206 DR T. ANDERSON ON SOME OF THE 



Carbon, 



Hydrogen, 



Oxygen, 





COUEI 



LBE. 







Regxault. 





60-87 



5-11 



34-02 



6103 



5-54 



33-43 



6086 



5-09 



34-05 



61-63 



5-22 



33-15 



61-36 



5-40 



33-24 



61-22 



5-33 



33-45 



61-51 



5-34 



33-15 



100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 



numbers which agree very well with the formula C in EL 4 , given for meconine 

 in the same paper. My own analyses completely confirm these results. The de- 

 tails are as follows : — 



( 5-405 grains of rneconine, dried at 212°, gave 

 I. \ 12-170 ... carbonic acid, and 

 i 2-495 ... water. 



{5-445 grains of meconine, dried at 212°, gave 

 12-280 ... carbonic acid, and 

 2-515 ... water. 



Calculation. 



Experiment. 



I. 



it. 



61-40 



61-50 



512 



513 



33-48 



33-37 



Carbon, . . . 6140 61-50 61-85 



Hydrogen, . . 512 5-13 5-15 



Oxygen, . . . 3348 33-37 33-00 



^20 



120 



H 10 



10 



t>8 



64 



100-00 100-00 100-00 194 



In the calculated numbers, I have assumed its formula to be the same as that 

 of opianyl, and it will be immediately shown that the true constitution of both 

 substances is actually so represented. 



Properties of Meconine. 



Meconine crystallizes from its solution in water in brilliantly white and very 

 beautiful needles, which are arranged in branched tufts, in a highly characteristic 

 manner. Its taste is slightly but distinctly bitter. It is soluble in water, alcohol, 

 and ether, and its saturated hot solution in the first menstruum becomes filled, 

 on cooling, with a net-work of crystals, which occupies the whole of the fluid. It 

 requires for solution 22 times its weight of boiling water, and upwards of 700 

 times its weight of water at 60°. These numbers differ considerably from those 

 of Couerbe, who finds it to be soluble in 18 "5 parts of hot, and 265 of cold water. 

 Three careful determinations on solutions made by boiling with excess of meco- 

 nine, allowing the fluid to cool, and filtering from the deposited crystals, concurred 

 in giving the former result ; and in this respect meconine completely agrees with 

 opianyl, which also requires 700 parts of cold water for solution. When dry me- 

 conine melts at 230°, and not at 194°, as stated by Couerbe. It fuses underwater 

 at a temperature of 170°, and it is possible that Couerbe may have been misled 

 by this appearance, and determined its fusing point by heating it in water ; but 



