352 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. jj 
A curious error has crept into several text-books referring to these 
additive compounds of alkaloids, an error which amounts to a 
misrepresentation of the investigation of Crum Brown and Fraser. 
In these hooks the compounds are referred to as substitution com- 
pounds, in which hydrogen has been replaced by an alcohol radical, 
whereas they are addition compounds. Stolnikow, in his paper 
on morphine, and Boehm (Herzgifte, p. 3), have made this same 
mistake. 
The methylmorphium chloride employed in our experiments was 
prepared as follows. Morphine was dissolved in hot methylated 
spirit with a proportion of soda, and gaseous methyl chloride passed 
into the solution. The alcohol was then evaporated, and the codeine 
extracted by means of chloroform ; after which the solution was 
neutralised with hydrochloric acid, and faint excess of ammonia 
added. By this process the morphine was separated, and on evapo- 
rating the mother-liquor, methylmorphium chloride crystallised out. 
The salt was purified by several crystallisations from water, and 
was obtained in colourless, well-defined prisms. The solution gave 
no precipitate with ammonia or sodium carbonate, and otherwise 
behaved like a methylmorphium salt. 
The salt lost weight by exposure in the water-bath, hut even at 
1 20° C. was not completely dried. On raising the temperature to 
140°-145° *4997 grm. lost *0475 grm. 
Loss of weight at 140° = 9 ‘505 per cent. 
C 17 H 19 N0 8 .CH 8 C1.2H 2 0 = 9*690 per cent. H 2 0. 
The chlorine was estimated in the air-dry salt by dissolving in 
water, adding nitric acid and nitrate of silver, according to the 
usual method. 
•5385 gave *208 Ag Cl= *0514 Cl, which is = 9 f 54 per cent. Cl 
C l7 H 19 N0 3 .CH 3 .C1.2H 2 0 = 9-55 per cent. Cl. 
In a second determination *621 grm. gave *239 Ag Cl =*0591 
Cl, which is = 9*51 per cent. 
The chloroplatinate was prepared by dissolving the salt in water, 
adding slight excess of platinic chloride, and washing the collected 
precipitate with cold water. *268 grm. of the chloroplatinate (dry 
in water-bath) was incinerated, and left ‘0496 platinum = 18-50 per 
cent. 
(C l7 H 19 N0 3 .CH 3 Cl) 2 .PtCl 4 *3H 2 0 = 18-51 per cent. 
