OF THE SO-CALLED EL^OMARGARIC ACID. O 



3 4 hours, the liquid was poured into a large quantity of water, 

 when a greenish-blue resinous mass was obtained, which could 

 not be crystallised either from alcohol, acetic acid, acetic ester, 

 or other solvents. This negative result may perhaps be taken 

 as showing that elseomargaric acid differs from behenolic and 

 stearolic acids in not containing a triple bond. 



Fusion of elœomargaric acid with caustic potash. 



Crystallised elœomargaric acid was fused with about four 

 times its weight of solid caustic potash, in a nickel or iron 

 crucible, at about 400° for 3-4 hours. A part of the acid floated 

 on the surface of the fused mass and did not quite dissolve. The 

 dark coloured mass obtained on cooling was extracted with 

 water, filtered, and acidified with hydrochloric acid, when a small 

 quantity of a brown substance separated, which, after repeated 

 recrystallisation from alcohol, gave a white crystalline substance, 

 whose melting point was 95-96°. Its acid equivalent was found 

 to be about 515, so that it was not azelaic acid, although its 

 melting point almost exactly agreed wâth that of the latter. 

 The quantity of the substance was too minute to admit of an 

 elementary analysis. 



In another fusion experiment a small quantity of a white 

 crystalline substance, melting at about 58°, was obtained, whose 

 acid equivalent was found to be about 255. It was probably 

 imlmitiG acid (Ci6lly202=256). 



Reaction between elœomargaric acid and aniline. 



According to W. Auteneieth and C. Pretzell (Ber., 1903, 

 36, 1262) unsaturated monobasic acids of the olefine series, in 



