518 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
hydrolyzed product therefore had all the properties of the acid 
gum obtained by hydrolysis of the crude product of the action 
of silver acetate on d brompropionic acid in absolute ether. 
Silver oxide, as well as silver carbonate, in water solution 
yielded a gum which was soluble in water and titrated for the 
most part as a free acid. By heating, however, with water at 
120° for 6 hrs. in oil bath, there was obtained, after distilling 
off water at reduced pressure, a stiff gum which was soluble in 
water and titrated only 50% as a free acid. Even after dis¬ 
solving in excess of 5% soda solution, and heating alkaline solu¬ 
tion 5-6 hrs. at 100° the gum recovered by neutralization with, 
stand, dil. HC1, distilling off water at reduced pressure etc., was 
soluble in water but had very little mobility and titrated only 
50-60% as a free acid. Can heating in tuater solution at 100° 
in the 'presence of an excess of zinc carbonate convert this ma¬ 
terial into zinc lactate, where heating with water at 120°, or 
with an excess of sodium carbonate at 100° did not yield lactic 
acid or sodium lactate resp. ? 
Acrylic acid or hydracrylic acid might easily be obtained 
here. 
H 
CH 3 C—COOH + Ag OH - > CHo = CH COOH + Ag Br 
Br 
If the acrylic acid then in part added water again we should get 
hydracrylic acid (ft hydroxy propionic). 
CH 2 = CH —COOH + HOH - > CH 2 OH _ CH 2 COOH. 
That neither of these is present is shown by the fact that the 
zinc salt crystallizes almost completely from water due to its 
difficult solubility, while the zinc salts of acrylic and hydracry¬ 
lic acids are readily soluble in water. 
Dilactic acid might be formed by simple metalepsis: 
H 
CH 3 -C COOH 
A g ''Br 
O 
Ag \Br 
CH 3 _ C — COOH 
