ETHYL AMMONIUM SELENITE. 207 



alcohol was treated with ammonia, in a freezing-mixture, until 

 the gas passed unabsorbed. The ammonia causes the undis- 

 solved selenion dioxide to dissolve slowly, and the final product 

 is a clear viscid liquid. This liquid, which is most sensitive 

 to the decomposing action of the moisture of the air, can be 

 dried up in a vacuum into a solid with silky lustre, but not to 

 be got, in this way quite free from alcohol. Instead, therefore, 

 of evaporating the liquid, it was poured into a small flask of 

 well-dried ether, with as little exposure to air as practicable. 

 The liquid does not dissolve in ether but, on shaking, the ether 

 extracts the alcohol from it and leaves the solid salt adhering 

 to the flask. After decanting off the ethereal solution and 

 exposing the open flask for a night in a vacuum-desiccator, 

 the salt was obtained dry and was then weighed in the flask. 



The analysis was begun by dissolving the salt, in the flask 

 itself, in water acidified with sulphuric acid. The solution, only 

 slightly acid, was distilled for the alcohol, this being then 

 estimated from the weight and specific gravity of the distillate. 

 Distillation of the solution with alkali gave the ammonia, the 

 residue being then heated at 150° for some hours with hydro- 

 chloric acid, again distilled with alkali, and no more ammonia 

 got. The selenion was determined by precipitating it with 

 sulphur dioxide in presejice of much hydrochloric acid, heating 

 to 100°, and collecting the selenion on a weighed filter. The 

 mother-liquor, after concentration, gave no more selenion with 

 sulphur dioxide. 



The percentage numbers obtained were — 



C2H5 (NH4) Se03 : sel. diox., 63.79; ammonia, 9.77; ale, 26.44. 



Found: „ 64.09; „ 9.31; „ 



„ „ 65.94; „ 10.09; „ 24.16. 



