448  Alkalies  in  the  Ashes  of  Plants.        {^"  Jc'xs'ys:""' 
fuse  at  55°  C.  and  lose  their  water  of  crystallization"at  6o°,  forming 
an  oily  liquid  which  does  not  solidify  for  a  long  time  after  cooling. 
They  give  the  color  reaction  described  by  Hesse,  dissolving  in  sulphu- 
ric acid  with  a  yellow  tint,  the  solution  becoming  carmine  red  on  heat- 
ing ;  shortly  violet  or  purple  streaks  become  visible,  and  finally,  by 
continuing  the  heat,  the  whole  become  a  dirty  reddish-purple. 
Hydrocotarnina  boiled  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  in  the  presence  of 
manganese  dioxide,  is  almost  wholly  converted  into  cotarnina  and  tarry 
decomposition  products.  Ferric  chloride  acts  in  the  same  way,  yielding, 
however,  a  less  pure  product  ;  a  similar  result  is  obtained  with  sulphuric 
acid  and  potassium  dichromate. 
When  narcotina  is  heated  in  sealed  tubes  with  water  to  140  or  150^0. 
meconin  C^qH^qO^  and  hydrocotarnina  are  formed.  On  boiling  narcotina 
with  baryta  water,  an  inverted  condenser  being  attached,  methylamina 
was  given  off  and  meconin  being  found  in  the  flask ;  the  hydrocotarnina 
having  been  decomposed  by  the  baryta. 
Dr.  F.  Pierce  exerimented  upon  animals  with  cotarnina  and  hydro- 
cotarnina, and  found  the  former  to  be  without  the  slightest  noticeable 
effects,  even  when  given  hypodermically  to  kittens,  rabbits  and  guinea- 
pigs,  in  doses  up  to  0*5  grams.  Hydrocotarnina,  however,  produces 
marked  results.  Doses  of  2J-  to  5  centigrams  produced  in  those  animals 
rapid  and  well-marked  tremors,  passing  into  severe  epileptiform  convul- 
sions, accompanied,  apparently,  with  more  or  less  affection  of  the  sen- 
sory organs,  great  muscular  prostration  and  salivation  ensuing.  0*25 
grams  killed  a  guinea-pig  and  0*4  grams  a  kitten  in  ten  minutes,  but  the 
latter  dose  did  not  prove  fatal  with  a  full-grown  rabbit. — 'Journ.  Chem. 
Soc,  1875,  pp.  573-585- 
CHEMICAL  EQUIVALENCE  OF  THE  ALKALIES  IN  THE  ASHES  OF 
PLANTS. 
MM.  P.  CHAMPION  AND  H.  PELLET. 
In  an  earlier  paper  the  authors  have  shown  that  the  amounts  of  sul- 
phuric acid  necessary  to  saturate  separately  all  the  alkalies  contained  in 
the  ash  of  beets  (roots  and  leaves)  may  vary  within  remote  limits,  but 
that  their  sum  is  sensibly  constant ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  partial 
substitution  of  alkalies  takes  place  according  to  chemical  equivalents. 
Further  researches  have  led  them  to  conclude  that  this  law  applies  not 
merely  to  the  beet,  but  to  a  great  part  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  if  not 
to  the  whole.  They  find  in  particular  that,  in  the  ash  of  tobacco,  lime 
and  potash  replace  each  other  according  to  their  chemical  equivalents. 
—  Chem,  News.,  July  30,  from  Compt.  Rend. 
