324     RELATIVE  ACTIVITIY  OF  COLCHICUM  ROOT  AND  SEEDS. 
by  sulphuric  acid,  in  the  manner  of  the  gaseous  hydrocarbons? 
which  are  prepared  from  the  alcohols  by  the  elimination  of  water. 
Thi3  decomposition  may  therefore  probably  be  represented  by 
the  following  equation  : — 
C20  H12  NO2  +  PO5  =  PO5,  HO,  C18  H8  N  +  (C2  H2). 
Wittstein's  cinchonidine  has  the  formula  C18  H10  NO2,  and  is 
consequently  to  be  regarded  as  a  homologue  of  ordinary  quinine 
less  C2  IP. 
The  result  of  the  action  of  anhydrous  phosphoric  acid  upon 
this  quinine  may,  however,  almost  be  predicted  with  certainty 
from  the  above  premises  ;  the  reaction  will  evidently  take  place 
in  accordance  with  the  equation 
Ci8  Hio  N02-f  P05=P05,  HO,  HO,  C18  H8  N, 
and  will  therefore  present  the  most  complete  analogy  with  the 
similar  reaction  of  conhydrine  Chem.  Graz.  March  16,  1857, 
from  Sitzungsber.  der  Akad.  der  Wiss.  zu  Wien. 
ON  THE  EELATIVE  ACTIVITY  OF  THE  DRIED  CORMUS  AND  SEED 
OF  COLCHICUM. 
By  Prof.  K.  Schroff. 
Former  experiments  made  by  the  author,  with  the  fresh  bulb 
and  the  bruised  seeds,  did  not  confirm  the  general  belief  of  the 
seeds  containing  more  virtue  than  the  bulb  ;  he  therefore  made 
another  series  of  experiments,  but  now  with  the  pulverized  seed 
and  the  dried  bulbs,  (over  two  years  old  ;)  also  with  colchicine, 
prepared  by  Mr.  Merk,  of  Darmstadt. 
The  experiments  were  made  on  full  grown  rabbits,  and  led  the 
author  to  the  following  conclusions  : 
1.  The  activity  of  the  seeds  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  dried 
bulbs,  dug  in  the  fall. 
2.  The  cormus  obtained  in  the  fall,  and  dried  simply  by  ex- 
posure to  the  sun  and  air,  loses  nothing  of  its  activity  either  by 
this  drying  process  or  by  keeping  ;  the  active  principles  are  nei- 
ther volatilized,  destroyed  nor  decomposed.  130  grains  of  the 
dried  bulb  killed  a  rabbit  on  the  first  day  ;  while  of  the  fresh 
bulb,  130  grains  on  the  first,  and  170  grains  on  the  second  day, 
were  required  to  kill  a  rabbit  in  from  two  to  five  days.    The  fresh 
