198 
NATURE 
[ Fan. 5, 1871 

with acetic anhydrate in exactly the same manner as for the 
preparation of 8 bromocoumarin, a beautifully crystalline 
product is obtained of the composition Cy Hy Bry O,. 
It is not the same body as that obtained by acting on coumarin 
with bromine and iodine. It fuses at 176° C., and is not decom- 
posed by boiling with a solution of potassie hydrate. Mr. 
Perkin has, therefore, designated it as 8 dibromocoumarin. 
Dichloride of coumarin—A solution of coumarin in chloroform 
absorbs chlorine gas, only minute quantities of hydrochloric acid 
being formed. On allowing the solution to evaporate spon- 
taneously, after the chlorine has been passed through it for an 
hour or two, a syrupy product is obtained very like new honey. 
This is the dichloride of coumarin. From its products of decom- 
position, there can be no doubt that it possesses the formula— 
Gy HO, ‘Gly 
Chlorocoumarin.—A mixture of one part of coumarin and three 
parts of pentachloride of phosphorus, when mixed and heated in 
aretort placed in an oil bath, slowly react upon each other as 
the temperature rises, and when the oil has reached about 200 C. 
the product becomes a dark brown liquid. During this reaction, 
a volatile liquid consisting chiefly of terchloride of phosphorus 
distils over. The contents of the retort after treatment with 
water, becomes a pasty mass of crystals, which is first purified by 
distillation, and then by several crystallisations from alcohol. Its 
analysis gave the formula C,H; Cl O,. It fuses at 122°—123°C., 
and, when heated, possesses an agreeable aromatic odour. 
Tetrachlorocoumarin.—Chlorine gas when passed through a solu- 
tion of coumarin and iodine in tetrachloride of carbon is rapidly 
absorbed, hydrochloric acid being evolved. If the gas be passed 
for two or three hours a quantity of a reddish body separates ; 
on evaporating the product so as to separate the tetrachloride of 
carbon an oily residue is obtained, the red substance having 
fused with the impurities. On mixing this with alcohol, it soon 
becomes a white paste.. On pressing this in a small linen bag, a 
white product is obtained which is further purified by being 
several times crystallised from spirit. The numbers of the 
analysis lead to the formula— 
Cy »H Cl, O5 
It fuses at 144°—145°C. Bromocoumarin, when boiled with 
a solution of potassic hydrate, decomposes, yielding potassic 
bromide and the salt of a new acid, which has the formula 
C, Hg Os. Mr. Perkin proposes to call it Cowmarilic acid. It 
fuses at 192°—193° C., distils with partial decomposition, but 
sublimes undecomposed when gently heated. It is monobasic, 
‘and forms well defined salts with the alkalis, the alkaline 
earths, lead, silver, mercury, and iron. Lvemtecoumarilic acid. 
—It is prepared like the above, but substituting @ dibromo- 
coumarin for bromocoumarin. It possesses the formula 
C, H; Br Og, and fuses at 250° C. Sudphocoumaric acid.—It 
is obtained on digestinga mixture of about one part of coumarin 
and five parts of fuming sulphuric acid in the water bath for an 
hour or two. From the analysis of its salts, the formula of this 
acid when anhydrous is Cy Hy O, SOs, Mr. Perkin has prepared 
ammonic, potassic, sodic, baric, and strontic sulphocoumarinates. 
Disulphocoumaric acid,—On heating a mixture of about 8 
parts of fuming sulphuric acid and 1 part of coumarin to a tem- 
perature of 150° or 160° C. for an hour or,two, the produced will 
contain two sulphoacids, viz., sulphocoumaric acid and di- 
sulphocoumaric acid. Its barium salt has the formula— 
Gy, H, ©, Ba’ 2'SO3. 
—The next communication was by Dr. Debus. ‘* On the formula 
of glyoxylic acid,” Dr. Debus showed that this acid ought to be 
written C, H, O, and not C, H, Oy He considers it in reality 
to be the aldehyde of oxalic acid. Among other reasons for 
this view he quoted its behaviour towards the bisulphites. Dr. 
Odling was of the same opinion. He saw the aldehydic charac- 
ter of glyexylic acid in its property of combining with one atom 
of water or of ammonia, or ethylic chloride, &c. © Mr. Perkin de- 
fended the formulaC, H, O04, quoting among other evidences for 
the correctness of his views, the behaviour of glyoxylic acid when 
treated with phosphoric pentabromide ; instead of losing water 
and being converted into CO, it takes up three atoms of bromine. 

TAUNTON 
Somersetshire Archeological and Natural History 
Society, December 12.—W. E. Surtees, president, in the chair. 
In a paper by Mr. Cecil Smith on some rare birds found in the 
immediate neighbourhood of Taunton, a few observations were 
made on the following birds, specimens of all of whichwere pro- 
duced. ‘he first mentioned was the Pied Flycatcher, which had 

been killed in an orchard near French Weir, close by the town. 
Though rare in this and other southern and western counties, it 
was much more common in more northern counties, especially 
in the Lake district, where it was a summer visitant, remaining 
from April to November—it had, however, been taken as late as 
the middle of October at the Scilly Islands, when on its south- 
ern migration, The next bird mentioned was White’s Thrush, 
of which four, or at most five, British specimens had been re- 
corded. The specimen produced, which brought this bird 
within the limits to which Mr. Smith’s paper was confined, 
had been killed at Hestercombe Wood, in January 1870; it was 
shot at by mistake for a woodcock. Of this bird it was observed 
that although it might be difficult to account for its presence in 
England, or even in Europe, there could be no doubt as to its 
identity, as this and other British killed specimens did not differ 
in the slightest degree from those brought over from Japan and 
the East. On the difficulty of accounting for its presence in 
England, Mr. Smith observed that the journey performed being 
almost entirely over land, the reason given for the appearance of 
many, especially of American birds on our shores, that being 
driven out of their usual migratory course, and out to sea by 
strong gales, they found no place of rest before reaching our 
shores, was not applicable. Neither would the supposition that 
it had got mixed up with flocks of other perhaps nearly allied 
species on what had been a common breeding ground, and 
accompanied them, be applicable. Still less would the theory 
hinted at in Yarrell that the occasional appearance of these 
Eastern birds in Europeis not so very strange, since as many as 114 
species are enumerated by Temminck as common to Europe and 
Japan ; but of these 114’species the great majority are inhabitants 
of both countries, and not wanderers from one to the other. One 
instance, the almost universally distributed Turnstone, was taken 
as an example, which, instead of wandering to such an enormous 
extent, appeared to be equally content, whether on themuddy shores 
of Somerset or at the Cape of Good Hope or in Japan. Perhaps, 
after all, the appearances of White’s Thrush were to be attributed 
to a truant and vagrant disposition in the bird itself, which might 
lead it far from his own home. 
contributed slightly to its rarity in Europe, as it appeared to 
keep much out of sight in woods and plantations, and it had 
consequently, as in the present instance, been shot by mistake 
for a woodcock. The next bird mentioned was Tithy’s Red- 
start, which was considered worthy of notice as having occurred 
so close to the town as Gulmington-lane. The difference between 
this bird and our summer visitant, the common redstart, was” 
pointed out, and specimens of each shown. The peculiarity of 
this-bird being a winter rather than a summer visitor to these 
islands, was remarked on especially, as it is a regular summer 
visitor to the middle and northern parts of Europe. Also its 
choice of localities, namely, rough, rocky situations, such as the 
Parson and Clerk rock at ‘Veignmouth (at which place Mr. Smith 
had séveral times seen it in the month of November), in which 
it differed much from the common redstart, which preferred 
gardens, orchards, and hedgerows. The difference of the eggs 
was also remarked upon, those of the present species being 
white instead of the well-known blue of the common redstart. 
The occurrence of one specimen of the Sevin Finch, within the 
town of Taunton itself, brought this bird within the range of the 
paper, Mr. Smith observing that in the Birds of Somerset he 
had thrown some doubt upon this specimen, supposing it might 
be an escape, the time of year at which it was killed, the end of — 
January or beginning of February, more than the rareness of the 
bird itself, leading to this doubt ; he felt, however, bound to admit 
that there did not appear about the bird itself any signs of its 
having been in confinement. The other British specimens appear _ 
to have occurred in the summer between April and October, as 
might be supposed from its being an inhabitant of the south of 
Europe, and growing scarcer as we get farther north. The 
similarity to the Siskin was also mentioned, and specimens of 
this bird produced for the purpose of comparison, the difference 
in the shape of the beak being pointed out as the most reliable 
distinction, especially by cardle light, which considerably 
increased the difficulty of distinguishing the colours. The Little 
Bittern and Baillon’s Crake were also mentioned, and a speci- 
men of each produced, both having been killed nearly in the 
same place, some rushy pools by the side of the river in Priory 
Fields. Attention was called to the similarity between the Little 
Bittern and its big relation, in the absence of feathers at the bach. 
ofthe neck, Mr. Smith added that he had seen by chance, in the 
shop of Mr, Petherick, the bird stuffer, a specimen of the Wood- 
Probably the habits of the bird 



