396 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



1*048 grni. antimoniate of soda (NaO S1)0^ + 7H0), the amount 

 of soda in which, according to Fremy's analysis, is 11-9 per cent., 

 afforded, after five ignitions with chloride of ammonium, a constant 

 weight of O'lSD grm. chloride of sodium, which corresponds to 12*58 

 per cent, of soda ; the salt had been dried for a length of time at 

 212°, and it is possible that it had lost some of its water of crystalli- 

 zation. 



Stannale of Potash. — Tiiis salt had been precipitated by alcohol 

 from the solution of the peroxide of tin in hydrate of potash, washed 

 with alcohol, then dissolved in water and evaporated. It formed, 

 after drying under the air-pump over sulphuric acid, a gummy mass, 

 which again easily dissolved in water; it contained the i-modifica- 

 tion of the oxide of tin. According to an examination after the 

 usual method, the salt dried at 212° consisted, in 100 parts, of — 

 ST'S^ peroxide of tin IS'67 oxygen. 



8-02 potash 1-35 ... 



4-64 water 4-11 



According to this the composition of the salt is KO-fTSnO^ + SHO. 

 The acid metastannate of potash is, according to Fremy, KO + 

 6SnO^ + 5H0. It is possible therefore that the salt prepared by 

 nie contained a quantity of a still more acid salt mixed with it. 



Of the salt used for the above analysis, r013 grm. was mixed 

 with 5 times the amount of chloride of annuonium and heated to 

 redness ; this was repeated twice with smaller quantities of chloride 

 of ammonium, when the weight of the residue no longer varied ; 

 O'lSl grm. chloride of potassium vras obtained, corresponding to 

 8'09 per cent, of potash. All the chlorides obtained dissolved en- 

 tirely in water, and when tested did not exhibit the least trace of 

 the metallic acids. The use, however, of chloride of ammonium in 

 analytical ciiemistry is not restricted to the compounds above men- 

 tioned; it is capable of considerable extension, as I intend to point 

 out in a subsequent paper. — From the Chemical Gazette for April 15, 

 1848. 



ON A REAGENT FOR STRYCHNIA. 



In 1843 M. Marchand described the remarkable and perfectly cha- 

 racteristic property possessed by strychnia of giving a magnificent 

 blue colour, passing quickly to violet, and lastly to yellow, when 

 triturated with peroxide of lead, and a few drops of concentrated 

 sulphuricacid,containingYiydthof its weightof nitric acid. Since the 

 period above-mentioned several chemists have examined this reaction, 

 and M. Herzog has proposed to omit the nitric acid as useless ; an- 

 other chemist proposes to substitute peroxide of manganese for 

 peroxide of lead, and M. Otto prefers bichromate of potash to these 

 oxides, which, according to him, gives rise to a much finer violet 

 colour, and to a certain extent this is certainly the case. 



M. Marchand proposes certain objections to these omissions and 

 substitutions, and demonstrates that the reagents which he has pro- 

 posed are the best suited to the purpose. 



