170 Keport of Department of Animal Industry of the 



the substance in dilute hydrochloric acid, precipitating the barium 

 with sulphuric acid, filtering and neutralizing, it strongly reduces 

 Fehling's solution on boiling. The nitric acid solution gave no 

 reaction with ammonium molybdate but after continued heating 

 a slight precipitate was obtained. The substance was free from 

 nitrogen and sulphur. 



After drying at 105° in vacuum over phosphorus pentoxide it 

 was analyzed. 



0.2925 gram subst. gave 0.0894 gm. H2O and 0.2338 gm. CO2 

 0.2514 gram subst. gave 0.0972 gm. BaS04 and 0.0933 gm. Mg2P207. 



Found C = 21.80; H = 3.42; P - 10.34; Ba = 22.75 per ct. 



While the substance was very slightly soluble in boiling water it 

 was found when it was rubbed up in a mortar with a small quantity 

 of cold water that it quickly dissolved but it began soon to separate 

 again. Under the microscope the precipitate was seen to consist of 

 small balls or globular masses of very fine microscopic needles. 



Four grams of the substance were treated as mentioned above. 

 After standing for two days at room temperature the crystalline 

 precipitate was filtered off, washed in water, alcohol and ether and 

 dried in the air. The snow-white crystalline powder was analyzed 

 after previously drying at 105° in vacuum over phosphorus pentoxide. 

 0.2092 gram subst. lost 0.0291 gm. H2O 

 0.1801 gram subst. gave 0.0232 gm. H2O and 0.0379 gm. CO2 

 0.1754 gram subst. gave 0.1262 gm. BaS04 and 0.0965 gm. Mg2 P2 O7. 



Found C = 5.73; H = 1.44; P = 15.33; Ba = 42.34; H2O = 13.91 per ct. 



The composition of this product differs entirely from that of the 

 starting material but it agrees closely with that required for tetra- 

 barium phytate. 



Calculated for tetrabarium phytate, C6Hi60o7P6Ba4 = 1255. 



C = 5.73; H = 1.27; P = 14.82; Ba = 43.74; IIH2O = 13.62 per ct. 



The filtrate from the above crystalline compound was precipitated 

 by. alcohol, filtered, washed and dried in vacuum over sulphuric 

 acid. It was a perfectly white amorphous powder. It was analyzed 

 after drying at 105° in vacuum over phosphorus pentoxide, 

 0.1758 gram subst. gave 0.0790 gm. H2O and 0.2222 gm. CO2 

 0.1247 gram subst. gave 0.0223 gm. BaS04 and 0.0201 gm. Mg2P207. 



Found C = 34.47; H = 5.02; P = 4.49; Ba = 10.52 per ct. 



The substance was very soluble in 0.5 per ct. hydrochloric acid 

 in which it gave the same thick, mucilaginous, slightly opalescent 

 solution as mentioned above. 



The compound first analyzed is evidently not homogeneous. It 

 apparently consists of some carbohydrate or gummy substance 

 and an organic phosphorus compound; the latter crystallizes from 

 the aqueous solution in nearly pure form but the substance cannot 

 be separated by precipitating the dilute acid solutions with alcohol. 

 This gummy substance has not been isolated in pure form and we 

 are entirely in the dark as to its nature and composition. 



