1871.] Mercurial Colloids and certain Fatty Ketones. 441 



to be rich in mercury, and when treated with excess of dilute acetic acid, 

 gave a white gelatinous precipitate precisely analogous to that obtained 

 under similar circumstances from the potassium di-aceto-mercurate. 



The precipitate was found on analysis to contain 72*26 per cent, of mer- 

 cury ; the formula requires 73*17 per cent. On treatment with hydro- 

 chloric acid, the precipitate afforded mercuric chloride and an oily liquid, 

 insoluble in water, possessing the odour of and characters attributed to 

 propione. 



(b) With Butyrone. — The rectified product of the destructive distilla- 

 tion of calcium butyrate, when dissolved in alcohol and treated with mer- 

 curic chloride and potassium hydrate, gave, on warming, a liquid similar 

 to that obtained with propione. Like the latter, it afforded a white pre- 

 cipitate on treatment with excess of dilute acetic acid. The precipitate, 

 when carefully washed and dried, contained 69*1 and 69*27 per cent, of 

 mercury, the formula ((C 3 H 7 ) 2 CO)Hg 3 3 requiring 68*49 per cent. The 

 freshly prepared precipitate, when digested with excess of hydrochloric acid, 

 afforded mercuric chloride and a small quantity of a liquid insoluble in 

 water and recognizable as butyrone. 



The alkaline alcoholic solution of the butyrone mercuric compound was 

 diluted with its own volume of water, then filtered and carefully warmed 

 in order to slowly evaporate the alcohol as much as possible. When a 

 considerable portion of the latter had been removed in this way, the clear 

 residual liquid was placed on a dialyzer, and the attempt made to diffuse 

 away the crystalloids from the liquid. After treatment for five days, most 

 of the chloride had diffused away, and a liquid was obtained which pec- 

 tized on heating to near the boiling-point and on the addition of a small 

 quantity of a mineral acid. The precipitate first formed by hydrochloric 

 acid was easily redissolved on heating with excess of the reagent, and the 

 odour of the ketone developed. The attempt to convert the alcosol of the 

 mercuric compound into the hydrosol had therefore been attended with, 

 success. 



(c) With Valerone, obtained by purifying the product of the distillation 

 of calcium valerate previously mixed with one-sixth of its weight of quick- 

 lime. When this was dissolved in alcohol and the solution was rendered 

 alkaline by potassium hydrate and mercuric chloride dropped in, the mer- 

 curic oxide first precipitated was speedily redissolved ; but from the solution 

 no precipitate was thrown down on addition of an acid previously mixed, 

 with alcohol. I have not obtained any compound from this alkaline liquid 

 possessing distinctive properties. It is not improbable that the valerone 

 mercuric compound, if formed, is more easily decomposed by acids than 

 the corresponding bodies obtained with other ketones ; hence the difficulty 

 of isolating it. 



3. Deportment of certain Aldehydes in presence of Mercuric Oxide and 

 Alkaline Metallic Hydrate.— The close similarity in chemical relations be- 



2 m 2 



