— 150 — 1 



the structure to be C15H22O4, or C 15 H 2 4 4 . It appears to be a point of 

 importance to carry on the process of combustion with extreme slowness. 

 Finally the author refers to the structure of the product of elimination 

 of /^-caryophyllene nitrosite with alcoholic potash-solution; he surmises 

 hat in this case the N0 2 -group is replaced by the ethoxy-group. 



F. W. Semmler and E.W.Mayer 1 ) have reduced natural caryophyllene 

 in absolute ether by passing hydrogen into it, in the presence of platinum 

 black. The resulting tetrahydrocaryophyllene constituted a liquid, b. p. 122 

 to 123° at 12 mm. (d 20 o 0,8712; « D20O + 3°; n D20O 1,4700) which was identical 

 with the reduction product prepared from regenerated caryophyllene. From 

 this it may be concluded that the same hydrocarbon-structure occurs 

 both in natural and in regenerated caryophyllene. 



Cedrene. Artificial cedrene, which is obtained by splitting off water 

 from cedrol, has up to the present been regarded as an isomeride of 

 natural cedrene. F. W. Semmler and K. E. Spornitz 2 ), by resolution of the 

 artificial products, have shown this assumption to be inaccurate. They 

 prepared the hydrocarbon by heating cedrol (m. p. 79 to 80°) during 

 15 minutes with its own weight of 100 p. c. formic acid. The constants 

 were b. p. 112 to 113° (at 7 mm.) and « D — 85°. When the hydrocarbon 

 was oxidised with ozone in glacial acetic acid solution it gave rise to 

 cedrene keto acid, which was identified by the preparation of its methyl 

 ester (b. p. 166 to 168°; d 19 o 1,0501 ; « D — 35°; n D 1,48482). These constants 

 agreed with those determined for the ketonic methylester from natural 

 cedrene. Cedrene dicarboxylic acid also, prepared from artificial cedrene, 

 proved to be identical with cedrene dicarboxylic acid from natural cedrene 3 ). 

 The two preparations, when mixed together, gave no depression of m. p. 



These experiments have proved that natural cedrene contains the 

 artificial cedrene with a high rotation; it is probable that the natural 

 product, owing to its b. p. being higher, contains still other isomeric ses- 

 quiterpenes; possibly a little semicyclic cedrene may be assumed in the 

 form of an admixture. 



Sterene. A new manner of representing the hydrocarbons of the 

 styrene-series is described by F. Kunckel 4 ). This author has discovered 

 that the propenyl hydrocarbons may readily be prepared from the «-/2-diha- 

 logen hydrocarbons by treating an ethereal solution of the latter, to which 

 if necessary a small quantity of alcohol was added, with metallic sodium. 



!) Berl. BericJite 45 (1912), 1393. 



2 ) Berl. Berichte 45 (1912), 1553. 



3 ) Comp. Report April 1912, 173. 



4 ) Berichte d. deutsch. pharm. Ges. 22 (1912), 180 242 



