46 ACTION OF HALOGEN COMPOUNDS OF ETHYL AND AMYL 



The air-dried crystals contain, in addition, ten atoms of water : — 



{ 



4-390 grains air-dry salt, lost at 212° 

 0-685 ••• water. 



This number leads to a percentage of 15 GO; and 15-90 is that corresponding to a 

 loss of ten aq. by a salt of the composition — 



C 52 H 33 N 2 O i N0 6 , HO + 10 aq. 



The aqueous solution of the nitrate gives, Avith that of mercurous nitrate, a 

 crystalline deposit in the form of colourless needles ; these are no doubt a double 

 salt. 



Hydrate of Amylostrychnine. — The chloride furnishes, with oxide of silver in 

 water, a rich red purple fluid of a highly alkaline nature, which agrees most strik- 

 ingly in its characters with the solution of ethylostrychnine ; indeed, the two 

 might be readily mistaken for each other ; their deportment with metallic salts, 

 and on evaporation, in vacuo or at 212", is precisely the same. The flocky basic 

 product by evaporation in the case of each, bears possibly the same relation to its 

 congener which the parent bases mutually possess. 



The residue left in vacuo dissolves to a very rich purple fluid in hot absolute 

 alcohol, and ether causes in this solution an abundant and quickly appearing de- 

 position of radiated white needles. I have not as yet analysed these, but I appre- 

 hend they must bear a close analogy to the hydrate of ethylostrychnine. 



The chloride of amylostrychnine seeming to have a tendency to decompose in 

 contact with ammonia, some solutions of the salt were supersaturated with this 

 alkali ; in no instance did any immediate precipitate occur ; but in all, after the 

 lapse of a shorter or longer period, crystalline deposits were formed, while the 

 fluids assumed a reddish-brown colour ; in some cases the product was but micro- 

 scopic at the end of a fortnight, while other specimens furnished within this time 

 quite a decided crystallization on the sides of the vessels. These crystals had the 

 qualitative characters of strychnine ; and it is easy to imagine a decomposition 

 taking place in which this alkaloid should be regenerated with the formation of 

 amylamine; thus — 



C 52 H 33 N 2 O i C1 + NH 3 = C 42 H 22 N 2 4 + C 10 H 18 N, HC1. 



I have not as yet been able to verify this equation ; for there has remained much 

 of the amylostrychnine undecomposed in those cases where I tried to prove the 

 existence of amylamine. 



In the hope of hastening the decomposition, some of the mother liquor of the 

 chloride was sealed in a tube with strong ammonia ; the vessel was kept in 

 boiling water for many days ; a rather dark-coloured deposit gradually formed, 

 while the liquid itself became brown and rather mucilaginous. At the end of a 



