Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 233 



water is to be added and made to moisten the mixture equally ; a 

 receiver and safety tube are to be adopted, and then heat is to be 

 applied until the m'ixture nearly boils ; 3 parts of muriatic acid are 

 now to be gradually added ; when the effervescence is over, and the 

 contents of the retort are nearly dry, the distillation is to be stopped 

 to prevent anv impure matter from distilling over. The product is 

 impure amylic acid, scarcely coloured ; and though it contams no hy- 

 drocyanic acid, it has a strong smell of bitter almonds ; to free it 

 from muriatic acid the liquid is to be saturated with carbonate of lime 

 filtered, evaporated till a pellicle forms, then allowed to cool and 

 crystallize, and when the crystals of amylate of lime have been sepa- 

 rated, the mother liquor is to be further concentrated. The crude 

 amylate of lime is to be purified by further crystallization, until it 

 does not precipitate nitrate of silver ; then mixing 100 parts of these 

 crystals with 73 of sulphuric acid, diluted with twice its weight of 

 water, and distilling nearly to dryness, an aqueous solution of amylic 

 acid is obtained. 



This acid is sour, reddens vegetable blues, readily evaporates by 

 heat, produces a sharp odour resembling that of hydrocyanic acid ; 

 and combines with bases to form neutral salts, most of which are de- 

 liquescent, and all are readily soluble. Some of its salts contain 

 water of crystallization, and others none. The dry salts are decom- 

 posed by heat into carbonates and charcoal. The suljjhuric, nitric and 

 muriatic acids decompose these salts, producing carbonaceous preci- 

 pitates. The neutral salts reduce nitrate of silver and muriate of gold. 

 Amylic acid dissolves caibonate of lime with effervescence. The so- 

 lution evaporated yields octangular crystals, mingled with plates. 

 The salt is soluble in 4 parts of water, and scarcely in alcohol ; its 

 solution is decomposed by oxalate of potash. It consists of 42- 1 6 

 lime, and .^7-84 of amylic acid; the amylate of barytes crystallizes in 

 four-sided prisms, and contains 37-29 barytes, 29-24 amylic acid, and 

 13-47 water ; the .salts of potash, soda and ammonia are deliquescent. 

 Amylic acid is composed of 2-5 carbon and 3 oxygen.— Bui/. Univ.; 

 and Institution Journal, Jan. 1829. 



DFXOMPOSITION OF BORACIC ACID BY HYDROGEN. 

 M. Varvinsky passed hydrogen gas over crystallized boracic acid, 

 heated to redness in a porcelain tube ; the boracic acid was vitrified, 

 and of a brown colour. The mass was boiled in distilled water, and 

 left an olive-colonred flocculent matter : this residuum separated from 

 the supernatant fluid by decantation, washed and heated on jjlatina 

 foil was converted into a vitreous mass ; another portion treated with 

 hot nitric acid was dissolved, and occasioned the evolution of nitrous 

 vapour, and the solution gave a precipitate with barytes water ; this 

 olive-coloured substance was therefore brown. —//cHsmaK's Repertoire 

 de Chimic, Oct. 1828. 



khuti:nium and pluranium, — new metals. 

 Professor Osann digested 100 grammes of crude Uralean platma in 

 N. S. Vol. 5. No. 27. March 1829. 2 H n»tro- 



