42 



April 10, 1851. 



SIR PHILIP DE MALPAS GREY EGERTON, Bart., V.P., 

 in the Chair. 



The reading of Dr. Hofmann's paper " On the Molecular Consti- 

 tution of the Organic Bases," was resumed and concluded. 



In a former paper* the author advanced a general theory regard- 

 ing the constitution of the volatile organic bases. He showed that 

 in all these substances the original structure of ammonia may be 

 traced without difficulty, and that they must be viewed as ammonia 

 in which either one, two, or the three equivalents of hydrogen are 

 replaced by a corresponding number of compound molecules ; he 

 accordingly distinguished the volatile bases as amidogen, imidogen, 

 and nitrile bases. 



H1 VI VI V-| 



H H VN X VN X 



HJ Hj hJ YJ 



Ammonia. Amidogen bases. Imidogen bases. Nitrile bases. 

 In his present memoir he goes a step further, and communicates 

 the discovery of a new group of alkaloids, closely connected by 

 their origin and composition with the former class, but differing 

 from it altogether by their properties. These new alkaloids are no 

 longer volatile without decomposition, and form in this manner the 

 connecting link betvveen the artificial bases, nearly all of which are 

 volatile, and the natural alkaloids, the majority of which are of a 

 fixed nature. 



The alkaloids of the new class, to which for the sake of conveni- 

 ence the author assigns the term of ammonium bases, arise from 

 the nitrile bases by the assimilation of the additional equivalent of 

 one of the replacing molecules in conjunction with oxygen and water. 



x|n+ZO, H0= f j>NO, HO. 



In his memoir the author establishes the conditions under which 

 this transformation takes place, viz. the action of the alcohol iodides 

 on nitrile bases, and he developes the generality of his observations 

 by the description of about a dozen of new alkaloids prepared ac- 

 cording to his method ; he points out moreover that the number 

 which may be actually produced is nearly unlimited. 



The new substances which are formed under the above conditions, 

 are endowed with very remarkable properties. The alkaloid which 

 is formed by the union of four ethyl equivalents \vith nitrogen, 

 oxygen and water, the substance in which V=X=Y=Z = C., H=,, i. e. 



Hn 



c: S: ^^^O' 



C4 H J 



is thus described by the author. 



* Phil. Trans., 1850, part i. p. 93. 



