Organic Bodies containing Metals. 165 



was separated from the supernatant liquid by means of a pipette, 

 and well washed with successive large portions of cold water ; 

 being then dried over chloride of calcium and submitted to ana- 

 lysis, it yielded the following results : — 



I.- 'SISO grm._, burnt with oxide of copper and oxygen gas, 

 gave '3498 grm. carbonic acid and '1757 grm. water. 



These numbers correspond sufficiently with the formula 

 C"* H^ Sn, when it is considered that the stansethylium, as thus 

 prepared, contains traces of un decomposed chloride of stansethy- 

 lium, which I did not succeed in removing by the most pro- 

 tracted washing ; and as stansethylium does not crystallize, and 

 cannot be distilled without decomposition, I could not avail 

 myself of these means of purification. The above formula 

 requires the following numbers : — 



Calculated. Found. 



C^ . . 24 27-32 26-95 



H^ . . 5 5-69 5-51 

 Sn . . 58-82 66-99 



100-00 



The isolation of stansethylium from its chloride by zinc is 

 therefore expressed by the following simple equation : — 



C^H^SnCn _ rznci 



Zn J-\C4HSSn. 



Stansethylium exists at the ordinary atmospheric temperature, 

 as a thick, heavy, oily liquid, of a yellow or brownish-yellow 

 colour, and an exceedingly pungent odour, resembling that of 

 its compounds, but much more powerful. It is insoluble in 

 water, but soluble in alcohol and aether. At about 150° C. it 

 enters into ebullition, a quantity of metallic tin is deposited, and 

 a colourless liquid distils over, having a peculiar odour, contain- 

 ing a considerable quantity of tin, and exhibiting no tendency to 

 combine with iodine or bromine : the composition and properties 

 of this liquid I have not further ascertained ; it possibly consists 

 of or contains bine t hide of tin (Sn(C^H^)^). In contact with 

 the air stansethylium rapidly attracts oxygen and is converted 

 into a white powder, which has all the properties of oxide of 

 stansethylium. Chloride, bromide, and iodide of stansethylium 

 are immediately formed by the action of chlorine, bromine and 

 iodine, or their hydrogen acids respectively, upon stansethylium ; 

 the first and third are in every respect identical with the salts 

 above described. I have analytically examined the bromide 

 prepared by adding an alcoholic solution of bromine to an alco- 

 holic solution of stansethylium until the colour of the bromine 

 no longer disappears ; by spontaneous evaporation the bromide 



