264 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



This reaction may therefore be written : — 



By the oxidation with potassic chlorate we have, however, invari- 

 ably observed the formation of a small quantity of a crystalline 

 substance, which we have as yet been unable to obtain in sufficient 

 quantity for investigation.. When the residue obtained by evaporation 

 after oxidation was diluted with water, well-formed transparent 

 prisms, pointed at either end, gradually separated, which could be 

 recrystallized from hot water. The quantity formed was extremely 

 small, and, although we modified the process in many ways, we have 

 thus far been unable to increase the yield. At present, therefore, we 

 can do no more than describe the few experiments we have been able 

 to make with the small quantity at our disposal. The substance was 

 readily soluble in hot water, sparingly soluble in cold water or in alco- 

 hol. In concentrated nitric acid it dissolved on warming, and crys- 

 tallized out apparently unchanged on cooling. With ammonia it 

 gave no red color. On heating it melted at about 160°. An analysis 

 gave numbers which correspond more nearly with those required by 

 C 5 H ( .N 2 0. ! than by any other simple formula. 



0.2078 gr. gave 0.3259 gr. CO, and 0.0788 gr. H 2 0. 



0.1459 gr. gave 25.6 cc. nitrogen at 16° and 720 mm. pressure. 



Although the substance possessed acid properties, we were unable to 

 prepare its salts. On boiling with a solution of baric hydrate it was 

 decomposed with the separation of baric carbonate. In the distillate 

 the presence of ammonia and an amine, without doubt methylamine, 

 could be proved by qualitative tests, and in the residue was an acid 

 whose barium and lead salts were sparingly soluble in water, but 

 which we were unable to identify on account of our very limited sup- 

 ply of material. 



