Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Sept.,  1890. 
Ulexine  and  Cytisine. 
455 
For  convenience  we  will  tabulate  these  differences 
Cytisine. 
C20H27N3O. 
Permanent  in  air. 
Sublimes  completely, 
splendid  crystals. 
forming 
Scarcely  soluble  in  chloroform. 
Formula  weight  324*41. 
Ulexine. 
■jC2  2H2  8N402. 
Very  hygroscopic. 
Refuses  to  sublime  in  air  without 
decomposition,  and  when  heated 
in  vacuo  does  not  sublime  to  any 
extent  at  2250  C. 
Freely  soluble  in  chloroform. 
Formula  weight  X  2,  379*34- 
These  results,  as  regards  ulexine,  we  have  carefully  repeated,  and 
have  made  the  test  in  vacuo  even  more  severe,  by  enclosing  the 
alkaloid  in  a  vacuous  tube  bent  twice  at  right  angles  and  surround- 
ing one  limb  with  small  fragments  of  ice,  while  the  other  containing 
the  alkaloid  was  immersed  with  a  thermometer  in  a  double  bath  of 
syrupy  phosphoric  acid,  which  we  find  to  be  the  best  liquid  for  high 
temperature  work.  Only  a  few  small  crystals  were  formed  above 
the  heated  portion  of  the  tube.  The  temperature  of  the  bath  was 
slowly  raised  to  about  3000  C,  when  the  alkaloid  appeared  to  boil ; 
it  gave  off  bubbles  of  gas  and-  a  small  quantity  of  colorless  liquid 
distilled  over.  When  cooled  by  ice  and  opened  under  mercury  the 
tube  was  found  to  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  carbon  dioxide. 
This,  we  think,  proves  that  neither  in  air  nor  in  vacuo  can  ulexine 
be  sublimed  unchanged. 
That  ulexine  and  cytisine  have  much  in  common  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  but  so  they  have  with  eserine  and  sparteine,  both  of  which 
are  alkaloids  obtained  from  plants  belonging  to  the  same  natural 
order,  and  in  percentage  composition  they  are  not  far  removed  from 
pyridine,  nicotine  and  pilocarpine.  The  following  table  arranged 
according  to  the  percentage  of  carbon  is  instructive  : 
Hydrogen.  Nitrogen. 
*Sparteine  (C8H13N?),  . 
Pyridine  (C5H5N),  .  .  . 
Nicotine  (C10H14N2), .  . 
*Cytisine  (C20H27N8O),  . 
*Ulexine  (C11H14N20),  . 
*Eserine  (C15H2 ^jOj, 
Pilocarpine  (Ca  1H16N202 
Carbon. 
78-05 
75 '90 
74-08 
73'35 
69-42 
65"49 
63-42 
io"57 
6*34 
8-64 
8-31 
7-38 
7-64 
77i 
11*38 
1776 
17-28 
12-92 
14*77 
15-27 
I3'50 
Oxygen. 
4-92 
8-43 
ir6o 
15*37 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  when  arranged  in  this  way  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  approximately  4  per  cent,  in  carbon  less,  and  an  increase  of 
