3^o Mr. Davy’s Electrochemical Researches on 
freed from water, and combined with hydrogene : but a satis- 
factory solution of the difficulty soon offered itself. Exposing 
the triple amalgam procured from ammonia by potassium to 
a concentrated solution of ammonia, I found that it had verv 
little action upon it, and introducing the amalgam moistened 
by it into a glass tube, it had nearly the same permanency as 
the amalgam which had been wiped before it was introduced, 
a little hydrogene only being evolved ; but on heating the 
tube gaseous matter was rapidly generated, which proved to 
consist of two-thirds ammonia, and one-third hydrogene. 
In the instance in which the amalgam had been wiped, a 
small quantity of solution of ammonia, and perhaps of potash, 
must have adhered to it ; and though the amalgam does not 
act upon this powerfully at common temperatures, yet when 
the water is raised in vapour, it tends to oxygenate both the 
basis of ammonia, and potassium, and hence hydrogene is 
evolved, and volatile alkali produced. 
I distilled an amalgam procured by potassium from am- 
monia, in a tube filled with the vapour of naphtha, and her- 
metically sealed, in the same manner as in the experiments for 
obtaining the metals of the earths, but in this case I procured 
ammonia, hydrogene, and nitrogene only, and pure mercury; 
and the residuum was potassium, which acted powerfully on 
the glass tube. 
In another experiment of the same kind, I kept one part of 
the tube cool by ice, at the time the other part was strongly 
heated, but nothing condensible except mercury was pro- 
duced, and the elastic products were the same as in the 
former instance. 
I endeavoured to procure an amalgam from ammonia, to 
