Solutions of salts on refrigeration below 0° deposit ice or crystals (which then frequently contain water of crystallisation) of the salt dissolved, and on reaching a certain degree of concentration they solidify in their entire mass. These solidified masses are termed _cryohydrates_. My researches on solutions of common salt (1868) showed that its solution solidifies when it reaches a composition NaCl + 10H_{2}O (180 parts of water per 58·5 parts of salt), which takes place at about -23°. The solidified solution melts at the same temperature, and both the portion melted and the remainder preserve the above composition. Guthrie (1874-1876) obtained the cryohydrates of many salts, and he showed that certain of them are formed like the above at comparatively low temperatures, whilst others (for instance, corrosive sublimate, alums, potassium chlorate, and various colloids) are formed on a slight cooling, to -2° or even before.[58] In the case of common salt, the cryohydrate with 10 molecules of water, and in the case of sodium nitrate, the cryohydrate[59] with 7 molecules of water (_i.e._ 126 parts of water per 85 of salt) should be accepted as established substances, capable of passing from a solid to a liquid state and conversely; and therefore it may be thought that in cryohydrates we have solutions which are not only undecomposable by cold, but also have a definite composition which would present a fresh case of definite equilibrium between the solvent and the substance dissolved.