1038 
phäophytine, which is formed by the action of oxalic acid on crude 
chlorophyll solutions. The properties described of phäophytine agree 
so well with those of the sediment mentioned above that there could 
not in our minds remain any doubt that the two substances must 
be identical. In order to prove this identity absolutely, we have 
prepared phäophytine and the hydrochloric sediment from maple- 
leaves and compared the two. Both products were purified by 
a method often used by Schunck and one of us for the purifica¬ 
tion of chlorophyll derivatives, namely by precipitating their chlo- 
roformic solutions with alcohol of 96°/ 0 . The elementary composi¬ 
tion of both substances was found to be identical, a fact which is 
however not sufficiently convincing. More weight carry the follo¬ 
wing facts. The physical and chemical properties of both substances 
are exactly alike. The solubilities, behaviour at elevated temperatures, 
fluorescence and spectra are in all details the same. The spectrum 
of our phäophytine-preparation does not however agree in several 
small details with the one described by Willstätter. 
We are however for the present not prepared to vouch for the 
uniformity of both substances. It is true, the analyses of various 
preparations agree well and samples do not change their composi¬ 
tion on further purifications by means of chloroform and alcohol, 
but the composition of various chlorophyll derivatives is so very 
similar that the constancy of composition of a preparation of this 
kind does not. to our mind, prove its homogenity. Phäophytine yields 
under the treatment of cone, hydrochloric acid phyllocyanine and 
phylloxanthine, so does also, as is well known, the hydrochloric sedi¬ 
ment, which for the sake of brevity, we shall call in future phyllo- 
gene. It was interesting to settle the question whether phyllogene 
contains phyllocyanine and phylloxanthine in the free state or whe¬ 
ther these products are formed by the further action of hydrochloric 
acid in cone, solutions, a question wdiich is of course closety con¬ 
nected with the discussed uniformity, or otherwise, of phyllogene. 
It w^as easy to prove that in the case of phyllogene prepared with¬ 
out the application of high temperatures, for instance by the treat¬ 
ment of concentrated crude chlorophyll solutions in 96°/ 0 alcohol 
with a 10°/ 0 hydrochloric acid, a product results which actually 
does not contain any phyllocyanine. 
Phyllocyanine may be extracted from its ethereal solution com¬ 
paratively easily with 15°/ 0 hydrochloric acid. The ethereal solution 
