232 DR T. ANDERSON ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE 



amides recently described by Gerhardt and Chiozza, which are formed from the 

 primary amides by a process similar to that employed by Hoffman to produce his 

 two classes of bases. The closeness of this analogy may be seen from the sub- 

 joined comparison of these methyl bases with the benzoyl amides. 



Methylamine. Bimethylamine. Trimethylamine. 



C„ H,) o H„) C„ H 3 j 



2 H%N C 2 HjN C 2 ION 



H ) H J C 2 H 3 ) 



C 14 H 5 0,| C 14 H 5 2 | C 14 H 5 2 



H Vn c 14 h 5 o 2 In c 14 h 5 o, 



H ) H j C 14 H 5 2 



In 



Primary Benzamide. Secondary Benzamide. Tertiary Benzamide. 



From which we see that in every case hydrogen is replaced, atom for atom, by a 

 compound radical, the only difference being, that in the one set of substances the 

 ammonia retains, in the other it loses, its basic properties. 



But the constitution of an imide or a nitryl is materially different. Of the 

 former, indeed, we know too little to admit of any satisfactory conclusions regard- 

 ing their constitution ; but taking benzonitryl with the formula C l4 H 5 N, as an 

 example of its class, and examining its constitution in the same point of view, 

 we may consider it as an ammonia, in which three atoms of hydrogen have been 

 replaced by a single radical C l4 H 5 . While, therefore, an amide is formed by the 

 replacement of one or more atoms of hydrogen in ammonia by an equal number 

 of molecules of a monobasic radical, a nitryl may be viewed as an ammonia with 

 its three atoms of hydrogen replaced by one atom of a tribasic radical; and in the 

 same manner there must exist a class of compounds, which for the present we 

 may call imides. although they are not comparable with the substances known 

 under that name, in which part of the hydrogen is replaced by a bibasic radical. 

 The different forms of combination possible under this view may be best rendered 

 intelligible if we make use of general formulae, and take X', X", and X" as re- 

 presenting respectively a monobasic, a bibasic, and a tribasic radical. We have 

 then the following expressions for the different classes : — 



(1.) (2.) (3.) (4.) (5.) (6.) 



X', X') X) X"l X"] X'"}N 



h In x>n xJ-n hj j x'j 1 



H ) H j X') 



Of these the first three represent either the amides, or the bases described by 

 Wurtz and Hoffman ; the last is a nitryl, and the others are substances at present 

 scarcely known. 



Now as regards the first three classes, it is manifest that they prove amides or 

 bases, according to the properties of the radicals replacing the hydrogen ; and we 

 may fairly argue from analogy that the members of the last may be also either 

 basic or non-basic. The nitryls at present known are all non-basic, but it is my 

 belief that the most probable explanation of the constitution of the bases of the 



