March 2,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
700 
Cjje pjitniutmtfintl Journal. 
-o--- 
SATURDAY, MARCS 2 , 1872 . 
Communications for this Journal, and books for review, etc., 
■should be addressed to tlie Editor, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
Instructions from Members and Associates resqoecting the 
.transmission of the Journal should be sent to Elias Brem¬ 
er id ge, Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square , JF.C. 
Advertisements to Messrs. Churchill, New Burlington 
Street , London, IF. Envelopes indorsed u Pharm. Journ.” 
CINCHONA CULTIVATION IN INDIA. 
We have been favoured with copies of two im¬ 
portant reports on this subject. One, which will be 
found at p. 705, from J. Broughton, Esq., Govern¬ 
ment Quinologist at Ootacamund, contains the re¬ 
sults of analytical researches made with the object 
•of ascertaining a variety of details requisite to be 
known in reference to cinchona culture, such as the 
conditions affecting the yield of alkaloids, etc. The 
other report is by J. Eliot Howard,. Esq., in answer 
lo certain questions addressed to him by the Secre¬ 
tary oe State for India: this report, which we 
purpose printing next week, deals mainly with the 
•question as to “ the species which is likety to pro¬ 
duce the most remunerative bark for sale in the 
London market,” commenting on some of the results 
■obtained by Mr. Broughton, and illustrating the im- 
qiortance of selecting proper species for cultivation. 
HYDROCYANIC ACID. 
Attention has been repeatedly directed to the 
variations to which pharmaceutical preparations of 
hydrocyanic acid are subject. The causes of dimi¬ 
nution of strength are various. In the first place, 
hydrocyanic acid is an exceedingly volatile sub¬ 
stance, and therefore samples contained in bottles 
which are kept only partially filled, and are opened 
half-a-dozen times a day, must very rapidly dete¬ 
riorate from this circumstance alone. Hydrocyanic 
acid is also readily decomposed when kept dissolved 
even in pure water, whilst the presence of even a 
trace of alkali establishes very rapid destruction, 
•ammonia and an alkaline formate being produced. 
To avoid chance impurity of this kind, from imper¬ 
fectly-rinsed bottles or other source, it is commonly 
the practice to add a minute quantity of sulphuric 
• acid, which is found to retard this decomposition 
very materially. An excessive quantity of acid also 
promotes the same kind of change, and must there¬ 
fore be avoided. The chemical reaction just de¬ 
scribed is accompanied by the deposition of a brown 
insoluble substance. 
It is obvious from what has just been pointed out, 
and from the experiments of Dr. Tilden, Mr. Gil- 
iuour and others published in this Journal, that the 
hydrocyanic acid commonly employed in dispensing 
is far from what it should be. To remedy this as 
far as possible, the practice should be adopted of 
setting aside for the dispensing counter a small 
quantity, which should be entirely renewed at least 
once a week, and the residue, if any, thrown away. 
Numerous observations have shown that when the 
bottle is frequently opened, the strength of the acid 
cannot be depended upon for any longer period. 
In the Jour mil of Materia Medic a for October is 
recorded a case, in which poisoning by strychnia 
was successfully treated with bromide of potassium. 
The patient, who was a farmer, had eaten some 
cakes made from flour with which a considerable 
quantity of strychnia had been mixed. When 
first seen by the medical man, the sldn was cold 
and livid, there was great dyspnoea, the jaws were 
fixed, the lips retracted, and the teeth covered 
with frothy saliva. An ounce of bromide of potas¬ 
sium was dissolved in a cup of water, and the 
mouth being forced open, one half was administered 
directly, and the remainder in smaller doses for an 
hour or so afterwards. Under the influence of the 
bromide the symptoms subsided, and had nearly 
disappeared twenty-four hours afterwards. A piece 
of one of the cakes given to a dog produced death in 
twenty minutes. 
At a recent meeting of the Association of Medical 
Officers of Health, Dr. Alfred J. Bernays read a 
paper “ On the Precautions wdiich should surround 
Toxicological Investigations in a Court of Law.” In 
discussing the method of proceeding in cases of sus¬ 
pected poisoning, he expressed an opinion that the 
necessary analyses should be made by a jury of 
experts, which should consist of the local physician, 
a chemist with a medical degree and a practising 
chemist, who should make a report in writing to 
be published before the trial. He also entered a 
vigorous protest against the system of confining all 
such analytical work to two or three men, however 
eminent they might be, and said that selection should 
be made from a wider sphere. 
Amongst the public bodies that were honoured by 
invitations to participate, through their officials, in 
the Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 
on Tuesday last, was the Pharmaceutical Society of 
Great Britain. The Society was on that occasion 
represented by the President, Mr. A. F. Haselden, 
F.L.S., and the Vice-President, Mr. G. Edwards. 
At the Evening Meeting of the Pharmaceutical 
Society on Wednesday next, a paper by Dr. Dyce 
Duckworth will be read on “ The Pharmaceutical 
Preparations of Ipecacuanha,” and a note from Dr. 
De \ r RY-on “ Cinchona caloptera, Miq.” 
We are requested to state that the Secretary of 
the Pharmaceutical Society has received from the 
Treasurer of the Chemists’ Ball Committee the sum 
of twenty guineas for the Benevolent Fund. We 
are glad to congratulate the Committee on the suc¬ 
cess of their labours. 
