May G, 1->71.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
88T 
0-3810 grm. gave 0-8460 C0 2 and 0-2080 II 2 0. 
0-4430 grm. boiled with AgNCh and NO., H gave 
0 059 AgBr. 
Calculated. Found. 
n. 
'-72 • • • 
• • 
864 
60-89 
60-56 
h 83 • • • 
• • 
83 
5-85 
607 
Br . . . 
• • 
80 
5-64 
N 4 . . . 
« • 
56 
3-95 
i 
o sl . . . 
• • 
336 
23-67 
H^BrN^Oj;, 
+ o 9 
1419 
100-00 
It hence happens that the free base rapidly absorbs 
oxygen. In confirmation of this, 0-11 grm. of the hy- 
drobromate treated with caustic potash and injected by 
a pipette into 15 cubic centiins. of air over mercury ab¬ 
sorbed 0-9 cubic centim. in the course of an hour, or 
0 per cent, of the total volume of the air; the salts, 
however, when dry, may be kept without alteration, 
and only slowly darken by exposure to air when moist. 
This welding together of four molecules is not wholly 
without parallel in the history of the opium alkaloids and 
their derivatives: thus opianic acid heated* furnishes 
a body containing four times as much carbon as the 
■original acid; thus 
4C 10 H 10 O s =H 2 O + C jo H 38 0 19 . 
The qualitative reactions of bromotetracodeia appear to 
be identical with those of bromo- and chlorocodide. The 
base itself, when freshly precipitated, is slightly soluble 
in water, being thrown down again by addition of strong 
brine ; in ether and benzol it is almost insoluble, and in 
. alcohol but sparingly soluble. 
When crude bromotetracodeia, got by extraction with 
ether of the mixture of bases thrown down by carbonate 
of soda, is dissolved in weak hydrochloric acid, and preci¬ 
pitated twice or thrice by excess of stronger acid, nearly 
white flakes are ultimately obtained, resembling in all 
their physical properties the broinohydrobromate of te- 
tracodeia. These flakes, however, contain no bromine, 
the absence of this element being ascertained by the 
negative results obtained on examining with chlorine- 
water and ether the acidified solutions of the lime-salts 
got by combustion with quicklime, and of the sodium- 
. salts got by boiling with N O s H and AgN 0 3 . and fusing 
with carbonate of soda the silver-salts thus got. Dried 
over S0 4 H, and finally at 100°, this body gave numbers 
indicating a base of constitution analogous to that of 
bromotetracodeia; it may therefore be termed chloro- 
tetracodeia. 
.Specimen A.—0-3880 grm. gave 0-1970 AgCl. 
0-3645 grm. gave 0-8395 C0 2 and 0-2120 
H 2 0. 
0-3940 grm. burnt with soda lime gave 
0-1080 Pt. 
Specimen B.—0-4460 grm. gave 1-0150 C0 2 and 0-2560 
H e O. 
0-2350 grm. gave 0-1250 AgCl. 
Calculated. 
c 72 . 
864 
62-77 
. 
87 
6-32 
N/. 
56 
4-07 
^12 . 
192 
13-94 
Cl 5 . 
177-5 
12-90 
C 7 oH 83 C1N 4 0 12 4HC1 
1376-5 
100-00 
Found. 
Specimen A. Specimen J3. 
62-81 - 62-07 
6*46 6-38 
- 3-90 
12-56-- 13-16 
Specimen A had been three times precipitated by H Cl 
* Matthiessen and Wright, Proc. Roy. Soc. xvii. p. 341. 
in large excess, while specimen B had only been thrown, 
down twice, and probably retained a trace of bromotetra^ 
codeia. 
Specimen A converted into platinum-salt gave the fol¬ 
lowing numbers after drying at 100°. 
0-4215 grm. gave 0 0810 Pt= 19-22 per cent. 
The formula C^HggCl^O.o, 4HC1, 2PtCl 4 requires 
19*18 per cent. 
Like bromotetracodeia, the free base appears to absorb 
oxygen with avidity. Dried as rapidly as possible at 
100 °, the precipitate thrown down by carbonate of soda 
gave these numbers:— 
0-3880 grm. gave 0-9190 CCh and 0-2230 1LO. 
0-3100 „ 0-0330 AgCl. 
Calculated. Found. 
C r2 . . . . 
. 864 
64-74 
64-59 
Hss .... 
. 83 
6-22 
6-38 
N 4 .... 
. 56 
4-20 
Ojg| .... 
. 296 
22-18 
Cl. 
2-66 
H 83 ClN 4 0 12 + 0a 
1334-5 
100-00 
In all its physical and chemical properties clilorotetra- 
codeia closely resembles bromotetracodeia: their quali¬ 
tative reactions are identical; they have an intense bitter 
taste and apparently but slight physiological action, at 
any rate in small doses. 
My thanks are due to Mr. J. L. Bell, in whose labora¬ 
tory the above experiments were carried out. 
YEAST AND OTHER FERMENTS.* 
UY C. A. WATKINS. 
In this paper I shall endeavour to lay before you some 
of those chemical changes which take place in certain 
substances when under the influence of other substances 
called Ferments. In some of these transformations the 
microscope shows us that there exists an intfthate con¬ 
nection between the processes and the growth of some 
minute organisms, while in others the changes are purely 
chemical. The subject, which is of interest alike to the 
physiologist, microscopist and chemist, has received great 
attention from many excellent observers; nevertheless, 
very little is known about it, and at present the whole 
matter is involved in great mystery. 
I therefore feel considerable diffidence in addressing 
you on such a subject, and should not have attempted it 
had I not observed that many wi’iters fall into serious 
errors when discussing the chemical operations of the 
ferments. 
I may at once tell you that the matter contained in 
this paper is perhaps more chemical than microscopical; 
but the fact is, these two investigations are inseparable 
if -we desire accurate knowledge, and it is impossible to 
view ferments broadly, if treated only as a chemical or 
only as a microscopical subject. 
Fermentation is a term applied to various chemical 
transformations, which certain ordinarily stable com¬ 
pounds, such as starch and sugar, undergo when in 
contact with a small quantity of an azotized or albu¬ 
minous substance, which is itself in an active state of 
alteration. This active substance is called a ferment, 
and one of the peculiar properties of such a body is that 
it receives nothing from, nor imparts anything to the 
matter which is undergoing fermentation, but is itself 
decomposed and destroyed as a ferment in proportion 
to the matter fermented, which is gradually split up, or 
unfolded into two or more substances of simpler compo¬ 
sition, sometimes with and sometimes without the as¬ 
similation of water. 
This unfolding under the action of ferments is totally 
different to that chemical change known as catalysis, 
which takes place in one substance by mere contact with 
* Reprinted from the* ‘ Journal of the Quekett Micro¬ 
scopical Club.’ 
