2IO 



camphor and borneol varied according to the conditions under which the 

 test was applied. 



When Guerbet heated w^-borneol instead of 1-borneol with potassium 

 hydroxide, he obtained inactive campholic acid, which proved to be 

 identical with the racemic product obtained from a mixture of d- and 

 1-campholic acid. 



Recrystallised from 80 per cent, alcohol, the inactive acid forms 

 translucent hexagonal flaky crystals, m. p. 109 , whereas the two active 

 acids form longish, clino-rhombic prisms, longitudinally striped. 



m. p. 



Solubility 



I m. p. 

 Sodium salt j of an- 



I hydride 



m. p. of 

 Amide 



active 

 campholic acid 



inactive 

 campholic acid 



io6< 

 I09 c 



6,5 pts. in 10 pts. 

 80 per cent, alcohol 



2 pts. in 10 pts. 

 80 per cent, alcohol 



! 



C 10 H 17 O 2 Na, 5 H 2 O \ 56 

 C 10 H 17 O 2 Na,8H 2 O I 66° 



78-79° 



90" 



The lactone of a-hydroxy-dihydro fencholenic acid, a body 

 difficult to obtain, has thus far only been prepared by roundabout 

 methods. Recently, A. Blumann and O. Zeitschel 1 ) observed that 

 this lactone had been formed, although only in small proportions 

 (1 to 2 °/o) when oxidising a large quantity of fenchylalcohol by means 

 of Beckmann's chromic acid mixture. Contrary to expectation, it was 

 impossible to prepare the lactone from fenchone by this process, 

 for even after being treated with chromic acid mixture for 3 days at 

 normal temperature, the fenchone remained wholly intact. For pur- 

 poses of identification the authors prepared from hydroxy -dihydro- 

 fencholenic acid lactone (m. p. 77 to 78 ; Md -f-i7 4i') the corre- 

 sponding hydroxy- acid (m.p. 106 to 107 ; Md — 3° 13')* a-fencholenic 

 acid (b. p. 144 to 146 , 12 mm.) as well as hydrochloro- fencholenic 

 acid (m. p. 97 to 9 8°). 



CH 



H 2 C 



I 

 H C 



/ 



\ / CH 3 



HCH I X CH, 



\ 



CO 



c — o 



I 



CH 3 

 Lactone of a-hydroxy-dihydro-fencholenic acid 



Cinnamicacid. The publication by Biilmann 2 ), to which reference 

 was made in our last Report, has been amplified by C. Liebermann 3 ), 



*) Berl. Berichte 42 (1909), 2698. 



2 ) Berl. Berichte 42 (1909), 182; Report April 1909, 140. 



8 ) ibidem 42 (1909), 1027. 



