POTASSIUM NITEITO-HYDIIOXIMIDOSULPHATES. 223 



solution generate hydroximidosulphate freely together with 

 nitrite. 



The other salt isomeric with 5/(3 normal hydroximidosulphate 

 was obtained in Raschig's attempt to form 2/3 normal salt by 

 passing surphur dioxide into a solution of potassium nitrite and 

 hydroxide and letting stand for a day. These, too, are conditions 

 for geting nitrito-hydroximidosulphate. Now, both products 

 agreed in being decomposed by water in such a way as to yield 

 hydroximidosulphate and in other ways behaved as compounds 

 of nitrite with one of these salts. The behaviour of the one 

 isomeric with hyponitrososulphate was indeed exceptional in 

 that when dissolved in water containing a little alkali it gave 

 the 2/3 normal hydroximidosulphate when according to our cal- 

 culation it should have given the 5/6 normal salt, while it also 

 gave in hot alkaline solution u little nitrous oxide which only 

 hydroxyamidosulphate is known to give. These peculiarities 

 we may attribute to partial hydrolysis having occurred in the 

 very unstable salt before these experiments were made. 



The calculated formula for the isomeride of hyponitrosul- 

 pliate as a nitrite compound is oKNOo, K.^H (NS^Oy),, 2OH2, and 

 such a. compound we liave described on page 218 ; that for the 

 isomeride of the 5/6 normal hydroximidosulphate treated as being 

 a nitrite compound is 3KN0,, 6K,HNS,0;, 5K5H(NS207)2, which 

 in water should give crystals of KoHNSoO;, 2OH2. This com- 

 pound salt we have failed to get but its occurrence can be 

 readily accepted as possible. Its assumed existence affords a much 

 more satisfactory explanation of the nature of this salt of Ras- 

 chig's than that we were able to offer in our paper on hydrox- 

 imidosulphates already referred to. 



