190 PIIOCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



chloride and of oxyisuretine very quickly takes place. Ou attempting 

 to distil off the alcohol, white fumes are noticed, which decompose 

 with some violence and the solution has an odor resembling very 

 closely that of prussic acid. On evaporating the solution over sul- 

 phuric acid in a vacuum, a yellow coloration is noticed (after most of 

 the alcohol has disappeared), and after a short time the residue de- 

 composes spontaneously with a hissing noise and tremendous evolution 

 of heat. It follows from this experiment that oxyisuretine, 



HON : cHjjoH^ 



is a very unstable substance, and decomposes probably at first into 

 carbyloxime, C : NOH, and into hydroxylamine. This decomposition 

 is entirely analogous to that of phenylisuretine, 



CeHgN : Cj^jjQjj^ 



and also especially to that of formylsulphate-oxime, 



HON : C^gQ Qjj^ 



and of formylchloridoxime, 



HON : C^j 



The sum total of the results presented in this paper lead to the 

 conclusion that the free fulminic acid is a very unstable compound, 

 which possesses a smell that cannot be distinguished from that of 

 prussic acid. It follows further, however, that a series of ethers of 

 this acid must exist of the general formula C : NOR, which must in 

 their properties and their odor show the greatest resemblance to the 

 esters of prussic acid, the alkylisocyanides, RN : C. Although I have 

 not yet succeeded in isolating and analyzing a carbyloximether, 

 C : NOR, the following observations are sufficient to make it ex- 

 tremely probable that such esters do exist. 



The Action of Ethyliodide on Silver Fulminate. — Calmels * states, 

 that on treating silver fulminate with ethyliodide, a and /3 nitropropy- 

 lene and ethylisocyanide are formed. I have repeated his experi- 

 ments, and observed that, on heating silver fulminate with ethyliodide 

 and absolute ether to 50°, or on allowing these substances to stand at 



* Comptes Rendus, XCIX. 794 



