22 ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY 



CH3(I + H)NH2 -> CH3- NH2 + HI 



Methyl iodide Methyl amine 



This new compound is known as amino-methane or methyl 

 amine. These names are significant and are exactly analogous 

 to those of the halogen substitution products. The group, 

 NH2, is known as the amine or a?mno group, and the general 

 name for compounds containing this group is amines or amino 

 compounds. Practically in all places in which we may sub- 

 stitute halogens we may likewise substitute the amino radical, 

 and the amines constitute a large and important group of 

 compounds. Several of these compounds which we shall 

 consider later are directly connected with animal and vegetable 

 life. Some of them are found naturally in herring brine, in 

 the distillation products of beet sugar residues, in certain plants 

 and in other places. 



The importance of amino compounds in connection with 

 agriculture is that in all of their characters they are ammonia 

 derivatives. Methyl amine may be looked upon either as a 

 derivative of methane or of ammonia. 



H 



I /H 



H-C-NH2 N^H 



I \CH3 

 H 



Amino-methane Methyl ammonia (amine) 



In fact it is the ammonia character of these compounds which 

 is the striking thing. They are alkaline in reaction, have an 

 ammoniacal odor and form salts with acids just as ammonia 

 does. In the conversion of ammonia into ammonium salts 

 the trivalent nitrogen in ammonia becomes pentavalent in 

 the salts as follows : 



/H /Al 



N^H + HCl -> N^H or NH4CI 

 \H \\H 



\C1 



Ammonia Ammonium chloride 



