CINCHONA  BARK  AND  ITS  ALKALOID. 
115 
ON  A  NEW  CINCHONA  BARK  AND  ITS  ALKALOID, 
CINCHONIDINE. 
By  M.  WlTTSTEIN. 
The  author  has  obtained  from  M.  Geith,  of  the  firm  of  Ammon 
and  Geith,  of  Nuremberg,  a  new  Cinchona  bark,  which  was  for- 
warded to  him  from  Hamburg  as  Cortex  Chinee  rubiginosus.  Its 
mode  of  packing  was  exactly  like  that  of  the  C.  Calisaya.  Of 
its  origin  nothing  further  could  be  ascertained  than  that  the  bark 
was  obtained  from  London,  and  the  name  was  only  attached  to 
it  in  Hamburg. 
From  an  exact  examination,  and  a  determination  effected  by- 
Prof.  Mettenheimer  of  Giessen,  it  appeared  to  belong  to  the  genus 
of  barks  known  under  the  names  of  Cinchona  flava,  Carthagena, 
aurantiaca,  and  C.  flava  fibroso,  which  are  not  rich  in  alkali. 
According  to  the  investigation  made  of  this  bark  by  the  author, 
it  has  much  resemblance  to  the  Cinchona  regia  or  Calisaya,  but 
differs  greatly  therefrom  in  its  chemical  composition.  The  author 
therefore  calls  it 
Cinchona  pseudo-regia. — It  forms  strong,  smooth  fragments, 
without  epidermis,  and  with  a  fibrous  fracture  ;  its  taste  is  bitter, 
and  its  color  is  between  that  of  C.  regia  and  C.  rubra.  In  the 
cold  extract  of  20  grs.  of  bark, — 
Tartrate  of  potash  produces  a  gray  turbidity ; 
Tannic  acid,  a  gray  precipitate  ; 
Perchloride  of  iron,  a  greenish-yellow  color  with  a  slight  tur- 
bidity ; 
Oxalate  of  ammonia,  a  slight  white  turbidity ; 
Ammojiia,  a  reddish-gray  turbidity ;  and 
Acetate  of  lead,  a  whitish  turbidity,  from  which  a  reddish-gray 
precipitate  gradually  settles. 
This  bark  contains  a  new  alkaloid,  which  the  author  calls 
Cinchonidine,  C18  H10  NO. — It  crystallizes  in  colorless,  shin- 
ing needles  and  prisms,  1  to  2  lines  in  .  length,  belonging  to  the 
oblique  rhombic  system.  It  is  inodorous  and  bitter.  The  cold, 
saturated,  alcoholic  solution  has  a  distinct  alkaline  reaction  ;  the 
ethereal  solution  has  a  very  weak  alkaline  reaction,  and  the 
aqueous  solution  produces  no  change  on  vegetable  colors.  The 
alcoholic  solution  tastes  extremely  bitter,  almost  like  quassia ; 
