162 



Mr. C. G. Williams. 



[Dec. 15, 



During the precipitation of the platinum salts from the distilled 

 base the solution became of a brilliant but fugitive scarlet colour. It 

 is evident from the above numbers that the oil of high boiling point 

 had the same general character as the crude mixture first examined. 



Sodium amalgam, although it so readily polymerises chinoline,* was 

 found to be almost without action on /3-lutidine. 



The action of sodium was then tried upon /3-lutidine dissolved in 

 toluene; two products were obtained, one solid, the other liquid. The 

 solid substance on being dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and fraction- 

 ally precipitated as before, gave two precipitates. 



Number of precipitate. Percentage of platinum. 



I 25-30 



TI 33-33 



The fluid portion treated as before gave — 



Number of precipitate. Percentage of platinum. 



I 26-14 



II 30-69 



The results, while proving that /3-lutidine is polymerised by the 

 action of sodium, show also that at least two substances are formed, 

 and that separation is not easily effected by fractional precipitation 

 with platinic chloride. It will be seen that the second precipitate from 

 the hydrochlorate of the solid base gave for the platinum a number 

 almost exactly agreeing with that required for the platinum salt of 

 dibetalutidine C 14 H 18 N 3 .HClPtCl^, which requires 33'53 per cent, of 

 platinum. 



Compound of ft-Lutidine with Nitrate of Silver. 



I have shown in my paper " Researches on Isomeric Alkaloids, "f 

 that /3-lutidine combines directly with platinic chloride ; it does the 

 same with nitrate of silver. 



When /3-lutidine is added to an aqueous solution of nitrate of silver, 

 a white curdy precipitate is thrown down, it dissolves in alcohol, and 

 is reprecipitated by water as a glittering mass of snow-white crystals. 

 These latter crystallise readily from alcohol in beautiful stellar groups. 

 On analysis the following numbers were obtained : — 



* " Proc. Roy. Soc," vol. 31, p. 536. 



f " Proc. Roy. Soc," vol. 13, p. 308. There is a misprint in this paper, the 

 formula for the direct compound of /3-lutidine with platinic chloride is given, as 

 C'HM.PtCl, it should have been C 7 HM.PtCi 2 ; or, in modern notation, (Pt = 198) 



2(C'H 9 N)PtCl 4 . 



