- OF THE MEADOW-SWEET. 4 163 
- If chloride of spiroil be briskly heated, the melted mass gradually be- 
comes darker, and a slight carbonaceous residue remains. 
No other products besides muriatic acid and chloride of spiroil are 
formed. 
' Pure chloride of spiroil possesses a peculiar and somewhat aromatic 
edour, which nevertheless has much similarity to the smell of diluted 
prussic acid. Its boiling point does not appear to exceed that of water. 
It is inflammable, and burns with a greenish sooty flame. 
‘ It is quite insoluble in water. 
' When it is boiled with water it evaporates entirely; by this operation 
not the slightest trace of muriatic acid is formed. Neither dry nor 
moist air has any action on it. Chloride of spiroil is easily soluble in 
ther and alcohol. 
The alcoholic solution gives with acetate of copper a greenish yel- 
low precipitate; salts of lead are precipitated yellow. Baryta water im- 
mediately separates chloride of spiroil from the alcoholic solution, and 
uniting with it a yellow precipitate falls. 
© Chloride of spiroil forms yellow, neutral, difficultly soluble conipounds 
with the alkalies. The salts of iron are also coloured blueish black by 
the same. 
~In the combinations of chloride of spiroil with the metallic oxides and 
the alkalies, it appears to combine unaltered, as it may again be obtain- 
ed unaltered when these compounds are decomposed by an acid. 
Nitrate of silver causes a scarcely perceptible milkiness in the filtered 
solutions of the alkaline compounds which have been decomposed by 
nitric acid. 0-780 grm. of chloride of spiroil treated in the above-men- 
tioned way gave 0°09 grm. chloride of silver, therefore scarcely 0:02 grm. 
chlorine. This small amount of chlorine was no doubt due to the pre- 
sence of muriatic acid, as from 0°628 grm. hydrospiroilic acid 0°795 
grm. of chloride of spiroil was obtained; therefore at least 0°157 grm. 
chlorine must have been taken up. 
If chloride of spiroil be melted: with poeccee by the rplleatars of 
a very gentle heat, violent evolution of heat and light suddenly takes 
place. A portion of the chloride of spiroil is decomposed thereby; car- 
bon is deposited, whilst another portion unites with the potash which 
has been formed.’ If theremaining mass be dissolved in water,and the so- 
lution decomposed by nitric acid, pure chloride of spiroil is precipitated. 
If this same fluid be filtered, nitrate of silver gives a large precipitate of 
chloride of silver. If the neutral solution of the chlorospiroilide be 
slowly evaporated, yellow tasteless crystals are obtained which are inso- 
( Iublein alcohol. If these crystals be heated in a platinum crucible, heat 
i and light are evolved long before the crucible is red hot. 'The mass 
: blackens, and by the continued application of heat is converted. into 
pure chloride of potassium, in the aqueous solution of which not: the 
M 2 
