IMIDOSULPHONATES } Q f) 



mercury and the nitrogen of ammonia and cyanogen, and from that of 

 the mercury in its oxygenous salts, particularly those of sulphuryl, such 

 as sulphites and sulphates, the relations of mercury in its imidosulpho- 

 nates become of much interest, as likely to vary from those of other 

 basylous elements. 



Firstly, as to the mercury disodium and mercury dipotassium 

 imidosulphonates, no hesitation will be felt in accepting for these salts — 

 say that of sodium — the formula, HgN2(S03Na), (l^erglund), yet this 

 point is not so simple as it seems. Calcium forms the salt, CaNa]S[(S03)^; 

 silver forms the salt, Ag2NaN'(S03),, ; and mercury itself the salts, 

 OHg2NaN'(.S03)2 and 0.,Hg3HN(S03)2. All these salts liave only one- 

 third of the bases either sodium or hydrogen, and it will be well, there- 

 fore, to briefly review the reasons for writing Hg]Sr2(S03Na)4. 



Disodium hydrogen imidosulphonate is a salt neutral or only 

 slightly acid to litmus, although active as an acid, and tlierefore, it 

 cannot hold tlie group, SO3H, since this aPways gives to its com- 

 pounds sourness and strong action on blue litnnis. It must therefore 

 be written HN(S03Na),. Mercury readily takes the place of the 

 hydrogen of this salt, or of one atom of the sodium of the alkaline 

 trisodium imidosulphonate, and the resulting mercury disodium salt is 

 neutral in reaction. Transposition of the metals cannot be admitted 

 to take place in its formation for two reasons. One is that the alkaline 

 reliction of the trisodium salt disappears when it becomes the mercury 

 sodium salt, and there is no accounting for this if the mercury dis- 

 places the sulphonic sodium. The other reason is that if the mercury 

 takes the sulphonic relation in the salt, there is to be seen in this salt 

 an exception to the observation that all oxylic mercuric salts existent 

 in presence of water are insoluble basic or oxysalts. 



This theory of the constitution of the normal mercury double 

 sulphonates accords with the interesting behaviour of these salts 



