Am.  Jour.  Pharm.1 
August,  1903.  / 
Tincture  of  Kino. 
379 
tincture.  This  should  be  bottled  in  small  well-corked  vials  holding 
from  60  to  120  c.c.  and  kept  in  a  cool,  dark  place. 
I  have  sometimes  modified  the  manipulation  by  warming  the 
diluted  alcohol  in  a  well-tinned  can  (an  ether  can  will  answer)  and 
adding  the  powdered  kino  and  agitating  occasionally  for  a  few  days 
while  standing  in  a  warm  place,  then  filtering  and  making  up  to 
bulk  by  washing  the  filter  with  diluted  alcohol.  However,  in  fol- 
lowing such  a  method  of  manipulation  care  must  be  taken  to  see 
that  the  can  is  thoroughly  tinned,  as  any  exposed  iron  surface  will 
blacken  and  spoil  the  product. 
I  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  following  points  necessary  to  be 
observed  in  order  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  preparation  of  kino  : 
(1)  The  kino  selected  should  be  fresh  and  have  a  bright  trans- 
parent garnet-colored  fracture  and  should  be  almost  entirely  soluble 
in  alcohol,  and  give  with  cold  water  a  deep  red-colored  solution 
and  only  a  moderate  amount  of  insoluble  residue.  Mr.  J.  H.  Maiden 
(American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1889,  fol.  633)  fixed  the  qualifi- 
cations for  Australian  kino  necessary  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  tinc- 
ture as  follows  :  "  If  kino  is  not  completely  and  readily  soluble  in  cold 
water,  forming  a  clear  ruby  solution,  with  no  gelatinous  ruby-col- 
ored residue  of  phlobaphene,  it  should  be  rejected."  This  qualifica- 
tion will  apply  with  but  slight  modification  to  the  official  or  Indian 
kino. 
In  regard  to  the  solubility  of  kino,  I  must  note  an  error  in  the 
present  Pharmacopoeia  in  the  statement  that  kino  is  "  only  slightly 
soluble  in  cold  water."  As  this  is  an  East  Indian  product,  the  fol- 
lowing statement  from  the  Pharmacographia  Indica  (Vol.  I,  fol.  465) 
is  taken  as  authority:  "  The  greater  part  of  it  is  soluble  in  cold 
water,  and  all  in  boiling  water,  but  a  portion  is  deposited  on  the 
water  cooling."  The  Pharmacographia  of  Fliickiger  and  Hanbury, 
page  196,  states:  "  In  cold  water  they  (pieces  of  kino)  sink,  but 
partially  dissolve  by  agitation,  forming  a  solution  of  very  astringent 
taste  and  a  pale  flocky  residue.  The  latter  is  taken  up  when  the 
liquid  is  made  to  boil,  and  deposited  on  cooling  in  a  more  volumi- 
nous form."  These  statements  are  correct,  and  the  forthcoming 
Pharmacopoeia  will  no  doubt  correct  this  error  in  the  U.S. P.,  1 890. 
(2)  Selection  of  Menstruum. — The  writer  is  aware  that  in  prefer- 
ring the  use  of  diluted  alcohol  for  making  tincture  of  kino,  he  has 
placed  himself  in  opposition  to  some  of  the  heretofore  accepted 
