THE VITAL PHENOMENA OF BACTERIA. 121 



= C 2 H 3 .N(CH 3 ) 3 .OH. Cholin is only slightly 

 toxic, neurin intensely so. Through the re- 

 moval of water from the molecule and the con- 

 sequent molecular rearrangement the slight!}' 

 poisonous body becomes intensely poisonous : 



C 5 H 15 NO 2 H 2 O = C 5 H 13 NO. 

 cholin, water, neurin. 



Bayer also artificially converted cholin into 

 neurin. 



By the oxidation of cholin, there can be pro- 

 duced the non-poisonous beta'in or trimethyl- 

 glycocoll occurring in beet juice, and the high- 

 ly toxic muscarin, found by Schmiedeberg in 

 a poisonous toadstool, and by Brieger in cer- 

 tain decomposing substances : 



CgH^NOg + 3 = CgHnNOg + H 2 O. 

 cholin, betam. 



C 5 H 15 N0 2 + O = C 5 H 15 N9 3 . 

 cholin, muscarin. 



Upon the common base of trimethylethyl- 

 ammonium hydroxide the structural formulae, 

 according to Vaughan, are capable of giving an 

 idea of the actual relationship to one another 

 of these non-poisonous, slightly poisonous, and 

 very poisonous substances : 



CH.OH CH 2 CO.OH CH^.OH 



CH 2 CH CH 2 CH.OH 



N(CH 3 ) 3 OH N(CH 3 ) 3 OH N(CH 3 ) 3 OH N(CH 3 ) 3 .9H 

 cholin, neurin, bstain, muscarin. 



Frequently referred to, also, is the substance 



