IV.—CHEMISTRY. 
Art, LXXVIIT.— Preliminary Note on the Presence of one or more Hydro- 
carbons of the Benzol Series in the American Petroleum, also in our 
Petroleuns. By Waua Srey, Analyst to the Geological Survey 
Department, 
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 17th August, 1878.) 
Ir is generally supposed that the benzol series of hydro-carbons is not 
represented by any constituent of American petroleum, nor even as far as I 
know in any true petroleum at all Any way, so far as the American oil 
is concerned, we have it reported in the special report on the Petroleum of 
Pennsylvania by the Geological Survey there that Dr. Genth “believes 
that the series of hydro-carbons characteristic of those which furnish 
aniline, etc., do not exist in our American oils.” And, again, Dana informs 
us in his latest edition of System of Mineralogy that “none of this series 
were detected by Pelonze and Cahours in the Pennsylvania petroleum." 
However, some time ago I had, on behalf of the Customs authorities 
here, to examine some of our so-termed benzine for what is chemically 
known as benzol—hydro-carbon ; and for this I employed the test recom- 
mended by Prof. Hoffman—a test which is based upon the fact that benzol 
loses a portion of its hydrogen when warmed with nitric acid; the re- 
mainder combines with a portion of decomposed acid to form intro-benzol, 
and this product, when placed in contact with nascent hydrogen, is by 
the loss of oxygen transformed into the alkaloid aniline—a substance 
which is by certain easy oxidizing processes converted to others which 
are remarkable for their intensity and variety of colour, forming the well- 
known coal-tar colours. 
The results of his test were, that I entirely failed to get any colour 
reaction; but I obtained a quantity of nitro-oils, from which I succeeded in 
separating one which by deoxidation yielded a substance which exhibited 
all the general properties of an alkaloid ; thus it is soluble in water, com- 
bines with acids, and, when dissolved in either, gives precipitates with tannic 
acid, mercuro-iodide of potassium, and sulpho-cyanide of zine. It is an oil, 
at common temperatures, possessing a dark brown colour, and, like aniline, 
it gives an intense yellow colour to pine-wood. 
