54 Notices of the Labours of Continental Chemists. 
with that of Parnell, but the formule which he draws are 
different. His numbers are as Parnell’s, 
CI Ne Ft OLS*. 
Placed under the microscope, it is, however, found to consist 
of two distinct substances,—a darker and a lighter one. He 
objects to Parnell’s theory of the formation of the yellow 
body. It was found to contain hydrogen, ‘and can therefore 
only be the result of the decomposition of a body containing 
that element. 
He explains the decomposition thus:—1 atom of sulpho- 
cyanide of potassium is by the chlorine and water decomposed 
into cyanogen, sulphuric acid, and hydrochloric acid. ‘These 
acids decompose another part of the salt, and set free hydro- 
sulphocyanic acid ; by the action of chlorine on this, the yel- 
low body is formed. 
If sulphocyanic acid is acted upon in the heat by chlorine, 
another body is formed, possessing nearly all the properties 
of the yellow substance described above, except that it is 
slightly soluble in boiling alcohol. It has for its formula 
CAN Ee" 
Decomposition of Sulphocyanuret of Potassium by Nitric Acid. 
The action of nitric acid on this salt produces large quanti- 
ties of carbonic acid and binoxide of nitrogen. ‘The fluid 
contains sulphuric acid and ammonia, and a yellow body re- 
sembling the one last described: C, 18°85; H, 1°25; S, 54-11. 
Volckel considers sulphocyanogen as a sulpho-acid of cya- 
nogen, and considers its salts as sulpho-salts, of which the type 
is sulphocyanic acid, C? N? S + H?S, the H? of which can 
be replaced by metals. The perhydrosulphocyanic acid is 
a hydrosulphuret of another sulpho-acid of cyanogen = C? 
N? 8S? + H?S. (dann. der Ch. und Ph. vol. xiiii. S. 73-106.) 
Dimorphism of Sulphur. 
Marchand and Scheerer have made someexperiments on the 
physical properties of sulphur in its different conditions. 
Of sulphur obtained by crystallization from sulphuret of 
carbon, in five experiments they find the sp. gr. to be 2:049. 
Cfssmirab sulphur; «00s leas’ y."s4s co yael sees, hese eee 
Of sulphur, which having been melted had been allowed 
to become again yellow, in six experiments ... ... 2°043. 
They found the sp. gr. of the brown sulphur to be 1:99 
but during the process of its change into the yellow the sp. gr. 
rose to 2:05. } Dig 
They have ascertained the quantity of heat developed in this 
