100 
ON  COLCHICIA. 
ing  with  hot  alcohol,  distilling,  filtering  and  evaporating.  This 
impure  body  was  dissolved  in  water  and  precipitated  by  tannin 
in  two  fractions  ;  the  colchicia  from  the  second  fraction  was  less 
freely  soluble  in  water.  By  slowly  evaporating  with  sulphuric 
acid,  crystallizable  colchicein  was  obtained  and  the  mother  liquor 
did  not  reduce  an  alkaline  solution  of  copper.  Colchiceine  is 
sparingly  soluble  in  cold,  more  in  hot  water  ;  the  aqueous  solu- 
tion is  colored  yellow  by  dilute  acids,  violet  and  brown  by  con- 
centrated nitric  acid,  precipitated  by  tannin,  chloride  of  plati- 
num, chloride  of  gold,  nitro-picric  acid,  solution  of  iodine, 
and  chlorine  water,  not  by  corrosive  sublimate  ;  the  reactions 
are  therefore  almost  identical  with  those  of  the  amorphous  col- 
chicia ;  the  alkaline  nature  of  this  body  is  denied ;  it  was  almost 
without  action  upon  slightly  reddened  litmus  paper. 
M.  Hiibler  (Jenaische  Zeitsch.  f.  Med.  u.  Naturw.,  1864,  247) 
prepared  colchicia  by  a  process  similar  to  Ludwig's,  except  that 
the  aqueous  solution  of  the  alcoholic  extract  was  precipitated  by 
subacetate  of  lead  and  the  lead  removed  by  phosphate  of  soda  ; 
colchicia  was  precipitated  by  tannin  in  fractions,  the  middle  por- 
tion was  decomposed  by  oxide  of  lead,  and  the  fractional  precipi- 
tation by  tannin  and  decomposition  by  oxide  of  lead  repeated 
until  the  product  was  of  a  sulphur-yellow  color  and  soluble  in 
alcohol  and  water  without  turbidity.  It  is  amorphous,  of  a  faint 
aromatic  odor  and  intensely  bitter  taste,  fusible  at  140°  C. 
(284°  F.)  insoluble  in  ether,  readily  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol, 
without  action  on  litmus  paper  and  produces  in  aqueous  solution 
a  yellow  color  with  mineral  acids  and  alkalies,  and  precipitates 
Avith  chloride  of  gold  (yellow),  corrosive  sublimate  (white)  and 
tannin  (curdy  ;)  not  with  chloride  of  platinum,  perchloride  of  iron, 
subacetate  of  lead  and  sulphate  of  copper ;  its  composition  is  C34 
H19NO10.  Heated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  a  resinous  body  and 
colchiceine  is  obtained  which  is  removed  from  its  aqueous  solu- 
tion by  animal  charcoal  and  converted  into  a  brown  uncrystal- 
lizable  body,  which  is  also  formed  from  the  solution  in  contact 
with  air.  It  has  the  same  composition  as  colchicia,  has  an  acid 
reaction,  decomposes  the  carbonates,  is  soluble  in  alkalies,  and 
these  solutions  are  precipitated  by  salts  of  the  alkaline  earths  and 
metallic  oxides  ;  it  appears  also  to  be  formed  by  the  action  of 
