Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 313 



the reaction of ammonia on the chlorides and bromides of the radicals 

 of the alcohols. The following is a method of preparing ethyalmin, 

 which probably possesses some advantages. 



If the vapour of anhydrous sulphuric acid be absorbed by common 

 aether, sulphuric aether, properly so called, or sulphatic aether 

 (C 4 H 5 O, SO 3 ) is formed, which, when water is added to it, remains 

 dissolved in the excess of aether, from which it may be separated by 

 spontaneous evaporation. 



Sulphatic aether, treated with ammonia, acts like an anhydrous 

 acid ; it absorbs this base, and forms an ammoniacal salt of an amided 

 acid. This new salt is represented by the formula 4S0 3 , C 16 H 23 

 NO-fNH 3 ; 4 equivalents of the compound aether have absorbed 2 

 equivalents of ammonia, one of which has entered into the compo- 

 sition of the acid. On treating this salt with carbonate of barytes 

 or of lead, ammonia is evolved, and barytic or lead salts are formed 

 with the new acid, named by M. Strecker ethamic acid. This acid, 

 treated with a hot solution of potash, yields ethyalmin, as proved by 

 the analysis of the platina salt, which gave as its composition O H 7 N, 

 HC1, PtCl 2 ; there are also formed alcohol and sulphuric acid. — 

 Comptes Rendus, Aout 1850. 



ON THE ACTION OF CARBON ON METALLIC SOLUTIONS. 

 BY M. ESPRIT. 



It is stated by the author, in reference to the experiments on the 

 above subject by M. Schonbein, that long since MM. Chevallier, 

 Girardin, Graham and Weppen, had noticed some of the interesting 

 phenomena produced by it. But all these chemists made their ex- 

 periments with perfectly purified animal charcoal; M. Schonbein, 

 on the contrary, made use of ivory -black and coke, that is to say, of 

 two varieties of carbon of complex constitution, and but little fa- 

 vourable for studying the action peculiar to carbon and for distin- 

 guishing it from that attributable to the foreign substances which 

 accompany it. Ivory black, according to the analysis of M. Braconnot, 

 contains only 79 per cent, of carbon, the remaining 21 parts being 

 composed of resinous matters, sulphate and phosphate of ammonia, 

 chlorides, &c, all of which are substances which can and must ever 

 possess a decided influence on the results of the experiment. It is 

 indeed true that the greater part of these impurities may be got rid 

 of; and it would be satisfactory to know that the precaution had 

 been taken, but it is not mentioned that it was so. The same may 

 be said of coke, which always contains, according to the manner in 

 which it has been prepared, variable proportions of sulphur and of 

 sulphurets, of which it is requisite to take notice. 



M. Esprit is of opinion that the reduction of metallic solutions by 

 carbon does not always occur ; and he differs from M. Schonbein in 

 supposing that bichloride of mercury is by its action reduced to pro- 

 tochloride. It is quite true that when a cold solution, even of bi- 

 chloride of mercury, is treated with powdered charcoal, no trace of 



