Patten—Solutions of Hydrochloric Acid in Solvents. 331 
tilling flask which contained the benzene to be used in the ex¬ 
periment. About four grams of sodium was taken to 50 cc. of 
benzene and the distilling apparatus was allowed to stand in 
contact with phosphorus pentoxide drying tubes for seventy-two 
hours before distilling the benzene. 
In making the distillation the joints of the apparatus proved 
to be so tight that on removing the flame below the distilling 
flask a vacuum was caused by the condensing of the benzene 
vapors. When the receiver containing the benzene was discon¬ 
nected from the distillation apparatus some benzene was left in 
the part of the glass tubes beyond the glass stop-cocks. This 
was evaporated off by heating and blowing in air through a 
capillary tube. Then the receiver was connected to the hydro¬ 
gen chloride apparatus and allowed to stand one half hour in 
connection with the phosphorus pentoxide towers on each side 
before the stop-cocks of the receiver were opened to let in the 
HC1 gas. Thus it is not possible that any moisture from the 
air entered the receiver. 
The HC1 gas was now run in under pressure. Zinc was acted 
upon in one minute from the opening of the stop-cock, a gas, 
presumably hydrogen, being evolved with considerable vigor. 
Magnesium and aluminum were not touched but remained per¬ 
fectly bright. Contact with the metals makes no difference in 
the rate of action on zinc. After one and one-third hours the 
zinc was still being acted upon with a steady evolution of gas 
and showed signs of corrosion, a white crust forming on it, 
doubtless ZnCl 2 . 
Cadmium gave off no bubbles of gas at any time but after two 
hours showed a very faint white tarnish. Heather magnesium 
nor aluminum showed signs of corrosion after standing twenty- 
four hours. A trace of water let in by opening the receiver to 
the air did not cause action upon the aluminum or magnesium. 
The benzene solution was siphoned off under pressure without 
coming into contact with the air before it left the metals, evap¬ 
orated to dryness and left not the slightest solid residue. This 
shows that the action upon metals of these non-aqueous solutions 
of TIC1 does not depend solely upon the solubility of the salt 
