Prep.  Take  of  black  antimony,  1  lb.  ;  hy-
drochloric acid,  4  pints;  place  the  black  anti-
mony in  a  porcelain  vessel;  pour  upon  it  the
hydrochloric  acid,  and,  constantly  stirring,
apply  to  the  mixture,  beneath  a  flue  with  a
good  draught,  a,  gentle  heat,  which  must  be
gradually  augmented  as  the  evolution  of  gas
begins  to  slacken,  until  the  liquid  boils.  Main-
tain it  at  this  temperature  for  fifteen  minutes ;
then  remove  the  vessel  from  the  fire,  and  filter
the  liquid  through  calico  into  another  vessel,
returning  what  passes  through  first,  that  a
perfectly  clear  solution  may  be  obtained.  Boil
this  down  to  the  bulk  of  two  pints,  and  pre-
serve it  in  a  stoppered  bottle.
Characters  and  Tests.  A  heavy  liquid,  usu-
ally of  a  yellowish-red  colour.  A  little  of  it
dropped  into  water  gives  a  white  precipitate,
and  the  filtered  solution  lets  fall  a  copious  de-
posit on  the  addition  of  nitrate  of  silver.  If
the  white  precipitate  formed  by  water  be
treated  with  sulpliuretted  hydrogen  it  becomes
orange-coloured.  The  specific  gravity  of  the
solution  is  1-47.  One  fluid  drachm  of  it  mixed
with  a  solution  of  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  tar-
taric acid  in  four  fiuid  ounces  of  water,  forms
a  clear  solution,  which,  if  treated  with  sulphu-
retted hydrogen,  gives  an  orange  precipitate,


ANTIMONY


169


tvoighinLT,  whea  washed  and  dried  at  213^  at
IcuHt  22  grniiis.
i.  (Commercial.) — a.  Take  of  ash  or  calx  of
antimony,  Si  lbs. ;  common  salt,  2  lb». ;  oil  of
vitriol,  H  lb.;  water,  1  lb.;  proceed  as  before.
Prod.,  2t  lit.
0.  From  roasted  sulphide  or  gloss  of  anti-
mony, 7  Iba. ;  salt,  28  lbs.  j  oil  of  vitriol,  21
lbs. ;  water,  14  lbs. ;  as  before.
