Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Dec.  1,  1874.  J 
Hydrobromate  of  Quinia. 
563 
which,  however,  turn  deep  blue  when  impregnated  with  tincture  of 
iodine ;  they  are,  therefore,  of  an  amylaceous  nature.  There  are 
likewise  many  opaque,  very  small,  irregular  fragments,  on  which  the 
tincture  of  iodine  has  no  action  apparent  under  the  microscope. 
A  certain  quantity  of  this  powder  was  treated  with  dilute  acetic 
acid.  The  liquor,  containing  an  excess  of  the  acid,  gives  imme- 
diately a  white  precipitate  with  oxalate  of  ammonium,  consequently 
insoluble  in  acetic  acid,  but  easily  soluble  in  chlorhydric  acid.  This 
precipitate  is,  therefore,  oxalate  of  calcium. 
These  experiments  show  that  the  powder  detached  from  the  ginger 
consists  mainly  of  a  calcium  compound,  undoubtedly  carbonate  of  cal- 
cium, and  that  the  ginger  was  whitened  with  lime.  This  confirms  the 
views  of  Guibourt  referred  to  above.  Such  a  falsification  should  not 
be  tolerated ;  first,  because  this  false  white  ginger  is  much  less  active 
medicinally  than  the  genuine,  and,  secondly,  because  its  commercial 
value  is  five  times  less  than  the  genuine  white  ginger.  * — Pharm.  Jour, 
and  Trans.,  April,  1874,  p.  831.  0.  J.  M. 
NEUTRAL  HYDROBROMATE  OF  QUINIA.f 
By  M.  Boille. 
Two  years  since,  the  author  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  French 
Academy  of  Medicine  an  acid  hydrobromate  of  quinia.  Further  in- 
vestigation of  its  properties  has  led  him  to  the  preparation  of  the 
neutral  hydrobromate,  which  he  considers  to  be  far  superior  to  the 
officinal  quinia  sulphate,  both  as  to  solubility  in  water  and  richness  in 
quinia.  The  neutral  hydrobromate  is  prepared  by  double  decompo- 
sition of  bromide  of  barium  and  neutral  sulphate  of  quinia,  and  is 
thus  easily  obtained  pure  and  free  from  chloride;  the  great  solubility  of 
bromide  of  barium  in  alcohol  facilitating  the  removal  of  any  chloride, 
which  is  insoluble.  The  two  salts  are  dissolved  separately  in  alcohol, 
and  the  solutions  filtered.  The  neutral  sulphate  of  quinia  solution 
is  gradually  added  in  slight  excess  to  the  bromide  of  barium  solution, 
until  a  precipitate  ceases  to  form.    The  solutions,  diluted  with  water, 
*Mr.  Th.  Gardside  has  recently  examined  a  sample  of  artificially-bleached 
ginger.  The  inorganic  coating  gave  by  analysis  the  following  results  for  100 
parts:  chloride  of  calcium,  4*98;  carbonate  of  calcium,  87-12  ;  sulphate  of 
calcium,  and  other  salts,  7*90. 
f  Journal  de  Pharmacie  et  de  Chimie,  vol.  xx,  p.  181. 
