OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 155 



IX. 



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE CHEMICAL LABORATORY 

 OF HARVARD COLLEGE. 



By Henry B. Hill. 



Presented Juno 9, 1880. 



FUKFUROL, ONE OF THE PllODUCTS OF THE DrT DISTILLA- 

 TION OF Wood 158 



Ptroxanthin 161 



MucoBuoMic Acid 168 



MucocHLORic Acid 204 



Substituted Acrylic Acids from Brompropiolic Acid 211 



Theoretical Considerations 218 



In December, 1876, by the kind invitation of Dr. E. R. Squibb, I 

 had the opportunity to examine the working of a new process for the 

 manufacture of acetic acid by the dry distillation of wood at a low and 

 carefully regulated temperature, as it was carried on under his direc- 

 tion at Brooklyn, N. Y. I then noticed that, in the rectification of 

 the crude wood spirit, a yellowish oil passed over with the vapor of 

 water after the more volatile portions had been distilled off. Its high 

 specific gravity and its peculiar odor made me anxious to examine 

 it more closely. 



A short study of it was sufficient to show that it contained large quan- 

 tities of furfiirol which could be isolated in a jjure state with little 

 trouble, and I therefore undertook at once the study of the constitution 

 of furfurol and pyromucic acid. Before my investigations were far 

 advanced, Baeyer * published the first of his papers upon the constitu- 

 tion of furfurol, in consequence of which my own work was naturally 

 discontinued. At the same time, however, I wrote to Professor Baej^er 

 asking if I could not make use of the large supply of material which 

 I had at hand without interfering with the plan of his research. In 

 reply I received the extremely considerate intimation that a study of 

 mucobromic acid and its derivatives would in no way interfere with 

 his work. 



* Berichte der deutsch. chem. Gesellsch., x. 355. 



