which will remain liquid for some 

 da}-s. If in this condition it be applied upon glass or Avood, etc., the sul- 

 phuret of carbon evaporates, and you have instantly a varnish. 



The chloride of sulphur saturated with sulphur, is preferable, for these 

 actions, to that which is not saturated. 



In making these mixtures, proceed as follows : Introduce the chloride of 

 sulphur quickly into the oil, which must be stirred so as to mix them inti- 

 mately. Gradually the mass heats, the combination takes place, the oil 

 thickens, and forms a compound more or less soft, according to the propor- 

 tions of the chloride. But small quantities should be operated on at a time, 

 and all elevation of temperature must be avoided, otherwise the chloride of 

 eulphur will be volatilized, and will form bubbles in the mass, or carbonize 

 and blacken the oil. As soon as these two substances are intimately mixed, 

 pour the mixture on a plate of glass or other polished substance, smooth it, 

 and in five or six minutes, according to the temperature of the air, you 

 obtain the compound. "With the point of a knife, detach one of the corners 

 of this pellicle, which may be easily raised without breaking. One coat 

 may be laid over another, and they will unite in one, provided the upper 

 one be put on after the temperature of the lower has been reduced; mois- 

 ture in the air must also be avoided, which decomposes the chloride and 

 prevents the adherence. 



By following this mode, I have succeeded in making little boxes, knife- 

 handles, etc. By introducing wire gauze into the mixture, plates of consid- 

 erable resistance may be procured. This is easily done by laying the wire 

 gau/e on the glass, and proceeding as above. 



All the products thus made are completely transparent, if care be taken 

 to keep the articles in a stove or other warm place, to drive out the vapors 



