340 



PROCEEDINGS OP THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



The anomalous removal of the ethyl groups from the ethers, 



O 



O 



CBr 



C— O. CgH, 



COOCH, 



CCl 



I 

 C-O.C,H, 



COOC^H, 



by saponification with baric hydrate, seems to us to be conditioned 

 by the strongly acid character of this liydroxyl, a character which is 

 usually wholly wanting. To the acid ethers formed by the action of 

 water in the cold must be assigned the formulae, 





O 



CBr 



CCl 



C-0-C,H, 



COOH 



C-0-C,H, 



COOH. 



That these ethers are saponified by alkalies while the correspond- 

 ing phenyl compounds are converted into derivatives of acrylic acid 

 may possibly be due to the great difference in character between the 

 phenyl and ethyl groups. 



In other respects the behavior of the two acids finds ready explana- 

 tion in the hydroxyl formulae. "While we are unable to follow in 

 detail the somewhat complex reaction which ensues when the acids 

 are heated with an excess of baric hydrate, the formation of oxalic, 

 carbonic, and formic acids under these conditions is not unintelligible. 

 The decomposition with aqueous bromine, on the other band, evidently 

 takes place according to the reaction 



C^ 

 ^O 



I 

 CCl 



Br„ 



C — OH 







Br„ 



C 

 C 



H 

 O 

 CI 



Br, 





H, 



COOH 



COOH 



COOH 



