Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July,  1875.  ; 
Cod-liver  with  ^inia. 
are  sometimes  found  within  the  skeleton  in  broken  and  disordered  form, 
which  shows  they  were  taken  in  from  without. 
There  is  an  elastic  sponge,  as  it  is  called,  that  is  somewhat  largely 
used  now  as  a  substitute  for  curled  hair  in  stuffing  beds,  cushions,  car 
seats,  etc.,  but  this  is  an  entirely  different  thing  from  the  sponge  of 
commerce.  Before  it  was  used  for  this  purpose,  it  was  a  worthless  sea 
grass,  growing  abundantly  among  corals  in  rather  shallow  water. — 
Scientific  Amer.^  June  26,  1875. 
COD-LIVER  OIL  WITH  QUINIA. 
BY   M.   H.  STILES. 
.  Twelve  years  ago,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Pharmaceutical  Society, 
Dr.  Attfield  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  natural  alkaloids  com- 
bine with  oleic  acid  to  form  oleates,  which  are  soluble  in  oil.*  Al- 
though he  particularly  instanced  quinia,  and  suggested  that  the  oleate 
of  quinia  would  be  a  convenient  medium  for  the  preparation  of  "  cod- 
liver  oil  and  quinia,"  I  do  not  think  the  method  has  been  adopted  to 
any  considerable  extent. 
I  lately  had  occasion  to  prepare  some  cod-liver  oil  with  quinia.  I 
employed  what  I  believe  to  be  the  usual  process,  precipitating  the 
alkaloid  with  ammonia,  and,  after  washing  and  drying,  dissolving  it  in 
pure  ether,  then  mixing  this  ethereal  solution  with  the  oil.  The  cus- 
tomer, a  lady,  quickly  returned  it,  having  a  very  strong  objection  to 
the  taste  of  the  ether. 
I  therefore  tried  the  plan  of  preparing  the  oleate,  and  dissolving  that 
in  the  cod-liver  oil,  and  found  it  perfectly  satisfactory. 
The  preparation  may  be  made  as  follows  : 
Take  of  Sulphate  of  quinia,    .  .           .           .  60  grains. 
Diluted  sulphuric  acid,  .           .           .  •     i  fluidram. 
Solution  of  ammonia,  ...  a  sufficiency. 
Distilled  water,    .  .           .           .  .a  sufficiency. 
Purified  oleic  acid,    .  .           .           .  i  fluidounce. 
Cod-liver  oil,     .  .           .           .  -29  fluidounces. 
Dissolve  the  quinia  in  the  diluted  sulphuric  acid  mixed  with  4  oz.  of 
water,  add  a  slight  excess  of  ammonia,  stir  well,  transfer  the  whole  to 
a  calico  filter,  and,  after  carefully  washing  the  precipitate,  press  it  be- 
Pharm.  Journ.,"  second  series,  vol.  iv,  p.  388.    '  Amer.  Journ.  Pharm.,"  1863, 
p.  249. 
