42 
Coca  Bases. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
Jan.,  1888. 
the  same  as  that  previously  found  by  me  in  the  same  salt  •  prepared 
from  the  amorphous  portion  of  the  coca  bases. 
Howard.  Hesse. 
PI   18-48  18-6  18-26  18*44 
H2O   not  determined.  5*00  5*50 
From  these  data  alone  it  might  be  inferred  that  Howard's  so-called 
hygrine  was  identical  with  the  amorphous  portion  of  the  coca  bases 
which  I  had  prepared.  So,  likewise,  the  cocainoidine  of  Lyons  and 
the  cocaicine  of  Bender  are  in  all  probability  in  the  main  the  same 
substance. 
Since  that  time  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  endeavor  to  prepare  in  a 
pure  state  the  base  of  which  these  several  products  may  consist  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  and  by  making  use  of  broad-leaved  coca  I  have 
succeeded  in  doing  so  without  difficulty.  After  having  with  this  ob- 
ject entirely  separated  the  cocaine  as  hydrochlorate  from  the  mixture 
of  bases  by  a  special  process,  the  residual  mixture,  which  was  ascer- 
tained to  be  free  from  cocamine,  was  dissolved  with  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid,  and  the  solution  mixed  with  ammonia  in  excess.  The 
precipitate  thus  produced  was  separated  from  the  mother-liquor  and 
again  dissolved  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  and  precipitated  with 
ammonia,  this  operation  being  repeated  imtil  a  portion  of  the  precipi- 
tate gave  with  acids  a  solution  which  no  longer  showed  any  fluores- 
cence when  diluted  with  water,  and  was  therefore  cj^uite  free  from 
actual  hygrine. 
The  alkaloid  thus  purified  was  further  washed  with  water  at  a  tem- 
perature of  80°  C,  and  was  thus  reduced  to  a  melted  mass,  that  was 
spread  out  upon  glass  plates  and  dried  thoroughly  at  60°  C.  In  that 
condition  when  cold  it  could  be  detached  in  the  form  of  transparent 
brittle  laminas,  yielding  a  white  powder  that  melted  at  about  51°  C. 
In  such  a  purified  condition  I  call  this  alkaloid  "  cocaidine.'^  Its 
composition  is  represented  by  the  formula  01^1121^^04,  yielding  on 
analysis  6 7 '2  per  cent,  carbon  and  7*01  hydrogen,  and  it  is  therefore 
isomeric  with  cocaine  and  cocamine.  It  dissolves  readily  in  ether, 
alcohol,  acetone,  chloroform,  petroleum  spirit,  or  benzene,  but  scarcely 
at  all  in  water,  ammonia  solution,  or  caustic  soda ;  it  has  an  alkaline 
reaction,  but  does  not  alter  phenolphthalein.  At  first  it  appears  to  be 
tasteless,  but  gradually  develops,  after  a  rapidly  disappearing  sense  of 
numbness  in  the  tongue,  a  bitter  taste.  A  chloroform  solution  gives 
in  the  polariscope  with  p=4  and  t=20°  C.  (^/\=-20-6,  so  that  it 
