JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL 



Vol. LXV. Part IL-- NATURAL SCIENCE. 

 No. I. — 1896. 



Oil Mercurous Nitrite. — By P. C. Ray, D. Sc. 



(Read December, 1895.) 



Preliminary. 



Having recently had occasion to prepare mercurous nitrate in 

 quantity by the action of dilute nitric acid in the cold on mercury, I 

 was rather struck by the appearance of a yellow crystalline deposit. At 

 first sight it was taken to be a basic salt, but the formation of such a 

 salt in a strongly acid solution was contrary to ordinary experience. 

 A preliminary test proved it, however, to be at once a mercuroas salt 

 as well as a nitrite. The interesting compound promised thas amply to 

 repay an investigation. 



Historical. 

 Lefort, Grerbardt and Marignac, especially the last, have shidied 

 and described in detail the action of nitric acid on mercury under 

 varying circumstances. We have to labour here under the serious dis- 

 advantage of not having access to the original memoirs of these French 

 chemists. Fortunately, a complete resume of Marignac's work is to be 

 found in Fremy's EncyclopSdie Ghimique. The information as regards 

 mercurous nitrite, however, is scarcely worth anything.* Roscoe and 



* The words which have a direct bearing on the present subject are qnoted 

 here: " L'azotite mercareax se forme .. en naeme temps que I'azotate mercurique, 

 d'apres Lefort, chaqne fois que Von attaque du mercure par de I'acide nitriqae. 

 D'autre part, Gerhardt n'admet pas I'existence de l'azotite mercuronx et il considere 

 les prodiiits obtenus comme de I'azotate mercuroso-mercnriqae." Tome III,, p 240. 

 J. II. 1 



