396 hitelligence and Miscellaneotis Articles. 



its taste is slightly sweet and very acerb ; very astringent, and much 

 more so than acetate of lead. 



Profoxichlorate of Mercury — Dissolve fresh precipitated protoxide 

 in the acid : by evaporation, small masses of prismatic crystals are 

 obtained radiating from a common centre j it is not deliquescent; 

 precipitated black by ammonia. 



Peroxichlorate of Mercury. — Heat the peroxide in |the [acid : it 

 reddens litmus paper whatever may have been the excess of peroxide 

 employed. The filtered liquor strongly concentrated and put into a 

 stove of 88° Fahr. gave very distinct colourless transparent crystals, 

 having the form of right prisms which are so low as to be tabular ; — 

 at other times, and probably dependent upon the degree of concen- 

 tration, it gave long confused prismatic crystals ; but they both ex- 

 isted only for a short time. They dissolved in the air even in the 

 stove. This salt is precipitated of a brick-red by potash, and white 

 by ammonia. In alcohol it forms a white flocculent precipitate, which 

 upon aggregating becomes reddish ; it is peroxide of mercury. The 

 solution after filtration and concentration by evaporation, is precipi- 

 tated of a reddish black by potash, which indicates a mixture of pro- 

 toxichlorate and peroxichlorate ; when evaporated in a stove it yields, 

 in the middle of the uncrystallizable liquor, small slender crystals, 

 which fulminate on hot coals, and are precipitated black by ammonia. 

 The crystals of peroxichlorate of mercury might perhaps be pre- 

 served by puttingthe hot solution, properly concentrated, into a small 

 bottle, and carefully corking it as soon as the crystals are- formed. 



Oxichlorate of Silver. — Prepared by dissolving the oxide in the 

 acid. The solution becomes brown by exposure to the light. It did 

 not crystallize in a stove. When dried it is a white powder, and 

 when exposed to the air it quickly attracts moisture ; concentrated 

 alcohol dissolves it; when dr)', and strongly heated in a tube, it fuses, 

 and concretes into a mass on cooling ; a small portion is transformed 

 into chloride ; it is immediately decomposed at a heat a little below 

 redness ; paper moistened with the solution, then dried at a gentle 

 heat, detonates violently when the temperature is raised to about 

 400° Fahr.; — this was proved by placing parcels of the impregnated 

 paper upon mercury heated gradually, with a thermometer placed 

 in it. 



All the oxichlorates fuse more or less vividly upon heated coals ; 

 they generally assume a prismatic form. All that have been above 

 described are deliquescent, except the oxichlorate of lead, protoxi- 

 chlorate of mercury, and the oxichlorate of ammonia. In order to 

 obtain crystals of the deliquescent oxichlorates readily, they must be 

 dried, dissolved in strong alcohol, and after filtration evaporated in a 

 stove. 



One of the characters which distinguishes the chlorates from the 

 oxichlorates, is that the first, as well known, become of a deep yellow 

 colour by the action of concentrated sulphuric or muriatic acid, while 

 the oxichlorates submitted to the same test remain colourless. — Ann, 

 de Chim. et de Phys. Mars 1831. 



LUNAR 



