168         Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  {AmMSJs9trmr 
no  means  the  main  dependence  of  the  natives,  as  it  is  on  many  islands 
in  the  Pacific.  A  useful  and  nutritious  flour  is  extensively  made  by 
grinding  the  unripe  fruit  after  it  has  been  dried  in  the  sun. 
Analysis  shows  that  this  banana  flour  contains  a  very  large  quantity 
of  starch,  an  average  of  more  than  Ji  per  cent,  having  been  found. 
This  element,  which  is  so  prominent  in  the  immature  fruit,  changes 
into  sugar  as  the  fruit  ripens,  and  gives  the  banana  its  sweetish 
taste. 
CINCHONA. 
The  quantity  of  quinine  in  the  cinchona-bark  offered  at  the  ten 
Amsterdam  auctions  of  1897  fell  considerably  below  that  offered  in 
1896,  and  would,  indeed,  have  carried  us  back  to  the  figures  for 
1895  Dut  f°r  the  huge  supplies  offered  at  the  December  sales. 
Weight  for  weight,  the  supplies  of  bark  actually  fell  below  those  for 
1895  as  we^  as  °f  1896,  but  it  is  too  often  forgotten,  in  speculating 
upon  the  future  of  the  bark-supply,  that  while  the  output  of  the 
Island  of  Java  is  falling,  the  alkaloidal  richness  of  the  bark  continues 
to  rise.  Thus,  the  average  richness  (in  quinine)  of  the  Java  manu- 
facturing bark  in  1897  shows  an  increase  of  nearly  5  per  cent,  on 
that  of  the  year  before,  and  of  over  43  per  cent,  since  1889.  The 
actual  average  unit  for  each  year,  and  its  percentage  increase  upon 
its  predecessor  during  the  past  seven  years  are  shown  in  the  sub- 
joined table  : 
1891.   1892.   1893.    1894.   1895.    1896.  1897. 
Average  unit  per  cent  4*08     4*50     4*60     4-93     5-01     5*48  573 
Per  cent,  increase  on  the  year 
before  2        10         2  7  2  9  5 
From  the  bottom  line  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  average  unit  has 
generally  taken  a  big  step  forward  every  second  year.  If  this  ten- 
dency be  maintained  in  the  same  ratio  during  the  twelve-month 
just  commenced,  the  average  quinine-content  of  the  manufacturing 
bark  offered  at  Amsterdam  this  year  will  be  over  6  per  cent. 
Hitherto  such  a  unit  has  only  been  attained  in  the  auctions  of 
August  and  September,  1897,  and  a  few  years  ago  it  would  have 
been  looked  upon  as  wildly  improbable. 
The  "syndicate" — if  we  may  call  it  by  that  name — of  Java 
planters  and  Amsterdam  brokers  that  has  undertaken  the  task  of 
raising  the  unit-price  by  concerted  action  during  a  preliminary 
period  of  three  months  commenced  its  operations  at  the  auctions  of 
