SYNTHETICAL EESEAECHES ON ETHEES. 



59 



per cent, of barium. Barium cenanthylate contains 34-69 per cent, of barium. We state 

 our reasons below for believing amylacetic acid to be identical with osnanthylic acid. 



In the foregoing pages we have confined ourselves, as far as possible, to the bare 

 description of experimental results, avoiding any digression to the theoretical conside- 

 rations which naturally forced themselves upon our attention. It now becomes necessary, 

 however, to take a retrospect of our results, in order to assign to them their proper place 

 amongst chemical phenomena, and to point out their possible bearing upon future 

 investigation in the same direction. In doing this it will be most convenient to discuss 

 the subject under two heads, viz. the considerations involved in the production of the 

 carboketonic ethers derived from the duplication of the atom of acetic ether, and 

 secondly, those suggested by the replacement of the hydrogen in the methyl of acetic 

 ether by the alcohol radicals. 



I. Constitution and chemical relations of tJie ethers and ketones derived from the dupli- 

 cation of the atom of acetic ether. 



There is always a difficulty in assigning to an entirely new series of organic bodies 

 their true position among other families, and this is more especially the case when, like 

 the bodies now under consideration, they exhibit but few obvious relations to other 

 series. It is therefore with some hesitation, in regard to the ultimate place that may be 

 assigned to them, that we have ventured to consider these bodies as the ethers of pecu- 

 liar acids, the latter compounded of the ketones and carbonic acid, the general formula 

 of these acids being 



O 



CI 



CnHj, 



C„Ha, 



o 



OH 



'=C^"M 



■CH3 



CnHj 



C„ H,, 



=Cl 



o 



lOH 



Looking only to the results of the action of caustic alkalies upon the ethylic ethers 

 of these acids, and assuming a formula that will most readily explain this action, we 

 arrive at the following very simple expression for these ethers, 



doc„ii„_, 



[0C,H, 

 This is obviously the formula of carbonic ether, 



C OC^H, 



