— 124 — 



This ester yields on saponification an acid melting at 15 8°, which 

 on being melted splits off carbonic acid, and is converted into a-methyl- 

 a-isopropyladipic acid : 



CE CH„ 

 \/ 

 H v / CH /CHL 



HOOC — C CH 



' I^COOH 



H 2 C CH 2 



It melts at 103 , and corresponds to dihydrocamphoric acid. But 

 the latter is optically active, whilst the synthetic acid is inactive. 



In continuation of a work on the electrolytic reduction of the 

 imide of camphoric acid 1 ) which has led to the formation of the so- 

 called camphidones and of camphidine, J. Tafel and H. Bub- 

 lit z 2 ) publish the result of their investigations which deal with the 

 elucidation of the constitution of these reduction products. 



Camphocarbonie acid, as is well known, splits up, when heated, 

 into carbon dioxide, and camphor. W. Balcom 3 ) has investigated 

 the physical progress of this reaction. We content ourselves with a 

 reference to this work. 



Fenchone. On the strength of recent investigations, F. W. 

 Semmler 4 ) has convinced himself that the formula 



H C CH CO 



H 2 C C CH-CH 3 



H 



drawn up by Wallach 5 ) for fenchone, and up to the present re- 

 cognised as correct, does not agree with all the facts. If it is accepted 

 with Kondakow, that in the formation of fenchyl chloride from 

 fenchyl alcohol a transposition takes place into the tertiary fenchyl 

 chloride, in which the chlorine atom and the methyl-group are linked 



*) Berl. Berichte 34 (1901), 3274. 



2 ) Berl. Berichte 38 (1905), 3806. 



3 ) The chemical kinetics of the loss of carbon dioxide from camphocarbonie 

 acid. Thesis, Heidelberg, 1905. 



4 ) Chem. Ztg. 29 (1905), 13 13. 



5 ) Liebig's Annalen 300 (1898), 319. 



