M. Becker on the Artificial Production of Margaric Acid. 105 
with sulphuretted hydrogen and oxide of carbon. It is purified 
by being rapidly passed through solution of acetate of lead, of 
subchloride of copper dissolved in HCl, and after being dried it 
is preserved over mercury. 
It is gaseous, colourless, with an odour resembling ordinary 
sulphide of carbon, but strongly etherial, and not at all dis- 
agreeable. It burns with a blue flame, producing carbonic acid, 
sulphurous acid, and a little sulphur. It is rather heavier than 
carbonic acid. Water dissolves its bulk of the gas, but decom- 
poses it into sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic oxide. With 
alkalies it is rapidly decomposed. With lime-water it gives sul- 
phide of calcium, and its own volume of carbonic oxide, 
CaO +CS=CaS+CO. 
At a red heat it is slowly decomposed (1) by spongy platinum ; 
(2) by the vapour of water into HS and CO; (8) by hydrogen 
into HS, and a carburetted hydrogen ; (4) by copper into gra- 
phitoidal carbon, and sulphide of copper. Exposed to the sun- 
light with chlorine, a reaction takes place which gives rise to the 
formation of new bodies. 
Exploded with oxygen in the eudiometer, it furnishes equal 
volumes of carbonic acid and sulphurous acid, from which, and 
from its decomposition with alkalies and with copper, its for- 
mula C§ has been deduced. 
It has been known that the cyanides of the alcohol radicals, 
when treated with potash, give off ammonia, and there is formed 
a member of the fatty acid series containing two equivalents 
more carbon than the alcohol radical from which it was derived. 
Thus cyanide of ethyle, C*+H°C?N, gives propionic acid, C°H®O; 
cyanide of amyle, C!°H!!C?N, gives caproic acid, C!? H!? 04. 
Becker* has made ‘an interesting application of this reaction, 
and succeeded in producing margaric acid, C*4 H** 0+, by treat- 
ing cyanide of cetyle, C®? H®! C? N, with potash. 
Cetylic alcohol was first prepared from spermaceti by known 
methods, and converted into iodide of cetyle by treatment with 
iodine and phosphorus. ‘The conversion of iodide into cyanide 
of cetyle was effected by boiling the iodide of cetyle with an 
alcoholic solution of cyanide of potassium for several days, and 
the cyanide was converted into margaric acid by boiling it for 
some time with caustic potash. The acid thus obtained, and its 
baryta-salt, gave numbers corresponding to margaric acid ; it had 
also the appearance of that acid, but its melting-poimt was 52° 
to 53° C., or 12 degrees lower than the melting-point assigned 
to margaric acid. 
* Liebig’s Annalen, May 1857. 
