542 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles, 



tion to generate water ; and besides these compounds formed 

 with oxygen, we have nitrogen to aid*, which is more incoer- 

 cible than water or carbonic acid. Since at the heat produced 

 by the combustion of hydrogen or carbon, with pure oxygen, 

 iron, the most tenacious of all the materials at our command, 

 is perfectly fusible, it is evident that by mechanism we cannot 

 restrain the expansive force of the gaseous products producible 

 as above represented. I believe I may say, that water has 

 never been confined under a white heat. Yet the expansive 

 force of liquid carbonic acid is at the freezing-point of water 

 36 times as great as the pressure of this liquid at its boiling- 

 point. It has already been observed, that nitrogen in ex- 

 pansive violence must go beyond carbonic acid. It follows, 

 that excepting the blow of a hammer, or the force created by 

 gravitation in falling bodies, we have no means by which we 

 can enable nitre, in the state of incandescent igneous fluidity, 

 to come into close contact, even for an instant^ with masses of 

 combustible matter, like those which it was made to encounter 

 in the store of Messrs. Crocker and Warren. 



It is to be presumed that it has been the want of this force 

 which has caused efforts to produce explosions between nitre 

 and combustibles to fail; and it is to the presence of this 

 force, where the fall of enormous masses of agglutinated com- 

 bustible matter upon incandescent liquefied nitre may be 

 reiterated, that I ascribe the destructive explosions, which, 

 under such circumstances, have been so prolific of impoverish- 

 ment, mutilation, and death. 



LXXIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles, 



PREPARATION OF ATROPIA BY MEANS OF CHLOROFORM. 

 BY M. RABOURDIN. 



THE following is the process proposed by the author above named : 

 — Take fresh belladonna as soon as it begins to flower ; bruise it 

 in a marble mortar and press out the juice, which is to be heated to 

 80° or 90° centigrade to coagulate the albumen. When the juice thus 

 clarified is cold, add to every litre 4 grammes of caustic potash and 

 30 grammes of chloroform ; shake the whole for a minute, and let 

 it stand. In half an hour, the chloroform holding atropia is depo- 

 sited, having the appearance of a greenish oil; the supernatant 

 liquor is poured off, and replaced by a little water ; this is afterwards 

 poured off, and the washing is to be continued till the water comes 

 away limpid. The chloroform solution is then to be put into a 

 small tubulated retort, and distilled on a water-bath until all the 

 chloroform has passed into the receiver. The residue in the retort is 

 to be treated with a little water, acidified with sulphuric acid, which 

 dissolves the atropia, and leaves a green resinoid matter ; the filtered 



* Nitric acid consists of 1 atom of nitrogen as well as 5 of oxygen. 



