236 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



which he has described in the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical 

 Society (vol. xix. p. 103). The errors arising from the deviation of 

 the pivots from the cylindrical form being eliminated, the longitude 

 is found to be 22''70 east of Greenwich, which is less by 0"*84 than 

 the value hitherto adopted. 



May 29. — A paper was read by Professor Fisher, entitled " Ad- 

 ditional Observations on the Development of the Vertebral System." 



XXXII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



ON THE ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF TAURINE. BY A. STRECKER. 



rr^HE properties of taurine convinced me that we should one day 

 •*• succeed in preparing it artificially. M. Redtenbacher has 

 already attempted to produce taurine by means of aldehyde and 

 bisulphite of ammonia, but he only obtained an isomerous body with 

 different properties. With the same view I undertook the following 

 experiments. 



Sulphate of methyle, C^H^ O . SO^, furnishes with ammonia, sul- 

 phomethylane and wood-spirit, according to the formula 



2(C^ H30 . S03) + NH^=C5^ H^ NS^ O^ -f C^ H^ O^. 



With sulphate of sethyle we might therefore hope to obtain tau- 

 rine if the decomposition were analogous, — 



2(C4 H^O . S03) +NH3 = C^ H7 NS^ Qe + C^ H^ O^ 

 Sulphate of athyle. Taurine, 



but I found that sulphate of oethyle behaves in a different manner tc 

 sulphate of methyle ; a conjugate acid is formed, described by me 

 some years ago under the name of sulphsethamic acid. 



Substituting methylamine for ammonia, sulphate of methyle might, 

 from analogy, furnish taurine ; thus — 



2(C2H30.S03) + C2H^M = C-*H7N06S*-i-C«H^02. 

 Sulphate of Methylamine. Taurine, 



methyle. 



I did not try this mode of formation, as I was convinced by expe- 

 riment that taurine does not give a trace of methylamine on its 

 decomposition with potash. 



Nitrite of aethyle, C-^ H^O . NO^, placed by M. Gerhardt amongst 



p4 TT3 1 



the nitryle compounds j^q^ \ , would produce taurine (or its iso- 

 mer) by the action of bisulphite of ammonia, if it behaved like 

 nitro-naphthaline. According to M. Piria, with nitro-naphthaline 

 and bisulphite of ammonia we have — 



C^o H7 NO^ + 6S0« 4- 2H0 = C20 H9 NS« 0« + 4S0\ 



Nitro-naphthahne. Naphthionic acid. 



By analogy we should get with nitrous aether, — 



C*H'>NO*-|-6SO«-|-2HO=C^H7NS2 0« + 4SOs. 



Nitrous aether. Taurine. 



