﻿CRYSTALLINE 
  CONSTITUENTS 
  OF 
  OPIUM. 
  

  

  355 
  

  

  VI. 
  Thebaine. 
  

   Thebaine 
  was 
  discovered 
  in 
  1832, 
  and 
  was 
  examined 
  and 
  analysed 
  by 
  Pelle- 
  

   tier,* 
  who 
  gave 
  to 
  it 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  Paramorphine, 
  expressive 
  of 
  its 
  isomerism 
  

   with 
  morphine, 
  which 
  he 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  established 
  by 
  his 
  analysis. 
  It 
  was 
  after- 
  

   wards 
  examined 
  by 
  Couerbe| 
  and 
  by 
  Kane,:}: 
  with 
  results 
  differing 
  widely 
  from 
  

   one 
  another 
  and 
  from 
  Pelletier, 
  and 
  each 
  has 
  deduced 
  from 
  his 
  analysis 
  a 
  dif- 
  

   ferent 
  formula, 
  none 
  of 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  agreeing 
  in 
  a 
  satisfactory 
  

   manner 
  with 
  the 
  analytical 
  numbers, 
  as 
  is 
  obvious 
  from 
  the 
  following 
  tabular 
  view 
  

   of 
  their 
  analyses, 
  recalculated 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  corrected 
  atomic 
  weight 
  of 
  carbon, 
  

   and 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  formula 
  deduced 
  from 
  them 
  and 
  the 
  theoretical 
  numbers 
  

   which 
  they 
  ought 
  to 
  give. 
  

  

  Pelletier. 
  

  

  C0UEK.BE. 
  

  

  

  Kane 
  

  

  

  Carbon, 
  71-09 
  

   Hydrogen, 
  6 
  -2 
  9 
  

   Nitrogen, 
  4-40 
  

   Oxygen, 
  17-22 
  

  

  71-07 
  

   6-47 
  

   6-38 
  

  

  16-08 
  

  

  70-90 
  

   6-44 
  

  

  73-39 
  

   6-78 
  

   6-94 
  

  

  12-89 
  

  

  73-07 
  

  

  6-85 
  

  

  100-00 
  

  

  100-00 
  

  

  

  100-00 
  

  

  

  Pelletier's 
  formula, 
  

  

  Couekbe's, 
  

  

  Kane's, 
  

  

  c 
  34 
  

  

  C 
  25 
  

  

  H 
  18 
  

  

  H 
  13 
  . 
  

  

  N0 
  6 
  

  

  5 
  N0 
  4 
  

  

  N0 
  3 
  

  

  

  ulation 
  — 
  

  

  Pelletier's 
  

   Formula. 
  

  

  Couerbe's 
  

   Formula. 
  

  

  

  Kane's 
  

  

  Formula. 
  

  

  

  Carbon, 
  

   Hydrogen, 
  

   Nitrogen, 
  

   Oxygen, 
  

  

  7183 
  

   6-34 
  

   4-93 
  

  

  16-90 
  

  

  71-59 
  

   6-44 
  

   6-68 
  

  

  15-29 
  

  

  

  74-25 
  

   6-93 
  

   6-93 
  

  

  11-89 
  

  

  

  10000 
  

  

  100-00 
  

  

  100-00 
  

  

  The 
  atomic 
  weight 
  has 
  been 
  determined 
  by 
  Couerbe 
  and 
  Kane 
  by 
  ascertaining 
  

   the 
  amount 
  of 
  hydrochloric 
  acid 
  absorbed 
  by 
  the 
  dry 
  base. 
  Their 
  results, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  differ 
  in 
  a 
  very 
  remarkable 
  manner, 
  and 
  do 
  not 
  admit 
  of 
  any 
  conclusion 
  or 
  

   satisfactory 
  deductions 
  being 
  made 
  from 
  them. 
  Couerbe, 
  who 
  does 
  not 
  give 
  any 
  

   particulars 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  method 
  in 
  which 
  his 
  experiment 
  was 
  made, 
  found 
  that 
  100 
  

   parts 
  of 
  base 
  absorb 
  8-35 
  of 
  the 
  acid. 
  Kane, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  found 
  that 
  when 
  

   the 
  hydrochloric 
  acid 
  was 
  passed 
  into 
  thebaine, 
  at 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  212°, 
  it 
  

   absorbed 
  as 
  the 
  mean 
  of 
  two 
  experiments, 
  which, 
  however, 
  do 
  not 
  agree 
  very 
  

   well, 
  1696 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  dry 
  gas 
  ; 
  but 
  that 
  when 
  the 
  absorption 
  took 
  place 
  at 
  

  

  * 
  Journal 
  de 
  Pharmacie, 
  vol. 
  xxi., 
  p. 
  569. 
  

  

  f 
  Annales 
  de 
  Chimie 
  et 
  de 
  Physique, 
  vol. 
  lix., 
  p. 
  155. 
  

  

  | 
  Annalen 
  der 
  Chemie, 
  vol. 
  xix., 
  p. 
  9. 
  

  

  VOL. 
  XX. 
  PART 
  III. 
  5 
  D 
  

  

  