172 



forms white precipitate, and calomel, united with the cor- 

 responding amiduret of mercury, forms the black powder de- 

 scribed by Dr. Kane in a former paper. A great series of salts 

 can likewise be obtained, which contain oxides of copper, of 

 nickel, or of zinc, replacing the oxide of hydrogen in the 

 ordinary ammoniacal salts ; and so, in like manner, the amide 

 of hydrogen, being capable of replacing, and of being replaced 

 by, oxide of hydrogen in all its functions, there originates 

 the class of basic salts, in which oxide of hydrogen is 

 replaced by ammonia, or in which the hyperbasic equi- 

 valents of oxide are replaced by amides, or partly by amides 

 and partly by oxides of the same metal, or of hydrogen. 



To this class is referred, in great part, by Dr. Kane, the 

 compounds formed by the absorption of ammoniacal gas, by 

 chlorides of various bodies ; thus, chloride of phosphorus 

 and amide of hydrogen, chloride of tin and amide of hy- 

 drogen. In these bodies, the author stated, that one portion 

 of the ammonia was generally retained more powerfully than 

 the other, and this fact he considers to result from a dissimi- 

 larity of function in the various parts, similar to that which 

 Graham had already pointed out in water. Thus there is 



1 — CU cl 4" NH 3 + 2 NH 3 



2 — CU d + NH 3 + NH 3 . HO 



3 — cu cl + nh 3 4- 2 HO 

 4 — cu cl 4- ho 4-2 HO 



where the progress of the replacement is evident. 



The compound nh 3 . ho. replacing potash, the author con- 

 ceives that substituting for it metals of the same family, the 

 bodies nh 3 . cuo and zno. nh 3 . should be capable of the same 

 function ; and he adopts the view suggested by Graham, that 

 certain compounds of this kind may correspond to the or- 

 dinary double salts. Thus 



cuo. so 3 4- nh 3 . cuo. so 3 4- 4 nh 2 . h 

 corresponds to cuo. so 3 4- nh 3 ho. so 3 + 4 o. h 

 and following out this view, along with those already de- 



