M. Pelletier heated together in a crucible, half an ounce of pure gold, one ounce of phosphoric glass and ⅛ of an ounce of powdered charcoal, the heat was raised sufficiently to fuse the gold. Phosphoric fumes arose, but the whole of the phosphorus was not dissipated. The gold remaining was whiter than natural, and brittle under the hammer. Exposed to a very high heat it lost ¹/₂₄ of its weight, and resumed the ordinary characters of gold. The same chemist heated 100 grains of pure gold in filings to a bright red; he then projected small fragments of phosphorus amongst the gold successively till after it had entered into fusion. The gold preserved its colour, but became brittle under the hammer and granular in the fracture; it had increased 4 in weight. Mr. Edmund Davy, by heating in a tube deprived of air, finely divided gold and phosphorus, effected a combination of them. It had a grey colour and metallic lustre. The heat of a spirit lamp was sufficient to decompose it. It contained about 14 per cent. of phosphorus. (Davy’s Chemistry, page 448--An. 1812). Oberkampf and Thomson have successively observed the precipitation occasioned by water impregnated with phosphuretted hydrogen, in solutions of muriate of gold. The former of these has some interesting remarks on the phenomena. When a current of this gas is passed through a dilute solution of muriate of gold for a time, and then suddenly discontinued, the solution becomes brown and passes soon to a fine deep purple. A yellowish brown precipitate is obtained, which is metallic gold, and the liquid, now become yellow again, contains muriate of gold and phosphoric acid. The experiment may be continued with the like results. But if the liquid be saturated with gas before any precipitate is suffered to subside, a black powder is obtained which does not seem to contain any metallic gold, and the liquor ceases to have any colour. This black powder is the phosphuret of gold; exposed to heat it inflames and leaves metallic gold, but its elements are not separable by mechanical means. (An. de Chimie, 80--146, for 1811). Water impregnated with the gas was found to have like effects as the gas itself. Whence Oberkampf concludes that as long as an excess of gold remains in solution, the phosphuretted hydrogen precipitates the metal only; but when the gas is in excess, the phosphorus leaves the hydrogen and unites with the precipitated gold.