ON TESTING OF CINCHONAS BY MEANS OF CHLOROFORM. 
249 
Mr. Cracknell said he had no doubt that the extract made from 
the biennial plant was better than that made from the annual 
yet some botanists assert that there is no difference in the plants.— 
London Pharmaceutical Journal f March 1851. 
ON THE TESTING OF CINCHONAS BY MEANS OF CHLOROFORM. 
By M. Rabourdin. 
I shall endeavor to show, in the following paper, the means by 
which we may estimate the alkaloids in cinchonas, by applying 
the property which chloroform possesses of dissolving these bodies 
when contained in an aqueous liquid. 
Test of Grey Cinchonas — Ten drachms of the grey cinchona 
bark of commerce, powdered and passed through a fine horse-hair 
sieve, is to be moistened with a sufficient quantity of water acidu- 
lated by hydrochloric acid (five drachms of acid to 2J lbs. of water,) 
and then packed in a displacement apparatus. A sheet of filtering 
paper is placed over it, and the powder treated with the acidulated 
water, which is continued until the liquor which passes through 
becomes almost colorless, and devoid of bitter flavor, (when the 
powder is uniformly and properly packed, it becomes exhausted 
when about six or seven ounces of liquid have been passed through 
it ; 1| drachms of caustic potash, and 7J drachms of chloroform, 
are added to the liquor, which is to be quickly agitated for a few 
moments, and then allowed to settle. After a short time, never 
exceeding half an hour, the chloroform subsides to the bottom, 
carrying the whole of the cinchonine with it. The red and trans- 
parent liquid floating on the top of the deposit is to be poured off, 
care being taken not to remove any of the latter ; water is to be 
added several times until the deposit is thoroughly washed ; and 
then it is poured into a porcelain capsule. This matter is com- 
posed of a liquid portion, which is a solution of cinchonine, in 
chloroform, and of a semi-solid reddish portion, consisting of cin- 
chonine, of chloroform in a state of emulsion, and of cinchonic red. 
The capsule is placed on a bath of boiling water, in order to evap- 
