CHLORIDES AND OXIDES OF MERCURY. 
259 
passing into diluted muriatic acid; iodide of potassium was 
then added to the powder; on exposure to heat, all the am- 
monia was given off, and the liquid evaporated to dryness 
gave 6.96 of sal ammoniac, or 3.36 per cent, of ammonia in the 
black powder, the composition of which is, therefore: — 
Mercury, 88.33 
Chlorine, 7.95 
Ammonia, 3.36 
Loss, 0.36 
100.00 
Action of ammonia on peroxide of mercury. 
To prepare the ammoniuret of mercury, I precipitated a 
solution of corrosive sublimate by caustic potassa. The precipi- 
tate after being well washed was digested for several days in 
a phial containing ammonia. Its colour became less deep, 
but never white. I prepared some, also, by boiling the pre- 
cipitate in ammonia until it ceased to lose colour. Heat very 
much assisted the reaction. I used these products indiscri- 
minately in my analysis, but never mixed them. This 
ammoniuret heated, gives off ammonia, water, and becomes 
red like the peroxide, but when cooled it loses this colour and 
is evidently unaltered ammoniuret. This reaction does not 
consist in the decomposition of the ammoniuret into peroxide 
and ammonia, for from the commencement to the end of the 
action, water, ammonia, nitrogen, oxygen, and mercury, are 
disengaged. 
Thrown on a live coal it detonates feebly, much less than 
fulminating gold; it is readily soluble in nitric and chloro- 
hydric acids. 
72.07 grains of it were dissolved in muriatic acid; from 
this solution, diluted with water, 70.08 grains of sulphuret 
were thrown down by sulphuretted hydrogen. The liquid 
evaporated gave 9.21 grains of muriate of ammonia; on the 
supposition that the mercury exists in the compound as per- 
oxide, we will have in 100 parts: — 
