38 G. FE. Moore—Amorphous Mercurie Sulphide. 
I. (a) 1:4065 grm., decomposed by Woehler’s method with chlorine 
gas yielded BaSO, 1°4130 grm., insoluble matters (quarta) — 
00036 grm. (4) 0°8310 grm. yielded HgS 0-8290 grm, Fe,0, ~ 
II. (a) 14893 grm., oxidized with chlorine gas in solution of 
0°0040 grm. Ae 
caustic potash, gave BaSO, 1°5010 grm., quartz 0°0035 grm.— 
(8) 12365 grm., oxidized with nitro-hydrochloric acid, yielded — 
HgS 1-2320 grm., Fe,O, 0°0081 grm. 4 
These.figures correspond to the following percentage com> — 
. 
position 
z: i Mean. 
S 13°79 13°84 1882 
Hg 85°69 «=: 8589 = 8579 : 
Fe 0°33 0°45 0°39 4 
Quartz 0°26 0°24 0'25.. : 
gee 100-25 : 
which in its turn corresponds to: ee 
HegS 98°92 containing 13°64 S. | 
Fes, 0°83 « 0-44 S. 
Quartz 0°25 meee 
100.00 14°08 §. 
the color is not due to the small amount of iron pyrites 18 
evident; Bealey,* for instance, found in his analysis of a beauti- 
ful red cinnabar from California as much as 1°40 per cent of 
tron. The only volatile matters which might be supposed capa 
ble of producing such a coloration are selenium, tellurium (’), 
arsenic (?), antimony,f and lastly bituminous compounds, suc! 
mialite owes its dark color, The large 
quantity of sulphureted hydrogen precipitate obtained during 
the analysis might easily have concealed traces of the first 
named substances, while carbon compounds would naturally 
only reveal themselves to special tests, therefore : le 
he barium sulphate, obtained during the analysis, was 1 
nited in a current of hydrogen, as in the quantitative separation 
of selenium from sulphur, whereby a very slight reduction to 
barium sulphide ensued. The powder evolved a trace of sul- 
* Quart. Jour. Chem. Soc., vol. iv, p. 180, and Jour. fiir prakt. Chem., Iv, 234 
+ Wehrle Ann. Chem. Pharm., viii, 181, 
