TRANSFORMATION OF MERCURY, ETC. 
255 
ART. LXXII.-ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF PERCHLORIDE 
OF MERCURY INTO PROTOCHLORIDE, BY CERTAIN PHAR- 
MACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. COMPOUND PREPARA- 
TIONS OF MERCURY NOT INCOMPATIBLE WITH THESE 
PREPARATIONS. 
By M. Lepage. 
More than forty years since M. Boullay, at the present 
day one of the most learned professors of French pharmacy, 
pointed out the reduction of perchloride of mercury (corrosive 
sublimate) by contact with the syrup used in cookery, and its 
transformation under these circumstances into protochloride or 
calomel. 
The observations of M. Boullay have, since the time he 
made them public, been confirmed by many experimentalists. 
Very recently, also, a distinguished chemist, M. Mialhe, read a 
paper before the Societe de Pharmacie, on several experiments 
of his own, during which he also recognized the transforma- 
tion of sublimate into calomel by mixture with several phar- 
maceutical preparations, and particularly with the cook's 
syrup, a phenomenon this chemist attributes to the glucose the 
preparation contains. 
M. Mialhe has also discovered that the perchloride of mer- 
cury remains unaltered by the contact of pure syrup of sugar. 
Having had occasion to devote ourselves for some time past 
to experiments on the same subject, we, also, believe it to be 
our duty to inform the SocietS de Pharmacie of the results. 
Our experiments teach us : — 
1. That corrosive sublimate placed in contact with the cook's 
syrup, is completely decomposed and converted into calomel. 
The transformation begins immediately the mercurial salt and 
syrup are mixed, and it is first perceived by the syrup losing 
its transparency. As fast as the calomel is generated it falls 
