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absolutely dry compound the aldehyde was liberated by means of soda- 
solution. It was fairly volatile with water vapour. The quantity 
amounted to only 9 gm., i. e. 0,3 ^/q of the oil. The specific gravity of 
the principal fraction which passed over at 5 mm pressure between 108*^ 
and 120°, was 0,8388. When the temperature was much reduced, the 
oil congealed into a white radiated crystalline mass, which at ordinary 
temperature again liquefied. This shows that the fraction did not consist 
of pure aldehyde, as the latter is solid at ordinary temperature. As 
a matter of fact we succeeded by means of soda-solution, in abstracting 
from the oil an acid of the melting point 43^, which we recognised 
as laurinic acid, for a mixture of this acid and laurinic acid also melted 
at 43^, — a proof of the identity of both bodies. The acid would 
therefore have been formed by oxidation of the aldehyde in the air. 
With synthetically produced laurinic aldehyde we could also observe 
that the oxidation into laurinic acid in the air occurs fairly rapidly. 
The aldehyde from which the acid had been removed yielded a 
semicarbazone of the melting point 101,5^ to 102,5°. The synthetic 
aldehyde produced for comparison from laurinic alcohol (obtained by 
reduction and saponification of the ethyl ester of laurinic acid by 
L. Bouveault and G. Blanc's^) process), yielded the same derivative 
of the same melting point and the same properties. The mixture of 
the two semicarbazones melted at 101° to 102°. As a further proof, 
we obtained on oxidation of the aldehyde freed from acid, with moist 
silver oxide, laurinic acid of the melting point 43°. Combustion of 
the acid and of the silver salt, and silver-determination and analysis 
of the semi-carbazone, all confirmed that the new aldehyde was 
laurinic aldehyde. 
Analysis of laurinic acid. 
9,1708 gm. of the substance yielded 0,1853 gm. H2O and 0,4490 gm. COg. 
Found: Calculated for 0^2^24.^2- 
C: 71,69% 72,00% 
H: 12,05% 12,00 7o 
Analysis of the silver salt. 
o,i466gm. of the substance yielded 0,0977 gm. HgO and 0,25 16 gm. COg. 
0,2244 0,0786 „ Ag. 
Found: Calculated for C^^g -^23 ^S^2 • 
C: 46,79 7o 46,9170 
H: 7,4 1 7o 7>497o 
Ag: 35>03 7o . 35,i87o 
^) Compt. rend. 136 (1903), 1676, and 137 {1903), 60. 
