Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
Sept.,  1883.  j 
Constitution  of  Atropine. 
463 
but  the  fact  is  a  very  important  one  as  bearing  on  the  cultivation  of  red 
bark  at  low  elevations.  A  similar  substitution  has  been  recorded  before 
in  old  trees,  but  age  alone  is  seen,  by  analysis  A,  to  be  an  insufficient  cause. 
It  is  probable  that  temperature  is  the  more  important  factor,  and  support 
is  given  to  this  by  the  remarkable  case  recorded  by  Broughton,^  of  the 
reversed  action  in  0.  peruviana.  This  species,  as  grown  at  Neddivuttum, 
is  remarkable  for  affording  cinchonine  in  large  quantity — in  the  experi- 
ment recorded  3'84  per  cent. — and  absolutely  no  quinine;  when  grown, 
however,  at  the  higher  elevation  of  Dodabetta,  the  cinchonine  was  greatly 
diminished,  whilst  quinine  was  present  to  the  amount  of  0*79  per  cent. 
I  am,  sir,  yours  faithfully,  Henry  Trimen. 
Peradeniya,  April  5,  1883. 
—Phar.  Jour.  Trans.  ^  June,  1883. 
CONSTITUTION  OF  ATROPINE. 
By  a.  Ladenburg. 
In  this  paper  the  author  has  collected  together  the  various  facts  on 
this  subject,  mostly  already  published  and  abstracted  (see  '^Amer.  Jour. 
Phar./'  1879,  etc.),  and  thus  gives  an  historical  sketch  of  this  inter- 
esting research.  When  tropine  had  been  recognized  as  a  tertiary  base, 
the  author  proceeded  to  synthesize  atropine  from  its  products  of  decom- 
position, tropine  and  tropic  acid,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing  by  the 
action  of  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  on  tropine  tropate.  This  being 
accomplished,  he  next  prepared  various  other  alkaloids,  called  by  him 
tropeines,  by  a  similar  method;  thus,  from  tropine  mandelate  he 
obtained  homatropine  or  phenylglycolic  tropeine  and  measurements  of  the 
crystals  and  the  following  additional  observations  are  now  given  :  the 
hydrochloride  crystallizes  from  concentrated  neutral  solutions  after 
some  time ;  it  is  very  soluble  in  water  ;  the  sulphate  can  be  crystallized 
from  water,  and  forms  needles  with  silky  lustre;  solutions  of  the 
hydrchloride  give  a  white  curdy' precipitate  with  potassium  mercuric 
iodide,  a  white  oil  with  mercuric  iodide,  and  a  crystalline^  p^a^mo-cAZo- 
ride  with  platinic  chloride.  From  tropine  atrolactate,  atrolactio  tro- 
peine is  obtained.  Additional  remarks :  this  substance  crystallizes  in 
needles  (m.  p.  119-120°),  very  sparingly  soluble  in  cold,  but  more 
readily  in  hot  water,  and  easily  in  alcohol.  It  is  isomeric  with  atro- 
pine, and  its  mydriatic  action  is  equally  remarkable.  The  hydrochlo- 
ride, hydriodide,  hydrobromide  and  sulphate  have  not  been  obtained 
in  crystals.    The  platinochloride  forms  reddish-yellow  crystals,  very 
1  "  Report  to  Government  of  Madras,"  September  26, 1871. 
