544 
ON  BURGUNDY  PITCH. 
that  the  acetate,  nitrate,  hydrochlorate,  sulphate,  and  phosphate 
of  strychnine  afford  sublimates,  and  that  one  such  sublimate  from 
the  acetate  is  not  distinguishable  from  a  well-marked  crystalline 
deposit  obtained  from  the  alkaloid  itself.  I  also  procured  subli- 
mates from  acetate  of  morphia,  from  sulphate  of  atropine,  and 
from  the  sulphates  of  quinine  and  quinidine. 
It  appears,  then,  that  these  important  preliminary  results  have 
been  already  arrived  at : — 
1.  That  the  test  of  sublimation  is  easy  of  application,  and  suc- 
cessful with  very  minute  quantities  of  the  alkaloids. 
2.  That  sublimates  may  be  obtained  not  only  from  the  alka- 
loids themselves,  but  also  from  deposits  furnished  by  their  liquid 
solutions. 
3.  That  the  salts  of  the  alkaloids  yield  sublimates. 
4.  That  the  properties  of  sublimation  by  heat  and  deposit  on 
cooler  surfaces  are  common  to  a  large  number  of  substances  both 
inorganic  and  organic. 
5.  That  as  probably  one-half  of  the  alkaloids  and  allied  active 
principles  yield  characteristic  sublimates,  sublimation  ought  to 
be  admitted  among  the  recognized  properties  of  these  bodies  as  a 
class. 
These  propositions,  however,  are  but  the  preliminaries  of  an 
inquiry  which  demands  the  utmost  patience,  care,  and  circum- 
spection, and  which,  if  I  do  not  greatly  mistake  the  indications  I 
have  already  obtained,  will  add  largely  to  our  knowledge  by 
many  new  facts,  as  well  as  by  some  corrections  of  statements  too 
hastily  put  forward. 
In  my  next  communication  I  shall  endeavor  to  point  out  the 
precautions  which  we  must  observe  if  we  would  turn  this  newly- 
discovered  property  of  the  alkaloids  to  practical  account.  These 
precautions  must  be  recognised  and  acted  upon  before  we  pro- 
ceed to  the  examination  of  individual  members  of  the  class. — 
London  JPharm.  Journ.,  July,  1867. 
ON  BURGUNDY  PITCH. 
By  Daniel  Hanbury. 
The  authors  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  have  defined  Bur- 
gundy Pitch  (Fix  Burgundica)  as  a  resinous  exudation  from  the 
