BY J. M. PETRIE. 123 



duboisine from Merck, lie prepared the gold vsalt of hyosine, m.p. 

 197-8°C. The mother-liquor yielded no other alkaloid, so that 

 this time no hyoscyamine was present. The author attributed 

 the different results to variations in the method of manufacture. 



Shortly afterwards (1890), Messrs. bchering and Co. (41) treated 

 a quantity of the leaves of D. myojwroides for alkaloid, and ob- 

 tained the sulphate of a base showing identical properties with 

 hyoscyamine sulphate, while, from the mother-liquor, hyoscine 

 was obtained. 



According to Schmidt (42) and Merck, Ladenburg's hyoscine, 

 which he discovered in the henbane in 1880 and in Duboisia in 

 1887, was identical with scopolamine, and Schmidt identified 

 his scopolamine in small quantities in the leaves of D. rtiyopo- 

 roides in 1888. The next account is that of Bender, who ob- 

 tained samples of the leaves from two different sources. He 

 obtained scopolamine in one, and hyoscyamine in the other. 

 Bender brought his samples to Schmidt, who immediately con- 

 firmed these results. Schmidt (42) also obtained, at this time, 

 large quantities of leaves from Schuchart, of Gorlitz. He pre- 

 pared the gold salt, and could find no hyoscyamine or atropine, 

 but only the brilliant, serrated needles of the salt of inactive 

 scopolamine (m.p.208'C.). Schmidt here states that the previous 

 assumption of Ladenburg is incorrect, but the variation is due 

 to the fact that duboisia leaves of commerce sometimes contain 

 one and sometimes the other base. 



X. In 1892, E. Merck (45) discovered in D. myoporoides a new 

 midriatic alkaloid which he named pseudo-hyoscyamine. He 

 identified the bases scopolamine and hyoscyamine, and showed 

 that the new base was different from these (m.p. of gold salt, 

 176°C.). He also stated that the analytical data suggested the 

 probability that the gold salt contained an admixture of still 

 another base with lower molecular weight. 



In the large quantities of uncrystallisable aurichloride resi- 

 dues, Merck recognised considerable amounts of amorphous bases 

 which contained none of the alkaloids mentioned. 



xi. In 1895, Dr. Lauterer (47], of Brisbane, gave an account 

 of some tests on the alkaloids which he extracted from this 



