CHEMISTRY OF TIIH I, K UCOM AI NES. 337 



from ereatinine ly IK 'N, tin- element- of hydroeyanie aeid, 

 hut in its er\>talline liirni ami alkaline reaction, and some 

 other properties, it would seem to be elosely relate* 1 to this 

 latter sultstance. Heeause of this apparent relationsliip and 

 Men-yellow color, GAUTIER named it eruso-crcatiiiine. 



XAMIIO- I;I:AIIM.NE, C B H 10 N 4 O, is the most abundant 

 of niiiM'le letiroina'ines. It crystalli/es in sulphur-velln\\ , 

 thin span-lrs, ei.nsisting of nearly rectangular plan's \vhieli 

 reseinlile somewhat those of eholesterin. It is soft and 

 tale-like to the toueh ; possesses a slightly hitter taste, and 

 when dissolved in tailing; alcohol it gives off the odor of 

 aeetamide, though ordinarily in the fold it has a slight 

 cadaveric odor. When heated, the substance evolves an 

 odor of roast meat, carbonizes in part, and yields ammonia 

 and methylamine. The crystals are amphoteric in reaction, 

 are soluble in cold water, and can be recrystallized from 

 tailing 99 per cent, alcohol. 



It forms a hydrochloride crystallizing in plumose needles, 

 and a very soluble platinochloride ; the aurochloride crys- 

 tallizes with difficulty. Like creatinine, it is precipitated 

 by zinc chloride ; the yellowish-white precipitate dissolves 

 with partial dissociation on warming, and on cooling sepa- 

 rates as isolated or stellate groups of fine needles which 

 possess the composition (C 8 H 10 N 4 0) 2 ZnCl 2 . Silver nitrate 

 throws down, in the cold, a Hoeculent precipitate which 

 likewise dissolves on heating, and recrystallizes in needles. 

 Mercuric chloride produces a yellowish-white precipitate. 

 It is not precipitated bv oxalic or nitric acid, nor by potas- 

 taasio-mercuric chloride, or iodine in potassium iodide. 

 Tannin produces in time a slight turbidity, while sodium 

 pboephomolybdate gives a heavy yellowish precipitate. 

 This base is distinguished from the members of the uric 

 aeid group by not giving :i precipitate with copper acetate, 

 not even on heating. 



On gentle oxidation with potassium permanganate it is 

 converted into a black substance insoluble in acids and 

 alkalies, and resembling a/ulmic acid. By treatment with 

 recently precipitated mercuric oxide, it yields a substance 



