842 BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



morphine sulphate is soluble in 15.3 parts of water; 465 parts 

 of alcohol ; it is nearly insoluble in ether or chloroform. The 

 crystals formed on a slide from alcoholic solutions vary in 

 length from o.i mm. to 0.8 mm. (Fig. 338). When prepared 

 from aqueous solutions they may attain a length of 20 mm. 



Morphine Sulphate. Crystals from aqueous solution. 



Orthorhombic : a: b = 0-437 ' i- 



Forms observed: Base (001); brachypinacoid (010); 

 macropinacoid (100); and unit prism (no). 



Angles: Angle iioA ilo = 47-io. 



Habit : Tabular on the base, elongated along the a axis, 

 the crystals appearing as needles which are often grouped in 

 radiating aggregates, or as long thin plates. The termination 

 is the unit prism, rarely the macropinacoid. 



Optical properties: a = a; b = 6; t = c. An interference 

 figure is obtained on the base, which shows that the axial plane 

 is the brachypinacoid, but the apparent axial angle is so large 

 that it is impossible to state whether c is the acute or obtuse 

 bisectrix. 



The crystals from alcohol seem to be optically identical with 

 the above. The unit prism, however, rarely appears, the crystals 

 being for the most part square ended rods. 



Narcotine (C22H23NO7). 



Occurrence : See p. 660. 



Narcotine [Ci9Hi4N04.(OCH3)..] exists in opium to a very 

 large extent as a free base. At about 15 C. one part of nar- ^ 

 cotine is soluble in 100 parts of alcohol (85 per cent.); 166 

 parts of ether ; 2.7 parts of chloroform ; and 22 parts of benzene. 

 One part of narcotine is soluble in about 7000 parts of boiling 

 water. Narcotine is a feeble base and fonns salts which for 

 the most part crystallize with difficulty or not at all. A crystalline 

 double salt, however, is readily formed with methyl-iodide.* 

 The crystals of narcotine prepared on microscopic slides from, 

 alcoholic solution vary in length from 0.4 mm. to 2 mm. (Fig. 



339)- 



* Briihl, Die Pflanzen-Alkaloide. 



