Che mho- Galvanic Observations* 63 



out the appearance of gas, the surface of the gold was co- 

 vered with a substance of a brilliant black. When the gold 

 wire was taken away the solution remained transparent, 

 without the least appearance of muriate of lead, which would 

 have been manifested if there had been any production of 

 muriatic acid. The oxygen, then, was liberated from the 

 water, and the black coating; which covered the gold in the 



7 DO 



preceding experiment was hyper-oxygenated lead, as Ritter 

 had observed. It was separated in small brittle fragments 

 like glass. It was an exciter and a conductor of Galvanism \ 

 it converted into muriatic acid the oxvmuriatic acid gas, by 

 changing itself, in sight of the operator, into very white 

 muriate of lead. Finally, when mixed with phosphorus, it 

 fulminated by means of percussion. 



When it was tried to substitute the solution of nitrate of 

 silver in place of that of acetate of lead, no precipitate was 

 obtained at the end of fifteen hours of Galvanic action ;. but 

 there was hyper-oxygenated oxide of silver. 



On Galvanizing for two days black oxide of mercury in a 

 straight tube full of distilled water, and communicating with 

 the positive side of the pile by a gold wire, the author, in a 

 great measure, converted the black into the red oxide ; the 

 water of the tube reddened a little the blue tinctures, but it 

 did not contain an atom of muriate of mercury. 



§ IV. 



Ox ululated Oxide of Mercury, as well as sweet Mercury, 

 may be obtained by the Galvanic Action. 



The author galvanized on the positive side, in a separate 

 tube, and with a gold wire, a dilute solution of nitrate of 

 mercury made in the cold. At the end of a few hours the 

 wire was covered with very small yellowish crystals of a 

 prismatic»form. This salt was not the ordinary muriate 

 of mercurv, which is opakc, very white, and do^s not cry- 

 stallize. It was not a nitrate of mercury, because this is 

 soluble in water. It became as black as charcoal when put 

 into lime water; and the author is persuaded* from what he 



remarked, that it was true sweet mercurv. 



§V. 



