Compounds of Nitrogen. 501 
either equal, or simple multiples of each 
other, nitrous oxide ought to be constituted 
of exactly one volume of nitrogen and half a 
volume of oxygen condensed into the space 
of one volume; and those products should 
result from every careful decomposition of 
the gas in question. That they are not cor- 
rectly obtained by the method which I have 
just alluded to, appears to be owing to sources 
of inaccuracy, necessarily connected with 
that mode of analysis. I wasinduced, there- 
fore to try various other processes, among 
which there is one that may deserve to be 
made known, since it exhibits, in a very , 
summary way, and by a single operation, 
the quantities of nitrogen and oxygen that 
enter into the constitution of nitrous oxide, 
with as much precision as, I believe, is at- 
tainable in the present state of gaseous ana- 
lysis. ‘This method consists in firing, by the 
electric spark, a mixture of nitrous oxide 
_ and carbonic oxide in due proportions. The 
* nitrous oxide, which I employed, was ob- 
i tained by the careful decomposition of ni- 
“trate of ammonia, and did not contain in 
100 parts more than 3 parts of gas unabsorba- 
ble by well boiled water. The carbonic 
oxide was generated from recently ignited 
chalk and iron filings, and after having been 
