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EDWARD DIVERS AND TAMEMASA HAGA 



decomposed by much water into silver oxide and two-thirds normal 

 sodi urn imidosulphonate. 



Mercury imidosulphonates. 



Oxymercurie hydrogen imidosulphonate, HN(S0 3 HgO) 2 Hg, (Divers 

 and Haga) ; normal oxymercurie imidosulphonate, Hg[N(S0 3 Hg) 2 0] 2 , 

 (Berglund). — Berglund and we have each described a basic mercuric 

 imidosulphonate, ours differing from his in having S 4 '. Hg 6 instead of 

 S 4 .' Hg 5 . He prepared his salt from mercury potassium imidosulpho- 

 nate and mercuric nitrate, and we ours from normal sodium imidosul- 

 phonate and mercuric nitrate. They ought therefore to have been the 

 same. Berglund tried the use of normal potassium imidosulphonate 

 and thus got a more basic product, but this he attributed to the presence 

 of mercuric oxide or basic nitratein the precipitate. In agreement 

 with this, one might account for our getting a more basic salt than his. 

 Or, conversely, one might account for his getting a less basic salt than 

 ours, by accepting that some of the very little soluble two-thirds 

 normal potassium imidosulphonate precipitated along with the 

 mercury salt, thus raising the quantity of sulphur and lowering that 

 of mercury. There was also the possibility of unconscious bias on his 

 part or on ours leading to a. selection of those results as more reliable 

 which were capable of being expressed according to our particular 

 preconceptions. For Berglund was strongly impressed by the tendency 

 of mercury to displace the imidic hydrogen, while we were similarly 

 struck with the fact that whenever sulphuryl occurs in combination 

 with oxylic mercury in a precipitated salt, that mercury functions as 

 the bivalent radical-HgOHgOHg— ; and it will be seen, on referring to 

 the formula.' in the heading of this paragraph, that Berglund's ratio of 

 sulphur to mercury accords with his preconception and not with ours, 

 and that our ratio accords with our preconception and not with, his. 



