CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF     FATTY  BODIES.  315 
By  these  methods  all  the  iodine  is  recoverable  from  the  mixed 
salts ;  whereas  by  the  old  process  generally  used,  a  great  deal 
was  lost  as  chloride  of  iodine. — Sealed  July  26,  1853 — London 
Chem.  Graz.  April  15,  1854. 
CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  FATTY  BODIES. 
By  J.  Lefort. 
In  a  former  memoir,  the  author  communicated  his  views  on 
the  composition  of  the  fatty  vegetable  oils,  and  their  behaviour 
with  iodine,  chlorine  and  bromine.  He  has  since  endeavored  to 
ascertain  whether  these  elements  do  not  act  specially  upon  one 
of  the  constituents  of  the  oils,  as,  for  example,  upon  the  oleine, 
rather  than  upon  the  margarine  and  stearine.  He  has  arrived 
at  the  following  results  : — 
Iodine,  whose  only  action  upon  the  fatty  oils  consists  in  de- 
priving them  of  a  very  small  portion  of  the  hydrogen,  does  not 
appear  to  affect  the  oleine  in  any  greater  degree  than  the  mar- 
garine and  stearine.  Chlorine  and  bromine,  on  the  contrary, 
combine  very  readily  with  all  three  principles. 
These  new  compounds  are  heavier  than  water;  chlorinated 
and  brominated  oleine  are  thicker  than  pure  oleine,  whilst  the 
corresponding  compounds  of  margarine  and  stearine  do  not  pos- 
sess so  much  consistency  as  the  pure  substances,  and  fuse  at  a 
much  lower  temperature.  No  reagent  shows  the  presence  of 
free  bromine  and  chlorine  in  these  compounds. 
Stearine,  margarine  and  oleine,  under  the  influence  of  chlo- 
rine and  bromine,  lose  the  same  quantity  of  hydrogen,  which  in 
the  case  of  the  first,  the  only  one  of  which  the  exact  composition 
is  known,  is  4  equivs.  The  author  gives  the  formula  C76  H66  CI4 
O8  for  chlorinated  stearine,  and  for  brominated  stearine  C76  Hc6 
Br4  O8.  In  the  case  of  margarine  and  oleine,  also,  the  chlorine 
and  bromine  would  likewise  displace  4  equivs.  of  hydrogen. 
The  author  has  also  instituted  some  experiments  on  the  action 
of  the  haloid  elements  upon  the  fatty  acids. 
Iodine  has  no  action  upon  the  fatty  acids  produced  by  the 
saponification  of  either  the  vegetable  or  animal  oils.  Chlorine 
and  bromine  also  form  no  peculiar  compounds  with  stearic  and 
margaric  acids  if  these  be  completely  freed  from  oleic  acid ; 
