^'"■fcfjt"""}        Potassium  Cyanate  and  Urea,  559 
exposed  to  strong  sunshine  and  to  air,  whereby  the  latter  is  ozonized 
and  bleaches. 
The  first  patent  for  the  application  of  ozone  was  recently  granted  in 
England.  In  oder  to  form  acetic  acid  from  alcohol  without  fermenta- 
tion, the  inventors  *  obtain  ozone  by  blowing  air  through  a  flame  and 
bringing  it  in  contact  with  a  current  of  alcohol.  A  practical  verifica- 
tion of  the  procedure  has  not  been  furnished.  — Chem.  News^  Aug.  13- 
Sept.  17. 
POTASSIUM  CYANATE  AND  UREA. 
BY  CHICHESTER  A.  BELL.  M.  B. 
Having  on  several  occasions  lately  been  in  want  of  small  quantities 
of  potassium  cyanate,  a  salt  not  readily  procurable  in  the  shops,  the 
many  inconveniences  attending  its  preparation  by  the  usual  processes, 
as  well  as  the  varying  quantities  obtainable,  induced  me  to  seek  for  some 
more  convenient  and  equally  productive  method.  As  the  result  of  a 
few  experiments  in  this  direction,  I  venture  to  suggest  the  following 
modification  of  Liebig's  well-known  process,  which  will  be  found  rapid 
and  easy  of  execution,  requiring  no  previous  acquaintance  with  its 
details,  and  in  the  end  economical  both  of  time  and  material :  4  parts 
of  perfectly  dried  and  finely  powdered  potassium  ferrocyanide  are  inti- 
mately mixed  with  three  parts  of  dry  and  pulverized  potassium  bichro- 
mate. A  small  quantity  of  this  mixture  is  placed  in  a  porcelain  or  iron 
dish,  the  temperature  of  which  is  then  raised  until  a  tender-like  com- 
bustion takes  place,  and  the  mixture  blackens,  which  happens  consider- 
ably below  a  red  heat.  The  rest  of  the  mixture  is  then  thrown  in  by 
small  portions  at  a  time,  each  successive  portion  being  allowed  to 
blacken  completely  before  it  is  covered  by  the  next.  This  is  necessary, 
inasmuch  as  if  air  be  excluded  during  the  combustion,  a  considerable 
quantity  of  potassium  cyanide  will  be  found  unoxidized.  When  all  the 
mixture  has  been  thus  gradually  added,  the  lamp  is  removed  and  the 
dish  allowed  to  cool  completely.  The  result  of  the  reaction,  which 
occupies  but  a  few  minutes,  even  for  a  considerable  quantity  of  mate- 
rial, is  a  porous,  friable  mass,  from  which  the  cyanate  may  be  extracted 
with  the  greatest  ease,  in  the  usual  manner,  by  boiling  alcohol.  Methyl- 
ated spirit  which  has  been  freed  from  a  part  of  its  water  by  standing 
over  potassium  carbonate,  and  rectified,  answers  the  purpose  admirably. 
In  order  to  diminish  as  much  as  possible  the  loss  from  conversion  of 
*  Turner  and  Vanderpool,  Ber.  Chem.  Ces.,  vi.,  1553. 
