AmMareh,Pi^m"}    Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  145 
204  grammes  ;  pulp,  36  grammes  ;  seed,  90  grammes,  which  dried 
to  48-6  grammes. 
The  rind  yielded  tat,  resin,  albumen,  tannin,  glucose,  mucilage  (4 
per  cent.),  water  (81  per  cent.),  ash  (2  per  cent.)  and  theobromine 
(0-6  per  cent.). 
The  mucilage  makes  the  rind  a  valuable  substitute  for  ground 
flaxseed,  which  spoils  very  quickly  in  Brazil.  It  is  also  of  use  as 
fodder. 
The  pulp  contains  tartaric  acid  (1  per  cent.),  glucose  (3-8  per 
•cent.),  albumen  (0*5  per  cent.),  mucilage  (1  per  cent.),  pectin  and 
extractive  (7  per  cent.),  ash  (1  per  cent.).  The  alcoholic  liquor  pro- 
duced from  it  is  very  palatable  and  ferments  to  a  good  vinegar. 
The  fresh  seeds  contain  water  (46  per  cent.),  fat  (17  per  cent.), 
theobromine  (0-2  percent.)  and  ash  (1-25  per  cent.). 
The  fresh  leaves  contain  water,  fatty  oil,  resin,  theobromine  (0-07 
per  cent.),  tannin,  extractive  and  0*2  per  cent,  of  a  substance  tasting 
like  glycyrrhizin  and  resembling  it  in  analytical  reactions. 
H.  V.  A. 
FORMATION  OF  CINCHONA  ALKALOIDS. 
Believing  that  the  alkaloids  were  developed  in  the  leaves,  just  as 
is  starch,  Dr.  J.  P.  Lotsy  experimented  at  the  Java  governmental 
•cinchona  plantations  as  follows :  Leaves  were  divided  at  the  midrib, 
the  half  with  midrib  being  either  left  on  tree  or  immersed  in  water, 
the  two  halves  being  assayed  at  different  times,  control  experiments 
having  shown  that  the  two  halves  of  the  same  leaf,  examined  at  the 
same  time,  yielded  approximately  the  same  amount  alkaloids.  In 
some  cases  the  half  first  examined  was  rich  in  alkaloids,  while  the 
half  left  on  the  tree  was,  within  twelve  hours,  free  from  alkaloids. 
That  this  disappearance  was  due  to  migration  of  the  alkaloids  into 
the  bark  and  not  to  dissociation  of  same  by  leaf  processes  was  shown 
by  the  fact  that,  if  the  remaining  half  were  removed  from  tree,  the 
diminution  of  alkaloidal  strength  was  never  observed  ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  a  leaf  originally  free  from  alkaloids  developed  same  on 
exposure  to  light  after  being  removed  from  tree.  This  is  of  im- 
portance, because,  while  some  experiments  showed  the  emptying  of 
alkaloids  from  a  leaf  within  twelve  hours,  in  other  cases,  twelve 
hours  after  the  first  half  showed  no  alkaloids,  the  second  half 
yielded  a  considerable  quantity. 
