148 
Chemical  Notes. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharna, 
t      Mar.,  1880, 
is  in  reality  oxydimorphia,  identical  in  all  respects  with  that  prepared  by 
themselves  in  the  way  before  mentioned.  They  also  examined  the 
action  of  potassium  permanganate  upon  morphia  in  the  presence  of 
alkaline  carbonate.  FlUckiger  ("Handbook  of  Pharmac.  Chem.,"  p.- 
375)  states  that  oxymorphia  is  obtained  under  these  circumstances. 
The  authors  find  that  this  product  is  also  oxydimorphia,  as  is  proved 
by  the  analysis  of  the  base,  the  sulphate  and  the  hydrochlorate.  They 
have  also  prepared  the  oxydimorpliia  by  the  action  of  atmospheric  air 
upon  morphia  when  in  ammoniacal  solution.  A  very  dilute  solution  of 
morphia  hydrochlorate  (i  to  600)  is  supersaturated  with  ammonia  solu- 
tion, and  then  allowed  to  stand  in  open  vessels  for  a  long  time  in  con- 
tact with  air.  The  crystalline  deposit,  purified  by  crystallization,  proved 
to  be  identical  with  those  before  described. — Ber,  der,  Chejn.  Ges.^  xiii, 
p.  86. 
On  the  Preparation  of  Artificial  Alkaloids. — A.  Ladenburg  has  fol- 
lowed up  his  formation  of  artificial  atropia  (this  journal,  1879,  p.  398), 
by  a  comparison  of  its  properties  with  those  of  the  natural  alkaloid, 
showing  entire  correspondence.  These  results,  awakened  the  hope  that 
by  the  treatment  of  other  tropin  salts  with  hydrochloric  acid  other  bases- 
analogous  to  atropia  might  be  obtained.  This  hope  has  been  fulfilled, 
and  it  seems  possible  to  form  a  whole  class  of  artificial  alkaloids  which 
the  author  calls  tropeins.  He  has  prepared  salicyl-tropein^  oxytoluyl-tro- 
pein  and  phtalyl-tropein.  Of  these  the  salicyl-tropein  is  a  weak  poison,, 
and  has  no  effect  upon  the  pupil  of  the  eye.  Oxytoluyl  tropein,  or 
homatropin,  as  he  proposes  to  call  it,  however,  acts  upon  the  pupil  of 
the  eye  almost  as  strongly  as  atropia  itself,  and  in  its  mydriatic  action 
it  seems  to  exceed  in  many  cases  atropia,  so  that  it  may  have  a  thera- 
peutic value.  The  phtalyl-tropein  has  not  been  sufficiently  studied  as 
yet.  The  author  considers  it  likely  that  hyoscyamia  and  duboisina  also 
belong  to  the  class  of  tropeins.  These  he  proposes  to  investigate 
immediately,  as  also  belladonia. — Ibid.^  p.  104. 
Miscellaneous. — Ancient  Samples  of  Butter. — Wigner  and  Church 
read  a  paper  before  the  English  Society  of  Public  Analysts  on  this  sub- 
ject. The  first  sample  was  of  Irish  bog  butler,  and  its  probable  age 
was  judged  to  be  about  one  thousand  years.  The  sample  contains 
nearly  4  per  cent,  of  curd,  which  consisted  partly  of  vegetable  matter 
derived  from  the  bog,  but  contained  quite  enough  animal  matter  to 
prove  that  the  butter  had  been  originally  made  from  animal  milk  and 
was  not  a  mere  artificial  fat.    Its  fatty  character  has,  however,  been 
