168 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



die VergiftuDgssymptome sind ganz dieselben wie sie durch die 

 Cyannietalle hervorgebracht werden. So ist das Kuullzink, welches 

 eines der loslichsten unter den Knallsauresalzen ist, zugleich das gif- 

 tigste. Ich bemerke noch dass die isocyanursauren Salze [die Fulmi- 

 nurate] gar nicht giftig sind." 



E. Davy * first obtained zinc fulminate from mercury fulminate 

 by means of zinc dust and water, and made therefrom, by double de- 

 composition with the metallic hydroxides, many salts of the alkali 

 and alkaline-earth metals. That the majority of these salts are not 

 simple but double salts, e. g. that Davy's baric fulminate is a zinc 

 barium fulminate, baON : C, znON : C, was first shown by Fehling t 

 E^hrenberg is the first who obtained sodic fulminate pure and analyzed 

 the product, t 



Other Syntheses of Silver Fulminate. — The behavior of silver ful- 

 minate towards the calculated amount (one molecule) of dilute hydro- 

 gen chloride and of hydrogen sulphide is very remarkable, and is 

 fully cleared up by what follows. On adding one molecule of dilute 

 hydrogen chloride to silver fulminate, suspended in water and kept 

 cold by means of pieces of ice, an energetic reaction immediately 

 takes place, and a strong smell of formylchloridoxime is noticed. The 

 mixture is well stirred, and as soon as it can be filtered clear, this is 

 done. The perfectly clear filtrate is found to contain two substances, 

 formylchloridoxime, 



C:NOH, 



which can easily be extracted from the solution by means of ether, 

 and silver formylchloridoxime, 



C : NOAg, 



which is soluble in water. The solution, therefore, contains much 

 chlorine and silver, which for a long time seemed very enigmatic : on 

 addition of hydrochloric acid, silver chloride is precipitated, and on 

 addition of nitric acid a precipitate consisting of silver fulminate and 

 silver chloride is formed. 



* Trans. Roy. Soc. Dublin, 1829; extract in Berzelius's Jahr., XII. 97, 120. 



t Ann. Chem. (Liebig), XXVII. .30. 



t Journ. f. prakt. Chem., [2.], XXXII. 231. 



