314 Mr. E. Sclmnck and Dr. L. Marchlewski. [Feb. 14, 



II. " Contributions to the Chemistry of Chlorophyll. No. VI." 

 By EDWARD SCHUNCK, F.R.S., and LEON MARCHLEWSKI, 

 Ph.D. Received January 25, 1895. 



The preceding memoir on the chemistry of chlorophyll contained 

 the results arrived at in the analysis of phyllotaonin and its 

 derivatives. In the present communication it is proposed to give 

 further details regarding the properties and composition of alka- 

 chlorophyll, the mother substance of phyllotaonin, on which will 

 follow an account of some products of decomposition of the latter. 

 Some experiments will then he described showing the connection 

 between phylloxanthin and phyllocyanin, and proving that the former 

 may by a simple process be converted into the latter. 



In order to determine the composition of alkachlorophyll, it was 

 necessary to prepare specimens of the substance purer than those 

 previously obtained, which were only just sufficiently pure for a 

 determination of its chief properties. For this purpose we employed, 

 as in previous experiments, an extract of grass with boiling 

 alcohol. 



We also made use of a commercial product furnished by Merck of 

 Darmstadt, under the name of " Chlorophyllum purissimum," which, 

 on examination, turned out to be not exactly what its name would 

 betoken, but a very impure alkachlorophyll. 



In the case of grass, the first part of the process was the same as 

 that described in the fourth memoir of this series, and the details may 

 therefore be omitted here. The sodium salt of alkachlorophyll of this 

 process was treated for some time with a mixture of equal parts of 

 absolute alcohol and ether, in order to remove the fatty acid soaps 

 present. The sodium salt was then decomposed in the manner 

 previously described, and the free alkachlorophyll obtained having 

 been dissolved in ether, the solution was mixed with ligroin. 



The latter precipitated the alkachlorophyll, the fatty acids still 

 present remaining dissolved. The solution in ether and precipitation 

 with ligroin was twice repeated, and the resulting product was treated 

 several times with small quantities of boiling ligroin. 



The product supplied by Merck, after being treated for some time 

 with alcoholic soda, was submitted to the same process as that ju^t 

 described. 



The substance dried at 125 yielded on analysis the following 

 results, the first two determinations being made with the product 

 from grass, the third with that from Merck's " Chlorophyll." 



I. O1875 gram substance gave O4813 gram C0 2 and O'llOl gram 

 H 3 0. 



