ON  CORYDALIS  FORMOSA. 
207 
of  the  neutral  acetate,  a  white  voluminous  flocculent  precipitate. 
By  heating  to  ebullition,  at  the  same  time  adding  a  few  drops  of 
nitric  acid,  coagulated  albumen  subsided.  On  evaporation,  the 
liquid  left  a  brown  soft  substance  possessing  adhesive  properties. 
IV.  The  powder  left  after  the  preceding  watery  exhaustion, 
was  treated  with  boiling  water  until  all  the  starchy  matter  was 
removed,  as  indicated  by  the  action  of  tincture  of  iodine  on  a 
portion  of  the  washings,  boiled  and  allowed  to  cool  before  adding 
the  test. 
The  cortical  portion,  cellular  substance,  &c,  thus  left,  was 
then  treated  by  continued  boiling  with  water.  The  filtrate  gave 
a  voluminous,  white  and  flocculent  precipitate  with  subacetate  of 
lead,  and  left  a  gummy  mass  on  evaporation. 
Y.  The  following  process  was  employed  for  the  isolation  of  the 
alkaloid.  A  hydro-alcoholic  tincture  was  evaporated  to  the 
expulsion  of  alcohol,  and  the  resin  separated  by  filtration.  To 
the  filtrate,  ammonia  was  added  to  a  slight  excess,  and  the  yellow 
precipitate  collected  on  a  filter.  The  washed  precipitate  subjected 
to  the  action  of  boiling  alcohol,  which  dissolved  the  alkaloid,  but 
left  a  residue,  which,  on  examination,  proved  to  be  a  mixture  of 
hydrate  of  magnesia  and  brown  coloring  matter.  The  alcoholic 
solution  was  now  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  the  residue  treated 
with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  when  the  alkaloid  was  taken  up 
and  an  additional  quantity  of  resin  left.  The  muriated  solution 
was  precipitated  by  ammonia,  the  precipitate  dissolved  in  boiling 
alcohol  and  concentrated,  when,  after  a  few  hours  repose,  a 
crystalline  compound  was  deposited.  This  purified  by  two  or 
three  crystallizations,  crystallizes  from  concentrated  alcoholic 
solutions  and  by  slow  evaporation  in  beautiful,  minute,  trans- 
parent, colorless,  slender,  four-sided  prisms,  arranged  in  tufts  or 
interlacing  to  form  stellar  groups,  contaminated  with  adhering 
yellow  bitter  extractive,  from  which  they  are  separated  with 
great  difficulty.  They  are  inalterable  in  air,  tasteless  and  in- 
odorous, very  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether  and  chloroform,  but  insolu- 
ble in  water.  They  are  decomposed  by  concentrated  nitric 
acid  with  the  production  of  a  red  color.  They  form  salts  with 
acids  very  soluble  in  water.  The  acetate  crystallizes  in  trans- 
parent colorless  prisms.  The  sulphate  forms  an  amorphous 
scarcely  crystalline  mass  ;  the  hydro-chlorate  in  uncrystallizable. 
