Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 489 



forded either by the ordinary manure, or the ammonia &c. of 

 the atmosphere, sulphate of ammonia has been introduced, 

 and found to be a most valuable auxiliary, as a top dressing, to 

 the farmer. 



It has been found to impart a greater degree of fructifica- 

 tion to grass, wheat, and other grain, than any other dressing 

 yet discovered, and at a less cost by 50 per cent. 



The mode of application as adopted by Mr. C. Hall of 

 Havering-atte-Bower, Essex, is as follows : — 



Having selected several fields of grass, peas, turneps, and 

 wheat, he had sown broad cast on parts of these fields quan- 

 tities at the cost of 5s. 3d., lis. 4<d. and 21s. per acre; the 

 sulphate having cost him 1 7s. per cwt. 



The produce was kept and threshed separately, when the 

 increase from the wheat land was found to be as follows : — 



The part that was sown at the rate of 5s. 3d. per acre gave 

 an increase of 3 bushels; lis. 4<d. gave 6 bushels, and 21s. 

 upwards of 9 bushels, besides a considerable increase of straw. 



CHLORIDE OF GOLD AS A TEST OF CERTAIN VEGETABLE 

 ALKALIES. 



MM. Larocque and Thibierge find, that perchloride of gold is a 

 more decisive test of certain vegetable alkalies, than the double chlo- 

 ride of sodium and gold already employed for this purpose. The 

 following are the colours of the precipitates which it produces with 

 the salts of the annexed alkalies dissolved in water : — Quina, buff- 

 coloured : Cinchonia, sulphur-yellow : Morphia, yellow, then bluish, 

 and lastly violet ; in this last state the gold is reduced, and the pre- 

 cipitate is insoluble in water, alcohol, the caustic alkalies, and sul- 

 phuric, nitric or hydrochloric acids ; it forms with aqua regia a so- 

 lution which is precipitated by protosulphate of iron : Brucia, milk-, 

 coffee-, and then chocolate-brown : Strychnia, canary-yellow : Vera- 

 tria, slightly greenish yellow. 



All these precipitates, with the exception mentioned, are very 

 soluble in alcohol, insoluble in aether, and slightly soluble in water. 

 These precipitates appear to be combinations of gold, chlorine and 

 the vegetable alkali, for their alcoholic solutions treated with tannin 

 give a greenish blue precipitate of reduced gold ; if the solution be 

 filtered, and the alcohol be evaporated by heat, a precipitate of tan- 

 nate of the alkali employed is formed. The liquor again filtered, 

 gives with nitrate of silver a white precipitate insoluble in nitric acid, 

 but soluble in ammonia. 



Among the reactions of chloride of gold, there are two which to 

 ihe authors appear to be especially important, they are those which 

 occur with morphia and brucia ; they are sufficiently marked to pre- 

 vent these alkalies from being mistaken for each other, and also 

 yield pretty good characteristics for distinguishing brucia from 

 strychnia. 



