94 Dr. Wrightson on the Atomic Weight and 



example, that of sulphates of nickel and potassium oxides) in inor- 

 ganic chemistry, perhaps our safest guide in investigation, justify 

 us in viewing the bodies obtained by Chancel, for example, the 



oxalo-vino-methylat p 2 , 5 >0 C 2 O 3 according to Williamson, as 



a double oxalate with organic bases ? 



There appears, therefore, to me veiy insufficient ground en- 

 tirely to discard the generally accepted theory of the alcohols 

 and aethers; and although the view here adopted, in which 

 alcohol is considered not as a hydrate of sethyle-oxide, but as a 

 binary compound of the oxides of sethyle and hydrogen, may not 

 be quite free from objections, yet they are comparatively slight, 

 whilst no change in our system of equivalents is required. Per- 

 haps before chemists become agreed upon the subject, new facts 

 will be brought to light still more decisive in their character. 

 My own attention at least will be directed with that aim as early 

 as opportunity permits. 



I shall now describe my experiments upon the deportment of 

 the cyanides of sethyle and amyle, when mixed in equivalent 

 proportions and digested with potash in solution. 



For the preparation of cyanide of sethyle I first procured 5 lbs. 

 of sulphovinate of potash by the usual process, mixing proper 

 proportions of alcohol and strong sulphuric acid, afterwards 

 neutralizing with milk of lime, and precipitation of the fluid 

 (separated by filtration from sulphate of lime) with carbonate of 

 potash. The slightly alkaline solution, after separating the pre- 

 cipitated carbonate of lime by filtration, was evaporated to syrup 

 consistence, and before it became quite cold was decanted from 

 a portion of sulphate of potash which had crystallized out. The 

 solution when quite cold solidified to a crystalline mass, which 

 was drained and dried over a water-bath, bupho-amylate of 

 potash was prepared in a similar manner from fusel oil, purified 

 by distillation at a temperature of 132° ; about 6| lbs. were used. 

 Both salts were perfectly white and sufficiently pure. 



As the cyanide of potassium prepared by Liebig's method 

 contains so much cyanate of potash that the cyanide of sethyle 

 prepared with it would be rendered very impure by the quantity 

 of cyanate of aethyle-oxide formed, I used cyanide of potassium 

 prepared by fusing well-dried ferrocyanide of potassium alone in 

 a covered crucible. A perfectly dry and finely-powdered mix- 

 ture of sulphovinate of potash and cyanide of potassium, the 

 latter in excess, was very carefully distilled over a charcoal fire. 

 From 3£ lbs. of sulphovinate of potash, about 12 oz. of impure 

 cyanide of sethyle were obtained, which after being shaken with 

 water and purified by fractional distillation, afforded about 9 oz. 

 of pure cyanide of sethyle. 



