RESEARCHES ON THE AMONIACAL COMPOUNDS. 107 
Calomel, by the action of ammonia, should yield 97.84 
per cent, of the product, having the former composition, while 
it should give but 95.95 per cent, of the latter. The experi- 
mental results on this point favor the latter view, as 100 parts 
of calomel yielded 95.72 as an average of two trials. 
Other mercurial compounds, as the peroxide, sulphate, ni- 
trate, &c, have been examined with regard to the action of 
ammonia, and the nature of resulting compounds, and, in ma- 
ny of them, there has been found reason to suppose that ami- 
dogen enters as a constituent. In like manner the salts of sil- 
ver, copper, and zinc have also been embraced in this exami- 
nation, and the following are some of the conclusions at which 
Prof. Kane arrives : 
Ammonia is an amidet of hydrogen, and should have the 
following formula. 
NH 2 .H 
Amidogen may combine with metals, and the metallic ami- 
dets have a singular tendency to combine with chlorides 
and oxide of the same metals, of which the mercurial and cu- 
preous salts afford some remarkable examples. 
It may be proper to state (on the authority of Fauche 
and Soubeiran,* the original not being accessible) that Prof. 
Kane considers the precipitate of Wohler, (the white pre- 
cipitate of most of the Pharmacopoeias,) prepared by the ac- 
tion of carbonate of potassa, on mixed solutions of sal-ammo- 
nia and corrosive sublimate not to be identical in composition 
with that formed from corrosive sublimate by ammomia, but 
that it may be considered as formed of one atom of ammonia, 
and one atom of corrosive sublimate. Its formula would 
then be 
HgCl 2 4-NH 3 
He also, states that it may be formed by boiling white pre- 
cipitate in water of ammonia. R ; B 
* Journ. dePharm, Jan, 1840. 
