1. Cyclohexanone was condensed with diethyloxalate to form ethyl 2-ketocyclohexylglyoxylate. This substance lost carbon monoxide, when heated with a mixture of powdered glass and powdered iron, to form 2-carbethoxycyclohexanone. The ester was treated with sodium azide and sulfuric acid (Schmidt reaction).in chloroform solution, and was thereby converted into 2-carbethoxy-7-ketohexamethylenimine. The lactam u}as hydrolyzed to alpha-aminopimelic acid, a known substance, which had been obtained previously by Shecter and Kirk, who hydrolyzed 7-cyano-2-ketohexamethylenimine.