870 Dr. Debus on the Action of Nitric Acid on Alcohol, 



From this and the composition of the lead-salt, and also from 

 the behaviour of glyoxylate of lime towards lime, &c., it follows 

 that glyoxylic acid is a bibasic acid, and that its formula must 

 be written 



C«H«02}0 

 H H }0' 



it is isomeric with formic acid, and contains twice as much 

 oxygen as acetic acid. 



Glyoxylate of lime on heating smells like burning sugar, and 

 has in its external appearance a great resemblance to tartrate of 

 lime, so much so that for some time I mistook it for the latter. 

 The solid salt gives with nitrate of silver-ammonia a bright 

 coating of silver on the sides of the glass tube, becomes electric 

 at 100° C, and is only soluble in a large quantity of water ; its 

 ciystals are hard. These qualities also belong more or less to 

 tartrate of lime. The formulae of the two acids, placed side by 

 side, 



H H }0 S^y^^y^'^ ^^'^' 



H H }0 ^^^^^^ ^^^^' 



show that the two radicals C^ H^ 0^ and C"* H'* O'* are isomeric, 

 and that the formula of the one multiplied by two gives the 

 formula of the other. There is also another connexion between 

 both. Nitrotartaric acid, on decomposition by water, is con- 

 verted into tartronic acid. The latter loses at a higher tempe- 

 rature water and carbonic acid, and becomes changed into gly- 

 cohde, which on boiling with water is converted into gly colic acid. 

 This acid plus one atom of oxygen leads to glyoxylic acid ; — 

 C4 H6 0« + 02 - C02 - H^O = C« H4 0^ 



Tartaric acid. Tartronic acid. 



Cs H-* 05 - CO^ - H^o = C^ H2 02 



v_ 



Tartronic acid. Glycolide. 



C2 H« 0* + H* = C« H* 03 



Glycolide. Glycolic acid. 



C« H* 0» + = C* H4 0* 



Glycolic acid. Glyoxylic acid. 



Since it is known that the properties of one alcohol are 



repeated generally in all the other alcohols, we may with great 



probability predict the existence of a series of acids of the general 



formula C^H^^O^ or C^H^^O^; and if all the members are 



