4.26 Proressor Kane on the Action of Ammonia 
tion of nitrate of silver ; the chloride produced was collected on a weighed filter, and its 
guantity determined. In this way were obtained the results given in the following table: 
No. of Experiments. Precipitate. Chlorine in liquor. 
1 91,3 12,9 
2 92,4 13,3 
3 92,9 1S lis 
4 95,4 dEAY 
£5) 93,4 12,95 
Mean 93,1 13,00 
But 100 grains of sublimate contain, 
Mercury 74,09 
Chlorine 25,91 
The quantity of chlorine contained in the liquor was, therefore, evidently one-half of 
that in the corrosive sublimate, and we have by this method, in 93,1 of white precipitate, 
Mercury 74,09 
Chlorine 12,91 
\ 
Or in one hundred parts, 
Mercury 79,57 
Chlorine 13,87 
B.—When white precipitate is heated, there is obtained, besides gaseous matter and 
watery vapour, the whole of the mercury and chlorine united as calomel. This fact, 
which confirms the relation between the quantities of mercury and chlorine found in 
the preceding results, affords a means of determining the actual amount, which was next 
put in practice. The operation was thus performed. A small tube retort was taken, 
and sometimes a straight tube having a strong bulb blown at one extremity, and it 
was accurately tared ; there was next introduced a amount of white precipitate suf- 
ficient to about half-fill the bulb, and the whole weighed ; the increase indicated the 
quantity of white precipitate employed. The bulb was now heated, and the tube it- 
self so warmed, as perfectly to get rid of any water that might tend to deposit itself 
in the throat of the apparatus, but guarding against the loss of any calomel. When 
the latter has been completely sublimated, it is generally dark-coloured, owing to the 
contact of free ammonia ; but, by allowing the tube to cool, and the atmospheric air 
to gain admission, and then again heating the calomel, it is finally obtained quite white. 
The apparatus was then again weighed ; the loss from the gross weight gave the amount 
of volatile ingredients ; the excess above tare gave the weight of the calomel, from which 
the quantities of quicksilver and chlorine may be calculated. The following table 
contains the results of this method. 
No. of Ex. Matter used. Calomel. Calomel per cent. 
1 20,42 18,95 92,80 
2 19,42 18,07 92,53 
3 12,14 11,28 92,91 
4 14,71 13,79 93,68 
