A™ctober.1i9oa5m'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  485 
yield  phenanthrene,  but  merely  amines,  ammonia  and  pyrrol. 
Treatment  with  PC15  in  the  cold  gives  a  mixture  of  white  amor- 
phous mono-chlor-chelidonine  C20HlsCINO4  and  an  amorphous  leuco 
compound  containing  one  less  hydrogen,  Co0H17CINO4.  Treatment 
with  PC15  with  heat  gives  a  mixture  of  the  two  compounds  men- 
tioned and  in  addition  a  colorless  crystalline  chlor-base,  containing 
two  less  hydrogens  and  giving  bright  red  crystalline  salts  with  acids. 
The  hydrochloride  has  the  composition  C20H15CINO4,5H2O.  The 
mono-chior  base  is  converted  into  the  leuco  base  and  the  latter  into 
the  color  compound  with  PC15.  The  leuco  base  is  easily  converted 
into  the  color  base  with  halogens.  The  color  base  is  reduced  to 
the  leuco  base  with  reducing  agents.  Further  work  may  show  a 
close  relationship  with  sanguinarine,  which  is  also  colorless  in  the 
free  state  and  bright  red  in  the  form  of  salt.  Mixture  of  nitric  and 
glacial  acetic  acids  oxidizes  chelidonine,  in  the  cold  and  on  long 
standing,  to  a  beautifully  crystalline  acid  melting  above  3000. 
Owing  to  the  small  percentage  of  alkaloid  in  the  drug,  the  work 
is  necessarily  tedious,  and  its  continuance  is  dependent  upon  addi- 
tional supplies  of  the  drug.  In  this  connection  the  authors  acknowl- 
edged with  thanks  an  offer  of  Messrs.  Merck  &  Co.  to  furnish  larger 
quantities  of  drug. 
On  the  Crystalline  Alkaloid  of  Calycanthus  Glaucus.  (Second 
paper.)    By  H.  M.  Gordin. 
The  subject  of  this  paper,  which  was  read  by  title,  is  a  continua- 
tion of  the  research  upon  calycanthine,  the  active  alkaloid  of  Caly- 
canthus glaucus.  In  a  previous  paper  the  preparation  and  analysis 
of  calycanthine  and  its  salts  with  the  halogen  acids  and  chloro- 
platinic  acid  were  given.  In  the  present  paper  the  preparation  and 
analysis  of  the  salts  of  calycanthine  with  oxyacids,  with  chlorauric 
acid  and  mercuric  chloride  are  described  as  well  as  the  first  attempts 
to  get  some  idea  of  the  constitution  of  the  alkaloid.  The  salts  pre- 
pared are  as  follows  :  A  neutral  and  an  acid  sulphate,  a  nitrate,  a 
picrate,  a  chloraurate,  two  oxalates  and  a  double  salt  of  calycan- 
thine hydrochloride  and  mercuric  chloride.  The  sulphates,  the 
nitrate,  the  picrate  and  the  neutral  oxalate  were  found  to  have  the 
normal  composition.  The  acid  oxalate,  the  chloraurate  and  the  mer- 
cury salt  have  an  abnormal  composition,  all  containing  an  excess  ot 
base  or  of  its  hydrochloride.  No  tartrates  could  be  obtained  in 
orms  suitable  for  analysis.    It  is  shown  that  the  alkaloid  is  a  sec- 
