362  Note  on  the  Cinchona  Alkaloids.  {^'^fn^'^i^^'^' 
The  fact  that  I  was  able  to  obtain  the  alkaloid  in  question  very 
easily  and  in  a  different  manner,  without  the  use  of  potassium  perman- 
ganate, as  I  shall  show  in  a  detailed  communication  that  will  appear 
shortly,  induced  me  to  test  also,  in  this  direction,  cinchonine,  conchi- 
nine^  and  quinine  in  different  stages  of  their  preparation. 
With  cinchonine,  this  investigation  did  not  yield  any  satisfactory 
result,  which  I  believe  may  be  attril)utable  to  the  fact  that  in  the  cin- 
chona barks  used  by  me  in  the  manufacture  of  quinine,  cinchonine^ 
etc.,  hydroGinchoniney  or  the  base  resisting  the  action  of  potassium  per- 
manganate, occurs  at  most  only  in  traces,  so  that  certain  evidence  of 
the  pre-existence  of  this  substance  (or  substances)  would  be  an  impos- 
sibility. On  the  other  hand,  I  was  able  to  ascertain  the  occurrence  of 
hydrocinchonine  in  a  bark  described  as  ^'  china  cuprea,"  but  which  was 
not  suited  to  the  manufacture  in  question.  The  composition  of  this 
base  corresponds  to  the  formula  CJ9H24N2O. 
Calculated.  Found. 
C,     .  .  77-02  per  cent.       76-93  per  cent. 
H,         .  .       8-11  8-17  " 
The  properties  of  this  base  do  not  correspond  to  those  which  Caven- 
tou  and  Willm,  as  well  as  Skraup,  observed  in  hydrocinchonine  ;  the 
crystals  of  my  hydrocinchonine  melted  on  the  contrary  at  256 °C. 
(uncorr.)  Further,  the  acid  chloroplatinate  of  this  base,  differing  from 
the  corresponding  platinum  salt  of  the  hydrocinchonine  discovered  by 
Caventou  and  Willm,  forms  a  yellow  amorphous  powder,  having  the 
composition  Ci9H24N20,PtClgH2-}-2H20.  Whether  these  differences 
are  only  accidental  or  dependent  upon  the  substance  itself  must  evi- 
dently be  ascertained  by  further  investigation. 
The  results  obtained  in  subjecting  the  sulphates  of  conchinine  and 
quinine  to  oxidation  were  less  favorable  than  in  the  case  of  cinchonine. 
At  present  my  observations  on  cinchamidine  have  enabled  me  to 
separate  from  the  mother-liquors  of  conchinine  and  quinine  sulphates 
fractions  which  in  the  one  case  were  rich  in  hydroconchinine  and  in  the 
other  in  hydroquinine. 
Hydroconchinine  was  found  by  me  to  have  a  composition  correspond- 
ing to  the  formula  Q^^^t^fl^^^^Hjd.  It  forms  readily  efflorescing 
prisms,  which  melt  at  168°C.  (uncorr.)  and  dissolve  freely  in  hot  alco- 
hol and  chloroform  and  less  freely  in  ether.     The  solution  of  the 
^The  alkaloid  referred  to  by  the  author  under  this  name  is  that  com- 
monly called  quinidine. — Ed.  P.  J. 
