(p. 38) The authors have studied the nitric esters of a typical series of the now well-defined carbohydrates--pentoses, hexoses, both aldoses and ketoses--bioses and trioses, the nitrates being prepared under conditions designed to produce the highest degree of esterification. Starch, wood, gum, and cellulose were also included in the investigations. The products were analysed and their physical properties determined. They were more especially investigated in regard to temperatures of decomposition, which were found to lie considerably lower than that of the cellulose nitrates. They also show marked and variable instability at 50 deg. C. A main purpose of the inquiry was to throw light upon a probable cause of the instability of the cellulose nitrates, viz. the presence of nitrates of hydrolysed products or carbohydrates of lower molecular weight. The most important results are these: _Monoses._--The _aldoses_ are fully esterified, in the pentoses 4 OH, in the hexoses 5 OH groups reacting. The pentose nitrates are comparatively stable at 50 deg.; the hexose nitrates on the other hand are extremely unstable, showing a loss of weight of 30-40 p.ct. when kept 24 hours at this temperature. Xylose is differentiated by tending to pass into an anhydride form (C_{5}H_{10}O_{5}-H_{2}O) under this esterification. When treated in fact with the mixed acids, instead of by the process usually adopted by the authors of solution in nitric acid and subsequent addition of the sulphuric acid, it is converted into the dinitrate C_{5}H_{6}O_{2}.(NO_{3})_{2}. _Ketoses_ (C_{6}).--These are sharply differentiated from the corresponding aldoses by giving _tri_nitrates C_{6}H_{7}O_{2}(NO_{3})_{3} instead of _penta_nitrates, the remaining OH groups probably undergoing internal condensation. The products are, moreover, _extremely stable_. It is also noteworthy that levulose gave this same product, the trinitrate of the anhydride (levulosan) by both methods of nitration (_supra_). _The bisaccharides or bioses_ all give the octonitrates. The degree of instability is variable. Cane-sugar gives a very unstable nitrate. The lactose nitrate is more stable. Thus at 50 deg. it loses only 0.7 p.ct. in weight in eight days; at 75 deg. it loses 1 p.ct. in twenty-four hours, but with a rapid increase to 23 p.ct. in fifty-four hours. The maltose octonitrate melts (with decomposition) at a relatively high temperature, 163 deg.-164 deg.. At 50 deg.-75 deg. it behaves much like the lactose nitrate. _Trisaccharide._--Raffinose yielded the product C_{18}H_{21}O_{5}.(NO_{3})_{11}. _Starch_ yields the hexanitrate (C_{12}) by both methods of nitration. The product has a high melting and decomposing point, viz. 184 deg., and when thoroughly purified is quite stable. It is noted that a yield of 157 p.ct. of this nitrate was obtained, and under identical conditions cellulose yielded 170 p.ct.