406 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles, 



sehistus ; the author examined several which differed in the point 

 of ebullition. 



Oil from 176° Fahr. to 185°.— This oil is the most volatile. It 

 possesses all the properties of naphtha. On this account the author 

 would have felt disposed to consider the product really as naphtha, 

 and the bituminous sehistus as the source of it -, but its composition is 

 sufficiently different to cause it to be regarded as a new bicarburetted 

 hydrogen. 



Oil from 239° to 257°. — This oil resembles the foregoing consi- 

 derably. M. Laurent distilled it repeatedly with concentrated nitric 

 acid ; he obtained in the receiver a colourless oil, the boiling point 

 of which varied only from 248° to 249°, and there remained in the re- 

 tort an altered yellowish oil which was heavier than water. 



Oil from 248° to 249°-8.— This oil, which results from the action of 

 nitric upon the preceding, had the following properties : it was co- 

 lourless and very fluid. Neither the nitric, hydrochloric, nor sulphu- 

 ric acid acted at all upon it. Its specific gravity was 0753 at 59° 

 Fahr. It yielded by analysis 



Carbon 86*'2 



Hydrogen .. 13*6 998 



The constancy of its boiling point induces the supposition that 

 this is a new bicarburetted hydrogen. 



Oil of 336°. — M. Laurent examined whether at about 336° he could 

 not obtain eupion, and he set aside some oil the boiling point of which 

 varied from 332° to 338°. On comparing it with eupion, he found no 

 difference between them - } by analysis he obtained the following results : 



Eupion. Oil at 336°. 



Carbon 85*3 85*6 



Hydrogen 15-1 14*4 



100-4 100-0 



It is then evident that all circumstances agree to prove, that 



eupion is a product of the distillation of bituminous sehistus. 



The author made a mixture of different oils, the boiling point of 



which was between i 85° and 6G2° (302°?). He analysed it after having 



treated it with sulphuric acid and potash, and he obtained the an- 



nexed results: Carbon g5 . 5 



Hydrogen 13-5 100- 



On comparing all these analyses and that of paraffine, it will be 

 observed that the different bodies contained in the oil of sehistus 

 have the same composition as bicarburetted hydrogen within a few 

 thousandths. 



AMPELIC ACID. 



This acid is obtained by boiling with nitric acid the oils whose boil- 

 ing point is between 176° and 302°. On evaporating the acid, white 

 flocks of ampelic acid separate on cooling. This substance is white, 

 inodorous, very slightly soluble even in boiling water j alcohol and 

 aether dissolve it readily. It fuses at a temperature above 498°, and 

 it sublimes into a whole mass consisting of minute acicular crystals. 

 It is dissolved by concentrated sulphuric acid ; water decomposes the 

 solution. With the alkalis it forms very soluble salts. 



