570 DRS MACLAGAN AND A. GAMGEE ON THE ALKALOIDS CONTAINED 



1st, The ready fusibility in hot water of the base from the wood. 



2d, The beautiful and most delicate reaction with binoxide of manganese and 

 sulphuric acid, which is not possessed by bebeerine. 



3c?, The much smaller solubility of the new base in ether. With regard to 

 this point it may be stated, that, in a paper previously quoted, one of us had 

 stated the solubility of bebeerine in ether to be 1 in 13. The ether used had a 

 specific gravity of 730. 



On repeating, however, our observations with perfectly pure ether, of density 

 0715, and pure bebeerine, which had been prepared from the bark exhibited by 

 the firm of Macfarlane h Co. in the Great Exhibition, we ascertained the 

 solubility to be smaller. 



100 parts of this ether dissolved, at 14° C, 096' parts of pure bebeerine. 



Under the same circumstances, 100 parts of this ether dissolved - 201 parts 

 of the base from the wood. After being boiled in contact with the base for ten 

 minutes, being filtered and evaporated, 100 parts of ether was found to have 

 dissolved 0'188 parts of our new base. These numbers are, however, higher than 

 the truth. After the two latter determinations, it was found that the substance 

 which had been used retained chloroform with great tenacity, and could only be 

 freed from it by very prolonged heating and exhaustion in vacuo. The base, 

 when purified by a process to be mentioned below, and thoroughly dried, was 

 again treated with ether. 



1. After standing for many days in contact with it, ether of density 715 had 

 dissolved only 04 parts of alkaloid. 



2. After standing for twenty-four hours only, in contact with the same sample 

 of base, 100 parts of the same ether had dissolved only 0021 parts of the base. 



We have mentioned that the base which we obtained from the wood possessed 

 a fine yellow colour. This colour is not, however, essential to it. 



On treating the 3'ellow solution of the hydrochlorate of the base with animal 

 charcoal, the solution is almost completely decolorised ; and A\hen treated with 

 solution of ammonia a precipitate is obtained, which, after being drained and 

 allowed to dry (without the application of heat), either in the air or in vacuo, 

 occurs in the form of an almost purely white powder, When heated in the water- 

 bath, it soon acquires the fawn colour which it possessed before the treatment 

 with charcoal. 



On dissolving the white powder in alcohol, and evaporating the solution, a 

 translucent residue of yellowish tint is obtained. x\ll attempts to obtain this 

 base in a crystalline form have failed. Obtained by evaporation from alcohol, 

 chloroform, or ether, like bebeerine, it never presents the slightest crystalline 

 form. 



We have ascertained the composition of this base, to which we now assign 

 the name of Nectandria, by the analysis of two different samples, one of which 



