( 43) 



300 cc. of 96 % alcohol. After boiling for 6 hours, the alcohol is 

 recovered by distillation and the aniline which still contains a little 

 nitrobenzene is distilled in a current of steam. It is then converted 

 into the hydrochloride to separate it from the admixed nitrobenzene; 

 about 5 grams of aniline hydrochloride are obtained. In the same 

 manner were treated o-m~ and p-nitroanisol, m-chloro- and bromo- 

 nitrobenzene and dichloro- and dibromonitrobenzene 1. 3. 5. from 

 which were readily obtained the corresponding amido-derivatives to 

 the extent of about 70 0/ of the theoretical quantity. 



In the case of ortho- and pira-chloronitrobenzene where the halogen 

 atom is replaced by S, a simultaneous reduction takes place to a 

 slight extent with formation of o- and p-ehloroaniline. 



Ortho- and 7/i-nitrotoluene readily yield ortho-and meta-iolmd'me ; 

 with pa ra-nitrotoluene a secondary reaction occurs, />-amidobenzal- 

 dehyde being formed as well as p-toluidine 1 ). 



Besides the above mentioned mononitro-compounds a few dinitro- 

 compounds were subjected to a partial reduction. From sym-dinitro- 

 toluene we readily obtain by means of alcoholic Na,S, 3-nitro-5- 

 amidotoluene ; sym-dinitroanisol yields 3-nitro-5-amidoanisol; from 

 2-4-dinitroanisol (or phenetol) is obtained 2-amido-A-nitroanisol (or 

 phenetol) whilst sym. trinitrobenzene yields 3-5-dinitraniline. A small 

 quantity of the azo-oxycompounds is generally formed in addition 

 to the amido-derivatives. I will also point out that in the reducion 

 with Na,S, the formation of chlorinated byproducts, which are often 

 generated in the reduction of aromatic nitro-compound with Sn and 

 HC1, is avoided. The fact that sodium disulphide may be weighed 

 also gives it an advantage over ammonium sulphide as a reducing agent. 



From the above facts it is obvious that an alcoholic solution of 

 Na 8 S, may be used as a convenient reducing agent. 



Physiology. — "About the determination of hardness in muscles.'' 

 By A. K. M. Noyons, Assistant in the Physiological Laboratory 

 at Utrecht. (Communicated by Prof. H. Zwaardemaker.) 



(Communicated in the meeting of May 30, 1908). 



At an inquiry into the causes and qualities of the autotonus it 

 struck me how a muscle seemed to become harder, as its autotonus 

 increased. Hitherto the hardness of a muscle was always estimatively 

 determined by digital touching. The above mentioned fact caused 



x ) Ghem. Gentr. 1900. I. 1084. I hope to communicate more analogous cases of 

 intramolecular oxidation later on. 



