DR. E. FRANKLAND’S RESEARCHES ON ORGANO-METALLIC BODIES. 
269 
Analysis No. II. 
Atoms of Carbon : atoms of Hydrogen=4 : 4'98. 
As this substance is scarcely soluble in either ether or absolute alcohol, and is decom- 
posed by water as well as by heat, there appeared no possibility of separating its 
proximate constituents, and I therefore sought for some further clue to its nature in 
the products of its decomposition. A preliminary experiment showed that water aeted 
upon it energetically, the solid became transitorily coloured yellow, a peculiar odour 
was developed, similar to that produced when iodine is dissolved in a solution of a 
caustic alkali, and the water became impregnated with alcohol, for on being treated 
with acetate of potash and sulphuric acid, it gave the characteristic odour of acetic 
ether. After washing the solid residue of this reaction with a small quantity of 
water, and drying in vacuo, it yielded a mere traee of carbonic acid on ignition with 
oxide of copper, and was found to be pure oxide of zinc. This behaviour afforded 
strong evidence, 'that one of the chief constituents of oxidized zincethylis ethylate of 
zinc, 
ZnO C, H, O. 
In order to ascertain more clearly the change which contact with water produeed 
in the oxidized product, a portion of the same specimen, which yielded the above ana- 
lytical results, was saturated with water and exposed over sulphuric acid in vacuo 
until it ceased to lose weight. Submitted to analysis it then yielded the following 
results : — 
V. '6336 grm., burnt with oxide of copper and oxygen, gave ‘1393 grm. carbonic 
acid and •1412grm. water. 
VI. *6678 grm., cautiously ignited with access of air, gave ’4766 grm. oxide of zinc. 
These results agree with the formula 
ZnO, HO, C, H 3 O 3 -f 6 ZnO HO, 
as will be seen from the following comparison : 
Calculated. 
>A 
Found. 
c, . . 
. . . ' 24*00 
6*04 
5-99 
. 
. . . lO’OO 
2-51 
2-48 
7ZnO 
. . . 283-64 
71-33 
71-37 
0,0 . . 
. . . 80-00 
20-12 
20-16 
397-64 
100-00 
100-00 
Although the occurrence of acetate of zinc and hydrated oxide of zinc in the above 
atomic proportions is probably only accidental, yet a comparison of these results with 
those of analyses Nos. I., II., III. and IV. prove that the action of water upon the 
oxidized product derived from zincethyl, consists in the replacement of ethyl by 
2 o 2 
