236 
RESEARCH FOR ARSENIC AND ANTIMONY. 
antimonial compounds,, when distilled with hydrochloric acid, 
do not readily pass over into the receiver. They are much 
more fixed than those of arsenic. 
In the examination of the tissues of persons poisoned by 
antimony, I have not been able to procure by distillation with 
hydrochloric acid any trace of the metal in the distillate, 
although antimony was readily found by Reinsch’s process in 
the residue in the retort. If this fact should be corroborated 
by future inquirers, the distillation-process will furnish a 
ready method of separating absorbed arsenic from absorbed 
antimony. 
In reference to the distillation of the saline compounds of 
antimony, I have found that, contrary to what might be 
expected, the metal passes over more readily into the distillate 
when the acid is mixed with water, than when it is concen¬ 
trated, but even in this case the quantity thus obtained by 
distillation is very small. 
Experiment 1 . —One grain of tartar-emetic was dissolved 
in two ounces of water; three drachms of strong hydrochloric 
acid were added. The mixture was distilled to dryness. One 
third of the acid distillate gave no indication of antimony by 
passing into it a current of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. The 
other two thirds gave violet deposits on copper, coating about 
one quarter of a square inch of foil on both sides. It was 
ascertained that the greater part of the antimony still re¬ 
mained in the dry residue in the retort, the heat not having 
been sufficient to carry over the chloride. 
Experiment 2. —One grain of tartar-emetic was dissolved 
in two drachms of pure and concentrated hydrochloric acid and 
distilled to dryness. The acid distillate yielded a mere trace 
of antimony, by Reinsch'sprocess—notexceedingthe l-4000th 
part of a grain. The residue in the retort gave an abundant 
white precipitate of oxychloride of antimony on the addition 
of water. This was immediately dissolved by a solution of 
tartaric acid, and the antimony subsequently precipitated, as 
an orange-red sulphide, by passing into it a current of sulphu¬ 
retted hydrogen gas. It is worthy of remark that arsenic 
passes over most readily with the strong acid; hence, if 
viscera are suspectedtocontaindepositedarsenicand antimony, 
the arsenic may be obtained by distillation, and the antimony 
separated from the organic matter in the residue, by Reinsch’s 
process. The method of proceeding for antimony is, there¬ 
fore, as follows: 
1. Boil the viscera, in a finely divided state, in one part of 
pure hydrochloric acid and from four to six parts of water. 
Boil in a flask or retort, and condense by a funnel the acid 
