10 



Dr. C. R. A. Wright's Contributions to the [Nov. 16, 



ing over Ca Cl 2 , and distillation, to be free from traces of dissolved phos- 

 phorus, to boil at 42°-45° C, and to correspond in every respect with the 

 ordinary methyl iodide. 



If the reaction with hydriodic acid takes place on the water-bath, the 

 resulting product appears to have the composition C 68 H 86 1 2 N 4 12 , 4HI ; 

 but if the mixture be heated to gentle ebullition throughout, the tempera- 

 ture not being allowed to exceed 110°-115° from loss of aqueous fluid by 

 evaporation, the substance obtained contains the elements of two molecules 

 of water less, =C 68 H 82 I 2 N 4 O 10 , 4HI ; whilst if the mixture be rapidly 

 boiled, so that by evaporation the boiling-point rises to 130° and upwards, 

 the ultimate product contains less oxygen than this last body, being 

 C 68 H 82 1 2 N 4 6 , 4HI. These three formulae might each be halved; but 

 inasmuch as compounds containing not less than C 68 have been got from 

 these products by simple treatments, the higher formulae are more probable. 



All three substances are, while moist, colourless tars, drying at 100° to 

 brittle waxy-looking masses, not fusing at 100° when perfectly dry ; they 

 are soluble in hot water, a decomposition being thereby produced ; while 

 moist they appear to absorb oxygen with avidity, rapidly becoming yellow 

 or orange. They are also extremely hygroscopic ; and from the high per- 

 centage of iodine contained, the ease with which they decompose on heat- 

 ing, and the difficultly combustible carbon left, their analysis is a matter of 

 some considerable difficulty. From all these circumstances combined, the 

 numbers obtained do not always accord quite as closely as might be expected 

 in the case of crystalline and easily purified substances. 



To obtain the compound C 68 H 86 1 2 N 4 12 , 4HI, 10 parts of codeia, 30 

 of 55 per cent, hydriodic acid, and 1 of phosphorus may be heated on the 

 water-bath for three to four hours, at the end of which time the evolution 

 of methyl iodide has entirely ceased : by filtering the syrupy hot liquid 

 through asbestos to separate particles of amorphous phosphorus and addi- 

 tion of a little water when cold, a colourless tar is precipitated, which soon 

 sets to a hard brittle mass ; this is broken up and thoroughly washed with 

 water to separate the phosphorus acids produced simultaneously, and finally 

 freed from moisture as far as possible by pressure between filter paper, and 

 dried at 100°. 



The same body may also be obtained by dissolving the original substance 

 in slightly warm water, precipitating with sodium carbonate, and extraction 

 of the mass thus thrown down with ether and agitation of the first portions 

 of the ether extract with hydriodic acid : the tar thus got is identical in all 

 respects with the original substance. After drying at 100° the following 

 numbers were obtained* : — 

 (A) Prepared by first method : 



0-3785 grm. gave 0*588 C0 2 and 0*173 H 2 O. 

 0*359 grm. gave 0*2535 Agl. 



* All combustions given in this paper were made with lead chromate and oxygen ; 

 and the iodine determinations by boiling with nitric acid and silver nitrate. 



