70 
SELECTED ARTICLES. 
scale. Five kilogrammes of opium were selected for this 
purpose, and the operation confided to M. Thiboumery, the 
head of my establishment. 
A solution of this opium was well filtered and treated with 
milk of lime; the precipitate that ensued was washed with 
pure water, till it came away colourless. The calcareous resi- 
due was dried in a stove, and treated with boiling alcohol; 
but to my great surprise, no morphia was afforded either by 
the cooling of the alcohol or by its evaporation. Astonished 
at this result, we examined the washings, and found that they 
contained much more lime and were much more alkaline than 
common lime water, and moreover that they contained mor- 
phia. To separate the morphia, they were saturated with 
hydrochloric acid, when on the addition of ammonia, very 
pure morphia was obtained. Not being satisfied with this, 
and desirous of ascertaining the nature of the substances dis- 
solved in the alcohol; this was evaporated, giving a granula- 
ted, brown mass; this, treated with ether, was partly dissolv- 
ed, leaving a large proportion of a black extractive matter; 
the ether on spontaneous evaporation, afforded a brown crys- 
talline mass which adhered to the sides of the vessel. This 
substance was rendered purer and whiter by dissolving it in 
an acid, precipitating by ammonia and recrystallising in alco- 
hol or ether. This is the substance I have called Paramor- 
phia, because it presents a complete analogy in composition 
with morphia; though it appears perfectly distinct from that 
alkaloid. 
Paramorphia is white, scarcely soluble in water, of an acrid 
and styptic rather than a bitter taste. It is very soluble in 
alcohol and ether, even when cold, and still more so when 
aided by heat; in the latter case, very little of it separates on 
cooling. By spontaneous evaporation, it crystallises in needle- 
like crystals. 
The weak acids dissolve it; the alkalies precipitate it from 
its solutions; an excess of alkali does not redissolve it, except 
the alkaline solution is much concentrated; its acid solutions 
never afford crystals; on evaporation yellowish scales only are 
obtained. It melts at 150° C, is not volatilised at a higher 
