JACKSON AND TORREY. — AN ORGANIC OXIDE. 169 



ing on the potassium, would give its salt and more nascent hydrogen, 

 which would continue the action, until a considerable amount of the 

 potassium salt of the quiuhydrone had been formed. As quinhydrone 

 forms salts with the metal probably attached to oxygen,* it is not neces- 

 sary to assume that the atom of potassium has replaced the hydrogen on 

 the benzol ring in this case. All these compounds, by their mode of 

 formation, marked colors, and slight stability, recall the substances formed 

 by the action of sodic alcoholates on various nitro compounds, (such 

 as trinitrobeuzoljt symmetrical dinitrobenzoic acid,J bromdiuitrobenzoic 

 acid, and bromdinitrotoluol,§) and we think probably belong to the same 

 class. The lamented Victor Meyer had already proposed a theory to 

 account for these substances similar to that of Astre, since he assumed 

 that an atom of hydrogen on the benzol ring was replaced by sodium in 

 these bodies, but it is hard to bring this theory into accord with some of 

 the facts published since it was proposed, and the whole subject needs 

 further investigation. 



We shall not describe our numerous experiments in regard to these 

 colored derivatives of the quinones, but content ourselves with simply 

 mentioning the substances observed by us. Chloranil gave in addition to 

 the green compounds with sodic methylate and pheifylate already men- 

 tioned a similar product with sodic amylate. Trichlorquinone also gave 

 a green product with sodic methylate or amylate. Trichlorquinone, or 

 chloranil, gave a blue compound with a strong solution of sodic hydrate, 

 and we also observed the formation of a blue product from sodic hydrate 

 and quinone before the appearance of Astre's paper. With sodic methyl- 

 ate, or amylate, quinone gave blue substances, undoubtedly similar to the 

 ethylate product analyzed by Astre. Hydroquinone gave a faint bluish 

 green coloration with sodic hydrate in aqueous solution, and a bluish 

 green color when sodic methylate was added to its solution in benzol. 



Action of Iodine and Sodic Hydrate on Chloranilic Acid. 



We had hoped to extend our work to the reduction product obtained 

 from the ethyl oxide by Grindley and one of us,|| and accordingly tried 

 to reduce the oxide CcCl20CH36(OCOC,H5)OCH3 with hydriodic acid 



* Jackson and Oenslaa:er, Am. Chem. Journ., XVIII. 15. 

 t Lobry de Bruyn, Rec. Trav. Chim. Pays Bas, XIV. 89. 

 X Victor Meyer, Ber. d. chem. Ges., XXVII. 3153. 

 § Jackson and Ittner, Am. Chem. Journ., XIX. 199. 

 II These Proceedings, XXX. 442. 



