687 



mulse of the salts of stanethyl, has originated, without doubt, from 

 the mode adopted by Lowig in their elimination. Strecker has 

 lately shown that many of these compounds may, with probability, 

 be referred to the types of the inorganic oxyiodides and oxychlorides 

 of tin. 



The following experiments were undertaken with the impression 

 that the pure salts of stanethyl might be more advantageously pro- 

 cured by acting directly on the radical itself. 



Stannic diethyl, Sn (C 4 H.) 2 , like mercuric ethyl, loses one of its 

 equivalents of ethyl when digested with concentrated acids. The 

 action, however, is very slow with hydrochloric acid, an oily body 

 being first formed, possessed of an exceedingly pungent odour ; but 

 finally a chloride is obtained having the formula 



SnC 4 H 5 Cl. 



This salt produces fine, hard crystals, which are soluble in water, 

 and, when pure, almost inodorous. A more ready method of ob- 

 taining this chloride consists in adding the radical, drop by drop, to 

 a layer of bromine covered with water, until the bromine is decolor- 

 ized ; the aqueous solution is then decomposed by potash, which pre- 

 cipitates oxide of stanethyl in the form of a white powder, from 

 which the pure salts of stanethyl may be readily procured. 



The solubility of these salts in aqueous potash has been rather 

 variously stated by Lowig and Frankland, and also their characters 

 as odorous and inodorous. The truth is, that unless the salts of 

 stanethyl are formed from the oxide, they are almost always con- 

 taminated with the above-mentioned oily chloride, the oxide of which 

 is soluble in potash. As oxide of stanethyl is not affected by al- 

 kaline solutions, these two bodies may be separated without diffi- 

 culty. 



The soluble oxide may be recovered from the alkaline solutions by 

 distillation. It passes over, together with aqueous vapour, in the 

 form of an exceedingly caustic and pungent oil, which blues litmus, 

 and has all the characters of a powerful base. Water dissolves it in 

 moderate quantities, but precipitates it again on the addition of com- 

 mon salt. When deprived of water, the oily base solidifies into a 

 crystalline mass. 



This oxyde forms definite salts with acids, all more or less pun- 

 gent. With hydrochloric and hydriodic acids, uncrystallizable bodies, 



