216 E. DIVERS AND T. HAGA : 



must be present in some quantity in the solution. The presence 

 of too much alkali causes a little of it to separate with the 

 normal salt, taking the lAace apparently of the water of crystal- 

 lisation of this salt (this Journal 7, 02), and similarly to 

 separate with the normal salt in its combination with nitrite, 

 then also seeming to lessen the capacity of the normal salt to 

 take up nitrite. The double salt is readily obtained by dis- 

 solving normal hydroximidosulphate nearly to saturation in a 

 hot (70°) solution consisting of 33-66 parts nitrite and 3-5 parts 

 hydroxide to 100 parts water and cooling. Usually it forms 

 lustrous silky fibres like those of the 2/3 normal double salt but 

 radiating from points to form voluminous soft spherical masses. 

 When the solution is more strongly alkaline the double salt 

 separates as nearly opaque spherical granules with sometimes 

 long fibres growing out from them. Under the microscope these 

 granules are seen to have also a radiating fibrous texture and to 

 represent the soft voluminous spheres highly condensed. Probably 

 these always begin their growth from a minute granular nucleus. 

 The double salt can only be purified for analysis by pressing it 

 on the porous tile, when the soft spheres become a felted lustrous 

 cake and the hard white granules crumble down like masses of 

 wax. Analysis of the tw^o forms has given us the following 

 results : — 



The varying amount of water is only the recurrence of what we 



