3 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION B. 425 
_ Attention is directed to the difference produced by chlorination and bromina- 
tion of orthohaloid toluenes in the orienting effect, which is most marked in the 
case of the monohalogen compound and the 2: 3 and 2: 5 halogen derivatives. 
2. The Saturated Acids of Linseed Oil. 
By BR. 8S. Morrent, M.A., Ph.D. 
A summary of the literature on linseed oil in Czapek’s ‘Biochemie der 
Pflanzen,’ 1, 121, and Lewkowitsch’s ‘Oils, Fats, and Waxes’ (fourth edition), 
2, 50, shows that in addition to the unsaturated acids, linolenic, linolic, and 
oleic, the saturated acids, palmitic and myristic, have been identified in about 
equal proportions. 
Haller (‘ Compt. rendus,’ 146, 259, 1906), by fractional distillation of the 
methyl esters obtained from linseed oil, was able to separate appreciable quan- 
tities of palmitic and stearic acids and much smaller quantities of arachidic acid. 
The occurrence of stearic acid in linseed oil seemed worthy of further 
investigation, not only for its practical importance, but also for its relationship 
to the unsaturated acids present. It is well known that when linseed oil is 
heated with lead oxide and allowed to cool a solid separates out, whose quantity 
is increased by addition of petroleum or turpentine. No record of a systematic 
investigation of this deposit has been published. The lead salts obtained from 
linseed oil from different sources were freed from unsaturated acids, and yielded 
a mixture of acids, melting-point 52-54° C., molecular weight 282-3, and iodine 
value 5-8. The acids consisted of stearic acid, with palmitic acid, and a trace of 
oleic acid. No myristic or arachidic acids were found. An investigation of the 
mixture by the methods recommended for the separation of saturated fatty acids 
showed that it consisted of 68 per cent. stearic acid, and the remainder of 
palmitic acid, with 4°5 per cent. oleic acid. The most satisfactory results were 
given by a combination of the methods devised by Hehner and Mitchell 
(‘ Analyst,’ 1896, 321) and Kreis and Hafner (‘ Ber.,’ 36, 2,766, 1913). The 
separation of the acids was very tedious, and a much more satisfactory method is 
desired. When more than two acids are present the quantitative separation is a 
matter of great difficulty. 
3. A Series of Mixtures of Nitro-compounds and Amines which are 
coloured only in the liquid slate. By C. K. Trvxurr, D.Sc. 
Whilst engaged in an investigation as to the cause of the colour of certain 
alkyl iodides of cyclic bases in 1908, it was noticed by the author that in some 
cases nitro-compounds like these alkyl iodides, when dissolved in fused diphenyl- 
amine, gave coloured solutions. In ihe case of the nitro-compounds, however, 
the colour often disappears on cooling. The investigation in connection with 
nitro-compounds was not pursued very far at that time, but it has recently been 
extended. 
The most suitable substances for the demonstration of this phenomenon are 
mixtures of diphenylamine with one of the following nitro-compounds : 0, m, and 
p-chlor-nitrobenzene, m and p-nitrobenzaldehyde, p-bromo-nitrobenzene, tetra- 
nitromethane. By enclosing one of these mixtures between two test-tubes placed 
one inside the other the phenomenon is well demonstrated. Thus, a mixture of 
diphenylamine and para-chlor-nitrobenzene, which is colourless at the ordinary 
temperature, acquires a reddish yellow colour when held in the hand, and loses 
this colour when the temperature falls. 
A mixture of diphenylamine and p-nitro-benzaldehyde shows a deep red 
colour at one degree above body temperature, returning to the colourless state 
on cooling. A mixture of diphenylamine and tetranitromethane shows a dark 
brown, nearly black, colouration, but on cooling in a mixture of ice and salt 
this colour entirely disappears. On repeating the last experiment several times, 
however, a permanent green colouring is produced, which is probably due to the 
decomposition of the nitro-compound. In other cases the mixture undergoes no 
change on keeping. Thus, a mixture of diphenylamine and p-chlor-nitrobenzene 
prepared five years ago shows the phenomenon as well now as when first prepared. 
