1817.) during the Year 18\6. 27 
lime into a retort previously filled with water, or still better with 
water acidulated with muriatic acid. 
This gas is colourless. It has a smell somewhat similar to that of 
onions. Its taste is intensely bitter. Its specific gravity at 60° is 
09022. Water absorbs about =1,th of its bulk of this gas, and ac- 
quires an intensely bitter taste, and the property of precipitating 
several metalline solutions. It burns when it comes in contact of 
air in a wide vessel; but in anarrow tube a white smoke is produced, 
and the whole of the phosphorus disappears. One volume of phos- 
phureted hydrogen, and half a volume of oxygen, mixed in this 
manner, leave one volume of pure hydrogen. When electric sparks 
are passed through it, the phosphorus is deposited, and pure 
hydrogen remains, equal in bulk to the original gas. Hence it is 
composed of hydrogen holding phosphorus in solution. ‘The pro- 
portions are one part by weight of hydrogen and 12 parts by weight 
of phosphorus. Hence an atom of phosphorus weighs 1°5. 
Phosphureted hydrogen gas requires for complete combustion 
either one volume or 12 volume of oxygen gas. In the first case 
phosphorous acid, in the second phosphoric acid, is formed. Hence 
phosphorous acid is composed of 
Phosphorus .......-.- we See ia 100 or 3 
Oxygen "..... brea epi s oe wie aysnayene CELE ae 
and phosphoric acid of 
Phosphorus.......+++++e+++++-+ 100 or 3 
Oxygen ....ceccereeescseeseee 1333 4 
For complete combustion, phosphureted hydrogen requires three 
volumes of nitrous gas. Phosphoric acid and water are formed, and 
14 volume of azote remains. The same proportion of oxide of azote 
is necessary 3 the same substances ate formed, and three volumes of 
azote remain. ‘Three volumes of chlorine and one volume of phos- 
phureted hydrogen, when mixed over water, completely disappear, 
muriatic acid and bichloride of phosphorus being formed. lodine 
decomposes this gas likewise, and forms a white substance, which 
is iodide of phosphorus, while hydrogen gas remains. Four grains 
of iodine are requisite to decompose 14 cubic inch of phosphureted 
hydrogen gas. This gas is composed of 1 atom hydrogen + 1 
atom phosphorus. There is another gas composed of 2 atoms 
hydrogen + l atom phosphorus. The first should be called hydro- 
guret of phosphorus; the second bihydroguret of phosphorus. 
We might indeed consider the gas which I have analyzed as com- 
posed of 1 atom hydrogen + 2 atoms phosphorus, and the other 
gas as a compound of | atom hydrogen + 1 atom phosphorus. But 
1 do not see how this supposition could be made to agree with the 
numerous experiments which have been made on the composition of 
phosphoric acid. On such a supposition, an atom of phosphorus 
would weigh 0:75, which is the same weight as that of an atom of 
carbon, 
