Sulphate  of  Quinidia. 
f  Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
\       June,  1878. 
tion,  dissolves  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid  with  an  intense  yellow  color,  and 
yields  with  oxalic  acid  a  neutral  salt  crystallizing  in  scales. 
Another  alkaloid  was  observed  in  young  calisaya  bark  from  Bolivia  ; 
it  is  liquid,  produces  a  greasy  stain  upon  paper,  and  has  a  penetrating 
odor  reminding  of  quinolina. 
Other  derivatives  are  the  hydro  cinch  onins  and  the  bases  obtained  by 
Zorn  by  acting  with  highly  concentrated  muriatic  acid  upon  the  four 
more  common  cinchona  alkaloids. 
SULPHATE  OF  QUINIDIA. 
By  Dr.  J.  E.  De  Vrij. 
In  reading  the  transactions  of  the  Paris  Societe  de  Pharmacie  (see 
"  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,"  April,  p.  204,)  in  the  meeting  on  the  9th  of 
January,  my  attention  was  struck  by  the  conclusion  of  M.  Petit  u  that 
the  neutral  sulphate  of  quinidia  does  not  contain  water  of  crystalliza- 
tion." This  conclusion,  combined  with  the  wish  of  a  Dutch  chemist, 
expressed  in  one  of  our  journals,  to  become  acquainted  with  a  cheap 
reagent  to  test  the  purity  of  the  commercial  sulphate  of  quinidia, 
induces  me  to  communicate  some  particulars  about  this  compound. 
Professor  A.  C.  Oudemans  determined  the  molecular  rotation  of  this 
salt  dissolved  in  absolute  alcohol. 
A  salt  prepared  by  himself,  2  (C20H21N2O2)  S04H2-|-2H20,  in  which 
he  found  experimentally  4*5  per  cent,  of  water  yielded  a  molecular 
rotation  of  2550  ir  d\  1 
A  salt  beautifully  crystallized  in  very  long  needles,  presented  to  me 
by  Messrs.  Howard  &  Sons,  in  which  he  found  4-5  per  cent,  of  water, 
yielded  a  molecular  rotation  of  2550  4'  cT. 
A  salt  presented  to  me  by  M.  Tallendier,  of  Argenteuil,  in  which  he 
found  4*6  per  cent,  of  water,  yielded  a  molecular  rotation  of  2540  o/. 
From  these  experiments  it  follows  that  the  crystallized  sulphate  is 
scientifically  not  anhydrous,  but  contains  two  molecules  of  water  of 
crystallization=4'6o3  per  cent.  From  a  commercial  point  of  view, 
however,  I  found  that  M.  Petit  is  right,  for  7*003  grams  of  commer- 
cial sulphate  of  quinidia,  presented  to  me  a  few  years  ago  by  Messrs. 
Howard  &  Sons,  lost  only  0*025  grams— 0*35  per  cent,  by  a  long 
exposure  to  the  heat  of  a  water-bath.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the 
pure  crystallized  sulphate  loses  its  water  of  crystallization  very  easily. 
The  test  for  the  purity  of  this  salt  is  based  upon  the  fact,  which  I 
