108 APPENDIX. 
In a separate experiment with the same opium, which was dialysed 
in the same manner as that just described, the dialysate was shaken 
with amyl alcohol, the latter then separated and shaken 
for half an hour, and the alkaline layer separated as before. This 
was then acidified, and a few drops of it, when brought in contact 
with a drop of a solution of ferric chloride, gave a beautiful wine-red 
colour, thus shewing the presence of meconic acid. Inasmuch as 
experiments with morphine and narcotine meconates had shewn 
that neither of these are taken up by amyl alcohol, it follows that 
the free acid in the dialysate was meconic acid, 
CONCLUSIONS. 
(i) That the free acid in aqueous opium extracts is meconic acid; 
(ii) That the silica in opium is present inthe form of sand, and 
that the lime is most likely combined with phosphoric acid, while 
the magnesia and potash are probably combined with organic acids 
and some sulphuric acid ; 
(iii) That there is more than enough sulphuric acid present in 
opium to combine with all of the alkaloids present save narcotine; 
for the 5°8927 grams of morphine, narceine, codeine, &c., found, 
require only 1:0133 grams of sulphuric acid to form the salts 
(C’H™“NO*)? H?30*, &c., whereas there were found in all 1:3945 
grams of sulphuric acid; and 
(iv) That hence, morphine, narceine, codeine, &c., are contained 
in opium combined with sulphuric acid as sulphates, while narcotine, 
at best only a feeble base, is combined in part, at least, with meconic 
acid, of which there is also some present uncombined in the drug. 
In conclusion, I should like to take this occasion to thank Prof. 
Fliickiger for the kind assistance and advice I obtained from him 
while working in his laboratory, and also Mr. J, E. Gerock, his excel- 
lent and kind assistant. (4. Dohme, Am, Jour, Pharm., April, 1891.) 
Since its discov by Hesse, it has been met with again by 
Eykmann in the Macleya cordata, and by Selle in the juice of the 
