The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-01 00:00:00

BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

GRAVESEND, Saturday Morning.
Arrived, June 30, —Apphin, from St. Lucia; Lord
Warden, from Madras ; Lucerne, from Gibraltar.
Arrived, Juiy I.—Vesper, from Riga ; Olive Branch,
from Waken; Perseverance, from Medemblik ; Empheden,
from Abo; Catherina, from Landscrona; Hannah Andrew,
from Stettin ; Isabella, from Cronstadt.
Sailed.—Belgium, steamer, for Ostend ; Rhine, steamer,
for Boulogne.

DEAL, Saturday Morning.
Passed.—Reliance, for Cape of Good Hope ; Sovereign,
for Lisbon ; Ariel, for Algoa Bay—all from London ;
America, bark, from North, for West.

PHOSPHATES OF THALLIUM.—Our readers are
aware that about two years ago a great controversy
arose between Mr. Jrookes, the discoverer of thallium, and
M. Lamy, who claims the honour of having been the first
to proclaim the metallic nature of that element. In a paper
recently presented to the Academy of Sciences, M. Lamy
returns to the charge, asserting, contrary to W. Crookes's
experiments, that the phosphates of thallium are extremely
soluble, and that that was one of the reasons which had
induced him to place the new metal nearer to potassium
than to lead. He states that thallium forms not one, but se-
veral phosphates with the phosphoric acid, and that most
of them are extremely soluble, and at least of as various
composition and properties as the corresponding com-
pounds of the alkaline metals. All these salts are white,
nearly all are soluble in water and insoluble in alco-
hol. They are distinguishable from the phosphates
of the alkaline metals first, because hydrochloric
acid produces white precipitates with them ; nitric
acid does the same, provided the solutions be neither warm
nor too much diluted. Moreover, the phosphates and pyr o
phosphates of thallium yield a white precipitate of tri-basic
phosphate by means of alkalies, while they do not precipi-
tate by alkaline carbonates, nor even by alkalies in the
presence of those carbonates. Neutral phosphate of thal-
lium is obtained by saturating at boiling point common
phosphoric acid with carbonate of thallium. It is so soluble
in water that its solution may be, reduced to the consis=
teney of syrup before crystallisin,g. Its reaction is alka-
line. When heated, it loses all its water of ciystallisation,
and is converted into a glass y and transparent substance
which is a neutral pyrophosphate of thallium. The same
phosphate may be produced IN ithout any water of crystal-
lisation, but it then presents this curious pecultarity, that
it loses its solubility in a gre at measure. If to this salt
phosphoric acid be added until the mixture be quite acid,
the acid phosphate of -th allium is the result. This
salt crystallises in fine liunina3 having the lustre of
mother-of-pearl. Under tha influence of heat it loses from
one to two equivalents of water, and is thus converted into
acid pyrophosphate, or else into metaphosphate of thallium.
The basic phosphate is o btained by pouring an alkali, am-
monia for instance, into a solution of one of the twa for-
mer salts. This compound is not very soluble is water.
M. Lamy concludes w ith reiterating his opinion that thal-
lium is an alkaline mutal,—Galignani.