July i, 1891.] 
T»E TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
17 
ELFFEOTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE OF 
APRTT. 7TH ON THE TIDES AT 
TANGALLA. 
The interoating account by Mr. Surveyor Erakine 
of tho violent perturbations of the sea at Tan- 
galla, during tho earthquake period early in April, 
which aoeount wo owe to the oourtosy of Government, 
will excite general attention and will bo carefully 
studied scientifio men. As wo have 
heard nothing from the great volcanic centres 
of the east, we feel justided now in tracing 
the Buooesaive disturbances of earth and sea 
to some subterranean or submarine volcanio cavity 
immediately beneath our island,— not a very com- 
forting conclusion to arrive at. But we should 
like to have the opinions of scientisls, such as the 
Royal Engineer Officer who acts as Surveyor-General, 
Mr. George Armitogc and others on this question. 
Home day we may have a quake whieh will do 
something more than “ shake the isle from its 
propriety.” 
init KAUTHQUaKE AI TANOALLA. 
Surveyor-General’s Office, Colombo, May G. 
The Hou. tho Oolouiul .Secretary. 
Sir,— 1 have tho houor to forward herewith an 
inture-sting r.-port by Mr. Krskine, District Surveyor 
in charge of Tangalla Bay surveys, with reiorenoe to 
a disturbano" in the tido nt that station ou the day 
of tho recent earthquake. No doubt many would bo 
interested in the memorandum who would not ace 
an ordiaary official report on tho aubjoot, and I would 
tiioroforo suggest that it might with advantage be 
sent to tho several papers for publication. — I have, 
etc., (Signed) Francis .J. Day, Major n. K., Acting 
Hue vcyoi' General . 
Tangalla, April 13. 
Tho Chief Butvoyor, Sonthern l^rovince. 
1 beg to report that owing to the unsettled slate 
of the water oombiuod with tho high tide on Wed* 
ueaday 1 gave orders for the tido box to be removed; 
otheritise it may have got seriously damaged aud 
washed away. 
There asoms to have been some unusual diaturbance 
of tides since Saturday night, the 4tb instant. The 
gauge pencil was not marking the paper as it iiad 
hithesto done. On this night the pencil line on paper 
had the appearance of being slightly shaken, tlius 
marking an irregular pouoil line about quarter of an 
inch btoail. Nothing unusual happened till Tuesday, 
tho 7ili iustant. 1 registered the tide reading iu 
tho moroiug, and after returning from work at sea 
about 11 a.m., I noticed it had registered high tide 
and was tailing and had fallen one foot in the abort 
spaoo of three hours. Usually high tide at Ibis 
period is at 1 or 2 p. m. Curiosity took mo dowu 
again to tho tide gauge at 1-30 p.m. wheu 1 was still 
more astonished to dud the tide bad risen to three 
teet on the box in two hours and a hall. Fearing 
somathiug might happen I stood by the box 
and watched the movements of the indicator. At 
this sta^e I took off the pencil as it had gone nbovo 
tlio paper. At half past throe the indicator wont up 
to the top of box and would have gone higher if 
tho hidioator could have registered the roatliug. The 
bigbost reading on box is 370. Tho low tide tod.ay 
registered 0 64, and I am certain tho high tide would 
have bean 4-60. During this time there was a con- 
tinuous rise and fall of eighteen inches below the level 
of top of box nt intervals of 10 and 20 minutes ; 
at these intcrvsls tho water round oliout appeared to 
five iu one volume, receding very quickly hut geuarally 
falling to tho same level. 
In onao of an accident to the tide box, I took a 
reading on to ,a B. M. on rock oloso by and stayed 
on till 4-30 p. m. At this hour there was very little 
abatomout of the tide. Mr. Grey was busily engaged 
with all hands tepaixiug the bteswhes as soon as 
POBsiblo. 
3 
Ou Wednesday morning I visited the tide gauge 
but found the tide had been normal at low but 343 
high during the uight. I left Mr. Urey to supervise 
-the repairs to breakwater. Aftor brocket 1 sent him 
down nt 11 a. in. to carefully watch and lot mo 
know if there was a repetition of the day previous. 
The tide during the day was again noticeable from 
its cximordiunry movements. Mr. Grey informed mo 
that the tido registered 2 80 ou tho box at 1-30 p, m.; at 
1-45 p. m. it suddenly rose tj 3'30 and rocodeii very 
soon again to about 2'80; at 2 p. m. while ho was 
watching the movements of tho pencil, the indicator 
suddenly rose again, (this time to topof box) with great 
force aud immediately receded. The level of the water 
was within en inch or two of zero of box. On this 
occasion high tide may bare rrgisterod five feet. From 
this time until 6 p, m. the tide rose on several occasions 
to top of box but not with such force as at 2 p. m. 
Tho tide box was now in danger of being waslied 
away. I gave ordens fur its immediate removal. The 
sand bags weighing 340 lb each were swept away in 
every direction. (Signed) II, Ejiskine. 
A NEW ARTmciAL QUININE. 
Whoa an announooment is made nowadays that some 
chemist has discovered tho way to make a complioated 
organifl comp-niiid, which only Natnro hitherto has 
been able to fashion, thoro are two ' i ithods of treating 
tho matter : either with ancompromlBiug sooptioism, 
or nnbridh-d enthusiasm. Should tuo orgauio sub- 
stanco bo quinine, then there is a ohauca for buyers 
therrot to paint iu dull colours tho fnturo of tho 
ciuohona industry, iu tho hope of buying the alkaloid 
cheaply meanwhile- .Such people might have a very 
good innings this week, for we hoar from Baris that 
Grimanx and Aruaud, two. chemists whose reputation 
piaccs them above suspicion, have succeeded iu pro- 
ducing quinine artiSoialiy ; that is to say, they have 
converted commercially worthless enpreiue, tho 
pecnliar alkaloid uf Bemijia bark, into the more valu- 
able quiuino. Tlioir process seems theoietioally correct. 
Oupreine is an alkaloid difleciug from qaiiiiue to the 
extent of OH,, viz. : — 
Quinine, C,„H,,N.O,. Onpreine,.0, ,H,,N,0,, 
Oupreine has the property of oombining very readily 
wilh alkalies aud other bases (upon this depouds the 
B. 1’. test for its dateo'.ion in quinine) to form dednite 
crystallisable cnmpounda. 'riiua the sodium one is 
0,,H,,NaN.,O.,. Hesse, the German ehemist to 
whom the Hanbnry medal is to be awarded on May 
26th, was the first investigator to establish this, and 
ho conceived that it might be possible, by introducing 
a methyl group, CH, in the place ot the sudinm, to 
prodnoe quinine. Ho tried this by converting sodium- 
oupreine into silyer-oaproiue, and acting on the lattor 
with methyl iodide. The result waa the prodnotion 
of mothyl-ouproine iodide, 0, „H,,N,0,CH,I, and 
from this, nnfortunately, only the iudiue atom could 
be abstracted, and no one of bydrogau along with it, 
which would have left quinine, or an isomeride thereof. 
This was an interesting syntbssis, aud tho product, 
mouumotbyl-oiipreine, was not unlike quinine in some 
of its properties— as, (or instance, in giving the green 
reaction with chlorine and ammonia. Whothor 
Orinninx and Aruaud Lave profited by Hesse’s experi- 
meuts or not we ate not iu a position to say defi- 
nitely, details being wanting, bat it would appear 
tlmt tliey have, for thuir proctsa of converting the 
cupreine into quiuiue is iu two stages, like Hesse’s 
— viz., (ly production of sodium-enpreine, and (2) 
soling upon that with methyleno chloride, OH, Cl. 
By su Working, it is stated, “there is obtained a body 
which is idoutioal wilh natural quiuino, and, by stib- 
stitutiug ethylene ot higher dorivativos for the motby- 
lone compound, substances auslagona to quinine are 
produced, which, it is believed, may possess most 
interesting medical properties." 
’Pile reason why methyiising failed in Hosse’s case 
was owing to the sodium refusing to join bauds with 
the iodine, preferring union with hydroxyl, or a 
