TRANSACTIONS OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. Ar a meeting of the General Committee, July 15, 1852, MR. GIFFORD, PRESIDENT, IN THE CHAIR, the following Report was agreed to: The General Committee authorised by the Resolution of the Council, passed on the 7th of July instant, namely, "That the consideration of the provisions of the Pharmacy Bill be referred to the General Committee; and the Educational Course of the ensuing session be taken into consideration at the same time,” have agreed to recommend to the Council, 1. That Mr. Smith be appointed to the office of Registrar. 2. That arrangements be made for continuing the Lectures and Laboratory, for the ensuing Session, upon the subjoined plan. (The plan is not published, being still under consideration.) 3. That no Candidate be admitted to the Major Examination under the age of twenty-one years. 4. That a SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING of the Members of the Society be held on Wednesday, the 4th day of August next, at eight o'clock in the evening, precisely, "To discuss the provisions and operation of the Pharmacy Act, and to consider the steps which it may be expedient to take in reference to it." At a Special Meeting of the Council, held July 19th, MR. GIFFORD, PRESIDENT, IN THE CHAIR, the report of the General Committee, dated July 15th, was received. The 4th recommendation was unanimously adopted, and in accordance therewith a Special General Meeting of the Society was convened by circular, and a notice ordered to be inserted on the cover of the Pharmaceutical Journal. The consideration of the other three recommendations was deferred until the next meeting of the Council. LIST OF MEMBERS, ASSOCIATES, AND REGISTERED APPRENTICES. Elected in April, May, June, and July. TOWNS. .Stafford .Chelmsford Worcester ..Cambridge .Leeds ..Hull .Frome ORIGINAL AND EXTRACTED ARTICLES. EXAMINATION OF PAVON'S COLLECTION OF PERUVIAN BARKS CONTAINED IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. BY JOHN ELIOT HOWARD, ESQ. (Continued from page 15.) No. 9. C. pubescens var. B purpurea (Weddell). This species was first found by the authors of the Flora Peruviana, at Pati, in the year 1780. It was named by them Cinchona Purpurea,† and the collection of Pavon contains two very good specimens under this name. No. 51*. C. purpurea Fl. Per. + CINCHONA PURPUREA (Flor. Peruv.) CASCARILLO PAONAZO, CASCARILLO MORADO. (From the Quinologia.) This tree is commonly as much as twenty-four feet high, and has a single, upright strong stem one and a half feet thick. The ramification is not much covered with leaves, and it opens out on all sides. The branches are strong, and terminate in four convex sides. The back of the stem and of the thick branches is sometimes more, sometimes less dark grey. The upper surface is neither rough nor uneven, and the bark of the tender branches is very light grey. The marks for its selection are the following: 1. A smooth, and only occasionally rough upper surface. 2. A light grey epidermis with some dark spots. 3. Internally a cinnamon colour. 4. The bark rolled together in such a manner that one margin rests upon the other. When No. 62*. C. purpurea Fl. Per. The specimens of bark are in larger and smaller quills, with a rough coarse rigid fibre; the epidermis smooth and warty, and some pieces analogous to Cusparia bark on the outside; transverse cracks are almost wanting. The general colour of the epidermis is light grey, but the bark of the trunk is often dark brown, with patches of the whitish epiderm adhering to a surface otherwise exfoliated. This bark accords entirely with that so named by Dr. Weddell. It occurs not unfrequently in commerce in small quantities; and in 1849 a large importation took place of this, mixed with other kinds. Its commercial value is so low as to discourage collection. I found the thick coarse bark to yield only 0.35 of a very yellow alkaloid, which resembled quinine in solubility in ether, and about 0.60 of cinchonine. It is probable that some samples may be richer than this. The vernacular name cascarilla boba de hojas moradas, or "spurious bark with mulberry-leaves," expresses the estimate formed of its value in the country where it grows, and the account of Poeppig, the German naturalist, does not indicate any superior qualities. He says the tree is easily distinguished from all other cinchonas by this circumstance, that its very large and membranaceous leaves are covered on the under side with very prominent violet-coloured veins, which in the early stage of the leaf are so near together, as to give a similar colour to the whole leaf. The bark, when recently gathered, is exceedingly bitter, and might be useful in the preparation of low-priced decoctions, since it could be furnished at an exceedingly low rate. "It is, at all events, not gathered, and has served only for adulteration, which fraud may nevertheless be discovered by a superficial examination." M. Weddell's account is not more encouraging; he says, the name which this bark has received in its native country, proves little in its favour. It is called carua-carua, an Indian word, which signifies literally llama llama, but figuratively "very bad," or "very inferior." The llama is indeed looked upon as one of the most inferior animals. In the province of Carabaya, Dr. Weddell adds, he heard it "called also cascarilla, or quina amarilla, the appellation which Mutis gave, as is well known, to his C. cordifolia. The two barks are indeed extremely alike." The variety a Pelletierana is not represented in the collection, although it is stated by a recent collector in Peru that it may be had in abundance, and could be sold very cheap. There is something very peculiar in the chemical constitution of this bark, which merits further investigation. The characterizing yellow colouring matter found in the pubescens is intense in this variety, and seems to pervade the whole plant, the leaves (if I may judge from a dried specimen in my possession), stalks, and bark; it is, moreover, extremely difficult to isolate the alkaloid from this colouring matter, but when this is effected, it crystallizes freely from ether. The taste of the bark is very nauseous. The following specimens in the Museum must also be referred to this head, viz. : No. 19. Cinchona cascarilla crespilla ahumada de Loxa. No. 21. C. cascarilla amarilla de Chito, Provincia de Jaen, Loxa. the quilled bark forms a circle and a half, this is a sign that it has been taken from a tender branch before it was fully ready. 5. A thickness of a pen to that of one inch. 6. A substance of the thickness of some lines, provided that the bark is not from the stem. 7. A lighter weight than the foregoing. 8. A thick substance, but slightly resisting the attempt to break it. 9. An ordinary fracture, with small projecting fibres. 10. A gum-resinous sap, of such sort as corresponds with the consistence of the bark 11. A feeble smell, but which becomes remarkable and pleasant through boiling, with some aromatic odour, but on the other hand it is not so pleasant to chew. 12. A taste more bitter, sour, and rough, like that of C. hisuta, but more pleasant, and resembling the taste of a dried rose which has already lost in great part its aroma. No. 35. [C. quina amarilla de Quito de Loxa.] No. 67*. C. amarilla de Chito sp. nov. inedit. This last specimen has a peculiar feature in suberous convex excrescences, covered with the usual silvery epidermis. It is not to be distinguished, however, from the specimens of C. purpurea. Derivation of "Huamalies” Bark. The cascarilla boba (fools, or "worthless bark"), which Poeppig brought back with him to Germany, was submitted to the examination of Reichel, who pronounced it "the Huamalies bark of trade," and describes it as "consisting, for the most part, of very young quills, which in part are wholly without the warty elevations, but possessing more abundantly the peculiar longitudinal wrinkles, which distinguish the Huamalies bark from all others. In the younger quills the colour shades off to fallow-grey-in the older the warty elevations are conspicuous, and the brown lichens are more abundant, which communicate to this commodity a well-known brown colour, when many old barks are lying together in a small compass. Particular pieces are covered with many white lichens, but fully developed lichens are not found on it, with the exception of Usnea Cinchonarum. The quills are 1 to 2 feet long, 4 to 1 inch in diameter. The taste is sourish and extremely bitter, but this is only perceived after long mastication. The decoction has on cooling a yellow-loam colour, and conducts itself with the usual reagents as a very useful, though a very cheap bark." This is Reichel's account; but Dr. Edward and Julius Martiny, in their publication, the Encyklopædia der medicinish-pharmaceutischen Naturalien und Rohwaarenkunde, give a different aspect to the matter. They say (in describing the barks of Poeppig)" cascarilla boba is only used for adulteration, and passes erroneously for a wholly useless bark. With much politeness Professor Poeppig presented us with a specimen of this bark, which comes occasionally, but rarely, in trade, and is found among Loxa barks. It consists of rolled quills of to 1 inch in diameter, the outer coat of which has very little resemblance to that of other cinchona. Its epidermis is (for example) almost without cross cracks, smooth, and only crumpled together into long folds by drying. The colour is grey-brown sprinkled with white. Reichel assumes these barks to be the Huamalies barks of trade, and found upon them warty elevations and other tokens of Huamalies bark; but that which we received as cascarilla boba, has not the smallest resemblance to the Huamalies bark, as will sufficiently appear from what has been said." This remark is quite applicable to Poeppig's specimen (it is true a small and poor one) of cascarilla boba in the Pharmaceutical Society's collection. It has not the slightest resemblance to Huamalies bark. It would appear then that Reichel must have been too hasty in identifying the cascarilla boba with Huamalies bark, and this is made more clearly evident from several considerations. First. The internal evidence of Poeppig's own account militates against this identification. He says nothing of the warty character or other tokens on which Reichel dwells; whereas, it is unlikely he would wholly have omitted noticing the warty character, at least, if he had been describing Huamalies bark; and then what he does mention is, that the bark is almost worthless, and only used for adulteration. The Huamalies bark, on the contrary, has established its reputation in Europe, and especially in Germany, as a bark of the better description. According to Bergen and Goebel, "it first was known in 1803 in Europe; it was sent in large quantities from 1810 to 1815, and belongs to the better and more efficacious kinds of bark."‡ Externally (M. G. says), the Huamalies 66 Goebel, Ph. W., i., p. 62. |