PROCEEDINGS OF OEOLOOTCAL SOCIETIES. 



147 



In a paper published in the October number of the Chemical Society's 

 Journal, the author showed that the products of the distillation of canncl 

 coal at a low temperature contain a series of homologous hydrocarbons of 

 the formula C n ~H n + 2 ; and further that these are the hydrides of the 

 alcohol radicles, as, upon treatment with chlorine, they yielded, by substi- 

 tution of one atom of hydrogen by one of chlorine, the corresponding 

 chlorides, from which other derivatives may be obtained. 



In the portion of the oil boiling below 120° C, the author found the 

 following four hydrides : — 



C ]0 Tfjo hydride of amyl, boiling-point 39° C. 

 C B B{ 4 hydride of hexvl, „ 68° C. 



C 14 H 16 hydride of heptyl, „ 98° C. 



C I6 U 18 hydride of octyl, „ 119° C. 



Of these, the hydride of heptyl or cenanthyl i3 the most interesting, as it 

 was previously unknown, and he therefore undertook the investigation of 

 its derivatives, concerning which likewise our knowledge is very limited 

 and contradictory. Thus, for instance, many chemists state that the alco- 

 hol obtained by the distillation of castor oil with potash is heptylic alcohol, 

 whilst others regard it as octylic alcohol, and it is only by the most recent 

 experiments of Bonis* that we learn with certainty that this substance is 

 octylic alcohol, inasmuch as he obtained the true heptylic alcohol by the 

 action of nascent hydrogen on cenanthol. For the purpose of this inves- 

 tigation the author endeavoured to obtain the hydride of heptyl from the 

 American petroleum, as the yield of this substance from the cannel oils is 

 but small, and the labour of purification tedious and disagreeable. 



The existence of this hydride in the petroleum was rendered probable 

 by the fact of the discovery of hydride of hcxyl by Pelouze and Ca- 

 hours.t 



The oils which he examined are those known by the name of tur- 

 pentine substitute, and obtained as the first products in the rectifica- 

 tion of the crude oil. Different samples of the commercial articles possess 

 very different properties ; the specific gravity lies between 0*70 and 0 - 75. 

 One sample began to boil at 30° C, and the greatest portion distilled over 

 below 100° C. /whilst others between 80° and 150° C, and others between 

 100° and 200° C. 



When the oils are subjected to fractional distillation, no product of con- 

 stant boiling-point is obtained, the oils requiring for this purpose a pre- 

 liminary purification with concentrated nitric acid. 



The greatest portion of the oils remains unattacked, and the acid solu- 

 tion contains nitrobenzol (from which aniline was. prepared), niijrotoluol 

 and binitrotoluol, and small quantities of fatty acids produced from traces 

 of defines which are probably contained in the crude oils. 



The author tried to separate these olefines by adding bromine to the 

 crude oil until the colour of the latter no longer disappeared ; a few drops, 

 however, are sufficient for a large quantity of the oil, and when the whole 

 is subjected to distillation, a very few drops of bromine compounds of a 

 high boiling-point remained behind, the quantity of which was boo small 

 for further examination. 



The oil after this treatment was well washed, dried over potash, and rec- 

 tified repeatedly over sodium. By fractional distillation, the following 

 four hydrides were obtained, and found to be identical with the hydrides 

 from the cannel tar : — 



* Compt, Rend., 55, I fcO 



t lb. 5 I. L241. 



