380 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



chloride of cyanogen, C^ Az' CP, in which one equivalent of chlorine 

 is replaced by one equivalent of hydrogen. 



Liquid Chloride of Cyanogen is prepared by treating the chloro- 

 hydruret of cyanogen with binoxide of mercury. In order to avoid 

 too violent reaction, it is proper to mix this oxide with fused and 

 powdered chloride of calcium, and to render the mixture very cold. 

 After remaining for some hours, the mixture is to be distilled by 

 means of a water-bath, and in the receiver, properly cooled, a colour- 

 less liquid condenses, which is a new modification of chloride of 

 cyanogen. 



It is a limpid liquid, which strongly irritates the mucous membrane 

 of the bronchise, and occasions the eyes to water. It is more dense 

 than water. It boils at 61° F., and at 20° F. becomes a solid mass 

 of long crystalline laminae. Its vapour is incombustible. It falls to 

 the bottom of a vessel of water, but is sensibly soluble in it. The 

 solution does not precipitate nitrate of silver. The reactions de- 

 scribed seem to indicate that the alkalies decompose the chloride of 

 cyanogen into alkaline chloride, ammonia and carbonic acid. It is 

 well-known that the two latter bodies are products of the decompo- 

 sition of cyanic acid. Analyses performed by the author led him to 

 conclude that the composition of liquid chloride of cyanogen is ex- 

 pressed by the formula C-* Az- C1-. It appears therefore to be a new 

 isomeric of chloride of cyanogen. — Comptes Rendus, Mars 11, 1847. 



RESEARCHES ON HYDRATES, STANNIC AND METASTANNIC 

 ACIDS. BY M. E. FREMY. 



The author inquires whether it is to be generally admitted, that 

 all acids which, by becoming anhydrous, have lost their property of 

 combining with bases, are no longer to be considered as acids. In 

 order to determine the acidity of anhydrous acids, almost aU such as 

 are known were made to act upon anhydrous bases, or on salts con- 

 taining acids less fixed than those employed ; the acids used were 

 the carbonic, sulphui"ous, sulphuric, phosphoric, silicic, boracic, stan- 

 nic, &c. These were found to possess all the characters of acids, 

 without the intervention of water : thus, to cite one example, it was 

 found that perfectly dried sulphurous acid completely decomposed 

 carbonate of soda, when gently heated, forming sulphite of soda, 

 which was decomposable by an anhydrous and more fixed acid. 



It being established that a certain number of acids preserve their 

 acid reaction when rendered anhydrous, the author examined whether 

 certain salts did not exist in which water was indispensable ; and 

 he is of opinion that several classes of salts exist, the molecules of 

 which are unquestionably ternary, and always formed by the com- 

 bination of an acid, a base and water. 



Supposing that if energetic acids, such as the sulphuric and nitric, 

 form with equally energetic bases, salts which are almost always an- 

 hydrous, it apj)eared questionable whether the same would occur with 

 acids whose affinity for basic water is but slight. The author's atten- 

 tion was directed to those hydrated metallic oxides which are soluble 



