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the study of the behaviour of nitrated phenols towards nitric acid, 
have disregarded. The nitration must be done with nitric and 
sulphuric acids and not by boiling with nitric acid alone; the crys- 
talline mass must than be drained and recrystallised from chloroform. 
If it is boiled with water, one, respectively two, of the nitrogroups 
are replaced by hydroxyl and instead of tetra-, respectively pentani- 
trophenol, trinitroresorcinol and trinitrophloroglucinol are obtained. 
The appearance of trinitroresorcinol so often noticed during the 
nitration of phenolic bodies has now been explained by BLANKSMA 
and the previous opinion expressed by BANTLIN and by van Rom- 
BURGH that the formation of trinitroresorcinol from ordinary phenol 
derivatives is due to the intermediate formation of tetranitrophenol 
has now been confirmed by experiment. 
Nie zk1’s tetranitrophenol is evidently not identical with the one 
described above. 
Dr. BLANKsMA has also proved that one nitro-group in tetrani- 
trophenol and two nitro-groups in pentanitrophenol may be readily 
replaced by OH, OCH3;, OC, H;, NH, and NHC, H;. 
In getting the above mentioned results (the particulars of which 
will be published in the ,Recueil”) Dr. Buanksma has followed up 
the same idea which in the case of aniline derivatives had already 
been successfully tried with an extensive material and which after 
his experiments may now be considered to apply also to phenol. 
Briefly summarising, the matter amounts to this (when other unmentioned 
facts are also taken into consideration): that phenol and aniline 
(methyl aniline etc.) are very readily halogenated, nitrated and sul- 
phonated, much more readily than benzene and the homologues of 
other benzene derivatives and further that the presence of one atom 
or. group occupying the meta-position in regard to OH or NH, 
(NH CH3) does not offer a sterical obstacle, whilst the entering 
atoms or groups exclusively select the para-place and the two ortho- 
places. 
If we want to explain these phenomena we must begin by assuming 
(which has already been proved in several other cases) that in the 
first stage of the action intermediate products are formed which 
contain the group to be introduced attached to the nitrogen or the 
oxygen and that these products by intramolecular change are more 
or less readily converted into the direct benzene derivatives. 
If the various observations which have already been made in this 
matter are collected and arranged, 15 to 20 different cases may be 
