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SULPHATE  OF  QUINIA. 
LETTER  FROM  MESSRS.  POWERS  AND  WEI3HTMAN  RELATIVE 
TO  THEIR  SULPHATE  OF  QUINIA. 
Mr.  W.  Procter,  Jr. 
Dear  Sir, — Dr.  Squibb's  third  article  on  the  sulphate  of 
quinia,  prepared  by  us,  seems  to  call  for  a  few  remarks  which 
we  will  thank  you  to  permit  to  accompany  his  communication. 
His  first  communication  on  the  subject  we  considered  calcula- 
ted to  produce  the  impression  that  we  had,  by  some  skill  in 
chemical  manipulation,  succeeded  in  crystallizing  sulphate  of 
quinia  with  10  per  cent,  more  water  than  its  acknowledged 
atomic  constitution,  and  were  defrauding  the  public  by  selling 
such  an  article.  To  this  conclusion,  we  set  off  our  own  experi- 
ments by  which  we  obtained  very  different — but  to  us  satisfac- 
tory— results  ;  besides  taking  exception  to  the  terms  of  his  con- 
clusion. 
His  second  article  we  did  not  follow  in  detail,  as  he  remarked 
himself  that  the  deductions  from  the  results  of  his  three  first  ex- 
periments were  very  much  confused  by  the  results  that  followed 
in  his  subsequent  ones. 
About  the  solubility  of  sulphate  of  quinia  in  boiling  water,  we 
had  generally  considered  that  30  parts  of  water  to  1  of  it,  was 
pretty  accurate,  but  now  submit  some  results  differing  from  this. 
100  parts  of  sulphate  of  quinia  were  added  to  2850  parts  of 
distilled  water,  and  boiled;  the  salt  did  not  immediately  dissolve,  but 
upon  continuing  the  ebullition  a  few  minutes,  it  dissolved  entirely. 
The  boiling  was  continued  and  the  solution  weighed  from  time  to 
time,  until,  after  more  than  an  hour's  boiling,  the  water  had  be- 
come reduced  to  1500  parts,  plus  100  of  sulphate,  making  1600 
of  solution  ;  beyond  this  point  it  began  to  form  crystals,  which 
by  no  subsequent  continuance  of  the  boiling  could  we  succeed  in 
redissolving.  The  boiling  was  conducted  in  an  egg  shaped 
flask  with  a  long  neck,  and  the  flask  and  contents  were  weighed 
together,  to  ascertain  the  loss  of  weight.  The  quinia  was  pre- 
viously tested  by  ether  and  ammonia,  and  gave  no  indication  of 
cinchonia  or  quinidia.  What  occasioned  this  increased  solubility  ? 
If  a  modification  of  the  alkaloid,  what  change  had  taken  place  ? 
With  this  we  leave  the  intelligent  readers  of  the  Journal  to  form 
