July 14, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



53 



provement on a scale invented by Wollaston in 

 1814 and differs from the original in having a 

 greater number of elements listed and also in the 

 fact that hydrogen is taken as the radix or unit. 

 Altogether 36 elements and 144 compounds are 

 listed on wliich computations may be based. The 

 calculation is carried out by means of sliding por- 

 tion, as in the ordinary slide rule, the slider being 

 subdivided into divisions representing the log- 

 arithmic ratios of the numbers from 8 to 330. The 

 ' ' equivalent weights ' ' as given and the nomen- 

 clature are interesting from the historical stand- 

 point. 



Beminiscences of Italian chemists: William 

 McPhebson. 



A few sources of information upon early chem- 

 istry and chemical industries in America: C. A. 

 Browne. 



Some facts relating to early chemists and chem- 

 ical industries in Alaliama: B. B. Eoss. 



Some early southern chemists and their worTc: 

 Eugene A. Smith. 



Not much time was taken in the discussion of 

 the papers, as the program was long without dis- 

 cussion. There were more than one hundred pres- 

 ent during at least part of the time the section 

 was in session, which was probably the largest 

 attendance of any section at the meeting. 



Quite a number of autograph letters, pam- 

 phlets, pictures and books were shown and some 

 pieces of apparatus. 



DIVISION OP ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 



H. T. Clarke, chairman 

 Prank C. Whitmore, secretary 

 The preparation of methylmer curie acetate and 

 methylmer curie hydroxide: M. C. Snebd and 

 J. Loms Maynard. During the course of an 

 investigation of the thermal decomposition of 

 mercurous acetate in an atmosphere of nitrogen, 

 the formation of a small quantity of an organic 

 derivative of mercury was noted. This product 

 was assumed to be methyl mercuric acetate, 

 despite the fact that its properties did not agree 

 with those described by Otto. Doubt was cast on 

 the purity of his salt prepared by the action of 

 acetic acid on mercury dimethyl at 120°. Jones 

 and Werner have shown that, at higher tempera- 

 tures, a more complicated reaction takes place 

 with no evidence of the formation of the desired 

 salt. The true methylmercuric acetate has been 

 prepared by four reactions, each of a different 

 type, none of which admits the possibility of the 

 decomposition of the desired organomercuric salt. 



These methods were: (1) Action of mercuric 

 acetate with mercury dimethyl; (2) Action of 

 methylmercuric iodide and silver acetate; (3) 

 Neutralization of methylmercuric hydroxide with 

 acetic acid; (4) Action of methylmercuric hy- 

 droxide with ethyl acetate. The same organo- 

 mercuric salt was formed in each of the above 

 reactions. It was identical with the mercury 

 derivative produced in the decomposition of mer- 

 curous acetate. The hitherto unprepared methyl- 

 mercuric hydroxide required in methods 3 and 4 

 was obtained as a white crystalline solid by the 

 action of moist silver oxide on methylmercuric 

 iodide. 



An electrolytic method for the preparation of 

 mercury dimethyl: Henry C. Howard, Jr., and 

 J. Louis Maynard. Although mercury dimethyl 

 has been obtained by Kraus by tlie electrolysis of 

 aqueous solutions of methylmercuric salts, the low 

 conductivity of such solutions renders the process 

 unsuitable as a means of preparation of the 

 dialykyl. However, it has been found that the 

 addition of pyridine in approximately equi- 

 molecular quantities increases the conductivity to 

 such an extent that electrolysis becomes a satis- 

 factory method of preparation. In the course of 

 this investigation the conductivities of solutions of 

 methylmercuric hydroxide and several of its salts 

 were determined. It is interesting to note that 

 these measurements show methyl mercuric hy- 

 droxide to be an extremely weak base. This is 

 contrary to the statements in the literature. 



The asymmetry of diazodiethylglutamate : Wil- 

 liam A. Noyes and H. M. Chiles. While Noyes 

 and Marvel did not succeed in obtaining optically 

 a-ctive diazo esters in which the asymmetry was 

 due to the carbon atom to which the diazo group 

 is attached, Levene and Mikesha have reported 

 the preparation of such a compound from i-diethyl 

 aspartate. We have obtained an active diazo 

 ester, EtO C-CH -CH -CN -CO Et, from d-dietliyl 



'22222' '^ 



glutamate by the Curtius method. The carefully 

 purified ester is a yellow oil which boils 92-93° 

 under a pressure of 0.1 mm. Other optically 

 active substances which might have been present 

 were earefullj' removed and the composition was 

 established by analysis. The specific rotation at 

 20° for the D line is -|-1.68°. The specific rota- 

 tion in a 10 per cent, ether solution is -)-4.03°. 

 The diazo ester, in solution in ether, gives the 

 fZ-hj'droxy ester on shaking with NH,^SO . Sapon- 

 ification of the hydroxy ester gives the sodium 

 salt of a hydroxy acid which is also dextro- 

 rotatory. It is difficult to reconcile the optical 



