MERCURY. 29 



the weight of the mercury. When the whole is melted like oil 

 the pot should be quickly removed from the tire, and cooled till 

 the mass is consolidated. It should then be broken, and the 

 mercury extracted from within the mass. Mercury thus obtained 

 is said to be superior to all other forms, but it is not much used 

 at present. 



The purified mttal obtained by the processes above mentioned 

 is employed for the preparation of mercurial compounds. Four 

 preparations of mercury are described in books, namely, black, 

 white, yellow and red, called respectively, krishna, sveta, pita and 

 rakta bhasmas. 



1. Krishna bhasuia. The black preparation is the black 

 sulphide of mercury, made by rubbing together and dissolving 

 over the fire three parts of mercury with one of sulphur. 1 



2. Baaakarpura. The white preparation is the Basakarpura 

 or perchloride of mercury. Several processes are given for 

 preparing it ; one is as follows. 2 Take of mercury and chalk 

 equal parts, and rub them together till the globules disappear. 

 Rub this mixture of chalk and mercury with pa-nsu (salt obtained 

 from saline earth) and the juice of Euphorbia nereifolia (snuhi) 

 repeatedly. Enclose in a covered crucible and heat it within a 

 pot full of rock salt. The perchloride of mercury will be 

 deposited in the shape of a pure white powder under the lid of 

 the crucible. The Bhdvaprahdsa gives the following process for 

 its preparation. 3 Take of purified mercury, gatrika (red-ochre), 



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