Decomposition of the Vegeto- Alkaline Salts. 251 



amalgam of the mercury, and he spoke of the subject as 

 likely to throw some light upon the corresponding ammoniacal 

 combinations. He made, I believe, a few experiments upon the 

 subject, but the results were not as he expected, and they were, 

 nowhere, I believe, recorded. 



Since that period the subject generally has acquired much 

 additional interest, by the discovery of several other bodies 

 appertaining to the same class, and especially of quinia and 

 cinchonia, the medicinal preparations of which have rendered 

 these substances so generally known. 



I repeated the experiment of the electrisation of moistened 

 morphia and mercury, a globule of which, in contact with the 

 vegetable base, was rendered negative ; feebly at first, and after- 

 wards by a more powerful voltaic combination. The morphia, 

 I had reason to believe, was perfectly pure ; but although the 

 process was continued for a due time, in one instance exceeding 

 twenty minutes, I did not observe any change in the fluidity of 

 the metal, nor did it, on being transferred to a glass of pure 

 water, exhibit any action upon that liquid, or any appearance 

 of having united to foreign metallic matter. 



Crystals of pure cinchonia reduced to powder, moistened, 

 and subjected in the same way to the action of negatively elec- 

 trified mercury, were equally inert, and exhibited no symptoms 

 of contributing anything metallic to the mercury. 



When mercury was similarly electrised in contact with 

 quinia, moistened and placed upon a positive disc of platinum, 

 it exhibited, in the course of a few minutes, appearances 

 very different from those exhibited with it, when electrised 

 in contact with morphia and cinchonia; the metal became 

 filmy, and after a time appeared to acquire a tendency to a 

 butyraceous appearance, and evidently had its fluidity dimi- 

 nished. When transferred into a tall glass of distilled water, 

 a peculiar motion was perceptible upon its surface, and ulti- 

 mately some small globules of gas were liberated, and it 

 regained, though slowly, its usual aspect. 



This experiment first led me to suspect that something like 

 a metallization of the elements of the quinia had been effected, 

 but I could not satisfy myself that it was reproduced by the 

 action of water on the globule, nor could I, by carrying on the 



