418 MM. Liebig and Gay-Lussac on [June, 



known, we shall limit, ourselves to the relation of the results 

 which we obtained, without going into further details. 



We usually experimented upon three decigrammes (4*6332 

 grains) of fulminate of silver, and considering the carbon and 

 azote disengaged as existing in the state of cyanogen, five suc- 

 cessive experiments gave us : 



Fulminate of silver 100; cyanogen 17-379 



17-315 

 16-921 

 16-869 

 17-314 



Mean 17-160 



In the first experiment no trace of water was perceptible ; in 

 the second 0-0616 of a grain ; in the third 0-0154 grain, in the 

 fourth 0-1848 grain, and in the fifth 0-0308 of a grain was 

 obtained. 



Although in these several experiments, except in the fourth, 

 the quantity of water is not considerable, we did not consider 

 it as accidental until after we had ascertained in several 

 ways that its quantity was never sufficient to allow hydrogen 

 to be considered as one of the elements of fulminate of silver. 

 We generally operated upon three decigrammes (4-6332 grains) 

 of fulminate, and supposing the hydrogen which it contains to be 

 in sufficient quantity to form hydrocyanic acid with the cyano- 

 gen, this quantity ought to have yielded 0*2710 grain of water, 

 which certainly could not have escaped our notice. 



We shall presently adduce other proofs of the absence of 

 hydrogen on the fulminates, and in the mean time, we conclude 

 that this compound is formed of 



Silver 72-187 



Oxygen 5*341 



Cyanogen 17-160 



Loss , 5-312 



100*000 



The quantity 6*312 is evidently equal to the quantity of oxygen 

 combined with the silver ; it cannot be attributed to the hydro- 

 gen, which, supposing there had been any combined with the 

 cyanogen to form hydrocyanic acid, would amount only to 0651 ; 

 nor can this loss be attributed to water, for we have never found 

 a quantity nearly equal to it ; consequently it can be attributed 

 only to oxygen contained in the fulminic acid. According to 

 this supposition, which will be hereafter verified, fulminate of 

 silver consists of 



