348 
Quwiretin. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1      July,  1878. 
promising  aspect  of  the  parent  plant.  It  is  already  between  six  and 
seven  feet  in  length,  and  the  leaves  reach  the  length  of  9  or  10  inches 
by  6  inches  in  width.  The  plant  may  be  a  hybrid  ;  but  if  so,  as 
admitted  by  Mr.  Mclvor,  it  has  much  more  the  characteristics  of  C. 
officinalis  than  of  C.  succirubra.  I  send  for  the  Musum  of  the  Phar- 
maceutical Society  a  section  of  a  tree  of  this  sort  sent  me  by  Mr.  M., 
from  which  those  who  are  conversant  with  the  characteristics  of  the 
wood  of  these  different  species  will  easily  discern  what  I  have  stated 
to  be  true.  A  good  botanical  specimen  in  a  collection  given  me  by 
Mclvor  does  not  appear  to  settle  the  question  of  hybridity. 
It  remains  that  I  add  a  parting  word  about  Cinchona  pubescens.  This 
very  distinct  species  was  named  by  Vahl,  and  has  been  described  and 
figured  by  Dr.  Weddel.  Not  much  is  known  about  the  /9  form,  but 
in  its  form  Pelletierana  it  is  the  source  of  the  bark  from  whence  aricina 
was  procured,  and  from  whence  I  have  myself  many  times  obtained 
this  much  contested  alkaloid.  Its  whole  chemical  constitution  is  dis- 
tinct from  other  cinchonae,  the  cinchona  red  being  superseded  by  an 
intensely  yellow  substance.  It  is  no  longer  to  be  met  with  in  com- 
merce, as  it  is  useless  except  for  scientific  investigation,  and  has  cer- 
tainly never  been  introduced  into  India.  So  I  hope  we  have  heard  the 
last  of  C.  pubescens,  Howard,  though  not  of  the  promising  sort  of  offici- 
nalis which  obtained  this  erroneous  name. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans. 
[Lond.],  April  25,  1878. 
QUINIRETIN. 
By  Professor  Fluckiger. 
Forty  years  ago  Geiger  was  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  aqueous  solu- 
tions of  salts  of  quinia  are  decomposed  in  sunlight.  It  would  appear 
that  Pasteur1  attributed  this  alteration  to  the  formation  of  quinicia  and 
cinchonicia,  for  in  his  researches  on  the  two  latter  substances  he  lemarks, 
"  J'ai  reconnu,  en  effet,  qu'en  exposant  au  soleil,  seulement  durant 
quelques  heures,  un  sel  de  quinine  et  de  cinchonine  quelconque,  en 
solution  Vendue  ou  concentre,  il  s'altere  a  tel  point  que  la  liqueur 
prend  une  coloration  rouge-brun  extremement  foncee.  Cette  altera- 
tion est  d'ailleurs  de  la  meme  nature  que  celle  qui  s'effectue  sous  l'influ- 
ence  d'une  temperature  elevee."     He  recommended  the  manufacturers 
1 "  Comptes  Rendus,"  xxxvii,  1853,  p.  114. 
