THE  CHEMISTRY  OF  OPIUM. 
521 
methylamine,  ethylamine,  and  propylamine.  By  the  action  of 
oxydising  agents,  narcotine  might  be  separated  into  a  basic  sub- 
stance called  cotarnine,  C21HuN06,  and  an  indifferent  body,  which 
was  meconine ;  three  acids  being  produced  at  the  same  time, — 
namely,  opianic  acid,  C20H10O10,  hemibanic  acid,  C20H10O12,  and 
a  third  acid  body  of  the  composition  C20H10O8.  Cotarine  when 
acted  on  by  nitric  acid,  gave  an  acid  containing  C16H7N08, 
called  apophyllic  acid.  This  acid  might  be  considered  as  com- 
pounded of  methylamine  and  an  acid  of  the  formula  C14H4O10, 
and,  in  fact,  when  boiled  with  potash,  underwent  decomposition, 
giving  off  methylamine.  On  dissolving  narcotine  in  dilute 
suphuric  acid,  and  exposing  it  in  sealed  tubes  to  a  temperature 
of  300°  F.,  crystals  are  seen  to  form,  which  contain  meconine ; 
coloring  matter  and  a  humic  substance  being  formed  at  the  same 
time,  while  the  solution  is  found  to  contain  cotarnine.  When 
opianic  acid  is  mixed  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  a  purple 
liquid  is  produced,  which  on  dilution  furnishes  a  redish  coloring- 
matter  which  has  the  properties  of  alizarin.  With  regard  to 
the  composition  of  the  various  substances  found  in  opium,  some 
relation  between  the  different  bases  might  be  discovered.  Co- 
deine was  homologous  with  morphine,  as  far  as  the  formula  was 
concerned  ;  but  this  relation  was  not  borne  out  by  the  proper- 
ties of  the  two  bases,  which  were  very  different.  The  other 
bases  also  showed,  in  some  cases,  a  relation  in  composition. 
Several  of  these  alkaloids,  when  exposed  to  the  action  of  nitric 
acid,  gave  rise  to  substitution  products.  The  substitution  product 
of  codeine  could  only  be  prepared  by  employing  a  very  dilute  acid  ; 
if  stronger  acids  were  used,  a  resinous  acid  was  obtained,  which, 
when  boiled  with  potash,  gave  rise  to  a  volatile  base.  This  last  re- 
action was  very  common  among  the  group  of  alkaloids.  With  re- 
gard to  the  variations  in  the  relative  proportions  of  the  various 
bases  contained  in  opium,  that  obtained  from  China  contained  a 
large  amount  of  narcotine  and  very  little  morphine  ;  wThile  the 
opium  from  Egypt  contained  scarcely  any  meconic  acid,  its  place 
being  taken  by  sulphuric  acid. 
Mr.  Foster  said  that  from  the  experiments  that  he  had  made 
in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Matthiesson,  it  appeared  that  the 
composition  of  cotarnine  was  represented  by  the  formula 
C24H13N06,  so  that  cotarnine  and  meconine  together  exactly 
