210 
ON  TOBACCO. 
with  here  and  there  some  brownish  patches ;  but  the  taste  is 
decidedly  acrid,  and  certainly  only  differs  from  that  of  the  com- 
mercial article  by  the  absence  of  free  ammonia.  It  also  contains 
a  large  proportion  of  nicotina  in  combination. 
This  had  been  pointed  out  as  early  as  1809  by  Vauquelin,  in 
the  report  made  by  him  with  Robiquet  and  TJ.  S.  Consul  War- 
den. It  was  again  shown  to  be  present  by  Posselt  and  Rei- 
mann,  in  1831,  in  plants  of  several  species  grown  near  Heidel- 
berg, and  again  in  1836  by  Henry  and  Boutron-Gharlard ;  and 
in  1831  A.  Buchner,  sr.,  prepared  some  nicotina  from  the  seeds. 
Lastly,  our  excellent  Procter,  in  the  answer  to  very  nearly  the 
same  questions  as  those  at  the  head  of  this  paper,  read  before 
the  meeting  of  1858,  proved  without  doubt  the  presence  of  the 
alkaloid  at  least  in  the  fresh  leaves  ;  and  the  authority  on  whose 
credit  the  origin  by  fermentation  had  been  maintained,  as  quoted 
in  the  query,  corrected  the  statement  made  there  as  early  as 
18-14,  upon  the  occasion  of  a  paper  on  Tobacco-smoke  by  A.  Mel- 
sens,  in  a  note  to  which  [Annalen  der  Qhemie  und  Pharmacie, 
vol.  49,  p.  359)  Liebig  mentions  that  «  at  the  Giessen  Labora- 
tory not  inconsiderable  quantities  of  the  alkaloid  had  been  ob- 
tained from  the  fresh  plant." 
With  such  evidence  the  presence  of  nicotina  in  the  plant, 
through  its  various  stages,  may  be  accepted  as  satisfac- 
torily proved.  Yet  Mr.  Procter  suggested  that  the  matter, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  seed,  be  again  made  the  sub- 
ject of  research,  and  since  this  investigation  has  been  under- 
taken by  me,  fresh  interest  has  been  imparted  to  it  by  the  pub- 
lication of  a  paper  on  the  same  subject  in  the  Vierteljahres- 
schrift  fur  Fharmacie  of  April  last.  The  author  of  this  essay 
found  a  volatile  principle,  which  on  the  strength  of  its  odor  he 
assumes  to  be  trimethylina  (pseudo-propylamin,)  said  to  have 
originated  from  a  fermentable  substance  contained  in  the  seed, 
and  he  believes  that  Buchner  mistook  a  mixture  of  ammonia 
and  trimethylina  for  nicotina. 
In  order  to  avoid,  if  possible,  errors  arising  from  reliance 
upon  such  deceptive  characteristics  as  odor,  and  because  in  the 
examination  of  the  plant  at  least  two  bases  are  met  with  possess- 
ing.a  pungent  and  somewhat  similar  odor,  I  have  made  use,  be- 
sides-the  usual  distinction  resting  on  the  percentages  of  pla- 
