Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-10-18
QUININE PRODUCTIONS.
Methods Of Obtaining the Preclous DB1G
from CinchOna Bark.

Methods Of Obtaining the Precious DSaU
from Cinch0na Bark.
Within the last twenty years the
growing of the bark has been estab-
lished in India, and the alkaloid il
now successfully made at the govern
ment works at Sikkim. The whole Of
the quinine in yellow bark can be ex-
tracted in a form undistinguishable
either chemically or physically from
the best branches of European manu-
facture This can be done so cheaply
that, SO long as the supply of bark is
kept up, quinine never need cost the
government much above 25 rupees per
pound. 1t is pointed out that the price
of English-made quinine in London
market is at the present time some
where about this figure.
The bark is first reduced to powder
by means of Carter's disintegrator,
and this powder is passed through q
scalper, the sieves of which are made
of silk and have 12O meshes to the
lineal inch. This extremely fine
powder in the proportion of 100
parts is mixed with 8 parts
of commercial caustic soda dis
solved in 500 parts of water, and there
is then added 600 parts of a mixture of
fusel oil part and kerosene 4 parts.
Slaked lime may be used instead of the
caustic soda, Is parts of it being init
mately mixed with the powdered bark
before the water is added. The whole
mixture-bark, alkali, water, and oils
lis next thoroughly agitated in bar
rels for four hours, then allowed to
rest, and the oily layer drawn off from
the top. This oil is again agitated for
five or ten minutes with water acidu-
lated with hydrochloric or sulphuric
acid, whereby the alkaloids are dis
solved out from the oil. Separation is
again effected. the oil being transferred
to the bark mixture. and agitated with
it for two or three hours; again drawn
of, and washed as before in the same
calculated liquor. This process is re-
peated third or fourth time, or until
it is found, by testing small quantity
of the oil, that the bark has been thor
oughly exhausted of it's alkaloids. The
quantity of acid required to take up the
alkaloids from the oil depends,
of course. on the quality of
the bark operated on. If
the bark contains 4 per cent. of
alkaloids. about pounds of sulphuric
acid mixed in 20 gallons of water are
sufficient. The after-treatment of the
calculated solution of alkalOids is
simple. The solution is first neutral
lied with ammonia of soda, and set
aside to crystalize. The crystals are
collected on cloth and drained, then
dissolved in about fifty times their
weight of boiling water, and filtered
hot through little animal charcoal.
On cooling after filtration. the crystals
again form and are separated as before
from the mother liquid by filtration.
The crystalline mass obtained is then
placed in small Jumps on sheets of
white blotting-paper stretched on slabs
of plaster of paris. BY this means
they are practically dried. They are
afterward thoroughly dried by being
laid on blOtting-paper in room heat
ed to about 10 degrees above the tenn
perature of the open air. The above
presents the salient points of Mr..
Gammie's process for the manufacture
of ''sulphate of quinine." The result
ing product doubtless contains other
alkaloids than quinine. but in what
proportion there is nothing to indicate.
Chemist and Druggist.