310 
BOGOTA  BARKS  FROM  NEW  GRENADA. 
We  are  informed  that  the  real  grounds  of  the  opposition  of  the 
Examiner  to  the  introduction  of  Bogota  bark  is,  that  it  contains 
only  quinidine  or  some  alkaloid  different  from  quinine ;  and 
this  is  insisted  on  despite  the  results  of  analysis  abroad  and  at 
home.  If  this  is  his  conscientious  opinion,  "why  not  openly  say 
so  in  his  rejection,  that  his  opinion  may  be  verified  or  disproved 
by  an  appeal  to  analysis,  and  not  stand  behind  a  technical  word 
unknown  in  the  law  and  misinterpreted  by  himself  ?  If  Bogota 
barks  did  not  contain  quinine,  and  were  imported  solely  for 
manufacturing  quinidin  for  adulterating  quinia,  the  Examiner 
would  have  found  support  instead  of  opposition  in  this  article. 
We  cannot  let  this  subject  pass  without  alluding  to  a  recent 
case,  in  which  a  lot  of  English  sulphate  of  quinine  was  con- 
demned and  rejected,  apparently,  because  it  was  believed  to  have 
been  made  from  Bogota  bark.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the 
letter  of  rejection  from  the  Deputy  Collector  to  the  importer : 
"  Custom  Home,  Philada.  ) 
Collector's  Office,  May  20th,  1853.  $ 
J.  K.  Sulger,  Esq. 
Sir, — You  are  hereby  notified  that  the  case  of  Howards  and 
Kent's  Sulphate  of  Quinine,  marked  J.  K.  S.  No.  1,  imported 
by  you  per  steamer  City  of  Glasgow,  on  the  7th  inst.,  has  been 
rejected  by  the  Special  Examiner  of  drugs,  as  not  being  the  of- 
ficinal sulphate  of  quinine  as  furnished  by  the  officinal  yellow 
bark,  viz.,  cinchona  calisaya,  and  therefore  specified  by  law  as 
improper  to  be  used  for  medicinal  purposes. 
Yours,  &c, 
C.  M.  Prevost,  Dep.  Collector." 
There  is  something  about  this  document  that  would  be 
amusing,  did  it  not  involve  so  much  trouble,  delay  and  loss  to 
the  importer.  The  Examiner  in  this  act,  at  least,  shows  his  con- 
sistency ;  yet,  in  doing  so,  has  brought  to  light  a  new  feature  of 
the  law,  wherein  it  appears  that  sulphate  of  quinine  is  specified  to 
be  improper  for  medicinal  use,  unless  made  from  calisaya  bark  !  ! 
What  is  "  officinal  sulphate  of  quinine,"  but  pure  sulphate  of 
quinine  ?  Why  is  calisaya  bark  directed,  but  because  it  is  the 
best  for  that  purpose  of  the  varieties  recognized  by  the  Pharma- 
copoeia ?  For  what  purpose  are  the  tests  given  at  page  208  of 
that  work,  but  as  a  standard  to  judge  of  the  purity  of  the  salt  ? 
