2 Stansfield, Preparatio7i of Barhnn. 



cathode, I was unable to remove all the mercury from this 

 amalgam by distillation i7t vacuo. It is very difficult to 

 completely dry the amalgam, without oxidation occurring. 

 2. Method for Preparing Zinc Alloys-. I have tried 

 two methods for this preparation. The first which consists 

 in electrolysing a fused mixture of barium and sodium 

 chlorides with a molten zinc cathode, was wholly 

 unsuccessful ; the second, which is the method used by 

 Caron,* yielded better results. In the best experiments 

 I took 2IO grams zinc, 20 grams sodium, 120 grams 

 barium chloride (20 grams sodium being equivalent to 

 90 grams barium chloride) ; I also added 25 grams of 

 sodium chloride as a flux. This mixture was heated in a 

 fire-clay crucible until it boiled, and was then allowed to 

 cool. A porous metallic mass was obtained weighing 250 

 grams, analysis showing that this contained 12 per cent, 

 of barium, as well as traces of chlorides and oxides ; but 

 that at least some of the barium was present in the 

 metallic state, was shown by the freedom with which it 

 decomposed water, especially after it had been powdered. 



This product did not seem pure enough to be likely 

 to give good results on distilling off the zinc. The dis- 

 advantage of the method of distilling off the mercury or 

 zinc from the amalgam or alloy of barium, seems to be 

 that, at the best, only a product of finely divided material 

 can be obtained ; such powdery masses are of very 

 indefinite composition, and, presenting as they do so 

 much surface to the action of the surrounding medium, 

 offer considerable difficulty to the working-up of a 

 satisfactory product from them. 



3. The "■ Goldschmidt Process": It appeared there- 

 fore advisable to find some method which would give a 

 fused product, such product being likely to have a more 

 * Comptes Rendus, xlviii., p. 440. 



