Mat 2, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



679 



strated the inert nature of the resin and proved 

 that the poisonous properties reside in the alka- 

 loidal fraction entirely. 



The substances isolated from the plant include 

 queroitin, dextrose, a phytosterol, a hydrocarbon 

 hentriacontane, oleic acid, linoleic acid, iso linoleie 

 acid. The solid fatty acids present were stearic, 

 palmitic and cerotic. A neutral substance to 

 which no formula has been assigned was found in 

 the ether extract of the resin, and this fraction 

 also contained a polyhydric alcohol similar to 

 ipuranol. 



C. G. Debick and J. H. Bornmann: Bearrange- 

 ments of N-Acyl Aromatic Amines. 

 The fact that intramolecular rearrangements of 

 the N-2icy\ aromatic amines proceed in the direc- 

 tion to decrease their ionization is tested out for 

 JV-diacetyl, iV-dipropionyl, itf^-acetyl anilines and 

 their corresponding aminoketones. It is found to 

 hold and is a very satisfactory criterion for the 

 possibility of rearrangements of this type. The 

 criterion is found to hold for the rearrangement 

 of acetophenone oxime into acetanilide. By com- 

 bining the senior author 's measure of negativity 

 with the above work, it is possible to state a limit 

 beyond which two acyl-radicals must be substi- 

 tuted for the aminio hydrogen before rearrange- 

 ment will be possible. 



P. N. Evans and Lena M. Sutton : The Effi- 

 ciency of the Preparation of Ether from Alcohol 

 and Sulphuric Acid. 



The completeness of the reaction was deter- 

 mined by comparing the fractionation results of 

 the successive distillates with those of artificial 

 mixtures corresponding to the theoretical products 

 at various degrees of completeness; the efficiency 

 proved to be about 40 per cent., and this waa 

 maintained until there remained in the generating 

 flask a charred and semi-solid residue amounting 

 to only about one twentieth of the original acid in 

 weight. 



The yield of distillate was in some experiments 

 as high as 176 times the volume of the original 

 acid, containing ether amounting to 40 times the 

 volume or 16 times the weight of the acid used. 



The final fall in efficiency was due, therefore, 

 to the loss of sulphuric acid and not to the accu- 

 mulation of water formed in the reaction. That 

 the accumulation of water is not the interfering 

 factor was further shown by the normal course of 

 the reaction when, dilute sulphuric acid was em- 

 ployed. 



From 15 to 20 per cent, of the sulphuric acid 



used was accounted for as sulphur dioxide. Other 



by-products are being further investigated. 



Ben H. Nicolet and Treat B. Johnson: The 



Constitution of Surinamine. 



Surinamine, which was isolated by Giutyl in 

 1S68 from a species of leguminous trees from 

 Brazil (Ferreira spectabilis) is a methyl deriva- 

 tive of tyrosine, 



H0-C„H4.CH^.CH.(NHCH3)COOH, 



and not a higher homologue, 



HO . C„H, . CH;.CH,CH ( NIL ) COOH. 



This methyl derivative of tyrosine has been syn- 

 thesized in this laboratory and found to be iden- 

 tical with the natural base, which was isolated by 

 Giutyl. This conclusion has been confirmed by 

 Professor Dr. Guido Goldschmiedt, to whom we 

 are indebted for a sample of Giutyl 's original 

 base. 



Treat B. Johnson: A New Method of Synthe- 

 sizing ^-Ketone Esters. 



A new method of synthesizing certain types of 

 /3-ketone esters has been developed by the applica- 

 tion of Eefounatsky 's reaction. Our synthesis 

 represents the first phase of Eefounatsky 's reac- 

 tion. Substituted ketone esters of the general 

 formula C.H50CH,COCH(R)COOC„H5 can easily 

 be obtained by the action of esters of a-halo- 

 genated acids on esters of hydroxy acids in the 

 presence of amalgamated zinc. The method has 

 been applied successfully in several cases. 

 Lewis H. Chernoff and Treat B. Johnson: 



Pyrimidine Nucleosides. 

 Robert Bengis and Treat B. Johnson: New 

 Thiohydantoin Condensation Products. 

 A continuation of the hydantoin researches from 

 the Sheffield Laboratory. This investigation deals 

 with the possible precursors of the naturally occur- 

 ring base adrenaline. By application of our own 

 methods of synthesizing a-amino acids from thio- 

 hydantoins, several new amino acids of biochem- 

 ical interest have been prepared. 

 William J. Hale: The Constitution of "Acetyl- 

 acetone-TJrea." 



This compound is to be considered as a di- 

 methyl-oxypyrimidine or dimethyl-pyrimidone. The 

 presence of an hydrogen atom attached to one of 

 the nitrogen atoms of the pyrimidine nucleus was 

 proved by methylation with diazomethane. 

 W. A. Noyes and L. F. Nickell: Decomposition 

 of Isodihydroaminocampholytic Acid with Ni- 

 trous Acid. 



