f  88 
Chemical  Notes. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharra, 
\      April,  1879. 
formula  AgP,  containing  77*5  per  cent.  Ag.  Theoretical,  77*7  per 
cent.  Ag. 
Phosphorus  and  cadmium,  after  several  trials,  yielded  a  gray, 
partially  fused  mass  of  the  composition  Cd2P,  containing  87*4  per 
cent.  Cd. 
Phosphorus  and  zinc  yielded  a  fused  crystalline  substance  of  the 
composition  Zn3P2,  containing  75*25  per  cent.  Zu. 
Phosphorus  and  iron  yielded  no  compound. 
Phosphorus  and  tin  yielded  two  compounds,  according  to  the  amount 
of  phosphorus  used,  whether  in  excess  or  not.  One  possessed  the 
formula  SnP,  containing  79*01  per  cent.  Sn,  and  the  other  SnP2,  con- 
taining 64*97  Per  cent-  Sn.  The  former  was  tin-white  in  color,  while 
the  latter  was  black  and  very  lustrous. — Bericbte,  xii,  p.  152. 
J.  W.  Brtihl  describes  a  method  of  cleansing  mercury  that  has 
become  impure  through  amalgamation  with  other  metals,  etc.  It  con- 
sists very  simply  in  the  use  of  "  chromic  acid  "  mixture,  that  is  bichro- 
mate of  potassium  and  dilute  sulphuric  acid  ;  5  grams  bichromate  and 
several  cubic  centimeters  of  strong  sulphuric  acid  are  dissolved  in  1 
liter  of  water,  and  then  shaken  up  with  an  equal  volume  of  the  impure 
mercury.  A  small  amount  of  red  mercurio-chromate  forms  at  first, 
which  disappears  as  the  impurities  are  oxidized,  and  finally  the  solu- 
tion remains  pure  green.  The  only  solid  residue  left  besides  the  puri- 
fied mercury  is  a  gray  powder,  consisting  of  the  oxides  of  the  metals 
which  had  been  amalgamated,  which  is  removed  by  washing  with  dis- 
tilled water.  Mercury,  so  impure  as  to  be  almost  solid,  can  be  purified 
rapidly  in  this  way  with  a  loss  of  h  per  cent,  or  less. — Berichte^ 
xii,  p.  204. 
Organic  Chemistry. — N.  Franchimont  has  submitted  sandal  wood 
and  caliatur  wood  again  to  an  investigation,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining 
the  character  of  their  coloring'matter  and  whether  its  constitution  was 
in  any  way  related  to  known  aromatic  compounds.  The  coloring 
matter  extracted  and  purified  gave  on  analysis  figures  corresponding  to 
C17H1606.  Fused  with  potassium  hydrate  it  gave,  along  with  traces  of 
a  volatile  compound  having  the  odor  of  rose  wood,  acetic  acid,  resorcin, 
and,  most  probably,  protocatechuic  acid  and  pyrocatechin. 
While  his  results  do  not  give  him  any  certain  conclusions  as  to  the 
constitution  of  the  coloring  matter,  yet  they  establish  the  relations  of 
