52 
ON SOME NEW LACTATES. 
Lactic acid is now so well characterised that it can no 
longer be confounded with any other; nevertheless, its 
history cannot be regarded as complete. Feeling persuaded, 
therefore, that everything relating to the history of this 
acid, or to that of its combinations, must be interesting to 
chemists, I now publish the results of some experiments 
which I have tried with the view of obtaining various 
lactates not yet known. 
I. LACTATE OF OXIDE OF ETHULE (LACTIC ETHER.) 
By distilling in a retort, furnished with an adopter and 
a receiver, a mixture of two parts of powdered and dried 
lactate of lime, two parts and a half of rectified alcohol, 
and one part and a half of sulphuric acid at 66°, taking 
care to stop the operation when the matter in the retort 
begins to turn brown, a liquid is obtained in the receiver, 
which, put in contact with fused and pulverised chloride of 
calcium, decanted after 24 hours' contact, and submitted to 
a second distillation, possesses the following properties: — 
It is transparent, colorless, possessed of an odor some- 
what resembling rum ; its density is about 0.S66 at 48° F., 
it boils at 170° F., under the pressure of 28£ inches ; it is 
neutral to test papers, miscible with water, alcohol and 
ether, in all proportions. A small quantity of this same 
liquid, left for a month in a flask filled with air, remained 
neutral to test papers. 
The caustic alkalies decompose it into alcohol and lactic 
acid, which unites with the alkali ; this phenomenon is 
especially apparent with lime. It is sufficient, indeed to 
agitate this liquid with a little hydrate of lime in a sealed 
flask for all to assume the form, the same day or the day 
after, of a white mass having the appearance of gelatinous 
alumine or silica. This mass easily liquifies in the sand- 
bath, and the liquefied product, filtered and suitably evapo- 
rated, gives, on cooling, a crystallized salt, which possesses 
all the properties of lactate of lime. 
