i68 Dr. Schimck on the Action of 



The silver salt was prepared by dissolving the acid in water, 

 then adding nitrate of silver, and neutralizing with ammonia. 

 The white granular precipitate which fell was collected on a filter, 

 washed with water, and dried in vacuo, until its weight remained 

 uniform, after which it was submitted to analysis. 



0*6275 grm. of the salt, burnt with chromate of lead, gave 

 0*3400 grm. carbonic acid and 0*0890 grm. water. 



0*2850 grm. gave 0*2410 grm. chloride of silver. 



These numbers lead to the following composition : — 



Succinate of silver C^ IP OH AgO 

 contains 

 Carbon . . . 14*77 14*46 



Hydrogen . . 1*57 1'20 



Oxygen . . . 15*29 14*46 



Oxide of silver . 68*37 69*88 



100*00 100*00 



It will be seen that the composition, as determined by these 

 analyses, is only an approximation to what it should be by cal- 

 culation. Both analyses show an excess of carbon, and a still 

 greater of hydrogen, while the amount of oxide of silver is defi- 

 cient. Such discrepancies are almost unavoidable in the analysis 

 of substances, which like this are obtained in such extremely 

 minute quantities, and which it is consequently almost impossible 

 to bring into a state of perfect purity without losing nearly the 

 whole quantity obtained*. Were the atomic weight of the acid 

 yielded by this process much higher, there might still be doubts 

 concerning its composition and identity; but as the amount of 

 discrepancy between the calculated composition and that found 

 by experiment does not, in the case of any one of the constitu- 

 ents of either the acid or the silver salt, correspond to more than 

 half an equivalent f, and as the reactions of the acid agree so 

 entirely with those characteristic of succinic acid, I think there 

 can be no room for any uncertainty. 



Besides this acid, I have not been able to discover any other 

 solid product of decomposition resulting from this process. 

 Through the liquid filtered from the lead precipitate containing 

 the succinic acid I have passed sulphuretted hydrogen until all 



* In order to procure the acid used for the two analyses given above, I 

 was obliged to subject about 26 lbs. of sugar to fermentation. The time 

 and labour required to obtain a sufficient quantity of ferment for the pur- 

 pose (about 100 quarts) are very great. 



t In the analysis of the acid given above, the quantities of C, H and O, 

 are to one another as 24 : 3*4 : 31*4, or expressed in numbers of equivalents 

 as 4C : 3*411 : 3*90. The amount of the different constituents found in the 

 silver salt are to one another as 24 : 2*5 : 24*8 : 111, or expressed in equi- 

 valents as 4C : 2*5H : 3*10 : 0*95 AgO. 



