Phelps, Palmer and Smillie — Ester Formation. 295 



these experiments to a dissociation of the sodium and potas- 

 sium acid sulphates into neutral sulphates and sulphuric acid, 

 and of the nitrogen-containing sulphates into free base and 

 sulphuric acid, this sulphuric acid so formed being the active 

 catalytic agent. This explanation, however, fails in the case 

 of the weakly basic aniline and pyridine salts. Second, since 

 in most cases the salts used as catalyzers did not go into solu- 

 tion, and an increase in the amount of the salt used produced 

 noticeable effects, it seems possible that the salts not in solution 

 are active as contact agents. All that may be done, however, 

 is to record our results until future experimentation, to be 

 recorded in this series of papers on catalysis, will make clear 

 the correct explanation of the facts under consideration. 



