396 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



out any basic characters, like oxamic acid. Glycocoll is to be re- 

 garded as the isomer of glycollamic acid, precisely as the alkaloids, 

 furfurine and benzoline, are known to be isomers — allotropic forms 

 of the normal acids ; and corresponds to aethammine less H*+O a , or 

 to the product which should be obtained by the oxidation of SbEt. 

 Its capacity to exchange H for K is unlike that of acetic acid or alcohol, 

 for the saline power of these belongs not to the carbo-hydrogen ele- 

 ments, but to the unreplaced H of the H a O. Nor in this view is the 

 saline hydrogen of glycocoll similar to that of oxamic acid ; it is an 

 atom of hydrogen in the ammonia itself, which is replaceable, as in 

 asparagine, itself the binamide of a bibasic acid, and in paramide. 



I conclude these observations by calling attention to the results 

 obtained by Dr. Hofmann in decomposing the compound ammonias 

 by a nitrite*. I was the first to show that the elegant process by 

 which Piria had succeeded in decomposing asparagine and some 

 other amides, was applicable to the organic alkaloids, and that the 

 action of nitric oxide upon a dilute acid solution of nitrate of aniline 

 yields nitrogen gas and phenolef. Dr. Hofmann refers to my state- 

 ment, but adds, that in repeating my experiment the aniline was 

 transformed into a brown mass containing a crystalline matter which 

 was nitric phenole. He probably obtained the binitric species which 

 is the first product of the action of nitric acid upon phenole, and 

 which, as described in my paper, I actually prepared from the phenole 

 thus obtained, by treating it with strong nitric acid, in the process 

 for preparing the nitropicric acid. If, keeping in mind the great 

 readiness with which phenole is attacked by nitric acid, he will take 

 the trouble to repeat the experiment with a dilute solution of the 

 salt, avoiding a large excess of nitric acid, he will not find it difficult 

 to obtain the characteristic oily product which I have described, and 

 which is not easily confounded with nitrophenesic acid. 



By the use of nitrite of silver, in accordance with my suggestion, 

 for which he has found even nitrite of potash may be substituted, 

 Dr. Hofmann was more successful. In distilling hydrochlorate of 

 aethammine with a solution of nitrite of potash, nitrogen and nitrous 

 aether were evolved, with a liquid containing apparently traces of 

 alcohol and some drops of an oily matter. Similar results were 

 obtained with butylamine, propylamine and amylamine. These 

 nitrous aethers, as shown by M. Kopp and myself, are decomposed 

 by sulphuretted hydrogen, the alcohols being regenerated. In this 

 way Dr. Hofmann succeeded in forming from the alkaloid, amylic 

 alcohol. As the transformations of organic substances furnish us 

 with the means of obtaining the corresponding bases, the problem of 

 obtaining the alcohols of the propionic and butyric series is solved. 



The reaction which gives rise to nitrous aether is not clearly ex- 

 - plained; the nitrite obtained by double decomposition will be C~H 7 N, 

 NHO, and may be resolved into N~ + H 2 + C'~H 6 0. The simul- 

 taneous evolution of nitrogen gas and nitrous aether, or indeed the 

 formation of the latter, can only be explained by some secondary 



* Comptes Rendus des Travaux de Chimie, Feb. 1851, p. 42. 

 t Chem. Gaz. vol. viii. p. 21. 



