of the Fixed Oils in contact with Sulphur. 167 



{5-596 grains of the asther gave 

 15*662 ... carbonic acid, 

 6-399 ... water. 



Experiment. Calculation. 



100-00 100-00 3725-0 



Tiiese analyses establish, in a satisfactory manner, that the 

 acid produced was margaric acid. It is scarcely possible how- 

 ever, in the present state of the investigation, to give anything 

 like a rational explanation of the mode in which it is here 

 formed. Its production from oleic acid has been already 

 observed by Laurent as the first product of oxidation by nitric 

 acid; but the action of sulphur is certainly of a, very different 

 character, and cannot be considered as bearing any analogy 

 to that of an oxidizing agent. The quantity of margaric acid 

 produced does not appear to be constant, but varies with the 

 rapidity of the distillation, and is always most abundant when 

 it is slowly performed. 



The oil which distils previous to and along with the mar- 

 garic acid, and constitutes by far the most abundant product 

 of the action of sulphur upon oleic acid and oil of almonds, is 

 a very complex substance, and contains some of its constituents 

 in very small proportion. On this account I found it neces- 

 sary to prepare it in very large quantity; and in doing so I 

 abandoned the use of almond oil and employed linseed oil 

 instead, which is a much cheaper substance, and yields the 

 same fluid products. When the product of the action of sul- 

 phur is carefully rectified, the first portions which pass over 

 are perfectly transparent and colourless, highly limpid and 

 mobile, and boil at the temperature of 160 Fahr. Only a 

 small quantity however passes at this temperature, and the 

 immersed thermometer gradually rises without indicating any 

 fixed boiling-point for the fluid. My first attempts to purify 

 this oil and separate it into its various constituents, did not 

 afford any satisfactory conclusions. Numerous analyses of 

 the more volatile portions were made without obtaining com- 

 parable results, although all indicated the presence of carbon 

 and hydrogen nearly in the proportion of equal atoms. The 

 following are the details of three of these analyses : — 



f 4-657 grains of the most volatile oil gave 

 I. ■< 12-688 ... carbonic acid, and 



I 5-127 ... water. 



