394 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



phuret hence it is composed of an atom of each element. The 

 natural sulphuret is formed of 



Sulphur . . 34.26 



Nickel . . 64.35 



Proto- sulphate of Iron. Treated with hydrogen, it yielded 

 first water and sulphurous acid ; then sulphuretted hydrogen ; 

 and left a pulverulent grey mass readily attracted by the magnet, 

 soluble in muriatic acid disengaging sulphuretted hydrogen, and' 

 containing no sulphuric acid. 100 parts of anhydrous sulphate gave 

 46.82 of this sub-sulphuret ; and 367 of this compound, heated 

 with sulphuretted hydrogen, increased 107 parts, without the pro- 

 duction of any water. The first compound is, therefore, a new 

 sulphuret of iron, a true sub-sulphuret, containing an atom of sul- 

 phur and two of iron. The augmentation of weight by sulphu- 

 retted hydrogen is more than sufficient to convert it into the simple 

 sulphuret, and is just such as would give a compound of one atom 

 bisulphuret plus six atoms sulphuret, which is the same compo- 

 sition as that Stromcyer gives for magnetic pyrites. 



Siib-proto sulphate of lion — obtained by adding a little alkali to 

 the sulphate, and which contains two atoms base and one acid, when 

 acted upon by hydrogen, loses half its sulphur, all its oxygen, and 

 becomes a sub-quadrisulphuret, containing four atoms of iron and 

 one of sulphur. 



Sulphate of Lead, with hydrogen, produces a mixture of sul- 

 phuret of lead and lead. It appears from the analysis that half 

 the sulphate was entirely reduced, and the other half converted 

 into sulphuret. It is not considered as probable that hydrogen would 

 entirely decompose the sulphate, leaving pure lead, since Berthier 

 found that carbon could not eflect this change. 



The sulphates of copper and bismuth, by hydrogen, left the 

 pure metals. The sulphate of tin gave tin, with a little sulphur; 

 and the sulphate of antimony, a mixture of antimony, oxide, and 

 sulphuret. — Aim, de Chimie, xxvii. 177. 



14. Ci/anate of Potash and Cyanic Acid, ofWohler. — Wohler pre- 

 pares what he calls cyanate of potash, in abundance, by making a 

 mixture of equal parts of anhydrous ferrocyanate of potash and 

 per-oxide of manganese, and heating it to dull redness. If too 

 strongly heated, but little salt is obtained ; because the deutoxide 

 of manganese formed appears to be changed into protoxide at the 

 expense of the cyanate. The mass is to be boiled in dilute alco- 

 hol, containing about fourteen per cent, of water ; and on cooling 

 the salt separates in small plates, like chlorate of potassa. It is 

 insoluble in pure alcohol. 



429 of the anhydrous cyanate of potash, decomposed by muriatic 

 acid gas and heat, produced abundance of muriate of ammonia, 

 and left 400 of chloride of potassium, equal to 253 of potassa ; 



