.540  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  {^"'•oct"!"im*''"'- 
Plantations  of  the  Madras  Presidency.  The  result  of  the  experiments  has  been 
to  show  that  the  bark  from  the  plants  now  being  cultivated  in  the  Nilgiris  as 
yielding  Carthagena  bark  is  commercially  valueless,  stem-bark  examined  from 
two  trees,  one  five  and  a  half  and  the  other  six  years  old,  yielding  no  quinine 
and  the  root-bark  only  l.l  per  cent. 
Hybridization  of  Cinchonas. — This  paper  by  Mr.  D.  Hooper,  forms  an  import- 
ant contribution  to  the  knowledge  of  the  conditions  affecting  the  cultivation  of 
cinchona,  and  is  of  a  class  that  can  only  be  contributed  by  an  investigator 
holding  an  exceptional  position  like  the  Government  Quinologist.  In  the  cin- 
chona plantations  of  the  Madras  Government  there  are  two  well  defined  spe- 
cies of  Cinchona — C.  succirubra  and  C.  officinalis — the  bark  from  the  former  con- 
taining less  quinine  with  more  cinchonidine  and  cinchonine  than  that  from 
the  latter.  Between  these  two  species  there  are  also  many  hybrids,  and 
as  the  hybrids  frequently  assume  the  quicker  growing  character  of  the 
succirubra  parent  it  was  interesting  to  ascertain  how  far  and  in  what 
direction  the  hybridization  affected  the  production  of  alkaloid.  Fifty 
samples  of  succirubra  bark  examined  yielded  an  average  of  6'5  per 
cent,  of  total  alkaloid,  and  in  100  parts  of  this  the  quinine  ranged  from  17"6  to 
26'8  parts,  the  average  being  22*2  parts,  whilst  the  average  of  the  cinchonidine 
was  36'1  parts.  Only  five  out  of  the  fifty  samples  failed  to  comply  with  the  re- 
quirements of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  for  an  oflScial  bark  that  it  should  yield 
between  5  and  6  per  cent,  of  total  alkaloid,  not  less  than  half  of  which  shall 
consist  of  quinine  and  cinchonidine.  From  fifty  samples  of  C.  officinalis  bark 
the  average  yield  of  total  alkaloid  was  5*25  per  cent.,  but  in  100  parts  of  this 
the  quinine  ranged  from  48. 2  to  62*1  parts,  average  55'9  parts,  while  the  cincho- 
nidine only  averaged  267  parts.  The  results  obtained  in  analyses  of  twenty- 
five  hybrid  barks  showed  more  total  alkaloid  with  proportions  somewhat  differ- 
ent from  the  theoretical  quantities  calculated  for  a  typical  hybrid  on  the 
assumption  that  it  would  partake  equally  of  the  character  of  the  two  parents. 
The  quinine  ranged  from  30  8  to  55-3  per  cent,  of  the  total  alkaloid,  the  figures 
for  cinchonidine  increasing  more  or  less  with  the  decrease  of  the  quinine,  and 
the  two  together  constituting  four-fifths  of  the  whole  alkaloid.  The  highest 
amount  of  quinine  in  the  succirubra  barks  was  only  equal  to  the  lowest  in  the 
hybrid  barks,  whilst  that  of  the  highest  of  the  hybrids  merged  into  the  lowest 
of  the  oflScial  barks. 
This  brought  the  reading  of  papers  to  an  end,  and  the  next  business  was  the 
presentation  of  books  provided  by  the  Bell  and  Hills  Fund.  In  accordance 
with  what  has  been  already  mentioned,  in  the  absence  of  a  local  association 
the  books  were  presented  to  the  Bath  Royal  Literary  and  Scientific  Society, 
and  they  were  accepted  with  a  hearty  acknowledgment  by  the  President  of  that 
institution,  Mr.  Murch,  who  curiously  enough  filled  the  oflSce  of  Mayor  of  the 
city  at  the  time  of  the  previous  visit  of  the  Conference  in  1864. 
An  invitation  was  then  given  to  the  Conference  by  Mr.  Martin  and  Mr. 
Clague,  speaking  in  the  name  of  the  pharmacists  of  Newcastle-on-Tyne  and 
district,  to  visit  that  city  next  year.  The  deputation  drew  a  glowing  picture  of 
the  allurements  presented  by  the  Tyne  district,  and  upon  the  motion  of  Pr. 
Thresh,  seconded  by  Mr.  Woolley,  the  invitation  was  cordially  accepted. 
The  Unofficial  Formulary  Committee  was  then  reappointed,  on  the  motion  of 
the  President,  seconded  by  Mr.  Conroy,  and  authority  was  given  to  the  Com- 
