ON POLYATOMIC CYANIDES. 519 
Report on Polyatomic Cyanides. By Tuomas Fairuey. 
I. Cyanororm. 
I wave spent many months and much material in endeayours to obtain this 
body in a pure state by the action of potassium-cyanide on chloroform. By 
heating these substances along with a considerable quantity of alcohol, a very 
dark-coloured liquid and mass are obtained, often containing free ammonia. 
On filtering the warm liquid and distilling off the alcohol, a small portion of 
very dark-coloured residue is left. The alcohol which passes over contains 
generally ammonia, hydrocyanic acid, and unaltered chloroform; but the 
amount of chloroform so obtained I have always found to be much less than 
that originally employed in the experiment. The same results are obtained 
whether the materials are heated in well-closed soda-water bottles, or in a 
flask connected with a reversed Liebig’s condenser. 
From the residue I have sought to isolate pure cyanoform. I have 
employed all the methods applied by Dr. Maxwell Simpson and others for 
the purification of cyanides, as well as other plans thought of by myself, but 
without success. On one occasion the residues from many operations had 
been collected and extracted with ether. Some quantity of this ethereal 
extract was obtained and carefully examined. The result was that it was 
found to consist in great measure of amylic alcohol, and other substances 
which were, I believe, impurities in the alcohol employed. 
A portion of residue obtained as above haying been tested and found free 
from alkaline cyanides, was heated with sodium. The product contained 
sodium-cyanide, as proved by the formation of prussian blue fromit. Boiled 
with caustic potash, ammonia is evolved, and the liquid, when neutralized, 
precipitates ferric chloride; whether this precipitate contains any new acid I 
did not make many attempts to ascertain. 
The hydrogenation of the crude residue gave as final results, chiefly 
ammonium-salts, but I did not make many experiments on a material which 
I knew was of uncertain composition. 
Two other methods for obtaining cyanoform I have thought of, and made 
preparations for. One is the action of potassium or other cyanides on 
bromoform, a small quantity of which I have prepared. The other is to form 
the nitrite of dichloracetic acid, and to act on it with cyanide of potassium. 
Ihave made experiments in this direction, but I am not yet able to report 
on them. 
II, CyanipE or Ernyiene. 
T have prepared this body from chloride of ethylene, by Maxwell Simp- 
_son’s process. Attempts to hydrogenize it gave results which did not agree 
with one another, but from which I have obtained chiefly succinic acid and 
salts of ammonia. The experiments made with this body showed the impor- 
tance of paying particular attention to the strength of acid and proportions of 
materials used. , 
III. Cyanogen &c. 
T have resumed experiments on the hydrogenation of this body, as it is 
the most convenient of these biatomic cyanides. When aqueous solutions 
and very dilute acid is used to act on the granulated tin, the products are 
oxalic acid, ammonia, and a small quantity of a base which gives a very 
deliquescent chloride. In two experiments which gave these results, the acid 
