40 ACTION OF HALOGEN COMPOUNDS OF ETHYL AND AMYL 
of carbonic acid gas is passed, it being deposited in this casein beautiful crystals. 
I have carefully gone over those experiments, and satisfied myself that the sub- 
stance in both cases is the pure base. A carbonate is certainly obtained by double 
decomposition, between hydrochlorate of strychnine and carbonate of silver, but it 
exists only for a short time, even in solution, as the gas escapes on standing, and 
the pure alkaloid is deposited in fine, though small, crystals. 
I could obtain no dry carbonates of morphia, codeine, papaverine, or narcotine ; 
they behave like strychnine under the same circumstances. While these experi- 
ments were in progress, my attention was called to the production of a definite 
carbonate of quinine by Laneuois,* and I gave up the idea I had entertained of ex- 
tending the observations to the vegetable alkaloids generally, as it is possible the 
subject will be gone into at greater length by this chemist. 
Hydrate of Ethylostrychnine—I have mentioned already that potass and ammo- 
nia fail to separate this base from its iodine combination, which is thrown down 
unaltered from its aqueous solution by strong potass, and is also less soluble in 
ammoniacal than in pure water. Oxide of silver readily effects the elimination of 
the iodine ; in fact, when the solid salt is covered by moist oxide of silver, a few 
minutes’ contact, in the cold, suffices to complete the change, iodide of silver re- 
maining undissolved, and a fluid of a red purple colour being formed, which 
contains all the base. When this is suffered to evaporate to dryness sponta- 
neously, a crystalline purplish mass results, which contains some carbonic acid, 
and dissolves in a small quantity of cold water; leaving, however, constantly, a 
minute residue of the nature before spoken of in describing the monocarbonate. 
Evaporation in vacuo over sulphuric acid produces a less crystalline residue, of a 
similar colour, which is found to be completely soluble in hot absolute alcohol to 
a purple fluid; a concentrated solution of this kind deposited, on cooling, a sub- 
stance in colourless, small, prismatic crystals. These were collected on a filter, 
washed from the coloured mother liquor with a little absolute alcohol and ether, 
and finally dried out of contact of air. Tests, to be mentioned presently, having 
shewn the deposit to be, as nearly as it is possible to be procured, the pure base, 
it was retained im vacuo till it ceased to lose weight, and then gave these results 
on analysis :— 
4:643 grains, dried in vacuo, gave 
11:600  ... carbonic acid, and 
3425 ... water. 
Experiment. Calculation. 
——_——— 
Carbon,. . . 68:13 67-81 Oe 276 
Hydrogen, . . 8-19 7:61 H,, 31 
Nitrogen, . . 6:87 IS 28 
Oxygen, . . 17-71 0, 72 
100-00 407 
* Chemical Gazette, 1853, p. 470. 
