Quinidia  Test. 
\m.  four.  Ptiarm. 
Mar.,  1879. 
QUINIDIA  TEST. 
By  O.  Hesse. 
Sulphate  of  quinidia  (conchinia,  Hesse)  is  found  chemically  pure  in 
commerce,  particularly  in  Germany  ;  but  in  some  places  the  quinidia 
sulphate  is  entirely  different.  In  Liebig's  "  Annalen,"  vol.  176,  I 
have  published  a  method  for  testing  this  salt,  whereby  the  presence  of 
mere  traces  of  other  cinchona  alkaloids  may  be  shown.  But  this, 
excellent  test  does  not  seem  to  have  met  with  the  attention  it. 
deserves  ;  at  least  this  appears  to  be  indicated  by  a  recently-published 
communication  on  this  subject  (see  "  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1878,  p. 
304).  It  may  therefore  be  of  interest  to  communicate  the  directions- 
for  applying  the  test,  somewhat  modified  so  as  to  correspond  with  my 
quinia  test.    They  are  as  follows  : 
0*5  gram  of  quinidia  sulphate  and  0*5  gram  of  pure  potassium  iodide 
are  introduced  into  a  test  tube,  together  with  10  cc.  of  hot  water 
(about  6o°C.)  ;  the  mixture  is  repeatedly  well  agitated,  and,  after  one 
hour,  filtered.  The  filtrate,  on  being  mixed  with  a  drop  of  ammonia 
water,  must  not  produce  any  turbidity. — Translated  from  Archiv  der 
Pharmacie,  1 878,  December,  p.  495. 
THYMOL  AND  THYMOL-CAMPHOR. 
By  Charles  Symes,  Ph  D. 
The  pharmacy  of  thymol  has  already  been  ably  treated  in  this 
Journal  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Gerrard  (see  "Am.  Jour.  Pilar.,"  1878,  p. 
255),  but  as  the  substance  continues  to  be  largely  used,  fresh  experience 
will,  as  a  matter  of  course,  be  gained  concerning  it,  and  it  is  from  the 
record  of  such  from  time  to  time  that  our  knowledge  concerning  it 
and  its  relations  will  be  perfected. 
Some  four  or  five  weeks  since  an  idea  occurred  to  me  (which  has- 
probably  occurred  to  others  also)  that  if  thymol  and  chloral  hydrate 
were  rubbed  together  in  a  mortar  they  would  possibly  produce  a  liquid 
similar  to  the  well-known  chloral-camphor.  Experiment  proved,  how- 
ever, that  such  is  not  the  case  ;  but  if  an  equal  quantity  of  camphor 
be  added  to  the  mixture,  the  whole  at  once  liquefies  and  produces  what 
should  be  a  powerful  antiseptic.  An  opportunity  was  at  hand  which 
enabled  me  to  test  this  property,  for  at  the  moment  I  was  examining  a 
quantity  of  urine  containing  pus,  which  was  already  in  an  incipient 
