"New Vegetable Alkalies. 289 



For the present, he was himself left in a state of the utmost doubt; 

 but in his situation it was permitted to him to continue in doubt. 

 It was the province of the jury to decide, and he begged them 

 to form their own opinion without reference to any that he might 

 be supposed to entertain. 



The jury then retired, and, after being absent about half an 

 hour, returned, and delivered, through their foreman, a verdict 

 for the plaintiffs, by which they found, in the first place, that the 

 premises had been correctly ar.d sufficiently described ; in the 

 second, that the fire did not originate in the place where the new 

 process was carried on; and in the third, that no increased risk was 

 caused by the introduction of that process. — Damages, 7j200Z. 



T 



XLII. New Fegetahle Alkalies*. 



HB discovery of morphium having stimulated chemists to 

 search for other alkalies among vegetable substances, two new 

 ones, Iruclne and delphine, have been added to their number— 

 the first by MM. Pelletier and Caventon, the latter by MM. 

 Lassaigne and Feneulle. 



Brucine. 



This alkali was obtained from what the authors call the false 

 Angustura bark {Bnicea anti- dysenterica) by the following pro- 

 cess : A kilogram (32 ounces troy) of the bark was reduced to 

 powder, and treated in the first place with ether, to separate a 

 fatty matter which it contains : the ether being withdrawn, it 

 was then treated with alcohol in successive portions, the infu- 

 sions were put together, and evaporated to dryness. The dry 

 residue was then dissolved in water, subacetate of lead was added, 

 which precipitated the greater part of the colouring matter, and 

 the excess of lead was separated from the solution by passing 

 through it a current of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. The experi- 

 menters being in quest of strychnine, the solution thus purified 

 was acted on by magnesia : the presence of an alkali was ren- 

 dered evident ; but on washing the magnesia, it pissed off in 

 solution : — had strychnine been present, it would have remained 

 insoluble. On evaporating the washings, a solid mass, very al- 

 kaline, was obtaineil : it was a new alkali — brucine. To purify 

 it, it was combined with oxalic acid, which formed with it a salt 

 but little soluble in alcohol ; it was washed in alcohol till the salt 

 was colourless. The oxalate thus obtained in a fine white pow- 

 der being decompotied by lime or by magnesia, the brucine is 

 disengaged, which, being dissolved in boiling alcohol, becotnes 

 crystallized by spontaneous evaporation. 



• From Annate* de Chitnie, vol. xii. p. 1 13 and 358. 

 Vol. 55. No. 264. April 1820. Y The 



