2 Dr. Kane on the Compounds of Ammonia. 



hands, to the conflicting opinions as to the nature of white precipitate already 

 noticed. 



In addition to the ammoniacal subsalts of mercury, there are described in the 

 present paper the sub-sulphate and the sub-nitrates of the black and red oxides. 

 And as the necessity of a new examination of these compounds may not appear 

 to those who have not themselves studied the chemistry of the salts in detail, I 

 may state, that in order to ascertain the part which the ammonia plays in the 

 subsalts formed by its means, it became necessary to establish a comparison with 

 the ordinary subsalts most analogous in composition ; and on searching through 

 the analyses of the mercurial subsalts already recorded, I found the testimonies 

 so conflicting, and the results so imperfect, that I was obliged to commence the 

 subject as if it had been actually new. 



In the former memoir I assumed as the atomic weight of mercury the num- 

 ber 202.8, which supposes the corrosive sublimate to be a bi-cliloride. This 

 opinion I have since found reason to alter, from evidences, partly derived from 

 the results contained in the present paper, and partly from other sources ; I have 

 therefore now adopted the Berzelian number 101.4, by which the calomel is 

 looked upon as a sub-chloride, and sublimate as containing an equivalent of each 

 ingredient. It will be found that by this arrangement the formula of these 

 classes of compounds become much more simple than on the plan of the larger 

 number, to which however they can easily be reduced. 



Without occupying attention by any unnecessary prefatory matter, I shall 

 pass at once to the analytical results. 



I. OF THE SULPHATES OF THE RED OXIDE OF MERCURY. 



Before commencing the study of the action of ammonia on the sulphates of 

 mercury, I considered it proper to satisfy myself, by actual analyses, of the com- 

 position of these bodies, particularly with reference to the possible existence of 

 water as one of their constituents, and the more so, as from the conflicting state- 

 ments of chemists with regard to the nature of turpeth mineral, it was not 

 unlikely that a source of error not previously unveiled might exist. As, how- 

 ever, my results have confirmed the ordinary view of the composition of these 

 bodies, I will not detail any of the methods I employed, but merely state the 

 absolute numerical results. 



