VERATMA  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  SALTS. 
135 
The  crystals,  which  are  at  first  perfectly  colorless  and  trans- 
parent, soon  effloresce  in  the  air,  become  porcellanous  and  very 
pulverizable.  They  are  insoluble  in  boiling  water,  but  are 
thereby  rendered  opake,  and  lose  their  form  without  fusing. 
They  are  readily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether,  especially  the 
latter.  When  concentrated  sulphuric  acid  is  poured  over  them, 
they  color  it  first  yellow,  and  then  carmine-red.  With  con- 
centrated muriatic  acid  they  give  a  dark  violet  solution,  especial- 
ly when  heated ;  on  the  surface  of  this,  small  oily  drops  are 
formed. 
Veratrine  neutralizes  the  dilute  acids  completely,  furnishing 
colorless  solutions,  which  dry  into  gum-like  masses.  Couerbe 
obtained  the  sulphate  and  muriate  in  a  crystalline  form,  but  I 
did  not  succeed  in  doing  so.  The  solution  in  muriatic  acid  gives 
with  chloride  of  platinum  a  precipitate  which  is  soluble  in  a 
large  quantity  of  water ;  with  chloride  of  gold  it  gives  an  in- 
soluble, and  with  perchloride  of  mercury  a  crystalline  precipitate. 
The  analysis  of  veratrine,  dried  at  212°  F.,  gave, — 
I.         II.         III.         iv.  v. 
C     64-73    64-51    64-99     65  00       .  .       64=384  64-86 
H      8-84     8-55     8-76       8-70       .  .       52     52  8-78 
N   5-5        2     28  4-73 
0    .  .         .  .       16  128  21-63 
These  numbers  lead  to  the  formula  C64  H52  N2  O16. 
Chloride  of  Gfold  and  Veratrine. — A  solution  of  veratrine  in 
muriatic  acid  was  added  to  an  excess  of  a  solution  of  chloride  of 
gold;  the  precipitate  was  washed  with  water,  and  after  drying 
dissolved  in  alcohol,  from  which  it  separated  on  cooling,  in  fine, 
yellow,  silky  crystals.  These  were  purified  by  repeated  crystalli- 
zation from  alcohol,  and  dried  at  212°  F.    Analysis  gave : — 
I.  II.  III.  IV.  V.  VI. 
C  41-31    41-05      .  .        .  .        .  .        .  .  64=384  41<25 
H      5  97     5-91    53  53      5  69 
N   2  28  3-01 
O   16  128  13-75 
Au  .  .        .  .       21-03    20-87    20-87    21-26  1  196-4  21-09 
Ci   4  141-6  15-21 
Hence  the  formula  is  C64  H52  W  O16  HCl-f  AuCP. 
veratrine  employed,  so  that  the  latter  is  probably  a  mixture  of  the  pure 
base  with  resin;  and  the  presence  of  this  resin  maybe  the  reason  why  it 
is  impossible,  or  very  difficult,  to  obtain  crystals  from  the  alcoholic  solution 
of  ordinary  veratrine. 
