464  New  Organic  Arsenic  Compounds.      [^'^-  ^''Yy^xy^\92o. 
commissions  for  the  79  lieutenants  of  the  Hospital  Corps  who  were 
commissioned  during  the  war,  and  Admiral  Washington  promised 
the  committees  that  he  would  not  oppose  such  action.  Secretary 
Daniels  recommended  that  the  Darrow  Bill  or  similar  legslation  be 
introduced  in  the  next  Congress,  if  it  is  not  passed  at  this  time. 
NEW  ORGANIC  ARSENIC  COMPOUNDS. 
(Contribution  from  the  Wellcome  Chemical  Research  Laboratories.) 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Chemical  Society  on  June  3rd  a  com- 
munication from  the  Wellcome  Chemical  Research  Laboratories  on 
"arsinic  acids  derived  from  guaiacol  and  veratrole"  was  read  by  Mr. 
R.  G.  Fargher. 
The  reaction  between  ^-hydroxyphenylarsinic  acid  and  potas- 
sium persulphate  was  shown  to  give  3,4-dihydroxyphenylarsinic 
acid,  though  in  small  yield  and  much  contaminated  with  the  un- 
changed acid.  Separation  of  the  two  was  difficult  and  their  identity 
was  most  readily  established  by  complete  methylation  and  frac- 
tional crystallization  of  the  product.  3  -  Amino-4-methoxy  phenyl - 
arsinic  acid,  prepared  from  ^-methoxyphenylarsinic  acid  by  nitra- 
tion and  subsequent  reduction,  and  3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl- 
arsinic  acid  were  found  to  resemble  o-aminoanisole  and  c>-amino- 
phenol  in  the  difficulty  which  attended  the  decomposition  of  their 
diazo  compounds,  the  energetic  treatment  necessary  causing  almost 
complete  decomposition  of  the  arsinic  acids.  The  "Bucherer" 
reaction,  by  which  the  amino  group  in  certain  aromatic  amines  is 
converted  into  a  sulphurous  ester  by  the  action  of  sodium  hydrogen 
sulphite  and  subsequently  replaced  by  hydroxyl  by  suitable  means, 
was  also  unsuccessful. 
The  final  method  of  attack — the  Bart  reaction,  by  which 
diazotized  amines  are  coupled  with  sodium  arsenite  in  alkaline 
solution  with  or  without  the  presence  of  a  catalyst  such  as  copper 
powder — proved  successful,  and  3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylarsinic 
acid,  3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenylarsinic  acid  and  3,4-dimethoxy- 
phenylarsinic  acid  were  prepared  and  their  reactions  studied,  in 
particular  the  preparation  of  the  corresponding  nitroderivatives  and 
the  reduction  of  these.  3-Methoxy-4-hydroxy-5-nitrophenylarsinic 
acid  underwent  the  normal  arsenobenzene  reduction  with  sodium 
hyposulphite,    giving   rise   to  3,3^-dimethoxy-4,4^-dihydroxy-5,5^- 
