ON A NEW COMPOUND, ETC. 
235 
and see whether the carbonic acid and water thus obtained 
would correspond with the amount of oil of cinnamon ascribed 
to the compound, 
7.08 grains, Liebig's apparatus for potash being employed, 
yielded, of carbonic acid, 12.70 grains, and of water 2.60, 
equivalent to 3.513 carbon, and 0.288 hydrogen. But, adopt- 
ing for a moment the empirical formula already arrived at, 
the 7.08 grains of the substance would contain 4.223 of oil of 
cinnamon. If, therefore, from this we deduct the carbon and 
hydrogen, we obtain the oxygen, and find the constituents of 
the oil as as follows: 
Carbon, .... 3.513 
Hydrogen, .... 0.288 
Oxygen, .... 0.420 
If these be divided by the atomic weights, and if, also, we 
substitute for the quotients numbers in the same ratio with 
them, that for carbon being assumed 18, we obtain the 
following: 
Carbon, .... 18.00 
Hydrogen, .... 8.82 
Oxygen, .... 1.60 
As the conjoint result, therefore, of our analysis and our 
hypothesis, we find the formula for oil of cinnamon to be 
QtfHg.gaOi.flo. Now this is so close to the formula of Dumas, 
viz.: C l8 H 8 2 , particularly when we consider that owing to 
the fusibility of the compound, and the facility with which it 
is decomposed, heat could not be applied in drying the con- 
tents of the tube before the commencement of the combustion, 
and that consequently the hydrogen must have been too high 
and the oxygen too low, — considering this, I say, the accord- 
ance is so close as to leave no doubt that the empirical for- 
mula already given, correctly represents the constitution of 
the compound submitted to analysis. It is scarcely necessary 
