CRYPTOPIA, A NEW ALKALOID DISCOVERED IN OPIUM. 597 
litmus-paper blue ; the fumes from the tube have an ammoniacal smell, and a 
glass rod moistened with weak hydrochloric acid, when passed into the tube is 
immediately surrounded with a white cloud. The alkaloid appears to be soluble 
neither in oil of turpentine nor in benzole, but is nearly as soluble in chloro¬ 
form as narcotine. 
Preparation. —Cryptopia is contained in the weak spirituous washings of 
crude precipitated morphia, the liquid designated by the French, “eaux meres 
alcooliques.” 
The first step to [be taken is to neutralize the liquid with diluted sulphuric 
acid, keeping it rather below than above the neutral point; the spirit is then to 
be recovered by distillation, and the contents of the still washed out with abun¬ 
dance of hot water; the washings and liquid are to be mixed together and fil¬ 
tered, the hot liquid is now to be thrown down with a large excess of caustic 
lime in the form of a milk ; the liquid is next to be filtered away, and the pre¬ 
cipitate thoroughly washed,—the washed matter, more or less loose or pitchy, 
is the source of cryptopia. The very compound matter thus obtained is to be 
boiled up with rectified spirit in large quantity, and the spirituous solution fil¬ 
tered, the filtered solution is then distilled to recover the spirit. After the 
spirit has been removed, the contents of the still are found to be a watery liquid, 
and a solid matter of a pitchy consistence. The watery liquid is then removed, 
and the pitchy matter, which is principally composed of thebaia, is next to be 
heated to ebullition with enough of rectified spirit to dissolve the substance. 
The solution having been put aside will be found by the following day to have 
crystallized, turning the liquid into a soft solid, in consequence of the abundant 
crystallization of thebaia. The mass, after complete crystallization, is to be 
strongly pressed in a cloth, and the solid cake powdered and dissolved in muri¬ 
atic acid very much diluted; care being taken not to go beyond the neutral 
point. The filtered liquid is then to be evaporated so as to obtain a crystalli¬ 
zation of muriate of thebaia ; the mother liquid, separated from the first crop 
of crystals, is further carefully evaporated, at a heat not too strong, for a second 
crop of crystals of muriate of thebaia ; and if everything has been properly done, 
after the muriate of thebaia has crystallized, in the course of some weeks the 
muriate of cryptopia will make its appearance, and may be readily recognized 
by the characters already detailed, and which cannot allow of its being mistaken 
for muriate of thebaia. When the new body has fully separated in a crystal¬ 
line form, it becomes a question how it is to be obtained apart; for, although 
it appears to be very abundant, yet from its extreme lightness and tenuity it is 
exceedingly small in quantity. The crystallizations of the muriate of thebaia 
and the muriate of cryptopia, not being separated by an abrupt line of division, 
but the one shading into the other, the separation of the new body is not by 
any means easy. 
The first quantity of the salt obtained by us, and the alkaloid from that salt, 
which, through the kindness of Mr. Brady of Newcastle, we had the honour of 
submitting to the first meeting of the Pharmaceutical Conference at Bath, was 
obtained by a tedious operation of careful floating off and re-crystallization. 
When the substance had been obtained as pure as possible in this way, it was 
found, on strong sulphuric acid being added, to give a purple colour, thus 
showing it not to be a salt of thebaia, but in all likelihood to be rather charac¬ 
teristic of a new substance belonging to opium. Afterwards, however, on 
boiling the precipitate produced, by the addition of ammonia to its solution, 
with strong rectified spirit, a crystallization was deposited on the sides of the 
glass, which, with strong vitriol, gave a deep blue colour with a tinge of 
violet; while, on the other hand, the mother liquid gave an alkali which, with 
strong sulphuric acid, gave at once the deep blood-red colour characterizing 
thebaia. The salt which had given the purple colour had therefore been a mix- 
