1008 
variable composition owing to a progressive change during the 
formation of the salt, whereas W. R. Dunstan and A. L. Bossr ‘), 
on the strength of some very concordant analyses, declare that the 
salt consists of three mols. of oxime with one mol. of hydrogen 
chloride. Other papers on this subject are not known to me. 
In order to study these contradictory results I have repeated these 
processes and greatly varied the concentration of the ethereal oxime 
solution as well as the amount of hydrogen chloride introdu- 
ced. I noticed that the primarily formed salt loses considerable 
amounts of hydrogen chloride when exposed to the air, or in vacuo 
over sulphuric acid, or over potassium hydroxide. Hence, analyses 
of different specimens never yielded a concordant hydrogen chloride 
content. This could be determined sharply by titration with sodium 
hydroxide and phenolphtalein as indicator, or with silver nitrate 
according to VOLHARD. 
When I freed the product that had been recrystallised once from 
methyl alcohol and then from ether, from the adhering ether at 
60° in a rapid current of air forced ‘through a wash-bottle contain- 
ing sulphuric acid charged with hydrogen chloride, the compound 
obtained appeared to contain but little more than one mol. of oxime 
to one mol. of hydrogen chloride. In vacuo over sulphuric acid 
it lost so much sulphuric acid in a few hours that it contained 
about two mols. of oxime to one mol. of hydrogen chloride. Much 
more acid was not given off readily. Specimens which had been 
kept for half a year in dry surroundings appeared to be partially 
liquefied and yet still contained two mols. of oxime to one mol. of 
hydrogen chloride. By repeated recrystallisations and drying for 
weeks in vacuo over potassium hydroxide a salt was finally obtained 
containing approximately three mols. of oxime to one mol. of 
hydrogen chloride. More acid, however, could not be eliminated 
in this manner. 
The above mentioned colourless oil from which the salt crystals 
are deposited was freed from ether by means of a current of dry 
air at 60°. This oil still gave off hydrogen chloride in the air and 
could not be got to solidify by cooling to — 20°. After remaining 
for weeks in vacuo over sulphuric acid it appeared to contain about 
two mols. of oxime to one mol. of hydrogen chloride. On distilla- 
tion at 1 atm. pressure it suffered, at about 110°, a decomposition 
similar to that of the solid salts at 180° with violent evolution of 
hydrogen chloride. 
From these observations I think I may conclude that, in agreement 
1) Journ. Chem. Soc. 73, 357 (1898). 
