498 MM. Hubner and Wehrhane on Cyanide of Phosphorus. 



a sealed tube and heated from 120° to 140° for several hours. 

 The tube was then opened, the chloroform evaporated, and the 

 contents of the tube brought into a small stoppered retort, which 

 was then placed in an oil-bath and the cyanide of phosphorus 

 driven into the neck of the retort by being heated to 160° to 

 190° in a current of carbonic acid. The cyanide of phosphorus 

 forms then brilliant white needles an inch in length, or else 

 hexagonal plates. When these crystals are slightly warmed, 

 they inflame in the air and burn with a bright light. They 

 decompose with water, alkalies, or acids, with the formation of 

 hydrocyanic and phosphorous acids. The crystals melt and 

 volatilize at 190° : their composition, as determined by analysis, 

 is P(€N) 3 ; further experiments are required to ascertain if 

 there is a compound P(€N) 5 . 



Hahn has investigated* the nature of the products which are 

 formed when cast iron is dissolved, more especially with a view 

 to ascertaining the compounds and forms into which the carbon 

 passes in this case. He has also investigated some of the com- 

 pounds of silicon with iron. 



Schafhautl had supposed that among the gases disengaged 

 when iron was dissolved, olefiant gas and hydride of ethylene 

 might be present. Hahn collected some of the gas liberated when 

 grey iron was dissolved in HC1, and, after it had been washed with 

 solutions of potash and of copper to remove SH and PH 3 , it was 

 treated in a long tube with a coke bullet soaked with sulphuric acid. 

 A slight diminution in volume was observed, which indicated the 

 presence of a gas of the formula O H 2M . In order to ascertain 

 which of these it was, the gas disengaged from white iron, after 

 being washed by water, KO, and CuO, was passed into bromine, 

 which was thus converted into a heavy oily liquid, which was 

 washed with potash and dried over Ca CI. On subsequent frac- 

 tional distillation and analysis of the various fractions, it was 

 found to be a mixture of the bromides of ethylene, G 2 H 4 Br 2 , 

 of propylene, € 3 H 6 Br 2 , of butylene, € 4 H 8 Br 2 , of amylene, 

 G 5 H 10 Br 2 , and of caproylene, G G H 12 Br 2 ., A direct experiment 

 was made to see if the gas contained any acetylene, by pasing it 

 into ammoniacal solution of copper ; but no explosive compound 

 of cupride of acetylene was obtained. 



The presence of the above compounds is explained by the 

 fact that, as white iron is difficultly soluble in cold dilute acid, 

 the flask in which it was contained was heated ; hence the gases 

 atatemperature of 100° had carried several of the liquid hydrocar- 

 bons, amylene, caproylene, and probably cenanthylene, through 

 the wash bottles to the bromine. In the retort, after rectifica- 

 * Liebig's Annalen, January 1864. 



