190 R. Napoli on Arseniuretted and Antimoniuretted Hydrogen, 
lowest currents of atmosphere, as seen in the orbital courses of 
storms in all latitudes, and to which I have already alluded, to- 
gether with the mean direction of the observed winds in the 
northern temperate zone, even neglecting other world-wide phe- 
nomena, may suffice to show, that the current theory or hypoth- 
esis for explaining the general winds of the globe, is essentially 
erroneous and defective in its application, and greatly obstructs 
e path of scientific inquiry. 
New York, March 18, 1854. 

Art. XXIIL—Researches upon Arseniuretted and Antimoni- 
uretted Hydrogen, and their relations to Toxicology; by 
APHAEL Napott, Royal Professor of Chemistry at Naples. 
(Read before the Smamiyy Association for the Advancement of — at Wash- 
gton, May, 1854, by T. 8. Hunt, for the author 
Arter Lassaigne had observed that nitrate of silver decom- 
poses arseniuretted hydrogen with the formation of arsenious 
acid, and the separation of metallic silver, Jacquelain proposed 
the chlorid of gold for the same object, and Berzelius in his 
Traité de Chimie says of this gas, “ It precipitates the precious 
metals, as gold and silver, from their solutions, and is itself dis- 
solved by the oxydation of its elements.” Such a decomposition 
rele takes place with arseniuretted h hydr rogen and the tor 
contain no oxygen, whence comes this element to oxydize the 
arsenic, unless from the ecomposition of the water of the solu- 
tion, whose hydrogen at the same time forms hydrochloric acid, 
with the chlorine of the gold salt? This acid might be forme 
from the union of this chlorine with the hydrogen of the gaseous 
arseniuret, without any decomposition of water, in which case 
both gold and arsenic, should be separated in the metallic state, 
according to the following equation, 
AuCl:+As H:=3H Cl+Au+dAs. 
So that the theory of this reaction is not yet made clear. In 
order to explain the facts just aseniouns we must suppose 
ic, in its nascent state at least, can be dissolved by eee? 
cilore wet: such being the case, = would be easy to understa 
the formation of the acids of arsenic, the precipitation of the gold, 
