240 
RESEARCHES ON POPULINE. 
saligenine, and grape-sugar into one molecule. The products of 
decomposition by the action of various reagents are precisely the 
same as those which would result from the metamorphosis of the 
secondary groups which it contains. Thus with a mixture of 
bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid, populine yields hydruret 
of salicyle very abundantly ; on ebullition with concentrated nitric 
acid, it is converted into nitrobenzoic acid, trinitrated phenic acid 
and oxalic acid ; lastly, under the influence of acids, it is decom- 
posed into benzoic acid, saliretine and grape-sugar. 
The elementary constitution of populine is represented by the 
formula C 40 H 22 O' 6 + 4Aq. At 212° it parts with its 4 equivs. 
water, and becomes perfectly anhydrous. This formula results 
from the union of equal equivalents of benzoic acid, saligenine and 
sugar, with elimination of 4 equivs. water, as seen by the follow- 
ing equation : — 
C 14 H 6 O 4 4- C 14 H 8 O 4 + C l2 H 12 O 12 — 4HO = C 40 H 22 O 16 . 
We might also regard populine as the result of the union of a mole- 
cule of benzoic acid with a molecule of salicine less 2 equivs. of 
water ; we should then have — 
C 26 H 18 O 14 4- C 14 H 6 O 4 — 2HO= C 42 H 22 O 16 . 
This mode of viewing its molecular constitution having led me 
to foresee the possibility of converting populine into salicine, I 
made some experiments in this direction, by which my suppositions 
have been realized with unexpected success. It is merely requi- 
site to boil some populine with barytic water to obtain in a few 
minutes a perfectly limpid and colorless solution, which, after sep- 
aration of the excess of baryta by a current of carbonic acid, con- 
tains nothing further than benzoate of baryta and salicine. The 
salicine thus prepared is decomposed, under the influence of synap- 
tase and acids, like ordinary salicine, and behaves absolutely in 
the same manner towards other reagents. Two analyses of the 
artificial salicine gave the following numbers : 
Carbon - - 54'20 - - 54'65 
Hydrogen - 6 36 - - 6'41 
which are identical with those which had been obtained by the 
analyses of ordinary salicine. 
If populine be dissolved in the cold in 10-12 times its weight of 
pure nitric acid of 1*30 spec, grav., it produces a new substance, 
