378 



Mr. Schorlemmer on the Constitution of [May 14, 



Found 



Calculated for , * 



C.HnAgO^ I. II. 



48*43 per cent. Ag. 48*60 per cent. 48*65 per cent. 



-Another portion of the acid was converted into the barium-salt, which 

 crystallized from a hot saturated solution in long needles, grouped in 

 stars, the characteristic form of barium caproate. 



0*2475 of the barium salt gave '1318 barium carbonate. 

 Calculated for 



{C^IL^^O^)^'BsL. Found. 

 37*33 per cent. Ba. 37*40 per cent. 



I also prepared the ethyl compound, which I found to boil at 160°-162°; 

 the boiling-point of ethyl caproate is, according to Fehling, 162°*. 



Besides caproic acid, a large quantity of acetic acid was formed, which 

 was isolated by distilling the aqueous liquid from which the caproic acid 

 had been removed. With the first portion of the distillate, oily drops of 

 caproic acid came over ; the latter^portion, which was collected separately, 

 had the pure odour of acetic acid ; it was rectified twice, and the last 

 portion collected, which was boiled with silver carbonate. From the 

 filtered solution silver acetate crystallized on cooling in characteristic long, 

 flat needles. 



(1) 0*2140 of this silver-salt gave 0*1373 silver. 



(2) 0*5895 of the salt gave 0*3825 silver. 



Found. 



Calculated for ^ -'' ^ 



C^ H3 Ag O^. I. II. 



64*68 per cent. Ag. 64*20 per cent. 64*88 per cent. 



These experiments prove that the capryl alcohol from castor-oil is 

 a secondary or isoctyl alcohol to which, adopting the nomenclature 



fCH, 



j Q |-J 



proposed by Kolbef, the name methyl hexyl carbinol, C< 



[oh 



must be given. This alcohol yields, on oxidation, first, the corrcspondini>- 

 acetone, methyl oenanthol, C <^ H^,, which, under further oxidation, splits 



jo" 



up into caproic and acetic acid, exactly as the theory requires. 



Another question to be answered was, what is the structure of the group 

 Hexyl CgHg, contained in this isoalcohol? The caproic acid contained in 

 fats and that prepared from amyl cyanide appear to be identical witli that 

 which I obtained J. Now, according to Erlenmeyer, in the amyl com- 

 pounds the carbon atoms are grouped in the following manner : — 



^ Ann. der Chem.und Pharm. vol. liii. p. 408. 

 t Ibid. vol. cxxxii. p. 103. 



X Caproic acid deviates the plane of the polarized light, whilst that from cocoa-nut- 



