670 
DE. A. MATTHIESSEN AND ME. C. E. A. WEIGHT ON THE 
Calculated. Found. 
I. 
II. 
C 10 . . • 
. 120 
57*14 
56*71 
57*37 
H 10 . . . 
. 10 
4*76 
4*69 
4*71 
0 5 . . . 
. 80 
38*10 
— 
— 
C'io Hio O 5 
210 
100*00 
Cotarnine is produced at the same time, but is quickly decomposed by the action of 
the ferric chloride ; a small amount of the platinum-salt of this base was obtained from 
the iron liquors by the ordinary process for obtaining cotarnine ; of this, dried over sul- 
phuric acid, 0*6130 grm. left 0*1340 platinum. 
Calculated. Found. 
^ A 
Narcotine. Cotarnine. 
Platinum per cent. . . . 16*0 23*2 21*9 
Hence the salt was probably mixed with a small quantity of the narcotine platinum- 
salt from undecomposed narcotine. 
§ II. Decomposition of the Narcotine Bases. 
1. Dimethyl-Nornar cotine . — As narcotine under the influence of heat and water has 
been shown to split up into meconin and cotarnine, it appears probable that this base 
under the same circumstances would split, either into methyl-normeconin and cotarnine, 
or into ordinary meconin and a body containing CH 2 less than cotarnine (i. e. cotar- 
nimide). 
Narcotine. Meconin. Cotarnine. 
c 19 h 14 (ch 3 ) 3 no 7 - c 8 h 4 (CH 3 ) 2 0 4 + C n H 10 (CH 3 ) no 3 
Dimethyl-nornarcotine. Methyl-normeconin. Cotarnine. 
f C 19 h 15 (ch 3 ) 2 no, = C 8 H 5 (CH 3 ) 0 4 + C u H 10 (CH 3 ) no 3 
) Meconin. Cotamimide. 
(c 19 h 15 (CH 3 ) 2 no, = c 8 h 4 (CH 3 ) 2 0 4 + C n H„ no 3 
On heating the base with water in sealed tubes, there were produced small quantities 
of a body having the characteristic property of methyl-normeconin and methyl-noropianic 
acid, viz. of yielding a blue colour with ferric salts, becoming light red with ammonia ; 
but however the conditions of the experiment were varied, the yield of this substance was 
too small (even from moderately large quantities of base) for analysis and investigation. 
The action of certain oxidizing agents also tends to prove that the former of the two 
last reactions takes place. The action of ferric chloride on narcotine has been shown 
to be 
Narcotine. Opianic acid. Cotarnine. 
c 19 h 14 (CH 3 ) 3 no 7 + O = C 8 H 4 (CH 3 ) 2 0 5 + C n H 10 (CH 3 ) no 3 . 
(Blyth has also obtained the same reaction with platinic chloride.) Hydrochlorate of 
dimethyl-nornarcotine, boiled with either ferric or platinic chloride for many hours, gives 
