336 
ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  GALLIC  ACID. 
identical  with  the  quassit  removed  from  the  quassia  amara  by 
Wiggers,  and  which  appears  to  belong  to  all  this  tribe.  He  has 
found  many  points  of  resemblance  between  the  characters  given 
for  quassit,  and  those  which  he  found  in  bytterine. 
To  ascertain  the  identity  of  these  two  substances,  he  tried  te 
obtain  quassit  by  operating  on  the  quassia  amara.  Having  at 
first  tried  the  same  processes  as  with  the  bytteria,  he  obtained 
nothing,  and  he  was  obliged  to  use  the  process  mentioned 
by  Wiggers,  and  which  requires  large  quantities  of  pure  spirit 
and  ether.  With  this  process  he  obtained  a  small  quantity  of 
quassit,  and  he  found  that  the  yield  of  quassia  was  much  less  than 
that  of  the  bytteria.  The  result  of  the  comparative  examination 
of  these  two  bitter  principles  of  the  quassia  and  bytteria  is  that 
they  are  identical. 
M.  Gerardias  thinks,  that  the  bytteria  being  richer  in  quassit 
than  the  quassia  amara,  and  moreover  being  commoner  and  grow- 
ing larger,  it  would  be  the  best  source  from  which  to  obtain  this 
bitter  principle,  and  according  to  the  nature  of  the  wood  on  which 
we  have  to  operate,  and  using  the  processes  which  he  has  de- 
scribed, that  we  might  obtain  very  large  quantities  of  quassit  or 
of  bytterine,  at  such  low  prices  that  the  kilogramme  would  not 
exceed  250  to  300  francs.  Quassit,  which  has  hitherto  been 
but  little  known  and  unused,  because  of  its  small  quantity  and 
high  price,  might  take  its  place  in  therapeutics,  especially  if  it 
realises  the  hopes  raised  by  M.  Amic's  very  interesting  results, 
as  a  means  of  cure  for  intermittent  fevers.  This  would  be  a  great 
acquisition. 
Even  supposing  that  these  hopes  are  not  all  realised,  we  can- 
not imagine  that  a  principle  with  such  powerful  properties 
should  not  be  capable  of  practical  usefulness.— London  Chemist, 
April  1857,  from  Journal  de  Pharmacie  et  de  Chimie,  February, 
1857. 
ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  GALLIC  ACID. 
By  F.  Steer. 
The  author's  process  is  essentially  a  combination  of  the  modes 
of  preparation  long  since  described  by  Scheele  and  Braconnot. 
100  pounds  of  the  best  black  Turkey  galls  are  pounded  as  fine 
