THE 
AMERICAN JOURNAL 
OP 
PHARMACY. 
JULY, 1841. 
ARTICLE XIX. — FURTHER REMARKS ON THE AMMONIO- 
IODIDES OF MERCURY. By Ambrose Smith. 
In a paper on the hydrargyro-brniodides of potassium, &c, 
published in No. 4, vol. vi, of this Journal, I included a notice 
of a compound of ammonia and biniodide of mercury. A 
number of the Ann. des Mines, received since that paper was 
printed, contains an article by M. 0. Rammelsberg, extracted 
from Poggendorf 's Annalen, in which he gives the result of 
his observations on this subject. 
The white compound, formed by adding aqua ammonise to 
biniodide of mercury in solution, or by exposing the binio- 
dide to the action of gaseous ammonia, he finds to consist, as 
stated in my former paper, of ammonia and biniodide of mer- 
cury; and its constitution he gives as 2HgI 2 -f N'H*, (or 
HgP+NH 3 .) The formula which my experiments indicated 
is, HgP+2HN 3 , and this agrees with Rose's analysis of the 
same compound. Adopting Kane's views of the proximate com- 
position of ammonia, the formula would be Hgl 2 +2(H.HN 2 .) 
The yellow salt into which it is converted by the limited 
action of water, does not appear to have been noticed by 
him. 
On forming the white compound, by treating biniodide of 
VOL. VII, — NO. II. 12 
