464 FroceecUngs of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Prom which it can be seen that the last formula very nearly agrees 

 with the results of the combustion, 



Saponification. 



Though this part of my work is far from being completed, owing 

 to numerous difficulties which have presented themselves, it will, I 

 believe, yield rich results. The method by which I proceeded was as 

 follows: — Pure potash was fused in a silver dish, and about 6 grammes 

 dry wax put in, in small portions. A soapy smell arose at once. 

 The brown sticky soap was from time to time taken off with an iron 

 spatula and put in water. After the operation was finished, the whole 

 was put in a large quantity of water, and boiled for some time, till all 

 was dissolved into a milky liquid. Then barium chloride was added, 

 and the liquid filtered off the insoluble baryta salt, and the equally 

 insoluble wax alcohols, which were washed with water. The mixture 

 was boiled with ordinary alcohol to dissolve the new wax alcohol, filtered 

 while hot, and the operation repeated four times. The last traces of 

 adhering wax alcohol were removed by washing the baryta salt on the 

 funnel with hot spirits of wine. The united alcoholic filtrates were 

 concentrated to a small volume, by which the wax alcohol separated 

 out and was removed by filtration. Purified once more by dissolving 

 in absolute alcohol and dried, it melted at 82° C, a temperature which 

 is open to correction, and requires further investigation, to ascertain 

 the perfect freedom of the body from other substances, but which, if 

 found to be correct, agrees with the fusing point of ceryl alcohol, 

 which Brodie gives at 79° C, and Duffy at 81° C. 



Prepa/ration and Examination of the Fatty Acid obtained as a 

 Barium Salt. 



The barium salt was boiled for some time with strong acetic acid, 

 and the fatty acid, which separated, filtered off. It was a brown sub- 

 stance melting at about 82° C. It dissolved in hot alcohol, with 

 yellow colour, leaving behind a blackish-brovni glutinous mass which 

 solidified on cooling. This proves the existence of, at least, two fatty 

 acids in the wax, or it leads to the supposition that it is a mixture of 

 several ethers. Only that part which dissolved in alcohol was further 

 examined. After repeated purifications with hot alcohol, it was 

 obtained as a lead salt, by precipitation with lead acetate fi'om a hot 

 alcoholic solution. In this it was found that even the portion soluble 

 in alcohol must be a mixture of several fatty acids. Along with a 

 white flocculent lead precipitate, there was formed a brown precipitate, 

 also containing lead, melting at a boiling heat, and adhering to the 

 sides of the glass vessel. The two precipitates could be separated by 

 prolonged boiling and pouring off of the liquid. The flocculent lead 

 salt, which was present in large quantity, was filtered off and washed 

 with hot alcohol. Dried at 80° C, and decomposed by hot acetic acid, 



