1889-90.] Mr Dott and Dr Stockman on Morphine, 
373 
body contract very slightly to strong electric currents, and even this 
feeble amount of contraction disappeared in about five minutes. 
Chlorocodide therefore partakes partly of the action of codeine 
and partly of the action of apomorphine. 
Trichloromorphide. 
There do not appear to be any published results giving experi- 
ments on the action of phosphorus pentachloride or oxychloride on 
morphine. When anhydrous morphine and phosphorus penta- 
chloride are mixed and heated, there is evidently some action ; but 
we could not obtain in this way any considerable amount of material 
other than morphine, or possibly one of the polymerised morphine 
bodies described by Wright. It was impossible to try any experi- 
ment on a solution of morphine, as there is no known solvent for 
that alkaloid which is not at once attacked by the pentachloride. 
We therefore adopted the method used by Gerichten for the pre- 
paration of chlorocodide. 13 grms. anhydrous morphine and 17 
grms. phosphorus pentachloride were mixed, and several grms. of 
oxychloride of phosphorus poured over the mixture. The mixture 
was left for some hours, with occasional agitation, until solution 
was complete. It was then diluted with water, and ammonia added. 
The precipitate so obtained was slightly washed, dried, and treated 
with chloroform. On evaporation the chloroform left a non- 
crystalline residue, from which a platinum salt was prepared. Of 
this compound *091 grm. gave 0T6 grm. Pt. = 17‘58 per cent. 
The portion of the precipitate undissolved by the chloroform was 
treated with boiling alcohol, which on evaporation left a partially 
crystalline coloured residue. This yielded a chloroplatinate of which 
T575 grm. gave *0275 grm. Pt= 17*45 per cent. 
( C i7 H i6 C1 3 lsr0 )2' Pt H 2 ci 6 = 17-43 per cent. Pt. 
It would be too much to assume that that is certainly the com- 
position of the substance obtained, as it is quite conceivably a mix- 
ture. We anticipated that the two hydroxyls would be replaced by 
chlorine atoms, but the chlorination seems to have gone further. 
As from the formation of methocodeine, there appears to be in the 
morphine molecule a non-hydroxyl hydrogen atom which is more 
readily replaced than the others, it has possibly in the compound 
