DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. 



227 



soluble in absolute alcohol. Two analyses were made of the platinum compound 

 of this base, the one from a portion collected at the commencement, the other to- 

 wards the end of the distillation, which show that the product was of uniform 

 composition throughout. The results were as follows : — 



{6*440 grains of platinochloride gave 

 2*430 ••• carbonic acid, and 

 1-920 ••• water. 



{ 11*775 grains of platinochloride gave 

 4*210 ... carbonic acid, and 

 3*457 ... water. 



T f 4*385 grains of platinochloride gave 

 ' \ 1*705 ... platinum. 



TT f 6*580 grains of platinochloride gave 

 ' \ 2*575 ... platinum. 





Experiment. 





Calculation. 



Carbon, 



I. II. 



10-29 9*75 



9-55 



C 4 



24 



Hydrogen, 



3*31 3-26 



2*78 



H 8 



8 



Nitrogen, 



• ... ... 



5*99 



N 



14 



Chlorine, 



. ... ... 



42*39 



Cl 3 



106-5 



Platinum, 



38-88 39-23 



39*29 



Pt 



98-7 



10000 



251-2 



Its formula, therefore, is C 4 H 7 N H CI Pt Ch, and the base itself is ethylamine. 



The base obtained by the distillation of the ethylopicoline alone was found to 

 have the same composition, for 6177 grains of its platinum salt gave 2*413 grains 

 of platinum, equal to 39-06 per cent. 



The decomposition which thus occurs is very remarkable, and differs entirely 

 from that observed by Hoffman in the ammonium bases examined by him. The 

 oxide of tetrethylammonium, for instance, is not decomposed when evaporated 

 in vacuo. Even at 212° it undergoes no change until it becomes nearly dry, but 

 then a base and a permanent gas are evolved, the former being triethylamine, 

 and the latter olefiant gas. In this case, one out of the four ethyl atoms which 

 the complex base contained is decomposed, and the other three remain with the 

 ammonia in the form of a nitryl base ; in fact we may fairly assume that the 

 atom of ethyl added to the triethylamine to convert it into tetrethylammonium 

 is decomposed, and the base which formed the starting-point of that action is 

 regenerated. With methethylopicoline the case is different ; we start, indeed, 

 from a nitryl base, but in place of reproducing it in the decomposition, the atom 

 of ethyl which has been added takes possession of the ammonia, and produces an 

 amide base, leaving the radicals, which we must assume to have replaced the 

 three atoms of hydrogen in the ammonia from which the picoline was originally 

 produced, in some other form of combination. In another point, also, the decom- 



vol. xxi. part 1. 3 p 



