( 339 ) 



I niav, however, state provisionally tliat this glucoside is either 

 insoluble or at most very slightly soluble in cold alcohol. When the 

 leaves, after being dried in an airbath at 80 ^ and then powdered, 

 were extracted \vitli cold alcohol, no HCN and acetone could be 

 obtained by enzyme-action from the alcoholic residue. 



When the extracted powder after being dried was mixed with 

 water, and then brought in contact with the enzyme, the aqueous 

 distillate showed abundant evidence of the presence of HCN and 

 acetone. 



Utrecht, September 25, 1905, 



Chemistry. — Prof. P. van Rombürgh presents a communication : 

 ^'On the action of ammonia and amines o?i formic esters of 

 glycols and glycerol" (TI). 



As the action of ammonia and amines on allyl formate (Proc. June 

 24 '05) had yielded such good results to me, I have also included in 

 my research other formic esters, and I now communicate, briefly, the 

 results obtained with the formates of some polyhydric alcohols. 



If gaseous ammonia is allowed to act on the di formate of glycol 

 it is first absorbed slowly with evolution of heat. If, when the action 

 is over, the liquid is distilled, nothing passes over at the boiling 

 point of the diformate (174°), but the temperature rises at once to the 

 boiling point of glycol, and then gradually to that of formamide. A 

 complete separation of the two substances, whose boiling point only 

 differs about 20°, does not succeed with small quantities, and although 

 it has been proved that the reaction takes place readily and almost 

 quantitatively, formamide cannot be obtained pure in this way. 



One gram of the diformate when mixed with 2 grams of dipro- 

 pylamine gave a slow rise from J8° to 42°. The liquid being distilled 

 the formate again seemed to have disappeared, and a fraction could 

 be obtained at the boiling point of the glycol, and another at that 

 of dipropylformamide. 



With 1.8 gram of benzylamine, 1 gram of glycol diformate gave 

 a slow rise from 18^ to 80'\ (^n distillation, the formate seemed to 

 have disappeared and the glycol being distilled off, nearly the theoretical 

 amount of benzylformamide was left in a pure condition. 



If gaseous ammonia is allowed to act on the iliformate of pro- 

 panediol (1. 2), which I pi-epared by healing this glycol with formic 

 acid, phenomena are noticed analogous to those in the caseofghcol 



23* "' 



