November 11, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



473 



cine hydrochloride gave (J-dihydroquinieinol ni- 

 trate, which yielded the crystalline base and di- 

 hydroehloride. Only the i-dihydroehloride could 

 be obtained. N-methylquinicine dihydroehloride 

 gave both d- and Z-N-methyl-dihydroquinieinol, 

 which crystallized readily. The (J-hydrobroinide, 

 dihydroehloride, and methiodide were prepared, 

 as well as the J-dihydrochloride and methiodide. 

 Similarly, N-ethylquinicine hydrochloride gave the 

 d-base, from which the mono- and di-hydroehlo- 

 rides and methiodide were prepared. An !-dihy- 

 drochloride was also isolated. Ethyldihydrocu- 

 preicine sulfate (optotoxin) gave the (?-hydro- 

 chloride, from which the base and dihydroehloride 

 were obtained. Methyl and ethyl iodide yielded 

 the corresponding crystalline N-alkyl bases, al- 

 and I-dUiydrocinehonicinol sulfate were also ob- 

 tained. 



, C CH, CH^_C-H 



'■'07 "Or" 



■'aj-™"""!^: 



The action of ammonia on Moral) ens ene and 

 iromoienzene in the vapor state in presence of 

 catalysts: A. IjOwy and A. M. Howald. Am- 

 monia mixed with the vapor of a halogenated ben- 

 zene compound was passed over various catalysts 

 at elevated temperatures to determine the pos- 

 sibility of replacing the halogen by the NH. 

 group. Iron, nickel and cobalt were the only 

 active catalysts. The optimum temperature for 

 iron was 480° C. and gave a yield of 7.35 per 

 cent, of aniline. The ca,talysts used were rapidly 

 poisoned. This substantiates previous experi- 

 mental evidence that halogens have poisonous ef- 

 fects upon catalysts. Several oxides, salts, ele- 

 ments and alloys were also tried as catalysts. 



The effect of fullers' earth on pinene and other 

 terpenes: C. S. Vknable and E. C. Crocker. 



An investigation has been made of the effect, 

 under various experimental conditions, of fullers' 

 earth on pinene and other terpenes. In the pres- 

 ence of fullers' earth, various terpenes react spon- 

 taneously or upon a slight elevation of tempera- 

 ture. In the case of pinene, the first effect is 

 that of intermolecular rearrangement, the chief 

 products being dipentine and terpinene. These 



terpenes again react iu the presence of fullers' 

 earth to give dipinene, boiling point 320° C. 

 It is conceivable that the intermolecular rear- 

 rangement and the polymerization take place si- 

 multaneously. The local overheating of the 320° 

 fraction in the presence of fullers' earth results 

 in a depolymerization with a formation of paraf- 

 fin hydrocarbons, p-cymene, etc., and the 360° 

 fraction. The course of reaction as thus shown 

 is entirely different from that indicated by the 

 work of Gurvioh, J. B. P. C. S., 1915-16. A 

 similar set of reactions has been observed for 

 dipentine, terpinene, eamphene, beta pinene, active 

 limonene, sabinene and terpineol. The reaction in 

 the case of oineol is very slow; p-eymene does 

 not give 'a reaction. 



A study in yields in nitrating nitrotoluenes : J. 

 M. Bell and D. M. Carroll. 



Studies on nucleic acids: The reduction of 

 uracil and cytosine iy means of colloidal plati- 

 num: Treat B. Johnson and Elmer B. Brown. 

 The reduction of uracil leads to a quantitative 

 production of hydrouracil, which can be hydro- 

 lyzed quantitatively to /3-alanine. Transformations 

 can be brought about at low temperatures in the 

 pyrimidine series by catalytic reduction which 

 can not be accomplished by other means. 



Studies on nucleic acids: New color tests for 

 the pyri/midine-thymine, applicable in the pres- 

 ence of uracil, cytosine and sugars: Treat B. 

 Johnson and Oskar Baudisch. Thymine ia oxi- 

 dized in the presence of ferrous sulphate with for- 

 mation of urea, pyruvic acid and acetol. Both 

 pyruvic acid and acetol can be identified by char- 

 acteristic color tests, which serve for the indirect 

 identification of thymine. The reaction is of im- 

 mediate service in determining the constitution of 

 nucleic acids. 



Hydantoin indigoids: Arthur J. Hill and 

 Henry R. Henze. (By title.) Nuclear aromatic 

 aldehydes condense readily with the methylene 

 (OHo) group of hydantoin and many of its de- 

 rivatives. On the contrary, however, only three 

 aliphatic aldehydes have been directly combined 

 with hydantoin while there is no literature bear- 

 ing on the behavior of the carbonyl group of ke- 

 tones toward this tj^je of compound. The writers 

 have been able to effect condensation between cer- 

 tain hydantoins, namely, l-phenyl-2-thiohydantoin, 

 1-phenylhydantoin and hydantoin, and the cyclic 

 ketone isatin, and its chloride. Two types of con- 

 densation products have thus been obtained, 



