1818.] Morphium and Meconic Acid. 57 



employed by Sertuerner ; it consisted essentially in treating the 

 opium with magnesia, in order to extract the morphium, when 

 the meconate of magnesia is formed at the same time. The 

 magnesia is removed by adding the muriate of barytes, and the 

 barytes is afterwards removed by diluted sulphuric acid. The 

 operation is more complicated than the one employed by 

 M. Sertuerner, but the meconic acid is procured in much larger 

 proportion. 



The meconic acid is stated to be very soluble both in alcohol 

 and in water ; it does not seem to precipitate the oxides of iron 

 as M. Sertuerner conceived, although it gives a bright red colour 

 to the solutions of iron, nor does it appear to form combinations 

 with the oxides of copper or mercury ; but with potash, soda, 

 and lime, it forms crystallizable salts. M. Robiquet, in oppo- 

 sition to the opinion of M. Sertuener, conceives that the salt 

 obtained by M. Derosne is not the meconate of morphium; but 

 he does not inform us what is the constitution of this substance. 



M. Vogel observes that morphium may be obtained in larger 

 quantity if the opium be dissolved in acetic acid than in water, 

 and finds that it possesses the same properties whatever alkali or 

 alkaline earth we employ for its precipitation. He obtained the 

 meconic acid by precipitating the residual fluid after the removal 

 of the opium by the nitrate of barytes ; it was then digested 

 with alcohol, and afterwards treated with diluted sulphuric acid. 

 Brown crystals are deposited, consisting of the acid in an impure 

 state ; they may be purified by sublimation, but the quantity 

 thus procured is very small ; it may be obtained more copiously 

 by dissolving them in hot water and causing them to crystallize 

 a second time. The power which the meconic acid possesses 

 of reddening the solutions of iron is so great as to render it even 

 a more delicate test for this metal than the prussiate of potash. 



Upon the whole there seems no reason to doubt the general cor- 

 rectness of M. Sertuerner's results, that opium contains two pecu- 

 liar vegetable principles ; that one of them is of an alkaline and 

 the other of an acid nature, and that the former is the body which 

 is the vehicle of the narcotic part of this substance. The only 

 circumstance that seems to be wanting to remove all doubt 

 respecting so remarkable a fact as that of the discovery of a new 

 alkali, is that the alkali or alkaline earth, which is employed in 

 the process, should be afterwards completely recovered or 

 accounted for, so as to remove all doubt respecting the possibility 

 of a portion of it still adhering to the morphium and giving it its 

 mippoeed alkaline properties. 



