454      CONSUMPTION  OF  QUININE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
more  valuable  article  under  the  name  of  the  cheaper.  Even  a 
small  quantity  of  quinine  will  considerably  alter  the  reactions  of 
quinidine,  especially  as  to  solubility,  and  will  of  course  give  pro- 
portionate results  under  the  microscope.  But  Dr.  Nevins'  results 
indicate  so  large  a  proportion  of  quinine,  that  I  suspect  some 
mistake  somewhere.  I  am  the  more  inclined  to  this  opinion,  be- 
cause in  procuring  a  sample  of  the  make  referred  to  (Messrs. 
Herrings,  of  Aldersgate  Street),  I  found  that  ^ij  of  ether  dis- 
solved the  precipitate  from  1  gr.,  but  did  not  quite  dissolve  it 
when  2  grs.  were  used  ;  the  solubility  of  this  is  therefore  between 
60  and  120  parts.  This  differs  so  widely  from  gij  dissolving  15 
grs.,  that  I  suspect  that  some  sort  of  inferior  sulphate  of  quinine 
must  have  been  accidentally  substituted. 
Yours  very  respectfully,  Robert  Howard. 
Stratford,  June  22d,  1854. 
Pharmaceutical  Journal,  July,  1854. 
MANUFACTURE  AND  CONSUMPTION  OF  QUININE  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 
TO  THE  "EDITOR  OF  THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  JOURNAL. 
Sir, — Although  Mr.  Robert  Howard  has  written  a  reply  to 
the  article  under  the  above  title,  which  appeared  in  your  May 
number,  yet  I  think  there  are  still  several  points  requiring  notice, 
the  original  communication  being  full  of  errors. 
Quinine  was  not  originally  classed  in  the  list  of  free  articles 
in  the  new  American  tariff,  and  subsequently  excluded.  The 
proposed  tariff  enumerates  certain  articles  to  be  admitted  free, 
and  all  others  to  pay  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  25  or  100  per  cent., 
thus  abolishing  the  present  great  variety  of  duties.  Quinine 
would  thus  come  under  the  lowest  duty  of  25  per  cent  It  now 
pays  20  per  cent. ;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  bark  pays  a 
duty  of  15  per  cent.  There  is  no  probability  of  the  new  tariff 
passing  this  year. 
There  are  certainly  only  two  manufacturers  of  quinine  in  the 
United  States,  but  we  have  only  two  in  England,  and  the  same 
in  France  and  Germany — each  country  giving  a  preference  to 
its  own  manufactured  article.  Whether  they  are  growing  rich 
in  the  business  depends  very  much  on  the  skill  and  capital  em- 
ployed. 
