238 R. W. CHALLINOR. 



Experimental. 



2900 grams of the freshly cut terminal branchlets of the 

 plant were submitted to distillation with caustic alkali, 

 the distillate being received in 5 times normal sulphuric 

 acid, the acid being added from a burette as it became 

 neutralised. 90 cc. of acid was required to neutralise the 

 basic substances in the distillate, which calculated as 

 ammonia = 0*26 per cent. A small amount of an oily sub- 

 stance passed over at the same time, and the distillate 

 whilst acid was pink, the pink colour disappearing again on 

 neutralisation. 



The sulphates obtained, after evaporating to dryness, 

 were then extracted with absolute alcohol, the extract 

 when dried over sulphuric acid gave 0*6520 gram of amine 

 sulphates, which calculated to trimethylamine = 0*012 per 

 cent. The dried sulphates were again distilled with caustic 

 alkali and the process repeated, the amounts obtained being 

 identical with those mentioned above. 



The amine sulphate was crystalline, deliquescent, and 

 possessed of a strong herring brine odour. On heating 

 with caustic soda it gave off a strong ammoniacal fishy 

 odour and an inflammable vapour, it also gave a precipitate 

 with potassium ferrocyanide from a hydrochloric acid 

 solution, thus showing the presence of a tertiary amine. 



A fresh quantity of the green plant was triturated with 

 water acidulated with hydrochloric acid, the filtered extract 

 after concentration was made alkaline with soda and steam 

 distilled into standard acid, the excess of acid titrated with 

 alkali indicated 0*067 per cent, of volatile alkalis calculated 

 as ammonia. The neutralised distillate after evaporating 

 to dryness and extracting with absolute alcohol, gave a 

 crystalline deliquescent substance possessing the properties 

 of trimethylamine. On comparing the results of these two 

 determinations it is evident that a considerable proportion 



