Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Sept.,  1883.  J 
Effect  of  Altitude  on  Red  Bark. 
457 
THE  EFFECT  OF  ALTITUDE  ON  THE  ALKALOID  OF 
RED  BARK. 
BY  J.  E.  HOWARD,  F.R.S. 
I  beg  to  forward  the  inclosed  published  communication  from  Dr. 
Trimen,  which  will  interest  many  of  your  readers  and  sustain  the 
character  of  your  Journal  as  the  best  repertory  of  information  on  the 
important  subjects  of  which  it  treats. 
It  gives  me  pleasure  to  see  that  "  the  relationship  of  the  alkaloids  " 
is  brought  under  notice  in  Dr.  Trimen's  letter.  It  is  long  since  I 
worked  at  this  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Herapath,  and  much  of  the 
information  then  published  is  probably  forgotten ;  and  much  that  was 
inferred  relative  to  the  manner  in  which  the  molecules  appear  to  be 
built  up  in  nature  (bearing  on  the  possibility  or  otherwise  of  the  arti- 
ficial production  of  quinine)  remains  for  further  investigation.  I  can 
only  remark,  at  present,  on  the  universality  of  the  relationships  thus 
disclosed  by  the  ray  of  polarized  light. 
The  relationship  is  this: 
Lsevogyrgate.  Dextrogyrate.  Feebly  Dextrogyrate. 
Quinine.  Quinidine.  Quinicine. 
Cinchonidine.  Cinchonine.  Cinchonicine. 
Dr.  Herapath,  in  his  "  Researches  on  the  Cinchona  Alkaloids  ^' 
("  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society/'  November,  1857),  attempted  to 
demonstrate  this  relationship  on  chemical  grounds ;  and  even  thought 
that  quinine  and  cinchonidine  might  be  mutually  convertible.  He 
observes  that  "  closely  as  the  quinine  and  cinchonidine  salts  agree 
amongst  themselves,  they  differ  widely  from  the  quinidine  and  cincho- 
nine compounds.'^ 
In  order  to  confirm  the  interesting  experiments  instituted  by  Dr. 
Trimen,  I  selected  specimens  given  me  by  Dr.  Morris,  Jamaica,  of  red 
bark  grown  under  somewhat  similar  differences  of  altitude ;  that  from 
the  lower  elevation  having  (as  in  India)  the  best  appearance;  that 
from  the  higher  the  richer  produce.  I  shall  send  portions  of  these  to 
the  Museum. 
The  bark  from  which  the  second  sample  was  taken  proceeded  from 
trees  grown  in  the  parish  of  Manchester  at  an  elevation  of  about 
2,400  feet.  This  is  the  lowest  elevation  at  which  cinchona  bark 
trees  have  been  cultivated  in  Jamaica.  The  trees  were  between  eight 
and  nine  years  old,  growing  in  a  sheltered  situation  and  on  a  good 
