326 CHEMISTRY OF THE PTOMAINS. 



A substance of muscarin-like action was obtained by Brieger (I., 

 59) from putrefying gelatin, ten days at 35°, though in insuifioient 

 quantity to permit a determination of its character. The residue 

 containing this substance gave, on distillation with alkali, only 

 ammonia. 



A Base was obtained by Bocklisch (III., 52, 53) from herring 

 which had undergone putrefaction for twelve days. It was found in 

 the distillate, together with trimethylamin and dimethylamin, obtained 

 by distilling the mercuric chlorid filtrate, after the removal of the 

 mercury, with sodium hydrate. The platinochlorid waa easily solu- 

 ble, and crystallized in large thin plates. On analysis it gave : 

 Pt = 28.57, C = 22.34, H = 4.66. The hydrochlorid was easily 

 soluble in water and in absolute alcohol, and besides with platinum 

 gave only with phosphomolybdic acid a yellow precipitate which was 

 soluble in excess and with ammonia developed an immediate blue color. 

 It immediately reduced a mixture of ferric chlorid and potassium 

 ferricyanid with formation of Berlin blue ; and similarly threw 

 down metallic gold from solutions of gold chlorid. 



From poisonous mussel, Brieger (III., 79) obtained an aurochlorid 

 of a base crystallizing in needles. The quantity isolated was insuffi- 

 cient for analysis. It is interesting because of its property of in- 

 ducing salivation, a symptom which was observed by Schmidtmann 

 and by Crumpe in some cases of mussel poisoning. 



A Base was obtained by Guareschi and Mosso (Journ. fur prak- 

 tische Chem., 28, 508) from fresh beef, in the alkaline ether extract 

 obtained by Dragendorff's method. It formed a yellowish alkaline 

 fluid, of unpleasant odor, and after a time gave a deposit of micro- 

 scopic crystals. The hydrochlorid gave the following reactions : 

 Gold chlorid, yellow crystalline precipitate ; platinum chlorid, pre- 

 cipitate ; potassium iodid and iodin in hydriodic acid, kermes-red 

 precipitate ; phosphotungstic acid, nothing ; phosphomolybdic acid, 

 an abundant yellow precipitate ; tannic acid, heavy, grayish precipi- 

 tate, same with Mayer's reagent ; picric acid, yellow precipitate ; 

 Marm6's reagent, precipitate soluble in excess ; potassium bichromate, 

 nothing ; potassium permanganate and sulphuric acid, violet color ; 

 potassium ferricyanid and ferric chlorid, Prussian-blue precipitate. 



By giving a precipitate with tannin, and not with phosphotungstic 

 acid, it resembles neurin. 



Ch. Gram has studied the decomposition of yeast under the influ- 

 ence of an infusion of hay. The yeast was allowed to putrefy for 

 fourteen days, and was then treated with zinc sulphate. The latter 

 was precipitated by barium hydrate, and the filtrate after the removal 

 of the barium by sulphuric acid was evaporated to dryness and ex- 

 tracted with absolute alcohol. The alcoholic solution was evaporated. 



