hen poured into dilute hydrochloric acid. The precipitate was extracted into chloroform, and the extract was washed with dilute hydrochloric acid and with water, dried over sodium sulphate and evaporated to an oil which crystallized on standing. Recrystallisation from ethyl acetate/petrol gave 3-p-methylbenzenesulfonyloxy-5-pregn-16-en-20-one (13.3 g) as off-white prisms