247 



unless ether be produced at the same time from the alcohol used as a 

 solvent ; for instance with papaverine, thus — 



C,„H,,NO, + C,H,0, + C,H,I = C,„H2,N03.HI + 2C,H,0. 



On Strychnine. 



This alkaloid, as being one of those which contain two atoms 

 of nitrogen, was considered an interesting object for examination. 

 Numerous speculations have been gone into as to the mode in which 

 this element exists in such substances, before the experiments of 

 Hofmann gave a point of comparison between ammonia and other 

 basic bodies. These are now regarded, viewed from the volatile 

 type upwards, as nitrogen attached to basic hydrogen alone, or to it 

 with hydrocarbons, or finally to hydrocarbons alone, occupying all its 

 place. In the fixed vegetable alkaloids oxygen is included in the 

 system, and here oxygenized hydrocarbons must act as hydrogen, if, 

 as has been attempted to be shown in a former paper on this sub- 

 ject, these bodies are comparable with nitryle bases. In the case of 

 one of these containing two atoms of nitrogen, it is possible that 

 this element performs, as it were, two parts ; one being referable to 

 its function in any simple nitrogenous base, while the other may be 

 moi'e analogous to its property when combined with oxygen as NO^, 

 of replacing hydrogen in the carbohydrogen of the molecule — a specu- 

 lative suggestion thrown out some few years ago by Fresenius. 



This question it is attempted to decide by means of two classes of 

 reagents ; the amount of basic hydrogen in strychnine should be 

 ascertained by the action of iodide of ethyl, &c., while any oxidized 

 compound of nitrogen, as NO^, should be reduced by sulphuretted 

 hydrogen, and hydrogen added while oxygen is removed. 



The former part of the subject is gone into in some detail in this 

 paper, while mention is made that strychnine undergoes a curious 

 change with sulphide of ammonium, resulting in the production of 

 hyposulphite of the base, a stable and beautiful salt, and some other 

 product as yet imperfectly studied ; from what is at present known, 

 however, it is thought that the change is not of the nature above 

 Bpoken of. 



Action of Iodide of Ethyl on Strychnine. 

 Hydriodate of Ethylostrychnine. — Strychnine in fine powder is 

 readily attacked by iodide of ethyl, even partially in boiling water ; 

 VOL. III. U 



