314 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 791 



muoli better as well as cheaper, while the variety 

 of shades that can now be obtained is almost 

 infinite. The much-vaunted achievements of the 

 good old times are of necessity a myth as far as 

 fastness of dyes or superiority of textiles are 

 concerned, and the purple and fine linen of the 

 ancients would look decidedly queer in a modern 

 department store. The fabrics which the daugh- 

 ters of the Pharaohs used for their personal adorn- 

 ment would not find favor in the eyes of the 

 poorest women of the present day. 

 Saponification of Formic Esters: J. Stieglitz and 



Edith IBaenabd. 



The velocity coefficient for the saponification of 

 ethyl formate by the hydroxyl ion at 25° was 

 determined by means of a mixture of ammonium 

 hydroxide and chloride and found to be 1,840. 

 For methyl formate the constant 2,800 was found. 

 At the same time there is amide formation, the 

 constant for which was found to be 0.13 for 

 methyl formate at 25°. 

 Stereoisomerio Chlorimidoketones : J. Stieglitz 



and P. P. Peterson. 



Stereoisomeric ehlorimido-p-chlorbenzophenone, 

 chlorimido-p-methoxybenzophenone and chlorimido- 

 p-chlor-p-methoxybenzophenone were described. 



Phthalamidie Acids Substituted in the Benzene 

 Nucleus: J. Bishop Tingle and S. J. Bates. 

 It has been shown by the senior author and his 



co-workers that phthalamidie acids, RNHCOCeHj- 



CO:H, when warmed with amines are transformed 



readily into imides, 



CO 



and other products. Aliphatic amidic acids of a 

 similar type, 



RNHCOCCCOjH, 



under similar conditions, fail to react in this 

 manner and their salts with amines are also 

 stable. The investigation has been extended to 

 include several amidic acids derived from 3-nitro-, 

 4-nitro-, 3, 6-dichloro- and tetrachlorophthalic 

 acids, in which E, as in the formula above is 

 phenyl- or j3-naphthyl-. The general effect of 

 these substituting groups (CI or NO,) is to render 

 the amidic acid very stable towards amines, but it 

 is readily changed to the imide by the action of 

 alcohol which may be as dilute as 50 per cent. 

 The reaction is not produced by other solvents 

 under similar conditions of temperature. 



Camphor phenyl- and /3-naphthylamidic acids 



are not dehydrated by amines. Camphoric acid 

 therefore behaves like an aliphatic compound. 

 Melting and Boiling Points of Certain Disuisti- 



tution Products of Benzene. By J. Bishop 



Tingle. 



The statement, which is rather widely current, 

 that para disubstituted benzene derivatives usu- 

 ally melt and boil at a higher temperature than 

 the isomeric ortho- and meta-compounds requires 

 qualification, as is shown by the following results : 



Boiling Points. — ( 1 ) The b. p. increases in 

 the order ortho-, meta- and para- in the case of 

 compounds containing the substituents CI, OH; 

 Br, OH; I, OH (?); OH (OH),; CH3, NO.; CHj, 

 NO,; C,H„ NO,; CH3, Br; CH3, CO=H. (2) The 

 b. ps. of the meta- and para-compounds are essen- 

 tially identical and are loiver than those of the 

 ortho-derivatives when the substituents are CH3, 

 01; (CHa)^; (C,H,),; CL; Br,; I, (?); CI, Br; 

 Br, I; 01, I (?); (NO,): ( ?) ; HO, NO, (!); 

 CI, NH2; Br, NO2. (3) The b. p. rises in the 

 order meta-, ortho-, para- in the case of the com- 

 pounds, CHaCH.CS., CH3; C,Hb, NH,; (NO,), ( ?) J 

 HO, NO2 (?). (4) The increase of temperature 

 is in the order meta-, para-, ortho- with the sub- 

 stituents CI, NO3; I, (?); HO, NO, (?). (5) 

 The increase is in the order para-, meta-, ortho- 

 in the case of CI, I. This is the converse of 1. 

 (6) The order is ortho-, para-, meta- with the 

 groups (NH,),. (7) The b. p. of the ortho- and 

 meta-compounds are essentially equal, that of the 

 para-derivative being higher in presence of CH3, I. 

 (8) The b. p. of the ortho- and para-derivatives 

 are substantially equal, those of the meia-com- 

 pounds being higher or lower in the case of CzHu, 

 Br; (CH3),CH, CH3. 



Melting Points. — The m. ps. of the substances 

 mentioned above are much more simple. The fol- 

 lowing come under class ( 1 ) above : HO, CI ( ? ) ; 

 HO, Br (?); (OH),; HO, NO,; H,N, NO,; CI, 

 NO,; Br, NO,; (CO,H), (?); H,N, CO,H; CH3, 

 COi,H; H, (in the case of C.UJ^) ; I,; CH3, NO,. 

 The remaining compounds fall into class (3) 

 above. They are as follows: I, NO,; Br, NH,; I, 

 OHX; I, NH,; HO, NH,; (NO,),; 0,N, CO,H; 

 C,H„ CO,H; (NH,),. 



No m. ps. have been found which correspond to 

 the relationship shown in the b. ps. of the com- 

 pounds in classes (2), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8). 

 The small number of substances in the last four 

 classes suggests that the published data may 

 require correction. The classification given above 

 is based on the best figures which were available. 



