



. n.! Hulphatu. In this inftUnoo the 



, = HgCl, + Na.SO.. 



It is also decomposed by tho alkaliem, but is soluble in water; 

 it ia it 'W* (all> i.' 



.iin.l is 



formed. The MUon of ttMMdft on the*e !; 

 a mo l t .,. -hieing an atom of chl"i 



(i.) i . * Nn.ci. 



(2.) HgCl + 2NH, J!.-.' i.Ml, + NH.C1. 

 afercurous /...fuZo is a green powder, formed when any mer- 

 salt in a-'ted .:i l.y potassium iodide; it easily decom- 

 poses, even by H /lit, into 



, which is a brilliant red colour, formed 



\\ithinereuriosalta and potassium iodide ; it is soluble in an 



f tho hitter solution. Tho mcrcurons salts arc distin- 



1 from tin- mercuric salts by the addition of a chloride, 



i calomel falls. 



Tho salts of mercury are readily recognised by the appear- 

 ance of the metal when they are submitted to heat. 



SYMBOL, Ag COMBINING WEIGHT, 108 SPECIFIC GBAVITT, 10'5. 



Silver, the most beautiful of the metals, is frequently, though 

 n.>t plentifully, met with in a native state ; it is often combined 

 with mercury, antimony, and gold ; but usually is found aa a 

 sulphide, with the sulphur ores of lead, antimony, copper, and 

 iron. 



The chief silver mines are those of Peru and Mexico ; Kongs- 

 berg, in Norway ; and Schneeberg, in Saxony. 



i r.ietion from lead has been already noticed. 



To liberate tho metal from its ores the method of amalgama- 



often resorted to, which consists in reducing the silver 



to the state of a chloride by roasting the crushed ore with salt ; 



then it i.s placed with pieces of iron in barrels of water, which 



tde to revolve. Tho iron becomes a chloride, and the 



motulli'! silver is liberated. Mercury is now added, with which 



mates. The mercury is then distilled off, and 



-ilver remains. 



The metal is the best conductor of heat and electricity, and 

 exhibits extraordinary ductility. 



Silver is largely used in the arts, but is then usually alloyed, 

 to give it the requisite hardness for wear. Standard silver, of 

 which coins are made, contains 7'5 per cent, of copper. Since 

 it is capable of receiving the highest polish, it is much used for 

 reflectors. When melted it possesses the remarkable property 

 of absorbing oxygen from the air ; this it liberates again on 

 cooling, and hence the surface of a cooled mass is covered with 

 bubbles, from which the oxygen has escaped. 



There is reason to believe that three oxides exist : the sub-oxide 

 (Ag 4 O), the silver oxide (Ag 2 0), and the neutral peroxide (Ag,O 2 ). 



The Silver Oxide ( Ag 2 O) is precipitated as a brown powder when 

 potash is added to a solution of argentic nitrate. 



When this powder, freshly precipitated, is digested for some 

 hours in ammonia, fulminating silver is the result, which must be 

 carefully dried in small quantities on pieces of blotting-paper. 



Argentic Nitrate (AgNO s ) is produced when the metal is dis- 

 solved in nitric acid. It may be obtained in tabular crystals ; 

 it is soluble in its own weight of cold water. When fused it is 

 sold as lunar caustic. With organic matter, in sunlight, it under- 

 goes decomposition, staining tho body with black suboxide. This 

 property is the foundation of photography. 



Argentic Chloride (AgCl) falls as a white, curdy precipitate 

 whenever a chloride is added to a silver solution : 



AgNO, + NaCl = AgCl + Na.NO,. 



When heated strongly it melts ; and when cool it is named horn- 

 silver from its appearance. To reduce the silver from the 

 chloride, it is only necessary to moisten it with dilute sulphuric 

 acid, and place a piece of zinc in contact with it ; a gradual 

 transfer of the chlorine from the silver to the zinc takes place. 

 In sunlight it changes colour, becoming purple, with a loss of 

 chlorine. It is readily soluble in ammonia. 



.'tic, Iodide (Agl) is tho most sensitive to light of the silver 

 suit .- ; this is tho reason why the collodion of the photographer 

 is iodised, so that when the plate is immersed in the bath of 

 argentic nitrate, on its surface may bo formed a lilm of iodide 

 of silver. 



'. -r,.S) in found M tho mineral ">Qrer 

 oen precipitate* it from ulrer 

 .Jin aa a black powder. 



r Li easily detected by the precipitation 

 r, zino, and iron precipitate metallic 

 :om its noli. 



in an amalgam, and ia known an " arbor Diana." 

 ilao becomes coated with ilver when impended ia 

 an argentic solution. 



iry, I'-ad, u:id silver are distinguishable by the action of 



i ammonia. 



Tho chlori is soluble that of lead insoluble ; while 



tho chloride of mercury ia blackened. 



RECREATIVE NATURAL HISTORY. 



THE HAKE AND KA 



THE hare (Lepus timidus) ia a timorous animal, and all ite 

 characteristics are in keeping with its timid disposition. It 

 has no canine or tusk-like teeth wherewith to tear np other 

 animals more defenceless than itself. It is a harmless animal, 

 and from those that are harmful it tries to escape by its fleet- 

 ness of foot. In a hunt.ng country like England it is well 

 known, because it can run so well for short periods of time 

 that it outstrips both horse and hound, thus affording sport to 

 the hunters as they dash over miles of hill and dale. It haa 

 other enemies besides man cats, weasels, birds of prey, Ac. 

 Like the early American trapper, who was used to sleeping with 

 one eye shut and the other open, while a finger was on the 

 trigger of the gun he held, so these hares, ever alive to the dan- 

 ger they are in, sleep with both their eyes open, ready to start 

 off at the first sign of danger, seeking for safety only in precipi- 

 tate flight. Sometimes when hunted the hare has been known 

 to practise various devices in order to elude its pursuers such 

 as returning on its own scent ; betaking itself to furze bushes, 

 and leaping from one to another ; getting up into the hollow of 

 a tree ; throwing itself into a river and floating with the stream 

 for some distance, or swimming out into a hike with only 

 the nose above water. It also seems to prefer to run uphill, 

 which it manages with undiminished speed seeing that its 

 fore-legs are shorter than the hind ones while the speed of i l s 

 pursuers is considerably retarded. The animal would no doubt 

 be :iMo to escape from the hunter, were it not for the folly it 

 exhibits in doubling back to the place whence it started from. 

 Sometimes, when far ahead of its pursuers, it will stop, and, 

 rearing itself on its hind legs, look back to assure itself that it 

 has escaped from the harriers. They are soon within sound 

 and sight again, and finally overtake it. When seized by the 

 hounds, the poor hare utters a sharp loud cry, not unlike the 

 ory of a child. It is only in time of pain and danger like this 

 that its voice is ever heard. 



The common hare is found throughout Europe, and in some 

 parts of Asia. It is of a tawny red on the back and sides, and 

 white on the belly. Its ears are long and tipped with black ; 

 its eyes large and prominent, placed backwards in its head so 

 that it can nearly see behind it as it runs. It is not so prolific 

 as the rabbit. The female goes with young abont a month, and 

 generally has three to six in a litter. The young are born with 

 their eyes open, are suckled for twenty days, after which they 

 leave the dam to procure their own food. 



There are many kinds of hares, the common hare (Lepus 

 tim idus) being regarded as the typo of the family of them. 



One of tho more remarkable members of this family is the 

 Alpine hare (Lepus variabilis), which changes the colour of its 

 coat with the seasons, a peculiarity which probably is of some 

 benefit to it. In summer its soft fur is grey, with an inter- 

 mixture of yellowish brown ; the ears are tipped x^ith black, 

 and the tail is grey above and white beneath. On the approach 

 of winter the fur gradually becomes white, except on the points 

 of the ears and on the lips, where the fur remains black. It 

 will be observed that in winter it takes the colour of the snow, 

 like the arctic fox and ermine a change which may subserre 

 the two ends of (1) enabling it the better to escape from 

 enemies, which will not bo so well able to distinguish it against 

 a white ground as they would have been had it retained its 

 summer colours ; and (2) making it warmer *nd more comfort- 



