ALKALOID OBTAINED FROM CASTOR-OIL PLANT. 267 
prisms and tables. When placed on the tongue, it slowly 
manifests a feebly bitter taste, resembling somewhat that of 
bitter almonds. Cautiously treated on a microscope slide, 
ricinine melts and forms a perfectly colourless and mobile fluid, 
which on cooling solidifies into a whorl of acicular crystals. 
Heated between two watch-glasses, a sublimate is obtained, 
which appears to be unaltered ricinine. Strongly heated on 
platinum foil, ricinine first melts and subsequently burns with 
a highly luminous and fuliginous flame. 
The best solvents for ricinine are water and alcohol; benzol 
and ether dissolve but a small quantity of the akaloid. 
Heated with solid hydrate of potash it evolves ammonia, 
thus demonstrating the presence of nitrogen. 
Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves the alkaloid without 
colouring it, and the addition of bichromate of potash simply 
causes the development of a green colour. 
Iodic acid is not deoxidized by ricinine, even when these 
substances are warmed together. 
Concentrated nitric acid dissolves ricinine without evolving 
red vapours, although heat be applied. On evaporating the 
solution thus produced to a small volume and allowing it to 
cool, gr<fups of transparent and colourless acicular crystals 
develop. These crystals are rendered opaque by the addition 
of water. 
Concentrated hydrochloric acid dissolves ricinine, but 
the hydrochlorate of the base, which is doubtless produced in 
this reaction, appears to be readily decomposed both by 
evaporation and dilution. A solution of ricinine in hydro¬ 
chloric acid does not give a precipitate with a concentrated 
aqueous solution of bichloride of platinum, but on evaporat¬ 
ing a mixture of these bodies well-defined octohedra and 
modifications of octohedra having a deep orange colour 
crystallize out. 
On mixing together cold saturated aqueous solutions of 
ricinine and perchloride of mercury no change is at first 
observed, but if the mixture be allowed to stand for a few 
minutes a mass of beautiful silky crystals, arranged in radiate 
tufts, is formed; which is so solid that the vessel in which the 
experiment is performed may be inverted without any fear of 
its contents falling out. The mercurial compound of ricinine 
is soluble in water and in alcohol, menstrua from which it 
may be purified by crystallization. 
If ordinary castor oil be shaken up with water, the water 
decanted and evaporated to dryness, a small quantity of 
resinous residue is left, which, when treated with boiling ben¬ 
zol, partly dissolves. If the benzolic solution of this residue 
