89 
We have made a very large number of experiments for the 
purpose to get hold of one of these intermediate products, 
and have at last succeeded in obtaining one, probably the 
first, in beautiful crystals ; it dyes on silk and wool a rich 
red, and as the commercial red aurin, which is obtained by 
the action of ammonia on common or yellow aurin, has also 
been called peonin, we will retain this name for our com- 
pound. It is formed by heating aurin with dilute ammonia 
to 100°C for some weeks ; a body dyeing exactly the 
same shade, and therefore undoubtedly the same compound, 
is obtained by passing for a few hours ammonia gas into a 
solution of aurin in boiling amyl alcohol. 
As we encountered many difficulties in the preparation of 
peonin, we thought more definite results might be obtained 
by using a compound ammonia, and therefore tried the 
action of methylamine on aurin. Methylamine is now a com- 
mercial article, being obtained from beetroot-molasses by M. 
Vincent’s method, which Dr. Roscoe described to this society 
some weeks ago ; he was kind enough to present it with the 
methylamine required for our experiments. 
On heating the two bodies together for a few hours, the 
deep red colour of the liquid became much paler and a brown 
deposit was formed in the tubes, which on examination was 
found to be trimethyl-pararosaniline , which is formed ac- 
cording to the equation : 
C19H14O3 + 3(CH 3 )NH 2 = C 19 H 14 (CH 3 ) 3 N 3 + 3H 2 0. 
We have dyed with it, as well as with the other bodies men- 
tioned in this paper, silk, wool, and mordanted cotton, and 
beg to submit these samples to your inspection. 
We have already proved that by acting on aurin with 
aniline, the final product consists of triphenyl-pararosaniline 
and thus shown, that the whole host of bodies, known as the 
aniline colours, can be obtained from phenol. 
