ON  COLCHICIA. 
99 
precipitated  oxide  of  iron,  the  filtrate  evaporated,  dissolved  in  a 
mixture  of  absolute  alcohol  and  ether,  evaporated,  dissolved  in 
water  and  evaporated.  One  lb.  of  dry  corms  gathered  in  Octo- 
ber yielded  6 -5  grains,  gathered  in  November  4  grains,  gathered 
in  May  "75  grains,  young  corms  6*5  grains. 
By  the  same  method,  2  lb.  of  fresh  flowers  with  the  subter- 
ranean portion  attached,  equal  to  4J  oz.  dry,  yielded  7  grains, 
the  same  weight  of  flowers  cut  off  above  the  ground,  only  two 
grains  of  colchicia. 
The  seeds  were  boiled  with  water,  expressed,  the  decoction 
neutralized  by  lime,  boiled,  filtered  and  evaporated,  the  extract 
exhausted  with  alcohol,  distilled,  the  residue  extracted  with 
water,  the  solution  precipitated  by  tannin  and  the  precipitate 
treated  as  above.  Ten  lb.  of  ripe  seeds  yielded  160  grains  of 
colchicia,  unripe  seeds  the  same  quantity. 
G.  Bley  obtained  much  less  colchicia ;  he  exhausted  by  alco- 
hol acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid,  neutralized  with  iime,  evapo- 
rated, dissolved  in  water  and  treated  the  precipitate  by  carbonate 
of  potassa  with  alcohol  and  animal  charcoal ;  most  of  the  colchi- 
cia must  have  remained  in  the  mother  liquor. 
Hiibschmann  (Schweiz.  Zeitschr.  fur  Pharm.,  1857,  No.  2)  ob- 
tained from  100  lb.  of  seed  half  an  ounce  of  colchicia,  light  yel- 
low and  amorphous,  which  would  not  neutralize  the  acid  reaction 
of  two  drops  dilute  sulphuric  acid. 
The  inaugural  essay  of  John  E.  Carter  "  on  colchicia"  is 
printed  in  this  Journal,  1858,  p.  205-211,  He  prepared  the 
alkaloid  from  the  corms  by  a  process  similar  to  AschofFs  for  the 
seeds,  but  used  hydrated  oxide  of  lead  for  decomposing  the  tan- 
nate,  and  obtained  20  grains  of  colchicia  from  3  pounds  or  6-66 
grains  per  pound,  thus  agreeing  with  AschofFs  results. 
Gr.  E.  Walz  (N.  Jahrbuch  f.  Prakt.  Pharm.,  xvi.  1,)  states  that 
he  obtained  colchicia  in  white  rhombic  crystals  ;  by  boiling  the 
aqueous  solution  with  dilute  acids  colchiceine  was  obtained  and 
the  filtrate  reduced  an  alkaline  solution  of  copper. 
In  the  following  year  (1862)  H.  Ludwig  and  Pfeiffer  prepared 
impure  yellowish-brown  colchicia  from  the  seed,  by  boiling  them 
with  alcohol,  distilling,  diluting  with  water,  separate  g  from  the 
oil,  precipitating  by  tannin,  drying  with  oxide  of  lead,  exhaust- 
