476 Prof. Hare's Observations on 



concLlable with the received opinion of the reagents employed. 

 Since the affinity between the ammonia and sulphurous acid 

 is energetic, it did not appear to be reasonable that a copious 

 escape of the one should be caused by its admixture with the 

 other ; and it was no less improbable that the vaporization of 

 hydric aether, in its natural state, could take place at tempera- 

 tures so much below its boiling point as those at which this 

 phaenomenon was noticed. In order to ascertain the truth, 

 I luted a funnel, furnished with a glass cock and an air-tight 

 stopper, into the tubulure of a retort, of which the beak was 

 so recurved downwards as to enter and be luted into the 

 tubulure of another retort. The beak of the latter passed 

 under a bell over water. 



Both retorts were about half full of liquid ammonia, and 

 surrounded with ice. The apparatus being thus arranged, 

 about a thousand grains of the sethereal sulphurous sulphate 

 of aetherine were poured into the funnel, and thence gradually 

 allowed to descend into the ammonia in the first retort. Not- 

 withstanding the refrigeration, much heat was perceptible, 

 and a copious evolution of vapour, which, passing into the 

 second retort, was there absorbed or condensed, none being 

 observed to reach the bell glass. At the close of the opera- 

 tion, hydric aether, holding oil of wine in solution, floated 

 upon the ammonia in the first retort, and pure aether, of the 

 same kind, floated on the ammonia in the second. 



The ammonia in both retorts gave indications of the pre- 

 sence of sulphurous acid, on the addition of sulphuric acid. 

 From these results, I inferred that a chemical compound of 

 sulphurous acid and hydric aether formed the principal por- 

 tion of the yellow liquid, and might be separated by distilla- 

 tion. Accordingly, by means of retorts arranged and refri- 

 gerated as above described, I procured a portion of sulphurous 

 aether, which boiled at 44°, and which, when agitated with 

 ammonia in a botde, produced so much heat and consequent 

 vapour, as to expel the whole contents in opposition to the 

 pressure of my thumb. By employing the same distillatory 

 apparatus, I subjected 2150 grains pf the aethereal sulphurous 

 sulphate of aetherine to distillation, and obtained 726 grains 

 of sulphurous aether, which boiled as soon as the frigorific 

 mixture was removed from the containing retort. This being 

 redistilled, as in a former experiment, so as to receive the 

 product in ammonia, left in the retort five grains of oil of 

 wine. The resulting ammoniacal liquid, saturated with chlo- 

 ride of barium in solution, gave a precipitate which, agreeably 

 to tlte table of equivalents, contained 356 grains of sulphurous 

 acid. 



