Dr Anderson on the Properties of Picoline, 



to a very low red heat in a glass-tube. A dark viscid oily fluid 

 passed over into the recipient, of which the greater quantity 

 dissolved in caustic potass, but left behind a larger quantity 

 of the solid substance than was yielded by the first experi- 

 ment. By distillation with water this substance passed into 

 the receiver in the form of oily drops, which solidified on cool- 

 ing, and formed a crystalline mass in which minute needles 

 could be detected. It had a peculiar pleasant smell which 

 resembled that of benzin ; but the quantity which I obtained 

 was much too minute to admit of its analysis, or of any at- 

 tempt to convert it into picoline. 



Postscript, 



Although the analogy existing between picoline and the 

 other oleaginous bases is perfectly sufficient to warrant the 

 assumption of the absence of oxygen in that substance, I have 

 thought it advisable to append here an experimental deter- 

 mination of the nitrogen. As the volatile bases cannot be 

 readily analysed by Varrentrap and Will's method, I made 

 a combustion of the platinum salt, and determined the pro- 

 portion by volume of the carbonic acid and nitrogen in four 

 tubes, which gave the following results : — 



I. 94 volumes gave 8* nitrogen. 

 II. 240 ... 18- 



III. 84 ... 6-5 ... 



IV. 421 ... 35- ... 



839 67-5 



These results give the gases in the proportion of 11^ to 1; 

 in other words, they shew a slight excess over the theoretical 

 result, according to which they should be in the proportion 

 of 12 to 1. They confirm perfectly, however, the absence of 

 oxygen. 



