Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 2.djvu/179

56 weight of sulphur it cures consumption ; and when it is killed with six times its weight of sul- phur it is a panacea for all the ills that flesh is heir to. Now 25 parts by weight of mercury can only take up (i. e. combine with) 4 parts by weight of sulphur; the excess of sulphur simply sublimes off unchanged. In the actual preparation of svarna- sindūra (Lit. vermilion with gold) the mercury is first made into an amalgam with thin gold leaves and then repeatedly rubbed in a mortar with sulphur. During the process of sublimation the excess of sulphur volatilises off as we have already explained and the gold in fine parti- cles remains behind as a residue. The lustrous. crystallige, reddish brown sublimate, which collects nearest the source of heat, has the formula HgS. · As there is an erroneous impression about the composition of this drug even among educated people in this country' we give below the results