Ain.  Jour.  Pliami.  1 
Oct.,  1881.  J 
British  Pharmaceutical  Conference. 
539^ 
Mr.  W.  de  Neufville,  in  a  paper  upon  the  same  subject,  took  exceptioit 
to  the  statement  of  Professor  Fliickiger  that  flat  calisaya,  or  the  yellow 
bark  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  is  more  scantily  and  less  regularly 
imported  than  hitherto.  On  the  contrary,  he  asserts  that  during  the  last 
few  years  the  supply  of  this  bark  has  so  considerably  increased  that  the 
drug  trade  has  not  been  capable  of  absorbing  it.  As  regards  the  regularity 
of  importation,  even  during  the  late  Peruvian  war  the  shipments  of  cali- 
saya bark  have  been,  contrary  to  the  assumption  of  Professor  Fliickiger, 
more  constant  than  those  of  barks  from  the  northern  districts  of  South 
America,  the  supply  from  which  has  sometimes  failed  altogether,  owing  to 
the  frequent  drought  of  the  Magdalena  and  other  rivers.  As  opposed  to 
the  recommendation  to  supersede  Soutli  American  by  Indian-grown  barks, 
Mr.  de  Neufville  pointed  out  that  the  planting  and  cultivation  of  cincho- 
nas has  already  been  commenced  in  Bolivia  and  Peru  and  that  the  results 
have  been  very  satisfactory,  the  j^roduce  of  "these  i:)Iantations  having  been 
sold  for  high  prices  in  the  Ijondon  market  during  the  last  two  years.  Mr. 
de  Neufville  also  urged  that  if  the  flat  calisaya  of  American  origin  is  to  be 
abandoned,  because  it  does  not  contain  sufficient  quinia,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  American  calisaya  quill  bark  should  not  take  its  place,  since  it  m 
rich  in  quinia,  contains  a  good  proportion  of  other  alkaloids,  and  is  easy 
to  work. 
In  the  discussion  that  followed  the  reading  of  these  three  papers  Mr.  Well- 
come suggested  that,  in  view  of  tlie  difficulty  attending  the  separation  of  the 
cinchona  alkaloids,  the  percentage  of  total  alkaloids  should  be  taken  as  an 
index  of  the  value  of  a  bark.  Mr.  Brady  said  the  thanks  of  the  Confer- 
ence were  due  to  Mr.  Howard  for  having  brought  this  subject  forward  by 
the  contribution  of  his  paper  and  the  interesting  illustrations  by  which  it 
was  accompanied.  Dr.  Paul,  being  called  upon  by  the  President  to  offer 
some  remarks  upon  the  subject,  said  no  doubt  it  was  a  very  general  opinion 
that  there  was  need  of  making  some  alteration  as  to  the  kind  of  bark  that 
should  be  officinal  in  the  Pharmacopoeia.  The  only  question  seemed  to 
be  what  kind  or  kinds  of  bark  should  be  chosen  for  pharmaceutical  i^ur- 
poses.  He  did  not  agree  with  the  suggestion  that  American  bark  should 
be  entirely  superseded  by  that  of  Indian  growth,  although  the  excellent 
qualities  of  Indian  "crown"  and  red  bark  rendered  their  introduction 
desirable.  The  Indian  red  bark  was  already  coming  largely  into  use  on 
the  Continent,  and  it,  together  with  the  American  quill  calisaya,  would 
satisfy  all  requirements. 
A  note  on  the  Crystallization  of  Orthophosphoric  Acid,  by  Mr.  H.  F. 
Cooper,  referred  to  the  preparation  of  the  acid  in  this  form  as  by  no  means- 
a  novelty,  though  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  produce  it  commercially, 
owing  probably  to  some  doubt  as  to  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  pur- 
pose. In  the  hope  of  removing  that  uncertainty  Mr.  Cooper  started  witli 
a  solution  of  orthophosphoric  acid  1-7F,  sp.  gr.,  evaporated  at  a  gentle  heat 
in  a  platinum  basin,  and  after  testing  for  metaphosphoric  acid  with  nega- 
tive results,  set  the  concentrated  liquor  aside  in  closely  stoppered  vessels. 
After  repeated  trials  with  li(j|uids  varying  in  concentration,  he  at  length, 
found  that  an  acid  of  1'875  sp.  gr.  gelatinized  after  standing  about  twelve 
