230 



DR T. ANDERSON ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE 



Action of Iodide of Ethyl on Collidine. 



Iodide of ethyl and collidine react upon one another in the same manner as 

 the bases already mentioned. An oily layer separates on heating the mixture, 

 which refuses to crystallize on cooling. After removal from the tube in which 

 the action was effected, and separation from the excess of iodide of ethyl, the 

 fluid was allowed to stand for some time, but no crystals appeared. It was then 

 exposed to cold, in the hope of inducing crystallization, but without success ; and 

 no better result followed the attempts made by dissolving in the smallest possible 

 quantity of absolute alcohol, and adding ether. As the properties of the com- 

 pound did not appear promising, no further experiments were made with it ; but 

 it was converted into a platinum salt, for the purpose of ascertaining whether 

 the collidine had actually combined with ethyl. The process employed was the 

 same as that used for preparing the ethylopicoline salt. A sparingly soluble and 

 scarcely crystalline compound was obtained, the platinum of which was deter- 

 mined by the following experiment : — 



5-855 grains of the platinum salt gave 

 D618 ... platinum. 





Experiment. 





Calculation. 





Carbon, 



34-06 



c 20 



120 



Hydrogen, . 



. 



4-50 



H 16 



16 



Nitrogen, 





3-68 



N 



14 



Chlorine, 





29-98 



C1 3 



106-5 



Platinum, 



27-65 



27-78 



Pt 



98-7 



100-00 355-2 



This corresponds completely with the platinum salt of ethylocollidine, but as 

 that substance did not appear likely to give results of interest, I contented myself 

 with this experiment as a sufficient proof of its existence. 



The experiments described in the preceding pages sufficiently establish the 

 fact that picoline and its homologues must be considered as nitryl bases, that is 

 to say, bases capable of taking up only one additional atom of ethyl or any simi- 

 lar radical, by doing which they are converted into fixed compounds, of the class 

 designated ammonium bases. If this be their constitution, we must, according 

 to the views at present entertained, assume that these bases are formed from 

 ammonia by the replacement of its three atoms of hydrogen by as many different 

 radicals. Of the exact nature of these radicals, the experiments we at present 

 possess afford no data for drawing definite conclusions; but a moment's consider- 

 ation suffices to show that they must be substances remarkable for the simplicity 

 of their constitution. If we confine our attention to pyridine, as the fundamental 



