Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 393 



which was immiscible with water, was more dense than dilute nitric 

 acid, and boiled at from 158° to 167°F." 



Not being ai)le to conceive how a gaseous body at common tem- 

 peratures could yield a liquid which boils only at 158° to 167°F., 

 I resolved in my turn to repeat the experiment of M. Gerhardt. 



I operated on 15 to 20 grammes of brucia. After having passed 

 the gas over lime, I condensed it in a U-shaped tube, having at its 

 curvature a small tube terminated by a bulb ; by the help of a mix- 

 ture of ice and salt I obtained about 1 gramme of a very fluid liquid, 

 which was lighter than water, and had a strong smell of apples. I 

 slowly distilled this liquid, almost to the last drop, at a temperature 

 approaching 50° F., and without making it boil ; I then submitted it 

 to analysis ; 0'550 gr. of the substance yielded U'553 of carbonic 

 acid and 0'290 of wateK. Nitrous aether contains — 



75 100 



The hydrogen and carbon are precisely in the same proportions as 

 in nitrous aether. As to the loss, it is easily understood, when the 

 smallness of the quantity of the liquid which I possessed, and the 

 difficulties attendant upon the analysis of so volatile a substance, are 

 considered. 



Nitrogen was disengaged during the whole of the operations. 

 Though the relations which exist between the composition, the 

 atomic weight and boiling-points have been but slightly considered, 

 it will be readily seen to be impossible that a substance which does 

 not contain more than 29 to 30 per cent, of carbon and 6 of hydro- 

 gen, should contain more than 1 atom of nitrogen ; for if we double 

 the formula by putting either C^ H'o or H', or H^ ; N- 0+ or 0\ a 

 similar combination would have a boiling-point much higher than 

 50° or 60° F. 



This experiment has also been repeated byM. Fournet, who also 

 obtained a liquid possessing all the properties of nitrous £ether. — 

 Ann deCh. et dePhys., Avril 1848. 



ON CACOTHEI.IN. BY M. AUG. LAURENT. 



When nitric acid has ceased to act upon brucia at common tem- 

 ])eratures, it deposits a crystalline substance of a fine orange-yellow 

 colour, which the author has named cacothelin. It is insoluble in 

 water and slightly soluble in alcohol. When kept in a stopped 

 bottle, and exposed to diffused light, it quickly becomes brown on 

 the surface. By analysis it gave results which indicated the annexed 

 formula : — 



