242  Black  Sulphur.  { Am 
BLACK  SULPHUR.^ 
By  Lyman  F.  Kebi,er. 
Synonyms. — Native  sulphur,  sulphur  vivum,  horse  brimstone, 
crude  sulphur,  sulphur  nigrum,  and  Magnus  "  black  sulphur!' 
Black  sulphur  was  first  mentioned1  by  Magnus  in  1854,  and 
again  studied2  in  1856  by  the  same  worker.  As  is  well  known,  a 
portion  of  the  sulphur  that  has  been  melted  and  allowed  to  cool  is 
incompletely  soluble  in  carbon  disulphide.  This  residue,  after 
repeated  melting  and  extracting  with  carbon  disulphide,  constituted 
Magnus'  first  "  black  sulphur."  It  was  subsequently  prepared,  by 
the  same  investigator,  by  mixing  sulphur  with  a  very  little  oil,  sootor 
charcoal  and  fusing  ;  a  bluish  black,  soft,  plastic  mass  resulted,  which 
was  only  partially  soluble  in  carbon  disulphide.  Magnus  did  not  con- 
sider it  an  allotropic  form  of  sulphur,  but  a  special  modification. 
A  number3  of  investigators  have  contributed  to  the  knowledge  of 
black  sulphur,  but  it  was  left  for  Fr.  Knapp  to  exhaustively  study 
the  subject.  He  studied  the  conditions  under  which  the  largest  per 
cent,  is  produced,  as  well  as  the  most  uniform  product  formed.  Black 
sulphur  is  evidently  not  a  modincation  of  sulphur,  but  consists  of  a 
carbonaceous  mixture  wnich  forms  a  nucleus,  affording  a  surface 
for  the  adhesion  or  condensation  of  the  sulphur,  or  the  carbonaceous 
material  in  some  manner  occludes  the  sulphur.  Whatever  may  be 
the  facts,  a  uniform  product  is  hard  to  prepare. 
As  a  rule,  pharmacists  have  a  vague  conception  of  what  black 
sulphur  is,  if  they  know  anything  about  it.  Some  think  it  is  a  mix- 
ture of  sulphur  and  antimonious  sulphide ;  others  say  it  may  be 
Ethiops  mineral,  or  sulphureted  antimony,  depending  on  what  it  is  to 
be  used  for. 
What  are  the  real  facts  concerning  its  composition  ?  The  writer 
has  been  able  to  secure  only  three  samples  from  many  drug  stores. 
Below  are  the  results  of  the  investigation  of  these  samples. 
(1)  Sulphur  81-58  per  cent.;  antimonious  sulphide,  12-68  per  cent, 
sand  and  earthy  matter,  5  74  per  cent. 
1  1854,  Pogg.  Ann.,  92,  30S. 
2  1856*  Pogg.  Ann.,  99,  145. 
3  1865,  Dietzenbacker,  Pogg.  Ann.,  124,  644.  ' 
1879,  T.  Gross,  Berliner  Akademie-Berichte,  78S. 
1880,  H.  C.  Jones,  Chem.  News,  41,  244. 
1888,/.  prakt.  Chem.,  (2)  38,  48,  and  1891,  Ibid.,  (2)  43,  305. 
