AmApXi878arm" }  Pharmaceutical  Colleges  and  Associations.  203 
the  slopes  of  the  Himalayas.  The  first  patch  of  500  cinchonas  was  planted  in  1864,. 
in  the  valley  of  Rungbee,  12  miles  distant  from  Darjeeling;  at  present  the  total 
number  of  cinchona  trees  is  3,000,000,  covering  about  1,900  acres.  Of  the  species 
experimented  with  C.  Pahudiana  was  proved  to  be  comparatively  worthless  ;  C.  offici- 
nalis and  Pitayensis  will  not  thrive  under  the  climatic  conditions  of  Sikkim,  and 
C.  Micrantha  yields  a  bark  rich  in  cinchonia  only  ;  their  cultivation  has  been  aban- 
doned. C.  Calisaya  grows  under  rather  limited  conditions,  is  more  difficult  to  pro- 
pagate and  has  a  tendency  to  run  into  varieties  which  do  not  furnish  bark  of  equal 
value.  Its  cultivation  has  not  made  the  same  progress  as  that  of  C.  succirubray 
which  has  proved  a  decided  success;  the  tree  is  hardy,  growing  well  under  a  suffi- 
ciently wide  range  of  conditions,  seeds  freely,  is  easily  propagated  and  has  little 
disposition  to  run  into  varieties.  There  are  now  about  2,500,000  of  these  trees  in 
cultivation,  and  if  regularly  cut  at  the  end  of  their  seventh  or  eighth  year  (a  corres- 
ponding number  being  at  the  same  time  planted  out),  it  is  estimated,  would  yield 
annually  366,000  lbs.  of  bark,  the  yield  from  each  tree  varying  between  6  oz.  and  6 
lbs.  (exclusive  of  the  rootbark  which  is  richest  in  alkaloids).  The  bark  crop  is  taken 
by  coppicing  (cutting  the  tree  close  to  the  ground)  or  by  uprooting;  the  experi- 
ments on  the  most  advantageous  plan  of  harvesting  are  not  yet  concluded. 
The  average  yield  of  the  plantations  contains  4  to  5  per  cent,  of  total  alkaloids,, 
the  average  composition  of  which  is  quinia,  16*31,  cinchonidia,  30*53,  cinchonia, 
35*26  and  amorphous  alkaloid,  17*90  per  cent.  The  mixed  alkaloids  are  obtained 
by  exhausting  the  bark  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  precipitating  with  soda,  redis- 
solving  in  just  sufficient  dilute  acid,  filtering  from  coloring  matter  and  again  precipi- 
tating ;  the  dried  precipitate  yields  a  white  powder,  acquiring  a  slight  buff  tint  by 
keeping;  it  never  agglutinates  and  is  readily  soluble  in  weak  acids.  It  is  used  under 
the  name  of  cinchona  febrifuge,  and  is  not  intended  as  a  substitute  for  quinia  but  a 
supplement  to  it,  useful  in  the  fever  prevalent  among  the  natives  of  India.  It  is  now 
manufactured  at  the  rate  of  4,000  lbs.  per  year,  the  cost  price  being  one  rupee  per 
ounce  (is.  9d). 
Dr.  De  Vrij  alluded  to  the  rapidly-growing  Cinch,  pubescens,  the  bark  of  which  is. 
very  rich  in  quinia,  yielding  on  the  first  renewal  by  Mclvor's  mossing  process  9  per 
cent,  of  total  alkaloids,  furnishing  7*2  per  cent,  of  quinia  sulphate.  The  Quinolog- 
ical  Congress,  held  last  April  in  Amsterdam,  had  decided  that  that  process  was  the 
future  of  cinchona  cultivation.  In  his  experience  coppicing  always  yielded  a  poorer 
bark  than  that  produced  by  renewal.  He  criticised  a  statement  by  Surgeon-General 
Smith  in  regard  to  the  insolubility  of  the  mixed  alkaloids  in  dilute  muriatic  acid, 
proposed  for  this  cinchona  febrifuge  the  name  of  quinetumy  and  referred  to  experi- 
ments made  by  Prof.  Binz  of  Bonn,  according  to  which  the  amorphous  alkaloid  is 
much  more  toxic  than  quinia. 
Messrs.  Moss  and  Wood  objected  to  the  word  "  quinetum,"  which  meant  a  collec- 
tion of  cinchona  trees  rather  than  of  its  alkaloids. 
Dr.  Paul  referred  to  the  difference  in  composition  which  the  cinchona  febrifuge 
must  necessarily  have,  and  said  that  whatever  might  be  the  advantage  of  using  up 
the  bark  in  the  preparation  of  that  substance,  it  was  still  a  question  whether  it  wuold 
