Gerhard? s Organic Chemistry. 183 



to be identical with the butyrine of butter, and like it is decom- 

 posed by potash, with the formation of glycerine and a butyrate. 



Among the other glycerides are oleine, that of castor oil, and 



some more which have been but partially studied. Oleine under- 

 goes a singular change by the action of nitrous acid or proto- 



nitrate of mercury ; when a few bubbles of nitrous acid gas are 



passed through it, it solidifies after a short time into a granular 

 mass, which when saponified affords a white crystalline acid, 

 identical in. composition with the liquid oleic acid. Castor oil 

 yields a similar result with nitrous acid, and the same effect is 

 produced upon it by sulphurous acid gas. The giycerids are 

 characterized by evolving the pungent oder of acrolein* when de- 

 composed by heat. 



'Alkaloids, — The organic alkaloids are a class of nitrogenized 

 bodies which unite directly with acids. Ammonia may be 

 taken as the representative of them. This substance combines 

 with nitric acid NH0 3 , and with the nitrate of copper NCu Q 3 , 

 m both cases forming neutral salts. As the compounds of am- 

 monia with acids present a close resemblance to the salts of pot- 

 ash, it was proposed to regard them as containing a compound 

 metal NH n which replaces the hydrogen. The nitrate of am- 

 monia NHO a NH „ is upon this view N(NH 4 )0 3 , assimilated 

 to nitrate of potash NKO :l . But this view is sustained but by 

 few analogies. Since ammonia unites in the same manner with 

 icids and their salts, the latter as the ammonia-nitrate of copper 

 NCuO.'iYH., must be assumed to contain another compound 

 metal NH 3 Cu; and from the complete similarity between am- 

 monia and the vegetable alkaloids, their salts according to this 

 theory must each contain a compound metal which is composed 

 J 1 the elements of the alkaloid plus an equivalent of hydrogen. 

 In view of the immense number of hypothetical compounds 

 w 'nch this theory requires, and the imperfect analogy upon which 

 lt is founded, it is preferable to regard the alkaloids and ammonia 

 35 bodies which unite directly with acids and metallic sails. 

 Strychnine, for example, combines with nitric acid to form the 

 impound C H N O NHO.,, and with nitiate of silver 



S*H 24 N.O , NAgO.. 



i hese bodies may be divided into two classes ; the first are 

 w*e composed of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. It the 

 bivalent of these is low they are volatile liquids, but when tms 

 * more elevated they are often crystalline and not volatile with- 

 out decomposition. Among them are anilene, quinoleine, nico- 

 ™»e, and coniue, with naphthalidam and sinapoline. It is prob- 

 abl e that none of these exist ready formed in plants, for altlmngh 

 '"cotine is obtained when tobacco is distilled with a solution of 

 P^h, late researches have shown that it is formal in the pro- 

 ces s, and the same is probably true of conine. These alkaloids, 



