218 Dr. Anderson on the Products of the 



It has been already mentioned that though sethylopicoline is 

 fixed and inodorous, its iodide cannot be distilled with potash, or 

 the base itself boiled or even evaporated in vacuo, without under- 

 going a decomposition, attended with the evolution of volatile 

 base. In the latter case the decomposition is slow ; and even 

 after the ebullition has been continued for some hours, the odour 

 is given off with undiminished intensity, till by long-continued 

 boiling it at length becomes extremely faint, although it does 

 not altogether disappear. When the iodide is boiled with potash, 

 the change is more rapid, and after three or four hours' boiling a 

 considerable quantity of base is found in the receiver. The product 

 has a pungent and putrid odour, fumes strongly with hydro- 

 chloric acid, and forms with it a salt entirely soluble in absolute 

 alcohol. Two analyses were made of the platinum compound 

 of this base ; the one from a portion collected at the commence- 

 ment, the other towards the end of the distillation, which show 

 that the product was of uniform composition throughout. The 

 results were as follows :— 



I. 6*440 grs. of platinochloride gave 2*430 grs. carbonic acid 

 and 1-920 gr. water. 



II. 11*775 grs. of platinochloride gave 4*210 grs. carbonic 

 acid and 3*457 grs. water. 



I. 4*385 grs. of platinochloride gave 1*705 gr. platinum. 



II. 6*580 grs. of platinochloride gave 2*575 grs. platinum. 



100*00 251*2 



Its formula, therefore, is C 4 H 7 N, H CI + Pt CI, and the base 

 itself is rcthylamine. 



The base obtained by the distillation of the sethylopicoline 

 alone was found to have the same composition, for 6*177 grs. 

 of its platinum salt gave 2*413 grs. of platinum, equal to 39*06 

 per cent. 



The decomposition which thus occurs is very remarkable, and 

 differs entirely from that observed by Hofmann in the ammo- 

 nium bases examined by him. The oxide of tetrrethylammonium, 

 for instance, is not decomposed when evaporated in vacuo. Even 

 at 212° it undergoes no change until it becomes nearly dry, but 

 then a base and a permanent gas are evolved, the former being 

 trisethylamine, aud the latter defiant gas. In this case, one out 



