148 



Sixty-Fifth Session. 

 First Ordinary Meeting, 6th December 1847. 



Sir THOMAS MAKDOUGAL BRISBANE, Bart., 

 President, in the Chair. 



The following Communications were read : — 



1. Biographical Memoir of the late Dr Hope. By Dr Traill. 



2. Note on the Constitution of the Phosphates of the Organic 



Alkalies. By Dr Thomas Anderson. 



The author had been led to investigate the phosphates of the 

 organic alkahes, with the view of determining the accuracy of an 

 analysis of the phosphate of strychnia by Regnault, which gave results 

 incompatible with the known constitution of the inorganic phosphates. 

 He alluded to the investigation of the phosphates of anihne by 

 Nicholson, and proceeded to the statement of his own observations. 



Phosphate of Strychnia, with one equivalent of Strychnia, was 

 obtained in long truncated needles, by digesting strychnia in 

 tribasic phosphoric acid. It dissolved readily in water, and was acid 

 to test-paper. By analysis it gave results corresponding to the 

 formula 



(C 14 H23 N.^ O4 HO) 2 HO P0,5 



The crystallized salt was found to contain 4 equivalents of water of 

 crystalization. 



Phosphate of Strychnia, with two equivalents of Strychnia. By 

 long-continued digestion of strychnia with the foregoing water in 

 solution, an additional atom of the alkaloid is dissolved, and the solu- 

 tion on cooling deposits rectangular tables of a salt which is neutral 

 to test-paper. It is less soluble in water than the acid phosphate, 

 and its constitution was found to be represented by the formula 



2 (C44 H03N, O^ HO) HO PO.3 

 Phosphate of Brucia, with two equivalents of Brucia, is obtained 

 by the solution of Brucia in phosphoric acid, and ciystallizes from 

 the concentrated solution in short prisms. The ci'ystals are neutral 

 to test-paper, and contain a large quantity of water of crystallization, 

 which they lose by efflorescence. The formula of the salt is 



2 (C,4 PL:; N,, O; IIO) HO PO.3 



